Shout out for a Diva

Romance Divas own Eden Bradley has a new book available! Check it out at Samhain!

BLOODSONG, Book Two Eden Bradley's Midnight Playground series, is out today from Samhain Publishing! You can find it at MBaM, Amazon, and other retail outlets!

An ancient vampire, an ancient grief…a love that makes his blood sing…

Midnight Playground, Book 2

London, 2069

Aleron is ancient, powerful, immortal…a vampire who idles away his time playing at his favorite haunt, Midnight Playground. His favorite toys: beautiful young men. His game: BDSM, experiencing through the minds of his partners the sensations he can no longer quite feel himself.

The one thing he has vowed to avoid at all costs is love, especially for a woman. In a hundred years he has never been tempted to break that vow—until a lovely mortal woman enters his dungeon to watch him play. And his blood hums the ancient song of long-forgotten desire.

Raised in the Indian slums of London, exotic dancer Meeraj enters Midnight Playground a woman with nothing left to lose, numb to all but the most extreme forms of stimulation. As she watches Aleron’s blood play, she knows only his razor-sharp skills will satisfy. And she catches an odd mental glimpse of the grief that shadows his heart.
From their first touch, they are caught up in a whirlwind of exquisite agony that releases their emotions from the weight of the past. Exposing them to risks they’ve both fought to avoid. Love…and loss.
***

Visit the Smutketeers blog for contests running all week long to celebrate the release of BLOODSONG!

Esta bien!

I've been interviewed at Soy Cazadora de Sombras y Libros. Come check it out - don't worry, you don't need to read Spanish. The interview appears in English also.

http://soycazadoradesombrasylibros.blogspot.com/2010/09/entrevista-en-exclusiva-jennifer.html

Tales from a blackout

Oh, the drama.

Last night our power went out during a freak lightning storm. DH and I were at Back to School Night when the kids called us. They were home with my mother, sitting in the dark while the dog peed himself because storms make him lose both his mind and his bladder.

We missed out the school refreshments [which were to be the high point of my evening] and hurried home to dig up flashlights and light candles. Once we were all safely assembled around the dining room table watching the tiny flame of one of my jar candles, my husband anounced "This is why I could never handle an apocalypse."

Hmm. Yeah. Because in an apocalypse the biggest thing you'd have to worry about is stepping in a puddle of dog pee in the dark.

My son fretted because our alarm system was off line. I told him "You've survived the last 12 years of your life with no alarm system. You can manage for one night."

"But someone could just walk right in," he replied.

"Um...we DO have locks on the doors and a...well, a dog, for what he's worth. I'm sure we'll be fine."

Then the carbon monoxide detector in his room started beeping - not because it detected anything but because the battery was low. Without thinking I suggested we unplug it, and DH asked, "What would that accomplish?"

DS pipes up with: "My death."

So in addition to burglars, he's worried about carbon monoxide poisoning while he sits in the dark.

I prayed the lights would come on soon because things were just getting out of hand. Of course leave it my daughter to save the day. She brought out a pack of cards and offered to teach me Egyptian Ratscrew.

As much as I was not in the frame of mind to screw any rats I agreed and before long I was slapping sandwiches left and right [this is still a basically PG rated blog, so don't worry.]

After she beat me at Ratscrew, I decided to go to bed. Darkness and boredom tend to make me sleepy. I'd just closed my eyes when the lights came back on and order was restored to the universe.

I'm so glad it wasn't an apocalypse. I can't imagine the drama that would have caused.

Lost and Found

I've blogged about the art of losing things before. I'm a maestro [sp?] when it comes to misplacing things and the things I lose have a tendency to resurface years later in a place that I could have sworn I looked.

Today I took my mother to the doctor and there was a women in the waiting room who had lost her keys. Clearly they had to be somewhere in or around the office since she'd managed to get there, but there was no trace of them in her purse, the exam room or the waiting room. I imagine she finally found them out in the parking lot because she did evantually go outside and she didn't come back. All the while she, and the rest of us, where searching for her keys, she kept saying, "They'll turn up." And of course, she was right because they HAD to be somewhere in the vicinity.

