February 27, 2015

Book Promo: Excerpt & Giveaway! The Trouble With Marrying a Movie Star, The Red Carpet #2 Z.N. Willett

Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance

Her most desired fantasies were finally being fulfilled, but at what cost?

Alexandria Moore's dreams have come true since she met actor Andrew Hughes. 

Yet, when it’s revealed that he is her muse, will it cause them to grow closer, or shatter the dream into a figment of her imagination?

Will her reality survive the fantasy she has created?

They have already overcome distance, adversity, jealousy and misunderstandings. Can their relationship survive public scrutiny, old flames, insecurities and now deception?


Flashes of bright lights so blinding, that when you close your eyes, all you see is bursts of light under your lids. Your ears begin to ring, as they try to decipher the loud voices that are screaming and yelling at you, until everything becomes a mumbled blur.

*****
Even though I could feel Andrew's hand as he pulled me through the crowd of paparazzi, at moments, I felt enclosed and alone. I felt somewhat alarmed by the frenzy of reporters that we had to walk past as we hurried to the ticket counter. I struggled to look up as camera flashes continued to assault my senses. This is what it feels like to have your picture taken without your consent—not knowing where it was going, or what they would do with it. Usually, it is a family member or friend on the other side of the lens. They capture a place, or time in your life that means something. You can always veto a lousy photo if you want, or laugh at the ones that have been taken. But this felt…wrong.

As we approached the counter, there was a woman in a red jacket that instantly greeted us. "I called security, Mr. Hughes." Andrew nodded, and greeted her with a handshake.

"Thank you. My Security Director wanted to leave someone with us, but I insisted that we would be fine."

Andrew looked at me apologetically. "My girlfriend has caused quite a stir," Andrew said, squeezing my hand tightly as he tried to make light of the situation.

She nodded in understanding. "Let’s get you two checked in, and I will escort you to the plane." She signaled to someone behind us. "It looks as if security has arrived."

I turned and saw four large men in uniform. One stood directly behind us while the other three directed the paparazzi to stay back.

Andrew asked for my passport and the agent checked us in. You could hear the shutters of the cameras capturing this mundane act. I turned my head, getting a better look at the men. When we had first stepped out of the taxi, I had shielded my eyes from the blinding lights as Andrew stressed to keep my head down. "Don't look at them, say nothing!" he shouted as he guided me along.

My anxiety grew at that thought, and suddenly, I felt light-headed. "Andrew…"

He turned his head, seeing my distress, and came to me immediately. "Andria, what is it?"

His eyes showed so much concern. Sadly, I wanted this…well, not this per se, but I had pushed for Andrew and me to be a real couple. Yet, I started to wonder if I might have bitten off more than I could chew.





Z.N. Willett is the girl who has seen more than she has ever wanted; yet decided to add to that world by writing Hollywood romances. A northern girl, but a southerner at heart, loving anything and everything about love and romance. So much that once upon a time she had a career as a wedding and events coordinator. When Z.N. decided to do something she was passionate about, she added her love for travel to the mix. An avid shoeaholic, deep down she's a sappy romantic who happens to believe that love can truly conquer all.


Book Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway! Surf & Surrender, Summer Love #2 by Riley Edgewood


She wants to forget he ever existed. He'd never give up her memory.

Quinn Westwood is completely over Sawyer Carson. He broke her heart years ago and disappeared from her life without a word. So yeah. She's over him. Never even thinks of him. In fact, she's spending her college summer break surfing and lifeguarding in the Outer Banks, while nursing a bruised heart from a different relationship gone wrong. She doesn't have room in her mind or heart for Sawyer—until she runs into him at a beach bonfire and the sparks that fly between them are way hotter than the flames heating the sand.

Sawyer never got over Quinn. The only thing stronger than what he feels for her is the secret keeping them apart, but sharing it would destroy more than just his life—it'd ruin hers, as well. Still, he can't seem to keep away from her, can't seem to keep his hands off of her soft, tempting skin. Especially since she has even less self-control when it comes to reigniting the physical side of what made them perfect together.

But secrets have a way of slipping out, and when Sawyer's is revealed it threatens to shatter everyone involved. He'll have to face walking away a second time, and Quinn will have to decide if fighting for him is worth it when the fallout could affect more than just her heart, but also those of the people she loves most.

Surf & Surrender is the second book in Riley Edgewood's Summer Love series, but can be read as a stand-alone novel.



"Lay off me." My brother fights my grip, but I've got two inches and thirty pounds on him. Plus, I'm sober. And pissed. 

I push his face closer to the stuff that's already permeating through my entire car. "What did I tell you about throwing up in here?"

He's really grappling against me now. And I'm really not budging. 

"Let me go and I'll tell you about Quinn." 

This—the shock jolting my system—loosens my grip more than anything else could. "What?"

He turns his face sideways to look up at me. I give him that much leeway. Because I'm still not sure I heard him right. Then he says, "I saw Quinn."

Fragments of memories barrel through my mind so fast I almost lose my breath. 

Long, slender fingers tracing hearts against my callused palms. A white daisy tucked into hair that's brown like autumn and windblown and trailing down her back for miles. 

The somehow both sweet and rough scents of salt water and sand. Laughter like sea glass wind chimes spinning in the breeze. 

I want to ask where? How? When?

I want to crack his skull open and climb into his memory to see her again.

I rub my face with my free hand to wipe it all away. "Goddamn it, Jess. She's the one person I told you we couldn't see if we came back."

"Two," he slurs, squirming on his knees. "Two people."

It's true. But she's the only one who matters. The only one who ever has. 

Quinn. 

Jesus. Just her name in my brain is enough to make my gut jump.

So I let go of Jess's neck. 

He face-plants into his own puke and comes up spitting, swearing. I shrug and try not to laugh at the horror in his expression. It's hard. Which means I'm out of the grip of the past. "You wanted me to let you go, so I did." 

"You're such a dick."

I can't deny it. Instead, I grab a beach towel from the backseat and let him use it to wipe off his face—and then my car. He gags the entire time, and nothing could bring me more pleasure.

"How'd she look?" I ask a few minutes and miles later. I don't expect an answer. The kid's eyes are closed so hard they look swollen. 

"Skinny," he slurs. "Stupid."

"You sure you weren't just looking in a mirror?"

He mumbles something I'm pretty sure is, "Fuck you," but I let it slide because I'm remembering in more than just splinters of snapshots. More than a hand or a laugh. Quinn. 

Skinny? Maybe. She's always been slight. 

Stupid? Not a chance in hell.

One of us would've run into her sooner or later. The Outer Banks is a big area, but the spots locals prefer are few. I'm surprised it's taken the two months it has.

Thing is, though, if it happened to Jess, then statistically my chances seem smaller now. "Goddamn it, Jess."

But he's snoring. And I shouldn't be asking about her anyhow.

I spend the rest of the ride trying to figure out how to get the smell out of my car—and quick, because I have a fucking date tonight. 





Riley lives in the DC area and spends most of her time with her characters, playing with her toddler and husband, and pretending she knows how to be an adult. Former dancer. Current writer. Lifelong lover of accessories, books, and the beach. And cats. Can't forget the kitties. Of which she has two.






Release Day Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway! Ethan Walker's Road to Wonderland

Amazon
Genre: New Adult

At nineteen, the world has so many possibilities. 

Ethan Walker was a typical teenager in that respect. He was happy, living at home with his family and partying when the mood struck. He was in no rush to grow up. His life was a blank page just waiting to be written, but that couldn’t last forever. 

Unfortunately, reality came knocking at Ethan’s door, forcing him to face truths he’d never allowed himself to see in the past - truths that soon robbed him of his innocence and youth. With the life he’d always known gone forever, Ethan found himself battling demons in disguise, only to find his own weakness was his worst enemy. 

When temptation turned to indulgence, and the ghosts of his past encouraged him to dig deeper, Ethan sought salvation in the form of violence. His fists and fortitude became his bread and butter, but the new turn in his life rejected the familiar and opened the door to more evil.

Inevitably, the darkness tried to sink him, and there was only one constant light that somehow seemed to shine brighter than the promise of escape: the mystery girl with the golden hair. 

In order to survive, Ethan had to dig deep and find a strength in himself not even he was sure existed. Only when he found himself on a path to Wonderland did he start to see a future beyond his past. All he had to do to get there was learn to breathe and not get himself killed in the process. **Book 3 in the Road to Wonderland Series, Ethan Walker can be read in conjunction with Izzy Moffit's Road to Wonderland by Victoria L. James and Paris Hemsworth's Road to Wonderland by Francesca Marlow or standalone.




Izzy @ Amazon US    Paris @ Amazon US
Izzy @ Amazon UK   Paris @ Amazon UK


From a young age L.J. Stock was led by her imagination. From the moment she could read she fell into worlds where trees could talk and little girls could move things with their minds. In no hurry to grow up, she found stories all around her, in the forests of Plym Bridge, the moss covered hills of Dartmoor, then, as she grew older, the wide spread city of Houston, where she currently resides and works. A constant daydreamer, she hopes that one day, her passion can become something more than just a hobby for her. Still led by her imagination, the worlds have slowly grown from childish adventures to urban fantasies and romances. With inspirational authors such as Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, John Grisham and Stephen King guiding her through her life so far, L.J. Stock has finally decided that it is time for her to go for gold and try land herself on someone else’s future list of favorites. Putting words on paper is as essential as breathing to her, but on the rare occasions that she isn’t writing, she can be found with a video game remote in hand or curled up on the couch with her pup and a good book. Music is also such an important part of her life, it’s a wonder there isn’t a background soundtrack playing wherever she goes. A good girl to most, a bad girl to a few, L.J. believes that every genre should be attempted and is more than likely to have tried to release three hundred series’ ranging from vampires and werewolves, to dystopian and even classic romance, before she reaches even middle age. At least, that’s the plan for now.

