Cheryl Harper's Blog, page 6
June 1, 2015
Most Likely to Turn up the Heat Available May 2015
Max Holt’s days as high school security guard are numbered. Now that he’s recovered from the gunshot wound that forced his detour from Dallas cop to small-town security, he’s ready for the adrenaline and satisfaction of his old life.
Sue Walker has a solid dating policy: NO SOLDIERS, NO COPS, NO COWORKERS. Other than those simple guidelines, she’s happy to keep an open mind. But teasing Max? That brightens every single day at Lincoln High.
When Max turns up the heat, Sue’s got a difficult decision on her hands.
Novella length (22,000) sexy contemporary, also included in the Summer Lovin’ anthology (Book Boyfriends Cafe). First in the series: Least Likely to Fall in Love
iBooks: http://apple.co/1K5Gt96
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1HHBrur
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1I7cPy1
Tagged: anthology, Cheryl Harper, contemporary romance, Least Likely to Fall in Love, likely charcters, novella, romance, sexy romance, Summer Lovin'
Summer Lovin Anthology, 14 sexy contemporary stories
14 Full-length Novels & Novellas
Available as a boxed set for a limited time!
A savings of more than 75% if the books were purchased separatelySummer is heating up with 14 traditional romances from USA Today, national bestselling, and award-winning authors, brought to you by Book Boyfriends Cafe. Foreword by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Leanne Banks.
Cora Rules by Mel Curtis, USA Today Bestselling Author. NBA coach Trent Parker is a stickler for the rules, until he meets Cora Rule, the biggest rulebreaker of the Rule clan.
Surrender to Love by Raine English, USA Today Bestselling Author. When Tara Spencer agrees to spend the summer caring for her ailing grandmother, she has no idea how her life will be changed by the handsome stranger next door.
The Merry-Go-Round by Donna Fasano, USA Today Bestselling Author. When Lauren divorces her husband, her life quickly turns into a 3-ring circus. Will she step off the merry-go-round–or reach out and grab the brass ring?
Twist of Fate by Patti Forsythe, USA Today Bestselling author. Rebecca Perris is on a dangerous quest to find her sister, but when she meets Aaron al-Rashid again, it’s her heart that’s at risk.
Her French Count by Mona Risk, USA Today Bestselling Author. A Da Vinci Code in a French Chateau. The lovely American architect has turned his life upside down, but are his chateau and a missing statue worth endangering her life?
Love Me Forever by Ari Thatcher, USA Today Bestselling Author. Escaping to Maui to get over her divorce, Jen runs into her first love, who blew her off at the end of her vacation. Matt had given up hope of ever finding her again. Can he convince her to give him a second chance?
Playing the Rookie by Rachelle Ayala, National Bestselling Author. A rookie pitcher and a sports intern on the rebound connect to get over their exes. Will their fling turn into true love or destroy both of their careers?
Duke of Devonwood by Carly Carson, National Bestselling Author. Sparks fly as Miranda plots to gain control of her inheritance from a modern day Duke who tries his best to resist her wiles. Can both of them win?
True North by Kelly Collins, National Bestselling Author. Alexa leaves Los Angeles with a scarred heart, a beat up car and a secret. She’s fleeing her hopelessness to find her future. Can a sexy stranger mend her heart and be her compass?
Fashion Victim by Suz deMello, best-selling, award-winning author: Hot isn’t a hot enough word to describe corporate raider Fletcher Wolf, but since he’s suing couturier Cara Fletcher for, oh, a gazillion dollars, she figures she shouldn’t hit on him…at least not too hard.
Season, Unforgettable by Keta Diablo, National Bestselling Author. He promised his mother he’d wrap up the Pine Bay project, and he would have if not for a nature lover who can’t be bought at any price. Now he’s fighting for the other side, fighting to recapture his abandoned dreams, and fighting to win her heart.
Most Likely to Turn up the Heat by Cheryl Harper. Sue Walker’s “no soldiers, no cops, no coworkers” policy doesn’t stand a chance against injured cop turned high school security guard Max Holt. His mission to return to Dallas and danger could be the dealbreaker.
My Favorite What If by Lyssa Layne, National Bestselling Author. Jacob “Smitty” Smith and Sloan Talbott have both have been hurt. Neither is looking for love. Will one week in paradise be a fling to remember or could it possibly lead to something more?
Relay For Love by Susan Ann Wall, National Bestselling Author. A cancer survivor who celebrates in silence…a widow who remembers the man she lost…a fight back where two hearts battle to be together.
iBooks: http://apple.co/1K5Gt96
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1LYSnzP
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1SS6nkc
Tagged: anthology, contemporary, likely characters, novella, romance, sexy romance, summer, Summer Lovin', summer romance
WINNER TAKES ALL Onsale TODAY!
My new Harlequin Heartwarming is available TODAY! It’s the first in a series (of at least 2, but I’m hoping for more) called Lucky Numbers. What would you do if you won the lottery? Travel the world? That’s WINNER TAKES ALL. (Or would you give it all away? Or maybe you’d just pay the bills and sit on the nest egg like a lucky hen? All are valid. All deserve some romance, am I right?)
Reviews are coming in and they are mixed, as reviews often are. To see what other readers think, click the Goodreads link below. Also, I’m going to run a contest here. Leave me a comment to let me know what you’d do if you suddenly had millions for a chance to win a signed copy. On Sunday, I’ll pick a winner here! On Thursday, I have a different contest running on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CherylHarperRomance) so you’ll have another chance to win if you head over there and comment!
Come back tomorrow for an EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT!
Here’s the back cover copy:
Winning the lottery means finally living her dreams…
Stephanie Yates isn’t really sure she’s ready to leave her hometown and see the world, but there’s not much she can do about it now: her friends have sent her on her way! And her first stop is a village in the breathtaking mountains of Peru, where Daniel Lincoln, her lifelong crush, is setting up medical clinics.
Stephanie thought she could hide her feelings for the hotshot doctor no problem, but Daniel has changed. And spending time with this strong, caring man helps her imagine a new life for herself, and for Daniel. That is, if he can start seeing her as more than just a friend…
iBooks: http://apple.co/1LVH3Vj
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1csf7we
Tagged: Cheryl Harper, harlequin, Harlequin Heartwarming, lucky numbers, romance, Sweet Romance, winner takes all
May 18, 2015
SUMMER LOVIN’ Facebook Party! Tuesday!
Please come party with me tomorrow to celebrate the release of the Summer Lovin’ anthology. There are so many great authors coming and the prizes will be nice. Here’s the party link: https://www.facebook.com/events/378702042312928/
And, just in case you need to know more about the book…14 contemporary stories, 99 cents, y’all! Mine features a grumpy ex-cop and a quirky school secretary.
Tagged: anthology, contemporary, contemporary romance, romance, Summer Lovin'
May 12, 2015
The first kiss: Most Likely to Turn Up the Heat
Summer Lovin’ will be available May 19 (but you can preorder now). 14 stories! Get it while it’s 99 cents!
How about an excerpt? Here’s the first kiss…
(And if you’d like to win a copy, hurry over to my Facebook page and enter to win my fabulous giveaway or party with me on May 19)
“I’m going back to Dallas.”
She stared at the sky again. “So, what? I should be all excited about some short-term affair?”
He would be. Why shouldn’t she?
“No, but you could do dinner. With me.” This hadn’t been in his plans for the evening. He’d intended to buy a nice woman a couple of drinks and then to take her back to his place. He’d vacuumed with that in mind.
Arguing in a parking lot had never crossed his mind.
He’d rather be facing off with Sue than trying to charm a stranger.
“This game, it’s been fun,” Max said as he eased close enough to hear the catch in her breath. “You teasing me, me resisting. Did you ever figure out what would happen if you caught me?”
Sue braced one hand against the car door. “No. Excellent game play. You’re a worthy opponent.”
Max’s rough chuckle was loud in the silence between them. “Winner chooses the spoils. You and me. Dinner.”
