Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Their Merry Little Christmas by Jessica Ingro

November 26, 2013Leave a comment

Title: Their Merry Little Christmas (Love Square #2.5)

Author: Jessica Ingro

Tentative Release Date: December 2013

Add to Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18480109-their-merry-little-christmas

Synopsis

With the past behind them and all their skeletons out of the closet, the couples have just begun to settle into their relationships when they find things shaken up yet again.

Will Sam and Aiden’s marriage be able to survive the demands of work, shopping, decorating, and of course… baby Tessa? Will Jacob make a good first impression with his future in-laws and secure Kara’s position by his side until death do them part?

Join your favorite Love Square couples as they deck the halls and have themselves a Merry Little Christmas!

Excerpt

**Disclaimer: This content is unedited and subject to change**

Copyright © Jessica Ingro

“Fine. Bring me the damn suit,” I grumble begrudgingly.

“You’re the best! You know that?” Kara kisses me chastely. Her father is still there after all.

Bill laughs once Kara bolts up the stairs.

“Laugh now. Next thing you know she’ll make you be my elf!” I threaten good naturedly.

“I’d love to see that,” he says in between chuckles.

“Ah crap!” I pull my hands through my hair, seriously wanting to throw a child-sized temper tantrum at this turn of events.

“Think of it this way, son. It will be good practice for when you have kids. And you’re making those girls’ night.”

“Yeah… alright. I guess I can try to look on the bright side of things,” I concede. The last thing I need is for my soon to be father-in-law to think I’m a big baby.

Kara returns twenty minutes later with a giant red bag. I drag it into the bathroom and take my time changing. Part of me hopes that if I take too long the girls will fall asleep or something. Stranger things have happened.

“It’s Christmas Eve, Jacob. The girls won’t want to fall asleep regardless, so don’t think you can get out of this,” Kara calls through door.

How the hell does she do that? It’s worse than the eyes in the back of her head.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I yell through the door.

After I velcro the giant pillow onto my belly, I turn to the side and stick my stomach out further, poking at my now enlarged gut. I roll my abdominal muscles making the pillow bounce and ripple. Chuckling at my nonsense, I step into the red, velvet pants. I pull the black suspenders over my shoulder and do a little jig watching as my stomach bounces around.

Apparently this suit sucks the seriousness out of you. Maybe it’s a magic suit…

I stop my musings and proceed to put the jacket on and button it up.

I look damn good in red. Even with a giant stomach.

Next comes the wig and beard, followed by the hat. Now I have absolutely no reason to walk out of this bathroom. Damn.

Opening the door, Kara is the first thing I see. Her face lights up and she graces me with a wide smile. She lifts her arm, and then she does the unthinkable when she snaps a picture with her cell phone.

“Lump of coal for you!” I shout and make like I’m going to attack her. When I lunge for her, she screeches and runs across the room.

Once I catch up with her, she reaches out and rubs red shit on my cheeks. “Really?” I ask not wanting to deal with this shit.

“You are so going to get lucky later,” she mumbles so only I can hear her.

“Damn straight. You owe me one creative session, Sunshine.”

“There is this new position I heard about that I’ve been curious to try.”

“It’s a good thing this suit is big, otherwise my sister would think Santa was a giant perv. What do you think you’re doing telling me that now?” I gripe, knowing my nieces can’t sit on my lap while I’m turned on.

“Sorry. I forget,” she says like that explains it all.

“You’re lucky I love you.” I kiss her forehead and start towards the stairs. “Let’s get this over with.”

About the Author

Jessica is the author of the Love Square series. She grew up in Central New York, where she spends her days as a Security Analyst at an IT consulting company. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and developing ideas for her own stories. Writing is her secret passion that she’s been fostering since elementary school, when she wrote her first book about a puppy. It has always been a dream of hers to be able to share her stories with the world.

Jessica currently lives in New York with her husband and three dogs.

Connect with the Author

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Email

Love Square (Book #1) Information

His Ever After (Book #2) Information

Giveaway

5 ARC’s of Their Merry Little Christmas

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Blog Tour: Author Interview of Merry Farmer

November 26, 20131 Comment

Trulee V’s Spot Author Interview: Merry Farmer

Author Merry Farmer stopped by V’s Spot and of course I took the opportunity to ask her a few questions. Read below to learn more about her, as well as current and future projects.

1. Tell me how you came to love writing.

I think my love of writing was inborn. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love words and stories. I started writing for fun and, frankly, as an escape from a pretty rotten childhood at a young age, when I was about ten. It was my favorite entertainment and a great way to block out the world when it was being unfair.

2. What other jobs have you done while working to become an author?

I have an oh so exciting day job working in the insurance industry as an admin/analyst. I am a master pencil-pusher! But I’ve actually had a lot of jobs here and there. I was a hairdresser for several years, and I worked as a teacher’s aide and special ed teacher for a while too. I would love to teach again someday.

3. Tell me about your book.

In Your Arms is a story about belonging. My heroine, Lily, is Native American, but was raised in the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and lost national identity. She has become a teacher and a strong advocate for the rights of all children. My hero, Christian, is the town justice of the peace. He feels deeply responsible for the people of Cold Springs, Montana and works to promote their welfare. Only, what Lily sees as helping people and what Christian sees as helping are two very different things. Sparks fly when they go head-to-head!

4. What kind of research did you do for the book?

I did a lot of research for this book about the way that Native Americans were treated at the very end of the 19^th century. In Your Arms takes place in 1897. This was long after the era of “Cowboys and Indians” and the struggle for the west. By this point, the west was settled and well on its way to matching the economic and technological advances of the east, but the attitude toward Native Americans was still, sadly, backwards. It was a bittersweet time period to research because so many things were surprisingly modern and progressive while so many other things were archaic.

5. What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write?

I try to keep myself to a pretty strict schedule of writing. I think you have to if you’re going to make a living at it. I get up at 5:30am every morning and write for about 45 minutes before getting ready for the day job. When I get home from work, I sit down and write for another hour or two in the evening. I also try to get a few hours per day in on the weekends. That includes “doing social media” too. These days, maintaining your platform as an author is as important as the actual writing. And don’t the bosses at my day job, but every now and then I get a bit of writing done in the slow periods at work.

6. What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Honestly, self-confidence. I tend to be a naturally insecure and impatient person. Always have been. Yet here I am, following a dream that takes a LOT of self-confidence and self-motivation. I have gotten to the point where I can write whether I want to or feel inspired or not, but I wallow in the misery of how badly I suck when I do! I have to constantly remind myself that the first draft of anything is going to be terrible, the real writing is in editing and revising, and I am the harshest critic of my work.

7.What’s the best thing about being an author?

Hands down, it’s being able to share the stories and characters in my head with other people. I have always loved sharing the things I’ve written with other people, because it’s like sharing the best of myself. As a published author, I have the ability to do that on a huge scale. There’s no better feeling.

8. What advice would you give writers?

When it comes to all of the publishing choices in the world right now, be sure you really, really know what you want to do and why before you commit to anything. Both sides of the Self-Publishing/Traditional Publishing argument are very loud and will insist that their way is the only way and everyone else is foolish. Don’t listen to that! But do pay attention to what is involved in each kind of publishing. I self-publish, but I will be the first to tell you that it’s not for everyone. It is incredibly hard work (if you’re doing it right)! It’s time-consuming, you have to be fiercely vigilant about the quality of your work, and you have to venture way, way outside of your comfort zone to market. If you don’t feel up to the work, consider traditional publishing.

9. What question do you get asked the most, and how do you answer that question?

The question I get the most is “Why do you Self-Publish?” My answer? Because I enjoy the challenge. Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m crazy. I’ve had writers and editors in the industry tell me my work is on par with the books being traditionally published and that I’m nuts to want to self-publish, but it’s the method of publishing that really sings to me. I actually like working my fingers to the bone and striving to write at a professional level. I like the challenge of formatting and finding the best cover designers and editors to work with. I don’t like marketing, though. It’s not in my nature. But I do like working with my publicist, who is awesome! I also have a yen to tell stories that the traditional publishing world isn’t ready to publish yet – stories with non-traditional characters and plotlines. My Montana Romance series involves four full-length novels and three novellas (so far!), and the fourth full-length novel is an m/m romance. No traditional publishing house would include an m/m romance in a mainstream series at this point in time.

10. What are you working on now?

I’ve been busy working on the second novella (fifth story overall) in my Montana Romance series, The Indomitable Eve. The heroine is Eve deLaurant, sister of Amelia Quinlan (who is the heroine of the second novel in the series, Fool For Love), and the hero is none other than Rev. Mark Andrews, who has been a minor character in all of the novels of the series. It was intended to be a holiday novella, but as I started writing it I realized the themes and issues involved (overcoming tragedy, being unable to reconcile with family after something horrible happens) are very heavy. I’ll still be releasing it around Christmas, and the story takes place at Christmas, but I’m not calling it a “holiday” novella now.

11. Are you a morning or night person?

I’m DEFINITELY a morning person! I get up at 5:30 every day. “Sleeping in” for me is 7:00! And I have a really hard time staying out past dark or staying awake after 9:30pm. Most nights you’ll find me in bed before 9:00 with a book.

12. What are your favorite hobbies?

I used to say that writing was my hobby, but now it’s my career! Nowadays I would say that my hobby is cricket. Yes, the sport that they play practically everywhere else in the world except for the US! I got involved with cricket in the Philadelphia area about four years ago and I love it with a passion. I took a scoring course offered out of England and all I need to do to become an international-level cricket scorer is to take the exam. I’m perfectly happy keeping my scoring talents with my team, though, the British Officers Cricket Club. I love the guys of BOCC so much that, well, let’s just say when I start writing a certain series set in the Regency on the high seas by the end of next year, the crew of the ship involved may just look familiar to people who know the cricketers I know.

13. Do you prefer eBooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

I prefer eBooks. I honestly do! I know there is a strong element that says they will never trade in the feel of a paperback, but I love being able to hold my Kindle with one hand, to put it down without losing my place, and to buy books the moment the spirit moves me…which is a dangerous thing, now that I think about it!

14. List five adjectives to describe yourself.

Quirky, Brainy, Curious, Adventurous, Persistent

15. Where can readers stalk you?

http://merryfarmer.net

On Twitter – @MerryFarmer20

On Facebook –

On Goodreads –

V’s Spot wanted to give a huge thanks to Merry Farmer for taking the time to allow the readers insight into her personal life and personality. I think we all enjoy getting to know more about the authors who’s books we get lost in. I look forward to reading her novels.

Until next time……………keep reading!!!!

Blog Tour: Release day blitz & GIVEAWAY for “In Your Arms” by Merry Farmer

November 26, 2013November 25, 20131 Comment

Get In Your Arms†on Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.
Add In Your Arms†to your Goodreads to-read shelf!

About In Your Arms

Lily Singer has never belonged. Taken from her tribe as a child and raised in a white manís school, she no longer has a place in either world. Teaching has become her life. When that life is threatened by rumors and prejudice after a string of robberies, she must turn for help to the one man who spells disaster for her carefully ordered existence. Will he save her or steal her heart?

Christian Avery, Justice of the Peace, is used to having things his way. Cold Springs is his responsibility, and when its citizens blame the local Indian population for the mysterious robberies, itís up to him to restore order and maintain calm. The one person who refuses to follow his lead is the beautiful, native-born Lily. Her defiance turns his life upside down.

But when town gossip shifts from robberies to romance after a foolish indiscretion, Lilyís job and reputation are on the line. She must choose between the only life she has ever known and the only place she has ever felt at home, in Christianís arms.

About Merry Farmer

Merry Farmer is an award-winning author of Historical Romance and what she likes to call ìSci-Fi for Women.î She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats and enough story ideas to keep her writing until sheís 132. Her second novel,†The Faithful Heart, was a 2102 RONE Award finalist and her unpublished futuristic novelA Manís World†won first place in the Novel: Character category at the 2013 Philadelphia Writerís Conference. She is out to prove that you can make a living as a self-published author and to help others to do the same.

Find Merry Farmer on her†website,†Facebook,†Twitter, and†Amazon Author Page.

