Sara Daniel's Blog, page 28

Sharing Rachel by S.S. Hampton, Sr. #menage #eroticromance

Guest Post by S.S. Hampton, Sr.

Hello! Spring greetings!

Okay, that is a little too cheery for my usual nature.

But then, it is April. Winter is basically over, though here in Las Vegas (Sin City) winter usually means just a dip in the usual 100+ degree weather. If someone wants to see snow up close they have to drive out to nearby Mount Charleston.

Anyway, I am meandering.

My first novel, SHARING RACHEL, was released in October 2014 by MuseItUp Publishing, MuseItHOT Imprint. It will be followed by the sequel, PRAIRIE MUSE, in the summer of 2015. Both are erotic romances and are about a happily married couple and small business owners, Burt and Rachel Markham, who decide to explore their personal boundaries. Okay. Make that sexual boundaries.

And that brings about the question of how did I go from writing short stories and novellas about, oh, a ghost returned from the Ho Chi Minh Trail (The 24th of December, Journeys, 1992), ghosts and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Gold Nugget, Dark Fire Magazine, 2004), a frustrated incubus trying to entice a young woman to leave a sheltering church (Imnachar, Intimate Journeys collection, Melange Books, 2011), and a young woman who agrees to become Death’s consort in exchange for the safety of her family (The Mistress of the Fourth Seal, Horror Bound Magazine, 2009), to writing Erotic Romance?

Welll, first, there is a difference between Porn, Erotica, and Erotic Romance. Or so I’ve been told (and read).

Broadly and simply speaking, Porn is for readers who do not need someone with them to have, ah, a good time, so to speak. Erotica has a plot and characters, and many times leaves the bedroom door open for readers to peek through. And Erotica does not require Happily Ever After (HEA). Erotic Romance has a plot and characters, and also leaves the bedroom door open at times, but most importantly, HEA is practically mandatory.

So, again, how did I go from writing about wars, ghosts, demons, and star ships (if sex was involved, it was more of a furtive sidelong glance as if to verify, “Yep, IT happened”) to writing Erotic Romance?

Somewhere along the way I probably encountered a writing and thought, “I can do better than that.” And the research began. Then the outlining. And throwing my hands up in the air. Then another start. And a completed short story that went nowhere except in a manila folder in my filing cabinet. And throwing my hands up in the air.

Then the idea of combining the two, then developing an outline, and Sharing Rachel was born.

It was during a 6-month writer’s block that I accomplished the research that helped provide a foundation for the novel. To tell the truth, the research was quite interesting. Here was a world I had come across before on the Internet, but never gave much thought to until I combined the two stories into one novel.

However, my confidence had been shaken by the writer’s block, so I asked a writer friend, Charmaine Pauls (The Winemaker, The Book Exchange, and Pryomancist, among others) to take a look. I wanted to know if the novel sounded believable or if it came across as some sort of middle-aged fantasy (more or less).

To my relief, she told me Sharing Rachel was believable. And she liked it. And Charmaine was the first to describe the novel as an Erotic Romance.

Okay. I have to admit, by then 50 Shades of Grey was big news and big bucks to boot. I discovered that Romance, and various sub-categories including Erotic Romance, enjoyed a huge readership. I am not sure why, but there is definitely an audience for Romances.

So, after SHARING RACHEL, I wrote PRAIRIE MUSE, and there is a third novel to write (after I get a couple more fantasies, horror, boomer story, and even a Christmas story out of the way).

It is not just the subject matter that is interesting, but I genuinely like Burt and Rachel Markham, an ordinary married couple in the heartland of Kansas. Yep, you heard me—no corporate CEOs and university girls and jet setting across the world. Just an ordinary in their 40s husband and wife driving an SUV who decide to explore their personal and sexual boundaries in the Midwest.

It is a story that any couple—rich, poor, or middle class—can truly experience if they want to explore their boundaries.

And that is how I came to write Erotic Romance.

Enjoy the spring weather and have a great week!

~Stan

Sometimes people choose to live life to the fullest…

Burt and Rachel Markham are ordinary small business owners of a seed & feed store in a small Kansas farming and ranching community. Many years before, as young university graduates eagerly anticipating exciting overseas employment, a lifetime in Kansas was the furthest thing from their minds, particularly Rachel who was raised overseas and dreamed of going back. By July 2013 their twin 18-year old daughters, having graduated high school several months before, go east to attend a university. Burt and Rachel settle into their new life of an empty house and a predictable and unchanging routine that threatens to stretch far into the future. One summer evening Burt has an idea—but will Rachel accept the idea? If she does, will the idea add new excitement to their marriage, or destroy it?

