Tawdra Kandle's Blog, page 29

#TeaserTuesday and #CoverReveal for ALWAYS OUR LOVE

 

Small Town Georgia Romance
is about to get even hotter.
The third book in the ALWAYS LOVE Trilogy (the second Burton series) releases on July 26th.
Books 1 and 2 both have new covers.
Today we’re revealing the cover for book #3 . . . and sharing a sneak preview of the story right here.
Always Our Love

Jenna Sutton celebrated her twenty-first birthday by persuading Trent Wagoner, the guy she’d been crushing on for months, to sleep with her. When he broke her heart and crushed her dreams by rejecting her afterward, a devastated Jenna tried to end her life.

Trent has told his side of the story. So has Jenna’s mom, and her cousin, and just about everyone else in the small Georgia town of Burton.

Now it’s Jenna’s turn.

Over two years later, Jenna’s finally figuring out her life. Her job at the county historical society is steady and predictable, two elements she appreciates right now. She’s living on her own, and her world is peaceful, if lonely.

That is, until Lincoln Turner comes to town.

When Linc’s wife was killed in a car accident, she left him with two small children and a bleak future. Six years later, he’s a recovering alcoholic who’s just gotten his kids back and is ready to tackle a new position as co-owner of a building restoration company . . . in Burton.

Jenna isn’t looking for love, and Linc definitely doesn’t want any attachments. And neither of them are ready for the sparks that fly when a huge project brings them together. Still, the road to true love has more bumps than they could imagine. Making their way to a happy ending won’t be easy.

But this is Burton, and happily-ever-afters are a specialty of the house.

Preorder now . . . and enjoy the preview below!
iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo

~~~***~~~

“Linc?” She turned, resting her lower back against the counter—uh, sideboard—and folding her arms over her chest, which meant her tits were resting on top of those arms. At that moment, all the blood in my brain headed south, and I could only remember three pertinent facts: Jenna was the woman I wanted. We were alone in this building. And my kids were not going to be at home tonight.

“Yeah?” I rasped out the word.

“I was talking to you, and it was like you zoned out. I lost you for a second.” One side of her mouth curled into a smile.

“Um . . .” Oh, yeah, I was smooth. “No, you didn’t lose me. I was just thinking.” I took step closer to her.

Jenna’s eyes widened a fraction, but she didn’t flinch. “Really? What were you thinking about? Something else in the kitchen?”

I shook my head. “Not really.” Another step forward, and I was so near her that she had to look up to see me. I became painfully aware that her breathing had sped up. When I glanced down, I could see the tops of her breasts, just below the neckline of her top, their rise and fall rapid.

“What are you doing, Lincoln?” she whispered.

I rested my hands on her arms again, caressing her warm skin lightly with my palms. “I’m making my move, Jenna. I’m taking things between us to the next level. And unless you have a strong objection, I’m going to kiss you right now.”

~~~***~~~

And now for the cover . . .

 

This beautiful cover is by the talented Meg Murrey!

#iBooksGalore A Book A Day Giveaway June 2nd

 

Enter each day to win the iBook of the Day!
Each day in June, I’ll be giving away ONE of my books from iBooks. And even better: a whole bunch of other authors are giving away a book a day, too. Follow #iBooksGalore to find us all!
You can enter by:
–Retweeting the daily announcement on Twitter
–Commenting here, on this post
–Commenting on the daily announcement post on Facebook
***Winner announced at 9AM EST the following day.***
June 2nd
Today’s book is THE LAST ONE (The One Trilogy, Book #1)

Meghan Hawthorne is restless. The last year has been a roller coaster: her widowed mother just married a long-time family friend. Her younger brother unexpectedly became a father and a husband. Everyone’s life is changing. . .except for hers. As she begins her final summer of college, Meghan’s looking for excitement and maybe a little romance. Nothing serious; this girl just wants to have fun.

But the only man for Meghan turns out to be the last one she expects.

Sam Reynolds doesn’t need excitement, and he doesn’t want romance. Fun is out of the question. He’s been the steady, responsible one since his parents were killed, and serious is his way of life.

When Sam rescues Meghan alongside a dark Georgia backroad, she falls hard for his deep brown eyes and slow drawl. But making him see her as more than just a party girl won’t be easy. Sam’s tempted by the fiery young artist, even as he realizes that giving into his feelings will mean radical change. . .maybe more than he can handle.

Nobody ever said love was simple.

 

#iBooksGalore: A Book A Day Giveaway In June!

