Guest Blog: Jess Macallan

Jess MacallanI am excited to welcome author Jess MacAllen, who has just released the first novel in her new Set in Stone series, Stone Cold Seduction.

When a regular night of Robin Hood-ery results in the manifestation of some, um, unusual paranormal abilities, perfume-maker Elleodora Fredricks realizes the normal world she lives in isn’t quite… normal. And neither is she, thanks to her father, king of the shadow elves. Not only is he evil incarnate and the reason Elle moonlights as a burglar someone has to take care of all his victims he s stolen her memories.

And only reading her fate can fix that.

Good thing she s got a trio of hotties willing to help her find said fate, but only if she gives them something in return. Saving her oracle BFF’s fiance, falling in love with the gargoyle, and making up for breaking the phoenix s heart ought to be a piece of cake for the princess of the shadow elves.

If only the king didn’t want his daughter dead…

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away an ebook of Stone Cold Seduction.
_____________________________________________

Emotional Geometry 101—The Conflict of Love Triangles

I’m thrilled to be at Literary Escapism and to have the opportunity to chat about my new release Stone Cold Seduction. One of the things I’ve encountered time and again with this particular series is the topic of the love triangle. One thing I can say for certain is that readers have strong feelings about the idea. In Stone Cold Seduction, Elle Fredricks, is faced with two men: one from her past, and one from her present.

As a reader, I have a number of favorite authors who’ve introduced love triangles in their story lines and series. In all honesty, I love some of them, and hate others—for a variety of reasons. Initially I struggled with whether or not to put a love triangle in this series. I decided to go for it, because it tied into how I wanted the story to end. With that said, I’ve had a number of readers ask if I give everyone a happy ending, if I tie up all loose ends, etc. They don’t want to start the book, only to see one guy go home broken-hearted and empty-handed.

As a writer, I can’t make things easy for my characters. If it’s obvious and neat and tidy, the story would be boring (which might also explain the staying power of soap operas). Elle can’t choose both men. She only has one true mate. It takes her a while to discover who that man is, but when she does, what happens to the odd man out?

I’ve had a couple readers suggest it would be kinder to kill him off than to leave him hanging. Because this series is urban fantasy, that could work. But I’m a diehard romance reader. I can’t leave one of the guys hanging (or dead) any more than readers want me to. They’ll all get their happily ever after, but they’ll have to earn it first.

Life is like that. Many of us have experienced unrequited love. We’ve had our hearts broken, or maybe we’ve broken someone’s heart. It’s painful, but it happens. The world I’ve built in the Set in Stone series may be paranormal, but the emotional issues are real. Not everyone can win. Not everyone gets the girl (or at least the girl he thought he should have). And if I killed the losers off, well…that would be too easy. I want to make them live through it. I want to show readers they’re stronger for it. I want readers to root for them to get their happily ever after as well.

It’s not much different than the heroine who catches her boyfriend/husband with another woman, then goes on to find her true love. That heroine is always stronger after the heartbreak, and better prepared for the new relationship. Elle, Jax and MacLean will all be stronger by the end of the series. Why? Because they’ll have survived heartbreak and a whole lot more. They’ll have earned their happily ever after. And those pesky loose ends will be all tied up, I promise you.

What emotional issue do you love to see characters overcome?

I’d love to extend a big “thank you” to Literary Escapism for hosting me today! I love chatting with readers. You can find me at Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | JessMacallan.
______________________

Meet Jess Macallan!

Jess lives in the Inland Northwest with her husband and three children. After pursing a degree in finance and economics, she realized she was better suited to weaving words than crunching numbers. Curiosity drives her to try new things as often as possible. She has a bad habit of trying too many new things at once and has amassed an odd resume of talents including yoga teacher, knitter, writing mentor, gardener, mixed martial arts junkie, and author of a variety of genres. In her spare time, she raises crazy chicken breeds and reads anything she can get her hands on. She’s allergic to shopping and reality shows, but loves chocolate and anything with Will Ferrell. She also loves hearing from readers.

JMacallen-Stone Cold SeductionContact Info
Website & Blog: www.jessmacallan.blogspot.com/
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Want to purchase ’s novel?
Stone Cold Seduction at Amazon | Book Depository
_____________________________________________

Excerpt from Stone Cold Seduction

“You are my true mate.”

My lips were still tingling, and my brain was fuzzy. “Jax, I’m not sure what that means.”

He didn’t answer, but instead pressed a kiss to my temple. And another to my cheek. Slowly, he nuzzled his way to my neck. I let my head drop to one side, giving him better access.

He whispered his approval, and lightly nipped at my neck. “It is a connection between souls. A bond determined by fate. I will show you what it means.”

His lips and tongue were doing a slow, erotic dance along the oh-so-sensitive skin down my neck, and coherent thought was impossible. He could show me whatever he wanted, as long as he didn’t stop.

I sighed, and Jax took that as acceptance. Before I knew what he was going to do, he’d scooped me up and was halfway up the stairs.

“Jax!” I yelped.

He stopped, but his muscles were vibrating with energy. He waited until he had my full attention before repeating, “I will show you. We are mates, connected in ways you and the phoenix will never be.”

His silver eyes were bright and intense. I could admit to having had many, many fantasies where he’d carried me upstairs, and all sorts of amazing things had happened. But this was real. And he was dead serious. It scared me, thrilled me, and seriously confused me.

When I didn’t respond, he lowered my feet to the floor and pressed me up against the wall in the narrow stairwell. His eyes held mine as he leaned close. “I will show you, so there are no doubts.”

Then he kissed me again, and this time, he held nothing back. Possession, need, and barely leashed control. Jax’s mouth told me more than words ever could. He leaned against me so our bodies were in full contact. Need burned through me. His taste, his touch, drowned out my worries. His scent surrounded me. He smelled crisp and clean. Like a sunny, winter day. But the heat he created inside me was intense. Just like the man himself.
_____________________________________________

Contest Time!

Thank you Jess for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! Jess is giving away an ebook of Stone Cold Seduction. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: What emotional issue do you love to see characters overcome? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered.

Even though I’m not giving the additional entries any more, you can still help support the author by sharing their article, and this contest, on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere you can. After all, the more people who are aware of this fabulous author ensures we get more fabulous stories.

The winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until September 27th at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the snazzy new plug-in I have.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

17 Comments

  1. The fear of loving after losing someone to death and the abandonment issues and insecurity that arises from it. All those emotions are linked and are very powerful. Though I’m not able to move on in my own life it’s nice to read about people who are braver and more open to love than I am. I get to live vicariously through them. In those cases, fantasy is soooo much better than reality.

  2. I like to see characters (male and female) get over that whole “I’m alone, no one will love me, therefore it’s just *me* against the world and I can’t accept help”. Sometimes I get really impatient and annoyed with characters who act all bullish and obstinate just b/c they won’t “talk”/accept help. But then on the flip side, I hate it when the opposite character will steamroll/alpha-out “for their own good”. It’s a fine line :)

    efender1(at)gmail(dot)com
    GFC ~ erin

  3. These are all great answers and instances of characters learning to get out of their own way, whether it’s overcoming fear, trust issues, insecurity, or “alpha-hole-ism” as I’ve heard one reader recently say. :) Watching a character grow makes the HEA that much sweeter.

    Thanks for stopping by and good luck with the contest!
    Jess

  4. I love romances where one of the characters has to earn back the trust of the other after having done something that really hurt them. Basically, I love a good grovel, but it’s got to be in proportion to the betrayal, otherwise I feel cheated.

    I would love to start this series. It sounds like it will be a good read.

  5. I love to see characters who have been hurt by love overcome their insecurities and lean to trust/love again. Yes, I’m a hopeless romantic and I SO want to win this ebook. (I love gargoyles and phoenix, too.) I just won Sarah Gilman’s Out in Blue, maybe I’m on a roll. LOL.

  6. I like seeing characters who are against love or who are resigned to never finding it open themselves up to the possibility when that right person comes along.

    meredithfl at gmail dot com

  7. My favourite “weakness” is when a character makes the other one brave enough to chance hurt by loving and putting themselves out there and opening their heart. So liberating and usually really moving!

    Stone Cold Seduction sounds wonderful, I can’t wait to read it! Congratulations!

    stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com

  8. I love to see characters overcome the truth, of who they really are and i always love a little bit of romance :)

  9. Hmm…I love it when characters get over their inability to feel emotion and fall in love or trust someone else. This book sounds great!

  10. Don’t enter me in the contest. I bought the ebook and all I can say is OMG. This book is amazing. I loved it so much that when I got to the end I whined…LOL
    Jess, I can’t wait for more. Do you know how many more books there might be? Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful story.

Comments are closed.