EXCERPT
A song of reserved exuberance began; the feminine voice rolled the sound of many of the French words. Rachel tilted her head to listen to the music.

“Edith Piaf, France’s premier singer back in the ‘60s,” she announced fondly. “She died of cancer. This song, it’s “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” or “No, I Regret Nothing.” It’s one of her most famous.”

She put her elbows on the table, folded her hands and rested her chin on them. She looked at Burt.

He listened. Maybe it was the title—the voice and music had a slow almost melancholy, and yet proud and defiant feel to it. The music and words added an authentic touch to the dim bistro. If he closed his eyes for a moment he might be able to imagine a rainy night in Paris, sitting in a French bistro with his wife in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral, overlooking the Seine River. Paris was a city he always wanted to visit; he knew Rachel and her parents had visited when stationed overseas.

“I’m not really hungry yet,” he said.

She nodded. “Like I said, after.”

Burt looked at the empty foyer. There was “After” again.

Rachel followed his gaze and touched his hand. “I don’t think he’s late yet.”

“I have a feeling he’s about as punctual as you always are,” Burt said with a small smile.
“Any last minute thoughts or rules?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Just feel him out and make a common sense decision. If he doesn’t ask to fuck you, how do you let me know you’re interested or not?”

She chuckled. “If I’m interested I’ll touch your foot with mine. If I’m not, I’ll kick you.”

Burt lowered his head and gave her a sarcastic look. “Got it.”

He looked at the foyer again. Saturday night, 7:00 p.m. They were really sitting in a French-style bistro waiting on a man who wanted to fuck Rachel with Burt’s permission. Would it really happen? Maybe Gentleman Nate was a jerk in real life—Rachel didn’t like jerks. She didn’t like men who were loud and pushy, profane or who spoke badly.

The waitress returned with their drinks.

“There’s not a wide variety of food because we follow the old European tradition of few selections, but each one is of loving preparation and excellent taste. Would you like to order something? The figs wrapped with grilled bacon is really good. So are the marinated mushrooms. Both are authentic French recipes.”

“Perhaps a little later,” Rachel answered. “We’re waiting on someone.”

“Of course,” the waitress said. “Just catch my attention when you’re ready to order.”

Burt took a drink of his beer and glanced at the TVs. Sports and news. She took his hand in hers, tilted her head and continued smiling at him.

Maybe Gentleman Nate wouldn’t show...

Click a vendor's name to read more of Sharing Rachel and other books by SS Hampton, Sr
MuseItHot Publishing - Amazon

SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 wonderful grandchildren, and a published photographer and photojournalist. He retired on 1 July 2013 from the Army National Guard with the rank of Sergeant First Class; he previously served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard in October 2004, after which he was mobilized for Federal active duty for almost three years. Hampton is a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007) with deployment to northern Kuwait and several convoy security missions into Iraq.

He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and curated a third. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others.

In May 2014 he graduated from the College of Southern Nevada with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Photography – Commercial Photography Emphasis. A future goal is to study for a degree in archaeology—hopefully to someday work in and photograph underwater archaeology (and also learning to paint). He is currently enrolled as an art student at University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

As of April 2014, after being in a 2-year Veterans Administration program for Homeless Veterans, Hampton is officially no longer a homeless Iraq War veteran.

Hampton can be found at:
Dark Opus Press - Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy Publishing - Melange Books -
Musa Publishing - MuseItUp Publishing - Goodreads Author Page
Amazon Author Page - Amazon UK

7 Paragraphs from One Night with His Wife @MySexySaturday @DecadentPub

One Night with His Wife
Once again, her braid whipped back and forth with her emphatic denial. “The company is yours and Alex’s. I didn’t do anything except cook dinner and give you space to work. I came into our marriage with nothing, and I left with nothing, so I came out even.”

The whiskey burned in his gut without taking the edge off his nerves. He slapped the empty glass on the table. “You wasted ten years of your life with me. I don’t call that even.”

“I don’t call it a waste,” she shot back. “If we’d had a kid, then, yes, I’d take your money and put it in an account for his or her future, but that never happened. I don’t need or want anything for myself.”

He closed his eyes. “You should be thankful we don’t have a kid.”

“We had a deal, Luke. When you retired from the Marines, we’d start a family.”

“I got my leg blown off,” he shouted, opening his eyes to glare at her, hating the sorrow in her voice and himself for not being able to deliver on her dream. “We never took that scenario into account.”

She shoved her drink away. “Your leg is not the same piece of anatomy as your dick. Maybe you hadn’t noticed because you’ve been too busy being a dick.”

