There's Still Time to WIN!

Get in some last minute shopping!

Buy any of my titles and receive a free CD of music that helps inspire
my writing!

Go to:

www.forbiddenpublications.com
www.amirapress.com
www.fictionwise.com
www.freyasbower.com
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com

or any other place that sells my work and email me the proof of purchase
at brauthor.editor@gmail.com. Everyone who buys, wins! Buy more than
one and I'll throw in a little extra. :)

Hurry! There isn't much of December left!

Thursday Thirteen #1

All right, so I'm trying out this Thursday Thirteen thing that people keep telling me to do. I have no idea if I'm doing it right. I'm just flying by the seat of my pants. So, let's just get this show on the road, shall we?

THIRTEEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME EXTREMELY HAPPY
(We'll start with something positive :)

#1. Writing. That one is a no brainer. As long as I'm writing, I'm pretty content.
#2. Music in all its forms... Except for whiny country, rap and Emo music that makes my ears bleed.
#3. The band Nightwish. Technically, this could fall into the "music" category, but I love them so much that they have a slot all of their own. Tuomas Holopainen (keyboard player, lyricist, composer) is the greatest inspiration I've ever had.
#4. Wine
#5. Italian food
#6. Lots and lots of kitty cats!
#7. San Francisco and the surrounding ocean. This is my favorite place and the best area for me to get inspiration.
#8. Traveling with my friends and having crazy adventures. Road trips are the best.
#9. The smells of woodsmoke and eucalyptus. They take me to my happy place.
#10. Having a day off when I can sit around my house and work on my writing with no interruptions and no time crunches.
#11. Laughing so hard my stomach hurts.
#12. Experiencing new things and meeting new people that enrich my life.
#13. Feeling accomplished in whatever I do.

All right, how did I do? Did I do it right? I hope so. I'm am now officially Thursday Thirteen de-virginized. lol ;p

Why Love A Brooding Artist In A Gothic Mansion?

Because he's absolutely drool-worthy. :) Trust me, I mean this. If I had the ability to bring a character to life and marry him myself, Traevyn Whitelaw would be mine. lol.

Dark Masterpiece
Received 5 Stars at Manic Readers!

By six o'clock Evie was tired, but pleasantly so. She had spent the entire day strolling leisurely through the small town of Cambria shopping, drawing, relaxing. Every year she stopped to reflect on the day she had first started considering herself an artist. She thought of how far she had come, what she had accomplished and what her goals for the future were. It was her day.

She sighed as she walked up to Traevyn's door, wondering how he had fared with Seth all day. She was just reaching for the knob when the door swung open, and Traevyn stood before her in a black suit with a loose, black neck tie. It wasn't a formal tie, just one of those ones that resembled a modern day cravat. He looked stunning. Stunning in a way that made her make sure her mouth was closed for fear she might drool all over herself. "Geez," she breathed. "Where are you going?"

He smiled devilishly and offered her his arm. "Come with me."

She frowned, but obeyed and allowed him to lead her inside. She let out a little shout of surprise. Most of the furniture had been cleared out of the living room, and the dining room table had been brought in and set in the center of the room. The lights were dim and there was a candle in an amber holder on the table, which was set for two. A white tablecloth covered the top, and wine glasses were turned upside down next to cloth napkins held together with elegant napkin rings. The dark, medieval tapestries were gone from the walls and several Mediterranean paintings hung in their place. Italian music played softly in the background.

"What's this?" Evie murmured.

"Italy," Traevyn replied, "or the next best thing." He guided her over to the table and pulled a chair out for her. "I figured that, until I have the time to show you the real thing, this will have to do." He pushed the chair in as she sat and leaned over her. "Happy anniversary, Evie," he whispered in her ear.

She shivered at the feeling of his warm breath against her skin and stared at him in wonderment. "How did you know about that?"

He grinned and sat down across the table from her. "Seth told me."

Her eyebrows shot up. "I didn't even know he knew about that." She looked around again, dumbstruck. No one had ever given her such a thoughtful surprise. "This is incredible. Where's all the furniture?"

"In the kitchen and dining room."

"I feel so underdressed." She glanced down at her teal, hippie-style skirt and black tank top. She'd dressed for a casual day in an artsy, coastal town. She had even used a matching teal scarf as a headband. Sure, she imagined she looked okay, cute even, but Traevyn was dressed so upscale and she definitely didn't want to feel "cute" in the midst of all the splendor he had created.

Traevyn raked his eyes over her and smiled. "You look perfect, Evie."

She met his eyes, then looked down shyly. "Why did you do this?"

"An artist should always celebrate the birth of their creativity."

