Today I welcome fellow Etopia Press author Erin Moore! Erin writes paranormal romance; stories that feature characters from exotic shifters (minotaurs, anyone?) to werewolves to Native Americans. All heroes and heroines with real emotional depth.
She’s here to talk about her latest release “Awakened by the Minotaur,” so first, a quick look at the blurb and then we’ll see three reasons why you should read this book!
When man becomes minotaur, dark passion takes hold.
Lara Castille always plays it safe in both love and life. But when she arrives on vacation in Crete, she is determined to enjoy herself. Old habits die hard, though. Drawn to her tour guide, the enigmatic and sexy Teo Lambros, she cannot let down her guard—until she takes part in the ancient and sensual rites at the ruins of Knossos. She dreams of the minotaur who takes her upon the altar, and wonders if it could be Teo who brought her to ecstasy.
A gray haze clouds Teo’s memory of the rites; he knows only that the bull has chosen him for his own. He fears that the land will once again need a sacrifice, as it did when it claimed his fiancée the year before. Though he cannot deny his need for Lara, he knows that protecting her from his desire is the only way to keep her safe.
As the island’s magic demands everything they have, Lara and Teo must discover what’s real and what’s imagined if they’re to survive the passionate sexuality that draws them together…
Ta-da…Here are Erin’s three reasons…
#1: Lara Castille always plays things safe. But when she goes on vacation to Crete,
and then gets lost on her fist night there, she stumbles upon an ancient rite… and finds more than she ever imagined. A man with the head of a bull, a minotaur, has called her to a large stone altar. She succumbs to pleasure with him and knows that things will never be the same.
#2: Teo Lambros lives with some dark secrets. Not the least of which is, he might have killed his fiancée the year before when the cloak of the minotaur made his mind hazy and dark. So when he realizes he’s let himself go too far emotionally with Lara – and that it might endanger her – he tells her that he must go back to being her tour guide, and only her guide.
#3: Lara tries to convince herself that she can accept Teo for who he is, even when she suspects that he was the bull that took her upon the altar. But when he becomes the minotaur one night, and she feels the darkness around him, she is forced to confront what she is truly scared of. In the ensuing argument, Teo tells Lara to leave, and that she will never be able to be a part of the island.
Excerpt:
She imagined that the stones beneath her feet hummed with intensity, preparing her for something. The nearness of Teo, the scent of him filling her nose, reminded her of the taste of his kiss, and she felt more alive than she had in months.
“Do you feel it?” His breath was warm and minty on her face and she realized he was standing directly before her,
She nodded and then opened her eyes to put her palm to the side of his face. “I feel it,” she whispered. His green eyes stared into hers.
“Lara,” he said simply and brushed the back of his hand against her mouth. It sent tremors through her body, evoking warmth between her legs. She reached out and twined her fingers in his silky hair and pulled him toward her. Enough. The night with the bull had changed her.
With an intensity that she matched, his mouth found hers and took her measure with his tongue, his lips, finding her again and again ready, open. Exploring, teasing, he tasted her, taking her bottom lip between his own. He suckled, making her lips throb and a small mew escape her throat. The skin at the nape of his neck was covered in soft, silky hair, and she tugged at it, wanting more of him, finding the tendons there tensed and throbbing beneath her fingers.
She shifted her body, pressing against him. As if in understanding, he pulled her roughly to him with one hand, cupping her bottom. He pried apart her legs with his own so she could feel the hard evidence of his arousal against her. He lifted her before sitting with her astride him on the bench behind them.
Atop him, his erection pressed against the fabric of her panties, and the heat between them matched the summer’s warmth. This was what she wanted. Fevered, hot, she explored his mouth with hers, delighting in the intensity and urgency of his kiss. Trailing kisses over his neck, his collarbone, the deep brown of his skin hot beneath her tongue. His skin tasted like his scent—cloves and dark earth. She bit his neck as if she could devour him.
Her skin tingled and her body and mind were open. Primal, hot, sexy, her body was enflamed, like the night of the rites. The rites. Her eyes flew open, and she knew. Oh, God, how had she not known, not recognized it immediately? As understanding flooded her she knew now that she would recognize his body anywhere, even if her eyes were closed and they were in a dark room. Because she had seen him, had tasted him, had taken him into her mouth. He may have been the bull that night, but she still knew him.
Author Bio:
Erin’s writes sensual paranormal romances that challenge the conventional “shifter” tropes. She lives in Atlanta with her two little paranormal beings and one unruly husband. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.
Her free novella, To Love a Shaman, is available on her website. She’s also giving away a critique of a first chapter with a subscription to her newsletter!
http://www.AuthorErinMoore.com
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/awakened-by-the-minotaur-erin-moore/1119688750?ean=2940149416295
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/awakened-by-the-minotaur
Musings from the Middle Ages & More 
How wonderful to see Erin here. This is a wonderful read. Lara sure goes from playing it safe! But that’s the way to save Teo.
Thanks for stopping by, Shey!
Thanks for hosting me, Sharon! Good to see you, Ms. Moore. 🙂
Great to have you here!