Straight Browsing from the Library: Spring at the Little Duck Pond Cafe by Rosie Green

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Rosie Green will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N 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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Fleeing from a romance gone wrong, Ellie Farmer arrives in the pretty village of Sunnybrook, hoping for a brand new start that most definitely does not include love!

Following an unscheduled soak in the village duck pond, she meets Sylvia, who runs the Little Duck Pond Cafe. Renting the flat above the cafe seems like the answer to Ellie's prayers. It's only for six months, which will give her time to sort out her life, far away from cheating boyfriend Richard.

But is running away from your past ever really the answer?

Clashing with the mysterious and brooding Zak Chamberlain, an author with a bad case of writer's block, is definitely not what Ellie needs right now. And then there's Sylvia, who's clinging so hard to her past, she's in danger of losing the quaint but run-down cafe altogether.

Can Ellie find the answers she desperately needs in Sunnybrook? And will she be able to help save Sylvia's Little Duck Pond Cafe from closure?

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A sudden noise makes me turn my head towards the cottage and I almost lose my balance, grasping just in time at a branch above my head.

Oh, nightmare!

A tall man is striding out of the house towards me, looking understandably peeved. He crosses the grass and stands right below me.

‘What’s going on?’ The deep, rumbling voice matches his big, lean frame as he stands there, hands on hips, glaring up at me. I can barely see his eyes beneath the tumble of dark hair but I’m pretty sure they’re flashing with anger.

I swallow hard and open my mouth to start apologising but my throat feels so dry, nothing comes out. So I’m left staring back at him like a stunned haddock.

‘Well?’ His bark tones down a notch. I think he’s realised from my gormless expression that I pose no big security threat to his tree or his person.

‘Sorry.’ I manage to choke out a single word. But looking down, I feel quite faint. Descending is going to be a challenge. Fright has welded my bottom to the branch.

‘Are you doing this for a dare?’ he asks, glancing towards the hedge as if he expects to see a friend with a sheepish grin pop up at any moment with their thumb in the air. ‘We’ve had one or two break-ins lately, so you can understand how I might feel slightly suspicious about a strange woman lurking in my tree.’

Oh, God, does he think I’m a burglar?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.

Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’.

Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.

Spring at the Little Duck Pond Café is the first in Rosie’s brand new series of novellas centred around life in a village café. Each novella is a ‘stand-alone’ read. Readers will be able to read the whole series on Kindle Unlimited.

You can connect with Rosie Green on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Rosie_Green1988
Amazon purchase link: https://amzn.to/2W8uXF7

NOTE: Book is free

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Green/e/B07CZYV7DW%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

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Straight Browsing from the Library: Heroes in Love by David C. Dawson

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David C. Dawson will be awarding $10 Boroughs Bucks 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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NOT EVERY HERO WEARS A UNIFORM

Can love last a lifetime? Billy Walsh and Daniel Richards never intended to be matchmakers. After all, they're only at the start of their own love story. When Billy uncovers a failed love affair, he learns it lasted more than fifty years until it fell apart. He and Daniel see their own fledgling relationship through the lens of the now estranged couple, and they vow to reunite the elderly lovers. But as they set about their task, the pressure of modern life threatens to tear them apart.

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“Hey. You okay?”

The voice was familiar. Billy pulled back from the window, opened his eyes, and turned to see the black wavy hair and brown eyes of the man he had collided with in the hospital entrance under an hour ago. Clumsily, he tried to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand and merely succeeded in smearing his hand with a gob of snot from his nose. His humiliation was complete.

Then the man’s oh-so-kissable lips moved, and he said, “Come on. You need a coffee.”

The cafeteria was on the ground floor of the hospital, close to the entrance. It was noisy and packed with people, and there was a long line at the counter.

Billy’s Good Samaritan introduced himself as Daniel. He invited Billy to find a table, while he queued up to buy them hot drinks.

As Billy waited, he reviewed the rollercoaster day. True, most of it had been downhill. Steeply. But this last turn lifted his spirits. He looked across the crowded cafeteria at Daniel standing in line. His back was to Billy as Daniel ordered coffees from the bored-looking assistant on the other side of the counter. He stood tall and confident. His dark blue linen suit gave him the look of a Hollywood actor in sharp contrast to the shabbily dressed people on either side of him. His haircut was obviously expensive, and he was well groomed.

Billy looked down at the sleeve of his shirt. The remains of his egg sandwich from earlier was smeared across it. He licked his fingers and rubbed the stain, in the hope of making the stain disappear.

“Here you are. I got some chocolate chip cookies as well. I love them, and I thought you might need the sugar.”

Daniel placed a large plastic tray on the table. He handed Billy a chipped mug of cappuccino, placed a large plate of cookies on the table, and sat opposite. Billy slid his arm into his lap, to hide the egg stained sleeve. “You okay now?”

Billy nodded. “Yeah. It’s been a really shit day, and I guess it all finally got to me. Work went tits up this morning. Then I met my mother’s oncologist this afternoon, and—” He stopped. Not wanting to repeat what he had learned.

MEET THE AUTHOR

David C Dawson writes contemporary thrillers featuring gay men in love. He’s an award winning author, journalist and documentary maker. His debut novel won Bronze for Best Mystery and Suspense in the FAPA awards, and he has published two books since.

David lives in London with his boyfriend and two cats. In his spare time, he tours Europe and sings with the London Gay Men’s Chorus.

Social Media:

website: http://www.davidcdawson.co.uk blog: http://blog.davidcdawson.co.uk/#home
instagram: http://www.instagram.com/davidcdawsonwriter
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/david.c.dawson.5
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/david_c_dawson
pinterest: http://www.pinterest.co.uk/mrdcdawson/heroes-in-love-influences/
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/DavidCDawson

Buy Link:

Boroughs Press: http://boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/heroes-love
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083QRQ319
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083QRQ319
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B083QRQ319
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083QRQ319
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/3G28pL
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/999639

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Straight Chatting from the Library: Branden LaNette

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Branden LaNette will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble 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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What is the favorite book you remember as a child?

I was a Stephen King and Dean Koontz junkie. I don’t have a favorite book, I loved it all! Haha!

What is your favorite book today?

My favorite book is The Secret.

Tell us about your current book in 10 words.

The book that I have written is: No one is coming to save you, learn to save yourself. (Sorry, that is 11!)

What are you reading right now?

Currently I am reading Think and Grow Rich. I’ve got some money blocks and I feel like this will finally release me from the ideas of the people around me. Our influence creates our subconscious, I haven’t had a good financial presence in my life so this book is my current obsession.

Do you have any bad book habits?

I do have bad book habits. I buy more than one at a time, but I have a habit of only submersing myself into one for a few weeks or months, so the other ones collect dust.

E-Reader or print? and why?

I am all about print. I work a business on my phone and usually have Christmas movies playing on the background of my iPad. I don’t want either of these devices near me when I’m reading a book. However, when it comes to my bedtime habit, my phone is on the charger playing some audiobook I’m obsessed with at the moment. This month it is Think and Grow Rich.

One book at a time or multiples?

I am a one book at a time girl. I’m a fast reader so it only takes me a few hours. Fiction, I am a one series at a time. If there are six books in the series, I will read them within six days.

Dog-ear or bookmark? (don't worry—Librarian Judith won't hold it against you—much)

Does laying them open to the page face down on the table or floor count? This is usually what happens.

Favorite book to recommend?

Is it weird to say I recommend my own Once Upon a Time, Bitches for self-help? If that’s weird then I say read The Secret.

How do you keep your books organized?

What is this organization you speak of? I have books on every shelf in every room and every floor and bag you can imagine in this house. Haha! I keep most of them until I get in a crazy declutter mood -situation than they are given away... only the fiction. I will always keep the non-fiction.

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That’s Branden on the cover. Yes, she has a boy’s name, a Mom bod, and her tattoos are not photoshopped. She doesn’t look like your typical author and she sure doesn’t look like the next self-help Instagram sweetheart.

However, besides being a wife, mom to six kids (plus others with fur), coach and business owner, Branden is the author of the new book, Once Upon a Time, Bitches. It’s a fast paced, in your face, expletive laced, nothing held back message to women everywhere: There is no magic fairytale, but if YOU work at it enough you can come pretty close to creating your version with a happily ever after.

But first, no more whining and no more damsel locked in a tower, bullsh*t. Is it possible to design a fairytale life? Control your destiny? Be the hero in your story? Branden thinks there is and she wants to help you.

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By saying adios to the man who’d refused to be a fifty-fifty partner in our relationship and support my goals and dreams as well as his own, I created what science calls a vacuum—not the Hoover-kind, of course, but the science-kind: a space, an emptiness, a void. (Who says you’ll never use the stuff you learned in school?)

Until I’d left, with my life as crazy as it was, engulfed in the plethora of problems I’d created for myself, there was no room for solutions. No room for help. No room for a prince.

I was like one of those motels you pass on the highway at night, with my neon vacancy light burning brightly like a beacon in darkness. I’d created a vacancy.

I’d made room for a Prince Charming to arrive and from my lips to God’s ear, that’s exactly what happened.

That said, I can guarantee you this: The chances of solutions showing up for any problem you might have in your life are greatly reduced if you don’t make room for them.

But if you do make room for them, you’ll find that my 11th grade science teacher was right: Nature really does abhor a vacuum.

It’s important to realize it’s not Prince Charming’s job to come and save you—it’s your job to be worthy of being saved. Someone who doesn’t even need to be saved.

Ironic, huh?

Becoming a person who doesn’t need saving—being someone capable of saving themselves—is what draws your prince into your life. And not just a prince, but the right prince. Back to Cinderella.

If there ever was a strong-ass bitch who didn’t need saving, it was Cinderella. Yes, her circumstances sucked. And if it were me in that situation, I might have tossed that evil-ass stepmother in the f-ing fire (and the whiny-ass sisters, too). But she’s a better person than I am. Better than most of us.

Cinderella not only took their sh*t, she did it with grace and remained kind to others in spite of the daily cruelty being dished on her. Maybe that’s why she got saved, huh?

Because even though she clearly was a victim, she never acted like one. She kept her chiseled little chin held high. She didn’t beg to be saved. She was simply someone who was worthy of being saved.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Branden LaNette doesn’t look like a typical author but she has long ignored what she “should” do, say and look like. On her own at a very young age, Branden eventually found herself with the wrong guy, the wrong job, and a bleak future. The fairytale she was promised as a child never materialized.

Finally, Branden decided that she wanted something different for her life, and realized no one was going to do it for her. Prince charming wasn’t coming to save her—she’d have to save herself.

Step by step, decision by decision, through major trials and tribulations that would stop most people in their tracks, Branden learned how to turn heartbreak into happiness and self-judgement into inner joy.

Today, Branden LaNette is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker, wife, and stay-at-home Mom to six C-section babies (ages 1-16) and way too many f-ing pets. Somehow, however, she manages to juggle all of this effortlessly (a blatant lie) while pushing her way through the kinds of fear and self-doubts that whisper within all of us (totally true) to achieve her goals. Her most recent dream come true is this book, one that is destined to have a major impact on millions of women across the globe (or at least nine people in Michigan.)

Through it all, she has found her happiness, her joy, and more importantly, her voice.

Website: http://www.BrandenLanette.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Branden.Lanette
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Branden_Lanette
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Brandenlanettel

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Time-Bitches-Fairytale/dp/1947814869/

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Straight Browsing from the LIbrary: Stormwatch: Snow Blind by Cindy Gerard

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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STORMWATCH series blurb:

The storm sweeps in like a thief in the night... Winter storm Holly is the worst in eighty years bringing high winds, subzero temperatures and snowfall better measured in feet than in inches. The weather paralyzes everything in its path, but in this storm, weather isn’t the only threat.

A new installment of STORMWATCH releases each Thursday starting December 5 through January 9. Each thrilling full length novel is a standalone story with no cliffhangers. Don’t miss a single one from half a dozen of the genre's bestselling storytellers!

December 5 - Frozen Ground by Debra Webb
December 12 - Deep Freeze by Vicki Hinze
December 19 - Wind Chill by Rita Herron
December 26 - Black Ice by Regan Black
January 2 - Snow Brides by Peggy Webb
January 9 - Snow Blind by Cindy Gerard

Stormwatch series at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YZB1FZR

It started out as a simple recon mission – then the worst happened. Recon evolved into an imminent threat and Rapid Response Alliance operatives, Cara Graves and Josh Haskins find themselves with less than 48 hours to circumvent a nuclear disaster. Fighting against the clock and the worst blizzard to hit the Midwest in almost a century, Cara and Josh risk everything – including their feelings for each other – to stop what the terrorists hope will be Armageddon.

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“Sit. Rest,”Cara ordered before jumping out of the truck, leaving it running with the heater on full blast. “I've got this.”

Josh lost sight of her as she bucked the wind and rounded the cab toward the truck bed. He knew what she was after. This was no time for subtlety.

When she walked back to the front of the truck again, she had a tire iron in her hand. He couldn't hear the glass break above the wind, but he saw the moment she slammed the heavy iron into a window in the back of the store. Wasting no time, she used the tire iron to clear the glass shards from the frame, then hitched herself up and crawled through the open window.

He closed his eyes. Absorbed the warmth from the heater. Mentally assessed his injuries, then checked his face in the rear-view mirror. Damn. He looked like he'd been run through a meat grinder. His cheek and eye were both swollen but the cut had quit bleeding.

Remembering that he'd spotted some fast foot napkins in the glove box, he leaned forward and rummaged around until he found them, then made an attempt to clean some of the dried blood off of his face. Better but not great. The lump on the back of his head had given him a helluva a headache and though they hurt like the devil, he suspected his ribs were bruised but not cracked or broken.

Over all, he'd had worse. He'd been worse. But at the moment, he couldn't remember when.

A light came on in the back room, grabbing his attention. And a few minutes after that, Cara pushed the store's back door open and hurried back to the truck.

He opened the window so she could hand up two rifles, two 9mm S&W handguns, magazines for all four weapons and several boxes of ammunition.

He wanted to kiss her. But there wasn't time. “We could use a GPS,” he suggested as she climbed back up into the truck and behind the wheel.

She shot him a tight smile, unzipped her jacket and reached inside. “Will this do?”

A box with a brand new GPS landed on his lap.

He took stock of the ammo and magazines and stacked it on the console between them.

“Enough?” she asked.

Josh gave her a grim nod. “Depends on if we get there in time. Let's roll.”

God's honest truth, he didn't know if they had enough of anything to face off with Matthews and his four goons. Another truth – it was going to have to be. Unless a miracle happened, they were on their own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Cindy Gerard has fifty titles in print. In addition to 7 RITA nominations and 2 Rita wins, Cindy has numerous RT nominations and various awards to her credit. Each book of her single title romantic suspense series, Black Ops Inc, has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller top 20 list. Cindy writes sexy, heart-pounding romantic suspense and has had her work twice featured in COSMOPOLITAN Magazine as Red Hot Reads.

Cindy Gerard online:

Website: https://www.cindygerard.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cindy-Gerard/e/B001IGQTNC
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cindy-gerard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cindy-Gerard-New-York-Times-Best-selling-author-167877057439/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cindygerard

Exclusively on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/SNOW-BLIND-STORMWATCH-Book-6-ebook/dp/B07YGSFSPS

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Straight Chatting from the Library: Hannibal Jones from The Wrong Kind by Austin S. Camacho

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Austin S. Camacho will be awarding a $25 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.

READ A CHARACTER INTERVIEW

Reporter Irma Andrews, helped Hannibal Jones unravel a series of murders that caused a lot of collateral damage among the families of the victims. So when Irma asked for an interview he didn’t see how he could say no.
Here’s the way the piece ran:

I met with private investigator Hannibal Jones in his office in the Anacostia section of Washington. He offered me an excellent cup of coffee, which he said was made from Costa Rican beans, and sat at his desk with the sunlight pouring in through large front windows. The office was small and Spartan, sparely furnished but warm and bright. Significantly, while I took notes during the interview, so did Mr. Jones.

Irma Andrews: Thank you for speaking with me today. You are listed as a private investigator but your card describes you as a troubleshooter. How would you describe what you do, and why is it different from what most P.I.’s do?

Hannibal Jones: Most private investigators do employment vetting, matrimonial and divorce work, insurance claims and that kind of stuff. My work is a lot more focused. My clientele is individuals, not corporations. I work with people who are in trouble and don’t know where to get help.

IA: But you do bodyguard work.

HJ: Sometimes.

IA: And solve mysteries like any detective.

HJ: On occasion.

IA: And if a person has been threatened?

HJ: Look, I do whatever’s necessary to help somebody who’s gotten themselves into a jam. I don’t think much about what that might be, going in.

IA: What qualifies you to do this sort of work? What is your professional background?

HJ: As soon as I was old enough I moved to the States and joined the New York City police force.

IA: You weren’t born in the United States?

HJ: No. I was raised in Germany. My dad was an MP in the army. My mom was a German national. We lost Dad in Vietnam. Anyway, I came to the U.S. to be a cop and I was going to bring Mama over as soon as I was settled but she passed.

IA: While you were away.

HJ: (pause.) Yes. While I was away.

IA: I’m sorry. So, you became a policeman…

HJ: Three years on the force to make detective J.G. Then three more as a detective. Then I passed the Secret Service entry exam. I spent seven years as a special agent for the Treasury Department, in the protective service.

IA: But after seven years, you resigned.

HJ: Yeah, well, stuff happened. I should have been one of the uniforms instead of going to the protective service. You see, in the protective service, they expect you to not only protect your principal’s life but his reputation too. I didn’t think my duty should include covering up a politician’s stupid actions. My boss disagreed.

IA: Any politician in particular?

HJ: Not going to go there.

IA: A national figure? Executive branch or…

HJ: I’m not going to go there.

IA: So why this whole troubleshooter concept? How did you get into this business?

HJ: I guess in a way I did it for Mama. She always wanted me to follow my dad’s example. He was always there for people, always looking out for the little guy. Here in Washington, it seemed like there was an overabundance of little guys that needed looking out for.

IA: What kind of job will you do?

HJ: All kinds. Well, no matrimonial stuff, or spying on people waiting for them to do wrong. But I do personal protection, missing persons, sometimes get hired to prove an accused person innocent. I’ll chase a bad element away like I did here, keep drug dealers away from kids or a pimp away from a hooker who wants to quit. Negotiate with loan sharks. Basically, if you have to deal with the bad guys and don’t want the police involved, I’ll usually handle it.

IA: Interesting. How would you describe your relationship with the police?

HJ: I’d call it mutual grudging respect. I don’t mess with them. They don’t mess with me.

IA: How would you describe your personal relationship with Cindy Santiago?

HJ: I would describe it as personal.

IA: What have you learned doing this?

HJ: I’ve learned that most people are sheep. They’re not looking for trouble and they’ll do the right thing if you let them. A few people are wolves. They prey on the sheep, and they’re going to do wrong no matter what you do. They need to be shut out or put down hard.

IA: And you? Where do you fit in?

HJ: Me? I guess I’m the sheepdog.

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A distraught woman hires private investigator Hannibal Jones to track down her daughter who has run away, trying to escape the homeless shelter life her mother has come to accept. When Hannibal finds Connie Blanco she is entwined in a gang war and somehow connected to a murder. The corpse is barely cold before a second murder follows and Hannibal finds himself entangled in a complex plot revolving around stolen drugs…but who is the mastermind of this twisted scheme?

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Hannibal stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. A quick scan showed Sands to be a good housekeeper for a bachelor. There was a place for everything. The blinds were set to let the maximum amount of sunlight into the front room. Small knickknacks and figurines stood on display on bookcases and the end tables bracketing the leather sofa. A scattering of tiny roses made the wallpaper seem feminine, but the framed paintings of Civil War combat scenes counterbalanced that. The neatness was almost jarring under the circumstances. The only thing out of place in the front room was Quentin himself. He lay spread eagled on the hardwood floor. And with no carpet to absorb liquid, the pool of blood beneath him had spread quite a distance.

Lying face up, Quentin looked more startled than pained. Hannibal stepped as close to the body as he could without touching the blood pool. There was no need to check for a pulse. The pencil-sized hole just above his left eyebrow was pretty definitive. Hannibal knew the picture would not be nearly as neat on the other side, and he had no desire to see it. Powder burns and stippling on the man’s forehead told Hannibal that this shooting was done up close. Despite Quentin’s final facial expression, he had to have seen it coming.

So, what was your crime, Hannibal silently asked the corpse. Did you get too close to Connie for some other man’s comfort?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Austin S. Camacho is the author of seven novels about Washington DC-based private eye Hannibal Jones, five in the Stark and O’Brien international adventure-thriller series, and the detective novel, Beyond Blue. His short stories have been featured in several anthologies including Dying in a Winter Wonderland – an Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Top Ten Bestseller for 2008. He is featured in the Edgar nominated African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey. Camacho is also editorial director for Intrigue Publishing, a Maryland small press.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austin.camacho.author/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Kind-Hannibal-Jones-Mystery/dp/1940758971/

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Straight Browsing from the Library: Dragon Mist by David Burnett

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. David will be awarding a dragon pendant similar to the one worn by Christine Drachen in Dragon Mist (US only) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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As the third daughter of a third daughter, dragon-shifter Christine Drachen must mate with a human.

Not all human males are genetically compatible with dragon shifters, and suitable matches are rare in old Charleston. Christine, though, has identified James to be an appropriate match. Even humans who acknowledge the possibility of dragons cannot believe that one can be both a dragon and a human, shifting between the two. As a result, Christine must attract James without fully revealing her true, shifting nature until he has committed to mate.

James gradually discovers what Christine is. She shows him the gold dragon she always wears around her neck. He notices the prints, statues, and tapestries of dragons that decorate her family’s home. Strange noises emanate from behind the Drachens’ house during a party, and James believes he actually sees a dragon, one wearing a necklace like Christine’s. Christine’s last name, Drachen, means “dragon,” and, while she jokes her entire family is composed of the creatures, James begins to suspect there is more to what she says than a simple attempt at humor.

Finally, though, he sees her shift.

To protect their species from persecution, dragon-shifters silence any human who sees one of them shift, and the most practical method is generally death. The rule is absolute. But Christine has fallen in love with James. How can she protect her family without killing the boy she loves?

Dragon Mist is a story of boy-meets-girl, with a few non-human characters, high stakes, a bit of magic, a little humor, and an abundance of romance.

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Had Bing known my species, he would not be treating me as one of the skinny blond coeds who devote themselves to jocks, helping them celebrate their victories, consoling them in defeat, and distracting them at all times in between.

“I am a drache,” I murmur.

Bing chuckles. “You’re drunk? Is that what you said?”

He bends his head and kisses me on my mouth. I jerk my head back, and he laughs.

“Girls like my kisses, Dragon Lady. They truly do.”

He places his free hand on the back of my head to hold me in place for a second, extended kiss.

Drache is a variant of the German word for dragon, as is my last name, Drachen—pronounced drah-ken, with an ‘A’ as in father, rather than drake-en or drack-en. The names were not random choices, nor is my amulet, the gold dragon, as beautiful as it is, a random piece of jewelry.

Our family story tells how the Great Dragon decreed his followers should mate with humans in the hope of creating an omnipotent species, and the draches were their offspring. In our view, we comprise a separate species of human being, homo sapiens draco.

When we discuss our heritage, we speak of our “inner dragons,” whatever it is within us that is the basis for our superior intelligence, our great strength, our emotional intuitiveness, and our ability to shift, to transform, to summon our “outer dragons” in times of danger.

Bing is truly playing with fire.

Only he doesn’t know it.

Yet.

MEET THE AUTHOR

I live near Charleston, South Carolina, where I walk the beaches, eat fresh seafood, and photograph the ocean, the birds, and the beautiful sunsets. Seven of my nine novels have been set in Charleston, but Dragon Mist is the first to explore the lives of the non-human residents of the “holy city.”

Find more of my work on my website! http://www.burnettsbooks.com/books-by-david.php
Sign up for my newsletter. https://www.subscribepage.com/j4c1o6
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavdBurnett
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidBurnett.Author/
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/David-Burnett//e/B0092SDNXM
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6579272.David_Burnett

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Straight Browsing from the Library: Retaliation by Haley Cavanagh

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

READ THE BLURB

Sakota saved Astraeus and her friends from certain death, but in doing so, she gained the attention of the Oreck, who will stop at nothing to destroy everything in their path. With their ship severely damaged, Sakota and her crew land on a nearby planet and seek sanctuary while they make repairs to return home. But nothing on this perfect planet is as it appears, and Sakota soon learns they've traded one danger for another. Hunted and targeted, will Sakota be able to carry out her mission, or will everyone she cares about be destroyed?

READ AN EXCERPT

“No .”

Sakota bolted up in bed in the middle of the night.

Her dreams of blood and fear were monopolized with pointed teeth, cartilaginous faces, long, double-jointed arms and legs, and cruel, black alien eyes. The Oreck. They haunted her, perpetual alien God-ghosts with their eerie, electromagnetic glow beneath papery, gray skin.

Beside her, Astraeus slept, his arm flopped over the groove in the bed where she’d lain as he held her. He stirred, frowning. Was he having a nightmare too? She reached her hand out and searched with her emotions, as she’d learned to do.

He tossed, fitful, in the clutches of a nightmare to do with Upsilon’s destruction. She couldn’t remember what her nightmare had been about, but it had ended violently. Peace, she sent silently. Tranquility . Calm . Rest .

Astraeus sighed in his sleep, relaxed, and rolled over. She feathered hair out of his face. His existence had blown her away, and it still did. Astraeus’s genetic code far outstripped her own. He had defense mechanisms in place to protect him from climate extremities that she could never even dream of having. But more so, for the first time in her life, she’d fallen in love. It went against her pragmatic nature, but his comforting presence anchored her amid the wreckage.

She scrubbed her face with her hand in the darkness and swung her legs over the side of the levitating bed, careful of the bed’s height when she stood.

Humans were either a lot shorter than most of the visiting interplanetary delegates, or for some strange reason, they liked their beds high.

Her limbs ached, fatigue from the action of the last several days. She suspected healing from microgravity had something to do with it too, but she’d been through the wringer. The way she walked, the weight of her lips when she spoke, her arm and leg muscles seemed heavier and more visceral, like someone had injected them with a heavy drug. Ridiculous, of course. She was in the best shape of her life.

In the center of the room, she stretched and did some yoga until the tightness lessened. She rotated her neck. In a day or two, the slight dizziness and disoriented inertia would subside. As a physician, she knew the symptoms. She’d be fine. But telling a patient about them versus experiencing them were two different things.

She padded barefoot out onto the balcony, drew a silver cup from the shelves, and dipped it into the fountain. Distant light illuminated the Chuleron buildings along the skyline in the distance. She brought the brim of the cup to her lips and drank. Cool and refreshing, much cleaner than the sterilized water she’d had back on Earth. Tastier too. Earth water had to be purified at least five times before it could be considered healthy enough for consumption. Bacterial pathogens ran rampant in food and the polluted streams and springs back home, so sterilizing was essential. The delightful coolness soothed her throat.

She twisted her hair and pulled it over her right shoulder, taking in the strange, tantalizing city. Did her suspicions about this place come from her subconscious, because of the death and violence she’d experienced? Or was Hisoka right and something seemed off?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She is an alumna of Columbia College, a musical theater nut, and she loves to dive into any book that crosses her path. Haley resides with her family in the United States and enjoys spending time with her husband and children when she’s not writing. She loves to hear from her readers, and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.

Website: http://www.haleycavanaghbooks.com
Newsletter: https://haleycavanaghbooks.com/vip-readers-group/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/1769243778
Twitter: https://twitter.com/haley_cavanagh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haleycavanaghbooks/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ambitioushales/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42207961-astraeus

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082MB9VPV/
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/retaliation-haley-cavanagh/1135488266
iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/retaliation/id1491106031
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/retaliation-20

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The author is also running a separate giveaway to celebrate the release of the book Enter here for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and Autographed Paperback/Swag Bundle (ends January 15):

a Rafflecopter giveaway