love

Beatrice Parquet–A new author enters the world!

THANKS FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. FIRST, WOULD YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? WHAT AREA OF THE COUNTRY DO YOU LIVE IN, DO YOU HAVE FAMILY, PETS, ETC.

I’m a single mom of adult twin daughters. I live alone since my girls deserted me for marriage, and my cat went to kitty heaven earlier in the year. Originally, I hailed from New York City but landed on a few mountaintops and a Florida lakefront teeming with alligators before settling in Delaware with my children.

ARE YOU A COFFEE FIEND, OR DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER ADDICTION YOU MUST HAVE ON YOUR DESK AT ALL TIMES?

I am not a coffee fiend, but I require a cup to get moving in the morning. And since I’m a klutz prone to spills, you won’t find my cup on my desk. There are no must-haves on my desk, other than chaos.

IS YOUR EDUCATION RELEVANT TO YOUR WRITING, OR HAVE YOU BRANCHED OFF IN SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TO CREATE? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BOOK?

I majored in business administration, so writing was not on my radar. It has just evolved. Who Said Forever? is a sweet romance.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST RECENT PUBLICATION.

Who Said Forever? follows the unexpected romantic entanglements of Cassandra, a woman not keen on men after she dumped her cheating fiancé. Her matchmaking father doesn’t make her life easy and add an out-of-town rancher to the mix, and the woman who dislikes men is suddenly up to her elbows with the male species.

I hope the message it conveys is that one broken heart isn’t a life sentence. The novel is a bit of a rom-com novel with real-life problems.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS STORY? WHAT INTERESTING THING DID YOU LEARN OR RESEARCH TO WRITE IT THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE?

What inspired me to write at that time initially had nothing to do with this particular story. First, there was the pandemic, and then I suffered my second bout of breast cancer. To keep from going stir-crazy and doing yet another Word Search book, I sat down at the laptop. And writing a romance novel was my way of vicariously seeking a happy-ever-after in my unsuccessful world of romance.

I am a stickler for accuracy. One character is the lieutenant governor of Florida. The man needed a stately home, and I took to Zillow to find him one. Another character is a rancher from Wyoming. Knowing nothing whatsoever about ranching or Wyoming, I Googled up the specifics of cattle ranching and learned that you need to own at least 10,000 head of cattle to have a substantial ranch. Who knew? And since the novel is set in Tallahassee, Florida, it was necessary to know the logistics of air travel from Casper, Wyoming. I found out there are no direct flights. Air travel between those two cities could use some improvement.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BOOK FEATURED HERE TODAY? ANY SPECIAL MEMORIES YOU HAVE IN THE CREATION OF IT?

I’m happy that I was able to write an ending that I felt did the characters and the story justice. The one readers would be most happy with.

When I started writing, Who Said Forever? I knew how and where I wanted it to begin and how it would end. What I didn’t know was what would happen in between. I was amazed by the way the story evolved and the direction the character’s lives took.

WHAT DO YOU MOST LIKE ABOUT WRITING? LEAST LIKE? WHEN DID YOU FIRST KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?

What I like most is that I feel like I’ve been given a vacation without a return date, tour guide, or a map. I have no set timeline to return, can stop wherever I want along the way, and I am solely in charge of the journey. What I like least is the endless rewrites and edits. The writing bug hit me when I started writing poetry in high school. I began writing novels in earnest about thirty years ago, but life got in the way.

DO YOU BELONG TO ANY WRITING GROUPS? ARE THERE ANY WRITING WEBSITES YOU FIND PARTICULARLY USEFUL?

I belong to a group of writers who meet at the library once a month. There are two moderators who run workshops. I am also a member of AutoCrit, an editorial online program, and attend weekly webinars by their team on how to improve or polish your writing skills. I find both to be invaluable.

IS THERE ANY SPECIAL MUSIC YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO WHILE WRITING?

I prefer quiet when I write. But for a change of pace, as an opera fan, I listen to LaBoheme or Madam Butterfly.

DO YOU BELONG TO A CRITIQUE GROUP?

I do not care for critique groups. They are usually not genre-specific, and the comments are like comparing apples to oranges.

TO ENCOURAGE THOSE STILL ON THE PATH, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR PATH TO PUBLICATION. HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED? HOW BOOKS DID YOU WRITE BEFORE SELLING ONE?? WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS THE KEY TO SELLING THAT FIRST BOOK?

In the last three years, I wrote three manuscripts. The first two are more of a literary style. Who Said Forever? is quick-paced and contemporary.Through direct submission, I was working with a small press publisher. We parted company when the editor requested a change of style that didn’t represent my writing.Wanting to get this novel out, I chose self-publishing. Who Said Forever? is my debut novel. Since this book is self-published, perseverance, drive, and confidence in my writing were crucial in my novel making it to print.

WHAT ARE YOU WRITING NOW? WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU—WILL YOU BE MAKING PERSONAL APPEARANCES ANYWHERE OUR READERS CAN FIND YOU?

I am working on a Rom-Com. Who Said Forever? is available on Amazon in eBook and paperback, and I am in the process of working with Barnes and Noble for online publication. Book signings at local stores are a possibility in the future.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?

Like me on Facebook: Beatrice Parquet, or follow me at: Beatrice Parquet Author  Get in on the ground level and watch me grow!

A gypsy by nature, Beatrice Parquet originally hailed from New York City before touching down on a few mountaintops and a Florida lakefront teeming with alligators. A “Jackie” of many occupations—Human Resources manager, high-rise building management, and the medical field—she now writes full-time from her Delaware home. She is as comfortable behind a laptop as with a chainsaw cutting down a tree.

Who Said Forever? is her debut novel and was written while undergoing treatment for her second bout of breast cancer treatment. Besides being a novelist, she is a published poet and short-story writer and a single mother of adult twin daughters.

Things I do when I should be writing…

Lately, I confess I’ve fallen into a hole of creating pictures of characters from my stories with AI. Granted, I am in a tenuous position with this confession, because I am obviously not happy that some authors are creating whole books with AI that are now in competition with my own. But I will say that there are no competitions in play here–I already have a cover for the book and won’t use these pictures commercially, other than to occasionally bring attention to my little twaddles.

