Excerpt: DR. STRANGE BEARD by Penny Reid
Ten years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe […]
Excerpt
Excerpt: DR. STRANGE BEARD by Penny Reid
Ten years after Simone Payton broke his heart, all Roscoe Winston wants is a doughnut. He’d also like to forget her entirely, but that’s never going to happen. Roscoe remembers everything—every look, every word, every single unrequited second—and the last thing he needs is another memory of Simone.
Unfortunately, after one chance encounter, Simone keeps popping up everywhere he happens to be . . .
Ten years after Roscoe Winston dropped out of her life, all Simone Payton wants is to exploit him. She’d also like some answers from her former best friend about why he ghosted her, but if she never gets those answers, that’s a-okay. Simone let go of the past a long time ago. Seriously, she has. She totally, totally has. She is definitely not still thinking about Roscoe. Nope. She’s more than happy to forget he exists.
But first, she needs just one teeny-tiny favor . . .
Read on for the excerpt…
Excerpt
Excerpt: HIS TRUE QUEEN by Jodi Ellen Malpas
The breathtaking conclusion of the Smoke & Mirrors Duology.
A beautiful, defiant princess. A renowned, sinfully gorgeous Hollywood actor.
A love affair that is sure to rock the British Monarchy…and the world.
Their love affair began intensely and passionately. Princess Adeline and Josh Jameson knew any future together was impossible—her status as a princess and his standing as a Hollywood heartthrob dictated that. But the heights of pleasure they could take each other to were wildly unanticipated by them both. Josh’s absolute disregard for Adeline’s status quickly drew her into his hedonistic world. And her perfectly worn mask and false façade captivated Josh to the point of obsession. The boundaries became blurred. The physical became emotional. Their hearts became entwined.
But a cruel turn of events rips their worlds apart and Adeline is more bound than ever by the protocol and expectations her title commands. The army of royal advisors who guard the secrets and scandals of the Monarchy will go to unthinkable lengths to keep the smoke and mirrors in place…and Josh away from Adeline. She knows the power she possesses comes with agonizing sacrifices. Walking away from Josh devastates her…but it keeps him safe from the corrupt institution that has ruled her life.
Yet Josh refuses to lose the woman who has consumed him so completely, distorted his boundaries, and stripped him of all sensibility.
Will the power of the British Monarchy triumph? Or will their fierce love for each other change the course of history?
Read on for an excerpt!
Q&A
Spies, Lies, and Allies by Lisa Brown Roberts
About Spies, Lies, and Allies: A Love Story by Lisa Brown Roberts:
Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for.
My boss is running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor. Then there’s Carlos, who is, well, very distracting––in a good way. But I can’t even think about him like that because fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved.
As if that’s not enough, an anonymous informant with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad’s company on social media…and I’m afraid it’s working.
Much as I’d love to quit, I can’t. Kristoffs Never Quit is our family motto. I just hope there’s more than one survivor by the end of this summer.
And now… on to the Q&A!
What are your five favorite movies with romance or romantic elements?
Pride & Prejudice (both the Kiera Knightley movie and the Colin Firth series)
The hand-holding and eye contact…smolder!
Guest Post
Strong Heroines in Romance | Donna Grant
One of the things I love about the romance genre is how many strong heroines there are. Gone are the days of damsels in distress. The women of modern romance writers might be from ancient eras, Victorian times, futuristic or fantasy words, or from our own time, but they have one thing in common – they can take care of themselves.
Playlist
S.D. Grimm’s Writing Playlist | Phoenix Fire
About Phoenix Fire:
After spending her life in foster care, Ava has finally found home. But all it takes is a chance encounter with hot nerd Wyatt Wilcox for it to unravel.
Now, things are starting to change. First, the flashes of memories slowly creeping in. Memories of other lives, lives that Wyatt is somehow in. Then, the healing. Any cut? Gone.
But when Cade and Nick show up, claiming to be her brothers, things get even weirder. They tell her she’s a Phoenix, sent to protect the world from monsters—monsters she never knew existed. It’s a little hard to accept. Especially when they tell her she has to end the life of a Phoenix turned rogue, or Cade will die.
With Wyatt’s increasingly suspicious behavior, Ava’s determined to figure out what he’s hiding. Unless she can discover Wyatt’s secret in time and complete her Phoenix training, she’ll lose the life, love, and family she never thought she could have.
Now… onto the Phoenix Fire playlist!
I just wanted to say thank you to EverAfter Romance for having me on the blog today!! Y’all are awesome.
So I love music. I love how it elicits so many emotions and feelings. I love when lyrics and music line up in perfect harmony. And I have a ton of respect for song writers. Yes. I am one of those writers who listens to music while I write.
Guest Post
Flight of the White Wolf by Terry Spear
Stranded in the wilderness, these warring hearts will be forced to work together—or die together.
Gavin Summerfield—an arctic wolf shifter with a fear of flying—has to fly into the vast lakeland wilderness of northern Minnesota to track down his suspect—where his ability to shift will come in very handy. Imagine his chagrin when his pilot turns out to be the woman who tasered him last time they saw each other. Things are off to a rocky start…again.
Arctic wolf shifter Amelia White isn’t entirely displeased to see Gavin again, but priorities shift when their plane is sabotaged and goes down in the middle of nowhere. As their attraction grows, Amelia hopes Gavin doesn’t discover the secret she’s been keeping…she knows he could never forgive her…
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What makes the White Wolf Pack special?
Not only are the white wolf pack the first and only Artic wolf pack I’ve written about, they’re the only pack that is newly turned, none of them having been born as lupus garous. Both conditions—being Arctic wolves in the States (where they normally don’t live) and being newly turned wolves (which means trouble for them with shifting at the wrong times, particularly when the full moon appears)—can cause real conflict for them. It began when two of their PIs, all of them best of friends, went on a bear hunt and disappeared. Cameron and Gavin had to search for them, believing something bad happened to them. As PIs and best friends, they had to find them no matter what.
Guest Post
Jewel Thieves, Heists & More with Tamara Morgan! | Seeking Mr. Wrong
SEEKING MR. WRONG by Tamara Morgan
I had a phone conversation with my editor the other day in which I was forced to admit that I am a Follower of All Rules. Sure, I write about jewel thieves and con men, and planning a heist is one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday night, but when it comes to real life, I’m kind of a stick-in-the-mud. I obey all traffic laws, return found wallets, and defer politely to authority. The closest I ever came to theft was accidentally not paying for a shirt from Target. (Spoiler alert: I went back in and paid for it.)
Which is why I love to let my jewel thief heroine in the driver’s seat when it comes time to sit down and write. She’s not afraid to break rules and play with what’s allowed. She’ll twist plots and charm her way in (and out!) of any tight situation. If you want to live large—and get away with it—she’s a much better source of information than I am.
Exclusive Excerpt
Exclusive Excerpt: The Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London!
Everybody’s talking about the hot new app reviewing New York’s most eligible bachelors. But why focus on prince charming when you can read the latest dirt on the lowest-ranked “Bad Bachelors”—NYC’s most notorious bad boys?
If one more person mentions Bad Bachelors to Reed McMahon, someone’s gonna get hurt. A PR whiz, Reed is known as an ‘image fixer’ but his womanizing ways have caught up with him. What he needs is a PR miracle of his own.
When Reed strolls into Darcy Greer’s workplace offering to help save the struggling library, she isn’t buying it. The prickly Brooklynite knows Reed is exactly the kind of guy she should avoid. But the library does need his help. As she reluctantly works with Reed, she realizes there’s more to a man than his reputation. Maybe, just maybe Bad Bachelor #1 is THE one for her.
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Darcy immediately tuned out as Brad dug into a very detailed account of how much effort he went to get a reservation at some fancy Manhattan restaurant. As an introvert and hater of both parties and small talk, she knew exactly the right spots to nod and give an interested mmm-hmm to give the appearance of listening.
But she let her eyes wander over to Reed.
He looked so different outside work. Not that she’d assumed he wore suits on the weekend or anything, but seeing him dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, his hair mussed from sitting under a baseball cap, was scarily appealing.
This outfit couldn’t hide the rock-hard muscles in his chest nor his washboard-flat stomach. Even the clingy sweats clued you in to what was underneath.
She reached for another chicken wing and bit into it. Maybe if she stuffed her face enough, she might be able to fill the void of dissatisfaction that’d been aching all week. But food wasn’t a replacement for sex…especially when she’d been woken up to the possibilities of how good sex could be.
How intimate and personal.
Q&A
Q&A with A.M. Rose! | Road to Eugenica
What are your five favorite movies with romance or romantic elements?
Romance movies are some of my favorites, and if I had to pick my top five they would have to be the ones I could watch over and over and never get tired of. While this isn’t a complete list here are a few of my favs:
Ever After
The Princess Bride
10 Things I Hate About You
She’s the Man
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
And not necessarily in that order.
What’s your favorite scene from each one?
This is almost as tough as picking out my favorite movies.
For Ever After it is a tie between this scene where Danielle has decided to go for a swim and Leonardo di Vinci nearly walks right into her because he’s wearing these shoes he invented that look like boats. She screams. He falls into the water. Which of course leads to her spending some time with the Prince. Their back and forth banter is charming and I get sucked in each time I watch it. “Why do you irritate me so?” “Why do you rise to the occasion?” – Love this!
Guest Post
The First Romance Chris Cannon Ever Read | The Dating Debate
The first romance I read, which is still one of my favorites, is Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie. Here is the opening paragraph.
The man behind the cluttered desk looked like the devil, and Nell Dysart figured that was par for her course since she’d been going to hell for a year and a half anyway. Meeting Gabriel McKenna just meant she’d arrived.
I love Jennifer Crusie’s snarky, smart heroines with their relatable problems and the heroes they square off against. The banter is always great, and the way the characters react seems realistic. There’s no insta-love. Usually it’s more insta-irritation because the characters get under each other’s skin.
I love writing my own snarky banter, and I aspire to create quirky characters like Jennifer Crusie’s. She always gives her characters some real life hobby or interest, which makes them seem more real. I was curious about the Clarice Cliff pottery mentioned in Fast Women and did a little investigating, which lead to several purchases of Clarice Cliff, The Art of the Bizarre reproductions on ebay.