Buy Links: Amazon
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iBooks 1. One Night with the Bride
2. One Night with the Bridesmaid3. One Night with the Groom4. One Night with the Best Man5. One Night with her Husband6. One Night with his Wife--The One Night with the Bridal Party series can be read as stand alone books in any order, but this is the order for maximum enjoyment!

One Night With His Wife #newrelease #1NightStand #seriesfinale @DecadentPub

New Release: The final book in the One Night with the Bridal Party series
One Night with His Wife
(1Night Stand - One Night with the Bridal Party #6)

As long as he refuses to accept himself as whole, one night with his wife will be his last.

After a grenade took Marine Luke Cox’s leg and ends his career, he cuts ties with his wife to free her from the burden he’d become. On the day his divorce is to be finalized, he travels to meet a woman for a 1Night Stand date—a woman who doesn’t care about his missing leg or his sudden wealth from a business venture. However, things don’t go as planned, and when he arrives for his date, he’s still legally married.
Rosalind Cox tends to the horses on her cousin’s ranch resort, her love for the animals the only thing keeping her going since her husband turned his back on her. When he appears at her stables, all the longing and rising hope is crushed by the realization he’s only sought her out to gain his freedom.

She’ll give him what he wants, but she can’t resist taking one last kiss for herself. The kiss reopens emotions and attraction that neither can deny. To give in will only complicate the tangle as they try to unwind their lives. But even though Rosalind doesn’t care about Luke’s missing leg or his money, as long as he refuses to accept himself as whole, one night with his wife will be his last.
Buy Links: Amazon
All Romance eBooks
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
iBooks 1. One Night with the Bride
2. One Night with the Bridesmaid3. One Night with the Groom4. One Night with the Best Man5. One Night with her Husband6. One Night with his Wife--The One Night with the Bridal Party series can be read as stand alone books in any order, but this is the order for maximum enjoyment!

Honeybun One and Done - #NewRelease from @samcheever #romanticsuspense

CONTEST!For a limited time there's a link to a giveaway for a Kindle Paperwhite eReader inside each copy of Honeybun One and Done! Get your copy today and play to WIN!



He’s a ONE and DONE kind of guy. Can she live long enough to find out if she’s the O NE?

Percy Honeybun and his honey, Brita Muldane just can't catch a break. They've danced around their relationship for years, unable to find a way to make it work. But their lives are intertwined through family and friends and they're just as unable to break completely away from each other. Maybe what they need is a life changing event to help them break through. Or maybe the life-shattering event they suddenly find themselves in, will end up breaking them instead.


"Dust off the edge of your seat because that's exactly where you will be while enjoying this thrill ride called Honeybun One and Done. If you are new to the Honeybuns, you are in for a treat. Although you do not need to read all of them to enjoy this one, I highly recommend it." ~Barbara Miller - ReaderShe looked at the dead man’s name badge and swore. Brita thought she was looking at the uni who was supposed to have been at the front desk.

She moved to the window and looked outside, seeing the rusty metal fire escape hugging the wall a few feet down.

The killer had used the fire escape.

She left the bathroom and hurried toward the stairs, Moxie bouncing at her heels. She’d heard voices on her way upstairs so she knew that somebody was in the bullpen. First she needed to warn them, though she thought the killer was long gone. And second she needed to start a manhunt for whoever killed the Sarge and Brent Madris, the young uniformed cop in the bathroom. Madris had left behind a wife and two small kids. Rage flared at the thought. Brita would find whoever killed the two cops and she would make sure they paid for it.

Moxie ran to the bullpen door and stopped, yipping with excitement. Brita scooped her up and pushed the door open.

The stench hit her first. Feces, urine, and fear.

The first cop was draped over the copy machine, the whir and click of the copier a constant accompaniment to the flash of light each time the machine took another copy of whatever Detective Red Gordyn was lying on. Pieces of copy paper floated from the tray and scattered like flower petals across the already littered floor.

Alarm flashed through Brita, sending her senses into overdrive. The copier’s constant drudgery sharpened until it was like the roar of a train in her mind, each click at the end of the copy cycle twanging across her nerves like the cocking of a loaded pistol.

She searched for a pulse, finding one that was very faint. She would call for an ambulance but first she needed to finish securing the scene.

She settled Moxie onto the floor by her feet. “Heel,” she ordered in a harsh whisper. The doxie trembled, her frilly tail drooping on the floor behind her. Even Moxie’s overblown sense of adventure seemed to be outraged by the carnage in the station.

Brita crouched low and moved quickly past the first row of desks. She peered under each scarred wooden desk before moving on to the next and then the next. She found the second body lying face down between two desks. His desk chair was overturned behind him, the rusted wheel still spinning. She felt for a pulse on Detective Bill Bris’s throat but knew it was no use.

