Fall Carnival Blog Hop – Again!

It’s October and time for pumpkins, great weather, and of course, blog hops and carnivals! This is the second year for our Fall Carnival Blog Hop. You can find the full details and other participating authors at the Desert Muses blog.

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In addition to having a greater chance of winning the $80 Amazon Giftcard, if you sign up for my new release e-mail list BY CLICKING HERE between now and October 24, I’ll offer one randomly selected e-mail list subscriber a choice between print or ebook copies of both The Necromancer’s Seduction and book one in my pirate series, Devil’s Island! The winner will be announced October 29 so stop back by and check out the Muses blog to see the list of winners of the grand prize (Amazon gift card) and each individual giveaways.

Have a great October and Halloween! Don’t step off the Carousel yet! Hop on over to Sandy Wright’s site here. And don’t forget to stop by the Muses blog for more details and other participating authors!

Devil’s Island $0.99 deal and excerpt!

Devil’s Island, my pirate book, is the Kindle Daily Deal today at $0.99. On Friday the 13th no less! Here’s the Kindle Nation link: http://bit.ly/1oWBht5

Devil's Island, Mimi Sebastian, Sea RExcerpt from Devil’s Island:

On the main deck, the crew scurried about, intent on their tasks under the watchful eye of the boatswain, Ben. The topsmen unfurled sheets of canvas, great curtains that captured the wind and billowed with thunderous glee, urging the vessel forward. Fletcher, the carpenter conscripted from the Maidstone, was cutting out new ports in the hull for the new cannon they’d scavenged from the slaver. Despite his early grumbling upon joining the Archeron’s crew, he’d quickly fallen into an easy camaraderie with the men, who admired his skill with a hammer and nail.

The air draped over them, thick and steamy, and Sabine constantly wiped the sweat from her face and chest. She rubbed her hands on her skirt every minute or so to keep the needle from slipping from her fingers while she sewed up torn canvas, her back propped against the thick beam of the foremast. She’d untied the scarf and donned a hat to shelter her face from the sun that grilled them, envying the men who walked the deck shirtless.

She’d never paid mind to a crew’s state of undress when sailing with her father, although he’d kept her tucked away on the forecastle when she’d ventured topside. To a child, the men’s chests were merely an anatomical curiosity, and she was content to let Barth show her how to tie knots. But when Boone crouched next to her to counsel with Fletcher about the alterations to the ship, she found herself sneaking a peek at his chest from under the brim of her hat, as if she hadn’t seen enough in the cabin.

Sweat dripped and swam down the ridges his muscles formed on his arms and stomach. Her gaze took on a life of its own and she stared transfixed at his powerful thighs, only inches from her. The moist air had molded his breeches to his calves and ass. She found it difficult to breathe and wondered if it was possible for the air to grow even thicker.

He turned to her, and her fingers jumped back to life, except she forgot a couple of them held a thick canvas needle and she pricked her index finger. She flicked her head down to hide her scorched cheeks under the brim of her hat and sucked on the fat globs of blood oozing from the small prick.

Boone smiled. “Shall I kiss your finger and make it better?”

She stopped sucking, finger still propped on her lower lip, and watched Boone’s amused stare transform into something that jabbed at her body worse than the canvas needle. He stood, looming over her, sweaty and virile. She resisted the urge to wipe moisture off her neck and chest. Finally, as if breaking free of the momentary spell, he winked at her then made his way across deck.

Damn his eyes. When her heart settled, she resumed her stitching and snuck a peek at his retreating back, his scars standing out in sharp relief with each flex of muscle.

As she watched him, something struck her about Boone other than his lovely but tormented physique. He waded about the deck, joked with the men, took proffered sips of rum, affecting the part of a devil-may-care pirate captain, but he constantly swept his hand along every line, testing its tautness, checked the position of the cannons, studied the canvas looking for small tears or slack. He moved incessantly about the ship, caress- ing her, admiring her, showing distress at any sign of imperfection, not unlike a lover obsessed.

And, she realized with a sinking sensation, Boone might not have been capable of loving a woman, and with that thought came shock at her use of the word “love.” Stop! She knew Boone’s heart, if he had one, belonged to the sea. She’d complete her mission and leave him to his mistress.

 

My Pirate Heroes

Pirates. A far cry from Urban Fantasy, but, oh yes, pirates. Errol Flynn had me at arrrrgh with his first swing on the rat line in Captain Blood. Or maybe Tyrone Powers in The Black Swan. Maybe it’s the black boots, the swagger, or the devil may care attitude, but pirate heroes are my ultimate bad boys. (And I did love Depp as Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates, but that series lost it’s footing. I actually looved Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa)Devil's Island, Sea Rover's Passion, Mimi Sebastian

And I mean pirate heroes. Not a privateer or falsely accused sailor. Like vampires who actually drink blood, I like my pirates to plunder from the East India Company and give to the disenfranchised. Okay, I know they probably had bad teeth and smelled like bilge, but this is romance, dammit.

I read a very excellent book, The Republic of Pirates, by Colin Woodard (tv show based on the book coming soon, SQUEEEEE). Woodard focused on three of the more successful Caribbean pirates: Charles Vane, Edward Teech a.k.a. Blackbeard, and Black Sam Bellamy, and the British patriot, Woodes Rogers, who eventually played a huge role in ending the Golden Age of Piracy (1715 – 1725). A great book worthy of a read. It inspired me to finally write a pirate historical romance, Devil’s Island, and inspired my hero, Captain Boone Wilder. Continue reading