D.E. Haggerty's Blog, page 46
May 3, 2017
Spotlight on the #cozymystery Magick & Mayhem from @sbpape #giveaway
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Title: Magick & Mayhem (An Abracadabra Mystery)
Author: Sharon Pape
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published: May 2, 2017
Publisher: Lyrical Underground
~ Synopsis ~
What’s in a murderer’s bag of tricks?
Twenty-something Kailyn Wilde has learned to embrace her unpredictable life as a descendant of small-town New Camel’s most magickal family. She just didn’t expect to inherit her mother and grandmother’s centuries-old shop, Abracadabra, so suddenly. The surprises keep coming when Kailyn goes to finalize the estate at the local attorney’s office—and stumbles over the body of her best friend Elise’s husband . . .
As a brash detective casts the blame on Elise, Kailyn summons her deepest powers to find answers and start an investigation of her own. What with running a business, perfecting ancient spells, and keeping up with an uninvited guest of fabled origins, Kailyn has her hands full. But with the help of her uncanny black cat Sashkatu and her muumuu-clad Aunt Tilly, she’s closing in on a killer—who will do anything to make sure she never tests her supernatural skills again!
Grab a copy!
~ What Readers Are Saying ~
This is a fun cozy, full of unique and interesting characters, humor, and just enough magic. ~The Book’s the Thing
I love me some quirky characters, magical escapades, and good mysteries. Good thing Magick & Mayhem has all of that and more! ~Sissy, Bubble Bath Books
~ About the Author ~
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I started writing stories as soon as I learned how to put letters together to form words. From that day forward, writing has been a part of my life whether it was my first attempt at a novel in seventh grade or the little plays I wrote for my friends to perform for neighbors and family. After college, when I was busy teaching French and Spanish to high school students, I was also writing poetry — some of it in French.
After several years, I left teaching to be a full time mom, and when my two children started school, I went back to writing. To my delight I found that the muse was still there, still waiting patiently for me to come around. My first novel, Ghostfire, was published at that time. It went on to be condensed in Redbook magazine (the first paperback original the magazine had ever condensed.) Then came The God Children and The Portal. Redbook also published my first short story, which was subsequently sold to several foreign magazines. With two great kids, a golden retriever and a loving, supportive husband (whom I’d met at the beach when I was fourteen — but that’s a story for another day), I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be in my life. But fate had another plan for me, and it went by the name of “breast cancer.”
Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was that the cancer was discovered at such an early stage, but at the time it was all very overwhelming. Once I was back on my feet, I wanted to help other women who were newly diagnosed, worried and afraid. I became a Reach to Recovery volunteer for the American Cancer Society and went on to run the program for Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. A number of years later, with the help of my surgical oncologist and two other volunteers, I started Lean On Me, a nonprofit organization that provides peer support and information to breast cancer patients. When Lean On Me celebrated its tenth anniversary it no longer required as much of my time, and I once again found myself free to pursue my first love — writing.
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Webpage – Facebook – Pinterest – Twitter
~ Giveaway ~
How to make a book teaser #WriterWednesday #AuthorMarketing #Marketing
I love teasers. Not only are they are great way to promote my own books, but I often choose a book to read after seeing a cool teaser from the author. But not all teasers work for me. I’m not an author marketing guru, but I do know what works for me as a reader. And since I buy at least one e-book a day, I’m going to assume my opinion matters to writers looking for readers. (Big assumption. I know.) I’ve recently jumped on the Instagram bandwagon (and am loving it, by the way) and have noticed some ‘typical’ problems that will cause me to scroll right past a teaser.
Legibility of text. The biggest problem I run into is too much text. I’ve seen more than one teaser in which the picture is completely covered by text. You couldn’t see the photo, let alone what the photo was supposed to portray. Although I love this teaser from Molly’s Misadventures, I now realize that there’s too much text and the text color makes it difficult to read.
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If you’re having a hard time trimming the text, ask for a second opinion from friends or beta readers. My husband is great at picking out the kern of the text. I always print out a couple pages of possible teasers for him to look at. He often surprises me with what he chooses and how he thinks I should shorten the text, but he hasn’t lead me astray – yet.
Pictures. I’m not saying that you need to use the same cover model for each teaser, but the models should at least bear a resemblance to each other. Having the same ethnicity and hair color are a minimum. And if your book features a plus-sized heroine, please (PLEASE!) do not use a skinny model. Seriously, I’m begging you.
