Caris Roane visits the Alpha Male Diner + giveaway

Hi, everyone! I want to thank I Smell Sheep for having me today as part of my WARM-UP-YOUR-WINTER BLOG TOUR. On most of the blogs on this tour, I’ll be revealing excerpts from the sixth book in my vampire series called, GATES OF RAPTURE (12/24). I created the tour with the hope that you might get to know my Guardians of Ascension, who are my most beloved winged vampire warriors. I know the covers have wings on them, but the books aren’t about angels AT ALL…just vampires…with wings. I also have goodies for you to win, details to follow!

Leto (Vampire)
recipe by Caris Roane

Gates of Rapture (Guardians of Ascension #6) 

2 clear blue eyes 

1 head of long black hair, warrior long, caught back in the cadroen 
2 sharp fangs 
1 overflowing cup of an amazing body, 6-6, toned for general worship 
1 portion scarred soul from serving the worst vampire on Second Earth 
3 helpings of the breh-hedden 
1 lb. of protective instinct 
2 heaping tablespoons of scented maleness, like the forest 
3 cups of warrior battle experience 
½ cup of feelings of worthlessness from performing spy duties 
1 pinch of refined activities and study 
Season to taste with the love of a good woman 

Stir carefully, as this recipe, when whipped to a frenzy, can result in a call to ascension, and a profound desire to become a vampire! 

Makes: One Warrior of the Blood

Taste Test

The following excerpt from GATES OF RAPTURE picks up exactly where the last excerpt left off! Leto and Grace are having coffee and trying to figure out the next step in their journey, when suddenly Grace comes up with an unexpected idea that might just solve all their problems… 

Excerpt from Chapter 12 

She met his gaze and touched his face with her hands. He’d shaved and his skin felt so smooth. She could feel how warm her fingers felt to him. “I’ve always been this way. You need to know that about me. I think about everything.”

“No problem,” he said, searching her eyes. “Just try not to shut me out.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?” She set her cup on the island and shifted toward him, one knee between his legs.

He tapped her forehead with his index finger. “Here. I suspect when you think this hard you believe you’ve spoken aloud, but you haven’t.”

“Oh. You may be right.”

“So…”

She blinked and once more felt her brow furrow. Enlightenment dawned, however slowly. “I should share more.” Maybe that was part of her ghost ways, that her life was internal and she rarely communicated her thoughts with anyone.

“Please.” But his eyes were lit with laughter so she did the only thing that made sense. She leaned into him and kissed him on the lips. As she drew back, he followed and captured her mouth, kissing her back and catching her around the waist.

She could feel his body light up. How quickly his maleness responded to touch, to sensation, to his tongue deep in her mouth. And because she could feel the pleasure riding him so quickly, she melted against him. In a way, his pleasure had become hers.

But right now, she needed something else from him.

“What’s wrong?” This time he frowned.

“Leto, I could so easily fall back into bed with you, but for the last hour I’ve been thinking about a doe that I saw on the villa lawn this morning.”

“You have?”

“Yes, because the moment I saw her, that was all I could see. She’s not the usual desert sight, a deer out in the open. I kept watching, completely distracted from everything.” Her obsidian flame power vibrated from deep in the earth.

Leto gasped and even looked down at the floor. “I don’t know if it’s because you have your hand on my chest, but I can feel that.”

She smiled. “I think it means I’m on the right track.” Chills chased up and down her arms. “I have an idea that might be exactly what’s needed and which would put pressure on Greaves on several fronts at the same time.”

He overlaid her hand with his own. His lips curved. “What’s on your mind?”

“Remember how, in Moscow Two, Greaves tried to have a military review?”

“Yes. Thorne and the Warriors of the Blood stopped it right in the middle.”

Grace nodded. “What if we had something similar, only featuring obsidian flame, a large very flamboyant spectacle event. We could demonstrate the triad’s power, we would give Marcus another PR tool for holding onto Endelle’s High Administrators…and…we could do some serious folding.” His eyes widened. “The doe on the lawn. It’s a brilliant idea…”

Gates of Rapture (Guardians of the Ascension #6)
As a vampire and a warrior, Leto Distra is deadly. But after years of being forced to drink dying blood, he is now part beast—a wild savage thing lurking beneath the surface. With war on the horizon, Leto is determined to help the Guardians of Ascension destroy the enemy who turned him into a monster. And there’s only one woman who can help him.

Grace Albion is certain that she’s meant to be with Leto, but their future may be cut short by the impending battle. Now Grace must embrace her obsidian flame powers—and bind her powers with Leto’s—if they’re ever going to survive. With the fate of the world at stake, they must tap into powers they never knew they had…and unlock their deepest passions.

About the author:
website-fb-twitter-email

Caris Roane has published over fifty Regency romance novels and novellas under the pen name, Valerie King. In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance. Having had a long-time love affair with vampires, Caris tackled the paranormal genre and built a unique vampire world based on ascending dimensional earths. Her series is called Guardians of Ascension.

Her most recent self-published project, The Blood Rose Novella Series, launched in May of 2012 with the first title: Embrace the Dark.

Currently, Caris is working on a new vampire series set to launch in the Fall of 2013: WARRIORS IN CHAINS with the first novel, BORN IN CHAINS.

Caris lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her two cats, Sebastien and Gizzy.

***GIVEAWAY***

Each stop of the tour, I’ll be giving away the same awesome collection of prizes as listed on the Rafflecopter form. The contest at each site will last 3 days only, and those dates will be listed on the Rafflecopter form as well!!!

The Grand Prize Drawing - VERY IMPORTANT: to be eligible for the Grand Prize drawing of the Nook with Glowlight, you must leave a comment at the bottom of this blog! (And for more chances to win the Nook, you can go to every site on the tour and enter that many times—totally up to you! But comments must be left!) The Grand Prize drawing for a Nook with Glowlight, will take place on January 18th, three days after the tour officially ends!

all details here 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to visit each stop to get extra entries for the grand prize!

December 1: Riverina Romantics
December 3: Bitten by Paranormal Romance
December 4: Rabid Reads
December 6: The Book Reading Gals
December 7: The Romance Studio
December 10: Page Flipperz Blogspot
December 11: Blah, Blah, Blah Blogspot
December 13: Paranormal Cravings
December 14: Close Encounters with the Night Kind
December 15: Bodice Rippers
December 17: Paranormal Haven
December 18: Dark Faerie Tales
December 19: Fangtastic Books
December 21: Romancing the Dark Side
December 22: Happily Ever After Thoughts
December 23: Literal Addiction
December 28: TBR – IO Blogspot
January 3: Kenra Daniels Blogspot
January 4: Book Monster Review
January 5: Vickieann’s Kindle Fever
January 7: Tea and Book Blogspot
January 10: Felicity Heaton Blogspot
January 11: The Jeep Diva
January 12: All Things Books
January 15: I Smell Sheep

Sheep Book Review: Gates of Rapture by Caris Roane

Gates of Rapture, by Caris Roane, is the sixth installment in the PNR saga Guardians of Ascension. The winged guys and gals are back! Caris pulls on the heart strings with her latest installment and brings the characters from previous stories back into the thick action that's been brewing throughout the saga! 

Plot:

As a vampire and a warrior, Leto Distra is deadly. But after years of being forced to drink dying blood, he is now part beast—a wild savage thing lurking beneath the surface.  With war on the horizon, Leto is determined to help the Guardians of Ascension destroy the enemy who turned him into a monster. And there’s only one woman who can help him.

Grace Albion is certain that she’s meant to be with Leto, but their future may be cut short by the impending battle. Now Grace must embrace her obsidian flame powers—and bind her powers with Leto’s—if they’re ever going to survive.  With the fate of the world at stake, they must tap into powers they never knew they had…and unlock their deepest passions.

Sexy and thrilling, Gates of Raptures is the breathtaking final book in Caris Roane's Guardians of Ascension series.

I'm a big fan of this series, and for good reason, Caris knows how to give her immortal characters very realistic lives while setting the pace for a fantastical world of alternate dimensions. Leto's our leading male this time around, the once blood addicted vamp (with wings!) is making big changes in his life with his fellow warriors. Once all this man knew was lost, but no longer! He's reaffirming the bonds of brotherhood and finding his place once again amongst his kind. Leto's story is all about coming into your own and finding yourself; he's a good guy to the core and you can't help but love him! 

Grace is his lady love, and while they both have been thrust into a powerful bond, she's learning to break out of her shell and get some real life experiences. Grace is heavy on the love and all about warmth; she exudes caring and understanding but not to the point of overkill. There was a nice mix of her character elements and while I usually like a tuffer kinda gal, Grace was easy to read and not hard to love. 

The story arc has been building since the beginning for this epic battle of good vamps vs bad guys. There's been a ton of bloodshed on both sides of the field and some heart breaking stories all leading up this moment. I was worried how this all could eventually wrap up, with some much riding on this climatic ending! I was not disappointed! 

The Obsidian Flame sisters are finally in full force, with powers that were only imagined now coming to life. It's been a fun build up and was awesome to read! I want to keep this review as spoiler free as possible because there's a lot that happens in this installment and while it's tempting to drop some hints, you really need to read it to experience it! The lovable characters from previous stories all have nice chucks of dialog, while not overshadowing the main flow over our lead pair. 

Caris is carrying on the saga outside of her publishing house, Saint Martin's Press, which I'm over the moon about! While we do get a nice wrap up to certain aspects, there is definitely loose ends that need more attention and lots more she's got coming up! 

Getting 4 'wing lock loving' Sheep 

KD