Devika Fernando's Blog, page 41
May 25, 2016
Featured - Book Club Spotlight for "False Ceilings" by Amit Sharma
FALSE CEILINGS by AMIT SHARMA
Blurb
Born in the lush mountains of Dalhousie in 1930, Shakuntala is a pampered child of a wealthy builder. On her wedding night she is gifted a secret to use wisely when the time comes.
From the green valleys of Dalhousie to a village in Punjab reeling under the communal violence of 1947; from the Delhi of 1950s with its intoxicating smell of freedom to the Delhi of 1970s soaked in the hippie culture; from the Delhi of 1984 smelling of burnt tyres to the Delhi of 90s raising its Frankenstein of urbanization, the cancerous secret breathes with her, infects her. It is accidentally passed down, hidden under insecurities and jealousies, locked in its meaninglessness and leaving a trail of ruin.
When her great- grandson accidentally discovers the secret in 2065, he is perplexed by the malice that flowed in his family's blood. Was it just the secret or his family would have destroyed itself even in its absence? Why was their love never greater than their unsaid expectations from each other?
Grab your copy @Amazon.in | Flipkart | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma's first fiction book titled False Ceilings has been published by Lifi Publications. The book launch happened on 12 Jan 2016 in the World Book Fair in Delhi.
Amit has been working in a Software Firm since the last ten years. He lives with his family in NCR. His wife is a teacher and they are blessed with a daughter who is in her terrible twos.
Amit always keeps a book and a portable reading light in his bag (much to the amusement of his fellow travelers). His other hobbies include watching world cinema, travelling, digging into various cuisines, cooking, listening to music, painting, blogging, making his daughter laugh and helping his wife with her unnecessary and prolonged shopping.
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Review & Spotlight for "Beauty and the Recluse" by Ellie Gray
About the BookBeauty and the Recluse by Ellie GrayGenre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 12th February 2016
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Following the recent death of her father, and in need of both a job and somewhere to live, Kiya takes a housekeeping job on the spur of the moment. She soon finds herself living in a beautiful but neglected mansion, working for a strange and reclusive man.
St. John is a man scarred by the past, both physically and emotionally, and is determined to live out his life alone. They are two very different people, drawn to each other almost against their will, but can Kiya convince St. John that he is not the monster he believes himself to be?
Kindle UK/Amazon UK
Kindle US/Amazon US
Smashwords
Nook
Apple
Kobo
EXCERPT
Singing softly to herself, Kiya was halfway into the room before she realised that she was not alone. From the corner of her eye, she saw St. John O’Neill spin around in surprise and she gave a startled cry, the vase slipping through her fingers to smash on the floor by her feet. He was a very tall man, easily 6ft. 5ins, broad-shouldered and muscular. His thick black hair, although clean, was long and unkempt, and his beard did not quite hide the vivid scar that ran from high on his right cheek down to his mouth. Incredibly bright blue eyes bore into her and, despite the scar and his rough, dishevelled appearance, Kiya was breathlessly aware that he was an incredibly attractive man. He continued to stare at her, radiating an aura of menace, and Kiya gave an unconscious shiver.
‘Seen enough?’ he asked coldly.
Blushing furiously, aware that she had been staring, Kiya quickly bent to pick up the pieces of shattered vase.
‘Leave it.’ His words were clipped.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise what time it was. I’ll just clear…’ she babbled, nervously.
‘Dammit, I said leave it.’
Her hand jerked at his unexpected ferocity and she gave a yelp of pain as the sharp edge of the broken vase sliced her palm. She stood quickly, lifting her hand to check the severity of the cut, and felt a wave of nausea wash over her at the surprisingly profuse amount of blood pouring from the wound. She heard St. John mutter an explicit curse and looked up to see him striding quickly towards her, his expression furious.My ReviewI read the blurb for this book and immediately knew it was right up my alley. And I wasn’t wrong, I loved reading it. In fact, I read it in one go and then smiled happily but also a bit sadly because I didn’t want the story to end.
The book had just the right amount of confusion, emotional turmoil and suspense to make the sweet romance spicier. I loved it that St. John wasn’t weak despite his dark past and his devastated soul, and that Kiya was a strong heroine too, not merely a simpering girl in love with a mysterious and rich man. St. John was the very embodiment of “tall, dark and handsome” and I’d have fallen for him too, despite the hard armour he kept himself hidden behind. As for Dominic, it was a joy to have him enter the picture and be a support to both of them. I won’t reveal more about just how important of a secondary character he is for fear of spoilers.
There were a lot of lovely details in the novel that caught my interest and made the story even more believable. Boris the kitten, Corinne (whom I loved to hate), the garden party, the place itself with the orangery…
I recommend this book to everyone who loves short, clean romance with a healthy dose of breathless moments of suspense and intrigue.
Rating: 4/5
About the AuthorEllie lives in the beautiful East Riding of Yorkshire with her partner, David, and two children, Joe and Abbie.Ellie is a contemporary romance author, published with the lovely Tirgearr Publishing, and is a proud member of the Romantic Novelist Association.
Her debut novel, Beauty and the Recluse, was published in February 2016 and her second novel, Love on the Nile, is due to be released in the Summer of 2016. Inbetween working full-time in public services and studying for an MSc in Public Management, Ellie is currently working on her third novel.
A few random pieces of information about Ellie:Favourite TV shows – The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Nashville, Dr. Who, The Great British Bake-off!Favourite Music – I’m an 80’s girl!, country, sixties, Elvis, classical (when I’m writing)Favourite Food – Indian, tapas, crisps, cheeseFavourite Drink – black coffee – copious amounts when I’m writing, Sauvignon blanc when I’m not.
Facebook: Ellie Gray Author
Twitter: @elliegray58
Goodreads: Ellie Gray Author on Goodreads
Instagram: Ellie Gray Author on Instagram
Google+ Ellie Gray Author on Goole Plus
LinkedIn: Ellie Gray Author on LinkedIn
Website: https://elliegrayauthor.wordpress.com
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May 22, 2016
Sneak Peek Sunday - Royal Romance, Book 1
If you are following me on Facebook and Twitter, you know that I have started a new series that has me really excited. I am working on Book 1 of my Royal Romance Series, called "The Prince's Special Bride". It's huge fun to write, and I'm dying to share more with you. For this Sneak Peek Sunday, I'm revealing the blurb for the first time.
Stay tuned for the cover reveal organized by The Book Club from June 2nd to 4th! I'm really proud of the cover too. :-)
Marie doesn’t believe in fairytales and needs no handsome prince to rescue her from misery – but everything changes when she falls in love with Crown Prince Christian of Taragonia. When his sister invites Marie to the palace, their lives collide and leave them both fighting their forbidden attraction.
Prince Christian has no place in his life for love or for a woman who doesn’t fit into the royal scheme of things. But vivacious Marie steals his heart and puts all he has lived for at stake. When the media gets wind of their affair, he has to make a difficult decision.
Will the unlikely couple have a chance at a happy ending?
Stay tuned for the cover reveal organized by The Book Club from June 2nd to 4th! I'm really proud of the cover too. :-)
Marie doesn’t believe in fairytales and needs no handsome prince to rescue her from misery – but everything changes when she falls in love with Crown Prince Christian of Taragonia. When his sister invites Marie to the palace, their lives collide and leave them both fighting their forbidden attraction.
Prince Christian has no place in his life for love or for a woman who doesn’t fit into the royal scheme of things. But vivacious Marie steals his heart and puts all he has lived for at stake. When the media gets wind of their affair, he has to make a difficult decision.
Will the unlikely couple have a chance at a happy ending?
May 20, 2016
Featured - Interview with Pamela Fagan Hutchins (Hell to Pay)
Author Interview with Pamela Fagan Hutchins1) What would you say is the biggest challenge in writing cross-genre?
At the core of what I do, I write what I write because it is what I want to write and what I want to read. (That’s a mouthful, isn’t it???) But the challenge is that readers will pick up my book for their own reasons. Maybe a romance reader chooses it because of the romantic elements. But those readers expect a romance. I don’t write true romances, although you could say that each protagonists’ three-book story arc comprises one romance. Other readers like the magical realism and spirituality in my books, but I don’t write ghost stories or magical realism. Other readers like the mystery or legal thriller aspects, yet I don’t write police procedurals, legal thrillers, spy thrillers, or even romantic suspense. So the challenge is balancing the expectations of readers and giving them an experience that is so fantastic that they will suspend the rules of the genre they usually read to enjoy my character’s journey. At the same time, as an author I have this inner muse that demands a particular story, and once that horse is out of the barn, it’s dang hard to put it back in. I love it and I hate it. It’s hard to do. But I couldn’t do it any other way
2) What's your favourite genre to write and read?
I like books with wonderful description, complex and authentic characters, suspenseful plots that don’t violate our reality, a fast pace that takes me away from my every-day life, and don’t rely on shock value. Beyond that, I’ll read anything. I’ve been coaching two literary fiction writers. It’s not my go-to type of book, but I love their work. If you held a gun to my head and said YOU CAN ONLY PICK ONE, it would be romantic mysteries. :-)
3) If you had to sum up life as an author in 5 words, which words would you choose?
Brain overloaded, wearing pajamas, reality-averse
4) Do you have any writing rituals?
For the book I’m writing now, What Doesn’t Kill You #8, I put on a white linen gown that belonged to the woman whose life inspired the story. It helps me capture the mood. It gets washed a lot. I hope there’s something left of it when I finish the book.
5) I caught something on Goodreads about you 'traveling in a Bookmobile'. Care to tell us about that?
Yes! We have an RV with my book covers plastered all over it. In the summers, we travel around the continental US in it and visit bookstores, libraries, book clubs, and anywhere readers gather and have an interest in my presence. I think this summer we’re even heading north into Canada for a week or two. It’s tons of fun.
Spotlight on "Hell to Pay"
Hell To Payby Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Blurb
USA Best Book Award-Winning Series, Cross Genre Fiction.Third book in the Emily series, a spin-off from Katie & Annalise.
Big-haired paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily thinks she’s got her life back on track. Her adoption of Betsy seems like a done deal, her parents have reunited, and she’s engaged to her sexy boss Jack. Then client Phil Escalante’s childhood buddy Dennis drops dead, face first into a penis cake at the adult novelty store Phil owns with his fiancée Nadine, one of Emily’s best friends. The cops charge Phil with murder right on the heels of his acquittal in a trail for burglarizing the Mighty is His Word church offices. Emily’s nemesis ADA Melinda Stafford claims her witness overheard Phil fighting with Dennis over a woman, right about the time Phil falls into a diabetic coma, leaving Nadine shaken and terrified. Meanwhile Betsy’s ultra-religious foster parents apply to adopt her and Jack starts acting weird and evasive. Emily feels like a calf out of a chute, pulled between the ropes of the header and the heeler, as she fights to help Phil and Nadine without losing Betsy and Jack.
Read a Teaser
Chapter One Excerpt
Disco lights whirled around me, or was it the room? My inner party animal had atrophied, not that I’d ever been a real heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the fantastic people-watching—and the fact that this was the celebration party for the burglary acquittal of our firm’s client Phil Escalante the day before, and his engagement to Nadine, one of my best friends in Amarillo—I've bagged this shindig. Instead, there I was with tendrils of fake smoke floating past my face, ten
feet from a DJ dressed in a black latex fetish costume and spiked dog collar and A tall woman maybe ten years older than me appeared out of the low lights and sidled up to me, engulfing me in the odor of cigarettes. Her vanilla hair sported a generous dollop of dark chocolate roots, which was pretty funny to me since she had a body shaped like a cone. A waffle cone. A waffle cone with sparkly sprinkles from the spinning ball overhead. Behind her trailed a paunchy man of roughly her height. His eyes had locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl with leeches that weren’t there.
Rick James’s “Super Freak” ended. The silence in the cavernous L-shaped room was immediate and complete, but short-lived. A clamor of voices from the one-hundred- or-so guests resumed, their voices echoing off the bare walls and “Hey, Foxy Loxy,” the man mouthed at me. Or did he? Surely not. It was hard to tell with the lights playing tricks on my eyes.
The woman spoke past me. “You and your wife got any plans later?” Her bellow seemed to fill the room to its farthest corners, even with all the other voices. I winced and shrank under the eyes that shifted our way.
Not Jack, though. The horse rancher cum criminal attorney was nothing if not unflappable. His topaz eyes twinkled. “Emily’s not my wife.”
The man surged toward Jack. “You’re not together?”
“I’m his fiancée,” I said through my recently tightened braces and painfully rubber-banded teeth, leaving out “and he’s my boss.” I waved my big, fat teardrop-shaped diamond at him to accentuate my point, then I pinched Jack’s arm where my hand was looped through its crook. I’d capitulated to the mouth gear when my childhood orthodontist saw the gap between my front teeth and insisted I needed Invisalign then, filled my mouth with metal instead. Payback for never wearing my retainer, I guess.
The man and woman looked at each other and nodded. She asked, “Care to join us? We’ve got a room at a no-tell hotel nearby.”
Jack’s whole body shook and I didn’t dare look at him. I was a sucker for his laugh. In fact, I was a sucker for everything about him, from his lived-in boots to his permanent tan to his Apache cheekbones. Before either of us could think of an appropriate response, Phil interrupted.
“Millie, Pete, leave my poor friends alone.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me aside to clap his other onto Jack’s. “They’re not swingers. And this isn’t a swingers social. I’m out of the business.”
The space between Millie’s eyebrows narrowed and puckered as drops of
light rained down on her face. “It’s a free country, ain’t it?”
Grab your Copy @amazon.com | amazon.in | amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes overly long emails, best-selling, award-winning mysteries (WINNER USA Best Book Award, Fiction: Cross Genre, Finalist) and hilarious nonfiction. The Houston Press named her as one of Houston's Top 10 Authors (2014).
She is a recovering attorney and investigator who resides deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and in the frozen north of Wyoming. Pamela has a passion for great writing and smart authorpreneurship as well as long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs, traveling in the Bookmobile, and her Keurig. Visit her at http://pamelafaganhutchins.com or drop her a note pamela at pamelahutchins dot com.
And if you would like her to visit your book club, women’s group, writer’s group, or library, all you have to do is ask.
Stalk Her @
Follow us # +Pinterest
Win Another Book of Pamela Fagan Hutchins
USA Bestseller Author of Cross Genre
Win a copy of Earth To Emily by taking part in this Rafflecopter
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This Tour is Hosted by
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At the core of what I do, I write what I write because it is what I want to write and what I want to read. (That’s a mouthful, isn’t it???) But the challenge is that readers will pick up my book for their own reasons. Maybe a romance reader chooses it because of the romantic elements. But those readers expect a romance. I don’t write true romances, although you could say that each protagonists’ three-book story arc comprises one romance. Other readers like the magical realism and spirituality in my books, but I don’t write ghost stories or magical realism. Other readers like the mystery or legal thriller aspects, yet I don’t write police procedurals, legal thrillers, spy thrillers, or even romantic suspense. So the challenge is balancing the expectations of readers and giving them an experience that is so fantastic that they will suspend the rules of the genre they usually read to enjoy my character’s journey. At the same time, as an author I have this inner muse that demands a particular story, and once that horse is out of the barn, it’s dang hard to put it back in. I love it and I hate it. It’s hard to do. But I couldn’t do it any other way
2) What's your favourite genre to write and read?
I like books with wonderful description, complex and authentic characters, suspenseful plots that don’t violate our reality, a fast pace that takes me away from my every-day life, and don’t rely on shock value. Beyond that, I’ll read anything. I’ve been coaching two literary fiction writers. It’s not my go-to type of book, but I love their work. If you held a gun to my head and said YOU CAN ONLY PICK ONE, it would be romantic mysteries. :-)
3) If you had to sum up life as an author in 5 words, which words would you choose?
Brain overloaded, wearing pajamas, reality-averse
4) Do you have any writing rituals?
For the book I’m writing now, What Doesn’t Kill You #8, I put on a white linen gown that belonged to the woman whose life inspired the story. It helps me capture the mood. It gets washed a lot. I hope there’s something left of it when I finish the book.
5) I caught something on Goodreads about you 'traveling in a Bookmobile'. Care to tell us about that?
Yes! We have an RV with my book covers plastered all over it. In the summers, we travel around the continental US in it and visit bookstores, libraries, book clubs, and anywhere readers gather and have an interest in my presence. I think this summer we’re even heading north into Canada for a week or two. It’s tons of fun.
Spotlight on "Hell to Pay"
Hell To Payby Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Blurb
USA Best Book Award-Winning Series, Cross Genre Fiction.Third book in the Emily series, a spin-off from Katie & Annalise.
Big-haired paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily thinks she’s got her life back on track. Her adoption of Betsy seems like a done deal, her parents have reunited, and she’s engaged to her sexy boss Jack. Then client Phil Escalante’s childhood buddy Dennis drops dead, face first into a penis cake at the adult novelty store Phil owns with his fiancée Nadine, one of Emily’s best friends. The cops charge Phil with murder right on the heels of his acquittal in a trail for burglarizing the Mighty is His Word church offices. Emily’s nemesis ADA Melinda Stafford claims her witness overheard Phil fighting with Dennis over a woman, right about the time Phil falls into a diabetic coma, leaving Nadine shaken and terrified. Meanwhile Betsy’s ultra-religious foster parents apply to adopt her and Jack starts acting weird and evasive. Emily feels like a calf out of a chute, pulled between the ropes of the header and the heeler, as she fights to help Phil and Nadine without losing Betsy and Jack.
She says her first book came out in 2012 and that her latest, Hell to Pay, is the seventh book in the series. The books all have ties to Texas, with “an interrelated cast of kick-ass female protagonists.” She says the novel's heroine (“a former rodeo queen turned paralegal”) returns to her home town in west Texas and discovers an extremist cult has set up shop and is terrorizing the local townsfolk.- As told to Houston Press.
Read a Teaser
Chapter One Excerpt
Disco lights whirled around me, or was it the room? My inner party animal had atrophied, not that I’d ever been a real heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the fantastic people-watching—and the fact that this was the celebration party for the burglary acquittal of our firm’s client Phil Escalante the day before, and his engagement to Nadine, one of my best friends in Amarillo—I've bagged this shindig. Instead, there I was with tendrils of fake smoke floating past my face, ten
feet from a DJ dressed in a black latex fetish costume and spiked dog collar and A tall woman maybe ten years older than me appeared out of the low lights and sidled up to me, engulfing me in the odor of cigarettes. Her vanilla hair sported a generous dollop of dark chocolate roots, which was pretty funny to me since she had a body shaped like a cone. A waffle cone. A waffle cone with sparkly sprinkles from the spinning ball overhead. Behind her trailed a paunchy man of roughly her height. His eyes had locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl with leeches that weren’t there.
Rick James’s “Super Freak” ended. The silence in the cavernous L-shaped room was immediate and complete, but short-lived. A clamor of voices from the one-hundred- or-so guests resumed, their voices echoing off the bare walls and “Hey, Foxy Loxy,” the man mouthed at me. Or did he? Surely not. It was hard to tell with the lights playing tricks on my eyes.
The woman spoke past me. “You and your wife got any plans later?” Her bellow seemed to fill the room to its farthest corners, even with all the other voices. I winced and shrank under the eyes that shifted our way.
Not Jack, though. The horse rancher cum criminal attorney was nothing if not unflappable. His topaz eyes twinkled. “Emily’s not my wife.”
The man surged toward Jack. “You’re not together?”
“I’m his fiancée,” I said through my recently tightened braces and painfully rubber-banded teeth, leaving out “and he’s my boss.” I waved my big, fat teardrop-shaped diamond at him to accentuate my point, then I pinched Jack’s arm where my hand was looped through its crook. I’d capitulated to the mouth gear when my childhood orthodontist saw the gap between my front teeth and insisted I needed Invisalign then, filled my mouth with metal instead. Payback for never wearing my retainer, I guess.
The man and woman looked at each other and nodded. She asked, “Care to join us? We’ve got a room at a no-tell hotel nearby.”
Jack’s whole body shook and I didn’t dare look at him. I was a sucker for his laugh. In fact, I was a sucker for everything about him, from his lived-in boots to his permanent tan to his Apache cheekbones. Before either of us could think of an appropriate response, Phil interrupted.
“Millie, Pete, leave my poor friends alone.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me aside to clap his other onto Jack’s. “They’re not swingers. And this isn’t a swingers social. I’m out of the business.”
The space between Millie’s eyebrows narrowed and puckered as drops of
light rained down on her face. “It’s a free country, ain’t it?”
Grab your Copy @amazon.com | amazon.in | amazon.co.uk | Barnes and Noble
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes overly long emails, best-selling, award-winning mysteries (WINNER USA Best Book Award, Fiction: Cross Genre, Finalist) and hilarious nonfiction. The Houston Press named her as one of Houston's Top 10 Authors (2014).
She is a recovering attorney and investigator who resides deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and in the frozen north of Wyoming. Pamela has a passion for great writing and smart authorpreneurship as well as long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs, traveling in the Bookmobile, and her Keurig. Visit her at http://pamelafaganhutchins.com or drop her a note pamela at pamelahutchins dot com.
And if you would like her to visit your book club, women’s group, writer’s group, or library, all you have to do is ask.
Stalk Her @
Follow us # +Pinterest
Win Another Book of Pamela Fagan Hutchins
USA Bestseller Author of Cross Genre
Win a copy of Earth To Emily by taking part in this Rafflecopter
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This Tour is Hosted by
.png)
Facebook | Website | Blog Tours | Twitter | | Linkedin
We Promote So That You Can Write
');
May 17, 2016
Featured - Book Club Spotlight for "My Last Love Story" by Falguni Kothari
My Last Love Story
by
Falguni Kothari
Blurb
Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes’s, Me Before You, My Last Love Story is a heartbreaking and poignant tale about the complexities of trauma and whether love can right a wrong.
***
I, Simeen Desai, am tired of making lemonade with the lemons life has handed me.
Love is meant to heal wounds.
Love was meant to make my world sparkle and spin.
Love has ripped my life apart and shattered my soul.
I love my husband, and he loves me.
But Nirvaan is dying.
I love my husband. I want to make him happy.
But he is asking for the impossible.
I don’t want a baby.
I don’t want to make nice with Zayaan.
I don’t want another chance at another love story.
Grab your Copy @amazon.com | amazon.in|amazon.co.uk or grab this book free at #KindleUnlimited
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Falguni Kothari is a New York-based hybrid author, and an amateur Latin and Ballroom dance silver medalist with a semi-professional background in Indian Classical dance. She writes in a variety of genres sewn together by the colorful and cultural threads of her South Asian heritage and expat experiences. When not writing or dancing, she fools around on all manner of social media and loves to connect with readers.
My Last Love Story is her fourth novel.
Stalk her @
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May 16, 2016
Featured - Cover Reveal for "All that the Heart Desires" by June Moonbridge
About the Book
Title of Book:
All That the Heart Desire
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: end of June 2016
At twenty-five, Desire Hart has experienced enough grief for a lifetime.
Changing everything in her life - her identity, her hometown and her country of residence, Desire is determined that nothing will prevent her achieving from finding her missing son. Not even love.
On a spring evening, she meets the golden boy of F1 racing, Lorcan Shore, and finds herself falling for him. Struggling to suppress her feelings, she realises he could help her get closer to the child she believes is her long lost son.
But nothing goes according to plan. Her identity is revealed by the press, Lorcan has a terrifying accident, and the trail to her son finishes in another dead end. So Desire does what she does best - she runs away.
Set against the glamorous backdrops of Monaco, Paris and Nice, ‘All That the Heart Desires’ mixes romance and mystery as Desire struggles to come to terms with her past.
Will she allow herself to accept love into her life again?
About the AuthorJune was born in June and she always loved the moon. She comes from Slovenia, a country which got its independence almost three decades ago.She studied economics, and quickly realised she hated it. Afterwards, she found herself working in a mainly male-dominated business; at first in automotive and later steel products. She can choose the best steel for your project, but don't, please don't, ask her which lipstick brand you should use.
She started to write in high school and was criticised by her teacher. Stubborn as she is, that didn't stop her. Under different pen names, she had stories published in magazines, and then went on to publish three books.
After having two children, and learning that her second child has autism, she married their father and carried on working. Work and family life left her with little free time. But the desire to write didn't die. When life somehow sorted itself out, she decided to write a novel in English and her first submissions were rejected…
For what happened then, re-read the third paragraph, second sentence above...
https://www.facebook.com/JMoonbridge
www.junemoonbridge.com
https://twitter.com/JMoonbridge
https://si.linkedin.com/in/jmoonbridge
Giveawaya Rafflecopter giveaway
May 15, 2016
Featured - Book Club Spotlight for "Hell to Pay" by Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Hell To Payby Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Blurb
USA Best Book Award-Winning Series, Cross Genre Fiction.Third book in the Emily series, a spin-off from Katie & Annalise.
Big-haired paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily thinks she’s got her life back on track. Her adoption of Betsy seems like a done deal, her parents have reunited, and she’s engaged to her sexy boss Jack. Then client Phil Escalante’s childhood buddy Dennis drops dead, face first into a penis cake at the adult novelty store Phil owns with his fiancée Nadine, one of Emily’s best friends. The cops charge Phil with murder right on the heels of his acquittal in a trail for burglarizing the Mighty is His Word church offices. Emily’s nemesis ADA Melinda Stafford claims her witness overheard Phil fighting with Dennis over a woman, right about the time Phil falls into a diabetic coma, leaving Nadine shaken and terrified. Meanwhile Betsy’s ultra-religious foster parents apply to adopt her and Jack starts acting weird and evasive. Emily feels like a calf out of a chute, pulled between the ropes of the header and the heeler, as she fights to help Phil and Nadine without losing Betsy and Jack.
She says her first book came out in 2012 and that her latest, Hell to Pay, is the seventh book in the series. The books all have ties to Texas, with “an interrelated cast of kick-ass female protagonists.” She says the novel's heroine (“a former rodeo queen turned paralegal”) returns to her home town in west Texas and discovers an extremist cult has set up shop and is terrorizing the local townsfolk.- As told to Houston Press.
Read a Teaser
Chapter One Excerpt
Disco lights whirled around me, or was it the room? My inner party animal had atrophied, not that I’d ever been a real heavyweight. If it wasn’t for the fantastic people-watching—and the fact that this was the celebration party for the burglary acquittal of our firm’s client Phil Escalante the day before, and his engagement to Nadine, one of my best friends in Amarillo—I've bagged this shindig. Instead, there I was with tendrils of fake smoke floating past my face, ten
feet from a DJ dressed in a black latex fetish costume and spiked dog collar and A tall woman maybe ten years older than me appeared out of the low lights and sidled up to me, engulfing me in the odor of cigarettes. Her vanilla hair sported a generous dollop of dark chocolate roots, which was pretty funny to me since she had a body shaped like a cone. A waffle cone. A waffle cone with sparkly sprinkles from the spinning ball overhead. Behind her trailed a paunchy man of roughly her height. His eyes had locked on me in a way that made my skin crawl with leeches that weren’t there.
Rick James’s “Super Freak” ended. The silence in the cavernous L-shaped room was immediate and complete, but short-lived. A clamor of voices from the one-hundred- or-so guests resumed, their voices echoing off the bare walls and “Hey, Foxy Loxy,” the man mouthed at me. Or did he? Surely not. It was hard to tell with the lights playing tricks on my eyes.
The woman spoke past me. “You and your wife got any plans later?” Her bellow seemed to fill the room to its farthest corners, even with all the other voices. I winced and shrank under the eyes that shifted our way.
Not Jack, though. The horse rancher cum criminal attorney was nothing if not unflappable. His topaz eyes twinkled. “Emily’s not my wife.”
The man surged toward Jack. “You’re not together?”
“I’m his fiancée,” I said through my recently tightened braces and painfully rubber-banded teeth, leaving out “and he’s my boss.” I waved my big, fat teardrop-shaped diamond at him to accentuate my point, then I pinched Jack’s arm where my hand was looped through its crook. I’d capitulated to the mouth gear when my childhood orthodontist saw the gap between my front teeth and insisted I needed Invisalign then, filled my mouth with metal instead. Payback for never wearing my retainer, I guess.
The man and woman looked at each other and nodded. She asked, “Care to join us? We’ve got a room at a no-tell hotel nearby.”
Jack’s whole body shook and I didn’t dare look at him. I was a sucker for his laugh. In fact, I was a sucker for everything about him, from his lived-in boots to his permanent tan to his Apache cheekbones. Before either of us could think of an appropriate response, Phil interrupted.
“Millie, Pete, leave my poor friends alone.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me aside to clap his other onto Jack’s. “They’re not swingers. And this isn’t a swingers social. I’m out of the business.”
The space between Millie’s eyebrows narrowed and puckered as drops of
light rained down on her face. “It’s a free country, ain’t it?”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes overly long emails, best-selling, award-winning mysteries (WINNER USA Best Book Award, Fiction: Cross Genre, Finalist) and hilarious nonfiction. The Houston Press named her as one of Houston's Top 10 Authors (2014).
She is a recovering attorney and investigator who resides deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and in the frozen north of Wyoming. Pamela has a passion for great writing and smart authorpreneurship as well as long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs, traveling in the Bookmobile, and her Keurig. Visit her at http://pamelafaganhutchins.com or drop her a note pamela at pamelahutchins dot com.
And if you would like her to visit your book club, women’s group, writer’s group, or library, all you have to do is ask.
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May 13, 2016
Review of "An Autograph for Anjali" by Sundari Venkatraman
The author offered me an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and am I ever glad that I got this chance! This is another winner from Sundari Venkatraman, though I have to admit I still consider her previous book “The Madras Affair” my favourite (read review here).
The story starts with a bang – almost literally, as there’s a murder to be discovered and discussed. What follows didn’t read at all like the romance novels I was used to by the author for a while, but it did capture my attention and hooked me. Keeping in mind that this is a stab at romantic suspense, I found the beginning almost perfect in hindsight (yes, I read it again after I had finished the book, just to see it all in a different light). The author set up the stage, introduced the main characters and threw in the tiniest inkling of the romance to come, like a bee buzzing against a window. And that window was thrown wide open when I entered a sort of flashback and finally found out more about Anjali and Parth.
Speaking of the main characters – the couple and another ‘couple’ – I am full of praise. Being an author myself, I love reading about authors, and Parth was no disappointment. His mix of intelligence, insistence, to-die-for looks and calm confidence really drew me in. As for Anjali, she reminded me a little of the heroine of “The Madras Affair”, Sangeeta, like a duckling (not ugly) just waiting to burst forth into a glorious swan. Her strength, intelligence and determination were always palpable, yet in a more subdued way. And I loved her attitude and behaviour towards her son Arjun and her husband Jayant.
As for Arjun, he was like a refreshing breeze throughout the book. Fanning the flames when needed, becoming a whirlwind at some times, cooling down and soothing at other times. I’d love to learn more about him and his Jane, hinted at in the story. Jayant, his father by blood but by not much else, was just the right antagonist. I loved hating him, though at times I have to say I couldn’t even hate him. He struck me as a cliché personified, as a canvas for portraying all that’s wrong with society.
The story was fast-paced, brisk and to the point, lingering just at the right moments while only scratching the surface at other moments. I’d have loved to learn more about the Anjali of the past and about the marriage leading to this ‘culmination’, and I’d have loved it even more to learn more about Parth because he’s so full of potential. As for the murderer… I guessed correctly. I dare you to do so too!
Rating: 4/5
May 12, 2016
Review of "Dangle" by Sutapa Basu
If there was ever a book with a perfect title, then it is this one…
I had a certain inkling about the first ‘hero’ to show up in the story, then thought I had my light-bulb moment, only to be left…dangling. It happened again. And again. Amar. Akash. Adi. All names with A, all standing for something, all appearing when… Woops, I don’t want to give anything away, I’ll just be a clever tease like the author and leave you—yes, dangling.
