Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Diary of An Affair by E.J. Caulder



Title – Sunshine: Diary of An Affair
Author – E.J. Caulder
Genre – Romantic Suspense
Series – Book one of three of The Sunshine Affair series
Synopsis - Eric Simmons is a man on a mission to pursue his ultimate goal of being inducted to the radio broadcasting hall of fame. But not all is going as planned. Eric is at a crossroads in life and questions whether his personal and professional decisions have all been the wrong ones. As he questions his life, fate brings Tina Cook into Eric's life and he believes she's the woman he's meant to spend the rest of his life with. There's just one problem: Tina Cook is married. But she is unhappily married and seeks comfort in her friendship with Eric. As their friendship grows into something more, Eric wonders if Tina will leave her husband to build a life with him. Tina's husband becomes suspicious of their friendship and it causes Tina and Eric to take their friendship to the shadows in an effort to keep their budding affair a secret. Eric conspires to win Tina's heart and show her why leaving her husband is exactly the right thing to do. Tina struggles with her attraction to Eric and the vow she made to her husband. Tina tries to keep Eric close to her by trying to set him up with a friend of hers...not to mention concocting scenarios where it is appropriate and not suspicious to be seen with Eric. In the meantime, Tina's husband uncovers his wife's feelings for Eric though he can never confirm she is having an affair. Eric and Tina are able to stay one step ahead of her husband...but for how long?

Comments from the author – Writing the Sunshine Affair series was one of the most difficult undertakings I've had as a writer. Now, writing isn't new to me but writing the type of story that fell in front of my keyboard was. As a writer the three things I look for in any story are realism, a compelling plot, and the main character(s) motivation. When Eric came to me and said, "Here. I think you're the person to tell my story" all three of those elements and more were suddenly in front of me. What Eric had given to me out of the blue were the journals he kept during a secret affair he had over the course of years. This was an affair of which no one knew.

I read Eric's journals. Page after page of his handwritten jotting revealed his thoughts, feelings, and actions...some of which were shocking to me. He put everything is exquisitely defined detail, making me feel as though I were standing next to him as everything unfolded. I felt as though I was finding out what was happening the same moment he was. It took me almost a year to read the secret life he led. During this time I had to decide if I could write the story or if Eric's belief in my writing abilities had been misplaced. It didn't take me long to decide. This was a story I could not pass up telling. I told Eric I would do my best to do his and Tina's story justice.

As much as I loved writing the series, it was not without its challenges. Now, Eric made my task much easier because of his painstaking detail, especially the dialog. 95% of what you read in the Sunshine series actually happened or was said. I didn't have to make up the conversations because what Eric recorded in his writings was far better than most writers could make up. The candidness and vivid specifics stood up on their own. My challenge was to not just throw in quotation after quotation of conversation but to really set the scene around those conversations. It's important for the readers to not only be part of the conversation but to put them in the room with Eric and Tina by including facial expressions, body language, and mannerisms.

My strategy in writing the Sunshine Affair series was to stay as true as I could to the diary format to help move the relationship and readers through time as smoothly as possible. The diary format was also used as a tool for people to get in Eric's head and provide a perspective so that we're learning as he's learning, we're surprised as he's surprised, and so on. And that's where I got and stayed awhile - in Eric's head. And it was tougher to get out of than I thought.

We've all had moments when we've wanted to get in someone's head and find out what they're really thinking at a given moment, to know what makes them tick. Prepping and writing the Sunshine Affair series put me squarely in Eric's head. It wasn't that the story sucked me in and wouldn't let go, it was the pondering of why Eric would throw away his entire belief system for Tina, why he did so many things he had told me for years he would never do, how he could keep all of this inside him for so long and not tell anyone. I've never asked Eric directly because part of me doesn't want to know and part of me thinks Eric still doesn't know.

What I can tell you is the Sunshine Affair series is some of the best writing I've ever done and one of the most compelling stories I've ever heard, read, or written about. My hope is that, in the end, I have done Eric and Tina's story justice. But that's not for me to decide.

I invite you to get in Eric's head by checking out book one: Sunshine: Diary of An Affair by clicking on the link. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B29ALUC
- E.J. Caulder

EXCERPT:
May 13, 1999
My apartment
2:30pm


One of the perks of driving on the interstate is that you can point the car in the direction you want to go, set the cruise control, kick back, and relax. My Pontiac is my personal meditative cocoon that happens to travel at 70 miles per hour. I’ve had plenty of time to reflect. Contemplate. Ponder. A two-hour drive from the Concordia campus to my fashionable southwest Bostin apartment provides an opportunity to let the day’s happenings sink in. I should be elated. The achievement of my bachelor’s degree should be a source of pride and satisfaction. But it’s not. Instead, I am left with a feeling of frustration and disappointment. I’m trying very hard to not let my victory party turn into a pity party. I’m failing.

I exit from the interstate to the closest exit that gets me home. About two blocks away, as I’m making my final approach to the duplex, I notice something unusual. I see three figures parked with their bikes along the curb in front of my apartment, just a few feet behind where I usually park my car.

What the heck?

