Margo Bond Collins's Blog, page 59
May 28, 2015
Spotlight On: The Blackmail of Evelynn Faust, by Shirley Anne Edwards
The Blackmail
of Evelynn Faust
Shirley Anne Edwards
YA Contemporary
w/Romantic Elements/73k
Evelynn
Faust suffers from horrible insomnia and paranoia. The summer before her senior
year of high school should be one of the best summers of her life. But she’s
tormented by guilt and an addiction that haunts her every waking moment. Evelynn
is a drug dealer who also craves the drug she sells. The money and the
popularity that come with it aren’t bad either. But when she’s caught dealing
on school property by Eric Wagner, the respected and admired police chief’s son,
the game is over.
He won’t snitch on her, unless she gives him whatever
he wants – her.
She’s
being blackmailed.
Evelynn has no one to turn to for help. Not her
parents who don’t understand her rebellious nature or her circle of friends who
only care about partying and getting high. When Adam Tristen moves in across
the street, and he wants to get to know her better, it all seems too good to be
true.
She
must make a pact with the devil.
Evelynn now looks over her shoulder wherever she goes,
waiting for Eric to act on his threats. But Adam, the charming college sophomore,
sees something special inside Evelynn, and he wants to help her fix mistakes. In
order to do that she must confront a dark secret from her past that could
destroy her family…her life…and her entire world as she knows it.
She
must take a leap of faith.
Buy Links: Google Play Amazon B&N
Smashwords
Excerpt:
Sweat caked my body. I shook even as I held my cell
between my ear and shoulder as I waited for Adam.
He remained on the line the entire time he drove,
talking to me, keeping me sane. I didn’t tell him about Eric. It would be
better to tell him to his face and hope he didn’t freak out.
The sounds of tires rolling over crushed gravel met my
ears. A few moments later, his tall, beautiful dark-caramel body came into
view, and I crawled out of my cubby hole. Adam rushed over to me and pulled me
in his arms. He smelled so clean, as if he had just taken a shower. I didn’t
even want to know how I smelled.
“Are you okay?” he asked, cupping my face.
I shook my head and burst in tears. He held me tight
while I cried.
***
We sat in the back of his car near the old entrance
where a brick shed stored sports equipment. We were all alone, surrounded by
long grass, weeds, and broken concrete that hadn’t been paved in years since
the main parking lot was used in the front. The car windows were down, letting
a hot breeze in. Adam wanted to take me home, or to his house, but I told him
no. I wasn’t sure what I would face there. So, we suffered from the heat, or
rather I did. Adam didn’t seem to mind as he held me in his arms and whispered
in my ear.
I wiped my swollen eyes, staring down at my lap. My
wrists and arms were covered in red from my sunburn, including a rainbow of new
colors.
“Someone hurt you. Tell me who did this to you.” He
rubbed the pad of his finger over the inside of my wrist. His thumb grazed the
side of my hand, sending a tingle up my arm. I wanted to feel the same on my
whole body, to erase the aftermath of Eric’s abuse.
“Eric and I had a disagreement about something.”
“Evelynn,” Adam murmured. “What did he do to you?”
He laid his
palm on mine. The breeze whipped through the car. I closed my eyes, wishing I
was lying on my bed in the cool darkness even with the annoying streetlamp
shining through my bedroom window.
“He didn’t rape me if you’re wondering. I stopped him
before he could. He found out about me and you, and he got very angry. He said
awful things about you, and I flipped out on him. He-he…threw me on his kitchen
table and almost—” I rubbed my face on his shoulder and inhaled his clean
scent.
“You were at his house?”
I nodded. “I visited Tink’s earlier in the day to meet
some friends. He saw me coming out from there, but I think he followed me. I
was so stupid to think we could talk. He was being nice for a change. I went
over to his house to have lunch, and he became mean.” I dropped my head in my
hands and groaned. “I messed up big time, and I don’t know what to do.”