She turned her eyes back up to him and grinned.

Just then, Seth walked in from the kitchen wearing a white dress shirt, black slacks and a black bow tie with a white apron around his waist. His usually spiked blonde hair was slicked back and he had a bottle of white wine nestled in the crook of his elbow like he was carrying a child. In the crook of his other elbow, he held a bottle of red. "Good evening," he greeted.

Evie took once glance at him and burst out laughing. She covered her mouth and dissolved into giggles.

Seth kept a straight face. "Could I interest you in a glass of wine? We have our finest—" he looked down at the bottle of white "—Pe-nut griggio."

Evie had to bite down on her lip to keep from guffawing.

Seth looked at the bottle of red. "Or we have…" He glanced at the label and let
out a little huff. "Shy—razz."

Traevyn winced. "Give the lady a glass of white and me a glass of red," he
instructed.

Seth filled both Evie and Traevyn's glasses. "I will be back shortly to take your order," he said suavely before sauntering back into the kitchen.

Evie glanced at Traevyn, who watched her with a smile on his lips. "That is fantastic," she said. "How did you get him to do that?"

"His idea," he replied.

She just stared at him. "Are you serious?"

He nodded and his lips turned up in a wry smile. "Guess I should have told him how to pronounce wine titles before I gave him the job."

She laughed. "Yeah, I've got to say, I've never heard of Peanut Griggio before."

Traevyn chuckled.

Evie shook her head. Despite his lack of finesse, her brother was really surprising her lately. She looked up as he came back into the room with a basket of bread and a dish of olive oil.

"Olive oil with garlic and rosemary," he announced.

Evie grinned so wide that she thought her face might split in half.

"All right, may I take your orders please? We have some excellent choices for you this evening. We have chicken marsala, chicken marsala, or may I suggest my favorite, the chicken marsala?"

Evie had to fight not to laugh in a very undignified manner. She resorted to a giggle instead. "Hmmm," she teased. "I think I'll take the chicken marsala."

Seth nodded. "Excellent choice. And for you, Sir?"

Traevyn was grinning more than Evie had ever seen as he nodded at Seth and replied that he wanted the same.

Seth nodded. "I'll bring that out shortly."

Traevyn glanced over at Evie as Seth disappeared again. "I think he's enjoying
this."

She nodded. "It's scaring me a little. Please tell me he didn't do the cooking."

He made a face. "Lord, no. I wasn't looking to kill you tonight."

She giggled and met his eyes across the table. She sobered and shook her head slowly. "This is very overwhelming."

He shook his head. "Enjoy it, Evie. Seth told me you celebrated this every year alone because no one else understood. I understand. I wanted to celebrate with you."

She averted her eyes, fighting sudden tears. No one had ever validated her passion except for the deBoers and, even then, they only supported her and believed in her. Traevyn truly understood her.

He stood suddenly as a slow, Italian melody started to play and he offered her his hand. "Would you care to dance?"

Her breath hitched at the seductive note his voice carried. She knew he hadn't done it on purpose. His voice resonated sensuality all on its own, but that almost made her reaction to it even more powerful. She braved a look up at him and her mouth went dry. He was so amazingly elegant, even more so than usual. She had thought it before and it came roaring back to her like a tidal wave. Traevyn Whitelaw was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

She reached out slowly and placed her small hand in his, remembering the warmth of it from the night in the car. He smiled and led her out to an empty space on the floor, pulling her into his arms so that Evie had to close her eyes and remember how to breathe. She had tried to forget almost everything about the night they had been stranded. How she had kissed him on instinct, how having him sleep so close to her felt so right, how his touch made her heart beat in strange and erratic patterns. She had tried to write off all those things as being caught up in such an emotional moment, but they came flooding back to her at the warm contact of his body against hers.

"I wanted to thank you for the painting," Traevyn murmured.

She frowned in question.

"The one of mine that you finished."

"Oh…" She looked away, her face flaming. She had done that on impulse and had almost immediately thought it had been too bold. He had never said anything to her about it, which had been more than okay with her, but she had wondered what he had thought. She shook her head. "It was just—" She made a face. "It was nothing really."

He stopped dancing and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Nothing?" He shook his head. "Evie, it was everything."

She stared up at him and her eyes scanned his gorgeous face. They came to rest on his perfect lips and she realized that she wanted to kiss him very badly. That alarmed her. It was easy to deny feelings in normal, day to day life, but in a setting like this… When had she come to care for him so much? The realization that her affection for him was much deeper than she thought swamped her and she had to look away. What was the matter with her? Was she out of her mind? Like Traevyn Whitelaw would actually go for someone like her. His ex-wife had been a goddess. He had said so himself. Elegant and sophisticated. She was anything but elegant and sophisticated. She was loud and opinionated and definitely not goddess-like. Plus, he was almost ten years
older than her. He probably thought of her as a child. Was she completely stupid?

