Take the Heat Anthology Tour

Take the Heat

by Skye Warren

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BLURB:

The ultimate bad boys, criminals capture our attention and awaken our darkest desires. Celebrate the illicit in this romantic suspense anthology, where handcuffs are used for more than play. These stories are shocking, sexy, and thought-provoking.

In New York Times Bestselling Author Skye Warren’s Magnolia Hotel, meet the heroine who pays her brother’s debt to a loan shark—who happens to be her childhood crush. Find out if the jury made the right decision in Acquitted by award-winning author Giselle Renarde. Explore a dark and sensual psychology with New York Times Bestselling Author Pam Godwin in Unlawful Seduction.

Ride the edge of desire and see if you can TAKE THE HEAT…

Skye Warren – Magnolia Hotel

Cynthia Richards – Captivated

Pam Godwin – Unlawful Seduction

Sheri Savill – Slipknot

Shoshanna Evers – This Might Hurt A Bit

Candy Quinn – The Bombshell

Tamsin Flowers – Playing with Fire

Elizabeth Coldwell – Disposing of Donnie

Audrey Lusk – Surprise Witness

Trent Evans – Last Day

Giselle Renarde – Acquitted

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM “SLIPKNOT” BY SHERI SAVILL

Leather. Sexy and tight. Perfect. Yep, this is the one. This is the one I’m taking.

Mia took a deep breath and, in one smooth move, rolled and tucked the metal hanger—and the soft black leather miniskirt still clipped to it—into her black shoulder bag. Right over the open zipper and down into the gaping hole at the top of the purse, all without a hitch.

Thank God the fucking price tag didn’t catch on the zipper track.

Once it was all pushed down inside the darkness of her purse, she rested the crook of her elbow over the opening again, for extra camouflage, in case prying eyes should happen to look too closely as she left the shop. Four hundreds dollars’ worth? really? The tiny skirt was easy enough to conceal. It was an obscene price for a leather mini, anyway, she rationalized. Even for a skirt as sexy and well-made as this one, that was too much money. She could smell the richness of fine leather wafting from the other skirts still on the rack in front of her as she glanced sideways again. All quiet. Not a soul in the shop but her and the guy behind the counter. And he was still gone.

God, that was really just too easy.

She felt her lips pursing together a little in spite of herself, barely suppressing her self-satisfaction. Still, no reason to be cocky. She’d planned this carefully enough in advance. Stupid thieves were always being caught because they didn’t think things through, or they became too brazen, too greedy. The news was full of dumb criminal stories. She’d resolved not to be one of them.

Mia shifted her weight a little in her black heels and then took a few small steps down the aisle toward the ball gags, crops, hoods…glancing sideways again toward the cash register, now bathed in a soft greenish glow of a banker’s lamp on the counter. The dimmer-than-usual lighting meant that Flesh Factory—the largest kinky sex emporium and BDSM equipment supplier in the city—was empty, about to close for the night—which was exactly what she had counted on. But even as the last customer of the day, she’d taken no chances and sent the lone employee—friendly, handsome, ever-so-helpful “Michael”—on an errand to the stockroom to check for fence-net thigh-highs she knew he wouldn’t find. They didn’t even carry them anymore. She knew the stripper-wear section well and pretty much owned one of everything they sold by now.

She continued to pretend to browse, exhaling another slow breath. It was exciting, breaking the law. She’d done it. And now the leather skirt was hers. All that was left to do was make a hasty yet friendly exit shortly after Michael returned, apologetic and empty-handed, from the goose chase she’d sent him on.

The short, low-cut white dress she’d worn tonight—no bra, of course—had been extra insurance that she’d have his cooperation. The idea was to disengage his brain while engaging his cock and she noted earlier, with pleasure, that her chosen outfit had indeed done just that. The bulge in Michael’s jeans confirmed it more than once, even before she’d made a point of bending to examine sale items set on a low shelf. Oh, but men were so easily entranced, so easily guided. And she knew now that her bare pussy and the twin curves of her ass just peeking from under the tight white fabric of her dress had done the trick with Michael. Plus it just made her feel sexy and like a bad girl; the playful exhibitionist side of her submissive tendencies, she supposed, now helping her steal a skirt.