For example, in TENDER MISDEMEANORS, a romantic suspense from The Wild Rose Press, my heroine is an officer with the Bureau of Land Management, which gets her into all sorts of trouble with the less-than-law-abiding characters in the story. But–fun fact–she is a full time RVer, living in an RV with her pet iguana at the edge of a national park in Montana. Here’s the story the book tells:

Caryn Orlane has law enforcement in her blood; her father was a cop, and his father, too. She’s a federal agent in northwest Montana, protecting the old forests and keeping the peace.

Levi Bradshaw also believes in protecting the forests, but has a very different MO. He’s the leader of a group of eco-warriors, determined to save the trees of the Bitterroot by legal—and illegal—means.

When they meet in the woods at gunpoint, their encounter ignites a spark of interest, despite operating on opposite sides of the law. When their worlds turn on them, they only grow closer. If they don’t work together, can either survive?

( For more info– book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlVFvMZw0a0&t=63s and general links, etc. here: https://alana-lorens.com/tender-misdemeanors/)

While I did like seeing Caryn as her weekend self, I couldn’t forget she is also all business. So here she is then:

Previously I’d done a feature post on Levi Bradshaw, her nemesis-turned-lover, so don’t think I’m being unfair! Check it out: https://alana-lorens.com/2023/04/12/meet-levi-bradshaw-from-tender-misdemeanors/

Okay–back to writing now. I hope. 🙂

Sometimes one plus one equals three…

Welcome frequent blog guest Lisabet Sarai with a new boxed set of love!

Who knew?

It had been months since I’d published any new titles. Meanwhile, my current WIP was proceeding at a snail’s pace due to the demands of my day job, summer vacations, and other real world interruptions. So a few weeks ago, I decided to mine my back list and put together a boxed set to sell on Kindle Unlimited, to see if I could push my Amazon ratings back into positive territory.

I had a few stories in mind, romance tales in the twenty-thousand word region which were originally published years ago, and which might not be familiar to my current readership. (In addition, the KU audience doesn’t overlap much with my usual readers.) I started with three titles. When I looked at the works I’d selected, I saw that they shared a focus on three-way relationships. Then, as I scanned my publishing history, I started to find additional stories on the same theme.

I ended up including six tales in the Triad collection (over 100K words). Actually, I identified a number of other candidates as well, but decided they weren’t as good a fit. Indeed, when I examined the romance I’d written over the past decade and a half, I discovered that I’d written nearly as many threesomes as I had couples.

This was something of a revelation to me. I’ve always been attracted to polyamory, but I didn’t realize how pervasive that interest had become in my writing. If you’d asked me what my “favorite” genre or theme was, I would have cited dominance and submission. But it seems three-way love is at least as common in my writing.

Who knew?

Why should soul mate be singular? Can one person really satisfy every need and desire?

Triad is a compilation of erotic romance tales about threesomes – not fleeting, lust-driven ménage a trois encounters but stable, loving relationships that involve three people. A long-married couple’s ardor is rekindled when another man seduces each of them in turn. A lonely, embittered vampire finds redemption in the arms of his two young victims. A mistletoe kiss reawakens passion between old friends, until Suzanne discovers Gino already has a life partner. An alien pair offers love and immortality to the only survivor of a interstellar disaster.

Steamy and explicit, unapologetically romantic, Triad celebrates the joys of three-way polyamory.

EXCERPT:

Rated R (From Once Upon a Blizzard)

Suzanne had never seen stars so bright. The night sky was a black bowl above them, studded with blazing jewels. The snow blanketing the yard gleamed with some faint inner radiance. At the edges of the property, evergreens clustered in deeper shadow like silent sentinels.

She took a deep breath of the crystalline air, so cold and sharp it hurt her lungs. The tiny hairs inside her nose stood on end. Her earlobes felt like icicles. From the neck down, though, she was bathed in delicious warmth. The bizarre contrast almost made her giggle.

Smooth, hard muscle brushed her thigh. After a moment, roving fingers skittered across her lap and burrowed into her pubic fur. A fiery bolt of lust struck her core.

“Gino!” she scolded. “Behave!”

“Why should I?” asked her lover, rubbing his body against hers under the surface of the water. “Harry doesn’t mind. Do you?”

The lanky blond on Gino’s other flank grinned. “Not at all. Long as you keep up what you’re doing over here, that is.”

Harris had untied his ponytail. His golden locks flowed over his shoulders, darkening to sepia where wet. With his thin face and chiseled features, he looked like some warrior ascetic, a knight on a quest for some sacred prize. Suzanne could understand why Gino found him attractive. She wondered whether he really was one-hundred percent gay.

Leaning back against the redwood wall and closing her eyes, she allowed the peace of the night to enfold her. Her limbs were heavy. Her heart felt as though it was about to overflow.

The growl of motors and a rattling of metal reached her ears. Gino’s solar-heated hot tub was at the back of the house, away from the street. Still, the faint noise shattered the intense quiet of the snow-smothered night.

“Plows,” said Harris, cocking his head in the direction of the sound. “At last.” He pointed to the cloudless sky. “Looks like they were wrong about more snow, though.”

“We’ll drive you over to Pelham early tomorrow morning,” Gino added. “Actually, the highway department might have towed your car already. We’ll call first, assuming we’ve got power. Anyway, don’t worry, you’re likely to be well on your way back home by tomorrow afternoon.”

Home. Suzanne didn’t want to think about California—her neat, modern, empty condo, all the problems and decisions awaiting her at work, the bland weather and the vacant sky.

“There’s no rush,” she said finally. “I’m going to miss my Monday appointment anyway. But thank you.” She squeezed Gino’s hand. “For everything.”

Now, despite all that they had done together, she found she was shy. Steam drifted up in pale swirls from the heated surface of the water. Underneath, she could barely make out the shape of their naked limbs. “I’m going to miss you,” she murmured finally. “Both of you.”

“You’ll be back for Christmas, though, won’t you?” Gino’s eyes were shadowed but Suzanne understood the yearning she’d see there, if there were more light.

“Maybe…” she began. She imagined another holiday with her parents, pleasant but predictable. They wouldn’t mind if she disappeared after the opening of the presents. And suddenly she couldn’t bear the thought of not being with Gino again, very soon. “Yes. I’ll be back. I promise.”

