Cheryl Harper's Blog, page 12

Vacation Book #2: The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrelyn Sparks

The second book I snatched up after I sent in Round 1 revisions on Santa, Bring My Baby Back was The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo by Kerrelyn Sparks. I really enjoyed Howard the doughnut-eating bear shifter and his match Elsa’s story so I was looking forward to Dougal the Scottish, be-kilted vampire. There were (at least) three things that made this such an enjoyable read:

1. The cast of characters. Since it’s number 14 in the series, you’ve had a chance to meet and really love a big variety of heroes and heroines so it’s nice to see their stories continue.

2. The humor. I laughed at Dougal and his muskrat sporran. Also, Laszlo and his buttons and his fox shifter (who has the funniest line in the book in my opinion)…so cute. I’m going to try to remember to use “Do you expect me to turn a kumquat into caviar?” in everyday conversation. Let’s try to make this happen.

3. International scope. I don’t read much of anything with Japanese or Chinese settings. I’m not sure why that is, but visiting the Tiger shifters and Japan were really interesting, unusual places that I don’t see a lot of.

But besides all that, what you have here is a big, tough, wounded guy who is such a romantic. And even if Leah is oblivious to a lot of things, she doesn’t stand a chance against that. Lucky! The ending was emotional (I sniffled) and satisfying.

About the book:

He’s Out of Control

Dougal Kincaid has something to prove. After being injured in a battle with the Malcontents, he’s ready for active duty protecting unsuspecting mortals from these villainous vampires who want to rule the world. But first he has to get control of himself . . . because just the sight of a certain lovely doctor has his injured hand doing some peculiar things, not to mention the sizzling sensation that burns along his dragon tattoo.

Vampires? Vampires?! As a scientist, Leah is having trouble believing that these immortal creatures exist. But there they are, standing in front of her, asking for help in solving a genetic puzzle that can save mankind. There’s even one in a sexy kilt! Just one look into Dougal’s gorgeous green eyes sets her pulse racing. But can she trust him—and the overwhelming desire that refuses to be ignored?

 

Tagged: Avon, books, kerrelyn sparks, romance, The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo

Vacation Read #1: Things Good Girls Don’t Do by Codi Gary

Two things before I tell you how I enjoyed this book. First, I have to say how lucky I was to start out this fun being-published adventure in a novella with Codi Gary and Jaclyn Hatcher (Kiss Me. Buy it. Read it. Today!). We were all beginners and having company on the journey was great. So, Codi’s a friend. She’s also smart and generous So I’m happy we’re friends.

Second, I’m hooked on tattoo shows. It all started with Miami Ink and Ami James. He (and the rest of the guys in that shop) looked like he might be the kind of guy Mom warned about. But he’s so smart. And tough. And artistic. And the stories of why people get tattoos…I was hooked. So this led to other shows: New York Ink (Ami and the boys in New York **see my tattoo shop tangent at the bottom of the post), Ink Master (Well, hello, Chris Nunez), and Tattoo Nightmares (Oh, hi, Tommy). I think watching Tattoo Nightmares should be required before anyone actually walks into a tattoo shop (along with a Breathalyzer). I was ready to say “Well, hello, Chase.”

So…Things Good Girls Don‘t Do. When I read the first two items on the list (purple streaks in her hair, tattoo), I was pretty sure Codi had invaded my brain. Then Katie’s list and mine diverged, but as I read I could totally understand how the lessons she’d learned about how nice girls act could keep her from doing things she wanted to do, even things she needed to do like telling a cheating ex just exactly what she thought. Katie’s dealing with the difference in how the world sees her (sweet, perfectly behaved) and what she really wants. Enter tattoo artist Chase who has his own issues with the way people perceive him. And that history makes for a little rocky beginning between the good girl who’s not quite perfect and the bad boy who really isn’t so much.

If you like humor (and honestly, you should), Thing’s Good Girls Don’t Do has it. There’s also plenty of emotion. To avoid spoilers, I’ll say that both Katie and Chase face some hard conversations and coming through them helps both of them see more clearly who the people they love really are.

Here are two of my favorite quotes:

He couldn’t look away from her. “What am I?”

“You’re smart, and creative, and–”

He cut her off. “All of those things should be obvious. I run my own successful business and I can draw. I own one of the nicest houses in the area and I keep my nose clean. The only people who don’t know me are the people who don’t want to.”

And this made me laugh out loud. Oh, Chase, I feel your pain. City slickers unite!

“Stay close, city boy, and just listen for the sound of a rattle. Like a chickchick bzzz sound,” she said. “Oh, and watch for poison ivy.”

Looking around at the jungle of vegetation, he said, “What the hell does that look like?”

She pointed to a plant about a foot from his leg and he pictured his death by poisonous snakes and oozing sores.

To find out more about Codi and what she’s up to, visit her site: codigarysbooks.com. And here’s the book blurb:

Good girls don’t steal. Good girls don’t visit sex shops. Good girls don’t have one-night stands.

 

For Katie Conners, being a good girl just isn’t worth it anymore. It used to mean getting the life she always wanted. But that was before she got dumped and her ex got engaged to his rebound. So, after a bad day and one too many mojitos, Katie starts making a list of things a girl like her would never do, not in a million years . . .

 

As a tattoo artist with a monster motorcycle, Chase Trepasso isn’t the kind of guy you bring home to mom and dad.

 

And when he finds Katie’s list in a bar, he’s more than happy to help her check off a few items. Especially the ones on the naughtier side . . .

 

Katie’s more than tempted by Chase’s offer, as long as they keep things uncomplicated. But as they spend more time together, she may just wind up breaking the most important rule of all: Good girls don’t fall in love with bad boys.

Photographic souvenir/evidence

**Tangent goes here–> Because of my devotion to Ami and the boys, when RWA went to New York, I decided I had to visit Wooster Street Social Club. I mean, it’s in the same city. They tape the show there. Right? Sure. Except I’m all country mouse come to the big city, had never ridden the subway, much less by myself, and I was pretty sure there would be news reports of a woman found curled into the fetal position because she never found the right stop. But…I wanted to. I got on the subway, even after the train Google told me to get on was delayed because of an “incident” and I went to SoHo. I walked. I shopped. And then I turned a corner and lurked outside Wooster Street Social Club. I took a picture. I think if I’d known Codi then, we might have made it in the door.

Tagged: books

Coming from Harlequin Heartwarming February 2014: A Minute on the Lips

So…the news is I have a new book coming, this time in the Harlequin Heartwarming series. It’s sweet romance (wholesome and tender according to the Harlequin logo) this time, in a small town. We have a sheriff and the newspaper man who makes her crazy on the case to solve the mystery of who broke in to the town diner. Whether you’re reading Avon (sexy and funny) or HH (sweet and funny), I hope you’ll smile. More info as I have more info. Here are some covers…pretty, right?

Revisions and relief

You know that thing where there’s an alarm in your head that sounds like a frustrated tea kettle? It squeals long and loud and unpredictably. No? Just me then. Okay. That’s what the last couple of days have been like in my brain. But today I hit Send on the revisions. And I feel good…so good.

Santa, Bring My Baby Back is going to be a sweet, funny wrap-up to a series that has had wonderful characters. There will be more revisions, but I still love this story so I think it’s all going to be even better. And I thank God for editors all over again, people. If you love books, you should too. As a writer, I’m just happy not to do all the lifting alone. It’s wonderful to have help, so much help.

Now…to celebrate. I’m taking a short writing break to read everything I can get my hands on, starting with Things Good Girls Don’t Do. And to watch all the movies. And to just generally clear my  mind. If you have any good novella recommendations, hit me with ‘em! I’m in a buying mood.

