Susannah Scott - Dragon Hunt #6

Thank you to Picked by Poison for inviting me over today!

I am celebrating the release of my fun, paranormal romance, LUCK OF THE DRAGON, and detailing the true story of how I went off-track in my hunt through the remote Ozark Hills for an eight-foot tall metal dragon sculpture.

I’m touching on the age-old question today: what constitutes art?

In my last serial blog post, my husband and I had encountered what we judged to be both amazing art, and the down-right profane…

* * * * *

“I love the dragons,” I rubbed the elegant line, where the wing of the metal sculpture branched from the creature’s powerful chest. “But the other stuff, is just awful.”

“Yep.” My husband agreed.

Now, I feel I should defend our judgment of “art” here. We are not small-minded, culturally-depraved hillbillies. We’ve been around a bit. But, trust me when I say, except for the amazing dragons, the yard sculptures really were misogynistic, crassly sexual, and just plain icky.

Take for example the shudder-worthy monstrosity behind my husband. “She” was cast nude with Medusa hair and forward grasping arms. Barbed wire criss-crossed her mutilated breasts, and between her legs, her vulva was painted bright red and over-sized, so that it swelled outward. The lips were pierced through with a pitch-fork.

See what I mean? It’s difficult to capture that much loathing in iron.

My head buzzed. What had been a muted-out sense of apprehension grew to a strong urge to flee. Artist Bob emerged from the house with a more alert swagger and used car salesman look on his face. He all but rubbed his hands together in glee as he approached us, but he couldn’t of course, because he carried his topped-off alcoholic coffee on the bulge of his belly.

“What do you think about my ex-wife here?” Bob gestured to Medusa.

“Your ex-wife?” I asked.

“Well I guess technically she is one of my ex-wives. I’ve had five, but “her” I married twice. Stupid. Both times. She sent her father after me, sayin’ I abused her or something… You’d think a pastor woulda seen through her, but I guess she was his kid and all. That’s why I used the pitch fork. It is supposed to show religious zeal.”

Honestly, I was too shocked to comment. The information he had just spewed shouldn’t have been surprising, but it was. “The dragons are amazing.” I managed.

He frowned, drank deeply, and looked pensive. “You like how I grouped them? I put then chain on their necks and the knight holding them down.”

Silly man, you can’t hold a dragon with a chain, my muse whispered in my brain. I pointed to my favorite. “I especially love this one.”

Again, Bob frowned. “You can’t afford these. Let me show you what I have in my garage.”

Alarm bells went off in my head. Enclosed spaces, even with my husband at my back seemed risky…

* * * * *

So, what defines art for you?

I’ll give it a stab. For me it is a sensory judgment—how a piece makes me feel—the zing of singing celestial angels. In whatever form: word, music, paint, sculpted iron... Give me your thoughts on art. Thank you for following my release tour.

All my best,
Susannah Scott

P.S. You can check my website (link below), for the next stop on my blog tour, wherein I will continue my tale, and give out excerpts from my upcoming release, LUCK OF THE DRAGON.

Luck of the Dragon
by Susannah Scott
Entangled Publishing

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: June 2013
Imprint: Covet

Luciana de Luca has a PhD in sass and gemology—and a problem. Her twin brother’s gambling debts have gotten out of hand, and a mob enforcer is blackmailing her to rob the latest, greatest mega-casino on the Strip. Although Lucy has worked her whole life to get away from her family’s grifter past, to save her brother, she dons three-inch heels and a sluts-r-us dress and struts into Alec’s Gerald’s casino, determined to put her long-forgotten thieving ways to the test again.

 

Alec Gerald, a shape-shifting dragon, has built the Crown Jewel casino to provide sanctuary for his people amongst the flash and awe of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the sexy little thief trying to rob his gem exhibit turns out to be his mate, and he must woo her before he loses his dragon form forever. With enemies in every corner, and the all-important mating ceremony looming, Alec and Lucy must learn to trust each other, before time runs out for Alec and the rest of the dragons.

