Daryl Devore's Blog, page 85

Spotlight on Laina Turner's Vows and Victims

Title:
Vows & VictimsGenre:
Cozy mystery/chick lit

Release
Date: February
6, 2014




Blurb:


Presley
goes back home to help Katy plan for her wedding to Chris and instead
of nuptial bliss, realtor Bethany Granville is found dead in Katy’s
salon. Katy didn’t even know Bethany. Ever curious Presley wants to
solve the murder but as usual things aren’t that simple and grow
even more complicated when ex-friend Dirt who was in jail for murder
escapes.


Is he headed back into town? And did Chris know Bethany? All these are
questions Presley is determined to get the answers to.




Author’s Bio:



As a child Laina thought she would either be a truck driver (thanks to
Jerry Reed in Smokey and the Bandit) or work at Taco Bell (her
favorite restaurant as a child). As she grew older she realized her
talents lay in academics and business and for the last several years
has been a business consultant and college professor where she uses
the analytical side of her brain and not the side that makes up
stories.



Through all her career choices she has continued to have a passion for
writing. This stemmed from childhood whereas an only child she
developed a vivid imagination spending most of her time making things
up and thinking the Incredible Hulk lived in her closet.



Proud of her vast experiences in life from barrel racing to being on the
dance team for a semi pro basketball team to being a mom of 2 amazing
kids, she tells her family and friends that no one is safe from their
escapades slipping in to her books.



Taking the plunge to write books that she actually lets people read in 2010,
she has worked her way up to having 5 fans (maybe 6 now). Her blog,
The Art Of Living Fabulously, was launched to share the daily fun in
the life of a Real Housewife of the Midwest along with the musing of
other fabulous ladies.




Author's
Website: www.lainaturner.com

http://www.lainaturner.com/books/vows-victims-cozy-mystery/

https://twitter.com/laina_turner

https://www.facebook.com/LainaTurner

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LainaTurner/posts

http://www.pinterest.com/lainaturner/




Excerpt:




“I can’t believe you’re actually getting married,” I said to my best friend from back home, Katy, while packing to head down there for the upcoming nuptials.


“You mean you can’t believe I’m actually getting married to Chris. I know you don’t approve.”



“Katy, it’s not that I don’t approve. I just want you to be happy. And Chris doesn’t have the best track record in making you happy.”



“I know, Presley, but he’s changed. I realize you’re not going to believe me until you see for yourself which you will, I promise, when you get here. He’s a completely different person. You just need to spend some time with him. He’s really been trying hard.”

I held back a sigh. I wanted to be happy for her, but there was a lot of negative history there. However, Katy was a grown woman and could make her own decisions, or mistakes, as I saw it. I just needed to be the supportive friend and if things fell apart, be there to pick up
the pieces and not say I told you so.



“So you’ll be here by noon, right? In time to go with me to the florist, and the caterers, oh yeah, and by the hall to make sure everything is set, just to name a few things?”



I plopped down on the bed, phone still in my hand and sighed quietly so Katy wouldn’t hear me. It was taking a lot of effort to try and show genuine enthusiasm not just for the whole wedding in general but for all the work the maid-of-honor was supposed to do. I was happy to be a part of her wedding, but I wasn’t the best at all the organization and stuff.



“Yes, I’m going to pack tonight and head out first thing tomorrow. I can’t wait!”



Katy laughed. “Whatever. I’ll see you then.”



I got off the phone and sat up, taking a mental inventory of what clothes I had clean that I should pack. My bridesmaid dress was there already waiting for me. Hope to God it still fit, since six weeks ago when I had it fitted and altered it had been a little tight and I just hadn’t been in the dieting mood. Food was so good.

I quickly made my clothing decisions and got everything together, except what I needed in the morning to get ready. I got in my pajamas, set my alarm and laid down to try and get some sleep but my mind kept thinking about what Katy was about to do. It reminded me
too much of the problems I was currently having with Cooper and I wasn’t sure sleep would be too forthcoming.



When the alarm went off at six, I wanted to hit the snooze once, or twice, as was my normal practice, but I knew I needed to get up and on the road if I was going to make to it to Alkon in time for the many meetings Katy had planned for us.



At seven fifteen, I was in my black Kia Sportage pulling into traffic to head out of town. Jared, my roommate, was still sleeping when I left so I wrote him a note to not forget it was garbage day. I joked that taking out the garbage was the only reason I kept him around.



I’m Presley, thirty-something, auburn-haired, size eight on a good day, size 10 most of the time, Thurman. I live in Chicago in a condo with my friend Jared and was heading back to my hometown of Alkon, which was a couple of hours south of the city. While I left that small town the minute after graduation, not all of my friends did. Katy, for example, and my parents were still there, so I frequently went back to visit.



This was only the second time I had been back since the murder of Senator Tom Daniels. I had become involved in the murder, no fault of my own of course, and some of the key players had been friends of mine. Coming back stirred up some not-so-great memories and with Katy’s wedding I had a great big memory smacking me right in the face.

I merged onto the freeway and thought about Chris the guy Katy was marrying. He had never treated Katy very well, in my opinion. Not only had Chris and Katy been on again and off again since high school, but he had also been involved romantically with Helen, the
wife of Senator Daniels, when he was murdered. Chris had been played by Helen so, of course, when he got his heart broken he ran back to Katy who, God knows why, took him back.  It had been their pattern for so many years I almost wondered if it was just her habit.



I tried to put it out of my mind because I truly did want to be supportive for Katy and obsessing over all the reasons why she shouldn’t marry Chris wasn’t going to help that. So instead, I thought of my own current situation. I had recently started a job as a food blogger. It didn’t pay much and was basically a start-up column for a local paper which had started taking their product online, much like the writing gig I’d started before that had indirectly gotten me involved with the murder of Senator Daniels.



In that case, I had been an online journalist and the online magazine had sent me to interview the Senator because he was visiting my hometown where Helen was from. Shortly after the murder, in an unrelated series of events, the online magazine went under. It was
sad, not only because I lost my new job, but my friend Trevor had been the editor and was instrumental in getting it off the ground. He had lost his job, as well as his investment. Lucky for him, he had found another job quickly, not surprisingly though because he was
talented. Me on the other hand, I was still searching. I was, by definition of my college degree, a human resource professional. I had spent many years after college climbing the corporate ladder working toward that golden job in the C-suite. Then I became disillusioned,
was sexually harassed by my slime ball of a boss, and walked out one day. It was the best, and most scary, day of my professional life. While I had never regretted leaving the business world, it had left me at a loss of where my true passions lay. Since then, I had tried to follow my childhood passion which was writing but while working on the great American novel, I had to make my condo payment. So I worked a variety of different job leading up to this latest one. I wanted to find a way to make a living doing what I loved, but it wasn’t easy.
Life was funny. When you were young you thought you would have it all figured out by the time you left high school. Ha! I had left high school a long time ago and I still had no idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up. Writing this food blog scared me a little.



What I knew about food mainly centered around eating it but I was convincing enough, or they were desperate enough, that they hired me. My first piece was due Friday, in three days, another reason I was stressed about the wedding. I had to find time to write five hundred
words on a topic I knew little about. Coming to Alkon was also a great opportunity to talk to my mom, who really was a person who knew about food and I was hoping she could help me. If only I could get her to write it for me.



I turned on the radio and station surfed, distracting myself from everything and tried to just enjoy the drive. A couple of coffee stops and a couple hours later, I made it into Alkon and went straight to Katy’s salon. As I pulled in I was surprised I didn’t see any cars in the lot and then I remembered she didn’t open until 1 p.m. on Tuesdays as it was one of her late nights.

I had made such good time I had arrived twenty minutes early so not even Katy was there yet. I got out of my car to stretch my legs and walked around in circles in the parking lot. Then headed over to peek in the window of the salon. Katy was always changing the décor and I was curious to see what the latest look was.



I shaded my eyes with my hands and leaned against the front window to eliminate glare so I could see in better. I could see she had replaced the tile colors with a softer blue which gave the salon a much lighter feel than it had before. As I looked around I saw a mannequin sitting, or rather slumped over in one of the hair styling chairs. Why would she have one of those? Or was it a mannequin? I squinted to see better and almost wished I hadn’t. Holy crap that was most certainly not a mannequin. I reached for my phone thinking
what were the odds this would happen to me twice. I had just found a dead body.









What's happening in July on Erotic Notions11 – Laina Turner – Romance and Revenge12 – My Sexy Saturday – Black Dorn14 - Sara Brookes - Riding Irish15 - Toni Sands - Knight and Trask: Secrets and Spies16 – Laina Turner – Books Aren't Just for Reading19 – MY Sexy Saturday 24 – Janna Yeshanova – Zebra Fish26 – My Sexy Saturday 30 – 31 – On vacation – promo posts30 – A Kept Woman – hot excerpt

Spotlight on Tempting the Ringmaster by Aleah Barley

Tempting the Ringmaster by Aleah Barley

Welcome to Buck Falls, Michigan, where the gossip is fresh, the people are feisty, and the circus has pulled in for a limited engagement.

The last thing police chief Graham Tyler needs is a ragtag bunch of circus freaks rolling into town.

Then he meets sassy, spirited, ringmaster Belle-Anne Black.

Belle-Anne's got a rule against dating townies, and she's not about to break it... even for the spicy hot lawman who makes her insides sizzle. Then Graham makes her an offer she can't refuse: one night only, no repeat performances.

Of course, in the circus nothing ever goes exactly to plan.Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L4Q5QGC Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempting-the-ringmaster-aleah-barley/1119856528?ean=2940149752041 Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L4Q5QGC?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Aleah Barley Bio:Aleah Barley writes smart, sexy, funny (she hopes) books while living in Detroit, Michigan. She’ll do anything for a piece of chocolate or a good review… really, try her. Her first two books are Too Hot to Handle and Leaving Las Vegas. Her fondest hope is that her cat and her dog will start getting along. Barring that, she’d like world peace and an end to global warming.You can find out more about her (or just say hi) on social media Website: http://aleahbarley.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aleahrbarley Twitter: https://twitter.com/AleahBarley Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5841402.Aleah_Barley Or, drop her a line! aleahbarley@gmail.com





What's happening in July on Erotic Notions1 – Canada Day – Canadian Holiday2 - Saskia Walker- The Burlington Manor Affair 3 - A.J. Locke - Black Widow Witch5 – My Sexy Saturday – A Kept Woman7 – Aleah Barley - Tempting the Ringmaster9 – Anthology – Occupational Hazard10 – Laina Turner – Vows and Victims11 – Laina Turner – Romance and Revenge12 – My Sexy Saturday – Sexy Red Hood14 - Sara Brookes - Riding Irish15 - Toni Sands - Knight and Trask: Secrets and Spies16 – Laina Turner – Books Aren't Just for Reading17_23 – Blog Hop24 – Janna Yeshanova – Zebra Fish26 – My Sexy Saturday – Black Dorn30 – 31 – No posts – on vacation

Snippet from Daryl Devore's A Kept Woman - erotic contemporary romance

I was supposed to be on My Sexy Saturday today bt I totally forgot to sign up. You  might be happy to know  - because I was too busy writing my latest - the book with no title. But in case you are here to see what this week's MSS snippet is - I'm posting it. This week was to be about the heroines and this is an important moment between billionaire Derek Davenport and unemployed Arianne. They strolling along Derek's private beach in the Virgin Islands.




Walking through the surf, Derek spotted an interesting shell and handed it to her. “And that’s what I mean. Man, I am making no sense today. I can practically pinpoint the moment you decided you loved me. Everything took on a passionate power that overwhelmed me. The sex was good before, and then it went beyond good. You lost the few inhibitions you had and completely released yourself. And once I knew you could do that I wanted you.”“I have to ask. Because of the sex?”He threw the shell back into the ocean. “No! The equality. When you were just doing your job, you were beneath me. I was up on some pedestal and you were down on the ground looking up. But once you decided working for me didn’t matter, that you wanted to please me for the pure joy of it, you ended up on the platform next to me.”Arianne stopped and stared at him. “You consider me an equal?”“Yes, I guess that’s what all this inane rambling has been about. I’m still trying to sort out in my head how to say it.”“I never considered myself an equal to you.”“Well I do and at first I didn’t like it. My ego got in the way and I decided to push you off mypedestal.” He chuckled. “And you know what? You wouldn’t leave. You held up your end at the art gallery opening. You said all the right things and that annoyed me. The harder I pushed the more you stayed right there. You do know if you hadn’t flown down here, that I would have been knocking on your apartment door begging you to let me back into your life.”
Blurb and Buy links
A Kept Woman – Daryl DevoreErotic Contemporary Heat – 5 hot peppers
Desperately unemployed, Arianne, answers an ad that reads Woman Wanted. With miniscule hours and excellent pay, she accepts the position of courtesan to Derek, a handsomely dashing man, whom she discovers is a billionaire. Engaging in a game of cat and mouse, will they drive each other crazy…or will they fall in love first?

A Kept Woman
 New Dawning International Bookfair - http://www.newdawningbookfair.com/ Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Kept-Woman-bdsm-spanking-ebook/dp/B004PGNB9C Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43872 Reader Store - http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/daryl-devore/a-kept-woman/_/R-400000000000000350757 BookStrand - http://www.bookstrand.com/a-kept-woman If you prefer print books – All Book Stories - http://www.allbookstores.com/Kept-Woman-Daryl-Devore/9781466257245 
This is a Wordle. It's word art. Words from the book - A Kept Woman - were used to make it. Sorry, but I don't know how to turn it upright.

What's happening in July on Erotic Notions7 – Aleah Barley - Tempting the Ringmaster9 – Anthology – Occupational Hazard10 – Laina Turner – Vows and Victims11 – Laina Turner – Romance and Revenge12 – My Sexy Saturday – Sexy Red Hood14 - Sara Brookes - Riding Irish15 - Toni Sands - Knight and Trask: Secrets and Spies16 – Laina Turner – Books Aren't Just for Reading19 – MY Sexy Saturday – Black Dorn24 – Janna Yeshanova – Zebra Fish26 – My Sexy Saturday – Capri's Fate30 – 31 – No posts – on vacation
 

Snippet from my latest WIP which doesn't have a title- yet

This is a raw snippet from the opening scene of my latest contemporary romance.




©DarylDevore2014


Droplets of blood seeped from Darien's wolf tattoo, mesmerizing him. They trickled over the inside of his bicep then splattered drop by drop against the bar floor. Why was the wolf bleeding? Dairen frowned. Maybe it wasn't the tattoo. Could he be bleeding? He didn't remember getting hurt. But that might be because he'd had too many vodka shots.Expensive gold infused vodka.An order snapped out in Thai ripped his focus away from the cost of the booze. Stumbling with the translation, his gut clenched. "Check everyone. Anybody alive. Kill them."A shrill female scream. A gun shot. Silence.That'd be one of the hookers. Damn. Hope it wasn't the one with the butterfly tattoo above her clit. She had a mouth on her than performed miracles. Dude! WTF! Must be the vodka talking. Stay focused. There are guys with guns out there. Darien stretched his neck and peered around the edge of the bar. In his line of vision, a male leg stuck out from under a table. Expensive looking shoe. Presumably Italian leather. Probably belonged to Nai Jâhng. Darien raised his eyebrows. Wow. Somebody had the balls to kill The Boss.He shifted his glance. A few feet to the left, lay a female arm with brilliant orange fingernails. He shivered at the remembrance of those nails grazing his balls. He focused on a tiny object a foot in front of him. Glass. Shards of it lay scattered about. He blinked and tried to remember what happened. He'd walked behind the private club's bar to get another bottle of vodka when bottles started exploding one by one. And then he was on the floor looking at the blood dripping from his tattoo. He glanced at his wound. The bleeding had stopped. Okay, so he wasn't gonna bleed to death. Good. Now he just had to get his ass outta here. Past them. The guys with the guns. How the fuck could he do that?Voices interrupted his thoughts. The tones were panicked or angry and the speed was too fast for him to catch what they were saying, but he caught the meaning of the three rapid gunshots and a short groan. The door at the opposite end of the bar, leading to the kitchen swooshed as someone pushed it open.Gunfire and loud screams sounded from the kitchen. The door swung open again. Darien translated the shooters words, "Nobody alive in there. I'll go check the offices upstairs."Darien slid back, trying not to disturb the glass. He did his best not to yelp when a sharp edge sliced through the skin on his knee. With deliberate movements, he backtracked the length of the Black Dragon's bar. Squatting, he turned and peeked around the end, three men stood with their backs to him. Dressed in black pants and muscle shirts, each held assault rifles. A bleeding sun tattoo was visible on one attacker's shoulder. Daeng Arthit Triad. Not good. So not good. He looked forward. The kitchen door was six feet away. Six feet of wide-open, easily visible space. Darien sighed. It might as well be a mile. He couldn't risk it. Wouldn't. He didn't want to get shot.What the fuck, dude? You're gonna die if they find you. Better to be running for your life than just lay here and let 'em kill you. Darien shifted. That was the logical side of his head's opinion. The chicken shit side said, Stay here. Stay down. You're safe.

Spotlight on A.J. Locke's Black Widow WItch

 Title: Black Widow WitchAuthor: A. J. LockeRelease Date: 5/15/2014Genre: Urban Fantasy
A deadly curse, a deadly assassin, and one shot to save everyone she loves…
Malachi Erami can’t fall in love. After she’s caught with Knave, the witch Queen’s favorite lover, she’s cursed to savagely butcher any man she falls for. Exiled to live among humans, Malachi runs a bar that serves magic-laced drinks, but since her curse labels her high risk, she’s also closely monitored. Julian Vira is her latest babysitter, but he’s also the first man since Knave that she’s been attracted to. Good-looking and nonjudgmental of her horrible curse? Yeah, he’s hard to resist.
But when Malachi finds a body behind her bar, she knows she’s in trouble. If the Witches Control Council gets wind of it, she’ll be accused of murder and sent to her death. And when her friends start getting framed for murder, she realizes she’s not the only target. Malachi and Julian dig into the evidence to clear her name, but the closer they get to answers, the closer the curse comes to taking over. So when Malachi uncovers a plot to kill the witch Queen, she finds herself suddenly recruited into service, with the promise of having her curse lifted and a reunion with Knave as well. But if she fails, Knave will die. And she and Julian might not live long enough to see that happen.

Excerpt:
Chapter One
Today was the anniversary of the worst day of my life, and I’d been trying to forget about it by consuming a vast amount of booze. The fact that I owned a bar greatly helped with that endeavor, and the fact that I was drunk was an accomplishment, since witches weren’t easily susceptible to alcohol. Humans were onto something with this whole drinking-to-forget-one’s-crappy-life thing.Behind the bar, I poured a shot for an eager customer. Amaretto, Southern Comfort peach liqueur, and sweet-and-sour mix went into the glass, then I held my hand over the drink and let a stream of purple magic, the same color as my eyes, flow into it. The drink glowed purple for a few seconds, then I handed it to the customer, who drank it with no hesitation. After slamming the glass down, he grabbed the tipsy woman who’d been hanging on him and gave her a sloppy kiss, then led her out of the bar. I smiled and shook my head. The magic I’d put into the shot, aptly named Piece of Ass, would ensure they didn’t leave the bedroom tonight.
Somewhere in the room I heard riotous laughter, and above that the voice eliciting that laughter. Xiune was having a good night for a change and wasn’t holed up in my office. Though since she was just a head inside a clear acrylic box, it was understandable that sometimes all she wanted to do was hide.
“Malachi, darling!” Xiune called. “Seven handsome young men have requested the Challenge!” I smiled slyly. I loved administering the Challenge.
“It’s time for the Seven Deadly Sins Challenge!” I announced, filling up eight shot glasses with vodka, one of which I downed. “Which sin will it be and what will its victim do?” People shouted their guesses while I sent tendrils of magic into the shots. My magic sparked like tiny bolts of lightning, and like the shot I had just made, the liquid briefly glowed purple. I focused on one of the glasses and started whispering a spell, channeling the essence of one of the seven deadly sins through my body. For a brief moment, my body became flushed with a feeling of ravenous desire, then it flowed out of me into the shot glass. I felt rather charged and wondered if this had been the right sin to choose tonight. But hey, I was drunk, and I kind of wanted to see someone suffer. Misery loves company right?
I levitated the shot glasses onto a tray and sauntered over to the table where Xiune was entertaining the men who thought they were up for the Challenge. With her flawless complexion, golden eyes, and vibrant red hair, Xiune didn’t need a body to be beautiful. I’d known her when she had one though, and if she’d been sitting there in all her glory, she’d have every man kneeling at her feet. Her allure was only heightened by the fact that she was a bodiless beauty who used her magic to float herself around in a box. The box wasn’t necessary for Xiune to move around, but she felt safer inside it when she was out in public. That way if a witch hater spat on her, she’d have a shield. It also prevented those on the other end of the spectrum, people who were fascinated by witches, from getting too close. I set the shot glasses down and motioned for the men to stand around the table. They looked like your typical college fare: unkempt hair, sagging pants, and some sort of ironic or sports themed T-shirt. High-fives and shit talking all around.
“Now boys,” I said, leaning forward on my forearms, giving my cleavage time to shine. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? One of you is moments away from experiencing a sin you may or may not enjoy.” They assured me they were man enough to handle any sin, and I smiled. The fun thing about the Challenge was that everyone handled it differently. One man caught with gluttony had run across the street to McDonalds, spent over a hundred dollars on food, then sat on the floor and gorged himself. A woman under the same gluttony spell had tried to eat her friend’s purse.
“Let’s hope it’s lust and let’s hope it’s me,” one of the men said, winking at me. He stood a couple of inches over six feet, had brown hair and a lanky physique. If he started spending time at the gym, maybe his lame come-ons would give him more luck getting laid.
“Honey, I would eat you up,” I said with a slow smile. Normally I would never have said such a line, but all the alcohol I had consumed was speaking for me. He probably had no idea how true those words were though, because his smile never wavered. However, for a moment after I spoke, I saw another face in place of his, and it cut through my drunken haze like a knife. I gasped, and he must have thought that was a sign he had a chance with me, because his smile became more lascivious. Lucky for him, he did nothing for me.
“Malachi, let’s get this show going.” Xiune slid her box over to nudge me, and I shook my head and turned back to the waiting crowd.
“All right, it’s about to go down!” I yelled. “For anyone who hasn’t witnessed the Challenge before, I’ll explain how it works. One of these shot glasses is infused with the essence of one of the seven deadly sins, and the recipient will be overcome with that sin for the next half hour, while the others will experience the most euphoric feeling they’ve ever experienced from a shot of alcohol.” I motioned for the men to pick up a glass, and Mister Flirtatious had one more wink for me.
“Gentlemen, take your shot of sin!” They took their shots to the head. When they slammed their glasses down, every eye in the room was on them. After about twenty seconds, one of the men—not Winky—suddenly gasped, whipped his head around, and bolted from among his friends to accost a mildly attractive woman standing nearby.
“Fuck me! Fuck me, please!” He shook her by the upper arms while she stared at him, mortified, as his friends tried to pry him off her. I brayed with laughter, as did Xiune and everyone else in the bar.
“Oh god, I’m so horny. Someone please, fuck me!” He struggled against his laughing friends, trying to reach any female in sight, with his erection leading the way. Lust had been the winner tonight, and for the next thirty minutes this poor sap would be lusting after every woman he saw, whether she was twenty-eight or eighty-two. He even lurched toward Xiune, but she floated out of the way. Xiune was one sexy head in a box and had a mouth she could work wonders with. She often came out of her box to work those wonders on any willing man. There were more than you’d think.
“Right sin, wrong guy, right?” brown-haired dude said to me.
I rolled my eyes. “You and your friends will have your hands full for the next half hour. I suggest you hold on to him real good and don’t be surprised if he turns to one of you when it starts to look like he won’t be getting any women.”
He laughed and pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call his girlfriend, though she’ll probably be too pissed at him for doing this to alleviate his lust.” He left the bar to make the call, while the other five continued to hold on to their friend, laughing like they’d never experienced anything so hilarious in their lives. Some of the more mischievous or drunk women teased the guy by parading in front of him and doing dirty little stripper moves. Only his friends’ hold stopped him from tackling one of them and trying to rip her clothes off.
I wasn’t afraid of things getting out of hand because I could break the spell any time I wanted. There was always a point where things stopped being amusing and started getting annoying. I left them and headed back behind the bar, while Xiune found another table of people to entertain. She was a wonderful songstress, and soon her melodic voice filled the bar as I went back to making magicked drinks. I glanced at my watch, noting that it was almost midnight, which meant the day was almost over. That didn’t actually mean anything though. The day passing didn’t mean I would forget the curse that was hanging over my life.
“Hey, Malachi, can you pass me a knife?”
“Knave?” I quickly turned to the busboy, James, who was bent over a box behind the bar.“No, I said knife,” he said. My throat was suddenly tight, but I reached under the bar, got a knife, and handed it to him. I stood back and ran my hands through my short black curls, blowing out a slow breath as I tried to rein in my reaction to thinking I had heard the name Knave. That was the name attached to the face I did not like to think about, but no amount of alcohol and rowdy college boys taking the Challenge could truly put him from my mind. I didn’t want to see Knave’s face, didn’t want to think about the hard muscles my hands used to slide over, following the planes of his body to his waist and not stopping until I touched something that arched his back and made him whisper my name. I didn’t want to think about the nights we’d spent wrapped in each other’s arms, feeling our hearts beating against each other. But of course, since his name crossed my lips, he was all I could think about.
Falling in love with Knave was why I was cursed. And I could only blame myself. I should have known better than to take someone else’s lover to my bed. Especially if the woman crossed was a witch queen who was powerful, sadistic, and known to curse people just for sneezing out of place.“Malachi? Excuse me, Malachi?” I blinked and brought myself out of my thoughts, turning to see that one of the other busboys, Dan, was trying to get my attention. He held a box of empty liquor bottles and needed me to move so he could pass. I shuffled out of the way, but thinking of Knave and my curse, along with all the beer and shots I’d drunk tonight, made me feel slightly unstable. Suddenly, the rowdiness in my bar wasn’t fun; it was obnoxious, and I wanted to get away from it. I headed through the door Dan had passed through, into the hallway that led to my office and the Dumpster out back. Halfway down the hallway, I heard a crash, followed by a scream. I ran through the back door, taking in several things at once that left me rooted to the spot. One, the revolting stench that went far beyond what our single Dumpster could give off. Two, Dan standing rigidly a few feet away with broken bottles scattered at his feet. And three, the thing that had caused him to drop the bottles and scream. Behind the Dumpster was a dead body.
Buy Links: Amazon All Romance E-books Barnes & Noble Kobo Authors Bio: A.J. Locke is an author and artist, originally from Trinidad, now residing in New York City. Black Widow Witch is her second published novel, and other than writing she enjoys reading, drawing, painting, graphic design, and watching too much television.
Blog: http://iqurae.blogspot.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/AJ-Locke/522250584507699
Twitter:  @maqueripe
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20643885-black-widow-witch

Other books:
Affairs of the Dead Elemental Inferno





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What's happening in July on Erotic Notions5 – My Sexy Saturday – A Kept Woman7 – Aleah Barley - Tempting the Ringmaster9 – Anthology – Occupational Hazard10 – Laina Turner – Vows and Victims11 – Laina Turner – Romance and Revenge12 – My Sexy Saturday – Sexy Red Hood14 - Sara Brookes - Riding Irish15 - Toni Sands - Knight and Trask: Secrets and Spies16 – Laina Turner – Books Aren't Just for Reading17_23 – Blog Hop24 – Janna Yeshanova – Zebra Fish26 – My Sexy Saturday – Black Dorn30 – 31 – No posts – on vacation

Spotlight on erotic romance The Burlington Manor Affair by Saskia Walker

 Out now in Australia, in print and digital: THE BURLINGTON MANOR AFFAIR, the latest erotic romance by Saskia Walker
A legendary family estate.
A mutual longing.
A bargain struck.
Carmen Shelby wants what's been left to her—the valuable estate that she once called home. Rex Carruthers is the heir to Burlington Manor, a ruthless playboy who enjoys playing games, and all he wants is for Carmen to surrender. There can be only one winner...
Here's what the publisher has to say: "Taboo, scandal, and longstanding desire finally realized. It’s been a long, cold winter. Couldn’t you use a little heat? Fans of J. Kenner’s RELEASE ME will love Saskia Walker’s THE BURLINGTON MANOR AFFAIR, which kicks things up a notch and then tantalizingly keeps pressure on the dial. Impassioned heiress meets ruthless playboy in the ultimate bargain for power—and the coveted family estate isn’t the only thing up for grabs. The steam will be rising off your e-reader."

Australian buy links:
Direct from Harlequin:http://www.harlequinbooks.com.au/product/9781743568538
Amazon Australia:http://www.amazon.com.au/Burlington-Manor-Affair-Saskia-Walker-ebook/dp/B00K0Y0VZU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1401799043&sr=8-3&keywords=saskia+walker
Booktopia: http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-burlington-manor-affair-saskia-walker/prod9781743568538.html?clickid=Tz4VR7Ww4yHJw5WTr009hXTiUkQxSX11GVSGQU0&bk_source_id=32024&bk_source=DGM


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

Bio:
Saskia Walker (saskiawalker.co.uk) is a British author whose short fiction appears in over one hundred anthologies. Her erotic novels include Rampant, The Harlot, The Libertine and The Jezebel. Saskia lives in Yorkshire, England with her real-life hero, Mark, and a house full of stray felines.
http://www.saskiawalker.co.uk
https://twitter.com/saskiawalker
http://www.saskiawalker.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/saskia.walker.965
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/saskiawalker_news/info
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/104558.Saskia_Walker

Happy Canada Day - 147 yrs and still growing

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!!!!!
Images can say things better than I can. Here are some of my favourite shots taken from across my country. Starting on the east coast in Newfoundland, scooting over to Ontario and then ending up flying over the Rockies.Canada is a massive country, with a diverse population and a vast panorama of scenery. We aren't always covered in snow and cold and NO we don't live in igloos. Twillingate, Newfoundland
Ottawa - nation's capital - getting ready for Canada Day party






Road in front of my house in February


From a byplane - bottom trees Canadian side of St. Lawrence river, top tree - US side.


Horseshoe Fall, Niagara Falls Flying over the Rockies - yes the white stuff is snow - but it was January!


Hope you enjoyed the short trip across Canada. Now I'm off to have a BBQ, watch some fireworks then have s'mores at a bonfire.

Spotlight on The Other Brother by Lucy Felthouse

Calendar Men: Mr June – The Other Brother by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985)Photographer Melodie Carr moved to New York City to escape and make a fresh start. Her soldier fiancé was killed in a friendly-fire incident in Iraq, and she has been struggling to come to terms with it ever since. She still feels strongly about needless death and those left behind, so when she sees a call for photographs for a calendar of topless men, with profits going to the Hero Family Fund, she’s eager to help out. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know any men that fit the profile, so she gives up on the idea. That is, until Patrick Brogan—her late fiance’s brother—turns up in New York. Seeing him brings up all kinds of memories, but she’s determined to push them aside and be friends with Patrick. She also realizes he’d be perfect for the calendar. But can she persuade him to take part?Buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/calendar-men-mr-june-the-other-brother/Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20554243-the-other-brotherCalendar Men freebies: http://calendar-men.blogspot.co.uk/p/desktop-calendars.html Excerpt:Melodie Carr reluctantly clicked delete on the e-mail with a disappointed sigh. She couldn’t contribute to the charity calendar for the Hero Family Fund, a cause very close to her heart, because she didn’t know anyone suitable to photograph. Although her photography work varied—from children to pets, landscapes to portraits, she’d done a bit of everything—she got the impression the call for calendar models sought hunky guys to create a collection to make women swoon. Unfortunately, she didn’t work with professional models and therefore had to give up on the idea. A cute dog, something she had plenty of images of, simply wouldn’t cut it.She might not be able to contribute, but resolved to find out when the calendar would be available and do her bit to help by buying a few copies. Some eye candy on her wall would definitely not go amiss, and her friends Poppy, Lola and Charis, and her grandmother, Joyce, would no doubt appreciate it. She grinned. Joyce, always good fun, said, there’s no such thing as too much eye candy. The saucy old broad.Her smile faded. She missed her, having not been back to Boston to see her friends and family for a while. She should ask Joyce to come and visit her in New York—she hadn’t traveled much, and would love the hustle and bustle, the endless opportunities to people watch. Maybe Melodie and the rest of the family could buy her a ticket for her birthday. She’d have to give it some thought. It sure would be nice see a familiar face, other than via Skype.Someone pressed the buzzer to her apartment and she sighed again. It was probably a delivery driver trying to get into the building. It wouldn’t even be a package for her.Taking her time getting to the intercom, she hoped whoever it was would go away. No such luck—the buzzer squawked again. She inhaled deeply, trying to rein in her annoyance and avoid being rude or abrupt.“Hello?”“Hi,” a male voice said. “Are you Melodie? Melodie Carr?”“I am.” A caller looking for her? Had she ordered something and forgotten about it? “Who’s calling?”“It’s Patrick,” the voice replied. “Patrick Brogan.”“Patrick….” Speechless, she laid a hand on the wall to steady herself as the bottom dropped out of her world. Evidently, running to New York—albeit under the pretense of a good career move—hadn’t been enough. Her past still followed her, still tried to flood her with reminders of what she’d lost.“Melodie?”Damn, the man’s persistent. She never should have admitted her identity before asking his. She could have told him he’d gotten the wrong place and sent him away.
Author Bio:Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women's Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, is book editor for Cliterati, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebookand Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9





What's happening in July on Erotic Notions1 – Canada Day – Canadian Holiday2 - Saskia Walker- The Burlington Manor Affair 3 - A.J. Locke - Black Widow Witch5 – My Sexy Saturday – A Kept Woman7 – Aleah Barley - Tempting the Ringmaster9 – Anthology – Occupational Hazard10 – Laina Turner – Vows and Victims11 – Laina Turner – Romance and Revenge12 – My Sexy Saturday – Sexy Red Hood14 - Sara Brookes - Riding Irish15 - Toni Sands - Knight and Trask: Secrets and Spies16 – Laina Turner – Books Aren't Just for Reading17_23 – Blog Hop24 – Janna Yeshanova – Zebra Fish26 – My Sexy Saturday – Black Dorn30 – 31 – No posts – on vacation

Book with No Title on Sneak Peek Sunday #SPeekSunday

Hi. I haven't been here in a while but I'm back with the first 6 paragraphs of my latest WIP - that is so new - it doesn't even have a title yet.  It's an erotic contemporary romance - but the first 6 paragraphs are sex free :-)



Droplets of blood seeped from Darien's wolf tattoo, mesmerizing him. They trickled over the inside of his bicep then splattered drop by drop against the bar floor. Why was the wolf bleeding? Dairen frowned. Maybe it wasn't the tattoo. Could he be bleeding? He didn't remember getting hurt. But that might be because he'd had too many vodka shots.Expensive gold infused vodka.An order snapped out in Thai ripped his focus away from the cost of the booze. Stumbling with the translation, his gut clenched. "Check everyone. Anybody alive. Kill them."A shrill female scream. A gun shot. Silence.
Click here to return to Sneak Peek Sunday



What's happening in July on Erotic Notions1 – Canada Day – Canadian Holiday2 - Saskia Walker- The Burlington Manor Affair 3 - A.J. Locke - Black Widow Witch5 – My Sexy Saturday – A Kept Woman7 – Aleah Barley - Tempting the Ringmaster9 – Anthology – Occupational Hazard10 – Laina Turner – Vows and Victims11 – Laina Turner – Romance and Revenge
12 – My Sexy Saturday – Sexy Red Hood14 - Sara Brookes - Riding Irish15 - Toni Sands - Knight and Trask: Secrets and Spies16 – Laina Turner – Books Aren't Just for Reading17 – Janna Yeshanova – Zebra Fish19 – My Sexy Saturday – Black Dorn26 – My Sexy Saturday – Capri's Fate30 – 31 – No posts – on vacation

Erotic Notions is Getting Sexy on Saturday #MSS48

I'm back at My Sexy Saturday.
This week is a 7 line snippet from my erotic contemporary fantasy - Capri's Fate. Thall - a son of the Fates - has an epiphany that changes his relationship with Capri.



"Capri…" His words failed him. The bliss that filled his body and filled his mind overwhelmed him. The powerful sensations surging through him. The connecting of two beings locked in such a passionate moment. This is what humans crave. I'd give up my immortality for this.

Buy Links

Buy Links – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/309990
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-capri039sfate-1172391-140.html
http://www.amazon.com/Capris-Fate-ebook/dp/B00CJ1I6Y0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1366992997&sr=1-1&keywords=new+dawning+bookfair
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Capris-Fate/book-7uOs7lH6QU66B8y_ji9JWw/page1.html
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-capri039sfate-1172391-140.html
Now on to the other Sexy Saturday hoppers.