Synopsis:
Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent…hot girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his father’s ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry. Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan, he’s good at his job. And he enjoys it.
Until he meets Anna Whitt—sweet, smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, she has a certain power over him, one that makes him wish for more than he could ever deserve.
Determined to save all the Neph from their dark lives as the influencers of sin, Anna joins forces with Kaidan to overcome the demons’ oppressive ways. In the light of her affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of the heart.
Sensual and swoon worthy, this companion volume to the acclaimed Sweet Evil series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins, told from the perspective of the irresistibly sexy and mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into his struggle, his intense connection to Anna, and most of all, the true emotions that drive him.
Author Note:
Sweet Temptation will encompass the entire trilogy in a condensed version, beginning with Kai's life before he met Anna, and taking readers through the epilogue of Sweet Reckoning. Sweet Temptation is a companion novel, not meant to be a stand alone story. It will definitely be a richer experience for those who have read the original trilogy.
Goodreads:
Please add Sweet Temptation on Goodreads!
SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015 Posted By Wendy Higgins
You guys. YOU GUYS! I can't believe we're down to three more months! It feels like I've been waiting foreeeeeeverrrrrr to share Kaidan's story with you! I can't wait until he's in each of your hot little hands, hehe. :) :) Okay, before we get to the teaser I want to make sure you all know you can preorder signed copies ofSweet Temptation from my local bookstore! (Along with Sweet Evil, Sweet Peril, and Sweet Reckoning.)
Every Sweet book purchased from AFK Books will include a signed Sweet series bookmark, and every copy ofSweet Temptation will include a hott Kai button/pin! Unfortunately the store can only ship to U.S. addresses at this time, sorry to my Sweeties far and wide (but I think the Apollycon event in February 2016 will be taking international orders for signed books, so I will post details for that when it's time!)
Here's How to Order!
Call AFK Books & Records at (757)962-1996! They are super nice and they'll process everything over the telephone.
Sorry, but the store does not have a secure online ordering form at this time, so orders must be made via phone. You may request a personalization for the autographs when you call. Books are $9.99 each.
(Please note that if Sweet Temptation is part of your order, your order will not be shipped until after publication on September 8th, unless you want to pay more than one shipping fee of $4.99 USPS Priority Mail. You won't be billed until the order ships.)
U.S. mailing addresses only.
PREORDER LINKS!
Amazon/Kindle (paperback & ebook)
Barnes&Noble/Nook (paperback and ebook)
Kobo (ebook)
iTunes/iBooks (ebook)
Book Depository (paperback - free worldwide delivery for international readers!)
Review:
Kai... Kai... Kai.... Lordy Lordy a book told from your point of view had me on the edge of my seat drinking drinks and thinking holy hell thank God you are not real because women would be in a lot of trouble.
Man after reading this I have to give Wendy all the props in the world because I did not think the series could get any better that what it was. But Holy Holy hell Wendy sucks you right in from page one and keeps you going and wanting and needing more of Kai.
I have to say some of his actions and his thoughts were like holy hell is really thinking this??????????? But hey as the son of Lust they could have been worse thoughts and deeds. Deep down inside I think Kai knew he was different and things changed when he met Anna.
You know the saying sometimes lust can turn into love.........
Last year when I wrote Sweet Temptation I wanted to highlight a "Now Playing on Kaidan's Playlist" song at the beginning of each chapter, seeing as how Kai Rowe is the drummer in a rock band, and his life & moods seem to revolve around music. I needed help finding plenty of Kai-inspired music and you guys came to the rescue! The majority of the songs featured in the book are reader-chosen and I can't thank you enough. Even my husband's suggestions made it into the lineup! :) It is my hopes that you will go out and buy these songs to support the artists. I just bought them all today, and I want to share the list with you. This list is in chronological order of when they appear in the book. It is subject to change in the last stages of editing (it's already had to change quite a bit from the tentative list I posted last year) but there's a good chance this will be the final list. Yay! I LOVE IT. The only song mentioned in the book that's not on the playlist is "Trouble" by Taylor Swift, because that song was being hummed by Anna, so it would be on her playlist, not Kai's. (And no, I haven't made an official playlist for Anna yet - sorry guys.)
Thanks again, sweeties!!! Much love and many hugs! Enjoy…
*Artist for Let It Rock is Kevin Rudolph
About The Author:
I wrote my first book when I was five, titled The Day the Whole Class got the Chickenpox and I even illustrated it myself with desks and stick-figure students. I made several copies and went door-to-door selling them to neighbors at $5 a pop. That's a high price, even by today's standards. Needless to say, when my mom found me rockin' twenty-five bucks, as proud as she may have been, she marched me back to the neighbors to return the money. I clearly remember my sense of happy accomplishment when one woman adamantly refused to take back the money. She said, "I want to be able to say I bought her very first book when she's a published author some day." Isn't it funny the things that stick with us through the years? I also recall a certain mean boy in my college writing classes who said every story I wrote was a cliché piece of crap. But let’s not dwell on him, because, truthfully, I kind of agreed with him. My stories were "Lifetime for Women-esque." I never thought of myself as intelligent enough or deep enough to write a book. It was the ultimate unattainable dream.
I dabbled in short stories and book ideas all throughout my school years, but stopped after college. I received a Bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University, (even if it did take me seven years due to hairbrained ideas like "being a waitress for life" and "dropping out to become a flight attendant," which wasn't nearly as glamorous as you might think). Once I got my act together and met my hubby, I received my Masters in Education from Radford University and taught 9th and 12th grade English before settling down in Northern Virginia and becoming a "stay at home mom." I have a princess and a daredevil-the best of both worlds.
After three years of not teaching, I was missing those big lugs and drama queens. I felt disconnected from teens, an area where I'd been passionately drawn. But I also knew that staying home was what was best for my particular family. That's when the inspiration for my story hit me. "Hit" is probably too light a word. The idea for Sweet Evil bombarded me like a massive brain invasion. After not writing for eight years, I ended up writing the entire first draft, over 80,000 words, by hand, during the course of seven weeks. That time is still an elated blur in my memory. I don't know how anyone in my household had clean clothes or full bellies during September and October of 2009.
Then came the fun part...sending out queries to agents WAY before my manuscript was ready. Ugh. Cringe. Please learn from my mistake. Get a couple of trusted critique partners and take time to get your story solidly polished before querying. Nobody is going to want to represent you based on "promise." It's either good and ready or it's not. There's simply too much competition out there to rush it. Somewhere around the 30th rejection (50th? Who knows! I stopped counting and deleted/threw away every one of them) I got two helpful personal notes from agents telling me the same thing: too much telling and not enough showing in the first chapter. I was having a hard time introducing Anna and her abilities. I needed help. While browsing the internet for critique partners, I stumbled upon inkpop.com, the HarperCollins site devoted to teens and those who write for teens (YA).
I posted my story, and inkpoppers ranging anywhere from thirteen to forty-something read and commented, helping me to whip that bad chapter into shape. I think I took almost every suggestion that was given. Their feedback was beautifully brutal, exactly what I needed. By the time I finally thought it was ready, a woman named Carolee read my entire story and fell in love with it. She was represented by Neil Salkind, a literary agent who normally took only non-fiction, but she asked if she could introduce us. So I sent him an official query and he called me with an offer of representation that same week.
In the meantime, my story was doing surprisingly well on inkpop. While I was revising like crazy, it had moved up the ranks into the twenties. Each month the top five ranked projects are sent to the HarperCollins editors for review. I was so close at that point that I decided to gun for it. I spent the next month working hard, critiquing upwards of forty stories a week, earning myself return-reads (it's a "scratch each others' backs" kind of community). In May 2010 my story made the top five and I received an excellent review...but no offer for publication. Boo.
Five weeks after my review, I received an email from a woman named Alyson Day. The moment I opened it is etched into my memory, crystal clear. I read the message three times very slowly. My whole body was trembling and I could hardly breathe. She said, "I'm the editor at HarperCollins who had the pleasure of reading your story for Inkpop. I've thoroughly enjoyed the manuscript and would like to read the last four chapters - would you be able to email them to me?" That was “the” moment for me. That was it. Because no matter what happened after that, I felt like a "real" writer. I'd been validated by a professional. My dream was truly within reach. There were a LOT of happy tears. I was buzzing all day long, and I had to order pizza because my hands were shaking too hard to cook.
Reading my HarperCollins Contract//Winter 2011
Six months later I had a contract from HarperCollins and I was tossed afloat onto the sea of publishing (which was a scary place to be as an unannounced inkpop author). But that’s a story of its own for a different time…
About The Sweet Trilogy:
Sweet Evil is my literary baby. The original title was Angel Prophecy, and although I'll always be fond of that title, it simply wouldn't work after revisions were made, and neither would the second working title (Sin Legacy). For those who read it while it was on Inkpop.com, you will recognize many of the elements from Angel Prophecy throughout the Sweet trilogy.
How did I get the idea for Sweet Evil? Here's the long version...I like to joke that it began with two big G's: Google and God. I was feeling disheartened about not teaching anymore. Even though I loved staying home with my kids, I felt like I needed to be doing more. In August 2009, after crying all morning, I sat in front of the computer and Googled, "God, what do you want me to do with my life?" Yes, I really did that. To my surprise, up popped a writing by a pastor in Kansas talking about using our natural gifts to reach our life's potential. So I thought about my possible "gifts." Writing was the only thing that came to mind, but I'd never been published, so it was more like an abandoned hobby. I sent up a pleaful prayer, saying, "Okay, so, if I'm supposed to write, I'm game. But there's one problem. I have no story ideas..."
I'd just finished reading the hilarious Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which has angel and demon main characters (Oh, those poor men will probably croak when they hear their dark humor somehow influenced my sappy romance - sorry guys!) I started thinking, "good" and "bad" - angel and demon. I remembered back to my teaching days when I taught John Milton's Paradise Lost. I'd always been intrigued by Lucifer's charisma and power over the fallen angels. And that's when a snowball of ideas began rolling, bombarding me with random snippets until I had to write it or be bowled over. It was the craziest, most intense thing that's ever happened to me, completely unexpected. By that evening I was scratching random thoughts onto the only paper I could find, computer sheets.
Cover used on InkPop.com//Not Actual Cover
I was a woman possessed and exhausted, writing during every spare second, hardly sleeping or eating, and thinking about the story during any moments when I wasn't able to write. My nine-month-old son was still waking in the night, teething. My husband, who'd always urged me to write, was speechless and probably scared senseless about the crazy woman disguised as his wife. In seven weeks I wrote the first draft by hand, 80k+ words. My friends call it the "writing diet" because I lost fifteen pounds during that time. Not to worry, I've gained most of it back, and nobody was starved during the making of this story. :)
I started by writing Kaidan's "sacrifice," not knowing the setting or time frame. That was the scene that made me fall completely in love with Anna and Kai, though I barely knew anything about them at that point. Next came the first kiss scene, followed by the lake party scene. Then the story was like a huge puzzle that I had to piece together. NOT the easiest way to write a story, but we can't choose how the ideas come to us. I did a lot of research for the cross-country trip and angel/demon lore, but ended up fabricating details to fit the story. I had to ask myself, "What effects would angel souls have on human bodies? What would they be able to do that humans can't?" etc.
The book has undergone major revisions over this two year period, and received many beta reads from trusted critique partners to get where it is. The first draft was absolutely awful. Cringe-worthy.
I'm so indebted to inkpop and inkpoppers for their help revising this story, especially the introduction chapters which plagued me (I'm terrible at writing story beginnings, and coming up with titles for that matter). Thank you guys! And thank you, HarperCollins. :)
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