Tag Archives: giveaway

January 15, 2018 · 8:20 am

Laurel O’Donnell’s A Knight’s Protection from Treasure the Knight Boxed Set

I’m pleased to introduce the second author in the Treasure the Knight boxed set. Please help me welcome Laurel O’Donnell with A Knight’s Protection

 

Blurb –

A healer and outcast, Lia discovers a dying Templar knight who entrusts her with an important treasure and elicits her promise to protect it. Kade de Claremont returns home upon news of his mother’s death only to find his father is searching for a mythical treasure. Lia and Kade must join together to keep the treasure from his father, but secrets and trust come between them to sabotage their growing attraction.

Excerpt –

The knight’s old, weathered face was peaceful, his eyes closed. He was just an old man. Kade’s gaze scanned him. A slash mark and red liquid marred the white tunic near his abdomen. Kade was pretty certain this had been the fatal blow. The knight lay in a puddle of blood, the liquid having dripped down his side to pool on the ground. Kade remembered Ralf telling their father that there had been a fight. Could this really be the knight his father was searching for?

And then he remembered his mother’s message from the girl, Lia. ‘Don’t let them find him. They can’t get it.’ He stared at the old man. Was this the man that had caused his mother’s death? Was this the man Mother and Father had argued over? What had Ralf said his name was? De Rolleston. Kade’s fists clenched as anger rolled through him. What was so important about this old knight to cause his mother to stand up to his father? “Did he say anything to you?” he growled.

After a moment of hesitation, Lia answered, “No. He was dead when I found him.”

Frustrated, Kade bent and ran his hands over the knight’s body, waving a few flies away that had started to congregate around the corpse. Perhaps the knight had something that was important, the ‘it’ of his mother’s message. He searched again, slowly. He tucked his hands into the knight’s belt, into his empty scabbard. He removed one of his boots and looked inside.

“What are you looking for?” Lia wondered.

Kade didn’t answer. He had no idea what he was searching for. Maybe there was nothing here. He removed the other boot and looked inside. Kade lifted the knight’s tunic and then the knight’s chainmail. Blood lined the old man’s stomach. The gaping wound had stopped flowing. There was nothing hidden there. He sat back on his heels. “You found him like this?”

“Yes.”

“Was anyone else around? Another knight?” He swiveled around to look at her. “Did you see anyone else?”

She shook her head, her red locks swaying over her shoulders in thick waves.

“Did you try to help him?”

“He was already dead when I found him.”

Kade looked back at the knight and stood. There was nothing on him that might elicit the message from his mother. Whatever reason his father was searching for him so badly, died with the knight.

Kade turned to Lia. The sun shone down through the leaves of the tree, pooling her in a glorious glow of sunlight. His breath caught. Her red hair all but glowed like fire as the sun touched it. Her nose was pert, her lips slightly parted. His gaze was caught by her dress and the nicely rounded portion of her breasts. For a quick moment, his gaze swept her chest and the way the fabric pulled over it. The torso of her dark cotton dress was splattered with a small freckling of black dots. It took a moment for Kade to realize he had seen that type of spatter before, numerous times. From dying knights. Those small dots of blood came from a mouth expulsion, coughing or sneezing of a mortally wounded knight.

Could the spattering have come from Sir de Rolleston? Had he been alive when she found him? What could the old knight have told her to make her lie to him?

Buy Links –

99 cents!

Amazon – http://a.co/fjbLRug

B&N – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/treasure-the-knight-laurel-odonnell/1127585737?ean=2940155045847

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/treasure-the-knight

IBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1321206596

Bio –

Bestselling, critically acclaimed novelist LAUREL O’DONNELL sold her first book, The Angel and the Prince, to Kensington after being a Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart finalist. She has gone on to win many more awards, including the Holt Medallion Award for A Knight of Honor and the International Digital Award for Angel’s Assassin.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Laurel began writing in junior high school when she carried a pen and paper around wherever she went. In college, she took fiction writing classes to further her skill. Her love of the medieval time-period led her to work at King Richard’s Faire in Wisconsin where she learned stage combat and sword fighting. The Faire fed her insatiable appetite for the medieval era.

Laurel has many books yet to write and hopes you will join her on her journey to bring the medieval era to life! Please visit her at her website www.laurel-odonnell.com for the latest information about upcoming releases, contests and to contact her.

Website – www.laurel-odonnell.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LaurelODonnell.author/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/laurelodonnell

Amazon author page – https://www.amazon.com/Laurel-ODonnell/e/B001KHXOXM/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1515811224&sr=1-2-ent

Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/laurel-o-donnell

 

 

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January 14, 2018 · 7:56 am

BJ Scott’s Highland Covenant from Treasure the Knight Boxed Set

Please help me welcome B.J. Scott, the first of 4 authors from Treasure the Knight boxed set. I’ll be featuring one author per day for the next 4 days. Enjoy!

Heather moorland in bloom, Glen Esk, Scotland

My name is B.J Scott and I want to send out a huge thank you to Alicia Dean having me here today.

I am equally excited to be part of Treasure the Knight, a boxed set of four new novellas about the famed Knights Templar, and set to release on Jan 22 2018. My book in the series entitled Highland Covenant.

While my primary passion is for Highland Romance, the Knights Templar has always been of great fascination.  The way a small group of monks, sworn to a life of poverty, banded together to protect Christian Pilgrims to the Holy Land became one of the largest, richest, most respected and feared order of knights that ever existed has intrigued people for centuries and does to this day. The meteoric rise and equally devastating fall is also something that books, movies and historians have pondered as well. Did they really know about the famed treasure of Solomon hidden beneath the Temple Mount and did they escape with it prior to their downfall?  Will we ever know and will it be located?

Giveaway!!!

Tell me what you think and your name will be entered to win a Knight Templar Book mark and your choice of any one of my current e-books

Highland Covenant from Treasure the Knight:

Blurb

Francois de Valier, a member of the once revered Knights Templar arrives in Scotland with one thing on his mind—to find his Friend and fellow knight, Lazarus Fraser, and retrieve a piece of the famed Templar treasure he entrusted in his care. Once reunited, the two men set out to deliver the religious artifact to a place of safekeeping. Hunted by agents of the French King, their journey is fraught with danger, and a shocking turn of events that not only changes their plans, but could in cost them their lives.

 

Excerpt

The Scottish Highlands, 1317.

Francois de Valier crouched in the bushes, waiting for the stable attendant to leave. He suspected it was close to midnight, and he’d been squatting for so long, he wasn’t sure his cramped legs were strong enough to carry him the short distance to the stable—where he hoped to find a warm dry place to bed down for the night.

He’d emptied his wineskin before noon and would give anything for something to drink. It had been two days since he’d stolen some bannock from the windowsill of a croft in one of the small villages he’d ventured through on his way to Beauly. His mouth was bone dry and his empty stomach rumbled so loudly that and when the young man exiting the stable paused and glanced over his shoulder, Francois was certain the lad had heard the sound.

With bated breath, he waited until the young man was gone and the coast was clear before making his move. He rose to a wobbly stance, braced his throbbing ribs with his forearm and gritted his teeth against the pain that racked his body.

Not long after his arrival in Scotland, he’d been attacked by agents of the French crown, savagely beaten until he lost consciousness, then was left for dead. By the time they’d realized their mistake, he’d managed to crawl away. It was only by the grace of the Almighty that he had remained one step ahead of the assailants. Exhausted, and burning with fever, he just wanted to find a place to lay his head until morning.

His entire life had been one insurmountable challenge after another, and as a member of the now disbanded Knights Templar, he was no stranger to hardship, sacrifice, or suffering. The sacred order was formed for the protection of Christian pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. Allowed to cross borders freely, they were exempt from all laws and answered to no one but the Pope. Despite their humble lifestyle, and originally being known as the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon, they had managed to amass a great fortune. Once touted as heroes, they were now fugitives, falsely accused of heinous crimes against the church and humanity, hunted like animals, and left fleeing for their lives.

Many times, he’d been tempted to give up, to face whatever punishment King Philip IV saw fit. But just prior to his capture and imprisonment, Francois entered into a covenant with several of his fellow knights, taking a sacred oath to protect religious artifacts taken from the Holy Land, and if necessary, guarding the treasure with his life. A man of his word, he’d not give up— not while there was a breath left in his battered body, not while he was so close to finishing his quest and honoring that vow.

****************

For those of you who don’t know my, I am a Canadian author and I write Scottish historical romance and Highland Time Travel. I currently have thirteen books published and more on the way!

***Please note for those who might not realize, there are two other authors with the same name so if looking for my books, be sure you read the author bio before making your purchase.  Otherwise you might get books from the other author and a totally different genre of books and will be in for quite a shock****

To check out my novels, you can go to https://www.amazon.com/B.-J.-Scott/e/B006NSQR9G

You can also follow me on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/Author-BJ-Scott-308663055834706

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December 7, 2017 · 7:12 am

Cat Dubie – The Queen of Paradise Valley ~ Author Interview and Giveaway

I’m pleased to share a new Wild Rose Press release from author Cat Dubie!

#AHAgrp

 

–Welcome, Cat. Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now?

I was born in a small town in Austria. When I was four, my family immigrated to Canada, to the lovely city of Edmonton, Alberta. Now my husband and I reside on the beautiful West Coast of British Columbia. Our three grown children and their families live nearby. And we inherited Roxy, a lovable Shih Tzu, who keeps us on our toes.

– Where did you get the idea for The Queen of Paradise Valley?

I got the idea for The Queen of Paradise Valley after watching reruns of the TV series The Big Valley, and playing the “what if” game. What if the sweet blonde daughter ran the big ranch? What if she’s the polar opposite of sweet? What will she do when she meets her match?

– What is the most difficult thing about writing a book? What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular?

The most difficult thing for me about writing is assembling required research. Luckily, I enjoy doing research. Sometimes too much – I tend to go off on tangents when something interests me. But nothing is wasted. I try to organize everything for the possibility I can use the information in the next book. For this book in particular, although I’ve done a lot of mountain wilderness camping and traveling through ranch country, I needed many specifics. I love the Internet!

– What book have you read that you wish you had written?

AWAY by Jane Urquhart, an engrossing, haunting novel filled with beautiful prose and amazing word images.

– What do you love that most people don’t like and wouldn’t understand why you do?

As it’s close to Christmas… I love holiday fruitcake. No one in my family or circle of friends eats fruitcake.

– What do you dislike that most people wouldn’t understand?

I dislike cinnamon anything and gingerbread anything.

– Do you collect anything?

I still have stamp and coin collections I started when I was twelve, though it’s been years since I looked at them. Lately, my family thinks I collect teddy bears and other stuffed animals, and I have shelves full of them. [Safe gifts when they don’t know what else to give!]

– What’s the main thing that you could get rid of in your life that would give you more writing time?

Having to do family accounting. And income tax. Eats up a lot of time.

– What’s your favorite book of all time and why? What’s your favorite childhood book?

Too many favorites to decide on one. I loved Heidi when I was a child, and anything horse related.

– What do you want readers to come away with after they read The Queen of Paradise Valley?

I’d like readers to think “wow – what a ride!” And to feel satisfied.

– Would you rather have a bad review or no review?

I would take a bad review over no review. I go by the saying, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. [This reasoning may change!]

– What is your favorite quote?

“You see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream things as they never were and ask, ‘Why not?'” — George Bernard Shaw

– Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

Entirely from imagination. I don’t know any real people who look or act the way my characters do.

– How did your interest in writing originate? 

I started writing poetry at a young age. When still in elementary school, a friend and I collaborated on a story. I wrote and illustrated it. [My friend colored the pictures.] I wrote my first novel, a mystery, when I was eleven. I proudly showed it to my teacher and, despite its many flaws, she encouraged me to keep at it.

– Your favorite…

Movie – To Kill a Mockingbird [still resonates]

Music – I listen to all, from New Age to classical, alt rock to old country.

Place you’ve visited – San Francisco

Place you’d like to visit – Austria, Germany, and France – I have relatives there

TV show from childhood – Leave It to Beaver

TV show from adulthood – NYPD Blue – watched it from beginning to end

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? – Card games

Thank you, Cat. I enjoyed the interview, but I will say I do NOT understand your love of fruitcake and your dislike of cinnamon. 🙂 Cinnamon is one of my favorite flavors!

Readers, Cat is giving away a copy of her book to one lucky commenters. A name will be drawn at random this weekend.

Blurb:

Diana Rennie, daughter of a wealthy rancher, attempts to persuade mystery man Del Russell to leave his grievances behind and forgive her father for past mistakes. Her careful plan goes awry and results in a shotgun wedding and a prison sentence for Del.

Four years later, Del is back in her life with a vengeance—back for his rightful share of Diana’s ranch, back to prove he isn’t the criminal she thought he was, back to finish what the two of them started years ago in a passionate daze. And he isn’t going anywhere, no matter what beautiful, treacherous Diana does or says to try to get rid of him.

Excerpt:

“Mr. Russell, can you hear me?”

He opened his eyes and tried to focus. Falling . . . He was falling into darkness . . .

“I’m Doctor Bell.”

Doctor? Someone was hurt. Diana–

“Don’t move, Mr. Russell. The bullet entered clean. It should come out clean, too.”

Someone had been shot. He blinked to clear the fog from his vision. A grave-eyed man, cheeks red from the cold, bent over him. And then it came to Del. He was the one who had been shot. And now he lay on Diana’s bed with folded sheets forming a pad beneath him.

“Do you feel much pain?”

Del tried to laugh but the sound he made was a rasping croak. “Hell–was I trampled by stampeding cows?”

Doctor Bell looked up as Alfredo entered the room with a tray of bandages and a pair of extra lamps. “Mr. Rosetti, if you can bring some light here and help me cut his clothes away from the wound? Now, what was all that commotion downstairs?”

Alfredo glanced at Del and said in a hushed voice, “Signor Dottore, the sheriff has come. He heard there was a shooting and is here to arrest the Signora and take her to jail.”

Del raised himself on an elbow. “Alfredo.” He clutched at the servant’s sleeve. “Why–”

“We do not know why.” Alfredo’s voice fluttered with apprehension. “The sheriff asks many questions, but the Signora sits there as if she does not see him.”

“I’ll talk to the sheriff.”

“He will not leave the Signora’s side.”

“Then I’ll go down to him.” Del tried to swing his legs over the edge of the bed.

“Mr. Russell,” the doctor objected, “it must wait till we’re done.”

“Can’t wait. Help me, Doc, Alfredo.”

Buy links:

The Wild Rose Press https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/se no arch?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=Cat+Dubie&submit_search=

Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Paradise-Valley-Cat-Dubie-ebook/dp/B075X58S8R/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510180114&sr=1-2&keywords=The+Queen+of+Paradise+Valley&dpID=51BQZHDGUyL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-queen-of-paradise-valley-cat-dubie/1127176154?ean=2940158564567

Indigo   https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-queen-of-paradise-valley/9781509217557-item.html?ikwid=The+Queen+of+Paradise+Valley&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-queen-of-paradise-valley

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36513433-the-queen-of-paradise-valley?from_search=true

Contact information:

My blog: https://catdubie.blogspot.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcat.dubie.7

twitter: @CatDubie       https://twitter.com/catdubie

 

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December 6, 2017 · 8:30 am

Forsaking Hope: Fair Cyprians of London by Beverley Oakley ~ Giveaway!

Please help me welcome Beverley Oakley, sharing her new release…

#AHAgrp

Beverley is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here.

About the Book: 

Two years ago, she missed their secret assignation and disappeared without a trace. Now the divine “Miss Hope” is in Felix Durham’s bed – a ‘surprise cheering-up gift’ sourced by his friends from London’s most exclusive brothel. Felix is in heaven – and he wants to stay there.

So does Hope, but she can’t.

Hope Merriweather lives by a code of honour – even if she’s a prostitute.

Having sold her soul, she’s prepared to sacrifice everything else to protect what she believes in.

Even if honour – in her eyes – comes at the cost of thieving and breaking hearts. Including her own.

Available for preorder here:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play

~*~*~*~*~*~

Excerpt:

Chapter One

 Wilfred Hunt.

If there was a name to tip Hope into the abyss of despair she was hearing it spill from Madame Chambon’s lips now as the older woman directed Hope to take a seat in the reception room, presumably so Madame could loom oppressively over her.

With her hands on her ample, expensively padded hips, Hope’s benefactress—procuress, employer and gaoler were other monikers—sent Hope a beetling look that needed no interpreting: Regardless of Hope’s true feelings, Hope must project the required show of warmth and delight at being the chosen one.

Madame patted the side of her faux curls. Years of hot irons had reduced her hair to the texture of wool but her crowning glory these days was supplemented by the lustrous locks of those girls who dared cross her – before they were thrown back into the street from where most had come.

Nevertheless, Hope had to make her resistance clear. Surely Madame who knew her history would understand her loathing for this man, above all others. “I shan’t do it,” she whispered. There was little evidence of the willful child and wild adolescent who’d been the despair of her family. “I won’t—”

Outside, the noise of the traffic rumbling over the cobbles and the shrill calls of competing vendors settled upon the tense silence. Madame Chambon’s other girls, ranged around the sumptuously appointed room on red velvet upholstered banquettes, watched the exchange with prurient fascination. Hope knew it had been a calculated ploy of Madame’s to conduct her interview in public so that Hope would serve as an example to them.

No one crossed Madame Chambon.

The shrill cry of a fishmonger caused Madame to look pointedly out of the window. With something between a smile and a sneer, she smoothed a Marcel wave. “Is that where you plan to return, Hope? The gutter?” Her nose twitched and in the sunlight that filtered into the room, the grooves chiselled between mouth and chin were thrown into harsh relief, highlighted rather than hidden by the thick powder she used to conceal her age.

Madame Chambon’s comfort, now and into retirement, depended on obedient girls. Hope knew that as well as anyone. She’d had to bury her rebellious streak just to ensure food in her belly.

The Frenchwoman raised a chiselled brow and began to pace slowly in front of her girls. A painter with an eye for beauty would have been ecstatic at capturing such a spectacle on canvas. The discerning young man about town who visited 56 Albemarle Street was frequently rendered ecstatic by the range of delights Madame Chambon’s girls offered in addition to the visual.

“You forget yourself, Hope. I put a roof over your head and deck you out as handsomely as Mr Charles Worth ever did for his most discerning customer.” There was acid in Madame Chambon’s tone. “But for me, you’d be starving and glad of the pennies you could trade for a grubby stand-up encounter in a dark alley.” Madame Chambon thrust out her bosom and breathed through her nose, her response a calculated warning to the other girls arranged in various languid poses about the ornately decorated reception room that intransigence would not be tolerated.

“Mr Hunt has requested you.” She paused and when Hope remained silent, though her stance and expression left no one in any doubt as to her horror regarding this enforced assignation, went on. “Remember what I told you—what I tell all my girls when they first come here? The past must be forgotten the moment you step over my threshold. You are reborn, remodelled, refashioned into the most exquisite delectation of womanhood. A marquess, a prince, is well recompensed for the tidy sum he hands over in order to enjoy your sparkling wit, to converse with you in French, or if he chooses, on philosophy…to enjoy your charms…and,” she added significantly, “your gracious hospitality and tender ministrations to his needs. That is our agreement and you are no different. If Mr Hunt wishes you, Hope, to attend him at his residence then you will go.”

Faith, one of the kinder girls, patted Hope’s arm in silent solidarity. Hope didn’t expect any of them to speak up in her defence. Not when they all relied on Madame Chambon as much as she did to provide them with the necessities of life. Anything more than that was part of a strict contract that indentured a girl for life unless she was able to secure a generous benefactor to settle Madame’s severance bill. The fine clothes were part of the charade, necessary to entice a more elite clientele. Hope’s exquisite wardrobe did not belong to her though she’d have forsaken all the dupion silk and Spitalfields lace for the freedom of the gutter and to be mistress of her own destiny – and her body – if she could only be sure of a plate of gravy and potatoes every second day.

Closing her eyes, she hung her head, the carefully coiffed curls that fell forwards brushing against her tear-streaked cheeks. It was as well that they not be in evidence. Tears, weakness, vulnerability were like a red rag to a bull where Madame Chambon was concerned.

“How long…do I have to prepare myself?” She was not so stupid she couldn’t admit defeat when there was no alternative. Obduracy was beaten out of one, but tears ensured a girl got the very worst next assignment. Their clients weren’t all marquesses and princes, though they did require a very fat pocket book.

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” Hope repeated it in a leaden tone, and stared at her hands, clasped in her lap; white-knuckled. As white as the rabbit-fur that edged her fashionable black-and-white striped satin cuirass. Hope had the tall, slim figure suited to the scandalously tight tie-back skirts that were all the rage, the back flowing into a train adorned with elaborate swags and trimmed with bows. She’d turned heads the length of Oxford Street as she’d promenaded along the pavement following a walk through Hyde Park earlier that afternoon. In fact, for the first time in two years, she’d almost felt happy as she’d pretended a sense of freedom in the afternoon sun, blocking her mind to the prison to which she was returning.

She drew in her breath and forced herself to be brave, knowing the punishment she’d invite for daring to speak her mind. “Please tell Mr Hunt I will see him again under sufferance.”

Madame Chambon’s voice was surprisingly caramel. “Well then, now that you have made your objection clear, Hope, you will be pleased to hear that Mr Hunt’s desires are not only motivated by fond memories of your no-doubt mutually satisfying congress. I believe he wishes to acquaint you with news of your family.”

Hope hid her shock. “I have no family.” With care, she modified her tone so it was as leaden as before though emotion roiled close to the surface.

“Not even a sister?”

Hope raised her chin. Here was the chink and Madame knew it. The woman did her research.

Aware that the other girls who surrounded her were tense with anticipation, Hope struggled not to respond. Camaraderie existed at surface level but one never knew when it might profit one to have the dirt on a fellow prostitute. It was, clearly, another reason Madame Chambon had chosen to make this conversation public.

“Mr Hunt will see you at nine tomorrow evening,” said the so-called Frenchwoman who, it was whispered, was from the gutters of Lambeth, not Paris. “At his apartments in Duke Street. Now go and prepare yourself for Lord Farrow. Married to a monolith like the venerable Lady Farrow, he likes his girls vivacious and free-spirited. There’ll be less coin in your pocket if you sully the transaction with that long face, Hope.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Author Info:

Beverley Oakley was seventeen when she bundled up her first her 500+ page romance and sent it to a publisher. Unfortunately drowning her heroine on the last page was apparently not in line with the expectations of romance readers so Beverley became a journalist.

Twenty-six years later Beverley was delighted to receive her first publishing contract from Robert Hale (UK) for a romance in which she ensured her heroine was saved from drowning in the icy North Sea.

Since 2009 Beverley has written more than thirteen historical romances, mostly set in England during the early nineteenth century. Mystery, intrigue and adventure spill from their pages and if she can pull off a thrilling race to save someone’s honour – or a worthy damsel from the noose – it’s time to celebrate with a good single malt Scotch.

Beverley lives with her husband, two daughters and a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy the size of a pony opposite a picturesque nineteenth century lunatic asylum. She also writes Africa-set adventure-filled romances tarring handsome bush pilot heroes, and historical romances with less steam and more sexual tension, as Beverley Eikli.

You can get in contact with Beverley at:

 Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Goodreads

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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December 5, 2017 · 12:50 pm

A FABULOUS New Romantic Suspense, IF I WANT YOU by Rachel Brimble ~ PLUS a GIVEAWAY!!

I am super pleased to introduce today’s guest. Rachel is one of my favorite Wild Rose Press authors I’ve ever worked with. I published one of her books many, many years ago, not long after the company opened. She’s gone on to do great things, and now, she’s come back to us with an excellent romantic suspense. IF I WANT YOU is an intriguing, passionate, emotional page-turner. Check it out! (Rachel is ‘across the pond’ so she will likely be delayed in replying to comments, but I know she’d love to hear from you!)

#AHAgrp

Hi Rachel…Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets? 

Thanks for having me here today, Alicia! I live near the beautiful city of Bath, England with my husband and two teenage daughters…and my beloved chocolate Labrador, Tyler. I’m originally from Bristol, but we moved here in 2001 and haven’t wanted to move anywhere else since.

When I’m not writing, I’d like to read, knit and watch far too much TV!

Where did you get the idea for IF I WANT YOU? 

I love writing romantic suspense and the idea for this story originated from a news bulletin where a missing little girl had been safely reunited with her parents. As a mother, the thought of any of my kids being taken is terrifying and the ‘what if?’ questions started in my head.

Very soon, I knew I had to write about a child abduction that is closely linked to the heroine’s past. The rest followed quickly and I loved writing this book. However, as with all my books, the difficulty comes around the midway mark. I battle to overcome the ‘sagging middle’ with each book I write. So far, the reviews have been great so, fingers crossed, I hope I managed to write successfully through it with IF I WANT YOU!

What book have you read that you wish you had written?

Pretty much anything by Nora Roberts! I LOVE her books and have yet to come across one that I haven’t enjoyed. My favourite single titles of hers at Montana Sky and The Witness.

My favourite series are the Chesapeake quartet and the Bride quartet…although I have many, many more books of Nora’s to read!

What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

This is an easy question for me as I start each book trawling the internet for pictures of my hero, heroine and villain. The actor who would play Mark Bolton is UK actor, Harry Tressler and the heroine would be played by Darby Stanchfield.

What genre have you never written that you’d like to write? 

I’d love to write a historical crime novel one day and possibly a young adult. I love reading historical crime and would probably choose the Victorian era because of the darkness that time seems to evoke. The desire to write young adult comes from my gratitude for books from Judy Blume which gave me insight into questions I was afraid to ask. I like that a writer has the power to advise kids through their words.

What is your favorite quote?

“Set it up the way you want it to be.” Iylana Vanzant

This is basically saying stop moaning and complaining about your life and do something to change it. I love the idea that whatever is happening in our lives is really under our own control. If we don’t like something or the way we’re being treated, we need to dig deep and find the courage to change it.

What do you want your tombstone to say?

She loved deeply. She lived fully. She wrote wonderfully.

What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Worst: “Give up writing. You’ll never be published.” This was from a contest judge back in 2005. Having had nineteen books published today, I would really like to thank that judge now. It was just what I need to hear to stop me from giving up!

Best: “I stayed up at 4am to finish reading your book. So damn good!” What else does an author like to hear more than that?

What do your friends and family think of your writing?

My friends and family are so proud of my work and the number of books I’ve managed to write around a young family. My daughters are 18 and 16 now, but I started writing novels when they were 6 and 4. It was especially hard when they were young, but writing was my compulsion and salvation.

Who is the most famous person you have ever met?

Nora Roberts – she hosted an afternoon tea and book signing at the beautiful Ashford Castle in Ireland. My husband surprised me with tickets and an overnight stay at the hotel. She was so lovely at the signing and said hello to me again during the evening when she was relaxing with her family.

The entire two days were amazing!

What is your favorite…

Movie – Forrest Gump

Music – Bruno Mars/Ed Sheeran

Place you’ve visited – Verona, Italy

TV show from adulthood – Outlander

Food – Chicken Satay

Excellent interview, Rachel. I’m with you on the ‘watching too much tv’ but I LOVE it! Wow, what an amazing surprise from your husband. I bet you had a blast! 

Now, Rachel has a question for readers…

What is your favourite book series (whatever the genre) and its author? One randomly drawn commenter will win a $15 Amazon gift certificate.

Blurb:

When local journalist, Tori Peterson, fails to prevent a child abduction outside her niece’s school, her horror and guilt sparks a vow to do whatever it takes to get little Abby Brady home to her parents.

While Tori battles the vile memories of her own kidnapping as a child, she accepts the help of widowed father, Mark Bolton. As he and Tori join forces with the local police, their attraction and intimacy grows…along with their fears for Abby.

Links are uncovered between Abby’s disappearance and Tori’s kidnapping, and Tori is forced to accept the monster who held her captive is back. But this time, Tori is all grown up, and there is no way she will let him hurt another little girl.

Excerpt:

It wasn’t the just the smell of fresh air and sandalwood that alerted Tori to the fact Mark had joined them. It was the way his shadow fell over her as though covering her body with his wide, deep and potentially dangerous protectiveness.

She didn’t bother to look at him…even though her Cally was seriously looking. Tori lifted her hand in a half-hearted wave. “Take a seat, superhero.”

“I will.” He sat beside her. “Thank you.”

Every now and then, when she was alone at home, she’d picked up a book. And every now and then, Tori would toss the book across the room whenever she read the words, “the air crackled between them.” Well, whatever instantly plagued the atmosphere between her and Mark as she forced her gaze to his, she was loath to call it crackling. Maybe humming… screaming… burning… but definitely not crackling.

She swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

“Olivia’s staying at a friend’s. I was at a loose end.”

Despite her best efforts to fight her smile, it was ruthless and broke through her barriers like they were made of sugar paper. “Loose end, my ass. You were no doubt pacing around the house and doing everything you could not to get in the car and go get her.”

He smiled and put a glass on the table. “Merlot, right?”

Buy Links:

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/190CYmx

Amazon US: http://a.co/c5O5R7s

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-want-you-rachel-brimble/1127157672?ean=2940158911118

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/if-i-want-you

BIO:

Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Jan 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Links:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Street Team – Rachel’s Readers

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806411.Rachel_Brimble

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December 3, 2017 · 7:38 am

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire The Sempervian Saga (Book 2) by Kayelle Allen

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire

The Sempervian Saga (Book 2)

by Kayelle Allen

 

BLURB:

Humans created the Ultras, a genetically enhanced race, to defend mankind. Instead, Ultras became their greatest threat. With the help of traitors, humans captured half a million of the immortal warriors.

Exiled to an alien world with no tech, no tools, and no resources, their leader, Pietas, must protect his people, find food and shelter and unite them. But before he can, he must regain command from a ruthless adversary he’s fought for centuries–his brutal, merciless father.

Ultras are immortal, and no matter how they die, they come back. Reviving after death isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Some wounds heal instantly and a few take time, but battered and broken trust? Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever.

Genre: Science Fiction with romantic elements

Rating: PG13 for violence, no profanity or explicit content

Cover artist Brumae

DeviantArt https://brumae-art.deviantart.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Brumae

Amazon Pre-Order Link

 

A Thunderclap campaign has been set up, we sure would appreciate your support. Please click here to add your support.

Excerpt: 

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire, Pietas and the search party sent to find him have stopped their upward mountain trek for a short break. Prior to their reunion the previous day, Pietas had spent a year in confinement, hands bound behind him. He’d been starved to the point of death, but because he’s immortal, he could not die. Although he’s healed since, the brutality left a lasting toll on his once robust physical body. As they prepare to get underway, he unwittingly reveals the impairment.

 

Wincing, Pietas stretched to ease cramps in his back.

His sister stood. “Tas!” she called up to him. She’d started using her childhood name for him since they’d reconnected the day before. “Are you hurt?”

A quick telepathic scan from Joss swept over him before he realized it was there. Pietas had still been a teenager when she’d trained him to shield his mind from those with her gift. Not that he’d ever been able to block her. She was far too powerful, but today, she’d read him with no more difficulty than a hunter spying trail signs. He’d been near no Ultra telepaths for over a year.

