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Tuesday, April 3, 2018

The Last Prejudice by Bill Blodgett



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bill will be awarding a digital copy of Unrequited to 5 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.



When Ed Connor slips into a coma his wife, children and their families arrive at the hospital to await his recovery. They gather around his bedside and begin reminiscing about the good old days but as the hours pass stress begins to take its toll causing long held family secrets and unresolved issues to surface. A disagreement over a DNR order put Ed’s sons, Steve and Peter, at odds and the family speculates that their anger is really about an event that led to their falling out when they were teens. While in his coma, Ed exists somewhere between life and death and wonders what he could have done differently when Steve tried to tell him that he was gay. The family is drawn into the bitter battle between Peter and Steve, and they fear things will never be right between them again. It’s now up to the family to devise an intervention as a last ditch effort to bring these two battling brothers back into the family.


Read an Excerpt:

Excerpt Two:

The coffee cup shattered when it hit the white porcelain kitchen sink. She had just poured it and added a splash of half and half before she looked out the kitchen window to check on him. Oh well, if it makes him happy. Some things I just can’t change, she thought. Then he slumped over the steering wheel of the lawn mower. Fortunately the mower’s safety mechanism shut the mower down when he fell to the side and onto the newly mowed lawn.

The shattering of the cup had barely quieted before she was through the screen door and at his side. She pulled him the rest of the way off the mower and felt for a pulse. She found it. Thank God.

“Ed! Ed, can you hear me? Don’t do this to me, you stubborn old fart. I told you not to be mowing this damn lawn.”

His eyes opened when she cradled his head in her lap, and he mumbled something. She leaned closer. “… broken…” was all she heard.

“Broken? Ed, what’s broken?”

When he didn’t respond, she pulled back to look at him. His eyes went vacant and then slowly rolled back and closed.

“Help me, please… Anyone, please help me!”

She shrieked until someone heard her. Within minutes Beth, her neighbor, was at her side. “Jan, my God, what’s happened?”

“Call 911.”


About the Author:

Bill still lives in the community where he met and married his lovely wife, Janice. Actually, she lived around the corner from him and they both ignored each other until their teen years when the hormone thing kicked in and they suddenly realized that the cute little girl skipping rope and that goofy boy riding a bike had both grown up.



They are the proud parents of April and Lindsay; both of whom are now married. April married Darren and they have two beautiful boys, Brian and Owen. Lindsay married Tim and they have a beautiful little girl, Kailyn.



Bill enjoys hiking, kayaking, camping with his family, golfing, making candles, and restoring his antique European sports car, a 1972 MGB.



They say to write from what you know, so he does. He writes of love, life and relationships.



http://www.billblodgett.com

https://www.facebook.com/authorbillblodgett

Barnes and Noble Paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-prejudice-bill-blodgett/1127942818?ean=9781538069646

Ebook – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-prejudice-bill-blodgett/1127942818?ean=2940158899805

Amazon: Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Last-Prejudice-difficult-brothers-suffers/dp/1979283397/ref=sr_1_3

Ebook https://www.amazon.com/Last-Prejudice-Family-Drama-ebook/dp/B079LFKP75/ref=sr_1_2

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Bill will be awarding a digital copy of Unrequited to 5 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 



Serial Wives by Yvonne Walus




This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Yvonne Walus will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.



Why would a rich girl become a prostitute?

Three years ago Joy refused to sleep with an ex boyfriend. When he committed suicide, her guilt was enormous. To punish herself she opted to serve as a prostitute for three years.



How far would you go to protect your child?

Cora loves her convict husband despite - or because of - his bad boy ways. But now that he's back in her life, she has their daughter to consider. Is a faulty father better than no father at all?



A serial killer…

A serial killer who murders women and displays their bodies dressed in a white sheet with a fencing mask covering the face. Who will be next?




Read an Excerpt:
Zero’s shared office at the police station looked bleaker than usual. Not even nine o’clock and the morning was already too full of coffee and too scant on breakfast. After three hours in bed, Zero had chosen an extra fifteen minutes of snoozing instead of muesli and shower. She was regretting the no-muesli decision.

“So,” Zero said. “I got that list of psycho reasons for wanting to kill prostitutes.”

Kath raised her eyebrows. “Thought you’d get too sucked into the TV to do any work.”

Of course she did.

“Didn’t even switch it on. Used the Internet. According to Dr Google, scenario one is we could be looking at a man who has issues with women as such. He hates women and wants to hurt them, and the prostitute is simply an easy option. We’ll call him Bitter Boy.”

“Right.”

“The second scenario is that he despises prostitutes specifically. The attacks could be his mission to rid the world of women who, in his eyes, are morally unacceptable.”

“The Missionary.” Kath got up, reached for a blue marker and printed the two nicknames on the whiteboard, right below the photos and names of the two victims. Rebecca Mahoney, also known as Raven. Stella Baxter, a.k.a. Sirocco.

Zero wondered if their department would ever get a Smart Board. Unless Smart Boards were so smart they helped the police solve crimes, the official line went, the department would stick to the status quo in technology, thank you very much.



About the Author:
You won't believe this, but when I'm not a novelist I'm actually a Doctor of Mathematics. A business and data analyst. A wife and a mother. Most of all though - I am a writer (in several languages) hoping to change the world one book at a time.



My heritage is inter-continental. I was born and raised in Poland. When I was twelve, my family and I emigrated to South Africa. Your teenage years are usually your formative years, so it’s no surprise I consider South Africa my second homeland. For the past twenty years, I’ve lived in New Zealand, and people ‘back home’ tell me I’ve become a real Kiwi.



Crime fiction is my passion. My childhood hero was, predictably, Hercule Poirot. I've changed my mind several times since, and for a time I was totally into Harlan Coben's super-rich super-able Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood), but my current favourite is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch… I mean, Sherlock Holmes.



My co-ordinates:


https://www.yvonnewalus.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Yvonne-Walus-author-206745219335573

https://twitter.com/hotyve

http://yewalus.blogspot.co.nz/



Here’s a link to the promo video for my latest book: http://stairwaypress.com/book/serialwives/.



Print version: http://stairwaypress.com/book/serialwives/

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Serial-Wives-Introducing-Zero-Zimmerman-ebook/dp/B07B2RQHGW

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Yvonne Walus will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The Boyfriend Experience by J.A. Huss


The Boyfriend Experience
J.A. Huss
(Jordan’s Game, #3)
Publication date: May 30th 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
It’s a simple request. But the girl…
Well, she’s not so simple. Oaklee Ryan is a pragmatist. She lives in reality, she deals with facts, and she’s goal oriented. So when she paid a visit to Jordan Wells asking for a game, calling it, “The Boyfriend Experience”, he thought he knew what she was getting at.
Wining, dining, maybe a date to a wedding to appease her meddling mother…
No. That’s not quite what Oaklee had in mind.
Lawton Gabriel took this game as a favor to his friend. And it only took him five minutes to regret it. Because Oaklee Ryan is insane. She’s loud, she’s demanding, and she’s dead set on getting her way.
If she thinks he’s gonna turn into her version of a boyfriend…
Just. No.
He’ll do anything it takes to get out of this crazy contract!


Author Bio:
JA Huss is the New York Times Bestselling author of 321 and has been on the USA Today Bestseller's list 21 times in the past four years. She writes characters with heart, plots with twists, and perfect endings.
Her books have sold millions of copies all over the world, the audio version of her semi-autobiographical book, Eighteen, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award and an Audie Award in 2016 and 2017 respectively, her audiobook, Mr. Perfect, was nominated for a Voice Arts Award in 2017, and her audiobook, Taking Turns, was nominated for an Audie Award in 2018.
She lives on a ranch in Central Colorado with her family.

