Guest Post + Giveaway with Claire Ashgrove

 

Good morning, readers! Thanks for hosting me today. I thought I’d give you a little more insight into Noelle today, by sharing a page out of her hypothetical journal. She’s not really a journal kinda girl, except when it comes to research, but… well… let’s see how that research is working out for her.

I’ve been here now, several days, and as much as I hate to admit it, the people are kind of growing on me. It’s hard to think they are all really nuts, when they seem so very sane. Today I was confronted by another unexplainable event. Isotopes that shouldn’t exist. Chemical compounds that weren’t introduced to the Middle East until many hundreds of years later…I’m particularly curious, but I can’t seem to stay focused.

<----- F.A.R.R.A.N. ---->

F AR RA N

His name is composed of a halogen, a noble gas, an earth alkaline and a non-metal. Flourine requires great care and handling and is the most reactive – check. Argon, on the other hand, resists bonding with other elements and is extremely stable. Hm. Resistant, indeed. Stable? That remains to be seen. Radium is highly radioactive and when it’s incorporated into biochemical processes, it causes adverse health effects in living organisims. Hah! Take that, grumpy jerk. Adverse health effects – strong reasoning to not get wrapped up in all this. Nitrogen furthers this. Extremely volatile.

Reason stands to be, that strictly on the chemical composition, F.AR.RA.N is a compound to stay clear of, as it poses severe health risk and a potentially deadly outcome.

And I do believe I have proven my hypothesis in less than ten pages. Now, to show it to Gabriel the next time he makes an appearance.

Maybe I can manage to remember this the next time Farran kisses me. That act alone could warrant an entire ten-page scientific analysis on the side-effects as related to mental reasoning.

Sounds like our poor little scientist is hard at work. I’ll leave it to you to figure out how she resolves the situation, and how she manages to stabilize the potentially devastating combination.

I think you’ll be quite pleased with how she handles things. But don’t take my word for it, check out her and Farran’s story in Immortal Surrender!

Farran stared up at Noelle, cursing her bad luck, the Almighty, and his fate. He well knew how terror could trap a person, had seen it countless times with unseasoned knights. In her unmoving position, he recognized the signs too clearly. This was no act meant to gain his sympathy. ’Twas no ploy to soften his anger over her attempt at escape. She was truly terrified.

“Damnation,” he muttered beneath his breath.

He closed his eyes with an inward prayer his stomach would not revolt and made the mark of the cross over his chest. Eyeing her, he strode to the ladder. She would pay for this later. He would find a way to make certain she came to regret her attempt at escape.

Do not look down. He chanted the mantra as he climbed the icy rungs. In less time than he had imagined, he arrived at her feet. Holding on with one hand, he placed the other on her calf. “I am here. Climb down.”

’Twas then he noticed the shaking of her shoulders, heard her muffled tears. When she did not move, he gave her leg a squeeze. “Noelle, come down. I will not let you fall.”

“I’m scared,” she murmured.

Saints’ blood, she did not intend to make this easy. Aye, indeed, he would lock her in her rooms at the temple for a week.

He assessed her position, made note of the little space her tiny body occupied. Carefully, he tucked his feet between hers and the side rails and eased his body up her legs. When he had pinned her between the ladder and his chest, he stopped. “Grab on to me.”

She let go with one hand, then clutched at the rail with a fierce shake of her head. “I can’t. I can’t, Farran.”

At the sound of her broken voice, all his defenses shuddered like a door under the barrage of a battering ram. The anger her defiance provoked dissolved with her sniffle. Deep in his gut, a heavy knot unwound. He pressed his body into hers, molded his thighs around her legs. Holding on with one hand, he pried her fingers off the metal and guided her hand to his shoulder. “Turn around, damsel,” he encouraged quietly. “Wind your arms around my neck, and we shall descend together. I swear to you, I will not let you fall.”

Immortal Surrender
by Clare Ashgrove
The Curse of the Templars Book#2
Published September 25th 2012 by Tor Books

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.

“This series (The Curse of the Templars) is explosive, sexy, riveting, and Claire Ashgrove is a master of her craft.” ~ NYTimes Bestselling Author, Maggie Shayne

Available at: Amazon  |  B&N  

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.

Giveaway Details:


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 (make sure you leave your email address in your comment) 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.