Margo Bond Collins's Blog, page 101
August 5, 2014
Spotlight On: Second Chance Bride by Sandra Edwards
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Sandra will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post. Please click the banner to visit other stops on this tour.
After being jilted, practically at the altar, Genie Wainwright heads to Hawaii to escape the well-meant pity party her friends and family are bound to throw on her behalf. What she never expects is to find someone to help her mend her broken heart.
Donnie Taylor, owner of the posh Sapphire Bay Resort, has no interest in marriage–until he meets an unforgettable guest at the hotel. What starts out as a kindhearted gesture brings Donnie something he never expects–love!
Now enjoy an excerpt:
“Look, I know this is hollow comfort,” Cami said softly. “But even on his best day, Ross Harper was never good enough for you.”
“You’re right,” Genie said. It was hollow comfort. She looked at Cami, fighting the tears that were hell-bent on escaping. “I’m supposed to be headed to Hawaii right now. With my husband.” Her voice cracked. She choked the hurt back down into her gut.
“I’d still go…if I were you.” Cami nodded.
“What…?”
“Hell, yes!” Cami smirked beneath deliberately raised eyebrows. “Trade Ross’s share in. Upgrade. Go in style.”
Genie shook her head. “I can’t do that.”
“Says who?”
“I have to cancel the trip. Give him back half the money.” Genie’s voice wavered. “Don’t I?”
“No, you don’t.” Cami said with an arrogant laugh. “Ross owes you a hell of a lot more than a trip to Hawaii. That’s for sure.”
Maybe Cami was right. Ross did owe Genie for the hurt and humiliation he’d caused her today. But did she really want to spend the next week on the island of Maui—lovers’ paradise—alone?
Genie shook her head. “That’s just what I need. A week at a resort that caters to honeymooners.”
“The heck with that,” Cami said. “Go to Oahu. The north shore, where it’s nice and quiet. There’s that swanky resort up there. Sapphire Bay or something like that. My parents love that place.”
Well if Cami’s parents loved it, that was a sure sign it wouldn’t be a singles’ playground.
Sapphire Bay sounded perfect. Exactly the kind of place Genie could mend her broken heart. A place where there would be no eligible men—at least none that’d pique her interest.
NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY Bestselling Author Sandra Edwards writes award-winning romance in a variety of subgenres such as paranormal (mostly time travel and reincarnation), contemporary, and suspense. She lives in the U.S. (west coast) with her husband, two kids, four dogs and one very temperamental feline. Sandra’s books often push the envelope and step outside the boundaries of conventional romance. For more info on Sandra’s books, visit her website at:
Find her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SandraEdwards.Author
Sign up for Sandra’s NEW RELEASE ALERT at: bit.ly/1k31XDr
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LYD3YD2
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1119975491?ean=2940149740901
Available for pre-order on iBooks (release date: August 15):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/second-chance-bride/id894150981?mt=11&uo=4
Sign up to host the 8/13 cover reveal of Sanguinary by Margo Bond Collins
Hi, all! I am getting ready to reveal the cover of my next book, Sanguinary, due out in October! The cover reveal will be August 13, so watch this space!
The amazing Fabulosity Reads is hosting the reveal. If you’d like to join us in releasing the cover, you can sign up here.
Direct link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dn7en7m3X4q2RuowzaSr3soq1_xazzvHd7b-T9IHb7U/viewform
If you don’t have a blog, you can still participate on the 13th by sharing the cover on social media, so feel free to sign up, anyway! :)
Happy Release Day to Lia Riley for UPSIDE DOWN!
Title: Upside Down
Author: Lia Riley
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Series: Off the Map #1
Publication: August 5th, 2014 by Grand Central
If You Never Get Lost, You’ll Never Be Found
Twenty-one-year-old Natalia Stolfi is saying good-bye to the past-and turning her life upside down with a trip to the land down under. For the next six months, she’ll act like a carefree exchange student, not a girl sinking under the weight of painful memories. Everything is going according to plan until she meets a brooding surfer with hypnotic green eyes and the troubling ability to see straight through her act.
Bran Lockhart is having the worst year on record. After the girl of his dreams turned into a nightmare, he moved back home to Melbourne to piece his life together. Yet no amount of disappointment could blind him to the pretty California girl who gets past all his defenses. He’s never wanted anyone the way he wants Talia. But when Bran gets a stark reminder of why he stopped believing in love, he and Talia must decide if what they have is once in a lifetime . . . or if they were meant to live a world apart.
Purchase
Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo
— — — — — — — —- — — — — — — —- — — — — — — —- — — — — — — –
About Lia
Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. When not torturing heroes (because c’mon, who doesn’t love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live in Northern California.
