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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Excerpt Reveal: Oceanside




Title: Oceanside
Series: Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances #3
Author: Michelle Mankin
Genre: Rock Star/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 10, 2018



Blurb

Oscar night.
Rock star legend, Ashland Keys should be on top of the world, but the blond blue-eyed SoCal surfer is disillusioned with fame, done with drugs, bored with the groupies and sick of all the fake f*ckery.
A rising star, Fanny Bay is nominated for best original song in the same category as the Dirt Dogs band, but the novel redhead with the corkscrew curls and the slight Canadian accent would prefer to chart a course with a different destination.
Hollywood is not for her.
He’s full of regrets, darkness and secrets.
She’s full of hope and light and has mysteries of her own.
He’s her reserved hero.
She’s his gypsy rose.
He’s water. She’s fire. Together, they don’t make sense.
But he’s what she’s always wanted, and she just might be everything he needs.







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Excerpt

Oscar night
Ashland
“Ash,” I corrected. “My friends call me Ash.” My voice sounded gruff from the weight of the things I wanted to explore further with her. Things that I wouldn’t, couldn’t pursue. Bad timing to meet someone who so intrigued me if the test turned out the way I feared. And even if it didn’t, she was too young, too innocent. Not at all right for someone like me.
“Ash,” she repeated, my name sliding so easily between those recently wetted ruby red lips of hers. I imagined them wrapped around my shaft and knew I wouldn’t have turned her down if she had offered to do to me the things the groupie had. My cock was certainly interested in her. It didn’t care about timing or right and wrong. It was all about action. 
“I’m sorry you got drawn into my mess,” she continued. “I think that under different circumstances we might have been friends. It’s difficult to find many of those in our profession. Genuine ones, I mean. But I think it’s better if we just go ahead and say goodbye right now.”
“How so?” The lust thundering through me made it difficult to focus, but I did get that she was giving me the brush off. And even though wisdom dictated that I take the hint—it was the logical thing to do after all given our differences—the alpha male in me said, ‘Fuck logic.’
“Because my stepfather wasn’t kidding around. He means what he says. You don’t want to be on his bad side. I don’t want you to be on his bad side. And that’s where you would end up if he thought you were a friend of mine.”
“Someone who steps in front of him when he’s twisting your arm and hurting you, you mean?”
Her eyes wide, she nodded.
“Well, fuck that bullshit.” My gaze grazed the red welt on her arm. “He’s the one who should be worried about getting on my bad side.”
She smiled at my vehement response and smiling she was more than just cute. She was a wrecking ball to my resolve, Prettier in person than in any of the videos I had seen of her and so enticing in that little yellow halter top with the tempting bow dangling between her shoulder blades. I imagined untying it and taking those pins out of her hair. What would those glorious red curls feel like around my…. No… I reined those thoughts back and settled for tracing her subtle curves with my gaze instead. No sex. Not with her. Not with anyone. Not for a while. Potentially not ever. I wouldn’t put anyone at risk if there was even a chance they would get infected. Ironic to be sure. Divine justice for my own irresponsible behavior over the years.
The familiar icy dread returning, I had to remind myself that no diagnosis had actually been made. I had momentarily forgotten my apprehension in her presence. That song of hers was so fucking full of hope it had me expecting a miracle. And that hope sprang from within her. She was the source. No wonder her star had risen so fast. Just a handful of minutes with her was all it had taken for me to realize it.
“I…I wasn’t expecting to run into you tonight.” Her eyes twinkled like stars emerging in the sky as the sun relinquished its hold on the day. “I had hoped to, sure, you know, since I love…your music so much.” A few more spirally crimson curls shivered free of their pins as her hands fluttered in front of her chest. “It’s just now that I’ve actually met you for real.” She gave me that utterly beguiling guileless look. “I’ll never be able to look at your picture the same way again.”
“No reason to settle for a photograph, Fanny. You have your things to do tonight, and I’ve got mine. But afterward, there are a lot of parties. I’m sure we can manage to bump into each other again. Maybe talk some more.” Unwise, Ashland. But yet doing the ‘whoever and whatever the fuck I wanted’ rock star entitlement thing was a hard habit to crush. I might not be able to take this where I wanted with her spread out on the sheets beneath me, but I wasn’t ready for whatever the hell this was to end yet, either. So shouldn’t I leave myself an opening? A contingency plan? I had been walking around like a zombie. But what if the diagnosis wasn’t what I feared? What if I received favorable news? What then? Who then? As I continued to stare into those starlit eyes of hers, I felt something shift and lock into place that was startlingly certain. Her. If I had a future on the other side of this, I wanted that future to include her.
“There is a reason.” She shook her head. “Samuel Lesowski. My stepfather. You two didn’t exactly hit it off.”
“You’re an adult. He doesn’t have to know everything you do, does he?”
“No.” Her face brightening, she shook her head excitedly and more curls escaped.
“What do you say then? How about this? You be just you and I’ll be just me. A girl from Beverly Hills and a guy from the beach. None of the other stuff. It’s not important. I’ve got a hurdle I have to clear next week, but afterward I can come back to LA. We could meet somewhere.”
“I don’t know.” She captured and wrapped one of her curls around her finger while blinking uncertainly at me through the thick fringe of her crimson lashes.
“There’s a coffeehouse,” I plowed over her reservations. “The Cosmic Cup in Manhattan Beach. It’s by the water. Quiet. Close enough to where you live, but a fair enough distance from the bullshit of LA. How about Wednesday at ten o’clock?”
“But…”
“But nothing. You wrote that song, ‘Tomorrow Today’, right? Make every moment count. I believe that. We can’t control time, but who says we can’t manipulate it. We bumped into each other tonight for a reason. Don’t you think we owe ourselves a chance to find out what that reason is?” 



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Author Bio


Michelle Mankin is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Records series of novels.

Rock Stars. Romance. Redemption. 

Love Evolution, Love Revolution, and Love Resolution are a BRUTAL STRENGTH centered trilogy, combining the plot underpinnings of Shakespeare with the drama, excitement, and indisputable sexiness of the rock 'n roll industry. 

Things take a bit of an edgier, once upon a time turn with the TEMPEST series. These pierced, tatted, and troubled Seattle rockers are young and on the cusp of making it big, but with serious obstacles to overcome that may prevent them from ever getting there. 

Rock stars, myths, and legends collide with paranormal romance in a totally mesmerizing way in the MAGIC series. 

Catch the perfect wave with irresistible surfers in the ROCK STARS, SURF AND SECOND CHANCES series. 

Romance and self-discovery, the FINDING ME series is a Tempest spin off with a more experienced but familiar cast of characters. 

Exploring the sexual double standards for women, the ROCK F*CK CLUB series is a what-if the groupies called the shots instead of the rock stars.

When Michelle is not prowling the streets of her Texas town listening to her rock or NOLA funk music much too loud, she is putting her daydreams down on paper or traveling the world with her family and friends, sometimes for real, and sometimes just for pretend.

OTHER BOOKS BY MICHELLE MANKIN

BRUTAL STRENGTH series:
Love Evolution
Love Revolution
Love Resolution
Love Rock’ollection  

TEMPEST series (also available in audio):
Irresistible Refrain
Enticing Interlude
Captivating Bridge
Relentless Rhythm
Tempest Raging
Tempting Tempo
Scandalous Beat

The MAGIC series (also available in audio):
Strange Magic
Dream Magic
Twisted Magic 

ROCK STARS, SURF AND SECOND CHANCES series
(also available in audio):
Outside
Riptide
Oceanside 

FINDING ME series (also available in audio):
Find Me
Remember Me
Keep Me

ROCK F*CK CLUB series:
Rock F*ck Club (audio coming soon)
Rock F*ck Club 1.5


Author Links

FACEBOOK


Invitation


Readers, bloggers, and attendees of the Naughty San Diego signing are invited to join Michelle on a walking tour through the streets of Ocean Beach as featured in Oceanside on Sunday April 15, 2018


Lost Ones




Title: Lost Ones
Series: Bad Idea Series #2
Author: Nicole French
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 14, 2018



Blurb

Six months ago, I gave my heart to a girl. 

Beautiful, kind, and sexy as sin, she's the only person who saw past my record or the color of my skin. Who ever saw me for me. 

She loved me enough to let me go, let me leave this city to find my own path. 

But without her, I drift, lost without direction. 
Without me, she spirals, desperate for connection. 

I gave my heart to a girl, and she gave hers to me. 

But love shouldn't hurt this much. 






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Free in Kindle Unlimited






Also Available


FREE for a very limited time!

