Friday, June 30, 2017

BLOG TOUR of THE DEVIL'S GIFT: Laura Landon


BOOK & AUTHOR INFO:
THE DEVIL’S GIFT by best-selling author Laura Landon is one of twenty-five titles—all historical romance—that all carry the Union Jack Heart. Featured authors also include Christina McKnight, Ava Stone, Deb Marlowe, Meara Platt, Julie Johnstone, and more! Romance, deception, murder...happily ever afters you won't want to miss. Look for titles that carry the Union Jack Heart.

Publication date: June 25th, 2017

Genre: Victorian Romance

ABOUT THE DEVIL’S GIFT:

Jackson Rafferty, second son of the eleventh Earl of Devlin, held his dying brother in his arms and swore he’d avenge his murder. That pact made in blood led him to the back halls of Kingston Manor and the woman who would stand between him and pursuing the man Jack knew had killed his brother. That man was her father.

Miss Jenevieve Kingston has a secret. Keeping it is the only thing keeping her father alive. When a rogue by the name of Jack Dawson comes dangerously close to spoiling everything, Jenna forces him from her home. But not before he has worked his way into her heart.

Now he’s back, proving he is not who she thought he was. But how can she trust him after weeks of deception?

THE DEVIL’S GIFT EXCERPTS & TEASERS:

“It’s rather funny, don’t you think?” the Earl of Devlin said as he continued to make his way down the street. “Father thought if you were gone, I would step in to take your place. He thought your absence would make me assume some responsibility in running Devlin Downs. Instead...”
“Instead, what?” Jack asked, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.
When Sheridan stopped on the sidewalk and turned, Jack felt a cold chill race down his spine. The color left his brother’s bronzed face and a haunted look filled his eyes.
“Refusing to marry Kingston’s daughter is probably the first selfless act I’ve ever committed.”
“How can you say that?”
Shad paused and Jack knew his brother was weighing how much he should reveal.
“How much do you know about Kingston?”
“Very little. I only know about the agreement he made with Father for you to marry his daughter.”
“A pact made in blood,” Shad said barely loud enough to be heard. “Marrying into that family would have condemned us all. Or worse.”
“What are you talking about? If there’s something we should go to the authorities with—“
Shad dropped his head back and laughed. “The authorities. Oh, that’s rich, Jack. You’ve been in government service too long. The authorities are the last ones you can trust.”
“That’s not true, Shad. I have connections that have nothing to do with the local authorities. Tell me what you know and I’ll figure out what to do.”
The Earl of Devlin smiled sadly at his brother. “You always could fix everything. I should have known to come to you right away.”
“Yes, you should have. Now, what do you know?”
Sheridan hesitated as if knowing what he was about to do was the same as stepping off a ledge. Once you took the first step, there was no going back.
“Promise you’ll be careful, Jack. I don’t know all the details. In fact, I’m confused on some of them, but somehow the Kingston name is behind it.”
“Behind what?”
“Behind—”
A nondescript carriage clattered noisily by on the far side of the street. A few yards further on a drunken trio assaulted a familiar tune. Shad’s words halted abruptly. At the same moment Jack saw the surprised look on Shad’s face he heard a muffled pop and knew instantly what was happening. In horror he saw Shad’s features sag as he crumpled to the ground in front of him.
Jack threw his body over Shad but no second shot came. Jack cautiously lifted his head and looked around. In the faint light he focused on the area from which he felt the shot had come. All was quiet. The street was empty.
Jack knew that even if he left his brother to race after the assassin, he wouldn’t find anyone. Whoever had shot Shad was long gone.
“Shad, how badly are you hit?” Jack asked, kneeling beside his brother. “Can you—”
Jack stopped. He was going to ask if he was able to stand, or if Jack should send for a doctor. But he knew the answer. Shad couldn’t stand. And it was already too late to send for a doctor.
Shad was dying.
“Hold on, Shad. I’ll take care of you.”
Shad lifted his trembling hand and pulled Jack down to whisper.
“Don’t let...”
Shad coughed through the rattle in his throat.
“...get you...
“...too.”