“Wonderful.” Gino pulled her into a kiss that made her heart pound and her pussy tremble. “You can stay over, you know,” he added when he finally released her. “You can stay for as long as you want.”

“The house has six bedrooms,” Harris commented. “Way more space than we need.”

“Yeah—even with my office and Harry’s studio, there are two rooms we barely use.”

“We do have broadband Internet, by the way. Even if we don’t have mobile service.”

“There’s a local limo company that can get you to Logan in two hours. Harry uses it when he has an exhibition in New York…”

“This is freak weather,” Harris interrupted. “Most winters we don’t get much snow.”

“And the summers here are glorious, green everywhere, bright sun and lingering twilights, fresh sweet corn and luscious home-grown tomatoes…”

“I know!” Suzanne couldn’t keep from laughing. “I grew up here, remember?”

“I thought that maybe you’d forgotten,” said Gino, his voice soft.

“No,” she replied, flush with a recollection of the loyal, clever tease he’d been in school. “I remember very well.”

Buy Links

Free on Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCT7NC8C

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DCT7NC8C

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DCT7NC8C

Add on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217367481-triad

About Lisabet

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, GLBT, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh

Hot, new paranormal romance from Tina Donahue!

 
 

The Craving

NEW RELEASE

Book Two The Wanderers

Erotic Paranormal Romance

AMAZON

 

She’s everything he’s desired… He’s the one man she shouldn’t crave.

Knowing the danger the Wanderers pose, Erica Vega intends to hunt down the mysterious
group steeped in dark magic, curses, and mind control. As a Deputy U.S. Marshal,
she has the law behind her, along with her telekinetic powers. Let the chase
and battle begin.

Not so fast. Her superior forbids her to go after any Wanderer, instead ordering
her to work cold cases with her new partner Lucian Navari.

Tall, dark, and hotter than sin, Lucian doesn’t play by the book. He has his own
agenda and agrees to help Erica hunt Wanderers on the sly where he and she can
be up close and personal.

Erica’s not one to mix duty with pleasure, but he’s impossible to resist in too damn
many ways. As they investigate an elusive Wanderer, nothing is as it appears—she
can’t trust what she sees or believes. Lies masquerade as truth, and deception
rules while she and Lucian grow closer in a carnal dance that will change their
lives.

Excerpt:

He shoved his hair back. “You still don’t trust me.”

She did, more than any man in her life, except for Mike. However, when people got
rattled or drank, they sometimes blurted stuff they shouldn’t. Not their fault,
but it didn’t make things better. “If by chance you ever say anything about my
power, I’ll deny it. I’ll make you sound like a loon. That’s a promise.”

“You think I’m that much of a prick?”

She’d never met a finer man. With him, she felt comfortable and safe. He’d protected
her after the tree incident and tried to stop her from behaving like a maniac.
Today, they’d become friends without even trying. She should have been scared
at the notion and for breaking one of her work rules. Instead, relief washed
over her. She wasn’t alone in this. “You’re the man. How many times do I have
to keep telling you?”

He chuckled. “God, you’re something.” He searched her face. “Are you all right?”

Her insides still trembled. She suspected from doubt and unease about Pope, and at
having Lucian here, close and alone with her. “I won’t lie, I’ve been calmer.
Maybe a beer will help. Can I get you one?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

She delivered the brew, along with damp dish towels to clean their faces and hands.
Once they were finished, she dropped the things onto the cocktail table and
gestured him to her cloth sofa, large enough to seat four or serve as a
makeshift bed for an overnight guest. They sat on adjoining cushions. She
didn’t mind having him near. His proximity, scent, and heat unsettled her in a
good way. She gulped her beer, hoping it would help her forget the bad stuff.

Lucian sipped his drink and regarded her.

Her throat and face stung with heat. “You’re staring again.”

“Do you mind?”

“Maybe.”

“Then stop making it so easy.”

She lowered her face and smiled. “There’s dust on your shirt and pants.”

He looked and shrugged. “I don’t care, if you don’t.”

His deep voice soothed. His big body promised excitement, comfort, refuge from a
crappy world. Stuff she shouldn’t want, at least from him. Work relationships
always got complicated no matter how she controlled her feelings. Throwing
attraction into the mix made things worse. She gulped more beer.

“You’re sure you’re all right?”

Bubbles tickled her nose. She rubbed it and wanted to lie, tell him to go home, she was
okay and didn’t need him here. The words wouldn’t come. She looked at him.

He lifted his shoulders. “What?”

Never had she wanted a man as she did him. “Screw this.” She put her bottle on the
cocktail table and crawled onto his lap, straddling his legs. “Don’t talk, please.” She cupped his face. “Unless you don’t want me.”

His eyes rounded. “Are you joking? Hell yeah, I do.”

“Shhh.” She didn’t want words. She needed intimacy and fitted her mouth to his.

He smiled. So did she, their lips lifting together, seeking each other.

The room spun. A ride like no other. His stubble rasped her cheeks and chin. His
lips couldn’t have been softer or warmer. Better than what she’d experienced in
her dream.

He pulled her close and speared his tongue into her mouth.

Shelost her breath. This was past epic and straight into legendary. Even her
fantasies weren’t this good.

They kissed with abandon and stark need, each pressing nearer, trying to eliminate
any separation between them. His strength thrilled, showing her his power, yet
it also felt like a caress.

He growled and tore his mouth free.

“No.” She cupped his head to pull him back to her. “I’m not through.”

“Neither am I.” Holding on to her, he leaned forward, put his bottle on the table then
twisted around and pushed her to the sofa. The cushion whooshed from her weight. “Not a word, understand?”

Several locks had fallen over his forehead. His eyes were bright with lust. Face flushed. So gorgeous. “Yes, sir.”

He laughed and captured her mouth with desire, using it with skill. His kiss was savage and unrestrained, tongue burrowed deep, giving her no chance for words. Wild sounds poured from them, more animal than human. It fueled her lust.

Reason and good sense fled, replaced by carnal instinct feral in its intensity, nothing timid or gentle about the act.

They rocked and rolled deep kissing. The sofa jerked on the hardwood floor.

He broke free again.

He had to stop doing that. She grabbed his hair. “Come back here.”

He hauled her up then pushed to his feet.

She wrapped her legs around his lean hips, her arms about his shoulders.

“Where’s your bedroom?” He looked right, left.

“Behind you.”

He pivoted, carried her across the room, and halted. “Where’s Rápido?”

“By the chair. Give me a sec.” Using her power, she transported him to his tank. There he could take a soak or bask beneath his warming lamp. Turtle heaven. “What are you waiting for?” She squeezed Lucian’s shoulders. “Get going. I’m about to die.”

“And I’m not?” Huffing, he raced into her bedroom and brought her down to the mattress with him. Springs popped. The frame creaked.

Their mouths were welded together, their kiss long and lingering, deep and wet. The best kind.

He jerked free. “Wait.”

“No.” She kept kissing him.

He pulled away. “We have weapons.” He left the bed and put his Glock on the bureau.

She was right behind him and placed hers next to his.

Grinning, they tore at each other’s clothes. Shoes, pants, tops, and underwear flew.

This time, she pulled him onto the mattress.

 

TEASERS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE…

_______
EROTIC PARANOMAL
DECADENT – AMAZON

The Yearning

Book One The Wanderers

Erotic Paranormal 

 

To break this curse, they’ll have to turn the heat up. Way up.

Jasmine Dante prowls Key West’s nightlife, fighting a losing battle against a jealous rival’s curse that forces her to seek carnal pleasure, no matter the danger. Weakened from lack of sleep and driven by insatiable lust, she spots a man who stirs her desperate craving, and begins yet another dance of seduction.

Except the dark stranger who returns her direct stare is no ordinary lover. Inside his powerful body lies a raw sexuality that just might be enough to break her curse. There’s only one way to find out—imprison him in her bed and feed on his passion.

Former Deputy U.S. Marshal Mike Stearn is many things, but he’s no woman’s sex slave. The deadly telekinetic power he ruthlessly suppresses comes alive again at Jasmine’s touch. Beneath her bold, potent sensuality, he senses vulnerability and desperation. He may be in handcuffs, but she’s the one who’s enslaved.

As Mike resurrects his power to free himself so he can find the curse’s source and defeat it, Jasmine revels in his masterful rule. Her ravenous yearning evolves into rapture as she surrenders to his hunger, her darkest needs—and the emotional connection that lies beyond. Unless the curse takes her life first…

 
 
 

 

About Tina:

Tina’s an Amazon and international bestselling novelist who writes passionate romance for every taste – ‘heat with heart’ – for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. She’s won Readers’ Choice Awards, was named a finalist in the EPIC competition, received a Book of the Year award, The Golden Nib Award, awards of merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competitions, and second place in the NEC RWA contests. She’s featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.

On a less serious note: she’s an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, brakes for Mexican restaurants, and has been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally while wolfing down tostadas. She’s flown a single-engine airplane (freaking scary), rewired an old house using an ‘electricity for dummies’ book, and is horribly shy despite the hot romances she writes.

Website/Blog: http://tinadonahuebooks.blogspot.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/tinadonahue

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1wFmIu6

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tinadonahue

Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/1ChWFkO

My page at TRR: http://bit.ly/1vb7eEc

Kensington Author Page: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/author.aspx/24772

Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas: http://bit.ly/1ChWN3K

 

Never stop learning

PLEASE WELCOME MY GUEST LISABET SARAI!!!

Take it away, Lisabet!

My bio says that I’ve been writing all my life, and that’s pretty much true. I was penning stories and poems when I was in early elementary school. By high school I’d branched out to novels and plays. Though I’ve also done drawing and painting, sculpture and dance, words have always been my preferred instrument for creation. And to be honest, I grew up believing that I had significant writing talent.

The more I write, though, the more I realize how much I still have to learn.

Total-E-Bound, an English indie publisher focused on erotic romance, brought out the first edition of Getaway Girl way back in 2008. This was only my third or fourth tale written specifically for a romance audience. At that time, I knew almost nothing about the genre and its conventions. (Until I signed with TEB, I’d considered myself an author of erotica.) I spent quite a bit of time reading the work of my fellow TEB authors, trying to grasp the essence of this new category of fiction and to translate that into my own stories. My editors also did not hesitate to point out areas where common aspects of erotica just wouldn’t work for romance readers.

By 2008 I’d concluded that in every romance: 1) there had to be a sense of inevitability to the connection between the hero and heroine, an attraction that might seem to make no sense but which could not be denied; 2) the couple had to at least discuss commitment; 3) the sex (this was erotic romance after all) had to be more than just casual – there should be a sense of fitting or rightness, a connection that transcended the physical.

I tried to implement these conclusions in writing of Getaway Girl. The story was accepted and published, but was never particularly popular. I went on to write a lot more romance, getting better at it over time.

Last year I reclaimed the rights to the story so that I could self-publish it, and a few months ago I set myself the task of re-editing the piece in preparation. I really hadn’t looked at it for more than a decade.

I was appalled by how clumsy and stereotyped it seemed.

Inconsistencies in character and in plot were only part of the problem. There were also long passages of purple prose, most especially in the sex scenes. I posted the tale in my critique group and discovered there were also plentiful anachronisms and inaccuracies related to its historical period (contemporary) and British setting. (The story was originally targeted for an anthology entitled Bound Brits, so it had to take place in the U.K.)

I subjected the story to possibly the most thorough revision I’ve ever done on any of my work. I won’t say that it’s unrecognizable, but I probably modified at least 25% of the text. In the fourteen years since the first revision I’ve learned a lot, both about romance and about writing in general. Practice does make perfect; I’ve published nearly one hundred titles since that early attempt, both romance and erotica. This second edition of Getaway Girl is orders of magnitude better than the original.

But maybe I shouldn’t use the word “perfect”, because in truth, as long as we authors are writing, we are learning all the time. I’m about to revisit my first novel, preparing an expanded twenty-fifth anniversary edition for release sometime this year. This will be the fifth version of Raw Silk. I have no doubt it will be the best.

Our story:

Be careful what you wish for

All Peg wants is a break, a bit of adventure, a relief from her mundane existence in the bucolic but boring Yorkshire hamlet of Kirkby Malzeard. When dashing, sophisticated journalist Lionel Hayes saunters into the pub where she’s tending bar, Peg suspects that he was just the sort of man to fulfill her fantasies of escape.

The seductive Lionel, however, is not what he seems. Before she knows it, Peg is a hostage, roped and gagged, speeding away from the scene of a daring crime. Lionel is armed and dangerous, but somehow Peg still wants him – regardless of the consequences.

Note: This book was originally published in 2015 by Totally Bound. This second edition has been substantially revised and has a new ending.

EXCERPT:

“What are you doing here, if I might ask?”

“Me? Oh, I’m a journalist. I’m doing a story on the find and its historical implications.”

Peg felt a twinge of suspicion. “The press conference was yesterday.”

“My car broke down halfway from London. I spent last night in a town even tinier than this one.” His smile was charming, apologetic. Peg’s uneasiness melted away.

He leaned towards her across the bar, putting his hand over hers. “That’s why I appreciate your help, in giving me the information I need.”

His skin was warm and smooth, none of the calluses of a manual labourer. Not like the farmers Peg had occasionally dated here, before she gave up on finding a man in her home village. He ran one fingertip up and down in the sensitive crease between Peg’s thumb and forefinger. The light touch was enough to turn her nipples to aching knots and trigger a throbbing between her legs.

She caught a hint of his scent, a balsam-laced aftershave or cologne that simultaneously conveyed masculinity and refinement. His forefinger ventured higher, stroking the back of her wrist, a gesture both delicate and bold. Her pussy clenched as though he were massaging her down there, instead of merely brushing a casual finger across her hand.

She stared at the bar, blushing, angry with herself for being so susceptible. Finally, she managed to raise her head and meet his eyes, which were a stormy hazel colour.

“What paper are you from?”

“Oh, I write for an upmarket travel rag. I doubt that you would’ve heard of it. This story should enhance the romance and mystery of your already delightful village. I expect you’ll see a surge in tourists after publication.”

“You should interview Peter Lofthouse. He’s been mayor for the last dozen years.”

“I have the feeling that I’m talking to a real authority right now. Lived here a long time, haven’t you?”

She bristled. How did he know that? Maybe because she seemed such a country bumpkin. “I spent some time in London, but I had to come back. Family problems.”

“Sorry to hear that…” He scanned her chest, seeking a name tag. Peg felt as though he were fondling her breasts instead of just looking at them. Could he see the swollen tips, pushing up through her soft green jumper?

“I’m Peg,” she said, snatching her hand from his and reaching for the bar rag. “And you?”

He bowed slightly. “Lionel Hayes, at your service. But I’ll bet you’re really Margaret, right? It’s much more musical, more sophisticated. It suits you.”

He was clearly trying to flatter her. She didn’t really mind. “Lionel—sounds like an aristocratic playboy from the nineteen twenties. Nobody’s named Lionel anymore.”

The journalist laughed again, soft and intimate, sending the blood rushing again to Peg’s cheeks as well as to other body parts. He drained the last of his pint, then reclaimed her hand. “I’ve got to go. But it’s been pleasure to meet you, Margaret. Perhaps I’ll mention you in my article.”

Buy Links

Kinky Literature – https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1587-getaway-girl-/

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2WM4BXR

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D2WM4BXR

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1557686

Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/getaway-girl-lisabet-sarai/1103185498

Kobo  – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/getaway-girl-10

Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6499560218

Add on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212364347-getaway-girl

Add on BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/books/getaway-girl-by-lisabet-sarai-2024-05-03

About Lisabet

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh


Seeking happy in life

PLEASE WELCOME Canadian author MARGOT JOHNSON!!!

I’m excited to introduce my sixth book, Some Other Way!

Some Other Way explores themes of motherhood, second chances, and competition. I know a young woman who gave up a baby in a private, open adoption, and she has remained involved in her child’s life in a surrogate-aunt type of relationship. Hearing about that experience was the seed of an idea that grew into Some Other Way.

While the plots differ, all my books have a few things in common.

  • Determined women who chase their dreams and find love along the way.
  • Characters who tend to love dogs, especially golden retrievers (which happen to be my favorite.)
  • Happy endings—because who doesn’t want everything to work out okay in the end (even when it seems impossible)?
  • Speaking of happy, I’ve started posting about all kinds of happy things because in real life, we can all use more good news, happy thoughts and amusing anecdotes to make us smile. I’d love to hear your additions. Dog photos are always welcome too! Follow me on Facebook and sign up for my newsletter for more fun!

A few fun facts inside and outside my writing life:

  • I was a figure skating coach and I have an upcoming novel set around a small-town skating rink.
  • My first job after graduating with an English degree was writing ad copy at a radio station. That’s where I learned to write under pressure.
  • My books are set close to home in some real and some imagined locations. I’m proud to be from the Canadian prairies and like to give others a glimpse of this part of the world.
  • I currently serve on the Board of Directors of Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, and I’m happy to help support SK authors.
  • I love dogs (especially golden retrievers) and so do many of my characters. My dream job is running a doggy hotel, but I think I’ll stick to writing.
  • I almost won a car on the TV game show “Let’s Make a Deal.”
  • I walked a half marathon in just over three hours.
  • My dad was a journalist, author, and editor, and he instilled my love of reading and writing. I hope he would be proud of my work, even if romance wasn’t his genre.
  • My sister Donna Gartshore is also a writer. She writes for the Harlequin Love Inspired line.
  • When people ask me for writing advice, I say, “Just do it!” Get your words on paper. You can always fix them later.

Our story:

Maybe what she wants is not what she needs…

Jayne Jones’s life is full as surrogate aunt to her birth daughter, given up in open adoption five years ago, and as leader of the Adopt-a-Dog service. She yearns to expand the overcrowded dog shelter on a coveted piece of adjacent land. When Dr. Evan Scott, her high school crush, returns, he complicates everything by becoming her formidable opponent.
Back in his hometown to join a medical clinic that wants to expand onto the same property, Evan is ready to forget past hurts and embrace a fresh start with the cute girl—now attractive woman—he remembers. But should Jayne bare her heart to the good-looking newcomer? And will her secret change his mind?

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Pride and Prejudice at The Cat Café: a Furrever Friends Sweet Romance

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune should donate to a cat rescue.

