Guest Post & Giveaway with Author Tori St. Claire

Hi Everyone. Please help me welcome Tori St.Claire  to AsianCocoa's Secret Garden today. Thanks for stopping by today, Tori!

Thank you so much for hosting me today – I’m thrilled to be back at Asian Cocoa’s Secret Garden, discussing my newest release, Lie to Me. 

When Spies Make Errors

In keeping with our July festivities, I want to share a tidbit – did you know that the American Revolution would have never succeeded without espionage and the use of spies?

It’s true.  The nature of the Colonies, with everyone speaking one language, made it easy for folks to pretend loyalty to one side or the other.  Plus, women were considered too unintelligent to be of concern, and when the British housed servicemen in Revolutionary homes, the women listened to conversations and reported to Revolutionary leaders. 

So we, as a country, have been employing spies for our greater good since our inception.  And as we all know, once in a while, things go wrong.  We wouldn’t know what we do now about our early spies if those Revolutionary spies hadn’t made errors and gotten caught.

I figure that every now and then, “wrong” translates to having to “undo” what we’ve “done” (or not done, officially, as the case may be).  How is that handled?  That was the question I pondered when I originally began to think about Lie to Me.  What if, in the course of standard operations, the Black Opals made a mistake and had to undo that wrong?

A few hours later, I had Alexei, who’d kidnapped the wrong girl.  Now, when he’s finally escaped the nightmare of the job he despised, he must return to Dubai and reclaim a woman he’s wronged.  Only when he leaves… he has no idea he’s going after the only woman who ever mattered to him.

What a glorious mess for an author to have free-reign with!  Did I mention the same woman has secrets of her own, not the least of which is that someone wants her dead?  Yes, yes, a grand, perfect pile of muck to throw an already damaged hero into.  Add in the chemistry between the pair, the danger that’s never far away, and it’s the perfect mix for fireworks of an entirely different kind.

I’ll share a peek at Lie to Me, but I’d love to hear your thoughts:  If you were living in Revolutionary times, and you had British officials in your home, what would you do to secure our independence?  (And yes, slipping arsenic into their drinks is a totally okay answer!)

I’ll go first:  I would do everything possible to portray my home as possessed by evil spirits.  It might not accomplish much, but stringing their underclothes in the front lawn, in the middle of the night would create a good deal of personal enjoyment.  I can picture the British’s expressions when their undergarments are blowing in the breeze!  Because, you know, as a woman I’d be too dumb to think of that.  Worst case scenario I spend my days amused.  Best case, I drive them from my home.

Lie to Me
by Tori St.Claire
Publisher: Berkly Heat
Release Date: July 3, 2012

A man of action…

After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue one of the stolen women and return her to her father. When he arrives in Dubai, he discovers his target is Sasha Zablosky—a woman he knows all too well, and who has haunted him ever since their unforgettable time together in Moscow, two and a half years earlier. But he finds Sasha reluctant to leave her sheikh, the only true friend she’s ever known. Only Alexei can’t give her a choice.

A woman of deception…

With their yearning roused by intrigue, Alexei and Sasha can no longer resist temptation, and spend night after night in forbidden pleasure. Soon Alexei finds himself falling for her, even as he battles a shadowy menace to protect her. But Sasha is no innocent. She has a past darker than she could ever admit, one that Alexei could never forgive. And it is about to explode into her life once more. As the lies they tell themselves—and each other—pull them deeper into a perilous desire, what began as simple passion becomes a love certain to destroy them and end the lives of countless innocents.

Excerpt

Opening his eyes, he smoothed a hand down her long silken hair. “You should get some sleep.”

“It’s morning. The sun’s peeking up.”

Carefully avoiding the mirror, he shifted his gaze to the window, noting the early violet hue in the sky. “I guess it is.” Which meant they wouldn’t be going anywhere until tomorrow morning. He’d put her through enough for one night. Her father could live another day without her. Particularly since he knew she was safe at least.

As he nuzzled her hair once more, tiny wisps getting caught on his unshaven chin, all the places they connected soaked into his awareness. His pulse kicked up a notch. Against his thigh, his cock stirred.

Damn. What was the matter with him? It was like some animal had invaded his body. Sure, the sex was mind-blowing, but this wasn’t normal. Certainly not for him.

His cock was going to have to wait. He knew from experience Sasha could go all night. But those amazing evenings hadn’t included bullets and death. She might be strong, yet he couldn’t ask her to endure more.

Easing out of her embrace, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her to the door. “You still need sleep.”

All five and a half feet of her tensed like stone. Bracing against his steering efforts, she shook her head. “I don’t want to sleep, Alexei.”

In her adamant whisper, he heard the fear he had once known so intimately. Dreams had a way of making all the realities unavoidable.

Alexei stopped urging her toward the door and turned to catch her chin in his hand. He tipped her face to his. A dozen reassurances floated through his mind. What made it off his tongue shocked him. “Why don’t you hate me?”

Author Bio - 

National Bestselling author Tori St. Claire grew up writing. Hobby quickly turned into passion, and when she discovered the world of romance as a teen, poems and short stories gave way to full length novels with sexy heroes and heroines waiting to be swept off their feet. She wrote her first romance novel at seventeen.

While that manuscript gathered dust-bunnies beneath the bed, she went on to establish herself as a contemporary, historical, and paranormal author under the pen name, Claire Ashgrove. Her writing, however, skirted a fine line between hot and steamy, and motivated by authors she admired, she pushed her boundaries and made the leap into erotica, using the darker side of human nature and on-the-edge suspense to drive grittier, sexier, stories.

Her erotic romantic suspense novels are searingly sensual experiences that unite passion with true emotion, and the all-consuming tie that binds -- love.

Tori can be found at:

http://toristclaire.blogspot.com
www.claireashgrove.com

Twitter: @claireashgrove

Giveaway:

Tori will be giving away a $25 Gift card to one randomly drawn commenter during the month of July. Two additional commenters  will receive a basket of swag. The more comments you leave the better your chances of winning. Complete tour dates can be found here.

 

To Enter:

Answer Tori's question from the post or leave a comment or question for her and include your email address. Good luck.