His slightly bulging brown eyes stared sightlessly ahead, a trail of blood coating the bridge of his pug nose from the hole between his eyes.

She found no more bodies and, by the time she reached the door to the interview rooms at the back, she was finally able to breathe.

Brita started to dial nine-one-one. As her finger hovered over the last digit, Moxie suddenly shot sideways with a growl and Brita turned. The little dog yelped.

“Moxie?”

Movement to her left. A blur of motion. Then Brita’s head snapped sideways and pain shattered outward, bringing her to her knees on the hard, dirty carpet.

She never felt her face hitting the floor.

BUY LINKS:

Print: http://www.amazon.com/Honeybun-One-Done-Heat/dp/1512249890/?tag=sardanromaut-20

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YCKD2JU/?tag=sardanromaut-20

Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Honeybun-Romantic-Suspense-Taste-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00YCKD2JU/?tag=sardanromaut-20

Amazon.UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeybun-Romantic-Suspense-Taste-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00YCKD2JU/?tag=sardanromaut-20

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/honeybun-one-and-done-sam-cheever/1121987458?ean=9781512249897

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-honeybunoneanddone-1815077-149.html?referrer=5539594cb86f1

Kobo Books: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/honeybun-one-and-done-romantic-suspense-with-a-taste-of-mystery

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sam_Cheever_Honeybun_One_and_Done?id=bAKsCQAAQBAJ

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/542560

#YAlit author @KaitlinBevis tackles Fear, Myths and Settling Wrongs #Persephone

Guest Post by Kaitlin Bevis If you want to know a culture’s fears, study their stories. Fears resonate. They keep us talking, keep us telling the story, because as long as it’s a story, it’s happening to someone else. There’s a reason the Persephone myth is one of the five major myths taught to school children everywhere. There’s a reason echoes of this myth keep popping up in modern culture, sometimes as overtly as my retellings, and other times as subtle as Beauty and the Beast. We tell the same story over and over and over again because it scares us. Something about that myth leaves people feeling unsettled. There’s a wrongness to it that demands to be fixed. So throughout time, we’ve told it again and again, hoping that maybe this time, we’d get it right.

What is it about the Persephone myth that resonates so much with us? On its surface, the answer is simple. Persephone is, at its heart, the story of a mother searching for her daughter. As a mother, I can literally not even imagine the depths of the fear of not knowing where my daughter is, or worse, knowing exactly what horrible place she’s been taken to, but not being able to save her. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe, and god help anyone who gets in my way.

But there’s more than that. There has to be, because as a mom, I get the universal fear behind the myth, but I was fascinated with it long before I became a mother. The most common audience for the Persephone myth aren’t parents, but children. Specifically children on the cusp of adulthood. Teenagers. And I know why.

The myth is incomplete. In the original telling, we know all about Demeter’s fears and motives. We trace her steps through history as she scours the globe looking for her daughter. We glimpse the politics of Olympus enough to understand Zeus’ motives for allowing Hades to take Persephone and the drastic events that had to take place before he relented and returned the missing girl. We’re there for Hades catching a glimpse of Persephone for the first time, and we get his rationale and his motives for why he took her. We even get motives from nymphs and primordial deities with such minor roles that they get written out of most versions of the myth. Literally the only voice missing from the Persephone myth is Persephone’s.

Persephone was silenced, but the impact of her abduction is apparent. Her mythology begins with her as an innocent, carefree, happy girl picking flowers and ends with her role as the Iron Queen, a major force to be reckoned with mythologically speaking. Her name even changes. She has the ultimate coming of age story and she doesn’t even get to tell it.

We’re not just afraid of losing our children, we’re afraid of losing our selves and our voices. And that fear repeats itself over and over and over again in Greek mythology. Ovid wrote an entire book about transformation in Greek mythology. Cassandra gained an awesome power, only to lose her voice and go insane. We pay the ferryman two coins to take us across the river because the potential of being thrown in Tartarus is less frightening than the thought of being stuck on the wrong side of the river, alone and ignored. Orpheus was featured just as prominently in Greek mythology as Hercules and literally the only superpower he had was the ability to make people listen.

I wanted to tell Persephone’s story. I wanted to get into her head and understand her transformation into the Iron Queen. I changed details here and there and I modernized the story, but I did my best to stay true to the spirit of the myth. One of the ways I did that was through the book titles. In the myth, Persephone was defined by her titles.

Book one, Persephone, is about her transformation from an ordinary girl named Kora, to Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. It’s the story of her abduction. Her time in the Underworld changes her, but her story doesn’t end there.

