Groundhog Day Relived

I’m a southeastern Pennsylvania resident. What this means is I’ve lived through some brutal winters. Okay, not as bad as upstate New York, maybe not as bad as Alaska, Canada or those Arctic places – but it gets damn cold. I simply abhor, detest, loathe, and despise this time of year. Has nothing to do with less light and everything to do with cold. Below 70 degrees I get pretty miserable. I sleep in flannels practically all year and my heat is on eight months from early September to late May, occasionally June when a chilly night crops up.

Sigh. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. I read that since 1988 he correctly predicted 14 times, incorrectly 15 times. Therefore, I have a 50/50 chance of warming up a little bit. Also, I remember from past years that Groundhog Day was derived from an old European celebration of Candlemas. This is the midway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. Nice weather on Candlemas meant a bad second half of winter. You can see a short video about groundhogs and read more about Punxsutawney Phil.

TMI? Probably but, trust me, there’s a reason I wanted to talk about Groundhog Day which occurs on February 2^nd every year.

In California I lived about a thirty-minute ride from Big Bear and Arrowhead. It’s where I went if I needed to cool off (seldom) in the dead heat of summer as the high desert could get up to 105-115 degrees. Ahh, the joy of dry heat. No fleas or ticks on my kittehs! I loved it; hence, the setting for most of my stories especially my big, bloody vampyre cats. Should I ever hit it big—back to the southwest for me!! Looking at Arizona this time as it’s where one sister’s daughter lives and she wants to move there to be near her granddaughter. We’ll be great company for each other in rocking chairs.

Here’s where Groundhog Day ties in. Sort of like the movie, books I’m about to talk about have been around once and, like the movie—they’re turning up again. As I talked about the setting for many of my books, wanted to preview two being readied for re-release. One, Ace of Spades, took place in an unexpected venue. It’s a contemporary romance set on the east coast in Atlantic City, a place I lived for little over a year. Aldan ‘Ace’ Spade is a wealthy gambler who owns a gentlemen’s club near a casino in AC and he falls for his hostess, Rosemary Carino who doesn’t reveal she’s an ex topless dancer.

The next one will be Hard Case. Case Tangara is a white lion shifter infected with vampyre blood who owns a club in the high desert of California that features rooms for voyeurs and, well, whatever else Case wants to get up to with Tres Moran, his green-haired snow leopard shifter. They're getting a thorough look over by a few of my readers and will be coming back real soon.

I loved the covers for both books and, with the blessing of the awesome Syneca Featherstone, I’m keeping them.

So, keep your eyes and ears open. Both will be available soon via Amazon’s KU program.

Growl and roar – it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele

Hot and Cold...

weather...I've used both in my writing. If you've read any of the Sovereign Kind books, you know my cats are mostly desert animals. They love the heat, just like me. *grin* There are a few 'cold' cats. In Cougar by the Tail, I used mountain lions, or cougars, that much prefer the cold temps of the mountains. In Hard Case, the heroine is a snow leopard shifter--definitely a cold, snow-loving cat. Wicked me, I mated her with a white lion, a cat who thrives in the heat of an African savanna.

A recent story, The Gift, is about mermen--one from the cold waters surrounding Iceland, one from the Caribbean seas. That was not a match made in heaven, lol. Neither can stand each other's extreme temperatures.

Here's a bit of The Gift:

Climbing through the car window, he hurried to catch up with Cray whose strides were long and purposeful. New snow didn’t deter the cold bastard or slow him down one bit. Rad struggled behind him in dress shoes and a full length, heavy wool coat. He was glad as hell he had his wool cap. Cray wore nothing but a pair of flimsy white cotton pants tied at the waist.

“Each year I think you won’t come. Why do you?”

It was a question he’d asked himself often over the years. Losing his footing, he fell down face first in the snow. Icy fingers gripped the back of his neck and pulled him up.

The man pressed him against a nearby tree, his voice low and ragged. “Why do you?”

His skin warmed immediately under the touch of his lover, and considering how cool Cray was, that always amazed Rad. There was no chance to answer before hard lips smashed into his and stole his breath away. Cray’s tongue shoved roughly into his mouth, and Rad savored the cool, fresh taste that followed.

Hands were everywhere on his body, sending his temperature sky high. Frozen fingertips forged through the opening of the coat and under his sweater where they became hot as they moved up his stomach to his nipples. The man rolled the hard nubs between his thumbs and fingers, wrenching a moan from deep in Rad’s gut that shattered the silent night. Cray’s sweet mouth continued to smother his with kisses.

Thick, stiff cocks bumped together, and his ached for release. Pulling away, frozen vapor drifted into the air surrounding each breathless word. “I come for you.”

No matter the weather or the temperature outside, I always find a way to bring them together, and though the weather plays a big part in what I write about, it never hinders the Happy Ever After.

Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out.-© J. Hali Steele

It's Friday...

...and I'm having a Coming Soon contest! Want to play? All you have to do is comment today to be eligible to win a PDF copy of HARD CASE, available now at Ellora's Cave.

That's it!

Meet Alek Foress, the hero of QUENCH, which is... coming soon. Here's the unofficial blurb and, best of all, a preview of the cover.

BLURB:
Alek Foress is cursed. A tiger and lion mix, he’s also infected with the vampyre bloodlust. He has spent decades desiring his prince and is afraid he can no longer fight his carnal need. His cats won’t give in to his having a man, but Alek refuses to take a female to be his mate. Then he meets Viviana, the one woman who ignites a fierce fire in his soul.
Viviana, a vampyre warrior, comes face-to-face with the only creature that can turn her cold blood into a molten river. Her powers stolen, she has to count on the cat for everything—blood, and even her life. She becomes a wildcat in his arms and not even royalty will stand in her way when her mind’s made up. Viv wants Alek no matter what, and she’ll show him just how much man he is.

How easy was that?

Remember: Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out.-© J. Hali Steele