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Archive for 'excerpt'
Saturday, July 3rd, 2021
UPDATE: The winners are…Michelle, Arlene Miklovic, and Courtney Kinder!
*~*~*
The Montana Bounty Hunters series located in Bear Lodge is complete. I am four books into the spinoff series, Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT,and I’m working on #5. I loved writing the original series, and I can’t wait to immerse myself in writing many more of these heavy-duty, gritty guys in the near future. Have you seen the cover for Cowboy, which will release in October, if not sooner? Yeah. Some of the guys you love from the original series will continue to pop up here and there in Dead Horse—after all, they all work for Fetch Winter. Someday, he’ll get his happy-ever-after, too!
Cochise
MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
Former Marine “Wolf” Patterson is working with a team of MBH bounty hunters in the densely forested Kootenai Forest to bring in one Reese Tobin, a man wanted for arson, who escaped from jail just before his trial. When Wolf catches up to him, Tobin draws a gun, telling Wolf he can’t return to lock-up or he’s a dead man. Just as one of his teammates is about to lunge toward Tobin to take him down, a shot rings out, and Reese is dead.
Former Army Military Police Officer, now Deputy, Meg Henry, was the officer who arrested Tobin, and nothing about that night sat right since. After hearing he was killed, she heads to Kootenai, hoping to talk to the men who were with him last, hoping Tobin told them something that might help her figure out the mystery surrounding him. Because handsome bounty hunter, Wolf, was the last to talk to Tobin, Meg offers Wolf a ride back to the sheriff’s department. They barely begin their conversation when they find themselves running for their lives. Meg doesn’t know who to trust, but she instinctively trusts the tall, intensely attractive Wolf. Together, they work to unravel the mystery while staying one step ahead of someone who wants them both dead.
Contest
Are you all caught up reading the Montana Bounty Hunters?
For a chance to win a download of one of the stories you may have missed
(I’ll pick three winners!), tell me this:
Where else, other than Montana, would you like a Bounty Hunter book set?
Here are all the Bear Lodge Montana Bounty Hunters!
MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Bear Lodge, MT
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
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Dagger: https://amzn.to/2zo6Dav
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Hook: https://amzn.to/2UrpyYh
Wolf: https://amzn.to/2yUTjr5
Animal: https://amzn.to/2H4Roob
Big Sky Wedding: https://amzn.to/33GprwK
Quincy: https://amzn.to/2QlleM8
Brian: https://amzn.to/2ZV8m2G
Excerpt from Wolf
Once she arrived home, Meg checked her windows and the locks on every door. Not that she was paranoid, but given what she’d been through, she wasn’t going to be careless. Plus, her house was isolated and five minutes from Amity. While most days, she liked the fact she had no neighbors close by, times like this kept her on edge. When she finished her rounds, she showered and changed, keeping her service pistol always within reach.
She’d hoped standing under the hot spray would relax her, but when she’d dressed again, this time in jeans and a soft tee, she felt restless, so she made herself a cup of coffee and carried her laptop into the living room. With it resting on her lap, she thought maybe she should write her mom a short email, just to tell her she was okay and thinking about her. Instead, she paused, her fingers hovering over the keys.
She opened her browser and typed in a search, inputting the address of the warehouse, and then hit enter.
The first item in the list that appeared was a link to an article in the local newspaper about the fire and Reese Tobin’s arrest. She read the article, but there was nothing there she didn’t already know.
She hit the back key and began searching the other items in the list. She came to one that listed the owner of the warehouse, Bear Claw Industries. She clicked on the blue, underlined company name, and that link took her to an ad in the yellow pages. Bear Claw Industries was a shipping company and a sole proprietor company owned by “Red” Barton, a state congressman.
Not sure where this was leading, if anywhere at all, she typed in “Red Barton, Amity MT”. The list included articles, and one by one she immersed herself in the congressman’s history.
Red Barton was a member of the Methodist church, had a pretty wife, had run for mayor and lost, but won when he ran unopposed for the state congress. He was a supporter of states’ rights and the second amendment. And he’d gotten some flack in the editorial section of the newspaper over the fact he’d spoken at a gathering for a local militia, where he’d given a speech about gun rights and the limited sovereignty of the government. Another link led her to a description of the rest of the agenda for that meeting and a list of those who’d attended. When she read the names, a sick feeling lodged in the pit of her stomach. Reese Tobin and Bennie Jacobs had both been there. They had both been members of the Free Montana Militia.
There was the connection. She quickly scanned the other names, and thankfully, found no deputies among them, but she didn’t know the rest of the men. She sent the agenda with the list of names to her printer, and then remembered her coffee, which had cooled.
She set aside her laptop and bent toward the coffee table to pick up her cup when the silence was disturbed by glass shattering and the dull thud of something hitting the wall behind her.
Meg threw herself to the floor, reached onto the coffee table for her service Glock, and crawled toward the kitchen. There she slid upward to the junction box and turned off the electricity.
Darkness fell around her, and she suddenly realized she’d left her cellphone on her dresser in her bedroom. She was on her own.
In the distance, she heard the deep, rattling hum of a motorcycle engine, but she was more concerned about any sounds she could detect nearer, like the rattling of a doorknob or the shattering of more glass should an intruder try to get inside.
Well, she wasn’t sitting there waiting for trouble. No matter how hard it was to keep her breaths even.
With her weapon held in front of her, she moved out of the kitchen and back toward the living room. She had to be sure that what she’d heard had been a gunshot. Crouching low, she moved toward the window across from the sofa and nudged aside the sheer panel. In the moonlight, she could see the tear in the fabric and noted the round, splintered circle in the glass.