I wish I could have that attitude when I've lost something. It'll turn up. It usually does. Sometimes decades later, but it does. I'm not that calm about the whole thing. Usually I panic when I lose something, not so much because whatever the item is can't be replaced [even a set of keys can be remade, as much os a nuisance as it might be]. It's more the idea that I should have put the object in the right place, I shoudl have kept better track of it. I'm more angry at myself than at the universe.

Today, it's funny, I learned a new feeling that goes along with losing something and finding it again. I was in a mild panic because I trekked all the way to the bank to retrieve a document from my safety deposit box, and the document wasn't there. My first instinct was to tell myself, therefore it must be at home. It was not in the first place I looked when I got home, but it was in the second place I looked, so naturally I was relieved I hadn't lost it, but instead of being able to leave it at that, the relief was immediately replaced by a nagging fear that I will now misplace the document again.

Silly, I know. I know where it is. It's a logical, safe place that I should be able to recall if I need it, but still I had to check the spot several times and worry that maybe I should put the document somewhere else.  Finding it just wasn't enough, now I have to go overboard to make sure I don't misplace it again.

Maybe it's me. Maybe it's just that losing something is so traumatic I have to try to protect myself from having to deal with it. Maybe I'm just neurotic, but it's not enough to say, "It'll turn up." I need to know it will always be where I need it to be.

How do you feel when you misplace something? Do you get angry at yourself, angry at the universe or do you just gamely keep looking and tell yourself you'll find it eventually because ultimately it's around somewhere?

So many stories

As thrilled as I am to be working on more ideas for the Icarus Reborn series, I'm still nagged by all the other sequels and series and stories I've wanted to write over the years.

I keep a running list of ideas, many of which have been on the list for years and just haven't gotten to them. Granted some of the ideas were a bit lame, or thinly plotted, some are no more than a sentence or two defining a very vague plot, others are full five-page synopses of stories that are completely written in my head and just need to be spilled out onto paper.

If I had a team of assistants who could transcribe ideas directly from my brain I might have a chance of seeing all these stories finished one day, but I'm sure then they'd only be replaced with yet more ideas.

How many ideas do you have in reserve? Does it frustrate you not to have them all on paper at once?

And yet more awesome

I won the lottery...with book covers this year. [Had you worried for a minute there, didn't I?]

2010 has been THE most amazing year for book covers, and they justs keep getting better!

Here's the cover for Icarus Unbound [blurb can be found two posts down] the second book in the Icarus Reborn series, coming soon from Liquid Silver Books!

My awesome cover artist, April Martinez really captured my characters here. This is exactly what I pictured Jaran, the hero, to look like and Lara is even more perfect than the image I had in my head - which admittedly was a bit fuzzy. I always try to have a clear idea of what my characters look like, but on occasion they remain a little vague. The cover images have done the trick for me here, though, and made my characters even more real for me.

Do you always know exactly what your characters look like? Or have you ever written a character who remains a bit shadowy even if you've included a basic description of them in your book?

Teh awesome in teh house

I've been meaning to post this for a while - just because it's so cool.

We were very fortunate when we moved to our new house that we have a great basement space, part of which DH turned into the family game room. There was a big blank wall on one side which was unpainted, so DH decided to paint it black {no, he's not a Stones fan} and then his good friend, Damian Charpentier, offered to paint a gorgeous background to go with the 6-foot-tall Fathead sticker of Green Lantern DH bought as his centerpiece.

Here's how the whole thing turned out.

Damian painted the planet, the stars [with some help from his wife, Evan] the galaxy, the TARDIS and the space station.

If you'd like to see more of Damian's work, check out his website at http://www.warpaintminiatures.com/.

Coming Soon!

In response to reader inquiries :) here's a preview of my upcoming releases:


OCTOBER 1, 2010

The Concubine's Tale - Samhain Publishing
by Jennifer Colgan

When an ancient papyrus scroll comes up for auction, gallery curator Cait Lang draws the distasteful task of notifying her boss’s favorite client, Grant Pierson. The rare art and antiquities collector’s arrogance grates on her nerves, but most of all she resents her own weakness for his athletic body and deep brown eyes.


It’s the hieroglyphic scroll that draws Grant to a private, after-hours showing at the gallery. But the lovely Cait’s narration of the erotically charged story captures his interest. Determined to hear the rest of the tale—and spend more time in Cait’s company—he convinces her to join him for dinner.

