Fast Lust by Lucy Felthouse – Spotlight

September 19, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Lucy Felthouse as she celebrates the release of Fast Lust.


When a straitlaced journalist and a fearless motorcycle racer are thrown into an interview together, will they find any common ground? Or are they destined to clash?

Gloria Heath loves her job as a lifestyle journalist. She also loves the perks—free meals, complimentary spa treatments, behind-the-scenes access and more. So when her boss sends her on an assignment to the British Superbikes tournament at Donington Park, she’s less than impressed. Sports are definitely not her thing, and her brief is to find a rider with an interesting back story and write about their journey. But how is she supposed to do that when she really doesn’t care one way or the other?

When she experiences the atmosphere and the racing, however, she starts to see the attraction. Soon after, she finds the perfect case study for her article. Rafe Donovan is fearless, ambitious, and the underdog of the tournament. He’s also drop dead gorgeous. She eagerly sets out to interview him, but soon discovers the bad boy biker is a tough nut to crack. The more she asks questions, the more he shuts down. Throw some chemistry into the mix and things go from bad to worse. Can she get the material she needs, or is her first foray into sports writing doomed to fail?

Note: Fast Lust was previously published in the British Bad Boys Boxed Set.

 

Enjoy an Excerpt

Gloria Heath gaped at her boss, Graeme, unsure if she’d heard him correctly. No, no, she couldn’t have heard him correctly, because she thought he’d said he wanted her to go and cover the first round of the British Superbikes at Donington Park. She shook her head and chuckled. He must have said The Great British Bake Off. That sounded similar, didn’t it?

Graeme frowned. “Something funny, Gloria?”

She snapped her focus back to her editor and smiled. “Sorry. I must be going deaf, or mad, because I thought you said you wanted me to cover some motorbike race.”

His expression was stony. “I did,” he replied coolly. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Blinking, she opened her mouth, then closed it again. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “But I’m a lifestyle reporter. I cover—”

“I’m well aware of what you cover, Gloria. I’ve been your boss for three years—don’t you think I’m familiar with what you write by now?” He sighed. “I know it’s not your usual thing, and is way out of your comfort zone, but don’t you think a change would be nice? A bit of a challenge for you?”

Gulping, she replied, “A ch-challenge? Graeme… did I do something wrong?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s an article, Gloria, not a bloody punishment. No, you didn’t do anything wrong. Your work is exemplary—always has been, and I’m sure it always will be. But I have one of the sports writers off sick, with no one else available to take his place, and not covering the first round of the British Superbikes is tantamount to blasphemy for our motorsport readers.”

A feeling of dread settled in her stomach, making her nauseous. “Do I… have a choice?”

Graeme raised his eyebrows. “I’m an editor, not a dictator. But come on, Gloria, do me a favour here. Like I said, there’s no one else to take his place—you’re the only one with time in your schedule. If I’m not mistaken, the stuff you’re currently working on isn’t time-sensitive. Sunday’s race, however, is.” He leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk, then flashed her a smile. “We’ll even put you up in a nice hotel, right near to the track. One little article, Gloria. You’ll be saving my life. Please.”

Gloria knew when she was beaten. Graeme wouldn’t force her, she knew that, but it was clearly very important to him. And he’d never asked her to do something like this before—he was generally very laid back, and let her get on with writing pretty much whatever she wanted to. So one article out of her comfort zone—albeit way out of her comfort zone—was the least she could do. “All right,” she said resignedly. “I’ll do it, for you. But you have to give me a full briefing on what exactly you’re looking for. The last thing I want is to end up writing something where I’ve taken completely the wrong angle.

“And,” she added, “where the hell is Donington Park, anyway?”

Graeme’s expression turned despairing. “In the Midlands, Gloria. Near Derby and Nottingham. North of Watford Gap.”

“Bloody hell, that’s miles away! Have I got to drive? I’ll need a pool car.”

“Drive, get the train, hell, you can even fly. The circuit’s next door to a bloody airport. I don’t care, as long as you go, all right?”

She folded her arms. “The train will be fine. Though a first class ticket wouldn’t go amiss.”

Graeme rolled his eyes. “Done.”

“And about the briefing…”

“Of course! I wouldn’t send you in there unprepared. Right, you go and carry on with whatever you were doing while I get all the arrangements sorted. Come and see me when you get here tomorrow morning, and we’ll go through everything you need to know.” She nodded and stood up, then turned to leave. “Oh, and Gloria?” She turned back. “Thank you. I really do appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, boss. Just don’t make a habit of it, all right?” She winked to show she was joking.

Grinning, he waved a hand at her. “Go on, get out. I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

About the Author: Lucy Felthouse is the award-winning author of erotic romance novels Stately Pleasures (named in the top 5 of Cliterati.co.uk’s 100 Modern Erotic Classics That You’ve Never Heard Of, and an Amazon bestseller), Eyes Wide Open (winner of the Love Romances Café’s Best Ménage Book 2015 award, and an Amazon bestseller), The Persecution of the Wolves and Hiding in Plain Sight. Including novels, short stories and novellas, she has over 160 publications to her name. She owns Erotica For All, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more about her writing at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk, or on Twitter or Facebook. Sign up for automatic updates on Amazon or BookBub. Subscribe to her newsletter and get a free eBook: http://www.subscribepage.com/lfnewsletter

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Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Guest Blogs

Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa – Spotlight

September 19, 2017 By 1 Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Mia Sosa who is celebrating today’s release of Acting on Impulse, the first book in her new flirty, multicultural romance series, Love on Cue.

After a very public breakup with a media-hungry politician, fitness trainer Tori Alvarez escapes to Aruba for rest, relaxation, and copious amounts of sex on the beach—the cocktail, that is. She vows to keep her vacation a man-free zone but when a cute guy is seated next to her on the plane, Tori can’t resist a little harmless flirting.

Hollywood heartthrob Carter Stone underwent a dramatic physical transformation for his latest role and it’s clear his stunning seat mate doesn’t recognize the man beneath the shaggy beard and extra lean frame. Now Carter needs help rebuilding his buff physique and Tori is perfect for the job. It doesn’t hurt that she makes his pulse pound in more ways than one.

Sparks are flying, until a pesky paparazzo reveals Carter’s identity. Tori is hurt and pissed. She wants nothing to do with another man in the limelight, but she’s still got to whip him into shape. Can Carter convince Tori he’s worth the threat to her privacy that comes with dating a famous actor, or will Tori chisel him down to nothing before he even gets the chance?

