Friday is The Big Day!

Happy Monday everyone! Well, my first book is being released this Friday and I am pumped! So I hope you don't mind a little shameless self-promotion on the blog today. This book is the first in my shifter series and I'm hoping you'll enjoy it...and then of course want to get the rest of the series.

One more thing, my new website is up and running. Come on by and have a look.

http://sarataneyhumphreys.com/

Paranormal Romance of a Different Breed!

The Amoveo Series: The Amoveo Legacy

Author: Sara Taney Humphreys

Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Release Date May 15, 2009

Blurb:

What if everything you knew turned out to be a lie? You find out that you aren’t even human—at least not entirely. What if, one day, you realize your world will never be the same again? These are the questions that Samantha Logan must face in “The Amoveo Legacy”. A dream on her thirtieth birthday compels her to leave her artists loft in New York City and move back to the beach with her Grandmother, Nonie.

However, the instant Samantha steps foot on the salty shores of her childhood home, she realizes the landscape has changed. The moment she encounters the mysterious, arrogant neighbor Malcolm Drew, her life is never the same. Through a seductive courtship, he introduces her to the magical mystical world of the Amoveo. The dream walking, telepathic, shape shifters that he claims are her true heritage. However, Malcolm holds back a secret that could destroy them both. Will he be able to protect Samantha and convince her of the secret legacy buried deep inside of her?

Excerpt:

They rode back to the house in a heavy silence. He could feel her confusion vibrate around them both. His eyes had instinctively shifted to their animal form, a symptom of his desire. He’d been so caught up in his passion for her, so terrified by the thought of losing her that he completely forgot to keep his eyes from shifting. She broke the silence as they pulled up the gravel driveway of her home.

“Malcolm, who was that man you were talking to on the balcony this afternoon,” She asked quietly.

“You mean Davis,” He said, hoping that may satisfy her curiosity but knowing it wouldn’t.

“No. You know exactly who I mean,” she said with steady resolve. “The tall guy, with long dark hair. I saw you speaking with him today on your deck..”

The car came to a halt at the top of the driveway. She looked at him daring him to deny it. He saw the determination in her face and looked away before answering her.
“I’m sorry. The only person at the house today was Davis,” He said getting out of the car.

Sam was starting to get pissed. She knew he was lying about the man on the deck. She couldn’t explain how the guy disappeared, but he did. The more she ran it over in her mind, the more certain she was that it happened. Tonight, his eyes were the eyes of the eagle. She wasn’t seeing things. It wasn’t a trick of the light. His eyes had changed into the same eyes she’d seen in her dream, in the bird on her window sill and in the portrait in her studio. This eagle nonsense only started after she’d moved back home, next door to him.

Malcolm opened the door and offered to help her from the car. Hesitantly, she took his hand. He pulled her effortlessly from the car. He felt her breasts gently brush up against him. That feather light touch held a promise of pleasure to come. Their breath mingled in the cool, late summer evening. Their bodies hummed in unison with anticipation.

“I want you to trust me Samantha. I need you to trust me,” He said in a low voice that vibrated through her. He brought her hand to his mouth and gently brushed his lips back and forth across her knuckles. He slowly ran his other hand up her back and gently began to massage the nape of her neck. Her breath quickened with each passing moment.

“Please, give me a chance to win your trust,” He whispered against her trembling hand. He feathered small kisses along her palm.


Samantha was on fire, desire building up inside of her, beyond her control. Her head told her to run, while every other fiber of her being begged for his touch. Her resolve was slipping away inch by inch. She knew this man was dangerous. He hid secrets from her that she may never learn or comprehend. Yet she was still drawn to him beyond all reason.


He leaned in and this time kissed her gently, slowly seducing her lips with his. He took her face delicately in his hands, as though she might break. She opened to him and swept her tongue along his. Samantha felt the slow burn of desire crackling between them. She deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around him. His large frame dwarfed her as she fit easily in his embrace. It was as though they’d been made for one another. She’d never in her life felt anything like this. Her desire for him clawed at her from the inside out.

Trust me, she heard him say in the corners of her mind. Her eyes flew open and she pulled back from him. She held him there at arm’s length for a moment, her breath coming quickly, not quite able to register what she just heard.


He held his desire in check and kept his eyes from shifting. He allowed her time to process what had just happened. Looking into her frightened eyes he reached out and whispered gently along the edges of her mind, Trust me. Sam’s eyes widened further. She shook her head and backed away from him in disbelief. Blindly she ran into the house leaving Malcolm alone. One glimmer of hope remained. He’d been looking into the ice blue eyes of a wolf.

Where to Buy It: http://devinedestinies.com/shopdevine/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_coming&product_id=303&category_id=22&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=52&vmcchk=1&Itemid=52

Musical Marketing

Soundtracks for movies and television shows are standard. In fact, a really great movie or show is often instantly associated with kick ass music. Last week, thanks to my old college buddy and DJ John Campbell...I found the soundtrack for Book 2 in my shifter series. Well....soundtrack isn't the right word...more like ...theme song.

