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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Book Blitz: TRAGIC (Rook & Ronin #1) By JA Huss @JAHuss @XpressoReads #Giveaway




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****THIS SERIES IS NOW COMPLETE****

****MORE THAN 500 FIVE STAR REVIEWS FOR THIS TRILOGY****




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TRAGIC - FREE through DECEMBER 14th
(Rook & Ronin #1)
By JA Huss
Publication 5-15-2013

Synopsis:

How far are you willing to go to start over?

Rook Walsh is homeless, jobless, and down to her last ten bucks when opportunity knocks her in the head and delivers a once in a lifetime opportunity. Internationally renowned photographer, Antoine Chaput, knows the minute he spies Rook in his studio that she's got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model Ronin, and he knows exactly what to do to make her blush for Antoine's camera. Her luck changes in an instant and suddenly she's got more attention and exposure than she can handle-both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

FREE at Amazon



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TRAGIC EXCERPT: RONIN

The girl catches me staring and I hold my breath. But neither of us turns away. We stare, unabashed, until Antoine's direction pulls her back into the shoot and she's lost again-guarded and unhappy, frowning and resigned. She's a blackbird sitting in a tree staring out at the world, daring the wind to come and knock her off the swaying bough.

She is wrecked, Elise is right. But she's not down yet. The look on her face is defiant.

When I look over at the clock it's well past five. Antoine has been shooting her for almost two hours. Elise left a while back but whether she's still here in the studio or up in her apartment, I have no idea. I lost track of her because my eyes are only on the girl.

Antoine does pretty well until the end. It's clear he's finished shooting and the girl is starting to look uncomfortable when he asks her what she was thinking about during the shoot.

I cringe. No, you don't ask them! You make them want to tell you, you idiot! I want to pull him aside and stop the crash and burn that's coming, but it's too late. She snaps at him and he pulls back when he realizes his mistake.

He turns the conversation to business and this is where it really gets interesting. She tells him she's not a model and has no portfolio. I'm just about to laugh when she starts yelling about pictures as payment.

I look back towards Elise's station and realize she forgot to explain the terms to her.

We are so off our game today. One tragic girl has disrupted all the carefully laid plans and protocols we've had in place for years.

The tragic girl storms off yelling. Antoine walks over to me and we wait together as she rants to Elise.

"You better fix this, Antoine," I say calmly, but inside I'm screaming too. "Pay the fucking girl, she needs the money."

He snorts like a fucking Frenchman. "I do not pay for test shoots."

"This," I say, turning to face him, "was no test shoot and you know it. You've got hundreds of shots in that camera. Pay her and make sure she comes back or I won't do the contract. I want her. I've put up with hundreds of stupid girls over the years for you and I've never asked you for a favor like this. I want this one, or I won't do it."

He fishes through his pocket and pulls out the cash that Clare never earned.

The studio door slams and we are all reminded that two models have walked out on us today.

"Elise!" Antoine calls, thrusting the bills out at her. "Catch her, pay her, and invite her back on Monday."

Elise grabs the money and flies out the door.

"We're in trouble, Ronin. She is trouble." He turns a little to look me in the eye, something he rarely does unless he's serious and wants me to consider his advice. "You should stay away from her, keep it professional. Or it might get messy."

I shrug. "I'll do what I want. And staying away from her isn't even in the top million things I want to do with that girl."

"Elise will hurt you if you ruin this one, Ronin. She won't tolerate another Mardee."

Fuck you, is what I think. But I don't say it, I just sigh and we wait in silence for Elise to come back.




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MANIC - 99¢ through DECEMBER 14th
(Rook & Ronin #2)
By JA Huss
Publication 7-30-2013

Synopsis:

TRAGIC is over and Rook is ready for the future-Spencer Shrike and the STURGIS contract!

It's three months of body art modeling! That means three months of Spencer Shrike's paintbrush all over her body, three months in front of Antoine's camera, and three months of twenty-four-hour filming for Spencer's Biker Channel reality show.

Wait a minute… what reality show? Maybe she should've read that STURGIS contract a little closer?

Sure, Rook's bank account is overflowing, but Ronin is angry, Clare is trying to escape rehab, Antoine is a worried mess, and Elise is just trying to hold everyone together. Rook's new family is about to fall apart before she even gets the chance to enjoy it.

99¢ at Amazon



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MANIC EXCERPT ROOK

"You scare me, Rook."

