Isabel Roman's Blog, page 15

#Interview with @LitaHarris Timeless Escapes: A Collection of Summer Stories

Ruth A. Casie ~ Second Chance by the Sea Married for ten years, she and her husband have grown apart. When they go back to the Virgin Islands for a family funeral, they find their marriage was never registered. Will an impending disaster be the final straw that breaks them up or will it rekindle their love and send them back to the altar for a second chance?



You can read more about Ruth online at http://www.RuthACasie.comon Twitter at twitter.com/RuthACasie, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RuthACasie    Lita Harris ~ Chasing Fireflies Soured on love by a recent breakup, a travel agent with a fear of flying and open water takes a trip to the U.S Virgin Islands. She meets a boat captain who challenges her fears. Will she survive her breakup and find happiness in the arms of another man?

For more information about Lita, please visit her website at www.LitaHarris.com or at twitter.com/litaharrisand facebook.com/litaharrisauthor.
  Emma Kaye ~ In Her Dreams When an author escapes to the Virgin Islands to work on her latest book, she’s swept back in time to Regency England and must decide whether the love she finds with an English lord is real or only in her dreams.


For more information on Emma, please visit her online at www.emma-kaye.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/emmakayewrites, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/emmakayewrites.  Nicole S. Patrick ~ Poseidon’s Strength A beloved hero’s death leads his sister and his best friend, who have never seen eye-to-eye, to discover that helping family can be their happy medium, and possibly lead them to uncover a love that's meant to be.

For more information about Nicole on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Nicole S. Patrick, www.twitter.com/NicoleSPatrick, or please visit her website at www.nicolespatrick.com. 
Julie Rowe ~ A Pirate’s Vacation A doctor grieving the death of her husband, buys a B&B in the Virgin Islands in need of a lot of fixing. Her old flame arrives to help with repairs, but will she let him heal her shattered heart?

For more information about Julie, please visit her online at www.julieroweauthor.com, on Twitter @julieroweauthor, or at her Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JulieRoweAuthor.
Today's feature interview is with Leta Harris:

Lita Harris spends her time between New Jersey and the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania, where she writes most of her books. She also lived in Alaska for a short time just for fun. An avid crafter, unused supplies clutter her basement and attempts at making pottery, jewelry, and stained glass are proudly displayed in her house, usually behind a picture or holding a door open. She also makes candles and homemade soap. With enough books to stock a small library she may need to construct a building to store her literary obsessions.
She writes in multiple genres, including women’s fiction, contemporary romance, paranormal, and cozy mysteries. 


1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head? I am always jotting down ideas but I try not to work on more than one story. Sometimes I am compelled to work on more than one. It’s not unusual for me to write a few chapters and then let the story brew for a while. I recently revived a story I started a few years ago. I had quickly churned out three chapters and that was it, I left it alone. Something recently happened in my life that triggered the rest of the story and I was drawn to those abandoned words. The novel is now practically writing itself and is the most emotionally draining piece I’ve written so far. I hope that comes across on the page once the book is finished. Never throw your words away no matter if it’s only one sentence. You never know when that moment will come when the rest of the story is begging to be finished.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in? I haven’t written a traditional mystery and wish I could. The ability to create convincing misdirection and a chain of events that bring the reader to an unpredictable ending is exciting to me. I would like to be able to successfully write something like that one day.

3. Do you add an element of romantic suspense in your stories? No I don’t. My stories naturally tend to focus on the heroine’s journey of self-discovery accompanied by romantic elements but no suspense, at least not yet.

4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself? This is an easy answer. My ideal writing space would be a small, three or four room, cottage perched on a high bluff on Cape Cod. The wall facing the ocean would have a huge window so I could watch the waves crash below as seagulls hover above.

5. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)? My choice at this time would be Love at Christmas, which would be best suited for Lifetime. The small town setting and family coming together to heal during the holidays sends a message of how fragile life is yet must go on. It shows that love can be found in the worst situation.
6. Finally, tell us about your latest release! Chasing Fireflies, is a short story in Timeless Escapes: A Collection of Summer Stories. We follow the emotional journey of Marnie Shaw after the breakup of her relationship. After playing it safe for a few years, she is dumped by the guy she knew deep down wasn’t right for her but she stayed with him anyway until he put an abrupt end to their relationship. She takes a trip to the Virgin Islands where she meets a boat captain who encourages her to face her fears and engages in an intellectual challenge, something that she never experienced before.
Soured on love by a recent breakup, a travel agent with a fear of flying and open water takes a trip to the U.S Virgin Islands. She meets a boat captain who challenges her fears. Will she survive her breakup and find happiness in the arms of another man? Blurb: Marnie Shaw is a travel agent whose fear of flying has kept her safe within the confines of New York City. As the top agent for her firm, she wins an all-expense paid trip for two to the U.S. Virgin Islands. She decides to confront her fear and take the trip alone when she is dumped by her live-in boyfriend. Her plans of losing herself while relaxing in the beauty of the island is disrupted when Captain Jack, a handsome, scraggly bearded, boat captain, shows up at her bungalow unannounced and refuses to leave. Will a night on the beach with Jack open her eyes to realize there's more to life than what she has, if only she would let go of her expectations and take a risk? Or when her ex shows up begging for forgiveness, will she settle for the safety of her quiet, risk-free life?
Excerpt:The boat bounced against the dock nearly knocking her off her feet. A suitcase saved her from falling over the side of the boat. She momentarily thought about leaving her luggage behind fearing it would sink them. No, she would hold onto it. She had seen Titanic—the suitcase could come in handy. “Captain Jack?” No answer. “Hello. Is Captain Jack here?” she called out louder. He stepped out of the cabin and with one hand skillfully tossed a rope up onto the dock to secure the boat. His face was covered with a scruffy day old beard and his scraggly hair, sun-kissed at the tips, briefly covered his eyes. From the side she could see that too much sun contributed to crow’s feet. He tossed his head back and she gasped. His eyes! A gorgeous blue she’d never seen. She sucked in a breath and dropped her luggage. She reminded herself to breath as he came closer to her. “You going to Celestial Harbor?” He wiped a screwdriver with a tattered, oily rag then brushed his hair out of his eyes with the back of his forearm. His clothes were rumpled and old. He didn’t look much like a boat captain to her. Where was his uniform like she had seen in movies? He looked like a car mechanic after tearing an engine apart. She nodded. The sunlight bouncing off the ocean made her squint but she held his gaze. If he was her means to get to the island, so be it. She shoved her luggage to the edge of the dock with her foot and waited for him to help. And waited.   

