Guest Post by author Winter Austin!

Character Interview with the Stars of Relentless,

Detective Remy LeBeau and Cody Lewis

RelentlessWith a little help from a friend, I decided to corner my main characters and grill them. I think Remy wasn’t too happy being on the opposite end of the questioning.

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 This first question is for Cody. You’re a professional barrel racer?C: Yeah.How many times have you been thrown from a horse and did you ever break a bone doing it?C: I have to count? Wow, um, I think I’ve been thrown at least thirty times in my life, and that’s just the horse tossing me. The joys of breaking colts. The number of times my horse has gone down with me onboard, ten or so. I’ve broken a few bones, who doesn’t when working with horses? You eventually learn how to loosen up before hitting the ground. Reduces the risk of breaking.Good to know. Okay, Detective LeBeau’s turn. What was your favorite part of growing up in the swamps of Louisiana?R: Not just swamps, cher, I spent a lot of time on the bayous too. (wink)C: Did you just wink at her?R: Cher, please. My favorite part, well, hard to say. There’s lots to do. Fishin’, boatin’, diggin’ for mudbugs.C: What are mudbugs? R: Crawdads. C: Eww. R: Says the woman who eats ‘calf fries’.All right. Cody, your barrel horse’s name is S’mores Chocolate Graham. Is there a story to go with this very unique and cool name?C: Not really. Her momma’s name is Chocolate Graham. I just added the S’mores. ’Course, if you ask my daddy, he’d say I picked those names because I went through a chocolate and graham cracker addiction in my teens. (laugh)(Laughing) Cool. So, Detective, why did you become a cop?R: Why not? It’s a good profession. You try to make a difference. C: (mutters) And you get to carry a gun and badge so you can throw your weight around. R: Didn’t affect you.Moving along. Cody, what was your favorite thing about growing up on a Texas ranch?C: Freedom. There’s miles of nothing but land between you and the nearest town. I live close to Fort Worth, but in a small ranching community way outside of city limits. You can sit outside at night and see the stars and listen to nothing but the occasional sound of an animal. It’s peaceful. After a long haul on the road, I love coming back.Wow, that would be great. Last one, Detective, I hear from a reliable source you once tangled with a mama gator. Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?R: Where did you hear that? C: (chuckling) You did what? R: I have no idea what she’s talking about. Tangled with a mama gator. Who are these reliable sources? This is what I get for talking to the press. This interview is over. I’m out of here. C: (laughing) That was rich.Guess that concludes this interview. You can read more about Cody and Remy in their first book, Relentless, available at the following places:Crimson Romance: http://www.crimsonromance.com/upcoming-releases-romance-ebook/relentlessAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Relentless-Crimson-Romance-ebook/dp/B00B03EHUA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358262763&sr=1-1&keywords=relentless+winter+austinBarnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/relentless-winter-austin/1114192565?ean=9781440564444BOOK INFO: Relentless (Crimson Romance)Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau trusts no one. He hides from a past that could kill him and anyone involved with him. What he’s not prepared for is the return of an elusive serial killer . . . and an unwanted desire to protect a witness at all costs.Professional barrel racer Cody Lewis’s dream of being top in the nation is within reach until she discovers a murdered woman in her horse trailer. The event pulls her into the sickening world of the Rodeo Sweethearts serial killer—a madman who terrorized Dallas’s rodeo circuit five years prior and is now back for more. But what’s worse is that Cody fits the profile of the Rodeo Sweetheart victims. . . .As Remy dives into the investigation, he uncovers secrets of a botched investigation and a tight-lipped boss, while attracting unwanted attention from the killer. Battling his partner, his attraction to Cody, and the demons of his past, catching the killer could cost Remy everything. Even Cody’s life. 

Black Lion Book Tours Presents The Nymph's Labyrinth! #Giveaway!

Welcome to the New Year Book Extravaganza!
We're featuring 15 authors, all with book giveaways AND you'll have a chance to enter at each stop for the $100 Grand prize Giveaway!
Meet featured authors and learn more about them and their books on the dates below. You may also enter their giveaways at any time on the kick-off post! Scroll down for glimpses of the books!

The Nympth's Labyrinth

Aworld shrouded in mystery and intrigue, the Sisterhood of Epione must not beexposed.Shape-shifting nymph, Ariadne Papadakis, is tasked with keeping the truth ofthe group’s existence and their ancient mysteries far out of reach of theAmerican archeologist, Beau Morris and his troublemaking son, Kaden. Whenforgotten and forbidden passions are awakened, Ariadne is forced make achoice—fall in line and continue to be overrun and pushed down by thesisterhood, or follow her heart and put Beau and Kaden’s lives in danger.Can she have the man she loves or will the pressure and secrets of her pastkeep her from her heart’s desire?Their quest to find each other across a treacherous wilderness will test thelimits of courage and endurance, guided only by their dreams--and by the beliefin the true love they share.
 
