Hurricane Reads: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Promote Your Book/Promote Mine Blog Hop

The purpose of this blog hop is to promote Charlene Raddon’s latest release, The Scent of Roses, as well as the work of each of the participating bloggers. Be sure to read to the end of this page so you don’t miss out on the grand prize. Also be certain you visit each blog and comment to qualify for the individual giveaways, and the big prize.

Charlene Raddon has been writing historical romance novels for over thirty years. Her work has won several awards and much well-deserved praise. Here is what she has to say about her newest release.

Any day when a new book is released is exciting for the author. I’m thrilled to announce that my eBook, The Scent of Roses, is now available.

The Scent of Roses is a sequel to my last eBook, To Have And To Hold, but stands alone and does not need to be read in order to be enjoyed. Whip Kincaid, from The Scent of Roses, is the half-brother of Buck Maddux from To Have and To Hold. Whip also has a twin, Cale, who readers met in Buck’s story, which gives me an excuse to write a third book for this series.

The added touch of paranormal elements made The Scent of Roses a fun story to write. Who doesn’t enjoy haunted houses with hidden passageways? When I first moved to Utah, I lived in this house. No, there weren’t any secret passageways, but in every other way, my description of the old house is accurate. The third element new in this book is the subject of polygamy.

Rosalyn Delaney came to Whisky Ridge, Arizona expecting to receive aid from her estranged husband, Josiah Bullock, in escaping the crazed leader of a polygamist cult determined to have her. She’s broke and has nowhere else to go. But Josiah is dead, murdered the very evening of her arrival. The town is in uproar, searching for the suspected killer, Josiah’s business partner, Whip Kincaid. Rosalyn also learns that Josiah has taken a second wife.

Whip is innocent but to prove that, he needs to stay out of jail. He hides in secret passageways in the old house he and Josiah shared. Smythely, the elderly butler who came with the house, is the only other person aware of the passageways. Lurking between spiderwebbed walls and using the abundance of peepholes provided allows Whip to keep up with what’s going on. Sneaking out at night allows him to investigate. He’s particularly interested in Rosalyn Delaney, and for more than one reason. Besides being attracted to her, he’s sure she knows something about the murder.

But does she? Is she safe at Rose House? Will she be safe from Whip Kincade?

I hope you enjoyed this peek into The Scent of Roses. Find it at Amazon.

Be sure to leave a comment with contact information. At the end of the hop, a name will be drawn from those who visited and commented at every blog. Prize is a $45 gift card for Amazon or B&N, Winner's choice.

Other bloggers are also offering giveaways so make sure you hit them all.

List of Participating Blogs

Thursday, May 30, 2013

{Excerpt} MUCH ADO ABUT MAVERICKS, Hearts of Owyhee #3 by Jacquie Rogers

Much Ado About

Mavericks

Hearts of Owyhee #3

by Jacquie Rogers

Kindle | Print

Of all the heroines in my books, I got the biggest kick out of Jake O'Keefe. Eh, Jake? A woman?

That's what hero Ben Lawrence thought, too. Here's an excerpt of Much Ado About Mavericks where the two of them introduce themselves.

Excerpt
Much Ado About Mavericks
Copyright © 2013 Jacquie Rogers

Ben Lawrence could hardly wait to see his mother and sister, even if his stomach soured every time he thought about his childhood home. But he had to take care of the family and ranch now that his father had died. Worse, he had to contend with Jake O’Keefe because Pa thought his own son too incompetent to hire good people, even after four years at Harvard and nine years of practicing law.

The soda was refreshing and he took his time while she waited, not patiently, shifting her weight from left to right, then tossing a few pebbles.

“I think we should reintroduce ourselves.” He placed the mug on the boardwalk and offered his hand. “How do you do? I’m Benjamin Lawrence, visiting from Boston.”

“Janelle Kathryn.” She grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. “I’m surely pleased to meet you.”

He tested his shoulder to see if it still functioned after her hearty handshake. Then, just to knock her off guard, he took her hand and kissed the back of it with grandiose gallantry. “My pleasure, Miss Janelle.”

♥ ♥ ♥

Jumpin’ juniper berries! Jake snatched her scorching hand away from Skeeter’s lips. His well-placed little smacker burned hotter than a branding iron in August. Only better, but she sure as shootin’ wouldn’t admit it to a soul. Ever. Of course, she had no intention of washing her hand for a month either. That hot kiss sent goosebumps clean down to her toes.

She sucked in a deep breath and cleared her throat. “Let’s go.” She hopped onto the wagon and picked up the reins.

Ben leapt onto the seat and took the reins from her. “I’ll drive.”

His thigh rubbed hers. She didn’t know how he could think right if he tingled anything like she did. But, he probably didn’t. She inched away from him as the buckboard moved out of town. She focused on the sagebrush—at least it didn’t knock her plumb senseless. He was too damned good-looking in a dandified sort of way. Taller than she was, too, by a few inches. Few men were. She stood even with Whip, who, although bent with years of hard work, was taller than the rest of the men.

It ate at her that Skeeter muddled her mind so, and she had no idea what got into her to tell him her real name. She’d better set him straight.

“Just so’s you know, I ain’t no simpering female. Folks around here call me Jake. Jake O’Keefe. I expect you ought to call me that, too.”

She nearly laughed at his horrified expression.

“Jake O’Keefe? My foreman?”

Just what she needed—a greenhorn who didn’t think she could do a man’s work. Well hell, she’d already proven herself better than any hand in the territory, and she wasn’t about to do it again—especially to a feller they called Skeeter. “Yup. And just so’s you know, Harley Blacker hired me on with the Flying B, so as soon as I show you the ropes, I’ll be leaving the Bar EL.”

He set his lips firm like he was cogitating. She didn’t know what there was to think about—she’d laid out the deal square enough.

Finally, he said, “All right then, Jake, just so you know, my name is Ben. Benjamin Lawrence. I expect to be called that.” His jaw tensed and his cheek twitched just a might. “And I’d appreciate it if you’d stay on the Bar EL, at least until I get the family affairs settled. I’ll be going back to Boston as soon as I can.”

“Got a woman?” Jake could’ve slapped her own fool face. Why the hell would she care? But that tickly feeling deep inside seemed to make her lose all her brains.

“I have a law practice there. And friends.” He pulled on the right reins and flicked the left side, turning the team onto the Lawrence road. “A lady friend, too.”

Probably some frilly-assed, sappy female who batted her eyelashes at him and giggled at any harebrained thing he said. Men seemed to like such silly critters, although, for the life of her, she couldn’t see why. “Well, I ain’t staying, so you’d better be on the lookout for a new foreman. Fred’s probably your man—he’s been sourer than five-day-old pissed-in milk since the old man chose me over him.”

“Don’t want him. I need you.”

“Tough.”

“How much is Blacker paying you?”

“Eighty dollars and found.”

“I’ll give you a hundred.”

She shook her head. “One-twenty and found.”

“One-ten.”

“And found—ain’t interested in eating my own cooking.” She’d starve to death if she did. Whip had taught her how to rope, shoot, and just about everything else, but he never could teach her how to cook. Every concoction she had tried ended up looking and smelling like fresh-branded cowhide. Not that she’d wanted to learn in the first damned place.

He nodded. “And found.”

“I’ll take it. Six months I’ll give you. But come spring, I’m working my own ranch, so you better get used to the idea.”

“One-twenty and found for any months you work after six.”

“I ain’t budging.”

“All right, for now I’ll take six months at a hundred and ten dollars and found. Shake?”

She wasn’t so sure she wanted to feel his hand on hers again—more dangerous than a rattlesnake with a toothache. Grabbing his hand, she gave it one shake and let go immediately, wiping her hand on her pants. “Deal.”

But it would be a helluva long six months if she buzzed like her guts were filled with bumblebees every time Ben Lawrence took a gander at her.

Win a a Kindle copy of

Much Ado About Mavericks

Each commenter will be entered in the drawing. Winner will be chosen June 1 at 9pm Pacific Time. Be sure to include your email address or another winner will be drawn.

Good luck!

♥ Hearts of Owyhee ♥
Where the Old West really happened!

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Mavericks

Saturday, May 4, 2013

WEAR BLACK by Eilis Flynn and Heather Hiestand

Book Lovers Buffet

presents

Wear Black

Eilis Flynn and Heather Hiestand have released their first collaboration, Wear Black, a Victorian England-set paranormal historical with a romance subplot.

Amazon * Smashwords * ARe

Blurb:
Death did not end his service to the British Empire

Beneath Windsor Castle, a shadow network of immortals keeps the British Empire safe. Army captain Lucas Fitzrobbins becomes one of them when the cure for his mortal wound turns out to be a vampirism potion. He is abruptly inducted into the secret St. George Protector Society…and it’s not long before the Society’s newest recruit discovers it has dark mysteries as well…

Marked as a target

Hampering Lucas’s efforts to adjust to his after-life is An Tighearn operative Nellie Clifton, a beautiful and enigmatic assassin, who has marked Lucas as her latest quarry. But then…

Secrets are threatened to be revealed

A brutal killer stalks the seamy underside of London. Protectors and assassins alike must leave the shadows to find the fiend before their existence is revealed to the world. Tasked with the job of tracking down the murderer, Lucas discovers that the crazed butcher may have connections that go to the heart of the British Empire. One thing is certain:

The Queen must never know

Excerpt:

“We meet again, Mr. Dudley,” the black-haired stunner called out, her faint Irish accent more pronounced now. “Sorry about your companion, but business is business. My name is Nellie Clifton, in case you hadn’t been told. Pleased to meet you.”

Her tone was downright languid, the Irish clear in her words, even as she nearly twirled her sword. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to die. It would be more sportin’ if I let you learn how to use your sword first, but I see no point in delayin’ the inevitable, don’t you think?” She grabbed the tabbed cord at the edge of her helmet and yanked it off, shaking her head to loosen her curls. She slipped the goggles down her face until they rested around her throat.

“You indicated last time that you preferred to fight one-on-one, and yet here you are with your allies,” Lucas shot back, keeping an eye on the flying archer and the other woman. “Afraid of me, Miss Clifton?”

“I have me orders. I’m not a cruel person, you understand,” the woman explained, tossing the helmet to the side. “But I have other errands to run, so I decided, let’s dispatch this matter as soon as possible. I do apologize!”

See Book Lovers Buffet for this and other specially priced books. Sale runs from May 1 to May 5, 2013.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Judith Laik: Sentimental Journey Under a Blue Moon

Thanks to Judith Laik (pronounced "Like") for visiting today. Judith has been published by Kensington and small press, writes Regency historical romance, young adult novels, and children's stories. She also co-authored a book of quotes, Around the Circle Gently, with Lynn Moen. Judith lives in the Seattle area on a cozy little farm with a bunch of dogs, sundry other animals, her husband (not an animal, usually), and her daughter.

A blue moon, according one interpretation, is the occurrence of a second full moon in any month. A second definition is the third of four full moons in a season (winter, spring, etc.). Normally each season has three full moons. When it has four, the third one is called a blue moon.

Because the lunar cycle is shorter than most months, the dates of the various phases change throughout a year. There can only be a second full moon when the first one falls on the 1st, 2nd, or, for 31-day months, 3rd. Thus, a blue moon happens only – once in a blue moon!

Perhaps because of their relative rarity, legends grew up about the specialness of a blue moon. One of these legends is that there is special power in wishing on a blue moon.

Judith Laik, author

When my friend Jacquie Rogers told me she was asked to contribute a story to an anthology built around this bit of folklore, I thought that was a pretty cool idea. I didn’t give it another thought. I don’t write short stories. At least I didn’t think so.

But the concept kept working on me under my conscious thought level. I frequently have a “sound track” playing in my head. It’s entirely random. Could be a song I’ve heard on the radio, even sometimes a stupid jingle from a commercial. But sometimes out of that amorphous mass of buried memories, a song will suddenly pop up that I haven’t heard for years.

In this case, though, I’m sure it arose from Jacquie’s anthology story. The lovely song “Blue Moon” started playing in my head. Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1935, it’s been sung over the years by many of the greats. When the line “And then there suddenly appeared before me the only one my arms will ever hold,” I got a clear image of the sudden appearance of a man in front of a woman, and I knew I had the germ of a story. From there, it practically wrote itself.

And now, my story, Sentimental Journey, is on Amazon.

Oh, yes. On blue moons. Be prepared to make a wish and have it come true!

More info on blue moons:
Infoplease®
Wikipedia
Sky and Telescope
Moon Connection
RedBubble (Discusses various folkloric stories about the power of the blue moon.)
RedBubble (song lyrics)

Contact Judith: Website, Facebook, Twitter