You can still find print copies at:

Borders.com ~ BN.com ~ Powells.com

And

• at Books-a-Million
• at Penguin’s Bookstore
• at Rendezvous Books (Aus)

In books like mine, there comes a point early where I have to state what is going on, what the rules (and Rules) are, and so forth. This is most easily done with a character who does not know WTF is going on, and so the reader learns along with her and in a way that is organic to the scene/story (and hopefully the dreaded INFODUMP can be avoided — I have not always done so successfully.) The best example? Charlie and Drifter. Charlie doesn’t know crap about the Guardians, so while she’s digging a bullet out of Drifter’s back, he tells her. I like that scene a lot. (I’ll put it at the end of this post.)

I’m a talky writer. I like to have my characters talk, especially if they are the main characters and we can get the romance/flirty/tension stuff going in the conversation, too. Sometimes, the worldbuilding comes out smoothly in the course of their discussions, even if both characters know what is going on (although it works best if both only know parts, so they piece it together). Unfortunately, sometimes it means that I end up in a room with talking heads … even if one of those heads doesn’t know WTF is going on.

I hate writing those scenes (usually put them in brackets and write them last, hoping that by some miracle I’ll get the info out another way and won’t have to write it) but sometimes — especially if the person with the information isn’t one of my POV characters, I can’t get around it. My main characters have to be told, and we have to listen. If I’m lucky, the scene is short.

Today, it was not. Well, it wasn’t long … but I was resisting every single word. I HATED IT. I had a character who didn’t know WTF was going on, and she’s going to be necessary to the story, so she isn’t a throwaway character for the sake of the scene, and she needs to be brought up to speed, but it was effing boring — especially since it had just come after an emotional fight between my hero/heroine. Then my hero stood around in an effing boring scene, so HE seemed boring. And I realized: okay, this cannot be.

So I had him move. And yes, he’s relaying all of the needed info as he’s moving, but now he’s relating it to everything/everyone he’s seeing, giving me a chance to introduce the setting and a few more characters, and it all pulls together when he runs into Khavi at the end of the scene … which is where DEMON BOUND left off.

And because I erased so much and started over, I probably won’t make my word count for the day … but thank goodness those stupid words are gone. In about a year, I hope you’ll be thanking me, too, for sparing you an effing boring talking heads scene, and giving you an Alejandro-stalks-broodily-through-SI scene instead.

Here’s that excerpt from DEMON NIGHT, when Drifter explains to Charlie the origin of the Guardians:

 

 

Ethan nodded. “I owe you some explaining.” He seemed to smile at her snort of agreement, though his lips didn’t move. But she saw it at the corners of his eyes, the slight lift of his brows. “And I’d be much obliged if you’d help me out while I’m doing it. How strong is your stomach?”

Blinking quickly didn’t make his question make any more sense. “What?”

“The bullet’s giving me some trouble, and it’s coming out too slow. I can’t protect you like I should if my arm don’t function when I need it. But if the bullet’s out, it’ll heal up quick and clean.”

It took her two more blinks. “You want me to get the bullet out of your back?”

“I reckon it’ll hurt like a son of a bitch if I go in through the front,” he drawled, and she closed her eyes, pressed her lips together. “Now, Charlie, don’t you start laughing and lose your mad, because if you’re angry it’ll be easier to use a knife on me. Though I must be all kinds of a fool, hoping you’re riled up before I give it to you.” He paused, and the drawl slipped away. “But only if you feel up to it, Charlie.”

That was the voice she’d heard from him the night on the roof. Still slow and long, as smooth and warm as a sip of scotch, but without an exaggerated flavor to it. “You’ll tell me who you are? What you are?”

“Yes. But we’d best do this in the kitchen.”

Charlie looked down at the pale rug, realized that they were moving to avoid staining it with blood, and wasn’t sure if she was up to it. But Ethan was already walking that way, so she hurried after him. He stopped just inside the kitchen, in front of a security panel. Light flooded the room.

And maybe her stomach wasn’t all that strong, because it began roiling when he laid a knife on the butcher-block island top and pulled a ladder-back chair in from the breakfast nook. He straddled it, crossing his forearms on the backrest.

She took a deep breath, stepped up behind him. The hole in his coat centered above his right shoulder blade. Charlie gingerly touched the skin showing through the tear. “Right here?”

“Yes.” His muscles shifted under her finger, and she looked up to see him tilting a black felt-tip pen her direction. “Mark it, so you won’t have to cut more’n once or twice.” He turned his head in profile to her, his brows drawing together. “That hole pisses me off more than getting shot, Charlie. I don’t have a talent for creating my own clothes, particularly something that fits me this well. You got that marked?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t say anything else. His jacket, suspenders, and shirt disappeared, leaving his broad shoulders naked and exposing tanned skin over long, rangy muscles. Her fingers itched to run the length of his back, from the short thick hair at his nape to the tight ridges of flesh hugging his spine and narrowing down to his waistband.

But she didn’t want to touch him like this.

The knife gleamed wickedly on the countertop.

“Forgive my blushes, Miss Charlie. I’m so awfully modest and bashful.” He grinned and rested his chin against the top of his shoulder, watching her sidelong. “And you’ll have to pardon any groaning I do. It’s not becoming a man to cry, so we groan real loud instead.”

 “I know you’re trying to make it better, Ethan, but you’re just freaking me out. Do you want a drink or something first?” She could make a drink, that would be nice and comfortable—

“I doubt Colin and Savi keep any around; liquor doesn’t do anything for me, in any case. Nor would medicine or painkillers. I’ll talk myself through it.”

And her, too, she hoped. “How deep is it?”

He rolled his shoulders, grimaced. “About two or three inches. Just dig in there until you hit lead and then use the tip of the blade to wiggle it on out.”

Oh, Jesus. “That doesn’t sound like a good plan.”

“It’s likely not, but—” He sat up straight, and his jacket was suddenly in his hands. He lifted the sleeve up from the rest of the bundle; from the wrist to the elbow, it was dark with blood. “That’s mine, Charlie. Nearly lost my hand to a demon. Now, I can reattach it, or wait until I return to Caelum and get a Healer to fix me up, or eventually grow another one—but next time it might be my head, and I can’t put that back on. And next time might be the moment I let the shield down around the house, because there’s no way for me to know if a demon’s waiting for us when the spell is up.”

Demons, spells, being constantly prepared to defend himself…Charlie could barely imagine life at that level or think in those terms.

But she had to now, didn’t she?

“All right. All right.” She shrugged out of her coat, tossed it onto the island. The ivory-handled knife was as cold as her fingers, and gooseflesh crawled over her body—but Ethan’s skin was smooth, as if he didn’t feel the chill in the air. “Do we need to sterilize this?”

“No. Just quick and deep, Charlie. And soon, before I turn yellow and embarrass myself.”

“Just hold on a second, Ethan. Jesus.” She thought his lips twitched before he turned, facing straight ahead. “I need a towel. Or five. You’ve got some of—”

A rainbow of her neatly folded hand towels appeared on the island.

“My tweezers, too.”

After a second, Ethan said, “They in something?”

“A brown makeup bag. It’s got a fleur-de-lis design all over the outside. Yeah, that one.” God. Just wiggle the bullet on out, Charlie. He was crazy. She wiped off the tips of the tweezers and laid them next to the towels. “Are you ready? You’d better start talking. You said you’re a Guardian—what does that mean?”

“You ever play DemonSlayer?”

“The video game? No.” She held the blade over the black circle she’d made on his skin. Just stabbing wouldn’t let her work in there; she needed an incision.

“Good, because it’s mostly bullholy fucking whoreson—!” His jaw clamped together and he dropped his forehead to his arms; his knee lifted and he slammed his boot against the floor.

Charlie felt the vibration in her feet, and she stared in shock at the deep wound she’d made, the blood pouring from it. She’d convinced herself it wouldn’t really hurt him. For God’s sake, he’d been shot and she hadn’t heard him complain about the pain, just the inconvenience. “Ethan—”

His voice was muffled against his arms. “Get in there, Charlie, or it’ll close up and you’ll have to do it again.”

He was right; it had bled hard the first second, but it was already slowing. She grabbed a towel and her tweezers. “Guardians?” she prompted.

“Yes.” He hissed when she probed the incision, and she thought she heard wood splinter. “You’ve heard about Lucifer and his rebellion in Heaven?”

“I think so.” She couldn’t see anything inside the wound, and looking at it was just making her sick; she closed her eyes and gently felt around for the bullet. She’d forgotten what a distinctive odor blood had. “Lucifer and his followers were turned into demons and thrown into Hell—but Lucifer decided to trick humans into wearing clothes instead of leaves, so he turned into a snake and made Eve eat the apple and then humans were eternally screwed.”

His back shook under her hand, like he was holding in laughter. “I don’t know if the snake and the apple is true—but the demons did begin tempting humans, and angels remained on Earth to stop them. Except it wasn’t long before humans started thinking the angels were gods, and the demons got almighty jealous.” He sucked in a long breath. “You’ll have to open it up again. Deep as you can. Poke around in there, Charlie. You don’t need to be gentle, because it’ll only hurt for a second—I can hardly feel the cut you made now. And you aren’t doing any damage.”

“Okay.” Charlie wiped the blood from her hands, the tweezers, then his back—cleaning the work space. “It’s all over your pants.”

“I’d take them off and sit here in my skivvies, but—sonofabitch.” He gripped his knees, the muscles and tendons in his hands and arms standing in sharp relief. “But I ain’t wearing any.”

