Monday, August 31, 2015

Ryan's Love by C.A. Harms - Blog tour with Excerpt and Giveaway

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Ryan's Love by C.A. Harms Sawyer Brothers #1 
Publication Date: August 11, 2015 

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Synopsis: 
One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was bury my wife.

The second hardest thing would be watching my twelve-year-old daughter fall to her knees as they lowered her mother into the ground to rest. A heart-wrenching vision that will forever be etched in my mind. Claire was my best friend—she had been since we were barely old enough to talk. I always knew, one day, I would marry her. I think I may have even told her that a few times while we were growing up. Never did I think I would lose her so suddenly. I knew at that moment…

Our life would never be the same again…
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Excerpt 
One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was bury my wife.
The second-hardest thing would be watching my twelve-year-old daughter fall to her knees as the preacher uttered his final words of comfort before her mother’s casket was slowly lowered into the grave. It finalized the fact that the woman we loved dearly was no longer within our reach. We would no longer be blessed by her smile or warmed by her words.

It was the most heart-wrenching sight, one that will forever be etched in my mind and which left a void in me I was positive would never be filled. It changed the man I thought I was and made me realize that loving someone with your entire heart didn’t ensure they would always be with you. There was no way to predict your fate.

Claire was my best friend; she had been since we were barely old enough to talk. I always knew I would one day marry her. I may have even told her so a few times while we were growing up. Even my brother, Noah, who is nearly a year younger than me, thought he would marry her. She was the perfect girl and had every man in Livingston, Montana, mesmerized by her looks and her personality. But she and I were meant to be.

I never thought I would lose her so suddenly. Now I was left struggling to find the strength I needed to push forward without her in my life. I couldn’t remember a day she wasn’t by my side, and now she was gone forever.

I sat in the chair looking at the deep, freshly dug grave before me, consumed by a feeling of emptiness. The air felt thick as it filtered into my lungs, making me feel like I was being suffocated. The anxiety of my loss was slowly overtaking me as I tried hard to fight the urge to break down and just give up.

“Daddy.”

Olivia’s sweet whisper pulled me from my daze, and I looked deep into her red, swollen eyes. I felt as if I had just been punched in the gut. There stood my little girl, looking broken and lost.
“I miss her already,” she said, her soft voice cracking. 

About C.A. Harms

C.A. Harms

C.A. Harms is like any other addicted reader. She enjoys happy endings and HEA love stories. She hasn't always been a lover of Romance and had once been addicted to a good Mystery. Just recently she has taken on a new liking and now is a full blown Romance novel addict. She lives in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. You will always find her with her kindle or paperback in hand as it is her favorite pass time.





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Sunday, August 30, 2015

Jack Gets His Man by D.E. Haggerty - Review Blitz with Giveaway

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Review Blitz


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Book Title: Jack Gets His Man 
Author: D.E. Haggerty 
Genre: Romantic Comedy - M/M 
Release Date: July 1, 2015 
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

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Book Blurb


Jack’s life is awesome. His store is making money hand over fist and his best friend has found love. So what if he’s feeling a bit restless and put out about his upcoming birthday and his ex is being a pain in his fabulous behind? That’s nothing he can’t handle. But then his smoking hot new bookkeeper discovers things at the store aren’t actually as they seem. Someone is playing fast and loose with the finances. 

Jack’s bestie and his gal pals, the gray-haired knitting detectives, jump at the chance to solve Jack’s problems. When they aren’t re-enacting scenes from spy thrillers, they’re setting Jack up on dates and generally insinuating themselves into his love life. They’re determined to find love for Jack as well as his missing money. Will Jack catch a thief or find love? Either way Jack’s going to get his man.

excerpt


Jack took a big breathe and forced a smile on his face. “Your man candy has arrived, ladies!”
The group of grandmas immediately began to giggle like they were teenagers and not the senior citizens that they were. “Jackie my boy,” shouted Betty. She patted the seat next to her. “Come sit here.” Jack raised an eyebrow at her. He didn’t trust Betty any more than he could knit a purl stitch, whatever the heck that was.
Although Jack loved this club of gray-haired knitting wonders and would do just about anything for them, he knew what they really were under their perfectly coiffured looks – troublemakers. They fooled most people into believing they were sweet, little old ladies who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Yeah right. They were troublemakers with a capital T and wouldn’t hesitate to bring him, Izzy, or Noel into a shit storm of their own creation, laughing the entire way.
Jack sighed and went to sit next to Betty. Betty was the head honcho of the so-called knitting club. If she wanted you to sit next to her, you were going to sit next to her come hell or high water. Unfortunately, that usually meant she was up to no good. Although to be fair when was she ever not up to no good?  
Izzy, wonderful woman that she was, handed him a glass of lemonade and winked. He took a sip and it burned all the way down. “What the hell,” he coughed.
Izzy shrugged. “I didn’t taste test it. Too strong?”
The knitters peered at Izzy with questions in their eyes, but Jack was oblivious. “Just a bit. I’ll be sending you the bill for my esophagus transplant.”
“I don’t even think they do those.” Izzy murmured as she tripped onto Noel’s lap. Noel righted her and he pulled her close.
Betty set down her knitting and looked at Jack. When she crossed her hands in her lap like a prim old lady, Jack knew he was in for it. “Are you seeing anyone at the moment,” she asked.
Jack choked on another sip of lemonade. “What?”
“Are you seeing someone?” Betty asked again slowly as if he hadn’t understood the first time. Uh oh. He was most definitely in trouble.
“He’s not,” Izzy answered for him. “And he needs to get laid.”
Giggles erupted all around him except for Ally who blushed and hid her face. Ally was really a sweet old lady although she had a naughty streak, which sometimes ended with Jack getting his butt pinched. He thought it was cute, but still acted outraged whenever she managed to gather the courage to come near his tight tush.
“Oh good,” Betty clapped her hands. Clapping hands was never good. He raised an eyebrow at Betty and waited. “We have the perfect man for you!”
Jack groaned and hid his face in his hands. This is what his life was reduced to? Getting set up on blind dates by 80-year-old grandmas? He was pretty sure this was the definition of pathetic.
Betty slapped him on the shoulder although between his muscles and her dainty hands it was more like a tap. “Shush you. He is absolutely lovely. Comes to church every Sunday. All alone. Such a lovely young man.”
Martha placed a piece of paper in his hand and he looked down to see a phone number. “Now that’s Tommy’s telephone number,” Betty filled in. “He’s expecting your call. Don’t disappoint us.” Instead of getting guilt-tripped by his mother and grandmother, he had a whole group of grandmas to guilt-trip him.
Jack looked up and smiled at Martha who was still touching his arm after having placed the paper in his hand. “He’s a cutie pie,” she whispered and Jack held back from snorting. Was there any young man that these women didn’t find cute?
“Cutie pie?” Betty grunted. “That man is hot. H-o-t, hot!”

Izzy giggled from her perch on Noel’s lap. Jack gave her his best evil eye but she just stuck her tongue out at him. “You’ve got nothing to lose, Jack. Just go for it!” He raised his eyebrow at her enthusiasm. Before she could push him any further, Noel put his hand over his mouth. She bit him but kept quiet.


Praise

“The five female seniors’ involvement in all of this, especially the investigation, is both hilarious and endearing.” ~ Amazon Reviewer
   
 “I would recommend this book (and am) to friend that read. It was light hearted, quick to read, and fun in all the best ways.” ~ Amazon Reviewer   

 “The “gray haired detectives” are back, which I’m happy to say are in their usual rare form. There is nothing feeble about them and they use their skills to do recon missions, perform accounting audits, and get in a little bit of trouble with the local police. In their spare time they play matchmaker to the single people in their church, whether or not the poor souls want any help.” ~ Amazon Reviewer    

“D.E. Haggerty writes wonderfully funny mysteries that have lots of detail and chuckles throughout.” ~ Amazon Reviewer


Meet the Author

author photo 
  I was born and raised in Wisconsin, but think I’m a European. After spending my senior year of high school in Germany, I developed a bad case of wanderlust that is yet to be cured. My flying Dutch husband and I have lived in Ohio, Virginia, the Netherlands, Germany and now Istanbul. We still haven’t decided if we want to settle down somewhere – let alone where. I’m leaning towards somewhere I can learn to surf even though the hubby thinks that’s a less than sound way to decide where to live. Although I’ve been a military policewoman, a commercial lawyer, and a B&B owner, I think with writing I may have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. That’s assuming I ever grow up, of course. Between playing tennis, running much slower than I would like, trying to adopt every stray dog within a 5-mile radius, traveling to exotic new locales, singing off tune, drinking entirely too many adult beverages, addictively watching new movies and reading books like they are going out of style, I write articles for a local expat magazine and various websites, review other indie authors’ books, write a blog about whatever comes to mind and am working on my sixth book.


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I Am Hope by Evelyn Shepard - Cover Reveal with exclusive excerpt and giveaway



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Evelyn Shepherd reveals the beautiful cover art for her next book in her THE METEORA TRILOGY series titled I AM HOPE.

It releases on September 8, 2015, published by Loose Id Publication.

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BLURB

The undead were only the beginning.

Topher, Jesse, and Sawyer thought their greatest threat were the Infected and Mutated that roam the world. As they struggle to reach the camp in Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, they soon discover that the monstrous mutations of the undead are the least of their problems. Something else, something far more intelligent and lethal, is hunting them.

Topher knows that the only way humanity will survive is to find a cure for the strange infection that’s ravaged the world. He’s on the brink of discovering it; but the further his research goes, the more he realizes that curing the world of the infection may mean losing Sawyer.

The three will fight to stay together, and Topher will have to make the ultimate choice: cure the world or save his lover?

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PRESENTING


Cover Art by Valerie Tibbs


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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

We stripped out of our remaining clothes, grabbed the unscented bottle of lotion we had been using as lubricant, and slid up the bed. Sawyer moved between us, with Jesse on his right and me on his left. Sawyer’s single lip ring trembled as he drew in a shaky breath. I kissed him slowly, tasting him as if it were the first time.

“I love you,” I whispered against his mouth.

“Love you too,” Sawyer murmured with a tiny gasp.

I couldn’t say it enough. I had to tell them, two or three times a day, when I felt the clawing fear that it might be the last time I saw them. If ever the end should come, I wanted them to know that they had been loved. That they would forever be remembered.


Read more exclusive excerpts on –

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evelyn Shepherd lives in Columbus, Ohio with two fat cats. Her time is split between writing and running a book/writing blog. She’s the author of the Theo Bourne Series, the best-selling Last Canticle, and the award-winning Meteora Trilogy.

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

Winner’s Prize: E-copies of I AM HERE (Book 1) and I AM ALIVE (Book 2)

Friday, August 28, 2015

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts by Charlie Cochet - Blog Tour with Author Post, Review and Giveaway





Title: Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts
Author: Charlie Cochet
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Length: 86 Pages
Release Date: August 19, 2015

Blurb: 

Julian “Quinn” Quinetro, a gruff, tough Miami SWAT officer, has been injured on the job, and all he’s looking for is a little peace and quiet to recover—difficult to achieve with his large Cuban family. An adventure in picking up his prescriptions puts him in the path of his geeky, brownie-baking neighbor, Spencer Morgan. Spencer sweeps into Quinn’s life like a tropical storm of sunshine and rainbows. Not surprisingly, it’s chaos at first sight. Quinn’s in need of a little tender loving care, and Spencer decides he’s just the man for the job. Their very different lives might clash, but they might also find some common ground—and maybe more.


“This is sad, man. What is it with you and brownies?”

“These aren’t just any brownies,” Spencer stated proudly as he removed his latest batch of baked chocolate decadence from the oven. “These are Nutella caramel brownies with nuts, made from scratch. These are orgasm-in-your-mouth brownies.”

“Not really sure what to think about that,” Danny muttered, eyeing the brownies dubiously. “Seriously, dude. The only orgasm you should be chasing is the one waiting next door. This is your perfect chance! He’s defenseless.” Danny reached for a brownie, but Spencer slapped his hand away before he could pilfer one.

“I have to spread the Nutella and top them with walnuts. Also, I don’t know what I find more disturbing: that you think I should take advantage of the poor guy in his defenseless state, or that you believe the only way I’ve got a shot is to take advantage of him in his defenseless state.” He stopped and turned to his pouting best friend. “And FYI, defenseless is what babies and puppies are, not huge-ass mountain men in possession of heavy artillery. I ran into him once, literally, and it’s like he’s made out of fucking granite. He’s got an eight-pack. An eight-pack.”

Spencer had never seen an eight-pack outside of cyberspace. Until his sexy neighbor, he’d questioned their existence, much like Bigfoot. The sighting had taken place one morning on his way to get groceries. Quinn had been on his way to their gated community’s pool, sporting nothing but low-riding swim trunks and flip-flops. He’d stepped into the elevator next to Spencer, and the heat outside had nothing on the heat that had spread through Spencer’s body. Luckily Quinn had been too busy texting to notice Spencer’s Human Torch impression.

“I have… I don’t even know what this is.” Spencer lifted up the hem of his apron and the Hulk T-shirt underneath with a frown. He ran his finger down a groove along his torso as he sucked his stomach in. “Does this look like muscle definition to you?”

Danny reached over to pat Spencer’s pale belly. “Looks like you need to stop baking brownies. And get some sun, man. Look at you. You’re not even white. You’re like, transparent.”

“That’s harsh.” Spencer lowered his clothes. “I don’t tan like you. I burn. You couldn’t lie to me? Besides, what am I supposed to say to him? ‘Hi, remember me? I’m the guy who’s been living next door to you for the past year. We pass each other in the hall every day, take the elevator together, have parking spaces next to each other, have mailboxes next to each other, do laundry in the same room together, and shop at the same supermarket. No? That’s okay. Excuse me while I die of embarrassment.’” Spencer walked around the kitchen counter and flopped down into a chair, waiting for the brownies to cool. “The guy doesn’t know I exist. He’s freakin’ Miami SWAT. He’s probably an overbearing, misogynistic asshole with a giant ego, anyway.”

Danny took a seat next to him, his expression filled with concern. “You don’t know that. Besides, since when do you judge people?”

Spencer narrowed his eyes at his friend. “No one likes a smartass.”

“Says the guy who got a ticket for mouthing off to a police officer.”

“I wasn’t mouthing off. I was being witty and adorable. The guy just had no sense of humor. Besides, I was nowhere near that fire hydrant. He was clearly behind on his quota. Bet that wouldn’t have happened to Quinn.” Was he pouting? Oh God, he was. Danny was right; he was sad.

“Probably because he’s SWAT and can park his ginormous truck wherever the hell he wants.” Danny went to the glass doors of the balcony overlooking the parking spaces and started laughing.

“What?”

“You know how they say dogs look like their owners? I wonder if the same applies to
Spencer joined Danny at the window, letting out a low groan. His tiny yellow Fiat gleamed cheerfully beside Quinn’s monster black Chevy Silverado. “It looks like a sunspot.”


4.5 out of 5 stars 

Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts is an adorkably cute, funny, sweet, and even a bit smexy hot romance between the geek next door and his hot SWAT neighbor. 

The characters in this story from Quinn and Spence, on down to various family members and friends are well written, and also a big part of the story around our MCs. Especially Quinn's family, who will make you wince, grimace, and laugh uproariously because they are just so real... you can "see" Quinn's Mom giving him the lecture while she feeds him. 

I couldn't help but fall in love with Spence, because just like him I'm an awkward turtle when I get nervous or am in a new social situation. So I can totally sympathize with the graceless entrance, or the drop everything you touch thing he did in front of Quinn. Spence is just one of those characters that you'll immediately want to love and hug. 

Now that doesn't mean Quinn isn't lovable, he is completely lovable. I just have a soft spot for those slightly awkward characters that just don't always fit in. Those that are square pegs in round hole kind of characters, like Spence. The relationship as it grows between Quinn and Spence is very believable. There are some situations that will make you laugh so hard you snort and others where you want to wrap Spence up tight. 

All in all this was just another wonderfully written story by Charlie Cochet that you'll want to read again and again. 





Hello all! Thank you so much for joining me on my blog tour as I celebrate the release of Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts! Food and drink features a lot in my little romantic contemporary, both from Spencer’s side and Quinn’s. Spencer is self-taught. He’s great cook and baker. Over the years it’s become a hobby for him, something that helps him relax. Also, he just loves good food.

Quinn also loves good food, and he eats a lot. As a SWAT officer for Miami, he spends a good deal of time training and working out, so staying fit and healthy is important. Unfortunately, Quinn’s cooking skills are limited to whatever he can stick in a toaster and even then the outcome is questionable. Now if you’re looking for a mean Cortadito with espuma on top, he’s your guy. What is a Cortadito with espuma? It’s a Cuban espresso with a thin layer of creamy foam.

Like most coffees, there are many approaches to making Cortaditos. Some add milk, some evaporated milk, so don’t add any milk. Personally, I don’t add milk, unless I’m making a Café con Leche which is something else. The key to an awesome Cortadito lies in the espuma, which is a little tricky.

Here’s a fabulous and super easy to follow tutorial on making Cuban coffee with espuma. 




If you don’t like your coffee strong, I would definitely recommend adding a little water to it. I’ve had Cuban coffee since I can remember. I have it every morning with milk, so Café con Leche. And it keeps me awake until well after lunch time when I have a cappuccino or latte. This stuff is potent. If I really need to wake up, I’ll have a Cortadito. This kept me up two days straight without sleep during finals at college. If you enjoy coffee and haven’t had the pleasure of trying Cuban coffee, I highly recommend it. Thank you so much for joining me today!


Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

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