Friday, December 27, 2013

RELEASE DAY BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Redeeming The Amazon by L.V. Lewis


The Den of Sin Series


Presents

REDEEMING THE AMAZON


Leave your inhibitions at the door…and turn the page.




 New Orleans’s Hotel Beaudelaire isn’t just a critically acclaimed 5-star establishment. For New Year’s Eve, it becomes a Den of Sin, and its owner extends invitations to a few discriminating guests to help make their sexual fantasies come true.
 REDEEMING THE AMAZON SUMMARY
Most come to The Beaudelaire Hotel a select few times a year merely to indulge in sexual fantasy, but the stakes are higher for Karen Freeman and Paul Beaudelaire this New Year’s weekend. Karen is nine years post-op from a double mastectomy, and her vain ex-husband hadn’t agreed with her decision to remove her remaining good breast or to eschew reconstruction. In the end, that decision cost her. She lost her marriage, but she’s certain the move has prolonged her life.

Returning to a normal dating and sex life has been difficult. She hasn’t made love fully unclothed since the demise of her marriage, and her most significant relationship occurred right after her surgery. When she was still recuperating, she had an affair of the heart with a Marine amputee who’d also been her Ph.D. classmate.
Paul Beaudelaire once led a charmed life as a ladies’ man who had his pick of women in the upper echelons of New Orleans society. He’d been satisfied to continue in that vein, until a Marine recruiter wooed him from LSU with tales of valor, courage, and commitment. His career in the corps cut short by the loss of his left leg, Paul returned to New Orleans with the best prosthesis Johns Hopkins orthopedics experts could fit him with. The problem was, he’d left his heart in Baltimore with a beautiful former model, whose crippled marriage was the only deterrent to his waning honor. Will this fantasy weekend at his Uncle Henri's hotel give him a second chance with his contemporary Amazon, or will her fear of rejection be a barrier to their reconnection?

THE SERIES IN ITS ENTIRETY

On December 6 the authors of the Den of Sin Series invited you to indulge in a new erotica or erotic romance novella each Friday until December 27. Each had a different couple (or trio) and different kinks:

December 6: Forbidden Rendezvous by Mel Blue
Seraphina orchestrates fantasies, but this year she’ll create one of her own. It’s against the rules for an employee to participate in the weekend-long sex-capade but she’s willing to risk it for Luke. The man’s a mystery, but in a sea of CEOs and Fortune 500 billionaires, he stands out. His past and connection to her boss is clouded in intrigue, but she knows what he wants, and she plans to star in one of his voyeuristic fantasies.



December 13: Ménage à Troys by Holley Trent
At the Den of Sin anything goes, so instead of two newlyweds letting down their guards to finally consummate their marriage of convenience, three people desperate to be touched forge bonds. That’s all well and good for the weekend, but what will shake out of their tentative ménage à trois when it’s time to go home?



December 20: Wicked Surrender by Ambrielle Kirk
Kris is tired of spending her nights playing with hard plastic and silicone. She wants a real man for a night, and expects to find him at the Den of Sin. She doesn’t expect to meet one of the World’s Most Eligible Bachelors there, and this isn’t the first time she’s met him. Unfortunately, Travis Brenden doesn’t seem to remember her.

December 27: Redeeming the Amazon by L. V. Lewis
Karen hasn’t made love fully unclothed since her double mastectomy and the subsequent demise of her marriage. Her most significant relationship occurred right after her surgery when she connected with a former Marine, amputee classmate. Paul once left his heart in Baltimore with a beautiful former model, whose crumbling marriage was the only deterrent to his waning honor. A fantasy weekend at his uncle’s hotel may give him a second chance with his contemporary Amazon…if her fear of rejection doesn’t become a barrier to their reconnection.

To learn more about this shared world series and its authors, and to access purchasing information, please visit DenofSinSeries.com
 .