He’d probably meant that to be teasing, instead of sounding like it had been ground between two jagged stones.

“Sorry,” she murmured, and swiftly got the tweezers going. When the steely tension in his back eased, she said, “So the demons were jealous?”

“Enough to wage another war against the angels. Only this time Lucifer had creatures from Chaos, a dragon and demon dogs and such, and they just about slaughtered the seraphim—that’s the angels—until humans began fighting with them. I felt it there, Charlie.”

“Yeah, I found it.” She bit her lip and held her breath as she carefully dragged the tweezers against the bullet, searching for the edge. “So the demons started killing people, too?” She made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat. “It’s slippery.”

“You’ll get it.” Her probing must have been hurting him; his thumbs were working circles on his thighs, though the rest of him was still. “Demons can’t kill humans—it’s against the Rules. No killing or hurting them, no denying them free will.”

“Why?”

“Used to be, they got dragged back to Hell by Lucifer, then Punished or destroyed.”

“Used to be?”

“The Gates are closed now. But that’s another story, Charlie, and not nearly so old. This one, the men who joined in the battle turned the victory back the angels’ way.”

“How?”

“One of them—Michael—killed the dragon.”

“Got it,” she breathed, and slowly began to draw the bullet out. She lost it, and fished back in, trying to work under it instead of squeezing this time. “Damn. It’s going to take a second, though. And then what?”

“And then the angels gave Caelum—their home—to Michael, gave him a Guardians’ powers, and left him to recruit others.”

“When did all of this— Oh, shit, here it is.”

The slug landed with a plop in her cupped hand, and she held it over his shoulder, grinning.

Ethan whistled low and picked up the mushroomed bullet between his thumb and forefinger. “A forty-four hollow-point—unfortunately, only the light cartridge behind it. If they’d used a Magnum round, it’d likely have punched right on through, made it all a bit easier for me.” The slug vanished, and he slanted a glance up at her. “Thank you kindly, Miss Charlie.”

The darkness of his lashes only made the impact of his amber eyes more intense, knocking the wind out of her. She swallowed, forced a reply. “Sure thing. Just give me another minute, and I’ll get you cleaned up.”

Herself, too. Blood covered her fingers, pooled in her palm. She didn’t want to look down and see how much was on her shoes and pants.

“It ain’t necessary, Charlie. I can…” The rest of it was lost beneath the sound of the faucet, and by the time she’d soaked a towel with warm water and lathered soap into it, he’d apparently decided to let her help.

His elbows were resting on the seat back, his posture easy, his booted feet flat against the floor. He tensed beneath the first swipe of the towel over his skin. His right boot slid back a couple of inches, his heel lifting, and she paused, remembering how he’d reacted on the first cut. But the incision had healed; only a four-inch pink line remained against his tan, and that was fading quickly.

The triumphant haze of getting through the operation without fainting was fading, too.

“That didn’t hurt, did it?” It wasn’t really a question. And now she recalled how he’d vanished the blood from her hands in the booth.

“Not a bit. I suspect there’s more hurting to come, though.”

She wasn’t so slow that she couldn’t interpret that. “Yet you’re still sitting here,” she said, and wiped another section of skin clean. Efficiently, though she was tempted to take her time, to make that hurt just a little worse—maybe even bad enough he’d want to relieve it.

“Well, Charlie, I just ain’t man enough to walk away when a pretty woman offers a warm bath.”

A dark emotion grabbed at her throat. She’d been pretty enough to kiss, too. And apparently pretty enough to get his dick hard, but she’d bet that if she walked around the chair and took any of that for herself, he’d push her away and tell her it was for her own good.

She let the towel drop to the floor. “But I don’t think I’m woman enough to keep nurturing a man who doesn’t need it.”

She backed up to the island, lifted herself up onto the wooden surface, and kept her hands clenched on the edge of the counter. Her fingers were screaming to do something, and she’d have done just about anything for a cigarette—anything but ask Ethan for one.

Even something as innocent as asking for her knitting seemed too much a giveaway of her hurt, so she just squeezed the wood instead.

Ethan’s gaze lifted from her hands to her face. “Charlie—”

“So you can fly, and heal fast,” she interrupted, because she sure as hell didn’t want to talk about anything else. Didn’t want to hear him say again that she was needy, or to think about how easily he saw into her.

Didn’t want to think about how simply knowing that she’d aroused him had created an ache that centered much lower—and was much warmer—than the one in her throat.

She was good at wanting things that she shouldn’t…and equally good at denying herself them.

Ethan watched her carefully as he stood. A blue cotton shirt appeared in his hands. “Yes. I can run quick enough a human can’t see it, lift a city bus if it needs to be lifted.”