Liz is happy about her friend’s potential romance but less impressed with Carl’s best friend, William. He seems stuffy and rude, and worst of all, he doesn’t like cats.  Meanwhile, William is intrigued by Liz even though every one of their interactions seems to go awry, in part due to his terrible cat allergy.

For the sake of their friends and the animals, the two figure out how to get along – until Liz learns some horrible facts about William. But is she trusting the right person? Then the feisty kitten Lydia disappears – perhaps stolen – and they have to overcome their differences in order to rescue her.

The Furrever Friends Cat Café helps people find furry forever friends – and just might lead to romantic love too. This Pride and Prejudice modern adaptation features fresh twists to delight both fans and new readers.

Visit the Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series on Amazon US orAmazon UK or see the series with links to all retailers.

“I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story is fun and I had several laugh-out-loud moments – really out loud! It also passed the ‘I’m awake in the middle of the night so I’ll read test’ because then I stayed up for 4 – 5 hours reading and didn’t actually sleep.” – reader review

Overworked PhD student Liz and her friend Jade visit the local cat café. Sparks fly between Jade and Carl, while snark flies between Liz and William. For their friends’ sakes, the two manage to get along – until Liz hears something horrible about William. But is she trusting the right person? Then the feisty kitten Lydia is stolen, and they have to overcome their differences in order to rescue her. This Pride and Prejudice modern adaptation, set at a cat café, features fresh twists to delight both fans and new readers.

EXCERPT: On Sunday morning, Liz closed her computer and rubbed her throbbing forehead. Jade had been singing for the last hour. It was like living with freaking Cinderella, the Disney version where she had all the animal friends and was unfailingly cheerful when she should have been enraged by her mistreatment.

But Liz would not go into a rant in her own mind. What was the point of arguing with someone who agreed with you?

Anyway, apparently Jade had a reason for singing. Carl had liked her business proposal. Carl understood that while the local cat rescue was on sound footing, it didn’t have the resources to handle special needs cats. Carl loved cats. Carl, Carl, Carl.

Liz had to smile, seeing her friend so giddy. She just hoped Carl was the sincere and not merely showing enthusiasm because he wanted to impress Jade long enough to get her into bed. If he was playing games, Liz would have to destroy him, and she didn’t have time for that. But he’d seemed nice enough.

Once she’d shaken off her annoyance at the cat-hater and the squealing girl desperately trying to attract him, Liz had watched Jade and Carl with great interest. The chemistry between them had been off the charts. Liz might have envied Jade for that too.

Not that she envied her best friend for anything. She wanted wonderful things for Jade, and Liz didn’t have time for a relationship anyway, or know anyone interesting, so …

Wait, what had she been thinking about?

Jade hit a particularly high note.

Oh, right. Good chemistry.

Liz chuckled and headed to the kitchen to refill her coffee. She was pretty sure she’d already taken the last cup, but if she was lucky, Jade would have started a second pot. She found Jade scrubbing the counters as she sang. Liz scowled at the coffee maker, or more specifically the empty space where the glass pot should be. The dishwasher was running; apparently Jade had decided to wash the coffee pot as part of her enthusiastic cleaning binge. Freaking Cinderella.

Author bio

Kris Bock writes romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a billion-dollar lottery. Can they build new dreams and find love amidst the chaos? In the Accidental Detective humorous mystery series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Learn more at KrisBock.com. Get a free 30-page story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for Kris Bock’s Romance and Mystery newsletter. You’ll also get a printable copy of “22 recipes from the cat café” and a free Accidental Detective mystery short story with bonus material.

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. The series starts with Felony Melanie in Pageant Pandemonium. Sign up for their romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. Or find the books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

Second Chance Furbabies

Please welcome author PIA MANNING!

Thanks! What inspires me? Many of the characters that live and work in Pinecone Creek are drawn from my real-life encounters and observations. Pinecone Creek itself is a compilation of my experiences in the small towns in which I’ve lived, worked, or visited in the Northwoods territory of Wisconsin. My imagination also contributes to my overall plots and stories. You could say I make stuff up for a living, lol. End of the day, I hope my tales transport you to a different, fun, reality.

Another aspect of my life that I share with the kind-hearted people of Pinecone Creek is a driving desire to give deserving animals a second chance at finding loving homes. Emily Slater (Hometown Spirits, Caveman Creek 4) finds a German Shepherd mix that has given birth to a litter of four in an old shed on her newly acquired property.

After her new dog gobbles her lunch, Emily calls for reinforcements in the form of Mike Lambert. The gallant Mr. Lambert answers the call with twenty pounds of dog food, and various canine necessities. (And lectures Emily about personal safety!)

Momma dog looks remarkably like a dog we adopted a few years ago. Unfortunately, the real Momma passed away several months ago. She was a wonderful, loving, companion. I miss her terribly.

I also share my home with several cats, one of whom belonged to the real Letitia. Belle survived a year on her own after Letitia’s death. I found her at dusk, huddled underneath a chair on our deck. She was desperately ill and covered in fleas. It took weeks of food, medication, and love to bring her back to health. Belle is now a house cat who has no desire to return to the great outdoors.

I hope it gives her former pet mom some comfort knowing her furbaby is loved and happy.

Nurse Practitioner Emily Slater wants a home of her own in a welcoming community. She fell in love with Pinecone Creek and hopes to connect with the people she serves and give back to her town. Emily needs the kind of relationships that last a lifetime.

Brothers Mike and Paul Lambert have always called Pinecone Creek home. They need a woman to share their lives and their bed. One look at Emily sends their hopes soaring, and they spin dreams of having a family and children. Their protective instincts roar to the surface whenever they’re close to her. Even though they’ve been disappointed before, they’re willing to risk their hearts again.

But Emily hasn’t finished unpacking and her ‘to-do’ list is a mile long. The men are panty-dampening hunks, and they make her feel safe, but she isn’t ready to commit to the brothers quite yet. And that cabin she just bought? Someone or something doesn’t want Emily there. 

Excerpt:

“That’s Letty Nelsen’s old place. No one’s lived there in a while. Not since—” Mike’s gaze traveled downward.

“Letty got murdered,” Angie finished. “People say strange things happen out there at night. Lights, sounds of a woman crying and moaning…” She shivered.

