Alpha Men and/or Bad Boys in Romance by Juliana Stone

It’s my last day and I haz a sad! It’s been fun, the sun has been warm, the skies blue and well, the beer is still cold! LOL, but all good things must come to an end.

But before I leave I thought I’d talk about alpha men and/or bad boys. Why do we love them so?

I know I do. Who the hell wants to read about a “yes man”? I want a man who will challenge me, fight with me, give me as good as I give and then, well, take me to bed and make my toes curl.

Now, I’m not saying a more refined version won’t do…I have a huge crush on Mathew McFadden. He played Mr. Darcy in my favourite version of Pride and Prejudice. However if I’m being honest, sweet, gentle loving is nice, but hot, nasty loving is exciting!

It’s probably why I love Christine Feehan’s Dark series so much. Her Carpathian men are total alphas. They love their women and protect them to the death. And well, they’re very, very skilled at the whole lovin’ part.

I wanted to bring that out in my books. I wanted my men to love their women with an intensity that hopefully leaves the reader invested and wanting them to have their HEA, even if they’re not always nice and easy on their mates.

I hope I’ve done that. Jaxon and Libby certainly have a lot to work out, but in the end, you know they belong together. And that’s what it’s all about. Romance, passion and a couple who will rip your heart out and have you cheering from the sidelines!

For my Samhain release, Black Legacy, I based the character of Dekker on Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue. He’s dark, twisty and terribly sexy in that bad boy rocker kind of way!

I’m curious, what are your favourite types of Heroes in romance? Do we like dark, twisty alphas? Or strong, solid types with a hint of Beta?





Juliana Stone has always believed in the power of a good story. When her first narrative, a futuristic story about Santa Claus set in a world that resembled her friend's hamster cage, was a hit with her fourth-grade teacher, she discovered her calling was writing: novels, short stories, songs. As long as she was writing, she was happy. During a stint on the music end of things, she toured Canada fronting an all-female rock band, and after meeting her husband, she fell into married life. Kids, dog, and the requisite white picket fence followed, and her writing took a bit of a backseat.

But in the fall of 2007, she decided to resurrect her love of writing and,inspired by the paranormal works of Christine Feehan, Keri Arthur,and Lynsay Sands, she set out to write something great. Luckily, a unique world of jaguar-shifters was born, and the rest is history!

Her first release for Avon, His Darkest Hunger, is available now.

*Contest Is Now Closed*

Good Luck to Everyone who enters. :-)

A special thank you to Juliana for taking time to visit with us on the island!

Juliana Stone Picks Her Desert Island Keepers

Welcome back to our second day of fun and sun at DIK Juliana! As is tradition, I agreed to let Juliana wear my blowfish bikini top, and after all, the jaguar was leering at the fish lips as if he might enjoy a snack! Yikes.. lol

Hows the fit there Juliana?

Well the fit seems all right, not sure how I look though!

Well, you look way better than I do in it that's for sure! lol
I have to say, you sure know how to party that was an awesome luau last night especially when your jaguar did his shift thing. *waggles brows*

My jaguars do have many, many hidden talents!

So, without further adieu I’m turning the mic over to Juliana, who is going to talk about her 5 favorite DIK books she has brought along to the island.



Well I’m so glad to have time here to read these books over. Some I’ve already read several times but a keeper is a comfort read ya know? The ones you turn to over and over again for whatever reason! The following are mine!

Dark Desire by Christine Feehan.

This was the second book in her Carpathian series. The first hooked me totally but this one, there was just something about Shea and Jacques intense love story is one I love to revisit time and again.

Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell.

I love to read all kinds of genres and I love the Kay Scarpetta books. The detail and rich characters are intertwined so well with the crime story. I love it.

Blue Eyed Devil, by Lisa Kleypas.

This was the last book I read where I stayed up until 4 in the morning so that I could finish it. I loved it. It made me cry and I was so invested in the characters. A must read. I have Smooth Talking Stranger waiting for me when I finish the book I’m currently writing!

Acheron, by Sherrilyn Kennyon.

I love her Dark Hunter series, like a lot! And Acheron is one dude who I could not wait for his story to be told. I need to read this book again because I know there is stuff I missed first time around!

I might be cheating but I’d also bring along the Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare.

