Spotlight with Excerpt & Giveaway - Of Silk and Steam (London Steampunk series) by Bev McMaster

Of Silk and Steam

Author: Bec McMaster

Series: London Steampunk

Publication Date: March 3^rd, 2015

ISBN: 9781402291944

 

ENEMIES. ALLIES. LOVERS. 

When her beloved father was assassinated, Lady Aramina swore revenge. The man responsible is well beyond her grasp, but his dangerously seductive heir, Leo Barrons, is fair game. When Mina obtains evidence proving that Leo is illegitimate, she has the means to destroy both the killer and his son, a man who troubles her heart and tempts her body.

A woman of mystery, Mina’s long driven Leo crazy with glimpses of a fiery passion that lurks beneath her icy veneer. He knows she’s hiding something, and he’s determined to unravel her layer by silken layer. He just doesn’t expect the beautiful liar to be the key to overthrowing the corrupt prince consort…or to saving his own carefully walled-off heart.

An Excerpt:

Barrons looked at her. “Do you trust me?”

“No.” His father would have cut her down without thinking, but Barrons was an enigma. If he were a different man, she would have enjoyed his attentions, but a part of her couldn’t help wondering if his pursuit of her was just a way to get closer, to slip the knife in when she least expected it…

Could she trust that he meant her no harm?

His hand tightened around hers, dark heat sweeping through his irises. He focused on her so intently that she could almost feel it on her skin. “Then let us call a temporary truce for tonight. I shall help you escape. In return…”

“Yes?”

His voice roughened. “I want a kiss.”

A kiss. Tension slid sinuously along her limbs, each muscle clenching. Those motives she could certainly understand. It didn’t mean she had to like them.

Wariness spread through her as he lifted his hand and slowly, carefully brushed the back of his fingers against her lips. She didn’t flinch. Instead she tipped her chin up and glared him down. “Help me escape and I shall grant you such a liberty.” What harm could a single kiss do? “Until then”—she took a step back, her skirts swishing around her ankles—“I’ll thank you to keep your hands to yourself.”

His hand dropped but the ghostly sensation of that touch lingered, reminding her that it had been a long time since she’d been touched in any way intimately, and never like this. Never…soft. Full of gentleness, as if the very sensation of her skin beneath his was a pleasure in itself, not merely a step to greater satisfaction.

He was far more dangerous than she’d ever suspected, and she’d known, since the first moment she’d met him, that he was dangerous indeed. He was the only man who had ever managed to make her feel something.

 

Buy Links:

Amazon * Apple * BAM * B&N * Chapters * Indiebound * Kobo

 

 

About the Author:

 

Bec McMaster lives in a small town in Victoria, Australia and grew up with her nose in a book. A member of RWA, RWA (Australia) and RWNZ, she writes sexy, dark paranormals and steampunk romance. When not writing, reading, or poring over travel brochures, she loves spending time with her very own hero or daydreaming about new worlds.

 

 

 

Giveaway:

5 copies of Kiss Of Steel, Book One of Bec McMaster's London Steampunk series.



 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Blurb Blitz & Giveaway - Ultimate Prey (Ultimate CORE Book 3) by Kristine Mason

 

Ultimate Prey

Book 3 Ultimate CORE

by Kristine Mason 

 

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BLURB: 

When the hunter becomes the hunted…who will become the ultimate prey? 

CORE agent Lola Tam has two things on her mind, quitting her job as a criminal investigator and baking a frozen pie for Thanksgiving dinner without burning it. But a midnight call forces a change of plans. Her boss and future stepfather, Ian Scott, has been kidnapped from his Florida vacation rental—along with her mother. The kidnapper’s plan? Drop Ian and her mom in the Everglades and hunt them like animals. Terrified for her mom, Lola takes the bait and travels to Everglade City, Florida where she’s determined to end the hunt before it begins. 

Ryan Monahan, former Navy SEAL turned airboat captain is used to taking tourists through the Everglades, not guiding a sexy agent on a rescue mission. After spending years dealing with a past filled with guilt and regret, he needs a little action and adventure in his life—he needs to prove he could still be a hero. What he doesn’t need? Falling for a woman he has no business wanting, especially when the hunt takes a deadly turn…

 

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Spotlight - Paranormal Picks at Lyrical Press for February 2015

 

 Paranormal Picks from Lyrical Press

Releasing February, 2015

Lyrical Press

 

Enchanter’s Echo
Mayflower Mages # 2

by Anise Rae 

Blurb:

Aurora Firenze lives a quiet life hiding in a junkyard. Her repair shop is the last hope for gadgets and gizmos before they get tossed onto the trash towers. Fortunately, Aurora can fix almost anything, including mages, though repairing people with metal enchantments is highly illegal. 