First prize - $50 gift certificate plus ebook Timeless Keepsakes by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, Julie Rowe
Second prize - $25 gift certificate plus 3 ebooks 1) Molly Gets Her Man by Julie Rowe 2) Knight of Runes by Ruth A. Casie 3) Timeless Keepsakes by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, Julie Rowe
Third prize - 3 ebooks 1) Love at Christmas by Lita Harris 2) Time for Love by Emma Kaye 3) Timeless Keepsakes by Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, Julie Rowea Rafflecopter giveaway

#BookBlast The Perfect Score by Beth Albright @BeththeBelle

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Beth will be awarding a $15 Target gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Ginny Bloom Hunnicutt is crawling back home to Cottonwood Cove Alabama-- her promising CNN news-reporting career in shambles when an on-air flub cost her the job and cost CNN a lawsuit. Putting ego aside, she takes a position at the Chatterbox – the local weekly newspaper run by her mother, the town gossip. What’s a southern belle to do in a crisis but run home to her mama?

But when a mysterious hot high school football coach rolls into town, Ginny’s luck begins to change. Seems he has more secrets than a shady politician and Ginny’s determined to dig up the truth, and write the story that will get her career back on track. Everyone knows in a small, southern town, nothing stays private.

But the more she delves into his past, the more she begins to fall for the former college football star.

The coach’s star player has some secrets of his own and when Ginny uncovers it all, she must decide if she should reveal everything or follow her heart and protect the people she has grown to care for.

Author Beth Albright weaves a saucy southern tale filled with intrigue, romance and laugh out-loud comedy. From the bright lights of Friday night football to the darkened bedroom of unexpected lovers, it’s a richly layered story with more twists and turns—and mud, than an Alabama back road.

Buy Links:
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Now enjoy an excerpt:

“I’ll have another,” I said as I ordered my second dirty martini. The Sand Box was a dingy little bar near the pier in Cottonwood Cove, Alabama.

Covered in fishing ropes and other remnants of the life on the lake, the place was a dive for the small-towns folk who lived here, and for the kids who were lake rats during the summer. But summer had ended weeks ago, the kids back at school, and we were well into September now. Late that night, the place was nearly empty.

I sat there nursing my drink, drowning myself in what I had come to believe was the most embarrassing moment of my career. The dim lights swung in old metal fixtures from the ceiling of the Sand Box. A jukebox playing Hank Williams Jr. stood missing some of its colored lights in the corner. A few old wooden tables were scattered around with a couple of red vinyl booths shoved in the corner near the pool table and dartboard.

I had come home, tail tucked neatly between my legs, to lick my wounds. My name is Virginia Bruce Hunnicutt. I go by Ginny. My sisters and I all have my mom’s maiden name as our middle name. I kept it as my last name for my TV job. Ginny Bruce, reporting. I was a reporter for CNN in Atlanta. Was being the key word here. I had been fired two weeks prior because one of my sources was a fake. I swear I checked the credentials but the story turned out to be full of inaccuracies and CNN is now in a lawsuit. I may never work in the media again. And CNN was my dream job.

My name is now as muddy as the Alabama red dirt, which is exactly where I ran home to: Cottonwood Cove, Alabama. It’s the safest place to be. And even though I had become quite the big city girl, the one I had always dreamed of being, somehow, the safety of being home in Cottonwood Cove had its perks. Like being in this dive bar in the middle of the week late at night, with only one other soul in here besides me. Oh, God—and he was making his way over to me just as I was finishing my second round.

“What’s your poison?” he asked in his deep sexy baritone. He was beautiful. Rugged and sculpted with dark wavy hair and gorgeous lips; he was about six foot three and deliciously well built. His dark blue eyes undressed me as he moved closer to me—or maybe that was just me thinking I’d be more comfortable with my clothes off with this gorgeous man. He was dressed in a navy Polo button-down and perfect fitting blue jeans. His large muscular thighs and broad defined shoulders were evident even under his clothes. One dimple accentuated the right side his cute, boyish face. He smiled at me like he was fixin’ to eat me up, and oh, I was feeling like dessert as he slid in next to me at the bar. He looked like an athlete. Or a god. Come to think of it, in Alabama, those are one in the same. Regardless, he was heaven to look at, or maybe I was seeing him through double martini glasses. Probably the latter since I only weighed about 125 pounds and I knew better than to have more than two drinks. Ever.

“I’m having dirty martinis,” I answered. “You?”

“I’ll have the same,” he said to the bartender.

Beth Albright is the author of the award-winning, best-selling series The Sassy Belles. After knowing Beth for just a few short seconds you are sure to learn she is from Alabama. No, its not the lilt of magnolia you can still catch in her voice, or even the way she lovingly describes her undying love for her famous alma mater's football champions. She will tell you she loves Tuscaloosa, even after living quite literally all over the country. Though Beth has had a remarkable career, from New York City to Hollywood, and all points in between, she has never forgotten where she came from...and what she loves. That's why when it came time to write, Beth had no choice but to write about Tuscaloosa and The University of Alabama, and all the quirky people she still calls family, though some do not actually share her bloodline!

Beth Albright has always been a storyteller. After spending nearly 15 years in talk radio, as a talk show host, playing the part of a principal character on the soap opera, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, owning her own acting school and children’s theater, and raising a son who was a nationally ranked figure skater, Beth has decided to return to her roots; storytelling. When she was in the sixth grade, her teacher gave her the floor every Friday to tell her stories. See, Beth was a talker, a future talk show host in the making, and she was telling stories so much that her teacher couldn’t teach. The teacher told 12 year old Beth if she would begin writing her stories down, she would be allowed time to share those stories with the class.