"Why?" I ask, puzzled.

"Because your future is making itself right now, this very moment. And you have no idea it's happening. I want you so completely it hurts. But you and I are in two totally different places."

My whole body shivers with a chill as I absorb his words. I swallow. "That sounds like the beginning of a break-up speech. Are you breaking up with me?"

He scoots my bottom closer, thrusting himself inside me a little more. "I love you, Rook. I'm not breaking up with you. But it's all bad timing, you know?"

I shake my head. "No, not really."

"My career started when I was seventeen. I've done everything you're just getting a taste of now. I've traveled all over the world, I've made a shitload of money, I have pretty much everything I want."

"But-"

"Except the only thing I really want."

I wait for it, but he lets out a long sigh and holds it in. "Is it a secret?"

He lets out a soft laugh and rocks himself into me again. "No, it's not. I already told you that night we went to the zoo."

"A family," I say, a little breathless now because what he's doing, this serious conversation combined with the sensual lovemaking, is making my heart pound.

"Yes. I'm done, Rook. I can live off the money I've made for decades. I'm ready to do something else. Start something new."

"Well, how is that a problem for us?" I ask, lifting up and slipping down on him. It's his turn to become breathless. "I'm not against the idea, you know."

He smiles as his hand reaches up to cup my breast.

I shiver again, but this time it's a good one.

"Not against the idea is not the same as on board." His fingers stop and his hands wrap around my waist as he slides me back and forth across his lap. My whole body flushes with heat and I tip my head back and close my eyes.

"I'm looking for a partner."

I swallow. "I'd like to be that partner, but-"

He waits.

I open my eyes. He's watching me very closely, his hands still gliding over my body, slowly-so, so slowly. My clit throbs against his friction.

He waits.

"I'm scared too, Ronin. But of very different things."

He wraps his arms around me completely and buries his face in my neck, tasting the water on my skin left over from the misting shower spray. "I'll take care of you, Rook."

I take a deep breath and let it out. "I want you to take care of me, Ronin."

His palms slide up underneath my wet hair and then he fists it, just a little, like a claim. It makes me hesitate, but then he pulls me forward until my cheek touches his. "Then let me, just let me put it all together for us. I can make you happy."




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PANIC
(Rook & Ronin #3)
By JA Huss
Publication 10-15-2013

Synopsis:

Rook is chasing her dream-film school and a chance at a life beyond the one she ran from six months ago. But before she can become the girl she wants to be, she must deal with the girl she left behind.

Ronin is also chasing his dream-a family of his own and a life away from erotic modeling. And he too, has a past he's trying to forget. A past that makes Rook question everything about their life together.

Lies, secrets, and shocking truths will rock the foundation Rook and Ronin have built. Can they put the past behind them and move forward together? Or is this just another too good to be true relationship that will crash and burn in the end?



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PANIC EXCERPT ROOK

My phone beeps an incoming text just as I settle back on my couch and turn on the TV. My heart flutters a little as I read the text.


Dear Rook (AKA Gidget),


I've never had the urge to write a love letter but I'm lying in bed, looking over at your side, wondering if I can somehow change your mind about this whole deal and talk you into coming the fuck home. (I'm a selfish asshole, I know.) But I get that you need this so I'll just say this instead: I felt like I was leaving a piece of my soul behind the moment I left. And every second that passes, I miss you like that, times a million.


Love,
Ronin (AKA Larue)


I press call under his name and he picks up on the first ring. "Ronin Flynn, you are like a door."

He laughs. "It was that touching, huh?"

"Not a window where you can see through to the other side and be sure of what's coming. But a door, still closed and leading to every opportunity imaginable and requiring a leap of faith that the risk is worth it. You are my doorway to endless possibilities and I'm ready to take that risk."

I can hear him swallow on the other end and when he's done his words rumble out in his deep, sexy voice. "Rook, I'm not a risk, I'm a sure thing. You're the only girl I want to build a future with. Ever. You're the one, Rook. The love that only comes around once in a lifetime and I refuse to settle for anything else."

He's perfect. Simply perfect. "I love your love letter, Larue. It made me sigh like a schoolgirl."

"Well, you are a schoolgirl, right? I think I'm gonna have to go looking for a little tartan skirt and some knee socks. Dress you all up in a sexy outfit this weekend."

"If you do that, I might have to be bad on purpose, Mr. Flynn."

"Don't tease, Gidget, or I'll spank you."

"You promise that so much and never come through. I hardly get excited about it anymore."

He guffaws this time and I can practically picture his gorgeous smile lighting up his electric blue eyes. "I can't fucking wait until Friday."

I giggle a little as I picture our Friday. "I might just ditch class early, Mr. Flynn."

"And that will earn you two spankings, Miss Corvus."

"Promises, promises."



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The Rook and Ronin Series has SEVEN books TOTAL
(1) TRAGIC
(2) MANIC
(3) PANIC

Spin-offs
(4) SLACK: A Day in the Life of Ford Aston
(5) TAUT: The Ford Book
(6) BOMB: A Day in the Life of Spencer Shrike
(7) GUNS: The Spencer Book



About the Author:

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J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.



Giveaway:

$20 GIFT CARD

Signed set of Rook & Ronin (new covers)



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Book Blitz Organzied By:

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Cover Reveal: Alpha Fighter (The Alpha Fighter Series #1) by Ava Ashley @XpressoReads




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Alpha Fighter by Ava Ashley
(The Alpha Fighter Series #1)
Publication date: December 15th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

The first part of Alpha Fighter, a two-part series from Amazon bestselling author, Ava Ashley.

Savannah Santos is on the run, almost out of options and cash. The daughter of a motorcycle club king, she fled everything she ever knew to get out of an arranged marriage to a rival club's prince. Her plan is to follow her career dreams and not endanger anyone by getting too close. But she wasn't expecting her new roommate to be her dream guy.

For Cooper Quin, being any girl's dream man, is nothing new, but he's determined to stay exactly that: a dream. His focus is on killing it in the brutal MMA ring. A former Navy SEAL with a dark past of pain and betrayal, falling in love is the last thing he intends to do. But his sexy new roommate is nothing like one of his usual one-night stands. With her, it feels safe to let his guard down.

Cooper knows a little about running from the past; Savannah's is still looking for her. He can't leave her alone, but pursuing her might be the MMA fighter's undoing. She knows she can't stay forever-not with two outlaw gangs searching everywhere to bring her back.



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Author Bio:

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Amazon bestselling author Ava Ashley may look like the girl next door, but her steamy romances reveal a very naughty side. Raised in small town Ohio and now living in Homer, Alaska it's amazing that she hasn't increased the average temperature in her area of the state with her steamy writing. And she loves reading new adult romance novels as much as she enjoys writing them.

Ava likes spending time outdoors and does a lot of hiking and cycling with her husband and four children. When she can get away on her own, she'll often take pen and paper along, find a secluded spot and let the environment inspire her. Of course, that inspiration frequently results in characters tearing each other's clothes off, but you would expect nothing less from a romance writer.



Cover Reveal Organzied By

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Cover Reveal: Ever Darkening by Janeal Falor @JanealFalor @NereydaG1003 #YABOUNDBOOKTOURS #Giveaway




Ever Darkening
Release Date: 01/28/15

Summary from Goodreads:
Perfection. Goodness. Elimination of evil. It's what seventeen-year-old Kaylyn has trained her entire life to achieve. But no one is prepared for the consequences of her actually defeating all evil people on the planet. Finally successful in her mission, Kaylyn faces an unfamiliar world, full of good people doing good things, in which she no longer has purpose.


When the skies grow dark, and a stranger from another village pleads for her help, her instincts roar to life. It turns out their perfect world isn't exactly what it seems. Kaylyn's new quest, harder than any she's been on before, will rip apart her friendships, her life, and her soul more than any evil man ever managed to.


About the Author
Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she's finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they're nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she's still going on about the voices in her head.




Author Links:
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GIVEAWAY:


Cover Reveal Organized by:

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Pre-Order Drive: VERUM (Nocte Trilogy Book 2) by Courtney Cole @Court_Writes @badassmktg




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You loved Courtney Cole's NOCTE in all it's dark, twisted, spellbinding, messed-up awesomeness. You can't wait until VERUM (Nocte Trilogy Book 2) releases in February 2015. And now Courtney Cole is going to release an exclusive VERUM excerpt...but only if we can get it to the top 1000 on Amazon!

All you have to do is go to Amazon and pre-order VERUM right now. Go, pre-order, and get all your NOCTE-obsessed friends to pre-order, too. If enough people do it, VERUM will climb up the ranks, and we'll get a sneak peek at the follow-up to what's being called "a haunting psychological suspense" and "the rare kind of story that leaves permanent marks on your heart and your soul."

