I should have known I would end up here...
Give me a good book and I'm in heaven. Especially romance, mystery, mayhem, the fantastic and the fey. Give me a laptop and I'm writing any one of these, and not in any particular order.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Carolyn Arnold will be awarding a personalized paperback copy of Power Struggle to a randomly drawn winner (International Giveaway) via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The line between good and evil isn’t always clear…
Detective Madison Knight has risked her badge—and her life—in the pursuit of justice before, and she just might need to do so again. Two victims are found murdered and naked in the home of Steven Malone, who is the largest contributor to the Stiles PD. One victim is his wife. The other victim is a John Doe. This high-profile double homicide immediately pits Madison against her sergeant, who seems more intent on protecting the Malones’ reputation and retaining a benefactor than catching a killer.
Madison will need to pull on her tenacity and courage if she’s going to follow the evidence without prejudice. In the process, it becomes clear that finding justice isn’t always black and white, and often the shades in between tell the fullest story—and it’s not something she will forget anytime soon.
Read an Excerpt
“What’s up?” Madison asked her partner as she bunched up the empty wrapper and tossed it into a garbage bin. It bounced off the edge and then went in. Score: three points.
“Where have you been?” Terry’s face was flushed, his nostrils slightly flared, his eyes wide, his chest heaving. Even for looking unhinged, every one of his blond hairs lay perfectly in place. She, on the other hand, resembled a blond cockatoo most of the time.
“I’m waiting,” Terry pressed. He was certainly in a mood this morning, and he was coming across as if he were the senior detective. He was three years her junior. “I tried calling you five times, left two messages. Why weren’t you answering your phone?”
Crap. She’d been so focused on chocolate she’d forgotten to turn her phone’s ringer back on. She rectified that and saw the missed calls. “I had an appointment.”
Terry pointed to her phone. “You had your ringer off?”
“I had an appointment,” she repeated while shifting her weight to her right hip and jutting out her chin.
“While you’ve been off doing whatever, we had a double homicide land in our lap.” Terry tapped the paper he was holding, and it sank in that it was likely a search warrant. “Quite a high-profile case at that,” he added.
He already had her attention with “double homicide.” As a city of about half a million, Stiles saw its share of murders, but rarely were two bodies found together at the same time. “I’m listening.”
“A man and a woman. Don’t have an ID for him, but she’s Lorene Malone.”
About the Author: CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.
Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives in London, Ontario with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
Karyn Good will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Gone
(Aspen Lake Series Book 3)
by Karyn Good
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Romantic Suspense
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Ever
since a devastating family tragedy seventeen years ago, Grace Bighill has
struggled to keep her remaining family from falling apart. Then the discovery
of her mother’s body in the woods unearths a connection to a decades old murder
case, and Grace is dragged into a politician’s bitter bid for revenge.
Constable Mike
Davenport’s days in Aspen Lake are numbered. He’s ready to take his next step
up the career ladder somewhere a lot more cosmopolitan. He’s avoided any
emotional attachments, despite having fallen hard for a certain stubborn local.
But when a body turns up, Mike’s careful intentions collapse in the face of
Grace’s grief and her exhaustive efforts to care for her family.
A search for answers
leads Grace and Mike down a twisted path proving no one can escape their roots.
But someone might die trying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Constable Mike Davenport unwrapped a stick of gum and shoved
it in his mouth, hoping the burst of flavor would help him focus. He never lost
his temper. Rules and upholding them kept him grounded. But Mason Pearce’s
malicious tirade against Grace, and the inhabitants of Aspen Lake in general,
inched him closer to a line he refused to cross.
Summoning his limited supply of goodwill, Mike held up a
hand, warning Mason to stay put, and used the other one to hold back Scott
Walker. “Who started the fight?”
Blood dripped from a cut near Mason’s right eye and his Beer
O’clock t-shirt was shredded at the shoulder. He thrust a thick finger in
Grace’s direction. “It was that bitch’s fault. She’s fucking crazy, just like
that old man of hers.”
Mike’s carefully guarded objectivity packed its bags. “Keep
pushing. I’m more than happy to escort you to jail for the night.”
Chase stuffed his notebook and pen away. “Let’s all take a
breath.”
“Mace, let it go.” It was clear Carter was losing patience
with his burly friend. The other two men with them had already apologized and
offered to help pay for damages.
Mason ignored his friend’s advice, and his finger swung in
Scott’s direction. “And I want Walker charged with assault.”
Scott struggled to get around Mike. “Nobody gives a shit
what you want, asshole.”
Leaving Chase to deal with Mason, Mike braced a hand on
Scott’s chest and pushed him back. “Knock it off.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Karyn Good grew
up on the Canadian prairies and she’s still there loving every minute. She
writes romantic suspense featuring strong heroines and the men who love them.
In the pages of her books you’ll find danger, passion, and a winding path of
twists and turns that lead to forever.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down.
A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counselor, is caught up in the chase.
Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers gets there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture.
Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge?
Read an Excerpt
“Mr. Bodine, I’m Hamilton Fiske, deputy district attorney. I’ll be prosecuting this case.”
“Didn’t we meet last year at the meeting of the New Jersey Bar Association?” Bodine asked, as his daughter collected their papers and put them in their briefcase.
“Yes, I believe we did.”
“Thought so. I never forget a voice.”
That comment threw Fiske off-center for a moment. “I just wanted to, well, shake hands so to speak, before we come out fighting.”
“Is your hand out there in the air, waiting for mine? Cause if it is, you can put it back wherever you had it. I don’t shake hands these days. And while you’re at it, you can remove that smug smile off your face. I don’t have to see it, I can tell by your tone. You’ve already pissed me off, and this is just the arraignment. So I’m not exactly in a gentlemanly mood. And if you try to set up my client by having him mingle with the others, there’ll be hell to pay. Getting my drift, son?”
Fighting words for sure, but the word that provoked Fiske the most was the condescending “son,” just as Bodine had figured it would. “Is that a threat, Mr. Bodine?”
Emily tugged at her father’s arm with the covert message that he quit this repartee. He turned to leave, but not before saying, “No, Mr. Fiske, just a consequence.”
About the Author:
N. Lombardi Jr, the N for Nicholas, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian).
In 1997, while visiting Lao People’s Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.
Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotian culture, Buddhism etc.: http://plainofjars.net
His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya.
His latest novel, Justice Gone, was inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Emily will be awarding two prizes each containing ebooks Mist and Smoke, the first two books in the Smoky Blues series, to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
EXES AND OHS
The marriage was one of convenience. She had status and he had money. But… there was something there, and both of them felt it. After three years of him working long hours and her spending too much time at the Durango Street Theatre, Miguel Abonce and Vivienne Heiser called it quits. One year later, they are forced to work together to save or sell the theater. In the process they discover things they never knew about each other and they learn there’s more between them than burning up the sheets. They might really love each other after all.
Read an Excerpt
He should pull away. Instead, tightened his hold while he plundered her sweetness. They clung together for long moments, their moans the only sound in his ears. When he pulled back, he looked into her eyes, dimly lit by the streetlights and a waxing moon in the night sky. “Well,” he murmured softly as he took in her swollen lips and her glazed expression. “Was it as good as it used to be?”
His question seemed to snap her out of her trance. “Yep. Best empty, meaningless kiss I’ve ever had.” Her words were biting, but her expression screamed sad. She pulled back and he let her go, even though every muscle in his body was dying to hold onto her.
She got into the Beamer and in typical Vivienne fashion pulled out of the parking lot a little too fast. He watched her go, his fingers pressed to his lips. It stung more than he cared to admit that she thought what he craved was empty and meaningless.
It had never felt that way to him.
About the Author:
The author of over thirty romance novels, Emily Mims combined her writing career with a career in public education until leaving the classroom to write full time. The mother of two sons, she and her husband split their time between central Texas, eastern Tennessee, and Georgia visiting their kids and grandchildren. For relaxation Emily plays the piano, organ, dulcimer, and ukulele for two different performing groups, and even sings a little. She says, “I love to write romances because I believe in them. Romance happened to me and it can happen to any woman—if she’ll just let it.”
