Saturday, June 30, 2018

#Review: NEVER TRUST A VISCOUNT by Renee Ann Miller


  5 of 5 stars
 
Simon Marlton, Viscount Adler, carries the emotional scars from his father's manipulative second wife and now trusts no woman. When he sends his current mistress away on holiday, Simon decides to reside at his Bloomsbury love nest for a change. What he doesn't expect is for thieves to break into the house, assault him and steal his signet ring. Determined to find the thieves, he has no idea that his neighbors, painter Emma Trafford and her little sister Lily were actually the thieves. Now it's a game of cat and mouse as Simon suspects Emma of the theft and will use everything in his power to make her confess.

This is the second book in the Infamous Lords series and Ms. Miller has delivered another wonderfully written story. I enjoyed it immensely and especially the outrageous things that Lily came out with. She almost stole the show. This story was a delightful change from the usual balls and teas most books of this type feature. I loved Emma's independence and her absolute commitment to her siblings. She was strong, yet vulnerable and her attraction to Simon grew over time. Simon needed a special kind of healing and the kind and loving Emma could be just what he needs. Can he put aside his mistrust for women and accept Emma's love for him?

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review although I was not obligated to leave a review.

Friday, June 29, 2018

#Excerpt: SPOTTED HER FIRST by Emma Dean


Spotted Her First
Emma Dean
Publication date: June 26th 2018
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Three hot leopard shifters? Yes please.
Piper is a librarian at Sacramento State working on her graduate thesis, but her quiet life turns upside down when three hot guys literally crash into her world. They move into her house and her life, telling her she’s wanted by a demon and a witch for her pharaoh’s blood. She just didn’t realize how much they would take over her life in the name of protecting her.
Piper is overwhelmed by the paranormal world and everything in it, including the fact that somehow all three of these guys are her mates. She has two weeks to find a way out of a demon contract and figure out how she’s going to deal with all three of these domineering shifters in her life and in her apartment. Will Piper be able to save herself and the pride she’s grown attached to before it’s too late?

Author Bio:
Emma Dean lives and works in California with her husband and son. She loves romance but needed something different so Draga Court was born. With too many stories to write the schedule has been filled through 2018.
When she’s not writing she’s reading, or spending time with her family.
With publishing now at least she has an excuse for not folding the laundry ;)

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Thursday, June 28, 2018

#Review: HOW TO TEMPT AN EARL by Tina Gabrielle


  4 of 5 stars

Ian Swift has become the new Earl of Castleton after the tragic death of his older brother. Problem is, Ian had left his father's home 10 years earlier and he is now the owner of a gambling house. He's left the rules of the ton behind and does as he pleases with no one to answer to. When Miss Grace Ashton walks into his club to settle her father's death, Ian is intrigue with the lady. He proposes a deal: he'll forgive her father's debts in exchange for a refresher course on the rules of the ton. With no other choice to keep the household running, Grace agrees to his terms.

This plot has been used many times, but Ms. Gabrielle weaves a good story between want and need. I wish the tension between Ian and Grace had lasted a little longer though. Despite that one slight criticism, the story kept my interest throughout and I was happy to see both Ian and Grace learned the art of compromise. Fans of regency romances will enjoy this story.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review, but I was not obligated to leave a review.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

#NEW Omnibus #FANTASY release: BORN TO THE BLADE, a Serial Box publication



On April 18th, Serial Box released Born to the Blade, a series combining the visionary high fantasy setting and tense politics of series like Game of Thrones and Mistborn. Created by Michael R. Underwood, Born to the Blade is Serial Box’s first release in the high fantasy genre, and was written in a TV-like writer’s room by the talented team of Underwood (Ree Reyes series), Marie Brennan (World Fantasy Award finalist), Malka Older (Infomocracy), and Cassandra Khaw (Bearly A Lady).


The series was acclaimed by critics at Geek & Sundry, Io9, Inverse, Wired, and Den of Geek, among others. To be frank, many of the critics who decided to pass on coverage at the time did so because of the format of the serialized novel. 

Buy link:

Blurb:
Youth. Ambition. Power. Oda no Michiko and Kris Denn have much of the first two, and crave the last. To get it, all they must do is survive.

For centuries, the Warder's Circle on the neutral islands of Twaa-Fei has given the nations of the sky a way to avoid war, as their chosen warders settle disputes through magical duels of blade and sigil. But that peace is on the edge of crumbling, crushed between the aggression of the Mertikan Empire and the determination of the still-free nations to not be consumed.

Twaa-Fei may be neutral, but it is also home to a million intrigues, schemes, and deadly intentions. Michiko and Kris arrive in this treacherous world together, bladecrafters eager to serve their countries -- Michiko as a junior warder for Kakute, a vassal of the empire, Kris as an upstart challenging to win a seat for their home, Rumika, in the Circle. But before the young bladecrafters have even settled in, a power struggle erupts, a man's head is parted from his shoulders, and every good thing Michiko thinks she knows about the empire comes into question. The two young diplomat-warriors are surrounded by warders of experience, each with their own ambitions: chief among them Warder Ojo, whose home island of Quloo is in danger of falling from the sky, and Warder Lavinia, who represents the empire in all its contempt and brutality.

A storm is coming, and Kris and Michiko stand at its eye. Will it bind the nations of the sky together... or tear them apart?

About Serial Box

Serial Box, which NPR recently called "the HBO of reading," produces original series that are released in ebook and audio episodes through their app(s), website, and third party retailers (iTunes, Amazon, etc). Readers/listeners pay $1.59 week by week or $18 in advance for a whole season (10-13 episodes). Serial Box brings the power of appointment-based consumption to reading for the first time since Charles Dickens & Little Nell. Visit serialbox.com for more information.

The Team
Marie Brennan (World Fantasy Award finalist, Prix Imaginales for Best Translated Novel); Malka Older (Infomocracy, Senior Fellow for Technology and Risk at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs for 2015); Michael R. Underwood (“Stabby” Award-finalist Genrenauts series, the Ree Reyes Geekomancy series; North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books; Hugo Award-finalist podcaster with “The Skiffy & Fanty Show”); Cassandra Khaw (Clarkesworld, Fireside Fiction, Uncanny, Shimmer, Bearly A Lady, video game writer)


1776: THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN by Serial Box and The Associated Press



Since January 24, Serial Box and The Associated Press have been publishing monthly installments of 1776: The World Turned Upside Down, a month by month immersive account of America in 1776 and the people and events that led to the founding of the United States, with commentary on its continued relevance to understanding America today by folks l like Cass Sunstein and Dr. Lyra D. Monteiro. 1776 is a monthly serial in text and enhanced audio on Serial Box and everywhere e-books are distributed, and January through June are already available.

1776
1776 is a 12-episode serial and will begin releasing on Jan 24, 2018. It will air monthly, with weekly supplemental commentary. 1776 can be found on Serial Box’s app and website and everywhere readers access e-books. More information can be found at https://www.serialbox.com/serials/1776.

To understand the current divisiveness in America, it is helpful to look closely at the initial uniting of America’s colonies, and how that foundation led us to where we are today. In 1976, using this logic, the AP commissioned three of its top journalists to write a month by month account of America in 1776 for the bicentennial. Originally, these accounts were collected in a beautiful, large format book for their member news organizations. Now, more than 40 years later, the entire collection will be made available to the general public in full for the first time in a variety of digital formats.

The AP is collaborating with Serial Box to significantly update the original text, which is unique in its focus on the lives of ordinary colonists and the more personal stories of now-famed figures, for example Thomas Paine’s failed career as a corset-maker prior to his writing of Common Sense. Through this series of 12 episodes released every month next year in ebook and audio, readers and listeners will learn first hand that revolutionary heroes don’t start out as legends and revolutions are not predestined to succeed. The courage, conviction, fallibility, and sometimes base motives of the people who invented America created the foundation for what our country is today. The series is intended to help us all explore the root causes of America’s greatest successes and failures, by examining how ordinary citizens - failed corset-makers, farmers, and high school dropouts - persuaded a disparate group of colonies to unite into one country and fight for a brand new idea: America.

Themes focussed on in 1776 include:

●      Economic inequality as a driver for unrest and political change
●      Instigators, volunteers and collective action
●      News, communication, and propaganda
●      The tension between cultural heritage versus assimilation and uniting a country of immigrants
●      Regional disputes and differences
●      A standing army vs a citizen army
●      Structural representation and the tension between states’ rights and federal government
●      Institutional inequality and oppression
●      The lives of ordinary people in the 1770s

Serial Box
Serial Box, which NPR recently called "the HBO of reading," produces original series that are released in ebook and audio episodes through their app(s), website, and third party retailers (iTunes, Amazon, etc). Readers/listeners pay $1.59 week by week or $18 in advance for a whole season (10-13 episodes). Serial Box brings the power of appointment-based consumption to reading for the first time since Charles Dickens & Little Nell. Visit serialbox.com for more information.

The Associated Press
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP.

Interview with Majanka Verstraete, A STUDY IN SHIFTERS

 Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
“A Study in Shifters” is the first book in The Adventures of Marisol Holmes series. It features Marisol Holmes, a teenage girl who is the great great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes, and who is also a halfling jaguar shifter, and heir to the shifter throne. As if she hasn’t got enough on her plate already, Marisol also works for a super-secret organization that solves supernatural crimes, the Conclave.

I’m already working on the second book, “The Sign of The Serpent”, which will release in December of this year.

Do you have a favorite character?
That would be Mannix, the bad guy of the book. He’s just so mysterious and intriguing, and even when writing about him, I discover more and more clues about who he really is, and as an author that’s challenging and exciting at the same time.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
Yes, I’ve had this happen quite a few times, usually when the minor character is just too cool to be ignored. Then he/she becomes part of the major plot, usually over the course of a few books. I think it’s great, and it shows how a manuscript is “alive”, even if you start out with a concept, it can still change over time.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
Yes, in fact I’ve worked with several publishers before finding Monster House Books.

How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
Yes, it was! It didn’t take very long, I was very lucky in that regard. I had self-published the book first, and then offered it to a publisher as part of a series.

What factors influenced your decision to go with a particular agent or publisher?
For Monster House Books, I really liked their co-operative model, where they worked with the author one-on-one from the start, shaping the stories and the books, and working together every step of the way.

Are you currently under a traditional publishing contract for future books or do you have manuscripts that you will self-publish? Are you doing both?
I’m thinking about doing both. I have a series that would be a great fit for self-publishing, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to go that route yet. It’s a lot of responsibility and hard work.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?
It was pretty amazing. I gave a suggestion of what I would’ve liked to see on the cover, and Monster House Books showed me a presentation about what could be on the book cover, which I loved. Then, the designer created a cover based on that, and it was even more amazing than I thought it would look.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
It depends a lot on the book, but for “A Study in Shifters”, I used an outline, and it was a really good decision in that case. Some books I start by just writing them, and then come up with an outline about halfway through. It depends.

What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?
Not much yet, since I didn’t self-publish yet… But during my publishing journey, I already learned a lot. What to look out for in potential publishers, how to grab a storyline that is familiar and twist it around to unfamiliar territory, and tons more!

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?
If you think about self-publishing, you have to really decide for yourself if you don’t mind putting on two, sometimes three different hats: publisher of your books, author of your books, and marketing manager of your books. Those tasks are all very different and you need a different skill set for each of them.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?
Cats
Vanilla
Coffee
Talk
Night


What’s next for you?
I’m working on “The Sign of The Serpent”, the second book in The Adventures of Marisol Holmes series, which is due out in December of this year.


A Study In Shifters
Majanka Verstraete
(The Adventures of Marisol Holmes, #1)
Publication date: June 26th 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Seventeen-year-old Marisol Holmes may be the great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes, but it’s hard to live up to the family name when only one mistake can spell your downfall. After trusting the wrong guy in a case gone totally wrong, Marisol convinces the Conclave, an underground organization of detectives solving supernatural cases, to give her a last chance to prove her worth, and maybe even heal her broken heart
After all, as a half-blood jaguar shifter, Marisol is uniquely qualified to solve this murder—and every scrap of evidence points toward the culprit being a fellow jaguar shifter. But is one of her own people involved, or is this all a ploy to kick Marisol’s mother off the shifter throne?
Then Marisol discovers her best friend, Roan, is missing, and maybe the killer’s next target. The stakes just got higher than political intrigue. Just when things couldn’t get worse, Marisol’s ex-boyfriend-turned-nemesis, Mannix, starts leaving sinister clues for her. Marisol fears this case might be far more personal than she could’ve imagined.
It’s time for Marisol to prove her worth, or her people could fall into chaos while her best friend loses his life.

Author Bio:
Author Majanka Verstraete has written more than twenty unique works of fiction. A native of Belgium, Majanka’s novels explore the true nature of monsters: the good, the bad, and just about every species in between. Her young adult books include the acclaimed Mirrorland (YA Dark Fantasy) and Angel of Death (YA Paranormal) series of novels.
At MHB, Majanka is currently developing a new YA shifter series with a fresh take on fierce female detectives called THE ADVENTURES OF MARISOL HOLMES.
When she’s not writing, Majanka is probably playing World of Warcraft or catching up with the dozens of TV series she’s addicted to.
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#Excerpt: RESCUED BY THE SPY by Laura A Barnes


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Laura A. Barnes will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Kidnapped for revenge

Haunted by the man who murdered her family, Raina LeClair must always be two steps ahead of her sworn enemy through disguise and espionage. When her newest masquerade lands her back in the hands of the man she had previously kidnapped, she is awakened to the pleasure of his touch.
When the threat of treason comes into play, Raina can no longer work alone to stop the destruction of England. Can she learn to trust the man who she once betrayed or will her obsession for revenge own her heart forever?

Kidnapped for love

Kidnapped and left for dead, Charles Mallory is always two steps behind in the quest to find his lady kidnapper. Discouraged, Charles turns his attention to a treason plot that is threatening his beloved England. Only to discover the lady who not only held him hostage, but stole his heart, mixed up in the crossfire. Unable to persuade her of the danger she is truly in, Charles resorts to kidnapping her to his family’s cottage. There they learn the true threat lies within their passion for each other.
Can he convince her of the love in his heart or will he be left destroyed by this lady once more?

Excerpt:

She watched him from the stairs. Her heart had not stopped beating fast since she seen him walk into the tavern. He was in danger and she had no way to warn him. If she did it would blow the cover she had worked so hard on, she was not going to lose what ground she had gained; just because her heart wanted to betray her. Why was he here? Didn’t he know Shears wanted him dead? Why was he so bent on trailing him? Was he looking for her too? That was only wishful thinking on her part, the kind of thinking that could only get her into trouble. He would want nothing to do with her, not after he knew her whole part in kidnapping him. Which he probably knows by now. After all she was captured by his soon to be brother-in-law.

Thornhill would have told him how she was behind the plot to kidnap him and how closely involved she was with Shears to bring the terror to England. It did not matter that she had instead nursed him back to health and tried to thwart Shears’s terror plans.

He looked healthy as if he had made a complete recovery. The bruises had disappeared from his face. He was even more handsome than she could imagine.

As he leaned back in his chair, she watched as he smiled at Bessie. Her breath caught as she saw the charm that overflowed from his smile. When his smile reached his eyes, they lighted up in enjoyment. She never got to enjoy his smile, he was always in too much pain. Even when his pain receded, they were always in too grave of danger to have a reason to smile.

Another emotion began to take place as she saw him flirt with Bessie. When he pulled Bessie onto his lap, nuzzling at her neck; she felt angry. Not just angry but betrayed. How could he pull another woman into his embrace and share intimacy with her? Did the words and kisses they share not mean anything to him? Obviously not.

She watched as Bessie stroked his arm and listened as he told Bessie he would join her in her room later. Well we will see about that, won’t we, Mr. Charmer? She planned to wait for him there.

About the Author:

I have always dreamed of being an aspiring author. I am making my dreams come true, one word at a time. When I am not writing, I am spending time with my family. I love reading books on lazy afternoons, and late into the night. Anytime really. 

Married 28 years to the love of my life and we have three wonderful children and two sweet grandbabies. Besides writing, I have always wanted to travel. In the last few years we have gotten our passport stamped in England and Scotland. We are hoping to add Italy to the list soon. My debut novel is Rescue By the Captain.

http://www.lauraabarnes.com
 

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/lauraabarnes
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16332844.Laura_A_Barnes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraA.Barnes/
Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/lauraabarnes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/labarnesauthor

Rescued By the Spy Buy Links

Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laura-a-barnes/rescued-by-the-spy/ebook/product-23602849.html
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rescued-by-the-spy/id1373866948?mt=11
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rescued-by-the-spy
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rescued-by-the-spy-laura-a-barnes/1128518573?ean=9781387694358
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Spy-Barnes-ebook/dp/B07D4QT2RV/
Google Books: https://books.google.com/books/about/Rescued_By_the_Spy.html?id=DO1VDwAAQBAJ

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Tuesday, June 26, 2018

#Review: ONE FOR THE ROGUE by Manda Collins


  4 of 5 stars

This was the 4th and final book in the Studies in Scandal series. I was looking forward to reading this one and wasn't disappointed. Ms. Collins has written another engaging and enjoyable book. Geologist Gemma Hastings is the last of the 4 Beauchamp heiresses to remain at the house trying to unravel the puzzle that Celeste Beauchamp left for her. Unfortunately, Gemma's letter from Celeste was unfinished due to her untimely demise and it's up to Gemma to figure out what Celeste would have left for her. Complicating her studies in geology is her abject shun from the men in the field, especially Lord Cameron Lisle, editor of a prestigious magazine. Cam had rejected Gemma's submission and that rejection led to a less than pleasant social call. Can these two stubborn scholars get past their animosity to realize that they have more in common than they realize?

This book can be read as a stand alone story, but to get the full benefit of everything that has gone on at Beauchamp house since the four young women first arrived, it would be beneficial to read all the stories. I really enjoyed this series. Ms. Collins has shown that women in the Regency era had to fight against so many prejudices that women could be brilliant in their own right. It was fun watching as each young woman experienced not only scholarly pursuits, but also the attentions of swoon-worthy men. One did not need to forego love to be the best version of themselves they could be. Definitely recommend.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and was not obligated to leave a review.

#Excerpt: THE KING'S FAVORITE by Tanya Anne Crosby



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Tanya 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.


Fearing her “gifts” will be used to defeat her sister Matilda, Elspeth escapes the Black Mountain priory that has sheltered them since their father's death, only to find herself indebted to, of all men, a Scotsman, whose loyalties are in question...

Excerpt:

Whatever Malcom had expected, it wasn’t this. Elspeth was standing near the brazier, wearing a scandalously diaphanous chainse that left little to the imagination. The room was misty, perhaps from her bath, and the firelight played off the shadows in her gown, revealing the shadowed valley of her breast and the darkened hollow between her thighs. Her red-gold hair was still damp and braided into one full plait that fell over her shoulder so that the damp, feathery tip teased at her nipple. God help him, even as tired as he was, the sight of her hardened him fully.

“I was…”

“Waiting for me?” he said with a slow, unfurling smile, and now that they were home, preparing to spend their first night… alone… in their bed... he felt the rightness of this union down to his bones—and in one bone more than any other.

He crossed the room and took her into his arms, kissing her soundly. “You’re here,” she said, once their lips parted. “Tis no dream.”

“Nay, lass. But if it is,” he said, “would that I never awaken,” and he drew her slowly toward the bed, kissing her shoulder, letting his hands roam freely over the treasure of her body.

About the Author:
Tanya Anne Crosby is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty novels. She has been featured in magazines, such as People, Romantic Times and Publisher's Weekly, and her books have been translated into eight languages. Her first novel was published in 1992 by Avon Books, where Tanya was hailed as "one of Avon's fastest rising stars." Her fourth book was chosen to launch the company's Avon Romantic Treasure imprint.

Known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters Tanya is an award-winning author, journalist, and editor, and her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She and her writer husband split their time between Charleston, SC, where she was raised, and northern Michigan, where the couple make their home.

Join Tanya on Facebook at http://Facebook/tanyaannecrosby or visit her Web site at http://www.tanyaannecrosby.com

https://tanyaannecrosby.lpages.co/the-kings-favorite-copy/
http://www.facebook.com/tanyaannecrosby
http://www.twitter.com/TanyaAnneCrosby
https://www.pinterest.com/tanyaannecrosby/

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Monday, June 25, 2018

#Review: SIX WEEKS WITH A LORD by Eve Pendle


4 of 5 stars

Earl of Westbury, Everett Hetherington, needs a wealthy wife to pay off the debts of his late father and brother and Grace Alnott needs to marry an aristocrat if she wants access to her dowry. These two strike a bargain--Grace will give Everett half of her dowry if he agrees to a marriage in name only. When Everett agrees, Grace feels she's on the right path to petitioning the court for the custody of her little brother from the abusive Lord Raynor although she fails to tell Everett what she's doing. Everett needs the other half of Grace's dowry to save the earldom and he sets out to seduce his in-name-only wife.

This plot device has been used many times, but I liked the twist Ms. Pendle used. Grace was hurt by a lord when she was younger and she has mistrust for them all. I really liked Everett. He was kind and compassionate and tried so hard to live within the boundaries of their bargain. The chemistry between  Grace and Everett built slowly over the six weeks, but a misunderstanding could threaten their growing passion for each other. This book is a quick read and fans of regency romance should enjoy it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and I was not obligated to review this book.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

#Review: THE DEVIL OF A DUKE by Madeline Hunter



  3 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the series, and like the first book, I was initially intrigued with the plot. Gabriel St. James, Duke of Langford, sees a woman trying to pursue his brother at an masquerade ball and steps in to thwart her pursuit, only to become obsessed with her himself. She refuses to give her name which makes Gabriel all the more insistent on seeing her again. Amanda Waverly is not interested in the duke's brother, only access to his home so she can carry out a daring theft. She doesn't want to do it, but her mother is being held prisoner and the only way to free her is to give the man what he wants. What Amanda doesn't expect is to fall for the handsome and arrogant Duke of Langford.

While the book started out well and was well-written, I was not biting my nails to see what would happen or how the mystery would be solved. The one thing that did keep my interest is how the author would resolve the fact that Amanda was stealing ancient artifacts. I did like the return of the women's journal and the companionship of the women. Strong female friendships is always a boon for me. I'm really interested in reading the next book in the series about the third duke in the friendship.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and was not obligated to leave a review.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Interview with Davina Lacey, LOVE AND ALLIANCES

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
Love & Alliances is about a young girl who's trying to make a difference for women in Hollywood. It's also about a man trying to make amends for his past and start new. The overall premise is that love makes anything possible. This book is part of a series and it's a novella sized, pulse-pounding quick read. Book one stands alone and contains no cliffhanger.

Do you have a favorite character?
I love all my characters. But sometimes there's just one that jumps right out at you. And in this series, it was Rose. She seems like she might be kinda spoiled at first but once you get to know her then you'll identify with her struggle. Truth be told, I adore all of the characters in this series because they've nagged at me for about 5 years until I finally got up off my butt and let them tell their story!

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
I did not. I have a huge fan base under my pseudonym. However, I've had many agents and publishers friend and follow me on social media. So I would most definitely be open to the right partnership.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?
I've gone the route of the indie author many times before and had international bestsellers. Times have changed since I self-published my first book back in 2011. Authors have access to the same professionals as traditional publishers. It's a great time to be an indie author. I feel like one of the pioneers of the movement and it's an awesome feeling!

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
If it weren't for music then I wouldn't have any stories. No kidding. Music has always played a super important role in my life, and this book is no exception. One of the characters has a band. I'm always going to have something musical going on in my stories. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
I've developed a creative process that includes a combination of both an outline and freestyle writing that allows me to use dictation. My muse loves to talk so the dictation machine has made life very interesting as well as productive.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?
Oh yeah. I actually had 2 editors for the Love & Alliances series. One for proofreading and the other for style, grammar, and voice. It's so important to have your work presented in as professional a manner as possible.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
Love & Alliances will start out on the KDP platform...aka Amazon only. However, if you enjoy fantasy and dark romantic suspense, then you can find books under my other pseudonym KaSonndra Leigh all over the place. No kidding! :)

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Oh yeah. Love & Alliances marks a return to the publishing world for me, so I found it both scary and easier to jump back into the game. This series will move quickly as there are 9 books planned. Wowza, right? I had to write 2 books ahead to keep my sanity.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
Yep! I run marathons and read like crazy. These days, I'm back to my Stephen King game. I also devour non-fiction books on a regular basis. I adore fashion. I have a lifestyle blog called Live Well Be Fabulous where I promote aspects of both my style and love of crafts.



Love & Alliances
Davina Lacey
Publication date: June 19th 2018
Genres: Adult, Romance

“She will be his salvation… And he will build her empire.”
Jenga Rollins
Hollywood… The ultimate dream. One of the hardest goals to accomplish for anyone brave enough to climb the entertainment ladder, especially for a woman. Yet fiercely independent cinematography student, Jenga Rollins, is determined to finish her master’s degree and to make a difference in the movie industry for females of all races. Trying to bury the most tragic memory of her childhood, Jenga fights to build a new life and doesn’t expect to run into the handsome stranger with the soulful, sad eyes.
Ashton Blasetti
A man of many faces, the son of a self-made Hollywood billionaire and running from a past he can’t forget. A man of both success and mystery, Ashton is known for leaving a string of broken hearts in his trail and for producing some of the most intriguing erotic scenes on film. He’s quite content reigning as the bachelor prince of underground tinseltown. That is, until he finds himself saving Jenga Rollins one day on Malibu beach, a twist of fate that changes everything.
What happens when two people from worlds as different as fire and ice come together?
The scandal continues in Love & Alliances.
**This book is for mature audiences**



Author Bio:
Davina Lacey writes steamy, fun, and glamorous interracial romances that push the boundaries of the imagination and offers a unique and refreshing spin on classic love stories. When she isn't writing, she enjoys gardening, playing & composing music and spending a large amount of time gobbling up all things historical.
The Love & Alliances series is her Interracial Romance debut. Davina also writes under the bestselling fantasy author pseudonym KaSonndra Leigh.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2018

#Excerpt: CURSE OF THE ANCIENTS by Hawk MacKinney


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Hawk will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


As Craige Ingram climbed the stairs of the derelict building, that peculiar stench of a dead body hit him. It was the same smell no matter where—SpecOps SEAL encounter gone sour, or in a vacant, roach-infested apartment. Inside, his SEAL buddy-turned head of Buckingham Parish Homicide’s Investigative Support Division, Grayson MacGerald, was huddled with the coroner next to a swollen decaying corpse that was days old and hardly more than oozing dead meat.
The PI inside Craige had a gut feeling that there was more to this than a dead body, and Craige’s Grannie always told him, “Trust your feelin’s.” But that was before Mihály Keaulescu set down two of his Black Falcon choppers on Craige’s Moccasin Hollow private airstrip in an uninvited stopover. It got worse. From his airstrip to Israel, to Turkey and a nightmare-dream of one-of-a-kind ancient artifacts that not only threatened the serene life Craige knew and loved at Moccasin Hollow, it would destroy the world.

Excerpt:

Craige cinched his chinstrap tighter and in the distance, glimpsed a profile of what looked to be a Bell Textron’s 62X KW warrior carrying an ALQ 131 or a 144 or a modified 147A white-noise jammer in the crook of his arm. Craige pressed his goggles to the ground tighter. Ready as he could get for the back-blast inferno and flesh-boiling incandescence. The ground punched his belly. He felt more than heard the rumbling plasma-searing waves tearing the ground with seismic jolting thuds. The pressure waves jarred his eardrums.

Follow-up chopper runs unleashed a consuming churning hell along the steep walls and dry wadi. Low-altitude chopper sorties took over with end-of-the-world sunbursts sterilizing a morass of targets. Laser guided missiles pulverized crumpled ledges and overhangs into igneous mini-lahars. Bunker buster smart bombs whistled into caves smashing tunnel walls, roasting any bottom feeders hiding inside. Secondary strikes continued, napalm, thermite, and phosphorous blanketed the area. The smothering white-heat boiled in the solar-hot overkill incineration of containers of stored Marburg-Ebolapox, leaving a sterile landscape of glazed sand, gravel, vaporized odds-and-ends, and a few recognizable body parts. The fearful kill-beauty of magenta and mauve mushrooms and cherry-white red-orange acrid plumes left the eerie shimmering moonscape. Avram ordered re-targeting the whole valley, including the passageways that had been tunneled into. He was taking no chances.

Craige felt a sad lament as the gunships made their final runs, missiles and bombs slammed into the mountain. Undiscovered artifacts destroyed, the site possibly entombed beyond recovery. It wasn’t the worst of what might’ve been. If the virus had been loosed, there’d be damn few survivors.

About the Author:
With postgraduate degrees and faculty positions at several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to his work in classrooms and laboratories, he has written numerous professional articles on chordate neuroembryology and authored several novels that reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for both the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his protagonist in the Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series. Hidden Vault of Secrets and Westobou Gold, Books 1 and 2 in the series, have received national and international attention. Hawk is also writing a science fiction series, The Cairns of Sainctuarie.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiAGlgQQsMQ&feature=youtu.be
Website: http://hawkmackinney.net
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Ancents-Moccasin-Hollow-Mystery/dp/0997096268/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2

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