Her thoughts snapped back to the present. A voice. Michael’s.

“Sorry…Mia, was it? Looks like we don’t even carry those anymore. I can call the supplier tomorrow, if you want, and see if we can special order them. That could take a few weeks, though. You probably don’t want to wait ...” He shrugged and turned a key in the register, locking it for the night.

She smiled at him.

“Oh no…Michael. Sorry for the trouble. I just thought—”

He was still aroused, his erection huge and straining in his jeans, and he was making no effort to hide it now. He’d come around the counter and was looking her up and down, his dark eyes taking in her nipples, the corners of his mouth turning up, approving. His eyes then moved down to her long tanned legs in the black heels.

“Love the white dress.”

“Thanks. Look, it’s late and I’ve already kept you from closing up on time. I gotta get going. But thanks, again, for checking on the fence-net stockings.” Her elbow squeezed the shoulder bag in closer to her body as she turned toward the exit. Another rush of satisfaction flooded her. She’d just scored a premium leather miniskirt and was about to walk right out the door with it and leave a hunky guy with a huge hard-on.

“You have a good night, then” she heard his husky voice calling behind her. The red neon of the “open” sign in the front window flickered a little, buzzing, and then went black. Maybe he couldn’t wait to get her out of the store. Probably wants to jerk off.

Her hand closed around the doorknob when she sensed someone moving up quickly behind her. Before she could turn, a large hand encircled her throat as an arm clamped around her belly, pulling her backward. It happened so fast.

A deep male voice—not Michael’s—breathed into her ear.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

EDITOR BIO

Skye Warren is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of dark romantic fiction. Her books are raw, sexual and perversely romantic.

Visit Skye’s website for her current booklist:

http://www.skyewarren.com/www.skyewarren.com

Follow Skye Warren on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/skye_warren

Like Skye Warren on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/skyewarren

The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter between this tour and the Review Tour, here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wildflower Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

Wildflower

by Alexandra Forry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

In this beautiful and moving story of love, growth, and redemption among the stunning red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, Sydney—a teenaged Army orphan—discovers that love knows no bounds and life has many twists and turns of fate. After she is forced to move in with her late mother’s sister Blanche and Blanche’s abusive alcoholic husband Dean, Sidney finds purpose and friendship in Lexy, the daughter of Max Heller the City’s most prominent widower and business magnate. Unknowingly, the girls’ antics awaken Blanche’s lost and suppressed passions and stirs Max’s long-thwarted drive to build a loving and complete family. What emerges is the wonderfully successful Epicurian Café, the brainchild of Blanche and Sydney actively encouraged by Max and Lexy. The Café quickly becomes a center of the community, the start of a new life for Blanche and Sydney, and a chance for Max and Lexy to discover true love and the meaning of commitment. An emotional roller-coaster with its exciting twists and turns, Wildflower is an exhilarating and satisfying read

.~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. How did you get started writing romance/erotica? A very good question… I have been a hopeless romantic, always saw or came up with a romance storyline. I think that I’ve shocked my parents when I told them that I want to be a romance author when I grew up. I never thought of writing any other genre but romance.

2. What was your inspiration for your latest book? Wildflower is actually base off of my grandmother’s sandwich shop that she had and growing up with all stories from her I was inspire to write it and turn into a book. I did make up the main male lover to make into a romance, set it in Sedona AZ, and such.

3. Vacation-so elusive for us writers-where would you go if you could actually take the time off? I love to go to San Diego in the summer time when I can. I vacation all the time in my writing, LOL! 

4. Plotter or pantster? I’m panster 100% I sit down and let the words flow out of my fingertips. I tried to plot a million times but when I am writing the story end up taking a better turn then what I’ve plan. Like I have been plotting wildflower for years now, and there are a few parts in the book that I didn’t plan at all.

5. Name three things on your desk right now. My Computer, an Easter egg that I’ve got from my dear friend when I was fourteen and a few bucks, yes they're all on my desk.