And tomorrow, I’m going to post some news. Right here. It’s good.

Blog tour stops!! Harlequin Junkie, Flirting with Romance, & Romance Bookworm (review)

Today…it’s Harlequin Junkie! I’ve got 5 scenes that I love from the book and the answers to my question about romantic places for first kisses is getting some good answers. I’m totally filing them all away. Check it out, enter to win HERE!

And over the weekend I missed two stops. What was I thinking? No idea. Let’s all just blame revisions. This is also why I have no groceries and a snarl in my hair the size of Texas. Saturday’s stop was a guest post about dreaming up the Rock’n'Rolla Hotel. It’s HERE at Flirting with Romance (cute site name, right?).

And on Sunday, Romance Bookworm posted a review (the words “Insert swooning here” might have been included…they were). Check it out HERE. These stops have chances to enter to win a copy of Can’t Help Falling in Love AND Stuck on You! Time keeps on slippin’, people! Enter NOW.

Can’t Help Falling in Love Excerpt: The Bookstore Kiss

His face was determined as he leaned towards her, and she lost her breath because it looked like he was going to kiss her.

Then he did, his lips a warm shock against hers.

This kiss was a sweet hello. His lips settled on hers in an easy slide. When she gripped his shoulders and tried to pull him closer, he smiled against her lips and his tongue was a quick tease over her bottom lip before he rested his forehead against hers. Randa didn’t move. She was afraid to. He was going to step back, and she didn’t want him to. She wanted to stay right here with him. Finally he took a deep breath and leaned back just enough to look her in the eyes. “There’s this one other thing I’ve been dying to do.”

“Yes.” Randa nodded her head. She had no idea what it was, but she was ready.

Tony squeezed his eyes shut for just a second. The sound he made when he opened them again was somewhere between a laugh and a moan. Maybe it was both. Randa understood exactly what that felt like.

He pressed forward to kiss her again, his hand a hot support against the back of her head and his lips aggressively seductive. This time he coaxed her lips open and teased her tongue with his. Each tentative touch sent a shiver of awareness through her. She wanted to press her breasts against his chest, get closer, so much closer, but the seat belt pinned her down. Her breath was long gone when Tony ended the kiss, his breath coming in quiet pants as he stared into her eyes, but when his hand rested on her knee she tried to gasp. And when he touched her thigh, lightly rubbing his hand on bare skin, she lost her mind.

She actually bit her lip to keep from moaning like a porn star. Because a man touched her thigh. It was a little like she was back in high school but so much hotter.

Seduced in front of a bookstore. Did it get any better? More private, certainly. But better, no way. Tony’s eyes were hot as he stared down at her.

Randa squeezed the hand on her thigh and said, “Satisfied?”

The look in his eyes was predatory. Tony shook his head. “No way. Not even close.”

Randa licked her lips. “Good. Me either.”

Tagged: Can't Help Falling in Love, Excerpt, romance

Can’t Help Falling in Love Excerpt: The Pool

She hadn’t slept well. First she’d had a nightmare about a homeless Misty who wandered the busy Memphis streets because her hotel was gone. And then when she’d started awake to see that it was only midnight, she’d fought the urge to sneak out to the lobby to make sure Misty was safe and sound. Telling herself it was crazy to worry about a dog that wasn’t even hers, she forced herself to stretch out and think of something else.

After she’d finished the hardcover she’d carried on the plane, she put it and her drugstore reading glasses on the nightstand. Still too restless to sleep, she had plenty of time left to think about Misty. And Tony. Misty would never be homeless. Willodean would take her . . . somewhere. And Tony would land on his feet in another job. Of course he would. Unless he was related to Willodean Jackson somehow. Maybe he was manager here because he couldn’t get a job anywhere else. Maybe he was on parole and lucky to have family to call on, a situation that she was just about to put an end to, possibly plunging him into despair and God knew what else and dooming him to roaming the streets instead of Misty.

She’d slapped her own forehead then and she repeated it now by the pool. She really shouldn’t read in bed. Clearly it made her imagination run wild. He was a grown man. He’d find another job.

Randa was the one with a potentially bigger problem. Her runaway brain would have her shooting herself in the acquisition foot if she didn’t watch it.

All because of a dog. Or a man she didn’t even know and had no business worrying over. She had plenty on her own plate to worry about.

“Was that an a-ha moment or a mosquito?”

Randa took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see Tony standing next to the lounger.

Then she forgot every worry she’d ever had and most of everything she knew.

Because if Tony lost his job running the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel, he had a future in underwear modeling. His swim trunks rode low on his hips and even though she’d seen swimsuits that showed a whole lot more of what a man was working with, she’d never seen another man with a body like his.

In her experience, handsome men were either gym rats or couch potatoes. She’d seen a lot of manscaping in her time too: hairless chests, spray tans, and even hair plugs once upon a time.

Out of the Hawaiian shirt and khakis, Tony was perfectly imperfect. His olive skin was lightly tan. Black ink swirled up his left arm. This close she could make out the words “Semper Fi” and then what looked like names, all in a simple script. She wanted to touch his tattoo, to trace her fingers up his arm. She wanted to feel his skin. Black curls covered his pecs and trickled to a thin line down his abdomen to disappear into . . .

God, help me. Randa felt the need to fan her face or stick her tongue out to pant. August in Memphis might camouflage her reaction, but she hadn’t known heat until Tony stood in front of her with no shirt on.

Tagged: Can'tHelp Falling in Love, Excerpt, romance

And the winner is…

SHEILA! I used my tried-and-true hi-tech system again to draw the folded paper out of the heart-shaped bowl and Sheila wins the books, the tote, and the gift card! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Can’t Help Falling in Love Excerpt: Chapter 1

Randa stopped in front of the doors but they automatically swung open. The music notes on the doors were probably a nod to the gates of Graceland. They weren’t so bad. She decided to take a picture and think about it before she made a recommendation to replace them. But the air conditioning that wafted out was as beautiful and welcome as the smell of fresh-baked cookies. If she were a cartoon character, she would have floated in with her eyes closed in ecstasy.

Sam nodded as she waved and she stopped to absorb the lobby of the Rock’n’Rolla. It was green. Really, really green. And not like green paint or carpet. Green like the rainforest. Plants exploded along one wall of the lobby and she could hear the faint trickle of a waterfall. Heavy wood chairs were scattered around and the floors and walls were some kind of natural stone. What she could see of them. She could feel the cool stone through her shoes and she wanted to sigh with relief.

But she was distracted because right in the middle of the lobby floor was what appeared to be a dead dog. Well, not dead, but surely dead to the world. Every now and then the loose lips would twitch. Randa approached it carefully because while she loved dogs, she didn’t really have much practical experience. Dogs didn’t work with the all-white, all-designer, all-expensive Whitmore design aesthetic. Her mother had told her that often enough. Eventually, Randa had stopped asking.

Randa squatted and teetered on her four-inch heels for a minute before she reached out to pet the dog’s long, silky brown ears. Little green bows fluttered as the dog drowsily stretched and moved closer to her. She knew she was wearing a stupid grin, but the softness of his—no, her droopy ears—and the satisfied “hmph” she let out before she went back to sleep were reasons to smile. Randa didn’t care who saw it.

“Can I help you?”

Randa glanced up across the empty lobby to see a thug in another ugly Hawaiian shirt standing behind the front desk. Thug might be too harsh. He was tall, dark, and not handsome but . . . attractive in intensely focused kind of way that made her nervous. Randa froze as her eyes locked with his. Close-cut hair gave him a military look, but the dark ink that ran from his wrist to the sleeve on his left arm said he was dangerous. Or different. Or both, but he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt after all. Unless he was robbing the place, he was part of the staff.

She’d spent most of her life swimming in deep waters where the sharks were hard to see behind designer labels and expensive haircuts. This man was so different that he might have been a whole new species. One with really nice muscles, big hands, and enough controlled power to merit a second and third look. He watched her like he knew her, knew everything about her because he saw her. He didn’t give her the obvious leer that she’d seen and dismissed a million times. This guy, when he looked, saw more than most people. Randa had spent a lot of time blending in with the perfectly bland Whitmore woodwork. Being the subject of that much focus made her restless. She knew exactly how a fluffy bunny felt when it looked up to see a hungry mountain lion. Well, except the bunny would run away. She wasn’t sure which direction she’d run if he crooked his finger right this second. Away was definitely safer, but all of sudden she was tired of safe.

 

Tagged: Can't Help Falling in Love, Excerpt, romance

Sneak Peek: Santa, Bring My Baby Back EXCERPT

Blog tour, Stop 5…EXCERPT! (I think. It’s early and it’s not posted yet so…could be a surprise!)

And the Giveway…did you enter yet? Click and add your favorite Elvis song for a chance to win. The clock is running down. I’ll pick and announce a winner tomorrow!

And now…an excerpt from the last Rock’n'Rolla Hotel book, Santa, Bring My Baby Back, coming December: weddings, Christmas, bloodhounds, and more weddings.(SO wish I could show the cover. I loved the cover of Stuck on You the way a starving woman loves a dessert buffet. There was great rejoicing when I saw it. But this last book…I haven’t even seen the final cover. The rough images made me sniffle happy tears. More good to come later, I guess.)

Charlie’s been stood up. He’s ready to perform his duty, marrying a happy bride and groom, even though he’d rather be just about anywhere else. But they didn’t show.

Excerpt

When his stomach growled again, Charlie hit the door to the lobby with a stiff arm, determined to get back on his own schedule. He needed to learn he couldn’t control other people. Maybe the world would work better if he could, but no one had elected him supreme leader. He wasn’t even a county mayor anymore. Now he was just Charlie. And he wasn’t responsible for the world.

He took four determined steps toward the glass doors that led out to the hotel’s pool area. The lobby of the new building was quiet as only the chapel was complete. The new spa was next on the list and then the meeting rooms on the second floor. The dark lobby made it easy to see the line of light under one of the dressing room doors off to the side.

Charlie mentally cursed again. Something about that light told him this was going to be more trouble than a man who hadn’t eaten in over four hours should attempt. If he was lucky, the groom was behind the door and he’d be a guy who could handle being left at the altar with manly stoicism. Charlie would have his lunch. Life would go on for both of them.

If he was really lucky? That light would be nothing but the symbol of the unlucky bride or groom who’d already done the math and cleared out while forgetting to flip the light switch. Wasteful? Maybe, but he’d take a little waste in order to get his schedule back and meat loaf sandwich in his hand.

After two perfunctory knocks, Charlie turned the knob and shoved open the door.

When his eyes met the bride’s in the mirror’s reflection, he froze on the spot and forgot just exactly what he thought he might say to the inconsiderate bride or groom if he ever found either of them.

Because she was beautiful with shiny dark hair and bright red lips. When she turned to face him, something sparkled like diamonds in her hair and he was tempted to look for seven small miners. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.

“Aw, crap, he ain’t comin’, is he?” A small frown wrinkled the pale skin of her brow and something about Snow White’s east Tennessee twang set everything back in motion.

That was a damn good thing. Fairy-tale references would get his man card revoked. No amount of sawdust in his hair or worn flannel would save him.

He reached up to run his hand through his hair but hit crunchy product and decided to rub his neck like that was what he’d intended all along. “I was hoping that you could tell me. Don’t you know what happened to your groom?”

Tagged: comedy, Rock'n'Rolla Hotel, romance, Santa Bring My Baby Back