Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Blog Tour {Excerpt/Spotlight} Hunted by Tyffani Clark Kemp


Book Info-
Title- Hunted
Series- LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted Series # 2
By- Tyffani Clark Kemp
Publication Date- April 16th, 2014
Genre- Paranormal/Vampires

Blurb

LeKrista Scott survived three separate vampire attacks, almost drowned, and turned down her boyfriend's proposal. What else could possibly go wrong?

Apparently, if it's not one thing, it's another. Lizette, a brand new vampire with a grudge, blames LeKrista for being turned into a monster. In retaliation, she decides to go straight for the throat, so to speak, and attack LK's ailing mother at her rest home. LeKrista enlists the help of her "Vampire liason" Roman, but it could never be that easy. Not for her.

A daywalker, a born vampire who can walk in the sun, has been hired by the head of the Vampire Counsel to collect LeKrista and the debt she owes him. As payment, her great great aunt is taken. Once again, the Mages refuse to help, so what is a girl to do, but rescue her family herself?

With her back against the wall, LeKrista will rise up stronger and teach the preternatural world to fear the Vampire Hunted.


Excerpt

Pierce laughed like he was trying to hold it in. "I promise I don't turn into any kind of bug, creepy crawly, or biting thing." He paused and his eyes flashed in that otherwordly way. "No, that's not true. I do bite."

"Pierce, I'm being serious."

"So am I. I do bite, but no bugs and no spiders. Look at me." He took my chin and forced my eyes to his. They were soft, amber orbs that smiled at me, full of love and tollerance. "You're special because I love you like I've never loved anyone ever before, and when you learn what it means for me to say that, you'll understand just how important it is that I can. You are my whole world, LeKrista Scott. You are everything to me. None of the other women in my life matter. Do you hear me? Well, except for my mother." He winked. "Gotta love mama."

Links-

About the Author

Tyffani Clark Kemp has been writing since she discovered in the sixth grade that it wasn't enough just to read about fantastic places, but she could create her own. She weaves small bits of herself into everything she writes whether it be a science fiction piece about aliens or a dramatic romance fraught with conflict and love. In September 2012 Tyffani and a friend started SideStreet Publishing LLC. She lives in South Carolina with her family and her fluffy shii tzu-mix dog who thinks he's a Saint Bernard.

Links






Monday, May 12, 2014

Release Day Launch for Lauren Blakely's AFTER THIS NIGHT!

We are thrilled to bring you the Release Day Launch for Lauren Blakely's AFTER THIS NIGHT! AFTER THIS NIGHT is the second full-length novel from her first Erotic Romance Series, The Seductive Nights Series!


After This Night

AFTER THIS NIGHT EXCERPT:

“I wish I were there wearing your clothes right now.” He laughed. “That’s what you want to be doing? Because I’d like to be fucking you if you were here.” “Well, that too. But then I’d put on your shirt.” “You like that, don’t you?” “I know you do too,” she said. “I do. Seeing you in my shirt and your heels is my kryptonite.” “Oh, is that it? That’s your kryptonite?” “Or maybe it’s just that you are,” he whispered, admitting more than he wanted to. “I think the same could be said here.” There was a pause, and though they were three thousand miles apart, the silence was heady. He was in a drugged-out state tonight. This woman was his pill, and closeness with her was what he craved most even as he feared she would destroy his heart. Smash it to a million tiny pieces and eat it for lunch. But he had a built-in barrier in distance, and with no trips to San Francisco on his immediate calendar he saw nothing wrong with this temporary moment of relief from the pressure inside of him from wanting her. They couldn’t be together in any meaningful way, and he couldn’t get hurt if he didn’t actually see her. Right? Right, he answered for himself. “What are we doing, Julia?” he asked, and he was sure she could hear the longing in his tone, but he didn’t care. There was no need to hide it after they’d just broken down and pleasured themselves together. “I wish I knew,” she said, her voice wistful and full of yearning. “I really wish I knew.” He heaved a sigh, trying to sort out his thoughts, but his brain was a mixed-up mess and he didn’t know how to untangle all the threads. Or if he wanted to remain tangled up with her instead. “What are you going to do when we hang up?” he asked, changing direction. “Read a book.” “What are you reading these days?” “A crazy story about a guy who treks across Antarctica.” “That does sound crazy.” “Yeah. He’s kind of hallucinating and talking to penguins right now,” she said with a small laugh. “Can you blame him? I have to imagine if you’re stuck in the polar ice cap that talking to penguins might be a rare source of comfort.” “As long as he doesn’t eat the penguins I’ll keep reading it.” “Here’s to no penguin meals in the books we read.” “What will you do?” “I suspect I will fall fast asleep and dream of a beautiful redhead on the other side of the country.” “She would like that dream very much,” she said in a sweet voice, the kind that worked its way beneath all the hard edges in him, and settled deep in his heart. “Will I talk to you again soon?” He took a fueling breath, and put his armor back on, steeling himself. “I don’t know the answer to that.”


