Free Modern Day Fairy Tale and Giveaway

Between Boyfriends chick lit novel by Sarka-Jonae Miller is FREE on November 2 on all Amazon sites. Readers can win a signed book by best-selling author Janet Evanovich or a signed picture of America Idol star Lauren Alaina by leaving a comment on this post and following Sarka-Jonae's blog tour.

About The Book:

Jan Weston is boy crazy, emphasis on crazy, but when "the one" breaks her heart she vows to change. Jan quits dating and takes a hard look at herself, discovering that she does not like the flawed, spoiled individual she sees in the mirror.

Her progress toward positive change is derailed when her mother discovers she dropped out of San Diego State University to attend massage therapy school. Furious at being lied to, Mrs. Weston cuts Jan off. Now Jan is without a guy, her American Express card, and a way to pay for school. She has to do something so despicable, so vile, so cruel, she almost cannot imagine it: Jan has to get a job.

But maybe that is exactly what she needs? Jan is forced to change how she treats people and to reconsider her values. Through a "comedy of errors" and with the support of her real friends (plus the hottie from massage school) Jan is able to survive, barely. But can she really change or is she just between boyfriends?

Excerpt from Between Boyfriends

 

He never loved me.

 

The words circled around and around inside her head until they seemed to burst out her ears. Her thoughts swirled angrily in front of her face, crashing against the Egyptian cotton walls of her 1,000 thread-count sanctuary. Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe; she was choking on the spinning truths.

 

I need out.

 

Jan threw the covers violently from her. She emerged from her burrow of sweaty sheets, tear-stained pillows, and used tissues squinting like a broken-hearted groundhog with a cold. She gasped for air. One hand pressed anxiously to her chest bringing her awareness to the hollow feeling underneath the soft cotton of her Tinkerbell sweatshirt. Her hand drifted to the several layers of tears, snot and perspiration she wore along with the pink sweatshirt, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

 

Harsh sunlight filtered into her bedroom window exposing her face to the sun for the first time in days. Jan cringed from the light. Her stomach grumbled halfheartedly. A wadded up tissue hung in her hair. She barely noticed as she continued to fill her lungs with fresh oxygen.

 

As her breathing regulated, her arms swept unconsciously about her in their daily wake-up ritual, searching first for a Tic Tac to battle morning breath and secondly for her cell phone. She found the phone quickly enough once her eyes adjusted to the light and peered at it longingly. It was top-of-the-line and almost impossible to use thanks to its numerous features. Jan loved the phone despite its complexities. It was cute and impossible. Her favorite combination.

 

 

Interested in Purchasing the Book?

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Featured Guest Maggie Jaimeson

Forgiving yourself is the first step, but helping others forgive may be just too hard.

 

Rachel Cullen grew up in Scotland with a fiddle in her hand from the age of four. She couldn't imagine life as anything but a musician. When her husband brought her to America she was immediately embraced by the Celtic and Bluegrass communities. But after her divorce, Rachel's life is a mess.

 

A year of trying to prove to herself that she's woman enough for any man, and then a vicious rape while on tour with the band, leaves Rachel reeling. When she meets Noel Kershaw, an English teacher who is poetry in motion, she is definitely attracted. But he has a young child and he's suffering from his own divorce. The last thing Rachel needs in life is more baggage.

 

First, Rachel must reconcile who she is, what she wants, and how to get there. Maybe then she'll know how to be a part of the family she's always wanted.

 

Excerpt From Healing Notes

Claire crawled onto a stool on the other side of the island and smiled. Neither of them talked for several minutes as they listened to the water in the pot heat.

 

“When I grow up, I’m going to play with Sweetwater Canyon all the time.”

 

“Are you sure you want to hang out with all us old folks?”

 

“You’re not all old. Well maybe a little old. But Kat isn’t old.”

 

Rachel smiled. “That’s true. She’s only seventeen.” And going on twenty-five it seemed sometimes.

 

“Oh, seventeen? That is old.” Claire put a finger to her lips and furrowed her brow. “How old do I have to be to play in the band all the time?”

 

“Probably at least eighteen.”

 

“But, you just said Kat—”

 

“Kat is different, because her mother plays in the band and can watch her all the time.”

 

“Well, you can watch me all the time. You can be my mother.”

 

Rachel gulped.

 

“Well, can’t you?”

