#Excerpt: STEAL ME, COWBOY by Kim Boykin

BOOK BLURB:

Unbeknownst to her boyfriend, Sassy South Carolina hairstylist, Rainey Brown, is headed to Missoula, dead set on giving her minor league baseball player boyfriend of four years an ultimatum. Either put a ring on it or let her go, preferably not the latter.

When Rainey's piece of crap car dies in the middle of Nowhere, Montana, she's sure she's a gonner, until gorgeous restaurateur Beck Hartnett stops to help. Beck falls hard for Rainey, and knows she would admit she's fallen for him too, if she wasn't too stubborn to admit it. Beck has five days before the car is repaired to steal Rainey away from a boyfriend who doesn't deserve her. Five days before she's gone for good.

Amazon buy link:  http://www.amazon.com/Steal-Cowboy-Copper-Mountain-Rodeo-ebook/dp/B00HLPNH84/ref=la_B009955Q2Y_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389721851&sr=1-2

AUTHOR Bio and Contact Links:

Kim Boykin is a women's fiction author with a sassy Southern streak. She is the author of The Wisdom of Hair, Steal Me, Cowboy, and Palmetto Moon (Summer 2014.) While her heart is always in South Carolina, she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, 3 dogs, and 126 rose bushes.

Kim Boykin website: http://kimboykin.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkimboykin

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKimBoykin

EXCERPT Short:

“Car trouble?” He tipped his hat back and raised his aviators. Wicked green eyes raked over me, and my breath caught a little.

Granted I was on my way to see my boyfriend, but I wasn’t dead. The cowboy’s face was rugged and stubbled, and the air conditioner on full blast blew his long dark hair about, the kind of hair that’s so luscious, it makes a stylist’s fingers twitch.

Follow the tour:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/01/super-book-blast-steal-me-cowboy-by-kim.html

#Excerpt: THE HARDEST PART by Heather London

Book & Author Details:

The Hardest Part by Heather London
Publication date: January 5th 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Emily Anderson and Reed Alexander are living with pasts they cannot escape.

Emily moved to New York City seeking a fresh start, intending to focus on her career and to keep a low profile.

Reed returns home to New York City after two years, haunted by the same things that pushed him away years ago.

When Reed and Emily meet, their connection is undeniable, but Emily keeps her feelings hidden. Falling in love is the last thing on her mind and she knows the danger it may bring not only to her, but to Reed as well. Reed isn’t as reluctant, but he knows that the demons he’s fighting could destroy Emily.

The harder they try to resist one another, the deeper they fall in love, and the more complicated their lives become.

In the end, they realize that truly loving someone may mean letting them go… and that’s the hardest part.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18488904-the-hardest-part?ac=1

Purchase:

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hardest-part-heather-london/1117951073?ean=2940149072972

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hardest-Part-Heather-London-ebook/dp/B00HOL4UVS

AUTHOR BIO

Heather London is a young adult author who loves to write stories full of fantasy, romance, and science fiction. She is a lover of only the finest of coffee and premium craft beer, but will settle for anything chocolate, regardless of its quality. Heather lives with her husband in Dallas, TX where she is currently working hard on her next project.

Author Links:

http://heatherlondon.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heather-London-Author/217852745010011

EXCERPT:

"Here, take this. We don't have much time." Mike's frantic voice was loud in my ear. Still dazed, I glanced up at him and saw he was holding an envelope out for me to take. My eyes stared at the envelope, but I couldn't make myself reach out for it.

"Emily." Mike's voice was soft but firm. "I know this is a lot to take in, but I need you to concentrate. Take the envelope." He enunciated the last few words slowly, carefully.

My hands shook as I reached out for it. "I'm not sure I can do this, Mike." I finally found my voice. "This is crazy. I—I don't know where to go." Once I had the envelope in my grasp, it felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.

"You can do this. This life you've been living, this isn't a life for you. Anywhere is better than here."

I felt the darkness closing in around me. I could feel my throat getting tighter. My breaths were short and quick. If I didn't calm myself down, I was going to have a full-fledged panic attack. My mind was still trying to process what was happening.

The person I trusted most in the world had woken me up in the middle of the night, just thirty minutes ago, telling me to get dressed and be quiet. I didn't question Mike then. I didn't question him when he led me out of the penthouse suite, or when we he led me down the hall to the back stairwell and came out at the back of the casino. I still didn't question him when I saw his car parked at the end of the dark alley, or when we pulled away from the building without an explanation of any kind. It wasn't until we pulled onto the highway and the bright lights of the Vegas strip were behind us that I finally asked what was going on.

"You're getting out of here, Emily. You're going to get as far away from here as possible," he’d told me.

It was only then that it hit me. He was helping me escape. He was helping me get away from Jake. I was too stunned to say anything then, and I was too afraid to say anything now.

"Emily, are you listening to me? We don't have much time." Mike’s voice was louder now, more demanding. I blinked away my thoughts and looked up at him. He stood a good foot and a half taller than me, his gray hair receding almost to the point of baldness. He was old enough to be my father, and truth be told, he was the closest thing I’d ever had to one.

As I stood here now, I felt like a scared little girl—not sure what to do, looking up at him for the answers.

"The bus should take you to the main station downtown. From there, you choose where to go. You choose how to live your life." He frowned and then his face twisted into something else entirely—tortured and sad. He and I both knew this was probably the last time we’d ever see each other.

"There's a passport, social security card, and twenty thousand dollars in the envelope. It should be enough for you to get on your feet and start a new life, one far away from here." His voice cracked on the last couple words. He cleared his throat, trying to cover up his weakness.

"I don't want his money, Mike." I shoved the envelope back out to him to take. I didn't want any part of him near me.

"It's my money, Emily. Money that I've earned and saved. It's mine and I want you to have it."

"It's still a part of him." I shook my head. "And I can't take your money."

"All those years I looked away. Let him treat you like nothing. All those times I should have helped you. I'll never forgive myself for letting him hurt you for so long." He closed his eyes and paused for a moment, his lips forming into a hard, tight line. "Take it. I need you to take it."

 

Jeda's Humble Beginnings: Excerpt from ASSASSIN'S CURSE

 

The boy stood in the middle of the room staring blankly at the wall.

Choose well was all he remembered.

The room was about sixty paces long and probably half as wide.  It was two stories’ high with numerous oil lamps set along the upper walls that provided more than adequate lighting for the entire room.  A balcony ran along three of the four walls and provided a means to observe any event happening below.  There was one door leading in and out of the room, but it was blocked by a large, well-muscled man dressed completely in black.  His eyes were deadpan, like those of a cold-blooded killer. 

The air was relatively cool, but the young boy felt a drip of sweat run down his back.  He tried to hide his nervousness beneath a façade of serenity while staring at the wall, but he could feel the butterflies roiling in his stomach, threatening to unman him.

The wall the boy stared at contained all conceivable manner of weapons, from short throwing knives to elegantly curved swords to long-handled halberds with wickedly curved barbs and spikes.  The boy had to choose something soon or forfeit his chance to test again for another year.  He would not let this opportunity pass, because this was the day he had trained long and hard for, the day he had anticipated for the last three years, and the day when he would finally prove himself worthy.  Today he would test to become an apprentice in the guild of assassins.

The rules of the test were simple: choose your weapon and fight.  Any novice who aspired to test for apprenticeship had twenty short minutes to fight and draw blood from their opponent.  Whatever weapon a novice chose to test with would be the school in which they would be apprenticed if they passed.  There were five schools: Sword, Knife, Axe, Staff, and Bow.  The tests were short, brutal, and bloody, designed to ensure that no one advanced who did not rightly deserve to.  Their opponents were fully trained brothers of the guild who gave no quarter or latitude to the would-be contenders.  Many tested for the honor, but few passed their first time, and some even lost their lives in the attempt. 

Jeda had decided many months ago to choose a pair of fighting knives as his weapon of choice.  He was good with knives, both in hand-to-hand combat and throwing, and liked the way they felt perfectly balanced in his hands.  He had been steadfast in his weapon of choice until the moment he entered the room and saw Brother Mave waiting for him.  A slight grimace passed over his face, but he quickly composed himself.  The last thing he wanted was for Mave to see he was scared.  Mave was dressed in the traditional, assassin color of black, but also wore a distinguishable symbol of red, crossed swords on the bandana holding back his hair.  That symbol marked him as a preeminent sword expert within the guild, second only to the masters in the School of Swords.  Knives were excellent, close-in fighting weapons, but Jeda was not good enough with them to draw blood from a sword expert like Mave.  Now he stood immobilized, staring at the weapons wall, furiously trying to think of what he should do next.  He knew he would have to choose wisely if he was to survive this day. 

Damn, of all the brothers in this guild, how could I be so lucky as to get Mave? Jeda thought sarcastically.  He stepped forward and reached for the weapon he thought he would have the most luck with.

No sense in changing now.

***

Mave saw the boy look his way and inwardly smiled.  He knew the boy was scared, and rightly so.  It was not chance that brought him here today, but a carefully orchestrated scheme to make sure he tested the boy.  He felt Jeda was no more than a third-year upstart who did not deserve the opportunity to test for apprenticeship.  Most novices trained for five or six years before petitioning to test.  Mave was going to make sure that the boy did not pass.  That was as it should be, for it was Mave who had brought Jeda to the guild in the first place.  He should be the one to put the boy in his place and teach him humility.

Jeda finally reached up and took a pair of fighting knives off the wall.

Mave shook his head at the boy’s choice.  I knew it.  The boy may know how to fight, but he knows nothing of winning.

“Begin,” said the dispassionate voice of the master-in-attendance judging the test.

Mave strode forward, closing the distance and eliminating the only advantage knives would give the boy.  Without the distance to throw them, they were completely useless against swords. 

The boy stood stock-still, visibly trembling as Mave approached.  His frozen fear was pathetic and almost embarrassing.  Mave would cut him slightly with his first blade and knock him out with the handle of his second, putting a quick end to this charade of a test.  Twirling his swords in a deadly dance, Mave felt no sympathy for the boy.  Today’s failure would set Jeda back at least a year and give him more time to learn proper respect and modesty, traits Mave felt he was sorely lacking. 

The young fool doesn’t know what he’s in for.   

As Mave swung the first blade to catch the boy across the cheek, something unexpected happened.  Jeda dove forward, under the first blade, and whipped one of his knives at Mave’s exposed side.  Mave deflected the throw with his second sword.  If he had not been such an excellent swordsman, the throw would have a scored a hit.

Maybe not quite the fool I took him for.  Mave spun around swinging the sword in a deadly arc to face the boy as Jeda jumped to his feet.  The swing cut the boy high on the arm and he cried out in shock and pain.  The cut was deep and bleeding heavily, rendering the arm useless.  The boy went down on one knee, but Mave moved cautiously forward.  He would not be caught off-guard a second time by the boy’s cleverness.  When Mave came within a sword’s reach of him, the boy jumped forward into a diving roll and threw his second, remaining knife.  Mave anticipated the move and easily deflected the throw, shaking his head at the boy’s stupidity in throwing away his last means of defense.  As he turned to face Jeda, he realized his mistake.  He felt a blade slice through his trousers, burning and drawing a bright-crimson line along his leg.  Jeda had used the second throw to distract Mave from his true objective: the first blade that Mave had deflected.  The boy had used his diving roll to reach that first blade, left forgotten on the floor.  

How did he get that knife so quickly and throw it so precisely? Mave wondered, looking down at his bleeding leg.     

“Enough.  Blood has been drawn by Novice Jeda,” said the master’s voice from the balcony.  “He is elevated to the rank of apprentice.”

Mave studied Jeda with a smoldering anger.  He was a good fifteen feet away and was wobbling on his feet from loss of blood.  It didn’t seem possible that he could have thrown that knife in his condition.  Mave knew the boy must have somehow cheated. 

This is not over; no one makes a fool of me.

Buy at Amazon | BN | Kobo | Smashwords 

Also available in paperback:  http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Curse-Witch-Prophecy-Volume/dp/1478329548

Interview with Kerry Dwyer

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?

Certainly. The book is called ‘Ramblings in Ireland’. It isn’t a book about rambling in Ireland.  It is the story of one particular walking trip and the memories and musings it inspired.

British ex-patriate Kerry Dwyer leads Bertrand, her trusting French husband, astray on a walking holiday in South West Ireland. She can’t read maps and he insists that she leads the way. As they have so much time in each other’s company they reminisce and reflect upon accents and accidents, family and friends, love and what it means to be alive. Bertrand doesn’t mind getting lost - he loves Kerry all the more for going off the beaten track.

This is a book about ramblings in Ireland. Walk with Kerry and Bertrand and follow where your thoughts lead you. This book was inspired by the beauty of Ireland and the wonderful people we met when we were there.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

Yes I did. It was very disheartening to receive all those standard rejection letters and emails. Some of them didn’t reply at all.  I had all but given up the idea of being published before I was convinced by Joel Canfield of Someday Box that my work should be published and that I should have enough confidence in it to self publish.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

Yes I do. We are a small circle of friends and each write very differently. We use a private blog to post our most recent efforts and the others comment on it. We are all very positive about each others’ work whilst trying to help the others improve their work. It has helped me a great deal. Sometimes it is difficult to stand back and evaluate your own work. With Ramblings In Ireland I eventually took out the whole of the first chapter and re wrote it.  The original one just didn’t do the job but it took someone else telling me that to change it.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?

A number of things. Firstly Amazon is where I always look for books if I want one.  I know a lot of people look there first certainly all my family do. Several of my family and friends have a Kindle and it’s the most popular of e-book reader.  So a logical place to increase visibility.

Amazon have a very easy and free system to upload a book for Kindle and it’s partner Createspace have an equally easy one for print books. As they are print on demand that means I didn’t have to come up with any money to do this.  You have to format them correctly in order for this to work and for them to look professional. I had help from Someday Box to do that.  Having the two selling from the same place makes life easier for me.

The Amazon review system is also easy to use and once you have enough reviews and sales the Amazon system starts to promote your book though the ‘spotlight’ and ‘also bought’ systems. This is very good publicity for any indie author who can’t afford to pay for advertising.

What is your writing process?

I find it very difficult to write without a deadline. For Ramblings In Ireland I had the deadline of a competition. I wrote every evening until it was finished and sent it off for the competition. It wasn’t really ready for the competition and not surprisingly didn’t get a mention. I hadn’t had any beta readers or proof readers do their work on it at that time but it got the bulk of the work finished.

For my second novel I wrote the first 50k words for NaNoWriMo in 2011 and it hasn’t progressed very much since then. I don’t have a deadline for it. I may use this year’s WriMo to edit and finish it but I am very busy promoting my first book.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you.

Ramblings of course already had the main story that of our walking holiday. The tangents are what seamed to me logically placed.  Some of them were things we actually talked about when we were there and others I just went where the fancy took me.

For my second novel I have a story board and a plan. The back story changes a little every time I come back to it. When I was first writing it the story just poured out for the whole of November. I did the story board afterwards in order to try to put some shape to the story. It was quite a mess.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I used Joel Canfield at Someday Box for that as well. He found several people to read through proofread, edit and suggest. I really liked working with Joel. He allowed me to tell the story I wanted to tell in the way I wanted to tell it. He would make suggestions and point out parts that didn’t really work.  I would then rewrite them and get more feedback. It was a long process but I really like the finished book. It is still very much me.

What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?

I have learned that it is important to listen to your critics with an open mind. They give criticism for your benefit and it is not personal.  I am very lucky that the group I belong to are friends that I can trust. I’ve learned that no matter how long you worked on something and how much you love it, if it doesn’t work it needs to come out.  I’ve learned that I am totally incapable of proofreading my own work. I couldn’t believe the number of spelling, punctuation and even grammar errors in my manuscript.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

Yes. My book is for sale in Nook format by Barnes and Noble and for all other e-book readers and PCs at Smashwords.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?

This blog tour is my first concentrated marketing effort.  I can also be found on various sites:

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/KerryDwyerAuthor

Twitter, https://twitter.com/DwyerKerry

Blog,  http://kerrydwyer.net/

You tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIHJpRFdIGg

The Independent author index: http://indaindex.com/kerry-dwyer/

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?

Absolutely. I work full time and have a family so the time I have available to do either marketing or writing is precious and has to be shared. I am hoping that I can get back to writing again more seriously after this tour. As fun as it is it takes a lot of time to organize and to give followers something new to look at with each stop.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

I think getting yourself known is very difficult for indie authors. It requires a lot of work and you can’t just sit back and expect the readers to come and find you.  A blog tour like this one is a great opportunity to spotlight you as an author and your work. Be polite to your blog host and put some effort in.

Another essential thing to do is to get your worked reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon and anywhere else you can. There are lists of people who review independent authors and you can just google them. They will not all respond so write to all of them that review your genre and don’t forget to read their review policies. Nothing annoys a reviewer more than their policy being ignored. Remember that they are doing this for you, often for nothing except a free copy of your book and they are all very inundated with requests. If yours doesn’t follow the policy it will not be selected for review.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

My biggest passion is my family. I love my husband and my daughter and love spending time with them when we can just be a family. This happens less and less frequently as my daughter is away at Lycee and she likes to spend a lot of time with her friends, which is normal. My parents live quite close and I like to see them as well.

The other thing that I love to do is walk. I walk a lot. I like to walk every day if I can for about an hour, just around where I live. The countryside changes so much and I take a lot of pictures for my blog. At the weekends and on holiday I walk further and explore different areas.

Music particularly live Jazz in the winter and socializing with friends are two other things that I enjoy doing.

What’s next for you?

My second book has the working title ‘The Book Exchange’. It is a work of fiction following the lives of four women connected by monthly visits to a book exchange.  The idea for this book came from the book exchange that I visit. I prefer to read English books for leisure and so do a lot of expats. We all get together in the back of a local shop once a month and swap the books that we have read.  I am hoping to finish the book this year but that will very much depend on the time I have available. I am not in a hurry to finish it, it’s more important that I enjoy the process and that it is worthy of being read.

Interview with Paulette Mahurin

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?

The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, takes place in 1895, a year filled with memorable historical events: The Dreyfus Affair divided France; Booker T. Washington gave his

Atlanta Address; And Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted for gross indecency under Britain’s recently passed law that made sex between males a criminal offense. When the news of Wilde’s conviction went out over telegraphs worldwide, it threw a small Nevada town into chaos. This is the story of what happened when the lives of its citizens were impacted by the news of Wilde’s imprisonment. It is a chronicle of hatred and prejudice with all its unintended and devastating consequences, and how love and friendship heal.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

No. Initially a friend, who owns Blue Palm Press did the final edit, format, cover design, and had it printed. I then took over the printing costs and did the promo. I took it to createspace and did a professional kindle convert.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?

Initially it was a test run while my book was submitted to the NY book fair with BEA. Then it started selling well on amazon so I left it there. It’s continuing to do well, with daily sales.

What is your writing process?

I get up and write in the morning and keep going to early afternoon then quit. I love to write and so putting in the time, and having the time available has been a gift. I write from a combination of planned format and spontaneous flow. The planned format would include things like setting up the sets of the scenes, for example, I diagramed the entire town the story takes place in, the 1895 Nevada ranching town, down to the location of shops on the main street, the school yard, saloon, church, etc. I then note things I want to include in a rough outline, the overview, which moves me into chapter 1 with a spontaneous flow. When I finish the first draft it’s read through and self edit till I’ve rung this dry at which point it’s over to and back and forth with a professional editor. I use an editor for structure and creatively artistic flow, for feedback on authenticity, how the story sits, and rewrite depending on what sits well with me that if I change it, it will serve the story. It’s a process, that changes day to day, a lot of patch-work and flow.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you.

As mentioned above, both. The outline is very rough draft. The real meat is muse, gut, the story telling itself, the characters coming alive and screaming their dialogue at me, sometimes all at once. When the rapid fire is too much, I note down things, sometimes in outline, sometime randomly.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I worked with three editors. The first was for flow of the story. The second was a professional successful screenwriter/playwrite who read it for believability, authenticity, gaps in the story, etc. After the read write from her notes (which took close to a year) I went with my final editor, an ex-journalist for the fine tuning line editing, and detail pulling it together for a smooth flow and well structured format.

What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?

It’s not all that painful, lol. I’ve had a publisher approach me to want to take on my book, but when my husband and I sat down and looked at the figures I decided to stay where I was, since it’s been doing well and also because profits are going to animal rescue, I didn’t want to take away from any funds going to help get animals out of kill shelters and into their forever homes. I may change at some point, I don’t know, it depends on how things continue to go in the future, but for now I’ve been lucky, blessed, and if it ain’t broke…

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

Several stores in Ventura County, where I live.

I network everywhere I can, facebook, twitter, Goodreads (offer giveaways), The World Lit Café, Book Blogs, connect with bloggers and reviewers, and talk to anyone I can about having a look at it. It’s been well received and there’s been a lot of word of mouth promotion from others who have read it. I also got lucky in that it’s been featured in the press and national magazines as well as chosen by a prestigious Literary Branch Art Center, but were this not to have been the case I would brain storm, study, read books on promotional successful strategies, and do whatever I could to get the word out. There are also blog tours, which I am currently considering.

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?

Yes, I’m mostly doing marketing but that’s okay because I’m passionate about spreading the word, the message of the book, tolerance, and also passionate about helping animals, which the profits are going toward.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

There’s a lot of good data on the internet on things one can do that are cost effective, study up on them. Network on all the above sites, I’ve mentioned and don’t be concerned with stepping out of your comfort zones to self promote, especially if you’re the only one promoting it. Ask for reviews and have them posted everywhere: amazon, goodreads, shelfari, etc. Connect with bloggers to feature your book, offer to do articles/posts for bloggers or interviews, giveaways, to get your book out there. And, ask other authors what they did that helped them.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

I love dogs, passionately, and helping to get those depressed faces off death row, out of kill shelters, into forever homes, is something I’ve been working on for years, one dog at a time, helping with animal rescue groups, donating my profits to them, and adopting what I can to help. I just love them. I also have a great relationship with my husband and do a lot of pro-bono work with him to help other in our community. I’m a nurse practitioner and love giving back to women with cancer and other health related problems (Women’s health is my specialty), so am involved in volunteerism. My husband is a retired NASA attorney and does only pro-bono consultation now. We both sleep well at night.

What’s next for you?

More of the same. Writing, animal rescue, hanging with my hubby and family, and continue to do my pro-bono work. I have a good life that I’m satisfied with, blessed with.

Thanks you so much for this opportunity and all the help you give to authors.

Sponsorship: STAKED by Sandra Edwards

Are you looking for a smart and sexy time travel book, then look no further than STAKED. I've read this story and absolutely loved it especially Dexter Stone--oh, la la!

Book blurb:

Ava Valentine is a time-traveling bounty hunter from the distant future. She's chased her fugitive back to present-day New York City, where she anticipates an uneventful capture even though she's a little on edge because she's meeting a new contact.

Dexter Stone is a mysterious soldier of fortune who's agreed to take Ava to her bounty--for a fee. What Ava's not expecting is to get mixed up with a man she suspects is a vampire!  

After a run-in with an unsavory character from Ava's past, she and Stone are forced into an uneasy alliance. But very soon she'll discover she could be Stone's saving grace--or his downfall.

Reviewer’s comments:

5 stars – “I just loved the chemistry between Ava & Stone. Even with the risk she takes if ever giving herself to him, this story leaves you wanting more and hoping”

5 stars – “It is a wonderful book, I could not put it down read it in about a day and a half. I recommend this book to everyone who loves a great romance with a little twist of vamps in it.”

5 stars – “This book kept me reading from first page to last. I couldn't put it down. I love the new spin on the vampire angle, and the time travel element leaves the mystery lover in me begging for more.”

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Staked-Time-Brokers-Book-ebook/product-reviews/B0052MSYRW
BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/staked-sandra-edwards/1102380111
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Staked/book-ZVuFbnwGXEWCgZ8FH3W0_w/page1.html

Excerpt:

“When do you think we'll arrive at our destination?” She threw an easy and unassuming question at him in hopes that he’d drop his guard a little.

He shrugged and thought about it. “Couple hours or so. Three tops.” He turned to her. “But since you’re from south Jersey, you should know that. Right?”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve been there lately.” She shrugged. “So I can’t really judge travel time because I don’t know what the traffic’s like.”

“Makes sense.” He gave a concurring nod and then went silent. They passed a sign signifying a rest stop one mile ahead.

“Hey,” Ava said. “Can we make a pit stop up ahead?”

“Seriously?” He rolled his eyes. “You want to stop now? Do you realize how much time we’ll waste by stopping?”

“Five minutes,” she said. “Five minutes isn’t going to make or break us.” She wasn’t sure if he’d stop or not. Stone didn’t exactly strike her as the accommodating type.

He didn’t say whether or not he’d stop, he simply turned his attention back to the road ahead and handled the steering wheel with one hand.

Ava tried willing him to stop. Aside from needing to pee, she wanted to splash a little water on her face. Maybe it’d shock this detrimental fascination with Stone out of her system. It’d slammed her back at Louie’s, even before he’d crossed the threshold. She hadn’t wanted it then and she was no closer to accepting it now. The sooner she acquired Cole and reimbursed Stone, the quicker she could escape the spell Stone held over her. That was one thing she could look forward to if Stone bypassed the rest stop exit—getting away from him that much faster.

Stone barely slowed down prior to veering off the freeway at the precise moment he was about to bypass the exit. Knowing now that they’d be making the stop left her with mixed feelings. She needed to use the bathroom, but there was something to be said for getting away from Stone as quickly as possible.

The parking lot was nearly deserted and cloaked in the nighttime’s darkness. Most of the street lights were out, right along with the outside lights on the building. It was hard to see whatever might be lurking in the shadows.

Ava scanned the area as she opened the car door but couldn’t decide if the eeriness swallowing her up was from real trouble or just her nerves. Well, she had to pee; plus she was sure that she and Stone could handle any mortal trouble hiding in the darkness.

She closed the car door with an easy push and surveyed the area. The night’s warm air held the faintest hint of a breeze. She just wasn’t sure if it was enough to fuel the goose bumps that’d begun to pebble her skin. To be on the safe side, she and Stone had better stick together.

Ava glanced over her shoulder at Stone strolling up the sidewalk about two paces behind her. “You think you could come inside with me?” she asked. He threw her suggestive look. She didn’t have the patience for his antics right now. “Look...I can’t say that sexing it up in a neglected john at some rest stop along the highway really turns me on.” She tried to project her impatience onto him with a glare. It must have worked because he rolled his eyes, drew a heavy breath and moved toward her. “Can you just go in there with me? These kinds of places give me the creeps.” It was best to let him think she needed a hero. But the truth was, if they were going to get backed into a corner, better to do it together. 

Stone moved in front of her, shaking his head. “No matter how long I live,” he said. “I’ll never understand women.”

“Right back at you,” she said with a bite to her tone.

Stone stopped at the door, cracked it open about a foot and scanned the interior before entering. After a second or two he pushed the door open and beckoned her to follow.

“You’re safe, my lady.” He fanned a grand gesture about the outer area of the ladies’ room. Clearly making fun of her.

Ava didn’t know why, but that wounded her ego. She headed straight for the sink and turned on the cold water. Luckily, it was instantly cold. She cupped her hands, filled them with the chilled water and splashed her face. Then she did it again for good measure. As she suspected, it didn’t do that much good.

She pivoted on her heel and moved toward the nearest stall. Slamming her hand, palm out, against the door, it thrust open. Once inside, she flipped the latch. It helped knowing the bathroom stall served as a kind of barrier between Ava and what tempted her. If she kept telling herself that, maybe she’d believe it by the time she was done.

She dropped her pants to her knees, well-aware of Stone’s presence and what she’d allow him to do without much persuasion on his part. She went about her business, hoping it’d distract her from the sexual attraction coursing through her body where it all seemed to be gathering beneath her belly.

This was so not good. Ava couldn’t afford to give herself to some vampire. Especially not this vampire. The one who could convince her to give up all her secrets with a mere touch.

Finishing up, she stood and pulled her pants back up around her waist.

“Ava...?” There was a certain sense of wariness in Stone’s voice. “You about done?”

“Yeah,” she said, pushing the stall’s door open. “Keep your shorts on.” She went to the sink to wash her hands.

“Listen,” he said softly, moving closer to her. “I don’t want to alarm you, but there’s trouble outside.”

“Trouble?” She turned off the water and shook her hands a couple of times before wiping them on her pants. “What kind of trouble?”

Their eyes met and for a second it looked like he might actually say the word vampire. But he didn’t. He kind of left that part out when he said, “Five or six of them. I don’t know if I can fight them all off, but I’ll stand a better chance in here...where we can’t be surrounded.” He wasn’t paying much attention to her. Instead he was canvassing the room, taking in every inch of it. Finally, when his gaze landed back on her, he gave a half smile. “I’ll do my best to keep you safe and get you out of this alive.”