The cover for my story. It’s part of the Likely Characters series, following Least Likely to Fall in Love
“Are you sure you’re the winner?” Sue pursed her lips. “Maybe we’re still playing.”
“I’m not.” Max took her hand in his, reminded of the hot thrill of holding her hand while he ran a finger under the hem of her skirt. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I wish I knew the answer.” Sue stepped closer, pulled his head down, and kissed him. Whenever he’d imagined a clench like this with her, it had been hot. But in the dusty gravel lot of the Two Step, she burned him alive. Her lips were sweet against his, but when he teased into her open mouth, she returned the favor. Each brush of her tongue lit a spark.
Pulling her closer was the only option. When she shifted against him, each graze of her soft stomach robbed his brain of important blood flow. The giggles of a group of women walking to their cars, none of whom he recognized, got his attention through the haze of heat.
“Where’s a fireman when you need him?” Sue whispered. “My underwear is smoking.”
May 6, 2015
A thief, a cop, a Greek god’s pawn shop: Excerpt 2
Have another shot of my Leverage + Warehouse 13 mashup! Greek Gods Bearing Gifts, $2.99 in Kindle, Nook, and other retailers.
After two quick breaths to make sure she wasn’t going to vomit, Liberty crossed the room and knelt beside her brother. “Frank, I swear if you die, I’m going to kill you. Even if you live, this mess…” She didn’t even know what to say about the trouble he’d gotten them into.
She couldn’t fight the tears of relief when Frank stirred. “My phone.” He tried to shift but winced with the movement.
Liberty reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’ll call for an ambulance.”
She had the first number punched when Frank said, “No police. No ambulance. Call Annabelle.”
“Who is Annabelle?” Hurt, possibly dying, Frank was asking for a woman she’d never met. Instead of an ambulance? It made no sense.
Frank tried to take the phone away from her to do it himself, but Liberty gripped it tighter. She was about to ignore him and finish the call when he squeezed her hand. “No police. Annabelle. Then hit the panic button.”
Liberty did her best to ignore the way her hands were shaking, punched the button, and waited half a second.
“Where are you?” The husky woman’s voice was dead serious, and Liberty was encouraged by the gravity in her tone. She needed help. Now.
“Titan Pawn. Frank’s been shot.” The phone’s hard edges cut into her hand, but she couldn’t loosen her grip.
“Apply pressure. I’m on the way.” The beeps that signaled the ended call shook Liberty out of her panic.
Tagged: Excerpt, Greek Gods, Greek Gods Bearing Gifts, kindle, leverage, nook, paranormal romance, romance, warehouse 13
May 5, 2015
Excerpt 1, Greek Gods Bearing Gifts
Greek Gods Bearing Gifts (Click for the back cover copy and Buy links!)
Before Hannah could breeze on to the next part of the tour, the old familiar scratchy intuition telling Liberty to seek and find unfolded in the center of her chest. She slowly walked one aisle, vaguely aware of Frank saying, “No sense in trying to stop her now. She’s in the zone.” The jumbled aisle of laptops, small appliances, and school band instrument cases was a black blur. Bright lights above stung her eyes. The cold chill down her back slowly warmed with each step. Ignoring the pull in the past had meant headaches and sore muscles. Giving in was easiest.
At the end of the aisle, she paused in front of an old bank vault door.
When she touched the door, nothing happened. Normally she could feel…something…when she located whatever it was that drew her. Had being separated from the real world, locked away in a small spot filled with the bare minimum, erased her skill? Liberty couldn’t decide whether that would be good or bad news. She wouldn’t be who she thought she was anymore, but normal would be worth learning to live with the change. “The pawnshop has a vault?”
“Well, not really.” Hannah’s smug tone was replaced with an insider’s excitement.
Instead of slick polished metal of today’s high-tech vaults, this one was bronze and covered in artistic icons: trees, flowers, woodland creatures. It was beautiful, clearly one of a kind.
Hannah pressed her thumb against an intricately engraved rose, then stepped back. “I guess you’re ready. Whatever you do, don’t touch the spindle wheel. The alarms you would not believe.”
Instead of opening out, the door swung soundlessly in. Liberty took two steps forward to see another immense bright white room lit by fluorescent lights and filled with more shelves.
“Here we’ve got one big safe filled with special pieces. There’s another computer system for these.” Hannah tapped a beat-up laptop perched on a stone table. “Before you start exploring back here… Well, I should come with you the first two or three times, until you’re comfortable. Some of these items can be unpredictable.” Hannah smiled encouragingly before she shifted Liberty back and closed the door. Immediately, the ache building behind Liberty’s eyes and faint nausea faded. She wiped clammy hands on her rough jeans.
Living with this every day would be a misery. And so dangerous. Anything the gods wanted to keep hidden had to mean danger.
“What have you gotten us into now? Why don’t you seem amazed by this magic vault and hidden room with ‘unpredictable’ items, Frank?” Fear and anger made her heartbeat loud in her ears. Their whole lives, their father had warned them to keep away from the gods. Hide from the gods. Hide from police. Stick together.
All she wanted was normal.
This was a whole collection of crooked waiting to happen.
Tagged: Excerpt, Greek Gods, Greek Gods Bearing Gifts, leverage, paranormal romance
May 4, 2015
Greek Gods Bearing Gifts (May 5, 2015)
Greek Gods Bearing Gifts
A thief. A cop. A Greek god’s pawn shop.
Liberty Smith is certain putting two thieves in charge of a pawn shop is a terrible idea, even in Olympic View, tourist attraction and home to some people with unusual skills. Fresh out of prison, Liberty’s ready to go straight, all the way to Omaha if necessary, and take her baby brother Frank with her. Organizing the junk passing for inventory at Titan Pawn and the employees who aren’t all what they seem was never part of the plan.
Justin Barrett is a fine cop, just like his father before him. His only weak spot? The girl he put in prison who now has blood on her hands. Literally. To save pain-in-the-neck Frank and free Liberty to leave Olympic View, Justin joins a very strange mission. To 1983. With an odd watch and Liberty in the shortest red dress it’s been his pleasure to see.
Greek Gods Bearing Gifts is reunion-story, sexy paranormal romance (75,000 words) featuring the charming god of thieves, two people who never stopped loving, and the underworld’s all-you-can-eat rib buffet.
Amazon ::: Barnes & Noble ::: iBooks
Tagged: Greek Gods, Greek Gods Bearing Gifts, leverage, warehouse 13
April 2, 2015
Another Excerpt: Least Likely to Fall in Love
If she could see him watching her, she’d have keeled over right there in the shadows of the field house. But she was serious about doing a good job on the cans. In the beginning. After three or four, she’d gotten the hang of things and all the shaking and bouncing and bending and shifting had picked up the pace and his had slowed.
No matter how he lectured himself on how he owed her complete and total respect for her help with Maddie, his attention kept straying.
He wished he could tease her, make her laugh, get her attention without bringing up the past.
He wished they’d just met. A fresh start would have made things so much clearer.
Ryan checked his watch and told himself to get with it. Thirty minutes or so and the first work day would be done. As he tilted the last can, he shook the red spray paint and made quick work of a thick, beautiful coat. He set it back down and slapped the cap back on the can. He stretched his arms and then slowly walked back over to where Lindy was finishing up the second-to-last can.
When she rubbed an arm over her forehead and then yanked the stencil off the can, he said, “Looks good.” She made quick work of the last, nearly-dry can. She put the cap back on the can and set it next to his before she said, “Thanks.”
This was going to be good. Ryan nodded. “But you’ve got a problem.”
Lindy tilted her head in an “Oh, really?” attitude.
Ryan motioned with his head. “I don’t know if this one’s asleep or dead, but either way, that’s not what Coach had in mind.” The fourth can she’d painted had a beautiful lion on it, but he was upside down.
“Oh, for…” Lindy stomped over and picked up both cans.
