Shakuita Johnson's Blog: The Ramblings of Me, page 24

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Published on April 08, 2014 05:57

April 5, 2014

Book Promo – The Doorman and City Solipsism by Zack Love

Alex seems to have it all: a great penthouse apartment, a lovely girlfriend, and a prestigious Wall Street job. But below the surface he is sure of nothing but his angst-ridden doubts. And when he realizes that his doorman may be God, or sent by God, he will question things like never before.

This novelette is a story of New York doormen, tormented love, empty office life, and the theological questions that arise in response to the horrors of evil.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/TheDoormanAmazon

Amazon CA: http://tinyurl.com/lgjl4ay

Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/TheDoormanAmazonUK

Have you ever been on a train, bus, metro/subway — or any other shared space with strangers — and started to wonder what that person right next to you is thinking? Did you ever start to think or hope that maybe your temporary neighbor was somehow sharing your thoughts and/or desires? Ever sensed some sort of romantic connection or sexual tension and wished you could get into the individual’s head, to know for sure?

“City Solipsism” will take you on a journey into the mind of one commuter on a New York City subway car, riding next to and thinking about a person standing awkwardly close…The man and woman are total strangers but their proximity is almost intimate, as their hands share the same metal subway pole…

NOTE: Readers seeking the over-top-hilarity of “Sex in the Title” should know that “City Solipsism” is written in a very different style. Rather than a comedic series of misadventures in New York, this short story takes more of a philosophical and psychological walk through the mind of one New Yorker observing and speculating about another.

CITY SOLIPSISM: A SHORT STORY

AMAZON * AMAZON CA * AMAZON UK

THE DOORMAN

CITY SOLIPSISM: A SHORT STORY

Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter / Sex in the Title Facebook

Zack Love graduated from Harvard College, where he tried to create a bachelor’s degree in Women. With the bachelor portion of that degree in hand, he settled in New York City but – to afford renting his bed-sized studio – found himself flirting mostly with a computer screen and stacks of documents. Determined not to die a corporate drone, Zack decided to sacrifice sleep for screenwriting, an active social life, and Internet startups offering temporary billion-dollar fantasies.

To feed his steady diet of NYC nightlife, he regularly crashed VIP parties in the early 2000s and twice bumped into his burgeoning crush, a Hollywood starlet. But – much to Zack’s surprise – neither of those awkward conversations led to marriage with the A-list actress. Zack eventually consoled himself by imagining fiascoes far worse than those involving his celebrity crush. In the process, he dreamed up a motley gang of five men inspired by some of his college friends and quirky work colleagues. And thus was born Sex in the Title. But the novel is not autobiographical: Zack never had his third leg attacked by any mammal (nor by any plant, for that matter). In fact, keeping his member safe has been one of Zack’s lifelong goals – and one of the few that he’s managed to accomplish.

THE DOORMAN

During my first year at 777 Fifth Avenue, I came to realize that Lenny had never made a false prediction or failed to supply the correct answer to a question, no matter what the subject. He wasn’t just a handyman who could fix a twitching toilet or stubborn sink; he could look at his watch while taking you down in the elevator and accurately estimate the number of minutes before a downpour would start or a cab would show up outside. He could tell you the corner where the scent of fresh lox and bagels mixed just right with the scent of the neighboring Laundromat; he knew the best place to buy your curtains or cut your hair or get your suits dry-cleaned; and he knew every phone number you needed, like the yellow pages on two short legs. He was a pipe-smoking almanac, energetically rattling off any fact about the world. “Bhutan’s current population? Let me see,” he would say, looking up for a moment before launching into his usual light-speed speech, “2,047,453. But seven more were just born yesterday, so it’s at 2,047,460 now.” Of course, I couldn’t verify such a preposterously precise claim, but he was always right about everything else, so I was inclined to believe him. He could tend to any wound or malady, as though he had perfectly mastered the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, and his advice always seemed more effective than any doctor recommendation I obtained. And despite the swiftness of his incessant chatter, there wasn’t a word he uttered without gentle passion and infectious enthusiasm. And so he would engage you in some topic you never imagined could interest you for more than a polite minute – the history of vacuum cleaners, or the different flavors of ice cream in China, or the intricate ways of the delicate blue ball turning third in line from the sun. The elevator ride would be over but you’d still be listening until someone else called the elevator or Lenny jokingly reminded you that you had originally entered the elevator with a look of great purpose. Mercifully enough, Lenny always kept it brief in the mornings, knowing that I had to be at work by 8:30 a.m.

At one point, I began to think that I had a divine doorman. Lenny was the most unlikely incarnation of God I could imagine, and yet I kept drifting irresistibly towards this absurd conclusion. Despite my staunchly atheistic inclinations, I couldn’t explain Lenny any other way. But eventually I came to my senses and realized that he was just one of those game show freaks with an encyclopedic memory. That didn’t make him God, did it? Would God proclaim so regularly how much he likes Patsy’s Pizza?

CITY SOLIPSISM: A SHORT STORY

The pages of my calendar flip by faster each year as the bewildering march of time presses forward through alarm clock blues, dinners at the office, and “free time” planned away – in the same way – month after month. As I stand on the same subway platform, waiting for the same local train, I think to myself how youth is marked by a breathtaking novelty that diminishes with each year of age – until life becomes a delusive struggle to break routines, escape the ordinary, and rediscover the joy of discovery.

“What does it take now – as a ‘grown-up’- to make a month memorable?” I wonder. “How do you make treading the treadmill feel like trailblazing a trail? What would make this morning any more remarkable than any other morning?”

And then I notice someone who doesn’t look quite so beleaguered by it all. She’s a woman in her early-twenties with features that hail from either Italy or Spain – I can’t be sure because it’s been about six years since I played my guitar for coins across Europe (and even then, I wasn’t great at differentiating Italians from Spaniards).

Summer sticks to her skirt sumptuously, in the shiny gray fabric hanging loosely from her curves. Her chestnut eyes, apparently hidden from strangers; her simple but graceful face, unpainted by Madison Avenue; and her straight black hair, parted down the middle without ego, all suggest a minimalist – almost pastoral – beauty that is oddly discordant with her fashionable attire, comfortable indifference to the crowds, and quasi-attentive perusal of the Time magazine unfolded over her hand.

I don’t know her name and I’m sure that I’ve never seen her before, but there is something familiar about her. She seems to have this schizophrenically interested or curious look that reminds me of the female shoppers I once observed in a busy Florentine marketplace. The young Italian women in that spice-filled outdoor market, buying their extra virgin olive oil and red ripe tomatoes, seemed flirtatious in their enjoyment of the young men eyeing them, yet guardedly guilt-ridden about any deviations from a properly Catholic day of shopping. And here in our subway car, the way in which this bucolic belle’s eyes occasionally seem undecided between the text of her magazine and the people standing around her makes me wonder how those Florentine shoppers would look if their daily routine were transformed from an outdoor Tuscan shopping spree to an indoor New York subway ride. Would they all look at the magazines in their hands more or less than this woman two feet away from me does?

At the risk of fetishizing an unsuspecting subway rider, I’m going to call her “Florence.” The name of that city evokes in me so many magical memories that I’ll call her “Florence” even though the vestiges of my origin-detection skills insist that her roots might actually be Spanish. Calling her “Madrid” just wouldn’t sound as good, and admitting my uncertainty by calling her “Southern Europe” would sound even worse. So she’ll be Florence for now.

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Published on April 05, 2014 07:00

April 3, 2014

Release Alert Friday – Orange Blossom by Sarah Daltry

Orange Blossom will be the penultimate title in Sarah Daltry‘s bestselling New Adult romance series, Flowering. The reading order and information about the other titles follows.

Title: Orange Blossom

Author: Sarah Daltry

Cover Design: Shoutlines Design

18+ New Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 4, 2014

“I’ve never understood a year. A year was always a measurement of something bad for me. A year in my father’s prison sentence, a year since my mom’s death, a year left of school before I could get far, far away from here. Now, as I look down the end of my college career, with only a little more than a semester to go, a year seems like something magical. It has been a year since Lily chose me, since she sat with me on the old swing set and made a decision that I was worthy of her. And every minute of the entire year has been better than the last.”

You already know their stories: Lily, the perfect princess, always living someone else’s life. And Jack, the broken boy, who had stopped believing in hope. Somehow, though, they found each other and what was one night blossomed into a love story.

Now, a year later, Jack and Lily are dreaming of the future. Despite all of his promises to himself that he would never be indebted to anyone, Jack makes a new promise – this time to Lily – that he will be there for her forever. But when life unravels for them, he starts to pull away, and Lily worries he’s out of reach for good.

When Jack does the unthinkable, Lily is left destroyed. Is it possible to have a happily ever after? Does love ever really save anyone?

Buy Links – 99 cents :)

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDYCMS2?ie=UTF8&at=aw-iphone-pc-us-20&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links
Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JDYCMS2?ie=UTF8&at=aw-iphone-pc-uk-21&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/orange-blossom-sarah-daltry/1118953312?ean=9781497358379
Apple - https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/orange-blossom-flowering-novel/id842981858?mt=11
Kobo - http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/orange-blossom-4
All Romance - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-orangeblossomafloweringnovel-1452871-149.html
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/420172
Paperback - https://www.createspace.com/4717395

Series Reading Order: Forget Me Not, Lily of the Valley, and Blue Rose can be read in any order. There is some crossover in scenes between the titles, but each stands alone as one character’s story. Star of Bethlehem is a direct continuation from Forget Me Not and Lily of the Valley. Orange Blossom and Ambrosia (releasing June 6, 2014) assume readers have read the other four titles and read as sequels. In essence, the first three are #1, Star of Bethlehem is #1.5, Orange Blossom is #2, and Ambrosia is #3.

Tit le: Forget Me Not (Lily’s Story)

Author: Sarah Daltry

Cover: Shoutlines Design

18+ New Adult contemporary romance

This is a coming of age story, but it isn’t always sweet and innocent. If dirty talk, bedroom toys, and threesomes offend you… this is not your book.

“No one tells you when you start school just how homesick you will be, or how hard it will be to start life over with no direction and no friends or family. No one says that becoming your own person is terrifying.”

I never wanted anything but Derek, my brother’s best friend. When I chose a college, it didn’t seem to matter that he would be an hour away. We could survive it. After all, we were in love. But almost immediately, things change between us. I blame myself. Maybe I’m just not sure how to be a girlfriend and independent.

Life seems to be getting away from me – and then there’s Jack, the guy down the hall. He’s rude and vulgar and my parents would be shocked by him, yet every single time I see him, I feel like I’m being pulled toward him. It’s physical, sure, but there’s something in Jack’s eyes – and I want to know him.

I know I don’t always make the right choices, and I’m the only person at fault when everything falls apart. How do I tell Derek, the guy who was supposed to be everything, that I don’t feel like fighting for him anymore? And do I run to Jack, when I know his past is way too much for me to handle when I’ve just turned 19? Finally, where do I end up in all of this? Can I be more than just someone else’s idea of what I should be?

Title: Lily of the Valley (Jack’s story)

Author: Sarah Daltry

Cover: Shoutlines Design

18+ New Adult contemporary romance

Jack’s story isn’t pretty. He’s suicidal, depressed, and he uses meaningless sex and alcohol to survive. However, the story is about finding light in the darkness, but sometimes the road there isn’t always easy to walk.

“No one tells you about pain. They tell you that it hurts, that sometimes it’s consuming. What they don’t tell you is that it’s not the pain that can kill you. It’s the uncomfortable numbness that follows, the weakness in your body when you realize your lungs may stop taking in air and you just can’t exert enough energy to care. It’s the way taste and color and smell fade from the world and all you’re left with is a sepia print of misery. That’s when the shift starts – the movement from passive to active. I fall asleep, hoping that the morning will bring back the pain. At least the pain is a thing.”

I’m a plague, a cancer. My mom is dead – and my father is in prison for it. I survived high school because college was my way out. I needed to escape, to get away from my family and the people who tortured me, but it hasn’t grown any easier.

I don’t pretend that I’m a good person. I drink far more than I should, and I use my best friend, Alana, because together, we thrive on destroying each other – as well as the parts of us we hate. I don’t believe in love, but sex is fun and it also makes me feel something.

The morning I see Lily, the beautiful princess who smells inexplicably like strawberries every time I see her, I realize I’m in trouble. I should hate her. I want to hate her, because the alternative terrifies me. However, as she continues to crash into my life (often literally), I can’t avoid feeling something that is the one thing I swore I would never feel. I can’t fall in love, because people like me don’t live in a world where love saves anyone.

She just won’t go away, though, and I don’t know if I can keep running. The voices and the darkness hover over me and they threaten to bring me back to the safety of my hate, but the stupid scent of strawberries lingers on the horizon, as something like hope.

Title: Blue Rose (Alana’s story)

Author: Sarah Daltry

Cover Design: Shoutlines Design

Warning: This book deals with topics of abuse and may trigger reactions in people who have experienced those things in their own lives. It remains a story about healing, but it’s not always an easy journey.

“Four. My life has been shaped by four people. Four men, to be more specific. My father, my stepfather, my best friend, and my boyfriend. The first two shaped it in horrible ways, but what I am, who I am, is all because of four men.”

Over the last twenty years, I’ve learned how to keep secrets. It doesn’t really matter, since everyone already seems to think they know everything about me. So I hide. I avoid confrontation, I treat Xanax like a magic pill that will make it all go away, and I become everything they think I am. A slut. A whore. Nothing but trash.

I can only name two guys who have ever made me feel like I was more than that. Jack is my best friend and I’ve loved him since I met him. Now, though, he’s in love… with someone else, and I guess I need to get over him. Somehow.

And then there’s Dave. The guy I never gave a chance. The guy I used almost as much as people used me, because I wanted to pretend I was someone worth loving. Two years have passed since we last spoke, but I don’t know how to stop thinking about him.

My new therapist is making me face my past, and she tells me that life inevitably changes without our permission. I believe it, but I know what I am. I hear what she’s saying to me, and I want to try again with Dave, to help Jack find joy, to love myself, and to move on. I just wonder if anyone can do that, really.

Title: Star of Bethlehem

Author: Sarah Daltry

Cover: Shoutlines Design

18+ NA contemporary romance

This is a holiday novella-length story that follows Forget Me Not and Lily of the Valley.

“With you, Jack, it was the first time I ever felt real. It was the first time anyone looked at me and saw substance. It was the first time I wanted to make someone see me.”

Jack: New Year’s Eve. I’ve somehow managed to get here, and now I’m wearing a hideous and unreasonably itchy sweater, because I want to impress Lily’s family. I want to do anything for this girl who has made me believe in second chances.

Lily: The house is beautiful and shining with light, but it feels empty. At least until Jack gets here. I know how desperately he wants this – a family, love, a home. If I can be the person who can give it to him, it’s all I need, but I hope I can keep him from seeing how hollow it all really is.

About the Author:

Sarah Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She’s written works in various genres – romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn’t as important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she’s been known to shake it up. Most of her stories are about relationships – romantic, familial, friendly – because love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn’t matter if the story is set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future – human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This is the principle behind all of Sarah’s stories.

Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.

When Sarah isn’t writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.

Sarah has also written Bitter Fruits, an urban fantasy romance, and Backward Compatible, a gamer geek romantic comedy.

Author Social Media Links:

Website: http://sarahdaltry.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahDaltryAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahDaltry

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahdaltry/boards/

Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/sarahdaltry

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Published on April 03, 2014 05:00

March 31, 2014

Monster Unleashed, Dark Indiscretions by Shakuita Johnson

slevjay:

Sweet review for Dark Indiscretions: Monster Unleashed :)

Originally posted on Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock:

Blurb

What would you do if the one fate chose for you vanished into thin air? What would you give up? Who would you become to stay with that person?

Krista Bell finally knows what it’s like to be free. The torture she endured at the hands of her psychotic father have unleashed the monster her mother tried so hard to help her suppress. The only thing she wants to do is be the shadow in the night that everyone is afraid of.

Taser is barely holding it together. He lost Kris once to her father and now he’s losing her to the monster she is becoming. He’s also barely containing his own monster since Krista decided she didn’t need her mates anymore. Nathan is still near but he may not be enough.

