Author Ambush with Joan Swan

Hello everyone! 

LITERAL ADDICTION and Book Monster Reviews are very happy to welcome Joan Swan back to our sites today for the 

BLAZE BLOG TOUR!

Joan was never a star English student or a Literature buff. She does, however, have a creative soul and an active imagination, and because of that, writing came pretty naturally.

She writes for entertainment and escape, the same reasons she loves getting lost in a good book, and she writes what she loves to read - romantic suspense.

Joan’s books are full of real-life language, steamy sex, violence and mystery. She does dabble in the lighter side of the paranormal as well.

When Joan’s not writing, she works as a sonographer at UCSF Medical Center, a location with an intensity that makes her slightly insane, though that works well with the writer in her. It also gives her tons of access to character material.

She’s been married for twenty two years to her own personal hero, a veteran firefighter. The two live on the gorgeous central coast of California with their two beautiful daughters.

Joan’s first book, “Fever”, Book #1 of the PHOENIX RISING series, was released back in February and the 2nd installment, “Blaze”, was just released on 9/25/12.

For those of you that have not yet heard about Joan’s PHOENIX RISING series, we thought we’d give you the blurbs.

“Fever”

PHOENIX RISING Book #1:

Purchase Links:

Kensington / Amazon / Amazon Canada / Barnes & Noble / B-A-M
Book Depository / Chapters / IndieBound / Powell’s 

Add to your Goodreads Shelf

Dr. Alyssa Foster will admit to a bad boy fetish…

But when she finds herself face to face with a convicted murderer with a ripped body, a determination for freedom and an eye on her as his get out of jail free card, Alyssa knows she’s in deep trouble…. Not just because Teague Creek is a prisoner desperate for freedom, but because his every touch makes her desperate for more.

A man with a life sentence has nothing to lose…

Teague Creek has one shot at freedom, but his plan to escape with a hostage develops a fatal flaw: Alyssa. On the run from both the law and deadly undercover operatives who know of his strange abilities, he needs to avoid trouble, but every heated kiss tells him the fire between them could be just as devastating as the flames that changed him forever.

“Blaze”

PHOENIX RISING Book #2:

Purchase Links:

Amazon / Amazon Canada / Barnes & Noble / B-A-M / Book Depository
Chapters / IndieBound / Powell’s

Add to your Goodreads Shelf

The hotter they come, the harder they fall…

With a man like him, every mission becomes personal…

Ever since FBI agent Keira O’Shay started tracking a young boy named Mateo, she’s felt a connection even her empathic abilities can’t explain. She needs to save Mateo from the cult leader holding him hostage. Nothing can interfere with that—not even the reappearance of Luke Ransom, the hot-as-hell fire captain she’s regretted walking out on for three long years.

Losing Keira left Luke vulnerable—in every way. When they were together, the powers each possesses were mysteriously enhanced. But it’s the sexy, surprising woman beneath the tough exterior that Luke’s really missed. Even if she betrayed him utterly. And even if agreeing to help her uncover a government conspiracy means watching his life and his heart go up in flames again…

How fantastic do those sound!!? Make sure you get them added to your TBR lists and hunt them down from your favorite bookseller.  For now though, let’s see what Joan had to say when we let her take over the site for the day...

LIVE CHAT, DON'T FORGET:  Joan will be available to chat live with members, followers, fans and guests in our Author Chatroom from 8-9pm EST/7-8pm CDT/6-7pm MDT/5-6pm PDT.

For an author, choosing a favorite book is like a mother choosing a favorite child. Some books are like those fabled angel babies (I wouldn't know, I never had one), the ones that sleep through the night their first day home, coo and smile when they're awake, and stare in wonder as the dog licks their face. Some are the opposite (these would be mine), the ones who don’t sleep through the night until well into their thirties, scowl far more than they smile, and break out in a screech if the dog even looks at them from across the room.

For me, BLAZE was that one in the middle—the clown. The gregarious, fun-loving, mischief-seeking child that makes you laugh, makes you cry and constantly surprises you. One you might want to strangle occasionally, but, no…they are just too damn cute.

The hero and the heroine were the main elements that made the book so much fun to write. Luke Ransom and Keira O’Shay. These two just popped for me. Both tortured in their own way, both strong and intelligent and stubborn. And both, pretty much, alpha personalities.

Are we having fun yet?  But wait! There’s more!

Luke and Keira were firefighters several years prior when a military warehouse explosion injured their HAZMAT firefighting team, killed one member, and exposed them all to mysterious chemicals that gave them paranormal abilities. In the aftermath of this incident, Luke has left firefighting to become an ATF agent and Keira has left firefighting to become an FBI agent.

What about now? Sound fun? Two government agents, both used to being in control? Are you at least grinning? Okay, here’s the final punch.

BLAZE is a reunion story. Luke and Keira meet again for the first time after three years of unsettled silence at a government-run siege in the Nevada desert.

**collective groan and smile here**

Neither is over the other, yet both are still too hurt and too scared to put their heart on the line again. But they have to work together, and even though they won’t trust each other with their hearts, they have no problem trusting the other with their lives. Go figure! Luke and Keira are brimming with more pent up emotion than they know what to do with.

Imagine these two trying to negotiate a truce.  In a war zone. Okay, admit it – that’s kinda funny.

Well, that’s just how BLAZE starts, and it gets better and better from there. So if I had to choose a favorite book right this second, it would be a close tie between BLAZE and my self-published INTIMATE ENEMIES…but I think BLAZE would win out.

