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Showing posts with label paranormal romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paranormal romance. Show all posts

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Hungry Moon~Quicksilver

One of the things I love best about my life is the time I get to spend reading. There is something deeply satisfying about being able to gift myself a day devoted completely to pleasing myself with a good book. That pleasure enters a whole new dimension of enjoyment when the book of choice is one of Claudy Conn's paranormal romance novels.  Most recently, Hungry Moon~Quicksilver captivated my attention.  Did I make a day of it? Yes, I did. I lounged in my floor length, red silk nightie, with painted toe nails, and generally pampered myself for a whole day. It was blissful.  If that is the kind of respite you need from your otherwise busy life, I highly recommend taking a page out of my book, with Claudy's Quicksilver.

Now, on to my review, because you need to understand why lounging dramatically in pretty lingerie, reading can be so satisfying.

Series/Title: Hungry Moon, (Book 1) Quicksilver
Author: Claudy Conn
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 9, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1481072196
ISBN-13: 978-1481072199
Reviewed by: AvidReviewer.com editor, Vonnie Faroqui
Rating: 4/5

Ravena Macallister, Is a woman on the verge of sexual exploration. Only one problem. She is running from herself and as long as she is doing that, self exploration is going to have to wait. You can think you are ready for the next level in life, and not be ready when you get there. That is Ravena. For all of her beauty, academic achievement, and sleek athleticism, she is still an untried, inexperienced girl, playing with fire and love.  Well, we know what happens when little girls play with fire?

Claudy Conn's heroines usually start out as virginal, with simmering sexual desires carefully hidden below the surface of their persona. Quicksilver's Ravena is no exception. Standing on the edge of the future she prepares to step over the edge of the known and begin her sexual exploration. She is vibrant, powerful, talented and free; a sexual volcano waiting to erupt under just the right amount of heroic pressure. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking it. Claudy's formula for thrills is a potent and powerful mix. As an author, she has skillfully balanced plot, story line and character development, with steamy sexual erotica.  And her writing has only gotten bolder with time. Claudy, goes there when she writes and she isn't shy about taking you there too. [I digress.]

First off, the heroine is going to be innocent, virginal even. She will be a stunner and will have waited for the right man. He will be a man, all man, virile, powerful,  magically and in physical prowess. He will be a man of purpose, equal to our heroine in nobility of heart and of soul. He will not be virginal. He will, quite probably be afflicted with some curse, or handicap that makes their coming together seem impossible.

We know. those of us who have been following Claudy's many series, that a way will appear in which the hero and heroine will be together in every sense of the word. Because it is destiny!  No matter how much tension Claudy is going to build for her characters, no matter how vile the villain, or terrifying the obstacles may be, nothing is going to prevent our hero and heroine from consummating the intense fires of passion and love burning in their souls. Yes, we know Claudy will take us there. The fun is in discovering how.

What will Claudy throw along their path, our path? Will it be a tragic loss, or a terrible curse. Will there be a monstrous evil to overcome or a sinister unfathomable threat. Will it be pride or humility that prevents one or the other of the lovers from opening up? We may not know the how, but we know in the end it will happen. There will be no denying satisfaction. satisfaction on every level. That is just how good it is going to be.

So, I assure you, Quicksilver is not going to disappoint. It has all of the classic elements of good story telling. There is a villain, he's truly evil. He totally wants the heroine. Thankfully, he is just a little too over confident and that sets the warning bells off.  Our heroine has just been burned by awesome looks and superficial interest, masking as love. She sees Evil coming from a mile away; no real danger of her falling under his love train.  Still there is the threat he might rape her.

The real problem is in how to go about rescuing our hero. He is out of this world, gorgeous, smart, self sacrificing, out of this world! No, I mean it, literally. He is out of this world, unreachable in any way but by magic. And, he is cursed with ill luck. not literally this time. Just, well he's been bit by a were-wolf. It doesn't look good for him, trapped, cursed, full of sexual potency himself. She is in one world and he is in another, helpless to protect her, or help her, forced to watch as her life blood is spilling. It's dramatic.

