January 4, 2016

~Diana's 2015 Top Reads~



When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card. 

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting. 

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder. 




If someone had told me a year ago that I was about to fall in love, go on an epic road trip, ride a Triceratops, sing on a bar, and lose my virginity, I would have assumed they were on drugs. 

Well, that is, until I met Beckham. 

Beck was mostly to blame for my recklessness. Gorgeous, clever, undeniably charming Beck barreled into my life as if it were his mission to make sure I never took living for granted. He showed me that there were no boundaries, rules were for the spineless, and a kiss was supposed to happen when I least expected. 

Beck was the plot twist that took me by surprise. Two months before I met him, death was knocking at my door. I'd all but given up my last scrap of hope when suddenly, I was given a second chance at life. This time around, I wasn't going to let it slip through my fingers. 

We set out on a road trip with nothing to lose and no guarantees of tomorrow. 

Our road trip was about young, reckless love. 

The kind of love that burns bright. 

The kind of love that no road-map could bring me back from. 

**Recommended for ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.**




For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris—Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut. 

Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor. Chapters include: “Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel”; “A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband”; “My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking”; “And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane.” Pictures with captions (no one would believe these things without proof) accompany the text. 




Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing. 

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible. 

​BOOK CLUB KIT | ​READ AN EXCERPT | ORDER A SIGNED COPY



When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.




When Cassie Taylor met Ethan Holt at acting school, sparks flew. She was the good girl actress. He was the bad boy about campus. But one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing, Cassie and Ethan's romance seemed destined. Until he broke her heart and betrayed her trust. Now the A-list heartthrob is back in her life and turning her world around. One touch at a time. 

Cast as romantic leads once again, they're forced to confront raw memories of the heartbreaking lows and pulse-pounding highs of their secret college affair. But they'll also discover that people who rub each other the wrong way often make the best sparks. 




The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die. 

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning! 

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. 

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death. 

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. 

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven. 




“Trust me, I’ve wanted to punch you in the face a time or five.” 

When the man you worshipped as a kid becomes your coach, it’s supposed to be the greatest thing in the world. Keywords: supposed to. 

It didn’t take a week for twenty-seven-year-old Sal Casillas to wonder what she’d seen in the international soccer icon—why she’d ever had his posters on her wall, or ever envisioned marrying him and having super-playing soccer babies. 

Sal had long ago gotten over the worst non-break-up in the history of imaginary relationships with a man that hadn’t known she’d existed. So she isn’t prepared for this version of Reiner Kulti who shows up to her team’s season: a quiet, reclusive, shadow of the explosive, passionate man he’d once been. 

Nothing could have prepared her for the man she got to know. 

Or the murderous urges he brought out in her. 

“Sal, please don’t make me visit you in jail. Orange isn’t your color.” 

This was going to be the longest season of her life. 




My name is Milo Caro and I have a confession to make. 

I’ve been in love with Colton Mathews since I was five. He should have known that sharing a cookie with a sugar obsessed little monster would do the trick–it sealed his fate. So really, the fact that he’s sporting a black eye, a limp, almost got ran over by a car, and was nearly responsible for another person’s death? Right. HIs fault. Not mine. 

I made a pact with myself–this weekend would be different. I’d come home for my brothers wedding, smile, and Colton would naturally melt into my arms, we’d get married have five kids, live in a house by the river, and get a dog named scratch (clearly I’ve thought this through). 

What really happened? I punched my brother in the face, Colton kissed me and apologized, I lied about having a boyfriend, oh and everyone wants to meet the mystery man. 

They say laughter always comes before insanity–ha, ha. All I wanted was my brother’s best friend…instead I’m sitting in prison. 

Let this be a lesson to you all…life rarely happens the way you want it to. 

Damn cookie. 




A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journalbestselling book. Archer's Voice is a full-length, standalone romance. 

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees. 

Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love. 

THIS IS A STANDALONE SIGN OF LOVE NOVEL, INSPIRED BY SAGITTARIUS. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. 




When two unlikely allies become two unwitting outlaws, will two unforgettable lovers defy unbeatable odds? 

Bonnie Rae Shelby is a superstar. She’s rich. She’s beautiful. She’s impossibly famous. And Bonnie Rae Shelby wants to die. 

Finn Clyde is a nobody. He’s broken. He’s brilliant. He’s impossibly cynical. And all he wants is a chance at life. 

One girl. One boy. An act of compassion. A bizarre set of circumstances. And a choice – turn your head and walk away, or reach out your hand and risk it all? 

With that choice, the clock starts ticking on a man with a past and a girl who can’t face the future, counting down the seconds in an adventure riddled with heartbreak and humor, misunderstanding and revelation. With the world against them, two very different people take a journey that will not only change their lives, but may cost them their lives as well. 

Infinity + One is a tale of shooting stars and fame and fortune, of gilded cages and iron bars, of finding a friend behind a stranger’s face, and discovering love in the oddest of places. 




It's rule breaker Emily Foster's birthday, and like everyone at The Jungle Room, she just wants to get some action. Unfortunately, she stumbles on the wrong kind, witnessing a mob hit. To protect her, she's entered into the Witness Protection Program with by-the-book Special Agent Jake Ward as her chaperone. 

When the location of their safe house is compromised, Jake stashes Emily deep in the Texas backwoods. The city-girl might be safe from the Mafia, but she has to contend with a psychotic rooster, a narcoleptic dog, crazy cowboys, and the danger of losing her heart to the one man she can't have. 

Jake's as hot as he is infuriating, and she can't help but push all his buttons to loosen him up. Their mutual, sizzling sexual attraction poses a dilemma: Jake's determined to keep her safe and out of the wrong hands; she's determined to get into the right ones—his. 




As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child, thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me... 


Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love--all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. 

Welcome to Christine's life. 




Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry. 

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it. 

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin… 




Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. 

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane. 

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that. 

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time. 




Who says a Dominant man can't be a hopeless romantic, too? 

When Maxine Kirk tumbles into the arms of her teenage crush, Broadway star Drew McKenzie, she has no idea what she's in for in the arms of her stunningly handsome idol. However, Drew has plans for Maxine. Sweeping her off her feet and into the upper-echelons of New York society, Drew offers Maxine a challenge to accept his deviously delicious brand of dark romance. 

Dashing through the glitz and glamour of Manhattan's elite to the dressing rooms of Broadway to the age-old beauty of France, Drew takes Maxine on a whirlwind journey. Will she take a bow and make her exit? Or will she stick around for the encore? 




Secrets. 
Everyone has one. 
Some are bigger than others. 
And when secrets are revealed, 
Some will heal you ... 
And some will end you. 

Kate Sedgwick’s life has been anything but typical. She’s endured hardship and tragedy, but throughout it all she remains happy and optimistic (there’s a reason her best friend Gus calls her Bright Side). Kate is strong-willed, funny, smart, and musically gifted. She’s also never believed in love. So when Kate leaves San Diego to attend college in the small town of Grant, Minnesota, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with Keller Banks. 

They both feel it. 
But they each have a reason to fight it. 
They each have a secret. 

And when secrets are revealed, 
Some will heal you … 
And some will end you. 




Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse. 

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. 




This is David 'Tag' Taggert's book, a supporting character introduced in The Law of Moses. This is a stand-alone story, but it is highly recommended that The Law of Moses be read first to avoid spoilers.  

She said I was like a song. Her favorite song. A song isn’t something you can see. It’s something you feel, something you move to, something that disappears after the last note is played. 

I won my first fight when I was eleven years old, and I’ve been throwing punches ever since. Fighting is the purest, truest, most elemental thing there is. Some people describe heaven as a sea of unending white. Where choirs sing and loved ones await. But for me, heaven was something else. It sounded like the bell at the beginning of a round, it tasted like adrenaline, it burned like sweat in my eyes and fire in my belly. It looked like the blur of screaming crowds and an opponent who wanted my blood. 

For me, heaven was the octagon. 

