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Ward Sisters Series by Lucy Gage

February 26, 2015 by Mia Fox Leave a Comment

Author: Lucy Gage
Title: Ward Sisters Books 1-4
Series: Ward Sisters Series
Release Date: January 12, 2015

SYNOPSIS

Back to December (Ward Sisters, #1)
Only One (Ward Sisters, #2)
Right Here Waiting (Ward Sisters, #3)
This Year’s Love (Ward Sisters, #4)
Bonus Content

Welcome to the world of the Ward Sisters, Emily, Anne and Charlotte. Get to know them, their friends and the new people who have come into their lives.

Start with Emily’s story, Back to December, where you’ll meet the oldest Ward daughter, and the movie star, Rob Deacon, who sweeps her off her feet.

Then, in Only One, you’ll get to know Emily’s bodyguard, Liam Neely, who happens to be Rob’s best friend. You’ll also meet Jenna Ackerman, Rob’s assistant and his other best friend, the woman with whom playboy Liam falls in love.

In Right Here Waiting, you’ll learn about Emily’s lifelong best friend, Meghan Miles, and meet the soldier who steals her heart, Captain Neil Murphy.

And then, in This Year’s Love, you’ll hear middle sister Annie Ward’s story of how she fell for her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh Ricker.

Additional glimpses into the lives of these characters – in the form of deleted scenes which didn’t make it into the published narrative – are included at the end of each story. For any fans of the series, these are peeks at the characters you won’t want to miss.

BUY LINKS

 

Amazon    Barnes&Noble    Kobo    iTunes

EXCERPTS/TEASERS


Back to December

Emily
looked at Rob and couldn’t read what he was thinking. She could tell
there was something on his mind, but she had no clue what it was.


“Care
to share?” she asked, curious.



“Can I kiss you?” he replied, his voice steady.



Em was stunned. She didn’t know what to say. It had been over five
years since she had been asked to be kissed. She nodded slowly, so as
not to appear too eager, though she was, in fact, dying to kiss him.
She had been looking at his mouth quite a bit these last few hours,
and it always seemed so kissable.


Rob
leaned toward her, and she met him halfway. That heady forest scent
invaded her nostrils more thoroughly now and her brain swam. He
looked at her with a sweet smile, just a little grin that said he was
looking forward to this. She met his eyes and his smile with one of
her own, though she suspected that, as soon as he’d asked, he’d known
what her answer would be by the expression on her face.


His
lips brushed against hers, gentle at first, with just a little bit of
pressure. The gesture implied respect without stifling the desire
that raced through Emily’s blood. Her skin heated and the dampness
between her thighs, which had been present since dinner, bordered on
embarrassing. How could she want someone so much from just a simple
kiss?

Only One

They walked back to the car,
hand in hand, in an unusual silence. Jenna started to step around the
car to the passenger’s side, and Liam tightened his grip on her hand
so she couldn’t let go. Her expression said she was curious as he
drew her toward him and leaned against the car hood. She let him
guide her until her body was pressed against his and their faces were
inches apart.


His heart raced again, which
Liam found odd – he hadn’t felt nervous before he kissed a girl
since junior high. Swallowing hard, he brushed the hair from her face
like he’d done earlier. Her breath hitched, and he knew she wanted
him to kiss her as much as he wanted to do it. He looked at her
mouth, then into her eyes. They leaned in at the same time, crushing
their lips together in a long-overdue kiss.


Heat rushed through his body and
his dick hardened before she even slid her tongue into his mouth. As
their tongues danced, one hand found her ass and pulled her pelvis to
his, while the other threaded into her hair, bringing her mouth
closer, and deepening the kiss. She whimpered and gripped his neck.


The kiss lasted a few minutes
and then they needed air. They leaned apart, touched foreheads, their
breath labored.


“Wow,” Jenna whispered.


“Yeah. I agree,” Liam said.


Right Here Waiting

Meghan stared back at him as intently. Finally, she said, “What’s going on here, Neil?”

“What do you mean?

“This. What’s happening between us? Am I reading you wrong? Are you not interested in me?”

Neil couldn’t let her think that. No. Never. He’d wanted her for too long to let her ever believe he wasn’t interested, even for a moment. He pulled back, stood still and looked at her. He looked at her mouth. He wanted to kiss her, but if he waited until they were alone, she might give up on him. Danny was right, he had to stop sabotaging this.