His affinity with Six had made him careless and he’d neglected the basic lessons Joss had taught him.

It wasn’t a lack of trust. Trust had never been an issue with Joss.

He treasured her, but he ought not to have been so unguarded and open. Vulnerable.

“Pietas.” Joss stood. The waves of emotion he picked up from her held love and concern in equal measure. And a bit of disappointment. “You’re injured.”

He ducked his head like a schoolboy who’d forgotten his lessons. Admit mortals had damaged him? Never. Neither would he lie about it. He’d take better care to hide the pain.

“Don’t worry about me.” Whistling, he circled a finger in the air. “Let’s go! Long climb ahead.” He leaped down from the rocks. “Joss, you lead.” Last thing he wanted was her behind him, using him as an object of focus.

What telepaths focused upon, they controlled.

 

Bringer of Chaos: The Origin of Pietas

The Sempervian Saga (Book 1)

 Why should Pietas end the war with humans?

His people are winning, yet they insist on peace talks. The Ultra people want to grant humans a seat on the Council. Pietas ap Lorectic, Chancellor of the High Council, War Leader and First Conqueror, disagrees. What’s best for mortals is oppression, control, and if necessary, elimination.

Pietas seethes with rage at the idea of human equality. Humans might have created Ultras, but the creation has far surpassed the creator. Humans die. Ultras are reborn, no matter how grievous the injury. They have no equals.

His people permit him no choice. He must attend these insipid peace talks on Enderium Six and what’s worse, be polite. To humans.

When a human special ops warrior is killed in battle, he’s resurrected in a secret process and inducted into the Ghost Corps. He’s given enough strength to perma-kill immortal Ultras. Ghosts are the most hated and feared of warriors.

When the ghost entraps and captures Pietas at the peace talks, the two begin a long journey toward Sempervia, an isolated and forgotten world. Once there, Pietas is marooned and the ghost abandoned alongside him. The two must either fight to perma-death, or join forces to survive.

As Pietas comes to trust the human, an unlikely and awkward friendship begins. Until he discovers how ghosts are resurrected…

Amazon Buy Link

 

Giveaway – Free Download

 Free — download Endure, Illustrated Quotes by Pietas (as told to Kayelle Allen). Enjoy an exclusive collection of quotes on the concept of endurance by the man known to other immortals as the Bringer of Chaos. https://kayelleallen.com/media/30-days-endure.pdf

Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It’s fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas-coloring-book.pdf

Mythic Heroes and Misbehaving Robots:

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with mythic heroes, misbehaving robots, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She’s a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she’s tenured.

https://kayelleallen.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen

Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author

Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

 

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December 1, 2017 · 8:20 am

Book Spotlight – “Gray’s Promise” by Anni Fife … and a Giveaway

 #AHAgrp

I’m very pleased to host today’s guest and her fantastic book. The  moment I read the opening pages, I was hooked. Gray’s Promise is Steamy, intense, and emotional. And, I promise, you will fall madly in love with Gray!

I’ll let Anni have the floor…

A Steamy Romantic Suspense

An interesting thing happened when I started to write Gray’s Promise—nothing went as planned! Initially, my suspense plot was based around fracking and stealing lucrative gas by tunneling into a neighboring ranch. This would explode into death and mayhem, and eventually a kidnapping. But as much as I researched and planned, my characters refused to conform to my plot. They hated it! Eventually, I stopped trying to force it and went for a long walk on the beach. And heard what my characters were trying to say.

Gray and Zoey’s journey to their happily ever after was so painful and intense, and so darn beautiful, that a complicated suspense plot would only distract from their explosive relationship. So I started to ask that magical question a lot of authors resort to when a plot isn’t working: ‘What if…?’

As my answers flowed, so did my plot. I tossed out fracking and kidnapping, held on to the murder, but brought the evil much closer to home…and voila, Gray and Zoey started to talk to me again…and they didn’t shut up until three months later, when I wrote ‘the end!’

  

BLURB

A jealousy that destroys everything in its path…a love that refuses to die.

 Zoey Morgan seems to have it all as a successful surgeon in Boston. However, perfection lies only on the surface. Plagued by nightmares and amnesia from a tragedy that ripped her family from her fourteen years ago, she finds the courage to reach out to the only man who can make her feel safe. She’s buried the memory of their love, but her heart—and her body—responds to the ex-marine in ways that are all too familiar.

Grayson “Gray” Walker’s heart shattered when Zoey chose another man over him. Since then, he’s built an impenetrable wall around his emotions. But from the moment she implodes back into his life, her vulnerability breaches his defenses. His skills as an elite member of the King Security team cannot shield him from the devastation of learning he might have left Zoey high and dry when she needed him most. Now, Gray must navigate the tripwire of helping her heal while protecting himself from being hurt again.

As the embers of their potent love reignite, an old threat awakens, leading to greater danger than ever before.

EXCERPT

Gray!

He was behind the reception desk, leaning over a computer screen, and discussing something with the receptionist. He glanced up to check who was exiting the elevator. I had no doubt he knew me immediately because his brows snapped together, recognition clear on his face. His eyes tracked me as I approached.

“Good morning, may I help you?”

I tore my gaze from Gray’s to stare at the receptionist. He was slim, dark-eyed, and so perfectly groomed he looked like he’d been airbrushed for a GQ cover. His brow arched, waiting for my response. I ignored him and looked back at Gray, who remained frozen. Like a still-life, one arm resting on the back of the receptionist’s chair, the other bracing himself on the desk. Only now, his face was blank. My stomach tried to launch into my chest. Blank! I didn’t know how else to describe it. Dear God, please let my face be blank too. But I knew it wasn’t.

Gray!

My heart raced. It was a cliché but it was true. I could feel it pumping in my chest. Gray was even more handsome than I remembered. His dark hair was short, but not military short. It was sleekly styled, like his clothing. Practical, but his jeans were definitely designer. He was more built than I remembered, the power in his body clearly defined by the silky black T-shirt hugging his torso. He’d always been confident; now it was something else. Something that lifted the hair all over my body. But my heart didn’t care. It beat wildly. Recognizing him. Wanting him.

But his face was blank.

“Hello-oo! Do you have an appointment?”

“Cool it, Blake, she’s here for Gray.”

It was the hunk who looked like Thor that spoke. But like Gray, I paid him no heed. I was locked in a silent battle of wills with Grayson Walker. And I was losing.

Shit. I should have made an appointment.

I sucked in a long breath. One-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand…ever so slowly, I breathed out, never breaking eye contact with him. My heartbeat settled. Yes. I could do this; I was a master at control.

Acid trickled up my throat as he pushed away from the desk and straightened to his full height. His fixed gaze never left mine. My hands curled, fingernails digging into my palms. I always remembered his eyes more blue than gray. Gentle and glinting with wicked humor. Not anymore. Now they were slate. Cold and lethal, like the scalpels I used to cut through human tissue.

“How did you know where to find me?”

No greeting? No “lovely to see you, Zoey”?

“Gerald,” I croaked.

I swallowed hard, pushing down the pain. My voice was normally husky and low-pitched. Gray used to say it was sultry. I loved that, especially since the huskiness was a result of baby colic. I was a chronic crier as a baby and developed nodules, which in turn created calluses on my vocal cords. So sultry sounded nice, sexy.

I didn’t sound sultry now.

My skin goosed as I watched his lips set into a hard line. His mouth was one of the thousand things I loved about him. His upper lip a perfect cupid’s bow. His lower one, full and sensual with a marked indent. I used to tease him that he had the mouth of a porn star. And he did. God! The indescribable pleasure—

“…do you want?”

What did he say? As usual, I’d let the past smother the present. “I’m sorry—”

“What are you doing here, Zoey?” he repeated, clearly impatient.

Yes, what was I doing here?