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
— — — — — — — —- — — — — — — —- — — — — — — —- — — — — — — –
Excerpt
“That’s it, Talia,” Bran’s voice is encouraging. “You’re holding tight, that’s great. Now, I’m going to need you to release your left hand and reach up a few inches to grab the next hold.”
I grit my teeth. The way he talks, you’d think I’m scaling Everest. Or at least Kilimanjaro. Instead—
“’Scuse, us, we’ll be by in a tic. That’s the way, Andy, right around the lady.”
I’m the lady. Andy is a kid who doesn’t look a day over seven who scrambles past me in a flurry of Spider-Man shoes and gap-toothed smiles. His parents bring up the rear, smiling up at their wild monkey child with obvious pride.
And they aren’t the first group to pass me.
Five Swedish women, a couple, and a guy who looked to be in his mid-seventies have also shot past me during the course of the last quarter hour.
The top is so close I can taste it. Bran is being nothing but encouraging, but below me is a twenty-foot drop. Not enough to kill me, unless I fall with some sort of suicidal intent, but enough to make me feel incredibly uneasy about the boulder field.
Bran eases toward me. “Talia, take my hand.”
“Can’t let go.”
“Talia.”
“No.” This is it; this is the reason. Bran isn’t going to admit it here, while I’m bordering on a panic attack on a trail being conquered by elementary school children and senior citizens, but there’s no doubt this is A REASON to lose interest in me. I’m giving him a big capital-lettered reason, but I can’t stop. I physically can’t let go.
“Talia. Take a deep breath.”
“Breath taken.”
“Another.”
“Okay.”
“Give me your hand, no bullshit. I want your fingers in mine. You’ll be safe. I’m going to keep you safe. I need you to trust me.”
Somehow I do it. I give him my fingers. He assists me up. We’re doing this together. My head clears the boulder and I can see the steel marker that identifies the summit ahead. Holy shit, he’s right. I’m going to reach the top.
A few more steps, easy now, and we’re there. The kid in the Spider-Man shoes munches a Vegemite sandwich. I want to scoop him up in a smooshy squeeze. Except his parents would likely object, so I switch gears to give Bran a long and passionate kiss.
“I knew you’d get here,” he says.
“I didn’t.”
He turns me to see the view, his hands tight around my waist. “Your place is here, Captain, in the sun,” he whispers in my ear. “Don’t ever forget that.”
— — — — — — — —- — — — — — — —- — — — — — — —- — — — — — — –
Giveaway
Hosted by Good Choice Reading Blog Tours
August 4, 2014
Spotlight On: Had To Be You, by Juliet Chatham
Had To Be You
by Juliet Chatham
Release Date: 08/05/14
Swoon Romance
Summary from Goodreads:
HAD TO BE YOU is a contemporary new adult romance set in a small Massachusetts beach town in the days leading up to a summer wedding. At its heart, this is a story about first love, but as it also carries over into post-college years, spanning that decade and touching upon more mature themes. It does not shy away from erotic description, but only as it reflects and reinforces the deep connection and passion defining the relationship.
When Rory Finn first left behind the familiarity of her quiet, picturesque hometown to pursue a professional career in the city after college, her intention was to focus on the future—until a jarring bit of unwelcome news forces her to face the past. What if her first love could actually still be the true love of her life? There’s just one little problem with the timing of this revelation. He is about to marry someone else.
As she embarks upon an impulsive, desperate bid to win him back, her mission turns into an unexpected and emotional journey of rediscovery. With both humor and heartbreak, the story itself transitions from past to present, exploring a small history of love from its tentative beginnings to what may just turned out to be its final bittersweet end.
Available now:
________________________
Excerpt
Jill clicked off the phone and exhaled loudly, shaking her head.
“What was that all about?” Trevor came back into the room and dropped into the chair across from her. He had a pint of ice cream in his hand. “Is she upset because Matt is marrying Amanda? Doesn’t she like her?”
“No, it’s not that, really,” Jill replied, gazing out the window. A smudge of moonlight was barely visible in the night time sky above the buildings across the street. “Rory doesn’t even know Amanda. They’ve never met. She’s just upset Matt is getting married, period. There’s a long history there, you know. Once upon a time… well, they were pretty close. They were best friends, each other’s first loves, you name it.”
Trevor always tried to play it off like he was barely interested in gossip, above it all even, but when they were alone he definitely took a sort of conspiratorial delight in getting the scoop on Jill’s small hometown crowd. He himself had never experienced just how tight some childhood ties could bind.
“I guess I recall you telling methat.” Swallowing a mouthful of ice cream, hefrowned. “So, is she just jealous he found someone else? Or does she still have feelings for him?”
