A BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION Blog Tour Spotlight

From a New York Times bestselling author, a brand new sexy contemporary romance featuring military bad boys: A BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION by Kelsie Leverich.

Nothing’s more dangerous than a bad boy with a broken heart…

First Sergeant Rafe Murano did everything to the extreme. He trained harder, he fought harder, and unfortunately, he loved harder. But he fell for the wrong woman and it nearly destroyed him.

Back home from a deployment, with no mission to consume him, Murano’s ravaged by memories of his past. So he drinks until he’s numb and drowns himself in meaningless one night stands. But they only take the edge off…

Until he meets Fallon.

Fallon Kelly learned the hard way not to take risks with her heart, But she sees something　 irresistible in the tatted-up bad boy one more punch away from a ride in the back of a squad car. She offers a distraction. And he quickly becomes an addiction.　Little does she know, this bad boy could love so hard it could break her…

About the Author:
Kelsie Leverich grew up in the small town of St. Joseph Illinois before getting married and following her
husband from one Army post to another.  After eight years, they finally settled down in Avon, Indiana with two adorable knuckleheads that are better known as her kids.  Kelsie's life revolves around her family (to include two dogs and a cat) and most of the time, actually all of the time, it’s a crazy mess—but that’s the way she loves it!  When Kelsie’s not writing, you can usually find her snuggling on the couch with her kids and a good book or out on the lake with family and friends.  Kelsie is not a morning person, has a soft spot for animals, loves musicals, hates seafood, and thinks laundry is the source of all evil.

Kelsie is currently working on the third book in her military series with editor Danielle Perez with NAL/Penguin. 

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TO LOVE A HIGHLANDER by Sue-Ellen Welfonder blitz

TO LOVE A HIGHLANDER (book I in the Scandalous Scots series)

A TEMPTING PROPOSITION
As one of the bastards born to the Stirling court, Sorley the Hawk has never known his mother or father. It's a burning quest he has devoted himself to uncovering at any cost. But as a roguish warrior who serves at the pleasure of the King, his prowess-both on the battlefield and in his bedchamber-is legendary. So when a flame-haired Highland lass sneaks into his quarters with a tantalizing proposition, he can't resist taking her up on her offer . . . 

AN UNQUENCHABLE DESIRE
Lady Mirabelle MacLaren will do anything to keep from marrying her odious suitor, even sully her own good name. And who better to despoil her than his sworn enemy, the one they call "Hawk?" As they set about the enjoyable task of ruining her reputation, Hawk and Mirabelle soon learn that rebellion never tasted so sweet.

Excerpt:

"We had a plan, an agreement." Mirabelle shifted on his lap, keenly aware of a certain hot ridge of hardness nudging the bottom of her thighs, burning her even through the layers of her skirts.

"Aye, we did." He took her face between his hands then, kissing her long and deep. When he pulled back, breaking the kiss, his eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them, and he was breathing hard. "I still have a plan, sweetness. And I hope I’ll gain your agreement."

Mirabelle just looked at him, sure she hadn’t heard rightly.

But she must’ve, because all along the table, and even elsewhere on the dais, people were grinning, looking on with rapt interest.

Mirabelle ignored them, but she did frown. "Our plan doesn’t seem to have the affect I’d desired."

To her surprise, Sorley grabbed her to him again and kissed her even more hungrily than before. It was a wild and heated open-mouthed kiss, full of breath, tongue, and hunger. He also thrust his fingers into her hair as he ravished her lips, holding her firmly to him, giving her no choice but to return the kiss with equal fervor.

She did so gladly, feeling bereft when he finally tore his mouth from hers. She hadn’t wanted their kiss to end and the delicious tingles rippling through her left no doubt that she also wanted more.

Sure he could tell, she met his gaze, thrilled and excited, but also worried that her heart and not her good sense was guiding her.

"That was indeed better." It was all she could think to say. "A most convincing display, for sure."

"Indeed." He leaned in, kissed the tip of her nose. "Though my purpose has changed, or have you no’ heard anything I’ve said this e’en?"

Mirabelle blinked. "I do not understand."

"Then I shall make it clearer." He cupped her face, slanting his mouth over hers again, his tongue thrusting sure and possessively.

She melted beneath the onslaught, gripped his shoulders to keep from sliding off his lap. The he pulled back, breaking the kiss as swiftly as he’d seized her. But he kept hold of her face, looked deep into her eyes. Clearly stirred, his chest rose and fell, heavily. And his gaze wasn’t just piercing, but blazed with something that made everything else around them fade to nothingness, as if they were alone in the hall, perhaps all the world.

"This isnae a planned seduction, Mirabelle," he spoke her name as if it held gold. The rough softness of his tone weakened her knees.

The look on his face….

Her eyes started burning again just seeing the adoration there. The other more fierce expression that she didn’t dare hope to decipher.

"No deliberate attempt to scandalize you." He leaned close to say that, lowering his voice so no one else would hear. "A man doesnae bring shame to the woman he loves."

About Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Sue-Ellen Welfonder is a Scotophile whose burning wish to make frequent trips to the land of her dreams led her to a twenty-year career with the airlines. Now a full-time writer, she's quick to admit that she much prefers wielding a pen to pushing tea and coffee. She makes annual visits to Scotland, insisting they are a necessity, as each trip gives her inspiration for new books. Proud of her own Hebridean ancestry, she belongs to two clan societies: the MacFie Clan Society and the Clan MacAlpine Society. In addition to Scotland, her greatest passions are medieval history, the paranormal, and dogs. She never watches television, loves haggis, and writes at a 450-year-old desk that once stood in a Bavarian castle. Sue-Ellen is married and currently resides with her husband and Jack Russell terrier in Florida. 

Sue-Ellen’s social media:

www.welfonder.com
www.facebook.com/SueEllenWelfonderAuthor
@se_welfonder

Buy Links:

Amazon –  http://tiny.cc/0ahqex

Barnes & Noble – http://tiny.cc/ibhqex

IndieBound – http://tiny.cc/zbhqex

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NEVER ENTICE AN EARL by Lily Dalton Blitz

NEVER ENTICE AN EARL (book II in the One Scandalous Season series)

A Deception Most Reckless
Lady Daphne Bevington would do anything for her maid Kate-including masquerading as Kate and sneaking around the wrong side of London to settle the poor girl's debt. Yet her innocent ruse takes a scandalous turn when "Kate" runs into a handsome gentleman on a secret quest of his own. A moment of passion could cost Daphne her reputation, but how can she ignore the stranger's searing kiss?

An Arrangement Most Wicked
Lord Cormack Northmore is determined to find the immoral peer who ruined his sister. So when he learns that the irresistible woman he knows as "Kate" is the Season's most sought-after debutante, Cormack plans to use her connections to help him set a trap. Now, the closer Cormack gets to uncovering the villain who haunts the ton's ballrooms, the more he realizes that the lovely lady is in danger herself. Will he abandon his quest for revenge-or risk losing his one chance at love?

Excerpt:

The heat in his gaze intensified. He leaned toward her, his handsome face commanding her full
attention. "So tell me, Kate, in addition to being a dancer to pay off this debt, and not a very talented one at that, did you also entertain patrons?"

"Entertain?" She blinked, flustered by his proximity, and his overwhelming maleness. Had he truly said she was not a good dancer? And wait… he had said patrons. She frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

Certainly he did not believe…well, she supposed he might, given the sordid circumstances in which he’d found her.

One dark eyebrow lifted. "The Blue Swan is a brothel."

"Never," she blurted, heat rising to scald her cheeks. "This was my first night ever to go to that place, and it was not at all what I’d expected." She spoke the truth now. Not all her words were lies. "All I had was the address on a scrap of paper, and instructions that I would be a model in the tableaux."

A sudden fear came over her, a dreadful worry that in her naivety she’d misjudged the stranger beside, that he wasn’t a gentleman, but instead just like the others who had crowded against the stage, mindless with lust. He could easily overpower her, and satisfy whatever male urges he wished.

But he did not. He instead eased back into the seat until shadows obscured his countenance, all but his sensual lips, which pursed and frowned. She sighed with relief

"Good." He nodded. Below his breath, he muttered, "Yes, good…I suppose."

He conveyed a mixed message, one of approval but also disappointment. What if she’d answered yes? Would he have sought to make use of her services? All the wicked things Sophia had described came to her in a vivid rush. Her mind entertained a fleeting fantasy, one of tangled sheets, muscled limbs and bare skin.

The very idea of being intimate with a stranger, with this stranger—

She exhaled, bemused.

--was not as appalling as it ought to be.

Perhaps it was the graveness in his eyes, above lips that she suspected always carried some semblance of a smile that made her heart contract and her blood run hot.

He really was nonpareil. No man in her social circle compared, but that was because he obviously wasn’t a nobleman. No nobleman would travel about London in a shabby, half-destroyed carriage nor converse on such familiar terms with their driver.

"Who are you, Cormack?" she asked.

"Just…a man."

"Are you a newspaperman? A store owner, or a sea captain? Please tell me, I want to know."

"I…er, a merchant actually. Saltpeter."

That answered her question. After tonight, she most certainly would never see him again. A merchant would never be allowed into the ballrooms of the haute ton. Even if he was deliriously rich, which he obviously wasn’t, given the condition of his equipage, the upper echelon of the beau monde, to which she had been born, simply did not intermingle with men of trade.

Her adventurous nature awakened. No, she didn’t intend to ever marry, but…what would be wrong with kissing a handsome, intriguing stranger she’d never see again?

Everything inside her soared and spiraled and exploded into sparkly stars at wondering. Again, her gaze settled on his mouth, which slowly, as if it read her mind, turned up at the corners, making her catch her breath.

At that moment, the carriage made a sudden turn and tilted steeply. Daphne toppled, the whole of her weight crushing into Cormack. His arms came round her, seizing her in place against his chest. The carriage bounced down again, and continued on, to the sound of Jackson cursing at another driver, but Cormack didn’t release her. How she wished she wasn’t wearing the coat, which smelled of damp wool. He, on the other hand, smelled delicious, like rainwater and soap.

