Wednesday, October 30, 2019

#Excerpt: THE TRAVELER by Shannon Nemechek


The Traveler
Shannon Nemechek
(Chimera Rebellion, #1)
Publication date: December 5th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Time-Travel

As a self-professed book nerd, Army Major Katie Butler has hunted many rare books in her lifetime.
While on leave in Savannah Katie visits with a voodoo priestess who tells the story of Eleanor MacAllister and a long-lost book, claimed to be cursed. With her curiosity piqued,
Katie is determined to find the lost book and reveal the secrets it holds.
What she finds could change everything.
Swept back in time, Katie suddenly finds herself immersed in a country at war with itself. Determined to find her way back home, her plans begin to change when she meets the dashing Confederate officer, Captain Colm O’Donnell.
Captain O’Donnell despises slavery and when his father leaves him the family plantation, Colm immediately sets out to make changes. Having devoted his life to military service and his family’s plantation, Colm has very little time for anything else. With his country embroiled in war, he has even less free time.
Until he meets Katie Butler.
Convinced the pretty young woman with sable hair and big blue eyes, is a spy, Colm is determined to find out the truth.
Will their secrets destroy the love they have found? Or, will they find a future together?

Author Bio:
Shannon is a USA Today Bestselling Author of over 18 novels and novellas. Shannon started her writing career while still serving in the US Army.
Shannon grew up in Macomb, IL where she graduated from High School in 1987 and soon after joined the US Army. Shannon served from 1987 to 2015 during Operation Desert Storm and during Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In April 2015 Shannon retired from the US Army with 23 years of service as a Unit Supply Sergeant. She is a mother of 4 children and a grandma to 2 beautiful Granddaughters. She has been married 26 years to her husband, Ken. They reside in Staunton, IL a small town along Old Route 66.
Shannon is an award-winning author of multiple novels and short stories. She is best known for her Military Romance series A Warranted Series.

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Tuesday, October 29, 2019

#Review: THIS EARL OF MINE by Kate Bateman


  3.5 of 5 stars

 Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is tired of dodging fortune hunters who want to marry her just for her money including her cousin Josiah. In order to thwart him permanently, she comes up with a plan to marry a criminal who would soon be executed. As a widow, she would have more freedom than as a single young woman. Instead of a death row inmate, she is married to Ben Wylde. What she doesn't know if that Ben is undercover and really is a member of the ton and a Bow Street runner. While nether one of them wanted to be married, can they walk away from each other?


Ms. Bateman writes about strong, independent females and Georgie fits that mode. She's smart, witty and determined to continue managing her deceased father's shipping business. When Ben shows up at a ball, Georgie realizes what she's done and who's she married. I did like Ben although I was puzzled how he got the moniker of "rake" when he didn't really sleep around. Another point is I'm not sure a Bow Street runner would have divulged all his top secret information to a woman, even though she was his wife in name only. While this wasn't an edge of your seat mystery, it was entertaining. I look forward to reading the next book in series.

I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.






Summary:
Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors—men who work undercover for London’s first official police force—and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?

Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?

Author Bio:
Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of historical romances, including her RITA® nominated Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, and the novels in the Secrets & Spies series To Steal a HeartA Raven’s Heart, and A Counterfeit Heart. When not writing novels that feature feisty, intelligent heroines and sexy, snarky heroes you want to both strangle and kiss, Kate works as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several popular TV shows in the UK. She splits her time between Illinois and her native England. Follow her on Twitter to learn more.






Monday, October 28, 2019

#Excerpt: HOUSE OF ASH & BRIMSTONE by Megan Starks


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Megan Starks will be awarding a prize pack of best-selling urban fantasy romance + a copy of House of Ash and Brimstone to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Hell has come to collect…

…but Gisele Walker has no plans to pay the debt.

As a half-demon paranormal bounty hunter, Gisele is used to flirting with death, but stealing a curio and opening a portal to Hell’s demon court is more than your average day job.

Now, she’s partnered with an infuriatingly handsome demon, Shade, who has more levels of grey than she can count.

Who can she trust to help save the city as Baltimore burns to the ground and ghouls roam the streets?

With a white-hot attraction burning between them and secrets blocking their path, Gisele must face her past and venture into the twisted heart of the demon royal court.

But with no memory of her past…

…will she be able to save their future?
Buy links: The book is $0.99 during the tour.

Amazon: https://smarturl.it/Gate1Amz
Amazon Print (won't be live until released day): https://smarturl.it/Gate1AmzPrt
BN: https://smarturl.it/Gate1BN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/Gate1Kobo
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/Gate1iBooks
GoodReads: https://smarturl.it/Gate1GR
Publisher (City Owl Press): https://smarturl.it/Gate1CO

Excerpt:

A jumble of computer equipment and business supplies littered the office floor. Orange, blue, and manila folders spilled from an overturned metal cabinet. And in the shadows, Shade sat slumped in her green swivel chair, the hundred-page contract in his hands. He’d torn half of the place and the whole of her desk apart. He’d rummaged through her files, knocked over her pen and paperclip jars, and ripped the bottom right drawer out completely, dropping it on the floor. It was the drawer she kept locked—the drawer she’d left the contract in.

Clearly, it was what he’d been searching for.

“Real mature,” she said, irritated with his reckless, temperamental violence and his blatant disregard for her privacy. “Find what you were looking for?”

No doubt he planned to tattle on her to their boss. Her contract aside, the grimgolem was going to blow a gasket when he accounted for the damage to their computers alone.

“I hope it was worth it for you,” she continued, “because I am not cleaning this up.”

Rather than glare at her, he looked away. His brows drew together, lips pressing a tight line. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” he said, voice raw. “They’ve tricked me.”

“Who has?” Gisele asked, but he ignored her.

The muscles in his arms corded as he gripped the contract tighter, crinkling the thick stack of pages, and she knew who he meant. He really was working with them—the elghoul and its master. For them. Working against her.

Son of a gun.

She chucked a stapler at him hard enough to bruise his chest, then crossed the room, closing the distance until she could have yanked him up by the collar of his soiled, bloody shirt. Instead, she smacked her hand on the desktop. Wood splintered.

“The woman in this contract? Who is she?”

“I can’t tell you that,” he answered, not even looking at her. Not even now. He sounded so defeated. “They’re going to kill you, and they’re going to use me to do it.”

“But why?”

“Because they’re cruel.” Bitterness swirled in his voice. “Because they can.”

And if they demanded it of him, he’d do it, just like that? What kind of a cold-blooded monster was he?

“Are you going to?” she asked, dreading his answer. “Going to rip me apart with your claws? Tear my throat out?”

The image of him, darkly winged and terrifying in the Office of the Paranormal, came crawling back, unwanted.

“Would you really do it?” she asked. It hurt, but she needed to hear him say it. “What happened to ‘I’ll protect you, so you don’t have to be afraid’?”

His little declaration hadn’t even lasted four hours.

“I won’t have a choice.”

About the Author:

Megan Starks is the award-winning author of the Gatewalkers urban fantasy series and a game writer at Obsidian Entertainment. A Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist, Writers Guild of America award nominee, and Pitch Wars alumna with an MFA in fiction, Megan enjoys reading and writing paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy novels. Whether it's dark demons, brooding vampires, howling werewolves, or feisty witches, Megan loves it all.

When she's not penning novels about magic and strong, kick-butt heroines, she enjoys playing video games and spending time with her husband and their cat, Sushi, in California.

Look for Night of Sunder & Sorrow, the sequel to House of Ash & Brimstone, coming in Spring 2020.

Get a free prequel to House of Ash & Brimstone by joining Megan’s mailing list at: http://www.fictivate.com/books

Crave more #Gatewalkers? For updates and to chat about writing, video games, coffee, and cute kitty-cats, come hang out on any of the author's social media sites.

Social media links: Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fictivate
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fictivate
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/fictivate
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16069896.Megan_Starks
Bookbub: http://www.bookbub.com/profile/2811299533
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Megan-Starks/e/B07YBKHQBV/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dwlkwf


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Friday, October 25, 2019

#Excerpt: OFFSIDES by Eden Butler


Offsides
Eden Butler
(Saints and Sinners, #3)
Publication date: October 15th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Gia Jilani had rules.
They kept her safe and her head in the game.
As the NFL’s first female general manager, there were risks to be weighed and taken.
Like Kai Pukui, the linebacker helping her team dominate on the field.
The same quiet, beautiful man who stares too long at her and reminds her of how decadent, and risky living life can be.
But when Gia discovers why Kai seems so familiar and why she feels so drawn to him, things like risks and love become secondary to loss and pain.
Gia will have to decide what’s more important – a life worth risking or a love worth losing.
SAINTS AND SINNERS READING ORDER
Last Love of Luka Hale
Roughing the Kicker
Offsides

Get books 1 & 2 for only 99¢ each for a limited time!

EXCERPT:
Kai held her leg still at his knee or how relaxed they were reclining against the wicker loungers on his balcony, watching the rain crash against the city around them. Damn that spark. It was back and seemed to have no intention of leaving. It was black everywhere now, the electricity shutting off an hour before. Now there was only Kai’s company and the crashing of thunder and the sound of the rain against the metal balcony roof to break apart the quiet of the night.
“When did you have oke?” he asked, pulling her attention from the darkness around her.
“God. I must have been…twenty-three? Couldn’t have been any older than that. I went to O’ahu with my friend Claire. It was her present to herself for passing the bar.”
Kai rubbed her bare leg as she spoke, a lazy, absent-minded gesture Gia wasn’t sure he knew he did. She felt serene, calm even if she wore loose boxers rolled up and knotted at the waist and one of his black Steamers tees that fell off her shoulder every time she moved her hand.
“And what did you do in O’ahu?”
She smiled not sure how honest she should be. But there had been nothing between them save some mild flirtation. Besides, Gia had a past before him. She was sure to have one after he’d stepped out of her life.
“A fire dancer from Waipahu.”
The stroking on her leg stopped, then the lounger next to her shook and Gia looked at Kai, joining in his laughter. “And did the fire dancer do us proud?”
“Most definitely.”
Kai shook his head, and the rubbing continued. “There are always people who like to give the tourists the whole Hawaiian experience.
“Did you ever offer anyone the whole Hawaiian experience?
“Never a tourist.” He looked at Gia then, pressing his lips together. “But I’m keeping my options open.”
She wasn’t drunk enough for this. Not for the glint in his eyes and what it told her. Not for the smooth, slow stroke of his finger against her thigh and how it made her feel. Not for the slowness of Kai’s movements when he set her leg on the lounger, making sure that her ankle was out of the way before he came on his side to face her.
“Gia,” he said, taking the glass out of her hand. There was nothing he needed to say to her. No convincing that would make her change her mind about anything happening between them.
None of it was needed.
“My God,” she started, her tone sounding awed even to her own ears, “how you look at me.” She wanted the words back inside her mouth seconds after they left.
It was too late.
Kai was already moving.
His palm to her face, fingertips moving her chin up and Kai held his mouth inches from Gia’s, ready, waiting, breath warming her lips. “This is a profoundly bad idea,” she said, just as she smoothed her fingers over his wide arm and up his shoulders, running them along his neck to rest against his cheek.
“Then tell me to stop.”
She didn’t. Of course she didn’t.
“Can’t,” Gia said, meeting Kai’s kiss when it came for her.
Then Gia knew what every look Kai had given her meant. He was fierce with every sweeping brush of his lips against hers, with the flat of his tongue inside her mouth, tasting, touching like he couldn’t get enough of her. Every touch meant something, and Gia felt each one with how deeply he kissed her, with how he moved over her, shifting their bodies against the cushions at their backs.
This was nothing like she remembered of him. There was no absinthe or bourbon to dull her senses. There was only the rain and darkness and Kai pressed against her, showing her with the shape of his mouth and the weight of his body how much he wanted her.
“Kai…” She said the name like a wish, trying it out in a breathy whisper that was half moan, half hopeful need and Gia wasn’t sure which she meant more. She only knew that if he stopped touching her, stopped the trail of his lips against her neck, his teeth against her skin and the steely hold of his fingers in her hair, she might just die.
“Kai…” she said again, surprised when he looked up at her, kissing her mouth, adjusting them so that his hips moved against hers and she felt the full size and shape of what he had for her.
“What do you need, nani?” He moved against her and she dropped her head back, fighting the ache that rose up between her legs. “Tell me what you need me to give you and it’s yours.”
“I want…”
Did she know? Gia wasn’t sure. In the dark, the answers came easily. There was nothing here but sensation and movement. There was quiet and the secrets only they could keep. But the morning always came. There would be no stopping it. That was the hardest truth Gia ever had to learn. You can never hide from the sun. It will always rise to meet you.
“Tell me,” he said, pulling on her leg to move them closer still together, groaning when she instinctively reacted with the brush of her hips against him.
When Kai moved his hand under the tee she wore, when he leaned back over her to move in for the kiss, Gia almost let him touch her. She almost relinquished all her control and let that lineman take whatever he wanted from her.
“Kai…I don’t…”
“Gia… please…” He grunted, pulling his hand from her bare skin but didn’t move away from her completely. She could make out the frustration in the hard lines of his features and the hard set of his mouth. When she touched his lips, smoothing her fingers over that soft skin, some of the tension left him. “You’re killing me.”
“I’m…sorry. I’m just…” She didn’t know how to explain herself. She couldn’t when she didn’t understand it herself. Gia only knew the path Kai wanted her on led to heartache and she’d had enough of that to last a lifetime. She wanted him, but not enough to risk what remained of the thing she’d once called a heart again.
Kai opened his mouth, making to speak against her fingers, but stopped, glancing into his apartment when the lights flickered on and a knock sounded at the front door.
“The super,” Gia supplied, moving her hand from his face.
“The super,” he agreed, slipping from the lounger before he pulled Gia to her unsteady feet. “I’ll help you to your apartment.”
“No,” she said, finding her ankle felt less tender and she could manage with a bit more weight on it than she’d been able to bear a few hours before. “I’ve got it.”
She was halfway to the door when Kai stopped her, calling her name over the sound of a second knock.
“If you…figure things out…”
She nodded, managing a smile. “I know where you live, junior.
“Good. Then you won’t get lost on your way back here.”


Author Bio:
Eden Butler is a writer of contemporary, fantasy and romantic suspense novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum.
When she's not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, reads, and spends too much time in her garden perfecting her green thumb while waiting for the next New Orleans Saints Superbowl win.
She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.
Please send help.


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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Interview with Alex Hayes, SIREN SONG


Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
Siren Song is the third book of The Chameleon Effect Series.

Idris and Cadi, the main character from the first book, Silken Scales, return as secondary characters but continue to play significant roles. Connell and Rowan are the main characters and love interests. Connell lives in Los Angeles, working at a press photographer/paparazzo with his adoptive sister, Azera.

Rowan heads to L.A. to find him, but when they finally meet, things don’t go quite as she expects.

Meanwhile, Idris is trying to make his way as a recording artist, and Cadi is stuck in Upstate New York, due to a complication with her pregnancy, and can’t join them. And they are, of course, still being hunted by their alien enemies, the Evatenon.

Do you have a favorite character?
I love them all, but Idris has to be my favorite of the series. His sense of humor, confidence, and at times, child-like innocence, makes him a truly lovable guy.

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
Absolutely. A secondary character from the first book, Silken Scales, becomes a main character in the second book, Perfect Pitch. That wasn’t my original plan, but I get attached to characters and couldn’t resist. While I expected all my main characters to be alien teenagers with superpowers, like Idris and Cadi, that just didn’t happen. Cadi’s friend/enemy, Dean, needed to tell his side of the story, so I let him do that, and the tale turned out wonderfully.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
Yes. I’ve sent queries out and will continue to do so to agents. But these days, there’s no need to wait years to be “discovered.” I can take control over my own business as an author and I’m happy to do that. It’s nice to be able to make my own decisions and not be bound by the long lead times required by traditional publishers.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?
I do belong to a writing critique organization called Scribophile. Joining and working with other writers was the push I needed to start publishing my first series. I have a great team of writers I work with, and I’ve found critiquing other writer’s work to be as instrumental to improving my writing skills as receiving them.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
I’m absolutely a planner and outliner. I wrote my first book organically and it took ten years. Now I can take a story from conception to completion within six months by outlining, analyzing and developing the story and character arcs before diving in to the actual write.

What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?
I’ve learned that to self-publish is relatively easy; selling books is the hard part. Marketing is a huge, huge part of the equation, and you have to go into it with your armor on, ready to take on a multi-headed monster. The necessary effort is more work than one person can comfortably manage, but it has been rewarding, as well as occasionally frustrating. If writing is a labor of love, then I guess marketing is its necessary evil!

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Yes and no. There are aspects of marketing that I quite enjoy, others that are still a mystery to me. I’m lucky that my partner is a very smart and analytical guy, and has taken on the advertising piece of the puzzle, a triple-headed beast in itself. He’s taken a large burden off my shoulders.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?
Before diving into self-publishing, be aware of what is required to be successful. The self-publishing part is relatively easy. It’s all the other pieces that you might not be fully aware of that take time and patience, determination and perseverance. It requires a huge amount of time and at least some money.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
I’ve had numerous passions, on and off, over my life, but I can only handle one passion at a time. Writing has always been my greatest passion, but I’ve also been a database engineer, photographer, interior decorator, caterer, gardener, chef, painter and mother.

What’s next for you?
I’m currently finishing up a stand-alone novel called Steel Strings, then I’ll be knuckling down with the fourth book of The Chameleon Effect series, which I’m really excited about. I have my characters and setting worked out, along with a loose plot, and I’m eager to see where that takes me.



Siren Song
Alex Hayes
(The Chameleon Effect #3)
Publication date: October 15th 2019
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

Connell KurÄ“n doesn’t love being a paparazzo…
He’s a member of the most scorned profession in Hollywood, but he’s good at it, and a hard-ass to boot.
He might also be called an ambulance chaser, though not for the disreputable reason he chases celebrities. Connell has the ability to heal, and at the sound of a siren, he is drawn to those in need.
Life is just fine until his pushy paparazzi nature almost gets someone killed.
Rowan Bren suffers post-traumatic stress and a permanent headache following a near-death experience at the hands of her mortal enemy. After months, she still isn’t right, but she won’t be held back from seeking her bond mate, Con, any longer.
She travels to Los Angeles motivated to help her friend, Idris, with his brilliant plan to locate their missing people. But Rowan’s top priority in the City of Angels is to find Con. She doesn’t know where he lives, but she’s not worried, because her crystal will lead her straight to him.
When she trips into his world, she finds a man so different from the person she expects, she fears he might not be Con at all. That he might be possessed by an evil force like the one that almost killed her.
Siren Song is the third novel of the Chameleon Effect series.

Author Bio:
Alex Hayes wrote her first fiction story when she was twelve. Inspired by her mother’s storytelling, she began work on her first novel, Ice Cracks, at eighteen.
She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. In her twenties, she moved from Marin County, California to Boston, Massachusetts, where she built a career as an IT professional in database engineering. In 2004, she self-published Ice Cracks, which became a semi-finalist in the 2005 IPPY Awards.
Alex splits her time between Grand Junction, Colorado and Guanajuato, Mexico. When she isn’t writing, she’s helping her partner, Lee, renovate a 450 year old hacienda. She is mother to one beautiful daughter and many wonderful cats.


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Interview with Sara Ohlin, HANDLING THE RANCHER

Do you have a favorite character?
When I started writing the book, Miranda was my favorite. Then Lily grew into my favorite. In fact she wouldn’t leave me alone, so I wrote her story next.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
I did do the traditional route to publishing. I’ve been querying different books for years. The whole process has changed so much, from when you used to send paper queries by real mail to now where it’s almost all electronic. For this book, I actually found my publisher during a Twitter Pitch event, which was really intimidating but super fun too. And a great way to make other writer friend/connections.

How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
I started writing in 2000, mostly essay and memoir. I started the first draft of Handling the Rancher in 2007. After lots of drafts, lots of submissions, lots of rejections, I got my contract in 2019. I still think someone’s pranking me! And it’s not my first novel.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
I try to get to work writing every week day after I get my kids to school around 9am. And when I turn off social media and make myself write for several hours, most days I can be really productive. Although productive often means different things. Sometimes it’s writing a chapter, sometimes it’s getting the emotion perfect in one tiny scene. I used to write to music, but lately I get distracted when I do that. Oddly enough, I can write in a loud, busy café, but not with the noise my kids make around the house.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
I go where the muse takes me. Usually the muse is/are characters beating a drum in my head saying, “Write ME now! ME! ME! ME!” I do take some notes as I go and I write ideas for ideas to come in the manuscripts, but I’m not an outliner.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?
My publisher, Totally Bound/Totally Entwined Group does a lot of promoting on their end through different social media platforms and with bloggers and reviewers. I do promote on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I don’t have a huge mailing list yet. And I’m learning more about forums like BookBub and Booksprout.

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
Absolutely!! I’m still learning how to do this. The marketing side of this job is extremely difficult for me. It makes me feel really uncomfortable. Even when kind people offer help and support with things like newsletter swaps, it can make me shut down because I am new to all of it!! Which is why I’m grateful for agencies like Goddess Fish Promotions. It can be difficult, as a new author, and with the ever-changing publishing world, to know where to put your time and money. Connecting with people makes it all worth it, though. I think it’s important to learn about/do what you’re comfortable with, which might be different than what someone else is comfortable with.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
Yes! I’m obsessed with reading; I usually have several books going at the same time. Our house is full of books and my kids love to read too, so at least I have that going for me in the parenting department. I also love to cook and bake and travel. I’m obsessed with food. Some might call me a food snob. I probably am.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?
DOGS!!! All the dogs! We have a new rescue dog, a border collie named Fionn, who is attached to my hip. CHOCOLATE! Always and forever. COFFEE & TEA. I love both!!  TALK! And DAY! I’m a morning person.

What’s next for you?
I have another series debuting in December. The first book is Salvaging Love, also published by Totally Bound/Totally Entwined Group. A brooding attorney threatens the livelihood of a sexy, smart veterinarian. Like my Graciella series, there’s great community, and lots of sizzle. You’ll also find some super cute animals, mostly DOGS! And I’m working on the 2nd book in each series. I also continue to write essays and creative non-fiction.

 
BLURB:

Handling the Rancher

What’s a sexy rancher to do when an uptight accountant falls into his lap?

Already reeling at having inherited the family farm on his father’s death, photojournalist Cruz Brockman returns home to the Oregon town of Graciella to receive another blow—accountant Miranda Jenks is there to audit the books because the IRS suspect his late father of tax fraud. To their astonishment, sparks fly between the passionate Cruz and the career-focused Miranda upon first meeting, and the heat rises with every encounter.

Threatened with losing everything his family has worked for, Cruz has no choice but to be completely open with the uptight Miranda, something that doesn’t come easily to him, just as focusing on her own needs is foreign to her. She’s buried her own desires all her life, but the longer she spends with the captivating rancher, the more she wants to dive into a passionate affair with him.

An intense, toe-curling physical connection is one thing, but exposing their hearts is another. As Miranda finishes her audit and the clock counts down to her leaving, can the reluctant rancher and the shy accountant conquer their fears and fight for their love?

Buy links:







AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Puget Sound based writer, Sara Ohlin is a mom, wannabe photographer, obsessive reader, ridiculous foodie, and the author of the upcoming contemporary romance novels, Handling the Rancher and Salvaging Love.

She has over fifteen years of creative non-fiction and memoir writing experience, and you can find her essays at Anderbo.com, (http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/afact-005.html), Feminine Collective (http://www.femininecollective.com/?s=Come+Back+to+Me+Lemon),  Mothers Always Write (https://mothersalwayswrite.com/map-of-flaws/), Her View from Home (https://herviewfromhome.com/the-joys-and-lessons-learned-through-team-sports/), and in anthologies such as Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak about Healthcare in America, Take Care: Tales, Tips, & Love from Women Caregivers, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Although she’s the author of many essays about life, grief, motherhood and the connections we make through delicious food and shared meals, Sara loves creating imaginary worlds with tight-knit communities in her romance novels. She credits her mother, Mary, Nora Roberts and Rosamunde Pilcher for her love of romance.

If she’s not reading or writing, you will most likely find her in the kitchen creating scrumptious meals with her two kids and amazing husband, or perhaps cooking up her next love story.

She once met a person who both “didn’t read books” and wasn’t “that into food” and it nearly broke her heart.








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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

#Review: DUKES, ACTUALLY by Erica Ridley


  5 of 5 stars

I adore these sweet Christmas romances! Ms. Ridley is masterful in the latest book in the 12 Dukes of Christmas series.  Adam Farland, Duke of Azureford, gets tongue-tied in social settings. He has no problem addressing Parliament, but is at a total loss with small talk. He plans to visit his cottage to practice his social skills by building a billiards room. His next door neighbor, Miss Carole Quincy lost her precious sketchbook in that same cottage and tries to retrieve it only to be confronted by the angry Duke at her intrusion in his home.