Until I met Millie, and heaven became something different. I became something different. I knew I loved her when I watched her stand perfectly still in the middle of a crowded room, people swarming, buzzing, slipping around her, her straight dancer’s posture unyielding, her chin high, her hands loose at her sides. No one seemed to see her at all, except for the few who squeezed past her, tossing exasperated looks at her unsmiling face. When they realized she wasn’t normal, they hurried away. Why was it that no one saw her, yet she was the first thing I saw? 

If heaven was the octagon, then she was my angel at the center of it all, the girl with the power to take me down and lift me up again. The girl I wanted to fight for, the girl I wanted to claim. The girl who taught me that sometimes the biggest heroes go unsung and the most important battles are the ones we don’t think we can win. 




In love we find out who we want to be. 

In war we find out who we are. 

FRANCE, 1939 

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. 

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences. 

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. 



December 29, 2015

Release Day Blitz! Who We Were by Kelly Elliott



My Papai always said wine made everything better. Countless times he uttered those familiar words to me— “The Merlot will melt your problems away, meu amor. With a good bottle of wine in your hand, you hold the magical key to anything you want.” 

I believed my father wholeheartedly, until my world came crashing down on me at twenty-four years old.

It wasn’t going to take wine to help Brody and I find our way back to one another. It was going to take fighting … not only for our love—

But for my life. 

**THIS IS A STAND ALONE BOOK**







Kelly Elliott is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author. Since finishing her bestselling Wanted series, Kelly continues to spread her wings while remaining true to her roots and giving readers stories rich with hot protective men, strong women and beautiful surroundings. 
Her bestselling works include, Wanted, Broken, Without You, and Unconditional Love, to name just a few.
Kelly has been passionate about writing since she was fifteen. After years of filling journals with stories, she finally followed her dream and published her first novel, Wanted, in November of 2012. 
Kelly lives in central Texas with her husband, daughter, and two pups. When she’s not writing, Kelly enjoys reading and spending time with her family. She is down to earth and very in touch with her readers, both on social media and at signings.


December 28, 2015

Excerpt & Giveaway! The Earl's Complete Surrender, Secrets at Thorncliff Manor #2 by Sophie Barnes



An unexpected passion ignites as secrets are exposed in Sophie Barnes's captivating Regency-set romance

Despite the diversions offered at Thorncliff Manor, former spy James, the Earl of Woodford, has one purpose in staying there. He must find an encoded book that exposes a conspiracy within the British aristocracy. And he must do so without revealing his purpose to the clever, tempting Chloe Heartly. The lady has a knack for appearing wherever it is least convenient. In the library. In the salon. And, especially, in his arms . . 

Somewhere within Thorncliff's labyrinth of rooms lies the journal Chloe desperately seeks. When she realizes the brooding, handsome earl is hunting the same quarry, Chloe enters into an uneasy partnership. But in the face of public danger and enemies hiding in plain sight, both must decide how much they're willing to risk to solve the mysteries of the heart.


~*~
Chloe considered telling her sister that there was such a thing as knowing too much, but she bit back the rejoinder and kept silent instead, unwilling to take their conversation in that particular direction.

“In all likelihood you’ll be right and my interest in whoever he is will prove pointless.” Fiona said as they passed a row of elm trees. Like a curtain pushed aside, they gave way to an impressive view of Thorncliff, the towering walls dwarfing anyone standing before them and likening them to ants. “Come to think of it, he did seem rather dull—as if it made no difference to him that he was about to arrive at the most fantastic estate in England. He should have been staring out of the window of that carriage with keen enthusiasm. Most young gentlemen would do so, but he did not.”

“No,” Chloe agreed as they turned onto the driveway that would take them straight up to the front door. “Perhaps coming here disagrees with him.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Fiona said. “It’s the most fascinating place in the world!”

“You say so only because you have not traveled the world.”

“Perhaps that’s our answer,” Fiona suggested. “Perhaps the man we saw, whoever he may be, has traveled to so many fine places that Thorncliff fails to entice.”

“Or maybe he’s just not the adventurous sort,” Chloe offered. “He may simply enjoy reading a good book, in which case he has no need of coming here at all and probably considers Thorncliff a complete waste of time.”

The words brought Fiona to an immediate halt. “Do you find it a complete waste of time, Chloe?”

A rush of emotion swept through Chloe. It almost felt as if an ebbing tide was tugging at her belly. “Of course not. Why on earth would you think such a thing when I’ve already told you how happy I am to be spending more time with you and the rest of the family?”

A puff of air escaped Fiona in the form of a sigh. “Perhaps you wanted to be kind and spare my feelings?”

Taking her sister by the hand, Chloe held on fast as she gazed into her troubled young eyes. “No. I would never be dishonest with you.”

“Are you certain? Because I am well aware of your fondness for reading as well as your lack of enthusiasm for socializing at the moment. Are you sure you wouldn’t have rather stayed at home with your books?”

Closing her eyes, Chloe struggled to ease the nerves that threatened to send her heart racing. “No. I would not. The Thorncliff library is vast. I mean to explore it during my stay here. As for socializing . . . I’ve just spent a year in mourning, Fiona. I need time to readjust.”

“I’m sorry,” Fiona said, biting her lip. “I just wish that I could do more to make you happy.”“I am happy,” Chloe assured her. At the very least, she was free now, and that was pretty much the same thing. “Come, let’s find out who Lord Hainsworth’s companion is so we can put your curiosity to rest.”

~*~


Born in Denmark, Sophie Barnes spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She's lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish and Romanian. She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor's degree from Parsons. But, most impressive of all, she's been married to the same man three times—in three different countries and in three different dresses.

While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion: writing. When she's not busy dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading. She currently lives on the East Coast.



December 24, 2015

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas from the Mikky's World Of Books family!!


December 23, 2015

Excerpt & Giveaway! Nicolas by Dianne Hartsock




Betrayed by a lover, Jamie rents an isolated cabin on Lake Huron, wanting only to be left alone. Instead, he is pulled from his solitary existence as an artist and tumbles headlong into the legend of Saint Nicolas.

As a young man, Nicolas accidentally killed a man intent on murdering three children, only to have the man's malicious spirit rise up against him. Fleeing through the centuries from the Krampus, the evil troll-like creature that dogs his steps, Nico finds refuge with the young artist who takes him into his home and bed. But Jamie has questions. Who is Nicolas, and why does the Krampus want to destroy him?

When the Krampus begins to torment and torture anyone Nico comes in contact with to punish him, Jamie’s life is put in danger. And Jamie isn’t sure whether he can help Nico defeat his nemesis or if he’s merely a pawn in the Krampus’s game.


~*~
Jamie startled awake. “What?”

He had trouble breathing, the crushing weight on his chest seeming to have followed him up from his dreams. But that couldn’t be right. He’d rented the cabin for its isolation. No one should be there. Did he still dream?

A warm breath brushed against his cheek, sending a shiver of dread and strange anticipation through him. “Easy, baby,” a silky voice whispered in the darkness. Sharp teeth nipped his earlobe and pleasure and pain sparked along his nerves. His eyes adjusted to the moonlight filtering through the sheer curtains, and he stared in amazement at the man gazing at him with wild green eyes, long pale hair, high cheekbones and a slender neck he craved to run his tongue along.

The stranger laid his weight on him, driving the air from his lungs and making Jamie struggle for every breath. Shifting position, the man sealed his full lips over Jamie’s, drawing a long groan from Jamie when an impossibly large cock slid against his. In sudden panic he reached to shove his unknown visitor away and touched hot skin and lean muscles. Of their own volition his hands roamed lower, following the curve of the stranger’s back to the rounded swell of his ass. He drew a quick breath and the man laughed into his mouth, pushed his tongue deep, thrusting inside to match the movement of his hips as he ground against Jamie’s aching dick.

Heat pooled in Jamie’s stomach. God, what was happening? The thing in his bed looked like a man, but his every instinct shouted otherwise. His skin was warm when it should have been cold from being outside. And how had he gotten in? All the windows and doors were locked tight against the winter storm. It was as if he’d just materialized in Jamie’s bed. “Who—”

He cried out when a hand pushed between them and grabbed their cocks, stroking them together until he lost the ability to think. So close! He grabbed onto the man’s firm ass and yanked him tighter against him, rising up to shove into his strong grip.

