I bring my knee up, take out my nine from my ankle holster, and turn the safety off. There isn‟t a lot of room in the small wedge I have put us in, but there is enough space to stretch out my legs if I sit upright, which is fine with me. The only direction I have to maintain is in front of me; the collapsed building behind me safeguards my ass and flanks.
Through the night I watch and protect Seek as he heals, and I can‟t tear my eyes away from him. He is absolutely beautiful. His profile is chiseled strength, relaxed in sleep. Masculine lips, softened in repose. He has the type of body that many men go to the gym and work like hell to obtain, all sleek muscles and brawn, but I know he got this way through years of military training and hard work. He wears a dark army green long-sleeve shirt and dark fatigue pants. There is a rip at his rib cage, and I wonder if it was caused by a grazing bullet. I can‟t help running my fingers over the short brush of his hair, liking the tickling sensation on my palm.
Here he is, finally, in front of me. No longer a dream, no longer a yearning; I take a ragged breath. My lungs feel like they‟ve never taken a deep breath before. It is so hard to articulate my emotions at this moment. I want to gush, but despite the blonde hair, I‟m not a gushing kind of girl. I feel like I have waited my whole life for this very moment and am afraid to blink in case it‟s just another dream. I am a bit overwhelmed, expecting at any moment to wake and discover that I am once again back in my tent, sleeping somewhere on the side of the road, finding out all of this was another damn premonition guiding me. I am so sick and tired of always searching, but now that it‟s possible my search is over, I am finding it difficult to even blink in fear that Seek will disappear.
But I suppose it was inevitable that my eyes would close. All I really remember is one moment I feel the heavy, almost painful droop of my eyelids, and the next moment I feel a blade sliding over my throat and a deep, raspy voice demanding, “Who the hell are you?”
Available at: http://www.loose-id.com/Kismet.aspx
Beth D. Carter
http://bethdcarter.blogspot.com/
www.bethdcarter.com
31 July 2011
18 July 2011
Upcoming release from Lauren Wilder!
Charles Pryce is sinfully sexy. Women fall at his feet, literally. He really knows how to treat a woman but then he should do, he’s been around. For over four hundred years!
When he meets Samantha he falls in love for the first time in centuries. He sets about seducing her and everything is perfect until evil Vamp Viktor rears his ugly head.
Charles is desperate to win Samantha’s heart. He wants her for all eternity but will she still want him when she discovers his dark secret?
-by Lauren Wilder
http://www.bookstrand.com/eternal-desires
This new release is offered at a 10% discount until July 20th!!!
14 July 2011
Welcome Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy!!!
Romance That Lives And Breathes The Power of Love
Thanks to my kind host, Beth, for having me as a guest today. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here.
As for romance….
I confess that beneath my tough girl exterior, my hard as nails hammered into strong wood heart, I am a hopeless romantic. I can be sentimental and yes, although I seldom like to admit it, I have been known to weep at tender scenes in either books or movies. The first time I watched Australia, I cried when The Drover and Nala found Sarah alive and well. Their sweet reunion brought tears to my eyes and choked me up with unshed sobs. I’ve even been known to shed a tear or two while writing some of my own scenes.
So my brand, tagline, motto, whatever anyone wants to call it, “Romance that lives and breathes the power of love” is true. I write it and I believe it. Love is a powerful force. In my own life, I have seen love cause amazing things, beautiful and wonderful ones. I have also felt in past relationships that withered and failed to grow how destructive and harmful love can also be. But I think that the positive power far outweighs any negative.
As more of my novels are out into the reading public’s hands, I find it harder to pick excerpts because it reminds me of picking just one of my kids for a special treat. But, since Love Never Fails, my contemporary romance is out in both eBook and paperback format, I’ll use an excerpt from it that I think illustrates my motto. The couple is meeting again for the first time after a five year separation and she came back to their hometown because he needed her, without even knowing why…
“Are you all right?” She needed to know.
“I’m okay,” Reid said. He put his hand in the center of his chest. “That is, except for this pain I’ve had right here for about five years now. A deep, burning pain that never went away. Today though, it feels just a little bit better.”
She inhaled sharply, panicked at the idea of him having chest pains and then realized his heart trouble was romantic, not medical. Without analyzing it or planning what she'd say, she leaned forward.
“Maybe this will help it heal.”
She touched her lips to his, a very light kiss, her mouth barely touching his.
“It helps if it’s real,” Reid said, taking her face into his hands and kissing her with thoroughness that ignited fire in her veins. “Did you mean what you said on the phone?”
“I came, didn’t I?”
“You did, but do you?”
Her answer was a vow. “I do, Reid. I love you.”
He exhaled. “It’s about time you told me so.
Love Never Fails, like all of my novels and novellas, can be purchased through Amazon.com, All Romances Ebooks, Manic Readers, Bookstrand, Coffee Time Romance and more.
My Amazon author page link:
http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1310491165&sr=8-1
Thanks to my kind host, Beth, for having me as a guest today. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here.
As for romance….
I confess that beneath my tough girl exterior, my hard as nails hammered into strong wood heart, I am a hopeless romantic. I can be sentimental and yes, although I seldom like to admit it, I have been known to weep at tender scenes in either books or movies. The first time I watched Australia, I cried when The Drover and Nala found Sarah alive and well. Their sweet reunion brought tears to my eyes and choked me up with unshed sobs. I’ve even been known to shed a tear or two while writing some of my own scenes.
So my brand, tagline, motto, whatever anyone wants to call it, “Romance that lives and breathes the power of love” is true. I write it and I believe it. Love is a powerful force. In my own life, I have seen love cause amazing things, beautiful and wonderful ones. I have also felt in past relationships that withered and failed to grow how destructive and harmful love can also be. But I think that the positive power far outweighs any negative.
As more of my novels are out into the reading public’s hands, I find it harder to pick excerpts because it reminds me of picking just one of my kids for a special treat. But, since Love Never Fails, my contemporary romance is out in both eBook and paperback format, I’ll use an excerpt from it that I think illustrates my motto. The couple is meeting again for the first time after a five year separation and she came back to their hometown because he needed her, without even knowing why…
“Are you all right?” She needed to know.
“I’m okay,” Reid said. He put his hand in the center of his chest. “That is, except for this pain I’ve had right here for about five years now. A deep, burning pain that never went away. Today though, it feels just a little bit better.”
She inhaled sharply, panicked at the idea of him having chest pains and then realized his heart trouble was romantic, not medical. Without analyzing it or planning what she'd say, she leaned forward.
“Maybe this will help it heal.”
She touched her lips to his, a very light kiss, her mouth barely touching his.
“It helps if it’s real,” Reid said, taking her face into his hands and kissing her with thoroughness that ignited fire in her veins. “Did you mean what you said on the phone?”
“I came, didn’t I?”
“You did, but do you?”
Her answer was a vow. “I do, Reid. I love you.”
He exhaled. “It’s about time you told me so.
Love Never Fails, like all of my novels and novellas, can be purchased through Amazon.com, All Romances Ebooks, Manic Readers, Bookstrand, Coffee Time Romance and more.
Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy:
Romance That Lives And
Breathes The Power of Love!
Love Never Fails, Rebel Ink
Press now available in
paperback,
all other titles in ebook format.
My Amazon author page link:
http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1310491165&sr=8-1
13 July 2011
A SILVER LINING...REVIEWS ARE IN!!!!
From The Romance Studio:
As the granddaughter of the owner of Hart Ranch, Heather wasn't surprised to learn from the attorney that she might inherit the ranch from the dying man. What she wasn't expecting was to be in competition for the ranch with the man she had met on her one visit to the ranch. Tristan Rogers remembered the little girl with the sprained ankle. She had been jail bait back then, fifteen to his twenty one, but he hadn't forgotten her. He'd hired on at the Hart and eventually worked his way up to foreman. The Hart was his home and his life, and he wasn't about to give it up without a fight.
I liked this contemporary romance, but then, who doesn't like hunky cowboys? Tristan's character is believable because he is attracted to Heather but doesn't want to lose his home to some cold stranger, a vegetarian at that, who doesn't know the first thing about how to run a profitable organic cattle ranch. Heather and Tristan clash on many levels, including their attraction for each other, throughout the book. I really enjoyed the information about raising cattle organically. It was just enough to understand the fundamentals without a lengthy information dump (some writers like to tell everything they know).
The story moves along quickly as Heather is forced by her grandfather to learn about ranch life or have no chance to win her inheritance, losing it all to Tristan. Her character must grow up and take stock of who she is. Her introspection is done very well, including what she has to face to overcome past injustices, her hatred and distrust of men in general, and then move on to decide who she really is and what she really wants out of life. Be sure to keep your tissue box close by for the ending. I'm giving this one a thumbs-up.
Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual
Reviewer: Kathy F.
May 18, 2011
And From Whipped Cream:
Heather and Tristan first met when she was a teenager and sprained her ankle while visiting her grandfather’s ranch. Now she’s all grown up and returned there to compete with him for the right to take over the running of the family ranch once her ailing grandfather dies.
I really enjoyed the opening to this story. A step back in the past to see both main characters and how they first met. When we fast forward to the present we meet a completely different Heather. The author did a great job showing us the transformation of her character. She’s now someone you almost despise but somewhere in the back of your mind you sense something has happened to her to turn her into this rebellious and sometimes unlikeable young woman. Tristan is still his delightful and in many scenes I felt sorry that he had to endure Heather’s temper and attitude.
The secondary characters in this story are great and helped to round out this short read. The dialogue and pacing were both spot on. It’s a sexy story full of sexual tension as Heather and Tristan go about their business at the ranch and the author does a first class job with making you finally see Heather through Tristan’s eyes which eventually makes her more tolerable.
I won’t give away what Heather was hiding but when the author did finally reveal the dark secret, all became clear as to why she acted out during the first half of the story. I would have liked to have been told this earlier in the story so we could have spent more time with this couple while Tristan mends the hurt she’s been through.
This is definitely a story to pick up if you like a sexy cowboy and a quick read.
-Rating: 3.5 cherries
Reviewed by Stephantois
As the granddaughter of the owner of Hart Ranch, Heather wasn't surprised to learn from the attorney that she might inherit the ranch from the dying man. What she wasn't expecting was to be in competition for the ranch with the man she had met on her one visit to the ranch. Tristan Rogers remembered the little girl with the sprained ankle. She had been jail bait back then, fifteen to his twenty one, but he hadn't forgotten her. He'd hired on at the Hart and eventually worked his way up to foreman. The Hart was his home and his life, and he wasn't about to give it up without a fight.
I liked this contemporary romance, but then, who doesn't like hunky cowboys? Tristan's character is believable because he is attracted to Heather but doesn't want to lose his home to some cold stranger, a vegetarian at that, who doesn't know the first thing about how to run a profitable organic cattle ranch. Heather and Tristan clash on many levels, including their attraction for each other, throughout the book. I really enjoyed the information about raising cattle organically. It was just enough to understand the fundamentals without a lengthy information dump (some writers like to tell everything they know).
The story moves along quickly as Heather is forced by her grandfather to learn about ranch life or have no chance to win her inheritance, losing it all to Tristan. Her character must grow up and take stock of who she is. Her introspection is done very well, including what she has to face to overcome past injustices, her hatred and distrust of men in general, and then move on to decide who she really is and what she really wants out of life. Be sure to keep your tissue box close by for the ending. I'm giving this one a thumbs-up.
Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual
Reviewer: Kathy F.
May 18, 2011
And From Whipped Cream:
Heather and Tristan first met when she was a teenager and sprained her ankle while visiting her grandfather’s ranch. Now she’s all grown up and returned there to compete with him for the right to take over the running of the family ranch once her ailing grandfather dies.I really enjoyed the opening to this story. A step back in the past to see both main characters and how they first met. When we fast forward to the present we meet a completely different Heather. The author did a great job showing us the transformation of her character. She’s now someone you almost despise but somewhere in the back of your mind you sense something has happened to her to turn her into this rebellious and sometimes unlikeable young woman. Tristan is still his delightful and in many scenes I felt sorry that he had to endure Heather’s temper and attitude.
The secondary characters in this story are great and helped to round out this short read. The dialogue and pacing were both spot on. It’s a sexy story full of sexual tension as Heather and Tristan go about their business at the ranch and the author does a first class job with making you finally see Heather through Tristan’s eyes which eventually makes her more tolerable.
I won’t give away what Heather was hiding but when the author did finally reveal the dark secret, all became clear as to why she acted out during the first half of the story. I would have liked to have been told this earlier in the story so we could have spent more time with this couple while Tristan mends the hurt she’s been through.
This is definitely a story to pick up if you like a sexy cowboy and a quick read.
-Rating: 3.5 cherries
Reviewed by Stephantois
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