BelindaPalooza - Day 1! Today's Giveaway is...

...a print copy of Doms of Dark Haven: Western Night...signed by all three authors...!!!

Do you have any clue how difficult it was to get all three of us to sign a copy of the book? Cherise and I live fairly close together, but Sierra...dang, that woman is hard to track down!

So here's the deal, you come here to the blog and leave me a comment, and around midnight (Pacific Time) I'll draw a random winner. Not much time to participate, so be sure to get in there with your comment!

So. I know you're wondering, how did the Doms of Dark Haven series come about? Well, it was nearly an accident. I live way north in California, and one day Loose Id authors were guesting at Coffee Time Romance. I got a message from this Cherise woman asking where in Nor Cal did I live. Well, it turned out we lived quite close (in California terms) so we did lunch at Chevy's Mexican Restaurant.

Cool, eh?

Well, Cherise and I hit it off and as we chatted, she mentioned that she's love to take a trip to San Francisco to visit the Citadel. Well...I had no clue what the Citadel was, but I blurted out, "I'll go with you."

Yeah.

So you need to know a couple things about me. I'm not into crowds. I'm not into clubs. I really don't like dark, crowded clubs with loud music. Throw in some screaming and I'm ready to bolt. (remember that fact...)

We go and I have to confess, it was fascinating. We went to the Master's Den which is a male Dom/female submissive night, and I was told I needed to at least pay lip service to the male dominants by not going in too butch (if you know how I dress, you're now laughing) so I wore a black dress and boots. Something else, I'm sure. Some sort of shawl or something cause I'm a woman of a certain age and weight...*ahem* So I tried.

And you know, it was really cool. People were really friendly, no one jumped my case over the occasional faux pas and when we left, we were both totally buzzed. So of course, someone says, "we should write about this" and the other says, "yeah, we should" and in my bipolar haze, I babbled all the way home. We took some notes, made some plans and Doms of Dark Haven began to take shape. Loose Id was interested and then Sierra came onboard to make it a cozy threesome. So the theme emerged: Three women, one night. A Victorian costume night. There was only one problem. We agreed to write in our own genres.

I write paranormal. You try integrating werewolves in with two contemporary/suspense stories. No matter how I whined, they insisted. Do you have any idea how subs can bully you around? Sheesh.

So I recalled my first reaction to the club, walking in, parting the curtain and being assailed by sounds, smells and the vibrations of music. Then the colors, the milling bodies and just the sense of being somewhere where the tension was so incredibly thick. I thought about having a werewolf walk unprepared into that setting, and Evangeline Jones took shape in my imagination. And she was so fun to play with!

So that's my version of the backstory about how DODH came to be. Of course, Cherise might tell you something different, maybe about how I jumped naked into the swinging chain bed or how I chased some poor dom around the room, crying out, "Master...please..."

But she'd be lying. Really.

Happy Tails!

Belinda

Now Available! Doms of Dark Haven 2: Western Night!

Its now live at the Loose Id website! And if you have a reader, most formats are available, so there's no need to wait! Yay!

So run on over and rope a copy for yourself!

http://www.loose-id.com/Doms-of-Dark-Haven-2-Western-Night.aspx

New! Doms of Dark Haven site!

Well, since the Doms of Dark Haven anthology has been so popular, we've decided to give the book its own site! Drop by and visit, we'll all be posting there on occasion. :)

www.domsofdarkhaven.com

Belinda

First Look! Doms of Dark Haven!

Available May 18, at Loose Id!

DOMS OF DARK HAVEN ANTHOLOGY

Met Her Match by Sierra Cartwright

Simon Says by Cherise Sinclair

Educating Evangeline by Belinda McBride

Three women, three Doms. One extraordinary night. Welcome to Dark Haven, and may all of your darkest wishes come true.

Evangeline Jones was looking for safety when she ducked into the doorway of Dark Haven. What she found was a alpha wolf named Harte Sommers. In her whole life, Eva had never considered submitting to another, but in just hours, Harte would teach her everything she needed to know about survival, pack life, and the power of surrender.

EXCERPT: Educating Evangeline by Belinda McBride

Shapeshifter BDSM, M/F

The sign was small and subtle just over the door of an inconspicuous building. After blocks of running, Eva had merged into a large group of men and women who wore Victorian attire like hers. It didn’t look like a private party, so she followed them inside the club, praying she’d find her haven from the hunters who were just blocks away.

The group moved quickly inside, clearly accustomed to the place.

“Do you have a membership?”

She blinked, looking down at the cute…and scantily dressed receptionist. Eva cleared her throat. “Uh…no…” The girl’s breasts were clearly visible through the Goth-inspired Victorian outfit that she was barely wearing. The girl smiled, and a diamond winked like a brilliant beauty mark over the side of her upper lip.

Gotta love San Francisco.

“That’s okay. Is this your first time at Dark Haven?”

Eva nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face with a gloved hand.

“No problem, then. Membership is five dollars, plus tonight’s entry fee. Just fill out the paperwork. By the way, my name’s Destiny.”

Somehow she doubted that was really the receptionist’s name, but heck, her name wasn’t her own either. She paid and then scribbled a false name and address on the form, grateful that they weren’t checking IDs.

Eva looked around the dark little reception area. The place was clearly a club, most likely a dance club. Music reverberated through the walls. She heard muffled laughter, and the occasional woman’s squeal punctuated the air. A bulletin board on the wall held flyers for alternate-lifestyle events in the area. Eva’s stomach sank. Was she in a sex club? She looked back at Destiny.

“Restrooms and lockers are to the right. If you have any questions, look for a staff member; the DMs have bandannas on their left arms.”

Eva decided to skip the ladies’ room. There was no doubt that the people following her would venture into the club soon enough. She didn’t need to get cornered in a toilet. Hesitantly she stepped through the curtains and into the main room of the club.

Immediately she was assailed by the pungent mix of sweat, alcohol, perfume, and sex.

Lots of sex. Adrenaline and the bite of fear saturated the air.

Her skin prickled; phantom hackles rose in panic. She blinked, trying to focus on the room and the myriad of possible dangers within. A woman’s scream carried faintly from downstairs, and Eva’s wolf growled. Blindly she turned to run, to escape. She found herself surrounded by people moving into the club and nearly staggered to the floor. A hand steadied her elbow; another patted her rump. She jumped away, barely hearing their laughter.

Run! The wolf whirled and spun in panic.

Just yards away, a woman was lying prone over a man’s lap. Her skirts and petticoats were pulled up, leaving her bottom bare. With a crack, he slapped her ass bare handed. A strangled cry left Eva’s throat. Against another wall, a naked man was suspended from chains that dangled from the ceiling. A collar circled his throat, and a complicated ring held his penis upright.

She whimpered.

Bodies in ruffles and frills and frock coats milled around tables. Some danced, and some leaned together in intimate conversation. The civilized behavior was a paper-thin veneer over the raw lust that drenched the atmosphere.

Too much. The sensory overload was too much. She tried to make a run for the door and slammed into a broad expanse of velvet and silk and man and the most wonderful fragrance in the world. He was sandalwood and vanilla and something she couldn’t define.

Eva screamed, and her scream was echoed by that of the woman who was being spanked.

She screamed again.

Hands gripped her upper arms, and she began to struggle; her feet were caught up in the long, trailing skirts of her dress. A booted toe connected with a shin.

“Damn! Take it easy, sweetheart!”

“Sorry! Stop! I need to go!” She twisted in his grip.

Strong hands lifted her clear off the floor. “Sweetie, look up at me. Now!”

His voice was deep and compelling, and it cut through her panic. She shook her head, doing her best to bring herself back under control. For a moment -- just a moment -- she rested her forehead on his chest, inhaling deeply. The yummy scent of the man helped distract her from the surrounding chaos. Eva’s entire body reacted to that fragrance. To her great humiliation, she was growing aroused and wet. She blinked hard and looked up into his face. His beautiful face.

“Now that I have your attention, can I help you?” His nostrils flared. He leaned a bit closer, his face coming dangerously close to her throat. She whined in panic. And then she bared her throat in surrender.

What the fuck did she do that for?

“You’re scared witless. Follow me.” He lowered her to the ground and turned away, clearly expecting to be obeyed.

On trembling legs, Eva followed the stranger until they reached a little room that opened into one of the walls. As soon as the door closed, the music muted, and the scents faded to a tolerable level. She panted, fighting down the panic that still played at the edges of her consciousness. Gazing around, she gulped. The room was the exact duplicate of a police interrogation room.

She knew; she’d seen the inside of those a time or two.

“This is a bondage club.” He looked serious, but she could see he was stifling a smile. It was there in a dimple that flashed in his cheek.

“Thank you. I think I just figured that out,” she said wryly. Good God. Of all the doors she could have ducked into, she’d chosen a bondage club’s.

http://www.loose-id.com/Doms-of-Dark-Haven.aspx

Long Time No Blog!

I've been offline for weeks now, and just haven't been able to put together my weekly blog. Bummer. But, I've now got this little wireless thingie and I can get online anywhere, anytime! What a treat!

To celebrate, I'm sharing my brand, spanking new (pun intended) cover! This is the upcoming Doms of Dark Haven anthology with Sierra Cartwright and Cherise Sinclair. Thank you to April Martinez for the art!

Very soon, I'll tell the story about how this anthology came about, and the real life club that inspired it. For now, enjoy. And don't forget to visit the websites of my co-authors!

www.sierracartwright.com

www.cherisesinclair.com