Diane Saxon's Blog, page 6
June 3, 2016
Once & Again by M S Kaye - Cover Reveal
Once & Again
book 2
She was once his secret desire… Will she be again? Father Aiden, an ex-marine and new priest, falls in love with Maylynn, but he struggles to stay away from her. He’s successful for many years, though he can’t keep her out of his dreams. Then one day she shows up for a pre-marital counselling session with her fiancé, Davis. Aiden soon realizes Davis isn’t who he says he is, but what does that mean for Maylynn, and for himself?
Will be released August 4, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.
Pre-Order NowAmazon
Add to your to-read on GoodreadsAuthor Bio:
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com. To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website.
Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | TSU | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Amazon
Once , book oneWill be released July 2, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Her first and also her once.Jonathan and Rebecca’s paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say.But Jonathan is three days from entering the priesthood, and Rebecca leaves him to his peace. But he is unable to find peace.Without each other’s comfort and strength, they must each struggle to forge a new path, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.But are they able to forget and let go? Once & Forever , book threeWill be released December 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? As Eden and Trace grow closer, confessing their pasts to each other, will they be able to resist getting too close?Excerpt:“You’re studying to be a priest?”He made himself meet her eyes. “I am a priest.”She let go of his hand and stepped back.Her smiled was tight. “I’m glad you found your path.”Quiet.He couldn’t quite read her expression. The distance between them felt like a gorge chiseled into the earth.“Are you all right, Maylynn?” he asked.“I’m really happy for you.” Then she added, “Father Aiden.”For some reason, her words stabbed him in the gut. He usually liked when people used his title—it seemed to imply a certain amount of trust.“I’m sorry, Maylynn.” He wasn’t entirely sure why he was apologizing. He just didn’t like to see her uncomfortable.“I’m happy for you,” she repeated.Then he realized what the problem was. He hadn’t anticipated this.He moved closer. “I’m so sorry.”Her forced smile finally dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”“It didn’t occur to me…”“That I might be attracted to you?”“Yes.”“Why aren’t you wearing your collar?” Anger prickled the edge of her voice.“My mother’s last wish was that I find my father. I’ve been following her notes. She was convinced he was somewhere in this area.”“Wait… Your mother’s name was Adalina?”He nodded. With the number of times the shelter was mentioned in the notes, he figured his mother and Maylynn had met.A pause.Anger flashed in her eyes. “You still should’ve told me.”“I’m sorry.”“Why’d you play with me like that?”“I swear that wasn’t my intent.”“You knew damn well what was going on. Was it a game—see if you still had it? If you could still get the chicks?”Under the anger in her eyes, he saw the hurt. He swore he could feel it exactly, as if it was his own.He shifted even closer, just in front of her. “I’m sorry,” he said again. His voice lowered, quieted. “I didn’t see what you were feeling because I was fighting so hard myself. I still am.”“Fighting what?”“What I felt the first time I saw you, what I’m still feeling.”She waited, glaring at him.
“I’m attracted to you,” he said. “Intensely.”
book 2
She was once his secret desire… Will she be again? Father Aiden, an ex-marine and new priest, falls in love with Maylynn, but he struggles to stay away from her. He’s successful for many years, though he can’t keep her out of his dreams. Then one day she shows up for a pre-marital counselling session with her fiancé, Davis. Aiden soon realizes Davis isn’t who he says he is, but what does that mean for Maylynn, and for himself?
Will be released August 4, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.
Pre-Order NowAmazon
Add to your to-read on GoodreadsAuthor Bio:
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com. To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website.
Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | TSU | Pinterest | LinkedIn | Amazon
Once , book oneWill be released July 2, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Her first and also her once.Jonathan and Rebecca’s paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say.But Jonathan is three days from entering the priesthood, and Rebecca leaves him to his peace. But he is unable to find peace.Without each other’s comfort and strength, they must each struggle to forge a new path, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.But are they able to forget and let go? Once & Forever , book threeWill be released December 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? As Eden and Trace grow closer, confessing their pasts to each other, will they be able to resist getting too close?Excerpt:“You’re studying to be a priest?”He made himself meet her eyes. “I am a priest.”She let go of his hand and stepped back.Her smiled was tight. “I’m glad you found your path.”Quiet.He couldn’t quite read her expression. The distance between them felt like a gorge chiseled into the earth.“Are you all right, Maylynn?” he asked.“I’m really happy for you.” Then she added, “Father Aiden.”For some reason, her words stabbed him in the gut. He usually liked when people used his title—it seemed to imply a certain amount of trust.“I’m sorry, Maylynn.” He wasn’t entirely sure why he was apologizing. He just didn’t like to see her uncomfortable.“I’m happy for you,” she repeated.Then he realized what the problem was. He hadn’t anticipated this.He moved closer. “I’m so sorry.”Her forced smile finally dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”“It didn’t occur to me…”“That I might be attracted to you?”“Yes.”“Why aren’t you wearing your collar?” Anger prickled the edge of her voice.“My mother’s last wish was that I find my father. I’ve been following her notes. She was convinced he was somewhere in this area.”“Wait… Your mother’s name was Adalina?”He nodded. With the number of times the shelter was mentioned in the notes, he figured his mother and Maylynn had met.A pause.Anger flashed in her eyes. “You still should’ve told me.”“I’m sorry.”“Why’d you play with me like that?”“I swear that wasn’t my intent.”“You knew damn well what was going on. Was it a game—see if you still had it? If you could still get the chicks?”Under the anger in her eyes, he saw the hurt. He swore he could feel it exactly, as if it was his own.He shifted even closer, just in front of her. “I’m sorry,” he said again. His voice lowered, quieted. “I didn’t see what you were feeling because I was fighting so hard myself. I still am.”“Fighting what?”“What I felt the first time I saw you, what I’m still feeling.”She waited, glaring at him.
“I’m attracted to you,” he said. “Intensely.”
May 30, 2016
May 24, 2016
Kimber Vale - Balancing Act - Cover Reveal
Balancing ActShooting Stars Book 4By K. ValeRelease: June 27, 2016Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Blurb
Greg Dwyer and Kyrie Li are living the glorious couple life in New York City. Or are they? When struggling actor Kyrie lands a modeling job, he’s ecstatic to have extra cash to spend on his best-friend-turned-boyfriend.Of course, Greg is suspicious Anders Berglund, the gorgeous and androgynous Swedish cover model the designers love to pair with Kyrie, is after his man. And maybe Kyrie encourages a growing closeness with the guy?
Greg is probably to blame if Kyrie is drawn to the openly gay and seriously beautiful Andy. With Andy, Kyrie can be himself, as loud and proud as he’s always been. But Greg’s sexuality stays firmly locked in the closest except when he’s with Kyrie’s supportive family or alone with the man he loves.
To make matters worse, Greg’s out-of-touch mom meets with financial ruin and moves in with the couple, forcing him into the closet in his own home.
Can Greg find a way to stand up to Mommy Dearest and win back a love he fought so hard to reach? He discovers the road to pride begins at home and with accepting oneself first. Otherwise, it’s just a dead-end street.
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
Kyrie’s amazing day was about to get a cherry on top. He opened the apartment door to the rattle of keys on the other side.
Greg’s mouth dropped open, eyes widening comically, but he spared a nervous glance for the empty hallway behind him before stepping swiftly over the threshold.
He shut the door and locked it with a snap of the deadbolt.
“Is it my birthday already?” Easing his work computer to the floor, Greg allowed the suit jacket draped over one arm to follow unceremoniously. As he loosened his tie, yanking the knot from side to side, his mahogany gaze did a similar zigzag down Kyrie’s exposed body.
“This, my love, is just one of the outfits I was given today when I went for my Spectrum Spectacularcallback.”Greg took in the full extent of Kyrie’s ensemble, what little there was of it, and his auburn brows lowered. Kyrie spun around to give him the complete picture, peeking back over his shoulder with a salacious lick of the lips. The white micro trunks and matching fishnet tank were his favorite parts of the ample cache he’d received. He’d been beyond excited for Greg to get home and see them.
“Why would they...? You got the job?” A grin broke across Greg’s face, but the disapproval was still evident as he continued to eye Kyrie’s appearance.
“I got the job! I got the job!” He grabbed Greg’s hands and pumped them up and down. “I’m modeling with Anders Berglund! Anders. Berglund! The Swedish supermodel! We’re partners for the No Black, No White shoot!”
He clasped his hands together while the rest of his body vibrated with pent-up energy. Anders Berglund was gargantuan, his gorgeous face on nearly every magazine cover in the grocery store checkout aisle. Kyrie’s fairy godmother had waved a magic wand over him, and Greg just stood there with his forehead puckered.
“Well?”
Greg slid his arms around Kyrie, rubbing his back as if he were cold. “So…this is what you’re gonna be wearing?”
“Maybe. Who knows? They gave us a few outfits to try on for size.”
“This is not an outfit.” Greg rubbed the holey fabric between his fingers.
Kyrie canted his head, eyebrows lifting as he delivered his best You’re kidding, right?stare. “This is only a sample. There will be all kinds of clothesat the shoot. I’m sure they’ll pick the best of the best after we’re done.”
“Won’t posing half-naked hurt your acting career?”
Kyrie scoffed, rolling his eyes. “No! Watch how many doors this opens. Just you wait.”
“And this is for what? Gay rights or…something?”
Kyrie ramped up the baleful expression. “Have you been listening to anything I’ve said for the past month? It’s not just gay. It’s everything. A campaign to call attention to all shades of the sexual identity spectrum. We gays are pretty widely accepted these days, you might be surprised to know.”
Greg’s arms stiffened around him, and Kyrie bit down on a sigh. Yes, we gays. Including you. Or maybe bi sits better, but you’ve been sticking it to a dude for almost a year and a half now. Time to officially join the not-so-straight club.
Kyrie expelled a frustrated breath after all. “It’s a phenomenal thing to be part of, never mind the sweet paycheck I’ll be pullin’ in. Never mind that I’ll be working with Anders Fucking Berglund and how much visibility I’ll get out of it.” He squeaked, elation bubbling from him despite Greg’s muted response.“And I thought his first name was bad,” Greg groused, even as his fingers tested the thin mesh over Kyrie’s back and traveled lower.
Kyrie freely admitted he was damned stunning in the getup. All the white clothing they’d given him popped against the brown skin he’d inherited from his mother. Conversely, Anders was the fairest lad in all the land. He had pale blond hair and porcelain skin, fractured only by startlingly dark eyebrows and a couple of highly fortuitous moles rumored to have launched his career. He’d be dressed in black and guaranteed to look amazing. Together…this was going to be fucking epic.
Bio:
K. Vale writes erotic romance of all stripes, from hot hetero to mouthwatering manlove. Find her M/F work published under Kimber Vale. Stalk Kimber on Facebook and Twitter, check http://authorkimbervale.com for updates, new releases, and freebies, and sign up for her newsletterto receive an exclusive free story. Come for the sex. Stay for the story.
Links:Liquid Silver BooksAmazonBarnes & NobleAll Romance eBooksKoboiTunesGoogle PlayPinterestGoodreads
May 13, 2016
NEW RELEASE - 2nd JUNE 2016
Blurb
Black Hawk pilot Captain Barbara Lynn Perry is running scared. Witness to an event too horrible to think about and too dangerous to talk of, she finds herself alienated from a world she has always had faith in.With her Special Forces brother missing, she has only one other person to turn to. When her friend Flynn Swann isn’t available, Barbara is left with no choice but to trust the man Flynn sends to save her.Psychiatrist Dominic Salter’s information from her superior officer’s file is that Barbara has gone rogue. Despite the damning evidence, every instinct tells him he’s dealing with an honorable woman, one who single-handedly saved Flynn from torture and a sure death. Dominic’s challenge is to delve his way beneath her tough, defensive attitude and coax the truth from a woman who’s too frightened to reveal her dark secret.In his brand new facility containing a state of the art Dreampsych Transcender he’s experimenting with, a machine far beyond a simulator, Dominic has to gain the trust and confidence of Barbara while he resists the hard pull of attraction to this kick-ass woman.Betrayed by a member of his staff, events take a sinister turn, and the pressure is on in a fight against time for Dominic to persuade Barbara to put her trust in him and reveal the truth before matters are taken out of his hands.
Excerpt
Chapter OneShe raised a shaky hand to rub her fingertips over taut lips and tried to swallow, but her tongue was too thick to allow it, her mouth too dry to comply. She held the same hand horizontally in front of her face and watched the vague tremble. The tremor that threatened her sharp shot. The shake that no longer allowed her to pick up a glass of whiskey without being a dead giveaway.She needed help.Flynn.Flynn could help.She’d saved his life, goddammit. Of course he would help.So she waited in the silent twilight for Flynn to come.Pitch black descended and still no sign of the man. So dark she could no longer see the trembling hand in front of her face, but the sweat still formed in the creases along her palm, making her hand slip as she tightened her grip on the gun. She swapped it over from right to left while she rubbed the damp onto the leg of her black yoga pants. It made no difference, she could shoot as well with one hand as the other. Not that she could see to shoot, but she hadn’t imagined for one moment Flynn would have kept her waiting this long and dark would close in before he arrived.She’d hunkered down in the comfort of the straw, her mind filled with visions of blood and gunshots while night descended faster than she’d realized.She’d kept Flynn waiting three nights previously. God only knew how long he’d waited for her, but she’d listened to her sixth sense, believed someone else was there at the meeting point, and she’d hightailed it out of there, leaving Flynn to his own devices. He was still a tough cookie. No point in her hanging around to save him. She’d already saved his sorry ass once before.The dim light of the stables flickered on and filled the place with a dull buzzing sound. Cautious, she straightened and moved toward her target. The cowboy seemed to be the right height, but it looked like Flynn had gone to seed since leaving the Special Forces three years earlier. She’d heard rumors he hadn’t coped well with civilian life. Probably more to do with having half his face carved up. She twitched her nose in distaste. The voices of the men who had tortured him filled her head, the vicious sound of their hyena cackles as they cut Flynn with glee. It hadn’t been the prettiest of sights, but she’d seen worse. She’d even killed men herself, but never for fun. Only out of necessity, duty, and a desperate desire to live.It was the pleasure they’d taken out of torturing a man that had turned her stomach. Not that anyone knew. She’d die before she allowed anyone to see her weakness. It looked like she may have to, after recent events. She’d thought she’d never witness anything worse than Flynn’s torture. But she had.She closed her eyes and took a moment to control her pulse rate before she stepped forward.The cowboy turned, staggered slightly in the dead giveaway of a drunken sidestep, and smiled broad and sloppy as his unfocused gaze met hers. Drawing in a deep, slow breath, she realized her mistake. It wasn’t Flynn.With no other option, Barbara tucked her gun into the back of her pants. It was a mistake she would never have made a month ago. One that under any other circumstances would have cost her life. Lucky for her, it was only some piss head in her way.“Hey.” Loose-limbed, she stepped forward, a deliberate wide smile in place. “I’m looking for Flynn. Is he here?”Confusion flitted across the man’s face, his brows pulled down in an exaggerated drunken frown.“He’s a dipshit.”Surprise at his viciousness stopped her advance as the man swayed, took two clumsy steps to his left before he gained his balance, and stood swaying before her. His thin lips twisted, bitter and angry.“You’re not his girl. His girl’s a fuckin’ little bitch. Lost me my job and had me arrested.”With barely a twitch of her eyebrow, Barbara skimmed her gaze over him. Nasty little fucker. Reminded her of her mother’s boyfriend. Several of her mother’s boyfriends. But one in particular had been a mean son of a bitch. He’d slapped her around plenty, until her mother had caught him and almost pulled his hair out by the roots. Her mother may have had scores of men come and go after Barbara’s father’s death, but she never let a single one mess with her daughter.Barbara narrowed her eyes at him, never flinched as the horse behind her snorted and stamped impatiently in its stall. All her concentration centered on the drunk. She’d learned long ago with hard lessons not to take her gaze off the threat. This guy was definitely a threat.“No, I’m not his girl. Have you seen him?”He rubbed his hand over his lips, sly gaze darting sideways. “I heard he left with the slut.”Muscles tense, Barbara felt the sick slide of dread. “Where’d he go?”“New Zealand. They were talking about it in the jailhouse.”“Who?”“The fucking sheriff and his fucking deputies.”“What were you doing there?” She wasn’t interested, but she could see him lowering his guard as they chatted. She never lowered hers. That’s what got you killed.The guy turned his head and spat into the hay and then sneered at her. “Mistaken identity.” He held up a hand with fingers swathed in bandages.“Uh-huh.”“Flynn’s bitch said I went after her. It was her who attacked me and broke my fucking little finger.”She repressed the desire to smile. She hadn’t much to smile about, but it seemed as though Flynn could have met his match after all.“Stupid fuckers let my wife bail me out.”Barbara couldn’t stop the blink of surprise. He had a wife? Poor woman.“She’s my ex-wife.” His mean eyes flickered down. “She just wants rid of me.”She could imagine why.Barbara watched as he skimmed his bloodshot gaze over her, recognized the lascivious leer, and knew instinctively she wasn’t simply going to walk away from their encounter. “So, what are your plans?”“Fuckers took my gun, but I had another one they didn’t know about at my stupid fucking wife’s house. She didn’t even know it was there. I’m going to take me a horse and ride out of here, and no one is going to stop me.”She stepped back and spread her arms wide for him to carry on. “I wouldn’t want to try.”He took a small, stumbling step forward and then lurched at her. Little shit, she never quite saw him coming. She’d somehow thought he would have a little more finesse. His body slammed into hers, and she realized what she’d thought was fat was one hell of a lot of solid muscle bound tightly in that fat.As he took her down, she allowed her body to go loose. She anticipated the fast whoosh of air that expelled from her lungs, but his weight was a little harder and heavier than she had expected. Winded, she lay still for a long moment. By the time she recovered, he had her breast in his hand, squeezing it tightly. Pain and indignation radiated through her, but as she tried to move, he slung his leg over both of hers to pin her to the ground. The metal buckle on his belt dug hard into the flesh of her belly, and as she wriggled in the straw, the slide of it cut in deeper. The solid press of her own gun into her spine had her stilling.The guy was an idiot; sometimes they just made it too easy by underestimating her. She may only be five feet four inches, but she was a trained soldier, goddammit.With a weary sigh, she gave her head a disgusted shake and tightened her lips as she slipped his gun from his hip holster and held it against his temple before he could take another drunken grunt. She pulled back the hammer and met the surprise in his rheumy eyes. There was barely a tremor in her grip as her finger softened against the trigger. No need to terminate him, provided he was reasonable.Bastard.The quiet snick of metal stopped her mid thought.“Take the gun away from Buddy’s head.” Mellow Irish tones reasoned with her from behind her head.She held it firm, never so much as twitched.The silver glint of a gun slid into her peripheral vision and kicked up her pulse.“I’ve got him covered, Barbara, you can remove your gun.” Her name from the unfamiliar Irish voice had her hesitating.The sour smell of whiskey puffed over her skin, and the bloated face of the drunk still lying on top of her gave her a moment’s pause. She could have simply immobilized him and left him writhing in agony on the floor by twisting his already broken finger, or she could blow his brains out, the stupid fuck.It wouldn’t have bothered her.Sweat slicked on the handle of the gun to make a liar of her. Who was she trying to kid? It was never a choice she’d make to deliberately take a life. He may be stupid, but he was no longer a threat.“Barbara. Are you listening to me?” She had no option. The soft voice had a lovely lilt, even as the owner of it nudged the muzzle of his gun once more into her vision as if she were a child who needed to be reminded of his presence.She relaxed her finger, released the hammer with a click, and drew in a purifying breath.A hot gush of wet spread across her lower regions and soaked through her pants at the same time as the acrid scent of urine filled her nostrils. She curled her lip with revulsion and stared into the puffy eyes of the man above her as terror paralyzed his bladder and he pissed all over her.“You cowardly bastard.”In a lightning move, she dropped her weapon and flipped the man over onto his back in the hay. His bulging eyes widened, fear flashing through them. The Irishman’s gun never wavered from its target, but Buddy’s muscles bunched, as though he was about to make a move, and she was having none of it.“I have you covered, Barbara. You can let him go. Flynn sent me. You’re safe now.”With one vicious twist of Buddy’s little finger, she pushed herself free of the drunken cowboy and left him screaming like the pathetic coward she recognized him to be.