 

“Can’t she what?” Noel walked in the room and lifted Claire off the chair in a big hug, swinging her around the room. “Can’t she what? She can do anything she wants.”

 

“See,” Claire leaned forward and looked at Rachel over Noel’s shoulder. “See, even Daddy thinks you can be my mother.”

 

“Whoa.” Noel set Claire back on the stool. “I’m not sure what I walked in on here.” He sent an accusing glance to Rachel. “You already have a mother, Claire.”

 

“I know. Not my real mother. My second mother. You know, like my friend, Megan. Her mommy and daddy got divorced and her daddy married a new mommy. So, Megan has two mommies now. See? Rachel can be my second mommy. Okay?”

Meet the Author

 

Maggie Jaimeson writes romantic women’s fiction and romantic suspense with a near future twist. She describes herself as a wife, a step-mother, a sister, a daughter, a teacher and an IT administrator. By day she is “geek girl” – helping colleges to keep up with 21st century technology and provide distance learning options for students in rural areas. By night Maggie turns her thoughts to worlds she can control – worlds where bad guys get their comeuppance, women triumph over tragedy, and love can conquer all.

 

 

HEALING NOTES is the second book in the Sweetwater Canyon Series of four books. The final two books will be available in 2013.

Maggie's Website

Maggie's Blog

Facebook

Twitter @maggiejaimeson

 

 

Author Giveaway

 

Maggie will award one autographed cover flat to a randomly drawn commenter at each blog stop. In addition, she will award a $25 gift card to either Amazon orBarnes and Noble (winner's choice) as a grand prize to one randomly selected commenter on this tour, and a $25 gift certificate to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner's choice) to a randomly drawn host. You must leave an email address along with comment to be entered into any of the drawings.

To Increase your chances of winning be sure to visit Maggie's other stops on her tour.

Not Your Average Romance Novel

Beneath the Wall

Author: Eryn LaPlant

Published By: Black Lyon Publishing

Date Published: 2012

Pages: 310

Genre: Historical Romance

Reviewed By: Christina Tetreault www.christinatetreault.com

Rating: (1-5) 5

Summary:

Following the death of his mother, Jesse Parker goes in search of answers that arise when a mysterious man shows up at his mother's funeral. The search leads to a mysterious journal hidden behind a wall in his parents' closet. As Jesse reads the journal he discovers that woman he called his mother was really a woman he never knew. At the same time he learns how far people will go for the people they love.

Christina's Thoughts

I picked up this book because it called to me on two levels, one it was a romance and two the hero was a United States Marine. From the very beginning the story pulled me in and I often had trouble putting the story down as the author took us on Julianne Parker's journey as she finds not only herself but the love of her life all the while facing the brutalities of war.

Julianne Parker, a journalist from New York, travels to Vietnam during the war. At the very beginning Julianne is not taken serious by the Marine's she is with at Camp Dakota. Very quickly she sets out to prove to herself and the Marines that she can handle her role as a War journalist just as well if not better than a male reporter. Slowly she earns the respect of the men she is with and becomes a part of their Marine family.

Sgt Mack Roberts is THE perfect Alpha Male. He is physically and mentally strong. A true man's man, but at the same time he has deep emotions and will do anything for not only the woman he loves but the other men he is fighting with in Vietnam.

Unlike in many romance novels the hero and heroine do not instantly fall in love. As often happens in real life they start off as friends and then we see their relationship grow and change as we read about their time together in Julianne's journal. But the love story is not the only one the author presents to us through her novel. She also does a fabulous job of presenting to us a very dark time in US history. She includes great detail regarding the military as well as the emotions that those men and women must have felt while fighting a war that was so controversial. I truly felt the emotions experienced by the characters.

Overall opinion:

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a well-developed story with believable characters who get stuck in your mind and won't let you go until you finish the story. I hope this talented author publishes additional books in the future because if she does I will definitely pick them up.

Interview with Author Eryn LaPlant

Over the years I have meet many writing friends.  While they all write different types of romance and come from around the world, I have meet them all in one of three ways; at a RWA conference, through a writing group on the internet, or from my local writing chapter.  My guest today is the exception to the rule.  Over the summer Eryn contacted me not because I am a writer, but because of my last name.  She was looking for family members on ancestry.com and my name popped up.  While it turns out we are not related we found that we had a lot in common.  We are both around the same age, have young children, belong to RWA and Eryn is orginally from New England which is were I still live.

Since then we have become friends and today I am pleased to feature an interview with Eryn.  Later this week I will post my review of her new book.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was in high school when the writing bug hit. I always tell the story about how I would write about the New Kids on the Block, but actually those weren’t the only “books” I wrote back then. My senior year my best friend and I did our senior project together, where we wrote and illustrated a children’s book. We even had it bound and presented it to the kindergarten class. It was titled The Grafted Tree and it was about a little girl who was adopted and her branch of the family tree was grafted to the rest of the family’s. It was very sweet. I think my mother has it somewhere; I should go look for it.

How long does it take you to write a book?
You know, I don’t know. My first two books took years upon years to complete, but that was between school and work and a twenty-something’s social life, so it’s hard to gauge. I think the closest number I can come up with is three months. When I decided to try and pursue publication of Beneath the Wall, the manuscript was very green, so I actually went to the very beginning page by page editing it as well as changing it from third person to first so it was more realistically like a journal.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I have to feel like I’m in place where I’m writing. So if I’m writing in the 1960s, I put on the music from that time. Or I’ll have to take a walk in the woods, if my next scene is in the woodlands. The oddest thing I ever did was go to a butcher shop to smell blood so I could describe accurately what stenches I was picking up. In my eyes, I see no other way to put myself in the story than to experience the same things my characters do.

What do you think is the best way of publishing a book these days?
Well, I have a lot of friends who are self-published and it really seems to be the best way to be in control of all the circumstances of your book. I can totally see the draw to creating your work like that. But the down side is that I’ve heard it cost a bit more to do everything by yourself. For myself, I wanted to be published the old fashioned way. I wanted to be chosen. I really just wanted that special feeling of knowing that someone read my work and wanted to give me a chance.
I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to be published except for the person who just haphazardly throws their book on Amazon and hopes to sell a million copies. Do you research, see what avenue is best for you and then research some more so you won’t be taken advantage of. That’s my best advice on that matter.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Oh my gosh, everywhere! I research everywhere from books to documentaries to websites. I’ve also gone to museums or have called specific places to get the accurate details I’m looking for. But my favorite way to get information is meeting people and hearing their accounts on my subject. In the case of Beneath the Wall, I spoke to a lot of veterans. Some are very eager to tell me everything they went through and others just smile and nod, not wanting to dive into their memories. I don’t push or prod, those men and women earned every right not to talk to me, so I’m fine. But for those who did speak with me, those real-life stories are the ones that helped me put the extra depth into my book, making it what it is today.

When did you write your first book?
My very first book would be the children’s story I mentioned earlier written while I was in high school, but Beneath the Wall, my first one published, I started in 1994. It sat on my shelf and it wasn’t until last year when I worked on it again, cleaning it up and finally sent it out to agents and publishers to be considered for publication.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I’m a mother to a very active five-year son, so that would be playing. We play all the time! We love to hike, ride bikes, play ball and I’ve participated in many a Mario Brothers tournament or two with him. I have a loving husband too, and my favorite thing to do is just be together. Now that my son is in kindergarten we all have such busy personal schedules, so the nights we can sit together with a movie or go out to eat and just talk are the very best times ever.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
That would have to be, how much writing has changed over the years and I hadn’t even picked up on it. When I was younger, I read a lot of Jude Deveraux and now that I’ve learned so many new rules in writing, I’ll go back and read something of hers and start thinking, ‘ut oh she has too many adverbs.’ It’s just funny and interesting how times have changed and I’m trying to learn all the new ins and outs of the writing world.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I have four to date. Beneath the Wall is the only one published, but I also have The Blue Lute, the untitled sequel to The Blue Lute and one that I affectionately call my World War II Fairy Tale. Right now, Beneath the Wall is my favorite. I’m even rereading it – in printed form – despite the fact that I’ve read it a million times already. I’m getting a thrill over reading my actual bound book it’s so surreal!

Can you tell me and your readers something about your main characters?
Julianne Parker is my heroine; she’s a journalist for the newspaper The Village Voice who volunteers to report from Vietnam and reside in a Marine camp stationed in Da Nang. She’s a feisty red-headed woman, stubborn as all get out, but determined to find her place amongst the men. She has an amazing heart on top of all that and is often found taking the side of the downtrodden or bullied.
Sergeant Mack Roberts is the muscle-bound, half-Asian American hero, who is in Vietnam not only fighting for his country but also fighting those in the camp who think he should be more at home in the villages rather than the Marine camp. He tries to ignore the comments and actions of the other men, but he still has feelings despite his hard exterior. Mack is always trying to be the upstanding, perfect soldier, but one person in the camp breaks his control enough to bring out his softer side. One guess who that is? 

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I have and I love it! I’ve had such wonderful responses and reviews and it still shocks me how much they all love the people I created. Not that I expect people to bash my work, but I’m still waiting to hear someone say, ‘Oh I hated it’. But no one has. I hope they aren’t all being nice for the sake of my feelings, I much prefer honesty and I believe the people who have commented are being honest and I thank you SO much for beautiful words!

What do you think makes a good story?
This is funny but the first thing I look for are good names. I do!  If I don’t like the names, I can’t read it. There was one Jude Deveraux book where the hero’s name was ‘Hring. I had no idea how to pronounce it so I never got through it. Two pages in and I was annoyed.
But overall I look for an exciting setting, engaging characters and a sigh-worthy love story.

What are your favorite book genres in writing and reading? Why?
Historical fiction is my favorite to write and read. I love being transported through time in a story. I still read contemporary, but the plot has to have something exciting in it. For instances Christina, your book, The Teacher’s Billionaire, which I just finished this morning, caught me with the Presidential candidate as Callie’s father. It really interested me and the rest of the story flowed from there. Good job, by the way! I loved it.

Who are you favorite authors to read?
Well, as you can tell from my interview, I really like Jude Deveraux, mostly her older books though. The Montgomery and Taggerts are some of my most favorite characters. I also love Vicki Lewis Thompson, her nerd-heroes and smoking hot cowboys are awesome!

Thanks so much for visiting us today, Eryn.  Best of luck with your career.

Want to learn more about Eryn? 
Website

And be sure to come back later this week for my review of Beneath The Wall.

Eryn's debut novel Beneath the Wall is available now.

 Blacklyon Publishing
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
All Romance Ebooks

Who Doesn't Love An Alpha Male

I don't know about you, but I love an Alpha Male in my romance novels. I mean really what is sexier then a strong, drop dead gorgeous hero that can sweep us off our feet while holding there own whether they are in a boardroom on Wall Street, a ranch in the Mid-West or on a battle field. Granted sometimes our Alpha Heroes come across as arrogant and too full of themselves, but as romance readers we all know it just takes the love of the right woman to get past all that and capture the heart of our hero.

Who is your favorite Alpha Hero? I am not sure I have a specific one, but I can think of a few that I love reading about over and over. Some of those include James Malory from The Gentle Rogue, Brodick Buchanan from Ransom and Jaguar Strike from Nightkeepers.

Since I love my Alpha Males, it only made since to me that I include them in my own stories. The hero in my latest book, The Billionaire Playboy is Jake Sherbrooke. Known to the world as Prince Charming, he can handle his own whether he is in the boardroom, a disaster zone, or the bedroom.

 

 

 

She's spent her life avoiding love

 

 

Captain Charlotte “Charlie” O'Brien, a doctor in the United States Navy, returns to her home in North Salem, Massachusetts to visit her family and make an important decision about her future. Mother Nature has other plans when a hurricane strikes, flooding the town and throwing Jake Sherbrooke in Charlie's path. Initially she believes Jake is nothing more than a rich playboy, but quickly, she learns that he is so much more.

 

The media calls him Prince Charming

 

Jake Sherbrooke has never been one to follow the path laid out by his parents. That is why he started the Falmouth Foundation, a non-profit disaster relief organization rather than enter politics. When he learns of the destruction in North Salem, he immediately travels there to offer aid and meets Charlie O'Brien. Charlie is unlike any woman he has ever meet and he can not help but be drawn to her. 

 

Soon neither can ignore the incredible chemistry between them. But will his reputation as a billionaire playboy damage their budding romance?



 

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Now that you know what I think about Alpha Males leave me a comment with your email address and tell me what you think about them in general or tell me who your favorite one is. If you leave a comment on my blog you'll be entered to win a $5.00 gift card to Amazon as well as be entered for one of the 3 Grand Prizes the Tour is giving away. But don't stop there. Visit the other blogs that are part of this tour and find out what other authors think. Leave a comment on each blog you visit along with your email address and be entered for over 100 prizes as well as one of 3 Grand Prizes.

Special Guest Best Selling Author Alexa Grace

Alexa, can you please tell us more about your newest release.

Deadly Relations, the third book of the Deadly Trilogy, was published on September 21.  Here is a brief description of the plot.

In Deadly Relations, a serial killer of young women hides in plain sight in a quiet county in the Midwest.  Concealed behind a friendly and trustworthy face, no one knows he has a rage to kill he can't control — until it's too late.

Detective Jennifer Brennan, still haunted by her abduction five years before, devotes her life to serve and protect others.  So when three young women go missing and are found murdered on her watch, she vows to find the killer — or die trying.

A personal relationship with her partner, Detective Blake Stone, would be career suicide. But the connection Jennifer has with him is nothing short of electric.  Working with Blake daily and denying her attraction is hard.  But when he moves in to protect her, resisting him becomes pure torture.

As they fight temptation, two detectives race against time to find the killer before he strikes again.  It is the most important case of their careers.  It could be their last.

Excerpt from Deadly Relations:

Jennifer left the Sugar Creek Cafe, where she’d filled her thermos with hot coffee.  She walked down Main Street toward the county sheriff’s building, where Catherine Thomas’s latest search efforts were being organized.  March had been fickle thus far, alternating between unseasonably warm or frigid weather.  Today, it was chilly, so she tightened the belt on her coat and lifted her collar as she walked against the wind that whipped her hair about, stinging her face and eyes.  Though she’d never admit it, she was exhausted and had averaged around four hours of sleep per night since Catherine went missing.  When she wasn’t in her car searching for Catherine, she was sitting in front of her computer using the methods Frankie had taught her to look for a missing person.  Her cousin, Frankie, was a private investigator with an expertise in technology, and Jennifer had worked for Frankie prior to going to the Police Academy.  But Frankie’s sure-fire methods hadn’t worked to find Catherine.

One look at the gray clouds overhead confirmed what the TV weather guy had said.  There was a chance of rain today.  At least, she hoped it was just rain.  If the temperature dipped below thirty-two degrees, there was a good chance they’d get freezing rain, or what people called “black ice.” That made the roads treacherous to drive, let alone search for a missing person.

The majority of the businesses in the historic downtown area were located on Main Street for six blocks or more. Most of the buildings had been built a hundred or so years before.  They’d been preserved by massive renovations and modernization as time went on.

The wind was playing havoc with Catherine Thomas’s missing posters,  which peppered the trees and light posts.  Lining the inside of nearly every shop or restaurant window was the poster for the world to see, with the silent prayer that someone would find her.  Fred and Julie Thomas worked tirelessly to get the word out about Catherine’s disappearance.

Jennifer gritted her teeth as she thought about Catherine.  She’d been abducted.  Though there was no evidence, she was sure of it.  Catherine had been taken against her will, just as Jennifer had been taken years before. The girl was looking forward to going to the police academy. She was not a runaway. There was no way Jennifer would believe Catherine left on her own volition.  She had an ominous feeling that time had run out, and their chances of finding Catherine alive were nil. Catherine’s parents hadn’t lost hope of finding her alive, but Jennifer had. She knew the more time that elapsed, the less likely they would find Catherine alive.  Like most detectives, Jennifer knew that time and again when they didn’t find the missing person within forty-eight hours, it was likely the person was dead. 

It was Thursday and Catherine had been missing for five days — a time period painfully realized by every member of the county sheriff department.  The staff took it personally. The sheriff, each of his officers, and all the admins wore a yellow arm band that matched the yellow ribbon tied around a huge oak tree in the Thomas’s front yard. People don’t go missing on their turf, on their watch.

So much time had elapsed that most of the sheriff’s team had lost hope that Catherine was alive, just as Jennifer had.  The sense of loss made them more determined to find her body so they could focus on what happened to her.  While there was a lot of information they’d gain by finding a dead body in terms of prosecuting a killer, there was a lot more satisfaction in finding the missing alive.

Fear ran rampant, as was evident by increased calls to the station. Paranoid citizens were reporting suspicious strangers, or strange noises outside their homes.  High school girls, much to their distress, found themselves with early curfews and increased parental surveillance.  Local restaurants were filled with anxious chatter about Catherine, and gossip ran rampant.  People were angry, too, firing blame at the county sheriff’s office for not finding Catherine.

For the first time since Jennifer could remember, people were locking their doors at nights and leaving on their outside lights. The quiet street she lived on was usually dim at nightfall, with only a few street lamps to light the way.  Since Catherine went missing, the street was flooded bright by house, porch, and garage lights

Deadly Relations is available at:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Smashwords

What can we expect from you in the future?

My next book Profile of Evil will be published in the spring of 2013.  It is the first book of the Profile Trilogy. Here is a brief description of the plot.

Carly Stone is a brilliant FBI agent who's seen more than her share of evil.  Leaving the agency, she becomes a consultant for Indiana County Sheriff Brody Chase.  He needs her help to catch a savage killer who is luring teenaged girls to their death in the handsome sheriff's community.

The two are determined to stop a dangerous predator before he takes another life — at any cost.


How can we find out more about your books, Alexa?

Deadly Offerings, Deadly Deception and Deadly Relations are sold on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, Kobo, Sony, Diesel and more.  Deadly Offerings is FREE on Amazon.


How can readers contact you, Alexa?

Alexa's Website
Alexa on Twitter
Alexa's Facebook Page
Alexa Grace Street Team

A little about Best Selling Author Alexa Grace.

Alexa's journey started in March 2011 when the Sr. Director of Training & Development position she'd held for thirteen years was eliminated. A door closed but another one opened. She finally had the time to pursue her dream of writing books -- her dream since childhood. Her focus is now on writing riveting romantic suspense novels.

Alexa earned two degrees from Indiana State University and currently lives in Florida. She's a member of Romance Writers of America (national) as well as the Florida Chapter.

Her books Deadly Offerings and Deadly Deception have consistently been listed on Amazon's Top 100 Bestselling Romantic Suspense Books. She was recently named one of the top 100 Indie authors by Kindle Review.  A chapter is devoted to her in the book Interviews with Indie Authors by C. Ridgway and T. Ridgway.

Her writing support team includes five Miniature Schnauzers, three of which are rescues. As a writer, she is fueled by Starbucks lattes, chocolate and emails from readers.

Her book Deadly Offerings is the first of her Deadly Trilogy. The second book of the trilogy, Deadly Deception, is available now as is Deadly Relations, the final book of the Deadly Trilogy.

Profile of Evil, the first book of the Profile Trilogy will be available in spring 2013.




 

Alpha Male Blog Hop

 

 

 

What is your favorite thing about Alpha Heroes? Well, we authors are ready to share our favorite Alpha Males, our favorite things about them, and everything sexy and heated about those Alpha Males you can think of. *wink* Starting on Friday and ending on Oct 22nd, over 200 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about those sexy men we know and love.

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

 

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $130 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Huge Swag Pack!

 

In addition I am giving away a $5.00 amazon gift card

What Is In Your To Be Read Pile?

For as long as I can remember I have been a reader.  When I was younger I lived in Walden Books and looked forward to the Scholastic Book orders coming home from school.  Later on I started hitting Barnes and Noble, Walmart and Borders.  Today I buy most of my books from Amazon, although not all.  While I like the convenience of my Kindle, I do still love a REAL book.

As a mom and a writer I do not always get all the time I would like to read a book, so it now takes me much longer to finish a novel then it did say five years ago.  What does that mean?  It means I constantly have a growing TBR pile of books.

These are just some of the books on that list right now.  And when I say some I truly mean that.  I could never list them all here.

Dreamweaver by Tiffinie Helmer
Fastball by V.K. Sykes
The Rest of the Nightkeepers series by Jessica Andersen (I have read the first 3)
Hell on Wheels by Julie Ann Walker
How to Ravish a Rake by Vicky Dreiling
I'll Be Waiting for You by R.A. Mathis
No Greater Glory by Cindy Nord
The Reiver by Jackie Barbosa
The Truth About the Tycoon by Allison Leigh
What I Did For A Duke by Julie Anne Long

What is in your TBR pile?  Can you recommend something to add to mine?  Leave me a comment.

My Bucket List and Giveaway

I was talking to a good friend the other day who is in the process of getting braces. She was unable to get them as a teenager because of family finances and said she always told herself she'd get them before she turned 40. Then another friend mentioned that she is training for the Boston Marathon in April because she wants to be able to say she did it. So I got to thinking. What things do I want to accomplish? It didn't take me long to come up with a very long list of items. Some of the items on my list maybe unattainable and a few are not totally under my control, but I included them anyway. Why? Simple, I once went to a writer's conference and the speaker said you were more likely to attain your goals if you write them down, and that makes sense to me. So below is my list, there is no particular order to it. Please don't laugh and feel free to share yours.  If you leave a comment you will entered to win an ebook copy of The Billionaire Playboy book 2 in my series The Sherbrookes of Newport.  Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you.

