Tina Gayle's Blog, page 7

#RomanticIdea by @BarbaraWDaille and #Excerpt from Cowboy in Charge

Summer #RomanticIdea –Tina Gayle blog - Barbara White Daille CIC 7-19-16




Tina – thank you so much for hosting me at your blog today.


And Readers - thank you for stopping by to visit.


I’m especially honored to be here because Tina is the originator of this Summer #RomanticIdea event!   

Here’s my suggestion for a romantic idea to enjoy:
As I love chocolate, any idea that involves the sweet treat is something I can really get behind. J My recommendation is to buy a box of your significant other’s favorite chocolate (or other candy) and present it to him or her along with the following plan: you each eat one piece of chocolate and then, to work off the calories, take a walk in the park. Do this on a romantic moonlit night, and you never know what might happen!



Excerpt from Cowboy in Charge


Jason and Layne’s reunion is as rocky as their past relationship. Though this snippet from their story doesn’t include chocolate, from their perspective, it’s definitely both sweet and bittersweet…


She stopped beside the truck and waited for him to unlock the passenger door. He kept his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Her heart started to thump.
“You still fit up against me,” he said, “as if we were two puzzle pieces linked together.”
“We’re a puzzle, all right,” she murmured.
He moved to stand in front of her. He reached for the lapels of her jacket, holding them closed, protecting her from the breeze. “I always did enjoy a good puzzle.” He tugged gently, bringing her a shade closer as he dipped his head.
His mouth was cold from the air around them, minty from the plastic-wrapped candy he’d taken from the dish beside the cash register. She wondered if he’d done that deliberately, taken the mint with the knowledge he intended to kiss her. The thought that he might have wanted…might have planned…might have looked forward to just this moment sent a pleasurable thrill racing through her.
“Still cold?” he murmured against her mouth. He slid both arms around her, holding her against him, warming every inch of her, outside and in.
They stood in the parking lot, in public, in view of her friends, the way they had done all over town during their dating days, and somehow she didn’t care. She let him kiss her, and she kissed him, too.
And she wished they could go back to those days and start all over again.


From the cover of Cowboy in Charge, July 2016


TIMING IS EVERYTHING


Single mom Layne Slater thought she'd seen the last of Jason McAndry when he chose the rodeo over her and their unborn son. Now Jason's back in Cowboy Creek and just as handsome as ever. But Layne can't give in to those feelings again. She has to protect her children…and her heart.


Jason wants to try to make up for the pain he caused when he left. The least he can do is help Layne while he's home. Before long, Jason realizes he's finally ready to be the husband, father and man his family deserves. But can Jason prove to Layne that this time, their love is forever?


Find the book:

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Charge-Hitching-Post-Hotel/dp/0373756283


Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cowboy-in-charge-barbara-white-daille/1123353803


Books-A-Million
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Cowboy-Charge/Barbara-White-Daille/9780373756285


Harlequin
http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=65377


Kobo
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/cowboy-in-charge
 

About the Author:
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.


Cowboy in Charge, the latest book in The Hitching Post Hotel series, is a brand-new release! Other books in the series will follow. A larger print reissue of A Rancher’s Pride, book one in Barbara’s popular Flagman’s Folly series, is now available exclusively from Harlequin, while the e-book version is available everywhere. And at the end of 2016, she begins a new sweet romance series for Entangled Bliss.


You can find more info about Barbara and her books at the following locations:


Website  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog  http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Twitter  https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Amazon author page  http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Thanks for sharing,
Tina

#RomanticIdea Taken by Twin Doms by Kryssie Fortune #BDSM

#RomanticIdea Summer Blog Exchange
Plan a picnic. Prepare your usual array of finger food and chill a bottle of wine. Then spread a picnic blanket by the fire, put on some romantic music, light candles, and stay in. Cuddle up and feed each other food and wine.
Or you could always book into a pleasure hotel.
“What the hell’s that?” I hear you say.
My heroine Molly certainly did in my book, Taken By Twin Doms. Right after her Cousin Angela tricked her into visiting one



Blurb
One repressed heroine, twin Doms with sex toys, and a relationship based on a lie.


Too scared to step out of her comfort zone, Molly dreams of submitting to a powerful man’s will. When her cousin tricks her into visiting the Pearson twins’ Pleasure Hotel, she realizes she could play out her fantasies. Despite the sexual games going on around her, she still refuses to accept her sensual nature.
Steve and Brett Pearson want a sub with fire in her soul. Deceived by Molly’s cousin, they believe Molly craves a kidnap and interrogation scene where two men torment her with sex toys before taking her to sexual heights. They’ll stop the instant she says the safe word. As their reluctant prisoner, she has no idea what the safe word is.
After the way Molly responded to their dominance, the Pearson twins want to know her better. Can they win her heart after they’ve bound her, blindfolded her, and forced their BDSM games on her?


Reader Advisory: Contains scenes of forced seduction, twin Doms with sex toys, and a repressed heroine who was born to be wild.
Buy Links
All Romance                         http://bit.ly/29B2K2G
Amazon US                           http://amzn.to/29q7Qwf
Amazon UK                           http://amzn.to/29rdfmB
Amazon AU                           http://amzn.to/29rdNcc
Luminosity Publishing        http://bit.ly/2a0cRge


Excerpt from Taken By Twin Doms
Sat at the wheel of the self-drive minibus the girls had hired, Angela tossed her scarlet-dyed hair back over her shoulder. “It’s a place to get laid. You didn’t think I’d spend my hen night running around with L-plates stuck to my chest and a pink veil over my hair, did you?”
Molly didn’t admit it, but she’d expected just that, along with raucous laughter and too much booze. She’d worn old jeans and sneakers. That way, if someone threw up on her, they only ruined stuff that didn’t matter. She knew that with her skinny hips and bitty breasts, she looked younger than her twenty-three years, but she never wasted much time on her appearance. She wasn’t even sure she could glam it up when she dressed for dinner.
She tugged on her blonde ponytail, a nervous habit she couldn’t break, and blinked hard. Spending the weekend in a pleasure hotel hadn’t figured on her to-do list. She wasn’t a virgin, but she didn’t share Angela’s anything-goes attitude to sex. Her cousin enjoyed an alternate lifestyle where everyone came in shades of submissive or dominant. In Angela’s world, people enjoyed giving or receiving pain while they played out sexual fantasies. Molly sometimes dreamed of giving herself into a Dom’s care, but at university and later work, men came on an equal footing.
Having a man dominate her sounded … exciting and dangerous, especially if he tied her up first. The more she thought about it, the more her nipples hardened. Embarrassingly, her pussy creamed. If this whole pleasure hotel thing didn’t feel so forced she might have been tempted out of her comfort zone. “What if I don’t want to get laid?”
One of the women crammed alongside her in the back of their hired minibus laughed. The sound made Molly think of a hyena closing in for the kill. Another passenger—Susan, possibly—stared at her, all cold eyes and prim lips. She jerked her thumb toward the rear window. “Town’s about fifteen miles that way. You’d better get walking.”
Molly considered it, but an all-night trek through the woods didn’t appeal one bit. “Bringing me here’s baloney. I’m not into all that stuff the rest of you get up to. At the very least, some warning would have been good.”
She’d stay, but if any would-be Doms sniffed around her, she’d dig her heels in and say, “Not interested.”
Angela laughed. “I never expected you to turn up anyway. This place has been the talk of our BDSM club for months, so we thought we’d give it a go.”
Molly stared out at the manicured grounds. This place looked like it belonged in a Jane Austin novel. Her mother had probably thought she’d treated Molly and her cousin to a rarified country retreat. If she’d known this was some upmarket cathouse or such, she’d have been horrified—not to mention furious. As for Molly, she’d been so unwilling to attend her cousin’s weekend, she’d not even checked out the place online. For a Math’s graduate and part qualified accountant, she felt dumb.
Susan’s smile held all the enthusiasm Molly’s lacked. “The owners, the Pearson twins, are legendary Doms, but recently they’ve spent more time running BDSM training sessions than they have taking part in scenes.
Molly sat up straighter. When she’d started university, she’d had a monster crush on the twins in the year above, and their surname had been Pearson. Only they’d been cool dudes who wrote computer programs and flirted with every pretty girl that came their way. They’d never have spared a geeky Math’s student like her a second glance. Not that she’d ever plucked up the courage to speak to them. They’d been her secret obsession and even now, two years after her graduation, they fueled her fantasies.
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “Like me, the girls from the club sent their Doms on ahead to work out the finer details with Brett and Steve Pearson. For us, tonight’s going to be amazing. You’ll just have to hope one of the house Doms takes pity on you. Maybe they’ll teach you a few BDSM basics.”
Thanks for sharing,Tina

Paws and Claws Volume 4 #Paranormal #Boxset

99c Paws & Claws Volume 4This 14 BOOK Excite Spice MEGA Bundle brings you all the sexy, hot shifters you could ever want. From highland wolves to mountain bears and medieval dragons, you get a plethora of shapeshifting hotties. Enjoy a myriad of paranormal pleasure at your fingertips in this giant collection! 

Fourteen of the genre’s hottest authors will take you on a wild, passionate ride wherebig, brawny alphas seek their feisty, fated mates. Don’t miss your opportunity to grab this limited-time bundle, bursting at the seams with shifters guaranteed to make you swoon!
99c or F*R*E*E in KINDLE UNLIMITED 

#RomanticIdea with @KetaDiablo and Season, Unforgettable #newadult #contemporary

#RomanticIdea – Season, Unforgettable #newadult #contemporary
 
Book – Season, Unforgettable
New Adult Contemporary Romance






Tagline: Someone wants Season’s land. And they’ll do anything to get it. Even murder.
 
Blurb:
Nominated for a Rone AwardFinalist Independent Author Network Best Book 
Season Scrimshaw isn't selling the land her parents left her when they died, not even to the gorgeous Rann Brogan who saved her life in the forest. Especially not after she finds out he was in the woods to survey her property.

The company Rann works for, his mother's company, wants the land for a luxury condo development and they want it bad. He never dreamed they'd go to such extreme lengths to get it.

Lives spiral out of control, lies and betrayal play center stage. Caught in the middle between his rich and powerful mother and the woman he loves, Rann discovers love is complicated...and sometimes lethal.

A stand-alone contemporary romance with elements of suspense.
 
Excerpt:
Looking at the road Season traveled, a sense of the unfamiliar hit her. Holy crap! This isn’t right. Don’t panic, take a deep breath. You’re not on Mars, at least I don’t think they have red barns and silos on Mars.
 
Cows grazed in the pastures, a black crow or two crossed the sky. She realized she must have made a wrong turn leaving the 7-Eleven. Was she supposed to go right to get back onto the Interstate or left? She’d have to backtrack and that shouldn’t be a problem since she couldn’t have traveled more than four miles. The gravel road didn’t want to cooperate with her plan. The straight path she’d been on had now turned into a bend, an elongated curve with no end in sight. Still no reason to panic. Hey, if it is a never-ending bend I’ll end up back at the little store.
 
About to reach for her cell in the passenger seat, she checked her rearview mirror first. A cloud of dust had formed behind her car, a whirling dervish that screeched fast and furious. If it didn’t slow down, and there wasn’t a lane on either side to pass her, how would it navigate around her?
 
Kaboom! The car slammed into her tailgate. Her neck whipped forward and then back again. Full-blown terror snaked down her spine. The car hadn’t stopped; it was still swerving and swaying behind her. She didn’t dare pull over. This was no accident but an intentional act. She wracked her brain. Had she pulled out in front of someone unknowingly? What about the clerk at the store? God, she couldn’t even remember what he looked like. Had he followed her?
 
Kaboom! A scream seized her throat. The Denali veered to the right. Tires squealed, hers or the other vehicle’s she didn’t know. Curve eternal still loomed ahead with no driveways or turnarounds in sight. Frantic now, she searched the seat for her phone. Her hand met flat leather. It must have fallen during the last ram.
 
With one eye on the gravel road, one in the rearview mirror, a beam of sunlight illuminated the maniac’s car. Spiders crawled over her skin. Silver SUV? No, it can’t be! An engine roared and then brakes squealed. She clung to the steering wheel and prayed.
 
Bam! The Denali screamed its outrage or was it the sound of broken glass? A steep bank ahead flashed in her line of vision. Dear God, help me! Oh no, oh, no! Like a spinning top, the Denali flipped, ass over tea kettle. Immense pain shot through her body. Something warm and sticky ran down her face. Why hadn’t the air bag deployed? Her vision faded in and out, and she couldn’t form a rational thought. Oh, Pearl, we’re dying. Duna! Oh, my God, Duna, I-I shouldn’t have listened to you this time, should have followed my aura meter.
Lying snake. 
Complete, utter darkness engulfed her.
 
Bio:
Keta Diablo lives in the Midwest part of the United States on six acres of woodland. When she isn't writing or gardening she loves to commune with nature. She adores animals and donates her time and support to local food and animal shelters.

Keta is a multi-published author in contemporary romance, erotic romance and gay fiction. She's also an Amazon best-selling author. Her erotica novel Decadent Deceptions was a finalist in the MOLLY contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America and was nominated for a Red Carpet Award in 2014. Her paranormal novel Meko’s Woman was nominated for a Bookie Award by Authors After Dark and her historical novel Sky Tinted Waterwas nominated for a RONE Award by Ind’Tale Magazine. Her latest contemporary romance novel, Season, Unforgettable, was a finalist in the romance category sponsored by Independent Author Network Book Awards for 2015.
 
Keta's books have received numerous Top Pick, Book of the Month, and Recommended Read awards from top professional review sites.
 
 
Download Season, Unforgettable
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1K1nXBr
Nook: http://bit.ly/23w8Qn3
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id992988050
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/season-unforgettable


Follow Keta on the Net:
Author Blog: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KetaDiablo.Author
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ketadiablo/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Keta-Diablo/e/B002BODURI/
 
 
#RomanticIdea
When summer comes to the Midwest, we think lakes!
One way I love to pass a sunny afternoon is to pack a picnic lunch and head for the water on a Pontoon boat. What could be more romantic than spending a lazy day cruising the lake? The crappies are biting, the sun’s sharing its awesome warmth and the cooler is filled with our favorite beverages.
This is also a great time to catch up on my reading (a romance novel, of course). As the sun sets, we head on over to one of the many restaurants on the lake and enjoy a delicious meal together.
Now this is my idea of Romance!
Happy sailing and happy reading! ~ Keta ~
Thanks for sharing, Keta,Tina

#Excerpt Dark Brew from @DianaLRubio and a #RomanticIdea

Romantic Idea

Cook an authentic Italian meal: ravioli or linguini with homemade pasta sauce, bread with garlic butter, a salad with Italian olive oil, a fine Italian red wine, and a sweet gelato for dessert. Then put on some Sinatra CDs and dance the night away!



DARK BREWA time travel romanceLearn from the past or forever be doomed to repeat it. Worldwide release date July 22, with The Wild Rose Press

 An interview with Diana about Dark Brew Where did the story come from? This story took 11 years from start to finish. I’m a longtime member of the Richard III Society, and in the spring of 2004, I read an article in The Ricardian Registerby Pamela Butler, about Alice Kyteler, who lived in Kilkenny, Ireland in 1324, and faced witchcraft charges. After her trial and acquittal, she vanished from the annals of history. I couldn't resist writing a book about her. How did you decide to make it a paranormal? I’m a believer in reincarnation, and I go on paranormal investigations whenever I can. I’ve gone on several past life regressions. Cape Cod has a lot of history and paranormal activity. I’ve been on many ghost walks and ghost hunts there. I wanted to connect Alice in the past with someone in the present, her reincarnation.  Was Alice Kyteler famous in 14th century Ireland? Not at all but she was the richest woman in Kilkenny, and for that reason the villagers hated her, especially the men. They accused her of killing her first husband, but she was acquitted. Then they accused her of killing her fourth husband, John LePoer, with witchcraft, the accusations more absurd than those of the 1692 witch hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts. Chancellor Edward de Burgh arrested Alice because her stepsons claimed she had murdered John by casting a witch’s spell with malefecia…and she used the enchanted skull of a beheaded thief as her cauldron. She went to trial and her dear friend Michael Artson had her acquitted, but she vanished into the annals of history. According to legend, she went to England. But no one knows for sure. Why did you make it a time travel? Kylah McKinley lives on my beloved Cape Cod. She’s a Druid, a ghost hunter and owns a new age store in a restored Revolutionary War-era tavern. She was also the target of a hit-and-run. Another hit-and-run crippled her husband Ted. That’s no coincidence—she’s convinced someone’s out to get them both. From many past life regressions, Kylah knows she’s the reincarnation of Alice, so she brews an ancient Druid herb mixture, goes back in time and enters Alice’s life to find out exactly what happened and who killed her husband. These two months of hell change her life forever. Kylah’s life mirrors Alice’s in one tragic event after another—she finds her husband sprawled on the floor, cold, blue, with no pulse. Evidence points to her, and police arrest her for his murder. Kylah and Alice shared another twist of fate—they fell in love with the man who believed in them. As Kylah prepares for her trial and fights to maintain her innocence, she must learn from her past or she’s doomed to repeat it.  Have you ever spoken to Pamela Butler, who wrote the article about Alice? Yes, we’ve corresponded. She lives in New Mexico, so we’ve never met in person. I asked Pam what inspired her to write about Alice. I’d never heard of Alice until I read her article, “Witchcraft & Heresy. She replied:“You asked why I wrote about Alice Kyteler, who preceded Richard by a century-and-a-half. I only wrote it because others on the listserv encouraged me to write about witchcraft, a subject about which I knew very little. I ordered three books from Amazon.com on the subjects of witchcraft, heresy, Satanism, etc. for research reasons. That was my basis, plus I searched the Internet. The Malleus Malleficarum was published in 1487, just two years after Richard's death, so it's almost contemporary. I chanced across Alice in this reading and thought that it was an interesting case. Witch burning was fairly rare in Ireland, and wasn't as bad in England at that time as it had been on the Continent. I wish that the M.M. had never been published; still, the fact that it was published and accepted may reveal the mindset of those times.” An excerpt from Dark Brew Kylah shut Ted’s den door. She couldn’t bear to look at the spot where he gasped his last breath. His presence, an imposing force, lingered. So did his scent, a blend of tobacco, pine aftershave and manly sweat. Each reminder ripped into her heart like a knife. Especially now with the funeral looming ahead, the eulogies, the mournful organ hymns, the tolling bells . . .These ceremonies should bring closure, but they’d only prolong the agony of her grief. She wanted to remember him alive for a while longer, wishing she could delay these morbid customs until the hurt subsided. Throughout the house, his essence echoed his personality: the wine stain on the carpet, the heap of dirty shirts, shorts and socks piled up in the laundry room, the spattered stove, his fingerprints on the microwave. But she couldn’t bring herself to clean any of it up. Painful as these remnants were, they offered a strange comfort. He still lived here.

“I’ll find that murderer, Teddy,” she promised him over and over, wandering from room to empty room, traces of him lurking in every corner. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure justice is served. Another past life regression isn’t enough anymore. I know what I have to do now. And I promise, it will never, ever happen again—in any future life.”She inhaled deeply and breathed him in. “Go take a shower, Teddy.” She chuckled through her tears as the doorbell rang. She cringed, breaking out in cold sweat when she saw the black sedan at the curb.“Not again.” No sense in hiding, so she let the detectives in.“Mrs. McKinley, we need your permission to do a search and take some of your husband’s possessions from the house,” Nolan said.“What for?” She met his steely stare. “I looked everywhere and found nothing.”“Mrs. McKinley, the cupboard door was open, four jars of herbs are missing, and the autopsy showed he died of herb poisoning. Those herbs,” Nolan added for emphasis, as if it had slipped her feeble mind. “Foxglove, mandrake, hemlock—and an as-yet unidentified one,” he read from a notebook. “The M.E. determined it was a lethal dose.”Sherlock Holmes got nothin’ on him, she thought.  “Where’s this cupboard, ma’am?” Egan spoke up.“Right there.” She pointed, its door gaping exactly the way she’d found it that night. Nolan went over to it and peered inside.

“Ma’am, it would be better if you left the house for a half hour or so. Please leave a number where you can be reached,” Egan ordered.

Nolan glanced down the hall. “Where is your bedroom?”

What could they want in the bedroom? “It’s at the top of the stairs on the right. But we didn’t sleep together,” she offered, as if that would faze them. It didn’t.

After giving him her cell number, she got into her car and drove to the beach.

An hour later, she let herself back in and looked around. They’d taken the computer, her case of CDs, her thumb drive, her remaining herb jars, Ted’s notebooks, and left her alone with one horrible fact: This was now a homicide case and she was the prime suspect.

 

Purchase Dark Brew

 

Contact Diana

 

My Website

www.dianarubino.com

 

My Blog

www.dianarubinoauthor.blogspot.com


Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/DianaRubinoAuthor/?ref=hl

 

Twitter

https://twitter.com/DianaLRubino

 

Goodreads

http://bit.ly/1V3GCgt

 

 

Lady Elinor’s Escape by Linda McLaughlin - A Summer #RomanticIdea, #romance

Buy links in HTML:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00CHSNEII
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lady-elinors-escape/id645217449
BN/Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lady-elinors-escape-linda-mclaughlin/1100559263
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lady-elinor-s-escape
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/312406


Linda’s Summer #RomanticIdea


“A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou” - The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám


I love that quote, and it makes me think of romantic summer picnics—at the beach, by a lake, in the mountains or a park—whatever location works best where you live or vacation. But what to pack? Wine, bread, meat and cheese are a given, but don’t forget the summer fruit—ripe red strawberries, lush juicy peaches or crisp apples. There’s nothing like a taste of fruit to sweeten a kiss.


Lady Elinor's Escapeby Linda McLaughlinSweet Regency Romance 


Lady Elinor Ashworth always longed for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for. Elinor fears her aunt who is irrational and dangerous, threatening Elinor and anyone she associates with. When she encounters an inquisitive gentleman, she accepts his help, but fearing for his safety, hides her identity by pretending to be a seamstress. She resists his every attempt to draw her out, all the while fighting her attraction to him


There are too many women in barrister St ephen Chaplin's life, but he has never been able to turn his back on a damsel in distress. The younger son of a baronet is a rescuer of troubled females, an unusual vocation fueled guilt over his failure to save the woman he loved from her brutal husband. He cannot help falling in love with his secretive seamstress, but to his dismay, the truth of her background reveals Stephen as the ineligible party


Buy links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00CHSNEII
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lady-elinors-escape/id645217449
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lady-elinors-escape-linda-mclaughlin/1100559263
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lady-elinor-s-escape
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/312406


Excerpt:


Elinor looked around her. “Where shall we have our picnic?”
“I have a particular place in mind.”
A few minutes later, he reined in the horses near a small pond with a few ducks paddling on the surface. He put his hands on her waist and swung her down from the curricle. His hands lingered for a moment longer than necessary as he stared into her eyes. His were a dark liquid amber, like honey, and the warmth in his expression set her heart to racing.
Alarmed by her reaction, she stepped away from him. Oh my, this very private picnic might not have been a wise idea at all.
After tethering the horses, he spread a blanket under a nearby oak, and then produced a picnic basket. While Elinor lowered herself onto the blanket, removed her gloves and bonnet, he dug into the basket. The picnic turned out to be a hearty repast of cold chicken, cheese, bread and butter, cider and sweet, fresh strawberries.
Elinor did not realize how hungry she was until she took the first bite of chicken. Before she knew it, she had devoured a bit of everything, aware of Stephen watching her the entire time.
“I did not mean to eat so much,” she said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“As you are so slender, I had not expected you to have such a hearty appetite,” he remarked with a smile. “I approve.”
“Everything was delicious.”
“I’ll pass your compliments on to Mother’s cook. She kindly provided the food.”
“You mean you cajoled her into it,” Elinor teased him.
He flashed her a boyish grin. “Cook always did have a soft spot in her heart for a hungry boy.”
“You must have had a wonderful childhood.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Fairly typical, I should imagine, except for my habit of bringing home stray and injured animals. I was the despair of my mother.”
Elinor laughed softly. “Then you have not changed much, only now you collect stray females. What does your mother think of that?”
Again he shrugged. “If only I were to marry one of them, she would not object at all, or so she says.”
“I see.” So he was under familial pressure to marry. But he could hardly consider a liaison with a seamstress. Was he pursuing her as one last fling before getting married?
“There is one strawberry left.” He held it out to her.
She leaned toward him and bit into the sweet pulp. A trickle of juice ran down her chin. With one finger, he captured the moisture, and then licked it off, all the while holding her gaze. Her eyes widened at the intimacy of the gesture as heat rose to her cheeks. She was in over her head here.


Author bio:


Linda McLaughlin grew up with a love of books and history, so it's only natural she prefers writing historical romance. She loves transporting her readers into the past where her characters learn that, in the journey of life, love is the sweetest reward. Linda also writes steamy to erotic romance under the name Lyndi Lamont, and is one half of the writing team of Lyn O'Farrell.


You can find her online at:
Website: http://lindalyndi.com
Blog: http://lindalyndi.com/reading-room-blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindaMcLaughlinAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/lindamclaughlin
Twitter: @Lyndi Lamont https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont

Thanks Linda for sharing,

Tina

#GoodReads #Giveaway One Week in You Arms by @pat_preston

ONE WEEK IN YOUR ARMS
Love Heals All Series
by
Patricia Preston


The link for the giveaway is: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/193830-one-week-in-your-arms

Release Date: September 13, 2016   Kensington Books
Available for Pre-Order now


Blurb:
IT STARTED WITH A FLING...

Six years ago, Dr. Marla Grant gave into temptation with a gorgeous man. Now the medical director of Lafayette Falls Community Clinic and a single mom to a little girl, Marla finds herself in a dilemma when the funding for the community clinic is threatened by none other than the powerful man of her long-ago fling and unsuspecting father of her child...

Carson Blackwell has never forgotten bright, beautiful Marla. When he discovers that she works at the clinic his grandmother's foundation sponsors, it's the perfect opportunity to end to his ongoing infatuation and use his leverage to cement a new business deal. He needs a fake girlfriend for one week in Hawaii, and Marla is just the woman for the job. It's a win-win situation, until they realize the attraction between them isn't feigned, and the heat has never died down. Only the secrets they're both keeping stand in the way of a future together-and a love that could last a lifetime.


Excerpt:   
She picked up the letter opener. Her heart palpitated in sheer terror as she slid the opener under the flap of the envelope. With the envelope open, she peeped inside to see one folded sheet of stationery.
After six years, what could he possibly have to say?
She pictured him, standing beside a black truck in the drive of Royal Oaks, an old estate belonging to his grandmother. She recalled the date. June twenty-eighth. The day they had said goodbye had been a warm, blustery day in Tennessee. A summer storm was heading toward the rolling hills near Nashville.
The wind made a mess of Carson’s unruly dark hair. His dark blue eyes were hidden by a pair of mirrored lensaviators, and his alpha-male physique tested the seams of his polo shirt.
“If I’m ever back in town, I’ll look you up,” he promised as their casual affair came to an inevitable end. For three weeks, they had been together and finally, the time had come for them to go their separate ways. She hadn’t realized it would be so difficult.
“Sure.” She forced a smile of goodwill. After all, they weren’t parting in anger, or in love for that matter. And it was unlikely that she would ever see him again.
“I had a great time,” she confessed boldly. She’d loved every minute of their brief, steamy affair. Talk about a summer break to remember. She grinned.
He gave her cheek a stroke. “You’ll make a greatdoctor.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “You certainly know all there is to know about male anatomy.”
“Yours, at least.” She laughed. Then she hopped up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. “Goodbye, Carson Blackwell.”
She stepped away from him. Now was the time to face what was ahead. A grueling three-year residency. There would be no more time for long summer nights, tangled sheets, and sighs against swollen lips. She walked toward her small, sturdy hatchback. Before she opened the driver’s door, she looked up and met his gaze.
“Goodbye,” he called.
At that moment, she’d had an odd sensation in her chest that her life was never going to be the same. Then she laughed at her silliness. Asummer fling with a guy just passing through was not something that changed your life. For her, completing her residency would be the life changer.
She had watched Carson drive off into the sunset.
Never to be seen or heard from again until now.
Why now?

Buy Links:
Amazon   http://amzn.to/1SCo3li
Nook http://bit.ly/1VmaHru
Kobo   http://bit.ly/1Vma8Oe
iBooks http://apple.co/1W6y6l6


Book Two of the series, Everything His Heart Desires, coming in January 2017, is available for pre-order now. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EE09ZNO/


Author Bio:


Patricia Preston writes witty mainstream romances and wacky Southern comedies. You are her reader if you like fun, fast-paced, feel-good reads. Her stories have been Amazon best sellers and she won the William Faulkner Award for Short Fiction, the Lone Star Writing Competition for Historical Romance, and Harlequin's World's Best Romances Short Story Competition. Must haves in her writing cave include sweet tea and epic music. Besides writing, she loves music, history, taking road trips, and anything containing chocolate. Her dream-come-true would be a townhouse in the French Quarter. She never misses Supernatural or the Walking Dead.


 She is repped by the Seymour Agency and currently working on a contemporary romance series for Kensington. Having fun is her objective when it comes to storytelling and she hopes her readers will find her books entertaining and uplifting.


Available titles include Amazon best sellers, “The Yard Sale” and “Laid to Rest,” as well as historical romances: To Save a Lady and Almost an Outlaw . Coming in September is the first book in the Love Heals All series from Kensington Boos, One Week in Your Arms . Also available for pre-order is the second book in the series, Everything His Heart Desires.


Author Links:
Webpage
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

#RomanticIdea by Rachael Kosinski and #Excerpt from The Christmas Lights #Romance

Romantic Idea to Enjoy this Summer:


I find anything lake-oriented can be really, very cute. Walk along the shore, go swimming, have a lakeside picnic—go jet skiing, or boating or both!
 I live right next to a lake, and on weekends my family will explore this little town that everyone flocks to during the summer; it’s the perfect place to grab some ice cream and just wander as the sun sets. Have you ever seen the sun set across a lake, dappling the surface?
 Pretty romantic, if you ask me. It’s a thing you can watch for a long time. Then you can just hold hands and meander around all the little shops, or plunge off into the foliage if your lake of choice has parkland right next to it like mine does. Nothing feels more adventurous than anchoring the boat and swimming to shore, then wandering the quiet forest down a worn dirt path until you dry off. I’ve never actually done this date-wise, but it’s on my list!  
 



Blurb: “Where do Christmas lights come from?” 
Those tiny bulbs of color that burn on a Christmas tree, 
Or outside a house to shine in the night. 
Does anyone really know where they originate? 
What if someone told you 
They weren’t intended for Christmas at all, 
But really for a miracle? 
That they were for love, a desperate idea, to light a boy’s way home? 
In that case, you must have some questions. What boy? What love? 
Have a seat. Allow me to tell you a story.



Excerpt: 
“Because your father requires…a dowry, of sorts. A guarantee you’ll be well taken care of.” 
Emmy’s hand turned sweaty. “Oh, Louis. What does that mean?” 
I swallowed the sour taste at the back of my mouth, nerves trembling in my fingers. “Our engagement lasts until December twenty-fifth. If by that time I’ve not returned—” 
“Returned?” Emmy’s gaze burned me. “Louis, where are you going? Won’t my father give you a job?” 
I didn’t move and barely opened my mouth to let the words escape. “He’s got me a job.” 
“What?” 
I loosened my shoulders and shrugged. “Marks Brothers pays their floor workers very well.” 
“Who?” 
“I’d stack inventory outside, in the clean air, and I’d work with a few fellows who’d watch out for me…” “Louis!” 
“…I hear factories in London are much safer than here.” 
“London! Louis, Louis, what are you talking about?” Emmy grabbed my face. 
I squinted at two sparkling brown orbs. Was she crying? 
“No.” Emmy covered her mouth with a hand. “No, you aren’t going to London. How could you? No one loves you there. No one knows you there…”
Your father seems to think it is my home country. 
“Emmy. Emmy Emmy Emmy.” I held her close, stroking her hair. “I don’t plan to work there.” 
She sat back. “What?” 
“I’ve heard Mr. Godfrey talk about them. A London factory is the last place I should work. Your father means well, but I can’t do that. They wouldn’t take a blind boy.” 
“Wh-where will you go, then? How on earth will you make money?” 
“I have family in Paris. Mother says they have wine vineyards. I’ll work for them.” 
“That…” Emmy’s fingers traced the veins on the back of my hand. “That’s much safer.” She was silent for the longest time. “You’ll be safe? And come home quickly?” 
I pulled her hands away and stood, playing with the ring on her finger. “I will. I love you.” 
“Louis…” 
“Emmy. I don’t have a choice. You want to marry me, don’t you?” 
“Of course I do. But, Louis…” 
“Yes, love?” 
“How long will you be gone?” How long? How long to board a ship, to find a place I’d only heard about, to earn and save an impossible amount of money? How long, indeed. 
I set my expression. “I’ll be home by Christmas.”
 


 


 
Links:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OMFS0S8
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-christmas-lights-rachael-kosinski/1120609560?ean=2940046293258
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/the-christmas-lights/atAzy8BDVUOzqfSxguMmlg?MixID=atAzy8BDVUOzqfSxguMmlg&PageNumber=1
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/romance/historical-romance/the-christmas-lights-detail
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/486267
 




Bio: When she was little, Rachael Kosinski wanted to be a paleontologist, an astronaut, a nature photographer, a writer for National Geographic, an Egyptologist, and the next Jane Goodall. Instead of being a new link between man and chimp, or discovering a planet suitable for sustained human life, or maybe even winning renowned fame by stumbling across an undiscovered dinosaur, Rachael finally decided that, if she never became a writer, she would simply die. Nine years later, she now possesses a quirky knowledge of world mythology, an addiction to coffee, and a penchant for making over-expressive faces at her laptop.