“Who knows?” Jill replied with another yawn, propping her elbow on the back of the couch to rest her head in her hand. “Rory Finn is a very complicated girl. Believe me, she makes me look easy.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about how easy you look, love,” he murmured as he dug his spoon in, trying to hide a grin, “when you’re sitting there all knocked up.”
“Give me that ice cream and I just might forget you said that.”
________________________
About the Author
A
lifelong New Englander, I divide my time between the North Shore and Cape Cod.
My favorite things are beaches, boats, books, bars, the Boston Red Sox and
boys, but not necessarily in that order. Consequently, you’ll probably find
that these are the things I write about, too.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY:
Spotlight On: Madame Lilly, Voodoo Priestess: Soulless (Volume 2), by Dormaine G.
Madame Lilly, Voodoo Priestess: Soulless (Volume 2)
Book Synopsis
The time is 1890, the place, New Orleans, and Odara is lost to Madame Lilly, her soulless side—and she has not finished what she started. Unleashing two great forces, Theolus and Hearon, with ferocious appetites against her common-law husband, Henry Nicholas, is just the beginning of the end for Lilly—only she doesn’t know it yet.
For the spirits she raised took what was left of her humanity and left a piece of themselves within her; a piece that craves chaos. Needing to maintain control over them to do her bidding, Lilly must do what is required even if it means becoming more like them.
Tortured, scorned and damned, Lilly has one mission in life: Retribution.
Book Excerpt
“Henry tasted salty, sweet as sweat dripped down his body from the muggy hot weather Louisiana offered deep in the swamps, especially fierce under the brutal sun.
Back here no one cared about a man’s cries. Creatures here only cared about one thing: Survival. There was no one around other than the mosquitoes competing with Hearon, both desiring the splendor of his blood. The bush crickets were too busy singing to their mates to hear Henry’s cries, and the gators were lying in wait to feed on the bodies tossed their way after going missing in the bayou, the reptiles becoming accessories to vicious human crimes. No, there was no mercy back here in the swamps.
She did not pulltoo much skin at once, only enough for it to cause incredible pain. The wounds needed to heal so she could do it again, until they grew tired of him or Madame said it was time to end his existence. It didn’t matter where the flesh came from but she noticed the legs and back seemed to hurt the worst, so that was where she lingered while dancing around him and watching his body tremble in fear every time she laid a finger on him”
About The Author
I may be a nurse by profession but I’m an author by heart. I have been writing stories for many years, both in my head and on paper because I’ve always had a love for books ever since spending Saturdays a
the library as a young child. Within a book, the mind can travel to worlds of the imagination and the beyond. I finally took the plunge and published my first novel last year, a young adult urban fantasy titled “Connor” and, this year, two adult horror short stories titled “Madame Lilly, Voodoo Priestess” and “Madame Lilly, Voodoo Priestess: Soulless.” Each are the just the beginning of many to come as I stay locked up in my office in Colorado spinning more tales.
Get In Touch:
Blog: http://dormainegblog.blogspot.com/
Website: DormaineG.com
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/DormaineG./e/B00HNE9GOC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004470074838
Twitter: DormaineGtwitter.com @dormaineg
TintdTeen:http://www.tintdteen.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7329928.Dormaine_G_
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/dedeblu/
Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIZU3H6tdKc
Buy links
Amazon | Good Reads
Fabulosity Reads Book Promotions is a book touring website that promotes authors and their precious works to an extensive audience using blogs, twitter, Facebook and other Social Media, with the aim of introducing
them to an appreciative readership.
They offer a diverse range of both complimentary and affordable products to help the reach of your book go that much further.
August 3, 2014
Goodreads Giveaway: Paperback of Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins
Hi, everyone! Waking Up Dead has a FABULOUS new cover! But I have several original-cover paperback copies left, so I am going to be giving them away over the next few months. So scroll down to check out the new cover (and get an e-copy if you just can’t wait!), then use the link to hop on over to Goodreads to enter the original-cover paperback giveaway!
August 2, 2014
RWA Goody Giveaway Post #2 ~ Win a Paperback of Salt & Storm
Hi,all!
Remember how I said last week that I was going to have a giveaway a week until I gave away all those RWA goodies? I totally meant it.
This week, I’m focusing on YA books. I’m featuring my own YA novel, Fairy, Texas, and giving away an advance reader copy of Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper–this one’s not available in stores yet, y’all!
So read about both books below, let me know what you love best about YA books (it’ll be an entry on the Rafflecopter), then Enter to Win! (Once again, this is U.S. only.)
