Sunday, May 10, 2015

Howling Good Hop!

Hi, everyone! Welcome to the Howling Good Hop. It's been quite a while since I've participated in one of these, but I'm looking forward to all the exciting excerpts and tidbits.



SHIFT HAPPENS

In my latest release, I returned to my romantic comedy roots. I'm a bit of a goofball, so being able to make readers laugh (and fall in love) is one of my all-time aspirations. Shift Happens is the first book in a brand new series, I HEART Shifters. Normally promotion is a bit of a headache, but the title made tag lines and catchphrases pretty much write themselves. Check out a few of my favorite promo teasers below...





Told you. I'm a goof. But who doesn't appreciate a little humor with their romance? I certainly do. In real life...oh, the stories I could tell. ESPECIALLY a hilarious tidbit about me falling off the bed with my husband early on in our relationship. But that's a tale for another day.

Want to know more about Shift Happens? Keep reading and enjoy the remainder of the hop!!



Ellie Reynolds runs a nail salon that caters to shifters of all varieties. The proverbial shift hits the fan when billionaire mogul Jackson Lawrence walks in the door and offers Ellie two million dollars to sell her shop. Ellie has no intention of selling out, especially to someone who plans to bulldoze her shop to the ground and replace it with a fast food joint. Their battle of wit and will is brought to a sudden halt when Jackson’s enemies appear, throwing them into a fight for their lives.

Jackson believed he’d left violence behind when he resigned his position with the Blood Wolves, a secret shifter military group, but someone wants his company’s cyber invention and will stop at nothing to get it. He didn’t mean to drag Ellie into his mess, but he’s willing to do anything to protect her and the firewall his friend created...anything except fight his attraction to the outspoken redhead he’s suddenly responsible for. Jackson soon learns Ellie is hotter than he first gave her credit for...like dragon hot...and life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Sometimes shift happens when you least expect it.

Reader Note: contains BBW heroines, billionaires, humor, werewolves, dragon shifter, and paranormal erotic romance elements

Excerpt:

At exactly eight forty, Jackson returned to the counter. “According to previously stated policy, your eight thirty appointment is canceled. May I speak with you now?”

She glared at him but finally relented. “Fine. But if Mrs. Sussman shows up, you’re out of here.”

He lifted an eyebrow and nodded. “Fair enough. Your animosity is a bit of a mystery, but I think you’ll be happy once you hear what I have to say.”

His assessment was spot-on. What was it about him that pricked her ire, besides the overwhelming libidinal response? Typically she wasn’t a hateful sort of person, but instinctively she knew she had to be careful around him. He threw her off-balance, and she didn’t like the feeling. “I’m sure you’re used to women falling over themselves to talk to you, but I’m not your typical female.”

He smirked. “I can tell.”

A flush burned her from head to toe at the implication. She wasn’t skinny or particularly beautiful, but damn, couldn’t he show a bit of interest? She had big boobs, after all. What man didn’t like big boobs? Unless he was—

She glanced at him. Nope. Definitely not gay.

Wait. What was she doing? Did she want him to show interest?

Oh God, she did.

“Is there a place we can go to talk?”

She plucked a piece of lint from her smock and flicked it away. “Here’s fine. Say your piece. I’m a busy woman.”

Another smile crossed his face, soul-shattering because this time it was directed at her. “I like you, Ellie Reynolds.”

Something was wrong with her knees. Had to be. They kept giving out on her. Was twenty-five too young to have arthritis? Was it even possible for her to have it? Suddenly she wished she’d paid more attention when her mother taught her about her shifter heritage, if only for medical purposes.

In an effort to maintain control of the conversation, she borrowed one of her Nana’s favorite expressions. “Stop blowing smoke up my ass and get on with it.”

The tolerant light in his eyes extinguished. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it herself, but his entire demeanor transformed, becoming the man she recognized on the cover of business and financial magazines, the man who bought and sold property for a living. “I want to buy Polished.”

Shock held her immobile. “What would a savvy businessman like you need with a small-time salon?”

“I have an investment opportunity, but I need your building to complete the transaction. I can’t go into further details. Contract negotiations, you understand.”

Actually she didn’t. She’d bought Polished, scoring a hell of a deal when the previous owner died and the son agreed to take a low-ball offer. “I see. How much are you offering?”

Not that she would consider it, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“Two million dollars.”

She choked on her spit. “Come again?”
 
