To Catch a Bad Guy by Marie Astor - Virtual Tour and Giveaway!

Today we're spotlighting author Marie Astor on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the contemporary romance, "To Catch a Bad Guy".  She's sharing an exclusive excerpt with us.

Marie is giving away custom made jewelry (US only) -- see the pictures over there to the left?  Aren't they gorgeous?

So comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner at the top, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a prize!

Janet Maple’s stellar career ended with a layoff and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.

Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

Janet took a long swallow of her martini. After the traumatizing weekend, she needed a drink. “Don’t look now, but there’s a guy from work by the bar.”

“Is he cute?” Katie whispered conspiratorially, her eyes darting to the very place where Janet told her not to look.

“Don’t stare at him!”

“Geez, relax, will ya? There’s a huge crowd – I don’t even know which one he is.”

“The tall one, in a blue shirt.”

“The James Dean look-alike with the slutty blonde?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“He’s cute,” Katie pronounced her verdict after a momentary deliberation. “What does he do?”

“He is in IT.”

Katie nodded approvingly. “A solid and practical profession. I’m getting sick and tired of dating lawyers. They are the most self-absorbed and narcissistic bunch of men on the planet. Litigation lawyers are the worst – so pompous. Don’t ever date a lawyer.”

“Oh, I think I’ve learned my lesson on that one,” Janet replied, wondering if Katie had forgotten about Alex.

“I’m sorry, Janet. I wasn’t thinking,” Katie instantly caught on. “But back to the present. What’s the story with the cute IT guy?”

“No story.” Janet finished the last of her drink. “We chat at work sometimes.”

“We chat at work sometimes? Come on, Janet, it’s me you’re talking to. Do you like him or what?”

Janet nodded. “He is kind of cute, but….”

“But what?”

“Dating at work could be complicated, and I don’t want to complicate things too much now,” Janet added quickly. She certainly had plenty of things to be anxious about at work without having to worry about Dean Snider.

“’I don’t want to complicate things right now?’ Things are always complicated: that’s the nature of life. Sounds to me like someone is being a chicken.”

“Sounds to me like someone is being overly nosy,” Janet shot back, already regretting having mentioned Dean. “Besides, he’s clearly not interested in me: as you can see, he’s got a date.”

“A date, please! I’m sure it’s some girl he just met at the bar. Speaking of which, there’s an interesting development.” Katie’s eyes darted toward the bar again.

Even though she knew she should not, Janet let her eyes follow the direction of Katie’s glance, and in spite of herself, she was delighted by what she saw.

About the Author: Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, This Tangled Thing Called Love, romantic suspense novel, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window.

If you would like to find out more about Marie’s books, please visit Marie at her website: www.marieastor.com.

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Astor/e/B004EBDX9Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4665230.Marie_Astor

Books by Marie Astor:

To Catch a Bad Guy
This Tangled Thing Called Love
Lucky Charm
On the Rim of Love

Lucky Charm by Marie Astor - Virtual Tour and Giveaway

Today we're spotlighting author Marie Astor on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the contemporary romance, "Lucky Charm". She's sharing an exclusive excerpt with us.

Marie is giving away custom made jewelry (US only) -- see the pictures over there to the left? Aren't they gorgeous?

So comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner at the top, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a prize!

Twenty-eight-year old Annabel Green is about to tie the knot with her college love, an aspiring author Jeremy Blake, but her plans for an ideal wedding are rudely interrupted when she catches Jeremy kissing his gorgeous book agent.

Shell-shocked by Jeremy’s betrayal, Annabel retreats into the quiet routine of TV dinners and solitary evenings. It is then that Annabel’s best friend, fashion designer Lilly Clayton, sets herself on a mission to draw Annabel out of her shell. In an attempt to persuade Annabel to keep an open mind on dating, Lilly takes Annabel for a stunning makeover, but after Annabel passes on a date with a dashing entrepreneur, Lilly decides that more drastic measures are needed. Lilly invites Annabel to see a palm reader who gives Annabel a lucky charm that is supposed to help her find true love.