PRE-ORDER BUY LINKS   

Amazon.com – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077KRRX15

Amazon.uk – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077KRRX15/

Nook – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grays-promise-anni-fife/1127486541?ean=2940158745911

Bookstrand – http://www.bookstrand.com/grays-promise

The Wild Rose Press – https://wildcatalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-erotic/5486-gray-s-promise.html

 !! GIVEAWAY !!

ENTER Gray’s Promise Pre-Release Giveaway! 
You can be a lucky winner of one of two free ebook copies of this brand new release. Giveaway ends December 8.

Good luck! 

Enter from my Website – http://annifife.com/grays-promise-pre-release-giveaway/

 AND…

 

Don’t miss your copy of Luke’s Redemption (King Security Book 1) for only 99c. Sale starts today! Limited time only so be quick!

Amazon.com – http://a.co/9Kh0nOl

Nook – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1124824689?ean=2940156958900

iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lukes-redemption/id1161242721?mt=11

 

 

ANNI FIFE BIO

Anni Fife is an exciting contemporary romance author who has already made a mark in the popular genre of Steamy Romantic Suspense. Her debut novel, Luke’s Redemption, has been acclaimed by critics and readers and was a Finalist in the 2017 RONE Awards. Anni says she credits Kristen Ashley as her guiding inspiration, and strives to make her characters equally as heart-wrenching and unforgettable. She is currently working on Eva’s Peace (King Security Book 3).

Last year, Anni closed the door on a successful career in television production to fulfill her lifelong passion, writing. In the space of a month, she shut her business, packed up her city life, and moved to a small seaside village. When she’s not writing, she can be found on the beach searching for pansy shells, or drinking red wine and gabbing with her gal posse.

If you want to know when Anni’s next book is releasing and be first to get regular updates and BONUS TREATS, visit her website and sign up to join her POSSE.

Anni is published by The Wild Rose Press, and is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA).

 ANNI’S SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

You can read all about Anni on her website, and join Anni’s Posse to get regular updates and Bonus Treats—www.annifife.com

Or LIKE Anni on Facebook—https://www.facebook.com/AnniFifeAuthor/

Or follow Anni on Twitter—https://twitter.com/AnniFifeAuthor

Amazon— https://www.amazon.com/author/annifife

Goodreads— https://www.goodreads.com/AnniFife

BookBub— https://www.bookbub.com/authors/anni-fife

 

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November 16, 2017 · 7:33 am

Sultry Nights ~ A Limited Edition Romance Collection

Sultry Nights

A Limited Edition Romance Collection

Containing Stories from: Nicole Morgan, Jocelyn Dex, Alison Foster,

Kate Richards, Linda O’Connor, Samantha Holt, Jerrie Alexander,

Whitley Cox, Krista Ames, Ursula Sinclair, Measha Stone, Tuesday Embers,

Siera London,  Rachel Shane, Bonnie Phelps, Misha Elliott,

Alyson Reynolds, Jenna Bayley-Burke,  Madison Michael,

Pepper Goodrich, Marcia James, Destiny Blaine

The authors are giving away lots of goodies with this tour. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Don’t forget  you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here.

Blurb:

Love, passion, romance and desire… No matter what your preference, this set of 22 hot and sexy reads has just what you need. From surprise love affairs to bad boys that we can’t help but fall for, and couples that were meant to be, this compilation from Romance Collections is sure to please your every single need.

Sultry Nights Buy Links:

Amazon

Featuring:

Forbidden Distraction

By Siera London

BLURB:

 Sex therapist, Dr. Vivianne Sloan is the consummate professional. Adhering to the highest ethical standards and doling out her vast clinical expertise, her clients are seeing a heat wave in the bedroom while Vivianne has to get hers from the Florida sun. Looking for some sexual healing, the one man she fantasizes about, a fellow colleague and her boss is strictly off-limits.

Obstetrician Gynecologist, Jared Pierce, has a flourishing medical practice. Outside of caring for his mother, there’s nothing he spends more time on, except thinking about Vivianne Sloan. She’s a distraction he can’t live with or without. He wants to teach her everything he knows about the art of lovemaking, but the woman plays by the rules.

When Vivianne decides to serve as a sexual surrogate, Jared is driven to give the shy beauty a dose of passion so potent she becomes addicted after one night in his arms. What happens when these two forbidden lovers decide to break the rules?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Excerpt:

Jared balled his free hand into a fist, the other held firm at Vivianne’s lower back, guiding her where he wanted her to go. Her sable brown, almond shaped eyes met his. As she walked, her full curves were a fluid poetry beneath her suit, her inky black locks swayed against her shoulders. She was beautiful. So much so, that Jared found it hard to breathe when she entered the room. Every male doctor on the staff was drawn to her innocence. When she provided her monthly lectures on the psychology of human intimacy, she was so academic, that Jared nearly groaned with the need to teach her everything she talked about with such expertise. God knew he’d left his mark on every inch of her body during their two days together in Tahoe. They reached her office first. When he didn’t stop at the heavy oak door marked private session, she stopped mid-stride.

“My office.” With one hand, he led her stiff form forward, ushering them to the end of the hall. He was as angry with himself as he was with her. Why had he given her years to reach the conclusion that they belonged together? What he was about to do, should have happened three years ago.

After their weekend in Tahoe, he’d tried to find her, but the little minx had purposefully withheld her contact information. She went as far as to check out of the hotel within hours of leaving his bed. It had taken Jared weeks to locate her in Howard University’s doctoral program in Washington, DC. When she’d responded to the job posting he’d crafted he’d thought…yes. Finally, he could end his blue balls period of abstinence. Oh, he’d maintained a steady stream of female companionship for appearances, but he’d gone to bed alone. Every freaking day for over two years, he’d walked into the office hoping this would be the day that she came to him. Give him some indication that she was ready for them to move forward. Admitted that she was his. He growled in frustration. Startled she glanced up and over her shoulder. A crease ran the length of her forehead and a wary expression had dimmed the usual sparkle in her eyes.

“Sorry,” he clipped. Keep it together Pierce. Don’t frighten her.

Thank the heavens he requested weekly human resources updates. After he spotted the first application for a sex therapist his curiosity piqued. When he saw the second application his temper erupted like a volcano. Luckily, he remembered he was onboard a plane, and reined his anger back in before he was tasered and carried off by an air marshal. A few calls and not so discrete inquiries to the office, he was incapable of uttering a word. Discovering that Vivianne planned to leave was a shock, but the stink on the trash pile was what she had on reserve for her free time. She was going to pay another man to sleep with her…what the hell was she thinking? Jared ground his molars shredding the very idea under the compounding pressure. The fact that she could tolerate any man touching her made him want to go postal. When had her feelings towards him changed? He had to ask.

“What did I do?” He felt the muscles along her back tense. “Have I hurt or offended you in some way, Vivianne?”

He couldn’t stop himself from massaging the tension from her lower back. Maybe, she thought he slept with the women who’d accompanied him to SCMC fundraisers. Jared thought of his parent’s marriage. He grew up watching how his father’s betrayals chipped away at his mother’s adoration. Johnson Pierce thought his money would cover his sins. That trinkets and trips could sustain his wife’s love and his only son’s respect—he’d been wrong. His father’s infidelity was one of the reasons that Jared had waited until the right woman had come along before he gave her his heart. Vivianne was smart, funny, and giving. She was it for him and he could never be unfaithful to the woman he loved.

“No,” she whispered, a slight moan escaping on the tail end. “Of course not.”

Yet, she was leaving him.

They’d reached his corner office. With a touch of added pressure, she walked through the door he held open. Once she was inside, he engaged the lock. She jumped when the ‘click’ sounded in the room. In a flash, he had her back pressed against the closed door, his big body trapping her.

“Then why try to leave without my knowing?” She let her head fall back against the door. For the first time, he could see the mental anguish she was under. She was suffering, too. “You want another man?”

