“Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all..”

Great stories bring hope to the heart and with every story I write, I strive to deliver that to my reader.  To give the hope of love.  To give the hope that good conquers evil.  To give the hope that there is light in the darkness, heroes in the battles, and healing to be found within the sharing of our hearts.

So secondly I realized that touching hearts is the true meaning of success for a writer, no matter what the financial gain may be.
All of which brings me to Mari and Roger, the heroine and hero of TACTICAL DECEPTION.  I hope they touch your heart.  Both of these characters have suffered through life-altering hurts and are struggling to find their way through pain, disillusionment and guilt.  The world events playing out around them amplify their internal conflicts and as they fight their way to save lives and keep the world from spinning into chaos, they discover the healing and forgiving power of love.

I hope that I have succeeded in writing a story that will speak to your heart and invite you to give TACTICAL DECEPTION a try.  But if a military romantic thriller isn’t where your heart lies, I invite you to give one of my other stories a try.

MIDNIGHT SECRETS, the first book in my Killdaren Series, a paranormal historical suspense was re-released in print this month.  Cassie Andrews steps beyond all propriety and safety when she goes undercover as maid into Sean Killdaren’s dark castle.  As she searches for the truth behind the disappearance of her cousin, her life and her heart are plunged into jeopardy.  She’s in a battle for her life and doesn’t know who to trust.  Especially the cursed Sean Killdaren.  He may be her darkest dream…or her most terrifying nightmare.

If you’re a new reader to my books, try one of my hot contemporaries or sexy historicals with great new covers now available on Kindle.  THE MISTRESS OF TREVELYAN, HIS DARK DESIRES, WILD IRISH RIDE, and SMOOTH IRISH SEDUCTION are all ready to whisk you away into the magic of story.

If you like what I’ve written then tell me the best way possible by posting an Amazon Review so others can read why!

Now back to TACTICAL DECEPTION!

Here is an excerpt of Roger and Mari.

Before the guilt of Neil’s death could get another strangling hold on him, Roger marched to his bedroom door. He couldn’t effectively take care of Mari if she hid herself from him. Something had to change. He knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked harder.

Still no answer. Worried now, he opened the door. “Mari?”

Light from the bathroom highlighted her figure at the window. She stood minus her abaya and hijab—her black gown and head scarf. She wore a long tunic over slim pants, a vision of cream-colored silk and ebony hair that fell well below her waist. Gold leaves embroidered the collar, sleeves and hems of her outfit. The effect was delicate, exotic, almost ethereal.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she had her hands pressed to her abdomen, to the child growing within her.

“Are you hurting? Is it the baby? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“No. The baby is fine. No pain.”

Relief had his blood rushing with dizzying force, leaving him almost light-headed and his chest tightened into a knot. Emotion, pain, and desire sucker punched him in the gut and below. What kind of low-bellied dick was he?

The lowest he decided. He couldn’t stop his heated arousal in response to her beauty, but he damn well could ignore it and remember with every shred of decency he had in him that if it wasn’t for him, Neil would be with Mari right now and none of the shit that had happened to her lately would have occurred.

She stood frozen a moment then turned, reaching for her black gown.

“Don’t. Please don’t hide from me.” His voice escaped in a harsh rasp.

She paused, looking at him, her hand resting on her heavy gown. Her golden eyes were wide with…fear?

He covered the distance between them.

“Are you afraid of me?” Their gazes met and she lowered hers.

He knew before he slid his thumb under her chin how soft her skin was. Just weeks ago, he’d lost his restraint and kissed her tear-dampened cheeks after Dugar had taken a shot at her outside the hospital. That night he’d held her bandaged hand as she’d restlessly slept between nightmares. And until helping her up from the street today, it was the last time he’d touched her.

He clasped her hand resting on her gown and brought it to his chest, placing her palm firmly over his racing heart. Her gaze reconnected with his and he asked her again. “Are you afraid of me?”

“No,” she whispered before shutting her eyes and pulling her hand away.

She said no, but he swore he saw fear swirling in her conflicted expression.

“Why then? Why didn’t you tell me how bad things were for you? I could have helped or gotten you help. And why didn’t you tell me about the shooting lessons? I would have arranged for them. Made sure you were safe.”

