Stacey Joy Netzel's Blog, page 2

Signing Event

It's been awhile, I know. For the moment, I'd like to share an upcoming signing event, and then I'll be back in a day or so with more news and more regularly scheduled 'programming.' :)

Have a great day! ~ Stacey

If you're out and about in the Green Bay area on Saturday, hop on over to Pulaski for a visit! I'd love to see some friendly faces. :) There will be some great books for you to purchase, a bunch of door prizes as well as one grand prize for a lucky winner!
And the coffee at Mountain Bay Coffee and Gifts is great! I work there some days and love the Tiger Spiced Chai Tea. 

International Authors' Day Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the International Authors' Day blog hop!

I wrote for about eight years before I finished my first book and thought about publishing it. It took almost another year before I made it to my first meeting of a professional writer's organization, which was Wisconsin Romance Writers.

I remember leaving that meeting thinking, "I've found home." At 30 years old, I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, because up until then, I was a travel agent, writing was something fun to do, and yeah, it'd be "cool" to be published.

24 books later, I am working hard at my dream job and it's still super cool every time I publish a book. I've gained a family that I never expected to have, and I love the things I learn from all of them every day.

That family is all the author friends and amazing readers I've met over the years on my journey. They come from every corner of the world-which most days is still mind-boggling to me. Definitely International! I love hearing from all of you and talking on Facebook .

The other thing I love doing is collaborating with other authors to bring readers super great deals! Check out this brand new ROMANCE SUPER BUNDLE II: Second Chances. 




We're offering 11 books for the sale price of $0.99! (retail value: $26.90)
Amazon US  CA  UK  AU  ARe  iBooks  BN  Kobo  SW  

MY PRIZES FOR THE BLOG HOP:
1 - $10 gift card winner's choice (Amazon, BN or PayPal cash) 
1- winner's choice of one ebook from my backlist.

I'd love to hear in the comments where you're from and what you love most about it. Then enter the rafflecopter for your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out all the other authors on this hop for more fun and prizes!

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Thanks for stopping by and happy reading ~ Stacey

Addictive Summer Reads ~ Win Prizes!

Over $100 in prizes!
One $50 Paypal Cash or Amazon Gift Card
(winner's choice)One $15 Amazon Gift CardFive $10 Amazon Gift Cards
The awesome authors at Addictive Reads are happy to offer a great round of SALES to stock up your ereader for the summer. We've got romance and horror, and everything in betwee - young adult, mystery, romantic suspense, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, new adult, gothic...

There's something for everyone ~ and at these prices, you can grab a whole bunch! 

CLICK HERE to see all the awesome books to choose from and how to enter to WIN. 
Check out each of the blog posts in the linky below, leave some comments, and enter the rafflecopter for your chance to win!


My sale books: EACH just $0.99  (reg. 3.99)

AMAZON US CA UK BN   ARe  KOBO  Apple  Google Play  

AMAZON UK CA AU APPLE  BN  KOBO ARe  Google Play



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Sunday Share: GRETA'S GRACE

It's been awhile, so welcome back to Sunday Share everyone! I'm happy to be sharing the new release, GRETA'S GRACE, by the wonderful Virginia McCullough. Here's what I had to say about her book The Chapels on the Hill.

"A lyrical story of the healing power of love ~ it will capture your heart." 

Today, Virginia is sharing with us an excerpt from her book Greta's Grace. Hope you enjoy!

Greta’s Grace, a story of two families in crisis, a rocky mother-daughter relationship, and a second chance at love, set on a small Wisconsin town on the Lake Michigan shore.

Greta's Graceby Virginia McCullough
Genre: Women's Fiction/Family Saga/Romance

Buy now: AMAZON

Professional speaker, Lindsey Foster is faced with losing her only child, Greta, when Greta is diagnosed with cancer. Desperate to be closer to her during this crisis, Lindsey heads to Simon’s Point, Wisconsin, where Greta lives. Although Lindsey finds her greatest joy from inspiring her audiences with the healing power of women’s stories, her heart aches over her inability to heal her emotionally distant relationship with her daughter. 

Divorced from Greta’s blustery dad, Brian, Lindsey is drawn to him now as they share their fears about Greta. She never expects to experience the drama of becoming involved with her ex-husband or to confront the dilemma of another man falling for her, especially Sam, her son-in-law’s widowed father. But Sam, quiet and reflective, offers more than friendship and becomes her refuge in this time of crisis. 

With her willingness to do anything to make her daughter happy, Lindsey makes questionable decisions and keeps secrets from Greta, causing more heartbreak. Feeling exiled once again, Lindsey faces choices that will define her future—and her relationship with her daughter. But will Lindsey ever receive Greta’s Grace?

EXCERPT: (Lindsey Foster has just learned that Greta, her 26-year-old newly married daughter has Hodgkin’s disease. Lindsey has decided to temporarily move to Simon’s Point, Wisconsin to be support Greta during this crisis, even though this mother and daughter aren’t close. Greta’s husband, Jake Iverson, and his father, Sam, own an inn and rental cottages.)

Despite the twists and turns, the footpath through the woods was easy to follow. I shivered as I grabbed the collar of my jacket and pulled it tighter around my neck, all the while wishing for a thick scarf to protect me from the damp wind blowing off Lake Michigan. Marianne, the desk clerk at the Iverson Inn, had given me directions to Sam’s workshop, so I’d headed down a path behind the café and the tennis courts before it veered off into the woods along the shore.

I shoved my cold hands deeper into my coat pockets. How I could be so poorly prepared for the biting cold of an upper mid-west February? I’d endured raw Chicago winters all my life, after all. But the nature of my work as a professional speaker had led to the habit of dressing for short jaunts between airports or parking lots and hotel check-in desks. Walks in the woods weren’t part of my typical day.

The faint sound of piano music filtering through the trees caught me by surprise. As I continued on the path the lilting melody became louder, and more unlikely yet, recognizable. I could match only a handful of classical pieces with their composers, but this Chopin waltz happened to be one of them. Greta had leapt and twirled to its rhythms in ballet class when she was perhaps seven, certainly no more than eight.

The memory flowed through me in one heartbreaking piece. In my mind’s eye I saw myself sitting with a dozen or so other mothers in a row of folding chairs, each of us fixing our gaze on our own miniature ballerina in the sea of black leotards and pink tights moving in a wave across the floor. I felt lightheaded as the image sharpened. Even in the woods, I could almost smell the damp and slightly sweaty scents that filled the air in that old dance studio.

When the path took a sharp turn the workshop appeared. Through the open door I saw Sam bent over a piece of wood stretched across two sawhorses. I froze in place and watched him tap his fingers back and forth over it, as if playing the Chopin piece on a keyboard.

He appeared completely absorbed in the rhythms of the music. If he suddenly saw me, he might be embarrassed and wonder how long I’d been standing there watching him. I made a quick decision to call out to him and when he glanced up I said, “I hate to interrupt a man so deep in concentration. Should I come back later?”

He smiled broadly. “No, no, you’re not interrupting.” He reached behind him and flipped off the radio, abruptly silencing Chopin. “Jake said you’d be looking for me.”

Sam’s long narrow face with its high forehead and slightly receding hairline struck me as more pleasant than handsome, but he had the appealing lanky build of a long-distance runner. As I approached him, though, his dark blue eyes threatened to completely disarm me. They communicated such kindness that I had to focus somewhere else. I’d been trying so hard to stay strong, and knew I couldn’t handle looking into a face capable of revealing such empathy.

With effort, I kept my voice casual and light. “I can’t resist asking what you’re going to do with that piece of wood you’re, uh, examining so carefully.”

Sam tapped the wood a few times. “It’s going to be two storage-locker doors in the boat I’m building.” In a soft voice, he added. “But that’s not important now. Why don’t you and I go take a look at one of our cottages? I imagine you want to make your plans.”

Sam grabbed his gloves and led the way up another narrow path along a crescent-shaped cove, where the dull gray of Lake Michigan matched the color of the smoky bank of clouds hanging heavy in the afternoon sky. I tried to fall into rhythm behind Sam’s sure steps and match the crunch and squeak of his boots as he left footprints ahead of me on the hard-packed snow. But my steps were awkward and kept me a frustrating half-beat behind.

“I understand why you want to come up here and stay for a while,” he said. “Greta must be pleased to know you’ll be nearby.”

“We didn’t talk for long, of course, but she warned me not to disrupt my life too much. She assured me she had many people to help her...blah, blah, blah.”

Sam laughed softly and turned his head halfway around. “Words…those were only words she felt obligated to say.”

Since we were talking about Greta, I couldn’t be certain Sam was right, but I didn’t expect him to understand my daughter’s ambivalence about me.

“Before I even see the cottage, Sam, I want you to know that I insist on paying the full seasonal rent. I’ll probably stay here all summer. No favors just because—”

“I know, I know,” Sam interrupted, “just because we’re family and our Greta is in trouble, blah, blah, blah.”
Sam’s mimicking tone amused me and coaxed a smile to my face. I hadn’t found much to smile about in the last couple of weeks.

Then I saw it and drew in a quick breath. “Oh my—how lovely it is.”

Painted white with cranberry trim on the windows and porch, the square frame cottage looked like a present wrapped in white tissue and tied with red ribbon. And someone’s loving hands had tucked it under the protective branches of pines and white birches. “Thank you, Sam, thank you so much.”

He glanced down at me, smiling. “I’m kind of partial to the little place myself. I call it the Christmas Cottage.”…

~*~
Buy now at AMAZON to get your copy of this top women's fiction beach read for 2014! 
A lifelong writer, Virginia McCullough has written over 100 nonfiction books and has been a ghostwriter/editor for doctors, lawyers, speakers, and other professionals. Greta’s Grace is her third novel, and is available in digital and print editions on Amazon. 

You can find Virginia's other books online at www.VirginiaMcCullough.com or Amazon

 

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day, and happy reading!

~ Stacey

Dare to Trust

Re-release May 1, 2014
DARE TO TRUSTColorado Trust Series Book 5
(Previously published as Shadowed Trust)
AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO  AReUK  CA  AU
 Trust makes all the difference when love and danger collide
Ad-exec Jordan Blake believed image was everything—until his parents were convicted of murder, the family company went bankrupt, and his excessive drinking and arrest fueled the tabloids. When lawyer David Barnes offers representation in exchange for assistance in reopening his Colorado mountain resort, Jordan has no choice. It’s help or jail.
Hollywood wild child Lexie Sinclair disappeared by changing her name, joining the army, and marrying a soldier. Then her husband wrapped their car around a tree, killing himself, and leaving her permanently injured. For the past few years, she’s been content to live in peaceful obscurity as caretaker of David’s defunct resort.
Jordan’s arrival exposes Lexie’s true identity and brings her dead husband’s ‘friends’ calling. Jordan offers to help, but the shadow of his drinking leaves Lexie reluctant to trust. Can they conquer their fears and find the courage to face the criminals—and the world—together?
EXCERPT: 
     He drove across the wooden bridge and parked a short distance from the log house. As he closed his door, the hairs on the back of his neck pricked. Unease halted his steps. Someone was watching. He recognized the sensation from the past couple months with all the reporters, and man, did he hate it.     When a wary scan of his surroundings revealed nothing, Jordan shrugged off his discomfort and walked toward the tall set of stairs that led to the wrap-around porch and front door.      He looked around the isolated property with a frown. This is it? Where were the cabins he was supposed to work on? Oh, wait, there they were. He peered through the Aspens and pine trees, counting a total of six structures nestled in the woods along the lakeshore. At least they would provide a good view for the guests. Finally, a positive he could work with.      A noise from behind made him spin around. Moisture dripped from the trees, plopping onto the previous year’s foliage carpeting the ground. Otherwise, eerie quiet blanketed the area. Another twig snapped. His gaze jerked to the side and landed on a horse walking through the trees, its ears pitched forward as it watched him with curious brown eyes.      Damn horse, giving him the willies. He felt like an idiot and forced his shoulders to relax.      On the third step leading up to the main house, a movement on the porch caught his attention. A small raccoon waddled to the top of the steps and began to growl at him.     Do raccoons growl?      This one did—was—at him. Suspecting the animal might be rabid, Jordankept his distance and looked beyond to the screen door, hoping to see David Barnes standing inside.      A deeper, more ominous growl from behind sent a chill down his spine. Instinct warned him to turn slowly, then urged him to run at the sight of a large mountain lion no more than ten feet away. Frozen in a predatory crouch, the tawny cat’s golden gaze locked on his. Only its tail moved, swinging slowly from side to side, the tip giving a sharp twitch every couple seconds.     His heart lodged in his throat, pounding hard, shortening his breath. The instinctive urge to run was paralyzed by the fear coursing through his veins.     Footsteps sounded from inside the log house, but Jordandidn’t dare take his eyes off the cougar. Menacing growls continued to emanate from both it and the raccoon, but the cat was bigger. And infinitely more dangerous.      “What are you—?”     Jordanheld up a silencing hand toward the woman’s voice at the door. “Stay there—you got a rifle in there?”      “Yes, but—”     “Slowly back away from the door and go get it.”     “Mr. Blake—”     Jordan’s jaw tightened. Of course she knew who he was, seemed like the whole damn world did. The squeak of hinges told him she’d opened the door, and he risked a quick glance—only to do a double take at the sight of the woman who’d ridden the horse in town.      “Sass, leave him alone,” she said before glancing down toward her feet. “You, too, Rocky.”     The growling ceased on both sides.     Unconvinced the danger was past, Jordanturned back to the cougar. He tensed as the animal’s front dipped lower, muscles clearly bunching for action. Before he could react further, the cat bounded past him, up the steps. It gave the raccoon a swipe with its massive paw as it landed next to the woman. The masked critter rolled across the porch with an outraged howl, landed on all fours, and came back for more.     “Sass, Rocky, behave,” the woman commanded, her prior chiding tone now sharp.      The cougar slunk over to lie down near a porch swing, its gaze refocused on Jordanwith chilling intensity. The raccoon backed off, too, but kept a wary eye on the cat.     He turned his stunned gaze to Laura on the porch, and gave himself a mental shake. Not Laura—or Melissa. And now, after a closer look in which he noticed she’d taken off the glasses she’d worn in town, revealing bright blue eyes to go with her wine-colored hair, he realized she didn’t look like anybody who lived on the prairie.     Lexie stared at Jordan Blake staring at her. If she thought he was better-looking from across the street, up close the man was lethal. Tall, with dark blond hair, thick eyebrows and thicker lashes to frame the incredible brown eyes focused on her. He filled out his T-shirt under his brown leather jacket, stretching the material taut across his chest.     But she wasn’t interested in gorgeous, and the only reason her heart rate picked up was because he’d ticked her off. A gun, indeed.      Instead of snapping at him as she wanted, she managed a fairly polite, “May I help you?”     “I’m here to see David Barnes,” he said, his voice as stiff as his posture.     No one ever came here for David. He set up client appointments at the Boulderoffice. Lexie tried to relax, but her shoulders remained tense, and her pulse refused to settle down.     “Why?”     “He hired me to do some work.”     “He hired you? You mean you’re not a client?”     “I don’t need a lawyer,” he ground out, sounding offended.     She almost scoffed as she crossed her arms in front of her. “What work?”     His expression told her his business with David was none of her business. “And you are?”     “What work?” she demanded, dread beginning to creep in behind her bravado.     They stared at each other until he backed down first, surprising her.     “I’m here to inspect the cabins, see if any need major repairs before winter.”     He quit there, but Lexie knew there was more he wasn’t telling her. She couldn’t believe David was going ahead with the reopening after only one conversation about it! Hurt followed on the heels of her indignation. She knew it was his decision, his resort, but didn’t he know she wasn’t ready for this yet?     New people every week, the chance of being recognized. Even now, without her glasses on, nervousness clawed her insides. And then the—     Jordan Blake leaned a hip against the railing of the stairs and crossed his arms over his chest, mimicking her posture. “You decide yet?”     “Decide what?” she asked with a frown.     “What excuse you’re going to give instead of simply admitting David isn’t here.”     Lexie straightened, annoyance shooting heat straight to her cheeks. Her right leg throbbed as she distributed her weight evenly on both feet for maximum height and caught his gaze. “He isn’t here. And if he truly did hire you, that means I’m your boss until he gets back.” What do you got to say to that, hot shot?
~*~“Thoroughly entertaining...I lost track of the time because I was so engrossed in the story.” ~ Diana Coyle, Night Owl Reviews

AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO  ARe
UK  CA  AU
As always, thanks for reading!

**For those who started the Colorado Trust Series in 2011**
Why did I change the order of my Colorado Trust Series?

Shattered Trust

Re-release May 1, 2014
SHATTERED TRUST
Colorado Trust Series Book 4

AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO  ARe UK CA AU
 Trust makes all the difference when love and danger collide
Sweet twenty-seven and never been kissed. Well…no one’s ever accused Marley Wade of being sweet. Raised in the world of construction by a strict father, Marley knows what it takes to succeed as a general contractor in a man’s world. The last thing she needs is an employee who makes her feel soft and feminine.
A new co-owner of Hunter Construction, Justin Blake goes undercover on Marley’s crew to discover the truth behind his grandfather’s death. But he didn't count on an instant attraction to his boss—or for it to develop into deeper emotions. When a blackmailer threatens to expose the twenty-five-year-old secrets that link his family and Marley’s, Justin realizes the truth could not only shatter a future with her, but his entire family as well.
EXCERPT: 
     Justin Blake straightened in the seat of his battered Jeep when an old pickup truck slid to a stop in front of the general contractor’s trailer amidst a cloud of dust. The door flew open and bare legs flashed as a woman in an—orange?—business suit sprinted the few feet to the trailer, her skirt hiked above her knees and shoe-less feet. She lugged a duffle bag up the wooden steps, unlocked the door and disappeared inside.     If she had a key, she could only be Marley Wade.     Bare feet on a construction site? He frowned. What kind of operation was she running here? His gaze narrowed on the trailer bathed in bright light as the July sun rose over the city of Boulder, Colorado. Not only did he have to pose as a construction worker in his newly inherited company, but he’d have to take orders from a woman who obviously didn’t know what she was doing.     He wished he’d had more time for research before jumping in like this, but as his brother had pointed out, they had to act fast. Only a small window of opportunity existed in which to discover if the name Jordan found scratched on the paper clutched in Granddad’s hand had anything to do with his death.     It’d barely been legible, but the first three letters appeared to be Mar and the last spelled Wade. Jordanhad found two possibilities: Mark Wade, who it turned out had died three months ago in a car accident, and his daughter, Marley Wade, who’d taken over her father’s general contractor duties on this job site.     Despite a measly three hours of sleep after his flight from Toronto had been delayed, Justin knew it was now or never. If this site held the key to Granddad’s death, when everyone discovered his identity as the new co-owner of Hunter Construction, they’d clam up faster than a guilty murder suspect lawyers up. Especially Ms. Wade.     He noticed other workers starting to arrive and grabbed the letter from headquarters Jordanhad given him while opening his door. Time to introduce himself to the boss. He nodded to a few of the men who glanced his way with curiosity. At the trailer, he took the steps in two strides and gave the door a brisk rap.     A muffled reply took a moment to decipher as permission to enter.
     Marley Wade pulled her jeans over her hips, frowning at the interruption of her precious minutes. She expected punctuality from the men; no way could she be late.     The door creaked behind her and she spun around in surprise. Her hands froze on the button of her jeans when she saw a man pause in the doorway of her trailer. A tall, blond man who—     Belatedly realizing he stared at her white cotton bra, she snatched a tee shirt out of her bag and stepped sideways so no one else could see inside from the job site.     “I said ‘Hold on a minute’,” she snapped.     “Sorry. I, ah, I misunderstood.”     For probably the first time in her life, Marley felt herself blush as she pulled her tee shirt over her head. The accompanying flutter in her stomach set her on edge. Men didn’t embarrass her. She was just one of the guys; always had been.     And he needed to stop looking at her like she was a new set of power tools on Christmas morning.    ~*~
“Shattered Trust has everything a fantastic book should have, romance, suspense, betrayal, and humor in all the right places.” ~ Emily, Single Title Reviews
AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO  ARe UK  CA  AU
As always, thanks for reading!

**For those who started the Colorado Trust Series in 2011**
Why did I change the order of my Colorado Trust Series?

Trust in the Lawe

Re-release May 1, 2014
TRUST IN THE LAWEColorado Trust Series Book 3
AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO  AReUK  CA  AU
 Trust makes all the difference when love and danger collide
Kendra Zelner has three brothers: Eight-year old Noah she's determined to protect, Joel has no clue she exists, and Robert wants her dead.
With reason to be distrustful of cops, she takes Noah and flees their Manhattan home for Joel’s ranch in Colorado. Under the pretense of needing a job, she plans to hide out until her twenty-fifth birthday, when she’ll inherit her trust fund and legally gain custody of Noah away from Robert’s greedy hands. Unfortunately, her new-found brother’s sexy, infuriating ranch manager insists on demolishing her defenses and digging into her past.
Colton Lawe has good reason to suspect Joel’s beautiful, long-lost sister isn’t what she seems—the little liar stole from him! He silently vows to expose her secrets, but long hours together on the ranch fosters a friendship and attraction neither of them expects. Can Kendra trust Colton with the full truth before Robert tracks them down?
EXCERPT:
     Once on the porch, he opened the door and stepped inside ahead of her. Then he waited. For the sound of her footsteps. For the thump of her bags hitting the floor. For the click of the door to assure privacy.
     “I wanted to—”     When he turned, she halted mid-sentence. Her apologetic expression gave way to an alarmed squeak when he grasped her upper arms and pushed her up against the wall. The bulk of his body gave her no room to move.     “Who the hell are you?” he demanded.     Stark fear dilated her pupils until her brown eyes were nearly black. Her breathing grew shallow, and she gulped twice before stuttering, “Y-you know w-who I am.”     He tightened his grip on her shoulders, then became aware of how delicate they seemed under his large hands and forced himself to ease up. “I don’t believe it. You’re up to something, and you’ve got about five seconds to tell me what it is.”     “H-honestly, I’m n-not.”     Colton scoffed. “So, it’s merely coincidence that you robbed me this morning and then show up here claiming to be some long lost relative?”     “It’s nothing more than cruel coincidence—I swear to God.”     “Don’t you dare do that. I don’t buy one word of it.” He leaned closer, ignoring her trembling beneath his hands. “Who are you? What do you want with Joel?”     “He told you, I’m his sister. Please…all I want is a place to stay until my…until we get back on our feet.      We have nowhere else to go.”     He caught her hesitation, saw a brief flash of panic, and wondered what she’d been about to say.      He searched her expression for any kernel of truth to her words.     In the space of a heartbeat, he became aware of the heat of her vibrating body. If he leaned down a few inches, their lips would meet. His pulse thrummed. The urge to do just that was so great it left him shaken as he stared into her eyes. She was an untrustworthy, lying, thieving, scheming con artist.     And he’d never felt an immediate attraction like this in his life.    ~*~“...fun, suspenseful, filled with misunderstanding and characters that you will fall in love with. The plot line was tight, very well crafted and every question I may have had throughout the book was answered. I have a great respect for Stacey Joy Netzel and the way she can write a romantic story with sizzle and spice that kept me absolutely addicted. To sum it all up, Outstanding book, not to be missed.” ~ Val Pearson, You Gotta Read Reviews, 5Stars
AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO  AReUK  CA  AU

As always, thanks for reading!

**For those who started the Colorado Trust Series in 2011**
Why did I change the order of my Colorado Trust Series?

Trust by Design

New Release

TRUST BY DESIGNColorado Trust Series Book 2
AMAZON  APPLE  BN  KOBO
UK  CA  AU  ARe
 Trust makes all the difference when love and danger collide
Cinderella and Prince Charming...brought together by chance, or design?
Interior Designer Gina Allen is flat broke thanks to a shady assistant who didn’t pay the taxes. Now she has no choice but to accept a job from the very rich, very handsome CEO Dean Daley—even though he’s accused her of conspiring to steal his software designs.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer—that’s why Dean hires his rival’s ex-girlfriend. If he can use her to prove Jack is behind the spiraling downfall of his company, he might be able to turn things around before losing everything.
Dean, however, doesn’t count on Gina being everything he never expected, or his heart being in more danger than his business. Will the trust they’ve built be enough to keep them together—or will an unexpected betrayal tear them apart…and possibly cost them their lives?
EXCERPT:
     Without giving herself a chance to change her mind, she smiled up at him through her lashes while moving in close to lay her palms on his chest. Firm muscles registered as she lifted her five foot-three inch frame onto her tiptoes and ran her hands up to his shoulders so she could link her fingers behind his neck.
His eyes widened in surprise, but as she pulled his head down toward hers, he offered no resistance.      The instant his mouth touched hers, electricity jolted clear down to her toes. Her initial plan to sister-kiss him and leave was fried in a single heartbeat. His lips moved against hers, and in the next second, strong arms encircled her ribs. He pulled her against the full length of his body while his tongue slid along her lips, seeking entrance.     Caught up in the unexpected sensations pulsing through her, she opened to him with a soft sound of surprise and met the first intimate exploration of his tongue with her own, then the next, and the next. He slid a hand up into her hair and tilted her head to deepen their connection even further. His hard body against hers was so warm she’d swear flames licked her flesh from chest to mid thigh.     Her senses were reeling when she gradually became aware of loud cheers and catcalls from the crowd around them.     What the hell am I doing?     She pushed against the stranger’s chest, pulling back even as he leaned forward in an attempt to prolong the kiss. Then it seemed he also became aware of the encouragement from their audience and released her with obvious reluctance.     Those brown eyes of his met hers, darker now than before.     Shit. During the past ten minutes, she’d never once considered what would happen after the kiss. Now what?     He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, she panicked and spun for the door. Showing Jackson she was moving on was one thing, losing all common sense in the process was another.     As she pushed through the crowd, a hand grabbed at her arm. “Hey—wait!”     She jerked free and felt her sweater whisk across her skin while she moved faster through the swell of bodies threatening to cut off her escape. Once outside, she only spared a quick backward glance before sprinting for her car.
Chapter 2
     Dean Daley fisted the soft material in his hand and shoved through the club door to the parking lot. His gaze scanned the area, focusing on anyone leaving, but the woman who’d just kissed him senseless was nowhere to be seen. Disappeared without a trace.     Damn. After a kiss like that, he wanted her name.     He looked down at the maroon sweater as details from the past minute flooded back. Violet-tinted eyes. Brown hair. Maybe red? It’d been hard to tell under the club lights, but either way, it’d been silky as all hell. She’d felt so small in his arms. Soft and fragile, yet strong as she’d drawn his mouth down on hers.     God, she’d smelled amazing. Felt even better. Kissed like an erotic dream.     Maybe she was. She’d dashed through the crowd so quick he wondered if he’d imagined the whole thing.     The sweater clutched in his fingers told him he hadn’t. He brought it up to his face and inhaled the fresh scent of flowers combined with a mysterious hint of spice. Definitely real.     When he realized he stood there smelling some stranger’s sweater like a lovesick puppy, he quickly lowered his hand to his side. Heat flooded his face while muted music registered on his conscious, and he turned to go back inside. When he opened the door, the noise level blasted his eardrums.     At the bar, his vice president met his gaze with a lift of his eyebrows. “Did you catch her?”     “Nope.” Dean dropped the sweater onto the bar and grabbed his beer.      “Who was that, anyway?”     “No clue.”     Disbelief sent Mike Hollister’s eyebrows higher. “You didn’t know her?”     “Never saw her before tonight.”     “Then what the hell was that?”     “Damned if I know.” He took a swig from his bottle. As he lowered his hand, he recalled she hadn’t been alone. He turned to see if her friends were still sitting at their table just as a guy reached to set drinks down while two new women claimed the empty chairs. He took a moment to scan the crowd. He thought she’d been sitting with a blond and a brunette, but seeing as he’d been focused on the mystery girl, he couldn’t be sure and certainly wouldn’t be able to pick them out of the crowd.     “That hers?” Mike’s question drew his attention back to see him eyeing the sweater.     “Yeah.”     His friend chuckled.     “What?”     “You got yourself your very own Cinderella.”    ~*~“Sizzling, sensual, spicy, sweet—Ms. Netzel dazzles her readers with a perfect romance in the midst of danger.” ~ Casey Clifford, award winning romantic suspense author

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As always, thanks for reading!

