Christine Zolendz is an Indie author, mother of two, wife, ultimate bookwhore and smartass. Residing in New York City, she spends most of her time reading, writing, drinking huge vats of coffee, hiding from her family and fishing dolls and coins out of the toilet.

A paranormal rockstar romance.

I’m finally home after struggling through my brother’s illness and death. But, home is definitely a bit different. My best friend (the only person alive now that knows my secret) has a new boyfriend; and he has a friend. Shane Maxton: bad boy, tattooed rock god, eye candy extraordinaire. He is also New York City’s most arrogant, self-serving, son of a, well, a definite one-night stand kind of a guy.

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But, it doesn’t matter to me because I’ve spent my existence looking for the love of my life, my angel. And, there is nothing that Shane Maxton can do to change that.

My spoiler-free review of Fall From Grace  (Mad World #1)
My spoiler-free review of Saving Grace  (Mad World #2) 

“Please, Grace, whatever it is you’re going after, please try and find it here with me. I will try my best to be the man that you need me to be.”
~ Shane Maxton 

“I promise you, I will pick up every broken piece of you, every single fucking piece, Grace, and for the rest of my fucking life, I will put you back together… I’ll make you whole again.“
~ Shane Maxton 

TEASER SNIPPET FROM

 ~ SCARS AND SONGS ~

Shane Maxton’s Point of View

The night started the way it always did, the guys and me meeting up at the bar before a gig. A crowd of girls sat at the table next to us as we horribly tried pick-up line after pick-up line on them. We all made a game out of it, because really, after a show every girl that had said no to us would be on their knees in front of us later, mouthing how great we were. Every girl.  Any girl.  No problem.  I had yet to meet a girl who knew the word no.  Not when the guys from my band, Mad World, were around anyway.

Tucker, who wasnʼt even in the band was the best at the game, but thatʼs because he just had the worst pick up lines in the world, I think he had a book somewhere where he wrote them all down.

“Great legs, what time do they open?” Tucker called out to the girls laughing.

Chuckling, I chimed in, “If I flip a coin, what are the chances of me getting head?” The girls made disgusted faces in our direction, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Alex, my rhythm guitarist and keyboardist, elbowed me in the gut to listen to his line. “Hey, how about you sit on my face and let me eat my way to your heart?”  He shoved his tongue between two of his fingers and wiggled it towards the girls sexually.  I laughed harder.

Brayden, my bassist, snorted like a pig and beer shot right out of his nose. Howls of laughter rang out from our table. Then he called over, “I got the F-C-K. All I need is U!”

Ethan my drummer just laughed along with us, he never participated in our immature games. Heʼd be the first one of us divorced with 2.5 kids and a dog.
 Probably a freaking cat too.  Freaking pussy.

Tucker rolled another out, “If this bar is a meat market, you must be the prime rib!”
That caused the girls to stand up and move to another table farther away from us idiots. All except one light haired girl who flipped me her middle finger, but stayed firmly planted to her seat, crooking her lips into a sexy little smile.  Easy.

I got up from my seat and leaned over her table, right in front of her face, “I would love to,” I whispered. I held my hand out for her, and just like I thought she would, she grabbed it with sweaty palms.

I took her into one of the back rooms.  It was as good a place as any to get laid, most of the time I was too uninspired by the easy women that opened up their legs for me to even bother to take them home.  And they were all easy.  I didn’t even have to look anymore, they just jumped on my arms after a show.  Let’s be honest, they jumped right on our dicks right after a show, no need to sugar coat it.  It is what it is.  Easy.

The girl walked right into the storage closet lifted her skirt to her waist and bent over, ready.  She wasn’t even wearing any fucking underwear. Holy shit.  Maybe I should use two condoms with this one if she’s that fucking easy.  She leaned over a shelf full of cases of beer, stretched her chin over her shoulder and smiled, “My names Crystal.”  Now she tells me?

“Hey, hi.  Nice to, uh, meet you,” I laughed.  What the hell did I care what her name was?  I was never going to use it.

She turned her head around spreading her legs wider, “God I can’t wait to tell all my girlfriends I hooked up with the lead singer from Mad World.  Those girls I was sitting with just now, I just work with them, they don’t know how famous you are.”  And there it was, the reason my cock got so much action, I was Shane Maxton, lead singer of Mad World.  Famous.  Yeah.  No one knew who the hell I really was.