Ryan was curious if the curse word bubbling on the tip of her tongue would make it out of her mouth. It didn’t. Instead, she gritted her teeth and gave his red can a shimmy and shake. She checked over both shoulders and quickly destroyed the evidence of the upside down lion. When the can was only red again, her shoulders returned to their normal place. She didn’t like making mistakes. Being caught in them was so much worse.
Least Likely to Fall in Love
Running the place. Like a boss.
Lindy Mason is happy to be back at Lincoln High School. As principal, she’s faced with the tough decision on how to handle a bullying case involving Maddie Myers, daughter of the boy who made her high school days a misery.
Getting better all the time.
Ryan’s panicked when he rushes into the principal’s office to rescue his daughter and shocked to see Lindy behind the desk. Single parenting means plenty of sleepless nights, time he spends regretting his mistakes and worrying over Maddie’s future.
Lindy and Ryan have to come to terms with the way life’s twists bring change and for the better. But love? No one’s going that far.
Least Likely to Fall in Love is an enemies-to-lovers, sexy contemporary romance (60,000 words) where the hero and heroine learn about forgiveness, bravery, and the challenge of controlling the radio with a teen in the car.
BUY (EXCLAMATION POINTS)–> http://amzn.to/1IaYu2W
Tagged: Excerpt, kindle, KU, Least Likely to Fall in Love, romance
March 31, 2015
New Excerpt: Least Likely to Fall in Love (On SALE TODAY!)
Least Likely to Fall in Love
Running the place. Like a boss.
Lindy Mason is happy to be back at Lincoln High School. As principal, she’s faced with the tough decision on how to handle a bullying case involving Maddie Myers, daughter of the boy who made her high school days a misery.
Getting better all the time.
Ryan’s panicked when he rushes into the principal’s office to rescue his daughter and shocked to see Lindy behind the desk. Single parenting means plenty of sleepless nights, time he spends regretting his mistakes and worrying over Maddie’s future.
Lindy and Ryan have to come to terms with the way life’s twists bring change and for the better. But love? No one’s going that far.
Least Likely to Fall in Love is an enemies-to-lovers, sexy contemporary romance (60,000 words) where the hero and heroine learn about forgiveness, bravery, and the challenge of controlling the radio with a teen in the car.
Available NOW in Print and Kindle e-book (Kindle Unlimited and KOLL)
EXCERPT:
“Coach asked me what I’d like to do. The lesser of the evils was painting trash cans. So here I am.” He raised an eyebrow. “Need a job? I could use an assistant.”
She pointed at his hand. It was devil red. “No way. I’d insist on gloves. Are you crazy? You’ll have a red hand for days now.”
He jerked his head to motion at a pile on the grass. “Had gloves. Didn’t think I’d need ’em, so you are more than welcome to slip them on.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you were…what, too tough for gloves?”
He grimaced. “Couldn’t have been too smart, now could it?”
As much as she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
She walked over to the pile. “What’s the white for?” There was no way she was doing this. Of course not. She was just here to supervise. But he was watching her. She had to do something. Activity and busy-ness had always been her defense.
“The stencil. See?” When she picked up the can of white spray paint, a lion stencil shifted in the breeze. “That goes on after they’re sufficiently red.” He motioned at a line of cans that definitely had to be red enough already. “That’s the last step.”
“Fine. I’ll help. But I’m smart enough to use a glove.” She picked up the protective eye gear, too. “I may not be cool enough for these glasses.”
He cocked his head to one side. “I don’t know. Put ’em on. Let me see.”
Lindy slid them on and propped her gloved hand on her hip. “Just call me Safety Girl.”
One corner of his mouth lifted as he swept a glance from her head to her blinding white tennis shoes, and her stomach tightened with each centimeter he advanced. “That’s a pretty good look for you, Safety Girl. Now, get to painting.”
She narrowed her eyes at him but walked over to the first can and painted on the lion. She was glad when Ryan slid his glasses back down. Maybe she could concentrate better.
Tagged: Excerpt, indie, Least Likely to Fall in Love, romance, self-publish