It’s YA but I loved them. All three of them. The world building is wonderful and I just totally fell in love with the characters.



Thanks Juliana! Awesome choices…

And, Acheron? - Yum!

*Contest Is Now Closed*

Juliana returns for her final day on DIK tomorrow and will be chatting with us about.. Well, you’ll have to stop by and check out her awesome post!

Please Welcome Guest Author Juliana Stone To The Island!

It is my great pleasure to introduce and welcome Guest Author Juliana Stone to the Island!

::Big round of applause - raising drinks::

I came to know of Juliana and her work through a yahoo readers group we both frequent and after I read her recent Samhain publication “Black Legacy” I knew I would be a fan of her work.

Juliana’s most recent release “His Darkest Hunger” was published on March 30, 2010 and is receiving glowing reviews! I read "His Darkest Hunger" and LOVED IT!

Lea: Welcome to DIK Juliana! I see you brought along a black jaguar with you.. Yikes! Is he friendly?

Juliana: Thanks for letting me stop by! And yes, my little kitty is very friendly…especially if you pet him!

Well if he is a cat shifter I can think of a number of ladies here who wouldn't mind doing some 'stroking' *wink*.
Can we hope he does shift into sexy Jaxon?

Well Jaxon is busy with his woman, but trust me, he shifts into something just as hot!

LOL! I can't wait to see 'who' this kitty shifts too.
Are you ready for the rapid-fire induction DIK “About Me”, questions?

I’ll do my best…..

Favorite Reading Position?

Curled up on the couch.

How old is your inside voice?

What? LOL, um, 21?

Oooh 21 year olds love island getaways. *wink*
If you could be a hero who would you be?

Wonder Woman of course, hell who wouldn’t want to have an invisible plane? A golden lasso that cajoles the truth? And well, that costume…..

And I think you would look damn fine in that Wonder Woman suit!
What heroine is most like you ?

Bridget Jones, hands down!

What heroine would you like to be?

Elisabeth Bennet, hands down!

Boxers, Briefs, boxer briefs, kilt (I say we add commando)?

Oh God, commando works but I find a man in a kilt very, very sexy!

Well, we have a Canadian commando/kilt guy in honor of Juliana's visit (Juliana is a fellow Canuck.) *j*
Favorite book set on a tropical island?

Shoot, am I going to fail the test if I say, um dunno?

Hell no - good answer - LOL!
What hero is most like your significant other?

Sherlock Holmes as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.

Oooh, I like him, pensive and hot. ;)
What hero from a novel would you like to be your significant other?

I have a fondness for Bones, from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series….he’s very, very cool!

You aren't the only one, he is a favorite of many readers. :)
If you were stuck on a desert island what 3 things would you bring?

I need music, ice cold corona and books of course.

Favorite drink to bring to the DIK party?

LOL, Corona with limes baby!

Okay! *Passing Corona with limes*

Thanks Juliana, great answers! LOL We’ve planned a rockin luau tonight with da DIK menz and Ladies. Juliana is going to be back on the island with us tomorrow talking about her favorite DIK books she has brought along.

Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin. He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal. After three long years he's finally found her. The hunt is over…

But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair; of her treachery; of anything beyond her own name. A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant the game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.

On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them. Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them. But the truth is far more shattering than anyone could imagine…

*Contest Is Now Closed*

A big thank you to Juliana for her generosity and for visiting the island!

April & May Releases

I had a hard time coming up with something to talk about today. I think I’ve lost my blogging mojo. I know it. You know it. We all know it.


Let’s not talk about it.


Instead, let’s talk about release days I’m looking forward to in April and May. Release days for books you’ve anxiously been waiting for, are wonderful days where the sun is shining, birds are chirping and glitter and rainbows fall out of all of your orifices.


It looks like the beginning of April will be a stinkeroo but the end of April and May look awesome.




Lover Mine by JD Ward

I know, I know. But I just can’t put that chrack pipe down. This series is the Chuck Norris of the paranormal genre. Giving a big ole round house kick to the face of other paranormal romance series. You don’t read it, it reads you. This is John Matthew’s story and I love him. Amazon took the Kindle edition away yesterday for some crazy reason, so I’ll be stalking my library’s web site everyday for it to come in. I’m like a ninja when it comes to that “place hold” button on their site. If they gave out Olympic medals for that, I’d take gold. I sneak in while it’s still in processing and BAM! POW! I’m numero uno to get the book. Release date: April 27.