Jill Blake will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Author Interview with Jill Blake
1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?
As a teen, I cut my teeth on Johanna Lindsay—so of course I had
to try my hand at writing historical romance. That didn’t work out too well.
All that buttoning and unbuttoning…
Then I moved on to Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvis, Jennifer Crusie.
I started writing contemporary romance, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever
since.
Oh, Baby! addresses an issue
that is particularly close to my heart. Specifically, the difficulty of
achieving work-life balance.
Doctors
spend years in school and then in training before becoming full-fledged
attending physicians. During this time, we often work 80-120 hours a week,
sacrificing our personal lives and relationships in the process. In some
medical fields, this kind of brutal work schedule persists well beyond the
training period.
Oh, Baby! deals with the
consequences of this unforgiving lifestyle. The heroine, Lena Shapiro, is a
successful surgeon who suddenly realizes that she’s thirty-nine, single,
childless, and facing a very lonely future if she doesn’t do something drastic
to change her life. Assigned to mentor a visiting colleague, she finds herself
falling for the man instead. But Adam Sterling is all wrong for her: he’s too young, too arrogant, and too willing to push personal
and professional boundaries. And he’s leaving town in a few months to pursue a
job on the opposite coast.
This is a romance, so Lena and Adam
eventually get their happily-ever-after. But how they get there is a whole other story…
2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a first
born, middle or last child and how does this shape your view of the world?
First-born.
Like Lena, the heroine of Oh, Baby!
There’s
a scene in the book where she and the hero are discussing birth order, and this
part is definitely autobiographical:
“We each have our assigned roles,” Lena
said. “Doesn’t matter what else is going on, or how old you are. When it comes
to dealing with family, you keep slipping back into those roles, you know? I’m
the first-born. So…”
Adam nodded. “The classic overachiever.
Bossy, know-it-all—”
“Responsible,”
she said.
“Yep,” he grinned. “Definitely bossy.”
3. Where is your favorite place to
write?
In
bed. I have a laptop desk, plenty of pillows, and a gorgeous view.
4. How do you feel
about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains?
I’m
with William Faulkner and Stephen King on this. A good writer has to recognize
and eliminate whatever bits of writing don’t contribute to the overall work.
And the “darlings”—those bits you love the most—are often the ones that need to
go. I cut and paste them into a separate “outtakes” file for every book I
write, with the idea that maybe I’ll find use for these snippets elsewhere.
Someday. And if not, I could always submit one or two to the Bulwer Lytton Fiction Contest, which challenges writers to
come up with the most atrocious opening line for a hypothetical novel.
5. You are introduced to your favorite
author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them?
Nora Roberts. How do you do it, for so long, so consistently, and so well?
6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell
readers something about you that no one knows.
I love musicals. In fact, the only songs I
know all the lyrics to are from the various musicals I saw, heard, or
accompanied (on piano) during my misspent youth. Evita, The Sound of Music,
Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, Miss Saigon,
Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables. My kids probably have nightmares
from the “bedtime lullabies” I used to sing. (“Sing you fools, but you got it wrong.
Enjoy your prayers because you haven’t got long. Your queen is dead, your king
is through. She’s not coming back to you…”) Seriously, why would you want to
hear plain old lullabies when you could listen to that?
7. You are stranded on a deserted island
with only a back pack for company. What three items are in your survival pack?
military rations (food/water)
solar powered satellite phone
solar powered tablet with 2
things on it: Scrivener (so I can finally write uninterrupted!) and the
unabridged works of Shakespeare
8. If you could have one super power in your existence, what would it be? The ability to write smart, funny stories quickly, easily, flawlessly, on the first try.
9. Favorite snack? See’s chocolate.
10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit?
Before the days of GPS, my husband would always ask me: left or right? And then he’d promptly turn in the opposite direction. Because between my sense of orientation and my famously faulty memory (at least when it comes to geography), if I try to point you toward New Jersey, you’ll likely end up in Ohio. dpr
Oh, Baby!
by Jill Blake
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
BLURB:
Lena
Shapiro. Successful surgeon. Dutiful daughter. She sacrificed her personal life
to build her career and take care of her mother and sister. Now thirty-nine and
single, she watches her peers pairing off and having kids, and wonders if she
missed out on her own chance at happiness.
