Hi, all! I’ve heard back from my publisher, and here are the cities I’ll be traveling to while celebrating Up From The Grave‘s release on January 28th. For every store except Malaprops, author Pamela Palmer will be my tour partner as she celebrates the release of Wulfe Untamed.
January 29th Malaprops Book Store in Asheville, NC at 7pm
January 30th: Barnes and Noble in Cary, NC at 7pm
January 31st: Laurelwood Books in Memphis, TN at 6:30pm
February 1st: Joseph Beth Book in Lexington, KY at 7pm
February 2nd: Books and Co. in Dayton, OH at 2pm
February 4th: Barnes and Noble in Homestead, PA at 7pm
February 15th: Turn The Page book store in Boonsboro, MD at 12pm. Group author signing including Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Sylvia Day, Jaci Burton, Jeaniene Frost, Pamela Palmer, Stephanie Draven, and more.
Hope to see some of you there!
Also, I’ve been promising to post a scene from Up From The Grave, so here you go. Don’t worry, there aren’t any plot spoilers, which is why it’s been hard finding something to post since so many scenes have spoilers. Also, since Ian has a lot of fans, I chose one with him in it :). As a brief setup description, Cat and Bones are staking out someone with important information, and Ian has chosen to tag along. Hope you enjoy!
Copyright UP FROM THE GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost:
***
“We could follow her home, take her there,” I suggested.
“She doesn’t live around here,” a sleep-thickened voice stated from the backseat.
Ian. I’d almost forgotten he was here, probably because he’d been napping the past seven hours while Bones and I staked out the parking garage. Now he sat up in a slouch, sliding his black satin sleep mask up to his hairline.
“She’d live near the pickup point, not the drop-off location,” he continued, blinking at the bright sunlight streaming into our car. “Which one is she?”
“The brunette wearing the UPS uniform,” I said, pointing at her as she walked briskly toward the elevator. From our parked position on top of a hill across the street, we had a good view of the multi-level garage, which was why we’d chosen the spot.
Ian stared until she disappeared inside the elevator. Then he glanced back at me.
“Don’t fret, poppet. I’ll get her.”
“We need to do this discreetly. If I wanted to make a colossal scene, I’d just drag her off kicking and screaming now,” I said, not adding, “dumb ass” only because he was family.
“She’ll come without a fuss,” Ian said with confidence.
“You can’t green-eye her in the elevator, it’ll have video surveillance. So will the garage,” I retorted.
“I don’t need these,” Ian said, flashing emerald in his turquoise gaze for a split second, “when I have this.”
With a casual swipe of his hand, he ripped his shirt open, causing buttons to fly everywhere. Another swipe took his sleep mask all the way off. Finally, he finger-combed his shoulder-length hair and smiled at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“I am, after all, irresistible.”
I couldn’t contain my snort. “I resisted you just fine the day we met, or don’t you remember me sticking a knife in your chest?”
Ian smiled with lazy wickedness. “I remember, but you seem to have forgotten that you kissed me first. And thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Caught off guard, I flushed. Hey, I’d been celibate for over four years at the time—I hadn’t been thinking clearly!
“Ian,” Bones drew out warningly.
He waved a hand. “Stop growling, Crispin. I’m well over my former attraction to your wife, but the point remains that I’m stunning.”
With that, he got out of the car and sauntered off with his open shirt flapping behind him like twin mini capes.
“Get back here,” I hissed, not shouting only because we were still trying to be incognito.
Ian blew a kiss over his shoulder and kept walking, heading down the hill toward the parking garage. Bones stayed my hand when I would’ve yanked the car door open to go after him.
“Let him try, Kitten. Hooks work best when they’re baited.”
They did, but the female courier came off as too shrewd to bite into this particular piece of bait. I only hoped Ian didn’t blow our cover after his bare-chested sashaying failed to sweep her off her feet.
“For the record, I tried to stop this,” I said grimly. Then I turned my attention back to Ian.
The afternoon sun gave his copper-hued hair golden highlights and he made sure that the hard lines of his chest and abdomen were on full display as his pace kept his shirt billowing behind him. Grudgingly, I had to admit that several heads turned, and more than a few cars slowed down as female drivers gave him a second, third, and fourth look. Ian responded by flashing them a dazzling smile, making him appear almost angelic to anyone who didn’t know that he was a conscienceless slut.
As he crossed the street, a downward tug on his waistband had his jeans sitting even lower on his hips. Another couple inches, and he’d be flashing groin cleavage, and from the avid stares aimed his way, that could be met with spontaneous applause.
