My Books!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Hump Day Hook

Welcome to Hump Day Hook where a group of writers get together and post excerpts from their work. My excerpt comes from a book I'm getting ready to submit. The title is Rest Thy Head. In this excerpt, my heroine goes to visit her fiancé unannounced. When you finish here, go to http://www.humpdayhook.blogspot.com to find other participants.


As she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she got the biggest surprise of her entire life.  Megan Thomas, whom Drew used to date, was with him in the kitchen, and the two of them were hugging each other so tightly it was a wonder either of them could breathe. 

Peyton gasped, and when Drew saw her he shoved Megan away and caused her to fall against the stove.  “Peyton, I can explain!”

Peyton felt hot blood flood her face.  “What’s to explain, Drew?  I’m not an idiot.  You don’t have to say a thing.”

She spun on her heel and ran from the kitchen with Drew right behind her.  “Peyton, wait.”  He grabbed her arm and spun her around.

 
“I believed in you!  I believed in you!”  She jerked her arm from Drew’s grip and ran for her car. 

Living Separate Lives

If you came for Beyond the Book scroll on down, but why not enjoy this post first? I really like the sound of it, and Paulette would love to get acquainted with you.
Title: Living Separate Lives

Four Friends, One Secret and The Weekend That Changed Their Destiny

Author: Paulette Harper

Publisher: Thy Word Publishing

Genre: Christian Fiction, Novella

Hosted By: Write Now Literary Virtual Book Tour www.wnlbooktours.com

ISBN-13:  978-0-9899691-0-9

Releasing: Nov 5, 2013 e-book and paperback


 
About The Book
Candace Walker, Kaylan Smith, Jordan Tate, and Tiffany Thomas have their share of sorrows, but neither of them realizes how deep the sorrow goes.  What happens when they agree to meet for a weekend of relaxation in beautiful Napa County? Which one will leave the same or worse?

For Candace Walker, life has left her battered and bruised.  Kaylan Smith has struggled with prejudice from her in-laws. After fifteen years of marriage, bitterness is trying to raise its ugly head for Jordan Tate, whose husband wants to call it quits. And for Tiffany Thomas, dealing with rejection has never been one of her greatest feats.

Although they have been friends for years, they thought they knew each other well. But will a secret destroy their relationship and bring the sisterhood to a complete halt? Will they be able to forgive and allow God to mend that which might be torn?
 

 
 
About The Author

Paulette Harper is an award-winning and best-selling author. She is the owner of Write Now Literary Virtual Book Tours and is passionate about helping authors succeed in publishing and marketing their books. Paulette has been writing and publishing books since 2008.  Paulette is the author of That Was Then, This is Now, Completely Whole and The Sanctuary. Her articles have appeared on-line and in print.

Social Media Links











 

Excerpt

“Stop preaching to me. I don’t want to hear it anymore. I’ve had enough of your self-righteousness.” The words continued to cut Jordan’s heart; words that she never heard before coming from the mouth of her husband, Eric. “You knew how I was before we got married.”  His tone deepened with every word.

                Standing in front of the sink, Jordan was frozen and motionless in the middle of the kitchen. She held the dish towel in one hand and a plate in the other. She turned and faced Eric, whose eyes were cold and hard.  The verbal blows kept coming.  Her mouth opened wide, but no words could be formed when he uttered the deadly words, “I want a divorce.”

Hosted by:  WNL Virtual Book Tour: http://wnlbooktours.com

 




 

 

Puppies, Puppies, All The Pretty Puppies


 
Greetings! It is I, Prince Alan, hero of Madame Cantrell's marvelous work The Enchanted. I have come to Madame's blog today for help. Tomorrow is Princess Morgane's birthday, and I need help choosing a gift for her. As she loves animals, I have resolved to give her a pet of her own. Which of the pictured animals do you like most? Tell me in the comment section of the blog, and I will choose one person to receive a free download of The Enchanted.

If you would like to obtain your own copy of this marvelous novel, you may find it at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_24/184-4999765-0902523?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the%20enchanted%20by%20elaine%20cantrell&sprefix=the+enchanted+by+elaine+%2Caps%2C338&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Athe%20enchanted%20by%20elaine%20cantrell or at most other online retail outlets. My father the king has had a cold these past few days and is quite the trial to us all. Mayhap, if you buy a book, it would cheer him up.
 
 





English Springer Spaniel Puppy" by Tina Phillips www.freedigitalphotos.net

Monday, October 21, 2013

My First Page: Displaced by J. F. Jenkins



Blurb:

Chevelle Donahue thought going into work would be just like any other boring day at the mall. Sure, there was her annoying co-worker Wicken Sanders, and a promotional visit from teen heartthrob Timber Hudson, to watch and keep her entertained. But who was she kidding? Working retail was lame no matter what happened.

A terrorist attack changes everything - an attack from aliens of all things. The patrons are given two options: comply or else. Complying means giving in to a new set of rules and changing her entire life. "Or else" means she has no chance of going home again.