Assigned to mentor a
visiting colleague, Lena finds herself falling for the man instead. But Adam
Sterling is all wrong for her: he’s too young, too arrogant, and too willing to
push personal and professional boundaries. And he’s leaving L.A. for a job on
the opposite coast.
With the date of Adam’s
departure looming ever nearer, will Lena retreat to the safety of her familiar
solitary life, or will she take a chance on an uncertain future with the man
who might make her dreams come true?
(Please note: This is a
steamy contemporary romance that contains mature themes and explicit content,
meant for adults 18 and over. It is a stand-alone novel, with no cliff-hangers,
and a guaranteed HEA.)
“The thing about Westport,” Adam said, “is that no one
outside of Connecticut’s ever heard of it. And people from outside the U.S. are
like, Connecti-what? So in the end I usually say I’m from just outside New
York, because everyone knows New York, right?”
She paused, chopsticks halfway to her mouth. “I’ve never
actually been to New York.”
“You’re kidding,” he said. “Never?”
“We didn’t have the money growing up. And once there was
money, I didn’t have the time.”
“But…what about vacations?”
“Welcome to my world. It’s called private practice. You eat
what you kill—or rather, don’t kill.” She smiled and shrugged. “I’ve taken a
few weekends here and there. Santa Barbara, San Diego. Local stuff.”
If his brows climbed any higher, they’d disappear from his
face. “Damn,” he said. “We’ve got to broaden your horizons.”
Lena didn’t answer. Travel was something that other people
did. Classmates who didn’t need full scholarships to Harvard-Westlake, who
skied every winter in Aspen and Telluride, and split their summers between
Europe and Hawaii. College roommates who could spare a gap year to explore
Indonesia or climb Kilimanjaro.
In school, and later in residency, she’d promised herself:
someday she would see the world. Or at least some small portion of it beyond
California.
And now, here she was, a decade later, on the cusp of a
major life change that would make travel next to impossible.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A native of
Philadelphia, Jill Blake now lives in southern California with her husband and
three children. During the day, she works as a physician in a busy medical
practice. At night, once the charts are all done and the kids are asleep, Jill
writes steamy romances with smart heroines, sexy heroes, and guaranteed happy
endings.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC.
What’s better than a dashing duke? A dozen of them! In this case, a baker’s dozen–thirteen of your favorite historical romance authors have
come together to bring you more than a dozen tantalizing novellas, with one per month, for a year’s worth of never-before-released romances.
Duke in Winter by Alyssa Alexander
February – The Difference One Duke Makes by Elizabeth Essex
March – Discovering the Duke by Madeline Martin
April – The Duke and the April Flowers by Grace Burrowes
May – Love Letters from a Duke by Gina Conkle
June – Her Perfect Duke by Ella Quinn
July – How to Ditch a Duke by May McGoldrick
August – To Tempt A Highland Duke by Bronwen Evans
September – Duke in Search of a Duchess by Jennifer Ashley
October – Dear Duke by Anna Harrington
November – Must Love Duke by Heather Snow
December – The Mistletoe Duke by Sabrina York
January – Dueling with the Duke by Eileen Dreyer
Read an Excerpt
from Dueling with the Duke
by Eileen Dreyer
January
She had a face that was completely forgettable. At least that was the way Jamie had described her. A girl you might overlook if you weren’t careful, which Jamie had said would be a shame.
Jamie had been correct. If Adam had simply seen Jamie’s wife sitting at a desk, he would have walked right by. It was when she moved that she began to make an impression. She had a compelling grace, especially for a small woman. He would have expected her to, well, bounce like a small bird on a fence. She glided as if books rested on her head.
Of course, he thought almost smiling. A marquess’s daughter. She had undoubtedly balanced a goodly number of books on her head.
“How can I help you, Your Grace?” she asked, setting her glasses down on a table and rising to her feet. “I don’t believe we’ve met?”
“To my eternal regret,” he said, “we have not met before now. I should have begun at the beginning. I am Adam Marrick, Mrs. Grace. Jamie’s cousin.”
And there it was, he thought. The reason Jamie had fallen in love with Georgina Wyndham in the first place. That smile. Wide, bright, warm, all-encompassing, as if she embraced not just him but the world. Before he knew it, Adam was smiling back.
“He loved you very much,” he said.
Her eyes glittered with welling tears, but that smile held. “I know,” she whispered. “I loved him dearly. I am so very glad to finally meet you. He spoke of you as well, of course. You were quite his hero. Hussars, wasn’t it?”
“It was.”
She invited him to sit, where they enjoyed a bit of society over tea.
“Lully,” he blurted out, appalled at his own clumsiness. “I’m really here for her.”
His words were met with a rather stark silence. “Pardon?”
He nodded, setting down his saucer. “I am actually here to bring her some news.”
Again Georgie tilted her head. “Lully is four, Your Grace. What news could you have to give her?”
This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He should have believed Jamie from the start. Maybe his reaction to Georgie wouldn’t have knocked him so off-center.
“I need to take her to Scotland.”
“I beg your pardon?”
He tried briefly closing his eyes. “She is needed there.”
She was staring at him as if he’d begun to bark like a dog. “In Scotland.” Suddenly she was getting to her feet. “Are you feeling perfectly well, Your Grace?” she asked. “I can call for the local physician. He is old, but….”
He should have known this would be her reaction. “No,” he said, There was no avoiding it. He had to get to his feet as well. “No,” he said, grabbing his cane and hoisting himself up, his knee protesting like an unoiled hinge. “I am not ill. I was coming to see you anyway. I promise. Not only because I wanted to meet the woman who had stolen Jamie’s heart, but because I made a promise to him.”
“That is lovely.” Her voice didn’t sound like it. “But not to the point.”
He nodded and took another breath. “There is news,” he repeated. “Jamie’s mother has died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She neither sounded nor looked like she meant it. Having known Jamie’s mother well, he couldn’t really blame her. “If we could sit…”
Giving him a chagrined nod, she sat after him. “How can that concern us?” she asked. “Jamie’s family made certain we knew we were not welcome.”
“Well, since Jamie is…gone, it means that Lully has inherited. I need to take her with me to accept.”
Adam didn’t think you could see fire in the color green. He certainly could now.
“Inherited? Inherited what? Jamie was disowned.”
“You cannot disown a title, Mrs. Grace.”
“A what?”
“She is no longer simply a little girl,” he said as gently as he could. “She’s a duchess.”
She seemed to glide up to her feet, rising to her full height, which suddenly seemed not so insignificant. Following to his own feet, Adam wondered suddenly how anyone could possibly think she was forgettable. She was Boedica, Titania, Maeve. He had the oddest feeling she was looking down at him, instead of standing at his shoulder.
And then she closed the conversation.
“No.”
About the Author:
New York Times Bestselling, award-winning author Eileen Dreyer has published 40 novels and 10 short stories under her name and that of her evil twin, Kathleen Korbel in contemporary romance, paranormal romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, mystery and medical forensic suspense. A proud member of RWA’s Hall of FAME, she also has numerous awards from RT BookLovers and an Anthony nomination for mystery. She is now focusing on what she calls historic romantic adventure in her DRAKE’S RAKES series. A native of St. Louis, she still lives there with her family. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the limelight.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David Burnett will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Love or loot?
Erin must choose between the money of which she has long dreamed and the man who she has loved. Eight years ago, she chose “loot” when Chris, her former husband, competed for her hand against the god of money. Now, with a promotion within reach, she is poised to take her place among the elite of Wall Street. She will soon be working twenty-four-seven to reorganize a failing company, and she has been ordered to find someone to care for her children.
She has few options, and she reluctantly concludes she must beg Chris for help. She has not talked with Chris, written, texted, friended, private messaged, or tweeted Chris since leaving him, but if he will not keep their children for the summer, she will lose her promotion, and her dream of wealth will vanish.
Opposites had attracted when they had fallen in love. Erin remembers a Chris who was laid-back, satisfied, and, worst of all, unambitious. He seems not to have changed. He lives on a small island with no home mail delivery. He had been an author, but Erin can find nothing he has published since their split.
But Chris’s photo is the one personal item on Erin’s desk, and she still dreams of him when she sleeps. She fears if she asks Chris to care for their children for the summer, she will be drawn back into his world. She will choose Chris over money, “love over loot,” lose her drive to succeed and everything for which she has worked. Her promotion will be denied – and lightning will not strike a second time. How can she send their children to live with him without becoming entangled herself?
Read an Excerpt
Why was her former husband invading her dreams? They had parted ways eight years ago, had laid eyes on each other exactly once since then. They had nothing at all in common. He was a stranger to her now. If her unconscious was insisting she still cared one whit for Chris Stephens then her unconscious needed serious help, because it was distorting her thoughts, urges, and wishes totally beyond recognition.
Why were her father’s sermons echoing in her mind? She had renounced his religion long ago. Beyond that, why was what she was doing so very wrong? She didn’t sleep around. She’d used sex to obtain information, yes. She had gone to bed with men for a good time, as she had tonight, yes. But no one, neither she nor the men involved, had any illusions about love or caring. She didn’t destroy marriages. She didn’t break hearts. No one was hurt. She was more chaste than almost any unmarried woman she knew and more so than a third of those who had husbands.
Her eyes narrowed. Neither of those men would control her, and she knew one sure way to drive them out of her thoughts.
She retraced her steps and stood beside the bed. Their clothes lay discarded on the floor where Tim had tossed them several hours earlier. He lay on his back, asleep, a white sheet covering the lower half of his body, his breathing low and regular, the hint of a smile on his face.
Earlier, Tim had played the hunter, while she had been cast as his prey. Nothing wrong with that game, but if she wanted to control the men in her mind, she must also control the one in her bed.
She would change the rules.
Careful not to wake him, Erin sat on the bed beside Tim and placed her hand on his chest. It felt hard and sculpted, the chest of a body-builder. He had bragged he could lift her weight with a single hand and bench-press three hundred pounds.
With one finger, she traced the outline of his muscles, “pecs,” they were called, pectoral muscles, round, hard muscles that covered the upper part of his body.
Her hand crept lower, slipping across his flat stomach. As the muscles tightened under her touch, Tim’s eyes opened. He placed one hand on Erin’s right arm and raised his shoulders as if he wanted to sit.
Erin gently pushed him back onto the bed. A woman in charge. He would have at least one thing in common with the data analyst.
“I thought you were leaving,” he whispered.
“Just a bad dream. And I’m thinking that if my dreams are going to be bad, then I should find something better to do with my time.”
He smirked. “My thoughts, exactly.”
About the Author:
We recently moved to our new home near Charleston, South Carolina. Four of my books are set in Charleston, and I’ve always enjoyed the Carolina beaches. I now have the opportunity to walk on the beach almost every day and to photography the ocean, the sea birds, and the marshes that I love.
I love photography, and I have photographed subjects as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native American powwow. My wife and I have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During trips to Scotland, we visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen, and Kismul Castle on Barra, the home of my McNeil ancestors.
I went to school for much longer than I want to admit, and I have degrees in psychology and education. In an “earlier life” I was director of research for our state’s education department.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dianne Hartsock will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Alex is haunted by visions of the dying, but now it seems the ghosts he’s seeing are real as well.
In this sequel to ALEX and THE SHED, Alex wonders if he’s seeing ghosts. His friend Justin has bought the Fulton place, a beautiful old mansion on the edge of Oakton. But something’s wrong in the house. Alex has visions of a small boy, trapped in the basement, and a man at the top of the stairs who won’t let him leave.
And Logan Fulton has come to town, Helen Kramer’s cousin, a psychic medium who wants something from Helen, whatever the cost. He and Helen had spent time in the Fulton house as children and Alex suspects Logan has something to do with the spirits now awakening in the old mansion. But whether Logan is calling them forth or if something else is controlling them, Alex can’t be sure.