**For those who started the Colorado Trust Series in 2011**
Why did I change the order of my Colorado Trust Series?

Book Lovers Buffet ~ Win prizes!

Love books?  Love authors? Love Prizes?

Come join us at the Book Lovers Buffet!
Peruse all the authors and books on the website HERE
Then join us for the FACEBOOK PARTY HERE for the PRIZES totaling more than $250!
From 3 - 10 p.m. EST, over 50 authors will take turns chatting and giving away prizes...which means you have a chance to win something EVERY 15 MINUTES!
We're talking gift cards, ebooks, gift cards, audio books, a chance to have your name in a book, and...did I mention gift cards?
I'll be there from 4-4:15 p.m. EST (3 p.m. CST) talking about Lost in Italy , bad/good vacations, and giving away
 
Winner's choice                   ebook copy
My winners will be chosen at the end of the FB party, so comment on my post at anytime through the night for your chance to win!

Hope to see you there and have a great day!

~ Stacey

Why did I change the order of my Colorado Trust Series?

With the May release of books 2-5 of the Colorado Trust Series, I've had a few questions about the old-vs-new books.

As noted on my Coming Soon page, here are the 5 books in the series:

Evidence of Trust , Book 1 ~ new release Trust by Design , Book 2 ~ new release Trust in the Lawe , Book 3 ~ re-release Shattered Trust , Book 4 ~ re-release Dare to Trust , Book 5 ~ re-release of previously titled Shadowed Trust
The Colorado Trust Series didn't start out to be a series at all, it kind of evolved and was dubbed so by my good friend, USA Today best selling author, Donna Marie Rogers. That's why the original books published by The Wild Rose Press in 2011 never had a series title on the covers or a true uniform look.

Old covers
Bear with me here as we do a bit of time travel.

The year was 1996 when I first started writing with the clear determination to finish a book. Evidence of Trust was that book and it took me 8 years to write. Trust by Design was my second book and it took me just under 2 years to complete.

That brings us to about 2006. I'd joined a writing organization by then and learned A LOT about the craft of writing. Those first two manuscripts were set aside because although I loved the stories, I wasn't sure they were fixable, and resigned myself to the fact they were my learning books.

Since becoming published in 2007 and working with other writers and editors, I have become a completely different writer than in 1996. When the publishing rights of Trust in the Lawe, Shattered Trust, and Shadowed Trust were returned to me in 2013/2014, I decided to reissue them with new covers, because for one, I didn't own the copyright to the original covers, and two, I wanted to clearly brand the series.

New branded series covers
This time, knowing so much more about the craft of writing and feeling more confident in my abilities to do the stories justice, I completely re-wrote my first two books, Evidence of Trust and Trust by Design , which have always been books 1 and 2 for me.

And, because those characters' stories came before the other 3, I had no choice but to re-number the series. Shadowed Trust was also re-titled as  Dare to Trust so it would fit the overall series better and not be so identical to the title Shattered Trust. (I was careful to note this title change on the copyright page as well as in the book description.) This was a business decision as to what would be best for the series going forward because I do plan to continue with it in the future.

I apologize if any of this causes/caused confusion for some of the earlier readers of the original 3 books published in 2011.

If you bought and read the old versions of Trust in the Lawe , Shattered Trust , or Shadowed Trust (now Dare to Trust ), there is nothing new about the re-issued copies of these books other than the covers and a second edit by my wonderful editor Stacy D. Holmes. If you have the original 3 and want to read the new books, all you have to do is grab a copy of books 1 & 2, then you can refresh your memory with your original books 3-5, and you'll be all caught up.

I'd also like to take this time to extend a huge thank you to all my readers for your continued support. If you have any questions, feel free to email me via the contact page on my website.

~ Stacey