Aubrey Wynne's Blog, page 42
April 14, 2022
Read an excerpt from First Comes Love by Rachael Brownell and enter the giftcard giveaway!
First Comes Love
Rachael Brownell
Publication date: April 14th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
For lovers of second chances, small town romances, and happily ever afters…
Chloe
They say everyone has one true love, one person who was made just for them. A person they were meant to spend the rest of their life with. Who souls are intertwined.
For me, that person was Wyatt.
Our love was perfect. When we were together, nothing else mattered. Not college. Not our parents. Because our relationship wasn’t about anyone else.
We had big plans for our future together.
The thing about life… it doesn’t always go as planned.
It’s been five years since I’ve been home. Since I’ve laid eyes on the only man I’ll love in this lifetime.
And in a town this small, there’s no chance I’ll be able to avoid him for long. Or anyone else from my past.
Addison
From the moment I first laid eyes on Adam, I knew I was in trouble. There was a tension between us, chemistry I couldn’t deny. The way he was looking at me, as if he could see straight into my soul, sent my heart into overdrive.
After an hour together, I knew. He was the one. The one who would make me want to change everything. Who could make me believe in love again. In the idea of happily ever afters.
And he did.
His love and two tiny pink lines were about to change my entire life.
The thing about life… it doesn’t always go as planned.
I’ve been here before. It was the worst experience of my life and I’m not sure I’ll survive this time.
—
EXCERPT:
Flipping my light on, I lift my window and slide out onto the roof of the porch. Looking over the edge, my eyes meet Wyatt’s and realize how real his fear is. His eyes are wide, and his hands are shaking as he grips the sides of the ladder, his foot poised on the bottom rung.
“I’m right here. You can do this. I promise,” I say with confidence.
Nodding, Wyatt slowly climbs the ladder, his eyes never leaving mine. Once he’s safely on the roof, he scrambles through my window, sitting on the floor inside my window. Climbing in behind him, I find him panting heavily, a panic attack on the horizon.
Holding him in my arms until he calms down, I rub my hand up and down his back and kiss the top of his head. I’ve had one panic attack in my life, and it wasn’t pleasant. If I had known that this would send him spiraling into one, I never would have asked him to do it. I would have found another way.
“I’m sorry,” I say when his breathing finally returns to normal.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“Um, yes there is. I pushed you to climb that ladder. If I had known—”
“It’s not something I’m proud of, but heights scare the shit out of me. They always have. I don’t know why but there was going to come a time I was going to have to face that fear, and tonight turned out to be the night. At least it was for a good reason,” he replies, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Oh yeah? I’m a good reason.”
“The best reason. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Chloe. You have to know that by now. I love you.”
And just like that, my world turned upside down. All it took were three little words.
He’d never said them before, but I knew how he felt. I felt the same. Falling in love with Wyatt had been easy. We’d been together for four months and I’d fallen for him a little more each day. It was the little things like the way he looked at me or how he showed me he cared.
Tonight, on the floor of my bedroom, I fell the rest of the way. I knew he was the one. We were meant to meet, to find each other. One night changed everything for both of us.
“I love you too,” I reply, pressing my lips to his.
Author Bio:
Rachael Brownell is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, New Adult, and YA romance.
She lives in Michigan with her husband, son, snuggly dog, and hateful cat. She moonlights as a bartender a few days a week (her excuse to get out of the house and socialize) and writes full time. She published her first novel in 2013 and since she’s released more than 30 additional titles.
Rachael writes all kinds of romance – dark, sexy, sweet. She started her career writing young-adult romance and as she matured, so did her characters and her writing. These days, Rachael writes steamy, new adult romance. Her favorite tropes to write are small-town and friends to lovers.
When she’s not hiding in her office, writing her next novel, you can find her hanging out with her family, watching her son play baseball, or running on the treadmill at the gym (though she skips more days than she goes).
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April 13, 2022
The Discontent of Mary Wegner by Robert Tucker – read an excerpt and check out the trailer
Welcome to the book tour for The Discontent of Mary Wegner by Robert Tucker. Read on for more details!
The Discontent of Mary Wenger (Paper Dolls #1)
Publication Date: February 3rd, 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tell-Tale Publishing
Emotionally torn between the conflicting historical social forces of feminism and the traditional roles of women in post-World War II society, Mary Wenger struggles with a deep sense of despair. Spanning the continent during the decades of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s to the turn of the century, her compulsive lifelong odyssey in search of an acceptable house in which to realize her personal and economic goals throws her out of balance with her family.
A master wordsmith tells Mary’s story with a subtle touch of humor only an actual descendant could wield with success. Her fictional memoir is based on historical facts and bravely reveals Mary’s discovery and fear of separation from her children. The existential examination allows Mary to finally understand how her personal discontent, obsessions, internal demons, and depression affect her husband and children, as they mature and independently react to her attempts to mold them to her vision of how they all should be as a family. The life of every character is determined by his or her delusions and how they clash or compromise with one another.
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Excerpt
Since I was a young girl, I have always believed that death is stalking me. It lurks and hovers in the dark recesses of my mind like a virus waiting to strike and destroy when I least expect it.
When I was eight years old, I wrote a poem about myself and death.
My name is Mary
Sounds airy
Death is scary
It makes me wary
Being wary makes me carey
All my life, I have developed defenses and tried to be a protector of the people I love. They often didn’t see things the way I did and they didn’t agree with me. But I knew what was best for all of us.
I always have.
My mother told me the first night when she and Dad moved in, the wail of an infant floated up to their bedroom. Eyes wide open with fear, she lay listening as the weak cry faded to silence.
“Mike, did you hear that?” she whispered and poked Dad in the ribs. “It came from the cellar.”
“Just a cat. I’ll chase it out in the morning.”
Shaking his arm, she insisted. “It sounded like a baby. You must go down and look.”
“I’m tired. I look in the morning.”
“Please, Mike, I scared.”
“Aah! All right.” He touched a lighted match to their bedside candle. The electricity had not yet been connected. He went down the creaking stairs into the cellar.
Unseen by him, a woman’s bare foot and leg were pulled out through the window. The glow of the candle light was reflected by the wet shine of an object in one corner. Dad approached it and his blood chilled.
A newborn infant lay curled, the blood and mucous of the afterbirth still clinging to its blue body.
In horror, he fumbled his way back up the stairs to the bedroom where he blew out the candle and set it on the dresser.
Mother pulled the blankets close around herself. “What was it?”
Dad quickly climbed into bed. “Nothing but cat. I get rid of it in the morning.”
Before Mother awoke, Dad buried the infant in the back part of the yard farthest from the house in a corner of what would be a vegetable garden.
Many years later, when I was a young woman, Mother told me she knew Dad had lied to her to shield her from the grotesque reality of what he had found in the basement. She knew the difference between the wail of a newborn infant and the wail of a cat.
She never asked him where he had buried the infant. She suspected she knew from the unusual growth and size of tomatoes she had planted in that section of the garden. The thought of the child as fertilizer sickened her. Believing the soul of the infant existed in the ripe red fruit, she buried the tomatoes in a field far from the house and dug up and destroyed the plants.
Refusing to explain why, she avoided planting any other vegetables in that part of the garden. The spot of untilled soil was a silent message to Dad that she knew what had lain buried there.
I was sitting between Ruth and Nina clinking ice in our glasses of lemonade. I slowly turned the pages of the latest Sears & Roebuck catalog while they chatted about the clothes and merchandise they would buy if they had the money. We all did a lot of wishing in those days. Wishing didn’t cost anything, but left us with an aching malaise and a shared emptiness that our imaginations could not fill.
Since we had little in the way of personal possessions, we shared everything. If one of us even bought a candy bar, we wouldn’t think of eating it all. We would divide it up so each of us had a taste.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Author of 27 novels and a retired business and management consultant in a wide range of industries throughout the country, I reside with my wife in Southern California.
I’m a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles with Bachelor’s and Master Degrees.
A Pulitzer nominated author, I am a recipient of the Samuel Goldwyn and Donald Davis Literary Awards.
An affinity for family and generations pervades my novels. My works are literary and genre fiction that address the nature and importance of personal integrity.
As the grandson of immigrants who fled persecution in Germany and Austria-Hungary and came to America during the early 1900’s, the early history of our country and the rise of the middle-class have always held a fascination for me. The dramatic depiction of fictional characters placed in actual events sharply and realistically bring alive the harsh times and adversity of the multitude of people who sought freedom and a better way of life and demonstrate that only a little over one-hundred years have passed to bring us to where we are as a struggling society today.
The chronology and events of history have captured and held my interest for many reasons, among them being stories that entertain, educate, and inform. Learning about the lives of my immigrant grandparents coming to America from Czechoslovakia during the early 1900s and the lives of my parents during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s provided the initial motivation. Researching and writing historical fiction is a way to learn more about myself and my origins and the social, political, and economic influences related to my generation.
Whether writing historical fiction or non-fiction or fantasy, I’m drawn into the societies and cultures of a particular period that inspire the creation of characters who bring that era to life. Not only do I experience this dynamic in books, but in films, plays, dance, music, and other art forms.
Researching history takes me into the exploration of new territory perhaps outside of my own life experience through reading other sources, interviews, travel, and films. Although a number of fine books are written from personal experience by authors who lived through those times, much of the historical writing by contemporary authors is dependent on secondary sources. Forays into the past for story material is a rewarding part of the creative process. Robert Tucker
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April 12, 2022
You Should Have Seen This Coming by Shani Michelle – excerpt and giveaway
You Should Have Seen This Coming
Shani Michelle
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: April 12th 2022
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult
A teen girl who sees visions of the past must use her gift to save a kidnapped classmate in Shani Michelle’s high-stakes YA thriller You Should Have Seen This Coming!
Hayden sees the past. Just touching an object will occasionally give her flashes of the previous owner’s memories. And if that memory happens to be a deeply hidden secret, then she has no problem making you pay for your crime, in cash.
Cassie sees the future, and it sucks. She will randomly wake up from dreams filled with disasters that she feels compelled to stop, and she would really like to stop watching her boyfriend fall in love with someone else!
But when Cassie tries to warn Hayden that her latest blackmailing scheme is a trap, she knows she’s really in trouble. All her visions warn her of the upcoming kidnapping, nothing she does stops it. And it’s all Hayden’s fault!
Can Hayden’s gift help her find Cassie before it’s too late?
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Excerpt
I never realized how dark it was over here. The streetlights cast a glow, but they don’t illuminate the area, not very well, anyway.
I make the last turn. The area looks empty, but what if I’m missing something? Missing someone? “Hello. Hello,” I call out.
This street is quiet. Too quiet.
“Hello,” I say again, positioning my phone so my finger hovers over the call button. 911 punched in just in case.
No response.
A shadow moves in front of me.
I suck in a breath and stop in my tracks. This is it.
I’m about to dial for help, when the shadow on the sidewalk moves again. I look up and can’t help but let out a laugh. It’s a tree. A branch swaying in the breeze, catching the light.
I’m being absurd. No one’s around. School let out hours ago. The street is quiet. The teachers’ lot is empty except for a few parked cars. Same for the small students’ lot right next to it, where my car is located. I sprint the rest of the way there anyway, my backpack smacking me with each step, and exhale as I put my hand on my door. I’m safe.
Still, I look underneath before getting in. Nothing.
Paranoia is my new best friend.
I take off my backpack and lock myself inside the refuge of my car, tossing my things on the passenger seat.
“Get a grip,” I mutter to myself.
I clutch the steering wheel. I need to relax. This is getting out of hand. I need to tame my imagination.
Inhale.
One, two, three, four, five.
Hold.
Release.
Dr. Mukherjee insists that these breathing exercises will help me, but he’s never dealt with a case like mine. He doesn’t understand what I can do. What I can see . . .
The breath work isn’t calming me down, but it doesn’t matter.
I need to get home. I need to text Audra. I need to—
What the . . . ?
A shadow crosses my rearview mirror. It’s not a tree this time.
I didn’t park under one.
I freeze.
This isn’t happening. It’s just another vision.
Please let it be another vision.
There’s no one in your car. There’s no one in your car.
My hands are shaking. I reach toward the seat next to me for my phone. Where is it? Where did I put it? There’s a sound behind me. I turn to look. Everything goes dark. Something is over my eyes, my mouth. I try to scream. Nothing comes out.
I feel breathing through the fabric, a heat against my ear. And someone whispers, “You should have seen this coming . . .” before everything goes silent.
Author Bio:
Shani Michelle is the author of YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING. She also works in TV news. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her husband, family, friends, reading, watching way too much TV, and coming up with new story ideas. (She’s also written several rom-com and middle grade novels as Shani Petroff)
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April 11, 2022
The Ghost Marriage by Kirsten Mickelwait
Welcome to the book tour for The Ghost Marriage by Kirsten Mickelwait, now available on Audible!
The Ghost Marriage
Genre: Memoir/ Supernatural/ Addiction
Publication Date: April 12th, 2022 (Audio Edition)
At thirty-one, Kirsten has just returned to San Francisco from a bohemian year in Rome, ready to pursue a serious career as a writer and eventually, she hopes, marriage and family. When she meets Steve Beckwith, a handsome and successful attorney, she begins to see that future materialize more quickly than she’d dared to expect.
Twenty-two years later, Steve has become someone quite different from the man Kirsten first met. Unemployed and addicted to opioids, he uses money and their two children to emotionally blackmail her. The couple separates but, just after their divorce is finalized, Steve is diagnosed with colon cancer and dies within the year, leaving Kirsten with $1.5 million in debts from properties that are no longer hers. It’s only then that she finally understands: The man she married was a needy, addictive person wrapped in a shiny package.
As she fights toward recovery, Kirsten begins to receive communications from Steve in the afterlife—leading her on an unexpected path to forgiveness. The Ghost Marriage is her story of discovery: that life isn’t limited to the tangible reality we experience on this earth, and that our worst adversaries can become our greatest teachers. This is a book about life after divorce and life after death. It’s a story of how forgiveness is the best revenge.Available on Amazon and on Audible
“A divorced woman’s perceptions of her controlling ex-husband shift radically when she establishes a new bond with him following his death in this debut memoir… A skillfully written, thought-provoking account that positively reconsiders an antagonist as an important teacher.” – Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Kirsten Mickelwait is a professional copywriter and editor by day and a writer of fiction and creative nonfiction by night. She’s an alumna of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, the Paris Writers’ Conference, and the San Francisco Writers’ Conference. Her short story, “Parting with Nina,” won first prize in The Ledge’s 2004 Fiction Awards competition. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she’s at work on a new novel. The Ghost Marriage is Kirsten’s first memoir. The book tells her story of spiritual connection and surviving divorce after 50.