Edmund Rallis, heir to the Rallis senate seat, has spent months hunting down his errant enchantress. He’ll play every game he knows to win her back and entice her to share the secrets she hides. But he’s inadvertently put her on the frontlines of a new game, one with an opponent who’s determined to destroy Rallis Territory and drive the Republic toward war. If the new enemy isn’t stopped in time, Edmund will lose his enchantress again—and this time there won’t be another chance.

 

 Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/01/paranormal-picks-from-lyrical-press.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23404003-enchanter-s-echo?from_search=true

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/139036-mayflower-mages

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher

 

Excerpt & Giveaway - Twisted by Desire by Desiree A. Cox

 

Twisted by Desire

by Desiree A. Cox

Genre: Erotic Romance

 

Nikki Carmichael is confused. Her head’s telling her one thing while her heart is sending another message. 

She believed her first husband, Sky, was her Prince Charming. They got married expecting to live their happily ever after, but the happiness dwindled right along with their checking account. Their divorce legally ended the marriage, but not the love and uncontrollable desire between them. 

Then she meets Jeff. He's hotter than an August day in Florida, and can offer her everything she’s always thought she wanted. 

Jeff is committed to his life as a bachelor, but his high-powered nature has finally brought him to a crossroads. He's face-to-face with a quandary; his decisions will affect his professional and personal life forever.

Nikki’s tenacious efforts to live a dream life, while still keeping her heart shielded, are coupled with wrestling an ongoing dilemma – her heart still belongs to Sky.

 But Nikki isn't the only one who’s twisted by desire. 

 

Review & Giveaway - Camouflaged Encounters by David J. Englund

Camouflaged Encounters

by David J. Englund 

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BLURB: 

Forget what you think you know. How well do you really know your neighbors or fellow workers? Do you trust your boss? What about politicians? The fabric of our society is under attack. Our way of life, our livelihood, our very existence is under full assault. No one even realizes that it’s happening. Disguised as horrible natural disasters on the news, the world is caught unsuspecting as events draw us ever nearer to extinction. As “natural disasters” escalate and tensions between nations mount, one man hears a whisper. It has begun . . .

 

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EXCERPT:

Clark gasped and dropped his fork. There they were in downtown Des Moines! Four aliens, large as life, were walking around disguised as humans. The phone device allowed him to see two images in the spot where each alien existed. The human image appeared as his eyes saw them. The alien image had a fuzzy, faded hologram-like appearance to it. 

He could see the red tinted skin with black spots on their bodies. Their heads were long like a horse’s head with narrow yellow eyes on either side. They were roughly three-feet taller than their human disguises. Their knees bent outward as they walked. Each alien wore a black skin-tight uniform. The most alarming features were the four arms each alien sported. In each case, the two unseen hands carried various gadgets that they fidgeted with as they walked. 

The human disguises appeared as smiling, happy people while the Ascanti images each revealed scowling angry aliens seemingly trapped in an unpleasant form. These creatures would have won casting rolls in any Hollywood horror film.             

I can’t believe this. This can’t be happening. Everything Rick said is true. Aliens walk among us. They look so natural in their disguises. They fit in perfectly within our society. Look at them just walking up the street. That one across the street is delivering a UPS package. That one over there is carrying shopping bags, like she’s just some average housewife out on errands. This one over here is crossing the street, as if it’s perfectly okay for aliens to cross the street in Des Moines!

 

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Review:

 

Camouflaged Encounters immediately draws you into an intense experience a young man, Clark Jackson, has while attending a professional baseball game in Chicago. The lights go out. The reader goes through the gamut of moments from the moment those lights go out as Clark goes from the realization that those light aren't coming back on anytime soon. The mood of the crowd ranges from laughing to nervousness to suppressed violence. It is at this point when panic ensues and Clark meets a vulnerable young woman, Maria and her young son Joey. As the three join to try to get to safety, the people in Chicago drag you into the hell of society gone crazy. The darkness travels from one major city to another and people are lost in the terror of the dark.

