Friday, January 29, 2016

Release Blitz & #Giveaway for Just This Once by Cee Smith

JustThisOnce_Blitz

Welcome to my stop on the Release Blitz, presented by IndieSage Promotions, for Just This Once by Cee Smith.  Please leave a comment or question for Cee to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!

Cover
Just This Once
by Cee Smith
Publication Date: January 29, 2015

Purchase: Amazon


About the book:

Blaire didn’t know much about one-night stands, but she knew how they’re supposed to go. A night where inhibitions are thrown out, no names, no attachments, and in the morning you both go your separate ways, never to speak again. At least that’s what was supposed to happen. 

Mother nature had other plans.

She established boundaries: No details, no more sex. But Joel was never much for following the rules. With a body built for sex and an appetite to match, one night with him would never be enough. Torn between the case that could make her legal career and a man who thinks of clothes as optional, how long could she stick to the rules?



About the Author

Cee Smith is a lover of the written word. Since first learning how to string a sentence together, she’s been putting pen to paper and hasn’t looked back. Though she’s no longer obsessed with blood and gore, the dark side still calls to her, often finding refuge in her current writings. Her addiction to reading is what finally inspired her to take a chance at publishing. A California native, currently residing in North Carolina with her husband. She loves salacious stories, true love and forbidden romances—the more angst the better. Other than reading and writing, some of her other obsessions are peanut butter (don’t get her started), Michael Fassbender, and watching TV. She loves talking about the creative process and what books she’s reading, so feel free to shoot her a line. Or if you just want to say hi that’s fine too. She swears she’ll respond.



IndieSageBlogger

Book Blast for Destroyed by the Bad Boy by Madison Collilns


 Welcome to my stop on the Book Blast, presented by Tasty Book Tours, for Destroyed by the Bad Boy by Madison Collins.  Please leave a comment or question for Madison to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. 


DESTROYED BY THE BAD BOY
Madison Collins
Releasing on January 29, 2016
Self-Published


This book contains two complete erotic romance novellas with no cliffhangers.

Stranded ...

On the way to our parents wedding in the mountains, the mother of all snow storms attacks, leaving me stranded in a remote cabin with my new stepbrother.

My hot as hell, I-need-to-change-my-panties because-they’re-soaked, cocky asshole of a stepbrother, Bentley McAllister.

The kicker of it all?

The only items he's packed are liquor and condoms, and he’s looking at me like he wants to put both to good use.

My name is Sierra, and my libido can only take so much.

Send help!


Caged ...

Two brothers...
One girl...

Rising stars in the cage fighting circuit, Cage and Tripp Garrett are as close as two brothers can be. Fiercely competitive and smoldering with intensity, neither has ever lost a fight. Until they face their toughest opponent yet: Lily.

They both want her. But neither can have her. Lily is as off-limits as they come. They make a pact that the tough-as-nails daughter of their trainer will never come between them.

Until one of them begins to fall in love. Then all is fair in love and war.

Caged is a sexy, fast-paced love story with a punch.

Warning: Contains adult language and sexual content.

BUY NOW
AMAZON



*Adult Language Teaser from Stranded with my Stepbrother

“Listen, princess.” I lift her chin toward mine, meeting this gorgeous big blue eyes.  “I’m not sure if you noticed, but we’re stranded together in the middle of fucking nowhere, with only each other to count on.  You can fight me all you want, but there’s one thing you need to understand.  I’m going to protect you.  I’m going to take care of you.  And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m six-foot-four, and probably have a hundred pounds on you.  My body is going to produce a lot more heat than yours.  Now calm the fuck down, and let me get you warm.  Got it, sweetheart?”  Her fighting stops immediately.

She nods, coyly, blinking those baby blues at me, all of her anger disappearing.  “Got it.” Her voice is small, and I suddenly feel like a dick.

“Good. Glad we’re on the same page.” I tug her body closer so we’re pressed tightly together, and I hold her to my chest, wrapping her in my arms. A contented little sigh escapes her lips. The top of her head doesn’t even reach my chin. She packs a lot of sass for such a small thing.  I inhale, and breathe in the scent of her shampoo. The smell of vanilla and lavender fill my nose.  Damn, who knew that combination could be so perfect?  It’s intoxicating and I can feel my body slowly start to react to the smell and the images my mind starts to produce.  The way her slight curves mold to my body serves to warm me up pretty damn quick.