Adam rubbed his cheek over mine. “You can trust me.
Tell me what’s going on.”
The moment of truth had arrived. I couldn’t lie
anymore. “My cousin Jenn and her boyfriend were arrested yesterday on
possession of drugs and selling them. They’re involved in a network of drug
trafficking in the area where they sell not just to high schools but to the
middle school and maybe younger. The reason I’ve been on and off with Eric is
because he’s blackmailing me. He caught me dealing a few months ago in the
parking lot of the high school. Unless I become his girlfriend, he’ll tell his
father about me.” I shook my head. “I-I’m so dead.”
Adam stared out the window, pulling at his bottom lip.
I scraped the side of my thumb nail where the skin was rough from all the
biting and picking I’d done.
“It’s okay if you want to throw me out of your car and
never speak to me again.”
He sighed, and I went to open my door. He drew me into
his embrace. His mouth brushed the side of my neck, and he cursed, holding me
until I turned my head and looked at him full in the face. Our noses almost
touched. I pressed my palm on his head, enjoying his short curls and how they
felt through my fingers as I tugged on them.
“No more lies between us. Okay?” He lifted his hand to
my head, mimicking my touch.
“I promise you, no more lies. I’m all tapped out with
my lies. I want to be more like you.”
“Like me?’ he asked, his breath a whisper on my mouth,
a tangy scent I wanted to inhale.
“Yes. You’re everything I’m not. Honest, good, and
sweet. You make me want to be a better person.”
“I think you’re sweet, but just misunderstood,” he
replied.
“Misunderstood, huh? I’d rather just be sweet.” I
moved closer, wrapping my leg around his waist until I almost sat on his lap.
He gasped and his mouth brushed mine. “Not quite good,
but we’re working on it.”
That made me smile. He then gave me one in return and
kissed me as I’d been dying for him to. He nipped my lips gently, prodding
slowly, erasing Eric’s harsh kiss until I ended up panting, wanting even more
of his kisses…his touch all over me.
“Hold me, please. I need you,” I whispered, sliding my
hands beneath his shirt to feel his stomach and the muscles there that jumped
under my circling fingers.
“I have you.” He sighed. “But we shouldn’t. You’ve
been—”
“Hush.” I kissed him with a deep intensity and
demanding hunger. “Don’t let me go. I feel clean when I’m with you.”
“I won’t let you go. Ever.” He pulled me against him,
just like I wanted.
Straddling his hips, I locked my thighs around his
until he moaned. His hands skated up my legs and higher until I gasped, dizzy
and punchy as a tide of emotion brought happy tears to my eyes.
About
the Author:
Shirley
Anne Edwards is a Northeast girl who first found her love for books when she
read Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock Tower at thirteen. Shirley found
her love for writing at a very young age, and since then has let her
imagination run wild by creating quirky characters and vast worlds in her head. Shirley lives in New Jersey and works in the entertainment industry in New York
City.In the immortal words of Mark Twain: “Life is short, Break the Rules.
Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret
ANYTHING that makes you smile.”For more information about Shirley and her writing journey:Website link:
http://shirlwriteredwards.wordpress.com/
Twitter:
@ShirleyAWriter (link: https://twitter.com/ShirleyAWriter )
( https://www.facebook.com/shirley.edwards.31924 )
Amazon
author page: http://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Anne-Edwards/e/B00N87EEAO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1426708495&sr=8-1
Giveaway:
$25
Amazon GC & 1 Digital copy of The Blackmail of Evelyn Faust
May 26, 2015
Spotlight On: Atelophobia, by Nakida Parker
Title: Atelophobia
Author: Nakida Parker
In McKenzie Perkin’s world she believed that she wasn’t perfect enough for the people who were in her life. With McKenzie feeling imperfect came a lot of anger. As she tries to move forward and begin a new life, she understands it is not healthy to bring her past feelings into her future. McKenzie decides to seek help from a Therapist to help her put to rest some unhealthy qualities ranging from spitefulness, to overcompensating. Join McKenzie as she relives her past and prepares for her future.
