For those of you who love books and competitions, Hugh Roberts has a great competition!
Win a £50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of Glimpses, in this free to enter competition. Closing date 30th September 2017.
Source: Win A £50 Amazon Gift Card And A Signed Copy Of Glimpses – Hugh’s Views & News
Colleen Chesebro has a very special giveaway for Stl Patrick’s Day. Don’t miss it!
This year, I decided to celebrate with a contest where one lucky reader can win a signed copy of The Heart Stone Chronicles: The Swamp Fairy, my debut novel published in January of this year. This …
Source: Happy St. Patrick’s Day Book GIVEAWAY – Colleen Chesebro ~ Fairy Whisperer
Hi all:
The holiday season is fast approaching and to celebrate, I want to bring you a giveaway I’m taking part in. As I’ve mentioned before in quite a few occasions (yes, I know I’m a bore), I belong to a number of author groups, and one of the authors in one of them, Elizabeth Marx , suggested organising a giveaway, where we would not only be giving a Kindle Fire away, but also sending a lucky winner our books for free (56 books in fact).
I wondered about trying to list all the books, but I thought you could have a look at some of them here
What do you have to do to take part in this wonderful giveaway and have an option to get the Kindle Fire with books by: Elizabeth Marx, Theresa Snyder, Olga Núñez Miret, Laura Taylor, Lisa Gillis, Tima Maria Lacoba, Jerrie Alexander, Sarah Jane Butfield, Dawn Torrens, Lynn Mattheynssens, Tamara Ferguson, Lisa Calell, J.J. Ellis, Nicole Morgan, Kristine Cayne, Bridgette Lesley and Susanne Leist?
Well, it couldn’t be more simple! You go here:
And sign up to get newsletters with information and freebies from the authors. And after Christmas, a winner will be picked at random from all the entries.
There’s a caveat, though. Due to expenses of sending it, only residents in the US will be eligible to get the Kindle. Sorry, I can’t participate either!
As you see, the giveaway is open from the 26th of November to the 28th of December.
If you’re curious, I’m giving all my novel-size books away, including my single volume collection of the Angelic Business books that will be available from the 15th of December. If you’d be interested in getting copy for your very personal giveaway, and you can’t participate in the main giveaway due to location, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. (Warning: I might still ask you to sign up for my e-mail list if you don’t mind).
Thanks to Elizabeth for organizing the giveaway, thanks to all the authors for taking part, thanks to you for reading, and you know what to do, share, like, comment and of course, CLICK!
Hi all:
Today I’m really pleased to be taking part in the Blog Tour for the new novel by Hans Hirschi. If you remember I already brought you another one of his books ‘The Fallen Angels of Karnataka‘ and I jumped at the chance of bringing you his newest novel. We have a character profile (a truly enlightened character. If only our politicians were like him) and I’ve had the pleasure of reading it too, so I leave you the review as well. And don’t miss the fabulous giveaway.
And now:
Willem of the Tafel by
Hans M. Hirschi
Published by
Beaten Track Publishing
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, LGBT, Post-Dystopian, Young Adult
194 pages
Release Date: May 28, 2015
The world we know is gone, destroyed by greed and ignorance. On a post-apocalyptic Earth, centuries into the future, few have survived the Great War. Some have taken refuge deep inside a mountain. One of them, Willem, is exiled to the surface… Alone and struggling to survive, Willem embarks on an epic journey, making a discovery that could once again alter the future of humanity. Willem of the Tafel is an epic tale of survival, second chances, hope and undying love.
Hans M Hirschi (b. 1967) has been writing stories ever since he was a child. Adulthood and the demands of corporate life efficiently put an end to his fictional writing for over twenty years.
A global executive in training and channel development, Hans has traveled the world and had previously published non-fictional titles.
The birth of his son and the subsequent parental leave provided him with the opportunity to unleash his creative writing once again. With little influence over his brain’s creative workings, he indulges it, going with the flow.
A deeply rooted passion for, faith in a better world, in love, tolerance and diversity are a red thread throughout both his creative and non-fictional work. His novels might best be described as “literary romance, engaging characters and relevant stories that won’t leave you untouched, but hopeful.”
Hans is a proud member of the Swedish Writers’ Union and the Writers’ Center in Sweden.
The giveaway for Willem of the Tafel has 11 randomly chosen winners; 10 will receive $15 Gift codes to the author’s shop, but the grand prize winner will receive a free ticket to GayRomLit retreat 2015, in San Diego, CA, happening October 15-18th, 2015. Ticket value is $175, but if you win the grand prize, you’re responsible for travel and accommodations. Please notify the author in advance should you win and be unable to attend, so we can choose another recipient to enjoy the prize!
Character Profile from Willem of the Tafel
Adrianjaka, Chief of Madagascar
Gender: Male
Age: late forties when we first meet him
Occupation: Chief of Madagascar and one of the four leaders of the world
Adrianjaka is an interesting man. Born into a powerful family with royal roots, he is used to being in charge, making decisions. He is the elected leader of the Malagasy people in the 26th century when the story begins. He was mated to a white woman of Kiwi descent, whom he lost to cancer, one of the many diseases plaguing a world that has no modern technology. His daughter, mother to one of the main characters, Hery, dies giving birth to Hery, which leaves Adrianjaka devastated, as he was very close to her, and it strains the relationship to his grandson for years. Hery eventually attends a school in the north of the island, a school dedicated to kids with disabilities (Hery is deaf) and meets the fisherman Stephane on who’s boat he begins to work as a sailor, further alienating him from his grandfather who had different plans for him.
However, the stubbornness and dedication of Hery slowly wear down the old man and when they meet at a crucial point in the story, Adrianjaka realizes that the path Hery has taken has prepared him for the future.
Adrianjaka is a crucial secondary character in the book. He is wise, he is powerful, but he’s not blinded by it, unlike his counterpart in South Africa, Mavuto.
I, personally, love Adrianjaka, because he’s not perfect but has a good heart and is able to recognise his mistakes, move on and accept. And he has the well-being of his people as his main interest. As I said at the beginning, if only…
Here, my review:
Willem of the Tafel is not an easy book to classify. The main protagonist, Willem, is quite young at the beginning of the action, and the novel follows his journey towards independence and adulthood, so it has elements of a Young Adult story. It portrays a future post-nuclear catastrophe, where environment takes its toll and pays humanity back, with most of the population being wiped-out and the few survivors taking some radical decisions. It’s a dystopia/utopia (depending on each person’s viewpoint) whereby whilst some groups of humans have decided to abandon technology to avoid further catastrophes, others depend on it for their basic survival. So it could be a science-fiction novel. It’s a novel with a strong pro-environmental message, and it reflects upon the human condition (fear, power struggles, and race relations). It is also a beautiful love story between two extraordinary young men, as different from each other as they could be, but as compatible and similar in their outlook as would be possible.
The author uses third person alternating point of view to make the reader share in the feelings of those characters that, although initially might appear completely alien to us once we move past their circumstances, they are not that different from all of us. Both of the post-apocalyptic societies that are shown have their problems. The people living on the surface who have renounced technology see their lives shortened but their lack of science and experiment hardship without any relief in sight, although they live a much simpler life and enjoy human contact. The society of the Tafel has developed a model of life where the main goal is survival and nothing that does not increase its likelihood is considered worthy of pursuit. Reproduction has become mechanised, society divided and dying due to lack of new blood and light, and each individual is only a cog in a machine. And there are huge division and differences according to race. Neither model is shown as perfect although the Tafel seems, by far, the sadder of the two (and perhaps the closer to where we are going).
Willem is and extraordinary character. An individual part of a system who is wonderfully unlike anybody else and whose punishment for an accidental death becomes his (and humanity’s) salvation. Willem brought to my mind Herman Melville’s character ‘Billy Budd’, the beautiful and innocent sailor who kills another sailor (unintentionally) and pays dearly for it, not only for his crime, but because he represents what the captain can’t be or have. Thankfully, in the case of Willem, this young man goes on to become the link between the two societies and a symbol of hope.
A joyful and optimistic read that affirms the human spirit. Suitable for all ages. A character and a novel I won’t forget.
Willem of the Tafel Tour brought to you by…
Thanks to Amberr for organising the tour, thanks to Hans Hirschi for another fabulous book, and thanks to you all for reading. And don’t forget to like, share, comment, participate in the giveaway, and of course, CLICK!
