Claire Ashgrove ~ Immortal Surrender Tour PLUS Contest

Hello everyone!  Thanks so much for hosting me today.  Writer’s are pretty insane the vast majority of the time.  We keep a lid on it, mostly, but I thought I’d arm you with some super-secret knowledge today, and share the top five ways to make an author completely batzo. Change the Subject – When an author begins to ramble on about a hot new idea that she’s suffering from, change the subject.  Do it twice, and watch how fast her eyes cross.  Do it three times (and smirk so she doesn’t take it personally) and see how quickly she forgets how to string words in cohesive order. Deny Chocolate – Not every author likes chocolate, but those who do, really do.  Hide it and she’ll waste hours looking.  Eat it and the world will stop until she has a new store.  Er wait, that’s not entirely correct.  Eat it, prepare to die, then the world will stop. To-Do Lists – Like you, authors have a personal set of objectives to accomplish each day.  Ladle out more on top of those already intensive lists, and we get a little…frazzled.  Want to see an author completely lose it?  Hand her a to-do list, (or alternately give her a deadline) when she’s right in the middle of an intensive round of edits.  And really, it doesn’t need to be a list.  “Mom can you…?” can push her into insanity just as easily. Take Away Her… -- Pick your preference: her Twitter, her Facebook, her email, her Angry Birds or Korean Soap Operas.  Whatever it is that she uses as an excuse to avoid her writing, force her to work and she’ll struggle to find one word.  Put her in a room with nothing to do, and her mind will work overtime.  Deny her a pen to record all those chaotic thoughts, and you will fry her brain irreversibly.  Forced Organization – Most writers, even the organized ones, maintain a critical level of just enough disorganization to keep the creative flow…well, flowing.  Ask an author to sit down and catalogue everything in their head, and by the end of the day, she’ll be cursing not just your name, but her characters as well.  We like the chaos.  It gives us something unimportant to whine about so we don’t stop and dwell on sales, royalties, or the things that really matter. Well, there you have it.  Know an author?  Try some of these things.  I skipped the most obvious things like destroying a computer, but some of these are just as effective.  At least they apply to me! Your thoughts – are writers brilliantly organized geniuses (say yes!) or are they just one step from clinically insane?

Claire is giving away one digital copy of any one of her backlist books, excepting those in the Templar series, to one randomly drawn commenter at each stop on the blog tour.  In addition, commenters’ names will be added into the tour-end drawing of a 25.00 Amazon gift card.  Follow the tour – the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.  Complete tour dates can be found here.

Farran de Clare, loyal member of the cursed Knights Templar, wants nothing to do with predestined mates. Even the Almighty won’t turn him into a fool again—he’d rather sacrifice his soul. Yet in the scientist Noelle Keane, a devout atheist, Farran meets the seraph designed for him.

Ordered by the archangel Gabriel to protect Noelle, the possessor of a sacred relic that could give Azazel incredible power, Farran swears to do his duty—but in name only. Fighting an attraction that grows with each day, he’s determined that he’ll never pledge himself to her.

As they war over her future, their mutual passion ignites a conflict far more damning. But before Noelle will agree to eternity with him, she demands the ultimate sacrifice – his heart.

BUY IT HERE: AMAZON
Length: 401 Pages
Genre: PNR

EXCERPT:

 

In the blink of an eye, his serene expression morphed into a dark scowl. “You do not believe me.”

“No,” she answered on a chortle. “Did you really expect me to? I’m sure someone else would—you’ve put so much feeling into the tale. But I’m a scientist. I don’t even believe in God.” To soften his disappointment, she reached between them and patted his hand. “You did good though. Better than some of the things Gabriel has told me.”

He abruptly pulled his hand away. “Everything Gabriel has ever told you is true, damsel. He is an archangel. Whilst he may behave most strange, he is God’s messenger and cannot lie.”

Gabriel an archangel. Oh man, the two of them were in this together. When she saw him next, she’d buy him a drink for this. She grinned at Farran and shook her head. “You two are something else. I swear, I should have known. He tries to do this to me all the time.”

“Woman,” Farran barked. “’Tis no jest! You are branded as mine.” He grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head. “Look for yourself.”

Noelle gaped at the vision that sat before her. Smooth bronzed muscle lacked any trace of hair and bulged even as he sat still. The chest she remembered so vividly was nothing less than a wall of corrugated stone. Thick forearms led to even thicker biceps, arms so strong she felt three times smaller than normal. He could crush a man—or so her imagination said.

Her appreciative stare dropped to his belly and stopped on her gasp. Scored into his taut abdomen, a white scar ran from his ribs down beneath the waistband of his jeans. A good three inches wide, and easily three times as long, the scarred flesh assumed the distinct shape of a ring-hilted dagger. Someone had heated metal and pressed it to his skin.