Purchase
Author’s Website (Paypal) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
———————————————————————————————-
Excerpt
CHAPTER 2. COUSINS
Jessica and Kyle, on the other hand, never mentioned anything negative to me. All I needed was support, and that’s what they provided. I cannot stress how much I appreciate them. They knew I didn’t need bashing, and that’s why I would never turn my back on Kyle or Jessica. When I needed someone the most, they were there.
One day, my family decided to call a meeting. My mother had gotten the scoop on what the meeting was about from my nana Christina, so I knew details before we headed down to Manhattan and I also knew I did not want anything to do with this meeting.
“What was the meeting about?” Jodi asked.
“Well, apparently my family believed Jessica was stealing from my nana’s brother; uncle David, who was sick at the time. They wanted everyone to stop speaking to her, but I just figured why should I? The day of the meeting came and went, and no, I did not cut Jessica off. Like I said, I wouldn’t. Some of my family was aware that I didn’t stop speaking to her, and was upset with my whole household.”
Walking into the meeting and sitting down, you could feel the tension in the room. I sat on the couch at my great-grandmother’s house while Sharon put Aaron in the back for a nap. Everyone came in, took a seat and waited for the meeting to begin. I noticed almost all of my cousins, aunts and uncles attended the meeting. The only people who were absent were: Uncle David, my late aunt Jackie, Kyle and Katie; they were away on a business trip together. Four of uncle David’s siblings were there including all of their kids. My mother’s brother Michael even came from Buffalo, New York, which was rare so I knew this, was serious.
“Hey Family, how’s everybody?” My aunt Lisa asked. Everyone replied that they were doing well and she began.
“Well, I wanted to have a meeting today about your Uncle David, and Jessica. We all know my brother is very ill, and it has been brought to my attention that Jessica is taking advantage of him.
She handed out pieces of paper, which appeared to be copies of his bank statements.
All that came to my mind was here we fucking go.
———————————————————————————————-
About the Author
Nakida Parker was born in the Bronx borough of New York City, but currently lives in Connecticut. She is a mother of two boys, a Realtor as well as a student pursing her Bachelors in Busness Administration.
———————————————————————————————-
Giveaway
Legally Undead ~ Book Hooks Blog Hop ~ #MFRWAuthor
Welcome to this week’s MFRW Book Hooks Blog Hop, where you can read snippets of writers’ works. So check out the excerpt from Legally Undead below, then HOP to the rest of the participating sites!
Excerpt from Legally Undead : a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense!
I was twenty-four the first time I . . . destroyed? dispatched? . . . a vampire. That’s when I found out that all the books and movies are wrong. When you stick a wooden stake into their hearts, vampires don’t disintegrate into dust. They don’t explode. They don’t spew blood everywhere. They just look surprised, groan, and collapse into a pile of corpse. But at least they lie still then, like corpses are supposed to.
A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.
Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.
But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs–not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.
As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.
_____________________________________________
Sale Links
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Undead-Vampirarchy-Margo-Collins-ebook/dp/B00KKV44BK/
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legally-undead-margo-bond-collins/1119607989?ean=2940149615803
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/legally-undead
Universal Kindle Link: http://bookShow.me/B00KKV44BK
_____________________________________________
About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
_____________________________________________
Connect with Margo
Newsletter: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/03A21E5E161401F0
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margocollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
Tsu: http://www.tsu.co/MargoBondCollins
Cover Reveal: Forced to Remember, by Samantha LaFantasie
The weight of the world feels heavy on my shoulders. Desperation touches everything. Memories forgotten, truths untold. Humanity is threatened. Their safety granted in exchange for me. But I won’t go without a fight.With strange occurrences taking place in the city, it’s up to Elsa and her team to discover why. But an odd encounter at an abandoned warehouse leaves the team with more questions than answers. Just when the team least expects it, Alexander returns, and he’s not alone or without demands: the world’s safety in exchange for Elsa. They have only one week to decide while the world falls under Alexander’s wrath and his powerful army of followers. Avalon seeks help from every Nepherium that can be spared and hope it will be enough to stop Alexander.