Hi all:
As you know on Friday I bring you new books or guest authors, so when one of the authors who has visited as before, Jody Kessler contacted me about this amazing collection of books, I grabbed the chance. Then I realised I also know Tamara Ferguson, although she hasn’t come for a visit yet, so I’m putting her on notice. Ah, and don’t miss the giveaway! Notice the giveaway runs for the 15th to the 28th of June.
Magical Weddings ~ 15 Enchanting Romances
Whether real or only in the hearts of the bride and groom, the magic of weddings is undeniable and irresistible! As these 15 enchanting happily-ever-afters by bestselling and award-winning authors prove.
From sweet to spicy, the romances bundled into this set cross time and unite hearts, cast spells of laughter, battle wedding jitters and fight back tears, while weaving love’s hopeful magic throughout 1400 pages.
The box set is available for pre-order now – only .99 cents!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Ibooks | Google Play
~~~More About the Books~~~
Her Wedding Wager by Leigh Michaels, National bestselling and Award-winning author of over 100 novels. Celia’s doomed to an arranged marriage–unless she can win the most important bet of her life!
~~~
The Last Wedding at Drayhome (Breens Mist Witches) by Aileen Harkwood. Never underestimate the power of a witch and warlock in love who have nothing left to lose.
~~~
The Dress by Eve Devon. Two couples, 400 years apart. From a masquerade ball in Venice 1615 to a wedding in England 2015, can a dress laced with magic weave its spell through the fabric of time?
~~~
Second Chance Bride by Raine English, USA Today bestselling and Award-winning author. She thinks she’s marrying the man of her dreams, until a telepathic rescue dog leads her to someone else… Will this bride-to-be say “I do” to the wrong man?
~~~
Two Hearts Surrendered by Tamara Ferguson, Bestselling and Award-winning author. Will two warring hearts be strong enough to survive the ultimate battle?
~~~
Something Borrowed, Something Blue by Lynda Haviland. She has a wedding to crash–until love gets in the way!
~~~
Heart of the Secret (Witches of Lane County) by Jody A. Kessler, Bestselling and Award-winning author. A 500 year-old curse, a witch who will do anything to marry her one true love, and the heart of a secret that will either divide them or bring them together…forever.
~~~
The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel by Jane Lark, National bestselling author. How do you fight a calling that comes from your soul?
~~~
A Wedding Across the Winds of Time by Bess McBride, National bestselling author. Darius and Molly found each other Across the Winds of Time. Now, it’s time for their wedding!
~~~
Kiss This by L.L. Muir, National bestselling and Award-winning author. You never expect the florist to catch the bouquet…
~~~
Caution is a Virtue by Jennifer Gilby Roberts. How much is too much to risk for love?
~~~
Loving Lindy by Jan Romes. In order to become the bank’s new Vice President, Gunther Justin has to be “settled.” With Lindy McPherson posing as his fiancé everything is set to go off without a hitch–until real feelings get in the way.
~~~
With this Kiss by Heather Thurmeier. Does a simple kiss have enough magic to reunite lovers?
~~~
Real Magic by Elsa Winckler. She’s the bridesmaid, he’s a best man. Will the magical evening stay just that or will it turn out to be real after all?
~~~
The Wedding Guests (A Tassamara Short Story) by Sarah Wynde. When unexpected guests attend Akira and Zane’s wedding, lives will change forever. But for better or for worse?
***Meet the Authors***
Leigh Michaelsis the bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 books, including historical romance and contemporary romance. Her non-fiction book, On Writing Romance, has been called the best guide available for romance writers, and she teaches romance writing online at Gotham Writers Workshop.
Six of her books have been finalists in the RITA contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America, and more than 35 million copies of her books are in print in 25 languages and more than 120 countries. Her books have been published by Harlequin Books, Sourcebooks, Montlake Romance, Writers Digest Books, and Arcadia Publishing.
