Carly Fall's Blog, page 22
April 23, 2012
International Indie Giveaway Blog Hop!
Welcome to the Indie Giveaway Hop, and thank you to A Daydreamer’s Thoughts, Booked Up Reviews, Blogger Loving, Making Connections, and Shut Up & Read for organizing and hosting this Hop!
I’m giving away 1 Ebook Copy of Shacked to the Night, and a $5 Amazon gift card.
Please click on the picture for an excerpt:
Emily’s son vanished out of thin air, and she will do anything to get him back. That is how she finds herself in standing in the middle of a living room brandishing a gun. The house belongs to one of the local pedophiles, and she is desperately trying to scare information out of him on the whereabouts of her son.
When the front door busts in off its hinges, a large blond man who calls himself Thaddeus takes control of the situation. He tells her that she is also looking for some missing children.
What he doesn’t tell her is that he is of the Vampire Nation.
As the passion between them escalates while they search for Emily’s son and the missing children, Thaddeus quickly realizes their worlds are not going to just briefly intertwine, but collide with a force that could get them both killed. Will Emily be able to accept Thaddeus and his world, or will her life depend on how fast she can run away?
April 22, 2012
Spring Fling Blog Hop April 23-27
Thank you so much for stopping by, and thank you to Selena Blake, Reading Between the Wines, and Bitten by Paranormal Romance for hosting it.
I’m giving away an ebook copy of Hidden in the Night and a copy of Finding My Faith. Please click on the pictures for excerpts.
After being brutally attacked, Aiden, member of the Vampire Nation, wakes in a human hospital. He meets the navy blue eyes of his nurse, Holly, who says, “I know what you are, and the sun is going to be up in under an hour. I think I can get us out of here, but I need your help.”
As a female vampire, Holly is a rarity in her race. She has hidden in plain sight from others in the Vampire Nation who want to to imprison her to help forward their devious plan of enslaving humans.
As Holly nurses Aiden back to health, he finds himself having feelings for her that he promised he would never allow again after the death of his mate, Natalie, ten years ago. A death that devastated him and left him heartbroken and angry. Aiden does his best to ignore those feelings he has for Holly, but the sexual tension between them escalates.
When Holly is kidnapped by those she has hid from for so long, Aiden finally realizes Holly is his key to ending his misery and he can’t hide his love for her any longer. But will he be able to find her before she is terribly hurt…or worse?
Growing up in a small Northern Arizona town, Faith Cloudfoot’s life was spent playing in the forests surrounding her house under the protective eyes of her father, and learning about the legends of her Native American heritage. Yearning for more out of her life, she moves to Phoenix, Arizona at the age of twenty-three where she is kidnapped and almost killed.
Rayner has a special ability, one that weighs on him like a curse. He can see spirits trapped in between life and their final resting place. Because he can’t do much to help them, he studiously ignores them. He concentrates, instead, on working with his fellow warriors to right the wrongs caused by the evil criminals from his home planet.
When Rayner sees Faith in her spirit form while investigating a lead in Phoenix, his attraction to her is immediate, yet he follows his own personal code and ignores her cry for attention. When he realizes that she may be a stepping stone to getting him home to his own universe, he engages Faith and begins to use her as a means to an end: going home.
As the attraction grows stronger, Rayner finds himself breaking all sorts of self-set rules, as well as the code of ethics set by him and his fellow warriors. When Faith nears death, Rayner realizes that he must do everything in his power to save her, because if he doesn’t, he may just lose himself.
Thanks again for stopping by! Go ahead and enter below. Winners will be announced April 28th.
April 19, 2012
CBLS – Starline (Book 1, Warriors of the Elector)” by Imogene Nix
Today I’m excited to host Imogene Nix. I had the chance to interview her, and I’m happy to say she likes chocolate and wine as much as I do (she makes her own wine!) and her characters talk to her as well. 
And she’s totally ready for the zombie apocalypse!
We are on our way to become BFF’s
So onward to my interview with Imogene…
Is this book part of a series?
Yes, it is the first in the Warriors of the Elector Series
If so, can you give a general description of the series?
Science Fiction Romance, where the Elector is a stealthship spearheading the hunt for Crick Sur Banden, the leader of the Rogue Ru’Edan. Three stories, three men and three women.
Do your characters talk to you?
Yes, they do. Regularly. Until I finish their tales anyway *vbg*
What do they say?
They are the ones who tell me their story. I just write it and then edit the story.
What was your inspiration for this story?
I don’t really know how to describe my inspiration. I sat down one day and said, “I’m going to write a story.” Seriously! It made sense to write a SciFi Romance though, because I love the genre. Firefly and Star Trek ruined me for life.
How long did it take you to write this book?
Getting the first draft down took me 2 months of nothing but writing. In that time, I did minimal of anything else. Then several months to edit, with help from others.
What do you prefer – chocolate or vanilla – and why?
Chocolate. Vanilla just seems pale in comparison, the texture and taste thinner of chocolate make you feel good.
If you were one of the five people left after the zombie apocalypse, who would you want the other four to be?
Gee, that sounds like something my husband would ask. Okay, let’s see. Hubby and our two daughters – there’s three. A computer tech with electrical skills to keep the internet running and electricity for hot water and ultraviolet lighting. Oh and electric fences *vbg*
Which character of this book was the easiest to write?
Easy? Wow, I really don’t know. Maybe Chowd. He is a secondary character of whom you will see a lot more. So many layers but so loyal.
Which was the most difficult?
Jemma. Again, you only see snippets of her in this book, but her layers are so much more difficult to come to terms with.
Tell us one thing about your personal life that you haven’t shared before.
I love to make wine and am seriously addicted to chocolate. (Note from Carly… SEE??? I TOLD YOU SO!!)
If you had to sum up advice to a new writer in two sentences, what would you say? Take your time and don’t rush. Get yourself involved in a writers society. For me, my savior was the Romance Writers of Australia.
I would like to thank Imogene for answering my sometimes off the wall questions, and now, let’s learn about this great book!
What the book is about:
One man, one woman, one psychotic alien. Now the race is on to save humanity. Past. Present. Future.
Mellissa Davis is your average bookstore owner and aspiring romance author until one day an electronic book pad slides through the mail slot of her little bookstore. Now all she has to worry about is a sexy time travelling stealthship captain, staying out of the way of the bad guy and saving the universe, past and present. Not much to ask…
Duvall McCord, an up and coming stealthship captain travels to the past to stop the Ru’Edan leader, Crick Sur Banden, destroying the Earth Empire of the future. His mission? Retrieve the handbook for the Elector. He doesn’t count on love, or saving the woman of his dreams. But time is running out. This warrior must do everything he can to stop the plot…
EXCERPT:
“Sir, you have an encoded message incoming from Admiralty,” Engineer Corbin Jard stated. A young officer, new to Duvall’s team, he looked up expectantly at his Captain. His pretty-boy face showed eagerness, and he looked ready to jump up and grab something, anything his Captain commanded. Jard had joined the crew just as the ship prepared to make its maiden journey. A big promotion for one who had, until recently, served on the Star of Ishtar.
“I’ll take it in my office, Jard,” Duvall said, striding through the automatic doors and heading to his office. The crew of the Elector carefully trained for multi-tasking, and given the size of the crew and the status of a Stealth Ship, if one officer sustained injury, someone else could continue their role, and the crew while new, had started integrating nicely.
Hopefully this lead would take them to the handbook they sought, he thought, something to give them a break in the ongoing hunt for Crick Sur Banden. His neck itched, and while he didn’t consider himself superstitious, he never neglected to listen to what his senses told him, and right now they screamed that he needed a lead and quickly.
Once in his office, he secured the door and opened the secure link. “McCord here.”
“Duvall, I have a lead, or something, for you.” The earnest voice of WO Meredith Gentry came quickly. Much as he looked forward to hearing from her, he did not expect to. Meredith continued her work safely tucked away on Aenna. Didn’t she? “I don’t have a lot of time,” she hurried on. “I think they know I suspect something. I rigged the handbook with a tracking device. The secure code is—” He could hear the sound of voices behind her. “Quickly, it’s V422J53. That will allow you to access the secure feed,” she said as he jotted down the tracking device’s code. He could hear her taking quick breaths.
“It moved through the gate outside Eris on code LX543GH4.” He knew that code. He had just generated one giving a similar time path.
“Meredith, are you in a secure location?” he demanded forcefully. Another hitched breath floated through the secure line. He gripped his table and leaned forward, not that he could do anything. The sounds faltered from thousands of miles away. “Meredith?” His sister was in danger, and here he listened on a ship so far away. Barsha! He should have protected her.
“Duvall, you need to access frequency…” Quickly she rattled off the information he would need to follow the device as he tapped into his unit. “Oh God! They’re here—” Abruptly the line went dead.
“Meredith? Meredith?” Now he leaned over the device. Quickly accessing the Admiralty, he demanded a connection to Gentry. A voice informed that Gentry could not be raised, and the voice asked if someone else could help with his query. His demands to talk to the Admiral met with a similar fate. Frustration welled upward, nearly choking him as he disconnected. He knew he couldn’t go back and didn’t know who else to contact. He had to maintain a chain of silence while investigating, especially when the Admiralty could be breached. Never had those words choked him so much.
His heart thudded as he sat back down. Could more than a single infiltrator exist? He hoped not, but the itching at his neck grew in intensity, and he feared the worst. Tapping the information Meredith had given him into his desk screen, he started toward tracking the handbook, thankful for the foresight of officers such as his sister.
The blip of the machine echoed through the room; an answer bounced back to him. A heading he would never have guessed. Toward the Time Port. Well, thank Eshra, if he couldn’t go back to help Meredith, he could at least work toward retrieving the item she had risked so much to track. Quickly he hailed the bridge. “Full speed toward the Time Port,” he instructed, just in time to see the blip disappear.
Where to buy it:
Secret Cravings Publishing:
http://store.secretcravingspublishing...
VIDEO TRAILER:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A mother of two, compulsive reader and bookstore owner. Imogene lives in regional Queensland, Australia with her husband, 2 daughters, dog, cats, guinea pigs and chooks. She has a particular fondness for Vampires, Star Ship captains and things that go bump in the night. Visit Imogene at http://www.imoginenix.com.
To follow Imogene on tour, go here: Coffee Beans and Love Scenes
April 18, 2012
CBLS – “An Uncommon Sense (Sensual Healing, Book 1)” by Serenity Woods
I’m really happy today to bring you Serenity Woods and her book, An Uncommon Sense. She has also been kind enough to offer up an ebook copy for a giveaway. So lets take a look at the book, and then you can enter to win!
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
All six senses tell him she’s the one.
High school science teacher Grace Fox doesn’t believe in any of that woo-woo stuff. So it’s easy to laugh off her friend’s prediction that she’ll have swear-out-loud sex with the next man who walks through her classroom door.
Who knew that local celebrity Ash Rutherford would have the time to attend his daughter’s parents’ night? Or that the Viking lookalike would trigger an attack of klutziness? He may or may not see dead people, but he certainly got a good look up her skirt.
A doctor turned medium, Ash spends his days communicating with unseen spirits. When it comes to his moody daughter, though, he hopes down-to-earth Grace will give him some insight. The racy lingerie she hides beneath her prim and proper clothing is an added bonus he didn’t expect.
Their attraction is instant and blazing hot, but Ash has been burned before. His ex-wife didn’t believe in his abilities, and no way is he going down that road again. At least not until Grace accepts the possibility there might be life after death. And the ghosts of his past are laid to rest.
Product Warnings: Contains a real live Viking, proof of life after death and sex on a 1970s sheepskin rug, but absolutely no Barry White.
EXCERPT:
“You are going to have wild, passionate, swear-out-loud sex with the next man who walks through the door.” Mia read the prediction aloud from the astrology section of her magazine.
“Even if I did believe the position of the stars could tell my future, I’d know you made that up.” Grace continued to study the latest batch of science exams. “And anyway, that doesn’t sound remotely like something I’d do.”
“Have sex?”
Grace put a big red cross against the answer she’d just read. “Very funny. I meant swear. I would never swear during sex. Very unladylike.” She read the next question. What happens to your body as you age? And then the answer. You get intercontinental. Massaging her forehead, she drew another red cross. Jodi Rutherford barely appeared to have retained enough information from her biology lessons over the past ten weeks to fill a postage stamp.
“That explains a lot.”
Grace shot the teacher sitting next to her an exasperated look. “What’s that supposed to mean? And will you please stop trying to distract me? I want to get these finished before I go home.”
Mia grinned. It was nearly seven o’clock on a typically cool New Zealand October evening, and moths had started to flit around the strip lighting. Even though the parents’ evening had been the busiest of the year, the stream of visitors to the auditorium was starting to wane, and the teachers sitting at the rows of tables were beginning to pack up their laptops and books. Neither she nor Grace had seen a parent for fifteen minutes, and she was quite clearly bored. “I meant that your reaction to my prophecy accounts for why you’re still a spinster at the ripe old age of twenty-nine. If you’ve never been with a guy who could make you swear out loud during sex, it would explain why you haven’t come close to settling down.”
“Don’t call me a spinster,” Grace grumbled, turning over the page. “And anyway, I’m only a year older than you. You make me sound like I’m eighty-five.”
“You dress like you’re eighty-five,” Mia said impatiently.
“What’s wrong with the way I dress?” Grace frowned as she looked at her clothes. Her neat pencil skirt and white shirt were hardly retirement-age clothing. Okay, maybe the flat, sensible shoes, hair in a bun and glasses were a bit more “traditional schoolmistress meets university librarian”, but she hardly looked as if she should be vacationing with the over-fifties.
“You’re practically Victorian.” Slim and pretty, with thick, shiny black hair, Mia always wore the latest fashions.
“Because I don’t have a skirt above my knees and my shirt unbuttoned to my cleavage?”
“Grace, honestly. You’re beginning to worry me. You really should try to have sex at least once each decade, you know, or you’ll forget how to do it.”
Grace stared at the floor in front of her desk and tipped open her hands in protestation. “Mia…do you mind?” When her colleague remained quiet, she tried to concentrate on the paper in front of her. Then she groaned. “God, listen to this. ‘If conditions are not favourable, bacteria go into a period of adolescence.’ I mean, honestly.”
Mia laughed. “Whose paper is that?”
She put another red cross on it. “Jodi Rutherford’s.”
“Ooh.” Mia perked up. “The medium’s daughter? I didn’t know you taught her.”
Grace sighed. “Oh Lord, don’t you start. What is it with the women in this school? One mention of that guy and I swear their bodies undergo some kind of chemical change, turning them into goo.”
“Grace Fox, seriously, have you not seen him? What the hell is wrong with you?”
Grace put her pen down impatiently. “Of course I’ve seen him. Well, a photo of him. You can’t avoid it. His picture’s been plastered over half of Wellington for the last week, for crying out loud. But he’s just a guy. Two arms, two legs. Nothing that warrants all the mooning about.”
Mia shook her head. “Now I know there’s something wrong with you. Sweetheart, Ashton Rutherford is sex on legs. Seriously. He’s, like, six-foot-four and played lock for the Hurricanes.”
“That means absolutely nothing to me, Mia.”
Mia rolled her eyes. She was an avid Rugby Union fan. “They’re the tall ones who jump up at the line-outs.”
“Is that supposed to impress me?”
“Don’t you find him a little bit intriguing? A rugby-playing doctor who became a clairvoyant—don’t you think that warrants even a little bit of interest?”
Grace snorted. “Any man who gives up a serious profession after years of training to become a fortune teller needs his head tested.”
“He doesn’t tell fortunes. He’s a medium. He speaks to dead people.”
Grace gave her a look. “This conversation does not sound like something I’d be even vaguely interested in. I’m packing up now. It’s nearly seven.”
Mia sighed and started logging off on her laptop. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he could have been coming to see you tonight.”
“I honestly didn’t expect the guy to turn up. I’m sure interest in the welfare and progress of his only daughter is way beneath such a superstar. On my to-do list, informing you which students’ parents were coming tonight was right at the bottom.”
“He wouldn’t be at the bottom of my to-do list,” Mia mumbled.
“Mia, honestly.”
“You sound just like your mother when you talk like that.”
Grace shuddered. The ultimate insult. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. You seriously need to get laid, though.”
Tell me about it. She didn’t say that, however. Instead, she said, “For the love of…will you desist?”
“Next guy that walks through the door, I’m telling you. Look—the door’s opening…”
“Please don’t let it be Professor Michaels,” Grace muttered as she got on her hands and knees to pull the plug of her laptop out from underneath the wall heater, making Mia laugh out loud at the mention of the overweight, balding, officious deputy principal who drove them all to distraction.
Mia’s laughter turned abruptly into a gasp. “I don’t believe it.”
“What?” The lead was stuck. Grace pulled it hard, but it had somehow got wedged against the plug of the heater and refused to come out.
“Well, this is going to be interesting.”
Grace took the plug in both hands but it still failed to move. “Sweetie, I don’t care if he’s Robert Downey Junior, I am not having sex with him.” She leaned all her weight on the lead, and all of a sudden, it gave and pinged out of the wall. She fell backward, banged her head and ended up sprawled in a most ungainly fashion facing the parent who was waiting at the foot of her desk.
“If you’d turn down Robert Downey Junior I guess I don’t stand a chance,” he said, amused.
Grace looked up at the face of the man she’d seen plastered on billboards all across town and then turned slowly to face Mia, whose eyes were practically falling out of her head. Mia stared at her and made a slight gesture with her hands, bringing them together, making Grace realise she was facing the guy with her legs open, giving him a splendid view right up her skirt.
And now let’s get to the giveaway:
ABOUT SERENITY AND WHERE TO CONNECT WITH HER:
Serenity Woods lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She’s won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. You can check out all her books at http://www.serenitywoodsromance.com.
Website: http://www.serenitywoodsromance.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/serenitywoodsromance
Twitter: @Serenity_Woods
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/serenitywoods
To find out other stops on Serenity’s tour, click here:
April 17, 2012
CBLS: “Shifters & Bikers Series -Unwanted Mate” by Rebecca Royce
I’m very happy to be featuring Book 1 of Rebecca Royce’s Shifters Bikers Series titled Unwanted Mate. Rebecca has also been kind enough to offer up an ebook copy for a giveaway!
So first let’s find out about the book, and then you can enter to win because we all love free stuff, right?
What it’s about:
For years, shapeshifter Gunther West has known Judy is his mate. His little human isn’t so sure. When a tragedy brings her knocking on his door seeking comfort, Gunther is more than ready to provide it. Neither can deny the sparks that fly, but are those sparks enough for forever?
EXCERPT:
“How did you wake up so quickly? I just stepped in the room and I didn’t make a sound.”
“It’s a wolf thing. And you are you. I think I could scent your approach across a continent, let alone a small room. Sleep is nothing for me.” He gestured her closer. “Tell me what happened.”
She stepped forward, and he wondered how it could be that simply by coming closer to him, she managed to increase the temperature in his bedroom by at least ten degrees. Hell, he’d be lucky if he didn’t start sweating.
“Tell me.”
Rather than answering, she looked away as she took another step. Dark circles marred her face.
For Judy, she’d dressed downright conservatively. Then again, he usually saw her downstairs in his bar, dressed in biker attire, which included leather and snakeskin. Wearing jeans and a black cotton T-shirt, she looked sort of…soft. His hands clenched. He wanted to protect her even though she’d never allowed it.
If you just have to have it right now, you can get it here:
You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway.
As a teenager, Rebecca Royce would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days, that her parents think it was well worth it.
Rebecca is the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best friend. They live in northern New Jersey and try not to freeze too badly during the winter months.
She’s in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and tries to use all of these elements in her writing. She’s been told she’s a little bloodthirsty so she hopes that when you read her work you’ll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. Rebecca loves to write series because she loves to see characters develop over time and it always makes her happy to see her favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.
In Rebecca Royce’s world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
Visit Rebecca at http://www.rebeccaroyce.com.
To see where else Rebecca will be, please click here:
April 15, 2012
Hunky Hero Giveaway Blog Hop
Thank you for stopping by, and a big thank you to Riverina Romantics for putting together this Blog Hop!
So, this hop is all about the Hunky Hero. Can we have too many of them? I think not. So, let’s take a look at some hunky heroes, then after you wipe the slobber off your computer, you can go down and figure out what prize you want.
Let’s think of all the ways we can thank him for his service…
This one makes me want to set my house on fire!
Wasn’t that fun?
Now on to the goodies…
I’m offering 2 ebook copies of The Light Within Me, and one person will get a $5 gift card to Amazon. When you’re done, scroll down for the list and links to the other participating authors
(Click the picture for reviews and an excerpt)
As a shy, awkward social misfit, Abby has gone her whole life feeling as though she’s different from everyone else and she simply doesn’t fit in well with society as a whole. She longs to feel a real connection with someone, and she finally does when she meets Noah.
Unbeknownst to Abby, Noah is from another world, here to hunt down the evil of his people that has been unleashed on Earth, and he’s been at it a very long time. He’s certain he isn’t going to be able to return home, and anger and the need for revenge are his constant companions. His focus has been eradicating the evil and making them pay for taking his life on his world away from him.
When Abby and Noah meet, there is an electric sexual attraction between them that can’t be denied by either of them, an attraction that Noah tries to fight so he can keep his focus on his mission. But when Abby gets dragged into the evil from Noah’s world, he realizes that maybe with Abby he can find a home here on Earth…if he can save her in time.
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Six Sentence Sunday 4/15/12
Thanks for stopping by this week. Your comments are always appreciated.
I’m happy to announce that my WIP is now at the editors. We are tossing around two names for it:
Banishing My Demons
Releasing My Demons
Any thoughts?
So here we are again with Hudson and Beverly.
He also knew that if she walked through that door, he would scoop her up in his arms, and he would devour her body. He thought of all the different ways he wanted to…worship her. He wanted to make her feel ecstasy over and over again, to try to make up for the pain that had been inflicted on her for so many years. It wouldn’t be about him relieving his pain the next time, if there was a next time. It would be about her. Before she went out into the world by herself, he wanted her to understand how a woman should be treated.
Thanks again, and to go back to the other awesome authors, click here
April 10, 2012
CBLS – “Pulled” by A.L. Jackson
Today I’m very happy to tell you about a great book by A.L. Jackson. I had the chance to review the book, so let’s look at the book particulars first, and then my review will follow.
BLURB:
Melanie Winters and Daniel Montgomery shared a love they believed bonded them together for life. After the tragic loss of their daughter, overwhelming grief and misguided guilt distorts the truth, and their relationship ends in unanswered questions.
For nine years, they drift through life, each unable to forget the one who holds their heart.
Now, when their lives again intersect, will the power that drew them together be enough to heal the wounds from their past?
Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of destiny and duty, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have.
EXCERPT:
I glanced at the clock.
Shit—nearly six o’clock. I needed to hurry. I’d lost track of time and Nicholas would be home soon. I wiped the tears from my face before carefully gathering the pictures from the bedroom floor. My chest weighed heavy as I collected each one, cherishing the memories a moment longer as I tucked them away in the envelope.
The memories were all I had and I clung to them as if they were my last breath, knowing that once they faded, there would truly be no reason to go on. I hid the envelope at the bottom of the large jewelry box in the back of the closet, mindful to spread the necklaces out over the hidden compartment. Nicholas had never found them, but I was certain he would destroy them if he ever did.
Drawing in a deep breath, I ran my hands through my hair and dragged myself from the past I had immersed myself in for the last two hours and forced myself downstairs.
My footsteps echoed against the marble floor, each an accent of emptiness. I entered the kitchen, the only sanctuary I had. Every room of this house was gaudy and overdone, designed by the pompous for the pompous, except for this haven. It was no less extravagant, but held a warmth missing from all of the others.
As I worked, my thoughts inevitably wandered back to those beloved pictures hidden away in the back of my closet, but even they weren’t enough to ward off the anxiety steadily building within me as the passing minutes warned of Nicholas’s arrival. At six thirty-one, I heard the garage door open. Bile rose in my throat.
“Melanie?” Nicholas called from the entryway.
“In the kitchen,” I called weakly. Maybe he would go upstairs and spare me a few more minutes, but of course, I never had that kind of luck. I heard his footsteps approaching and prepared myself.
“Dinner ready?” He yanked at his tie as he came through the door.
“Um, not quite, just a couple more minutes,” I said, not meeting his face.
I felt him pause, though I refused to look up. I’d learned a long time ago how to survive in hell. The less I interacted with him the better.
He snorted through his nose, muttering, “Worthless whore,” under his breath.
I gritted my teeth, holding in the anger his accusation triggered.
He set his briefcase on the island next to me and tossed his tie over the top of it. “What time do I get home from work, Melanie?” Nicholas dipped his head, forcing me to look at him.
“Six-thirty.”
“Is it too much to ask that dinner is ready when I get home?” he said, “or do you have something better to do with your useless life?”
I cringed but said nothing. He was the one who didn’t want me to work.
“I didn’t think so.” He leaned in closer, his words a low warning. “When I tell you dinner needs to be ready at six-thirty, it means dinner is to be ready at six-thirty. Do you understand?”
I saw the threat in his eyes. He had never hurt me physically, but he made sure I knew who was in charge. I’d given up any control nine years ago when I’d followed him here to Chicago, looking for an escape from the pain.
I knew then what this life would be like. I’d met him at the airport when I’d fled Colorado that final time, the trip that severed the last thread holding my heart together. Nicholas hadn’t seen the broken girl who sat numb with nothing but pain swimming in her eyes. He saw the young, beautiful girl, the one who said nothing at all but seemed to be willing to do whatever he said.
I wasn’t stupid. I had known exactly what he wanted, but I could never go back to Colorado Springs to face what I could no longer have, and I refused to stay with my mother in Dallas.
So I left all of it behind, moving with Nicholas to Chicago just days after I returned from Colorado.
I knew then Nicholas would never bring me happiness. That had never been the point. My heart belonged to another and would never be his. All I wanted was a way out, while Nicholas got the trophy wife he thought he deserved. The only thing I hadn’t anticipated was how the numbness I felt for him would evolve over nine years into bitterness and loathing.
MY REVIEW:
4 Stars
Daniel and Melanie meet when they are teenagers, and they have this immediate mystic connection. This is the story of that connection, love, miscommunication, and their separate lives throughout the years, and then finally coming together.
Overall I did enjoy this book. It is well-written and full of emotion. The author does a fabulous job of pulling you in and having you feel the character’s pain and happiness. She also does a great job of weaving together past and present and Daniel and Melanie’s families making the characters come to life and have dimension.
This book will definitely pull on your heartstrings, and reaffirms that most problems in a relationship boil down to people who don’t talk to each other.
This book is an old-fashioned love story, and a great story to get lost in.
So now, go buy it~
BUY LINK:
Amazon:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.
Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel, Pulled.
A.L. resides in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.
WHERE TO FIND HER:
Starline Publishing: http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/aljackson
Website/Blog: http://www.aljacksonbooks.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aljacksonbooks
CBLS – "Pulled" by A.L. Jackson
Today I'm very happy to tell you about a great book by A.L. Jackson. I had the chance to review the book, so let's look at the book particulars first, and then my review will follow.
BLURB:
Melanie Winters and Daniel Montgomery shared a love they believed bonded them together for life. After the tragic loss of their daughter, overwhelming grief and misguided guilt distorts the truth, and their relationship ends in unanswered questions.
For nine years, they drift through life, each unable to forget the one who holds their heart.
Now, when their lives again intersect, will the power that drew them together be enough to heal the wounds from their past?
Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of destiny and duty, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have.
EXCERPT:
I glanced at the clock.
Shit—nearly six o'clock. I needed to hurry. I'd lost track of time and Nicholas would be home soon. I wiped the tears from my face before carefully gathering the pictures from the bedroom floor. My chest weighed heavy as I collected each one, cherishing the memories a moment longer as I tucked them away in the envelope.
The memories were all I had and I clung to them as if they were my last breath, knowing that once they faded, there would truly be no reason to go on. I hid the envelope at the bottom of the large jewelry box in the back of the closet, mindful to spread the necklaces out over the hidden compartment. Nicholas had never found them, but I was certain he would destroy them if he ever did.
Drawing in a deep breath, I ran my hands through my hair and dragged myself from the past I had immersed myself in for the last two hours and forced myself downstairs.
My footsteps echoed against the marble floor, each an accent of emptiness. I entered the kitchen, the only sanctuary I had. Every room of this house was gaudy and overdone, designed by the pompous for the pompous, except for this haven. It was no less extravagant, but held a warmth missing from all of the others.
As I worked, my thoughts inevitably wandered back to those beloved pictures hidden away in the back of my closet, but even they weren't enough to ward off the anxiety steadily building within me as the passing minutes warned of Nicholas's arrival. At six thirty-one, I heard the garage door open. Bile rose in my throat.
"Melanie?" Nicholas called from the entryway.
"In the kitchen," I called weakly. Maybe he would go upstairs and spare me a few more minutes, but of course, I never had that kind of luck. I heard his footsteps approaching and prepared myself.
"Dinner ready?" He yanked at his tie as he came through the door.
"Um, not quite, just a couple more minutes," I said, not meeting his face.
I felt him pause, though I refused to look up. I'd learned a long time ago how to survive in hell. The less I interacted with him the better.
He snorted through his nose, muttering, "Worthless whore," under his breath.
I gritted my teeth, holding in the anger his accusation triggered.
He set his briefcase on the island next to me and tossed his tie over the top of it. "What time do I get home from work, Melanie?" Nicholas dipped his head, forcing me to look at him.
"Six-thirty."
"Is it too much to ask that dinner is ready when I get home?" he said, "or do you have something better to do with your useless life?"
I cringed but said nothing. He was the one who didn't want me to work.
"I didn't think so." He leaned in closer, his words a low warning. "When I tell you dinner needs to be ready at six-thirty, it means dinner is to be ready at six-thirty. Do you understand?"
I saw the threat in his eyes. He had never hurt me physically, but he made sure I knew who was in charge. I'd given up any control nine years ago when I'd followed him here to Chicago, looking for an escape from the pain.
I knew then what this life would be like. I'd met him at the airport when I'd fled Colorado that final time, the trip that severed the last thread holding my heart together. Nicholas hadn't seen the broken girl who sat numb with nothing but pain swimming in her eyes. He saw the young, beautiful girl, the one who said nothing at all but seemed to be willing to do whatever he said.
I wasn't stupid. I had known exactly what he wanted, but I could never go back to Colorado Springs to face what I could no longer have, and I refused to stay with my mother in Dallas.
So I left all of it behind, moving with Nicholas to Chicago just days after I returned from Colorado.
I knew then Nicholas would never bring me happiness. That had never been the point. My heart belonged to another and would never be his. All I wanted was a way out, while Nicholas got the trophy wife he thought he deserved. The only thing I hadn't anticipated was how the numbness I felt for him would evolve over nine years into bitterness and loathing.
MY REVIEW:
4 Stars
Daniel and Melanie meet when they are teenagers, and they have this immediate mystic connection. This is the story of that connection, love, miscommunication, and their separate lives throughout the years, and then finally coming together.
Overall I did enjoy this book. It is well-written and full of emotion. The author does a fabulous job of pulling you in and having you feel the character's pain and happiness. She also does a great job of weaving together past and present and Daniel and Melanie's families making the characters come to life and have dimension.
This book will definitely pull on your heartstrings, and reaffirms that most problems in a relationship boil down to people who don't talk to each other.
This book is an old-fashioned love story, and a great story to get lost in.
So now, go buy it~
BUY LINK:
Amazon:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.
Years later, she shared a short story she'd been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel, Pulled.
A.L. resides in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.
WHERE TO FIND HER:
Starline Publishing: http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/aljackson
Website/Blog: http://www.aljacksonbooks.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aljacksonbooks
April 9, 2012
CBLS – “Kiss Me Slowly” by Amber Lea Easton
Today I’m really happy to host Amber Lea Easton. Amber is here today to talk about why she writes romance, and then we are going to find out about her book, Kiss Me Slowly.
There comes a time
when nothing is meaningful
except surrendering to LOVE.
Do it!
~Rumi
I’m a firm believer in romance and love. Call me naive if you’d like or a Pollyanna if you choose, but there’s something about a happy ending that really lights up my world.
Let me tell you about my own love story. When I was twenty-seven, I met a tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed mountain boy named Sean. He swept me away from our first meeting and proposed to me three weeks later after filling his apartment with wild flowers he’d picked along side the road. I said yes without hesitation. Yes, yes, yes!
My “yes” sent my friends into intervention mode. I was never the relationship type and my friends knew this. I couldn’t care less about having a boyfriend, let alone getting married. Oh, I loved men, that’s true. Back in my twenty-something days, I had more guy pals than girlfriends. I was okay with being single. But Sean…wow…the man sent my nervous system into electrical overload. Ba-da-bing-ba-da-BOOM!
Long story short–we married six months later and ended up having two gorgeous kids. Happily ever after, you ask? No. He died six years ago, leaving me a widow with two kids to raise solo.
I still love him, probably always will. That doesn’t mean I can’t love someone else one day–I’m sure I will–but Sean is imprinted on my heart.
Love is like that, you see. It doesn’t end despite the vows that say “til death do us part”. Its reach is infinite. But, because I love love, I know I’ll find space in my heart to love someone again. Differently, yes. Equally, I hope so.
So, you see, I write romance because I believe in true love, soul mates and passion. I know love exists. I also believe that, if you’re not in love with something whether it be your hobby, your life, your pets, yourself…if you’re not passionate about something…then what’s the point? Yes, I’m a widow who’s flying solo at the moment, but I love my writing, my kids, my pets, my friends, the view outside my window, my ability to laugh at myself…I love.
To me, love is all that matters at the dimming of the day…and that’s why I write romance novels.
AND NOW ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Kiss Me Slowly
Author: Amber Lea Easton
Publisher: BookStrand.com
Length: 315 Pages
Genres: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
BLURB:
Trapped in a set-up that could have him in jail or dead by Monday, Jonathan Alexander trusts no one in his inner circle. It’s Saturday. His only hope is Grace Dupont, the best forensic accountant in Miami. But there’s a glitch with that idea. She’s also his ex-girlfriend who’d rather watch him drown than throw him a life vest. Going to her feels desperate…because he is.
Grace enjoys seeing Jonathan squirm. On your knees boy, she thinks as he pitches for her help. Always a sucker for the dark-haired-blue-eyed boys, she risks her precariously balanced life of secrets to help him. Helping him slaps a target on her back–she’s the key to proving his innocence and that’s a bad, bad thing.
Tangled up in a whirlwind of conspiracy, murder, million dollar money trails and diamond smuggling, Jonathan and Grace flee to the sea to stall for time to prove his innocence. Romance sizzles beneath Florida Keys’ sunshine. Both scoff at happy endings. Both doubt justice. Both know each kiss could be their last.
AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK:
“You have blood on your dress.” He fingered the strap in question that had slipped off her shoulder. “You should probably take it off.”
“Careful. We can’t go there.” Sand clung to her neck and stuck to the tangles in her hair. The light from the bedside lamp shadowed her face.
“I meant change out of it, not…well, maybe I meant take it off. But then we’d be crossing lines that you don’t want to cross.” He let his fingers trail down her arm. “That would be wrong. Terribly wrong.”
“You are nothing but trouble.”
“You always liked trouble.” He rested his right palm against the bed, supporting his weight on his healthy arm.
“Listen carefully to me.” She pressed her finger against his lips. “I’m high on adrenaline, we’re alone, no witnesses, no regrets. One kiss won’t hurt anyone.”
“No witnesses, no regrets…” Heat flooded his veins. “Adrenaline…”
“If I don’t do this now, I’ll hate myself in the morning.”
“You mean you’ll regret it when they lock me up in the morning and throw away the key because you didn’t kiss me one last time?”
“Exactly.” She straddled his lap.
“You weren’t supposed to agree.” He smiled despite the circumstances.
“Shut up, sailor boy. Kiss me.”
She kissed him as if savoring the taste. Her hair fell forward, locking them in a caramel-colored veil of intimacy. Eyes open, they stared at each other as their lips moved against each other’s.
His hands slid up her long thighs, over her panties and pressed against the smoothness of her back. Every stroke of her lips against his awakened pure need in his veins. He no longer cared about what was right or wrong. All he wanted was her mouth on his, his hands on her body and her skin against his.
With a quick yank, she pulled her dress over her head. Breasts bared, she pressed him down on the bed and laughed against his mouth. “This is crossing all kinds of boundaries and breaking every rule I can think of.”
“Just like the old days.” He smiled against her lips. His hands moved over her bared breasts. The pain in his shoulder failed to slow him down. He didn’t know who groaned or if they both did, but the sensation of her flesh filling his palms trumped common sense.
Her bare foot slid over his leg, hands curled into his hair, and body flattened against his. All the anger, the terror and confusion poured from him as he deepened the kiss with an urgency that bordered on desperation. The silky warmth of her mouth erased his pain. Kissing her felt like coming home from an exhausting, lonely journey.
“A kiss…that’s all I wanted,” she muttered against his chin. A shiver quaked through her body when she sighed.
“I want more.”
“Impossible. We can’t.”
“We can do whatever the hell we want, Grace.” Despite the burning pain in his left shoulder, he maneuvered so that his body covered hers. He wanted more than a kiss. He wanted more heat.
WHERE TO BUY LINKS:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/rUH17M
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/vafDAb
Bookstrand: http://bit.ly/v0HczI
VIDEO BOOK TRAILER:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amber Lea Easton grew up in Hartford, South Dakota, where she spent her time daydreaming of big adventures over the horizon under a giant blue South Dakota sky. Now living in Colorado, she is an avid traveler who incorporates her real life travels into her novels as much as possible (minus the illegal activities her characters become immersed in–she swears). To her, setting is another character in the novel and often serves as an inspiration. Although she is a romantic suspense author, she’s an avid reader of all genres or “whatever turns her on in the moment”. Love is her motivation for all things–whether it be writing, traveling, playing with her dogs or hanging with her two teenagers–if it’s not done with love, then what’s the point?
To stay up to date with Amber Lea Easton’s new releases and events, check out her website at http://www.amberleaeaston.com, subscribe to her author blog at http://amberleaeaston.blogspot.com or email her at amber@amberleaeaston.com. Follow her on Twitter as @MtnMoxieGirl or on Facebook.
