What Does Love Mean?

I ask because I had to twist our human concept of love and fidelity to fit in succubus’ world. If a succubus has to feed from having sex, how can she have a relationship? I considered the idea of having her feed from only one lover but I imagine that eventually she’d drain him dry. It couldn’t be healthy for either of them.

An open relationship seemed like the best option but what kind of alpha male would share his female?

An incubus, of course. They’d understand each other’s sexual feeding needs yet be able to fulfill each other’s emotional aspects that their lifestyles lack. They wouldn’t see sex to feed as cheating, but it best be ONLY for feeding, otherwise all bets are off.

I really enjoyed creating this world and all its complex love rules between two people who just physically loyal.

 

 

Blurb:

After almost dying of starvation to remain faithful to a mortal lover, succubus Pia Blyton now shields her heart by feeding solely on men she won't fall for. The only trick is, to create energy to survive, she must achieve orgasm. At least that rules out bad sex with her three lovers. Too bad she's a sucker for falling in love.

When her demon lover doesn't arrive for their arranged rendezvous, Pia is forced to ask her vampire lover to step in before her energy becomes dangerously low. In return he demands a favor and Pia finds herself in the hotel suite of the mysterious Valerio Hunan, who seduces her with a devastating kiss. Too late Pia learns he's an incubus who wants to lure her into marriage—a marriage without love.

As an incubus used to bedding a variety of succubi, Val doesn't understand Pia's yearning for love. He needs a succubus wife to provide him with a steady source of energy. But he wants Pia for the passion and renewed interest in life she makes him feel. Can Pia convince Val that sex isn't just for survival and love is for more than the weak?

Excerpt:

Beeping my car unlocked, I went to the driver’s side.

 

“I don’t see why Hoel can’t drive us in my car.” Val folded himself into my VW Bug.

“Because Cooper likes his privacy and my taking you will be bad enough. Why do you need to meet my suitors?” I jammed my key in the ignition and started the vehicle, then kicked it into drive.

“Making sure you feed properly will fall on my shoulders. I want to meet the…flavors you prefer.”

He sat with his back to the door, his knee bent on the seat so he could face me. “Do you love him?”

I snorted, then glanced at him. His eyebrows were furrowed as he frowned at me. “You’re serious? Of course not.”

“But you care about him.”

“He’s food.”

“I’ve seen how you react to chocolate. Is he chocolate?”

More like macaroni and cheese but from Val’s expression I didn’t think that was the answer he wanted. “What are you expecting? If you want me to promise they mean nothing to me then I’m the wrong succubus to court. I don’t like sex with strangers. It hurts me on all sorts of levels.”

“So you do love him.”

“No!” I shook my head since he didn’t seem to understand the first time I answered this question. “I choose suitors who I won’t fall in love with, but I like them. As friends.” I rubbed my forehead. “This is complicated.” Of all the days that Val decided to tag along, I was going to see the suitor he’d disapprove of the most. Cooper was territorial and caring.

“It’s only as complicated as you make it.” He still frowned at me and seemed unhappier.

I wanted Val to see beyond our culture’s emotional boundaries. If I could open him to the possibilities of love, we might both get what we desired from this courtship. First, he had to trust me and I needed to earn that trust. “I was just going over to tell Cooper we had a change in schedule.” I poked him in the stomach. “Some incubus is mixing me all up.”

His scowl grew deeper.

 

 

Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/Starved-For-Love-ebook/dp/B008JHRMQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345079521&sr=8-1&keywords=annie+nicholas+starved+for+love

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/starved-for-love-annie-nicholas/1112124094?ean=9781426894381&itm=1&usri=annie+nicholas+starved+for+love

Annie Nicholas
www.annienicholas.com

 

Leave a comment and a way for me to contact you for a chance to win an ecopy of Starved for Love.

 

Here Be News

No new releases this week but we do have a few group announcements:

Veronica Scott, HERE BE MAGIC Author (WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM), invites you to Join the Night Owl Reviews Full Moon Online Halloween Web Hunt. Find Great Books and Win Prizes http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Pages/FullMoonDetails.aspx  Veronica is just one of the sponsors…check it out, get your entry form and start hunting – gift cards and other prizes…runs till October 31st at Night Owl.

Last week to buy Sandy James' new release THE RELUCTANT AMAZON for the discounted price of $1.99.


Links of Interest

The new Hobbit trailer!!!

Not exactly new, but I stumbled across this and thought it was interesting. From Forbes: Publishing Is Broken, We're Drowning In Indie Books - And That's A Good Thing

And just because...Every GIF Of Joseph Gordon Levitt Doing “Magic Mike” That You Could Ever Possibly Need

I'm sensing that...you want to read this blog post. Does that make me psychic?