If only Ravena would stop denying her uniqueness, and surrender to her true nature. Then her power would be a strength instead of a weakness. Ah me. Claudy even manages to weave in a little character building morality along side the sexual tension. Nothing comes too easily. The struggle to find each other may be destined, but in order to overcome the threat of evil and stay together, there is going to be real pain, the kind that grows self knowledge, and enough sacrifice to demonstrate sincerity, giving the relationship value.

I don't want to give you any more or the story than this. You can read the synopsis, and guess at the plot line. The real enjoyment comes when you let go of what you know or think you know, and simply go on the journey. Surrendering to a story is as enjoyable as surrendering to destiny, to love, to great sex. When you are in it, there is nothing else.


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Have You Heard . . . Hungry Moon - Jodi is out!

I would like to give a great big shout out to the Paranormal Romance Audience!

My favorite sizzling romance author Claudy Conn has just released a series third, Hungry Moon-Jodi.
HungryMoon-Jodi, by Claudy Conn

I bring this up because, I would like to do two things in today's blog; promote Claudy's work, which is deserving and excellent; and point out her excellent promotions strategy. Claudy is accessing more readers and selling more books by publishing her works as Kindle download-ables, e-books, than if she only formatted her books for print sales.

Now authors, don't wrinkle your noses at the sight of "e-books." Just because they don't have that nostalgic paper smell, and we can't lounge dramatically about, turning their pages, doesn't mean they are less valuable to readers or as book sales.

e-Books have become the fastest growing book market, helped along by mobile technology and yes, social networking -- word of mouth. Which, not so incidentally, is the reason why websites like Wattpad, Twitter and Facebook are so popular in marketing strategies. Wattpad is the most author friendly because it was designed and created for the purpose of sharing books and writing, to encourage reader reviews/sharing, and to help authors build fan bases, all using mobile/smart apps for e-reading, e-books.  Every promotions expert knows and will tell you "The best marketing boost an author can get comes through word of mouth referrals." Combining social networking, mobile phones and e-book app tools, like kindle and other e-readers, was a genius stroke in helping authors like Claudy Conn dominate the reading market.

I believe that part of Claudy's success lies in her ability to quickly move from one plot and idea to the next. She is the most prolific and zesty writer I know. I have read many of her books and she never bores me. Claudy keeps her material fresh by changing sub-genres, which expands her creativity and the appeal of her many series. She has developed her ability to write quality (and steamy) romance in several genres, on a level that keeps her fans in constant supply and demand. The fact that e-books are more affordable and cost nothing in trees is only a minor factor in allowing Claudy's avid fans to keep purchasing.

Congratulations to Claudy Conn and to any other author who takes advantage of the shifting and changing technological advances which are shaping the landscape of book marketing and enjoyment.




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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Sweet Satisfaction: a Review of 'Prince In The Mist,' a novella by Claudy Conn

Prince In The Mist, By Claudy Conn
It happens. Once in a great while a character is born into literature that is so richly interesting one simply can't get enough of him. In the world of romance novels, Breslyn, Fae Prince of Dagda, is one such character. Introduced to us first through Claudy Conn's Legend series, Breslyn quickly became a character that enlivened interest and inspired fantasy beyond his intended role in the overall series. With Puckish mischief he disregards the rules of human-Fae engagement to tickle and tease Claudy's heroines and readers temptingly. We are intrigued by his interest in us, intrigued that for him we are more than a mad distraction or passing fancy. He is loyal but rebellious, a warrior who loves humans enough to risk his queen's disfavor by entangling himself in their lives and struggles. If you, like I, have fantasized about being seduced by this golden Fae you will not be disappointed. Claudy satisfies her fans' deepest desires to experience more of one of her most beloved heroes by taking us back in time to explore and discover Breslyn's early heroic and romantic exploits.

In Prince of the Mist, Claudy gives us not one but two romances, set in the era of English-Scotland conflict, before the tides of history turned in favor of Robert de Bruce and his Scotsmen. Breslyn digs himself right into the thick of things, aiding the Scottish by bringing the Knights Templar -guardians of many sacred Fae hallows, and Robert de Bruce together against the British.

Claudy opens the novella with the romance of Breslyn and Chartelle -Lady Dumfires. Political scheming, spies and ne'r-do-wells, add spice and intrigue to their passion. Stricken by her beauty and gentle nature, Breslyn sets out to free Chartelle from a marriage of convenience to the traitor Francis Bothe -Laird Dumfries. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Chartelle finds a champion and lover in Breslyn's strong arms. Can Breslyn free Chartelle and stop Bothe's traitorous machinations, without ruining her life, or breaking any of the Fae laws governing interference in human destiny? Claudy's scenes of passion between these two are enough to make your toes curl, but it is her gentle touch on the strings of your heart that will satisfy you long after the story has ended.

Also woven through the mists is the romance of Breslyn's friend and Chartelle's brother, the Druid Priest and Laird of Belfor, Storm MacLean. Alexis of Waverly has come in disguise seeking refuge at Belfor. Keeper of secrets and a possible spy, Alexis poses a double problem for Storm. Her father has been murdered and her lands confiscated by the British sympathizer, Lord Comyn. Storm is torn between suspicion that she may be a plant of his enemies and the burning need to make her his own. Alexis is everything the young Scottish Laird would have in a companion and in his bed. If only he could trust her, but his instincts tell him she is keeping secrets. Whether these secrets are her own or those of another he does not know. It only matters that she is his heart's burning desire.

Claudy's knowledge of the era, lore and history give this novel a depth of color and excitement that is undeniable. Prepare to be swept away.

Prince in the Mist can be purchased in e-book format through Smashwords.com or through Amazon


Book Title: Prince in the Mists
Author: Claudy Conn
ASIN: B006643NL2
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Spontaneous Combustion

Book Title: Free Falling - Legend
Author: Claudy Conn
ISBN: 978-1466382022
Publisher: Create Space
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui, Ink Slinger's Whimsey

If I were a cat, I would be hissing and spitting right now. I have just finished reading Claudy Conn’s Free Falling – Legend. [howling - Dammit woman, you just can-not leave a girl hanging like that!]

Readers, I have two words for you . . . spontaneous combustion –heck, have another, explosive! And another, AAAAAH! Well, maybe that isn’t a word exactly, but it’s what I’m feeling.

For those of you following the Legend series be warned. HOLD ON TIGHT! The series has reached a boiling point and Free Falling is all action.

Claudy starts by throwing two of the most frustratingly stubborn beings in the universe together. You know it is going to be a love-lust match from the beginning. I mean, how can it be anything but, when they are coming together with so much personal baggage! [Claudy you are a pure torment-ress and I don’t know if I love you anymore! Strike that. I know I do!]

Radzia MacDaun, Z, is young, impetuous, sexy, rash, proud, and deeply wounded by the murder of her father, a Druid priest; and the loss of her mother, a Daoine princess, who lies comatose in grief. Radzia, a rare mixture of Fae and human, is consumed with a blood lust for revenge on her father’s murderer, the Fae traitor, Gaiscioch.

Enter Danté, Prince of Lugh, with all the cool, arrogant self-assurance, and wounded pride of a Faery lord who has recently had his amorous attentions rejected. He is a big, proud warrior, with a thousand years of experience over Radzia; and he is pissed that his queen is sticking him with babysitting Z’s youthful energies. Danté thinks he is above the job, while his talents and energies are needed to fight a war. Radzia thinks of him as a pompous, over confident, overbearing, royal pain in the . . . not asset. For her, this is a personal battle. She is young and doesn’t feel any of the obligatory loyalty about following orders coming from her queen. She just goes with her gut, flying on instinct, and Danté isn’t part of her plans. Neither of them have time for romance nor do they see anything in the other, but an obstacle to their individual goals.

Claudy has placed these two and their romance in the midst of the rising storm. The moment has come for a final conflict between the forces of light and darkness. Queen Aaibhe’s pieces are moving into position for the final test and yet, everything that can go wrong is about to as Radzia leaps into action time and again without her hero at her side.