After several moments, we’re both warmer. “There.  Is that better?” I ask, releasing my hold on her before I sport an awkward boner. A few deep breaths are in order; otherwise things are going to get real weird, real fast.




Madison Collins is the author of romantic short stories such as Caged, Stranded with My Stepbrother and the upcoming Monster Prick. She enjoys the occasional stiff cocktail, and watching romantic comedies. Most days you can find her curled up with a good book. She currently resides in New Jersey.


Book Beginnings & Friday 56 - #17


Book Beginnings on Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Every Friday we share the first sentence (or so) of the book we’re currently reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.


My Book Beginning:  

Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, Book 3) by Faith Hunter. 
I rolled over, taking most of the covers with me as I stretched.  I felt like a big satisfied cat – well fed, well-loved and nearly purring with contentment. 
My Thoughts:  I can just picture this in my mind and it makes me wonder what has made a “vampire” hunter so happy. 

What do you think?  Don't forget to leave your book beginning below and to link-up at Rose City Reader.  





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


Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda’s Voice on every Friday.

To Play along here are the Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your post below. 
*Don’t forget to add your post URL (not your blog url) at Freda’s Voice.  
*It's that simple.

My 56 (Also from Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter ): 
   Anger scoring the sides of my mind, I dialed Rick’s number, I was shunted to directly to voice mail and hung up without leaving a message.  He knew my number.  He’d call if he wanted to. Madder than I’d been in a long time, I left the house, hopped on Bitsa, tearing out the of the Quarter and to the firing range where I blew off a head of steam, shooting my way through three boxes of shells and shredding four man-shaped targets before I quit, one target for each man I was mad at: Bruiser, Leo, Gee and Rick.

My Thoughts: Well, if I was one of those men….I’d avoid her for at least half a day and let her get her temper under control.  Or I would make sure to show up groveling and bearing gifts!

What do you think? Don’t forget to leave your 56 below and to link up at Freda’s Voice 



About Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, Book 3) by Faith Hunter

Things are heating up in the Big Easy.

Weres have announced their existence to the world, and revived the bitter tensions that run between them and their old enemies: vampires.


As a trusted employee of Leo Pellissier, Blood Master of the City, Jane finds herself caught in the cross fire. When Jane is attacked by a pack of marauding werewolves, she is thankful for the help of a mysterious stranger named Girrard. He explains that he used to be Leo's 'Mercy Blade,' a sacred position charged with killing vampires who have gone insane. What Jane doesn't know is why this powerful assassin left New Orleans--or, more troubling, why he's now returned. It's definitely not to make Jane's life easier... 





Don't forget to post your meme's and link up at both host locations.  

Have a great Friday! 
Maria

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Virtual Tour & #Giveaway for Maybe Tomorrow by Erin Cawood

Maybe Tomorrow
By Erin Cawood
Forgive or Forget, Book 1

Publisher:  Booktrope  
Release Date:  November 16, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance

Length: 162 Pages

Welcome to the FORGIVE OR FORGET series, a compelling contemporary women's fiction love story and family saga series. Cawood's love inspired medical romance series follows the close-knit McGowan siblings; Keon, Kiera, Cormack, and Cara, as they face the difficult choice between forgiving or forgetting true love after a broken heart.

Does a heart ever really heal from its first break? 

On an unseasonably hot night in late September, Dr. Keon McGowan is called away from a family gathering to a hospital emergency. Amongst his patients that night is a blast from his past he'd rather forget. He'll certainly never forgive butterfly hunter Darcia Davenport for leaving him alone as a single dad while she chased butterflies through the Amazon rainforest.

Coming face to face with the woman who broke his heart after all this time, Keon realises that he has never fully healed from it. But any chance of finding closure is ripped away when Darcy chooses to end treatment and live her final weeks without regret. Can Keon let her go? Or will he fight for the tomorrow they might never have?

MAYBE TOMORROW is an emotional journey of love caught between fate and destiny, and Keon is forced to choose between his head and his heart, his wants and his responsibilities, forgiving Darcy or forgetting all about her, and between a second chance family or an ill-fated heartbreak romance.





EXCERPT


Wednesday, 25th September 2014, 11:45 PM

Vibrations shot across Dr. Keon McGowan’s hip as he placed a sterile gauze pad against the head of the frightened teenager sitting in cubicle nine. “I think there’s more blood than damage,” he reassured the youngster with a warm smile. Although the fifteen-year-old would need stitches, he’d been lucky on all accounts. Keon looked up at the boy’s parents and continued. “I’d still like a couple of scans. It's routine with head injuries, and it's likely the on-call neurologist will want to keep him overnight for observation just to be on the safe side.”

Keon gave them a nod as he removed his latex gloves, tossed them in the medical waste bin, and washed his hands. He didn’t want to cut their time short, but as the head of London’s largest trauma centre, Keon was acutely aware there were too many patients still awaiting first assessments, and there wasn’t a single cubicle free in the accident and emergency treatment area. He fielded calls between treating patients, unable to move more than ten feet without someone calling his name. It was all in a day’s work, except today, things were more hectic than usual, due to a massive traffic accident involving almost 200 people less than three hours ago.

“I’ll arrange for a porter to come as soon as possible,” Keon promised the parents of the fifteen-year-old at the end of the consultation. “But I’m sure you can appreciate they’re stacked out at the moment, as is the imaging department. I’m sorry it’s going to be a bit of a wait.”

They nodded, and Keon swiftly left the cubicle as his mobile vibrated against his hip again. Quickly, he glanced at the name on the screen. He wouldn’t normally take a personal call in the middle of a crisis like this, but this caller resided on the other side of the world. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but I can’t talk now.”

“Oh, hello, Sarah. How are you? I’m fine, Keon, thank you for asking.” Her sarcasm was not missed, but he was just too busy to acknowledge it. “But I thought I’d make this really important phone call to remind you the doctors at Mount Cook are still waiting for your call.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got seventy-three people who were in an RTA three hours ago. I can’t talk about this now.” He didn’t mean to be short, but the board had too many patients for his liking, and his staff grew weary. He didn’t need Sarah on his back right now. He returned to the nurses’ station. “Heather? Can you arrange for the patient in cubicle nine to have a CT scan and page neurology, please?”

He handed the patient file to the junior doctor as Sarah snapped, “Why haven't you confirmed your meeting yet? You’re still coming on Tuesday, aren’t you? Both of you? It’s just, I know what you’re like, Keon, and I can’t wait to see Lily. She’s getting so big.”

“Yes, we’re still coming on Tuesday,” he promised. The whole reason for the trip to New Zealand when the school year had only just started was because he and Lily were looking to move out there come the New Year. “I’m sorry, but it’s beyond frantic in here!” He shouldn’t have answered the call, but the time difference and his long, hectic shifts made catching Sarah just about impossible. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Sarah,” he reassured her.

“You said that yesterday,” she reminded him. “You know,” she began, and he braced for whatever lecture his ex-wife was about to give. “Sometimes, you have to put the rest of the world on hold for a little while, and do what’s right for you and Lily. There are thousands of doctors capable of setting up a minor injuries clinic here in New Zealand, but they're waiting for you. Do you want this opportunity or not?”

What kind of question was that? Of course he wanted it. When he had quit his family’s practice twelve years ago, Keon had never dreamed he would one day want to go back to being a general practitioner. But the challenge of setting up a new clinic, combined with the idea of working regular hours every day and being home in time to eat dinner with Lily every night, now called to him more than he’d ever thought possible.

His ex-wife couldn’t have said it better if she’d lectured him about putting his job before Lily. The all-too-familiar blackness of guilt swamped Keon’s stomach. It was so hard to manage a career as a single parent; there were days when he went without seeing Lily at all. New Zealand was the answer. He was sure of it. He could have the challenging career he craved, and be with Lily like a normal parent. And the fact that Sarah was there would be a bonus. Although she wasn’t Lily’s biological mother, she was the only mother Lily had ever known, and her new family had embraced Lily like a sibling.

“You know I do, Sarah.” He sighed.

