Read an Excerpt from Wolf Rising (SWAT, Book 8) by Paige Tyler ~ #Giveaway ~ @SourceBooksCasa #Excerpt

Just when he’s found The One…he might lose her.

About the Book:

SWAT Officer Jayden Brooks doesn’t believe there’s a soul mate out there for him—The One. But when he saves high school teacher Selena Rosa from a hostage situation, he knows he’s in big trouble. Her scent is irresistible.

Selena finds the big cop irresistible, too. In fact, the buttoned-up teacher gets a little carried away—during a steamy make-out session, she bites him. Turns out, the traumatizing events at the school triggered her werewolf gene. Fangs and claws are appearing and her aggression is out of control. The change is happening, and Selena doesn’t understand.

It’s going to take everything Brooks has to pull her back from the edge…and ultimately win her heart.

Read an Excerpt:

“Thanks for helping with the salad,” Selena said, peeking around his shoulder and watching him work. “But I’m almost afraid to ask, where’d you learn how to handle a knife like that?”

Brooks chuckled as he peeled another carrot, then made a quick series of julienne cuts to turn it into long, slim pieces slightly bigger than matchsticks. “I’d love to tell you I picked up my knife skills in the CIA or someplace cool like that, but to be truthful, my mom taught me. She loves all those cooking shows on TV and makes me watch them with her every time I visit.”

When Selena didn’t say anything, Brooks turned his head to see her standing beside him with a stunned expression. “What, did I just blow your whole image of me by admitting that?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. I’m just trying to figure out how you could possibly get any better. You’re attractive, heroic, show up for our date on time, bring wine, help me make dinner, and now I find out you visit your mother. It’s enough to make a girl wonder what kind of deep, dark secrets you’re hiding behind those captivating eyes of yours, because nobody’s that perfect.”

He could think of one deep, dark secret he was definitely hiding that he’d love to tell her about, but he resisted the urge. Selena wasn’t ready for something like that yet. Then again, was she likely to handle it any better after dinner? For that matter, was it going to be any easier for her to take three days from now?

Probably not. But like Gage had said, it was up to Brooks to figure out when and how to tell her. He only hoped he didn’t screw it up.

“Trust me, I’m far from perfect,” he finally said with a little laugh as he finished cutting the carrot and added it to the salad. “Just ask the other members of my team. They’ll be quick to point out all my faults and failures.” Selena leaned her hip against the island, her long hair falling over her shoulder as she gazed up at him with those beautiful dark eyes of hers. “You realize you’re just making it worse, right?”

“What do you mean?”

It was kind of hard to think clearly when Selena was this close to him. The scent of arousal that had been coming off her since he’d first walked in the door was captivating. Brooks wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but he assumed it was some kind of subconscious reaction on her part. Maybe her inner werewolf taking notice of him as an alpha.

He’d considered slipping off to the bathroom to send a quick text to Khaki and ask if she knew why a female werewolf would put off pheromones like this but quickly decided against it. Mostly because he had no idea how he could possibly bring this subject up in a text to a woman, even if she was a member of his pack. Selena continued to gaze up at him, eyes like two deep pools of melted chocolate. For a moment, he thought she might actually kiss him, but then she spoke.

“I’ve met lots of guys who think they’re all that and go out of their way to tell every woman they meet. Yet here I am showering you with compliments, and all you can say is that you’re far from perfect. Trust me, women like a man who’s both sexy and humble.”

Brooks snorted. “I’m not sure if many women out there would agree with you. If they did, I probably wouldn’t still be single.”

Selena shrugged, the movement doing amazing things to the cleavage exposed by the curve-hugging dress she wore. “I can’t say for sure yet, since we just met, but something tells me the reason you’re single is that you’ve been hanging out with women who don’t know what they’re looking for in a man—or wouldn’t know it when they see it.”

Brooks considered the single real relationship he’d had and the string of short-term failures and decided Selena was pretty spot-on. Most of the women he’d gone out with hadn’t seemed to know what they wanted out of a relationship. Or they’d wanted something completely different than he did. On the flip side, he was man enough to admit he’d rarely known what he’d been looking for in a relationship, either.

Though that seemed to be changing quickly.

“How about you?” he asked. “Do you know what you’re looking for in a man?”

Heat blazed up in her eyes, making them glint enough for him to think they might actually be glowing, but Selena leaned past him to pick up the salad bowls before he could be sure

“I know exactly what I want,” she said. “Come on. Let’s go eat. You look hungry.”

Turning, she headed for the table, her hips swaying hypnotically as she moved, her dress showing off just enough of her shapely legs to tease him. That, along with Selena’s words, made him harden in his jeans and pulled a low, rumbling growl from his throat.

Oh yeah. He was hungry all right.

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Read an Excerpt from To Have and To Harley by Regina Cole ~ Enter the #Giveaway ~ #Romance @SourcebooksCasa

You may now kiss the biker

About the Book:

Bethany Jernigan owes her bestie. Big time. So when wedding planning overburdens the bride-to-be, Bethany steps in to handle the nitty-gritty. But the guy in charge isn’t anything like she imagined. He's gruff, tattooed, and 100% male. His staff is even rougher around the edges, and it's not long before she feels as if she's stepped into some kind of crazy alternate reality.

Are those…bikers? Arguing about wedding favors?

Trey Harding never wanted this to get so out of hand. One little lie somehow snowballed into a world of dresses and flowers and food and holy-hell-he's-in-over-his-head. But it’s not like he can confess he’s not the wedding planner he’s pretending to be—especially now that he's falling for the maid of honor! His charade is becoming a farce, and as engines rev and ribbons fly, Trey’s running out of time to figure out how to tell the truth without losing his new family, his crew…or the woman of his dreams.

Read an Excerpt:

Bethany followed him out into the night. This far out in the country, the stars twinkled brightly. Crickets chirped, the low thump of music from inside muffled by the closing door. 

Gravel crunched under Bethany’s shoes as she followed Trey a short distance from the building, around the corner to a concrete pad that held a good dozen-plus motorcycles. 

“What can I do for you?” 

Bethany shivered. 

It wasn’t the night air. It was the way he stood, feet braced apart, shoulders square, arms loose and ready, body big and strong and near enough for her to sink into. 

If she wanted. Which she didn’t. Really, she didn’t. 

She cleared her throat. Focus, Beth. 

“That was…an interesting event.” She chose her words carefully. Though she’d clearly won, she didn’t want to make him feel bad. Weird, that. She didn’t want to make a liar feel bad for lying? What was wrong with her? 

“Thank you,” he said shortly, his stare direct. She fought the urge to squirm. She hadn’t done anything wrong. A little rude, maybe, but not wrong. 

“Now will you agree that you can’t handle Sarah’s wedding?” 

“No.” 

His short answer took her aback, and she blinked. “I’m sorry?” 

“I said no.” 

Her temper rose, blood heating as her pulse quickened. “That’s my best friend you’re talking about. You think you can get away with something like this for her? A wedding at a bar with shrimp and orange bagels and peanut-butter pickle boats?” 

Trey’s glare shot toward the bar. “Damn it, Stone, I told you to drop the pickles.” 

“You can’t do this to them. To Sarah, to Mama Yelverton. They’re trusting you, and you’re lying to them!” 

“I know!” he roared, and the sound was so loud and close that her heart jumped into her throat. “I know they’re trusting me! That’s why I’m trying to do the best job I can. And you’re always in the way and trying to ruin it! Why aren’t you letting me help them?” 

“Because I don’t trust you!” She went toe-to-toe with him, shoulders heaving as she stared straight into his glowering eyes. “You’re too—” 

“Too what? Too rough? Too mean? Too bad to plan a wedding?” 

“Yes! All of that! You don’t know what you’re doing, and you’re going to ruin things for them and take their money and break their hearts, and I won’t let you do it! I love them, and you’re not going to take advantage of them like this!” 

Trey stopped, his expression blanking. “You think I’m trying to take advantage of them? For money?” 

Bethany’s insides stuttered, uncertainty creeping into her voice. “Well, aren’t you?” 

He looked away from her, an unnamed emotion rolling off him in waves. 

“No. I’m not. I don’t want anything from them but a relationship. And I hope you understand that you’re doing your best to ruin any chance of that.” 

For the first time, the certainty that she’d held about Trey began to crumble. Standing there in front of her, with his strong, broad shoulders silhouetted against the parking lot lights, he looked—human. Angry and hurt and lonely, as if her words had peeled away the outer shell he presented to the world. His gaze swung back to her, and she saw in that moment just how shallow she’d been. How wrong. How prejudice had blinded her, how the exterior of the man in front of her had shielded her eyes from the true heart of him. 

“You were lonely. Weren’t you?” 

Her whispered question rocked him on his heels as if it were a gunshot. 

“Yeah. Yeah I was. I thought I’d been dumped by the woman who’d given birth to me in a gas-station bathroom.” 

Her hand covered her mouth, and she just stared. As if a tourniquet had been released, words flew from him. 

“I had nobody. The system yanked me back and forth so many times, I had whiplash by the time I was eight. Nobody wanted me. Nobody—” 

He gritted his teeth and stared straight out at the horizon, as if by simply looking at it, he could stem the tide of emotions she’d unwittingly released. 

But they hung there, unspoken, and Bethany’s heart ached for him. 

She’d known love. She’d had the most amazing father for fifteen years. And after that? She’d had the Yelvertons to rescue her from her grandmother. Without them… 

Without them, she might know a little more of his pain. 

God, how wrong she’d been. Because he looked like a roughneck, she’d judged him as unfit for the Yelvertons. But now…now she could see a glimpse of the little boy he’d been once. Lonely, afraid, abandoned. She longed to comfort him, to heal him, to take away the pain her thoughtlessness had inflicted. 

Her father would be ashamed of her. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, and without thinking, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He was warm and hard, his body unmoving, like a living rock. “I’m so, so sorry.” 

For a moment he didn’t yield, didn’t budge, didn’t return her embrace. And then his big, broad hands swept up her back, and he relaxed into her embrace, taking the physical comfort she offered. 

With each heartbeat, she tried to communicate her true feelings to him. To return the kindness he’d shown her in the kitchen. To apologize for ripping open his decades-old emotional wound. To make amends for the fact she’d stood in his way when all he’d wanted was to get to know his family. 

But it wasn’t enough. She needed to do more. 

Of its own accord, her hand wandered up and cupped his cheek. As she looked into his eyes, twin mossy pools of pain and sadness, she did the only thing she could think of. 

She kissed him. 

“I’m sorry. I’ve hurt you, and I know what that feels like, and I’m so damn sorry.” 

The words went unspoken, but she prayed he could feel them in the brush of her mouth against his.

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Author Post ~ Why I Like to Blend Genres by JL Mulvihill, Author of the Steel Roots Series ~ @JLMulvihill @TCMPublicity

Please welcome JL Mulvihill to the blog today!!

K. W. Jeter coined the phrase Steampunk when he described his novel Morlock Night. Since then the genre has taken of in so many directions it’s amazing.  I love the aesthetics of the Steampunk genre and writing in this world makes me feel like anything is possible. Of course I do lots of research and buy all kinds of books about steam trains, the age of steam, and the Victorian era and revolution. I also study maps of America and the train routes that are and used to be.

Some of the histories of the train routes all over America are fascinating stories in themselves. There were train routes put in by companies trying to get to and from their mines. Some of the routes were put in when the railroad companies could not seem to get along. All these little railroad companies popped up all over the nation for a while. Just as suddenly as they popped up they were purchased or went out of business. It seems that taking out the tracks that have been laid was just too much of an expense so there are a lot of railroad tracks that just go nowhere and then stop. It’s pretty interesting to me and I feel that the whole steam train aspect works well within the Steampunk genre.

Steampunk stories usually take place in the Victorian era and in Europe though I have noticed more and more in America, and of course Asia has some amazing Steampunk stories. However, I wanted to put a little different feel to this story so I drew on my own experiences and places I have been and things I have seen. The reader will find a lot of caves and mines in this series and that’s because this is another obsession I have. I have gone spelunking and visited old silver mines and lots of natural caves so this was another influence in my writing.

I have a very vivid imagination so much that I can close my eyes and put myself in a place or situation and then I look around and describe everything I see, feel and hear. Sometimes it can be difficult to describe accurately what I see in my head. When this happens I turn to my research and use a lot of visual for description. If you see my office will see all kinds of eclectic items as well as books on just about every subject. I have black and white photos of old train cars and old maps along with dragons and Star Wars toys. These items inspire me and my writing.

With all these things in my visual it’s not hard to see where I get my ideas and why I like to blend genres. I have incorporated Fantasy into this series along with the Steampunk which tends to confuse people. I feel that writing can be like cooking and if you mix the ingredients properly you will have a tasty outcome. Anyway, isn’t steampunk really fantasy? Besides, the original Steampunker used elements of Fantasy in his book Morlock Night so why can’t I?

All these components I put them together and created the Steel Roots series. A Western, Steampunk, Fantasy adventure. I like to call it a heart stopping, train hopping great American adventure. This is an adventure where a young girl learns that the world around her is not so great but with her determination and the help of her friends, she can overcome anything. 

So what happens next? I am finishing up the 4^th novel, The End of the Line, and I personally cannot wait to find out what happens.

Thank you,

J L Mulvihill

www.jlmulvihill.com

Changing the world one story at a time.

Steel Roots Series
August 8-16, 2018

More and more readers are discovering the wonderfully imaginative Steel Roots Series from JL Mulvihill! A young adult, steampunk, alternative history adventure, the Steel Roots series features three books, The Boxcar Baby, Crossings, and Rails West. Character-driven and beautifully written, the Steel Roots series is the focus of this new blog tour running from August 8-16!

 

About The Boxcar Baby: 

Born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia. At least that is what Papa Steel always told AB'Gale. But now, fifteen years later, the man who adopted and raised her as his own is missing and it's up to AB'Gale to find him. Aided only by a motley gang of friends, AB'Gale train hops her way across the United States in a desperate attempt to find her papa and put her life and family back the way it was. Her only guide is a map given to her by a mysterious hobo, with hand written clues she found hidden in her papa's spyglass. Here is the Great American Adventure in an alternate steampunk dystopian world, where fifteen-year-old AB'Gale Steel learns that nothing is as it seems, but instead is shrouded in secrets and mysteries ... and that monsters come in all shapes and forms. 

The Boxcar Baby is the first book of the Steel Roots series.

    

About Crossings: 

Bishop Steel is still missing, so AB’Gale must follow the map continuing the search for her papa. Her quest leads Abby down dangerous paths that threaten to get her captured by the System. Danger lurks at every turn of the road, on every doorstep and every train. Finding it difficult to know who to trust when she discovers she is now wanted for crimes against the System, Abby travels under the guise of a young boy. Conflicted with the desire to rid her world of the unjust or find her papa, Abby finds few friends amid hobos, air pirates, and entrepreneurs. Abby finds that real friends will never abandon you, nor will they allow you to give up on your convictions. A true awakening to internal conflict and the desire to put right what is wrong, this is the great American adventure ringing with the sound of freedom along the steel routes. 

Crossings is Book Two of the Steel Roots Series.

 

About Rails West: 

“The System Regulatory Unit has determined that the responsible parties of last week’s explosion in Downtown St. Louis are none other than the notorious Abigail Steel and her band of pirates. She is wanted for questioning regarding numerous acts of rule breaking against the System. She is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached but informed upon at once.” Not only is her name misspelled, but the System has her description all wrong because AB’Gale Steel is not a criminal. She just wants to find her papa and now she feels she is so close, but will the System catch her before she finds him? And what about the marks on the map the old hobo gave her? What was Papa doing in all those places? Why is the System so concerned about Bishop Steel and his daughter? Are the people of America seething with frustration? And is there an insurgency boiling beneath the surface? All the answers lie within Rails West. 

About the Author: 

  

A California native born in Hollywood, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the past seventeen years. Her debut novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter of Easa, an engaging fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of Steampunk, published through Dark Oak Press in 2011. The sequel to this novel is presently in the works. Her Most recent novel, The Boxcar Baby of the Steel Roots series, was released in July 2013 through Seventh Star Press. Steel Roots is a young adult series based in the Steampunk genre and engages the reader into a train hopping heart stopping adventure across America. Book 2, Crossings released December of 2014. She is also the co-editor of Southern Haunts; The Spirits That Walk Among Us which includes a short story of her own called Bath 10, and a fictional thriller involving a real haunted place. Her poem, The Demon of the Old Natchez Trace, debuts in Southern Haunts part 2, Devils in the Darkness. J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication, is very active with the writing community, and is the events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group.

Author Links: 

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

Twitter: @JLMulvihill 

Official sites: 

http://elsielind.com http://jlsbooks.blogspot.com/ 

http://home.comcast.net/~mulvijen/site 

Tour Schedule and Activities:

8/8 Jazzy Book Reviews http://bookreviewsbyjasmine.blogspot.com Guest Post

8/8 I Smell Sheep http://www.ismellsheep.com/ Guest Post

8/9 Inspired Chaos http://inspiredchaos.weebly.com/blog Guest Post 

8/9 Breakeven Books https://breakevenbooks.com Author Interview 

8/10 Sheila's Guests and Reviews https://Sheiladeeth.blogspot.com Guest Post 

8/11 Bookmark Your Thoughts https://bookmarkyourthoughts.blog Review 

8/11 Ravenous for Reads https://www.ravenousforreads.com Author Interview 

8/11 Sapphyria's Books https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/ Guest Post 

8/12 The Book Lover's Boudoir https://thebookloversboudoir.wordpress.com/ Review 

8/13 The Reading Bud https://thereadingbud.com Review 

8/14 Swords and Red ses https://swordsandrosess.wordpress.com/ Review 

8/14 Ravenous for Reads https://www.ravenousforreads.com Guest Post 

8/15 Literature Approved http://literatureapproved.com Review 

8/15 Honestly Austen http://honestlyausten.com Review 

8/16 YA/NA Book Divas http://facebook.com/yareeds Guest Post 

8/16 Love Bites and Silk http://www.lovebitesandsilk.co.uk/ Guest Post 

Purchase Links:

The Boxcar Baby

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Crossings:

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Rails West

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Read an #Excerpt from Half Empty (The First Wives, Book 2) by Catherine Bybee & Enter the #Giveaway @catherinebybee

Book Details:

Title: Half Empty
Series: The First Wives
Author: Catherine Bybee
Release Date: July 31, 2018
Publisher: Montlake Romance



About the Book:

Trina Petrov’s marriage-by-contract was only meant to be temporary. But when tragedy strikes, Trina is left one of the wealthiest women in the world. To recover from the shock, she takes some time off in Italy, swearing not to fall for any men while there. But that doesn’t mean she can’t fall for anyone on the trip home . . .

Country-music superstar Wade Thomas is lying low in a hotel bar when he gets the cold shoulder from the woman next to him. He’s used to fans fawning at his boots, and Trina is a refreshing change—so is the fact that she has no idea who he is.

As things begin to heat up, Trina discovers that the circumstances of her late husband’s death are not what they seemed. Now she’s in trouble, and Wade isn’t about to let her out of his sight. Getting close to love and danger could get them killed . . . or it could sweep them both off their feet.

Read an Excerpt:

They closed the bar and took their last round to the hotel lobby.

Wade had to admit he was a bit more than tipsy, and Trina wasn’t exactly sober. She’d tucked her feet under her on the lobby sofa as she described Venice in a way that made him want to visit.

“There isn’t one car?” he asked.

“No place for them. You only get around on foot or boat. Which is probably best to help counter the pasta you consume while you’re there.”

“So why did you pick Venice?”

Her eyes drifted away, something Wade had noticed happened a lot when she was lost in thought. A hint of sorrow quickly came and went, almost as if she caught herself. The smile she flashed felt forced. “I wanted isolation so I could study.”

“Study?” She rattled off something that went completely over his head.

Her dark brown eyes glistened with her smile. “I’m learning Italian.”

Wade blew out a breath. “Oh, thank God. I thought maybe that last beer was one too many.”

“I like languages.”

“As in many?”

“A few.”

He was happy to speak English. “I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be. Most Europeans are fluent in a minimum of two languages.”

“Are you from Europe?”

“No. Born and raised in Southern California. My grandparents on my mother’s side are from Mexico. Spanish was always spoken in our home.”

“So you speak Spanish as well?” He squirmed in his chair.

“Yup.”

“Now I’m feelin’ a bit inferior.”

“Language is my hidden talent,” she said.

“So how did you end up in Texas?”

Her gaze met his before she wrinkled her nose and gave a quick shake of the head. “It’s a long story.”

“Which is your way of saying don’t pry.”

She stretched out her arms. “It’s my way of saying that we’ve had a pleasant conversation, and bringing up my recent move will change all that. I’d just as soon keep this light.”

Wade wasn’t expecting her reply. “Now you’ve piqued my interest.”

“Another time,” she said.

He offered a smile that usually had women crawling all over him. “Am I going to have that chance?”

“Chance for what?”

“Another conversation.”

Her eyes bored into him as if he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. “I told you, I’m not interested.”

He lifted one eyebrow, flashed a dimple. “What if I told you I was rich?”

She burst out in laughter.

His smile fell.

“Sorry…” She appeared to pull in her mirth. “You’re gonna have to do better than money.”

“Good lord, woman.”

“Sorry.”

He scratched his head. “I’m famous.”

She bit her lip. “That explains the arrogance.”

Wade placed a hand on his wounded chest. “I am not.”

Trina tossed her head back, and her deep laugh filled the empty lobby. “My name is Wade Thomas, you don’t know who I am?” Her mimicry of him was off by several octaves.

Her laughter tickled his gut.

“I can teach you the two-step.”

She pinched her lips together, trying to contain herself.

His pride was starting to dim.

“I’m not bad looking.”

She looked him up and down … twice. “I’ll give you that.”

He lifted both hands in the air. “Finally.”

For the span of a full minute, she stared. Her smile slowly started to fall, and he knew she was talking herself out of dating him.

“Tell you what. I’m flying home tomorrow. Private charter, because I’m rich, famous, and arrogant.” He moaned on that last word.

“And good-looking.”

Now they were getting somewhere.

“I can give you a lift home.”

Trina blew out a breath. “I’m avoiding going home,” she reminded him.

“And I was thinking I needed a quick stop in Nassau … where the plane might not be able to leave right away. That tropical depressed storm and all.”

She pointed a finger in his direction. “I like the way you think.”

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About the Author:



New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than 4.5 million copies and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite series, the Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCatherineBybee
Twitter: https://twitter.com/catherinebybee
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2905789.Catherine_Bybee

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