EXCERPT - REDEEMING THE AMAZON

“What just happened? We were in a good place until all of a sudden, we weren’t.”
She shrugged like a gawky, inexperienced teen, afraid to go all the way with the boy she liked she wasn’t sure would still like her in the morning. He hated that the cancer had done this to her. Robbed her of her confidence.
“Karen, I would never hurt you.”
She smiled. He’d been going for intimacy, for sincerity, but apparently his heartfelt declaration struck her as funny.
“You know I won’t take advantage if you let me in,” he said, giving her a glimpse of his own vulnerability. This was as much about him as it was about her. Then he realized this statement was innuendo-laden as well, when her grin broadened.
“Exactly how do I know this?”
He would not let a moment of levity steal the inroads he was determined to make. “Because you know I’ve been where you are, even though on the surface it looks like I’ve dealt with and overcome all my issues with body image. Will you take a chance and go places with me intimately that you haven’t with anyone else?” He hoped like hell she could trust him. She hadn’t backed out when she found out he was her partner for the weekend, so there had to be something to her acceptance.
“How cunning. You knew the one thing—the only thing—that makes living inside our imperfections so difficult. I’m not surprised you get it.”
She smiled that same smile he saw in his fantasies. The one that says more than her words. She squinted, and laugh lines seemed to appear from nowhere. There was no guile or arrogance in it, just the tentative smile of a woman who was once very self-assured and was again trying it on for size.
It was that smile Paul had responded to first, before he’d discovered other interesting things as he’d continued to watch her. The way she walked with such grace, one might believe she was floating. The way she saw through bullshit as if she had a built in meter for it. Even his. The intensity with which she viewed life was even atypical, a study in contradictions for one who’d stared death in the face and made it back down.
“If we do this your way, I’ll have one rule.”
Desperation made him reckless. “Anything.”
“The lights must be off.”
“Except that…” He stood and paced. “Karen, we’re supposed to leave our inhibitions at the door.”
“Okay. Suppose I were to blindfold you instead?”
He stopped in his tracks and smiled involuntarily. “That sounds promising, but if we get any kinkier than that, we might have to change floors.”
“Let’s just get the mechanics down now, shall we?”
“That doesn’t sound particularly sexy.”
Her expression challenged him. “I’m going to make you rue that statement before this weekend is over.”
“Game on,” he said.

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Thursday, December 26, 2013

REVIEW: His Christmas Present by Serenity Woods



Title: His Christmas Present
Author: Serenity Woods
Rating: 3.5 stars
Source: Amazon

Continuing my holiday themed reading, I checked out His Christmas Present book by Serenity Woods. This is the first book I've read by this author, and although enjoyed the basic story, there were some definite problems.

I've seen posts on both Facebook and Goodreads where individuals have asked the question 'why don't more people read self published authors?' First, let me preface this by saying that I download books to my kindle I think I will enjoy based on the book summary. I don't typically look to see if the book is self published, with a small house, or one of the big guys. What I'm looking for is a good story.

With that said, Ms. Woods did put forth a decent story. The premise was sound, and I genuinely liked both Dion and Megan.

So why did I give it only 3.5 stars? Simply put...editing.

The story begins in the present with Dion returning to his childhood home. All is going good until we suddenly jump back in time to last year. This isn't a brief flashback. It's a detailed retelling of the past Christmas that lasts for several chapters. Then, just as suddenly, we are back to the present. Again, we are going along nicely, and then bam! We're back in the past. If you couldn't tell, I wasn't a fan of the jumping around. 

There were also some other editing issues such as missing commas, etc. Those I could have dealt with. Honestly, it was the jumping around that really brought it down for me. It pulled me out of the flow of the story, and that's never good. If not for the jumping around from past to present, I would have given this book 4 stars.

Will I read more from this author? I don't know. Maybe. I'd have to really like the premise. 

Amazon



Author Bio

I live in New Zealand, Aotearoa, in the sub tropical paradise called the Bay of Islands. Also known as the 'winterless north', the Northland is renowned for its kiwifruit, mandarins, and lemons, for its wonderful coffee, and for its friendly people and amazing scenery. It's the setting for several of my romance stories, including White-Hot Christmas and Seven Sexy Sins.

I've won prizes in many writing competitions over the years, including the Harlequin Blaze Aviator Challenge with the story that went on to be sold to Escape Publishing (Summer Fling), 1st prize in the RWNZ First Impressions Contest No. 1 with the story that went on to be sold to Samhain Publishing (An Uncommon Sense), and 2nd and 3rd prizes in the RWNZ Great Beginnings Contest in 2011 with Seven Sexy Sins (Samhain Publishing) and the story published by Escape Publishing as One Hot Winter's Night.

I'm lucky enough to have married the man I fell in love with at a young age, and he is the inspiration for all my wonderful heroes (especially the Silver Fox, found in One Hot Winter's Night!) and we have a smart, gorgeous teenage son who's a drummer, singer and songwriter. Life in the Northland of New Zealand is pretty good!

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Monday, December 23, 2013

Last Minute...Everything

With only two days left before Christmas everything seems to be moving at one hundred miles per hour. Even though I've had my shopping done for a few weeks, I have nothing wrapped. To add to that, my to-do list appears to be growing, rather than getting shorter. There is so much still to do with only a little over a week left to accomplish it all.

So lets get to the good news.

The re-edits for Hidden Threat are coming along nicely. Baring any major complications, I should have them done, as planned, by the end of the year.

I've had a few people ask me about the re-edits. No, the story itself isn't changing. Hidden Threat was my first novel, and I've become a much better writer since then. All I'm doing is going through and cleaning things up a bit. If you're paying close attention, you may notice some changes to the layout and sentence structure. There are also going to be grammatical changes. While going through the story this time around I noticed a lot of places where commas or words were missing. Those are the kinds of things I'm fixing in this re-edit.

