COVER REVEAL FOR RICOCHET!!

You know when you've got something incredibly exciting to share and you can't yet, so you kinda go a little crazy in the time you're forced to wait? I was there.  For the entire SUMMER that I had to sit on this reveal.

While writing The Fallen back in January, I was hit by a dark and gritty story, set in Detroit, but not part of the Sons of Wrath world.  I knew this one would be a contemporary romance from it's very beginnings and I kept it on the backburner, unsure of whether or not I wanted to jump into a whole new genre.  To me, it felt like starting over.

Then sometime in May, I was casually perusing Specular's portfolio on Facebook and my eyes immediately zeroed in on one helluva striking image.  The face fit the character for this story so freaking perfectly, I was mesmerized.  I decided I HAD to have him on the cover.  Long story short, I contacted the photographer and that was all it took - the MC in this story refuses to be ignored and the book is practically writing itself, now that I've got my muse.

Before I show this baby off, I have to thank the very talented Chris Davis (photographer) and the insanely gorgeous model.  Holy hella hotness!  He's a British model too, so you KNOW there's a sexy accent to go with dem looks.

I imagine something like this:

Also huge thanks to my brother Ryan (who happened to hog all of the design talent in the family), for taking the time to design the cover.  As one of the founders of a thriving business, he always has a lot on his plate, but never hesitates the many times I approach him with, "So I have this idea ..."  ❤

Thanks so so much to all the contemporary bloggers (I've never had so many bloggers participate in sharing the cover!) who are helping out with this reveal, and to the readers and bloggers (particularly my street team) who helped connect me to them.  Love yas!! ❤

Okay, I know, I know.  You didn't come here to read a story.

So without further delay, here is your first glimpse at Ricochet's cover and blurb! Add it to your Goodreads shelf and be sure to enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win an ARC before it releases!

Screen-licking is encouraged ...

Front Cover-01(1)

RICOCHET

By Keri Lake

Adult Contemporary Romance - Standalone

Expected Release Date: Spring 2015

Image credit: Specular

BLURB:

The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.

Three years ago, I had everything.

A beautiful wife.

A son.

A reason for living.

Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.

They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I'm cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.

A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.

I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who's seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.

Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.

An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.

If she doesn’t destroy me first.

************

Add it to your GOODREADS SHELF!

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Ricochet Snippet

RICOCHET PLAYLIST:

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE FALLEN RELEASE DAY BLAST!!

It’s Release Day for THE FALLEN!

At the request of a very awesome reader during the Bitten by Books party last December, I decided that Xander’s story had to be told.  This book is a prequel to Soul Avenged, a spinoff of the Sons of Wrath world, but NOT part of the overarching storyline that spans the series.  I'll caution, this is the first book I've written with a content warning slapped to the front of it.  In most of my books, I imply horrific scenes.  In this book, I'm showing them.  It's not gratuitous violence on my part--all of it is important to understand these characters, both of whom, are a little more complex than they appear on the surface.

I also added the playlist to the front of the book.  As I've mentioned before, music plays a HUGE role in my writing.  My playlist helped me get inside this dark world every morning.  Some songs just seemed to help mold the characters.

To thank my readers for their continued interest in my books, I'm offering The Fallen as a FREE download!  If you’re new to the Sons of Wrath, this is a great opportunity to acquaint yourself with the dark, dangerous fallen angels and demons that dominate the streets of Detroit. Below, you'll find a short excerpt and links to download your free copy.

THE FALLEN

GENRE:  Dark, erotic paranormal romance

Warning:  Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to graphic violence, sex and strong language.

To catch the Fallen, you have to become the very evil you were bred to slay.

Show loyalty. Be willing to go deep into the gritty underbelly of the world, where the vilest acts of human carnage thrive and seep into your mind like a black poison, consuming every part of you that was once good. Ignore your dark cravings and keep to the most important rule of all: never save the mortals.

This is the life of a Sentinel.

Some call us the toughest angels in the heavens. Unbreakable. But even the strong can break in the face of temptation.

Human females have always been the forbidden fruit for our kind—an enticement I’ve resisted for centuries, until she came along.

Karinna lusts for vengeance.

She wants inside the darkness, where the Fallen own the corrupted streets of Detroit—the perfect bait to take down the biggest crime ring the city has ever known.

I want her. To have her, though, I’ll have to break the rules.

For one taste of the forbidden, I’ll have to commit the most heinous sin of all …

READ SOME EARLY REVIEWS & ADD TO YOUR GOODREADS SHELF:

Enjoy a short snippet then click the link below to pick up your copy!

