My good friend, and great author, Donna Taylor has just released her second book in the Copper Ridge Series! You don’t have to take my word on her being a great author, either. Just check out the excerpt below.

Blurb:

Kelli

I lived a life of privilege among the elite of Little Rock. It isn’t until my adoptive father dies that I learn everything I grew up believing was a lie. My search for the truth leads me to Copper Ridge, a small town my momma never wanted me to know about. Turns out, finding the truth isn’t the hard part. It’s surviving it.

Sawyer

I’ve lived my life and built my businesses in the shadows of society. It’s only when I start to move into the light that things become complicated. Add a debutante wanting a job in my bar and complicated become dangerous. A woman like her can’t survive in my world. But once she’s in it, I’m not willing to let her go. She needs my help. The question is, if I help her, will she survive me?

Read the prologue and first chapter below:

Prologue

Sawyer

“What the hell’s the matter with you? You’re squirming around like a kid about to piss his pants. You got something better to do than explain what the fuck’s been going on with you lately? When did you decide it was okay to piddle ass around on a job instead of finishing it?” I gave the mechanic, Grady Wilks, my don’t screw with me stare. I didn’t waste time on deadbeats, but Grady had always been a friend worth spending time on.

Continue reading

I’m happy to have Susan Illene by to answer a couple of questions. She’s going to give away a copy of her book, Stalked by Flames, to two lucky winners she’ll chose from the commenters next week.

Most embarrassing moment you’ve had recently?

When I slipped on my butt while trekking through a cave. In fairness, it was muddy and slippery, but I was still embarrassed. Also busted my shin in the hotel shower the night before (though no one knew about that until now). I think I was going through a clumsy period.

What are you toughest on yourself about?

Time management. I want to get even better at it.

Any guilty pleasures?

Lindt Lindor Truffles. I don’t eat a lot of sweets like ice cream, candy bars, cake, or candy, but give me a bag of those truffles and they’ll be gone fast. They are evil concoctions designed to tempt me!

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Binge on TV shows or read. It’s even better if I can go out to the lake to do it.

What was the hardest thing you’ve ever written?

The last book in the Sensor Series was the hardest. I spent much more time on it than any other novel, wrote and rewrote many of the chapters until I was happy with them, and I stressed a lot trying to get everything just right. Also lost my grandfather during that period so that made things even more difficult.

Last movie or book that made you cry and why?

It was actually a TV show—The Originals. Season 3, episode 11 (titled “Wild at Heart”) had me seriously crying during the last four minutes of the episode. Someone in the show had died who I didn’t particularly care about, but it was a certain actor’s reaction and brilliant performance in relation to that death that got me. There was a beautiful song played during the scene “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” sung by Jasmine Thompson that made me think of my grandfather who I’d just lost around that time so I was a bit more sensitive than usual.

What are you currently working on?

Book three of my Dragon’s Breath series, titled “Forged by Flames” which will release in late October, 2016.

Buy on Amazon

Bailey Monzac has just graduated college and is leaving town for her parents’ ranch in Texas when a massive earthquake unleashes the unthinkable on the world: fire-breathing dragons.
Chaos erupts as people flee for their lives, and Bailey survives only because she is somehow immune to the dragons’ flames. In the midst of the mayhem, Bailey is helped by a shape-shifting dragon named Aidan, who recognizes Bailey is a dragon slayer and will be an essential ally in the power struggle between—and within—the dragon clans.

Natural disasters intensify and dragons lay waste to the world as civilization all but collapses amid the loss of electricity and running water. Roving gangs prowl the debris-filled streets, and Bailey and her friends manage to find refuge in the university library. As her relationship with Aidan deepens during private training sessions, Bailey must learn to harness her newfound skills or see everything she knows and loves destroyed.

Stalked by Flames is a gritty urban fantasy about a woman’s journey into a dark new reality she never could have imagined.

Website: http://www.susanillene.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Illene/e/B00B0UDJFC/

Author Bio: Susan Illene served in the US Army for eleven years and worked as a human resources specialist and an Arabic linguist. She served two deployments to Iraq, and after leaving the army, she studied history at the University of Oklahoma. She and her husband currently live in Oklahoma with two high-maintenance cats doing their best to help her write her books.

In addition to Stalked by Flames, she is also the author of the bestselling dark-fantasy books, the Sensor Series.

As spring slowly creeps in, so excruciatingly slowly, I’ve got my own recommendation for a little warm weather reading. I’ve started to shy away from doing book reviews for many reasons, but every so often, I’ll fall in love with an author or title and can’t stop myself. For this hop, I’d like to recommend The Others series by Anne Bishop.

The first book in this series, Written in Red, stole my heart. The story is set in an alternate universe, which is surprisingly like the world we know at times, where everything is controlled and owned by shifters, also known as the Others. The humans and the Others have had a long history of clashes and misunderstandings. When Meg enters the scene, we get to experience how she starts to integrate into their closed society and it’s absolutely captivating.

These books have everything I personally love in a story. They are dark fantasy, my favorite genre, with a slow progressing romantic relationship. They do tend to be a bit slow going, but the writing is so beautiful and charming that it didn’t bother me at all. If you are looking for a good read for a sunny day at the park, I highly suggest these.

The lovely hosts of this hop are offering up some great grand prizes.

1st Grand Prize: (1) $Paperwhite Kindle

For entries to the grand prizes, leave your name and email in the comments section of the various blogs participating. Each blog will be hosting their own individual giveaway as well, so there are a lot of prizes to win!

My personal giveaway is a $10 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1.  Could you tell us a little bit about your book?

Josie and Ethan have a happy life together, but debilitating headaches and nightmares begin to destroy it.  While Ethan wants to find out the cause, Josie is terrified to delve into her past. But startling information makes Josie realize she must find out the truth.

2.  What about your process? Did you have a well formulated plot when you began or did you start writing with a basic idea?

I start writing with a basic idea of what I want and where I want it to go and then I sit down and write and take it from there. Sometimes it flows easily and other days, there are a lot of rewrites!

3.  Was there a particular catalyst that inspired you to start writing novels?

Not really, I’ve always wanted to write from as far back as I can remember; but ambivalent parents made me push it to the back burner. Then life gets in the way so I promised myself I would write as soon as I took myself out of the work force.

4.  What is your favorite type of leading male?

My favorite leading male is the male who always considers a woman his equal and wants to share everything with her no matter what obstacles get in the way.

5.  Can you give us an excerpt of what you consider your best work?

This is from my first book, In a Heartbeat:

“Josie didn’t answer, just did what he wanted. She needed him just as much and he knew it. He pushed her against the wall and slid himself inside her slowly but forcefully. She was wet and warm and felt like velvet. He growled in her ear and said, ‘We’re one, Jo, tied together by desire, love…need and we’ll always be just one heartbeat away from each other.’”

6.  What about a single line?

“Throughout the night, she felt him all around her, his smell, his warmth, his touch and knew she was safe.”

7.   What would you say is the thing you do best in your writing?

I like conversation, the verbal banter that goes on throughout the storyline. This is what keeps the emotions flowing and touches our souls.

8.  Is there anything you would like to share with us? Maybe upcoming book plans or releases?

I’m working on my second novel now which is a romantic suspense/crime story about a woman trying to find her way to a new life after a major tragedy occurs.

IN A HEARTBEAT

Author:  Josie Cara

Genre:  Woman’s Fiction, Romance

Publication Date:  December 13, 2013

When debilitating headaches and strange nightmares start wreaking havoc on budding artist Josie Bryant’s life, she begins a downward spiral into depression and helplessness. Her once heavenly relationship with her fiancé – gallery owner Ethan Donnelly – starts to fall apart, and everything Josie held dear starts to systematically fall away.

After startling information is received about Josie’s past, she and Ethan embark on a quest to gather as much information as possible in a last ditch effort to save their relationship, and possibly Josie’s life.
Unfortunately, sometimes things are better left alone. Will Josie be able to handle the truth? Will her lifelong need for a loving family be realized, and if so, is it worth the cost? Can Josie and Ethan’s love really conquer all, or will it all come crashing down in a New York minute?

ON SALE FOR $0.99 on February 14th and 15th ONLY!

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Josie Cara lives in NYC with her family and two King Charles Cavalier dogs, Zak and Zoe. Her love of books has always been a big part of her life but  she never had the time, between working and caring for her children, to concentrate on writing. Now she has the time to take all the stories she’s been writing in her head and put them down on paper; something her family and friends have been encouraging her to do for some time. A whole new world has opened up to her and she is enjoying every minute of it.

Connect with Josie:

Website:  http://www.josiecarabooks.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JosieCaraAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JosieCaraAuthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7248495.Josie_Cara