This is one hell of a roller coaster. Free Falling keeps you on the edge and leaves you hanging from its stormy start to catapulting finish. When you get to the end of this ride you are going to look around a little disoriented and stumble to get in line for the next. You won’t be able to leave the amusement park. I am almost scared to open my eyes and look for what is to come. I have no doubt that before Claudy ends the series; she is going to take us up, around, and upside down. When she finally lets us get off, we are going to be so sore! Thankfully, it will be Claudy’s kind of sore, which is all good. Are you ready for it?
[shrieking, arms up, all the way] Here-We-Go!

Visit the Author's Website at http://claudyconn.embarqspace.com/

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Romance Over the Holidays

One of the aspects of my life that I most enjoy are the relationships I am privileged to develop with some really incredible authors.

This week I would like call your attention to a prolific and wonderful romance writer, Claudy Conn. Claudy has two new hot series of romances out this year, The Legend series, and The Shadow series.  Both series fall under the genre of paranormal romance or fantasy fiction.

You might remember Claudy as the author Claudette Williams and think of her regency and historical romances. Claudy wrote over 40 mass market bestsellers in that field using the pen names Claudette Williams and Melanie Davis for Fawcett, Zebra and Doubleday book club. After a nine year hiatus [we won’t call it retirement,] Claudy Conn returned to the world of romance literature with a foray into writing paranormal romance.  Claudy embraces the paranormal aspects of her series with obvious enjoyment and ease.

Paranormal and fantasy fictions are my absolute favorite reads and she has made the switch seem effortless. She has nailed the genre as if she was born to write it. No disrespect intended toward the historical and regency set . . . I cut my reading chops on those romances.

Here is a link to Claudy Conn on Amazon where you can purchase your ebook or paperback versions today.

The Legend Series

Spellbound – Legend is a masterfully written tale that pits a contemporary young woman against ancient forces. Maxie Reigate descends from a long line of Druid priests and priestesses. She’s always been aware of the family legend but what she doesn’t know is that her fate is tied into the world of the Tuatha Dé, the fairy people, also known as the Fae, who are at the heart of Irish Myth and folklore. The wall of power, set up to separate the world of man from the Fae, is in danger of collapse; there is a blood sucking, evil and ancient beauty that wants her dead; the hero of her family’s legend, Julian, the High Druid Priest is about to wake up after a two hundred year coma and walk into her life; and then there is a Fae Prince who wants to protect and keep her for his own. There is danger at every turn and enough sexual tension to launch an arrow.

Shee Willow-- Legend
They called her ‘faeling’ and Willow ran.
She isn’t running anymore.
Half-human, half-Fae, Willow Lang has never felt she truly fit in either world, but she’s doing her best to ignore her Fae nature and focus on her work as an art restorer at a museum in New York City. Then she accepts a job restoring classic paintings in Ireland and finds herself in the middle of a conflict between the Seelie Fae and the evil Dark Fae. In order to protect the Human world, she must embrace her Fae powers.  But that’s not the only challenge Willow faces. Roland Omren, a handsome gypsy, is vying for her affection. The hunky Fae Breslyn, Prince of Dagda, is trying to seduce her. And then there’s her mysterious boss, Shayne Bantry…

Trapped –Legend
BJ Mulroy has had it rough. Orphaned at an early age to be raised by an emotionally distant aunt, she was left to struggle on her own in a world where humans posed the least of the dangers she must face. BJ is a Fios, a human woman born with certain magical gifts, the sight being one of them. She has the inborn ability to see past any glamour used by Faerie beings to cloak their true appearance from humans. This is a dangerous gift to have. In ancient times the Fios were hunted down and blinded to prevent them from being able to reveal a Fae’s identity to other humans. Now, with the protective wall between the worlds thinning and the number of Dark Un-seelie Fae breaking through it on the rise, the gifts of a Fios are both rare and precious.

The Seelie queen has manipulated circumstances to place BJ in the thick of things, hoping to tip the scales of power toward the light and away from her enemies’ might in numbers. The queen is gathering power, drawing on firm loyalties and pushing each of her subjects to their utmost before it becomes too late. Powers alone may not be enough to stand against the vast hoard of monsters her enemies control. It is imperative that BJ discover the fullest extent of her gifts if she is to survive and aid the queen. What BJ doesn’t know is that the power her blood contains could be used to dissolve the fragile wall which protects the human world from invasion.