And she’s been writing, AND talking ever since. Beth has interviewed Bob Hope, Oprah Winfrey, Betty White, Wolfgang Puck and George Burns live from the Chinese Theatre, as well as numerous other celebrities, and authors. Then Beth became a principal character on Days of Our Lives. But through all of the excitement of talk shows and soap operas, Beth loved telling stories to her audience the most. With a degree in Journalism from her beloved University of Alabama, She always remains true to her roots, born and raised in Tuscaloosa, “My grandfather was the play by play announcer for the Crimson Tide in the 50s!” Beth will proudly tell you. She is a down homespun girl, although she currently lives in San Francisco with her TV producer husband and her brilliant son. But her heart is always in Alabama.
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#Interview with @KristenTaber about her series AErenden

Kristen spent her childhood at the feet of an Irish storytelling grandfather, learning to blend fact with fiction and imagination with reality. She lived within the realm of the tales that captivated her, breathing life into characters and crafting stories even before she could read. Those stories have since turned into over a hundred poems, several short tales, and five manuscripts in both the Young Adult and Adult genres. Currently, Kristen is completing the five-part Ærenden series from her home office in the suburbs of Washington D.C.
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1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?I write one at a time, but I’m constantly keeping notes for others. If I didn’t, I’d have a million people and ideas clamoring for attention and I wouldn’t get anything done. I have notebooks everywhere and a file on my computer with scenes that I’ve jotted down while I was writing other books. I also have scraps of paper here and there and a notepad app on my phone. I’m a bit haphazard with the process, but it works for me (somehow).

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in? I would love to be able to write a great mystery. I have book ideas for a couple of them, but I’m not sure where to start or even how to plot them out. Plus, I have no experience in or knowledge of proper criminal investigation procedure so I’d be terrified of getting details wrong. I haven’t really delved too deeply into trying my hand at it, though I may someday, when I have time to research. A paranormal crime novel I’ve had in my head for about five years just won’t leave me alone, so I may not have a choice in the matter. We shall see.

3. Do you add an element of romantic suspense in your stories?I do! I really enjoy romance when I read, so I add it when I write. For the Ærenden series, it has a definite presence, but it’s secondary to the war a lot of the time. After all, it’s hard to focus on love when you’re dodging lightning bolts.  That said, romance as it relates to the debate of fate is a huge issue for my main characters.

4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself? I’ve actually created my ideal cottage in one of my romance novels (currently unpublished). It’s a large cabin, with polished, plank walls decorating the inside and sweeping, floor-to-ceiling windows along an entire wall in the living room. At night, the windows highlight a clear, starry sky. By day, they show the thick woods of Mt. Dessert Island in Maine. A deck wrapping around the outside of the house would be my perfect writing spot.

5. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?Although I’ve always pictured the Ærenden series as movies, I could definitely see it broken into hour-long TV shows. It would allow me to expand Ærenden and Zeiihbu and delve deeper into their history, wars, and culture. It would be a perfect fit for ABC, I think, since they seem to be doing well with Once Upon A Time and the appeal would be to the same audience. 

6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!The Zeiihbu Master (Ærenden #3) hit the streets March 24, 2014 and quickly moved up Amazon’s charts to become the #2 Hot New Release within the YA Fantasy/Paranormal & Urban category. The book continues to follow the journeys of Meaghan and Nick, now separated as they face different challenges to rescue the kingdom from Garon’s rule. Meaghan heads into Zeiihbu in an attempt to rescue an ally’s son from one of Garon’s monsters while Nick trains villagers to fight. As Meaghan struggles to reconcile a prophecy that she believes predicts her death, Nick discovers that Garon may not be Meaghan’s greatest threat. Something more sinister hunts her and its sole focus is ensuring her assassination.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to chat with you :).

Blurb:

Book One: The Child Returns Seventeen-year-old Meaghan has no idea her perfect life has been a lie — until she witnesses her parents’ brutal murders at the hands of red-eyed creatures.
After nearly sharing their fate, she escapes with her best friend, Nick, who tells her the creatures are called Mardróch. They come from another world, and so does she. Now that the Mardróch have found her, she must return to her homeland of Ærenden or face death.
Left with little choice, she follows Nick into a strange world both similar to Earth and drastically different. Vines have the ability to attack. Monkeys freeze their victims with a glare. Men create bombs from thin air. Even Meaghan’s newly discovered empath power turns into a danger she cannot control.
But control becomes the least of her worries once the Mardróch begin targeting her. When Nick confesses he knows the reason they want her, she learns the truth behind the kingdom's fifteen-year civil war — a long-buried secret that could cost Meaghan her life.
Book Two: The Gildonae Alliance Several months after Meaghan’s return to Ærenden, the kingdom’s war has taken a turn for the worse. The Mardróch army hunts the new King and Queen, destroying villages in its wake. And Meaghan and Nick, training for battle in their remote section of wilderness, are far from safe. Danger hides in shadows and behind innocent faces. Allies become foes. Each day is a fight to survive. But in the end, only one threat matters. And it’s a threat they never see coming.
Book Three: The Zeiihbu MasterSeparated and on opposite sides of the kingdom, Nick and Meaghan face different pursuits which could change the balance of power in Ærenden forever.
While Nick trains the villagers to be soldiers, Meaghan and a small rescue party venture into Zeiihbu to find Faillen's young son, before Garon can use the boy's power to destroy those still fighting against his rule.
Everyone knows Meaghan could be on a suicide mission, but when Nick stumbles upon a secret concealed in one of the southern villages, he realizes that Garon might not be Meaghan's greatest foe. The enemy most likely to kill her is someone who has also promised to keep her safe.  
Excerpt:
The odor or rotting flesh overwhelmed her senses, searing her nose. Instinct forced her to inhale to clear it from her airways and she smiled with the realization Nick’s theory had been correct. The Mardróch’s power had no effect on her.  She stood, lifting the boy into her arms.

A hiss of surprise erupted from one of the creatures. “The immune one,” he spoke, his voice a guttural mix of road gravel and raspy breath. “We’ve been looking for you. There’s a prize for your death.” He let out a rattling noise that sounded like screws bouncing in a tin can. Laughter, Meaghan realized, and her blood chilled. “Run,” the creature croaked. “It will make for a better story.”
He raised his hands. Blue lightning arced from fingertip to fingertip and Meaghan tightened her grip on the boy, backing away as she looked for a way out. Nick stood a dozen yards from them, unseen by the Mardróch, though he remained frozen as if hypnotized by their power. His face was white and she thought she saw the glint of tears in his eyes. He no longer blocked her. His fear rolled over her, followed by a deep grief that squeezed her heart. She hardened her heart against it, knowing as he did that he could not help her, and kept scanning the field. Nothing offered hope. The trees behind her seemed too far, but they were her only chance. She turned toward them as a flash of lightning blew apart the ground beside her. She felt heat singe her skin and swallowed, controlling her panic as she ran.  
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The Burlington manor Affair by @SaskiaWalker

A legendary family estate.
A mutual longing.
A bargain struck.
Carmen Shelby wants what's been left to her—the valuable estate that she once called home. Rex Carruthers is the heir to Burlington Manor, a ruthless playboy who enjoys playing games, and all he wants is for Carmen to surrender. There can be only one winner...

"Walker deftly spins a captivating tale that will have readers holding their collective breath until the last page is turned.”—Publishers Weekly on The Libertine
"Saskia Walker is one on the top erotic writers of the millennium." - Alison Tyler

Buy links: Amazon UKAmazon comDirect from Harlequin US (only $3.99 direct price) All Romance ebooksDirect Mills and Boon UK
"As the kiss deepened, her body trembled—which only made his grip on her tighten. He wanted to keep his little bird…make her sing out with pleasure." –The Burlington Manor Affair, Saskia Walker 
Excerpt:“The trouble with this arrangement,” Rex commented as he walked across the room, “is that I’m enjoying it rather too much.” He watched her reaction.
Carmen stopped dead, standing on the patterned rug in the middle of the room. “What are you saying?”
Rex sat down in a winged armchair.  “For a month you do everything I want, every weekend, absolutely anything and everything.” He paused, allowing his message to sink in. “And in return for that you get my half of the property.”
“I told you I’d pay.”
Those eyes of hers, such defiance. How delicious it was to see her fire.
“That won’t be necessary. You will have earned every tiny part of the property by the time I hand it over. Don’t worry about the money.”
She knotted her fingers together. “You’re trying to embarrass me. That wasn’t part of the bargain.”
“I don’t agree. Mostly because I don’t seem to have to try very hard before you get embarrassed. I think you’re embarrassment trigger and your arousal trigger are very close together.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I can’t help that, and neither can you.”
She pressed her lips together. She was clearly annoyed, and yet he could also see that she was acutely aroused. The hands-on treatment he’d given her out in the grounds had her poised for action. She was taut and watchful, barely waiting to be instructed.
Rex took a deep breath and savored the heady atmosphere of sexual anticipation.
When she noticed, she hissed as if in objection.
Rex lifted an eyebrow. She lowered her eyelids, but watched him from beneath her lashes. Rex laughed. Had Carmen Shelby always had these withheld submissive desires? It hadn’t been obvious before, of that he was certain. And the constant battle she was having with her needs—was that part of the package? Or was this dilemma of hers because she’d revealed her trigger to him, perhaps inadvertently? Whatever the reason, neither of them could put it back in the box now. No way. Now that he knew her little kinks and foibles he intended to play them out to their full extent.
“So what is the problem?” she demanded after he left her standing there in silence while he admired her.
“A month might not be enough.”
She glared at him.
“It’s day two and I’m loving every moment,” he continued. “Seems such a shame to put an end date on it.”
“You’re winding me up.”
“I’m being honest.” He was. This was too good.
“In which case you lied to me. If you don’t intend to stand up to your end of the deal, I’m walking out of here right now, and if I have to do that I promise you I will only deal with you through a solicitor!”
Angry Carmen was hellishly hot.
“Is this the ballsy businesswoman speaking now, or are you saying you can’t handle more than a month of this?”
Her eyes blazed.
“Seriously, aren’t you enjoying our time together?”
“You know I am, in some weird fucked-up way.” She folded her arms across her chest. “But I want a limit on it, for the sake of my sanity.”
Sanity? What did that really mean? He’d find out, all in good time. He knew he’d pushed her on the terms. “Fair enough. I suppose I’ll have to stick to my word.”
“It’s only sex,” she blurted, as if it was an afterthought.
“It is…and I must say I’m liking these kinky sex games of yours.”
“Mine?”
“Yes. Yours. Okay, let’s begin.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I’d like you to prove to me how much you want the house and how hard you’d work to get it.”
“Now you really are trying to humiliate me.”
“Not at all. You said it made it easier for you when I took charge. Although I do think there’s a part of you that likes that…the humiliation.”
Oh, how her cheeks flamed.
Rex smiled. “Strip for me.”

About the Author:Award-winning British author Saskia Walker first dreamed of writing her own stories when she discovered a handful of romance novels stashed away in her school library. An avid reader, she lapped up the adventures and the life-affirming emotion of these stories, but always felt dismay when the bedroom door closed the reader out. She vowed that in her stories all the passion would be right there on the page!
Saskia began writing in the late 1990s. By that time she'd traveled the world, gained a B.A. in art history, an M.A. in literature and the visual arts and she'd worked in several diverse careers—but the stories in her head simply had to be written.
Nowadays Saskia is happily settled in Yorkshire, in the north of England, with her real-life hero, Mark, and a houseful of stray felines. You can visit her website for more info.WebsiteTwitterBlog FacebookNews GroupGoodreads

#BookBlast An Absent Mind by Eric Rill

Eric Rill was born in Montreal and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts, and from UCLA with an MBA. He held several executive positions in the hospitality industry, including president of a global hotel group. His hobbies include trekking, scuba diving, and collecting antique carpets.  Eric has two sons and divides his time between his residence in Panama and international travel. You can reach him at his website at: www.ericrill.com