Release date : 2013

A cute blonde haired, green-eyed woman sits closely with Shane Maxton, the lead singer of NYC’s hottest Indie band, Mad World.  The woman looks over to the rock star adoringly and you can just tell they have a special relationship.“Hey, it’s nice to meet everybody here on AestasBookBlog.  Thanks for meeting us at Boozer’s for a drink and letting us take part in this December’s Author-a-thon-22 Authors in 22 days.  I’m Christine.”

Shane lifts his beer to his lips, but before he drinks from the bottle his mouth eases into a sexy smoldering smile. “And I’m Shane,” he says. His voice is low and raspy, wrapping itself around you. He’s wearing a tight black sleeveless shirt with an Avenged Sevenfold logo spread across his muscular chest.  The lean toned muscles of his tattooed arms catch your eye, and you can feel a small tingle down deep in the pit of your stomach.  Shane cocks his head and gives a sideways smile, “We’re here to tell you anything you want to know.”

Kristen Proby has made a living as a massage therapist, a medical biller, a registrar in an Emergency Room, and a professional photographer. But what feeds her soul is writing romantic, erotic love stories about strong women who don’t necessarily need saving, and gorgeous, alpha-type men who want to save them anyway.

She is the author of the With Me In Seattle series. Book two, Fight With Me, is scheduled for release January 2013.

Kristen lives in the amazing Pacific Northwest where, conveniently, her muse lives too.

*Warning: Contains profanity, explicit sex, and a super sexy couple!

Being confronted on the beach by a sexy stranger wasn’t part of Natalie Conner’s plans for a peaceful morning taking photos. And why on earth would he think she’s taking pictures of him, anyway? Who is he? One thing’s for sure, he’s hot, and incredibly romantic, feeding Natalie’s wounded soul.

Luke Williams just wants the world to give him a break, so seeing yet another camera aimed at his face has him ready to pounce on the beauty behind the lens. When he finds out she has no idea who he is, he’s intrigued and more than a little tempted by her. Natalie has a body made for sex, a sassy mouth and Luke can’t get enough of her, but he’s not ready to tell her who he really his.

Natalie is a no nonsense girl who doesn’t do well with lies and secrets. What will happen to this new relationship when she discovers what Luke’s hiding?

My spoiler-free review of Come Away With Me 

“Are you having doubts?”
“Hell, no, I just want to make sure this is what you want, baby. If you say no, that’s fine, but please, God, don’t say no.”

Kindle | Paperback

(Enter the Giveaway below to win a copy today.)

FIGHT WITH ME

Book #2 in the With Me In Seattle series.

Jules Montgomery is too busy and content with her life to worry about a man, especially one Nate McKenna. If growing up with four brothers has taught her anything, she knows to stay away from sexy men with tattoos and motorcycles. That goes double if he’s your boss. During the one incredible night they shared, he violated the no fraternization policy…among other things, and it won’t happen again. Jules won’t risk her career for mind-blowing sex, no matter how much her body and her damn heart keep arguing with her.

Nate McKenna could give a shit about the no fraternizing policy. He wants Jules and he’ll have her. The rules could bend around them, or be damned. He’s not a man to be taken lightly, and Jules Montgomery is about to find out just how he responds to being pushed aside after the best night of sex he’s ever had. She can fight all she wants, but he’ll have her in his bed in the end.

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Want to see the cover of this book??
We’ll get a reveal when “Under The Mistletoe With Me”
hits the Top 100 on Amazon!!

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Add to Goodreads.

Release date : Jan 4, 2013

(Enter the Giveaway below to win an ARC copy of this book.)

 THE FOREVER OF ELLA AND MICHA

TEASER

I shuck off my shirt, climb onto the bed, and cover my body over her. Her fingers trace my stomach muscles and the black cursive font of my tattoo on my ribs.

“I’ll always be with you, inside and out,” she reads it. “Through hard times and helpless ones, through love, through doubt.”

I lean back a little, bring her hand to my mouth, and gently kiss her palm. “You know I wrote that for you.”

“No you didn’t.” Her eyelids flutter as I breathe on the sensitive spot of her wrist. “You wrote that when you were like sixteen.”

“Actually fifteen.” I release her hand and lie down on top of her, supporting my weight up with my arms.  “I remember sitting down to write it and the only inspiration I had was your sad eyes—I couldn’t get them out of my head.”

She pouts out her lip. “I don’t have sad eyes, do I?”

I brush my finger along her cheekbone and underneath one of her green eyes. “You did. All the time. And sometimes you still do.”

“You look sad sometimes too,” she tells me with her auburn hair spread out across the pillow. “But right now you look happy.”

“That’s because I am happy.” I start singing her the lyrics and it makes her grin broaden.