Neil threaded his hands in her sun-kissed hair. In her eyes, he saw a desire to kiss him as powerful as his own. He leaned in, pressed his lips to hers and a wave of heat washed over him. Meghan leaned into the kiss, opening her lips, and as he slid his tongue into her mouth, Neil had to use every ounce of restraint his military training had afforded him to keep it from getting indecent.

Meghan pulled away and saved Neil from himself.


This Year’s Love

“Are you okay?” she asked.


He nodded slowly and swallowed.


“Uh huh,” he muttered.


His dilated pupils said he liked
what he saw. She grinned. In two strides of his long legs, he was
right next to her and it was Annie’s turn to gasp – he towered over
her.


He looked at her, shook his
head, then he crushed her to his body, his face a breath away. She
opened her mouth and his tongue plunged inside. Unlike the other
morning, he knew this was her and not Em. Yet, he kissed her with
even more passion, stealing her air.


Before she knew what was
happening, he lifted her off the ground, wrapped her legs around his
waist and carried her to the bed. They collapsed onto the mattress,
and when his pelvis pressed into her core, they moaned in unison.


“God, you’re beautiful,” he
breathed around her lips.

AUTHOR BIO

 As a child, Lucy Gage relished time to use her imagination, whether it was playing with her siblings – dolls, cars and trucks, make believe, LEGOs – or reading a book. That still translates today, as she writes the stories bouncing through her head, or reads the work of others. Her two imaginative children play the same way she did in her youth and love to read. She considers this her greatest accomplishment to date. 

Married for the past dozen years, she and her family live in rural Maine. When not at the keyboard, she most enjoys gardening, hiking, amateur photography, the beach, dancing, crafts, ice skating, snow shoeing, boating and of course, reading.



AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

Facebook  Twitter  Google+  Goodreads 

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Accepting Fate by Brandy L. Rivers

February 23, 2015 by Mia Fox Leave a Comment

“Accepting Fate,” the newest book by Brandy L. Rivers, is definitely fated to be on my TBR list!

Accepting Fate - Blitz Banner

 

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Accepting Fate
SERIES – Others of Seattle: Book 3
AUTHOR – Brandy L Rivers
GENRE – Adult Paranormal Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – 2-23-2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – around 70ish k
PUBLISHER – Brandy L Rivers
COVER ARTIST – Brandy L Rivers

 

Accepting Fate - Book Cover

 

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Accept fate, or it destroys you…

Michael Nights hides his true nature. To protect his first love, his magic broke free, terrifying Amanda so badly she left. That day convinced him he was the monster she claimed. Horrified by the damage he could cause, he’s vowed to keep his power locked away.

Gwen Fate meets Mike at a party. One look and she’s captivated. Inherently curious, she wants to discover all of his secrets. What she learns compels her to help, whether or not he wants to embrace what he is.

Amanda deLuna has changed, but was it for the better? She arrives back in Seattle and offers Mike what he always wanted.

After finally learning to control his power, Mike will have to choose.

The life he wished for? Or his fate?

 

Accepting Fate - Book Wrap

 

BUY & TBR LINKS

Amazon – Barnes & Nobles – iTunes – Googleplay – Kobo – Goodreads

 

AUTHOR BIO

Brandy L Rivers is the author of the Others of Edenton and Others of Seattle series. There are more Others of Edenton and Others of Seattle books in the works. As an avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing. She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. She has a file full of manuscripts she plans to edit and put out there eventually. She lives in Western Washington with her husband and three kids, where she is already working on future stories in each of the series and several other projects.

 

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – PINTEREST – TUMBLR – GOODREADS

 

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    Oatmeal Your Way

    February 23, 2015 by Mia Fox Leave a Comment

    Screen shot 2015-02-18 at 2.15.07 PMEveryone knows that oatmeal is good for you. It can also get a bit boring. But now, you can have oatmeal your way — delicious every day! Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine, here are new recipe ideas for turning the every day oatmeal into extraordinary oatmeal.

    For each recipe, start with 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stir in 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats and a dash of salt. Reduce heat, simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and finish with one of these toppings.

    Goat Cheese and Cremini
    Saute 1/2 cup of sliced cremini mushrooms and add crumbled goat cheese along with 2 tablespoons of half and half and a dash of thyme. It may sound odd for breakfast food, but it’s delicious and perfect for a brunch.