“You would have?” She blinked at him with surprise. “But you were adamant about me not leaving the post for any reason. Not even to go with Holly to the store in Fayetteville.”

“Going to a shoe sale in a crowded mall is different than going to a gun range. Besides, learning to protect yourself is more important than buying shoes.” Roger raked his fingers through his hair. He remembered the conversation they’d had a few weeks back. And yeah, he’d been pretty strong in his objections about them going to the mall. But then, someone had been calling in bomb threats at that time too. It had been three weeks after Dugar’s attempts to kill her and Roger would have bet money Dugar was behind the threats. He hadn’t told Mari about any of it though. He hadn’t wanted her to worry. Only to heal.

She frowned at him as if he’d grown horns. “What?” he asked. Had he said something wrong?

“So what does that mean? I am not supposed to do something, but if it’s something you approve of then it is all right to do it?”

Hell. She made him sound as if he were a bipolar prison guard. He counted to ten, hoping to ease his frustration, but it didn’t work. “No. Well, sometimes, maybe, yes. I mean—” Tension knotted his brow. What did he mean? Couldn’t she see the difference between the two outings? “We can discuss the details later. I just need to know why you couldn’t tell me about the anxiety you’re having and that you wanted to learn self-defense.”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

Roger opened his mouth then shut it. He’d kept things from her for the same reason, but this was different. She’d put herself in both physical and mental jeopardy. Then again, hadn’t he set himself as her prison guard as opposed to a bodyguard? Had he done anything personal to put her at ease enough to be able to share her anxiety with him? No, he’d let his guilt and his need to avoid his attraction to her keep her at a cold, formal distance.

He had to change. “You can’t do that anymore. From now on, no matter what you want to do, just tell me and whether I like it or not, I will help you do it, okay? It is the only way I can assure your safety.”

“That’s it? If I want to go buy shoes then you’ll take me?”

He exhaled. “Yes. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to voice my opinion on whether it’s a smart thing to do or not. And if I really think something is too dangerous then I expect you to respect my serious concerns. This isn’t a forever state of affairs. It’s just until Dugar is caught, then you’ll be your own woman, okay?”

Her own woman? Did she even know who she was? Mari looked up at Roger, her heart racing so fast she could barely think.  A few moments ago, she’d been staring out at the purple-red sunset, wondering how she could face Roger.  She’d done exactly what he’d told her not to do and it had turned out so badly.  She’d been sickened over how miserably she’d failed in establishing any shred of independence.  Her worst fears about herself had come true. She’d had a total panicked meltdown. She’d been thrust back into the darkness of what had happened in Afghanistan. She’d hit the bottom and was surprised that she’d survived it all. Her pride was bruised, but she was okay.

Now she was not only facing Roger but… she stood alone with him, in his bedroom, wearing only her tunic and pants and she wasn’t embarrassed or shamed.  She wanted this familiarity between them.

He wasn’t as mad as she thought he would be either.

It wasn’t as if her choosing to leave the post didn’t matter. She could see that he was clearly upset and worried about her. But it wasn’t how she’d thought it would be. Her father would have—

Roger wasn’t her father. Never would be. But he wasn’t the easygoing teddy bear Neil had been either. In some ways Roger was like a fierce warrior. Dangerous and remote. She’d seen the deadly anger in his eyes when it came to Dugar. She had no doubt that Roger would kill Dugar with his bare hands if he had to. She’d also seen a haunted darkness in him too. Roger had deep secrets that she instinctively knew he’d never let another person near.

Neil had been different. There wasn’t a part of him he didn’t openly share with her. It wasn’t that he didn’t keep information from her. There were things about his job he couldn’t tell her and things she would never ask him. But his soul and heart had wrapped warmly around her as accepting and loving as a puppy. He’d never said anything to curtail what she did, but then, she’d never ventured beyond the strictures of her upbringing. It was two years before he could talk her into going to the store alone.

It wasn’t until she met Holly that Mari started thinking about doing things outside of the rules, about getting an education, a job, learning to shoot a gun, and yes, one of those things was standing without her abaya before a man who wasn’t her husband, her brother or her father. A man who said she could be her own woman? What did that mean?