EXCERPT FROM THE FALLEN

Karinna tugged at his grip, as Xander guided her up a winding staircase and came to a stop in front of a dark wooden door, with deep black grooves, that gave off an ominous warning of bad things on the other side.

He pushed it open.

Awe and horror battled inside her head as she looked around the room. Unlike the relatively normal décor on the first floor, it did look like something out of the serial killer’s edition of Better Homes & Gardens.

Beautiful enough to have her admiring the color scheme.

Terrifying enough to leave her contemplating the quickest exit.

A large steel cross stood atop a thick brown rug, in the center of the room. Chains hung from the ceiling. Paddles and whips of varying size and shape dangled from the wall. A gun safe, in the same shades of beige and brown, stood off to the side, holding God knew what, considering the rest of the interior design.

How very color coordinated.

A dungeon that would bring the most sadistic Dom to his knees in tearful appreciation.

Guiding her inside the room, Xander kept his eyes on her, as though assessing her reaction. After tossing Karinna onto the bed, he crossed the room to the ominous-looking safe and rifled through its contents.

Bolt. Run. The door had been left open. A straight shot. He could be quick, but she’d always been a sprinter. Her tongue thickened, mouth drying as visuals of Texas Chainsaw Massacre passed through her mind. Jesus. What if she picked the wrong door? Would his leather-face doppelganger fly out, swinging?

She had no intentions of finding out what lovely little devices he kept inside that safe, either. Before she could talk herself out of it, she jumped up and made a dead run for the door.

Yeah, she wanted in. Wanted to find the sick sons of bitches who’d hurt her sister. Being tortured and raped had crossed her mind, though the reality of it smacking her in the face didn’t exactly lead her down the path to acceptance. Being alone with a psychopath out in the middle of nowhere never once played into the many ways she’d contemplated getting in the club, for sure.

Shame on her for not having a game-plan for that shit, but c’est la vie, as the saying went, no sense beating herself up over it.

Fuck this.

The steady thud of his boots disappeared to frightening silence.

She glanced over her shoulder, fear strangling her breaths at the long, dark and empty hallway.

A wall of muscle smashed her cheek and knocked her back a step. Out of instinct, Karinna hammered his throat and punched his face, throwing his head to the side.

He growled. Shit. Growled? Only beastly things growled.

Arms gripped around her waist, and he hefted her over his shoulder, as he’d done back at the club. Karinna screamed. As long and as loud as she could, she screamed until the rasp stole her voice.

Now she’d done it. Pissed him off.

Grab your FREE copy!

If you live outside of the US and would like a free copy,

please contact me at keri (at) kerilake.com

THE FALLEN RELEASE PARTY!

Join the Facebook Release Party today from NOON until 7PM (EST), where a paperback of The Fallen will be given away EVERY hour!

THE FALLEN RELEASE PARTY

SONS OF WRATH SERIES:

SOUL AVENGED (SONS OF WRATH, #1)

Amazon (Kindle) |  Amazon (Print)  |  Barnes & Noble (Nook)

SOUL RESURRECTED (SONS OF WRATH, #2)

Amazon (Kindle) |  Amazon (Print)  |  Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Release Date For The Fallen!!

I have a release date for The Fallen!!

Man this has been one crazy story.  I can’t believe how quickly it snowballed into the monstrosity that I’ll be publishing in … well, I’ll get to that in a moment.

What I wasn’t expecting, was that this simple little novella—a very light exploration into a side character of the Sons of Wrath series, would turn into a story that I’d absolutely love writing.

Xander is one fucked up guy.  Which means I was all over his character.  And Karinna ... I'll let you tell me what you think of Karinna.  I describe her as a tough, kickass female like Ayden but not as brutal.

When I turned the manuscript over to a writer friend of mine, J.A. Belfield, for a beta read, it sat somewhere around 38,000 words.  Ms. Belfield had some suggestions for me—one of which was, write the story the way it needs to be told. 

I’d been so worried about trying to keep this thing to novella length, that I had to cut scenes I loved.  Scenes that made the story and characters so much stronger.  So I followed her advice and now, the book is a whopping 75K.

Yep.  Not really a novella at this point.  More of a short novel.  Hey, ya know?  What did I expect when my novels tend to be about 500 pages??

But it’s still going to be FREE.

If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, then you know I'm a huge fan of music when I write (cos I post music all the time).  The Fallen has a playlist (all my books have playlists), but each song on this list added something to the story--characters, plot, difficult scenes, the songs provided a whole lotta inspiration, particularly Lola Montez by Volbeat and Beautiful Pain by Eminem and Sia.  And I cannot write Xander without hearing Rob Zombie's Pussy Liquor on endless loop inside my head.  So because the music was such a big part of writing this book and pulling me into this dark world, I did something different this time, by adding the playlist to the front of the book.

Now on to the release date …

Advanced copies will be going out to readers next week.  The book will be available for everyone on APRIL 17^TH!!!  Just over two weeks away!!!

In the meantime, add it to your Goodreads shelf:  

BLOGGERS!

If you would like to participate in the release day blast and score an early ecopy of The Fallen, sign up here:

[gravityform id=9 name=TheFallen Release Day Blast]

Some have asked about paperback copies.  There won't be paperbacks for sale (unless you guys threaten to tie me up and confiscate my chocolate stash for a week) - at least not initially, but I'll have a stock of them for giveaways.  On release day, I'll be giving away a paperback every hour between noon and 5pm.  You'll not have to purchase anything to participate!  More details to come ...

I hope you enjoy the story.  This is a special ‘thank you’ to those of you who’ve stuck with me and continue to support my writing.  Without you and all the likes, shares, follows, recommending the books to others and leaving reviews, I’d never find readers.  Thank you so much❤

Cover Reveal: THE FALLEN

It's here!!! Man, I've been DYING to show this sucker off!  As I've mentioned in previous posts, at the request of a very awesome reader during the Bitten by Books party, I decided that Xander's story had to be told.  This book will be a prequel to Soul Avenged, a spinoff of the Sons of Wrath world, but NOT part of the overarching storyline that spans the series.

It can be read as a standalone.

I'm labeling this an erotic novel based on the content.  Yes, I said NOVEL because when I set out to write a NOVELLA, it just doesn't work.  This book is looking to be 60K words--short for me, but still considered a novel.  Therefore, I'm dubbing it a short novel.  Ha!

Even though it's longer than I originally planned, it's still going to be FREE.  There will NOT be paperback copies available for purchase, but if you're signed up to my VIP email list, there will be opportunities to WIN a signed paperback!  Get signed up today and you'll be able to view ALL FOUR candidates in the Cover Model Contest for Soul Enslaved and vote for the two finalists!!  A special perk for all my wonderful email subscribers.

As I've said before, this is the first time I've had to slap a warning on the book based on content. In all fairness though, this is Xander we're talking about.  If you've read Soul Resurrected, you know he's a character who kind of walks a very fine line between good and baaaaaaaad.  He was not originally created to be a hero.

You've been warned.

Huge thanks to my ridiculously talented brother, Ryan, for the design of this cover.

If you could share this post to get it out there in the blogosphere, I would be incredibly grateful! ❤

Okay, enough of the blah blah blah.  Without further delay, allow me to present, THE FALLEN (A Sons of Wrath Prequel):

The_Fallen_Prequel

BLURB:

To catch the Fallen, you have to become the very evil you were bred to slay.

Show loyalty.  Be willing to go deep into the gritty underbelly of the world, where the vilest acts of human carnage thrive and seep into your mind like a black poison, consuming every part of you that was once good.  Ignore your dark cravings and keep to the most important rule of all: never save the mortals.

This is the life of a Sentinel.

Some call us the toughest angels in the heavens.  Unbreakable.  But even the strong can break in the face of temptation.

Human females have always been the forbidden fruit for our kind—an enticement I’ve resisted for centuries, until she came along.

Karinna lusts for vengeance.

She wants inside the darkness, where the Fallen own the corrupted streets of Detroit—the perfect bait to take down the biggest crime ring the city has ever known.

I want her.  To have her, though, I’ll have to break the rules.

For one taste of the forbidden, I’ll have to commit the most heinous sin of all …

An exact release date for this book has not yet been determined but will likely be April 2014!!  In the meantime, add it to your Goodreads shelf:

PLAYLIST FOR THE FALLEN:

BLOGGERS!!

I'd love to have you assist with The Fallen Release Day Blast!!  If you've got openings in April, please sign up below:

[gravityform id=9 name=TheFallen Release Day Blast description=false]

Sons of Wrath Logo (Red Text - Style 2)

Grab a copy of Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) here:

Amazon (Kindle) |  Amazon (Print)  |  Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Grab a copy of Soul Resurrected (Sons of Wrath, #2) here:

Amazon (Kindle) |  Amazon (Print)  |  Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Here's What's Coming in 2014

Wow! Can’t believe a month has passed since I last blogged.  Okay, I kinda CAN believe it’s been a month because a lot of crazy shiznit has gone down in the last few weeks, sweeping me up like a tornado and tossing me around.

