Straight Browsing from the Library - Crashers by Lindy S. Hudis

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lindy will be awarding an autographed paperback copy of Crashers (US Only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and an autographed paperback copy of Crashers (US Only) to a randomly drawn host. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Fraudulent car accidents is a multi-million dollar racket, involving unscrupulous medical providers, personal injury attorneys, and the cooperating passengers involved in the accidents and who also receive a portion of the illegal proceeds. Such is the fate of newly engaged, Nathan and Shari, whose joy is tempered by the dark cloud of mounting debt.

A chance encounter with a stranger in whom Shari confides her troubles, proves fortuitous: he tells her of a get-rich-quick scheme that will put her and her fiance on easy street. Seduced by the chance to move from hard times to good times in no time, she finds herself acting as a stuffed passenger the victim in a staged auto accident. Shari gets her payday, but getting out and breaking free of the insurance fraud underworld will take nothing short of a miracle. A modern day cautionary tale that uncovers how the innocent get lured into the scheme of cappers and hammers.

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For KXXX TV and KXXX AM Radio News, this is Katie Carlson with your mid-morning eye- in-the-sky traffic report, and it’s an easy one: It’s messed up EVERYWHERE! So far, the 405 South is backed up all the way to the 101. So, if you are going into Hollywood this morning, you are going to be late for that audition. Also, there is an injury crash on the Eastbound 10. So, if you are heading into downtown LA, you might want to bring a magazine or get some knitting done. If you are going to LAX, forget it, call mom back east and tell her you will be driving out instead. Just Kidding! Any way, this is Katie Carlson with the Los Angeles mid-morning traffic report. Enjoy your commute everybody, NOT!

MEET THE AUTHOR

Lindy S. Hudis is a graduate of New York University, where she studied drama at Tisch
School of the Arts. She is the author of several titles, including her romance suspense novel, Weekends, her "Hollywood" story City of Toys, and her crime novel, Crashers. She is also the author of an erotic short story series, "The S&M Club" and "The Mile High Club". Her short film "The Lesson" was screened at the Seattle Underground Film Festival and Cine-Nights in 2000. She is also an actress, having appeared in the television daytime drama "Sunset Beach". She and her husband, Hollywood stuntman Stephen Hudis, have formed their own production company called Impact Motion Pictures, and have several projects and screenplays in development. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

https://twitter.com/lindyscribe
https://www.facebook.com/lindy.hudis
www.crashersbook.com
www.goodreads.com/author/show/6470478.Lindy_S_Hudis
http://www.amazon.com/Lindy-S.-Hudis/e/B009PODN24
http://www.amazon.com/Crashers-Cappers-Hammers-Lindy-Hudis-ebook/dp/B008TUK3VY/ ref=asap_B009PODN24_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417296094&sr=1-3

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Straight Browsing from the Library - My Turn by Johnathan Williams

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jonathan Williams will be awarding $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Silicon Valley is home to several large Technology and Pharmaceutical \ Biotech corporations. Chris moved to this area in early 2000. He has been handling data for prestigious companies for well over ten years. His work ethic and morals have kept him employed. During his tenure at a Fortune 100 company, he is offered a position at a small Biotech. It is not too long after taking this new position that he is promoted to Management. The IT Directory who Chris reports to gives him the choice of playing the corporate game or getting fired. Chris must either choose being ethical and getting fired or keeping his job by being unethical. After much thought, he realizes that honesty and integrity have kept him from achieving the American dream. Tired of living paycheck to paycheck he decides to play the corporate game. This decision will not only affect his professional life but his personal life as well.</ blockquote>
Enjoy an excerpt:

As time progresses, Chris comes to the realization that the real drug war is not south of the border but on Wall Street. The real money is won on American soil not on Colombian or Mexican soil like so many people think. Millionaires and billionaires are born in this industry.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Jonathan Williams has worked in Information Technology for over twenty years. He has spent most of his career working in the Financial and Pharmaceutical \ Biotech sectors. He specializes in Database Management Systems.

http:// www.goodreads.com/author/show/9794311.Jonathan_Williams

Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble Currenly FREE on BN.com

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Straight Browsing from the Library - Christine Manzari

This post is part of a cover reveal for the re-release of Christine Manzari's DEVIATION. One randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Being a Sophisticate of the Program seems like it’d be a pretty sweet deal: a little genetic alteration and anyone can be smarter, faster, and stronger. It’s a dream come true. All you have to give up is your freedom.

Cleo is a Sophisticate and she has a bright future in the Program. But she has a secret. When she gets upset, bad things happen. Explosive things. Things she can’t control.

When her secret is discovered, she’s sent to the Academy to train in the military branch of the Program. She’s destined to be a human weapon in the war that’s been going on since Wormwood occurred nearly 30 years ago. She soon learns that although her ability is unique, there are others like her — other Sophisticates with lethal skills and odd code names like Archerfish and Mimic Octopus.

Immersed in a dangerous game of supernatural powers and dubious motives, Cleo doesn’t know who to trust. Ozzy, the annoyingly attractive cadet who has perfect aim in weapons class and deviant lips behind closed doors, begs her not to use her powers. He’s the golden boy of the Program, but can she trust him? Or will she find herself a target, caught in his crosshairs?

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We stood quietly, looking at the monument.

“All right then. Had enough?” Sterling asked. “Time to get back to the stadium before Farnsworth comes to.” “Are you kidding?” Arabella grabbed our hands, dragging us through the cemetery and around the back of the building. The light was starting to fade as the sky began to morph from pinks and oranges into deep purples. “Don’t you want to see his original burial spot?”

“I didn’t really want to see his current burial spot. I just wanted your player’s card,” Sterling admitted as she dragged him along.

We wove in and out of the ancient grave sites, making our way down a worn path, under trees, and to the back corner of the graveyard which was cloaked in too many shadows for my comfort. Soon, we were standing in front of a traditional looking headstone with a carving of a raven underneath words that said “Quoth the Raven Nevermore.”

Arabella stood there for what seemed like an eternity, staring at the tombstone that wasn’t even the current resting spot of the poet anymore.

“He was an orphan, just like us,” Arabella murmured.

“How did he die?” I asked.

Arabella tore her gaze from the raven. “It’s kind of a mystery. He was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and in distress. He kept calling out the name Reynolds and the last words he spoke were, ‘Lord, help my poor soul.’ All of the medical documents have been lost. Some theorists think it was murder, some suicide, some cooping.”

“What on earth is cooping?” Sterling asked, kicking at a pile of leaves at the base of the headstone.

Arabella turned to face Sterling. “Hard to explain, you’ll have to look it up. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say he was forced to do something he didn’t want to do.” Arabella turned back to the tombstone. “Just like us.”

“That’s all very fascinating, but I’m afraid story time is over,” spoke a deep, strange voice.

I whipped around just in time to see half a dozen large men emerge from the shadows. Before I could even think about struggling, one of the men had caught me in a tight grip and another was putting something across my nose and mouth. I kicked out blindly, bucking in the strong grip of the man holding me. As a sickly, sweet, cloying scent filled my mouth and nostrils, Poe’s words echoed in my thoughts. Lord, help my poor soul.

And then everything went black.

About the Author:

The first thing Christine does when she's getting ready to read a book is to crack the spine in at least five places. She wholeheartedly believes there is no place as comfy as the pages of a well-worn book. She's addicted to buying books, reading books, and writing books. Books, books, books. She also has a weakness for adventure, inappropriate humor, and coke (the caffeine-laden bubbly kind). Christine is from Forest Hill, Maryland where she lives with her husband, three kids, and her library of ugly spine books.

Website: www.christinemanzari.com
Email: christine@christinemanzari.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ ChristineManzari
Twitter: twitter.com/Xenatine
Instagram: instagram.com/xenatine
Pinterest: pinterest.com/xenatine/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/ Christine_Manzari

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Straight Browsing from the Library - Miranda Lynn

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter, and a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly chosen host. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Jami Morgan travels through time to fulfill a destiny set in motion hundreds of years in the past. Devlin O’Rourke’s life is turned upside down from the moment he sets eyes on Jami. Will Jami be able to accept her heritage, melt Devlin’s heart, and harness her powers in time?

Destiny sends Jami spiraling through time to find the love of a Highland warrior, and the magical secret inside her own heart.

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As he ventured further along the tree line, the birds started chattering and became restless. The squirrels quickly climbed trees, hiding in their little holes. Devlin’s ears strained to hear what they were hearing. He stepped into the tree line, and faded into the shadows, awaiting what threat may come. His hand went to the hilt of his sword, muscles tensed, ready for a fight. What he saw next was completely unexpected.

A young woman treaded softly out of the trees, along one of the many paths the healers used to forage for herbs and fetch water from the brook; a woman Devlin had never seen. She was not garbed in the traditional broadcloth dress, but in pants and some type of jerkin. He’d never seen such clothing. Her hair was pulled away from her face and high atop her head, in a small circle with a tail flowing to her shoulders. Much like a horse’s tail. He stood silently, waiting to see what she’d do.

This woman was not from around here; that much was obvious. His muscles coiled, ready to pounce should she take off toward the keep. She simply sat down on the top of the hill, in the rays of the sun, and watched the children. She seemed to be in awe of what she saw in front of her.

Devlin wove silently through the trees to the path she’d emerged on. Advancing with years of learned stealth, he moved up behind her. When he was within a few steps, she still was unaware of his presence.

The breeze brought a whiff of her scent to him. A sweeter smell Devlin had never encountered. His body reacted immediately. His knees went weak as he breathed her in.

"Who are ye?" Devlin demanded, sounding a bit gruffer than planned.

She jumped, and was gone. Like a ghost into the night. He couldn't believe his eyes. Glancing down, he saw the slight indention from her footsteps. He followed them down the path until they abruptly ended at the brook. He searched the area for her campsite or any signs of where she’d come from. She was a mystery.

After minutes of searching, a sound wafted up to his ears. Tilting his head, he recognized the bells of the gypsy troupe that travelled through the lands. It was time for him to head to the keep and resume the duties of middle son.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Mother to two boys, 3 four legged babies, and wife to a loving husband who doesn't mind the extra voices in her head. Miranda grew up on a dairy farm in Illinois, but calls Portland, TN home now. She is an avid reader, coffee addict, and loves her day job working at the local public library. Though her true passion is in creating her own worlds, characters, and stories for her readers.

Website: http://www.mirandalynn.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MirandaLynn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaLynnBks
Email: mirandalynnbooks@gmail.com
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+MirandaLynnAuthor/posts
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Straight Browsing from the Library - Kurt and Jessica Hansen

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. READ THE BLURB

After the sudden deaths of two previous Computer Love Inc. CEOs, Marius takes control of the company. Embracing the talents of his godson, John, and his best friend, Zak, he hires the boys to oversee the Companion Services Division. Marius refines his breakthrough technology, the Brain Machine Download, and as a result, creates his double, M2, as the prototype. Together, they ignite the future of Computer Love Inc. by acquiring an elite team of scientists to expand the company’s technological boundaries. Meanwhile, Marius struggles with the government’s demands for a clandestine initiative - the Secret Service Companion. Between the looming government presence and the overwhelming force behind his new team of inventors, can Marius survive the outcome of his own creations?

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The room remained silent. Ten pairs of eyes were fixed on Marius, not even a single person consumed with a hangnail or discreetly checking messages on his or her unit.

“So then – and please forgive me when I say this, because often it seems that social delicacies elude me; I’m sure you all possess unique and likeable personalities, but really – it’s your brains that we’re after here.”

Again Marius paused. By now, some gazes had shifted: faces looked amongst one another, gauging reactions – animals measuring a threat by observing the rest of the pack.

“Have you ever heard someone say, ‘Can I pick your brain’? Essentially, that’s what I’d like to do here. I need your brilliance, and I implore you to consider this proposal. I would like to perform a Brain Machine Download on each of you in order to capture your intelligence. Is everyone familiar with what the theory of the BMD is, or what it entails?”

If they were not familiar, no one spoke up or raised a hand. Again, the looks flashed around the room – there were a few who wanted to know more, but, seeing that no one else had first spoken up, they remained quiet. Marius had seen it. Even in the wisest, cowardice lives...

MEET THE AUTHOR Kurt and Jessica Hansen reside in northern New Jersey . Kurt has worked in the aerospace electronics industry for over three decades and enjoys the outdoors, writing, and composing music. Kurt is easily recognized with a guitar in his lap, a pencil in his mouth, and a piece of paper in front of him.

Jessica graduated from Montclair State University, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in English. Her favorite pastimes include reading, running and spending time with her family. She can usually be found with a book in one hand and a hazelnut coffee in the other.

The Computer Love Inc. series is a collaborative effort between father and daughter.

Kurt and Jessica Hansen Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Hansen/e/B00E9ZHCGM/ ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Website: http://computerloveinc.com/ Home.html
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ ComputerLoveInc
Facebook: https:/ /www.facebook.com/pages/Computer-Love-Inc/396920320362031
Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

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Straight Browsing from the Library: Dark Prince by Eve Silver

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eve will be awarding a $15 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Innkeeper’s daughter Jane Heatherington is sold into indentured servitude to cover her father’s debts, sold to Aidan Warrick, a man whose handsome face and form mock the rumors that skulk in his shadow, rumors that paint him a smuggler, a pirate…and worse.

On the rainswept Cornish coast, Aidan’s business is carried out in the darkest hours of moonless nights, his secrets are many, and death follows in his wake. Isolated and alone, Jane's only companion is the man she dare not trust, the man who looks at her with heated desire that she both fears and craves.

As she finds herself ensnared in the twisted schemes carried out within the walls of Aidan’s looming estate, Jane must decide if Aidan Warrick is the dark prince of her dreams or a monster preying on the innocent…

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Leaning close, he stared down at her, eyes glittering in the meager lamplight. She could smell his hair, his clothes, his skin, rain-washed, a whisper of citrus, and underlying that the tantalizing hint of a scent that was his alone. Her chest felt tight, constricted by some unseen band.

Despite her innocence she recognized the sharp twist of yearning in the pit of her belly for what it was: her own accursed longing for this man. This terrible, beautiful man.

He recognized it as well. His awareness was there, in the darkening of his eyes, the deepening of his breathing. She caught her lower lip between her teeth, her own breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

Pulse beating a wild rhythm, mind screaming that she must retreat, must flee from his dishonorable intent, she sat where she was, mesmerized by the heat she read in the mercurial depths of his eyes. Oh, dear heaven! What was wrong with her that a tiny secret corner of her soul reveled in his obvious desire, even as fear made her galloping heart nearly burst from her breast?

She opened her mouth to demand that he unhand her, that he remove himself immediately, that he—

He kissed her. His mouth slanted across hers, his tongue tasting the edge of her lips, her teeth, and beyond. She smelled spiced wine, tasted it.

Only in her secret dreams had she ever thought to be kissed, and never had she imagined such a lush and shameless claiming.

The taste of him, cloves and wine and man.

The room spun away until there was nothing but Aidan, kissing her until she forgot to hate him, forgot all but the thrust of his tongue, the feel of his mouth, the wicked heat that poured through her like molten honey.

MEET THE AUTHOR

National bestselling author Eve Silver has been praised for her “edgy, steamy, action-packed” books, darkly sexy heroes and take-charge heroines. Her work has garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Quill and Quire, two RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Library Journal’s Best Genre Fiction Award, and has been nominated for the Romance Writers of America® RITA® Award. RUSH, her first book for teens was listed as a 2013 American Bookseller’s Association Best Book for Children and a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens. Eve lives with her husband, two sons, an energetic Airedale terrier and an exuberant border collie/shepherd.

Website: http://www.evesilver.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/evesilverbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Eve_Silver

Buy Dark Prince at Amazon, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, All Romance eBooks, or Barnes and Noble.

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Straight Browsing from the Library - Dina Keratsis

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dina will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Ever since Zylla Berry first saw the dilapidated mansion in Boston’s Back Bay, she’d become enchanted. When she walks by one day to find that someone is renovating the old beauty, she walks through its open door and meets Jabe Thayer.

Determined to restore The Charlesgate to its former splendor, Jabe is thrilled to meet Zylla, who shares his passion for the building and knows its history. As they get to know each other, they find that their love for The Charlesgate is not a coincidence and as supernatural forces intensify, they begin to uncover a sinister secret that will threaten their future.

From the piratical seas of the seventeenth century, to Boston’s Gilded Age to the present, The Charlesgate is a haunting novel of ancestry, fate, and the unfailing power of love.

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Zylla couldn’t think and she had to think. She stumbled past the recessed Charlesgate East entrance, past the windows of the new restaurant, past the iron-gated door to the Barnes addition, and then stopped.

Something about the door caught her attention, sent tingles down her spine. Retracing her steps, she wiped her blurry eyes, found the knob, and easily opened the door that should have been locked. All those times she’d tried the doors of the abandoned mansion, hoping one would open for her, and now it did, as she’d known it would.

The Charlesgate was hers now, just as she belonged to it, and the building offered her solace.

MEET THE AUTHOR



Dina Keratsis is an award-winning author of romance fiction in which all roads lead to illumination and magic is found in the mundane. A New England girl, she has a penchant for punk rock, Scottish tea rooms and a mad crush on Sirius Black. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dina-Keratsis/128401957254964
http://www.dinakeratsis.com/ https://twitter.com/dinakeratsis http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6983309.Dina_Keratsis/ http://www.pinterest.com/dinakeratsis/ http://www.amazon.com/Dina-Keratsis/e/B002BLU538
Buy the book at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Charlesgate-Dina-Keratsis-ebook/dp/ B00L94GYM4
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Straight Browsing from the Library - Emelle Gamble

Emelle will award a signed paperback of MOLLY HARPER with bonus novella DUETS included (US ONLY) to THREE randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Please click the tour banner at the top to see other stops on this tour.

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Movie star Molly Harper has it all, beauty, success in her field, and a loving family and marriage to actor Ben Delmonico. Norma Wintz, Molly’s mother, has it all, a lovely life style and two children who adore her, and a respite from the battle against cancer she’s been fighting. Anne Sullivan, at age fifty, is optimistic that her move to sunny Santa Barbara, California, will allow her to be closer to her youngest son and his family, and help her start her life anew after the death of her beloved husband.

But all three of these women, despite their considerable blessings, are plunged into turmoil when the most intimate of secrets that ties their lives together is revealed. At this same time, Molly Harper is confronted with the news that her marriage to actor Ben Delmonico is over. As she navigates this heartbreak and tries to keep the personal details of the drama off the front pages of the newspapers, Molly must also find a way to once and forever negotiate a way forward with her ex- lover and best friend, the volatile and compelling Cruz Morales.

How each of these characters handles the resulting upheaval in their own life, and in their relationships with one another, forms the compelling story of family, secrets and trust in the romantic women’s fiction novel, Molly Harper.



DUETS offers alternating looks into the lives of two women who would seem to have little or nothing in common.

Screen star Molly Harper has it all...beauty, success in her profession, a loving family and an upcoming marriage to actor Ben Delmonico. But as Molly is on the verge of marrying the man who has swept her off her feet, she still wonders if he hasn’t swept all her feelings for her first love away, Cruz Morales.

A handsome and cerebral college professor, Molly and Cruz have an on-again, off-again history stretching back to Molly’s early teen years. He’s not a man who a girl can ever forget about, and his feelings for Molly are equally conflicted.

Anne Sullivan, happily married for twenty-five years, is fighting to hold onto the man she loves, and hold off a confrontation that could shatter her family’s image of what they are. It involves the beautiful screen star and her mother, upper crust matron Norma Wintz, who Anne has traveled to California to meet under the most dramatic of circumstances.

Duets confronts the most intimate type of family secret that ties these two women’s lives together, just as chance events turn Molly and Anne’s worlds upside down.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM DUETS:

“He’s not what you think.”

Molly Harper turned away at these words, knowing they more than likely preceded an indictment of her fiancé. Keep from showing you’re hurt, she told herself. But she knew disappointment had flashed in her eyes, and that her mother had seen it.

“Ben’s not what I think?” Molly stared outside as the limousine she and Norma rode in glided down Wilshire Boulevard, five miles from the brick-paved road leading to her mother’s neighborhood. “Why don’t you tell me what you think I think he is?”

“You think he’s a man like your father, a man inclined to put his wife’s well-being and his children’s needs before his own. Ben Delmonico is not that kind of man,” Norma said.

She turned and faced her mother. “I don’t think you know Ben well enough to say that. And honestly, I wish you had a little more faith in me. I gave this a lot of thought before I decided to marry him.”

“A lot of thought? You told me five minutes ago you said ‘yes’ the same night Ben proposed. I think you’ve agreed to marry him because you’re panicking.”

Molly sighed. She’d hoped Norma would be delighted by the news she was marrying a successful man, the gorgeous, Academy-Award-nominated actor, Ben Delmonico. A man known the world over for his sophisticated action movies and box office charisma. But it was clear Norma was not delighted.

Typical. Mother loves being contrary. And in control. “What am I panicking about?”

“About being thirty-two. About not having children. But mostly because Cruz Morales is seriously involved with another woman. And, as usual, when you panic you make impulsive decisions. I’ve seen you live to regret that several times.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said.” Molly’s took a breath. “When you told me a few weeks ago Cruz was involved with Shar, how did I act? I was happy. I told you to give him my congratulations! Cruz and Shar hooking-up has nothing to do with me deciding to marry Ben.”

“Really?”

“You know as well as anyone that Cruz and I have been over forever. He’s moved on, and I’ve moved on. We’re friends, but only that.” Heat bloomed on her cheeks and spilled down her neck.

“I don’t remember you being all that crazy about Ben before you heard the news about Cruz.” Norma tilted her chin up.

“Just because I don’t announce something to you, doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

Norma snorted.

“Ben and I have been dating for months. He’s a charming and generous man who convinced the studio to consider me for Traitor, risking his own chances for the lead. All my friends like him, Mom, both for himself and because he’s a wonderful actor.”

“Well, that is one thing we can agree on,” Norma said. “He is a good actor. So why not just make movies with him instead of marrying the man?”

“Those are not mutually exclusive. I’m marrying him and making a movie with him. Or have you forgotten I’ll be on set in Paris at Christmas?”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten that. It’s the first Christmas you won’t be home; thank you, Ben Delmonico.” Norma leaned closer. “I just can’t help but wonder if that movie isn’t what’s behind him proposing so suddenly. The wedding publicity is sure to make it a blockbuster.”

“For god’s sake, that’s just plain insulting. He didn’t ask me to marry him to get publicity.” Molly reddened again, remembering how Ben had said, two minutes after she’d accepted his proposal, “Our box office will be huge.”

“Let’s just drop this, Mom. We’re almost home and I’ve got a million things to do.”

The Lincoln slowed and turned onto North Highland, the main thoroughfare into Hancock Park. “Every time we come this way, I remember the day Charles and I brought you home, all those years ago. It was the biggest triumph of our lives,” Norma said softly.

“That’s a nice memory.” It was, but Molly knew better than to let down her guard.

“It is.” Norma turned to Molly. “Now look, obviously I can’t tell you what to do any more. But until you found out Cruz was moving in with Shar, every time you called home, you asked about Cruz first. Every time you came home, he was the first one you called. I think you’re still in love with him. And, despite his behavior, which might fool someone who hasn’t known him since he was a little boy, it’s clear to me that he loves you too. I think this relationship with Shar is a ruse to provoke you into finding a way to work things out.”

The limo rocked gently and the women’s shoulders brushed against one another. Molly ran her fingers through the wild blonde hair she was famous for. “You’ve just outlined a plot so pathetic it wouldn’t get made by the Hallmark Channel.”

“I like the Hallmark Channel. They make lovely movies, without all the naked fannies.”

“I like the Hallmark Channel too, but that’s not my point. Cruz wouldn’t be with Shar for any reason other than he finds her a good match. He doesn’t do ‘ruses’.”

“What’s he got in common with her?”

“They both work at the college and they’re both into books and the local arts scene. I bet she’ll finally get him to turn one of his ideas into a novel. I never could.” Molly’s voice wavered.

“See, that’s pain in your voice, not happiness. You shouldn’t be afraid of the truth about your feelings, whatever the cost.”

“Like you? Are you always completely honest, Mother? No matter the cost?”

Norma blinked. “What are we talking about now? What haven’t I been honest about with you?”

Molly looked down. Her question had surprised both of them and she wished she could un-ask it. Now isn’t the time to open that particular can of worms.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection. These evolved into bad teen poetry and worse short stories. She took her first stab at full length fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, published in the summer of 2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an April 2014 release.

Once and Forever, an anthology which includes the novella Duets, came out on November 1st. Molly Harper, a full length novel starring the characters from Duets 3 years later was released by Posh Publishing in January, 2014. Duets is now available as a standalone novella. Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, ‘Phil-the-fist’, her hero of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. These girls, like all good villains, have their reasons for misbehaving.

Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest wish.

Review Quotes:

Praise for SECRET SISTER...

“Along with being a very unique and captivating plot, SECRET SISTER offers a shocking turn of the paranormal kind... This is a story of friendship, family, and most of all, true love and what those things can mean. I cannot recommend SECRET SISTER strongly enough... “ Fresh Fiction, Fresh Reviews

DUETS...

"I'll admit I grabbed this book for review more because Emelle Gamble had a story in there - I've loved her significant touch brought to family relationships in a previous book of hers that I've read, and I wanted to confirm if this sort of embroiled-relationships type of tale is really her niche or not. Turns out, it is!" Zee Monodee's Author's Corner reviews MOLLY HARPER...

"MOLLY HARPER ...is the first book I've read by this author, but it won't be my last! Ms. Gamble does a wonderful job of drawing these characters and making them just leap off the page." Long and Short Reviews

DATING CARY GRANT...

"Fantasy and reality blend together in this mesmerizing tale from Emelle Gamble...It's not your typical romance, making it a breath of fresh air in a market currently inundated with new adult contemporary romances (which I do love, but need a break once in a while!). I continue to be a fan of this author..." Andi's Book Reviews

Links:

Email: emellegamble@aol.com

Website: www.EmelleGamble.com

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/ Emelle.Gamble

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmelleGamble

Goodreads: http:// www.goodreads.com/author/show/7123746.Emelle_Gamble

Emelle Gamble BOOKS:

DATING CARY GRANT book of the month at Long & Short Reviews. eBook exclusively at Amazon.com http://amzn.to/1iiE8Y0

SECRET SISTER... RONE Award Honorable Mention for BEST CONTEMPORARY NOVEL of 2013 available in audio, paperback and eBook at Amazon http:// amzn.to/17J2Bn6

DUETS, a prequel novella to MOLLY HARPER, now available at Amazon http://amzn.to/1cagyNa

MOLLY HARPER, available in paperback and eBook at Amazon http:/ /amzn.to/MOJUXa

MOLLY HARPER and DUETS now available in one Paperback volume! http://amzn.to/1hW6YSj

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Straight Browsing from the Library - Sarah Ballance

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Sarah will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please click the banner to see a list of other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

Her past is back to haunt her—and this time, it’s got a gun.

When Gage Lawton finds his brother shot to death on his back porch, every shred of evidence points to one person: Gage’s ex-lover, Riley Beckett. The only gun in town that fires a bullet of that caliber belongs to her.

Certain the shooting is payback for his part in the loss of her parents, he abandons his promise to stay out of her life and confronts her, his rage backed up with a revolver. Yet when she steps through the door, all thoughts of revenge burn to ashes.

A year after Riley unwillingly walked away from Gage, she enters her home to find him sitting in the dark, gun pointed at her head. One look into those achingly familiar blue eyes reminds her how wrong she was to let him go. But now there’s more standing between them than their heated past.

A twist of fate—and a hail of sniper bullets—puts them in the cross hairs of a killer, leaving Riley with just two slim options: trust her greatest betrayer, or face a murderer alone.

This book has been previously published.

Warning: Prepare to get caught in a crossfire of profanity, danger, and desire. Intense violence may trigger the desire to wear body armor...and take it off. Very, very slowly.

READ AN EXCERPT

Without taking his attention from her, Gage climbed out of the chair, cursing when he realized his foot was asleep. He tucked the .38 in the waistband of his pants and limped through the pins-and- needles sensation wreaking havoc in his left boot.

Hell of a time to feel ticklish, he thought, staring at Riley’s wild mane of dark waves sprawled over the floorboards. Not the stark contrast he’d seen over a crisp white pillowcase.

His mind played flashbacks. Memories of dragging his lips over her heaving, sweat-slicked skin threatened his plans...and his resolve.

The flood of emotions shouldn’t have surprised him. He was as stoic as a block of granite when it came to everything—and everyone—except Riley Beckett. He never could put the feeling into words, but just being around her made him feel free, like standing in the middle of the prairie with the sun, and the breeze, and the vastness...and the promise of something he didn’t dare believe.

And he didn’t. Gage knew good things didn’t happen to him. But she’d captured a piece of his soul with her laughing eyes and damning innocence.

The purest woman he’d ever known and he’d destroyed her.

Twice.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. (As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the kids.) When not buried under piles of laundry, she may be found adrift in the Atlantic (preferably on a boat) or in search of that ever-elusive perfect writing spot where not even the kids can find her. To learn more about her work in contemporary, historical, and supernatural romance and romantic suspense, please stalk accordingly.

Website: http://www.sarahballance.com/

Blog: http://sarahballance.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http:// www.facebook.com/sarah.ballance.author.news

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahBallance

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ SarahBallance34/

Goodreads: http:// www.goodreads.com/author/show/4103362.Sarah_Ballance

Buy Links:

Samhain Publishing - http:// store.samhainpublishing.com/forsaken-p-73612.html

Amazon - http:// www.amazon.com/Forsaken-Sarah-Balance-ebook/dp/B00K7YXB4Q

Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forsaken-sarah-ballance/ 1119867315?ean=9781619222625

Kobo - http://store.kobobooks.com/ en-US/ebook/forsaken-25

iTunes/iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/forsaken/id878566015?mt=11&ign- mpt=uo%3D4

Google Books - http:// books.google.com/books?id=F5OSAwAAQBAJ&dq

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forsaken-Sarah-Ballance-ebook/dp/B00K7YXB4Q/

Amazon CA - http://www.amazon.ca/Forsaken-Sarah-Ballance-ebook/dp/B00K7YXB4Q/

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Straight Browsing from the Library: J.M. Griffin

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding winner's choice of an eBook from Lachesis Publishing to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please click the banner to see a list of other stops on the tour.

NOTE: THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE FREE EVERYWHERE IT'S SOLD!

Why not pick up your copy today?

READ THE BLURB

</ a>

After her favorite aunt is found dead and an alarming box is mysteriously left on the doorstep of her aunt’s house now legally hers, Lavinia Esposito wants explanations. But, having cleared the package of explosives, the local cops are dumbounded by the precious stones which came without an explanation, just an address─her Aunt Livvy’s. Frustrated by the cops’ refusal to share their theories, criminal justice instructor Lavinia Esposito, a.k.a. Vinnie, takes investigation matters into her own hands. Vinnie is soon dragged into situations beyond her control, finding herself in hot water with the law, the crooks, and her Italian father. Willing to put her life at risk to find out what really happened to her beloved Aunt Livvy, and why jewels would be addressed to her aunt, Vinnie plunges ahead with her usual tenacity, bravery, and keen wits to solve and survive this mystery.

READ AN EXCERPT

In the living room, I paced while awaiting the arrival of the state police. Within minutes a sleek, grey Crown Victoria pulled up to the curb out front and a tall, lean trooper got out. Broad shouldered and well built, he walked with assurance and a certain amount of swagger.

I stepped into the open door entry and watched him saunter through the front gate onto the walkway. He stared at the package and then at me.

“Did you call about this box, ma’am?” Keen hazel green eyes traveled over my face and down my body.

Craggy features, sculpted from granite, faced me and I felt my blood run hot as the breath caught in my throat. What was this about? I gazed at him admiring the neat package wrapped in the trim uniform.

“I did. Bill MacNert from the fire station thought it would be a good idea since it was mysteriously left on the doorstep. He checked to see if it was ticking, but it isn’t.”

“Are you Lavinia Ciano?” The trooper’s glance strayed from the name on the wrapper to me as his eyes showed a glint of humor and his mouth twitched.

Could that humor be over the name? I wondered, as I said, “No, my name is Esposito. Livvy was my aunt.”

Our eyes held and my heart pounded. I licked my parched lips and then glanced away.

An oversized van idled up behind the patrol car and the trooper glanced back. Two men stepped from the vehicle dressed in heavy gear and acknowledged him.

He turned to the lead man, mumbled a few words and then stared at me again. If this was an action film, I would have expected Bruce Willis to jump out of the truck announcing he was about to kick someone’s ass.

This wasn’t an action film, but a real life situation instead. The two guys angled through the front gate and hitched their gear as they hauled a peculiar looking lidded barrel toward the front door. By this time, a few neighbors had taken notice of the activities. Several people straggled along the sidewalk across the street to watch.

You’d think it was a freakin’ sideshow. I smiled and waved. Nobody responded, they just continued to gawk. A little excitement for them on an otherwise dull Sunday, I guessed. The trooper stood aside and watched the crowd, but said nothing.

The overdressed bomb guys corralled the box between them. With delicate finesse they lifted and stowed it into the metal container, loaded it into the truck and drove off. I stared in disbelief. Hell, I wanted to know what was in the package. I had a right to know, didn’t I?

MEET THE AUTHOR

J. M. Griffin is a student of the human condition, wielding the written craft to stimulate the imagination much like she wields her paint brush. The pages are a blank canvas on which J.M. draws vivid characters. J.M. is the author of the popular Vinnie Esposito mystery series featuring the sexy sleuth Vinnie Esposito and the engaging Deadly Bakery mystery series featuring the sassy baker/sleuth Melina Cameron. J.M. lives in rural Rhode Island, a state she considers colorful and interesting.

Author links:

https:// www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Griffin/246751368685078

http://www.twitter.com/mycozymystery

http://mycozymysteries.blogspot.com/

Buy Links:

Amazon: http:/ /www.amazon.com/Love-Livvy-JM-Griffin/dp/1897562454/ref=la_B0074JH1HU_1_1? s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408405431&sr=1-1

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-love-of-livvy-j-m-griffin/1102586938? ean=9781897562468

Smashwords: https:// www.smashwords.com/books/view/399272

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Straight Browsing from the Library - L. V. Pires

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

READ THE BLURB

After having been cryogenically suspended for eighteen years, Oliver Conroy is brought back to life and given a second opportunity to live out his dreams. Velcron Technologies assures Oliver there’s nothing wrong with the procedure. Excited to find his family and finish his senior year at Sierra Vista High, Oliver ventures out into the new and very different world.

Across town, Colby Patterson, Sierra Vista’s star student, has just experienced his soul torn from his body and returned to its original owner, Oliver, leaving him empty, void of emotion, a psychopath, who is now determined to get his soul back using any means necessary.

When Oliver comes to realize he’s being pursued by Colby he must decide what to do. Can he defend himself against this soulless psychopath? Will he be able to bring himself to murder? And, if so, what will happen to his soul?

It’s a battle for the ultimate prize – ownership of the soul.

READ THE EXCERPT

Colby woke on the cold floor. Only one of his eyes worked. The other was sealed shut. He pulled himself to sitting, feeling every inch of his body bruised and sore. An ache radiated inside of him like his ribs were broken. Blood dripped from a cut on his lip. He smeared it away with the back of his hand, then looked down at his arms and saw burn marks seared across his flesh. The same red marks covered his legs. Colby struggled to his feet and looked around to orientate himself.

He wasn’t in the room he had been brought to when he first arrived to Velcron. This room was a laboratory—a dimly lit one. The floor was smooth and polished, with a metal table was in the middle of the room. Silver chutes lined one wall, a metal door on the other. He hobbled to the door and tried the handle not really thinking it would work, but determined to escape. He had to get out.

