by Kim Hotzon
Friday, March 23, 2018
Thursday, March 22, 2018
For Third Scene Thursday, Here's Scene 3 of Biographical Thriller SHARING HAMILTON
I wrote my biographical novel about Alexander Hamilton, his wife and mistress when I read about "The Reynolds Affair" which nearly ruined Hamilton's political career and his marriage. My author friend Brian Porter wrote a subplot about a serial killer on the loose in Philadelphia and blended it into the story. Brian has written several books about Jack the Ripper, and this was right up his alley.
“The Reynolds Affair,” the country’s first sex scandal, would last for two years.
Here's Scene 3, for Third Scene Thursday:
Maria
Phila., Wednesday, August 3, 1791
“Hell’s bells,
Maria, ye think I’m made o’gold?” James thundered as I entered our parlour
laden with packages: a bottle of Madeira , a satin
bonnet to match my new pelisse, and kid gloves, having left my old pair at the
White Rose Coffeehouse.
“These are hardly
extravagances. After all, you boasted you made three hundred dollars last month.”
I relished reliving the moment when he showered coins and notes all over our
bed, foretelling how I was “coming into money.”
I
dumped the packages onto our new Rococo settee. “Do you want your wife looking
like a slattern?” I flicked his gold watch fob, which he’d bought because “Hugh
Dugan has a new one.”
“Nay,
but you ain’t Mrs. James Monroe, either, so dinna try puttin’ on airs like
her.”
“Mrs.
Monroe couldn’t get a rise out of you if you downed three scores of oysters.
She’s frigid—so I hear.” I smirked, slapping his thigh with my new gloves.
“At
least she reads all the books she owns. Did you ever read any of these
flub-dubs?” He swiped at my row of leather-bound books, knocking Volume I of
Shakespeare to the floor.
“Of
course I’ve read them. Twicet and thricet.” I picked up my well-worn Bard tome
and replaced it on the shelf. “I read the Bard’s plays over and over. But I
never discuss England
with strangers. Too dangerous these days.”
“You
know more about Macbeth than about me,” James scoffed. He stood the new Madeira
bottle on our table and uncorked it with the screw he wore on his key chain.
“All
you read are those tittle-tattle
sheets,” I accused, and rightly. He paraded his brotherhood with the scandal mongering
Thom Callender, whose weekly tabloid tarnished many a sterling reputation, from
senators down to their stable boys.
“Aye,
and mayhap our names will appear in them someday.” He poured wine into his
pewter tankard he’d named Douglas . Hard-swilling
males named their tankards and their members.
James bestowed “Canute the Great” upon his member—but I hadn’t the heart to
tell him it was less than accurate.
“I keep our private life private. So don’t
blabber to Callender about what a tigress I am,” I teased as he poured me a
goblet of wine.
“Nay,
I shan’t. But ah’m glad you brought it up. Sit down, Maria, we need to talk.”
He clasped my fingers and walked me to one of our matching Chippendale chairs—his
last splurge from a profitable venture—and pushed down on my shoulders till I
sat.
“Brought
what up? Talk about what?” I trembled. I never knew from one day to the next
what—or who—James would bring home.
“Have
you more ‘golden geese’? I hope so. We can use some more plate and furniture.”
We moved “up” thrice since settling here. We now dwelt in a three-story brick townhome
on Pine Street
with one outbuilding. We always rented. “Or can we finally buy a house of our
own?” I fixed my gaze upon my husband
of seven years. Our passion and lust matured into love and devotion, but the desire
lingered on.
He’d
been an apprentice and journeyman goldsmith until the Revolution, but he hadn’t
the capital nor the patience to rise to master. He made a gold chamber pot for
his most famous client, Thomas “all men are created equal” Jefferson ,
and his reputation grew from there. But goldsmithing wasn’t enough for James. He
lived by his wits and one scheme after another. He groomed and dressed as a dandy,
but when he opened his mouth, he made it obvious he hailed from a Glasgow slum.
I harbored mixed feelings
about it—I admired his shrewdness, yet he courted disaster, speculating in land
deals and currency. With my urging, he ran for the Continental Congress but
lost to his friend Dayton .
No hard feelings. James didn’t want the job. Too much traveling. As I gazed at
his muscular figure ’neath his tight britches, a familiar surge of desire warmed
me. With his swarthy good looks and persuasive charm, he made a fitting match
for politics.
With
his political run over, he served a brief sentence for counterfeiting. He
posted bail, but our landlord evicted us. I stayed by his side as we trawled
the streets of New York
in the dead of winter, scrounging for lodgings.
“No golden geese
this time, my pet. Not yet, anyways.” He took a sip.
Disappointment crushed
me. “I fear this announcement more than all your other schemes. What is it?” I
gulped the fruity wine, hoping to be tipsy for this.
He
scraped his chair back and sat, fingering his watch. Whenever he fiddled with
his watch or rings from Ben Franklin’s estate auction, I knew something vexed
him.
“Maria…”
His eyes pierced mine. My heart sank farther. “We were well on our way to being
gentry till this morn. I lost it all on a land deal.” His eyes dropped. “For
the now, we stand on the line between hard up and impoverished.”
My
ire heated me head to toe. “What about the two thousand you invested?” I
struggled to steady my voice. “The shares in the Bank of the United States ?” Alexander Hamilton created
the bank earlier this year, although James didn’t like the Treasury Secretary.
He called him a snob to his face. “How could you be so irresponsible?” I
grabbed the nearest object, a brass candlestick, but he snatched it away afore
I could fling it.
“It
looked like a sure thing…but ah’ll make more.” Another of his promises. “Til
then, we’re one hunk of bread, these wine bottles, and a dram of whisky from malnourishment.
And five days from eviction. The rent comes due Monday.”
I
shook with fear. “There you go, pulling it out from under us, as you do time
and time again! When will you learn, James?” I had some coin hidden. But after
that—what? Too distraught to even look at him, I swept away tears of
exasperation with my clenched fist.
“Money slips
through your fingers like shucked oysters.” My voice shook. My entire body
shook. “I know not how much more of this I can take. What’s next, the
almshouse?”
As
he stroked my cheek, my rage yielded to pity. He’d become poor in an endless
quest to be rich. “No, we’ll never resort to the almshouse. Before we met, I
lived in a stable whilst seeking work, too proud to apply to the almshouse as a
pauper.”
I
released a deep breath. “Oh, James, I love you so, but I feel trapped, with
nowhere to go but up and down with you.” Desperate for a solution, I began
spewing forth ideas about what I could do: “I can take in laundry. Or work as a
cook. Or a whitewasher. Or a soap maker.” I paced the floorboards, wringing my
hands. Then a much better source of income struck me. “I can give violin
instruction to those toffynoses in the court end of town!”
He cleared his
throat and shook his head. “Bah to all that. Listen. I know a brilliant way to
make money—a lot more money—in a shorter time than ever before. And it involves
Alexander Hamilton, Mr. Treasury himself.”
At
the sound of his name, I heated up. That recurring memory made me tingle all
over: the first time I’d met Mr. Hamilton, his violet eyes nestled on my
décolletage, his russet hair glinted in the candlelight, his lips kissed my
hand—my heart surged just thinking about it.
“What
about Al—him?”
“I
dinna know the chap intimately, but I do know his weakness: beautiful women. Adams
once said ‘Hamilton ’s
ambitions have their source in a superabundance of secretions he could not find
whores enough to draw off.’” He clucked, as if in disapproval. “Tis not idle gossip.
If a curmudgeon like Adams knows about it, tis
true. Secondly—” He refilled Douglas to the
rim. “Hamilton recently
got embroiled in a payoff scheme, being seen with a trull. He favors paying
hush money, rather than harm his reputation. Hence—we can chip away at that weak
spot and wear it down farther.”
I
shook my head. “Already I do not like this. Underneath the bad metaphors, you are
saying you can bilk Al—Secretary Hamilton out of some money.”
“Tis
not bilking, dear wife. He shall git something much more valuable in return.”
I
paused. “I’m afraid to ask, but . . . such as?”
He
cracked a smile and winked. “You.”
