Devika Fernando's Blog, page 51

Featured - 5-Day Blog Tour for the "Second Chance Cafe" Anthology - Day 1

​Second Chance Café
Four Stories of Love and Coffee, and Second Chances
 
What do you get when you put four authors together around a café table, give them one idea and carte blanche to write whatever they want?
 
After a successful and pleasurable collaboration (with Eva Scott) in 2014, the desire to repeat the fun led to the decision to create a second anthology for 2015. What better way to celebrate our writing successes than through another Christmas offering?
 
The place:     Reef Point Café, Redcliffe http://reefpointcafe.com.au/
The writers:   Noelle Clark, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Abbie Jackson, and Susanne Bellamy (in absentia with a migraine)
The idea:       Second chances
The setting:   A café
 
What is fascinating is how differently these four authors interpreted the simple guidelines. The choice of cafés ranges from a nineteenth century coffee house, an off-off-Broadway theatre café, a hospital café, and a café in a park.
 
Second chances occur in all areas of life and while two writers chose to explore relationships focused on love, Abbie Jackson looks at life and the big ‘C’ while Susanne Bellamy’s love of dogs created the animal rescue centre in need of funds to give more animals, great and small, a second chance.
 
Check out the blurbs here today. Over the next four posts, we’ll introduce you to the individual authors and some extracts from the four shorts. 
​
​ The Wish List – Susanne Bellamy :
Julie Aster has worked hard to make the animal shelter a success but money is short. Then the sexy Jack Schulz sweeps into her life with an answer to all her problems.
But when a client lets out a secret about Jack, she wonders if she really knows him.
 
Can she trust this man who seems to have all the answers... and more to the point, can she trust her heart?
 
Encore – Noelle Clark :
Louisa Frank is a creature of habit, borne of years of discipline.
She lives with one foot in the glorious past, the other in the mundane and lonely present. If it wasn’t for Alfie Baretto she might have been forgotten, lost in a sea of successful young starlets.
In the narrow streets of Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, in a small but atmospheric diner called Café Cleo, Alfie ensures the Broadway star—Louisa Frank—will forever be fêted by theatre-goers, and remembered for her amazing performances.
But the years have passed slowly for Louisa. Will the endless quest for a return to the glory years ever end?
 
September Harvest – Elizabeth Ellen Carter :
Seasonal crop picker Andrew is still a boy himself when he introduces 12 year old Tilly to reading. Instantly besotted both with Andrew and with books, Tilly eagerly awaits his return to her village over the course of 7 summers. Childish adoration is now a young woman’s love but has she misread his feelings for her over the years?
 
Shannon’s Legacy – Abbie Jackson :
Shannon's cancer has spread and she is running out of time.  Fast! She is determined to find a miracle for her death sentence, but what she discovers along the way may be just the second chance she needed.
Her husband, Matt wants to enjoy her remaining time as a family, not in a hospital, and Shannon must also prepare her young son for a future without her. Will Shannon's determination be enough?
 
 
Second Chance Café buy links:
 
iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/second-chance-cafe/id1055312419?mt=11
Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/second-chance-cafe-susanne-bellamy/1122908100?ean=2940152444353
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/588802
Amazon - 
 
 
Second Chance Café – may I take your order? 

Book Club Book Blitz - SOUL WARRIOR by Falguni Kothari

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Cover Reveal:SOUL WARRIOR - THE AGE OF KALI 
Book One
BY FALGUNI KOTHARI
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Blurb 

Twisted myths. Discretion advised.
Fight fate, or succumb to destiny?
In the dark Age of Kali, the Soul Warrior alone stands guard over the Human Realm, protecting its denizens from evil-willed asuras or demons. When a trick of fate appoints him guru to a motley crew of godlings, he agrees to train them as demon hunters against his better judgment. Suddenly, Lord Karna is not only battling the usual asuras with sinister agendas, but also rebellious students and a fault-ridden past.
Spanning the cosmic realms of mythic India, here is a tale of a band of supernatural warriors who come together over a singular purpose: the salvation of Karna’s secret child.

AUTHOR'S NOTE  TO LOVERS OF MYTHOLOGY....
WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH SOUL WARRIOR?
When you grow up in India, you are engulfed in tales of good and evil, gods and demons, karma and reincarnation on a daily basis. India’s myths are as much part of day-to-day life as is bathing. So I wondered if heaven and hell actually exists what would they look like? What are the good or bad souls doing in this Heaven and Hell? Are the souls in Heaven any happier being stuck there than the souls repenting in Hell? Do they want to come back to Earth as humans?

These questions were the basis of Soul Warrior’s mythos, as was Vedic India and the Mahabharata. India has such a rich offering of grand stories, and its people have a thirst to read them. I want to tell these stories, but in my way. I didn’t want to simply retell the popular tales. I wanted to reimagine them. Go beyond the known myths into the realm of pure fantasy.


Excerpt


SHUNYA: NOTHING AND EVERYTHING
Kuru Kshetra Battlefield.
Day 17 of the Great Kuru War, seven thousand five hundred years ago.Death is hot.That surprises me. I’d imagined death as cold and brutal. Merciless. But in truth, death is hot as blood, and constant like a heartbeat.Thrum. Thrum. Thrum. My lifeblood ebbs to the rhythm. My head ripped from its torso by Anjalika, the arrow of death that burns even now with the energy of the sun. Struck from behind like some novice. Felled in battle by that lily-livered usurper the Heavens smile upon—Prince Arjun. Brother Arjun.What have I done?I harness the thought. Cease all reflection and wrench free of my mortal body. I soar up, up into the gloaming, snapping the ties that tether me to life. Dead, I have no use for ties.“A matter of perspective, Karna, O son of my godsire.” The unearthly words strum through the air, and I quiver like a plucked bowstring, overcome as much by the voice as its blasphemous claim. “Bonds of devotion nourish the soul, brother.”There is that word again. Brother. Unpleasant laughter wells up in me. Alive, I am abandoned, denied my birthright—Celestial or royal. Death, it seems, changes everything.A bright, nebulous light brings forth Lord Yama, the God of Death, atop his divine mount. His elephantine thighs ripple beneath a silken dhoti, ochre and crimson of color, as he guides the mammoth water buffalo to a halt. An iron medallion sways against the God’s powerful cerulean torso, its center stone an ethereal blood orange.Hypnotic. Pulsing with life. I am drawn to the stone.“Piteous waste,” Lord Yama mutters, surveying the carnage of war far below us.I trace the trajectory of his gaze and behold the battered remains of my army drenched in the evidence of its mortality. Is it true? Have we died in vain?Words form inside me and I will them out. “Shall we go, my lord?”“Ha! Impatient to be judged, are you? Anxious to have your fate revealed?” asks the Judge of the Hell Realm. His red-black eyes burn with intelligence and compassion in a blue-tinged face that is long and lean and hard. “Rest easy, brother-warrior. You are not bound for the Great Courtroom.”Not bound for Hell? Where then? Fear has eluded me for so long that I take a moment to recognize it. A hollow-bellied feeling it is, as annoying as a bone stuck in my throat.“My lord, I have done bad deeds…terrible deeds in my life. I have waged wars, this horrendous bloodshed, and all because my pride could not—would not abide rejection. I have sinned. I must atone for my actions.”Lord Yama smiles in a way I do not like. “You have redeemed yourself admirably, Karna. You forfeited your life for the greater good today. The deed far outweighs any misguided ones. Be at peace, brother, and enjoy the fruits of your karma.”There is but one place to enjoy such fruits—the Higher Worlds.I’d rather burn in Hell for eternity. I say so. “I won’t live amongst the Celestials.” Coexisting with the very souls who’ve spurned me is unthinkable. Watching her—for she would surely reside in Heaven soon—will be eternal torture.Yama shakes his head, the horns on his crown slashing to and fro. “I thought you might say that. Relax. Your destiny lies elsewhere.”“Am I to be reborn then? Am I to begin a new life, and forget the past?” Pain, sharp as a blade, lances through me at the thought. Forget my past? My family? Even her? Was that my punishment? To forget all that made me human?It must be so. For have I not betrayed them as surely as I’ve betrayed my prince regent?“Human rebirth is not your destiny, either. You are chosen, brother. Your war skills are needed for a higher purpose.” The God slips off his mount, his garments rustling in agitation. “This unjust war has pushed the Cosmos to the vortex of a cataclysm. Tomorrow, the Kuru War will end. Fearing its outcome, the Celestials rolled the Die of Fate and have unwittingly bestowed on Demon Kali untold powers.” Lord Yama bares his fangs in disgust at the foolish gamble. “Imagine the havoc that asura and his minions will wreak on the weak if left unchecked. The Human Realm must be safeguarded during Kali’s dark reign.”I can imagine the horror only too well as I have battled with evil all my life. But I am done with wars. I am done with defeat. I won’t waste another lifetime fighting.“With due respect, my lord, I am not the man for this task.”“You are not a man at all,” Yama thunders, fists shaking. “You are the son of Surya, the Sun God. Accept that you are no ordinary soul.”I say nothing. I think nothing. I feel something but I squash it down.Lord Yama’s thick black brows draw together. “Demon Kali will try to pervade every particle of good that exists in the Cosmos, beginning with the corruptible Human Realm. Once he obliterates all of humanity, he’ll set his sights on the Celestials. Kali will not stop until he’s destroyed our way of life. But you can stop him. You are light to his darkness. Do you understand now why you had to betray him? Your beloved humans need you, Karna. I need you. Our father believes in you. Claim your rightful place in the Cosmos.”Impatiently, Lord Yama removes the iron medallion from his neck and holds it out. The vermillion sunstone glows as if its soul is on fire. Nay! It is my soul that is on fire.Indescribable energy curls through me. I gasp, though not in pain. I shudder and feel myself grow large, grow hot. Was this rebirth?I am strong, full-bodied and lethal once more. Then I roar as light bursts forth from my very core and I throb with glorious, blinding power. When I come to myself, my world has changed again. Bubbles of color shimmer all around me: cobalt and saffron, azure and rose. By karma! They are souls. Infinite floating souls.“Behold the spectrum of life: the worthy, the notorious, the righteous and the sinners.” The God of Death’s soul was a worthy sapphire blue with a tinge of silver. “Your duty, should you choose to accept the office of the Soul Warrior, is to hunt down the red-souled asuras and crush them. Whatever you decide, I wish you a long and successful Celestial existence, Karna,” Yama booms out and vanishes into the purpling sky.The parley has stunned me. The world of color holds me in thrall. I was dead. Yet, now I am not. A new path lies before me. Unwanted, unwelcome, I insist on principle. I close my eyes. Open them to stare at the medallion cupped in my hand—a golden-hued hand at once familiar and not—and know myself for a fool. I do want this. It’s what I am.Bastard-born. Rebel. Son. Husband. Father. Warlord. And protector. I fist the talisman, buoyed by its concrete warmth. This is who I am.I am the Soul Warrior.
Grab Your Copies Here 
KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/soul-warrior-1
iBOOKS: http://apple.co/1N1uKbE
AMAZON US: http://amzn.to/1O9ZQRJ
AMAZON UK: http://amzn.to/1RvEBbkAMAZON CANADA: http://amzn.to/1OnG2sr
AMAZON INDIA: http://amzn.to/1ZgadqDKOBO:
Meet the Author
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Falguni Kothari is a New York-based South Asian author and an amateur Latin and Ballroom dance silver medalist with a semi-professional background in Indian Classical dance. She’s published in India in contemporary romance with global e-book availability; Bootie and the Beast (Harlequin Mills and Boon) andIt’s Your Move, Wordfreak! (Rupa & Co.), and launches a mythic fantasy series with Soul Warrior (The Age of Kali, #1)

Stalk Falguni Kothari @

Website : www.falgunikothari.comTwitter : https://twitter.com/F2tweetFB www.facebook.com/falgunikothari.authorBlog www.falgunikothari.blogspot.com Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/falgunikothariPinterest: www.pinterest.com/falgunikothari

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Featured - Double Release Blitz: The Christmas Vow & Capturing Christmas

Welcome to the 2nd annual
Release Blitz and Blog Tour!
Raising funds and awareness for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund

Ring in the Holidays with a Helping Hand

November 1 through December 24, ten percent of the net proceeds from all Shanna Hatfield book sales will be donated to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. The JCCF is a non-profit organization that assists rodeo athletes who’ve sustained catastrophic injuries and are unable to work for an extended period. Every book purchased during this promotional period adds to the donation total. Don’t forget to add books to your Christmas lists!



The Christmas VowGenre: Historical Romance (Sweet)
Series: Hardman Holidays, #4
He returns home to bury his best friend and his past, never expecting to fall in love with the woman who destroyed his heart.

Columbia River Pilot Adam Guthry reluctantly returns to his hometown of Hardman, Oregon, to pay his last respects after the sudden death of his life-long best friend. Emotions he can’t contain bubble to the surface the moment he sees the girl who shattered his heart eleven years ago.

Widow Tia Devereux escapes her restrictive life in Portland, returning to the home she knew and loved as a girl in Hardman. She and her four-year-old son, Toby, settle into the small Eastern Oregon community, eager for the holiday season. Unfortunately, the only man she’s ever loved shows up, stirring the embers of a long-dead romance into a blazing flame.

When her former father-in-law, a corrupt judge, decides he wants to raise Toby, Adam may be the only hope she has of keeping her son.

Goodreads
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU

Excerpt:

Tia stamped her foot in the snow and rattled the paper in her hand. “Oh! That horrid, horrid man wouldn’t know the meaning of the word honorable if it jumped up and bit him on his flabby hin…”

“Tia?”

The sound of a familiar voice drew her gaze to the end of the alley where Adam leaned on the shovel he’d used to move snow all morning.

A shuddering sigh escaped her chest and a tear rolled down her cheek. She turned away, hoping to spare Adam from witnessing her emotional turmoil, but not soon enough.

Furiously brushing at her tears, she inhaled a sharp breath of bracing air as Adam’s hand settled on her arm.

“Tia? Is something wrong?” He pushed the shovel into a pile of snow and reached out to steady her as she swayed.

She shook her head. “Everything’s fine.”

Derisively, Adam snorted. “And that’s why you’re hiding in the alley, ranting about someone’s flabby hind end? Because everything is fine?”
Capturing ChristmasGenre: Contemporary/Western Romance (Sweet)
Series:  Rodeo Romance, #3
Sometimes love arrives softly - But it storms in like the blizzard of the century for one hunky cowboy

Life is hectic on a good day for rodeo stock contractor Kash Kressley. Between dodging flying hooves and babying cranky bulls, he barely has time to sleep. The last thing Kash needs is the entanglement of a sweet romance, especially with a woman as full of fire and sass as Celia McGraw.

Confident and spirited rodeo photographer Celia McGraw is determined to capture the best images possible. Fearless, she’s the last person to back down from a challenge, even when it puts her in danger. However, her biggest risk isn’t found in the rodeo arena, but in the way her heart responds to one incredibly handsome stock contractor.

Will Kash and Celia capture the spirit of Christmas and each other’s hearts?

Goodreads
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA ~ Amazon AU

Excerpt:

Celia experienced the most unreasonable urge to run her fingers along the stubbly expanse of his cheeks, down his square jaw and over his strong chin. Mesmerized by his full bottom lip, she took a deep breath and nearly choked.

The very scent of him hinted at a lethal combination of freshly fallen snow, a warm winter fire, and sweet seduction rolled into one incredibly enticing package.
A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a bestselling author of sweet romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic 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.”



Join Shanna Hatfield's Street Team:Shanna Hatfield's Hopeless Romantics

Cowboys and Christmas Giveaway!To enter the drawing for an Amazon gift card, Wrangler Tote Bag, Rock & Roll Cowgirl T-shirt, autographed books, chocolates, and more fun goodies, fill out this form. Winners will be randomly drawn and announced Nov. 16.
http://tinyurl.com/cowboychristmasprizes2

Featured - SAVING CASEY by Liza O'Connor

The Maybach Landaulet
​ ​This $1.4 million dollar car for the mega rich only seats four, but the seats and atmosphere are pure class. If you purchase the convertible, you are protected from excessive wind (can’t have a social lady’s hair disturbed) and it provides far more protection if the vehicle rolls than most convertibles.
Here’s a youtube video: https://youtu.be/6BvMAhXN_Ow%
While there are sport cars more expensive, the Maybach Landaulet is no minor purchase, unless of course you belong to the 1%. Then it’s a rounding number and you can afford to buy the 8 million dollar Maybach sports car version as well.
Here’s the youtube for the Maybach Exelero sports car. https://youtu.be/V_YfX5RFFb8
Wonder why they cost so much? They are custom built for the client.
And here’s what happens when Cass is wheeled out and sees the ‘family car’.
Excerpt ​With an attendant pushing Cass’s wheelchair and her parents following like a funeral procession, they arrived before a white Maybach Landaulet parked outside the emergency exit. Cass had read an article in Forbes just last week declaring it the sixth most expensive car in the world. And if her memory recalled correctly, it cost nearly one and a half million dollars. Who the hell buys a million and a half dollar car? Surely, they can find some better use of their money.
Evidently, her parents were astronomically well off and didn’t have the sense God gave a pigeon on how to spend their wealth.
Her dad helped her into the back passenger seat, which, despite a great deal of leg room, only held two plush leather reclining chairs rather like a triple-first-class airplane would have.
Cass intended to hate the ridiculous chair, but when she sank into the soft leather, securing her in a gentle hug, she thought it the finest seating experience in her very long life.
If this was all a dream ride to heaven, then she’d save her scolding for God until they arrived. No one could be in a bad mood sitting in such comfort.
“Perhaps Casey can sit in the front with the driver,” her mother said.
Damn it! My first taste of excessive luxury and I get booted after thirty seconds.
“I’ll sit up front,” her father said. “Sit in the back with Casey.”
Her mother stared at him, then Cass, then the front section of the car with its black tinted windows. Finally, she motioned the driver to open the front door and disappeared from sight.
Hurrying around to the other side, her father climbed into the other back seat. He reached over and touched Cass’s arm, which floated on the center armrest. “You okay, kitten?”
A smile crossed her face. ‘Okay’ didn’t start to cover her pleasure. She hadn’t been evicted and remained luxuriating in a million dollar chair.
“Would you like the top down?”
She nodded and seconds later, the back half of the roof disappeared, allowing the sun to cheerfully beam down, while the sides continued to protect them from excessive wind.
Holy cow! This feels like all the best features of flying first class and a Caribbean beach resort in one.
As the car pulled away, creating the softest caressing breeze upon her sun-kissed face, she closed her eyes and decided God did exist, and He/She really liked her.
​ "Saving Casey" by Liza O'Connor Book 1 of the
Requires Rescue Series
Contemporary Suspense
​ BLURB
When 80 year old Cass Goldman learns she has inoperable cancer, she decides to end her life, peacefully on her terms. So imagine her horror when she wakes to find herself in a hospital with strange rich people staring at her. It’s not until the doctor arrives to examine her that she realizes she’s no longer old. She’s in the body of a seventeen year old teen named Casey.
Unfortunately, her new body comes with some serious baggage. First of all, the kid has burned every bridge imaginable. Secondly, those ‘people’ in her room are her outrageously rich parents and while the Dad seems friendly, the mother wants nothing to do with her. The moment they take her home to a horrifically huge mansion, which she dubs Tara, she’s abandoned to the care of the butler.
While Cass is determined to turn this train wreck of a life around, doing so is far harder than she expected. In fact, without help, she’ll end up dead just like the last occupant of this body. Thankfully, her dad has his hunky head of security become her body guard. Between her eighty years of life lessons and hunky Troy’s help, she just might live long enough not to be jail bait.
 
SALES LINK
AMAZON
​ About the Author Liza O’Connor is a nut.
Not a real nut, but she is prone to being a smart ass at times, and not surprisingly her heroines say odd and inappropriate things in her book, as well. So even in a suspense novel you can expect to laugh along the way. That’s because Liza loves to see humor in the crazy world around her.
Saving Casey was actually the first book Liza published. Having recently reclaimed her rights to the book, she is happily re-publishing it as her 18th book. And because her books sell better when in a series, she using Saving Casey to kick of a new series called Requires Rescue. It will be different from her other series where the same characters show up in each book. This series will be about strong women who are trying to go it alone, only when help is offered, they have the good sense to accept the helping hand, because in all of our lives, there will come a time you need someone else to help you. Being strong doesn’t make us invincible. Book 1 is Casey/Cass’s story. Book 2 will be about an entirely different young woman who desperately needs help before she’s murdered on the streets of NYC. Book 3, well the plot is super unique, and more books will follow.
You’ll be able to read the series in any order you want, but in each case, you’ll have a strong young woman, a guy stepping up to help when no one else does, and danger galore with humor stuffed in anywhere I can.
I hope you’ll come along with me so you can laugh, love, and get revenge.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT 
LIZA O'CONNOR
 
Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter
​

Featured - Release Blitz for "Our Now and Forever" by Terri Osburn

Our Now and Forever by Terri Osburn Series: Ardent Springs, #2Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Montlake RomanceRelease Date: November 10, 2015


When Caleb McGraw sweeps Snow Cameron off her feet, she never expects their whirlwind romance to lead to a Vegas wedding chapel. Before she can catch her breath, Caleb starts talking kids and college funds while his wealthy parents make their disapproval painfully clear. Convinced she was blinded by lust, not love, Snow takes off for Ardent Springs, Tennessee, two months into the marriage.

Heir to a media conglomerate, Caleb never experienced struggle or rejection, until Snow sends him on a wild hunt for his runaway bride. When he finally finds her—managing a curiosity shop beloved by the quirky locals—she agrees to give the marriage another chance, but on one condition: no sex for a month. Can their love stand the test, or will they give in to their attraction?

In this humorous and heartwarming Ardent Springs romance, two lost hearts start over in a town where everyone deserves a second chance and love always wins in the end.



“You’re a hard woman to find,” Caleb McGraw said with the soft drawl of a Louisiana native.

Snow Cameron looked up into the face she’d been avoiding for nearly eighteen months and swallowed hard. The moment of reckoning had come.
Glancing around to gauge their audience, Snow was relieved to see few customers present, and none of those even seemed to notice the handsome stranger in their midst. At least not yet. She evoked every ounce of control she had to remain calm, hoping the panic shooting up her spine didn’t show on her face.

Caleb McGraw, his jawline made for marble, and his eyes the shade of a clear blue sky, was the perfect combination of Greek god and good-ol’-boy. She’d like to say his eyes were the first thing she’d noticed when she’d almost tripped over him at a New Year’s Eve party nearly two years ago, but his shoulders had been the first draw. Perfect for holding onto during . . .
Sex is what got you into this mess, young lady. Do not go there.

“Well,” she said, “my name is over the door. What are you doing here?” she asked, which may have been the most idiotic question ever, but Snow couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Except maybe, How did you find me? Or, Why didn’t you love me?

Though Snow had spent endless hours contemplating exactly what she’d do were this unwelcome reunion to occur, she hadn’t expected both fear and joy to light through her system like lightning slicing through an ancient oak. The fear was no surprise, but the joy was so unexpected she was forced to grip the edges of the cash register on the counter in front of her to keep her balance. Thankful to have the counter between them, she waited for his answer with growing dread.

Crossing his arms, Caleb smirked. “I’d think that was obvious.”

Snow studied his face, struggling to read his thoughts. Neither anger nor pleasure shown in his features. Though he loomed above her—six feet three inches of solid muscle, as she knew all too well—his stance didn’t feel threatening. If she’d spent as much time learning his mind as she’d devoted to studying his body, maybe interpreting his expression wouldn’t be so difficult.

With shaking fingers, Snow swiped a wayward curl off her forehead and was reminded that she was wearing a hat. A very pointy hat, along with a tight black dress, red and white striped knee socks, and platform Mary Janes.

Why did he have to find me on Halloween? she thought.

The downtown vendors of Ardent Springs held a trick-or-treating event for area children every year, which would start in less than an hour. Snow had donned the witch costume to show her town spirit, as there were still several locals who never let her forget that she was a newcomer, regardless of being a resident for more than a year now.

From her left, Snow spotted Lorelei Pratchett hustling toward them from the back of the store, looking intent on learning the identity of the man staring at Snow with unblinking blue eyes.

“I’m really busy right now,” she said, hoping Caleb would agree to continue this conversation at a later time, preferably in private. Not that she wanted to be alone with him, but if anyone learned exactly who he was . . .

“Who do we have here?” Lorelei asked once she reached the end of the counter.

“Nobody,” Snow said, at the same time Caleb introduced himself.

“Caleb McGraw,” he offered, repeating his name for a second time, as Snow had spoken over him the first. “I’m here to see Snow.”

Giving her friend a you-lucky-girl look, Lorelei said, “You two know each other?”

“It’s been a while,” Snow answered, determined to keep the details slight.

“Seventeen months, three weeks, and four days,” Caleb said, shocking Snow into silence.

He’d kept track down to the day. Had he been looking for her all that time? She knew he’d eventually seek her out, as they had business that would someday need to be resolved, but since she’d mattered so little to him, Snow assumed there’d be no rush.

Unless . . .

“If you don’t mind,” she said to Lorelei as she rounded the counter, “Caleb and I need to discuss something. Could you watch the register for a few minutes?”

Lorelei’s brows shot up, but she didn’t ask any more questions. “Happy to.” Making a shooing motion, she added, “You two take all the time you need.”

“Follow me,” Snow said to Caleb, then hurried through the store to the back room. Once inside, she spun and asked, “What do you want?”

“You know the answer to that,” he said, pinning her to the spot with an unrelenting glare.

“No, actually, I don’t.” She had a guess, and the thought made her nauseated. Another unexpected reaction.

Instead of pulling out the divorce papers she assumed he’d want her to sign, he said, “You left.” Two words that felt like a one-two punch.

“Yes,” she said, her voice weak. There was no reason to deny the truth.

“Why?”

Tapping into unknown depths of bravado, Snow answered. “Mistakes were made. I didn’t see any reason to keep making them.”

“After all this time, you think that’s a good enough answer?” He straightened up off the wall with his words.

What did he want from her? Some tearful explanation of how he’d hurt her? A philosophical discussion about the negative effects of making spontaneous, emotional decisions and why there’s a reason the brain should have more sway than the libido?

Snow had some pride left. Even if she was having this conversation looking like she belonged behind a cauldron, minus the green skin. There was only so far she was willing to go for town acceptance, and goopy green makeup went beyond that.

“I have a business to run here, and trick-or-treating kids will be arriving soon.” He didn’t need to know the fun didn’t start for another forty minutes. “If you have more to say, you’ll have to come back at closing time when I’m free.”

“When is that?” he asked.

She’d hoped her lack of cooperation would result in him storming out and never coming back. The idea of having a second round set up a pounding in her temples.

She considered lying, but something told her to stick with the truth. “Seven.”
“I’ll be here at six forty-five.” With a nod, he strolled back into the store as if they’d done little more than chat about the weather. Caleb should have been fighting mad. He should have been making demands and refusing to be tossed into the street after eighteen months of nothing.

If he had ever loved her, he’d be doing all of those things. His lack of feeling wasn’t a revelation, but having the reality confirmed so clearly felt as if the betrayal had happened all over again.

Worried that Lorelei might stop him on his way through the store, Snow hastened to catch up and intercept any further interrogation. Though she’d been back in her small Tennessee hometown for less than six months, Lorelei Pratchett had regained the local tendency to grill strangers who dared step inside the Ardent Springs city limits.

As Caleb approached the exit, Lorelei paused her straightening of a perfectly organized china display to ask, “So how long will you be with us?”

Cutting his blue eyes toward Snow, he said, “That depends on my wife.”

Another subtle nod and Caleb exited the store, leaving bells jingling in his wake and a gaping Lorelei shocked speechless for what Snow guessed to be the first time in her life.

“Did he say—”

Snow held up her palm to cut off the question, and dropped into the yellow brocade chair behind her.

Stepping up beside her, Lorelei leaned down and whispered, “Vegas?”

Snow’s head jerked up. “How do you know about Vegas?”

“You pretty much gave yourself away earlier this month, at the Ruby festival,” said Lorelei. “Spencer and I were talking about setting a wedding date, and you vehemently preached against the evils of getting married in Las Vegas.”

Pulling off her hat and twisting the wire-trimmed brim in her hands, Snow asked, “Was I that obvious?” At Lorelei’s nod of affirmation, she sighed. “Then, yes. That’s Vegas.”

Click HERE to watch the book trailer for Our Now and Forever .


Print:


Author of the bestselling Anchor Island Series, Terri Osburn writes small town contemporary romance with heart, hope, and lots of humor. Her new Ardent Springs Series launched in April with HIS FIRST AND LAST, and this month she’s celebrating the release of OUR NOW AND FOREVER, the second book in the series. Terri lives on the coast of Virginia with her teenage daughter, three frisky felines, and two high-maintenance terrier mixes. To learn more about Terri, check out her website at www.terriosburn.com.




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Featured - Indie India, Interview 2: Kirtida Gautam Interviews Michael J. Sullivan

​BESTSELLING AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES
KIRTIDA GAUTAM HOSTS THE INTERVIEW OF MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN
​
Other Authors who will host interviews for the series
Rasana Atreya, Neil D'Silva, Devika Fernando, Uday Satpathy, Aindrila Roy, Debashish Irengbam ​Michael J. Sullivan is an American writer of epic fantasy and science fiction, best known for his debut series, The Riyria Revelations, which is a six-book epic fantasy series. He got the first book The Crown Conspiracy from the series of six self-published in 2008. After two and a half years, the first five books sold more than 70,000 copies and ranked in the top twenty of multiple Amazon fantasy lists. In November 2010, he leveraged his success and received his first commercial publishing contract for three novels from Orbit Books, fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group, USA. In addition, Michael reached international status with more than sixty-five foreign rights contracts across twelve languages including books published in France, Spain, Russia, and Germany, just to name a few. 
Michael’s work has been well received by critics and readers alike, earning him thousands of positive reviews, interviews, and articles. He has attributed much of his success to the fantasy book blogging community. Dubbed “the little indie that could” he found his books pitted as the only independent in major competitions such as the 2010 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy and the 2009 Book Spot Central’s Fantasy Tournament of Books, which he won. His traditionally published edition of Theft of Swords was short-listed for the 2013 Audie Award for Fantasy.


1.    You once said, self-published authors get criticized twice often for their copyediting mistakes than the authors who get their books published by large presses. Because people think with big publications, professionals are involved and hence they don’t tend to find mistakes.  Whereas with self-publishing people expect editing to be poor and they love pointing out any little mistake and hold it up as proof of poor quality. So what difficulties have you faced with copy-editing your self-published book? 
​
My self-publishing falls into two categories, the works I self-published before my contracts with the big-five, and then the ones I’ve self-published afterward. So let me talk about each.  For the early works, especially the first few books, it was important to control costs as I had no idea how the books would perform) so that meant editing on a shoestring budget. What I would do is put out small ads for editors using sites like the American Copyeditor Society and I would get a lot of people responding (more than 200).  I then took a few pages of the book, sent it to all the people who responded, and asked them to edit as much or as little of it for me to determine their capabilities. I analyzed each of these along with their costs and chose two editors that were reasonably priced. Having two editors meant things that one missed the other would catch.

Now, for Hollow World and The Death of Dulgath (the two books that I self-published in recent years), making sure the editing was top-notch was my highest priority. I didn’t want people to think the self-published work was released with a lower bar for quality.  So, for those books I paid a great deal of money on copyediting. For instance, Hollow World had two editors (both used by the big-five). For The Death of Dulgath I actually used three editors – the same two as with Hollow World plus a new editor who was actually a beta reader and very good.  Each of these edits cost me about $1,000 so I spent ($2,000 - $3,000) for editing of those self-published books. Paying all that money wasn’t a problem because I ran successful Kickstarter campaigns for both projects. So, I had extra money that I could devote to them.  Because my traditionally published books only have one copy editor, these are actually “better edited” than my traditional books. ​2.    What do you think have changed in self-publishing these days?
​ 
I think self-publishing has matured and we now see a number of professional self-published authors. These are the ones that take great care in the production of their work, and release books that stand toe-to-toe with those published by traditional houses. These authors are highly knowledgeable on subjects of branding and marketing and make the necessary investments in editing and cover design. They ARE publishers just like their New York counterparts.  These authors do EXTREMELY well. 
What hasn’t changed, is there are still some authors who self-publish poorly.  Those who don’t have that same attention to producing a quality product and just slap something together and put it out to the public.  These authors have never done well, and never will. For the most part, they fall into obscurity as they never find any substantial traction or readership. 
​
3.    Would you be going into self-publishing in future?

A lot depends on circumstances.  For each project I write, I consider what would be the best path for that particular book.  For instance, Hollow World (my first science fiction novel) was offered a traditional publishing contract, but the advance wasn’t that great. I figured I could do better by self-publishing, so I did.  Sure enough, I made about three times the advance in the first few months of it’s release. So that was the right way to go with that book.

For my next project, The First Empire (a five-book epic fantasy series) I had intended to self-publish, but then Del Rey came in with an advance that was much higher than I thought I would likely make through self-publishing. This combined with the fact that they were releasing me in hardcover was a big draw. So, I decided to sign that series with them.

For the book releasing right now, The Death of Dulgath (ebook went live in October and the hardcover and audio book will be released in December), I went the self-publishing route because I had to get it out before the end of 2015 (so that its release date wouldn’t conflict with the release of Del Rey’s Age of Myth (first book of the First Empire series scheduled for June 2016). I didn’t even bother submitting that to publishers because none of them could meet the deadline requirement. 

Will my future books be self or traditional?  Well it depends on what is being offered and whether I think I can do better on my own or not.  I’ll evaluate each one as the books complete.  ​4.    At one point in your life, you gave up on publishing your novels, but then after 10 years you chose to walk on the road of getting them published for your 13 year old daughter, who was then having reading difficulties due to dyslexia. How did your books help your daughter’s reading? 

I’m not sure who benefited more from that decision – myself or my daughter. Yes, she got to read a book that turned her into a long-time reader, but I got a whole new career. So here is a part of that story that isn’t widely known. I wrote the Riyria books for Sarah, starting with The Crown Conspiracy.  I enjoyed writing it so much that I dug right in and wrote book #2 (Avempartha) right after.  When I gave her the first book, it was created from a standard printer – and on 8 ½” x 5 ½” paper that were all loose pages. Because of her dyslexia she finds reading in this format to be very difficult.  She said she could only read it if I had it in a book format – bound pages. So that is what got my wife taking up the task of getting them published. So because she wouldn’t read the book in manuscript format, I was forced to find a way to get it in published book form for her to be able to read it.  ​5.    According to you, what elements of your novel are specifically appealing for the young adults? 
​
While part of the reason for writing the books was for my daughter (and yes she was a teen at the time), the books aren’t written for the young adult market. They are books written for adults but because they lack sex, graphic violence, and explicit language, they can be read by people with a wide range of ages.  I will say one of the neatest things about the books is when I hear they are being read and shared between multiple generations.  In some cases as many as three grand-parent, parent, and child. I think I get as many children reading because of recommendations from their parents as I do parents reading because of recommendation of their children.  So I think the style of the books do have a broad appeal.
​
6.    We all know when you had your first child, you chose to be stay at home daddy and take care of your child. And that was the time when you wrote your 12 novels. Are your children your inspiration for you to write fantasy and adventure novels or the desire of writing fantasy novels had its roots in your early childhood?

Part of my reason for being a stay-at-home dad had to do with the income disparity between myself and my wife. She made more money than I did (she was an engineer, I was a commercial artist), so the decision to stay at home stemmed first from us wanting to be involved with our children’s early development (rather than day care) and the financial practicality.  The writing came because of my desire to have a creative outlet while they napped or do have something to do in the evenings (because I don’t watch television).  While my Riyria books were partially written for Sarah, all my books really are created to satisfy my own reading preferences. I’m writing books I want to read and because I’m creating them, they fit me like a glove. I’m often pretty critical of other books, not because other writers aren’t talented – as they certainly are.  They just don’t often align with my preferences and by writing the books myself I can guarantee that they will be the type of book I would enjoy.
 
7.    Please tell our readers about how you were as a kid? 

I didn’t have a great many friends…which may have a lot to do with writing, as I can create people to play with through my books.  When I was young, both my father and sister had really bad battles with cancer. When my father was ill, my mother sent me to live with my sister and her husband at their farm so I got to ride horses and learned a lot about living in a rural setting. After dad’s death, I came home and then my sister’s fight began. This put a lot of stress on my mother, and so I had to be pretty self-sufficient in terms of taking care of myself. Escaping into fantasy worlds where there weren’t such problems and where I could be a hero, was the way I coped with what was going on in my “real life.”

8.    From the time you wrote Riyria Revelations to your recent works like The First Empire, what has changed in your writing craft or do you follow a particular method of writing for your each work? Please tell our young authors about the things you pay the most attention while writing your novels.
​
I think each author should always have a desire for constant improvement. Like any task that requires skill, you get better the more you do. I think the storytelling aspects are somewhat born into me – I’ve always been good at creating stories. But the “how” of storytelling is something that improves with each book. My process has remained the same, but now I’m much more sensitive about things that were “clunky” in my past works. At the time I wrote each book, it was the best I could write, but because I’m always working on improvement I think each subsequent book is more polished than earlier ones. 
As for young authors, I think reading is essential for writing – but reading with a critical eye. You need to try to determine what the author did and why. You can learn a lot about writing by studying a book through reading.

9.    Would you tell our reader about your future works? Have you already thought about how the world will end?
​
I do something rather unusual when I’m writing a series…I write all the books before publishing any of the works. So, for instance, The First Empire (which started out as a trilogy and grew into five books) has been completely written and the first book for it will come out in June 2016.  This series is set in Elan but 3,000 years in the past. It tells the true story of how Novron saved mankind and formed the First Empire. This series has been designed so that both new and existing readers should be able to enjoy it.  Here’s the “back of the book” copy:
Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between men and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now, only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over; the time of rebellion has begun.
Even past this new series, I do have ideas for other books based in my fictional world of Elan.  I would like to tell the story of “The Fall of Percepliquis” (showing how the First Empire was destroyed). For those who have read my books this would be Esrahaddon’s backstory. I also have some books planned post Riyria Revelations that generally revolve around the two characters Yolric and Kile. Then, of course, if people want more Royce and Hadrian I’d be glad to write more Riyria Chronicles – so yes, plenty more coming!

10.    Any parting words of advice, encouragement for our readers and new generation of authors?

Oh, there is so much…but it could take days to go through it all. So I’ll try to hit the highlights.  First off, publishing is in great flux right now. This means there are more ways than ever to get your books “out there.” There is no universal “right path” but there is probably a path that is a “better fit” for each author on an individual basis. So, do your research weigh the pros and cons and go after the route that is the best for you.  But if that doesn’t work out, then explore other avenues. Persistence is the key in this business and the only way to ensure failure is to stop trying. At the heart of any success is a “good book” which I define as a book that people enjoy enough to tell others about.  So keep your quality high and always work toward constant improvement.  
I’d also like to say thanks for this opportunity…I greatly appreciate the interest in my work.

Featured - JENNA'S JOURNEY by Julie Ryan

About the Book Author:                      Julie Ryan
Genre:                        Crime/Suspense/Paranormal/Romance
Release Date:          August 15, 2015

             "Dazzling Greek Isles can hide sinister secrets."  

Synopsis:

Leaving town, heading to the Greek Isles without telling husband or friends, is heady medicine for a failing marriage. Seduced by Grecian sun and sky, Jenna innocently buys a bewitching urn that tangles her into the web of a criminal world more sinister than she ever imagined. Romance is always afoot in the Greek Isles and Jenna gets a large helping with the seductive Nikos. Family is important in Greece, and Nikos helps Jenna learn all the richness it brings, and pass it on to the next generation.
Twenty-five years later, Allie takes this same journey, and a little time travel, a big “what if” dream, a fated meeting with a taxi driver and a sprinkle of paranormal intrigue intertwine in a story that spans the lives of a mother and daughter. Twisty as the streets in a Greek island village, full of unexpected characters found on a faraway vacation along with frightening threats from nasty villains, Jenna’s Journey will keep you turning pages far into the night.
Working out a lifetime of secrets, imagining what might have been, eluding nasty antiquities thieves, exploring a new love—how would you have managed? Follow Jenna’s adventure and see how she changed her life in one journey!


Background for the Book:

Jenna’s Journey is the first novel in the Greek Islands Series series. The story was inspired by the time I lived in Greece during the 1980s. Some thirty years later I was looking out of the window of my home in Gloucestershire on a wintry morning, idly wondering how my life would have been different if I’d stayed in Greece. I hadn’t intended to write a novel. Jenna’s Journey started life as a short story and thanks to a timely encounter with a fellow writer who persuaded me to turn it into a novel, it took on a life of its own and became the start of the Greek Island mystery series.
I’ve always been interested in fate or destiny, whatever you wish to call it, and this book is about all the ‘what ifs’ in life. It’s also about grabbing a chance of happiness with both hands when it’s offered – life really is too short!


Excerpt:

​​Jenna and Nikos, 1987
The taverna ‘Aphrodite’ turned out to be almost next door to the hotel in a quiet little square with tables set out under an old plane tree. Jenna made a mental note to find out why the Greeks painted the bottom of the trees white. They sat down at a rickety white wooden table with wooden chairs also painted white and which didn’t quite match, but which added to the overall charm. They discovered that there wasn’t a menu as such, but a few of the freshly cooked dishes were written up on a blackboard by the entrance. When she discovered that their waiter was indeed Nikos, Jenna literally felt her heart flutter in a way that it hadn’t since the early, heady days when she first met Greg. She found herself virtually tongue-tied and was grateful when Tom ordered a Greek salad and keftades, looking at her for confirmation that was what she also wanted. She just nodded and smiled. In the past when Greg had tried to order for her, she had really hated it, seeing it as a sign that he was in control. Why had she let him get away with it? She should have been more assertive and told him how she felt. It was too late for that now though.  At this precise moment, she felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush and hoped that Tom hadn’t noticed. As Nikos brushed past her chair, Jenna could have sworn that she felt a jolt of electricity run through her.
“How’s the ankle?” Nikos asked as he put a bowl of freshly cut bread on the table.
“I think I owe you a big thank you for saving my life, not to mention the fruit.”
“It really was my pleasure,” he replied as she noticed his twinkling eyes. She chided herself for letting her imagination run away with her and tried to focus on what Tom was saying instead.
The location was stunning, high enough to have a view of the sea below but too far from the centre of town to attract too many tourists. She was relieved to find that she couldn’t spot any of the fellow guests from the hotel here and looking around noticed that most of the clientele seemed to be Greek. With no fish ‘n chips or steak and kidney pie on the menu though, it probably wouldn’t appeal to the rest of the hotel guests, she thought, realising at the same time that she was probably being rather dismissive. There didn’t seem much point to her though of coming to Greece and not sampling the ethnic culture. She was much more at home in this simple taverna than she would be at a Greek night run by the hotel. Nikos came over with the Greek salad and rather pointedly, she thought, lit the candle on the table. When he looked at her, she felt herself almost melt into his deep brown eyes. They were the sort of eyes that would be called ‘limpid pools’ in the trashy novels that her mother used to read, and when he smiled, she felt the smile reflected in his eyes as if she were the only person in the room. She hadn’t come to Greece looking for a holiday romance, she chided herself and she’d heard too many tales of young girls falling for waiters, who were looking for a passport to the UK. She wasn’t going to be another notch on his bedpost and she was hardly a girl. Still, he was rather dreamy, she didn’t mind admitting. Never mind Rhett Butler, she thought!
​ About the Author Julie Ryan’s roots are in a small mining village in South Yorkshire. After a degree in French Language and Literature, wanderlust kicked in and she lived and worked in France, Poland, Thailand and Greece. Her spirit enriched, her imagination fired, Julie started a series of mystery romances, thrillers set in the Greek Isles.
Jenna's Journey is the first novel in Julie Ryan’s Greek Islands Series, a series she did not set out to create but which took on its own life and grew, rich and fascinating. This is the first of three published so far, and now as a newly released edition in the USA from Booktrope, it promises to delight readers looking for the hidden dark sides of dream vacations in the Greek Isles.
 
A prolific and well-known book review blogger, Julie does her writing and reviewing from rural Gloucestershire, where she lives with her husband, son and dippy cat with half a tail.

You can find Julie on her websites:

Website/blog for the Greek Isles series https://thegreekurn.wordpress.com/
Website/blog for book reviews http://www.allthingsbookie.com/
Blog http://juliesworldofbooks.blogspot.com/  
on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/julie.ryan.3114
and on Twitter @julieryan18
​

Featured - Release Blitz for "It's In His Touch" by Shelly Alexander

It's In His Touch by Shelly Alexander Series: Red River Valley, #2Genre: Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: November 3, 2015


There’s nothing that Angelique Barbetta can’t handle, no illness she can’t recover from, not one item on her outrageous bucket list that she can’t conquer—not even alligator wrestling! But after discovering her fiancé in a less-than-professional position with their perky assistant, even tough-as-nails Angelique needs a break. Her law firm sends her to Red River to work on a case that should be a piece of cake. Until she meets her sexy neighbor Blake Holloway…one of the proprietors who will lose everything if Angelique wins.

On opposite sides of a hostile legal battle—with a pair of Angelique’s silk undies ending up in Blake’s hands—undeniable chemistry swirls between them. As Blake shows Angelique just what Red River has to offer, her heart begins to melt for the people whose businesses make up the soul of the town. Can she put aside her feelings to win the case? Or will he convince her there’s much more at stake than winning—like love?



“Drop the panties, or the octopus gets it.” Angelique Barbetta held out the plush doggy toy, a bottle of bitter anti-chew spray pointed at its overstuffed head. She used the predatory tone usually reserved for courtroom opponents as she glared at her four-legged adversary.A soft breeze whispered through the trees, wrestling autumn- hued foliage to the ground. The draft of cool air caught the silky neckline of her robe and sent a chill racing through her. Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the shedding branches, and a silhouette of the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains glittered in the background. Her long black hair was up in hot rollers, and a sudden gust pulled a thick tendril loose. She blew it out of her eyes, refusing to lose a staring match to a dog.The ten-pound weenie dog’s posture tensed, his tail wagged a fraction, and his jaw clamped tighter around the black thong pant- ies he’d snatched from her suitcase while she was unpacking. Hence, the reason she’d scurried outside half-dressed and sporting curlers so big they could pick up a radio frequency from three states away. Why’d she bring skimpy panties on an extended vacay to Red River—population 475? Pfst. Insulated long johns would’ve been a more practical choice.She shivered against another nippy gust of autumn breeze.It wasn’t like she’d ever wear the string bikinis currently lodged between her dog’s teeth. They’d been part of the risqué honeymoon trousseau given to her by her best friend, Kimberly, and the horde of female Barbettas. Of course, that was before she caught her fiancé, Gabriel, cheating. While Angelique was recovering from a serious illness.Asshole.Come to think of it, she should let the dog have them. Let Sergeant Schnitzel chew up the underwear and every last memory of what she thought she had with Gabriel.Just like she’d accidentally let the dog chew up Gabriel’s Armani jacket. And his Tumi briefcase. And the crack in his brand-new fifty- five-inch widescreen—a testament to his insecurity and belief that size really did matter—may or may not have been an accident. Golf clubs sometimes slipped out of one’s hands mid-swing. It happened.Sergeant Schnitzel whined, his tail wagging at lightning speed. “Come on, Sarge. Drop ’em. Please.” Jeez, she was pathetic. Had she really been reduced to begging a dog?Okay, admittedly, destroying Gabriel’s personal property had been a vindictive reaction, but her momentary lapse in emotional restraint was understandable. While she was in the process of moving out of their rented condo, Gabriel announced his shotgun wedding to her legal assistant, whom he’d knocked up. Now with the wedding just a few weeks away, he actually expected Angelique to attend along with the rest of their law firm because cohesion would look good for the junior partnership he’d just landed. So much cruelty at once probably would’ve pushed Mother Teresa over the edge. That was Angelique’s story, anyway, and she was sticking to it, because Gabriel deserved it times ten.She drew in a tremulous breath, the familiar sting of loss pinging off the walls of her stomach like a pinball.Now instead of standing toe-to-toe with a skilled criminal prosecutor, she was throwing down with a weenie dog. Definitely pathetic. She glared at him.The cocktail-sized wiener growled, enticing her to give chase.“Sergeant Schnitzel, don’t you dare run off again,” she warned, eyeballing him with her best menacing look. That stare wilted even the most seasoned district attorneys and brought witnesses to tears on the stand. Unfortunately, it didn’t intimidate this little pilferer of women’s underpants.




Book 1: It's In His Heart

Award winning author, Shelly Alexander grew up traveling the world, earned a BBA in Marketing, and landed a corporate job in Dallas, TX before marriage lured her to the beautiful Southwest. After growing up with four older brothers and having three sons of her own, she decided to escape her male-dominated world for some ‘girl time’ by reading romance novels. While reading in the New Mexico sunshine, she began to dream up love stories she’d like to write herself some day.

The years passed with her helping to run the family business, volunteering for every field trip and school function imaginable, and incalculable loads of dirty laundry generated by her three active boys. When she survived invasive breast cancer, she decided it was now or never and bought her first laptop so she could start writing down her stories.

Now she spends her days writing steamy romances while tending to two miniature schnauzers and a pet boa constrictor named Zeus. Her stories feature strong, independent heroines, hot heroes, and hefty doses of humor.

She still attends her three teenage boy’s sports events, school functions, and music performances, but they have learned to do their own laundry, providing her with more time to devote to writing.

First Book Tag (Blog Post Game)

I LOVE READING ​I am usually not so keen on all those serial posts where you tag other bloggers to participate – exceptions being blog awards like the Liebster Award which I received – but this one caught my eye because I’m such a book nerd. I saw a First Book Tag post on the eLitere blog and immediately wanted to do my own version.
 
The first book you’ve read
 
I grew up in Germany, and luckily my parents started reading to me from a very small age on. I was always surrounded by books and could read and write a little before I got taught at school, and my love for everything written hasn’t left me since. As far as I remember, the first book I read on my own was Die Kleine Raupe Nimmersatt. The English equivalent would be The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I had that small book for many years, and I still remember some of the verses very fondly.
 
The first book series you finished reading
 
I read a lot of serial books during my childhood, among them books by Enid Blyton, the Narnia Chronicles, the Famous Five series and Goosebumps books. But mostly I didn’t read those books in order, simply because I didn’t know they were part of a series or because I couldn’t always find them in the local library. The first series I consciously remember reading in order and devouring from start to finish (with long waiting in between) was Harry Potter. I read all the books in German and many years later I re-read them in English.
 
The first book you read in a day
 
Ironically, that would be The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, as if I didn’t want the reading to end indeed. Those days, I spent many of my holidays reading a book a day. I still sometimes do it now, getting lost in shorter romance novels on Sundays.
 
The first book you haven’t finished reading
 
I usually make it a point to read all books, but ever since I’m also trying out free eBooks I’ve realized sometimes it’s better to give up and dedicate my time to books that really deserve the attention. The first book I didn’t finish at first was Wuthering Heights last year, though I did finish it this year. There are many free downloads that I have given up on, sadly… I never finished reading 50 Shades of Grey either, and I don’t intend to. Oh, and I still have to finish Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez. A very dear friend gave me the paperback and I’ve been savouring it bit by bit. It’s not exactly light reading, so I don’t like squeezing it in here and there.
 
The first book you’ve read and didn’t enjoy
 
Must have been a book read in school in Germany, though I can’t remember a specific title. Many on the curriculum weren’t exactly the kind of book I liked those days, but now I think I might have appreciated them more out of school or if I have been older. One of those I can remember is Homo Faber by Max Frisch.
 
The first book that made you cry
 
Definitely Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, reduced me to a blubbering fool because I was a bit too young when I first read it.
 
The first book you’ve bought
 
I never really got any pocket money, so I was already in my late teens when I bought my first own book. I must have been either Interview with the Vampire or The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. I had loved the German versions and remember desperately wanting to buy the English paperbacks.
 
The first book you received as a gift
 
Obviously, I received books all the time by my parents because I never wanted anything else for my birthday and Christmas. Apart from that, my favourite teacher – the one who encouraged me to read English books – gifted me The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, and I treasured that immensely.
Books, books, and more books ​And now… for the tagging. I feel strange tagging people to take part because my writer friends are gearing up for NaNoWriMo and all others are usually blogging their butts off too. But here we go, don’t want to spoil the fun:
 
Inderpreet Kaur Uppal (Eloquent Articulation)
Nikita Jhanglani (Njkinny’s World of Books and Stuff)
Sid Balachandran (I Wrote Those)
Deepti Menon (Deep Ties)
Marie Lavender (Writing in the Modern Age)
 
If any of you want to participate too, please think yourselves tagged.

Review - "The Sultan's Harem Bride" by Annie West

My Review of "The Sultan's Harem Bride" by Annie West This is the second book in the Desert Vows mini-series by Annie West, and by accident I had read the first book – The Sheikh’s Princess Bride – first. But that somehow made it all the more thrilling, for I had loved it a lot and couldn’t wait to meet the characters again.
 
Asim, the sultan of Jazeer, and Jacqui, the journalist from Australia, seem like polar opposites, but once their worlds collide, nothing can stop them. The fatal attraction between them was so powerful and haunting and real that at times I thought I was watching a movie or television series unfold. Asim made me fall head over heels for him, with his handsome, powerful physique and his confidence, his sense of duty and loyalty, his caring side (when it comes to his sister, his grandmother and later Jacqui) and his sharp intelligence. He is a typical alpha male with an iron will, commanding and relentless in getting what he wants, but definitely not a bad guy. Beneath the warrior and the sultan, there is a man who has his world turned upside down, who learns to listen to a heart he has just discovered, and who is haunted by a tortured past.
 
Jacqui is a wonderful heroine. I loved her spunk, although I learned that part of it is just a way to keep herself from falling apart and letting her equally tortured past take over. I could relate to her feelings, and I found myself cheering when she and Sameera hit it off instantly. She doesn’t give in easily, and she’s also living the existence of a moth until Asim’s attention shows her she’s in fact a beautiful butterfly. I loved her transformation as much as Asim’s.
 
If you love a gripping Sheikh romance, an exotic setting, a delectable hero and a heroine that’s anything but meek, then this book will enthrall you as much as it has spellbound me. I felt there with them on every single page. The steamy scenes were incredibly sensual, and the heated dialogue between the leading pair was a treat to read. The only thing I was missing a little were more detailed descriptions or insights into the harem and palace life in the desert. But the romance was so wonderfully written that I hardly had time to tear myself out of the story. Oh, how I wish Asim had a brother who could star in a 3rd book in the series…
 
Rating: 5/5
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