“Have some dignity, ladies,” I muttered.
Then Ian surprised me by grabbing the nearest bystander who wasn’t gawking at him and yanking the man close enough to kiss. For a second, I wondered what the hell he was doing, but Bones said, “She’s back,” and my gaze snapped to the parking garage elevator again.
The brunette got out on the street level and headed straight to the sidewalk where she’d parked. No surprise to see that the briefcase she’d arrived with was now gone. From her thoughts, she was less watchful since the drop had been successfully made, but she still gave her surroundings a thorough once-over as she walked toward her car.
Which meant she saw Ian the moment he staggered into her path, the stranger he’d accosted now shoving him and ripping at his pants. My brows went up, but then the man snatched Ian’s wallet out of his front pocket and, with a final shove that sent him sprawling, ran off.
“Blasted sod stole my wallet!” Ian shouted.
The brunette paused about a dozen feet away. I was focused on her thoughts, so I knew the moment when her natural—and correct!—wariness was trumped by something else. She stared at Ian, who was on his back with his legs splayed and head bent. Then he flipped his hair back, revealing his face as he sat up so slowly, you couldn’t help but notice the muscles rippling across his chest and abs.
Oh yeah, he was piling it on thick.
“Do you have a mobile?” he asked, his English accent more pronounced. “I should call the police. I’ve just been robbed.”
“Mobile? You mean cell phone?” she asked while Stop STARING, Barbara! flashed across her mind.
Barbara. Now we knew her real name. No one used an alias to talk to themselves.
“Yes,” he said. Then he looked down at his bare chest, as if he hadn’t ripped his shirt open himself.
“What a state I’m in,” Ian continued, actually managing to sound rueful and shaken at the same time. “Bloke near tore my clothes off trying to get my wallet. Drugs, I suspect.”
Caution urged Barbara to leave the gorgeous stranger alone, but she ignored that and came closer anyway. I was both glad and disgusted. Way to blow up Ian’s ego and deflate feminism at the same time, Barb!
Then a cluster of people blocked them from view. I tensed, ready to spring into action, but in the next moment, feminine choruses of “You poor thing!” “Are you okay?” and “Let me help you!” rang out.
Ian’s other admirers had descended on the scene.
“Unbelievable,” I breathed. By merely walking down the street shirtless, he’d managed to round up a harem.
“Ladies, thank you, but I’m well taken care of,” Ian said. Barbara’s thoughts split between logic telling her to leave and pleasure over the handsome man’s confidence in her. When Ian continued to rebuff the other women in favor of her, her indecisiveness crumpled.
“Are all of you deaf?” she snapped, her authoritative voice rising above the others. “Leave, before he calls the cops for harassment, too!”
With a few final grumbles, the would-be harem dispersed, allowing me to see the look of gratitude mixed with sensual promise that Ian bestowed on Barbara.
That did it. She closed the last few feet between them without hesitation, holding out her cell phone. When his fingers curled around hers as he took it, “Cold hands,” drifted through her mind before his gaze locked onto hers and lit up with bright, mesmerizing green.
Oh shit, was her last conscious thought.
“I told you this would be easy,” Ian said, and he wasn’t talking to her.
Bones started the car. I looked away, not needing to see Ian climb into Barbara’s to know that the two of them would soon be following us.
“There’ll be no living with him now,” I said under my breath.
Bones grunted in amusement. “As always, Kitten.”
***
Yes, you are coming to my hometown of Dayton, Ohio–happy dance time. Loved the snippet but then who doesn’t love Ian 🙂
I Really Love the “Grave” Series! Can hardly wait for this one!
Oh God… Ian is just a loveable pervert. I don’t know why but he’s just awesome.
Now the waiting game. Oh, so rough.
oh yum.
feminism can take a huge backstep if Ian is around.
can’t wait for Jan!
I have enjoyed your series so much, missed your writings, moved on to other authors, c. Feehan, K. Douglas, Lindsey Sands to name a few, but after reading this exerpt, I realized how much I have missed your style of writimg and your characters, Bones, Cat, Ian to name a few. Loved Denise and Spades story. My husband and I will continue to look for your books, you are a very talented and creative writer
Thank you
Hahaha Ian! Loved the snippet, can’t wait to read this book 😉
Wow! Just loved the snippet! Who can help having a soft spot for Ian. It definitely softened the (once again) frustration of living in the wrong country (Australia)for book shop visits.
Thank you ♥
So excited about the book but sad you will not be anywhere near the DFW area in Texas!!!!
-M
OMG…I love Ian! Thanks for the excerpt.