“How old were you when your father remarried?”
“Thirteen.”
“He married so soon after your mother died?”
Her expression changed—and the look on her face turned to marble. Whatever was to be read in the look on her face was significant.
“Are you always so inquisitive?” she finally said, her voice tinged with an icy clip.
“I am when I’m with someone about whom I’m curious.”
Jack wanted to take the words back the second he spoke them. What was wrong with him? He was behaving as if he were in a London ballroom and he’d just met a debutante he was interested in getting to know.
The look on her face told him he couldn’t have made a bigger blunder if he’d tried. The sharpness in her words told him the same.
“It would behoove you to learn your place, Mr. Hawkins. A servant—especially one who intends to achieve the exalted and trustworthy station of butler—is still nothing more than a servant. No servant, you will quickly discover, has the right to make inquiries of his master.”
“You are right, of course,” he said with a subservient nod of respect. “I overstepped my bounds.”
“Yes, you did.”
She walked away from him and made her way to the other side of the table. When she reached a place directly across from him, she stopped and motioned to the array of beautiful china and silver set out for his lessons. “You’d best learn the skills you’ll need to serve dinner before you’re expected to use them. You will find Benton a demanding overseer.”
Jack motioned to her from the other side of the table and listened with half an ear while she explained which fork was used for what. What he concentrated on more than anything though, was the husky tone of every word. Even though she remained very stern and proper, the timbre of her voice wrapped around him like the warm blanket he’d often wished for in countless battlefield trenches.
What impressed him even more was her strength and determination. In the beginning he may have mistakenly thought her to be naïve, and perhaps that would be the case in certain matters, but she sure as hell wasn’t weak. She was one of the strongest, most determined young ladies he’d chanced to meet.
And the battle he was most desperate to win, yet knew he was already losing, was his determination not to allow her to affect him.
In truth, she moved him in ways he’d not experienced before. If she thought his questions indicated he didn’t know his place, she’d be shocked at the place his thoughts were taking him.


She started to rush through the narrow crack as he held the door slightly ajar, but Jack stopped her and peeked through the opening to make sure the hallway was clear. It wasn’t.
A yawning footman slowly made his way toward them, his eyes not yet open wide.
Jack pushed Jenna back into the room and silently closed the door. To keep her from alerting the footman to their presence, Jack placed his finger over her lips and pulled her against him.
She stiffened as if afraid, then quieted when he whispered a warning in her ear. The second she realized their danger, she relaxed in his arms and let him hold her.
Jack waited for the footman to make his way past the door, wishing the lad would hurry so he could release her and end the torture, and at the same time praying the listless footman would take forever so the ecstasy of having her in his arms would never end.
They waited. At last the soft scuffing sounds of a sleepy servant faded as he walked away from them.
They were safe. It was a near call, but they hadn’t been discovered.
Jack looked down to whisper how fortunate they were that the footman hadn’t been completely awake or he might have noticed the faint light from the candle beneath the door, but any word he might have said escaped him the second he saw her face.
She looked up at him in wondered awe, as if she realized the same as he that something monumental had happened between them.
Perhaps she heard the thundering of his heart inside his chest. Perhaps she felt the desperation with which he held her. Whatever the reason, he knew she was equally as confused by their attraction to each other as was he.
She looked at him with a pleading in her eyes and opened her mouth as if intending to speak.
Jack didn’t want to talk. They’d talked enough already tonight.
Before any sound she made could break the charged atmosphere in the candlelit room, Jack lowered his head and kissed her.
Their kiss didn’t last long. In fact, it was a very short kiss in comparison to some of the others he’d shared with women he’d been known to favor. But he’d never experienced such an explosive kiss. He’d never experienced a kiss that had shaken him to his very core as this kiss did.
Bloody hell! What was happening to him?
Jack pulled away from Miss Kingston and warned himself not to look at her. He knew better than to look into her eyes, to see the expression on her face. But he did it anyway.
He absorbed her confused expression, studied the dazed look in her eyes. Was struck by an emotion that contained the power of a lightning bolt when he considered the ramifications of what he’d done.

The last thing he intended was to care for Jenna Kingston to the point that his feelings for her overshadowed his desire for justice. Jack knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he allowed Shad’s killer to go unpunished because he’d come to care for the killer’s daughter.

A cloud skittered over the moon, casting the place where he’d been hiding in eerie shadows. Though he still had a few minutes, it was the perfect time to go. With the moon hidden behind the cloud cover, he would be hard to spot as he made his way across the open meadow.
Jack stood, then took his first step away from Kingston Manor. His worn boots hadn’t touched down to take his second step when a muffled scream stopped him short.
The sound came from inside the house, and Jack knew he never would have heard it had he not been concentrating on every sound around him.
He spun around and listened. Another indistinct sound followed the first.
As he raced back to the manor, he was aware of only one fact.
The pain-filled cry was Jenna’s.




Buy now on Amazon! http://a.co/4XPaOjx
This book is free for Kindle Unlimited readers.



ENTER TO WIN:








ABOUT LAURA LANDON:

Laura Landon is a Prairie Muse Platinum, Kindle Press, and Amazon Montlake bestselling author. Laura enjoyed ten years as a high school teacher and nine years making sundaes and malts in her very own ice cream shop, but once she penned her first novel, she closed up shop to spend every free minute writing. Now she enjoys creating her very own heroes and heroines, and making sure they find their happily ever after.