The triumphant hiss in his ear shot ice through his veins. “So naughty.”

“No!” Jamie struggled to sit up, scrambling back against the headboard. He blinked, finding himself alone in the room, only his ragged breaths disturbing the silence of the cabin. A forgotten anxiety knotted his stomach. Naughty. He hated that word, tossed about by the boys he once knew in school. The ones he’d suck off behind the gym, desperate for a gentle hand in his hair, balm against his loneliness. He’d been terrified his parents would find out he was different, that he liked girl things and found boys much more exciting than he should. They would know he was gay and there would be hell to pay for their freak of a son.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. God, that had been ages ago. The last shreds of the dream dissipated, and he reached for the bedside light, fumbling in the darkness for the switch. Low light stung his eyes and he blinked at the empty bedroom, unable to believe the attack hadn’t been real.

He flung off the heavy quilts and slid to his feet, clinging to the post at the foot of the bed as a wave of dizziness struck him. Laughter from the other room jolted him. Heart pounding, he bolted for the door and it crashed into the wall as he flung it open. The reddish glow from the banked fire on the hearth lit the main room of the cabin, though the kitchen area remained in shadows.

Jamie’s gaze swept the rooms, focusing on the dark corners. No one jumped out at him. Nobody sat on the couch. His coffee cup remained undisturbed where he’d left it on the hearth. Of course. The cabin was isolated, miles from the nearest neighbor. Who would bother to come way out there, especially with the threat of another snowstorm on the way?

He ran a trembling hand through his hair, pushing the sweat-drenched bangs from his forehead. Christ, the dream had seemed so real. The cold of the great room finally registered, creeping up from the hardwood flooring. Shaking, he crossed to the fireplace and stirred up the coals, adding another log.

With a sigh, he sank into the cushions of the worn couch and pulled the woolen afghan around his bare shoulders. The log caught and the fire crackled, sparks dancing up the flue. Recalling his dream and the hard body against his, he shrugged when his cock perked up.

“It’s been a while,” he acknowledged, watching the flames lick at the oak log. He’d signed a year’s lease on the cabin, right after catching his boyfriend in the stairwell of their apartment building, making out with their neighbor. It hadn’t been the first time, either, though again Patrick had his apologies ready. That had been over six months ago, and since the cabin stood miles over rough terrain from the nearest town, he’d rarely seen another human being in all that time.

“Just the way I like it,” he told the indifferent fire burning its way through the wood. But the stranger’s lips in his dream had been soft, his thrusting tongue sweet in Jamie’s mouth. He hadn’t liked the violent aspect of the dream, but if that had been a lover in his bed? His dick pressed against his thigh, and Jamie reached under the heavy blanket, moaning when he took its heavy weight in his hand. Drawing lazy circles on his balls, he let the pleasure build slowly, lifting his cock while in his mind the stranger licked the glistening head, his pale gold hair a curtain of silk against Jamie’s sensitive skin. He moaned as the man slid his tongue down the thick vein on the underside of his cock.

His mind flitted over the question of whether the guy would fuck him or want it the other way around. Didn’t matter to him. He liked it both ways. Rolling to his back, Jamie continued to stroke himself while he tugged his tight balls, then pressed a finger against his hole. He remembered the lube in the nightstand drawer by the bed, but he wasn’t about to stop, and hissed when he pushed the finger inside. The man’s cock had been huge in his dream. What would it feel like as it stretched him open? Would it be enough to fill all the empty spaces inside him?It was a moment before the tolling of a bell outside the cabin registered. What the fuck? Jamie sat up, trying to hear past the pounding of his pulse in his ears. His cock throbbed and he groaned in frustration, knowing he couldn’t chase his pleasure until he found out what was going on at the dock. The only one to boat in was the man who dropped off his monthly supplies, and he’d been and gone two days ago. Who else would be using the dock? Jamie had been isolated for months without anything disturbing his peace. But this night he’d had a wildly erotic dream and now this. What made tonight so special?

~*~

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Dianne Hartsock, author of NICOLAS. Hi Dianne, thank you for agreeing to this interview. 