“There we go,” I say and kiss her deeply, nipping at her lip and tracing my tongue along the inside of her mouth.

She encloses her long legs around me and things turn heated. Threading my fingers though her hair, I caress her neck with my tongue until I know she’s going to have a hickey.  Her shoulder shudders upward from the touch of my breath and she giggles.

I put a small gap between us and look her in the eyes. “Does that tickle?”

She shakes her head with a solemn expression on her face. “No, not at all.”

I pinch her side playfully and she jerks sideways, attempting to roll out from under me.

“Please don’t.” She laughs, struggling for air. “Pretty please.”

I listen to her, because there’s something else I’m dying to do.  I begin to undress her, deliberately at first, but then my movements turn desperate and I end up ripping some of the buttons off her shirt.

Minutes later, our clothes are in a pile on the floor. As I stare into her eyes, I consider begging her to come with me on the road, but the moment is fleeting and I realize I just can’t do that to her.

Add to Goodreads

To be released Spring 2013.

Lauren S – Do you have a favorite place to write?

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Jessica  ~  I do write almost every day. I have a really hard time breaking away from it because I love writing so much.  My best writing time is at night, because it’s quiet and I’m not a morning person at all.

Jess T – I love your books! You have so many series out, do you ever work on more than one book at once?

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Jessica  ~  I’ve tried a couple of times to write multiple stories at the same time, but it doesn’t work very well.  It gets confusing and the voices tend to take on the same tone. So for the most part I focus on one story at a time.

J.A. Redmerski is the author of THE EDGE OF NEVER, THE DARKWOODS TRILOGY and DIRTY EDEN, mother, werewolf & zombie fanatic, book addict and a happy hermit obsessed with the Universe. Oh, and AMC’s “The Walking Dead”.

Addictions: Starbucks every morning, trolling Barnes & Noble’s shelves once a week, detesting winter, shopping flea markets and preparing for the collapse of society as we know it. Do I own a tin foil hat? Maybe. 🙂

I was born in Arkansas and have lived here most of my life, except the couple of times when I lived in Pennsylvania. I started my first novel at the age of thirteen and have been writing something ever since. Generally, I love characters in life and on paper. I pay attention to people, especially those whose personalities make them different from the rest of us: the drug addict roaming the Laundromat that talks to himself, the young, inattentive mother in the park with the meanest kid on the playground – (the entire cast of ‘Swamp People’) – characters fascinate me and I hope that it shows in my literary work.

Some authors that inspire me are Neil Gaiman, Anne Rice, Cormac McCarthy, Max Brooks, J.K. Rowling, Richard Matheson, William R. Forstchen, Carrie Ryan, David Moody, Phillipa Gregory and Lisa Smedman. I’m always on the lookout for the next great book to pull me into its world and piss me off when I read the last page and know that it’s over.

I’m a sucker for anything Christopher Lee, John Noble, Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton and Cate Blanchett. But my biggest fan-girl superstars are Alex Filippenko, Michio Kaku, Brian Cox, Michelle Thaller and Neil Degrasse Tyson!

Also, almost more than anything I love nature and this beautiful planet that I live on. I just wish everyone else did too….

 Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction

My spoiler-free review of THE EDGE OF NEVER
(5 huge stars!!)

“What compels any of us to do the things we do when deep down a part of us just wants to break free from it all?”

“…dwelling and planning is bullshit,” he says. “You dwell on the past, you can’t move forward. Spend too much time planning for the future and you just push yourself backwards, or you say stagnant in the same place all your life.” His eyes lock on mine. “Live in the moment.”

“I think when you fall in love, like true love, its love for life. All the rest is just experiences and delusions.”

Kindle | Nook | Paperback

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton, is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you’ll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren’t roaming in that direction, she’ll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office. 

“You’ve never ridden a motorcycle before?”
“Nope.”
“What kind of bad-boy girlfriend are you?” I ask in mock dismay.
“Evidently a terrible one.”
I swing onto the bike…
“Nah, you just haven’t met the right bad-boy.”

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 The scorching tale of one girl, two brothers and a love triangle…that’s not.

Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white.

But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins.

Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her.

Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together.

Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them.

Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire. 

She wants them both.

And they want her.

How will she ever choose between them?

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance- Please be advised that this book is NOT YA friendly, not even in a New Adult category!

My spoiler-free review of Down To You <– I loved it!!!

Kindle | Smashwords

Joanne C – Do you know how many books will there be in the Down to You series?