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Meet Suzanne Jenkins and Read About TOUCH ME WHEN WE'RE DANCING, her Contemporary Romance
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Meet Reily Garrett and Check Out Her Romantic Suspense/Techothriller INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE
The McAllister Justice Series, Book 3
by Reily Garrett
by Reily Garrett
Monday, March 19, 2018
Meet Jana Richards, and Read About LIES AND SOLACE – Book 1 of the Love at Solace Lake Series, for our #Eggcerpt Exchange
About Jana
When Jana read her first romance novel, she
immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her
head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew
she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance
genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and
historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to
full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and
the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing
Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an
accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her
husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading,
not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada
with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to
hear from readers and can be reached through her website.
Love is worth the risk…
As the sisters struggle to breathe new life
into the failing lodge, old fears and questions rise to the surface even as new
love presents itself. Why did their father murder their mother? What truths did
their grandparents keep from them? The sisters must fight to keep the wounds of
the past from putting their futures, and their fledgling relationships, in
jeopardy.
Excerpt
She’d just
placed the last dish on the drain board when
Ethan entered the kitchen, his hair still damp from his shower. He’d shaved
with the razor she’d found for him and was wearing his own clothes again. Once more the elegant, well-dressed businessman.
The chasm grew between them even as he stood
in her kitchen. She was stupid to believe there could ever be anything aside
from business between them.
She lifted
her chin, determined not to let her façade slip. “I’ve gathered all my
estimates and drawings and put them in a bag so you can take them with you.”
“I
appreciate that.”
They walked
together to the front door, and Harper
lifted his beautiful overcoat from the coat tree. It still held the scent of
his after-shave, and she had to resist the
urge to raise it to her nose and breathe it in. Instead, she held it out to him with a forced smile. “Have a safe trip
back to Minneapolis, Ethan.”
“Thanks.”
He took the coat from her and slipped it on. “I want to thank you for your
hospitality.”
“It was my
pleasure.”
So formal.
But it was the only way she could get through the next few minutes.
He picked
up the cloth bag with all her information on the renovation project. “Goodbye,
Harper. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Goodbye.” She shook his outstretched hand briefly.
He opened
the front door and headed toward his truck. Harper grabbed a sweater from the
coat tree and stood in the open doorway watching him leave, not quite able to
shut the door on him despite the biting cold.
Halfway to
the truck, Ethan stopped. For a second, he
stood completely still, his head bowed. Then he dropped the bag, turned on his
heel, and walked back to her, his steps full of purpose.
“Did you
forget something?”
“Yeah.”
He pulled
her into his arms, his mouth descending on hers with an urgency that set her
blood on fire. She moaned as she molded herself against him, her arms winding
around his neck, her fingers tangling in his damp hair. He swept her mouth with
his tongue, demanding a response. She gave herself over to his kiss, loving the
sweet taste of his mouth, the clean smell of his skin, the solid feel of his
body.
All too
soon he broke the kiss. He grasped her shoulders and pushed away from her, breathing hard. She searched his
face for answers.
“I have to
go,” he said. “I’ll call you soon.”
She nodded,
unable to speak. He released her and walked back to
his truck. No longer sheltered in his arms, the bitter cold swept through her.
She pulled her sweater more securely around her shoulders.
Connect
with Jana
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Meet Valerie Ullmer and Read About JADE (A Dark Assassins Novel, Book Four), Her Paranormal Erotic Romance
About Valerie
Valerie writes paranormal and contemporary M/F
and M/M erotic romances. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her wonderfully
supportive husband and their funny and wise black lab. She's addicted to
coffee, crime shows, and reading and writing character-driven romances.
About JADE
Jade never wanted a mate. She loved being an
assassin and she had a family in her fellow assassins, their mates, and little
Silas. She truly had everything she needed. But when Ghost assigned her to
track the same immortals who tried to kill Xander’s family, she couldn’t
refuse.
But the complication arises when Ghost requests she partner with Noah, a human and ex-special forces soldier. Jade has never worked with a human before, much less one that hated her from the moment he laid eyes on her. But she was a professional and if she could play a part in destroying the immortals who threatened her family, she could accept the human. If only she knew how to fight her attraction to him.