Hi Mikky. Thank you for inviting me over today.

Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing come from?

I grew up in a family where everyone read. It was rare to see one of us without our nose in a book. I couldn’t wait until I learned to read so I could join them. My love of storytelling came from my older sister, who would tell us the most thrilling bedtime stories. As for writing, once I learned to write in first grade, I naturally wanted to write down all the stories crammed into my head.

What were your goals when you started this book? Do you think you met them?

I really wanted to show Nicolas as a passionate, conscientious man, trying to do what good he could in the world. But I wanted to do this without sounding too preachy or making him out to be some kind of saint. As for the Krampus, he’s the evil counterpart to St. Nicolas, the one who punishes the wicked children. This touches on the theme of good vs. evil, a subject I wanted to flirt with but only as a running theme in the background. I think I managed to write an exciting, sometimes frightening story of a good man battling his demons. 

Tell us about your favorite character in this book.

That would be my sweet Jamie. Both Nico and Piter, the Krampus, are strong men, capable of taking care of themselves. They have had to for centuries. But Jamie is vulnerable, lonely, a man who only wants to be left alone in a world that can be cruel. He befriends and comes to love Nico, finding strengths he never knew he had. He becomes the inspiration Nico needs to face the Krampus and hopefully be rid of the creature forever.

What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

It’s those pesky transitional scenes, when you want your characters to confront the bad guy already, but first they have to put their boots on, pack their gear, grab something to eat and a cup of coffee, drive to the prearranged meeting spot. See what I mean? All this has to be taken care of first, and done with excitement and a sense of urgency, when all I want is for them to BE THERE already.

List five foods you can’t live without.

Coffee, chips and salsa, spaghetti with vegetable marinara, dark beer, yogurt.



Dianne grew up in one of the older homes in the middle of Los Angeles, a place of hardwood floors and secret closets and back staircases. A house where ghosts lurk in the basement and the faces in the paintings watch you walk up the front stairs. Rooms where you keep the closet doors closed tight at night. It’s where her love of the mysterious and wonderful came from.
Dianne now lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with her incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours she spends hunched over the keyboard letting her characters play. She says Oregon’s raindrops are the perfect setting in which to write. There’s something about being cooped up in the house with a fire crackling on the hearth and a cup of hot coffee warming her hands, which kindles her imagination.
Currently, Dianne works as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for her. When not writing, she can express herself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage.



December 22, 2015

Excerpt & Giveaway! Dragon King, Ethereal Foes #4 by Marie Harte



What good is being king if you can’t burn your own rules?

In the two years since Jentaron hatched, he’s grown into an adult blue dragon full of the knowledge of his royal predecessors. He’s a true king, even if the other denizens of the Ethereal, those demons, havoc, angels and the like, continue to test him.

But he’s got heavier worries. Namely, an unspeakable danger that threatens all life as the planet knows it. He can feel it, can sense that he’s got a bigger role to play than just pissing off the Ethereal.

With the blood elves and havoc making more trouble than usual, magic no longer flowing freely in the Abyss, and angels massacring everything demonic they can get their holy hands on, the Balance has reached a tipping point. Time to take charge before the rules change.

What’s a dragon to do but create his own chaos? He’ll take a mate or two, instill fear where needed, and finally return dragonkind to the Ordinary—the human lands—where a dragonwill decide the fate of the worlds.

Because he’s king, and he says so.

Warning: Contains a dragon king challenged by a devious demon and an alluring, not-so-human human. Expect carnal hunger only a king can satisfy, and heat only a dragon can generate.


~*~
Ella Nelson had thought about getting back at her ex-best friend for a solid month. Ever since she’d found out that the pretender had not only cheated her out of a promotion, but stolen out from under her the one man Ella found interesting, she’d been biding her time until the perfect opportunity arose.

Unfortunately, Ella didn’t do revenge. Or exciting. Or sex with a hot guy. She had a bad case of ADD with life. Everything bored her after a while. This was the longest she’d held a job in years, and already she found herself wanting to leave it all behind. Even a need for vengeance had become too dull to put any more than thought into.

I’m the queen of blah.

