Touch of Topaz by N.J. Walters Now Available!

Touch of Topaz is available today from Ellora's Cave. This is a stand alone book, but if you've been reading the Awakening Desires series, you will recognize the female lead--Topaz Jewel--from the book Jackson's Jewel.

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Security expert and ex-Army Ranger John Knight broke the cardinal rule of being a bodyguard—don’t get involved with the client. One torrid afternoon of hot sex with Topaz Jewel was all they had together before his job was done, and she’s been avoiding him ever since. He’s been hired to protect her once again, and this time, when the job is over, he’s won’t let her slip away.

Topaz is an independent businesswoman with no time in her life for a permanent relationship, especially not one with a man like John, who’s used to adrenaline rushes and danger. There’s no denying their sexual attraction, but she’s determined to play things smart.

John doesn’t take her home when the job is finished, but to an isolated cabin. It isn’t every day that a bodyguard kidnaps his client, but he knows they’re meant to be together—and he’ll use their sizzling passion to prove it.

Touch of Topaz coming on June 20th!

Just found out that my next Ellora's Cave book--Touch of Topaz--will be released on June 20th!

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Last summer, security expert and ex-Army Ranger John Knight broke the cardinal rule of being a bodyguard—don’t get involved with the client. One torrid afternoon of hot sex with Topaz Jewel was all they had together before his job was done, and she’s been avoiding him ever since. He’s been hired to protect her once again, and this time when the job is over, he’s not going to let her slip away.

Topaz Jewel is an independent businesswoman who has no time in her life for a permanent relationship, especially not one with a man like John—used to adrenaline rushes and danger. There is no denying the sexual attraction between them, but she’s determined to play things smart.

John doesn’t take her home when his job is finished, but to an isolated cabin. He wants time to prove they’re meant to be together, and Topaz is unable to resist the passion that sizzles between them. After all, it isn’t every day that a bodyguard kidnaps his client.

READ AN EXCERPT

Finding Chrissten now Available!

FINDING CHRISSTEN, the next book in the Legacy series, is now available from Samhain Publishing! This can be read as a stand alone book, but is part of the Legacy series.

Legacy, Book 5

For eighteen horrific months, Chrissten Lawton was at the mercy of a crazy doctor and his pureblood werewolf flunky. She was subjected to experiments, beaten, mated against her will…and fading fast.

Just as she reaches the breaking point, the Haven pack comes to her rescue. Although any strange male makes her nervous, one of her rescuers stays by her side night and day, and something within her responds to this wolf’s gentleness.

From the moment Hank Brewer picked up Chrissten’s unique scent, he’s been driven to help her overcome her trauma-fed fears. He may be a half-breed, but he never does anything halfway. As he dedicates every waking moment to her healing, their fragile link leads them toward something they both hesitate to name.

But the danger isn’t past. Chrissten’s mate is still on the loose and he won’t rest until she—and the rest of Haven’s females—are taken for the cruel enjoyment of his rogue pack. Even though Hank would give his life to save her, the biggest challenge lies ahead. Admitting their love to each other.

Quinn's Quest by N.J. Walters

Quinn's Quest is now available from Samhain Publishing! It was released yesterday, February 21st. It's the fourth book in the Legacy werewolf series.

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Legacy, Book 4

Kidnapped and held in a crazy doctor’s underground laboratory, Bethany Morris only manages to escape because Chrissten, one of her fellow abductees, creates an opportunity—by shifting into a werewolf.

Bethany’s desperate for help, but who’ll believe her story? The police? That’ll just buy her a one-way ticket to a padded room—because here’s the kicker: she’s discovered she’s a half-breed werewolf. Her only hope is to find Chrissten’s brother.

Quinn Lawton’s long, grinding search for his missing twin has turned up nothing…until Bethany rekindles his hope. Something else catches flame too—her heat cycle and a searing attraction branded with the word mate. Yet with so much blood on his hands, any future he might offer is already tainted beyond redemption.

Desperate for Quinn’s touch alone, Bethany has no choice but to take Quinn up on his offer to quell her terrifying need, no strings attached. And hope that as the search for Chrissten intensifies, the battle with their personal demons doesn’t destroy their razor-thin chance at forever.

Product Warnings: This book contains heartbreak and love found, a crazy scientist and his werewolf flunky and a tortured werewolf hero. Plus lots and lots of steamy hot sex!

Fabric of Fate by N.J. Walters

I'm thrilled to announce that Fabric of Fate is now available at Ellora's Cave Publishing! This is the 6th Tapestries novel, but it can be read as a stand alone book.




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Audrey Brennan is married to her job as an ad executive. Her work environment is fast-paced, competitive and cutthroat. When a panic attack brought on by stress and overwork lands her in the hospital, she’s forced to examine her life choices. Before she can make any decisions, a beautiful tapestry filled with magic whisks her away to a strange world, where men compete sexually to win a woman.

In Javara, women are in short supply and brothers must share. Abrah Dannon has given up hope that either he or his brother Heroc will ever have a wife. But a wild storm brings an unexpected gift to his doorstep—a woman.

For the next three days, both brothers will use all the sensual skill at their disposal to seduce and pleasure Audrey so she will want to stay in Javara with them. But there’s more at stake than simply hot sex. Their hearts are hers for the taking if she’s willing to risk the chance.

Love in Flames by N.J. Walters

Love in Flames, the third and final book in the Spells, Secrets and Seductions trilogy, is now available from Samhain Publishing! Each book can be read as a stand-alone read, but they all are connected through three good friends--Esther, Rhiannon and Maggie--and a candle magick spell they cast one night.

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A love to last a lifetime…or a dream turned to ash?

Spells, Secrets and Seductions, Book 3

When Esther goes along with her friend’s candle-magick spell, it’s not because she wants a lover. But a good old-fashioned one-night stand could be just what she needs to get her mind off Ryan Jameson. Having lost her father in the line of duty, she has no plans to lose her heart to a firefighter.

Not that Ryan doesn’t heat up her nightly dreams. Those erotic fantasies invariably end in deadly flames—a still-smoking echo of her ancestral namesake, whose wedding day ended in the fiery loss of her husband. A man whose dying breath was a promise to one day find his beloved.

All his life, Ryan’s dreams have taken him backward in time. As he matured, so did those dreams—erotic fantasies of a woman he loves but has yet to meet. Then he finds her in Burnt Cove. But she’s not only holding him at arm’s length, she refuses to acknowledge their time-proof bond.

On a magical Samhain night, undeniable desire is stronger than the walls around her heart. But time has one last test for them—one that will meld them into one, or drive them apart forever.


Product Warnings: This book contains a simple candle-magick spell, a hunky fireman, past lives, lost lovers and enough heat to start a bonfire.


Be sure to check out books 1 & 2--A Touch of Magick and Dreams of Seduction.

Lady's Minstrel by N.J. Walters

Lady's Minstrel is now available from Ellora's Cave!

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Alicia was barely a bride before her husband Reys left on Crusade, and she has waited six years for any word on his whereabouts. Without a strong lord, the castle is in a precarious position and it is only a matter of time until the king orders her to remarry or tries to take the keep by force.

When a mysterious hooded minstrel shows up at the castle, the man’s furtive actions lead Alicia to believe he is a spy. She confronts him—and discovers he is no stranger. Reys is scarred emotionally and physically by his years in a foreign prison. Now both are left wondering if there is a future for them or if the love they once shared is gone forever.

Read an Excerpt

Buy the Book

The dust has settled ...

... and I am back. Not back to 'normal', of course -- we're in a new house, a new town and I have new routines that haven't been developed yet. But I am back to having regular Internet access and I'm slowly getting into a schedule.

I work at home now (telecommute to my job back in Minnesota and California), so that's been an adjustment. I truly love working out of a home office. Of course, I enjoy my job, so that helps a lot, too.

My other life as a fiction writer has been slowing down. I used to try to write at least an hour or two a day, but now I'm happy if I get an hour a day of writing-related activity, whether it be writing or promo or whatever. It seems like there is always something else that requires my attention -- new house stuff, or new town stuff, or new friend stuff.

I think in the winter I'll get more of a writing routine again. That's when I get all my best writing done anyway, so I'm starting to look forward to it. Let's face it, I had 8 books release this year: 4 new books and 4 re-releases. All before June. So I'm fatigued, I guess. I'm going to spread out my releases next year. One in January, one in May, one in October.

I think that'll keep me busy enough!

The Gift of Shayla by N.J. Walters

I’m thrilled to announce that The Gift of Shayla is now available from Carina Press.


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Adam Lancaster has been in love with Rob McKeith—and attracted to Rob’s wife, Shayla—for years, but he fears their friendship would be over if they knew the truth. So he’s thrilled when his secret fantasy becomes reality and the couple offers him a very special gift: a sensual Christmas Eve in their bedroom…

New Book Available Today!

I'm thrilled to announce that MacNamara's Lady is available today from Ellora's Cave Publishing.

This is a stand alone read but anyone who has followed the Awakening Desires series will recognize both Missy and T.S.