    Lemon-Blueberry with Mascarpone
    Stir 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon curd into oatmeal. Top with 3 tablespoons of fresh blueberries, 1 teaspoon mascarpone cheese and 2 teaspoons of sliced almonds.

    Chai Spice and Pear
    Saute 1/2 a pear and add 1 teaspoon of honey.Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk, 1/8 teaspoon cardamon, 1/8 teaspoon of ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon of allspice.

    Sunflower Seed Butter, Banana, and Chocolate
    Mash 1/2 banana with 2 tablespoons of your favorite nut butter. Add 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of chocolate shavings.

    Got ideas of your own? I’d love to hear about your ways to dress up oatmeal.

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    Kissed at Midnight by Samantha Holt

    February 18, 2015 by Mia Fox Leave a Comment

    Kissed At Midnight - Banner

     

    BOOK INFORMATION

    TITLE – Kissed at Midnight
    AUTHOR – Samantha Holt
    GENRE – Historical Romance
    PUBLICATION DATE – 18th February
    LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 60,000

     

    Kissed At Midnight - Cover

     

    BOOK SYNOPSIS

    August Avery, a renowned civil engineer, has found himself the sole custodian of his cousin’s six month old daughter and he needs assistance—fast. He understands how to build railways, to construct bridges and to save the railway tycoons thousands of pounds. He doesn’t understand, however, how to care for a child.

    When Ivy Davis turns up at his door looking for work, he believes his prayers are answered. If only the exotic, exuberant young woman did not prove to be such a distraction from his busy workload.

    Unsure if she is even up to the task of looking after a baby, Ivy finds herself swayed by the handsome and slightly desperate August into working for him. With her singing career failing before it even started and no other talents, she decides looking after a young child cannot be so hard, surely?

    But the child may turn out to be the least of her worries. Her handsome, brooding master seems to keep her awake more than the baby. Add to that her desire to achieve her dreams of singing on stage and the machinations of the indomitable Mrs. Pepperwhite who sees her as competition for August’s hand, Ivy finds this simple job growing harder by the day—as does her desire for her master…

    BUY & TBR LINKS

    AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON CA – AMAZON UK

     

    EXCERPT

    Ivy darted a look at the door as she eased herself down onto the bed beside her master. The housekeeper could have no reason to come upstairs but if she caught her in the master’s room—on his bed no less—she could be in quite a pickle.

    “Mr.—” A snore escaped his mouth and she shook her head. “Oh dear, Mr. Avery. You are the one who is in a pickle I think. Or more likely utterly foxed.”

    Leaning over, she went to grasp his hand to study the damage and froze when he grunted and rolled towards her. His arm landed near her backside on the bed and his head was almost on her lap. Ivy attempted to take his hurt hand from behind her but he twined it out of her grasp and released a low mumble. She gasped when his hand curved around her backside. She wore only her chemise and her drawers. Mr. Avery’s warm hand fairly burned through the cotton, feeling as though she would wake up with a handprint on her bottom.

    She twisted to yank his hand away, only to end up with his head pressed against the side of her breast. Mr Avery nuzzled his face against her breast and she stilled. She should draw away, press him back, but for some reason her body refused to cooperate. Hands to his head, she found his hair to be soft and thick.

    Oh dear. One part of her body seemed to be working—her fingers. They twined into the softness, so at odds with the rest of him, from his stern features to what she suspected was a body that rivalled the statues of London. He released a muffled groan against her and she heard him inhale deeply.

    “Smell so good,” he murmured.

    Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. She was going to lose her job not two days into it if she was not careful. Her nipples were tight and hard. Lush heat rolled through her as he burrowed closer and his hand splayed across her back to hold her to him.

    A creak from somewhere else in the house startled her into action. She jerked back and clasped his wrist to force his hand back. At least in his foxed state he wasn’t particularly strong. She had no doubt if he really wanted to keep hold of her, he could, but had he been sober, she was positive he’d want nothing to do with the governess.  A man like Mr Avery likely enjoyed the company of women less… interesting-looking than her. Blonde ones with soft features and a delicate manner.

