Five Things You'd Never Guess About Heather Huffman-- Guest Blog and Giveway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Heather will be awarding an ebook (international) of ROSES IN ECUADOR by Heather Huffman, at each stop, along with a grand prize of an autographed paperback (US only) of RING OF FIRE to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.



Five things you’d never guess about me? That’s tough because so much of myself is included in my novels. I feel like I’m so transparent there can’t be many secrets left (probably to my family’s chagrin).

1) I once hung myself from a horse’s saddle horn by my bra. When I was first learning to ride, a stirrup gave on me as I was mounting the horse. I slid down and somehow found myself hanging rather precariously from the saddle horn. Thank God the horse just looked at me like I was nuts instead of taking off!

2) The bones in my hands aren’t made correctly. On both hands, the bone that should connect my pointer finger to my wrist ends in a knot about a finger’s width away from where it’s supposed to be, leaving a gap between it and the wrist. The older I get, the more my hands bother me because of it.

3) I permanently tore up my ankle at the age of 15, while doing step aerobics in gym class. One of the star football players had to help me to the nurse when I almost passed out. I don’t know what was worse, the years of surgery and therapy over a step aerobics injury, or having one of the cutest boys in school remember me as the girl who nearly hit the floor at his feet.

4) Adam, my husband, is both my first and second husband. We were briefly divorced ten years ago before remarrying – on our anniversary to avoid any confusion. That was such a horrible time in all our lives that we don’t talk about it much. People look at our family now and assume it’s perfect, but we’ve had our ups and downs. We are ridiculously blessed to have each other, but we’re honest about where we’ve been to remind others there’s always hope.

5) I have a scar at the base of my throat that looks like a small bruise. When I was two, my mother accidentally caught a piece of skin in the zipper of my footed jammies because I wouldn’t stop squirming. She says she cried as much as I did, and that doesn’t surprise me. (She’s a tenderhearted mama; I can imagine it tormented her!) Even now, 34 years later, she sometimes stops, looks at the scar on my neck, and mentions how bad she feels about it. I don’t mind it, though. It’s just part of what makes me unique.

Heather Huffman calls the beautiful Missouri Ozarks home. When not writing, this homesteading mother is cheering one of her three sons on at a sporting event, making dandelion fritters, or tending the family’s myriad of animals, which includes alpacas, goats, chickens and ducks. Heather’s optimistic and sometimes quirky view of life often finds its way into her novels.

Heather is the author of Throwaway, Ties that Bind, Jailbird, Suddenly a Spy, Ring of Fire, Tumbleweed, Devil in Disguise and Roses in Ecuador. You can find out more about her family’s adventures as they strive to live off the land on a small farm, as well as her writing and charitable work, on www.HeatherHuffman.net.

At the request of the U.S. Government, Caitlyn O’Rourke faked her death years ago, only to be reborn as the Cat—a deadly black-ops agent tasked with working for the shadowy organization Chameleon and doing the jobs that can’t be done in the light of day. Now, on the verge of taking down a notorious drug lord and rescuing a captured Chameleon agent, Cat is targeted for assassination…from within. But who’s making the call, and why?

As she attempts to uncover answers and stay alive, Cat finds herself working alongside Cody Kingsley, the mysterious senator who broke her heart and betrayed her long ago. Along with an inner circle of fellow agents, Cat and Cody must untangle the web of lies that surrounds them before it’s too late.

From the sultry streets of New Orleans to a secluded plantation in Ecuador to Washington, DC, Cat must elude an agent hell-bent on her destruction while figuring out how high up the ladder the conspiracy reaches. At the same time, she must work through her tumultuous and conflicting emotions where both Cody and fellow agent Galloway—who may or may not have her best interests at heart—are concerned.

A thrill ride of emotions, suspense, and action, Fool’s Game intertwines matters of the heart and survival …and the only thing certain is that Cat will never be the same.

Buy the book at Booktrope.

A Heartless Design by Elizabeth Cole - Review and Giveaway

This review is in conjunction with a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Two randomly drawn commenters will each win a $10 iTunes gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

An enigmatic woman, a determined spy, and a design that could shake the foundations of Europe…

“Heartless” Cordelia Bering refuses every marriage offer she receives. Yet men still try to win her, drawn by her sharp wit and intoxicating green eyes. But Cordelia knows a marriage could reveal her deepest secret and truly endanger her life. Besides, she hasn’t met a man worth considering, until...

Sebastien Thorne, a spy in the service of Crown. One of the elite agents in the group known as the Zodiac, he comes to London determined to solve a mystery with roots on the Continent. He won’t let anything distract him. But is Cordelia a distraction, or the key to the mystery? As he learns more about the “heartless” woman, he becomes embroiled in secrets, plots, and a design that could change the future…and Cordelia is at the center of it all.

A HEARTLESS DESIGN is the first book in the Secrets of the Zodiac, a series that blends the sensibilities of modern romantic suspense with the rich background of the Regency period.



It takes a special historical romance to really get my happy juices flowing. I'm happy to say "A Heartless Design" hit all the right buttons!

Our heroine, Cordelia, is most atypical, something I realized from the start as I watched her training her maid. In fact, her household is full of exceptionally loyal and very different staff. I loved them all (and am grateful that it seems they will be part of upcoming books in the series). Cordelia is also a skilled engineer like her now deceased father, and has been carrying on his work in secret. This is what gets her into trouble ...

Our hero, Thorne, is most taken with Cordelia from the start unaware that she figures prominently in his latest mission. Thorne is part of the secret British spy network, the Zodiac, and has been tasked with finding plans for a ship design, rumored to be of the sort to turn the tide of the war with France.

While the plot of this story is certainly not lacking, the characters are what really make it stellar. From the most important to the least (note to the author ... will we see Jacques again?), each character is fully fleshed out, unique and interesting. I grew attached to them all, and am chomping at the bit for the next book to see where life takes them.

Well written, well plotted, well created characters and clean editing make this a book I can recommend to anyone, even if you're not a huge historical romance fan. It reminded me a bit of Amanda Quick (without the paranormal). Loaded with characters slightly outside the norm with quirks and fun and heat and mystery.

I completely enjoyed it and unreservedly give it 5 flowers. It's a keeper.

Elizabeth Cole is a romance author with a penchant for history, which is why she lives in an old house in an old city. She can be found hanging around libraries and archives, or curled in a corner reading, cat on lap. She believes in love at first sight. Then again, she also believes that mac 'n' cheese is a healthy breakfast, so don't trust her judgment on everything.

Publisher site: http://skysparkbooks.com
Author site: http://about.me/elizabethcole
Book site: http://skysparkbooks.com/aheartlessdesign
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ElizabethColeWrites
Twitter: http://twitter.com/coleheartedgirl

Fire on Ice by Dakota Madison -- Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dakota will be awarding a backlist eBook to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and a grand prize of a print copy of After Alex Died (US ONLY) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

He’s Fire on Ice and she’s afraid to get burned again…

After Taylor Thompson’s heart was completely shattered by her high school’s most popular jock, she vowed never to date another athlete. She keeps that promise through her first three years of college. But after a chance meeting with a star hockey player, the charming and irresistible Kian Kavanagh, Taylor’s carefully constructed walls are in serious danger of being burned down by Mr. Fire on Ice.

Enjoy this excerpt:

Runt stamped out his cigarette and glared at me.

“You really want to go into this place?” he muttered, already half drunk.

At only 5-feet 7-inches, Runt was the smallest recruit on our team. But what he lacked in size, he made up for in speed on the ice.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “This place is for all the rich kids over at the U. Why don’t we head over to O’Sullivan’s instead? Sheree said she’d be there after work.”

Sheree was a dancer that Runt liked to hook up with. She worked at a strip club on the other side of town.

“I’m sure she’ll have a few friends with her,” he offered.

I shook my head. I was tired of the whole scene. Easy girls with daddy issues were just too easy sometimes. Where was the challenge? The thrill of the chase? Those girls would be on their backs the minute I got into their apartments. And there were always plenty of puck bunnies around—fan girls we could count on for a good time.

“Can we just go in and have a drink?” I suggested. “One drink isn’t gonna kill you.”

Runt exhaled loudly. He loved to give me exaggerated teen-age girl sighs just to get under my skin, especially when he didn’t get his way. Runt and I had known each other for years. We kicked around the same neighborhood growing up and when I started playing hockey, I dragged him along with me. I was tough, the player that no one ever messed with, but Runt was fast and could handle the puck. Sometimes his talent was the only thing that saved him from getting his teeth knocked out because he could be kind of a jerk.

“If we’re going to go in, let’s do it,” Runt insisted. “And quit standing out here like idiots.”

Everywhere we went in town, people knew we played for the Firestorm. We were like celebrities in a town where not much else happened on Saturday nights but hockey. We never had to wait in line or pay to get into even the hottest clubs in town and we always had the pick of the crowd when it came to getting laid at the end of the night. I hadn’t learned very much in my first 21 years on earth but two things I did know about were women and hockey. I had plenty of experience in both arenas. And I knew most girls fell over themselves to date hockey players, even smart college girls.

Just as I expected, heads turned and eyes followed us as we entered the already crowded club. The Twisted Kilt was known for being one of the most popular places for kids from the U to hang out, probably because they were extremely lax with their carding policy, which could be summed up in two words: looks legit. As long as you looked even close to 21, you were in. I had a feeling the owner must have known some high rankers in city government or paid off the right people, maybe both. The place never got shut down despite the fact that probably half the people in there at any given time were underage.

Runt ordered us the usual: two pints of Guinness.

“One drink and we’re out of here,” he reminded me. “I don’t want to keep Sheree waiting.” What he really meant was if he didn’t catch her before her third drink, Sheree would probably be out the door with somebody else.

As I glanced at the sea of college kids drinking and laughing, I had a sudden twinge of regret. They were experiencing something I would never have the opportunity to experience. My life was all about the ice. It seemed like my entire life was predetermined the moment I first set foot in a hockey rink and showed so much promise. I knew I was destined to play pro hockey and that had been my focus since I was a kid.

Not that college was ever an option anyway. I barely made it through high school. I was smart enough to get good grades but my life was so messed up that I only made it to school occasionally and when I did, I was usually so far behind, it wasn’t worth trying to catch up. I finally ended up earning a GED instead of a diploma. About the Author:

Dakota Madison has been writing since she learned to read and fell in love with books. When she's not at her computer creating spicy new romances, Dakota is traveling to exotic locales or spending time with her husband and their bloodhounds.

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Ice-ebook/dp/B00DZTY5O0/
SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337619
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/DakotaMadisonAuthor
BLOG: http://12novels12months.tumblr.com/
GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/DakotaMadison
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shortontimebook

All the Colors of Love by Jessica Freely -- Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jessica will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

It sucks being the son of a super villain. At home, Harry spends half of his time getting medical treatments and the other half tied up in his father's underwater lair. It was different when his mother was alive, but she disappeared when Harry was six. He can't seem to stay out of trouble at school, and his new roommate, Antonin, thinks he’s a spaz, but somehow Harry has to find a way to stop his father's evil plans.

Antonin Karganilla wants to become a comic book artist, but other than that, being gay is the most normal thing about him. His uncle is an aquatic plant man, his aunt is a molecular biologist back from the dead, and his mom is an overprotective pain in the butt. Antonin's in boarding school and it's starting to look like he and this Harry kid might have a lot in common... and that means a whole new set of problems.

Enjoy the following excerpt:

He just wasn’t used to feeling like this, was all. Sometimes when he was alone he shook with it -- pinpricks of terror all over his body. Terror because he couldn’t quite understand how someone as fucked up as him could feel this good.

But then he’d think of Antonin, and he’d remember.

Harry took his customary seat at the back of the class and settled in for an hour of mysteryspeak from Professor Brill. Not Antonin, though. Antonin sat up at the front of the class with his notebook and his pencil, ready to take notes.

Harry had known Antonin was smart from the get-go, and it hadn’t taken long for him to appreciate his fine, fierce beauty either. But it wasn’t until Antonin assured him with calm and deadly certainty that the Old Man was as good as dead that Harry appreciated just how savage Antonin really was. If there was any chance at all of ridding the world of his father, it lay with Antonin along with every other hope Harry had ever had.

Brill was blathering on about the square of the hippopotamus or something, and for no reason at all, Antonin glanced over his shoulder at Harry with a little smile. Later he’d probably nag Harry for not taking notes, but Harry wouldn’t really mind. It was worth it to get that glance and that smile, a snapshot moment of dark eyes and soft lips that he could spend the rest of the day falling into.

He was in such deep shit.

About the Author:

Jessica Freely can't resist a wounded hero. As a reader and a writer, her favorite stories are of soul mates finding redemption in each other's arms. Married to the love of her life in a beautiful relationship based on mutual goofiness, Jessica also warps minds as an instructor in Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction MFA program. Her dog, Ruthie, doesn't seem to care that Jessica's an award-winning and best-selling author in multiple genres. She just wants to play tug of war with Jessica's pages.




Jessica Freely Online:
Website & Blog: http://jessicafreely.com
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/jessicafreely
Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jessicafreely
Facebook: http://facebook.com/jfreely
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jessicafreely
Buy the book at Dreamspinner Press

Five Things You'd Never Guess About Hayson Manning

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Hayson will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Five things you’d never guess about Hayson Manning

Well, since I’m as exciting as acne on date night, I apologize upfront if you fall asleep by the end of this post.

1. I can make my eyes shake on demand.
How’s that for a party trick! Some people can make that weird shape with their tongue. Some can do that double-joined finger, elbow thing, which I’m secretly jealous of. I can shake my eyes until people run screaming. My brother and I used to sit there and have eye-shaking competitions until we couldn’t see. Ah, youth and stupidity, all rolled up into a Manning burrito with extra sauce.

2. I didn’t go to college.
Actually, I barely graduated high school. My family is chock filled with scientists and engineers. Me and physics? Never going to happen. At high-school I’d get “Oh, you’re hoody-flungs’s sister.” Eventually the light would die in their eyes when they realized that the apple had not fallen close to the tree, instead a slightly-off orange lay at their feet. I’ve always loved reading and would get lost in words. I’d hide under my covers and read until 3 a.m. much to my mother’s horror. As a writer, I take forty minutes to read every day. Unless Thing One and Thing Two have a bone sticking out, the house is on fire or a strange man is asking them to look for his puppy, don’t disturb me. I used to be ashamed of the fact I hadn’t gone to college. I travelled, lived in London, crawled into the pyramids in Egypt. I like to think I graduated from the School of Life.

3. I love Deadliest Catch and Antiques Roadshow in equal measure.
Talk smack about my crab-fishing dudes and I will take you down. I can’t tell you why I love them, but I do. I’ve never eaten a crab in my life! Is it the drama? The will they/won’t they make their quota? Is it total alpha-males locked together on a boat? Don’t know. I haven’t missed an episode and sobbed openly when Captain Phil died. Speaking of sobbing, nothing pulls at the heartstrings than someone bringing into Antiques Roadshow the painting Great Aunt Ethel left them, that’s been propping up the cellar door for the last ten years, to find it’s a lost masterpiece and is worth a fortune. The people who pick up a sketch at a garage sale for thirty-five cents to find it’s worth ten thousand dollars. Every time I commit to foraging around in boxes on someone’s front lawn but I can never bring myself to do it.

4. I haven’t eaten anything with legs for a really long time.
Okay, since Moses was roaming the earth is about the right timeframe. I like cows and sheep and I know it’s irrational but it’s my thing. This completely stumps Thing Two who insists that I should eat eels, snakes and snails. That’s about as likely to happen as him cleaning his room, loving greens and giving up his addiction to SpongeBob.

5. I’ve read and own every single Agatha Christie novel.
Love them. I got hooked in my teens and would read them through. SI generally never guessed who the baddie was. I think my favorite would be The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. They are all so good.

Are you asleep yet? If anyone’s awake, is there something no one knows about them?

About the Author:

Hayson grew up in a family made up of scientists and engineers and she was told lovingly but firmly that her ‘day dreaming’ phase would end and soon she’d be entranced by the inner workings of the periodic table. But she loved the lands she created. Oh, the creatures that stopped by. The swashbuckling pirates, sassy unicorns and before she knew it she’d be off on a flying carpet with Frank a friendly chain smoking shark.

It soon became apparent she wasn’t going to be awarded the Nobel Prize for services to science.

She has been a personal assistant, a demon word processor. She’s worked in supermarket deli where she can slice a pound of ham in record time. She’s sorted freight and she’s dreamed of writing gutsy independent heroines who won’t give up on their dreams and who’ll go toe-to-toe with their man. Her dream has now come true thanks to Entangled Publishing.

She lives with her infuriating but adored shoe-dropping husband, two teenage boys plus a tubby opinionated cat. There’s often a resident foster dog who needs love, dog biscuits and hanging with the kids on the couch before finding their forever after home.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hayson.manning
Twitter: @HaysonManning
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7022365.Hayson_Manning

Mason Christian has twelve weeks to flip something old into something new, and then he's getting the hell out of Footsteps Bay - a tiny New Zealand coastal town. Not even his temporary secretary and personal assistant--the feisty, luscious Billie McLeod--will deter him. But there's no denying she makes him feel alive. More alive than he's felt in three years...

Hunger Moon by Melissa Snark--Interview and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Melissa will be awarding a $25 GC - Amazon or B&N (winner's choice) to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour--the Rafflecopter to enter is at the end of this post.



Melissa Snark has stopped by to answer a few of our questions. Thanks, Melissa, for being brave enough to join us. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I have a writing compulsion but what's special about fantasy is the author's ability to indulge flights of fancy. I've written in a fair number of genres, including paranormal and romance. Fantasy is something that has always fascinated me, which I'm always drawn back to. I read a lot of fantasy fiction as a child. As an adult, I love fantasy movies and televisions shows, so it's only natural that I write what I know.

What research (or world-building – for fantasy/paranormal/Sci-fi) is required?

Research that has proven relevant to my series includes reading I've done on wolves, werewolves and Norse mythology. I've devoured information from the Internet as well as any number of published paperback books. My werewolves are all descended from the great wolf from Norse mythology, Fenrir, who will slay Odin in the final days of the world.

Setting is another important factor that came from real life experience versus research. The snowcapped Sierra Nevada Mountains provided the inspiration behind my Norse werewolf series, Loki's Wolves. My family visits Lake Tahoe every winter on an annual ski vacation. The mountains are starkly beautiful in the dead of winter. Some of the last historical accounts of wolves in California date to the 1920s. The rugged country struck me as the perfect setting for a story about werewolves.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Don't give up. No matter how many times life knocks you down, get right back up and keep trying. My heroine, Victoria Storm, approaches every obstacle with stubborn determination to overcome. It's a trait I've always admired in literary characters and one I've aspired to in life.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I drink at least two cups of coffee before hitting the truly productive part of my writing day. Pre-caffeine, I'm pretty useless. Right after I wake up, I'm operating on muscle memory and a couple brain cells. LOL.

I'm flexible about my environment. Even though the bulk of my writing is done on my desktop computer, I can write in a coffee shop or on a laptop on vacation. Sometimes when I'm feeling writer's block, I use a notebook and write in longhand because it gets the scene flowing.

My most interesting quirk is that some of my most pivotal scenes are the product of dreams. There are times when an important development in my story will enter my head as a result of a dream. If the idea really sticks, then I'll add it into the story. There have been a couple inconvenient moments when dream sequences altered the course of the story but more often than not, those scenes prove to be helpful. Dreams have helped me get past writer's block when I'm stuck and even given me the ending of stories.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Personally, I began writing as a panster and gradually evolved into a plotter. In 2000, I made my first attempt at an original contemporary romance. The first incarnation of Learning to Fly (published by The Wild Rose Press in 2012) came into the world as a rollercoaster ride for both me and my heroine, Cassandra. From chapter to chapter, I had no idea what would happen next. It was mysterious and exciting but also frustrating. I got off onto wild tangents and eventually entire parts of the story were removed or rewritten. In contrast, when I started Hunger Moon, my paranormal novel, in 2009, I applied a far more structured process to the story creation. I employed outlines throughout and I wrote the last chapter long before I finished the novel.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

To my immediate right is a Microsoft mouse atop a mouse pad that my sister gave me as Christmas present. It has a really beautiful photograph taken at my wedding of me, the hubby and my two boys. We were married on a bluff overlooking the ocean so all you see in the background is surf and sky.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

In June, I signed a contract with The Wild Rose Press for a 79K paranormal romance called The Mating Game. The story is undergoing the editing process and I'm hoping for a release date in early 2014. The Mating Game is the first in a new erotic series about the Iron Rock werewolf pack. As you may have guessed from the title, it's a sizzling hot read!

I also have the next two books in the series planned out. Battle Cry, the sequel to Hunger Moon, is another Victoria Storm novel. She returns to Arizona to confront the hunters responsible for killing most of her pack. The book following Battle Cry is going to be from Logan Koenig's perspective. Right now I don't have a final title but its nickname is "Run Logan Run." Lol. All total, I envision six books in the series. I'd love to have Battle Cry released by spring 2014.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Can you name three Norse Gods aside from the well-known ones (Thor, Odin, and Loki)?

A friend asked me once how I chose my pen name. I told her the following: "Melissa, because when people mix up my first name, it's the most common goof up. Snark, because it amuses me. A) I love the word 'snarky' and B) I love Lewis Carroll."

As an individual, I'm sarcastic, stubborn and blunt to a fault. I have a strange sense of humor and I like to laugh (usually at my husband or children), but also at myself. I'm not particularly extroverted, although I do enjoy time with my family and close friends a great deal.

At the moment, I'm a stay at home mom who writes in my spare time. I've got a B.S. from Arizona State University in Business, and I've worked a variety of different jobs, including as a medical device documentation specialist, a technical writer, and an auto liability adjuster.

I live in the San Francisco East Bay of Northern California with my husband, three kids, and three cats. My hobbies include roleplaying, cooking and reading.

I maintain a blog, which I update regularly at http://melissasnark.blogspot.com/. You can also find me at my website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or her Amazon author page.

I enjoy hearing from my readers, so please drop me a line at MelissaSnark at gmail dot com.

Buy the books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, or All Romance eBooks.

Valkyrie Victoria Storm desires nothing more than to provide her wolf pack with a safe haven, but her position as priestess to the Goddess Freya also brings with it certain… obligations. Not to mention complications.

War with the Barrett family resulted in the deaths of her parents and most of her pack. Now, hunters are hot on the trail of the remaining pack members. Sawyer Barrett, a human hunter hell bent on revenge, is convinced that Victoria murdered his brother. He will stop at nothing to see her dead.

Victoria must defend the survivors and somehow lead them to safety. Months on the run has weakened the pack, and there are newborn pups to protect, making swift travel impossible. Ahead, the promise of refuge beckons.

Their best chance for survival lies in Sierra Pines, California: Arik Koenig, a powerful, dominant male wolf. He promises to protect and provide for the pack, something Victoria knows the pack needs for survival. His mysterious past is riddled with violence and death, including the slaughter of his entire family twenty years before. His wife died under mysterious circumstances and his son, Logan, is rumored to be her killer.

What is truth? Who can she trust? The desperate spirit of Arik’s murdered wife calls out for help, and Logan begs for assistance in clearing his name. Victoria must solve a murder that has pitted father against son, rooted in a mystery reaching back two decades. Her quest starts her on a journey from the human world to Odin’s Valhalla and back again.

Victoria will find salvation or face destruction beneath the Hunger Moon…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Descent from Truth by Gaylon Greer -- Excerpt and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly chosen commenter will receive an autographed hardcover version of the author's previous book, The Price of Sanctuary. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Alex Bryson is patrolling Rocky Mountain backcountry in his job as a security guard when he discovers a woman with a baby wandering alone in the snow far from the nearest road. He takes them to shelter in a weekender cabin and sees a newscast that suggests the woman, Pia Ulmer, kidnapped the baby from its rightful parents and that it is the sole heir of Peru’s wealthiest and most corrupt family. Pia claims that she is the baby’s mother, and Alex doesn't know what to believe. After turning her in, he continues to struggle with his budding feelings for her and remains unsure of the true story. He becomes more and more involved until finally there is no turning back—lives are on the line. He helps Pia get free from a brutal world that values money over life, and together they devise a plan to reclaim the baby. Just when it looks like they might succeed, they discover an international conspiracy that changes the game entirely.

Enjoy the excerpt:

Dominga Koenig turned away, leaving Faust to close the door. “White Russian,” she said, and pointed toward a wet bar on the far side of the room.

Until he became Maximillian Koenig’s chief of security, Faust had never heard of a White Russian. But the aging multibillionaire’s young wife took him in hand. She replaced his entire wardrobe, corrected his careless speech and his table manners, and arranged introductions to politicians and businessmen. She also taught him to make her favorite drinks. The wet bar was fully stocked, he noted as he concocted her version of a White Russian, using equal parts Tia Maria, vodka, and Bailey’s Irish Cream. He eyed the vodka hungrily. Gray Goose, always his first choice. Later she would invite him to make himself a vodka martini. He preferred his vodka straight, chilled and with a lime twist, but she insisted that he go through an elaborate ritual to craft her idea of a perfect dry martini.

Standing before a pair of glass-paneled French doors that led to a spacious patio, she kept her back to him while he mixed her drink. As he approached, drink in hand, she turned to take it from him and set it aside.

Then she slapped him. The heel of her hand slammed into his jaw.

She was not a large woman, but she was solid, well-conditioned, and coordinated. The roundhouse blow, starting at knee level and gaining momentum during a wide arc, driven by the propulsive force of her body, rocked him. He shook his head to clear it, worked his jaw to assess the damage.

Cradling the hand that delivered the blow, she flexed her fingers. “Why is my husband’s bastard child still breathing?”

About the Author:

Working with traveling carnivals and itinerant farm labor gangs during his teen and early adult years took Gaylon Greer up, down, and across the U.S. and introduced him to a plethora of colorful individuals who serve as models for his fictional characters. After several years as an Air Force officer and then a university professor with a Ph.D. in economics, Greer developed an interest in writing fiction and attended workshops at the University of Iowa, the University of Nebraska, and Bryn-Mawr College. He also studied with the U.C. Davis Extension program and the Algonquian Writers Group. His most recent novel, THE DESCENT FROM TRUTH is available at www.Amazon.com and other e-book retailers. Please visit Greer at www.GaylonGreer.com

Gamble in Gold by Natalie Anderson Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Natalie will be awarding sets of the first two eBooks in the series, "Seduction in Silver" and "Bargain in Bronze" to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Natalie agreed to answer all our prying questions, *G*.

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I love romance, always have. I can’t ever see myself writing stories that aren’t relationship based because our relationships (not just ‘in love’ relationships) are such a fundamental part of our lives. I love the escapism and fantasy or wish-fulfillment in romance—but I also love that the issues that our heroes and heroines face are based in a universal truth—who hasn’t ever been afraid of rejection? Or felt betrayed??? So I like the affirmation that we can get over whatever life throws at us, we can pick ourselves up and be brave and love.

Name one thing you learned from your hero.

I loved my hero’s determination in this story—I love that he wanted to be a guide runner, that he was all for helping someone else achieve their dream. That’s something I’d love to be able to do in real life.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I don’t have many quirks as such (I don’t think!) – though if I’m ever working in public, like at a café or library, I simply cannot be sitting in a position where anyone can see the screen. And if my children or husband are at home while I’m working, it’s the same, no one other than me can see my screen! If anyone can, I just can’t write.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m a little of both. I plan at the beginning—try to ensure I have complex characters and conflict, I have some ideas re plot… but then I just go for it and write a messed up draft—it’s always in the last third or so of the dirty draft that I discover all these new and deep things about my characters and have to go back and work it all in.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

The dining table—covered with party invitations for my twins’ birthday parties which are next week

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I’m working on a few projects—I have a new Harlequin KISS on the shelves in October titled, WHOSE BED IS IT ANYWAY? – and at the moment there’s a free online read over at Harlequin. You can read a new chapter of THE MAN SHE COULDN’T REFUSE each weekday for free – here’s the link: http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1838&chapter=1

Also, I have a Brazen coming out with Entangled in the next few months while the next in my self-published series, BEG FOR ME should be out by the end of the year

Do you have a question for our readers?

I’d love to know how readers really feel about what I call ‘clinch covers’ on sexy books – do you like some sexy on the cover, or do you prefer the flowers/jewels/cufflinks that a lot of more erotic fiction now has on the cover? What are your thoughts?

Seven years have passed since shy Lexie Peterson had her heart trampled by her teenage crush. And Luke Marchetti walks into his flat to find Lexie in a negligee, all he can think of is having a little flirt and fling. But Lexie’s determination to keep him at a distance makes him realize she deserves more than he can offer. Is one kiss enough to entice the two to take a gamble on love?

Enjoy the excerpt:

“So how come you’re home?” Lexie briefly looked away as she finally broached the question. “Dani said you were going to be away for a month.” Her focus darted back to him. “Did you forget something?” She nervously babbled as he started to watch her far too intently. “Are you going back to Hertfordshire tonight?”

He shook his head. “Not tonight.”

Not tonight? So where did that leave her then? Because as lovely as Luke’s apartment was, there was only one bedroom. Only one bed. A huge one, yes, but only the one and there was just no going there. Not with him. Not ever.

Trouble was, this was London during the summer of the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza. While there was some accommodation in town, you had to pay kabillions for it. Lexie didn’t have kabillions.

She’d figure out something. Anything. “Oh. Okay. Well, now that you’re back to see to Mango, I’ll just get my stuff and—”

“You’re not going anywhere tonight.”

“I can’t stay here now,” she puffed, instantly breathless.

“Sure you can.” Luke suddenly smiled, his entire face lighting up. “We have to share, that’s all.”

Lexie blinked at him goldfish-style. Her mind was goldfish-blank too. Because his eyes had some wicked glint dancing in their depths. Share? Share what exactly?

“You can stay here.” He spelled it out slowly. “With me.”

USA TODAY bestseller Natalie Anderson writes fun, frisky, feels-good contemporary romance for Entangled Publishing, Harlequin Mills & Boon and independently. With over twenty-five books published and over two million sold, she's been a Romantic Times Award nominee & a finalist for the R*BY (Romantic Book of the Year).

She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband and four children.

Find out more at her website http://www.natalie-anderson.com and be sure to sign up for her newsletter.

She's also on Twitter @authornataliea and Facebook.

Accidental Affair by Leslie McKelvey-- Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly drawn commenter will win a $50 Amazon gift certificate. You can see the other stops on the tour by clicking the tour banner.

Jack Vaughn is sure his life is over as he tumbles down the wooded hillside onto the deserted two-lane stretch of asphalt. Years of work ended with a single gunshot. Yet, it’s not over.

A good Samaritan stops to help him, despite the danger he poses to her.

Laine Wheeler knows better than to stop for strangers on the rural Montana highway near her home, but her conscience won’t allow her to leave an injured man behind.

What she doesn’t know is the man is an undercover ATF agent tasked with infiltrating a domestic terrorist group. His cover has been blown and helping him will put her life in danger.

Though there is an instant attraction, Jack knows that beginning a romantic relationship with Laine would be both unfair and unwise. Yet the farther they run, the harder it gets to ignore the feelings that are surging between them.

Enjoy this excerpt:

Inch by inch, he trailed his tongue from her ankle to her knee. He continued until he was kneeling between her thighs, and her hushed gasps told him more than words could. Jack paused and looked at her, and a smile curved his mouth when she let out a moan. Her entire body was flushed and trembling, and when he nibbled the flesh of her inner thigh, she jumped. He made slow, lazy circles on her skin with his tongue, moving ever closer to his goal. Her leg muscles shook and her abdomen quivered. Her eyes were closed, her hands clenching and unclenching the bedcover, her breasts rising and falling with each rapid breath.

“Oh, Jack,” she said in a hushed voice, “what are you doing to me?”

Instead of replying he covered her with his mouth. His tongue started a slow, deliberate massage of her most sensitive spot and she covered her mouth with her hands, as if she didn’t want him to hear her. He teased her for several minutes, but when he increased the pressure, she squirmed and tried to scoot away from him. Jack planted his good hand on her belly to hold her still while he backed off just a little. She remained poised for flight, but he swirled his tongue lazily around that tender, fleshy button and she arched her back, her stomach muscles quivering. Her head thrashed back and forth on the bed, her hair like red ribbons on the white cover.

He sensed the tension in her, sensed her holding back, and kissed the inside of her thigh. “Don’t fight it, Doc,” he whispered. “You’ve taken care of me. Now it’s my turn.”

About the Author:

Leslie McKelvey has been writing since she learned to write, and her mother still stores boxes of handwritten stories in the attic. Leslie read her first romance at 12 and was hooked. When her high school Creative Writing teacher told her she needed to be a novelist, she decided to give it a try. Finally, at the ripe old age of...forty-something...her debut novel, Accidental Affair, made it into print through Black Velvet Seductions Publishing. The publisher has also contracted two more manuscripts, which will follow Accidental Affair shortly. Leslie is a war-veteran who served with the U.S. Navy during the Gulf War, and she was among the first groups of women to work the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. During her five years tour she was stationed at NAS Miramar and was an F-14 Tomcat mechanic and plane captain. While in San Diego she spent time on the carriers USS Independence, USS Ranger, USS Lincoln, and the USS Nimitz. The final two years of her enlistment were spent on Guam and her squadron frequently deployed to Japan and the Middle East. She learned everything she knows about firearms and tactics from her police officer husband, who is a weapons expert, range master, and firearms instructor for one of the most highly-respected law-enforcement agencies in the world (and one he wishes her NOT to disclose). He is her biggest supporter and her unpaid consultant on everything law-enforcement and weapons related. She has three boys who keep her very busy and contribute daily to her growing number of gray hairs. Her oldest son is a United States Marine and the younger two have vowed to follow in their brother’s footsteps (OOH RAH!). She spends her off-time (kidding...WHAT off-time?) reading, taking pictures, and sending lead down range (that's shooting, for those who are unfamiliar). One of her favorite scents is the smell of gunpowder in the morning....

Buy the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Connect with the author on her blog.

Weat at the Knees by Jo Kessel -- Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly drawn commenter will win a $50 Amazon or BN gift card. Enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the post. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”

Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in search of a new beginning.

The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.

Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.

Only she must resist, because he has a wife – and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.

But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?

Weak at the Knees is Jo’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story about love, loss and relationships, set between London and the heart of the French Alps.

Enjoy an excerpt:

I leaned over, intending to air brush his cheeks with mine, but it didn’t quite happen that way. A stronger, more powerful force than my conscience, a force more powerful than morality, changed my path of navigation at the last second, making my lips meet his, melt deliciously into his, over and over and over again, sending shivers of pleasure through every limb in my body. My skin tingled, my head spun, I felt light-headed even though I was sitting down. That’s all we did for over an hour. Kiss and kiss and kiss, tasting each other, pressing our bodies close and steaming up the car. I didn’t want it to ever stop. I never realized that kissing could be so sensual and powerful and overwhelming. If Olivier and I were to never progress beyond kissing, then it would be enough, as long as I could keep on doing it forever. Finally, when he had to go, he hugged me tight and told me he’d wanted to kiss me since the first time we met, when I lay crashed in a snowy heap at his feet.

About the Author:

When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry. Having reduced them to tears she vowed that the next time she wrote a story it would make them smile instead. Happily she succeeded and with this success grew an addiction for wanting to reach out and touch people with words. Jo lives in London with her husband and three children where she works as a TV and print journalist. She tells life stories and can often be found travelling the globe researching the next big holiday hotspots for readers to enjoy. Since becoming a mother anything even remotely sad makes her cry. She’s a sucker for a good romance and tear-jerker movies are the worst. She’s that woman in the cinema, struggling to muffle audible wails as everyone else turns round to stare.

P.S Jo’s pretty certain one of her daughters has inherited this gene.

Jo loves to hear from her readers and they can connect with her on:
Her website: www.jokessel.com
Twitter: @jo_kessel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kesseljo
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173167.Jo_Kessel
US buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E4VC70W
UK buy link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E4VC70W
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Interview: Elizabeth Buhmann

A special Raining Books welcome to Elizabeth Buhmann, who was brave enough to agree to answer some of our questions. Her debut novel, Lay Death at Her Door, was released in May. Thanks for stopping by to talk with us, Elizabeth!



Thank you so much for interviewing me on It’s Raining Books!

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

Murder? I sometimes wonder what it says about me that I am not entirely happy with a book unless someone gets murdered in it. I like a book that tackles a big, important action—a life-and-death decision. But I’m not into war or terror. I am drawn to deeply personal and momentous emotions and decisions. What could be bigger than the decision to kill someone?

This gets down to sub-genre, too. I am drawn to the stand-alone psychological mysteries. I love detective stories—read them all the time—but they are more like morality plays. The detective is the instrument of justice, and the drama is about uncovering the truth. I am fascinated by the hidden drama that results in murder.

I don’t want to read about serial killers, either, though there’ve been some great books written about them. I am interested in the universal, recognizable human emotions that can lead to murder. I have a theory that people who read murder mysteries are, by and large, a pretty tame lot. But the fact is, human beings have always had it in them to kill each other.

What research is required?

When writing murder mysteries in general, you end up doing research on crime, crime investigation, forensic science and victim issues. These are topics that I researched and wrote about for twenty years when I worked for the Texas Attorney General. It’s fascinating stuff. I’d read about it even if I weren’t writing murder mysteries.

In writing Lay Death at Her Door, I also had to learn about Africa, and about Kenya in particular. My main character, Kate Cranbrook, was born in Kenya to expatriate American parents. I selected that country after reading several books about Africa. I needed a certain kind of environment and a political event to precipitate her coming to America. Kenya and the 1982 attempted coup during Daniel Arap Moi’s administration were perfect. I got a little carried away reading and writing about Kenyan politics, but don’t worry! My editor made sure that only the most relevant essentials made it into the book. I did thoroughly enjoy that part of the writing process, though.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

That I should write about nicer people! I hesitate to call my main character, Kate Cranbrook, a heroine because she has done a terrible thing. She lied under oath on the witness stand. She did it to protect herself, but it was a selfish and unconscionable act—an innocent man went to prison because of her.

I do see her as a tragic heroine in the sense that she has strong qualities like boldness and determination, but she’s deeply flawed and her flaws are her downfall. Typically, in a murder mystery, a detective solves the crime and brings the wrongdoers to justice. In Lay Death at Her Door, it is Kate Cranbrook’s own essential character that brings justice down on her head.

Don’t worry: this is not a spoiler. Kate did not commit the murder at the center of the story. But she committed perjury and was an accessory, however unwilling, to murder.

Some readers complain about not liking Kate, about her not being a nice person. Definitely, Lay Death at Her Door is not a book about nice people doing nice things! Honestly, it never occurred to me that I shouldn’t write about an unsavory character. I find a flawed protagonist interesting. One purpose of a crime novel is to make us explore what we are capable of. But that’s a whole new topic.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I get up at four o’clock in the morning and do my best writing until it’s time to stop for breakfast and walk the dog. I wake up with ideas tumbling around in my mind and hurry to get them all down—no filter. Only later, when my inner critic and editor are wide awake, do I revise and organize (I do a lot of both). Then in the afternoon I read, work on the Internet, and write shorter pieces like interviews and guest posts, etc.

Plotter or pantser?

I am a plotter/outliner for sure—I can’t imagine setting out to write a whole book without knowing where I’m going! But I think this might be partly because of my genre. I like a mystery with an unexpected twist at the end. Lay Death at Her Door certainly has a few. The Chaotic Reader said in a review, “The last twenty pages of the book have more twists than a bag of pretzels.” It does!

But you can’t just pull a surprise ending out of a hat. You have to plant clues very carefully from the very beginning of the book to have them tie up in the end. That’s a major part of the satisfaction in a mystery: all those puzzling, weird details come together and it all makes sense. Ahhhh!

I do guarantee that about Lay Death at Her Door: it all comes together in the end. I cut my teeth on Agatha Christie. I aim for that kind of Chinese box-puzzle of a plot.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

A saber and a dog. The dog is asleep. The saber is for Tai Chi, which I love and have studied for a few years now. I’m working on my second degree black sash. When most people think of Tai Chi, they picture slow, meditative movement in a park, and definitely, that’s one form of Tai Chi. But Tai Chi is a martial art (Chinese) and we learn weapons, too. The saber is a curved, single-edge sword also referred to as a knife. The saber form is faster-moving than “empty-hand” Tai Chi. It’s quite flashy and exciting to watch when it’s done well, with jumps and kicks and flourishes to make the blade sing in the air!

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I am just now finishing a second book. It’s pretty weird—a cross between a murder mystery and a Frankenstein story?!?! I’m not sure what’s going to happen with that one. The book after that, which is in first draft, will be more like Lay Death at Her Door—a stand-alone murder mystery/suspense novel.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Yes! Does the main character of a novel have to be someone you like or admire or would want to be friends with? Or can you be intrigued and entertained by someone unlikeable, who has done things that you would never do?

Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook's eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker's identity.

She is lying.

Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life.

Elizabeth Buhmann is originally from Virginia, where her first novel is set, and like her main character, she lived several years abroad while growing up. She graduated magna cum laude from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. For twenty years, she worked for the Texas Attorney General as a researcher and writer on criminal justice and crime victim issues. Elizabeth now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, dog, and two chickens. She is an avid gardener, loves murder mysteries, and has a black sash in Tai Chi.

Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lay-Death-Her-Door-ebook/dp/B00CYMBUXI/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1368711204&sr=8-1
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lay-death-at-her-door-elizabeth-buhmann/1115408626?ean=2940016675145
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17742954-lay-death-at-her-door
Website: http://elizabethbuhmann.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ Twitter: #ElizabetBuhmann

Special Offers by ML Ryan--Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. M.L. will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Meet Hailey - possessed by an otherworldly being who was trapped in her Kindle.

Hailey Parrish was quick-witted, irreverent, and hadn’t had a date in three years. She only wanted an eBook reader because her collection of paperbacks threatened to take over her small living space. Little did she know that the "special offers" that prompted the purchase included much more than a reduced price in exchange for a few ads. The device came pre-loaded with the essence of Sebastian Kess, an erudite womanizer with magical abilities from a parallel dimension. When she inadvertently releases him and he inhabits her body, she finally has a man inside her, just not in the way she imagined. And soon her predicament introduces her to yet another supernatural, the handsome could-be-the-man-of-her-dreams Alex Sunderland. Can Alex and Hailey find a way to return Sebastian to his own body, stay one step ahead of the criminals who want to keep him where he is, and not lose their sense of humor?

Special Offers, the first book of the Coursodon Dimension Series, combines paranormal romance, urban fantasy, a bit of science fiction and a healthy dose of quirky humor.

Enjoy the following excerpt:

“Since when do you drink your coffee anything but black?” she said curiously.

I looked down at my coffee and was surprised that it was a light toffee color and that the half and half container was opened and sitting on top of the table.

“Huh. I didn’t even realize I had put that in,” I shrugged as I put the carton back in the refrigerator.

“You put in two teaspoons of sugar too,” she continued, her eyebrows arched as if to say “what gives?”

“Really?” I sniffed the contents of the cup before I took a tentative sip. I fully expected to be appalled by the concoction, but I figured I should try it rather than just dumping it down the sink.

Amazingly, the creamy, sweet mix was…satisfying. I could have said that it actually was kind of delicious but after years of poking fun at Rachel’s habit of “tainting” her coffee, I held my tongue. Of course, when I quickly downed the whole thing, my perfidy was pretty much exposed anyway.

“Maybe you’re pregnant,” Rachel joked.

“Who’s pregnant?” two voices called out simultaneously from the front entrance.

“Hailey,” Rachel explained to Chelsea and Daniel, who managed to catch only the last part of our conversation.

Chelsea and Daniel seemed unfazed by the pronouncement. “Don’t you have to have sex to get pregnant?” Daniel queried.

“So I’ve been told,” I snapped back.

“Hailey just knowingly drank coffee with cream and sugar,” Rachel proclaimed with mock horror.

Smiling, Chelsea pointed out that the other likely explanation was that it could be a sign of the impending apocalypse.

“I thought the Cubs winning the pennant is the sign of the impending apocalypse,” Daniel piped in.

About the Author:M.L. Ryan is a professional woman – not that she gave up her amateur status, but rather that she is over-educated with a job in which she spends a lot of time writing dry, science non-Fiction. In an effort to strengthen the less logical side of her brain, she decided to write some of the many stories rolling around in her head. She lives in Tucson, AZ with her husband, son, four cats, two dogs and an adopted Desert Tortoise.
Website: http://www.CoursodonDimension.com
Blog: http://CoursodonDimension.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CoursodonDimension
Twitter: @MLRyan1
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3384189.M_L_Ryan
Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, iTunes, and Kobo.

Along Came Pauly by Chris Redding -- Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Chris will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A contemporary romance about a dog that brings two people together who don't want to be. She's a vegetarian veterinarian who needs cash for a no-kill shelter. He's the heir to a hot dog fortune who must give away money before he gains his inheritance. Sounds like a perfect match. It isn't.

Enjoy an excerpt

There isn’t enough L’Oreal on the planet to cover my white trash roots, Daria Jacks thought this as her black pump went tripping down the long, elegant staircase. Without her. The shoe clicked and clacked against the marble steps.

Her date, Samuel Lafayette, stiffened next to her.

The old adage about being able to dress her up but not take her anywhere came to Daria’s mind. Outclassed once again, her gaze swept over a ballroom filled with people who’d been born into money.

She’d been the kid with skinned knees for every major event in her life, except her birth. Each school picture sported a bandage on some part of her face.

At least there were no reporters at this event. No one to record her gaffe for posterity. More importantly, no one to ask her about her new-found father.

Opting for a more demure stance, she didn’t chase after the footwear. Instead, she held her head high and her arms relaxed at her side as if nothing happened. As if no one could clearly see she wore just one shoe.

The errant shoe would’ve gone farther afield if a hunky man in a tuxedo hadn’t caught it. The catcher had the blackest hair she’d ever seen. And the bearing of a Jersey Italian guy, sure of himself but probably had a heart of gold. That type always did.

A lopsided grin broke out on his face as he glanced up at her. He cocked his head, motioning to the shoe. She nodded and shrugged.

Her heart skipped a beat before she remembered her dilemma. His attendance at this ball meant he was rich. She’d sworn off rich, hunky men.

For good.

About the Author:

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two sons, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. When she isn’t writing, she works for her local hospital Her books are filled with romance, suspense and thrills.

http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor
www.twitter.com/chrisredding
Buy the book at Amazon.