Book title and author name. I like your teaser. It looks awesome. But what book are we talking about? Who is the author? If I have to spend time looking for these aspects on the teaser itself, I’m going to keep on scrolling. I like to use a different font and color for the title and my name – anything to get name recognition, right?
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Reflect the book. I can’t stand misrepresentation. A synopsis that doesn’t indicate a book has a cliffhanger will cause me to go into a rage. (Okay, I have anger issues, but you still get my point.) A teaser should also reflect the content of a book. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve purchased a book based on witty dialogue in a teaser and discovered that was the ONLY witty conversation in the entire book. Grrrr….
Here are the teasers for my latest novel Fat Girl Begone!. What do you think? Did I follow my advice or do you see reason to give me a hard time? Go for it. Comments are open.
May 2, 2017
Read an excerpt of Hereafter, #contemporaryfantasy #paranormal from @_TerriBruce #sale
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Title: Hereafter
Author: Terri Bruce
Published: January 9, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/Paranormal
~ Synopsis ~
Why let a little thing like dying get in the way of a good time?
Thirty-six-year-old Irene Dunphy didn’t plan on dying any time soon, but that’s exactly what happens when she makes the mistake of getting behind the wheel after a night bar-hopping with friends. She finds herself stranded on earth as a ghost, where the food has no taste, the alcohol doesn’t get you drunk, and the sex…well, let’s just say “don’t bother.” To make matters worse, the only person who can see her—courtesy of a book he found in his school library—is a fourteen-year-old boy genius obsessed with the afterlife.
Unfortunately, what waits in the Great Beyond isn’t much better. Stuck between the boring life of a ghost in this world and the terrifying prospect of three-headed hell hounds, final judgment, and eternal torment in the next, Irene sets out to find a third option—preferably one that involves not being dead anymore.
Grab a copy!
Hereafter is on sale – just 99 cents! – until May 15th (and then returns to the regular price of $4.95)
Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA
~ Excerpt ~
“Come.” Samyel gestured, indicating that they should follow him. “We must go.”
“Go? Go where?” Irene asked.
“Away. Inside. Or they will see.”
“Who will see what?”
The dark glasses revealed nothing as he stood impassively for a moment. “Everyone.”
Samyel was attracting a lot of attention. The crowd moving around them was giving him a wide berth, and he was the focus of a lot of strange looks, which just confirmed that he wasn’t dead—people could see him. Irene knew that it looked like a seven-foot tall man in a trench coat and dark glasses was talking to himself in the middle of the sidewalk. It wouldn’t be long before the cops came to investigate.
Irene gestured for Samyel to lead the way. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Irene heard another choke of protest and glanced at Jonah. There was a silent exchange of mouthed words, pantomimed gestures, and angry, exaggerated looks.
“Don’t be crazy,” Jonah hissed. “You can’t go with him!”
“You’re the one that always wants to stop and talk to every weirdo we meet,” she countered.
“And what do you mean ‘you’? We’re both going.”
“Uh uh,” Jonah said. “This is your idea. If you get murdered, I’m not saving you.”
With an exasperated look, she motioned for Jonah to follow and set out after Samyel, who was nearly out of sight. Jonah reluctantly followed. Irene gave him a wry look as they trailed, side by side, a few feet behind Samyel. “You know, at some point, we’re going to have to talk about your propensity for picking fights with people bigger than yourself.”
“What’s propensity?”
“A really bad habit that you should stop.”
Jonah’s expression turned unreadable for a long moment, as if he was debating with himself, and then he looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets and bowing his head to stare at the sidewalk as they went.
“I’ve changed the password, by the way, so you can’t do that again,” he said darkly.
She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a halt. “Jonah, listen to me. It’s not that I don’t appreciate you trying to protect me. I do. Even when it’s annoying and misplaced, like with Ernest. You’re the bravest, sweetest guy I’ve ever met, but I’m dead. You’re not. I’m already probably going to Hell for dragging you along on this adventure. Don’t add being the cause of your death to my list of crimes, okay?”
The tips of his ears had turned pink and his head was down, shoulders hunched. Then, to her surprise, he suddenly looked at her, his eyes inquiring as he searched her face. She didn’t know what he was looking for, but he was gazing at her so earnestly that she blushed.
~ About the Author ~
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Terri Bruce has been making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces fantasy and science fiction stories from beautiful Downeast ME, where she lives with her husband and multi cats. She is the author of the aranormal/contemporary fantasy “Afterlife” series, which includes Hereafter (Afterlife #1) and Thereafter (Afterlife #2), and several short stories in various anthologies. Visit her on the web at www.terribruce.net.
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May 1, 2017
Read an excerpt of Crashing Together, new #contemporaryromance from Amelia Judd #Giveaway @Barclay_PR
Determined to hide a fear too embarrassing to admit, recently-evicted Kat Bennett accepts an impromptu offer to crash with her brother’s best friend and player extraordinaire, Logan McCabe. When spitfire Kat proposes a no-strings-attached summer fling only to find out Logan has given his word to keep things platonic, she decides to convince Logan some promises are meant to be broken. Fans of Bella Andre’s THE LOOK OF LOVE will not want to miss this humorous and fast-paced romance from Award-Winning Author, Amelia Judd.
About Crashing Together (Silver Bay #2):
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Title: Crashing Together
Author: Amelia Judd
Publisher: Mitchell Davis Press
Series: Silver Bay #2
Release Date: April 11, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9781946517029
Synopsis:
Award-Winning Author Amelia Judd Returns to Silver Bay with a Novel about Finding Love in Unexpected Places.
Next step: seduce Logan. Which would likely be as difficult as convincing him to take his next breath of air. After all, how hard could it be to strike up a game with the world’s biggest player?
Determined to hide a fear too embarrassing to admit, recently-evicted Kat Bennett accepts an impromptu offer to crash with her brother’s best friend and player extraordinaire, Logan McCabe. When things heat up between them, spitfire Kat decides to embrace temptation rather than fight it. A steamy fling might be just the distraction she needs from her own problems. And who better to fling with than a gorgeous Australian who’s only in the country for a few months?
Logan loves his no-strings-attached lifestyle. Or at least he did until Kat, a woman he has always been attracted to but vowed not to touch, moves in with him for the summer. Even though getting to know beautiful, fiery Kat heats his blood and shoots his relaxed vibe to hell, Logan is determined to keep his word and his hands to himself.
But Kat plans to prove some promises are meant to be broken. Will living with Kat for the summer convince Logan it’s time to start playing for keeps or will their unexpected love crash and burn?
Add to your “Want to Read” shelf
Grab a copy!
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Excerpt
He took a deep breath to relax his features and lifted his head from the back of the couch to look at her again. She sat cross-legged, beaming a Cheshire-cat smile at him. She didn’t fool him. Her wide smile might say charming and innocent, but the spark of mischief lighting her blue-gray eyes said she knew the effect she had on him.
“You enjoy torturing me.”
Kat tipped her head back and laughed. And damn if it wasn’t the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. The sultry, rich tones of her laughter oddly soothed and aroused him at the same time.
Christ, he was a fucking mess.
“I’m honestly not trying to tease, torment, or torture you. Well … not right now at least. Sorry if crashing together has made your life difficult. Can I do anything to make it easier?”
“Keeping your clothes on would help,” he grumbled.
Kat’s eyebrows shot up.
“I mean it, no more nudity. And you need to find a new bather for swimming, one with enough fabric to cover”—he gestured toward her body—“everything.”
“Fine. Whatever. No nudity.” She took another sip of her beer. Then, beer bottle still in hand, she pointed at him with her index finger. “But you really need to work on being less of a fun sponge.”
“Huh?”
“You kinda suck the fun out of everything. You should loosen up, relax a little bit.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he snapped, grabbing his beer from the table with more force than necessary. “I’m a carefree, fun-loving guy.” He ground the words out between clenched teeth.
Kat cocked her head to the side. “Most guys would jump at the chance of no-strings sex, and you just made me promise to keep my clothes on for the summer. Even though your reason for saying no is bullshit, you’re still sticking to it. I hate to break it to you, Logan, but that makes you sound kinda mature and responsible, not carefree and fun-loving.”
“Holy shit. I’ve turned into Pax.” He dropped his head back again in misery. “I’m too bloody serious and more concerned about doing what’s right than having a good time.” He beat the back of his head against the hard cushion a few extra times as the depressing realization landed with a heavy thud in his gut. “I’m not sure if I should feel proud or disgusted.”
“Don’t sweat it. My brother is a great guy. And now that he’s with Sage, they’re having a lot of fun together. Besides, we all have to grow up sometime.”
He lifted his head to study her. “Have you?” he asked hopefully.
“Hell no. I’m still lots of fun.”
Copyright © Crashing Together 2017 by Amelia Judd
About A Venture of the Heart (Silver Bay #1):
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Title: A Venture of the Heart
Author: Amelia Judd
Publisher: Mitchell Davis Press
Series: Silver Bay #1
Date Released: January 24, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Series Romance
ISBN: 9781946517012
Synopsis:
Love is a Risky Venture in Amelia Judd’s Award-Winning New Romance
“Hello, Pax. It’s good to see you again.”
And with those frigid words, karma kicked his ass and blew his dreams into a million tiny fragments.
Paxton Bennett walked away from a privileged upbringing to devote his life to La Vida de Ensueño, the socially responsible luxury resort he manages in Costa Rica. No way will Pax let a hotel chain swallow up La Vida and turn it into another lifeless clone. All he needs is a loan so he can match a buy-out offer. Unfortunately, every damn bank keeps saying no. He has one last hope—an on-site visit from a loan officer that he’s sure he can impress…
Banker Sage Somerset doesn’t want to see Pax Bennett across a busy coffee shop, let alone spend a week at a tropical resort with him. After their cringe-worthy last encounter, just hearing his name makes her blush or curse. Plus, there are snakes in Costa Rica. A lot of snakes! Determined to remain professional on her unwelcome assignment, Sage hopes she can survive a week in Pax’s world…
But a quirky staff, meddlesome family, and the night-time visit of a tiny green gecko soon threaten to turn business into pleasure. Will Pax and Sage fight their troublesome chemistry? Or will they take a chance on the biggest venture of all—each other?
Add to your “Want to Read” shelf
Now available for $0.99!
About Amelia Judd:
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Award-winning author Amelia Judd writes fun and flirty contemporary romance. She loves to entertain her readers with memorable characters and fast-paced plots that blend humor, heart, and heat.
After receiving a degree in international affairs, Amelia lived and studied in Belgium for over three years. During her time in Europe, she traveled extensively, earned a master’s degree, and fell in love with writing contemporary romance.
Amelia now lives in the Midwest with her sports-loving husband, two active kids, and a lovable dog that stays by her side day and night. When she isn’t writing, she’s spending time with family, hanging out with friends, chauffeuring her kiddos around town, sneaking off to the movies, or planning her family’s next getaway.
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway
Amelia Judd is offering one (1) lucky winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:
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Should I still do a blog tour for my new release? #MondayBlogs #BookMarketing #AmWriting
Since my new book, Fat Girl Begone!, released this morning AND I started a new blog tour for this release this morning, today is the perfect day to discuss whether you should do a blog tour for your new release. First of all, let’s do a reality check. Blog tours are no longer the end-all be-all of book marketing (although nothing should be the end-all be-all when you’re talking about marketing). The market is saturated, and writers report fewer and fewer sales from blog tours.
That takes me to my first point – sales. Blog tours do not immediately lead to tons of sales. I can see you roll your eyes and hear you muttering ‘then how is this marketing?’. Trust me, I get it. But blog tours have always been about the long sale. What do I mean by that obviously stock market reference, which doesn’t seem to work in this situation? Simple really. Blog tours are about getting your author name and books in front of readers. Maybe they won’t pick the book up right away, but if there is enough buzz about the book (because the book was mentioned on several blogs over several weeks like, for example, during a blog tour), they may decide to check it out.
But if blog tours are all about the long sale, shouldn’t I just build up my author platform instead? Sure, you can do that, but I like to do both. Here are my reasons:
[image error]Supplement your author platform. I work hard on building my author platform, but – make no mistake – it is work. I spend a lot of time and energy on finding new bloggers, readers, reviewers, etc. But there’s an ‘easy’ way to give your author platform a boast – a blog tour. The easy part is running a giveaway attached to the blog tour. You can gain new followers by having extra giveaway entries for each ‘follow’ (follow on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.). This is a great way to gain an instant boast to your author platform. I also stalk each blogger who takes the time to post a spotlight, review, or interview during my blog tour. I follow them on every social media platform. The vast majority will follow back. I’m constantly trying out new blog tour operators to ‘meet’ new blogger contacts.
[image error]Reviews, reviews, reviews. Let’s face it. If you don’t have a well-known name (whether it’s as an author or other type of famous persona), you can shove your book in front of people all you want, but you won’t be selling many books unless you have some reviews. Readers want some assurance that someone else has read your book and found it an excellent read. If you’re self-published, this is even more true. A lot of readers are less than enthusiastic about self-published authors. I can’t blame them. There are way too many self-published books out there that are not properly edited. *Cringes in the name of all authors everywhere* That’s where the reviews come in. And where is one of the best places to get reviews? Blog tours! Blog tour operators have tons and tons of contacts. They will contact their bloggers and beg … er… ask them to read and review your book. Sure, I send out tons of review requests myself, but if you haven’t had previous contact with a blogger, the chance they will read your book is slim. In my experience, bloggers are quicker to say yes to a new-to-them writer if the request comes from a blog tour operator.
That’s it, folks. The two main reasons I continue to do blog tours. Thoughts, comments? I’d love to hear about your experiences.
April 30, 2017
Spotlight on @KfirLuzzatto author of the #thriller Exodus ’95
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Book title: Exodus ‘95
Author: Kfir Luzzatto
Genre: Thriller
Published: May 1, 2017
Synopsis:
Claire, a young graphic designer, learns a secret that her dying New York neighbor has kept for twenty years: the whereabouts of Moses’ Biblical staff.
Claire needs the help of an Israeli engineer and the money of a Russian oligarch to recover the staff before her body betrays her. But first she needs to stay alive in a race with fanatics, who will do anything to keep the staff from coming to light.
Then the LORD said to Moses: Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
Grab a copy!
About the Author
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Kfir Luzzatto was born and raised in Italy, and moved to Israel as a teenager. He acquired the love for the English language from his father, a former U.S. soldier, a voracious reader, and a prolific writer. Kfir has a PhD in chemical engineering and works as a patent attorney. He lives in Omer, Israel, with his full-time partner, Esther, their four children, Michal, Lilach, Tamar, and Yonatan, and the dog Elvis.
Kfir has published extensively in the professional and general press over the years. For almost four years he wrote a weekly “Patents” column in Globes (Israel’s financial newspaper). His most recent nonfiction book, FUN WITH PATENTS—The Irreverent Guide for the Investor, the Entrepreneur and the Inventor, was published in 2016. He is the author of several short stories but now mostly writes full-length fiction. His latest thriller, ExtraLife, Inc., was published in 2013. Kfir is an HWA (Horror Writers Association) and ITW (International Thriller Writers) member.
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Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Pinterest
April 28, 2017
The Ugly Reason I Stopped Following You #SocialMediaMarketing #AuthorPlatform #SocialMedia
When I started this ‘whole social media gotta have an author platform’ thing – which was way more work than I ever could’ve imagined – I was the follow back queen. Seriously, I had a crown and everything. So what if the crown was an orange plastic thing that came in our Queen’s Day kit my mother-in-law mailed to us in Germany? It was a crown damn it! But slowly and surely, I’ve lost my follow back queen status. At this point, I’m abdicating. It’s a good thing too because my crown sprung a leak.
Obviously, I’ve learned not to automatically follow just anyone. It didn’t take me long to figure out who was a spambot. The line “buy 10,000 twitter followers for $49” was my first clue. But then there are those tweeters who take advantage of these deals. It only took me slightly longer to learn to spot those. Anyone who has thousands more followers than follows, but isn’t a household name, does not get an automatic follow back from me anymore. I’ve also stopped following accounts that are in foreign languages I don’t speak. I mean, what’s the point?
But why would I stop following you? You who is just going along doing your thing, not using a tweet service, and religiously following back your followers. There are basically three reasons:
No activity. This is an easy one. If you don’t post any content on whatever social media outlet is the latest rage, I won’t be following you back. Why would I?
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JUST DON’T!
Automatic Twitter DMs. Direct messages are annoying. Trying to keep up with my social media accounts is hard enough without adding DMs. And then there’s the fact that 99% of DMs consist of unsolicited marketing. It’s awesome you have your first book published. I’m totally proud of you. But if you want me to market or review your book sending a DM is NOT the way to go about it. First of all, it’s lazy because those DMs are always the same – how unoriginal. It’s hard enough to get me to review your book when you actually send me an email. A DM is just not going to cut it. (PS You can easily find how to contact me – as well as my review policy – if you just look at my profile that links to my website.)
[image error]It’s all about you. How many times have you heard this one? Don’t only promote your own books or products? Still. It’s not getting through to a lot of writers. I recently joined Instagram and was frankly shocked to see how many writers were constantly posting pictures of their books. Apparently because it’s a different social medium, the old rules don’t apply? I get it. You’re excited about your book. You want to sell copies. But I won’t be buying one. I’m sure it’s a perfectly lovely book, but I just don’t care anymore. Not after seeing five posts a day with different pictures and teasers of your book. In fact, I’m unfollowing you. Click.
So, there you have it folks. The ugly reason I stopped following you. It’s not an original reason. Not by a long shot. It’s just the ugly truth.
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April 27, 2017
Blurb Blitz Tour ~ Danced Close #LGBTRomance from @AnnabethAlbert & Intoxicating #contemporaryromance from @HeatherHeyford #Giveaway
Danced Close: Portland Heart #6
by Annabeth Albert
Genre: LGBT Romance
and
Intoxicating: An Oregon Wine Country Romance #2
By Heather Heyford
Genre: Contemporary Romance
BLURB:
Danced Close
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Portland, Oregon, is one of the hottest cities in America. Just ask all the hard-working men sweating it up behind the counters of the restaurants, boutiques, and cafés all over town . . .
Newly clean and sober, Todd’s taken a shine to his job at Portland’s most talked about bakery. It’s not just the delicious desserts they sell, but the tasty treats who keep walking through the door. That certainly includes Kendall Rose, a wedding planner with eyes the color of brown sugar and skin to match. Todd doesn’t try to hide his attraction to Kendall’s elegant confidence and unique style, even as he worries about exposing the secrets of his past.
For Kendall, the attention is just part of the anything-goes Portland he’s grown to love. But he’s still looking for that special someone who will embrace all of him—including his gender fluidity. So he takes a chance and asks Todd to be his partner in a dance class leading to a fundraiser. When the music starts and he takes Todd in his arms, Kendall is shocked at how good it feels. Turns out taking the lead for once isn’t a mistake. In fact, it might be time to take the next step and follow his heart . .
Grab your copy!
Amazon ~ Apple ~ Google Play ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble
Intoxicating
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In the second book of Heather Heyford’s series, set in Oregon’s wine country, having a crush takes on a whole new meaning when a lady sommelier teams up with the hottie from her high school days . . .
The Girl Most Likely
. . . to be a waitress at her hometown café. That’s what Clarkston’s high school yearbook said about Poppy Springer ten years ago and that’s where the beauty queen is today. But that’s about to change now that Poppy has been offered a position as a lady sommelier at a cutting-edge new restaurant. Only Poppy has an embarrassing secret that could keep her from landing her dream job. A secret her high school crush seems determined to help her with . . .
The Man Most Wanted
In high school, Heath Sinclair may have been voted most likely to blow something up, but these days the sexy science prodigy is a self-made success story with his popular microbrewery and chiseled good looks. So why is Clarkston’s most-eligible man so hell-bent on helping Poppy prove that she is more than her reputation? Could it be the enigmatic bachelor has a hankering for the girl who got away?
Grab your copy now!
Amazon ~ Apple ~ Google Play ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble
Excerpt ~ The Girl Most Likely
He caught a glimpse of skin, a flash of navel inside his jacket.
And that’s when his earlier objective to methodically analyze her flew out the window. This wasn’t the little girl he once knew. This Poppy was every inch a woman. When had that happened? How had he been so blind, and for how long?
And then her weight landed on her heel and her knee buckled. In the blink of an eye her jubilant expression turned tortured, and she inhaled sharply.
Before he knew what he was doing he was there, his arm snaking around her waist, propping her up. “Over here.” He guided her toward the nearest couch, letting her use his body as a crutch.
“If I hadn’t second-guessed myself, I would have gotten all six of those wines right!” said Poppy. Not even her pain could erase her elation for long. For Poppy, every victory, even a small one, was cause for celebration.
But for Heath, that test was rapidly becoming a memory.
The main thing is her foot and easing her discomfort, insisted his ever-practical nature.
He tried to maintain decorum as he deposited her rump onto a couch covered in a crimson plush and, mission accomplished, began to straighten his spine.
But Poppy apparently had a different idea. Still caught up in her enthusiasm, she seemed to be in no hurry to unclamp her grip from around his neck.
With a growing uncertainty, Heath searched her face and saw that now her expression had softened. Her eyes sparkled with a new ardor that both disturbed and exhilarated him. A waterfall of gold cascaded behind her as her head fell back, exposing her vulnerable neck, her eyes narrowed, and her lips parted in invitation.
About the authors
Annabeth Albert:
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Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer. Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two toddlers.
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Heather Heyford
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Heather Heyford is the author of contemporary romances set in the wine country. See what inspires her writing on her many Pinterest boards, read more about her on HeatherHeyford.com, and connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.
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GIVEAWAY
The authors will be awarding digital copies of the books on tour to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
April 26, 2017
Have a peek at Slither #fantasy read from @melody_steiner
[image error]Slither
Melody Steiner
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Dragon Moon Press
Date of Publication: April 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-988256-59-7
eISBN: 978-1-988256-60-3
Number of pages: 310
Cover Artist: Gwen Gades
Tagline: Her revenge is better served cold-blooded
Book Description:
Elanor of Onyx, enslaved by the dragons who scorched her kin and country, is determined to escape her island prison.
When the changeling dragon, Adom, demands that Elanor come with him to the mainland on a secret mission, she sees this the opportunity she’s been waiting for—a chance to exact her revenge. But when his actions take a surprising twist, Elanor begins to suspect that maybe things are not as they seem.
With a plot brewing against the mainland king, alliances are tested and Elanor discovers a secret that will forever change the way she views the slithering dragons—and herself.
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Excerpt:
“Forgive me,” he says. “But when I say the word, you really should scream.”
That’s all the warning I need. If Adom wants me to scream, he wants the others to think he’s hurting me. He wants to send fear shuddering down their monstrous, twisted spines, to dry their mouths and shrivel the pits of their cavernous stomachs. He wants to show them that he is the king, the master of this mountain, the master of me.
Adom averts his gaze. “Scream.”
In the seconds it takes him to morph from human to dragon, his chest expanding, scales popping out of his skin like boils, I’m already at the door. I scream, just as he asks me to.
The full blast of flame doesn’t hit me, but it’s enough heat to sting my lower back. Good thing I tied my hair this morning—he misses singeing it off by a few inches. The monstrous roar he releases bursts a decanter on the table. The mirror cracks. But the fire inside me has nothing to do with Adom’s monster, and everything to do with my own. Only mine burns for revenge.
About the Author
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Melody Steiner is a novelist, librarian, warrior woman, and a mother. She grew up in a home where science fiction and fantasy were staples of the imagination. Her earliest novels were written in elementary school and involved rocket ships to the moon, alien life, and gumdrop kingdoms at war with other invading candy nations. Over the years, she found herself drawn to fantasy stories that empower female characters and particularly women of color. Currently, she’s based near Columbus, Ohio, along with her husband and the wild things they call “children.”
Her recent work, Slither, is a traditional fantasy about a young woman who is enslaved by a herd of dragons.
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Giveaway
2 copies of Slither
5 dragon charms open to US Shipping
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Read an excerpt of Pecker Tracks from R.S. Dees a #humorous #comingofage story
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Title: Pecker Tracks
Author: R.S. Dees
Genre: Adventure, romantic comedy, coming-of-age
Published: May 17, 2017
Synopsis:
It’s 1979 and fifteen-year-old Ronny and his pals are all virgins. In fact, they’ve rarely spoken to real, live females. That all changes when Mary Ellen comes to town. Ronny and his friends, six-fingered Melv and mutton-chopped Butch, are charmed by the Texas girl who is staying with her aunt for the summer.
Mary Ellen, a year older than the boys, is beautiful and confident—two things the boys are not—and seemingly out of their league. She befriends the trio who find themselves tumbling over each other for her affections, all the while doing what they do best: fishing for lunkers, catching frogs, evading the cops, and jamming to seventies rock anthems.
Ronny appears to be winning the race, and falls the hardest for Mary Ellen. Their relationship blossoms as the summer progresses, but Ronny begins to suspect everything is not as it seems. His suspicions are confirmed the day after Mary Ellen leaves town when Ronny learns of a gut-wrenching deception. And later, he’ll discover an even greater surprise.
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Excerpt
“I’m really glad to see you,” I said, softly. “It seems like forever since we’ve been alone.”
She scooted across the seat and pulled my arm around her, our eyes only inches apart. “I know, Ronny,” she said. “I’ve missed you. I’ve really missed you.” We made small talk for a while, and then things got serious.
“Can I ask you a question?” I said, beginning to get a little nervous.
“Sure, Ronny,” she replied.
“Have you ever…” I wasn’t sure how to put this. “Um…you know.”
“No,” she said coyly. “I don’t know.”
“What I mean is…have you ever, um, you know…”
“Have I ever done it with a boy?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, relieved she had said it and not me.