"How unexpected," he murmured, his mouth so close his breath feathered across her lips. "But not unwelcome."

"No," she whispered. "Not…unwelcome."

 
About Lily Dalton

Lily Dalton grew up as an Army brat, moving from place to place. Her first stop after relocating was always the local library, where she could hang out with familiar friends: Books! Lily has an English degree from Texas A & M University and after graduation worked as a legal assistant in the fields of accident reconstruction and litigation. She now lives in Houston, Texas, with her family. When she isn't at work on her next manuscript, she spends her time trying out new recipes, cheering on her favorite Texas football teams and collecting old dishes, vintage linens and other fine "junque" from thrift stores and flea markets.

Lily’s social media:

www.lilydalton.com
@LilyDalton
www.facebook.com/LilyDaltonAuthor

Buy Links:

Amazon – http://tiny.cc/39toex

Barnes & Noble – http://tiny.cc/0auoex

IndieBound – http://tiny.cc/rbuoex

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The Sweet & Sassy Tour by Molly Cannon & Hope Ramsey Spotlight

INN AT LAST CHANCE

Jenny Carpenter is the unrivaled pie-baking champion of Last Chance, South Carolina's annual Watermelon Festival and the town's unofficial spinster. With her dream of marriage and children on hold, she focuses on another dream, turning the local haunted house into a charming bed-and-breakfast. But her plans go off course when the home's former owner shows up on her doorstep on a dark and stormy night . . . Mega-bestselling horror writer Gabriel Raintree is as mysterious and tortured as his heroes. His family's long-deserted mansion is just the inspiration he needs to finish his latest twisted tale, or so he thinks until he learns it's been sold. The new innkeeper proves to be as determined as she is kind, and soon Gabriel finds himself a paying guest in his own home. As Jenny and Gabe bring new passion to the old house, can she convince him to leave the ghosts of his past behind-and make Last Chance their first choice for a future together?

Excerpt
Gabe pulled Jenny and Bear across the hall into his bedroom, where he shut the door. With the door closed and the dog safe, Gabe was free to use both arms to draw Jenny tight to his chest. She clutched the lapels of his robe.

"It’s all right," he whispered into her ear, deeply conscious of the soft brush of her hair against his cheek. She was trembling all over, and he couldn’t decide if she was cold or just scared to death. He choked back his fury and pressed her tighter to his chest. "Hush now. That was aimed at me, not you." He closed his eyes and inhaled her. She smelled like lavender.

He gave himself permission to hold her for a minute before he pushed her back at arm’s length. Then he shucked out of his robe, leaving him standing there clad only in his boxers. He draped the robe around her shoulders. "Here, take my robe and go sit by the fire, it’s the only heat that seems to work in this room." He gestured toward the old recliner he’d rescued from the moving men and placed near the hearth.

She didn’t follow his command. Instead, she stood right before him, her gaze traveling up his body, taking in his boxers and naked chest. What the baseboard heating failed to achieve in the back bedroom, Jenny managed just with her look. It seared him. It branded him. He needed to turn away before he embarrassed himself.

But she snared him before he could escape. She grabbed his right hand in both of hers, and her touch was as warm as the room was cold. Her eyes were liquid and kind behind the lenses of her glasses. He wanted to remove those frames and kiss her all over. Truly he had lost his mind.

So when she kissed his palm, his willpower broke. He pulled her closer, his left hand sliding down to the small of her back so he could draw her up along the length of his suddenly aroused body. He lowered his head and kissed her the way he’d been thinking about for days.

She opened for him, like the petals of a sweet flower. Her mouth responsive, her tongue dancing with his in a pattern that seemed familiar, as if she knew what he wanted, just as he instinctively knew how to please her. He devoured her and lost all sense of time and place and urgency, until she snaked her warm hands under the waistband of his boxers and cupped his ass.

That brazen exploration ignited a river of lust, but it also surprised the crap out of him.

This was Jenny. Not some groupie he picked up in some bar. This was sweet, tempting Jenny, who was unworldly and naive and cloistered. He might want to carry her across the room to his bed and lay down with her, but she deserved so much more.

And besides, he couldn’t ignore the warning someone had left in her kitchen.

So he reluctantly lifted his head and set her back at arm’s length. "I’m sorry," he said in a gruff voice. "I shouldn’t have done that." 

Hope Ramsay

Hope Ramsay grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, but every summer Momma would pack her off under the care of Aunt Annie to go visiting with relatives in the midlands of South Carolina. Her extended family includes its share of colorful aunts and uncles, as well as cousins by the dozens, who provide the fodder for the characters you'll find in Last Chance, South Carolina. She's a two-time finalist in the Golden Heart and is married to a good ol' Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her heroes. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, where you can often find her on the back deck, picking on her thirty-five-year-old Martin guitar. 