He had to hear her say the words. After more than a year of torturing himself to stay away from her, he needed to understand her reasoning. Before Vivianne, he’d been with women who only wanted sex. He’d felt deep in his soul that Vivianne wanted more from him. The way she’d touched him, caressed his face during their lovemaking like she was imprinting his every nuance into her memory. She’d tempted him beyond sanity with her slow and thorough exploration of his body. Dark hair to match his own, dark eyes that flamed higher with each touch, skin so rich, he’d be the wealthiest man in the world if he possessed her.

“It’s purely for therapeutic reasons…”

So, she would share her body, a body that occupied his dreams, with another man for medicinal purposes? Just thinking about her responsive body being seen by anybody with a penis set his mind down a deadly path.

“You can do that here…with me.” He eased an arm around her waist, moving her closer until her breasts brushed against his chest. “Whatever your ailments, they disappeared when I was buried inside you.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Author Bio and links:

 Siera London is a bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She crafts stories of diverse characters navigating the challenges and triumphs to find lasting love. Intelligence, wit, emotion, drama, and sensual romance are between the covers of every Siera London novel. Siera lives in Florida with her husband, and a color patch tabby named Frie.

Author Links:

Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/siera-london

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsieralondon

Follow me on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/siera_london

Visit my Siera London website: https://www.sieralondon.com and subscribe to my mailing list

GIVEAWAY!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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November 2, 2017 · 7:45 am

Anxiety Complete Series – Episodes 1 through 6 by H.D. Thomson

#AHAgrp

Please help me welcome today’s guest, H.D. Thomson…

 

 H.D. Thomson is giving away a fabulous prize package during the tour. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here.

BLURB:

Jake Preston is on borrowed time.

If he doesn’t stumble upon a miracle and soon, he’ll end up dead. And even if he does, he still might end up dead with a clever killer hounding his heels. He believes that the one miracle and antidote to save him is in Margot Davenport’s house, across the country and miles away from Boston. Somewhere locked in her home is the key to reversing an experiment that is killing him with each breath he takes.

Margot doesn’t particularly care if she ends up dead.

She’s lost everything she’s ever cared for. A divorce and the loss of her job as a corporate lawyer has left her with little faith in herself or in anyone else. Most importantly, she’s lost the one person on this earth she’s looked up to and cherished–her brother, Johnny. His death in a car accident has devastated her, and she can’t find the willpower to pull herself from the chasm she’s fallen into. Her only solace is at the bottom of a wineglass. Having moved back to the small town in northern Arizona where she was raised, she’s made a point of isolating herself both mentally and physically from everyone other than a few chosen friends. Little does she know that her life is going to explode into chaos.

 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

Excerpt:

 She opened her mouth to scream.

“It’s me, Jake,” he said from the darkness, holding onto her arms to steady her.

She let out a long, shaky breath. “What was that?” she asked in a hushed voice. “You must have heard it. It sounded so awful.”

“It was your cat.”

“Marmaduke?”

“Yeah.”

“But I could have sworn it sounded more human than—”

“I stepped on his tail.” He cleared his throat. “Scared the hell out of both of us. He took off somewhere. Sorry about getting you out of bed.”

“I’m just glad I found out what it was. But what are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Relaxing, she glanced up, only to be blinded by the night. Thick, black and total, it draped over Jake and everything around her. His hands, warm and strong, grasped her upper arms. She grew conscious of the coolness of the house, of the silk of her nightgown against her skin, but most importantly of Jake, of the deep woodsy scent of his after-shave and how his hands, minus the gloves, were now slowly sliding up and down her arms. Her toes curled beneath her. He smelled like what she envisioned a man should smell like. Desire lapped against her skin until it seeped through her flesh and took hold of her body.

He slid a hand up her arm and over a shoulder to cup her throat, while the other curled around her waist to press against the small of her back, inching her closer to the heat of his body. She met his lips halfway, opening her mouth beneath his. The kiss deepened, demanded and took. She raised a hand to feel his own against her throat. He had a long fingered, strong hand, the skin smooth and flawless over the tendons and knuckles. She touched his face, his neck, his shoulders. Against her palms, his skin was satin over hard muscle. He was all male, all power.

He hauled her closer, pressing her sensitized breasts against his chest as his tongue mated with hers. His desire thrust against the shallow hollow of her hips. The thick, hardness of him scorched through the material of her gown to her belly and turned her legs to liquid. She slid her hands over the sleek texture of his naked back, over the muscles and tendons, down across the indentation along his spine and lower.

She froze.

He was entirely, absolutely, completely naked, every male inch of him. She whimpered as her breath came out in short, shallow pants, and desire slammed against her, painful in its intensity.

Margot stiffened. Oh, God. Had she completely lost it? Where was her sanity, her morals? She hardly knew this man.

“No!” She dragged in a lungful of air. “This is all wrong!”

 

 

Author Bio:

H.D. Thomson moved from Ontario, Canada as a teenager to the heat of Arizona where she graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in accounting. After working in the corporate world as an accountant, H.D. changed her focus to one of her passions-books. She owned and operated an online bookstore for several years and then started the company, Bella Media Management. The company specializes in web sites, video trailers, ebook conversion and promotional resources for authors and small businesses. When she is not heading her company, she is following her first love-writing.

Links:

Website Link: http://www.hdthomson.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/H.-D.-Thomson/e/B0069DZ1KG

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorhdthomson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HD_Thomson

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+CarolWebbHDThomson

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5780414.H_D_Thomson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hd_thomson/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hdthomson/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hd_thomson/

Contact: thomsonbooks@gmail.com

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September 27, 2017 · 8:16 am

Author Interview with Elizabeth Harmon ~ New Release: Shining Through

Please help me welcome today’s guest, Elizabeth Harmon, with an interview and her latest release!

Good morning, Elizabeth. Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?

I’m a lifelong Midwesterner and am a graduate of my hometown Big Ten university. My husband went there too, though at a different time. He grew up in a town about forty miles from mine, though our paths never crossed as far as we know. After graduation I moved to Chicago and pursued a marketing/advertising career.  We now live in the suburbs and have two sons, one in his first year of law school, the other in his first year of college. I adore cats and have a sweet buff-colored tabby who hangs out on my desk while I work all day. Our household also includes a little red fish,  whom my husband takes care of.

Where did you get the idea for Shining Through?

I knew I wanted to write Shining Through when I was writing the Red Hot Russians series’ third book, Getting It Back.  Shining’s hero, Daniil Andreev, is the cocky rival to Getting’s figure skater hero, Misha. There’s a scene in that book in which Daniil trash-talks Misha in a delightfully cutting way, but there’s also an element of sadness to Daniil that Misha senses and wonders about.

I started wondering about it too, and once Daniil’s backstory began to take shape, knew I wanted him to have his own book. Because I love to cast opposites, I decided to pair my tattooed, guy-eyelinered Russian bad boy hero with a prim and proper blond American figure skating star, Tabitha Turner. But like Daniil, Tabitha is more than she seems.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc, you’d like to share?

Usually I have trouble with titles, but this one came to me early on and it fit the story and characters perfectly.  I know there is another book with this title, but it came out in the 1980s and is in a different genre, so I hope people aren’t confused.

I also had a great time bringing back several characters from my earlier books, one of whom has changed considerably—for the better! But as with all the Red Hot Russians books, Shining Through is written as a standalone story. Readers who discover the series with this book, can go back and read the others in any order they like.

What is the most difficult thing about writing a book? What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular?

When I began to write this book, I thought Daniil would be the character with the biggest transformation, with Tabitha in the role of catalyst. But as the story began to unfold, it became the opposite. I imagined Tabitha at the top of her sport, but also on the verge of aging out. As she enters the biggest season of her career, she’s burned out and exhausted by her own high expectations, and everyone else’s.  Daniil turns everything, including how she sees herself, upside down.

I also fell in love with Tabitha’s family. Her mom, Fiona is an ex-groupie who hung out with all the best 1980s LA glam-metal bands.  Tabitha’s sister Samara, is a Goth girl and film student, and the first person to recognize that Daniil is the perfect guy for Tabitha. 

What do your friends and family think of your writing?