April 27, 2016
On Offer Until the End of the Week
I may not have mentioned that right now I'm in the middle of writing the second book in this series. If Love had Wings is the story of Daniel, the Archangel who is Matt's Agent, and Roni, Ginny's best friend.
I promise there are more fireworks ahead in this book and more history between these two than you can imagine. Here's a little snippet to give you a hint of what's to come.
Bright neon lights cut through the darkness. The man she’d avoided stood right by the doorway, arms crossed over his broad chest as though he was waiting for someone. He turned his fierce gaze on her. Waiting for her.He’d disposed of his suit jacket, tugged his pink tie loose and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to expose his muscled forearms. An ethereal glow bounced from his white cotton shirt and in the violet incandescence, a halo shimmered over his blond head.The breath caught in her throat as memories pushed into her mind and stabbed another sharp pain into her head.He tilted his head to one side, a flicker of a smile danced on his lips. “Roni. Hi. I thought you might have escaped me before we had a chance to talk.”
Escape? Who was he?
If you haven't already bought Banshee Seduction, now's your chance. Until the end of the week, my publisher has reduced the price.
Buy Links
Amazon.com| Amazon.co.uk | All Romance | iTunes | Barnes & Noble |
Kobo http://bit.ly/1M5z5ch
April 18, 2016
WOULD YOU BELIEVE? A NOMINATION FOR THE RONE AWARDS
To my absolute delight, I found out the other day that Banshee Seduction has been nominated for a RONE Award. Such thrilling news.
Voting for the next round starts today and lasts a week, so I'd really appreciate every single vote I get for this, my paranormal dragon shape-shifter story.
http://www.indtale.com/2016-rone-awards-week-one
If you haven't read it and you'd like to, here's a little taster.
Blurb
Sweet, shy librarian Ginny has a problem. Whenever passion strikes, so do the weeping, wailing voices in her head. Being half banshee, she’s already run screaming from the underworld and her female relatives, believing love will find a way with patience and faith on planet Earth. The trouble is, humans just aren’t man enough, and every time Ginny shows interest in a male, she makes him bleed. It’s going to take more than just a simple human being to get past Ginny’s defenses. Matthew, “The Dane,” fullback for the New York Chameleons, knows the moment he meets the little fireball that she’s his mate. For two hundred years he and his dragon have waited for a female capable of setting their world on fire. Problem is, he doesn’t seem to be able to stop her from going up in flames long enough to prove he’s more than man enough for her screaming banshee. Will Matt ever be able to convince Ginny she’s his mate? And will Ginny get Matt alone long enough to let him appreciate her pyrotechnics?
Excerpt
“There are no such things as dragons.” She spoke into the silence, and the voices simpered sarcastically in her head.
“Nor banshees.”
“No such thing as vampires.”
“Archangels aren’t real.”
If it was all they could contribute, they could just… “Shut up.”
Quiet, sneaky laughter filled her mind in response to her vicious snarl and annoyed the hell out of her.
Resolved, she stood, walked to the curtains and whipped them open, coming face-to-face with the giant dragon through the windowpane. His sea-green eyes, filled with soft appeal, stared straight into hers.
Her hand was on the door before she even consciously thought about it; she clicked the lock and opened the door wide. The dragon lurched, and she skipped back. Squashed Ginny was not on the menu—she hoped. The dragon coughed, and a small ball of fire skimmed over her, heating her flesh as though it had stroked her. Barbecued Ginny might be another matter.
“Ginny.” Voice rusty and coarse, the dragon slavered as its mouth opened, and she was treated to another view of its white, pointy teeth when it tried again. “Ginny. It’s me—Matthew.”
He folded his wings in, took a step forward, and stumbled. No idea what possessed her, she rushed toward him, held up her hand, and placed it on his scaled chest, just to have it skim off again. She looked at her palm. Clear fluid coated it. She leaned in, took a sniff, and the scent of baby oil filled her nostrils.
“Matt?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
The dragon form shrugged, hung his head in pitiful shame, and coaxed a small gurgle of laughter from her. If she was dreaming, she might as well have fun. His head came back up; his sea-green gaze pinned her.
“I think someone spiked my drink.”
Sympathy unfurled, and she wiped the baby oil onto her pajama top before raising her hand to stroke his face.
His deep voice grumbled. “I don’t feel so good.”
She took a rapid step back. “You don’t look too good, either. You’re a bit green around the gills.”
He snorted. A tiny flame puffed out of his nostrils. “I’m supposed to be green…and purple.”
She leaned in for a closer look. “You seem more green than purple to me.”
He opened his wings wide, making her move back, shuffled, folded them in, and settled again, a tremor running through his body.
“Ginny, can I stay here?”
“I…”
“Please.”
How could she resist the appeal in his wide green eyes and the flutter of his exceptionally long black eyelashes? She stepped back and opened the door as far as she could to allow him in. If it was a sugar high causing the monster mirage, then that was okay. Also, a dream was acceptable.
Tempted to dash forward and wrap her arms around him, she watched him duck low and stagger precariously as he crossed over her living room. Dreams shouldn’t be this vivid.
Perhaps she’d had a brain hemorrhage.
Well, who was she to argue with any one of those three scenarios? She had an enormous, beautiful dragon in her apartment, and if she was in a sugar-induced coma, she was going to make the most of it.
“Can I use your bed?” His deep voice boomed in her small lounge.
She flicked her hand in the direction of her bedroom and didn’t know whether to move out of the way or run to help as he swayed, a definite green hue rising up his neck. Figment of her imagination or not, there was no way she was allowing it to turn into a nightmare. She slapped a hand on her waist and shot out a hip, tilting her head to one side, and just so there was no mistake, she wagged a finger at him like she was telling teenagers to be quiet in the library.
“If you hurl in my apartment, you can clean it up yourself.”
“Okay.”
As pathetic and remorseful as he sounded, she wondered if she’d treated the monster too harshly. Sympathy blossomed in her chest. She heaved a sigh and gestured for him to continue.
He weaved his way through the opposite doorway, forced to dip his head low again. She stood motionless while she wondered whether to go after him. A loud whump followed by a resounding crunch decided her as she rushed through to check the damage.
Aghast, she stared at the eleven-foot dragon who’d face-planted her bed, making three of the four legs collapse, and leaving it to sprawl at a drunken angle. The pretty pink daisies adorning her duvet cover looked strangely in keeping with his vibrant green as though the mystical creature had fallen from a book into a field of flowers.
To Buy the Book
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk iTunes Barnes & Noble
April 8, 2016
Then Came You - New Release from Marianne Rice
Title: THEN CAME YOUAuthor: Marianne RiceSeries: The Wilde Sisters, Book #2Thyme Wilde doesn’t make long-term decisions—until she falls in love with one… Easily bored and quickly distracted, Thyme enjoys her freedom, so being a temp at her sister’s company is the perfect job. But when she takes a position as a nanny, she instantly falls in love with the five-year-old princess named Maddie—and just two months later, Maddie’s parents are killed in a plane crash, leaving Thyme in an unfamiliar role of responsibility.
Multi-millionaire architect Grayson Montgomery lives in the lap of luxury—but at a cost…
Being the sole heir of his family’s fashion empire and his father’s architectural firm, Grayson has never lacked for anything. But in return, he must stay subservient to the matriarch of his family—his grandmother—and date the heiress of their largest business partner. The only freedom Grayson has is his architectural designs, which are his true passion.
One day changes Grayson’s future forever…
A lawyer summons Grayson to Maine for the reading of the will of a woman he once knew. He doesn’t expect to be named the father of a five-year-old orphan. Then he meets his newly-discovered daughter—and her incredibly sexy nanny.
While acting as Maddie’s loyal nanny, Thyme develops feelings for her new employer that are more than professional. And after several passionate nights with Grayson, it’s clear the feeling is mutual.
When it’s made evident Grayson sees her as a convenient placeholder, Thyme must push aside her desires and put Maddie above herself—even if it means sacrificing her heart to do it.
|| PURCHASE ||AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/1VwklKFAMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/1Uz52kR
|||||| THE WILDE SISTERS ||||||SWEET ON YOU, Book 1AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/1RdPboeAMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/1WnR6bA
|| ABOUT THE AUTHOR ||
Marianne Rice writes contemporary romances set in small New England towns. Her heroes are big and strong, yet value family and humor, while her heroines are smart, sexy, sometimes a little bit sassy, and are often battling a strong internal conflict. Together, they deal with real life issues and always, always, find everlasting love. When she’s not writing, Marianne spends her time buying shoes, eating chocolate, chauffeuring her herd of children to their varying sporting events, and when there’s time, cuddling with her husband, a drink in one hand, a romance book in the other.
Limitless Publishing: http://www.limitlesspublishing.net/authors/marianne-rice/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarianneRiceautTwitter: https://twitter.com/mariannericeautWebsite: http://www.mariannerice.com/
April 7, 2016
Round Trip Fare by Barb Taub
Round Trip Fare, the newest book in Barb Taub's Null City series, is now available on Amazon for preorder.**Although a sequel to Book 1 (One Way Fare), this is the stand alone story of twins Carey and Connor Parker.
Is it wrong that shooting people is just so much easier than making decisions? Carey wonders— and not for the first time. But the Agency claims this will be an easy one. A quick pickup of a missing teen and she won’t even have to shoot anybody. Probably. Carey knows superpowers suck, her own included. From childhood she’s only had two options. She can take the Metro train to Null City and a normal life. After one day there, imps become baristas, and hellhounds become poodles. Demons settle down, join the PTA, and worry about their taxes. Or she can master the powers of her warrior gift and fight a war she can’t win, in a world where she never learned how to lose.
And then there is… him.
For the past two months, a dark stranger has persistently edged his way onto the mental game board behind her eyelids. Well, whatever trouble he's selling, Carey Parker is not buying. Her to-do list is already long enough: find her brother and sister, rescue her roommate, save Null City, and castrate her ex-boyfriend. Preferably with a dull-edged garden tool. A rusty one. She just has a few details to work out first. Her parents have been killed, her brother and sister targeted, and the newest leader of the angels trying to destroy Null City might be the one person she loves most in the world. And her sexy new partner’s gift lets him predict deaths. Hers.
TITLE: Round Trip Fare Genre: Urban Fantasy (okay and there is humor, romance, a sentient train, a great dog, and bunch of other stuff—but Amazon only gives you a couple of words to pick genre, so...)Series: Null City [NOTE: prequel One Way Fare is now available FREE from Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and the kindle version directly from Barb) but this book works as standalone.Release date: 7 April, 2016Contact & Buy LinksBlog | Facebook | Twitter: @barbtaub | Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Barb Taub:In halcyon days BC (before children), Barb wrote a humor column for several Midwest newspapers. With the arrival of Child #4, she veered toward the dark side and an HR career. Following a daring daytime escape to England, she's lived in a medieval castle and a hobbit house with her prince-of-a-guy and the World’s Most Spoiled AussieDog. Now all her days are Saturdays, and she spends them traveling around the world, plus consulting with her daughter on Marvel heroes, Null City, and translating from British to American.
EXCERPT:Was it wrong that shooting people was so much easier than finishing up the humanities requirements for her criminal justice degree? Carey Parker sipped her coffee and—not for the first time—wondered about herself. But the Agency said this would be an easy one. A quick pickup and she wouldn’t even have to shoot anybody. Probably.There were two distinct advantages to her corner table at the rear of the self-consciously artistic coffee shop on the edge of Seattle’s eclectic Fremont district. Nobody could see her screen, and—infinitely more important—she had sole possession of the outlet currently charging both iPad and phone. She checked her iPad’s video screen to make sure the blonde teen she was tracking still had no idea she was being studied. Well, okay—studied along with the research materials for Carey’s overdue Humanities 201 essay. “Discuss the relationship of capitalism and patriarchal post constructivist theory. Provide data and cite literature supporting your thesis.” She squinted at the assignment, minimized to parallel the video window, and cringed.Enlarging the video, Carey automatically evaluated her target. The teenager was a few inches under Carey’s own five-five. But where Carey’s cargo pants and hoodie hid a leanly muscled frame and a surprising number of weapons, the other girl’s designer Goth outfit made the most of her soft curves. Plus that pink streak in the younger girl’s hair was a little too shiny, her dark eyeliner a bit too creamy, while her wannabe goth leather jacket, fitted black T-shirt, and long dark skirt screamed Nordstrom personal shopper and Daddy’s credit card.A lifetime of training—three years at the Academy, four more in the field—and they send me after Goth-Barbie. Carey sighed. Is it even worth it? But a flash memory—her guardian Harry’s blood-drenched golden hair, the almost-forgotten faces of her murdered parents, her missing brother and sister—stopped her. If she had a prayer of finding Gaby and Connor, she couldn’t afford to give up the all-important info access the Agency jobs provided. And then there was…him. For the past two months, the dark stranger had persistently edged his way onto the mental game board behind her eyelids where her harmonia gift visualized connections only she could view. Whatever trouble Mr. Six-Feet-Plus of arrogance is selling, I’m sure not buying.“Excuse me. Do you need both outlets?”Carey looked up to see the blonde standing in front of her, expectantly holding up her power cord. “Yes.” She returned her focus to the iPad screen, ignoring the muttered “bitch” as the girl went over to try her smile on the men two tables over. Her reversed video window showed the younger girl breathlessly thanking the man who leaped to free up an outlet for her. As she leaned over their table, the men’s eyes lit with appreciation for the way she maximized scoop-neck T-shirt, youth, and the best technology the foundations industry had to offer. Guess there’s all kinds of ways to say thank you.Shrugging, Carey returned to her own essay assignment. Her business partner, Marley, was pushing her to finish the degree that would let them bill the Agency at a higher rate. But at twenty-four Carey felt a generation older than her fellow students. With her erratic hours, she had to take classes offering online options whenever possible, so she was currently sentenced to Humanities 201: Postmodernist Applications for Economic Themes in Literature.“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting here for ages.”At the sex-kitten whine, Carey’s eyes flicked back to the little video window to see the other girl pouting up at a new arrival. But her complaints didn’t stop her from giving the young man—a boy, really, although Marley’s data sheet said he was nineteen—a thorough tonsil cleaning. Pulling away, he threw himself into a dramatic slouch across the next chair, giving Carey her first good look at him. He was thin, but more like an adolescent whose slender arms and legs had yet to develop a man’s solid outlines. His pale fallen-angel face sulked behind long hair too carefully slashed and tossed over one eye to be accidental. He looked, Carey thought, beautiful and brooding and more than a little stupid. Score!Pretending to check her phone, Carey took a quick picture of the boy and texted it along with the address of the coffee shop. It had only been a few days since he’d left home and stopped showing up at his classes or part-time job. Too little time for the police to be concerned, but long enough for his frantic parents to agree to her search fee. Setting the phone aside, she adjusted her video window to give him a critical once-over. But he didn’t seem any more pale or unhealthy than would be explained by devotion to the laptop he was even now pulling out and opening.