DARK STRONGHOLD By ERIN M. LEAF ~ Bridging the Gap Promotions Book Tour ~ Giveaway ~

DARK

STRONGHOLD

By ERIN M. LEAF

Giveaway :   $25 Amazon Gift Card! Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter.

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Interview: 

Crystal: Today as part of this Bridging the Gap Promotions Book Tour I have the opportunity to ask Erin M. Leaf a few questions. Welcome Erin, I'm so happy to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?

Erin: Today I am at my desktop computer screen, trying to write, as opposed to yesterday, when I used my laptop, instead, to stare at a blinking cursor. Sometimes, I’ll even be really cruel to myself and try to write on my phone. There’s no cursor, but the white space is the same mocking expanse of attitude that seems to cross all my electronic devices with the express purpose of tormenting me.
As for my past, well, I began writing when I was in third grade. My first story featured a burning building. I think that is where my fascination with apocalypse stories began. I’m always wrecking planets and people in my books.
If you really want to know more about me, I think I have a semi-normal bio on my website: http://erinmleaf.com/about/

Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?

Erin: My favorite scene in DARK, my new release, would have to be the opening of the novel. I adore Greyson’s irritability. And I love Eva’s determination to invade his space. She’s had it rough and just wants some time alone. Is it too much to ask for her to be allowed to wander into his woods for a little peace and quiet? I think not, but Greyson isn’t as understanding as I am.

Crystal:Where did you come up with the idea for your current release?

Erin: DARK began when I sat down at my computer and started typing. I had no idea who was going to come out of my mind, but I think that the concept of a territorial hero has been lurking in my subconscious for a long time now. Eva is my answer to Greyson’s crankiness. She needed to be strong, to stand up to him, yet also vulnerable, so he would want to take care of her.

Crystal: What are you currently working on?

Erin: Right now, I am working on DUSK, the second in the Stronghold series and the sequel to DARK. This one features Eva’s best friend, Lucy, and Greyson’s brother, Solomon. Solomon is a scientist and is very solitary. Lucy is sweet and cheerful and he can’t help worrying about her. Poor guy. He has no idea what I have in store for him. Heh.

Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing? 

Erin: Yes. I promise myself every day that I’ll start writing in the morning, but inevitably, I can’t focus until I’ve done a million stupid things around the house: laundry, eating breakfast, washing the counter, etc. I usually get going in the afternoon, just when I’m most likely to be interrupted by my sons or husband via text. I don’t know why, but this ridiculous routine seems to work for me.

Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?

Erin: I did a little research, but it was only to fact-check locations and some science stuff. Most of my research is internal: I read voraciously and tend to remember quite a bit of what I’ve read (at least enough to easily look up what I need when I’m writing). I read anything and everything, from science textbooks to romance novels to cookbooks.
The most fascinating fact I can share from DARK: my husband and I drove out to Ohio last year, totally randomly, to pick up a set of tires he’d bought online. So, of course, I decided to put my characters in Ohio.

Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?

Erin: This is the most difficult question! I’m almost forty-five years old and I’ve read and loved more authors than anyone would ever believe. I couldn’t possibly list them all here. Hmm, what did I read recently? Jean Johnson’s Theirs Not to Reason Why series (hard-hitting sci-fi). Some fanfic. L.E. Modesitt’s Corean Chronicles (fantasy). A bunch of young adult books: Double Negative by C. Lee McKenzie and Knockdown by Brenda Beem (LOVED them).

Crystal: Is there any genre you haven't written that you would like to try?

Erin: I haven’t written a math textbook and NEVER EVER want to try. Genre I haven’t written? Uh…. I can’t think of any. I have been writing in various jobs since I was eighteen. I’ve written software manuals, training materials, news articles, corporate marketing materials, poetry, essays, reviews, and so on. I’ve written novels with three different pen names: young adult, sci-fi, suspense, thriller, romance, lgbt, multicultural, mystery….
Wait! Wait, I know: I want to write a humorous memoir sometime. I really want to tell someone about the time my younger son ate a Twinkie and then threw it up, WHOLE, one hour later. That was funny. It really was (especially since my hubby cleaned it up, yay).

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Blurb:

Greyson Dark doesn’t like strangers in his territory.
Eva Waverley doesn’t like being told to keep out.
After her father's suicide, hiking is the only thing that makes the bullying in Eva's new school bearable. When Greyson rescues her from a tumble, she falls for him despite his autocratic demeanor. She's leaving for college soon—what does it matter if she crushes on a man everyone else fears?
Greyson suspects Eva is his true mate, but duty demands he remain aloof. She doesn’t know he's a long-lived Sentry, sworn to protect Earth from an ancient alien menace. When she leaves for college, he's relieved, but four years later she comes back, all grown up and more gorgeous than ever.
Greyson can't afford to care for a mortal woman, no matter how compelling. Hackers are attacking Stronghold, the Sentries' net, and Spiders are swarming beyond the moon, but when Eva is attacked, he discovers he can't just let her die…

