Cover Reveal for DOUBLE BETRAYAL by Ada Frost

Saturday, December 20, 2014

I'm excited to be one of the people to share the cover reveal for
 
Double Betrayal (Surviving #3) By Ada Frost
Release date: 29th January
 
I just LOVE this cover. And if you do too, then you might be interested to know she designed her own cover and that of covers for other people too (HERE)! 
 
 

Here is what the story is about:

Emily’s life had three basic rules, love her family fiercely. Never expect forever and most importantly, shield her heart from pain. At a tender age she had learned love is not forever, sex destroys and if you don’t invest your heart, it can never be broken. She played life safe.

All it takes though, is one moment, a defining light in the perpetual darkness to bring life into your heart. For Emily, it was a night she would never forget, an ordinary evening of dancing, drinking and if she was in the mood, a brief one night stand. But then he beguiled her. His emerald eyes captivated and enslaved her to him.

What Emily didn’t anticipate was the mysterious giant to sit beside her and rock her foundations. His dirty mouth and sexy innuendos intrigued her. The green eyed Adonis took her for the ride of her life, on his motorbike. One she would never forget. He intertwined himself into her life and captured her soul.

But the illusion of beauty can hide a broken past. And as the lovers fall deeper, the darkness leeches into the light, suffocating and destroying all within its path. Until there is nothing left but betrayal and shattered hearts.

**Due to sexual content, it may not be suitable for readers under the age of 18 years of age.**

CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming release, Ada!!!
Here is where we can find out more about her stories:






 
 

The Art of Falling Forever by Ivy Bateman

Wednesday, December 17, 2014
My very good friend, IVY BATEMAN, has a new release I'd like to brag about today, if you don't mind! I don't know how she manages to always mix the fanciful with realism, but she pulls it off beautiful!  Pure talent, I guess.  So without further ado, congratulations to Ivy for releasing:

The Art of Falling Forever
by Ivy Bateman
ISBN: 978-1-77101-408-3
Heat Rating: 2
Word Count: 18,107

Blurb:

A chaste kiss on the cheek leads to the discovery of a lifetime.

Even though Eilam has always been part of her world, Amy never thought of him as more than her mother's friend. One night, after rehearsal for the town's Christmas Pageant, Eilam reveals that not only is there more to him than Amy had ever imagined, but that together they could be the next chapter in a story that has played out in her family for over 2000 years.

While struggling to cope with the death of her mother and the responsibility of being in charge of the biggest even of the year, Amy must decide whether her future lies with her estranged boyfriend Troy or the enigmatic Eilam.

Excerpt:

The doorbell chimed, causing Amy to nearly jump out of her skin. She glanced at the clock. It was almost five, which meant that it could only be Eilam and he was now the last person she wanted to see. Tracy demanding she explain her new attitude, Troy begging her to take him back—either scenario would have been preferable to what waited for her on the other side of her front door.
The bell chimed again, followed by insistent knocking. "Amara, I know you're in there. If you don't open the door I will be forced to break it down which, as I'm sure you've figured out, would blow my cover."
Amy smiled a little. He somehow knew that she'd discovered the truth. She remembered his voice on the phone, his suspicious tone. He must have guessed or known she would soon be on a path of discovery. But how? She touched her cheek. Of course, the kiss.
"Please let me in. There's so much you need to know."
Amy pushed herself to standing, taking the box of secrets with her. She placed it on the table in the living room and then went to the front door. She opened it, slowly and cautiously, blocking Eilam's immediate entry with her body.
"Amara, please don't be afraid."
"Why not? You give me so much to be afraid of, being a shapeshifter, or whatever it is you are, who haunts the women in my family. I think you should go."
"No, I'm not going to go. Not until you've given me a chance to explain myself. I don't mean to be firm with you, but please let me in."
Amy looked at his beaten fedora, his crinkled coat, his bright blue eyes, and his wispy white eyebrows. There was nothing malicious in his demeanor and yet he was changed. He seemed older in a seen a lot of time kind of way, and stronger too. She couldn't help feeling he was now a stranger, but Amy had to trust her mother would not let her be in the presence of a madman.

Ebook Buy Links : Breathless Press | Amazon
 
And now a word from Ms. Ivy Herself:
 
Hey there everyone! Well here we are in the middle of the week and only 8 days left until Christmas. I've recently started a new, full of learning job and every time I try to say something about my book The Art of Falling Forever or write about a topic relating to it, all I can think of is how People Soft  won't talk to RPS if you don’t create a transaction.
Christmassy, no? Anyway, what I will say is that over on my blog, Ivy B Misbehavin, I'm having a contest. If you comment on my blog, or send me a an email to say hi, I will put your name in a draw for not only The Art of Falling Forever, but also for my Aug, 2014 release, I'll Call You Alice, and for my December, 2013 release Christmas Eve Surprise. Now why for all the books to giveaway? And why the odd way to leave a "comment"?  Well, I recently found out that my comment section is a temperamental diva and probably has been this way for well over a year. Which means that for my last two releases, when I had contests on my blog and thought nobody loved me because there were no comments, I could very well have been wrong. So, I’m giving them away NOW to make up for neglect.
I'm also throwing in a $5.00 Breathless Press Gift Card giveaway. So please, stop by and say hello! I'm also available for commenting at on my Ivy Bateman-Author page on Facebook. This contest will go until Saturday, December 20th and I'll contact the winner on Sunday, December, 21st.
Thanks, always to Linda for having me on. Next time, I promise to talk about things that actually have to do with my book and not PA 13.
Happy Holidays and Happy Reading,
Ivy B

Upcoming Linda Kage Stuff

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

It's been forever since I updated my blog.  I've turned into such a blogging slacker!  But maybe I can use the excuse that I've been busy writing stories to pardon me (which I really have been).  So, here's what's been up in Linda Kage land:

First up, my blog and website have been redesigned. I'm so thrilled. The lovely Emily at Blogoholic Designs put together the blog for me and then gave me permission to use those graphics in my website, too.  I think she did an amazing job.  I'm in love with that top banner!

I've also entered a new venture that I've never tried before.  Price of a Kiss is going audible!! That's right, it's in the production stage to become an audio book. I have no idea how it will turn out or when it'll be out, but I've gotten to listen to some sample sections of the story.  And oh my goodness, it's kind of embarrassing to hear your own book spoken back to you. I think I blushed and giggled the entire time because, wow, that was a professional narrator telling my story. My four-year-old was suddenly right there on my lap, listening to everything too, so yeah, I had to cover her ears a few times during the prologue! 

Okay, next news!!

Book Four in the Forbidden Men series is officially completed! This is Quinn's story, and it's called With Every Heartbeat.  Since my good friend, author Ada Frost, has proclaimed Quinn as HER book boyfriend, I let her pick out the kind of heroine Quinn would have, and she said Zoey had to be shy.  I'd originally planned for Quinn's other half to be outgoing, since he's a shy guy himself. She could kind of boost his confidence and encourage him to be a little more assertive.  To make my friend happy, though, I turned Zoey shy. Having both the hero and the heroine introverted was more of a challenge, but I finally got through it! We all came out slightly unscathed by the end.

It's in the beta-reading stage right now.  I woke up this morning to my first bit of feedback, which said, "I just can't wrap my mind around this book! You wrote this? I'm in awe!!! It feels like its a new you! I totally love Ham!!!" so hopefully I'm on the right track!

Oh, and my hubby would like to say, "thank you," to all the people who like the cover. I consulted him before deciding on the final, and it was his suggestion to make my name red, plus enlarge the title and put it where it is.  So, good job, hubby!!!  Thanks for your brilliant opinion!

With Every Heartbeat will release in March 2015.

While I'm waiting to hear back from my beta readers, I've been working on Book Five in the Forbidden Men series.  I'm currently 60-some thousand words into Ten's book. I think that means I'm at least half way through, but I've been getting pretty wordy lately!  The last book I finished was 136,000 words long, the one before that was 122,000 words, before that was 113,000, before that was 102,000, and before that was 95,000. I seem to be adding another 10,000 words with each new manuscript one I write, but I'm hoping to break that pattern with this story! 

Anyway, after I finish A Perfect Ten, I'll begin working on Bailey's story from The Granton University series and also Asher's story from The Forbidden Men series.  I also have ideas for Sarah (from Price of a Kiss) and Cassie (from Delinquent Daddy) plus about six more books after that!  I wish I could just write faster!  I really love sharing my stories with people.

Now, onto the last bit of news I have in Linda Kage world:  I'm excited to see that I had so many likes on my Facebook page.  It was at 1,996 when I last checked it.  So, I'm going to give away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to the 2,000th person to LIKE https://www.facebook.com/authorlindakage ! Everyone once in a while, I throw giveaways on there, so it might not be a total waste of time to like it! But you certainly don't have to if you don't want to!

And that's what's been going on around here.  I hope all is well with you. Before you go, here's a little excerpt from With Every Heartbeat (rough draft version) where our shy heroine Zoey meets Quinn for the first time!

From Chapter One:

He had a nice laugh. Nice smile, too. Very nice backside. Not that I was looking...much.

Under his pretty face and intimidatingly hulking physique, however, I wondered exactly what kind of person my best friend had attached herself to. He’d been so quick to shove that other guy into a wall. I prayed Cora hadn’t found a violent man. That was one thing I wouldn’t be able to handle.

Then again, he’d been just as quick to settle down, and he’d even stopped his friend from taking the argument to the next level. Actually, he’d seemed more protective than hostile. Made me wonder what kind of picture had been on that phone.