“Get me a coffee?” He didn’t look up from his laptop as he spoke. The girl pouted again but bounced off. Returning with a cup for each of them, she leaned forward to lay a gentle hand on his arm. “Is your poem cycle done yet?” The boy shook his head impatiently, fingers tapping at his laptop’s keyboard. She smiled. “Don’t worry. Now that I’m here, it will go so much better.” He blinked, and shivered. She breathed in and smiled again. His typing increased, his face intent on the screen.Carey flipped the cover down on her iPad, rewound its power cable as well as the one for her phone, and stored them in their specially padded—okay, armored—case. The Apple people had been incredibly nice about that last bullet incident, but she could just hear Marley explaining, again, how their little company couldn’t afford to keep buying her new iPads. Setting the case into the backpack hanging behind her corner chair, Carey leaned both elbows on the table, peering over the brim of her raised coffee cup. Excellent coffee, she decided. Wonder if they roast it themselves?Finally the two men, the only other customers in the secluded rear room, stood up and left. She took a final look around at the coffee shop’s rear seating area—one door, no windows or other access—and left to talk to the barista in the front room of the coffee shop. Twenty dollars later, Carey taped a handwritten sign—“Rear room reserved for private meeting”—to the outside of the door. Stepping back inside the room, empty now except for the younger couple, she closed the door behind her and stopped in front of the boy.“Your mother is worried about you, Will.” His automatic sneer came a fraction too late to cover his stunned expression. Before he could speak, she turned to the girl. “It’s time to go, Leigh Ann.”“The name is Leannán.”Carey laughed. “Well, Leannán Sí…” She pronounced each Gaelic syllable with exaggerated care, L’ann-AN Shee. “Since you refuse to honor the Accords Agreement, the Council feels it’s time for you to go to Null City. Let’s go. I have a class this afternoon, and I don’t want to be late again.”The boy started to stand, trying to look tough, but only managing to achieve the ferocity of a puppy protecting his favorite chew toy. “We don’t have to go anywhere with you. Get your stuff, Leigh Ann. We’re outta here.”“Actually.” Carey’s voice was quiet. “You’re half right.” Her hand shot out and pressed his stomach. “You don’t need to go with me.” His breath whooshed out, and all three looked down at the tiny needle as she pulled her hand back. A moment later, his legs buckled, and Carey guided his falling body back down to his chair. He slumped there, head hanging awkwardly.Leigh Ann stared from Will to Carey, eyes round. “Is he…?”“He’s fine.” Carey turned to the girl and pointed to her corner table. “Sit. And don’t even think about talking.”Carey checked the boy’s pulse and nodded to herself in relief. As a young witch, her friend Claire’s sleep spells wore off pretty quickly because she had to boil down the spelled water to make it take effect so fast. He’d probably just wake up with a hell of a headache. She arranged his head on his arms as if he was taking a quick nap in front of his laptop. In an afterthought, she picked up his fedora from the floor and pulled it onto his head, hiding his face.Returning to the scowling girl at her table, she took a small book of forms from her backpack and started filling out the top page.“You can’t just—” Leigh Ann sputtered.Without looking up Carey showed her the hand. “What did I tell you not to do?” The girl fidgeted for another minute as Carey frowned at the form in front of her. Finally she looked up. “How old are you again?”“Nineteen. And I don’t…”Carey shook a warning finger without looking up. “I hate these Accords forms. You have to make sure you fill in every last blank or those badgers in accounting will hold up your check.” She made a final note, put the notebook away, and pulled out her phone to check the time. “They should be here by now. Must be that damn bridge traffic.”“Who?”Carey jerked her head toward the next table. “Sleeping Beauty’s parents. I’ve found it best to collect my fee on the spot. People’s memories tend to…fade…otherwise.”“Wait.” Leigh Ann sounded indignant. “You were hired to find Will?”“Nah, he was just a bonus. One of his friends told the Agency that he’d disappeared with a Leannán Sí. I used him to find you because I have an authorized ARC warrant for you.”“ARC?”“Accords Recovery and Capture.” When the girl still looked confused, Carey sighed. “Amateurs. I’m an Accords Warden licensed for paranormal recoveries, and I’m serving an ARC warrant in your name. That reminds me.” She rooted through the pocket of her backpack for the laminated card and set her phone camera to video. Centering the camera view screen on Leigh Ann’s face, she pushed record, and began to read the card. “By the authority of Accords Agency warrant number 110309A57, I charge you, Leigh Ann—” Pausing, she looked over to the form she’d filled out before returning to the card. “—Leigh Ann Shay, a practicing Leannán Sí, to accompany me to the Council Headquarters. If you request a hearing, you are entitled to representation. Otherwise, you are sentenced to five years of Null City residency without an amnesty day. This recovery and your rights are specified in Amendment 3, sections 7-18 of the Accords Agreement of 1998. The current time is 15:57 on March 7, 2011. Carey Parker, Accords Adjunct Warden License 07823 class 3, submitting authorized Accords Recovery and Capture statement.” She turned off the camera and played back the recording. Satisfied, she uploaded it to Agency servers, put her phone and the card back into her backpack, and faced the girl.Leigh Ann looked uncertain. “Null City?”Carey looked at her curiously. “You don’t know about the City?”“Yeah, and I know about the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny too. Come on. You really believe there’s a city you get to on a magic train, and after a day there you become a normal human?”“Since my family founded it, yeah. I kinda do believe it.” She leaned back in her chair to consider the teenager in front of her. “You could have killed that boy, Leigh Ann. What could be worth his death?”The girl widened soft blue eyes at her. “I’m a Leannán Sí. He’s a writer, and I would have given him an intense, brilliantly inspired life of creating masterpieces. So what if it would have been a short one? It’s got to be better to go as a blazing star than stay as a…” Her voice trailed off as a snore filtered from beneath the fedora.“Did you give him a choice? Did you say to him, ‘Will, I’ll be your muse and give you lots of coffee-shop kissing although the actual sex won’t be that great, and there’s the whole die young thing… But you won’t mind because it will all be for your Art’?”Leigh Ann frowned. “The sex wouldn’t have been that bad.”Carey snorted. “And actually, that masterpiece he was producing?” She reached over to snag Will’s computer and pulled it around to face Leigh Ann. “First thing I did was put a keystroke tracker onto his laptop. And believe me, reading that drivel was almost as bad as my humanities essay. He copied most of it from last month’s Poetry!Slam online. Here’s what he was actually writing.” She selected Recent Documents on the laptop and opened the top file listed.The younger girl’s eyes widened. “Fanfiction?” She peered at the screen and looked like she might be sick. “One Direction fanfiction?”“Nothing wrong with fanfiction.” Carey raised an eyebrow. “We’ve all done it. But Will’s was…” She shuddered. “Really, really bad.” She looked curiously at the younger girl and waved at the snoring boy. “Why did you do it?”Leigh Ann looked down at her clasped hands. “My parents were killed just before the war ended. When Haven and Gifts signed the Accords in 1995, I was sent to live with my father’s cousins. They had a little apple orchard up on the Olympic Peninsula, and there wasn’t much money. Everyone had to work pretty hard all the time, just to get food to eat and a few clothes. But I knew there was something different inside me. Something that would inspire beauty and genius and glorious creativity.”Carey stared at her. “Well, that’s an entire pickup truck full of prime-quality manure.”“Was it the farm?” Leigh Ann frowned. “The orphan bit?
Is it wrong that shooting people is just so much easier than making decisions? Carey wonders— and not for the first time. But the Agency claims this will be an easy one. A quick pickup of a missing teen and she won’t even have to shoot anybody. Probably. Carey knows superpowers suck, her own included. From childhood she’s only had two options. She can take the Metro train to Null City and a normal life. After one day there, imps become baristas, and hellhounds become poodles. Demons settle down, join the PTA, and worry about their taxes. Or she can master the powers of her warrior gift and fight a war she can’t win, in a world where she never learned how to lose.
And then there is… him.
For the past two months, a dark stranger has persistently edged his way onto the mental game board behind her eyelids. Well, whatever trouble he's selling, Carey Parker is not buying. Her to-do list is already long enough: find her brother and sister, rescue her roommate, save Null City, and castrate her ex-boyfriend. Preferably with a dull-edged garden tool. A rusty one. She just has a few details to work out first. Her parents have been killed, her brother and sister targeted, and the newest leader of the angels trying to destroy Null City might be the one person she loves most in the world. And her sexy new partner’s gift lets him predict deaths. Hers.
