Friday, August 22, 2014

Going Pecans by Gina Henning.





A warm pie. A tasty guy. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

Homecomings for Lauren Hauser are always filled with delicious food and hopes for a distraction from her quirky family. The only exception with this visit: she’s been given the challenge of preparing her grandmother’s pie.

Set out on a journey for pecans, Lauren stumbles into Jack a guy who despite his charm (and kissable lips) appears to be in a committed relationship…with his career. His main concern is taking care of a last minute errand for a client, not Lauren or her quest for the key ingredient.

Frazzled in more ways than one, Lauren’s journey improves when Jack rescues her from an icy walk. Attraction and tension rise and soon pecans aren't the only things getting toasty in the kitchen.
Amazon link: Going Pecans


In honor of the release of Going Pecans, I've been invited to share an excerpt from one of my stories in which a character is...well, going pecans. Fun, right?

So without further ado, here is a scene from "A New Tune", my contribution to One Lucky Night. In this scene, Holly is unexpectedly working at the same time as a rather hot young man she's been studiously avoiding. She is definitely going pecans!

A New Tune by Ana Blaze
Copyright © 2014



Holly chuckled, then scanned the room for another empty glass or any new customers. Her gaze landed on Cian, playing and singing to a growing crowd.
Trouble.
The man made her ex look like he was still playing in the minors, but Holly had seen enough to know that any girl with an ounce of wits and a desire to keep her heart from being shattered into a thousand pieces would stay away.
Kissing him had only proved what she already knew: musicians don’t make good boyfriends. Cian might as well wear a flashing red danger sign. He was too sexy and too slick to be taken seriously. And he kissed too well. Way, way too well. Her traitorous toes curled at the mere thought of his hot mouth covering hers, of the wall supporting her back while his long fingers gripped her waist and his leg slid between her knees. “Just a friendly New Year’s kiss,” he’d asked, catching her alone in the hall by the office, off-guard a few seconds before midnight.
She should have said no, but persistence and his puppy dog eyes wore her down. Holly leaned toward him a smidge, prepared for a quick peck and found herself in the midst of the most thorough kiss of her life.
After, still clinging to his shoulders and fighting to catch her breath, she’d tried to call foul. “Friends don’t kiss like that.” Her voice had trembled.
“No.” He’d grinned before rubbing his cheek against hers. “They don’t. Maybe something to think about while you keep me waiting.”
Cian had followed up with another kiss: quick and possessive and every bit as shocking as the first. Then he’d let go and walked away ... whistling.
The bastard had whistled. Like he’d won something.
She shot a glance in Cian’s direction. He was playing a song she didn’t recognize, something light and pretty that suited his smooth tenor voice. He looked up just in time to make eye contact, as though he knew exactly what she was thinking about. Her stomach tumbled. She was going to have to be more careful, avoid working on nights he played there. She could do that. Or she could move to another city. Maybe one on the other side of the continent. That might work.



Going Pecans Blog Hop
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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Captured Love by Juliana Haygert Cover Reveal.

Captured Love by Juliana Haygert
Publication date: November 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:
Warning: strong language, sex scenes
Word count: ~70,000
It’s been four years since twenty-year-old Jessica Hayes has been home, but when she discovers her father is dying, she must return to her hometown in South Carolina and face her past. Jessica thought patching up her relationship with her father would be her biggest challenge, but when she runs into Ryan Dawson—the catalyst of all her problems—she wonders if coming home was a mistake.
Ryan knows he screwed up. Hell, he paid the price…with interest. But when he runs into his best friend’s little sister, Jessica, he’s reminded that his debt will never truly be paid. He may have turned his life around, but he can’t undo the damage. So, he does what he should have done all those years ago. He stays away from Jessica, and all the other personal demons that still haunt him.
Jessica thought she wanted nothing to with Ryan, but something is different about him and she needs to know why. When she discovers the truth behind his change, she puts her troubles aside and tries to help him. But is putting her heart back in the line of fire worth disrupting her stable life back in Ohio, or will the past repeat itself, leaving her brokenhearted once again?






Goodreads Book Giveaway

Captured Love by Juliana Haygert

Captured Love

by Juliana Haygert

Giveaway ends October 20, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win
 


AUTHOR BIO
While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.


Author Links:

https://www.facebook.com/juhaygert




The author is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the reveal, here's the Rafflecopter code if you would like to add it to your post: a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Tethering by Megan O' Russell


The Tethering
by Megan O'Russell





The Tethering
by Megan O’Russell


All sixteen-year-old Jacob Evans wants is to win the heart of Emilia Gray, but with order in the magical world crumbling, war threatening, and Emilia’s boyfriend living across the hall, he may never have the chance.
Jacob Evans loses everything he has ever known and is tossed into a world of magic. The Dragons, a group of rebel wizards, are threatening to expose the existence of magic to humans. Jacob is determined to find a way to fit into Emilia’s family, but as his powers grow, so does the danger. With the death toll mounting, Jacob is accused of acts of rebel terrorism and must fight to stay in a world he’s only just beginning to discover.
                  When Emilia’s life is threatened, Jacob must risk everything to save her. Does he have the power to rescue her in time? And what could their survival cost?





Check out Preorder for the YA Fantasy novel The Tethering on kickstarter for great deals! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/103879051/silence-in-the-library-publishing-fall-2014-releas?ref=discovery #books #YA #Fantasy

Add The Tethering to your Goodreads shelf - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21480311-the-tethering
Follow Megan on twitter - @MeganORussell
Follow Megan on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ORussellauthor
Stay up to date on the latest news for The Tethering at
meganorussell.com
Published by Silence in the Library

Saturday, August 9, 2014

The Tenant by Sotia Lazu.





Hi Ana, and thank you for having us today.



I say ‘us,’ because I brought with me Amanda’s not-so-little sister, Alice, to tell us about Amanda and Derek from The Tenant.

Alice, you’ve known Amanda your entire life, and have lived in the same building as Derek for a few years. What can you tell us about them that we don’t see in the book?

First off, if my sister finds out I’m talking about her without her consent, I’m looking at lifelong misery, so keep this hush-hush.

Promise.

Good. Now, what can I tell you about Amanda that you wouldn’t find out otherwise? Hmmm… Oh, I know! She was a chubster until she was thirteen. Mom was always all over her to be more careful about what she ate, but Amanda just didn’t care. Then she met Lewis, who hooked up with her BFF at the time because Amanda—Quote: was too big for him. Unquote.

She gave up carbs and mayo for an entire year, and begged my mom to sign her up for ballet classes. She didn’t want to be a ballerina; she wanted to be like Jean-Claude Van Damme. I guess she eventually managed to become a compact version of him, with owning her own dojo and studying and teaching all sorts of martial arts.

Wow. That’s something I wouldn’t have guessed about her. That she took ballet, I mean.

I know, right?

And do you have any dirt on Derek?

Oh, he’s a big ol’ cuddly bear. He yells and smokes and drinks and curses, and may have punched a dude or ten in his wild years, but he’s got a soft spot for strays. Used to keep leftover meat and bones from his restaurant and take it to animal shelters twice a week. His ex was a bitch, and kept egging him on to be…“manlier,” but I think he’s manly enough where it counts. You can ask Amanda, if you don’t believe me. Wink. Nudge.

The blonde highlights—sorry, frosting—were her idea too, but he won’t fess up to it. He pretends to like them, but I remember the day she gave them to him, and he was not a happy camper. Maybe he’s used to them by now.

I see. Anything else you wanna tell us? Maybe about yourself?

Nah. You’ll find out everything you want to know about me this Christmas. And I’ll be all mysterious and vague about things till then.

Till Christmas, then, Alice. Thank you for joining us today.

My pleasure. And all you readers out there, don’t forget to check out The Tenant!

The Tenant by Sotia Lazu


In hopes of getting her fiancé to consummate their relationship before the wedding, Amanda convinces him they should check out the apartment her father gave her as a gift for their upcoming nuptials. Darkness and privacy are supposed to work in her favor, but there is one parameter she doesn’t know about: the apartment is not empty yet, and the current tenant has no plans of moving.

Derek has had a hell of a few months. His girlfriend turned out to be a cheater and then stole his restaurant. He's not about to also give up the place he's called home for three years—even if his hot but infuriating landlady threatens to move in by the end of the week.

When her own lease is up, Amanda is forced to make good on her threat. As if life isn't already hard enough, her tenant-turned-roommate is as sexy as he is annoying, and her fiancé is caught with a half-naked woman.

Now she and Derek need to find a way to survive their forced cohabitation. They soon discover sleeping with the enemy can be fun.

Excerpt

Hushed voices. There were people whispering inside his home, and—

Something crashed.

It might have been fury at whoever dared vandalize his home that drove his feet from bathroom to bedroom, naked as the day he was born. It could have been hope he’d finally get out some of his frustration that curled his fingers around the baseball bat lying beneath his bed and led him the rest of the distance to his living room in the pitch black.

Weighing the bat in one hand, he pressed the fingers of the other to the light switch he knew to be at his left, and took in the lit room.

A couple was making out on his floor. By his overturned table and his smashed lamp.

He scowled so hard his forehead hurt, but it was all he could do not to charge them and bash their heads in.

“What the fuck are you doing in my place?” he asked the kneeling hulk. He’d heard about people making out in parks, playgrounds, even cemeteries, but breaking into someone’s home to get some was unbelievable.

The small blonde lying on the floor sat upright, eyes blazing. “Your place? My father gave me this apartment!”

Her boyfriend simply blinked at him.