“Hey, Ella. You ready for that board meeting today?”

“Sure am.” Ella smiled through her teeth. “I’m sure your presentation will knock it out of the park.” Especially since I did all the work.

“We’ll kill ’em dead.”

“And it’ll be messy, I’m sure.” Their old joke felt so appropriate right now. Ella wanted her life to be messy, to mean something. She felt as if she floated past everything, not quite in touch with the world around her. She wasn’t someone others ever looked to for guidance, advice or a relationship. Not like her ex-friend.

Lauren wore a professional A-line skirt and low cut blouse. It said “I’m feminine and sexy, but I want to be taken seriously.” Ella hated her a little for that too, that the woman could wear anything and look like a million bucks. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Lauren ate what she wanted, regularly skipped gym workouts and had any man’s attention for the asking. Which made it questionable as to why she’d come on to Peter when she’d known good and well that Ella liked him.

Of course Peter had welcomed her attention. And sure, Ella had never out and out declared dibs, but she’d talked about him all the time. Lauren knew how she felt. Ella had just about worked up the nerve to ask Peter for a date when she’d heard the unmistakable sounds of Lauren banging his brains out while she stood outside the woman’s apartment, waiting for their weekly movie night.

Now it all seemed suspect, as if Lauren had set herself up to be caught in the act. A way of telling without telling. Sly, subtle and something Ella wished she could pull off. Pesky morals.

She finally understood why so many colleagues seemed to give Lauren the cold shoulder. Not because they were jealous, as Lauren had often complained, but because they’d been the victims of her narcissism. The woman stepped over everyone to get what she wanted. It had only taken Ella a year to learn the truth.

Backstabbing, two-timing, money-grubbing witch. A comforting rage settled deep in her bones like a warm glass of whiskey. Welcomed, smooth and familiar. Anger took her from the doldrums. Only fury made her feel alive—and that was the one thing she had to hold back, because too much anger inside her became a very bad thing.

“After you.” Ella followed Lauren into the conference room and moved to the back with the other peons not important enough to sit with corporate’s big boss, the man who’d come down from Green Bay to visit their satellite office in Plymouth Meeting.

Taking her place with the others, Ella readied her cell phone to record, because she’d said she would and hated to break a promise, and gave Lauren a thumbs up she didn’t mean.

The perky man-stealer smiled and chatted with the bosses. Then the presentation started. Lauren wowed everyone with the slides created courtesy of Ella’s unwavering diligence. She struck the right chords with a sense of humor, charm and obvious physical appeal.

The unfairness of it all built. All the hard work, the unpaid overtime, the hassling with phone calls and outdated computers and effort in hopes of getting that promotion. For what? So Lauren could flaunt her considerable assets and steal it all right out from under her?

The final portion of the meeting started, and something clicked into place inside Ella.

Uh-oh. Showtime.

Lauren flashed a toothy smile. “And now, a short video about what Care & Concern Medical Services can do for you.”

Their home health care for the elderly had garnered national attention. They’d even opened a few dozen more centers where those with special needs, as well as the elderly in need of daytime care, could be looked after. Those had been Ella’s brainchild. Ella’s hard work.

Ella should have seen this coming. She and Lauren had never had an issue, because they liked different things. Ella preferred to blend in to the woodwork and offer support. Lauren wanted to be the center of attention and rule the roost.

Ella closed her eyes, unable to stem the freaky headache that would open the door to that other sense she had. The one that spilled secrets most people wanted to hide. Like a diver plunging into the deep end, she stroked deep into the center of Lauren’s private thoughts, the ones Lauren kept hidden, even from herself.

Filled to the brim, Ella needed to direct those private images somewhere else. The idea of revenge became too tempting to ignore, and she shifted those images into the presentation. Though she’d never understood how she could do it, she’d always been able to transform a person’s secrets into a visible manifestation.


Normally uncomfortable with what felt like a curse, today she relished her gift. No longer bored, she felt alive. Angry. Steal my thunder, will you?

“Bravo so far. No wonder your office is in my top five, Brad,” Mr. Kellen directed to Ella’s supervisor, a man susceptible to big blue eyes and bouncy breasts.