"Evie?"

She looked up at Traevyn, who was frowning in concern.

"Evie, you're trembling." He ran both of his hands lightly across her shoulders
and down her arms.

Oh right, like that was going to make things better. "I—uh—" she stammered. "I
just…"

"Dinner is served," Seth announced, returning to the room.
****

Read more in Dark Masterpiece, available at www.forbiddenpublications.com

Fall In Love With A Fantasy Hero

The weather is cold, there's tons of chocolate to eat every direction you turn.

Whether you celebrate the holidays or just endure the winter, one thing is for certain: Nothing could be better than wrapping up in a soft blanket with a warm beverage (with said chocolate, of course) and escaping into a different world for awhile.

What kind of fantasy hero is your preference? A strong warrior with a no-nonsense attitude and an alpha personality? A dark, solitary nobleman with a vendetta? Or maybe a caring, devoted protector? Whichever you prefer, my fantasy books have been getting a lot of praise lately. Why not check one of them out and see if one of my worlds intrigues you? ;)

Beyond Wild Imaginings:

This book was chosen as Best Book by the reviewers at LASR and won Best Book of the Week by LASR readers. It also received 4 angels from FAR and 4 stars from Manic Readers!



Kelly’s outlook on life is bleak. A bad car accident and having her boyfriend of three years walk out on her has left her anything but optimistic. The only comfort she has is her writing, but even her muse seems to be MIA. Her controlling sister’s driving her crazy and she keeps having strange dreams about a sexy, winged man that seems familiar to her..

A flock of rogue pigeons, a nursery rhyme, an unknown savior and one superstitious, metrosexual friend later, Kelly finds her entire life turned upside down. She’s plummeted head first into the extraordinary and suddenly finds herself saddled with a see-through imaginary man she had created when she was a child… Only she doesn’t remember him ever being so completely irresistible…

Kelly hadn’t planned on falling in love, especially with an imaginary being, but her heart had other ideas. Can she figure out a way to keep him, to prove that magic and fantasy can exist in real life? Or will he be torn from her forever by the self-centered world’s lack of belief?

Buy your copy at www.forbiddenpublications.com

Warrior's Rise:

This book received 5 angels at FAR and 4 cups from CoffeeTime Romance!

Logan Savage is a man’s man. His idea of a good time has never included watching over and entertaining a bunch of kids at a summer camp. Especially when that camp happens to be full of kids with a love for mythology and medieval fantasy. In other words—a bunch of geeks. Unfortunately, in order to avoid a jail sentence for assaulting a cop, that’s exactly what he has to do. Head counselor and owner of the camp, Willow Avaris, is a nice surprise. Beautiful, fiery and sexy… Too bad she loathes his very existence. Plus, the kids are making his life a living nightmare. Could the summer get any worse?

Bravery and strength were things Logan always thought he had in spades, but as the summer goes on, and strange, surreal events take place around the camp, Logan is forced to look within himself and figure out what’s important to him. It’s safe to remain the self absorbed, shallow man he’s always been, but can he find the courage to reach inside and embrace the true warrior he was destined to become?

Buy Your copy at www.forbiddenpublications.com

Wings and Fire:

This book is one of my highest selling on fictionwise and received 4 stars at Manic Readers!

After coming home on military leave, Steele finds her sister on the brink of an arranged marriage to a nobleman said by the townspeople to be a fearsome warlock. Thrown into the chaotic affair against her will, Steele finds herself doing what she does best: having arguments with her prejudiced family and causing general disaccord as she stands up for what she believes in.

She's also lusting after her sister's betrothed.

Secrets are revealed and Steele takes matters into her own hands to protect the man who can set ablaze what no other has been able to touch--her heart.

Buy your copy at www.amirapress.com

Better Than Chocolate Excerpt

Here's a little teaser excerpt for you ;)