A few weeks later, Annabel meets a new love interest, and as the two embark on a whirlwind romance, she starts to believe in the power of the talisman the palm reader has given her. But what Annabel doesn’t know is that Lilly is hiding a secret that could unravel her faith in her newly found luck in love.

Back at the apartment, Annabel unwrapped her purchases, laying them out on the bed. Suddenly, she was overcome with buyer’s remorse. She had spent close to three hundred dollars on lingerie. Big mistake, she thought - a mistake that would cost her. She would have to eat yogurt for lunch for a month in order to balance her checkbook after this splurge. It wasn’t as if she had money to burn. For now she was still the breadwinner, and every penny was accounted for in their tight budget. She could still scrap the whole idea and just return everything. Luckily, Bloomingdale’s had a very forgiving return policy. No, she thought, I want to give this a try. I want to do something special for Jeremy. And despite every practical thought that was thudding through her mind, Annabel had to admit that she felt her pulse kick as she imagined Jeremy’s reaction to the racy lace. She wanted to be irresistible to him.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was five o’clock. Jeremy should be here soon, Annabel thought. He had left her a message on her cell phone when she was at Bloomingdale’s with Lilly, saying that he would be running late, but should be home by six. She had tried to call him back, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

She hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower. After lathering up with passion fruit shower gel and meticulously shaving her legs, she toweled off and critically surveyed her reflection as she combed her long, brown hair. She had worn her hair the same length - slightly below the shoulder blades - for as long as she could remember. Maybe she should try something different – a pixie cut, like Lilly. In all the years that she had known Lilly, Lilly must have tried at least a dozen different hairstyles. Like the men in her life, her best friend’s hair constantly changed. Probably something like a bob would be more realistic or maybe just some layers for starters, Annabel thought, wary of drastic changes. She plugged in the hairdryer and began the familiar ritual of wrapping her hair, strand by strand, on a round brush under the hot stream of air. Afterwards, she applied a bit of mascara to her eyelashes and a light dusting of powder and blush to her face; just the right amount of makeup to make her look like she was not wearing any. She dabbed some perfume behind her ears.

Okay, this is the moment of truth, Annabel thought, as she stared at the lacy garments on her bed. She wriggled her body into each piece of the intricate ensemble, leaving the garter belt for last. Then, she unwrapped a pair of stockings that she had bought to go with the garter and attempted to fasten them to the garter strips – a task that was easier said than done, as she failed at it again and again, cursing the tricky garter clasps that kept slipping through her fingers. After almost ten minutes of struggle, she finally managed to secure the last strap and stepped into her black plumps. Not bad, she thought, straining to see her full reflection in the three quarter mirror that hung in the foyer. Of course, the extravagant attire she had on was not all that comfortable, but she was fairly certain that once Jeremy got home, she would not be wearing it for much longer.

Annabel checked the clock again. It was six o’clock. Any minute now, Jeremy would walk through the front door, and she would surprise him. A smile spread over her lips as she thought about what would happen next. She lit some candles on the magazine table by the couch and put out two cognac glasses along with the bottle of Hine that she had bought on her way home. It was Jeremy’s favorite brand of cognac.

But half an hour later, there was still no sign of Jeremy. Annabel propped herself on the couch, reaching for the TV remote, and immediately she felt the corset pinch her sides. She shifted this way and that, until finally attaining a half-reclined position that was somewhat comfortable. It took me all this time to get into this thing, she thought. I’m not taking it off until Jeremy comes home and sees it.

Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels This Tangled Thing Called Love, Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, romantic suspense, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain and Back.

If you would like to learn more about Marie’s writing, please stop by her website: www.marieastor.com or visit her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection

Books by Marie Astor:

This Tangled Thing Called Love – a contemporary romance about overcoming one’s inhibitions, learning to tango, and finding one’s true love match.
http://www.amazon.com/This-Tangled-Thing-Called-ebook/dp/B0078IPNCW/ref=la_B004EBDX9Q_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337972977&sr=1-3

Lucky Charm – a humorous contemporary romance about love, luck and friendship.
http://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Charm-Contemporary-Romance-ebook/dp/B005BZL3L4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336842915&sr=8-1

Smitten at First Sight – a contemporary romance about the unexpected power of love.
http://www.amazon.com/On-Rim-Love-Contemporary-ebook/dp/B005TOWI7K/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

A Dress in a Window – a collection of short stories about love, coincidences, and fate.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Dress-Window-ebook/dp/B004E112TO/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Over the Mountain and Back – young adult fantasy adventure novel about a boy who takes his snowboard for a ride and finds himself in a magical, hidden world he never knew existed.
http://www.amazon.com/Over-Mountain-Back-Adventure-ebook/dp/B008WF1Y78/ref=la_B004EBDX9Q_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1350684616&sr=1-6

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.marieastor.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4665230.Marie_Astor
Twitter: @marieastor

To Catch a Bad Guy by Marie Astor - Virtual Tour and Giveaway!

Today we're spotlighting author Marie Astor on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the contemporary romance, "To Catch a Bad Guy".  She's sharing an exclusive excerpt with us.

Marie is giving away custom made jewelry (US only) -- see the pictures over there to the left?  Aren't they gorgeous?

So comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner at the top, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)! The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a prize!

Janet Maple is convinced that her life could not get any worse: her stellar career at the DA’s office ended with a lay off and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.

Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

Janet Maple took a deep breath while she waited for her train to arrive. She was twenty-nine years old, but this morning she felt like a first-grader. The same sickening feeling churned her stomach that she remembered when she first entered a room full of strangers as a five-year-old. She was much older now – a professional with a law degree to boot, and, until recently, with a successful career at the District Attorney’s office, but today none of these things gave her comfort or confidence. 

It was not merely the prospect of starting a new job that gave Janet the heebie-jeebies, but it was the fact that she would be working for Lisa Foley. Talk about stirring up old insecurities… Lisa Foley had been the queen ‘b’ in high school. Come to think of it, Lisa was still the queen ‘b.’ Every time Janet talked to her best friend from high school, Lisa never failed to bring back ‘the old glory days’ as she called them. With friends like Lisa, who needed a time machine? One could always count on Lisa’s sharp memory to recall every embarrassing incident of adolescence.

Well, the past is the past, Janet thought. I should be thankful to Lisa for giving me a job. When your former boss also happens to be your ex-boyfriend, the subject of references becomes dicey to say the least. Regardless of how stellar one’s background looks on paper, employers always want references, but Lisa had hired Janet without any references. In fact, Lisa’s phone call had come with unsettlingly perfect timing. Just as Janet was about to give up all hope of white-collar employment, her old friend had come to the rescue. That was another one of Lisa’s remarkable qualities: for as long as Janet had known her, her friend seemed to have a radar for people’s misfortunes. In high school, Lisa was always the first to know who got dumped, who didn’t make the cut on the football team, and whose parents got laid off. So it was not surprising that Lisa knew about Janet’s being “downsized” by the District Attorney’s office, and when she offered her a job as Assistant General Counsel at Bostoff Securities, Janet literally jumped at the chance.

About the Author: Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, This Tangled Thing Called Love, romantic suspense novel, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window.

If you would like to find out more about Marie’s books, please visit Marie at her website: www.marieastor.com.

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Astor/e/B004EBDX9Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4665230.Marie_Astor

Books by Marie Astor:

To Catch a Bad Guy
This Tangled Thing Called Love
Lucky Charm
On the Rim of Love

Virtual Tour and Giveaway: On the Rim of Love by Marie Astor

Today we're welcoming author Marie Astor to the blog on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for the contemporary romance, "On the Rim of Love".

Marie is awarding two prizes to randomly drawn commenters during her tour: a sterling silver plum quartz necklace and earring set, and a sterling silver aventurine necklace that were custom designed for the tour. So comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner over there on the left, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a prize!

Check them out:



Okay Marie, take it away!

Hi, thank you very much for inviting me to It’s Raining Books. My name is Marie Astor and I am the author of contemporary romance novels, On the Rim of Love and Lucky Charm, and a short story collection, A Chance Encounter and Other Stories.

I see you're self-published. What are some of the pros and cons of doing so?