Thus begins their relationship and it is a delightful road they're on. There were some laugh-out-loud moments when Carole demonstrates her skills in mathematics and architecture. Adam soon relaxes and begins to enjoy conversations with Carole. I love seeing the heroine have intelligence and skills beyond shopping and embroidery. I only wish there was more explanation on why Adam was so shy. Was he like that throughout his childhood and schooling? All in all this was another enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the next story in this wonderful series.

I voluntarily read the advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.





Monday, October 21, 2019

#Review: TO TAME A SCANDALOUS LADY by Liana De La Rosa


    4 of 5 stars

Lady Flora Campbell chafes at the restrictions put on her sex by society. She only feels like her true self when she training and riding horses. She devices a plan to learn from the best horse trainer in England, Lord Amstead, but to gain a position she must disguise herself as a man. Christian, Marquess of Amstead is single-minded in his goal to rebuild his horse stud farm and he's impressed with the skill of his newest hire, assistant trainer William Grant. When Christian discovers Flora's deception, he's drawn to the young woman and doesn't dismiss her immediately. Knowing that they are flirting with dire consequences if anyone should find out about Flora, they are still unprepared when Flora's identity is found out. Can Christian convince Flora their only option is to marry?

This was a delightful story of two very different, but determined people. Ms. DeLaRosa teases out the personalities of the hero and heroine, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged in the story. Both Christian and Flora have an all consuming passion for horses, but Flora was risking everything with her deception. Instead of realizing that Flora would not want to be managed as a cosseted female, Christian demands that if they marry, she will not be mucking out stalls and involved in the horse training at Amstead Gardens. It was exactly the wrong thing to say. I was routing for these two to finally realize that they loved each other--everything about each other including their flaws.
 

The story moves along at a good pace and I was entranced to read about the antics of the horses. They made the book come alive. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.





#Excerpt: FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED by Alexandra Evans


Finish What You Started
Alexandra Evans
Publication date: October 19th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Tyler Johansen, catcher for the Memphis Blues, always promised himself he would complete his bachelor’s degree. But his online professor is a real pain in the ass.
When Professor Harper Manning is forced to bend the rules for one of her students just because he’s a professional athlete, she’s pissed. Entitled jerk.
Unfortunately he’s the sexiest entitled jerk she’s ever come across, and Ty has made it clear he’s hot for teacher. She could lose her job if they’re caught messing around.
The problem is, he might be worth it.

EXCERPT:
“But I have a special deal with the dean.” Ty scooted up on the chair and leaned his elbows on the faded oak of her desk. “See, I play ball, and since I’m having to take this class during the season, I can’t always get my assignments in on time. Sometimes I’m on the road—”
“They don’t have Wi-Fi in your hotels?”
“Yeah, but—”
“You have your laptop or access to a computer when you’re on the road?”
“Most of the time, but—”
“So you had the same opportunity to get this turned in on time that all my other students did, especially since you aren’t carrying a full load on top of working as some students in my classes do.”
He sat back in his chair and scowled. “Well, I do work. Baseball is a full-time job. It’s more than a full-time job, to be perfectly honest, when you factor in workouts, practices, games, interviews, team meetings, and all the other crap that goes along with it.”
“With one class. That’s doable for all the rest of my students, Mr. Johansen, so I expect it to be doable for you as well, special arrangements or not. I think the dean would agree with me on that.”
Harper pushed the essay back toward him and rolled her chair up closer to her desk. She should have done a little jig of victory, but instead she felt a little tinge of…guilt? No, not that. He’d been late on his assignment, and playing ball was no excuse. It was never an excuse for shirking responsibilities. If you wanted something enough, you went all out for it. If her father had taught her nothing else in his miserable life, what little of it he’d actually spent with her, he’d taught her that.

Author Bio:
Alexandra enjoys writing contemporary romances with hot heroes and strong heroines, centered on her favorite sport: baseball.

A former research scientist, Alexandra spends her free time taking care of her husband, teenage daughter, and two doge, a Papillon named Percy, and a St. Bernard mix named Bongo.


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