Was it Derek’s imagination, or was the blonde having a hard time looking him in the eye? He was tempted to mention his face was an entire torso—and then some—higher than what she was staring at, but his ego needed some stroking, so he let her take all of him in, while his mind caught up to what she’d just said.

“You’re Kenneth’s daughter?” he finally asked, the bat only slightly lowered. Alice’s sister. This one was shorter, and Alice dyed her hair dark brown these days, but Derek could see the resemblance.

She finally lifted her gaze to meet his, and her eyes were the same bright green as her sister’s. “You’re the guy who’s supposed to be gone?”

He could apologize and say he’d forgotten because of the rain of utter shit falling on him lately.

He could ask for a bit more time until he’d found a new place.

Or he could be an ass. Nobody else seemed to think twice about being an ass to him. “Hardly,” he said with a snort. “I’m supposed to be right where I am. You, on the other hand, are trespassing. Or is it breaking and entering?”

The young woman scrunched her nose, which was adorable in a snooty, bratty way. “No breaking. I’ve got a key.” She narrowed her eyes. “When Mason and I were first engaged, Dad said he asked you to move. That was three months ago.”

Mason. That was the silent brute’s name. “I remember no such thing, and” —he looked pointedly at the remains of his favorite lamp— “there has definitely been some breaking.”

Blondie bounced up and glared. Funny, but she was intimidating despite her small stature. Maybe that was why Mason stood back and let her handle things. “Dad bought the place for me, to begin with,” she said. “You knew when you first moved in that I was eventually going to be needing it.”

That was true. Derek had heard all about how this was one day going to be a wedding present for Kenneth’s oldest daughter—and what was her name, again?—though said daughter hadn’t even been dating back then. Kenneth said his daughter was picky and needed a man with serious backbone before she settled down.

Things had apparently changed.

Derek considered waving the bat to see if the big guy would flinch, but decided to be the bigger man—and wasn’t that ironic, when Mason had at least four inches on him? “Kenneth mentioned something, but he didn’t give me the sixty days notice he was supposed to.” Blondie opened her mouth, probably to repeat her father let him know three months ago. Now was time for the coup de grace, and Derek somehow knew he’d love watching her squirm. “As you know, the notice is supposed to be in writing or it doesn’t count,” he said.

And smirked.

And winked.

Mason grabbed Blondie’s shoulder, flexing his arm in the process. The look on his face indicated that Derek’s nudity might have offended him more than Derek’s intention to not vacate the premises for at least two more months. “Let’s go, Mandi.” Ah, that was her name. “We’ll talk to your father. He’ll know what to do.”

Her gaze said she knew what to do too, and it involved the painful insertion of the baseball bat in Derek’s most private orifice.

Derek’s smirk widened into a grin. “And now get out of here, before I have to call the police and report you for harassment on top of everything else.”

Mandi stared him down for a split second, but when Derek swung his bat in the air, her overly inflated toy boy all but dragged her out the door.

Derek propped his weapon on his shoulder, grabbed a bottle of scotch, and went to bed. He sensed his swagger had returned. Maybe that was because he’d actually felt he had balls, for the first time in days.

Odd way for his day to improve, but it had. He would give anything for another opportunity to bait Mandi Murphy. If he couldn’t torture the woman who’d hurt him, he’d torture the one who wanted to evict him. He had to be subtle about it, though. He didn’t want to make Kenneth mad at him.

About the Author

Sotia’s making do with Greek reality, while writing and mostly thinking in English.

She loves romances with a twist and urban fantasy novels, always with vivid erotic elements. Her favorite characters to write are not conventional hero-material at first glance, and she enjoys making them fight for their happiness.

Sotia shares her life and living quarters with her husband, their son, and two rescue dogs, one of which may be part-pony. Sappy movies make her bawl like a baby, and she wishes she could take in all the stray dogs in the world.

Also, she hates mornings!

Sotia’s books:
Amazon | B & N | Smashwords | Apple | Kobo

Contact Sotia:

GIVEAWAY
Is there a question you want to ask me—or Alice—about the unlikely couple? Tell me in a comment (don’t forget your e-mail address), and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win an e-copy of The Tenant or some Author Swag!

NOTE: The giveaway is for Adults Only. Please do not enter if you’re below your country’s legal age.
 Click on the link to open a new page and enter the giveaway!

AND THAT’S NOT ALL!
Until the 11th of the month, you have the chance for several more entries. Just stop by the following blogs, and leave me a comment:

August 8th
Gina Henning Blog
August 8th
Barbara Elsborg - Barbara's Blog
August 9th
The Naughty and Nice of Romance
August 9th
Ana Blaze
August 9th
Apathy's Hero
August 10th
Megan O'Russell
August 10th
Blame It On The Muse
August 10th
History in the Hot Lane
August 10th
A Pen Named Brock
August 10th
Diane Saxon Blog Spot
August 11th
Tara Quan
August 11th
Writery
August 11th
Vincent Morrone
August 11th
Daisy Banks Blog

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