Can you believe this is the last day of March?!

This has truly been Hell Month for me. Too much on my plate meant too little sleep and too much stress. Here’s the rundown.

1. I had to prepare for then attend a conference in Nashville—A Weekend with the Authors—which was fun. But I’ve become such a homebody/hermit it’s tough for me to move out of my routine to do something like that these days.
2. My dear daughter left two days after I returned from conference to go help her dad with his business for 17 days! As we speak, she still has a week to go, but I’ve been “mom” since she left, staying at her house to make sure kids get to school, animals don’t die, and the house stays clean.
3. I’ve been editing my little fingers off: first, my story A Long, Hot Summer, then 4 more paid gigs—2 of which were long. I’m wrapping up the last two today, so I start the new month without any leftovers.
4. I finished writing the last three chapters of Dagger, just in time for it’s release. Whew!
5. I wrote a story for my sister’s Kindle World, The Brotherhood Protectors. I finished up Reaper’s Ride this morning!
6. And then there were the releases I had to promote. Take a look in case you missed them!

March Releases

The Triplehorn Brand, Book #1

A teller implicated in a bank robbery seeks sanctuary from small-town sweetheart she left behind–who happens to be the new sheriff in town…

A lifetime ago, Zuri Prescott kicked the dirt off her boots and fled her small-time, small town, but lived to regret choosing a glam city life over her high school sweetheart. When she’s framed for a bank robbery, she flees to her home town, seeking refuge with her old flame while she figures out her next steps–only to discover he’s the last man she can confide in.

Sheriff Colt Triplehorn knows trouble when he sees it, especially when it’s one familiar naked trespasser, caught between an angry bull and her underwear. Sure she’s up to her usual no good, he grants her sanctuary at his ranch where he can keep an eye on her while he purges her from his system once and for all. When he realizes she’s involved with a robbery, he has to make a career-compromising choice between following the letter of the law and his heart…

Get your copy here!

Montana Bounty Hunters, Book #2

Former Army Ranger, Daniel “Dagger” Renfrew, has been a lot of things—an Army Ranger, a Seattle beat cop, a PI, and now, a bounty hunter, which, so far, suits him just fine. In his job, he doesn’t look for easy takedowns. He likes lying in mud or snow with his binoculars trained on a window, hoping for a glimpse of the dirtbag whose mugshot he carries in his hip pocket. If they’re badasses—all the better. Dagger prefers when assholes try to run, because then he has an excuse to mix it up, get physical, and blow off steam in an all-out brawl—when the situation warrants, of course. One morning when he’s working his side gig, repossessing cars, he discovers the car he’s taking belongs to his old high school sweetheart, and there’s nothing like sweet revenge…

Lacey Jones is furious when she finds a very large, scary dude trying to steal her car. It’s the last straw. She’s lost her job and is about to lose her apartment, so there’s no way in hell she’s letting him take her damn car! When she discovers its Dagger, her old beau, she jumps into the car with him. When she learns how he makes a living, she’s curious…and then determined to become a bounty hunter herself. How hard can it be?

Get your copy here!

The Triplehorn Brand, Book #2

Some things never change. And some things change everything…

Gabe Triplehorn can think of no better getaway from his heavy responsibilities at the ranch than to go back to a time and place where he didn’t have a care in the world. When there was just a campground, a river, and a girl. When he gets to Red Hawk Landing, the campground and the river are still there. He just never expected the girl would still be there, too. Only now she runs the place.

Lena Twohig can think of no better place to raise her young son than the family-owned campground that holds so many memories. Especially, the romance with Gabe that lit up one long-ago summer like a wild electrical storm. Now he’s back with a ranch-hardened body she knows she shouldn’t want so badly.

No amount of lies, or the years that have passed, can tame this tidal wave of passion.

Get your copy here!

Want to see what April’s bringing?

My life won’t be slowing down one bit!

1. I’ll be spending the first week at my dd’s still.
2. I’m going on a 10-day writers’ retreat in HAWAII!!!!!
3. I have a book to finish, a short story to write, and hopefully, I’ll get most of the next Montana Bounty Hunter story written at that retreat too!
4. Sound like enough? Ha! I have an editing gig to wrap up before I leave on my trip.
5. And I have these releases to promote. Hope you decide to read them both. One is up for pre-order, the other you’ll have to wait to download on release day!

 

Click on A Long, Hot Summer to pre-order!

Contest

For a chance to win one of my MARCH releases, answer me this:

Do you have big Spring plans for April? Any trips planned for the year?

I want to start by thanking Delilah for letting me come hang out here with you all today. She’s always very gracious about sharing her space, and that’s something I admire.

So, setting the mood… For a party, for a date, for a story, for romance.  It’s a pretty important thing for all kinds of reasons—you don’t want the fun, happy party you’ve planned for your toddler to dissolve into the shrieks of a dozen kids when the clown you hired is too scary, right?—but in a romance novel, setting the mood can mean different things.

What sort of mood would you expect for a sweet romance?  Light, not too complicated, still romantic, but nothing extreme, right?

What about romantic suspense? Generally, I would think darker, lots of tension in all situations, romantic and otherwise. Though I will say I like some lighter moments even in those sorts of stories, too. Too much non-stop tension isn’t good for reader or characters, is it?

Paranormal? One of the reasons I like those so much is they can be any mood, any tone, depending on the story. Like them dark? Plenty of choices.  Lighter? Lots of those, too.

One of my favorite authors for setting the mood is not even a romance writer, but Stephen King does it so well, drawing a reader into his characters’ stories and making them feel every bit of fear they’re feeling, setting the mood so when the character is sure the monster is about to jump out at them, you feel it, too, then feel the rush of relief when it turns out not to be the monster (yet!) but just a dog or someone innocuous. I think Gerald’s Game is fantastic for that—when that book came out, my mother-in-law started reading it, but didn’t get very far, because she was too afraid, so she handed it off to me without even finishing the book.  It scared me, too, and I loved every page of it.

But romance writers do it every bit as well, setting the mood for their stories, the right tone to pull readers in to meet the characters and want to know more, to have to know more. Plus we get to set the mood for other things, like falling in love, like a heroine having her heart broken to bits when it seems the romance really can’t work out.  If we’re doing it right, we’re right there with them when we’re writing, the way we hope readers will be when they get their hands on our stories—appalled when one of the characters does something awkward or stupid, perhaps changing our minds about a character we were afraid couldn’t be redeemed, and most especially feeling the emotion when our characters are falling in love.

We know it isn’t supposed to be easy for them. In fact, we try very hard to make it as difficult as we can for them to get to that happy ending.  But we want them to get there, so we give them the opportunity to have little moments that help them not give up, to make them want to keep fighting whatever foe they have so they can live happily ever after. Sometimes getting the mood right is easy, but sometimes it’s really hard, and the characters don’t want to cooperate—“What? You want me to fight with John? Well, I don’t want to fight. I want to step back and get some ice cream.”

For me, a good soundtrack helps with getting the mood right, but not always.  Right now, I’m trying to figure out the songs that will work best to put me in the right frame of mind for the story. Plenty of good songs for a fight, so many romantic songs to sway the mind into the proper mood.

I’d like to know how you get into the right mood for your ‘story’, whether it’s household chores, or a date with your S.O. Is it music? It is a scent? Is it a piece of clothing? What can you count on to change your mood when you need to?  I have a paperback copy of Hunting Medusa to give away, so everyone who comments will get their name entered into a drawing via RandomResult.com  My thanks again to Delilah for letting me come and play here again.

About the Author

Elizabeth Andrews has been a book lover since she was old enough to read.  She read her copies of Little Women and the Little House series so many times, the books fell apart.  As an adult, her book habit continues.  She has a room overflowing with her literary collection right now, and still more spreading into other rooms.  Almost as long as she’s been reading great stories, she’s been attempting to write her own.  Thanks to a fifth grade teacher who started the class on creative writing, Elizabeth went from writing creative sentences to short stories and eventually full-length novels.  Her father saved her poor, callused fingers from permanent damage when he brought home a used typewriter for her.

Elizabeth found her mother’s stash of romance novels as a teenager, and-though she loves horror- romance became her very favorite genre, making writing romances a natural progression.  There are more than just a few manuscripts, however, tucked away in a filing cabinet that will never see the light of day.

Along with her enormous book stash, Elizabeth lives with her husband of more than twenty years.  When she’s not at work or buried in books or writing, there is a garden outside full of herbs, flowers and vegetables that requires occasional attention.

Hunting Medusa

The Medusa Trilogy, Book 1

When Kallan Tassos tracks down the current Medusa, he expects to find a monster. Instead he finds a wary, beautiful woman, shielded by a complicated web of spells that foils his plans for a quick kill and retrieval of her protective amulet.

Andrea Rosakis expects the handsome Harvester to go for the kill. Instead, his attempt to take the amulet imprinted on her skin without harming her takes her completely by surprise. And ends with the two of them in a magical bind—together. But Kallan isn’t the only Harvester on Andi’s trail…

Excerpt:

Andi couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. She’d worked into the night after the vacuum salesman’s appearance, until she couldn’t see straight to continue with her beading. Then she’d sunk into the bubble bath long enough to be nearly asleep. Today, she’d repeated everything but the bubble bath. Plus she’d driven into town to ship the big order she’d finished early.

Now she sat in the dark beside the front window, watching the forest. Waiting. Trying to convince herself nothing was coming. No one.

When the phone rang, she jumped about two feet in the air, barely keeping in a shriek. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to laugh weakly as she picked up the receiver. “Hello, Aunt Lydia.” She didn’t need caller I.D. to know when one of her cousins or aunts was on the phone.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, my dear,” came the quavering voice. “I just wanted to touch base with you. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”

Her slightly psychic great-aunt must have spoken to Andi’s mother. “I know. I’ve been busy working.” She thought of the small stack of boxed beaded bracelets sitting on her desk upstairs for another customer whose order wasn’t even due for a month and a half. Read the rest of this entry »

A sexy trio of romances: Three passionate billionaire siblings follow their hearts in search of happily ever after — from a bet that leads to love to an unexpected baby!

Get at Amazon

This series was really the start of my career. Sure, I wrote books before, but none took off like The House of Morgan. I was always in all stores with this series, and I’m a big proponent that authors should be wide and in all stores. But at the same time I know there are tons of readers in Kindle Unlimited. So what I decided to do as these readers reach out is cycle books in and out. So, from the end of March until mid-June, I put the first three books in The House of Morgan into Kindle Unlimited. The eighth book in the series isn’t scheduled for release until October. So, now was the perfect opportunity to let the KU readers at least get a peak at the beginning of this family saga.

And I will say it’s a saga. The stories all begin at a funeral, though it’s the funeral of a man who, in his efforts to keep his family, almost destroyed everyone involved. John the second son walked away from billions and joined the FBI to find out exactly what his father did to his sister, Victoria ‘who died.’ However, his father died before any evidence is found and his sister Victoria ‘returns from the dead’ to ensure her own father is really dead. (She walked away from the family.) And then there is the oldest son, Peter Morgan, who stayed close to their father because he wanted to protect his siblings and take the brunt of his father’s will. This is just the beginning, and all three of them are now out to find out what happens next, when their lives are finally their own.

If this sounds like drama and romance all mixed together then you’re prepared to enter the House of Morgan and see for yourself!

And if you’re in KU, the book is available now!

Plus you can now enter to win a Kindle and get the link to the book at,

https://victoriapinder.com/house-of-morgan-boxed-set-giveaway

Or you can go to the raffle copter, directly!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner of this contest is…ButtonsMom!

*~*~*

I’m back from Nashville! I had a great time at A Weekend with the Authors! As always happens when I travel, the first day there, I started sniffling. Yes, I came home with the “conference crud”. However, it didn’t dim my joy at being able to hang with readers and other authors. Here’s me, waving at my friends and missing those brave souls who dressed as Wonder Woman!

The next installment in the Triplehorn trilogy has arrived! If you love stories about brothers, who also happen to be cowboys, this series is for you! All three brothers reunite with women from their pasts—the ones that got away. The last book’s release isn’t very far away!

And if you have time, tell a friend about this story and, maybe, write a review. Readers trust other readers to let them know whether they should take a chance on a their next book boyfriend…

Enjoy! ~DD

In Too Deep

In Too Deep
The Triplehorn Brand, Book #2

Some things never change. And some things change everything…

Gabe Triplehorn can think of no better getaway from his heavy responsibilities at the ranch than to go back to a time and place where he didn’t have a care in the world. When there was just a campground, a river, and a girl. When he gets to Red Hawk Landing, the campground and the river are still there. He just never expected the girl would still be there, too. Only now she runs the place.

Lena Twohig can think of no better place to raise her young son than the family-owned campground that holds so many memories. Especially, the romance with Gabe that lit up one long-ago summer like a wild electrical storm. Now he’s back with a ranch-hardened body she knows she shouldn’t want so badly.

No amount of lies, or the years that have passed, can tame this tidal wave of passion.

Get your copy here!

What’s coming next…

A Long Hot Summer
The Triplehorn Brand, Book #3
Coming April 3rd!

When two lonely hearts collide, age becomes just a number…

Sarah Colby’s marriage was over long ago, but she’s never shed the scars her abusive husband left behind. One shameful indiscretion, an affair with a younger man one long-ago summer haunts her.

Tommy Triplehorn is happy his brothers have settled down and started families of their own, but he’s feeling a little smothered by all that domesticity. Carousing and drinking no longer provide him any thrills, and he thinks he knows the reason why. He’s waited long enough for Sarah Colby to get over being ashamed of their past. He’s old enough to know what he wants, and he wants her.

Pre-order your copy here!

And in case you missed the first one…

Laying Down the Law
The Triplehorn Brand, #1

A teller implicated in a bank robbery seeks sanctuary from small-town sweetheart she left behind—who happens to be the new sheriff in town.

A lifetime ago, Zuri Prescott kicked the dirt off her boots and fled her small-time, small town, but lived to regret choosing a glam city life over her high school sweetheart. When she’s framed for a bank robbery, she flees to her home town, seeking refuge with her old flame while she figures out her next steps—only to discover he’s the last man she can confide in.

Sheriff Colt Triplehorn knows trouble when he sees it, especially when it’s one familiar naked trespasser, caught between an angry bull and her underwear. Sure she’s up to her usual no good, he grants her sanctuary at his ranch where he can keep an eye on her while he purges her from his system once and for all. When he realizes she’s involved with a robbery, he has to make a career-compromising choice between following the letter of the law and his heart…

Get your copy here!

Contest

Win a $10 Amazon gift card! All you have to do is answer me this:

What TV Western series did you love? Would you love a “Longmire”
or “Dr. Quinn” set in Montana?

Hi. I’m Cailin Briste, sci-fi fantasy suspense erotic romance author. I think that’s all my author hats. Thank you, Delilah, for allowing me to guest post on your blog.

As an author, I find myself researching everything from the structure of foam to the direction shards of concrete take when a pillar is struck by a bullet. Before I began writing, I thought authors who wrote historical fiction were the only ones required to do extensive research. Not true. All fiction writers do or should.

The existence of the Internet is a major boon to researching the details that make my speculative fiction stories realistic. I don’t write highly detailed technical sci-fi, but I want my stories to be plausible. I read several academic papers online about foam before creating the stuff that I used in a car crash in How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to have a foam that solidified quickly enough to be effective. (The foam is in the excerpt below.) I learned a lot of interesting things about bubbles and what constitutes foam before deciding my creation was credible. None of that research ended up in the book. But if I’m ever asked about my vehicle safety foam, I ought to be able to answer the question. If I don’t forget what I learned. No guarantees.

When it comes to guns, weapons, and fighting, I work hard to achieve accuracy. My characters know that running behind something doesn’t guarantee safety. (Not all screenwriters understand this point.) But despite all I’ve read on the subject, each situation is unique, and sometimes you need to see an event to be able to describe it. Amidst the gazillion videos of people shooting guns, I found a real treasure.

Personal Defense Network posted a video on concrete bullet ricochet. It was perfect for figuring out where my hero or heroine might get hit by flying concrete in a sniper attack while hiding behind a bank pillar. Another scene found in How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels.

As great as the Internet is for research, I’ve also come to depend on in-person expertise. How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels, required input from my massage therapist and my son-in-law the paramedic. In the past I’ve worked with a rope bondage master, and I’m currently working with a sadist for my next BDSM title, Rand: Marshal of Tallav.

No matter what a scene involves, there’s always something that I need to look up. How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels is set on a world colonized by the French. I use French place and business names. The Banque Populaire is an actual French bank. The designer of the Pharaoh’s jewels of the title is Alessandro Castellani. I used the first and last names of two renowned Italian goldsmiths. These are the details I love to seed through my books. Research makes this possible at the same time it adds an enjoyable element to grinding out my quota of words each day. Not that every day is a grind, but some days…

How to Steal the Pharaoh’s Jewels

Release Date: April 23, 2018
Price: $2.99
Universal Buy and Pre-order Link: https://books2read.com/pharaohs-jewels

Cade’s fantasy is to seduce his best friend if he isn’t murdered first.

His comfortable routine as a member of Sebastian St. Croix’s cat burglar team is shattered the day he’s pinned in a crushed car. In a moment of clarity, before everything goes dark, he realizes he’s in love with his best friend, a woman who has sworn off intimate relationships for life.
It’s taken Bassinae years to overcome a past filled with physical abuse and embrace the truth that she is a powerful, capable woman in her own right. Tamping down a case of nerves, she’s ready to take on a larger role as a thief in Sebastian’s next caper. If only Cade would stop acting like a lovelorn idiot. She needs her best friend’s support to help steal the Pharaoh’s jewels.

Set in the distant future, this sci-fi suspense romance has action and adventure as well as a sizzling romance.

Excerpt:

With a grunt of approval, Cade noted the route change had worked. The road ahead was less congested, so he relaxed back into his seat and picked up speed. A parking garage lined the left side of the street with office buildings on the right. He checked the time and glanced in the rear-view mirror. “Want some music?”

At that moment a large dump truck came barreling out of an exit of the parking garage. Cade swung right and hit the brakes hard, hoping to lessen the inevitable impact, but even with the protection devices built into the vehicle this would be a brutal collision. Safety foam inundated the foot wells of the car, and the air ballasts deployed. The scree of metal and the splintering of the car’s plastic shell, filled Cade’s ears along with a sound like the roaring thunder of thousands of wild animals stampeding toward him. One thought struck him. No pain. And then the world winked out.

The next he knew, someone was shouting his name and agony radiated from his pelvis. The gray airbags that held him in place deflated while before him the mangled remains of the windshield gave him a partially obstructed view of the front end of the dump truck, an irresistible force that even Gerald St. Croix couldn’t have stopped. The left side of the car was crushed and had been pushed into the passenger side. Cade had been displaced two-and-a-half feet to his right.

A voice sounded behind him. “Cade. We’re going to get you out of there. Hang on. They’ll have to cut you out.”

My Current Giveaway

I’m giving away a Kindle Fire 7 to one follower of my Facebook page when it reaches 1500 followers.
https://www.facebook.com/cailinbriste/

I’d love to have you subscribe to my monthly newsletter here: https://cailinbriste.com/cailins-newsletter-sign-up/
My Facebook readers’ group, Cailin’s Romance Immersion Therapy, also has openings for anyone who needs group romance therapy sessions. We support one another’s need for romance, and as the group therapist I regularly add useful and entertaining posts to help you keep yourself fully dunked in romance. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CailinsRomanceImmersionTherapy/

As a physician, I’m always concerned (okay, completely anal 🙂 ) about infection control. I taught my three kids to wash their hands whenever they came home from school, after playing outside, really anytime they walked into the house. We all have separate toothbrush holders, and we each have our own tube of toothpaste. And don’t even get me started on sharing drinks. Infectious mononucleosis, influenza, herpes simplex, even hepatitis A lurk everywhere. So imagine my chagrin when, now that they’re older, they taste-test each other’s beer or share water bottles on the bench when they’re playing hockey!

This crept into Behind the Bench, the second book of my In the Game Hockey Romance series. Dr. Danni Angelo is the team physician for the local professional hockey team. She’s forever chirping at the players to use their own water bottles. The players tolerate the advice, even appreciate her concern, but they pretty much ignore her. She’s not giving up though – and she’ll add her two cents about the merits of full-face shields while she’s at it.

I also want to wish you Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! May your day be touched with a bit of Irish luck, brightened by a song in your heart, and warmed with smiles by the people you love!

 Behind the Bench
(In the Game Hockey Romance series, Book 2)

Dr. Danni Angelo is the team physician for the Clarington Quakes hockey team. She’s worked hard to earn the players’ respect, but the new coach, Trey Mason, is stirring things up, and Danni’s worried her job may be in jeopardy.

Trey finds Danni…distracting. Beauty, brains, and sexy moves on the ice have him uncomfortably attracted. He’s the new guy on the block. He has a reputation to build and a standard to set. The last thing he needs is a complication.

When the team spirals out of control and Danni and Trey get caught up in a drug scandal, things heat up on and off the ice. It’s a whole new game plan…Behind the Bench.

Excerpt

Danni watched the tail end of the in-house broadcast of the news conference and flicked off the screen. How could you not be impressed with that? Trey Mason was confident and eloquent, and spoke in a relaxed and engaging way. The beach-bum blond hair, sculpted cheekbones, and easy smile would win over the non-hockey fans, and his passion and knowledge of the game would impress the followers. He had it all, and landing in a town like Clarington must be a dream come true. For him.

And a nightmare for her.

She had worked part-time as the team physician for the Clarington Earthquakes, Quakes for short, for the past three years. It had taken time to gain the players’ confidence. Being a female physician for a men’s hockey team hadn’t been easy, but she’d built a solid professional relationship.

She loved everything about the job – the energy of the games, working with high-level athletes, and a new clinic in a state-of-the-art arena. She certainly didn’t want it to change because of a new head coach.

Trey Mason couldn’t fire her. Theoretically. That would be up to the owners of the team. He could, however, make her life miserable. And if there was friction between them, it would affect the players, and ultimately, what affected the players influenced the owners. There were two other physicians who shared the job with her and a few more who would be eager to take it on.

He, on the other hand, could be set for a long run if he delivered half of what he’d promised today. She certainly hadn’t seen any charm when he’d walked into the pressroom, and yet it came out in spades when he spoke. She could only hope that her initial impression had been wrong, because between the two of them, it wasn’t likely that he’d be leaving any time soon. Bottom line – she needed to suck it up and get along with the new guy. She sighed. She hated sucking up. She’d thought she was done with that. Apparently not. She shook her head and gritted her teeth. Time to smile and play nice.

Buy links:

Behind the Bench is part of the Coming in Hot: Rescue Me Romance Collection. It’s available for preorder for only 99cents. Coming April 17!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07942MKP1

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/coming-in-hot-gina-kincade/1127238374

Contest

For a chance to win a Kindle Fire and a big box of books, enter the Coming in Hot: Rescue Me Rafflecopter:
https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1be7623365/

About the Author

Linda O’Connor started writing a few years ago when she needed a creative outlet other than subtly rearranging the displays at the local home décor store. It turns out she loves writing romantic comedies and has a few more stories to tell. When not writing, she’s a physician at an Urgent Care Clinic (well, even when she is writing she’s a physician, and it shows up in her stories 😀 ). She hangs out at www.lindaoconnor.net.

Laugh every day. Love every minute.

Website:  https://www.lindaoconnor.net
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LindaOConnorAuthor
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LindaOConnor98
Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Linda-OConnor/e/B00S7CNLEA
Newsletter Sign up: https://www.lindaoconnor.net/contact/

Hey, everyone! I’m so glad to be back on Delilah’s blog today to share my newest release, Thirsty. It’s the first book in my Eastside Brewery series, starring a family of gangster ex-cons who start a craft brewery in their old neighborhood.

Thirsty launched yesterday. Please enjoy this short excerpt and enter the special release week giveaway below.

THIRSTY

A gangster hiding from his past. A single mom fighting for her future. Can she show this bad boy the man he’s meant to be?

My name is Salvador Rosas. Back in the barrio, my past is written on the walls: ESHB. Short for East Side Hollenbeck, my father’s gang—my gang. Hell, it’s a family tradition, one that sent both my brothers away. They used to call me “Ghost” because I haunted people’s dreams. Now I’ve got nothing going for me except a hipster gringo mentoring me in a new career. An ex-con making craft beer? No mames.

Still, people in this neighborhood look out for one another. That’s how I became Vanessa Velasco’s unwelcome tenant. Chiquita pero picosa. She’s little, but with curves so sweet they’re dangerous. I remember Vanessa from the old days, the straight-A student with big plans. Plans that were derailed by another kid stupid enough to think he was bulletproof. Now Vanessa knows better than to believe in empty promises. There’s fire in her . . . and if I touch her, I might get burned.

I’m trying everything I can to go straight. But when East Side Hollenbeck comes calling, I might have to risk it all to find out if there’s a future for Vanessa and me. Because she’s the only one who can quench my thirst for something real.

AVAILABLE NOW
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo
Add THIRSTY to your TBR pile on Goodreads

“Thirsty held me captivated from its first page to its last with its heartrending, raw and beautiful story…It is a singular reading experience.”—USA Today

“Thirsty is a sizzling, emotionally intense story that is both gritty and heartwarming, an addictive page-turner that will stay with me for a long time to come.”—New York Times bestselling author Cathryn Fox

“Thirsty is sexy and soul-wrenching, with Sal’s irresistible voice luring you through a living, breathing Los Angeles. Vanessa and Sal’s chemistry sizzles right off the page. Five smoldering, tattooed stars!”—USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone

“Thirsty is an amazing read! I stayed up way too late to finish and haven’t stopped thinking about the characters. Highly recommended!”—USA Today bestselling author Molly O’Keefe

EXCERPT

The ride starts with a burst of music like a jack-in-the-box. We glide backward and over a couple of times. The Ferris wheel stops to let other passengers on. At the very top, our carriage swings back and forth before it goes still.

Now I can see my neighborhood from a different viewpoint, high above. The lights of the carnival are bright and beautiful. The smells of tacos, hot dogs, and popcorn fill my nose. People pack the church parking lot. Cars line the street, and in the surrounding houses, lights in the windows show where families are talking or watching TV or having dinner.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“I’m all right.”

She’s looking at the same things I am. I wonder if she is seeing the same details. I stroke her hair and take another risk. “So what do you think?”

“About what?”

“Starting something with me?”

She takes a deep breath but doesn’t say anything.

“What are your doubts?” I say.

“Are you kidding?” She snorts. “You’re seriously asking me that?”

I laugh a little. “Okay, well. Besides the obvious.”

“You have your own life. I have mine. You’re trying to rebuild from the ground up. I’m trying to secure my daughter’s future. We’re heading in different directions.”

She isn’t wrong. Life has disappointed her in such deep and cruel ways, I don’t blame her for protecting herself. But even as she tells me this—the truth about how we’re not right for each other—I feel how right it is to talk to her, to hold her hand, to show her who I am. “I have an idea,” I say. “Probation.”

“What?”

“I’m only around for two months, right?”

“Right.”

“Spend those two months with me.” I look into her eyes. “I want to be with you, Vanessa.”

“Sal—”

“I’ll be gone before I have a chance to disappoint you.” When the words leave my mouth, I try to ignore how pathetic they sound. “We’re adults, not dumb kids. We won’t lose our heads.” I run my fingers through her silky hair. “I swear to God, every time I look at you, I feel . . .” I reach for the most honest word I can find. “Thirsty.”

ABOUT MIA HOPKINS

Award-winning author Mia Hopkins writes lush romances starring fun, sexy characters who love to get down and dirty. She’s a sucker for working class heroes, brainy heroines and wisecracking best friends. She lives in the heart of Los Angeles with her roguish husband and waggish dog.

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