Travel overseas

Survive my daughters teenage years once they get to that point (the oldest is 5yrs old and the twins are only 3yrs old)

Complete writing my series The Sherbrookes of Newport

Be able to make a living as a writer

Make a best seller list some day

Attend a RWA National Conference

Obtain my PAN status with RWA

Go mountain climbing again. (I have only been 1 up in North Conway, NH and loved it)

Go Scuba diving again (I have been twice and loved it)

Own a dark blue Mustang (I love the new Mustangs)

Re-do my Honeymoon (Hubby and I are celebrating 11 years this year)

Learn to play an instrument

Sometimes Love Spans Time

The Rock Star Next Door

By: Lilly Silver

Date Published: September 2012

Pages: 288

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Reviewed By: Christina Tetreault www.christinatetreault.com

Rating: (1-5)  5

Summary:

Jessica Kelly is an upcoming rock star living in Malibu, California with her band which consists of her twin brother Jack, and her good friends Steve, Kyra, and Darrell. While the band has made it in the rock world all is not well among the band members as jealousy, drugs and their pasts threaten to tear them apart. Living next door to Jessica and the band is legendary rocker Lex Coltrane, who is the combination of a young Adrian Paul and Jon Bon Jovi all wrapped up in one neat little package. Although Lex is about 10 years older than Jessica he is drawn to her the first time he sees her walking her dog along the beach. A strong believer in reincarnation, Lex believes that he and Jessica were lovers in a previous life and that she is his soul mate.

As Jessica and Lex explore the passion between them, Jessica's past and family try to pull them apart.

My Thoughts:

The title of this book immediately grabbed my attention and I was not disappointed at any point. The story drew me in and kept me interested throughout. I felt as if I got to know Jessica, Lex and her brother Jack on a personal level. I could clearly see them and feel the emotions that they were struggling with. The author did an excellent job of making the environment the characters lived in seem real. She didn't try to ignore the fact that many rock stars get hooked on drugs and alcohol. If she had ignored that component the story wouldn't have read as true. And while the author did incorporate the idea of reincarnation into the story, it did not over shadow the present day romance or the realistic struggles all the characters faced.

Overall opinion

I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect escape read for me. After all who wouldn't want a drop dead gorgeous rock and roll star absolutely and totally in love with you. Especially when the guy is a sweet and caring at Lex. I would recommend that anyone who enjoys a modern day fairy tale pick up a copy of this book. I don't think they will be disappointed. In fact I hope the author does a sequel to this book. I would love to see what happens to Jack. He deserves a happy ending too.

Modern Day Fairy Tale on Sale

Amazon has put the book The Teacher's Billionaire on Sale for .99 cents.

 

Callie Taylor's life is turned upside down when she learns the truth about her birth following the death of her mother. Not only is her father alive, but he's none other than presidential candidate Senator Warren Sherbrooke.

Billionaire and confirmed bachelor, Dylan Talbot, is devoted to his family. When his stepfather Warren Sherbrooke receives a letter from a past love telling him they have a daughter together, Dylan is instantly suspicious. In order to keep the media vultures away and protect Warren's political aspirations, Dylan convinces Warren to let him handle the situation.

As Callie and Dylan spend time together, they can't resist the feelings that blossom between them. However, when Callie learns the real reason he has been spending time with her their fledgling romance is put in jeopardy and only complete honesty can save it.

 

 

Excerpt:

 

 

Slowly she dropped her arm back down and turned around expecting Dylan to step back. He didn't move. Rather he reached out to brush a stray piece of hair off her face.

 

As if on autopilot Callie closed her eyes as his fingers skimmed down her check and neck to her shoulder. With the weight of his hand resting on her shoulder, she waited not sure what to expect. And then she felt just the slightest bit of pressure as his lips settled over hers. Everything seemed to stop. The only things she was aware of were his callused hand on her shoulder and his lips on hers. The kiss was gentle. Tender.

 

This shouldn't be happening. Not with this man.

 

Even as her brain protested, Callie's body responded. She wanted to feel his hard-muscled body pressed up against hers. Even though she knew she should break contact, she took a step closer and rested her hands on his wide shoulders.

 

To Purchase:

Amazon  .99 Cents at Amazon

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