 
 
BUY SHIFT HAPPENS NOW AT:
http://www.amazon.com/Shift-Happens-Heart-Shifters-Book-ebook/dp/B00WGX0CXE



Be sure to enter the RAFFLECOPTER contest at
 
And discover the remainder of the hop at http://www.thesnarkology.com/howling-good-hop-2015/

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

GUEST AUTHOR: Libby Waterford with Endless Devotion

Help me welcome Libby Waterford. Thank you, Libby, for dropping by for a visit!
 
 
 
One of my favorite aspects of setting is weather. I know some teachers advise writers never to write about the weather, but perhaps because I live in almost perpetually sunny and mild Southern California, I like writing, and reading, about the weather and I actually think “It was a dark and stormy night…” is a great way to start a book.

Weather can set the mood, inform plot, and even mirror themes. My novella Endless Devotion takes place in Massachusetts in late May on a particularly humid early summer weekend. The sultry, wet heat sets the tone for a sizzling sexy weekend, and a surprise rainstorm causes an already emotionally heightened scene’s tension to ratchet up even further.

Weather can reinforce a setting’s attributes, and the wrong weather at the wrong time can cause an interesting dissonance that affects the path of a book. Can you think of a favorite novel where the weather adds something to the story?
 
 
About the Author

Libby Waterford writes steamy contemporary romances. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons, where she works off her weekly pilgrimage to In-N-Out by swimming and climbing the city's secret staircases.
 

Author Links
 

Email: libby@libbywaterford.com





 
 
 
 
 
Blurb
What better way to keep her ex at a distance than by becoming engaged? Of course, Katya Noskov’s betrothal to a fellow Weston University professor is just a sham, but she’ll do anything to avoid becoming ensnared in the seductive trap set by Devak Batra, her charismatic ex, who just happens to be the US Secretary of Education.
Dev arrives on Weston’s campus to give the commencement address at the graduation ceremony and to propose to Katya while he’s at it. The last thing he expects is for her to announce her engagement to someone else. Undaunted, he’s determined to talk her out of her betrothal and back into his bed.
When Katya and Dev come together, sparks fly, clothes come off, and nothing, not even an engagement ring, can stop them from acting on their physical desires. From passionate stolen kisses to trysts in the rain, these two can’t keep their hands off each other, but steamy sex can’t resolve Katya’s reasons for leaving Dev in the first place. He must show he can make room for her in his life, not just his bed, if she can consider a future with the sexiest member of the Cabinet.
Will Katya’s fake engagement lead to a real proposal? Can Dev’s devotion survive distance, lies, and acts of congress?
The third of three erotic novellas set at the reunion and commencement weekend at Weston University, where lust leads to true love.
 
Excerpt from Endless Devotion
Katya wrapped her bathrobe around her body, intending to make use of the sumptuous bubble bath her mother had given her for her last birthday, and to lose herself in the latest Elizabeth George novel. The antiquated doorbell shrilled at the front of the house.
It wasn’t terribly late, but she couldn’t imagine who would be stopping by. She peered through the window beside the door. Dev stood there, something bunched in his left hand. He seemed calm, assured. He wasn’t easily rattled, and his equanimity suddenly made Katya want to wipe the impassive look off his face.
She yanked open the door. “Yes?”
“You left your trench coat in my car.”
She grabbed it out of his hands. “Thanks.”
“So, back to the idea of breakfast. Perhaps you and Edward could both join me—”
Katya lunged forward and plastered her lips to his, stopping his flow of words, commanding the entirety of his attention for at least this one moment. She didn’t want to listen to any more of Dev’s plans or hear her fake fiancĂ©’s name come out of his mouth one more time. She didn’t want to think about the lie she’d told or Dev’s reasons for being here. She wanted some peace from the war raging between her brain and her body’s primal need to feel this man’s skin against her own.
She’d make this moment last as long as she could in the hopes of gaining some relief from her interior battle.
He kissed her back, adjusting his posture so, despite his greater height, she didn’t have to stand on tiptoe to meet his lips.
“Yes,” she murmured into his mouth, owning her need for the first time that night and loving the rush of power her sudden freedom from indecision brought her. She filled her fist with his thick black hair, tossed aside the trench coat, and grabbed his tight, delectable ass with her other hand. She ground herself into his body, making her intentions unmistakably clear. She detected his arousal as he groaned and wrapped long arms around her waist, locking her to him.
They had always been like an erupting volcano when they’d come together, hot, heedless of anything in their path. Now they grappled and moaned and tried to out-kiss each other, stealing each other’s breath away. Katya barely registered the fact they were still on her doorstep and their coupling was visible to the world until Dev’s voice, scratchy with need, broke into her consciousness.
“We’re going to”—he kissed her—“get arrested for disturbing the peace.”
 
Buy Links
The Weston University Novella Series
Book One: Passionate History
Book Three: Endless Devotion

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Fun With Memes

With the release of Shift Happens, my inner "fun girl" returned and I had a blast creating promotional teasers for my new release. Shift Happens is a humorous tale, so it was only fitting the teasers were equally funny.

Check out my collection below and tell me which is your favorite!

 







Tuesday, April 07, 2015

I have a very special guest today, Parker Kincade, whose new release is a project she holds close to her heart. Keep reading to learn how you can help The American Heart Association - and get a fantastic book in the process, including Parker's One Night Stand, one of my all-time favorite reads!
 

Did you know every minute in the United States, a woman dies from heart disease, stroke or another form of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? (Source: American Heart Association, www.heart.org)
 
Every. Minute.
 
According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American and white women in the US. I could go on and on about statistics, but I won't. What I will do is encourage all of you to be aware of the symptoms. The American Heart Association offers great information to get you started. Click here for more info.
 
Cardiovascular disease runs in my family. More than that, I've felt the pain of losing a loved one to this dreaded and deadly disease. One of my dearest friends, Paul Waits, passed away on October 2, 2014, of a massive heart attack. He was 44 - only 5 months older than me (he passed the day before I turned 44).
 
Paul had no warning. No symptoms. One minute he was here, the next he was gone.
 
If cardiovascular disease runs in your family (and even if it doesn't), I urge you to see a doctor to check your cardiovascular health. I've done it. It doesn't hurt. It's cool to see your heart as it beats on an ultrasound screen. (I don't know the technical term for this machine - the test is called an Echocardiogram). Have a carotid doppler. Also painless. Have whatever test your doctor/cardiologist recommends. And then you'll know, hopefully BEFORE there's an issue. Even if you are asymptomatic.
 
There is a reason they call it "the silent killer."
 
In honor of Paul, and all the men and women who live with (or have died from) CVD, a portion of the proceeds from our new project--Hearts in Danger--will be donated to The American Heart Association.
 
Hearts in Danger is romantic suspense boxed set includes 14 novels, by romance authors at the top of their game. Many of these novels are "first-in-series", so if you're looking for a new series to get hooked on, this is a great way to try it out!
 
This limited time box set is only $0.99 (AWESOME value), but we will be rewarding those who purchase the set via PRE-ORDER and through the first week it’s live! Just fill out the form to claim your freebies as our thanks for supporting the cause.
Check out the website for contest details!
 
Preorder Links:
 
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 2, 2015 - for only $0.99! Here's what you'll get:
 
Accidental SEAL by Sharon Hamilton: Navy SEAL Kyle Lansdowne goes looking for his missing SEAL Team 3 buddy Armando who has been kidnapped by a drug gang intent on buying specialized military equipment. Newbie Realtor Christy Nelson holds her first Open House but is given the wrong address, and finds a hot naked SEAL in the master bedroom. Their little misunderstanding leads to a hot affair until the gang uses Christy as bait to lure Kyle into a trap to ransom his honor.
 
Pick Your Poison by Roxanne St. Claire: Meet Benjamin Youngblood - he’s sexy, smart, spectacular and ... about to lose his job for the best security firm in the world. He’s got one chance to prove himself and nothing will stop him. Not even a flower farmer. When Ben sets out to track and trap an assassin, he's forced to trust a feisty farmer who could be as dangerous as her homegrown poison. Ben and Callie join forces to zero in on the killer, taking a few heated detours along the way. Can they stay alive long enough to save Ben’s job, stop an assassin, and find true love?
 
Protective Custody by Paige Tyler: Someone is stalking reporter Paisley McCoy, and police detective Gray Beckham is the only man who can protect her. Having a dad on the force has led to one hard and fast rule – she doesn’t date cops. And while she might be sexy as hell, there’s no way he’s going anywhere near the captain’s daughter. Paisley and Gray can’t deny the chemistry between them, though. But as that connection turns into romance, they find out the stalker is a far greater threat than they had originally thought. And that if he can’t have her, no one will.
 
Hot Pursuit by Lynn Raye Harris: When someone starts shooting at Evie Baker, there's only one man dangerous enough to help her--the man who broke her heart ten years ago. Hostile Operations Team soldier Matt Girard uses all his considerable black ops skill to protect Evie from someone who thinks she possesses information that could bring down a crime syndicate. But working together shows Matt what he gave up--can he claim Evie for his own after what he did in the past?
 
SEAL's Honor by Elle James: Two Navy SEALs jeopardize their lives and hearts in a battle-torn land when they vie for the love of one sexy Night Stalker helicopter pilot.
 
Against The Dark by Carolyn Crane: Angel is an ex-safecracker forced into one last heist. Cole is an undercover agent with big plans for his gorgeous thief—he'll make her pose as his girlfriend to help with a dangerous mission.
 
Hidden Prey by Cheyenne McCray: Tori flees an abusive relationship and heads to her hometown in Arizona. When she arrives, she’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnesses the execution of a Federal agent by the son of the head of the Jimenez Cartel. Special Agent Landon Walker rescues Tori and sets out to protect her, but soon protecting her isn’t enough. He’ll go to the ends of the earth for her—and never let her go.
 
Dangerous Curves by Nina Bruhns: A spec ops transporter for STORM Corps takes on drones, bad guys, and car chases on the coast of Italy—and falls for a beautiful scientist whose curves are far more dangerous than the road!
 
Deadly Pursuit by Misty Evans: One year ago, rookie FBI agent Celina Davenport pulled off the ultimate undercover operation…she seduced Emilio Londano – the dangerous leader of the San Diego Mafia – and destroyed his illegal empire. When Londano escapes a maximum security prison and begins picking off Celina’s friends and coworkers, everyone she knows becomes a target. Including DEA agent Cooper Harris, the man who once broke her heart and is now assigned to be her bodyguard. Cooper must risk his career – and his heart – to keep Celina alive. But will their past, with its forbidden passions and impulsive choices, put them directly in the killer’s crosshairs?
 
Protecting Caroline by Susan Stoker: Caroline helps foil a terrorist plot when she finds herself on a plane that’s hijacked (with the help of three members of a SEAL team), but after she gets home she finds herself still in the sights of the terrorists. She can only hope Wolf and his team will be able to save her in time.
 
One Night Stand by Parker Kincade: Amanda Martin decides to have a one-night stand. No relationship, no promises … just hot, indulgent sex. What she doesn’t anticipate is meeting a handsome-as-sin stranger who gives her pleasure unlike she’s ever known. A stranger with a deadly secret…
 
Brody by Mandy Harbin: Brody “Brutus” Jackson isn’t your average small-town mechanic. He's a man with no memory of his past, and no hope for the future. Under FBI protection, Alexandria Collins and her son have been in hiding for ten years. When it’s time to move again, her piece of crap car breaks down and the man giving her a tow is the biggest, hottest guy she’s ever seen. She is determined to ignore the need her long-neglected body hungers for. After all, the last man she showed interest in put a gun to her head. Brody thinks the skittish Xan is sexy as hell, but it’s not her hot body that has him rocked to his core. He knows her from somewhere, and in his line of work, that’s a dangerous thing. Following orders have never been this hard, but when he finds out she’s his next assignment, he will protect her at all costs … even if what she needs protection from most is him.
 
Enemy Mine by Megan Mitcham: Born in the blood of Sierra Leone's Civil War, enslaved, then sold to the US as an orphan, Base Branch operative Sloan Harris is emotionally dead and driven by vengeance. With no soul to give, her body becomes the bargaining chip to infiltrate a warlord's inner circle. As son of the warlord, Baine Kendrick will happily use Sloan's body if it expedites his father's demise. Yet, he is wholly unprepared for the possessive and protective emotions she provokes. In the Devil's den with Baine by her side, Sloan braves certain death and discovers a spirit for living.
 
Caught in the Crosshair by Barb Han: On a tropical island with a hurricane brewing and dangerous men closing in, private security firm owner Jaden Dean will need to work side-by-side with Lauren James to survive and find her brother. The cartel he's associated with seems to be one step ahead and Jaden’s operatives are being killed one-by-one. He will have to use all his specialized training and risk everything, including his heart, to outwit the deadly group and keep Lauren safe. Their magnetic attraction isn't helping matters...because even a slight distraction might just get them both killed.
 