Aileen Harkwoodis a Readers’ Crown finalist who lives in the Southern Rockies. The Last Wedding at Drayhome is the prequel to two concurrent series of fantasy romances, Spell Touched: Breens Mist Witches, Book 1, and Wedding Spell, first in the Breens Mist Weddings series, due out in September 2015. She’s passionate about green chile and the mysteries hiding in antique photographs. Check in with her at:
Website | Newsletter | Facebook
Eve Devon: Growing up in locations like Botswana and Venezuela gave Eve Devon a taste for adventure. Her love of romances began when her mother shoved one into her hands in a desperate attempt to keep her quiet during TV coverage of the Wimbledon tennis finals. She lives in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with her very own sexy hero husband! Visit the author at her website: http://www.EveDevon.com
Raine English USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Raine English writes sweet small-town romance, paranormal, and Gothic romantic suspense. She’s a Daphne du Maurier Award winner and a Golden Heart finalist. Her new lighthearted contemporary romance series, Love Always, will be available June 2015. It features three childhood friends who encounter a lot more than anticipated while searching for love. Raine lives in New England with her family and her French bulldog, Bailey.
Tamara Ferguson: A member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as the FTHRW Chapter, Tamara
Ferguson is the best-selling and multi-award winning author of the Tales of The Dragonfly Romance Suspense Series. Tales of the Dragonfly Book II: In Flight was a 2014 WINNER at the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. Her latest release, That Unforgettable Kiss, was recently a top ten Amazon bestseller in Kindle Saga Fiction.
Lynda Havilandshares her chaotic and creative life with her chef husband, two artistic teenagers, and an aging bearded dragon. She admits to being heavily influenced by hazelnut coffee, chocolate with caramel, and romantic comedies. Something Borrowed, Something Blue is a stand-alone romantic short story written for the Magical Weddings Boxed Set. But Nellie Pearle can’t be contained. Look for her and other oddly entertaining residents of Pearl Key in an upcoming paranormal suspense series.
Website | Newsletter | Facebook
Jody A. Kessler’s debut novel, Death Lies Between Us, is a #1 best-seller and the winner of the Readers’ Crown Award. She writes paranormal romance, historical time travel fiction, and contemporary fiction.
Website | Amazon | Newsletter
Jane Lark: Jane is a Kindle bestselling author and a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional Historical and New Adult romances, and she’s a sucker for a love story. “I love the feeling of falling in love and it’s wonderful to be able to do it time and time again in fiction.” She loves writing intense relationships and she is thrilled to be giving her characters life in others’ imaginations.
Bess McBrideis the bestselling author of over fifteen time travel romances as well as contemporary, historical, romantic suspense and light paranormal romances. She loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at bessmcbride@gmail.com.
L.L. Muir lives in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains with a charming husband who makes her laugh, but does not make her do pans. Like most authors, she is constantly searching for, or borrowing pens. The best ideas always begin on a napkin.
Jennifer Gilby Robertshas a degree in physics and a postgraduate certificate in computing, so a career writing fiction was inevitable really. She was born and grew up in Surrey/Greater London, but now lives in North Yorkshire with her husband, her small daughter, a middle-aged cat and a lot of dust bunnies.
Jan Romesis a hopeless romantic who grew up in northwest Ohio with eight zany siblings. Married to her high school sweetheart for more years than seems possible, she is also a proud mom, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She likes to read all genres and writes witty contemporary romance.
Heather Thurmeieris a lover of margaritas and a hater of spiders. Born and raised in the Canadian prairies, she now lives in New York where she’s become an odd Canuck-Yankee hybrid. Heather’s currently writing her next romance, which will probably be filled with sassy heroines, sexy heroes that make your heart pound, laugh out loud moments and always a happily ever after.
Elsa Winckler: Inspired by the writing of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James, and the Brontë sisters, Elsa Winckler likes her heroines beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong. She married her college boyfriend who, after 40 years, still makes her weak in the knees. They have 3 interesting children, 3 beautiful grandsons and live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty’s Bay, South Africa.
Sarah Wynde graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in English, which she actually managed to put to use by becoming an editor. She’s worked on magazines, websites, and books, including ten years spent as a senior acquisitions editor with Pearson. Eventually, her love of writing pushed her into independent publishing. She likes to think of the stories she writes as unexpected fiction—bending, blending, and occasionally breaking genres.
Watch the Video Trailer
And Ta, chan! the GIVEAWAY!
The giveaway includes a $20 & $10 amazon gift cards, earrings, ebooks, audiobook, and a signed paperback from the various box set authors.
The giveaway runs from June 15th – 28th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for stopping by!
Order your copy here & it will be delivered to your ereader on June 16th!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Ibooks | Google Play
Thanks to Jody for bringing us this wonderful collection, thanks to all the authors for participating, thanks to all of you for reading, and you know, like, share, comment and of course CLICK!
Hi all:
You’ll remember today I’ve just shared a video and promised more news. Here they are.
WE HAVE A GIVEAWAY! AND IT’S MASSIVE!
Just to remind you, a number of authors have joined forces to bring you books for those (hopefully!) sunny days. ‘Beach Reads’.
Here is the video:
What’s best still, even more writers are taking part in the giveaway, so you’ll be spoilt for choice. You just need to participate in the Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
You have time from now until the end of May.
And ONE lucky winner will get a collection of books that should make anybody read to their hearts (and sighs) content.
Don’t be shy, go and try!
Best of luck.
Thanks for reading, and go sharing!
Hi all:
Today I couldn’t resist taking part in this blog tour. As you know I’m working on a YA/NA series myself and I’m trying to submerge myself in the ins and outs of this world, and the setting of this novel made it irresistible for me. Salem…Yes, that Salem. I include my own review, don’t miss the giveaway, and also the playlist. I was intrigued by having a playlist added so…
Come, the Dark by:
Rebecca Hamilton
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
361 pages
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Rose desperately wants to escape the abuse of the father who impregnated her and the dark spirits that haunt her life. Being thrust from Georgia 1961 into the era of Salem’s infamous witch trials isn’t what she had in mind, and now her daughter is left hopelessly out of reach.
The only way to return to her daughter is by facing certain death to banish the dark spirits that plague Salem. If she doesn’t eliminate these dark spirits in time, they will destroy civilization and trap her in this strange new place, ages away from her daughter.
Even if she can complete the task in time to return home to save her daughter, there’s still one problem: she’s falling in love with a man who can’t return with her. Achieving her goals will force her to choose between the only man who has never betrayed her and a daughter she can’t quite remember but will never forget.
A heart-wrenching tale of a mother’s love for her daughter, this romantic paranormal fantasy underlines the depravity of both historical and modern society while capturing the essence of sacrifice and devotion.
TRIGGER WARNING: This book deals with the sensitive subject of sexual abuse. There is a thread in the Come, the Dark forum at the bottom of this page discussing the issue and how it is handled within the book.
BUY NOW ON AMAZON/KINDLEGRAPH!
Rebecca Hamilton is a USA Today Bestselling Paranormal Fantasy author who also dabbles in Horror and Literary Fiction. She lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She enjoys dancing with her kids to television show theme songs and would love the beach if it weren’t for the sand. Having a child diagnosed with autism has inspired her to illuminate the world through the eyes of characters who see things differently. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA and has been published internationally, in three languages.
Ready for the Come, the Dark Giveaway? Enter via the Giveaway Tools Form just below…
Good luck and happy winning!
Tour hosted by…
Now my review:
Come, the Dark. (Forever Girl, Book 2) Rebecca Hamilton. A reluctant heroine that eventually kicks ass
I must confess I haven’t read the first book in the Forever Girl series but decided to take part in the blog tour and review the book because at the moment I’m particularly interested in Young Adult/New Adult Books, I was intrigued by the background to the story (with the setting in Salem at the time of the witch hunts), and the premise of the book sounded intriguing.
The book begins with a bang. Rose’s family situation is terrible and the events that take place in the first chapter show her as a girl who’s suffered greatly and who seems to have some paranormal abilities (she sees things, or rather creatures, that others don’t). When she’s suddenly transported to a different historical period and wakes up as a different person, one of the advantages of the book being narrated in first person is that you experience her confusion and puzzlement with her.
Abigail (the person she is now) lives in Salem in difficult times. I felt the setting of the story could have been used to more advantage as the main character seems to come and go (and at some point is locked up) there, but has very limited interactions with the town and the trials. When she comes into contact with some true horrors, the paranormal background and underlying plot of the story seems to reinterpret the actual events and only a comment at the end puts this to rights. There are situations where reality puts fiction to shame.
Rose/Abigail/Cordovae is one of the most reluctant heroes (heroines) I’ve met. She struggles with her new role and powers/obligations bestowed upon her, insisting she wants to go back to the person she was because her daughter, Anna, needs her. William and Tess, who act as guides and try and bring her up to speed with the universe she lives in (not only the human one, but mostly the paranormal and the variety of creatures and the cosmogony that explains them) try to convince her, but she resists. Although the explanations are a useful way of introducing readers who are new to the series, I felt they slowed the action somewhat and I was not sure I could really grasp the differences between all the supernatural races. (But then, neither does the protagonist, who learns as she goes along.)
It took me a while to connect with the main character and I grew somewhat impatient of her reluctance to engage. Also at times the first person narration meant we spent a long time reading about her doubts, her memories, and her determination to leave. However, although it is somewhat long in the coming, eventually Cord becomes a true heroine, selfless, brave, intuitive, and a great fighter, and you can’t help but root for her. As I mention in the title, she does kick ass indeed. The battle scenes, although not described in gore detail are imaginative and vivid, with some very visual and beautiful touches. They would be very spectacular if adapted to the screen.
The twist at the end is satisfying and to me it is a fairly happy ending, given the circumstances. Although I haven’t mentioned it until now, there’s a love story too (both protagonists try and resist for very good reasons) and all loose ends are tied up for the current story, whilst leaving open the possibility of further explorations into the world of the forever girls.
Overall I felt the book has some ups and downs, but it gains pace in the second half when it becomes a very good read. The premise of the series is intriguing and I suspect there are a few more to come. If you like YA paranormal series with strong heroines and some very dark elements, you’d do well checking out this novel.
The mini book trailer:
Come the Dark Music Playlist:
Playlist: http://grooveshark.com/widget.swf
Thanks to Rebecca and Happy Geek Media for organising the tour and inviting me, thanks to all of you for reading, watching and listening, and remember to visit other stops of the tour, like, share, comment and CLICK!
Hi all:
This is an extra post today because wonderful author Marie Lavender has organised a fantastic giveaway. 42 authors, 77 titles and 150 donations. I’m donating a couple of my titles Click Me Happy! and I Love Your Cupcakes but there is such a great choice that I’d go there straight away if I were you.
To participate in the giveaway, you only need to CLICK on the links and visit the two blogs. And I recommend you carry on visiting. Here they are:
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2015/02/multi-author-romance-book-giveaway-Valentines-Day.html
https://iloveromanceblog.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/can-you-resist-romance-multi-author-book-giveaway/
Go, quick! Don’t waste any time!
Good luck with the giveaway, thanks to Marie for organising such a great event and thank you all for reading and clicking!
Hi all:
Today is Tuesday and as usual it’s guest author day. I could not resist but take part in Melissa Rolke’s ‘The Perfect Emotion’ Book 2 of ‘The Perfect Series’ blog tour. I you keep on reading (and look at the cover!) you’ll see why. And you have a chance to get the first book at a discounted price. What more could you ask for?
The story of Kate, Kyle and Reed continues in this second novel of The Perfect Series.
Kate (Katherine) Monroe is finally coming to heads with the decisions she’s made in the past to keep herself distracted at any cost. Learning to move on and forward with the conflicts in her life is harder than she expects though. With Kyle continuing to attempt reconciliation and Kate’s mom back at home, avoiding and running are no longer an option.
All along Kate’s mind and heart are consumed with Reed, but she fights to push her feelings and desires to the side. Despite the obvious pull and connection she has with Reed she finds it difficult to let him in… and trust in herself. However, Reed’s perseverance and patience never wavers and eventually he uses the one thing that had always brought them together… tennis.
As Reed and Kate begin to embark on a new relationship they face the past and the present head on. Along the way, new challenges and emotions arise testing the direction of their future together.
Can Kate forgive herself and trust Reed in order to latch onto the one emotion she needs most… love?
“Jesus, Katherine,” he mumbles as I kiss my way across his jaw and over to his ear. “What are you doing to me?”
“Kissing you,” I whisper in his ear and brush my lips against his ear lobe.
“Mmmmmhmmmm.” His hands move to my waist and guide me onto him. I’m straddling his lap and his fingers dig into my hips. I rush my hands into his hair and his head presses all the way against the couch, the leather giving in to my demands. Our tongues clash against each other exploring as if it’s our first kiss, yet knowingly anticipating our next ridge or groove. My heart races in ways I never knew possible. My hands run down to the hem of his button down shirt and to the top of his pants. I start to pull at his shirt to un-tuck it, but his hands come around and lock around my wrists restraining me from pulling anymore. I whine into his mouth.
“Why?” I mumble against the softness of his lips and smile.
“This is the first time I’m in your house and I just met your parents… maybe the second time,” he jokes and then nibbles on my bottom lip.
“Grrrrr,” I grumble in his mouth. “You are always being too good.” His eyes narrow at me and he let’s out a rough chuckle.
“Katherine, I think you know that’s not true and I’ll show you just how bad I am when we are back up at school.” His hands snake up to my shoulders wrapping around the back of my neck. Pulling me towards him and his lips find mine again. Softly he kisses me across my jaw to my ear. “Patience,” he whispers.
“I don’t want to be patient,” I pout as I push my body into him. He laughs into me and un-straddles me from his lap. We face each other and I smile shyly at him feeling a little funny by my boldness.
“Stop,” he says, and his hand latches onto my pinky finger gently rubbing it. “Don’t be embarrassed. I don’t like you having to be patient either,” he says, just before he plants a firm kiss to my forehead. I lean myself against him and rest my head on his chest. His arms wrap around me tightly making my insecurities fade. As I take in his familiar pine and masculine scent he shifts us back against the arm of the couch allowing me to snuggle myself even closer.
I leave you a couple of teasers, but don’t want to reveal too much…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW6FGQVFL44
Closer To You – The Wallflowers
Come On Get Higher – Sugarland
You Look Good In My Shirt – Keith Urban
Leaving Me Later – JT Hodges
I Would Be Sad – The Avett Brothers
You Are More – Tenth Avenue North
Poison & Wine – The Civil Wars
Nothing – The Script
Boyfriend – RaeLynn
Collide – Howie Day
Falling Slowly – Glen Hansard& MarketaIrglova
Don’t get distracted and forget the promotion of ‘The Perfect Distraction’!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJ6EY8Y/
WE ALSO HAVE A VOTING GAME. This one is something else…
SOOOO Melissa has a really cool idea!! Wanna know what it is??? Well she is going to let you vote on who gets the novella in the series!! YUP!! The fans will pick which side character she will write about!! All you gotta do is go click on the link below to participate!!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fHCbbf-fs-g0ICvFING0BVNcB7iwhA3B-1uT-Fcso_Q/viewform
Melissa Rolka grew up in the Chicagoland area all of her childhood and has always had a love of writing. She started by keeping a journal at a young age and then in high school she started writing poetry. A couple poems were published anonymously. Then in college she majored in Philosophy, which required lots and lots of writing. After graduating from Marquette University she traveled west to Los Angeles. There she worked for the Writers Guild of America and found herself submerged in the writers world. She worked on small writings, but never pursued them. On the side she became involved with a small theater group. Eventually she made her way back to the Midwest, where her heart belongs, and worked in business for several years. She found love, got married and has two beautiful children. Being at home has allowed her to keep following her love of reading and writing.The Perfect Distraction is her first full length novel. The second one is ‘The Perfect Emotion’ and she hopes for a third. When Melissa is not writing she is caring for, playing with and loving her two kids. In between taking care of her family and writing she almost always has her nose buried in her Kindle.
JOINT GIVEAWAY WITH MARY MEDDLEMORE
I promised I would be writing about this wonderful giveaway we have organised. WE as in Mary Meddlemore and I. “Who is Mary Meddlemore?” you will ask? Excellent question, as questions go. Mary is a character. And a writer…Or something like that.
Mary is also writing in her blog about the giveaway and the process of setting it up and all. Well, I don’t know exactly what she’s writing as we were both going to post on the same date, so I haven’t seen her post. But if you check, she might explain it more and better…
Here is her blog page:
http://marymeddlemore1.wordpress.com/
So, what’s the story? Mary and I met through a group of writers. ASMSG (Authors Social Media Support Group). I was happily Tweeting about all kinds of things, but doing a fair amount of retweeting about other writers and the founder of the group (R. Grey Hoover, great man) contacted me and there I was…a member of the group. We have a variety of fora, one being Facebook, where people post about their writing, interesting stuff they’ve come across…you know…(By the way, if you want to check the webpage of the group, here is the link: http://asmsg.weebly.com/index.html Plenty of useful stuff.) Somehow Mary and I got talking (or messaging), and got on like a house on fire. Yes, we live very far away from each other, in different time zones, completely different climates (luckily for her), and we’ve never set eyes on each other (only our avatars or some pictures) but what does any of that matter? We shared the joys, the frustrations the misunderstandings, the hopes and aspirations, the gossip, the ups and downs, and we enjoyed each other’s companies. If nothing else comes out of this writing thing, meeting Mary and some of the other wonderful people I’ve come across along the way will make it well worth it. (I would add some nice sentimental music here, but you should see how difficult it was to just do a sound post, so…sorry…).
Through chatting about writing we discovered we had published in Amazon around the same time (in October 2012…it seems years now!) and therefore chances for using our free giveaway days were running out. And, hey presto! Light bulb! Why not combine the giveaways? Yes, our writing is quite different, but that should make it far more interesting. Mary was working on her new collection of short stories The Seven Sheep (it’s fabulous, but don’t take my word for it! Download it! It’s free from the 10th to the 14th January!) and wanted to give all her books away. She’s a truly generous soul. I started with my novel ‘The Man Who Never Was’ but then thought…I should give the Spanish version away too…And…Maybe we should make it half a dozen, so why not add one of my novellas?
We had some comings and goings and thankfully Mary organised our blog/webpage for the giveaway. Although you can choose to go to each one of the books and get them, why make life difficult for yourself? If you follow the below link, you can click on all the books and download them to your heart’s content. If you’re not in Amazon.com we have the ASIN of the books and they should be available in all Amazon stores (beware of time zone differences.) Not only that. Even if you don’t have an e-reader, Mary has also added the link to download the Amazon PC e-reader App, so you can always read them in your computer.
http://freestuffolgamary.wordpress.com/
And Mary kept going with her writing and editing, and I kept investigating how to promote our giveaway and sending information to Mary (who had sent me information before. We’re like explorers in an alien planet trying to understand the language and laws of this book marketing thing) and started pestering people and posting things on websites…and of course, here…
Now, the time has nearly come. From the 10th to the 14th of January Mary and I are giving away 6 books. Sci-fiction, short-stories, novellas, family sagas, humour, absurd, magical, tears, laughter…Why? Because we love stories, and without stories we’re nothing.
Or as Mary writes in her introduction to The Seventh Sheep:
“Stories cannot be contained. They can be labeled and sorted into categories, but readers read and make of them what they will and so it should be.
Stories have wings. They fly where they want to.
Stories are the soul of mankind. It doesn’t matter whether the story is “intellectual/literary” or just fun, whether it is meant for children or adults etc., all stories contain the same story elements, namely: characters, settings, actions (or non-actions), consequences of actions or non-actions, story moments and a story line etc.
Whether you read just for pleasure or whether you study a story, the story elements invade your being, because your life, is a story too. Stories merely mimic human existence, because being human, human authors cannot think of anything outside their “human” capabilities.
Extraterrestrial intelligence will be elegant, complex, internally consistent and utterly alien.
Carl Sagan in Cosmos
Stories bring extra experiences, because when you read, you get to “know” thousands of “characters”. There is no way that you could ever “know” so many “real” people intimately. Thus, reading automatically widens your perspective.
Stories can also bring awareness if you “read/notice ” yourself, or others or specific familiar circumstances in a story.
Awareness brings the possibilities of change, if it is wanted or needed.
Each story is experienced and interpreted differently by every single reader and so it should be, because you are all unique.
The gifts of stories are immense!”
Readers, here are our stories. Please help us share them with others! If you have any ideas of how to spread the word, please leave a comment and we’ll be on your eternal debt!
And thanks for reading!
Just Olga 