Haunted Hotels, a Mustang, and Sweet Tea in Georgia by Melissa Cutler

This July, I was lucky enough to spend some time in Georgia. What a magnificent state! I started out my trip at the RWA national convention in Atlanta with nearly 2000 other romance writers. It was a blast seeing my friends, my editors and colleagues, and this:

 

 

Let me tell you, that wasn’t the only time I swung by the elevators to check out my latest release, COLTON BY BLOOD, on the Harlequin elevator wrap ad. Don’t Levi and Kate look great there? And Levi looking so heroic carrying Kate to safety from the barn. Love it.

 

The convention ended on a Saturday and the next day just happened to be my wedding anniversary. My sweet hubby dropped the kids off at Grandma’s house, then flew from our home state of California to meet me in Atlanta. And look at the car he rented for me to drive (ahem)…a bright red Mustang—with a manual transmission to boot. My favorite! Don’t you think it suits me well?

 

 

From Atlanta, we roared—within the speed limit, of course—down the highway to Savannah. Let me tell you something: I LOVE SAVANNAH!!! It was gorgeous. Elaborate Victorian-era houses lined the streets amid huge, old trees draped with Spanish moss. Garden squares with historical statues graced the neighborhoods every couple blocks. We stayed in a supposedly haunted bed & breakfast called The Foley Inn that lined the square in which Forrest Gump sat on a bench with a box of chocolates. Here’s The Foley Inn:

 

 

And on our first night there, while we wandered after a thunderstorm passed through, we stumbled upon a historic cemetery open until after dark for all those who need to get their southern spooky on.

 

 

I had a terrific trip to Georgia. The people were all so kind and friendly, the surroundings were beautiful and the food was to-die-for. I’m officially in love with sweet tea, grits, and the word “y’all.” The trip was the perfect mixture of work and pleasure. It’s great to be home, though, and just in time for my latest book release. COLTON BY BLOOD is now available in stores and digitally. The best news? Digital copies are only $1.99 at all e-retailers this month. Be sure to pick up your copy today so you can get to know Dr. Levi Colton of Wyoming and his pastry chef love, Kate, in their story of suspense, haunted pasts, and the healing power of love.

 

Happy Reading!

 

COLTON BY BLOOD is in stores now (with $1.99 digital copies):

Amazon: http://amzn.to/XvLzns

B&N: http://bit.ly/13LhWlR

Audible Audio Books: http://bit.ly/19n0c2R

iTunes: http://bit.ly/17IWqNo

 

My thanks to RR@H Novel Thoughts for hosting me today. I love hearing from readers and am really easy to find at www.melissacutler.net, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MelissaCutlerBooks ), and Twitter (@m_cutler). And you can always email me at melissa@melissacutler.net or sign up for my newsletter (http://www.melissacutler.net/newsletter/ ) to find out about my latest books and upcoming events.

 

Bio: Melissa Cutler knows she has the best job in the world, dividing her time between her dual passions for writing sexy contemporary romances and edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense for Harlequin, Penguin, and Kensington Books. She was struck at an early age by an unrelenting travel bug and is probably planning her next vacation as you read this. When she’s not globetrotting, she’s enjoying Southern California’s flip-flop wearing weather and wrangling two rambunctious kids.

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Misty Evans – Guest blog and giveaway!

Today is release day for my sexy romantic thriller, DEADLY PURSUIT. Finally! I started this book five years ago, and it’s languished on my computer ever since. At the time I started writing it, I’d just landed my first agent with my spy novel, OPERATION SHEBA, but she was having trouble selling that story. She wanted something sexier, grittier, and very fast-paced.

 

So I watched Miami Vice reruns, NCIS episodes, Bad Boys and Bad Boys II. Sexy, gritty, and fast paced? Check, check, and check. With all that inspiration under my writer’s hat, I sat at my computer and came up with a taskforce that spanned FBI, DEA, CIA, Immigration, and a few other secretive government organizations just to add to the fun.

 

What – or who – emerged were dark, strong heroes who’d seen some pretty gruesome things in life. Their female counterparts were tough-as-nails heroines who’d risen through the ranks, earning the respect of these men working side-by-side. Oh, and then there were the vicious criminals looking to take them all down.

 

But when I submitted Deadly Pursuit (original title Fire With Fire) to my agent, she wrinkled her nose. “There are too many dead bodies,” she said, reminding me the book was supposed to be a romance. “Too much action and not enough romance. Your hero is too dark and too reserved.”

 

Deflated, I stopped writing this first story in the Southern California Violent Crimes (SCVC) series, and started a second. I tried to figure out how not to cross too far over the sexy, gritty line and end up in the “too dark and deadly camp”, but a few chapters in, a dead body showed up. My hero’s past had a definite dark side. My heroine, in an attempt to rescue a lost women, went down in a plane in the jungle. Uh, oh. Too much darkness, too many dead bodies, too much action.

 

I gave up on the series, tucking it away, and shortly after, my agent sold OPERATION SHEBA. I went on to sell more books in the super agent series and start a new series. From then on, there were always more books in the pipeline and no time to go back to the SCVC series.

 

A friend and critique partner who’d read the opening chapters and loved them asked me repeatedly over the years if I was ever going to finish Cooper and Celina’s story. I looked at it a couple of times, made notes on how to complete it, and tucked it away again. Every story has a *time* I believe…when the market, readers, and the author are all primed and ready for it.

 

Recently, USA introduced a new TV series called Graceland with a similar concept as my SCVC series. I hit the USA Today Bestseller list in June and that opened up new opportunities. One opportunity was being invited to join a like-minded group of authors in a boxed set. Did I have a romantic suspense novel that would fit the bill? The timing seemed perfect to pull out Cooper and Celina, dead bodies and all.

 

So tell me readers, do you like your romance with a side of action or your action with a side of romance? What’s the perfect balance for you? Three commenters will receive free ecopies of Deadly Pursuit!

 

Here’s the blurb and a short excerpt to introduce Cooper and the SCVC team with their sexy, action-packed world to you. Enjoy!

 

Bio

USA Today Bestselling Author Misty Evans writes the award-winning Super Agent series as well as urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She likes her coffee black, her conspiracy theories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. When her muse lets her on the internet to play, she’s on Facebook and Twitter. Read more about her stories at www.readmistyevans.com.

 

 

Blurb:

 

Her sting operation put a ruthless criminal in prison.

 

One year ago, rookie FBI agent Celina Davenport pulled off the ultimate undercover operation…she seduced Emilio Londano – the dangerous leader of the San Diego Mafia – and destroyed his illegal empire.

 

Now he’s escaped and looking for revenge.

 

When Londano escapes a maximum security prison and begins picking off Celina’s friends and coworkers, everyone she knows becomes a target. Including DEA agent Cooper Harris, the man who once broke her heart and is now assigned to be her bodyguard.

 

How far will they go to stop him?

 

Cooper and Celina must risk their careers – and their hearts –to turn the table on their pursuer. But will their past, with its forbidden passions and impulsive choices, put them directly in his crosshairs?

 

 

 

Excerpt:

The dress Celina was wearing was Marc Jacobs, a gorgeous flesh-pink silk and gauze combination with a beaded halter that showed off every inch of her assets to full advantage. When she’d met Emilio at the door of her apartment, he’d been speechless for the first time since she’d met him. Speechless was good.

She hoped Cooper would be speechless when he saw her too.

The first part of her plan a success at the apartment, she’d kept the distaste off her face and smiled as Emilio twirled her around, ogling every inch of her body. It had worked. He did not have his security goon search her, either because he was so enthralled with the merchandise that his mind went blank, or he was sure she wasn’t anything other than a beautiful woman in a slip of a dress who would finally share his bed tonight.

His mistake. The microphone she wore was a cordless number she’d sewn behind the large jewel centered at the cusp of her cleavage. The transmitter, a small, square, plastic box, was tucked into the left cup of her bra. Off-balanced breasts would have been too noticeable in the dress, so she’d sewn a thick layer of Kleenex between the fabric and the lining of the other cup to even things out.

Which did a great job of hefting her boobs into outer space.

“Oh, look at the sky.” Celina tilted her head to look through the open moon roof. “Let’s stop at the boardwalk and go down to the beach.”

Emilio frowned before looking back at the road. “It’s late. Too late. Parking anywhere along here—” he waved his hand at the empty parking lane next to the concrete sidewalks “—will get my car towed. Let’s go back to my place.”

“Please,” Celina begged. She shifted her pleading eyes to his face and again brushed her boobilicious upper body against his. “A walk on the beach would be the perfect ending to this night.”

She scooted as close to him as the car seats allowed and mentally morphed him into her fantasy man before she ran her right hand around his stomach. Her fingers touched leather. Gun holster. One that held a mean Glock.

Nothing like reality to interrupt her fantasy.

Sliding her fingers under the gun, she gave him a small hug and resuscitated the image of Cooper. Sexy, serious. Beast in the urban slang so widely used in the surf shops and outdoor restaurants she frequented when not on duty. She’d started calling him that behind his back, and the other taskforce members had picked it up. Cooper hated it. She loved that he hated it. He was no beast. In fact, he was two hundred and thirty pounds of sexy. And she wanted to be his Beauty.

Probably a lot of women in the DEA, FBI, and CIA had their own particular fantasies about him. Women all over Southern Cal as well. Too bad for them, she played hard and never gave up. He’d be hers. And soon.

While Cooper and Emilio were at opposite ends of the spectrum, running her fantasy-man mental movie always worked when she had to deal with Emilio. That particular mind game was the only thing that had kept her seduction act even close to believable the past few weeks.

She placed a soft kiss on Emilio’s neck, still pretending he was Cooper. Which took a superior imagination. “One of your men could drive the car around for a few minutes while we walk the beach.” She nipped the lobe of his ear. “If you’re scared of getting towed.”

Emilio’s two bodyguards were behind them in a black SUV. They were characteristically big, bad and ugly. To arrest Emilio without endangering anyone, Celina had to ditch them and get him totally alone. If one bodyguard had to drive their vehicle and one had to drive the Porsche, she’d have Emilio all to herself.

The key to success. Easy on paper. Hard in reality.

Time for the big guns. Or boobs, in this case.

“The night is dark and the beach is unlit,” she said softly. Emilio leaned toward her and she teased his lips with hers as she spoke. “The rocky walls and concrete boardwalks will hide us. You don’t need your security detail.”

She switched her lips to his earlobe, and still envisioning Cooper, she whispered, “You’ll love this dress even more when it’s wet.”

That sealed it. Emilio’s hand came off the gear stick and grabbed her by the back of the head. He drew her to him, bringing his mouth down on hers even as he drove the car.

Forcing herself not to recoil, Celina shifted her imagination into high gear. It was Cooper whose tongue was now in her mouth. Cooper holding her captive while they sped down the road ten miles over the speed limit, playing a dangerous game of make-out roulette.

She forced herself to return Emilio’s ardor with her own.

 

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Melissa Cutler – Guest blog and giveaway

When a simple mission to deliver the beautiful and brilliant Vanessa Crosby to a safe house goes horribly wrong, ICE agent Diego Santero’s life gets complicated. Keeping the anti-crime analyst safe from the notorious mercenaries after her program will put everything he’s worked for at risk.

Relentlessly hunted and not knowing whom to trust, Diego takes Vanessa on the run, deep into the heart of the deadly Panamanian rainforest. Vanessa reminds herself that she’s just another asset to the ruggedly handsome black ops agent…until their intense situation leads to a release of passion neither expected. But even if they make it out alive, how can they ever have a future together?

 

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

 

Melissa Cutler here and I’m thrilled to be on Novel Thoughts today talking about my latest Action-Adventure Romance, Tempted into Danger, from Harlequin Romantic Suspense. I had such a blast writing this story about a heroine who’s a “mathlete” and the gruff black ops soldier who falls head-of-heels in love with her big brains and big heart. I love action-adventure books and movies, everything from Indian Jones to Men in Black. And when the hero is as hot as ICE Agent Diego Santero, then that’s all the better…

 

Like many great action-adventure heroes, Diego, TEMPTED’s hero, is an alpha male through and through. He doesn’t exactly have a way with the ladies, having spent nearly all his time training or on missions, but Vanessa quickly learns that beneath his tough exterior is a big softy. Here’s a scene from the book to show you what I’m talking about…

From Tempted into Danger:

“You’re not going to cry, are you?”

 

The ludicrous question jarred Vanessa from her trancelike melancholy. Diego’s brow was furrowed and his lips had stretched into a cringe. He fidgeted with the rifle, his gaze darting anxiously to the car as though he was contemplating escape. Here was a man who’d jumped onto the roof of a moving minivan, shot and killed at least one man and shielded her from an explosion with his body…and yet he was threatened by the possibility of a few tears?

 

Despite everything she’d been through and her fear of the future, a spark of affection had her biting her cheeks to hide a grin. Apparently there wasn’t much difference between the college football players her dad coached and macho military alphas. Nothing brought them to their knees faster than the threat of genuine emotional expression.

 

She drilled him with her best offended look and set her hands on her hips. “I might cry. What are you going to do about it?”

 

He squirmed, then scratched his head. His eyes shifted to the car again, then the jungle beyond. “Look, forget I said that.”

 

She shouldn’t mess with him, really. This man was the only thing standing between her and certain death at the hands of a whole bunch of bad guys—but she couldn’t help it. She sniffed to draw his gaze back to her, then blinked hard, jarring a tear loose. It started a slow roll over her cheek.

 

He stared at her, his eyes dark and serious. Then he startled and took off in a fast stride to the car. “Time for us for bolt. The longer we’re on the grid, the more danger you’re in.” He opened the backseat door for her and jumped into the driver seat.

 

Yep. Her assessment had been right. The man of steel had a soft and gooey center. She settled into the seat, contemplating that revelation as she watched the play of skin and muscle on his arm as he shifted the car into gear and pulled onto the road.

 

Tempted into Danger is available all over:

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/VPTGez

iTunes: http://bit.ly/10zY4k9

B&N: http://bit.ly/16edknt

Kobo: http://bit.ly/YGpvDg

 

Check out TEMPTED on Goodreads, too: http://bit.ly/WaxtqC

 

Giveaway: Today on Novel Thoughts, I’m giving away a copy (print or digital) of one of my backlist titles: SEDUCTION UNDER FIRE. To enter to win, leave a comment or ask me question. Here’s a question for you to get you started: Who’s your favorite action adventure hero, either in a book or movie?