These days I’ve got psychics on the brain, because the characters in my new work-in-progress series are exactly that. Book one is complete and out to submission (fingers crossed), and I’m well into book two, which has taken kind of a creepy turn thanks to the fact Halloween is once again right around the corner. Yep. Ghosts have entered the picture. And a serial killer. And — wait, I’m not supposed to be telling y’all any of that yet!

Point is, I’m fascinated by all of the research I’ve been doing into the topic of psychics and psychic abilities. Do I believe in psychics? Well, sure. I wouldn’t be writing about them otherwise. But I’ve also grown pretty skeptical about them over the years. Like pretty much everyone on planet earth, I’d love to have advance knowledge of events so I can exploit it to win the lottery, find my soul mate, know when to go to the doctor, and know what career path is going to reap happiness and success. But I also think there are probably a lot of charlatans out there taking advantage of people desperate to know that information in these uncertain times.

Okay, I admit it. I’ve used the services of a psychic in the past, uh, once or twice — when I was much younger and curious. This one psychic had been featured on some forensics TV shows, so I figured that gave him some legitimacy. He was dead on about some things, and dead wrong about some others. For instance, he knew I was a writer — he could tell by my erratic finances, which he said were always up and down (snort) — but he also told me I’d go to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, get inspired to write a book about the place which would later get published, and oh yeah, I’d also meet my future husband while there. He would be older. The psychic thought my future hubby's name was John. The kicker was this was supposed to happen within 10 months — and that was about 10 years ago. Still single. Never been to New Orleans either. John, are you reading this? Call me.

A few years ago, I was given a real "fluff" assignment at the newspaper where I worked. A pet psychic had written a book we were going to feature for Halloween on our “pets” page. I was set to interview her by phone. Well, all righty then. I called her — she was, I think, based in Los Angeles — and one of the first things I asked her was, “Can you offer any proof to our readers that you’re psychic?” She invited me to email her a photo of my cat, which I did while she held on the line. A few minutes later, she freaked me the heck out when she said something that amounted to, “Your cat says you’ve been going through a lot of papers lately — like thumbing through papers, throwing them in the floor, making a mess in her space. She wishes you would stop. She says, 'Tell her to stop throwing junk in MY floor.'” At the time, I had been in de-clutter mode at home, going through old boxes of college papers and newspapers and junk I had kept for whatever reason. Okay, that was eerie. She continued on with my free reading. She said my cat was showing her a photograph of a man placed on the wall beside where my cat liked to take naps, and he was dressed in a policeman’s uniform. Was he my husband? Because my cat really loved him. Uh...actually I think she was referencing an old photo of my dad placed in the hallway. He'd been a cop for 32 years, and he was in uniform in the picture I'd framed. And yes, my cat LOVED him because he fed her lots of kitty treats whenever he saw her.He was putty in her paws.

Funny thing is, my dad’s name is John. Coincidence? Or just weird? Hmmm.

What about you? Do you believe in psychics? Have you ever visited one? Tell me your stories in the comments below. You never know. They might inspire book three of my new series!

Here Be News

Our new releases this week

After almost dying of starvation to remain faithful to a mortal lover, succubus Pia Blyton now shields her heart by feeding solely on men she won't fall for. The only trick is, to create energy to survive, she must achieve orgasm. At least that rules out bad sex with her three lovers. Too bad she's a sucker for falling in love.

When her demon lover doesn't arrive for their arranged rendezvous, Pia is forced to ask her vampire lover to step in before her energy becomes dangerously low. In return he demands a favor and Pia finds herself in the hotel suite of the mysterious Valerio Hunan, who seduces her with a devastating kiss. Too late Pia learns he's an incubus who wants to lure her into marriage--a marriage without love.

As an incubus used to bedding a variety of succubi, Val doesn't understand Pia's yearning for love. He needs a succubus wife to provide him with a steady source of energy. But he wants Pia for the passion and renewed interest in life she makes him feel. Can Pia convince Val that sex isn't just for survival and love is for more than the weak?

Buy

Cupid still has a lot to learn, and this time he's heading to college to do it.

Griffin and Colby were shoved together by fate during a fraternity hazing game of spin the bottle but, in a world deserted by Cupid, fear and uncertainty pushed them apart. Now, twelve years later, they're getting a second chance with each other. A woman in Colby's life, however, doesn't like what she sees as competition for his affections, and she's willing to ruin both men if they don't bow to her demands. After all this time, are they willing to risk everything for a chance at happiness, or are they destined to lose each other again? 

Cupid won't give up easily though. He has one last game for them to play and, this time, it's winner take all.

Buy


Links of Interest

Harper Voyager is accepting unagented submissions from Oct. 1-14: "We’re seeking all kinds of adult and young adult speculative fiction for digital publication, but particularly epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural."