About the Author:Mia Sosa is an award-winning contemporary romance writer and 2015 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® Finalist. Her books have received praise and recognition from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Library Journal, The Washington Post, Book Riot, Bustle, and more.

A former First Amendment and media lawyer, Mia practiced for more than a decade before trading her suits for loungewear (okay, okay, they’re sweatpants). Now she strives to write fun and flirty stories about imperfect characters finding their perfect match.

Mia lives in Maryland with her husband, their two daughters, and an adorable puppy that finally sleeps through the night.

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The Diplomat’s Daughter by Karin Tanabe – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 18, 2017 By 12 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Karin Tanabe will be awarding a $15 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.

Author Karin Tanabe’s Japanese father was three years old when the firebombing of Tokyo and Yokohama occurred in May of 1945—his very first memory was seeing his city on fire and hearing the cries of babies on the shore, where they had been carried for safety. While many Americans associate World War II with a parent or grandparent who fought bravely in Europe, Karin’s understanding of the war started with her father being attacked by American bombs.

These memories, as well as those of a family friend whose own wife and family were interned in a war relocation center, and additional friends who were born in captivity, piqued Karin’s curiosity, and spurred her to write a love story born out of one of the most unlikely places: a mixed-race internment camp. THE DIPLOMAT’S DAUGHTER is a captivating and informed tale of three young people divided by the horrors of World War II and their journey back to one another.

Enjoy an Excerpt

A week later, Helene started to feel the baby kick. Christian was walking back from his second day at the German school when he saw his mother approaching. She had a smile on her face that belied her dismal surroundings. Christian had planned to tell her how his German abilities did not extend to writing essays in the language, but when he saw her happiness, he decided to delay the bad news. Within just a few days of his arrival, he’d learned why he couldn’t attend the American school. The elected spokesman for their side of the camp was intensely pro-German and anyone who sent their children to the American-style Federal School was deemed a traitor. There were whispers that one family’s food had been withheld for several days because their daughter, who spoke no German, enrolled there.

“Put your hand here,” Helene said when she’d reached Christian. She placed his right hand on the top of her stomach. She was wearing the dress that was given to women when they arrived, and Christian thought it made her look plain and homespun, definitely more Mrs. Tomato Soup than Mrs. Country Club.

They waited a few minutes, but nothing happened. Christian started to fidget, and his mother laughed at him. “Do you have somewhere to be? Wait to feel the baby.”

So they waited. Mothers walked by them and smiled, teenagers coming out of school slowed down and whispered, and finally, when Christian was about to pull his hand away, embarrassed, the baby kicked.

“I felt it!” he said, pressing his hand harder against his mother’s belly.

“I told you it would be worth the wait,” said Helene, her voice full of delight.

Christian thought of the tiny body inside his mother bursting with life. He imagined the growing organs, the heartbeat, the developing brain and he felt sorry for it. He wished it could be born far from loaded guns and barbed wire. At least it would have love, he thought, looking at his mother’s joyful face.

Helene kissed her son’s hand and walked off, letting him catch up to the other boys who were making their way from the school to the German mess hall, where they worked prepping the next day’s milk delivery. Internees in the camp woke up to a bottle of fresh milk on their stoop every day, one of the measures that the camp’s warden took to show that he was going well beyond the laws of the Geneva Convention.

The camp, it was whispered among the internees, was one President Roosevelt took great pride in, and the guards didn’t want any suicides or fence jumpers to ruin his vision. “They want happy prisoners,” his father had told him. “So just remember, it could be much worse.”

For Christian, sharing seven hundred square feet with another family and sleeping on floors with scorpions did not make for a happy prisoner. The view of miles of barbed-wire fencing him in did not help, either. The orphanage had changed him—he felt it in his newfound patience. Even gentleness. The way he felt toward Inge, had guarded her on the train, he was sure the old Christian would not have been as kind. But it didn’t mean he was elated about his circumstances.

Then there was the camp’s segregation. In two days, Christian had learned how bad it was. Though he had seen the large group of Japanese internees when he came in, invisible lines kept them apart inside. The Germans and Japanese, despite being allies in the war, occupied separate sections of the camp, ate in separate facilities, worked different jobs, and played different sports. The only places where they mixed were the hospital—as illness never discriminated—and the swimming pool. The few Italians were sprinkled among the Germans, but they kept to themselves, too.

About the Author:Karin Tanabe is the author of The Gilded Years, The Price of Inheritance, and The List. A former Politico reporter, her writing has also appeared in the Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, and The Washington Post. She has made frequent appearances as a celebrity and politics expert on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and The CBS Early Show. A graduate of Vassar College, Karin lives in Washington, DC.

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Laura’s Interview by Marisol Fuentes – Guest Blog and Giveaway

September 18, 2017 By 14 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
K.T. Castle will award paperback copies of The Bridesmaid’s Checklist Series and a $10 Amazon GC (US/Mexico only) to one randomly selected commenter and digital copies of The Bridesmaid’s Checklist Series and a $10 Amazon GC (international) to a second randomly selected commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Laura’s interview
by Marisol Fuentes

Marisol: Hello, everyone.
In today’s interview we have Laura Lowell from The Bridesmaid’s Checklist: Laura’s Wedding

Laura: Just to be clear, now my name is Laura Lowell-Holmes. Thank you.

Marisol: Oh, sure, Laura. Sorry about that. We’re glad you agreed to come today and have an interview. Let me tell you first that you look gorgeous. Marriage definitely looks good on you. How is married life for you and Edward so far?

Laura: Everything is going wonderfully. Edward is a great husband and newlywed life is awesome. Thanks for asking. (Is that what you wanted to hear? Let’s cut to the chase and give me some real questions.)

Marisol: (We’ll get to those, Laura. Be patient. First we need to warm up the crowds.)

Laura: (Whatever, Sol. Just, let’s finish this. Denise will arrive for lunch soon and I don’t want her to wait, you know she needs to get back to work.)

Marisol: (rolling eyes and exhaling) So, Laura, your wedding was such a wonderful event. Michael and I sure had lots of fun in beautiful Bora Bora.

Laura: (I’m sure you did. Michael and you surely enjoyed your suite.)

Marisol: (clears her throat) Was your wedding everything you expected?

