Lisa Bilbrey's Blog, page 56

COVER REVEAL: Mountain Charm by Sydney Logan

Sydney Logan is revealing the new cover of Mountain Charm. First published in 2013, this second edition has a new cover, new publisher, and new price. Check it out below and be sure to enter the giveaway for an advanced copy!
Title: Mountain CharmAuthor: Sydney LoganGenre: New Adult/Paranormal RomanceCover Designer: T.M. FranklinRelease Day: January 30 “True love and sweet whispers, till death do us part;Send someone to love my Appalachian heart.” At the age of thirteen, Angelina Clark followed in the footsteps of her ancestors by casting an Appalachian love spell, which promised she would find her true love. A young Angelina had been thrilled to participate in the ritual, but through the years, her father’s untimely death and her mother’s illness have shaken Angelina’s magical faith to its core. Now, as her twenty-first birthday approaches, she refuses to practice her supernatural gifts and no longer believes in the love charm. That is, until Dylan Thomas arrives on her front porch. Dylan, a Nashville writer, travels to the mountain town of Maple Ridge to unearth the family’s supernatural secrets. While her clairvoyant mother is convinced that Dylan is her daughter’s soul mate, Angelina refuses to see the nosy reporter as anything more than a nuisance. The two grow closer just as her mother’s health takes a turn for the worse. Faced with mounting medical bills, Angelina is faced with selling the family’s music shop to make ends meet. Desperate to help the woman he loves, Dylan explores his own family tree and finds support from an unlikely source. Can Dylan prove his love is real—spell or no spell?
There are moments in a person’s life that absolutely shake them to their core. Moments that make them re-evaluate their every thought, their every decision. This was Angelina’s moment. Through the mountain mist, she took a long look at the black vehicle parked in her driveway. With Davidson County plates. Nashville. In an instant, the moment was shattered. Her short-lived astonishment gave way to something far more familiar—something bitter and suspicious and just downright pissed. Feeling ridiculous, Angelina furiously slammed her car door and stalked toward the porch. This had nothing to do with that stupid spell. Not at all. This was that snooping reporter from Nashville, and he was at her house, on her porch. And petting her dog. The man’s eyes widened as she approached, and by the time she reached the steps, he was already on his feet. Cash, traitor that he was, gave an unenthusiastic bark and rushed to Angelina’s side. “Who the hell do you think you are?” The man looked a little stunned. “I’m Dylan Thomas.” His eyes were a deep brown and his voice was kind. Thanks to her rage, both features were fairly easy for Angelina to ignore. “You must be Celia’s daughter. Wow, I heard you were beautiful, but—” “Dylan Thomas?” Angelina muttered coldly, interrupting his compliment. “What kind of person names their kid after some drunken Welsh poet?” “I don’t know. Maybe the same kind of person who names their dog after their favorite country music singer.” Angelina’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, Angelina, you’re home!” Celia’s voice cut through the tension as she carried a tray out onto the porch. “I was just getting Mr. Thomas a slice of your birthday cake.” “Mrs. Clark, please. I’ve asked you to call me Dylan.” He smiled at the woman before sitting back down in the rocking chair with his plate. Cash seemed torn, looking between the stranger and his owner, before finally releasing a resigned whine and plopping down at Angelina’s feet. The man has charmed both my mother and my dog. “Dylan has driven all the way from Nashville to meet us,” Celia said. “Dylan is here to write a story about our family. Did he tell you that? Did he tell you he’s been all over town, asking questions about us?” “He mentioned it, yes.” Celia smiled at the man before turning her attention back to her daughter. “You know, it’s getting a bit chilly. I think I’ll go find a good book and crawl into my warm bed. Give you two the chance to get acquainted.” “Mom . . .” Celia’s eyes danced with happiness, and it tugged at Angelina’s heart. There was no mistaking the hope there. Stupid spell. “Happy birthday, Angelina.” Dylan leapt to his feet, thanking Celia again for the cake and holding the screen door open as they said good night. Angelina had to admit the man was good. Those intrinsic good manners were going to charm the pants off many of the women he would encounter throughout his life. But not her. “It’s your birthday?” “Yes, and it was blissfully uneventful until you showed up.” “Beautiful and infuriating,” Dylan muttered. “Look, Angelina, I was just given this assignment yesterday. I don’t have a clue about Appalachian magic tricks or devil worshipping or whatever it is you do up in these mountains, but I have a story to write. Just let me interview you and your mom, and I’ll be back on the interstate before you can say abracadabra.” Instead of pointing out just how ignorant he sounded, Angelina decided what he truly needed was a strong dose of fear. “Actually, I do have something you need to see. A family heirloom. Wait here?” Excited for any useful information, Dylan’s eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. Once again, those good manners kicked in, and Dylan opened the door for her. Angelina raced inside the house. She hadn’t touched it in years, but she still remembered where her father kept the key to the case. She grabbed what she needed and quickly made her way back out to the porch, letting the screen door slam behind her. Dylan jumped out of his chair. “What the hell?” Angelina lifted the rifle and pointed it straight at him. He didn’t need to know the safety was on—or that the chamber was empty. “This is a Remington, passed down from my father and his father, also known as an Appalachian magic wand. Just watch. It’s going to make you disappear.” Angelina thought it was almost comical, hearing him curse and watching him leap off the porch. All the commotion caused her dog to chase after him, which only made Dylan sprint faster until he reached the sanctuary of his vehicle. “Are you insane?” Dylan yelled. “I tend to get a little crazy when someone trespasses on my property. Leave my family alone and don’t come back!” He slammed the door and had to do some fancy maneuvering to get around her car, but within seconds, the only sounds Angelina could hear were Dylan’s squealing tires, Cash’s noisy bark, and her mother’s hearty laughter.
Sydney Logan is the bestselling author of six novels. She has also penned several short stories and is a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul. A lover of music, she fills her playlist with everyone from Johnny Cash to Eminem. Sydney holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and spends her days surrounded by kids and books. A native of East Tennessee, she enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat. Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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#TeaserTuesday: Cover reveal: Hidden Threat by Sherri Hayes