ATN Purple Teaser


About AFTER THIS NIGHT:
This is the conclusion of Julia and Clay's story that began in the New York Times Bestseller Night After Night.

"Why do you like me tied up sometimes?" "Because the way I feel for you is so out of control that this is one way for me to feel in control again." Their world was passion, pleasure and secrets. Far too many secrets. But Clay Nichols can't get Julia Bell out of his mind. He's so drawn to her, and to the nights they shared, that he can't focus on work or business. Only her. And she's pissing him off with her hot and cold act. She has her reasons though-she's trying to stay one step ahead of the trouble that's been chasing her for months now, thanks to the criminal world her ex dragged her into. If only she can get out of this mess, then maybe she can invite the man who ignites her back in her life, so she can have him-heart, mind and body. He won't take less than all of her, and the full truth too. When he runs into her again at her sister's wedding, they have a second chance but she'll have to let him all the way in. And they'll learn just how much more there is to the intense sexual chemistry they share, and whether love can carry them well past the danger of her past and into a new future, after this night...

Please note: This book is intended for 18+ due to dirty talk, light bondage, and lots of sexy scenes.

Amazon US ** iBooks

Other Retailers Coming Soon!

  Seductive Nights Series banner

And don’t miss the prequel novella, FIRST NIGHT, and the first full-length novel, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, in the Seductive Nights Series!

Amazon ** iBooks ** Barnes and Noble

Author Photo

About Lauren Blakely:
Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine, Playing With Her Heart, and Trophy Husband. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.


ATN RDL Banner 3

Links

Cover Reveal for Conquered by Tyffani Clark Kemp


Conquered
LeKrista Scott, Vampire Hunted Series # 3
By- Tyffani Clark Kemp
Expected Publication Date- May 30th, 2014

LeKrista never thought Roman would kidnap her, but it seems there's no depth to which he won't stoop. She's stuck in a fortress in the middle of only God knows where with no way to contact her family or her new fiance and let them know she's alright.
To add insult to injury, Roman has brought her arch nemesis to keep her company. Forced to make friends with Eddy, the man who has made her life miserable for years, she bides her time until a rescue can be arranged.
But unrealized feelings for her vampire captor make things complicated. Or perhaps it's Stockholm Syndrome. She can't really be sure.
Just to make matters worse, the vampires are ready to go through with their plan to rule the world with an iron fang, and once again, she's caught in the middle of the war for power. The truth of her involvement is becoming clear, but she may lose more than her freedom in her quest to stop the the powerful undead on her own.


  



 

About the Author- 
Tyffani Clark Kemp has been writing since she discovered in the sixth grade that it wasn't enough just to read about fantastic places, but she could create her own. She weaves small bits of herself into everything she writes whether it be a science fiction piece about aliens or a dramatic romance fraught with conflict and love. In September 2012 Tyffani and a friend started SideStreet Publishing LLC. She lives in South Carolina with her family and her fluffy shii tzu-mix dog who thinks he's a Saint Bernard.

    

Re Release Day Blits for JS Scott


Synopsis

After four years of working for “the billionaire boss from hell” Ally Caldwell thinks she finally has her life on the right track. Her fiancé is out of dental school, ready to go to work at a thriving practice, and it would finally be her turn to go back and finish her college degree. Unfortunately, her carefully planned future crumbles when she finds out that her fiancé, the man she’d nearly killed herself to help get through school, has been cheating on her. With her wedding looming in the near future, Ally’s blindsided, realizing she’d never even knew the man she’d been planning to marry. Suddenly, her carefully organized life is turned upside down, and not one single thing is turning out the way it was supposed to happen. Even her boss, Travis the Tyrant, is beginning to act differently, throwing Ally into an even more confused and chaotic state of mind. Travis, the one man who she’d always counted on to be a jerk, was now the guy who actually steps up to try and help her straighten her life out again. Unfortunately, she doesn’t much care for his highhanded arrogance or his methods of “helping.” Ally wants to hate Travis. It makes her life so much simpler to fight with him than to admit to the combustible chemistry growing between the two of them. But as she begins to see more and more of the real Travis beneath his dark façade, she can’t seem to resist the dangerous lure of their unlikely attraction.

Billionaire Travis Harrison does everything he possibly can to repair the Harrison name after a scandal nearly destroyed his family years ago. He makes sure he keeps himself and his actions in check, his emotions buried under a thick layer of ice. Only his secretary and assistant, Alison Caldwell, makes him come close to losing his carefully constructed image. The obstinate female keeps shoving him closer and closer to the edge of sanity every single day. But when he finds out about her fiancé’s betrayal, his protective instincts roar to life inside him, making him want to ensure she’s never hurt again. The only problem is…Ally doesn’t want his help, and the infuriating woman does everything she can to push him away, even as the two of them are swept into an undeniable passion that neither of them can possibly ignore. Before long, Travis finds himself in ruthless pursuit of something much more important and elusive than just a business deal.

 Can these two very different, very stubborn people actually be meant to be together? Find out if Travis and Ally can let down their defenses and surrender to a love so powerful it will rock them to the depths of their souls in Billionaire Undone, Book Five of The Billionaire’s Obsession series.

Excerpt

“So why were you so insistent that I was coming with you to Colorado?  You’re obviously comfortable with the crowd here.  You know the Colters well.  Why is this any different than any other charity function?”  She’d been wondering that for a while now.  
“It’s an auction and a ball,” Travis answered grimly.  
“So?  You attend auctions,” she shot back at him.  
“It’s not a typical auction.  Tate thought it would be interesting to have a billionaire auction to raise more money.  Bastard!  And he has the connections to gather a very wealthy crowd.”  
“So only billionaires will be there?” Ally asked, bewildered.  
“No.  Billionaire’s are the auction items.  Women are bidding on the billionaire of their choice to be their escort for the ball.”  Travis visibly shuddered.  “I can’t believe Sutherland showed up.  Poor bastard.  I hope he knows what he’s getting himself into.  Tate’s own brothers conveniently had to be out of town.”  
“So you’re going to be auctioned off?”
“Hell, no.  I’m exempt because I have a woman.  It’s just the single guys.”  
“So you brought me along as your cover?” Ally asked, biting back a laugh, knowing that was probably initially the reason he’d needed her here.  
He hesitated for a moment and then answered, “Yeah. I’m not going up on some auction block like a damn antique or a show horse for sale.”  
Ally snickered, “Well, you are priceless and a stud.  That’s hilarious.  And I think it’s very unique.  I think it will be fun.  And the men that are participating are good sports.  Is Tate going to do it?”  
“Yeah.  Some unsuspecting woman will have to put up with his ornery ass all night,” Travis grumbled.  “He got a surprising number of men who volunteered.  We should raise a lot of money.”  
“So I’m going to be in the same place as many of the world’s most eligible bachelors?” Ally asked teasingly.  
“No.  You’ll be there with me,” Travis told her gravely.

Other Books In The Series

Currently free



 Genre: Adult Contemporary Steamy Romance

Down on her luck, nursing student and full-time waitress Kara Foster gets a massive blow to her already desperate financial situation that will surely find her living on the streets. Needing nothing less than a miracle to save her, Kara gets rescue from an unknown, unlikely and overwhelming source. Billionaire Simon Hudson makes her an offer that is impossible to refuse, but terrifying to accept from a man that she's never met. Will the handsome, alpha billionaire really be a solution to her problems, or will he end up being a major complication and a danger to her emotional sanity?

Reclusive billionaire Simon Hudson would rather be behind a computer creating computer games than rubbing elbows with the elite and he knows exactly what he wants...until he meets Kara Foster. Something about Kara touches Simon in ways he's never experienced and definitely doesn't like. For over a year, Simon watches over Kara, but stubbornly refuses to admit his desire to possess her, not even to himself. But when she ends up in a situation that could very well be her destruction, Simon steps up to help her, not realizing that in saving Kara, he might very well be salvaging his own soul.

"Mine For Tonight" is book one of "The Billionaire's Obsession" . Books in this trilogy do not stand alone and need to be read in order. They include:

Mine For Tonight - Book 1 "The Billionaire's Obsession"
Mine For Now - Book 2 "The Billionaire's Obsession"
Mine Forever - Book 3 "The Billionaire's Obsession"
and Mine Completely - a Valentine's Day romance featuring Simon and Kara

This is a steamy romance and is not intended for YA readers. It contains steamy love scenes, explicit language and adult emotion not appropriate for YA readers.



Once a serial trilogy, The Billionaire's Obsession is now complete with a bonus story in this complete collection about Simon and Kara. (This Series also includes The Free book MIne For Tonight)

This complete collection of The Billionaire's Obsession includes:
Mine For Tonight
Mine For Now
Mine Forever
Mine Completely  

Down on her luck, nursing student and full-time waitress Kara Foster gets a massive blow to her already desperate financial situation that will surely find her living on the streets. Needing nothing less than a miracle to save her, Kara gets rescue from an unknown, unlikely and overwhelming source. Billionaire Simon Hudson makes her an offer that is impossible to refuse, but terrifying to accept from a man that she's never met. Will the handsome, alpha billionaire really be a solution to her problems, or will he end up being a major complication and a danger to her emotional sanity?

Reclusive billionaire Simon Hudson would rather be behind a computer creating computer games than rubbing elbows with the elite and he knows exactly what he wants...until he meets Kara Foster. Something about Kara touches Simon in ways he's never experienced and definitely doesn't like. For over a year, Simon watches over Kara, but stubbornly refuses to admit his desire to possess her, not even to himself. But when she ends up in a situation that could very well be her destruction, Simon steps up to help her, not realizing that in saving Kara, he might very well be salvaging his own soul.

(This is a erotic romance. It contains graphic language, very steamy love scenes and lots of emotion.)  

 
 
Author Note: This novel is the complete story of Sam and Maddie, but reading The Billionaire’s Obsession – The Complete Collection (Simon and Kara’s story) first is highly recommended to enhance your reading pleasure.

Sam and Maddie are here!

Billionaire Sam Hudson has pretty much lived his life with no apologies because he tries never to do anything that he’s sorry about…except for what he had done in the past to Dr. Madeline Reynolds. Many years and regrets later, Sam meets up with Maddie again by chance; his brother Simon is marrying Maddie’s best friend and the two of them are forced to be civil. But Sam wants to be more than polite, and he wants another chance to make things right, so he offers Maddie a bold proposition, an offer he knows she’ll have a very hard time declining even though she hates him.

Dr. Madeline Reynolds adores her best friend Kara and her fiancé Simon, but being forced into the company of Sam Hudson, because they are both in Simon and Kara’s wedding, is pure torture. She’s hated Sam for years, but when he offers her a bargain, something near and dear to her heart, she’s torn between her dislike for the man and the offer of something she’s always desperately wanted. Once, Sam Hudson nearly destroyed her, but Maddie discovers that sometimes things aren’t always what they appear to be. Is Sam really a devious heartbreaker, or is there something more to him beneath the surface?

Can two people with so many years of hurt between them learn to trust each other again?

Please note: This is an erotic romance and not appropriate for YA readers. The book contains graphic sex, language and situations not appropriate for YA readers.

 

Billionaire Max Hamilton thought he was finally starting to find contentment, more than two years after losing his wife Mia in a tragic drowning accident.

He'd been reunited with a sister he hadn’t realized existed. Finally he had family again, a reprieve from the pain and loneliness that had haunted him since his devastating loss. Yeah…he was as happy as a man could be, considering he had lost the other half of his soul and most of his heart when fate had torn his wife away from him.

Or so he believed…until the day he rescued a mysterious woman in the park, a female who somehow had managed to reignite a part of him that he thought was long dead...
Suddenly, Max's protective, dominant, possessive male instincts flare to life, leaving him at a loss as to how lightning could possibly strike twice in one lifetime. Is he truly being given another chance at real happiness, or would it be dangled in front of him, only to be taken away once again?

Find out by reading The Billionaire’s Salvation, Book 3 in The New York Times Bestselling series, The Billionaire’s Obsession. This is a complete contemporary erotic romance novel with no cliffhangers!


The Billionaire's Obsession Series:

1. The Billionaire's Obsession - The Complete Boxed Set (Simon and Kara)
2. Heart Of The Billionaire - The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Sam (Sam and Maddie)
3. The Billionaire's Salvation - The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Max (Max And Mia)
4. A Maine Christmas...Or Two
5. The Billionaire's Game - The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Kade (Kade and Asha)

The Billionaire's Game - The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Kade

With his professional football career over due to a tragic accident, billionaire Kade Harrison takes on the task of solving a mystery for his brother-in-law and friend, Max Hamilton. Without his former career to fill every minute of the day, Kade's looking for something to challenge him--now that he's lost the career that had meant everything to him. But what starts out as a simple favor soon becomes a whole lot more than he bargained for when the woman he's seeking slips away from him every time he gets close to finding her. When Kade does finally corner her, things start to get even more complicated. Asha Paritala is nothing like he expected, and the female he had tracked down as a favor for Max soon becomes a woman he wants for his very own, a woman who makes protective and highly predatory instincts he didn't know he had flare to life inside him. Kade soon discovers that he wants Asha's total surrender to the desire and passion that vibrates intensely between the two of them, but he also wants her trust, the one thing Asha's history makes it difficult for her to give. Can Kade convince her that some things are worth risking it all?

Caught between two worlds, Asha Paritala is homeless, broke and damaged from a life of abuse and neglect. Born of an American mother and an Indian immigrant father, Asha was raised as an Indian woman by a foster family after the death of her natural parents when she was little more than a baby. She's spent her entire life under the control of others until finally breaking free two years earlier, and she's determined to keep her freedom, even if it means she has to struggle to survive. But when she meets Kade Harrison, her resolve is tested. After Kade helps her through a bad situation, she finds herself beginning to trust Kade as she's never trusted a man before. Kade is everything she always thought a man should be, but can she lose herself in him completely when she knows she's damaged and confused. And is it really possible that she could be a lost sibling to two people like Max Hamilton and Maddie Hudson? Asha is tempted by the possibility of family, and the irresistible lure of a man like Kade Harrison. Can a woman caught between two cultures, so flawed and so backward, really reach out and take what she wants, or will the instinct to run from the pain of her past destroy the hope of happiness for her future?

Find out if two broken souls can heal each other in The Billionaire's Game, book 4 of The Billionaire's Obsession series!!

This is a complete novel with no cliffhangers. 18+ due to sexual situations and graphic language.


J.S. Scott is a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of erotic romance. She's an avid reader of all types of books and literature. Writing what she loves to read, J.S. Scott writes both contemporary erotic romance stories and paranormal romance erotics. They almost always feature an Alpha Male and have a happily ever after because she just can't seem to write them any other way! She lives with her husband in the picturesque Colorado Rockies.

Contact J.S Scott On Facebook
Twitter
@AuthorJSScott

Blog Tour {Spotlight & Giveaway} Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver

second chances tour


Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver

Thirty seven year old Francie Davis, a recent widow and empty nester, gets to attend college at last. She’s sure her luck has changed when she also lands a job on campus that will pay her tuition, as administrative assistant to a history professor. When her handsome new boss yells at her on the first day of work, Francie worries she will never be good enough.

For Professor Alex Diederik, life is going downhill fast. Not only is his bitter ex-wife trying to poison their only daughter against him, but now his one place of solace—his work environment—is being complicated by his attractive new administrative assistant. She drives home his feelings of failure as a husband and father, and Alex wonders if hiring her was the right thing to do.

Francie will have to put aside her hurt and insecurities or risk her dreams, while Alex must look outside himself if he’s to mend the breach with his daughter. And, perhaps, find someone who can help heal his pain.

Excerpt

“How did you sleep?” Alex asked, opening the fridge. He took out a carton of eggs and held them for her to see, his brows raised in query.

“I don’t understand how you can eat the unborn.” She shuddered and took another sip of her herbal tea. The haughty disdain reminded him of his ex-wife. Divorce certainly hadn’t freed him of that.

“You ate them six months ago.”

“I’m enlightened now.” Sam heaved a sigh, tilting her head and putting on a martyred expression. Another perfect imitation of her mother.



DonnaW
Author Donna K. Weaver

Donna K. Weaver has always loved reading and creating stories, thus she’s been ever entertained. An avid cruiser, she’s sailed the Pacific five times. Wife-mother-grandmother-Army veteran-karate black belt-Harry Potter nerd.