Spotlight On: The Automation, by G. B. Gabbler
The Automation
By G.B. Gabbler
Genre: Urban Fantasy
The capital-A Automatons of Greco-Roman myth aren’t clockwork. Their design is much more divine. They’re more intricate than robots or androids or anything else mortal humans could invent. Their windup keys are their human Masters. They aren’t mindless; they have infinite storage space. And, because they have more than one form, they’re more versatile and portable than, say, your cell phone—and much more useful too. The only thing these god-forged beings share in common with those lowercase-A automatons is their pre-programmed existence. They have a function—a function their creator put into place—a function that was questionable from the start…
Odys (no, not short for Odysseus, thank you) finds his hermetic lifestyle falling apart after a stranger commits suicide to free his soul-attached Automaton slave. The humanoid Automaton uses Odys’s soul to “reactivate” herself. Odys must learn to accept that the female Automaton is an extension of his body—that they are the same person—and that her creator-god is forging a new purpose for all with Automatons…
The novel calls itself a “Prose Epic,” but is otherwise a purposeful implosion of literary clichés and gimmicks: A Narrator and an Editor (named Gabbler) frame the novel. Gabbler’s pompous commentary (as footnotes) on the nameless Narrator’s story grounds the novel in reality. Gabbler is a stereotypical academic who likes the story only for its so-called “literary” qualities, but otherwise contradicts the Narrator’s claim that the story is true.
THE AUTOMATION is a this-world fantasy that reboots mythical characters and alchemical concepts. Its ideal place would be on the same bookshelf as Wrecker’s THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI and Gaiman’s AMERICAN GODS—though it wouldn’t mind bookending Homer, Virgil, and Milton, to be specific.
For updates and purchasing information on THE AUTOMATION please visit Gabbler’s website.
Learn more about G.B. Gabbler and B.L.A. on Tumblr and stay updated with them on Facebook and Twitter.
#MySexySaturday Blog Hop ~ Taming the Country Star by Margo Bond Collins
Welcome to the My Sexy Saturday blog hop! This week, writers are joining in with seven words, seven sentences, or seven paragraphs from their works.
This week’s hop is all about the sexy moments in novels. And Taming the Country Star is full of those kinds of sweet, sexy moments, so I’m joining in! Take a moment to read the excerpt below, then HOP to check out the rest of the sexy snippets!
Taming the Country Star: A Hometown Heroes Novella (Entangled Bliss)
August 1, 2014
Kindle Fire Giveaway!
It’s time for August’s $229 Kindle Giveaway Hosted by I Am A Reader.
Enter to win 1 of 2 great prizes both valued at $229. Winner’s choice of a Kindle Fire HDX or $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 Paypal Cash!
The first prize is available via the rafflecopter below. The 2nd is available only to those share this giveaway. You can find info on how to enter the 2nd giveaway in the rafflecopter.
Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value)
Kindle Fire HDX 7″ Giveaway
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7″ Kindle Fire HDX (US Only – $229 Value)
Or $229 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)
Or $229 in Paypal Cash (International)
Sponsor List
I Am A Reader
Feed Your Reader
Author Kimber Leigh Wheaton
Author Inger Iversen
Candace’s Book Blog
I Love to Read and Review Books :)
{A Leisure Moment} A Casual Conversation about Our Love for Literature
J.L. Weil
Kelly Walker
Talia Jager, Author
Jessabella Reads
Laurie Treacy, Author
Claudia Burgoa
When I Grow Up I Wanna Write A Kids Book
Kimber’s Life
More Than a Review
Lori’s Reading Corner
Author Ann Swann
Dana Masting
Bonnie Blythe Pure Romance
Bella Street Weird Romance
Morgan K Wyatt
Njkinny’s World of Books & Stuff
Reviews from a Bookworm
BookBunnyPR
Jenn’s Book Reviews and Giveaways
Me and Reading
Words Wit and Wisdom
Marie D. Jones
Good Choice Reading
A & E Kirk, Author
Margo Bond Collins
Christian Bookmobile
Biscuit & Books BOOKTUBE
Illusio & Baqer
Bound 4 Escape
Helen Smith (author)
Gin’s Book Notes
Author FA Michaels
Author Steven Brown
Against Idleness & Mischief
Rayna Noire
Author Deb Atwood
Laurie Here
Danielle @ Coffee and Characters
Author A. Wrighton
Chelsea Author Promotions
ExtraordinaryReads
Author Lynda Raymond
LeahSay’s View
Sign up to sponsor the next Kindle Giveaway here:
http://www.iamareader.com/category/kindle-giveaway-sign-ups
Giveaway Details
1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7″ HDX (US Only – $229 value), $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash (International).
There is a second separate giveaway for bloggers who post this giveaway on their blog. See details in the rafflecopter on how to enter to win the 2nd Kindle Fire HDX 7″, $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash.
Ends 8/31/14
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
