Tag Archives: Damsel in distress

Author Kara O’Neal ~ New Release: Destiny’s Secrets – #AHAgrp #Blog

Please help me welcome today’s guest, author friend, Kara O’Neal….

I’m so excited to introduce you to Andrew and Ben, mischief-making twins, who are private investigators and catch the case of their life. They must reunite sisters who were kidnapped and torn apart at ages 3 and 2.

I have to tell you that my fingers flew over the buttons of my laptop on this one. There was so much to write, so many characters to flesh out. And I absolutely adore that steadier, calmer, and quieter Andrew gets trail-blazing, pants-wearing, veterinarian, Jo Tatum as his lady love, while fun-loving, never serious, mischievous Ben ends up with Charlotte Ryan, a math wizard who has more courage in her pinky than you can shake a stick at.

These sisters don’t know each other, and Andrew and Ben must bring them together. It’s a story filled with joy, sorrow and bravery. I loved writing every word of it.

 

A long-ago murder, sisters separated as children, and two brothers, private investigators, who have caught the job of their lives…

Pike’s Run, Texas, 1882

Andrew and Ben Lonnigan, brothers and private investigators, have accepted an important case—to reunite the long-lost DuBois daughters with their rightful inheritance. Abducted from their childhood home in New Orleans when they were three and two-years-old, Jo and Charlotte were adopted by separate families.

Andrew heads north to find Josephine Tatum—a pants-wearing, spitfire veterinarian who challenges his mind and captures his heart. Ben travels south to find Charlotte Ryan—the financial mind behind her father’s ranch, with a sweet disposition and, unfortunately, a fiancé.

As the sisters journey toward destiny, Charlotte must guard her heart against Ben, a man too daring to ever return her love. And Andrew must hide his feelings from Jo, a woman determined to carve her own path. While the foursome battle feelings, they must also war with a villain from the sisters’ past, one with the will and the means to destroy everything the DuBois daughters hold dear.

Excerpt

“You aren’t gonna talk just because I won’t sleep in the tent with you?” Andrew asked.

Jo took a deep breath and glared at him, trying to rein in her temper.

“That’s more of a punishment for you than me,” he went on. “I’m not much for conversation. My brother is better at it. I prefer silence, but you sure seem ready to explode with things to say.”

He looked at her with such ease that her good sense left her. “I think it’s rude of you to tell me outright that you find me ugly.”

“When did I say that?” he replied.

“When you told me you weren’t going to sleep in the tent with me.”

He made a face. “No, I don’t think I said that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You implied it.”

“No, you inferred it. I implied something altogether different.”

She sat ramrod straight. “What do you mean? What else could you have meant?”

He shrugged. “Maybe I can’t share that cramped space with you because I find you too damned attractive.”

She reared back.

“Maybe I’m trying to protect you from my inability to leave you be and not touch you.” He watched her carefully, his gaze direct and intent.

Her breath came more quickly. “Do you mean to tell me…that you…you find me desirable?”

“I do.”

She almost declared the ridiculousness of the statement. But it wasn’t. Not at all. It shouldn’t be. What was absurd was his honesty. And even more unbelievable…she tried the control of someone as disciplined as he.

Pleasure burst through her. She couldn’t help but grin at him.

He cursed.

The heat in his gaze made her pulse race, and she stood.

He shot to his feet.

And now she picked up on his nervousness. It was subtle, but she could tell he considered running away. He’d given her a powerful piece of information, and he didn’t even know if she found him attractive.

She walked the ten paces necessary to get to him.

He didn’t back away, but she could sense he steeled himself against whatever she planned.

“You can sleep in the tent with me. I’d like that very much.” She heard the husky note in her voice.

His brown eyes went warm, and her body melted. She refrained from leaning into him.

“We probably ought not to,” he ground out.

“Why?” she murmured, stepping even closer. Her breasts almost pressed against his chest. “I won’t tell anyone.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Have you done this before?”

“What?”

“Seduced a man.”

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“Yes,” he clipped.

 

  Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/bzeoKE

Bio  

Born and raised in Texas, I had to make the state the setting for my first series. From the food to the fun, like floating the rivers, it is the fire in my blood that inspires me. My family and friends take center stage in my books. My sisters and best friends are my heroines, and my husband created my favorite hero. Love and family are the point of my stories, and I seek to entertain, relieve stress, and inspire people. Books can take one on a journey that one can relive over and over. I am extremely grateful to those authors who did that very thing for me. I learned and I fell in love with their words and characters. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

 

Website –  http://www.karaoneal.com

Bookbub –  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-o-neal

Amazon –  http://www.amazon.com/Kara-ONeal/e/B00FL19TH8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1465007993&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble –  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kara+o’neal?_requestid=845025

Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/

Twitter –  https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor

Pinterest –  https://www.pinterest.com/karaoneal7/

Goodreads –  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7278350.Kara_O_Neal

Blog — http://www.karaoneal.com/blog

Blog – The Story Continues — http://www.karaoneal.com/the-story-continues

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Filed under Author Blog Post, New Release

The Cowboy’s Embrace – Kara O’Neal

#AHAgrp  –  #Blog

Please help me welcome author Kara O’Neal and her new release, The Cowboy’s Embrace…

The Cowboy’s Embrace came about because, when I introduced Deacon in book three of the series, I fell in love with him. He was strong, steady and smart. Really smart. Because he was the only one in book three who knew that trickery was afoot!

I had to give him a book. He deserved a true love. But what would his story be?

I have to say I took some time developing his match. She had to be someone righteous, honest and unafraid. She had to be able to stand next to Deacon and be her own person. Enter Lily Spero…the girl he abandoned in a park in Houston.

Now, before you get confused, he had his reasons for leaving her. So don’t hate him. Read his story and learn how these two triumph over a great evil. If you read it, know that my favorite part is how Lily steals the walking cane from the villain on the white horse and what happens after it.

About The Cowboy’s Embrace…
Fate brings his greatest regret back into his life…

Lily Spero is searching for her stolen heritage, for a place in the world that is all her own. Sixteen years ago, she lost her parents and siblings to a villain on a white horse. Since, she’s hungered for family, for that love she’d once known. When she visits the Swinging A Ranch, her past collides with her present, opening wounds long buried and shockingly creating hope where none had been before.

Deacon Tolbert is the foreman and a contributing partner to the Swinging A Ranch. He’s carved a niche in the world all his own, finally feeling worthy of the goodness he’s found for himself. But when Lily Spero arrives, the girl he abandoned years ago, he’s forced to face the most gut-wrenching moment of his life.

Despite the pain, love surprises them and blossoms, bringing hope for the future. But the villain from the past comes to haunt them, to steal what they’re trying to build. Deacon and Lily must brave vile evil in order to stay together, and fight with all they have to keep the promises they made to each other.

Excerpt:
He would come back soon. He would. He wouldn’t leave her here.
Lily assessed the park with its strong oaks and maples and winding packed dirt paths. She bit her lip and worked hard not to cry. She was a big girl. She was eleven, and he’d asked her to be brave while he was gone.
As she hid in the shade, she sank down to the grass, huddled against a trunk and hoped no one noticed a frightened, stranded, black girl. Where was he? What was taking so long? He only went to find food for them.
Morning turned into noon. People came. Some to eat their lunches on blankets they spread on the ground. Others to walk the picturesque paths. She pulled her knees into her chest and buried her nose in her dirt-caked pinafore. It had been yellow once. A pretty color as bright as the sun.
As she rocked back and forth, she prayed. She repeated over and over the words her mother had taught her. With her eyes clamped shut and her lips moving without ceasing, she implored to Heaven for Deacon to return.
But hours passed. Faces swam before her, asking her questions, giving her food. She couldn’t answer the nice strangers. Just gazed down the path, hoping, waiting, her heart dying.
Where are you? Please come. Please come back.
She silently begged to see his familiar form, dressed in overalls and a threadbare work shirt, coming around the bend to carry her away. But he didn’t come. And the kind people didn’t leave. They took her home with them, and Lily didn’t argue, even though their pale skin struck uncertainty in her heart. She couldn’t think. Deacon, she grieved.
And his name was the pained whisper on her lips every night, the perpetual cold ache in her heart…that could never be filled.

Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/38RBRd

About Kara:

Born and raised in Texas, I had to make the state the setting for my first series. From the food to the fun, like floating the rivers, it is the fire in my blood that inspires me. My family and friends take center stage in my books. My sisters and best friends are my heroines, and my husband created my favorite hero. Love and family are the point of my stories, and I seek to entertain, relieve stress, and inspire people. Books can take one on a journey that one can relive over and over. I am extremely grateful to those authors who did that very thing for me. I learned and I fell in love with their words and characters. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Website – http://www.karaoneal.com
Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-o-neal
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Kara-ONeal/e/B00FL19TH8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1465007993&sr=8-1
Barnes and Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kara+o’neal?_requestid=845025
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/karaoneal7/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7278350.Kara_O_Neal
Blog — http://www.karaoneal.com/blog
Blog – The Story Continues — http://www.karaoneal.com/the-story-continues

 

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Filed under Author Blog Post, New Release

The Pursuit of Mrs. Pennyworth by Callie Hutton


Please help me welcome my friend and fellow author, Callie Hutton with her new release and a list of her top five songs to write a sex scene by…

Most romance writers include one or more sex scenes in their books. We certainly don’t want a biology lesson, or one of those insert tab A into slot B, do we? Some authors drink a glass of wine, some opt for candlelight and other things to get them moving when they write love scenes. I use music, played softly in the background while I write. Does it always work? No. But it does most of the time.