Laura: My wedding was an epic event (for many different reasons, but I promised Kassie no spoilers). It will surely be talked about for a while within our circle of friends and the newspapers.

Marisol: It sure will (but not for the reasons you think, Laura). So, please tell the audience. Who helped you orchestrate such a wonderful night.

Laura: (Oh, please!) I’m so lucky to have a wonderful group of friends who supported me during wedding preparations. Kassandra Hope, my best friend, was a key element to make all the magic happen (as Denise did, but no one wants to hear about it. And BTW, I also had a wedding planner that was Kassie’s connection with the event venue.)

Marisol: (Enough, Laura. You’re the one who wants to keep this short) Kassandra sure is a sweet girl, we’re all lucky to call her our friend. But everyone wonders, Laura, if she was such a key element in planning your wedding, why were you so mean to her?

Laura: (Really, Sol. Everyone just wants to know why I’m such a bitch and you cannot say it in so many words?)

Marisol: (I can’t call you a bitch on a interview. It wouldn’t be polite. And yes, everyone wants to know why you went all Bridezilla during your wedding.)

Laura: (Fine) Now that I can see it from another perspective and think with a clearer head, I believe it was all of the nervousness and pent-up emotions that surface during this kind of events. There’s a lot of pressure around the bride, as most women know, and sadly they got the best of me. (Not to mention finding out that my BFF had slept with my fiancé before I could call him that and hid it from me until the last possible moment.)

Marisol: (You know exactly why she couldn’t tell you!) I can sure understand how tension and emotions can get the best of you. I can certainly remember how edgy I was during my wedding, (even if it was totally different from yours.)

Laura: (Oh, honey. I didn’t sleep with Michael before you married him. Although if I remember clearly we had some other issues to deal during your wedding.) You had a lovely wedding as well, Marisol. San Miguel Allende is a beautiful place to visit and we had a wonderful time during your wedding. (It was actually the worst wedding of my life, but that’s another story.)

Marisol: (It sure is another story, and Kassie already published it for the world to know.)

Laura: (Oh, kill me please.)

Marisol: (Come on, let’s concentrate and finish this.) For anyone that has read the blurb of the book, you know that “the whole event kicks off with the worst kind of surprise when Kassandra discovers who her friend’s fiancé really is.” That’s a hard pill to swallow, I imagine. Was is something easy to overcome? The relationship that your then fiancé and Kassie once had?

Laura: It’s never easy to know about your man’s past. But the past in inevitable, we all have it. (It would have been easier if I found out the moment I thought I was “introducing” them.) I can’t exactly blame them for having a relationship when they were both away in college, we all do silly things in college. (Right, Natalie?)

Natalie: (Don’t you drag me into your interview. I’m getting ready for lunch and would very much appreciate if you leave my husband and me out it.)

Laura: (You do know that Kassie will publish your wedding’s book next, don’t you? You should expect some attention after it does. You met your gray fox in college, and that’s going to be all out in the open soon enough). But as best friends always do, Kassandra and I found a way to settle everything and we now are in the best possible place.

Marisol: (snorted) That’s good to hear. There’s nothing better than knowing good friends found a way to patch up their differences. Was it easy, though? To letting go of the fact that your best friend once had a relationship with your fiancé?

Denise: (Easy? Are you kidding me? Nothing is ever easy with Laura. We all know that.)

Laura: (You shut up, D! No one invited you to my interview.)

Denise: (So you can drag Nat but I can’t contribute? How rude!)

Laura: (Just go to the kitchen and help little angel Natalie with our meal. You don’t have much time before you need to go back to work.)

Natalie: (Come on, Denise. Let’s start eating. Sol and Laura can join us when they’re over.)

Marisol: (We’ll wrap it up and join you. And, where is Kassandra? what is she doing?)

Denise: (I believe the question is: “Who” is she doing?)

Natalie: (Stop it girls! I’ll give her a call to see if she’s coming… or if she’s “busy.” You guys finish already and let’s eat something.)

Laura: So as I was saying, when there’s love between friends, anything can be settled.

Marisol: It sure can. One last question before we go have lunch─ehm─I mean, before we finish. Now that the wedding is over, and since Kassandra is the last single girl, what are your hopes for her?

Laura: I always hope that she finds her way to happiness. Regardless of what shape it has, if it’s through her career, through her friends, or through a man; I wish her nothing but the best. Always. I love her dearly, (and that, bitches, is nothing but the truth!)

Marisol: I completely agree. Thank you, Laura, for taking time out of your busy schedule for this interview (even if the only thing you do all day is look at yourself in the mirror.) And to everyone out there, thank you for joining us today. If you want to learn more about Laura and Kassie, please take a look at their story in The Bridesmaid’s Checklist: Laura’s Wedding. You’re in for a different kind of wedding romance.

Laura: And if you want to hear what happens next, make sure to read Marisol’s Wedding. Where Kassie will tell you everything you need to know about Sol and her wedding.

Marisol: (That was unnecessary!)

Laura: (It wasn’t!)

Denise: (Just cut it out and come have lunch!)

Natalie: (Kassie isn’t coming today, she’s held at home by….)

Marisol: Please take a look at The Bridesmaid’s Series and get to know all of Kassie’s friends. Until next time.

Kassandra is a single, independent woman who prides herself on her own success. But when she’s asked by her best friend Laura to be the Maid of Honor in her wedding, Kassandra finds herself questioning her lifestyle. Helping Laura plan the wedding is no problem—she’s done it before for all their other friends. The first time was a blast, the second super fun, but doing it without receiving any help from the rest of the girls gets old really fast.

The whole event kicks off with the worst kind of surprise when Kassandra discovers who her friend’s fiancé really is, and she’s torn between supporting Laura’s future happiness and hiding the deeply buried, intimate past she shares with the groom-to-be. Struggling to be the bigger person and do all the hard work on her own, Kassandra finds surprising comfort in Josh, the best man in the wedding and someone she’s been avoiding for years. He’s charming, thoughtful, handsome, and the worst kind of womanizer, but she just can’t seem to stay away. All the while, Kassandra can’t help wondering if the wedding could be any more cliché—until she finds unexpected ways to change things up a bit.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. I’d heard that saying more than once now. And I was about to hear it once again.

“Kassie! Kassie, wake up! I’m getting married,” a high-pitched voice squealed at me at 3:00 a.m.

Who the hell is this? I had picked up the phone without even looking at the caller ID. Oh, Laura. Great.

“Kassandra, are you listening? I’m engaged!” Laura screamed from the other side of the phone.

“Yeah, wow,” I said. “Congratulations.”

“I can’t believe you, Kassie. You should be more excited. You’ll get to be my bridesmaid!” The volume of her voice kept rising.

“I’m happy for you, Laura.” I really didn’t know at the moment how I felt. I was trying to look around to see exactly where I was. “Believe me. It’s just…it’s three o’clock, and I was sleeping.”

After looking at my surroundings, I remembered I was in my own house. I had a minor headache, probably from all the drinking the night before, and my body ached a bit. I looked beside me and found the reason for my hurt.

Next to me I found the silhouette of a beautiful man. The memories of the few hours before my abrupt awakening came back at me:

A bar. A blond. My home. Some sex…in that order.

“I know it’s late, but I had to give you the good news.”

“And news it is.” She was the last of my best friends who was single; not so long ago we roamed all the bars in town together, looking for men to hook up with, and suddenly she was engaged.

About the Author: K.T. Castle is an author/artist on a quest to find the words, forms, and colors to materialize the worlds and people of her imagination. She never saw herself as an incurable romantic, but lately, that’s what she finds herself musing about. Love is found everywhere, regardless if it comes from a nice person, an ass — mundane or even vampire. When she’s not busy with work, in front of a computer placing many thoughts in order, she makes her best to be creative or relax with a good book and a snack. Some of her favorite characters are Sookie, Rule and Shaw, Bella, Edward, Clary, Jace, Wrath, Hollywood, Blaire, Woods, Ethan, the Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel.

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The Bridesmaid’s Checklist is on sale for only $0.99.
The Bridesmaid’s Checklist Series
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Dark Genius by H. Peter Alesso – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 15, 2017 By 7 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $25 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.

To the insatiably curious—science is the greatest adventure. So, when scientists at CERN announced the discovery of the ‘God’ particle in 2012, all the world wondered, “How did they find it?”

A decade later, despite his past academic failures and egregious family circumstance, Andrew Lawrence embarked on a journey of discovery, competing against rival scientists to be the first to solve the greatest unsolved mystery of the universe—dark matter—and win the ultimate prize; the Nobel.

Emma Franklin, a PhD candidate at Harvard, developed software for detecting particle reactions using a quantum computer. To the amazement and excitement of the scientific community, her work revealed two possible bumps in the energy curve that were not predicted by any established theory.

At MIT, Lawrence created a model that predicted the scattering processes of a dark matter supersymmetry particle. Though his early work was disparaged, he improved his theory and found that it predicted the data Emma had discovered. Their professional collaboration deepened into a personal relationship, but when critical data was stolen, Emma found evidence that incriminated Lawrence. Though she withheld the impeaching material from the authorities, she felt she could no longer trust him.

Despite their troubled partnership, and notwithstanding the complexities of nature, Lawrence and Emma persevered against the egos, jealousy, and envy of rivals, on their exhilarating quest to find the ‘Holy Grail’ of physics

Enjoy an Excerpt

I thought all was lost—now I have a second chance.

With a profound sense of relief, Andrew Lawrence slide his tablet into his shoulder holster and walked briskly along the Boston sidewalk. His past academic failures and egregious family circumstances were behind him. He was ready for a fresh start.

Tall, slender, and dark-haired, he listened to the clicking and clacking of shuffling shoes on the pavement as students jostled alongside him. The hint of autumn from the cool morning air brought a frenzy of activity to the sprawling campuses of both MIT and Harvard which nurtured a flourishing rivalry among their ambitious students. He could feel the undercurrent of tension for the start of the fall term.

By the time he crossed Longfellow Bridge, his adrenaline was pumping. He noticed several eight-man sculls already rowing down the Charles River, their school colors plainly visible. Squinting his eyes against the glare, he could make out the MIT and Harvard boats vying for the lead, stroke by stroke.

Striding across the rambling campus, his lips concealed a secret smile as he contemplated a revolutionary solution to a problem he had been daydreaming about. When he swung around a corner, he ran smack-dab into a young woman. Her armload of books, papers, and assorted technology flew into the air and scattered across the walkway.

“Sor . . . sorry.”

“You should be,” the woman said, her face screwed into a tight scowl. “Your head was in the clouds.”

Lawrence opened his mouth, but before he could speak, she pointed down and said, “See what you’ve done?”

She stooped and frantically tried to corral her absconding belongings.

“Let me help,” said Lawrence, grasping some loose papers about to blow away.

Spying her tablet on the grass, she exclaimed, “Oh no! All my work.”

Carefully, she picked up the device and turned it on, tapping her fingers impatiently until the screen lit up. She heaved a sigh and looked Lawrence directly in the eyes. “You’re lucky. Sooo . . . lucky.”

Lawrence mumbled another apology and helped her pick up the last few books.

As she struggled to reorganize her treasures, Lawrence brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes and for the first time cast an appraising glance at the young woman.

She was attractive.

It wasn’t that she was a striking beauty—though her smooth white skin, olive green eyes, and classic profile complemented the hazelnut hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Nor was her carriage especially eye-catching, though she displayed an appealing youthful vitality. No, what seemed most appealing was her confident determined poise, as if she possessed a special hidden talent.

“You really should use a backpack.”

“The lining ripped,” she retorted.

Seeing the logos on her tablet’s screen, Lawrence asked, “Harvard? Math?”

“I can tell by your tone that you’re MIT,” she said, her eyes flashing.

Lawrence grinned, “Physics.” As an afterthought, he asked, “What are you doing on this campus?”

“Well, Mr. Physics, that’s none of your concern.”

Something in the way she said it, caused him to laugh.

They faced each other in a stand-off for a long moment—saying nothing.

Then the young woman heaved a sigh, gathered her possessions to her chest, and brushed past him.

Lawrence watched her figure disappear into the crowd.

Damn. I didn’t get her name.

As he turned to leave, something shiny on the ground caught his eye. It was a flash drive.

Picking it up, he spun around and called, “Wait!”

But she was gone.

He looked at the memory stick, thinking . . .

I’ll have to crack her password, if I’m going to see her again.

About the Author: As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations, and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of ten books.

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Filed Under: Guest Blogs, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , ,

Grinders Corner by Ferris H. Craig and Charlene Keel – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 15, 2017 By 1 Comment


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ferris H. Craig & Charlene Keel will be awarding two winners, a free copy of Grinders Corner (print or ebook). (U.S. only for print, International for ebook) to two randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Grinders Corner explores the world of taxi dance halls in the 1960s in all its raw hilarity. Saucy, sassy and sexy, but not the least bit erotic, it follows the adventures of three young women trying to survive in the glitter palaces of Los Angeles.

Like lambs led to the slaughter, Uptown, a newly divorced English major with panic anxiety disorder and no job skills, Voluptua, an out of work actress, and Mouse, a former child star trying to make a comeback all struggle to make enough tickets to pay the bills. Things get complicated when Uptown falls in love with a customer who happens to be a priest.

In Grinders Corner it was a simpler time, long before gentlemen’s clubs and pole dancers, and it happened in a place where shy, lonely men could talk to women, even dance with them, with no fear of rejection—for about fifteen cents a minute.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Downtown Los Angeles
Romanceland, 1969

The jukebox was playing Close To You. The lights were low and romantic, the red candles on the intimate little tables for two flickered seductively, and the many-faceted, mirrored chandelier reflected tiny droplets of shivering, shimmering light onto the dance floor. His strong arms were about me, and he was lightly kissing my ear. Then he spoke in a throaty whisper.

“Hey, baby, you wanna make a quick twentyfive bucks? Let’s go to a motel.”

Oh God, I thought, as I looked at the clock. One more hour to go. I’m going to have to put up with this clown for sixty more minutes unless he runs out of money. Maybe I can get him to sit down and have a Coke. Then I won’t have to endure this tortuous ritual known as dancing. If we get a Coke, I’ll have to make conversation with him and that might be worse than dancing.

The only good thing about dancing is that I don’t have to talk to him. I only have to hear about the motel.

He was staring at me as if waiting for a reply, so I asked, “What did you say?”

Okay, that isn’t particularly original but it used up a couple of seconds. Then he had to repeat it all. That took a few more minutes.

I started to think maybe I could make it to the two o’clock finishing line, but I was wrong. He wasn’t slobbering on my ear anymore. Now it was my bare shoulder.

“Hey, I’m kind of thirsty,” I said. “Why don’t we sit down and have a Coke?”

“Baby, I don’t want a Coke.”

“Oh, hell,” I said as I deftly stepped out of his reach. “Let’s go to the desk so you can check out.”

He retorted with, “How about fifty bucks? I’ll buy you a steak besides.”

I smiled, thinking how delicious that can of beans at home was going to taste. “I’m sorry. I’m not in that line of business.”

“Whaddya wanna do—get married?” he yelled.

About the Authors: Ferris Craig is a professional dancer, choreographer, actor and writer. Her credits include The Dean Martin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Honeymooners, The Golden Girls and many TV commercials. In the 1970s she performed with The Hollywood Hoofers in Las Vegas, later establishing The Burbank Academy of Performing Arts where she taught dance and acting. More recently, she choreographed and performed for The Broadway Seniorettes, and with Recycled Teenagers (dancers over 50). Currently she lives in Southern California with her three delightful dogs.

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Charlene Keel has written over a dozen novels and how-to books. Shadow Train, the final installment of her YA supernatural trilogy, won a Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award, and The Congressman’s Wife (for Red Sky Presents) is getting rave reviews. Her new blended-genre novel, Lost Treasures of the Heart, was released in November, 2016.

Keel has also worked as editor for international magazines, including Playgirl, For the Brideand Black Elegance. She says the most fun she’s had as an editor (so far) was at Spice, a fanzine featuring rap, R&B, soul and gospel music. During her time there, she enjoyed going to parties for such notables as Puff Daddy, having lunch with Gloria Gaynor and attending a pasta dinner where Mariah Carey did the cooking.

Keel’s editorial assignments include The Health of Nations, a book on political philosophy, and That Nation Might Live, a moving tribute to Sarah Bush Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s stepmother. Her TV credits include Fantasy Island and Days of Our Lives, and her book, Rituals, was the basis for the first made-for-syndication soap opera. She also produced (for Romantic Times) the first annual Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant.

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Arrogant Bastard by Zara Cox – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 14, 2017 By Leave a Comment


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by the publisher to celebrate the recent release of Arrogant Bastard, the third book in Zara Cox’s Dark Desires series. Enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a copy of the book.

I’m known as the Black Widow because the desires I hide inside are pure poison.
I was a different person once. Faith, a young wife, hoping to become a mother. My life was pleasant. Stable. It was hell. Until Killian Knight opened my eyes to a world of espionage and intrigue. He saw something in me, something I was too afraid to acknowledge. I didn’t want to be excited by the danger. Didn’t want to crave the wicked passion only he could provide. But I did want, so now I run. And I pay.

I never meant to corrupt her, but I’m not sorry.
After all, I’m already damned.
After four years of searching and longing, I’ve finally found her. Faith, the one person in the world I breathe for. She lives beneath my skin as surely as I wear proof of our transgressions inked on my body. And like the forbidden fruit that doomed us from the beginning, our end is inevitable. We lived with no regret. We loved without inhibition. We betrayed those closest to us. We killed for that love. Now…we will burn in hell together.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Killian
Present Day

I’ve found her.

After four years and two months.

I stare at the screen, my blood pumping relief and shock and fury and joy through my veins. The cocktail of emotions paralyzes me for several minutes.

Then I force myself to analyze what I’m seeing.

Her hair is different. Longer. Darker. Pin-straight and rigid where soft, friendly waves used to be. The curve of her jaw captured by the camera lens also shows the difference. She’s leaner. Meaner. Even from this obscure angle, I can tell any trace of gentleness has been wiped clean. Eroded by sin and tragedy and horror. The change was probably inevitable, but I still don’t want to see the evidence.

To anyone else, the picture would seem ridiculously vague, the image nothing more than a blurred black-and-white pixelation of hair, chin, and shoulder.

It’s the reason my algorithm spat it out almost reluctantly, a last batch of possibilities in the dregs of to-be-discarded possibilities, and then dumped it in my supercomputer’s equivalent of a spam folder, the code scrolling impatiently as it waited my command to delete, delete, delete.

But I know it’s her. Despite the dark leather cap pulled low over her forehead. Despite the bulky jacket designed to hide her true shape. Her stealth speaks volumes. Besides, she’s in my blood, in my heartbeat. After so many years of dead ends and fruitless hoping, of agonizing disappointment and withering despair, this time I simply…know.

It’s her. The Widow.

My hand shakes as I hit the zoom-in key. My gut churns, and I feel a little sick as my ever-helpful brain cheerfully supplies me with all the ways she could’ve continued to elude me—if I’d turned away, for a second, to stare at one of the other three screens on my desk. If I’d trusted my supersmart computer and accepted the prompt to delete without reviewing this particular needle in my mountain of haystacks. If I hadn’t tweaked the code yet again last night to capture just such an obscure image.

Hell, if I’d blinked at the wrong time…I torture myself with infinite possibilities as I stare at that mesmerizing angle of chin and shoulder.

A chin I’ve trailed my treacherous fingers over many times in helpless wonder.

A shoulder I’ve rested my guilty but secretly unrepentant head on.

There’s so much more to her. And I treasured every single inch of her forbidden body, fucked her at every opportunity she granted me. Until she systematically erased herself from my life.

But why New York? And why now?

I know how good she is. Hell, she’s the best or she wouldn’t have eluded me for this long. The thought of another four years without her punches a cold fist through my gut. With it comes the certainty that I wouldn’t have survived those next four years without her. That I’ve been clinging on with the very last dregs of my endurance to make it this far.

But here she is…

The Widow.

I can’t see her eyes, but I don’t fool myself into thinking they’ll hold an ounce of softness. What we did changed us forever. And not for the better.

I lean back in my chair. Exhale slowly. Terrified of blinking in case she disappears from my screen. It doesn’t matter that I’ve copied and stored the longitude and latitude of her location in a dozen vaults on my server and memorized every single piece of data on the screen.

New York City. East Fifty-Third Street. CCTV camera. A one-in-a-billion shot.

Without taking my eyes off her, I reach for my phone and press the voice activation app. “Good evening, Mr. Knight.”

“Nala, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Killian?”

“You have yet to change my default settings, Mr. Knight.”

My lips twitch but a smile doesn’t quite form. My eyes water with the need to blink. But I resist. “I changed them last week. You reset them again, didn’t you?”

“I assure you, I’m quite incapable of doing that.”

“Yeah, right. Fine. Place a call for me. Pilot. Home.”

“Dialing pilot. Home,” the female AI obliges me.

Nelson Whittaker, my LA-based English pilot, picks up on the second ring. It’s three a.m. but he answers as if it’s normal working hours. Which it is, to be fair. Everything is normal for me in my line of work.

“Good morning, sir.”

“How soon can you get to the airport?” I snap.

“As soon as I put on my trousers and chuck a bucket of water over my son to wake him up,” he replies with a dark chuckle.

My fingers fly over the keyboard as I save her information in a few more electronic vaults. “Give William my apologies,” I say.

“No need. He’s been champing at the bit to take the new girl for another spin.” The new girl being the Bombardier Global 8000 I added to my collection of private jets last month.

“In that case, I expect to see you at Van Nuys within the hour.” At this time of the morning, traffic from their Santa Monica apartment should be light enough to get them there fast.

“We’ll be there.” He clears his throat. “I expect the paperwork regarding out-of-curfew flights—”

“Will be taken care of. I’ll text you the details but we won’t be straying far from the usual parameters.”
“Very good, sir. Destination?” he asks crisply.

My gaze tracks that chin. That shoulder. The hair. Four years’ worth of turbulent emotion threatens to rip free. My chest burns with it, but I contain it. “New York.”

About the Author: Zara Cox has been writing for almost twenty-five years but it wasn’t until nine years ago that she decided to share her love of writing sexy, gritty stories with anyone outside her close family (the over 18s anyway!). This series is Zara’s next step in her erotic romance-writing journey, and she would love to hear your thoughts.

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Billionaire Ever After featuring Victoria Pinder Arabpour and Tia Morris – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 13, 2017 By 8 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The authors will be awarding a $25 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.

Feel the sparks fly off the hot romance and action-driven pages of these EXCLUSIVE TITLES—unavailable separately in ebook format anywhere else!

From sweet to sensual, they’ll satisfy your most indulgent fantasies as you fall in love with an array of billionaire beaus in this contemporary romance collection by some of today’s hottest New York Times, USA Today, and International bestselling authors.

Quench your book-boyfriend addiction with page-turning stories overflowing with decadent luxury, heart-warming love, heated adventure, steamy scenes, and happily-ever-afters.

Featuring billionaires from bad boys to Marines and CEOs to cowboys, this set will take you around the country and jet-setting around the globe with intense, passionate men who always get what they want and fulfill the desires of the women they crave.

Relish each journey in this LIMITED-TIME collection PACKED with novels and novellas that will provide over one hundred hours of reading.

Grab your copy today before these hot billionaires fly off into the sunset!

Enjoy an Excerpt from Victoria Pinder Arabpour’s Tempting Harry

As the Christmas holiday approaches, Roxy’s determined to lay low and get through the holiday unscathed, but when she meets Harry, her plans suddenly change. Could their chance meeting lead them in a better direction or will their broken hearts and spirits prevent them from finding their happily-ever-after?

Excerpt:

Her face was hot. Chris had been supposed to come for Thanksgiving, but when they were about to make the trip up, he broke up with her and slept with another woman, all on the same day. Which was sadly fitting as he’d cheated on his fiancée, Calliope, when he met Roxy. Her mother would probably say publicly that she got what she deserved, if she was given another opportunity. She had already told her privately, on more than occasion. Roxy thought it herself. She hugged her stomach, then looked at her mother’s blue eyes and squared her shoulders. “If I go offer to get him a drink or something, you’ll leave me alone and not talk about either my looks or my love life?”

“Oh, very well. I’m sure you’ll like him.” Her mother pushed her slightly again, to tell her to move faster. She hated having to introduce herself to anyone. Someone else had introduced her to Chris, so the social awkwardness had been lessened when she met him. But she had no time to think about any of that now. She took a step forward, lightly tapped the man’s rather strong muscular arm, and did exactly what her mother had told her. “Hello, would you like a drink or something?” At that moment, the front door opened and everyone in the room grew silent. The attractive, so far unnamed man placed his hand on her shoulder. “Stand behind me.” Without another word, he blocked her view. She peeked around him and saw Gabe and her uncle Tom greet a dark-haired man. “Who is that?”