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Free in Kindle Unlimited






Author Bio


Nicole French is an East Coast/West Coast hybrid creature, Springsteen fanatic, hopeless romantic, and complete and total bookworm. When not writing or teaching about writing, she is hanging out with her family, playing soccer with the rest of the thirty-plus crowd in Seattle, or going on dates with her husband. In her spare time, she likes to go running with her dog, Greta, or practice the piano, but never seems to do either one of these things as much as she should.


Author Links

Book Blitz: Unstrung Series by @KendraHighley with a #giveaway


YA Sci-Fi Series Blitz

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UNSTRUNG (Book 1)

Lexa Pate, 17-year-old thief extraordinaire, has burned a bridge or two in her life. You don't make a career out of stealing other people's property without making enemies.

When a risky job goes from bad to worse, Lexa and her adopted family find themselves on Precipice Corporation's hit list because they've accidentally stolen the wrong thing - plans for a new model of genetically-engineered super humans. Now every bounty hunter, cop on the take, and snitch in the city is after them.

Lexa's world crumbles around her as she fights to keep her family safe even as someone strolls out of her forgotten past. Quinn claims to know who Lexa really is, but can she trust a stranger she met while robbing his boss?

More importantly, does she really want to know what Quinn has to tell her?







UNFINISHED (Prequel Novella)


In a world where genetically-engineered humans serve as slave labor to “real” humans, ten-year-old Quinn is an anomaly. Designed with superior intelligence and physical attributes, he lives and trains at Maren DeGaul’s lakeside mansion, being readied for some mysterious purpose as dictated by Precipice Corporation. Despite the comfortable surroundings, Quinn is frequently pushed to his limits by his human guardians, often learning lessons in pain and loneliness.

That all changes the day they introduce him to a new artificial, one who is both his equal and his soulmate. But when Maren decides the new artificial is flawed and should be decommissioned, it’s up to Quinn to find a way to save his only friend.






UPRISING (Book 2)

Master thief Lexa Pate always prided herself on never being caught. That changed the night she freed the artificial humans of Triarch City, a people she’s still learning to identify with. Now, imprisoned by the government, she’s separated from her family—and the love of her life—while facing murder charges. What she doesn’t know is something far worse awaits her: the Quad intends to make her pay for her crimes.

After helplessly watching Lexa be captured, Quinn has to place his trust in a group of people he barely knows to save the girl he loves. The rebels outside Triarch City have the equipment—and the information—he needs to rescue Lexa. But, knowing the Quad has sophisticated brainwashing techniques, his biggest worry is who she’ll be even if they do manage to bring her home.

Pawns in a game they barely understand, Lexa and Quinn will have to use all the gifts they possess to fight the powers seeking to control them and find a way back to each other.

Before it’s too late.






UNIFIFED (Book 3)

Lexa Pate has been called many things: thief, artificial, lover, friend. Now, as she faces the biggest crisis of her life, she realizes there’s another title trying to define her: murderer.

After she was freed from the Quad’s clutches, Lexa thought her life would go back to, if not normal, something resembling that. Sure, the band of rebels she’s joined have ideas of freeing the world from the Quad (delusions of grandeur might be more accurate), but Lexa is reunited with the men who’ve become her ragtag family. In her new home, she’s safe, she’s surrounded by people who care for her, and Quinn is always close at hand, ready to show her how much he loves her. So why does she feel like killing him every time they’re together?

Quinn thought rescuing Lexa from the Glass House would be all he needed to find his happy ending. But Lexa’s incarceration has changed things between them, and he fears the Quad altered more about Lexa than anyone suspects. With tensions in the rebel camp rising between the humans and the artificials, Quinn knows the war will reach a boiling point soon, and he may be the only one who can stop it. But if the rebels continue to believe Lexa is dangerous, he could lose more than the war—he could lose the girl he loves.



Excerpt From Book 1


I stare blankly at the wall in my room. My Exeprin high has worn off and I changed back into my pajamas at the first chance, unable to get the chip off my mind. Our little team has ceased being annoying but forgettable and has become a critical target. Everyone from cops to bounty hunters to the Quad’s security team will be after us. All because we stole the wrong thing. Sure, we hadn’t planned to steal that particular chip, but our mistake doesn’t change one simple fact.

We are so dead.

“…run another diagnostic,” Turpin calls from the hallway. He’s been holed up in the lab with Jole, examining the data on the chip. A moment later, he knocks. Unlike Jole, he waits for me to say “come in” before opening the door.

“Hey,” he says, taking a seat on my desk chair. “You okay?”

I drop my pillow over my face. Maybe I should suffocate myself with it. “If I hadn’t tripped and set off the alarm, there’d be no trace of how the chip was taken. Now…they’ll find us.”

“Lexa, there’s no way to plan for the unknown. Besides, anyone else probably would’ve set that security device off sooner and not gotten away.”

A headache starts throbbing behind my eyes. Stars, this is the worst time to be coming off Exeprin. “I’ll remind you how you said it wasn’t my fault when we’re rounded up by Maren’s people.”

“You won’t have to,” Turpin says. “I’m the one who took the job. We go down, you can blame me.”

He sounds so dejected, I sit up, hugging the pillow to my chest. Maybe I should be scared, but a morbid curiosity about Maren’s artificials gets the better of me. “What are the new versions like? Can you tell from the plans?”

“Most of it is over our heads—the genetic engineering data is very complex—and part of the chip is heavily encoded. But I understand enough to know these are the most human-like versions I’ve seen. Circulatory systems that actually regenerate synthetic blood cells, skin cells that scab over when cut, fully functional digestive tracts. Stars, even their hair, fingernails and bodies will grow like a human’s.”

My headache intensifies. “Wait, what do you mean their bodies will grow?”

Turpin goes to my window. “Instead of making adults, like usual, these prototypes appear to be equivalent to six-year-old children. All of them with critical thinking processors akin to a person with a one-forty I.Q. The plans cover maturity cycles and learning rates by age. The only thing I can guess is that her scientists want to mimic the learning capability of a child’s brain.”

My room suddenly feels cold. “We stole the plans for a super-race of fake human beings?”

“It would seem that way. And all of them programmed to think the way the Quad wants them to think. Hyper-intelligent, but without the experience or knowledge to have true free will. I’m wondering about that, though,” he says, coming to sit on the edge of my bed. “If Maren’s playing God to this extent, how will she maintain control of her ‘kids?’ Can you imagine them as teenagers?” He gives me a rueful smile. “You’re hard enough to handle.”

I punch his arm, more out of respect than annoyance. Everything is so topsy-turvy, I wonder if I’m going soft. Soon I’ll be letting Jole off the hook for coming into my room without knocking. “Maybe it’s good we stole those plans. The new K600s are advanced enough that I can hardly tell they’re artificials. These new…things would be an abomination. A crime against nature.” I stand and pace, needing to put my nervous energy into the ground. If I don’t, I’ll blow, and I can’t afford a meltdown. “Bolts shouldn’t be so human. It blurs way too many lines, don’t you think?”

“The bigger question is what we tell our clients,” Turpin says. “Because we can’t give the chip to them. It’s too dangerous.”

He has a point. “I say we tell them the chip self-destructed as we decoded it. Who cares if they get angry. I’m less scared of them than I am of Maren.”


About the Author


Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes in everyday magic, extraordinary love stories, and the restorative powers of dark chocolate







 Contact Links



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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Blitz: Sirius Hidden Truth by author @allong1963 #excerpt included #romanticsuspense #erotic



Steamy Romance, Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance
Date Published:  February 2018

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April Barnes was a simple girl with a simple life. All she wanted was to graduate and help the world. Everything changes when her only friend Vanessa Lewis talks her into covering for her at a catering job. The minute April walked in the door, her curiosity gets the best of her and that curiosity introduced her to a world that would soon be a part of her.

The minute he laid eyes on her, there was only one thing that Dominic Prescott wanted and that was April Barnes. Hidden behind many secrets, the opportunity to get closer to her presented itself when he volunteered to teach an economics class that she was a student of.

Introducing her to his world wasn’t part of his plan. All it took was one taste and she would be forever his, or so he thought until the truth he had kept hidden away is revealed putting them both in danger.

Will she be able to accept his world or will she walk away and leave the only man she ever loved behind…





Excerpt

 She wasn’t sure who this man was, but she was hypnotized by his charm. Never before had she submitted to a man based on his request. With shaky hands she began unbuttoning her shirt. The fact that he was watching her made her feel even more nervous. When her shirt fell to the floor, exposing her light pink demi bra, she looked up to him, aware that the half smile on his face was because he approved. Reaching behind her back, she found the zipper of her skirt and pulled it down. Pushing the material down her legs, she let it drop to the floor before she stepped out of it. With only her bra, matching panties, and black heeled shoes on, she stood in front of him waiting for what would happen next.

When he held his hand out to her, she lowered her honey brown eyes and placed her hand in his. He captured her hand and led her to the open panel. Just inside the hidden door, the mysterious man switched on a light that barely lit the narrow hallway. April tried to see where the hallway led, but it was too dark. Feeling the change in the temperature, she began rubbing her arms to get warm. It wasn’t just the lack of clothing that made her cold; the darkness and the thought of not knowing what was in store had her shivering. Taking in her surroundings, she felt something being draped over her shoulders. As she pulled it around her, she noticed that it was a dark blue velvet cape, just like the ones the guests had worn in the ballroom.

Turning to face the mysterious man, she was about to ask where he was taking her, but before she could get the words out, he stilled her in her spot and placed what felt like a mask over her eyes. As he began securing it behind her head, he spoke in a firm but velvety voice. “One of the requirements to enter the chamber is that you will be covered in velvet. Be assured your identity will never be revealed. Can you accept these rules?’

Nodding her head, she allowed him to finish securing the mask. When he gently placed his hands on her shoulders, she turned at his will. She raised her head to his until their eyes met. The look on his face, although mostly covered, told her everything she needed to know. Placing his hand on her chin, he tilted her head and lowered his lips to hers. His tongue swept gently across her parted lips, never dipping inside. Biting her full bottom lip, he ended the kiss and pulled away, leaving her unfulfilled and disappointed.

April tried to resume where he had left off, but was denied as he placed his finger across her mouth. “We need to go,” he ordered, taking hold of her hand.

Reaching the end of the dark hallway, there was a large wooden door with something written in Latin engraved in the wood. Having taken Greek and Latin in college, she translated the words as she read them, ‘Blood of one’s desire is the root of another’s pleasure.’ She wasn’t quite sure exactly what it meant, but just the thought of finding out had her mind reeling with excitement. April watched as he placed his hand on the handle. Getting ready to pull it open, he suddenly pulled his hand back. She was confused by his movement until he looked down at her and warned, “You are to remain by my side unless you are solicited. You will address me as Sir, and most importantly, you will do as I command. Do you understand?





About the Author


Award winning Author of the Independent Press Award and NYC Big Book Award.

My love for writing began several years ago after an early retirement from a demanding job that I loved, but also hated because it consumed so much of my time. Now, I am able to focus my time on what I love. Writing romance has been a life long dream and to actually say that I am a published author is beyond what I would have ever expected.

Even though some may say I have a little naughtiness in my books, I look at it as an added bonus for my readers. After all what is a romance book without a little spice.

When I am not writing, I enjoy spending time with friends either at home or out on the town. Mostly, I enjoy a relaxing night at home where I can enjoy a glass of wine in the company of a good book.


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RABT Book Tours & PR

Snow and the Seven Huntsmen




Title: Snow and the Seven Huntsmen
Series: Dark Fantasy #1
Authors: Zoe Blake & Alta Hensley
Genre: Dark Reverse Harem Romance
Release Date: March 13, 2018



Blurb

A Dark Reverse Harem Romance from USAT Bestselling Authors Zoe Blake & Alta Hensley

This is no fairytale…
They’ve been sent to break me.
Not one, but seven.
They plan to steal my beauty, my innocence.
Seven Hunters to track me down and claim me as theirs.
I try to run, but it is hopeless.
They have caught me.
I am their prey, their prize, to do with as they please.
But I will capture something far more precious… the Huntsmen’s hearts.

Warning: In our Fairytales, there is danger in the shadows, the beasts bite and no Heroine is truly safe. If dark tales of danger, forced attraction and multiple partners offend you then please do not purchase.







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Releasing April 17, 2018

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Releasing May 8, 2018

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Zoe Blake

USA TODAY Bestselling Author in Dark Romance.

We are all attracted to the forbidden. Addicted to the rush we get from reading something naughty...something kinky. We love to lose ourselves in the fantasy. The powerful lord who sweeps the lady away to his remote estate to ravish her. The cowboy who takes the sassy city girl over his knee to teach her a lesson. The devilishly charming pirate who seduces his beautiful captive.

She writes those dark fantasies.





Alta Hensley

USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Hot, Dark and Dirty Romance.

She is also an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. Being a multi-published author in the romance genre, Alta is known for her dark, gritty alpha heroes, sometimes sweet love stories, hot eroticism, and engaging tales of the constant struggle between dominance and submission.