Mae Clair: It’s Howloween H*O*P Time!

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Pumpkin weather is here. Ghost, ghouls and goblins roam the night, and the moon is a bloated orb of crimson and tangerine. It must be Howloween Hop time!

As a new author, this is only the second hop I’ve participated in. I had such a blast the last time, making many new friends, that I’m thrilled to be back and taking part in the latest funfest Drea Becraft has put together.

For a complete list of all participating authors, visit the Howloween Hop Event Page. The Hop runs through Monday 10/29 at midnight. I’ll be announcing the winner of the two prizes I’m giving away on Tuesday, October 30th, so check back to see if you’ve won.

I’LL BE AWARDING:
A $15.00 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (Winner’s Choice)

A copy of my new PNR/time-travel release WEATHERING ROCK for Kindle or Nook (Winner’s Choice)

So, as long as you’re here, grab some treats from my virtual goodie bag (I’ve got Rice Krispie Jack-o-Lanterns, chocolate spider clusters, peanut butter eyeball cookies, gummy worms, and marshmallow ghosts) and discover how a colonel from the Civil War, rival werewolves, and a modern day history teacher all connect.

I’d like to introduce you to Caleb DeCardian and Arianna Hart, the hero and heroine of WEATHERING ROCK.

As a former colonel for the Union Army during the Civil War, Caleb is used to being in charge and having others respond to his orders without question. Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, he’s transported to the 21st Century by a shower of ball lightning.

When WEATHERING ROCK opens, he’s already been living in the present for three years, hunting for the man who doomed him to life as a werewolf. Seth Reilly is his former friend, now a bitter rival, and the man responsible for cursing him with lycanthropy.

For someone who thrives on being in control, Caleb finds himself at the whim of a curse he’s powerless to resist, while facing the challenges of a new and confusing century. He has a highly defined sense of right and wrong; is noble at heart, but conflicted by what he’s become.

Then he meets Arianna Hart, my heroine, and suddenly he’s battling a different set of feelings. Romantic feelings.

Arianna finds Caleb bewildering, yet intriguing: courtly manners, smoldering sensuality and eyes that glow silver at night? When she sees Civil War photographs featuring a Union officer who looks exactly like Caleb, she begins to understand the man she is falling in love with harbors multiple secrets–some of which threaten the possibility of their happiness.

The path to true love and an HEA is never smooth, but these two have enormous odds stacked against them!

WEATHERING ROCK EXCERPT

“Stop it!” Arianna shook off Wyn’s grip, pivoting to face him. “Are you crazy?”

Before he could answer, something slammed against the door. Caleb screamed. The sound knifed through her like the violent jolt of an electrical wire.

“Caleb!” She launched herself at the door, panicked and terrified by the thought of the man she loved in horrific pain.

“Don’t!” Wyn stiff-armed her aside and grabbed the knob, forcibly holding it in place. “Get a chair. Something, anything! We’ve got to keep him locked inside.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Arianna, get a fricking chair. Now!”

There was another crash, and then a bang as something heaved against the door, making it shudder from top to bottom. Arianna heard a snarl that turned her blood to ice. The door rattled in its frame, weakening as something battered against it. Something inhuman locked in the room with Caleb.

A cold fist clamped over her stomach.

“Wyn, what’s going on?”

“Chair!” he spat. “Get me a damn chair.”

The raw urgency of his voice plowed through her confusion. She darted into the dining room, snagged a chair, and dragged it into the hallway. The thing in the parlor was still hammering away, heaving itself against the door in an attempt to burst through. Wyn’s face was white with strain as he struggled to hold the door shut with both hands. He rammed the top of the chair beneath the knob, wedging it securely into place. A blood-thirsty howl exploded from the other side, kicking Arianna’s heartbeat into overdrive.

“My God, Wyn, what’s going on?” She lurched for the door.

“Don’t. You don’t know what you’re doing.” Wyn caught her around the waist and swung her up against the wall.

She tried to squirm free. “I know Caleb’s trapped in there. We have to help him! There’s something in the room. Can’t you hear it?”

He held her wrists, pinning her arms to the wall. “Listen to me!” His eyes were wild, his face inches from hers. With a single frenetic skip of her heart, she realized he was as terrified as she was.

“There’s nothing in the room. Only Caleb. Do you hear me, Arianna? It’s Caleb.”

“No!” She shook her head, unwilling to believe what he told her, but another ear-splitting snarl fanned her fear higher. Nothing made sense. Not the stark fear in Wyn’s eyes, the sweat-slickened grip of his palms crushing her wrists or the chillingly inhuman sounds coming from the parlor. The man she loved could never sound so guttural or barbarous.

“I don’t care!” She ripped free of his hold. “I don’t care if he’s by himself or in there with something else. You have to help him!”

She lunged for the door, but Wyn grappled her around the waist, holding fast. They were still struggling when the sound of shattering glass rang through the narrow center hall of Weathering Rock.

WEATHERING ROCK is available for purchase:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Lyrical Press
iBooks

View Book Trailer for WEATHERING ROCK

I hope you’re intrigued!

To be entered into my Howloween Hop gift drawings, leave a comment with your email.

And, although I’m not making it mandatory, I would really LOVE if you’d sign up to follow my blog, and/or give my Facebook Author Page a Like. Really, guys, you can’t lose! I talk about some interesting stuff! 😀

32 thoughts on “Mae Clair: It’s Howloween H*O*P Time!”

  4. I love Halloween, thanks for the rice krispy treats yummy! your book sounds fantastic and I have been a follower on your blog and FB for a while, Thanks for a chance in your drawing. Carin
    mawmom at gmail dot com

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  5. Weathering Rock is fantastic! I’m rationing it so I don’t finish it too quickly. I love Caleb, but you already know how partial I am to blue-eyed blonds. And thanks for the chance at the drawing!

    Kathy Agel

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  12. Oh my~ the excerpted ended way before I was ready for it too! That’s definitely a sign that I need this book! Makes me happy~ and I’ll take a rice krispy treat before I go. 🙂 Thank you for the hop! MostlyMisha AT gmail DOT com

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    • The rice krispie treats are definitely a hot item, LOL. Thanks for commenting, MostlyMisha. I hope you have a chance to check out the book. It’s nice to know the excerpt has you intrigued!

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  14. Hey, Everyone, thanks for stopping by and taking part in my giveaway for Howloween Hop! Kathy, I know your fondness for blonds (especially one, LOL), and am thrilled to hear you’re enjoying Weathering Rock. Emma, so glad you liked it 🙂 and for everyone else who commented, I hope, thanks for your interest.

    Glad everyone liked my virtual yummies! Hope you’re all safe and dry wherever you are. Hubby and I have been preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Looks like Central PA is going to take a direct hit (we’re already under a State of Emergency). I’m crossing my fingers I’ll have electric (and internet) next week!

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    • Stay safe. We’ve been watching the Weather Channel quite a bit the past couple of days to track Sandy, since it’s heading straight for our former home (northern NJ). Scary stuff.

      And yes, there’s that one particular blond who captured my attention in 1964, and has held it ever since. 🙂 First crushes are the best.

      Kathy

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