My husband, an avid reader and language arts teacher, has been an amazing support and my biggest cheerleader from the beginning. I think my sons would rather not think about what I write (sexy romance) but are very supportive too. My law student son offered suggestions to make Shining Through’s  courtroom scene more accurate. And one of my younger son’s friends was really excited to learn I write (in her words) “exotic Russian sex novels!” I absolutely love this description, by the way! My non-writer friends think I have a very cool job—which I do.

What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?

That is a great question! I think it would come down to a toss-up between two well-meaning but misguided characters: Tabitha’s coach Peter, who has created her flawless but constricting public image, and her mom Fiona, who lives in a perpetual state of chaos.

Who is the most famous person you have ever met?

While attending Skate America, I’ve had the opportunity to meet several top figure skaters including Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Ashley Wagner, Jason Brown, Gracie Gold, and a number of others.  What impressed me was how gracious they are to fans, despite being quite young themselves and dealing with pressure I can’t even imagine.

How did you come up with the title? 

The title speaks to how both Tabitha and Daniil long to be accepted for who and what they are. In Tabitha’s case it’s about finding the courage to let her sensual, creative side emerge. For Daniil it’s a reflection of how he channels the pain of his past into his skating, and how his love for the sport shines through.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? 

Definitely. Regardless of whatever public mask we wear, or how flawless and in control we try to appear, everyone has imperfections, painful memories and mistakes. But instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed, we can recognize that things shaped our strengths, as well as our weaknesses.

How did your interest in writing originate? 

I grew up an avid reader and always had a story going on in my head. When I was twelve, I actually put one of them down on paper and turned it in for a school assignment. My teacher wrote on the top, “I expect to see you published someday.” That was my first inkling that this was something I’d like to do. A few years later I wrote a teen romance for a creative writing unit in English class. I loved every minute of it, and the “A” I got was a bonus!

Your favorite…

Movie- my all-time favorites include 1980s romance classics like “The        Cutting Edge,” “Dirty Dancing” and “When Harry Met Sally,” plus            some    odd-ball comedies like “This Is Spinal Tap,” and “The Big   Lebowski.”

Music- I listen to lots of different things, but am particularly fond of acoustic country, bluegrass, etc. I love listening to Spotify while I’m working, and having it pull up a random playlist. The hard part is not to keep clicking over to see the name of some great song, or reading about a new artist I’ve never heard before.

Place you’ve visited– My husband and I visited New York City for the first time a few years ago, and I can’t wait to go back. I love the energy of a large city, and New York is like Chicago, on steroids.

Place you’d like to visit– In addition to cities, I love remote places near the water, where it gets cold. For that reason, Nova Scotia and Alaska are both places I’d love to go.

TV show from childhood– Like almost very girl-child of the 1970s, I loved “The Brady Bunch.” “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia…”

TV show from adulthood– My TV watching time is limited, but some favorite recent shows include “Downton Abbey,” “The Americans” and “Lost.” I loved how “Lost” layered so many mysterious elements into a simple storyline about castaways. I haven’t found a show that does it as well, though I’m excited about “Stranger Things!”

Food– I love Italian food, seafood, and like most Chicagoans, really good pizza.

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? Board games, definitely! I love Monopoly, but I rarely win because I’m not cutthroat enough!

Sports team– We’re Cubs fans! And as you might have guessed, I’m a big fan of the Olympics, especially the Winter Olympics. It was a lot of fun to write about two figure skaters trying to get there!

Thank you, Elizabeth! I enjoyed the interview. I won’t hold it against you that you’re a Cubs fan. 🙂 (I would say ‘Go Reds!’ but they never ‘go’ :/) Elizabeth has a question for readers, and a giveaway!

Since “Shining Through” is a sports romance, let’s talk sports!  Please share your favorite sport and why you love it.  Also, have you ever met a famous athlete?

Everyone who posts a comment will be entered into a giveaway to win a digital copy of any Red Hot Russians backlist book.

When the sweetheart of American figure skating falls for the bad boy of Russian figure skating, it puts her quest for Olympic gold on thin ice.

The Biggest Season of her Career…

America’s sweetheart Tabitha Turner is on track to win figure-skating gold in the Winter Games. Her family has sacrificed everything for her career, but the pressure is taking its toll. Burned out and living a lie, can the Golden Girl let off a little steam without melting the ice?

The Last Chance of His…

Russia’s bad boy of skating Daniil Andreev is determined to prove the toughest thing about him is his competitive fight. When Tabitha tempts him to help her take a secret walk on the wild side, he gives her a taste of the freedom she craves, never expecting that one unforgettable night could turn into something more.

Two Hearts on Thin Ice…

Chicago, Vancouver, Paris… the international figure skating season unfolds. Tabitha and Daniil compete and fall in love, but as the pressure mounts in a make-or-break season, can they set aside their painful pasts and spiral into a shining future together… or will their dreams shatter like thin ice?

“Dirty Dancing meets Olympic figure skating in this sweet and sexy sports romance!”

Available for Pre-order, releases Oct. 2!

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074JCPX3B/ref=docs-os-doi_0

iTunes Books:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shining-through/id1267307249?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shining-through-elizabeth-harmon/1125546492?ean=9781537865041

Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/shining-through-6

Google Books

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Elizabeth_Harmon_Shining_Through?id=f1UvDwAAQBAJ

Enjoy an Excerpt from Shining Through!

She was queenly and poised, taller than the average skater, with the bearing of a ballerina. The one thing that didn’t fit with that picture was her hair.  It wasn’t the sleek blond curtain she’d worn on TV, but a riot of blond waves, more like a gypsy than an ice princess. Soft. Untamed. Touchable. And his fingers itched to do it.

“Will you be at the other competitions this weekend, or just the pairs?”

“Oh no,” he said. “I plan to watch as many as possible, and cheer on all my favorite skaters.”

“Katia Filipova?”

“Of course.” His gaze held hers. “And others.”

Her smile faded. “Viktor Domachev?”

“I suppose. Are you a fan?”

“Hardly. This morning he said something to Katia that seemed to upset her. I called him on it, and then he said something to me. It was in Russian, so I don’t know what it was.” She lifted one shoulder. “Who knows? Maybe he was complimenting my earrings.”

“Doubtful.” Daniil’s mood darkened as he imagined the ugly possibilities. “But whatever it was, I’ll make him damn sorry he didn’t keep his mouth shut.”

She softly drew in a breath. “No. Please don’t. I’d hate to see you in any more trouble.”

The fact that Domachev had acted like a douchebag wasn’t exactly a surprise, but her concern for Daniil’s well-being, was. Other women would have encouraged him to fight for their honor. But Tabitha was thinking of him. Though she couldn’t have known about the vow he’d made to stay out of trouble, she encouraging him to keep it. For her, he would.

He nodded. “Demochev’s an ass. No one likes him.” Well, almost no one. Bogdanov and the rest of the federation seemed quite enamored. Daniil began to skate in lazy circles beside Tabitha. He ought to be starting his warm-ups, but didn’t want this to end. “And he pads his dance belt.”

Her eyes widened with momentary shock, and then she laughed. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve shared a locker room with him enough times. You watch at tonight’s competition. See if you don’t notice an abnormally large package.”

“Oh my God. Are we really having this conversation?” Her gaze dropped from his face to below his waist and the curve of his tight black skating pants, apparently curious about what was inside his dance belt.

Daniil grinned. “No padding, all me. Covered in the flag of glorious Mother Russia.”

She let out a laugh, even as color rose in her cheeks. “Seriously? Your dance belt has the Russian flag on it?”

He liked the sound of her laugh, echoing in the deserted rink. He gave her a wink, did a quick spin, showing off a little. “Care to see?”

 

 

Website:

http://www.romancewriter-girl.com

Blog:

https://elizabethharmonauthor.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/elizabethharmonauthor?ref=hl

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/romanzwrter_grl

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23440537-elizabeth-harmon

BookBub

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-harmon

Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00RY9SY0S

 

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