Kirsten Mickelwait | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Book Tour Schedule
April 11th
R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com
Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com
@theenchantedshelf (Review) https://www.instagram.com/theenchantedshelf/
Liliyana Shadowlyn (Review) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/
Timeless Romance (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/
April 12th
@better_0ff_read (Spotlight) http://WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/BETTER_0FF_READ/
@rosyreadz (Review) https://www.instagram.com/RosyReadz/
Nesie’s Place (Spotlight) https://nesiesplace.wordpress.com
@fle_d (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/fle_d
April 13th
@inspired.j.reads (Review) https://www.instagram.com/inspired.j.reads/
@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/
April 14th
@marvsbooks (Review) https://www.instagram.com/marvsbooks/
B is for Book Review (Spotlight) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
April 15th
@thrillersandcoffee (Review) https://www.instagram.com/thrillersandcoffee/
@rosiewoodrowwrites (Review) https://www.instagram.com/rosiewoodrowwrites/Book Tour Organized By:
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April 10, 2022
Even Better Than the Real Thing by Melanie Summers – read an excerpt and enter the giftcard giveaway
Even Better Than the Real Thing
Melanie Summers
Publication date: April 7th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
A swoon-worthy, buttery, uber-fun romance about a fake marriage between two people who couldn’t be more wrong for each other…
You know what’s great about applying for an art history PhD program at one of the world’s most prestigious universities? I get to study what I love and land my dream job at the end of it. You know what’s not so great? Being told I’ll only get accepted to the program if I gain access to my aloof, uppity, super grumpy boss’s private art collection.
As it turns out, said boss—a one Lord Hayden Stuart—needs to get married to inherit his late father’s estate and earldom. And if there’s one thing Hayden Stuart is never going to want for real—it’s a wife.
So, we strike up a deal: I marry him and go live at his castle, where I’ll have unlimited access to his collection, he gets his earldom, and when the estate is settled, we part ways forever.
Win-win, right?
Wrong.
I may have fooled myself into believing I wasn’t risking my heart, but there’s one huge problem: I’m definitely falling for him. He’s not just another man. He’s THE man—an irresistibly good-looking, in-control, expensive-suit-wearing man who makes all the other men look like little boys. And the more time I spend with him pretending to be his wife, the more desperate I become to believe the lie.
But he’s never going to fall for some lowly PhD student. So what if at the wedding he looked at me as if I’m the only woman in the world, and kissed me like he’s shipping off to war in the morning? It doesn’t mean anything.
Or does it?
Because the more we’re together, the more I realize that, even though we’re from totally different worlds, we have a lot more in common than I ever could have imagined.
Now all I have to do is convince him he really does want a wife…
*** Even Better Than the Real Thing is a standalone romance with a little extra spice than a regular Melanie Summers book. ***
—
EXCERPT:
Finally, Hayden opens his mouth. “I’m not sad he’s dead, you know.”
“I know,” I tell him, squeezing his hand.
“I hated him. He was a complete bastard.”
“I know.”
He looks down at me with tears in his eyes. “Then can you please tell me why the hell I’m so sad right now?”
A lump forms in my throat. “I think you’re grieving the father you should have had.”
Nodding, he sniffs, clears his throat, and says, “How stupid is that? I’m a grown man, for God’s sake.”
“But you used to be a little kid and he needed a dad.”
His shoulders crumple and he lets out a couple of sobs. Letting go of his hand, I wrap my arm around him and pull him close, resting his head on my shoulder and dropping a kiss on his head. I have no idea how long we stay like this, but by the time he’s done, my shoulder aches from the weight of him, and I’m absolutely terrified that I’ve fallen completely in love with him.
Author Bio:
Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.
Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.
In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally – then she’ll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for ‘K’ Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn’t require makeup and/or nylons).
Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she’s not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken ‘from above’. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something–more like just staying until they turn the lights off.
She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
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April 8, 2022
The Stars Forgot Us by R.J. Garcia – an excerpt and giveaway
The Stars Forgot Us
R.J. Garcia
Published by: Midnight Tide Publishing
Publication date: March 30th 2022
Genres: Paranormal, Suspense, Young Adult
2THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
Fifteen-year-old Jacob Kelly would love to go back to simpler times. Before his parents’ divorce and the onset of his brother’s Schizophrenia. But when he returns to his hometown, things feel off. After a series of strange occurrences, Jacob fears his new house is haunted or worse, yet he is losing his mind.
To his surprise, Jacob discovers a mysterious teenage runaway, Sanctuary Daniels, living in the house. She reveals she has been kept by a figure known only as Mother, in a place where downstairs children are languishing prisoners, and upstairs children do Mother’s bidding.
Jacob’s investigation into Sanctuary’s allegations, along with their budding romance, are cut short when she is reclaimed by evil beings. Beings who unleash terror upon Jacob and his family. Now he must journey to a real haunted house to save his first love and fight for his very life.
My eyes snapped open as three words surfaced in my sleepy brain. You’re not alone. A cold settled into my flesh, making the fine hairs on my arm stand up. I sat up in bed, sucking in a deep breath, and stared into the darkness, unsure what had woken me. My lights were off. It was pitch black. Then the distinct pitter-patter of footsteps sounded down the hall.
“Mom?” When I got no answer, I jumped out of bed and scrambled for the light switch. The overhead fluorescent light blinked on, and I immediately noticed the closet door was partway opened again. I was sure I’d closed it this time, so I started off with slow, measured steps to investigate. I yanked the door open the rest of the way and hit the closet light. I scoured the walls to discover more writing. The single word, HELP, was written in the same marker on the wall. My pulse skyrocketed. It freaked me out.
I crept over to the bed and grabbed the blanket, swinging it around my shoulders like a cape, settling down on the drafty hardwood floor. With a shiver of anticipation, I kept my eyes pinned to the door, straining to hear the slightest noise. It was eerily quiet. Even the wind had died down.
Unexpectedly, I heard a girl’s voice, so soft it was hardly audible, as it drifted up from the floor. It was only the word, “I’m.”
I scooted over to the vent and whispered, “Um…hello?” There was no reply. It could have been a ringing or humming in my ear. Yeah, I’d only imagined it was a voice. Yet, I hadn’t imagined the writing on the wall. I mean, what the hell? I got up and decided to have a look around. If someone was in the house, I had to know. I exited my room and began my search.
I stood face to face with a long and quiet hallway—doors on the left and right. My mind was a hot blank space as a thread of fear tugged me along. My mom’s bedroom was kitty-corner to my room, so I stepped in just far enough to take in the visual of her tucked in bed. Her sleeping sounds were somewhere between wheezes and moans.
“Mom?” I whispered, but she didn’t wake up, and I decided to just let her sleep.
I crossed over to the spare bedroom, smacking on the lights. There was only a desk and Mom’s old computer in the corner. Determined, I was now on a serious hunt and rushed to the closet, flinging the door open. There wasn’t anything. Not even writing on the wall.
Next on the list was Michael’s room. I found him sitting up in bed with a vacant stare. The lights were off, but the blinds were open. Moonlight flitted in, creating shadowy outlines above the chest of drawers that appeared incompatible and menacing.
My gaze returned to my brother as I cleared my throat. “Were you just walking around?”
“No.”
“Did you hear a girl’s voice, Mike?”
He came to life. “Yeah. I heard her.”
My mouth dropped. “Holy shit, I hoped I imagined it.”
Michael stared at me with an unsettling intensity. “I heard her in the vents, the drainpipes, and in the walls. If you listen closely enough, you’ll hear them all.”
Oh great, I’m losing it too.
My brother nodded approvingly. Tension slid from his features, softening his mouth and jaw muscles. Misery loves company, I guess.
“Thanks a lot, Michael.” More suspicious than ever, I flat-out accused him. “You wrote the word ‘help’ on my wall. Really cool. Well, you didn’t scare me.”
“Why would I want to scare you?” Michael asked.
“You tell me?” I smirked, yet my face heated. “There is no stupid ghost in the pipes, or in the walls…Got it?”
“She’s not a ghost. She’s a spirit.”
“That’s the same God damn thing, Michael.” I rolled my eyes. “There’s no spirit. Don’t start with me.” I threw my hands up in frustration and stalked off.
I gripped my head with my right hand and paced around my room. “Everything’s fine,” I said out loud. The words helped me gain some reassurance, but it was only momentary. Paranoia nagged me, and I had to double-check. I dropped down and planted both palms on the floor, speaking directly into the vent. “Hello—Um, hello. Is anyone there?”
I waited. Waited longer…Nothing. I puffed my cheeks and let my breath out with a pop, feeling a pang of relief. The hunt was over. I refused to dwell on it anymore. Finally, with a bit of effort, I decided Michael had written on my wall to get back at me, and I’d only imagined hearing that voice. I strode over to my bed and climbed in. My head sunk into the pillow, and fear, along with my thoughts, disintegrated into white noise. I fell asleep.
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Author Bio:
R.J. Garcia is a wife and proud mom. She earned her MSW and worked with foster children and as a school social worker. Writing has been her other great love. She has published several non-fiction pieces. She has been writing short-stories for as long as she can remember. To her amazement, those short stories became novels!
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April 7, 2022
AVOCADO TOAST by Nancy Fraser with excerpt and giveaway
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Nancy Fraser will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
>The last place Andrew (Drew) Morgan wants to be is back on the family avocado farm in Plentiful. If he had his way, he’d still be active military and deployed someplace far, far away. Unfortunately, he rarely gets what he wants. And, being back in the orchard is just the latest in a long list of disappointments.
Single mother, Chloe Taylor has relocated from Fresno to the rural area of Plentiful, California to build her marketing business beginning with the local agriculture co-op. It’s her job to convince the local farms to invest in a major overhaul of the co-op’s publicity campaign. A mixture of modern operations, and older, family-owned farms, only adds to her frustration.
At the moment, her biggest challenge is bringing the owner of Plenty Good Farms in line with the others. The fact that the old curmudgeon of an owner, Samuel Morgan, has brought his nephew in to run things gives her hope. Surely, the younger Morgan will be more amenable to her progressive ideas.
When Chloe first presents her plan the Morgan men, it’s Drew who throws a monkey wrench into his uncle’s agreement to sign the necessary contract. What she doesn’t realize is that Drew’s reluctance has more to do with his uncle’s health issues, and the possibility that he won’t be able to talk the man who raised him into retiring.
When Drew is forced by the military medical team into choosing between a desk job or retirement, he shares his frustrations with Chloe and she helps him find a new purpose outside of being a full-time farmer. It also helps that their attraction is growing. Drew has definitely fallen for the independent woman, and her adorable daughter.
Will Chloe’s faith and determination help her lead Drew through his difficult decisions and bring them what they both need… a love that transcends their everyday challenges.
Read an Excerpt
Chloe Taylor sorted through the last few co-op contracts, happy to see three of the five holdouts had finally signed on the dotted line. If they were going to make this work—rebrand and revitalize an area that was far off the recognition map—everyone had to come on board.
Even Sam Morgan.
The grumpy relic was her staunchest naysayer, a man badly in need of being dragged by his thumbs into the modern world of marketing.
She doubted Mr. Morgan even owned a computer, much less had internet out at that farm of his. If he could only see what she’d created. Appreciate the hard work she’d put into revitalizing the entire county, and especially the area known as Plentiful, then maybe he’d fall in line with the others.
Rumor around town was that his health was failing. Madelyn Pickard, bookkeeper for the co-op, had mentioned Sam’s nephew was coming back to Plentiful to help him out with the spring harvest.
Perhaps the younger Morgan would be more amenable to her sales pitch. Maybe he’d hold more sway with his uncle than—what had Sam called her—a prissy city girl with high falutin ideas.
Who even talked like that anymore? Obviously, a man still stuck in the early to mid-twentieth century.
“Mom! Where’s my backpack?”
Chloe turned away from her computer and met the frantic gaze of her eight-year-old daughter, Jessi. “Last time I saw it, the straps were draped over the arm of the chair in the family room.”
“I just looked,” Jessi assured her. “It’s not there.”
Chloe pushed herself to her feet intent on helping with the search. “I thought you’d finished your homework already.”
“I did. But I left a granola bar and half a cheese sandwich in there, and I don’t want it to get all gross.”
Navigating an immediate U-turn, Chloe made her way to the corner of the spare bedroom. Jessi followed closely on her heels.
“There’s your culprit.”
“Boomer, no!” Jessi screeched. “Not my new backpack.”
Strips of red corduroy material lay spread out on Boomer’s dog bed. The only remaining sign of Jessi’ cheese sandwich was the plastic baggy. The wrapper from the granola bar was torn to pieces with no more than a few crumbs left clinging to the shiny silver paper.
“That’s the third one this school year,” Chloe pointed out. “You’ve really got to be more careful what you leave in your bag, and where you hang it up when it’s not in use.”
“I’m sorry, mom. I’ll use my birthday money to buy a new one.”
“How about we split the cost?”
Eagerly, Jessi accepted. “That would be great. Thanks, mom.”
“Go set out your clothes for church in the morning. Then, take your bath and get into your pajamas. We’ll watch a movie before you go to bed.”
“Can we have popcorn?”
“We’ll see. Now scoot while I clean up this mess and pack away my laptop.”
Once she’s discarded the remnants of Boomer’s thievery, Chloe returned to her desk in the cramped den and gathered up the signed contracts, adding them to the files for the Plentiful Fresh Food Cooperative. The two unsigned contracts were placed in her briefcase for her scheduled Monday meetings.
Her hard work on the co-op’s website had finally turned Abel Marks around and she expected he’d sign at their nine o’clock appointment.
Then, with everyone else in place, she’d make yet another appeal to Sam Morgan. Surely a man who’d been in business for what seemed like forever wouldn’t want to be left out in the cold to fend for himself when everyone else was benefiting from her aggressive campaign. Would he?
About the Author:
Nancy Fraser is a best-selling and award-winning author who happily jumps across multiple romance genres with gleeful abandon. She’s also the granddaughter of a Methodist minister known for his fire-and-brimstone approach to his faith. Nancy has brought some of his spirit into her Christian romances. And, her own off-beat sense of humor to her clean & wholesome books.
When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.
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Treats From the Orchard: A Companion Cookbook to The Orchard Brides SeriesJust 99 cents or Kindle Unlimited. All proceeds to benefit the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Click on the book to buy.
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April 6, 2022
Hollywood Games by Evie Alexander
Hollywood Games
Evie Alexander
(Kinloch Series, #2)
Publication date: April 4th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Brace yourself Scotland, Hollywood’s coming…
Rory’s found the love of his life but can he be sure Zoe feels the same? What can he offer her when his job’s on the line, and his mother’s out to destroy her? When Hollywood superstar, Brad Bauer, shows up wanting to film Braveheart 2 at Kinloch castle, it seems like the answer to all his prayers. However, there’s a catch.
Zoe’s had a crush on Brad since she was a teen. Now he’s here, hotter than ever, and convinced he was married to her in a past life. As Hollywood descends on the tiny village of Kinloch, it’s not just the castle that’s under siege.
A mystical holy man, a sexy starlet, an intense megastar and a couple pushed to the edge. Can Rory navigate the glitter storm and keep his eye on the prize, or by saving the estate, is he about to lose the best thing that’s ever happened to him?
Hollywood Games is a steamy, love conquers all, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, with no cheating, no cliff-hanger, and a guaranteed happy ever after (HEA). It can be read as a standalone but is most enjoyed after reading Highland Games.
When Hollywood meets the Highlands, things will never be the same again…
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Author Bio:
Evie Alexander is the author of sexy romantic comedies with a very British sense of humour. She takes a method approach to her work, believing her capacity to repeatedly fail at life and love is what has given her such a rich supply of material for her writing.
Her interests include reading, eating, saving the world, and fantasising about people who only exist between the pages of her books. She lives in the West country with her family.
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April 5, 2022
The Best Friend’s Guide to Taking Risks by Kadie Scott & Nicole Flockton – read an excerpt and enter the giveaway
The Best Friend’s Guide to Taking Risks
Kadie Scott & Nicole Flockton
Publication date: April 4th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
All it takes is one weekend…
Everyone knows that the biggest risk you can take with your best friend is to cross a certain line.
When it comes to relationships, Hunter Lancing is not a risk taker. Between his parents’ terrible divorce and his own bad decisions, he’s been burned. Computers make more sense to him. Everything has a rule. Everything is defined. Like his computers, his best friend is defined, constant, and comes with rules he won’t break.
Part-time children’s party princess Natalie Morgan dances to the beat of a drum no one else can hear. The only person who truly gets her and is never scared off by her sometimes zany ideas is Hunter. But she has a big problem. Natalie keeps having all these…feelings…for her bestie.
But on a weekend getaway, a game of risky dares and one-upmanship that was supposed to just be for laughs may end up with both of them crossing the friend zone line.
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EXCERPT:
“Please be home,” she half-pleaded, half-muttered.
She glanced behind her. Checking the shadows. Not that she needed to. Her best friend since forever lived in the posh part of Sacramento thanks to his innovative tech company and savvy business mind. The man always had been a geek to his core, and it had paid off. In millions.
She brushed at a stray tear rolling down her cheek with an impatient hand. Holding them in during the party had been an act of sheer valor, not wanting the kids to get a water-logged princess. Besides crying generally wasn’t her thing. But her business was everything to her. She loved what she did, and that woman…
“Come on Hunter.” She knocked again, a little more frantically.
Slipping her phone from her purse, she scrolled to the contact labeled “Lancelot”—a play on his last name—and the phone started ringing as she knocked again. If he didn’t answer, she’d leave.
“’Lo?” A sleepy voice came over the line with a grumble.
She blew out a breath in sharp relief. “Let me in.”
“Nat? Call me at a human hour.”
“I’m at your door.”
Pause. No doubt his mind taking a second to catch up to her words. “Of course you are.”
“It’s only eight o’clock,” she pointed out dryly. “On a Saturday night.”
And he should be surprised dammit. Natalie wasn’t a party girl by any stretch of the imagination—or at least not the adult kind. Her sister Lexie, on the other hand, could give Studio 54 in the seventies lessons on how to party. All in the name of research for her podcast on dating, she claimed. But 8pm was hardly party time anyway.
“I pulled an all nighter working on code a friend asked me to review. I only just fell asleep. Hunter grumbled as the sound of echoing footsteps on his wooden stairs filtered through the phone. Then a series of beeps—no doubt the alarm—followed by several clicks of locks. She hung up as he cracked the massive metal door open, paused, then swung it wider, his dark brown gaze taking in every inch of her.
“Let me in. Don’t you recognize a damsel in distress when you see one?”
“Sorry.” He hurriedly stepped back, closing and locking the door behind her. After an owlish blink, he tipped his head. “Your tiara’s crooked.”
She started to lift a hand to right it only to stop herself with a scowl. “Yours would be too, if you went through what I did tonight.”
Tonight definitely deserved a title. Party-gate? Abandoned-princess-gate? Never-trust-a-knight-to-show-up-when-he’s-needed-gate?
Thick eyebrows winged high, and was that a twitch to his lips? It disappeared as his gaze slid down her body again, then back up to land on her probably tear-and-mascara-streaked face, and a frown formed between his brows.
Natalie crossed her arms, trying to hold in body warmth, but that only served to plump her breasts over the top of her corset. They were practically to her chin, so she dropped her arms again.
“You didn’t bring a jacket?” he asked.