The holidays are always busy, but this year, it seemed like everything was non-stop.  Just before Christmas, we mourned a death, had a family member hospitalized and dealt with a major power outage that affected a good chunk of the state.  After Christmas, we packed up the kiddos and headed down to Texas to visit my best friend.  It was kind of a spontaneous trip – I seem to like those best these days.  But we returned in time to get slammed by a nasty storm that left us buried in a foot and a half of snow and ice.

Just this past weekend, hubs and I drove two hours north of where we live to pick up a new member of the family – our sweet little Labrador pup, Polar, so named for his pale, almost white-looking coat.  I’ve always had big dogs growing up so I was ready to welcome him into our home.  What I’d forgotten is how much WORK those first few days home with puppy can be!

Holy shit.  Like, all the time.

He absolutely kills me with cuteness, but I’m looking forward to getting past the potty training stage.

As a result of all this craziness, I haven’t been online as much as I’d like.  Another big reason for that though, is I’m writing two projects simultaneously, with another in the works.

For those who don’t follow my FB page, I’m finishing up an erotic novella that’s sort of a spin-off from the Sons of Wrath world, titled The Fallen.  This is the story of how Xander came to be a fallen angel.  Back in December, during the virtual release party for Soul Resurrected over at Bitten by Books, one lovely reader asked about him.  I sort of stuffed that thought aside, thinking, if there’s time, perhaps I’ll explore that a bit later.

Ho ho.

I should’ve known better.  Like most of the alpha males floating around in the oversized bachelor pad I call a brain, he refused to be ignored or ‘back burnered.’  So I jotted a few notes down for kicks.  That snowballed into a few thousand words.  That snowballed into a few more thousand words.

Two weeks later, I’m approaching 32K.

I know I’ve said that each book is dark.  Soul Avenged was dark.  Soul Resurrected was darker.  This book is the darkest thing I’ve ever written to date.  Cringe-worthy, in some cases.  Consider yourself warned.

Add The Fallen to your Goodreads shelf:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20429000-the-fallen

So because I like to get the crap news out of the way first, I’ll tell you the bad.  Soul Enslaved doesn’t have the wordage that I’d have liked at this point.  It’s been slowed down by this shiny shiny that I’ve stumbled upon.

Not to worry though, come hell or high water, Soul Enslaved will be in the hands of my editor on the date promised.  I don’t really have a choice there, as she has other clients with deadlines.

Therefore, even if that means I don’t sleep for DAYS and I end up having hallucination of lycan wolves lurking in the shadows of my bedroom, which gets me thrown into a padded room with a cozy shirt that ties at the sleeves, this book is going to be written and delivered.

The good news is, The Fallen will be out VERY soon.

And the even better news??

It’s going to be F.R.E.E.

That’s right!  I’m putting this baby out there for nothing because this was a request from a reader and it’s been a blast to write.

So keep an ear out for that announcement because I won’t be running a huge tour or anything.  Though if there are any bloggers that might want to help spread the word on Release Day, please fill out the form below because I’d LOVE to get your help!  And you get to shout about a free book – that’s always a plus.

[gravityform id=9 name=TheFallen Release Day Blast]

Okay, so The Fallen is coming, followed by Gavin’s story in Soul Enslaved.

I’ve got even MORE news – I’m telling you, the past few weeks have been Cray-Zay.

The second annual Cover Model Contest will soon be underway!!  I’ve enlisted the help of David Wagner, photographer extraordinaire, to help me find some super smokin’ panty dropping hotties that would make one fine looking demon brother.  We’ve already talked about this cover and I can assure you, it’ll be Gavin-worthy.

There are a number of sexy faces on the scene these days, so if you’ve come across someone you’d like me to consider for the contest, post the link to his FB page in the comments below and if he fits the character, I shall check out the goods.  Er, by that I just mean, the level of hotness and muscles.  Not like, you know, the packaged goods or anything.  Here’s an example of a newbie I came across recently:

https://www.facebook.com/AssadShalhoubModelingAndFitness

Ahem. **dabs drool**

Moving on.

The Fallen

Soul Enslaved

Cover Model Contest.

Mark your calendars ...  2014 is gonna be one helluva year!!