6. Is there any kind of music you like to listen to while you write? I love to write to all kinds of music, it’s really what kind of scene that I’m writing or what type of mood I’m in. When I was writing the scenes from Timeless Endings that was set in the 1970’s I listen to 70’s music all the time, still do.

7. Pizza or salad? (or both for balance?)  Both, I love pizza and salad.

8. What movie have you watched lately that has stayed with you? Oh god, Dick Tracy, the 1990 movie With Warren Beatty, Madonna, and Al Pacino, a very great movie. I’ve listened to a song from the movie every day since I’ve saw it for the first time. Besides I love the scene’s between Warren Beatty and Madonna.

9. Favorite book so far in 2014? I must confess that 2014 have been a very crazy year for me to sit down to read a book and enjoy it. 

10. What are you working on next? I’m very much shut-lipped on all of my books and only my wonderful editor knows what I’m working on next.

Excerpt Three:

“I must tell you something. I usually don’t do this.”

         

Do what, Blanche?”

         

“Drink wine under the stars by a creek with a man who I have just met.”

        

“But that’s part of what makes life worth living.”   

Before Blanche could reply, Annette rounded the corner and joined them.

“There you are; I’ve been looking for the two of you everywhere.” Annette stopped to catch her breath.  “What is it?” Blanche asked.

“Blanche, I hate to do this to you, but I need to go home now. Jordan called to say his school project requires him to light a fire, and I don’t want him playing with a flame when I’m not home.”

“I can certainly understand that.” Blanche looked at her friend and back to Max, then she stood up. Max didn’t want Blanche to go, but realized they had to leave.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Max. Goodbye,” she said.

“Good night,” Annette told Max.

For the first time in his life he was not sure what to say. Blanche and Annette started to walk away.  Annette went on about her son.

“Blanche, wait! If you want to stay longer I can drive you home, if you’d like,” Max said standing up from the table and walking over to them.

Blanche stopped walking and turned around to face Max. He could tell she was thinking about it.

“I would like that. Annette, do you mind?” Blanche asked her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Alexandra Forry was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has Cerebral Palsy but that doesn't stop her from doing what she wants! Omerta Affair was her first novel, then she came out with Timeless Endings, which is the same story line as Omerta Affair but aimed as a woman’s romance. Alexandra is currently working on her fourth novel. She enjoys being a member of the Las Vegas Romance Writers as well as RWA. http://www.alexandraforry.com/

LINKS:

 http://www.alexandraforry.com/

http://alexandraforryblog.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Forry/218124628245982

https://twitter.com/forryalexandra

WHERE TO BUY:

http://www.amazon.com/Wildflower-1-Alexandra-Forry/dp/1496094700/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394045879&sr=1-1&keywords=Alexandra+Forry

Leave a comment for a chance to win a $15 gift card!

 http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/virtual-book-tour-wildflower-by.html

Deceitful Truths

Deceitful Truths (Caspian Wine Series Book 2)

by Maggie Thom

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BLURB:

He created a legacy that no one could imagine...

Tarin has lost a week of her life. She doesn't know what happened but not long after she returns to work she is suspended from her job. Confused and pregnant, she quits and agrees to marry Stephen, only to be thrown into a whole new nightmare. Desperate, she grabs her son and moves across the country to get away from her abusive husband and to avoid her unforgiving father. Thrilled at getting the job at Knights Associates, where she'll help them solve cyber crimes but also be able to use their connections and resources to find her own answers. Who stole a week of her life? And will they return to steal the secret she is now protecting?

Graham and his partner Guy, can't keep up with the demand. They are being flooded with requests at Knights Associates, where they offer a combined service of private investigator and that of solving cyber crimes. It appears that someone wants to get their attention as not only have they been hacked but Guy's family business, Caspian Winery, seems to be under attack as well. Hiring an assistant seems to be the answer but when Graham discovers she's been accessing their high-security accounts, he realizes the cause of their predicament might be closer then he thought. Is there new assistant behind the problems they're having? If she's so innocent why does someone want to abduct her?