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WonderlandFacebook



Book Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway! Hold by Claire Kent


Find the strongest man there. Give yourself to him in return for protection. It’s the only way you’ll ever survive.

Convicted of a minor crime, Riana is sentenced to a prison planet—a dark primitive hold filled with convicts vying for power. Her only chance of survival is with Cain, a mysterious loner who has won his territory in the prison through intelligence and brute strength. Sex is all she has to offer, so she uses it. She’s under no delusions here. No one is ever released, and no one ever escapes. Survival is all she can hope for—until Cain.

An earlier version of this book was published under the same title and a different penname by Ellora’s Cave. It has since been substantially revised and expanded.


“Are you a whore?” Thorn asked blandly.

“No.” She was so surprised by the question that she managed to speak over the rancid texture in her mouth.

“Good. I don’t do whores, although they’re usually all we get down here. You have a good body, which is the only other thing I require in a woman. Two options.” His eyes—a very dark blue—narrowed as he explained, “Be my woman. Do what I tell you. I’ll keep you safe. Or, if you refuse, I’ll turn you over to the rest of them.”

He gestured back to “the rest of them.” Riana’s mind was in too great a blur to see distinct faces, but the rest of the prisoners seemed to be lurking just in the background, like a hungry pack of wolves.

“They’ll take turns using you until they’re bored. You won’t last the night.”

Riana knew his final words weren’t an exaggeration. It was possible some lesser alpha male might try to take her as his, but he probably wouldn’t be strong enough to keep her safe from the others for long.

“What’s your decision?” Thorn demanded, looking slightly annoyed at her hesitation.

This was the moment. The one that would decide her fate.

Common sense, social pressure, and nearly all the evidence told her to take Thorn up on his offer.

Let him fuck her. Let him keep her alive.

Riana glanced around the prison one more time, and her eyes landed on the barred cell of the loner whose name Davis hadn’t known. In the back of her mind, she’d noticed he’d stepped over to watch when she’d laid out the sleaze a minute ago.

Now he was standing silently, one hand resting loosely on a bar.

Her eyes met his for a few seconds, and she saw something there she hadn’t seen in anyone else’s here.

It wasn’t kindness or pity or mercy or anything soft.

She couldn’t really name what she’d seen, but it reminded her of independence.

She turned back to Thorn.

He was waiting, a smirk of pleased entitlement on his handsome face, as if he never doubted what her answer would be.

That did it. She ignored her reason and followed her instinct.

She turned on her heel and kicked out again, this time landing the blow right on Thorn’s hard, flat stomach.

He grunted and took a step backward, more in surprise than real pain.

It was a good kick, but there was no way she could outmaneuver him physically.

“I don’t want you or them,” Riana said loudly, turning her head to look back at the loner in his cell, giving him a significant gaze she could only hope he’d respond to.

A wash of rage transformed Thorn’s face, intensifying when other prisoners started to snicker a little.

Thorn advanced on her like a stalking animal. “We’ll go with the third alternative,” he gritted out. “I’ll take you first and then throw what’s left back to the rest of them.”

It wasn’t an idle threat. Riana knew he would act on it. She would be beaten and raped and then given to others who would do it to her again and again.

She looked back at the loner and felt a wave of absolute despair when she saw he’d turned his back. On her. On the rest of the prison.

He wasn’t going to respond after all.

Which meant there was absolutely no hope for her.


Claire has been writing romance novels since she was twelve years old. She has a PhD in British literature and, when she's not writing, she teaches English at the university level.

She also writes romance novels under the penname Noelle Adams.



February 26, 2015

Release Day Blitz: Excerpt & Giveaway! Broken Chords, Love in London #2 by Carrie Elks

Genre: Adult Romance

Lara knows she should feel lucky. Married to the man of her dreams, with a gorgeous new baby, she should be enjoying her happy-ever-after. But she never expected motherhood to be so difficult, or for her life to change so dramatically.

Alex has it all: hot, tattooed looks, a beautiful wife, and a band that's finally getting noticed. A lucrative offer of a US tour should be the icing on the cake. But as he leaves the country, distance isn't the only thing that starts to pull their relationship apart.

With half a world dividing them, Alex and Lara have to battle for a marriage they once took for granted.

