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Enter to Win Ethan’s Paperback! (Chase Brothers)

TTWA cover Now through April 1, you can enter to win a paperback copy of THE THREE-WEEK ARRANGEMENT, coming April 4 from Entangled Lovestruck. You MUST enter via Goodreads, and you can do so here. Want more about the story? Check out the blurb and excerpt below.

Have you enjoyed the Chase Brothers series? Please consider voting in the TRR Reader’s Choice Awards by clicking on the button above the title on EACH of the following books.

FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU (Chase Brothers)
FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY (Chase Brothers)
ONE NIGHT WITH THE BILLIONAIRE (Men of the Zodiac)

And if you enjoyed ONE NIGHT WITH THE BILLIONAIRE, be sure to check out the boxed set coming March 28. The entire series has been bundled. TWELVE full-length Entangled Indulgences for just 99 cents, and they’re all yours if you start by clicking here.

TTWA cover THE THREE-WEEK ARRANGEMENT (Chase Brothers #3)

With him, there’s no faking anything…

Ethan Chase isn’t interested in dating. After losing the woman he loved more than life itself, he’d much rather ride solo, but his family is dead set on fixing him up. To get them off his back, he hooks up with ultra-adventurous, ultra-temporary adventure photographer, Rue Campbell. All he has to do is survive three weeks in her orbit and he’ll be single again, only without the pitying looks and pressure to move on.

Rue is literally counting the days until her plane leaves New York City. The last thing she wants is a relationship, but being Ethan’s pretend girlfriend can’t hurt, right? Wrong. With Ethan, there’s no faking anything–in or out of the bedroom. With the sheets burning hot and the clock ticking on their arrangement, Rue realizes she’s falling for a man guaranteed to derail her goals…and break her heart.

Related: Five Things I Love About You; For Seven Nights Only

Title: THE THREE-WEEK ARRANGMENT
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Lovestruck)
Release Date: April 2016
ISBN 13: 9781530375592
Available format(s): ebook, paperback

EXCERPT

The instant Rue hit the mattress, Ethan was there with her. Allowing enough distance to remove clothing nearly broke him, but none so much as the sight of her lying there, moonlight filtering through the open blinds, body open and receptive to him. A distant warning sounded, but he tossed it to the floor with his jeans and nudged between her legs.

“In the drawer by the bed,” she said. “Any day now.”

He laughed, and it hit him how happy he really was. Happy. Fucking hell, why did it have to be with her? With the woman he knew he’d never have? And shouldn’t. He squashed the thought, grabbed the condom, and was buried between her thighs before the second thoughts hit. He rolled into her, feeling raw and wild as he surged deep inside her while she tore at the sheets, fisting them again and again. His name was a plea on her lips, her body a torrent of surrender when he planted his hands on either side of her head and drove hard, rocking the bed against the wall while she begged for more. Begged for harder. He didn’t know anything like it. Never had. And when she shuddered and seized beneath him, she took him with her, pleasure exploding into bright points of light that left him dizzy and lost.

Lost. Yeah, there was a word for it.

He managed to fall to the side, sweat drenched, chest heaving, world turned upside down. Again. His lips stung with her kisses, and his blood ran like hell through his veins.

He could chase that feeling every day for the rest of his life.

“I get it,” he said. “I get why you’re leaving.”

She turned her head and, looking at him across the pillow, smiled, so soft and sweet he ached inside. Then she curled her fingers around his and ripped out his heart.

“My mother?” she asked with a grin.

“No. The rush. The freedom. I envy you, you know. The world is yours, and I don’t think you’re afraid of anything.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m not afraid.”

“But you know you’ll be okay.” And wasn’t that the damned difference? He squeezed her hand, then extricated himself from her touch and then her bed. She stared openly while he dressed, never once asking him to stay. That was who she was, though, and whether or not he appreciated it, he got it.

Not that it mattered.

She had a flight to catch.

He’d be better off to stop worrying about her and start figuring out how to get through the gala. Once that was over, he could go back to his safe, normal life. The one without the quirky, car-kicking brunette with the scary clown pajamas.

He’d be able to breathe again.

Whatever that was worth.

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Published on March 16, 2016 06:54

Samhain Store on Sale – Grab “Forsaken” Today Only for 40% Off!

The entire Samhain store is on sale today, February 29, which means you can grab my romantic suspense, FORSAKEN, for 40% off! See it now, or check out the blurb and excerpt below. (Sale price valid only at Samhain.)

FORSAKEN

Her past is back to haunt her—and this time, it’s got a gun.

When Gage Lawton finds his brother shot to death on his back porch, every shred of evidence points to one person: Gage’s ex-lover, Riley Beckett. The only gun in town that fires a bullet of that caliber belongs to her.

Certain the shooting is payback for his part in the loss of her parents, he abandons his promise to stay out of her life and confronts her, his rage backed up with a revolver. Yet when she steps through the door, all thoughts of revenge burn to ashes.

A year after Riley unwillingly walked away from Gage, she enters her home to find him sitting in the dark, gun pointed at her head. One look into those achingly familiar blue eyes reminds her how wrong she was to let him go. But now there’s more standing between them than their heated past.