Nathan is on the verge of losing not one but both of his mates. One vanished without…

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Published on March 31, 2014 16:37

March 29, 2014

Cover Reveal – Dark Indiscretions: Monster Unleashed by Shakuita Johnson

Blurb

What would you do if the one fate chose for you vanished into thin air? What would you give up? Who would you become to stay with that person?
Krista Bell finally knows what it’s like to be free. The torture she endured at the hands of her psychotic father have unleashed the monster her mother tried so hard to help her suppress. The only thing she wants to do is be the shadow in the night that everyone is afraid of.
Taser is barely holding it together. He lost Kris once to her father and now he’s losing her to the monster she is becoming. He’s also barely containing his own monster since Krista decided she didn’t need her mates anymore. Nathan is still near but he may not be enough.
Nathan is on the verge of losing not one but both of his mates. One vanished without a trace. The other is avoiding him. He has run out of patience with them both.
But when the monster that Krista has become comes to them with a proposal will they take her up on it and possibly lose themselves or will they try to talk her down and get the beast to put back on her chain?

Excerpt
Krista made her way down the hall and into the office she knew her mates would be. They were not going to like what she had to say but right now it was about her. She was tired of putting others before herself. Tired of pretending to be someone that she wasn’t. She paused for a moment in the doorway to look at her mates one last time. They were rung tight from her self-imposed seclusion and she knew this was only going to be the beginning of their heartache.
She took a moment to really look at her mates. They were total contrasts to each other. Where Taser was standing at only five-foot-five-inches and weighing one hundred and seventy five pounds. He had dirty blonde hair that stuck out all over the place and hazel eyes. On the other hand, Nathan stood at just less than seven feet and weighted over three hundred pounds of pure muscle. He had black hair with the most mesmerizing green eyes flecked with gold, belaying his paranormal status. They were both handsome. Any girl would be lucky to have just one of them as a mate.
Yet her she was ready to give them both up. It couldn’t be helped so no use in delaying the inevitable. Without preamble Krista spoke the words all men dread.
“We need to talk. Now.”
“Now you’re ready to talk,” Nathan said with an arched eyebrow.
“It’s about damn time,” was Taser’s reply.
Krista saw where this conversation was going to go before it started. Both her mates were upset and yet she still couldn’t bring herself to care, much. She knew what she had to do and she didn’t plan on changing her mind.
“Are you both going to be assholes or listen to what I have to say?” Krista asked.
“Fine. Speak,” Taser barked.
Speak! What was she a damn dog? Krista was fuming and she could feel the air around her zinging with her anger.
“Careful how you speak to me,” she threatened in a low voice. “I am not some common animal that you can issue commands and receive obedience in return. You will do well to remember who and what I am.”
“Let’s all calm down and take a seat. We have just been worried. Taser didn’t mean anything by it. Let’s not fight but instead have a civilized conversation,” Nathan said. He didn’t need anyone losing their cool right now. Emotions were already running high as it was.
“Before the rudeness was introduced, what I was trying to say is I will be leaving here today and never returning. I’ve given this a lot of thought and there is just no way I can continue this existence how I was. I am no longer that person. I have changed. There is no point in a discussion because nothing you say will change my mind. The both of you will also not be joining me,” Krista stated.
Was she serious with this shit? She walks in here like she owns the world and decrees that she is leaving not only the pack lands but also her mates behind. Did she think we were supposed to be okay with it? Nathan was utterly speechless. Never in all his years would he have expected this shit when he found his Nyhiya. He could feel the rage building and getting ready to burst free.
“Come again?” Taser asked. “I think I may have misheard what you just said. I could have sworn it sounded like you were abandoning your mates.”
“No need to be dramatic. It’s not like you only have one mate. Nathan will keep you company but unfortunately I have things to do. Mates would only hold me back from my destiny. I don’t need any weaknesses my enemies could exploit. Now if you both will excuse me, I have preparations to make.”
With those parting words, Krista got up and walked out of the office. She didn’t have time to waste. She had to gather the few things she had here and leave to begin her hunt. She wasn’t sure where she was starting but she was sure she was leaving here tonight and by any means necessary.

About the Author
Shakuita Johnson is a 29-year-old Psychology major. When she isn’t going to school or working, she is doing what she loves most. Writing. She started writing in middle school. Starting with poetry. Then short stories in a creative writing course her senior year. Her love for paranormal and supernatural started with R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and TV show, Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, and Christopher Pike books. She is an avid reader with over 100 books on her bookshelf and 1000 plus on her iPad. This is her second novel. Visit her online and read her poems and one attempt at songwriting on her blog.

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Published on March 29, 2014 07:00

Tips for Writing First Drafts

slevjay:

I need to do this :)

Originally posted on Vampires, Crime and Angels...Eclectic Me:

I found this here.

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Published on March 29, 2014 05:34

March 28, 2014

Release Date: April 29, 2014 Invasion Trilogy We Are Not Alone Book 1

slevjay:

New book coming soon!

Originally posted on Angela Fattig:

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Published on March 28, 2014 14:47

Double Cover Reveal – Discovered and Cover Up by Kim Black

Emily Roberts was done with men! She believed she was content with just focusing on her career. After Adam, her ex, cheated on her with not one but two of her co-workers, Emily fled from her former workplace, forgoing her internship and decided to start anew. Though her decision to write off love had held up for over a year, her chastity belt would soon be put to the test when Julien Belmont, a French billionaire, takes an interest in her. In one night, she questions everything she believes and though she is determined that he is no different from the rest, she finds herself in a world wind of affairs, lies and a tug of war between old and new men…

Can she learn to love again or will she flee from Julien,

who she admits is the best lover she has ever had?

Julien Belmont is a gorgeous, commanding, and passionate Frenchman who enjoys his freedom. His ever growing sexual hunger makes it so his appetite is never quite quenched. At least not until he meets Emily. One night with her changes everything he has ever believed in.

Will his past destroy his potential future with Emily?

Or will the fire between them burn eternal!

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | ITUNES | SMASHWORDS

Emily Roberts is a confused woman. While her heart feels entangled with Julien’s, her mind fights for the man who had always been true to her, Adam. Feeling that she can never trust Julien again, she tries to move on… But the heart is not one that can be ignored. Even after Julien’s lies, she yearns still for his touch.

The heart is not one that can be ignored and

even after all Julien has done, she yearns still for his touch…

Julien Belmont never meant to hurt Emily. One night, one mistake, one lie costs him the love of his life and he is left with no choice but to watch her leave. When Julien’s action causes Emily to have an accident, the guilt that he feels is unbearable. Determined to get her back, he tries to ends his ties to the only thing standing in the way of his happiness, his wife!

But all is fair in love and war.

Cutting ties with a woman scorned is never easy.

EXPECTED RELEASE DATE:
April 29th 2014

ADAM

My encounter with Julien Belmont wasn’t pleasant. Suzie didn’t want to piss off the already distraught Julien, so she thought it was a better idea to wait him out, figuring that eventually he would have to go home and rest. Welp, that didn’t quite go as planned since the chump looked as though he was planning on moving right in with Emily in the hospital. Freaking kiss-ass!

When Suzie came downstairs and told me that I had five minutes before Julien got back from the restroom, I groaned in annoyance. This was so freaking wrong. I had been with Emily for years. This lame guy just got here, and I was now being forced to sneak around and tip toe around him as if he was some freaking God.

Just get to Emily!

When we got upstairs, Emily laid seemingly asleep. Her frail, small body was bandaged up in various places. The centerpiece, her head, had suffered the most damage. My heart broke at the sight. Thoughts of her laughing and enjoying life flooded my mind as I watched the contrasting void expression on her face.

“They put her in an induced coma to allow her body time to heal. Something about swelling in her head,” Suzie said while fighting a fresh wave of tears.

I stared at my girl, my heart aching, knowing that there wasn’t much I could do to help her other than let her know that I was here with her.

“Baby girl, what did I tell you about talking on the phone and driving, huh? I swear you’re trying to kill me. Don’t you know I love you? I’ll always love you, sweet girl.”

“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” I heard from behind me before someone grabbed hold of my uniform work shirt.

Needless to say, Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome was a pain in my ass! French! Emily was dating a freaking Frenchman. How the hell was I going to compete with that shit!

Kim was born and raised in the great state of New York. She is a newly self-published author.
She has always believed that one day she would become an author. She enjoyed reading and writing all of her life and had always felt that it was somewhat of a calling for her. At age 28, she had no idea that she would become an Erotic Romance Author, mostly because she had just gotten into reading Romances last year and instantly fell in love with the genre.
Kim enjoys the passions of love and believes that there is no greater feeling than the initial jilt we get when we first meet that right person. Wanting to provide romance readers with stories that they can feel and get lost in, Kim decided in September 2013 to become a published author. Her first novella is “DISCOVERED” which will be a part of “The Cover Series,” debuted on December 28th 2013.
When she is not writing, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family and reading. Her favorite books are always romance based with a healthy dose of erotica. ♥

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | WEBSITE

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Published on March 28, 2014 08:30

Book Promo – Abby’s Heart by Kristine Raymond

Title: Abby’s Heart (Hidden Springs Series #3)

Author: Kristine Raymond

Genre: Historical Western Romance

Release Date: February 15, 2014

Synopsis

Abby Prescott is a proper young lady who has never ventured far from home. She travels West to attend her aunt’s wedding and suddenly finds herself captivated by the beautiful, rugged landscape as well as the attention from not one, but two men.

Malcolm ‘Boots’ Dunn is a young man who is on top of the world. He has re-opened Cooper’s Mine – a gold mine that has been closed up for more than twenty years. Fun-loving and easy-going, pretty Abby Prescott catches his eye and he knows that she is the one for him.

Simon Archer is a solemn, hard-working man who spends his days apprenticing as a blacksmith and his nights dreaming for a woman to share his life with. When he meets Abby, he knows that she is the woman of his dreams and he will stop at nothing to have her.

As both men vie for Abby’s affections, she innocently encourages their advances with disastrous consequences. When the dust settles, which one will win Abby’s heart?

Buy Links

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU

Excerpt

He lifted her up and swung her around in a circle. She held onto his shoulders, feeling dizzy as he spun her around. After several rotations, he set her back down on the ground but didn’t remove his hands from her waist. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she kept her hands on his shoulders and as her head cleared, she suddenly realized that he was looking at her intently. Her eyes widened in surprise as he leaned his head towards her, then closed when she felt the brush of his lips on hers. The tingling sensation that she had felt in the tunnel was now magnified and as he brushed his lips softly against her mouth, a feeling of warmth spread through her body. She had never been kissed before but she had imagined many times what it would be like. This kiss was so much better than her imaginings. All too soon Boots pulled away, his hands still on her waist. “Is it okay that I kissed you? I know that I should have asked for your permission but you are so beautiful, I just couldn’t help myself.”

Ducking her head so that he wouldn’t see her blush, she responded, “Yes, it’s okay. It was very nice. And just so you know, if you had asked, I would’ve said ‘yes’.”

About the Author

Kristine Raymond loves to read and that naturally transformed into a love of writing. She has always been a fan of the Old West and lived in Arizona for several years, where she was able to appreciate the beauty and history of the region.

She has released two books in the Hidden Springs series and is currently working on her third. When she is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and furry family, and occasionally watches a TV western or two.

Facebook ~ Facebook for Book Series ~ Twitter

Website ~ Amazon Author Page ~ Goodreads

Purchase Her Other Books Today

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Giveaway

Signed paperback of Abby’s Heart (US Only) & Winner’s choice of an ebook by Kristine Raymond direct to Kindle

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20 Fun Facts About Kristine Raymond

1. I don’t fly…in airplanes. I don’t fly not in airplanes, either.

2. I use a computer mouse upside down. I’ve tried to learn how to use it the way other people do…my brain is not wired that way.

