Excerpt & Giveaway: Mid-Life Love by Whitney G.

Mid-Life Love
By: Whitney G.
Publisher: Self-published
Published: June 28, 2013
Genre: Romance

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If you'd asked me what love was two years ago, I probably would've said, 'It's this amazing feeling that obsesses and possesses you; it's what me and my husband currently have.' If you ask me that same question today, I'll say, 'Please get the hell out of my face.’

Claire Gracen's life is picture perfect. Her career as a marketing director is on the brink of being legendary, and her marriage to her high school sweetheart has never been stronger. No, wait. It has. It used to be amazing and fulfilling, but one day Claire realizes that she's been living a lie and her best friend and husband have committed the ultimate betrayal.

Broken and depressed, Claire is in need of something new—new city, new job, new friends.

When she happens to attract the interest of the sexiest man she's ever met, a man significantly younger than her, she immediately turns him down—only to later discover that this man is Jonathan Statham, self-made billionaire and CEO of Statham Industries. Her boss.

Jonathan Statham is unlike any man she's met before. He's used to getting whatever he wants—whenever he wants, and he isn't about to take no for an answer. 

“How long have you been working here, Miss Gracen?” He placed subtle emphasis on the word ‘Miss’ and smiled.

“About four years.”

“Hmmm. I can’t believe I’m just now finding you.” He rubbed his chin. “Do you like it?”

There has to be a better word than “sexy” to describe you…

“Do I like what?”

“Your job, this company.”

“You want me to be completely honest?”

“That would be nice.”

“I absolutely hate it here, but the offices are decorated quite nicely. The interior designers did one hell of a job.”

“Good to know.” He laughed. “I take it that since you haven’t called, you’re not interested in going out with me?”

I nodded weakly. “Clearly.”

“May I ask why, Miss Gracen?”

He needs to stop saying my name like that…

“There are several reasons why.”

“Name the best ones.” He stepped in front of me and looked deep into my eyes. “But your age and the fact that you have kids aren’t good enough reasons for me.”

Poker face…Poker face… “Well, as I’m sure you already know, it’s against company policy.”

“I can have that rewritten by the end of the week.”

“It’s also completely immoral and highly inappropriate.”

“That’s…debatable.” He reached out and pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Is that all?”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything.

I was too busy getting lost in his incredible eyes. I realized that they weren’t entirely blue; his irises were outlined in a wispy cloud of charcoal gray and there were speckles of emerald green gleaming within them.

“Miss Gracen? Are there any other excuses?” He inched even closer to me, slightly rubbing his nose against mine.

Why am I so turned on right now? I shouldn’t be feeling this way…He’s way too young for me, way too young for me…

“I’m not attracted to you.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh really?”

A self diagnosed candy addict, travel junkie, and hypochondriac, Whitney Gracia Williams LOVES to write about characters that make you laugh, cry, and want to (in the case of Selena Ross) reach through your Kindle and slap them.

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Excerpt, Guest Post & Giveaway: Dangerous Proposition by Jessica Lauryn

Dangerous Proposition
By: Jessica Lauryn
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Published: June 25, 2013
Genre: Romantic Suspense

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When Julia Dyson learns her father has been abducted, she believes his hidden profession may be to blame. But when she discovers a man’s name in her dad's caller history, a man suspected of shady business activity and also her teenage crush, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She confronts her father's presumed abductor, resulting in an unforgettable kiss.

In the course of one disastrous evening, diamond smuggling kingpin Colin Westwood learns that his best recruit is missing in action, and that the man has been keeping a secret for years—he has a twenty-six-year-old daughter. Determined to protect his identity, Colin vows to find the young woman, and keep her silent at any cost. Later intrigued to learn that she is actually the attractive woman he kissed, he makes Julia an offer. Come to New York City with him to search for her missing father…as his mistress.

Keeping Julia firmly within the groove of his arm, Colin stepped inside the hotel room and flicked on the light switch. After shutting the door, he double-bolted it behind them.

Short of a pale complexion, Julia didn’t appear to be injured. At least, it didn’t look as though she had any bruises. But he knew he wouldn’t feel better until he saw this for himself. Though it was completely unethical, he had half a mind to give her a physical. And if he actually believed he could perform one on her and control himself, he would do just that.

He led a trembling Julia to the bed. Looking into her tearful eyes, he knelt beside her, cupping her cheek. It killed him seeing her like this, killed him even more knowing that he was completely to blame.

Speaking as gently as he could manage, he said, “You’re safe now. It’s all right, sweetheart. You’re safe. I’m right here—no one’s coming after us. No one’s going to hurt you ever again.”

Julia nodded, but she said nothing, causing him to have a horrifying realization. Maybe something had happened between her and Dylan Rossler in that room. She’d been dressed when he found her, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t put her clothes back on afterward, or that Rossler had bothered to remove them at all.

Feeling as though he were on the brink of an explosion, Colin said, “Did that guy—I mean—Dylan Rossler didn’t…you and he didn’t—”

“Of course not! Holy crap, Westwood. What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“One who clearly has a death wish,” Colin muttered under his breath.

“Me?” Julia exclaimed. “I went over there to save your ass. Not the other way around.”

“Which you were obviously doing a phenomenal job with while you were locked inside that bedroom.”

Her chin squared. “You may have been the one to kick the door down, but I would have gotten out of that room with or without your help.”

“If you really believe that, Julia, then you really are naïve. Do you realize what Dylan Rossler would have done if I hadn’t gotten there when I did? Allow me to clue you in, since you’re obviously not aware. Because it’s the same thing every other red-blooded bastard at that party wanted to do to you!”

“You mean”—she bit her lip—“that he—”

“Was planning on having sex with you? Of course, Julia. Of course those guys thought you were sexy, of course Dylan Rossler wanted to have sex with you! I’m not blind. I can see what’s right in front of me. Any man at that party who didn’t want you was either gay or in a drunken coma!”

Her blue eyes narrowed, and Colin bit his tongue. He hadn’t intended to say all that out loud. Hadn’t intended to say any of it, in fact. But he was glad it had happened because he was done holding back.

There was something between him and Julia. A need that ran deep and had been building since that night in his bed. Sometimes it seemed as if it had been longer, particularly at moments such as this when he wanted nothing more than to toss her onto the bed, rip off that damned cocktail dress she was wearing, and sample every last inch of her skin.

He’d wanted to keep his desires to himself, wanted to keep things simple between them. The complications they were risking were great, and God knew he hated the idea that he might be taking advantage of Julia when her father was missing. But right now, he couldn’t seem to think about those things. And after everything they’d been through tonight, he was no longer sure that holding back was going to be possible.

“Does ‘every other red-blooded bastard’ include you?” Julia asked, blinking her blue eyes furiously.

Colin took a staggered breath. Narrowing his gaze, he approached her with two hastened steps. “If you didn’t want me to behave like a red-blooded bastard, Julia,” he whispered, “then, you shouldn’t have worn this dress.”

A great book can do wonders for the soul. It’s there for you when you need a friend, or a distraction. It can serve as an escape, or a fantasy in which to indulge. Books comfort us, and they take us to places and times we’d otherwise never know. There’s only one thing I love more than a great book. That is, a great series.

When I was an adolescent, I loved reading Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High. Twin sisters Jessica and Elizabeth served as the perfect contrast to one another. One is introverted, smart, and studious, while the other is the life of the party. At the age of 12, I had no idea why I was so drawn to the duo, other than the obvious fact that I wanted to be living the life of a teenage girl myself. But looking back, I realize the draw actually stemmed from something much deeper than that.

Series writing can take on a life of its own. In a romance series, the author creates her very own world. She starts with a setting: a time, a place in which her characters will exist in. Then, she gets to work building. Hero and heroine’s story is told in book 1. And in book 2, a new couple typically takes center stage. I think the most exciting part of doing this, for me, the author, is figuring out how I will connect the characters from one book to the next. They don’t necessarily need to know one another, but I’ve found it can be a lot more fun when they do. Writing a series is very different from writing a stand-along book because you have a lot more time and space to play around with. You (the reader) get to see how a family, a group of friends, maybe even an entire town affects the lives of the people around them, possibly for years to come.

My debut series, The Pinnacles of Power, was never supposed to be a series. While I was writing what eventually became my second release, Dangerous Proposal, I was creating what I intended to be the one and only book of its kind. I was, as writers do, spending hours inside the characters’ heads, trying to get to know them. Something I wasn’t expecting struck me while I was doing this. That was, there were several characters in the story besides my hero and heroine who had a story to tell. I already had a setting I loved (several settings, actually), and I had characters who had the potential to become couples, lovers, and soul-mates. They were screaming for me to tell their stories, and so I began doing just that. Barely realizing what I was doing, a series was soon born.

Reading book 1 in a series may not feel much different than reading a stand-alone novel. Doing so, you’ll discover a plot, characters, conflict, and, as is the way with romance novels, a happily ever after. The real fun (at least, for me) comes in book 2, when you already know something about the authors’ world. In books 3 and 4, you know even more, and you’re likely to recognize the main characters as well. You may feel as though you sort-of know them as people, and the setting and time have become all-too familiar to you. This is when your imagination can really take over, because you can completely immerse yourself in the author’s fantasy world—the greatest thing a reader can experience!

I love books. But given the choice, I prefer that they be part of a series. The imagination is one of the greatest things in existence. And I find it easier to put that machine to use when there is a world of stories and characters crafted and bound for my reading enjoyment! 

 An author of Contemporary Romantic Suspense, Jessica Lauryn is most intrigued by dark heroes, who have many demons to conquer…but little trouble enticing female companions into their beds! She feels that the best romances are those where the hero is already seducing the heroine from that first point of contact. 

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Excerpt & Giveaway: Scent of Salvation by Annie Nicholas

 Scent of Salvation
(Chronicles of Eorthe #1)
By: Annie Nicholas
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance

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Love blooms across species, culture, and time.

Stranded in another dimension, on a primitive version of Earth, Dr. Susan Barlow needs to find a way to survive. There’s no electricity, no cities, and to her shock, no humans. Instead, she faces a population of werewolves, vampires and incubi. The people are vicious but she must find her place among them. And live.

An illness is killing Sorin’s pack. As alpha it’s his responsibility to save them, but it’s a battle this warrior doesn’t know how to fight. Then a blue light in the sky brings a creature he’s never seen. She calls herself human, but to him she smells like hope.

Sorin offers Susan a safe haven in return for a cure, but she’s not that kind of a doctor. She’s a doctor of physics, not a physician. Yet as they search for a cure to save a dying people, they find something special—each other.

But even with Sorin’s protection, Susan can’t help but wonder how long she can survive in a world without humans…

Warning: Feral shifters, power-hungry vampires, and a sole human female suffering culture shock.

Stars flashed in Susan’s vision. Air finally flowed into her chest, and she let out a groan. She felt more like she’d fallen than been blown to pieces.

Something cool and soft touched her cheek. She flinched and tried to sit up but only managed to roll onto her stomach. That didn’t help her nausea, and she struggled to keep breakfast down.

Fuck it. The blast hadn’t killed her so the military could clean her puke. Then they could haul her ass to jail—or the hospital.

Resting, she waited for Jeff’s yells for her arrest and execution, but the only sounds came from birdsongs. She jerked her face off the moist ground and grunted.

Birds? Had she blow the roof off the building?

Cool.

She rubbed her blurry eyes and blinked. Her heart did a double beat. She shook her head and blinked again.

Surrounded by lush green plants, Susan sat on a carpet of soft moss. She rose onto shaky, numb legs. A giant tree loomed thirty feet over her head. Three grown men touching fingertips might be able to hug the trunk.

There wasn’t a forest for miles, yet here she stood in the middle of one. She did a slow three-sixty. Tree, tree, bush, tree, building. Bingo.

Before her towered a stone structure overgrown with flowering vines. Taking one slow step at a time, she approached it. The steps were swept clean of any debris or growth. She climbed, listening for anything inside. Huge gaps in the walls let the sunlight in between the stone slabs, and deep, worn engravings covered them. She traced one with her fingertip and didn’t recognize the language. Hell, she couldn’t even read the symbol. Where was she?

Sucking in a sharp breath, she clapped her hands over her mouth.

DOUG had worked?

She was standing in another dimension.

Alive.

Her trip had been unintentional yet successful. She needed to high five someone. It had worked just like she’d said it would. All those people who’d laughed at her idea could shove it up their collective—

Twisting around with a foolish grin cramping her cheeks, she saw only rainforest. Shadows covered the ground since the trees’ canopy blocked most of the sunlight. Her grin faded and she broke into a cold sweat.

Oh shit, it had worked.

A vacuum of dread sucked the excitement from her body. The explosion must have punctured a hole through the dimensional veil and thrown her through. She couldn’t see the blue portal light. Without the machine, the gateway couldn’t remain open. Or ever open again since it should be slag with the rest of her lab. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter.

She was alone. Stranded God knows where.

For all she knew, T-rex lived over the next hill or worse, the Nazis had won World War II.

Taking a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes. She was a brilliant scientist, graduating at the top of all her classes. The unknown wasn’t something to fear but to be embraced and studied. However, field operations had never thrilled her. She was a lab geek with delusions of exploration. She’d always pictured herself guiding those brave souls who would step onto a new world from the safety of Technocon, not being that person. Glancing over her shoulder at the forest, she took a steadying breath.

What lived out there?

Birds sang, loud and uninterrupted by the hum of cars or machines. She couldn’t see any electrical lines or other buildings. Please, let there be some kind of path or road to follow. How long could she survive in the wilderness? Probably a couple days before something ate her.

The birds fell silent. She froze, facing the forest. Nothing moved. Her heart galloped as she searched the gloom. She backed into the building, not wanting to take her eyes off the woods. A crack in the floor caught her heel, and she stumbled while her arms pinwheeled until she caught her balance.

All right, she needed to get a grip. Just because things were quiet didn’t mean she should panic. Breaking her leg would be a death sentence. She kicked off her shoes. The logic was sound but the adrenaline coursing through her body told her to screw off and run. A cold sweat broke out over her skin, and a cool wind made her shiver.

She scanned the inside of the building. It didn’t have a roof. A stone altar in the center offered the only shelter. She hurried across to it and laid a hand over the smooth, cool surface. Breathing a sigh of relief, she closed her eyes for a heartbeat. It wasn’t bloodstained. That was a good sign, right?

She crept around to the other side and knelt behind it. Hiding felt right.

Crouched on the cold stone floor, she hugged her knees to her chest. At least the military hadn’t gotten her machine. A small consolation while squatting in another dimension, all alone like a frightened animal.

The rustle of leaves to her left made her squeak. She clapped her hand over her mouth and peeked around the corner. Something with silver-gray fur crawled under the vines through one of the wall’s many gaps.

Please let that be a big-ass raccoon. She watched as the creature’s dark, wet nose moved in her direction and sniffed. All her muscles seized. She couldn’t move or breathe.

The nose pushed through, followed by a large, wolf-like head. On his stomach, he crept into the building. Her vision tunneled as he rose to his hind legs and kept rising until he towered over her. Long claws protruded from his fingers and toes. Swinging his head, he sniffed the air. Three jagged scars ran over his muzzle. His amber gaze met her stare, and he bared his sharp teeth. As he moved, thick, solid muscles slid under his silver fur.

With a knocking heart, Susan was anchored to the spot. A werewolf. A real, honest-to-God werewolf stood not five feet from her. She hadn’t crossed dimensions. She’d died and gone to hell.

As he stepped toward her, something flipped off in her brain and it stopped functioning. Deductive reasoning vanished like a cheap parlor trick. Sixty thousand years of human instinct buried in her genes kicked in, and Susan scuttled away from the beast until her head hit the stone wall. Ignoring the sharp pain, she grabbed the vines and pulled herself to her feet. All the while she couldn’t stop staring at this magnificent creature made of nightmares. She took a deep breath and let out a scream that rattled her tonsils.

 Annie Nicholas writes paranormal romance with a twist. She has courted vampires, hunted with shifters, and slain a dragon’s ego all with the might of her pen. Riding the wind of her imagination, she travels beyond the restraints of reality and shares them with anyone wanting to read her stories. Mother, daughter, and wife are some of the other hats she wears while hiking through the hills and dales of her adopted state of Vermont.

Annie writes for Samhain Publishing, Carina Press, and Lyrical Press.

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Review & Giveaway: Barbie World by Heidi Acosta

Barbie World
(Baby Doll, #2)
By: Heidi Acosta
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: ? Summer 2013
Genre: YA
Rating:


Goodreads

“One Night is all it took to change everything between Barbie and me. One night to potentially lose the girl of my dreams forever. How do I prove to her that she can trust me? That all I want to do is protect her carefully guarded heart. I need to prove to her that I want to be a part of her world. But How? ”
 
Dylan lost Barbie once before, now he is determined more than ever to win her heart and trust back. Easier said than done, especially with the new hot guy in town who is in a rock band and is the complete opposite of Dylan.
 
Barbie has been hurt beyond repair or so she thinks. It would be easier for heart to decide if she didn’t have to protect her little brother. And if Dylan would just put on a shirt! Dylan is not making this easy on her. It helps to have the distraction of the new guy in town cute bad boy Kai. But even though her heart is damaged it still knows what it wants.
 
When Barbie learns she has a family and with the help of Roxie and Kai, oh and Third and Dylan. They embark on a journey to help bring Barbie closer to a past she never knew existed.
Heidi Acosta brings you the heart felt story of friendship, love and heartbreak in the second book in of the Baby doll series Barbie World.

We pick up shortly where Barbie Girl ends. Barbie is now under the Guardianship of Dylan's parents. She's moving on with her life and trying to forget about Dylan, which is kind of hard since they live under the same roof. Dylan on the other hand is hell bent on winning Barbie back, regardless of the fact that he has a girlfriend.

I fell in love with these characters in Barbie Girl. I liked the rawness of Barbie and how she opened up Dylan's eyes as far as not always fitting in the mold when it comes to the cliques at school. So I was really disappointed in Dylan for going after Barbie while he has a girl friend. He would grab Barbie and start making out with her while his girl friend was in the next room. It just left a sour taste in my mouth. He hated being around his girl friend. Made fun of her and her friends when with Third and really didn't care for her feelings. He kept asking Barbie what he had to do to get her back. However, he wouldn't break up with his girl friend because 1) his parent's liked her and expected him to date someone like her and 2) he wasn't sure if Barbie would take him back. How about this Dylan? You do the right thing, and break up with the girl that you're stringing along and then maybe approach Barbie! The fact that this takes place throughout the entirety of the story really drove me nuts.

However, I still really enjoyed Barbie's character. She's really torn up over everything that took place in the previous book. The person she though she could trust, broke that trust and continues to hurt her every day. Not to mention the new situation she's in with living with a family who actually cares about her well being.

"I know that this is a fake sense of security that I am in. I'm not going to fall for it anymore. No one loves me. I was abandoned by my mother. The one boy I loved never really loved me back."

We also get more time with Roxie and Third. Third really steps it up in this book. He seems to take Barbie's side in the whole matter (as he should) and is there to protect her but at the same time, if there is a chance he can help Dylan out, he does. Aside from Dylan, the other characters in this book were a pleasure to read. Not to mention the added bonus of Kai which is a potential love interest for Barbie.

One other thing that detracted a point for me was the ending. It seems a bit rushed and then the epilogue comes at you out of left field. I felt like a lot of the back and forth between Barbie and Dylan could have been cut out to make room for the ending.

All in all, Barbie's story was a good one. She fought her way through life and survived.

"I want to see girls in bikinis just as bad as you, but while you are only lugging around a six pack, I have a whole keg to get up this hill." -Third



Previous reviews from Baby Doll series
Barbie Girl

 Heidi Acosta was born on Long Island, New York. Moving around a lot when she was younger, she has lived in New York, Arizona, New York (again), Washington, Georgia, and Florida, in that order. Each place offered her something special, but she will always consider New York her home.

Heidi started writing as soon as she could spell. When she was three, Heidi’s mother gave her a copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods; thus beginning her lifelong love affair with literature.

Writing soon also became a form of therapy for Heidi, when she realized that no matter what was happening in her life, she could find emotional escape while writing. Some of her earliest stories featured her as a princess who explored new worlds with her horse Buttercup. If it sounds romantic, it wasn’t, there was no prince charming in those fairy lands (boys where yucky).

Heidi now resides in Florida with her husband, very active daughter, one hyper Chihuahua, two sweet cats, and one very fat moody cat.

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Excerpt & Giveaway: Breaking the Rules by Melinda Dozier

Breaking the Rules
By: Melinda Dozier
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Published: July 8, 2013
Genre: Romance

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A forbidden love affair in the past has led Hope Robinson, a middle school principal, to Harbor Bay, Florida, where she commits herself to play by the rules. This can be difficult for a perpetual klutz, who—even strapped in a cast—has to uphold a competent attitude at all times.

Luckily, she has Dr. Colin Calaway on her side, a widower and father of a student, who is ready to give love another try. When Colin convinces Hope they should explore the connection between them, a steamy romance develops, though it could destroy them both. They must decide if their jobs—and their hearts—are worth the risk.

Without a word, he grabbed her hand and led her to the back where a piano sat on a small stage. Letting go of her hand, he opened his arms and said, “Your wish is my command.”

Her mouth fell open and she touched her parted lips. “Are you kidding me?”

He shook his head and backed away. “It’s all yours.”

At the closest table to the stage, he sat in a chair and watched Hope stroke the baby grand piano next to her. Her fingers caressed the keys, then she glanced around the room. Looking back at him, she mouthed, “I can’t.”

He mouthed back, “Yes, you can.”

She giggled and bit her lip. Squeezing her eyes shut, he saw her take one of her yoga deep breaths. She sat down at the piano bench, her fingers outstretched on top. After a few more breaths, she looked more at ease. Colin smiled. He couldn’t help himself. She looked like she actually belonged on that stage.

Tucker brought over a beer and gazed at Hope on stage. “She’s a looker.”

“I can’t wait to hear her.”

“Let me get her started, then.” Tucker headed to the stage and stood in front of the microphone. When he nodded at Hope, she nodded back in acknowledgement and then he announced to the seven or eight people in the audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have an impromptu performance. Give it up for Ms. Hope Robinson.”

A few claps sounded, and then Colin heard the keys of the piano. A soft tune that complemented this soft Hope. Smiling, he took a sip of his beer and relaxed. She actually did this, no qualms, no major retorts, just a simple, “okay, I’m in for it” attitude that turned him on even more.

So far, he’d seen two sides of Hope. There was the Ms. Robinson side, the principal who was all business, straight and narrow. Then there was the fun Hope—his friend, damn it—who laughed at his jokes, relaxed and open. Up on the stage, Hope turned into yet another person. An artist. Soft. Gentle. Almost pure. And she was really talented. So much so that he closed his eyes and imagined she played to him, and only him ... and okay, he couldn’t help himself. She was naked. A man could dream, couldn’t he?

The tune was nice, somewhat jazzy with a touch of classical. He was no music connoisseur, but he knew when music sounded good. Opening his eyes, he saw her lean into the keys, feeling in her touch, her eyes closed and her head moving. This Hope was a sensual one. He wanted her to play him like she played that piano. Stroking, with a tenderness that only she knew, telling a story with the sounds.

Shit. This friends bit wouldn’t pass. If he couldn’t convince her otherwise after today, he would have to ignore her completely, or else he would go crazy. And he didn’t want to ignore her. He wanted to take this to the next level, and by God, he would kiss her again by the end of the night if it killed him.

Melinda Dozier lives in Guatemala, Central America, with her husband, three boys and German Shepherd. She enjoys being the queen of her household and dreams of being pampered fully by her boys once they’re grown.

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Excerpt & Giveaway: Zombie, Incorporated by Jill Elaine Hughes

Zombie, Incorporated
By: Jill Elaine Hughes
Publisher: Hackberry Books
Published: March 25, 2013
Genre: New Adult/ Paranormal

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Eighteen-year-old Katie Allred is socially awkward and unpopular at school. The only child of parents who had her right out of high school, Katie is herself about to leave the nest, even though she hardly feels ready.

Katie’s new after-school job at the Zimble Box Corporation draws her into the complex social strata of high school cliques and backstabbing friends in ways she never imagined. Katie soon discovers there’s something very strange about the “in” crowd at school---and about her employer, too. Shortly after starting her new job, the Contagion breaks out, plunging her town and the entire nation into chaos as zombie shadow forces come out into the open, ravaging the streets. Katie goes into hiding and her parents disappear, along with almost everyone else she knows.

But Katie soon discovers she has special powers that help her survive. She’s a Beacon, someone with the innate ability to help zombies produce children. It’s a power her employer — and what little remains of the U.S. government — both want to exploit for their own ends. Not only that, it runs in her family---which has a secret past Katie never knew about until now.

Enter Agent Morehouse of the FBI Special Zombie Control Unit. A reformed zombie working undercover, he suppresses his urge to eat human flesh in order to serve and save humanity. But Agent Morehouse can’t help but be attracted to a Beacon like Katie, and she to him. Even as they fight zombies the world over, they must fight their intense attraction to each other, hoping to keep Katie from suffering Agent Morehouse’s terrible zombie fate.

I froze. Nobody had ever kissed me before. I didn’t know what to do. I’d often wondered what my first kiss would be like. (Yeah, I was eighteen and never been kissed. Talk about a late bloomer). And you can sure as hell bet that I never once would have guessed that my first kiss ever (especially with tongue) would come courtesy of Steve Bosch, the most popular guy at school at an exclusive invitation-only party at Lily Carmichael’s house.

Wow, I had hit the ‘in’ crowd jackpot. This really was too good to be true. All I could think about was what I might have done to bring this incredible chain of events about—and I was totally at a loss.

So we made out on the bean bag for a few minutes. I was scared at first, but Steve was really sweet and patient, and eventually I seemed to get the hang of things. I relaxed a bit and even let my mouth open a little so Steve could get his tongue all the way inside. I didn’t really tongue him back, just let him explore my mouth as he liked and enjoyed the sensations. My whole body felt warm and tingly, and I started breathing hard. I remembered from our Sex Ed unit in Health Class that this was all normal when it came to this sort of thing, but I’d never really made out with a boy before, so it still felt strange. Wonderfully strange.

But when Steve reached under my blouse to grab my boobs, I put on the brakes. I pulled away from him abruptly and turned to face the wall. “I’d rather you didn’t do that,” I heard myself say.

Steve bit his lip and looked sheepish. “Sorry,” he said in a small voice. “I thought you would like it.”

I shrugged. “Maybe next time.” I tried to sound nonchalant, like I made that kind of remark to hot popular boys trying to feel me up every other day or something, but I just ended up sounding stupid.

But Steve seemed to take it in stride. “That’s cool,” he said. “I like a girl who takes her time with things.” He reached over and patted me softly on the back of the hand. “Do you want another beer? Or maybe some food? If you’re hungry I can go see what they have.”

This day just got weirder and weirder. Just when I thought Steve was going to ditch me and find some other more attractive and popular girl to make out with, he started waiting on me hand and foot. And I was sort of hungry. I’d forgotten my lunch money that day at school so I’d only eaten a few leftover tater tots from somebody else’s plate since breakfast. “Sure, I’ll eat something,” I said.

“Cool. What do you like to eat?”

I shrugged again. “Oh, anything I guess. I’m not picky.”

Steve smiled again and left the room, giving my shoulder an affectionate squeeze first. I glanced around the room and saw that most of the other necking couples had disappeared, and the loud music that had been blaring from somewhere in the house when we arrived was gone, too. Plus the room seemed a lot darker than before. I glanced out the only window and saw that the sun was almost down.

Gee, time really flies when you’re having fun, I thought to myself with a chuckle. I glanced at my watch and saw that almost two hours had passed while Steve and I were sucking face. Boy, no wonder people were so into making out—it was more entertaining than going to the movies.

I unwedged myself from the beanbag and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. How long had I been there, exactly? And what had happened to everybody else? God only knew where Stacey had disappeared to, or if she was even still here at all. I thought about going off to look for her, but then how would Steve find me when he came back with the food? Would Steve come back at all? Or was he just messing with my head and this whole thing was some sort of sick joke perpetrated by the popular kids onto lowlifes with no social standing like me?

Just as I was weighing the merits of sticking around to see what happened next versus making a mad dash for home, Steve reappeared, carrying two Styrofoam dinner plates. “There wasn’t much left,” he said. “Looks like we missed most of the good stuff while we were, um, you know.”

He handed me my plate, and reached around to take two more beers that he’d stuffed in his back jeans pockets. It was the same beer as last time—Busch Light— but the food was, well, not like anything I’d ever seen before.