He reached over to a bowl that was on the floor next to the couch and he
offered it to her. “Chocolate?”
Kat looked at the chocolates and picked one out, smiling to herself. “I
have very good memories of these,” she murmured.
Van watched her with a soft smile on his sensual lips. “Want to share?”
She frowned. “My chocolate?”
He grinned. “No. Your memory.”
She looked away sadly and the deepest kind of sorrow welled up inside of
her. She felt tears sting her eyes and she swallowed. “It was a long time ago,” she
whispered.
He gave her a look of concern, as if wondering why the memory should
cause her such sadness. “Are you all right?”
She tried to mask her grief with a fake smile and nodded. “There’s
nothing better than chocolate,” she said, trying to change the subject.
He regarded her with an expression that was solemn, but exuded warmth.
It was one of those unnerving looks that made it seem like he was looking straight
into her soul. It made her squirm and her pulse accelerate in a way that was
extremely abnormal for her.
“Some things are,” he said, his eyes holding hers.
Kat’s heart lurched and she felt sick to her stomach. She looked away
and pretended to be interested in a thread on the couch.
“Van!” Lance cried. “Dude! This girl’s whipping us all! I’m gonna be naked
soon!”
Kat and Van both looked over to see Lance sitting only in his boxers and
one sock. Van laughed and Kat took the opportunity. She snapped her book
open again and pretended to read, sticking her nose further into it than she
needed to, trying to escape. She glanced at Van out of the corner of her eye. He
looked at her and smiled knowingly, then stood and went over to Lance. She let
out a relieved sigh and didn’t move for the rest of the trip. She had never been so
happy to see a hotel in all her life.
Hank helped Rochelle and Kat with their luggage and got them checked
in. Kat listened to Rochelle go on and on and on about Lance’s chest, Lance’s
torso, Lance’s tattooed arms and rippling biceps, etc., etc., etc. as she put her
pajamas on, glad to be in her own room and away from Van. Though she had
refused to show any sign of life for the last leg of the journey, she noticed his
continued quiet watching of her. He kept to himself, but she could feel his eyes
burning into her. It had been the longest ride of her life.
“So I saw you talking to Van,” Rochelle said.
Kat sighed as she set her suitcase inside the closet. “Yeah.”
“What did you talk about? Did he hit on you?”
Kat rolled her eyes. “No, we talked about work and he gave me a
chocolate. Big whoop. I’m gonna go find the ice machine.” She left the room and
wandered through the halls for awhile, trying to regain her usual composure. Van
had rattled her much more than she would have liked. She was always in control,
always cool and collected and reserved, but he had made her feel completely
neurotic. The things he had said…. The way he had looked at her…. It was
freaky. He made her remember things she had tried to forget a long time ago.
Things that still hurt like they had happened yesterday.
She paced restlessly for a while longer, until she felt like she had control
over herself again, then meandered back to the room, never actually having
located the ice machine. She stopped in the doorway and frowned when she saw
a folded piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up and stared at it for a
moment. Her name was written on the outside of it. She felt instant dread. This
was something else that was going to freak her out. She could feel it. She opened
it reluctantly.

****

Like what you hear? Get your copy at www.amazon.com

Also available in ebook at www.forbiddenpublications.com

Better Than Chocolate is now Available in PRINT!

Book 2 in the Serendipity Series, Better Than Chocolate, is now available in PRINT!

*This book was chosen as a Reviewer's Top Choice by Night Owl Romance. Check out other reviews at my website www.brieannarobertson.com



Blurb:

Years ago Van Marshall, lead singer and guitarist of the metal band
Bleeding Passion, let the love of his life get away because he
lacked the courage to tell her how he felt about her. He has been
plagued by the memory of her ever since then, unable to fully commit
to another because of the love he still held for her in his heart.
Now, she is thrown unexpectedly back into his life, bringing with
her all of the feelings he has hidden inside for so long.

Because of a brutal assault, Kat Vauss hates men and trusts no one.
She is a martial arts master and devotes all of her time to her work
and her training. The only person to ever come close to her heart
was a shy, awkward boy she knew in high school who she thinks is
gone forever.

When Kat is given an assignment to shoot a DVD for Bleeding Passion,
she is not prepared for the way her body and heart react to the
sensual singer, who coincidentally helped her out of a sticky
situation some years before. His presence stirs to life dormant
feelings inside of her, but will he show her that not all men are evil and
life can still be beautiful and worth living?

****

Buy your copy at www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com!

Interview With My Characters- Van and Zane

Since this week is an important one for the musicians in my stories, I thought I'd sit down and talk a little with the two who are stealing the spotlight. Some quick back history: Van Marshall is the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the Gothic metal band, Bleeding Passion. Zane Blake is the keyboardist for the metal band, Shadows Rising.

B: It's great to have both of you guys here today. Why don't you start off by telling us which books you two are part of?

V: I am actually seen throughout the Serendipity Series, but the main bulk of my story takes place in the book, Better Than Chocolate.

Z: I have a little snippet of a story in the One Touch, One Glance romance anthology. It's entitled Musician's Monsoon and tells how I first met my beautiful girl, Sophie.

B: Both of you have very special ladies in your lives. Tell us about them. Being rock stars must mean that you don't have a shortage of prospects. What was it about these women that caught your attention?

