Something to Lose - Beginning Excerpt

I'm very excited for my upcoming blog tour with Goddess Fish. Something to Lose will be available on May 7th. This Romantic Suspense novel opens with Camden finding her boyfriend Billy in the arms of another woman. Here's an excerpt:

I have a bad feeling about this.

Another laugh wafts towards me from the living room, and it sure doesn’t sound like it’s coming from Billy. It’s the kind of husky laugh that can only mean trouble for me. I strain to hear more, but I can discern very little over the buzzing in my ears. I inch my way closer, holding onto the wall to steady myself, while I search my brain for possible explanations. Maybe it’s Billy’s mom. Maybe his sister just came for a visit. She lives in Vegas, but it could happen. There must be an innocent reason for the laughter and then the sudden silence.

I reach the end of the hall and peek around the corner into the living room.

It’s even worse than I imagined.

There she is. Full-on sex kitten in a dress shorter than mine. Her back is to me, but I can see enough. One of her manicured hands is at the back of Billy’s neck, pulling his mouth tightly to hers. Her other hand reaches down to his thigh. The tips of her long, blonde hair sway with her movements. Her tongue is down Billy’s throat. You get the picture.

Billy’s hands slide down her back as he opens an eye and looks right at me. He doesn’t jump back guiltily, and he doesn’t look apologetic. He watches me watch him for a moment until he moves his hands down lower and pulls the woman closer.

Embarrassment crashes into me. My whole body pulses in one gigantic convulsion.

I need to breathe. I need to get the hell out of here.

How to contact me:

Email: Tamra.Lassiter@gmail.com

Website: www.tamralassiter.com

Twitter: @TamraLassiter https://twitter.com/TamraLassiter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tamra-Lassiter/351740168279714

The Child Returns (Aerenden #1) by Kristen Taber - Giveaway & Excerpt

Seventeen-year-old Meaghan has no idea her perfect life has been a lie--until she witnesses her parents' brutal murders at the hands of red-eyed creatures.

After nearly sharing their fate, she escapes with her best friend, Nick, who tells her the creatures are called Mardróch. They come from another world, and so does she. Now that the Mardróch have found her, she must return to her homeland of Ærenden or face death.

Left with little choice, she follows Nick into a strange world both similar to Earth and drastically different. Vines have the ability to attack. Monkeys freeze their victims with a glare. Men create bombs from thin air. Even Meaghan's newly discovered empath power turns into a danger she cannot control.

But control becomes the least of her worries once the Mardróch begin targeting her. When Nick confesses he knows the reason they want her, she learns the truth behind the kingdom's fifteen-year civil war--a long-buried secret that could cost Meaghan her life.

Excerpt

The odor or rotting flesh overwhelmed her senses, searing her nose. Instinct forced her to inhale to clear it from her airways and she smiled with the realization Nick’s theory had been correct. The Mardróch’s power had no effect on her.  She stood, lifting the boy into her arms.

A hiss of surprise erupted from one of the creatures. “The immune one,” he spoke, his voice a guttural mix of road gravel and raspy breath. “We’ve been looking for you. There’s a prize for your death.” He let out a rattling noise that sounded like screws bouncing in a tin can. Laughter, Meaghan realized, and her blood chilled. “Run,” the creature croaked. “It will make for a better story.”

He raised his hands. Blue lightning arced from fingertip to fingertip and Meaghan tightened her grip on the boy, backing away as she looked for a way out. Nick stood a dozen yards from them, unseen by the Mardróch, though he remained frozen as if hypnotized by their power. His face was white and she thought she saw the glint of tears in his eyes. He no longer blocked her. His fear rolled over her, followed by a deep grief that squeezed her heart. She hardened her heart against it, knowing as he did that he could not help her, and kept scanning the field.

Nothing offered hope. The trees behind her seemed too far, but they were her only chance. She turned toward them as a flash of lightning blew apart the ground beside her. She felt heat singe her skin and swallowed, controlling her panic as she ran.