All Noah Hale wanted was to kill the immortals who lured his best friend and fellow ex-Navy SEAL to his death. He had no desire to be teamed with a beautiful tracker who mesmerized him the moment turned her emerald eyes his way. But in order to stop other soldiers from pursuing the same fate, he needed to swallow his pride and work with a group of immortals he didn’t trust.
As Jade and Noah track the group of shifters through the mountains of Colorado, the danger lurking around every corner threatens everything they both hold close. Will they be able to find a way through, together?
Purchase JADE
Excerpt
Jade caught a scent of a human as she entered the
fourteen-story building in downtown Snowfall.
It wasn’t any human scent, but something that made all of her instincts
flare. She knew that she’d never caught
this particular scent before, but something told her that this human might be
important to her. She tried to brush it
off as quickly as the thought came, but she couldn’t find it coincidental she
smelled it in the same steel building owned by Ghost and house the headquarters
of Dark Company.
As she dismissed the fleeting
thought of searching for the scent, her heart thumped once, hard, in her chest
at the thought of not finding its owner.
She forced herself to walk toward the elevator bank, ignoring the
unwanted perusals she received from the men in the lobby. Even in an unassuming hoodie and black yoga
pants, she drew unwanted attention. A
side-effect of being an immortal.
The elevator opened as soon as
she pressed the up-button and she kept her gaze down as she walked into the
elevator. She entered the code to get to
Ghost’s private floor, her movements too quick to be caught by the human eye,
before she squeezed into the corner.
Jade used her other senses as three men in suits and two women entered
the enclosed space with her. There was
no need to glance at the glass interior that covered the back wall to see what
she looked like.
She sensed eyes on her. Instead of searching out the gaze, she
whipped her long, straight dyed black hair into a bun on the back of her head
with quick movements before sneaking her hands into the front pockets of her
hoodie.
Jade waited patiently as the
car traveled toward the penthouse, her ultimate destination, but she couldn’t
help but try and find the intriguing scent from earlier.
After my meeting.
All she knew was he hadn’t used
the particular elevator she was in and higher the lift took her in the
building, the more his scent dissipated.
In her entire existence, or
what she remembered of it, she’d never been attracted to…anyone. She’d never felt the pull to find someone
either. But lately, she’d felt increasingly
restless whenever she had any downtime and her skin tingled in a way that had
nothing to do with signaling immediate danger.
It was as though her body tried to convey something she didn’t
understand.
Her thoughts were interrupted
when a man who had gotten into the elevator with her on the first floor stepped
into her personal space.
“Hey, beautiful?”
Jade rolled her eyes and raised
her head to glare at the man. Of course,
he wouldn’t take the hint that she wanted to be left alone. To emphasize the point, she crossed her arms
and leaned against the wall, moving away from his intrusion.
The man decided to take this as
an invitation and moved to wrap his arm around her waist. The move gave her a clear shot to his ribs
and she took it, gently moving her elbow back and making contact. She flinched when she heard a distinctive
crack, realizing she hadn’t been careful enough. Before she could apologize, the elevator door
opened and he ran off without looking back, holding onto his side.
She sighed.
Connect With Valerie
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Meet Adriana Kraft, Writing Sizzling Romance--Here's THE HEIST
ABOUT ADRIANA
Adriana
Kraft is a married couple writing Sizzling
Romantic Suspense and Erotic Romance
for Two, Three, or More. Whether readers open our romantic suspense or our
erotic romance, they can expect characters they care about, hot sex scenes, and
a compelling story. Our suspense stories deliver one man, one woman, danger and
intrigue. Our erotic romance is edgier and nearly always includes ménage or
polyamory, sometimes with two women and a man, sometimes with two (or more)
couples.
One man, one
woman, danger and intrigue – always a happy ending, but oh, what a ride! Readers
can count on our Romantic Suspense
line for “warmth, blazing hot sex, and well-developed characters” (Romance Junkies Reviews) as our hero and
heroine battle outer threats and inner demons to stay alive and fall in love.