“I accidentally left the matching fur stole at the party I just finished,” she tossed over her shoulder. She might just never get it back. Facing that mom again was not high on her To Do list about now.
“You seriously have a matching fur stole?”
Hunter flipped on the hall light and Natalie blinked rapidly, but not at the harsher lighting. No, what was setting her retinas on fire was the sight of Hunter in a pair of low-slung black pajama pants and no shirt.
Holy hell, her BFF had muscles.
Her gaze was glued to the eight pack – yes eight – of muscles ridging his stomach. When the hell did he get those?
How long as it been since I’ve seen him without a shirt?
Author Bio:
Award-winning contemporary romance author Kadie Scott grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing) and an MBA. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it. Kadie also writes sweet contemporary romance as Kristen McKanagh, and award-winning paranormal and YA/NA fantasy romance as Abigail Owen. No matter the genre, she loves to write happily-ever-afters that shine with home, heart, and humor. Kadie currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own swoon-worthy hero husband and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.
Author links:
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USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes sexy contemporary romances, seducing you one kiss at a time as you turn the pages. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight to find their true love.
On her first school report her teacher noted “Nicole likes to tell her own stories”. It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child and after having fun on a romance community forum that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book.
Apart from writing Nicole is busy looking after her very own hero – her wonderfully supportive husband, and two fabulous kids. She also enjoys watching sports and, of course, reading.
Author links:
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April 4, 2022
Mirrors and Mysteries by Christina Bauer
Mirrors and Mysteries
Christina Bauer
(Fairy Tales of the Magicorum, #9)
Publication date: March 24th 2022
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
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Rapunzel meets Jane Eyre in the epic conclusion of this fairy tale romance!
Grayson Eyre has left her old life behind. She’s no longer stuck serving Lady R, a sadistic Rapunzel from the Lowood clan of elves. Instead, Grayson now teaches at the Thornfield home for shifter orphans. Even better, her boss is none other than the sexy alpha, Dex. It’s all good until a mysterious witch, Jocasta, appears in a nearby tower, demanding that Dex and Grayson discover the true nature of all Rapunzels. If not, Lady R will return to claim Grayson… and Thornfield will be wiped out by the evil Prism Master. Can Dex and Grayson discover the truth in time? And what will it mean for their growing attraction?
Secrets are revealed and feelings explored in this epic conclusion to the story of Dex and Grayson!
Fairy Tales of the Magicorum
Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance
1. Wolves and Roses
2. Moonlight and Midtown
3. Shifters and Glyphs
4. Slippers and Thieves
5. Bandits and Ball Gowns
6. Fire and Cinder
7. Fairies and Frosting
8. Towers and Tithes
9. Mirrors and Mysteries
10. Love and Ether
Excerpt
GRAYSON
Pine trees tower above me. Soft breezes rustle my hair. Beams of moonlight peep through the canopy of branches. I stroll beside Dex, my hand resting on his forearm.
We’re a man and woman, walking along… something that happens every second of every minute of every hour of every day. It shouldn’t be a big deal.
To me, it is.
I’ve never touched a man before—not even the Prism Master—let alone someone like Dex. My insides are doing flip flops. Dex’s leather armor is so soft and firm. I can’t help but wonder if that’s how his skin would feel as well. And kissing? I shiver. That’s way too much to consider. A voice starts echoing through my mind. It sounds a lot like Lady R.
You’re so excited walk beside a man. How pathetic. Even from a distance, no one would think you and Dex are together. You’re too short and that dress is for a servant. And once anyone gets close enough to see your face? You’re plain as dirt.
A weight of sadness settles on my shoulders. I just escaped Lady R. Yet, she still lives on in my head. The worst part of all is simple: she’s right. Dex looks like a warrior-king of old, standing center stage in all his glory. I’m only an extra who cheers him on from behind the scenes.
My eyes sting with hidden pain. This started off as a nice moment. Now every step forward hurts me a little more.
Even though he can’t see, Dex slowly leads us to a great stone gateway. The heavy wooden door sits ajar. We step through the opening and into the city itself. It’s a lot of dark wooden buildings with slate roofs and thin windows.
And it’s dead.
Back in the woods, I feel life all around me. Insects chirp. Small animals scurry about. Everything is green and healthy. But here, there’s nothing but darkness and grim. Empty windows stare out from run-down buildings. Doorways hang loose on their hinges. Our footsteps sound like a lonely drumroll in the night.
Dex leads us toward a building made of dark wood. The tallest tower of all winds up from its center. A large wooden sign sits on a pole before the place.
Thornfield.
Seeing that name in writing brings back a memory. The first book I found hidden in the Bartlebee included a building called Thornfield as well.
“Is that your home?” I ask.
Dex inhales. “The scent is right. Why, does something look different?”
“The sign says Thornfield and the building is huge.”
“That’s the place, all right.”
An idea appears. Maybe this is a sign. After all, there are other ways where my life mirrors that book.
Jane Eyre.
–End of Excerpt–
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
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