“Can we help you with something, sweetheart?”

I jumped at the question, realizing Quinn’s friend had spotted me spying on them. My mouth went dry. It was now or never time.

With a small clearing of my throat, I nodded. “I...I’m sorry. I was just...I was looking for Cora.”

Hearing her name, Quinn turned.

And looked directly at me.

His blue-eyed gaze froze me. I felt like the guy he’d shoved against the wall: held captive in his grip and unable to break freak. Then he blinked a pair of overly long dark lashes. Every organ inside me seemed to ignite into flames. My skin prickled and my flight-or-fight instinct kicked in, making me think my reaction to him was fear. But I’d never felt a tightening deep in my stomach when I’d been scared before. This was...I don’t even know.

My body didn’t seem to know what the heck was wrong with me, either, so it rebelled against the overwhelming, foreign sensation, making my breath quicken and my fingers and toes tingle.

“I...” Smoothing some hair behind my ear, I gaped back at Quinn Hamilton. “I’m sorry for interrupting. I know you don’t know me. But I’ve seen pictures of you, and I thought you could help me. But, I...” I tried to apologize again as I backed toward the doorway, except the words stuck in my throat. “I’m...”

“Zoey,” Quinn said softly, as if finishing my sentence for me. And, oh my word. Hearing my name come from his mouth set off all kinds of tingling and tummy tightening inside me.

Yep. I was in big trouble.

“I’ve seen pictures of you, too.” A soft smile lit his face as he started toward me. “Cora’s inside.”

I tripped in reverse as he came closer, my eyes going wide.

My behavior caused him to jerk to a halt. His mouth opened and apology entered his gaze, but he said nothing. He cleared his throat and pointed toward the back door of the frat house. “I can...I’ll show you where she is.”

Nodding my compliance, I stayed mute as shame flooded my limbs. The guy had only been trying to be nice and help me out, and I’d been shying away from him as if he were an ax-murderer.

Way to make a first impression to Cora’s boyfriend, you idiot.



LOVING LIES - Release Day

Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Be My Hero was so last week!  Now it's time for...Loving Lies!
 

Tess Simpson absolutely cannot handle seeing anyone suffer. When she volunteers to work as a candy striper after the Granton University school shooting, she is only supposed to coax the amnesiac in room 312 to eat his supper. Yeah right. After learning no one's come to visit him since he woke from a coma and can't remember who he is, Tess needs to make him feel loved, ASAP. Telling him she's his girlfriend isn't part of her plan, but that's exactly what blurts from her mouth.

Except one little lie made from the purest of intentions can still rattle the hardest of hearts.


Loving Lies
Book 2 of The Granton University Series
Omnific Publishing
Available Now!
 
 
Next in Series After This
Bailey's Story - Craving Crazy
 
 
Exclusive Excerpt for Loving Lies
“Let me go!”

“I need some help in here,” she yelled toward the doorway.

“You need to back off.” Jonah’s IV tore from the flesh in the back of his hand as he struggled. He just about had the upper hand when the wild-eyed nurse dug her nails into his thigh wound, subduing him.

He roared out his pain as a handful of people in scrubs flocked into the room, pile-driving him onto the bed.

Half a dozen voices screamed at him, telling him what they wanted him to do, and he hollered right back, trying to tell them he just wanted to be left alone. All the while, his body turned into one huge ball of shrieking, throbbing agony, each nerve ending pulsing unyieldingly. But he was so mad and scared and hurt, he continued to fight against the bodies holding him back, against the voices telling him what he couldn’t do.

He knew he must look wild, and he knew he was acting crazy, but he couldn’t help it. He had to escape. He needed to be free from all this. Everything became about the fight, the will to not give up.

Bowing up his back while both of his arms and legs were being pinned down, he lobbed his head back and forth, cursing the entire room full of orderlies as he caught sight of one nurse sucking a syringe full of juice from a tiny clear bottle and then pulling it free before turning his way.

“No! Don’t you ---- get that thing close to me. Just leave me alone.”

“Hold him steady,” Needle Nurse demanded of her cohorts, and she approached, the gleam in her eyes scaring him ----.

Jonah did not want that shot. Managing to wiggle his arm that was bound up in a cast free from its captor, he slapped the syringe away. As it flew across the room, pretty much every person holding him down groaned and cursed.

They recaptured his arm, using so much force this time the pain actually paralyzed him. His mouth opened in a silent scream as another needle was filled.

When someone else filled the doorway, he jerked his attention that way, to tell whoever it was to ---- off. He didn’t have another body part left for a new tormentor to restrain anyway. But when he saw who had arrived, the fight instantly drained out of him.

It must’ve startled his captors into thinking they’d killed him or something because as soon as his body went limp, about fifty hands jerked off him as if refusing to take culpability for his death.

Sinking deeper into the bed with his newfound freedom, he stared at the redhead frozen, petrified in the doorway, her blue eyes wide with shock as she gaped at him over the hands she held against her mouth.

“You came back,” he croaked, his voice so hoarse it barely cleared the air. Then a sob seized him, and it didn’t matter how much he blinked, he couldn’t see her through all the wetness clouding his vision. But he knew she was there.

She was here. Nothing else mattered. He needed her to draw him back away from all the fear.

He mopped at his face with trembling fingers. “You came back.”

She dropped her hands and took a hesitant step forward. “Of course I came back.” Her gaze skipped to the nurse with the half-filled syringe. “What’s going on?”

The nurse’s lips pinched thin with disapproval. “Who’re you? Are you family?”

“Yes,” Jonah rasped before Tess could answer. His hand trembled as he reached for her. “Yes. She’s family.”

As if sensing his need, she rushed the last few feet and gripped his fingers. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, was even too afraid to blink for fear she’d disappear if he closed his lashes for even half a second. She was like his angel, showing up just in time to save him from the very brink of despair.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worry lining her beautiful eyes. “What happened?”

“I just wanted to walk,” he confessed. And, damn it, his eyes were no longer just moist. Now they were streaming, and his burning hot cheeks were flooded.

“He’s not allowed to try that yet until his physical therapist comes in on Wednesday,” Needle Nurse announced haughtily while the others in the room made a mass exodus for the door.

Tess wiped his tears away with her bare fingers before she glanced at the nurse. “What do you mean try? Isn’t he capable of walking?”

Jonah glanced at the nurse, wondering that himself. He’d never come right out and asked because he’d been afraid of hearing the answer. And his orderlies had never been very forthcoming with updates because he wasn’t the most model patient.

In his opinion, the woman still wasn’t being very helpful when she answered, “The bullet that hit his thigh broke his right femur. And since it took so long for a medical team to get into the area after the shooting, and then transport him to a hospital, and then work on his more life-threatening injuries first, it didn’t get set properly. He has two pins holding it together.”

----. Did that mean he was going to be able to walk or not?

BE MY HERO

Monday, August 25, 2014

Once upon a time, there was this pampered rich girl who was kind of full of herself. She really only cared about appearances and hiding all her dark, ugly secrets under the guise of an opinionated snob. But then Eva Mercer got pregnant, shot by a psycho, and kicked out of the only home she knew. Now she’s broke, unemployed, and has to start anew with a newborn to raise. But how?

On the other side of town, sexy, tattooed orphan, Patrick Ryan, can’t get a break. He’s out on parole for defending the last damsel in distress while trying to help her support her child, but all he wants is to find his one true love. He knows this woman by scent, smile, and laugh, but he’s never actually met her. He doesn’t even know her name. He just knows she’s the key to fixing everything.

One kind of hero can save you from physical harm. Another can rescue you from a different kind of doom. To reach their dreams, Eva and Pick can save each other. But first, they must open their hearts and learn how to trust.


Be My Hero
Book 3 of The Forbidden Men Series
Available Now!
 
 
After This
Quinn's Story - With Every Heartbeat
March 2015
 
and
Ten's Story - A Perfect Ten
April 2015
 
To follow the book blast today for Be My Hero and Surviving Love, go to Tasty Book Tours!

Happy Reading!
 

Happy Release Day to Ivy Bateman!

Friday, August 22, 2014
I'm all excited for my buddy Ivy Bateman, who has a new release out today!



Always focusing on the steamier (Okay, fine, outright erotic) side of things, Ivy has really gone over to the hotter side this time around with her short little novella, I'll Call You Alice.

Once upon a time a girl named Val was late for her very important blind date.
After not meeting up with her blind date at a local bistro, Val finds herself dressed up as Alice and attending the Mad Hatter's Tea Party in the woods with three sexy guys. Seeking an adventure, Val dives into the world of fantasy and does what anyone in her situation would do: a foursome!

It's available today at Breathless Press, AllRomance Ebooks, and Bookstrand! Everyone give it up for IVY!!!!


Sneak Peek anyone?

Okay, here you go!

"You said in your dating profile you were seeking adventure," said the over-excited mouse. Val suddenly realized he was the waiter who had first served her at the restaurant. "You stated," he continued, "that your life was dull and that you were seeking someone who could give you something new. So...ta-dah! We are the someones." He paused for effect. "We want to give you new somethings!"
Val rose from the table and backed away. The drugged tea was gone from her system, but she stood up too fast and had to steady herself on a chair. "My profile? You are all my blind date?"
"That's right," they said in unison.
She didn't know whether she was flattered, or horrified. "You—I should leave. You drugged me, sort of kidnapped me, and are calling me Alice because I said I wanted adventure. This is just a little too bizarre for me. I think I'll go back to my dull life." She started to walk out of the woods, but stopped. Val had no idea where she was. She could chance it and find the main road. If luck was on her side she could find her way back to town. "And then what?" she muttered. "Go home and pine once again for a life less ordinary?"

Instead, she turned back to the tea party. The three of them were watching her, waiting patiently for her to make up her mind. Val bit her lip. What should she do? The whole scene laid out in front of her was surreal and strange; something out of a story.

Loving Lies - Cover Reveal

Friday, August 15, 2014
In two and half weeks (September 2nd) Book Two in the Granton University Series will be HERE!!



Following in the wake of Logan and Paige's adventure in Book One (Fighting Fate), Granton University has been left devastated. No one feels secure and everyone is pointing fingers with the blame game. Tess Simpson just wants to stop being afraid, but she also wants to help others suffering from recent events, except she had no idea trying to assist hospital patient Jonah Abbott would change her life forever.

Loving Lies
Book 2 in The Granton University Series
Coming - September 2014




In other LK News:

-Fighting Fate has been bought by Amazon Encore! It re-released on August 12th under the new publisher! Yay!  I hope good things come from that.

-Be My Hero (Book 3 in the Forbidden Men series) will be out August 25th and I have bookmarks!  If anyone would like me to send them a Forbidden Men bookmark, just email me at linda@lindakage.com with a snail mail address where you want it sent, and I'll make sure you get one!


There are a couple of preorder links available for Be My Hero at places such as:
It's only going to be available for $0.99 until September, so if you want a copy, now would probably be the best time to get it!

-Be My Hero is also going to have a release day blast along with Suviving Love by Ada Frost. Tasty Book Tours is graciously hosting that for us so we can reveal our two feisty, pregnant heroines and two men powerless to resist their charms on the same day! There will of course be prizes to be won at the different blog stops in this blast!



 -But if you don't want to wait that long to enter a contest, Goodreads is hosting a three-book giveaway of Be My Hero, right now until release day on August 25.  You can enter here!



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Be My Hero by Linda Kage

Be My Hero

by Linda Kage

Giveaway ends August 25, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win


And with that, I'm off to the zoo today with my hubby and kiddo today. A safari in Kansas, I know, I hope we don't get eaten by any lions, tigers or bears! Oh my...

Have a good one!

Coming Soon

Thursday, July 17, 2014
Here's a little update on what's been happening in Linda Kage land.  I wrote like a fiend so I could get the third Forbidden Men book finished before Loving Lies was released, because if I'd finished it after, then I would've had to wait at least six months to publish it. But we're all good, and the two stories should be coming out about a week apart from each other.



So First up!  In the last week of August, I should have Be My Hero (Pick and Eva's story) ready for the world.

I felt bad about always bugging the same people to beta read, so I sought out a whole new group of people this time around, and their wonderful comments made me think I could actually have it edited and whipped into some kind of shape by my release date!

It's with an editor now, and I should (fingers crossed) have it ready for reviewers in mid-August...hopefully. So hey! If there are any reviewers out there who'll want a copy, you can let me know, and I'll put you on the list to send out an ARC when they're ready!

The editor said my blurb is a hot mess, so that will obvious change, but...it's all I have at the moment, sorry, ergo here's a small clue as to what Be My Hero is about!       

BLURB -

EVA -
My life is an absolute mess. Single, nineteen, seven-months pregnant and living off the good graces of my cousin, I have no promising prospects for the future, no life skills in which to further myself. Plus I’m in the midst of a complete attitude overhaul, or at least I’m trying on that score. The last thing I should be thinking about is men. I’m done with that species. For good. Or at least I was until Pick exploded into my life.


PICK -
For ten years, I have been dreaming about this girl. I know how she smells, how it feels to hold her in my arms, how she tastes when I kiss her. The problem is I’ve never actually met her. I don’t even know her name. I know that makes no sense, and you probably wouldn’t believe me, even if I told you the whole story. But she’s the one, and I’ve been waiting for her. It’s just my brand of luck that my soul mate would walk into the bar where I work on the very day I get married...to someone else.


They come from polar opposite backgrounds, and yet the connection they share draws them together too tightly to matter. Nothing can keep them apart...except maybe a three-month-old boy whose very life depends on them keeping their hands off each other. And so, their love becomes forbidden.

And here's a raw, unedited excerpt.

BE MY HERO TEASER
(warning : contains some explicit language)

“We’re only a block from the club. I’ll just drop you off at the front door, head to the drug store, pop over to Dawn and Sarah’s, and then come back to pick you up on my way home.”

She’d have to do a lot of driving out of her way to come back for me, but I knew she always felt a sense of urgency to hop right to whenever Mason’s mom needed something from her. So I kept silent.

“Okay.” Tucking Pick’s shirt into my purse, I bobbed my head as she slowed to a stop at the curb.

“And remember.” Reese sent me a wink and a grin. “It’s totally okay if you want to rip all those clothes off that tattooed piece of man candy and just...lick him. You’re pregnant. Your hormones are all out of control. It’s not your fault.”

I rolled my eyes, my pregnant hormones stirring at the visual my best friend had just painted in my head. “Thanks so much for your permission.” Opening the door, I added, “But listening to my hormones is kind of how I got into this situation in the first place. So, I think I’ll pass.”

“But Mason actually likes this guy. He says Pick is his favorite coworker...not only because he’s a hell of a worker, but because of the way he treats women. I guess the man knows how to make each and every one of them feel special.”

Staring at her, I tried to ignore the disappointment that bit me in the ass. So he treated all woman well, huh? I knew that was supposed to be a good thing. I mean, it was a good thing. But it also meant he hadn’t singled me out. I hadn’t been special at all, just another nameless, faceless female he felt the urge to pamper.

Shaking my head, I told myself it didn’t matter. I was staying away from all men, anyway. Focusing on nothing but babies over here.

But inside, it still hurt. I’d probably meant nothing at all to a guy I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for two weeks straight.

With a shake of my head, I shook off my disappointment and blew Reese a kiss. “Bye, sweetie. Give Sarah this kiss for me, ‘kay?”

“Okay.”

As Reese pulled away, I turned and looked up at the bright neon lights of the Forbidden Nightclub. They had ten more minutes until opening, so I hurried forward and knocked on the glass of the front door until the guy who’s name I’d never learned appeared on the other side, peering out at me.

I pulled Mason’s shirt out of my purse and waved it like some kind of peace offering until he unlocked the door and opened it.

“Hi,” I said, sending him an uncertain smile. “You’re Gamble, right?”

“Quinn,” he corrected.

Score. Got his name. “Quinn,” I repeated. “Right. Hey, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Mason’s cousin, Eva.” Or I would be soon. “I’m here to deliver a shirt.”

“For Pick?” he asked, opening the door wide for me.

“Yep.” I stepped inside, holding my breath for that first moment I’d get to see him again. “For Pick.”

But I didn’t spot Pick anywhere. Aside from Quinn, only Mason and Ten filled the large, quiet club. I started for Mason, who was doing something behind the bar with his back to me.

“One black T-shirt,” I announced, making him jump and whirl around. “Freshly cleaned and folded.”

When I lifted it, he scowled at the article of clothing before glancing behind me. “Where’s Reese?”

“Change of plans.” I seated myself at the bar and spotted a bowl of beer nuts. I tapped my fingers along the countertop for a few seconds, trying to resist temptation, before I just couldn’t handle it any longer, and I reached out. “Your mom called.” My next words were muffled as I chewed. “Ree Ree had to do a pharmacy store run for Sarah. So she dropped me off and will be back once all that’s out of the way.”

Worry leapt onto his face. “What’s wrong with Sarah?”

I shrugged. “Fever. Or something. I’m not sure.”

Completely dismissing me, he yanked up his cell phone and started dialing. As he was busy calling Reese, Ten plopped onto the stool beside me.

Hitching his chin my way, he wiggled his eyebrows. “So, you going to breastfeed that kid once it pops out?”

When his gaze fell to my swollen, milk-filled boobs, I sighed. I’d dealt with this exact kind of immature moron way too much in my life. Shifting closer toward him, I gave him a flirty smile. “Why, yes. Yes, I am.” Touching his arm, I fluttered my lashes. “Hey, do you think you could watch me do it sometime, tell me if it looks right, because...” I lifted my fingers to bite one fingernail. “I’m just so new at it, I don’t know how to make anyone suck on my tits.”

He nodded, dumbly, his mouth falling open. “Hell, yeah, I could watch. You serious, honey?”

God, no, I’m not serious, you loser.” Shoving him hard in the arm, I pushed him off the bar stool he was sitting on. “Get a life and stop hitting on pregnant woman. Gah!”

After tripping over his own legs, he landed on his ass, hard. With a mouthful of muttered curses, he scrambled upright and dusted floor grime off the back of his jeans as he scowled. “Jesus, I was just asking. All you had to do was say no.”

“No,” I said, eyeing him with some serious warning.

He lifted his hands and backed away, “Fine. Whatever. Your loss, milk tits.”

When he turned away, Pick finally appeared, striding out of the back hall and running a harassed hand through his damp hair as if something had upset him. A sizzling wave of energy passed through me. I popped off the bar stool so fast I made myself dizzy.

“Hi,” I rushed out the breathless greeting.

He lurched to a stop and jerked his head my way. As he stared without responding, I grew extra nervous. “I...you...here. Shirt.”

Oh, my God. What the hell had I just said?

His eyebrows crinkled with confusion as he looked down at the shirt I was thrusting at him. When he looked up again, I blew out a breath. “Mason called,” I finally said with some decorum, even though my cheeks were burning up with embarrassment.

I couldn’t believe I was acting like such a ditz. I was Eva Mercer, the queen of cool and collected, unaffected and always hard-to-get. I was supposed to have goddamn attitude here. If I’d just thrown myself at Pick’s feet and begged take me, I’m yours, I don’t think I could feel any more pathetic than I did now.

“He said you needed a shirt and asked if we could run one of his down to you,” I added more calmly. “So...voila! Here you go. Cleaned it myself, just today.”

He didn’t take the shirt. Frowning, he asked, “Mason called you? Wait, you do his laundry?”

I wasn’t expecting such questions, and I was a little thrown off by the accusation in his voice.

Blinking and sputtering, it took me a moment to answer. “Well...yeah, I do their laundry. If I’m going to live with them and sponge off them, the least I can do is wash their clothes. And it wasn’t like he called me, exactly. He called Reese and asked her. But she’s...otherwise occupied at the moment, and I was just sitting around on the couch, you know, waiting for my baby to be born. So, I volunteered.”

He began to smile as if pleased to hear I’d actually wanted to come fetch him a shirt. But then another frown marred his brow. He shook his head. “Wait. You live with Mason?”

“What?” My eyes grew big as I blurted. “No. Not at all. I live with Reese...who...lives with Mason.” When he lifted an eyebrow, I bit my lip. “So, okay, technically, I guess we reside under the same roof. And eat in the same kitchen, and share one miniscule little bathroom, but...I don’t live with Mason. Nothing like that.” When I gave a nervous little laugh, he burst out smiling.

God, I loved his smile. I loved how it made his eyes light up and how his stretched lips made the rings in them shift and move. I just felt so full whenever he looked happy like this.

“Well, thanks for clearing that up. And thanks for the shirt.”

He reached out and wrapped his fingers around a portion of cloth. But I wasn’t so ready to give up this moment. When he tried to slip it out of my hand, I didn’t exactly let him take it. We found ourselves both holding onto the same item, neither of us letting go, playing a seriously hot game of tug-of-war.

“You’re welcome,” I said, noticing how the drenched shirt he was wearing now clung to his torso. And, wow, who knew someone so slim could have such a defined chest? And was the an outline of a nipple ring I saw through that wet cloth? Oh holy hosanna, the boy had a pierced nipple. Kill me now.


And that's all I'm going to show you about that!

***




So a week or two after Be My Hero comes out, Loving Lies will make it's big appearance. I saw a peek of the cover. It matches Fighting Fate pretty well (which is the first book in this series). Can't wait to show it to you.  Until then, though, here's a a blurb and excerpt for that!

LOVING LIES BLURB :

Tess Simpson absolutely cannot handle seeing anyone suffer. When she volunteers to work as a candy striper after the Granton University school shooting, she is only supposed to coax the amnesiac in room 312 to eat his supper. Yeah right. After learning no one’s come to visit him since he woke from a coma and can’t remember who he is, Tess needs to make him feel loved, ASAP. Telling him she’s his girlfriend isn’t part of her plan, but that’s exactly what blurts from her mouth.

Except one little lie made from the purest of intensions can still rattle the hardest of hearts.

LOVING LIES TEASER
(warning : contains some explicit language)

Covering her mouth, Tess hurried down the hall and veered blindly around the first turn she came to, only to get rammed in the gut by an empty cart.

She didn’t even feel the pain in her abdomen. She closed her eyes and moaned. “I’m sorry.” Lifting her hand in apology to the cart pusher, she whirled away to run in the opposite direction.

But Bailey’s voice has her screeching to a halt and spinning back. “Tess?” From the other side of the cart, her best friend blinked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “What the hell? Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?”

Like a balloon deflating of air, all the pent up misery and guilt rushed from her system. “No.” Tess charged toward Bailey and grabbed her arm. “We need to go. Right now.”

“Wha—” Bailey stumbled along behind her. “What happened? Oh, shit. You didn’t kill the poor bastard in three-twelve, did you?”

“No. But I’m going to have a panic attack if we don’t find an exit soon.” When she hurried them around another corner, she whimpered. “Where the hell are all the elevators in this freaking building?”

“Good Lord.” Bailey let out a huff, grabbed Tess’s hand and led her the other way until they exited the hall and those magical silver doors came into view.

Beyond grateful, Tess rushed to them and started jabbing buttons. She didn’t speak until the doors opened and she and her best friend were safely sealed inside alone. When the floor began to drop, making everything in her stomach dip as well, she wrapped an arm around her waist and turned to Bailey.

“I think I just made the worst mistake of my life.”

Bailey blinked. “Well? What happened?”

Tess sucked in air, so much that she became lightheaded. “I...I...I felt so bad for him. No one had come to visit him, he’d been shot three times, and he’d just come out of a coma. A coma, Bailey, a freaking coma. And now he has amnesia. He was so alone and afraid and upset. And his eyes. Oh, my God. His eyes seemed to hold all the pain in the world. I just couldn’t...he needed to know someone cared, so I...so I told him...”

“You told him what?”

With a wince, Tess buried her face in her hands and peeked between the gap in her fingers. “I told him I was his girlfriend.”

Bailey’s jaw dropped. “You did what? Holy shit, Tess! Why would you say that?”

“I just told you why!”

“But his girlfriend? Why would you go that route? Couldn’t you have just said you two shared a class together or something?”

Tess began to wring her hands. “That was the original plan, but I...I froze. He was just...he was so hot. Like...an eleven, hot. Like mouth-wateringly gorgeously hot.”

“Oh.” Bailey rolled her eyes. “Jesus, what is it about a guy with a pretty face that brings out your stupid gene?”

“I don’t know,” Tess wailed, gripping her hair. “But I wish it’d just go away and quit afflicting me because it’s going to get me into deep trouble one of these days.”

“You mean, like it just did.”
 
Tess dropped her hands to scowl. “You’re not helping.”

***

Right now, I'm working on Book four and five and possibly six of the Forbidden Men series, along with book three of the Granton University series, as well as a new standalone Young Adult romance. 

And that's about all I have to report today. Hope you have a good one!

Cover Reveal - SECRETS OF HONOR by Carol Kilgore

Monday, June 2, 2014
The first customer I had for my cover designing adventure is finally having her big cover reveal today!  So...tada! 



Blurb:

By the end of a long evening working as a special set of eyes for the presidential security detail, all Kat Marengo wants is to kick off her shoes and stash two not-really-stolen rings in a secure spot. Plus, maybe sleep with Dave Krizak. No, make that definitely sleep with Dave Krizak. The next morning, she wishes her new top priorities were so simple.

As an operative for a covert agency buried in the depths of the Department of Homeland Security, Kat is asked to participate in a matter of life or death—locate a kidnapped girl believed to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas. Since the person doing the asking is the wife of the president and the girl is the daughter of the first lady’s dearest friend, it’s hard to say no.

Kat and Dave quickly learn the real stakes are higher than they or the first lady believed and will require more than any of them bargained for.

The kicker? They have twenty-four hours to find the girl—or the matter of life or death will become more than a possibility.

***


Carol Kilgore writes grocery lists, texts to her family, new lyrics to old songs for her dogs, love notes to her husband, and novels for herself. And for you. In between, she blogs weekly at Under the Tiki Hut and is active on Facebook and Twitter.

She sees mystery and subterfuge everywhere. And she’s a sucker for a good love story—especially ones with humor and mystery. Crime Fiction with a Kiss gives her the latitude to mix and match throughout the broad mystery and romance genres. Having flexibility makes her heart happy
 
 
 
 
You can find her around the web at :
 
Many congratulations to Carol on her next upcoming release.  I'm excited for this one!  And a round of thank-you's to her as well, for letting  me have a small part in her publishing process!  Here's to lots of success!
 
 

To Professor with Love Online Book Tour

Monday, May 12, 2014
Banner created by the amazing Ada Frost!

To Professor, With Love is having a book tour, and it starts today at the links below! You can win stuff at them!

Plus, if you're curious about the next book in the Forbidden Men series, I have a page for Be My Hero set up to help keep you updated of where it is in the writing/publishing process!

May 12th- Queen of All She Reads- Promo/Review
(Stop 2) Bibliophile Mystery- Excerpt/Promo
May 13th- Craves the Angst- Review
May 14th- Imagine a World- Review
(Stop 2) Girl With Books- Review
May 15th- In My Room Reading- Review/Promo
(Stop 2) YA Book Addict- Review
May 16th- The Suburban Eclectic Reviews- Review
(Stop 2) Reality Bites! Lets Get Lost!- Review/Excerpt
 
 
May 17th- Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess- Review/Interview
(Stop 2) Ramblings of a Book Lunatic- Review/Excerpt
May 18th- Storm Goddess Book Reviews- Review
(Stop 2) Scandalous Book Blog- Review
 
 
May 19th- Book Labyrinth- Interview
(Stop 2) The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog- Review/Excerpt
May 20th- Sugar and Spice Book Reviews- Review
(Stop 2) Falling in Fall- Review
(Stop 3) As the Pages Turn- Review/Excerpt
May 21st- Brooke Blogs- Review
(Stop 2) All Romance Reviews- Review
May 22nd- Romancing the Readers- Promo
(Stop 2) Romance Addict Book Blog- Review/Excerpt
May 23rd- Still Seeking Allies Blog- Review/Excerpt
(Stop 2) Loves Romance Books- Review/Excerpt
(Stop 3) Three Chicks and Their Books- Review/Excerpt