Author: Callie Bardot
Narrator: Leanne Woodward
Length: 8 hours
Series: Adrenaline, Book 4
Publisher: Callie Bardot
Released: November 2, 2020
Genre: Romance
Day: March 15, 2021
#GuestPost “Meet the Character Day: Chatting with Princess Elara from A Most Unusual Princess” by Kelli A. Wilkins
This “Meet the Character Day” blog is part of a series examining my romance novels. In each “Behind the Scenes” blog, I talk about why I wrote the book, share my thoughts on the plot and/or characters, and reveal what I loved most (or least) about writing the book. The “Meet the Character Day” blogs are fun chats with the heroes and heroines from my romances. Warning: blogs may contain spoilers.
Hello romance lovers! Today we’re chatting with Princess Elara, the heroine from A Most Unusual Princess by Kelli A. Wilkins.
Q: Greetings, Princess Elara. A Most Unusual Princess is the first book in Kelli’s Royal Desires series of historical/fantasy novels. Can you tell us more about the trilogy?
A: I’d be happy to. A Most Unusual Princess is the first story in a trilogy that also includes A Most Intriguing Temptation and A Most Unfortunate Prince. Although the books are related, each stands alone as an individual read.
A Most Unusual Princess introduces readers to me and my hero, Dalton. My father is searching for a proper husband for me, and Dalton acts as my special guard. In the second book, A Most Intriguing Temptation, I follow Dalton and my brother, Prince Allan, to a sultan’s palace and get into a bit of trouble. A Most Unfortunate Prince (the last book in the series) is all about Allan’s banishment from the kingdom and his journey as he finds true love. Dalton and I are also in the story, and we play a central role in the ending. (I won’t reveal too much about that.)
Q: Tell us about yourself. What got you in the crosshairs for your author?
A: I’m a princess and I’ve been pampered and sheltered my entire life. Some people might find that the perfect arrangement, but for me, it’s always been suffocating. I hate being told what to wear, how to speak, and I’m never allowed to have any fun. My brothers are free to do whatever they please while I’m forced to act like a lady. Bah!
When the story starts, I had been acting out a lot. I’ve been called headstrong, spoiled, too opinionated, and unmanageable. It’s not my fault, though. I’m an intelligent (and very pretty) young woman who doesn’t appreciate being talked down to because I’m female.
My father decided I was old enough to be married and wanted to find me a husband. I told him I could find my own husband and would only marry someone I loved—not a dull prince who only wanted me for my dowry.
Kelli started the story just before the search for my husband began. She was kind enough to see past all of my so-called faults and realized that deep down I’m a sensitive, caring individual who wants to be loved. Meeting Dalton changed me for the better.
Q: What drew you to Dalton?
A: Dalton is unlike any other man I have encountered before. We met under very unusual circumstances (I was undressed and bathing in a pond) and he… well, he thought the whole thing was amusing. At the time I didn’t think I’d ever see him again, but then he turned out to be my special guard. Imagine! As we spent time together, I realized Dalton was strong, brave, and not easily swayed by my tantrums or tricks. He understood me and treated me like an equal. And I loved him even more for that. (He also acted a bit naughty, which I liked!)
Q: Speaking of naughty fun, where was the wildest place you seduced your partner?
A: In the story, we make use of a settee and my bed. But one night after the story ended, Dalton and I went back to the pond where we first met. We did all the naughty things we had only fantasized about doing before. It was fun fooling around outside in the dark, and it’s something I’m sure we’ll do again soon.
Q: If your partner wants to seduce you, what’s one sure-fire trick he can do?
A: All Dalton needs to do is kiss me or touch me—anywhere. The feel of his hands running down my body, light kisses on my stomach, touching my backside… Anything he does makes me eager for him, and he knows it!
Q: What was one of the most embarrassing things your author did to you in A Most Unusual Princess?
A: Well… the story starts off with Dalton catching me nude in a bathing pond. It would have been embarrassing enough to be seen like that, but I wasn’t exactly bathing… I was… how did Dalton put it? Touching myself to relieve a bit of tension. (If you know what I mean.) But a girl is entitled to her privacy! Later, Dalton teased me about it without mercy.
Q: Kelli has written a lot of romances in all genres in all heat levels. How does she switch back and forth so easily?
A: I’ve been curious about this myself, so I asked a few of her other characters. They said each book comes to her in a different form. Sometimes an entire story “jumps” into her head, and she’ll know everything that happens to the characters. (It happened with A Deceptive Match, Loving a Wild Stranger, A Most Unusual Princess, and The Viking’s Witch.)
Other times, she gets bits of the story and parts of the characters. Once in a while, she’ll have a character come first and then the other pieces of the book fall into place, like a puzzle. (It happened with Dangerous Indenture, Love, Lies & Redemption, and A Secret Match.)
Before Kelli starts a book, she needs to know who the characters are and what’s going to happen to them. Then she outlines the scenes and starts writing. She says that writing a new book is always an adventure, and she never knows where the characters or stories will take her.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: Although A Most Unusual Princess is the first book in the series, all of our stories stand alone as individual reads—and I encourage readers to catch up on all of our adventures. I’m content with the way the trilogy ends—and I know readers will be satisfied (in many ways!).
Kelli has written several fantastic books in all genres, and I wish I could have a crossover with a few of her other characters. We would have a lot of fun together. Talking with readers was fun! I’ll ask Dalton and Allan to answer a few questions in another chat.
Thank you, Princess Elara, for joining us today. Readers can learn more about all of Kelli’s books on her site: www.KelliWilkins.com
Here’s the book summary:
A Most Unusual Princess
Princess Elara needs to find a royal husband, but claims that no man can satisfy her. Her father hires Dalton, a special guard, to watch over her while she’s courting suitors. Dalton finds her unusual behaviors charming—and enthralling.
Dalton’s aloof manner intrigues Elara, and despite their differences, they share tender moments and intimate nighttime encounters. Elara is heartbroken when her father chooses a “proper” husband for her—until she meets the mystery man.
Bonus! This e-book includes a sneak peek at the second book in the Royal Desires series: A Most Intriguing Temptation.
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The Royal Desires Series is available on Amazon & other platforms. Catch this hot historical/fantasy trilogy from the start:
Book 1: A Most Unusual Princess:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CBX43D8
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/me00L9
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-unusual-princess
Book 2: A Most Intriguing Temptation:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8P8604
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/47kkvj
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-intriguing-temptation
Book 3: A Most Unfortunate Prince:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Most-Unfortunate-Prince-Historical-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B01DMBYJ6E
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/3yPPM6
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/a-most-unfortunate-prince
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20 romance novels, 7 non-fiction books, and 3 horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror stories.
In January 2021, Kelli released Journaling Every Week: 52 Topics to Get You Writing. This fun and innovative guide to journaling is filled with hundreds of thought-provoking prompts designed to get you writing about your feelings and emotions.
Her horror short, “A Witch’s Wishes” was published in the Nothing Ever Happens in Fox Hollow anthology in December 2020. In October 2020, Kelli had horror stories published in two anthologies. “The Uninvited” was published in Halloween Horror Vol. 2. This tale about a children’s Halloween party gone horribly wrong is one of her favorites. Her unsettling short story, “What the Peeper Saw” appeared in Madame Gray’s Creep Show anthology.
Earlier in 2020 Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877 Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.
Kelli posts on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list and to find all her social media links.
#CoverReveal “Sealed With A Bite” by Ariel Marie
Sealed with a Bite
By Ariel Marie
The Nightstar Shifters 3
A wolf shifter. A witch. The mating call is too strong to resist. Will they act on what was destined to be?
Adelina Ransome was tired of being alone. She longed for the day fate would present her mate to her. Addy was prepared to do what she must to find the one person meant for her. But before she put her plan in place, fate handed her a gift in the form of a midnight-haired, curvy witch.