I called the second one Daughter of the Earth and Sky because in the myth, Persephone’s value was placed in her role to other people. She was Demeter’s daughter, Zeus’ daughter and pawn, and Hades’ wife. The second book in the trilogy is all about Persephone trying, and failing, to balance all of her roles and the expectations that come with them without losing herself in the process. She starts the book clinging to the remnants of her old life and trying to make them fit into what she thinks her new life should be. She’s so afraid of who she might be becoming that she loses sight of who she is.

In the myths, it wasn’t until she came into her own as The Iron Queen that Persephone was referred to as a person in her own right instead of an object. Book three Persephone is a force to be reckoned with. Writing that, reaching that point with her character, was an incredibly awarding experience that settled the sense of wrongness hearing the myth had left me with. I can only hope reading it does the same thing.

The Daughters of Zeus, Book One

One day Persephone is an ordinary high school senior working at her mom's flower shop in Athens, Georgia. The next she's fighting off Boreas, the brutal god of winter, and learning that she's a bonafide goddess--a rare daughter of the now-dead Zeus. Her goddess mom whisks her off to the Underworld to hide until spring.

There she finds herself under the protection of handsome Hades, the god of the dead, and she's automatically married to him. It's the only way he can keep her safe. Older, wiser, and far more powerful than she, Hades isn't interested in becoming her lover, at least not anytime soon. But every time he rescues her from another of Boreas' schemes, they fall in love a little more. Will Hades ever admit his feelings for her?

Can she escape the grasp of the god of winter's minions? The Underworld is a very nice place, but is it worth giving up her life in the realm of the living? Her goddess powers are developing some serious, kick-butt potential. She's going to fight back.

Author Bio: Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book and a pen. If the ending didn't agree with her, she rewrote it. Because she's always wanted to be a writer, she spent high school and college learning everything she could to achieve that goal. After graduating college with a BFA and Masters in English, Kaitlin went on to write The Daughters of Zeus series.

www.kaitlinbevis.com
http://www.amazon.com/Persephone-The-Daughters-Zeus-Book-ebook/dp/B00WNFRIHI/?tag=sardanromaut-20

Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Waterloo with #HistoricalRomance #preorder @DominiEastwick

The Incomparables: 6 Heroes of Waterloo and the 6 Ladies They Adore This limited edition box set includes 6 scorching romances that commemorate the 200th anniversary of the June 18, 1815 Battle of Waterloo.
From the Duchess of Richmond’s ball in Brussels to the Battle of Waterloo and beyond, join these six unforgettable heroes as they journey back from the physical and emotional trials of war and discover the passion that thrills the body can also heal the heart. 
Coming June 18th from bestselling and award winning historical romance authors Cerise DeLand , Sabrina York , Suzi Love, Lynne Connolly, Preorder now