 One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. The more you comment, the better your chances to win!
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Blurb: A riveting new novel from Eric Rill, author of Pinnacle of Deceit and The Innocent Traitor, is about a race against time. The ticking time bomb is Saul Reimer’s sanity. His Alzheimer’s is going to be the catalyst that will either bring his family together or tear it apart.
  Excerpt:Saul: The Façade
It’s been almost two years since they told me how sick and useless I was. I am able to keep it more or less together most days. And I stress days, because by dinnertime my mind is exhausted. I never knew you could have an exhausted mind, but I do now. The sheer weight of having to pretend I am normal all day for my friends, or the store clerks, feels like a boulder around my neck. What happens toward sundown is like when you hear the snap, crackle, and pop when the transistors in your old television go bad. Everything numbs and becomes foggy. Sights, sounds, and smells meld into a ball and explode toward the sky. It’s as if I’m not the same person I was when I got up.
As of now anyway, I can see everything I want to say as clear as ice. It’s right there on a blackboard in front of me, spelled out perfectly. But then to actually say what’s written on the blackboard isn’t always a piece of cake. Sometimes it’s easy, like it is right now. I know what I’m saying to you is coherent and that my vocabulary is correct—but that could suddenly change and become difficult, sometimes impossible.
In the morning, I can be happy—well, maybe not happy, but not feeling sorry for myself. It’s different by lunch—if I remember to eat, and I generally do because it’s on my list, although I have been known to leave my pad somewhere and not be able to find it; if that happens, Monique usually reminds me. At least I think she does. Regardless, by lunchtime things generally start to go downhill.
Today, while I was sitting in my easy chair, she bent down to kiss me and brought her hand quickly to her mouth.
“Whew,” she said, or something like that. “You didn’t brush your teeth. Why did you check it off?”
I didn’t bother answering, not because she was interrupting my soap opera—I really wasn’t focusing anyway—but because I didn’t know the answer. Maybe I didn’t check the toothbrush to see if it was wet or dry, like I’ve been doing. Then she scolded me, like it was my fault. First they tell you you’re sick because you can’t remember anything and then they give you hell for not remembering.
The doorbell rang, and Monique disappeared for a minute, reappearing with Arthur Winslow in tow. I was standing there with the telephone receiver in my hand. Monique took it from me and put it back in the cradle.
Arthur was in high school with me and was actually the one who squealed to the principal that I was the one who decked Ian Coulter. Coulter, even though one of the great anti-Semites of all time, lived by a code of honor and wouldn’t have turned me in, but Arthur did, and I understand why. You see, Arthur was the goody-goody of the class. He would have turned in his own mother if she had done something wrong. But other than squealing on me, he was a true and trusted friend.
Arthur lives down the street—at least I think he still does—and faithfully drops in to see me. Sometimes I think he has nothing else to do. I can’t tell if he has missed any days visiting, or, if so, how many, but that doesn’t matter now. What I do know is he cares, and I hope he keeps coming, even if I don’t recognize him one day.
I already know that there will come a time when I won’t know him, or people like Bernie. Frankly, I don’t give a damn if I don’t recognize Bernie—in fact, that could be the Lord’s gift to me, something to make up for what lies ahead. What does bother me—in fact, scares the hell out of me—is not recognizing the kids. As inconceivable as that seems, they say it will happen as sure as night follows day. Who, you may ask, are they? I remember when I was a kid, my grandmother would always quote the almighty they. I would ask her, “Who are they, Granny?” She would always answer, “You know, they.” I think maybe she had Alzheimer’s!
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#BookBlast Tour for Mind Games by @ChristineAmsden

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $100 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn winner (via Rafflecopter) during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.  NOTE:  Book one of this series is on sale for only $0.99 during May!

Beware your heart and soul…

Evan broke Cassie’s heart two months ago, and she still doesn’t know why. She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff’s department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair. Cassie finds him…irresistible.

Matthew may also be the only one who can help keep the non-magical residents of Eagle Rock from going crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor’s wife. It looks like a sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

“Can you read minds?” The question bypassed my brain and went straight to my mouth. You don't ask sorcerers about their powers. It just isn't done. When I realized what I'd said, I clapped a hand over my mouth and started to apologize.

Before I could, he held up a staying hand. He nodded, once, very slightly.

“You can?” The admission stunned me, since I doubted anyone outside his family would know. Though I supposed if he thought I might use the knowledge against him, he could always erase it later. But it didn't explain why he had told me in the first place.

“I thought being honest with you might help us become friends,” Matthew said.

In this case, I didn't think the truth would help him much. How could I be friends with someone who could read my every thought?

Matthew's face fell. “I understand. It's why I don't tell many people. But it's not like it's something I can help.”

I hadn't meant to hurt him. As a rule, I hated hurting people. Wincing, I wondered what I could do to make him feel better, especially when he could read the truth in my mind – that I really didn't think we could be friends. Words, I could control. Thoughts were something else entirely.

“Can't you block it out?” I asked, finally.

He shook his head. “I think of it as hearing thoughts rather than reading minds. When you say you can read minds, it leaves the impression that you can close your eyes and stop seeing the thoughts. For me it's is a lot more like trying not to hear a loud noise, especially when someone broadcasts her thoughts as loudly as you do.”

Christine Amsden has been writing fantasy and science fiction for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and relationships, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

Cassie Scot ParaNormal Detective (Cassie Scot #1) Buy Links:

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Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2) Buy Links:

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Mind Games (Cassie Scot #3) Buy Links

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Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective ($0.99 in May)

Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family’s reputation isn’t easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.

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#Interview Baby Girl Doe by @LarryKelter

A resident New Yorker, Kelter often uses Manhattan and Long Island as backdrops for his stories. He is the author of the Stephanie Chalice Mystery Series and other works of fiction.
Early in his writing career, he received support from best-selling novelist, Nelson DeMille, who reviewed his work and actually put pencil to paper to assist in the editing of the first novel. When completed, DeMille said, “Lawrence Kelter is an exciting new novelist, who reminds me of an early Robert Ludlum.”
His novels are quickly paced and feature a twist ending.WebsiteFacebookTwitter



At any given time do you work on only one story at a time…There are always several ideas competing for attention in my head. In fact, sometimes it’s an effort to concentrate on the one I want to give priority. At the very least I’m working on two at time, the one I’m editing and the one I’m newly creating. Some authors only turn out a single book a year but I usually complete a new novel every four to six months. I also turn out a couple of short stories each year. Busy, busy, busy.
Is there a genre you haven’t written in but would like to?I haven’t written any supernatural tales but there’s one I’ve been toying with for quite a while. I should’ve started on it already but there just hasn’t been time. It’s based on modern day lore and takes place in the town where I actually live. In order to do it justice I’d to have to conduct several interviews and that takes oodles of time.
Do you add an element of romantic suspense to your stories?You bet I do. Stephanie Chalice may be a cop’s cop but she’s a woman’s woman first. From the very onset of the series she’s been involved with her eye candy partner, Gus Lido and they’ve had lots of … fun? In fact they have “fun” everywhere. Not to worry, they don’t let their romance get in the way of the cases, they just have lots of libido to deal with and who wants to waste perfectly good libido. At the same time, Stephanie is madly in lust with Dr. Nigel Twain, a dark and brooding British psychiatrist who consults on many of her cases. Stephanie is also plagued by dreams and nightmares. The amatory Dr. Twain is often the subject of her nocturnal fantasies. It’s kind of a love triangle,Say you have unlimited funds. What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?I’ve often wished that I had a tropical home much like Ian Fleming had. I don’t know if you’re familiar with his life but Fleming used to vacation in Jamaica every winter and had a cottage he named GoldenEye, which is where the name came from for the 1995 film starring Pierce Brosnan. Fleming would write in the morning and then go for a swim in the afternoon. I’d love to have a setup like that, an open-air cottage where I could write while gazing out at the Caribbean. Who wouldn’t, right?
If you could turn your novel into a TV show…I’d love that. I can’t tell you how many notes I get from readers asking when they’ll be able to watch Chalice on TV or the big screen. I’ve always been a huge fan of visual media and I picture each scene in my head before I commit it to paper. I see Chalice as a cable project because her cases most often involve violent crime and I wouldn’t want to candy coat those scenes. There’s also a lot of sexual tension between her, Lido, and Twain—lots of innuendo and explicit dialogue. Cable would be a much better choice for that reason as well.

Lawrence will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to one randomly drawn commenter and 5 autographed copies of the book as runner up prizes (US & Canada only).
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Here’s a little bit about Baby Girl Doe, the latest release in the Stephanie Chalice Series.

Blurb:Everyone deserves a well-earned vacation, don’t they?
Guess again!
Plans have been made and the bags are packed but Detective Stephanie Chalice is having about as much fun as Michael Vick at an ASPCA fundraiser.
In his latest thriller, “Baby Girl Doe,” Chalice tackles murder, arson, abduction, and government secrets held as closely to the vest as those related to the existence of UFOs at Area 51 in Roswell, New Mexico. The new story finds Chalice and her eye candy husband, Lido on the East End of Long Island, vacationing with Max, their new arrival. Things go wrong from the very start. Their vacation rental burns to the ground, bodies pile up, and just to make things interesting, Lido . . . All I’ll say is that you’ll never believe it. Chalice may be out of her jurisdiction but she's never out of questions or determination and soon connects two unsolved homicides. As always, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and her initial findings plunge her deeper and deeper into the most extraordinary investigation of her career. NY Times best-selling novelist Nelson DeMille actually assisted Kelter in the editing of his early work, and has said, “Lawrence Kelter is an exciting novelist, who reminds me of an early Robert Ludlum.”There are a total of five books in the Stephanie Chalice Thriller series, which include Don’t Close Your Eyes, Ransom Beach, The Brain Vault, Our Honored Dead, and now Baby Girl Doe. The Series has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide and topped bestseller list in the US and UK. He is originally from Brooklyn, NY and has not gotten very far from his roots. He currently resides on Long Island with his wife.
 Excerpt:


Dramatic
I zigzagged between the two opposing lanes of traffic as I gave pursuit.
He was in a flat-out run, but I was not going to be beaten. Not now, not with Gus’ captor in sight. I reached down deep and found an extra gear, one that I didn’t know existed. I was running so fast, I felt as if I could take off. I was closing in on him: two yards behind . . . one . . .
I lunged and took him down by the ankles. As he attempted to kick free, I pounced upon him, fists flying. I hauled back and was ready to pummel him when I froze. “You? It’s you?” The face I was about to strike was one I had seen before, but looked nothing like the person I had seen on the ladder outside my bedroom window. This man was the one who told me there was absolutely nothing suspicious about the fire the day I first inspected the remains of Bill Alden’s cottage. Two bodies, burnt beyond recognition—now I understood who would use that specific MO. Dummy, you couldn’t make the connection?
“You son of a bitch.” I heard the sound of others running toward me, but my fist was clenched.
“Chalice, we’ve got him,” Ambler said. “Don’t!”
There was no force on heaven or earth strong enough to keep me from striking him, this man who had turned my family’s world upside down and put my husband’s life at risk. I drove my fist into his jaw and heard it crack. I was ready to hit him again when someone grabbed my arm. I looked up and saw Gus. His cheek was swollen, and there was dried blood on his face.
“Thanks, babe,” he said, “I’ll take it from here.”Where to Buy: Amazon
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Cover Reveal: Land of Shadow by Lissa Bryan

Release Date: August 21, 2014Published by The Writers Coffee ShopIn the highly anticipated stand-alone sequel to The End of All Things, Lissa Bryan returns readers to a world devastated by disease, and the breakdown of modern society. Two years after a horrific virus swept the globe, decimating the world’s population, Carly Daniels and her husband, Justin, have made a safe home in the isolated southern town of Colby. Protected by fences and a vigilant population, the residents there had somehow managed to keep the Infection out.

Until the sight of Carly and Justin’s healthy baby girl convinced them it was safe to allow Outsiders in. Now, in the wake of fresh losses, the small band of survivors struggles to rebuild a community. With only nineteenth-century technology to aid them, they must learn skills long forgotten to provide for their basic needs.

Each day brings new challenges, and every choice they make affects their long-term survival. While Carly and Justin adjust to a growing family, and to their roles as community leaders, they must rely on one another for strength and support when they face difficult questions. Carly has to decide how to move forward in a world where equality, justice, and freedom from tyranny are no longer guaranteed.

And when new threats emerge, she has to decide what she is willing to do—and how far she’s willing to go—to protect what she has worked so hard to build. When the end has come and gone, it’s a journey down a long and broken road through The Land of the Shadow.
Justin was in the barn when he heard Carly scream, and the sound of it almost stopped his heart. It was a sound of sheer terror, a sound that could only mean . . . He didn’t finish the thought. His brain clicked into action mode, based on training and instinct, pushing his own fear aside.

Justin jumped to snatch the pump-action shotgun mounted on pegs above the door and ran harder than he’d ever run in his life, pumping the weapon to chamber a round. He prayed as he ran. He didn’t know to whom he was praying, nor for what, but he prayed just the same. Rounding the corner of the house, he saw Kaden and Carly running toward a goddamn big alligator in the front yard. Sam darted around its sides, snapping. Justin caught up to Kaden just as the beast decided that Carly’s direction was a better avenue of escape than the path blocked by the snarling wolf and the two running men.

It charged right at her, its mouth wide, tail thrashing in its wake. Carly jumped for the porch, clutching at the post, her foot braced on the rail. Kaden charged up the steps and swept Dagny up into his arms, flinging open the screen door to scramble inside the house.

Dagny yelled something that sounded like, “No, kay!” as the keys tumbled from her hand to clatter on the floorboards.

Justin heard her wail as the screen door slammed behind Kaden. But she was safe, and that was what mattered at the moment. Carly still clung to the porch rail, her eyes wide.  

Safe, too, Justin noted, as his mind switched over to seek-and-destroy mode. The alligator kept running across the lawn and straight into the cornfield, surprisingly fast for such a large, awkward creature.

“Not the corn!” Justin swung wide to try to drive the reptile toward the road instead, but the alligator saw safety and concealment in the thick patch of tall green stalks. It charged into the patch, clearing a three-foot-wide path of broken stalks with every swipe of its thrashing tail.

A flash of movement from the left caught Justin’s eye, and Pearl jumped in front of the alligator with a shout, waving her arms to prevent it from charging deeper into the field. The gator hissed at her and brandished its gaping maw, but began to back away. More people from the town, who had been drawn by Carly’s scream, ran across the lawn toward the corn patch. The confused alligator found himself surrounded, and he turned, crushing more stalks. Justin swore. He caught Pearl’s eye and didn’t even need to tell her what he needed. She shouted and feigned a lunge to get the gator’s attention, and it swung around to hiss at her. He darted to the gator’s side and aimed the shotgun at the back of its head.

“Clear!”

“No, Justin!” Carly shouted. “Don’t!”

Justin groaned. His wife, the animal lover. Was she going to say something like, He can’t help he’s an alligator, and insist Justin transport the thing back to the swamp? He was already picturing wrapping the beast’s jaws with duct tape or something to avoid losing a goddamn hand in the process when she reached his side.

Instead, she pulled out the .45 she wore at her hip and blasted the gator three times in the head. It slumped to the ground, dead as Caesar.

 “I didn’t want you to use the shotgun and tear up the hide,” Carly said.

God, he loved her. He felt a grin stretch his cheeks. She turned toward the house but called over her shoulder to the staring townspeople as she ran to check on her baby. “We have meat.”


    Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete's foot...though only in her head. Real life isn't so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing. She is the author of three other novels, Ghostwriter, The End of All Things, and Under These Restless Skies.    
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#Guest S.D. Skye and her new release Son of a Itch

S.D. Skye is a former FBI Russian Counterintelligence Program Intelligence Analyst and supported two major programs during her 12-year tenure at the Bureau. She has personally witnessed the blowback the Intelligence Community suffered due to the most significant compromises in U.S. history, including the arrests of former CIA Case Officer Aldrich Ames and Robert  Hanssen. She spent 20+ years supporting military and intelligence missions in the U.S. Intelligence Community.
Skye, an award winning author, is a member of the Maryland Writer’s Association, Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She’s addicted to writing and chocolate—not necessarily in that order—and currently lives in the Washington D.C. area with her son. Skye is hard at work on several projects, including the next installment of this exciting series.
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At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head? No, I always have any number of ideas bouncing around in my head at one time. Writing is the one profession where it’s actually good to be a little schizophrenic. I’m constantly hearing voices from any number of stories that I will tell in the future. I keep a gazillion notebooks in which I jot down ideas from random thoughts…and sometimes even dreams. I’ve had several ideas that have come from dreams. Actually, the name J.J. McCall came to me in a dream before I had really reconceived what the series would be about. Even though I love the J.J. McCall Series, I won’t make my career on this series. It’s a story I feel compelled to tell, but when it’s done, it’s done. My writing career started before I began the series and it will extend long after it’s over.


2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in?
My J.J. McCall novels really cross multiple genres and it combines really everything I’ve ever wanted to write—spy stories and mafia stories. I mean it was my dream to write books period and I always had a talent for comedy and romance. But I viewed mafia and spy stories as a major challenge and a huge test of my ability because they were so far beyond my own real life and I had the added challenge of not being able to write directly about my career in intelligence (because of those pesky non-disclosure agreements). So, if you told me a couple of years ago that I would write a series that actually does a decent job of combining spy stories with organized crime I would’ve asked you if you’d taken your medication lately because you’re crazy. I never dreamed I would fulfill this dream and step up to the challenge. So, I’m stretching myself and making my dream come true. 
Now, apart from that, I don’t really have the imagination for science fiction or fantasy, so I truly admire people who can world-build and create these alternate literary universes. It’s amazing to me…but I’ve never really had a desire to do it. I really LOVE what I’m doing now.

3. Do you add an element of romantic suspense in your stories?
Absolutely. Even in my romantic comedies there is an element of suspense. I can’t get away from genre mash-ups no matter what I do because my stories are really organic. I don’t try to force them to be one thing or the other. I just write what comes to me and then try to categorize it afterward—which is often tough.
In the J.J. McCall Series there is a love triangle between the main characters J.J. McCall, her co-case agent Tony Donato, and J.J.’s ex-beau, CIA Case Officer Grayson “Six” Chance. Tony and J.J. are falling in love with one another but it’s kind of taboo for both of them as her father is a former Black Panther and determined that J.J. marries and “good black man.” And Tony comes from a mafia family and they all want him to marry “a good Italian woman”—Sicilian if possible. Enter Six—who wants J.J. back after a nasty break-up. He’s somehow managed to insert himself in this new task force that J.J. is heading and he’s taking every opportunity to let her know that he wants her back in his life. Well, now that I think about it, it’s more like a love square because of Gia Campioni is a drop-dead gorgeous Sicilian member of the task force who has her sights set on Tony Donato. This romantic element underlies all of the stories and help offer some relief, often comic relief, from the action and violence in the spy stories.

4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?
Oh, this is easy—I would build four places. I buy one of those Bora Bora Bungalow huts sitting in the middle of the turquoise waters of the South Pacific. I mean, that would be my dream. I’d have my laptop and one of those vintage Olivetti typewriters with a stack of typing paper next to it. That would be my dream place to write. I would buy an apartment in New York, somewhere in Greenwich Village. I would build myself a home on my family’s land in North Carolina…back in the quiet country. And I would buy myself a home on the beaches of Malibu. That’s in addition to keeping my home office. I would be a happy camper if I could write in any of these places anytime I wanted.

5. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?
I think it would have to be a Premium Cable TV Show, maybe HBO because they don’t actually have a spy or intelligence-type series going on right now. It would be great competition for Homeland on Showtime. It would, of course, be set in Washington D.C. and if I had my choice of actors they would be as follows:
Aisha Tyler from The Talk as J.J. McCall Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) as Tony Donato. Morris Chestnut as Six. Courtney Vance as Director Freeman Tony Goldwyn (Scandal’s Fitz) as Aleksey Dmitriyev Rachel Bilson – Gia Campioni Michael Cera (Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist) – Walter Lowenstein
They could also do the movie.