A thin scar bisected his navel horizontally, rippled across the left side of his abdomen. She swung her legs out so that she had something to stare at besides his stomach. Her shoes were spotless; so were her pants. Considering how much blood had spilled, and how close she’d been to him, that was impossible. “And you make stuff disappear.”

“If I can get my head around it, I can store it. Blood doesn’t feel good, though.” He slid into his shirt, frowned at the length of the sleeves. He met her eyes again as he rolled up the cuffs. “If I have the opportunity, I choose to clean it off in the normal way.”

She didn’t know if that was an apology or an explanation, or just an excuse—but it helped that he offered one. “Do you drink blood?”

“No. Don’t eat, don’t drink, don’t sleep.”

“That must be nice,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“Not to need anything. Then it wouldn’t hurt so much when you didn’t have it.” Or when you had to give it up.

His lips tightened. “Well, the lack of sleep is more difficult than the others. Close your eyes, Charlie—I’m about to make new britches, and I don’t always get it right the first time.”

She did, but an image of his body appeared behind her eyes anyway. “Where’d you get that other scar?” Not as a Guardian—he’d said the one on his lip was from when he was human.

“Which?”

How many did he have? “Here.” She lifted the hem of her shirt a couple of inches and ran her finger in a quick line over her stomach.

She heard him swear lightly and fabric rip before he said, “A saloon in Cheyenne. I’d tracked…hell if I remember his name, but he’d swindled a nice bundle out of some society matron in New York. A little dude, and I never expected he’d pull a— Now, Charlie, what about that is so almighty funny?”

It took her a second to stop laughing, but she finally managed, “Dude?”

His voice suggested that he was smiling again. “Ah, well, a ‘dude’ back in my day was a fancy man who had no business being out west. And I’m decent now.”

Indigo denim jeans—not formfitting, but falling straight from his hips, like the old-fashioned Levi’s she’d seen miners wearing in pictures. His suspenders looped the length of his thighs, and Ethan had his head bent, working a metal button on his waistband through the end of the leather strap. His shirt was still unfastened, exposing a wide swath of skin. Dark hair roughened his chest, arrowed down the center of his stomach.

Nothing about that visual was decent; it embodied some kinky fantasy Charlie hadn’t even known she’d had. She picked up her makeup bag, began digging through it to distract herself.

“You tracked him—you were a cop?” Old Matthew hadn’t been wrong, after all.

He shook his head. “I was employed by a detective agency.”

“Like…like…” Dammit. “It starts with ‘P. ’”

“Pinkerton’s?” He glanced up from his buttons, and she nodded. “Similar to it, yes. I worked with Pinkerton’s for a spell, but they mostly wanted thugs to hassle unionizing workers. So I moved on to a smaller agency where I could be put to better use.”

She leaned to the side and turned on the faucet in the middle of the island, rinsing her tweezers. “You’re big enough to be useful as a thug.”

“But I’m more useful thinking like a thief and murderer.” His eyes narrowed. “What’s it with you and letters? ‘Starts with “P.”’”

“I remember the sound I associate with the thing easier than I do the actual word or name.” She kept her focus on her hands as she dried the tweezers and replaced them in the makeup bag. Hopefully, the threat of a unibrow would overpower the memory of where they’d been. “They teach you that in conservatory—mnemonic devices so that you don’t forget the lyrics, or where to come in. Except words don’t pull so easily for me. Not unless you set them to music.” She pursed her lips, finally glanced up at him, and was glad he wasn’t staring at her throat. “I can’t spell, either.”

“Hell, Charlie, ‘reckon’ and ‘ain’t’ trip off my tongue like I was born saying them, but the truth is, my ma would have whupped me something fierce if she’d ever heard me speak like this.” He smiled when she laughed, and it softened his face, as if mention of his mother had struck a sweet memory. His fingers began working up his shirtfront. “But it served me well to start, and I don’t figure I’ll stop anytime soon. My ma ain’t going to protest, at any rate—and I can sum up my human life by saying that I was born on Beacon Hill in 1854, where I learned to talk a certain way, but by the time I died thirty-two years later in a no-account Arizona town, I had speaking habits that would make my parents roll in their graves.”

That didn’t add up to as little as he claimed, but though she was curious, Charlie let it go. She didn’t like to talk about the details of her life, either. And when she did, she just twisted them up into barely believable stories.

Ethan had already heard several of them.

 

What you won’t find in my books: a heroine who says, “What is that long, hard thing in your pants?” (Although, I guess Savi did say that to Colin, kind of.)

His hands enfolded one of hers, brought it down to his upper thigh. A hard, steel length lay beneath the fine wool of his trousers. “Not precisely what I’d like you to touch in that location, but it’s there if you want it.”

A gun. Either loaded with tranquilizer darts made with hellhound venom, or bullets laced with the same.