As I get closer the three figures’ identities becomes clear. The three girls are Tina’s daughter Megan with her friends Cody and Kayla. I recognize the three because I had met them a few weeks ago at The Club. I was on my way out from working out one day as Tina and the girls were coming in to swim. Megan resembles both her parents. She is long and lean. She has her dad’s hair color and eyes matched with her mother’s smile, figure, and good looks. Already pretty, she’s going to be a stunner sooner than Tina would prefer. Cody is about five inches shorter than Megan and of Korean descent. Kayla is the typical blond-haired, blue-eyed Scandanavian girl the Midwest is known to produce. All girls are 11 and have the look of innocents yet the hair on the back of my neck is jumping up and down. It’s tough not to read too much into this. I mean, Megan only lives a few blocks away. But how does she know where I live? She’s never been here.

I pull the car in front of them to park. I muster my best poker face and get out of the car, which brings me facing the girls. I smile and say hello. The girls respond with a “Hi Eric” that comes out in unison, almost sing-songy. The greeting is followed by a classic pre-teen giggle. It reminds me of girls in a schoolyard teasing a classmate they knew who someone else had a crush on. That’s when it hits me.

Megan knows. She. Knows.

Megan knows her mom has some sort of relationship with me. I’m guessing I’ve been a topic of discussion in her house. The warning bells sound in my head. Loudly. I play dumb, give a quick smile and wave, and beat a hasty retreat to my apartment. No sense in giving Megan and her friends any ammunition to take home to dad.

Been that kind of a day.
***
7:30pm

The apartment is a fort at the moment. I’ve emotionally barricaded myself in here. Not wanting to deal with any more than I’ve already had to today. I’ve spent hours watching tv shows I recorded this week. I’d just finished watching “Frasier” when I look out my front window and see my friend Tina approaching with Zeus. I figure whatever unfinished business she had from last night is going to be taken care of this evening. I welcome the diversion. I wait until Tina rings my doorbell and then answer the door.

“Would you like to go for a walk tonight?” she again invites

I accept the invitation and choose now to leave my fort. It is a beautiful night for a walk. The air is crisp enough for Tina to be wearing a light jacket but warm enough that she doesn’t have to zip it up. Zeus keeps a consistent walking pace that allows conversation without getting short of breath. By this time of night, the neighborhoods are quiet. The sun has set so we’re led down our paths by street lights. Traffic is minimal. There is no one out but us. And the crickets.

Now they chirp. Bastards.

We meander about Bostin, chatting about light issues. I figure Tina’s waiting for the right moment to tell me what is on her mind so I didn’t force the issue. When she is ready, she’ll let me know. The topic of our conversation turns to graduation. I give Tina the quick version of the story, not really dwelling on the disappointing aspects of the event. Tina tells me she’s proud of me for what I’ve accomplished. I decide not to tell her about her daughter and friends greeting to me when I got home.

Our walk continues for another hour. The conversation seems like there’s a lot of filler but not much substance. There’s a shoe waiting to drop. She came by my place two nights in a row wanting to go on a walk with me. It isn’t for chit chat. But what?

We arrive back on my sidewalk sooner than I would have preferred. Time with Tina always goes too fast. She is about to say something but stops as she reaches inside her jacket pocket, unsure what could be in there. She pulls out a length of utility rope.

“Well, this is rather sudden,” I say. “I guess we know what you have on your mind.”

Tina looks up at me, bemused. “This is Jake’s jacket, not mine. I just borrowed it.

I purse my lips, furrow my brow, and nod my head quickly. “Yeah, right.” We laugh. Then silence. Again with the silence.

Tina looks at me and begins. “Eric, I have something to tell you. I wanted to tell you this last night, which is why I stopped.” Tina pauses. “I don’t know how to say this without embarrassing myself.”

Here we go. The shoe is on its way down. “It’s okay,” I assure her. “Everything’s okay. Go ahead and say what you have to
say.”

She does. “I was thinking that if Doug had a lady friend that he visited on a regular basis that I wouldn’t like it very well. So I just want to tell you that I won’t be walking by your house anymore. We won’t be taking any more walks together either. We’ll still see each other at The Club but that’s it.”

Not sure which is dropping faster right now, my stomach or my heart.

How appropriate. How appropriate that Tina would tell me this today of all days. On a day when I was alone at my college
graduation I have a friend tell me we can’t hang out anymore.


Despair creeps up on me.

“I understand.” I reply. “Actually, I’ve been expecting this. Most of my friends are married women and this is something that has happened many times before. There are a lot of husbands who aren’t comfortable with a single man like myself hanging out with their wives. I’ve seen the familiar signs that indicated our time together was going to come to end an soon.” All of what I said is true but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.

I feel like stalling. Right now things hadn’t changed. Tina is still standing in front of me. We are still friends. Once she leaves, she will be out of my life, or at least, not as big a part of it as she had been. I ignore the feeling.

“I’d better get back home,” Tina says, looking down at the dog. “Good night.” Tina gives Zeus’ leash a quick shake and walks off.

She’s not happy in her marriage. From what she’s told me, I can certainly understand why. Why do some men fail to realize how lucky they are…how good they have it? The friendship Tina and I had probably made her feel guilty for a host of reasons. All I know is that right now I’m a little sad and more than a little angry. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Get Sunshine: Diary of An Affair now: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B29ALUC

                                                                     

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Tempted by Two by Portia Da Costa



When executive woman Katie Warren arrives in the picturesque village of Little Marplethorpe for a country holiday, to reassess her life and her future, she doesn't bargain on ending up in a hot three way love affair with a man she's admired from afar... and his gorgeously handsome male partner.