“Okay?” Roger angled his head to look into her eyes as he set his hands on her shoulders.

She nodded. Her tongue was tied in the gratefulness clogging her throat and in the fire burning through her senses at his heated touch. He’d made this whole big problem and the fiasco of the day all so simple. So easy to let go of and move forward. At least she thought he had. Currently her mind reeled, making coherent thought debatable. His nearness and intensity had her blood racing places her mind couldn’t go yet.

He released her and stepped back. “Hungry?”

“Yes.” She drew in a much-needed breath of air. She thought about grabbing her abaya and putting it on now. Considering the way he made her feel, it would be safer.

“What do you want to eat for dinner?” He started walking out of the bedroom, but his gaze fell on the rumpled bed and she cringed. It looked as if a tornado had struck it; she’d tossed and turned so much.

She rushed over to straighten the bedcovers. “Whatever you want will be fine.”

She didn’t dare look at him. What he must think. He’d loaned her his bed and she couldn’t even leave it neat. Leaning forward with her knees against the mattress, she fixed the blanket and threw the pillows back up to the headboard. She stood back quickly and hit a hard, hot body—an unmistakably aroused, hard, hot, male body. His arm wrapped around her when she teetered with surprise and a visceral shock wave of want hit her hard.

Thank you for reading today and I hope to hear from you!

Remember every day to Dream, Believe, Create, Inspire, Love, Heal

Jenni

The post Open the Flood Gates! appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

I am a writer who loves story, no matter the genre and have my heart in the past, present, and the future.  So I hope you get the chance to enjoy all of my novels because they are coming at you in a Big Way in 2012.

First up is new hope for my beloved gothics!  The Mistress of Trevelyan and His Dark Desires (The Trevelyan Series) are now available on Kindle.  Classic mystery and romance set in the demure, but sexy Victorian Age, where women emerged from the confines of culture and society to take control of their lives.  I grew up loving Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, and Phyllis A. Whitney and love the tale of a romance wrapped up in a murder mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Samhain Publishing re-released Midnight Secrets and Darkest Dreams, the first two books of my Killdaren Series, sexy gothics with a touch of the paranormal.  Book three, Silken Shadows will be re-released in July of 2012.

In January, my scorching hot Weldon Brothers Series will get a new look.  So be on the watch for Jesse in Wild Irish and Jackson in Smooth Irish.  If you’ve never had a taste of a Southern Bad Boy Romance then you are definitely missing something good.

In February heart-pounding suspense and romance will take center stage with the release of my military thriller, Tactical Deception.  Roger and Mari plunge headfirst into a terrorist plot that is tearing the heart out of America.  This is the much awaited sequel to and I am so excited to be starting off 2012 with this no holds barred race into danger and love.

There’s more!  But I will save news about Tales from the Dark Domain: Aerik the Eternal, Bewitching the Wolf (Shadowmen Series Book 5), and Hot Irish (Weldon Brothers Series Book 3) for later!

Thanks to all who email me your support and post reviews.  I can’t tell you how much your words encourage me.  You give me hope.

Bring on the New Year!  And never give up on your dreams.  Remember every day to Dream, Believe, Create, Inspire, Love, and Heal.

Jenni

The post New Year! New Start! New Hope! appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

Is he her darkest dream… or her most terrifying nightmare?

Today, drum roll please, I am unveiling the fabulous new cover for MIDNIGHT SECRETS, my April 12, 2011 ebook rerelease from Samhain Publishing, a sexy murder mystery that will chill your spine one moment then curl your toes the next.  This is the first book in my Killdaren Series about cursed brothers who encounter sisters determined to find truth and love even even in the face death.

In preparation for this release my seven suspenseful sentences will now come from MIDNIGHT SECRETS  For a longer excerpt of when Sean holds Cassie at gunpoint you’ll have to revisit Week 2 of Seven Suspenseful Sentence Sunday.   To set the stage for you, Cassie has gone undercover as a maid in a castle to discover the truth behind her cousin Mary’s death, a quest that will cost her more than she ever dreamed.

“The sound grew insistently louder until I realized I wasn’t dreaming and the screeching was coming from outside.