*******
 
This set will only be on sale until the end of June, so you'll have to act fast. And remember, it's for an excellent cause. We would be grateful for shares and likes!

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Virtue's Lady by Jessica Cale

Welcome to Jessica Cale, a first time visitor to my corner of the web and a fellow LSB author. Thanks for coming, Jessica, and let me just say I'm entirely too jealous of your lovely covers!

Virtue’s Lady
Author: Jessica Cale
Publisher: Liquid Silver
Release Date: April 13th
 
Tagline
 
From toiling for pennies to bare-knuckle boxing, a lady is prepared for every eventuality.
 
Blurb
 
     Lady Jane Ramsey is young, beautiful, and ruined.
    After being rescued from her kidnapping by a handsome highwayman, she returns home only to find her marriage prospects drastically reduced. Her father expects her to marry the repulsive Lord Lewes, but Jane has other plans. All she can think about is her highwayman, and she is determined to find him again.
    Mark Virtue is trying to go straight. After years of robbing coaches and surviving on his wits, he knows it’s time to hang up his pistol and become the carpenter he was trained to be. He busies himself with finding work for his neighbors and improving his corner of Southwark as he tries to forget the girl who haunts his dreams. As a carpenter struggling to stay in work in the aftermath of The Fire, he knows Jane is unfathomably far beyond his reach, and there’s no use wishing for the impossible.
    When Jane turns up in Southwark, Mark is furious. She has no way of understanding just how much danger she has put them in by running away. In spite of his growing feelings for her, he knows that Southwark is no place for a lady. Jane must set aside her lessons to learn a new set of rules if she is to make a life for herself in the crime-ridden slum. She will fight for her freedom and her life if that’s what it takes to prove to Mark—and to herself—that there’s more to her than meets the eye.
 
 
 
Excerpt :

 

The girl was beautiful.

She had him pinned to the bed. He was helpless beneath her hands. Her long fingers spanned his chest, tracing the line where the muscle dipped and gave way to shoulder. A hint of a smile played on her lips, more than just a little bit wicked. Kiss-crushed and sherry red, they were the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted.

“Like this?” She shifted back onto his hip bones.

She hovered above him like a conquering angel, all of the fearsome beauty of heaven in her laughing eyes, as grey and deadly as any steel. He could see the evidence of her ferocity in the iron poker that still projected from the door behind her head, a temptation as much as a warning.

“Getting there.” He grinned.

His hands rested on the curve of her waist, his rough, tanned skin a stark contrast to her smooth flesh, luminous and pale as the moon.

“More,” she moaned, rocking against him.

The bed slammed noisily against the wall, an insistent rapping that increased in frequency, strangely unconnected to the movements of her hips.

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of a saw.

Mark became aware of the bedclothes tangled around his legs. The stench of the river replaced the scent of her skin. She flickered as she bent over him with a sly smile, her hair falling around him like a curtain of copper silk. He was moments away from a bone-shattering orgasm. Just a little bit longer. She increased her pace, her breath quickening as she neared her peak. Her lips hovered above his, close enough to kiss, but somehow out of reach.

Her hips flickered under his hands and he heard the warble of a flock of geese.

“Jane,” he gasped, reaching out to grasp her as she disappeared, and finding only bed linen beneath his hand.
 
 
 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25238694-virtue-s-lady
 
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Virtues-Lady-Southwark-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00VC6B9SS/
 
 
Other Books in This Series
 
 
 
Tyburn (The Southwark Saga, Book 1): Notorious harlot Sally Green fights for survival in Restoration London. When a brutal attack throws them together, Sally is torn between the tutor who saves her and the highwayman who keeps her up at night; between new love and an old need for revenge. Finalist for the Southern Magic Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence 2015.
 
Barnes & Noble
 
Author Bio
 
Jessica Cale is a historical romance author and journalist based in North Carolina. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a BA in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She kidnapped (“married”) her very own British prince (close enough) and is enjoying her happily ever after with him in a place where no one understands his accent. You can visit her at www.authorjessicacale.com.
 
 
 
Social Media Links
 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessicaCale @JessicaCale
Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JessicaCaleWrites
Tumblr: http://authorjessicacale.tumblr.com/
Tsu: https://www.tsu.co/jessicacale
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Cale/e/B00PVDV9EW/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0