Marcus Dane and Owen Foster are lovers, committed for a lifetime, but they both enjoy the company of women as friends and bedmates too. Encountering Katie at an exhibition of his work, Marcus knows she's just the kind of bold, daring, imaginative woman who'll relish sharing erotic games with Owen and himself.

But what none of the trio expect is that their intense, steamy threesome will quickly deepen into a bond that's a lot more than just simply fabulous sex.

33,600 words/approx 86 pages


Jen's Review - 
 
Cute story - just what I needed at the time :) 

Katie just came into some money and needed some time to think about what to do with it. 
Taking a little trip she found herself at one of her favorite artist's shows. 

Taking a look at a piece of art that she blushed over. Not knowing that this was his newest piece, but she couldn't stop herself from staring at the beautiful bodies in the painting. 
The men were gorgeous, and the woman was extremely happy to be there. 

Her fantasies were starting to pop in her mind again. 
When she backed up to leave, she bumped into a hard chest.

That's where Katie met Marcus, the artist she was there to meet :) 

Marcus introduced himself , and told her alittle about him, and a little about Owen, his manager, and the guy he lives with. Katie thought, GREAT he's gay - but then in the painting, there was a woman with both me... 

Marcus asked her to have a drink with him. 

And that's where she met Owen - 

Things pick up pretty quickly for these three. 
But Katie always felt like the third wheel. Not knowing what else to do, she makes her escape. 

The next morning when Katie went for breakfast, she ran into these gorgeous guys again. 
They invited her to take a walk into the woods with them. She knew that they were inviting her for more, and she'd be stupid to pass it up. 
knowing it wasn't going to last, Katie went with her men. 

Cute story, fun and hot :) 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Coming Home by Christine S. Feldman


Coming Home

Coming Home by Christine S. Feldman

No woman ever really forgets her first love. Callie Sorenson is no exception. Hers was tall, tanned, and—as her older brother’s best friend—completely off limits.

Danny McCutcheon.

It’s a name that Callie hasn’t spoken in years, even if the man to whom it belongs has never really been all that far from her thoughts. Or her heart. But now a twist of fate will bring her back to the childhood home she left behind years ago, and to the hometown boy for whom she secretly longed.

When her mother takes a bad fall and breaks her hip, Callie leaves the bright lights of New York City to fly back west and help with the rehabilitation. It’s a tense homecoming due to a long time estrangement between mother and daughter, and it drives Callie to confront both a painful personal loss and her unanswered questions about the father who abandoned her when she was just a child. 

It also brings her face to face with Danny again, and Callie quickly realizes that old feelings die hard.

But for Danny, it’s new feelings that are a problem. Callie is not the young girl he remembers but a woman now, and a very desirable one. They both have reasons to fight the growing attraction between them, but the temptation may just prove to be too much to resist, despite some very real risk to their hearts. The past casts a long shadow over the future, though, and Callie will have to overcome it or else face losing the one man who means the most to her.




Coming Home:  Excerpt

It was clear that she didn’t want to be here. She sat stiffly in her seat and looked everywhere else around the sports bar but at him.
“You can pretend to watch that baseball game if you want to,” he said dryly, opening up his menu and looking it over, “but don’t think for a minute that I’m buying it.”
“What?” she returned. “Maybe I like baseball now. For all you know, I could be the Yankees’ biggest fan.”
“Fine,” he said without looking up. “Then tell me what a ground rule double is.”
She mulled it over. “Oh, shut up,” she muttered finally.
He grinned at her then, unable to help himself, and she reddened.  But she smiled a little, too.  He felt a sweet stab of pleasure at the sight and told himself not to ruin things by saying anything else.
Their waitress stopped by their table and turned her attention immediately to Danny. “Ready to order?”
“Steak,” Danny said. “Medium rare.”
“The same,” Callie echoed. “And a side order of onion rings.”
“Anything to drink?”
“A beer.” He glanced at Callie.
“Make that two.”
The waitress upped the wattage of her smile, and Danny returned it politely but only for a moment, and she left.  “Quite the appetite,” he observed.  “I remember you as more of a soup and salad kind of person.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me anymore.”
“I suppose so. It’s a little unnerving.”
“Really?”
“Don’t look so pleased.”
She smiled again, and he felt a little more of the tension between them melt away.
“So tell me,” he asked, careful to keep his voice casual, “what else don’t I know about you now?”
Their waitress delivered their beers and the onion rings, smiling coyly at Danny again. “Anything else I can get you?”
“Thanks,” Callie said with a pointed stare.  “We’re good now.”  She waited until the other woman left before answering Danny’s question.  “Hmm. Let me think…I’m unemployed now.”
He nearly choked on his first swallow of beer.  “What?”
She shrugged in an apparent lack of concern and sampled an onion ring.  “My choice.  I’ll find something else when I’m ready.”
“When you’re ready?”  He thought he felt his blood pressure rise on the spot.  Did she not have a practical bone in her body?  “Callie, jobs aren’t just—”
“Have an onion ring,” she interrupted, thrusting one into his open mouth.
“Callie—”
“And don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s rude.”
How could she make him want to shake her and laugh with her at the same time?  He considered himself to be a laid-back sort of person, but she brought out tension in him that he hadn’t even known existed.  No one else made him worry quite like she did.
She took a drink and leaned back in her chair.  “What else…I’m addicted to salsa.”
“The condiment?”
“The dance. Oh, and I’ve been mugged a couple of times.”
“You were mugged?  Why didn’t you tell anybody?”
“Oh, come on.  You haven’t truly experienced New York City until you’ve been mugged,” she said.  “And I’ve got a tattoo, a pimp, and a coke habit, too.”
“What?”  He watched as a wicked grin spread across her face, and his eyes narrowed.  “You little sadist.  Was any of that true, or was it all BS?”
“The tattoo part was true.”

