This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Via the Rafflecopter, below, Adrienne will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour, a $15 Amazon Gift Card to another randomly drawn commenter during the tour, a TIN-STARS AND TROUBLEMAKERS (4 full-length ebooks in a box set by best-selling Western Historical Romance authors Adrienne deWolfe, Patricia Rice, Sharon Ihle, and Patricia Hagan) will be awarded to one randomly commenter during the tour, another randomly drawn commenter will win the best-selling WILD TEXAS NIGHTS series by Adrienne deWolfe (3 books, total) during the tour, and last but not least, the award-winning VELVET LIES series by Adrienne deWolfe (ebooks 1-3) will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Haunted by scandal, Eden Mallory is determined to start over in a small Kentucky town. But she won't soon forget the sexy, rugged doctor who rescued her from an outlaw, then rode off into the storm.
After losing his kid-brother to consumption, Dr. Michael Jones is obsessed with saving lives. He has no room for love or a wife. But the nights are lonely, and Eden haunts his dreams.
When Eden becomes his backdoor neighbor, she turns his world upside-down with her unconventional healing skills and sweet temptations. Then outlaws return, forcing Michael to confront his past if he is to save the most precious life of all.
Enjoy an excerpt:
Eden Meets Michael
"Mister?"
Her voice was a breath, a sigh, and far too husky for her own good. Michael rolled to his side in the hay of the stall and drew his knees to his chest, pretending not to hear.
An uncertain scrabbling followed. A horse stomped; another nickered.
"Mister?" the young woman whispered again, more insistently this time.
He cracked open a swollen eye. On a line with his chin, he glimpsed dusty boot toes, a touch of lace, and the thrice-turned hem of a faded green skirt.
"Go away."
The skirt moved closer. "Um... are you hurt?"
"No."
"You're bleeding."
"Doesn't matter," he snapped.
Those contrary skirts billowed about twelve inches from his nose. "You don't look so good."
"Yeah, well, I had a rough day."
"Were you in a fight?"
"More like a massacre," he muttered. Hoss was lucky he had any teeth left.
"Pardon?"
Michael forced his eyes back open. She was kneeling beside him now. She appeared to be about 17.
"Why are you still here?"
His growl didn't have the desired effect. She leaned over him, a gleaming strand of auburn curling over the swell of her bodice.
"It's raining. I can't leave the stable ‘til storm's over." She sounded apologetic. "Besides, you saved me and my horse."
Great. Now he had a babe in bloomers batting eyes at him, thinking he was some kind of hero.
"I always stable Valentine during storms," she prattled on. "He's afraid of thunder."
"Well, I'm not. Go away."
Her palm, smelling faintly of leather, hovered, trembled, then resolutely touched his brow. He wondered if she was ornery or just hard of hearing. When she reached for his ribcage, he flinched and grabbed her wrist. "What the hell are you doing?"
She blinked at him. Green eyes, he noted fleetingly. Curious and innocent.
"Seeing what hurts."
"You don't listen so good."
"Oh. Did you already tell me?"
"Look." He struggled to sit again. "I'm a bad man. An evil man. And if you don't get away from me, you're going to regret it."
"Papa says there's no such thing as evil men. Just frightened ones."
Michael ran an exasperated hand through his hair, found a tender spot, and winced. His head hurt. Every blasted inch of his body hurt.
She sat back on her heels. "Wait here."
Suspiciously, he watched her rise and turn. Russet ringlets cascaded down her sleek little spine; hair ribbons bounced against her shoulders. She had enough patches on her skirt to quilt a blanket; still, she didn't have the manner of a cracker. And her accent wasn't southern white trash, either. He wondered fleetingly where she came from. Not this Tennessee border town, that was certain.
"I'm back."
He started. Had he dozed? She was standing above him again. He heard a snap; something woolly and musty fluttered over his head. The next thing he knew, she was kneeling, tucking a horse blanket around him.
"You don't want to catch your death of cold," she explained.
He might have laughed if he weren't so certain the pain wouldn't be worth the attempt. He didn't give a damn about his own health. Living didn't have much appeal to a physician who was a failure.
To the best of his ability, he screwed his features into a frightening expression. "I told you to go away."
"You didn't mean it." She dipped the hem of her apron in the bucket of water.
"The hell I didn't."
"Talking Raven told me sick people always say things they don't mean."
"Ow!" He jerked away as she dabbed at the gash above his eyebrow.
"It wouldn't hurt," she retorted matter-of-factly, "if you'd stop fussing."
"God almighty. When was the last time you had a spanking?"
Adrienne deWolfe is a #1 best-selling author and the recipient of 48 writing awards, including the Best Historical Romance of the Year for Texas Wildcat (Book 3, Wild Texas Nights) and Doubleday’s Book of the Month Selection for His Wicked Dream (Book 2, Velvet Lies.) Adrienne is excited to announce that she will be donating a portion of her royalties from the Velvet Lies Series to urban reforestation efforts.