Get the book!

In Your Arms†is available on†Amazon,†Amazon UK,†Smashwords,†Barnes & Noble, and†iBooks.

Don’t forget to add†In Your Arms†to your to-read shelf on Goodreads.

Connect with Merry Farmer on her†website,†Facebook,†Twitter, and†Amazon Author Page.

Giveaway!!!

Comment, tweet, like on facebook and share this book release for a chance to win a $10 Amazon giftcard. Click the following link to enter the giveaway.

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Three Rules Blog Tour: Interview and Q&A of Author Marie Drake

November 24, 2013November 24, 2013Leave a comment

While stopping by V’s Spot on her Blog Tour, I was able to ask Marie a few questions for the readers. Check out the interview below.

Q&A with Marie Drake, author of Three Rules

1. What is your name?
Marie Drake

2. What is the name of the book or series youíre promoting?
Three Rules

3. Tell me how you came to love writing.

The first time I remember writing a story was in third grade. When the teacher handed it back to me, she said, “Very well done,” and discussed my story with me. I was hooked.

4. What other jobs have you done while working to become an author?

I worked in a motel for several years before I got married. I ran a home daycare for over ten years after I got married. My husband and I became foster parents because of an emergency within my own family, and once it was resolved we decided to continue to foster other children. We fostered fifteen children over a five year period. More often than not we were raising eight children at a time. Currently, I have a small home based online business. I design and sell crochet afghan patterns on my website.

5. Tell me about your book.

I thought about writing this book for years — the setting, the characters, and so forth. I didn’t have the time to actually put any of it on paper, however, until my kids grew a little older. The book takes place in a small, fictional town. It’s on a lake, like my own hometown. It isn’t anything too specific because it is centered on the main character’s feelings and state of mind more than the location. It is written from Hope’s perspective, the main character. She suffered years of abuse and never told anyone about it for fear that no one would believe her, and later that there would be repercussions within her nuclear family causing her mother and step father pain. She buried all the pain and anger inside, year after year. When her former abuser is pronounced dead in a mysterious boating accident but they don’t recover the body, it magnifies her feelings of paranoia and fear. She has recurring nightmares, and she thinks she sees him, feels him following her.

6. What kind of research did you do for the book?

Well, the story is based in a small town, on a lake, so I didn’t have to stretch my imagination very far on that. I drew on my own personal life experiences when describing the feelings and emotions of the main character. I survived some things in my childhood that scarred and changed who I was forever. It affected my outlook on life, on the world, and affected my decisions and the way I lived until I was nearly thirty years old. I often wonder how different I would be if they never happened. I have also been a care giver for children who had suffered abuse, which I can’t go into detail about for privacy reasons.

7. What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write?

I usually get up at 5:30 AM when my husband leaves for work and our four boys are getting ready for school. They are all out of the house by around 6:20, and I sit down with my coffee and write for a couple of hours before I have to start the regular day —answering emails and doing customer service for my online business, cooking, cleaning, laundry, taking care of our dog, Lady Jade. I sit at my desk in my office and write, usually in my pajamas, always with a cup of coffee. I find that is the best time for me. I have tried going back in the afternoons to write a little, but I think my best ideas come early in the morning.

8. What is the hardest part of writing for you?

The hardest part for me is letting others read what I write. Writing it is thrilling, exciting; I am passionate about it. It wasn’t until recently my husband convinced me I should let other people read it. To me, it is very personal. It is a piece of me, and when others read it, it doesn’t belong to just me anymore. Then it becomes a book, material for random people to pick over, piece apart, and find fault. Accepting criticism is a difficult task, but it is a necessity. I try to do so graciously, and use it constructively.

9.What’s the best thing about being an author?

I have found the best part of being an author is also letting others read what I wrote, when some one enjoys reading it — when somebody else shares the excitement I felt writing the book while they are reading it.

10. What advice would you give writers?

Don’t give up. Life gets in the way; it may slow you down but it can’t stop you if you keep moving toward your goals, even if it is an inch at a time. It can be challenging, but follow your dreams.

11. What question do you get asked the most, and how do you answer that question?

I think the question I get asked the most is “Was it worth it, spending all this time writing a book?” My answer is yes, to me it was worth every moment I spent at the keyboard. I know they are most often speaking financially. That is not how I measure my success. I feel accomplished and proud of finishing something that I set out to do. I feel the most reward when some one enjoys what I wrote.

12. What are you working on now?

I have started writing my next novel, tentatively called Don’t Cry For Me. It is another fiction novel that I hope to release in 2014.

You can read more about Marie Drake @ http://www.mariedrake.com or contact her @ mariedrake72@gmail.com

13. Where can readers stalk you?

Blog: mariedrake.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarieDrake
Twitter: @MarieDrake72

Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/MarieDrake
Amazon: amazon.com/author/mariedrake
Other: mariedrake.com

Blog Tour: Three Rules By Marie Drake

November 24, 2013November 24, 2013Leave a comment

Three Rules by Marie Drake

Book website: http://www.mariedrake.com/three-rules-by-marie-drake

Sales Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Pages: 296

Genre: Fiction, Suspense

Three Rules – The Blurb:

Hope Wellman has a childhood full of horrific memories, a bone chilling recurring nightmare, and a persistent paranoid sense of being followed that she would rather keep repressed. Is evil reaching from beyond the grave to capture the tattered remnants of her soul once and for all, is it only a machination of her disturbed mind, or is there something happening more sinister than even she can imagine?

Attending the funeral of her abuser is the first step in putting her life back together. She struggles with the fact she never told anyone what happened to her, and that the grave they are mourning over is empty. She’d find it a lot easier to move on and believe in the future if he were in the box, ready to be covered with dirt. She fears the last thread of her sanity has snapped when she sees Lucas everywhere she turns, and can’t escape a recurring nightmare. Is her tormentor alive, or is she imagining it? Is her dream triggered by past fears or is it a prediction of the future?

Quoted from Three Rules:

“I have learned three rules in my life: 1.) The most dangerous people in the world are not always strangers. 2.) The scariest things imaginable are not those that can kill you, but those you can live through. And probably the most prominent: 3.) The most horrible possibility is not what could happen to you, but what you could become – I became a killer.”

~Hope Wellman

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Chapter 1

*An Empty Grave*

I want to spit on his grave, but I won’t. That would cause the surrounding people to be offended and confused, all these people who didn’t truly know him but honor him at this service. I hold my frame as stiff as a board beneath the dark, rumbling sky full of churning clouds – the perfect weather to send him off. I twist my buttons trying to make sure they all point in the same direction. It’s a trivial thing to be focused on at a grave site, but my obsessiveness won’t allow me to stop until I fix them all.

I guess most people would be sad attending two family members’ funerals so close together. I’m not. We buried Grandfather Leonard not long ago. I didn’t cry. I didn’t know him. I didn’t know what I was missing by not knowing him. I don’t have any grandparents on my mother’s side either. I wasn’t his real grandchild anyway – and he never fussed over his own children – so why would he fuss over their children? I’m wearing the same black dress. My black hat covers my long blonde hair, fashioned into a bun. A veil conceals my face. I’m not crying for the loss of this man either, but no one can tell. Another rumble of thunder sounds and lightning crackles through the clouds. It seems appropriate that the sky swell up and spit on him for me. The pearly gates will not open to welcome him. No, he will not spend a single moment of eternity in a peaceful state.

There is no open casket, no public viewing. The authorities recovered his boat with evidence of some blood, a few strands of hair, and empty alcohol bottles. It was a logical conclusion that he fell, bumped his head, and went into the water. They did not recover his body. Too bad, I may find some morbid sense of satisfaction seeing him laying there in a coffin dead.

This ceremony over an empty grave seems very strange. Among all these tearful people mourning and sharing embraces, I separate myself. I look at them. I can see the fear in some of their faces. He died very young. They’re afraid of death.

I scan the cemetery. So many headstones, so many graves, they all contain secrets – even the empty ones. I stand alone, twisting these buttons, counting the reasons I’m glad he’s dead.

About the Author:

Marie Drake lives with her husband and their four wonderful sons in a small town near Lake Ontario. They take advantage of what others deem a vacation spot all year long. Camping and hiking are some of their favorite family activities. They also enjoy volunteering at the local animal shelter together, and recently rescued a Jack Russell/Corgi mix who made their family complete.

Marie is a crochet fanatic. She designs her own patterns and enjoys crocheting for friends, family, and charity. She loves to cook and bake, especially when making up a new recipe. Marie is an avid reader of romance, mystery, and suspense thrillers.

She is a woman of many interests – and maybe talents – but will be quick to tell you that her most important and proudest accomplishment is the part she played in the lives of children. She provided daycare for over ten years, and she and her husband fostered more than fifteen children over a five year period.

While juggling all her boys’ sporting events, academic, musical, and other extra curricular activities, and running a small home based business designing crochet afghan patterns, Marie tries to squeeze in some time for writing each day.

“Life is good, and a good story makes life better.” ~Marie Drake

http://www.MarieDrake.com

http://www.MarieDrake.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/MarieDrake

Twitter : @MarieDrake72

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/MarieDrake

Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Marie-Drake/e/B008EXDU8O/

Blog Tour Book Review: “Last Call” by Michele G. Miller

October 25, 2013October 26, 20131 Comment

4 Stars

SYNOPSIS:

“You are cordially invited…”

Four words that spark the fear of God into any gently bred, single southern woman.

When Savannah Guthry receives an invitation to her cousin’s wedding back home in Charleston, South Carolina, her first thoughts aren’t of flowers and dresses. Instead, she’s reminded of the groom: her first love and the reason she ended up at a college 500 miles away from home.

Determined to show up and dazzle not only her ex but her spoiled cousin too, Savannah allows her friends to set her up on a series of dates looking for Mr. Right. Wrapped up in her memories of the past and the drama of the present, Savannah doesn’t recognize a pattern in the seemingly random events that occur around her. There is a dangerous threat looming in the shadows, and if she’s not careful, she might lose more than Mr. Right.

**This book is a New Adult Romantic Suspense. It is intended for mature (18+) audiences due to sexual situations and mild language**

MY REVIEW:

Savannah Guthry was raised in South Carolina, with country clubs, debutants and a prim and proper ladies as her mother embedded in her head. But taking the first chance she got, Savannah moved to Tennessee for school to escape a broken heart and failed relationships, not to mention betrayal by a family member. After a day of class she comes home to find a letter awaiting her that reads “You are cordially invited…” in a microsecond all that she has been running from comes back in a flash. With no desire to go home, but also unable to escape the town gossip if she doesn’t, Savannah begins to think of a way to make the trip more bearable.

Putting a plan in motion, Savannah’s friends, Candace, and Sara decide its best to take a smoking hot date that will keep her company and get people off her back at home, but one issue with that is, Savannah hasn’t dated anyone since she’s been at her college. With only weeks till the wedding, how can she possibly find a date with the correct traits and looks her mother and home-town expects and convince him to come to a wedding with her.

With her friends setting her up on blind dates at the local bar they frequent, Savannah finds herself on unfamiliar grounds in the dating scene and in the company of one sexy new bartender Gage.

This book was a fun read for me. I loved the friendships that Candace, Sara and Savannah had and reminds me of some of my own friends. The dating game that they put her through was not only entertaining but very real when it comes to the dating scene and I was very happy with how well author Michele captured it. I was laughing hard at some of the dates she went on and the things that happened on them. Being a southern raised girl, Savannah, was so out of her element on theses dates, but her innocence in them was felt. Her upbringing of country clubs, debutantes and high society is something she hasn’t forgotten but is not as closely connected to as when she first came to college (she has spread her wings a little), but with the upcoming wedding, how can she face her past and show everyone including her mother that she has moved on and is not affected by it? Let along find a guy who fits the bill enough to take along?

As Savannah goes on her blind dates, they meet at the local bar so that she can be in a public atmosphere and feel a little more comfortable, but what she didn’t expect was the attention of a hot new bartender that just seems to push her in all the wrong and right ways. Even their interaction was funny and real. She finds herself beginning to like this guy, but caught up in her current dating frenzy and an approaching deadline, can she spare time to entertain her thoughts of him. Michele does a great job at building the romance, while keeping some of Savannah’s upbringing at the forefront, but what I didn’t anticipate was the twist she trough in the book that caught my attention all over again. I was a little disappointed when I was able to figure out Gage’s secrets way before they were revealed which was a let down, but I’m hoping there is more to explore of his story than what was revealed on the surface. I did feel like there were a few loose ends to certain scenes in the book that left me wondering what happened. Michele did a really good job at making sure we felt the romance, not just sex like some books, which in turn gave us the right amount of anticipation to build this relationship upon.

I hate giving spoilers, so let me best describe things as this. Romance builds, suspense is heightened, past secrets not only come to the surface but also must be faced, lives are threatened and truths come out. Overall it was a very enjoyable book and I look forward to reading the rest of the story, because I’m so certain that it doesn’t end there (hint, hint). The again there wasn’t an epilogue in the book, so my instincts tell me that I will be reading a sequel. Add this to your TBR list as I recommend you should read it.

I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Mz V

https://truleevsspot.wordpress.com

Follow me on Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Book Release: “Last Call” by Michele G. Miller

October 22, 20132 Comments

Buy Links:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Smashwords

Blurb:

“You are cordially invited…”

Four words that spark the fear of God into any gently bred, single southern woman.

Determined to show up and dazzle not only her ex but her spoiled cousin too, Savannah allows her friends to set her up on a series of dates looking for Mr. Right.

Wrapped up in her memories of the past and the drama of her new romances, Savannah doesn’t see the dangerous threat to her life coming…

She might not land her Prince Charming before her Last Call.

**This book is a New Adult Romantic Suspense. It is intended for mature (17+) audiences due to sexual situations and mild language

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18216345-last-call

About the author

Michele is the author of the Amazon bestselling Coming of Age Fantasy- Never Let You Fall, The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series and the New Adult Romantic Suspense, Last Call. She is currently working on the second book in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series, Never Let You Go.

Having grown up in both the cold, quiet town of Topsham, Maine and the steamy, southern

hospitality of Mobile, Alabama, Michele is something of a enigma. She is an avid Yankees fan, loves New England, being outdoors and misses snow. However she thinks southern boys are hotter, Alabama football is the only REAL football out there and sweet tea is the best thing this side of heaven and her children’s laughter!

Her family, an amazing husband and three awesome kids, have planted their roots in the middle of Michele’s two childhood homes in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Email: authormichelegmiller@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMicheleGMiller

Twitter: https://twitter.com/chelemybelles

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/chelemybelles/

Website: http://michelegmiller.blogspot.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Michele-G-Miller/e/B00CLRE0B0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6975382.Michele_G_Miller

Blog Tour: “The Guardians Series” By Wendy Owens

September 27, 2013September 24, 2013Leave a comment

Today is the day. Book #5 of “The Guardian Series” is being released. So get your copy now!!!!!!!! Here is a little teaser from the book……….

The Guardians Crown (Book 5)

by Wendy Owens

Goodreads

Release Date: September 27^th

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, Goodreads

Blurb:

Gabe is finally forced to answer the ultimate question, will he give his life to save the world? What about just to save the one he loves the most? The Guardians struggle to find another way–ideas that don’t involve Gabe’s death–to defeat Baal. Time is running out. What will Gabe choose? What price will he pay for that choice?

Excerpt #1

As Michael watched her speak, he swallowed hard, remembering in that moment it was more than her beauty he had fallen in love with. “I don’t know what to do,” he replied, his words barely audible.

“People need hope Michael, as much as they need a leader. You and Gabe are the answer to both of those things. You’ll lead the people of earth to victory and Gabe will give them the hope they need to keep going,” Mirada said, her voice sensitive, yet unwavering.

“I don’t know if I can,” For the first time in Michael’s life he was completely unsure of what he should do. He had lost all sense of purpose.

“You can, and I’ll be at your side every step of the way,” she said with a smile.

“Are you serious?” Michael asked, his heart now racing.

Falling to her knees she embraced him, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. She pulled away, looking into his eyes. “I’m never going to leave your side again.”

Michael felt as if his heart might burst. With the death of the council he had felt as though he had lost everything that mattered to him, but here in his arms, he found the last piece of hope he had left in the world. “We have to go back and help Gabe.”

“Why, what’s wrong with Gabe?” Mirada asked.

“They found a book that says the guardians crown is real,” Michael explained.

“Well it is real, or it was,” Mirada stated, staring back at Michael.

Michael watched as she rose, taking a seat next to him on the bed and wrapping her fingers around his. “What do you mean it was?” he asked.

What does Mirada know that nobody else seems to? Read The Guardians Crown to find out if The Guardians have a chance to change their fate or simply must face their destiny.

Excerpt #2

“Do you think there’s any chance Mirada got the coordinates wrong?” Rachel asked. It was clear to the group that they had followed the directions precisely, and after thoroughly searching the area there was no sign of a cave.

At first nobody answered her question. Sophie and Haim collapsed on the ground, both relieving themselves of the rope around their waist. The rest of the group soon followed suite.

“I don’t know, maybe she had bad information,” Sophie suggested.

Gabe took a big gulp of the water then made his own suggestion, “Perhaps she’s not all that different from her sisters after all.”

Uri nodded in response, but Rachel quickly chimed in to defend the woman whom she barely knew. “That’s not fair. Mirada told us from the beginning that she was working off secondhand knowledge and that this could be a wild goose chase. I think you’re being too hard on her.”

“She has a point,” Haim added, moving to stand next to Rachel, causing her stature to look even smaller. “I don’t think Michael would marry someone who’s that dishonest.”

“You’re sure giving him a lot of credit when it comes to judging a pretty face,” Gabe remarked.

“Really?” Rachel snarled, leaning back against the surface of the rocks behind her.

Suddenly her face shifted from one of contempt towards her husband’s comment to one of pure terror. Before Gabe could react, he watched helplessly as Rachel slipped backwards and out of sight into the mountainside, a crumbling wall now the only thing he could see.

“Rachel!” Gabe shouted, rushing forward. Before Gabe could reach her Haim, being closer to where she had fallen through, leapt into the gaping hole after her.

The group now only heard Haim’s cries echoing in the darkness as they drifted further away.

“What the hell?” Uri shouted as he and Sophie hopped to their feet, peering down the hole with Gabe, only darkness staring back at them.

“Where did they go?” Gabe cried.

Peering into the darkness, Uri commented, “it looks like some sort of old shaft.

“Get out of my way, I’m going after them!” Gabe exclaimed.

He didn’t hesitate. Grabbing what remained of the sides of the cavern, he propelled himself through the hole, and down the ice-covered tube. As he rocketed through the shaft, he could see where pieces above his head had melted away, exposing solid rock, or in some place even an empty darkness.

Excerpt #3

Releasing one last big breath, pushing all the air from his lungs, Michael emerged into the room. He opened his eyes, wide, and prepared to greet his brethren. The room shrank inward, all around him, as his eyes took in a sight he had not expected. He had accepted the idea this was a trick, that perhaps he had offended the council one too many times with his unorthodox methods. He had accepted they might, in fact, be luring him there to imprison him for his insubordination. What he saw now though, was not what he had expected.

A half circle of handmade bamboo tables was sprawled out before him. At each table, a small stool perched behind it with an elder seated in it. None of them looked up at him, their heads lying on the table tops, the blood from their slit throats draining, and spilling onto the dirt floor. All of them, they were all dead.

Michael’s head began to spin. He fell to his knees, purging himself of all of his stomach contents. A tear ran down his cheek, as he wiped away a string of vomit with the back of his hand, from the corner of his mouth. “No,” he gasped, shaking his head, as if trying to make the reality before him disappear.

“I knew you’d come!” a voice called out behind him.

Michael staggered to his feet and turned to face his worst nightmare. Baal stood before him, a smirk on his face. He wore his signature grey, pinstripe, three-piece suit, and casually twisted his pinky ring on his long and slender well-manicured finger. As it rotated Michael caught a glimpse of the rubies in the skull’s eye sockets. His black hair was slicked back, the sight of his false appearance made Michael sick to his stomach.

A slight panic rushed over him as he thought, you need to get the hell out of here. But he knew transporting would be pointless. If he fled back to Iron Gate, Baal would most certainly pick up the tracer and follow him. He would bring the same fate of the council down on everyone he cared about. There was only one option. He would stand and fight, even if it meant perishing like the council.

Author Bio:

Wendy Owens was raised in the small college town of Oxford, Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went on to a career in the visual arts. After several years of creating and selling her own artwork, she gave her first love, writing, a try.

Since 2011, she has published a young adult paranormal series, The Guardians, which will contain five books total, as well as a novella.

Wendy now happily spends her days writing—her loving dachshund, Piper, curled up at her feet. When she’s not writing, she can be found spending time with her tech geek husband and their three amazing kids, exploring the city she loves to call home: Cincinnati, OH.

Author Links:

Website: http://wendy-owens.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendyLOwens

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-L-Owens/191731754221996?fref=ts

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5038955.Wendy_Owens

Blog Tour: “The Guardians Series” By Wendy Owens (truleevsspot.wordpress.com)

Blog Tour: “The Guardians Series” By Wendy Owens

September 26, 2013September 24, 2013Leave a comment

Here is Book #4. I hope you enjoy it!!! Tomorrow Book #5 of the series is released, and of course it will be featured on my Blog.

The Lost Years (book 4)

by Wendy Owens

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Goodreads

Blurb:

Gabe’s world was forever altered by the people he came to know and love at Rampart Manor. Although, it wasn’t only his life that was changed when he made the choice to leave them all behind.

During his five year absence, they each had a battle with personal demons. Dina is faced with a moral dilemma, the path of good leading to certain heartbreak, or evil, and a possibility of happiness.

Uri meets a mysterious woman who seems to have a lot of the answers that he has been searching for, and she certainly has a place in his heart, if he can only hold onto her.

Sophie is faced with choices she never knew would be so difficult. The question now is: will the personal demons of the remaining Guardians of Rampart be too much for them to overcome?

Excerpt #1

“Are you telling me that Michael wanted to lie to the council? He’s likeâ€” Mr. Perfect.”

“I know, but it’s true. Mirada resisted, she didn’t think he should allow the council to dictate their lives. I think it’s why he is such a hard-ass about choices and the Guardians not removing the ability of choice from a person. They fought about it for a while, but she saw she was not going to change his mind and at last relented to his suggestion.”

“Did they believe him?”

“At first. Over the years though, there have been sightings and rumors that Mirada lives. Michael does the best he can to feed Mirada information so she can stay two steps ahead of the council, often sending me as the messenger. I think they might know where she is now; he wouldn’t say, but I think they’re using her to threaten him into obedience.”

“Butâ€” the council wouldn’t do that.”

“Dina, are you that ignorant?”

“Excuse me?” Dina growled, her posture shifting into one of a wild animal, ready to pounce at any moment.

Raising his hands defensively, Uri quickly attempted to correct his careless statement. “All I meant is that the council isn’t all knowing. They make mistakes. They mean well, but sometimes in their zealous attempt to protect the way of the guardians, they seem to violate everything we stand for.”

“There has to be some sort of mistake. Michael has to be coming back,” Dina moaned, slumping into a defeated position.

“I don’t think he is, at least not if the council has their way.”

“This is going to destroy Gabe,” Dina said.

“Damn it, I forgot about Gabe. I have to figure out a way to get him to let me explain. If he would just listen, I could tell him it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“You need to give him some space, Uri. Let me think on it, alright? I’m sure I can come up with something.”

Uri leapt forward in excitement, a grin beaming from ear to ear. After planting a kiss firmly on Dina’s forehead, Uri exclaimed, “Thanks, I knew you would figure this out. You’re the best!”

And in the next moment, in a split second, as soon as the words left his lips, he was gone, leaving Dina standing there and wondering how she got herself into the middle of this mess.

Excerpt #2

The smoke stung at the corners of Uri’s eyes as he struggled to open them. He could hear the battle sounds all around him and smell the iron from the blood drenched warfare in the air. Much to his surprise, death had not yet claimed him. He could feel Raimie’s body under his own, no warmth came from him, however, and Uri feared the worse. Over his shoulder, he heard a large blast and the earth shook under him.

The trackers had obviously followed someone through. There were hundreds of designated transportation locations as part of the evacuation drill. Absolutely nobody was allowed to transport directly to a primary facility for this exact reason. If a tracker were to follow your transportation signature to the next facility, the Guardians could be nearly wiped out in one night. The secrecy of the facilities and cloaking spells were key in their safety.

Uri knew if he or Raimie had any chance of surviving, he needed to get clear of the fighting and find a healer. Attempting to sit up, he braced his weight on the earth just beside Raimie’s head. He quickly reconsidered as the unbearable pain shot through his side. Running his hand down to the source, he could feel the shaft of an arrow jutting out from his side; a warm wetness covered his fingertips.

In the distance, Uri could hear someone crying out in agony, not a voice he recognized, yet the pain in it seemed all too familiar. Another blast rang out from behind him as Uri slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

Closing his eyes, Uri thought of any place other than where he was. Focusing the last bit of strength he had, and holding firmly onto Raimie, Uri attempted to transport them again. Nothing happened. Frantically, he tried again, receiving the same results. With his injuries, he did not have enough strength to transport them both.

The thought of abandoning his friend to save himself was never an option. He collapsed, pushing even closer to Raimie. Pressing his lips against his friend’s ear, he whispered, “As good a day to die as any.” He would defend them until his end.

The sound of a blade cutting through the air and piercing flesh shot out, followed by a groan and gurgling sound. Uri reached to his side, gripping the blade mounted there. With his injury, he wouldn’t likely be able to deliver a killing blow, but he was certain he would still be able to do a significant amount of injury.

Uri waited patiently for the assailant to come closer; the smoke was still thick and his vision obscured. He could still hear the slashing, the crunching of bones as they shattered under the pressure of the warrior’s attack. His chest ached as he wondered how many of his brothers were falling victim to the legions of demons that day. He could feel in his bones that the loss was great.

Slightly arching his back, squinting his watering eyes, Uri attempted to get a good look at the beast that approached. A gasp caught in his throat, he had been wrong; it was not a demon soldier at all that had been approaching them. It was a woman he had never seen before, but something still felt familiar as she approached. She was slashing through the demons as though they were overgrown jungle brush, a mere irritant in her way.

Excerpt #3

Running forward into the smoke, a hundred yards in, their weapons were met with a clash of steel and tearing flesh. The demons burst into fluttering piles of ash and flame as their swords sliced through them. Confidently, the men bounded further into the battlefield.

The earth began to shake and tremble beneath their feet. Uri thought perhaps it was an earth quake until he heard his friend’s voice.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Haim groaned.

“What is it?” Uri called back, squinting as the smoke stung his eyes.

“They have a hydra!”

“Huh?” Uri gasped in disbelief. Taking a step closer in Haim’s direction, he peered into the distance, trying to make out the dark figure that loomed above them. As the air began to glow orange, Uri soon realized that what he saw were the flames coming from one of the beast’s five heads.

“Oh, shit!” Uri cried.

“What do we do?” Haim asked, his brutish tactics no match for a hydra.

“This is the stuff Sophie’s good at, damn it!” Uri grumbled. “Just kill as many of them as you can. Love you, brother!”

With those final words, Uri pushed deeper into the mob of demons. It was hard to determine where one monster ended and the next began. Their eyes glowed, their teeth gnashed, hungry for flesh. It only took a moment for Uri to be lost in the sea of unholiness, losing any sight of his friend.

Uri took stock of his situation. Circling above his head was an alp, a trail of smoke streaming behind it. Alp’s were known for haunting one with nightmares. Uri knew he had to keep his guard up and not allow the creature into his thoughts. A bajang was creeping closer to his left. Its feline features did nothing to soften the glare of its exposed fangs. He knew, given the chance, the bajang would suck every last drop of blood from his body. Behind the bajang was a cluster of cambion, their skin blue in color, their skeletal-like frames shaking as they screeched a high-pitched battle cry. A cambion was the offspring of a human and succubus; they had always turned Uri’s stomach.

To Uri’s right were three goblins; their skin was a putrid green, which appeared to always be secreting a slimy fluid of some kind. The goblins clutched their daggers tight, cackling as they prepared to attack. Directly in front of him stood a rokurokubi, which caused Uri to do a double take, at first thinking perhaps Baal had recruited a human.

The male foe was the first to attack, running towards Uri and swinging wildly. As Uri brought his green, glowing blade towards the man’s throat, he was surprised to see its neck flex backwards and to the side, growing at least six feet in length. The being laughed at Uri’s failed attempt to slice its jugular. Uri quickly realized he was not dealing with a human. Instead, he had come face to face with a being he had only ever read about in books. A rokurokubi by all appearances was merely a human, a character trait that allows them to blend into society on Earth. They have an amazing ability to extend their necks to unnatural lengths, a handy trick they use to spy on the humans and report back to their demon masters.

Uri stumbled, careful to avoid the swiping blades of the goblins. After assessing the dangers, Uri was prepared to destroy the ravenous cluster of demons, and they were all prepared to do the same to him. Lunging forward at the rokurokubi, this time Uri was prepared for his evasive maneuvers. He watched as its neck stretched, the shades of its flesh turning an eerie white as it did. Uri was not trying to slash again at the man’s throat; instead he had his aim focused on the creature’s chest. Pushing his blade forward, the heel of his hand thrusting at the butt of it mightily, Uri knew exactly where to penetrate to slide between the ribs. Slicing into his chest with great precision, Uri pulled the blade back out and brought it to rest at his side. His movements had been too quick for the rokurokubi to see.

Thinking the Guardian had foolishly missed again, he started to laugh, but instead of laughter exiting his mouth, there was simply a gurgle. The monster’s blood had already begun to seep into the lung Uri had sliced. Rather than wait for the being to die the slow and agonizing death it deserved, Uri stood and swiped at it’s now exposed, lengthened throat. Cutting clean through, a spurt erupted from the beheaded neck before the body fell to the ground with a thud. At the sight of the fallen demon, the cambion increased the intensity of their shrieking. Uri fought the urge to cover his ears.