I’ll leave you with a fun little sizzling exchange between Luke and Keira:

They've just been rescued by a military helicopter from the rooftop of a burning building where they've saved several children at the siege.

“Who is the kid?”

            Keira's eyes flicked away.  “The son of a coworker.”

            “Whoa.”  Heat flared, which was good.  Anger was so much easier.  “You’re going to lie to me?  Now?  Seriously?  Did you forget who you were talking to?  What's wrong with him?”

            She tried to pull away from the boy, but he stayed plastered to her body.  “What do you mean?  Is he hurt?”

            “No, I mean what's wrong with his mind?  He hasn't made a sound.”

            Her shoulders relaxed.  “You've been off a fire engine too long if you can't recognize signs of shock.”

            An explosion from below rocked the helicopter.  Luke dropped an arm around Keira's shoulders, bracing her against his body.  Kids screamed.  Medical supplies spilled from their bins and slid across the cargo area. 

            When they settled, Keira looked up at him in question.  She was an inch away.  Her blue eyes strikingly bright against her soot-stained face.  Instinct urged him to drop his head.  Feel those perfect lips against his.  Intellect told him that would be the most asinine thing he'd done in his entire life. 

            “What was that?”  Her breath fanned his cheek.  “Luke?  What's wrong?”

            He refocused and found her inspecting his face.  The chopper banked hard right.  Luke's gaze drifted past her shoulder and caught on the destruction below.  The entire compound blazed.  But what held his attention was a silo at the west end of the property where purple flames shot skyward.  Neon purple flames.  Peppered with cobalt blue sparks arching out in every direction. 

            What the hell?

            “What?  What's--?”  Keira's gaze followed his.  “Oh, my God.”

            Luke’s mind flashed back five years to the incident that had changed their lives, and he saw it all again as if it were happening in the moment—the fiery interior of that military warehouse, the barrels igniting, the explosion.  All seven members of their team jetted through the air like missiles.  Keira lying next to him on the concrete—twisted, bones broken, turnouts torn, skin charred, unconscious.  And those bright purple flames and cobalt sparks spitting in the background just before the darkness closed in on him, too.

            Fresh sweat collected along his forehead, his upper lip.  What wasn’t she telling him?

            “I don't know anything!” Keira answered his unspoken question with such conviction he almost believed her.  “I swear.  I don't know.”

            Kakos anthropos.

            They both looked down at the boy.  He peeked up at them from his hiding spot against Keira's chest.

            Kakos anthropos.

            “What is he saying?” Luke asked.

            “You can hear him?”

Realization hit Luke with a jab to the sternum.  Now, not only was she reading minds, she was putting shit into Luke's head.

She tightened her arms around the boy, her hand drifting over his long, gold-dusted curls. “I'm not putting anything into your head.”  She lowered her voice.  “Do you see me drilling holes into your already-Swiss-cheese-like brain and pouring words in?”

She turned to yell at the pilot over her shoulder, dislodging Luke’s arm from where it was still wrapped around her.  “Where are we going?”

            “Mercy Medical Center,” he called back.  “Closest trauma center with a burn unit.  ETA five minutes.”

            She settled back against the metal wall and glared at Luke.  “And—just for the record—I'm not reading your mind.  You're projecting.  I can't help it if you're thinking loud enough to be heard over a goddamned atomic bomb.”

“Sure, let’s make it my fault. That’s easy.”  He sat up and angled to get a better view of the destruction receding in the distance as the chopper cut through the sky.  “But speaking of atomic bombs, you can start explaining now.” 

He pinned her with his don't-fuck-with-me glare, but followed her lead on volume.  “I want to know what this kid has to do with all of that chaos.  What the hell is really going on down there.  And how the hell I got wrangled into this mess.”

She narrowed her eyes and leaned away, as if the distance gave her a better perspective.  “Who the hell are you?  You sure as shit never talked to me like that before, and you have even less right to talk to me like that now.  So curb your attitude, Agent, unless you want a big fat harassment write-up in your personnel file.”

“Save it for someone you scare, Agent, ‘cause it sure ain’t me. We both know something ugly is going on here.  Considering this involves me on a personal level, I’m owed an explanation.”

She snorted a disgusted laugh.  “Well, let me just drop what I’m doing and get right on that.” 

“I see you’ve still got a talent for top-shelf sarcasm.”

“Reserved for the privileged few who earn it.”

He’d had enough banter.  “Listen—“

“No, you listen.  I am not one of your ATF groupies.  I do not respond to your orders.  You have obviously forgotten that you are no longer my supervisor—not that I ever listened to you when you were, but that's beside the point.  You have also forgotten that I don't like to be bossed around.”  Her voice dipped in warning.  “Let me assure you, that hasn't changed.”

A wave of respect washed his anger down a notch.  When was the last time someone talked back to him?  Damn, he’d loved that spunk.  That independence.  The way she never let him get away with any bullshit.  And, he had to admit, he'd missed it.  Missed her.

He took a slow breath to recoil his temper.  “You have also, evidently, learned the politically correct way to tell someone to fuck off.” 

One edge of her mouth quirked.  “And you have, evidently, learned to read between the lines.” 

Other than your children, where do you have trouble choosing favorites?

 Joan is offering up a paperback of BLAZE to one US/Canada winner from Book Monster Reviews and another winner over at LITERAL ADDICTION.

To Enter:

 fill out the Rafflecopter widget for Joan's Event, follow the directions, take action, and mark as 'Done'.

For another chance to win, go to LITERAL ADDICTION and enter the contest over there as well.

Good Luck!

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