DC Area Storytellers

The DC Area Storytellers are a group of authors of multiple genres residing in or near the Washington, DC area. Published within the fields of romance, science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, fiction and non-fiction, this diverse group of authors offers a wide range of works for readers to savor.

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Serenity by D. Renee Bagby: Now Available in Print

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Serenity by D. Renee Bagby
Now in Print!

Their uneasy alliance could lead to love—if the demon will allow it.

Melchior, King of the Bhresyas, is quickly growing tired of the war between his kind and the humans who view them as demons. He proposes a peace treaty with the most powerful human kingdom. His only stipulation? Once she comes of age, the human queen’s daughter must be his bride.

Serenity has spent her entire life preparing for her role at Melchior’s side. Other women might be frightened, but she embraces her destiny, knowing in her heart that she and Melchior have been twined together by fate.

While he wants cooperation between their two peoples, his union with Serenity cannot and should not lead to love. The more she tries to bring them together, the harder he pushes her away—until she lands in the arms of those who would do her harm.

Love is the answer. But before Melchior admits to his, it may be too late.

Warning: this title contains cursing, a sociopathic heroine, horny males, and copious amounts of gratuitous violence.


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Excerpt - Dangerous Now In Print

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Dangerous by Monica Burns
Samhain Publishing
eBook — ISBN 1-59998-882-8 MBaM
Print - ISBN 978-1-60504-121-6
Available Borders, Amazon, MBaM and Other Bookstores

Read Excerpt Below

Behind the mask lies love-a dangerous and deadly emotion.


Constance Athelson, Viscountess Westbury has a gift she can’t reveal. She sees things others can’t, including the dead. The only thing she can’t see is into the heart of Lucien Blakemore, Earl of Lyndham. After one blissful night in his arms, she knows if she’s ever to win his heart, she must free him from his tortured past.

Lucien Blakemore met the Egyptian goddess Isis at a masked ball, but she vanished into the night before he could learn her real name. It’s just as well, since the Blakemore Curse makes love a dangerous and deadly emotion for him. But the erotic night he spent with his mysterious lover makes him want to throw caution aside-if only for one more night with his masked goddess.

Excerpt

God help him, but the woman was a siren. And all the more powerful because she had no idea how erotically sensual her body was. Returning to her side, he slowly wet her lips with the taste of the berry he held in his fingers.

“Open your mouth, yâ sabāha,” he said as he slid the red fruit across her bottom lip.

Half of the berry entered her mouth and she bit into the dimpled temptation when he told her to. Even beneath the blindfold, he could see the look of pleasure the fruit gave her as she slowly relished its taste. Leaning into her, he breathed in the scent of strawberry as he popped the remainder of the berry past her lips.

“You have a touch of juice at the corner of your mouth,” he murmured before his tongue licked the droplet off her skin.

The touch made her entire body tremble, and he didn’t stop her as she reached up to explore his face with her fingers. He grew still at her caress. The tenderness in her soft touch tightened his throat, and he swallowed hard. A sudden longing for something he knew better than to even dream about rose up inside him. With a violent mental blow, he crushed the thought. Instead he lowered his head and captured her mouth in a teasing caress.

“You’re ripe and succulent, just like that strawberry,” he murmured as he enjoyed the sweetness of her lips.

The pulse at the side of her neck pounded a frantic beat beneath his fingers. Eager to taste the warmth of her skin, he pressed his mouth against the fluttering beat. A soft moan whispered out of her, and the sound sent elation shooting through him. Before the night was through he’d have her doing more than simply moaning. He wanted to hear the aching need in her voice when she pleaded with him for release.

Impatient for the sound of that husky plea, he trailed his mouth across her shoulder and down her arm. For a fraction of a second he paused at the stiff peak of her breast. The silk of her nightgown was stretched taut over the tight tip of her. It betrayed her heightened awareness, and instead of suckling her, he continued to blaze a fiery path down her arm. Her whimper of protest filled him with satisfaction.

“Sweet heaven, Lucien, surely you’re not going to tease me like this all night.” She blindly stretched out her hands to him.

“This is far less of a torment than what I’ve suffered these past several months, my sweet.” He fought to keep his tone light. Admitting the depth of his torment would only give her power over him. “Months of aching for you. Nights needing you, but the only release my cock had was my hand and images of you.”

She gasped at his words as a pink blush filled her cheeks. Coming upright, he rubbed his thumb across the plump fullness of her lower lip. “My words shock you.”

“A little,” she said. He saw her throat bob as she swallowed hard.

“Shall I describe the fantasies I had about you every time I grasped my hard rod?” Slowly, he traced his finger along the edge of her bodice where the lace met her jasmine-scented skin. “Fantasies of me licking the insides of your thighs then sucking on that tender little nub of yours. Sucking on you until you drench my tongue with your hot cream.”

The pink color in her cheeks darkened to a rosy hue as her mouth formed a wordless cry of shock. He watched her carefully as his finger slid down toward the shadowy valley between her breasts. She might have found his comments shocking, but they excited her as well. The slight flare of her nostrils and her shallow breathing were enough to tell him that. He reached for the ribbons of her nightgown, then used the tips of the silk fasteners to tease her skin as he unlaced her bodice.

The almost-transparent garment slid off her shoulders and floated downward to pool at her feet. The dark mauve hue of her rigid nipples made his mouth go dry as he lightly rubbed his thumb over one stiff peak. She jerked at the touch.

“Lucien—”

“Hush, sweetheart. Just let me look at you,” he rasped.

She was beautiful, and his groin tightened with an urgency that troubled him. Christ Almighty, was he going to be able to finish this seduction? His body grew taut with tension as he fought the need to take her without another word. No. He needed to resist the temptation—remain in control. It was the only way to manage this insatiable need she created in him.

Critical Acclaim

2009 EPPIE Finalist

4 1/2 Stars
“Jane Eyre meets The Mummy...[her] characters are so multidimensional that readers will swear they’re based on real people.”
— Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“[She] writes lovely erotic romance with plenty of heart and passionate soul.”
— Michelle Buonfiglio, Romance B(u)y The Book

84 out of 100
“Burns manages to have Constance breaking a few stereotypes without coming off too much like a contemporary character... I find Dangerous is a pretty good read...”
— Mrs. Giggles

“...a powerful, sensually driven historical paranormal that is a testament to Ms. Burns' gift of keeping her readers spell-bound. Highly Recommended Reading!”
— ParaNormal Romance.org

“Burns writes the kind of sexy, paranormal historical stories I want to read, and I look forward to her next offering!” — Romance Reader At Heart

“Ms. Burns is masterful at escalating the sexual tension and suspense with her characters. Three generations of murder, stubborn ghosts, and an aging matriarch with attitude are the perfect compliment to a fantastic love story that is a joy to read.” — Coffeetime Romance

“Readers will definitely find themselves riveted to the pages as Constance and Lucien’s story unfolds.” — Fallen Angel Reviews

“I truly enjoyed reading Dangerous...it was a delightful and interesting read. Well written and imaginative.” — Romance Reader Connection

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Your (squirrelly) thought for the day

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
It is a solemn occasion here in our nation's capital.
No, not Inaugural Clean-Up Day. That's just messy. I mean National Squirrel Appreciation Day, of course.
In honor of the occasion--and to drum up a little traffic over at the Samhain Publishing blog--I offer the following link: Thirteen Reasons Why Squirrels Make Good Romance Heroes.
Why yes, I am the warped storyteller in the bunch. Your point?
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President Obama

Tuesday, January 20, 2009


Today is not just any Inauguration Day. I keep thinking that I should say something profound, but I find myself wondering what I could say that hasn't already been said. Here we have something historic happening, our first black president, and there's only one thing I can think of that makes any sense.

Good luck, Mr. Obama.

I mean that sincerely. The president-elect will need a lot of elbow grease, sheer determination and pure luck to deal with the cow patties the outgoing administration has left in the White House. A horrible economy, a dissatisfied public and a lingering war in Iraq mean that he'll need every ounce of will he has to make things right once more. And not just within the United States, within the world, where the court of public opinion has steadily taken us from "annoying know-it-all neighbor" to "Oh. Them." He'll have to deal with a domestic situation that would make a strong man blanch while juggling cracked international relationships, praying all the while that none of them break. He'll need a strong cabinet, a Congress that backs him, and the willingness to listen to the people that no other president has ever had.

So, good luck, Mr. Obama. I look forward to seeing how you handle the challenges ahead of you. Something tells me you're up for the job.

P.S.: I love this:

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children can fly."
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Thoughts Out of the Blue

Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ok, I've nothing to post about that will get me in and out of here quickly. So I'm just going by the seat of my pants.

Golden Heart Entries

I've got mine and I'm reviewing them. There are a couple with some unique story lines, and the craft is roughly hewn. A couple others need more work. All of them with the exception of one have great voice. There's this one whose voice sounds like another author I've read. It makes me think the entrant is a huge fan of the author and has picked up little nuances that make her writing sound like the big name author. Perfectly natural that, but I think there's a gem under that rough coal.

What I'm thinking about doing after the contest ends and if time permits, is to list the titles I judged and offer a free critique of the chapters I judged. I figure it might give a little more back to writers who sent in their entries, but don't get any feedback. I guess I need to check with National on that.

RITAs


There's a petition on the web for those who are protesting the recent rule change the RWA Board made with regard to eligibility.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ChangeRWA/index.html

I signed the petition, but already I've heard rumors that National won't accept it because there are non-RWA members signing the petition. I can understand that, and I think it's great that the petition was created. It might have been better to have ensured that those signing added their RWA number to give National an accurate count of names on the petition who are actual RWA members.

The New Boss

The new boss is nice, a bit wired, but nice. I'm still working out how best to deal with her. I had my old boss down to where I told him what to do. I've tried that a bit with my new boss, but I'm not sure how well it's going down. Have to proceed cautiously. In the current economic climate, I can't afford to get fired. LOL

Master of Sin

This is my paranormal book 1 in the series for Berkley. Title to change. It's going. One minute it's flowing like a bubbling stream, the next minute it's like mud left over from when the Mississippi recedes after a flood. It's just there. *sigh* I can't WAIT to get to Book 2 though. It's already percolating in the brain. GREAT, sexy opening. I just love it. Of course, the books I generally love are the ones reviewers hate, so I've NO idea if any of this is going to take off.

Tuesday - Jan 20th

Well, we'll have a new President on Tuesday. I hope he survives his four years given that there is still a great racial divide in this country. I have high hopes for the man. As he's a huge admirer of Abraham Lincoln (my HERO), I believe he might have exactly what it takes to be an insider and outsider all at the same time up in Washington. Time will tell. I really hope he succeeds and turns out to be a great President because I'm just DYING to tell my friend Rich, "I TOLD YOU SO!" LOL But, I'll have to wait for outcomes and pray I don't get pie in my face. *sigh*

Reading

I just finished Loretta Chase's Your Scandalous Ways. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I didn't get as strong a sense of place/setting as I would have liked. But the characters were lovely in their craftsmanship. I didn't like it as much as Lord of Scoundrels, but you know what they say about first loves. *grin*

Well those are thoughts out of the blue. I'm outta here!
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Preditors and Editors Poll

Tuesday, January 6, 2009


Some of the DC Area Authors have been nominated for the 2008 Preditors and Editors awards.

Romance Novel
Amanda Young for Precious Ache
D. Renee Bagby for Serenity

Science Fiction and Fantasy
Bianca d'Arc for FireDrake

Erotica
Bianca d'Arc for Davin's Quest
Amanda Young for Secrets and Lies

Romance Short Story
Bianca d'Arc for One And Only
Dana Marie Bell for The Wallflower

Author Published in 2008
Amanda Young
Bianca d'Arc
D. Renee Bagby
Dana Marie Bell

If I've missed anyone or if anyone has been added since I did this list, please feel free to let us know. And congratulations to all who have been nominated!
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