 

My thanks to Fatin for hosting me today. I love hearing from readers and am really easy to find at www.melissacutler.net, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MelissaCutlerBooks), and Twitter (@m_cutler). And you can always email me at melissa@melissacutler.net or sign up for my newsletter (http://www.melissacutler.net/newsletter/ ) to find out about my latest books and upcoming events.

 

Bio: Melissa Cutler knows she has the best job in the world, dividing her time between her dual passions for writing sexy contemporary romances for Kensington Books and edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense for Harlequin. She was struck at an early age by an unrelenting travel bug and is probably planning her next vacation as you read this. When she’s not globetrotting, she’s enjoying Southern California’s flip-flop wearing weather and wrangling two rambunctious kids.

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Cate Beauman – Guest blog and Giveaway

FOR RELEASE STARTING MAY 15, 2013

 Cate Beauman’s newest release is available now through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Visit www.catebeauman.com for more information and to read excerpts from her best selling series The Bodyguards of L.A. County.

 

Death threats and a broken heart…

First grade teacher and single mother Alexa Harris is no stranger to struggle, but for once, things are looking up. The school year is over and the lazy days of summer are here. Mini-vacations and relaxing twilight barbeques are on the horizon until Alexa’s free-spirited younger sister vanishes.

 

Ransom calls and death threats force Alexa and her young daughter to flee their quiet home in Maryland. With nowhere else to turn, Alexa seeks the help of Jackson Matthews, Ethan Cooke Security’s Risk Assessment Specialist and the man who broke her heart.

 

With few leads to follow and Abby’s case going cold, Alexa must confess a shocking secret if she and Jackson have any hope of saving her sister from a hell neither could have imagined.

 

 

The Unofficial Forever Alexa Soundtrack

 

Music is a huge part of my writing process. I typically listen to Pandora or YouTube and compile a collection of songs that I feel represent my characters or the situations they face as the novel unfolds. It’s a rare occasion that my creativity demands quiet (And that’s a good thing. I’m a mother of two boys. Quiet doesn’t happen in my house.). Here are a few of the songs that ‘spoke’ to me while I created Jackson and Alexa’s story!

 

The soundtrack, of sorts, for Forever Alexa:

 

• All I Ever Wanted by Brian Melo
• Beautiful Words by The Afters
• By Your Side by Lifehouse
• Chances Are by Five For Fighting
• I Still by Backstreet Boys
• Let Me Love You by Ne-Yo
• Inconsolable by Backstreet Boys
• Breathe Me by Sia
• The Mess I Made by Parachute
• All This Time by One Republic

 

 

Read an excerpt from Forever Alexa:

 

Alexa stared out the living room window, watching the sun hover closer to the mountains in the distance. The deep country dark would soon surround her house. The dread of another long, sleepless night tightened the muscles of her shoulders and jaw until they ached. She eyed the Louisville Slugger, now leaning against the side table, as she listened to Olivia’s happy chatter filling the small space. Livy and her dolls were enjoying the tiny glass teapot Alexa had filled with milk, the apple she had quartered, and the graham crackers she set out for an impromptu after-dinner tea party.

“Mommy, come play with us. You can sit by Lucy.”

Alexa turned and gave Livy what smile she could. “Maybe in a little while, sweetie.”

“The graham cracker is very yummy.” Livy held up the golden half of cookie, dangling it like a token bribe, before she took a big bite.

“It looks wonderful, but I have more work to do on the computer.”

Livy turned back to her life-sized baby doll and bit Lucy’s cracker too as the party began again.

Alexa desperately wanted to join in on the fun but couldn’t. There wasn’t time. She had just over twenty-four hours to collect an unattainable amount of money. Sighing, she twisted the blind closed and turned away from the window, wishing the media vans were still parked along the dirt road out front. At least someone would’ve been close by while she waited for daylight again. The fifteen-car pile up on I-81 North sent the reporters and their news crews scattering several hours before. The knocks at the door had ceased. Abby’s disappearance had already been forgotten, and she had no choice but to keep it that way.

Alexa glanced at Livy before she sat down to the laptop she’d left on the coffee table. She’d spent the last two hours researching ransom and hostage situations while dodging non-stop phone calls from concerned friends, co-workers, and of course the press. She’d let the answering machine pick them up until the message box was full. She couldn’t deal with the questions.

She stared at the article she’d read before she had to put the computer down and walk away. The information had been so troubling, so depressing, she’d had to stop. The odds of Abby coming home were dwindling with every minute passing. Mr. Macabee had been correct; if she could get the money and pay the ransom, the kidnappers were likely to demand more and kill her sister anyway.

