Cindy C. Bennett's Blog, page 2

Blog Tour: The Invisible Crown

Release date: December 19, 2016 
ABOUT THE INVISIBLE CROWN: "The city of Arcadia is a craphole, but it’s my craphole. I’ve walked its streets my entire life, always searching for something: a purpose, a suspect, or a stiff drink. My name’s Eddie Hazzard, and I’m a hard-boiled detective. Yeah, laugh it up. It’s a ridiculous job description, but this is a ridiculous town. It’s full of every cliché you can imagine: corrupt city officials, police officers on the take, greedy businessmen, and crime so organized it has an accounting department, a health plan, and retirement benefits. Which is more than I can say for myself.” 
Meet Eddie Hazzard: he’s tenacious, a certain kind of clever, and usually drunk. When a beautiful woman comes into his office and asks him to find her husband, Eddie takes the case because the alternative is having his creditors show up at his door and do terrible things to his limbs. But the case takes a series of bizarre turns, getting Eddie caught up in a tangled web of reluctant cops, sketchy businessmen, and shadowy crime bosses. The deeper he gets, the worse things look. Will Eddie solve the case? Will he save the day? Most importantly, will he get paid? The Invisible Crown is the first full-length novel of a series featuring Detective Hazzard and the bizarre, bewildering array of tough mobsters, genetically-modified creeps, and ruthless scumbags who inhabit the city of Arcadia.
MY REVIEW: This is one of the coolest stories I've read in a long time. The futuristic setting is Gotham meets Blade Runner (sans the replicants), very dark and dismal and full of interesting characters. The protagonist, Eddie Hazzard, is straight out of 40s noir all the way down to his smoking, drinking, and trenchcoat. The thing I liked most about him, aside from his sarcasm, is that Cottrell didn't try to make him a futuristic version of a noir detective, but left him very much as a man out of time and place. The ending was unexpected and satisfying, which always makes me happy. Definitely read this book!
BE SURE TO READ TO THE BOTTOM TO ENTER TO WIN!For the next week, Royal James Publishing is going to release pieces of the short story, Solitaire . The short story, Solitaire takes place immediately before novel, The Invisible Crown. It will serve as the introduction into the amazing world Charlie created. Today is the second day! Click here for day one's section! 
Section II. I waited until early evening to go out to investigate. Not because I was hungover – though the mild headache I’d been fighting all day had proven effective at killing any desire I had to go out while the sun was still up – but because the sort of skulking and law bending I’d have to do to investigate was much easier to accomplish if everyone else had gone home for the day. 
I filled the afternoon with a bit of research on Mr. Pennington, half a bottle of whiskey – hair of the dog and all that – and three more lost games of solitaire. I decided to try Pennington’s lawyer’s office first, figuring any important business or financial documents – the sort his ex-wife hinted were taken – would likely be kept in a safe there. Pennington’s lawyer was Caius Vellum, well-known in the fancier circles of Arcadian Society as the guy who could help you get away with just about anything. In my research that afternoon, I’d turned up some news articles from several months ago about Pennington’s, as his ex-wife called them, “nocturnal habits,” and it sounded pretty weird, even by Arcadia standards. But Vellum had managed to avoid getting any charges pressed against his client, and the whole episode had eventually been passed off as just an eccentricity on Pennington’s part. 
Vellum left the office at half-past six, and I sat across the street in a coffee shop for another half hour after that before deciding the place was empty and I could get in. I slipped out of my booth and trotted across the street, my jacket collar turned up against the encroaching October wind and my hat brim pulled low over my eyes. I reached the office building and inspected the lock. The security system was an electronic pad with several security measures, including retina scan, DNA scan, and fingerprint pad. You had to pass all three for the door to unlock for you automatically. The actual lock itself, though, was a traditional deadbolt, and one it was quite easy to jimmy open with a few seconds’ work with a lock pick. I heard the lock’s tumblers click into place, but I waited to open the door until after I’d placed a flat, matte-black square over the security panel next to the door. I pressed a button on the box, which hummed quietly for a few seconds, then beeped. A small green LED lit up, indicating the alarm system linked to the door had been deactivated. Pocketing my lock pick and the security bypass, I turned the doorknob and pushed open the door, which swung silently into the office. I glanced around to see if anyone was watching me, then ducked into the building and shut the door behind me with a muffled click.
I let my eyes adjust to the darkness as I dug through my pocket for my safe cracking kit. The kit was another small box, about two inches on a side, and about as thick as a pack of cigarettes. It would use magnets and some other science-y mumbo-jumbo to rotate the tumblers in the safe’s lock and open the thing up quickly and quietly. While I could pick the lock on a safe manually, as I’d done with the door, it would take a lot longer. The safe cracking box was fast and reliable. I found it and made my way to Vellum’s inner sanctum, sidling around expensive lobby furnishings and deeper into the dark recesses of the office.
I reached Vellum’s private office and crept over to his desk, feeling for a light panel. I found the panel and tapped it lightly, creating a dim ambient light in the room and temporarily blinding me a bit. When I regained my vision, I saw I was not alone. Crouched in front of the safe was someone clad in burglar black from head to toe. They already had the safe open and several piles of important-looking documents strewn about the floor. They were frozen in place, staring right at me as I stared back at them. 
“I’m just here for some documents from the safe,” I said casually, trying to remember if I’d packed the popgun or not. A certain absence of weight under my left arm told me I had not remembered, much to my frustration. “I don’t want to get involved in any violence here, pal. Let me get what I came for, and you can rob this legal leech blind for all I care.”
The burglar stood up, revealing an individual of indeterminate sex and slender dancer’s build. They reached into a pouch strapped to their belt and came out with what looked like a short baton.
“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” I said, backing away and raising my hands placatingly. “I really don’t give a damn what you’re doing here or who you are, I just want to get what I came for and get out.” As the burglar advanced on me, I reached out and slapped the light panel. The panel was set to bring up the light based on intensity of touch; my heavier touch caused the light to flash to full brightness in an instant, temporarily blinding my opponent and giving me the chance to grope around for a weapon.
I found a large, heavy paperweight with my left hand, grabbed it, and quickly twisted away to the right to avoid the already-recovered burglar’s slashing swing with that baton. The baton extended in flight, slapping down across the desk and cracking the smooth, glassy surface. I turned my twist into a full 360, bringing the paperweight up to slam it into the burglar’s head. They ducked my attack, throwing me off-balance a bit. As I recovered my footing, the baton slammed into my midsection, and the burglar touched a button on the end of the baton that sent a few thousand volts coursing through my body. I twitched uncontrollably, dropping my improvised weapon and collapsing on the floor. With no input from me, my body decided to twitch a bit more once I landed.
Meanwhile, the burglar turned back to the safe, gathered up all of the documents and folders they had taken out of it, and started for the door. I had just enough self-control to reach out and grab them by the ankle, but nowhere near enough energy to actually hold on. The burglar shook off my enfeebled hand, striding out the door and the office.
“Nothing personal,” they said in a harsh, robotic tone, their real voice masked, “but you weren’t even playing the same game I was, here.”
With that, they vanished, leaving me alone and twitching on the office floor. It took me a few minutes to regain control of my limbs, and even then it was a pretty shaky proposition. I struggled into a sitting position, clutching my bruised gut and wondering just what the hell had happened. I scooted over to the safe to see if there were any documents left inside, knowing there wouldn’t be. I looked anyway. There weren’t. Being right all the time can be a bit of a burden in situations like these.
“Okay,” I muttered to myself, staggering to my feet, “I know there’s someone out there with the files I need. It can’t be a coincidence someone burglarized this place the same night I came to do my investigation. So, who else would want these papers?” Giveaway:Click here or visit Royal James Publishing’s Facebook page to enter to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card and a digital copy of, The Invisible Crown by Charlie Cottrell.Don't forget to pre-order your digital copy on Amazon, more retailers coming soon!Click here to pre-order your copy on Amazon today!About Charlie Cottrell:

WEBSITE /FACEBOOK/TWITTER/INSTAGRAM/GOODREADS
Charlie Cottrell is a history and special education teacher in Northern Virginia by day and a writer of “speculative noir” (near-future, science-fictiony, hard-boiled detective stories) by night. He likes to blend action, mystery, and a healthy dose of humor and sarcasm in his work. He also writes music and draws comics and thinks he vaguely remembers what free time was, but he’s not one hundred percent sure on that. Charlie hates tucking in his shirt, because he is a rebel. To read more about Charlie, you can visit him on his website.

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 8

Robyn Echols currently lives with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite.” She is a member of Women Writing the West and American Night Writers Association.

She enjoys any kind of history including family history. Currently she is the editor of her local genealogical society newsletter and occasionally gives family history presentations.

When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.

Q & A With The Author:
1.  Describe yourself in 50 words or less.
Robyn currently lives with her husband in California, USA, near the “Gateway to Yosemite.” She is a member of Women Writing the West, and American Night Writers Association. She enjoys any kind of history including family history. When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.
2. What do you love most in the world?
I love my faith, my church and my family.

Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Twitter ~
~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads ~ Blog ~




Annie, Celia and Lynn are all that are left of the Relief Society quilting class, but they are still determined to make baby quilts for the new mothers at church. Annie, who is just south of eighty years old, calls the quiltsters (short for quilting sisters) together to ask for more. She wants to make lap quilts to give to some of the “forgotten” oldsters she sings to each week at the nursing home—something to wrap them in love at Christmastime. It’s a good idea, but the trio discovers that life and making quilts don’t always go as planned.

The quiltsters discuss recipes and quilting ideas including a crocheted cat mat to use up their fabric selvage and trim scraps, all of which they share in the book.

Sarah and Brian meet at the university. Their first date is after Sarah’s First Saturday Block of the Month class she attends with her mom at the local quilt shop. Their romance grows, and they plan their future together—a plan that will require them to be separated for six months before their wedding. But, can they bear to be apart that long?

What wraps together this Christmas tale? The Fourteenth Quilt.

~ Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ ~ Amazon Canada ~ Barnes & Noble ~


Snippet:
“I think we’re finished. Let’s give it the once over and then move The Beast to the quilt frame.”          “Oh, no!” Annie cried out as she inspected the fabric. “The Beast drew blood.”          “What?”          Lynn hurried over to study the three inch long pattern of red dots near the top corner. “That’s fresh blood. Which one of us is bleeding?”          They both inspected their fingers.          “It’s me,” Annie sighed. “Of course I felt the pricks as we pinned this thing in place, but I had no idea any of them were deep enough to make me bleed.”          The doorbell rang.          “It must be Celia,” Lynn said. “I’ll let her in and bring a Band-aid, a rag and my stain remover on the way back.”          “What are you doing?” Celia asked when she saw Lynn grab the spray bottle and rag from the laundry room.          “Annie accidentally dripped blood on The Beast. We need to get it out while it’s still fresh.”          Without another word, Celia broke into a run down the hall.          “Spit on it! Spit on it!” Celia shouted to Annie as she entered the bedroom.           Startled, Annie jerked to her full height, her eyes wide as she peered over the top of her glasses.          “I already bled all over The Beast. Now you want me to curse it by spitting on it?”          “It’s already cursed as far as I’m concerned,” Lynn muttered as she entered the room.


To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 7

Railyn Stone, author of The Christmas Tree Guy, A Secret to Keep, Restored Hearts and Lest We Aren't Forgiven, lives in North Carolina with her husband. When she's not behind the screen of her laptop, she's usually enjoying time with her family. The only child of two educators, she learned early on just how magical words can be.

Q & A With The Author:
1.  Describe yourself in 50 words or less.            This is one of the hardest things for me to do, but I would say that I’m a kid at heart, a child of God and a lover of all things romance.
2. What do you love most in the world?            My family is what I love most in this world. I’d be truly lost without them. They mean everything to me.
3. What do you fear most?
            I fear most that I will never find my true purpose in life.

Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Amazon ~
~ Twitter ~ Email ~ Instagram ~



EnVee McAlister just bought a house. It’s an old Victorian home that needs a lot of work, especially if she wants to get into it by Christmas.

Logan Edwards is the contractor she’s hired to help her. Unfortunately, he’s not like any man she’s ever encountered and his arrogance and crass demeanor is making it hard to deal with him. Both she and Logan hold no punches and their terribly blunt personalities clash like oil and water.

But when she finds out about Logan’s tragic past, it forces her to deal with her own insecurities and emotions she’s desperately tried to forget. And instead of a house for Christmas, EnVee receives something she never expected.

~ Amazon ~ iTunes ~ Barnes & Noble ~ ~ Smashwords ~ Kobo ~

Snippet:
Logan scanned the living room. It was eerily silent in the humongous house. He’d been pleasantly surprised at how well it had stood the test of time. Granted, there were a lot of things that were going to have to be replaced, but all in all, the structure was very sturdy. He liked old houses. It was impressive to him the amount of time and care that was put into each one and he liked the fact they were reliable homes. Nothing like the thrown together fabrications a lot of homes were made out of nowadays. There was nothing wrong with the homes of the present, but he had an affinity for any home that was more than seventy years old. It meant some time had gone into its construction and more than likely there was a story behind it. He was about to turn to head up the creaky stairs when he heard a car pull up outside and he walked to the front of the house. He was there to meet Ms. N.V. McAlister to do a walk through and get her specifications on the changes she wanted made in order to get started on the blueprints. He hoped she didn’t want to make too many changes to the home. It was beautiful the way it was and he could only imagine the big shot she must be would want to modernize every single thing about the house. By the time she was done, it would probably resemble the house from Beetlejuice. He grimaced at the thought of it, clutching his iPad in his hands and opened the door. He waited patiently as the black Audirolled to a stop and a well-heeled and very shapely leg exited the open driver door followed by another. He headed down the steps of the front porch and his eyes widened when the driver emerged from the car. You have got to be kidding me. That can’t be…“Hello, I’m En…” Both seemed to come to the same realization at the same time. He watched her remove her sunglasses and could see the memory of their first encounter flash through her eyes. “You. What are you doing here?”Logan swallowed hard and tried his best to control the level of his voice. He could only think about how rude she’d been to him and Gracie a little more than a week ago and it looked like the favor he’d done her hadn’t changed her disposition. “I’m Logan Edwards. You contracted me to do this job.” He almost got a strange satisfaction from seeing her face fall knowing she had hired him to work on her house project. “I spoke with another gentleman.” She pursed her lips and he noticed for the first time, the small beauty mark she had right above the left side of her deep plum stained lips. The night they’d first met, he’d been too preoccupied with her haughty attitude to notice she was a beautiful woman. Her auburn hair was pulled back from her perfectly made up face. And her almond shaped eyes had a russet tint just a tad darker than her hair. Her shapely body was covered in a tailored black pinstripe suit. She had ample curves kept toned by workouts no doubt, but still had the kind of womanly body that could keep a man up all night. He blinked and tried to think of anything else because he was a little thrown by his own admiration of her. “My brother, Alex. He and I run the business together.”“Well, this isn’t going to work.”Logan breathed deep remembering the words of his brother. Behave yourself. Lots of money riding on this. Big opportunities. Aw, hell. “Look lady, I’m here to do a job. We’re the best you’re going to find when it comes to a task like this. You’ve already signed a contract and I do have other projects I need to tend to today. So if we could just get started, the quicker this is over, the faster you can go back to your ivory tower.” Alex was going to kill him.Her eyes narrowed and he could see her frustration and anger building. “I would think you would be a little more professional when you first meet someone to do business with them.”“I would, but this isn’t our first meeting and I’m just giving what I get. I would think you would want to be nicer to the person that’s going to restore your new home, but that isn’t the case is it?” He tilted his head and gave her the most insolent smile he could muster. Who does this woman think she is?  “I will not stand here being talked to this way. You are working for me and you could learn a thing or two about customer service.” She started up the steps to the house, pausing for a moment before she reached the top and turned. “Are you coming or will I need to do this alone?”Logan’s jaw twitched watching her very curvy bottom twist from side to side as she continued to ascend the stairs. His dentist would chastise him during his next scheduled appointment from gritting his teeth down to nubs. He was going to be nuts by the time this job was over. Dear God, give me strength.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 6

Joyce DiPastena dreamed of green medieval forests while growing up in the dusty copper mining town of Kearny, Arizona. She filled her medieval hunger by reading the books of Thomas B. Costain (where she fell in love with King Henry II of England), and later by attending the University of Arizona where she graduated with a degree in history, specializing in the Middle Ages. The university was also where she completed her first full-length novel…set, of course, in medieval England. Later, her fascination with Henry II led her to expand her research horizons to the far reaches of his “Angevin Empire” in France, which became the setting of her first published novel, Loyalty’s Web (a 2007 Whitney Award Finalist). 

When she’s not writing, Joyce loves to read, play the piano, and spend time with her sister and friends. A highlight of her year is attending the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival . Joyce is a multi-published, multi-award winning author who specializes in sweet medieval romances heavily spiced with mystery and adventure. She lives with her two cats, Clio and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov, in Mesa, Arizona.

Q & A With The Author:

3. What do you fear most?Bugs, broken plumbing, bugs, broken plumbing, bugs, broken plumbing…I guess it’s pretty much a toss-up between bugs and broken plumbing!
4. What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
Hmmm. I don’t think I sit around contemplating unfulfilled dreams. I just kind of live each day the best I can. And spend entirely too much time worrying about things that might happen that fortunately seldom do. Maybe my unfulfilled dream is to be less of a worrier? I’m trying to exercise more faith in the Lord, but I confess I backslide entirely too often. I keep trying though. I hope we get points for that.
Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Twitter ~
~ JDP NEWS Blog ~ Pinterest ~




When Burthred comes courting on Christmas Eve, Meg rejects his advances. She has her heart set on becoming a nun and insists that he call her Christina, the spiritual name she has chosen for herself. She tries to make him swear on her box of holy relics that he will not pursue her, but he carefully words his oath to allow him to stay in her candlelit chamber and try to change her mind. 
What Meg does not confess is that her reliquary box holds a secret.

Burthred needs a wife, and no one will satisfy him except Meg. He swore on his father’s deathbed that he would marry her. But Burthred has a secret, too. When they come together before the Yule fire, their shared revelations will either join their hearts together or tear them apart.

~ Universal link to Kindle, Nook, Ibooks, Kobo ~



Snippet:
She reached out one hand to the reliquary box, a ten-by-ten inch square container made of polished oak with intricate carvings that seemed in the dark as though they danced beneath her fingertips. To her dismay, when she sought to lift the box, she found it too heavy to balance in one hand while maintaining her grip on the stool leg with the other. She would have to set the leg down.
“You remember what my father said,” she warned. “If you try to harm me while these relics are in my hand, you will very likely drop down dead.”
“Your father was quite explicit about the power of your relics. ’Tis not a fate I want to risk on Christmas Eve.”
She wished she could see Burthred’s face. Then she could judge his honesty or whether he merely humored her. 


To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 5

Donna Hatch, author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series," as well as over a dozen other published titles, is a hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, the force that drove her to write and publish seventeen historical titles, to date. She is a multi-award winner, a sought-after workshop presenter, and juggles multiple volunteer positions as well as her six children. Also music lover, she sings and plays the harp, and she loves to ballroom dance. She and her family recently transplanted from her native Arizona to the Pacific Northwest where she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

Q & A With the Author:
Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?I usually turn on Pandora when I write. There is a Regency Era music station that I like. I also listen to instrumental/new age—nothing with lyrics or a drum beat. If I’m somewhere without internet, I listen to a harp or piano CD.
"All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?I am definitely a cat person but I do not currently have one. My last cat died and I haven’t gotten another cat. I might get a pair of kittens in the future if I can sweet talk my non-animal lover husband into it, but we’re cat-free—for now ;-)


Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Twitter ~
~ Blog ~ Goodreads ~



Heartbroken at the news that her betrothed has wed another woman, Emily is determined to pick up the pieces of her life and enjoy Christmas with her family. ? Newly returned from war, Bennett holds a secret and will do anything to ensure Emily, his only true love, never discovers it...even if it means losing her. Fate reunites the star-crossed lovers and reveals the truth that will either unite them or drive them apart forever.

~ Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ ~ Amazon Canada ~ 
~ Amazon Australia ~



Snippet:
Emily stared at the letter in her trembling hands. She should have burned it. She should have burned all his letters. Instead, they all remained carefully stored in a box in her nightstand to taunt her that she’d found the man of her dreams, and he’d dismissed her like so much unwanted baggage.***** 
As she gazed on him, blinking her leaf-green eyes in disbelief, he had to clench his fists lest he march to her and sweep her into his arms. He stood trembling with restraint, and drank in the sight of the only girl he’d ever loved.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 4

Debbie currently lives in northern California where the beautiful landscapes are often the settings in her books. The jagged coastline, the rolling hills with vineyards and the redwood forest make wonderful sceneries for her romance novellas.
When Debbie isn’t writing or traveling to a book signing, she’s visiting her family on the east coast, traveling to other places on her bucket list, enjoying her backyard, hiking with her husband and riding on the back of their motorcycle.
Although she currently writes romance and women’s fiction, Debbie’s book Ties That Bind is categorized as general literary fiction. Based on true events, Ties That Bind holds a special place in her heart.
As an avid animal lover and parent to two rescue dogs, Debbie donates a portion of her proceeds to animal rescue organizations. When you purchase one of her books, you’re also helping a furry pet with shelter, food and ultimately a new home!


Q & A with the Author:
. What do you fear most?
          Just that the world has gotten a bit scary and I worry about my granddaughters. I worry about drugs, crime and overall the mean tone of our world. I have hope that we’ll turn it around. We need to.
4. What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
          I have many unfulfilled dreams. I’d love to make either the USA Today or NYT bestseller list. I’m working with two box sets that hopefully will do that. My other unfulfilled dream is to retire from my regular job so I can focus on writing 24-7.



Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~





Saving Peters Tree Farm
After the death of her father, Charlotte Peters makes the big decision to move back to Archer Lodge, North Carolina to help her mom and the family’s failing Christmas tree farm. After a quick stop into the local hardware store, Charlotte is confronted with a part of her past she’d nearly forgotten about. Or had she? Can Charlotte stay focused on why she came to Archer Lodge and let the past be the past, or will her heart be broken once again?

Say It Ain’t Snow!
Melissa Curry is desperately trying to save her family's ski resort. The drought has done everything it can to dry up their business. When she discovers the town council is planning a detour through the city that will likely chase the rest of the tourists away, Melissa jumps into action to save the day and the town.


~ Amazon ~ iTunes ~ Barnes&Noble ~ Kobo ~


Snippet:
From  Say It Ain’t Snow
        Melissa drove up the long driveway and parked. She almost didn’t recognize the place. The guys had made a lot of progress and soon they’d begin constructing the pavilion. Melissa could envision twinkling white lights, glowing logs in the fire pit, and low music coming out of the speakers. She was already planning the landscaping—lavender and other drought tolerant plants in redwood planters and hanging baskets of lantana would bring the color she was looking for. She took in a deep breath. The smell of freshly cut redwood filled her nostrils.         Melissa stood back for a moment watching Trent as he operated the small back hoe. She quickly moved her attention from Trent to the rest of the crew and watched for a moment while they wrestled with some huge boulders. After a few minutes of watching them, she resumed watching Trent. When he finally looked her way she flashed him a smile and a wave at the same time. He cut the motor off of the small tractor and soon made his way toward her, a huge smile stretching across his face.       “Trent, everything looks great. I can’t believe my eyes.” She gently caressed his arm. She could feel him stiffen slightly when she touched him.       “I’m glad you approve. I think it is coming along great, too.”      Melissa motioned to the picnic table. “Can we talk?”     Trent followed her over to the bench and sat down. He wiped the sweat from his brow, brushing his hand on his jeans. “What happened?”     “I did as you suggested. I tried to persuade him I had some kind of negative evidence. But without actually handing it over to him, he didn’t believe me for one second.”      Trent lightly rapped his fingers on the redwood picnic table. He gazed off toward the road and then fixed his gaze on her. “I have one more ace in the hole.”     Melissa’s eyes widened. “Oh?”     Trent scooted closer toward her. He leaned in close. As Melissa listened to Trent, her eyes widened as the details unfolded. She nodded every now and then acknowledging what he said. When he finished, she leaned back and stiffened her back straight, letting out a sigh. A sly smile fixed on her mouth. “I see. This changes a lot.”Trent lowered his head. He brushed his hand through his hair. Melissa could see that it pained him to tell her what he’d just divulged. She reached over and caressed his arm. “I’ll be careful. He won’t know you said a thing,” she said, her face softening. Their eyes locked for a moment and then Trent leaned in and kissed her. She closed her eyes and took in the softness of his mouth. She leaned back and smiled. “That was nice. I wasn’t expecting that.”“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” Trent said softly.Melissa widened her smile. “Well…if I’d known how nice it was going to be, I would have encouraged you to kiss me long before now,” she said, letting out a giggle.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 3

Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author.
Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian photography, Frozen Charlotte dolls, and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia.
She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.


Q & A With The Author:
1.       What do you fear most?Interference in my life from people who have lost their rights to have an opinion on it.

2.       What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
I can’t answer this as there are things I’m hoping to achieve soon and I don’t want to jinx it.
Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Amazon ~
~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~
~ Street Team Sign up ~


After an unfortunate incident, Dr. Timothy Martin’s career as a surgeon is in tatters. Unable to cope with the changes in his life, his mother insists he visit Meggie Marie, a woman she says can perform miracles with her alternative therapy.Timothy is reluctant, but maybe Meggie is his last chance to heal.When he sees Meggie, he is intrigued by the eccentric woman with vibrant red hair, who wears tie-dye and flower headbands. When he gets to know her, she becomes something else to him – hope, joy, and maybe even love.But is Meggie for real, or is she simply providing him with her special brand of therapy?With Christmas just around the corner, has Timothy found his Christmas miracle, or is Meggie’s motive something darker waiting to be discovered?


~ Amazon ~ Smashwords ~ Amazon UK ~ ~ Amazon Canada ~ Amazon Australia ~



***     The outside was dark now, and the main street below was still in full swing. People walked up and down the street. Each store was brightly lit, and gaily decorated in festive colors.     “Look at that, Timothy.”     She was so close he hear her gentle breath, feel the heat from her body.     “This is Christmas. This is life.”
 ***      Meggie Marie, with bright, festive red hair, adorned with a headband of large green roses that would seem ostentatious on almost any other woman. Yet she carried it off magnificently. She wore a dress of tie-dye green that fell to her knees. She was petite, but curvy with porcelain skin and beautiful red lips that reminded him of a perfect doll. When she smiled, she just…shined.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day 2

Tara Mayoros teaches guitar, paints, occasionally bakes, and loves working with plants. She's an avid collector of globes and maps, as they help with her incurable case of wanderlust. The Rocky Mountains are her home and they call to her whenever she is in need of inspiration. She explores them regularly with her husband and three children.


Connect with the Author here: ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ 
~ Amazon ~ Instagram ~ 
~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~





Christmas is already going to be tough for Marie and her family. When a series of events is set in motion long before a Christmas Eve tragedy, she is too occupied to notice God's grace. An emergency letter to Santa sets her on a quest for a Christmas miracle. With time running out, she prays for the first time in a long time. A miracle does happen, but it is not what she expected.


~ Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ ~ Amazon Canada ~




Snippet:
               "Ready?""Yup!"I placed my flip flop on the pedal and pushed behind Anthony as we made our way along the sidewalk. We wove along the neighborhood streets, looking at the dry creek beds and gravel landscaping. Christmas lights were wrapped around the trunks of palm trees and weaved in and out of cactus prickles. It took a very brave soul to decorate the saguaro or prickly pear plants, and yet so many did.Another example that I wasn't made of tough enough stuff to bloom in the desert.Even the Acacia, Ironwood, and Mesquite trees had thorns. And the lovely fuchsia Bougainvillea? I looked down at some scratches on my fleshy arms. Well, the Bougainvillea had won the battle the other day when I'd tried to give it a winter haircut.
Every single plant in the desert wanted to kill me.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: The Door Keeper

The Door Keeper by Steen JonesPre-sale date: December 23, 2016Release date : January 23, 2017About The Door Keeper:Eden Saunders is a single mother who has learned to accept tragedy in her life. Her mother died during childbirth and her husband was killed just three years after they married. Eden’s existence revolves around raising her ten year old daughter, Gabby. But when she is curiously prompted to look into her unknown lineage, Eden finds herself desiring things she has suppressed most of her adult life: adventure, love, and destiny.In discovering where she came from, Eden inherits a key from her deceased mother that opens doors to worlds beyond her imagination, including the world that should have been her home. The only thing stopping her from exploring them is the fear of leaving her own daughter behind. The Door Keeper explores the circle of mother/daughter legacies, and the bond that unites them – a bond that even death can not break.About Steen Jones: WEBSITE/FACEBOOK/TWITTER/INSTAGRAMSteen was born and raised in Woodstock, Georgia. While she has only recently discovered her passion for writing, she has always been an artist and a storyteller. A couple of years ago, a story idea gripped her and wouldn’t let go until she wrote it all down. The Door Keeper is her debut novel and she can’t wait to pursue all of the other stories that have built up in her over the last three and a half decades.When she isn’t writing, reading, painting, or baking, Steen enjoys spending time Netflixing with her husband and playing in the pool with her two children at their North Georgia home. To read more about Steen, you can visit her on her website.If you would like to review The Door Keeper by Steen Jones or join the blog tour, click here or send us an email to royaljamespublishing@gmail.com

Just in the Nick of Time Christmas Cash Giveaway

Just in the Nick of Time - $250 Christmas Cash GiveawayDecember 5th to 22ndEnter for your chance to win a $250 Amazon Gift Code or $250 in Paypal Cash!! Thanks to this awesome group of bloggers and authors who have joined with me to bring you one fabulous prize!! Sponsor ListI Am A ReaderLori's Reading CornerJ.L. WeilAuthor Mary TingHeather GrayLiterary WinnerCoupons and Freebies MomCaroline ClemmonsKrysten Lindsay Hager authorHere We Go Again...Ready?Simple WyrdingsKindle and MeLucy McConnellJeanette LewisCindy Roland AndersonCami CheckettsMaureen's MusingsKimberley MontpetitConfessions of a Frugal MindGlistering: B's BlogRockin' Book ReviewsJennifer Youngblood Author Cindy C Bennett Diana's Book ReviewsAuthor Ednah WAltersRaye Wagner   Giveaway Details $250 in Paypal Cash or a $250 Amazon.com eGift Card Ends 12/22/16 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal or gift codes via Amazon.com. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors, bloggers and publishers on the sponsor list. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway