Friday, August 9, 2013

Breathless Press's 4th Anniversary: Reawakened by Carrie Pulkinen




Breathless Press Fourth Anniversary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breathless Press is an e-book publisher specializing in Romance and Erotic(a) stories.
Our mission statement is simple: To provide the opportunity for readers to connect with romance authors through the purchasing of quality e-books at a low price.
Starting in the summer of 2009, Breathless Press came into existence. Since then, we have been producing top end romance and erotic stories for valued readers to enjoy.

Blurb:

Her magic has been reawakened. But will her heart let her follow her destiny?

Jules Hume lives in a world where magic is a myth and supernatural creatures are fiction. Or so she thinks. Her boyfriend Ian would have to disagree. When Jules discovers the man of her dreams is not only a vampire, but a vampire king who's tasked with saving the world from a demon attack, life as she knows it ends. Can she accept her fate and take her place by Ian's side as ruler of the paranormal world? Or will she close her mind and her heart to the chance at love and adventure?


Excerpt:

This is the night, I thought. After what just happened, he had to tell me everything. I braced myself, and walked into the bedroom. My clothes were gone. Ian must've put them in the dryer already. On the bed lay a soft, midnight blue robe. The bedroom door was closed, and I could hear the shower running down the hall. I figured it would be a while before Ian came back, so I left the towel in the bathroom and walked naked across the room to get the robe. Distracted as I was with everything that had happened, I wasn't paying attention to where I stepped, and I tripped on the rug, falling face-first on the ground. I let out a little squeal as I went down. I didn't think I was loud, but Ian was in the room in seconds.

"Are you okay, my Jewel? I heard you scream." He took me by the hand and lifted me to my feet.

"I'm fine." Heat flushed my cheeks. "And I didn't scream. I just squealed a little bit when I fell. You didn't have to stop your shower to come rescue me again."

It was then that I realized I was naked. And my eyes had been locked with his since he came through the door, so I was just beginning to realize that he was naked too. And he was wet. His muscles flowed down his body like a perfectly carved statue, firm and hard. My eyes took in his form. From his eyes, down to his chest. His muscular arms had me longing for his embrace. His perfect six-pack abs had my hands twitching with the need to touch. Down my eyes went to his...oh my! He was definitely excited. I forced my gaze back up to his eyes, and the expression I found there was one of pure need...of lust...and love. His eyes went down my body and back up to return my gaze. He licked is lips.

That did it for me. I couldn't waste the opportunity, so I threw myself into his arms, and we kissed passionately. Our tongues explored each other mouths, necks, shoulders. He embraced me, pulling our bodies together, the cool wetness of his skin sending chills down my spine. As the energy pulsed between us, I felt him...long and hard pressed against my stomach. I took him in my hand and stroked. He sucked in a sharp breath, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back, moaning in pleasure. I pressed my lips to his neck and kissed him, tasted him, as my hand stroked him to the rhythm of our pulsing energy. He pulled my leg up over his hip and pressed himself against me. Dear God! My heart raced. My hands trembled. His mouth found mine again as his hand twisted in my hair. The energy pulsed harder, faster, until my head spun, and I had to pull away to catch my breath.

When his eyes finally met mine, they were deep. Deeper than I'd ever seen them before, and I was lost in them.

"Oh Juliann!" He kissed me harder, his need growing more intense as he crushed my body against his. My hands moved up his chest and over his neck to twist into his hair, holding his face to mine. His hands worked frantically, sliding up and down my back as we kissed. I wanted him so badly, I thought I would explode.

Then he let go. He slid his hands down my arms and took both my hands in his, interlacing our fingers, but still his body was pressed to mine. "We can't do this now," he whispered against my lips.

"Why not? Don't you want me? Your body certainly does." I gave him a mischievous grin as I pressed even harder against him.

"I do. I want you so badly, it's taking all my strength to stop us now, before we go too far."

"Then why stop?" I wrapped my arms around his waist. "We're both grown-ups. We want each other. We're already naked. What's stopping us?"

He trailed his fingers up my arms and gently put his hands on my shoulders. He pushed me away from him, just far enough that he could look me in the eyes.

"There are things that must be said. Things you must understand before...This will mean more than you know."

"But I do understand, Ian. I know what you are. I know you're a vampire, and I don't care. I don't care what you are, where you came from, or what you've done. I love you, and nothing will change that." I cupped his face in my hands. "I. Love. You."

I felt the tears welling up, and I couldn't stop them. As they streamed down my face, Ian held me close.

"And I love you, Juliann." I looked up just in time to see a single tear slide down his cheek. I wiped it away with my finger.

"I didn't think vampires could cry."

"We can't," he said, and a burst of energy shot through me, rocking me to my core. From the look on his face, Ian felt it too. And he enjoyed it. He closed his eyes and raised his head, as if basking in the energy. Then he pulled me close, and I lay my head on his chest.

"What was that?"