Broken Chords is the second story in the Love in London series but can be read completely as a stand-alone. 

Though it's a series, it's not a serial and there are no cliffhangers, each book features a different couple!


“What do you do the rest of the week?”

“I’m a good girl. I go to bed early.”

“Alone?”

My heart sped at that question. It was loaded, obviously, but the way he put it out there so soon seemed genuine.

“Alone with my thoughts.”

“Alone with your thoughts,” he repeated, slowly nodding his head. “You use your right or your left hand for that?”

I coughed out a laugh. Dirty boy. “You seem very interested in my bedroom habits, Mr Cartwright. There are some things a girl likes to keep secret.”

“I bet you use your left hand,” he carried on, as if I hadn't spoken. His voice lowered, so I had to step forward to hear him.

The next time he spoke I felt his breath tickling at my ear. “I'd pay good money to see you alone with your thoughts.”

Carrie Elks lives near London, England and writes contemporary romance with a dash of intrigue. At the age of twenty-one she left college with a political science degree, a healthy overdraft and a soon-to-be husband. She loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland as well as the UK. An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and Twitter time to stolen moments between writing chapters. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the two.




Book Promo: Excerpt & Giveaway! Behind the Door by M. Clarke & Alexandra Weis

Genre: Adult, Erotic Romance

After the love of her life walks out the door, Abby Simmons is depressed, run down, and overwhelmed. Working long days as an attorney in a busy firm is sucking the life out of her and Abby feels she is at the end of her rope. Then, a co-worker recommends a new type of spa called Paradise. He promises their therapies will shake off her lethargy and help her to regain her sparkle. Skeptical, but very curious, Abby decides to visit the establishment. At first, what she hears sounds too good to be true, but soon Abby uncovers a whole new world of pleasure that quickly becomes her undoing. 

Step behind the door to embark on a journey where surrendering to desire is only the beginning. Welcome to Paradise.


Behind the Door Part 1:

Before I could react, he had pried my legs apart and was working along my inner right thigh, moving slowly upward. By now, my reservations were gone and I surrendered to him. And when his fingers reached the junction between my legs, I gasped when his hands slipped under my butt and gripped my cheeks, squeezing them in his hands. He could see every intimate part of me, I was sure of it. Letting go of my butt, his hands came around to my folds. At that moment, when his finger slipped between my legs, I clapped my hand over my mouth, suppressing my scream.

His fingers moved along my folds, tracking my wetness up and down. I was so wet at this point that my insides heaved with desire as he stroked me. I wanted to cry out, ask him what he was doing, but I didn’t. I let him manipulate my folds, slowly, methodically bringing me to orgasm. My hips began rocking in time with his hands. God, those hands were making me feel things I never thought possible. I could feel my climax building, like a wave caught in the shallows it was gaining momentum, waiting to wash over me.

I was at his mercy now. I ached for release and was willing to do anything to achieve it. But when his finger inched back and forth over my vagina, teasing me with the promise of what was to come. I bit my lip, desperate for him to penetrate me. His fingers did not wait long to slip inside of me, and when I felt the pressure of him moving deeper, I arched my back and moaned. He was rubbing back and forth over that spot, the one so many men try to find but give up. Well, Mr. Hands knew exactly where my spot was, and as he slowly moved in and out of me, I knew I was going to come harder than I had ever come before.

Behind the Door Part 2: 

Jogging to my car as pellets of rain stung my arms, I considered if I had finally reached the end of my adventures at Paradise. Moving on would be difficult for me, no matter how sexy Mr. Hands had become in my mind. Jumping into my car, I shook the rain from my skin and eagerly turned over the ignition. Yep, I was ready to get back to my life, and close the door on Paradise for good. Nothing good could come from it. I had a date with James to look forward to, a big case to prepare for, and a life to rebuild. I was done here.

Pulling out of the white-shelled parking lot, I glanced once more through my rearview mirror to the plain red-bricked building growing smaller in the distance. Some fantasies were better left unrealized. Or else you could end up wanting to discover what was behind all the doors in a place like Paradise. Driving along, I kept thinking about the purple door and what would have been waiting for me if I had found the courage to go through it. Flashing back to my bondage experience in the blue room, I felt that heat between my legs take hold. Slowing my car, I pulled over to the curb.

“Fuck!” I shouted, slamming my fist into the steering wheel.

Spinning the wheel, I hit the gas and turned the car around. Spotting the red-bricked building further down Tulane Avenue, I pressed on the gas.

Yeah, desire could be a real bitch.



Mary Ting/M. Clarke 

International Bestselling Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children's chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.


Alexandrea Weis

Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Having been brought up in the motion picture industry, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective and began writing at the age of eight. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her award-winning novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story moving and memorable. A permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.