This week’s song, Just Breathe from Pearl Jam, is from me to you. Sometimes we all need to just breathe. This is one of those times.

Love you guys.
<3

Well, the bad news is that I’ve been super busy writing and taking care of family/kid stuff so I don’t have a mystery OR a movie review for you tonight.

The good news is that A) March 1st, a week from this Thursday, I’ll be announcing the super big, amazingly awesome A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS giveaway, and B) I’ve decided to continue the free bookplate offer to anyone who pre-orders A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS. All you have to do is email a receipt or order confirmation (or a photo of your receipt or order confirmation) to prophecypress@aol.com with the name you’d like the bookplate signed to and your full name and address (for mailing). I’ll do this as long as I still have stock on them, so don’t wait too long! They make an awesome personalized gift when placed inside a book.

And seriously, you guys. I’m SOOOO excited to announce my big giveaway. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done. I’m like a kid before Christmas right now!

<3

Just five weeks until the release of A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS! Can you believe it?! I’ll be announcing the big release month giveaway March 1st and will have tons of other fun for you to celebrate the launch, including the release of Kenneth’s A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS score. Can’t wait to share it all with you!

In the meantime, this week’s teaser features Griffin (you met him last week here) and Helen engaging in some, er, intimate training in the ballroom.

Enjoy!

<3

A moment later, they rounded a corner into an enormous, nearly empty room. Sun-
light streamed in through windows that rose to the ceiling and
dust motes hung in the air like a veil as Helen stepped onto
the parquet floor.

“It’s lovely.” She turned in a circle, admiring the chandeliers
overhead, the gilt-framed art on the walls.

“It hasn’t been in use for some time.” Griffin crossed to
a small table against one wall. “I wasn’t even old enough to
attend the last ball that was held here.”

Helen nodded, her mind touching on the experiences she
always assumed would be hers before the murder of her fam-
ily and the ruin of her home.

“I’ll bet it was wonderful, though.” She smiled at him as
he came back toward her, holding something in his hands.
“When it was all lit up, I mean.”

He nodded. When their eyes met, his loss mirrored her own.

He held something out to her. Helen took it, closing her
hand around the smooth wood of the V-shaped training sickle.

“It won’t hurt you while you learn, but it will give you
a feel for the advantages and challenges of such a strangely
shaped weapon. I assume you’ve taken fencing?”

Helen couldn’t hide her surprise. “How did you know?”

He shrugged. “It was part of the curriculum for most of us.
All the usual studies plus Latin, religious history, intelligent
defense, fencing.”

“Intelligent defense?” She remembered Father’s lessons on
Latin and religious history and the more recent addition of
fencing, but she didn’t recall anything approximating intel-
ligent defense.

“It might not have been presented as an actual lesson. Our
parents were killed before we could study it outright. But
when we were small, the lessons came in the form of games.”

“What kind of games?” But Helen already knew what he
would say.

“Games like Find the Way Out and What Would You Do If . . .” He
tipped his head. “You did play them, didn’t you?”

She nodded, the pieces of the puzzle clicking together in
her mind. “I didn’t realize they were more than games until I
escaped from the tunnel under my house the night of the fire.
I emerged in front of Claridge’s.”

Griffin raised his eyebrows. “I take it you were familiar?”

“My father took me there for tea every week. We often
walked the streets afterward. Right by this very house, I’m
sure.”

“It must have been difficult to prepare us without actually
telling us anything. It cannot have been easy to teach children
such things,” he said. “As time passes, you’ll discover a lot of
things you didn’t realize you knew.”

She heard her mother’s frantic voice the night of the fire.

You know more than you think, Helen.

“Now, when you hold the sickle…” Griffin backed up,
looking at her more closely, his eyes traveling to the hem of
her skirts. “I do like your new clothing, Helen, but . . . well,
your skirt seems shorter than normal.”

She had wondered if Griffin would even notice the eccen-
tricities of her attire.

Sighing, she reached down with her free hand, pulling the fabric
away from her legs so he could see the cut of the design. “It
isn’t a skirt. Not really.”

His bewilderment turned to shock. “You’re wearing trousers?”

“They’re not trousers!” she protested. “It is a slightly shorter
skirt sewn in the middle so I can move about more freely.”

“Yes,” Griffin agreed, laughing. “Pants! Like I said.”

She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Gowns are made
for strolling and sewing. I cannot hope to defend myself with
all that fabric weighing on my legs. This can pass as a slightly
short skirt while still allowing me some freedom of move-
ment. Besides,” she looked down at herself, feeling a twinge of
pride, “I think I did quite well designing them on a moment’s
notice, and Andrew did brilliantly with creating them.”

“All right.” Griffin rubbed the stubble, faintly visible on his
chin. “I see your point.”