I miss Colin sometimes. Sigh.

So, anyway! This was about me getting around. And I am! I’m over at Bam’s blog, writing the Best! Story! Ever! (AKA, the kind of stuff that comes out of me at 1am, and the caffeine isn’t working anymore.)

I’ve also sent a post to The Good, the Bad, & the Unread for their ValenDuckie event. It should show up today or tomorrow — it’s all about non-romantic movies, and the romances in them.

And tomorrow, I’ll be guest blogging at Simply Romance Reviews.

…did I mention that all of these posts have prizes attached? Like, um, a certain new release? Go forth!

ETA: Okay, considering where I’ve taken the comments, obviously this did become about that letter. I mentioned over and over, and here are the places the discussion has gone on before (just in recent memory — there were a few others (I think at JMC’s blog, and I’ll link if I can track them down)): Jeaniene Frost’s livejournal, and at the Smart Bitches. But although I remembered (and applauded) Jeaniene’s response last month, I didn’t realize until I stumbled across it again that it was in response to the same letter, printed in both the January RWR issue and the February issue. WTF? Is it an oversight, someone in editorial hoping for a reaction, or someone in editorial agreeing with the letter-writer’s viewpoint so they’re publishing it again?

I’m still guest blogging at The Book Binge! (With prizes at the end of the week!) Today, they ask the important questions, like: Coke or Pepsi?

(Pepsi, but Diet Coke)

P.S. That chick really did have Pantene hair. But, ahem — I can’t help but notice that your own cover girl has a sultry glower. And what’s more– Shh! Shhhh! Listen:

Do you hear that whisper? I think she’s saying, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”

(Second, I’m still guest blogging over at The Book Binge. Today and tomorrow, it’s all about Q&As.)

(Third, Demon Night kinda-sorta hit a bestseller list last week. It was #41 on the Borders/Waldenbooks romance mass market list! My first list evah! *happy dance* (Also, go congratulate Nalini, who hit in the awesome numbers … also in the week before the official release.)

(Fourth, Borders Stores is running a promotion on Demon Night — $1 off (no coupon necessary.) So if you have a Borders bookstore near you, it’ll be less expensive than other options might be.)

Explore the seductive corners of the dark, as a forbidden attraction tempts danger under the canopy of the…

DEMON NIGHT

$7.99 Berkley Sensation
ISBN 0425219771

Charlie Newcomb worked hard to get her life back together. But all that is shaken when she’s set upon by three vampires desperate to transform her beauty into something evil. Because Charlie is the vital link to something they want—and need. It’s Charlie’s flesh and blood sister, a medical scientist whose knowledge could be invaluable to the predators.

But to get to her, they must first get to Charlie, now under the intimate protection of Ethan McCabe. As her Guardian, Ethan is attracted to her vulnerabilities—as well as her strengths. The closer he gets, the more protecting her becomes not just his duty, but his desire. But will it be enough to save Charlie when the demon night falls?

Read an excerpt.

Read a really long excerpt.

Reviews after the cut (and please let me know if you want me to add yours — I’m sure I forgot some).

Meljean is now officially one of my favorite authors. And this book’s hero?…I just went weak at the knees. And the love scenes—wow, just wow.

–Nalini Singh, National Bestselling author of Visions of Heat and Caressed by Ice (and Mine to Possess!)

[Brook] is truly one of the best voices out there. Sexy, exciting…a dark and sultry world.

–Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author

Charlie’s traumatic past has left her believably afraid of her own needs, and Ethan is a brave, sweet guy with old-fashioned ideas about chivalry. Brook gives them distinctive dialogue and paints a fascinating, erotic world full of angels, demons, vampires and ambiguity.

–Publisher’s Weekly

Poignant and compelling with lots of action, and it’s very sensual. You’ll fall in love with Charlie, and Ethan will cause your thermometer to blow its top. An excellent plot, wonderful dialogue… Don’t miss reading it or any of Meljean Brook’s other novels in this series.

–Lory Martin, Fresh Fiction

A phenomenal book by an author who knows how to give her readers exactly what they want… dangerous, sexy, scary and smart.

–Julie, Romance Reader at Heart

I had no experience with this wonderfully complex new world that Meljean Brook has created. But I found “Demon Night” did a good job as a standalone novel in providing enough background to carry the reader throughout the book, though I will definitely be going back to read the beginning of the series.

–MKanbi, Paranormal Romance Writers

There were times whilst reading this when I truly felt like my heart would break. My palms got clammy and a knot formed in my stomach. Other times I was so emotionally overcome I felt tears welling in my eyes. It was…amazing.

–Holly, The Book Binge

An intense romance that will leave you breathless…. I was drawn in from the first page.