A vital member of her rural community, Laura directed the town’s Quasquicentennial, organized funding for an exercise center for the town, and serves on the hospital board.

Laura lives in the Midwest, surrounded by her family and friends. She has written nearly two dozen Victorian historicals, thirteen of which have been published by Prairie Muse Publishing and are selling worldwide in English, one in Japanese, and several in German. Two are Scottish historicals.

In October 2012, Laura experienced an amazing day when Amazon’s Montlake Romance published not one but three of her newest novels. Two of these have been optioned for publication in Russia and Turkey. Several are also available in German. To date Montlake had published seven of Laura’s Victorian historicals and Kindle Press three.

Always beautifully set and with a mysterious twist or bit of suspense, Laura’s books average over a million and a half pages a month read by her loyal readers.

CONNECT WITH LAURA:



Thursday, June 29, 2017

RELEASE TOUR for BOOKED 4 MURDER by J.C. EATON


Booked 4 Murder
by J.C. Eaton
Series: Sophie Kimball Mystery, #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: June 27, 2017



Never judge a book by its cover...

Sophie “Phee” Kimball is not a cop. She’s a divorced, middle-aged mom who works as an account clerk for the police department in a small city in Minnesota. But her retired mother, Harriet Plunkett, is convinced Phee is the only one who can solve the mystery of a cursed book. According to Harriet, four members of her book club have already succumbed to the deadly curse. Harriet insists Phee catch the next plane to her retirement community in Sun City West, Arizona, to investigate.

Is her mother just bored and lonely? She does have a new pet—a long-haired chiweenie (half Chihuahua, half Dachshund)—for company and a host of pals (although that number is admittedly dwindling). Phee is certain that their book club selection isn’t cursed, but is somebody really knocking off the ladies? As Phee starts to uncover dark secrets hidden in plain sight under the blazing Arizona sun, she’ll need to read between the lines before it’s someone else’s final chapter....



“I’m telling you, Phee, they were all murdered. Murdered by reading that book.”

I tried to keep my voice low, even though I felt like screaming. I had gotten the full story last night, but apparently it wasn’t enough.

“That’s insane, Mother. No one drops dead from reading a book. Look, can we talk about this later? I’m at work.”

“Then you shouldn’t have answered your cell phone.”

She was right. It was a bad habit. One I had gotten used to when my daughter was in college and had all sorts of would-be emergencies. Now it was my mother in Arizona who seemed to have a never-ending supply of issues–the plumbing in her bathroom, a squeaky garage door, the arthritis in her right hand, a bridge player from her group who was cheating and trouble keeping her succulents alive. Today it was some bizarre story about her book club. I glanced at the bottom of my computer screen for the time and decided to let her speak for another minute or so.

“Like I was saying, all of us in Booked 4 Murder are going to die from reading that book. There’s a curse on it or something.”

“Honestly, Mother, you can’t be serious. We went through this last night. Minnie Bendelson was eighty-seven, overweight, diabetic and had a heart condition! Not to mention the fact she was a chain smoker. A chain smoker! Edna Mae Langford fell, broke her hip and died from complications of pneumonia. And she was in her eighties.”

“What about Marilyn Scutt? She was only seventy.”

“Her golf cart was hit by a car going in the wrong direction!”




J.C. Eaton is the wife and husband writing team of Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp who reside in Arizona.

Ann I. Goldfarb
New York native Ann I. Goldfarb spent most of her life in education, first as a classroom teacher and later as a middle school principal and professional staff developer. Writing as J. C. Eaton, along with her husband, James Clapp, she has authored the Sophie Kimball Mysteries (Kensington) set for release in June 2017. In addition, Ann has nine published YA time travel mysteries under her own name. Visit the websites at: www.jceatonauthor.com and www.timetravelmysteries.com

James E. Clapp
When James E. Clapp retired as the tasting room manager for a large upstate New York winery, he never imagined he’d be co-authoring cozy mysteries with his wife, Ann I. Goldfarb. His first novel, Booked 4 Murder (Kensington) is set for release in June 2017. Non-fiction in the form of informational brochures and workshop materials treating the winery industry were his forte along with an extensive background and experience in construction that started with his service in the U.S. Navy and included vocational school classroom teaching. Visit the website at www.jceatonauthor.com







Tuesday, June 27, 2017

ALWAYS A WANDERER RELEASE TOUR: Danica Winters


Always A Wanderer
by Danica Winters
Series: The Irish Traveller, #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: June 27, 2017



Helena O’Driscoll and Graham Kelly’s first few months together haven’t been easy. Helena, missing the traditional Traveller lifestyle she gave up for Graham, can’t help but feel that their cultural differences have doomed their relationship. And with preparations for their brand-new hospital for Supernaturals filling their days, they feel out of sync, and maybe even out of love.

When a man is murdered, Helena begins having visions of the future darker and more dangerous than ever before. With a killer in their midst, everyone at Adare Manor is at risk, and Helena and Graham must work together to catch the culprit even as their relationship unravels. And when the murderer claims another victim, the question becomes not whether their love will survive, but whether they will.






Once a Gypsy
by Danica Winters
Irish Travellers, #1
Paranormal Romance
Release Date: November 1, 2016
290 Pages
Goodreads
Even for a clairvoyant, the future is never a sure thing.

Helena has always struggled to fit in with her Irish Traveller family. It’s not just her opposition to getting married or her determination to attend university; Helena also has one talent that sets her apart from the rest of her clan―the gift of the Forshaw, the ability to see the future.

Graham is the groundskeeper at a manor in Adare, Ireland. Though the estate appears idyllic, it holds dark secrets, and despite his own supernatural gifts, Graham can’t solve Adare Manor’s problems by himself. Desperate for help, Graham seeks out a last resort: Helena, whose skills are far greater than even she knows.

When he promises to teach her to control her powers, Helena resists, afraid both of the damage her abilities might do and her increasing attraction to the handsome groundskeeper. Her entire way of life is at risk: Any involvement, especially romantic, with non-Travellers like Graham is forbidden. But Helena’s future is anything but certain, and fate has other plans for her family, her powers, and her relationship with Graham.



Danica Winters
Danica Winters is a Nielsen BookScan and an Amazon bestselling author who has won multiple awards for writing books that grip readers with their ability to drive emotion through suspense and occasionally a touch of magic. Most recently, Danica was the winner of the Paranormal Romance Guild’s Paranormal Romantic Suspense Book of the Year Award and Chanticleer Media’s Paranormal Book of the Year for her novel Montana Mustangs.

When she’s not working, she can be found in the wilds of Montana testing her patience while she tries to understand the allure of various crafts (quilting, pottery, and painting are not her thing).  She always believes the cup is neither half full nor half empty, but it better be filled with wine.

Danica Winters is represented by Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC.







Monday, June 19, 2017

Review of DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS: Lilliana Hart



Mystery / Thriller
Date Published: December 29, 2013

REVIEW

Unique, Funny – A Rich Complex Suspense/Thriller

Mortician J.J. Graves doubles as coroner in a town called BLOODY MARY. It isn’t much of a town, but then Graves isn’t much of mortician/coroner. The death of her parents prompted her to take over the family business. In other words, the mortician stint is strictly money-driven. It’s not nice to live in poverty and a girl does what a girl’s got to do to survive, but the discovery of Fiona Murphy’s battered body disrupts the routine. Fiona was evidently leaving her abusive husband George, and he must have been unwilling to say goodbye. But the strange marks and DNA samples lead J.J. Graves in a less obvious direction, and Sheriff Jack Lawson agrees—at least until gorgeous Brody Collins shows up on her doorstep. The successful writer is getting her juices flowing, and we’re not talking the turkey cooking in the oven kind. But now there’s another body that’s turned up, and Jack is acting kind of jealous, and J.J.? She’s about to break the long draught of self-imposed celibacy.

Thoroughly enjoyed Liliana Hart’s DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. Very smartly written, this mystery/suspense thriller was just the thing to get me through the night. Intriguing enough to hold my attention, it’s also laugh out loud funny! Yes, the character J.J. Graves is downright hilarious, and I looked forward to all her acerbic observations.  

The plot is complex, so this one does require thinking. The suspects are introduced at a good tempo, and there’s just enough space in between to fit a backstory and give us time to consider whether they could be the scumbag that’s killing all those people … cheesh!

There’s also J.J. Graves non-love life to consider. Sheriff Lawson (the hunky sheriff) and Brody Collins (the hunky writer … meow!) would both do nicely … so what’s a girl to do? Liliana Hart knows and cuts her some slack. The murderer ain’t goin’ nowhere (hopefully), so there’s a little bit of respite that allows Graves to get her sexy on. In fact, the line she says when she wakes up the morning after is priceless and had me chuckling for days.

What’s not to love? You have great writing, wit, charm, murder, a very likable heroine, two studly men, suspense, a plot that’ll keep you guessing, and a very dramatic ending to boot. It’s all crammed into those pages and it makes for some great entertainment.

Definitely recommending DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS and giving it 4.2 stars!