Blood Born by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

I am on the fence about this one. I don’t know if this is a collaboration by the authors on one story or if there are two stories in one book. I read Linda Howard’s last book, Ice, and honestly I can’t remember loving or hating it. I can’t remember it at all. But it’s Linda Howard so I’ll probably get it. Release date: April 27.

Love in the Time of Dragons: A Novel of the Light Dragons by Katie MacCalister


This is a paranormal lite series. No darkness here. Just laughs and sexy dragons. I love this author’s sense of humor. My favorite of these is the Aisling Grey books but Drake and Aisling make an appearance all of them. You don’t have to read this series in order but I would start with the Aisling and the Green Dragons just because they were first and well, I like them better. Release date: May 4.

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris


ERIC. Nuff said. Release date: May 4.

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andews


Love this series. I read on Ilona’s blog that this book is a turning point for the main characters so I’m really looking forward to this one and can’t wish April away fast enough. Can’t. Wait. Release date: May 25.

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas


Hathaways series. This is Leo and Catherine’s story. Then in June, I think the series wraps up with Beatrice’s story. So we get two books back to back. Yay!


Release date: May 25.

The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter


This is Aeron’s, Keeper of Wrath story. LEGION! Awww, I love that little demon. I can’t wait to see how Legion reacts to the new chick in Aeron’s life. I think it may get ugly. Release date: May 25.

Beast Behaving Badly by Shelly Laurenston


Wow. This cover is turdtacular. He looks constipated and her fingers look embedded in his chest. But I love this author. She makes me LOL and her sex scenes are smokin hot. She writes a kick ass dragon series under the name GA Aiken as well. Release date: May 25.




Wow. May is huge!




What did I miss? Any recommends?

Foolish Things

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Do y’all partake in the April tomfoolery? When I was little I loved to play tricks on my parents on this day and when I had kids they returned the favor. It was great fun. Mostly it was small things, like claiming the dog threw up, or there’s a stranger at the door, I let him in and he’s sitting on the couch, or that it was my baby brother, who couldn’t walk yet, that colored on the wall and not me. April Fool!!

Life lesson: Babies make terrible wingmen.

When I got married, the first April Fool day prank I played on my husband is one we still laugh about to this day.

The day before April 1st, I hand stitched one leg each of two pairs of his underwear closed (tighty-whities. heh.) and laid them on top of the pile in his dresser drawer. He had to get up earlier than me that day, so I lay in bed and pretended to be asleep when he came in to get dressed. I watched with hooded eyes and bated breath and a full bladder… (self-sacrificing. I'm a giver.) as he came in, grabbed the top pair and tried to put them on. He got one leg through and then tried to put the other foot through and of course it wouldn’t go in. So he was hopping up and down naked on one leg, trying to force it through, cursing, trying not to fall over… and y’all, it was the funniest damn thing I ever saw. NAKED. HOPPING.

I started laughing and he looked at me, then looked at his underwear and I yelled “April Fool!!!” He started laughing and was like “Huh? Wha?...Yeah, you got me. That was pretty good!”

Then, he’s congratulating me, chuckling, and asking me how I thought of it and I’m trying to answer him and trying not to laugh... but I can’t help it because… OMG y’all!!! the SECOND PAIR!!! Hahahaha! He grabs the second pair, tries to put them on and commences the naked sideways hopping, all over again. We both started laughing and he’s like “Did you sew every pair?!” and I’ve never laughed so hard in my life! I had tears and snorting and snoteration, and even a little pee,… maybe,… ok, definitely, which made him laugh even harder.

We had only been married for about 8 months when I did this, still learning each others likes, dislikes and making connections and mistakes, but its 27 years later we still laugh like idiots when we think about that day.

I read romance novels because I like to see the hero and heroine have moments of connection like this. When they’re laughing, crying or fighting together, they are growing a relationship and I love to see that happen. (Dear readers, lets just pretend that wasn’t an awkward segue, kay? Thanks. Looooooooove, Kim)

What’s your favorite prank you played on someone or that someone played on you?