Rushing to the window, I saw the glass roof of the gargoyle-guarded building glow like an eerie sun. That’s were the sound was coming from. As I stared with my heart pounding, the noise suddenly died.

What had it been? Had it been a woman crying for help? Then the light from the building flickered wildly, as if a huge moth had been pinned over a flame and someone stood watching it flutter in helpless torment.”

If you pre-order on Amazon or Barnes and Noble then make sure you put Samhain Publishing along with MIDNIGHT SECRETS and Jennifer St. Giles into the search window.  You want the copy with this fabulous cover.

Update on me.  The clock measures seconds but I swear a week goes by with every tick.  I won’t even get into the tock part.  You’ll see on my Facebook page that I ventured out to hear the band Personal Favorite rock a college bar in Athens, Georgia and I was really impressed.  Chris, the son of my BFF, Jacquie-fantastic writer-D’Alessandro, was the drummer.  Chris’s friend Gray played base guitar, and his friend John sang and played the electric guitar.  You won’t have heard of them yet, but I hope you do someday.  They were awesome.

Waiting to hear about the job for the cancer center.  I want to be part of a ground breaking program to bring wellness writing classes online to patients.  I could merge both my nursing and writing skills in an awesome way, so please send prayers and all of the positive energy you can imagine my way for this to happen.   If this doesn’t workout I may strike out on my own and do this, but it would be so much better to be part of the amazing group of people at this cancer wellness center.

And lastly, besides the “I’ve got more to do than I can possibly get done” situation, I have a new-for-me concept kicking around in my brain amid the dozens of unwritten stories hounding me.  That concept revolves around the idea of energy and the world around me.  We all project and attract it.  I decided that yesterday, after having a glass of iced tea dumped in my lap at a restaurant by the waiter that I need to find a way to change what I attract from the universe toward me fast.

Feel free to share your ideas with me.

Go Forth, Dream, Believe Create, and Inspire.
Forgive the typos and have a great day.
Jenni

The post Seven Suspenseful Sentence Sunday Week Seven appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

I put this quote, that is often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, at the beginning of COLLATERAL DAMAGE because to me these seven words say so much about the world in which we live.  The statement captures  just how frail freedom is within the political and economic storms that constantly bombard humanity and how easily it can be lost.

I am not necessarily political, but I do have my beliefs, of which I will share two tenets.  One, as a human being I have a responsibility to be generally aware of what is happening in the world around me.  Two, freedom is essential to the human spirit.  I won’t get into my reasons as to why, but just to say it is.  This week, the events playing out in Egypt and rippling though a number of other middle-eastern countries, have once again brought home to me just how tenuous freedom in the world is, and how easily everything can change in the blink of an eye.  I pray for these countries and for their freedom.

Now for my Seven Suspenseful Sentences! from COLLATERAL DAMAGE!

Jack calculated that he’d wasted three of the thirty seconds it would take the spinning grenade of what he prayed to God was only CS gas to fill the room and practically incapacitate them both. Already Jack’s eyes seemed to burn. Apparently the bastard outside wasn’t aiming to kill Lauren, but to take her hostage—somehow an even scarier scenario because that meant they wanted something from her. Wanted something that they didn’t find when they’d destroyed the house. Wanted it bad too. He swung on his heel, reaching Lauren quickly. 

“Come on.”

What is happening with me this week?   A mixed bag of ups and downs.  I haven’t heard back from a job interview that I’d hoped for, but do have another appointment next week for something that might even work out better with my writing goals.  I absolutely must find a job, but I cannot give up writing.  It’s part of my heart and soul.

I happily finished the final edits on MIDNIGHT SECRETS which will be available from Samhain in April.  I sadly have not finished working on taxes.  My screenplay proposal did not finish in the top ten for a much coveted contest prize.  I’ve had my emotional ups and downs this week as well.  But all in all the sun is blasting my little corner of the world this weekend, giving us a warm sixty to sixty-five degrees outside, so I am just going to bask in that simple joy, have a BBQ with the kids, and pray that the miracles I need to happen will while I work hard to make my dreams come true.

So after you eat, pray, love this sunny day.

Go Forth, be thankful, and love freedom.

JL Saint aka Jennifer St. Giles, aka Jennifer Saints

The post Week Four Suspenseful Seven Sentence Sunday appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

Feeling like a thief, I slipped inside and would have been carried away by the multitude of books filling the massive shelves if I had not seen the painting first. The impact of the image literally stole my breath, and I stepped back from the life-sized portrait hanging above the mantel of a massive stone hearth.

His green eyes, so vibrantly realistic, stared directly at me from beneath dark brows over a chiseled nose and roughly hewn jaw. He wore a black suit, white ruffled shirt, and had a black cape flung over one shoulder. In one black-gloved hand he held a silver walking stick with what I thought was a fanged snake on its tip. But as I moved closer, I saw it was a dragon that curled up the cane. A force greater than my own will held me captive before him. Had he needed the night to hide his sins?

It was the first portrait I’d seen done of someone in the moonlight. Dark shadows surrounded him on all sides. He held his free hand fisted at his side, expressing anger or…pain? A haunting moon and an eerie black sky sharpened the edge of darkness to his character. Even so, the sensual charisma emanating from him would have brought a vibrant warmth to his picture had it not been for the cynical, almost cold smile barely curving his full lips.

“He canna go out into the daylight, they say. It’s whispered that he is a vampire.”

Now that you have read the description let’s have a little fun with my fictional heroes. The lucky ladies who have read the stories might have a bit of an advantage because they have a good idea what my heroes look like…everywhere. For those who haven’t read the stories, don’t worry, just imagine what the rest of my hero looks like.

Here’s the challenge. You’ve just inherited your long lost relative’s business in Hollywood. This book is being made into a movie. Below are the actors you have to choose from to be the hero of this story. Which one would you choose and why?
Bon appetit!

The post Sean Killdaren as described by Cassie Andrews appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.

My voice caught in my throat as I was about to comment that Gemini’s nose was already irrevocably red, even though it wasn’t. The sound of horse’s hooves on the shore along with the act of everyone around me turning and gasping with awe and fear told me that he had arrived to the docks. Lord Alexander Killdaren.

Though the mystery surrounding Mary’s death had been solved, the murder of Lady Helen Kennedy eight years ago had not been. Since Sean Killdaren and Lord Alexander Killdaren were the last ones to see her alive and a witness had seen one of them leaving the scene of the murder, a dark cloud of suspicion hung over their lives. To this day the villagers gave the Killdaren twins a wide berth. Neither Cassie nor I believed the rumors. She was sure Sean was innocent and I was convinced Lord Alexander was, too.

Lord Alexander leapt from the saddle and strode down the dock, a commanding figure to be reckoned with. Shockingly dressed in only snug black pants, a loose white shirt, and knee-high boots, he could have easily been a swashbuckling pirate from a reckless age. His dark hair framed his strong features, and lay wildly windblown well over the collar of his shirt. His thick muscles strained against his clothes as he walked. His charismatic aura jarred the world around him like a stiff wind from the dark sea and blasted me as he neared.

He must have felt my regard, for he suddenly gazed right at me. I stared directly at him as if possessed by a need and will greater than any rule of propriety I’d ever leaned. “Lord Alexander is great indeed,” I murmured.

“What?” Cassie asked, following my gaze with hers. She gasped and grabbed my hand. I heard the “Sean” that rang through her mind before her pulse steadied and she whispered, “Lord Alexander.” All of that pent up worry I’d felt in her earlier escaped in his name.

As we stared at him, he nodded his head politely then passed by without offering a cordial greeting before going to the ship where I’d seen the wild horse being gentled.

Now that you have read the description let’s have a little fun with my fictional heroes. The lucky ladies who have read the stories might have a bit of an advantage because they have a good idea what my heroes look like…everywhere. For those who haven’t read the stories, don’t worry, just imagine what the rest of my hero looks like.
Here’s the challenge. You’ve just inherited your long lost relative’s business in Hollywood. This book is being made into a movie. Below are the actors you have to choose from to be the hero of this story. Which one would you choose and why?
Bon appetit!

The post Alexander Killdaren as described by Andromeda Andrews appeared first on USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles.