Carrie Ann Ryan's WHISKEY AND LIES kicks off in January...but we couldn't wait to share the trailer of the first book, WHISKEY SECRETS! Check it out below, find out more about the series (and how it ties into the Montgomery Ink series!) and preorder your copies today!
About the WHISKEY AND LIES series
The Montgomery Ink world just got a big larger. Dark heroes, tragic pasts, and heroines who rock their worlds…the Collins Brothers are about to see what happens when their small Pennsylvanian town gets shocked to its core.
The Collins Brothers just want to go about their business and live their lives. They’re in no mood for what happens when three women come into their lives when they’re least expecting it. One comes to change what was lost, another comes to prove what could be, while the third reveals what’s already been there all along.
Whiskey, Pennsylvania just got a little bit bigger and this town might not be ready for what’s coming.
Tabby’s Brothers from Ink Exposed get a series of their own.
Each book is a complete stand alone and can be read in any order.
About WHISKEY SECRETS (Whiskey and Lies #1)
Sparks fly between a former cop-turned-bartender and his new innkeeper in the first installment of a Montgomery Ink spin-off series from NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan.
Dare Collins is a man who knows his whiskey and women—or at least that’s what he tells himself. When his family decides to hire on a new innkeeper for the inn above his bar and restaurant, he’s more than reluctant. Especially when he meets the new hire. But he’ll soon find that he has no choice but to work with this city girl and accept her new ideas and the burning attraction between them.
Kenzie Owens left her old life and an abusive relationship behind her—or so she thought. She figures she’ll be safe in Whiskey, Pennsylvania but after one look at her new boss, Dare Collins, she might still be in danger, or at least her heart. And when her past catches up with her despite her attempts to avoid it, it’s more than her heart on the line. This time, it might mean her life.
WHISKEY SECRETS releases January 2nd, 2018 - preorder your copy now!
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.
Everything about thirty-five-year-old Stone Acres hardware store
owner Frank McCord is old-fashioned—from his bow tie and overalls to the way he
happily makes house calls to his dreams of lasting romance, true love, and
marriage. Frank’s predecessors have run the store and been mainstays in the
small California town for over a century. While genial Frank upholds tradition
and earns the respect of friends and neighbors, he fears he’s too dull and old
to attract a husband.
Into his life comes handsome thirty-six-year-old electronic
games designer Christopher Darling and his fifteen-year-old son, Henry.
Christopher has everything Frank could want in a potential partner: charm,
kindness, and compatibility. Also, he’s a terrific father to Henry. When their
Stone Acres home turns out to be uninhabitable, Frank offers the Darlings
temporary lodging in his ancestral farmhouse, where he and his tenant Emil
reside. Since Emil thinks Frank is his, sparks fly. Suddenly, Frank’s
monotonous life promises to explode with love and threatens to change him
forever.
Excerpt
My procedure for hiring was pretty simple. In the identification
section of the test, I gave applicants a common nail, a Phillips head screw, a
paint stirrer, a tape measure, a claw hammer, a screwdriver, a crescent wrench,
pliers, a putty knife, and a box cutter. I gave these objects one at a time to
the teen and asked him to identify what the object was, when to use it, and how
to use it.
Then I gave the applicant six pieces of precut plywood, eight
corner angles, tools, and other supplies, and had him—it was usually a
him—follow simple directions to make a box with a hinged flap. The whole test was
either incredibly easy or horribly complex and frustrating.
My first applicant was a poster boy for the latter. He called
both the nail and the screw a screw, then dissolved into a fit of adolescent
giggles. I waited for his mirth to subside. He had no idea about any of the
tools except the box cutter, which he simply called a wicked-ass knife.
As I walked into the back room with him for the second part of
the test, I was appalled at how little he knew and wondered why he wanted to
work at a hardware store. Was it just the money?
I stopped him after watching for five minutes as he tried to
figure out how to make the box. When he looked at me with defeat in his eyes, I
called a halt.
“Thank you for coming in, Seth. I think
we both know this job wouldn’t be a good fit for you.” I looked over his
application form. “I think working at one of the mall stores might be more your
speed, don’t you?”
He nodded eagerly. “But my folks say that you’re more
established and fairer than the mall stores. I wanted to work for the coffee
shop or the movie theater.”
“Well, you can tell your parents I
appreciate their support, but I’m voting for you to be a real success at either
of those other two choices.”
He beamed. As we shook hands, I knew his dad would be in later
this week to talk about his son.
Henry turned up alone at two o’clock, and I ran him through the
first part of the test. We only hit one snag. We got along too well and ended
up having side discussions about the items.
When I handed him the nail, for example, he took it between his
fingers and caressed it.
“It’s a two-penny flat-head nail.” He
rolled it around for a second. “You know, they used to keep nails in big casks
like they do wine. Then they sold them by weighing them. They’d scoop them up
out of the barrels.”
Well, I mean, what was I supposed to do? Ignore that? Of course
not. I took him into the back room where we stored everything we’d removed when
my father updated the store in the 1970s. I showed him the old scoop-shaped
scale, and we weighed a few nails and other items hanging around.
“This is so cool, Frank. You should put
it back on the counter. I’ll bet everyone would want to see it. It’d give the
store an epic feel.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed about the epic part, but maybe it was
time to give the store another more modern redesign.
We scurried out of the back room when the bell tinkled and we
could hear someone walking around the front of the store talking to Riley. I
tried to stop giving Henry the first part of the test, since he still had the
box to build. But when we saw the customer was his father, who seemed to be
fascinated by the wall of power tools, Henry took out the remaining items in
the little bag.
He held them up one at a time and rattled off their names and
purposes.
“There!” he crowed, smiling up at me.
“Now what do you want me to make?”
I showed him the wood, tools, and directions and left him to the
project. When I saw he was reading through the directions, I walked over to his
dad. Riley’d already moved back behind the counter and seemed to be working on
some inventory sheets.
“I’m not here to ask how he’s doing, so
don’t think I am.” Christopher didn’t turn around when I got up behind him. He
was staring at the power saws.
“He’s doing fine.” I didn’t step too
close, but drat if I didn’t want to. I wanted to put my hand on his shoulder
and squeeze. Or if I was even bolder, I’d put my arm around his waist and
snuggle his head back onto my shoulder.
Weren’t those counterproductive
daydreams? Now I’d have to wait a moment before I could go back to check on
Henry. Overalls worn in public, especially if I was in the vicinity of
Christopher, were my groin’s personal enemy.
Christopher turned his head. We were close enough to kiss if I
leaned in a little more. I didn’t. Instead I stepped back, although I did
smile.
“Can I peek?” Christopher was whispering
like we had secrets.
I leaned back and looked over my shoulder at his son. Henry was
nearly finished with the box. He was studying the directions like they were a
map to the El Dorado treasure.
“Sure. Go ahead and peek. He’s just
about done.”
I sounded as stunned as I felt. First off, Christopher and I
were standing too close and whispering. I felt his warmth, and my cheeks
burned. As I tried to shake myself back to reality, the second reason I was a
little stunned hit me. Henry was on the final step of building the box. How
could he be done so quickly?
As I walked back toward him, he held the box at eye level in one
hand and opened and closed the hinged door. Henry looked up as I entered the
workroom.
“I don’t get it,” he said. The hinged
door snapped shut as he let it go. “What’s it for?”
He seemed so puzzled that I started to chuckle. Then at his
stricken look, I stopped.
“It’s not useful in itself. It’s just a
test to see if you can follow directions and know how to use the tools.”
His face darkened as I explained.
“You use up all of this stuff for that?
Anybody can make this.” He put the box down, acting a little disdainful and a
lot put out.
“You’d be surprised.” I didn’t
elaborate. Why tell him that another boy who was in the same grade couldn’t
figure out the directions at all?
I picked up the box and studied it. He’d done a remarkable job
in so little time. He’d even used the flush piano hinges instead of the more
cumbersome butt hinge, even though the directions didn’t specify which would be
better for the project. His box opened and closed easily, and the corners made
perfect ninety-degree angles.
I started to put the box down, but Christopher reached for it. I
passed it over and watched a moment as he held it up, a look of awe on his
face.
“Henry, this is—” he started, but his
son stopped him.
“Dad, I’m taking a test here.”
With a sheepish grin and an amused side-glance at me,
Christopher put the box down, said a short “Sorry,” and returned to the front
of the store.
Again, I hid my amusement at how well they interacted and
shelved my amazement at how Christopher had shared the moment with me. I ran my
hand over the top of the box. This one I’d keep.
As I was about to find out when Henry could start work, the bell
tinkled. I looked over my shoulder to see a newcomer hurry in. His sneakers
squeaked on the wood floor.
“Hi. You the owner?” he greeted me.
I looked around for Riley but couldn’t see him anywhere. Had he
called it a day and gone home? I wouldn’t blame him. Except for the Darlings,
it’d been slow.
When I nodded at the customer, he launched into a fairly typical
request. He and his wife had bought some Ikea furniture, and now he couldn’t
put it together. I told him what I told everyone, to bring it into the shop and
we’d assemble it for him.
Then I told him the setup fee, said it would take a week or so,
and took down his name and contact information as he started to thank me. After
I told him the store was actually closing right now, he left reluctantly,
looking at the merchandise around him as he shuffled to the door. This time I
locked it and put out the Closed sign. Christopher had said he wanted me to
visit the Adams-Scott House this afternoon, but first I had to hire Henry officially.
“So, Henry, when would you like to
start?”
He was staring at the door and the escaping customer. I had to
ask the question twice.
“Who puts together the Ikea stuff?”
Henry responded instead of giving me a date.
“Riley and I do. When we get a chance.
We do it between other things. Why?” The truth was we both hated assembling the
furniture because it was tedious.
“May I do it?” The eagerness in his
question caught me off guard.
“You want to put together Ikea
furniture?” He didn’t mean it, did he?
“Yeah. Cool. I love Ikea!”
Henry beamed at me as if to ask “Doesn’t everyone?”
Pat Henshaw has spent her life surrounded by words: teaching
English composition at the junior college level; writing book reviews for
newspapers, magazines, and websites; helping students find information as a
librarian; and promoting PBS television programs.
Now retired, Pat, author of the Foothills Pride Stories, was
born and raised in Nebraska and promptly left the cold and snow after college,
living at various times in Texas, Colorado, Northern Virginia, and now
Sacramento, California. Pat has found joy in visiting Mexico, Canada, Europe,
Nicaragua, Thailand, and Egypt, and relishes trips to Stowe, Vermont, to see
family.
Two of her fondest memories include touching time when she put
her hands on the pyramids and experiencing pure whimsy when she interviewed
Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch). Her triumphs are raising two
incredible daughters who daily amaze her with their power and compassion. Her
supportive husband keeps her grounded in reality when she threatens to drift
away while writing fiction.
Happily Ever Chapter
Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews
A Book Lover's Dream Book Blog
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
Bayou Book Junkie
Millsy Loves Books
Lustful Literature
My Fiction Nook
New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Penelope
Ward
Synopsis:
From New York Times
bestselling author, Penelope Ward, comes a sexy, STANDALONE second-chance
romance.
They called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for
Mackenzie. Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right?
So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen.
At the private school where I taught, Mack Morrison was the only man
around in a sea of women.
Everyone wanted a piece of the hot single father of the sweet little
boy.
I was riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that—to me—he was
much more.
They didn’t know about our past.
He’d chosen my school for his son on purpose, because Mack and I, we had
unfinished business.
As my friend Lorelai so eloquently put it: “Unfinished business between
two people who are clearly attracted to each other is like an eternal case of
blue balls.” And I was suffering in pain from my case.
I was still intensely
attracted to Mack. I tried to resist him, immersing myself further into a
relationship with another man just to protect my heart.
Not to mention, getting involved with a parent was strictly against
school rules. But seeing Mack day in and day out was breaking me down.
And soon I might be breaking all the rules.
Author's note – Told in alternating points of view, Mack Daddy is a
full-length standalone novel.
Penelope
Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling
author. She’s a fifteen-time New York Times bestseller of twelve novels.
Having
grown up in Boston with five older brothers, she spent most of her twenties as
a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career.
She is the proud mother of a beautiful 12-year-old girl with autism and a 10-year-old
boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.
He’s never wanted anything more than her. Carrie Ann Ryan's ADORING INK is available now! Don't miss getting your hand on Holly's story.
About ADORING INK
The Montgomery Ink series continues with the most unlikely of romances between the one that got away and the man who can show her the world. Holly Rose fell in love with a Montgomery, but left him when he couldn’t love her back. She might have been the one to break the ties and ensure her ex’s happy ending, but now Holly’s afraid she’s missed out on more than a chance at forever. Though she’s always been the dependable good girl, she’s ready to take a leap of faith and embark on the journey of a lifetime. Brody Deacon loves ink, women, fast cars, and living life like there’s no tomorrow. The thing is, he doesn’t know if he has a tomorrow at all. When he sees Holly, he’s not only intrigued, he also hears the warnings of danger in his head. She’s too sweet, too innocent, and way too special for him. But when Holly asks him to help her grab the bull by the horns, he can’t help but go all in. As they explore Holly’s bucket list and their own desires, Brody will have to make sure he doesn’t fall too hard and too fast. Sometimes, people think happily ever afters don’t happen for everyone, and Brody will have to face his demons and tell Holly the truth of what it means to truly live life to the fullest…even when they’re both running out of time.
(ADORING INK is available initially as a 90-day exclusive Kindle release per 1001, after which it will be available across all vendors. Don’t have a Kindle and want this in your hot little hands NOW? Don’t worry! You can get a free Kindle app for practically any gadget, phones, computers, tablets. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp)
Read a Sneak Peek of ADORING INK:
Holly Rose needed to come.
Badly.
And hopefully she would. The man
above her moved with such heat that she knew she was blushing, but she didn’t
care. She just needed him to work his magic so she could finally crest that
peak and end up a boneless pile of limbs.
She clutched at his tattooed
shoulders before sliding her hands down his chest, raking her nails over his
thick muscles and the ink that covered his skin. He thrust deeply inside her,
and she arched her back, taking more of him in.
Her breath came in pants, and her
body shook, sweat-slick from hours of lovemaking with no pause.
Then she looked up and froze.
Once again, her Dream Man was just
a blur. A thickly muscled male with ink but no face, no features showing her
who he was. No eyes giving her a glimpse of the man deep inside.
She reached out to cup his face,
hoping she was wrong.
But she wasn’t.
The alarm pulled her out of sleep
in that instant, leaving her right on the edge once again, and confused as hell
about the recurring dream that never made sense.
Holly let out a sigh and rolled
over to press the button on her phone. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to
hit snooze and go back to sleep, so she forced herself to sit up. Hitting
snooze was one of her favorite pastimes since she had the most comfortable bed
ever, but she had to be an adult and forego that. She was the kind of person
that, once she sat up, she was awake and slightly functional, but it was the
sitting up part that was the hardest. She loved sleeping in but couldn’t do it
most days because of her job. Heck, she couldn’t even slumber on weekends most
times thanks to the piles of grading she had. She might only teach first grade,
but her kids had books and binders full of state-mandated homework and
classwork to complete.
Holly’s head hurt just thinking about it.
About Carrie Ann Ryan
Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.
Readers LOVE New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant's Paranormal Romances; Dark Warriors, Dark Sword and her most recent new series Dark Kings. We are excited to share with you her new contemporary romance series, Sons of Texas!!
"The Hero" is the first in the series and the second book, "The Protector" releases on January 3, 2017! "The Protector" is now available for pre- order! Read to the very end to learn about the Pre-Order Incentive for THE PROTECTOR!
The Hero (Sons of Texas Series, Bk #1) by Donna Grant
Blurb:
THE HERO’S HOMECOMING
Owen Loughman is a highly-decorated Navy SEAL who has a thirst for action. But there’s one thing he hasn’t been able to forget – his high school sweetheart, Natalie. After over a decade away, Owen is returned home to the ranch in Texas for a dangerous new mission that puts him face-to-face with Natalie and an outside menace that threatens everything he holds dear. He’ll risk it all to keep Natalie safe – and win her heart. . . .
Natalie Dixon has had a lifetime of heartache since Owen was deployed. Fourteen years and one bad marriage later, she finds herself mixed up with the Loughman’s again. With her life on the line against an enemy she can’t fight alone, it’s Owen’s strong shoulders, smoldering eyes, and sensuous smile that she turns to. When danger closes in, she holds close to the only man she’s ever loved…
Now Available!
Excerpt
The days of Natalie going back to her house to have a
glass of wine and watch episodes of Criminal Minds or Doctor Who were long
gone. Ever since the day she saw Ragnarok in that report and called the number
Orrin had given her, her life had changed.
That’s when she and Callie had begun talking several
times a day.
The sound of another chopper flying low overhead caused
her to glance up. It looked like another military helicopter, which immediately
made her think of Owen. Again.
She sighed. After all the wasted years, she thought he’d
be gone from her thoughts. It seemed she was forever wrong when it came to him.
“There’s another one. I’m betting it’s them,” Callie
said.
“Think there’s any way I can look around without them
knowing?”
“You mean without Owen knowing? Doubt it.”
She knew Callie was right, but that didn’t mean Natalie
had to like it.
“How’s work?” Callie asked.
Because she worked for the Russian Embassy, and she
wasn’t sure if they listened to her conversations, she and Callie never spoke
of her work. The fact that Callie brought it up meant there was a reason.
“Busy. I had a hard time getting away.”
“Time isn’t on our side.”
Of that, she was clearly aware. “How long do you think we
have?”
“I don’t know. Everything hinges on finding it.”
It being
Ragnarok—a bioweapon.
How different her life would be if Orrin hadn’t contacted
her in July. She wouldn’t be embroiled in kidnapping, espionage, and murder.
And yet . . . it felt as if this were the exact place she
needed to be.
Then again, that could be her heart trying to convince
her this all led back to Owen. As far as she was concerned, men were pigs.
She’d had enough of the lies, the cheating, and the bullshit that always went
with dating.
She was happy living the single life, not having to clean
up after anyone, share her closet, compromise on where to eat or if she got to
watch her favorite shows. There was no one taking her covers, snoring, or—
“Natalie?”
“Sorry,” she told Callie. “I was thinking.”
“About Owen?”
“About all of it. The shit is about to hit the fan as
soon as the boys learn what’s going on.”
Callie snorted loudly. “Then let it. Where have they been
these last ten years? Have they even bothered to send a fucking text? No. They
have no idea how badly that hurt Orrin.”
“I doubt they think about it.” She should know. In the
year she’d been with Owen, there were two things never discussed—his mother’s
murder, and his feelings about his dad.
“Which just pisses me off,” Callie said tightly. “If I
had a dad like Orrin, I’d never be far.”
“I know.” Callie was another who didn’t discuss her
family. And with a family as infamous around Hillsboro as the Reeds, it was no
wonder.
The Reeds were drunks and criminals of the worst sort. It
had been Orrin who helped Callie escape all of that. And why she thought of
Orrin as a father.
“We have to find him,” Callie said.
Natalie slowed the car and put on her blinker as she
prepared to pull onto the Loughman Ranch. “We will, Callie. We will.”
“Even if we have to do it on our own. If the jackasses
Orrin calls sons won’t help, then I’ll make sure they’re not around to
interfere.”
That made Natalie smile. If anyone could do that, it was
Callie. What she lacked in height, Callie made up for in intelligence and
talking rings around people. Few could keep up with her.
“I just turned into the ranch.” She felt a flutter in her
stomach.
Excitement or dread? She wasn’t sure she knew.
Book Trailer
Sons of Texas Series
The Protector (The Sons of Texas #2)
Release Date: Jan. 3, 2017
Pre-Order at
Visit Donna's website to learn more about the series and read sneak peeks!
Pre-order Incentive
Check out the awesome pre-order incentive going on now for Donna’s new military romance series!! Pre-order THE PROTECTOR you will receive a bonus scene that features Owen and Natalie from THE HERO. The scene will NOT be shared anywhere else. It will be exclusive to those who pre-order THE PROTECTOR and fill out this form: Pre-order form to THE PROTECTOR: http://bit.ly/TheProtectorPO But to be entered, you MUST FILL OUT THE FORM. All pre-orders are acceptable as long as you have an order number from the retailer you purchased from.
About The Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her "totally addictive" and "unique and sensual" stories. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features a thrilling combination of dragons, Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her two children and an assortment of animals in Texas.
