Casting Call with Laurie London + Giveaway

Laurie London writes complex characters, stay-up-all-night stories and vamps you just want to give yourself over to with just a smolder directed your way. *ahem* Laurie has been instrumental in our year of blogging, not only in cementing our love for all things paranormal but also making our first December Joyathon event a totally memorable one!

Meet Laurie:

A graduate of Western Washington University with a BA in Business Administration and a former tester/programmer for a Fortune 500 company, Laurie London now writes from her home near Seattle where she lives with her husband and two children.

Her writing has won and been a finalist in several prestigious contests including the Beacon, the Emerald City Opener, the Marlene, and the Orange Rose.

When not writing, she can be found running, reading, or riding and showing her horse. Someday she hopes to qualify for the Quarter Horse World Show – that is, if her horse doesn’t get hurt again.

Connect with Laurie: Author Site | Twitter | Facebook

Happy blogoversary to Kati, Dani and Jamie! That represents a lot of work and commitment on your part…and an intense love of books. Congrats! To celebrate, we’re talking movie stars, books and cyber cupcakes. And, hey, they’re all low-cal, so we can splurge and have as much as we want.

YUM!

The third book in the Sweetblood series, Tempted By Blood, just came out and they asked who I’d cast if it were made into a movie. What fun! To understand my picks, here’s part of the back cover copy:

Known for his effortless charm, Jackson Foss is hiding a terrible secret. He’s been battling the emergence of his dark nature—deadly urges that threaten to overtake his life. And those cravings intensify when he meets Arianna Wells, the woman he’s supposed to protect.

Here’s how Arianna describes him when she first sees him:

***

She snapped her head up just in time to see another man emerge from the shadows. The overhead streetlight illuminated bronze hair that reached to his chin, the top portion held back away from his face by a small ponytail. He was big—much bigger than the other two men. At well over six feet tall, he had linebacker shoulders underneath his leather coat and a formidable presence that seemed to suck the oxygen from the air.

She wanted to pinch her eyes shut, block out the nightmare, but for some reason, she didn’t. Up this close, she noticed that his hair was streaked with green-and-blue highlights. She was vaguely disturbed that she noticed this innocuous detail about him when the thing that should be first and foremost on her mind was that he’d stepped from the shadows.

Obsidian irises were ringed by an iridescent green color so captivating that if she had any breath left to gasp with, she would have. Her legs could no longer support her weight and she felt herself slip.

An energy charge snapped in the air when he steadied her, snaking invisible fingers around her body. She caught the faint smell of alcohol on his breath and noted that his square jaw was peppered with stubble. A small scar interrupted the slash of his dark eyebrow, similar to one she had from hitting her chin on the windowsill as a child.

All very humanlike—yes—but she knew what she’d seen.

***

Although I used pictures of David Beckham and Tommy Dunn as my inspiration when I wrote the book, I cast actor Travis Fimmel for the role of Jackson because he’s, well, an actor (the other two aren’t) and gorgeous.

Here’s what Jackson sees when he’s looking at Arianna:

***

At some point, she’d grabbed her hair and secured most of it into a low ponytail off to one side. Several strands dangled free, brushing her face as she worked. One of her T-shirt sleeves was partially rolled up, but the other wasn’t. Her curve-hugging jeans had several holes that were probably made from wear, not from a machine in a factory.
Her nose turned up a little at the end, and if he were a betting man, he’d guess she hated that. He, on the other hand, found it charming, almost impish. He was used to women who fussed over themselves, trying to make every little thing perfect and going under the knife when they could, which was why he found these imperfections of hers strangely compelling.

***

So for that reason, I pick the beautiful, red-haired Alicia Witt to play Arianna.

So what do you think of my picks? Hot or not?

I’m giving away a signed copy of Tempted By Blood plus romance trading cards to one lucky commenter in the US or Can.

Happy Blogoversary, ladies!

TEMPTED BY BLOOD:

Genre: Paranormal
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: HQN (February 21,2012)

Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the battle for supremacy rages on between two Vampire coalitions:

Guardian enforcers sworn to protect humanity, and Darkbloods, rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors….

He might be known for his effortless charm, but Guardian Jackson Foss is hiding a terrible secret. For months, he has battled the emergence of his dark nature—deadly urges that threaten to consume him. And those cravings only intensify when he meets Arianna Wells, the human he's been assigned to protect. Smart and perceptive, Arianna doesn't seem like a dangerous temptress. Yet she awakens in Jackson an unstoppable need that, if left unchecked, will brand him a traitor…a crime punishable by death.

But soon their bond may be Arianna's only hope. For stalking her in the shadows is a merciless enemy—one who will stop at nothing to claim her completely….

Get Your Own Copy: Amazon(pb) | Kindle | B&N(pb) | Nook | Powell's
Book Extras: Read an Excerpt
Other Books in Series(click for excerpts/learn more):

You heard the lady! She's giving away a signed copy of Tempted By Blood and romance trading cards to one(1) lucky US or Canadian reader. Here's how to get your hands on this sexy read:

• Leave a comment for Laurie answering her question: So what do you think of my picks? Hot or not?
• Fill out the rafflecopter form. You must leave a comment and follow both blogs (GFC, networked blogs, subscribe by email). All other entries are optional.

Don't forget to enter for the grand prizes here.

***Don't forget to check out Laurie's post on Dani's blog (Ramblings From This Chick)***

A huge thank you to Laurie for stopping by the blog and sharing her casting picks as well as donating the giveaway copy of Tempted by Blood and RTCs and the book for the grand prize box.

a Rafflecopter giveaway