TITLE: Round Trip Fare Genre: Urban Fantasy (okay and there is humor, romance, a sentient train, a great dog, and bunch of other stuff—but Amazon only gives you a couple of words to pick genre, so...)Series: Null City [NOTE: prequel One Way Fare is now available FREE from Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and the kindle version directly from Barb) but this book works as standalone.Release date: 7 April, 2016Contact & Buy LinksBlog | Facebook | Twitter: @barbtaub | Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Barb Taub:In halcyon days BC (before children), Barb wrote a humor column for several Midwest newspapers. With the arrival of Child #4, she veered toward the dark side and an HR career. Following a daring daytime escape to England, she's lived in a medieval castle and a hobbit house with her prince-of-a-guy and the World’s Most Spoiled AussieDog. Now all her days are Saturdays, and she spends them traveling around the world, plus consulting with her daughter on Marvel heroes, Null City, and translating from British to American. EXCERPT:Was it wrong that shooting people was so much easier than finishing up the humanities requirements for her criminal justice degree? Carey Parker sipped her coffee and—not for the first time—wondered about herself. But the Agency said this would be an easy one. A quick pickup and she wouldn’t even have to shoot anybody. Probably.There were two distinct advantages to her corner table at the rear of the self-consciously artistic coffee shop on the edge of Seattle’s eclectic Fremont district. Nobody could see her screen, and—infinitely more important—she had sole possession of the outlet currently charging both iPad and phone. She checked her iPad’s video screen to make sure the blonde teen she was tracking still had no idea she was being studied. Well, okay—studied along with the research materials for Carey’s overdue Humanities 201 essay. “Discuss the relationship of capitalism and patriarchal post constructivist theory. Provide data and cite literature supporting your thesis.” She squinted at the assignment, minimized to parallel the video window, and cringed.Enlarging the video, Carey automatically evaluated her target. The teenager was a few inches under Carey’s own five-five. But where Carey’s cargo pants and hoodie hid a leanly muscled frame and a surprising number of weapons, the other girl’s designer Goth outfit made the most of her soft curves. Plus that pink streak in the younger girl’s hair was a little too shiny, her dark eyeliner a bit too creamy, while her wannabe goth leather jacket, fitted black T-shirt, and long dark skirt screamed Nordstrom personal shopper and Daddy’s credit card.A lifetime of training—three years at the Academy, four more in the field—and they send me after Goth-Barbie. Carey sighed. Is it even worth it? But a flash memory—her guardian Harry’s blood-drenched golden hair, the almost-forgotten faces of her murdered parents, her missing brother and sister—stopped her. If she had a prayer of finding Gaby and Connor, she couldn’t afford to give up the all-important info access the Agency jobs provided. And then there was…him. For the past two months, the dark stranger had persistently edged his way onto the mental game board behind her eyelids where her harmonia gift visualized connections only she could view. Whatever trouble Mr. Six-Feet-Plus of arrogance is selling, I’m sure not buying.“Excuse me. Do you need both outlets?”Carey looked up to see the blonde standing in front of her, expectantly holding up her power cord. “Yes.” She returned her focus to the iPad screen, ignoring the muttered “bitch” as the girl went over to try her smile on the men two tables over. Her reversed video window showed the younger girl breathlessly thanking the man who leaped to free up an outlet for her. As she leaned over their table, the men’s eyes lit with appreciation for the way she maximized scoop-neck T-shirt, youth, and the best technology the foundations industry had to offer. Guess there’s all kinds of ways to say thank you.Shrugging, Carey returned to her own essay assignment. Her business partner, Marley, was pushing her to finish the degree that would let them bill the Agency at a higher rate. But at twenty-four Carey felt a generation older than her fellow students. With her erratic hours, she had to take classes offering online options whenever possible, so she was currently sentenced to Humanities 201: Postmodernist Applications for Economic Themes in Literature.“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting here for ages.”At the sex-kitten whine, Carey’s eyes flicked back to the little video window to see the other girl pouting up at a new arrival. But her complaints didn’t stop her from giving the young man—a boy, really, although Marley’s data sheet said he was nineteen—a thorough tonsil cleaning. Pulling away, he threw himself into a dramatic slouch across the next chair, giving Carey her first good look at him. He was thin, but more like an adolescent whose slender arms and legs had yet to develop a man’s solid outlines. His pale fallen-angel face sulked behind long hair too carefully slashed and tossed over one eye to be accidental. He looked, Carey thought, beautiful and brooding and more than a little stupid. Score!Pretending to check her phone, Carey took a quick picture of the boy and texted it along with the address of the coffee shop. It had only been a few days since he’d left home and stopped showing up at his classes or part-time job. Too little time for the police to be concerned, but long enough for his frantic parents to agree to her search fee. Setting the phone aside, she adjusted her video window to give him a critical once-over. But he didn’t seem any more pale or unhealthy than would be explained by devotion to the laptop he was even now pulling out and opening.“Get me a coffee?” He didn’t look up from his laptop as he spoke. The girl pouted again but bounced off. Returning with a cup for each of them, she leaned forward to lay a gentle hand on his arm. “Is your poem cycle done yet?” The boy shook his head impatiently, fingers tapping at his laptop’s keyboard. She smiled. “Don’t worry. Now that I’m here, it will go so much better.” He blinked, and shivered. She breathed in and smiled again. His typing increased, his face intent on the screen.Carey flipped the cover down on her iPad, rewound its power cable as well as the one for her phone, and stored them in their specially padded—okay, armored—case. The Apple people had been incredibly nice about that last bullet incident, but she could just hear Marley explaining, again, how their little company couldn’t afford to keep buying her new iPads. Setting the case into the backpack hanging behind her corner chair, Carey leaned both elbows on the table, peering over the brim of her raised coffee cup. Excellent coffee, she decided. Wonder if they roast it themselves?Finally the two men, the only other customers in the secluded rear room, stood up and left. She took a final look around at the coffee shop’s rear seating area—one door, no windows or other access—and left to talk to the barista in the front room of the coffee shop. Twenty dollars later, Carey taped a handwritten sign—“Rear room reserved for private meeting”—to the outside of the door. Stepping back inside the room, empty now except for the younger couple, she closed the door behind her and stopped in front of the boy.“Your mother is worried about you, Will.” His automatic sneer came a fraction too late to cover his stunned expression. Before he could speak, she turned to the girl. “It’s time to go, Leigh Ann.”“The name is Leannán.”Carey laughed. “Well, Leannán Sí…” She pronounced each Gaelic syllable with exaggerated care, L’ann-AN Shee. “Since you refuse to honor the Accords Agreement, the Council feels it’s time for you to go to Null City. Let’s go. I have a class this afternoon, and I don’t want to be late again.”The boy started to stand, trying to look tough, but only managing to achieve the ferocity of a puppy protecting his favorite chew toy. “We don’t have to go anywhere with you. Get your stuff, Leigh Ann. We’re outta here.”“Actually.” Carey’s voice was quiet. “You’re half right.” Her hand shot out and pressed his stomach. “You don’t need to go with me.” His breath whooshed out, and all three looked down at the tiny needle as she pulled her hand back. A moment later, his legs buckled, and Carey guided his falling body back down to his chair. He slumped there, head hanging awkwardly.Leigh Ann stared from Will to Carey, eyes round. “Is he…?”“He’s fine.” Carey turned to the girl and pointed to her corner table. “Sit. And don’t even think about talking.”Carey checked the boy’s pulse and nodded to herself in relief. As a young witch, her friend Claire’s sleep spells wore off pretty quickly because she had to boil down the spelled water to make it take effect so fast. He’d probably just wake up with a hell of a headache. She arranged his head on his arms as if he was taking a quick nap in front of his laptop. In an afterthought, she picked up his fedora from the floor and pulled it onto his head, hiding his face.Returning to the scowling girl at her table, she took a small book of forms from her backpack and started filling out the top page.“You can’t just—” Leigh Ann sputtered.Without looking up Carey showed her the hand. “What did I tell you not to do?” The girl fidgeted for another minute as Carey frowned at the form in front of her. Finally she looked up. “How old are you again?”“Nineteen. And I don’t…”Carey shook a warning finger without looking up. “I hate these Accords forms. You have to make sure you fill in every last blank or those badgers in accounting will hold up your check.” She made a final note, put the notebook away, and pulled out her phone to check the time. “They should be here by now. Must be that damn bridge traffic.”“Who?”Carey jerked her head toward the next table. “Sleeping Beauty’s parents. I’ve found it best to collect my fee on the spot. People’s memories tend to…fade…otherwise.”“Wait.” Leigh Ann sounded indignant. “You were hired to find Will?”“Nah, he was just a bonus. One of his friends told the Agency that he’d disappeared with a Leannán Sí. I used him to find you because I have an authorized ARC warrant for you.”“ARC?”“Accords Recovery and Capture.” When the girl still looked confused, Carey sighed. “Amateurs. I’m an Accords Warden licensed for paranormal recoveries, and I’m serving an ARC warrant in your name. That reminds me.” She rooted through the pocket of her backpack for the laminated card and set her phone camera to video. Centering the camera view screen on Leigh Ann’s face, she pushed record, and began to read the card. “By the authority of Accords Agency warrant number 110309A57, I charge you, Leigh Ann—” Pausing, she looked over to the form she’d filled out before returning to the card. “—Leigh Ann Shay, a practicing Leannán Sí, to accompany me to the Council Headquarters. If you request a hearing, you are entitled to representation. Otherwise, you are sentenced to five years of Null City residency without an amnesty day. This recovery and your rights are specified in Amendment 3, sections 7-18 of the Accords Agreement of 1998. The current time is 15:57 on March 7, 2011. Carey Parker, Accords Adjunct Warden License 07823 class 3, submitting authorized Accords Recovery and Capture statement.” She turned off the camera and played back the recording. Satisfied, she uploaded it to Agency servers, put her phone and the card back into her backpack, and faced the girl.Leigh Ann looked uncertain. “Null City?”Carey looked at her curiously. “You don’t know about the City?”“Yeah, and I know about the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny too. Come on. You really believe there’s a city you get to on a magic train, and after a day there you become a normal human?”“Since my family founded it, yeah. I kinda do believe it.” She leaned back in her chair to consider the teenager in front of her. “You could have killed that boy, Leigh Ann. What could be worth his death?”The girl widened soft blue eyes at her. “I’m a Leannán Sí. He’s a writer, and I would have given him an intense, brilliantly inspired life of creating masterpieces. So what if it would have been a short one? It’s got to be better to go as a blazing star than stay as a…” Her voice trailed off as a snore filtered from beneath the fedora.“Did you give him a choice? Did you say to him, ‘Will, I’ll be your muse and give you lots of coffee-shop kissing although the actual sex won’t be that great, and there’s the whole die young thing… But you won’t mind because it will all be for your Art’?”Leigh Ann frowned. “The sex wouldn’t have been that bad.”Carey snorted. “And actually, that masterpiece he was producing?” She reached over to snag Will’s computer and pulled it around to face Leigh Ann. “First thing I did was put a keystroke tracker onto his laptop. And believe me, reading that drivel was almost as bad as my humanities essay. He copied most of it from last month’s Poetry!Slam online. Here’s what he was actually writing.” She selected Recent Documents on the laptop and opened the top file listed.The younger girl’s eyes widened. “Fanfiction?” She peered at the screen and looked like she might be sick. “One Direction fanfiction?”“Nothing wrong with fanfiction.” Carey raised an eyebrow. “We’ve all done it. But Will’s was…” She shuddered. “Really, really bad.” She looked curiously at the younger girl and waved at the snoring boy. “Why did you do it?”Leigh Ann looked down at her clasped hands. “My parents were killed just before the war ended. When Haven and Gifts signed the Accords in 1995, I was sent to live with my father’s cousins. They had a little apple orchard up on the Olympic Peninsula, and there wasn’t much money. Everyone had to work pretty hard all the time, just to get food to eat and a few clothes. But I knew there was something different inside me. Something that would inspire beauty and genius and glorious creativity.”Carey stared at her. “Well, that’s an entire pickup truck full of prime-quality manure.”“Was it the farm?” Leigh Ann frowned. “The orphan bit?