Hope’s social media:

www.HopeRamsay.com
www.facebook.com/HopeRamsayAuthor
@HopeRamsay

Buy Links for INN AT LAST CHANCE:

Amazon – http://tiny.cc/t4quex

Barnes & Noble – http://tiny.cc/66quex

IndieBound – http://tiny.cc/yaruex

FLIRTING WITH FOREVER

Flying is Theo Jacobson's passion. Soaring above the clouds, he's on to the next adventure . . . and the next woman. So when he comes home to Everson, Texas, for his big brother's wedding, it's nothing but a pit stop. He'll act as best man, cover the family business while the happy couple honeymoons, and be on his way before the champagne goes flat. But all that changes when he comes face-to-face with the wedding planner-the very same woman who broke his heart without a backward glance years ago.  Irene Cornwell started I Do I Do with a wing and a prayer. Now, with two weddings under her belt, it's a piece of cake . . . until Theo lands back in town. Just seeing his twinkling blue eyes and infuriatingly sexy smile turns her world upside down. For the sake of her business, she proposes an uneasy truce. But when the wedding is over-all bets are off!

Excerpt
Theo opened the door and Sadie came bounding out to greet him. Kneeling down to her level he rubbed her fur with both hands. "Hey, girl. Did you miss me? I missed you. Yes, I did."

He was so cute with Sadie. She never considered a cat or dog for herself. She seemed to lack the gene that nurtured animals and small children. Besides Sven had been allergic. But Theo needed a dog of his own. That was plain to see. If he ever settled down anywhere permanently she would recommend it. A sweet dog like Sadie. If they were still in touch. A really big if.

Theo got Sadie settled down and led Irene inside. It was sparsely furnished. A couple of folding chairs and a card table sat in the living room. A vase of mixed flowers sat in the middle, and a bottle of red wine. Two wine glasses flanked the bottle.

"What’s all this?" Irene asked.

"Sorry. I did all of this before you called off the date. I was trying to make a good impression." He seemed a little embarrassed by his attempts.

She leaned over and smelled the bouquet. "It’s very nice, Theo. I’m impressed."

He smiled. "Would you like some wine?"

"I would like that very much."

He poured the wine and handed her a glass. "Let me make a toast."

"Okay." She held her glass out and waited.

"To you and me. And to whatever we may be to each other at this time in our lives."

"I’ll drink to that." They both took a sip, their eyes locked on the others.

Theo took her glass and set it on the table. "Friends?"

She nodded, and he kissed her on the cheek. His face was all sharp angles and planes in the dimly lit room. His blue eyes narrowed with warning as he pulled back to measure her response.

Then his mouth moved from her cheek to her lips. "Lovers?"

She moaned. That was the only answer she could give him as they wrapped their arms around each other. It wasn’t the first kiss of the night and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but Irene would remember the slight taste of wine on his lips, the sound of the ceiling fan lazily turning overhead, and the certain knowledge that she was exactly where she belonged. In this moment, nothing else mattered.

"I’m not trying to rush you," he whispered.

"Rush me," she said with a nip of his ear. Her smile was an open invitation.

He didn’t need any more encouragement. With a whoop of laughter, he scooped her into his arms and headed toward the bedroom. At least that’s where she assumed he was taking her. He paused at the doorway and set her on her feet. Then he opened the door with a sweeping flourish and led her inside.

"I’m not sure that it can live up to its reputation, but here’s what all the fuss was about."

She walked inside taking in the giant bed, the dresser, the nightstands and lamps. "Wow, this works pretty good for a den of inequity. I guess you haven’t even had a chance to try it out?"

"Only at the store. Gavin let me take it for a test drive."

She wandered over and wrapped her hands around one of the massive corner posts. "This bed looks like it can handle just about anything."

He advanced on her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I’ll take that as a challenge."

"Please do." Then he was kissing her again and she didn’t care about talking anymore. He backed her up until the backs of her thighs were pressed against the edge of the bed. And then it was so easy to fall backwards. His arms cushioned her fall and he followed her down. She unbuttoned his shirt, stopping to trace the small scar on his shoulder. She mapped and bookmarked all the old familiar places on his body that had once been as well known to her as her own. The freckle on his ribcage. The flat muscles of his stomach. That hadn’t changed. It all added up to Theo. The man she’d loved and lost.

He turned her around, moved her hair aside. Then he worked quickly, unzipping her dress and pulling it off her shoulders. He sprinkled kisses down her shoulder blade before pushing the dress down and off her arms. "You’re beautiful, Ree."

"I feel beautiful when I’m with you, Theo." She turned in his arms pulling him down for a long open mouthed kiss. They fell into old patterns. He knew the places to touch her that made her dissolve with desire. He knew the rhythm that let her free fall, and then let her fly. She opened up under his sure touch, allowing herself to be vulnerable. His mouth worshiped her breasts, using his tongue and fingers, sucking until she thought she’d lose her mind. Insanity seemed like a tempting choice if the alternative meant he would stop touching her. 

Molly Cannon

Molly lives a charmed life in Texas with hernearly perfect husband and extremely large cat Nelson. When she's not writing, she spends her days reading, taking dance classes with the hubby and watching all kinds of sports. 

Molly’s social media:

http://www.mollycannon.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molly-Cannon/298904883457662

@cannonmolly

Buy Links for FLIRTING WITH FOREVER

Amazon – http://tiny.cc/r5quex

Barnes & Noble – http://tiny.cc/29quex

IndieBound – http://tiny.cc/rbruex

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The Broken Blog Tour with Shelley Coriel

Three years ago Kate Johnson was an ambitious, justice-seeking broadcast journalist. She was also the victim of a vicious attack. Stabbed 24 times and left for dead by a serial killer later known as the Broadcaster Butcher, Kate is the only person who has actually survived the killer. She's also the one person who can help FBI profiler Hayden Reed solve the case.