Cover Reveal

Release Date: January 28, 2016Genre: Romantic Suspense
Cali Stanton has one goal in life, being a doctor. She has spent the last two years helping the less fortunate in Africa. It’s a job she loves and intends to do for the foreseeable future. That is until she receives a call from her father saying he’s been injured and needs her back in Chicago. Less than a week later she finds herself behind her father’s desk at Stanton Enterprises, running the family business…something she never wanted to do. But how could she say no to her father when he insists that she is the only one he can trust?

Matthew Andersen and his brother, Jason, have spent the last two years managing security at Stanton Enterprises. However, someone is determined to take down the company and with it its acting CEO, Cali Stanton.

Cali and Matthew must work together to find out who is behind the threats to not only the company but to Cali herself while they fight their growing attraction for each other. Can they figure out the hidden threat before it’s too late?


Excerpt
The phone on the desk buzzed startling her. She placed a calming hand on her chest and pushed the intercom button like Lisa showed her. “Yes?”
“Matthew Andersen is here to see you.” Lisa’s voice came through clear and confident.
“Who?” Cali asked.
“Mr. Andersen. Head of Security.”
Well . . . nothing like jumping in with both feet.
“Send him in.”
Cali stood and straightened her suit jacket. She could do this.
The door opened and a man not much older than her entered the room. He strolled confidently across the room and offered her his hand. The most intriguing blue eyes she’d ever seen stared back at her as she shook his hand.
She cleared her throat as her gaze drifted over his dark hair and broad shoulders. “You must be Mr. Andersen.”
For a moment, she didn’t think he was going to answer. “And you must be Ms. Stanton.”
They stood there for a moment, the air around them felt heavy and charged. She felt warmth rushing to her cheeks and looked away.
Swiping her hand back, she hurried back behind the desk and attempted to collect herself. It didn’t matter that she could still feel the burn of his palm against her skin. Or that the way he seemed to own that suit he was wearing reminded her how long it had been since she’d had a man in her bed. She had a job to do and it didn’t include fooling around with one of her father’s employees.
Cali cleared her throat. “Um . . . why don’t you take a seat, Mr. Andersen?”
He lowered his tall frame into the offered chair.
She retook her own seat and placed both her hands in her lap.
They sat in silence for several moments. He seemed to be assessing her. For what, she had no idea, but Cali wasn’t sure she liked it.
“My father said there were some things you needed to discuss with me.”  She attempted to sound as businesslike as possible.
“Yes.” He paused. “What did Alvin tell you?”
Cali tried not to let his brisk tone bother her. “Not much. Just that he needed someone he could trust running his company right now.” She gathered up her courage and leveled a look at him Cali saved for her most difficult patients. “What’s going on?”
About The Author
Sherri spent most of her childhood detesting English class. It was one of her least favorite subjects because she never seemed to fit into the standard mold. She wasn't good at spelling, or following grammar rules, and outlines made her head spin. For that reason, Sherri never imagined becoming an author.At the age of thirty, all of that changed. After getting frustrated with the direction a television show was taking two of its characters, Sherri decided to try her hand at writing an alternate ending, and give the characters their happily ever after. By the time the story finished, it was one of the top ten read stories on the site, and her readers were encouraging her to write more.Since then Sherri has published several novels, many of which have hit the top 100 in their category on Amazon. Writing has become a creative outlet that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. You can find a current list of all of Sherri’s books and sign up for her monthly newsletter at www.sherrihayesauthor.com. 

Edge of Madness Anthology Blitz Tour

The Edge of Madness - A Thriller & Horror AnthologyRelease Date: March 1, 2016

MARCH MADNESS as you’ve NEVER seen it… 15 COMPLETE NOVELS AND NOVELLAS FROM YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS IN ONE PRETTY PACKAGE. 



Kick off Spring 2016 with a collection of macabre, suspenseful and disturbing thriller/horror stories from around the globe — some of which you might be able to read with the lights off. The rest are going to scare the bejeezus out of you! One thing is guaranteed: once you've read them, you won’t ever be the same! 

A mix of previously-released stories and never-before seen tales, this set holds fifteen new worlds to explore — fifteen incredible experiences to bombard your senses, fifteen sets of characters to love, hate and run from — and who could ask for more? 

The perfect companion for a leisurely weekend of mayhem is at your fingertips — one-click your copy today! 


THIS BOX SET INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING TITLES: 
13 — Julie Elizabeth Powell 
SLOTS — R.E. Hargrave 
SPLIT — Michele E. Gwynn 
NO CALLER ID — Ruby West 
SECRETS ROOM — Kim Faulks 
BLOOD CROW — Cleve Sylcox 
BLOOD IS POWER — Ella Medler 
DUPLICITOUS — Stephanie Nett 
A CRYSTAL SNOWFLAKE — Holly Barbo 
LOST SHADOWS — Julie Elizabeth Powell 
TROPICAL NIGHTMARES — Kelly Cozzone 
DIRTY BUSINESS — Julie Elizabeth Powell 
MY DAYLIGHT MONSTERS — Sarah Dalton 
NORTH BY NORTHEAST — Cherime MacFarlane 
CAPTIVE (Book 1 of A New Life Series) — Samantha Jacobey 

RATED MA 18+ for mature content, V — violence, S — graphic sexual situations, L — vulgar language. Not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. Reader discretion is advised. 

RELEASED by PERMISSION — All works in this box set have been professionally proofed by Paper Gold Publishing, unless this service was expressly refused by the author. Some stories are written in American, some in Australian, and some in British English. The authors have chosen to stay true to their heritage. 
All rights reserved.




Pre-order links:Amazon - KOBO -  http://bit.ly/1UtE8IkiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1068243575B&N - http://ow.ly/VUOrE



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RELEASE TOUR: It Started in Texas by M.B. Feeney

Leaving the familiar comfort of her UK home for a weekend in Texas is one of the craziest things Charlotte Evans has ever done. Celebrating her birthday with friends is the highlight of her year until she bumps into her favorite rock star, literally.Gage Weston is used to having women fall over themselves at his feet … A rock star, an actor, he’s got his fair share of female attention, but what is it about the Brit that grabs his attention from the moment they meet?Communication issues and crossed wires plague them as they try to work out what is going on with them across thousands of miles. Crazy friends and distance issues aside; can a relationship work, or is it a simple case of ‘a girl in every town’?
"Sounds awesome. I better let you get back to your friends. Mine will come hunting soon if I don't hurry back; it’s my turn to buy the drinks." He held out his hand again. "I'm Gage." I almost burst out laughing as I shook his hand, trying to ignore the warm feeling spreading up my arm."Charlotte, it’s nice to meet you.""You too. Sorry I knocked you on your ass, I hope it doesn't bruise." Oh my God, he actually fucking winked at me. Dare I?"Maybe I'll get you to check it later." Over his shoulder, I could see some of the girls goggling at me trying to listen to what was being said. "The troops have come to rescue me. I gotta go." With more than a hint of regret, I withdrew my hand from his once again."Yeah, see ya." He looked over his shoulder at everyone watching us before disappearing into the gents. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the Spanish Inquisition. Walking towards the girls, a huge grin on my face. As soon as I was within grabbing distance, they did just that and frogmarched me back to our table.I was in the middle of my non-story when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I was assaulted by those eyes once more as they looked directly into my own."You dropped your cell phone." Sure enough, in his hand was my mobile. I internally groaned as I remembered the wallpaper was a picture of him from a recent magazine interview that had been posted online."Thanks. I didn't even miss it." Our fingers touched with a sizzle, or so I thought. It could have been the booze."No worries Darlin'. How's the ass?" I saw mouths drop open around me at the blunt and flirtatious question."Its fine thanks. I'll keep my eye on it." My words made him grin again. I could get used to seeing that smile up close some more."Nice job if you can get it." He flashed us all another wide smile and then sauntered back to his band mates. Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads
M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. Currently at university studying for her BA (Hons) in primary teaching, she procrastinates on her assignments by listening to music of all genres and trying to get ‘just one more paragraph’ written on whichever WIP is open. She is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition. Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has multiple projects under way whilst Honour, a compilation of her own military based shorts, was released in November 2013 and her short novel, The One That Got Away was released February 2015. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.  Her main reason for writing is to not only give her readers enjoyment, but also to create a story and characters that stay with readers long after the book is finished, and possibly make someone stop and think “what if...”             magicofbookspromo@gmail.com

12 Days of Book Nerdiness: Day 12 with Lindsey Gray

My family has always been a little ... off. So, our Christmas traditions were off as well. For us, Christmas Eve was the big day. In the evening, we would go to the children’s service at church. I am the middle of three girls so one of us was usually singing in the choir for the service. Afterward, our parents would drive us around looking at Christmas lights. By the time we got home, my mother’s parents and my father’s mother were there enjoying some adult eggnog and talking about their encounter with Santa. Before opening presents, we’d give my Papa Charlie our undivided attention as he went over point by point his conversation with Santa. It was the highlight of the year. We lost our Papa Charlie when I was 14. But every Christmas Eve, I think about all the stories he told and how much we all loved them. It is a memory I will always cherish.


Daniel Digby is cursed by his good looks. After years of sexual harassment, he’s convinced wearing a wedding ring is the answer to fending off unwanted attention.
CiCi Newport is cursed by her family’s money. When men look her way, all they see are dollar signs. After two years, her “no dating” rule is still in place.
After a chance meeting, they’re entwined for the holidays. What starts as attraction might just be the holiday cure they’re looking for.



Two broken hearts embarked on a holiday season in a way they never had before. Divorced.
Mitch had been badly burned by love, but was willing to take a chance . . . with the right woman.
Hannah had lived everyday with the grief love had brought her and followed her everywhere.
Can two hearts find love and heal each other during the most difficult season of the year?



Who knew the girl who spent most of her Saturday nights watching Doctor Who marathons with her best friend would end up becoming a reality television star? Not Emma MacLean.
Emma tried to leave the nerdy girl behind as the Vice President of Operations for billionaire venture capitalist, Terrance Hunt, on the hit show Hunt for Life. When double tragedies occur on the same day, Emma is out of a job, but the cameras and a nation of fans continue to follow her.
Rob "Bobby" Breyer lived and breathed the professional wrestling circuit for five years. Rob happens to be a devoted Hunt for Life fan due to a chance meeting with Emma while in high school. When he reaches out to Emma in her time of crisis, he never imagines how much it will change his life.
After twelve years, their attraction still sizzles and this time, Rob's not letting Emma get away. As the cameras roll, Emma's new career and Rob's quest for glory are in the spotlight. When the heat is on, they'll need all the support they can get from the Nerdy Girl Nation.



Lindsey Gray typed her first complete novel at the age of twelve and dreamed of making her writing into a career. When her eighth grade class wrote a twenty year reunion story, casting her as a mystery novelist, she wasn't sure she could make it a reality. After years of writing off and on, she decided to make a go of it. In December of 2010 she finally made her dream come true with her first published novel, Lies Inside. Five years and thousands of written words later, Lindsey released her seventh published work, Nerdy Girl Nation, in October 2015.
When Lindsey takes a break from writing, she spends time with her husband of thirteen years and their two children, reading all kinds of romance novels, and hosting her own weekly radio show, Gray Matters, on TMV Cafe Internet Radio.

In honor of the release of Episode VII and the importance the series has to the main characters in Lindsey Gray's Nerdy Girl Nation, she is offering a grand prize pack. Answer each question with the correct character name to be entered to win. All the ballots with the correct answers will be entered into a random drawing to pick the winner. Contest ends December 19th, 2015 at 12:01 am CST. Lindsey Gray will contact the winner on December 19th, 2015. Winner must provide valid mailing address to receive prize. Prize includes Star Wars themed toys, socks, and more, plus a paperback copy of Nerdy Girl Nation. Good luck! May the force be with you.






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12 Days of Book Nerdiness: Day 11 with N.J.Cole and S.L. Scott

Senator Maxwell Joseph has it all—money, power and good looks—the trifecta when it comes to attracting the ladies. He even has women willing to be tied up, spanked and fucked all while calling him Daddy, fulfilling his secret fantasy. On the night of his thirty-fifth birthday he finds a goddess waiting for him in his hotel room. She is beautiful, sexy and very willing, yet the fruit she offers is very forbidden. Not only at nineteen is she barely legal, but she is the daughter of his best friend and political advisor.
Mackenzie Wade has had a crush on the senator for years, and when an overheard phone call affords her the opportunity she needs to make her fantasies a reality, she jumps on the chance offering herself as a birthday gift.
Throwing caution to the wind, Max gives in to temptation and gives them both what they have been yearning for—a night filled with ropes, floggers and toe-curling sex. Although satiated, one night of passion wasn’t enough for either of them, and they began a clandestine affair.

The solid ground on which he’d built his career now began to shift as his wants and dreams for the future began to change. In what he can only describe as a landslide, Max hold on tight to the only thing that he can, Kenzie, and goes on the ride of his life, knowing all along that in the end, he may have to make a choice between the woman of his fantasies and his career.


Rebecca Summers enjoys pleasing herself with the curtains open. When a mysterious stranger calls to tell her that he is watching, fantasy becomes reality as she begins to perform for him. Following his instructions over the phone while he watches from afar, she finds herself craving more.
Oliver Durant has always been drawn to humans to exert the dominance and control his kind needs to feel alive. While secretly observing her and calling nightly, he can’t seem to get enough of Rebecca, whom he refers to as butterfly. His urges with her are stronger than the need to dominate, as he is driven to possess her in every way.
Both of their worlds are turned upside down when they finally meet and she agrees to enter into a Dominant/submissive relationship with her Midnight Caller.


Oliver Durant finally feels complete. With his butterfly now wearing his collar, he begins to introduce her to his world, taking her to his BDSM club and introducing her to his family. Things progress rapidly and she feels safe and welcome with them and his species. The longer they are together, the more she starts to become like his kind, offering him hope that he will be able to be with his mate for the rest of his life.
While Rebecca Summers is new to the BDSM lifestyle, she adapts quickly and serves her Master well, giving him everything he asks for. She loves pleasing him and spending time with his family, who has given her the sense of belonging she’s yearned for since her parents’ tragic deaths. She can’t imagine denying Oliver anything, and even asks to undergo the genetic transformation to become one of his species. Days before the event, they are given some news that changes everything.
Can these two find their happily ever after?
Or does fate have other plans?

Calla Moretti married her college sweetheart, Bill. Married life was great at first, but as his career had her dropping out of college and moving away from her family and friends, Calla struggled with her role as a wife and homemaker. Stress, due to infertility and Bill’s affairs, had the marriage on the brink of failure.
When she drives home in the middle of a thunderstorm and spots first a broken down motorcycle, then the sexy rider, she decides to take a chance and offer him assistance. Realizing fate brought her together with a man who could give her the one thing her husband couldn’t—a baby—Calla decides to take a chance.
One romantic night, one big lie, will it save her marriage or fill her heart with more emptiness? Will this be the answer to her prayers? In life, are there truly second chances?

Em Grayson had everything she wanted: the perfect life, the perfect job, nothing to hold her back. Or so she thought until she attended a BDSM convention in Las Vegas that turned her world upside down and had her questioning everything. Approached by an old friend about a business opportunity in Reno, she’s forced to look at her current situation and make life-altering decisions.
Violet Jennings is a quiet submissive who longs for acceptance in her life. She begins to find an inner peace while working as a receptionist in a BDSM club. When she meets the mysterious M, she’s driven by a need to serve more than ever before.
Together, will these two be able to find the happiness that has eluded them? Will the need to dominate and serve be enough? Or will they find more than they were looking for?



Mary Jennings hit rock bottom. A stripper and brand new mother in New York City, she’s offered a reprieve by her sister to move to Reno for a fresh start. Deciding to go for it, her life takes a drastic turn when she offers to help out a friend.
After a car accident leaves Colton bed ridden, a surprising offer of assistance turns into so much more. Driven by his need to dominate, sparks fly in the most unexpected way.
A natural submissive and a professional Dominant—what happens when they spend every waking minute together? Will she be able to resist? Or will she give in to the urge and submit to him completely? Find out in this page turning sequel to Yes, Mistress.



Zachary Russells is one of the hottest, sexiest male celebrities of all time, and he is only twenty-one. In an alternate world where humans are property, Zachary finds himself wanting a companion, and a human pet seems the perfect choice. Much to his surprise, the day Zachary walked into a pet shop to buy his new human pet, he didn't expect rebellion and independence coming from his purchase. In a hot, steamy, sexy, story where dominance is favored in public, submission is a given, and punishment is handed out, can his new pet, Megan, adapt to her new owners wants and needs?
Warning: Intense bondage, aggressive sex, human trafficking.
Bonus: Serving Mistress Quinn by NJ Cole
NJ Cole shows her support for this new author by giving readers a bonus short story. Serving Mistress Quinn is a 6,500 word one shot. Mistress Quinn has been living the life of a vampire for centuries. When she happens upon an older Native American, she plans to torture him, and then have him for lunch. Much to her surprise and pleasure, she learns that he enjoys the pain and the two of them embark on a new journey in which she finds herself having a very willing pet.
Serving Mistress Quinn does contain BDSM and sexual situations, but all relations are consensual.
About N.J. Cole
NJ Cole is a witty, mid-western girl with a kinky side. She works by day and writes by night, all while being a mother to her wonderful boys and serving her Sir. Unlike many of today’s authors, she chooses to write in first person, allowing the readers to experience life through the eyes of the unique characters that live in her head. Her love of those characters and respect for their stories come through loud and clear in her writing.



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Their love burned bright, white hot, and strikingly blue around the edges.
Some thought them careless.
Some thought them crazy.
No one approved.
Taylor Barrett was looking for answers in a universe that had abandoned him.
Jude Boehler flooded her dark world with charisma and mystery, drawing everyone into her hurricane.
It was a most captivating of love affairs. They were shooting stars, meteors in the sky, colliding to create a spectacularly wonderful reckless romance, leaving them breathless and tethered.
Their souls were exposed to the chaos, bare and vulnerable. Can these two star-crossed lovers survive the madness that is life?

About S.L. Scott
S.L. Scott is a former high-tech account manager with a journalism degree pursuing her passion for telling stories. She spends her days escaping into her characters and letting them lead her on their adventures.
Live music shows, harvesting jalapenos and eating homemade guacamole are her obsessions she calls hobbies.
Scott lives in the beautiful Texas hill country of Austin with her husband, two young sons, two Papillons and a bowl full of Sea Monkeys.




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12 Days of Book Nerdiness: Day 10 with Rose B. Mashal and Vanessa Skye

A Muslim Arab Prince with a heavy weight of responsibilities on his shoulders and a young Catholic American woman with a dark, haunted past living inside her heart. Unexpectedly thrust together in a deal of betrayal brokered by her brother, the last thing she imagines when she goes to his wedding in a kingdom far away from her home, is to find out that it's her own wedding, as well. 
A bright, independent CEO struggling to live this new life, where the traditions and rules are too numerous to keep up with, and an attractive, intelligent prince wanting nothing more than for his bride to find the black keys. 
Fate steps in to teach the troubled new princess a few lessons about love, life, understanding and acceptance, while destiny forces the Crown Prince into allowing his beautiful wife to break a rule or two. 
Because when it comes to love, rules blur and traditions fade.

About Rose B. Mashal
Rose is a loved mother, wife, and a stay at home lawyer. Writing is her passion, and reading is her obsession. Music is her best friend and sarcasm is her speaking trend. One of her joys is bringing happiness to others and her biggest wish is that they stay true to one another. Through her stories, she wants to spread nothing except understanding, peace and love.




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While exploring darkness in others, be careful not to expose your own.
That's what Chicago detective Alicia Raymond discovers when she's assigned to investigate the torture and murder of a middle-aged trucker. Better known as Berg, Alicia is forced to confront her darkness: her obsessive need to track down killers; her increasing craving for violence; her potentially devastating feelings for her partner.
When she finds herself sympathizing with a sadistic killer exacting revenge for a decades-old crime, she realizes the most dangerous secret of all might just be her own state of mind. As Berg’s carefully constructed life falls apart, she faces a choice: surrender to the evil inside or finally acknowledge the brutal past she would rather bury.

The Enemy Inside is the first in the Edge of Darkness series, which challenges the concept of justice, asks if vengeance sometimes justifies murder, and explores whether you can ever heal from a broken past.

Excerpt from The Enemy Inside
The eighteen-wheeler’s headlights cut a path through the murky darkness, illuminating the outbound Chicago highway in a ghostly glow, its rumbling engine the only sound in an otherwise silent night. Shifting in his sticky seat, the driver twitched and spat through the open window. It was well after midnight. He had been on the road for almost twenty-four hours straight, hadn’t slept for forty-eight, and was feeling stretched to the very end of his last frayed nerve.He realized he should have stopped and had a break or a coffee before getting back on the tollway and heading out of the city, but it was too late now. The tollway was close to deserted as he sped west, the sprawl of suburbia thinning and being replaced by swathes of protected forests, expensive houses, and semi-rural property. There was nothing else for him to do but drive all night to northern Wisconsin, where another load and a lucrative payday awaited him. The highway was dull, the same as every other road he’d driven on over the last thirty years. He felt like his life was playing on some kind of endless, tortured loop. His was a lonely existence, punctuated by the odd burst of static on his CB radio and the occasional disembodied conversation with other drivers.He shifted again and looked at the clock stuck to his dash. 2:00 a.m. He was ahead of schedule, thanks to some homemade stimulants and a lack of rest, and again considered pulling over to get some food or maybe a few hours of sleep in his cab. While sleep sounded like something he should get, his cock throbbed, reminding him of other, more urgent priorities. He needed a woman. Any woman.He wasn’t an attractive man. He was heavyset, hairy, and balding with an array of amateur prison tattoos covering his body. Few women were willing to spread their legs for him. The only satisfaction he got was from the occasional truck stop lot lizard or cheap hooker when he loaded or unloaded in a city. As the joyless decades passed, his need for more violent satisfaction had grown, and he had enjoyed himself immensely with a drug-addicted hooker last month. His erection strained painfully against his jeans as he savored the memory of the encounter: her shrieks of pain, thick, red blood mixed with slippery tears, and the muffled thuds of his fists striking soft, pliable flesh. The memory excited him so much he thought he might explode right there in the cab. He needed to feel some battered flesh writhing under him again—and soon.He grunted, then hocked up phlegm from deep in his throat and spat again. His personally manufactured stimulants had several unpleasant side effects, the main ones being an increase in libido, a frustrating lack of sensation, and a disgusting chemical taste in the back of his throat he could never get rid of. The truck’s lights illuminated unexpected movement far ahead on the tollway shoulder. He forgot his desire for a moment as he shifted forward in his seat to get a better look at the solitary figure walking on the side of the highway.He shifted down a gear, and the old air brakes hissed in protest as his lights settled on a petite woman with frizzy blond hair, her arm outstretched in the universal hitchhiker’s salute. A gift from God. He pulled alongside her.Weighing perhaps one hundred pounds soaking wet, she opened the cab door and hauled herself and a small purse into the truck. She must really need a ride. I only get the desperate ones or the ug-os that no one else will pick up. He was excited to see she was pretty in an almost familiar kind of way, as if he had seen her before in a movie or on television. She had light blue eyes and distinctive tight, blond curls. He absentmindedly wondered if the carpet would match the drapes, and couldn’t wait to find out. She looked exhausted, as if she’d been walking for a while. “Thanks,” she said softly, flashing him a forced, nervous smile while she settled in the passenger seat. She quickly pulled across the frayed seatbelt and clicked it into place. A safety-conscious hitchhiker? That’s a new one. “No problem,” he replied. She clutched her bag to her chest like a life preserver.As he eased the rig back out onto the highway, he smiled to himself. This’ll be easy.
Chapter One
“Are you prepared to be happy, Berg?” Detective Inspector Jay O’Loughlin asked his partner, as he rushed into the dirty, overcrowded Chicago squad room. Berg, in the middle of massaging her temples, looked up from her desk and brushed her long, wavy dark hair behind one ear. Buried deep in mounds of endless paperwork, the offer of a distraction sounded good. Her chair creaked as she stood to stretch and smoothed the wrinkles out of her suit skirt.“How happy?" she asked. “Happy like I just found a great pair of Manolos in a half-off bin, or happy like I hit a moving target at two hundred yards?”Jay flashed her one of his trademark, sexy smiles. “Berg, I know target practice is your idea of heaven, but I’m talking happy like I’ve just had the best sex of my life and she voluntarily goes home afterward.”“Wow, Jay. In your world that’s pretty fucking happy.” She walked out of the squad room and he followed. “So, where are we headed?” she asked, turning back and catching Jay’s lingering stare on her lower legs.“What? Oh, to the morgue.”“Gee, the morgue. Yay.” She stopped to face him. “I fail to see how that is going to make me happy.”“You’ll see,” he replied with a glint in his cobalt blue eyes. “Think of it as an early Halloween treat.”They walked down the corridor in a comfortable silence, pausing to press the call button for the elevator. Berg, formally known as Detective Alicia Raymond, leaned against the wall and studied Jay. They had been partners for two years in the newest section of the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Investigative Services, the Special Crimes Unit. Jay was one of the best cops in the district, and she enjoyed working with him, his constant need to check her out notwithstanding. He was tall—one of the few men in the station taller than she was—and handsome in that naughty Irish way, with blue eyes, an easy smile, and wavy, dark brown hair that was a shade or two lighter than her own. His only bad quality was that he’d slept with nearly every woman in a two-mile radius, both in and out of their district. There had been some station talk, early in their partnership, of a marriage fifteen years ago when Jay was a young cadet. But he point-blank refused to acknowledge whether the rumor was even true the one time Berg had mustered up the courage to ask. They never discussed the subject again. Since then, Berg had lost count of Jay’s conquests. Still, while everyone knows he’ll fuck anything that moves, it doesn’t stop the women flocking to him like bees to honey. Berg shrugged.The elevator arrived and they stepped back to let a young female officer get out. She pushed between them, pausing only long enough to direct a malevolent glare at Jay before stalking off.Berg laughed. “If looks could kill, you’d be dead a thousand times over. Don’t you ever get tired of picking up young officers, then discarding them like used tissue and spending the rest of your life avoiding their hatred?” Berg grimaced at her partner as he raised an eyebrow in response to her question. “You needn’t look so smug.”“Seen her naked. So worth the death glares,” he said with a grin.Despite her disapproval, Berg couldn’t help but smile as she contemplated his general appeal. Jay was impossible to dislike. Men and women were equally drawn to him for his easygoing character and self-deprecating laugh. A well-connected, third-generation cop, he was dedicated to his job and solved more than his fair share of cases with diligent work and deadly charm. “You need to become familiar with the phrase don’t crap where you eat,” she said.He chuckled. “Maybe if you ever had sex, you’d understand. There’s no need to live up to your nickname all the time, Iceberg. You need a good humping.”Berg gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. “You volunteering?”Jay stepped back and raised his hands in surrender. “Hell no! I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re great to look at and all, and I’m damn sure the sex would be great, but I saw what you did to that veteran cop a couple of years back after he dared to pat you on the ass. You barely moved and the guy was on the ground faster than kids in an earthquake drill. What was that, kung fu?”Berg raised an eyebrow. “Karate.”Jay took another step back. “Yeah, well, whatever it was, I don’t plan on being on the receiving end of it, nice as the view may be.” He slowly raked his eyes down from her face to her body, lingering on her chest before looking away.“We’ve been partners for two years—do you think you could keep the staring to a minimum?” She glared at him.Jay winked. “I’ll work on it.”They approached the morgue, barged through the two-way doors, and walked into the cold, sterile silence. Jay crossed the white linoleum room with a few strides and pulled open a metal refrigerator drawer. “Ta-da!” He made an exaggerated flourish, sliding out a body covered with a sheet. “One dead scumbag.” He waved toward the covered body like a manic The Price is Right model.Berg looked dubious as she wrinkled her nose and lifted the white sheet to view the corpse. “A dead fat guy? You better have something more for me than some dead scumbag, Jay. I got up from my desk for this.”“What if he was a serial scumbag?”Berg arched an eyebrow. “How serial?”“Like the guy responsible for the missing hitchhikers?”Berg’s heart lurched. They’d been working on the missing hitchhikers for six months. During a routine review of missing persons’ files, Berg had noticed an anomaly—five local women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one had gone missing over the past two years without a trace. Missing persons were not all that uncommon; most eventually turned up locally or out-of-state, but these women had simply disappeared. There had been something about the victims that got to her, so Berg dug a little deeper, talking to any available friends and family between working her regular cases. She had discovered that all the women were known hitchhikers. While many had come from broken families, they had no criminal record and no reason to disappear into the ether without a word to anyone. Curiosity piqued, she had taken some DNA from the missing women’s personal items and family members. Then came a stroke of luck. During a CODIS, or a Combined DNA Index System, comparison between the Missing Persons’ Index and the Unidentified Persons’ Index, she’d gotten a match. Decomposed remains matching the DNA of one victim, Amelia Smith, had been found.Then the trail went cold—no more witnesses and no new leads. Nothing. While her hunches had generally panned out, with no hard evidence connecting the victims to each other or yielding a major breakthrough in the case, Berg had hit a wall. It was the most frustrating and mysterious case she had ever worked on. She had come up with squat beyond the one match, and she had to wonder if she’d seen patterns where there were none. “You wouldn’t tease a girl, would you?” she asked Jay, now interested in the body.Jay laughed. “I sure would, but not you, Berg. Name’s Danny Taylor, fifty-five, independent trucker based out of the city. The body was discovered three days ago, five miles from his truck on the tollway, near the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve. He had been tortured and dumped.”Berg rubbed her arms free of the goose bumps that were emerging due to the frigid air drifting out of the open refrigerator drawer. “What does the ME list as cause of death?”Jay looked through the medical examiner’s report. “Not sure yet, but the ME thinks shock or loss of blood. Hard to ascertain with so many injuries.” He nodded toward the man. Berg studied the body critically. It was mottled with bruises, stab marks, and deep gaping wounds. Ligature furrows on his hands and wrists, combined with his blue fingers and toes, indicated he’d been tied up for a good length of time prior to death. “Of course,” Jay said with a grimace, “he may have willed himself to die once his dick was cut off.”Berg lifted the sheet a little higher and looked down to the ragged, gaping wound where the man’s penis should have been. “Ouch. Removed pre or post mortem?”“The ME agrees it was done before he died, judging by the surrounding tissue trauma.” Jay said, looking vaguely ill. “Anyway, ME says there’s a lot more undeveloped bruising under those ugly tats, as well other injuries, so cause of death is still to be determined. We’ll know more tomorrow.”“Okay, all this is kinda interesting in a gross way, but I’m hearing nothing from you about why you think he’s responsible for my girls,” Berg said, impatient. “Because we found a lovely hair belonging to Melissa Shipper on him.”
About Vanessa Skye
Vanessa Skye has always had a love of words and spent her school years writing poetry, speeches and fictional essays.After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Print Journalism and studying Psychology at Charles Sturt University, Vanessa got a job at Rural Press—Australia's largest publisher of regional and agricultural news and information—where she worked as a journalist in the Central West of NSW for four years.Thousands of stories later, Vanessa decided to move back to Sydney and try her hand at public relations while studying a Master of Arts in Communication.Skip forward a few years and Vanessa once again found herself joyfully studying various psychology subjects while managing a Sydney public relations firm. Enthralled with examining the motivations behind people’s actions, Vanessa realized what she really wanted to do in life was combine her love of words with her fascination for human behavior.So Vanessa quit public relations to begin the significantly more impoverished life of a professional writer.Inspired by a recurring dream, Vanessa wrote her crime fiction debut, The Enemy Inside , which challenges the concept of justice, asks if the need for vengeance sometimes justifies murder, and explores whether you can ever heal from childhood abuse. The second book in this Edge of Darkness series, Broken, soon followed. The third and final book in this series, Bloodlines, will be released on January 15, 2015. Vanessa’s first paranormal romance book, Koven, will be released in May 2015, as will an erotic thriller, Evidence.In her spare time, Vanessa wrote a short story, The Piece, which was published in February 2012 by Dark Prints Press as a part of the One That Got Away dark fiction anthology.Vanessa now works as a full time writer, lives in Sydney’s northern beaches and tries to immerse herself in salt water at least once a day.
You can find out more at www.vanessa-skye.com


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#TeaserTuesday ~ Exquisite Christmas by 21 Exquisite Quills Authors

  When romance writers give love stories to the world, we do more than entertain – we share our hope for something better. These imaginative moments of happy-ever-after warm the soul and ripple outward. The world needs more love, and every bit helps. We hope you enjoy this collection of heartwarming seasonal tales and delicious recipes by twenty-one Bestselling, Award-winning, and Multi-Published Authors from the international Exquisite Quills community: Victoria Adams, Rose Anderson, E. Ayers, Beverley Bateman, Lily Bishop, Barb Caffrey, Helena Fairfax, J.D. Faver, Jennifer Garcia, Romy Gemmell, Vonnie Hughs, Susan Jaymes, Gemma Juliana, Jean Lamb, Lyndi Lamont, Zanna Mackenzie, Janis Susan May, Dee Ann Palmer, Jane Leopold Quinn, Kaye Spencer, and M. S. Spencer. Happy Holidays! Every night, as my daddy taught me, I kneeled by my bed and said my prayers. But tonight, I wanted ask for something. “Now I lay me down to sleep … I pray the Lord my soul to take. Oh, please bring me a mommy. Amen” “Come on, Frankie. It’s time to go to the park,” my dad yelled from downstairs. “I’m coming, Dad.” Wearing my play clothes, a long purple shirt and black leggings, I slid my feet into my shoes and ran down the stairs. I loved the noise it made, like a herd of elephants, as my dad would say, but I always pictured horses. One last bang rang out, as I jumped off the last step and landed on my two feet. I turned the corner to see my dad at the door with our two Cane Corso dogs, Dante and Beatrice. Dad named them after some epic poem, whatever that was. Our dogs were special, though. They were blue, well, they looked grey to me, and their hair was short and thick. I loved running my fingers through it, trying to make it stick up. They came from Italy, some sort of mastiff. I didn’t know, really, all I knew was they were big, real big and strong. But we trained them so well that they listened to all of their commands. Dad always let me hold Dante, and I held the leash loosely in my hand, while he healed on my left. He’d stay there, following my every move until I gave him the “free dog” command. Our walk to the park was quick and when we got there I could tell the grass had been just cut. The strong smell hit my nose. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. “Alright, you all go play, and I’ll be right here on my bench, okay?” “Yes, Daddy.” I unclicked their leashes and wrapped them around my waist, like belts, and threw the ball for the dogs.   Jennifer Garcia's love of travel began when she went to the West Coast to visit her father at the age of three. Her home until she was sixteen was a small coastal town near Boston. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Her lifelong love for reading and writing was put aside for many years while she made her way in the world and nurtured her young family. Even though she is older, and life never seems to settle, she's finding her way. Believing she can do it all, with the help of her family, she worked on her first novel during the late hours of the night while balancing the rest of her life during the day. Jennifer believes in writing love stories that connect families and touch hearts.

12 Days of Book Nerdiness: Day 9 with Michelle Birbeck

Michelle’s Christmas traditions

Christmas is a quiet event in our house. Mainly because the only person there is my cat, Loki. The rest of us can be found around the corner at the parents, enjoying turkey, ham, veggies, and mounds of mash, as well as prezzies, drinks, and after dinner games. There is one thing that is a given every year, however, and that is socks. We all get them. From fluffy ones to thermal ones to ones covered in frogs, every year we have socks. And we all love it.
“We all lose, son. Either I’ll be in there tonight, or I’ll end up there as one of them when I’m dead.”
When the dead first rose, the world thought they could just kill them. But they only return to their graves with bellies full of flesh and more dead littering the ground. Out of desperation the zombie lottery was born.
One night a year, the dead rise, and every adult gets their name entered into the lottery. No matter their ability, health, or status. The winners are herded to cemeteries and only one will come out alive, but all pray for the scientists working around the clock to find the answer before the killing is done.


About Michelle Birbeck
Michelle has been writing and reading her whole life. Her earliest memory of books was when she was five and decided to try and teach her fish how to read, by putting her Beatrix Potter books in the fish tank with them. Since then her love of books has grown, and now she is writing her own, and looking forward to seeing them on her shelves, though they won’t be going anywhere near the fish tank.








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12 Days of Book Nerdiness: Day 8 with Jeanne McDonald

Jeanne’s Holiday Tradition

Christmas in the McDonald home is always a magical time of the year. Starting on Thanksgiving, we put up the tree and pull out the Christmas movies. The house is decorated in festive holiday fashion. I love playing Christmas music while cooking and for some reason I bake more during this time of the year. Come Christmas Eve, my son is allowed to open one present. It was something my parents did for me as a child and I've passed it on with my family. Then, I start my cooking for the feast of Christmas. On Christmas morning, the house is filled with Christmas cheer. Presents are opened. Friend and family come to dinner, and we all share in the joys of the season. This is absolutely my most favorite time of the year. Not because of the gifts, but because of the atmosphere. I love the joy this season brings. There a sense of "A New Hope" in the air at Christmas.  ((see what I did there...haha! Nerdy girl Christmas joke!))  All in all, Christmas is magic and as Harry Potter once said, "I love magic."


As teenagers, time is infinite and love is made of fairy tales and caramel corn.  For Alexis York and Ryan Fisher, their friendship was the cornerstone of who they were.  In the wake of a family tragedy, that friendship was torn apart by time and distance.  Unrequited love was never reciprocated, and two lives that were once intertwined, now moved on different trajectories.
Fifteen years later, these two friends are given a second chance to correct the mistakes of the past.  With one flight, a new home, and a little help from a tiny red compass, Alexis and Ryan are reunited, setting them back on the same course.  Together, they find themselves on a journey of rediscovery, friendship, hope, and love.
Yet, when the harsh realities of life threaten to tear them apart for good, will Alexis and Ryan lose all hope of a happily ever after? Or will the childhood promises of forever lead these two hearts through impossible odds and back into each other's arms?
"You're my compass. My one true north."


About Jeanne McDonald

 Jeanne McDonald is an author, a mother, a wife, a student of knowledge and of life, a coffee addict, a philosophy novice, a pop culture connoisseur, inspired by music, encouraged by words, and a believer in true love.  When she's not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, enjoying a great film, chatting with friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in literature.  A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family.
Author links: -- website: http://jeannemcdonald.com/-- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jeanne.M.McDonald/ -- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanneMcDonald_



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