Picking up his beer, he put it to his lips to stop himself from asking where the tattoo was. Bad enough that images were already popping into his mind of inked artwork in intimate places…




Christine S. Feldman

Christine S. Feldman

About this author:
Christine S. Feldman writes both novels and feature-length screenplays, and she has placed in screenwriting competitions on both coasts. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her ballroom-dancing husband and their beagle.






Thursday, May 23, 2013

Once A Brat by Kim Dare

Once a Brat


Experienced dominant Marcus has a stalker. On the plus side, the boy following him around his local leather club is gorgeous and a self-professed submissive. Unfortunately, he’s also inexperienced, bratty, and liable to drive Marcus insane within his incessant chatter and questions. 

Bret Daniels fell head over heels with Marcus the moment he first saw him. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to get Marcus’s attention and prove his worth as a submissive. He might not be a traditional sub, but he knows he has a lot to offer a dom who can handle his quirks. 

When Marcus gives in and agrees to do a scene with Bret, sparks fly. One scene quickly becomes another, and another. But will it be a case of once a brat, always a brat? Bret intends to prove to Marcus that—expectations and experiences aside—he deserves his master’s collar. 

This title is part of the Kinky Cupid universe






Jen's Review

CUTE story! I enjoyed this one
I want a Bret - with an E not an A :)

Marcus is a Dom - and he's ok with that. He's been a Dom for many many many years -
but in those many many many years, he's never dealt with a sub like Bret before.

Bret is a brat - when he first decided he wanted to submit, he came to the club and within 3 mins, he knew he wanted Marcus as his Dom. But Marcus told Bret that sub's don't choose their Dom -

Week after week after week Marcus sat at the club, played with other subs, all with the audience of one lone sub. One sub that was determined to follow him around like the little puppy he was in order to get the attention he craved.

When Marcus finally caved and let the Brat top from the bottom. Well Marcus made his decision to try the Brat out.

The only problem is Bret has NO experience being a sub. And he doesn't want to submit to anyone but Marcus.
Marcus does his first scene with Bret and Bret finally knows what it feels like to be a sub. And the feeling is incredible!

Really cute story - it was too fast, I was hoping to learn more about these two. Bret has a lot to learn, and Marcus seems to know exactly what Bret likes :)

View all my reviews

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Riverbend - PROMO


Riverbend - PROMO Blitz
By Tess Thompson
Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 5/14/13


“Tag. I found you.”

Just as Annie Bell’s reputation as one of the best chefs in the Pacific Northwest grows to new heights, she receives a threatening phone  from her abusive ex-boyfriend. Marco is out on parole and hungry for revenge, blaming her for his ten-year imprisonment. Fearing for her life and that of her young son, Annie reluctantly accepts help from Drake Webber, a cold and wealthy recluse hiding a dark history of his own. Supported by the gang of misfits from their restaurant Riversong, Annie forges ahead despite her growing terror that Marco will appear at any moment and make good on his threats.

Author Tess Thompson reunites the colorful cast of endearing small town characters from her bestselling novel Riversong and takes you on a journey that will renew your faith in love, friendship and the power of community – even in the face of seemingly insurmountable grief and fear. You’ll find yourself once again cheering for the residents of River Valley, especially the big- hearted and compassionate Annie Bell.

Escape with a blend of love, laughter, friendship, suspense and gourmet food while remembering it’s never too late for second chances.


EXCERPT

Two days later, the first Monday she was to start work for Drake Webber, Annie dreamt of a man chasing her down the streets of Los Angeles as she carried baby Alder in her arms. Was it Marco? She couldn’t be sure. At a bump in the sidewalk, she tripped and fell. Blood spilled onto the cement. Then, there was a phone ringing, an old-fashioned ring tone like phones from her childhood.

With a start, she awakened, sitting up in bed, the blankets tangled around her legs and her pajamas soaking wet from perspiration. The ringing continued; it was her cell phone. She’d recently changed the ringtone to that of the old rotary phones. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she reached for the phone on the bedside table. What time was it? Not yet six a.m. Who would be calling this early? It was probably her mother with news of another boyfriend who left her penniless and unable to pay rent. This happened every year or so and Annie always sent money. And her mother always found one more loser to move in with a short time later.

“Hello,” she said, fully prepared to be annoyed that her mother had awakened her so early.

“Tag. I found you.”

Her stomach, like it might during a sudden five-story drop in an elevator, sank below her knees. Marco. His voice was rough, hard—she would recognize it anywhere.