Chapter One Present Day
Shoveling dirt in a dark, forbidding hole wasthe last place Ariadne Papadakis wanted to be. She used the trowel in her handas a weapon to scrape the clay away. A drop of sweat trickled down the ancientblack tattooed snake on her arm, past her elbow, over the serpent’s weavingbody, and stopped at the base of her wrist as if it was afraid to enter herpalm where the head of the snake was poised for attack.
The city of Gournai sat at the base of a Cretanhill, a blister of light in the callous night. Ariadne could remember when thetown had been nothing but a few villas and a market, perfectly rural—a greatlocation for a secret. Now it bustled with modern life and somewhere within thepublic maze, sat an archeologist who wanted to expose the Labyrinth she and hersisterhood of nymphs had kept hidden for so long.
How had Beau Morris found their secret…a secretthat had been hidden for thousands of years? She couldn’t know for sure, butnow she had been ordered to deal with the consequences of his action.
Earlier that day, while Ariadne had been workingat the museum in Heraklion, a braying couple from Alabama had been amongst thehandful of visitors. They had laughed at the bare breasts of the statue ofEpione, the snake goddess. They had snickered and made jokes of the serpentsthat graced her arms and her ample breasts. They never paused to consider whatthe woman had once meant to so many and still meant to Ariadne’s sisters andall nymphs. They had just laughed and gawked at the oddity before them. StupidAmericans.
Did no one revere what is sacred anymore? Hadculture changed that much?
Ariadne pushed the thoughts from her mind. Therewere some things about the modern world that she just didn’t understand, andDr. Morris’ ardent desire to destroy the nymph culture by exposing the secretsof the Labyrinth was at the top of her list.
Couldn’t he just leave some things alone?
If he found the Labyrinth, the artifacts wouldsit in the museum, and like the statue of Epione, be pointed at and mocked—orthey would be misused. The sacred Labyrinth needed to stay exactly as it was,hidden from science, from prying eyes, mocking laughs, and greedy hands.
She jabbed the trowel into the hard earth.
The trowel-marked square walls around her seemedto move in a little closer as Ariadne worked. She swallowed back her fear asshe looked up at the night sky. When she was done, she could get out of thisplace and never come back.
Her gaze fell to the exposed light gray columnat her right. For a moment she stared at the moonlit carved stone, it remindedher of the thousands of years that had passed since she had been born. Eachyear brought a new challenge, a new set of problems. She ran her finger againstthe arid dirt and brought her fingers to her nose to smell the burnt sage, thecitric aroma of oranges, and a hint of olive.
To have an archaeologist sticking his nose whereit didn’t belong was an invasion tantamount to war. Subterfuge was the game andnymphs had thousands of years of practice. 

The Author DanicaWinters is a best-selling author who is known for writing award-winning booksthat grip readers with their ability to drive emotion through suspense andoften a touch of magic. When she’s not working, she can be found in the wildsof Montana testing her patience while she tries to understand the allure ofvarious crafts (quilting, pottery and painting are not her thing). She alwaysbelieves the cup is neither half-full nor half-empty, but it better be filledwith wine.

Also enter for a chance to win the grand prize! 
Giveaways last through 1/14/2012
**Open  only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity  unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Participating Blogs
Jan 8th - My Escape
Jan 9th - A Writer's Life
Jan 9th - My Syreniti
Jan 9th - Open the Page
Jan 11th - Oh Chrys!

Resolutions and Self-doubt...

Happy New Year! Happy New YearThis is the week for resolutions and new beginnings.  I have a series of resolutions (as I always do) I will write more, weigh less (writing is not easy on the waist line), and I will spend more quality time with the family.  I am like every other woman—filled with goals, aspirations and dreams to be the most perfect version of myself (and men wonder why we are so hard on ourselves).

I know I will fail at some of my goals, I tend to allocate for a little regression.  I may not lose the five (alright, fifteen) pounds I would like to lose, but I have accomplished one of my dreams.  It has taken years and there has been hidden pits filled with self-doubt and self-pity.  There have been days filled with so much greatness it’s hard to believe it is my life.  In the last few years I have become a published, and somewhat well-known, author.And it all started with a simple goal—one little resolution changed my entire life.  It was simple, write a little bit every day and see if I could write a book.  I wasn’t an English major, a librarian, or a teacher (though I envy all of those educational backgrounds); instead I have my degree in Anthropology (with an emphasis in Archeology).  I was just a normal woman, looking for a change, and filled with a dream.This is the Archeology site I worked at in British Columbia (this is however not my field crew but a subsequent year's).This has in no way been an easy undertaking (like I said it has taken years—and will take many years to come).  There have been many more rejection letters than fan letters and acceptance letters combined.This week marks a momentous occasion in the life of an author—this week (December 31st) my sixth book was published entitled, The Nymph’s Labyrinththrough Crimson Romance.  It has been featured in USA TODAY and has been accumulating tremendously wonderful reviews.  I couldn’t be happier.  This book is the first in The Nymph Series, a three+ book collection.  I am in the editing stages of the second book entitled, Montana Mustangs, which will be available later this year.The Nymph's LabyrinthThe Nymph’s Labyrinth is the book that was in my heart.  The book I had to write because of my Archeology-loving background.  To me there are few things more fun than sitting in the bottom of a hole, dirty, sweat-covered, and searching for things that haven’t been seen or touched for thousands of years.Blurb: A world shrouded in mystery and intrigue, the Sisterhood of Epione must not be exposed. Shape-shifting nymph Ariadne Papadakis is tasked with keeping the truth of the group’s existence and their ancient mysteries far out of reach of the American archeologist, Beau Morris and his troublemaking son, Kaden. When forgotten and forbidden passions are awakened, Ariadne is forced make a choice - fall in line and continue to be overrun and pushed down by the sisterhood, or follow her heart and put Beau and Kaden’s lives in danger. Can she have the man she loves or will the pressure and secrets of her past keep her from her heart’s desire? Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | and soon to Book Stores near you (will be available in paperback Spring 2013)It is my hope for you that if you have a New Year’s resolution that you will see it to fruition (at least the most important of them).  That simple decision to try something new can change your life in ways you never thought possible.  The path won’t be easy, but keep in mind the possibilities that can be awakened when you make a little change in your life—your dreams can come true.Happy New Year!Danica WintersWebsite | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest