Aubrey Wynne's Blog, page 43

March 30, 2022

FIND YOUR WAY BACK – a collection of essays plus a giveaway



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The Literary Lobbyist will be awarding one $25 and one $50 Amazon or B/N GC to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Award-winning freelance journalist Javacia Harris Bowser is convinced that writing is a superpower. She sees her life as proof of it since writing has helped her navigate marriage, crisis of faith and body image issues. It also helped her to beat cancer.

As a Black woman from the South, Javacia has used the written word to explore issues of gender and race as well as religion. Find Your Way Back is a collection of essays that demonstrate how Javacia has used writing to achieve some of her wildest dreams such as being a public speaker, having her own column, and being her own boss. The book also explores how writing, self-love, and faith helped her overcome her worst nightmare: a cancer diagnosis in 2020. Javacia’s goal is to show readers how writing can transform their lives as well. The book includes prompts throughout to help readers start their own writing journey.

This book is for the woman who has wanted to write since she was a girl but struggles to find the time or the courage to put her words on paper. Find Your Way Back, shows that instead of putting writing on the back burner when life gets turned upside down, we should turn to it to help life make sense again.

Read an Excerpt

– from “Write Like a Girl”

On my eleventh birthday, I declared I was a woman. I have no idea why. My budding boobs barely filled my training bra, and I wouldn’t get my period for another year. But it was as if turning eleven declared I was number one and said it again for good measure, and I believed it.

I can’t recall exactly what I decided to wear on this special day, but I do remember slouch socks were involved. I also remember that I didn’t want a party because birthday parties were for children. A woman–especially one who at the time fancied herself a poet–should spend her birthday having a quiet evening at home writing in her journal, reflecting on her past, and making plans for the years to come.

What I’m trying to say is eleven-year-old me was ridiculous. But I think about this girl often. Sometimes to become the woman you’re meant to be, you must remember the girl you used to be. Sometimes you must write like a girl.

When you write for a living, it can be hard to remember how to do this. When you write for a living, you can easily forget to write for yourself. You can forget to write simply for the love of words, for the joy of stringing together sentences. It can be hard to remember what it felt like to write with no regard for readers or a deadline, but that’s what writing like a girl is all about.

Sometimes I think back to that eleven-year-old girl–who thought she was a woman–and I challenge myself–just for a few moments–to forget about building a brand or pitching publications and just write. Yes, I can get back to business later, but right now, just write.



About the Author Javacia Harris Bowser is an award-winning essayist and journalist and the founder of See Jane Write. A proud graduate of the journalism programs at the University of Alabama and the University of California at Berkeley, Javacia has written for USA Today, HerMoney.com, and Good Grit magazine. Named one of Birmingham’s Top 40 Under 40, she believes we can all write our way to the life of our dreams.

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Buy links:

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Published on March 30, 2022 01:00

March 28, 2022

Tunnel of Mirrors by Ferne Arfin with a giveaway

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We’re celebrating the release of Ferne Arfin’s novel, Tunnel of Mirrors. Read on for more details!

TunneOfMirrors_eBook_cover

Tunnel of Mirrors
Publication Date: February 1st, 2022
Genre: Literary Fiction/ Contemporary Literary Fiction/ Romantic Elements “Eternal Lovers”
Publisher: Green River Press

Rachel Isaacson, spirited, otherworldly and haunted, is born into a rigidly Old World family in New York’s Lower East Side. Hungry for independence, Rachel enters a marriage of convenience with violent consequences.

Across the Atlantic, storyteller, fiddler and cliff climber Ciaran McMurrough is raised in pastoral innocence on Rathlin off the coast of Ulster. His upbringing in a tight-knit, isolated community leaves him unprepared for the subtle political passions following the Irish Civil War.

Outcasts-one by choice, one by chance-Rachel and Ciaran meet on the docks of lower Manhattan in 1928. Drawn to each other in this lyrical story, must they repeat a doomed cycle as eternal lovers?

Tunnel of Mirrors fires the imagination and stirs the soul…a story to savour that remains long in the mind. I loved it.”-Sunday Times Bestselling Author of Our Story, Miranda Dickinson

“Humour, emotion, and perfectly tuned dialogue, ensures her people are triumphantly alive.”-Novelist Janette Jenkins, author of Firefly and Little Bones

Tunnel of Mirrors is a beautiful, lyrical recreation of the past. With warmth, wit and great heart, Ferne Arfin takes the reader back into the struggles and small victories of a lost world.”-Toby Litt, English writer and academic, author of Patience

Add to Goodreads

Excerpt


Every morning, on the way to work, Rachel stopped at Bessie’s to change from the modest cotton dresses her father allowed into one of the swingy, short frocks that she and Bessie made during their lunch breaks. Then, their hemlines a daring nine inches above the ground, the two girls swanked uptown to their jobs at Mishkin’s, Theatrical Costumiers to the Trade.


Mishkin’s son, Arthur, managed the sewing rooms. He was sweet on Bessie and any friend of Bessie’s was a friend of his, so both girls could count on extra break time for their own sewing. They could count on remnants of fabric, from time to time, as well.


Mishkin allowed his trimmers to keep the beads and feathers swept up at the end of the day. Lately, Arthur, who Bessie kept on a very long leash, had begun passing on the full boxes of beads that were often left over when a show was dressed. These were supposed to go back into stock but Arthur said, “What the heck. They’re paid for. If my old man asks, you got them from the sweepings.”


“You’re a real prince, Arty,” Bessie would say and he would glow for a week. Sometimes she even gave him a peck on the cheek. It was a small price to pay for the very same sequins and beads the showgirls wore when they danced for Ziegfeld and Minsky.


Rachel and Bessie were making special dresses. They had big plans. It was no use knowing all the latest steps, if you couldn’t show them off at the landsmannschaft socials, where bearded old men and everybody’s mother prowled the dance floor. And most of the boys at Corkery’s Shamrock Dancehall thought a good time was slipping a double bathtub gin into a girl’s Moxie and seeing how far you could get her to go. If you went to Corkery’s too often, the regulars started thinking you were a charity girl who would do just about anything for the price of a bottle of pop. Drunken boys were always staggering out of there whistling the tune to I’ll Say She Does. Even though Corkery made his payments, the place got raided at least once a month. Duvi said it was part of Corkery’s arrangement with Tierney, who was the local boss, because it kept the neighbours off the councilman’s back. Duvi always knew about the raids in advance, so the girls never got into trouble.


But now Rachel and Bessie were ready for better things. In the right place, a girl could meet big spenders who were hot steppers and who carried real Canadian whiskey in silver hip flasks. But for high-class dancehalls like Roseland or Dreamworld or Feldman’s Coney Island Palace, they needed real dance dresses.


Bessie thought Rachel should bob her hair. But some things couldn’t be left behind in Bessie’s rooms and Rachel was careful to protect her new double life. “You said you wasn’t afraid of your old man,” Bessie insisted. Rachel couldn’t make Bessie, who never did anything by half, understand that some arguments were not worth the trouble. Or that most of the trouble would land on her mother. Bessie hadn’t had a mother in such a long time.


***


Rachel weighed a heavy hank of glass beads across the palm of her hand. Bugles. The most delicate cylinders of crystal blue and green, threaded on lengths of fine silk. They sparked like a shoal of moon-chased minnows. There were enough to finish.


“And about time too,” Bessie said. Bessie had grown impatient with Rachel’s fussy particularity. Anything that glittered made Bessie happy. While Rachel waited for just the right colours, Bessie had finished her dress and was stringing a boa of pink dyed marabou feathers. She waved it under Rachel’s nose. “Ain’t these just dee-vine?” she said. “Ain’t they just the cat’s pyjamas?”


Rachel didn’t have the heart to tell her she looked like an explosion at bead factory; Bessie was so eager to make what she imagined would be a very grand entrance at Roseland. “Look out fellas, here I come.”


Rachel had planned more carefully, making sure Arty found just what she needed. If Arty ever wondered why he took so much trouble for a skinny Jewish girl, when he was already married to one and when it was her Irish shiksa friend he was after, Rachel did not let him wonder for long. Still the dress had taken months to finish. It was covered with beaded fringe and scattered with iridescent sequins, flashes of silver and the smallest seed pearls that Arty could finagle. From its pure white hemline, it rose in a narrow column through all the greens and blues to a deep cobalt at the shoulders. When Rachel put it on, she looked like a creature risen from the bottom of the ocean, seafoam still clinging about her knees.


“Geez, you look like a million, kiddo.” Bessie said. “Who’d ever guess you was jail-bait.”


Available on Amazon and at B&N

About the Author

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London-based American writer Ferne Arfin has worked as a journalist, copywriter, actress and travel writer. Her short stories have been anthologised by Virago and Travellers’ Tales. Tunnel of Mirrors is her first published novel.

The View from Chelsea | Ferne Arfin | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

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Book Tour Schedule

March 28th

R&R Book Tours (Kick-Off) http://rrbooktours.com

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

Books + Coffee = Happiness (Interview) https://bookscoffeehappiness.com/

Timeless Romance Blog (Spotlight) https://aubreywynne.com/

Latisha’s Low-Key Life (Spotlight) https://latishaslowkeylife.com/

Bunny’s Reviews (Spotlight) https://bookwormbunnyreviews.blogspot.com/

March 29th

Raven’z Reviews (Interview & Review) http://ravenzreviews.blogspot.com/

The Faerie Review (Spotlight) http://www.thefaeriereview.com

Stine Writing (Spotlight) https://christinebialczak.com/

March 30th

@what.kerry.reads (Review) https://www.instagram.com/what.kerry.reads/

@gryffindorbookishnerd (Review) https://www.instagram.com/gryffindorbookishnerd/

B is for Book Review (Spotlight) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com

March 31st

Riss Reviews (Spotlight) https://rissreviewsx.wixsite.com/website

@infinite.readlist (Spotlight) https://www.instagram.com/infinite.readlist/

Rambling Mads (Spotlight) http://ramblingmads.com

April 1st

@amber.bunch_author (Review) https://www.instagram.com/amber.bunch_author/

Not a Bunny (Review) https://notanybunny.wordpress.com/blog

Liliyana Shadowlyn (Spotlight) https://lshadowlynauthor.com/Book Tour Organized By:

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Published on March 28, 2022 05:05

March 25, 2022

Check out An Allusive Love and enter to win! Springtime Books Bookish Event

I’m so excited to be a part of @NNP_W_Light’s Springtime Books Bookish Event. Check out all the featured books and enter the giveaway to win a $10 Amazon gift card. My book, An Allusive Love, is being featured today, 3/25. Visit here for the complete schedule and to enter the giveaway: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/springtime-books-bookish-event

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Published on March 25, 2022 07:07

The Only Man by A.S. Kelly with excerpt and giftcard giveaway

The Only Man
A.S. Kelly
(From Connemara With Love, #4)
Publication date: March 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance


I was a different man, once.
I was a man with only one woman on my mind – the only woman I wanted to hold in my arms.
I was her man.
But things change. Life changes you. Choices, mistakes, resentment: they all change you.
So do unkept promises.
We hurt each other. We loved each other, then hated each other, then missed each other, then grew apart.
And then…
One day, we found each other again.
At the wrong time, in the wrong place.
Because the two of us are wrong together – we’re too far apart, too incompatible.
We’re the main characters of a story that doesn’t belong to us.
But I still keep loving her, even though she hates me.
And she keeps hating herself, because she can’t help but love me.
And we keep searching for each other, even though we’re destined to lose each other.


I wish I could be a different man, just once.
I wish I could be the kind of man who’s ready to give everything for the woman he loves.
Someone who was ready to let her go.
Because I want her to be happy more than I want her to be mine.


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

Other books in the series:

EXCERPT:

“I hope, Darcy,” I tell her, honestly, “that you do forget about me, one day. I don’t want you to, but I hope you do.”
“That’ll never happen.” Her fingers slide into my hair and her red lips move close to mine. “I couldn’t forget you when I hated you,” she says, her voice trembling. I can hear it, even beneath the music. “So there’s no way I’d be able to forget you now.”
“Why not?” I ask, pain hammering in my chest, climbing up my throat and seeping into my temples.
“I think you know why.”
I don’t want to hear her say it, but I need to hear it. I need to remind myself what happens when you stop believing in the only thing you should believe in.
“Say it.”
“It’s too painful.”
“For me? Or for you?”
She smiles sadly. “Both.”
“Then don’t say it.” I rest my thumb on her lips, and Darcy parts them, sending a shiver through every vein in my body. “This is enough. You’re enough. Tonight is enough.” I’m lying, but I try, anyway. “Just tonight.”
“And then?” Her lips move against my thumb.
And then I’ll keep loving you from here, from afar, at the safe distance we have to put between ourselves so that at least one of us can have a chance. And it has to be you.
I didn’t do all this so that, one day, you’ll come back to me.
I didn’t give up on us to watch you give up on yourself.
“There is no ‘then’. And there’s no ‘tomorrow’.”
I drop my hand, and she looks at me, pity in her eyes.
“There’s no future for us.”
She rests her forehead against mine and lets herself go; my arms are holding her tightly, rocking her gently. We’re not dancing. We’re not following the music, or paying any attention to the world around us.
All we have is tonight, a handful of hours to breathe in. Nothing else has ever mattered compared to this moment.


Author Bio:


A. S. Kelly writes Rom-Com, Romantic Fiction and Family Saga.
Avid reader, hopeless romantic, lover of yoga, knitting and home baking.
She was born in Italy but lives in Ireland with her husband, two children and a cat named Oscar.


Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Newsletter



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Published on March 25, 2022 03:29

March 24, 2022

Springtime Books Bookish Event

I’m so excited to be a part of @NNP_W_Light’s Springtime Books Bookish Event. Check out all the featured books and enter the giveaway to win a $10 Amazon gift card. Visit here for the complete schedule: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/springtime-books-bookish-event

My book, Pete’s Mighty Purty Privies was featured 3/23. Hop over to check it out today at:  https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/pete-s-mighty-purty-privies-sbbe

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Published on March 24, 2022 11:06

March 23, 2022

Lessons Learned From Dating by Karla L. McCullum with a gift card giveaway @RRBookTours1 #RRBookTours #NonFiction 

Welcome to the book tour for Lessons Learned from Dating by Karla L. McCullum! Read on for more info and a chance to win a $50 Amazon e-Gift Card!

1059516_Karla McCullum Book Cover Mockup_061721

Lessons Learned from Dating: Moving Past the Hurt Into Your Blessings

Publication Date: July 2021
Genre: Dating Guide/ Self-Help/ Non-Fiction

Lessons Learned from Dating is a nonfiction book written by Karla that tells the stories of her different dating experiences during various stages of life. Each dating experience had a unique lesson, but she didn’t take the time to pause and heed the teachings. After a really painful relationship, Karla finally realized she needed to pause from dating and reflect on herself. This led Karla to start the work to heal completely, practice self-discovery, and find peace and her life’s purpose. In her book, Lessons Learned from Dating, Karla reveals how she went from a place of hurt and pain to a healed place of receiving.

Available on FOJ and Amazon

About the Author

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Karla L. McCullum also known as Coach K, became a Certified Life Coach in 2020 through the Life Purpose Institute in San Diego, CA . Karla is a Veteran of the United States Army. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management.

Karla is the owner and founder of Full of Joy Life Coaching LLC, where she specializes in helping women work on their mindset, discover their purpose, and pursue their life goals to lead joyful and meaningful lives. Her most important job is being a mother to her beautiful teenage daughter. When Karla is not spending time with her daughter or providing Life Coaching Services, she loves traveling and seeing the world.

Karla is currently pursuing the Associated Certified Coach Credentialing through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Full of Joy Instagram

Click the link below for a chance to win a $50 Amazon e-Gift Card!

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Published on March 23, 2022 03:12

March 22, 2022

Read an excerpt from Late for the Wedding by MK Scott and enter the giftcard giveaway

Late for the Wedding

by MK Scott

GENRE:   cozy mystery

BLURB:

The Senior Sleuths don’t mind a little peace now and then, but after a long bout of nothing out of the ordinary, they’re eager for some excitement.

No one could’ve imagined it would arrive with such a bang.

A mysterious explosion has rocked the assisted living community, disrupting life for everyone.

Despite the stern warnings from authorities, one of the Senior Sleuths can’t help but get involved. This is their home, after all.
Herman, always eager to root out the truth, ignores the warnings and hunts for answers. He’s convinced the explosion was a rouse to cover up something far more sinister. But the other seniors aren’t as eager to get involved. They’re focused on Marcy and Lance’s upcoming wedding.

Without his usual sidekicks, can Herman track down the bomber and a missing veteran who no one else remembers?

Excerpt:

“Keep going.” A sizable woman employee, garbed in a cartoon smock that hinted at a playful personality on better days, shouted as she pointed at a thin line of ornamental trees that served as a barrier between the center and the nearby neighborhood. “Head toward the Bradford Pear trees!” 

The majority of residents complied without a peep, moving as fast as they could go. As children, they must have listened to their teachers and made their parents proud. Not all of the residents qualified as rule followers, however.

One slender woman with a still firm chin turned to address the shouting aide.

“Is this a drill?” Eunice’s shrill voice carried over the hubbub. “I hate these stupid fire drills.”

A continual beep, beep, beep of an alarm carried across the parking lot as doors opened on different wings emitting a steady parade of confused residents and agitated employees. A ladder fire truck’s brakes squealed as it made a hard right into the parking lot attracting attention. The exasperated aide in the cartoon smock, probably never guessing she’d be shepherding reluctant residents to safety when she woke this morning, pointed to the fire truck. Her harsh tone conveyed her tension. “Does this look like a drill?”

Eunice swung her attention from the woman to the dire track and back to the woman again. “It could be a trick question. A while back firefighters showed up for a grease fire. Another time, when a dryer caught on fire because the lint collector was full, they came, too.”

“Go on!” the woman shouted. “My job is to make sure you don’t burn up. It’s not going to happen if you keep asking questions.”

“Geesh!” Eunice huffed, then moved to where many other residents waited. The assisted living center’s residents, some in wheelchairs and a few taking a break on their walker seats waited along the edge of the property along with the uniformed staff. A few even broke into applause as the firefighters arrived, confident that whatever happened would be put right due to the efforts of the courageous first responders.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

M. K. Scott is the husband and wife writing team behind the cozy mystery series, The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries, The Talking Dog Detective Agency, The Way Over the Hill Gang, and Cupid’s Catering Company.

Morgan K Wyatt is the general wordsmith, while her husband, Scott, is the grammar hammer and physics specialist. He uses his engineering skills to explain how fast a body falls when pushed over a cliff and various other felonious activities.

The Internet and experts in the field provide forensic information, while the recipes and B and B details require a more hands on approach. Morgan’s daughter, who manages a hotel, provides guest horror stories to fuel the plot lines. The couple’s dog, Jane, is the inspiration behind Jasper, Donna’s dog. 

All the series are full of quirky characters, humorous shenanigans, along with the occasional murder.

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Late-Wedding-Over-Hill-Gang-ebook/dp/B09LTCHFY3/

The book will be $0.99.

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Published on March 22, 2022 01:00

March 21, 2022

Wake of the Phoenix by Chelsea Harper

WakethePhoenix copy

Welcome to the book tour for Wake of the Phoenix by Chelsea Harper. This epic fantasy in now available on Audible! Read on for details!

wakeofthephoenix_ebook

Wake of the Phoenix (Artifice of Power Saga Book 1)

Publication Date: September 28th, 2021
Genre: Epic Fantasy/ Gay Male MC

War Hero. Thiefmaster’s apprentice. Traitors. Every title comes with a price.

Arkaen is a gods-damned saint. He sacrificed his childhood innocence fighting for the beleaguered rebellion in a civil war and relinquished a comfortable life with the man he loves to reclaim his place as high lord from corrupt nobles. Now, a hidden enemy is manipulating his lower lords into talk of rebellion, including the powerful Rogue Baron who is slowly swaying the city into questioning every move Arkaen makes.

With the help of his near-omniscient lover’s gift of foresight, Arkaen finds a potential ally in Niamsha, a reluctant thief trying to pay for her brother’s education. But Niamsha owes an insurmountable debt to the mysterious leader of her thieves guild and failing to pay means death—for her entire family. When her guild leader demands she join forces with the Rogue Baron himself, she finds herself caught in a political battle beyond her skills. Torn between protecting her family and following her conscience, Niamsha doesn’t know who to trust.

If Arkaen can win Niamsha’s loyalty, he might just prevent a second civil war and the destruction of everything he fought to protect. Or he might get them all killed.

Add to Goodreads

Excerpt


Nudging his mare forward, Arkaen rode out of the courtyard. The streets beyond his lord’s castle were quiet, only a few wealthier citizens outside. Most backed away at the sight of him, cautious gaze watching him through down-turned lashes. Arkaen kept an eye on the citizens he passed. That hint of fear hadn’t been there when he’d ridden out a few weeks before to see to Lasha’s vision. He’d deposed a baron since then, bringing the threat of war to the forefront of everyone’s mind. This felt more specific, though. Like they feared he might personally harm them.


