Fantasy Island

First official review for HOT GOSSIP!

2006-03-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneek peek at my first review from Joyfully Reviewed...

"Hot Gossip by Tawny Stokes is a keeper that I thoroughly enjoyed reading! I am ecstatic that I found another talented author to add to my list, and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Stokes. As for Hot Gossip, I recommend this enjoyable novel to any and all readers!"
- Talia Ricci

I'm very excited about this. It's hard to wait for reviews on a first time book. Especially when no one knows what to expect because you're new. So thanks Talia for reading and reviewing my book!!!

Sleight of Hand - Lauren Dane

2006-03-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a wonderful excerpt from Lauren Dane's new one SLEIGHT OF HAND, coming from Whispers Publishing.

SLEIGHT OF HAND BY LAUREN DANE
© Copyright LAUREN DANE, 2006.
All Rights Reserved, Whispers, Inc.

Looking into her eyes, watching the flecks of color there, he did his own remembering of that first time they’d been together. He’d been coming to the bar nightly for months and had pursued her relentlessly. She’d continually deflected his advances, much to his great frustration. So he’d watched her, learned her.

He took note of her love of games of chance and of taking risks, and he used it. Daring to lay it on the line, he challenged her to trust fate and let the coin decide. As he knew he would, he won the toss, they’d gone back to her Victorian in Queen Anne, and he’d watched her disrobe in the golden light of the candles she’d lit all around the room. Her hair had flowed over her shoulders like liquid flame, and he was sure at that moment he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. And for the last six months, he’d been with her as often as he could, in and out of her bed, but always in her life every moment he could steal. He had immense greed for her.

“Well? What do you say, beautiful?”

Chewing on her bottom lip, she considered what to do. The truth of it settled into her in a way she could no longer deny. She loved Xander Stryker to distraction. The fact that he’d sent Henry to strong arm her into taking Alex in instead of coming to her himself—that he’d been heavy handed with something she thought he’d done out of affection—hurt her more than just about anything she’d ever experienced. All because she loved him.

Nodding, she decided to trust fate another time. To let her know whether she should move on and kick this ass out of her life or give him another chance.

“Okay, I call tails.”

He made an annoyed sound and stepped back. “Fine! If you think it’s fair to throw it out there before I’d even known you were going to agree, then you can have tails.” He pouted, and she rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. You’re lucky I haven’t staked your worthless ass yet. So get moving, fang. Toss that thing, and let’s get it over with.”

Grinning, he tossed it into the air and clapped his hand over it. Heart pounding, Lissie leaned in close to see what side the coin would be on when he moved his hand back. And also to be sure he didn’t cheat.

He pulled his hand back, and she saw that it was heads. She’d lost. Relief poured through her.

Chuckling, he gave her a lascivious grin. “Heads.” The quarter disappeared back into his pocket.

She grabbed his hand, pushed it out of the way, and shoved her hand in his pocket. “Let me see that. You probably cheated.”

He moved her hand out of the way, digging into his pocket to pull out the quarter. Wearing a smirk, he handed it to her.

Examining it, she saw it was a normal quarter and handed it back with a sigh, scowling at his arrogant smirk.
“Satisfied, my darling?” His voice was suddenly a purr. Velvet and seductive, it slithered down her spine, leaving a flush of desire in its wake.

“A bet’s a bet.” Her voice was slightly hoarse, and she clenched her hands into fists to keep from shaking.

“Oh, it is. Now then, take the t-shirt off,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest. He leaned back against the table behind him, watching her every move.

Moving her trembling hands to the hem of her shirt, she pulled it up and over her head and draped it over a barstool. She shot him a dirty look and stood before him, nipples hard, the silver of the ring winking at him in the dim light.

“So damned beautiful.” The sight of her there made him ache with the miracle of it. Truly though, there weren’t words to accurately describe what she was. What she meant to him.

Buy it today!

Come and Play all Day!!

2006-02-27T16:59:00.000-08:00

Come and play with the Whispers authors tomorrow on their readers loop. Join here.

I'll be there with Lauren Dane, who's wonderful book Sleight of Hand is releasing with Hot Gossip tomorrow!

One lucky winner for day is going to walk away with downloads of all 8 launch books!!!

But you have to be there to win! So come and play tomorrow!!

Another excerpt from HOT GOSSIP!