A twist of fate—and a hail of sniper bullets—puts them in the cross hairs of a killer, leaving Riley with just two slim options: trust her greatest betrayer, or face a murderer alone.

Warning: Prepare to get caught in a crossfire of profanity, danger, and desire. Intense violence may trigger the desire to wear body armor…and take it off. Very, very slowly.

(Sale price of 40% off valid only at Samhain.)

EXCERPT

Something was wrong. Was the dark playing tricks on her? Riley Beckett froze, arm outstretched, hand poised to toss her keys on the table just inside her front door. But she didn’t let go. Instead of dropping them in their usual spot, she feathered pieces of the makeshift weapon between her knuckles. Heart pounding, she pressed the keys in a silent, white-knuckle grip and prayed her concerns were her imagination, that the paranoia of coming home alone to a dark house was getting the better of her.

One, two steps in. Wood planks echoed underfoot. She fought to breathe air that grew thinner with every tense second.

Three steps.

Then it hit her. The scent. His scent. And with it a flush of memories. The burn of hot grass on her bare skin. Rough hands, a tender touch. Love so sweet she ached for it, her dreams raging, and her body drenched with need.

“Gage?” Her voice broke on the single syllable. Riley’s grip on the keys tightened, her blood raging hot and cold all at once.

A creak sounded from the corner chair. Her eyes refused to adjust in the darkness, but not even the faint light kept the blond streaks in his russet hair from giving him away. Like rays of sunshine, she used to tease, and her words never failed to draw a scowl across his rugged face.

“Riley.”

God help her, her name on his lips sounded as it always had. Coarse. Dangerous. Forbidden. Even before… The memory surged, hot and vivid, leaving a metallic taste in her mouth. White heat assaulted her from every corner of the room.

The keys fell to the floor with a dull clink.

“An eye for an eye, is it?” His voice sounded unpracticed, as if he hadn’t spoken in a long while.

She couldn’t see his face, but she knew his expression. Flat and humorless. Broken. She remembered the day he stopped smiling. Every part of her wanted to flee, but she stood frozen to the spot.

“What do you mean?” Riley wondered if the words, whispered and weak, had the strength to make it across the room. Hadn’t she always known she’d shatter the next time she saw him? Hadn’t she dreamed of seeing him anyway?

“You have to ask?” Gage laughed, cold and hollow. “Billy’s dead. Hell of a thing to come home to. My brother blown to bits on my back porch.”

“Oh God.” She swayed. The room filled with a distant buzzing. She took one unsteady step to the side and stumbled.

When she found his gaze, it was over the business end of a revolver.

He leveled the gun in her direction. Everything else in her world trembled, but his aim held rock steady. Unyielding.

His eyes burned blue and bright. “What I want to know, sweetheart, is why you did it.”

He worked his finger over the trigger, and a veil of blackness threatened her last discerning thought.

He hadn’t even pulled the trigger, yet Riley hit the hardwood in a crumpled heap. That was a first.

Without taking his attention from her, Gage Lawton climbed out of the chair, cursing when he realized his foot was asleep. He tucked the .38 in the waistband of his pants and limped through the pins-and-needles sensation wreaking havoc in his left boot.

Hell of a time to feel ticklish, he thought, staring at Riley’s wild mane of dark waves sprawled over the floorboards. Not the stark contrast he’d seen over a crisp white pillowcase. His mind played flashbacks. Memories of dragging his lips over her heaving, sweat-slicked skin threatened his plans…and his resolve.

The flood of emotions shouldn’t have surprised him. He was as stoic as a block of granite when it came to everything—and everyone—except Riley Beckett. He never could put the feeling into words, but just being around her made him feel free, like standing in the middle of the prairie with the sun, and the breeze, and the vastness…and the promise of something he didn’t dare believe.

And he didn’t. Gage knew good things didn’t happen to him. But she’d captured a piece of his soul with her laughing eyes and damning innocence.

The purest woman he’d ever known and he’d destroyed her.

Twice.

He eyed the glass of whiskey he’d poured to keep himself company while he waited. He hadn’t touched it yet. The amber liquid represented a line Gage couldn’t cross, but he’d given himself too much credit where Riley was concerned. The moment her sky blue eyes found his, she’d broken him all over again.

With a weary sigh, he knelt at her side, irony forcing him to suppress the urge to laugh. How many times had she brought him to his knees? He thought of his kid brother sprawled on his porch and promised himself this would be the last time. Rage and guilt made for strange bedfellows, but he knew one thing: if Riley Beckett had pulled that damned trigger, she had cleared his heart of the latter.

An eye for an eye.

(Sale price of 40% off valid only at Samhain.)

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Published on February 29, 2016 05:49

You Want Paperbacks. You Want Swag. You Want…In Here.

If you love paperbacks and killer swag, then there are a couple things you should be doing right now. Namely, this.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e28cdbcc9/

And also this.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1cb55495703/

Up for grabs at the first link are a set of two autographed paperbacks: my FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU and Kira Archer’s DRIVING HER CRAZY.

The second giveaway is hosted by Kira Archer, and she’s offering a custom travel mug filled with delicious chocolates, a signed copy of Driving Her Crazy, book 1 in the series, a Sarah Ballance custom Vegas shot glass and custom flashlight keychain.