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Sixth in the Awakening Desires series.

Missy Sinclair knows what she wants out of life—a secure job, a fine home, financial independence and, eventually, a man to share it with. That man will have class and style, share her goals and tastes and like fine wine and classical music. Why then is she so attracted to T.S. MacNamara, who is the complete opposite?

T.S. makes no apologies to anyone for his life. He’s worked hard to make his general contracting business a success. He likes beer and football. He’s not looking for anything permanent. Problem is, he can’t stop wanting Missy.

When he rescues Missy from a violent mugging, the seething physical attraction that’s been shimmering between them for months finally explodes. Classy and rough, dark and light, educated and blue-collar. Opposites attract—at least in the bedroom. But they both have secrets that won’t stay buried…secrets that threaten to drive them apart unless they’re both willing to face their pasts.

Legacy Found available from Samhain Publishing!

Today is the day! Legacy Found, my 50th book, is now available from Samhain Publishing. I can't tell you how exciting I am about the release of this book. It represents a huge milestone in my life and in my writing career. Plus, I love this story!



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She outran her memories. She couldn’t outrun her past.

Legacy, Book 3

Shelley is a killer. Never mind that her “crime” freed her from thirty-five years of brutal captivity—the bounty hunters on her trail don’t care. For the first time in her life, she is on her own, free to put the past behind her and explore what it means to be a werewolf.

James Riley is dead tired. After a week untangling legal and financial affairs his brother’s death left behind, he’s feeling every ounce of his new responsibility as Wolf Creek pack alpha. He’s not too tired, though, to notice his sexy waitress is a werewolf—one that strangely doesn’t recognize him as one of her own kind.

After his questions rattle her composure and get her fired, Shelley figures the least James can do is drive her to the next town, but he wants more. He wants to take her home. And despite her fear, something inside her is irresistibly drawn to his commanding yet gentle presence.

James is willing to give Shelley all the time she needs to embrace her heritage, her sexuality, and eventually his love. But her past will not be denied...and her secrets demand a price paid in blood.

BUY THE BOOK

Read an Excerpt

How nice to be back

I took a month off (in a way) and just spent the time writing and doing a little bit of promo for my book(s) that released.

I also redesigned my web site, making it a web slog--web site blog combination (see it here). I hadn't planned on redesigning my web site, but hosting issue meant I lost my old site, so I had to do something, and that seemed like a good idea.

I also started a regular gig blogging at two or three different sites. I blog at Savvy Authors and at the How To Write Shop as well as From the Heart Romance Writers. Each of them, once a month. That's always fun.


And, of course, there are the books to talk about. It seems like there are always books to talk about. Leap of Faith is the 3rd book in my New Human series (and it got a 4-star RT review, which thrilled me)!

Lie to Me is the 4th book in my RS series that started with Brilliant Disguise, a few years back.

And I have 3 more books (at least 3) releasing this year: they start in April then there's one in May, and one in June. Plus, if I get organized, I'll have 3 more old books (whose rights reverted to me) releasing in digital and print on Kindle, etc.

So much for time off!

A Touch of Magick Now Available!

A Touch of Magick, by N.J. Walters, is now available from Samhain Publishing! I'm so excited about this first book in the Spells, Secrets and Seductions trilogy.

BLURB: A TOUCH OF MAGICK

If you go casting love spells, be careful what you wish for.

Spells, Secrets and Seductions, Book 1

Rhiannon Sparks admits she’s not a very good witch—she can’t even light a candle without a match—but she keeps trying. At least her talent for business has made her magick shop a huge success. Now if only there was even the faintest flicker in her nonexistent love life.

During a night of eating and drinking, she and her girlfriends cast a candle-magick spell for hot sex. All in good fun, of course. Except Rhiannon accidentally mixes up the words. Instead of a lover, she asks for true love.

Deputy Ryland Stone’s past keeps him firmly rooted in reality. Then he meets Rhiannon and sparks literally fly. One date leads to another, and then they’re practically setting the bedroom on fire…until she reveals the deal breaker.

Though love and magick have found Rhiannon at last, getting a handle on her newly unleashed power is the least of her problems. Unless Ryland accepts that magick exists, he will never accept her for who and what she is.

Product Warnings:
This book contains a simple candle-magick spell, which you use at your own risk, a disastrous date, phone sex, and enough sizzle to practically set the sheets on fire.

Buy the Book

Entwined Hearts Available Today!

Entwined Hearts by Nicole Austin, N.J. Walters, T.J. Michaels and Ciana Stone is available today from Ellora's Cave! This is the fifth and final book in the Hearts of Fire series.

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Each of the first four books can be read as a stand-alone book. Entwined Hearts is the culmination of the four couples adventure as they face evil one final time--this time together!

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Book five in the Hearts of Fire series.

The Chosen. Eight strong individuals gifted with unique paranormal abilities and tasked with protecting shards of an ancient crystal—the Heart of Fire.

Brought together by destiny, each couple has managed to bond and fuse their crystal pairs through a hot and intense sexual joining. The four couples have overcome great personal challenges and remained apart, preparing to face an ancient evil once again.

Now the time has come for the eight Chosen to join forces and defeat Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, once and for all. Their plan is clear yet complex—activate a hidden energy network, gather on spiritual lands and fight an epic battle between good and evil, which will impact mankind for eternity.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. And Asmodeus has some tricks the Chosen never anticipated.

Read an Excerpt

BUY THE BOOK

Lassoing Lara Now Available!

Lassoing Lara is now available from Ellora's Cave Publishing. This is the second Quickie about one of the Courage brothers from Texas. The first one is Tempting Tori. The third and final one is in the works.

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Brody Courage wakes up after a night out with his brothers and finds himself naked and tied to his bed with no idea how he’s gotten there. Just when he thinks he’s going to have to rip apart the headboard to get himself loose, he hears someone entering the house. He thinks it’s one of his brothers and calls out for help, but it’s Lara Jacobs, his childhood friend and neighbor.

He’s humiliated to have to ask her help and swears her to secrecy. She’s quiet and pale and leaves after releasing only one arm. When Brody finally gets himself out of bed, he finds a pair of red lace panties stuck near the footboard—a perfect match for the red bra he’d glimpsed Lara wearing when she bent over to untie him. It’s then his memories of the night before start to flood back. He spent one hell of a night in bed with his neighbor.

Now he wants another. One he can remember. But there’s the little problem of Lara avoiding him…

CONTEST: PARKER'S PRICE by Ann Bruce

At my high school, we used to raise money by holding slave auctions. Students, girls and guys, would volunteer themselves as slaves for a day and be sold to the highest bidder. A lot of the girls volunteered to be slaves knowing their boyfriends would be obligated to buy them. Me, I preferred to do the buying because there was too many people in high school who would've loved to humiliate me as payback for my smart mouth.

One year, at the end of an auction, someone ran up onto the makeshift stage and made a bid for me. I glared at him but he didn't take back the bid. I remember thinking that he probably wanted me to do his homework or some such nonsense because while he was--and still is--very, very cute, he wasn't gifted academically. When I said, "No way in hell," but in much nicer terms because teachers were present, he upped the bid. And I, rather ungraciously, gave in.

Turns out, he only wanted to see me take my hair down--and walk two steps behind him all day.

Many years later, I took that high school incident, wildly embellished it because that's what writers do, and turned it into Parker's Price, a contemporary romance that has "all the alpha-male goodness of a category romance combined with all the hands-on, sizzling attraction heat of an erotic romance" (Night Owl Reviews).

She was sexy, smart...and not for sale. But that won't stop him.

When Parker Quinn is forced to accept an outrageously high bid at a charity auction, she has no choice but to go out with the last man on earth she wants to spend time with. Dean Maxwell may be one of Manhattan's most eligible bachelors, but he's also the man who had an affair with her sister and abandoned her when she became pregnant with his child.

Dean doesn't know why Parker hates him so much, but he's determined to show Parker the type of man he really is. Whisking her away to a private island in the Bahamas for a sensual, sun-drenched week together, Dean leaves Parker's preconceptions shattered and her desires inflamed.

But even as their passion reaches irresistible heights, Parker has a decision to make. Can she allow herself to fall for the seductive magnate, or will family secrets and a dangerous ex tear them apart?

To celebrate my first contemporary romance, I'll give away an e-copy of Parker's Price to one commenter here.

If that's not enough, I'm also giving away three (3) $50 Amazon gift certificates on my blog, The Not-so-deep Thoughts.

Free time, hmm. What is it good for?

I had some free time today.

This is very unusual for me. I work full-time outside the home. I write (I've got 6 books out this year). I'm working on edits for 3 books for next year, my WIP is a 6-book series, and I've got 2 other books waiting for me to write them.

Through an odd quirk of fate, I had a few hours of free time. I thought about how to spend it -- do some gardening? Nope, still too soggy from a week of rain. Pack for my trip tomorrow? Mostly done. Just a few last things to do. Read a book?

That stopped me in my tracks. I don't read any more. Since I started publishing, I very, very seldom read a fiction book. I do read non-fiction now and again, and I read the occasional book from friends who are publishing and I read (now and again) someone that I'm curious about, but I seldom read start-to-finish, "I want to read this" any more.

I've lost the reading bug.

Let me hasten to say I don't miss it -- reading (like needlework and gardening and wycinanki) are activities I do to relax me and have fun at the same time. I never classed reading as 'entertainment' (like I would a movie). It was a hobby, a "thing" I did. Now I don't do it any more, just like I don't do much needlework or wycinanki (aging eyes make those hobbies a chore now, not fun). And I have to admit, I don't miss reading fiction. I was skimming most of the books I read anyway except for a few from authors I really cherished (and they are few, believe me).

Nope, I'm going to have to find something else to fill those rare few hours of 'free' time. I could do the obligatory piece of promo: NEW BOOK OUT. FUN READ. FUNNY HEROINE. CLASSY HERO. All about a college professor who writes erotic romances and gets outed just when she's up for a promotion. There's a murder (at the State Fair, no less), a stalker, a boorish fellow professor, and a fan who is in love with the heroine's erotic alter ego...

Or I can take a nap, or lay on the couch and watch a bit of TV, or ...

Get caught up on my blog reading!

Seeking Charlotte by N.J. Walters

Seeking Charlotte is now available from Ellora's Cave. This paranormal/erotic romance can be read as a stand-alone book, but is also part of the Hearts of Fire series.

If you love a hot bounty hunter, powerful crystals, demons and destiny, then this is the book for you!

Books 1 & 2, Memory's Eye and Shards of Ecstasy, are also available from Ellora's Cave.

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Creed Lawson knows Charlotte Jones is trouble from the moment she presses her lithe body to his and kisses him. But that doesn’t stop him from taking what she’s offering—a night of hot, uninhibited sex. But Creed hasn’t bargained for the feelings she stirs in him, nor the talk of crystals, demons and destiny.

Charlotte is an empath. The ability to feel people’s emotions has made it difficult for her to lead a normal life. At eighteen she received one of the eight pieces of the Heart of Fire, a crystal that contains untold power. She was told there was a male who held the other half of her stone, as well as a demon that coveted all the pieces of the crystal.

The demon has finally found her. But she knows that Creed is the special man she’s been waiting for. Charlotte is facing the fight of her life. Will Creed fight beside her or walk away?

Read an excerpt

Embroidered Fantasies--A New Book from N.J. Walters

Embroidered Fantasies is now available from Ellora's Cave! I'm very excited about this book, if you couldn't already tell, and I'm looking forward to seeing what readers thing of it. This is the fifth book in the time-travel/ménage a trois Tapestries series. While it is a part of the series, it can be read as a stand-alone novel.

This is a story of redemption, of changing your life and making it something different, something better in spite of the odds. Both the heros and heroine have emotional scars from their pasts, but they're trying to move past those and make a better life.

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Roxanne Sykes is a divorced waitress, trying to carve a life for herself after escaping an abusive marriage. Her quiet life is shattered when her ex-husband finds her. Before he can harm her, a magical tapestry whisks her away. She finds herself in a strange land, in the presence of a man straight from her erotic dreams.

Radnor Craddock’s life has been one of violence and brutality. He never expected the tapestry of Javara lore would bring a woman to him and his brother, Sednar. They only have three days to try to convince Roxanne to stay, and both use their considerable seductive skills to do so.

The erotic encounters are like nothing Roxanne has ever experienced. Yet she cannot trust her judgment. After all, she married a man who abused her. Then there are the dark hints and innuendoes of the Craddocks’ violent pasts. But when her ex-husband threatens her, Radnor and Sednar risk their lives to save her. Will she leave them? Or stay and claim these wounded warriors as her own?

Read an Excerpt

Purchase book

Have Mercy is Available today!

HAVE MERCY is available today from Ellora's Cave Publishing. This is book 2 in the futuristic/erotic Project Alpha trilogy.

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Second in the Project Alpha series.

Earth 2133

Logan is an Alpha—a genetically enhanced assassin—who has escaped from the lab that created him. He is now outside the Gate, a high-tech shield that protects the enclosed city from the contaminated and lawless land outside. Shot while evading security forces sent to eliminate him, Logan’s only goal is survival.

Mercy Dockins is a healer. Her world is shaken to its foundations when a stranger is brought to her near death. As she heals him, her body and soul respond to him, overwhelming her with sexual desire. With little more than a look and a touch, passion flares out of control, consuming them both.

But this stranger is dangerous to not only her well-being, but also to the safety of everyone she loves. And he has brought the security forces right to her door.