Tarin and Graham discover that although they don't trust each other, they are forced to work together to solve several seemingly unrelated crimes that may lead to one disastrous conclusion. Can they figure it all out before Tarin's nightmare plays out? An eighty year old woman pays with her life? Or before Tarin learns a truth that may seal her fate and be the one secret that will keep her and Graham apart as neither one of them may be able to forgive or forget...

(Caspian Wine Series, Book Two - Standalone but is a Sequel/Companion Novel to Captured Lies)

Maggie Thom’s talent for mixing mystery, intrigue and romance becomes a masterpiece begging to be read. Dii at Tome Tender

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Three:

The birth certificate was a bust. Not only had the site kicked her out but she didn't have her mom's name, never mind her maiden name. How was she supposed to get that?

Most people would already know that.

She bet even Bill knew who his parents were. Maybe it really was time for her to contact her father... to get some answers... to stand up to him. Her hands trembled as she ran them through her hair. Her fingers slid through the short strands so fast, it caught her off guard. As a child she used to spend hours laying on her bed and playing with her hair. It had been one of the things that she could do without having to ask for permission. It had just become one of those habits that was her go to when she needed to think or to de-stress.

The little body beside her snuggled into her side and his little hand came up to tickle her under her chin. She giggled and then he pounced on her.

"Ooommph."

"Got you, Mommy."

"Help me. Help me." She poked her fingers into his sides. He exploded into laughter while he squirmed. A day of quiet had done him wonders. There was still a bit of pink to his cheeks but the tooth that had been causing him so much grief seemed to have poked through the skin and wasn't hurting as much.

They play wrestled for a good twenty minutes until they were both pooped out.

"Honey, I have an errand to run this morning. So we'll go to the zoo this afternoon. Okay?"

"Zoo, Mommy, zoo."

"Yeah, sweety. Soon."

After she put him in Kim's care, she got ready to go meet the woman, who'd responded she'd be willing to meet. The reality of what she was hoping would happen made her hands shake so bad that she could barely do up the buttons on her blouse. Once dressed, she opened her sock drawer and pulled out the sheet of paper she was sure would lead her to some answers. Could the police have gotten any fingerprints off of it? Had she made a big mistake by not going to them?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I write because...
I don't know what else I'd do with all those ideas and characters that visit me on a regular basis begging to have their story told. I have to give them life somehow. J I truly love writing. It's as natural to me as getting up in the morning. It also gives me freedom, it allows me to be transported to anywhere I want to go, be with whom I want to, do what I want… It's such a freeing way to express all emotions, all wants, all needs and to really help put things in perspective and to blow things apart. It gives me a totally different way of looking at life.

2. What kinds of characters are your most favorite to write about and why?

I love to write strong female characters that know how to look after themselves but they do need to learn to trust and to be able to ask for help. They have problems just like everyone else but they don't let that define who they are and they want answers and will do what it takes to get them.

3. Plotter or panster?

I do both. I tend to do a bit of plotting but when I get writing often the story takes on a life of its own. Each time I walk away I think about the story and where it's gone and where it needs to go. It's really when I do the editing that I really review the plotting and ensure that it makes sense, goes where I want it to go or where the characters need it to go and I make sure that there are no plot holes and all is tied up by the end. I make sure there are enough clues throughout to hint at who might be the guilty party and why.  But I try to ensure you won't figure it out until the end.

4. If I were your favorite cookie, what flavor would I be?
You'd be coconut macaroon.

5. Heels or flats?
Flats.

6. What was the toughest scene you've ever written and why?
I think one of the toughest scenes that I wrote actually was when Steve expects Tarin in his bed. It actually made me cringe to write but the good thing about that scene was it was the impetus for Tarin to get her act together.

7. What was the spiciest scene you have ever written?

Let's just say it involved a waterfall and lagoon, a hot guy and girl, tender kisses, electrifying caresses, the added excitement of being caught but that didn't stop the long, slow lovemaking.

8. What's next on your writerly horizon?

Deadly Ties - What connection could there be between a twenty year-old murder and a thirty year-old murder and a present day attack on Kyara's mother? Did her grandmother falsely go to jail for twenty-years?

Split Seconds - Twins sisters meet for the first time as adults and soon discover that someone has gone to great lengths to keep them apart and will even kill to ensure that continues. 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Award winning author, Maggie Thom, took the challenge and leapt off, leaving a fulltime, twenty year career in management, to write full time. After publishing her first suspense/thriller book Captured Lies, October 2012, she published her second novel, Tainted Waters, April, 2013. Tainted Waters went on to win 2013 Suspense and Thriller Book of the Year through Turning the Pages Magazine. She is excited to publish her third novel, Deceitful Truths, March 2014. An avid reader and writer her whole life, she decided to break the monotony of wishing to be an author by making it happen. She is an avid nature lover and likes nothing better than to take a book, hike to a remote spot by a river or waterfalls and read. Married to her best friend, she is learning that humor, love and patience help her navigate her way through her twins’ teen years. Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape. "Maggie Thom writes a fast paced thriller laced with romance that keeps the reader interested and on edge!" InDtale Magazine

She can be found at:

Website: www.maggiethom.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormaggiethom

Twitter: www.twitter.com/maggiethom2

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6549592.Maggie_Thom

google +:  http://google.com/+MaggieThom

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/maggiethom2/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18744447-deceitful-truths

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Deceitful-Truths-Caspian-Wine-Series-ebook/dp/B00ISY1JS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394041852&sr=8-1&keywords=deceitful+truths

Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Deceitful-Truths-Caspian-Wine-Maggie-ebook/dp/B00ISY1JS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394044511&sr=8-1&keywords=deceitful+truths

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deceitful-truths-maggie-thom/1118861211?ean=2940045730655

Diesel:  http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000413274/Thom-Maggie-Deceitful-Truths/1.html

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/deceitful-truths/id830989001?mt=11

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/deceitful-truths

Smashwords:    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/413274

Maggie will be awarding a $15 GC to Amazon or B&N to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a ecopy of Captured Lies (Caspian Wine Series Book One) to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour.

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/02/virtual-book-tour-deceitful-truths-by.html

Timeless Endings Virtual Book Tour

Timeless Endings

by Alexandra Forry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Evelyn turned toward the lights of the city. The view was breathtaking as she stood looking down on Las Vegas, lovingly wrapped in Tony’s arms. It was a moment she would keep deep in her heart, forever. “Look at this—The City of Gold!” Evelyn exclaimed as Tony kissed her forehead. “And it’s all ours, Eve!”

Thus begins a heartwarming and harrowing tale of life and forbidden love lost to one generation and found in the next. Caught between a turbulent love triangle that shook the very foundations of the Mafia’s Las Vegas Empire, and a deadly struggle for wealth and power, Mob Boss and “King of Las Vegas” Tony Torino, his mistress hustler and onetime showgirl Evelyn Rosenberg, and her husband top Chicago mobster Charlie “Gus” Rosenberg live and love in defiance of the violent and unforgiving laws of the Mafia. All that remains is Evelyn’s carefully preserved diary left by Gus to be discovered by his daughter Adriane and Tony’s son Victor as they pack up her late father’s belongings. Through the vivid and brilliant use of flashbacks, juxtaposed with current events, we witness one of the most beautiful and ill-fated love stories of the last century. As Victor, a forest ranger who fled his family’s Mob past, and Adriane, an attorney being pressured to work for the Mafia, read through the diary old hatreds and new alliances rise leaving us to wonder if history will repeat itself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Three:

“Vic, you can’t just walk into Sonny Graziano’s office!” Al said, trying to get Victor to see reason.

“I’m going in, no matter what happens!”

“You’re not thinking right, my boy!”

“Yes I am! You can’t stop me! I've never fulfilled the vendetta for my father’s death!”

“Let’s grab a drink and talk about this some more,” Al begged him.

“Why? I finally have Adriane at last and now look at this mess… Adriane knows that Adam is our brother, and on top of everything else, Lisa is pregnant!”

“You’re teasing me?”

“Nope, I wish, but my mind is made up! My gun is loaded and I’m ready to kill.”

“Wait, you don’t have to go in there!”

“That would make me not my father’s son! Dad would do the same thing as me.”

“I beg to differ.  He would have a plan and a few cards up his sleeve.”

“Excuse me for not being my father! You have no room to talk, Uncle Al.  You ran as far as you could from this Mafia stuff.” Victor pointed out, tired of living in his father’s grand shadow.

“I would be dead now if I hadn’t run! I thought you wanted nothin’ to do with this kind of life?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I write because... I wanted to be an author when I grew up. I set a goal that if I didn’t get a book out, by last year, that I’ll find another way to make a living. I’m proud to say that I have three books out, now. I love writing because to me, it’s like watching a movie as I type the words down. It’s very relaxing to write and disappear in another world… That’s why I love to write.    

2. What kinds of characters are your most favorite to write about and why? That’s a hard one… If you read my books, I have all kinds of characters from a Mob Boss to an outgoing rich teenage girl who makes you laugh. I have to say that my most favorite characters to write about are mobsters. I’m fascinated with them, the lifestyle that they lived, and the price they paid for it. I’m not trying to glorify mobsters, I'm telling it how it was back then. It’s a part of our US history.

3. Plotter or panster? I never heard of the plotter or punster term before now. Thanks to Google, one of my main writing tools, I found out.  I’m panster 100%.  I sit down and let the words flow out of my fingertips. I tried to plot a million times but when I am writing the story end up taking a better turn then what I’ve plan. Like I have been plotting my other book Wildflower for years now, and there are a few parts in the book that I didn’t plan at all.

 
4. If I were your favorite cookie, what flavor would I be? You have to be a cookie dough. I just love cookie dough. I know it’s bad but in my home sometime the cookie dough might not make it to the kitchen oven.

5. Heels or flats? Flat’s, because of my balance I can’t wear high heels or I fall fat on my nose.

6. What was the toughest scene you've ever written and why? In one of my books there was a hard scene that I wrote, where a mother knew that she might never see her daughter again. I cried when I was writing it.

7. What was the spiciest scene you have ever written? Well… The main love scene in Timeless Endings is the spiciest scene that I had ever written. Let’s say a lot of research went into that scene.

8. What's next on your writerly horizon? If I tell you, than it will not be a surprise! Hopefully I want to do a sequel to Timeless Endings because everyone is asking for it.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Alexandra Forry was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has Cerebral Palsy but that doesn't stop her from doing what she wants! Omerta Affair was her first novel, then she came out with Timeless Endings, which is the same story line as Omerta Affair but aimed as a woman’s romance. Alexandra is currently working on her fourth novel. She enjoys being a member of the Las Vegas Romance Writers as well as RWA. http://www.alexandraforry.com/

LINKS

 http://www.alexandraforry.com/ 

http://alexandraforryblog.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandra-Forry/218124628245982

https://twitter.com/forryalexandra

WHERE TO BUY:

http://www.amazon.com/Timeless-Endings-great-beauty-danger/dp/1496069994/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394493808&sr=1-2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/timeless-endings-alexandra-forry/1118890787?ean=2940149364503

Leave a comment for a chance to win a $15 gift card!

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/virtual-book-tour-timeless-endings-by.html

Hungry Heart Virtual Book Tour

Hungry Heart

by Meg Benjamin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Peace, love, and barbecue—with a big order of sexy on the side.

Sous chef Darcy Cunningham is less than entranced with small-town Konigsburg’s obsession with barbecue. But her future career as a chef de cuisine requires expanding her culinary horizons, so she talks the Barbecue King, a.k.a. Harris Temple, into taking her on as his apprentice.

However, learning Harris’s professional secrets wasn’t supposed to include falling for his spicy blend of smoky sexiness and laid-back charm.

Chico Burnside specializes in flying under Konigsburg’s small-town radar, but lately life has been going a little too smoothly, even for him. Hoping to shake things up a bit, he talks Harris into teaming up for Konigsburg’s first barbecue cook-off. But once shy scientist Andy Wells catches his eye, Chico’s got more on his mind than brisket. Like enticing her out of her shell to show her just how tenderly a big guy can love.