Entering is easy, so get in there! And if you haven’t gotten up close and personal with Sawyer from my new release, FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY, here’s your chance:

Sawyer

FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY (Chase #2)

Kelsie Reed is over bad luck and bad men. Newly dumped, she’s now the pathetically single maid of honor in her sister’s wedding—and her ex is the best man. Her bad luck continues when a plumbing meltdown in her apartment sends her sexy neighbor running to her rescue. He’s got “serial dater” written all over him, which is unfortunate because the man is hot.

Sawyer Chase loves women, but settling down? He’ll leave that to his brothers. But when Kelsie confesses she’s a dating disaster and is about to become the laughing stock of her family wedding, Sawyer takes control. He’s got one week to teach her how to land the man of her dreams, and he’ll do it on her terms: no touching, no kissing, and definitely nothing more.

But some rules need to be broken, especially when, for once, there’s something on the line worth fighting for…

Want more? Read the entire first chapter for free @ Entangled Publishing!

Title: FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Lovestruck)
Release Date: January 2016
ISBN 13: 9781519672742
Available format(s): ebook, paperback

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Published on January 25, 2016 07:43

Monday Morning Sex for – Ahem – Release Day

Sawyer **adult content warning**

“Holy hotness on a stick!…once again Sarah Ballance has given us a story that is sweet, yet panty-melting.” – Julianne R., Goodreads review

“This story is a sweet sexy romp filled with humor. The characters are amazing and I hope to see more about them. Definitely a must read!!!” – Loves 2 Read Romance

“Plenty of witty banter and snark makes *For Seven Nights Only* a great contemporary romance read.” – Beth, Goodreads review

My new Chase Brothers story, FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY, drops today. This is Sawyer’s book, and if you met him in Crosby’s novella (FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU) then you’ll probably find yourself fist-bumping your screen when Kelsie calls Sawyer a womanizing troll. And for the most part, he deserves it. Like when he brings her coffee and follows that up with this assessment of her attire.

She took a deep breath over the cup and stared up at him in surprise. “White chocolate mocha? How did you know?”

He grinned, although it was more of a self-satisfied smirk. “I asked the guy in the coffee shop downstairs if he remembered you. Old librarian glasses, wears tapestry.”

And when he says this:

“You actually think I’m out there mowing down virgins? Sorry to disappoint you, but there are a lot of very good, very bad girls out there who would do anything to be invited into my bedroom. And believe me, they do. Anything, that is.”

So it’s really no surprise Kelsie fires back when he suggests that, should she ever decide she wants him to take her to bed, she should brace herself:

“I have a better idea,” she said sweetly. “How about I save the trouble of all that bracing, and you go f**k yourself instead?”

I love the kind of story where a playboy falls. They’re always so self-assured and arrogant. So freaking cocky. They want what they can have, and they want even harder what they can’t. And all those sexy sweet somethings they whisper? Lines, all of them. Why would any sane woman believe otherwise? Kelsie certainly wouldn’t.

She’s perfectly sane…and perfectly fine without him.

She and Sawyer are as opposite as they come. She wants the New York City version of a white picket fence and he wants to move on to the next conquest. It should be so easy for them to keep walking, but there’s something pulling them both in.

And hell yeah, it’s physical.

He knelt in front of her and ever so slowly began to work the fabric up her thighs, palms flattened against her skin, his face within licking distance of dragging her, screaming, into her first orgasm of the night.

And then there was this:

He quickly backed off the caveman thing, instead corralling every ounce of restraint into a thorough exploration of her mouth, slow and easy. Captivating. Jesus, she stole his every breath, driving a hunger in him he’d never known. He couldn’t get enough. Even her kisses teased, sweet as motherf**king honey while driving hard every sinful thought he’d ever had in his life.

And of course Kelsie is digging it. Hard.

She probably left claw marks in his back for days, but the feeling of holding on to him, the muscles of his back and ass flexing and bunching as he throttled hard against her, would be well worth the apology.

Sex clearly isn’t their problem. (#understatements). But turning sex into something more? That’s when things get complicated. And dirty. (The good kind of dirty.)

And if there’s anything a Monday morning needs to be, it’s the good kind of dirty.

Want to get down and dirty with the newest book in the Chase Brothers series from Entangled Lovestruck? You can read the entire first chapter for free here, or cruise ahead for the scoop on seven exceptionally hot nights. :)

Sawyer

FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY (Chase #2)

Kelsie Reed is over bad luck and bad men. Newly dumped, she’s now the pathetically single maid of honor in her sister’s wedding—and her ex is the best man. Her bad luck continues when a plumbing meltdown in her apartment sends her sexy neighbor running to her rescue. He’s got “serial dater” written all over him, which is unfortunate because the man is hot.

Sawyer Chase loves women, but settling down? He’ll leave that to his brothers. But when Kelsie confesses she’s a dating disaster and is about to become the laughing stock of her family wedding, Sawyer takes control. He’s got one week to teach her how to land the man of her dreams, and he’ll do it on her terms: no touching, no kissing, and definitely nothing more.