    He rolled onto his back, a grin cracking his face. His eyes were at half-mast and she wasn’t sure what amused him. Recalling her original reason for being on the bed, she grasped his hand and inspected the cut. It had already stopped bleeding so couldn’t be deep. Ivy rolled her eyes to herself. All this for a tiny scratch. At least he was so foxed he would never recall any of it.


    SamanthaHolt

    AUTHOR BIO

    Samantha lives in a small village in England with her gorgeous twin girls. She enjoys writing historical romance involving chivalrous knights, hot highlanders and cravatted men, but sometimes gets lured away by bad boy bikers, soldiers and other heroic modern men.

    AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

    AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE / BLOG
    FACEBOOK – JOIN HER STREET TEAM


     

     

    Kissed At Midnight - Giveaway

    GIVEAWAY PRIZES

    Signed picture of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy
    2 x Kindle copies of Once Upon a Rake
    Set of signed swag

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

     

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    Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

    January 28, 2015 by Mia Fox Leave a Comment

    Screen shot 2015-01-27 at 8.22.21 PM

    It’s easy to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card. I’m holding a review prize for readers of “Believe,” a paranormal romance.

    Just download your copy, which is marked down to .99 for the promotion, read and review. Once I hit 50 reviews on Amazon, I’ll choose at random a reviewer to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Simply leave the URL of your review on the pinned post of my Facebook page.

    This special promotion will also apply to readers who have previously left a review of “Believe.”

    And now, a little about “Believe,” the first novella in the Chasing Shadows Series:

    Nate survived countless attacks on his Marine platoon while in Afghanistan, but one undying thought kept him safe — the knowledge that Ella was waiting for him.

    Ella marked off the days until Nate’s return by writing letters to him, knowing that once he was safely home, they would fulfill their promise to live each day to its fullest.

    Theirs was a love that would endure separation…even in the wake of a tragic accident.

    Although now apart, Ella is given reason to believe in ghosts when Nate’s presence visits her and remains her lover. But when another man enters her life, Ella struggles to give herself over to a new love and maintain her bond to Nate’s ghost.

    A romantic ghost story and love triangle tied to one woman’s need to…Believe.

     

     

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    Sanctuary by Pauline Creeden

    January 26, 2015 by Mia Fox Leave a Comment

    I’m so pleased to host Sanctuary by Pauline Creedon on my blog today. Read on for all the details.

    Sanctuary - Banner

    BOOK INFORMATION

    TITLE – Sanctuary
    SERIES – Sanctuary
    AUTHOR – Pauline Creeden
    GENRE – YA Thriller/Science Fiction
    PUBLICATION DATE – Sept 2013
    LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 268 pages
    PUBLISHER – AltWit Press
    COVER ARTIST – Najla Qamber
    Sanctuary - Book Cover

    BOOK SYNOPSIS

    First Place Winner of 2014 Gold Award Readers Favorite YA Horror
    First Place Winner of 2013 Dante Rosetti Award in YA Fiction


    What if the Biblical End Times unfolded in a way no one told you about and the rapture didn’t happen before the tribulation began…
    “Makes you afraid of the end times again.” – D. M. Dutcher for Sword Cross Rocket
    “Sanctuary crosses boundaries and borders and incorporates elements of all kinds of action and intrigue, from thriller-like adventure to a post-apocalyptic tale of life after aliens invade. Thus it will delight readers seeking something truly different, while disappointing those who anticipated a shallow, one-dimensional subject and story line.” – Midwest Book Review

    Left Behind for the Hunger Games generation

    In a heart-racing thriller described as Falling Skies meet The Walking Dead, Jennie struggles to find a safe place for what’s left of her family. But it seems as though there is no place sacred, no place secure. First the aliens attacked the sun, making it dimmer, weaker, and half what it used to be. Then they attacked the water supply, killing one-third of Earth’s population with a bitter contaminate. And when they unleash a new terror on humankind, the victims will wish for death, but will not find it…
    When the world shatters to pieces around her, will Jennie find the strength she needs to keep going?