Z: Mine is easy. I was suffering from the worst writer's block ever and was completely burned out. I didn't think I was ever going to be able to write any music again. One night at a show in Tempe, AZ, I spotted this woman in the audience. Something about her…I still don't know what it was, but everything about her inspired me. I heard notes in every move of her body, her laugh, her anger, everything. She was a real life muse.

V: For me it had only ever been one girl. I met Kat in high school. She was one of the few people who accepted me for who I was, and I was a real piece of work back then. No one talked to me, all thought I was some kind of freak. I was awkward and shy and eccentric to a fault. She saw me. The real me. She never judged me. I loved her almost instantly. She had the most beautiful heart.

B: But you lost track of her, didn't you? You didn't stay with the same girl?

V: No, we lost touch after we graduated and I never got up the courage to tell her how I felt about her. I regretted it every day of my life. No one I met or tried to get close to even held a candle to her. We were brought back together by blind chance.

B: Being part of the music industry must come with its share of interesting stories. What is something memorable that has happened to you?

Z: Shadows Rising won a Grammy. That was pretty memorable.

V: That is memorable! *chuckle* But to avoid saying the same thing as Zane, I'm going to go with the time our tour bus broke down in this little, hick town in the middle of nowhere, Arizona. Our bassist thought we'd wandered into a bad horror movie. We ended up putting on this bizarre makeshift show on the bed of a semi. We were stuck there and the townspeople had been really hospitable. We wanted to repay them in some way. It ended up being a really cool experience.

B: What is something that sucks about being in the music industry?

Z: Sometimes the schedules are grueling. Like when we're on tour. There are times when all I want is to roll over, put my pillow over my head and call in sick. That's hard to do when you're an entertainer. It's that whole "The show must go on" thing. You go on when you're sick, when you're hung over, whatever. People paid money to see you. You don't want to disappoint them. They're basically the ones signing your paycheck. Sometimes I also get really sick of my own music. *laugh*

V: I think the thing that sucks the most for me is the lack of privacy. Even though I love my fans, there are times when I really just wish I was a plumber or something. I got accosted once in an airport by some psycho-fan. No one would accost me if I was a plumber.

B: What is your idea of a perfect day?

Z: Hmmm, that's a tough one. I have a lot of interests. One example of a perfect day would be to spend the entire day hiking with Sophie. Head up into the mountains, get away from civilization for awhile, just enjoy nature and one another. Then, head back into town, hook up with my band and all have a fun dinner together. Then go play the perfect show.

V: For me, any day with Kat is perfect…but I'll try not to get all sappy on you and make the readers nauseous. *bashful smile* One of the things I love doing with her is exploring the wine country. I would love to spend a whole day wine tasting, then have dinner down on the beach while I play music for her on my acoustic.

B: Tell us a random fact.

Z: My socks are blue.

V: That was random.

Z: *chuckle* Sorry, that just flew out. Let me think of something better…. Apparently being a musician was my calling from birth. My mother tells me that when I was a toddler I would pull out all the pots and pans in the kitchen and bang the crap out of them with a wooden spoon. She claims that, even then, it sounded like music. I personally think she's biased.

V: I am a hopeless romantic through and through. Sometimes so much I can't even stand myself. * laugh*

B: Being a hopeless romantic is never a bad thing! Ok, one more question. Give us a teaser of your favorite scene from your story and tell us where we can find it.

Z: My favorite has to be the boobs of death scene, but I'm fond of the antenna ball attack too. It still makes me laugh to remember those things. You can read all about it in my story, Musician's Monsoon, found in the One Touch, One Glance Anthology available at www.freyasbower.com.

V: My favorite scene is where Kat finally lets her guard down with me after this nightmarish episode in the airport where I was accosted by said psycho-fan and had a horrendous panic attack. It was the first time she'd let me kiss her since high school. My whole world made sense in that moment.

You can read it for yourself in my book, Better Than Chocolate. It's Book 2 in the Serendipity Series. You can order it in print at www.whimsicalpublications.com , www.amazon.com , or www.barnesandnoble.com.www.forbiddenpublications.com You can also get it in ebook at

B: Van, in what other books can we find you in?

V: I also make appearances in Book 1: The Road Less Traveled and Book 4: Paladin, coming in ebook this January.

B: Thank you both for being here and sharing a little about yourselves and your stories! Now, all you readers, be sure you check them out for yourself! You can always find out more at www.brieannarobertson.com

So Apparently I Have a Blogger Now

Hmmm....still not quite sure what I'm doing here. Maybe I'll get the hang of it in a second. :) Welcome to my blog!