As if the apocalyptic nature of the story isn't enough, the reader discovers Clark can and has traveled to other worlds through a secret portal. When the possibility is discovered that an alien race may be the culprit of the strange and growing negative events on Earth, Clark must find out who and what these aliens are so he can help stop them from destroying the human race and the planet on which he and millions of other people reside.

Because I love a good disaster tale, I have given this book a 3.5 stars. ~JoEllen

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

David Englund is a storyteller (science fiction author) and teaches economics at North Dakota State University.  His first three titles, Upsetting the Tides, UNSEASONAL WAR, and Camouflaged Encounters are available on Amazon.  Camouflaged Mischief is in progress. 

http://amazon.com/dp/B00NUPAPT8   

http://davidjenglund.blogspot.com  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23267421-camouflaged-encounters 

https://www.facebook.comdavid.englund.104 

davidenglund7@gmail.com

 

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Amazon

 

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Giveaway:

 

David will be awarding a digital copy of the book to four randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. 

Follow the tour HERE

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Excerpt & Giveaway - Unlocking The Mystery Of You by D.L. Anderson

 

Unlocking The Mystery Of You

by D.L. Anderson

Publisher: Author House
Pages: 195
Genre: Self-Help

 

About the Book: 

Do you know who the most important person in your life is? Just look in the mirror and you will see – it’s you. Whether you’re a college student, a housewife, a salesman, or the president of the United States of America, the most important person in your life is and will always be you.

That being said, your primary objective in life should be to know who you are so that you can position yourself to succeed in offices aligned with your purpose. After all, your purpose is the collective reasoning behind your existence. As one philosopher puts it, “Purpose is the only real reason you are here, for you exist because your purpose exists. Thus apart from purpose, you have no authentic motivation for living. You may very well exist, but when you’re gone, very few will ever know that you were here.”

Now for some of us discovering our purpose is simple. We understood it long before we ever became adults. For others it is not so easy, and for more reasons than I can gather. This is why the process of personal discovery is so critical; for not only does it allow you to discover your purpose. It also positions you to persistently follow the evolution of your purpose.

This is important because we are all changing every day. Consequently, our purpose will also change contingent to the season of life we are in. Still, in spite of this inevitable change and all the complexities which make understanding your purpose difficult, you will always be able to detect your purpose simply because it is the source of your fulfillment. So if you’re in a job, relationship, or any office which is persistently unfulfilling, odds are it is not aligned with your purpose – and unless you are willing to concede the awesome measures of fulfillment you would experience otherwise, you need to start thinking about making a change so that you can both enhance your life and have profound impacts in the various groups and societies you are in.

“Unlocking the Mystery of You” champions this cause focusing first and foremost on purpose and the crucial role it plays in achieving personal fulfillment and setting the stage for the individual to be a catalyst for group fulfillment. It accomplishes this goal by utilizing a purposeful roadmap designated as the Pinnacle of Purpose. The Pinnacle of Purpose is a progressive path illustrated by 7 ascending levels which, if followed sequentially, not only have the power to transform your life. It will provide you with the greatest measures of fulfillment and success life can offer. All you have to do is follow the crucial, yet simple order of purpose, beginning with confidence and concluding with peace. 

So if you’re ready for a change; if you’re ready to stop sleeping on your dreams and your truest passions; if you’re tired of the status quo and living a life which feels incomplete; if you’re tired of wishing your life was better and are now prepared to do something about it; if you’re finally ready to take that ever-difficult leap of faith, then this is a book you must read. Because in this book I show you how to take that leap of faith without falling, for when you leap towards your purpose, you will always land squarely on your feet.

This is true first and foremost because your purpose is what makes you unique to every other individual in the world today, a premise which thoroughly validates the existence of every man and women on the earth. The problem is that many don’t understand their purpose. Once upon a time I didn’t either. That is until I got serious about life. It was then that I realized what purpose is.

It is the collection of all your authentic desires; it is your passion. It is your North Star and your direction; it is your life-long teacher – and above all else, it is that which causes you to press through any form or measure of adversity until you unleash your maximum potential, for it gives you the strength to hold on when you have no strength left within you to hold on.

For More Information:

• Unlocking the Mystery of You is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Visit Life Pinnacles blog.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Spotlight - Deanna Oscar Paranormal Mystery series by CC Dragon

A Mansion, A Drag Queen, And A New Job

Deanna Oscar Paranormal Mystery Book 1

by CC Dragon

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery