We Host: Tanner’s Devil by Sylvia Hubbard

 

 

In Detroit, strange things can happen. What does a Duke, a Former Street Doctor & Prostitute and A Pimp with a very big gun have to do with ne another in 21st City of Detroit?

Find out in Tanner’s Devil.

Can an urban woman find love in a world not her own? Or give it up and accept her fate with her ex-pimp?

Tanner’s struggling trying to get away from the gritty streets of Detroit she was born and raised on. With a

pimp as an ex-boyfriend, who’s constantly trying to get her back in the business and back in his arms, Tanner knows she’s got to better her situation immensely and get out the city all together because Donetello just doesn’t want to let go. Yet, with less than twenty-four hours to raise a large amount of money, Tanner knows she has to either work her ass off literally or give up her dream and return to Donetello’s eagerly waiting arms for security and peace of mind.

Devlin Sanchez has waited his whole life for this one moment. He’s saved himself for only the woman he would be with forever – his wife, but when he catches his bride in the arms of his best man and brother, he’s driven to circumstances that leave him unexpectedly wanting more of what he should have never had – Tanner.

Sometimes love can be found in the most unexpected places and just because it doesn’t look how you expected it to, doesn’t mean that it isn’t real. Strong characters and a varied and interesting list of locations move the story forward at a rapid pace. There will be times when you hate them all, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

 

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Chapter One

“Nine thousand!” Pari had cried when Tanner gave her the news about finishing off her education. “Dollars?”

Pari felt terrible for her friend and couldn’t believe nine thousand was keeping her from getting her degree. Nine thousand needed by tomorrow afternoon. Pari was barely making ends meet, and Tanner was so caught up with two internships, working a steady job, going to school to keep her 4.0 G.P.A., and paying bills that were not hers accrued by her now dead crack-addicted mother. Even the little hustle Tanner opted to do every once in a while for the pimp, Donetello, didn’t really make ends meet around Tanner’s life with the cost of school, books and payments she needed to make on everything else.

The pounding on the door in the middle of the night made Pari sprint from her bed barely dressed without checking to see who it was. Her room was closest to the front of their upper two-family apartment on the Westside of Detroit. Sadly, she was use to these knocks in the middle of the night.

“Get out of the fucking way!” a deep voice boomed as he helped someone smaller into the room.

“Lay her on the couch!” Pari ordered and then ran to the back of the flat to knock on her roommate’s door.

“Tanner!Tanner! You got a client.”

Several locks clicked before the door opened, and Tanner, a thirty-year-old light coffee-skinned woman with all-seeing eyes came out. Her corn-rolled hair was wrapped in a black silk scarf, and it didn’t look like she had been asleep.

Pari followed Tanner in the front room where a skinny, black crack-head gasped for air. It was a knife wound to the right side. There was thick red blood oozing from the woman’s side and she seemed to have lost a lot of blood because she was very weak.

Pari followed Tanner in the front room where a skinny, black crack-head gasped for air. A knife wound in her right side trickled thick and red blood. Her weakness indicated that she’d lost a lot of blood.

Pari didn’t know much medicinal information, but these knife wounds were familiar to her eyes because they often ended at Tanner’s doorway. Tanner cleaned and dressed the wound with the expertise of an emergency doctor.

She pulled medical supplies out of a large leather bag she usually kept secreted away in the apartment. Most times the supplies were stolen in payment for services rendered. Tanner never questioned how the medical sundries were obtained, but as expensive as some of the supplies, prescribed antibiotics, pills and salves that were given to her, they had to have been gotten through illegal means.

The big man, who brought the woman in, paced back and forth a few feet away from where Tanner worked. When he lit up a cigarette, Tanner barked, “Put that shit out!”

He did, and, when it was all over, Tanner stood and looked at the large, burly man. “Who told you about me?”

“Donetello. He said to bring the bitch here. He lost his cool when the bitch only pulled in about twenty bucks tonight.”

“What the fuck does he expect? It feels like ten below outside!” Tanner sneered.

The man looked past Tanner at the crack-head, who had fallen asleep.

“Will she make it?”

“Yes, but tell your boss she’s out of commission. She probably won’t be working much because the wound needs time to heel and this weather is too dangerous for her to even be outside. The wind chill factor outside feels like five below. I gave her some antibiotics, but if she works for the next couple of days, she’ll tear her stitches.”

“No can do. Donetello’s got a private party tonight, and she’s on the list of entertainment. His other girls are off on other things.”

“Then he shouldn’t have lost his temper,” Tanner spat, wiping the rest of the blood off her hands.

“Donetello said if she’s out of commission, he knows you know someone who can take her place.” The large man winked at Pari, who gasped at the thought of doing what he implied.

“Go in your room, Pari,” Tanner ordered.

Pari protested, “I’m not—”

Tanner turned sharply and screamed, “Go in your mother-fucking room NOW!”

Pari gave her roommate a hurt expression, but understood Tanner knew more about what was really going on than she did, so she enclosed herself in her room, pressing her ear against the door to listen.

Tanner must have known this and ordered the large man to step outside to speak on the steps.

Damn! Tanner, what are you going to do?

A few minutes later, Pari heard a lot of movement as Tanner and the man entered. Another door closed, and then it grew quiet. When Pari’s ear hurt like hell pressed up against the door, she gave up and just went to the front room. There was no one there.

Tanner had left along with the large man and the injured woman on the couch. On the tabletop lay a note from Tanner saying simply: “I’ll be back.”

US UK DE FR ES IT NL JP BR CA MX AU IN

Sylvia Hubbard knew she’d wanted to be a writer of romance long before she knew there were black writers in the world. Weaving stories magically as a summer past time to writing stories to get through the humdrum of school, she was able to create something from nothing.

Today, she has independently published over 37 books, is the founder of Motown Writers Network and The AA Electronic Literary Network, CEO of HubBooks Literary Services, runs over five blogs on a variety of subjects, host The Michigan Literary Network Radio Show and is a happily divorced mother of three children in Detroit, Michigan.

“I’m no superwoman,” she states with a smile that seems infinite on her lips. “I’m just being an asset in the world instead of a liability.”

Considered an addicted blogger by HoneyTechblog.com, nominated and recognized for her literary work in the Metro Detroit area, referred to as “A Literary Diva” by Detroit City Council and donned “Cliffhanger Queen” by her readers, she finds solace in speaking and educating on a variety of topics.

Her subjects range from Social Media, Internet Marketing, Creative Intimacy, Single Parenting, Blogging, E-Books, Publishing (all aspects i.e.: writing, publishing, marketing & promoting online & offline), and personal triumphs with inspiration mixed in. 

Never a disappointment, Sylvia Hubbard, has spoken in front of thousands all over the United States and Canada.

SYLVIA’S TOP 5 TIPS ON STAYING MOTIVATED AS A WRITER…

As a Single Mom of Three, running an organization, wearing all the hats to being an Independent Author (wearing all the hats) and just being a woman living in Detroit, many times life gets in the way. The urge to write becomes tedious even though I love writing.

A lot of writers ask me how do I keep motivated, so I’m going to give five short ways to get writing going and keep writing going.

1. Get a playlist. Music is great way to block out the world. Always have your writer’s playlist on all electronics. Your computer, phone, MP3 player and even in your car. Even when you’re not writing, play it to help you get motivated to write when you have the chance.

2. Carry your manuscript. Whatever you’re working on print it out and carry it wherever you go. You’ll get tired of it and start working on it to get rid of it. It’s like a baby you want to hurry up and start walking so you don’t have to carry around anymore.

3. Talk about your story to others. It’s actually puts pressure on yourself to finish it. Talking out loud to the universe seals the deal in your heart of hearts to get the job done.

4. DO NOT EDIT YOUR FIRST DRAFT UNTIL YOU ARE DONE. Finish the story and then go back and add the other twist or work out the ending later but just write it out even if it’s bull crap.

5. Do a cover. Losing momentum? Think you have writer’s block (which I don’t believe in). (Side note: when people tell me they have writer’s block, I imagine them having diarrhea and I just want to give them a laxative. Who has back up for ten years?) Anyhoo, create a cover for your book so it solidifies that it’s real and it’s actually happening.

BONUS: Do research. Keeping the momentum going means giving your story a look and feel that it’s jumping off the page. So do research on:

– The city the characters live in or are going to visit in the book

– Their job. What special lingo do they use at work?

– Their hobbies or their family. Their mother was a drug dealing hairstylist: Research drug dealing and hairstylist.

Experience The
Literary World of Sylvia Hubbard

 

All content and graphics (with the exception of the review) provided by Books on Fire Media.

Blog Tour – Thicker Than Bone by Matthew J. Metzger

Matthew J. Metzger is a British author currently living, working and writing near Bristol in the south-west of England. He is both asexual and transgender, and seeks out the loud characters, rough stories, and quirky personalities that explore the rich diversity of the QUILTBAG world. He writes both adult and young adult novels, covering topics from mental illness to ill-advised crushes, and particularly enjoys writing about universal issues from the QUILTBAG perspective. Matthew can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tsu, or at his website.

When not writing (which is rare), Matthew is usually found crunching numbers at his day job, working out to inappropriately chirpy pop songs, or being owned by his cat. It is important to note that the man does not, naturally, own the cat.

Social Media Links: Facebook and Twitter

If you could save someone’s life, would you? Anyone’s?

Ali’s older brother has a swastika tattooed on his knuckles, a prison ID number for nearly beating a man to death for the crime of being Middle Eastern, and spent his teenage years ruthlessly persecuting Ali for being gay.

Blood may be thicker than water, but Ali has spent most of his life desperate to prove that he is nothing like Tony. A committed vegetarian, charity-supporter, and blood donor, Ali would do anything for anyone, and is frequently teased by his partner, Yazid, for being too soft-hearted. Ali may share parentage with Tony, but he is determined not to share anything else if he can help it.

So when Tony contracts leukaemia, and Ali is the only match for the urgently-needed bone marrow transplant, Ali is caught between two equally awful choices: to refuse, and condemn a man to death, or to donate.

And in donating, save the life of the man who nearly murdered Ali’s Iraq-born boyfriend?

Click here

23 Nov – Erzabet’s Enchantments
24 Nov – Indy Book Fairy
24 Nov – Romance Reviews Today
25 Nov – Stormy Nights Reviewing & Blogging
25 Nov – Pamaceeve
26 Nov – Books on Fire
26 Nov – Foreplay & Fangs
27 Nov – Torie James
27 Nov – Shelli Rosewarne
27 Nov – Savvy Authors
27 Nov – Romance Junkies
27 Nov – Night Owl Reviews
28 Nov – Books & More

Yazid gave up trying the moment that the clock on the wall ticked over to seven. Tracy cheered. “Get yerself on the other side of that bar!” she crowed, shoving Yazid hard in the back. “G’wan, yer ingrate, yer not one of my staff no more!”

Danielle, his pink-haired replacement, giggled and started pouring a Guinness before Yazid could even ask for it; he laughed and whipped off his work shirt to the delighted shrieks of a hen party just starting up in the corner.

“Put that away!” Tracy jeered, her strong accent turning it into ‘pertharraway.’ She tossed Yazid his backpack from the storage cupboard under the till, and he obediently offered the hen party a little self-indulgent flex or two before tugging a t-shirt over his head and ‘putting it away.’

“Knock it off, you lot, ‘e’s a gay-boy!” Tracy shouted, and the bride-to-be, one of their regulars, whistled even louder.

“Even better then, get it back out and give us a show!” she yelled back and Yazid laughed.

“Speaking of gay-boys,” Tracy said, “where’s yours?”

“Family thing,” Yazid said, grinning at Danielle when she plonked the liveliest Guinness he’d ever seen in front of him. “His mum’s birthday, I think. Maybe his sister’s. I dunno, I wasn’t listening.”

Tracy crowed with laughter; Lee, one of the kitchen skivvies, loped past and clapped Yazid so hard on the back he nearly hit the bar.

“Lucky you, getting to escape this place,” he said, and Tracy hit him with a packet of crisps. “Oi! Cow!”

“Pick yer knuckles off the floor and get movin’ with them bar snacks!” she retorted. Yazid snorted as Lee was scolded back into the kitchen, and downed a third of his Guinness in one gulp.

“Steady on, love,” one of the other barmaids said. “No plans later, then?”

“Nah,” Yazid said. “Starting the new job next week, but the other half couldn’t get much time so our little party’s at the weekend.”

She blew up into her fringe. “That’s disgusting.”

“Didn’t fink you was ‘omophobic or nuffink,” Danielle said in her thick London accent. She was a student working to pay her fees to the University of Leeds, and was routinely mocked for the way she spoke. She didn’t seem to mind.

“Nah, the bit that’s not right is that he gets a bloke like that, and I don’t,” the barmaid said.

“Like what?” Danielle asked.

“Like that,” came the significant reply, but before Yazid could work it out, a pair of arms slid around his shoulders and a kiss landed against his temple.

“Hello, gorgeous.”

“Hey babe,” he beamed, twisting to offer a one-armed hug. Ali slide onto the stool next to his, a broad smile splitting his wind-flushed face. He looked stunning, and Yazid — emboldened by the fact he’d never have to step foot back in this place if he didn’t want to — leaned across to kiss him.

“I made some excuse to Mum,” Ali said. “Wanted to come and see you instead.”

“Damnit, I was going to get with Lee round the back later,” Yazid whined, and Tracy shrieked with laughter.

“Now that would be sick,” she said. “What can I get you, my love?”

The bar was empty but loud, the hen do and a couple of lads at the pool table making it seem busier than it actually was, and as the evening shift drifted in for their own patterns, Lee and Lizzy, one of the cleaners, clocked off and joined them for a toast to Yazid’s new job and ‘escaping the madhouse’ when Tracy was out of earshot. Yazid’s good mood was bolstered by a win on the fruit machines, and then the hen party staggered off to start their bar crawl proper, and their little party of four squashed into the abandoned booth.

“Gonna be almost feminine without you, mate,” Lee said, clacking their glasses together messily. “Won’t be no blokes left!”

“Yazid doesn’t count as a bloke,” Lizzy argued. “Gays don’t count!”

“More bloke than any of you tarts,” Lee snorted.

“Definitely all bloke,” Ali said. “When you’re not being a princess,” he added snidely, and Yazid laughed, dropping an arm around him faux-casually.

“Princess Yazida, that’s me,” he agreed, to Lee’s good-natured ribbing and Lizzy’s alarmingly high giggle. “Lizzy, he just means nobody to discuss the football with without having to compete for you girls.”

“Sorry Lee, you just ain’t my type,” Lizzy said, and waggled her fingers in front of her chest with a leery grin. “You just ain’t got the knockers!”

“Neither have you, you flat-chested tart!” Lee retorted, and Yazid laughed. He waved to Danielle for another pint, feeling at ease and relaxed, and quite prepared to get a bit wankered now Ali had shown up and would steer him vaguely homewards at closing time. Maybe with a detour to —

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

Ali’s angry voice jolted Yazid out of his happy buzz, then there was a fist in his t-shirt and he was jerked from his seat to the wall, the slightly sticky paintwork hitting him too hard in the back and his quarter-pint of Guinness crashing down his trousers to the floor.

“What the—”

“Shoulda known it was you,” Tony Barraclough snarled at disturbingly close range. His teeth were yellow, and he stank of cigarettes and weed.

“Oi!” Tracy bellowed from the bar.

“Get off me,” Yazid snarled, and shoved. Tony was either too stoned or too surprised, and staggered back a good couple of feet. “You’re barred, now get the hell out,” he snapped, the good mood thoroughly gone. He’d had quite enough of this. At least at the new job, he could shove the bigoted idiot’s hand in a deep fat fryer if he came knocking.

“Tony, get out of here!” Ali shouted.

“You skipped out for him?” Tony growled. His voice was hoarse and raspy.

“I have a life!” Ali shouted, throwing up his hands. “You should try one, now try it elsewhere!”

“Now,” Tracy snapped, stalking over from the bar, all five foot nothing of her. “Yer barred, now get out before I ‘ave the police in ‘ere.”

“You skipped out,” Tony snarled, ignoring Tracy entirely, “for this Muzzie piece of—!”

Lee started up violently from the table, his dark skin burning to black in instant anger. “You shut your—!”

The noise level started to rise, Lee and Tony both yelling over each other, and Tracy’s shriek demanding Danielle to get one of the bouncers in, or call the police. Yazid found himself straightening his own back, squaring up to Tony’s aggressive stance. Okay. Thug wanted a brawl, he’d get one. Yazid was sick and tired of this utter crap.

“Tony, piss off!” Ali shouted, riled up maybe the most by his brother’s appearance, and Tony’s lip curled.

“You skip out on your own sister for this bit of halal meat, s’at how it works, Ali?” he snapped right back, and Yazid opened his mouth without thinking.

“Nah,” he said, making an obscene gesture at his own crotch. “Halal drains the blood out, not pumps it up full. This meat’s all haraam, babe.”

Tony moved. His arm lashed out, something flashing in the dim light of the bar, and there was —

There was a blur of motion, and then pain and heat exploded across Yazid’s face. The room spun; he felt the wall against his cheek, then his arm, and then he was sitting on the floor and people were screaming. There was hot liquid running down his face, and the entire world was red and black, splashes and round dots vying for his attention. He felt himself sway, and put out a hand to catch the wall, only to miss and slump against it head-first. Pain. Pain-pain-pain. There was —

There was a loud bang, and the bouncer — N…Ni… — the bouncer was shouting, and then there were dark shapes and Yazid could feel his stomach rolling.

“Bucket!” someone yelled. “Trace, get me a bucket, he’s gonna hurl!”

There were hands on his arms and shoulders, and Yazid closed his eyes, feeling sick and shaky from the spinning. The heat was still coming, and his hair and clothes felt wet. He could smell Sol — and that was it, he opened his jaw and threw up painfully. The clang of metal and the stench of vomit said the bucket had been dutifully got, and the screaming was morphing into the shrill call of a siren.

“What—” he tried.

“Easy, mate.” Lee. “Easy. You’ll be all right.”

“It’s okay.” Softer, gentler — higher. More frightened. Yazid twitched with the need to stop that fear, and curled his fingers around a hand that found its way to his. Ali. “It’s okay, you’ll be okay, you’re okay, oh my God…”

Then the pieces slotted together — and Yazid realized, just as he recognized the heavy thunder of police boots on the weak boards to the main bar area, that he’d been bottled.

Then he blacked out.

Blog Tour – Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos by Carolyn LaRoche

Carolyn LaRoche grew up in snow country but fled the cold and ice several years ago. She now lives near the beach with her husband, their two boys, two finicky cats and one old dog. When she is not at the baseball field cheering on big hits and home runs, she is busy teaching science to unwilling teenagers.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynLaRoche?ref=hl

Blog:  http://carolynlarocheauthor.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7734909.Carolyn_LaRoche?from_search=true

Twitter: @CarolynLaRoche

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-LaRoche/e/B005OKHIDI/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Every woman has secrets, and Cyndi Mills is no exception…

Cyndi has a beautiful daughter, and her husband Jason is totally hot for her, but something is missing. As a cop, Jason is extremely vigilant about safety and security, and Cyndi longs for some time to herself, so she takes a Friday night job.

Jason thinks she’s cleaning offices, when she’s actually dancing in a red bustier and six-inch stilettos at a club called Sugar Shakers, something only her three best friends, also police wives, know.

When club employees start disappearing, the truth comes out…

A young runaway, Jade, and a military widow, Lola, vanish, and Lola’s body is later found in the ocean. Cyndi begins investigating—with some help from her friends—but when anonymous threats put her daughter in jeopardy, she has no choice but to confess her lie to Jason, rocking their previously solid marriage.

Jason is furious, but Cyndi has to ask for even more if she hopes to solve the mystery…

Cyndi convinces Jason to sign her up as a confidential informant, and she officially goes undercover at the club, while Jason struggles to control his jealousy. As the evidence mounts and the danger becomes all too real, Jason fights to keep Cyndi safe.

But no amount of security can protect someone when lies are more common than the truth and no one is who they appear to be.

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16 Nov – Coffee Time Romance
16 Nov – Erzabet’s Enchantments
17 Nov – Indy Book Fairy
17 Nov – Romance Reviews Today
18 Nov – Stormy Nights Reviewing & Blogging
18 Nov – Pamaceeve
19 Nov – Foreplay & Fangs
19 Nov – Books on Fire
20 Nov – Night Owl Reviews
20 Nov – Romance Junkies
20 Nov – Room with Books
20 Nov – Torie James
21 Nov – Savvy Authors
21 Nov – Books & More
22 Nov – Shelli Rosewarne

Jason leaned against the counter, arms folded across his chest. She recognized that look immediately. He was doing the cop thing, analyzing her, and she could tell he knew something didn’t add up. His left eyebrow rose just a tad higher than the right as he studied her. “Why do you have glitter in your hair?”

Cyndi shook her hair and a shower of glitter rained down on her sweatshirt. Damn. Somehow she had missed a boat load of sparkle. Damn, that stuff got everywhere.

“Jody brought her daughter’s costume for a dance recital to work so I could help her fix a tear. It was all covered in sparkles. The damn stuff got on everything. Had to go back over the carpets with the sweeper twice and I’m still not sure we got it all.”

Jason continued to stare down at her from his full six feet of height. His stare was laser sharp, his presence imposing. It was no wonder he was so good at catching the bad guy. Hardened criminals squirmed under the intensity of that stare. Hopefully he couldn’t see through her despite the fact she felt as transparent as the shower curtain hanging in their bathroom.

“You think Harper is going to want to do that stuff?”

“Harper is four. It’s a little early to predict if she will be a dancer or a swimmer or…whatever.”

“Yeah, well, I just don’t want that glittery stuff all over the house. The guys won’t ever let me live it down, I show up to work all sparkly like that.” He shook his head.

Cyndi stepped closer to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m exhausted, honey. How about we go to bed?”

Jason hugged her close. “You gonna wear a little French maid’s outfit like you do when you clean those offices?”

“Jason!”

“Can’t fault a guy for trying.” Jason’s grin was a sharp contrast to his earlier scrutiny. He pulled out the neckline of her top and peered down into it. “Come on. I know you gotta wear some kinda uniform!”

Thank God she had changed in to her old white bra from the discount store and left her bustier at work. Stepping back, Cyndi held her arms out and spun around slowly. “You’re looking at it, baby. Doesn’t my ratty old sweatshirt turn you on?”

“Not as much as a little maid’s outfit would. It’s nearly Halloween. Maybe I ought to pick one up for you to wear at work. You know, so you don’t mess up your own clothes.”

“Ohhh, Jason… you are such a guy!”

“You would rather I be such a girl?”

“Of course, not! Just don’t be so obvious about being a man all the time.” Cyndi filled a glass of water from the tap, drank it in one gulp, then placed her used cup in the sink before heading toward their bedroom. “Come on, cop man. You play your cards right I might let you frisk me before we go to sleep.”

Cyndi heard light switches flip, door chains sliding and the announcement that the house emergency alarm was being set. Jason rushed through his nightly round of safety checks as he yelled to her from various locations around the house.

“Do you have anything on you that might hurt me?” Snap went the deadbolt on the front door. “Needles, knives, or guns?” Click went the security latch on the sliding door to the back yard. “Do I need gloves or cuffs…?”

“Not sure you’re gonna need gloves but cuffs might be fun,” she called back as she climbed out of her clothes and dropped into the cool sheets.

Cover Reveal: Not So Silent Night by Sheri Velarde

I LOVE getting a sneak peek at a pretty cover and even more so when it means that I get to share it with you!  This great read is re-releasing on November 25th so set your reminders because you won’t want to miss out!!

BM xx

Another lonely Christmas approaches for Anna and her life of penance—until an otherworldly distraction appears and changes her life.

Anna is a lonely woman, running her dead grandmother’s flower shop. She hates Christmas and could not feel more lost when a handsome and mysterious Russian, Alexander, walks into her shop and her life. Each has secrets that they are harboring. Just as their passion erupts, the good old boys in town threaten to ruin everything. Getting to know each other is tough for most couples, adding in magic does not make it any easier. Now with a pack of werewolves out to destroy them, things become intense. They find themselves in a fight for their lives. Can their newfound love give them the strength to win against this threat and trust in the future?

Not So Silent Night is a very special story to me for numerous reasons. It was one of my most successful releases with Breathless Press and one of my favorite to write. Now it is about to become my first self-published book as I ready it for re-release this holiday season under my real name! It has been re-edited with some new bits added to make the story even better, but still retains the steaminess from before! The world of self-publishing is a little scary for me, but exciting at the same time! As I have had two small publishers close on me this year, I just feel that this gives me a safety net to my career and allows me more freedom as well. The world of publishing is forever changing and I am learning to go with the flow in order to keep up! I can’t think of a better way to embark on my new adventure than with Not So Silent Night, which will be out November 25^th, and with the beautiful cover from artist Victoria Miller!

Website/Blog     Facebook      Twitter

Sheri Velarde, lives in New Mexico with her husband and their two dogs.

Being an avid reader since an early age, she has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. She has been writing all her life, but only recently started to actually try to pursue her dream of writing for a living. She specializes in all things paranormal and that go bump in the night. Her heart truly lies in exploring unknown worlds or adding the supernatural to our world. If it goes bump in the night or has magical connotations, Sheri writes about it.

She is constantly putting out new material with various publishers, so it is best to keep up with her on her website www.sherivelarde.weebly.com.

In her spare time Sheri is an artist, jewelry designer, independent comic writer/artist and freelance non-fiction writer. Hiking in the mountains, going to live concerts, art openings, museums, and hosting intimate dinner parties.

Blog Tour – Fall Again: Lost Boy by Donna Figueroa

Donna Figueroa is an actor and writer living and working in Los Angeles, CA.  She has worked on stage and on the big and small screens. Her credits include appearances on several daytime dramas, voiceovers for animation, commercials and industrial projects, audiobooks and several television commercials.

She is a producer and storyteller at The Story Salon, Los Angeles’s longest running storytelling venue where she has written, performed and developed three one person shows.

Donna considers herself an athletic shopper always in search of the ultimate bargain.

She lives in Hollywood with her husband writer/comedian Tony Figueroa, and their three neurotic cats.

Fall Again Series on Facebook     Twitter     Website

What if you met the right person-at the wrong time?

In Fall Again: Beginnings, the first instalment of the Fall Again series, actors Marc and Lauren meet in New York City in the late 1980’s. While there’s an obvious attraction, circumstances dictate that their relationship remain within the realm of a platonic friendship. Over time they struggle to maintain the façade of friendship to their closest friends and to each other. Until one night…

The Fall Again Romance series continues.

Fall Again: Lost Boy

Marc: The Interim Years

1989-2010

When Marc Guiro learns Lauren Phillips is gone, his life shatters.

LOST BOY, the second novel in the FALL AGAIN series begins as Marc frantically returns to New York, only to find that the woman he loves has left New York permanently. Marc is devastated, but struggles to put his life back together, often making choices that drastically alter the course of his life.

With support and encouragement from old and new friends, Marc unknowingly begins a personal odyssey to find himself- an arduous journey that brings Marc personal and professional fulfilment, and eventually leads him back to the woman whose memory refuses to leave him.

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09 Nov – Erzabet’s Enchantments
10 Nov – Indy Book Fairy
10 Nov – Romance Reviews Today
10 Nov – Shelli Rosewarne
11 Nov – Stormy Nights Reviewing & Blogging
11 Nov – Pamaceeve
12 Nov – Books on Fire
12 Nov – Foreplay & Fangs
13 Nov – Torie James
13 Nov – Savvy Authors
13 Nov – Room with Books
13 Nov – Romance Junkies
13 Nov – Night Owl Reviews
14 Nov – Books & More
15 Nov – Coffee Time Romance

Two minutes later, when Mel opened the door to the apartment, Marc barged inside. “Where’s Lauren?” This was a frantic demand as opposed to a question.

If Marc had looked at Mel, he would have seen she was deeply troubled, but he hardly noticed her.  The only thing that mattered was seeing Lauren.

Marc was moving toward Lauren’s closed bedroom door before Mel stopped him by firmly grabbing his arm.

“Marc, stop-I need to talk to you!”

Marc tried to shake her off. “And I need to talk to Lauren!”

But Mel only tightened her grip and angrily raised her voice. “No, I said stop!”

Mel had never intended to sound so cruel, but at least Marc stopped and looked at her, stunned, as the manic energy that had come over him dissipated.

Mel slowly released the grip on Marc’s arm while making every effort to calm herself down. “Look, I don’t have a lot of patience right now. I’ve had a rough day!”

Marc resented her comment. The only thing preventing him from exploding was fatigue. “That’s funny, Mel, because I’ve had a rough day too! Actually I consider today a continuation of yesterday, since I didn’t sleep last night knowing that this morning I would be breaking things off with Miriam. That task was successfully accomplished before nine this morning. Needless to say she wasn’t too happy about the breakup, and neither were her parents-or my parents! I made my mother cry and my father called me a disgrace to the family.”

Mel remained still as Marc recounted the events of his day. Her day had been smooth and easy in comparison. “Marc…I’m so sorry.”

He took a deep breath and continued to recount what had to be the longest day of his life. “Since I’d already caused enough pain in Montreal, I decided to head back to New York. Three major airports, a four-hour layover in Boston and one trip through U.S. Immigration later, I’m here.”

Mel could see that Marc was under a lot of stress. She took his coat before giving him what she felt was a much needed hug. Her voice took on a soothing quality. “I just wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow.”

Marc was hardly in the mood for small talk. “That was the plan but I’m back now-and I need to see Lauren.” He broke free of Mel’s embrace and quickly moved to Lauren’s closed bedroom door. He called to her while opening the door. “Lauren?”

Marc stood frozen in the doorway of Lauren’s room, confused. All of her belongings were gone. He turned back to Mel as his voice caught in his throat. “Where’s Lauren?”

Mel could see that Marc was worn down, vulnerable and exhausted as she dreaded what was coming next. “Marc…she’s gone!”

For the first time since he arrived, he heard the sadness in Mel’s voice, a sadness that now filled his own. “God, Mel! Where is she?”

As she spoke, Mel saw tears fill Marc’s eyes. “I don’t know!”

With that Marc brushed past Mel as he headed to the front door. But instead of opening the door, he struck it hard with his fist, and then struck it even harder a second time.

Mel was frightened by Marc’s unexpected and violent display of emotion. “Marc stop. Please calm down. You’re scaring me!”

Her emotional outburst stopped him. When he turned to face her, he was barely audible. “Mel, I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”

Mel watched Marc shakily sink down against her front door before she heard uncontrolled sobs. At first, all she could do was stand and watch helplessly before her instincts kicked in. She sat on the floor next to him while doing her best to console him.

All this time she had only been worried about Marc hurting Lauren, never imagining that Lauren would hurt Marc. But as Marc put his head into her lap, she sadly realized that Marc and Lauren had hurt each other.

Put Your Ho Ho’s On with Erzabet Bishop

This is a saucy, sassy, fun Christmas Collection, an Anthology of Multi-Genre ErocoThrobbers from Award-Winning NYT, USA Today Bestselling Authors!

You are going to love this great collection of Sexy Christmas Stories that celebrate the Hallowed Halls of Christmas so beautifully decked out with lights, balls…and more balls…a few naked butts, some kinky fur chains and satin ribbons sure to warm the cockles of your hearts and…well, other anatomical parts.

This book is dedicated to you, our loyal friend, family and reader fan. As a gesture of our appreciation for your loyal support, unfaltering encouragement and insatiable appetite for the romantic, erotic, sometimes kinky literotica we so love to write. While we adore what we do, no matter our struggle in our love/hate relationship with pen and ink, our muse or the censors, without you none of what we do would have purpose.

So…don’t bother keeping your hands to yourself ~ It is Christmas! Unwrap, unribbon, untape, and crack out the eggnog! Parade around naked while you deck the balls and halls!! And celebrate!

Nook   Amazon:  US   DE   ES    JP    BR    CA     AU    IN    UK    FR   IT    NK    MX

Introduction By International Bestselling Author C.K. Laurence

I was so honored when Muffy Wilson asked me to write the introduction to this holiday compendium of the bestselling Literotica authors that could be found that I immediately dropped my pants and pulled on my ho hos to begin deliberation on how I could possibly do justice to the joy, love, humor and sincere holiday spirit in PUT YOUR HO HOs ON.

Sleigh bells rung in my head here in 90 degree Miami Beach heat and I tingled in all those special places as I read each of the best selling Literotica author’s entries. It was so buoying to be one of the first to have the opportunity to read the entire collection of delightful tales of love, romance and hot sex–in the spirit of Christmas!

Relax in your most comfortable chair–or if you’re reading it with one of your particularly special partners you might be more comfy wearing your birthday suit and cuddling in bed. You are about to read the works of over twenty bestselling Literotica authors, all carefully chosen for their always titillating books and the most capable to write these erotic tales of six-pack Santas, hung so well that you’ll have sugar plum genitals dancing in your heads! (OOOOPS! Did I say that out loud?)

I’m going to turn the anthology over to you now, because even if you’re not breathing a little heavier just yet, you will be when you get to the ‘meat’ of the stories. So put your ho hos on and get ready for the hottest winter holidays ever!

~ C.K. Laurence
International Bestselling Mystery Author
The Mystery of Jessica Benson
www.cklaurence.com
www.chrissylaurence.com

Enter our awesome Rafflecopter giveaway HERE

From the Inside Flap

Muffy Wilson

Christmas Marine

“Carpe Marine Christmas Package.”

Airicka Phoenix

Heads or Tails

“Heads, I’m yours. Tails, you’re mine.”

Ashen White

8 Yule Swords

“A coven of skyclad witches initiates a novice on the Longest Night of

Winter.”

Bernard Tristan Foong

Naughty Bad Boys

“Let’s be naughty and bad. That’ll save Santa the trip.”

Blak Rayne

Turkish Delight

“One box of candies, one blindfold, and in one night everything

changed.”

 C.P. Mandara

Melting

“She’s waited ten years for one night.”

Erzabet Bishop

Naughty Cookie

“Wooden spoons will fly…”

Gale Stanley

Cry Uncle

“Dumped by her soulmate, Polly is afraid to trust another man–until she embraces a lifestyle where trust is everything.”

Gemma Parkes

Calendar Girl

“The camera never lies, but sometimes it can reveal more than was intended.”

Gina Kincade

On Santa’s Naughty List

“Sometimes there’s more rewarding fun to be had on Santa’s

naughty list!”

Jacintha Topaz

Skid – Black Storm Pack 5

“Alpha finds a mate in the most unlikely man and place.”

Ju Ephraime

Pleasure Intense

“This Christmas he plans on taking her in every position possible…

all sixty-four of them.”

Kiki Howell

Silent Night

“The peace of Christmas Eve eludes a vampire in love.”

Maddie Taylor   

His Naughty Christmas Angel

“Will her dominant boss jump at the chance for some yuletide delights or will her naughtiness prompt a different response entirely?”

Pablo Michaels

Little Old St Nick

“Is sex before dinner with Little Ole St. Nick the true meaning of Christmas?”

Paige Matthews

A Devoured Christmas

“Christmas gets kinky and devoured”

Phoenix Johnson

A Bride for Christmas

“All he wants for Christmas is a bride to call his own.”

P.T. Macias

Blood Moon Mate

“Paranormal bad boys are sexy, wild, and full of suspense!”

R.B O’Brien

The Bed, the Blindfold and the Belt

“Will Michael allow Natalie to cum home for Christmas?”

Rebecca Lorenson

A Christmas Ornament

“Far from home, Dawn gets a little Christmas spirit.”

Sky Purington

A Christmas Miracle

“Love found across time is put to the test when tragedy separates a Highlander

from his lass.”

 

 

 

Spirit Board by Erzabet Bishop

Two mates are better than one…

 

Vanessa lives vicariously through the romance heroines in her overflowing bookshelf. No real man can ever measure up to the sultry, shapeshifter heroes with their feral smiles—or so she thinks until a creepy costume shop and a chance encounter with a fortuneteller shake up her ordinary life. When Vanessa’s best friend brings her to a sexy costume party, she realizes more than fur is going to fly.

 

Rick is an Alpha cat shifter and co-owner of the Imaginarium. When he scents the luscious Vanessa, he has no intention of letting her slip away. But Rick isn’t the only man searching for his one true love. Cian is a former Captain of the Winter Court in Faery, wielder of shadows and magic. When Fey enchantment and shifter might collide, more than mere hearts are caught in the crossfire. And as a threat looms closer with the turning of the season, both men may be the keys to Vanessa’s heart—and her survival.

Amazon 

 

Fancy a giveaway? Check this out…

“Do you want your fortune told, my dear?” The crone’s rheumy eyes met hers, and a shiver slid down her back. The woman gave her the willies.

“I…”

“Please. Be my guest. It will be my treat to show you your fortune.”

Indecision warred within her. “I’m here with my friend.”

“Go ahead! Get your fortune read.” Aria came up beside her and looped an arm around her neck. “Let’s find out what kind of night you’re going to have at the party.”“OK.” Vanessa made her way to the small table and lowered herself into the seat. In front of her laid a strange-looking Ouija board printed with an alphabet and a yes and no. The older woman took an item out of a wooden box and placed it carefully on the surface of the board.

“What’s that?”

“It’s called a planchette, silly.” Aria rolled her eyes and grinned at the annoyed look Vanessa gave her.

“I’ve never used one of these, OK? My father would kill me.”

“Why? Does he think they’re a portal to some other dimension or something?”

Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure. He just never let anything like it in the house. It’s beautiful.” The workmanship of the board and the intricate lettering transfixed her. She reached out to touch the planchette but the older woman stopped her.“Not yet, my girl. First you must think of a question.”

“What kind of question?”

The woman’s thin lips curved upward. “The spirit board offers much guidance but also warns of things to come. Ask the right questions and you’ll find the answers you seek.”“Cryptic, much?” Aria yawned. “Why don’t you play with the board and I’ll find you something to wear.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Vanessa focused her attention on the board in front of her. The letters weaved in front of her eyes.“Now,” the old woman began, her eyes bright in her pale face, “think of the question you would like to ask the spirits. But be warned…”

“Of what?”

“The truth can wound or it can set you free.”

Vanessa held out her hand and the old woman enveloped it in her own. She placed Vanessa’s hand on the planchette and released her.“Fingertips only. Now…think of what you want to ask.”

Vanessa moved her fingers until only the tips touched the planchette. Her mind raced. There were so many questions she wanted answers to. Who was her mother? Not her father’s wife, but her biological mother. Should she go to this party with Aria on Friday or stay home like she always did, safe behind a pile of books?Before the woman placed her own fingertips on the planchette, it took off toward the yes. Then it sped to the letters and began to spell out something.

“What the—?” Vanessa snatched her fingers away as if they’d been singed.

“Goddess…” The fortune-teller stood abruptly, knocking her chair over. Her brow contorted and her eyes were owlish with fear showing a ring of veined white around the iris. “Stop.”

“It’s still moving,” Vanessa whispered, her pulse hammering beneath her skin. “I’m trying to make out what it’s saying, but the thing is going too fast.”“What’s going on over here?” Aria scrambled back toward the table, an expression of horror on her face. “Jesus, Vanessa.”

“I didn’t do it,” she snapped. “It’s wigging out.”

“Obviously.”

The old woman backed up, her eyes wide. “You must go to the party. Something you need will be revealed to you there. That is all I can tell you.” With that, she yanked the planchette off the board and swiftly tucked it
back into the wooden box it came from. Without looking at either of the girls, the fortune-teller retreated into the back room, the door shutting behind her with a resounding thud.“Thanks,” Vanessa called, a little too late.

“OK then. That wasn’t weird.” Aria grimaced. “Come on. I have a couple of dresses you need to look at.”

“Yeah. Sure. OK.” Anything to get her mind off of whatever just happened. “Freaky” didn’t even begin to cover it.

“How about this?” Aria raised her arm and a flowing Egyptian priestess costume dangled from her fingertips. The white fabric was sheer, but it had so many layers, it had the potential to work. Around the hanger was a plastic bag complete with golden armbands and some kind of bluish lapis necklace.

“OK,” Vanessa replied reluctantly. “Hand it over.”

Aria scurried over and passed the dress off, a smirk on her full lips. “This is going to look great on you. Just wait.”

“Sure.” As long as it got her out of here faster. Vanessa decided putting distance between the fortune-teller and her would be a good thing. “Why did I let you talk me into this again?”

“Cause you love me and you’ll have lots of fun?”

“You haven’t even told me what kind of party it is.”

Aria gave her a cheeky grin. “And ruin the surprise?”

 

Erzabet Bishop is an award winning author who loves to write naughty stories. She is the author of Lipstick, Dinner Date, Crave, The Science of Lust, Arcane Imaginarium: Spirit Board, Holidays in Hell, Mallory’s Mark (upcoming 2016),The Devil’s Due (upcoming 2016), Charity Benshaw’s Enchanted Paddle Emporium (upcoming 2016), Sigil Fire, Glitter Lust (upcoming 2016), Written on Skin, Club Beam, Pomegranate, A Red Dress for Christmas, The Black Magic Café, Fantasies in Red, Sweet Seductions: The Erzabet Bishop Collection, Holiday Cruise, Fetish Fair, Temptation Resorts: Jess, Temptation Resorts: Marnie, Taming the Beast, The Erotic Pagans Series: Beltane Fires, Samhain Shadows and Yuletide Temptation along with being a contributor to many anthologies.

Erzabet has been a finalist in the GCLS awards for 2014 and 2015, winning the Goldie for her spot in two anthologies.

She lives in Texas with her husband, furry children and can often be found lurking in local bookstores. She loves to bake, make naughty crochet projects and watch monster movies. When she isn’t writing, she loves to review music and books.

Follow her reviews and posts on Twitter @erzabetbishop and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with new releases and hot deals!

 

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Blog Tour: Code Black and Possessed by Love by Sheri Velarde

I have to tell you that Sheri is one of those authors that just keeps you on your toes. You never know what she’s going to write next and yet you know that you’re going to love it no matter what – today is a perfect example!  I’ve been a fan and a friend for a few years now and so I was really excited to tour with her!  Before we go any further though, I’d like to congratulate Sheri on her marriage which took place this past Saturday!  Here’s to a long and happy life together xx

Sheri Velarde, lives in New Mexico with her husband and their two dogs.

Being an avid reader since an early age, she has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. She has been writing all her life, but only recently started to actually try to pursue her dream of writing for a living. She specializes in all things paranormal and that go bump in the night. Her heart truly lies in exploring unknown worlds or adding the supernatural to our world. If it goes bump in the night or has magical connotations, Sheri writes about it.

She is constantly putting out new material with various publishers, so it is best to keep up with her on her website http://www.sherivelarde.weebly.com.

In her spare time Sheri is an artist, jewelry designer, independent comic writer/artist and freelance non-fiction writer. Hiking in the mountains, going to live concerts, art openings, museums, and hosting intimate dinner parties.

Blog     Facebook     Twitter     Website     Amazon Page

Andrew faced the growing storm with animosity. He would be trapped in his shop for a couple of days with no food or electricity. Hopefully he could at least get food at the Church Street Café. Food he did find and so much more once Damian, the owner of the café, asks him to ride out the storm with him in the quarters above the restaurant.

Generators, food and warmth aside, Andrew has spent months wishing for such an invitation from the mysterious and sexy Damian. What starts out as light flirtation turns into so much more. Something comes over both men, letting them leave their insecurities behind as they become possessed by passion and love.

Amazon (Full Anthology)     Amazon (Possessed by Love)

Torquere Books     All Romance eBooks

02 Nov – Erzabet’s Enchantments
03 Nov – Indy Book Fairy
03 Nov – Romance Reviews Today
04 Nov – Stormy Nights Reviewing & Blogging
05 Nov – Foreplay & Fangs
06 Nov – Romance Junkies
08 Nov – Coffee Time Romance

04 Nov – Pamaceeve
05 Nov – Books on Fire
06 Nov – Night Owl Reviews
06 Nov – Room with Books
06 Nov – Torie James
08 Nov – Savvy Authors
08 Nov – Shelli Rosewarne

A disease that can destroy the entire fabric of society, how can one face down such odds?

Sara lives on Key Largo, a place she knows she should have left after the last hurricane, but she can’t quite walk away from it. When warning sirens go off, she fears for the safety of her home more than anything else. That is, until she realizes that something much more than severe weather is heading her way.

When her own government blows up the only escape to the mainland and her neighbors begin to attack one another, Sara learns she can only depend on herself. With the aid of her uncle and Cameron, a National Guard soldier helping her along the way, she is on the run for her life. Harsh realities she never thought she would have to face are now part of her life. Can she do what it takes to survive, or will she always be on the run and wondering what might have been?

Amazon     Amazon UK     Kobo    Google

The Invitation by Dana Wright

Every witch needs a familiar. Sometimes maybe two…

 

Morgana is a hedge witch with a problem. Her sisters are conspiring against her and she has a ghost with a fork phobia living in her shoe closet. When the chance comes to crash a party she just knows she should have been invited to comes along, she enlists the aid of her trusty cat Nona to help her cast the spell for the perfect dress. But crashing this party isn’t the only thing that’s going to rain on this witch’s parade.

 

Marcus of Pendleton is a cat shifter in search of his brother. Then a lead at the Warty Frog takes him on an adventure filled with magic and well…zombies. Can the prince find the fair witch and the answer he seeks? And he might just be the familiar she’s looking for…

 

Buy now on Amazon

“He’s been missing for months. How can you not care?” Marcus Pendleton ground out, staring at his father in disbelief. The king sat on his throne gnawing on a turkey leg, grease sliding down his pudgy face.

“Because my boy, Rhys was the younger son. He may have been a prince, but you’re the one who will inherit the throne.”“So why did you bother searching the kingdom for a princess and having a ball?” The king narrowed his eyes at his son. “That happened to be for you. Scheduling a dragon-hunting trip for that weekend was in atrocious form. Your mother was highly disappointed.”

“I’ll bet.” Marcus kicked his foot against the dais. He fought down the urge to shift and show his father his extreme displeasure. No doubt the old man would have an apoplectic fit if he found out his son had been bitten and turned into the one animal he despised the most. Not even a beast like a wolf, but merely a cat. His father loathed the animals and forbade having them on the castle grounds.

“You need to focus on finding yourself a princess, not running about the kingdoms slaying beasts and bothering with that fool brother of yours. The last time anyone saw him, he was following some skirt around and blathering on about a missing shoe.” His father shuddered, holding his hand up in disgust. “There were twelve of them. All dressed alike too. The men were talking about it. Prattling, dancing, blonde things with wings.”

His wandering eye drifted toward a serving wench with a rather tight bodice. Marcus couldn’t believe his ears. Twelve of them? That didn’t sound right. Neither did his father’s decision not look for Rhys. It was unthinkable. Right now, if he could have, he would dump his inheritance in his father’s lap and be done with him. The man’s priorities were limited to two things. Food and sleep.

No. Make it three. His father had the wandering eye of a lecherous pig farmer. He didn’t know how his mother stood it. Given the chance, he was surprised she hadn’t chucked him over the palace walls years ago and been done with it.

“Wait, Father. Did you say he was sniffing around a girl with a missing shoe?”

“Yes,” his father chuffed. “What of it?”

“What of it, indeed…” Marcus stalked out of the throne room, an idea forming in his head. Someone else must have seen a shoeless maiden, and he was damn well going to find out what was going on. And twelve girls all dressed the same? How very odd indeed. He wasn’t known as the best tracker in the two kingdoms for naught. If he couldn’t find out something about them, he may as well go sit up in the tower and sew with his mother’s handmaidens.“Marcus. Come back here. Marcus!”

He shut the door on his father’s ranting, encountering his servant boy on the other side of the door.

“Geoffrey, Saddle my horse. Tonight we ride.”

 

 

Dana Wright has always had a fascination with things that go bump in the night. She is often found playing at local bookstores, trying not to maim herself with crochet hooks or knitting needles, watching monster movies with her husband and furry kids or blogging about books. More commonly, she is chained to her computers, writing like a woman possessed.

She is currently working on several children’s stories, young adult fiction, romantic suspense, short stories and is trying her hand at poetry. She is a contributing author to Ghost Sniffer’s CYOA, Siren’s Call E-zine in their “Women in Horror” issue in February 2013 and “Revenge” in October 2013, a contributing author to Potatoes!, Fossil Lake, Of Dragons and Magic: Tales of the Lost Worlds, Undead in Pictures, Potnia, Shadows and Light, Dark Corners (upcoming), Wonderstruck, Shifters: A Charity Anthology, Dead Harvest, Monster Diaries, Holiday Horrors and the Roms, Bombs and Zoms Anthology from Evil Girlfriend Media.

She is the author of Asylum, The Invitation and Texas Twister.   Dana has also reviewed music for Muzikreviews.com specializing in New Age and alternative music and has been a contributing writer to Eternal Haunted Summer, Massacre Magazine, Metaphor Magazine, The Were Traveler October 2013 edition: The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters, the December 2013 issue The Day the Zombies Ruled the Earth. She currently reviews music at New Age Music Reviews and Write a Music Review.

Follow Dana’s reviews:

 

Twitter: @danawrite

Author site and newsletter: http://danawrightauthor.wix.com/danawright

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/danawrightauthor
The Romance Reviews: http://www.theromancereviews.com/DanaWright

Texas Twister by Dana Wright

Sometimes love finds you in the darkest places.

 

Magdalay Rousseau is having a bad day. She can’t find the charging cable to her laptop, and when she goes into her husband’s office to look for it, she discovers he’s been cheating on her. She decides to hire a private investigator to dig into her husband’s secrets, but what the detective discovers about her turns her world upside-down.

 

Carter Zusak is a private detective–and a cat shifter. When a new client shows up, he’s almost certain she’s a flake. What kind of woman writes romance novels and owns a shop selling supplies for witches? He’s sure she’s got a bat or two loose in her belfry–until he delves deeper into her case. No one in her life is what they seem, and Magdalay has just put herself in danger more insidious than he ever imagined. Something about this witch sets his heart on fire. But he’ll have to figure out a way to save her before they
both get burned…

 

ARe: https://goo.gl/ULjS81     Amazon: http://goo.gl/Bmm5ZZ

Published By: Etopia Press  *  Oct 27, 2015  *  ISBN # 9781944138158  *  Pages: 99

 

CHAPTER ONE

Magdalay Rousseau stared at her lifeless laptop and groaned. It wouldn’t turn on. Again. So much for a lasting battery. Already irritated from lack of sleep, she pressed the on button one more time and tried to recall where she’d left the charger. It should be in the little plastic bag she usually kept next to her laptop, but it wasn’t.

“Great. I can’t believe this. I ought to just spell you and be done with it.” She growled and pushed herself up from the small space at the kitchen table. Perhaps it was in her work bag in the foyer. She hated resorting to magic when real world solutions worked just fine. It had been a point of contention with her mother for years. Besides, she wasn’t very good at it. Wish for rain and get a flood in her kitchen. That was her life right now. Magdalay peered into the bag. Nothing.

“Oh. This is just getting better and better.”

Magdalay spun on her heel and considered her next move. She had a deadline for her publisher, and today would be her only day off with no distractions until next week. Not that she could focus anyway. Not with the antics Russ was pulling lately. Her mind kept circling him like a dog with a bone. He’d been out with the boys from the club, but something in the back of her mind kept digging at her. Their poker games didn’t last that long. Neither did their dinners at the club, which she now refused to attend. Not after the last time with his uppity friends and their equally unpleasant wives. She didn’t fit in with the country club scene, and that was more than all right with her.

Russ hadn’t come home—again—by the time her head hit the pillow last night at midnight. It was becoming par for the course. Magdalay couldn’t concentrate on anything and that included leaving her damn charging cable someplace. She could swear it was next to her workstation last night when she went to bed, but she could have been dreaming. She couldn’t remember, and that just pissed her off, making her already foul mood even more noxious.“Did you wash my pants?” Russ called out from the bedroom, his voice lacking any of the warmth she used to receive from him.

“Yes,” she ground out, barely containing her urge to demand where the hell he’d been all damned night. It didn’t do any good. He never answered her anyway. “They’re folded on the dryer.”

Her husband, Russ, clad in a blue pullover shirt and tighty-whities bolted from their bedroom down the short hall toward the laundry room. The door opened and shut, and she caught a streak of blue out of the corner of her eye but no acknowledgement or thank you. Next time she ought to let his clothes just pile up and see what happened. Well…she took that back. A week ago, she’d been too busy to keep up with the laundry and he’d shaken her awake after a long day at the shop and writing, demanding to know when she would get around to it. The icy stare was enough to motivate her into preemptive action. She’d never been afraid of her husband before that night, but things had changed between them at an alarming rate.

She poured the water into the coffeepot and flipped on the switch, sighing as the rich aroma of the Columbian blend pervaded the kitchen. It was still early, and she’d spent a sleepless night tossing and turning and imagining his car wrapped around a pole or worse. The man hadn’t come home until after two. At least that was the last time she recalled on the blinking clock on the nightstand. Russ hadn’t even had the decency to let her know where he was or if he was OK. Magdalay didn’t remember him sneaking in. She’d tried to stay awake so she could talk to him or at least give him a piece of her mind, but she must have drifted off in a wave of jittery exhaustion.

Last night had just been the latest in a long line of whatever was happening in their marriage and fixing it was becoming a pipe dream. He’d grown more and more distant over the past three months and she didn’t know what had gone wrong. Well…except for her working. He hated the hours she spent away from home, but with her mother’s passing, Broomstix had become hers. The irony wasn’t lost on her. A witch who didn’t want to be, or worse yet, was terrible at it. She thought back to her mother’s last days and the love she had for her trusty cat, Jules. They’d been inseparable.“You need a familiar, love. Sometimes having someone at your back and by your side is the most powerful magic in the world.” Magdalay’s lips twisted and she sighed. It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried. Every cat she’d gotten went missing in a matter of days. When she’d gone to Russ about the missing animals, he’d had nothing to say.

Frustrating wasn’t even half the word for it. Perhaps she wasn’t cut out for animals. Then she thought all she needed was her soul mate. That would have to be enough. She’d always thought Russ was that person, but more and more, she sensed a tremendous gulf between them, and it left her hollow inside. Last month she’d been at the stitching circle and each of the ladies was practicing poppet magic. The little cloth dolls danced and frolicked in anticipation of whatever task they were intended for. Hers lay there, looking still and unresponsive. It was to be a creative muse for her magic. She figured if she could cast a spell and have a poppet work on some of her overdue plot lines and synopses, she’d be ahead of the game. No such luck.

The stitching circle, full of her mother’s old friends, thought it was hilarious. Now on top of her writing schedule, it was her responsibility to keep Broomstix going. People depended on her, and she was trying to learn as much as she could. Gaining the knowledge she needed wasn’t going as smooth as she’d like.Her gaze raked the cluttered counter where her husband paid bills and recoiled. No way was she touching that. “Not a chance.” Then she remembered Russ had the same model laptop she did. She could borrow his charger and pick hers up tomorrow when she went back into work. Problem solved.

“I’m out. See you tonight,” came the clipped response from the front hallway followed by the slamming of the decorative lead glass door. He hadn’t even come into the kitchen. Not even for coffee. 

“Wow.” Now she knew he was avoiding her and likely hiding something. Magdalay shook her head, the bitterness of her new reality sliding down her stomach like a Ping Pong ball. His behavior stung, and she didn’t know what to make of it. She moved down the hall, her linen nightgown floating around her legs. In the Texas heat, it helped to have something comfortable and the Eileen West nightgowns were her guilty pleasure. Goddess knew she needed something. She paused in the doorway to his office and sighed. Goddess, she hated invading his space. Maybe the charger was right out in the open and she could snap it up and be out before she disturbed anything of importance. Then she saw it. Propped on a pile of paperwork next to his computer was her small, holiday design-covered Ziploc bag with her cord dangling off the desk over the top of it.

“What the heck?” Her lips slid into a frown and she unclenched her hands. He took it. Probably to do the same thing she’d been about to do, but at least she would have replaced his where she found it as soon as she was done. She reached down to pick up the bag and wind up the charging cord, and her hand brushed the mouse on his desk, the darkened screen erupting to life. His e-mail was up. She wouldn’t have stopped save for the name on the screen.

WTF?

Slowly, Magdalay lowered herself into the chair and began to read. She hadn’t meant to intrude on his privacy. They’d always respected each other enough to be honest. At least she’d always thought so. But with every line she read, the trust she believed her marriage was based on was revealed to be nothing more than a lie. She hated wives who resorted to sneaking into their husband’s phone records and all of those things to find out what they’d been up to. Now, here she was, and she didn’t have a clue what to do about it. What was done was done and couldn’t be taken back. One e-mail turned into two. Two turned into a dozen, and at that point she had to stop, the contents of her stomach churning like wildfire in her gut.

Fuck me. Fuck me like you did in your office.

I want it all.

You motherfucker.

Tears stung her eyes. There was no other explanation was there? It was all laid out in black and white. The only thing missing was a frigging video of them fornicating. Her stomach lurched. The lump in her throat threatened to overtake her, and she had to pause and take a deep breath. Her mother’s absence was a raw and gaping wound. Eleanor would have known what to do, but Magdalay was frozen with indecision. Her thoughts turned to the ladies in her stitching circle. They met once a month but it wasn’t scheduled until next week. Goddess, but she sure could use some comfort now. Or at least, a sounding board for her fury. Her fingertips itched to zot the fucker but no…not yet. Not that she was fully capable, but her circle was. She’d seen it time and again.But the emails…she read the last line again. I want to run my fingers down your long, long legs and part your… She had to stop. Nausea threatened to overwhelm her once again.

“You cheating bastard,” she whispered. She had to be sure. It was possible it was only emails. In her heart, she knew that was a lie. Magdalay stood, her knees shaking and made her way out of Russ’s office to her work space in the kitchen. She hooked up the laptop to the charger and shoved the plug into the wall.

Magdalay considered her options. She could wait and confront him when he got home. Whenever that would be.

No.

Or she could hex him where he stood and watch as his dick shriveled up and fell off. A tiny smile twitched at the corner of her lips at the idea. If only. With her luck, she’d turn him into an overlarge piece of beef jerky and have to explain that one to the police. Not a good idea. Her magic was unpredictable at best. She’d hid it from him, not wanting to go there. It wasn’t her fault she was born a witch. It was her choice whether or not to use it. If something needing a spell came up, she waited until her hubby was off doing engineer things or sleeping in front of the television. Proof. She needed more proof. The laptop whirled to life and she pulled up her search engine.

What about a private detective? She had a little mad money put aside for the dress she wanted for the romance writer’s convention in a few months. Magdalay had no idea what the detective would cost, but she had to know. With unblinking eyes she typed, private investigator Spinnaker, Texas then she closed her eyes, rolled the mouse, and clicked on the Blue Moon Detective Agency.

 

 

Dana Wright has always had a fascination with things that go bump in the night. She is often found playing at local bookstores, trying not to maim herself with crochet hooks or knitting needles, watching monster movies with her husband and furry kids or blogging about books. More commonly, she is chained to her computers, writing like a woman possessed.

She is currently working on several children’s stories, young adult fiction, romantic suspense, short stories and is trying her hand at poetry. She is a contributing author to Ghost Sniffer’s CYOA, Siren’s Call E-zine in their “Women in Horror” issue in February 2013 and “Revenge” in October 2013, a contributing author to Potatoes!, Fossil Lake, Of Dragons and Magic: Tales of the Lost Worlds, Undead in Pictures, Potnia, Shadows and Light, Dark Corners (upcoming), Wonderstruck, Shifters: A Charity Anthology, Dead Harvest, Monster Diaries, Holiday Horrors and the Roms, Bombs and Zoms Anthology from Evil Girlfriend Media. She is the author of Asylum, The Invitation and Texas Twister.  

Dana has also reviewed music for Muzikreviews.com specializing in New Age and alternative music and has been a contributing writer to Eternal Haunted Summer, Massacre Magazine, Metaphor Magazine, The Were Traveler October 2013 edition: The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters, the December 2013 issue The Day the Zombies Ruled the Earth. She currently reviews music at New Age Music Reviews and Write a Music Review.

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