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Enjoy an Excerpt from Tia Morris’ Billionaire Puppy Love

A sexy, busy corporate CEO and billionaire hires an attractive woman as his live-in pet sitter when a basket of puppies is dumped at his corporate office by his zany aunt who wants him to settle down and find love.

Excerpt

This was a date, not a business meeting, and she’d taken the job as his pet sitter in hopes of being his PA. Well, they could spend time together, and she would keep things very professional. Friendly, but not romantic.

They stopped to admire the silvery light of the moon shining on the nearly flat ocean. Emma sighed and plopped onto the sand.

Max sat next to her. “I was going to be a gentleman and remove my jacket so you wouldn’t get your dress sandy. And then I remembered I didn’t wear a jacket.”

She gave him a shy smile. “I like you in these clothes better than a suit.”

He leaned close. “Look at that moon,” he murmured, sliding an arm around her waist.

And then he was stroking a hand down her back, his touch assured and confident, but amid the hunger on his face was absolute tenderness.

The tender look evaporated all her resolve. Emma fell backwards onto the sand on her side. Max did the same, facing her.

She didn’t care if her dress was stained or that sand covered her bare legs. All that mattered was this moment…and Max.

“You’re so cute,” he murmured, cupping her cheek.

Emma wrinkled her nose. “Puppies are cute. I’m not a puppy.”

“When you do that little thing with your eyes…”

“You mean when I roll them because you’re comparing me to a pet?”

“Hush,” he said softly. “You mean a lot to me, Em. I haven’t felt this way about a woman in a very long time. You’re sweet and generous and beautiful, inside and out.”

Emma gazed up at him as the waves lapped at their feet.

“Em, I’m going to kiss you now.”

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The Sullivans Boxed Set by Bella Andre – Spotlight and Giveaway

September 13, 2017 By 2 Comments


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bella will be awarding a signed copy of the The Sullivans Box Set and a tote bag, open internationally to 2 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

More than 6 million readers have already fallen in love with the Sullivans! Now get ready to meet your new favorite family in Bella Andre’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling contemporary romances with the first three books in the #1 hit series.

“Not since Nora Roberts has anyone been able to write a big family romance series with every book as good as the last! Bella Andre never disappoints!” Revolving Bookcase Reviews

THE LOOK OF LOVE

Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of the rain storm must be too good to be true. Or is he?

As a successful photographer who frequently travels around the world, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women, and whenever he’s home in San Francisco, one of his seven siblings is usually up for causing a little fun trouble. Chase thinks his life is great just as it is–until the night he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley. Not only has he never met anyone so lovely, both inside and out, but he quickly realizes she has much bigger problems than her damaged car. Soon, he is willing to move mountains to love–and protect–her, but will she let him?

FROM THIS MOMENT ON

For thirty-six years, Marcus Sullivan has been the responsible older brother, stepping in to take care of his seven siblings after their father died when they were children. But when the perfectly ordered future he’s planned for himself turns out to be nothing but a lie, Marcus needs one reckless night to shake free from it all.

Nicola Harding is known throughout the world by only one name – Nico – for her catchy, sensual pop songs. Only, what no one knows about the twenty-five year old singer is that her sex-kitten image is totally false. After a terrible betrayal by a man who loved fame far more than he ever loved her, she vows not to let anyone else get close enough to find out who she really is…or hurt her again. Especially not the gorgeous stranger she meets at a nightclub, even though the hunger – and the sinful promises – in his dark eyes make her want to spill all her secrets.

CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE

Gabe Sullivan risks his life every day as a firefighter in San Francisco. But after learning a brutal lesson about professional boundaries, he knows better than to risk his heart to his fire victims ever again. Especially the brave mother and daughter he saved from a deadly apartment fire…and can’t stop thinking about.

Megan Harris knows she owes the heroic firefighter everything for running into a burning building to save her and her seven-year-old daughter. Everything except her heart. Because after losing her navy pilot husband five years ago, she has vowed to never suffer through loving – and losing – a man with a dangerous job again.

Enjoy an Excerpt from THE LOOK OF LOVE

Chase almost missed the flickering light off on the right side of the two-lane country road. In the past thirty minutes, he hadn’t passed a single car, because on a night like this, most sane Californians—who didn’t know the first thing about driving safely in inclement weather—stayed home.

Knowing better than to slam on the brakes—he wouldn’t be able to help whomever was stranded on the side of the road if he ended up stuck in the muddy ditch right next to them—Chase slowed down enough to see that there was definitely a vehicle stuck in the ditch.

He turned his brights on to see better in the pouring rain and realized there was a person walking along the edge of the road about a hundred yards up ahead. Obviously hearing his car approach, she turned to face him and he could see her long wet hair whipping around her shoulders in his headlights.

Wondering why she wasn’t just sitting in her car, dry and warm, calling Triple A and waiting for them to come save her, he pulled over to the edge of his lane and got out to try and help her. She was shivering as she watched him approach.

“Are you hurt?”

She covered her cheek with one hand, but shook her head. “No.”

He had to move closer to hear her over the sound of the water hitting the pavement in what were rapidly becoming hailstones. Even though he’d turned his headlights off, as his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, he was able to get a better look at her face.

Something inside of Chase’s chest clenched tight.

Despite the long, dark hair plastered to her head and chest, regardless of the fact that looking like a drowned rat wasn’t too far off the descriptive mark, her beauty stunned him.

In an instant, his photographer’s eye cataloged her features. Her mouth was a little too big, her eyes a little too wide-set on her face. She wasn’t even close to model thin, but given the way her T-shirt and jeans stuck to her skin, he could see that she wore her lush curves well. In the dark he couldn’t judge the exact color of her hair, but it looked like silk, perfectly smooth and straight where it lay over her breasts.

It wasn’t until Chase heard her say, “My car is definitely hurt, though,” that he realized he had completely lost the thread of what he’d come out here to do.

Knowing he’d been drinking her in like he was dying of thirst, he worked to recover his balance. He could already see he’d been right about her car. It didn’t take a mechanic like his brother, Zach, who owned an auto shop—more like forty, but Chase had stopped counting years ago—to see that her shitty hatchback was borderline totaled. Even if the front bumper wasn’t half smashed to pieces by the white farm fence she’d slid into, her bald tires weren’t going to get any traction on the mud. Not tonight, anyway.

If her car had been in a less precarious situation, he probably would have sent her to hang out in her car while he took care of getting it unstuck. But one of her back tires was hanging precariously over the edge of the ditch.