He remembered the last thing Dr. Wang had said. Take him to the vaporization room. Colby turned around again and saw a shower on the far end of the room—the vaporization shower. He had heard about it before. It was used in prisons to execute criminals. A prisoner would be forced into the chamber and ultrasonic lasers would shoot out of the showerhead, vaporizing the victim into oblivion. Now, they were going to try to execute him without any just cause. He hadn’t even had a trial. There was no jury, no witnesses called forth to testify, no judge to hear his version of the truth. All of it was a set-up, to annihilate him and keep him quiet, but why?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Young Adult author L.V. Pires lives near Baltimore, Maryland.

She graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Master’s in Education and the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor's in English. She is currently working towards her MFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University.

Her work includes "The Portrait" (Gypsy Shadow Publishing), "Summer of Winged Creatures" (Saturday's Child Press) and EXTENSION (6/15/14, Crescent Moon Press).

Follow her at lisavpires.com.
Twitter at @lisavpires
www.facebook.com/lisavpires

Buy the book at Amazon.

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Straight Browsing from the Library - The Honeymoon Prize by Melissa McClone

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Melissa will award a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

NOTE: This book is on sale for only $0.99 during the tour.  Why not grab yourself a copy today?

He needs a wife...

Single bodyguard Nick Calhoun has been given an ultimatum by his boss--find a wife or lose his cushy, high-paying job. Clients' wives are hitting on him and putting Nick, and his boss, in hot water. But monogamy? He's never been a white picket fence kind of guy, and he's not about to embrace the happily married lifestyle now. He needs a wife who doesn't care about his steamy, extra-curricular love life...and he knows just the woman to fit the bill.

She needs a home...

Adalaide Sinclair spent years caring for her ill grandmother. Upon Grammy's death, she's stunned to find herself evicted from the only home she's ever known and labeled a thief by her inheritance-hungry family. Addie needs to find a place to live and a job--fast. So when her childhood friend, Nick, proposes a no-sex marriage of convenience, she puts her dreams of true love and happily-ever-after on hold. Finding Prince Charming can wait a little longer, right?

But will their friendship survive the honeymoon?

When Nick and Addie unexpectedly win a dream honeymoon, they decide to go their separate ways during the ten-day vacation. Too bad a camera crew is waiting for them at the tropical paradise. Acting like a head-over-heels bride and groom for reality TV wreaks havoc on their no-sex agreement...and blurs the line between fantasy and reality. Will Nick and Addie remain married in name only, or will a romantic honeymoon for show turn them into true newlyweds?

Enjoy an excerpt:

Time to focus on the present—a paradise full of beaches and sun and fruity drinks with paper umbrellas. She could swim and sail and participate in the forty-seven other activities the resort offered or read one of the novels she’d brought.

“What are you thinking?” Nick asked.

“That I deserve this lovely island.” She raised her chin, buoyed by a resolve she hadn’t felt in . . . years. “I’m going to make the most of the next ten days. Let my hair down and dance in the sand. Who knows when I’ll get to do something like this again?”

Nick’s eyes darkened, turning serious. Something rare for him. He started to speak then stopped himself.

“Your turn,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

“This is only our first vacation. You’re not going to have to wait another nine years for another one, okay?”

The raw emotion in his voice sounded nothing like the Nick she knew, but the determination behind each word warmed her heart. “Okay.”

The plane landed and motored across the water toward a long wooden dock that led to a pristine curved strip of white sand beach. Two paddleboards lay by the shore’s edge. Palm fronds blew in the wind.

Her breath caught in her throat. “It’s like a postcard.”

“Only better. This is real life. The island is ours for the next week and a half.” Nick motioned to the people on the dock. “Looks like we have a welcoming committee. Show off your pearly whites. I see cameras.”

With a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, Melissa McClone worked for a major airline where she traveled the globe and met her husband. But analyzing jet engine performance couldn’t compete with her love of writing happily ever afters. Her first full-time writing endeavor was her first sale when she was pregnant with her first child! Since then, she has published over thirty romance novels with Harlequin and Tule Publishing Group. She’s also been nominated for Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her driving her minivan to/from her children’s swim practices and other activities. She also sends care packages to deployed service members and fosters cats through a local no-kill animal shelter. Melissa lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three school-aged children, two spoiled Norwegian Elkhounds and cats who think they rule the house. They do!

Website: http://www.melissamcclone.com

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

Twitter: @melissamcclone

Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/ product/B00LE4Q370

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Straight Browsing from the Library - Traitor's Legacy by Beth Trissel

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Beth will be awarding a $35 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post.

</ div> 1781. On opposite sides of the War of Independence, British Captain Jacob Vaughan and Claire Monroe find themselves thrust together by chance and expediency.

Captain Vaughan comes to a stately North Carolina manor to catch a spy. Instead, he finds himself in bedlam: the head of the household is an old man ravaged by madness, the one sane male of the family is the very man he is hunting, and the household is overseen by his beguiling sister Claire.

Torn between duty, love, and allegiances, yearning desperately for peace, will Captain Vaughan and Claire Monroe forge a peace of their own against the vagaries of war and the betrayal of false friends?

Now enjoy an excerpt:

She dashed between them, followed by a wiry slave who made for the stables. “I am truly sorry for your violent reception at Thornton Hall and beg your forbearance,” she blurted, and flung herself at Vaughan’s feet just across from the wounded guide. “Spare my foolish brother, I beseech you.”

Hardly in a position to indulge her notions of chivalry, as he was stained with blood and constrained by the need to apply pressure to Percy’s wound, Vaughan scowled at her in bemusement. “Get up, woman. I shall consider your request.”

She raised her head and met his annoyance with a plea in her earnest gaze, like sunlight on water lilies. So clear, her hazel eyes, cast with a greenish hue, and her face was really rather pleasing. Remarkably so. What on earth was he thinking? Vaughan wrenched his attention away from the distracting girl. “Might I have clean cloth to stem the flow, Miss—”

“Monroe,” she supplied, and reached into her bodice. “Claire Monroe.”

Lovely name. Too bad it belonged to a Rebel.

Married to my high school sweetheart, I live on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia surrounded by my children, grandbabies, and assorted animals. An avid gardener, my love of herbs and heirloom plants figures into my work. The rich history of Virginia, the Native Americans and the people who journeyed here from far beyond her borders are at the heart of my inspiration. In addition to American settings, I also write historical and time travel romances set in the British Isles, and nonfiction about gardening, herbal lore, and country life.

Facebook: http:// www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Beth-Trissel/276061290666

My Blog: http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BethTrissel

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Beth-Trissel/e/B002BLLAJ6/ ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1404073285&sr=1-2-ent

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/beth-trissel? store=allproducts&keyword=beth+trissel

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Straight Browsing from the Library - To Tempt an Angel by Patricia Grasso

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Patricia will be awarding a free eBook from Lachesis Publishing to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

NOTE: this book is FREE everywhere!  Buy links are at the end of this post -- why not download your own copy today?

Angelica Douglas has no idea that she’s the Countess of Melrose. What she does know is that she needs to support her family as a card shark, while finding a way to seek revenge on the men who ruined her father and sent her family spiralling down into poverty.

Robert Campbell, Marquess of Argyll, heir to the Duke of Inverary, has no idea who Angelica truly is. He just wants to watch over her and make her his mistress.

Angelica thinks Robert is simply a dashing rogue who is far too dangerous for her peace of mind. Robert thinks Angelica is an angel except when she’s being a pain in the behind.

When Robert finds out that his own father may have been one of the men who ruined Angelica’s family, he vows to keep a careful eye on her. When Angelica finds out that Robert’s father may have been one of the men responsible, she vows to stay as far away from Robert as possible. But when danger threatens, both Robert and Angelica must face the truth and let fate take the upper hand.

Enjoy an excerpt:

“I knew someone would try to steal your money,” Robert said, helping her rise. He lifted the wreath of flowers off the ground and placed it on top of her blond head, adding, “You look like a flower fairy again.”

“What makes you think the assassin was aiming at me?” Angelica countered. “He didn’t stop to steal my money. Perhaps he’s one of your enemies.”

Robert snapped his brows together. She knew from the expression on his handsome face that he thought she made sense.

“I’m an excellent markswoman,” Angelica said, pulling her dagger from the sheath strapped to her leg. “If you hadn’t thrown yourself on top of me, I would have taken him down. Then we could have questioned him.”

Robert burst out laughing. “A knife wielding angel? Next time I’ll let you rescue me,” he said, helping her onto his horse.

“I should walk the rest of the way,” Angelica said when he mounted behind her. “Being attacked twice in one day is statistically impossible.”

“You are the sweetest gambler I’ve ever encountered,” Robert said. Then, “What’s your full name?”

“Angelica Douglas.” His body pressing intimately against hers made her feel weak. To mask her nervousness, she asked “What is your full name, sir?”

“Robert Roy.”

“Are you joking?” Angelica glanced over her shoulder at him. “Your name is really Rob Roy?”

Robert shrugged. “My father had a keen sense of humor.”

“I agree,” Angelica said with a smile, “but the joke is on you.”

Robert inhaled deeply of her scent, lavender and water lily. She reminded him of a spring day. “Your smile shames the envious sun, angel.”

“I love this moment in the year’s cycle,” Angelica told him. “Sunshine, flowers, and freedom fill the days.”

“Do I detect a philosophical gambler?” Robert asked, amusement tingeing his voice.

Angelica shrugged. “I am philosophical by choice and a gambler by necessity.”

A connoisseur of beautiful women, Robert enjoyed the feeling of the angel in his arms as they started down Hampstead Road. She exuded seductive innocence, an aphrodisiac to his senses.

I'm a dog person. Who lives with 10 cats. Get the picture?

My first brush with the romance genre happened in my high school junior year. I discovered Gone With the Wind and hid it behind my American history book to read during class. (The Civil War is American history.) The ambiguous ending left me dissatisfied, though. Rhett and Scarlet needed a happily-ever- after. Believing in happily-ever-afters positively screams romantic-at-heart.

On the other hand, I love murder and mayhem as much as happily-ever-after. My usual television fare is fiction and nonfiction crime shows, not love stories. Which accounts for the mysteries I sneaked into my historical romances. Now I'm trying my hand at writing a humorous mystery, sans historical and sans emphasis on the love interest. I even prepared for my mystery-in-progress by attending the local NRA's Pistol School. Shooting pistols is great fun. I adore the .22 semiautomatics.

After graduating from high school without distinction, I earned both Bachelor and Master degrees at a state college. Again, without distinction. I held several part-time jobs during my college days: file clerk in an insurance company, long-distance telephone operator, kimono-wearing waitress in a Japanese restaurant.

And then I began my teaching career, eighteen years in the eighth grade and thirteen years at the high school. Weary with the same old routine, I decided I needed a creative outlet. So I decided to write a romance novel but only managed to talk about writing one. After five years of listening to me, a friend said to stop talking and start writing.

So I did.

I made every mistake known to man. Blunder would be a more appropriate word, but I did learn using the trial and error method. As well as studying the works of authors I admired.

After five years of writing for nothing but love, I sold my first novel. Since then, I've sold eighteen novels and won several awards--- National Readers' Choice Award New England Readers' Choice Award, Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice and KISS Awards, B. Dalton and Bookrak Awards for best-selling author. My novels have been translated into fifteen languages and sold in twenty countries.

If I had my life over, would I become a writer? Nope. I would enjoy being a Victoria Secret model. Perhaps in my next incarnation I won't be too old, too short, or too unphotogenic.

www.patriciagrasso.com

https://www.facebook.com/ patricia.grasso.902

BN http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-tempt-an-angel-patricia-grasso/ 1005102935?ean=9781927555071

Kindle http:/ /www.amazon.com/To-Tempt-Angel-Book-Douglas-ebook/dp/B00A2WZ1IC/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1401151486&sr=8-1&keywords=to+tempt+an+angel

Kobo http:// store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/to-tempt-an-angel-2

iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/to-tempt-angel-book-1-douglas/id576045599?mt=11</ blockquote>
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