 

Enter each day to win the iBook of the Day!
Each day in June, I’ll be giving away ONE of my books from iBooks. And even better: a whole bunch of other authors are giving away a book a day, too. Follow #iBooksGalore to find us all!
You can enter by:
–Retweeting the daily announcement on Twitter
–Commenting here, on this post
–Commenting on the daily announcement post on Facebook
***Winner announced at 9AM EST the following day.***
June 1st
Today’s book is ALWAYS FOR YOU, Book 1 of the Always Love Trilogy. And you want to grab this book now, because Book 3 releases at the end of July.

Running Wild

Last week, I told you about a book I’d just finished, called Big Girls Do It Running by Jasinda Wilder. I’m going to chronicle my journey to get more fit and healthier over the next eight weeks right here, every Wednesday. Wilder Way Wednesday!

In BGDIR, Jasinda challenges us to sign up for a 5K. I laughed a little, because it reminded me of my first ‘real’ running experience.

In 2008, we had been in Florida for about a year. I had gotten involved a little bit with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, as a way to raise money to fight the disease that had killed my parents. At the end of that summer, I was contacted by Team In Training, a part of LLS that organizes teams to participate in races around the country and raise money to benefit LLS. They were putting together a team for the Disney Marathon Weekend, and they wondered if I’d be interested in being part of the half-marathon team.

Now, I wasn’t athletic. Never had been. (I’m STILL not.) I love to WATCH football, baseball, soccer . . . and I’m a decent softball player (my high school friends are probably skeptical, but it’s true!). I grew up a dancer, and I still love to dance. But run? Oh, I think not. My mother had always told me that running wasn’t good for women. She said it shook up our insides and caused problems. I listened and believed.

But now . . . after my parents died, I’d purposed to do something new and challenging every year. In 2008, I’d snorkeled in the ocean in Maui for the first time ever. 2009 seemed like a good time to try a half-marathon, right? After all, I had almost six months to train. Easy-peasy.

Except I really didn’t train. Oh, I half-heartedly did a few short runs. I walked a lot. But I was busy writing my first novel and homeschooling my kids and dealing with life. Time marched on, and before I knew it, January was upon us. Suddenly, I was terrified: what had I been THINKING? I couldn’t run. I didn’t run. I was going to be the lonely, pathetic person at the end of the race, dragging her heels before the dreaded sweeper bus picked me up. I had nightmares about running the race in my heels.

I would love to say I kicked ass in that race. Honestly? I finished it in under 3 hours, and I called that a win. I wasn’t the last by any means, and I even RAN much of it. Not all, but some. There was something about being among runners that made me want to do it, too!

For about a year, I did a bunch of races. I completed two more half-marathons, a couple of 10Ks and a 13K. I didn’t do too much training between times, though. I had a lot of excuses: Florida is hot. Outside training was HOT. I ran on a treadmill at a local gym for a while, but not with any real consistency.

About a year and a half after my first race, I was coming home from a long road trip one day when my knee began to hurt. Not just a passing ache, but a real and deep pain. I ended up at an orthopedist, who told me running was destroying my knees. I didn’t necessarily buy that, but my life was changing at that point, and races were becoming less appealing (and more expensive!). I did my last Disney race that fall and could barely walk afterwards–so I decided my short and illustrious running career was over.

Since then, after a long hiatus, I’ve slowly returned to running. I’ve done some 5Ks with my kids, and earlier this year, I did the Princess 5K with my girls and my sister-in-law and niece. It was fun to be back there, and I actually got my best time ever in a 5K. I don’t need to do half-marathons anymore; I’m perfectly happy to perfect the art of the 5K.

Next Sunday, I’m doing another 5K, and this one I’m counting as the Jasinda challenge race. And I can’t wait! (See the report next Wednesday, or follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more instant news.)

I’m going to be chronicling my journey over these next eight weeks right here, every Wednesday. We’ll call it Wilder Way Wednesday! I’d love to hear if you’re participating, too, and how you’re doing. We’re in this together, right? I’ll be there for you. And I’d love your encouragement!

HANGING BY A MOMENT Release Day!

If you read
WHEN WE WERE US
then you’ve been waiting to read the next chapter
in Leo, Quinn and Nate’s story . . . and today, you can.

When life shatters, it helps to have friends. I don’t know what I’d have done without Leo and Nate to comfort me, to hold me up and to keep me sane in face of sudden and terrible loss.

And if one of those friends happens to be the love of my life, the one guy I thought I’d never be close to again . . . I’m not going to complain. After all, in a vast sea of things that aren’t fair, being with Leo again feels like the only shining beam of hope.

I know there aren’t any guarantees for us. Leo’s heading south to play football, rocking a full-ride at one of the top colleges in the nation. Meanwhile, all of my plans have fallen apart, and I have to figure out what comes next. Having Nate by my side is more important than I could have imagined.

The next four years were supposed to be the most exciting time of my life. Instead, they turn into a rollercoaster of uncertainty, complete with breathtaking highs and lows that threaten to break my heart.

In the end, the decisions we make now could change everything for the three of us, forever.

~~~***~~~

Buy your copy of HANGING BY A MOMENT right here!
 Amazon/iBooks/Google/Nook/Kobo
Read an exclusive sample right here.
And join me today at our Happy Hour Release Party!

The Keeping Score Trilogy is a New Adult contemporary romance. The first two books may not give you complete closure, but hang in there for Book 3; I promise the pay-off is worth it.

The release dates, all in 2016, are:

When We Were Us April 7th

Hanging By A Moment May 24th

Days of You and Me September 27th

 

 

If you haven’t read WHEN WE WERE US yet, grab it now!

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play/Goodreads

 

Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books include YA paranormal romance,  NA paranormal and contemporary romance, and adult contemporary and paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.

 

 

Follow Tawdra:

Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Instagram/Website/Newsletter/Amazon/BookBub

And if you love her books, join the Naughty Temptresses!

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I’m reading Big Girls Do It Running by Jasinda Wilder

I’ve been posting quite a bit lately about a book I’m reading. It’s called Big Girls Do It Running by Jasinda Wilder, and it’s created a pretty big buzz in the indie community. Jasinda has changed her lifestyle and possibly changed her family’s life.



The book is great, and I’ve enjoyed it. Jasinda tells her story honestly and openly, and she shares what has worked for her, for her family and for her beta team of the Wilder Way. There’s a story, an explanation, a plan and recipes. It’s well-laid out and easy to understand and follow!

But I have had a few people message me and say, “Uhhh . . . why are you reading this book? You’re not heavy. You don’t need to lose weight!” While I appreciate the sentiment, I think this misses the point.  And it’s made me think about my own journey.

(This is long. Sorry, but I’m a storyteller, and this is part of my story.)

Food has never been important to me. I was a picky eater as a kid, and it didn’t improve much as I got older. My mom, a true housewife of the 1970’s, had embraced the convenience food culture, and we rarely saw food that wasn’t pre-packaged or canned or frozen. If it could be made in the microwave, so much the better. I survived on peanut butter and Pop Tarts, mostly, until I went to college, at which point I began to expand my palate. A bit.

But before that happened, I had struggled with an eating disorder while I was in high school. I had never been heavy–okay, I was a chunky baby, and I had a little baby fat until I was four or five. But beyond that, I was pretty average. In high school, though, I had several experiences that caused me to feel out of control in my life, and that resulted in anorexia. I stopped eating, which wasn’t that big a sacrifice anyway. Controlling my weight was a way of controlling my life, or so it seemed.

Happily, I had parents who watched out for me and got me help. I met my husband during my senior year in high school, and he never made me feel anything less than beautiful, smart and fabulous! I eventually had four wonderful children, and even though I gained sixty pounds or more each time, I lost the weight right away. I was almost always on the underweight side of the charts.

To this day, weight is still not my issue. But health is.

I lost both of my parents within a year of each other when they were 63 years old. Both died of blood cancers, even though cancer didn’t run in our family. But it was a wake-up call to me that I needed to be prepared, to keep my body as healthy as possible so that if something happened, if cancer or some other disease struck, I’d be in the best shape to fight it.

We moved to Florida the month after my mother died. We made a whole new circle of friends, and among them were people who had this wild and wacky way of eating. They shared with us their research, their methodology and a way to make it work for us. We embraced whole foods, fruits, veggies . . . crazy things like kefir grains and komboucha. We bought a half a cow to have grass-fed beef. We found out we liked this way of living.

My family has changed its way of eating dramatically over the past eight years. We’ve studied and researched and experimented. We eat as much organic as we can. We prefer vegetables and grass-fed meat. We don’t do processed if we can help it.

We’ve cut back on sugar, replaced much of it with honey–but we haven’t cut it out entirely. And here is one place where Jasinda’s book was another nudge. We know it–but now we need to DO it.

I’ve also noticed that since I’ve become an author, my life is more sedentary. I used to be on my feet almost all the time. Now, I’m at the laptop at least 70% of my day. Exercise happens . . . on occasion. Not as frequently as it should, even though I know how great it makes me feel. I have all the excuses, but I also know the truth. Time to make it happen! (More on THAT next Wednesday!)

 

Monday starts the Wilder Way challenge, and I’m excited. I’ve finished the book, and my family is on board. Some of the changes won’t be that hard for us. Others will be. But we’re doing this as another step on our journey toward better health, taking control of our bodies and choosing a more active way of life.

I’m going to chronicle my journey over these next eight weeks right here, every Wednesday. We’ll call it Wilder Way Wednesday! I’d love to hear if you’re participating, too, and how you’re doing. We’re in this together, right? I’ll be there for you. And I’d love your encouragement!

 

One Week Until Hanging By A Moment Releases!

 

One week!
Seven days!
168 hours!
Yes, I’m literally
HANGING BY A MOMENT
waiting for this release.
Book 2 of the Keeping Score Trilogy
comes out May 24th,
and I can’t wait.
 Amazon/iBooks/Google/Nook/Kobo

So since it’s #TeaserTuesday, I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek.

“Babe, you awake?” Leo’s voice was low and husky, murmuring against my ear.

I snuggled a little closer to him. “Mmmmm. Kind of.” My bedroom was dark except for the faint glow of the streetlight just outside. Tonight, for the first time all week, I hadn’t dropped right off to sleep after I’d laid my head on Leo’s broad chest.

“I talked to my mom a little bit tonight before they all left.” His fingers moved in small circles on my upper arm. “She didn’t push, but she suggested I give you and your mother some space tomorrow.   She said you two need to talk about some stuff and make decisions.”

Panic welled up inside me, and it was on the tip of my tongue to argue. But I knew deep down that Leo couldn’t stay glued to my side forever. We both had to figure out what was going to come next for us, just like my mom and I had to do the same.

“Yeah.” I swallowed hard. “She’s probably right.” I turned a little, resting my chin on Leo’s sternum, staring up into his face. “But don’t go far, okay? I’m not sure I’m ready to go cold turkey on my Leo addiction.”

He brushed his hand over my hair. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll sit in the car outside, just in case you need me.”

I sniffed. “You don’t have to do that. Maybe after breakfast, you could just go home for a little bit.”

“That works.” He crunched up, bending so that his lips could reach the top of my head. “Hey, Mia? We haven’t really talked about anything serious yet. I mean, about us. But I wanted to say this now, before anything goes any further.”

Trepidation gripped my gut. “I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with this.”

“Babe, no.” Leo slid me off him, rolling to lay on his side so that our faces were close together. “Nothing bad. I just wanted to say . . . I love you, Mia. I didn’t say it to you last week. I hoped you understood it, but I thought I better be clear. I love you. I loved you before, and I never stopped.”

I traced his jaw with one finger. “I love you, too, Leo. Still. Always. Forever.”

He released a breath as though he’d been holding it. “Okay. Good.”

I frowned. “Did you doubt that I did? That I do?”

“No, not really.” He nuzzled my neck. “But I wasn’t sure if you were ready to deal with me again. I know you needed me this week, but I was afraid once things started to settle down, you’d think that maybe I wasn’t worth the effort.”

Following my finger with my lips, I kissed his chin. “You’re worth everything, Leo. And I hate that it took my dad—what happened, I mean, to get us back together, but I’m not going to have any regrets anymore. Loving you is part of me, and so are you. I wouldn’t have made it through this week without you.” I paused, enjoying the feel of the late-night scruff on his neck. “That first day, before you got here, I wanted to die, too. It hurt so bad, and I felt like nothing was ever going to be right again. But then you came to me, and I’ll never forget that you were here for me.”

“I always will be.” He tipped up my chin and kissed my lips, softly. “Nothing in my life works without you.”

Want MORE? You can read a sample chapter here . . .

And if you preorder, the full book will show up magically in your ereader next week!

Amazon/iBooks/Google/Nook/Kobo

If you haven’t read WHEN WE WERE US yet, grab it now so you’re ready for next week!

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play/Goodreads

Hanging By A Moment Tease and Giveaway!

 

HANGING BY A MOMENT
releases on May 24th!
Are you ready for the next chapter in
Leo, Quinn and Nate’s story?

If you want a sneak peek–just a little taste!–a sample chapter is here for you to read.

And don’t forget to preorder your copy from Amazon/iBooks/Google/Nook/Kobo.

 

 

 

Have you read WHEN WE WERE US yet? If you did, I’d love for you to review it! You can leave your review on iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play/Goodreads.

 

 

 

And last but certainly not least . . . we have a fun giveaway going on through release day.

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