Together we
have published more than forty romance novels and novellas to outstanding
reviews. We love hearing from readers at adrianakraft99@yahoo.com,
and here is our website: When It’s Time
to Heat Things Up http://adrianakraft.com
About THE HEIST
A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s
choice.
A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town
museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of
priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on
her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in
the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.
Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer
than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police
officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To
guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling
exhibits.
Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before
it’s too late?
Purchase THE HEIST
EXCERPT
Holding her
breath, Kara examined the three paintings with great care. Exhaling, she used
an eyepiece to study the artist signature, the composition of the work, and the
layers of paint. She did her best to ignore the short, wiry man hovering about.
He’d
introduced himself merely as Henri. That probably wasn’t his name. His heavily
accented English suggested Eastern European roots. It was unlikely he was a
resident of Thun. Ted had handled the introductions, following up on previous
telephone calls to arrange the meeting and making clear that as representatives
of the Art Council, they were only interested in retrieving the paintings.
There would be no questions about how the works had come to be in Henri’s
possession. Both men had been surprisingly gracious. If she didn’t know better,
she would never guess that one was a detective and the other part of the
criminal element.
Henri hardly
projected the stereotypical image of the criminal she’d developed over the
years. There were no threatening postures or words. She doubted he was armed.
Neither was Ted. But the little man was extremely cautious. He’d only spoken of
the paintings in cryptic terms, as if he were concerned she or Ted might be wired.
Since they’d come to Henri’s hotel room, he should be confident about its
security. Although the man looked harmless enough, the possibility of back-up
loomed large. Ted had warned her not to say more than she had to and that they
would likely be watched by others.
Trying to set
aside the oddities of their meeting, Kara focused on her task. The paintings
were good—excellent, actually. When Henri had first pulled the cloths off them,
her heart had fluttered. They were as stunning as they had been when she’d
first seen them at the museum.
REVIEWS
Five stars at Goodreads:
“The sex is hot and I loved the phone sex
scenes. Never did I expect the ending. It was brilliant. The Heist is a winner!”
Sheila G.
Five stars at Amazon: “From the start, the perspective of Kara, the museum’s director and the
thieves are cleverly interwoven… rich in
detail… held my interest and kept me
reading forward.” Gaele “Very hot…engaging, entertaining, funny and
serious, well written and extremely enjoyable to read.” Donna H.
CONNECT
WITH ADRIANA
Meet Adriana Kraft and Read About THE HEIST, Sizzling Romantic Suspense
About Adriana
Adriana Kraft
is a married couple writing Sizzling
Romantic Suspense and Erotic Romance
for Two, Three, or More. Whether readers open our romantic suspense or our
erotic romance, they can expect characters they care about, hot sex scenes, and
a compelling story. Our suspense stories deliver one man, one woman, danger and
intrigue. Our erotic romance is edgier and nearly always includes ménage or
polyamory, sometimes with two women and a man, sometimes with two (or more)
couples.
One man, one
woman, danger and intrigue – always a happy ending, but oh, what a ride! Readers
can count on our Romantic Suspense
line for “warmth, blazing hot sex, and well-developed characters” (Romance Junkies Reviews) as our hero and
heroine battle outer threats and inner demons to stay alive and fall in love.
Together we
have published more than forty romance novels and novellas to outstanding
reviews. We love hearing from readers at adrianakraft99@yahoo.com,
and here is our website: When It's Time To Heat Things Up
About THE HEIST
A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s
choice.
A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town
museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of
priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on
her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in
the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.
Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer
than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police
officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To
guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling
exhibits.
Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before
it’s too late?
Purchase THE HEIST
Excerpt
Holding her breath, Kara examined the three paintings with great care.
Exhaling, she used an eyepiece to study the artist signature, the composition
of the work, and the layers of paint. She did her best to ignore the short,
wiry man hovering about.
He’d
introduced himself merely as Henri. That probably wasn’t his name. His heavily
accented English suggested Eastern European roots. It was unlikely he was a
resident of Thun. Ted had handled the introductions, following up on previous
telephone calls to arrange the meeting and making clear that as representatives
of the Art Council, they were only interested in retrieving the paintings.