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Buy Links:  

 Evernight – Amazon - BookStrand - ARe – Smashwords

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Excerpt:

“Eva, don’t,” Greyson said gently. His fingers touched her temple.
She refused to take his comfort. “I’ll do it,” she said, turning her face away from his hand. Anger rushed through her. Damn John. And damn Greyson, for being a Sentry.
“I already told my brothers no.” He pulled her close.
Eva didn’t have the strength to fight him off again. Her lips hit his damp shirt and she let her head fall into his shoulder. He tasted like rain and dust.
“I would never use you as bait,” he murmured.
She bit her lip, hard. If she let herself think about it too much, she’d lose it. “You have to. It’s the only way.” At least he believed she was innocent. Small favors, she told herself grimly.
“I’ll find another way,” he murmured, kissing her hair.
He was being so gentle. The strangeness of it undermined her best intentions. Dammit. I can’t do this alone anymore. Eva blinked back tears, and hurriedly wiped them away. Screw it. I’ll do what I have to, but I want to live a little first. She grabbed onto him, twining her fingers in his shirt. “I don’t want to die, Greyson.”
“God,” he muttered harshly.
The next thing she knew, he’d lifted her up in his arms. “Greyson, stop,” she cried, hanging on for dear life.
“Shh,” he admonished her, heading for the stairs.
She shoved her face in his chest. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“I do,” he said, kicking open the door to his room with his foot. The bed was lit with red and gold light as the sun set over the valley.
Eva trembled as he lowered her down. “I thought you couldn’t get close to anyone. You said you had to remain aloof, as a Sentry.”
He growled as he took off his shirt, tossing the wet fabric to the floor. “I changed my mind.”
She stared at his chest. Muscles played over his torso as he popped the buttons on his jeans. She knew he was strong. He’d picked her up like she weighed nothing at all, but she hadn’t realized until right now just how much his clothing hid. He unlatched the metal clasps of his boots and kicked them off, padding barefoot to the bed. Her eyes went to a rip in his jeans as her whole body went hot. Whoa, she thought, overwhelmed. Is this really happening? She’d been dreaming about this moment for years and had all but given up on being with Greyson intimately.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, tugging at the arms she’d self-consciously wrapped around her chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said, voice cracking. “I’m not perfect and thin and strong—”
“Shh.” He cut her off. “You don’t see yourself the way I do.”
She frowned at him, but he picked up her hands and put them on his shoulders. His skin is so hot. She kneaded the warm muscles beneath her palms, trying to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming.
When he closed his eyes and shuddered, she bit her lip. “I’m sorry,” she said again, unable to help herself, but then he moved in and kissed her. The shock of his lips moving against hers destroyed her ability to think. All she could do was hang on and trust him.
**** 
Greyson released the control he held over his empathic power and let himself sink into her emotions. He didn’t understand why she thought she was so unattractive—Eva was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever known, not just in body, but in strength of character. She’d been through so much and come out the other side a survivor. She eroded his self-control until he couldn’t fight himself any more. He hadn’t let a woman get close to him in two hundred years, but this slip of a girl destroyed all his good intentions. He nibbled on her delectable lower lip. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured, hands on her hips. No way was he going to stop now. He’d committed to this, Bruno and his suspicions be damned.
She gasped, opening to him perfectly. He kissed her again, savoring her taste. Her hands clutched at his arms and he kissed down her jaw, reveling in the softness of her skin. “You’re strong,” he said, unbuttoning her blouse and pushing it over her shoulders. His breath caught when he saw his ring nestled between her breasts.
“I’m not,” she argued, but he kissed her a third time, cutting off her protests.
“Gorgeous,” he whispered when he let her up for air. He peeled the fabric from her body. Her generous breasts strained against the black satin of her bra and he wasted no time in nuzzling against them. She slid her hands into his hair as he tugged at the cup, popping a nipple out over the top. He sucked it in, playing at it with his tongue until it pebbled.
“Oh God, Greyson,” she gasped, fisting his hair.
He grinned against her skin and undid the clasps, sliding the bra away. He licked at her other nipple, plying the first one with his thumb. His senses were wide open and he could feel just how much she liked this. When he bit down, she arched her back. The tiny bit of pain shot her arousal higher. Greyson groaned as the echo of it funneled through him. His dick hurt where it was trapped in his jeans. He bit down again, then undid her pants. He paused and looked up her body. Her fair skin flushed under his gaze.
“There’s no going back from this,” he said, wanting her to be certain. He reached up and snagged a lock of her gorgeous hair between his fingers. “Be sure.”

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Author Details:

Erin M. Leaf is a romance novel devotee, the steamier the better, with a specialty in edgy erotic tension. She also writes romance as Marie E. Blossom.
website: http://erinmleaf.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/erinmleaf
Twitter: @erinmleaf
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4355929.Erin_M_Leaf
Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/erin-m-leaf/



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