2006-02-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

After a quick nap, a long shower, a slathering of cocoa butter and strategically placed perfume, Makayla sashayed into the hotel’s bar with a mission. She wore black leather pants with fashionably enhanced hips and a low cut sweater twin set that displayed more fashionably enhanced products like the triple click cleavage bra. God bless Victoria’s Secret.

Makayla quickly scanned the crowd but didn’t see Ethan. She took a stool at the bar and ordered a Pink Lady. As she took a sip, she stared at herself in the facing mirrored wall behind the counter. She ran a hand through her hair and fluffed it up. After trailing her tongue over her plump painted lips, she winked at herself. No man could resist her. She was a temptress, a seductress. An old star harlot like Brigitte Bardo. Ethan didn’t have a chance.

But what then? She’d entice him, flirt with him, ply him with drinks, and then what? She didn’t have a clue. She obviously didn’t think that far ahead. Would she actually step over the line of journalist ethics--yes, she had a line--and sleep with him for a story?

The moment she spotted Ethan in the mirror as he walked into the bar and sat down at a table, all the blood rushed from her head down to her crotch. He looked absolutely edible in his soft blue chambray shirt and tan Chinos. His hair was parted and slick to the side. It still looked wet as if he had just stepped out of the shower.

Makayla swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth as she thought of him just stepping out of the stall, his body slick and wet, the fresh scent of soap on his hard flesh, and a sexy playful grin on his chiseled face.

She felt little quivers of desire in her thighs and a quickening of things in between. Yes, she might just cross that line.

Taking another sip of her drink, she tried to compose herself. She was a professional and this was her assignment. Ethan Devane was just a story and nothing more.

After flipping back her hair, she swung around on the barstool, crossing her legs seductively as she did. She pretended to scan the crowd, a look of boredom etched on her face. At least, she hoped it was boredom and not pent-up sexual frustration.

It was getting more and more difficult to reign in her lust with Ethan so near. He was like a pheromone nuclear bomb. No one within a twenty-mile radius was safe from the hormonal fall-out.

Coming to Whispers February 28th!

More Praise for HOT GOSSIP

2006-02-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

"There is no doubt about it--Tawny Stokes has a way with words. Humor and heat are combined to make HOT GOSSIP one hot story!!"

- Sasha White, author of Connection, and Transplant
http://www.sashawhite.net

Thanks Sasha!!!

Excerpt from HOT GOSSIP!

2006-02-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

Makayla imagined it was his hands on her and his body heat melting her insides. She kept dancing. Eyes locked with his. She let the seductive music take over. Swaying, grinding, and feeling herself up, she made love to him from across the room. At that moment, she had never felt so decadent, so free from judgment. For the first time in her life, she felt liberated and uninhibited.

The music abruptly stopped, and all eyes landed on her.

She looked around her. Various men and women were smirking. Others were agape. Her cheeks reddened. She turned and ran from the floor without another glance in his direction.

She raced to the washrooms. Snide comments followed her out as she turned into the hallway. There was a crowd hovering around the doors. Turning the other way, she went down a poorly lit deserted hall. It wound its way to the back exit. She stopped and leaned against the cool cement wall.

She banged her forehead against the concrete. What was she thinking? She acted like a complete idiot and could never go back in there. Oh God! What would Holly say? She would never live this down. Maybe she could play it as if she was really drunk and didn’t realize what she was doing. Then the only person who would really think her a fool would be herself.

Makayla stiffened as she sensed a presence behind her. Quickly turning her head, she could only see electric blue, like in a clear summer sky.

“Why did you run away?” His voice was rich and deep, like melted chocolate, with a slight musical lilt.

“The show was over.” Makayla kept her back to him. She shivered at his nearness. He was standing close. Close enough to smell him, a sweet tantalizing mixture of sweat and expensive cologne. He stepped closer, his intensity pressing intimately into her back.

“I was hoping for a sequel.”

“I’m not the kind of girl that gives sequels.”

He laughed. The vibrations crept up her spine and caressed her throat like lover’s fingers.

“You smell incredible.” Leaning closer, he took a deep breath of her scent.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she shivered. Even with her three inch healed boots, she had to tilt her chin to make eye contact. He was a big man with broad shoulders and wide hands. One of those powerful hands could dominate her with ease. Her knees nearly gave out at the thought.

“Why don’t you turn around?” He teased, his accent thickening with arousal.