    BUY & TBR LINKS

    AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – AMAZON KINDLE UK – AMAZON PAPERBACK – BARNES & NOBLES PAPERBACK – GOODREADS

    EXCERPT

    When Jennie reached the back door, she saw them. Four large dog-like creatures with pinched faces like bulldogs and lion-like manes. They snarled, and one of them leapt at the window on the top half of the door when it saw her.
    Jennie jumped back and fell hard on the cold tile floor. The bottle of painkiller bounced across the kitchen tiles. The creature slammed against the window a second time, cracking it. She blinked hard. Her heart sunk, and the hairs on her arms stood on end. A horrendous gargling howl rent the air, causing a shiver down her spine. She held her breath and waited for the creature to slam into the door again.
    “What on earth?” she whispered to herself.
    When the third attempt never came, she scrambled toward the door. Blinking hard, she used the door knob to help herself stand. Out the cracked window, her mother was still out of sight, but the last of the dogs headed across the field behind her backyard.
    “MOM?” Jennie called out.
    The rumbling faded, and the vibrations in her chest receded with the dogs. She pulled open the door and rushed onto their back deck. “Mom, where are you?”
    When she reached the banister, she looked over the side. Her mom lay sprawled with one hand on the lattice. Blood gushed from Mom’s leg and her opposite arm. Jennie’s ears rang and flooded with every beat of her heart.
    Jennie didn’t know how she got to the second floor of her house, but she found herself shaking her sleeping father. How had he slept through the rumbling? “Outside, it’s Mom…”
    Her father leapt from the bed. Mickey, her little brother, lay asleep and undisturbed. Dad ran down the stairs and outside in his flannel pajama bottoms and white t-shirt. He scooped Mom up to his chest and carried her inside. Blood stained his shirt in crimson.
    “Jennie, call 911!” Her father had said it at least three times before it finally registered in her brain.
    She pulled the cell phone from her pocket, but it refused to connect. With a groan, she grabbed the cordless from the wall receiver, glad her heart stopped pounding in her head so she could hear.
    “All operators are busy at this time,” a mechanical voice deadpanned, “Please stay on the line, and the next available operator will take your call.”
    “They have me on hold, Dad. Should I hang up and try again?” She held the phone in both hands away from her face.
    “No, just stay on the line.” Her father lifted the shredded jeans from Mom’s leg. “It looks like a shark bite. What on earth happened?”
    Jennie took in the damage through tear-filled eyes. A huge chunk was taken from her mother’s calf, exposing the fibrous tendons that covered the bone in her leg. A bloodstain grew on the beige couch. Was she going to die? Panic rose up.
    “What happened, Jennie?”
    “I…I…They looked like lions, or dogs, or something. The rumbling shook the whole house…I tried to go outside to get Mom, but—” A sob blocked her throat.
    Her father grabbed a throw pillow and held it against the leg. Mom’s exposed forearm laid across her chest in much the same condition as her calf.
    “Grab me the duct tape.”
    Jennie suddenly remembered the phone, put it back to her ear, and headed to the hall closet. She reached for the shelf above the jackets and grabbed the junk basket next to the toolbox.
    “Please stay on the line. An operator will be with you shortly.”
    She shoved the phone in the crook of her neck and fished through the box. Half the contents dropped around her feet. Who cares? When her fingers wrapped around the silver duct tape, a short-lived relief sent prickles down her arms. But the urgency gripped her chest in less than a heart beat, and she threw the junk basket on the ground with the rest of the items.
    “Hurry, Jennie!” her father called from the living room. “And turn on the TV. Maybe they’ll have something about what’s going on.”
    She handed her father the tape and turned toward the TV. The mechanical voice on the phone came through again, followed by more easy listening.
    When she clicked on the TV, the shouting and wailing began before the picture warmed up on the screen. A sideways picture of New York City broke through, with the shaky voice of the newscaster voicing over.
    “What we are watching now – I can’t believe it – is live footage of Times Square,” the newscaster’s voice paused for a deep breath. “We’ve lost our man on the scene and his camera man to what appears to be some kind of new alien creature. Just a short half-hour ago, the doors to the ship that hovered above Central Park opened and these dog-like creatures flooded out.”
    Jennie couldn’t pull her eyes from the screen. She straightened and dropped the phone on the hardwood. The battery popped out and skidded across the floor.
    Sanctuary - Author Photo 1


    AUTHOR BIO

    Pauline Creeden is an award-winning author, horse trainer, and overall book ninja. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.
    Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been a #1 Bestseller in Christian Fantasy and been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Gold Award for First Place YA Horror Novel.


    AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

    Website – Facebook – Twitter – Goodreads – Pinterest

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