Here are my top five songs to play while my hero and heroine are ‘playing.’

  1. Open Arms by Journey. To me that is the most romantic song of all time. The passion in the words, and the way its performed always strikes something in me that makes those words flow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lLmYLw0WRI
  2. Cara Mia by Jay and the Americans. Another romantic song. And the notes that Jay Black hits really brings on the muse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXfNGRcDYpM
  3. Nothing beats the old, familiar Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers. I get goose bumps every time I hear it. (Good goose bumps). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiiyq2xrSI0
  4. Okay, so I go back aways, but one of my all time favorite is Elvis Presley The Wonder of You. This one always puts me in a romantic mood. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVzueXIXy3I
  5. And my last pick is the, again, very old You Belong to Me by the Duprees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCeNCvwEFU8

That is not my complete list, but probably the top ones I listen to when I want to feel romantic. I hope you click on a few, especially if you are a younger generation reader, and maybe never heard one or two of them.

Now that I’ve gotten you in the mood, take a look at my book, Seducing the Marquess that’s currently on sale for only 99 cents at all retailers. It’s a funny, quirky, romantic story. With, of course, a Happily Ever After!

London, 1819. Richard, Marquess of Devon is satisfied with his ton marriage. His wife of five months, Lady Eugenia Devon, thought she was, too, until she found the book. Their marriage is one of respect and affection, with no messy entanglements such as love. Devon’s upbringing impressed upon him that gentlemen slake their baser needs on a mistress, not their gently bred wives. However, once married, he was no longer comfortable bedding a woman other Eugenia. When she stumbles onto a naughty book, she begins a campaign to change the rules.

Lady Eugenia wants her very proper husband to fall in love with her. But her much changed and undeniably wicked behavior might inadvertently drive her confused husband to ponder the unthinkable—his perfect Lady has taken a lover. But the only man Eugenia only wants is her husband. The book can bring sizzling desire to the marriage or it might cause an explosion.

http://calliehutton.com/book/seducing-the-marquess/

 

 

About the Book

Recently widowed, Charlotte Pennyworth is relishing her independence and it rankles to have to rely on a man to help her with an increasingly sinister stalker. Former Yardman, Elliot Baker, is reluctant to take on Charlotte’s case but despite himself and his history with another woman, he is drawn to the bright, attractive widow.

Sparks smolder between the PI and his client but neither is looking to form an attachment. Elliot thinks Charlotte is hiding something. Charlotte has no desire to marry again, especially to a private investigator, no matter how handsome, brave and kind he is. The risk to his life and her heart is too great. But more dangerous than a menacing stalker is secrets and when Charlotte’s come to light, even the passion between them might not douse the flames of Elliot’s distrust.

Buy Links

Amazon US:  http://amzn.to/2oFEUJA

Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/2FgexUX

Amazon AU:  http://amzn.to/2oAfwG5

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2t9MH7Q

iBooks: https://apple.co/2t97Yih

Nook:  http://bit.ly/2FHWHrT

Kobo:  http://bit.ly/2FIjp2T

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2t5Ifae

Amazon Audio:  http://amzn.to/2F0O9zb

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/2oBunzS

Excerpt:

Miss Charlotte Reading furtively glanced at the clock on the wall in her tiny bedroom. Her heartbeat increased as she mumbled encouragement to herself and shoved her meager belongings into a small satchel. Lord Barton had sent a note around that he intended to return home at four o’clock, and to make herself available.

Fifteen minutes.

He didn’t need to say more—she knew exactly why he’d demanded her presence. She tried to hold down the panic as she looked around, grabbed her hairbrush and the small gilded mirror that had belonged to her mother, and shoved them into the satchel. Deciding there was nothing more important than her life, she fastened the bag, grabbed her pelisse and bonnet, and fled the room.

And the house.

 

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author, Callie Hutton, author of more than twenty-five historical romance books, writes humorous and spicy Regency with “historic elements and sensory details” (The Romance Reviews). Callie lives in Oklahoma with two rescue dogs and her top cheerleader husband of many years. Her family also includes her daughter, son, and daughter-in-law. And her three year old twin grandsons “The Twinadoes.”

Website:  http://calliehutton.com/

Newsletter:  http://calliehutton.com/newsletter/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/callie.hutton

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Calliehutton

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006O2IF2I

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/callie-hutton

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5349775.Callie_Hutton

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