WHERE TO BUY!

eBooks: Kindle     Nook    iBooks     Kobo    Smashwords

Paperback: Amazon     Barnes & Noble

Audio: Audible     iTunes

GIVEAWAY!
You could WIN an eBook copy of the highly rated The Child Returns in any format of your choice! Check out the other Aerenden posts for more chances to win. Contest ends April 10, 2014 at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Forgetting Fallenwood by Leslie D. Soule

Forgetting Fallenwood has released! This is book 2 in the fantasy series known as the Fallenwood Chronicles, by Leslie D. Soule.

Synopsis: Ashley "Ash" Kensington wakes up in the Other Realm, to find that she has lost all recollection of the fantasy realm known as Fallenwood. She continues holding down a "normal" job and a serene though unfulfilling relationship and life, until she finds a talking cat who begins filling her head with fanciful tales of another place and time.

Will Ash ever remember who she really is?

Author Notes: I really enjoyed writing this book, and it's kind of my response to Louise Cooper's Indigo series, in a way. I liked the idea of the main character losing her memory, but not necessarily for as long as Indigo does in Louise Cooper's books. Also, I sort of used this device to explore a few questions (there's not necessarily a right or wrong answer) like "How much of one's identity is made up of memories?" and "Is it possible to forget who you are?" and "To what extent are our lives dictated by a psychological need for comfort and stability?"

At any rate, I'd love to hear comments or questions!

SPRING BRINGS NEW BEGINNINGS GIVEAWAY ~ BY KATHLEEN ANN GALLAGHER

Welcome to the party!

After a long, cold and snow filled winter I'm ready for a new beginning. I can't wait to see the buds sprout up and I love hearing the birds chirp outside my window in the morning. There are so many ways to start fresh, whether it's a new hair color, a stylish new hair style, a few new clothes, a renewed or new relationship, or a new romance novel to read,  your bound to feel refreshed and be ready to enjoy spring.


Krista Winter left her home to start over in New Hampshire. It wasn't what she had planned, but she not only opened a bath and body shop, she found the love she had always yearned for. Obstacles stand in her way and her life in New Jersey stil haunts her, but sometimes the right man can help heal the wounds from the past.
   
Have you had a new beginning?

MAKE A COMMENT AND ONE OF YOU WILL WIN A 20.00 AMAZON GIFT CARD.  DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE ME YOUR EMAIL ADDDRESS TO CONTACT YOU.

NIGHT MAGIC BLURB 

The beautiful but lonely owner of a bath and body shop, Krista Winter is in need of legal counsel. Her past is about to catch up with her.  She was forced to flee from her life as a teacher in New Jersey after being shunned for being a witch.

Life is not the same for Jon Bartolo. He’s a dedicated lawyer, living in the town of Conway, New Hampshire. His days are spent helping his clients with their struggles and his nights are spent in agony, lost in a world between life and death.

His mother, who died three years ago, lurks in his house, suffering from a curse for eternity, without a resting place.

A smoldering fire between Jon and Krista ignites almost immediately, however, he’s sure his secret would frighten a woman away. An afternoon escape brings them closer, but doubts linger between the love-struck couple.

How will Jon’s mother find eternal rest so he can move on with his life? Is he bound to a life of hell on earth?

Will Krista fit into his world when he learns about her past?  Could she be hiding a bigger secret? Is it possible for them to open their hearts to love? Could a touch of Night Magic b just what this couple needs?

Special Interests: Love and Politics

Almost exactly one year ago, I pitched a book on Twitter. And tomorrow, it will be out.

Special Interests is a book I never thought I would sell, a book I didn't mean to write: a romance between two Washington, DC, staffers. Politics isn't the most natural fit with romance. It's polarizing. It might put some readers off. But I couldn't keep the shy labor organizer and the arrogant congressional aide out of my head. As I wrote more words, I became more convinced that readers would love them too.