I fell in love with “Dangle” by Sutapa Basu for two reasons. Reason 1 is the story itself. I loved reading about the heroine Ips (I love that name, I associate it with “if” in a way, which fits) finding her inner strength, fighting the demons of her past, embarking on a quest of she knows not what and ending up with one thing first and foremost: love. For herself, for the broken girl she was, for the determined woman she is, for those around her and those inside her. The setting added to the allure, and let’s not forget the thrill of action and suspense throughout. I swear my heart jumped right out of my chest several times. Oh, and let me mention that the first chapter was one of the best I have ever read. Looking back now, I’m even more impressed and taken in by it than I was when I started reading the book.
Reason 2 is the author’s style. At times lyrical, philosophical and poetical, at other times lucid and lush, modern and emotionally evocative, it fits the story’s themes to a T. Not a word seemed out of place or too much. Some lines stuck with me. I fell for the poetry included among the prose too, feeling faint echoes of old Hindi songs and great poets like Tagore well up to shimmer in the air and weave a net of an almost nostalgic magic around the protagonists despite the decidedly contemporary set-up. Here’s a short excerpt that captures what I’m struggling to put into words:
“The lilt of a flute fills the half shadows. Emerald green silk unfurls to lavender hills. Mist gives way to a golden spectacle. Thickly embroidered into flowing waters are hundreds of lotuses. Sunlight dazzles on ruby, sapphire, turquoise and amethyst that reluctantly open their layers to reveal honeyed hearts. The humming of multitudes of bees reverberates in the room. Intoxicated by the sun-drenched perfume of blossoms, they weave in and out of the pattern. Sheer colours daze the senses. Drumbeats intrude softly, only to rise to a crescendo.
Another shape enters the frame. Hazy at first, the outlines darken gradually. It is an empty square etched in bold strokes holding within it diagonally a metallic piece curved to the bent of an index finger. The picture zooms out. The shape takes definition. It is the trigger of a snub-nosed AK-47. The drums fall silent.”
I had already read some books edited and / or coauthored by Sutapa Basu (and from Readomania), but I have to say this gem of hers is my favourite. Do yourself a favour and read it, you won’t just dangle but fall for its charms hook, line and sinker.
Rating: 5/5
Featured - Release Day Blitz for "Corsets and Cuffs" by Shanna Hatfield
Corsets and Cuffs by Shanna Hatfield Series: Baker City Brides, #3Genre: Sweet Historical Western RomanceRelease Date: May 12, 2016
Sheriff Tully Barrett never knew trouble had such a pretty face. Brianna Dumont never knew the law could be so handsome and hardheaded.
Pampered and privileged, Brianna Dumont escapes the life she’s always known in an effort to clear her father’s good name. She arrives in Baker City, Oregon, intent on selling her father’s shares in a mine. Only the mine is a bust, her father’s partner is a crusty ol’ coot who hates women, and the sheriff in town is determined to keep her behind bars.
With good friends around him, a small ranch of his own, and a fulfilling job as sheriff, Tully Barrett loves his life. Then an exasperating woman shows up, making demands and driving him crazy. No matter how hard he tries to ignore her brains and beauty, she works her way under his skin.
Corsets and Cuffs captures the fun-loving banter of two strong-willed characters determined not to fall in love in this sweet historical romance.
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Her jaw dropped open as she gaped at him. “This is ridiculous. Remove these cuffs and release me, this instant.”
“Not happening, your highness.” He swung open the door to the jail and escorted her through the office back to the cells. No one else was in the building, something for which Brianna was grateful. Mortified to be manhandled on the way to the jail, she certainly didn’t need any spectators to her unexpected imprisonment.
Tully marched her into a cell then removed the cuffs. A smile played around the corners of his mouth as he slammed the door and turned a key in the lock. “You’re under arrest.”
Furious, she spluttered in protest. “For what? I have done nothing more than demand you carry out the responsibilities of the job the good citizens of this town entrusted into your care. You have no right…”
Tully took a step back as she grabbed hold of the cell bars and rattled them.
He smirked. “You are under arrest for assaulting an officer of the law.”
Defiant and insulted, she lifted her chin. “You deserved the slap after that impudent comment.”
Tully ignored her and continued. “You’re under arrest for assaulting an officer, being a public nuisance, harassment, and disorderly conduct.”
Incensed, she rattled the bars again. “I did no such thing, and you know it. This is an outrage. You, sir, are a bully and a beast! I demand an immediate release. Wait until your superiors hear about this. I’ll have you removed from your position. In fact, I won’t stop until the governor of this state has you tossed in prison!”
“Good luck with that, sweetheart.” Tully stalked over to the door, leading to the jail’s office, his gaze hard and penetrating. “Your time might be better spent reflecting on how you ended up in here, Miss Smarty Pants.”
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USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, this hopeless romantic is out to make it happen, one story at a time. When she isn’t writing or indulging in chocolate (dark and decadent, please), Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
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