Coming July 2015!
About the Author
A Kansas native, Samantha LaFantasie spends her free time with her three kids and arguing with her characters. Writing has always been a passion of hers, forgoing all other desires to devote to this one obsession. She’s primarily a fantasy writer but often feels pulled to genres such as sci-fi, romance, and others. Samantha became a bestselling author with the Pandora Boxed Set (which includes Made to Forget: Nepherium Novella series–Part One) on both Amazon and USA Today. Samantha loves to take time to enjoy other activities such as photography and playing her favorite game of all time, Guild Wars 2. Want more from Samantha? Keep up with her at any of her digital hangouts.
Goodreads | Facebook Fan Page | Author Central | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | Wattpad | Instagram
Cover Reveal: Sanguinary (new edition, expanded and revised), by Margo Bond Collins
Forthcoming Summer 2015
Only fifty years left before vampires rule the world.
When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city’s vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department.
But she didn’t know then what she knows now: there’s a silent war raging between humans and vampires, and the vampires are winning.
So with the help of a disaffected vampire and an ex-cop addict, Cami is going undercover, determined to solve a series of recent murders, discover a way to overthrow the local Sanguinary government, and, in the process, help win the war for the human race.
But can she maintain her own humanity in the process? Or will Cami find herself, along with the rest of the world, pulled under a darkness she cannot oppose?
_____________________________________________
About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
_____________________________________________
Connect with Margo
Newsletter: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/03A21E5E161401F0
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/margobondcollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
Tsu: http://www.tsu.co/MargoBondCollins
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May 25, 2015
Happy Release Day! Scales, by Pauline Creeden
Verona is a bottom feeder. She is the one mer in her clan who is considered the ugliest and least intelligent. Growing up with the constant bullying and abuse wasn’t the worst of what her kind had in store for her. At seventeen years old, she must now endure “The Reckoning.”
The scales will measure her worth to her clan. Will she endure thirty days as a land-walker to gather information and knowledge to appease her clan and return a valued member? Will she wait three years, until she is twenty, and find a mer of her kind to accept her and marry her? Or will she suffer exile for the rest of her life?
* * *
Buy Link
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Scales-Falling-Deep-Collection-Novella-ebook/dp/B00UYIGO0S/
* * *
Excerpt:
TO KEEP FROM SCREAMING, I bite hard on my lip. The copper mixture of blood and saltwater mingles on my tongue. Mer claws rake against my back. The barnacles on the post to which I’m tied stab me in the chest. Pain sets my body on fire. Everything burns. I squeeze my eyes shut tight and keep my silence.
“Ugly.”
“Repugnant.”
“Unsightly.”
“Ignorant.”
“Bottom Feeder.”
Each word cuts as deep in my flesh as the physical wounds my clan inflicts. It can’t last long. I can endure this. As soon as the sharks catch scent of my blood they will come, and the Mer will scatter.
The world spins around me like a whirlpool. My breaths come quick and shallow, my heart pounds faster in my ears. Each second is an eternity, until I realize fresh wounds are not adding to the burning in my skin.
The elder’s sharp tongue whispers in my ear. “Now you will be measured.”
My wrists fall free of the post as he cuts the ties.
Exile. My Reckoning has begun.
* * *
All summer long, join the authors of the “Falling in Deep Collection” for unique tales of creatures from the deep!
From mermaids to sirens, Miami to Athens, dark paranormal romance to contemporary stories with steam to folktales, the fifteen award-winning and best-selling authors of the “Falling in Deep Collection” are bringing you mermaid tales like you’ve never seen before.