Conn introduces a new Faery prince, Danté, to temp our heroine’s passions, but this time the hero is obviously a human, Daremont Carrick. Well, maybe our hero isn’t too obvious. Conn has made things difficult for BJ by placing Dare, our lovely man-stud, magically out of reach. Trapped, after all is the title of the book and trapped he surely is. There are aspects of this love story that add heart to the story and emotionally complicate matters for BJ and Dare. However, I do have to admit that, the idea of a hot powerful man, kept yearning, and just out of reach does something wickedly delicious to raise the lust-tension of the book, and push thoughts of Trapped explosively into the very best of your wildest romance-fantasy dreams.

Just released in November 2011, Free Falling - My Review  





I have just finished reading Claudy Conn’s Free Falling – Legend. If I were a cat, I would be hissing and spitting right now. [howling - Dammit woman, you just can-not leave a girl hanging like that!]

Readers, I have two words for you . . . spontaneous combustion –heck, have another, explosive! And another, AAAAAH! Well, maybe that isn’t a word exactly, but it’s what I’m feeling.

For those of you following the Legend series be warned. HOLD ON TIGHT! The Legend series has reached a boiling point and Free Falling is all action.

Claudy starts by throwing two of the most frustratingly stubborn beings in the universe together. You know it is going to be a love-lust match from the beginning. I mean, how can it be anything but, when they are coming together with so much personal baggage! [Claudy you are a pure torment-ress and I don’t know if I love you anymore! Strike that. I know I do!]

Radzia MacDaun, Z, is young, impetuous, sexy, rash, proud, and deeply wounded by the murder of her father, a Druid priest; and the loss of her mother, a Daoine princess, who lies comatose in grief. Radzia, a rare mixture of Fae and human, is consumed with a blood lust for revenge on her father’s murderer, the Fae traitor, Gaiscioch.

Enter Danté, Prince of Lugh, with all the cool, arrogant self-assurance, and wounded pride of a Faery lord who has recently had his amorous attentions rejected. He is a big, proud warrior, with a thousand years of experience over Radzia; and he is pissed that his queen is sticking him with babysitting Z’s youthful energies.

Danté thinks he is above the job, while his talents and energies are needed to fight a war. Radzia thinks of him as a pompous, over confident, overbearing, royal pain in the . . . not asset. For her, this is a personal battle. She is young and doesn’t feel any of the obligatory loyalty about following orders coming from her queen. She just goes with her gut, flying on instinct, and Danté isn’t part of her plans. Neither of them have time for romance nor do they see anything in the other, but an obstacle to their individual goals.

Claudy has placed these two and their romance in the midst of the rising storm. The moment has come for a final conflict between the forces of light and darkness. Queen Aaibhe’s pieces are moving into position for the final test and yet, everything that can go wrong is about to as Radzia leaps into action time and again without her hero at her side.

This is one hell of a roller coaster. Free Falling keeps you on the edge and leaves you hanging from its stormy start to catapulting finish. When you get to the end of this ride you are going to look around a little disoriented and stumble to get in line for the next. You won’t be able to leave the amusement park. I am almost scared to open my eyes and look for what is to come. I have no doubt that before Claudy ends the series; she is going to take us up, around, and upside down. When she finally lets us get off, we are going to be so sore! Thankfully, it will be Claudy’s kind of sore, which is all good. Are you ready for it?


[Shrieking, arms up, all the way] Here-We-Go!

The Shadow Series

Avid vampire and paranormal romance enthusiasts are in for a darkly delicious thrill when they sink their teeth into Claudy Conn’s Shadow Series. Conn has a gift for character and plot development that sets her work apart from other romance novelists. There are few romance writers of her caliber, who are able to sustain and build a quality series as she can do. It is a pleasurable gift to all of us that she has launched her writing into the paranormal and vampire sub-genres.

ShadowLove - Stalkers
Shawna has been running for most of her life. Half white witch and half vamp, Shawna’s daddy is Pentim Rawley, the powerful and vicious leader of a ruling vampire clan. Hidden at birth, protected and trained in the magical arts by her grandparents, Shawna has grown into a feisty, independent, beautiful young woman, but she is deeply lonely and now she has to run . . . Pentim has discovered that he has a daughter and he is looking for her.

Chad Macfare has secrets and desires of his own. He has visions, waking dreams of Shawna in Pentim’s grasp, and what he sees chills him to the bone. Chad is moved to seek Shawna himself, but is torn between the need to protect her and the knowledge that he will have to use her as bait if he is ever to destroy the monster that is Pentim Rawley. This is a deadly game with more at risk for Chad Macfare than losing his heart. Chad is more than he seems. His family has secrets so deep that if revealed would bring them under the eye of the father of all vampires himself, Dracula. Together Shawna and Chad struggle with trusting each other and knowing that the secrets they each keep could place others, innocents, in the hands of pure evil.

ShadowHeart –Slayer does something surprising in series literature. It forms a cross connection between Claudy Conn’s two paranormal series. Don’t worry I won’t spoil it for you.

Slayer, Nikki Walker is my kind of roundhouse kicking, vamp slaying gal. In spite of being a little inexperienced fighting the evil undead, Nikki is a more believable slayer than Buffy and other paranormal slayer-wanna-bees. It is possible that some of her appeal may come from the hero Claudy has matched her with.

Damon Drummond is a vampire. He is ancient, and more powerful than any vampire she has yet encountered, more mysterious, and oh so darkly desirable. In all respects, except for one, he raises her alarms and yet, for Slayer Nikki Walker, it is that one point where he staggers her comprehension. There is something that is just Not Vamp about him and that makes her hesitate. That something means everything to a slayer and because of it she can’t figure out if she should plunge a wooden stake through his heart or give him the key to her own. For his part, Damon has no doubts about how he feels towards Nikki. She is his to protect, and confound, simultaneously winning her heart, while thwarting her sole purpose, in denying her the vengeance she pursues. Separately they are formidable enemies, but when they combine forces the sparks fly and the chemistry explodes.


These two series will make fabulous gift sets for the avid romance readers in your life but if you don't want to wait, or if you are looking for some great holiday reading you can purchase them now. Both series are available in ebook formats or paperback through Amazon and other book sellers.


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

ShadowLove - Stalkers


Claudy Conn adds heat to the paranormal and vampire romance genre with her newest series.

ShadowLove - Stalkers


Book Title: ShadowLove - Stalkers
Author: Claudy Conn
ISBN: 978-1463556211
Publisher: CreateSpace
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui


Avid vampire and paranormal romance enthusiasts are in for a darkly delicious thrill when they sink their teeth into Claudy Conn’s newest series, ShadowLove – Stalkers. Conn has a gift for character and plot development that sets her work apart from other romance novelists. There are few romance writers of her caliber, who are able to sustain and build a quality series as she can do. It is a pleasurable gift to all of us that she has launched her writing into the paranormal and vampire sub-genres.

Shawna has been running for most of her life. Half white-witch and half vamp, Shawna’s daddy is Pentim Rawley, the powerful and vicious leader of a ruling vampire clan. Hidden at birth, protected and trained in the magical arts by her grandparents, Shawna has grown into a feisty, independent, beautiful young woman, but she is deeply lonely and now she has to run . . . Pentim has discovered that he has a daughter and he is looking for her.

Enter Chad Macfare . . . with secrets and desires of his own. He has visions, waking dreams of Shawna in Pentim’s grasp, and what he sees chills him to the bone. Chad is moved to seek Shawna himself, but is torn between the need to protect her and the knowledge that he will have to use her as bait if he is ever to destroy the monster that is Pentim Rawley. This is a deadly game with more at risk for Chad Macfare than losing his heart. Chad is more than he seems. His family has secrets so deep that if revealed would bring them under the eye of the father of all vampires himself, Dracula. Together Shawna and Chad struggle with trusting each other and knowing that the secrets they each keep could place others, innocents, in the hands of pure evil.

ShadowLove – Stalkers is filled with steaming action and dramatic tension. Vampires aren’t the only monsters taking cover in the darkness of the night. There are other powers introduced for the series, whose intentions and capabilities are yet to be revealed. Claudy delicately plants the seeds for future development and characters without distracting from the excitement and romance of Stalkers. She has taken the best of the vampire and paranormal lore and built in many intriguing twists and avenues, exploring and combing the lore so masterfully that she develops whole areas of the genre left untouched by other writers. The result is that she has a paranormal, vampire series, of romance novels, which carries her own unique and spicy aroma.

All that being said and I still haven’t mentioned that Claudy fills her stories with enough passion to make the pages spark, sizzle, and steam. She doesn’t skimp when it comes to building sexy into her characters. The women are luscious and the men . . . well, the action doesn’t stop with the plot. She really knows how to make us tingle with anticipation for her next book. ShadowLove – Stalkers is hot, Hot, HOT . . . and yes, I am blushing.



Monday, April 25, 2011

A Review of: Shee Willow, a book by Claudy Conn

Book Title: Shee Willow
Author: Claudy Conn
ISBN: 978-1613099933
Publisher: Wings ePress
Link to purchase:
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui



Claudy Conn’s Shee Willow, carries us deep into the world of Fae intrigue and danger . . . exciting and fast paced, this is a novel with plenty of plot twists and surprises to support the romance. Shee Willow's tale can stand on its own but Conn brings back the cast of Faery characters we fell in love with from Spellbound-Legend, deepening the Seelie intrigues, romance, and dangers in part two of the series.

Once again Conn ignites the page with hunk madness, as every-which-way Willow turns brings hot potential for love and misdirection. A Conn story is always full of rich layers and like dark chocolate cake waiting to be licked from sticky fingers; she tempts even the most discriminating reader to escapism. I can’t help but pout a little when she tortures us with characters that we want for ourselves only to find out later that our hunk of hotness is just no-good for us or our heroine.

Shee Willow Cover Image
In Shee Willow, Conn writes from the first person perspective of each of her main characters, giving a different feel to the book than you will have encountered in reading Spellbound –Legend. If you like to imagine yourself in the role of the characters, this perspective and writing style might challenge you at first. It won’t matter past the first chapter, because once you get reading you will find that Conn is a master of the craft and the story is a pleaser.

I didn’t think the series could get better but Conn is developing the magical and political intrigue of the underlying plot connecting the books, as well as the romantic drama. Additional characters open the scope for rising action and she continues to weave in future romances and danger.

Conn is in high form and never shorts her heroine or her reader. It is pure torture deciding which of the men or Fae to fantasize over, and I do so love the bad ones!

You got me again Claudy!




Friday, December 17, 2010

Claudy Is Back! Out of Retirement and Hitting the Paranormal Romance Scene

Author of 40 top selling romances, Claudy Conn, comes out of retirement after nine years to present her latest book, Spellbound - Legend.

This is the first paranormal romance she’s written but it is just the beginning. “What I have done is outlined my series in my head. Each installment will have a new heroine and hero with circumstances that will develop for them alone. The ongoing story will evolve through each of them. Important secondary characters will take part in all of the books.”

Claudy continues by sharing that “Writing is a must for me. Inspiration comes from everything, but especially from my hot Irish husband, our incredible daughter and her handsome husband.”

Claudy brings a wealth of writing experience, talks about eBook publishing, and romancing the book industry.


Click Play to listen . . . 



MP3 File



Visit the author's site at http://www.claudyconn.embarqspace.com/ to purchase your eBook today.












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Monday, December 13, 2010

Spellbound - Legend: A Review

Have I got a treat for you!

Spellbound – Legend is "Smokin’ HOT!"


Book Title: Spellbound - Legend
Author: Claudy Conn
EBook ISBN: 978-1-59705-390-7
Paper ISBN: 978-1-59705-595-6
Publisher: Wings Press
Link to purchase
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui for WITS


After a nine year hiatus [we won’t call it retirement,] Claudy Conn returns to the world of romance fiction writing with Spellbound – Legend. You might remember the author as Claudette Williams and think of her regency and historical romances. Claudy wrote over 40 mass market bestsellers in that field using the pen names Claudette Williams and Melanie Davis for Fawcett, Zebra and Doubleday book club. Claudy Conn is back and writing with a vengeance to bring us her first paranormal romance.

Make no mistake this is top notch romance writing and Claudy embraces the paranormal aspects of her story with obvious enjoyment and ease. Paranormal and fantasy fictions are my absolute favorite reads and she has made the switch seem effortless. She has nailed the genre as if she was born to write it. No disrespect intended toward the historical and regency set . . . I cut my reading chops on those romances.

Spellbound – Legend is a masterfully written tale that pits a contemporary young woman against ancient forces. Maxie Reigate descends from a long line of Druid priests and priestesses. She’s always been aware of the family legend but what she doesn’t know is that her fate is tied into the world of the Tuatha Dé, the fairy people, also known as the Fae, who are at the heart of Irish Myth and folklore. The wall of power, set up to protect and separate the world of man from the Fae, is in danger of collapse; there is a blood sucking, evil and ancient beauty that wants her dead; the hero of her family’s legend, Julian, the High Druid Priest is about to wake up after a two hundred year coma and walk into her life; and then there is a Fae Prince who wants to protect and keep her for his own. There is danger at every turn and enough sexual tension to launch an arrow.

Talk about steam . . . Spellbound – Legend has all the elements needed to get your heart racing and in a good way. Claudy Conn has stepped onto the stage of paranormal romance writing and is going to give Harris, Hamilton, and Feehan a fight for their audiences. Conn is a master story teller returned to give us more of what we want. I don't know which is hotter Breslyn, Prince of Dagda or Julian of Talbot?! I am so conflicted! Best of all, Spellbound is just the beginning of an incredible new series.



Visit the authors site at http://www.claudyconn.embarqspace.com/

Monday, August 30, 2010

The Protected: Book One in the Spirian Series

As a reviewer, I have read a wide variety of genres and some incredible books. Like everyone else, I also have a favorite genre. Unfortunately, I don't often have the pleasure of reviewing and reading books that fall into it. I was recently given that opportunity. It is my pleasure to recommend a fabulous paranormal romance, The Protected, book one in author Rowena Portch's Spirian Series.

I will be sharing a sneak peek into book two, The Union, in a future post. The Union is set for publishing in September this year and author Rowena Portch is blowing me away with this series!





Book Title: The Protected
Author: Rowena Portch
ISBN: 1432758667
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc.
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui for WITS


Fantasy and romance fiction lovers alike are in for a delightful and surprising read as author Rowena Portch presents The Protected, book one of the Spirian Series. Portch successfully gifts the reader with a heroine and a story that will capture as well as excite the imagination, deeply satisfying the avid reader’s hunger for freshness with a style and plot line all her own.
Skye is a blind massage therapist with special gifts and a bright spirit that has attracted the wrong attention. Skye’s power to heal has been noticed, making her the coveted target of those who would steal her freedom and manipulate her gifts. The fate of her race rests on choices she must make. Poised in the balance point of shifting powers, Skye must choose her loyalties well. One wrong choice will tip the balance between redemption and destruction. If she falters, she dooms not only her race but all of humanity. Vulnerable in ways that would terrify and immobilize lesser spirits, Skye transcends the circumstances of her blindness to wage a battle for Spirit and for all of us.
Portch has drawn from her own life and history to write Sky’s character and world, sharing in a way that only a skilled and talented writer can—the very personal experience of blindness. Not only has Portch succeeded to write a blind character in a sighted world, she has done so in such a way as to create a world paradigm, characters, and circumstances that elevate this book from the ranks of a good story to that of a great read. The Protected is full of rich descriptions, breath catching tension, humor, and desire, with characters that come to life and walk off the page to live in you. With a voice and experience uniquely her own, author Rowena Portch will make you believe the world she writes and you will seek it inside yourself.



Learn more about Rowena Portch and the Spirian Series from her website at http://rowenaportch.com/ or by following her on http://twitter.com/RowenaPortch and at http://bit.ly/Facebook-RowenaPortch. The author will meet and sign books for the public with events to be announced through BookTour.com.