“The realtor told me a lady died there, but he didn’t say anything about a murder. I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts or hauntings, but that is awful. I planned on stopping out there tonight to unload tools, take measurements, and try to get an idea of how much DIY is in my future.” And how much it’ll cost, Emily thought. “But I haven’t been back in weeks. Can you give me directions? It’s no fun wandering around in the dark.”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you follow me?” Mike offered.

“Oh, thanks, but I don’t want to put you out. If you don’t mind just directing me…” Emily honestly didn’t want to impose on Mike, but going off with a strange man to an isolated cabin in the woods wasn’t a smart thing to do—no matter how nice he seemed or how fast a woman might drown in his soulful brown eyes or notice the muscles straining against the Henley underneath his flannel shirt or…

“No trouble. It’s on my way home,” Mike coaxed.

“You’ll be safe with Mike. Besides, I know you’re leaving with him, so he’d be in for a big hurt if you disappeared!” Angie declared while she cleared their plates.

“Thanks, Angie.” Mike rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“My pleasure, Mike,” Angie answered over her shoulder before she disappeared into the kitchen.

“With a reference like that, how can I say no?” Emily laughed and laid some bills on the counter. “If you’re sure it won’t take you out of your way, I’d appreciate the help.”

Biography and Social Media: 

Pia Manning is the erotic romance author behind the Caveman Creek series. She is married to a wonderful man. Rides herd on four cats (not easy to do) and canine Noodles the Schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle cross), raises monarchs, and plays Clash of Clans. Not a morning person.

Find me at:

    Website: https://www.piamanning.com

    Siren Bookstrand page: https://www.bookstrand.com/pia-manning  

Amazon:    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pia+manning&crid=1CTBHDIYQC8VR&sprefix=pia+manning%2Caps%2C484&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_11

Amazon Author Pg:     https://www.amazon.com/author/northofhwy8

    Apple Books: https://www.apple.co/4aOraBY  

    Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/caveman%20creek

    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/piamanning3

    Email: pia.manning@yahoo.com

   All Author:  https://allauthor.com/book/87193/hometown-spirits/

Hometown Spirits: Caveman Creek 4

Menage, Erotic Romance, Contemporary, Small Town, Spanking, MFM, HEA

Preorder link:   https://www.bookstrand.com/book/hometown-spirits-mfm

Why Felicity?

PLEASE WELCOME Canadian author FRANK TALABER! Take it away, Frank==and yeah, why Felicity??

You hear the phrase all the time; “it’s a man’s world”. Only sometimes it’s not. We can’t do the one most profound thing in all of humanity. Give birth. Okay, we have a part in it, obviously. But it’s a very small part.

            I’m sure there are very many other examples, but the fact is there are a lot of areas

where being a woman is the best thing in the world. Now I know you will think this is a trivial point, but what about romance? We are very bad at it. We really have to learn about it and work at it. Apparently, we are even very bad at writing about it.

            Booking into a romance writing convention in Calgary, the lovely lady receptionist was looking for my name tag and it was taking a while. The other lady bumped her arm and said, “he’s the other guy registered here.”

            “Just the two of us?” I asked.

            “Yeah. Bit of an unknown having even one, y’know. Most guys can’t do romance, let alone write it. Or want to write it!”

Julia-Rae is a highly talented businesswoman who runs a very successful travel magazine; editor, marketing, layout, she does it all. Even the photoshoots, this one in particular at the heady location of Machu Picchu. (So here is the main need for the re-write; cameras. Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds and the very well-written scene of Julia-Rae struggling to change the 35mm film in full Mexican sunlight was, sadly, left on the cutting-room floor.)

Whilst at said shoot, she meets a handsome, crazy man that sweeps her off her feet. Literally. Especially when he takes her bungee jumping (although she does get her revenge later by insisting he attend a cross-dressing party with her, but that’s another story.)

They begin to quickly fall for each other but there is a problem. Both have pasts; pasts that mean neither of them was looking for love so of course it just falls into their laps. Or does it? Julia-Rae is skeptical of his feelings when she finds out he is after something very precious to her. So, was their meeting high on a remote mountainside truly spontaneous? Or was there a sinister reason for it. Well, you’ll just have to enter their world to find out!

So that’s the beginning of the writing life of Felicity Talisman. Frank Talaber (me. As me!) has ventured into many other genres; urban fantasy, crime thrillers, spiritual thrillers (one based on science fiction), comedy, erotica and some non-fiction, basically everything except westerns (although I can dance Gangnam style, does that count?).

Very many times I’ve thought of hanging up my pencil, as it were. I was at that point a few years ago. Well, 398 rejections is an awful lot to take. But then I read a story. A true story. A mother who frequented a warm, dry café somewhere in England, nursing one cup of lukewarm coffee. She graduated from university, but just seven short years later, she had suffered a failed marriage, was jobless and with a small child dependent upon her. Well it is no wonder she was suffering clinical depression and sometimes, in the wee small hours when sleep eluded her, she even contemplated suicide. But despite all of this she knew in her heart she was a writer. How easy it would have been for her to give up and then the world would never have met Harry Potter.

Further research found other similar stories. War and Peace, the great literary classic by Leo Tolstoy, was rejected by over a hundred publishers before it was accepted.

If it weren’t for perseverance, Stephen King’s Carrie would not have seen the light of day. He dumped it into the trash along with the words, “I give up. I’m going to stick to being a teacher.”

Although the perseverance in question was not his but his wife’s. “You tell me you’re a writer. Dust off that blown, crumpled and withered ego and put it out there. AGAIN.”

The very next publisher accepted the book, otherwise only the children of some Eastern American state would know him at all, and then only as a stuffy English teacher.

Dr. Seuss of Cat in the Hat fame did give up. Fortunately for him, he left his rough draft to be found by a fellow during a house party, who just happened to work at a publishing house. The rest is simply Green Eggs and Ham.

So, I persevere. Several of my novels have been picked up, and Felicity Talisman has now been accepted by a publishing house. So, although I am not yet up there with the Rowlings and Kings, I will be one day. Just gotta keep going!

OUR STORY:

She only wanted Not to fall in love with him. He only wanted to steal her company.

Roy only wanted to seduce Julia-Rae and convince her to sell him her company.  Julia-Rae wanted to shut him out of her heart like every other man that ever got close. Only what do you do when you fall in madly in love with the enemy and the enemy with you.