Another corner and a crowd of young men and women bantering and flirting scattered at the sight of him. Arkaen pulled his mare to a halt. Should have brought his swords. But the image of the high lord riding through his home streets armed as for a battle could only stoke the fires of unrest. Confidence was the best image he could build.


He rode on, the few remaining people he passed seemingly prepared for his arrival now. Anyone on the street had already lined against the walls, eyes firmly stuck to the cobbles by the time he arrived, and he never again came across a group careless of his approach. As if some runner ahead warned every street before he turned on it. As if someone—or something—led him toward a certain goal. His muscles tightened, nerves strung for combat in the peaceful streets.


“I should turn back.” He muttered the words under his breath, one hand rubbing at his bare belt loop as he turned the final corner to a broad alley that led to Brayden’s home. Four men, barely older than boys, loitered in the middle of the street. Arkaen pulled his mare to a halt again, the scrape of leather on stone clearly audible behind him. “Sayli’s going to kill me.”


A deep chuckle from behind. “Nay, milor’, I ain’t think ya gotta worry ’bout that.”


Arkaen half turned in his saddle to scout the threat behind him. Only two, though one was a heavy built man with thick mats of blond hair who filled a good chunk of the street by himself. That one would be tough to push past. The other boy with him, similar in build and coloring but much slighter, looked wide-eyed and terrified. One frightened child likely facing an early initiation and the leader. The four in front would be skilled enough to hold their own without direct leadership, then. Arkaen had no weapons but his wits and what he could re-appropriate. And Lasha, who wouldn’t miss the fight if Arkaen needed him. He offered a grim smile.


“You gentlemen may want to stand down. I’ve no desire to take lives today.”


Available for Purchase

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

About the Author

Chelsea Harper Author Photo

Chelsea Harper is the author and publisher of Wake of the Phoenix, book one of the Artifice of Power Saga. She lives in Colorado with her husband, daughter, two dogs, one cat, and countless imaginary friends. When she isn’t writing she enjoys games, from World of Warcraft to Elder Scrolls to tabletop RPGs and even the occasional board game.

Musings, Mythos, and Magic

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Published on March 21, 2022 03:24

March 18, 2022

Hot Girl Summer by Sonia Palermo excerpt and giveaway

Hot Girl Summer
Sonia Palermo
Publication date: March 14th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance


Sophia DeLuca is over casual hook-ups. Between her sister’s eating disorder, her track record of falling for fuckboys, and a lifetime of being written off as a shallow flake, “failure to launch” may as well be her middle name.


Under false pretences and a fake name, she meets Danny Pearce, an obnoxious musician on the opposite end of the millennial spectrum. Danny is cocky, rude, and a contender for fuckboy of the year.


After a series of serendipitous encounters and a secret gig, Sophia unexpectedly falls for Danny. But when he is faced with his own demons, Sophia must reclaim her power and forgive the past, or risk losing the only thing that’s real.


Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Gently, he places a hand on the small of my back, guiding me into a small space in front of him. I want to lean into the warmth of his palm, to step back just a little to feel him behind me.

“Better?”

I close my eyes to savour his touch before turning around to thank him.

“No worries.”

Dimples indent his cheeks as he returns the smile, and I spin back around. I’m dizzy, and my heart is racing. I can’t decide if it’s a delayed side effect of the alcohol, or a Danny side effect, but I could easily get used to this feeling. The only downside is that his proximity resurfaces every ache I’d tried to bury when he was up on that stage.

My only hope to avoid going completely overboard with want for Danny Pearce is to focus on the music; the beams of light oscillating between us and the stage; the sensation in my body as the bass ripples through the floor and diffuses at my feet.

I try to focus on anything but the ghost of his breath in my hair, teasing trails down my neck. I lose balance, swaying with no rhythm as his body heat radiates onto mine, and I hope to God this feeling goes both ways. If not, I might die.

Monty addresses the crowd, snapping me out of my stupor. Much like Ollie had done previously, he relays anecdotes and speaks about his music, although his demeanour errs on the side of cockiness over confidence. He introduces his band, thanks the audience, and shares more self-indulgence, but there is no denying his talent.

The band continue their upbeat energy over the next few songs, and the crowd rambunctiously bounce along to hit after hit. But I can’t ignore the all-consuming pulsing and throbbing taking over my entire body, especially when there’s no way of avoiding Danny’s addictive Riviera scent.