Actually, I had been in a major writing rut. Completely blocked. Book 2, The Amoveo Heart was not coming to me as easily as the first book did. At any rate, John wants to interview me on his weekly radio show and had gotten some musicians who were willing to let me use their music as an intro for the interview. He sent me the links and the second song I listened to stopped me dead in my tracks. I couldn't believe it. It was as though this song was written just for the heroine in Book 2. Amazing! The combination of the lyrics and her hauntingly beautiful voice were absolute perfection. I immediately contacted the artist and asked if I could use her song for The Amoveo Heart's book trailer. Gratefully both she and her record label said yes!

Then I had an idea to take it a step further. Luckily, she is located not far from me and as a new musician is looking for new opportunities for exposure. Why not have her play at my book launch/signing? As an author of an ebook, book signings in a bookstore are not feasible without a print version. What to do? What to do?

1. I'll be burning CD's of my book (after it's released of course). It'll be packaged in a DVD case with the front and back of the book cover printed and placed in the case sleeve. I figured a DVD case represents a book better than a CD case. It's the closest thing to a "print" book that I'm getting...at least for now.

2. Fogarty's, an outstanding pub/restaurant here in NY has agreed to host the signing event and let me use their place for no charge...on a Friday or Saturday night of our choice.

3. My musical muse, Amy Petty, has agreed to come and play at my signing.

The song that sparked my creative juices and woke up my muse is called "Honey on the Skin". You can find Amy Petty and her spectacular music on her website http://www.amypetty.com/

Hello Sara Taney Humphreys!

This week we take a look at Sara Taney Humphreys. I asked her some quirky questions back in January and got plenty of interesting answers!
Welcome Sara!
Sara Taney Humphreys writes for the following publisher(s): Extasy Books
Sara’s favorite color is cobalt blue and her favorite ice cream flavor is Karmel Sutra. When asked if she’s a cat, dog or both kind of person and if she’d ever own(ed) a snake or some other exotic pet her answers were ~ “Dog, have 2 J & Ummm no.” Concerning her preference for warm weather or cold she states, “Love the occasional rainy day, love cold snowy days if I can be inside next to a fire…but a crisp sunny fall day is the best!” As for where she’d live if she could live anywhere in the universe, “Anywhere as long as I’m with my hubby and our 4 little boys.” In regard to what time of day she prefers, Sara says she’s a bit of both. Her favorite day of the week is Saturday and her favorite number is 10. When asked if athletic shoes are sneakers or tennies and if a soft drink is called soda or pop, she responded: Sneakers & Soda
Here’s a scenario posed to the author: “You’re at a conference and an agent comes up to you and says, “I’ve seen your name on the web. I’m interested in taking you on as a client. You have a couple of minutes to wow me to convince me that I should.” You can only plug one book in this short amount of time. What book would you plug to land this contract and why?” Sara’s response: My book “The Amoveo Legacy” is about to be released with eXtasy Books. The series is about an ancient race of shape shifters that have lived secretly among humans for thousands of years. Traditionally they could only mate with another Amoveo, but evolution combined with their dwindling race has changed the rules. It’s Paranormal Romance of a Different Breed.
Thank you for the information Sara!

~ Feel free to share if you have something in common with her ~

Mule Musings

This weekend I had to work on Saturday. Definitely not my favorite thing to do...but you do what ya gotta do. I was the MC for two different scholarship events. Since my day job is as a public speaker, being an MC is a natural fit...but to be honest I just wasn't into it. When it's your job to keep a 3 hour program moving along, and making sure the 700 people in the room don't get bored to tears....you've gotta bring your A-game. One of the toughest thing to do as a professional speaker is sit through bad speeches. It's dreadful. So at both events I braced myself for the usual rambling, droning, babbling obligatory speeches that inevitably occur. I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong....there were some stinkers. However, the official Guest Speaker at the second event of the day was great. He told a story that I had to share....especially with other writers. I don't know the official name, so I'm just going to call it "The Mule Story".

A local farmer was digging a hole for a new well. When he wasn't looking, his trusty old mule wandered over and fell into the hole. The farmer couldn't figure out how to get the mule out of the hole. After several failed attempts at retrieving the mule, he decided to bury it. He could always get another mule. The mule stood there in dumbfounded disbelief as the farmer threw shovel fulls of dirt onto him. Showered with dirt, all the poor beast could do was shake it and step on top of it. The dirt rained down on him relentlessly and the mule continued to shake it off and step on it, refusing to be buried by the farmer. As he continued to shake it off and step on it, the hole began to fill beneath his hooves.
He kept repeating his mantra...shakeitoffsteponit....shakeitoffsteponit... until finally he reached the top and climbed out of the hole.

In life, but esepcially as writers or artists, we encounter rejection or outright dirt slinging. There are times when we just want to lay down, and allow ourselves to be buried by the crushing weight of it all. In those moments, we should all be like the mule. Shake it off and step on it.