He backed up a few more feet, beginning to explain the
use of the sickle. Helen listened intently, for though they were
practicing with wood, she might well be holding the razor-
sharp edge of a real sickle someday soon. And her life might
depend on her ability to use it.

It was not very different from fencing in stance, Griffin
explained. He reminded her to place her weight on her back foot
when gauging the situation and to transfer it to her front
when taking the offensive.

“It’s trickier than fencing, though, because you don’t have
the length of the blade between you and your opponent.” He
demonstrated, moving closer to her. He held out the training
sickle as if attacking her with its sharp edge. “You have to get
close enough to do damage, but that places you near enough
to be injured as well.”

“How do I avoid that?” Helen asked, her mind already work-
ing to come up with a solution.

He smiled. “By keeping them too busy to go on the offen-
sive or by knocking their own weapon out of their hand.”

She nodded, storing the information for later as he
stepped forward, tapping his sickle against hers. “The other
thing you have to watch out for is the lock.” He slipped the
edge of his weapon into the hook of hers so that they were
intertwined in the center of the V. “If someone gets a lock
on you, it’s tough to extricate yourself without injury. That’s
the bad news.”

“What’s the good news?” she asked, her sickle still inter-
twined with his.

“That you can do the same to them.” He gave his sickle a good
yank, and the piece of wood in her hand clattered to the ballroom
floor.

She bent to pick it up. “I think I’m beginning to under-
stand,” she said. “It’s not a physical problem. Well, not really.
It seems like it is, because we’re moving around. But it’s really
more mathematical. More scientific.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Scientific?”

She liked the way he looked into her eyes when she spoke.
As if he truly wanted to hear what she had to say and was not
just being courteous by asking.

“Yes. Probability, cause and effect, that kind of thing.”

His brow wrinkled a little. “Go on.”

She studied the sickle. “Using this as an example, if my
opponent comes closer than two feet, the probability of his
using greater strength to injure me is great. But if I can hook
my sickle with his before that point or right as he reaches it, I
have a better chance of disarming him altogether.”

Griffin shook his head. “You wouldn’t have the strength to
disarm him.”

“Strength isn’t a requirement.”

“I’m not sure I agree with that.”

She raised her sickle. “I’ll show you.”

He lifted his arm, holding the wooden sickle in front of
him, waiting to see what Helen would do. A split second
later, she whipped her weapon around his, trapping it in
the V.

“This is what I mean, Helen. Now you’re trapped.”

She could feel the pull of strength on his side of their battle.
Their sickles were taut, and it took all of Helen’s strength to
hold her ground. She let a couple of seconds pass while Griffin
became used to the idea of disarming her.

Then she released the tension in her arm just enough to
cause him to stumble back. Before he could regain his bal-
ance, she tapped his sickle hard, sending it skidding across the
parquet floor.

He nodded, his expression turned from one of surprise to
admiration. “Nicely done.”

She smiled, her cheeks warm. “Thank you.”

Valentine’s Day makes me happy. Life is a struggle so much of the time. Any day — Hallmark holiday or not — that gives everyone a chance to focus on love is a good thing. But today, with so much focus on romantic love, I’m making it my personal mission to remind you all to love yourself first. Love yourself truly, deeply. Love yourself in all your complexity, frailty, mistakes, and all the beautiful flaws that make you human. Love yourself wholly and know — KNOW — that it is truly the only thing that can make you whole.

The luminous Whitney Houston sang it best. What a voice she had. I’m sending you all much love tonight with this week’s song, chosen by me for all of you who send me your love every day.
<3

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

And if, by chance, that special place
That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

Aurora, otherwise known as @scarletredwill, with 12 entries! Congratulations, Aurora! Please send your full name and mailing address (we have you on the mailing list but we like to make sure it stays updated) to prophecypress@aol.com with “Valentine’s Day Winner” in the Subject line. We’ll get everything out to you right away.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered. If you didn’t win, don’t worry! My biggest giveaway EVAR starts March 1st to promote next month’s release of A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS and features FOUR amazing prize packs.

And the grand prize is quite literally, the biggest and best thing I’ve ever given away.

I’m not going to post a mystery OR a movie review today because I’m seriously under the weather. But I’ll be back with Song of the Week tomorrow and this week’s teaser from A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS on Thursday. Hope you are all well.

<3

This week’s thing I love is one of my favorite albums from the 80′s, The Cars self-titled LP.

Even after all these years, this album features some of the best music of all time. Between Let the Good Times Roll, My Best Friend’s Girl, and Moving in Stereo — to name just a few — it’s pure genius.

Proof that great music never gets old.

Here’s a sample for you! Happy Saturday!

This week for Temptation Thursday I’m pleased to introduce you to Griffin Channing, Helen’s protector and fellow surviving Keeper.