 I'm an independent author of New Adult (mature YA, 18-26) fiction as well as a full-time freelance journalist based in Chicago. I've contributed to the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Chicago Reader and many magazines as a journalist over the past 15 years.  And like most New Adult fiction authors these days, I've gone the self-publishing route for my work since most publishers haven't caught up to the readership trends in this emerging shelf category. My writing is usually laced with humor and also often has sexual and/or dystopian elements.

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Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Immortal Hunter by Kait Ballenger

Immortal Hunter
(Execution Underground, #2)
By: Kait Ballenger
Publisher: HQN Books
Release Date: Jan. 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Goodreads

As an exorcist, David Aronowitz grew up the target of demonic
assassins. Now he’s a member of the Execution Underground
and hellspawn everywhere fear his name. But when a demon
slips into the seductive body of the only woman he’s ever loved,

David must confront the heartbreak of their past to save her.
The piece of her heart Allsún O’Hare gave to David so long ago
left her trapped between two worlds: the Fae and the human.
And when David comes to her rescue, fate reunites her with her
greatest temptation—and her biggest mistake.

Now, as they’re swept together into a wicked game with the
demon who controls her, David must decide if saving Allsún’s
life is worth sacrificing his own—and the future of humanity itself.

What do you think of the cover? I like how not only do the titles link together (Shadow Hunter, Twilight Hunter, Immortal Hunter) but the covers do as well. If you are a fan of PNR then you have got to check out this debut author. I read the prequel to the Execution Underground not too long ago and if you haven't seen my review, check it out.
Shadow Hunter

Kait Ballenger is a full-time paranormal romance author, wife, professional bellydancer, and graduate student living in Central Florida. SHADOW HUNTER, the debut prequel of her sexy paranormal romance series, the Execution Underground, about an international network of supernatural hunters who fight to protect humanity alongside the powerful women they seduce, releases in an anthology titled AFTER DARK along with NYT Bestselling author Gena Showalter's novella THE DARKEST ANGEL in July 2013.

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Twilight Hunter (ARC)
By: Kait Ballenger
Genre: Paranormal Romance

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Hunters of the supernatural, the Execution Underground are an elite group tasked with protecting humanity...but what happens when danger collides with desire?

Jace McCannon has one loyalty: the Execution Underground. Despite his mixed blood, his hatred for the werewolves he hunts is legendary. But in his search for a sadistic killer, Jace finds himself face to face with a stunningly seductive packmaster…and longing for a night with his mortal enemy.

Nothing can stop Frankie Amato from defending her kind--or catching the rogue responsible for killing women in her territory. For that, this alpha female needs Jace’s skills more than she wants to admit. But as their investigation exposes evil truths, need burns into a passion that dare not be fulfilled. For to do so will have deadly consequences for them both.

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Promo Stop & Giveaway: The Dragon's Call by K.W. McCabe

The Dragon's Call
(The Dragon Throne, #1)
By: K.W. McCabe
Publisher: FantaFire Press
Published: Sept. 28, 2012
Genre: YA/ Paranormal Romance

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 In a war-torn world, a careless act of destruction wakes a creature of myth and legend - a dragon. Mankind unites to battle for survival, but when dragons enter the fray in human form... humans lose.

Three decades later, Cecily lives in an enclave with her father and brother. Ignorant of life before the war, she placidly obeys the restrictions imposed by dragonkind.

Stifled by court life, Derek, heir of the Dragon Queen, commits a petty crime. To avoid punishment and chronic boredom, he escapes to the enclave. His arrival sparks increased tension when he meets Cecily. She realizes the limitations on her freedom, and Derek discovers his life is built on a lie. Their forbidden friendship threatens to splinter the separation between their people, but something more dangerous occurs.

A mysterious killer has kidnapped Cecily's mother - and seems to be stalking Cecily. Derek and Cecily must defy the rules of their society to find and stop the murderer before Cecily is next.

K.W. McCabe is a Californian transplant to Minnesota. She lives there with her family where she tries very hard to stay warm in all the snow. She has loved fairy tales, Sci-fi, and fantasy all her life, and has been writing stories and poems of that nature since she could first spell. She has worked, in the past, as a library assistant, a baby sitter, a counseling hotline intern, and as a case manager. She maintains that art and writing can only be done when inspired, and inspiration comes from a sufficient amount of laziness. Currently, she is working on Dragon Kin.

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