The child’s spirit calls to Alex, as do others trapped in the house. There is a dark entity holding them there, keeping the child forever in the basement, the others for his amusement. But Alex has never believed in ghosts, so what is really going on? As he strives to learn the boy’s secret, his friends are one by one pulled to the Fulton place and put in danger while Logan works against Alex, having an agenda of his own. Will Alex be able to solve the haunting of the old house, or will he and his friends be taken one by one, doomed to walk the dark hallways forever?
Read an Excerpt
Something tugged his coat sleeve. Startled, he looked down. Nothing. Goddammit.
“Either help me or get away from me,” he muttered, nerves pulled taut. He moved into the room and gasped as the light on the walls disappeared, the candle’s flame the only illumination. It flickered on the surface of the inkblack liquid in the basin, drawing his eye. Without thought, he crossed the room and crouched opposite Logan, but instead of looking into the bowl, he searched the slack continence across from him.
Logan kept his gaze focused on the bowl as if unaware of Christopher’s presence. He appeared pale, hollow-cheeked, haggard, a death mask, and Christopher sucked in a breath.
“Logan? Are you okay?”
No reaction. Logan remained frozen in place. A slow shiver traveled through Christopher. What did he see in those dark depths? The water stirred, radiated outward as if a breath had touched the surface. The candle’s flame flashed, light splintering through the liquid. Christopher bent closer to the bowl. Had something moved in there? He parted his lips on a hiss of dawning horror as eyes, dark as pitch, appeared, the image of a terrible face taking shape.
He pulled away, his limbs unaccountably heavy as he struggled to his feet, the terrible face breaking the surface, continuing upward, a dark figure climbing into the world. The room grew cold, ice forming where the creature stepped out onto the wooden floor. The air seemed sucked from the room. Unable to scream, Christopher stumbled back until he came up against the wall. The specter moved closer, and Christopher’s chest heaved, fear holding him immobile.
About the Author:
Dianne grew up in one of the older homes in the middle of Los Angeles, a place of hardwood floors and secret closets and back staircases. A house where ghosts lurk in the basement and the faces in the paintings watch you walk up the front stairs. Rooms where you keep the closet doors closed tight at night. It’s where her love of the mysterious and wonderful came from. Dianne is the author of paranormal/suspense, fantasy adventure, m/m romance, the occasional thriller, and anything else that comes to mind.
She now lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. Dianne says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee in her hands, which kindles her imagination.
Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Carol Kilgore will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The mysterious Mr. Ott is trying to intimidate Gracie Hofner into being his internal spy at The Bastion Group. She’s learned a lot about him through several sources, even using information provided by the pair of ghosts trying to save their granddaughter. But it isn’t enough. Mr. Ott is an expert in hiding his true identity.
Gracie isn’t as worried for herself as she is for her family, her friends, and her new tenant, Milo Porter. Her feelings for him have grown, but she can’t show them. Mr. Ott’s threats involve those she loves, and one friend has already been killed. Besides, she’s certain there is someone else in Milo’s life.
It takes Gracie and her growing support team to unmask Mr. Ott, but it’s what Gracie learns along the way that shows readers the wisdom of the advice Don’t Mess with Gracie.
This is the conclusion to The Amazing Gracie Trilogy—a story so big it takes three books to tell it. Gracie’s adventures begin with Jalapeno Cupcake Wench, continue with Bluebonnet Ballerina, and conclude here.
Read an Excerpt:
“I’m so glad we were down here, Milo.” Cameron blinked a few times, as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. “She could’ve been killed.”
“No. She would’ve protected her head.”
I tried. How did he know?
Milo still held her shoulders, and now his fingers were making tiny circles above her shoulder blades. “We saw you in here and were coming in so I could introduce the two of you.”
“Nice to meet you, Cameron.” Gracie nodded. “I’m bleeding? Where?”
Milo took her hands before she realized she was moving them toward her face. “It’s not bad. Let’s go inside. I’ll fix you up.”
Cameron followed them. “Milo was a corpsman in the Navy. He knows what he’s doing. When I sprained my ankle a few years ago, he took care of it.”
