99cent EBOOKS

Irish Inspiration

2012-02-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

I’m often asked where my story ideas spring from. An interesting face,lyrical tune, or unusual place name can send my mind racing away with a newstory idea. But if I had to choose one type of stimuli that inspires me the most,I’d choose places.

When I visit historic houses and ancient villages or towns I alwaysleave dying to use them as settings in my books. Although I write paranormalromance and not historical romance, the sense of history that oozes from thevery stones of the buildings sets my blood racing. I’m lucky that living inEngland I have access to many ancient buildings and acres of mysticalcountryside. I love walking through a medieval manor house seeing the swordsand armor on the walls, walking across flagstone floors knowing I’m treading inthe footsteps of people long dead who walked their centuries earlier. Once Ihave a story idea, I read about myths, legends, and folk law to give me ideason how to blend paranormal elements with the setting.

On a visit to County Cork, Ireland a few years ago I visited abeautiful and romantic manor house overlooking Bantry bay called Bantry House.This was the inspiration for the home of my hero in The Feast of Beauty. The finalscene in the novella includes a fountain that was inspired by the fountain atBantry House that is covered in seashells. If you vacation in Ireland, this placeis well worth a visit.

Back Cover Blurb

Kate’s grandmother’s dying wishis that she should return her pearl pendant to Knocknapog, the tiny fishingvillage in Ireland where she was born. As production assistant at a televisioncompany, Kate is able to book a shoot at the village’s mysterious MidsummerFeast of Beauty. She and her colleagues stay with the wealthy local landownerEsras Mac Lir, who organizes the midsummer celebration. But he is not what sheexpects. With his unearthly silver hair and emerald eyes, there is somethingmagical about him, something compelling and seductive that mesmerizes her andinvades her dreams. And when he claims to have been waiting for her all hislife, she doesn't know whether he's a romantic, or living in a fantasyworld—until he proves that they share a magical heritage and that she truly ishis Feast of Beauty Queen.

This book is a novella of 11,500 words. It was originally published in TheMammoth Book of Irish Romance. This is a revised version of the original story.

Buy from Amazon or B&N

Visit Helen Scott Taylor's Website

A Piece of History - The Bayeux Tapestry from Christmas in Bayeux

2012-02-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

While I was reaching my story, "Christmas in Bayeux," I determined I wanted the story set in Bayeux, France because it was on the French coast and in close proximity to the American World War cemeteries. A little bit later, I discovered a hidden gem – the Bayeux Tapestry. In the story, Noel takes Aiden to the local museum to show him the tapestry. The visit allows Aiden a chance to deepen his connection to Noel.

What's the Bayeux Tapestry? It's actually an embroidery close to 230 feet long. (70 meters). Interestingly, its origins are clouded in controversy and there are several theories concerning its commission.

The Bayeux Tapestry tells a story. Edward the Confessor, King of England, sends Harold Godwinson to Normandy to tell William, the Norman Duke, that Edward has named him his successor. Harold is taken prisoner upon his arrival in Normandy by a local count who turns him over to William. Harold tells William of Edward's intentions and is allowed to leave.

Edward dies, but Harold betrays him and has himself crowned king of England. Furious, William assembles a Norman army and attacks. Haley's Comet flies overheard as William fights Harold. It's 1066. Hastings. And William wins.

Theory #1 –
William's wife, Matilda, commissioned and helped embroider the tapestry with her ladies in waiting. Could Matilda have done it? Yes. She was known for her embroidery skill and she would know the story, having 1st hand knowledge of it.

Theory #2 –
William's half-brother, Odo, a Bishop, had it commissioned. Points in his favor: The tapestry was found in the Bayeux Cathedral – a church Odo built. Being William's brother, he had 1st hand knowledge of the story, too, and had access to hire skilled seamstresses to make it.

Interestingly, the 1st reference to the tapestry is in 1476 when it was listed in a church inventory. The tapestry dated back to the 1070's. It was 400 years old when it was "discovered." Now, it's over 930 years old.

REVIEWS FOR CHRISTMAS IN BAYEUX:

5 Stars, Karen Michelle Nutt, Author
"Christmas in Bayeux is a tender romance sure to warm your hearts for anytime of the year. I highly recommend it."

5 Stars, Diane Craver, Author
"Christmas in Bayeux" is the perfect short romance to enjoy during the holiday season or any time during the year, and I highly recommend it."

5 Stars, Markee Anderson, Author
"This was just a wonderful and heart warming read."

5 Stars, Celia Yeary, Author
"You will enjoy this beautiful story, rich in history and appreciation of the past, while living and falling in love in the present. I highly recommend "Christmas in Bayeux."

BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muZ0dhOvSE

ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:

They entered the main room and he saw that the tapestry hung on the wall opposite of them. It filled the space entirely. Aiden stood stock-still, admiring its craftsmanship.

"We believe it commemorates the Norman conquest of England in 1066. We all call it a tapestry, but it's really an embroidery." She paused, then pointed. "Of course, the hero is William the Conqueror. His forces defeated those led by the English king, Harold Godwinson."

Aiden walked the length to the tapestry, marveling at the story and how the work had been well preserved for close to 1,000 years.

"Edward the Confessor had no heir so he sent Harold to tell William he would rule England once Edward died. Harold, however, usurped the throne."

Aiden pointed to a star with a tail. "Is that a star?"

She grinned. "Modern interpretation believes it to be Haley's comet. It was a bad omen for Harold."

"What happened next?"

Noel giggled. "William conquered him."

"Silly me. I should have known that." He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him. Their eyes locked, hers smoldering with desire. Damn. He wanted to kiss her. Right now. Screw his willpower. Aiden grabbed her hand and led her to the nearest hallway. Empty, thank God.

He pressed her against the wall, his hard body molding against her curves, and claimed her lips with a hungry, demanding kiss.
She didn't fight him or pull away. He squeezed her waist with his hands, and she fisted his shirt in her hands, keeping him close.

Her lips were warm and pliant, as demanding as his. He traced his tongue against the soft fullness of her lips and they parted for him. Aiden's tongue explored the recesses of her mouth and he groaned. He was getting hard for her. In a damn museum. That thought was like a bucket of water on his unchecked kiss and he pulled away, gasping for breath.

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-in-Bayeux-ebook/dp/B005BTLSI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326918404&sr=8-1

BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-in-bayeux-stephanie-burkhart/1104401603?ean=2940011371806&itm=1&usri=christmas+in+bayeux

SMASHWORDS: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72100

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:
WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Burkhart-Author/149938795021166

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

Babies in the Bargain

2012-02-21T00:02:00.001-05:00

The story behind Babies in the Bargain started on a Christmas Day, when my daughter was still a first year fellow in Neonatology at Washington Children’s Hospital. She was on-call on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day—as she’d been for the previous three years.

To celebrate the holiday season, my husband and son helped me carry the elaborate home-cooked meal to the hospital cafeteria and we shared a Christmas lunch with the guest of honor wearing her green scrubs.

Later, she invited us to visit her workplace. We slipped yellow gowns over our clothes, scrubbed and entered the NICU. The five preemies sleeping in glass isolettes wore tiny outfits with Christmas prints that a nurse had sewn for the babies in residence over the holiday.

The NICU personnel, including my daughter, gave a hundred and one percent to the babies they helped save— and they did it happily. Their dedication went beyond the performance of a job well done and inspired me to write a story featuring the wonderful doctors and nurses who treated our precious babies.

Babies in the Bargain, was voted BEST ROMANCE NOVEL at Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2009, and won the 2010 BEST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE NOVEL at Readers Favorite

Short Synopsis: With only one year left to complete her medical training, Dr. Holly Collier vows not to let anyone mess up her sacrosanct schedule. Especially not Dr. Marc Suarez. The heartthrob of the hospital who used to collect sports’ trophies and nurses’ kisses broke her heart seven years ago.

When a tragic accident transforms the carefree playboy into a dedicated, but novice father to his nephew, Holly gives in to her maternal instincts and turns her structured life upside down for the orphaned preemie. But can she learn to trust Marc again and believe in true love?

Excerpt:
All he needed was a hug from a caring friend. She heaved a deep breath, inhaled his healthy masculine scent and a hint of lemon fragrance, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “You’re welcome, Marc. Holler if you need me.”

Marc narrowed his eyes, her last words churning in his guts. “Ah, I need you, all right.” He brought her hard against him.

She threw her head back, eyes wide and turquoise. A bewildered expression spread over her face, but her limpid gaze reflected the same desire that simmered through his blood.

The wrong time, the wrong place, the wrong reason.

His brain screamed no. His body tensed, throbbing against her softness. “Damn it, woman. I need you so much.” He lowered his head and met her parted lips.

“Oh, Marc,” she murmured, their hearts drumming together as she laced her fingers behind his neck.

He crushed his mouth to hers. Hunger and despair mingled in his demanding kiss. She responded with the same passion he’d tasted seven years ago. The same fervor he’d eagerly wished to recapture in the last few weeks.

She pulled back to drag in air. His lips abandoned hers and trailed along her jaw, while his fingers played with a lock of her hair. She didn’t move out of his embrace but met his gaze with a question in her eyes.He groaned and squeezed her against him. She was his anchor to sanity.

Blocking the memory of last night, the agonizing hurt, he let his lust submerge his pain. Without hesitation, without taking the time to tease or taste, he devoured her lips like a starving man.

Available at Amazon.com Kindle as ebook for 99cents.

o Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58 Paid in Kindle Store
o #7 in Contemporary
o #37 in Books > Literature & Fiction

http://tinyurl.com/6mcd6e3
www.monarisk.com
www.monarisk.blogspot.com
@MonaRiskS

Capturing Readers

2012-02-20T04:57:00.002-05:00

What makes a book capture a reader?

Whether you are a reader or a writer, chances are, you know the answer to this question. A book captures a reader with an intoxicating first sentence, first paragraph, first page–followed by equally addicting pages two through two hundred or more.

Oh, compelling cover art, back "blurb," author quotes, and a few other things help too. Unfortunately, most of these other things cannot be controlled by authors if they are published by traditional print or ebook publishers. If they are indie authors who self-publish, then they have a complete control over the entire package.

What Writers Control

However, what all writers can control regardless of the publishing process is the writing–the words they choose and the way they put them together to create the story. That's what all writers should focus on.

Each time I start a manuscript, I think I've got the perfect opening sentence for the story and the character. Often, I compare my opening sentences to some of my favorites to see whether I feel that frisson of awareness that shivers up my spine when I read some of my all-time favorites.

I want to share some of these sentences that always intrigue me no matter how many times I've read them. They sing a siren song that made me read the book the first time, and they still tease me with their sense of music and rhythm. I think these opening sentences evoke an emotional response in the reader, and that's what readers can't resist.

Favorite Opening Sentences

"Last night I dreamt I went to Mandeley again." (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier)

"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York." (The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath)

"I never knew her in life." (The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy)

"Nobody was really surprised when it happened, not really, not at the subconscious level where savage things grow." (Carrie by Stephen King)

"Death was driving an emerald green Lexus." (Winter Moon by Dean Koontz)

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

Opening Acts

I have two books featured here on 99cent Ebooks: Just One Look and Still The One. Though they have been re-priced to their regular $2.99 price, Amazon still has them discounted so you can get them for only $.99 each. I've linked each to the Amazon page in case you'd like to do that.

Here are the opening sentences of each book.

Just One Look

I bet every woman reading this has felt this discomfort and frustration!

"Jennifer Monroe shivered and rubbed the goose-bumped flesh of her arms. A meat locker would feel warmer than a doctor's examining room! Why do they have to keep it so cold? And why do they act as if you have nothing better to do than sit around clad only in a piece of paper and your birthday suit, and wait?"

Still The One

I'm fairly certain every woman has fantasized about what she'd do if given the chance to show someone from her past how she has grown from an ugly duckling to a swan.

"Ally Fletcher had waited six years for this opportunity. Six long years. There was no way a mere thunderstorm was going to stop her. Of course, in Texas, calling this a mere thunderstorm was like saying a Texas tornado was a mere puff of wind."

Author Confession

The worst thing about reading someone else's sparkling prose is that I despair of ever being as good. The best thing is that I'm motivated to improve my writing skills. So I keep writing and working on my prose, from the first few sentences to the last one preceding The End.

Do you want to know the truth? I honestly can't think of anything that's more fun! I'm one of the luckiest women on the planet. I make my living by writing stories about sex, romance, love, commitment, and all the funny, crazy things that happen to a man and a woman who are made for each other–but who don't yet know it.

2012-02-18T01:04:00.001-05:00

"Fiona" (my debut novel) evolved from watching a segment of the Discovery Channel about the discovery of Caucasian Mummies in the Taklamakan Desert of Northern China. These mummies, possibly Tocharian Celts, existed in that part of the world long before Caucasians were thought to have made their appearance. No one knows where they came from or where they went. Maybe they subsequently interbred with the nearby Uyghur tribes, which could account for the lighter skin and rounder eyes of the peoples in the area. It is a question whose answer is lost in time. My heroine, Fiona, is based on the discovery of one such mummy, a young blonde woman, possibly a sacrificial victim. Dismemberment was a common form of torture to the ancients. In almost every culture, there is mention of this horrific end result. There wasn't much I could do to alleviate her suffering, but perhaps I could write her a better end.

Excerpt - Fiona

He leaned against the door and watched her, his eyes never leaving her for a moment. Trying to appear at ease and unconcerned, she turned her back to him and moved to the far side of the pool. He walked around the pool and squatted down, gazing into her face, his golden eyes unreadable.

“You should not have come here alone,” he said softly.

“Why? No one is here.”

“You didn’t know that until you arrived. It’s dangerous for a woman to be out alone.”

Trying to appear unconcerned, she said, “Well, I’m not alone now. You’re here.”

The barest whisper of a smile moved his lips. “As I said, it’s dangerous for a woman alone out here.”

“Are you suggesting that I should fear you?”

“I am a man.” His heated eyes gleamed.

She felt her lips tremble as she reached for the towel.

“Perhaps you are right, I should return.”

He moved the towel to a bench and slowly undressed, his eyes never leaving her. “I see no reason for you to leave. I will need your services to wash my back.” Fully nude, he paused, as if giving her the chance to view him completely—like she had forgotten how he looked the first time—and slid into the water. He advanced slowly on her.

Fiona’s heart raced. The large pool suddenly seemed dwarfed by his size. He pursued her leisurely, wading slowly through the water. His eyes bored into her, piercing her with their directness. She backed away. Her breathing quickened into short shallow gasps, her movements sluggish at best. When the rocks on the side of the pool stopped her retreat, he smiled. This was the first time he had ever actually smiled at her and she was staggered by her response!

His smile lit up his face, softening the hard edges and warming his eyes. Huge dimples deepened his cheeks.

Buy Link:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fiona-ebook/dp/B005SV2838/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329453210&sr=1-1
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fiona-p-l-parker/1100069217?ean=2940013355989&itm=2&usri=fiona+by+p.+l.+parker

Thanks for stopping by.

Patsy
P. L. Parker
Blog: http://www.plparker.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.plparker.com/

Valentine's Special - Forever Young: Blessing or Curse by Morgan Mandel - 99 Cents on Kindle

2012-02-16T00:45:00.002-05:00

Special For Valentine's Week - 99 cents on Kindle
Forever Young: Blessing or Curse is not a romance per se, but I've included many romantic elements. Why? Because I can't help it. Romance somehow always wiggles in before I can stop it. After all, Love Makes the World Go Round!

The scene opens in happy anticipation as the heroine, 55 year old Dorrie, is driving into the parking lot where her husband works so she can meet him before going to a celebration dinner for his first raise. Happiness turns to disbelief when she sees him sprawled on the asphalt. She barely gets to him in time to hear his last words.

Throughout the book, despite the wonderful things that happen to Dorrie, chief among them being her reversion to the age of 24, one thing remains clear. She loved her husband, and would give everything up if she could get him back and get the chance to grow old with him. The love story is not the only story, but since it's Valentine's week, I thought I'd mention it.

Here's an excerpt:

A limp object lay sprawled in the parking lot where Dorrie was to meet her husband. It looked like, no it couldn’t be...

Pulse pounding, she hit the brakes and flung open the door. A few steps, and she stood staring in disbelief at her husband’s still form. That red streak didn’t belong in Larry’s salt and pepper hair, nor should it mar his olive skinned cheeks, and trickle onto his white cotton shirt.

She groped in her purse for the smartphone. Fingers shaking, she dialed 911. “There’s been an accident at the Life is for Living Institute. I need an ambulance. Hurry, please.”

A helpless feeling engulfed her. If only she knew first aid, but in all her fifty-five years, she’d never bothered to learn. She had to do something, but what? Bending down, knees scraping the asphalt, she touched her husband’s hand. “Larry, it’s all right. I’m here.” She wanted to be brave for him, but couldn’t keep her voice from quavering.

He whispered something she couldn’t catch, something about his iPhone.

“I found it on the nightstand, Larry. It’s right here in my purse.”

“Dorrie, I want you to keep it. Something’s…on it,” he gasped.

She bent closer. “I know honey, all those songs and photos. They mean a lot to me, too. Don’t worry, when we get home tonight, we’ll share them together.”

“No, more…Life is for Living isn’t…Forever Young isn’t…”

He struggled to speak, but his voice faded in and out. He probably shouldn’t talk. Where was that ambulance? Her husband needed help.

Larry flashed a weak smile and looked straight into her eyes. “Love ya,” he whispered.

Stifling a sob, she completed the ritual. “Love ya, back.” In their thirty years of marriage, how often had they said those words to each other?

His lips stilled. His hand slackened. His brown eyes stared unseeingly, as his face froze into a smile.

This can’t be happening. Larry, you can’t leave me. It’s too soon.

Blood rushed to her head. Roaring filled her ears. Larry couldn’t be gone. She’d prove it. Dorrie bent to kiss his lips. They felt warm and soft. He must be alive. Soon the ambulance would come, the paramedics would fix him, and he’d be all right.

She glanced again at Larry’s still form. The truth hit, sucking her breath away. She didn’t need a medical examiner to tell her what she could see with her own eyes. Larry had left and would never return. Her stomach convulsed, her chest heaved with sobs.

It shouldn’t end like this, not in the middle of a parking lot. Larry deserved better. So did she.

Forever Young: Blessing or Curse now 99 cents through Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 on Kindle.

At $1.99 on all other electronic venues, since it takes about 3 weeks to change the price there.

Morgan Mandel

http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/

SNOWFIRES FOR VALENTINES!

2012-02-14T01:23:00.083-05:00

By Caroline Clemmons

Happy Valentine’s Day! What’s better on a wintry day than curling up with the one you love? I’m so happy you asked. Whether the weather outside is frightful or delightful, snuggle with your sweetie, your favorite beverage, and a romantic book. And I have a book to suggest, just as you knew I would!

First, let me tell you how I came to write SNOWFIRES. One year, my sweetie and I took our children to visit our family in West Texas. When we had to stay a couple of extra days due to an unusually heavy snow, our kids were delighted. My husband and I were not that pleased. Although my husband is a wonderful driver, people in this area are often inexperienced at driving in snow and present a hazard to everyone in their path. There are no snowplows to clear rural roads - there aren't even snowplows in towns. This was the kind of weather we Texans say "is so cold there's nothing between us and the North Pole but a barbed wire fence."

Writers just can’t help playing "what if" with ideas. On the way home, we passed many isolated areas, and I wondered what would happen if someone had car trouble or became marooned in a snowstorm. Even in good weather, cell phone service is spotty in the ranching areas of West Texas. In bad weather, it’s non-existent. Rural electric and telephone lines fail under heavy snow and ice. Better and better, right? By that, I mean worse and worse for the characters. The more I thought about it, the more appealing the idea.

The barbed wire fence between the
Texas Caprock area and North Pole

For SNOWFIRES, I came up with a couple who didn’t agree on anything, but were forced to work together. Worse, each hated being attracted to the other and fought to hide and resist the pull. Then I managed to isolate them in a blizzard on a small ranch whose owners were not home. And I complicated their lives as much as possible with tedious details.

Once they returned to Dallas, I forced them to endure working together. Writers love to make their characters suffer. After all, we want them to earn their happiness, don’t we?

I love SNOWFIRES' cover because it reminds me of the January night my husband and I were married. There were a couple of feet of snow on the ground and a bright, full moon in a cloudless sky. Of course it was gorgeous...and oh so memorable. We still talk about it today, but we're both romantics at heart.

Here’s the blurb for SNOWFIRES:

A blizzard can’t quench the fiery heat of passionate attraction. Holly only intended to get a little of her own back from Trent, not get them lost in the worst blizzard in decades. A snowstorm can’t keep them apart once their passions ignite. Holly Tucker believes Trent Macleod will ruin her family’s business now that he’s acquired her late father’s shares. Not only that, she fears he’s responsible for her father’s fatal heart attack. She’ll stop this corporate pirate any way she can. If only she could tame her hormones when he was around. He believes she’s a spoiled and pampered woman. Little does he know how wrong he is. Pampered by her grandparents, yes, but she carries all the responsibility for her stepmother and two stepsisters. Only Holly’s constant juggling of family finances covers her stepmother’s excessive spending. That and the fact Holly actually works in the family business.

Trent started with nothing and saved most of his life for this one big chance. Holly’s trick to delay their return to Dallas for an important meeting almost cost him his dream. After battling all his life against bad foster parents, crooks, and the press, he is determined no one will defeat him, not even Holly. How can she still believe her father was such a great guy? Trent doesn’t know why she is so opposed to every thing he suggests for the company. Thank heavens she is not so stand offish when they’re alone. She even invited him around her country club friends. Does a guy from nowhere stand a chance with a society princess like Holly? He prays he does, because he can’t get her out of his dreams, day or night. What will it take for him to achieve happily ever after with Holly?

Here’s the excerpt from when they're stranded in the small house with almost no heat and they've been forced to share the one bed. Grayson is Holly's grandfather.

He smiled as he recalled her shocked expression when he mentioned shared body heat. At least he got a little of his own back then. She turned toward him in her sleep, snuggling up to him with her palms against his chest, one leg thrown over his.
He fought the instinct to pull her even closer and make passionate love to her. They fit so well together. He wondered how she would be as a lover, then mentally kicked himself for that line of thought.

Now he knew why the young Martin family had children so close in age. On this sagging mattress, which forced their bodies into intimate contact, a man and woman who loved one another would be drawn naturally into frequent lovemaking. Even with this ice princess with whom he had nothing in common, his mind and body cried out for their coupling.

He had no idea why she so resented him. It was more than their differences in business theory, because she had hated him at their first meeting two months ago. He racked his brain for a possible reason, but nothing came to him.

Maybe she just resented his buying the shares lost through her father's gambling. Why hold him responsible for her father’s stupidity? From all accounts, Walter Tucker was charming and glib but an absolute loser in all the ways that counted.

Grayson skirted the issue, but made it clear he hadn’t approved of his late son-in-law's management of Marvel, his ostentatious lifestyle, or his choice of Holly’s stepmother. So, why had Grayson stayed in the background? Buying into what had previously been solely a family-owned business left Trent an outsider with insufficient information.

If only Walter Tucker had stopped ranting long enough that day to listen to him...but why even go there? He would figure it all out eventually, but so far hadn't discovered how all the pieces fit. Trying to unravel the puzzle, Trent drifted softly to sleep.
***

The pirate returned to Holly's dreams. They were in the cabin of his ship, snug together in his bunk. This time his caresses inflamed her beyond her wildest imagination. Her fingers traced the line of the scar on his chest, her lips trailed kisses along the jagged ridge.

His mouth scorched a path down her neck and across her shoulders. Strong hands pushed her bra aside. Warm lips found her breast and his tongue laved her rigid nipple. The calluses of his fingers scintillated her skin as they moved to the elastic of her panties. His hand slid gently inside to touch her—

Her eyes flew open. "Hey! Stop it right now." Holly pounded Trent on his shoulders. "Get off me."

　
I don't want you to think this is erotic, because it's not - even though it's probably the hottest book I've written. I hope you’ll want to read SNOWFIRES.

The Amazon Kindle buy link is
http://www.amazon.com/SNOWFIRES-ebook/dp/B004LROUH2/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329016651&sr=1-7

Smashwords is
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36055?ref=CarolineClemmons

You can learn more about me on my blog and on
my website. I'm on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn and Goodreads. I love to hear from readers at caroline@carolineclemmons.com.　

Thanks for stopping by!

COYOTE GORGEOUS by Vijaya Schartz

2012-02-12T02:12:00.000-05:00

COYOTE GORGEOUS, a shapeshifter romantic suspense novella, involving an Arizona Ranger and a Native American hero, is now available for 99 cents everywhere eBooks are sold. So don't hesitate, grab it today, along with Vijaya's other 99 cents contemporary Romantic Suspense novella, A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS.

Click on the distributors below for a direct link to Vijaya's eBook page on each at:

AMAZON KINDLE - B&N NOOK - ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS - SMASHWORDS

Arizona Game Ranger Madison Huntley, investigating a wild animal attack on a ranch in Cave Creek, discovers disturbing details. If she didn't know better, she'd say the legends frightening the ranch hand might be true. But Madison isn't just a wilderness cop. As a biologist and a wild life expert, she believes in facts and science, not scary tales.

Kaletaka, a Hopi Native, enjoys fame among the white man, forging haunting sculptures of half gods, half humans. When he awakens bloody, with no recollection of what he did the night before, he remembers the legends of his tribe, and the meaning of his name. But as hard as he tries, can he escape his destiny?

Can Madison solve the mystery killings and insure the safety of the town? Let alone her own safety? For each step closer to the truth and to Kaletaka, unleashes an unspeakable evil, and no one is safe...

COYOTE REVIEWS:

"Phenomenal world building, characters the readers care about, and an intriguing mystery... COYOTE GORGEOUS has all the elements one expects from a Vijaya Schartz story! Easily recommended!" - 4.5 shamrocks - Debbie CK2sKwipsandKritique

"So many times my theory of who done it was thwarted and yet I was thrilled to stay on the edge of my seat until the very last word just to find out." Five stars - Book Junkie Reviews

"...excellent characters... well written. Fascinated about the subject matter and the legends..." Five hearts - Romance Book Scene

It doesn't have to be Christmas to read this other exciting 99 cents romantic suspense novella. Here is what it's about:

Border patrol Agent Kaitlin Harrington hates Christmas for personal reasons. This year, as she guards the Mexican border, she encounters more than she can handle in the person of a gorgeous Desperado, a despicable human smuggler of all people! Miguel is fascinated by the green eyes of the feisty auburn-haired beauty bent on impeding his important work. But he is a man of many secrets. On this dangerous adventure through the Arizona desert, anything can and will happen.

Happy Readings!

Vijaya Schartz
Blasters, Guns, Swords, Cats, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
REVIEWS:

"A Desperado for Christmas is a love story and an adventure rolled in to one. There is very little "down time" in this fast-paced story, and this reader was glued to it until the very end." Fallen Angel Reviews

"...The reader can really empathize with her character on many levels. Ms. Schartz also does a fantastic job of setting you right in the scene with her characters. She builds the suspense and follows through with vigor, sweeping her readers up in the action." Coffee Time Romance

"Vijaya Schartz always manages to produce stories that are a spectacular blend of romance and action and this one is no exception." Debbie - CK2S Kwips & Kritiques - rating: 4 clovers

And if you like these, Vijaya has a bunch of novels at all prices from different publishers. Some of her titles also pop up as a free download in kindle once in a while, so feel free to browse her pages at your favorite eBook distributors:

AMAZON KINDLE - B&N NOOK - ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS - SMASHWORDS

Addie and the Gunslinger-by Celia Yeary

2012-02-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

Ex-gunslinger Jude Morgan lands in jail in a far-flung West Texas town. On the fourth day in his cell, the sheriff arrives with a beautiful woman dressed in men’s pants and toting her own six-shooter. Adriana Jones claims he is her worthless husband who married her but never came home.

The young woman makes a bargain with Jude in front of the sheriff. Jude is to come home where he belongs, and she will have him released. When they’re alone, she explains his job is to pose as her husband to thwart the marriage advances of her neighbor, wealthy rancher Horace Caruthers. The older man wants her ranch to join his, because the Pecos River runs through her property.

To seal the bargain, Jude wants a kiss. During the next few weeks, however, Jude and Addie learn that the kiss meant more than they meant it to be. Then, Addie's life is in danger. Will Jude rescue his Addie? Or will Addie save herself and her gunslinger?

Mini- Excerpt:
"Ever been kissed, Miss Jones?" Wanting to loosen her up, he tried teasing, but it didn't seem to work.

Her voice trembled a little. "That is none of your business. I don't intend our relationship to be at all personal. You just come and go, do your job, and pay no attention to me."

Chuckling under his breath, he thought, like hell.

Before she kicked her horse into a gallop, she lifted her chin and said, "You need a bath, Mr. Morgan."

"Addie. It's Jude."

"Jude. You need a bath."
~*~*~*~
Dear Reader-I wrote this story for submission to an epress for a series about outlaws and lawmen. I thought it was great, but the editor didn't like it. I never knew exactly why, and it did hurt my feelings. I just kept it for a while, wondering how I could get it published.

Do you know when you have a good story, even though an editor rejects it? I did.

A year later, it was accepted for an anthology by Victory Tales Press, owned and operated by Rebecca Vickery. A couple of reviewers wrote very lovely words about this story, which made me extremely happy. After six months, I was asked to leave it at VTP and be published again in one of VTP's imprints called Dime Novels.

Now, I am truly thrilled by the success of this little story. The first Dime Novel, titled Angel and the Cowboy, has also been a nice succes--and it's still selling, too.

So, my advice is "if you love your book, someone else will, too."

BUY LINK:
http://www.amazon.com/Addie-and-the-Gunslinger-ebook/dp/B006LXB6GW/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324161074&sr=1-13

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com
http://www.celiayeary.com
http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Celia-Yeary-Author/208687145867971

Someone To Trust by Jill James

2012-02-06T02:00:00.000-05:00

Someone To Trust by Jill James

Book 2 - Second Chances series

I'm so thrilled to announce my second book in a series and my second Indie published book. I never thought I would write a series, I love stand-alone books. But something about my imaginary town of Lake Willowbee caught my imagination. I loved the idea of a place for second chances to happen. I'm a true romantic, I believe everyone can get a second chance at love.

Someone To Trust blurb:

Evie Grimes doesn’t trust men. She’s beenlied to and deceived too many times before. Happily single, the last thing she needs is a man.

Brady Jackson is a former Marine. Now acarpenter, he is as honest as the day is long. What you see is what you get.

When Brady falls for Evie he will have toprove he can be trusted with her heart. When danger arrives at her door he willhave to prove he can be trusted to protect her. When everyone turns againsthim, he will have to prove he is someone to trust.

************

I uploaded Someone To Trust on Sunday watching the Super Bowl. Yeah Eli!!!!! So hopefully it is available today. It is uploaded to Amazon, BN.com, and Smashwords. Just like Book 1, it is only 99 cents.

Jill James

Just One Look At Joan Reeves

2012-02-04T05:00:00.003-05:00

I’m glad I had the chance to blog today about two of my books Just One Look and Still The One because the price is probably being adjusted even as I write this. If it's raised before you have a chance to act, I'll apologize in advance.

I’ve had these books priced at a low $.99 on Amazon from the day each was published. Recently, I made the difficult decision to raise each of them to the standard $2.99 price that my other romantic comedies carry. Now is the time to grab a copy before the price adjusts.

The Lingerie Covers

Just One Look, Still The One, Jane (I’m Still Single) Jones, and a book as yet untitled comprise what I call The Lingerie Cover Books. That label is self-explanatory. When I was getting ready to publish my first ebook, I wanted a cover that would appeal to women.

Most women love beautiful lingerie. I know I do. So I thought beautiful lingerie would make an appealing cover. Before I knew it, I had 3 books with lingerie covers. This month, I’ll publish a fourth. I wish I could tell you the title, but I’m still uncertain about what to call it. All of these books were previously print published.

Just One Look

This was my first ebook, published in late March 2011. Sales have been utterly amazing--more than 120,000 copies in less than a year. There’s just something about the book that appeals to readers. Is it the cover? Is it the slightly absurd premise: ‟What would you do if the gynecologist subbing for your regular doctor turned out to be your old high school crush?”

Is it the sex which is more discussed than acted upon–usually in an odd, often hilarious, scene? Or is it just that it’s an entertaining, ‟escape from your troubles” read? I call all my romantic comedies ‟a little vacation between the covers of a book.”

A Peek At Just One Look

Successful psychologist Dr. Jennifer Monroe does what any normal, well-adjusted woman would do. She makes an excuse to send the doctor and nurse from the room, dives into her clothes, and flees!

Unfortunately, her running away makes conscientious Dr. Penrose conclude she has some kind of sexual hangup. He's determined to refer her to another doctor for her health's sake. If he can just talk to her, he'll suggest counseling for what he thinks are emotional problems.