Alexa closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against the throb in the center of her forehead. What was she going to do? The media wasn’t an option. The police weren’t either. So where did that leave her? She glanced at Livy again, wiggled her mouse, and typed Evan Cooke Security, LA into her search engine.

Hits for Ethan Cooke Security popped up instead. She followed the link to the website and studied the company’s bold red and black insignia. World renowned security firm, offering the best in close protection. Alexa clicked the mouse again and her heart stuttered.

Jack.

There he was among several other well-muscled men in the professional group photo. She moved her finger to his handsome face and traced it as she clutched the charm dangling from her necklace.

 

“Excuse me. Can you help me?”

     Alexa glanced up from the books she was checking back in to the college library computer system and lost her breath as she stared into fantastic blue eyes. “What can I do for you?”

     “I have a ten-page paper due for one of my criminal justice classes in—” he glanced at his watch, “less than twelve hours.”

     She measured his charming smile and ball t-shirt stretched over broad shoulders and mounds of biceps. Her smile dimmed—another dumb jock. Why were the cute ones always a disappointment? She knew her eyes chilled as she answered. “Sounds like a personal problem. The Criminal Justice section is along that wall.” She pointed across the room.

     At ease and clearly unaffected by her scolding tone, he edged himself along the enormous desk. “So, do you practice that disapproving librarian look in the mirror?”

      She refused to give in to her smile. “I might.”

     “You’re too young to have that mastered. What are you, a freshman? I’ve never seen you before.”

     “I’m a sophomore, and I imagine you haven’t. I spend a lot of time in the library.” But she’d seen him—Jackson Matthews, junior, football star, frat boy, Mr. Popular with the ladies. Definitely not her type. Not that she actually had a type, because she’d never been on a date. Her grades were too important. Her scholarships were vital.

     He grinned. “I believe I was just insulted.”

     She smiled this time and shrugged. “Maybe.”

    “You’ve gone and hurt my feelings, and I don’t even know your name.”

     “Alexa.”

     “Alex,” he held out his hand. “Jackson Matthews.”

     Her brow shot up as she stared at him. “I know who you are. And it’s Alexa.”

     He stood and glanced at his watch again. “I guess I should get to work. Maybe I’ll see you around some time, Alex.” He flashed her another heart-stopping grin and walked toward the stacks she’d pointed out.

      She let out a long, shuddering sigh and looked down quickly when he glimpsed over his shoulder and smiled.

 

      The flip-top phone rang, startling Alexa out of her memories. She jumped and caught the laptop just before it crashed to the floor. Licking her lips, she set the computer on the coffee table and picked up the phone. “Hello? Abby?”

“Wrong again, Sister Alexa,” the familiar mechanical voice said.

Her stomach clenched with dread. “What—”

“I said no press.”

“I didn’t talk to them. I swear I didn’t. They followed me. Please don’t hurt her. Please don’t hurt Abby.”

“I saw you on the news, Sister Alexa. Grocery shopping. You look just like her. I had no idea we could’ve gotten two for the price of one.”

She rushed to her feet, grabbed the heavy wooden baseball bat with a trembling hand, and hurried to the entryway to check the lock as her heart rate soared.

“You broke our deal. I’m docking you six hours. You’re down to twenty. Tick tock.”

“No, I didn’t—”

“Twenty hours or we take Olivia next.” The line went dead.

Alexa gasped for breath as a terror like she’d never known constricted her chest. Not Livy. Not her Livy. She collapsed on the bottom stair in the landing, listening to her daughter’s sweet voice as she continued to play in the next room, oblivious to the danger and turmoil destroying their lives.

Alexa struggled to her feet as her body racked with uncontrollable shudders and tears rushed down her cheeks. They had to go; they had to get out of here. She shoved the heavy bench in front of the door as she had last night and dashed up the steps, yanking a suitcase from the small walk-in storage space. She rushed into Livy’s room and pulled clothes from drawers and the closet at random, then hurried into her own room and did the same. She headed for the bathroom next, scooping toothbrushes and toothpaste into the travel bag she had yet to fully unpack from their trip to Virginia Beach.

Alexa started back downstairs but stopped when Gordon, the mournful-looking stuffed frog Livy had slept with every day since her birth, caught her eye. She snatched the melancholy creature off the bed and bolted down the stairs with the cumbersome luggage, setting it by the door. “Livy, we have to go somewhere, sweetie,” she struggled to say, still fighting for each breath as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

Livy looked up from her spot at her small pink table. She was dressed in the princess costume Abby had made her for Christmas. “I’m having a party, Mommy.”

“I know, honey. I’m sorry, but we really have to go right now.” She flipped her laptop closed, dropped it into its case, and grabbed her purse. Next she took several of Livy’s books and shoved them into a small canvas bag. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Livy’s bottom lip turned down and her eyes filled with tears. “Lucy wants to eat her apples. I want to play tea party.”

“Later, honey.” Alexa glanced out at the darkening sky through the edge of the blind. She wanted them long gone from their isolated home. “You can bring your princess dress with you.”

Livy’s eyes brightened. “Okay.”

She held out her hand. “Let’s go.”

Two hours later, Alexa clutched Olivia’s hand as they walked through Baltimore-Washington International, rolling the suitcase and booster seat behind them. She glanced around as they made their way to the ticket counter, fearful Abby’s kidnappers were somewhere close, watching for the perfect opportunity to snatch her daughter away.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” The pretty blonde smiled from behind her computer.

Alexa peered behind her, spotting the two men dressed in black pants and short-sleeved tops standing by the enormous panes of glass, staring in her direction. She picked up Olivia and clutched her tight. Were they here for Livy? “Yes. I need to buy two tickets.”

“And your destination, ma’am?”

What was her destination? She hadn’t thought that far. Her only instinct had been to flee. There was nowhere to go and no one to pick her up on the other end. She and Abby had always had each other, but now she was on her own. She moved her free hand to her necklace and rested her palm against the triangular charm. “LA,” she said in a rush. “Two tickets to Los Angeles, please.”

“We have a couple of open seats on a redeye leaving in an hour.”

She glanced over her shoulder. The men were gone, but that didn’t mean Livy was safe. “Okay, we’ll take them.”

The agent told her her total, and she tried not to wince. This was going to eat into her already strained budget, but what choice did she have? Money meant nothing with Livy’s life in danger. She pulled her credit card free and her heart ripped in two. To save her daughter, she was leaving Maryland and her sister behind.

 

Did you enjoy the excerpt?  You can read the first three chapters on my website, www.catebeauman.com, or you can finish the whole book here!

 

About the author:

 

Cate currently lives in Tennessee with her husband, their two boys, and St. Bernard, Bear. She is the author of the best selling romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County.  Before her career as an author, Cate worked in special education for 12 years.

 

“I’m a pretty lucky girl; one day I woke up and my entire life changed. I saw the light, so to speak, and decided I was going to be a writer. Now, two years later, I’m working on my fifth novel and I’m an Amazon best selling author.  I’m very grateful for the support and success I have had.  – Cate “

 

Contact Cate

 

Amazon Author Page

http://www.amazon.com/Cate-Beauman/e/B00A05KHVM/

 

Social links:

www.catebeauman.com

www.facebook.com/CateBeauman

www.goodreads.com/catebeauman

 

E-Book Giveaway Contest

For a chance to win a digital copy of Forever Alexa, just leave a comment below. Two winners will be drawn on Sunday. Good luck!

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Cover Goodness – Unbreakable by Stephanie Tyler

Weee! Earlier today Jason Vendryes (cover model for Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton) tweeted Mad to share the news of a new cover he’s on. And it is HOT! Plus, the book is by Stephanie Tyler who happens to write kick-ass romantic suspense. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!

A cabal of operatives with dangerous pasts team up to work black ops missions. Their weapon: deception. Can they help one of their own before he goes too far?

When Gunner agreed to help out Section 8, he didn’t realize he’d be pulled back in to the shadowy world he’d thought he’d escaped forever. The son of double agents, Gunner was initiated at a young age into the cold world of espionage when his father forced him to work for international smuggler Drew Landon. And when Gunner’s past with Landon threatens the other mercenaries, and most importantly, Avery, he makes an impossible choice…and disappears.

Avery’s not willing to give up on Gunner. The attraction between them has been there from the start and she rallies Section 8 to help him. She knows there’s only one way to keep Gunner safe: fake his death and take him off the grid. But when she finally locates him, Gunner is a changed man, harder, more desperate, and on the edge of self-destruction. And only Avery can find a way to free him from Landon—and from the demons of his past—before it’s too late.

November 5, 2013

stephanietyler.com

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Review – No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose

The blurb:

A car crashes in front of rookie PI Paige Holden’s home. And suddenly, she finds one of her pro bono clients dying in her arms—from a gunshot wound. With her last breath, the woman whispers cryptic words into her ear and hands her a blood-smeared flash drive.

Five years ago, State’s Attorney Grayson Smith put a murderer behind bars. But when Paige Holden shares the flash drive with him, its contents cast doubts on the conviction—and lead him and Paige into a world of blackmail, dark secrets, and a decades-long string of murders. An investigation they’ll survive only by trusting each other—and the truth.

 

I’ve enjoyed Karen Rose’s books for years and this was no exception. While I’m usually all about her heroines, Grayson was the star of this one for me. He was hot, protective, and his core of integrity made him absolutely delicious. When he is threatened with the secrets of his past, he still takes a stand and fights for justice. Paige was a strong heroine from the first page and was perfect for him. I loved that the romantic conflict was concluded around halfway through the book and the rest of the time, they spent getting closer and trying to stop a murderer.

The suspense portion was packed full of twists and turns that kept me guessing and showed once again that Karen Rose is a master of romantic suspense. Definitely a recommended read for any fan of the genre.

4.5 stars

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Format: Print and digital

Order:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

 

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The Adrenaline Adventure Tour with Vivian Arend

Welcome to the next stop on Vivian Arend’s HIGH RISK blog tour!

(click any image to enlarge)

Digital
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Mass Market Paperback
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository  | Booksamillion | Powells

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Vivian Arend: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win an Adrenaline Swag Pack plus winner’s choice of any book from Vivian’s digital backlist. Good luck!

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Giveaway – High Risk by Vivian Arend ARC

Climbers! Climbers with angst! Climbers doing dirty things with ropes!

You may be wondering about my new obsession with climbers 😉 It’s all the fault of Vivian Arend’s upcoming release HIGH RISK.  And we have an advance reader copy to give away!

HIGH RISK

Adrenaline, Book 1

LIFELINE: an elite search-and-rescue squad based out of Banff, Alberta. Specializing in high-risk rescue missions, this team goes wherever the job takes them…

Rebecca James was once revered for her devil-may-care attitude and backcountry survival skills. But ever since she lost her partner in a fatal accident, patches of her memory have been missing. And until she can recall those final, tragic moments before the accident, she can’t move on.

Since Marcus Landers was permanently injured during a mission, all his energies have been focused on his Lifeline team. When Becki—whom he had an intense affair with seven years ago—arrives in Banff, he’s inspired to reignite the spark they once had. Their mutual ardor slowly awakens Becki’s dormant, haunting memories.

New truths surface until Becki must at last confront her greatest fear. Remembering the past might mean a future without the man she loves…

March 5, 2012

www.vivianarend.com

For a chance to win, just leave a comment below. This giveaway will run through Friday. Be sure to check back then to see if you’ve won. Good luck!

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Characters You Just Can’t Say Good-by To by Winter Austin

Have you ever had a character or characters that stuck with you? You finished reading a great book loaded with great characters, satisfied with their happily ever after, but couldn’t stop thinking about them. Did you ever wonder what happened to them after it was all said and done? Or maybe you wished they hadn’t finalized their HEA so soon. Maybe, you wished the author had dragged it out a few more books.

 

I’m one of those readers. If I like certain characters a lot, I like to keep following their lives for a few more books. Continuance series are my favorite, because I do get emotionally invested in some characters and I want return to their lives again and again. And I’m a huge fan of suspense/thrillers. I love seeing those men and women get into trouble and watching them get out of it. That love affair with continuance series and danger brought about the conception of my Degrees of Darkness series, and its stars Detective Remy LeBeau and cowgirl Cody Lewis.

 

These two go way back. I mean to the dark ages of my life—High School. (Where’s the Law and Order duhn-duhn when you need it?) While my classmates were busy worrying about their next date, I had my nose buried in a mystery and/or romance novel or in many cases a notebook, furiously scribbling away at some plot idea banging around in my head. Remy and Cody came into existence during those days. Yes, I’m aware that their names are both 4 letters and both end in y, and in some cases gender confusing. But, hey, that’s the joy of being the author, you can make them whoever you want, and those names stuck like fly paper to me and to them.

 

Being a lover of all things mystery, this was how they started, though Remy hadn’t quite evolved into a detective. Eventually I got sucked up in my own happily ever after and Remy and Cody got shoved onto a backburner. Time passes, I got married and had twins. Well, as a stay-at-home-mom, I got bored in those moments when my babies were actually sleeping and I had nothing to do. Out came Remy and Cody. And for the next eleven years and 2 more kids, I wrote, molded, did extensive research until I finally came up with the right people to take center stage. In those years I’d toyed with the idea of making the series have a different set of characters be the main Hero and Heroine while Remy’s and Cody’s relationship played out in the background. But it never worked out as well, because those two dominated my thoughts and writing. Oh, believe me, I wrote plenty of other books with different characters, but I still kept coming back to those two.

 

Now these two get to be enjoyed by readers other than me or my plethora of critique partners and beta readers. Here’s where I get to the good part. Telling you a little about them.

 

Cajun Remy LeBeau is a detective with the Dallas police department. He came to Dallas from New Orleans under secret and deadly circumstances. He’s known around the department as IceMan, due to his coldness in confronting each case that crosses his desk. He trusts no one, especially his partner of 2 years, and he never gets involved with women. Until a certain redhead struts into his department one day, then a few days later becomes the witness in a homicide Remy has to work. And the sparks fly.

 

Barrel racer Cody Lewis harbors her own secrets and a past with tragedy. She’s got a one track mind when it comes to barrel racing, and no one, not even a relentless serial killer, will keep her from attending the National Finals Rodeo. Hard as she tries to separate herself from Remy, she’s drawn to him and the dark past that haunts him. Soon her dreams and life are threatened, and she might have that stubborn Cajun to thank for the upheaval in her life.

 

My first book, Relentless, released this week. It’s the first in a four book series. And I’m excited out of my mind to finally have these two out there for the world to read. Granted, I know not every reader will appreciate my Cajun detective and his tart-mouthed redhead. But I do hope for those that do, they love them as much as I do and the secondary cast of characters that have become as much a part of the family as Remy and Cody.

Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau trusts no one. He hides from a past that could kill him and anyone involved with him. What he’s not prepared for is the return of an elusive serial killer . . . and an unwanted desire to protect a witness at all costs.

Professional barrel racer Cody Lewis’s dream of being top in the nation is within reach until she discovers a murdered woman in her horse trailer. The event pulls her into the sickening world of the Rodeo Sweethearts serial killer—a madman who terrorized Dallas’s rodeo circuit five years prior and is now back for more. But what’s worse is that Cody fits the profile of the Rodeo Sweetheart victims. . . .

As Remy dives into the investigation, he uncovers secrets of a botched investigation and a tight-lipped boss, while attracting unwanted attention from the killer. Battling his partner, his attraction to Cody, and the demons of his past, catching the killer could cost Remy everything. Even Cody’s life.

 

BUY LINKS:

Crimson Romance: http://www.crimsonromance.com/upcoming-releases-romance-ebook/relentless

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Relentless-Crimson-Romance-ebook/dp/B00B03EHUA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358262763&sr=1-1&keywords=relentless+winter+austin

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/relentless-winter-austin/1114192565?ean=9781440564444

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For a chance to win a digital copy of RELENTLESS, just leave a comment below. Good luck!

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Q&A with Elle Kennedy

An undercover DEA agent has gone off the radar. Suspecting an internal mole, the government needs Luke Dubois and his elite team of operatives to recover their man, and the New Orleans native thinks he’s found his way inside the dark underbelly of Manhattan: Olivia Taylor, the girlfriend of a mob boss and the sexiest woman he’s ever laid eyes on. His new mission objective? Get past Olivia’s defenses and convince her to take a chance—on him.

All Olivia wanted was to finish law school and live a normal life, but that dream was shattered when one dangerous night put her deeply in a mobster’s debt. Now Luke and his team will help her escape—in exchange for intel on the missing agent. But Olivia doesn’t anticipate her intense attraction to the reckless Louisiana charmer or that she’ll be forced to risk everything—including her heart.

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Midnight Alias has a different feel than Midnight Rescue, not quite as dark and Luke isn’t nearly as cool and collected as Kane. Was that planned from the beginning or did it come about because of the characters?

 

I knew from the start that Midnight Alias wouldn’t be as dark as the first book. Midnight Rescue is darker in tone because the heroine’s background is incredibly tortured, and the mission Kane and Abby take on deals with humanity at its worst. In book two, Olivia is definitely not as dark as Abby, so the relationship between her and Luke lacks a lot of the angst of book one. As for Luke, he was introduced as a fun-loving, reckless ladies man in Midnight Rescue, so I always knew he would be lighter in comparison to Kane, who is more serious and the second-in-command of the team.

Anytime I talk with someone about this series, the always deadly Noelle’s name is mentioned. Will she be getting her own book at some point?

 

Definitely.  Noelle has a sub-plot in the third book, Midnight Games, which I think readers will enjoy because it gives a teeny bit of insight into her past. She’ll get her own story in book five, but I’m keeping mum about who her hero will be 🙂
With Isabel and Trevor, scary D, the new and intriguing Liam (who doesn’t like a man named Liam?) and many others, you have a lot of characters waiting on a story. Do you have a set amount of books planned for this series?
Right now I’m contracted for five books, but I absolutely have more stories in mind for a lot of the secondary characters, including sexy Liam, who also appears in Midnight Games.

Plotter or pantser?
A little bit of both. I usually work off a general outline for most books and toss in fun scenes as they come to me.  With other books, particularly my romantic suspense ones, I have a more detailed outline in place before I start to write.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve researched for a book?

 

The jungle! For my new Harlequin Romantic Suspense series, The Hunted, I needed to know a lot about the jungle in order to make the first book, Soldier Under Siege, come to life. I flew to Costa Rica in the summer and did a lot of fun adventure tours, spoke to a ton of people, and took hundreds of pictures. It was definitely worth it, and I think all that research comes through in the book.

What books can we be looking for in the near future from you?

 

The third Killer Instincts book, Midnight Games, which is Trevor and Isabel’s story, releases in August—I’m super excited about it! In July is Hotter Than Ever, the ninth book of my erotic contemporary Out of Uniform series. The Hunted trilogy with Harlequin kicked off this month with book one, and the next two come out in the spring.  So there are a lot of fun releases to look forward to!

A big thank-you to Elle for joining us today! To find out more about her backlist and upcoming books, visit ellekennedy.com. And for a chance to win MIDNIGHT ALIAS, just leave a comment below. Good luck! 😀

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