–Billie Jo, Romance Junkies

Charlie has become a new favorite for me this second time around. I mean, I loved her the first time, but now? I appreciate her even more. She so flawed. It’s bloody wonderful, it is, because Charlie Girl is phenomenally, magnificently imperfect. I love that she refuses to let her weaknesses take control. Recovering alcoholic, drug abuser, ex-con, this girl has been damaged by her own hand. What is striking is Charlie’s ability use this awareness of her past failure as a strength. She focuses on denying herself the things she is most vulnerable to in order to make a better and lasting life for herself. Her victories are pedestrian and, therefore, all the more meaningful. An apartment. A job. A checking account. Her dignity.

–Lisabea, Nose in a Book

This book is by far and away my favorite book in the series. Yet again, Brook manages to draw some interesting, complex people against a backdrop of a truly interesting setting. The plot was interesting, and the romance is definitely one of the best I’ve read in a while.

–Shannon C., Flight into Fantasy

Demon Night is an intense novel teeming with incredibly real characters, fierce action, and undeniably heart wrenching plot twists. The love story of Charlie and Ethan is a wonderful blend of humor, tenderness, and passion.

–Christine, The happily ever after…

Demon Night clearly shows how Meljean Brook keeps growing as an author. It’s got all the elements I loved in her earlier books (the complex, fully-realized characters, the heart-stopping romance, the fascinating world and plot), but this time there wasn’t even one second when I was confused in the slightest about what was going on.

–Rosario, Rosario’s Reading Journal

[Demon Night] features the interesting characters, complex plotting and wonderful relationship development I have quickly come to associate with Ms Brook. If you enjoy any of the above elements in your romance (and who doesn’t), I definitely recommend the story of recovering alcoholic turned bartender, Charlotte “Charlie” Newcomb, and wild west outlaw turned Guardian Angel, Ethan “Drifter” McCabe.

–Devon, The Good, the Bad, & the Unread

This is the fifth story in Meljean Brooks Guardian series and she hasn’t disappointed yet. Drifter is absolutely charming in a very old-west-Wyatt-Earp kind of way. Drifter and Charlie fit seamlessly, as Brooks’ characters always seem to do, with no hesitation or stuttering. The plot itself was entertaining, just twisty enough, sweet, but with the conversational and narrative sarcasm and barbs that we’ve come to expect from Brooks.

–Elizabeth, Book Fetish

The world that Meljean Brook has created is all encompassing, and Demon Night is no different. Both Demon Angel and Demon Moon were spectacular examples of a great story, with great characters in an imaginative world and how a series should be. The story of the Guardians fighting the demons and other creatures of Hell on the earth continues well with Ethan McCabe, also called Drifter, and Charlie Newcomb.

–Lawson, The Good, the Bad, & the Unread

…great fighting scenes, over the top action, great love scenes (hey, I am a romance addict after all) and the most excellent dialogue and one liners I have ever heard. I find it amazing that there can be a balance of incredible tension one minute and then a zinger of a line the next that can make you laugh.

–katiebabs, Ramblings on Romance

Dear Ms. Brook:

…tremendous…

–Jane, Dear Author*

Dear Jane:

…just kidding…

–Meljean, Meljean Brook

*A Dear Author recommended read for February!

(Second, I’m still guest blogging over at The Book Binge. Today and tomorrow, it’s all about Q&As.)

(Third, Demon Night kinda-sorta hit a bestseller list last week. It was #41 on the Borders/Waldenbooks romance mass market list! My first list evah! *happy dance* (Also, go congratulate Nalini, who hit in the awesome numbers … also in the week before the official release.)

(Fourth, Borders Stores is running a promotion on Demon Night — $1 off (no coupon necessary.) So if you have a Borders bookstore near you, it’ll be less expensive than other options might be.)

Explore the seductive corners of the dark, as a forbidden attraction tempts danger under the canopy of the…

DEMON NIGHT

$7.99 Berkley Sensation
ISBN 0425219771

Charlie Newcomb worked hard to get her life back together. But all that is shaken when she’s set upon by three vampires desperate to transform her beauty into something evil. Because Charlie is the vital link to something they want—and need. It’s Charlie’s flesh and blood sister, a medical scientist whose knowledge could be invaluable to the predators.

But to get to her, they must first get to Charlie, now under the intimate protection of Ethan McCabe. As her Guardian, Ethan is attracted to her vulnerabilities—as well as her strengths. The closer he gets, the more protecting her becomes not just his duty, but his desire. But will it be enough to save Charlie when the demon night falls?

Read an excerpt.

Read a really long excerpt.

Reviews after the cut (and please let me know if you want me to add yours — I’m sure I forgot some).

Meljean is now officially one of my favorite authors. And this book’s hero?…I just went weak at the knees. And the love scenes—wow, just wow.

–Nalini Singh, National Bestselling author of Visions of Heat and Caressed by Ice (and Mine to Possess!)