Will the dark secrets they hold tear them apart or bring them closer together?

A romance novel for women seeking, love, marriage and family while fulfilling the adventures of their heartfelt desires and dreams. 

BIO:

Born on the wild Canadian prairies but tired of the winter months in Edmonton, Frank immigrated to the more temperate cedar forests of coastal British Columbia. Yes, they get snow in Chilliwack during the winter months, and on that odd occasion Frank is forced to search out the snow shovel, dust off the cobwebs and have a go. At the snow, not the cobwebs.

His run-of-the-mill day job of auto technician/service advisor seems at odds with being an inspired, off-the-wall, author, but his zest for life, the environment, and the little muses that won’t let his pencil stay still, spring from his mother’s Hungarian ancestry. It’s the Gypsy blood, he says, which pounds through his veins with wild abandon, driving him to the realms of fantasy.

This is the muse inside, the essence of Frank Talaber.

People who have read Frank’s books describe him as a natural storyteller who writes like his soul is on fire and his pencil is his voice screaming. They go further to say that they find his books grabbingly intense and hilarious at times, screaming everyday life from such a realistic viewpoint you’re drawn into his world, hook, line and plum bob, unable to stop; almost cursing that they can’t set the book down, page after page.  Frank takes great pride in the realism of his work, painstakingly visiting most of the locations, (obviously, only the “real-life” ones!) and he is so thorough that many readers have remarked that they can hear, taste, visualize, smell and feel the essence of the place. “It really is like being there” one remarked. There isn’t a greater compliment to be made.

His tagline is Canada’s Foremost Off-beat Author (also the name of his YouTube channel; check it out for his witty and informative videos) who writes in urban fantasy, science fiction, crime, spiritual, romance, erotica and comedy genres. Well, anything that comes to him, basically! Except westerns. Although he does like to ride Gangnam style; does that count?

Literature written almost beyond genres, whose compelling thoughts are freed from the depths of the heart and subconscious before being poured onto the page. Or, as he often says, “you don’t have to be mad to be a writer, but it sure helps”.

Email: twosoulmates@shaw.ca 

My webpage https://franktalaberpublishedauthor.wordpress.com

My novels on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Frank-Talaber/author/B00UC407R0

My Youtube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx5ki4gpdokN-9KAIZzu53w

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/franktalaber

Twitter

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-talaber-6a594481

Ebooks on Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Frank38

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/franktalaber58

tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@franktalaber

From ancient legends to present love?

TODAY’S GUEST IS Author Karen Hulene Bartell, with her paranormal romance FOX TALE!

When did you start writing?

An only child, I began writing my first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating my own happy endings…However, I got four pages into my first “book” and realized I had to do a lot of living before I could finish it!

IMHO, reading is the entry to writing. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually–sometimes monthly–I found my earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became my portable pals. Ghost stories kept me up at night–reading feverishly. Novels offered an imaginative escape, and the paranormal was my passion.

So here I am all these decades later, still creating my own happy endings…

What’s next for you?

I’m writing a political-suspense thriller set in Taipei, Taiwan, entitled Silkworm, that portrays a US Senator’s daughter caught between two men, two cultures, two political ideologies, and the two Chinas.

A love triangle is the metaphor for Taiwan and China (the two dragons) competing for geopolitical and technological accords with the US. As mainland China seeks to recover the third of its lost provinces–Taiwan–Rachel Moore struggles to escape the triple nightmare of impending war, a marriage of convenience, and an assassination plot against the man she loves. Silkworm weaves their stories with the trilateral events currently erupting in Southeast Asia.

****

Book Blurb –

Heights terrify Ava. When a stranger saves her from plunging down a mountain, he diverts her fears with tales of Japanese kitsune—shapeshifting foxes—and she begins a journey into the supernatural.

She’s attracted to Chase, both physically and metaphysically, yet primal instincts urge caution when shadows suggest more than meets the eye.

She’s torn between Chase and Rafe, her ex, when a chance reunion reignites their passion, but she struggles to overcome two years of bitter resentment. Did Rafe jilt her, or were they pawns of a larger conspiracy? Are the ancient legends true of kitsunes twisting time and events?

Fox Tale Excerpt –

The kitten crawled on the pillow, purring in my ear as he kneaded my neck and shoulders with his silky paws.

“That actually feels good.” I chuckled at the irony, then exhausted, fell into a deep sleep. I found myself sitting on a shaded, grassy slope. A gentle breeze fluttered against my cheek.

No, not a breeze, Chase.

He caressed my cheek as he swept my hair behind my ear and whispered sweet nothings. His breath tickling, he nuzzled my neck.

Goosebumps slid down my spine.

Then he massaged my back. Ever so gradually, his fingers slid over my nipples, circling and gently pinching my areolas to erection. Then he lifted off my shirt while he tongued and suckled at my breast.

As latent yearnings awakened, I arched my back, enjoying the waves of sensation. With a shudder, I moaned, pulling him toward me in a deep kiss.

His growing erection pressing against my groin, his hands cupped my bottom as he rolled me on top.

Bbbrrringg, bbbrrringg, bbbrrringg.

As the alarm jolted me awake, the heat rose to my cheeks, and I scanned the surroundings to get my bearings. Mortified, I cringed beneath the sheets. What have I done? Then relieved to see only the kitten for a bed partner, I gave a nervous laugh. It was a dream–just a dream.

The kitten uncurled from between my legs, purring.

Embarrassed by the sensations it elicited, I scrambled to my feet. Did the kitten trigger those dreams?

****

Buy Links –

UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/u/br9VJM

AMAZON: https://shorturl.at/uwGPX

GOODREADS: https://shorturl.at/jozDY

BARNES & NOBLE / NOOK: https://shorturl.at/nuMOZ

Author Biography –

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, as well as Kissing Kin, Fox Tale, Wild Rose Pass, The Keys: Voice of the Turtle and more, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, IT technical editor, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories steeped in the supernatural. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband Peter and her mews—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuleneKaren

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/   

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell  

Website: http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/ 

Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenhulenebartell/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/

AUTHORSdb: https://authorsdb.com/community/17847-karen-hulene-bartell