Blog Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 5/26/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Book Blitz {Excerpt & Giveaway} Kissed by Kimberly Loth



Kissed (The Thorn Chronicles #1)
Release Date: 05/01/14

Summary from Goodreads:
Trapped in a dark cult, sixteen-year-old Naomi Aren has lived a quiet, albeit unhappy, life nestled deep in the hills of the Ozarks. With uncut hair, denim skirts, and only roses for friends, Naomi seldom questions why her life is different from other kids at school. Until the day her abusive father, who is also the cult’s leader, announces her wedding. Naomi must marry Dwayne Yerdin, a bully who reeks of sweat and manure and is the only one person who scares her worse than her father.

Then she meets Kai, the mysterious boy who brings her exotic new roses and stolen midnight kisses. Kisses that bring her a supernatural strength she never knew she had. As the big day approaches, Naomi unearths more secrets of about her father’s cult. She learns she has power of her own and while Kai may have awakened that power, Naomi must find a way to use it to escape Dwayne and her father—without destroying herself.
Excerpt
My father and Mr. Yerdin talked of politics and religion, not once acknowledging that anyone else sat at the table. Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised since more than one sermon had been preached about the place of women and children. We were inferior and didn’t deserve an opinion that differed from our husbands’ or fathers’, so it was best that we just didn’t say anything at all. As the conversation turned to the medical experiments Dad performed on the dog that had been dumped in our yard last week, I tuned out and tried to think of what I would get if I crossed an Iceberg rose with a Sunsprite. A nice pale yellow and only a few thorns. Could be interesting. If Grandma were still alive, she’d appreciate it.


A quick glance at the clock told me they’d only been here forty-five minutes, but it felt like days. After another excruciating hour, Mother presented the cake. The carrot cake (my father’s favorite) had sixteen candles on it. I had not had a cake with candles since my eighth birthday. On that day, the cake was chocolate, my favorite, but that was before Father went insane. I missed those days, the ones before he went crazy. When he would come home and take me canoeing and fishing. When we would wake up early on Saturdays and go to breakfast at Sheila’s Café. I blinked back tears thinking of the father he used to be.


After the cake, I moved to help my mother clean up, but Father put a hand on my wrist, a signal to stay seated. The skin burned where he touched it.


“See,” my father said, “she’s obedient.”


Mr. Yerdin grinned. “Yes, of course she is. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Dr. Aren. Dwayne, what do you think?”


Dwayne shrugged and shifted his eyes. Me, I kept my mouth shut and listened for the words that weren’t being said.


Mr. Yerdin eyed me up and down. “Well she certainly has the required blond hair and blue eyes.”


“And she’s a virgin.” My father spoke this a little too loudly and I flinched. My mother paused before picking up Mr. Yerdin’s plate. She met my father’s eyes and nodded. Then the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly.


My stomach sank at the thought of what my birthday surprise would be. Although part of me did not want to hear the rest of the conversation, but to escape back into the quiet world of flowers and dirt, another part of me needed to know what my future held, where being a virgin was important.


I cleared my throat. Dwayne smiled a wide toothy smile and my father glowered like I’d done something wrong. Which, of course I had, but it would be worth the punishment if I got the answers I needed.


“Could someone please explain?” There. I asked the question. So out of character for me and yet satisfying in a strange way, like the way I felt when a teacher praised me for a good job. I bit my bottom lip and tasted butterscotch, which was weird because the cake we had, contained nothing of the sort. While I knew asking questions was not an act of disobedience, I also recognized the power in the asking. As if I was taking control, even if that control was small. I took a sip of my water. Father hesitated for a moment and then frowned. He looked up and saw my mother standing in the kitchen, her eyes boring into his. He didn’t look away from her when he answered me.


“You’ll be marrying Dwayne.”



On sale right now for only $.99:

About the Author
Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo, Egypt with her husband and two kids.
She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.
Author Links:
  

***GIVEAWAY***
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

Blog Tour {Interview & Giveaway} Lethal Lily by Joyce and Jim Lavene


Cozy Mystery
300 pages

Synopsis

Part-time garden shop owner/part-time forensic botanist, Peggy Lee is trying to discover if the death of Ann Fletcher 20 years ago was an accident – or foul play. In return, she hopes to receive more information about her first husband’s death. She knows John Lee was murdered, but questions have arisen as to why he was killed. She is working with a private detective who stumbles across his own feet, but her Internet friend, Nightflyer, says that Harry Fletcher has the answers. When Harry is murdered by convallatoxin, from the lily of the valley plant, Peggy begins to understand her role in everything. Now she has to stay alive long enough to prove her theories – and keep her son, Paul out of trouble too!

 

A Book Excerpt

It was after midnight. Peggy Lee had been waiting in the dark parking lot of the Tri-State Mini Storage for more than an hour.

Since she was trying to keep a low profile, she hadn’t looked at her phone or listened to music. There was still a light in the mini storage office. She knew someone was working.

A sign flapped in the warm breeze that had blown up from a tropical storm churning at the Atlantic coast. She glanced at her watch again for the third time in as many minutes.

Where was Harry?

Peggy had only met Harry Fletcher a few days ago. They’d both received emails from her online friend, Nightflyer, suggesting they should work together.

A friend of mine is investigating an old murder in Charlotte, and might call on you for help. I sent him to you because he knows part of the puzzle surrounding John’s death. I’ll speak with you when I can. ~ Nightflyer

The note had caught her attention—and held it. It had only been a few months since she’d learned that her former husband, John Lee, may have been deliberately murdered. She still wasn’t sure it was true, but she decided it couldn’t hurt to check into it.

John had been a Charlotte, North Carolina police detective when he’d been killed more than a decade ago. He’d been called out on a domestic abuse situation that he shouldn’t even have responded to. But it was on his way home, and he’d gone willingly because he was needed.

The call went bad when the man, who’d been shooting at his wife’s boyfriend, decided to shoot at the police. He’d escaped in the gunfight that had ensued, but John had been killed. The shooter was never found. John’s partner had been at Peggy’s door a few minutes later with the news.

Peggy pushed the thoughts of that night out of her head. It was a long time ago, but it still haunted her. She couldn’t let herself get trapped in the past if she wanted to know what really happened to John.

Her phone rang—startling her. She almost dropped it. “Yes?”

“I found the storage unit,” Harry Fletcher whispered. “I forgot the bolt cutters on the floor of the car. Can you bring them? I’m at Unit 34.”

She agreed to do it, and sighed. The man was terminally careless. Just in the short time she’d known him, he was always dropping something, or forgetting something. She wondered how he’d managed to stay alive while he was working as a private detective.

Harry said he’d been working as an informant for the FBI when John was killed. They’d talked about it over tea in a sunlit atrium high above downtown Charlotte, with exotic lilies perfuming the air, and fleet-footed waiters continually checking their cups.

She hadn’t wanted to bring him to her house—it was better if she was the only one who knew about it. If her son, Paul, knew she was involved in anything like this, he’d be furious. Worse, it could ruin his life. His peace had been hard won after John’s death. He’d struggled with the knowledge that no one had been arrested in the case, eventually becoming a police officer himself.

Paul had always said there was something wrong about John’s shooting. It looked as though he might be right.


About The Authors

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

Interview

How much of a story did you have in mind before you started writing?
We usually have most of the story in mind when we start writing. Because there are two of us, our ability to be pantsers is limited. Surprises can be good – unless they are followed by disagreements. We have to know what the other person is thinking.

How do you cope with writer’s block?
We’ve never had writer’s block. We seem to have something more like writer’s stream where there is always too much to write.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?
If there is, it’s be happy. Things can work out. Love conquers all. Be open to new experiences. Be nice to other people or they might kill you.

What is a typical writing day like for you? How many hours do you write per week?
A typical writing day starts with coffee and bagels in front of the computer. We write about 1,500 words, take a short break, and usually take turns on the stationary bike. We come back again for another 1,500 words before lunch. Sometimes we do another 1,500 words (I don’t know why we always do that number) in the afternoon, but mostly that time is taken up with promotion and revision. We try not to work nights and weekends, but it’s really hard. I guess we don’t really know how many hours we write. It varies.

How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in your book?
Ha! There is a lot of us in the story – not so hidden to people who know us. Even when we think we haven’t done it, there we are!

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Joyce: I never wanted to be a writer. It just seemed that I was.

Jim: I never thought I could be a writer until it just happened.

At what age did you discover your love of writing?
For both of us, it was the day we started reading.

Do you have an agent?
Yes. We have a wonderful agent named Gail Fortune who is with the Talbot Fortune Agency in New York.

Can you describe the feeling when you saw your published book for the first time?
No. There are no words to describe it. The world tilted. Fireworks went off. We can only compare it to falling in love, and having a baby.

Author Links

***Giveaway***
a Rafflecopter giveaway