Jennifer refuses to take his phone calls, and she plans to never see him again. After all, Dallas is a big city. What are the odds that she'd ever run into him again? Even money when Fate lends a hand. When Jennifer and Matt meet at a charity gala, he earnestly urges her to seek professional help. Jennifer is incensed that he seems to think she's some frigid old maid. All the old high school resentment floods back, fueling her determination to teach him a lesson he won't soon forget.

With Jennifer, payback is a scorcher. Kids play doctor, but these doctors play seduction games. And they're playing for keeps. Will Matt recognize Jennifer? Will Jennifer lure him into her bed? Seduction and sex can be pretty funny when both sides play dirty!

Still The One

Published two months after Just One Look, Still The One has sold about 40,000 copies, I think. Some readers have proclaimed it the best romance they ever read, but we all know beauty in books is in the eye of the beholder–the reader. Nothing is more subjective than reading taste I suppose. Still this book has a faithful following.

Why is it consistently popular? There’s not as much sexual banter in it, but there’s a lot of emotion because it’s a second chance story for two people who married young, broke apart, and now, suddenly, find themselves together again. Who doesn’t love a second chance when real love is involved?

Is it the humor? I get a lot of reader emails about how this book made them laugh so much. Maybe it’s because the hero’s expensive European car gets as dinged up as a primer-painted old car in a chain store parking lot–through no conscious fault of the heroine!

A Peek At Still The One

Burke Winslow stands at the altar, ready to marry his business partner in a marriage of convenience. The minister solemnly asks: "If anyone here knows why this man and this woman shouldn't be joined in holy matrimony, let him speak now or forever hold his peace."

A rain-soaked, bedraggled Ally Fletcher limps down the aisle and shouts, "Stop the wedding!"

What follows is a funny, sexy romp that proves when there's love, passion never dies, it just smolders away until you toss some gasoline on it. Burke and Ally discover a rekindled passion that threatens to scorch them when they find themselves locked in a marriage--of inconvenience!

With a cagey grandfather pulling Burke's strings, and an equally cagey grandmother manipulating Ally, can these two battling lovers peel away the layers of the past and discover the truth about their love and passion? Will the truth free them or put them asunder?

Throw in a pretend boyfriend for Ally and a scorned business partner left at the altar, and you have a rollicking good time--Texas style! Sassy, sexy, and funny!

Amazing Outcome

I don't know why these books continue to attract readers--worldwide--but I’m glad they do, and I'm happy they bring smiles and lift spirits, according to the emails I get.

In fact, my southern romantic comedy humor captured the imagination of an Editor with Bragelonne, one of the largest French publishers who somehow obtained a copy of Jane (I’m Still Single) Jones. She contacted me as soon as she finished the book which she totally loved. (That book has been another runaway in sales.)

To my surprise and delight, she offered a contract for not just that book, but two others as well so I ended up with a 3 book contract for the first 3 books of The Lingerie Series. Now that’s a kick–having those 3 books published in print and ebooks in France.

But do you know what’s just as much a kick? Having readers email me and tell me how much they love these books, and how much they laughed while reading them.

Like the MasterCard commercial says: ‟That’s priceless.”

NOTE: All my books are at all digital booksellers, but they are available for $.99 only at Amazon as of this writing.

Just One Look (http://amzn.to/q61Z0d)

Still The One (http://amzn.to/qoIZdR)

FOREVER LOVE TWO LOVE STORIES.

2012-02-01T22:56:00.007-05:00

Love, Lust, and Southern Comfort
How long beyond death should love last? How much should a person sacrifice for love or for a beloved?

In my paranormal romance FOREVER LOVE, I played with the idea that a person might deny himself the chance to go to Heaven because of guilt.

If you knew that you and the person you loved would not be allowed to be together without a huge cost to one or both of you, would you deny your feelings or deny yourself the chance to consummate your love? Some say the hearts wants what it wants, but what about knowing you can't have what you want without hurting the person you love?

FOREVER LOVE, a novella, tells two love stories, one from the past and one in the present.

Diaries from two hundred years ago draw Sabrina Boyd into the ill-fated love story of one of her ancestors.

Joe Walker has returned to his hometown and the hospital there as a doctor. There he finds Sabrina, the kid who crushed on him before he married her cousin.

Sabrina remembers well the way Joe and her cousin were in love before her death. There is no way he could be serious about her now. Besides, she has enough on her plate already, since she spotted the "demon cat", the harbinger of death for people in her family.

Excerpt:

By the time the last patient left the clinic Joe felt drained. He removed the blue lab coat he wore when treating adults and tossed it aside. He sat at his desk and sipped cold, stale coffee. At times like this he missed having a doctors’ lounge with plenty of doctors, justifying fresh coffee made every hour.

He leaned back in his worn chair, rested his eyes and thought about the lovely Sabrina. He’d finally found the courage to ask her out, but she’d said no. He could tell she liked him. The attraction was still there with a vengeance after all those years.

Every night since he’d returned home he had dreamed about her. He had dreamed of doing things to her that were probably still illegal in most states. His dream Sabrina had lounged on his bed, covered by a rainbow of silk scarves that hid without really hiding in their sheerness.

...... He had imagined removing each scarf, using his teeth. She’d moaned with each love bite.

His body was at full sexual alert as it often was when he saw Sabrina. Her lush body had been designed by the goddess of love and lust. He could smell her arousal, or at least he wanted to believe he could. She knew he was available now, since he had made that clear by inviting her to a public function where everyone else would know about his romantic interest in her, like declaring his intentions. He’d ask her again soon, since she hadn’t said she would go with someone else.

Could she have turned shy while he was away becoming a doctor? He missed the cute middle school girl who had dogged his footsteps and flirted with him through her glasses, flashing her braces at him with grins of adoration.

He’d make the grown up Sabrina comfortable with him, then he’d make her want him. Then he’d make her moan, using the scarves he’d buy so he could live out his fantasies. His imagination could be such a damned tease. Now he was horny as Hell and in his office at the clinic. He rubbed his zipper, tempted to take care of his arousal.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/57300

http://bit.ly/k5QLtA
http://amzn.to/ufxqKK

MMARVELLAB@aol.com

MaryMarvella.com

www.PinkFuzzySlipperWriters.blogspot.com

http://ebooks99cents.wordpress.com

http://bookloversbuffet.com

Mary Marvella Barfield on Facebook and Mary Marvella, Author on Facebook

Exploring Predestination in FATED HEARTS, by P.R. Mason

2012-01-30T06:41:00.000-05:00

As I was working on the sequel to my urban fantasy novel, ENTANGLEMENTS, I became obsessed with the concept of predestination and the line between fate and free will.

My father always came down on the side of 100% predetestination because he often had vivid dreams that foretold future events in his life. Some of these occurred years after the dream. For instance, when he was married to my mother he had a dream about visiting another woman in the hospital to visit the baby they'd had together. Nice, right? So he thought every event in his life was "fated" to happen and his choices made no difference.

I argued that choices had to matter, arguing that his dreams were precognitive of an event that would happen only if he continued on the path on which he was traveling at the time. And those dreams of events that never happened were forgotten because he had changed paths. Anyway, these issues came to the forefront of my mind in relation to an idea about two characters and so I felt driven to write their story. The 11000-word paranormal romance novella FATED HEARTS is the result. It was just released. Here's the blurb:

EVE has always played by the rules, afraid to take chances. HOLDEN wants to change that. She's certain they've never met before...or have they? Holden seems so familiar, but who is he? What is he? Yesterday her biggest challenge was trying not to bomb on her SATs. Today, paranormal forces have transformed an ordinary high school dance into a test of fate vs. free will and loving Holden could be Eve's end.

It's available exclusively at Amazon: http://amzn.com/B006XVD53O

You can read an excerpt by clicking on the link. I hope you'll check it out!

The Merzetti Effect - Letting the Critics Speak

2012-01-27T18:16:00.014-05:00

I thought I would do something different today. I’m going to let other people speak for my vampire romance, The Merzetti Effect.

Smitten With Reading
“...this was a fantastic read. I loved the premise with the Merzetti blood line. It's really creative and the entire book was highly entertaining and incredibly written. The suspense was perfect and the twist...nope, I soooo did not see that coming...literally gasping out loud. This is definitely an author that I am going to keep my eye on.”

Blithely Bookish
“The bottom line – In a genre saturated with vampires of every shape, size, color and tormented disposition, it’s always refreshing to find an author who provides a unique take on these beings… their world, their humanity – or their lack thereof, and with The Merzetti Effect this author has given us something a little different, and definitely hot!! I am hoping, hoping, hoping that there will be many more books in Norah Wilson’s Vampire Romance series to come!”

Maldivian Book Reviewer’s Realm of Romance
“Very highly recommended for fans of vampire romances. This is one book you ought not miss!”

Kimba the Caffeinated Reviewer
“…a suspenseful and steamy paranormal romance. ... I highly recommend the Merzetti Effect to fans of paranormal romance.”

The Book Diva’s Reads
“…a fast-paced tale of romance, suspense and thrills.”
“There are plenty of paranormal romantic suspense stories about vampires available. However Ms. Wilson has provided a story that is slightly different and pulls the reader in from the beginning.”

Close Encounters with the Night Kind (Nikki)
“There are a few twists that surprised me in the book, but it helped shaped the story. I thought it was an excellent read and highly recommend it!”

Geeky Girl Reviews
“I loved this book. I was hooked from the very beginning and did not want to put it down.”

Paperbacks and Frosting
“I think there was a lot about this novel that was cleverly written and I really enjoyed the story. I found myself reading through it very quickly. The action was quick and nothing in the storyline was overwhelmingly complicated or made me wish that parts had been left out of the novel, which can sometimes happen in the paranormal genre. Overall, this is a really fun read for a fan of paranormal romances. It is a little spicy so if you’re looking for a sweet romance, then this isn’t for you, but I would definitely recommend this to someone looking to sink their teeth into a new romance and escape reality for a while.”

Smitten with Bad Boy Heroes
“I really enjoyed this novel and found the premise of the Merzetti bloodline to be distinctive and compelling. The characters are well developed and the storyline well delivered. I will definitely be reading the next in the Vampire Romances – Nightfall.”

And it’s still only 99 cents (75% off)!

Buy it at Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, Diesel and All Romance EBooks.

And look for Book 2 in the series, Nightfall. It picks up the story of Aiden Afflack, vampire hunter, who meets his match in photographer/storm chaser Sam Shea.

Visit my website: Norah Wilson Writes
Follow me on Twitter: @norah_wilson
Friend me on Facebook and Goodreads

Baby, it's cold outside

2012-01-25T09:45:00.007-05:00

I live in Canada, and contrary to what some people believe, we don't live in igloos, don't all say "eh" and "aboot" and we don't all spend all year on the ski slopes J. I grew up in a city, so the only skiing I ever did was when I was about ten and I saved my allowance to buy a pair of those little plastic skis that were about a foot long and strapped on my feet over my clunky winter boots. I spent hours skiing down the "hill" at the back of our house, which was little more than a graded slope. Still, it was high enough for me, considering I have a phobia about heights. Now, I'm all grown up and I live in ski country, but to be honest, I prefer aprés-ski (drinking hot cider in the chalet in front of a roaring fire) to freezing my behind off.

Winterlude, my short contemporary romance, is set in a ski resort in Vermont. Not on the ski slopes, but inside, where it's toasty warm. Nicole has been protected her whole life. Now, she's looking for some action, and sets her sights on Dylan, the one man whose career depends on resisting her.

Excerpt:

What the hell ...?

No way! There was no way the gorgeous blonde with the shapely legs and tempting behind could be his boss's daughter. That sure as hell wasn't the same face as the one in the photo on Aubrey's desk. Granted, the photo had been taken at Nicole's high school graduation, but she couldn't have changed that much. Could she?

What were the odds there would be two Nicole St. Clair's in the same place at the same time? A million to one, at least. But that was the only explanation, because the woman who was practically offering him sex a few minutes ago couldn't possibly be the woman he'd promised to take care of, to bring back to Atlanta safe and sound. Untouched.

God couldn't be that cruel.

What had happened to the little mouse he'd seen eight years ago cowering in the corner of the St. Clair mansion library? He remembered trying to be strike up a conversation with the girl, hoping that by befriending the daughter, he would impress his new boss into giving him a promotion.

The girl had practically fainted. Her face had flamed, then she'd grabbed a handful of chocolates and buried her head even deeper into the book on her lap. Someone had spoken to him then, and he'd immediately forgotten her.

Could that girl really have grown into the goddess climbing the stairs? Fairy tales, metaphors - they all jumbled in his mind. The ugly duckling turning into the swan, the butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It looked like that was exactly what had happened. The child had become a woman, the woman Dylan wanted in his bed. The woman he couldn't have.

As if she knew he was watching, she turned and smiled, lifting her hand in a tiny wave before she disappeared from view.

God was indeed that cruel, it seemed. Here was a woman who made his insides boil with nothing more than a look and a few words, a woman who'd made it perfectly clear she was interested in more than sharing a meal, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

Nicole was expecting sex. He'd played the game enough to recognize the signs. And the signals she was sending out were strong enough for a blind man to see.

Damn! What was he going to do now?

Winterlude is available on Amazon
Visit me on my website http://www.margeryscott.com
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter

A Twist on Egyptian Mythology

2012-01-24T10:25:00.002-05:00

I have always been fascinated by the history and mythology of Egypt. When I was asked to provide a story for The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance II, I took the opportunity to put my own spin on the mythology of ancient Egypt and create a contemporary paranormal world. This novella is now available separately as an ebook for anyone who didn't catch it in the anthology. So if you are interested in ancient Egypt or simply just love paranormal romance, this one is for you!

Warriors of Ra Blurb

ChristianLefevre broke Trisha’s teenage heart, but twenty years later she must seek himout to identify a rare Egyptian artifact. The artifact, a fire-filledpyramid, holds the secret to the danger that caused Christian to send her away,the secret to his roots buried deep in the mythology of ancient Egypt. Wherewarriors gifted with power from the ancient gods battled to protect theinnocent and claim their special women. Trisha discovers she is one of thosewomen, but she has no intention of becoming the property of any man, even awealthy titled man. She wants love on her own terms. And when help comes from asurprising source, she might just get love and a power that she had neverdreamed of.

This is a novella of 14,500 words originallypublished in The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2.

Buy links:

Amazon B&N Smashwords

Excerpt

Chapter One

Chateau Montgatine gleamedin the sun like a spun-sugar palace. Colorful flower borders laid out in thepattern of Egyptian symbols trimmed either side of the long gravel driveway.Trisha knew about the mystical floral design even though it was only visiblefrom above. Twenty-two years ago, Christian Lefevre, the Comte de Montgatine,had taken her up in his private plane to show her.

The years telescoped, takingher back to the first time she'd set eyes on the chateau as a naiveeighteen-year-old. She'd grown from a girl to a woman during her six weeks inFrance. She'd felt like a fairy-tale princess, dreamed of romance and happyendings. But by the end of her stay, she'd learned that happy endings werestrictly for fairytales.

She pushed the button on theintercom by the gate.

"Bonjour." A man's voice gabbled a few incomprehensiblesentences through the crackly speaker.

"Bonjour, monsieur. I have an appointment with the comte."

"Ah, oui, oui. Welcome back to ChateauMontgatine, mademoiselle Trisha."

Trisha's heart skipped asshe recognized the voice of Christian's butler. "Monsieur Benoit, is thatyou?"

"Oui, oui. Still here, mademoiselle, still here. We talk in amoment."

The latch on the gateclicked open and the wrought-iron sections swung inward. Trisha jumped back inher rental car and started the engine. Her pulse sprinted as she drove towardthe chateau. She might be forty now, a different person to the teenager who'dgiven her heart away, but the prospect of facing her first love still left herbreathless with nerves. If only there had been someone other than him she couldhave turned to for advice.

The front door opened asTrisha grabbed her briefcase and climbed out of the car. Monsieur Benoit stoodon the top step beaming a welcoming smile. "You have not changed at all,mademoiselle." She intended to tell him that he should call her madame, but before she could speak, hehugged her, pressing the customary three kisses to her cheeks.

"You're too kind,monsieur Benoit. You haven't changed either." He must have been forty whenshe'd stayed in a cottage near the chateau over two decades ago, but hecertainly didn't look sixty now. He barely had a grey hair.

A strange little flutter ofunease passed through her as she glanced around the chateau grounds. Twogardeners were busy weeding, lizards sunbathed on the limestone walls, andswallows swooped and circled over the garden, snatching insects from thefragrant air. If it hadn't been for the briefcase clutched tightly in her damphand and the small Citroën rental car, she could almost believe she'd beentransported back in time.

Trisha shook herself andfollowed monsieur Benoit into the cool interior of the chateau. Her sense ofdéjà vu continued. The intricate colored patterns on the walls and ceiling wereunchanged, the furniture exactly as she remembered. Trisha laughed, mainly torelieve some of the tension clogging her throat. "You haven't redecoratedI see."

"Oh no, no. The comte,he does not like change."

He'd been quick enough tochange his feelings for her. Trisha pressed her lips together. Now was not thetime to dredge up old hurts. She couldn't change the past. She could only makethe most of the present, and her present involved her passion for her job atthe Bristol Institute of Art. This meeting was business, not pleasure. She'dbest remember that.

She smiled at the butler."May I see the comte now?" The name Christian whispered in her mind,but she had no right to call him by his given name. Twenty-two years apart had madethem strangers again.

"Oh, of course, ofcourse. He waits for you in the library."

Trisha's breath eased out inrelief. She and Christian had never spent time together in the library, so shewould not be haunted by memories in there. Maybe that was why he'd chosen tomeet with her in that room.

After following monsieurBenoit to the library door, she passed through with a smile when he opened itfor her. She breathed slowly, evenly, stared at the rows of old leather-boundbooks. Calm and professional, sherepeated in her head. The click of the door closing made her heart trip; thenshe heard a rustle of clothing.

"Madame Cole.Trisha."

The sound of her name spokenin the deep, achingly familiar voice from her memories drew her gaze inexorablyto the man on the far side of the room.

She froze. Shock pounded inher chest, echoed in her temples, beat a drum of startled panic through herbody. The briefcase dropped from her nerveless fingers to the floor.

Framed by the elegant marblefireplace, Christian stared back at her wearing his familiar linen suit, hishair neatly trimmed, his eyes green as emeralds, his skin supple, bronzed, smooth.

He hadn't aged at all.

Lines formed between hiseyebrows. He moved toward her. "Are you all right, madame?"

Trisha's hand pressed overthe frantic beat of her heart. "You're so… young," she breathed in astrangled voice.

Understanding flashed acrosshis face, followed by pain. "No one has told you. I'm sorry. My fatherpassed away ten years ago."

Trisha blinked, his wordsskating around her brain. She grabbed at a chair. He hurried over to supporther elbow, help her into the chair. Then he pulled another seat up and satfacing her.

Tears pricked the backs ofher eyes. Although Christian had sent her away, knowing he was living out hislife in the same world as she had given her some kind of comfort. Too late, sherealized that deep inside she had still dreamed that one day he might want herback.

But now… "Dead?"she whispered, daring to look this doppelganger in the face. He was thespitting image of his father. His eyes were the exact same shade of green; hishair the same light brown with sun-kissed streaks. Could a son resemble hisfather to such an extent? Even identical twins had some differences, didn't they?

"I'm so sorry, Trisha.Remy must have forgotten to tell you."

"How old are you?"she whispered. Even as the words passed her lips, she realized it was rude toask such a direct question. Especially of a comte she'd only just met. Butevery cell in her body was shocked into confusion. Instinct told her she knewthis man. Everything about him was familiar.

"I believe I was bornthe same year you visited France."

A shaft of pain caught herbreath. So there had been another woman in Christian's life even as he romancedTrisha. A woman carrying his child. He must have married the other woman, orher son would not have inherited the title.

"How do you know whichyear I visited?" she asked, hoping he had made a mistake, hoping the manwho'd stolen her heart hadn't moved on to another woman so quickly it made amockery of all she had felt for him.

The comte rose and fetchedsomething from a desk under the window. He held out a small wooden framecontaining a photograph of her sitting on the edge of the fountain in thesecret garden, smiling at the camera. An exquisite butterfly hair clipdecorated with diamonds and rubies glinted against her dark hair. She'd almostforgotten the romantic afternoon when Christian had taken her along the maze oftiny paths overhung with roses and given her the gift. She'd treasured thatprecious butterfly for the grand total of three days. When he sent her away,she'd thrown it back in his face.

The comte pointed to thedate written in the corner. "My father kept this photograph on hisdesk."

Why would he keep a photo ofher? Christian had been the one to end their relationship, claiming she was tooyoung for him. Even though he had only been in his early twenties.

Although at times he'dseemed much older than his years, just as the young man before her did.Christian's son could only be twenty-one, yet his assured manner belonged to aman twice his age.

The comte rose and filled atumbler with amber liquid from a decanter. He returned and held out the glass."You've had a shock. Cognac will steady your nerves."

Trisha gave a disbelievinglaugh. "Christian gave me cognac when I was stung by a bee once and…"Her words choked off with emotion as the memory rose from the deep recesses ofher mind. After a long moment staring at his lean fingers holding the cutcrystal, she accepted the glass. The smooth liquid burned a path down herthroat.

"A predilection forCognac is in the Lefevre genes," he said wryly.

By the time she'd downed thecontents of the glass, a warm fuzzy sense of unreality filled her head."You look so much like your father. I'm finding it difficult to…" Sherubbed her temples. "Maybe if you tell me your name it'll help."

He rose, placed her glass ona silver tray, then stared out the window for a few seconds, his shoulderstense. "It's Christian, I'm afraid… after my father."

Trisha's sense of uneaseflared again as this young Christian who could have stepped out of her dreamsturned to look at her. For long moments, his emerald gaze perused her face, herbody, as if he wanted to memorize her. "Still so beautiful," he saidsoftly.

Her breath escaped on a tinygasp. "What?"

He curved an elegant handtoward the photo. "Compared to your picture, madame, you've aged well,like a fine wine."

Her heart tripped, flickersof awareness racing through her in response to his appreciative gaze. Shestared at her hands gripped tightly in her lap. Being attracted to this man waswrong. He was little more than a teenager; the son of the man she'd loved.

He picked up her briefcaseand placed it beside her chair, then sat before her again, suddenly allbusiness. "If you're recovered from your shock, perhaps you'd like to tellme why you came all this way to see me."

"I came to see yourfather."

His shoulders lifted in a smallshrug. "I might be able to help you."

He must have inherited hisfather's possessions. Perhaps he would recognize the objet d'art about which she wanted information.

A sense of purpose infusedTrisha as she unfastened her briefcase. She took out the photograph of thestrange transparent pyramid that had arrived at the Institute. "We can'tfind anyone who knows what this is." She handed the photo to Christian."The base of the object is twenty-four inches square and the thing's veryheavy. There appears to be flames inside it, but it must be a clever specialeffect. I'm hoping you'll be able to tell me what it is because I saw somethingsimilar here years ago."

"When?" The youngcomte's gaze snapped up from the image and pinned her in place. His eyes flickeredlike green fire. For the first time in years, Trisha's cheeks grew hot at thememory of how desperate she'd been to keep Christian's love. She had sneakedinto the chateau uninvited, and waited, naked in his bed, hoping to persuadehim she was old enough to give him everything a woman could. But he had neverappeared. In the end she had crept away feeling foolish. She had not seen theman she loved, that day, but the memory of the mysterious pyramid full of greenfire that she'd found in his bedroom was seared into her mind.

Visit Helen Scott Taylor's Website here.

Inspiration Found - Christmas in Bayeux by Stephanie Burkhart

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oddly enough, I don't get my inspiration from dreams. Having a full time job, parenting young boys, and writing, well, that leaves about 5-6 hours sleep a night, so I'm usually out like a rock.

Where did I find the inspiration for my story, "Christmas in Bayeux?" Part of it was from my love of history and my life experiences. When I turned 18, I joined the US Army, becoming and MP (Military Police). My first assignment was the 583rd Ordinance Company in Muenster, Germany. Now, there's an adventure for you! At 18, I was living in Germany and serving my country.

I grew up in Manchester, NH, the 2nd largest French-speaking city in America. I'm French on my father's side. My 1st time in Germany piqued my interest in World War II.

When VTP put out a call for their 2010 Christmas Collection, I knew I wanted to write a story for inclusion. Drawing on my love of history and my international travels, I set the story in Bayeux.

Unfortunately, I'd never been to Bayeux. I've been to France, though, and felt confident I could write a French setting convincingly. I researched Bayeux, learning some tidbits and worked them into the story.

There's one last place I go to draw inspiration – Hollywood. I love to "cast" my characters. This helps me to set a solid visual in my mind of how they look. My choices are for inspiration only, but it's a nice tool I use to help me round out my character's appearance. I'd thought I'd share my picks for Aiden and Noel with you.

For me, Jamie Dornan has the look for "Aiden." He's got a very expressive face and weariness wears well on him. When the story opens, Aiden is weary and tired, looking for a spark to ignite life's passion again.

Karine Vanasse offers inspiration for Noel. Canadian, Vanasse captures a French ambience that embodies Noel. Her smile will melt your heart and that's a quality Noel has – a smile that will melt Aiden's heart. History, Life, Research, and Hollywood – interesting choices for inspiration, huh?

TIDBITS:

--The American cemeteries at Bayeux are considered American soil and have soldiers from both World Wars buried there.

--The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story of how William the Conqueror won his English Throne. It is believed his wife, Edith, embroidered the tapestry, but the true origin in unknown.

--Jamie Dornan can be seen on the ABC Series, "Once Upon a Time."

--Karine Vanasse can be seen on the ABC Series, "Pam Am."

Actress Karine Vanasse

REVIEWS FOR CHRISTMAS IN BAYEUX:

5 Stars, Karen Michelle Nutt, Author
"Christmas in Bayeux is a tender romance sure to warm your hearts for anytime of the year. I highly recommend it."

5 Stars, Diane Craver, Author
"Christmas in Bayeux" is the perfect short romance to enjoy during the holiday season or any time during the year, and I highly recommend it."

5 Stars, Markee Anderson, Author
"This was just a wonderful and heart warming read."

5 Stars, Celia Yeary, Author
"You will enjoy this beautiful story, rich in history and appreciation of the past, while living and falling in love in the present. I highly recommend "Christmas in Bayeux."

BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muZ0dhOvSE

ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:
Aiden sat next to the window overlooking the ocean, sipping his coffee. French coffee was usually a stiff cup of espresso.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," she replied, smiling. Her breakfast plate waited for her—granola, a croissant, and a cup of yogurt.

He clapped his hands. "So what are we fixing today?"

"Nothing."

He arched his left eyebrow. "But, you have—"

She held up her hand and flashed him a wide grin. "We're going out."

"Where?"

"Into town. I have something I want to show you."

He plopped a piece of his croissant into his mouth. "What?"

"It's a surprise."

"I'm not good with surprises. I need time to prepare."

She giggled. "Aiden, really, this isn't the Army. Let me surprise you."

His brows drew downward in a frown.

"Don't pout, mon ami. It's unbecoming."

Aiden drew in a deep breath. "Say, isn't Christmas around the corner? Where's your tree? Your decorations?"

She waved her hand. "I usually put my tree up the night before."

"Oh, that's no fun. Don't you have an advent calendar?"

"Not since I was a girl."

"You need some Christmas spirit, Noel."

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-in-Bayeux-ebook/dp/B005BTLSI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326918404&sr=8-1

BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-in-bayeux-stephanie-burkhart/1104401603?ean=2940011371806&itm=1&usri=christmas+in+bayeux

SMASHWORDS: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72100

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:
WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Burkhart-Author/149938795021166

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

Celtic Magic

2012-01-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

I have always loved mythology and have a special affection for anything Celtic. I live in the South West of England and all around where I live there are Celtic crosses and other Celtic symbols on buildings. When I first started writing Celtic stories, I visited Ireland a few times. That is a magical land and after a visit I had no trouble believing fairies exist!

My novella The Feast of Beauty is based in the same world as my Magic Knot fairies series. Only in The Feast of Beauty we meet a different race of people, the people of the sea god Lir also known as the Rainbow People.

Praise for The Magic Knot Fairies Series:

“Taylor's wonderfully creativeand lusciously sexy debut will cast its own magical spell over readers.”

—The Chicago Tribune

“This is just one of those books that captivates you from the firstpage. It's different, emotional, full of evil but with plenty of love tocounteract those bad guys. Ms. Taylor is going on my autobuy list forsure.”

—The Good, The Bad, The Unread

“This book is so well writtenthat it’s hard to believe it’s Taylor’s first novel, as well as the first in apromising series of contemporary fantasy romances.”

—Booklist *Starred Review*

Feast of Beauty Blurb

Amazon B&N Smashwords

Excerpt:

Chapter One

CountyCork, Ireland

Surprisingly,wrap-around sunglasses looked rather good with a top hat, but Kate wasn't sureabout bare feet and board shorts with a tailcoat. The combination made the manlook only half dressed. But he was so mouth-wateringly gorgeous she decided thefewer clothes he wore the better.

Hestood on the front steps of Knock House and raised his arms to attractattention. The gesture was unnecessary. Every woman in the vicinity was alreadystaring at him, along with most of the men.

"Welcometo my domain, my friends. I'm Esras Mac Lir, descendant of the sea god Lir, andFairy King of County Cork and the Celtic Sea."

Increduloussilence fell over the crowd, broken only by the birds twittering in the rosescovering the front of the Georgian mansion, and the distant rumble of wavesbreaking against the rocky headland on which the house stood.

"I'mdelighted to welcome the London based Barthurst Production Company into mydomain. They're going to film an episode of their award-winning travel show Claudia's Magic Carpet at my MidsummerFeast of Beauty. I can assure you that tomorrow's feast will be a magicalexperience for everyone."

PeterHurst, the producer and Kate's boss, leaned closer to Kate and whispered,"You sure this guy isn't a retired rock star? He's got that touch ofmegalomania that usually goes with too much money and a lifetime of sex, booze,and drugs."

"Asfar as I know he's just a wealthy eccentric with an interest in Irishmythology. He sounded fairly normal on the phone when I set up the shoot,"she replied. Although she'd have booked to film at the Feast of Beauty nomatter how weird he'd sounded. She had her own reasons for wanting to visitthis part of Ireland.

"Ifthe Barthurst TV people would like to come forward, my right-hand man Faelanwill show you to your rooms." Esras then doffed his dove-gray top hat andbowed with an elegant sweep of his arm. He sported just-got-out-of-bed hair, asthough a woman had been clutching it in the throes of passion. The spikystrands were light brown, but as he moved, his hair gleamed with unusual silverhighlights.

Peterstarted forward while Kate hung back, checking her clipboard for the long listof jobs that she as production assistant had to complete before the shoot thefollowing morning. She had at least two hours of typing to do, what withClaudia's script changes and the shot cards. And it was vital she found timethis evening to go down to the little village of Knocknapog half-a-mile away.

Hergrandmother had been born in the village and had lived there until she'dmarried and moved to England. Kate cradled the teardrop pearl pendant hergrandmother had left her, rubbing her thumb over the smooth pink surface.Grandma's last wish had been that Kate should bring the pearl back here. Thetrouble was, Kate had no idea what she was supposed to do with it now she hadarrived.

Visit Helen Scott Taylor's Website for more information on her books.

No More Lies by Mona Risk

2012-01-20T13:10:00.006-05:00

Oh My God, NO MORE LIES ranking dropped to a fabulous ranking:

Average Customer Review: (14 customer reviews)

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store) #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Contemporary

The daughter of a professor and writer, I grew up surrounded by books and started writing my own stories at an early age but I also wanted to be a doctor. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand the sight of blood or dissect the adorable rabbit in my premed lab. It was easier to shift to a different major, prepare a Ph.D. in Chemistry and dedicate myself to a career in environmental clean-up.

An early retirement allowed me to pursue my dream of writing romance novels and work on my first book, TO LOVE A HERO. Over the years, I visited over fifty countries and took careful notes of the local customs and various cultures. FRENCH PERIL, a romantic suspense , was followed by RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN, both set in the historical Loire Valley.

I never forgot the medical dream of my youth and indulged in creating gorgeous doctors and handsome specialists for my medical romances. BABIES IN THE BARGAIN was followed by the series DOCTOR’S ORDER, where the heroines are American career women, and the alpha heroes handsome foreigners.

Rx FOR TRUST was the first medical romance of the Doctor’s Order series, released by The Wild Rose Press. The story’s theme followed a famous phrase by Walter Scott: “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott.

Three years later I took back my author’s rights and republished the story under a different name: NO MORE LIES.

#3 in Kindle, #1in Contemporary

For three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, NO MORE LIES is on a special promotion program at amazon.com

It can be downloaded FREE at

http://tinyurl.com/79r88wp

Product Description

A lie that brings a smile... or the truth that draws tears?
Dr. Olivia Crane lives a quiet life. No one questions why she doesn't socialize or where she spends every weekend.

When the visiting physician from France strolls into her office, with open arms and a confident smile, her perfect control is about to crumble.
Good God, he can't be Dr. Luc George, the man she loved ten years ago? Should she return his scorching kisses, or should she lock her door before he digs into her many secrets?

Secret daughter, secret friend, secret enemy. Had Luc really known his sweet Olivia back then? He wants her back, but he wants the truth, too. Now, Olivia has to face her past before she can grab her second chance.

Reviews:

2011 EPPIE Award Finalist
2010 Best Contemporary Romance ~ Readers Favorite

"A charming story. Keeping the reader entertained with the twists and turns in the plot." ~Got Romance!

"Full of emotion, suspense, intrigue, good intentions and determination." ~The Long And The Short Reviews

"A wonderfully written book about true love and the rarity of second chances." ~Happy Ever After

Plus 14 five stars reviews.

If you like this book, please leave a review. a couple of lines telling other readers that you like it.

And please FOLLOW OUR BLOG.

Excerpt:

Luc frowned as Olivia bolted off the bench. “Mom, don’t tell me how to handle my daughter. Put her on again.”

Olivia had a daughter?

Ten years was a long period to be alone. But she wasn’t wearing a ring. Neither she nor McMillan had mentioned a present husband, fiancé or boyfriend. And she hadn’t said a word about this daughter all day long. Still she could have had a child anytime after he’d left. But why had she kept her a secret from him?

He scowled as he trudged through the grass surrounding the pond, his breathing labored, blood pounding against his forehead. “Olivia.”

As she turned toward him, she mumbled a quick, “Bye, Mom,” and then shoved her cell phone into her purse. “Luc, what are you doing here?” She bent to retrieve her high-heeled shoes from under the stone bench and slipped them on while he dumped the bottle, bucket of ice and glasses on the bench.

“Ah.” Merde. One of the glasses had shattered on the stone. Mumbling a string of curses, he collected the broken pieces and threw them into the ice bucket.

Why had she not told him she had a daughter? Is it possible that Melissa is...?

His jaws tensed. “Olivia, how old is your daughter?”

Lies by omission had cost him a child. Pain spiked through his heart at the thought of his little Paul and the lying bitch, the salope, who’d kept his son hidden from him for two years.

Was the nightmare of his past slithering around him again?

Luc resolutely took the last step separating him from Olivia. He wouldn’t allow her to knock his structured world out of control the way another woman had, years ago.

“You’ve been eavesdropping? How dare you?” Her chin lifted, and she scowled.

The memory of a pale toddler still scorched his heart after so many years. He was inflexible when it came to secrets and lies.

“Dis-moi. Tell me the truth. How old? Is she mine?” How could she have hidden this from him? She was no better than Brigitte. Were all women fickle liars?

Mon Dieu, not his Olivia. He grabbed her shoulders with more strength than he intended to.

Riley's Journey by P. L. Parker

2012-01-18T07:33:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder if modern man could survive the trials and hardships of the last great Ice Age? I've always been interested in ancient history, the farther back the better. After a particularly engrossing chapter of the Discovery Channel about the discovery of the Oetzi, the frozen mummified body in the Alps, the idea for my time travel novel, Riley’s Journey, came into being. I was captivated by the trials and tribulations this ancient man must have endured before his eventual death. Why was he in that place, frozen for all time? My creative juices flowed. How would modern man measure up under the same circumstances? Would he fare better? Worse? Without modern conveniences, would he even survive? My personal opinion was…perhaps. But it would have to be an individual skilled in living off the land, comfortable with crafting and using ancient weaponry, and the daring to go forth and multiply. A lone person might survive, but without human society, would he have the will to continue.

Blurb:

The research project was only for an "extended period." No one said anything about forever! Deceived and betrayed, Riley is sent back 40,000 years to be the mate of a man she’d never before met. Her journey will take her into a world fraught with dangers—a world made more treacherous by savage beasts, primitive Neanderthals, and the incursion of the aggressive Cro-Magnon man.

Surviving alone for five years in this vast wilderness, Nathan, along with his enormous dog, Demon, carve out a life in the perilous environment. Though thrown together by forces beyond their control, Riley and Nathan nevertheless find love—but can these two lost souls survive against such overwhelming odds?

Excerpt:

He nodded. “Bethany offered me the chance to come here. She knew I needed to hide and I had nothing to lose, so she sent me through.”

“But why am I here?” Riley waited for an answer.

He paced the room, his face unreadable. “I think that’s partly my fault.”

“Your fault! How could it be your fault?”

“Sometimes, if Aunt Bethany happens to be monitoring from that end, and I’m down by the drop point, she must be able to hear me, because equipment, food, that sort of thing will be waiting,” he paused, drawing a breath. “It’s lonely here, no one to talk to. You’ve seen the others, they’re the only other humanoids in the area. They don’t like me and I don’t like them. We keep away from each other as much as possible. I had to teach them a lesson a time or two, but they respect me. They leave me alone and I return the favor.”

“Okay, so we’ve established why you’re here. Now, what about me?” Riley waited, fearful of his response.

He fidgeted, seemingly uneasy about answering. “I think Aunt Bethany sent you here for me. I think she sent you here to be my mate.”

Stunned, Riley stared blankly at him for what seemed like hours, her mind refusing to accept what he had said. She was here in this God-forsaken wilderness because he needed a girlfriend? What kind of crap was that?

Finally, he broke the silence. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“What do you expect me to say? Thank you? If even a small part of what you say is true, then I’m stuck here for eternity with a guy I don’t even know, in a place I hate and with no future. Yeah, I guess that comes under ‘thank you!’”

Review - 5 Hearts from The Romance Studio: “This imaginative story captivates with thrills and excitement that spin with every turn of the page. As the storyline with Riley and Nathan unfold, it is an experience that grips the reader as they try every way to find a survival pattern to keep them from any danger. This is a smashing good story with excellent writing. --The Romance Studio - 5/5 Hearts - Reviewed by Linda L.”

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Rileys-Journey-ebook/dp/B005SV26KS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326558979&sr=8-2

Girl of My Dreams by Morgan Mandel - A Cinderella Story

2012-01-16T01:00:00.001-05:00

When I was young and my Dad took me and my brothers to the library, I always looked for the Cinderella book on the shelf. I never tired of reading the tale.

I'm not young anymore, yet the Cinderella story is still a favorite of mine. I love reading books and seeing movies about extraordinary people on the inside, who seem to be plain on the outside. Somehow, magically, with the aid of makeup, hair styling and perfect clothes, the outward appearance is transformed, and Cinderella's true beauty emerges. We all know it was really there all the time, of course, and just needed a bit of tweaking.

Girl of My Dreams, my contemporary romantic comedy, is just such a Cinderella tale, with humor thrown in, and a slice of suspense.

Here's An Excerpt from Chapter One, where you can guess the Cinderella possibility exists:

The ratings were down. Mecca was dying. It could not survive another season without a hit. Neither could he. He’d sunk time, money and effort into this project. The boys upstairs had given it a go, only if he’d produce and direct it. This was his chance to prove he could make it without the connections of his actress-mother Barbara Branton. A foul-up would turn him into a has-been at the age of thirty.

“Blake, should I go with them?” Jillian asked again.

Her voice was alert and in crisis mode.

“You’re not a doctor. I need you here. We have a show to run.”

Almost as soon as he’d hung up, he found Jillian standing before him. Through all the commotion, her hair was still pushed back from her face and her glasses perched firmly on her nose. He had to hand it to her for keeping her cool.

“I’ve called food management and alerted them of the situation. They’ve closed the cafeteria,” she said.

“Good. We don’t need anyone else sick. The coordinators were hit, too. What about the survivors?”

“They’re already in Makeup.”

Blake rubbed his chin. “Fine. Now, all we need is number twenty-five.”

Thinking, he stared straight ahead. He had a feeling the answer was right in front of his nose, if he could only see it. His loyal assistant stood at attention, ready to spring into action. Hard-working, intuitive, creative, Jillian was a miracle worker. She always came through for him, but this time he couldn’t fault her if she failed.

A gleam flashed in her eyes. “I’ll do it. I’ve read the routine. It’s only one episode. He won’t pick me. Then I’ll be through.”

He stared at Jillian. She wasn’t as striking as his hand-picked contestants or their twin-like alternates, but certainly she was no dog. Sure, her suit was circa 1980 and her shoes looked like they could stick out of the bottom of a nun’s habit, if nuns wore habits any more. Okay, so Jillian wasn’t the world’s greatest dresser. Wardrobe could fix that. She had a certain charm, was over twenty-one and legal. Ditch the Coke-bottle glasses, pat on some makeup and she’d pass. But…

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt.

Morgan Mandel

Click a link for order information to get Girl of My Dreams for 99 cents:

Kindle for US

Kindle for UK

Morgan Mandel is a prior president of Chicago-North RWA, belongs to MWMWA, Sisters in Crime and EPIC. All four of her books are available in electronic format. You can find Morgan at http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/ , Facebook: http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel, Twitter: http://twitter.com/morganmandel and many other social media sites.

REDEEMING A ROGUE

2012-01-14T01:13:00.002-05:00

Don't you love bad boy heroes who are much better than they realize? Redemption for rogue Nate Batholomew (aka Barton) is THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND’s theme. The catalyst for Nate is his growing attraction, then love, for Sarah Kincaid. But Nate had the basics already in place--an innate need to protect the weak, loyalty to friends, and strength of will. Not bad qualities for a scalawag con man, right?

In a way, Sarah Kincaid also finds redemption because she not only finds love, but she discovers her selfhood. Not her physical identity, she knew that. Shy Sarah had always felt a shadowy copy of her dynamic older sister, Pearl. Sarah longed to blossom so people recognized her as an individual who made valuable contributions to her family and her community. But how? She is an admirable young woman, but feels almost invisible.

Since an infant, Sarah and her half-brother Storm have lived with their half-sister, Pearl. They share a father but each had a different mother. Sarah’s mother, Rochelle "Roxie," operated a saloon and left her with Pearl to protect the infant from a rougher life. When Sarah learns her mom is dying, she goes to St. Louis to nurse her in her last days, then disposes of her late mother’s gambling house. Sarah erroneously believes her mother owned all rights to the casino. Since a young woman can't travel unescorted and her chaperone deserted her, she is traveling home with a tiresome couple, the Welborns, who are friends of friends.

I recently changed the cover to one by Jimmy Thomas and Delle Jacobs at Romance Novel Covers. I love this cover and hope you do, too.

Here’s an excerpt of the first time Nate comes to Sarah’s aid. It’s a tad long, but I hope it tempts you to buy the book:

The paddleboat glided along the current toward Memphis. Compared to her train ride from Texas, the slower pace of the water vessel allowed Sarah time to speculate on the lives of people in the houses dotting the shoreline and fueled her active imagination. She pulled her new black shawl around her shoulders and wished for her thick cape against the cool night air. At least her black bombazine traveling suit had long sleeves to ward off the chill.

A light breeze carried a blend of odors from the big paddle wheeler and the Mississippi River it cruised. The almost tangible fishy scent of the water and the mud and weeds along the shore blended with the smells of the boat. Her tongue tasted the moisture in the air, but she didn't know if this meant a promise of rain or came from being on the water.

Living near the Pedernales River in Texas had not prepared her for navigating the great Mississippi River. The steady movement of the paddle wheeler plowing through the water lulled her. She lost track of how long she stood at the rail, and started when Mr. Welborn brushed against her.

"Enjoying the trip?" he asked.

She stepped away. He smelled of cigar smoke and whiskey. She liked neither. In spite of their travel together, she still felt uneasiness toward Mr. Welborn. "Yes. This is a lovely way to travel."

"It could be even nicer." He edged near. "You slip me into your stateroom tonight when I tap on your door and I'll make it plumb delightful." His arm brushed against her breast as he leaned forward.

She moved away again. "You insult me, sir, and your wife." Sarah looked around, hoping other passengers were near. Hatred rose like bile in her throat. Her instincts about him had proved correct.

He pressed forward. "Now, now, I know all about your mother. Been to Roxie's place a few times, had me some fun with her girls there."

Sarah stepped toward the nearest door, the one that led to the dining salon, but he grabbed her arm.

She tried to pull from his grasp. "My mother ran a business. I'm sorry she had to deal with men like you, but it has nothing to do with me."

"Don't play the outraged virgin, missy. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He jerked her toward him.

"Why, you odious man. How would you like it if I told your wife about this?" She tried to pull free, but he held tight.

"She knows about your mother and wouldn't believe the likes of you. You cooperate with me, or I'll tell the captain you propositioned me." His foul breath fanned her face.

"Tell him whatever you wish. I wouldn't cooperate with you if I had to swim home." Sarah tried once more to pull away.

Timid she might be, but she was far from defenseless. Her brother, Storm, had taught her to protect herself against unwanted advances. She stamped hard on Mr. Welborn's foot and elbowed him in his considerable gut, kicked him in his other shin, and rushed away. He was lucky she didn't take time to disable him completely. She heard muttered curses as she stepped into the light of the large salon and pulled the door closed behind her.

On deck, Nate stepped from the shadows. When Welborn turned to follow Sarah, Nate stepped in front of him.

"Far too nice a night to go inside, don't you agree?"

"Get out of my way. I'll fix that brassy little chit. I'll call her out to the captain in front of everyone." Welborn put out a hand to shove Nate's arm.

Nate stood firm. "I think not." At Welborn's surprised glare, he added, "Not unless you want to swim the rest of the way with a grappling hook tied to your neck."

"Say, who do you think you are?" Welborn's weasel-like eyes widened and he stepped back.

Nate advanced a step. "I'm no one. No one at all. But I'll be watching that young woman. If anything happens to her, you will be blamed. And I will personally see that you regret it--and that your wife knows what I just saw and heard. I can assure you, she will believe me." He leaned forward, towering over the portly older man. "Treat Miss Kincaid with respect and courtesy or join the fish. You understand?"

"Y--yes." Welborn nodded, his eyes wide with fear. "No need to get upset."

"See you remember." Nate turned and entered the salon.

Now what possessed him to defend the woman in possession of the inheritance rightfully due him? From what he'd seen, she could take care of herself. He credited disdain for Welborn and his type for his actions against the man.

He saw Miss Pure-And-Simple Sarah Kincaid across the room standing next to Mrs. Welborn. She twisted a handkerchief in her hands and looked the prim wallflower. Bright spots of color still decorated her cheeks, but otherwise her pale skin against black clothing emphasized the impact of her encounter with Welborn. She looked ready to pass out now the crisis had passed.

Deliberately controlling his pace to an amble, he stopped a couple of feet from where she stood. He ignored her and spoke to her companion. "Isn't there a musicale tonight?"

"What? Oh, yes," Mrs. Welborn said. "It will begin in a few moments."

Too much rode on this to take any chances. He feared using his true last name. Sarah, as he had come to think of her, might connect the last name with Cal and find it more than a coincidence. In fact, he figured he'd better come up with a name he'd never used. He smiled, hoping inspiration would strike. As always, deception came easy.
"I'm Nathaniel Barton. Perhaps you and your sister will allow me to find seats for you."

The woman preened at his timeworn flattery. "This is our traveling companion, Miss Kincaid. I'm Mrs. Welborn."

"Let's take these seats right over here, ladies." As he stepped behind them, he put a hand at the waist of each woman. Sarah wore a money belt, just as he'd thought. Her jacket almost hid the tell-tale bulge above her small waistline.

Mrs. Welborn fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Oh, we must save a seat for my husband. He stepped out on deck for a bit of air."

Nate watched Sarah's face harden into a mask. Her fingers worked harder at the black-bordered white linen square. She would reduce her handkerchief to shreds before evening's end if she continued twisting it.

He maneuvered the ladies so Sarah sat between him and Mrs. Welborn with the empty seat on the other side of Mrs. Welborn. "How are you finding the journey, Miss Kincaid?"

She looked straight ahead rather than at him, but answered, "It's been...eventful."

She turned her face to his. The full impact of her large lavender-blue eyes hit him. Good Lord. If she'd smiled at the same time, he would have melted like a pool of wax at her feet. On second thought, part of him was growing, not melting. He adjusted his posture to conceal the front of his britches.

Welborn's face when he saw Nate sitting with the two women was worth the price of several boat tickets. The man almost stumbled, but regained his composure and pasted a false smile on his lips.

"Well, well, I see I'm back in time for the show."

"Clyde, this is Mr. Barton. Mr. Barton, my husband."

Nate pushed down a laugh and smiled his brightest. This was the most fun he'd had in a month. Damned if he wasn't enjoying himself.

Nate spoke to Mrs. Welborn, "Mr. Welborn and I met earlier in the evening. You folks going far?"

Mrs. Welborn said, "We're going to Houston, Texas, to visit our daughter and her family."

The lights dimmed and the musicians launched into the evening's program. He flashed a warning glare to Welborn before he nodded at Mrs. Welborn. "I wish you a safe journey."

I hope you’ll want to purchase THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND. Here’s the link at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/MOST-UNSUITABLE-HUSBAND-Kincaids-ebook/dp/B004M8T1D8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326495069&sr=1-1

Smashwords still shows the old cover, but if you wish to use Smashwords, this is the link:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/37792

Thanks for reading! Please return each day for our book of the day.

Get A DESPERADO anytime of the year

2012-01-12T00:14:00.002-05:00

I live in Arizona, near the Mexican border, and stories of the border patrol abound in the area. Political issues aside, there is a human angle to the drama unfurling in this part of the US. There are evil people with no regard for human life, and there are victims. I see it every day. So how do you make a romantic novella out of all this violence? I like challenges, and kick-butt girls with guns. This is a story about hope.

Not just another busy night on the Arizona border.

Rookie Border Patrol Agent Kaitlin Harrington hates Christmas and all men, since her lover jilted her and she lost her unborn child on Christmas Eve. This year, as she guards the Mexican border in southern Arizona, she encounters more than she can handle. No amount of training prepared her to arrest the gorgeous desperado who challenges her. His name is Miguel, a human smuggler fascinated by the green eyes of the feisty auburn-haired beauty bent on impeding his important work. But Miguel is a man of many secrets. And on this dangerous adventure through the Arizona desert, anything can and will happen.

"A Desperado for Christmas is a love story and an adventure rolled in to one. There is very little "down time" in this fast-paced story, and this reader was glued to it until the very end." Fallen Angel Reviews

"Vijaya Schartz always manages to produce stories that are a spectacular blend of romance and action and this one is no exception." Debbie - CK2S Kwips & Kritiques

"...a romantic adventure from beginning to end. Brimming with twists, secret identities and danger on every page, this is a page turner that will entertain any reader. I will be interested in checking out additional titles by this author." Katherine - Joyfully Reviewed

"Exciting and action packed, this story will keep you reading page after page. The characters of Miguel and Kaitlin are superb. Bravo to Ms. Schartz on a story well written and one I will be reading again." Liadan - CTR

This novella is 99 cents at SMASHWORDS, Amazon KINDLE, B&N NOOK, and other places.

Check out my many other books at:

AMAZON - B&N - ARe -

Vijaya Schartz

Blasters, Guns, Swords, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Warrior's Rise by LJ DeLeon

2012-01-10T10:17:00.002-05:00

WARRIOR’S RISE has been selected as the Reviewer’s Choice Best Read 2011 by the Paranormal Romance Guild. In celebration WARRIOR’S RISE is only 99¢.

Below is the 5 Star review by Charleen Bailey, Reviewer for the Paranormal Romance Guild

Deva Morgan is a 30 year old bartender half-breed, a Fae-human. After her parents were killed when she was 12 years old, she was raised by family friends, Steve a leopard were, Marissa a witch and Fritz a Gargoyle, and has been trained to be a soldier. Deva doesn’t know why, but she follows her father’s instructions to Steve. Steve, Marissa and Fritz, along with Mark and Jamie, twin weres, Nate, Eric and Luc, all Magi’s are her family. She is a sister to all of them, and knows that they would do anything for her.

Padraig O’Neal, Crown Prince of the Fae, has been sent as the protector of Deva, who is the Cáidh Arm (Kah-dith Arm), the Holy Weapon of the Goddess. The Cáidh Arm is the leader of the army of the light, against the Dark Lord. Padraig is surprised to find that Deva is not the cold, distant person he expected, the previous Cáidh Arm didn’t need or want help from anyone. She kept herself separate from the armies and only trusted her personal guards. Deva is definitely not a loner and Padraig is equally surprised to find out that what he feels for Deva is way more than what a protector should feel.

The last battle was 1,000 years ago. The last Cáidh Arm, Grace, was the commander of the combined forces of Human, Were, Vampire and Fae. The battle lasted for 100 years. When the Dark Lord was defeated, he was sealed in the Abyss with the remainder of the daemon horde. Grace cast the Veil that sealed Otherworld, the land of the Fae from the rest of the world. Grace was taken away by the Goddess to live with her.

Now the Dark Lord was planning another attack and Deva is the new Cáidh Arm, she has to lead and plan strategy with the combined armies but first, she has to convince normal humans that there is a danger and they need to take action; all while fighting the daemons that have been sent to kill her and her team.

This book has it all, daemons, fae, harpies, hellhounds, vampires and weres. Traitors, moles, spies and daemons who have taken over the bodies of normals. The governments of all countries have been compromised, as have the military. No one knows who they can trust. The dark forces have been planning this battle for the past 1,000 years. The coming battle will be monumental and will probably last longer than 100 years.

In addition, while Deva has been trained as a warrior, she has no idea of what powers the Cáidh Arm has. The Goddess leads and trains Deva. She has to gain her powers in steps, and each step is a test. The Goddess made mistakes with the last Cáidh Arm and she doesn’t want to make the same mistake with Deva. Deva is not your ‘stand in the corner and wait for the big string man to save her’ type. She is a take-charge woman! Her fighting skills are increasing by leaps and bounds. She is learning how to be a leader and to make hard decisions. Some of those decisions involve the people she loves and she knows she may lose some or all of them.

I could not put this book down. I feel it was very well written. I have seen other comments about it having too many characters. There are a lot of daemons who are fighting, but I think not having a variety of opponents would take away from the story. Deva and her friends have to devise a way to defeat each type of enemy and each type has different strengths and vulnerabilities. I don’t see how this could have been written without a huge cast of characters.

The action is non-stop, from first page to last! Romance is mostly closed door but it definitely does not take away from the story. The background is extensive and the author has described the landscape and background of important characters extremely well. Since this is the first book of the series, I expect the second book will retain a lot of the same background and will not require such detailed explanations.

I look forward to reading the sequels. Dragon Child – Book 2, Absolution – Book 3.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Rise-Light-Book-ebook/dp/B004T39Y88/

B&N http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Warriors-Rise/LJ-DeLeon/e/2940012338020/

http://tiny.cc/rd0x6

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/48517

Addie and the Gunslinger-by Celia Yeary

2012-01-08T11:19:00.005-05:00

Addie and the Gunslinger

Blurb

Mini-Excerpt:

"Ever been kissed, Miss Jones?"

Wanting to loosen her up, he tried teasing, but it didn't seem to work.

Her voice trembled a little. "That is none of your business. I don't intend our relationship to be at all personal. You just come and go, do your job, and pay no attention to me."

Chuckling under his breath, he thought, like hell.

Before she kicked her horse into a gallop, she lifted her chin and said, "You need a bath, Mr. Morgan."

"Addie. It's Jude."

"Jude. You need a bath."

~*~*~*~
Ex-gunslinger Jude Morgan lands in jail in a far-flung West Texas town. On the fourth day in his cell, the sheriff arrives with a beautiful woman dressed in men’s pants and toting her own six-shooter. Adriana Jones claims he is her worthless husband who married her but never came home.

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com http://www.celiayeary.com
http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Celia-Yeary-Author/208687145867971

Divorce, Interrupted by Jill James

2012-01-06T03:00:00.000-05:00

In a romance novel the job of the writer is to either show how two people fall in love when they first are attracted to each other, or in the case of Divorce, Interrupted, show how easy it is to remember what you loved about each other in the first place and lost.

Chapter Three

He was thinking about her affair. She could tell from his furrowed brow and twisted mouth every time he glanced her way. The same angry expression that had glared at her in their bedroom, when she told him about Larry.

She’d begged him to understand. To realize it had been a onetime thing and it would never happen again. He’d shoved her clinging hands away, thrown clothes into a suitcase, and marched out the door. Out of her life.

She clutched her churning stomach. Her hands trembled against each other. The temperature in the cabin dropped ten degrees every time Todd glanced her way. As if she had caused the storm, made them stranded here.

Lisa’s mind whirled a hundred miles a minute searching for a solution, an escape route. The road was too far in this rainstorm and too dangerous. The ranger station was locked, unoccupied, and probably unpowered. There was nowhere to go but right here, until the kids came back on Sunday. Three long days away.

Her stomach growled to remind her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and some junk food at the gas station. She moved to the dining-room table and swept the papers and knickknacks into the box she’d been packing.

She puttered around the kitchen, seeing what was there, especially since it had to feed two now. A sigh escaped her.

“Something wrong?” Todd’s voice whispered over her shoulder. In the old days it would have been followed by his hands around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. Lisa’s breath caught, with an ache for the past burning in her heart.

“Actually, something’s right.” She put distance between them. “We have plenty of food for the duration.”

Her back was up against the sink, the cold metal digging into her spine. Todd moved closer. Up close she noticed a few new winkles she’d not seen before. A few gray hairs in his midnight dark hair that hadn’t been there before.

“You always made sure we had plenty of supplies up here.” His low voice sent a shiver down her spine and warmed her entire body. His fingers reached and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Wow, a kind word. I’m shocked.”

Just like that, she broke the connection between them. Todd slammed back, an angry rash reddening his face. His hands clenched into fists at his side.

She took a cleansing breath. An angry Todd was so much easier to deal with, not a kind, sexy Todd she had no defense against. Turning, she reached for the cans of soup on an upper shelf. Suddenly, Todd’s body was up against her. Heart radiated the whole length of her back. He grabbed a couple of cans of soup, set them on the counter, and moved back.

LOL Just like that an estranged couple can trip down memory lane.

Enjoy Divorce, Interrupted for 99 cents for just a little bit longer while the sale price lasts.

Amazon
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A FACE FOR MY HERO

2012-01-03T23:13:00.024-05:00

I can't describe a hero without a clear picture of him in front of me.

A friend knew I was writing a medical romance. To help me get the right inspiration, she sent me a picture of George Clooney as dark, tall and handsome Dr. Doug Ross in ER. He became my model for my Puerto Rican Dr. Marc Suarez in BABIES IN THE BARGAIN.

For PRESCRIPTION IN RUSSIAN, a medical romance set in Belarus, I asked Pierce Brosnan to lend his heart-stopping smile and suave charm to my hero, Dr. Fyodor Vassilov. Can you understand now why the heroine, Dr. Jillian Burton, an American physician on a mission to Belarus, loses her heart to the gorgeous doctor in spite of her life-long pledge never to fall in love? Can you resist a Pierce Brosnan’s look-alike? I couldn’t. By the time I typed the END to my manuscript I was head over heels in love with my hero—whether his name was Fyodor or Pierce.

Before writing NO MORE LIES, I downloaded an 11x8 picture of Colin Firth. Born into an academic family with both father and mothers lecturers at universities, Collin spent his early childhood in Nigeria, but later studied Drama in England. His poise and British cool suited the character of my French psychiatrist, Dr. Luc George, who is thoroughly honest and hides his passionate nature under a distinguished appearance.

Hugh Jackman who was voted Sexiest Man Alive in 2008 and hosted the 2009 Oscars, traded his Aussie origin to become my French Dr. Yves Malroux, an aristocratic Count who lives in the historical Loire Valley, in RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN. Hugh’s angular features and hazel eyes matched perfectly those of my French hero. Hugh’s picture landed on my desk on top of the others. Look at him. Is it any wonder that my heroine Mary-Beth blurted his name while in her fiancé’s arms?

A romantic comedy novel set in France:

available at amazon .com for 99cents

http://tinyurl.com/85o4wg7

What’s a girl to do when she whispers another man’s name in her fiancé’s arms?

When forbidden dreams about the sexy French Dr. Yves Malroux assail her at every turn, Mary-Beth puts her wedding plans on hold. She signs up for a summer training program in surgery with Yves, and flies to France to confront her past and the man who broke her heart years ago.

Will Mary-Beth let her heart decide who’s her right man? Will Yves break his no-strings-attached rule to offer love and commitment?

Excerpt from RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN

Yves pointed to a street ahead. “Now, we walk to the Eiffel Tower. Look to your right. You can see it from here.”

“Oh, my God.” So that was the Eiffel Tower. “I didn’t realize it was so high. Impressive. How do we go up?”

“By elevators. We will stop at each of the three levels.”

The view was incredible from the first level, and even more beguiling from the second, but she winced as the third elevator began its spectacular eighteen-meter ascent. Yves, always attentive to her comfort, grabbed her hand as they stepped on to the outdoor level. Mary-Beth stared awestruck at the breathtaking scenery. The sun slowly dipped down, and soon dusk hovered over Paris. “It’s so beautiful.”

Yves stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. She closed her eyes for a second, and made a wish—her one and only wish—as she leaned into him, and he tightened his hold.

“I am glad you are enjoying your day.” His husky voice against her hair sent tremors down her spine. She turned to face him. Yves’s eyes held her captive more surely than his arms, her lips dangerously near his.

He didn’t come closer, and she didn’t ease away. They just looked at each other. She sighed and averted her eyes, only to glance at one couple hugging and another kissing. A curse of frustration escaped her, and she focused her gaze on Yves, on his lips, his aristocratic nose, and hard jaw. He wasn’t smiling as he peered into her eyes, waiting.

Luscious memories of their last kiss shivered through her. She didn’t want to wait anymore and waste their precious moments together. She tilted her face higher, her chin a mere inch from his, and inhaled his masculine scent and lemon aftershave mixed with the crisp freshness of a Paris night. Her pulse quickened, raced, slowed, and almost stopped before resuming its erratic pace.

“Yves,” she whispered, her lips gliding against his throat. “Kiss me.”

“Chérie.” He lowered his head and molded his mouth to hers.

She laced her fingers behind his nape. Feeling, tasting, enjoying. His tongue slipped between her parted lips and met hers in a wild dance. She pressed herself against him, not wanting to let him go. She was on top of the world in Yves’s arms. Warm and secure, and kissing him.

He released her mouth and rained kisses on her forehead, cheeks and throat. “Yves, the Eiffel Tower is more beautiful than I ever imagined.”

The breeze fluttered her hair over her face. He smoothed it back with a gentle caress. “Tonight, I, too, find it unique.”

Far below, the city sparkled like a black velvet cape sprinkled with millions of diamonds. Yves waved his hand. “Paris by night.”

http://www.monarisk.com/

http://www.monarisk.blogspot.com/

@MonaRiskS

Forever Love, 2012

2012-01-01T23:29:00.015-05:00

Welcome to 2012! We're starting with a snazzy new look for our blog.

I am a Georgia native, and we Southerners love a great story. My daughter, who attended Georgia College at Milledgeville, spent half of her junior year in Washington, DC. Her college job as the 4-H lady in the local schools got her an assignment with the National 4-H counsel. As her mama and daddy, my ex and I were given a private tour of the places she usually showed tour groups.

Details escape me, but she showed us an area between the houses of congress. There were imprints in the floor rumored to have been made by a huge black cat, a harbinger of death who had announced the deaths of the Presidents who were assassinated while in office. Don't quote me on the details, please. As a writer I change details to suit my purpose and our tour was almost 20 years ago. (grin)

About Forever Love. I moved that cat to Georgia and assigned him to the Boyd/MsKeown family. For centuries that "demon cat" has appeared just before a member of the family died. Does he announce their coming deaths or cause them? I will tell you that the cat is Devon, an American Indian who has been damned to exist in a void between Heaven and Hell. He can be seen as the cat, but has no corporal form. Want to know what his purpose is and why he's damned? Hmmm.

Excerpt:

Unseen, Devon watched the auburn haired beauty. He hated being a cat. He wanted to touch her. Her skin drew him, her scent made him ache in places he hadn’t felt for nearly two centuries. Frustration filled him as he fought his needs, carnal and frightening in their intensity. He knew her skin would feel like warm silk. It would smell of violets and rosewater. She was called Sabrina, unlike his Lou. It was difficult to separate them of late. (Both women were named Sabrina Louise)

Could he touch her without her knowledge? Devon had made love to her in his thoughts, as the man she could not see. She would taste like nectar and --- he had to forget the needs he could not hope to appease. It would be wrong to use her to make him feel alive again. He had watched her disrobe. Exquisite. This was no time to torture himself with desire upon which he could not act.

Forever Love is a paranormal novella with Southern flavor. It combines legends and lasting love with steamy sex.

Nurse Sabrina Boyd’s life was just fine before Dr. Joe Walker, her cousin’s widower, returned home to South Georgia. Avoiding the handsome doctor who wants a romantic relationship with her isn’t her biggest problem. She has seen the Demon Cat, a harbinger of death for the Boyd family for centuries. Now she’s obsessed with finding and saving the person the cat wants, and she’s immersed in old journals about ill-fated lovers.

Joe wants to teach her about steamy sex, and the cat ... what does the cat really want?

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/57300
http://bit.ly/k5QLtA
http://amzn.to/ufxqKK

For the research folk

http://www.unsolved-mysteries.com/unexplained_events/phantom_black_cat.html

MMARVELLAB@aol.com

MaryMarvella.com

www.PinkFuzzySlipperWriters.blogspot.com

http://ebooks99cents.wordpress.com

http://bookloversbuffet.com

Mary Marvella Barfield on Facebook and Mary Marvella, Author on Facebook

To new beginnings

2011-12-31T09:58:00.004-05:00

Ah, New Year's Eve. It might just be my favorite holiday, seeing the birth of a new year and all the possibilities that come with it. The new beginnings we can permit ourselves.

Maybe that's why I love reading romance. That new spark, the powerful attraction. Then watching that heady infatuation deepen into more lasting bonds as the hero and heroine grow and change and earn that happily ever after.

And if anyone deserves a new beginning, it's Dr. Delano Bowen, in my book The Merzetti Effect. After a traumatic event, Delano has denied himself the touch of a woman for many decades. So when he draws Ainsley Crawford - the last remaining descendant of the fabled Merzetti's - into his life to exploit the genetic gift in her blood, he's more than a little vulnerable. But it's not only his heart on the line. Ainsley is a walking bio-hazard for any vampire, and she might just be the death of him.

Excerpt:

In this excerpt, after a particularly terrifying event, Ainsley can't escape into sleep. Every time she closes her eyes, the event replays itself. So she has crawled into Delano's bed, setting her phone to vibrate so she can slip away long before he awakens. The sound of his slow day-sleep breathing lulls her to sleep at last. But she doesn't know is that vampire sleep is very different. Where humans cycle in and out of REM sleep - and dreams - all night long, vampires sleep dreamlessly ... until the last few hours before dusk. Those last sleep are filled with almost non-stop REM activity, known to vampires as twilight dreaming. When Delano finds her in his bed, he naturally thinks he's dreaming.

The dream had him again.

He loved this time, the interval between the deep, restoring sleep that claimed him each morning and the full wakefulness that came with sundown. He loved it, and he loathed it, too. For in that short space of time, he slept almost like he used to sleep. Like other men slept. That’s when the dreams came. Yes, and the nightmares, too, sometimes. And as often as not, the dreams tortured him worse than the nightmares ever could.

This was one of those dreams, the kind he would pay for with a deep, persistent ache that would be with him for days. But God help him, he didn’t care. He just wanted to hang onto it as long as he could.

This time, he lay on his back, with Ainsley’s body curved sweetly against him, one silky-smooth leg twined with his. And her skin! The parts that touched him blazed like a furnace against his own skin, and her scent, a potent mix of sandalwood and sleepy woman, filled his nostrils. Beneath the soft sound of her breathing, he heard the strong, steady lub-dub of her heart and the fainter but even more thrilling surge and whisper of her blood.

He lifted a hand to palm her unbound breast through the thin t-shirt she wore, and felt the tip harden.

“Delano?”

“Ainsley.”

Effortlessly, he rolled her beneath him.

Oh, Lord! She felt so solid, so real, so warm. And soft in all the right places.

“Del! Wait! You can’t … I mean, we can’t—”

“Oh, but we can.” Here in this twilight place, they most definitely could. They could do anything.

Alternate History and Entanglements, by P.R. Mason

2011-12-30T07:55:00.004-05:00

Like many people no doubt, my life has been touched by a moment in time I would give anything to change. For me an ordinary day could have continued in its infinite ordinariness if not for the convergence of some relatively innocuous happenings that conspired to create a tragedy. As a result I've been fascinated by the idea of alternate worlds or universes and alternate history. What might have been if but one thread in the tapestry of time had been different? A yellow thread rather than a blue one. A coffee break not taken. A stop sign repaired rather than fallen. So many little things that could have changed what happened.

So when I read about the quantum physics theory of Entanglements, I was fascinated. Scientists had discovered that a particle could be tweaked miles away from another and still cause the second particle to react even though there was no discernable connection between them. They theorized that the two were "entangled" in an alternate dimension or universe of which they believed there are at least seven. Interestingly also, in the world of quantum physics, effect does not always follow cause. Sometimes they are reversed. I began to wonder what would happen if people or beings were entangled in alternate universes? What if a tragic fate could be avoided after it had already happened. And from those ideas, ENTANGLEMENTS was born. I hope you'll check it out.

Entanglements Blurb:

Teen KIZZY TAYLOR is just hoping for an evening of fun when she joins her friends in a spelunking expedition through an under-city tunnel. But fun turns bizarre when Kizzy accidentally opens a vortex and her stepsister is swept through to an evil alternate dimension. The only way to rescue her stepsister is to reopen the vortex and go in after her. But is her new boyfriend, ROM CALIXO, going to help Kizzy or try to stop her? And if she can get past Rom, will she be able to get back home?

Excerpt

June 21st

No one had ever lived after jumping from the Talmadge Bridge. Until now, in my entire fifteen years, I had never been particularly special or unique. So the chances I, Kizzy Taylor, would be the first to survive were probably slimmer than the cheerleading captain at my high school. The nighttime Savannah skyline, with its gold domed city hall, loomed in the distance, serene and beautiful. Leaning over the railing, I peered down to the water far, far below me. The whipping wind slammed my ponytail against my forehead.

In the darkness, the black sheen of the water’s surface had the appearance of asphalt after a rain. It would probably feel like asphalt on impact. At the thought, my knees buckled. Even if I wasn’t particularly afraid of falling, I was suddenly very afraid of heights…Weird.

Straightening my shaking legs with defiance, I dragged my gaze away from the river and deliberately stared at my feet. They weren’t as scary as the height. From the purple polish on my toes to the blister on my right heel, they were the same feet I’d slipped into clear plastic flip-flops this morning. The garishly happy sunflower appliqué of my shoes mocked me.

“Kizzy.” Adam’s tiny four-year-old fingers tugged at the denim of my pants. He held his favorite plastic pterodactyl toy in his other hand.

Glancing back at him, I pried his fingers away. “Get back,” I ordered, giving a little push behind me. Okay. Maybe my life was over but I was going to save my little brother.

“I want to go home and see Mommy.” Adam's blue eyes were wide and glistening with fear.

“I know, baby. We will. But get back now.” I tried to keep my tone firm but loving.

A car’s horn blared. Rising as it approached, the tone of the honking then fell as the car left us behind. The lights of the enormous suspension bridge must be illuminating us as if we were on a theater stage. Why didn’t any of these passing cars stop to help?

Adam’s sobs tore at me as I balanced my belly against the icy metal of the railing and climbed over. With barely enough room for my feet, their tips hung over the concrete edge.

“Shhh.” I glanced back over my right shoulder at Adam to try to meet his eyes but they were scrunched tightly shut. “We’re just playing a game. We’ll go home soon. I promise.”

“This isn’t a game.” The baritone voice, so agonizingly familiar, drowned out my brother’s cries. “You have to do it,” the man shouted prodding me in the back with his revolver.

The muzzle jabbed into my skin through the thin fabric of my t-shirt and pushed me forward. I would totally have a bruise tomorrow...if I survived until tomorrow.

“Jump,” the man screamed.

Gripping the rail behind me, I clung. A jagged piece of metal on the rail bit into my flesh and I winced as liquid pooled in my palm. I couldn’t help jerking that hand away to hold it in front of me. Blood dripped off my palm before disappearing into the darkness and becoming part of the Savannah River water.

“Kizzzzzy!” My brother screeched.

“Shut up.” The man started with a jerk. “Do you want to make me shoot?”

The pitch of Adam’s wailing heightened.

Clutching at my necklace as if it were a religious medal, I turned to try to talk to him.

“Can’t you just leave Adam alone? I’ll do what you want.” My pleading had the same effect on the man as it did on the steel of the suspension cable a few feet away.

“This is because of you,” he said. He. My dad.

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Christmas is over

2011-12-29T11:44:00.001-05:00

Christmas is over, but winter is just getting started, which makes my thoughts turn to fun in the snow. Set in a small Midwest town, in COUNTERFEIT LOVE the heroine Maggie gets a taste of that fun in this scene.

"Maggie, wake up!" Like an icicle through a snowdrift Alex's excited voice pierced Maggie's head. She blinked. White winter sunshine streamed into Alex's bedroom. Maggie groaned and tried to pull the comforter over her head.
"Get up." Alex dragged the covers away. "We're going sledding. Hurry."
Cool air seeped beneath the sweats Maggie wore. She shivered and curled into a ball.
"Maggie," Alex repeated.
"Go get ready Alex. I'll get Maggie up."
Jared's husky voice roused Maggie quicker than a bucket of ice water. Eyes open, she bolted up to face him. Arms crossed over his broad chest he leaned against the doorjamb and stared at her. The look in his eyes, part anger, part amusement, part something she couldn't name, left her unsettled. "I can't go sledding with you."
"Why not?"
"Because of everything that's happened. It wouldn't feel right."
He straightened, his arms fell to his sides and his eyes darkened. "Alex has her heart set on your going sledding with us. I won't let you disappoint her."
Guilt made it difficult for her to hold his gaze. "I don't have anything to wear."
"Look in my sister's closet. Since she moved to Florida she keeps her winter stuff here. There should be a snowmobile suit and some boots you can wear. Be downstairs in fifteen minutes or I'm coming up to get you."
Stubborn pride kept her motionless for a few minutes. She never responded well to ultimatums. Then a surge of hope had her scrambling to get ready. The more time she spent with Jared the more opportunity she'd have to earn his forgiveness. She paused as she tugged on one tight boot. Did she want Jared's forgiveness? And if she got it what would she do then? Jared's life was here in Council Falls, teaching. She had her life planned out in L.A., owning her own security firm. Maybe it was better if he continued to hate her. The sound of Jared's footsteps on the stairs made her shelve her thoughts. Holding one boot she limped out into the hall as he came to the top of the stairs. "Good. You're ready. Let's go." His cool tone made her question her decision to go along. Then she glanced at his eyes and wondered if she had a choice. As she got into his SUV, she noted the plowed drive and her car, a snow-covered stain of red, now parked in front of the house. "Looks like your morning's been put to good use." "Aside from a few scrapes and dents, it doesn't seem like there's any damage to your car. But you should have it checked out by your mechanic." "Thanks. Jared?" She touched his arm. Pain stabbed her when he jerked away. "What?" "Truce? For today? For Alex? In spite of everything I want you to know I care about her. No matter what, I'd never deliberately hurt her." She held his hard, searching gaze, hiding nothing of the confused feelings inside her until he gave a brief nod. "Truce." Aside from Alex's excited chatter the rest of the trip passed in a comfortable silence. Colorful dots against pristine white, people crowded the sled hill on the outskirts of town. Maggie breathed in the aromas of hot chocolate, coffee and hot dogs filling the crisp, clean air. The cold stung her nose and cheeks, and not even the snow mobile suit and fur lined boots kept her from shivering . Over her initial protests, the three of them climbed aboard the Blake's toboggan. Once sandwiched between Jared and Alex Maggie forgot to be cold. Of course, she told herself, being properly dressed for the weather accounted for the warmth flooding her body, not the heat radiating from where his strong chest braced her back, or where his arms wrapped around her waist resting just below her breasts, or the burning were his spread thighs cradled her buttocks. Then he used his feet to propel them down the hill and she forgot everything in the sudden thrill of flying. The world rushed by in a blur of white. Her cries of delight joined with Alex's screams and Jared's shouts. Again and again they flew down the steep hill until they were all breathless from laughter and trudging back up. In the fun, she forgot the tension between them. Afterwards she washed down sweet, sticky donuts with the hot coffee Jared presented to her in a large thermos, while he shared another thermos of hot chocolate with Alex. His remembering her preference for a strong brew warmed the chill in Maggie's heart. Throughout the day, despite her doubts and fears, Jared treated her as he always had, with consideration and respect. If his attitude was a bit more reserved, who was she to complain? The day passed in a blur of snow and laughter, ending too soon. Despite the cold still biting at her nose and toes and the ache in her muscles, Maggie knew she'd miss this, the warm contentment of a day spent with the people you loved. The thought startled and depressed her. What good did it do her to love Jared and Alex? In one way or another everyone she'd ever loved had abandoned her. Halfway home it started to snow again. Alex slept in the backseat as Jared pulled his SUV in front of Maggie's house. "Thank you for a wonderful day. I never knew freezing my butt off could be so much fun." Aside from a few simple comments they hadn't spoken to each other all day. "I did it for Alex. I don't want her to know what's going on. When this is over, as far as she's concerned you and your family just moved away. "She won't understand if I just disappear. She'll expect to hear from me." "I'm sure you'll think of a good excuse. You're a master at telling lies." Maggie couldn't control the cold shaft of pain his words caused or the hot anger that bubbled to the surface. "There's lying and then there's lying to yourself," she shot back.

HAUNTING REFRAIN

2011-12-28T01:53:00.005-05:00

HAUNTING REFRAIN

When my daughter was in college in Milledgeville, Georgia, we bought a house for her. She would rent some of the bedrooms and cover the house payments. As we were signing the papers for the sale of that house, which was at least 150 years old, the daughter of the woman selling the old house mentioned ghosts.

I was hooked, even though I didn't have time to get more than the names of the ghosts. For the two-hour drive home, the ghosts took over my imagination and the story of Haunting Refrain unfolded. I hope you enjoy it.

HAUNTING REFRAIN

When music teacher Sarah Overby finds ghosts in her attic, she hesitates to tell her best friend, William McKeown. She doesn't think he’ll understand. He has looked after her for as long as she can remember. Telling him he lived a previous life as her husband will make him think she is crazy.

William has adored Sarah forever, he just doesn’t realize this isn’t the first time he has loved her. His feelings for his best friend are changing, but he doesn’t believe in ghosts, reincarnation, or lasting romantic relationships. He is a psychologist and he believes in things he can prove.

Sarah’s guardian ghosts are facilitators who renew their relationships with their charge.

Excerpt

William awoke slowly, as though he’d been drugged. The clock read 5:45. Remnants of his dream hung on the edges of his consciousness. Sarah in boy’s clothes. Sarah, but not Sarah. He punched his pillow and tried to go back to sleep for the hour and a half ‘til his alarm would go off. Sleep would not come. The dream and its meaning haunted him. The man in his dream had wanted the woman so badly he hurt.

Rolling out of bed he made his way to his back porch. At times like this he wished he smoked. He stayed for the sunrise.

How in God’s name do we act now? How could he take the chance of ruining his friendship with Sarah by giving in to his libido? Seven years difference in their ages was too much for a romantic relationship. Besides, he’d never seen himself as a marrying man. His Sarah deserved a man who would give her a home and children, not just an affair. Some protector he was!

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Right Name, Wrong Man

2011-12-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

The chateau where my story takes place

What do the words France, Paris, Eiffel Tower, Loire Valley, evoke for you?
Do you think romantic settings? Visualize historical chateaux? Imagine a kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower? Prepare your camera to snap pictures of the amazing architecture? Get ideas from the fashion capital? Prepare yourself to taste and enjoy the French Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Beaujolais Nouveau, Bordeau… Are you feeling fuzzy, maybe a little drunk?
After many visits to France—I stopped counting years ago— I can still rhapsodize about Paris and its thousand attractions. The Loire Valley, known as “the Garden of France”, was the favorite residence of the Kings of France during the Renaissance period. They made this peaceful countryside the setting of their dreams, and surrounded themselves with the greatest artists and architects of this era.
When my husband treated me to a special thirtieth anniversary with a trip to the Vallée de la Loire and a two-day stay in an authentic chateau, I fell in love with the area and have never forgotten it.

RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN, my new contemporary romance is set in this chateau. The count who owns the chateau is a handsome doctor adored by patients and nurses. Only one woman can’t seem to stand him because…

A romantic comedy novel set in France, for $0.99, http://tinyurl.com/85o4wg7

Short Synopsis:
What’s a girl to do when she whispers another man’s name in her fiancé’s arms?
When forbidden dreams about the sexy French Dr. Yves Malroux assail her at every turn, Mary-Beth puts her wedding plans on hold. She signs up for a summer training program in surgery with Yves, and flies to France to confront her past and the man who broke her heart years ago.
But she never expected the French doctor–who’s also a count– to insist on his trainees staying at his historical chateau. Sleeping under his roof, next door to his bedroom, is more temptation than Mary-Beth anticipated. Desire for Yves burns as hot as ever, especially when he focuses all his charm on Mary-Beth to convince her she needs passion in her life. While too many questions still swirled in her mind, her jealous fiancé summons her back home.
Will Mary-Beth let her heart decide who’s her right man? Will Yves break his no-strings-attached rule to offer love and commitment?
Excerpt from Chapter Two
“Welcome to France, Dr. Drake.” Stepping back to allow her entrance to his office, Dr. Malroux treated her to the mind-boggling smile he’d probably bestowed on countless beauties he’d escorted.
Rooted in the doorway, Mary-Beth stared at the man she had snatched from her heart a year ago. A day’s worth of stubble shadowed his jaws and a lock of dark hair wandered over his forehead. Damn, he was even more handsome than in her nightmares.
“Good afternoon.” She couldn’t mutter another word as her eyes fell on the surgical top stretched over his muscular chest. Heat bloomed throughout her body. She clenched the straps of her purse and willed her stupid heart to slow down, certain that the thumping could be heard in the silence.
With effort, she recalled the assertiveness she’d painfully acquired over the previous year and extended her arm for a handshake. “I’m here for the summer residency program organized by Dr. Steve Galt fromMassachusetts GeneralHospital.”
Standing too close, he shook her hand and held it an extra second. His sandalwood cologne enveloped her. The familiar scent from her days at Harvard Library sent her pulse into overdrive.
“Yes, I know. I received your impressive curriculum vitae,” he said with the delightful French accent that had resonated in her ears months after he’d leftBoston. “Please, have a seat,” he added, indicating the brown velvet chair in front of his desk.

She hastened to sit and put her oversized purse on the carpet. Her back straight, she clasped her hands together in her lap and crossed her ankles to prevent the anxious tapping of her feet.

He sat behind his desk and leaned back in an imposing leather chair that enhanced his confident stature. His gaze ambled, paused and assessed. “Dr. Drake, I am delighted you will be working with us at the Hôpital de la Santé.”

He doesn’t recognize me.

Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t recognize her as the heavy frump from the past. Pleased that she had a chance to start her training without painful reminiscences, she suppressed a smile of relief and bore the weight of his scrutiny without flinching.

His forehead pleated in a thoughtful frown as he opened the folder on his desk and perused her application. “You mention you decided to train with us to improve your skills in General Surgery. Anything else?”

“I also would like to train in Pediatric and Cardiac surgery.” And prove that I’m immune to your charm and marry Steve without reservations. Her voice firmed up as she rubbed her ringless finger.

——

I changed the picture of the book cover twice, and I’m still not sure which one would suit the story better. Help me choose? Or should I change to a new one?

Thinking about year's end.

2011-12-25T04:17:00.000-05:00

The presents have been bought, wrapped, and now the scattered remains lay strewn across your living room floor. With your family content, your thoughts turn toward reading. If you were among the lucky ones to have been presented with your first e reader, you are no doubt anxious to load up and read.

Once charged, head out to your local Amazon website and check out the free books, which are easy to download under your account. You will be amazed at the genres and well known names that you see. Please note, there are many that you may not recognize. These writers are putting in long hours developing their craft and have not yet gotten the nod from traditional New York publishers. Their stories are well crafted and need that word of mouth that starts the ball rolling.

If you are reading this, then you are lucky enough to have found a treasured group of authors you will fall in love with. Check the names on the sides and click their links, you'll be glad you did. Find your favorite new author, download their story for the low price of 99 cents, then grab your cup of hot coco and curl up with a great book.

I'll leave you today with a snippet of my $0.99 book, A Cordial Christmas out at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords...

Excerpt:

Somewhere in the middle of the night, they heard a door shut and the sound of feet padding down the hallway. She stilled. Dobson must have felt her muscles tighten.

He raised his head and sleepily asked, "What's Lucy doing up?"

"Probably going to check on Santa's progress," Holly remarked.

Pushing back the covers, she grabbed her robe as Dobson pulled his trousers up and buckled his belt.

"A fine how do you do on a wedding night," he grinned. "Of course, it gives me an excuse to say a fine good night to my lovely wife again."

Holly felt her lips pull into a smile and shook her head. "I have a feeling our marriage will always be quite unusual."

Together, they went down the hallway and paused at the last step. Chow Ming lay asleep on the settee, his meat clever by his side. Dobson tipped toed over and handed Holly his weapon before putting a gentle hand on his cook's shoulder.

"Chow Ming, Chow Ming."

The older man's eyes opened. He looked about wildly.

"What you doing here?" he asked.

"He come? Fat man in red suit. He come?"

Dobson shook his head. "No, Santa won't come while you are awake. It has to be done in secret."

"Chow Ming want to see wagon that fly. Chow Ming think this man in red suit want to steal things."

"No, no," Dobson shook his head. "He's a good guy. But you must go to sleep or he won't come."
"Humph, then Chow Ming go to bed. Nearly midnight anyway." Grumbling, he rose and moved to Holly taking the meat clever from her hands.

"Chow Ming, did you see Lucy?" Holly asked.

"No, Chow Ming fall asleep. Wait for man in red suit, wagon pulled by antelope."

"Reindeer," Dobson corrected him.

"Whatever, no see cowgirl in training."

Holly hid her giggles behind her hand.
Suddenly, Dobson knew. "I think I know where she is. Grab your coat."

Pulling their coats from the pegs by the door, Dobson and Holly slipped into the cold night. They crossed the yard, to the barn, and found the door opened from the outside. "She's inside," he told Holly. "Joe told her a story about the animal's Christmas. I bet she's waiting to see."

Stepping inside, they stood in the quiet and waited. A few moments later, a sound came from the hayloft as a few bits of straw floated down.

"Come on," he said, leading her over to the ladder.

Carefully, they climbed up the steps to the loft.

"Lucy," Holly hissed.

"Sh, I'm over here." A tiny hand waved.

They moved to where the little girl sat curled in the hay watching the animals below.

"Lucy," Holly scolded. "It's almost midnight."

She held her fingers to her lips for the adults to be quiet. "I know." Lucy grinned, her face full of excitement. "I want to see the animals pray. Joe told me the story about the animals kneeling on the stroke of midnight to thank God for letting them be the first to see Jesus."

Both adults looked at each other. "Lucy, that's an old wives tale," Holly explained to her.

"No. No, it's not. Sit and listen," she urged them.

Holly sighed and sat down. Dobson moved behind her so his body would protect them both from the cold. Reaching into the pocket of his trousers, he pulled out a gold pocket watch and handed it to Lucy.

"It will chime when it strikes midnight."

She took it and nodded.

The barn grew still. Lucy held her breath. Dobson's watch seemed to tick louder as the remaining seconds to Christmas drifted away. Then a soft chime rang out and they all held her breath.

"See, nothing is happen-" Before Holly could finish, they heard the animals shifting. Peering over into the cows stall, they watched in amazement as the two calves dropped to their front knees. Then Star did the same. A horse neighed, and then the other animals answered one by one. Holly's arms prinked with goose bumps. She looked around to Dobson, whose eyes were as wide as hers.

Both adults looked down to Lucy who grinned broadly. "Oh, Holly, you were right, there is no Christmas like a Cordial Christmas." Her arms wide, she flung them around both of their necks and held on tight.

Dobson put an arm around her and pulled his family close. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Winters," he said again.

Two Wrongs by Morgan Mandel

2011-12-23T03:03:00.002-05:00

Two Wrongs by Morgan Mandel

Two Wrongs was my first book published, in 2006, and I'm happy to re-release it now on Kindle and Smashwords at 99 cents, a more reasonable price for today's economy.

Two Wrongs has mystery, romance, and more. It's set in Chicago where I grew up, in the days when Marshall Field's was still Field's, and Chicago basketball was king.

Included are Field's references, such as the Big Tree at Christmastime and ice cream snowmen in the Walnut Room, as well as Frango mints.

You'll find DePaul University, Chase Park, St. Vincent DePaul Church, and other Chicago landmarks also sprinkled in.

What it's about:

Mix a Charles Bronson two-sided revenge theme, John Grisham courtroom scene, Danielle Steel 2nd chance at love and ADD Chicago and Marshall Field's at Christmastime - you'll get some idea about this book.

An innocent girl is slain. Her brother knows who did it - or does he?

Kevin loses his cool when Mary Alice turns him down for the prom. Her brother, Danny, hears them argue. Later that night Mary Alice lies dead in the alley. Danny is determined to make Kevin pay, but did he do it? Prison can turn the most innocent human being into a killer.

Excerpt - Chapter 29

“Danny, can you hear me?”

She bent so close he could smell her perfume—a scent which had driven him over the edge.

This was not Cathy. He lay helpless, again in her power. What would she do to him?

Footsteps approached.

“I’ve found him,” her voice called out to the new arrival.

Someone tried to move him.

“Answer me, Danny boy. Can you hear me?” Tony’s voice floated up. “Hey, man, just nod if you understand. That’s all I ask.”

Okay, he could do that. Cautiously, Danny moved his head, but a gong clanged inside.

“Okay, he’s still with us. Dora, stay here. I’ll get the car.”

Dora sat beside Danny, holding his head in her lap, brushing her soft fingers through his hair. He sighed at the soothing feeling. He’d missed the touch of a woman, especially this one. He shouldn’t allow her to do this, but it felt wonderful. He’d been so alone. Each soft stroke dulled the roaring pain.

Then he was lifted up and carried. He found himself resting in the back seat of a car, with his aching head cuddled in Dora’s lap. He wanted to stay there forever. Dora was strong. He needed her.

There had always been a link between them. Out of respect for Cathy, he’d denied it. Now he hadn’t the strength to fight it.

On Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7whvzkj

On Smashwords at: http://smashwords.com/books/view/113202

Thanks for letting me share.

Morgan Mandel

Divorce, Interrupted by Jill James

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Do I like controversy? Um, not really. Not really, a lot. When I set out to write Divorce, Interrupted I just wanted to write a story a little outside the box. A story that might not be looked at by my small e-publisher, but only because they don't do married couples with problems or divorced spouses working on their problems.

I was unprepared for the emails commenting on how I took a very tough subject like infidelity and made it work. How I was sensitive to the delicate subject I was writing about. Wow! I hadn't planned that at all. For the record, my husband knows if he ever cheated he wouldn't be able to run far enough, fast enough, to escape my wrath. But I felt with Todd and Lisa like they did still love each other and there might just be hope for a new happily-ever-after for them. We write fiction because then, anything is possible.

Excerpt: Lisa is cleaning up the wedding cake topper she threw against the wall and shattered.

Lisa walked to the trash bin and dumped the contents of the dustpan. Todd winced as the tinkle of pieces of the cake topper hit the bottom. Kind of like their marriage; in pieces and thrown away in the garbage.

“We could hike to the highway, catch a ride.” He sat up and turned toward his ex. “It’s only about seven miles, give or take.”

Lisa smiled at him. “We could do that.”

As if to shatter their hopes of escape as she had shattered the figurine, lightning flashed blindingly through the bay window, followed instantly by the roar of thunder marking the storm as overhead. Rain began to pelt the roof. Todd turned to view a waterfall coming from the roof onto the ground in front of the porch.

“Shit.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Lisa added. “Now what do we do?”

Todd walked to the window. “We wait. How long can it rain?

His ex gasped and rushed to the dining-room table. She strode toward him with a piece of newspaper crumpled in her tightened fists.

He pried her hands off the paper. Their fingers touched and Todd jumped back as the old spark flared between them. He turned his back on her and smoothed out the page.

Possibility of Flooding in Lake County Certain glared at him from the headline.

“Shit,” he whispered.

“Exactly,” Lisa added, over his shoulder.

Her sweet breath tickled his neck. His face heated up as he moved away from Lisa. He couldn’t do this. A whole weekend trapped in this cabin with the only woman he loved as much as he hated her. They said love and hate were two sides of the same coin, and he believed it.

Todd slapped the paper, the sound lost in the cacophony outside and on the roof. He needed to move. Cabin fever was already setting in and he had only been here moments. All the times before, they had the outdoors for an escape. Boating, fishing, catching butterflies with Michelle or tadpoles with Michael. His mind played a family movie of good times together.

His gaze skittered over Lisa, her hands wrapped tight around her body. Just like the marriage ended, the happy family time movie ended in his thoughts. How could he be so mad, angry and hurt over her affair and see her for a few minutes and want her so badly?

He was screwed. He still loved the woman who betrayed him

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords

A Feast For the Senses

2011-12-20T07:02:00.000-05:00

THE FEAST OF BEAUTY will appeal to anyone who has read my Magic Knot Fairy series or who loves Celtic mythology. In the first book in my series, The Magic Knot, King Esras is mentioned. When I was asked to contribute a novella to The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance, I decided to give him his own story. A combination of Celtic fairytale and paranormal romance, the book is based on Irish mythology about the sea god Lir and his rainbow people.

Summary

Kate’s grandmother’s dying wish is that she should return her pearl pendant to Knocknapog, the tiny fishing village in Ireland where she was born. As production assistant at a television company, Kate is able to book a shoot at the village’s mysterious Midsummer Feast of Beauty. She and her colleagues stay with the wealthy local landowner Esras Mac Lir, who organizes the midsummer celebration. But he is not what she expects. With his unearthly silver hair and emerald eyes, there is something magical about him, something compelling and seductive that mesmerizes her and invades her dreams. And when he claims to have been waiting for her all his life, she doesn't know whether he's a romantic, or living in a fantasy world—until he proves that they share a magical heritage and that she truly is his Feast of Beauty Queen.

(Originally published in The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance.)

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Excerpt

County Cork, Ireland

Chapter One

Surprisingly, wrap-around sunglasses looked rather good with a top hat, but Kate wasn't sure about bare feet and board shorts with a tailcoat. The combination made the man look only half dressed. But he was so mouth-wateringly gorgeous she decided the fewer clothes he wore the better.

He stood on the front steps of Knock House and raised his arms to attract attention. The gesture was unnecessary. Every woman in the vicinity was already staring at him, along with most of the men.

"Welcome to my domain, my friends. I'm Esras Mac Lir, descendant of the sea god Lir, and Fairy King of County Cork and the Celtic Sea."

Incredulous silence fell over the crowd, broken only by the birds twittering in the roses covering the front of the Georgian mansion, and the distant rumble of waves breaking against the rocky headland on which the house stood.

"I'm delighted to welcome the London based Barthurst Production Company into my domain. They're going to film an episode of their award-winning travel show Claudia's Magic Carpet at my Midsummer Feast of Beauty. I can assure you that tomorrow's feast will be a magical experience for everyone."

Peter Hurst, the producer and Kate's boss, leaned closer to Kate and whispered, "You sure this guy isn't a retired rock star? He's got that touch of megalomania that usually goes with too much money and a lifetime of sex, booze, and drugs."

"As far as I know he's just a wealthy eccentric with an interest in Irish mythology. He sounded fairly normal on the phone when I set up the shoot," she replied. Although she'd have booked to film at the Feast of Beauty no matter how weird he'd sounded. She had her own reasons for wanting to visit this part of Ireland.

"If the Barthurst TV people would like to come forward, my right-hand man Faelan will show you to your rooms." Esras then doffed his dove-gray top hat and bowed with an elegant sweep of his arm. He sported just-got-out-of-bed hair, as though a woman had been clutching it in the throes of passion. The spiky strands were light brown, but as he moved, his hair gleamed with unusual silver highlights.

Peter started forward while Kate hung back, checking her clipboard for the long list of jobs that she as production assistant had to complete before the shoot the following morning. She had at least two hours of typing to do, what with Claudia's script changes and the shot cards. And it was vital she found time this evening to go down to the little village of Knocknapog half-a-mile away.

Her grandmother had been born in the village and had lived there until she'd married and moved to England. Kate cradled the teardrop pearl pendant her grandmother had left her, rubbing her thumb over the smooth pink surface. Grandma's last wish had been that Kate should bring the pearl back here. The trouble was, Kate had no idea what she was supposed to do with it now she had arrived.

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