R.E. Hargrave's Blog, page 65
October 23, 2021
NEW RELEASE BL!TZ: Fury by Marteeka Karland #GIVEAWAY
Fury
Marteeka Karland
(Black Reign MC, #4)
Publication date: October 29th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Noelle: I had dreams. Goals. That all changed when my baby brother suffered a traumatic brain injury. Now Jonas is my responsibility, and I can’t let him down, even if he’s his own worst enemy. I still have goals — I’m a fighter. As in MMA. Mixed Martial Arts. I want to be the best — fighting in the UFC. To be the best I need the best trainer. That’s Fury. The toughest man I’ve ever met. He doesn’t know it, but he’s also the man I’m in love with. But when Jonas gets in trouble, the only way I can save him is to go underground — illegal fights. I can’t tell Fury. He’d kill me himself. Or worse. Disown me. But I don’t have a choice. Jonas’ life is on the line. I have to fight. And I have to win. No matter the cost.
Fury: I spent seven years in the Army — the exact time it took to pay back my obligation for earning my medical degree free of half a million dollars in student loans. After that the Army and I both decided I might be better off putting my skills to use somewhere else. So now I put bikers back together for my club, Black Reign MC, and I’m damn good at what I do. I’m even better at taking them — and anyone else who gets in my way — apart. Lately I’ve been passing those skills on the smartest, most street savvy kid I’ve ever trained. But Noelle is a kid — barely 21 — and I’m way too old for her. Now she’s gone and gotten herself in a boatload of trouble. If she tries to fight Shadow, he’s going to kill her. And if he throws the fight, our mission to close down these illegal fights will fall apart. Innocents will die. How do I choose one life over another? It was hard enough as a doctor in the field. Now it’s so much worse… because I did the stupidest thing I could have done — I went and fell in love.
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—
EXCERPT:
“What now, boss?” Shadow asked. “You gonna make sure she’s all right?”
“Can’t. We gotta prep for this fight.”
“I got this,” he said. “That girl’s in pain. You can see it on her face.”
“Ain’t my problem right now, Shadow. You are. You get hurt, and Cain’ll have my hide.”
The big man chuckled. “That’s true. But Cain knows I can take care of myself in this kind of situation. I was built for fighting.”
My gaze snapped to him. “This ain’t no game, Shadow. Those men would as soon kill you before you got in the ring as not.”
“Fully aware,” he said, not fazed in the least.
“Come on,” I said. “Ain’t got time to fuck with her. She came into this on her own, she can go out on her own. Either way, after tonight, I’m done with her.”
“Uh huh.” Shadow chuckled as he walked back to our pit. “Let me know how that goes.”
I stayed for a while, watching as Noelle took off her gloves. She left her wraps on and used a towel to wipe her face off. Then she calmly reapplied the Vaseline to her face and readied for the next fight. Thankfully, I didn’t see any cuts to her face or obvious bruising except to her right shoulder. With any luck, that could work to her advantage.
Then I realized what I was thinking. The longer she kept this up, the more likely she was to get hurt. My gut clenched, and I wasn’t sure why. I’d already decided I was cutting her loose after tonight. As I continued to watch her, she glanced up, then did a double take. Yeah, she noticed me.
I refused to drop my gaze first, needing her to know how angry I was at her. Her lips parted, then her face flushed. She closed her eyes and winced hard before opening them again and meeting my gaze. She nodded once, knowing she was gone from my gym in that moment. Then she went back to work, readying herself for her next match. Which, I realized, was Shadow.
“Motherfuck,” I muttered. “Just Goddamned motherfuck!”
I stomped over to her, leaning in close to inspect her face. As her trainer, it was an automatic reaction. “You hurt?”
She shook her head, her gaze darting around. “What are you doing here? You can’t be here!”
“I could say the exact fuckin’ thing to you, Brawler.” I let my anger show. She might as well know how much fucking trouble she was in.
“Look, you need to go away. Leave me alone.”
“Why? I’m your trainer. Right?”
“Not tonight.”
“Not after tonight either.”
She winced and looked away, but nodded. “I hear you.”
“Why, Noelle? Why would you throw away your future for a quick buck?”
Her head snapped back in my direction. “Because none of your fuckin’ business, that’s why.”
Author Bio:
Romance author by night, emergency room tech/clerk by day, Marteeka Karland works really hard to drive everyone in her life completely and totally nuts. She has been creating stories from her warped imagination since she was in the third grade. Her love of writing blossomed throughout her teenage years until it developed into the totally unorthodox and irreverent style her English teachers tried so hard to rid her of. Now, she breathes life into faeries, space hunters, werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, and a few just plane ole ordinary people. She loves to see the awkward, self-conscious band geek get the captain of the football team and make him beg for it.
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October 22, 2021
B@@K REVEAL: He's With the Band by Julie Stone
He’s With the Band
Julie Stone
Published by: Entangled: August
Publication date: January 17th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
What if life gave you a second chance to make a different decision? Divorced 41 year old amateur photographer Campbell will get just that when she’s asked to tour with one of the biggest rock bands 20 years after walking away from them, and the rock-n-roll life.
Author Bio:
Julie Stone was born a child of the seventies complete with rainbow shirts, bell bottoms and a belief in unicorns. All that whim and whimsey ushered her into the wonderful world of being a teenager in the eighties, something she has a hard time letting go of most days. I mean, the styles, the music, the movies? It was a playground for the creative mind she was growing.
Alas, she had to leave all that behind and become an adult. Graduating with a degree in English from the University of Iowa (go Hawks!) where along with a degree she also earned herself a husband. She embarked on all of the regular, boring grown up things that come with age. Until the magical world of motherhood brought along a new chapter of joy, terror and sleepless nights. But also, nap time. Suddenly there was time to go back to her creative calling and write. Through raising two boys, several moves around the midwest, those stories and that keyboard kept her company and kept her, relatively sane. (Depending on who you ask.)
Currently settled in Iowa, she continues to pursue her love of the written word, her cat and sMothering the three boys in her life to the best of her abilities.
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BOOK BLITZ: Frozen Agenda by Maureen A. Miller #GIVEAWAY
Frozen Agenda
Maureen A. Miller
(High-Risk Agenda, #3)
Publication date: September 30th 2021
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
A mysterious coin leads two strangers on a daring journey to an uncharted island.
I am being followed…
That was the cryptic note that accompanied the ancient coin Zachary Selmon examined in his campus office. An archeology professor by day and a numismatist, or collector of coins by night, Zach was puzzled by this piece of silver and concerned about the old friend who sent it.
Art grad student, Gretchen Rice, was too engrossed in studies to worry about the snowstorm that shut down Summerlin University. But when an armed man appears in the library, demanding to know, “Where is the coin?” she did what she had to…screamed and ran.
Zach and Gretchen collide in the hallway, an encounter that pits them together in a race to determine the origin of the coin. They are being followed. They are being hunted. They are falling in love. And their only recourse is to rely on each other and embark on a daring journey to an arctic island that is not supposed to exist.
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—
EXCERPT:
A scream reverberated in the hallway.
Zach dropped the coin and vaulted towards the door. Swinging his head in each direction, he found both ends of the corridor locked in shadows.
“Hello?”
It had sounded like the shriek of a female—not the wind.
Zach stepped out into the hall, listening. This wing was an isolated offshoot of the main artery running through the Department of Art and Archeology. Only because everyone was gone could he hear the distant squeak of shoe against linoleum. That scuffing sound picked up its pace and burgeoned into a full-out sprint as a figure blasted out of the shadows at the far end of the corridor.
“Help!” a female voice cried out.
Long raincoat lapels wafted at her sides like dragon wings as she raced towards him. Zach tried to look past her for who or what might be in pursuit, but the hall was empty.
Lurching to a halt, the woman stooped over, her hands on her knees as she angled her head to look behind her.
“Is there somewhere we can hide?” she whispered.
Anywhere in the university. It’s empty.
Her back rose and fell under rapid breaths. A pointed chin angled as she gazed up at him from beneath unruly brown waves. In that brief second, he tried to assess whether she was a student or teacher. He would have recognized faculty, so that left student, but she looked older. Grad student, most likely.
“Hurry,” she urged.
Zach snapped out of his stupor and extended his arm towards the open door of his office. The woman wasted no time and darted inside.
One last glance down the corridor revealed no demons. No sound of pursuit.
Shaking his head, Zach followed her into his office.
“What happened?”
The waif of a woman stood in the corner trying to minimize her presence. Shrewd brown eyes snapped from the door—to the window—to his face, and then landed on his desk. Those eyes widened as she shrank back even further.
“The coin—” she gasped.
Zach frowned, snatching the coin and lodging it into the pocket of his blazer, out of the view of her horrified gaze.
“What about it?”
“The—the man who attacked me—” she eyed his door and added in a tight voice, “he asked—where is the coin?”
“Attacked?” Zach jolted.
“Yes!” The woman’s hands quivered until her fingers delved deep into her coat pocket, extracting her phone. “He had a gun. I have to call the Police.”
“A gun?”
Just as he uttered the words, the sound of breaking glass shattered his poise. The woman winced in the corner and eyed up the gap under his desk. Another pane of glass shattered, this one closer than the previous.
“He’s breaking in the windows of all the office doors,” she whispered, dropping down onto her knees and crawling towards the desk. “That’s how he found me. He said he was looking for a coin.”
Zach stared at the pane of glass on his door. The light was out on this end of the hallway. Darkness loomed outside that small frame.
Crash.
That was room 213. He recognized the proximity from the thousand times students slammed that door on their way out.
His was room 217.
Zach thumped his palm on the desktop lamp, switching it off. A hand reached up from the shadows, startling him as the woman tugged him under the desk.
This was absurd. He reached for his phone but hesitated, afraid the glow would carry into the hall.
Crash.
215.
Harrowing images from the news darkened his mind. School shooter.
Beside him, the woman bent her legs, tucking her knees up under her chin. Folding his tall frame as tight as he could, he reached out and wheeled the desk chair up against them.
Crash.
Tiny shards of glass spattered across the floor near his boots.
The woman next to him quaked as Zach reached for her.
To keep her still?
To protect her?
To touch another human in these last moments of life?
The doorknob rattled. Another trickle of broken glass and then he heard the snap of the bolt.
Author Bio:
USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller worked in the software industry for fifteen years. She crawled around plant floors in a hard hat and safety glasses hooking up computers to behemoth manufacturing machines. The job required extensive travel. The best form of escapism during those lengthy airport layovers became writing.
Maureen's first novel, WIDOW'S TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. After that she became hooked to the genre. In fact, she was so hooked she is the founder of the JUST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE website.
Recently, Maureen branched out into the Young Adult Science Fiction market with the popular BEYOND Series. To her it was still Romantic Suspense...just on another planet!
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October 21, 2021
B@@K REVEAL: Beast by Cambria Heart
Beast
Cambria Hebert
(House of Misfits, #4)
Publication date: November 12th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fairy Tales, Retelling, Romance
A tale as old as time…
A charismatic man cannot see beyond his ownbrilliant reflection, never learning that true beauty lies within.His selfish behavior draws the ire of a witch with enchantment on her wicked tongue.A fiery curse is unleashed, engulfing the self-centered man’s entire existence.When at last the flames are extinguished,he gazes upon his reflection to discover he is no longer breathtakingly handsomebut condemned with scorched flesh and twisted scars.He is no longer a man at all… but a beast.While the ferocious beast rages, alienating everyone far and wide,a woman whose beauty is far more than skin-deepdwells in a world much simpler than his.
The beauty’s quiet life is disrupted when she is ambushed, threatened,and boldly steps in the path of her father’s debt.However, it’s not the thugs on her tail or the roaring beasttesting her patience that threatens to be this sassy beauty’s downfall.It’s the way her heart flutters whenever he is near.
But some curses just can’t be broken, and really…How can she truly ever love a beast?
Author Bio:
Cambria Hebert is an award winning, bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.
Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).
Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, Text, Torch, and Tattoo.
Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC.
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B@@K REVEAL: Second Chance Santa by J.J. Knight #GIVEAWAY
Second Chance Santa
J.J. Knight
Publication date: November 15th 2021
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Holiday, Romance
What has happened to Mack McAllister?
We were law school rivals.Absolutely insane in bed.Our two-year fling ended when we graduated.He had his ambitions. I had mine.
We were going to slay the competition.Now he’s sleighing it?When I stalk him at Riverside Mall, he looks like Santa in every way. White beard. Rosy cheeks. Kid on his knee.
But I know better. That bowl full of jelly is hiding ripped abs.
I’ve been inside that suit.
Something’s happened to the Mack I knew ten years ago.
I don’t know how he feels about me now, but there’s only one way to find out.
Get in there and jingle those bells.___________Second Chance Santa is a holiday romantic comedy about the one who got away, the perils of resting Grinch face, and all the delicious ways to unwrap a candy cane.
—
EXCERPT:
Rory’s tone is tough as she says, “It’s been a long time.” She pokes my belly pillow. “You’ve gone soft.”
“Maybe I’ve had a lot of milk and cookies lately.”
She shakes her head. “I never thought I’d see you like this.”
My internal clock tells me it’s time to get back to families waiting in line. But I want to figure out what made her come here today. It has to be more than curiosity. “Are you in town long?”
“I live here.”
I control my expression. Rory’s back in L.A. and I didn’t even know. I used to know everything about her, including the exact spot that made her scream. I swear it’s the memories talking when I hear my own treacherous voice say, “Meet me this weekend.”
Rory’s about to answer when a sharp-eared kid yells, “What about Mrs. Claus?”
Vivid images of Rory flash through my mind. Santa should not be having those thoughts right now. “She wants to see my North Pole,” I call out, enjoying the snort-laugh I get out of Rory.
The kids chorus, “Show her! Show her!”
Rory is losing it. She keeps trying to straighten her expression, but she can’t hold it. “You’re terrible,” she squeaks out.
“Santa has an endless amount of euphemisms.” I tug a candy cane out of my ample side pocket. “Need something to suck on?” I say close to her ear.
She’s dying.
“So how about it?” I ask.
Author Bio:
JJ Knight is the USA Today and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic comedy including Tasty Mango and Big Pickle.
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BOOK BLITZ: The Final Decree by Shami Stovall #GIVEAWAY
The Final Decree
Shami Stovall
Publication date: October 12th 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
The Kingdom of Luka is controlled by the decrees of God-King Eliezer. Break one and become a twisted monster or serve forever, loyal to the crown. From the author of Frith Chronicles and Star Marque Rising, comes a new fantasy epic.
When God-King Eliezer utters a decree, it’s the law of the land, no matter how subtle or outrageous. Those who break the decrees suffer the god-king’s curse—their bodies twist into nightmarish monsters of devastation and hunger, forever a blight upon humanity.
The magic knows when a decree is violated, the moment it happens.
There are no exceptions. No loopholes. No escape.
Artemisia, a mysterious girl on the run from God-King Eliezer’s Holy Guard, is cursed and doesn’t know why. Fortunately, she has yet to change into a fell beast, but that isn’t a comfort. She could transform at any moment, and the resulting monster would destroy everything she cares for.
Desperate and fearful, Artemisia finds herself captured by a group of monster hunters led by Rylion Nasos, a man of superhuman strength and skill. When Artemisia displays magic of her own—magic that threatens God-King Eliezer’s rule—an agreement is made to confront the crown, despite the horrors it could unleash.
Cursed be the man who disobeys the god-king’s direct command.
—
EXCERPT:
I stumbled forward, fueled only by hate.
The soldiers of the god-king had taken everything from me, but I would be safe once I crossed the border. Denying them the satisfaction of my death would be my final act of defiance.
The winter winds rushed past, as bitter and cold as my thoughts. I walked the long road through the Kingdom of Luka alone. I was a stranger—a random woman—nothing more than some wraith passing by, devoid of purpose. People regarded me with suspicion, and I hurried along. I tried, at least, until I tripped and fell.
I hadn’t eaten.
Snow provided little in the way of sustenance. It sated my thirst somewhat, but my gut twisted in agony. It felt like my stomach was consuming my insides, cannibalizing the other organs to keep me alive. I knew it wasn’t, but my nightmares had been filled with such imagery, and it was all I could dwell on.
I pulled my stolen blanket tightly over my body, unable to stand. With gritted teeth, I continued at a crawl. I should have found shelter and rested, but I was on the edge of town, by the first few houses that lined the road.
When merchants rode by on horses and carts, I glanced up, hoping they would spill something edible. They didn’t, of course—no successful merchant would—and I contemplated my situation with dreaded realization.
I might die here. In some town whose name I didn’t even know.
“That’s a nice blanket.”
The tone put me on edge. It wasn’t a compliment, but an appraisal.
Author Bio:
Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction, with several best-selling novels under her belt. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level, and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.
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October 20, 2021
BOOK BLITZ: Druid Dreams by M.F. Adele #GIVEAWAY
Druid Dreams
M.F. Adele
(The Chronicles of Sloane King, #1)
Publication date: April 27th 2020
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Reverse Harem, Romance
I am not a good person.
I don’t cheat or steal, but I do lie a little bit… and participate in the occasional murder… spree.
Life as I know it gets turned upside down when I’m asked to step in and halt the progress of a black market drug tainted with magic. That one little business adventure opens up a whole f*****g Pandora’s Box and brings my ebony tower crashing down around me.
As if life wasn’t complicated enough, I also now have mates. Emphasis on the ssss part. I want to be mad about it, really I do… but they’re so hot, and the temptation to make them all mine is fueling my desire.
With a final mate that I’m not happy about and a stalker on my heels… maybe having several someones at my back isn’t such a bad thing.
Don’t get me twisted though… I’m Sloane f*****g King, and I’m no damsel in distress.
—
Author Bio:
M.F. Adele resides in the outskirts of the Rocket City in Alabama. She lives in her overactive imagination, often fueled by caffeine and no sleep. When she isn’t writing, M.F. is outdoors with her family, obsessing over spicy margaritas and cigars, or reading books by her favorite authors.
If you’re looking for M.F. Adele, you can find her on social media in her group:
M.F. Adele's Hellacious Hybrids.
M.F. loves to interact with her readers, hear character theories, and share embarrassing stories.
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October 19, 2021
BOOK BLITZ: Bad Dream by Giana Darling #FREE #GIVEAWAY
Bad Dream: A Dark Dream Prologue Novella
Giana Darling
Publication date: September 30th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Bianca is trying to survive in the small Texas town. Her only goal–to keep her younger brother healthy. Everything changes when Tiernan shows up at her mother’s door in a suit and tattoos.
His dark world is all-consuming, but she doesn’t want his money. Or his secrets.
Until her mother dies.
Then she has no choice but to turn to the only person who can help.
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Get your copy for FREE!
Author Bio:
Giana Darling is an USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Top 40 Amazon Best Selling Canadian romance writer who specializes in the taboo and angsty side of love and romance. She currently lives in beautiful British Columbia where she spends time riding on the back of her man's bike, baking pies, and reading snuggled up with her Golden Retriever puppy, Romeo.
Join her newsletter for exclusive material ➜ http://eepurl.com/b0qnPrJoin her reader's group on Facebook➜ http://bit.ly/2CFNVsKCheck out her Instagram for unique insights ➜ http://bit.ly/2eNG8Bp
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October 18, 2021
NEW RELEASE BL!TZ: The Choices (A Treasure Hunt Thriller) by Alan L. Moss #GIVEAWAY
The Choices: A Treasure Hunt Thriller
Alan L. Moss
Publication date: October 15th 2021
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Sixty-six million years ago, the Chicxulub asteroid crashed into the Yucatan peninsula. Its heat and dust killed the dinosaurs and most other species on the planet.
Based on newly generated NASA measurements and a unique theory, a Ph.D. geology student concludes the Chicxulub asteroid created a fortune in hidden diamonds. When she discovers her business partner and financier is of questionable character, she escapes to Canada to plan an expedition to mine the stones.
Gary Levin arrives in the same Canadian village to mourn the loss of his wife, senselessly murdered during a white supremacist shooting. He soon finds a wounded golden retriever and a flash drive of unknown origin.
Puzzled by information on the flash drive, Levin learns the data could guide mining the fortune in diamonds from Mexico’s Yucatan cenotes (underground water channels). Although there is danger diving/mining the waters and evidence of opposition plotting their demise, the lure of the diamonds and the opulence they represent are too much to resist.
Levin and his companions crisscross the globe in a race to obtain the diamonds before the spurned financier and an approaching hurricane can disrupt their efforts.
—
EXCERPT:
Without warning, the cabin door burst open, and three men entered. One, with a full beard, wearing a black flight jacket, slammed the door shut. It popped back open and remained that way.
Mia dove for her pistol. Another man slapped it out of her hand. He held her against the wall, his hand around her neck.
“Hello, Mia, it’s very nice to see you at last. We met with Cornell, and we know the data we’ve financed is on a single flash drive. Azeer will forget your transgressions if you give it up. If you don’t, I promise, the suffering you will endure will make you wish you had.”
A tall man with a gray ponytail delivered the words in a calm and calculated manner. The look in his eye screamed enforcer.
Gracie bared her teeth, growling menacingly. Knowing the men wouldn’t think twice about doing away with the dog, Mia said a few soft words, and Gracie calmed, although she still looked concerned. Mia looked at the men, fighting to appear confident. The drive, worth billions of dollars, was in the right-hand pocket of her jeans. She bluffed.
“You think I’m stupid enough to have the drive with me? It’s hundreds of miles from here in a safe deposit box. If you do away with me, no one, including Azeer, will ever see it.”
Although she was no athlete, Mia, thanks to Adrienne, had a jogger’s trim, fit appearance. The man with the full beard wasn’t impressed. He grabbed Mia and slammed her against the wall. She bounced off, falling into Gracie’s water bowl next to the dish of fresh dog food. Recognizing this would not end well, Mia slipped one of the dog’s treats she carried in her pocket along with the flash drive into the dish of food.
Despite concern for her master, the treat was too much to resist. While the bearded bully dragged Mia away by her hair, the dog gulped down the contents of the dish, including the data storage device.
From her knees, Mia spotted her pistol. She picked it up from behind a chair and got off a shot, barely missing the man with the ponytail. Then she delivered a desperate punch to the bearded man’s crotch. He doubled over in pain. The ponytailed man panicked, ignoring the combatants.
Author Bio:
Alan L. Moss is a unique and emerging voice in the thriller genre. His novels spin sophisticated tales of conspiracy, love, sex, and subterfuge.
In his latest work, The Samoa Seduction, two strong willed individuals are haunted by their love for one another while manipulated by a deadly conspiracy.
Alan's writing draws upon Ph. D. research capabilities and many years in Washington, D.C. as a federal Chief Economist, Congressional Fellow, and Adjunct Instructor at the University of Virginia's Northern Virginia Center. In 2002 he put his government career aside and moved to the Jersey Shore to pursue his writing.
He has penned six published books, four novels and two nonfiction works. After years of politics and bureaucracy, Alan has found the freedom of writing fiction an intoxicating and satisfying calling.
Distinguishing features of Alan's novels are involvement with significant national and international issues and spectacular locations. His new novel, The Samoa Seduction (October 2015 by A-Argus Books/W & B Publishers) is an eye opening thriller that combines the action of a drug company conspiracy, industry efforts to suppress wages, and government corruption with murder and a steamy affair. Settings include Samoa's lush scenery, the Central Canterbury Plains of New Zealand's south island, a resort on Hawaii's Molokai Island, the TranzAlpine Railroad, and tuna fishing vessels on the Tasman Sea.
Alan’s previous work on The Insidious Deception Saga chronicles how a pre-med student and brilliant college professor become entangled in conspiracies hatched by al Qaeda and a ruthless CEO. The two resulting novels include:Insidious Deception (Whiskey Creek Press 2013), and the sequel, Surviving the Endgame (Whiskey Creek Press 2014), in which a presidential election becomes a deadly contest between the international conspirators and those seeking their destruction. Rob Taylor, the series' protagonist, finds the love of his life and struggles to protect her from the conspiracy's violent tentacles.
Turning to Alan's nonfiction work, in May 2008 Praeger Publishing released Selling-Out America’s Democracy. The book shows how special interests, through their lobbyists and the U.S. system of campaign financing, have denied a majority of the American population the policies they seek and have led the nation into a period of decline. The book includes telling interviews of Washington insiders and a four-part plan to restore the U.S. democracy. Copies are available at www.amazon.com and other web book sites.
Alan is a member of the Authors Guild, International Thriller Writers, and the American Political Science Association.
For more information about Alan and his writing, see www.alanlmoss.com.
See Alan's BLOG columns at www.alanlmossmyview.com.
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October 17, 2021
BOOK BLITZ: The Cursed Princess by Alexa H. Michaels #GIVEAWAY
The Cursed Princess
Alexa H. Michaels
Publication date: October 1st 2021
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
A fresh and dark urban fantasy abounding with treacherous secrets, desperate fights, and an angsty romances that could ignite the pages.
I’m Kyra Baxter. Once, I was human—now, I learn it’s all a lie.As the top student at my university and the best intern in Dallas, I thought my life was built in the clouds, and I was on top of the world.But then…it all crashed hard.
A murdered friend.A secret world.A mysterious warrior.
It’s safe to say that the life I thought was solid will never rise from the rubble. It’s time to move on, and live the life I was always meant for–what I was born for. Except there are those who want to make sure that never happens. In fact, if I don’t move quickly, the enemy who I’d been hidden from is coming for blood.The curse I bear has blocked my memories, so I’m left to blindly navigate this new world. And when a swarthy male saunters into my life, I’m forced to face a ghost from the past without knowing who he is and was, and what he wants.He says he’s here to help.He admits he’s keeping secrets.As our attraction grows, all I know is that if I want to break this curse, I’m going to need his help. And unless I heed the warnings my late friend spent her dying moment’s telling me, everyone I know and love could end up butchered.This curse could be the death of all those I hold dear.If you like fierce heroines, powerful heroes, terrible secrets, and slow-burn romances, then read the urban fantasy The Cursed Princess, the first book in the Kyra Baxter Trilogy!
**This is the beginning of a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger.
***Author’s note: this book is intended for a mature audience in terms of content, language, and passionate happily ever afters!
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EXCERPT:
“You’d better let me go,” I threatened, raising my voice even louder. “My friends are waiting for me to pick them up downstairs. They’ll come looking.”
I clamped down on my shaking muscles and willed myself to stand firm. Snakes of fear slithered in my gut and I tried valiantly not to shake.
“No one is coming, Little Female,” one scoffed. There was a unanimous chuckle from the rest. I had a sinking feeling they knew I was bluffing.
The one who was holding my neck brushed a piece of hair aside and brought his nose down, inhaling right behind my ear. “Richer than the bouquets of the orient—human fear.”
Human. My mind fixated on the word and I tucked it away for later.
“Oh, I’m going to enjoy you, Female.”
The hot air from his words sent chills through my body.
“Don’t scare her now,” said the one standing in front of me.
Too late.
“We just want a little fun,” whined the one who held my arm from behind. “Her flesh will be decadent mixed with all that fear.”
These homeless men were clearly psychotic—they had to be on something. To resort to cannibalism attested to the state of their mental instability. I pushed through the disorientation of the situation and grasped for rational knowledge. “Let me go. Right now!” I demanded, praying that someone would hear me.
That filthy fingernail—for I refused to call it a claw—crawled across the side of my neck. There was a sting of pain as if I had been scratched by a cat. I knew the wound wasn’t deep. It was the infection from the filth that sent my gut churning and it was the last straw. I lifted my foot and slammed the stiletto spike of my high heel into what I hoped was his foot.
I had done it so carefully, making sure that none of them saw. Yet they had moved so fast that the spiked heal of the shoe bit into the concrete of the parking ramp. The contact reverberated through the joints of my ankle and knee. I hissed and tried to ignore the pain. They laughed at me.
“You’ll be sorry,” I promised.
We all knew it was a lie.
Licking his lips, the one in front of me leaned forward.
Fight! I wouldn’t go down without clawing and scratching. It wouldn’t be much, but it would be valiant. I braced for his impact, preparing to slam my head into his.
“Unhand her!” a masculine voice shouted from the ramp. I heard the pounding of shoes as another man sprinted toward us. The next moment, however, the monstrous men let go of me, shoving me backward.
I wobbled, unsteady on my feet, but before I could fall over, a firm hand reached out to steady me. Disoriented, I glanced down and saw the long, elegant fingers that had caught hold of me. They were clean with no claws, and their grip was strong—holding me up rather than entrapping me.
It took a moment for my balance to return. Only then did the stranger retract his hand, but I still felt his solid presence behind me. Perhaps I should have been more frightened at the arrival of another man. But instead, some kernel deep inside me stirred to life—a feeling I couldn’t place sang in my very bones, and I decided to trust my rescuer.
Author Bio:
When Alexa isn't writing, she can be found with a book in her lap and a mug of coffee or glass of red wine within reach. A native of the North Woods, Alexa is an avid lake-jumper, beach lounger, and sunshine lover.
Alexa is living a happily ever after with her own steamy hero. Together they have an English Springer fur-baby and would love a few more!
Alexa loves any type of love story. So you can find her writing both contemporary romance and fantasy novels. Instead of making a separate pen name, Alexa just adds her middle initial to her fantasy genre books!
Alexa H. Michaels ~ Author of Fantasy
Alexa Michaels ~ Author of Romance
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