 

where to Buy Luck of the Dragon

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble

About Susannah Scott

Susannah Scott lives in the Missouri Ozarks and is the lone female in a very loud household of males ranging in age from 4 to 40. While she jokes that the extreme levels of testosterone inspired her to write romance, it is really the love of creating an excellent story, and the occasional dreams of twenty-foot dragons, that wake her and send her to the laptop before the chaos of daily life ensues. Susannah loves to hear from her readers. Please visit her website or follow her as Susannah Scott on Facebook and on Twitter

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Cover Reveal - Laura Kaye's Forever Freed

A heart can break, even one that no longer beats.

I stalk my new neighbors, a single mother and her child, drawn by the irresistible scent of their joy and love. I crave their blood, starved for some healing respite from my ancient guilt and grief. Now to lure them into my grasp.

But they surprise me. Little Olivia accepts me without fear--talking, smiling, offering innocent affection that tugs at my long-lost humanity. Her mother, Samantha, seeks me out when she should stay away, offering sweet friendship, and tempting the forgotten man within me. They lure me instead.

Ah, Dio, Lucien, run and spare them while you can...

NJRW GOLDEN LEAF WINNER FOR BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE OF 2011
NJRW GOLDEN LEAF FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2011
GDRWA BOOKSELLERS' BEST CONTEST FINALIST FOR BEST PARANORMAL 2012
GDRWA BOOKSELLERS' BEST CONTEST FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2012

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | B&N (coming soon) | Kobo | Other stores to follow!

Excerpt (Warning: ADULT content!!)

The bedroom door had barely clicked behind me when Samantha grabbed and shoved me toward the bed. I fell backward, and she was on top of me, clawing at my clothes and ripping off her own. Whatever had been going on with her all day was now clearly finding a release.

“Sam?”

She kissed me roughly and shoved her tongue into my mouth. I groaned and pushed her back. Though we french kissed all the time, I generally kept her out of my mouth.

“Sam?”

Finally, she stilled. With her hands braced on my shoulders, her eyes burned down into mine. Her anger squeezed my chest. Her voice was strained. “Lucien, we’ll talk later. I promise. But right now I want you, and I need you. And I need you to know it, feel it.” Her words clarified little, but I nodded.

She unleashed herself on me, kissing and licking and roughly nipping at my upper body all while maintaining eye contact. I thrust my hips into her when she lingered over my Blood Mark. I finally had to grab her hair and tug her attention away from it.

With a groan, she reached a hand down between her legs and worked herself as she devoured me. When I realized what she was doing, I moaned and gripped her shoulders and rolled on top of her.

I grabbed her hand and pulled it to my mouth, then noisily sucked on her wet fingers. I groaned at the sweet nectar of her arousal.

“You see what you do to me, Lucien? What only you do to me?” she rasped. “Take me, Lucien. I’m yours,” she offered as she planted her feet flat on the mattress and pushed herself up forcefully against my erection.

Her aggression spurred mine, and I grunted. “You want me?” I asked as I ground myself against her wetness. She ran a hand over the bedspread and found the packet she’d apparently laid out earlier. She slid herself against me as she opened it and then rolled on the condom. “God, yes,” she whimpered.

I plunged forward and filled her in one hard stroke. She screamed and wrapped herself around me. Hard breaths and grunts and strained curses in two languages filled the room as we battled through Samantha’s emotions with our bodies. She kissed me roughly and dug her nails into my flesh. The physical pain mingled with her radiating pleasure to coax what I was sure was going to be one of the most intense orgasms I’d ever experienced.

She came in a frenzy of screams and muscle contractions. And then bit against the taut skin at the base of my neck. Hard.

My fangs and release shot out at the same time. I growled and in a blur turned my head in search of my biceps. I missed the tender skin of her shoulder by a hair as the urge to bite down became irresistible.

Finally, I willed my fangs to retract and licked at the wound I’d made on my arm, then slid down a little and laid my head on her heaving breasts.

“I love you,” I whispered breathlessly.

She hugged my shoulders and combed her fingers through my hair. “I love you, too.” We lay together, panting, for a long time. “Lucien?” I lifted my head off her chest to look at her. “I’m ready to talk now.”

About Laura Kaye

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

 

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