"That, my Jewel, was the power of love." I looked at him, and he caressed my face with his fingers as he bent down to kiss me. Then he released me, walked over to the bed, and picked up the robe for me to put on. "We must talk now, Juliann, while you still have a choice." He looked at me with pain in his eyes. "It may already be too late."

I slipped into the robe and tied it tight.

"Allow me to dress. I will return."

He was gone in a blink, and I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to get a hold of myself. I was still rattled from several things—that blast of power, the power of love, as Ian had called it. How cheesy was that? And the intimate moment we just shared; how close we had come to giving in! And then there was the sudden display of strength and speed that Ian had been hiding from me all these months. I needed to get it all together in my head. Prioritize. There were so many things I needed to know. I should have written it all down. How could I have been so unorganized? I was always good at keeping things in order. Planning. But now there were so many things, I couldn't keep them all straight in my head. I took some deep breaths to try to center myself. We'd work it all out when Ian returned.

And return he did! In the sexiest pair of silk plaid pajama pants I had ever seen. That's it. He wore nothing else. He was barefoot and bare chested. His damp hair waved around his face, framing his perfect pale features. He wasn't going to make this easy on me. He caught me looking and grinned.

Buy links:

Author Interview:

Carrie, please tell us about yourself and your writing.

I'm a 37-year-old stay at home mom living near Houston, Texas. I have two beautiful daughters, a sexy European husband, and three dogs. I write mostly paranormal romance, but I have branched out into contemporary and m/m recently.

What does your writing space look like?

At the moment, my MacBook sits on the island in my kitchen, with various notebooks, post-its, and random bills spread all around. It renders the island useless for kitchen purposes, but I have to make the best with what I've got, right? It's actually quite distracting looking at a pile of dirty dishes while trying to write sexy romance. I think I need to look into relocating…

How long have you been writing?

I started writing fiction in 2009, but I've written non-fiction for as long as I can remember. I wrote a column about my school for the local newspaper when I was in eighth grade, and I eventually went on to teach high school journalism for ten years.


How do you name your characters?

Usually, the names just pop into my head. I have no method for my madness, so to speak. Usually, I just close my eyes, think about the character, and a fitting name appears in my mind.

Do you write with music going in the background? What are some of your favorite types/bands?

I need silence when I’m writing. Music is too distracting, because I start listening to the lyrics instead of focusing on my story. With that said, I do get tons of creative ideas while listening to Blue October. I just can't get deep into to actual writing process with music playing.
Do you have a favorite character from your books? Who is it and why?
Logan from To Catch a Spirit has to be my favorite. I put so much of myself into him; he was almost therapeutic to write.

Who is the sexiest man/woman alive and why?

I think Johnny Depp is the sexiest man alive. Not only is he ruggedly handsome with his dark hair and deep chocolate eyes, but he's an amazing actor. I love all the quirky characters he plays.

Quick quiz:
  • Favorite food? Anything Italian
  • Favorite color? Sea Foam Green
  • Favorite animal? Dragon Fly
  • Biggest pet peeve? Judgmental People
  • Dream car? My jet black, 1998, 30th Anniversary Edition Camaro. I miss it.

Author Bio:

Carrie Pulkinen has always been fascinated with the paranormal. Of course, when you grow up next door to a cemetery, the dead (and the undead) are hard to ignore. Pair that with her passion for writing and her father's insatiable love for monster movies, and you've got the perfect recipe for an exciting storyteller.

Carrie spent the first part of her professional life as a high school journalism and yearbook teacher. Now she's able to channel her love of the English language into stories of amazing sex with devilishly handsome men. In her free time, Carrie likes to read, take pictures, and play with her kids. She invites you to contact her at carrie.pulkinen@hotmail.com, or visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CarriePulkinen.

Find Carrie Pulkinen on the internet:
Email: Carrie.Pulkinen at hotmail.com

Breathless Press will be giving away the following prizes to randomly drawn commenters during the tour:

Grand Prize: 1 Kindle Fire
Second Prize: $25.00 Gift Card for Breathless Press
Third Prize: $10.00 Gift Card for Breathless Press
Fourth Prize: 10 x $5.00 Gift Cards for Breathless Press (individual gift cards, 1 per person)

Be sure to follow the tour and comment to better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here.

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9 comments:

  1. Carrie,

    Thank you for being my guest today.

    I'm right there with you on Johnny Depp! Great interview. :)

    Melissa

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  2. Thanks for the interview. Your kitchen island sounds like mine. Only I am not a writer, just like keeping the computer in view, especially when the kids are on it.
    Mel

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  3. what an awesome interview! Thanks for sharing!

    andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fun interview and excerpt!

    vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks so much for having me today! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great interview! I'm so glad I saw your post in the Romance Novel Junkies group (that I just joined today, btw) I can't wait to get your book! LOVE me some vampires!!!!

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  7. Carrie...A sexy European husband?! Good for you! Definitely look at him for inspiration rather than those dirty dishes. LOL.
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. Oh, yes! He's definitely a much better inspiration than dishes! ;)

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  8. I love the original way of finding names of characters...close eyes and it appears!

    Barrie

    ReplyDelete