Michelle – Three for sure, but if y’all like Gavin, I might do one for him.  We’ll see:)  hehe 

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Sarah J – What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

Michelle – I try to write at least a little bit every day.  When I’m writing against a deadline, I set a goal of 2,000 words per day.  Typically, I start writing around 9 or 10 am.  I use my morning (after I have my coffee, of course– hehe) to catch up on e-mails and social kinds of things, work on interviews, sign books, work on my blog and things like that.  The thousands of things that I have to do OTHER than write.  LOL  Once I actually start writing I try–emphasis on the word TRY–to type until I’ve reached my goal.  I’m pretty easily distracted, though, so that often takes me several hours.  Some days I stop at noon to go run errands and things like that.  But usually I wrap it up around 5 pm so I can feed the dog and cook dinner.  The next day?  Rinse and repeat:)

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Chantel S – If Down To You were a movie who would you have play Cash/Nash?

Michelle – Wow!  You’ll understand this more once you read Up to Me, but right now I’d choose Charlie Hunnam, the star of Sons of Anarchy.  After you read the book, you’ll have to tell me if you agree:)

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Tara T – Do you already know how this series is going to go, or do you wait for it to come to you while you are writing?

Michelle – I have a general idea of where it will go, but I very much create and develop spontaneously as I write.  I tried plotting a book out once.  By the third chapter, the book was completely derailed from the outline.  I found it to be a huge waste of time, so I haven’t tried it since then.

<– LOOK EVERYONE!!!!!!  LOOK! LOOOOK!!
ITS THE NEW COVER!! HOTNESS!

OFFICIAL BLURB

Happily ever after doesn’t come easy.  But for love, it’s always worth the fight.

Olivia finds bliss unlike any she’s ever known in Cash’s arms.  He sets her skin on fire and melts her heart right inside her chest.  Unfortunately, their happily ever after is short-lived when a shadow from Cash’s past threatens to turn their world upside down.

  Dangerous people from his father’s world have discovered that Cash holds information that could put them away for a very long time.  And they’re willing to do anything—and hurt anybody—to get it back.  Giving it up means Cash must choose between the life of his father and the life of Olivia.

Having nearly overcome her wariness of bad boys, Olivia’s trust is shaken when this new threat arises.  Now she finds that Cash is not only a danger to her heart, but his family has associations that are a danger to her life as well.  She soon discovers that there are some situations in life where trust is a girl’s only option.  And this is one of them.  If she’s to live, she must trust Cash with her life.  But to Olivia, that’s much, much easier than letting go and trusting him with her heart.

If Cherrie Lynn’s parents are to be believed, she’s been writing since before she can remember. Through her formative years, her scribblings evolved from epic graphic novels about dragons and unicorns to middle school angst-inspired teen soap operas to scorching hot love stories once she discovered her mom’s romance novels.

She adores electronic gadgets, heavy metal, gaming, horror movies…everything you wouldn’t really expect a country girl to love. She and her hubby are frequently found hitting the road to Dallas (or Houston or San Antonio or Little Rock or wherever!) to catch their favorite rock acts live, but she’s much too fragile to go near a mosh pit.

Cherrie writes sexy contemporary and paranormal romances. She’s all about strong, caring, sometimes wicked heroes and sensitive heroines with a streak of sass. She loves hearing from readers, so drop her a line via her contact page.

Latest Release!!! 

Leather and lace don’t strike sparks. Or do they?

It’s Valentine’s Day, but Macy Rodgers isn’t feeling the love. Aside from a torrid, one-night fling in a backseat a few months back, her love life has been sorely lacking, but fortunately she has devious friends who feel like playing Cupid. Wouldn’t they be shocked to learn that the match they’ve made for her is the same one that steamed up the back of that ’69 GTO…

Seth “Ghost” Warren has just returned to town after an extended absence. Between his grandmother’s failing health, his job as a tattoo artist, his band’s gigs, and a crazy ex that won’t leave him alone, he’s stretched thin. Cautious cowgirl Macy is the last thing he needs thrown into the mix.

She’s all country, he’s all heavy metal—and Macy knows that if anyone can propel her out of her rut, it’s Seth. But when their worlds collide, it’s anyone guess if they’ll survive with their hearts intact.

Warning: Contains explicit sex, graphic language, road trips, troublemaking exes, emotional baggage, and an unconventional but exceptionally hot hero tatted and pierced for your pleasure…

Click here for my spoiler-free review.

“Light Me Up”

appearing in the holiday anthology
“A Very Naughty Xmas”
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Candace is dreaming of a little sparkle in her stocking this year. Brian is planning a night that’s anything but silent…