She had to make the call. Alert the sheriff. Then warn Wolf that someone wasn’t leaving them alone. As she moved toward the hallway, a whoosh sounded, like the slide of a window moving upward. But she’d locked them all, hadn’t she? Swallowing hard, she moved toward the sound. It had come from her bedroom.
With her heart pounding in her chest, she felt that rush she always had in combat, when everything around her slowed down and her mind focused on the mission, the goal—the intruder in her house. She set her back to the hallway wall and moved slowly sideways, listening for footsteps, the creak of a floorboard. But there was only silence.
Beside the door, she drew a slow, quiet breath, drew her courage around her like a cloak, and moved inside, again, keeping her back to the wall. She crouched beside the dresser and glanced toward the window. The curtain billowed inward on a gust of wind.
The shadows inside the room were hard to distinguish, but then she saw a movement. One large dark shape moving from beside the window. She held still, not breathing, until the large frame passed her. Then she rose, coming up behind the man who stood in the doorframe, his head cocked.
She pressed the muzzle of her weapon against his ribs.
“Meg.”
At his whisper, she drew a sharper breath. “Wolf?” She held her weapon away and leaned against his back as she struggled not to shiver. “What are you doing here?” she whispered harshly.
“Let’s not talk about it now. Two men, I think the same ones who disabled your car, are right outside your house.”
Tagged: bounty hunter, contemporary romance, excerpt, Montana Bounty Hunters, romantic suspense, Western Posted in About books..., Contests! | 19 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Arlene Miklovic - Dana Zamora - Stacey Kinzebach - Courtney Kinder - Mary McCoy -
Thursday, June 24th, 2021
The winners are…Mandy Honea and Debra Guyette!
*~*~*
I love paranormal romances. I always have. I’ve had visions of a story in my head for what I wanted to write for years but hesitated. Was it unique enough? Were there too many shifter books out there? Would people want to read it?
Last year, Delilah did a call for bad boys for one of her anthologies and, having never written that short before, I considered it. A prequel to my paranormal suddenly popped into my head and I dove in, writing furiously. The story poured out of me and then I continued into Alpha’s Moon, with the full series.
Shifters have always been a favorite paranormal read of mine. Not vampires, but wolves, dragons, lions, any creature that shifts. I was Team Jacob all the way. When I watch movies and television shows, like The Originals, I root for the shifters. Even in the Sookie Stackhouse series, I was all about Sam and not Bill.
So it made sense for me to focus on shifters in this story. But what kind? Wolves? Dragons? Cats? So many choices, so little time.
I love wolves. In dreams, wolves mean strength, freedom, and the ability to fiercely protect that which is dear to us. Wolves are powerful and invite us to claim our own power, to run free and live our most authentic life, without fear, without shackles, without shame.
That doesn’t mean wolves are the only shifters or paranormal creatures… but you’ll have to read the rest of the series to find out more. <wink wink>
What is your favorite paranormal creature to read about and why?
Answer for a chance to win a download of Alpha’s Moon!
(TWO WINNERS!)
Alpha’s Moon
The mating heat ignites between a dominant alpha-heir and a forbidden wolf-witch hybrid when they’re forced to find his kidnapped sister and stop a war.
Now is not the time for Kane to have found his mate. But the Goddess is never wrong. If he gives in to his desires for Sheridan, her lineage could cost him everything. Yet as his body aches for her, and thoughts of her curves cloud his mind, he finds himself willing to risk it all to claim her.
Forced, out of friendship and loyalty, Sheridan joins the hunt and gets more than she bargained for. A dangerous attraction to a darkly handsome wolf. While she seeks to distance herself from pack politics, Sheridan can’t deny that the first place she has ever felt she belongs is at Kane’s side. Not everyone agrees, and some will stop at nothing to destroy their love, their family, their future.
Order link: https://books2read.com/AlphasMoon
Excerpt from Alpha’s Moon…
She cleared her mind, focused on the question and her vision of Kayleigh. Then she sent her will down the pendulum and deepened her breathing, ignoring the ache in her ribs. Finally, she felt the tug in the chain, pulling her toward the Massachusetts and New York border, at which point, it stopped, as if hitting a wall.
She sighed, letting her spine relax. She had a direction. A sound made her jerk and turn. Kane was leaning against the wall, just inside the door, his arms crossed in front of him, wearing jeans that fit him comfortably and a black leather jacket over a tight T-shirt. She tried to ignore the way he filled out the shirt and jeans, and the way his dark eyes heated as they roamed over her, but he didn’t move from the wall, just watched her with the steady intensity of the predator that he was. Her body heated as if his gaze was a laser as it traced her body, and a steady throbbing built deep inside reminding her of how long it had been since she’d been laid. His scent trailed through the room, through the layers of incense she’d lit, and she melted inside.
Damn it. She should have sensed him invading her house. Her wards should’ve warned her. How could he have slipped past them without her knowing? She uncrossed her legs, an involuntary whimper escaping her lips as blood rushed to the limbs and the stiff muscles protested the movement. Quickly, he shoved off the wall and gripped her arm, helping her to her feet, not touching her anywhere else, his hand burning her like a brand. He then shrugged off his jacket and handed it to her wordlessly.
“Not that I mind the way you’re dressed, but I thought you might be more comfortable this way.” His voice was a deep rumble, and she swore she could feel her pussy clenching then softening. Damn, he sounded sexy.
She narrowed her gaze and dropped his jacket, striding casually from the room to her bedroom where she forced herself to slowly dress, not letting on how it bothered her that he was seeing her naked. It didn’t bother him at all, since shifters had a much more open view of nudity, not able to shift with their clothes. But she had never liked being that vulnerable, not that she’d let him know that.
He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her with hooded eyes. Once she was appropriately armed with her jeans and black T-shirt, she turned to face him.
“Do you often break into women’s houses? Is that how you get your rocks off? Or is this some sort of bizarre courting ritual?”
He levered himself off the doorjamb and prowled over to her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I find it funny that you ask about my courting of other females. I’ve never courted anyone, and I won’t be going to any other female’s house.” He leaned closer to her neck and inhaled. Then he stepped back. “And when I’m courting you, you’ll know it.”
She swallowed hard and let out a shaky breath. “I won’t hold my breath.”
He gave her a wolfish grin then frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt this badly. You’re bruised all over the place. Didn’t Shayla heal you?”
The near-feral growl in his voice made her want to soothe him instantly, not a normal response for her at all, and she resisted the urge. Instead, she fisted her hands at her side and adopted a deliberatively casual pose, folding her arms over her chest and cocking out her hip. “She did what she could. I’m fine. You never answered my question. Why are you here?”
He scowled at her but dropped the subject. “I wanted to talk with you about Kayleigh and what you knew about her disappearance, to see if you had remembered anything else. And maybe share what I heard from some of the witnesses.”
Her pulse quickened at the prospect of hearing additional information. Maybe that would shake loose what was bothering her, help her with her own investigation.
He smirked, perhaps sensing her interest. “But first, tell me what you were doing. Was that a Finding spell?”
Son of a bitch. He was too smart by half, and he had seen her in the middle of the ritual. She couldn’t avoid the talk any further. At that moment, her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before, and not much at that.
“I brought food,” he said, “since Healing burns calories, and I didn’t know what you might have to eat. We can talk while we eat.”
He took her arm and started to lead her, but she resisted. One, because she knew where her own damned kitchen was and didn’t need anyone directing her. And two, when a shifter fed another, it usually meant something, especially when it was a dominant male, and Kane was Uber dominant, especially considering he was the next Alpha of his Pack. Taking food from him was a big deal, and she had to tread very carefully in the next few minutes.
Correctly interpreting her hesitation, he dropped her arm. “For goddess sake, Sheridan. You have to eat. Unbend your goddamn pride and take the offering. I’m not asking you to mate with me.”
She narrowed her gaze, sniffed once and smelled the food that she hadn’t before, and her stomach reminded her how long it had been since her last meal.
She strode past him, but not before he added, “Yet.”
About the Author
Sabrina Silvers began her writing career dreaming of elves, orcs, and hobbits in the fantasy section of her local library, looking in wardrobes for Narnia and Aslan, and hunting for gnomes in the forest. To her dismay, she never found any of them except between the pages of her books.
So, she had to go out and create them for herself, leading to her lifelong love of reading and writing and dreaming about adventures, fantasy creatures and love in fantasy lands! She divides her time between writing sexy contemporary romances under a different pen name, reading, knitting and being owned by a very spoiled cocker spaniel who does not share her love of fantasy creatures.
Tagged: excerpt, Guest Blogger, paranormal romance, werewolf Posted in Contests!, General | 6 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Mandy honea - Sabrina Silvers - bn100 - Debra Guyette - Delilah -
Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
On June 22nd, CHASE releases! It’s book #4 in the Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series—an offshoot of my Montana Bounty Hunters series. I’m still writing the story! Gah! I hate running it up to the wire, but I’ll get there. In the meantime, have you pre-ordered your copy? Read an excerpt below to get a hint of the fun I have in store for you!
Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT—CHASE
Pre-Order Now!
From the opening of Chase…
Chase Kudrow flipped down his visor to shut out the bright morning sun beaming through his windshield. He was parked on Main Street in Dead Horse, congratulating himself on his good sense in accepting the job with Montana Bounty Hunters’ Dead Horse office because he was here, hunting a skip, and not living out of his truck in bumfuck Colorado…or Wyoming…or Idaho. Sure, Cage Morgan, his new boss, had said they’d be looking for the richest bounties in a multi-state area when he’d offered him the job, but as luck would have it, today’s hunt was right in their own backyard.
Chase would never admit it to any of his new bounty hunter brothers, but he’d been ready to settle down and stop living out of a suitcase. He needed to put down roots and prove he could provide a stable home—to himself and to the caseworker handling his niece’s situation. No way in hell was he letting his blood relative, his little sister’s orphaned daughter, be raised by strangers.
The job offer had come at just the right moment. Although he’d feigned resistance to joining the hunters as part of their newly formed satellite agency, inside, he’d been jubilant. He’d hemmed and hawed for days, and he’d done his homework, reaching out to hunter friends in the Kalispell office to make sure this gig was legit, and that he could trust the people he’d be working with. The more he’d learned, the more certain he was that his accepting the job was meant to be.
Yes, there was a lot left to iron out. He had yet to find a house. Work had been pretty busy, but he’d be asking Cage for some time off to find a home and fill it with furniture and the things an eight-year-old might need or want, and for him to meet with local school officials to talk about what he’d need to get Mikayla enrolled. Then the hard work would begin to get Miss Tight-ass Bradshaw at Child and Family Services in Billings to sign off.
The last time she’d seen him, she’d shaken her head. “How do you think you can care for a little girl? You live like a gypsy, Mr. Kudrow. All your past mailing addresses have been forwarding services because you’re never in one place longer than a month. How are you going to be a father to Mikayla?”
He’d shifted in his chair, knowing his petition looked bad, but this was Audra’s girl. He hadn’t been there for her mother, hadn’t even had any idea how much trouble she’d been in. His mama, had she been alive, would have been so disappointed in him for his neglect while he’d been out living his life.
No more. He’d lived like a nomad since his days in the military. He’d liked seeing the world, but when he’d gotten fed up with the rigor and the rules he’d had to abide by in the Army, he’d left and found the one job ideally suited to his wandering ways. Even now, working from a home base in Dead Horse, bounty hunting allowed him to roam just far enough to keep from feeling that itch to pull up stakes and move, and it gave him the occasional adrenaline rush he craved. The targets were varied, and hunting them down never got boring. Except when he was on stakeouts, like this one.
Today’s target was Billy Calloway, one of the Calloway brothers who ran a junkyard east of town, who’d been busted with a shit-ton of stolen catalytic converters. He’d refused to give the DA the names of his suppliers so he was facing multiple charges for receiving stolen goods. Since he was a three-time offender, the judge had set his bail at $100,000—high for the crime, but Judge Hodges was setting an example for the other Calloways.
Then the dumbass skipped his court date…
Chase picked up the manila folder Fredericka “Fig” Newton, their office manager and tech guru, had prepared for all the hunters combing their hometown for this skip. Billy was a scrawny fucker, with greasy brown hair, a scruffy beard, and one eye that permanently looked down his nose. He’d be easy to spot.
The passenger door beside him opened, and Dylan “Preacher” Priestley, his new partner, climbed into the seat beside him holding a small pink box in his hand.
“Took your damn time,” Chase groused, not really concerned, but he and Preacher enjoyed that kind of relationship, always griping at each other but quick to jump into action when the situation called for it. Three weeks in, and Chase wondered how he’d ever gone it alone as a bounty hunter. Having a partner made things like boring-ass stakeouts kind of fun.
“They’re straight out of the oven,” Preacher said, opening the box to reveal two big donuts. Preacher’s hand hovered over them.
“Don’t even think about takin’ the one with the sprinkles,” Chase said, giving him a glare.
Preacher shrugged. “Sprinkles taste like chalky sugar anyway.” He plucked the pink glazed donut from the box and left the cream-colored one with sprinkles for Chase.
Chase plucked his from the box, took a bite, and groaned. “Don’t know how you aren’t fat.”
Preacher waggled his eyebrows. “She makes me work for them.”
“TMI, man,” Chase said, holding up a hand.
Preacher grinned. “Sorry it took so long. I had to taste wedding cakes when I was in there.”
Chase wrinkled his nose. “Way to kill my appetite, man. Weddings!” He gave a mock shudder.
Preacher chuckled. “Laura and Rhonda have this huge notebook. It takes up an entire table when they open it. It has polaroids of cakes and things to decorate the tables with, flower arrangements—”
Chase narrowed his eyes and looked out the windshield. “Rhonda’s in there?”
“Yeah, why?” Preacher shot him a sly sideways glance.
“Just wonderin’. Haven’t seen much of her lately. Her sister’s behind the counter at the Dem Bones Package Store every time I stop to buy beer.”
Preacher arched an eyebrow. “You crushing on Rhonda?”
Chase gave him a deadpan look. “I don’t crush on women. Just sayin’. She seems pretty busy with all that wedding shit.”
“She’s been a huge help to Laura. Says she loved planning her wedding more than she loved her ex-husband. Said it should have told her something.”
“Didn’t know she’s been married…”
“Yeah, for five years, until her husband up and left town with a massage therapist.”
“Must have been rubbing more than his back.”
Preacher shrugged. “Laura doesn’t talk much about him. Guess he left her the store and a pile of debt. She’s been digging herself out of that mess for years.”
Chase finished off his donut and followed it with a gargle of coffee straight from his thermos. When he screwed the lid back on, he glanced down the street. His attention was snagged by two men stepping out of Dead Center Guns & Pawn, both holding handguns and wearing camouflage masks pulled over their chins and noses. They were running toward a beat-up pickup parked alongside the curb.
“Think we got trouble,” he said to Preacher, tapping his ignition button and glancing up and down the street before punching the gas pedal and pulling out of his parking space.
“Damn.” Preacher hit the button on his radio. “Hey, Fig!”
“Yeah, Preacher. What’s up?”
“I think we’ve got a robbery in progress on Main Street. Saw two armed individuals coming out of the pawn shop. Call 9-1-1.”
“Roger, out.”
The tailpipe of the beat-up pickup belched smoke, and then the truck jumped the curb and careened down the street.
“We’re in pursuit,” Preacher said over his radio.
“You aren’t the cops,” Fig muttered back.
“We can tell them where these bastards land.”
Tagged: alpha males, bounty hunter, excerpt, Montana, Montana Bounty Hunters Posted in About books..., Cover Reveal | Comments Off on A Snippet from CHASE… (Excerpt) | Link
Friday, May 14th, 2021
In my upcoming release for the anthology, Stay With Me, I revisited my first published work that was under my own name (I’d been ghostwriting before this). “A Stranger’s Kiss” first appeared in Delilah’s Boys Behaving Badly, Stranded anthology. It gave me a massive boost in confidence and helped me launch my author career. A quick, heartfelt THANK YOU to Delilah for that opportunity!
Has anybody experienced the magic of a fresh off-the-line HOT Krispy Kreme donut? When I was a paramedic in Atlanta, we routinely dropped in for one in the wee hours of the morning. Nothing helped get you through the night like a sticky, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth donut from the original Krispy Kreme store in downtown Atlanta. Side note- I just found out that this store was not the original store. The company actually started in the 1930s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I also discovered that the building burned a few months ago.
When I first moved to Atlanta, I’d just turned 20 and had the world by the tail. I was also a country girl in the big city and walked around with my eyes bugging out and my mouth hanging open. I desperately wanted to experience all the city had to offer. I had big dreams and a head stuffed full of romantic nonsense—thanks to my obsessive reading of all things romance. Since I wasn’t 21, I couldn’t go clubbing with the crew from work, and after months in the city, I still hadn’t managed to have a night on the town. I was a little discouraged, but finally, a firefighter I met through work asked me out.
A tall, hunky guy with blue eyes and biceps that strained the limits of his uniform shirt, I had a serious crush on him. Due to my limited access to the adult world, we spent our evening at a taqueria that had an outdoor dance floor, and all my girlish fantasies of dancing into the night came true. Afterward, we ended swinging by Krispy Kreme and, over a dozen donuts, talked for hours. It didn’t end up going anywhere, but for a country girl with limited experience with men and the city, it was more than enough to make me feel like I had finally arrived.
That simple, sweet memory came to mind as I reinvigorated “A Stranger’s Kiss”. The story was initially an erotic short story. I wanted to use it for a romantic anthology, so I went back and focused on building the romance between the characters that includes bonding over hot donuts! I’m thrilled with how it turned out!
Here’s a tidbit from “A Stranger’s Kiss”. This story will be part of a charity anthology benefitting a good friend and Indie publisher, Sosha Ann, with BBB Publishing. Her mother is battling breast cancer, and we’re trying to support her as she takes care of her mom. The anthology, Stay With Me, is up for preorder and releases June 10th!
Stay With Me
Steaming hot to sugary sweet and everything in between. Join these amazing authors as they delve into worlds of romance. This anthology will be filled with short stories, prequels, and maybe a few surprises along the way. Please beware there maybe cliffhangers and some stories may come with a trigger warning
https://books2read.com/stay-with-me-anthology
The anthology is only $1.99 and is FREE in KU!
Excerpt from “A Stranger’s Kiss”
“The hot sign is on!” Jordan suddenly came alive next to me.
Ahead of us, the Krispy Kreme Donut sign glowed with HOT NOW illuminated in red neon. Stuart laughed and made a quick turn into the parking lot. Jordan hopped out of the car before it even came to a stop and was at my door in a blink. He opened it and held his hand out for mine.
“Come on. There’s nothing better for a late-night snack than a Krispy Kreme hot off the line.” He grinned at me like an excited little boy.
The scent of hot fried dough filled the air. My mouth watered. I grabbed his hand and laughed as he practically ran to window to order. A few minutes later, after Jordan took Stuart a cup of coffee and a box of donuts, we sat on a concrete picnic table beneath the city lights with a dozen hot glazed donuts and two chocolate milks.
As we clogged our arteries and skyrocketed our glucose levels, we talked. Small discoveries, like our common love for chocolate and classic literature, revealed themselves quickly. By the time I was licking my sticky fingers clean, we moved past small talk, revealing bits about ourselves.
“So, if you’re not Batman, heir to the Wayne family fortune, what do you do?” I asked, sipping my chocolate milk, thinking I should have stopped at five donuts instead of splitting the dozen evenly. My mind buzzed with a pleasant sugar high as my tired body asked what it had ever done to deserve such abuse.
Jordan popped the last bit of his final donut in his mouth and chewed before answering my question. “I own several tech companies.” He shrugged and gathered up our trash.
I grinned, liking how he hadn’t taken the opportunity to launch into a dissertation on Jordan Campbell the man, the myth, the millionaire. I hated it when someone’s favorite subject was themselves.
“I thought you were going to say you were a YouTube sensation and donut critic.”
Jordan laughed and again offered his hand. “Are you up for a bit of a walk?”
I hesitated. Going for a walk in an un unknown city after dark with a stranger sounded like a great way to end up on the morning news, but even as I thought it, I put my hand in his. I couldn’t find the tiniest spark of fear for this man.
Jordan pulled my hand through the crook of his arm as we walked down the well-lit sidewalk. Stuart drove behind us, creeping along with his flashers on like a hovering dowager aunt chaperone. The stillness of the city felt odd. I assumed all big cities constantly buzzed with activity.
“Where is everybody?” I asked as we strolled along. I liked how he put himself between me and the street and matched his stride to mine.
“Atlanta’s a weird city. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people flood in from the suburbs and desert it eight hours later. They’ve done a lot of revitalization to help draw people live in the city, but it still feels like a ghost town after dark. What’s Kansas City like after dark?”
“I honestly don’t know. I avoid it at all costs. I live like a hermit in the middle of nowhere about an hour north of the city.”
Jordan stopped and faced me. “A writer. A recluse.” He tucked my hair behind my ear and studied me in the under the streetlight. “You’ve got too much to offer to hide away.”
I averted my gaze and looked up into the twinkling lights of the city. How did he know just what to say to disarm me? It was like he could see straight into me and flip whatever switch he wanted.
“Not everyone thinks so. Besides, you don’t even know me,” I said quietly, thinking of Dilan and what he said when he left me.
Kinsey, you just don’t do it for me anymore.
That short sentence shredded my heart and cut the moorings to my center. Over the last year, I tried to reconnect to my drive, my mojo. My editor forced me to go to this conference to get me out of the house in hopes it would jar me out of my funk. A few hours ago, I would have said it hadn’t worked, but now, I wasn’t so sure.
Jordan studied me for a moment before he continued our stroll. We walked the next block in silence until he stopped at the entrance of a high rise building that jutted up into the dark sky.
“This is where I live.” Jordan paused and looked over my shoulder into the night. Indecision played out on his face.
I jumped in. “I don’t know how to thank you. Seriously. Not just for saving me from sleeping in the airport, but everything.” He had no idea how much he had done for me in the last couple of hours.
“Stay with me,” he whispered.
*~*~*
With her author career in flames, all Kinsey wants to do is go home and nurse her wounds. When sparks fly between her and a hunky millionaire, will Kinsey grab a chance at rejuvenating her writing or will fear and self-doubt hold her back?