“My word,” she whispered.

Drawn to the horror of the mark, she leaned in and traced a fingertip down the length of the hilt. The pain he must have felt—her heart twisted hard. “What happened to you?” She glanced up at his face.

Eyes closed, he sat utterly still. “’Twas meant to gain my confession.”

Noelle winced. Looking back at the ugly scar she couldn’t take her hand off of, her chest tightened. What sort of person could do that to a man? His stomach bunched beneath her fingertips, mystifying her even more. As deep as the wound had been, he was lucky he could feel anything at all. Whoever had done this was sick. Sick, sick. “Were you in the war?” she asked quietly.

“Aye,” he exhaled.

“Oh, Farran, I’m so sorry.” And she was—sorrier than she’d ever been for anyone. All the stories she’d heard about beheaded captives, tortured soldiers, and political screw-ups amounted to nothing when faced with the stark truth of what he’d been through. He’d suffered. Through some miracle, he’d survived a wound that would have killed a lesser man.

On sheer impulse, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the ringed pommel.

Immortal Surrender Review

I'm not sure where to start with this book, but I can tell you that even though it is book two in a series you do not have to start at the beginning with book one to know what is going on in this series! The author does an amazing job with explaining the story to us in a way that it is seamless, you don't feel left out or confused at all. So I guess where I'll start is with the author... Claire Ashgrove. Have you heard of her? Read any of her books? Ms. Ashgrove has been writing paranormal romance since 2008 and I'm both ashamed and excited to say this is the first I have read of hers, but it will not be my last.

Immortal Surrender is book two in The Curse of the Templar series (Immortal Hope, book One). When first looking at the blurb I thought okay sounds interesting, I might be able to get into it - Immortal Knights, Cursed, A quest, Fated Mates, Good vs. Evil, Angels/Demons, and a touch of historical for good measure. I am happy to say that I not only liked this book but that I recommend this book!! I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this story, it only took me one day to plow through the 448 pages as I was so intrigued and caught up in the story. The story had me mad, had me laughing, and gave me a feeling of tightness in my belly that nearly brought me to tears several times. So what brought about all those feelings? Well let me tell you...

Dr. Noelle Keane is a leading scientist in dating religious relics. She is not a believer though, she is scientist, and believes only in what she can prove. She has now been given the task of delivering a valuable relic, but due to the value and seriousness of the object her friend Gabriel has arranged for a guard to escort her. He believes she will need the protection and this smart, quick witted, lonely woman is taken aback by her handsome guard, Farran.

Farran de Clare is an Immortal Knight of the Templar cursed to fight evil until he is either mated or his soul fills with darkness damning him to then serve Azazel. Accepting his task to escort the scientist and her relic does not turn out to be the easy task Farran thinks it to be. Upon meeting Noelle, Farran thinks her a plain, boring person but after being in her presence her sees her wit and beauty and grows attached to her.  Then once he realizes "what" she is—his seraph—his fated mate--Farran is not happy. He does not want a mate, he does not want to be pledged to a woman ever again and will do whatever he must not to make that pledge.

There are huge hurtles to overcome… Noelle's "blinded" by science and doesn't believe in the religious and paranormal elements around her.  Farran is tormented by his past and believes naught in women and love. Deceit, lust, lies, and predestined things are at work and, if they can not become one—Templar and Seraph—both their tasks and duties will have failed.  

This was a terrific book – I found it engaging, thrilling, romantic, and full of action. I can't wait for more from author Claire Ashgrove and The Cursed Knights of the Templar.

 Pssst... if you want something a little more erotic Claire Ashgrove also writes under Tori St. Claire.

 

Award-Winning Author Claire Ashgrove has been writing since her early teens and maintained the hobby for twenty years before deciding to leap into the professional world. Her first contemporary novel, Seduction's Stakes, sold to The Wild Rose Press in 2008, where she continues to write steamy, sexy stories for the Champagne and Black Rose lines. Adding to these critically acclaimed romances, Claire’s paranormal romance series, The Curse of the Templars debuted with Tor in January 2012. For those who prefer the more erotic side of romance, she also writes for Berkley Heat as the National Bestselling Author Tori St. Claire.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, and her local RWA chapters, Heartland Romance Authors, Midwest Romance Writers, and North Texas Romance Writers of America.

Claire lives in Missouri with her two sons and too-many horses, cats, and dogs. In her “free” time, she enjoys cooking, winning at Rummy, studying Ancient Civilizations, and spending quiet moments with her family, including the critters. 

To learn more about Claire, visit her on the web at www.claireashgrove.com, or www.toristclaire.com.  You can also connect with her via Facebook, and Twitter.