“I don’t want to.” Makayla was enjoying this game. Cat and mouse. But who was the cat, and who was the mouse?

He moved closer to her. She could feel him pressed against her body, his erection pushing against the small of her back. She took in a ragged breath as he bent down and kissed the side of her neck. His lips lingered at the exact spot where her heart thumped erratically.

Makayla’s body quivered with each soft touch of his mouth. She moaned deep in her throat at the gentle contact. The dominant way he had her pressed against the cold wall, and the gentle soft kisses at her neck drove her to the edge, making her want to scream at the contrasts. She wanted to urge him for more and beg him to stop at the same time. She craved this more than anything.

With a burning need, she turned and sought his mouth with hers. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her. Their tongues mated in a frantic dance. She nipped at his lips, eager for more.

As he fisted his hands in her hair, he savaged her mouth, licking and biting. She could taste mint, alcohol, and man. She desired to inhale him, to suck him inside her, to feast on his flavor.

Someone cleared their throat, but Makayla’s lust-filled mind ignored it.

“Ethan?”

Their heads whipped up. A stocky man with glasses stood at the end of the hall. Ethan dropped his hands.

“What are you doing?” The man asked with a condescending smirk on his face. “We’re waiting for you back at the table.”

“Nothing,” Ethan said abruptly, taking a step away from Makayla, distancing himself.

The stocky man walked closer to them. “Who you got there?”

“Nobody. Don’t worry about it.”

Makayla glanced up at Ethan then. He was avoiding her stare, looking like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar, sheepish and embarrassed.

HOT GOSSIP coming February 28th to Whispers Publishing.

Advanced Praise for HOT GOSSIP!

2006-02-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

"Hot Gossip by Tawny Stokes is a wonderful, humorous read that will make you laugh out loud. Makayla Bradley, a sassy journalist that I immediately liked and related to, is willing to do whatever if takes to get the story. She was counting on going undercover, even playing the part of a sex kitten to get what she needed, but what Makayla wasn't counting on was falling in love with rogue playboy exec, Ethan Devane, a man who snubbed her two years previous.

Hot gossip is a fast paced, sexy plot that will keep your attention until the very last page."

- Cathryn Fox, author of Making Waves and Unleashed, www.cathrynfox.com

Cover for HOT GOSSIP

2006-01-27T09:47:00.000-08:00

I love the guy on this cover. Isn't that a sexy look? Hmm, I'd love to have a man whisper into my ear like that...

Here's a little bit about the book:

Makayla Bradley is a small time journalist working for a small time celebrity rag called Hot Gossip. All she wants is to get that one story, the one expose that could catapult her to stardom and land her a job with a bigger and better magazine.

Her chance comes when her editor asks her to get the scoop on rogue playboy executive, Ethan Devane, who is in town on secret business. Mak jumps at the opportunity. She can kill two birds with one stone…get the dirt on a top Canadian celebrity making her career, and humiliate the man who snubbed her two years prior in a Toronto nightclub. She’s never forgotten it or the humiliation she experienced.

Mak employs her usual tricks of the trade--covert undercover work--and poses as a French vamp-du-jour to follow Ethan around town and get his attention. She discovers not only is he still the sexiest man alive but also, to her chagrin, he may possess a heart underneath all that gloss and charm. Is Mak really willing to expose herself, to the one man she could fall in love with, to get the hot gossip on his life?

Coming February 28th from Whispers Publishing.

My Debut!

2006-01-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

My sexy romantic/comedy novella, HOT GOSSIP, will be debuting from Whispers, a new sensual romance publisher, February 28.

I'm very excited to be part of this venture and to be grouped with these amazing hot authors!

Beginning February 28, 2006, join seven great erotic authors for the debut ofWhispers….Erotic romance like you've never read.Heat you'll have to feel for yourself.And passion that will leap off the pages.

Sancturary by Delilah Devilin
Hot Gossip by Tawny Stokes
Sleight of Hand by Lauren Dane
Tempting by Myla Jackson
Dark Heat by Leigh Wyndfield
Big Bad Wolf by Deb Curwen
Feel the Heat by Rachel Carrington

An invitation!

2005-11-27T19:07:00.000-08:00

While I am busy creating my web presence, please visit my alter ego Vivi Anna at her smokin' hot website and Bad Girl Blog.

Coming Soon!

2005-11-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

My foray into the world of publishing. The struggles and the triumphs!