[Brook] is truly one of the best voices out there. Sexy, exciting…a dark and sultry world.

–Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author

Charlie’s traumatic past has left her believably afraid of her own needs, and Ethan is a brave, sweet guy with old-fashioned ideas about chivalry. Brook gives them distinctive dialogue and paints a fascinating, erotic world full of angels, demons, vampires and ambiguity.

–Publisher’s Weekly

Poignant and compelling with lots of action, and it’s very sensual. You’ll fall in love with Charlie, and Ethan will cause your thermometer to blow its top. An excellent plot, wonderful dialogue… Don’t miss reading it or any of Meljean Brook’s other novels in this series.

–Lory Martin, Fresh Fiction

A phenomenal book by an author who knows how to give her readers exactly what they want… dangerous, sexy, scary and smart.

–Julie, Romance Reader at Heart

I had no experience with this wonderfully complex new world that Meljean Brook has created. But I found “Demon Night” did a good job as a standalone novel in providing enough background to carry the reader throughout the book, though I will definitely be going back to read the beginning of the series.

–MKanbi, Paranormal Romance Writers

There were times whilst reading this when I truly felt like my heart would break. My palms got clammy and a knot formed in my stomach. Other times I was so emotionally overcome I felt tears welling in my eyes. It was…amazing.

–Holly, The Book Binge

An intense romance that will leave you breathless…. I was drawn in from the first page.

–Billie Jo, Romance Junkies

Charlie has become a new favorite for me this second time around. I mean, I loved her the first time, but now? I appreciate her even more. She so flawed. It’s bloody wonderful, it is, because Charlie Girl is phenomenally, magnificently imperfect. I love that she refuses to let her weaknesses take control. Recovering alcoholic, drug abuser, ex-con, this girl has been damaged by her own hand. What is striking is Charlie’s ability use this awareness of her past failure as a strength. She focuses on denying herself the things she is most vulnerable to in order to make a better and lasting life for herself. Her victories are pedestrian and, therefore, all the more meaningful. An apartment. A job. A checking account. Her dignity.

–Lisabea, Nose in a Book

This book is by far and away my favorite book in the series. Yet again, Brook manages to draw some interesting, complex people against a backdrop of a truly interesting setting. The plot was interesting, and the romance is definitely one of the best I’ve read in a while.

–Shannon C., Flight into Fantasy

Demon Night is an intense novel teeming with incredibly real characters, fierce action, and undeniably heart wrenching plot twists. The love story of Charlie and Ethan is a wonderful blend of humor, tenderness, and passion.

–Christine, The happily ever after…

Demon Night clearly shows how Meljean Brook keeps growing as an author. It’s got all the elements I loved in her earlier books (the complex, fully-realized characters, the heart-stopping romance, the fascinating world and plot), but this time there wasn’t even one second when I was confused in the slightest about what was going on.

–Rosario, Rosario’s Reading Journal

[Demon Night] features the interesting characters, complex plotting and wonderful relationship development I have quickly come to associate with Ms Brook. If you enjoy any of the above elements in your romance (and who doesn’t), I definitely recommend the story of recovering alcoholic turned bartender, Charlotte “Charlie” Newcomb, and wild west outlaw turned Guardian Angel, Ethan “Drifter” McCabe.

–Devon, The Good, the Bad, & the Unread

This is the fifth story in Meljean Brooks Guardian series and she hasn’t disappointed yet. Drifter is absolutely charming in a very old-west-Wyatt-Earp kind of way. Drifter and Charlie fit seamlessly, as Brooks’ characters always seem to do, with no hesitation or stuttering. The plot itself was entertaining, just twisty enough, sweet, but with the conversational and narrative sarcasm and barbs that we’ve come to expect from Brooks.

–Elizabeth, Book Fetish

The world that Meljean Brook has created is all encompassing, and Demon Night is no different. Both Demon Angel and Demon Moon were spectacular examples of a great story, with great characters in an imaginative world and how a series should be. The story of the Guardians fighting the demons and other creatures of Hell on the earth continues well with Ethan McCabe, also called Drifter, and Charlie Newcomb.

–Lawson, The Good, the Bad, & the Unread

…great fighting scenes, over the top action, great love scenes (hey, I am a romance addict after all) and the most excellent dialogue and one liners I have ever heard. I find it amazing that there can be a balance of incredible tension one minute and then a zinger of a line the next that can make you laugh.

–katiebabs, Ramblings on Romance

Dear Ms. Brook:

…tremendous…

–Jane, Dear Author*

Dear Jane:

…just kidding…

–Meljean, Meljean Brook

*A Dear Author recommended read for February!

<— Specifically, this one.

In unrelated news:

Dear New York Times,

I saw your headline this morning that read:

“A perfect ending, for the Giants”

I really think you should have used a dash instead of a comma.