Read more about this steamy collection!
Interlude with a Baron by Cerise DeLand Emma wants only an interlude with the man she’s adored for years. But Drayton Worth has spent five years riddled with guilt for hurting her—and he’s determined to have more than a few nights in her bed.
Tarnished Honor by Sabrina York Daniel Sinclair is a broken man with war wounds that are physical and spiritual. He’s weighed down by grief and guilt and tormented by his tarnished honor. When he meets Fia Lennox, a beautiful and brave Highland lass in dire need of his protection, he sees in her his chance for redemption…or utter damnation. Because despite his valiant attempts to resist her, he cannot.
Love After Waterloo by Suzi Love
When Lady Melton and her son join Captain Belling and the last wounded soldiers evacuating from Waterloo to London, she expects clashes with army deserters but doesn’t anticipate how falling in love with the antagonistic captain will change her life.
Dreaming of Waterloo by Lynne Connolly Paul “Lucky” Sherstone daren’t even let his wife too close because of his headaches and the living nightmares he can’t dispel. Hetty hardly knows the man who comes back from war, but one thing she does know—she still wants him.
The Captain’s Heart by For Love or Revenge by Dominique Eastwick Captain Roarke Wooldridge is about to find out that sometimes love does heal all wounds.But when his need for revenge collides with desires he never believed he would feel again, will he be able to put aside the scars of Waterloo to embrace his future?
READ MORE!
For Love or RevengeBy Dominique Eastwick Captain Roarke Wooldridge returned from Waterloo a different man than the one who left. Captured and detained as a prisoner of war, he endured both torture and betrayal at the hands of his captures and a single traitorous turncoat. Now those who survived the nightmare of that cellar in France are determined to get revenge.The widow Lady Alexandra Grafton is quite content to live out her life in the country cottage her husband left to her in his will. Having been married to a man with one foot in the grave, Alex has no desire to enter the confines of marriage or its bed again. But when a handsome, haunted captain crosses her path, will she take a chance on love?Can two people scarred by their past experiences find in each other the solace they so desperately crave? Can the power of love outweigh the desire for revenge or are their wounds too deep to be healed?
Read an Excerpt!
“She is utterly—amazing.” His face lit with genuine love as he spoke of her. Getting back to his feet, he moved to his chair on the other side of the hearth. “Perhaps when you are in town for the season, I can introduce you to her. I think she would enjoy your friendship. She complains about the lack of honorable people within the ton.”“One of the many reasons I stay away. It took very little time for the shine to dull on ton life. But I think I would very much like to meet her.”If he felt Alex and he would run into one another out in society, his family must be part of the ton. His manners and speech spoke to a man who had been well-educated. “I would like that, as well.”She couldn’t remember the last time she had looked forward to parties or balls. Unfortunately, shortly after her marriage, her husband had placed her in his country estate, fearing she would take a lover and try to hoist her bastard off as the earl’s. But, she would never have cuckolded him or caused him embarrassment. Life in the country fit her best. And he had treated her far better when they were away from the expectations of society. The few times they’d been required in London had been the most miserable of her married life.Alexandra hadn’t attended a season in nearly ten years. And that had been for her own. Bad memories had a way of keeping a person from returning. During her marriage, she hadn’t wanted to be paraded out as the young countess, a title she never quite felt comfortable with. And after the earl passed, she saw no reason to head into town for the season when everything she wanted lay within these walls. She had no desire to remarry, and, as children required the act of copulating, she had long ago resigned herself to a life without them. Although she had desired children, she was long past hoping for them. Until now, that is, when this handsome captain had come into her life, weakening her knees and causing a pool of desire to form in her belly.Picking up a fan from the side table, she waved it near her overheated face and neck, the temperature of the room having suddenly risen.“What about you, Captain? Are you married?”

Award winning author Dominique Eastwick currently calls North Carolina home with her husband, two children, one crazy lab, and one lazy cat. Dominique spent much of her early life moving from state to state as a Navy Brat. Because of that traveling is one of her favorite pastimes. When she’s not writing, you can find Dominique with her second love…her camera.


Connect with Dominique:
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Silk & Scars #HistoricalRomance #NewRelease from @authorCassDean @DecadentPub

New Release from Cassandra DeanBook Title:SILK & SCARSBook Series:The Silk Series Book 3Publisher:Decadent Publishing Company, LLCPublished Date: 2 June 2015Genre(s):Historical Romance, Sweet Romance, Early Victorian Romance
Blurb:For over a year, Miss Gwendolyn Parkes and the Duke of Sowrith have corresponded. At first an error, the letters quickly became something much more, a friendship forged on like minds and perhaps the hope of something more…
When Gwen is compelled by her employer to attend the duke at his Dartmoor estate, she is devastated to find her beloved friend cold and imperious, even if he is the most handsome man she’s ever seen – despite his scars.
Edward, Duke of Sowrith, has longed to meet Gwen. Arranging her passage to his estate, he is tongue-tied when confronted with her quiet beauty. All too aware of the twisted ruin of his face, he allows fear to hold him silent…until Gwen’s safety is threatened.
Finally together, they grow closer until it seems they can never again be apart – but can a commoner and a duke find a happily ever after?
Other books in the series:SILK & SCANDAL (The Silk Series Book 1) - http://cassandradean.com/books/the-silk-series/silk-scandal/SILK & SCORN (The Silk Series Book 2) - http://cassandradean.com/the-silk-series/silk-scorn
Excerpt
“Why did you write me?”
The quiet words gave him a degree of control. “I beg your pardon?”
Her tongue darted out to wet the plump flesh of her lower lip. “Why did you write me? Why did you write those letters?”
Stifling a groan, he cursed himself. Control yourself, man. “You were the one who made the error.”
“Yes,” she said. “But you didn’t need to write back.”
No, he hadn’t. Her letter had clearly been an error, addressed to her friend and full of the easy conversation of long acquaintance. He never should have read it, but he couldn’t help himself. It had been so full of life, so happy and joyous, and he’d wanted to experience that. “Because I liked them. Your letters.”
“What did you like of them?” A smile lit her face, a soft thing that seemed directed more at herself than him. “It was Etta, correct? She and her antics?”
A smile tugged at his own mouth, and he allowed it some expression but not enough to pull his scar. “No, I liked you. That is, I like you.” Heat rose along his neck.
“Oh.” A similar blush stained her skin. “Well. I like you, too.”
He couldn’t stop his smile then.
She drew in her breath.
Immediately, he wiped the expression from his face. He knew how he appeared when he forgot himself.
“Why did you stop smiling?” Confusion filled her voice.
Staring at the floor, he said, “I apologize. I know it’s grotesque.”
“What is grotesque?”
He dug his hands into the chair. “When I smile.”
“No. Edward, no—”
“Of course it is,” he said, and not even her calling him by his Christian name again lightened him. “I am scarred, Gwen. You cannot claim not to have noticed.”
“No, I have, I only—You smiled and I thought....You are so handsome, and when you smile, you are even more—” She cut herself off. A furious blush lit her cheeks.
She thought him handsome? A low boil started within him, and he could not tear his gaze from her lips.
Buy on Amazon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Author picture: http://cassandradean.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/8221933.jpg
Professional Bio – Long:Cassandra Dean is a best-selling, multi-published author of historical and fantasy romance. Her latest novel, SLUMBER, is part of Decadent Publishing’s Beyond Fairytales and features Cassandra’s take on Sleeping Beauty. Her next novel, SILK & SCARS, is part of her popular Silk Series, featuring Victorian Era lawyers and their happily ever after.
Cassandra is proud to call South Australia her home, where she regularly cheers on her AFL football team and creates her next tale.
Visit Cassandra’s website at http://cassandradean.comJoin Cassandra’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/kzesPFollow Cassandra on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraDean and on Twitter @authorCassDeanContact Cassandra at cassandra@cassandradean.com
Social Media Links:Website: http://cassandradean.comNewsletter: http://eepurl.com/kzesPTwitter: http://twitter.com/#!/authorCassDeanFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraDeanPinterest: http://pinterest.com/cassandradean/Google+: https://plus.google.com/+CassandradeanAmazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Dean/e/B006W6BUE6/Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5016740.Cassandra_DeanAuthorgraph: https://www.authorgraph.com/authors/authorCassDean
Printable Book Listhttp://cassandradean.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Cassandra-Dean-Printable-Book-List.pdf

Disenchanted #YALit Blog Tour @Leigh_Goff @Saphs_Books

Title: Disenchanted
Author Name:  Leigh Goff
Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Occult

Keywords: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Witchcraft, Wethersfield, Goodchild, Mather, witch, coven, true love curse, white witch, black witch, Sophie, Alexavier, bloodcharm, star-crossed, clairvoyant, outcast

ISBNs: e-Book ~ 978-0-9947490-0-0  Print Book ~ 978-0-9920490-9-6
Number of Pages:  264
Release Date: June 1, 2015

A forbidden love. A dark curse. An impossible choice...

About Disenchanted:

Descended from a powerful Wethersfield witch, sixteen-year-old Sophie is struggling to hide her awkwardly emerging magic, but that’s the least of her worries. When a dangerous thief tries to steal her mysterious heirloom necklace, she is rescued by the one person she’s forbidden to fall for, a descendant of the man who condemned her ancestor to hang. He carries a dark secret that could destroy them both unless Sophie learns how to tap into the mysterious power of her diamond bloodcharm. She will have to uncover dark secrets from both of their families' wicked pasts and risk everything, including her soul to save them from a witch's true love curse, but it will take much more than that.

Excerpt:

“You really want to know?” He circled behind me, not touching me, but I could feel him there, just an inch away. He stepped closer, his body heat warming my exposed neck.

I tried to ignore the trembles and craving his alluring voice provoked. Heat and tension continued to roll off him. My breathing quickened.

“Secrets never stay secret in Wethersfield. It’s going to slip out eventually.”

He circled around to face me again and nodded. “Your curiosity is inexhaustible.”

I pressed my hand to my forehead, trying to regroup, which was harder than it should have been. “Look. It doesn’t matter. I can handle whatever it is.”

“Zeke will be thrilled if he finds out what I’m about to tell you.” He shook his head, probably imagining the ugly scenario. “I come from a long line of Mathers who have been more than unlucky in love. A staggering number of them, so many that one cannot blame it on misfortune or bad luck. For years, my father thought it was a genetic fluke until he had our ancestor’s DNA tested and, like his own, it showed nothing.” He rolled his sleeve up enough to show me the pinkish birthmark on his wrist. It resembled a small heart broken in two, exactly like Zeke’s. “You see, from my father’s research, every Mather heir for centuries has carried this mark in this spot. It is something passed down in our family, inherited, but not genetic. That leaves only one explanation. Our bloodline is cursed.”

“Are you sure it’s not Karma or bad luck?” We knew Francis had been cursed for his father’s hand in the hangings. But all of them? I didn’t think a generational curse was really possible.

“I don’t believe in bad luck, but I do believe in the power of this curse. It has haunted us through time.”

“How many of you?”

“After they fell in love? Since Francis Mather, the one buried under the tree next to your ancestor, all of them. Not at first. Some of them were able to bear a child or two before their love deepened and the curse took hold of one or both of them. It is why my father used a surrogate rather than risk a relationship. He, Zeke, and I are the last of Rev. Mather’s direct descendants. It’s too many to make sense so all we are left with is the fact that we are cursed to live a life without love or die from it.”

I staggered backward, staring at the trees lining the path, in shock. Elizabeth warned me about a curse living on. The judge even sputtered on about a problem caused by the witches. Did they both mean a generational curse on the Mathers? Generational curses were only heard of in myths because they required great power and a dark heart. Did Rebecca have that much power? “Let’s say that’s even possible.” I could barely grasp the possibility for the irony got in the way. A curse cast by my ancestor meant to punish the Mathers was now threatening not only my happiness, but my life.


Mirror World Publishing Link:  Disenchanted
Amazon Purchase Link

About the Author:

Writing Enchanting Ever-Afters ♥


Leigh Goff grew up in Maryland where she resides today. Her writing is inspired by an unusual childhood, a vivid imagination, and compelling historical events. After taking several writing courses in college and attending professional writing workshops after she graduated from the University of Maryland, she joined the Maryland Writers' Association and Romance Writers of America. She is also an approved artist with the Maryland State Arts Council.

Learn more about Leigh Goff on her WEBSITE or at Mirror World Publishing.

Follow the Tour Here:


http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/book-tour-schedule-disenchanted-by.html

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One Night with the Bridal Party series finale Facebook party - June 9th 8 - 10 PM EDT #prizes

The One Night with the Bridal Party series debuted over two years ago with One Night with the Bride. One Night with the Bridesmaid and One Night with the Groom followed in 2014. One Night with the Best Man and One Night with her Husband were released this past spring. This month I am wrapping up the series with the sixth and final book, One Night with his Wife. To celebrate, I'm hosting my very first Facebook online party where I'll be giving away swag, print books, gift cards and more!

Join me on Tuesday, June 9th from 8-10 PM Eastern time (7-9 PM Central time) on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/events/105630266437399/
Prizes:
#1 - Your choice of print book of Love Spanks 2015 Anthology, Construction Beauty Queen, or Love Him or Leave Him.
#2 - Set of sweet, small-town romance print books: Construction Beauty Queen and Love Him or Leave Him.
#3 - Set of 3 children's chapter books (print) from The Bravest Squirrel series: The Bravest Squirrel Ever, The Bravest Squirrel in the Forest, and The Bravest Squirrel in School.
#4 - Sara Daniel swag pack
#5 - Sara Daniel swag pack
#6 - $5 Amazon gift card
#7 - $5 Amazon gift card

(International winners of print prizes will receive a $5 Amazon gift card in lieu of print prizes.)

Join the Facebook party here

Sexy Delight - 1Night Stand with a movie star @MySexySaturday @DecadentPub

A Sexy Delight: 7 Paragraphs from One Night With the Bridesmaid
The façade had gone on too long, and Rob intended to end it. He slanted his lips across hers. In a moment, she would shove him away and announce she wanted Blake, not him, confirming everything he’d accused her of. The sooner, the better because he hadn’t predicted the wave of physical attraction making him itch to explore her lush body and claim her as his own.
She shivered beneath him but didn’t break the contact. Instead, she moaned, curling her hands around the back of his neck. Her sweet taste and eager touch threw him off his game. She disguised her calculations so well, he couldn’t anticipate her next move.
He backed her against the wall, not taking his lips off hers. If she tested him on how far he would take this, she would lose. The more he kissed her, the more he wanted to immerse himself in her amazing curves and powder fresh scent while dumping his grand plan to strip her down to her intentions.
He slid her dress strap from her left shoulder and rubbed his palm over her full breast. Her nipple tightened, and her breathing hitched with each stroke of his fingers. Hell, he was hard and throbbing, as if this was a real seduction.
He tore his lips away from hers before he forgot the reason he’d chosen to meet her. “How dare you break up my brother’s wedding, trick him into a one-night stand with you, and then kiss me like I’m the only man who matters to you right now.”
“You are. I came here to be with you, Rob, not Blake.” She pulled his hand off her breast and yanked her strap back up, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You came here to meet me?” The possibility hadn’t entered his mind. Now the fantasy bloomed to life. He wanted nothing more than to peel the yellow dress off her, run his hands over her light brown skin, and bury his face in her curves. But his only goal was to warn her away from his hurting, vulnerable brother.
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