She must figure out the truth behind why the aliens are holding everyone hostage. In doing so, she risks her chance at freedom - but by the time she learns what's really happening, she might not want it.

 
First Page
 
Timber Hudson and Chevelle Donahue stared at one another in a mixture of shock, confusion, and fear. She imagined she was making the exact mirror image of his face then: jaw dropped, eyes wide, and a slight quiver of the lip. There were tears threatening to surge to her eyes. Some how she kept them at bay, though she wasn't quite sure why. There was no reason for her to keep a strong composure. After all, she'd just gotten the worst news of her life, and that was saying a lot given the events of the past months.
 
Without a word, she pulled herself free from Timber's arms. Perhaps he still needed consoling, but if that were the case he would have to find it elsewhere. Being near him only broke her heart further. Chevelle needed space – air – something that was hard to find on a intergalactic space ship.
She went back to the office of their apartment and tore it apart until she found a notebook. Grabbing a pen, she sat in the corner and proceeded to empty herself onto the pages.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Snippet Sunday

Welcome to Snippet Sunday. I'm so glad you came. Each week you can join me and a group of fabulous authors who can't wait to share their work with you. When you finish here, you can find more snippets at https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

My snippet is from a WIP titled Fortuna. In this excerpt, my hero and heroine have gone to a church to attend a dinner. Unfortunately, one of Aimee's enemies is at the dinner too. They end up in a bean ball battle which I wish I had enough sentences to share with you.


From the corner of her eye, Aimee saw the priest hurrying their way. She fired one final bean ball which hit the blonde’s forehead with a beany thud.

Rocky grabbed her arm. “They’re circling the wagons. Let’s get out of here.”

Practically running, they made their escape from the church. Once they reached their vehicle, Rocky took the precaution of locking the doors. “I guess we can’t come back to this church either. Are we going to become atheists?”
            "Of course not!"

By Kenneth C. Zirkel (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Saturday Sample

 
Welcome to Saturday Sample. Feel free to leave me a comment. I love to get them. This sample is from Flood, my unpublished WIP. In this excerpt, my hero and heroine are tubing down a river and stop to eat some blackberries.


His big hand cupped her face. “You are without doubt the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He pushed a few remaining strands of wet hair from her cheek. She stepped closer, and he swept her into his arms and laid her head against his shoulder.

The doctor in Aria wondered if her blood pressure was dangerously high. It must be. Her heart was going like a jack hammer, and her knees felt spongy. She held on tight to Caleb. He’d take care of her.

Her tee shirt was wet, but where he was touching her back his hand felt red hot against her. She groaned, and he lifted her head from his shoulder. His eyes, filled with heat, locked with hers before fluttering shut. Firm, masculine lips met hers in a sweet, tender kiss that soon morphed into something else entirely.
Picture: By Moni Sertel from Deutschland (Love) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Friday, October 18, 2013

p.m. terrell: The Tempest Murders


 If you came for Fashionista Friday, scroll on down, but why not enjoy this post first?

I think it's interesting to know what other authors read, so I asked p.m. terrell who her favorite authors are. And this is what she said.

The Tempest Murders

by p.m. Terrell
 

I am often asked who my favorite authors are, and I find that I have favorite books and favorite series, but not favorite authors. I attribute this to the versatility of authors who write in more than one genre; some of their work appeals to me, while other genres in which they write do not.
 
I love romantic suspense, especially when it takes me to another place and another time. My favorite series is the Haunting series by Erin Quinn. It begins with Haunting Beauty, and it involves time travel from present-day Arizona to twenty years earlier in Ireland. The author makes the Irish landscape come alive, and I can picture the Irish village, the island off the mainland, and I loved following the characters through all four books.
 
I am currently reading a romantic suspense series by L.L.Muir that involves time travel from the present day to 15th century Scotland. The series began with Going Back for Romeo and continues with Not Without Juliet, the book I’m reading now. There are more in the series as well, which I am anxious to read. I am enjoying the political intrigue of the 15th century, the lairds and the villages, and the romantic suspense is top-notch.
 
I also love Terri Brisbin’s MacKendimen Clan series. I am definitely noticing a pattern here with time travel, Ireland and Scotland!
 
I’ve also had a wonderful opportunity to work with authors whose books will be released in the near future. One I am absolutely in love with is Aedan Byrnes. Aedan is from the United Kingdom, and his first novel in the Vengelys Series will be released in the next few weeks. Entitled Through the Oracle’s Mist, it is about soul mates who meet in multiple lifetimes; it reminds me of a Greek tragedy but it is also a classic love story that stretches across hundreds of years. I will definitely be reading all the books in that new series! Aedan has an amazing way of telling a beautiful story.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 

A provocative story of a love that spans centuries, of soul mates found, lost and reunited… and the lengths to which one man will go to change their destiny.

 

Irish Detective Ryan O’Clery is working a series of homicides in America when he discovers a journal written by an uncle, Constable Rian Kelly, five generations earlier. The journal detailed the same type of murders as the worst storm in Ireland’s history slammed into the island in 1839.

 

As Hurricane Irene barrels toward the North Carolina coastline, Ryan discovers even the killer’s description matches his cases exactly. And as he falls in love with television reporter Cathleen Reilly, he begins to wonder if she is the reincarnation of Caitlin O’Conor, Rian Kelly’s lover—the woman who was lost to the killer as the storm raged in Ireland—and if he is the reincarnation of Constable Rian Kelly.

 

Now he’s in a race to rescue Cathleen before the killer finds her—or is history destined to repeat itself?



Excerpt:
They were bites away from finishing their meal when the sky opened up. There might have been a warning, had he been by himself and able to observe his surroundings; but by the time he noticed the trees bending deeply and the gray clouds roiling, the rain had descended on them in a torrent. Within seconds, their food was floating.

 

A tiny shriek escaped Cathleen’s lips as she vainly tried to keep the rain off her head.

 

Ryan jumped up, grabbed her wrist and in one fluid movement, had her on her feet. They raced for the back door, managing to rush inside just as a wicked clap of thunder sounded, followed almost instantly by a white streak of lightning.

 

Once inside, he closed the door, plunging them both into relative silence. He turned around, an offer to get her a towel on his lips. But when he laid eyes on her, the words froze. She was completely drenched. Her hair was hanging in folds from which water streamed until it formed a puddle on the hardwood floor. Her thin blouse was plastered to her body and seemed to highlight the black lace bra beneath. It further accentuated a slender waist before giving way to jeans that she now appeared to have been poured into. Her feet were soaked and as he took in the petite toes peeking out, he found himself staring at the pink polish and a Celtic toe ring before his eyes moved back up her body.

 

By the time they reached her eyes, he felt as if he was on automatic pilot. His mind was completely blank, his emotions swept away. He stepped toward her at the exact moment he reached out and pulled her to him, the wet blouse teasing his chest. He didn’t look in her eyes but closed his as his lips locked onto hers.

 

They were everything he’d dreamed about; full and moist and soft. But she wasn’t kissing him.

 

He stopped and took a step backward, separating them. She stood perfectly still and stared at him with eyes that had grown round and huge. Her face had lost its color and as she continued staring at him, he realized she was in shock.

 

Horrified with his own boorish behavior, he stumbled over his words. “I am so sorry. I’ve never done anything like that in my life—”

 

She rushed at him and for the briefest of moments, he didn’t know if she planned to slap him or pummel him or push him to the side to rush out the door. He staggered backward to get out of her way but when she descended on him her arms encircled his neck, pulling his head down to hers. When their lips met again, hers were slightly open and she met his mouth with a passion he had only dreamed about but had never fully experienced.

 

Ryan’s arms wrapped around her; pulling her to him so tightly he had to contain himself to keep from bruising her. She tasted sweet and fresh, the raindrops mingling with perspiration and a fragrance that was both soothing and wild and which seemed to envelop them both in a sensual cocoon.

 

His large hand found her face, the palm cupping her chin while his fingers stroked her jaw. Her skin was as soft as silk and moist from the rain; and as her lips parted further to allow him in, he thought he could never get enough of her. As one hand wandered to her hair, weaving his fingers through the long tresses, a mingled scent of citrus and florals wafted upward, growing in intensity as he fondled her locks.

 

He pressed his body against her, tightening his hold on her as his other hand explored her back, kneading her skin through the thin, wet blouse. Her breath was coming in short shallow bursts now and he could feel her heart quickening as he pressed ever closer. When she sighed softly, he opened his eyes and when she moaned, he reluctantly drew back from her, his muscled chest rising and falling and yearning.

 

Her face was flushed, the heat rising in her cheeks in a way that tantalized him. Her plump lips remained slightly parted and as he gazed at them, he realized he might have bruised them despite his efforts to control his passion. As his eyes found hers, he discovered them staring at him in a way that disarmed him. The gold flecks he had seen earlier appeared to have grown and now they nearly glowed as she looked at him. They were tumultuous, the colors dancing under her long, curved black lashes. But it was the raw emotion in them that gripped his soul; he’d seen desire before and had witnessed passion but there was something more—something deeper. It was trust, he realized with a start. As if she was standing before him, naked to the soul and she was entrusting herself to his care.

 

In his peripheral vision, he could see her chest rising and falling with her jagged breath and each rise threatened to take him closer to the peak of desire.
 

 


AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than eighteen books in four genres: contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer how-to and non-fiction.
 
Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.
 
Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee and her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
She is also the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She is the organizer of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org. 
 
She sits on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library and the Robeson County Arts Council. She has also served on the boards of Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.
 
For more information visit the author’s website at www.pmterrell.com, follow her on Twitter at @pmterrell, her blog at www.pmterrell.blogspot.com, and on Facebook under author.p.m.terrell.
 
Buy Links:
 
http://www.amazon.com/The-Tempest-Murders-ebook/dp/B00EOAFTYY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377895714&sr=1-2&keywords=the+tempest+murders
 
The author is giving away the celtic bracelet pictured below, so follow her tour and comment often. You can find her schedule here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/09/virtual-book-tour-tempest-murders-by-pm.html