April 3, 2016
Once Book One, by M.S. Kaye
Her first and also her once.
Jonathan and Rebecca’s paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say.But Jonathan is three days from entering the priesthood, and Rebecca leaves him to his peace. But he is unable to find peace.Without each other’s comfort and strength, they must each struggle to forge a new path, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.But are they able to forget and let go?Will be released July 2, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Add to your to-read on Goodreads: GOODREADS
Author Bio
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website. Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | Amazon | TSU | Pinterest | LinkedIn
Once & Again , book two
Will be released September 4, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.She was once his secret desire…will she be again?Father Aiden, an ex-marine and new priest, falls in love with Maylynn, but he struggles to stay away from her. He’s successful for many years, though he can’t keep her out of his dreams. Then one day she shows up for a pre-marital counselling session with her fiancé, Davis. Aiden soon realizes Davis isn’t who he says he is, but what does that mean for Maylynn, and for himself?
Once & Forever , book threeWill be released December 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? As Eden and Trace grow closer, confessing their pasts to each other, will they be able to resist getting too close?
Excerpt from Once
“What’s the answer?”He paused. “A switchblade.”With my fingertips, I reached out and traced the scar across his cheek. “Did you win?”He removed my hand and closed his eyes. “Yes.”I slid his Book back to him. “This says we can find forgiveness.”His eyes still closed, his jaw clenched. He bowed his head. “It also says ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”I took his hand in both of mine, petted his rough skin, and then brought it to my lips. He had a talent for guiding invisibly, but I didn’t know how to do that.He watched me again. His eyes were intense, like the black of the night sky, and his forehead was furrowed, as if his emotions were scattered, as if he was shocked at my reaction, as if he had been sure his answer would drive me away. But I knew him. Already, I knew him.“You’re still a good person,” I said.His jaw clenched. “I’ve been trying to believe that.”“I have faith in you.”He continued to watch me. His forehead never smoothed, as if he was fighting for strength, but his eyes softened. He slid around the booth, closer to me.I didn’t move, not sure what to do, what was right, what he wanted.He leaned closer.I only watched him.He touched his lips to my cheek, the faintest pressure. I struggled to sit still, to keep my hands in my lap, not to grab hold of him. And then his lips were gone, such brief contact that I couldn’t be sure if he had actually kissed my cheek or if I wanted his contact so much that I’d imagined it.He spoke in my ear. “You must be some kind of final test.”My heart pounded into my ribs, against the point of the blade. “Are you going to pass?”His lips brushed against my jaw. “I don’t know.”He trailed to my neck, his mouth softly pressing. My hand curled into his hair, the other on his shoulder, holding, clutching. His mouth found mine, barely touching. His warmth invaded my head.“God give me strength,” he murmured.The door slid open, and the compartment filled with laughter.He closed his eyes. Then he slid away from me.
Amazon preorder: AMAZON PRE ORDER
Kobo preorder: KOBO PRE ORDER
Jonathan and Rebecca’s paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say.But Jonathan is three days from entering the priesthood, and Rebecca leaves him to his peace. But he is unable to find peace.Without each other’s comfort and strength, they must each struggle to forge a new path, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.But are they able to forget and let go?Will be released July 2, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Add to your to-read on Goodreads: GOODREADS
Author Bio
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website. Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | Amazon | TSU | Pinterest | LinkedIn
Once & Again , book two
Will be released September 4, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.She was once his secret desire…will she be again?Father Aiden, an ex-marine and new priest, falls in love with Maylynn, but he struggles to stay away from her. He’s successful for many years, though he can’t keep her out of his dreams. Then one day she shows up for a pre-marital counselling session with her fiancé, Davis. Aiden soon realizes Davis isn’t who he says he is, but what does that mean for Maylynn, and for himself?
Once & Forever , book threeWill be released December 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? As Eden and Trace grow closer, confessing their pasts to each other, will they be able to resist getting too close?
Excerpt from Once
“What’s the answer?”He paused. “A switchblade.”With my fingertips, I reached out and traced the scar across his cheek. “Did you win?”He removed my hand and closed his eyes. “Yes.”I slid his Book back to him. “This says we can find forgiveness.”His eyes still closed, his jaw clenched. He bowed his head. “It also says ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”I took his hand in both of mine, petted his rough skin, and then brought it to my lips. He had a talent for guiding invisibly, but I didn’t know how to do that.He watched me again. His eyes were intense, like the black of the night sky, and his forehead was furrowed, as if his emotions were scattered, as if he was shocked at my reaction, as if he had been sure his answer would drive me away. But I knew him. Already, I knew him.“You’re still a good person,” I said.His jaw clenched. “I’ve been trying to believe that.”“I have faith in you.”He continued to watch me. His forehead never smoothed, as if he was fighting for strength, but his eyes softened. He slid around the booth, closer to me.I didn’t move, not sure what to do, what was right, what he wanted.He leaned closer.I only watched him.He touched his lips to my cheek, the faintest pressure. I struggled to sit still, to keep my hands in my lap, not to grab hold of him. And then his lips were gone, such brief contact that I couldn’t be sure if he had actually kissed my cheek or if I wanted his contact so much that I’d imagined it.He spoke in my ear. “You must be some kind of final test.”My heart pounded into my ribs, against the point of the blade. “Are you going to pass?”His lips brushed against my jaw. “I don’t know.”He trailed to my neck, his mouth softly pressing. My hand curled into his hair, the other on his shoulder, holding, clutching. His mouth found mine, barely touching. His warmth invaded my head.“God give me strength,” he murmured.The door slid open, and the compartment filled with laughter.He closed his eyes. Then he slid away from me.
Amazon preorder: AMAZON PRE ORDER
Kobo preorder: KOBO PRE ORDER
March 18, 2016
The Long Way Home (The Southwark Saga, Book 3) - Jessica Cale
Release Date: February 29th, 2016Genre: Historical Romance, Adult Fairytale, Romantic Comedy, Action/Adventure
A paranoid king, a poison plot, and hideous shoes…it’s not easy being Cinderella.
The Long Way Homeis set in the court of Louis XIV at the beginning of the murder scandal that would become known as the Affair of the Poisons. Although this has become an overlooked corner of history, the revelations that arose from this scandal once caused terror throughout France and had serious consequences for hundreds of citizens from all walks of life. So what was it?
The Affair of the Poisons
The Affair of the Poisons was a major scandal that took place during the reign of Louis XIV in France between 1675 and 1682. Hundreds of people were accused of murder, conspiracy, and witchcraft, resulting in the imprisonment, torture, exile, or execution of more nearly three hundred people, many of them prominent members of society.
Madame de Brinvilliers
The Affair of the Poisons is generally considered to begin with the trial and subsequent execution of Madame de Brinvilliers in 1675-6. A wealthy and respectable woman, Brinvilliers was convicted of conspiring to poison her father and two brothers with hopes of inheriting their estates. This was no crime of passion, but a coldly calculated maneuver executed very slowly over the course of years. She went to trouble of installing her own servants in the homes of her father and brothers, and successfully poisoned all three relatives. She had also poisoned her husband and daughter, but gave them both antidotes in a fit of conscience.
This trial called attention to other mysterious deaths and raised fears across the kingdom. When an anonymous note detailing a plot to murder the king was found in a confession box in 1677, paranoia hit fever pitch.
The fears were well-founded. When Madame de La Grange was arrested in 1677 on murder charges, she appealed with information of other serious crimes, leading to the discovery of a vast network of people involved in poison, murder, witchcraft, infanticide, and even Satanism right under the King’s nose.
Investigation
Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie, the chief of Paris police, followed the accusations to a number of fortune tellers, alchemists, and even renegade priests. If you’re thinking all this was over a little palm reading, think again. Fortune tellers and others were found to be selling poisons and other “remedies” door-to-door or even in shops along with cosmetics and household tonics (think evil Avon lady). The most infamous of these was midwife Catherine Deshayes Monvoisin, also known as La Voisin, who was arrested in 1679. Following her arrest, La Voisin implicated many of her clients who were prominent members of the aristocracy, including one of the king’s mistresses, Madame de Montespan, the Comtesse de Soissons, the Duchesse de Bouillon, and the Duke of Luxembourg.
Poison and Witchcraft
Although the poisons they were using were potent enough to do away with rivals without any help, it was believed that magic gave the poison its power. We’re not talking about a few little spells, here, either. The magic was believed to come from priests, and a number of unscrupulous priests accepted this kind of work on the side to supplement their clerical livings. For a fee, they would say mass over magic charms and even poison to infuse them with power, regardless of their intended use. If poison of charms made from holy oil or menstrual blood did not prove to be potent enough to achieve the person’s aims, there was also something called an Amatory Mass. What was that, exactly? You probably don’t want to know. If you’re at all squeamish, maybe skip the next paragraph.