Was she still asleep? Please, God, let this still be my nightmare, she prayed silently.

She trembled, the sweat-soaked pajamas cold on her skin. Her hand twitched, as if in a move to hang up the phone, but he spoke again. “What? Cat got your tongue?” She continued her silence, frozen. “Listen, bitch, I know it’s you. You’re all over the Internet these days.

All you have to do is put your whore name into Google and there’s a dozen articles on you. You’re looking good, especially compared to what a cow you used to be. I’m coming to town. Shouldn’t be hard to find you. And then you’ll pay for what you did to me.”

She dropped the phone like it was hot and stared at it. Then she picked it up and punched the hang-up button before tossing it back on the bed. She folded her knees, wrapping her arms around them and rocking back and forth for several minutes. Oh no, no, no, no, a roar in her head.

Tess Thompson

Tess Thompson is a novelist and playwright with a BFA in Drama from the University of Southern California. Her first novel, Riversong, became a bestselling ebook in 2012, reaching #1 on Nook and spending over a month in Amazon’s Top 100. On May 14 she will release her third novel,
Riverbend, the second book in the River Valley Series. Tess regularly blogs about her journey as a mother, author and friend at www.tesswrites.com.
Like many of the characters in the River Valley series, Tess is from a small town in Oregon. She currently lives in Seattle, Washington with her two young daughters, Emerson and Ella, and their puppy Patches, where she is inspired daily by the view of the Cascade Mountains from her home office window. Tess is working on her fourth novel and regularly blogs about her journey as a mother, author and friend at www.tesswrites.com.
Author Links

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Girls Love Travis Walker by Anne Pfeffer



Girls Love Travis Walker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To nineteen-year-old high school dropout Travis Walker, women are like snowflakes--each one different, but beautiful in her own way.

He can charm any girl he meets, and yet down deep he fears he'll always be a loser like his jailbird father. As the landlady threatens to evict him and his sick mother, Travis takes a job he hates and spends his evenings picking up girls at a nearby night spot.

When he enlists in a teen program at the local fire station, he finds out he’s amazing at it. Then he meets the smoking hot Kat Summers, enlists Kat’s friend Zoey to help him woo her, and falls in love for the first time ever. 

But he keeps the details of his life secret. His girl will never love him back if she knows the truth about him…



Excerpt 

Only fifteen minutes since I’d entered the halls of Perdido High School and already the beady eye of authority was upon me. I hadn’t even done anything wrong.
Yet.
“Travis!” Ms. Valenzuela called out to me from the door of the guidance office. Although she was getting old, maybe into her early forties, she hadn’t let herself go. She had great legs, which were hidden today by her lime green pants.
“Yo.” I loped over and unleashed a grin that combined sincere remorse for my failings with my irresistible charm.
She pursed her lips. “Don’t start with me, Travis.”
I led the way to her office and took my usual chair while she sat at the desk across from me. “New picture,” I said, nodding to the updated photo of her two daughters. “Kelsi and … Julianne, right?”
She struggled to keep back a smile. “Yes, Travis. Those are their names.”
“Fifth and seventh grade, right?”
“Yes, Travis.” Now she was smiling for sure.
Maybe it was my blue-green eyes, or maybe my granite abs, but I could always get women to smile at me.
Ms. Valenzuela opened my folder. “Six more absences since your last visit to my office. Plus numerous missed homework assignments. You’re this close to suspension.” She held up her thumb and index finger a millimeter apart.
“I have to work, Ms. Val,” I said. “Gotta get ahead, you know.” I had a promising position as a bus boy at Jake’s Burgers.
“How many hours are you working these days?”
“As many as I can get, whenever I can get ‘em.”
“You can’t cut back?” She knew she couldn’t push me that hard. My family’s sudden move to Los Angeles in November of my junior year, coupled with my erratic attendance at Perdido High, had screwed up my graduation credits. With all my former classmates in college, I was starting my senior year, again, at age nineteen.
“I can’t get weekend shifts at Jake’s,” I told Ms.Val.
She didn’t like me working there, but she should just be glad I wasn’t following in the path of my father, who knocked over a convenience mart a year ago and ended up in prison for armed robbery. Mom had gone to visit him, but I refused. He could rot there for all I cared.
“You’ve got one school year left to graduate. I want to see you get that high school diploma, Travis. Or a GED at least.” Between her fingers, she rolled a pen. It was the cheap kind the school district bought that wrote for about five minutes before it crapped out on you.
“Yeah, well, we’re about to get evicted,” I said, “so that’s kind of rearranged my priorities.”



Author Bio:
Anne Pfeffer is the author of Any Other Night and The Wedding Cake Girl.  She lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Contact Links
Twitter @AnnePfeffer1

LINKS TO BUY





Jen's Review - 

I love Anne Pfeffer!  The Wedding Cake Girl was great - and this book .....
Wow! This book just seems to really grasp you -

Makes me think though - I've seen a lot of homeless people that aren't even really homeless. Just out on the streets looking for a free handout -
It's hard to tell who really needs the help, and who is just too lazy to get it -
I think I've lost track on how many times I've handed change over to someone and later learn from the news that they weren't who I thought they were.

Travis is down on his luck - he's only 19 years old , the poor guy couldn't even graduate with his class because he had too many absences from having to work extra hours - But his senior year, again - things got worse.
With is dad in prison, his mom sick - they're about to lose their apartment.
His guidance counselor tries to help him out. She sets him up with her brother in law doing heavy labor work -
Travis LOVES the feel of heavy labor works. So when he meets with his new boss, he lets him know he's there full time, not part time -

The land lady keeps on Travis for being late on rent. he hands over his paycheck each Friday, but it's still not enough to get them caught up.

Travis heads over to the local community center in search of a shower on his lunch break. There he meets Kat - wow! Beautiful Kat . lol
He doesn't get the job, but he still goes back the next day looking for Kat. She's not there. But her friend Zoey is there. He leaves a note with Zoey to give to Kat for him.

He gets the brush off from Kat - but Travis still thinks he's in the game. Going back to the center one more time, he leaves another message for Kat with Zoey.

Zoey becomes annoyed, but lets Kat know Travis stopped by.

After a few days, Travis gets a call from Zoey. She's in charge at the community Center helping out in the Lunch area. They need a strong guy to come help them out at lunch time. Since Travis has 4 hours for his lunch break and the free food for him and his mom would help save money for rent. He takes the job.

Travis swears he'll never become one of those homeless people, the ones that need that much help.
But things just keep getting worse and worse for Travis - He tries his hardest, but it's just not enough.

I really enjoyed reading about Travis at the fire station. That was really interesting, and HARD work! Gives you more to appreciate those men and women out there to help us.

This book was hard and emotional, but not too much. Travis wouldn't let you get too emotional for him. He's a strong guy determined to do things the right way, and doing them himself. He doesn't want hand outs, he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him. He just wants to survive, and get his mother healthy again.

Great story! Very different from other's I've read :)


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

May Kindle Giveaway

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!
Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway
The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)
  Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)
  Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)
Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors
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  7. Author Emma Michaels
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  38. Kerry Taylor
  39. Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf
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  Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 5/31/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 17, 2013

Offside by Bianca Sommerland

Offside (The Dartmouth Cobras, #4)
Offside by Bianca Sommerland



A pace ahead of the play can send you back to the start. And put everything you’ve worked for at risk.

Single mother and submissive Rebecca Bower abandoned her career as a sports reporter to become a media consultant with her brother’s hockey team. A failed marriage to a selfish man makes her wary of getting involved with another. Unfortunately, chemistry is hard to deny, and all her hormones are dancing when she gets close to the Cobra’s sniper, Scott Demyan. 

Zachary Pearce ‘came out’ to the world last season to shift attention away from a teammate. And his one night with Scott Demyan had been unsettling. There could be more there, if only Scott was a different person. Instead, a night of sensual BDSM play with Becky leaves him wanting more, but she thinks he’s gay and questions his interest. It’s been a long time since a woman has attracted him both as a man and a Dom, and he’ll do everything in his power to prove she’s the only one he needs. Or wants. His one time with Scott was a mistake.

Scott might have forgotten what happened in his childhood, but the effects linger, and he specializes in drunken one-night stands…until he meets Zach and Becky and sees what he’s missing. But neither one believes Scott can be faithful. Although he’s trying hard to clean up his act to avoid getting kicked off the team, they want more from him. He’s willing to make changes, but the most important one—putting their happiness before his own—means he’ll probably end up alone.

Warning

This e-book contains material not suitable for readers under 18. It also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, and one man erroneously labeled as vanilla. Author strongly advises care be taken when using ladders and gym equipment in ways other than originally intended. And sex on cruise ships whenever possible. The author advises that as well.




Jen's Review

LOVE this series!
it's been a long time since I read book 3 - but I was able to pick things right up. I even remembered how much Scott was a jerk in the last book!

Loved this story though - we had a few scenes with Silver and Landon and Dean and their baby - awe -
And we had Akima (I spelt it wrong, sorry - but you know who she is) She had a pretty big step up in her life in this book -

We see Ford and figure out where he's going in life -

OH and we see Oriana (spelt her name wrong too) and Max leaving! SO SAD! Poor Dominick!

But the best of all - we see Zach *sigh* I don't know what it is about Zach but he's just the one guy that I liked the best out of all these guys -
The Sweetest Dom out there - not looking for pain, or to hurt anyone - but yeah . Zach - in the last book he came out of the closet so to speak in order to keep the press off of ... can't remember, who - but it was one from a previous book :)

Anyways - So Zach is feeling a little blah in the beginning of the book - he loves Scott, but Scott is too busy sleeping with every guy and girl out there that there is no way that they could ever be together. Scott is attracted to Zach, but no - until Scott can learn to commit, there is nothing that will ever go between them.

So when Zach see's Becky show up at the club, he knows who he wants to play with.... but it wont be just for one night.

Becky has her daughter - Casey is the CUTEST 5 year old I've read about :) totally love how obsessed she is with Hockey :)
But Becky had just sent Casey away for 3 weeks to spend time with her deadbeat father - she hated leaving her alone with the man, but the courts had her hands tied.

Meeting up with Zach was exactly the distraction she needed. even though Zach told her he wanted more than just tonight - she knew it could never be anything that lasted.
After all, what man would want to raise someone else's child?

Things get going good with Zach - then Zach leaves for a cruise with the team and the ice girls -
Everyone seems to have really good reception on their cell phones because when I was on a cruise, there was no WAY I would have been able to call and talk to someone anytime I wanted to :)

But yeah - With Becky left at home, she lets Zach know that she WANTS him to explore things with Scott, to find out where they stand.
But Zach would never cheat on Becky. And he knew that Scott was trying to change, but he still wasn't ready. He couldn't trust Scott that he wouldn't hurt Becky.

Becky knew that Zach and Scott belonged together. She could see it whenever they walked into a room and saw each other.

Loved it! This book took place mostly in the summer - but they did have a couple of pre-season games, fights broke out, and people got hurt - - yeah, the best part about Hockey :)

If you've been following this series - I recommend this one :) I think Ford will be getting his story soon... at least I hope so - he's trying hard to change from last book - so I think we'll see his story soon :) She has 4 books to this series - but maybe we can pry one more out of her :)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Point of Retreat / This Girl - by Colleen Hoover

Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2)





Hardships and heartache brought them together…now it will tear them apart. 

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.






Jul's 5 Star Review!!! 


Point of Retreat has to be one of my favorite books to date.
Will’s POV was sweet and endearing. I couldn’t get enough of it. His love for Lake and his family was heartfelt and I fell for him once again in this story. He may not have made the best choices but no ones perfect. He really did the best he could to work on the relationship, as dysfunctional as it was, with Lake and their brothers. Its not easy being so young and having to parent your siblings.

Lake really has a skewed way of looking at the relationship she and Will have. Yes they both lost their parents and yes they both have brothers to look after and yes they are both still very young, but that isn’t why Will loves her. He loved her before all of it. Before the death of Julia, before Lake knew anything about him. It was like the planets finally aligned when they met. Will knows it but it will take a lot to convince the stubborn Lake to realize what she already knows and feels.

They are tested once again and Will is hanging by a single thread. Lake is fighting to hold on to her life. He just got her back and for her to leave when he finally got her to be with him has to be a cruel joke.

My heart broke for them both. All the loss and hurt and the huge responsibilities that were given to them at such a young age. Yet they pull through because their love bound and wrap it all.

LOVED this book!!!

Photobucket


Jen's 5 Star Review!!!  

This book was BUTTERFLYING amazing!!

This story takes off shortly after the first one ends - they're finally happy and in love and all is well -

Will and Lake are registering for classes, but their schedules clash. They are home on separate days - and with the boys around all the time, their alone time is suffering.

They had made a promise to Lake's mom before she passed away to wait until they were together for a whole year before they .... proceeded with their desires. It isn't easy, but they manage - out of respect for her mother.


Will goes to class on his first day of school and runs into an old friend... ok THE old friend that Will was with for 2 years before his parents died - THE old friend who crushed his heart 2 weeks after his parents died by saying she didn't want the responsibility of raising Coulder - yeah - the Bitch :)

Anyways - Will deflects her and lets her know right away he's seeing someone, and it's serious, and he doesn't want to hang out with her.
But she has other plans -

Will decides not to tell Lake about her. Not because he's doing anything wrong, but because he doesn't want to upset her over something that he's already taken care of. He told her he didn't want her to be friends with him, so what's the big deal.

Yeah we all know that's going to come back and bite him in the butt. And it does - BIG TIME!

Lake is so furious and upset, she starts questioning everything about their relationship. After all, her mother taught her to always ask questions.

Will is scared to death and he is afraid he's going to lose the one good thing he has in his life!

What's a guy to do??

i really enjoyed this one - it was so much more than the typical guy and girl and ex girlfriend type story - This book was told in Will's POV - and it was really great getting inside his head.

We meet a couple new people in this book - Holy Cow when you meet Kiersten, you're going to fall in love with her! She's the cutest, sassiest 11 year old girl out there!!
And her Butterfly You really touched me. I shared it with a lot of friends :)

Really cute story - I'm so happy the 3rd book just came out!!!

________________________________________________


This Girl (Slammed, #3)



There are two sides to every love story. Now hear Will’s.

Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache. 

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.




Jen's Review - 

I probably would have given this more points if i didn't read all 3 books back to back - I should have waited a little while before reading this one. It was pretty much the first book told in Will's POV

But Colleen Hoover wrote it out in a way that really impressed me.
Instead of just re-writing the whole book in his POV - She changed it to him telling his story to Lake on their honeymoon.

He goes into details from the first time he saw her in the U-Haul, to the first time he found out she was his student.
We got a little glimps of his relationship with Gavin, and a few stupid things Will did that he didn't want to do, but did anyways .
We learn that he knew about things about her mother before she did, and he couldn't tell her the truth.
We learned what really happened that night with Javiar ... Different sides of point of views for the same story, it really changes the story for you.

I think Lake blew a few things out of proportion when she got mad at him a few times, but for the most part, they seemed to really enjoy their honeymoon. Yes they were in bed almost the whole time, kissing here and there, hot time in the pool :) but that's about as graphic as it gets.

I really enjoyed reading this series - the first two books are defiantly going to be on my read again shelf - and I'll be recommending this series to my friends :)




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Slammed (Slammed, #1)



Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.




Jen's 5 Star review!

WOW! I totally loved this book! I seriously couldn't stop reading it!!

There was so much life altering stuff in this book, it wsa just ... wow!

That Epilogue is still swarming around in my head

Lake - I'm totally in love with her name, and how she got it :) Cute little story there :)

Things in Lake's life haven't been great - her father had a heart attack a few months ago, and now her mother couldn't afford to live in Texas anymore -
Lake understands this . She understands that she needs to move accross the country to be where her momther could work at the job that her sister got for her, making the money that they needed.
She understood, but she wasn't happy about it.

As they pull up to the new house, Lake's little brother Kel see's a boy standing on their lawn. He's already excepted the move and made a friend before she even got out of the moving van. Life was so unfair.

Will - awe - what a sweetheart - will's life wasn't that great either. He lost both of his parents a couple of years ago, and all of a sudden he's now a dad to his 9 year old brother Caulder.
He gave up a lot to be the type of man his parents would have been proud of. And he was finally getting things working in his favor again.

When Will see's Laken sitting in the van, he feels a pull to her. Just enough to get him curious about what's making her so sad.

Lake and Will start flirting with each other, and hanging out more over the next few days, things couldn't be happier for these two.

Until Monday rolls around, and Lake starts her new high school. Senior year. She's only been 18 a couple of weeks, which seemed to have slipped her mind when she was with Will -
Because when she saw him at the school, things got complicated, big time.

This book taught these two to learn to love life, and deal with what you've been dealt in life.

A really great book - I'm totally in love with this book and plan on reading it again :)

OH and I didn't even mention the SLAM part! I loved the Poetry Slam club - those poems were deep. I don't know who the Avett Brother's are, but I'm curious now :)







Jul's 4 Star Review 


I have to say that I almost stopped reading this book when Will took Lake to a club for Slamming. Poetry reading? No thank you! But after contemplating for about an hour I decided to give the book a try and I'm happy that I did.

Lake has lost her father to a heart attack and will lose more than she ever thought. Things are hard for her and moving away from the only home she's ever known doesn’t help either. Will, a new neighbor, becomes one of her reasons why she loves Michigan. About a week later he's the biggest reason why she hates Michigan.

This new potential relationship took an ugly turn Lake’s first day of school. Will cant be her….. OMG he is! Time to change classes ASP! Who would have ever thought a guy that young would be a teacher!

After the death of his parents Will had to grow up and fast. Not only for his sanity but for his little brother.

So much is at stake but someone else’s lips on Lake was the last straw. Will knew he couldn’t stay away and even though he had good intentions he cant and wont lose her. She brought life back into him and he doesn’t want to let her go even at the price of his livelihood.

Lake is still very young but she soon finds out that she has to make grown up decisions because before long nothing will ever be the same.

They may be young but the loss between Lake and Will brings out the responsible adults that most people don’t see until way later in life.

This was a great read and I’m so glad I didn’t keep this down.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Giveaway - Working It Out by Rachael Renee Anderson


Author Rachael Renee Anderson

Rachael Anderson is the author of four books: Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, Minor Adjustments, and The Reluctant Bachelorette. She's the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.









Working It Out
A chance encounter . . . 
Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . .  
Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace's rehab clinic post surgery, she immediately recognizes him. Unfortunately, he's every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there's something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he's everything she's sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she's willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.


Giveaway Details
Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 5/31/13

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Save My Soul by Save My Soul Promo


Save My Soul (Book 1 of the Kemmons Brothers Baseball Series)

Elley Arden - Save My Soul - Virtual Book Tour


Psychotherapist Maggie Collins has always been a little off the proverbial wall, but now she’s also knee deep in a delayed quarter-life crisis. With her meager paychecks devoured by student loan debt, a car payment and rent for office space, living at home with a flighty, folk-singing mother seemed like a good idea…at first. Now Maggie’s not so sure. She wants space to sort things out and launch a life of her own, but she needs a cushion of cash to get there. When an unexpected phone call brings an offer Maggie can’t refuse, she’s one deal with the devil away from moving out of her mother’s house.

The devil of contract negotiations, baseball agent Jordon Kemmons, has a problem the usual experts can't fix...his star pitcher is too depressed to throw strikes. Even worse, Jordon's post-divorce grudge against women is turning him into a raging mess. If desperate times call for desperate measures, then cynical Jordon has made the most desperate move of all. He's hoping sexy psychotherapist Maggie Collins is the answer to all his rusty prayers.

Soon Maggie and Jordon are fighting an attraction that threatens everything they've ever believed. If it's not just physical attraction...if it's something more, maybe two wrongs can make a right.






Elley Arden


Author Bio
Elley Arden is a born and bred Pennsylvanian who has lived as far west as Utah and as far north as Wisconsin. She drinks wine like it’s water (a slight exaggeration), prefers a night at the ballpark to a night on the town, and believes almond English toffee is the key to happiness.
Elley has been reading romance novels since she was a sixteen-year-old babysitter, sneaking Judith McNaught and Danielle Steele novels off the bookshelves of the women who employed her. She started her first manuscript when she was twenty-five, writing during babies’ naps. A total of three children and ten years later, the manuscript was complete. Little did she know, her journey to publication was only beginning…
Elley writes provocative contemporary romances for Crimson Romance.


Twitter - @ElleyWrites