3. I’m a vegetarian

3. I’ve never ridden in a convertible …with the top up or down

4. I wear socks all of the time…even in the summer. Love the aloe infused ones!

5. My socks have to match

6. The first thing I do when I get home is take off my shoes

7. I used to own a pig named Wilbur

8. I hate to exercise

9. I own six different exercise machines

10. I was raised near the ocean

11. I cry when I visit the ocean

12. I still read children’s books that I liked as a kid

13. I love Disney animated movies …the original ones like Bambi and Sleeping Beauty

14. I have seen a real roadrunner …I was disappointed when he didn’t say “Beep Beep”

15. I don’t wear make-up

16. I like to eat the same thing, day after day, for weeks until I become sick of it…then I won’t eat it again for a year

17. I have tablets of paper and bunches of pens all over my house. It never fails that when I need to write something down, I end up using a napkin and then promptly misplace it

18. I love to be organized

19. My office is so disorganized

20. I finally started listening to the voices in my head …and became an author.

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Published on March 28, 2014 06:00

Book Review – Forager by Peter Stone

Author Name

Peter R Stone

Book Title

Forager

Genre

Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic

Formats Available

Book is available for sale on Amazon only, in Kindle and paperback,

Page Number of Book

297

Publication Date

November 2013

Publisher

Amazon Digital Services

Amazon Buy Link

http://www.amazon.com/Forager-A-Dystopian-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00GUB9DGA/

Website/Blog Link

Forager

Forager Blurb

Eighteen-year-old Ethan Jones lives in Newhome, a town built upon the decaying ruins of post-apocalyptic Melbourne, ruins haunted by the ferocious Skel, a nomadic tribe of degenerate savages.

The Skel are ramping up their attacks on Newhome’s foraging teams and infesting Melbourne’s ruins in ever greater numbers. Is this part of a larger plan that could spell the town’s doom?

Meanwhile, the last thing Ethan expects when he and his companions rescue a two-car convoy from the Skel is a Japanese teenage girl with an outlandish dress-sense, who after they take her back to Newhome, goes to great lengths to ingratiate herself into his life. But is it in gratitude for saving her life or is she seeking something more?

And what a quandry she places him in, for he knows the rules, that no man is permitted to be alone with an unmarried woman. But how can he drive such a gentle soul away when she touchs his heart so deeply, even though she clearly carries the pain of a broken heart.

At the same time, Newhome’s police force, the Custodians, are suspicious of Ethan’s foraging team’s successes and are pulling out the stops to find out which member of his team has the illegal mutant ability that gives them an edge over the other teams.

Should these peacekeepers discover Ethan is the mutant they seek, they will haul him away and dissect him like a frog.

My Review

I enjoyed reading this book ever much. We get the story from Ethan, a boy living in a post-war town. It’s after a world war three that they weren’t prepared for. The year is 2122 and not at all what I expected.

Ethan is a forager…he goes out with his crew to look for precious metals. Ethan’s crew is the best at this because Ethan has a bit of a secret…A secret that doesn’t take us every long to be told which I liked. I hate when as a reader you know there is something going on but it takes forever for that something to be told.

Ethan and his team seem like a tight knit group but sadly a few tragedies do befall them as well.

Seemingly out of the blue the “guard” that police the town show up to escort Ethan and his crew and the action picks up the pace fairly quickly. Dodging attacks by the Skels – sort of nomadic people who ambush people, and rescuing two Japanese people from a convey gone wrong we see a spark enter Ethan’s eyes when he meets the what appears to be a young Japanese girl with pink bangs…

There are secrets and mysteries all through out this book and underlying things going on that we have yet to get an answer for but there is another book in this story and I look forward to gobbling it up once it is out.

The Forager had action, suspense, and even a bit of love thrown in. A very good read and I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

About the Author

Biography

Peter Stone, an avid student of history, was reading books on Ancient Greece from the age of four. His periods of interest include the ancient world, medieval era, Napoleonic times, and the Second World War. He still mourns the untimely passing of King Leonidas of Sparta and Field Marshal Michel Ney of France.

A child of the Cold War Generation, Peter Stone studied the ramifications of a nuclear missile strike when he was in his senior year of high school, learning the effects of nuclear fallout and how to (hopefully) survive it. He has ever been drawn to post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels and films, and eagerly devoured The Day of the Triffids and John Christopher’s Tripod Trilogy when he was a child.

Peter Stone graduated from Melbourne School of Ministries Bible College in 1988. He has been teaching Sunday School and playing the keyboard in church for over twenty-five years. His wife is from Japan and they have two wonderful children. Peter Stone has worked in the same games company for over twenty years, but still does not comprehend why they expect him to work all day instead of playing games.