Sincerely,
Meljean

But I’m not the only one with a release this February 5th — Joey Hill has a fantastic follow-up to The Vampire Queen’s Servant; Jaci Burton has penned a freaking hot introduction to her Wild Riders series; Nalini Singh has written another fabulous entry to her amazing Psy-Changeling universe; and Dakota Cassidy offers a funny, sexy first installment in her sure-to-be-a-winner Accidental series.

So we all thought it would be fun to ask each other a few questions, give readers an opportunity to get to know us a little better, maybe find a new favorite, and win some fabulous prizes. And when five authors get together for a round robin of questions and answers, anything can happen … and readers will win.

I’ll be giving away signed copies of Demon Angel and Demon Moon (unless you already own them, and then we’ll see if there’s another book you’d like ) on this blog, and the other ladies are offering their own fabulous prizes, including books and gift certificates. Each of us has a question on our blog that each author has answered. Here, the question is:

If you could pick one character from your books and spend the day with him/her/it (with no spousal guilt, depending on the activity!) what would you do?

Jaci Burton, author of Riding Wild:

Mac from Riding Wild. He has a Harley. And a gun. And he’s damn sexy. I think we’d have to take a backroads journey into the hills, maybe to the lake. Rest a little. Maybe get lost. Heh.

Dakota Cassidy, author of The Accidental Werewolf:

Hands down it’d be Nina from Accidentally Dead. She’s has no filter from brain to mouth–she calls it as she sees it. Not to mention she uses the word “fucktard” liberally and without shame.

Joey Hill, author of The Mark of the Vampire Queen:

When I think about what I’d like heaven to be, after the obvious reunion with loved ones, I have this dream of being able to walk into my fiction worlds and hang out for the day with my characters whenever I wish. Very first thing, I’d probably go to Tyler and Marguerite’s BDSM carnival party and hope the rest of the Nature of Desire crowd were there so I could spend the day with all of them. Not just for the obvious exciting stuff. I imagine hanging out with them, the way they were hanging out in the wee hours of the morning after Marguerite and Tyler’s wedding. Just picking on each other and being relaxed in the company of friends. Mac would let me take a swig of his beer. Justin and I would talk about Wicca. I’d grill Sara, Mac and Violet on police stuff as research for my next book (hey, isn’t there a heaven library of yet-to-be-published-in-the-earthly-realm books?) I might be too shy to talk much to Marguerite and Tyler, but it would be wonderful to watch them interact with the others, and of course with each other.

Nalini Singh, author of Mine to Possess:

This is an incredibly hard question. I choose one, then I think, nooooo, I want that person, then the cycle repeats. So here’s my answer – I’d throw a party, invite all my characters, then climb a tree from where I could see everything. Can you imagine the fireworks?!

My partners in crime would be Julian and Roman, the twin leopard-changeling cubs first introduced in Slave to Sensation. Not only do they have a degree in mischief, they know how to steal the best cake and they have very big ears so I could totally listen in to all the conversations.

Meljean Brook, author of Demon Night:

Colin from Demon Moon. He’s wickedly funny, has a great sense of style, and droolingly gorgeous. I’d happily spend an entire day just looking at him, but I think we’d probably grab an old horror movie or two, then I’d watch him paint for a while, then I’d watch him slice a rogue vampire to ribbons with his swords, then ask him if he thought Byron was handsome just to prick his vanity. But I’d have to say no to anything in the bedroom, because then I’d forget all about my fabulous day (and because Savi would kick my ass).

Here’s what readers have to do to win: leave a comment by Sunday night (Feb 3) telling me which character from any book you’d love to spend the day with, and how you’d spend the time — and then don’t forget to visit Jaci Burton, Dakota Cassidy, Nalini Singh, and Joey Hill‘s blogs for more questions, more answers, and more chances to win!

I had no idea Demon Night was reviewed by PW :boggle: I have no idea when it was, either, because I just found the review when I went to Powell’s site to see if they had any in stock at their Beaverton store yet.

But, supercool. My first PW review:

“Brook crafts an entertaining, slow-building romance for her latest Guardian series entry. Charlie Newcomb is a recovering alcoholic working at a bar and just trying to keep her head above water when she comes across a group of vampires nesting on the establishment’s roof. Luckily, her enigmatic next-door neighbor Ethan McCabe is a Guardian, or angel, who is keeping an eye on her. The two get caught in a demonic plot that threatens Charlie’s sister, Jane, while Charlie must wrestle with not only the undead but with her growing attraction to Ethan. Charlie’s traumatic past has left her believably afraid of her own needs, and Ethan is a brave, sweet guy with old-fashioned ideas about chivalry. Brook gives them distinctive dialogue and paints a fascinating, erotic world full of angels, demons, vampires and ambiguity.” Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

*happy dance*