I love Griffin so much. Often in YA novels, it seems like it’s the brooding bad boy who gets the girl. I really wanted to create a nice guy who stood a chance with Helen.

Griffin has lived alone with his older brother Darius (you’ll meet him soon) since their parents were murdered by the very people responsible for the execution of Helen’s parents. After their death, Helen finds her way to the Channing brothers and quickly learns that they’re her best chance of survival. At first, Griffin seems to defer to Darius out of intimidation, but as Helen gets to know him better, she realizes it’s a form of love and respect. Griffin is more than capable of standing toe to toe with his brother. He simply chooses his battles out of love for his brother.

Griffin has a soft spot for strays and sometimes squints. He needs spectacles — something Darius is fond of reminding him of — but insists he doesn’t. He’s a low-key kind of guy who usually takes things as they come, but when he wants something, he fights for it.

And he happens to want Helen Cartwright’s love.

Actor Jake Abel (pictured above) is a very much how I picture Griffin. Here’s an excerpt from the book featuring Griffin. Hope you enjoy getting to know him!

P.S. You can still enter to win a Temptation ARC, Victoria’s Secret Bath set, gourmet chocolate, and assorted other goodies in the Be Tempted to Love Yourself Valentine Giveaway!

<3

She looked for him in the library some time later, the fabric
of her strange new skirt brushing against her leg. After finding
the library empty, she searched the remaining rooms on the
ground floor until the only one left was the kitchen. She came
upon him there, crouched at the back door and muttering
something unintelligible to someone she couldn’t see.

Approaching cautiously, she spoke softly so as not to star-
tle him.

“Griffin?”

“Huh? What?” He turned, clearly startled despite her best
efforts. “Oh, Helen! That was fast.”

He shut the door quickly behind him.

She waved toward it. “Who is that you’re speaking to?”

He feigned surprise. “That? No one. There’s no one there.”

She tilted her head, trying to place his strange demeanor.
“But you were talking to someone.”

He shook his head, leaning against the door as if that would
prevent her from opening it.

She crossed to it in two long strides, reaching for the knob.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I heard you speaking to someone.”

She tugged on the knob, trying to open it, but he wouldn’t
move.

“Griffin! Why are you acting so strange?” She continued
without waiting for an answer. “I realize we don’t know one
another well, but surely you know me well enough to know
that I’m not leaving until that door is opened and I see for
myself who is on the other side.”

He stared into her eyes for a second before stepping aside
with a sigh. “Very well. Have a look at my small companion,
then.”

She held his gaze a moment longer, wondering at his choice
of words, before pulling open the door.

No one was there. She was standing on the same small
porch she had used to escape the house and follow Darius and
Griffin that first night, but it was completely empty.

At least, that is what she thought before she heard the
unmistakable meow at her feet.

She dropped her gaze, noting the black-and-white kitten
lapping cream from a fine floral dish. Then, she understood.

She looked up at Griffin, leaning against the door frame, his
face reddening slightly under her gaze.

He waved her off before she could speak. “It’s nothing to
make a fuss over. The poor thing was bedraggled when it first
came to the door. Anyone in my position would offer it some
cream.”

A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “You feed the cat?
That’s who you were talking to?”

“Well, technically, there is more than one of them. It didn’t
seem right to turn away Mouser’s friends.” He bent to pick up
the kitten, now done with the saucer of milk. “Isn’t that right,
Mouser?”

“Mouser?” Helen said, trying to suppress her smile.

He held the ball of fluff against his body as if he had done it
a thousand times before. “He needed a name.” A note of defen-
siveness crept into his voice. “And he brought me a mouse the
first night he appeared on the step, as if he wanted to trade it
for some food.”

“It’s a fine name.” Reaching carefully toward the kitten, she
let it sniff her hand before touching it gently. “And for the
record, I quite like people who take in strays.” She met Grif-
fin’s eyes with a smile, and something powerful and warm rose
in her as she stroked the animal’s silky fur, her hand brushing
Griffin’s as he did the same.

“I suppose we should work in the ballroom before night-
fall,” he said, reluctantly putting the cat back on the ground.
“You’ll need good light to train with the sickle.”

She had to suppress the urge to protest. She did not want
to work with something so sharp and dangerous. Now, as they
made their way through the kitchen, she wanted to apologize
in advance for the fiasco that would surely be her training with
the sickle.

“I’m not very good with anything physical . . .” she began as
they turned down a hallway she had never seen.

He flashed her a grin as they walked. “I find that hard to
believe.”

Sometimes, Valentine’s Day makes me sad.

Not because I’m single and haven’t been on a date in four years. On the contrary, being single these past four years has been a choice. It’s allowed me to focus on my children,  my work, and myself.