“Then you need to . . .” she started, but her words were drowned out by a voice calling his name from across the Accident & Emergency department. Keon spun around. Men in familiar green-and-yellow uniforms were wheeling a gurney through the doors, towards the resuscitation bay.

The driver of the car? She was alive? Impossible. It had been trapped beneath a toppled, double-decker bus for hours. His feet began to move. “Sarah, I have to go.” Picking up his pace, he headed through doors at the opposite end of the waiting room.

“You have to ring and confirm the meeting before Friday,” she reminded him.
His attention was no longer on Sarah but with the familiar, dark hair and pale skin that had haunted his dreams for years.

“Unidentified female driver,” one of the paramedics began. “Approximate age: mid- to late-thirties. Lacerations to the head, neck, and shoulder. Swelling in the abdominal region. Neurologically responsive but unconscious since emergency teams arrived on scene.”

Keon whispered a name he prayed he'd never say again. He noticed a sickly yellow hue had overwhelmed her otherwise ivory skin. He doubted anyone else would notice it at first glance. Or a second. But Keon saw it. He saw it, because he'd spent ten years looking at the same pale complexion in the daughter she’d walked away from.


“Darcy?” The phone slipped from his fingers, clattering against the floor, but he didn’t care. Darcy? It's not possible.


Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | iBooks





Author Bio

Erin Cawood is a commercial women's fiction author, with a taste for dramatic storylines and a passion for strong lead characters she really gets behind, cheering on right to the very end of their story. Her focus? Taking romance into the darker, edgier side of contemporary fiction.

Get 2 free books when you sign up to Erin Cawood's newsletter



Links


Enter Erin’s Kindle Giveaway Contest  here




Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, hosted by CLP Blog Tours, for Maybe Tomorrow by Erin Cawood.  Please leave a comment or question for Erin to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her Kindle giveaway by following the link above in her bio and you may also enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  I will be posting a review of Erin’s book before the end of next week. 


Giveaway – Good Luck!


 Tour Schedule
January 25 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review. Q&A & Excerpt
January 25 – Wendi Nunnery – Review
January 26 – Change the Word – Q&A
January 27 – Chick Lit Plus – Excerpt
January 28 – Queen of All She Reads – Excerpt
January 29 – Authors and Readers Book Corner – Excerpt
February 1 – BR Maycock’s Book Blog – Review & Q&A
February 1 – Bookabie  - Review, Q&A & Excerpt

Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for Average Joe and the Extraordinaires by Belart Wright

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Average Joe and the Extraordinaires by Belart Wright.  Please leave a comment or question for Belart to let him know you stopped by. You may enter his tour wide giveaway, where one (1) randomly chosen commenter will be awarded a $10 Amazon/BN GC, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.

Guest Post by Belart Wright

Hello glorious readers!  My name is Belart Wright, author of Average Joe and the Extraordinaires.  AJE is proudly self-published and is my very first published novel.  I have been self-publishing for a year now and it has been a wondrous yet arduous journey.  Today I’ll be talking about the biggest influences to my writing as well as what I wish to accomplish in 2016.

The biggest influences to my writing is the same as most others.  I have been fortunate enough to devour some really good and horribly bad T.V. shows, books, videogames, comics, manga, and movies.  I have grasped what is good and what is bad in all these forms of art and entertainment and it has given me certain tastes that permeate into my writing.  I now know what I like and what I don’t like when it comes to storytelling. 
My list of favorite authors fall heavily on the “like” side of my tastes.  J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter series has been a huge influence growing up.  George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire has been a huge influence these last seven or so years.  Amy Hennig has been influencing me with her dark vampiric fantasy Legacy of Kain series of videogames since I got into them in the early 2000s.  Then we have Bruce Timm with his Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited.  And last but not least, Yoshihiro Togashi with his superb Yu Yu Hakusho shonen manga and most recently his Hunter x Hunter series which was adapted into a near flawless anime by Madhouse Inc.  Each of these creators has created stories with clever narratives filled with imagination and well written characters.  Beyond even that, these creators have created worlds for their characters to reside in that feel very real and complex.  That well rounded approach to storytelling is something I strive for in each of my projects.

I have some pretty lofty plans for 2016.  I want to write more books, starting this year.  I’ve freed up some more time for myself by quitting my weekend job.  The extra cash was helpful, but only having one day to myself that usually got interrupted anyway was really slowing me down.  Now having the weekend to myself will give me ample opportunity to write at a much quicker pace.  Besides that, I have plans to release two Average Joe books this year.  One is a prequel to Average Joe and the Extraordinaires called Liandra and the Dream Reader.  That should be a fun read for everyone and a slight change of pace from Average Joe.  The other book, Average Joe and the Beauty, is the direct sequel to Average Joe and the Extraordinaires.  Liandra and the Dream Reader should be out before summer as a free web serial should things proceed as planned.  Average Joe and the Beauty should be out in eBook and paperback form at the end of 2016.  Besides that I am working on a new LitRPG series called Hell’s Glitch: An Escape From Adventure.  That series is a darker adventure than AJE and is available on Wattpad in rough form with new chapters every week.  My hopes for the year are to spark more interest in these projects and get more feedback from more readers.

I’d like to thank Queen of All She Reads for hosting me and having such interesting topics for me to delve into.  I’d also like to thank the Queen’s most gracious readers.  Such support is vastly appreciated.

Average Joe and the Extraordinaires
By Belart Wright
Average Joe, Book 1

Publisher:  BWright Publishing
Release Date: December 14, 2014
Genre: YA Action & Adventure
Format: eBook/Print
Length: 347 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-0986367519
ASIN:  B00R7EMRXA

Buy Link:  Amazon
*Book is $.99 during Tour



About the book:


On a dark and balmy Floridian night, a strange and mysterious dark haired woman stalks the shadows of the local college football stadium, on the prowl for secrets buried deep beneath the Earth. These secrets, she knows, may change everything including this small town.

While knocking back illegal drinks with his friends at the hallowed Orangetown Pickers' college football stadium, average kid Joe Black finds himself desperately trying to save the life of a beautiful dark haired woman after a deadly explosion violently interrupts his fun and games. While trying to fathom why he would even do something so reckless he soon finds himself entangled in a dangerous game of terrorist plots, mistaken identities, hard boiled detectives, the criminal underworld, and of all things magic as he tries to escape with his life and make sense of it all.

Joe faces many challenges from all new enemies, assassins, and even his own friends. Can Joe navigate all this danger, escape with his life, and handle his biggest challenge to date, finding something about himself that is truly extraordinary? Find out within the pages of Average Joe and the Extraordinaires.


EXCERPT

She rode off, down the street on her motorbike that was now a sky blue color to match the highlights in her hair, her ponytail, and her full face helmet.  As she drove, she thought of her next move.  She had a long list of places she wanted to visit, mostly associated with Grabas and the secrets he held beneath the stadium.  But now her focus was on getting Joe out of trouble.  She needed to figure out who has gunning for him...or better yet, she had to convince the man who hired this assassin to call off his killer.  That man was definitely Robert Grabas.

 AUTHOR Bio and Link:

Belart Wright was born and raised in Detroit Michigan with a short but adventurous stint in St. Ignace during his childhood. Always poor, Belart had to learn to use his imagination to fuel the fun he had. Whether it was drawing cool and dangerous looking heroes to creating fully fledged storylines with his action figures to writing stories about kids similar to himself with fantastic abilities and destinies, Belart was always an expert in delving into other worlds that were not his own.

Always naturally talented at writing, it took the advice of his brother, and a little creative boost from his high school creative writing teacher to get him to realize that writing was something he could do really well and pursue as a career. To this day he revels in building worlds and characters from the ground up such as the worlds of Hell Warriors, Story of K, Cyborgs and Deadmen, and Pannam which are all working titles.

In his spare time Belart tries to update his two blogs whenever he can, but mostly just ends up writing or editing. As a huge gamer he plays a lot of games online and off with his favorites at the time being Borderlands 2, Phantasy Star Online, X-Men Legends, and Dark Souls. He just wishes he had more time to whittle his impossibly long gaming list down which goes all the way back to PS1 and Sega Genesis classics. He and his buddies at FlubberKnuckle Studios are also working on several new game IPs. He is also patiently waiting for the next installment of the superb Legacy of Kain series.

Author Website:




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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Jump Cut Pre-Order & #Giveaway


SPECIAL OFFER: If you pre-order Jump Cut for 99¢ (the Kobo price WILL go down before you are charged)  and send your proof of purchase to pre-order@libbyhellmann.com, Libby will send you the 1st, award-winning Ellie Foreman novel, An Eye For Murder, absolutely FREE! All she asks in return is that you share a few pre-written tweets and FB posts which she will send you in a week or so. But act NOW — this offer ends soon.  Pre-order from the retailer of your choice:





Spotlight & #Giveaway for A Gentleman's Game by Theresa Romain


Spotlight for A Gentleman’s Game by
Theresa Romain


Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Tour, presented by Sourcebooks, for A Gentleman’s Game by Theresa Romain.  Please leave a comment or question for Theresa to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter the giveaway, sponsored by Sourcebooks, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.



A Gentleman’s Game
By Theresa Romain
Romance of the Turf, Book 1
Publish Date: February 2, 2016
ISBN: 9781492613718

In the First Book of Romance of the Turf, a refreshing new Regency series from rising star Theresa Romain, a mystery demanding to be solved brings unlikely allies together in more ways than one...

How far will a man go

Talented but troubled, the Chandler family seems cursed by bad luck—and so Nathaniel Chandler has learned to trade on his charm. He can broker a deal with anyone from a turf-mad English noble to an Irish horse breeder. But Nathaniel’s skills are tested when his stable of trained Thoroughbreds become suspiciously ill just before the Epsom Derby, and he begins to suspect his father’s new secretary is not as innocent as she seems.

To win a woman’s secretive heart?

Nathaniel would be very surprised if he knew why Rosalind Agate was really helping his family in their quest for a Derby victory. But for the sake of both their livelihoods, Rosalind and Nathaniel must set aside their suspicions. As Derby Day draws near, her wit and his charm make for a successful investigative team…and light the fires of growing desire. But Rosalind’s life is built on secrets and Nathaniel’s on charisma, and neither defense will serve them once they lose their hearts…

Historical romance author Theresa Romain pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. She then worked for universities and libraries, where she got to read even more. Eventually she started writing, too. She lives with her family in the Midwest.

Excerpt from A Gentleman’s Game © Theresa Romain


When the farmer had led his chestnut away again, Nathaniel dangled the medal before Rosalind’s face. “Look there, Rosalind Agate. I’ve finally won a medal, and I didn’t even have to tidy myself up for a meal.”

“Or arise early.” At the end of its white ribbon, the medal turned in a slow breeze. It was a small circle of some silver metal, maybe tin, buffed to shine and catch the eye.

“It’s pretty,” she said. “I’m glad he gave it to you. He wouldn’t have won without your help at the right moment.”

“Oh—well.” He shrugged this off, then stuffed the medal into the pocket of his waistcoat, from which the ribbon poked out alongside his fob. “This is a pleasant village, isn’t it? If home felt like this, I mightn’t be so eager to take to the road.”

“And how does it feel to you?” She couldn’t seem to stop asking questions. Her tidy control was packed away. Today she was a woman who danced, and who owned a ribbon so green it would bring a man to his knees.

The thought made her smile as she blinked up at Nathaniel. His eyes were blue, as blue as the Suffolk sky in springtime. She had learned the shade of their brightness.

Slowly, he smiled. “It feels,” he said, “like the sort of place where a man might kiss a woman with a crown of red flowers in her hair.”

Her heart thudded a bit faster; her knees went watery. “It does feel that way,” she whispered. “To me too.”

He tipped up her chin, his hand strong yet gentle along the line of her jaw. “Thank God for that.” And there in the shadow of a building once devoured by flame, he lowered his lips to hers.

*          *          *

Once their lips met, Nathaniel could not imagine how he had waited so long to kiss her.

Oh, there were reasons on reasons not to. She was his father’s secretary, and he had some sort of business arrangement with her about…something…

Honestly, who cared about the reasons why not? There were even more reasons why this was right.

The soft, almost hesitant curve of her mouth before he covered it with his own.
The surprised inhale that smoothed into a hmmm of pleasure.

The sweet-spiced taste of her as her lips parted, letting them fit together more deeply with his. As the tip of his tongue brushed hers, setting them both to shivering, he tasted the candied almonds. He tasted the heat of her and breathed in her scent. She was flowers and laughter and all the joys of a muddled morning. Of a race won. A medal for doing what was right.

Her hands wound around his neck, nails trailing lightly through his short-cropped hair. He could have groaned at the feeling, gentle and intimate, and he bent to wrap her more closely within his embrace. His hand trailed from her face to her shoulder to her back to fit her close to him. To press against her, solid and smiling and crimson-crowned and lovely.

She made another little hmm, and he went tense as a bowstring at the erotic sound. He laced his fingers into her plaited hair beneath its wreath of blooms. Feeling the shape of her head through her sleek hair was intimate. He almost felt as though he were holding her thoughts. Could he tell what was on her mind? How could he understand her, a woman so eager for sweetness but who had never yet claimed it?

 Theresa Romain’s Road Trip Tip: If you get ahead of schedule, why not stop for a break? My hero and heroine, Nathaniel and Rosalind, spent the morning at a village fete—but in a modern-day pinch, coffee and pastry at a Starbucks will do.

Buy Links:  Amazon | Apple | BAM | B&N | Chapters | Kobo



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Series Blitz & #Giveaway for A Deadly Truth, A Burning Truth and A Wicked Truth by Joyce Proell


Welcome to my stop on the Series Blitz, hosted by Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours, for A Deadly Truth, A Burning Truth and A Wicked Truth, the A Cady Delafield Mystery series, by Joyce Proell.  Please leave a comment or question for Joyce to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. 


Historical Romantic Mystery
Date Published: 5/25/2015

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When Doyle Flanagan finds two strangers in his library—one dead and the other the beautiful but meddlesome Cady Delafield, his life begins to unravel as all clues point to him for the murder. As the sexual tension sizzles and Victorian conventions crumble, Cady risks job, reputation and family ties to help him clear his name. But even as his life hangs in the balance, his passion for her drives him on, but will the truth about him be the one thing to scare her away?







Historical Romantic Mystery
Date Published: 5/25/2015

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In 1881, the air in Chicago is rife with worker discontent, yet business titan Doyle Flanagan is hopeful for the future. He looks forward to a lifetime of peaceful bliss with Cady Delafield and leaving the wretched past behind. But his life is once again thrown into disarray when his office is vandalized and the night watchman viciously murdered. Clues lead to a powerful organized labor movement. Targeted in the press as anti-labor and with a big rally staged next door to his offices, Doyle must uncover the culprits before his wedding plans and his livelihood go up in smoke.

Plagued by memories of four brutal deaths, school director Cady Delafield is determined to drive the recent tragedies from her mind and enjoy being courted.  Although his commanding personality threatens to overshadow her, Doyle Flanagan is the most dynamic man she’s ever met. When another tragedy unfolds placing him at the center, she takes action—action that could shatter her future dreams.




Historical Romantic Mystery
Date Published: 9/27/2015

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The wedding date is set, and life is magical for Doyle Flanagan and Cady Delafield. Honor bound to repay an old debt, Doyle agrees to help an old friend find her sister. As he searches for the girl, painful memories surface, stunning Cady when she discovers facts about Doyle’s hidden past.

In spite of incredible odds, Cady and Doyle’s love has flourished. But in the midst of a life threatening accident, murder, and Doyle’s secrets, their wedding date and happiness are in jeopardy. Mired in tragedy, can they overcome the turmoil with a fateful decision that changes their future forever?








About the Author

Joyce grew up in Minnesota and attended college and grad school in Chicago. After working in mental health, she retired at a young age to write full-time. Her first book, Eliza, was published in 2012. The Cady Delafield mystery series followed next with A Deadly Truth, A Burning Truth and the last, A Wicked Truth published in September, 2015. When she isn’t writing mysteries or historical romances, she loves to swim, walk and is a crossword puzzle fanatic. She and her husband live in Florida and Minnesota, in her very own little house on the prairie.

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Giveaway

One ebook each of: A Deadly Truth, A Burning Truth and A Wicked Truth