One of the nice things about going through Hidden Threat again is that I'm remembering how much I loved Cali and Matthew. They are both such independent characters. It was great fun seeing how they came together and fell in love again.

I'm hoping my publisher will be able to get the re-issue of Hidden Threat out to readers by the end of January. Stay tuned for more details on that though as I won't have any concrete details on that until I get the story back in their hands and an editor looks at all the notes I've made.

Trust (Finding Anna, Book 4)

It's been confirmed the forth, and final, book in my Finding Anna Series, Trust, will be released on March 20, 2014. Ironically, this also happens to be the first day of spring. For fans of the series, I'm sure you can see the coloration. I can't wait to share the conclusion to this series with you. Stephan and Brianna have been with me for almost seven years. It's been difficult to say goodbye, but gratifying as well.

Brianna is lost for the fourth time in her life. Each time was unexpected, and each changed the course of her future. The first life-altering event occurred when her mother died, and she moved to Minnesota to live with her father.

The second was when she was kidnapped at the age of seventeen and forced to be a slave. She would never forget those ten months. Brianna thought her life was over.

Everything changed again the day Stephan steamrolled into her life and brought her home to live with him. She had no idea what to expect—what life with her new Master would hold. That first month with Stephan was, in some ways, more confusing than the prior ten. As a slave, she’d known her place. With Stephan everything was new and different. He’d given her freedom and so much more.

Five months after Stephan rescued her, Brianna once again finds her life flipped upside down.

In this fourth, and final, installment of Finding Anna, Brianna must unearth strength she never knew she possessed. Stephan can no longer protect her from the outside world. She must learn to trust herself, embrace who she is, and discover who she wants to be. Only by facing her demons can Brianna find true happiness and peace.



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sneak Peek Sunday - Holiday Cure For The Cursed by Lindsey Gray


Today's peek is from a story included in the "Melting the Snow" Anthology, "Holiday Cure for the Cursed" by Lindsey Gray.


Daniel Digby is cursed by his good looks. After years of sexual harassment, he’s convinced wearing a wedding ring is the answer to fending off unwanted attention.

CiCi Newport is cursed by her family’s money. When men look her way, all they see are dollar signs. After two years, her “no dating” rule is still in place.

After a chance meeting, they’re entwined for the holidays. What starts as attraction might just be the holiday cure they’re looking for.









Excerpt

CiCi was nervous. She wasn’t sure her dark, skinny jeans and chocolate-colored sweater with her knee high brown boots was her best casual outfit. After changing three times, she’d ended up wearing the outfit she had on in the first place. In all of her twenty-seven years, she could not remember putting so much effort into her appearance to attract a specific man.


The front door of Villanova’s opened, and she realized it was too late to worry any longer. He had entered the building.
The illusive He noticed her right away and held up a finger, signaling he would get a drink and be right over. She continued to take deep breaths until he came over to join her. He took off his coat and made himself comfortable in the chair across from her.
“No rushing off today?”
“No.” He sipped his drink and sighed. “I don’t have any meetings until mid-morning, so I have a little extra time. What about you? No portfolio today?”
“No. I had a meeting yesterday, but the project is basically finished, so I have a couple weeks off.” She took a long, luxurious sip from her own cup.
He smiled and nodded. “With all this free time on your hands, I suppose having coffee with strange men is out of the question?”
The introduction she had been dreading. As soon as he heard her last name, either the dollar signs would glow in his eyes, or he would run away from the lady who wrote children’s books for a living. Maybe it was time to try something different.
“I’m CiCi. And you are?”
His Adam’s apple bounced when he swallowed. “Daniel.”
“Okay, Daniel. Now we’re not strangers.”
He smiled. “CiCi. Not strangers now. Might I be so bold as to ask what you might be doing with all this free time?”
“Besides meeting you for peppermint mochas?” she asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“Well, that’s a given at this point,” he said with a dimpled grin.
“Maybe see a show. There is an exhibit at the Natural History Museum I wanted to check out.” He raised an eyebrow at her answer. “Or I’ve heard about this roller derby tournament this weekend. Maybe do a little Christmas shopping. Oh, and I’ve been invited to a club opening. I might drop by.”
“Roller derby sounds promising.” He laughed before taking another sip.
CiCi’s heart fluttered, and her stomach flipped at the melodious sound. She knew it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


Add "Holiday Cure for the Cursed" to your Goodreads shelf.

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Author Bio


Lindsey Gray dreamed of several different careers as a child. On the short list were doctor, chef, and actress. None held her attention as much as putting pen to paper and creating her own world through words. Since 2010, she has published three novels and one short story with The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House. In 2013, she went on her first self-­publishing adventure and produced her novella, "Fireworks."

A mid-­west native, Lindsey enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, rooting for the Green Bay Packers, reading whatever she can get her hands on, and making life interesting at every turn.

 





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