Every week beginning May 26th, 2015, we’ll be releasing one unique, never-before-published novella! Each novella will feature our favorite creature of the deep: mermaids.
The Falling in Deep Collection (May – September 2015 Releases)
Scales by Pauline Creeden
Ink: A Mermaid Romance by Melanie Karsak
Of Ocean and Ash by A. R. Draeger
Deep Breath by J. M. Miller
At the Heart of the Deep by Carrie Wells
The Mermaid’s Den by Ella Malone
The Water is Sweeter by Eli Constant
The Glass Mermaid by Poppy Lawless
An Officer & a Mermaid by Blaire Edens
How to be a Mermaid by Erin Hayes
Cold Water Bridegroom by B. Brumley
A Beyond the Sea Prequel by Emily Goodwin
Immersed by Katie Hayoz
Siren’s Kiss by Margo Bond Collins
To Each His Own by Anna Albergucci
Never miss a release! Keep in touch with us online at http://eepurl.com/bdRtbD
About the Author:
Pauline Creeden is an award-winning author, horse trainer, and overall book ninja. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Gold Award for First Place YA Horror Novel.
Stalker Links:
Website: http://paulinecreeden.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/PaulineCreeden
Twitter: http://twitter.com/P_Creeden
Instagram: https://instagram.com/paulinecreeden/
May 24, 2015
Spotlight On: Edge of Tomorrow, by Kellie Wallace
Dystopian/New Adult
Date Published: April 15, 2015
Twenty years after The Great Global Riots and the collapse of humanity, Alex Locke struggles to save his family, and his home colony of Pena, from starvation. When a letter from the corrupt Govern arrives dictating a game of survival penning local colonies against each other, Alex must trust a childhood friend, and seven others, on a certain death march to win the bounty or lose the only hope left in a war-ravaged world.
Excerpt
Beads of sweat rolled into Alex Locke’s eyes as he stared at the man before him crouched in the chair, weeping, gasping for breath. The left side of his face was swollen where a cheekbone had been fractured. A urine stain dampened the front of his pants.
Alex swallowed the lump in his throat, sickened by the stench. “I want to be reasonable here, Ernie,” he said. “I really do. But I know what you are.” He lowered his mouth to the man’s ear. Heat radiated off Ernie. “And I know you have information for me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the nomad stuttered back, squinting up at Alex with his one good eye. His wrists and ankles were torn and bleeding from the rope binding him to the chair. He jolted once, twice, before giving up.
“I think you do. I’m a patient man, Ernie. I can stay here all day.”
Thump. Alex turned to find York Holt, his best friend brandishing a machete. Sun rays filtered through a broken window, giving York an aura.
“York, come ‘ere,” Alex ordered. “You need to persuade this man.”
As soon as Ernie saw the dirt-encrusted blade, he jerked up in his chair, so high that two legs left the ground. “Don’t hurt me! I’ll tell you. What do you need to know?”
Alex smiled gleefully. After two hours of integration, he was finally getting somewhere. He crouched to one knee and hooked an arm over Ernie’s armrest, his face inches from his own. “Ernie, you’re a Treme, right?”
The man’s head bobbed up and down.
“I know what your kind is like. You travel the wastelands of this state, wandering in and out of colonies, taking what you please.” His gaze crossed to Ernie’s armor lying in a pile in the corner of the room, fashioned from scrap metal, car parts and animal hide. It glistened under the sun’s rays.
“Th-That’s true,” Ernie stammered. “But we only take trash. We never steal purposely.”
“What’s that?” Alex slammed his fist onto the wall beside him and pointed to the armor. “These parts weren’t trash. They belonged to people, Ernie. You can’t steal, no matter if the world ended or not!”
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Angered by this blatant lie, Alex withdrew a knife from his back pocket and thrust it into Ernie’s right thigh. The man howled in agony and squirmed violently in his chair.
Alex didn’t budge to release him or the knife protruding from Ernie’s flesh. They were ten miles outside of town, free of interruption. There was nothing out here but barren farmland and abandoned homes.
