Maya Hughes's Blog, page 4
April 14, 2020
[Heartless King] Teaser Tuesday! Cover Reveal Tomorrow!
Holy hotness, batman! Can you believe it?! The cover and blurb reveal for Heartless King is tomorrow! You’ll also get the release date, so you can mark your calendar to get ready it!
Here’s another teaser for you and an unedited snippet below!
The question had been running through my head all night. How could I get her to leave? But I didn’t want her to go. And the maple syrup and cinnamon taste of her sent me hurtling close to the edge of my control. Those reserves were running on fumes.
Everyone else had been run off by my anger or blinded by my money, but not her. If anything, she battled me, pushing me almost like she knew I needed it. I couldn’t cover the splintered and cracked pieces I was barely hanging onto.
She didn’t push me to talk, sliding in past my defenses and getting me to say more than I should.
“Do you want me to stop?”
I ran my fingers through her hair, tugging on the roots. Her lips parted in a gasp and I deepened the kiss, needing to taste even more of her. She’d teased me eating that Fresh Toast that smelled like a vanilla and cinnamon factory has exploded when it arrived at our table.
“Hell no.”
Add Heartless King to your Goodreads!
April 12, 2020
Paperback Giveaway
Hop into spring with this giveaway! A dozen signed paperbacks for the bookworm who’s a little more into steamy reads versus candy and colored eggs.
Click here to enter: www.bit.ly/BookBubBunny
Follow one, two, three or all participating authors on BookBub. Kat Addams, Daniella Brodsky, Maya Hughes, Mia Kayla, Claire Kingsley, Adriana Locke, Melanie Moreland, Brooke O'Brien, Marika Ray, Jamie Schlosser, Gena Showalter, and Willow Winters.
One winner will receive 12 signed paperbacks, a bookish canvas tote bag, bookish water bottle, and the softest little floppy earned bunny you've ever cuddled.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Instagram, Goodreads or BookBub. Must have a U.S. mailing address to enter. Winner chosen randomly. Giveaway open from April 5th through April 12, 2020.
April 7, 2020
[Heartless King] Teaser Tuesday! The cover will be here soon!
We’re in the middle of Awesome April! I know things are crazy pants right now, but I wanted to bring a little Kings romance to your life this month. Colm’s story will be here soon with the official release date out next week!
Here’s a teaser for you and an unedited snippet below!
Icy needles splashed over my face and rivulets of freezing water up my nose. I shot up from my bed.
She stood over me holding a bucket I didn’t even know I owned with a smile fit for an adorable anarchist.
I spewed water out of my mouth and jumped up from the bed, shaking ice off my body. It thudded to the floor and water splashed all over everything. “What the fuck?”
“You wouldn’t do things the easy way, so I had to improvise.”
April 6, 2020
[Life] 3 Tips for working from home with kids: Schedules, Cupcakes and A Box of Wine
This is officially the three day anniversary of me wearing these pants. I should probably take a shower…
My kids are off school for spring break, which has re-adjusted our previous re-adjustment to home life. To cope, I’ve created some schedules for them and myself to keep things chugging alongside me working from home. As crazy as all this is right now, I’m trying to soak it up because I know I’ll miss being around them all day once they’re back at school and I’m back in the office at my day job.
Being home is part of my goal with becoming a full time author. So this is a trial run of sorts. I’m still waking up extra early to get in writing before their day and my work day starts a few times a week. Even with all the craziness going on, I’m not watching the news and I think that calms me down and keeps me focused on what’s in front of me and what I can control.
Here are my top 3 tips that have helped me cope with working from home:
Printed schedules - I went out and bought a printer when everything started. The kids have needed it for their school work, but also for other projects I’ve come up with. I created a daily schedule for them with check marks next to each item. When they finish a task, it’s a check. If they have 5 completed checklists they can choose a movie, tv show or game for us to buy and download.
Everyone gets out of pajamas in the morning! We all wake up, brush teeth and have breakfast. I’ll admit sometimes I’m putting on the same pants I wore the day before, hence my three day anniversary and they’re not exactly business pants (hello sweats!), but it helps us.
We’re coloring or drawing every day. On their checklist is a spot for them to color or draw with me. Even though we’re all in the house together, it doesn’t necessarily feel like we’re getting in as much quality time. So, if it’s on the checklist, it means they want to do it and I’m reminded that I do too (see above about missing this later). Solo time with the kids without my phone nearby where we can talk and I can listen is so important and has helped with their anxiety about the whole situation.
Those are my tips! Not to say I’m not also becoming a master bartender/wine bottle opener because oh hell yes, that’s happening! But we’re all doing the best we can. I hope you’re safe and healthy!
Maya xx
[Life] 3 Tips for working from home with kids: Schedules, Pajamas and A Box of Crayons
This is officially the three day anniversary of me wearing these pants. I should probably take a shower…
My kids are off school for spring break, which has re-adjusted our previous re-adjustment to home life. To cope, I’ve created some schedules for them and myself to keep things chugging alongside me working from home. As crazy as all this is right now, I’m trying to soak it up because I know I’ll miss being around them all day once they’re back at school and I’m back in the office at my day job.
Being home is part of my goal with becoming a full time author. So this is a trial run of sorts. I’m still waking up extra early to get in writing before their day and my work day starts a few times a week. Even with all the craziness going on, I’m not watching the news and I think that calms me down and keeps me focused on what’s in front of me and what I can control.
Here are my top 3 tips that have helped me cope with working from home:
Printed schedules - I went out and bought a printer when everything started. The kids have needed it for their school work, but also for other projects I’ve come up with. I created a daily schedule for them with check marks next to each item. When they finish a task, it’s a check. If they have 5 completed checklists they can choose a movie, tv show or game for us to buy and download.
Everyone gets out of pajamas in the morning! We all wake up, brush teeth and have breakfast. I’ll admit sometimes I’m putting on the same pants I wore the day before, hence my three day anniversary and they’re not exactly business pants (hello sweats!), but it helps us.
We’re coloring or drawing every day. On their checklist is a spot for them to color or draw with me. Even though we’re all in the house together, it doesn’t necessarily feel like we’re getting in as much quality time. So, if it’s on the checklist, it means they want to do it and I’m reminded that I do too (see above about missing this later). Solo time with the kids without my phone nearby where we can talk and I can listen is so important and has helped with their anxiety about the whole situation.
Those are my tips! Not to say I’m not also becoming a master bartender/wine bottle opener because oh hell yes, that’s happening! But we’re all doing the best we can. I hope you’re safe and healthy!
Maya xx
February 10, 2020
ON Sale for the FIRST time!
The Perfect First
Who can resist when the college football star is asked to be all this adorable bookworm’s firsts!
ON SALE NOW FOR 99 cents or available to read with Kindle Unlimited
“How long do you last in bed?” Those were her first words to me, swiftly followed up with, “And how big would you say you are?”
Cue the record scratching, what?!
Persephone Alexander. Math genius. Lover of blazers. The only girl I know who can make Heidi braids look sexy as hell. And she’s on a mission. Lose her virginity by the end of the semester.
I walked in on her interview session for potential candidates (who even does that?) and saw straight through her brave front. She’s got a list of Firsts to accomplish like she’s only got months to live. I’ve decided to be her guide for all her firsts except one. Someone’s got to keep her out of trouble. I have one rule, no sex. We even shook on it.
I’ll help her find the right guy for the job. Someone like her doesn’t need someone like me and my massive...baggage for her first time.
Drinking at a bar. Check.
Partying all night. Double check.
Skinny dipping. Triple check.
She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. The walls I’d put up around my heart are slowly crumbling with each touch that sets fire to my soul.
I’m the first to bend the rules. One electrifying kiss changes everything and suddenly I don’t want to be her first, I want to be her only. But her plan was written before I came onto the scene and now I’m determined to get her to re-write her future with me.
February 9, 2020
Your date for Valentine’s Day is waiting in Romance Retreat!
If you aren't already a member of Romance Retreat, join HERE. Click on the discussion topic "Blind Date with a Book Boyfriend GIVEAWAY" for a complete list of participating authors and blind date that you won’t regret!
January 31, 2020
[The Third Best Thing] NOW LIVE!!!
The Third Best Thing is LIVE!!
This is a story that hit me hard in so many ways as I was writing it. The struggles many of us go through can sometimes seem insurmountable, but we all have the strength to get us through the journey we’re all on. Berk and Jules are two characters who blindsided me with their sweetness, their joy, their struggles and their love for one another. It is a story I can’t wait for you to get your hands on!
★★★★★
You know when you love and connect with a book so much it feels like you’re a completely different person after you finish it? That’s what TTBT made me feel. -Bruna, Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
“I couldn't stop reading.” – Eli, Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
“This book was absolutely stunning and had everything I could wish for.”
★★★★★
“HOLY SHIT they were wild as f*ck” – readingsnfeelings
★★★★★
“I couldn’t stop reading it. It was physically impossible for me to put my phone down and, whenever I absolutely needed such as when I had to be forced out of my room to eat, I could only think about what was going to happen next.” – Maria, Goodreads reviewer
★★★★★
“I just finished it but I already want to reread it.” – Stine, Goodreads reviewer
****
NOW LIVE!GRAB your copy now or read free in KU!
January 30, 2020
NOW LIVE - The Third Best Thing
"2020 is the year of BerkJules and TTBT did not disappoint with them! This story is a beautiful friends-to-lovers secret admirer romance between the ever-lovable goofball Berk and the bubbly baking extraordinaire Jules."
- Angela| Romance Readers Reverie's
The Third Best Thing
Do you have a favorite TTBT moment?
January 28, 2020
[The Third Best Thing] Read the first chapter now!
Jules
I tugged the drawstrings of my hood tighter around my face and crept across the street. My breath came out in small puffs in front of my face, and I prayed no one would see me. Each step made the note in my pocket crinkle, the sound so loud that I froze in the middle of the street, as though no one would notice me in black, creeping across of the road.
A door opened a few houses down. Fear shot through me. Some people came out onto a porch halfway down the block, laughing, and the bass from their music filled the silent air. Not everyone had gone home for the break. My heart skipped into overdrive.
My gaze darted to the house looming in front of me. The two-story townhouse was the nicest on the street by far. It was a former frat house that had been taken over by the Fulton U Trojans’ star players earlier this year when the frat had been kicked off campus.
Do it. Go for it and no one needed to know. Be quick, Jules. In and out. I snuck a glance over my shoulder and scurried to the other side of the street. The cold barely touched me with the liquid courage coursing through my veins.
Someone turned the corner, driving down the block. I dove for the bushes, hoping that with my black hooded sweatshirt and black jeans, they wouldn’t spot me. Not that it wasn’t suspicious tiptoeing around the neighborhood in my attempt at inconspicuous attire.
After a bottle of wine and way too many chocolate chip cookies, here I was with a dirty note in my pocket and liquid courage that waned with each second, standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the porch. What was I doing? What would I do if I got caught? If one of the football players came out and found me crouched in front of their porch? Would I play dumb? Run for my life? Drop out of school and start riding the rails?
The house had been dark for the past few days. I’d only managed at home through Christmas morning before I’d bolted back to campus. My gift of socks and a low-calorie cook book had been the last straw after a week of needling and snide comments. Mom had said I’m hard to shop for, but she knew what I needed. Thanks, Mom.
My sister had gotten a new Audi. Seemed comparable. I’d fled and immersed myself in the kitchen—baked until I thought the house might burn down from the oven being on for almost two days straight.
I was stalling. The longer I stood out here the greater the chance that someone would catch me. Someone like Berk. Elle would freak when she got back to campus and I told her. Was I going to tell her I’d done this?
Now or never. My hands clasped tighter around the envelope in my pocket.
It had taken me eight drafts to finally write out everything I wanted to say to him. Putting pen to paper and letting every dirty, naughty thing I wanted to do to him and have him do to me loose in all its inky glory. Dr. Schuller had said I should embrace my sexuality and take risks. I don’t think he thought getting shitfaced and writing raunchy notes was the best outlet, but, hey, I was improvising.
Darting up the stairs, I looked over my shoulder and slipped the note into the mailbox. Odds were, I’d chicken out and grab the note tomorrow morning once the booze and hangover wore off. A little of my anxiety ebbed away. I’d have my night of bravery and adrenaline, but I could take it back. The gold metal lid banged against the body of the box, making a loud clang. This was totally reversible.
The porch light flicked on and I slapped my hands over my mouth to hold back the yelp. Scurrying down the stairs, I dove for the bushes again, making the acquaintance of the leaves and twigs.
“Hey, no parties tonight.” The spine-tingling timbre of his voice cut through the night air. Oh god, it was Berk.
I buried my head in my hands. Why was he here? Not that he shouldn’t be in his own house, but why the hell was he there? Had he come back while I was drinking and baking? Why weren’t his lights on? I almost jumped up to shout those questions at him.
The creaking of the mailbox sent my stomach plummeting through the earth to its molten core.
Under his breath, he muttered a “What the hell?” Probably trying to figure out who wrote letters nowadays. The answer was drunk college juniors who barely had the balls to talk to you in person. “Who’s out there?” He leaned against the railing just over my head.
My heart pounded in my ears. I expected him to transform into Edgar Allen Poe and discover me under his porch. I peered up with my back glued to the brick.
He looked up and down the street with the note out of the envelope in his hand.
Every cell in my body screamed to run, tingling and firing all at once. If he looked down, I was dead. They could just bury me here. My mom and sister would visit—maybe.
“Fuck me.” The paper rustled and he turned it over. “I want to feel every inch of you inside me.” Oh god, he was reading it.
That meant he’d already read the part where I detailed what I wanted to lick off his body. If I hadn’t been petrified into stillness, I’d have slapped my hands over my face, which was glowing red with embarrassment.
“Is this a joke?” He came down two steps. “I’ve been working on my flexibility; would you like to put it to the test? Who in the hell?”
My fingers clawed at the brick behind me.
More paper rustled and the heavy thud of his footsteps retreated before the front door closed. Minutes stretched out for so long my thighs ached from my crouched position. I stood there until it was nearly sunrise before bolting back across the street and swearing off booze for the rest of my life. But I’d done it. He’d probably have a good laugh, throw away the note, and move onto the parade of women who strutted in front of him like peacocks whenever they had the chance.
But two days later, while in my kitchen scooping out the last of the brown butter and toffee chocolate chip cookies, I spotted movement on the other side of the street.
Berk stood on his porch staring at the mailbox.
I jumped over the kitchen chair and plastered my face against the glass. What was he doing out there? Was he dusting for prints? Oh god, he was going to know it was me, he was going to walk straight across the street and ban me from ever going near his house again. Was this what a panic attack felt like? Like my heart was going to explode?
He waved to someone who walked by. One minute went by and he slipped something into the mailbox. Another minute and he took it out. Tapping it against his leg, he glanced over his shoulder.
I flew back from the window, hiding behind the curtain. Oxygen became something I remembered breathing once.
He dropped the white piece of paper back into the mailbox.
Was that a note for me? Was he responding? Had he written me back? I yelped and did a happy dance for all of ten seconds before freezing with the dough-covered scooper in my hand.
I couldn’t wait to read what he had written to me. Was he telling me to leave him alone or was it a reply? Was it his response to everything I’d described?
I had to go get it.
Oh shit.
****
TWO DAYS LEFT!Enter to win a paperback of the Third Best Thing!