“Thanks. But this is all Lauren’s work, isn’t—What is that?”

On the screen, a video of Lauren going down on Peter replaced two old men in wheelchairs. Peter played with her hair while he had her suck him down. Then he had her lick him in all manner of places before she begged him for an assf*** in that whiny, breathy tone that annoyed Ella to no end.

“Oh my God.” Lauren gasped. “That’s not me. It’s not!”

Two more men walked into the bedroom with Lauren and Peter and joined in the fun. The scene had never actually occurred, but deep down, Lauren had wondered what it might be like. Thus, another secret spilled to the big screen.

“Lauren!” Brad sounded shocked.

Ella’s head pounded, but she kept filming with her cell phone, wanting to immortalize the moment. Was it wrong to take comfort in Lauren’s misery?

Who the hell cared?

Mr. Kellen had yet to blink. No one at the table or in the back said anything, likely still in shock at the raw sex onscreen.

“It’s not true,” Lauren said through tears as she fiddled with the computer, trying desperately to shut it off and unplug it.

Not going to work, sweetie. Ella could sometimes affect electronics, and today her gift worked on overdrive, a result of too much stress. Her headache continued to grow, but pleasure over Lauren’s humiliation made the pain more than tolerable.

I should win an Oscar for this production.

The room remained silent, while onscreen moans and groans filled the air. Not one person even pretended to turn away, leave or try to help Lauren turn off the computer.The video scene shifted to Lauren lying in Peter’s arms, still naked, while she laughed about her colleagues at work. Then Peter suggested she don a strap-on and get ready to ride him once more.

Too bad that had also had been fantasy rather than reality.

Despite being attractive, Peter had never seemed too adventurous. Sweet, kind, sexy and hung, sure. Ella mourned the grand size of his cock. He would have been someone to stave the tediousness for a while. But she had a hard time handling nice. Even if he did have a nice package.

She coughed to muffle a snicker.

Now sobbing and at her wit’s end to turn off the video, Lauren scrambled to apologize. “I’m so embarrassed. None of this is real. It had to be Photoshopped or something. They must have edited me into this—this pornographic movie.” She hiccupped. “I’ve never seen any of those men before.”

Ella had to say something. “But, Lauren, isn’t Peter your boyfriend?”

Lauren’s cheeks blanched. “He, well, no. I mean, I know him. But not like that. Someone set me up. None of this is real!”

You got that right, witch.

“I don’t know what to say, Lauren.” Brad’s voice shook. In shock or arousal, Ella couldn’t tell. Her head was about to explode from exerting so much energy into the computer as well as keeping it on.

But she hadn’t had this much fun in ages.

Lauren looked around, as if searching for support, and found none. When her gaze met Ella’s, Ella feigned a sad face and shook her head in disappointment. She stepped aside when Lauren ran out of the room in tears.

The computer finally winked out. No one moved or said anything.

Then one of the women giggled. Others started whispering, then the noise grew deafening.

Ella caught a few loud thoughts. Ha. She’s finally getting hers after diming me out for being late.

Serves her right. My kid was sick a few days, and Miss High and Mighty pulls rank on me then blames me for her report errors. Please.

Take my promotion and this is what you get. Hell, even Ella would have been a better fit. Lord knows she and I both deserved it. Not Lauren Look-at-My-Tits Daley.

Oh man. If I’d known what a freak she is, I wouldn’t have waited so long to ask her out. Wonder if she’d lick my balls like that.

A few other mental rumbles piled on until Ella’s eyes teared up. Her head throbbed and she forced herself to shut down before she risked a bloody nose. But God, had that been worth it.She followed the excited mob out of the conference room and went back to her cubicle. She didn’t get much work done, but she only had to fake it another hour before she escaped for the day.
~*~

 




Caffeine addict, boy referee, and romance aficionado, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Marie Harte has over 100 books published with more constantly on the way. 
She’s a confessed bibliophile and devotee of action movies. Whether hiking in Central Oregon, biking around town, or hanging at the local tea shop, she’s constantly plotting to give everyone a happily ever after.
​ Visit http://marieharte.com and fall in love.