Kirsten Osbourne – Romance Lives Forever

Call Me Valentino

The Call Me Valentino anthology brings five authors together
with the same assignment: Write a story about Valentino, who is in his early 30s,
dark hair, blue/gray eyes and his primary objective (or so he thinks) is to find
his baby brother.

Well, off we each went to write our Valentino’s story with no
idea of anyone else’s vision of him. We’re thrilled to unveil Valentino set in 5
different worlds. We’re certain there’s at least one Valentino for everyone!

The Matron by Kirsten Osbourne

Tino Hayes is a man with a mission. He is so dead-set on finding
his brother that he almost loses the love of his life. It’s a long journey for him
and not just the road he’s traveling with a bus full of fifteen orphans. He grows
in a lot of ways throughout the story and finally is able to settle down with his
dream woman.

Valentino “Vin” Jackson from Underdcovers by Jamie Lee Scott

Vin has been on one mission from the time he was first put into
the foster system, find his little brother. As a kid, he couldn’t get any information,
but now he’s an adult, and trying to make up for lost time. He thought the best
way to do this was to get an education and become a member of one of the country’s
most connected crime fighting groups, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Even though much of his time is spent doing the job he was paid
to do, he spends considerable time outside the job using the FBI’s resources, looking
for ways to track him down. In his single-minded endeavor, he’s forsaken any permanent
relationships. On his nights of prowling, he often finds himself depressed, and
going home with a woman whose name he doesn’t even remember the next day.

As Vin ages, now in his third decade, he’s tired of going it
alone, but hasn’t found a woman he’d care to settle down with. Or a woman he’d even
share his story with. Until he’s teamed up with Ellis Boyd. She just may be his
undoing, but in the long run, she also has resources of her own, and a mind that
could help him track his brother down. He needs to know, did little Teto have a
good life? Is he okay? If not, he’ll never forgive himself for letting the adults
separate them.

The Brute and The Blogger by Olivia Gaines

Tino Boehner is a self-made man who has worked hard to get everything
he has but he is the type of guy who wants a woman to challenge him. He has that
in Ebony Miller. I wanted to write an interracial story about a man who has lost
something that he is trying to reclaim – an identity. In the process he has a five
year symbiotic relationship with Ebony through her blog that fuels and lights a
fire under him, although they have never officially met in person. When they do
meet, there are more than just sparks in her words on a screen; the ones that come
out of her mouth are equally as powerful. He gives as good as he gets and the banter
between the two is fiery, and clever.

The story is sexy as the two dance about each other as she finds
out that there is a whole lot more to Tino Boehner.

Tino, through manipulating the circumstance, finds a way to spend
more time with Ebony on a day to day basis and realizes her words have more power
over him than he imagined.

I know readers will relate to them both as Ebony finds her true
voice and Tino finds a deeper meaning in what family truly means to him. The Brute
and the Blogger is the intro to a much larger story about the Boehner’s which is
completed in the follow up story A Menu for Loving.

Highlander, The Archer by Hildie McQueen

Two ideas at once came to mind when penning Highlander, Valent.
First he was to be rather broken and secondly, why not an archer since this is a
Valentines Day anthology and the whole cupid thing.

Valent is a breathtakingly stunning man with more hang-ups than
a walk-in closet. After being abandoned as a child and then continuously mistreated
while growing up by the clan, he has a rather hard time of it. When the laird’s
daughter Ariana falls head over heels in love with him and seduces him, it’s surprising
to see how different he is when in the privacy of the bedroom. The natural born
leader takes charge. I hope readers will relate with this resilient hero and he
earns a piece of their hearts.

Valent’s story will continue in two additional parts, which will
be published separately. Highlander – The Archer is the beginning of a new series.

The Vampire’s Penance by Jordan K. Rose

When deciding who my Valentino was I knew right away he was a
member of The Vampire Guard, a group driven to protect the residents of Central
City in the aftermath of the Panthera Laboratories fire. I also knew Rafe Valentino
was holding onto something so painful, so horrible that he had shut himself away
from having relationships with anyone other than his brother.

In an effort to stop his brother from ending up dead Rafe finds
himself in the weakest position he’s ever experienced, which forces him to let down
his guard and allow someone else to care for him. In spite of his circumstance he
tries to protect those around him, sheltering them from his savageness, this time
by forcing Maddie Van Kool to see the truth of what he’s done.

The Vampire’s Penance is Novella 5 in the Romance In Central
City Series.