It’s been strangely gratifying and liberating and yes, even FUN.

Which is what I feel sad when I see people feeling lonely on Valentine’s Day. This is especially true of young women, because in previous generations, it was common to equate a significant other with a sense of self-worth. But now? In 2012?!

Girls!! The world is your oyster! You can do and be anything you can possibly dream or imagine. You can do it on your own terms, without rules dictated to you by society or family or a spouse. You can choose someone to be a partner, not because you NEED one, but because that particular person adds something special to your world. Something no one else can bring to the table. And you know what?

You can buy your own damn Valentine! Because — and I’m letting you in on a little family motto that I frequently repeat to my children and all the young people in my life –no one can take care of you like you.

Let me say that again; NO ONE CAN TAKE CARE OF YOU LIKE YOU.

You know what you need and when you need it. You are uniquely equipped to care for yourself, be gentle with yourself, be GOOD to yourself, and that’s true whether we’re talking about a box of your favorite chocolates, a cup of tea, a bubble bath, a girl’s night out, a movie curled up in bed with ice cream, an awesome book, a walk in the woods.

Only you really knows what YOU need.

So this Valentines Giveaway is all about YOU loving YOU. As I do every year, I’m going to help get you started by offering up this awesome Be Tempted to Love Yourself Valentine’s Day Prize Pack.

It includes;

A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS ARC (advance reader copy)

A Victoria’s Secret set with makeup bag, body spray, bath gel, and body lotion in Pure Seduction.

A vanilla candle

Nail polish in High Roller

A box of Lindt Chocolate truffles (there are some GOOD ones in there!)

A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS bookmark

A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS postcard with message from moi

A bath loofah

I hope whoever wins will use these goodies to plan a special day or night just for herself, complete with pampering and no-guilt consuming of chocolate.

You can take a bath, cue up a chick-flick (or an action flick, if you’re like me), paint your nails, and eat chocolate to your heart’s content! And I hope anyone who DOESN’T win will be inspired to do something nice for yourself not just on Valentine’s Day — but anytime you need and want the TLC. Because you deserve it!

And if you’re a dude, you can add this stuff to the already awesome stuff I’m SURE you’re doing for the special woman in your life.

Entering is easy! You get one point for the following;

Leave a comment sharing something you do to take care of you

Post a link to the contest on Twitter (1 entry for each tweet)

Post a link to the contest on Facebook (1 entry for each post)

When you’re done, email your total number of entries to prophecypress@aol.com. Giveaway is open to entrants in the US and Canada and runs now through Sunday, February 12th at Midnight EST.

<3 you guys!

Love this week’s song, nominated by one of my dearest friends, Winsome. Winsome and I have been friends since fifth grade when we would sit on her canopy bed with the curtains drawn and listen to Devo and The Knack.

How fitting that she would be the person to nominate a song! Love her to death! She’s the one who taught me how to swim in the ocean and that clam chowder always tastes better on the pier after a long day of swimming.

And I have to say that I’ve never been a huge fan of Incubus, but this is very different for them. Really like it! Thanks, Winsome!

Also want to let you guys know that for tonight only there’s a promotion on Twitter to win one of the last three A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS ARCs. All you have to do is tweet with the hashtag #atemptationofangels between now and Midnight. You can enter as many times as you like, one entry for every tweet with the hashtag.

You can enter to win an ARC on Goodreads, too, but only for about 10 more days so hurry!

Tomorrow I’ll kick off my annual Take Care of Yourself Valentine Giveaway. I have some awesome goodies for you guys, because you don’t need a significant other to have or do nice things for YOU.

<3

So I was going through the Superfan entries, trying to decide whether to use the Random Number Generator to come up with the 50 winners or whether to try and choose them, and you know what?

There’s NO WAY I could choose either.

Your messages to me were so heartfelt. Many of you have been with me for years. You’ve convinced friends to read my books. You’re tweeted about my books. You’ve posted Facebook statuses about my books.You’ve left glowing reviews on Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads.

Basically, you have done everythign possible to support my dream of writing for a living.

In my book, you’re ALL Superfans. Which is why I’m giving Superfan prize packs to every one of you.

You heard me! EVERY ONE OF YOU. If you left a comment on the Superfan Giveaway post before Midnight EST last night (Friday), you get a Superfan pack. All you have to do it email your full name and address to prophecypress@aol.com. We’re going to reach out via email to those of you we don’t hear from, but with so many winners, it would greatly help us if you could just send your email info.

It will take a few days for Rebekah to pack everything up, but we’ll get everything out to you asap. Thank you for all you do to support me and to spread the word about my books. I appreciate it — and you — more than you know. I can’t wait to share the A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS release with you very, very soon!

<3