Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Chocolate Damsel Has Been Released!

I am so excited this book has been released, dear readers. It was a joy to work on--thanks in great part to the fabulous a.c. Mason, the author--and is my favorite story to date from her imagination. Although, I did love Aequitas I: Betrayal and Aequitas II: Punishment, her first two books.  And of those, it was a toss up choosing my fave... Hmm. There's nothing wrong with an editor loving every one of her author's books, is there?
I didn't think so, and thank God, because Chocolate Temptation, the second in the Wolf Spirit Series is sooo good too.
 But I digress. This is about Chocolate Damsel, released May 2nd from Lyrical Press. Get a load of this cover:




Beautiful, isn't it?
Here's a little bit about the story to entice you.


Will her love break through his armor so he can be whole again?


In June of 1940, Nazis march into Paris, France. Brutality haunts the streets.

Engel VanWolf, the Alpha of a Shunu pack - immortals, who shift into wolf-spirit - has a painful past and the patch on his eyes serves as a reminder of human cruelty. No stranger to injustice, he poses as a Nazi officer to smuggle Jewish orphans from the city. Drawn to a seductive fragrance, chocolate skin, and velvet voice, VanWolf comes upon a human beauty, Alexia, in danger. A hunger long forgotten burns anew inside him.

Alexia Pane is taken in by the shunu pack, and finds communal living isn’t the only thing they share. When danger comes knocking, she’s sent to warn VanWolf, who has been discovered but needs rescuing of her own. As he whisks her to safety, he awakens her dormant passion. It’s not the flames of the city she fears, but the fire he invokes inside her. The closer she gets, the more he pushes her away. And then, she falls into enemy hands.

Can VanWolf save the woman he loves from a ruthless enemy and mend the pain he has caused?

Warning; This book contains a hot Alpha with an eye patch. A chocolate damsel in need of saving. A pack that shares more than communal living. F/M/F/M. A pack with no lack of hot betas to follow.

Want a little more? Here ya go.


Alexia’s stomach twisted. Soldiers marched up the pathway to the chateau. Her legs hurt from the pace Griselda kept directing her to the river’s edge. She couldn’t remember the last hour. Griselda had put her to sleep to hide a message for her brother that no one but he could retrieve on her body.
A large wolf with white fur, the hairs black tipped, watched from a distance. Cathen.
“Where are you going?” Griselda probed her for the fourth time.
“The core of Paris to see Engel VanWolf on rue Saint Antoine.” Over the past few days, the pack had become family to her. Any one of them would lay down their life for her. Now this was her chance to show them she too would do the same for them. Being caught meant death and failure. Not an option.
“Good. Do your best to stay out of sight. Cathen will watch over you as long as he can.” Griselda hugged her tight, nearly crushing her.
A kiss to each cheek was all Alexia would allow before she turned. “Your brother and I will meet up with you shortly.” She said those words as much for Griselda as herself, then took off jogging.
Dusk fell. At least the night would provide her cover. Water splashed on her boots, but she wouldn’t leave the banks of the riverbed. Down there, she could mask her scent from the werewolves the pack had warned her about.
She sensed Cathen stop. A howl carried on the breeze as though he told her to stay low and out of sight. His strong energy moved away, paused.
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered under her breath, in hopes it would ease his conscience and act as a silent prayer for her.
The male presence vanished.
Dark puffs of smoke rose into the sky. Red from the explosions reflected off the grayish clouds. The world had gone insane, and she was trapped deep in the belly of madness.
If she died tonight, she’d fail the pack. She refused to.
Male voices above her startled her. She pressed her body to the dirt and rock, trying to remain out of sight. An engine rumbled. Please God, spare her so she could help the pack. The vehicle slowed down. Thunder pounded inside her chest. Her hands trembled and breathing grew labored.
They sped off, casting dirt. She tucked in close to avoid the spray.
As she drew closer to the city, she picked up her pace. Daylight faded in the distance. A few stars managed to shine through the thick covering of smoke in the sky.
At this very moment, she’d have made a deal with the devil himself to make it through the night, but it seemed he had no interest in her. Would she die? If she did, would her life be considered a waste? Her accomplishments were little to nothing. She needed to make a difference in the world.
At least the darkness provided her a veil.
The outer streets of the city were vacant but for the patrolling soldiers. Back home, most would be barely old enough to vote, or enlist. Children fought at the front lines of wars.
How she longed for the suffering to end. Somehow, this only felt like the beginning. Death driven by the desire for a pure race. She was the furthest thing from being untainted. If caught, she too would be cleansed from the earth.

Sufficiently intrigued now? Good. Go check it out at www.lyricalpress.com. It's right there on the first page under New This Week. You can catch up with Mason at a.c. Mason.com and Nights of Passion too, where she's a regular blogger.
Check out her interview there:
 http://networkedblogs.com/hkIvQ

And here's Mason's first review for Chocolate Damsel. As the reviewer said, and I'm thrilled to quote, this book is "amazing".

http://www.paranormalromance.org/reviews/review.php?id=33587

 Congratulations, Mason, on your new release! It's fabulous, and you totally rock!