The intricate, sensual tale transports Cait and Grant’s imaginations into the past. And the depictions of sexually charged temple rituals inspires them to explore their own hidden passions—in Cait's apartment.

Even as Grant succumbs to Cait’s charms, the drive to own the scroll hums in the back of his mind. If he isn’t careful, though, he’ll not only lose the chance to hear the end of the story, he’ll lose something more precious. The missing piece of his own life—Cait.

 
2011
 

Uncross my Heart - Samhain Publishing
by Jennifer Colgan
 
Julian Devlin isn’t a vampire. That’s his problem. He was respected, powerful and of course, immortal, until his former ally, Enoch Lambert, cast a spell that turned Julian human again.


Zoe Boyd is the quirky, fashion unconscious owner of Dollars and Sense, a consignment shop that handles wedding dresses, baby clothes and vintage jewelry. Her life is about finding creative ways to make old things look antique, not about helping a vampire get his fangs back. Then she meets Julian and her world turns upside down.

Convinced that Julian has lost his marbles, rather than his fangs, she agrees to help him lay low while he tries to find a trustworthy magic user who can reverse the spell and help him take revenge on Lambert. When the moment comes, however, Julian finds himself with a dilemma. His human self has fallen in love with Zoe and he knows that once he transforms back, she’ll mean nothing to him. Will he give up his undead life for her, or turn his back on the only woman who makes him long for mortality?

TBD

Icarus Unbound - Liquid Silver Books
by Bernadette Gardner
 
The only full-blooded human member of the winged population on Icarus, Laramee Faulkner has longed to be accepted as one of the tribe. Since childhood, Jaran, the adopted son of the Icarian leaders, has never let Lara forget that she’s different. As a boy, he teased and taunted her. As a man, he has the power to give her everything she’s always desired, or tear her away from the world she loves.


When Jaran chooses Lara as his mate, she’s certain his plan is only to humiliate her, but his passionate kisses and sensual commands ignite her long-suppressed desires. Will she be able to resist the erotic temptation and make him pay for all the years he tormented her, or will she give in and claim her birthright as a member of the Icarian race even if it means giving herself to the man who made her feel like an outcast?

It's not the spider itself

...that freaks me out {okay, yes, it sort of is} as much as the question of how the damn thing got into the bathtub in the first place.

It was about 10:00 PM last night when I meandered in the bathroom and saw this. Needless to say chaos ensued. I kid you not, this was the biggest spider I have ever seen. It was fortunate he was somewhat contained since DH was sound asleep and would have been a bear if I'd woken him up.

I dispatched the beast forthwith, but the nagging question since then has been - where did it come from and where had it been hiding before it showed up in the tub?

A Labor of Love

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the day. I was busy pretty much all day, and my work isn't over yet.

As promised, today I have an excerpt from my newest release, Icarus Rising, available TODAY at Liquid Silver Books!

WARNING! The following is an R-rated excerpt.

Every nerve in Caleb’s body burned. White hot flames seemed to emanate from the point just below the nape of his neck where the symbion had plunged its siphon into his spinal column.
This was supposed to be safe and painless! His panicked brain supplied only snippets of his conversations with Raymond Danson and Arilani.

The average Icarian is ten years of age when they are joined to a symbion. The process takes only a few moments and appears to be completely painless. Danson’s words echoed, mixing with Arilani’s assurances.

The siphon pierces the sheath around the spinal cord of the host and creates an instant connection. Within minutes, the young Icarian gains control over the symbion wings and launches into the sky for his or her virgin flight.

Through a blurry haze of shock, Caleb registered the feel of hands on his body, turning him over, wiping sand from his eyes and his lips.

Someone shouted his name. Danson. Bastard. Caleb wanted to wrap his hands around the man’s throat and choked the life out of him for this. Fortunately for the geneticist, Caleb couldn’t so much as control his own breathing at this moment or he would be homicidal from the pain.

“Don’t move him. Let his body and mind adjust.” Jidar’s deep voice cut across the jumble of worried exclamations that filled the air. Was that Zara crying? Caleb tried to look for her, but all he managed to do was flop his head to one side and spit salty liquid into the sand. Blood. Had he bitten his tongue? Or were his insides dissolving from the fire racing through his veins?
Vaguely, he registered movement on each side of him. The violet-tinged gray wings of his symbion flapped ineffectively, throwing wet sand in all directions. A naked Icarian female held one of the quivering limbs in her hand and administered an injection.Caleb felt it. The slim needle pierced flesh and muscle that had only moments ago belonged to a separate being. He screamed again as ice flowed from the injection site, numbing the wing and that entire side of his body.

Someone sat on his legs, and he couldn’t imagine why until he began to convulse. His body heaved against the half-dozen people now holding him down. Each movement stripped his nerves raw as though he were being flayed alive.

The sand under him felt like a million diamond-hard blades. The salt breeze stung his eyes like acid.

A gentle caress on his thigh brought him instantly aware in a different way. A surge of desire spread through him, tightening his abdominals as female hands slid over his skin. Pain became pleasure so intense he moaned and shifted his hips toward the sensual touch. He smelled her arousal, a willing mate so close he could see her, yet his eyes refused to focus. His brain told him he needed her to complete him. He needed her body wrapped around his, eager to receive the seed that drew up inside his cock, and pulsed to a shuddering orgasm... Hot semen spewed over his belly and his legs and in his ear Zara’s sweet voice whispered to him.

The violent release left him temporarily weak and light headed. His body ached all over from the exertion brought about by no more than her fingers brushing the taut muscles of his leg.
Oh God. Oh God. He’d just come in front of every single member of the research team.
“We’ll take care of you. You’ll be all right. We’ll make it stop.”

He wanted her. He wanted her so badly that he would die without her. “I nee ... I need...”
“Give him air. Let him talk. Caleb, what are you feeling?” Danson’s voice grated like screeching turbines in his ears. He snarled a response, and some of the hands clamped over his limbs loosened their grip.

Something in the back of his mind told him it was time to fly. Being held against the ground was unconscionable torture. He had to get away. A burst of raw power erupted from somewhere in his ravaged brain, clearing the numbness from the left side of this body. For an instant he was invincible.

He tore at the hands clutching him and heaved himself up on shaky legs. Figures crowded around him, Icarian and human. They blurred together in one homogeneous threat.

Only Jidar was smiling.

Caleb spread his wings. His wings. They’d always been his, and they always would be. He crouched, and before anyone could make a move to stop him he launched himself into the air. The alien part of his brain rejoiced. “We are free!”

“We are finally free,” he agreed. “And they will never control us again.”

He circled the beach once, swooping low just to hear the startled exclamations of those assembled. Some scattered, others ducked. The Icarians only stared, expressions of triumph and curiosity blending on their faces. At the edge of the crowd, though, one figure stood alone.
Tears glistened on Zara’s face as she pressed two fingers to her lips and raised them into the wind.

He wanted her. And when he returned, he would finally have her, but for now he had to go as far away as he could or risk taking revenge on the people who had tried to kill him.

To find out more about Icarus Rising, visit Liquid Silver Books today!

Are you ready to fly?

My first title from Liquid Silver Books will be available on Monday, September 6th. Here's the stunning cover art by April Martinez. And here's the blurb:

To save a dying race, sociologist Caleb Faulkner will forfeit his humanity. He has volunteered to join with an alien creature in order to take part in an ambitious breeding program designed to spare the dominant race on the planet Icarus from certain extinction.

Dr. Zara Abbott has spent months helping to prepare Caleb for the joining, hiding her feelings for the man who will become the mate to an Icarian female as soon as he receives his symbiotic wings. When the joining proves disastrous, Caleb and his alien symbion can think of only one thing, mating with Zara. After so long preparing to sacrifice Caleb to the Icarians, will she be able to refuse the man who makes her heart take flight?

Stay tuned for an excerpt and purchasing info!

SEPTEMBER!

Sorry to yell, but I'm soooo happy August is over. I know - I must be nuts. Summer is awesome...yada yada. But really, August just seems to be hot and long and dry and listless. I never enjoyed August and I'm always thrilled when it's over and September begins. Don't get me wrong, today is just as hot and dry as yesterday was, but there's just something more energetic about September. I get energized and I want to get things done.

Anyone else out there love September? Give me a shout and we'll do the September Happy Dance together.