Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Esposito Series


by J.M. Griffin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:

The Esposito Series Box Set:

Now you can own the first three books in the sassy and suspenseful Vinnie Esposito Series by J.M. Griffin!

By day, Lavinia (Vinnie) Esposito is a criminal justice instructor at a college in Rhode Island. By night Vinnie is an amateur sleuth, solving murders while trying to avoid getting yelled at by her Italian father, her hunky protective boyfriend Marcus Richmond, and her sexy upstairs tenant, the mysterious Aaron Grant.



For Love of Livvy (Book 1)

Vinnie investigates the death of her beloved aunt, and a mysterious box is left on her doorstep.

Dirty Trouble (Book 2)

Someone is stalking Vinnie and that’s just the beginning of her troubles.

Dead Wrong (Book 3)

Vinnie is out to save her brother from being framed after a valuable painting is stolen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT

The front door knocker rapped twice after the door bell rang. I hustled from the rear deck of the gargantuan house to answer the summons. Someone seemed impatient, and I was curious as to who it was. My watch read just after eight o’ clock. I swung the heavy door open to find my prospective visitor absent.

It was so quiet, the town ghostly in its seemingly deserted state. Sundays were always lazy days in Scituate, once church was over. With a glance up and down the street of the small historic Rhode Island village, neat colonial homes stretched along the sides of the road in both directions. No one came into view.

On the doorstep, a package addressed to my recently deceased Aunt Livvy sat wrapped in brown paper. Again, I gawked up and down the street, but only empty sidewalks and barren roadway appeared in the waning light. The idea of a jaunt along the main drag entered my mind. I figured it would be senseless since the street was visible for about two hundred yards in either direction. Whoever had left the package was gone, long gone.

An eternity passed, or so it seemed, while my gaze locked onto the square, little box. Reluctant to touch it, I decided to call the local fire company to come take a gander. Call me paranoid, but as a criminal justice instructor, a recent audit of a class on bomb components remained fresh in my mind.

I quickly stepped to the living room and grabbed the phone. I dialed the private number of the fire station up the street. A grunt came across the phone line that could only be Bill MacNert.

“Hey Nerd, its Vinnie,” I said. “A package was just left on my doorstep, could you come down and check it out for me?”

“Sure, you got a secret admirer or somethin’?” He cackled, as only senior men can.

“Not likely, but you never know. This package is addressed to Lavinia Ciano, not Lavinia Esposito and is wrapped in brown paper. Nobody’s here to accompany this little surprise either.”

“I’ll be right down, Vinnie, don’t touch it.” He warned.

“Okay.”

Anxious, I paced back and forth across gleaming hard wood floors in the spacious living room of my newly acquired colonial. My fingernails tapped the enamel on my teeth as I wandered to and fro. As irrational as it seemed, I finally leaned against the door jamb inside the entry to wait for MacNert to arrive.

. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

As a humorous, cozy mystery writer, J.M. adds a touch of romance to every story. She believes in fairies, doesn't believe in coincidence, and feels life is what you make it. Believe in yourself and look at the positive, not the negative, to bring about success. AND. . .never stop trying.

J.M. lives in rural New England with her husband and two very mysterious cats

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Griffin/246751368685078
Website: http://www.JMGriffin.net
Twitter: mycozymystery
Blog: http://mycozymysteries.blogspot.com
Buy Link:
http://www.lachesispublishing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=EspositoBoxSet1-3E

Friday, June 21, 2013

Fatal Exposure

FATAL EXPOSURE


by Gail Barrett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:

Cold-case detective Parker McCall has spent fifteen years trying to solve his brother’s murder. Now a chance photo of the killer in the newspaper sets him hard on the woman’s trail. A former teenaged runaway, reclusive, award-winning photojournalist B.K. Elliot chronicles the harsh reality of life on the streets -- until a photo in the paper reveals her identity, blowing the lid off her secret past. With a powerful murderer now dogging her heels, and her police officer step-father determined to silence her permanently, the last person she can afford to trust is a cop. So why does sexy police detective Parker McCall tempt her to break her silence and resurrect ideals she’d lost years ago? As danger closes in, and with more than her own life at stake, Brynn must decide if the duty-bound cop will betray her...or heal her battered heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


EXCERPT:

His gaze swung back to hers. Several seconds ticked by. His scrutiny made her uneasy, the intensity in his eyes making it impossible to breathe.

And, suddenly, Brynn suspected he knew more than he’d let on—about her relationship to her stepfather, about her troubled childhood, about the horrific abuse that drove her from home. That he was simply biding his time—like the trained interrogator he was—waiting for her to confess the truth.

She couldn’t believe how tempted she was to do just that—to forget that he was a cop, to ignore the danger hounding her footsteps and tell him the unvarnished truth.

But then, Parker’s expression changed. His eyes were just as intense, but hotter, more hypnotic, like whirlpools dragging her under—in a decidedly sensual way.

Her pulse battered her throat. He pushed away from the truck and moved even closer, trapping her against the cab. And that insane attraction rippled between them, that unruly maelstrom of need.

Her breath backed up in her lungs. Her belly tightened, acute tremors of excitement tripping along her nerves. She tore her gaze from his jet black eyes to the black stubble shadowing his granite jaw, and stalled on his gripping mouth. Then he reached out and stroked his finger down her cheek, sending a torrent of pleasure streaming through her veins.

Was he going to kiss her?

His gaze dropped to her mouth. Her heart nearly leaped from her chest.

And for a wild moment she wondered if she should push him away—or pull him close.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A former RITA® and Daphne finalist, Gail Barrett has received the Book Buyer’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion, the Booksellers Best, The National Readers’ Choice Award, and numerous other awards. She lives with her husband in Western Maryland. Readers can contact her through her website: www.gailbarrett.com.



Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gail.barrett.961#!/gail.barrett.961 Links to buy the book:
Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Exposure-Harlequin-Romantic-Suspense/dp/0373278276/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369410068&sr=8-1&keywords=gail+barrett+fatal+exposure
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Exposure-Buried-Secrets-ebook/dp/B00BAT1Q0S/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369410068&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=gail+barrett+fatal+exposure
Barnes and Noble paperback and Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fatal-exposure-gail-barrett/1113942081?ean=9780373278275

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

ExcerpTuesday: Bruce Hartmann

THE RULES OF DREAMING


By
Bruce Hartman

BLURB:

The Rules of Dreaming

A novel of madness, music — and murder.

A beautiful opera singer hangs herself on the eve of her debut at the Met. Seven years later the opera she was rehearsing—Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann—begins to take over the lives of her two schizophrenic children, the doctors who treat them and everyone else who crosses their paths, until all are enmeshed in a world of deception and delusion, of madness and ultimately of evil and death. Onto this shadowy stage steps Nicole P., a graduate student who discovers that she too has been assigned a role in the drama. What strange destiny is being worked out in their lives?



EXCERPT

Nicole was nimble and petite and very pretty. No, I take that back—“pretty” doesn’t come close to doing her justice. She was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, with cascading red hair and a bold, astonished look in her eyes that made her seem at once wild and angelic. But since my profession has liberated society from all of its taboos save one—that a psychiatrist shall not fall in love with his patient—all I could do was listen sympathetically as she pulled herself back together and prepared to return to her studies. I put her on appropriate medications and she began to make progress immediately.

As it happened, Nicole had been in the lounge when Hunter sat down to play the piano...

“Nicole,” I said, “did you hear Hunter playing the piano this afternoon?”

“Yes I did.” She stopped in the doorway, framed in the shadows that darkened the adjoining hall. “It was impressive, wasn’t it?”

“Impressive isn’t the word, when you realize that he’s never had a lesson or even touched a piano before.”

Her smile faded. “That’s uncanny.”

“Do you know what piece of music he was playing?”

“I think I’ve heard it before. One of the German Romantics, I think, maybe Schumann.”

She started through the door, but just before she disappeared into the shadows she turned back around and her eyes caught a sparkle of the afternoon light. “He went mad, you know.”

“Who went mad?”

“Robert Schumann. The composer. Died in an insane asylum.”



AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Bruce Hartman has been a bookseller, pianist, songwriter and attorney. He lives with his wife in Philadelphia. His previous novel, Perfectly Healthy Man Drops Dead, was published by Salvo Press in 2008.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Daddy's Girl by. J. M Kelley

DADDY'S GIRL

By
J.M. Kelley
BLURB:

Sometimes, returning home isn’t about confronting your past; it’s about discovering your future.

Janie McGee, the black sheep of her family, is free-spirited, uninhibited, and never one to stay in the same place for too long. When Janie learns her father, Joe, is gravely ill, she reluctantly returns home to rural Pennsylvania to care for him. Joe’s neighbor, David Harris, sports a pocket protector, collects coins, and is addicted to Antiques Roadshow. Everything about him rubs Janie the wrong way, from his nerdy wardrobe to his enviable friendship with Joe. And to make matters worse, her father thinks they’re perfect for each other, proof positive of how little Joe knows his own daughter…or so Janie thinks.

A shared devotion to the elder McGee begins to close the gulf between Janie and David, but a burgeoning romance opens the door to new problems and unexpected consequences neither could foresee. Joe, however, remains steadfast in his resolve to show Janie that Daddy knows what’s best for his little girl. Can Janie finally open her heart to David while watching the first man she ever truly loved fade away?

EXCERPT:

The interloper entered the room. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Janie, and he raised his hands up in front of him.

“Don’t think I won’t hurt you!” Janie shrieked, holding her ground.

“Joe might need that the next time he buys a pair of shoes,” the man said. His eyebrows arched theatrically while he gave Janie an appraising once over. His eyes lingered on her chest, she noted, which bolstered her resolve to kill him if he made any sudden moves.

Great. Janie tightened her grip on the shoe stretcher. Pervert.

The man stayed where he was and plastered an expression on his face that Janie assumed conveyed harmlessness. “You shouldn’t bean me with that. I doubt they make those anymore. It would be a shame to break it.”

Janie held the stretcher up higher, wincing as it wobbled flaccidly over her head. “If you knew my father, you’d know he only buys shoes once a decade. Who are you, damn it?”

“David Harris.” He slowly lowered his hands and took a step back. “I live next door. For the record, your father bought a pair of shoes last month. Are you Janie?”

Janie narrowed her eyes. “You’re David.”

A bemused smile curved his lips. “Were you expecting someone else?”

Almost certain she wasn’t about to be attacked, Janie dropped the stretcher to the bed. “I figured you’d be an octogenarian like my dad.” /

“Your father is in his seventies.”

“So?”

“That would make him a septuagenarian.”

Janie blinked. “Oh,” she said. “Well, I rounded up. Sue me. What are you, anyway, the vocabulary police?”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Three years ago, native Pennsylvanian J.M. Kelley packed her bags and moved south. Now, the wannabe Carolina Girl can’t speak a single sentence without adding the word y’all at the end of it, and regards a blast of snow flurries as a doomsday-level event. When the day job allows, and when she can pull herself away from George Takei’s Facebook fanpage, she likes to go on writing jaunts to her favorite lake, or a local coffee shop with delicious shakes and questionable Wi-Fi connections. /

J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary award, and is a member of The South Carolina Writers Workshop and Romance Writers of America (PAN). Readers interested in more information may visit her website at www.jmkelleywrites.com.

LINKS:
Email: readers@jmkelleywrites.com
Website: http://www.jmkelleywrites.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Kelley/108021242585994 >br> Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorJMKelley



Daddy’s Girl purchase links:
Turquoise Morning Press: http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/daddys-girl-by-j-m-kelley
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Girl-ebook/dp/B00B76P58S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359433661&sr=1-1&keywords=daddy%27s+girl+kelley



Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daddys-girl-jm-kelley/1114255053?ean=2940015960969&isbn=2940015960969
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Daddys-Girl/book-KHCuDTSR9E2C7bbOEw-87A/page1.html?s=E-llxuUKm0m_cW4LB0jGNA&r=1
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/279529
AllRomance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-daddy039sgirl-1049844-149.html
Omnilit: https://www.omnilit.com/product-daddy039sgirl-1049844-232.html?oid=19

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Foreplay

 

FOREPLAY

brought to you by Breathless Press and Tammy Valentine

Blurb:

Twelve star signs, four friends, one extraordinary year. With Foreplay, enjoy a free taste of Izzy on her journey of sexual discovery through the Zodiac.

Twelve star signs, four friends, one extraordinary year. Izzy Morgan is a girl on a mission. When her friend Jessica reveals a remarkable talent for identifying men's star signs purely from their sexual performance, an intrigued Izzy takes up an exhilarating challenge. With Foreplay, you can enjoy a free taste of Izzy as she begins her journey of sexual discovery through the Zodiac.

 


Buy Links

 

BREATHLESS PRESS

 

FOREPLAY ON BOOKSTRAND

 


EXCERPT

 

As she lay in the tub that evening, relishing the golden candlelight and warm vanilla scent from the bubbles, Izzy turned over the newfound information in her mind. She was fascinated by the notion that she could enjoy a man so much more by knowing which buttons to push—predetermined buttons based on his star sign. She had never had much luck with men, but equipped with Jessica's astrological handbook for seduction, might she not learn to discover the real pleasures of romance?

Closing her eyes, she let her hand drift lazily through the water to her mound and teased the wet, dark hair gently with her fingers. She felt the familiar tingle in her skin as she woke the sleeping creature deep inside, and she arched her back involuntarily as the first wave of pleasure lurched through her. Opening her legs a little wider, she then slipped a finger into the crevice, moist with bubble bath and anticipation, and began to play.

Behind her closed eyes she watched a parade of male models, each one naked but for a fig leaf covering his modesty, engraved with his star sign. Starting with Aries, she made the men line up in front of her in her head, then gazed appreciatively as one by one they shed their leaves to reveal the astrological promise beneath. She got as far as Cancer, the fourth sign, before she came, her clitoris convulsing deliciously under the pressure of her finger.

Could it be genuine? she wondered as she allowed the warmth of the water to bring her round from her daydream. Was there anything more than sheer hokum to the concept of compatibility based on astrology? And if there was, what did it mean for her in her continuing search for the perfect partner, who had so far proved dramatically elusive?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

When Tammy Valentine settles down to write one of her stories, she likes to get herself in the mood. She begins with a stroll in the garden, cutting some fresh roses for her writing desk, then lights some beautiful scented candles, pours a nice chilled glass of chardonnay, and lets her imagination run wild. She loves allowing readers into her secret world, and you can find out more about her at www.tammyvalentine.com.


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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

ExcerpTuesday: Lauren Hope

ONE

Warm sweat trickled down his back, sliding swift and sinuous as raindrops down a window pane. It pooled in the dip on the small of his back, clinging his shirt to his skin. His breath came in quick short puffs. It too was warm and sticky as it moved through his mouth, over his chapped and bloody lips. His throat felt strange, tight and scratchy, almost like the time he had strep and she cared for him so tenderly.

Strange to think of strep at a time like this.

Not so strange to think of her. He would be dead soon after all.

He would miss her. Her soft hair. The sweet smell of flowers and freshness she always brought with her into a room.



It was far better than the putrid air expelling from the man in front of him. The man with the gun.

Evan had seen guns a million times over the course of his career, usually had one holstered by his side, but right now he was unarmed, and the black metal pressed to his chest had alarmed him into a state of near paralysis.

He was also outnumbered. By far.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. No move or training or cunning idea that could get him out of this.

He had done his best. Had tried. And that would count for something. But would she know? Would she ever know?

Noise exploded, it came from every direction. The pain was next, instantaneous and blinding. Then the darkness.

As it closed around him, he couldn’t help but smile as the scent of fresh flowers and a vision of smooth red hair and stunning blue eyes carried him into the black.


Blurb

Marxie Vaughn becomes a widow at twenty-five years old when her police officer husband, Evan, is tragically killed—reduced to ashes in an explosion in the line of duty in their small Georgia town. Without even a body to bury, Marxie is left to deal with the sorrow of his abrupt and brutal end. Seeking to start anew, she packs up and moves east to Savannah.

But when Detective Grant Carter knocks on her door two years after the accident, Marxie’s carefully rebuilt world turns upside down once more. The grim detective gives Marxie unimaginable news: Evan’s body has been found in a nearby canal.

Desperate for answers, Marxie embarks on a fascinating, complex and heart-wrenching journey to find out exactly what happened to the man she loved. And though the intriguing detective may be working under ulterior motives, he puts his whole being into helping the young widow bring closure to a mystery that haunts her every waking moment. Together, Grant and Marxie work to unearth a secret that runs as deep and murky as Savannah’s canals.


Bio


Lauren Hope creates a modern twist on the classic ‘whodunit’ story through intriguing suspense intertwined with hints of romance and mystery. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, studying abroad in Italy, a tiring run as a news anchor, and working in the corporate world, Lauren decided writing was her ultimate love. She set to work on her first series and was published in 2008. She is the author of the enthusiastically reviewed Shadow Series—Hidden Shadows and its sequel, Chasing Shadows—and her newest novel, Screaming To Be Solved.

She and her husband, Michael, live in a small town in Tennessee with a big yard and their floppy eared rescue pup, Jade.