That was what we writers call an aha moment.
The Enemy Club would make a great book. Actually, a great series…
The rest, as they say, is history. Each book of the Enemy Club series is set in small-town Galton, New York. Four friends who had been the worst of enemies are now the best of friends, struggling to help one another juggle jobs, kids, love, heartbreak, and triumph as seen from their very (very!) different points of view.
HOW SWEET IT IS is the first book in the series. It focuses on Lizzie, the good girl gone bad. She made one mistake senior year of high school that changed her life forever. Now she and her teenage daughter get by just fine, thank you very much, with a little help from the Enemy Club. But then Lizzie’s first love, the father who abandoned her daughter fourteen years before, decides to come back to town on Christmas Day. Lizzie imagines her life as seen through his eyes—and she doesn’t like what she sees. She has the same job, same house, same everything as when he left fourteen years earlier. She vows to make a change. But how much is she willing to risk? And does the mysterious stranger, who shows up in town promising to grant her every wish, have the answers? Or is he just another of life’s sweet, sweet mistakes?
I’m really excited about these books, because they’re so close to my heart. Come visit me at www.sophiegunn.com to read an excerpt of HOW SWEET IT IS, to find out more about the Enemy Club, to see pictures of my cats, and to keep in touch. I’d love to hear from you!
Yours,
From the desk of Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Dear Reader,
Wild, heather-clad hills, empty glens, and the skirl of pipes stir the hearts of many. Female hearts beat fast at the flash of plaid. Yet I’ve seen grown men shed tears at the beauty of a Highland sunset. So many people love Scotland, and those of us who do know that our passion is a double-edged sword. We live with a constant ache to be there. It’s a soul-deep yearning known as “the pull.”
In SINS OF A HIGHLAND DEVIL, the first book in my new Highland Warriors trilogy, I wanted to explore the fierce attachment Highlanders feel for their home glen. Love that burns so hotly, they’ll even lay down their lives to hold on to the hills so dear to them.
James Cameron and Catriona MacDonald, hero and heroine of SINS OF A HIGHLAND DEVIL, are bitter foes. Divided by centuries of clan feuds, strife, and rivalries, they share a fiery passion for the glen they each claim as their own. When a king’s writ threatens banishment, long-held boundaries blur and forbidden desires are unleashed. James and Catriona soon discover there is much pleasure to be found in each other’s embrace. But the price of their yearning must be paid in blood, and the battle facing them could shatter their world.
Fortunately, true love can prove a more powerful weapon than any warrior’s sword.
There are a lot of swords in this story. And the fight scenes are fierce. But passions flare when blood is spilled as James and Catriona showed me each day during the writing of their tale.
It was an exhilarating journey.
Catriona is a strong heroine who will brave any danger to protect her home and to win the heart of the man she never believed could be hers. James is a hardened warrior and proud clan leader, and he faces his greatest challenge when his beloved glen is threatened.
Because SINS OF A HIGHLAND DEVIL is a romance, James and Catriona are triumphant. Their ending is a happy one. Numberless Highlanders after them weren’t as blessed. Later centuries saw the Clearances, while famine and other hardships did the rest. Clans were scattered, banished from their glens and hills as they were forced to sail to distant shores. Their hearts were irrevocably broken. But they kept their deep love of the land, their proud Celtic roots remaining true no matter where they settled.
Their forever yearning for home still beats in the heart of everyone with even a drop of Scottish blood. It’s the reason we feel “the pull.”
I hope you’ll enjoy reading how James’s and Catriona’s passion for their glen rewards them with a love more wondrous than their wildest dreams.
With all good wishes,
www.welfonder.com
GLOSSARY
Blood-Twin: A bonded pair of fiends who share a permanent magical connection. They may be biologically related and/or same sex. Antisocial and prone to psychosis.
Copa: A plant derivative, of a yellow-ochre color when processed. Has a mild psychotropic effect on the kin who use it for relaxation. On mages, the drug increases magical abilities and is highly addictive.
Cracking (a talisman): A mage or witch may crack open a talisman in order to absorb the life force therein and magically prolong his or her life. Requires a sacrificial murder.
Demon: Any one of a number of shape-shifting magical beings whose chief characteristic is, as far as the magekind are concerned, the ability to possess and control a human.
Fiend: A subspecies of demon. Before relations with the magekind exploded into war, they frequently bonded with the magekind.
Kin: What fiends collectively call each other. Socially divided into various factions, constantly seeking power over other Warlord-led factions. The kin connect with other kin via psychic connections. They typically possess multiple physical forms, at least one of which is recognizably human.
Mage: A male who possesses magic. A sorcerer. See also magekind.
Magekind: Humans who possess magic. The magekind arose to protect vanilla humans from the depredations of demons, a very real threat.
Mageheld: A fiend or other demon who is under the complete control of one of the magekind.
Sever: The act of removing a mageheld from the control of a mage or witch.
Talisman: A usually small object into which a mage has enclosed the life force of a fiend, typically against the fiend’s will. A talisman confers additional magical power to the mage who has it. Sometimes requires an additional sacrifice. See also cracking (a talisman).
Vanilla: A human with no magic or, pejoratively, one of the magekind with little power.
Warlord: A fiend who leads some number of other fiends who have sworn fealty. Usually a natural leader possessing far more magic than others of the kin.
Witch: A human female who possesses magic. A sorceress. See also magekind.
Table of Contents
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
GLOSSARY
THE DISH
ALSO BY CAROLYN JEWEL
PRAISE FOR MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE…
COPYRIGHT
Also by Carolyn Jewel
My Wicked Enemy
My Forbidden Desire
PRAISE FOR MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE…
“Wonderful… exhilarating… a jewel.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Dark and sexy… a must-read for anyone who loves their romance honed to a dangerous edge. Jewel’s heroes are walking towers of sin—hot enough to make you shiver, so wicked you’ll be screaming for more.”
—MELJEAN BROOK, author of Demon Bound
“Phenomena
l… you simply can’t put it down!”
—LoveRomancePassion.com
“A must-read… difficult to put down… captivating and intriguing… the perfect blend of dark paranormal with steamy romance… a taunting, tormenting, and sizzling tale.”
—BookPleasures.com
“Great… unique… kept me captivated… Jewel’s characters are dark and dangerous and I loved it. I could not put this book down, and I cannot wait for more.”
—FallenAngelsReviews.com
“4 Stars! Hot, hot, hot fun… downright sizzles… a heavy dose of down ’n dirty… a lovely steamy escape from reality… Jewel creates an ultra-sexy bad boy… you will not be disappointed.”
—TalesofWhimsy.com
“Brava to Jewel… [A] darkly perilous and sizzling world… [Jewel’s] excellent characterization makes each of the players intriguing, which adds richness to the exciting plot.”
—RT Book Reviews
“I was thoroughly entertained… Touching and deliciously sexy… Xia is an immensely appealing hero, dangerous yet vulnerable at the same time.”
—DearAuthor.com
“A true perfect 10… All I can say is Wow!… Jewel’s imagination has unleashed a paranormal novel with entirely fresh concepts and possibilities… The action is nonstop and the characters, as well as their internal struggles, are entirely believeable and engrossing. I didn’t want the book to end… Jewel has truly penned a jewel… It has all of the features expected by true lovers of paranormal romances… I highly recommend.”
—RomRevToday.com
“Simply delicious… powerful… beautifully presented… intense, deep drama that keeps you glued to the pages.”
—RomanceReviewsMag.com
…AND MY WICKED ENEMY
“Exciting… [a] fine jewel of a tale… a strong support cast and a superb Northern California setting inside a strong mystical High Noon story line.”
—Midwest Book Review
“4 Stars! Exciting and sexy… super-sizzling… If you like your paranormal steamy, this is the book for you!”
—RT Book Reviews
“5 Angels! A terrific paranormal tale with powerful and complex characters and an intense, fast-paced story line that keeps you riveted… a tantalizing and sexy tale that you won’t want to miss.”
—FallenAngelsReviews.com
“Wow… powerful stuff… amazing characters… held me captivated from the first page to the last… Good going, Carolyn Jewel!”
—RomanceReviewsMag.com
“Should definitely be on people’s to-read list… Jewel has created a unique world.”
—FreshFiction.com
“Hot and intense… I really liked the character of Nikodemus and I loved his fellow fiend friends… I enjoyed the villains too.”
—SmexyBooks.com
“Unique… Carson is strong and gutsy. Readers will enjoy.”
—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“Riveting… rich and complex… [a] magnificent, original story line… a gem of a book!… Heart-stopping adventure, emotionally intense and HOT sexual encounters, and this is just the beginning of the story… I was up all night because this story grabbed me, and would not let go. I do not regret my loss of sleep because I experienced an evening of reading pleasure, the likes of which rarely happens… Ms. Jewel has created a new world inhabited with characters that I care about, and cannot wait to read more about, like maybe, yesterday? Hurry to the nearest bookstore and purchase this book. Please plan ahead so that you can enjoy it in one sitting because it is impossible to put down. Kudos, Ms. Jewel!”
—SingleTitles.com
“4½ Stars!… I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down! The book starts out like it ends, by taking your breath away.”
—LoveRomancePassion.com
“A mile-a-minute thrill from the first… entertaining and unique… action-packed and the romance is outside the ordinary; actually some of the sex scenes probably need a warning label… The writing is smooth and the plot is exciting… I found myself rapidly turning the pages to find out what happens next.”
—RomRevToday.com
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Carolyn Jewel
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Forever
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.
www.twitter.com/foreverromance.
Forever is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. The Forever name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
First eBook Edition: January 2011
ISBN: 978-0-446-57422-8
MY IMMORTAL ASSASSIN
Carolyn Jewel
NEW YORK BOSTON
Begin Reading
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
My Immortal Assassin Page 30