There would be no questions about how the works had come to be in Henri’s
possession. Both men had been surprisingly gracious. If she didn’t know better,
she would never guess that one was a detective and the other part of the
criminal element.
Henri hardly
projected the stereotypical image of the criminal she’d developed over the
years. There were no threatening postures or words. She doubted he was armed.
Neither was Ted. But the little man was extremely cautious. He’d only spoken of
the paintings in cryptic terms, as if he were concerned she or Ted might be
wired. Since they’d come to Henri’s hotel room, he should be confident about
its security. Although the man looked harmless enough, the possibility of
back-up loomed large. Ted had warned her not to say more than she had to and
that they would likely be watched by others.
Trying to set
aside the oddities of their meeting, Kara focused on her task. The paintings
were good—excellent, actually. When Henri had first pulled the cloths off them,
her heart had fluttered. They were as stunning as they had been when she’d
first seen them at the museum.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Meet Robin Michaela and Read About her Paranormal Romance BABY, THAT'S THE SPIRIT! for our #EggcerptExchange
About Robin
Robin has been reading romances since her teen years, when she first snuck her aunt’s copy of The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
She’s married to her own Handsome Prince (a military airman) and has lived everywhere from the sunny shores of Florida to the wild crags of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. She currently resides in the Deep South. By day, she’s a dental hygienist and by night, Robin can be found eating chocolate, training for her next half marathon, and crafting her next novel (although not necessarily in that order).
Robin’s stories have been called “a simply delicious escape”. Sparks fly and desire sizzles when her irresistible heroines challenge the men of their dreams.
About Baby, That’s the Spirit!
Cynical skeptic Adam is tired of deceitful women. All he wants to do is finish out his job contract and settle his beloved grandmother’s estate before saying good-bye to Sweetness forever. And, he’s definitely not going to be tempted by a woman who claims she can talk to spirits. But when his little girl goes missing, Adam will do anything to find her, including putting his faith in the seductive medium he can’t seem to resist.
She’s trying to solve a century-old secret; he’s trying to find his daughter. If they can work together, their relationship just might stand a ghost of a chance.
Not wanting to startle her, he called out a
greeting when he got closer. “Good morning. I see you’re getting a head start
on the decorations for the Sweetness Spooktacular.”
She turned to face him. Her full lips curved in a
warm smile as she raised a slim hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the
morning sun. “Yeah, I’m an early riser. I was here yesterday when they marked
the grounds for the vendors and finished dropping off supplies. Since I’m one
of the volunteers, I figured I'd go ahead and get started."
She shrugged as she extended her hand in
greeting. The movement caused her sweater to slide off one shoulder, revealing
smooth, tanned flesh just begging to be touched.
He concentrated on aiming for her hand when he
really wanted to run his fingers over her tempting skin. "Adam Burkett. I
own this property.”
“Starla-Amethyst Raines," she said.
"Although everyone just calls me Amethyst unless they’re really angry at
me.”
A tingle ran up his arm when their hands connected.
She was tall and he felt a quick stirring south of his belt buckle when the
light autumn breeze plastered her long-sleeved, gauzy violet blouse against her
luscious curves.
Damn, but she wore a lot of purple. He raised a
brow, wondering if she felt obligated to live up to her name. Her short dark
hair was liberally streaked in shades of purple and lavender. Dangly silver and
lilac earrings winked at him as she tilted her head to one side and regarded
him through the most mesmerizing whisky-colored eyes he’d ever seen. Her gaze
was direct and seemed to bore deep inside him, almost down to his very soul.
Adam didn’t realize he was staring until she
tugged her hand free of his. Pushing a windblown lock of hair off her forehead,
she laughed. “I know, I know, too much purple. But, really, what other color
can you work with when your parents name you Amethyst?”
“That isn’t what I was thinking at all,” he
answered, but guilt flashed through him because it was exactly what he’d been
thinking. Hell, she even smelled
purple, with her light floral scent that reminded him of lilacs in the
springtime. If a color could be defined by a person, this woman’s picture would
definitely be listed under “purple” in the dictionary.