Looking in their direction, a glare in Uri’s eyes caused them to hiss as they coward briefly. He was prepared to put an end to them, but the bajang had other plans. The creature moved as though he were floating. He swiped at Uri’s chest, and though he missed his target, his claws managed to grab a piece of Uri’s arm as he pulled away. Uri winced, the wound only angering him.

The goblins were too hungry for Uri’s flesh to resist the fight any longer. Seeing their opportunity after Uri was injured, the three moved in for their attack. Sensing the blade as it sliced through the air, Uri fell to the ground under its reach. In only a moment, he was back on his feet; it was as though his injury did not faze him. The goblins growled with fury at the failed attempt.

“He’s mine!” the bajang shouted furiously at the goblins. They hissed and howled in contempt at the command, but it was clear who ranked higher as the threesome backed away. Their attention was quickly refocused on a group of freshman guardians that were fleeing.

“Run!” Uri bellowed as he saw the beings give chase, unable to shift his attention away from the bajang.

“Are you ready to die, Guardian?” the creature proposed.

“Not today. But you’re about to meet the end,” Uri replied, his arm finally beginning to sting from the scratch.

“The Guardian is going to die, he’s going to dieâ€” yesssâ€” he’s going to die,” the cambions taunted from behind the bajang.

“Will you shut up already!” Uri shouted back as he dodged another attempt from the bajang. “If anyone wanted your opinion, they would ask.”

The cambions cry reached a feverish pitch in response to Uri’s words. The bajang didn’t hesitate to move in, piercing Uri’s side with its claws. The shallow wound was not life threatening but painful enough.

“Damn it!” Uri growled, climbing back to his feet.

Blog Tour: “The Guardians Series” By Wendy Owens

September 25, 2013September 24, 2013Leave a comment

Here is Book #3…….read over the excerpt and see if it still has your attention and you want to read more.

The Prophecy (Book 3)

by Wendy Owens

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Goodreads

Blurb

Five years have passed since Gabe abandoned Rampart, deserting his destiny and closest friends. The struggles Gabe has endured to stay alive have changed him, hardening him into a man unwilling to trust anyone or anything, dealing with difficulties connecting with the outside world.

Gabe has finally found a certain paradise–a peace in solitude–until a familiar stranger shows up on his doorstep, pleading for Gabe’s help.

Now he has to decide if he is truly content in his new life, or if he is willing to risk his solitary happiness for a little piece of the world he left behind.

Should he choose to accept the most important duty of his life, one failure could mark the beginning of the end for all mankind.

Excerpt #1

Rachel looked back into Gabe’s eyes as she reached out and took hold of his shirt; she began to unbutton it, catching a glimpse of his bare chest. In an instant she saw a hint of a smile curl at the edge of his lips, the sight of which made her flutter. She slowly continued disrobing him, releasing each button from its hold. Once the job was done the white shirt fell open, exposing his chiseled physique.

Running her hands up his tight six pack, she lingered for a moment before continuing over his strong, broad chest. She moved her hands up to his shoulders, causing the shirt to slip off and fall to the floor. Gabe’s slight smile widened as he continued to allow Rachel to take the lead.

Her hands explored his warm chest for a few moments longer. With each new crevice she discovered, she would lean in and memorize the line with a small kiss. Her hands working their way down to the waist band of his pants that hung low on his fit body, revealing a glimpse of the rigid v-cut below his hips.

Gabe moaned in delight, a low throaty sound that vibrated through his chest, tickling her lips. Gabe reached out, pulling Rachel in, his intense gaze so full of passion it nearly made her melt. His lips met hers, the intensity causing her to tremble. Reaching up, she clasped her arms around his neck in an attempt to steady herself. He pulled away, pleased with himself as he heard her sigh, watching her eyes flutter in ecstasy.

Rachel tugged and pulled at the stubborn button of his slacks. The longer she took, the more increasingly embarrassed she became. Gabe growled a deep and almost silent laughter.

“A little help here,” Rachel replied, throwing her hands up in despair.

With great ease, Gabe slipped the button from its hold, dropping his hands back to his sides. Rachel stared at him puzzled. “Oh no, please, you were doing such a good job, you finish,” Gabe instructed, a huge grin across his face now.

Rachel couldn’t help but also smile, realizing how silly her frustration was. Eagerly, she slid down the zipper of his pants, allowing them to drop to the floor. Much to Rachel’s delight, there was nothing else beneath the thin layer of cloth, his naked body greeting her with clear delight.

Standing there, confident in his skin, Rachel suddenly began to doubt herself again. Gabe sensed her withdraw and quickly combatted the back step by reaching out and pulling her close once again. He pressed his warm lips to her, kissing her deep and long. Slipping his hand between one of the slits in her gown, he gently caressed the inside of her thigh before allowing his fingertips to explore inward.

Rachel cried out, her legs quivering from the pleasure. Pulling his hand away, all he could think about was seeing her glorious body. Yanking on the gown, he lifted it up and over her head, letting it fall to the floor. Gabe smiled, staring at her full breasts. Cupping one, he slipped her nipple into his open mouth. Rachel flung her head back, closing her eyes and enjoying every second.

Rachel looked away, not able to take the intenseness of his eyes. Pulling her chin towards him, he forced her gaze back into his eyes. I—Love—You, pulling his lips away, he mouthed the words, not uttering a sound except his heavy breathing.

“I love you, too,” Rachel whispered, her fears and anxieties lifting.

Gabe pushed against her, the warmth of his chest pressing up against her breasts. Leaning down, Gabe swept Rachel’s hair aside, kissing the part of her body where her neck and shoulder joined. His lips trailed slow, wet kisses down her shoulder, stopping just short of her left breast. She shook with anticipation.
Rachel looked back into Gabe’s eyes as she reached out and took hold of his shirt; she began to unbutton it, catching a glimpse of his bare chest. In an instant she saw a hint of a smile curl at the edge of his lips, the sight of which made her flutter. She slowly continued disrobing him, releasing each button from its hold. Once the job was done the white shirt fell open, exposing his chiseled physique.