With the Butcher on the loose and Hayden on her tail, Kate can't hide anymore. Not from the nightmares she's worked hard to forget. Not from the madman looking to kill again and not from the sexy FBI profiler trying to get into her head and eventually her heart. Together Kate and Hayden join forces to hunt down the Butcher and stop the bloody killing spree, a journey that forces Kate to face the monsters of her past and accept the woman she now sees in the mirror, scars and all.

About Shelley Coriell:

A former newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and restaurant reviewer. These days Shelley writes smart, funny novels for teens and big, edgy romantic suspense. A six-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Finalist, she lives and loves in Arizona with her family and the world's neediest rescue Weimaraner. When she's not behind the keyboard, you'll find her baking high-calorie, high-fat desserts and haunting local farmers markets for the perfect plum. 

Social Media Links:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon

B&N

iTunes

Excerpt

A glacial cold, like the waters of the lake outside her window, washed over her. “The Butcher’s still on the loose.”

“And he won’t stop until he—”

As Hayden’s voice broke off, something hovered at the far edges of her mind. For nearly a week she’d lived and breathed this case with Hayden, who now stood before her, his face twisted in anger and something more unsettling: fear.

“Kills me,” she said with a gasp. “He has to break all the mirrors. He has to finish the job.” Her finger slid along the scar on her neck to the scar on her breast. “I’m the job he never finished. He has to kill me.”

Hayden didn’t argue. He couldn’t. He intimately knew the Butcher.

Adrenaline shot through her legs. After a few hours of precious peace, it was time to head back to the shadowy back roads where the Butcher couldn’t find her.

Before she could make a run for the door, Hayden reached for her.

Her feet tensed. Her hands fisted. Ready to fight. Ready to flee.

She expected the jingle of cuffs. Instead, skin brushed against skin as he slipped his arms around her. Every muscle in her body tightened. It would be so easy to smack away his arms, to head-butt him in the chin, to duck and run. She pulled back her arm.

His lips brushed against the top of her head, and his arms dropped to his side.

The unexpected freedom left her off balance. She grabbed the bedpost. This was one of his head games. He was giving her a choice, giving her power. Right now she could walk away, duck into the shadows.

She shifted from one bare foot to the other. But that wouldn’t stop the Butcher. He would continue to kill, continue to hunt for her because she was the one who got away.

She took a single step, not toward the door but toward Hayden, and rested her cheek against the crisp coolness of his shirt, his heart beating calm and steady.

Click.  His arms locked about her. Then came his words, delivered with a heat that surprised her. “This is one job he’s not going to finish.”

                                                  http://www.spreecast.com/events/live-chat-with-shelley-coriell

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THE RESURRECTION OF AUBREY MILLER by L.B. Simmons book blitz

Death.

For some, it’s simply one of life’s certainties, nothing more. For others, it’s merely a fleeting thought, one often overshadowed by the reckless delusion that they have been blessed with the gift of immortality.

For Aubrey Miller, death is the definition of her very existence. Overcome with the guilt resulting from the loss of her beloved family, she alters her appearance from the once beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl to that of one shrouded in complete darkness, enveloping herself in her own unbreakable fortress of solitude as a form of protection for others.

As she enters her first year of college, her goal is simple: Earn a degree with the least amount of social interaction as possible. What she never anticipates is the formation of very unlikely relationships with two people who will change her life in ways she never believed possible: Quinn Matthews, the boisterous former pageant queen, and Kaeleb McMadden, a childhood friend from her past who never really let her go.

Over the years, as their connections intertwine and grow, a seemingly indestructible bond is formed between the three…

But when death painfully reemerges, Aubrey is lost once again, burying herself deeper than ever before inside the familiar fortification of her fears.

Will the refuge of friendship, the solidarity of life-long bonds, and the power of unconditional love be enough to do the impossible?

Will they be enough to finally bring about…

The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller?

Excerpt
The memory escapes slowly from its confinement, almost cautiously, before finally freeing itself, rushing my mind so quickly I physically wince in response. The pain it will yield is inevitable and I’m defenseless against it as it begins to replay in my mind:

“I don’t want to go, Kaeleb. I’m scared.” I wipe the endless streams of tears from my cheeks as I search desperately for the relief of comfort from his glistening eyes. But there’s nothing that can help me now. Cold darkness threatens to swallow me as I’m pulled under and barely breathing. I’m dying. Just like my family. 
“Bree,” he responds, quickly removing the salty trails of sorrow from his own face. “You have to go. You – ”
“I know. I have no one here.” I sigh. “They’re all…gone.” 

Kaeleb nods ever so slightly before pulling me into his arms. Only eight years old, same age as me, yet his hold feels so strong, so secure. I know he doesn’t want to let me go, and as the pretty lady with the rose perfume comes to break us apart, the need for us to grasp onto each other becomes more frantic. She calls for help and as they pry us apart, the tears continue to roll down our cheeks with the knowledge that this will be our last moment together.  We hold as tightly as we can, but are eventually broken apart, our fingers the last to let go as we reach for each other.  

“I love you, Kaeleb,” I whisper to myself as they gently guide me into the back seat of an unknown car. 
Before they close me in I scream as loudly as I can. “You’re my best friend!” 

His eyes meet mine as they shut the door between us. With purpose, he stalks to the car and just as they start the engine, he places his palm flat on the window with his fingers spread as far as they will go. Slamming my hand against the cool glass, I mirror his gesture, knowing this will be the last time I will ever be in the presence of my friend. My best friend. 

As we drive away, I watch out the back window as he runs down the street as long as his weary legs can carry him.  They eventually buckle underneath him and his knees hit the ground, unable to keep up any longer. 

Throwing my hand against the back window, the car turns the corner and I lose sight of him. Not until he’s gone do I allow myself to surrender to the darkness. I no longer fight for the need to breathe as I let go.  Stepping out of myself, I watch the pretty, blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl slowly dying as she sinks, spiraling lower and lower, until finally disappearing into the bottomless pit that consumes her. 

“Hell-ooooo!” Quinn’s voice filters slowly through the searing pain of my memory, bringing me back into the present where I’m still standing on my bed and the damn poster is still swinging from side-to-side behind me.  But now, instead of the sound barely registering, it’s grating against my eardrums like nails on a chalkboard. 

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2014/02/now-booking-release-blast-for.html
Goodreads Links http://goo.gl/edu478

Author Info
L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.

Author Links
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/lbsimmonsauthor
Twitter http://twitter.com/lbsimmons33
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6580347.L_B_Simmons
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'Two Dukes and a Scandal' Blog Tour Spotlight

Blurb (It Takes a Scandal by Caroline Linden)

The second book in a deliciously sexy new series from USA Today bestselling and RITA award winning author Caroline Linden, in which an utterly shocking book--Fifty Shades of Grey for the Regency era-- has all of London talking and gives more than one young miss a mind for scandal.

Sometimes it takes a scandal . . .

Abigail Weston has everything: beauty, wit, and one of the largest dowries in England. Her parents hope she’ll wed an earl. Abigail hopes for a man who wants her desperately and passionately. But the money seems to blind every man she meets-except one.

Sebastian Vane has nothing. He came home from war with a shattered leg to find his father mad and his inheritance gone. He’s not a fit suitor for anyone, let alone an heiress. But Abigail lights up his world like a comet, bright and beautiful and able to see him instead of his ruined reputation. And it might end happily ever after . . .

To reveal your heart’s desire

Until Benedict Lennox begins courting Abigail. Ben is everything Sebastian isn’t-wealthy, charming, heir to an earl. Sebastian won’t give up the only girl he’s ever loved without a fight, but Abigail must choose between the penniless gentleman who moves her heart, and the suitor who is everything her parents want.

Teaser
This time he stopped so suddenly, she ran into him. Instinctively she clutched at his shoulder, and his arm went around her waist to catch her. Abigail’s eyes grew wide as she stared up at him. His eyes were no longer hard and angry, but dark with raw longing. “As if I want you?” he asked, not making any effort to release her. “I do. I came into the woods today because I wanted to see you, even though I said I wouldn’t—even though I know I shouldn’t. I want you in every wicked way a man can want a woman. And if I had you, I could show you many, many more than fifty ways to sin.”

Her eyes had grown wide at his first words, but she froze in shock at the last bit. “What?” she squeaked.

“You know what I mean,” he murmured. His hand moved up her back, his fingers spread wide to hold her to him. “The pamphlet you bought in Mrs. Driscoll’s shop.”

“You read it?”

He nodded.

Abigail made a silent vow to murder her sister for this. She’d known it would land her in trouble somehow. 

“But—but—why did you buy it?” She really wished she could look away, but her wits—and her will—seemed to have gone missing.

“Because you bewitched me, and I wanted to know you, even if just what you read.” He wound a stray wisp of hair around his finger before smoothing it back from her temple. “Why did you buy it?”

Abigail’s heart was beating a tocsin against her breastbone. It was tempting to blame it on her sister, but she’d found that issue so arousing … “Curiosity,” she finally whispered.

Buy Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Takes-Scandal-Caroline-Linden-ebook/dp/B00FJ350FS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/it-takes-a-scandal-caroline-linden/1116864936?ean=9780062244901

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/it-takes-a-scandal/id718587203?mt=11

Blurb (How to Lose a Duke in Ten Days by Laura Lee Cuhrke)

From USA Today bestselling author Laura Lee Guhrke comes the story of a bargain, a marriage of convenience…and the chance for love to last a lifetime

They had a deal…

From the moment she met the devil-may-care Duke of Margrave, Edie knew he could change her life. And when he agreed to her outrageous proposal of a marriage of convenience, she was transformed from ruined American heiress to English duchess. Five years later, she’s delighted with their arrangement, especially since her husband is living on another continent.

But deals are made to be broken…

By marrying an heiress, Stuart was able to pay his family’s enormous debts, and Edie’s terms that he leave England forever seemed a small price to pay. But when a brush with death impels him home, he decides it’s time for a real marriage with his luscious American bride, and he proposes a bold new bargain: ten days to win her willing kiss. But is ten days enough to win her heart?

Teaser
Stuart took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his face, working to govern the violence inside himself. Rage would be of no help right now. He reached for his walking stick, took up his shoes, and returned to his own room. He dressed for dinner, and somehow, putting on a starched bib shirt, white waistcoat, black trousers, and black dinner jacket helped him tamp down the rage inside. As he tied his white silk tie into a proper bow, as he fastened shirt studs and cufflinks, as he tucked a white pocket square into place, he was able to set aside the part of his soul that was raging beast and regain the part that was civilized man. Then, and only then, he went in search of his wife. He found her by the Roman Garden, or as she called it, the Secret Garden. She was sitting on the bench where they’d sat the day before, but as she caught sight of him emerging from between the tall clumps of fennel and mullein, she jumped to her feet. “What do you want?”

He stopped, studying her across the courtyard, considering how to proceed without causing her more pain or making things worse. He’d come out here to comfort her, but looking at her now, he suspected she would welcome comfort about as much as she might welcome having a tooth drawn.

He took a deep breath. “It wasn’t just your heart he broke, was it?”

Her face twisted, and it was like a knife going into his chest. “He…” Stuart paused, working to force the words out. “He violated you.”

She made no sound, she shed no tears. She didn’t move or speak. She just looked at him, and no answer to his question was necessary. Her pain hung in the sultry summer air between them, and Stuart’s rage drove even deeper, spread even wider. From the beginning, he’d sensed her pain; he just hadn’t seen the true reason for it. Or maybe he just hadn’t wanted to see? This wasn’t a broken heart or a virgin’s fear; this wasn’t something simple. Still, he knew the truth now, and as horrific as it was, there was no going back, so what was he supposed to do with the knowledge? God, in a situation like this, what was any man supposed to do?

Buy Links 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/How-Lose-Duke-Ten-Days-ebook/dp/B00G97C51K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395632581&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+lose+a+duke+in+ten+days

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-lose-a-duke-in-ten-days-laura-lee-guhrke/1116864918?ean=9780062118196

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to-lose-a-duke-in-ten-days/id734493048?mt=11

Blurb (Redemption of the Duke by Gayle Callen)

USA Today bestselling author Gayle Callen concludes her new series with a tale of generosity, passion, and the true kindness of the heart.

A duke who needs to be tamed…a lady who refuses to be rescued.

Adam Chamberlin was the third son of a duke, known for gambling binges and drunken nights. No one expected anything of him …until tragedy strikes. Now Adam is the new Duke of Rothford, determined to right the wrongs he’s done. Except a secret in his past means helping the one woman who doesn’t want his help at all…

It’s not every day that a duke introduces himself to a woman sitting by herself in Hyde Park. Faith Cooper is even more surprised when Adam offers her a position as a lady’s companion to his elderly aunt. Faith refuses to be beholden to a man again-certainly not this man, who both infuriates and attracts her. But with the simmering passion between them, will Faith surrender to forbidden desire?

Teaser
(Setup: The duke manipulated Faith Cooper into being his aunt’s companion, intending to help her, since he feels guilty about the death of her brother. Now they’re living in the same house.)

Faith moved forward as if in a dream, inhaling the rich scent of damp earth, then the sweet scents of exotic flowers. When she stepped across the threshold, the air grew moist and warm, and trees rose up above her as if to touch the sky through the panes of glass in their cast-iron frames. Gas-lamp globes seemed to hover in line along curving gravel pathways. Ferns swayed as they passed. Straight ahead rose a fountain that gently splashed like music, its basin a tiled pool with golden carp swimming amid conch shells. 

As they stood there in peaceful silence, she felt strange being shoulder-to-shoulder with such a man, a duke. Yet he never made her feel inferior to him. She wondered if this, too, had to do with his military service, his grief at his mistakes, or if perhaps as a younger son, he’d never acquired the “airs of an heir.” Thinking that almost made her laugh, and he glanced at her from beneath his light brown wavy hair, which seemed burnished in the low light.  

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing, really, it’s just…I would not have imagined myself like this just a few short weeks ago.”

“Like what? Nothing much has changed for you. You still insist upon working, when I could—” He broke off.

“I assume you realized how that sounded and stopped yourself,” she said coolly.

“Yes, though I did not mean as my mistress.”

The word seemed to hover between them. She knew he thought her an innocent; and she shivered to wonder how he might treat her if he knew all her secrets. 