Suddenly remembering that she’d looked as if she’d
been conversing with someone, he leaned around her, searching the shadows of
the porch beyond the fake cemetery with his eyes. "Who were you talking to
a second ago?”
"What makes you think I was talking to
anyone?” She dropped her gaze to a nearby tombstone, making him wonder if she
was hiding something.
“It sure looked like you were.”
“Well, do you see anyone else around?” She put a
fist on each hip and frowned at him.
“No, I don’t,” he grudgingly admitted. “Unless
you were talking to one of the ghosts down here.” He smirked and nudged a
tilting headstone with a booted foot until it stood up straight.
Amethyst's brows drew together. “Who knows?
Maybe I was.”
Purchase Baby, That’s the Spirit
*FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited
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Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Meet Joanie Chevalier and Read About HEADS WILL ROLL, Her Medical Thriller
A Medical Thriller
by Joanie Chevalier
by Joanie Chevalier
Friday, March 2, 2018
Meet Tina Gayle and Read About IT EXEC'S BABY, Book 2 of the Executive Wives Club Series, for our #EggcerptExchange
About Tina
Tina grew up a dreamer and loved to escape into the world of
books.
After years of working in the business world doing a variety of jobs, she decided to try her hand at writing and hope to incorporate the joy of being a woman into her books.
Married thirty years, she and her husband love to travel and play golf. She can’t wait to do more of both.
After years of working in the business world doing a variety of jobs, she decided to try her hand at writing and hope to incorporate the joy of being a woman into her books.
Married thirty years, she and her husband love to travel and play golf. She can’t wait to do more of both.
About IT Exec’s Baby
Brie Sullivan has a new baby girl and there are a million
things to do, but Brie doesn’t have the energy to keep up. Why? She’s still
grieving for her husband and suffering from baby blues, but she won’t let that
stop her. She’s come up with the answer--find a new husband to be the father of
her kids.
Jason Clark has been doing everything he can to help Brie.
He loves her but can he accept her proposal of marriage knowing she’s not
thinking clearly about the future?
Comments from Reviews for IT Exec’s Baby
“IT Exec’s Baby is almost a
love story in reverse. The marriage comes first, then the sex, and finally the
love - at least from Brie's point of view. It is tender and poignant at times,
and full of strong descriptive passages.”
“What I
love about series books. Every book gives you more about the characters that
you've fallen in love with during the first book.”
“IT Exec’s Baby is a riveting
story of a woman with numerous problems.”
* * *
Excerpt
With the warmth of the sun
beating down on her head and the sound of her children’s laughter ringing in
her ears, Brie spread her arms and spun in a circle.
She raised her voice and called
to her kids as she walked to the railing of the upper deck. “You better find a
good hiding place because ready or not here I come.”
With Isabella down for a nap,
Brie drew in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air and the freedom from being
stuck inside the house. The kids had convinced her to play with them outside.
She loved the easy game of hide-and-go-seek. Glancing over the rail, she
scanned the backyard, searching for Ethan’s and Allison’s young forms.
A giggle sounded from below the
deck.
Brie stepped down a few stairs
to search the patio below. Still unable to catch a glimpse of her children, she
continued down the staircase, listening for sounds that might give her a clue
to their whereabouts.
Not seeing either one of them,
she hugged the back wall and silently slipped to the corner of the house that
had concrete steps, which led to the front yard.
Determined to catch one of her
kids heading for home-base, Brie refrained from peeking around the corner. The
squeak of a tennis shoe alerted her to someone’s arrival.
Ready to grab them the minute
they rounded the corner, Brie stayed out of sight. A shadow fell across the
patio, and Allison’s young form raced past.
Jumping out to grab her, Brie
touched her daughter’s shoulder.
Allison’s wail of surprise
vibrated off the bottom of the deck and pierced through Brie’s brain.
Undeterred by the noise, she caught her daughter’s arm and spun her around.
“I got you.”
“No,” Allison screamed again.
* * *
Read the first chapter of any of her books by visiting her
website.
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