Finding her mate wasn’t supposed to be this easy.
Convincing her to succumb to the pull of destiny shouldn’t be hard.
Cora Latimer was on the run. Finding the other half of her soul wasn’t expected. As much as she wanted to act on the instincts driving her to Addy, she couldn’t.
There was a crazed warlock hunting her down. Cora couldn’t risk the love of her life, but she vowed she’d protect her at all costs.
Will they give in to their desires and claim each other?
Don’t forget to check out the other books in The Nightstar Shifters Series
Sailing With Her Wolf Protecting Her Mate
Ariel Marie is an author who loves the paranormal, action and hot steamy romance. She combines all three in each and every one of her stories. For as long as she can remember, she has loved vampires, shifters and every creature you can think of. This even rolls over into her favorite movies! She loves a good action-packed thriller! Throw a touch of the supernatural world in it and she’s hooked!
She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where she currently resides with her husband and three beautiful children.
Want to know more about her and her books? Sign up for her newsletter
~ Connect With Ariel ~
Amazon : Facebook : Twitter : Instagram : Goodreads : Google+
: Bookbub : Booksprout
#BookBlitz “The Fifth Cycle” by Dan O’Mahony
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Otherworldly Adventures #1
Middle-Grade Fantasy
Date Published: February 2, 2021
Publisher: Magic Cat Books
FREE for a Limited Time!
An ancient Irish goddess appears to thirteen-year-old Colin Caulfield and delivers a fateful warning. Later that night, his sister is almost kidnapped by goblins. His world is rocked even further when his mother and a family friend reveal that he is the reincarnation of Ireland’s greatest hero, CuChulainn, and destined to help the Irish gods return to their seat of power.
First, he needs to be properly trained, and there is no one better for that job than Scathach, the woman who trained the original CuChulainn. He arrives on her island, Alba, in the Otherworld, and joins her host of trainees. There, he meets Breccan and Alaynna, who become two of his best friends. He also meets Niall, who is somewhat hostile to him at first, but then agrees to help train him.
Colin faces a number of threats and challenges while on Alba, some of which are tied to a dark force that wants to stop him from fulfilling his destiny. Unfortunately, Colin’s greatest enemy just might be himself as a deep-seated personal issue triggers a warp-spasm, a type of berserker rage that the original CuChulainn suffered from as well. With the help of his friends, Colin must learn to control the warp-spasms if he is to become the hero both Earth and the Otherworld need him to be.
He had better hurry though, because the dark force that wants to stop Colin, that found him on Earth and tried to use his sister to get to him, discover he is on Alba, and who knows how far they are willing to go to stop Colin this time.
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About the Author
Dan currently resides near Chandler, Arizona but spends most of his time exploring new worlds and associating with unique characters. When not engaging in fulfilling flights of fancy, he teaches elementary and junior high students, hoping to inspire within them a love of reading and writing (The trick is to get them while they are young.).
Contact Links
Twitter: @DanOAuthor
Purchase Links
FREE for a Limited Time!
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
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#GuestPost When History and Science Fiction Collide by A&H Frosh, author of “Space Taxis”
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When History and Science Fiction Collide
By Adam Frosh, author of Space Taxis
NB this blog contains a spoiler alert for Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock.
The literary world is full of cross genres. Historical crime, historical horror, romance fantasy, science fiction comedy to name but a few. Historical fiction is hugely popular, notwithstanding the interesting settings for which the stories are based, but also the learning opportunities to study history in a way that many would prefer to reading a formal textbook. It also gives, through sense of place, an opportunity to ‘exist’ within the world and almost feel that you are there within it.
So, why is the genre mix of science fiction history so comparatively rare? In the most part, this genre mix relates to stories of time travel. One piece of literature that influenced my journey into literature was the Nebula Award winning novella, Behold the Man, by Michael Moorcock.
In this story, Karl Glogauer, a time traveller from 1970, travels back in time to witness the story of Jesus as it unfolds. As he arrives in the Holy Land in AD 28, his time machine is broken, and he has no way of returning to his own time. Moorcock’s depiction of the Christ of Nazareth is very different to the accepted Christian version that Glogauer was expecting. The Christ in this world would have no chance of carrying out the accepted teachings the world was destined to see. Assisted by the accounts of his “magical” properties by the Essenes who witnessed his strange method of arrival, he finds himself stepping in to act out the historical version of Jesus.
Glogauer, a hugely flawed character with a Messiah complex, eventually displaces Jesus entirely and, through his own engineering, is eventually crucified on the cross.
On one level, this novella could be seen as an exercise in blasphemy. However, on further reflection, it is so much more than that. At every stage, it represents an allegorical concept. The insignificant Christ of the story is displaced by a tangible representation of the story. His discussion with his girlfriend, Monica regarding how the myth itself is less important than the impulse it creates. For Glogauer, the story is what is important to fuel people’s need for compassion, love and forgiveness. His solution was to displace symbolism with a form of fact.
The time travel itself is never discussed in detail but is merely a plot vehicle to establish a litany of allegorical themes that exist within the novella. In this way, science fiction can work at its best. It was never intended as a real explanation of the historical event.
I often think of Stanisław Lem’s masterpiece, Solaris, that questions the notions of identity and the self. That story is set in the future and blurs the boundaries of our notions of our uniqueness and the facsimiles that are ourselves. Science fiction set in the past, can often allow for an even richer form of allegorical study through the study of the human condition through events that have already taken place.
Harriet’s and my novel, Space Taxis, can, and should, be viewed as an allegorical tale that uses science fiction as a speculative vehicle to discuss Heinrich Himmler’s otherwise poorly explained actions towards the end of WW2. It has been carefully researched to include eyewitness and historically recognised accounts of the time. It is a moment to enjoy high adventure, real history, and an all too rare opportunity for allegorical thought provocation.
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“A perfect blend of science fiction and alternate history”
He’s abducted by aliens to the planet Vost.
He’s saving up for his fare home.
But he’s got the small matter of a planetary apocalypse to deal with first…
In 1977 a New York Cab driver Mike Redolfo is abducted by aliens after being mistaken for a renegade scientist. Meanwhile, back in 1944 a mysterious man and his Jewish fiancée are fleeing across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Redolfo tries to keep a low profile on his new world whilst earning his fare home, but unwittingly gets involved with a shady gang of alien criminals, inadvertently bringing the planet to the brink of catastrophe.
As the link between the timelines becomes clear, Redolfo must discover secrets from the past that may hold the key to saving the planet.
If you like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5, and Frank Herbert’s Dune, you’ll love this gripping and entertaining sci-fi mystery thriller.
Purchase Links
Kindle Unlimited
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Author Bio
Adam wasted much of his youth watching Star Trek on the TV and films like Planet of the Apes and Alien on the big screen. He redeemed himself by becoming a surgeon but has since graduated from writing articles for science journals into writing his own Sci Fi and Alternate History stories. As a writer he is dedicated to giving his readers a great story laced with strong, fun and scary characters. Descended from Jewish refugees who escaped from the pogroms, he is haunted by the stories of the Holocaust but inspired by heroes who put themselves at risk to save others. Adam likes to hear from his readers. You can find him at http://adamfroshauthor.com or on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AdamFroshAuthor
Harriet will never be able to let go of Greek gods. No, not the sculpted Adonis-like figures on the beach, but the ancient ones.
Loving all things mythological, her writing incorporates myths and legends from around the world. Her other fascination is with the criminal mind, and you can expect to see a blend of these two interests in her writing.
As a student of English, she spends her day critiquing literature and her evenings creating exciting characters and fun stories.
Harriet is also an artist, and she would like to hear from her readers and those interested in her art. You can get in contact at http://harrietfrosh.com/
Social Media Links
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