Buy Links 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Duke-Brides-Gayle-Callen-ebook/dp/B00FJ376TQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395632622&sr=1-1&keywords=redemption+of+the+duke

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/redemption-of-the-duke-gayle-callen/1116864944?ean=9780062267962

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/redemption-of-the-duke/id718592591?mt=11

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2014/03/now-booking-two-dukes-and-scandal-blog.html

Author Bio’s
Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a math degree from Harvard University and wrote computer software before turning to writing fiction. Ten years, twelve books, two Red Sox championships, and one dog later, she has never been happier with her decision. Her books have won the NEC Reader’s Choice Beanpot Award, the Daphne du Maurier Award, and RWA’s RITA Award. Since she never won any prizes in math, she takes this as a sign that her decision was also a smart one. Visit her online at www.carolinelinden.com

Laura Lee Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Laura has penned over twenty historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and she is the recipient of romance fiction’s highest honor: the Romance Writers of America RITA Award. She lives in the Northwest with her husband (or, as she calls him, her very own romance hero), along with two diva cats and a Golden Retriever happy to be their slave. Laura loves hearing from readers, and you can contact her via her website: www.lauraleeguhrke.com.

After a detour through fitness instructing and computer programming, Gayle Callen found the life she’d always dreamed of as a romance writer. This USA Today bestselling author has written more than eighteen historical romances for Avon Books, and her novels have won the Holt Medallion and the Laurel Wreath Award.

Gayle lives in Central New York with her three children, her dog, Apollo, and her husband, Jim the Romance Hero.

Visit her website at www.gaylecallen.com.

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Just One Night by Lauren Layne Character Interview

New York’s hottest “sexpert” has been living a lie—and it’s up to one man to keep her honest . . . all night long.

Riley McKenna knows sex – good sex, bad sex, kinky sex…Her articles in Stiletto magazine are
consistently the publication’s most scandalous—and the most read. But Riley has a secret…all that sexy talk? Not an ounce of it comes from personal experience. Her own bedroom escapades are more limited than even her best friends know. When her editor requests that all columnists write something more personal for Stiletto’s anniversary issue, Riley turns to the one man she’s always been able to count on and calls in the favor of a lifetime.

Sam Compton would do anything for Riley McKenna. Anything except be her experimental sex toy. He refuses her request. At least until she tells him that it’ll either be him or she’ll go to someone else. And that,
Sam can’t accept. Reluctantly he agrees to her terms—one night of completely meaningless sex in the name of research. Riley thinks she’s prepared for what awaits her in Sam’s bed.  After ten years of writing about sex, actually doing it shouldn’t be that different, right? So wrong. What starts as “one time only” becomes “just one more time.” And then one more. And before they know it, Riley and Sam learn first-hand that when it comes to love, there’s no such thing as just one night.


Buy Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Night-Stiletto-Series-ebook/dp/B00F8F3JZK
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-one-night-lauren-layne/1116911372?ean=9780345547279
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/just-one-night/id725293406?mt=11

Link to Follow Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/10/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for_29.html


Character Interview

Ten years ago, Sam Compton made a promise to keep his hands off his best friend's little sister, even if it killed him. And kill him it might, because Riley McKenna is the definition of irresistible. A decade later, Sam's still trying to keep that ill-fated promise. Riley has other ideas, and has cornered Sam at a family dinner into an interview for her latest magazine article.

Sam: Where's Liam? You said this was a family meeting, why are there--is that a recorder? Are you recording this? Seriously?

Riley: If you don't cooperate, I'll tell my mom you broke her favorite vase.

Sam: That was seven years ago.

Riley: MOM!

Sam: Okay. Fine. One question.

Riley: Five.

Sam: Three. Final offer.

Riley: Okay, five it is. First, let's start with your jeans. Did you pick them out because they make your butt look good, or because you like the way they sort of hug the front--

Sam: I bought them sight unseen online. Next?

Riley (*takes a close-up picture of said jeans*): That girl with the huge ta tas you brought to dinner a few months back. How serious is that?'

Sam: Well, we've broken up, so …

Riley: It was the self-tanner, wasn't it? Honestly, I swear some women try to look like an Oompa Loompa …

Sam: Is that really the question you want to ask?

Riley: Right. No. Forget that one. Let's get to the good stuff … what's your favorite sexual position?

Sam: SERIOUSLY!?

Riley: If you don't answer, I'm writing that you only like missionary with the lights off and clothes on, and no woman will date you. Ever.

Sam (grinding teeth): I'm not answering.

Riley: Fine. Enjoy celibacy. Next question: do you like women better in black lace or red satin?

Sam: Are all of your questions about sex?

Riley: Who said anything about sex? I could have been talking about mittens, for all you know. Don't make assumptions.

Sam: Were you talking about mittens?

Riley: No, I was talking about lingerie, obviously. Mittens are boring. So which is it?

Sam: Pass.

Riley: You can't 'pass.You haven't answered anything.

Sam: Because this is ridiculous. One more question, then I'm out.

Riley (chews the end of her pen, thinking): Okay fine. Last question. If I tell you that my lingerie has both black lace and red satin, will you finally do me?

Sam: *gets up and leaves*

Riley: I'm taking that as a yes!

Sam: *slams door*

Author Info

Lauren Layne graduated from Santa Clara University with a B.S. in political science that she has yet to put to good use. After dabbling in an e-commerce career in Seattle and Southern California, Layne moved to New York City, where she now writes full-time. She lives with her husband and their plus-size pomeranian in a tiny Manhattan studio.


Author links
http://laurenlayne.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenLayneAuthor
https://twitter.com/_LaurenLayne

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