Fascinated by all things mystical, Adrienne writes a weekly blog about dragons, magic, and the paranormal at http://MagicMayhemBlog.com to help her research her upcoming paranormal romance series. She also writes a weekly blog featuring tips about the business of writing at http://WritingNovelsThatSell.com. She enjoys mentoring aspiring authors and offers professional story critiques with her book coaching services.
Follow Adrienne deWolfe
http://facebook.com/Writing.Novels
• Good Reads
http://www.goodreads.com/Adrienne_deWolfe
pinterest.com/AdriennedeWolfe/boards/
• Twitter (Fantasy Fiction)
http://Twitter.com/SolMage
• Twitter (Writing News)
http://twitter.com/AdriennedeWolfe
Purchase Adrienne deWolfe’s Books:
Velvet Lies Series
http://ebookdiscovery.com.p8.hostingprod.com/AdrienneDeWolfe.html
Wild Texas Nights Series
http://ebookdiscovery.com.p8.hostingprod.com/AdrienneDeWolfe.html
The Secrets to Getting Your Romance Novel Published (Series)
http://writingnovelsthatsell.com/the-secrets-to-getting-your-romance-published/
Tin-Stars and Troublemakers
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBMZT10/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CBMZT10&linkCode=as2&tag=writincom01-20
Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tin-stars-and-troublemakers-box-set-patricia-rice/1115105000?ean=9781614174110
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Hello, MJ! Thanks for being my 11th Hour pinch-hitter! I so appreciate your hosting my tour today, and I look forward to communicating with you and your readers. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, sounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteHi, Rita! Welcome to my tour. Isn't Michael a toot?! (He's my first alpha hero, you know.) This scene comes from the Prologue. More great scenes to come, so stay tuned. Hugs!
DeleteI love this excerpt and the cover is so fine! The series sounds like a lot of fun - you've got me hooked!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Polly! Of all the heroines I've written, Eden is the most like me in personality -- but not so much in appearance (since, alas, I don't have red hair!) So I guess that means you and I would hit it off as friends in "real" life -- off the internet!
DeleteRe: The Cover: I have to confess, it's one of my faves that my artist created for me, and she has produced all the ebook covers in my WILD TEXAS NIGHT series and the VELVET LIES seris! :-)
I hope you'll follow the tour, so I can catch up with you tomorrow, too! Hugs!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt very much and look forward to reading the entire story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda! Hope you like shotgun weddings. (Oops! Was that a spoiler? ::grin:: )
DeleteWhat an interesting excerpt! I loved Eden's persistence. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDear Eden DOES have her hands full with this ornery Kentucky male. My favorite scene is yet to come! Hope to see you again on my tour! Thanks for stopping by to comment. Hugs!
DeleteNice excerpt
ReplyDeleteSo great to see you back, BN! Hope you'll let me know what you think of the other exclusive excerpts on my tour -- especially rascally Aunt Claudia, when she commandeers the kissing booth with her shotgun! Hugs!
DeleteGreat excerpt I like that she wouldnt take go away for an answer lol
ReplyDeleteSo glad Eden gave you a chuckle! Yes, she's as stubborn about healing folks as Michael is: which brings them together ~ but also causes a clash over methods at times, since Eden is all about herbs and Michael is all about Western medicine! Hope to see you again on my tour! Hugs!
DeleteI loved the excerpt!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing it and for the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Yay! Welcome back, Natasha! Always delighted to catch up with you on a tour. What did you like best about the excerpt? Hugs!
DeleteI loved when Michael told Eden to go away but she didn't listen and when he asks her when the last time she had a spanking was. I loved it all!
DeleteLOL! That spanking bit was one of my favorite lines in the novel! Yeah, Michael can be a real grizzly bear at times. But Eden -- as sweet as she is -- is more than his match! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Natasha. Hugs!
DeleteLoved the excerpt thank you. How do you decide which excerpts to put out there?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great question, Mary! (And you get a gold star, because no one ever asked it before! :-)
DeleteI'm sure every author has her own way to pick an excerpt: sometimes a scene is chosen, because the author has fond memories of writing it (maybe it was her most challenging; or maybe it reminds her of some precious moment from her own life.) Some authors might choose a scene because they're proud of the quality of writing. Other authors choose a scene based solely on its ability to raise an eyebrow (if you know what I mean!)
I choose scenes that feature one or both of the lovers in a situation that's fraught with emotion ~ a situation, hopefully, that a reader can relate to. (For instance, Michael isn't the only one who has "wicked dreams" about his lover. I chose to feature Eden's fantasy on the tour for Jan. 22 at .http://jhthomas.blogspot.com/2014/01/virtual-book-tour-his-wicked-dream-by.html )
Hugs!
I'm playing catchup w/ur tour; sharing, tweeting and enjoying excerpts all the way!
ReplyDelete