About the Author
https://linktr.ee/andycarley
A.C. Dawn is an active and enthusiastic author and reader of short stories, novellas, and novels. She enjoys bringing her characters to life and strives to stir the imagination of her readers. She believes the best writing touches the reader in ways they hadn’t expected and will never forget!
So, that’s the official bio…
Really, I’m a lover of chocolate, a strong jawline with a 5 o’clock shadow, and romances that make your heart pound and your middle get all squishy. I love quiet country living on my north Georgia farm with my family and fur babies of all shapes and sizes. I think the scariest things in life are how fast my daughter is growing and an empty coffee pot. I can’t stand slow drivers in the fast lane and wimpy handshakes.
I have endless stories rumbling around among the rocks in my head. I can’t wait to share them with you!
Tagged: anthology, contemporary romance, excerpt, Guest Blogger Posted in Free Read, General | Comments Off on A.C. Dawn: Stay With Me (Excerpt & FREE in KU!) | Link
Thursday, May 13th, 2021
Readers, have you ever wondered what happens when an author doesn’t finish a book? Because sometimes we don’t, and it’s not because we don’t try. Maybe you’ve been waiting for a sequel to a beloved book but the author hasn’t completed it. Could be, the author is stuck like I was.
My book Surrender Love was a huge hit when it came out, and I told everyone I was writing a sequel, which I planned to call Surrender Trust. But it never materialized. Fans loved book one so much I got emails eleven years later asking me about it. One reader said she had reread her copy of Surrender Love multiple times and just had to know if the next story would ever come out.
I had been stymied by this story for years and had rewritten it nine times, but I got stuck every time. I didn’t know why the antagonist would do what he was doing. None of it made sense, but for the story to work, X had to happen. How could I write the story when there was no viable reason for the antagonist to do what he did?
Not having an answer frustrated readers and me, too. I had to find a solution.
So, I took a step back and tried writing about the antagonist himself. I called it Origin of Pietas. He’s the immortal king, and he’s a character in a ton of books. Pietas has always been a bit crazy to my way of thinking, but when I started writing his book, I got into his psyche and realized why I didn’t understand — because I was writing him doing things his deep sense of honor would never permit him to do.
After I wrote that book, its sequel, Forged in Fire, came quickly. I wrote a short story in the same series. Lights Out is free when you sign up for my newsletter. I see the possibility for at least two more books in the Bringer of Chaos series. I shifted to the Antonello Brothers series and wrote two others with Pietas in them. I began the Antonello Brothers: Immortal series to work up to the story that had stymied me.
First, I rewrote Surrender Love, and then added Ring of the Dragon to the series. When I was ready to start on Surrender Trust, I gave it a new name, Forever Love. What a great title for a book about immortals falling in love, right?
A full seven books after I started, I finally finished the book that had frustrated me. It has a gloriously happy ending and answered so many questions! I uploaded it to Amazon with a huge sense of accomplishment, and an equally big sigh of relief. It comes out May 13th.
To celebrate, on May 12th and 13th, Surrender Love is free on Amazon and it’s free on Kindle Unlimited every day. There is a not-to-be-missed book between these called Ring of the Dragon. Read that to soak up every single luscious detail. These books each come with a bonus story available only to readers of that book.
Here’s a short excerpt from the opening of Forever Love. The young hero is a newly made immortal named Izzorah, who’s a Kin, one of a feline-human race with catlike eyes and ears, fangs, claws, and the ability to purr. He and his soon-to-be spouse, Luc, are standing at the door, saying what I call a Southern goodbye. You know the type; someone’s leaving and you keep trying to let them go but then they say this and you say that… Luc and Izzorah do not want to part even for a minute.
Excerpt from Forever Love…
Luc braced one hand against the open door, body to body with his lover. “You look like you need one more kiss.”
“No, kahmay t’hahr, lord of my heart.” A purr rumbled in Izzorah’s chest, and he tilted his head. The late afternoon sun streamed through the door, lighting his glorious green eyes. His pupils altered, widening like a cat’s, until only a rim of emerald remained. Izzorah focused on Luc’s mouth, then shifted his gaze back up. “I need a lot of kisses.”
“I should have left an hour ago, but with you, I want one kiss after the other.” And instead of walking through the door, he captured Izzorah’s mouth once more.
His lover arched against him, arms around Luc’s neck. When the kiss ended, Izzorah drew back, sliding gentle claws through Luc’s hair, then down his chest.
Luc’s skin tingled from the erotic touch, the raging heat of his inner beast eager for release. He refused to allow his fiery nature the control it craved. As much as he desired another hour with Izzorah, duty called.
He caressed Izzorah’s face. “I love you, Rah. And your cute little cat ears.”
“You’re trying to distract me, calling me a cat. I’m not a…”
Luc stroked one of Izzorah’s ears between fingers and thumb.
“…um… I’m… Ooh, yes, like that…” Izzorah rubbed against Luc’s hand.
Continuing to play with Izzorah’s ear, he smiled. “Is it working?”
Izzorah arched his back, pushing that ear into Luc’s touch. “What?”
With a chuckle, Luc released him. “Distracting you.”
“No. I’m not a cat. I’m Kin.” Izzorah rubbed his head beneath Luc’s chin.
“Rah.” Luc pulled back. “You just marked me, didn’t you?”
Izzorah looked up at him through dark lashes. “I am yours, lord of my heart, but I want other Kin to know you are mine.”
*~*~*
Forever Love – Antonello Brothers: Immortal
For their love, forever isn’t long enough.
Izzorah has always been a Kin, part of a human-like race of fierce, rugged felines. Now he’s also a brand-new immortal.
When he learns the truth about his fiancé’s immortality–and his own–the familiar world he knew vanishes. He must pass a test designed by the immortal king to reveal his gifts and weaknesses.
Pass and he’s accepted into a warrior society he wants no part of. Fail and he’s cast out, away from the man he loves.
As if that’s not bad enough, his lover is also the king’s ex, and the king refuses to part with anything–or anyone–he loves.
Fair test? Not in this immortal lifetime…
Forever Love, a hot MM Sci-Fi romance, is third in the explosive Antonello Brothers: Immortal Science Fiction series.
Amazon worldwide / Kindle Unlimited https://books2read.com/forever-love-immortal
Full series, Surrender Love, Ring of the Dragon, Forever Love https://amzn.to/2N4d7lX
Tagged: excerpt, Guest Blogger, m/m romance, Science Fiction Romance Posted in Free Read | 2 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Kayelle Allen - flchen1 -
Friday, May 7th, 2021
UPDATE: The winner is…bn100!
*~*~*
I must be honest with you from jump street. What I knew about Quakers was formed by elementary school stories about William Penn and movies like The Angel and the Bad Man and Friendly Persuasion. It took meeting real-life Quakers who kindly corrected my ignorance to free me of clichés and caricatures I hadn’t realized I harbored. The first thing they informed me was officially they are the Religious Society of Friends and they refer to themselves as Friends. So decades later when I created inspirational historical romances set in the 1880s in which my African-American characters have been helped by Friends, I scurried down a wonderful new research rabbit hole.
I Iearned that four Friends in Germantown Pennsylvania wrote one of the earliest protests against slavery in 1688. In 1700 on May 7th — one hundred eighty years before my stories are set — William Penn began monthly meetings for African Americans that promoted manumission. However, Friends weren’t always that quick to invite African Americans among them and it took another eighty years for the denomination itself to take a public stand against slavery. Donna McDaniel and Vanessa Julye document this journey in their book, Fit For Freedom, Not For Friendship. Prior to the American Revolution Quakers owned slaves and shared the same attitudes about African Americans as non-Quakers in American society. McDaniel and Julye do give the Society kudos for being the first large Christian denomination to require its members to stop participating in slavery.
I was amazed to learn that I was familiar with African-American Quakers by name but didn’t know they were Quakers. I knew of the abolitionist and back-to-Africa work of Paul Cuffe (1759-1817). I didn’t know Cuffe established the Friendly Society of Sierra Leone in 1811. Probably the most famous African-American Quaker known to me is Bayard Rustin (1912-1987). I had always known of Rustin’s civil rights and gay rights activism, but I never knew he was a Quaker.
I was grateful to encounter new names and new stories. Freed slave Cyrus Bustill (1732-1806) helped found Philadelphia’s Free African Society and was himself a conductor on the underground railroad. His family continued as prominent black Quaker leaders, one of whom — Gertrude Bustill Mossell — became one of the first black women journalists and journal editors in the United States. Another new name was Vera Mae Green (1928-1982). Green championed international human rights and Caribbean anthropology. She did a study, “Blacks and Quakerism” in 1972-73 for the Friend’s General Conference and participated in a significant way in a session in 1979 with Quaker sociologists on peace in the Middle East.
Though I don’t get to use all I learn in my writing, I love discovering these hidden histories which make the tapestry that is history in general so colorful. So for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, what are some surprising historical facts you’ve come across.
One Breath Away by Michal Scott
Sentenced to hang for a crime she didn’t commit, former slave Mary Hamilton was exonerated at literally the last gasp. She returns to Safe Haven, broken and resigned to live alone. Never having been courted, cuddled or spooned, Mary now fears any kind of physical intimacy when arousal forces her to relive the asphyxiation of her hanging. But then the handsome stranger who saved her shows up, stealing her breath from across the room and promising so much more.
Wealthy freeborn-Black Eban Thurman followed Mary to Safe Haven, believing a relationship with Mary was foretold by the stars. He must marry her to reclaim his family farm. But first, he must help her heal, and to do that means revealing his own predilection for edgier sex.
Then just as Eban begins to win Mary’s trust, an enemy from the past threatens to keep them one breath away from love…
Amazon Buylink – https://amzn.to/2u5XQYY
Excerpt from One Breath Away…
His smile turned up the heat in his gaze. Mary frowned, painfully aware the smell of her passion lingered in the air, despite the woolen barrier of her skirt.
He stepped forward so his hand-stitched boots stood toe-to-toe with Mary’s second-hand shoes. “Eban Thurman, at your service, Miss Hamilton. May I get you something to drink?”
At her service? The air congealed. Mary gasped, trying to suck in air too solid to inflate her lungs.
“No—no, thank you. I’m not thirsty.” Her stutter mimicked the tremor between her thighs. She clasped her hands and planted them hard against her lap.
“It’s a really hot night.” He turned his hand palm up in a silent plea. “Perhaps you’d find a waltz more cooling.” He eased his fingers into her clenched hands. “May I beg the honor of this dance?”
“Beg?”
“Yes, Miss Hamilton.” He tilted his head, slanting his smile to the right. “Beg.”
“You don’t strike me as the begging type, Mr. Thurman.”
“To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” He tongue-swiped his full lips as if he’d just tasted something he wanted to taste again. “I know when it’s time to beg.”
She pursed her lips into a frown, fought back the urge to grovel and won. Barely.
The fingers around hers, clean and huge and strangely slender, hadn’t moved, hadn’t trembled. Their stillness aroused her. His stillness aroused her. Her lips quivered. She inhaled deeply against the surrender summoned by that tiny tremor.
Resist the devil and he will flee.
Silently she called upon the truth in this scripture for rescue.
The devil waited. She stared at the hand on hers, helpless against the appeal, the allure of temptation.
She swallowed hard, opened her mouth to say no, but her tongue refused to cooperate. She huffed out a breath and shook her head. “I—I can’t. I don’t know how to waltz.”
“Well, you’re in luck.” His lips bowed in a smile, full, broad, and hypnotizing. “I’m an excellent teacher and I bet you’re a fast learner.” He gave her fingers a squeeze. “Shall we?”
He really wanted to dance with her. She blinked, speechless. A warning voice protested.
Resist.
Her heart countered.
Surrender.
She firmed her lips, heaved a sigh then accepted his invitation.
*~*~*
Social Media:
Twitter: @mscottauthor1
Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2TSHzRn
Tagged: African-American, excerpt, Guest Blogger, historical romance Posted in Contests!, General | 18 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Colleen C. - Jennifer Beyer - Judith Lynne - bn100 - Delilah -
Wednesday, April 28th, 2021
UPDATE: The winner is…Dana Zamora!
*~*~*
Spring has sprung—at least here in Northwest Georgia! The flowers are going crazy. There’s green as far as the eye can see, and of course, the yellow haze of pine pollen coats everything. We’re joyfully wheezing and sneezing our way through the days with runny eyes and runny noses as we embrace the wonder of spring.
Here on the farm, spring means BABIES! Our first calf dropped last night—a little late, but better late than never. We have four new chicks that will augment our four old ladies who supply us with eggs. Piglets should be coming in another few weeks. The energy of spring is like nothing else. It just lifts your soul when you walk among new life, full of possibility and hope.
I think creating a story is like that too. It starts as a baby idea, a kernel of thought. Then, it starts to grow, sometimes not even consciously, until it defines itself. Sometimes, it rises in my brain, fully formed with crystal clear images and parades around like a gaudy Vegas side-show until I give it my attention. Other times, it whispers and nags, slipping into my dreams as half-formed ghosts, only revealing itself clearly when I focus solely on it.
Then, the magic starts. Just like that buzzing lift of spring, the story takes root and blooms—and it’s the most amazing feeling in the world. It’s why I’m shamelessly addicted to writing! Like any infant, you don’t know what it will be when it grows up, but breathing life into a story is like experiencing spring over and over!
One of my book babies releases today! Thank you, Delilah, for letting me drop by and celebrate with you wonderful folks!
Pure Magic Contest
I’m offering a giveaway of an ebook copy of Pure Magic, a multi-author anthology that features my story—Hecate’s Hand-Me-Downs. To enter, leave a comment about your favorite part of spring! I’ll pick a winner on May 1st!
Hecate Rigby wants nothing to do with magic or being the witch she was raised to be. But, when Cate’s forced to return to Ravensdale after her Grandmother’s death, she soon finds out her Grandma led a double life—one that will change Cate’s life forever. The Hammer of the Gods is missing, and Cate was the last one to have it. Will she step up, embrace her powers and her heritage, and find the hammer before it falls into the wrong hands and plunges the world into war?
Grab your copy here: https://books2read.com/pure-magic
Here’s an excerpt from Hecate’s Hand-Me-Downs:
Rook squawked and puffed his feathers up.
In a voice that shook the walls, he announced, “Behold, the God of the Forge.”
He flew down from his perch and landed in front of the door, bowing his head with one wing spread out to the side.
I spun around to see a man shuffle into the store and stop short of the mess. Despite his twisted legs, he towered over me and seemed to suck up all the available space. His t-shirt read ‘Save an Anvil, Bang a Blacksmith’ and stretched to its limits over his massive shoulders and muscular chest. I glanced down at his legs. His knees touched, and his pigeon toes canted in at an awkward angle.
The dichotomy of his top and bottom halves would have distracted me, but his bedroom brown eyes snagged my attention.
Goddess help me, but I’m a sucker for a brown-eyed boy.
The man wore his dark brown hair long and pulled it back in a simple ponytail gathered at the nape of his neck. His body screamed bad boy, but his eyes whispered tenderhearted dreamer.
Rook squawked and pecked my ankle. “Show some respect.”
“What?” I gave myself a little shake and put a smile on my face, reminding myself that it was bad manners to stare.
“Hello, Mistress Rigby.” He nodded at me as his gaze swept over the disarray in the shop, and his mouth turned down with a frown.
I drew a breath to launch into my ‘we’re closed’ speech, but he cut me off.
“I’ve come for the hammer. Bring it to me, please.”
The command in his voice was unmistakable, and my patience, brown eyes notwithstanding, found its end. I didn’t like his tone.
“The hammer isn’t here. A tall, beautiful, scary lady beat you to it.” I put my hands on my hips and mirrored his frown. “As you can see, we’ve had a bit of a…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Finally, I just said, “We’re not open.”
“Rowen Rigby, Sentinel and Guardian of the Crossroads, do not play games. I will have the Hammer of the Gods as I am its rightful owner.” The man seemed to get bigger, and his voice filled the shop.
Magic crackled in the air. Pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
Rowen had not been remiss in my arcane education. I knew mythology as well as spell casting, herb lore, and healing magic. Though I hadn’t embraced the craft after leaving home as an adult, the lessons still lingered in my mind. The Hammer of the Gods, Rook’s announcement of the God of the Forge, and the man’s palpable power all came into focus. Impossible as it was, Hephaestus, Son of Hera, God of the Forge, and Olympian outsider, stood in my shop.
*~*~*
Stalk me (it’s not as kinky as it sounds!) for more giveaways, games, and fun: https://linktr.ee/andycarley
Tagged: excerpt, Guest Blogger, paranormal romance, witch Posted in General, New Release | 8 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Debra Guyette - Andy Carley aka A.C. Dawn - Dana Zamora - Adrianne D Carley - Delilah -
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