As the competition ignites, so does the romance. Until a natural disaster threatens to derail Konigsburg’s dream team before the grills even get good and warmed up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Three:

“So maybe I’ll hire you away from the Rose.” He rubbed his thumb across her palm, slowly, back and forth, a ribbon of heat against her skin.

Her throat tightened. “You can’t afford me,” she whispered.

“Sure I can. I’ll pay you in ’cue and loving. How can you pass that up?”

She glanced at him quickly. He was smiling, but there was something behind it. Hell, what do I do now?

She licked her lips. “’Cue and loving? Sounds like a plan.”

“I’m not kidding, Darcy,” he said slowly. “Which is rare, believe me. But this time it’s true. I’m not kidding.”

She exhaled a long, shuddering breath. “I don’t… What does that mean?”

“It means I love you, toots. What did you think it meant?” His hand closed more firmly on hers.

She took another deep breath. Suddenly her chest felt way too tight. For a scary moment she thought she might pass out. Terrific. Love means being unconscious.

“Darce?” He sounded concerned. “I didn’t mean to give you a panic attack. Just relax, okay?”

“How can I relax?” she said through gritted teeth. “You said you love me. Nobody has ever said that before. Hell, I’ve never said that before.”

He paused. “Are you saying it now?”

Oh god, oh god, oh god. “Yeah. Okay. Yes. I’m saying it now.”

There was another long pause. “It might be nice if you actually said it, you know.”

She took another deep breath, then blew it out. “I love you.”

He narrowed his eyes. “That sounds like you’re in pain.”

“I am in pain,” she muttered. “I’m scared to death.”

“Come here.” He held out his arms to her. After a moment, she pushed herself to her feet, then dropped onto the lounge chair with him, feeling his arms close tight around her shoulders.

“No reason to be scared, Darce,” he murmured. “It won’t hurt. I promise.”

It already hurts. But she didn’t say it. Instead, she sank deeper into his arms, closing her eyes tight. If this was a dream, maybe she’d wake up happy.

1. How did you get started writing romance/erotica?

I think it was when I started reading romance. I’d tried writing mysteries, but I was always more interested in the relationship between the h/h than whodunit. When I started reading authors like Linda Howard and Elizabeth Lowell, I thought Okay, that’s it! That’s what I want to write. I think you have to really love the genre you write, and I really do.

2. What was your inspiration for your latest book?

You can’t go anywhere in Texas without running into barbecue—it’s like the official state food. After writing books about wine (Long Time Gone), coffee and bar food (Brand New Me), and a serious gourmet restaurant (Fearless Love), barbecue just seemed like the logical next step.

3. Vacation-so elusive for us writers-where would you go if you could actually take the time off?

I actually do take time off regularly since writing is my full-time job and I can do it anywhere. I love, love, love western Colorado—Crested Butte, Telluride, Durango, Pagosa Springs, etc., etc.—so I’d probably go there. I know it’s not Paris, but it makes me happy.

4. Plotter or pantster?

Plotter, sort of. I like to lay out the direction of the plot before I start writing so I don’t end up in blind corners, but it’s more like a suggestion than a writing diagram! I frequently change things as I write, or as I revise.

5. Name three things on your desk right now.

My MacBook Air, my Samhain mouse pad, and my Logitech mouse. I used to have a fancy Apple mouse that never worked right, but I finally bought an inexpensive Logitech baby, and I absolutely love it.

6. Is there any kind of music you like to listen to while you write?

I need quiet while I write, unfortunately. So no music, no television, nothing but silence. Boring, but it helps me think.

7. Pizza or salad? (or both for balance?)

It depends. I’m trying to lose weight, so I go with salad most of the time, but I have pizza once a month or so, particularly flat bread since I can kid myself into thinking it’s healthier.

8. What movie have you watched lately that has stayed with you?

I’m more into binge-watching television than movies. I love both The Good Wife and Scandal, but for different reasons. TGW has all those realistic relationships that can just break your heart (especially lately). Scandal is the opposite—totally over the top. But they have so much fun you’re willing to let them do it.

9. Favorite book so far in 2014?

Sherry Thomas’s Luckiest Lady In London. I absolutely love her stuff.

10. What are you working on next?

I’ve got a couple of trilogies set in Colorado that I’m trying to finish. I love Texas (and I lived there for over twenty years), but I live in Colorado now and I’d like to do some writing about all the neat things I see around here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Meg Benjamin is an author of contemporary romance. Her Konigsburg series for Samhain Publishing is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Medium trilogy for Berkley InterMix is set in San Antonio’s King William District. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award for Contemporary Romance, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Indie Press Romance, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers and the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers. Meg lives in Colorado with her DH and two rather large Maine coon kitties (well, partly Maine Coon anyway). Her Web site is http://www.MegBenjamin.com and her blog is http://megbenj1.wordpress.com/. You can follow her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/megbenjamin/), and Twitter (http://twitter.com/megbenj1). Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.

 Meg will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour and herreviews tour, here.

 Follow the tour for more chances to win!

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/03/virtual-book-tour-hungry-heart-by-meg.html

Into the Darkness Virtual Book Tour

INTO THE DARKNESS

by K.F. Breene

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BLURB:

I’d always been different. I saw objects in the night where others saw emptiness. Large, human shaped shadows, fierce yet beautiful, melting into the darkness. I collected secrets like other women collected bells; afraid to fully trust lest my oddities be exposed.

Until I saw him. He’d been gliding down the street, unshakable confidence in every step. It wasn’t just that he was breathtakingly handsome with perfect features. Something about him drew me. Sucked my focus to him and then tugged at my body. As his eyes met mine, I was entrapped.

No one had noticed him. He’d been right there, just beyond the light, but only I had perceived.

I had to know if he was real. Or maybe I really was crazy. And even when my secret box was blasted wide open, dangers hurled at me like throwing knives, I couldn’t stop until I unraveled his true identity.

I just had to know.

“She was fated to live.”

“Then why must you save her?”

“Often Fate is struck down by dumb luck.”

Buy  links:

BN  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/into-the-darkness-kf-breene/1118174619?ean=9781494968526

Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Into-Darkness-1-K-F-Breene-ebook/dp/B00HZLCINE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391690818&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+darkness+breene

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Three:

Stefen approached the wide bed, looking down on the limp human, her angelic face devoid of color. Her arms rested on her chest, her body so still she looked dead.

A shot of fear pierced Stefen’s chest. “Will she make it?”

Luke’s head shook before he sighed. “She shouldn’t have made it last time. Yet she did. Something is holding her to this life.”

“My blood helped last time. Will it help again?”

Luke sighed, raising his eyebrows in a facial shrug. “If you can get her to drink, she might pull out of it. Might. She should be dead already; she’s largely catatonic. But…well, she survived last time, so who’s to say?”

Stefen nodded, allowing himself to bestow his gaze back to this woman that had a firm hold on his vitals for reasons he couldn’t understand or explain. The only thing he knew with certainty was that she could not die.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A wine country native, K.F. Breene moved to San Francisco for college just shy of a decade ago to pursue a lifelong interest in film. As she settled into the vibrant city, it quickly became apparent that, while she thought making and editing films was great fun, she lacked cinematic genius. For that reason, her career path quickly changed direction. Her next goal was a strange childhood interest, conjured at the dining room table while filling out a form. For some reason, her young self wanted to be an accountant. Thinking on it now, she often wonders how she had any friends. Regardless, it was the direction she finally took.

While she could wrangle numbers with the best of 'em, and even though she wore the crown as the most outspoken, belligerent accountant in the world, her mind got as stuffy as her daily routine. It was here that she dusted off her creative hat and began writing. Now she makes movies in her head, not worried about lighting, shutter speed or editing equipment. Turns out, a computer is much easier to manage than a crowd of actors. She should know, she was an actor at one time.

 Website: KFBreene.com

Twitter: @KFBreene

Facebook for friending: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005776656934

Facebook author page (for liking): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKF

Enter to win a $50 Gift card! Follow the blog and check out the rest of the tour for more chances to win!

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/12/virtual-book-tour-into-darkness-by-kf.html