But some rules need to be broken, especially when, for once, there’s something on the line worth fighting for…

Title: FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Lovestruck)
Release Date: January 2016
ISBN 13: 9781519672742
Available format(s): ebook, paperback

EXCERPT

at a Manhattan club

Kelsie, inexplicably, was a beacon. Despite the lack of caked-on makeup, she should have blended in with the crowd, but instead she beckoned Sawyer without even trying. And maybe that was it. Normally when a woman caught his eye, it was a blatant invitation. Kelsie, with her fresh face and increasingly exuberant smile, was a knockout—one who didn’t seem too damned interested in him. And he hated how hard that sucked.

Screw that.

The redhead who’d approached him earlier caught his eye. She was dancing with some other woman, both too drunk to do anything but bounce off of each other and anyone who happened to be nearby. She winked.

He looked away.

Unfortunately, right back to Kelsie. He didn’t even see the man she was with. Just the long expanse of leg that stretched between the hem of her dress and those damned shoes. He wasn’t sure he’d ever noticed a woman’s shoes before, but he wanted to take those off her feet with his teeth. Or maybe leave them on while he drove into her, her legs slung over his shoulders while she fisted sheets and screamed his name. Of course, the way she moved, she’d probably blow his mind with something slow and sexy. He could already see that long, lithe body stretched out on his bed, curving against his, crisp sheets twisted, kisses not coming fast enough.

Jesus Christ.

Sawyer probably looked like some kind of stalker glaring from the shadows, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her every sway was a seduction. She moved like an angel—or the devil incarnate—and he wasn’t the only one noticing those slow, sexy undulations. One guy cut in, then another. The way she maneuvered out there on that floor made him achy and feverish, and that had to be the alcohol. He couldn’t believe the motions were foreign to her. Three whole songs passed, and she never even looked his way. Then her dance partner pointed toward the bar, and as she looked up, her gaze tripped over Sawyer’s.

Though every predatory, possessive jackass cell in his body demanded otherwise, he didn’t flinch.

She hesitated, but only until her the guy tugged on her hand. At first, Sawyer thought he was taking her to the bar, but the guy nodded to someone and led her toward the back. Sawyer momentarily lost sight of them. Then he saw Kelsie ducking into a doorway. Alone.

The ladies’ room.

Sawyer took a deep breath, too goddamned aware of how he’d felt when he thought she was about to get screwed sideways in the supply room. He stood there, his limbs threaded with tension, ready to wipe some guy off the planet, and all because he’d shown Kelsie the way to the restroom.

He needed a fucking grip.

Kelsie emerged a moment later, saw him, and froze.

Yeah, like that would last. The last guy hadn’t dragged her to the back room, but that didn’t mean the next one wouldn’t. This time he didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t care how he looked. He just closed the distance between them and took her hand.

“Come with me,” he said. “Now.”

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Published on January 18, 2016 08:34

Sawyer’s Book is (Almost) Here – Win it Before You Can Buy it! (Chase Brothers) (Entangled Lovestruck)

Enter now for a chance to win one of three autographed paperback copies of FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY, Sawyer’s book in the Chase Brothers series from Entangled Lovestruck! Click here and you’ll be whisked away to the giveaway page on Goodreads – note: you MUST enter via Goodreads.

Sawyer FOR SEVEN NIGHTS ONLY (Chase #2)

coming January 18, 2016

Kelsie Reed is over bad luck and bad men. Newly dumped, she’s now the pathetically single maid of honor in her sister’s wedding—and her ex is the best man. Her bad luck continues when a plumbing meltdown in her apartment sends her sexy neighbor running to her rescue. He’s got “serial dater” written all over him, which is unfortunate because the man is hot.

Sawyer Chase loves women, but settling down? He’ll leave that to his brothers. But when Kelsie confesses she’s a dating disaster and is about to become the laughing stock of her family wedding, Sawyer takes control. He’s got one week to teach her how to land the man of her dreams, and he’ll do it on her terms: no touching, no kissing, and definitely nothing more.

But some rules need to be broken, especially when, for once, there’s something on the line worth fighting for…

Click here for more on FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU, book one in the Chase Brothers series from Entangled Lovestruck.

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Published on December 28, 2015 08:34

Jenna Jaxon: Merry Christmas – Regency Style

Please welcome guest author Jenna Jaxon with A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe.

AKBTM15 Many people—me included—think our Christmas traditions extend much farther back in history than they do. But when I was doing research about Christmas during the Regency period for A Kiss Beneath the Mistletoe, I discovered that Christmas and how we celebrate it, was greatly influenced by the Victorians, and especially after Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. This left me scratching my head and asking myself, “So what exactly would they have done during the Regency at Christmas?” The answer is a bit surprising.

Christmas during the Regency was celebrated, to be sure, however, it was usually a much quieter, family oriented holiday, lacking almost all of the commercialism that we see later in the century and in our own time. And tended to be celebrated in the country more than the city. People might exchange gifts, but most often children received gifts of toys rather than adults. Adults would greet each other on Christmas Eve and Christmas with “Merry Christmas.”

Greenery was often brought into the house for decorations including holly, ivy, rosemary, and mistletoe. These fresh plants were usually brought in on Christmas Eve. In England there was no Christmas tree in the house unless the family had ties to Germany. The Christmas tree is a German custom, brought to England in 1800 by Queen Charlotte, although it did not catch on until almost 1830.

The tradition of the Yule log, however, was very popular. A huge log was felled out on the estate and brought into the house. It was considered good luck to be the first person in the house to sit on the log before it was fired. The Yule log was traditionally lit with a piece of the previous year’s log.

As I said earlier, the day was quiet, although families went to church, sat down to a sumptuous dinner at about 4:00pm. This repast included roast beef or venison, although roast goose was the mainstay, accompanied by capon, bustard, swan and peacock. Vegetables such as potatoes, squash, and carrots were also served. There was also Mincemeat Pie (or Christmas Pie) and a must have: Christmas Pudding made up of 13 ingredients and boiled in a cloth. After dinner, the family might read or play parlor games or cards. Some popular parlor games were Blind Man’s Bluff (which I make use of in the novella), Hot Cockles, and Snapdragon.

As you can see, Christmas in the Regency was very different from the Christmas celebrations we have today. Still, the good people of England kept Christmas with a sincere spirit that made Yuletide a season to look forward to all year long.

A KISS BENEATH THE MISTLETOE

Is one kiss ever enough?

Jenny Crowley has been duped! At her eighteenth birthday celebration her parents announce that instead of having the London Season she’s dreamed of for years, Jenny has been betrothed from birth to Alexander Isley, son of family friends and heir to a title. A distraught Jenny refuses point-blank to marry Alec, and when her aunt offers to whisk her away to a Christmas house party, complete with many eligible young bachelors, Jenny jumps at the chance to enjoy a variety of entertainments, be courted, and perhaps fall in love.

Alec Isley is between a rock and a hard place. He desires a marriage with Jenny no more than she does, but when his family’s dire financial status is revealed, he follows Jenny to the house party in hopes of convincing her to marry him after all. When he discovers who else is courting her there, Alec is frantic to keep her from making a dreadful mistake. Struggling with new-found feelings for his childhood friend, can Alec convince her of his love in time to save her from being ruined under the mistletoe?

Find it @ Amazon / Smashwords / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Excerpt

Dishes of trifle finally sat at each place. Jenny itched to pick up her spoon. She could taste the berries and cream even now. She glanced at her father, who at last smiled and nodded.

“So, Charles, when is the wedding to take place?” Great-Aunt Henrietta trumpeted the question from her place at the mid-point of the table, her spoon already busy with her dessert.

“Wedding, Aunt Henrietta?” Papa’s voice rose in a question, but he cut his eyes toward Mamma, who sent a frightened look at Jenny.

Odd, but no more so than her great-aunt’s question. Whose wedding was she talking about?

“Yes, Charles. Jenny’s wedding to young Alexander here.” Henrietta nodded across the table to Alexander Isley, who sat up abruptly, staring at her aunt with wide eyes, as though he thought the old lady quite mad.

Jenny thought so herself. A prickly sensation began at the back of her neck. She shot Alec a quick look. No, his face wore an expression of outright confusion, his brows knit over his dark brown eyes.

“She’s eighteen now, and you promised me when she was of age I’d see her married into the Isley family. I have lived for the day that I could announce to the world that one of my family had moved into the titled class.” She glared at Mama, who blushed and turned to Jenny.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, Jenny darling,” Mama said, patting her hand.

That might have reassured Jenny, except her mother’s wide, staring eyes said yes, it was that bad. Maybe worse. Her heart began to pound and the sweet trifle turned sour in her mouth.

“Not bad?” Great-Aunt Henrietta swung her gaze to Jenny and fixed her with a cold blue-eyed stare. “You should be grateful, girl. Your parents and I have arranged for you to take your place in society, as a titled lady in due time.”

“It’s not true is it, Mama?” Jenny could barely choke out the words in a voice that didn’t sound like her own at all. Too high, too soft. A peculiar roaring in her ears made her head light.

“Yes, my dear, it most certainly is.” Great-Aunt Henrietta nodded with such vehemence that the feathers on her green velvet turban bobbed back and forth. “When your mother refused to marry up, I swore none of your family would ever see a penny of my money. Then when you were born, she came to me, begged me to reconsider, and promised that you had already been betrothed to the Isley heir here.” She pointed a finger at Alec who looked like he might dive under the table. “She showed me the betrothal papers.”

Everyone at table sat in stunned silence. Jenny looked down at her hands, clasped together so tightly her knuckles showed white. All her dreams of excitement and romance during her season had just exploded in the blink of an eye. Then the real import of her great-aunt’s word sank in and her stomach twisted. They expected her to marry Alec?

Find it @ Amazon / Smashwords / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance. She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, she has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.

Jenna is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well as President of Chesapeake Romance Writers, her local chapter of RWA.

She has equated her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t stop.

Find Jenna Jaxon online @ blog / twitter / facebook

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Published on December 17, 2015 21:01

“Salem” is on Sale! Get “An Unexpected Sin” for just 99c (reg 2.99)

Want to find out what inspired me to write romance set during the Salem witch trials? Subscribe today to my newsletter…the next issue goes out Friday, November 6 with the story behind the story!

Click here for an excerpt and buy links for AN UNEXPECTED SIN, just 99c for a limited time!

If you’re not familiar with my foray into historical romance, let me introduce you. The Sins of Salem series consists of three stories (which work just fine as stand alone titles), each focusing on romance as it might have happened during Salem’s horrific witch trials of 1692 and 1693. These aren’t paranormal tales. Rather, I spent hours researching to ensure historical accuracy, often to the contradiction of what I learned in school. But getting it right mattered, even when the truth didn’t seem realistic. Did you know those arrested were able to leave the Salem jail on a day pass? Or that if a person confessed to witch craft, they were able to walk free? Some of the truths are stunning, making the history even more tragic than we could ever begin to know.

My favorite Salem book is easily HER WICKED SIN. (I think I have a thing for Henry’s horse, who is a bit of a character himself.) But all of the stories are important, and they’re carefully crafted to show the beginning of the hysteria, then life as its height, and finally, the aftermath. It’s an interesting journey through some of colonial America’s darkest times, the Happily Ever Afters hard-won, but they’re important stories. Even if they are fictionalized, the people who lived – and died – during these devastating times deserve to be heard. I invite you to do that now with Sins of Salem.

Here’s a closer look at the series, followed by the blurb and a short excerpt from AN UNEXPECTED SIN.

The Sins of Salem Series (Entangled Scandalous)

Click book cover images for blurbs, excerpts, links, and applicable series information.

AN UNEXPECTED SIN (Sins of Salem #2)

Colonial Salem

The moment the stranger’s dark eyes meet hers, Anne Scudder’s world is immediately overthrown by chaos. That single flare of desire is immediate, driving away all notions of propriety. Instead, Anne is consumed with sinful thoughts – ones that no unmarried girl should ever have for a man who isn’t her husband…

But Josiah Cromwell is no stranger.

It’s been six years since Josiah stole kisses from Anne, his best friend’s younger sister. Six years since Josiah left after his best friend’s death, burdened by the knowledge that he was responsible for destroying Anne’s family. Now he’s returned to claim the woman he can’t live without. But even as their desire threatens to consume them both – body and soul – the dark workings of suspicion and witchcraft are afoot.

Because in Salem, too much passion can lead a woman to ruin… and condemned to death.

Find it @ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Title: AN UNEXPECTED SIN (Sins of Salem #2)
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: April 14, 2014
ISBN 13: 978-1-62266-547-1
Available format(s): ebook

EXCERPT

She raked his hair. Clutched desperately at his back. Found it was she who moved against him, for he had eased his grip in favor of taking fierce hold of her breasts. In the dark and through her clothes, he put his mouth over first one, then the other. Desire toppled her sensibilities until she was left arching her back, every part of her begging to be closer. Begging for the kind of fulfillment she knew in her heart only he could deliver.

Begging until he broke free.

Breathing heavily, he bathed her in the lopsided, boyish grin she had long adored. “Your father will see me to the gallows for this,” he said in his low, husky voice.

Though the logic of his words found her, she wanted not for sensibilities. She wanted Josiah. “My father sleeps upstairs.”

Josiah took a deep breath. “It is not often I wish to be a lesser man,” he said, “but a lesser man has a certain advantage when a beautiful woman comes to him in the dark of the night.”

A beautiful woman. Anne had never imagined such a description could belong to her. “You could never be a lesser man.”

“Rest assured, if you return to my room in the dark of the night, I will be nothing more.”

Though his tone was light, she did not miss its undercurrent. His serious nature made his words all the more thrilling, for they left little doubt as to what he wanted—or how badly he wanted it. She could not keep the smile from her voice as she asked, “Are you saying I need only walk from the room for a minute’s time to make a lesser man of you?”

“I would like to think myself more honorable, but I make no promises in my current state.”

“Perhaps we should test that supposition.”

He grinned and leaned in, kissing her softly. “As much as I ache to know every inch of you,” he said, “it is not my desire to make off with your honor like a thief in the night.”

She splayed her fingers across his warm, bare chest and took a deep breath of courage. “You have long stolen my heart. My honor will not be far behind.”

Read the entire first chapter for FREE at Entangled Publishing. (No registration or cartwheels required.)

View more on Sarah Ballance's website »

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Published on November 04, 2015 08:34

2015 Get Wicked with Entangled Blog Hop $13 #Giveaway

I’m a huge fan of Halloween and all things fright, so needless to say I’m dreadfully delighted to participate in this year’s Get Wicked with Entangled Blog Hop. I’m giving away a $13 gift Amazon gift card, and entering is oh-so-easy. I won’t even tease you…I’ll tell you how to enter BEFORE I show you my spooky ghost novellas. How’s THAT for a treat? :)

***HOW TO ENTER TO WIN A $13 AMAZON GIFT CARD***

Click on the image for more frightfully fantastic giveaways!

OPTIONAL: Find me on any of the following networks

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PRETTY PLEASE: Subscribe to my newsletter

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REQUIRED: Leave a comment on this blog post. That’s it!

***HOW TO ENJOY A FRIGHTFULLY SPOOKY 99c NOVELLA***

Ah, well, I’m so glad you asked! I happen to have something for any taste. HAWTHORNE is a sweet novella suitable for all ages, while RUBY HILL is an asylum-inspired story with some adult language and content.

A 5-star TOP PICK from Night Owl Reviews!

RUBY HILL

One reunion. One ghost. One night that will change everything…

From her earliest memories, Ashley Pearce has been drawn to Ruby Hill Lunatic Asylum, and she’s not the only one. Decades after the abandoned hospital ended its institutional reign of torture and neglect, something lurks in the shadows. Since she’s a paranormal investigator, it’s Ashley’s job to find out what.

Crime scene expert Corbin Malone doesn’t believe in ghosts. A born skeptic, he has no interest in entertaining the hype surrounding the mysterious deaths at Ruby Hill, but he won’t turn his back while more women die. He agrees to an overnight investigation, never expecting his first encounter would be with the woman he pushed away a year ago. But when he discovers Ashley is a target, he learns his greatest fear isn’t living with his own demons, but losing her for good.

HAWTHORNE

After a terrifying encounter with the unexplained, it takes ten years and the news of her grandmother’s passing for Emma Grace Hawthorne to return to her childhood home. She seeks peace in saying a proper goodbye, but what she finds is an old love, a sordid family history, and a wrong only she can right.

Living in the shadow of Hawthorne Manor, Noah Garrett has never forgotten about Emma Grace. In a house full of secrets, his search for missing documents reveals a truth that can cost him everything. What he finds gave Emma the freedom to walk away from the mansion, her heart free and clear, but at what price to Noah?

Find it @ Amazon | Goodreads | Excerpt

To enter to win the $13 Amazon gift card, simply leave a comment on this blog post. Yep, that’s it! To return to the 2015 Get Wicked with Entangled Blog Hop and more great giveaways, click here.

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY…The Sins of Salem series. Click images below for more information on each book in my trio of Salem witch trials historical romances.

View more on Sarah Ballance's website »

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Published on October 28, 2015 21:13

Release Day: What I Absolutely Refuse to Do

pumpkin carnage, my house, 2014

I love fall. So freaking much. There’s something about that cool, crisp air that breathes life. It’s as much “spring” to me as spring is, but better. It’s brand new sweatshirts that couldn’t be softer, or that first night where burrowing into a warm bed feels just right. It’s hot chocolate piled with marshmallows, or melted chocolate s’mores over an open flame. It’s the harvest and cold, clear nights. It’s leaves jolted from their branches with every stiff breeze to thicken the air with explosive color and the joyful noise they make crunching underfoot. It’s hayrides and haunted houses and the return of American Horror Story. It’s…pumpkin everything.

Nope.

Yes, I said nope.

As much as I love fall, I shudder over the trend to let’s-make-everything-edible-pumpkin-flavored. I do love pumpkin pie and homemade pumpkin cheesecake is amazing, but pumpkin coffee? And creamer? And pumpkin frappuccino? (My daughter came home with that little gem this evening. I tried it. And as I said, NOPE.) There’s pumpkin spice latte in the machine at 7-11. There’s pumpkin everywhere. And I won’t drink it.

I WON’T DRINK IT.

I don’t know if it’s my ongoing goal to not drink calories (which is a plan that suffers mightily when warm drinks come back in season) or if I’m just a bit of a pumpkin grinch, but I’ll take them by the truckload in my yard. My cup? Not so much. I don’t know if pumpkin rum is a thing, but even if it is, I won’t drink it.

Not. Even. The. Rum.

So while I dig into today’s new releases, you can bet there won’t be any pumpkin in my cup. Or my shot glass. Which takes us straight to Vegas, and my new release, GAMBLING ON THE BODYGUARD. (I didn’t plan that little segue, but it totally happened, didn’t it?)

What’s your favorite fall drink? (It’s okay. You can say pumpkin.)

Brand new TODAY…

A What Happens in Vegas Novel from Entangled Lovestruck

GAMBLING ON THE BODYGUARD

He’ll guard her body all night long…

Ski instructor Ellie Montgomery hits Vegas during a romance convention to meet the man of her dreams…only, the man of her dreams isn’t the cover model she’s there to see. He’s the hot-as-sin bodyguard who catches her sneaking in the back door of a meet-and-greet, and he seems more than ready to do what it takes to prove he’s twice the man her pretty boy crush could ever be.

Jax Mathis couldn’t resist snagging a date with Ellie, but he didn’t count on the attraction being more than physical. They connect on a level he didn’t think possible—and he can’t run fast enough. She makes him want things he thought he’d never have, and maybe, just maybe, they’re within reach. But to have it, he’ll have to face the one mountain he swore he’d never climb…and with no guarantee she’ll be waiting on the other side.

Title: GAMBLING ON THE BODYGUARD
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Lovestruck)
Release Date: October 12, 2015

EXCERPT

Ellie came to Vegas for an exclusive meet and greet with a cover model, but Jax intervened…and he’s challenging everything she thought she knew about her so-called ideal man.

A corner of Jax’s mouth tipped. He invaded Ellie’s space just a little, and her body begged for her to throw the white flag of surrender, to fall against that wall of man and find out if he was hard all over. Everywhere but his lips…they appeared soft. Sensual. And they oh-so-sensually curved into a smile.

“Suppose I agree to this,” he said, his voice husky with bedroom tones. Blue eyes devoured her, and in that moment she desperately wanted his lips to do the same. Her breathing grew shallow with anticipation and nearly stopped when he toyed with the tips of her hair, tugging gently. When his fingertips traced her spine, she bit back a gasp. Her eyes fluttered closed before she could make the effort to stop them. When he spoke, his deep voice rumbled dangerously close to her ear. “What happens when you realize I’m right?”

With him that close, she couldn’t see straight, much less string together syllables. “Right…about…what?”

A grin touched his lips, his words tearing through her. “He may be pretty, Colorado, but are Focker’s hands rough? Can he work them inside you until your knees give out? Until you can’t breathe?” He let the suggestions hover. Wreck her. “When you lie in your bed tonight, wanting someone to touch you, are you going to think about him posing on the front of a damned book cover, or are you going to think of me?”

Oh, dear God. Would she ever stop thinking of Jax? Was that even an option? And what the hell was happening here? Desire devoured her. She was dizzy. She didn’t need to give a second’s consideration to answer his question. There was only one answer, and he knew it. “You.”

She expected triumph to shape his face, but it didn’t. If anything, he turned more serious. Ice blue eyes regarded her, their intensity deepening. His hand rested lightly on her back. Too lightly. She wanted him to haul her against him, to make good on any one of those promises. To teach her firsthand what those undoubtedly talented fingers could do.

But not yet.

“I’ll be thinking of you,” she repeated, a little stronger this time. “But if you don’t let me meet Willie Focker, I won’t be thinking of what you can do with your fingers, but where I want to put my foot.” She grinned as his faded.

“Put your money where your mouth is, Jax Mathis. If you’re a real man, prove it.”

Want more? To read the entire first chapter for free, visit me @ Entangled Publishing .

View more on Sarah Ballance's website »

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Published on October 12, 2015 08:34

Signed Paperback #Giveaway of Gambling on the Bodyguard – Coming Oct. 12 to Entangled Lovestruck

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Gambling on the Bodyguard
by Sarah Ballance

Giveaway ends October 13, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/157210

A What Happens in Vegas Novel from Entangled Lovestruck

GAMBLING ON THE BODYGUARD (Oct 12)

He’ll guard her body all night long…

Ski instructor Ellie Montgomery hits Vegas during a romance convention to meet the man of her dreams…only, the man of her dreams isn’t the cover model she’s there to see. He’s the hot-as-sin bodyguard who catches her sneaking in the back door of a meet-and-greet, and he seems more than ready to do what it takes to prove he’s twice the man her pretty boy crush could ever be.

Jax Mathis couldn’t resist snagging a date with Ellie, but he didn’t count on the attraction being more than physical. They connect on a level he didn’t think possible—and he can’t run fast enough. She makes him want things he thought he’d never have, and maybe, just maybe, they’re within reach. But to have it, he’ll have to face the one mountain he swore he’d never climb…and with no guarantee she’ll be waiting on the other side.

Title: GAMBLING ON THE BODYGUARD
Author: Sarah Ballance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Lovestruck)
Release Date: October 12, 2015
ISBN 13: TBD
Available format(s): TBD

EXCERPT

Ellie came to Vegas for an exclusive meet and greet with a cover model, but Jax intervened…and he’s challenging everything she thought she knew about her so-called ideal man.

A corner of Jax’s mouth tipped. He invaded Ellie’s space just a little, and her body begged for her to throw the white flag of surrender, to fall against that wall of man and find out if he was hard all over. Everywhere but his lips…they appeared soft. Sensual. And they oh-so-sensually curved into a smile.

“Suppose I agree to this,” he said, his voice husky with bedroom tones. Blue eyes devoured her, and in that moment she desperately wanted his lips to do the same. Her breathing grew shallow with anticipation and nearly stopped when he toyed with the tips of her hair, tugging gently. When his fingertips traced her spine, she bit back a gasp. Her eyes fluttered closed before she could make the effort to stop them. When he spoke, his deep voice rumbled dangerously close to her ear. “What happens when you realize I’m right?”

With him that close, she couldn’t see straight, much less string together syllables. “Right…about…what?”

A grin touched his lips, his words tearing through her. “He may be pretty, Colorado, but are Focker’s hands rough? Can he work them inside you until your knees give out? Until you can’t breathe?” He let the suggestions hover. Wreck her. “When you lie in your bed tonight, wanting someone to touch you, are you going to think about him posing on the front of a damned book cover, or are you going to think of me?”

Oh, dear God. Would she ever stop thinking of Jax? Was that even an option? And what the hell was happening here? Desire devoured her. She was dizzy. She didn’t need to give a second’s consideration to answer his question. There was only one answer, and he knew it. “You.”

She expected triumph to shape his face, but it didn’t. If anything, he turned more serious. Ice blue eyes regarded her, their intensity deepening. His hand rested lightly on her back. Too lightly. She wanted him to haul her against him, to make good on any one of those promises. To teach her firsthand what those undoubtedly talented fingers could do.

But not yet.

“I’ll be thinking of you,” she repeated, a little stronger this time. “But if you don’t let me meet Willie Focker, I won’t be thinking of what you can do with your fingers, but where I want to put my foot.” She grinned as his faded.

“Put your money where your mouth is, Jax Mathis. If you’re a real man, prove it.”

Want more? To read the entire first chapter for free, visit me @ Entangled Publishing .