About the Author
Born in Sydney, Australia Kellie Wallace developed a love for the written word early in life, recalling her earliest memory when she was three years old. Her father used to read to her when she was a child, establishing a deep love and respect for books. Kellie wrote a bit in high school, most memorably her first fantasy book called Giblin the Conquer, an X Files fan fiction and a military fiction. She didn’t write another word until 2007.
After finishing high school, Kellie moved to the sunny Northern Beaches from the Central Coast and carved a successful career in the media/advertising industry writing for numerous Sydney based publications.
An aspiring novelist, Kellie fulfilled a dream in 2008 having her first book All She Ever Wanted published by Zeus Publications at the age of 22 years old.
In 2013, Kellie released her newest catalogue of books Darkness before Dawn and Skylark. In her spare time she loves to write, game and draw. Her first crime fiction novel To lean of falling men and EarthWalker are out now. She currently resides in Sydney with her husband.
Author Links
Website
Purchase Link
Amazon
GIVEAWAY
Arc of Edge of Tomorrow
a Rafflecopter giveaway
May 23, 2015
Legally Undead by Margo Bond Collins: a Daphne Du Maurier Award Finalist
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that Legally Undead is a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense!
A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.
Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.
But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs–not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.
As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.
Congratulations to all my fellow finalists–see the complete list below:
The DAPHNE DU MAURIER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MYSTERY/SUSPENSE –Published Division Finalists for 2015 are:
CATEGORY (SERIES) ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
Natalie Charles for When No One is Watching
Lena Diaz for Tennessee Takedown
Delores Fossen for Rustling Up Trouble
Karen McCullough for The Detective’s Dilemma
Bobbye Terry for The Widow James
HISTORICAL ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
Amanda DeWees for With This Curse
Anthea Lawson for Mistress of Melody
Jeannie Lin for The Jade Temptress
Brenda Novak for A Matter of Grave Concern
Lauren Willig for The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla
INSPIRATIONAL ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
Elizabeth Camden for With Every Breath
Debby Giusti for The Agent’s Secret Past
Irene Hannon for Deceived
Katy Lee for Grave Danger
Dani Pettrey for Silenced
PARANORMAL (FANTASY/TIME TRAVEL/FUTURISTIC) ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
Margo Bond Collins for Legally Undead
Angie Fox for Beverly Hills Demon Slayer
J.T. Geissinger for Darkness Bound
Liah Penn for Pure Death
Rebecca Zanetti for Marked
SINGLE TITLE ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
Kendra Elliot for Vanished
Melinda Leigh for Hour of Need
Tamsen Schultz for What Echoes Render
Michelle Sharp for Dream Huntress
Leslie Tentler for Fallen
MAINSTREAM MYSTERY/SUSPENSE
Traci Andrighetti for Limoncello Yellow
Carey Baldwin for Judgment
Kylie Brant for 11
Libby Fischer Hellmann for Nobody’s Child
Sandra Parshall for Poisoned Ground
Winners will be announced during KOD’s annual Death by Chocolate Party at the RWA® National Conference in New York, New York.
Excerpt from Legally Undead:
The worst thing about vampires is that they’re dead. That whole wanting to suck your blood business runs a close second, but for sheer creepiness, it’s the dead bit that gets me every time. They’re up and walking around and talking and sucking blood, but they’re dead. And then there’s the whole terminology problem–how can you kill something that’s already dead? It’s just wrong.
I was twenty-four the first time I . . . destroyed? dispatched? . . . a vampire. That’s when I found out that all the books and movies are wrong. When you stick a wooden stake into their hearts, vampires don’t disintegrate into dust. They don’t explode. They don’t spew blood everywhere. They just look surprised, groan, and collapse into a pile of corpse. But at least they lie still then, like corpses are supposed to.
Since that first kill (I might as well use the word–there really isn’t a better one), I’ve discovered that only if you’re lucky do vampires look surprised before they groan and fall down. If you’re unlucky and miss the heart, they look angry. And then they fight.
There are the other usual ways to kill vampires, of course, but these other ways can get a bit complicated. Vampires are notoriously difficult to trick into sunlight. They have an uncanny ability to sense when there’s any sunlight within miles of them, and they’re awfully good at hiding from it. Holy water doesn’t kill them; it just distracts them for a while, and then they get that angry look again. And it takes a pretty big blade to cut off someone’s head–even an already dead someone–and carrying a great big knife around New York City, even the Bronx, is a sure way to get arrested. Nope, pointy sticks are the best way to go, all the way around.
My own pointy stick is actually more of a little knife with wood inlay on the blade–the metal makes it slide in easier. I had the knife specially made by an old Italian guy in just about the only ratty part of Westchester, north of the city. I tried to order one off the internet, but it turns out that while it’s easy to find wood-inlay handles, the blades themselves tend to be metal. Fat lot those people know.
But I wasn’t thinking any of this when I pulled the knife out of the body on the ground. I was thinking something more along the lines of “Oh, bloody hell. Not again.”
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Sale Links
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Legally-Undead-Vampirarchy-Margo-Collins-ebook/dp/B00KKV44BK/
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legally-undead-margo-bond-collins/1119607989?ean=2940149615803
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/legally-undead
Universal Kindle Link: http://bookShow.me/B00KKV44BK
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About the Author
Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.
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Connect with Margo
Newsletter: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/03A21E5E161401F0
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/margocollins
Email: MargoBondCollins@gmail.com
Website: http://www.MargoBondCollins.net
Blog: http://www.MargoBondCollins.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin @MargoBondCollin
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116484555448104519902
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MargoBondCollins
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/mbondcollins/
Tsu: http://www.tsu.co/MargoBondCollins
Top 10 Tips to Aspiring Authors ~ A Guest Post by Adele Downs, Author of Lip Service
Top Ten tips to Aspiring Authors
Always be polite when communicating with publishing professionals.
A positive attitude may make the difference between an acceptance or a rejection.
Editors and agents are eager to work with authors who play well with others and meet deadlines.
Negative, difficult authors rarely survive in the publishing business.
If an editor has the choice between two equally well-written manuscripts, and can only choose one, she will choose the more professional author.
Be prepared to present a promotions plan to your publisher after acceptance.
Select a few social media platforms and post consistently. Present your best self.
Avoid potentially divisive, emotionally charged social media posts. Your public face can enhance or tank your publishing aspirations.
Everyone makes an occasional mistake. When you do; apologize, make it right, and move on.
You thought I was going to write about writing, didn’t you? :) Writing is only the first step in the long road to publishing. Build positive relationships. Good luck!
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – LIP SERVICE
AUTHOR – Adele Downs
GENRE – Contemporary Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – April 28, 2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – Short Novel 40,550
PUBLISHER – Boroughs Publishing Group
BOOK SYNOPSISSome ghosts won’t take “yes” for an answer.
Jack Harris has loved Legs Anderson since they were kids. Now that he has her in his bed, he has no intention of letting her go. Aunt Ada has other ideas, even from the grave.
GETTING BETWEEN JACK…
Orphaned at a young age, Legs Anderson owes her Aunt Ada everything. The stoic old lady raised her, and Ada’s warnings about men—and the Harris boys in particular—have stuck, even after her death. Of course, that could be because Ada stuck around, too.
…AND HIS LEGS
Patience is not one of Jack Harris’s virtues, and he’s waited too long to start a life with the woman he’s loved since childhood instead of them just knocking boots. Now Ada is interfering from beyond the grave, haunting the old Victorian house she bequeathed to her niece and reinforcing Legs’s fears of commitment. But Jack won’t give up. No matter what trouble may follow, the house will be renovated, Ada will learn to let go, Legs will put her money where her mouth is…and then Jack’ll put his lips everywhere else.
BUY & TBR LINKS
AMAZON KINDLE US – SMASHWORDS – GOODREADS – All Romance eBooks
EXCERPT
The roar of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Rachel’s block and the rev of a throttle in her driveway announced Jack’s arrival. Legs tried to appear nonchalant when he walked through the poolside gate, but the sight of his sun-streaked hair and tanned, muscular good looks nearly knocked her off her seat. She eased her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to get a better look.
When he stepped into the pool area dressed in black jeans, black biker boots, and a white muscle shirt that framed his pumped-up shoulders and biceps, she caught her breath. Everyone in the group said “hey” and Rachel offered him a cold drink, but his focus had remained on her. He slid his sunglasses on top of his head and nodded in her direction.
Legs remembered his gaze meeting hers before his attention strayed to her gold and black bikini then savored every inch of her skin. An appreciative smirk curled his lips and desire flashed in his beautiful blue eyes. He took a long pull of the soft drink someone handed him and then set the can down on the patio table. He looked her way and said, “Want to go for a ride?” The invitation came out like a dare.
AUTHOR BIO
Adele Downs writes contemporary romance novels, some with a touch of magic, inside the office of her rural Pennsylvania home. She is a former journalist, published in newspapers and magazines inside the USA, UK, and Caribbean.
Adele is an active member of Romance Writers of America and her local RWA chapter where she serves as a past-president. She has written several articles for RWR magazine (Romance Writers Report) and has presented workshops for writers.
When Adele isn’t working on her current project, she can be found riding in her convertible or reading a book on the nearest beach.
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – PINTEREST – TUMBLR –
GOODREADS – TSU
Join Adele’s Facebook Street Team, The Convertible Crew
GIVEAWAY PRIZES
$10 Starbucks Gift Card
$10 Amazon Gift Card
2 eCopies NATURALLY YOURS by Adele Downs
2 eCopies KISSING HER COWBOY by Adele Downs
Blast Organized & Hosted By
May 22, 2015
Cover Reveal: Dating Wars, by Ravyn Rayne
Title: Dating Wars
Series: Federal Agent Chronicles #2
Author: Ravyn Rayne
Publisher: Blushing Books
Expected Publication: July 2015
Finding love in all the wrong places.
When a serial rapist and murderer targets women on an online dating website, FBI Agent Leslie Hunter must pose as a potential match at a bar. How hard could it be? She’s been dating online for years.
While undercover, Leslie meets a handsome gentleman. She can’t tell Kevin her profession without ruining the investigation. How long can she keep this man out of danger without revealing she’s an FBI Agent?
A taste of pole dancing, phone sex, and spankings combined with a lick of danger. A romantic erotica story that’s sure to leave your heart racing and pleased afterwards.
Recommended for readers 18+. Can be read as a standalone.
Burning Desire by Ravyn Rayne
Federal Agent Chronicles #1
Published May 6, 2015 by Blushing Books
Saving people is FBI Agent Kaitlyn Rivers drug of choice. That’s not the only thing she loves about her job. The sexual tension is mounting between Kaitlyn and her alpha boss, Agent Joel Connor.
Assigned into an undercover operation to stop a serial child abductor with the pathetic Cole Sommers, Kaitlyn is silently thrilled when Cole is forced off the case and Joel steps in.
Intense romance, steamy sex scenes, and a nail-gripping case that will attract fans of crime dramas and thrillers. This action-packed erotica is sure to leave you pleased three times over!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blushing Books
About Ravyn
Ravyn is a sassy, fun-loving, and adventure-seeking young woman. She loves to travel and can’t wait for her next vacation, wherever it might be.
Ravyn writes romantic erotica. She began writing romance novels in college, spending her down time either reading a book or writing fiction. Please don’t make her choose between the two, she loves them equally.
She has been published professionally since 2013. Prefer less steamy novels? Try her out here.