Traditional publishing has the advantage of mainstream marketing and a vast array of support resources for authors. However, self-publishing gives the author greater creative freedom – it’s wonderful to know that I am in control of my books and the ideas that I want to write about. With the recent success of many self-published authors, I thought that self-publishing on Kindle would be a wonderful opportunity to introduce my books to readers.

Where did the idea for "On the Rim of Love" come from?

I am always thinking of novel plots involving love stories. Two years ago I went to British Columbia for the first time and was smitten by the beauty of the region – I immediately started thinking that it would be the perfect setting for a love story. Slowly, the outline of On the Rim of Love started to materialize in my mind... I put the idea on hold for some time, and two years later, On the Rim of Love was written.

Do you have any interesting writing habits or quirks?

I do my best writing really late at night – does that count?

Of course it does! Give us some insight into a normal day (or should I say 'night'?) writing.

I try to write every day. Sometimes life gets in the way, but I strive to devote at least two hours to writing / editing (depending on the stage of the manuscript I’m working on) every day.

Do you have anything new that you're working on? If so, please tell us about it.

I am currently reviewing the final draft of my next contemporary romance – it is a love story about letting go of one’s inhibitions, finding true love and learning to tango. Stop by my website, www.marieastor.com, if you would like to sign up to the distribution list to receive updates on future book releases and events.

How about a blurb and excerpt?

Maggie Robin has been dating the irresistibly good-looking, successful Jeffrey Preston for two years. But when Jeffrey proposes marriage a week after Maggie’s college graduation, she is no longer sure if she wants to marry a workaholic TV producer.

Her doubts culminate when during a ski trip to British Columbia, Maggie meets Taylor Denton, a handsome, free-spirited big mountain skier who is the complete opposite of Jeffrey. It does not take Maggie long to realize that she has fallen in love with Taylor and she decides to break off her engagement with Jeffrey. But just when she thinks she has found the love of her life, an ill-fated misunderstanding tears Maggie and Taylor apart.

A week later, Maggie is told that Taylor has died in a tragic ski accident; yet, her heart refuses to believe in Taylor’s death. When Maggie returns to Taylor’s native town, she learns that Taylor is indeed alive, but has been seriously injured. Resolved to bring her lover back to life Maggie stands by Taylor’s side, convincing him to embrace life again.

“Taylor, look. Isn’t he beautiful?” Maggie pointed at the regal bird that was circling in vast, sweeping loops, oblivious to their presence.

Taylor looked up. “He does look magnificent.”

“Doesn’t he look free, as though nothing could ever touch him?” Maggie murmured wistfully.

“You think that eagle doesn’t have anything to worry about?” Taylor looked at her with his piercing green eyes. “He’s probably circling there like that because he is searching for food.”

As if in testament to Taylor’s words, the eagle surged downward in a swift, sharp dive and soared back up several moments later, clasping his catch in his claws, beating his wings hastily as he made his way into the sky.

“I guess you’re right,” Maggie conceded, her voice ringing with disappointment. “It’s just that for a moment he seemed so free up there.”

“I know what you mean, but birds are anything but free,” said Taylor, “try hunting for food all the time, not knowing when you are going to eat next, being cold, watching out for predators. Humans, on the other hand, are free.” Taylor paused, looking at Maggie intently. “We can do anything we want – the sky is the limit and there’s no one here to stop us.”

“You really believe that?” asked Maggie.

“Of course I believe it. Don’t you?”

“I’d like to,” said Maggie quietly, and then, meeting Taylor’s gaze, added more assertively, “After today anything seems possible.”

More about Marie:

Marie Astor is a die-hard romantic who wholeheartedly believes in true love, which is why she writes in the contemporary romance genre. Marie is the author of contemporary romance novels, On the Rim of Love, Lucky Charm, and a short story collection, A Chance Encounter and Other Stories. In addition to being a writer, Marie is an avid hiker, an excellent swimmer, a good skier, and a capable badminton player. Stop by Marie’s website: www.marieastor.com to sign up for book releases and events.

Marie can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
and Twitter: @marieastor.

Books by Marie Astor:

On the Rim of Love – a contemporary romance about unexpected love.

Lucky Charm – a humorous contemporary romance about love, luck and friendship.

A Chance Encounter and Other Stories – a short story collection about love and everyday life.