>> PRE-ORDER VERUM ON AMAZON RIGHT HERE <<



About NOCTE

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SAVE ME AND I'LL SAVE YOU....


My name is Calla Price. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m one half of a whole. My other half-- my twin brother, my Finn--is crazy.

I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I’m terrified he’ll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me.

I’m doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I’m drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline.

Dare DuBray.

He’s my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I’m afraid, where I belong, where I’m lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me.

Maybe that’s ok. Because I can’t seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt.

Why? Because of a secret.

A secret I’m so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming.

You won’t either.

>> GET NOCTE ON AMAZON RIGHT HERE <<
>> JOIN THE NOCTE TRILOGY TEASER AND CLUE LIST RIGHT HERE <<



About VERUM

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THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.


My name is Calla Price and I'm drowning.

My new world is a dark, dark ocean and I'm being pulled under by secrets.

Can I trust anyone? I don't know anymore.

The lies are spirals. They twist and turn, binding me with their thorns and serpentine tongues. And just when I think I have it figured out, everything is pulled out from under me.

I'm entangled in the darkness.

But the truth will set me free.

It's just ahead of me, so close I can touch it. But even though it shines and glimmers, it has glistening fangs and I know it will shred me.

Are you scared?

I am.

>> PRE-ORDER VERUM ON AMAZON RIGHT HERE <<
>> JOIN THE NOCTE TRILOGY TEASER AND CLUE LIST RIGHT HERE <<

Book Blitz: Caress of Darkness: A Dark Pleasures Novella (1001 Dark Nights #12) by Julie Kenner @juliekenner @DarkWorldBooks #Giveaway




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Caress of Darkness:
A Dark Pleasures Novella
(1001 Dark Nights #12)
by Julie Kenner
Kindle Edition, 80 pages
Published: December 9th 2014
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

Blurb:

From the first moment I saw him, I knew that Rainer Engel was like no other man. Dangerously sexy and darkly mysterious, he both enticed me and terrified me.

I wanted to run-to fight against the heat that was building between us-but there was nowhere to go. I needed his help as much as I needed his touch. And so help me, I knew that I would do anything he asked in order to have both.

But even as our passion burned hot, the secrets in Raine's past reached out to destroy us … and we would both have to make the greatest sacrifice to find a love that would last forever.

This is part of 1001 Dark Nights



Excerpt:

But I can't get the words out, and I feel the tears snaking down my cheeks, and dammit, dammit, dammit, I do not want to lose it in front of this man-this stranger who doesn't feel like a stranger.

And then his grip on my shoulders tightens and he leans toward me.

And then-oh, dear god-his lips are on mine and they are as warm and soft as I'd imagined and he's kissing me so gently and so sweetly that all my worries are just melting away and I'm limp in his arms.

"Shhh. It's okay." His voice washes over me, as gentle and calming as a summer rain. "Everything's going to be okay."

I breathe deep, soothed by the warm sensuality of this stranger's golden voice. Except he isn't a stranger. I may not have not met him before today, but somehow, here in his arms, I know him.

And that, more than anything, comforts me.

Calmer, I tilt my head back and meet his eyes. It is a soft moment and a little sweet-but it doesn't stay that way. It changes in the space of a glance. In the instant of a heartbeat. And what started out as gentle comfort transforms into fiery heat.

I don't know which of us moves first. All I know is that I have to claim him and be claimed by him. That I have to taste him-consume him. Because in some essential way that I don't fully understand, I know that only this man can quell the need burning inside me, and I lose myself in the hot intensity of his mouth upon mine. Of his tongue demanding entrance, and his lips, hard and demanding, forcing me to give everything he wants to take.

I am limp against him, felled by the onslaught of erotic sparks that his kisses have scattered through me. I am lost in the sensation of his hands stroking my back. Of his chest pressed against my breasts.

But it isn't until I realize that he has pulled me into his lap and that I can feel the hard demand of his erection against my rear that I force myself to escape this sensual reality and scramble backward out of his embrace.

"I'm sorry," I say, my breath coming too hard.

"Callie-" The need I hear in his voice reflects my own, and I clench my hands into fists as I fight against the instinct to move back into his arms.

"No." I don't understand what's happening-this instant heat, like a match striking gasoline. I've never reacted to a man this way before. My skin feels prickly, as if I've been caught in a lightning storm. His scent is all over me. And the taste of him lingers on my mouth.

And oh, dear god, I'm wet, my body literally aching with need, with a primal desire for him to just rip my clothes off and take me right there on the hard, dusty floor.

He's triggered a wildness in me that I don't understand-and my reaction scares the hell out of me.

"You need to go," I say, and I am astonished that my words are both measured and articulate, as if I'm simply announcing that it is closing time to a customer.

He stays silent, but I shake my head anyway, and hold up a finger as if in emphasis.

"No," I say, in response to nothing. "I don't know anything about this amulet. And now you really need to leave. Please," I add. "Please, Raine. I need you to go."

For a moment he only looks at me. Then he nods, a single tilt of his head in acknowledgment. "All right," he says very softly. "I'll go. But I'm not ever leaving you again."

I stand frozen, as if his inexplicable words have locked me in place. He turns slowly and strides out of the shop without looking back. And when the door clicks into place behind him and I am once again alone, I gulp in air and feel the warm trickle of a tear as it snakes down my cheek.

I rub my hands over my face, forgiving myself for this emotional miasma because of all the shit that's happened with my dad. Of course I'm a wreck; what daughter wouldn't be?

Determined to get a grip, I follow his path to the door, then hold onto the knob. I'd come over intending to lock it. But now I have to fight the urge to yank it open and beg him to return.

It's an urge I fight. It's just my grief talking. My fear that I'm about to lose my father, the one person in all the world who is close to me, and so I have clung to a stranger in a desperate effort to hold fast to something.

That, at least, is what my shrink would say. You're fabricating a connection in order to fill a void. It's what you do, Callie. It's what you've always done when lonely and afraid.

I nod, telling myself I agree with the voice in my head.

And I do.

Because I am lonely.

And I am afraid of losing my dad.

But that's not the whole of it. Because there's something else that I'm afraid of, too, though I cannot put my finger on it. A strange sense of something coming. Something dark. Something bad.

And what scares me most is the ridiculous, unreasonable fear that I have just pushed away the one person I need to survive whatever is waiting for me out there in the dark.

***

He wanted her.

When you got right down to it, that was the bottom line. Raine wanted Callie Sinclair. Craved her. Hungered for her.

Hell, he fucking yearned for her, and that was simply not a feeling he was used to having. Hadn't been for a very, very long time.

Oh, sure, he'd gotten off often enough. Lost himself in a women. In the feel of her body against his. There was power in the claiming of a willing female, in that hard, rough ride that erased the world, at least for those few singular moments as the sensation built and climax approached.

And when the inevitable explosion came, he'd lose himself in the sharp oblivion that mimicked the death he sought again and again, and yet this death was forged in pleasure and not pain.

But that was all he wanted or needed-just that physical connection to remind him that no matter how dead he might feel on the inside-no matter how hard he chased that escape and no matter how many times he burned-this body still functioned and he still had a job to do.

Because if he could fuck, then he could fucking well survive another day, another year, another century.

Shit.

He ran his fingers over his close-cropped hair and told himself to get a grip. An ironic lecture since he stood like a criminal in the shadows across the street from Sinclair's Antiques, his eyes trained on the now-locked door.

Thank goodness he'd dismissed Dennis, Phoenix Security's driver, telling him to go ahead and simply be on call in case Raine needed him later. He hardly wanted to explain to the eager twenty-three year old why the hell he was standing like an idiot, waiting for just another glimpse of this women who'd gotten so deep under his skin.

Christ, he was pathetic. For millennia he'd not been distracted by a woman. Not since he'd lost Livia, his mate.

Oh, he'd fucked plenty, but that was to escape. Because even after all these centuries he still craved what he'd lost when she'd been ripped from him.

He'd loved her beyond all reckoning, and never once had he believed that he would ever feel that same connection with another female.

And yet this woman - Sinclair's daughter - not only caught his attention, but sparked his awareness.

He told himself that he was simply attracted to her beauty. That he hadn't brought a woman into his bed for over a year. A short time for a man such as him, but still too damn long.

He told himself that he just wanted to fuck her-but that wasn't true at all.

He wanted to know her. He wanted to protect her.

He wanted have her.

And that's why he was standing here in the dark.

That's why he was watching her door.

And that's why the moment she left the building, he was going to follow her-all the way to wherever the hell that might lead.



About the Author:

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J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres. Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, "chicklit" suspense, urban fantasy, Victorian-era thrillers (coming soon), and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, has been consistently in development in Hollywood since prior to publication. Most recently, it has been optioned by Warner Brothers Television for development as series on the CW Network with Alloy Entertainment producing. JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations" and by RT Bookclub for having "cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for him." A three time finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her books have sold well over a million copies and are published in over over twenty countries. In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.



Giveaway-



Book Tour: The Clock Strikes at Midnight by Joan C. Curtis @JoanCurtis @GoddessFish #Giveaway




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The Clock Strikes at Midnight
by Joan C. Curtis

Blurb:

The Clock Strikes Midnight is a race against time in a quest for revenge and atonement. This is a story about hate, love, betrayal and forgiveness.

If you found out you had only 3 months to live, what would you do? That's the question Janie Knox faces in this fast-paced mystery full of uncertainty and tension that will surprise you until the very last page.

Hiding behind the façade of a normal life, Janie keeps her family secrets tucked inside a broken heart. Everything changes on the day she learns she's going to die. With the clock ticking and her time running out, she rushes to finish what she couldn't do when she was 17-destroy her mother's killer. But she can't do it alone.

Janie returns to her childhood home to elicit help from her sister. She faces more than she bargained for when she discovers her sister's life in shambles. Meanwhile her mother's convicted killer, her stepfather, recently released from prison, blackmails the sisters and plots to extract millions from the state in retribution. New revelations challenge Janie's resolve, but she refuses to allow either time or her enemies to her stop her from uncovering the truth she's held captive for over 20 years.



Excerpt:

"Daddy, when I get my kitty, can I name him Davy?" she had asked, yanking Marlene's Davy Crockett mug full of M&M's from her grasp.

The colorful candy spilled all over the backseat of the car.

"Mama, tell Janie to-"

"Janie, behave," Daddy said, admonishing her for an instant with his eyes from the rearview mirror.

"Malcolm, look out-!" Mom screamed.

Janie slammed into Marlene. Pain. The world tumbled topsy-turvy. The mug flew across the interior of the car, colors of the rainbow falling all around her.

Then, everything went black.

When she opened her eyes, Mom's blood-streaked face rose in front of her out of the darkness.

"Wrap your arms around my neck, honey." Mom lifted her from the wreckage.

Janie clutched her doll by the dress while the rain beat her curly hair flat.

Marlene stood on the side of the road.

"Try to walk," Mom said, toppling her from her arms.

Her head pounded and blood trickled down her leg. She leaned on her good leg and limped in the direction of her sister.

"Mama, where's Daddy?" Marlene asked between sobs.

Mom took Marlene's hand and yanked her forward with Janie in tow.

Marlene lurched back toward the smashed Oldsmobile with smoke billowing from its hood and a big tree lying across the roof. The Davy Crockett mug lay shattered by the back tire.

"Daddy! We can't leave Daddy!" Marlene yelled, picking up pieces of the broken glass.

They had left Daddy that day and piled into an old Chevy pick-up truck with a bashed in headlamp, belonging to a man with carrot-red hair. Mom pushed them inside the truck and ordered the man to get help. But by then it was too late for Daddy.

It was too late for all of them.



An Interview With Joan C. Curtis:

Who is the last person you hugged?

My husband. If you'd asked who the last creature I hugged, I'd have answered my dog. He gets a hug every morning before his walk.

What is the story of your first kiss?

I was 15 and on my first date. The boy French kissed me. Later I reported it to my mom and then said, "Yuck."

Do you like kissing in public?

No. I am a pretty private person with my affection. I'm sure that's because my mom is the same way. I don't like public shows of affection-even holding hands in public is hard for me.

Do you listen to music when you're writing?

When I'm writing, I need to completely concentrate on the task. If music is playing, I wouldn't hear it. My mind and all my emotions are with my characters.

Do you ever read your stories out loud?

All the time. I think it's critical to read aloud to hear the dialogue and to listen for the rhythm of your writing.



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About the Author:

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Joan Curtis authored four business books published by Praeger Press. She is also published numerous stories, including:

  • Butterflies in a Strawberry Jar, Sea Oats Review, Winter, 2004
  • A Memoir Of A Friend, Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul, 2003 and Flint River Review, 1996
  • Jacque's Story in From Eulogy to Joy, 2002
  • The Roommate, Whispering Willow Mystery Magazine, April 1997
  • A Special Sort of Stubbornness, Reader's Digest, March 1997,
  • My Father's Final Gift, Reader Digest, November 1994

Her first place writing awards include : Best mystery manuscript in the Malice Domestic Grants competition, best proposal for a nonfiction piece in the Harriette Austin competition, and best story, Butterflies in a Strawberry Jar in the Cassell Network of Freelance Writer's Association.

