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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Guest Post and Spotlight on Author Adriana Kraft

Today, I'm excited to welcome fellow eXtasy Books author Adriana Kraft.
I asked Adriana to stop by and tell us more about Aria Returns which releases today
 from eXtasy Books!

The blog is all yours, Adriana! Welcome!

~~~~~


Have you ever written a character who seeps into your soul and just won’t let you go? That’s what happened with Aria, the love goddess my husband and I created (or discovered, perhaps) nearly a decade ago. She’s so real to us we keep expecting her to pop in the door, or materialize from the northern lights, the way she did in her first book.

What’s an author to do? We did the only thing we could think of – we let her tell us her next adventure, we put it on the page, and it’s coming to you this Wednesday, May 1, from Extasy Books. We think you’ll like it.

Aria’s original adventure, Colors of the Night, was the first erotic romance my husband and I wrote together, when we were just starting our fiction career.

A love triangle with a dazzling immortal goddess – will it ignite or extinguish the dying embers of a contemporary couple’s love?

It was released to rave reviews in 2006 – and promptly went off the market when that e-pub tanked. We were thrilled to have Extasy re-release it in 2009 when our rights were returned to us. But Aria wasn’t finished with us – she’s persistent that way, apparently. This time, instead of rekindling fires between partners in an existing relationship, she’s called on for some very tender healing:

Can the immortal love goddess Aria heal not one but two traumatized hearts—and if she succeeds, will those hearts open to each other?

Aria Returns

BLURB

Traumatized by the boyfriend from hell, Amber Heath makes a desperate plea for help—and is shocked when the immortal love goddess Aria materializes and whisks her away to a nineteenth century Carnivale.

Jeff Conway is still reeling from his fiancé’s betrayal and not about to risk his heart. But he’s more than willing to play with the spunky sprite Aria brings to meet him at Carnivale.

Sometimes watching, sometimes joining in, and always coaching, Aria launches Amber and Jeff on an erotic journey back to health and playfulness. But even the love goddess can’t force them to love each other.

EXCERPT:

"You've seen me play softball?” Amber asked.

Aria laughed. "Of course. I pride myself on doing my homework before taking on a situation."

"A situation. I'm not sure I like being a situation."

Aria shrugged. "Maybe we can come up with a better word. I sometimes do struggle with your language and concepts. But you called specifically for my help. Usually, I have to surprise people. I've selected them before they know it. Because of your aunt, you selected me before I knew you."

"But you could've rejected me—my situation."

"I could've," Aria acknowledged, "but I didn't."

"Why?"

"Because you believed and you cried. Tears tell me a lot. You were crying not only for yourself—for your past—but most importantly for your future. I can help you prepare for your future—if you trust me enough."

Amber frowned. "You don't know the future?"

Aria shook her head.

Sighing, Amber said, "No guarantees."

"No guarantees." Aria folded her hands in her lap. "I can help you make some discoveries about yourself, about life, but I cannot make you change, or make you love, or make anyone else love you."

"Then why should I trust you?"

Aria shrugged. "You've been battered, worse than you even know. You have a vague awareness of that, but you haven't accepted it, not really. I believe for you to understand yourself, you must flee this place and your boyfriend."

"You want me to go away with you, like Jamie and Ryan did."

"I'm offering you that opportunity. I believe a change of environment and time may prove very healthy for you, but only you can choose."

"What about Frank?"

"For now, he won't even know you're gone. Let me explain, little one. If you agree to travel with me to another time and reality, there is no comparable time lapse in this time." She arched an eyebrow. "Besides, I thought your boyfriend wasn't coming back tonight. He's saving you for breakfast."

"Fat chance of that happening." Amber fought the bile rising in her throat at the thought of where Frank might be at the moment. She sat up straighter. "How long do I have to decide?"

Aria shrugged a shoulder. "Until your boyfriend gets back, I suppose."

"You don't call him by name."

"He doesn't deserve to be called by name."

Amber winced.

"All the decisions are yours, Amber. But if you ask me a question, I will not lie to you." Aria squeezed her knee. "And if you're wondering if I'm here to help you and your boyfriend like I did with your aunt and uncle, let me be very clear. I am not. I only help people who want to change, or at least have some hope of changing. Your current boyfriend is beyond hope. If you want me to help you fix things up with him, I will leave right now. I'd never consider letting vermin like that touch me."

"I see." Dejected, Amber studied her toes. "But is that the same as making a decision for me—rejecting Frank?"

Aria shook her head. "If you decide you want to travel with me for awhile to experience new possibilities, and when we're finished you still want to come back to this man, then that is your choice. I won't and can't stop that from happening."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Our tag line is Erotic Romance for Two, Three, or More. Readers may not know there are two of us writing together under the pen name “Adriana Kraft” —my husband and myself. Each of us has always wanted to be a writer. Our careers took other turns first, and we met (well, and fell in love and married) in academia, where we’ve both done lots of writing, together and separately. But fiction is lots more fun, and we love living out our life-long dream, now our full-time pursuit.

Aria Returns is our twenty-first erotic romance book published at Extasy Books. Our pairings include straight m/f, lesbian, bisexual, ménage and polyamory, with both contemporary and paranormal settings. We hope you'll stop by our Website, browse our Blog, and sample a taste of our world, “filled with warmth, blazing hot sex, well-developed characters…not for the faint of heart” (Romance Junkies Reviews).








2 comments:

Adriana said...

Thanks so much for having me today, Destiny!

Readers can enter for a free download of Aria Returns today at my blog, where there's another excerpt!

http://adrianakraft.com/?p=4086

Destiny Blaine said...

Thanks so much for being my guest today, Adriana. Congratulations on your new release!

Destiny

Welcome to Destiny Blaine's Online Journal

Welcome to Destiny Blaine's Online Journal
"An Award Winning Bestselling International E-book and Paperback Author, Destiny Blaine and her pseudonyms top the charts at Amazon, Bookstrand, Barnes and Noble, ARE, Mobipocket, and other retailers online and off. Scroll down for a list of available titles, works in progress, and coming soon dates for debut titles.”

Author Bio

An award-winning, international bestselling erotic romance author, Destiny Blaine writes under several pen names. She lives in East Tennessee and spends a lot of time in Connecticut and Virginia, where her granddoll resides.