I am so happy you are coming to Homestead and a day my hubby is off work so he can take me!!! I’m dancing in my seat cause I’m do excited!!!! I loved the sneak peak and already have my pre order in since I first got the message!!! Thank you for giving me the sanity your books give me to just ignore the real world for awhile! lol
I love it! I am not sure if I should have read that of not. It just makes me want more. Ugh! Can NOT wait. Ian is always good for a laugh.
The waiting is so hard! Cannot wait! But I wish you were coming to Phoenix. 🙁
I can’t wait to read this book. I wish you were coming to any west coast state! 🙂
I have loved this series from the start! I’m re reading them now in preparation for the final book. I love all the characters and story lines.
Although I’ll be sad this is the last Cat and Bones book, I can’t wait to read it! Cat and Bones have been a wonderful ride, and I’ll re-read this series many times in the future. Thanks for the snippet, it’s always fun when Ian is around too.
Why not S.Cali!!!!! More specifically the Long Beach area! :(((
Thanks for the sneak peek – I so love Bones & Kitten and all their entourage!
I absolutely loved the snippit – can’t wait for the book… I love Cat, Bones, and Ian…Ian sounds as handsome as ever. Can’t wiat….
Loved this snippet of Ian. He’s so outrageous he’s adorable.
This came to mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aW5n7p6Pwg
LOVE IT!!! IAN needs his own book!!! I cant believe this is the last Cat and Bones!!!!!!!!!!!!!! im so sad. I wish you were coming to CT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE ADDD MORE DATES FOR 2014!!!!!!
Wow! So happy I pre-ordered it!
Fabulous! I adore Cat & lust after Bones. Ian, well, I wanna kiss him before I smack him.
Ginny Lynn
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Just what I needed this morning! I cannot wait for this book. You always manage to make me smile breathlessly through every scene! Thank you!
omg, this was just freaking amazing, so sad that you never come to the west coast =( Why is that? Does your publisher just hate CA? Anyway, LOVE IAN! Can’t wait until the future where he gets his own book (because lets face it, there has to be SOMEONE who calms his slutty ways haha) Thanks for the little bit! AWESOME
I am so excited about the new book!!! i’m in the process of rereading the entire series plus the spin offs and short stories. I am disappointed about the day your r going to be in cary though, even though its not your doing but the kids r in school so i cant make the appearance. wish i could come.
So happy you’re coming to Lexington! You’ll be my first author event 😀
I ADORE Ian! I’m sad it’s the last Cat & Bones book, but am so excited to read it!!
I wish you were coming to Texas! Will we be able to order signed copies from Malaprops?
Ian is so irresistible! Just make me want to read this book ASAP!! Can’t wait..
Thanx so much for the little teaser you have left for us, I really cant wait to get this, I am sad that you have come to the end of your story for Cat & Bones,
I love all the character’s you have created in the night huntress series.
Ian,dare I say it is such a Tw*t but you gotta love him, this series plus the night prince and night huntress world I can read again and again just love it.
its not often In a book to find character’s you feel as friends.
Oh ! That was wonderful…. I have all of your books and look forward to getting this one also… I am sad it will be the last of Bones and Cat both know doubt what ever is next will be amazing ! I am so excited that you are coming to Homestead .I will be there with bells on. Can’t wait to finally meet you in real life. Hope I will be able to take some pictures and get my books signed. Until then Merry Christmas and Happy New Year… your # 1 fan Cathy
Excellent snippet. I can’t wait for the book to be out. I’m also VERY happy you have a new character named Barbara, although from the snippet I gather she is not a very nice person. But I’ll take what I can get. 😀
Thanks so much for the snippet! Ian is hilarious, and now I’m even more anxious for the book!
GRR why does PA have to be such a big state?!? Homestead is ALLLL the way on the other side. Oh well, guess I’m taking a road trip to MD.
Never say never to the last of Cat and Bones, Jeaniene! You should visit us out in California. We love your books here!
SNOWGIRL!!!
You will be in range on the 28th! If all goes well, I’ll see you then. I have had the Kindle version pre ordered for so long, I forgot and tried to order it again. /<:D)
I hope to see you then.
V^^^^V
Hope you can make the signing!
Ian needs his own book…or three..PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!
Jeaniene, you’re not coming to New York! 🙁 Maybe in the near future? I’d love to go to my first book signing and I’d like my first book signing to be you. Hopefully you’ll come to new york. I can at least take the train into the state. No one hardly comes to Connecticut so the best chance east coast fans have is New York.
i seriously think you should come to Ft Lauderdale in South FL!!!!! please think on it 🙂