Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Tuesday Teaser - Simple Treasures from Alex Bourne

Alexa Bourne has a sexy new book that is a must have for the holiday season. 
Check out this hot new romantic suspense.
Take-charge bodyguard Colin Munro believes working for the International Protective Network will be the perfect occupation for him. Unfortunately, his trial assignment is protecting a woman who has no intention of blindly following orders. Aye, he’ll bring the bonnie lass in line because there’s no way he’ll allow her to ruin his chance of securing his dream job.

Physically and emotionally scarred during her stint as a U.S. soldier, Joanna Grainger wants nothing more than to enjoy life. New Year's Eve in Edinburgh marks the beginning of her transformation. But when she witnesses a crime no one believes occurred, her plans come to a screeching halt. To make matters worse, her sexy but headstrong bodyguard has no compassion for her or the victim.
As danger hunts them during one of the busiest times of the year, Joanna must convince Colin she's a worthy partner. But first, can she convince herself?

Excerpt:
Joanna bolted upright. Darkness wrapped her in its hideous embrace. And silence reigned. Her heart raced. She flattened her hands on the mattress beneath her.

Mattress. Bed. Colin’s hotel room.

Rustling sounds came from the floor. The bedside lamp flickered on. Colin propped himself up, one knee bent and an arm dangling over it. He squinted against the brightness. “Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” She brushed her fingers under her eyes.

“Don’t be daft, lass.”

“I had a bad dream.” She smoothed her hair back off her face. Moisture beaded at her temples.

“Here we call it a nightmare.” He smiled, and at once she relaxed her shoulders.

“Americans do, too.” After another deep breath, she said, “I’ll be all right.” Once her heart rate slowed to normal. With her forearm, she wiped perspiration from her forehead.

He stood, padded into the bathroom, and ran the faucet. When he returned, he sat beside her, tucked his finger under her chin, and pressed the cloth to her cheek. The cool moisture soothed her burning skin.

She reached up and covered his hand with hers. “I can do that.”

“I know.” He brushed her fingers away. “But you’ll not.”

After a few seconds, he moved the wet towel across her forehead and to her other cheek.
When he reached her neck, she sighed and closed her eyes for a few valuable seconds.
“Thank you.”

His gentle caress reminded her how much she’d missed simple comfort…from anyone.

“You’re welcome.” The cloth soon disappeared. “Now, will you tell me what you dreamed about?”

“Mark Rawlings. I dreamed I was back in the train car and he was bleeding out on the floor. The guy with him faded into the background, but I could see the man’s hands and lips moving. I couldn’t hear anything, though. Then somebody jabbed me with something, and my blood drained out of my body, but there was nothing I could do. The guy standing stayed in front of me. There was another voice, but the words were garbled.”

“Did you see anyone else?”

“No, but at the end I wasn’t paying attention. I was losing consciousness.” She tilted her head to one side and into her palm. “Colin, what am I going to do if we don’t find the professor’s attacker soon?”

We’ll take it one day at a time.” Strong, confident, able to leap tall buildings and all…even in the middle of the night.


Buy Links:

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Tuesday Teaser - New Release from Jeanette Collins


 Check out this teaser from the new book, Elena Chavez by Jeanette Collins.



Chapter One


       Deputy Dale Jackson watched rain course down the windows of the squad car, flow into the gutter to be carried to the arroyo then on to the Rio Grande. The little New Mexico town had sweltered in the heat for weeks, but today, clouds had built up over the mountains and the rain swept through the canyons to drench the dusty streets. He was relieved to see it, but it gave him a sense of isolation, of being left behind, and for a brief minute, left him uncertain he was in the proper place. Should he have stayed in Santa Fe? Was he doing the right thing with his life? He brushed these thoughts away. At midnight, he returned to the Sheriff’s Office, his shift over.
Dale sauntered in, where Agnes Peralta, the mature, brown-haired night secretary, waited to close up and go home.
“Hi, Dale. How about this rain?”
       “Good stuff, Agnes,” he answered. “Any messages for me?”
       She stood up from the desk and got her purse from a drawer. “Uh-uh. It’s been quiet tonight. The heat has slowed things down, but it will be jumping again once people get some moisture in their bones. Anything to report?”
       He shook his head. “No. I’ll see you to your car.”
       Agnes locked up, sprinted for her car, and heaved herself in. With a wave to him, she left. Odd that folks waited, anxious for rain, then acted like a drop or two would melt them like sugar.
       He got in his car and headed down Main Street toward home. At Apache, he was cut off by a speeding car and became instantly angry. He took off after them, noting the number on the Texas plate, a yellow Ford with a dented left rear fender. If he’d been in the squad car, he could have turned on the lights and siren and scared the hell out of the fool. At the next corner, he pulled in front of the Ford and got out, rose to his full height, and strolled toward the car, his hand on his pistol butt. He never knew what might happen.
       He made a circular motion with his other hand, and the woman lowered the window. Young, black hair, dark eyes, fear in her face.
       He leaned down. “Going mighty fast, ma’am. You almost hit me.”
       The rear seat was empty, and he glanced at her. “Let me see your license and registration, please.”
       She rummaged in her purse then in the glove compartment and handed him those. Texas, again. Elena Chavez, age twenty-five, no restrictions, about to expire.            Registration was current.
       He gave them back to her. “You have your insurance card?”
       She handed him a ragged piece of paper, also about to expire. “Have you been drinking?”
       “No, I haven’t,” she murmured, her sultry, smoky voice inviting.
       Practiced, he decided and regarded her with suspicion. “I’ll take your word for it. You’re headed for trouble if you don’t slow down.”
       She smiled. “I got lost.”
       Doubtful. “Are you living around here?”
       “On Second Street. In the apartments.”
       Tired, Dale worked to contain his irritation. “Well, can you make it the three blocks without tearing up the road?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll let it go this time, but if I catch you racing around town again, you’re gonna face a big ticket. And get your paperwork in order. Your documents are about to expire.”
       Her voice curled around him. “I’m sorry, Officer.”
       He regarded her for another moment. White blouse, cut low, lush breasts.            “Okay.”
       At his car, he shook the rain off his hat, and got in. As he approached the corner, she sped away.
       Damn, an outlaw! He had an impulse to chase after her and drag her off to jail. He saw his hands on her, those frightened eyes, her dark hair tumbling, and went on home. He would not forget Elena Chavez. She would turn up again, and he would be on guard.
***
      




#ElenaChavezNovel   #DecadentPublishing





Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Her Undercover Christmas

Let's kick off December with a holiday themed book from Decadent Publishing and Gina Wynn.


Blurb:
Christmas is approaching and Phil is a girl out to get what she wants—the life of her choosing. She wants it all: a good looking man, his money, and the respect he commands. She just needs to throw her lot in with her criminal cousins for one day. Long enough to pull off a theft and come to the attention of the man she desires. But the job goes wrong.

Bastian is a man on the run—from a lifestyle he never chose and can’t seem to escape. One last favour before he disappears for good, and then he can start afresh somewhere new. But the favour balloons into more than he anticipated, and suddenly there are two of them on the run, and two of them snowed in and hiding out in his one last safe place.

Can a woman who thinks she knows where she belongs help a man who has never really belonged anywhere?

Excerpt:
He shrugged her off his shoulder and stood her close to his body, hand clamped firmly across her mouth.

“What are you doing?” She’d get them both discovered, and the boys after him left Joe looking like a pre-schooler who’d missed naptime.

She shook her head and he loosened his grip as her teeth grazed his skin. “My mother told me stories about you.”

“Well, well. I didn’t know I was quite so widely known to have become part of London lore. That must put me in the same league as legends like the Tooth Fairy and Father Christmas. I’m honoured.” He kept his arm wrapped around her waist.

“More like Wee Willie Winkie or that thing lurking under the bed.” She bent her leg and stamped on his toe.

“Try harder,” he whispered into her ear. “Not only do I have boots with superior grip, they have steel toe caps. And, if you recall, you have bare feet.”

She wriggled, grinding her body against his. He looked into her eyes, focusing on the confusion he found there.

“If you do that again, I’ll kiss you.”

She stopped, and he would have plucked his words from the air to shove back down his throat…but the thought of her lips teased him, still. He let his hands fall away from her as sudden need pulsed through him.

“You’re free to go. Tell your mother you met her bogeyman, her personal Pitch Black, whatever. You won’t see me again. And I won’t hurt you.” He turned to go. “Or kiss you, so don’t worry.” His last words were a regrettable afterthought.

“I…I can’t. I don’t know how to get home. My cousins brought me.”

He held his sigh in his chest and faced her. “There’s a bus stop over there, and busses stop at it all day long.”

She cast a glare in his direction that almost had a look of Rosa, and huffed out a determined breath. “Well, good. I didn’t want you to carry me about, anyway, like some abducting, murdering, debauching Neanderthal. Yet, now you expect me to conjure a bus to get home, in a strange place, when it looks like we’re expecting snow. Some gentleman you are.”

“I never claimed to be that, JB.”

She closed her eyes and let out a low groan. “Stop calling me that stupid name. Phil. I’m Phil.”

He swallowed hard and took a small step away before recovering himself. Bollocks, and shit and bollocks again. Of course, Rosa didn’t have son. She had a daughter…with eyes so full of fear as they peered out from her darkened bedroom, until Rosa noticed her watching the adults talk and sent her back to bed, that the memory haunted him when he slept. He’d always lurked in the shadows of Rosa’s life, unwilling for anyone but Rosa to see him, especially anyone so scared. But…he juggled his thoughts. Time had moved on. He’d grown older…so had Rosa’s daughter. Twelve years had passed. She wasn’t eleven anymore, that much he could tell from her bad attitude, with no need for some of the more appealing visual cues. His gaze took her in once more, lingering a little longer than necessary on her curves. Rosa’s “beautiful” comment made a little more sense with the new information. He clenched his hands into fists, counting off the reasons not to embroil himself in the situation furthertoo young, Rosa’s daughter, and he’d think of a third.


He reached for her again, drawing her back into his arms and cradling her against his chest. “Well then, that changes everything. I thought you’d stood me up.”

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Undercover-Christmas-Gina-Wynn-ebook/dp/B0189S86UA/
http://www.amazon.com/Her-Undercover-Christmas-Gina-Wynn-ebook/dp/B0189S86UA/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-undercover-christmas-gina-wynn/1122995895?ean=2940157810504
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/her-undercover-christmas/id1060713093?mt=11
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-herundercoverchristmas-1933598-149.html
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/her-undercover-christmas
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/pubs_product_book_info/decadent-publishing-c-93/her-undercover-christmas-p-14364#.VlDG-4QyDdl

About Gina:
From a magical land of castles and kings (Okay, it’s England), Gina doesn’t feel as old as she looks, owns three children (aged 2, 5 and 7) who can’t be tamed, and writes in spare – usually stolen – time. She sometimes bakes—not always with quite the desired results, and has found the only solution to keeping the characters in her head quiet is to placate them with lots of other lovely books and worlds. As well as Her Undercover Christmas, Gina has written two other books. Her Dollmaker’s Desire is also published by Decadent Publishing, and What You Wish For is published by Three Worlds Press.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Support Small Business Saturday

American Express launched the first Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27, 2010. It encouraged people across the country to support small local businesses. In 2011, the day was officially recognized by the US Government. On the Saturday following Thanksgiving in 2012, 73.9 Million people shopped at small local businesses.

I'm a firm believer of supporting locally owned and small businesses. 
Please spread the word and support those in your community.
Many local chapters of groups such as Special Olympics, National Honor's Society 
and Girl/Boy Scouts will have gift wrapping booths set up.

Grab a friend or your honey and make a day of it!


* Order/pick up holiday flowers & arrangements from your local florist. 
*Purchase gift certificates/cards from local restaurants and inns for gifts.
*Many local shops are offering special holiday gift baskets.
*Visit local beautician for gift certificates to pay for cuts, styles, products or tanning sessions.
*Find your neighborhood Avon dealer and place an order.
*Visit a holiday bazaar at your local church or school.
*Family owned grocery and pharmacies often have special promotions with local products.
*Find treasures at second hand shops.
*Visit that small coffee shop and book store!