Other Books:

Hire Smart and Keep 'Em: How to Interview Strategically Using POINT, Praeger Press, an imprint of ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA 2012.

The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media, Praeger Press, 2010, an imprint of ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA

Managing Sticky Situations at Work: Communication Secrets for Success in the Workplace, 2009, Praeger Press, an imprint of ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA.

Strategic Interviewing: Skills for Savvy Executives, 2000 published by Quorum Books, Greenwood Press.

"I write about characters who remind me of myself at times and my sister at times, but never fully so. My stories are told from a woman's point of view. Characters drive my writing and my reading."

Having grown up in the South with a mother from Westchester County New York, Joan has a unique take on blending the southern traditions with the eye of a northerner. She spent most of her childhood in North Carolina and now resides in Georgia.



Giveaway:

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.





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Cover Reveal: Paper or Plastic by Vivi Barnes @vivibarnes @entangledteen @NereydaG1003 #YABOUNDBOOKTOURS




Paper or Plastic
Release Date: 2015
Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:
Welcome to SmartMart, where crime pays minimum wage...

Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn't know what's worse-disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth time…or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers.

Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk customers, and learning exactly what a "Code B" really is (ew). And for added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute-and adorably geeky-Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the best thing that ever happened to her?




Pre-Order Links:

About the Author
Originally from East Texas (the accent comes out more often than not), I now live in the magic and sunshine of Orlando, FL with my very understanding husband and three kids. I'm an extrovert with awkward blogging tendencies. My debut novel, OLIVIA TWISTED, comes out November 5, 2013 from Entangled Teen!

You can connect with me on Facebook, TwitterGoodreadsPinterest. Or visit the official Olivia Twisted site at www.oliviatwisted.com.


Author Links:
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Cover Reveal: Eleven Weeks (Crazy in Love #2) by Lauren K. McKellar @LaurenKMcKellar @NereydaG1003 #YABOUNDBOOKTOURS #Giveaway




Eleven Weeks (Crazy in Love #2)
Release Date: 01/2015

Summary from Goodreads:
Seven shots

Five siblings

Two boys

One heartbeat …

***
Stacey is good at pretending.

She pretends that the boy she's in love with doesn't exist.

She pretends that she's happy to live and die in this small town.

She pretends that her life is carefree while her best friend's life crumbles before her very eyes.

But Stacey's got a secret ...

And it's going to ruin everything,





Excerpt:


We walk into the lounge room, and it really is like walking into a house for the mourning. The heavy curtains are pulled shut, casting the room in shadow. Someone-presumably Deb-has lit an incense candle, so the heady scent of lavender fills the room. It creeps down my throat, choking me, and I stop, swallow, and try to take shallow breaths. Now is not the time to throw up.

On the couch is Kate. Scrunched up balls of tissue surround her, a pile of them on the floor, and a beige-coloured blanket covers her from the waist down. Her eyes are open, and she's staring straight ahead, but she doesn't make any move to signal she knows I'm in the room.

It's the single saddest thing I've ever seen.

I tiptoe over to her side, clear a space in the tissue debris and sit cross-legged on the floor next to her. "Kate?"

Nothing. Her eyes look straight past me, straight through me, to something I can't see.

My best friend is gone.

And I don't know if she's coming back.


Books in this series:
(cover linked to Goodreads)



Praise for The Problem With Crazy
"Heartbreaking, life-affirming-one of my all-time favourites." Glass Paper Ink Book Blog

"This story is beautiful, heartbreaking and will leave you thinking about it for days to follow." A.K.A. The Book Harlots Review

The Problem With Heartache will be released in February, 2015, and is the conclusion to Kate's story.





About the Author
Lauren K. McKellar is a writer and editor of fact and fiction.
For more information on her editing services, click here.
For more information on her YA Contemporary (Escape Publishing, Harlequin Australia) Finding Home, or her NA Contemporary The Problem With Crazy, please click on the appropriate links.
In her spare time, she likes long walks on the beach with her puppies and drinking delicious cocktails prepared by her bar-owning husband.

Author Links:

   


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