At the height of the Affair of the Poisons, there were accusations that certain prominent members of the court, most notably the King’s longest-serving mistress and mother to seven of his children, Madame de Montespan, had employed corrupt priests to perform a ritual called an Amatory mass. While it was superficially similar to common Christian mass, it differed with a few key details. Said over the body of a naked woman (usually the person requesting the magic), it culminated in the sacrifice of a human infant. While the existence of these has not been conclusively proven, testimony of priests thought to be involved is eerily similar.
Aftermath
The investigations into the Affair of the Poisons resulted in the imprisonment, torture, and interrogation of many people, as well as the execution of a further thirty-six. Following the execution of La Voisin in 1680, the king’s minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert helped to sweep things under the rug on the king’s instruction. His Chambre Ardente, a court established to judge cases of poisonings and witchcraft, was closed in 1682 on the king’s instruction because so many courtiers and those connected to them had been questioned and found guilty that he could not abide the scandal.
Some measures were taken to limit the availability of poisons after the scandal. In 1682, an edict proclaimed that anyone convicted of supplying poison, whether or not that supply resulted in death, would be sentenced to death. Alchemists found themselves under greater scrutiny because of the involvement of a small number of them in the formulation of the poisons, most notably Brinvilliers’ alchemist lover. The same edict restricted alchemy to that conducted with the protection of a permit. Further limits were placed on the sale of arsenic and mercury sublimate, so that they were no longer available to the general public, but only to professions that were deemed to require them. ***The Long Way Hometakes place in Versailles in 1677, just as the Affair of the Poisons is beginning in earnest. The court is plagued with mysterious deaths, the king fears for his life, and Alice quickly discovers that court is not as virtuous as it appears. SourcesLynn Wood Mollenauer. Strange Revelations: Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIV’s France.Anne Somerset. The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV.
Blurb
After saving the life of the glamorous Marquise de Harfleur, painfully shy barmaid Alice Henshawe is employed as the lady’s companion and whisked away to Versailles. There, she catches King Louis’ eye and quickly becomes a court favorite as the muse for Charles Perrault’s Cinderella. The palace appears to be heaven itself, but there is danger hidden beneath the façade and Alice soon finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue, murder, and Satanism at the heart of the French court.
Having left his apprenticeship to serve King Charles as a spy, Jack Sharpe is given a mission that may just kill him. In the midst of the Franco-Dutch war, he is to investigate rumors of a poison plot by posing as a courtier, but he has a mission of his own. His childhood friend Alice Henshawe is missing and he will stop at nothing to see her safe. When he finds her in the company of the very people he is meant to be investigating, Jack begins to wonder if the sweet girl he grew up with has a dark side.
When a careless lie finds them accidentally married, Alice and Jack must rely on one another to survive the intrigues of the court. As old affection gives way to new passion, suspicion lingers. Can they trust each other, or is the real danger closer than they suspect?
Excerpt:
Even through five layers of fabric, Alice felt a hand creep across the small of her back. She stepped to the right, the heels of her shoes clattering across the marble step though she attempted stealth. Ysabeau shot her a look of displeasure as she came dangerously close to crowding her. It would not do to crowd Ysabeau.
Again, that dreadful hand. Lower, this time.
If she moved any further from him, she would push a string of ladies into the King’s lap. She had no choice but to stand there, expressionless, as Languedoc fondled her; one more of the palace’s many discomforts.
An idea seized Alice suddenly and she acted upon it before she thought it through. “Sir, I beg you to restrain yourself,” she whispered. “I have a husband.”
“A husband?” Languedoc scoffed, drawing attention to them. “My dear, you might have said.” Still, the lie had the desired effect, causing his hand to pause in midair over her bottom.
Alice looked at her feet, uncomfortable under the sudden scrutiny. “You never asked.”
Ysabeau rapped her flirtatiously with her folded fan. It hurt more than it appeared to. “Alice, you naughty thing! Have you run away?”
Alice shook her head. Not from a husband, at least.
Languedoc eyed her suspiciously, looking for the lie. “I suppose he is some great man? A comte, perhaps?”
This ridiculous question, asked louder than necessary, drew the attention of the rest of the room. Sixty-seven courtiers staring. They could clearly sense ridicule or scandal was sure to follow. They held their breath in anticipation, ready to pounce.
Alice shook her head.
Ysabeau’s face lit up at the attention. “A prince?”
To Alice’s horror, the King was looking at them, listening to the conversation. Alice shook her head.“English,” Louis stated, his face betraying nothing. He knew very well Alice was not married.
She held his gaze. “Yes.”
“Out with it!” Ysabeau squealed, “Who is he?”
“He’s a soldier,” Alice said to Louis hoping he might use his powers of observation to guess at her reasons for lying. He was a very perceptive man, and already seemed to understand her in ways her family never could. They had spent so much time together over the past weeks she had begun to think of him by his Christian name, though she took care never to address him in such a familiar way.His gaze flitted to Languedoc almost imperceptibly. “A noble profession,” Louis said. “We have spent a great deal of time within the ranks, as you know. We have on occasion met a number of young men in our cousin’s army. What is his name?”
Alice gulped. “He is very young, Your Majesty, he would not be of any interest.”Louis’ eyebrow quirked. “On the contrary, any husband of yours is of great interest to me. What is his name, Madame?”
Alice’s hands shook. Languedoc was a snake, of that she was certain. She knew little of the other courtiers present, but she could guess at their feelings toward the English. Louis’ feelings toward them varied on the day. Could she be endangering Jack with a lie?
Louis waited patiently. Alice had to answer him.
She took a breath and said the only name that was in her heart. “Jack Sharpe.”
Louis’ lips twitched. A hint of a smile, and then it was gone. “How fortunate. He’s here.”
“Impossible,” she blurted without thinking.
“You doubt your king?” Louis frowned.
Alice bowed her head. “I do not, Your Majesty, I only reserve my joy. It is a common enough name.”
There was something in the look Louis gave her. A challenge. He addressed the hall. “Bring him to us.”
“He is my guest,” a courtier near the back spoke up. “I will fetch him forthwith.”
“Who is that?” she asked Ysabeau.
“Achille Archambault, the Marquis de Saint Croix.” She sniffed delicately. “No one you need trouble yourself with.”
The conversation around them resumed in pockets of whispers behind fans and gloves. Alice shrunk under the speculative glances turned her way. Ysabeau, bored, watched the queen with an odd balance of jealousy and pity. An English soldier was of no interest to her.
Languedoc loomed to her left. He affected disinterest, though his skepticism was more obvious than his perfumed powder. Civet, she now knew. A musk favored by gentlemen and ladies alike. It was meant to smell like desire, but to her it just smelled like a squeezed cat.
She focused on the details of the people around her, such as the hairpin that was about to fall out of Madame Montespan’s formidable coif; anything to distract from the hammering of her heart. The Jack in question could not possibly be hers.
But if he was...
Alice found herself praying he wasn’t. She wanted to see him to satisfy herself he was well, but not like this. After nearly five years, the first thing he would hear of her would be a lie. A stupid, thoughtless lie that would betray her dearest wish and greatest secret.
Alice fought the urge to cover her face. Whether it was him or not, she would never recover from the embarrassment.
The ladies in front of her must have known ridicule would swiftly see her from Court. Neither would meet her gaze. The one on the right wore violet and her hair was powdered nearly white and studded with jewels the size of eggs. Her companion on the left wore blue and her hair was a softer shade of gray and was crowned with two real doves arranged in artful, decaying flight.
Two sets of boot heels clicked down the corridor. Alice held her breath.
The crowd parted as the Marquis de Saint Croix entered the room accompanied by a tall, young courtier dressed in black.
She let out a breath. Not Jack.
Still, there was something familiar about his gait, the quick, even clip of his steps. Alice peered around the dead doves to really look at him as he approached.
He was far taller than Jack had been, though she supposed it was likely he might have grown in five years, as she certainly had. He was lean and elegant, with an angular face, a soft mouth, and a fetching little divot in his chin.
As he removed his hat to make his bow to the king, he revealed a head of thick black hair, curling madly in all directions. He settled a confused dark gaze on her as he stood.A rather familiar confused dark gaze.
“Alice?”
“Really brilliant writing that's so engaging with such endearing characters! I especially love the way Jack and Alice are both so devoted to each other! I was totally absorbed in this exciting and fascinating world Jessica Cale created from the very first paragraph to the last! I read this all in one sitting, staying awake late to finish, just had to!” – Romazing Reader
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28499321-the-long-way-home
Buy links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Home-Southwark-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B01CBY47COARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thelongwayhome-1981157-153.htmlBarnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-long-way-home-jessica-cale/1123469513?ean=9781622103393Google Play: https://goo.gl/T12mBUiBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-long-way-home/id1086308046?mt=11Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-long-way-home-62Liquid Silver: http://www.lsbooks.com/the-long-way-home-p1126.php
Find the rest of the series here: http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Cale/e/...
Rafflecopter: Win a 7” Kindle Fire. Open from 2/22-3/21.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the author
Jessica Cale is the award-winning author of the historical romance series, The Southwark Saga. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a BA in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She kidnapped (“married”) her very own British prince (close enough) and is enjoying her happily ever after with him in North Carolina.
Website: http://www.authorjessicacale.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicacaleTwitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaCale@JessicaCalePinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/rainbowcarnageAmazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Cale/e/B00PVDV9EWGoodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9819997.Jessica_CaleNewsletter sign up: http://eepurl.com/bMas0P