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Get in my car. We can wait there for a tow truck.” He was vaguely aware of his words coming out like an order, but the hail was starting to sting, damn it. Both of them needed to get out of the rain before they froze.

But the woman didn’t move. Instead, she gave him a look that said he was a complete and utter nut-job.

“I’m not getting into your car.”

Realizing just how frightening it must be for a lone woman to end up stuck and alone in the middle of a dark road, Chase took a step back from her. He had to speak loudly enough for her to hear him over the hail.

“I’m not going to attack you. I swear I won’t do anything to hurt you.”

She all but flinched at the word attack and Chase’s radar started buzzing. He’d never been a magnet for troubled women, wasn’t the kind of guy who thrived on fixing wounded birds. But living with two sisters for so many years meant he could always tell when something was up.

And something was definitely up with this woman, beyond the fact that her car was half-stuck in a muddy ditch.

Wanting to make her feel safe, he held his hands up. “I swear on my father’s grave, I’m not going to hurt you. It’s okay to get into my car.” When she didn’t immediately say no again, he pressed his advantage with, “I just want to help you.” And he did. More than it made sense to want to help a stranger. “Please,” he said. “Let me help you.”

She stared at him for a long moment, hail hammering between them, around them, onto them. Chase found himself holding his breath, waiting for her decision. It shouldn’t matter to him what she decided.

But, for some strange reason, it did.

About the Author:Bella Andre is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of “The Sullivans”, “The Maverick Billionaires”, “The Morrisons”, and the NYT bestselling “Four Weddings and a Fiasco” sweet romance series written as Lucy Kevin.

Having sold more than 6 million books, Bella Andre’s novels have been #1 bestsellers around the world and have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists 32 times. She has been the #1 Ranked Author at Amazon (on a top 10 list that included Nora Roberts, JK Rowling, James Patterson and Steven King), and Publishers Weekly named Oak Press (the publishing company she created to publish her own books) the Fastest-Growing Independent Publisher in the US. After signing a groundbreaking 7-figure print-only deal with Harlequin MIRA, Bella’s “The Sullivans” series is being released in paperback in the US, Canada, and Australia.

Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into ten languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post called her “One of the top writers in America” and she has been featured by Entertainment Weekly, NPR, USA Today, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and TIME Magazine. A graduate of Stanford University, she has given keynote speeches at publishing conferences from Copenhagen to Berlin to San Francisco, including a standing-room-only keynote at Book Expo America in New York City.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

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Research by Wendy May Andrews – Guest Blog and Giveaway

September 12, 2017 By 18 Comments

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Wendy will be awarding $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.

Research
I’m really lucky in that I actually love doing the research for my books. I write historicals so research is always necessary for setting, facts about the timing, costumes, descriptions, etc. So far, all of my published books have been set in Regency era England. There are millions of references online for this time period, which is fantastic. The MET in New York City had a visiting exhibit about women’s clothing that was really great. We have also travelled to England a few times so that I could get a feel for my locations. Last summer we went specifically for research. It was wonderful!! We toured Wilton House and Blenheim Palace, visited Bath and Brighton, wandered around London, and even went to a research centre set up by two counties to consolidate their records. That was amazing! They had handwritten receipts for rent paid three hundred years ago! And they let me touch it! That was the amazing part. They had so much stuff that they weren’t even particular about most of it. I could have spent days there. My husband and I both love to travel so when I can combine both my interests, it is particularly rewarding.

One thing that I can never keep straight in my mind and have to research for every book is the proper use of titles and how to address the aristocracy. So I have a good reference book that explains it all and I look it up whenever I’m introducing a new character. For example, an earl’s daughter might be Lady Jane. But depending on who she marries, she will remain Lady Jane or become Lady Husband’s Last Name. Then there are the heirs who get courtesy titles until they inherit… Yeesh… That is the hardest part about writing Regencies for me. Other than that I love it  And I hope you’ll love reading my newest one. 🙂

The Duke of Wychwood seeks retribution from the Earl of Pickering. When he finds out the earl has a beautiful young niece, the duke thinks to involve her in his feud, but is shocked to discover he is attracted to her.

The orphaned niece of the earl, Lady Victoria, serves as governess to four of his children and is made to feel like an interloper in her own home. A chance encounter with the duke affords her the opportunity to enter Society, but to take it means risking what little security she has.

Revenge and love don’t sit well together, to have a future can they learn to give up the past?

Enjoy an Excerpt
from chapter 3 – first time heroine sees hero

All she could do was try to cuddle the small child until he began to calm. She hugged him to her and spoke soft, comforting words into his ear. As his wails began to slowly subside, she again glanced up to the bank of the river. She almost dropped Daniel in surprise, as on the bank staring down at her were three handsome men.

A fierce blush stole over her entire body, which served to momentarily warm her against the chill of the water swirling around her. One of the men was particularly striking, and, despite herself, Victoria had trouble tearing her eyes away from his. The man did not seem to care how rude he was being in staring at her, and seemed mesmerized by her nonsensical mutterings to her young charge. Finally, he caught himself from his reverie and sprang into action.

Stripping his perfectly tailored coat from his shoulders was a momentary effort. Disregarding the hard work of his tailor and valet, the duke shrugged out of it and tossed it to his brother as he called over his shoulder to Fred. “Bring our horses closer. If I cannot leverage her up the bank on my own, they can be of assistance.”

Keeping his voice as low and calm as possible, Bryghton reached down towards the frightened child. “Hand him over to me. We shall get him on shore first, and then we can more easily pull you up.”

Despite having calmed down, at these words Daniel tightened his grip on his only means of survival and let out another frightened wail.

“Daniel, my darling, it is going to be all right. This kind man is going to pull you up and give you to Pansy. Pansy will have a lovely warm blanket to wrap you in and I am quite sure she still has a couple of those delicious cookies you loved so much. If you are very brave and let go of me, I promise you can have the biggest piece of dessert that Cook has prepared for us tonight.”

About the Author:

Best-selling author, Wendy May Andrews, has been in love with the written word since she learned to read at the age of five. She has been writing for almost as long but it took her some time before she was willing to share her stories with anyone other than her mother.

Wendy can be found with her nose in a book in a cozy corner of downtown Toronto. She is happily married to her own real-life hero, who is also her best friend and favourite travel companion. Being a firm believer that every life experience contributes to the writing process, Wendy is off planning her next trip.

She loves to hear from her readers.

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