“I don’t usually meet people like this,” Gracie said.
“Yeah she does.” Milo still held her hands in one of his.
Gracie turned to make a face at him. The quick movement made the ground wobble. “Whoa. I’m a little dizzy.”
“That’s all right.” Milo put his free arm around her waist. “You won’t fall.”
How was this happening? She was always the one in control. The person in charge. Yet Milo had stepped up when she needed someone, and she didn’t mind. That was it—she didn’t mind. She always minded when she lost control of a situation. Maybe I have a concussion.
Milo held onto her and led her out of the garage. He glanced at her car. “I like your new Jeep.”
About the Author:
Carol Kilgore is the award-winning author of the three books in The Amazing Gracie Trilogy: Jalapeno Cupcake Wench, Bluebonnet Ballerina, and Don’t Mess with Gracie.
In addition, she is the author of In Name Only, Solomon’s Compass, and Secrets of Honor, three standalone romantic suspense novels set along the Texas Gulf Coast.
She and her husband live in San Antonio, the setting for the Amazing Gracie books, with two quirky herding dogs who still require help opening the food bin and the door.
You can learn more about Carol by visiting her website and subscribing to her newsletter or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Carol Kilgore will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The mysterious Mr. Ott is trying to intimidate Gracie Hofner into being his internal spy at The Bastion Group. She’s learned a lot about him through several sources, even using information provided by the pair of ghosts trying to save their granddaughter. But it isn’t enough. Mr. Ott is an expert in hiding his true identity.
Gracie isn’t as worried for herself as she is for her family, her friends, and her new tenant, Milo Porter. Her feelings for him have grown, but she can’t show them. Mr. Ott’s threats involve those she loves, and one friend has already been killed. Besides, she’s certain there is someone else in Milo’s life.
It takes Gracie and her growing support team to unmask Mr. Ott, but it’s what Gracie learns along the way that shows readers the wisdom of the advice Don’t Mess with Gracie.
This is the conclusion to The Amazing Gracie Trilogy—a story so big it takes three books to tell it. Gracie’s adventures begin with Jalapeno Cupcake Wench, continue with Bluebonnet Ballerina, and conclude here.
Read an Excerpt:
“I’m so glad we were down here, Milo.” Cameron blinked a few times, as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. “She could’ve been killed.”
“No. She would’ve protected her head.”
I tried. How did he know?
Milo still held her shoulders, and now his fingers were making tiny circles above her shoulder blades. “We saw you in here and were coming in so I could introduce the two of you.”
“Nice to meet you, Cameron.” Gracie nodded. “I’m bleeding? Where?”
Milo took her hands before she realized she was moving them toward her face. “It’s not bad. Let’s go inside. I’ll fix you up.”
Cameron followed them. “Milo was a corpsman in the Navy. He knows what he’s doing. When I sprained my ankle a few years ago, he took care of it.”
“I don’t usually meet people like this,” Gracie said.
“Yeah she does.” Milo still held her hands in one of his.
Gracie turned to make a face at him. The quick movement made the ground wobble. “Whoa. I’m a little dizzy.”
“That’s all right.” Milo put his free arm around her waist. “You won’t fall.”
How was this happening? She was always the one in control. The person in charge. Yet Milo had stepped up when she needed someone, and she didn’t mind. That was it—she didn’t mind. She always minded when she lost control of a situation. Maybe I have a concussion.
Milo held onto her and led her out of the garage. He glanced at her car. “I like your new Jeep.”
About the Author:
Carol Kilgore is the award-winning author of the three books in The Amazing Gracie Trilogy: Jalapeno Cupcake Wench, Bluebonnet Ballerina, and Don’t Mess with Gracie.
In addition, she is the author of In Name Only, Solomon’s Compass, and Secrets of Honor, three standalone romantic suspense novels set along the Texas Gulf Coast.
She and her husband live in San Antonio, the setting for the Amazing Gracie books, with two quirky herding dogs who still require help opening the food bin and the door.
You can learn more about Carol by visiting her website and subscribing to her newsletter or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