Author Links:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9856335.Rachael_Kosinski
http://the-girl-who-draws-with-words.tumblr.com
http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Kosinski/e/B0151WRFMC
 

Thanks for sharing,
Tina 

#Excerpt and #RomanticIdea by @Pendarielraye - #Author of Destiny's Favor

Romantic Idea
My romantic idea comes from a tradition between me and one of my best friends. It’s a great, fun and simple way to get to know another person without lots of questions. Here’s how it’s done…
1. Each person creates a playlist of some of her/his favorite music dating as far back as they can remember (can even be pre-school).
2. Plan a picnic (in a neutral, safe place so you can dance if the mood hits you, and each of you bring some of your favorite foods).
3. Take turns sharing your playlists one song at a time, and tell what was going on in your life at the time as well as why the song is one of your favorites. Remember to keep it positive, i.e., nothing about old lovers who broke your heart, please ;-) In fact, if you bring up past relationships at all, be sure to focus on what you learned and how it helps you with present relationships.
4. According to the length of your playlists, this can span several dates and provide quite a few conversation prompts.





Romantic Idea ExchangeDariel Raye




Destiny’s Favor (Orlosian Warriors Bk. 2) Destiny’s Favor synopsis
His world shifted the moment she was born. Now, nothing can stop him from making her his.
Imagine meeting a man who looks like an angel, wings and all? What would you do if this man told you he existed with only one purpose – to claim you and only you?
Destiny Carter is a feisty, take charge, Rubinesque beauty with a tough façade, who finds herself in that age old quandary, “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” A string of lackluster relationships leave her hopeless and ready to settle…Until she meets Japheth, the man her fiancé claims is his best friend! Japheth’s arrival is heralded by an attack on Destiny’s life, and instinctively, she knows this is just the beginning.
Born more than 200 years ago, Japheth looks like an angel but he’s far from it. In his world, the ratio of men to women is 500 to 1, and although he’s a superior being, he’s willing to break the most sacred law of his brothers, even drink human blood, to have one meant for him alone.
When he meets Destiny, he knows she’s the one he’s been searching for. To claim her, he will have to betray a friend, risk his life, and hardest of all, humble himself enough to win her love.
Available for Pre-order  Only $0.99 for a limited time



 Get a FREE review copy of “Calm Assurance (Orlosian Warriors Bk. 1) to catch up on the series now! Enter the Rafflecopter below to find out how to get your free copy + win other prizes!
Calm Assurance (Orlosian Warriors Bk. 1) Calm Assurance synopsis
Two hearts, two different worlds, uncompromising love.A straight-laced Nephilim-descendant and a human trouble-magnet?When Asriel - Orlosian Warrior, descendant of Nephilim, law enforcer – is sent to guard Malina, a human with a penchant for drawing trouble like a tornado, she becomes his obsession.With no hope of finding love in his dimension, he breaks the cardinal rule, leaving his home to protect her, but she has also drawn the attention of his enemies, and he is forced to face demons from his past. If Asriel chooses to stay with Malina, not only does he risk forfeiting his right to ever return to his dimension, but he will need her blood to survive.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Dariel RayeDariel is an animal lover who writes IR/MC (interracial/multi-cultural) paranormal and dark urban fantasy romance. She is presently writing a shifter series, “Dark Sentinels,” a reluctant hell-dweller series, “Kushiel’s Keep,” two Nephilim series with vampire-like heroes, “Orlosian Warriors” and “Cain’s Progeny,” “Lifegivers,” a paranormal romance series with a variety of beings, a crossover paranormal thriller shifter trilogy with romantic elements, “Gateway,” and an erotic fantasy newsletter serial. To learn more about Dariel and her books, visit her blog,  join her newsletter, and follow her on Amazon.
Dariel on the WebDariel’s Blog        Dariel’s WebsiteDariel’s Newsletter         Dariel on TwitterFacebook Page  Dariel’s Amazon Author PageDariel on Goodreads      Dariel on Tumblr    Dariel on Tsu 
Rafflecopter link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/204547f642/ ?




Thanks for sharing,


Tina

Devil's Promenade #Excerpt and #Interview with @Alicia_Dean_

Alicia Dean Interview


Thank you for having me on your blog, Tina!
1.    Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
I am from and live in Oklahoma. Currently, Edmond. No pets. Three grown children, and I have been divorced for twenty years.
2.    Where did you get the idea for the A World of Gothic series?
A little while back, I had the idea to gather a group of writers from various countries around the world and have each of us write a stand-alone story set in our own country. I wanted them in the same genre and to share a minor recurring thread. I love the gothic genre and my other gothic mystery, Lady in the Mist, has done quite well, so I thought gothic would be a fun genre for the series. Since gothic mysteries are somewhat formulaic, the stories seem more connected than they might in another genre. Additionally, they all share a recurring thread of a Spinel stone. It can play a small or large part of the story, but each one must contain a Spinel, which is a fascinating stone, by the way.
3.    What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?
Allison Williams for Camille and Stephen Amell for Declan. Even though it will never be made into a movie, I already had to answer this question, because I always have to picture a ‘model’ (usually celebrities) for my characters, and those are the two inspirations for Devil’s Promenade.
4.    Would you rather have a bad review or no review?
Bad review, for sure, as long as it wasn’t terribly insulting and as long as I could tell they’d read the book. I expect to receive bad reviews. Like I always say, even my most-loved authors receive bad reviews, and if bad reviews are good enough for Michael Connelly, Stephen King and Dennis Lehane, they are good enough for me. ;)
5.    If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have 3 (inanimate) objects, what would they be?
If I can’t have electricity, I would have to say a house, a book, wine. J
6.    What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?
Of those living, probably, hmmmm…. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) from Walking Dead. Not only is he very, very sexy, he’s a survivor and could take excellent care of me…in many ways, wink, wink…
7.    Your favorite…
Movie – Gone with the Wind
Music – Elvis music, but since that’s not really a ‘genre’ I’d have to say country, but not this new crap. Old country.
Place you’ve visited – Well…that’s tough. I’ve been to some great places. I’d probably say Montana, since it’s gorgeous and cold.
Place you’d like to visit – Another tough one. Probably…Italy.
TV show from childhood – Leave it to Beaver or I Love Lucy
TV show from adulthood - Dexter
Food - Mexican
Sports team – Cincinnati Reds
Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television?  TV, I’m an addict.


Key words:
A World of Gothic, Gothic Mystery Romance, Ghosts, Oklahoma, Quapaw, Remote Bed and Breakfast, Winter Blizzard, Spook light, Tri-State Spook Light, romance, ebook, 99 cents, Kindle






https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Promenade-Gothic-United-States-ebook/dp/B01GNGTU96?tag=geolinker-20&ie=UTF8


Blurb:
Amidst a blizzard, paranormal debunker Camille Burditt arrives at Devil’s Promenade in Oklahoma to research a supernatural 'spook light' phenomenon for her latest book. There she encounters a ghostly being, which she dismisses as a figment of her imagination. But as the apparition becomes too persistent to deny, Camille realizes the woman’s ghost is quite real—and that her demise was not accidental. 

Declan Rush—the inhospitable, reclusive owner of the inn where Camille is staying—is linked to the deceased woman, but he is less than forthcoming. Despite his unfriendliness, Camille is oddly drawn to him, even though she suspects his connection to the spirit might be that of killer to victim. 

When another suspicious death occurs, Camille intensifies her investigation. She has precious little time to ferret out the truth. Not only is her book deadline looming—she's desperate to discover if the man she’s falling for is a murderer. 


Excerpt:
Another sound—almost like that of a human moan—rose. I yelped and slammed the book closed. Tossing it on the nightstand, I threw back the covers and climbed from the bed. Although not sure I wanted to identify the sound, I hurried to the window, the hardwood floor cold against my bare feet.
I rubbed my arms against the chill, then drew the curtain back and peered outside. Darkness pushed against the glass like a physical being. Snow and a sprinkling of stars made the night only slightly less black. What had I heard? Snow falling? No, that was ice pelting the window. I hadn’t been around snow much, but I knew it didn’t make that kind of sound.
A flash of something bright caught my attention. I pushed closer to the window, my nose practically touching the pane. There, in the corner of the yard next to a bare-branched shrub. A wisp of something…
I grabbed my cell phone and zoomed in. My heart beat in triple time as I looked through the phone camera. A ghostly figure…no other way to describe it. The gauzy essence was in the shape of a person, undefined, yet unmistakable. A woman, it seemed—long hair flowing behind her, the skirt of a dress billowing around her legs.
She seemed to be staring up at the window…
She, ha,it was nothing, no ‘she,’ no ghost, just my imagination. That’s what I got for reading Dean Koontz in a peculiar, spooky house in a strange place. Plus, I was just overtired from my trip. But, still, I was seeing it. Wasn’t I? I squinted at the enlarged image through my cell. Yes, it was right there…
I started video recording on my phone. I would study it further. Figure out if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. And if I was, I could show others, so I would know I wasn’t crazy.
I’d only been recording for a few seconds when the image just…floated away, dissipated somehow. Chills brushed over my flesh. I dropped my arm holding the phone and stared stupidly out the window. Frowning, I touched Play on the video. The screen filled with the view out my window, but the apparition was not there. What the…?
The shrub was in place, in the recording. Just where I’d seen the…thing, whatever it had been. But now, there was nothing.
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned. Whether I was seeing things, or if there really was a thing.Perhaps I was really was going crazy.
No…just overly tired, an overactive imagination and the masterful conjurings of Dean Koontz.
I slipped back in bed and tossed the book into the nightstand drawer, then shut it safely inside. I reached for the bedside lamp but paused before switching it off. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to leave a light burning. After all, I was in an unfamiliar place, and the bathroom was down the hall. If I needed to get up during the night, I’d have to be able to see.
Satisfied I was being practical, rather than frightened, I snuggled into the covers. But it was a long while before I fell asleep. My ears and eyes were trained on the window…my mind brimming with the strangeness of my experiences at the Spook Light Bed and Breakfast. And I’d yet to be here for twelve hours.



Bio
Award-winning author, Alicia Dean, began writing stories as a child. At age 11, she wrote her first ever romance (featuring a hero who looked just like Elvis Presley, and who shared the name of Elvis’ character in the movie, Tickle Me), and she still has the tattered, pencil-written copy. Alicia is from Moore, Oklahoma and now lives in Edmond. She has three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few vintage historicals. She is a freelance editor in addition to being an editor for The Wild Rose Press.


Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching (and rewatching) her favorite televisions shows like The Walking Dead, Dexter, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, Vampire Diaries, and The Originals. Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.


Find Alicia here:
 *** Sign up for our Novel Notes Newsletter, a multi-author newsletter where we give away a $25 gift card each month: https://www.facebook.com/NovelNotesAuthors
Website: http://aliciadean.com/
Blog: http://aliciadean.com/alicias-blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alicia-Dean-559598754221926/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Alicia_Dean_
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/aliciamdean/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/468339.Alicia_DeanThanks Alicia for stopping by,
Tina