Casey Dawes's Blog, page 16
October 8, 2014
Review: Prima Donna by Laura Drewry
Prima Donna
By: Laura Drewry
Releasing September 23rd, 2014
Loveswept
Blurb
In USA Today bestselling author Laura Drewry’s witty, sizzling, and tender romance for readers of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery, a woman who can’t slow down discovers that the perfect guy is in hot pursuit.
Even when her hair salon goes under and she’s on the brink of breaking, Regan Burke keeps her “I’m just fine” attitude. She’s had a tough life, coping with a difficult family and keeping her act together . . . barely. Right now, she just needs a job, any job, so she can pay her mother’s medical bills. It’s the exact wrong time for Carter Scott to come into her life—and to be so damn sexy, so distracting, and so determined to get close.
Carter isn’t looking for anything serious—his heart belongs to the kids who depend on his pediatric practice—but something about Regan makes him reconsider. Maybe it’s the scars she hides so well, the secrets she can’t share. Carter knows all about that kind of pain, and he wants to help. But offering Regan a job in his office only makes things worse, even if their chemistry is off the charts. Lucky for them both, Carter isn’t about to let go of love without a fight.
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/07/prima-donna-by-laura-drewry.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20945514-prima-donna?from_search=true
Buy Links
Amazon
| Barnes & Noble | iTunes
My Thoughts
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to finish the book due to time constraints … but what I have read so far I really love. The characters are realistic, stuck from moving forward by events or perceptions from the past. I can’t wait to see if they can break free from their past!
About Laura
Laura Drewry
Laura Drewry had been scribbling things for years before she decided to seriously sit down and write. After spending eight years in the Canadian north, Laura now lives back home in southwestern British Columbia with her husband, three sons, a turtle named Sheldon, and an extremely energetic German shepherd. She loves old tattered books, good movies, country music, and the New York Yankees.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
September 22, 2014
Review: Mercy by B.J. Daniels
MERCY
by B.J. DANIELS
Harlequin; August 26, 2014
352 pages; $7.99 U.S./ $8.99 CAN.
ISBN-978-0-373-77895-9MERCY
Blurb
In Mercy the hunt for a killer leads to a battle between justice and desire.
For U.S. marshal Rourke Kincaid, there’s the law…and then there’s his law. When the two don’t agree, he always trusts his instincts. A killing spree has gripped the Northwest, showing a strange connection that only he sees, and now the old rules of justice no longer apply. Forced to turn rogue, he goes deep undercover to track his mysterious female suspect to a quiet, unassuming café in the wild, isolated mountains of Beartooth, Montana.
But encountering Callie Westfield complicates his mission in ways he never expected. As suspicious as she seems, her fragile beauty and sexy charm get to Rourke. Then the gory crimes begin anew. With his heart suddenly at war with his instincts, he has only two options. Either turn Callie over to the law, or put everything—including his badge and his life—on the line to protect her.
Buy Links
My Thoughts
Fast-paced read that returns the reader to the fictional town of Beartooth, Montana. This time a maverick marshal from Seattle is on the hunt for a serial killer. The suspect is a waitress from Beartooth, but the marshal finds he has a soft spot for her. Both the marshal and the waitress are sympathetic characters, but Daniels keeps you guessing most of the way through the book. Is the waitress really the killer? Or is she a victim? I’d recommend and eagerly await the next in the series.
B.J. is a fellow member of Montana Romance Writers. Great job, B.J.!
Excerpt
CHAPTER NINE
There was no traffic on the two-lane north of Big Timber at this time of the night. Laura wasn’t that worried about deer on the highway either. There was an almost full moon that turned the landscape silver. After driving in Seattle for so many years with traffic at all hours, day or night, this was a treat.
She hadn’t been back to Montana since her mother had awakened her in the middle of the night and rushed her downstairs to an old pickup waiting just outside. She’d never seen the man behind the wheel before or since. She just remembered her mother paying him when they reached the bus station in some distant town. Most of her life she hadn’t known even the name of the town where they’d moved to before her mother lost her job and they had to move again.
That time, when she’d awakened, they were in Michigan. When she asked what was going on, her mother told her they were making a new start and she was never to mention the past again.
Tonight Rourke had been surprised to hear not only that her mother was alive, but also living nearby in a small Montana town. She shouldn’t be angry with him for knowing so little about her. When he’d first asked about her family, she’d let him think her mother was dead. She’d made the mistake of mentioning her sister, Catherine, only once, but Rourke hadn’t forgotten. He’d asked if she was coming for a visit.
What he didn’t know was that she hated her sister’s visits. They were only once a year, fortunately. She couldn’t keep Catherine away longer.
She never talked about her family. Nor did she tell anyone else. She’d put that life behind her years ago. But she especially didn’t want Rourke knowing. The last thing she wanted was his pity.
Given that she knew everything about him, it did seem unfair that he knew nothing about her. He’d been raised on a ranch in Wyoming. When his parents had re-tired, they’d sold the ranch and left him enough money that he never had to work. When his parents were killed in a small-plane crash, he’d already graduated from college, been working in law enforcement and had finally crossed her path at the Seattle P.D.
If she was honest with herself, she’d always believed that fate had thrown the two of them together. Seeing him again had made her realize that she’d always thought that someday they would be a couple. She knew it was crazy and certainly the feeling was all on her side. Rourke had never had an interest in her other than as a cop. Why she’d thought that would change, she had no idea.
It didn’t keep it from hurting, though. Her psychiatrist insisted that if she told Rourke how she felt, she would finally be able to move past it.
Well, the best she could do now was to try to keep him alive, she thought as she came over a hill and saw the rotating white blades of the Judith Gap wind farm in the distance.
Closer, she could see the lights of Harlowton, Montana, ahead. All her misgivings about coming here hit her in a rush. For all she knew, her mother was already dead, taking her secrets with her.
Laura’s foot came up off the accelerator. It wasn’t too late to turn around. Or she could get a motel in town and get out of here tomorrow.
She felt that old tightening in her stomach at even the thought of seeing her mother.
She didn’t want to be here. What was the point in digging up all those bad memories?
Ahead, she saw the highway sign. Turn around or drive into the heart of the small Montana town to her mother’s house, where she couldn’t even conceive what might be waiting for her?
Rourke hadn’t been able to sleep after Laura left. He’d traveled light to Montana, so it hadn’t taken long to get settled into the cabin. The fall night was still warm, although there was talk of an early winter storm coming in later in the week.
Restless, he stepped out on the cabin porch into the moonlit night. Laura’s visit had left him shaken. So much of what she’d said made sense. So why did all his instincts tell him she was wrong?
Knowing he wasn’t going to get any sleep, he decided to go for a walk. As he headed down the mountain into town, he looked at the small western community. The old buildings shone in the moonlight. The café was closed, had been for hours. Nor were there any lights in the apartment over it. Callie would be asleep like the other few residents who actually lived in and around Beartooth. Even the Range Rider bar was closed, al-though several pickups were still parked out front.
Some of the cowboys must have hitched a ride home rather than drive.
As he was headed back up the main drag, he heard an engine start up. A moment later, the glow of headlights poured out onto the two-lane highway that was Beartooth’s main street.
Without thinking, he stepped back into the shadows as the old pickup turned in his direction. He stayed pressed against one of the old building’s stone walls as the driver passed.
Callie. He recognized her in the glow of her dash lights. Her hair was down, skimming her shoulders, her face pale in the dim light.
Rourke cursed himself for being without his own vehicle as he checked the time on his cell phone. Where was the woman going at a quarter after three in the morning?
Stepping out of his hiding place, he watched her taillights grow dimmer and thought about Laura’s conviction that Callie was the killer he’d come looking for.
She touched her brakes at the end of town near the old gas station and garage. Turning, she headed back toward the Crazy Mountains.
Where did that road go? He didn’t know, but he planned to find out. Just as he would find out who she was going to meet in the wee hours of the morning up the mountain road.
He ran back to the cabin, jumped into his rented SUV and took off down the road in the direction Callie had gone. He kept thinking about the first time he’d seen her. His reaction still surprised him. Was Laura right? Was he obsessed with this woman and had been since he’d seen her face in a crime-scene photo?
If he was being honest, he’d had a theory since the first time he’d seen her image and realized she’d been at three crime scenes. He’d never thought she was a co-killer. But she was connected to the murders be- cause she knew who the killer was. Why she hadn’t come forward…well, he didn’t know. Like he said, it was just a theory.
He couldn’t explain it, even to himself. Just this gut feeling… He hadn’t shared his theory with Laura for obvious reasons. She had made it clear how she felt. Both of their reasonings seemed clouded by their own personal feelings. Laura really believed he was falling for this woman.
He shook his head at the thought as he drove. He’d always trusted his instincts. But at the back of his mind was an inkling of worry that he was wrong. Dead wrong.
Rourke reminded himself of what was at stake as he turned and headed back into the Crazies, as the locals called the mountains that shadowed the town of Beartooth. The gravel road narrowed quickly, turning to dirt. He had to slow down. When he came to a fork in the road, he stopped, unsure which route she would have taken since he didn’t know the area.
He tried the road to the right since it appeared to go deeper into the thickest wooded side of the mountains, but a few miles up the 4×4 trail, he finally had to turn around. The area was a honeycomb of old logging roads. She could have taken any one of them.
As he drove back to his cabin, he realized he wasn’t so sure about his theory anymore. Laura could be right. That sweet-faced woman who haunted his dreams could very well be a serial killer who, since it was al- most October, was now looking for her next victim.
Or she could be somewhere in those mountains with the man who did her killing for her. In that case, who had she already chosen for her next victim.
About B.J. Daniels
B.J. DANIELS, a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author, wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of 37 published short stories. That first book, ODD MAN OUT, received a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times magazine and went on to be nominated for Best Intrigue for that year. Since then she has won numerous awards including a career achievement award for romantic suspense and numerous nominations and awards for best book. Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and two Springer Spaniels, Spot and Jem. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance Writers of America.
September 15, 2014
California Sunset Part of Crimson Romance 99 Cent Bundle!
The first book of my California Romance Series, California Sunset, is part of the Crimson Romance Love in a Small Town Bundle–available Sept. 15 for only 99 cents!
The story has elements from Montana and California.
“a very easy, enjoyable read,” Soleful Reader.
This is a great way to get started with some new romance authors, writing the stories you love to read, at a reasonable price! To thank you for stopping by, I’m offering a contest to win the next three books in the series!
Blurb of California Sunset
Divorced mother Annie Gerhard meets rugged new bookstore owner John Johnson at the worst possible time in her life. Her high tech company is threatening to lay her off if she doesn’t move from California to New Jersey and her 15-year-old son David is causing trouble. The recession has hit Silicon Valley hard and there are no jobs for a middle manager, even if she hates what she does. And this is no time for romance, no matter how good the man looks in his jeans.
John has escaped Montana memories of a deceased wife and betraying girlfriend by buying an independent bookstore in California. He’s got bigger problems than falling for a spunky woman with control issues. Keeping a bookstore afloat in a recession and finding a home where he can stable his horse are all he can handle right now.
Unless . . .
John and Annie must both face their pasts in order to greet the future. Can they risk it?
Buy Links
Amazon
| Crimson Romance | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo
Facing Your Past
Most of us have things in our past we’d rather forget about–things we’ve done, or things we’ve had done to us. Sometimes it’s beliefs we’ve had stuffed in our heads–we’re not good enough, or we’re not artistic. These things can keep us trapped from moving forward to the more beautiful times in our lives.
It took me a long time to realize I thought I was unlovable. That unconscious belief kept me trapped in bad marriages and jobs I didn’t like until I faced it head on. The result? I’m living with my DH on the banks of the Clark Fork River in Montana and writing stories about love.
How about you? Did you ever face something in your past and have results that blew you away? Leave a comment to get five points in the contest!
September 9, 2014
Cover Reveal: Montana Actually by Fiona Lowe
Montana Actually
Medicine River # 1
By: Fiona Lowe
Releasing January 6th, 2015
Berkeley / Penguin
Blurb
A big-city doctor in a small-town Montana practice….A former nurse who has sworn off doctors forever….The scene is set for passions to ignite in Big Sky Country. For readers of Robyn Carr and Sherryl Woods.
City doctor Josh Stanton and his sports car don’t suit the country, but with his medical school debt about to bury him, Josh has to make the best out of a bad situation. Adjusting to his new job and life in the middle of nowhere isn’t easy, but at least the views of the mountains—and one distractingly attractive local—are stunning…
After eight years away, Katrina McCade is back in Bear Paw for a break from her life, bad choices—and men. But when a broad-shouldered stranger bursts into town, she finds herself unexpectedly saddled with the town’s sexy new doctor as a tenant. Katrina doesn’t need a man to make her happy, especially a disgruntled physician. But try telling her body that…
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/07/montana-actually-medicine-river-1-by.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22401470-montana-actually?from_search=true
Buy Links
Amazon
| Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Google Play | Berkeley-Penguin
About Fiona
Fiona Lowe is a RITA® and R*BY award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin , Carina Press and, Berkley USA. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she’s not writing stories, she’s a weekend wife, mother of two ‘ginger’ teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes, slave to a cat and often found collapsed on the couch with wine.
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter
September 3, 2014
Release Blast: Texas Twist by Cynthia D’Alba
Texas Twist
Texas Montgomery Mavericks # 4
By: Cynthia D’Alba
Releasing September 2nd, 2014
Samhain Publishing
Blurb
Real bad boys can grow up to be real good men.
Hit hard by the death of her parents, Paige Ryan needs to figure out what to do with her life. She moves to Whispering Springs, Texas, to be near her step-brother. But just as she starts to get her life on track, the last man she ever wanted to see again sends it right back off the rails.
Cash Montgomery was on the cusp of having it all. Three bull riding titles, fame, fortune and respect from his family. Until a bad bull leaves him injured, angry and searching for comfort at the bottom of a bottle. With nowhere to go, he moves into his sister-in-law’s old ranch house in Whispering Springs—which he’s surprised to find already occupied.
As Cash rebuilds the dilapidated home and Paige starts out on her medical career, their old friendship begins to reemerge and sparks are ignited. Paige knows that Cash is nothing but a heartache waiting to happen. But maybe this bad boy has grown up to be a real good man?
Warning: Watch out for falling lumber, falling in holes, and falling for the wrong guy…again. You can leave your hard hat on.
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/06/texas-twist-by-cynthia-d-alba-texas.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22272747-texas-twist?from_search=true
Buy Links
Amazon
| Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Samhain
About Cynthia
Award winning author Cynthia D’Alba was born and raised in Arkansas. After being gone for seventeen years, she’s thrilled to be back home living on the banks of an eight-thousand acre lake. When she’s not reading, writing or plotting, she’s doorman for her two dogs, cook, housekeeper and chief bottle washer for her husband and slave to a noisy, messy parrot. She loves to chat online with friends and fans.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
August 28, 2014
Review: What I Love about You by Rachel Gibson
by Rachel Gibson
Releasing August 26, 2014
Blurb
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Gibson returns to Truly, Idaho, and to the fate of sexy SEAL Blake Junger
GIMMEE A B-R-E-A-K!
Ex-high school cheerleader Natalie Cooper could once shake her pom-poms with the best of them. But she’s paid for all that popularity—her husband’s run off with what’s left of their money and a twenty-year-old bimbo named Tiffany. Leaving Natalie to manage a photo store and having to see some pictures she, well, really shouldn’t.
GIMMEE A S-H-O-T!
Then she comes toe-to-manly chest with Blake Junger. Exiled to a remote cabin in Truly, Idaho, Blake wants nothing to do with anyone. Instead, he’s determined to struggle with his demons and win—all on his own. But the last thing he needs is Natalie distracting him with her luscious curves and breaking down the barriers of his heart.
GIMMEE YOUR H-E-A-R-T!
Can be read as a standalone. Returns to Truly, ID and is about the second Junger twin, Blake Junger.
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/06/now-booking-tasty-virtual-tour-for-what.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19099609-what-i-love-about-you?from_search=true
Buy Links
Amazon
| Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
My Thoughts
I was hooked into this book almost immediately. Blake’s struggle with alcohol is front and center of the opening scene, as is his belief that he can control his addiction without any help. His flaw makes the strong military-man-for-hire human, as does his interaction with his neighbor’s child, Charlotte, and the puppy left in his truck. A man who struggles, loves kids and dogs, even if he won’t admit it, is a man to fall in love with.
And Charlotte’s mother, Natalie, does. She struggles against the attraction, still burnt by her ex-husband’s infidelity and crimes. She’s remade her life with her daughter and isn’t about to turn it upside down for a puppy or a man.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the humanity of the characters. Charlotte isn’t a perfect child, the puppy is a normal puppy, and the hero and heroine need to grow up a little more to find the happiness they’re seeking.
I recommend this book highly!
About Rachel Gibson
Rachel Gibson lives in Idaho with her husband, three kids, two cats and a dog of mysterious origin. She began her fiction career at age 16, when she ran her car into the side of a hill, retrieved the bumper, and drove to a parking lot, where she strategically scattered the car’s broken glass all about. She told her parents she’d been the victim of a hit and run and they believed her. She’s been making up stories ever since, although she gets paid better for them nowadays.
Website | Facebook | Goodreads
August 20, 2014
Review: Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Heroes Are My Weakness
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Available August 26, 2014
Blurb
New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips is back with a delightful novel filled with her sassy wit and dazzling charm
The dead of winter.
An isolated island off the coast of Maine.
A man.
A woman.
A sinister house looming over the sea …
He’s a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels. She’s a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids’ puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.
But she’s not laughing now. When she was a teenager, he terrified her. Now they’re trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine. Is he the villain she remembers or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.
It’s going to be a long, hot winter.
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/06/now-booking-tasty-virtual-tour-for_17.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19367048-heroes-are-my-weakness?from_search=true
Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
My Thoughts
I was up until midnight last night finishing this amazing book! And I never do that. I loved reading Mary Stewart books (especially The Moon-Spinners
) as a teen and this book echoes that style incredibly well, but with a modern feel. Once I got into it, I was riveted to the story and the writing.
My only issue was what I thought was an overuse of the puppets in the beginning of the book. The multiple voices were confusing and a bit annoying at first, although I understood their purpose.
Thoroughly enjoyable, I recommend this book highly!
Excerpt
Annie didn’t usually talk to her suitcase, but she wasn’t exactly herself these days. The high beams of her headlights could barely penetrate the dark, swirling chaos of the winter blizzard, and the windshield wipers on her ancient Kia were no match for the wrath of the storm that had hit the island. “It’s only a little snow,” she told the oversize red suitcase wedged into the passenger seat. “Just because it feels like the end of the world doesn’t mean it is.”
You know I hate the cold, her suitcase replied, in the annoying whine of a child who preferred making a point by stamping her foot. How could you bring me to this awful place?
Because Annie had run out of options.
An icy blast rocked the car, and the branches of the old fir trees hovering over the unpaved road whipped like witches’ hair. Annie decided that anybody who believed in hell as a fiery furnace had it all wrong. Hell was this bleak, hostile winter island.
You’ve never heard of Miami Beach? Crumpet, the spoiled princess in the suitcase retorted. Instead you had to haul us off to a deserted island in the middle of the North Atlantic where we’ll probably get eaten by polar bears!
The gears ground as the Kia struggled up the narrow, slippery island road. Annie’s head ached, her ribs hurt from coughing, and the simple act of craning her neck to peer through a clear spot on the windshield made her dizzy. She was alone in the world with only the imaginary voices of her ventriloquist dummies anchoring her to reality. As sick as she was, she didn’t miss the irony.
She conjured up the more calming voice of Crumpet’s counterpart, the practical Dilly, who was tucked away in the matching red suitcase in the backseat. We’re not the middle of the Atlantic, sensible Dilly said. We’re on an island ten miles off the New England coast, and the last I heard, Maine doesn’t have polar bears. Besides, Peregrine Island isn’t deserted.
It might as well be. If Crumpet had been on Annie’s arm, she would have shot her small nose up in the air. People barely survive here in the middle of the summer let alone winter. I bet they eat their dead for food.
The car fishtailed ever so slightly. Annie corrected the skid, gripping the wheel more tightly through her gloves. The heater barely worked, but she’d begun to perspire under her jacket.
You mustn’t keep complaining, Crumpet, Dilly admonished her peevish counterpart. Peregrine Island is a popular summer resort.
It’s not summer! Crumpet countered. It’s the first week of February, we just drove off a car ferry that made me seasick, and there can’t be more than fifty people left here. Fifty stupid people!
You know Annie had no choice but to come here, Dilly said.
Because she’s a big failure, an unpleasant male voice sneered.
Leo had a bad habit of uttering Annie’s deepest fears, and it was inevitable that he’d intrude into her thoughts. He was her least favorite puppet, but every story needed a villain.
Very unkind, Leo, Dilly said. Even if it is true.
The petulant Crumpet continued to complain. You’re the heroine, Dilly, so everything always turns out fine for you. But not for the rest of us. Not ever. We’re doomed! Doomed, I say! We’re forever …
Annie’s cough cut off the internal histrionics of her puppet. Sooner or later her body would heal from the lingering aftereffects of pneumonia¾at least she hoped so¾but what about the rest of her? She’d lost faith in herself, lost the sense that, at thirty-three, her best days still lay ahead. She was physically weak, emotionally empty, and more than a little terrified, hardly the best state for someone forced to spend the next two months on an isolated Maine island.
That’s only sixty days, Dilly attempted to point out. Besides, Annie, you don’t have anywhere else to go.
And there it was. The ugly truth. Annie had nowhere else to go. Nothing else to do but search for the legacy her mother might or might not have left her.
The Kia hit a snow-packed rut, and the seat belt seized up. The pressure on Annie’s chest made her cough again. If only she could have stayed in the village for the night, but the Island Inn was closed until May. Not that she could have afforded it anyway.
The car barely crested the hill. She had years of practice transporting her puppets through every kind of weather to perform all over the state, but even a decent snow driver had limited control on a road like this, especially in her Kia. There was a reason the residents of Peregrine Island drove pickups.
Take it slow, another male voice advised from the suitcase in the back. Slow and steady wins the race. Peter, her hero puppet–her knight in shining armor–was a voice of encouragement, unlike her former actor-boyfriend-slash-lover, who’d only encouraged himself.
Annie brought the car to a full stop then started her slow descent. Halfway down, it happened.
About the Author
Susan Elizabeth Phillips soars onto the New York Times bestseller list with every new publication. She’s the only four-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Favorite Book of the Year Award. Susan delights fans by touching hearts as well as funny bones with her wonderfully whimsical and modern fairy tales. A resident of the Chicago suburbs, she is also a wife, and mother of two grown sons.
Author Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
August 7, 2014
Two Years of Contemporary Romance
On this day in 2012, my first book, California Sunset, was published by Crimson Romance. It was the first contemporary romance I’d had published! It was also the day before my birthday, so we had a party and everything!
Costanoa, California has come a long way since then. The fourth book in the series, California Thyme, was released in April. California Sunset will be in a small town romance collection released by Crimson Romance on Sept. 15.
I’ve also published three short stories with Books To Go Now. The latest, Love on Willow Creek, is a hint to the future. Once I finish the last book in the California series, I’ll be working on a new series set near Choteau, Montana.
To celebrate these phenomenal two years, I’m running a contest for a chance to win all four books in the series and an Amazon gift card! It starts tomorrow (on my birthday) and ends on August 14. Enter daily and good luck!
August 5, 2014
Blog Tour: Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Lena Diaz
Take the Key and Lock Her Up
The Deadly Games Book #4
Contemporary Romance
By: Lena Diaz
Blurb
Lena Diaz returns with another sexy, thrilling Deadly Games novel and the darkest question of all: What do you do when your freedom could cost you your life?
Detective Emily O’Malley just stumbled upon a killer’s lair—and the remains of a woman he kept locked away for years. But this killer isn’t done yet. More women are missing, and all clues point to Devlin Buchanan—the man who seems to know just a little too much. Emily’s instincts are rarely wrong, and now they’re telling her this sexy, mysterious man is hiding something big …
As a trained assassin for EXIT Inc—a top-secret mercenary group posing as an international tour company—Devlin “Devil” Buchanan isn’t afraid to take justice into his own hands. But when the hot new detective on his trail gets too close to the organization and a contract is placed on her life, Devlin does the only thing he can: he turns rogue agent and kidnaps her to save her life.
With EXIT Inc closing in and passions running hot between them, Emily and Devlin must work together to find the missing women and clear both their names before time runs out … and the key to freedom is thrown away.
Buy Links
Amazon
| Barnes & Noble | iTunes
Link to follow tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2014/06/now-booking-tasty-virtual-tour-for-take.html
Goodreads Tour: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22608022-take-the-key-and-lock-her-up?from_search=true
Guest Post: You can’t make this stuff up!
Thank you so much for having me on today. With the celebration of my new release, Take the Key and Lock Her Up, I’m reflecting on one of the underlying premises of the story…and the shocking fact that it really does happen. The premise? That someone would kidnap and hold someone hostage for YEARS.
I had already sold this story idea long before the incredible discovery of the three women–Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus–who had been held for a decade in their captor’s basement in Cleveland, Ohio. Thank God they were able to escape and the animal who locked them up can never hurt anyone else ever again. But perhaps more shocking than this discovery is that it’s not unheard of. There have been dozens of cases like this over the years all over the world. It truly is tragic and possibly one of the worst things I can imagine could ever happen to a human being.
If you’re like me, though, I don’t want a depressing, sad read when I read romance–even romantic suspense. So my treatment of this kidnapping subject probably isn’t what you would expect after hearing that it’s part of the premise of my novel. It’s an integral part, but you don’t actually see the torture and kidnapping or experience it through the eyes of any of the characters. It’s more the starting point of the novel and the ensuing investigation.
My goal in writing romantic suspense isn’t to try to shock and horrify my readers. Instead, my goal is to show the hero and heroine beating the odds, winning against the villain or villains no matter how twisted they are. I approach RS as a way of empowerment against the many horrible things that happen in this world. By the end of the story, if I’ve done my job, the reader feels gratification that justice has been done and that it was the power of love that enabled that justice to be accomplished.
About the Author
Originally from Kentucky, romantic suspense author Lena Diaz also lived in California and Louisiana before settling in Northeast Florida with her husband, two children, and a Shetland Sheepdog named Sparky. A Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist, she’s won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense and has been a finalist for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. She loves to watch action movies, garden, and hike in the beautiful Tennessee Smoky Mountains.
Author Links
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
August 1, 2014
Cover Reveal: Jilted by Rachael Johns
Jilted
By: Rachael Johns
Releasing Sept 30th, 2014
Harlequin
Blurb
She’d left him at the altar, but her heart was always his……
After more than ten years away, Australian soap opera star Ellie Hughes returns to the small town of Hope Junction, determined to fly under the radar while caring for her injured godmother, Matilda.
But word spreads fast in the tight-knit community. It isn’t long before the people of Hope Junction are gossiping about the real reason for Ellie’s visit and why she broke the heart of golden boy Flynn Quartermaine all those years ago.
Soon Ellie and Flynn are thrown back together, forced to deal with the unresolved emotions between them. Because Ellie is not the only one with secrets. Flynn has his own demons to battle, and Matilda is hiding something from her much-loved goddaughter.
When all is uncovered, can the ill-fated lovers overcome the wounds of their past? Or is Flynn destined to be jilted again?
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20579303-jilted
Buy Links
Amazon e-book | Amazon print | Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Rachael Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a supermarket owner, a chronic arachnophobic, and a writer the rest of the time. She rarely sleeps and never irons. She writes contemporary romance for HQN and Carina Press and lives in rural Western Australia with her hyperactive husband and three mostly-gorgeous heroes-in-training. Rachael loves to hear from readers and can be contacted through her website at www.rachaeljohns.com.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Link to follow tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/03/now-booking-cover-reveal-for-jilted-by.html