Other publishers who accept direct submissions? Gollancz "Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Dystopia and a little YA cross-over fiction." and DAW (Penguin) "We publish science fiction and fantasy novels. We do not want short stories, short story collections, novellas, poetry, or novels in other genres. The average length of the novels we publish varies but is almost never less than 80,000 words."

This looks interesting. Has anyone done this? Page99Test: "For decades, readers have used the Page 99 Test to judge the writing of a book before buying it. That's the idea here... but with a twist."

A Game of Kandrith: A Mash-up of Game of Thrones and Gate to Kandrith

If you read fantasy at all, I’m sure you’ve heard of Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin’s massively popular (and massive) series.  (BTW, I love Game of Thrones.  Both books and TV series are awesome.  Just sayin’.) 

Now, as it so happens, I have a fantasy novel out myself called Gate to Kandrith.  Do I write like George R.R. Martin?  No, I do not.  I write like myself. J  However, the similarity of the titles Game, Gate, made me wonder what it would sound like if you mashed the two together.

So, here goes:

A GAME OF KANDRITH

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer.  Almost time.

They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all. Sara’s stomach compressed into a hard knot as the tall, cadaverous high priest of Nir, the God of War, rode among them.  This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go into the banquet hall with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done.

Seeking reassurance, Sara touched the crossbow she’d secretly had mounted to the underside of the head table in the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran’s life.  Hidden by a blue tablecloth, outside a small holdfast in the hills, her fingers found the crossbow bolt she’d loaded, the cord she’d cranked back still taut, ready to fire at the man she thought was a wildling, his sword sworn to Mance Raydar, the King–beyond-the-Wall, as soon as she gave a hard pull on the lever.

Here’s the true beginning to Gate to Kandrith:

Almost time.

Sara’s stomach compressed into a hard knot as the tall, cadaverous high priest of Nir, the God of War, strode into the banquet hall.

Seeking reassurance, Sara touched the crossbow she’d secretly had mounted to the underside of the head table.  Hidden by a blue tablecloth, her fingers found the crossbow bolt she’d loaded, the cord she’d cranked back still taut, ready to fire as soon as she gave a hard pull on the lever.

Read more here:

Click here to purchase Gate to Kandrith. 

And, for those few souls who don’t have their own copy, here is the real opening of Game of Thrones:

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer.  They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement.  This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king’s justice done.  It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran’s life. 

The man had been taken outside a small holdfast in the hills.  Robb thought he was a wildling, his sword sworn to Mance Raydar, the King-Beyond-the-Wall.

Anyone else have a fun mash-up they've thought of?  Post it below.

Here Be News

Our new releases this week

Former ballerina Callie Carlisle is determined to rebuild her life with her new mechanical limbs. She's just learned to accept the enhancements that saved her from certain death when she experiences uncontrollable twinges and flashes of light that obscure her vision. Terrified of literally falling apart, she resists telling her husband. Jasper's already vowed to keep her out of harm, and she doesn't want to worry him further.

When the War Office's General Black arrives with an urgent mission--rescue the doctor who created Callie's enhancements--she has no choice but to accept. A rogue agent and former patient of the scientist believes the biomechanical modifications he received are killing him, and he's out for revenge.

Callie must reach the doctor before it's too late. But with an overprotective Jasper at her side, and her alarming symptoms getting more frequent, will she be able to hold herself together long enough to save the doctor...and herself?

Buy

Links of Interest

The Reluctant Amazon is on sale at Carina Press for $1.99 through the end of September.

50% off sale at Kobobooks with coupon code: GBSave50Sept (I'm not sure how long this one lasts and it only works one time per account).

Subterranean Press has a September ebook sale with most titles falling between .99 and 2.99. Lots of great fantasy and scifi books from authors like Cherie Priest, Kelley Armstrong and Elizabeth Bear.

Read about Angela Campbell's adventures at Dragon Con 2012.

Here Be Magic Group Announcements

Join authors Linda Mooney and Nicole Luiken Monday at 11pm eastern on blogtalkradio Other Worlds of Romance. Nicole will be reading an excerpt from her fantasy romance novel Gate to Kandrith and answering questions!

Here Be News

Our new releases this week

The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don't, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.

An immortal, Artair has trained countless warriors for more than four hundred years. He understands Rebecca's confusion at the new world she's been thrust into and worries she is too emotionally vulnerable, but that doesn't stop his growing feelings for the beautiful and fearless woman.

When an evil force threatens to destroy the Amazons, Rebecca must claim her full powers--but they come at a cost. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world?

Buy

Links of Interest

Some pics from DragonCon! Anyone attend this year? 

Study: We Benefit From Seeing Strong Women on TV. Warning: the comments section is craaaazy.

This was my experience with Triberr to a T: Dawn Of The WriterBots – or – Why Triberr Is Not A Good Idea For Writers

Thought this was interesting. From agent Suzie Townsend: The Truth About Dead Genres