“No, I haven’t. Have you ever done it with a girl?”
Yeah, right. “No.” Heck, she had been the first girl I had ever kissed. I’m surprised she couldn’t tell. “What’s the furthest you’ve ever gone with a boy?”
“You really wanna know?”
I did and I didn’t. “Yeah.”
“Well…” she paused. “I let Billy Roy touch my breast last summer, but just one of them.” The thought of that made me shiver.
“Ya did?” I asked, growing more jealous by the minute.
“But it was just outside of my shirt,” she added.
Well, that’s not so bad. “Did you…um…touch him?” I asked, assuming she knew what I was talking about.
“Well, not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he sorta put my hand down there…on his jeans.” She snuggled up against me. “Oh, Ronny, that was before I met you.” That was true, but it still bothered me. I didn’t even know who Billy Roy was, but one thing I knew was that I didn’t like him. “I really liked the kiss you gave me the other night,” she said.
“Really? I liked it too.”
She gently leaned into me until her breasts were touching my chest, at which point, I was sure she could feel my heart thumping through my shirt. In my pants could be found a growing piece of petrified wood. Ever so slowly, our lips moved closer. Oh, God. Here we go again. And without great fanfare, Mary Ellen expertly pressed her lips to mine. I quickly followed her lead. For the second time in my life, I was kissing a real, live girl. Her mouth was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. Our lips caressed each other for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only minutes, maybe seconds. Her tongue slipped between my lips, causing me to gasp and almost bite it off. I felt like a student in a class I had no business being enrolled in. In fact, I felt like I was with the teacher. In an instant, we were kissing like old lovers. Our lips parted as she pulled away but hers soon found my neck as her hand came to rest on my leg. With a wet, teasing kiss, Mary Ellen’s tongue playfully probed my ear, sending chills coursing through my veins. I awkwardly reached up and somehow my trembling fingers managed to unfasten the top button on her blouse. Mary Ellen slid a hand inside my shirt. Her fingers felt cool, invigorating against my skin. My hand cupped her breast and touched terrain only Billy Roy had traversed. I shifted in the driver’s seat. Her fingers explored my scrawny chest as we kissed each other—harder, more passionately, more intensely. Her fingers slid down to my cutoffs and unfastened the button, causing my zipper to slide open. Fingers quivering like a leaf, I clumsily undid the second button on Mary Ellen’s blouse. I waited for a response. Nothing. I continued on. Mary Ellen’s tongue found my ear like before. Again, my body shivered. My senses were being overrun as she drowned them with stimuli: the taste of her lips, the smell of her hair, the sound of her breath in my ear, the touch of her hand on my chest, the curve of her breast.
Oh God. Oh God! Calm down, you idiot. Okay, time to try for button number three. Still quaking, my fingers explored her shirt until I came to the third button. This time, it was easier than the first two. Wasting no time at all, I unbuttoned numbers four through six. Now, Mary Ellen’s blouse was totally undone. The moonlight shining through the windshield illuminated her nubile body. Oh God, here it comes—the moment of truth. I’m really going to do this. My fingers slid to Mary Ellen’s back, looking for the clasp on her bra; they found it immediately. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to memorize how the mechanism worked. Here goes. I gave it my best shot, and like Harry Houdini, I somehow managed to unfasten the clasp. The God of Boyhood Dreams was looking out for me as my first attempt had miraculously succeeded. I felt her bra loosely fall and saw the creamy tops of her breasts make their first appearance. My fingers felt electric, realizing they were about to take a journey no other boy had ever taken, not even Billy Roy. Her skin felt so foreign, so feminine, so fabulous. I daringly slid my hand around to the front and—Knock! Knock! Knock! I froze in my tracks. In an instant, the light from a flashlight shone into the car via the driver’s side window. Holy shit! Deputy Peete! Mary Ellen and I quickly scampered for our clothing. In a panic, I rolled my window down a crack.
“Pardon me,” came the now-familiar voice, “but this area is day use only and it’s past ten o’clock.”
About the Author
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Rick is a teacher, long-time reader, and first-time novelist. A self-proclaimed expert in fishing and fantasy football, he has also written an interactive textbook he uses in class. He knows six guitar chords and can play the opening riff to “Smoke on the Water.” He wants to be a rock star when he grows up. Rick was raised in Fort Peck, Montana but currently resides in Billings. He lives with his wife and, occasionally, grand dogs, Raja and Kyrie.
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