Compared to love, politics is easy…

Union organizer Millie Frank’s world isn’t filled with cocktails and nightclubs…until she’s turned into an unwitting minor celebrity. As if being part of a hostage situation wasn’t traumatizing enough, now her face is splashed across the news. But Millie’s got fresher wounds to nurse—like being shot down by the arrogant bad boy she stupidly hit on.

Parker Beckett will do whatever it takes to close a deal for the senate majority leader, including selling out union labor. Charming and smart on the surface, he’s also cynical and uncommitted—an asset on the Hill. But something about Millie has stuck with him and when negotiations bring her to his office, Parker breaks his own rules and asks her out.

Parker can’t understand how Millie has retained her idealism in a place like D.C. Millie can’t believe what Parker’s willing to sacrifice in order to pass a budget. But as they navigate their political differences, what grows between them looks a lot like a relationship…and maybe even a little like love.
You can preorder it at Amazon, B&N, Carina, iBooks, Kobo, All Romance, and Google Play or add it to your Goodreads shelves. I'll be back with more teasers throughout the day, but here's a link to the entire first chapter.

All In, Book 2 in the In Plain Sight Series!

Are you all in?

Jay Markham, a wildly popular actor and a chronic womanizer, has become bored with his life. Jay decides to take a break and goes to visit his life-long best friend and famous romance novelist, Anthony Tate. But just because Jay decides to take a break doesn’t mean his fans will let him. The fans and the paparazzi follow him to the small Washington town and, in an effort to escape a particularly dogged fan, Jay ducks into the first open door he can find.

Parker Hardisson is a fairly normal, if self-contained, woman in her, ahem, early thirties. Relatively happy with her life as a freelance translator, she gets to work out of her own home and enjoy her life as quiet and drama-free as possible. So what if she’s a teensy bit lonely? So what if there’s some part of her that wants to explore the world? Things are working out just fine. So, when a mega-movie star comes slamming into her house, she wonders if she’s finally cracked. Parker seizes the opportunity to make the deal of a lifetime. No strings, no questions. 

The problem is, Jay is playing this game by his own rules.

Links:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21471824-i-want-crazy? 

Author links:
Website: http://www.autumnstarkauthor.com/about-autumn.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumn.stark.338 Twitter:https://twitter.com/AutumnStarkAuth Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7562617.Autumn_Stark 

Hungry Heart - Barbecue and Romance

My eighth Konigsburg, TX, romance, Hungry Heart, is now available from Samhain Publishing. This one's all about barbecue, the Texas national dish. Don't think barbecue and romance go together? I beg to differ. Here's the blurb:

Peace, love, and barbecue—with a big order of sexy on the side.

Konigsburg, Texas, Book 8

Sous chef Darcy Cunningham is less than entranced with small-town Konigsburg’s obsession with barbecue. But her future career as a chef de cuisine requires expanding her culinary horizons, so she talks the Barbecue King, a.k.a. Harris Temple, into taking her on as his apprentice.

However, learning Harris’s professional secrets wasn’t supposed to include falling for his spicy blend of smoky sexiness and laid-back charm.

Chico Burnside specializes in flying under Konigsburg’s small-town radar, but lately life has been going a little too smoothly, even for him. Hoping to shake things up a bit, he talks Harris into teaming up for Konigsburg’s first barbecue cook-off. But once shy scientist Andy Wells catches his eye, Chico’s got more on his mind than brisket. Like enticing her out of her shell to show her just how tenderly a big guy can love.

As the competition ignites, so does the romance. Until a natural disaster threatens to derail Konigsburg’s dream team before the grills even get good and warmed up.

Warning: Contains hot sauce, hot sex, and a whole lot of smokin’ action.

http://store.samhainpublishing.com/hungry-heart-p-73293.html

http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Heart-Konigsburg-Texas-Benjamin-ebook/dp/B00J8KYGGW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396741453&sr=1-1&keywords=hungry+heart