Without a glance behind, I finally gather the courage to test the waters. I’ve never made the first move with anyone before, and I like it that way. I’m terrified, but if there was ever a time to take agency over my life, facing the fear of rejection in favour of something better, fighting the voices in my head that tell me I’m not good enough, this is it.

If I don’t try, I won’t know.



Author Bio:


Sonia Palermo writes fun, sexy, steamy contemporary romance with sex-positive, sassy-but-soft heroines and cinnamon roll heroes.


Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram



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Published on March 18, 2022 03:00

March 17, 2022

Love and Tequila Make Her Crazy by Brittanee Nicole excerpt with giftcard giveaway

Love and Tequila Make Her Crazy
Brittanee Nicole
Publication date: March 16th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance


Nate Pearson was my first everything.


My first friend, first love, and first heartbreak. Now he’s just my ex-husband.


It’s been three years. It’s time to let go of the past. When a man covered in tattoos walks into the bar where I work, with a guitar case slung over his back and a determined swagger, I think I’m finally ready to move on…until I see his guitar. I’d recognize it anywhere. It was the last gift Nate ever received from his father.


The man holding the guitar is different than the one I left behind in Nashville, but one thing remains the same, Nate Pearson will always be the love of my life.


The reasons why I asked for a divorce haven’t changed. Only problem is, Nate Pearson says he still loves me, and this time he’s playing for keeps.


Authors Note: Love & Tequila Make Her Crazy is a brother’s best friend, steamy, full-length, stand-alone, contemporary second-chance romance filled with emotion, that features both Nate and Amelia’s past and present.


Trigger warning: Death of a parent, 9/11, and sexual assault.


Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Shaking the memories from my mind, I pull three shot glasses onto the bar. I need a reset after that little moment. I mix three of my favorite shot—chocolate cake—and place three lemons on the edges. “Bottoms up,” I say to my two friends and go to hand them each one.

Before I can grab them, fingers circle the tiny glass, and my eyes remain on the ink on the forearm which belongs to the hand. “Don’t mind if I do,” the voice I know better than my own says.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I whisper to Shawn, “Please tell me there isn’t really a man with blue eyes standing in front of us.”

The voice interrupts my conversation with Shawn. “Oh, chocolate cake. Shoulda known, Cookie. You always needed your chocolate.”

I open my eyes and glare at him.

Nate Fucking Pearson.

God, why does he have to be so damn good-looking? If I were the type of girl to go weak in the knees, now would be the moment for that. But I don’t have the capacity to indulge in moments like this. He’d stolen that ability from me.

Behind me, Hailey laughs. “Did he just call you Cookie? Oh dude, that’s not going to end well for you.”

I feel Shawn inching away from me, and I grab his hand, pulling him close. There is no way I can make it through this conversation without other people around. I can’t be trusted alone with this man. Even after all these years.

He’s a man. When did that happen? Last time I saw him he was still a boy. I mean, I’d been twenty-seven and thought we were grown-ups, but the man before me is different. He’s hardened. The scruff on his face is light but it makes him seem older. Sexier.

Fuck.

And the lines around his eyes. They’re new. There was a time when he couldn’t get a pimple without me knowing. I knew every inch of that face. But not anymore. The years we’ve been away from each other are written all over his face. I wonder what he thinks of how I look.

Dammit, Amelia, no you don’t. You don’t wonder anything about him because he’s nothing to you.

Nate chuckles as he puts the shot glass back down and looks up at Hailey. “I’d call her my wife, but she’d probably throw something at me. So, Cookie sounds safer, right, wifey?”

My chin stiffens, and my knees begin to betray me. Not now, I tell my inferior body parts.

Keep it together.

The hardest words to mutter burn my tongue on the way out. “That’s ex-wifey to you.”



Author Bio:


Brittanee is an author and practicing lawyer who lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two children. Her town is a character in itself in all of her books. When she is not writing she enjoys spending time outdoors by the water with her children, reading at the beach or by the pool (or really anywhere), dancing with her friends, singing Karaoke, spinning, bike riding and boating. Some of her favorite authors are Sophia Kinsella, Elin Hilderbrand, Liane Moriarty, Mary Higgins Clark, Meghan Quinn, Daphne Elliott, Amy Alves, Claire Kingsley, Melanie Harlow, Christina Lauren, Sally Thorne and Sarah Adams. Clearly, she has a problem and can’t pick favorites.


Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Newsletter / Amazon / Instagram



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Published on March 17, 2022 03:00