6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!
SON OF A ITCH, Book 2 in my J.J. McCall series, picks up where The Seven Year Itch left off…but it can actually be read as a standalone because I give sufficient backstory. J.J. is leading a task force that was established to find moles (American traitors) in the U.S. Intelligence Community and they are preparing for their next mole hunt. In the meantime, the mole arrested in Book 1 escapes from jail and is out to kill J.J. so there’s an added level of danger.
The seed of the mystery in this story is based on a true crime. In 1999, the FBI’s Special Surveillance Group (also called the “Gs”) happened upon a situation that helped the FBI find one of the most surprising breaches in U.S. intelligence history. The Russian Intelligence Service had installed a listening device in the U.S. State Department in a conference room down the hall from the Secretary’s office. I used that case to develop a “What if…” scenario and it leads J.J. and the Task Force on to a pretty massive case. So, this is one instance in which real events are very much mashed up with fictional events to blur the lines between what really happened and what we’ll never know. For that reason, this was a very fun piece to write.
Blurb:


On the lam from the FBI, the ICE PHANTOM continues with plans to defect to Moscow but not before seeking revenge on J.J. McCall. Meanwhile, the FBI commences Task Force PHANTOM HUNTER, a team ordered by Director Russell Freeman to track down suspected Russian illegals within the U.S. Intelligence Community—and not a moment too soon. An agent of the Russian Intelligence Services is targeting the nerve center of U.S. national security, taking the lie-detecting FBI Agent and her cohorts’ next mole hunt to the highest echelons of the U.S. government.
J.J. and her co-case agent lead the motley crew of spy catchers while she struggles to deal with sobriety, conflicting feelings for Tony and Six, and an egotistical Secret Service agent whose jurisdictional stonewalling complicates her every effort to identify the culprit before he gets away—with murder. 



Excerpt: Tony’s wannabe girlfriend bounced in the door with all the cheer of a drunken valley girl, gazelle graceful in her four-inch stilettos and body-hugging cranberry-colored pantsuit. After flipping her irritatingly thick Pantene hair behind her shoulder, she smiled and sang a bright, “Good morning!”
J.J. grabbed a handful of chocolate with the quickness of a hungry toddler. “Gia, you made it,” J.J. replied in a flat tone, offering a polite but grudging head nod. Her ears and cheeks warmed as she soundlessly growled and narrowed her eyes. “Please make yourself comfortable,” she said as the words “on Mars” flitted through her mind. She stuffed a handful of M&Ms in her mouth and waited for the next arrival.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Gia replied, carefree and nonchalant, full of herself because in the contest for the heart of Tony Donato, she’d scored a major victory over J.J. by all appearances. A flirtatious grin edged the corners of her lips upward when Tony arrived seconds later, in all his muscled Italian glory. A towering hunk of olive-colored fine. Her voice bounced as she sang, “Ciao, Signore Donato.”
Show off, J.J. groused as she shifted in her chair, cocked her head to the side and shook it in disbelief at Gia’s shameless pandering. J.J. had sensed an attraction between the two. Her fears were confirmed by Tony’s first lie.

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#BookBlast Magnolia Bay Series by @AuthorKimBoykin and @ErikaMarksAuthr

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Erika and Kim will be awarding a $15 Starbucks card to a randomly drawn winner during the tour via the rafflecopter at the end of this post.

Willamena Dunn is having a lousy week. Not only is her baby sister about to marry into the family of Dunn-Right Preservation’s biggest professional rival, but the historic bungalow of her dreams has just been bought by the most infuriating (not to mention exceedingly handsome and notoriously wicked) man to ever hammer a nail in Magnolia Bay, Knox Loveless. 


But when Knox offers her a wager she can’t refuse, a bet with the coveted bungalow as its prize, Willa is sure her bad luck might finally be turning around—until Knox surprises her with a passionate kiss, and suddenly all bets are off.

Could this be just another one of Knox Loveless’ games, or will two rivals finally surrender to a long-simmering attraction and declare a truce once and for all?

Darcy Vance has sunk every cent she has into making Mimosa House the best bed and breakfast in Magnolia Bay. But the key to her success lies in the hands of the Historic Preservation Society run by the Bloom bitches who are embarrassed about their father’s connection to the storied house and they have no intention of validating it with a spot on the society’s registry.

After losing his PGA card, Trent Mauldin has come home to Magnolia Bay to lick his wounds and has no plans to stay. Until he falls for Darcy. Things heat up between the two until Trent’s good intentions to help Darcy go sideways. While Darcy works to save her house, Trent fights to win her back and keep her in Magnolia Bay for good.

Enjoy an excerpt from Sweet Home Carolina
Kim Boykin
©Copyright 2014

The ancient clock that came with the house chimed the hour. As I shinnied down the ladder, I ran through the to-do list in my head—shower at ten, hair appointment at eleven, then back to the grind of turning Mimosa House into a stellar bed-and-breakfast. My brain counted the bongs as they reverberated off of the walls of my new lease on life that came with a seven-figure mortgage. Nine. Ten. Eleven. “Eleven? Shit.”

I stepped into my good flip-flops by the front door, the ones with hardly any paint on them, grabbed my purse and keys, and sprinted toward the Jeep.

“Yankee.” The hiss came from my lovely neighbor, Mr. Hunsucker, who was somewhere between five and a hundred and five years old and wasn’t at all happy I was opening a B&B. He was watering the prize roses he’d accused me of pilfering on more than one occasion. Okay, so when I thought no one was looking, I’d pulled a spent blossom off, just to smell it, which made me a flower thief and a Yankee.

“Good morning, Mr. Hunsucker,” I called and then ducked into the Jeep before the spray drenched my windshield. Missed me.

Looking up at him in my rearview mirror, he only held up his middle finger a few seconds this time. A new record. Yep, I was definitely growing on him.

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.
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Erika Marks is a women's fiction writer and the author of LITTLE GALE GUMBO, THE MERMAID COLLECTOR, THE GUEST HOUSE and IT COMES IN WAVES (July, 2014). On the long and winding road to becoming published, she worked many different jobs, including carpenter, cake decorator, art director, and illustrator. But if pressed, she might say it was her brief tenure with a match-making service in Los Angeles after college that set her on the path to writing love stories (not that there isn't romance in frosting or power tools!) A native New Englander, she now makes her home in Charlotte, NC, with her husband, a native New Orleanian who has taught her to make a wicked gumbo, and their two little mermaids.

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