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Losing Adam by Adrienne Clarke blitz


Losing Adam
Adrienne Clarke
Publication date: April 4th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
What happens when the person you love most in the world suddenly becomes a stranger?
Adam and Jenny’s world is falling apart. Their dream of attending college together away from home quickly becomes a nightmare when Adam begins hearing the voice of the Snow Queen. Adam’s startling transformation from popular drama student into a withdrawn, suspicious stranger leaves Jenny frightened and confused. How can the person she loves most in the world suddenly become someone she doesn’t recognize? As Adam drifts farther and farther away into the Snow Queen’s mysterious world of ice and snow, Jenny believes she must fight to bring him back or risk losing him forever.
Vividly narrated by Adam and Jenny, the struggle to understand the impact of Adam’s mental illness, forces both characters on a journey of self-discovery that leads to understanding about life’s uncertainty, the power of first love, and the pain of letting go. Drawing on elements of The Snow Queen fairy tale, Losing Adam is a unique combination of drama and romance.
EXCERPT:

The floor shifted slightly beneath my feet. Suddenly everything in the room seemed too bright: the white sheets on Adam’s bed, the mother of pearl buttons on Adam’s mother’s shirt, the fluorescent light overhead. I wanted to throw up, but I was afraid if I left the room Adam’s parents wouldn’t let me back in. “Maybe there’s something wrong with his voice.”
Adam’s father turned around. “There’s not a thing wrong with him, he just doesn’t want to talk to us. This… performance is for our benefit. He knows he’s in trouble and he can’t face it.”
“That’s not fair!” I said. Fear of Adam’s father drifted up and out of me like a ghost. “You’ve no idea how hard it’s been… how much he’s tried to…and now he’s sick and you’re acting like you don’t even care.”
“Jenny,” Adam’s mother looked at me like she’d never seen me before, “I understand you’re upset, but Adam is our son. Do you know what it’s like to get a phone call at four o’clock in the morning telling you that your son’s in the hospital? Adam’s father and I just spent two hours in a car worrying about what would be waiting for us when we got here. Can you imagine what that’s like? Can you?” The polite hostess mask slipped from her face like an overripe berry from a vine. Throughout her speech, she alternated between twisting the string of pearls she wore around her neck, and digging her French manicured hands into her sides as if to punish them.
I wanted to tell her I was sorry, but before I could form the words, Adam’s father started shouting at me. “You and Adam spend every waking moment together! You must have known that he’s been drinking, getting into trouble at residence. Why didn’t you call us, Jennifer? How could you have let it get this far?”
I couldn’t breathe. Adam’s father’s words were like an invisible hand reaching into my body and pulling out my breath like a long, twisty piece of rope. And then Adam spoke: “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Why are you even here? I don’t want you – I never want to see you again. Get out, get out, get out.”
My whole body went rigid at the sound Adam’s voice. Even the tears on my face seemed to still with shock. Was Adam talking to me? Did he want me to go away and never come back? Was he mad at me for leaving him alone? I looked at Adam’s mother, her too bright eyes seemed to have forgotten how to blink, and her hands shook as she reached for her pearls.







Author Bio:
I became a writer because the world inside my head was so real and vivid, sometimes more so than the outside world. In some sense I have lived parallel lives, present in my real and fictional existence in different ways. A lover of faerie tales, fantasy and gothic horror, a thread of the mysterious or unexpected runs through all my work. My dream is to find readers who will gather round and let me tell them stories that will become a part of their life the way they have become a part of mine.
My short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, The Storyteller, A Fly in Amber, New Plains Review, Silly Tree Anthologies, and in the e-zines Les Bonnes Fees, The Devilfish Review, Rose Red Review and 87 Bedford. An excerpt from my forthcoming YA novel Losing Adam won first place in the Young Adult category of the Seven Hills Literary Review contest.

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The Dawn of the Reaper by Paul McGowan Blitz






YA Fantasy
Date Published: 04/03/2018
Publisher: Fire & Ice YA

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  Firestorm, a legendary creature thought lost to the ages, has returned to the land of Evernight. Following centuries of exile, the dragon plots his revenge against the kingdom that vanquished his kind. After he murders Rowan’s family to safeguard his identity, the boy is taken in by the notorious sorcerer, Archibald Scott. Showing promise in the ways of magic, the orphan becomes the eccentric magician’s apprentice and is tutored in the elusive art of wizardry. Hoping to discover his purpose in life, Rowan finds himself thrust into a perilous quest to find a legendary weapon. Accompanied by longtime companions and new allies alike, he must use all of his wits if they’re to survive the storm brewing on the horizon. But evil lurks in the shadows as a secretive assassin stalks their every move. Can Rowan unravel the mysterious riddle of his past and fulfill his destiny? Only time will tell as he races to recover the dragon slayer, an ancient sword known as the Reaper. Together they’re humanity’s only hope of defeating Firestorm and his legions!


About the Author




"Paul was born in Yorkshire, England to Irish parents. His most vivid memory as a child was travelling to Egypt and visiting the Pyramids of Giza and Tutankhamen’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Currently he resides in Kansas City with his wife Jozia and his son Gavin. Paul graduated from medical school and plans to pursue residency training as a pathologist. He loves to travel and also enjoys ethnic food, Celtic mysticism-type music (think Enya and Clannad), and is a fervent Game of Thrones fan. Favorite books would be Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”, T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King”, R.A. Salvatore’s Dark Elf Series, Harry Potter, and George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Series."


Contact Links



Purchase Link








RABT Book Tours & PR

The Sweet Life by Dakota Star blitz


The Sweet Life
Dakota Star
Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: April 3rd 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Alexis takes her job very seriously. As one of the younger account executives, proving herself in the workplace is much more important than having a love life. And now that she’s been assigned a dude ranch account, she’s more determined than ever to show her doubters that she has what it takes.
Unfortunately there’s a tall, hot-tempered, brown-eyed cowboy who manages to distract Alexis from her goal by grabbing her attention…in a non-professional kind of way.

Mitch is the cowboy of her dreams—and also a distraction her career can’t afford.
And the real doozy? He also happens to be the ranch owner’s son, and this little fact alone has the potential to ruin everything for this city girl.

EXCERPT:

He tipped his hat and led Alexis to the herd. Feeling clumsy and off-kilter, she followed the rancher over to the available horses, trying not to stare at his long stride and tight backside.
He stopped in front of a fiery chestnut thoroughbred. “Would you like the mounting block?”
“I think I can get up from the ground.” The horse appeared taller as she inched closer to it. His intense red coat matched her hair.
“His name is Blazing Star, but just call him Blaze.” Mitch patted the horse’s neck. “He’s a thoroughbred, but a good boy and won’t startle.” A smile reached his lips as he handed her the reins. “As long as you can get up on the first try.”
“I’m sure I can.” The words came out harsher than expected. She hated when people doubted her. Scooting to the side of the beast, inhaling the pungent smell of horse that reminded her of college riding, she tightened her grip on the reins, grabbed some mane, and slipped a foot in the stirrup. Yoga helped keep her flexible, but the stirrups sat high and her legs weren’t that long. Hopping a couple times on her grounded foot, she gathered momentum and pushed up and off.
Hands were on her backside, helping to lift. She plopped into the saddle, riled by the wrangler’s audacity, but when she twisted to tell him how inappropriate he was, the cowboy had already sauntered away to help another patron. Alexis gathered up her reins and led Blaze to the water trough.
Jo Jo joined her there. “I saw it all.”
“Saw what?” Her eyebrows furrowed.
“You flirting with the handsome guide and him helping you on the horse.” Her friend appeared petite on the large horse as she pointed toward the band of wranglers all mounting their rides. “Nice work. Well played.”
“You’re crazy.” The need to push her friend’s arm down so no one would think they were talking about the staff overwhelmed her, but she didn’t want to let go of the reins and reach over.
“I wasn’t flirting and didn’t need his help to get on the horse.”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” Jo Jo looked longingly at the mounting block.
“Next time, I’ll remember to just say no to using the mounting block.”
Alexis reined her horse away.






Author Bio:
Dakota Star lives in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters. Both her daughters have finished college and moved away so her dogs, cats, and retired horse now keep her busy. When not outside hiking or horseback riding, she loves to read and travel. She has worked as an editor, a freelance writer for local newspapers, and an educator at local environmental non-profits like aquariums and The National Audubon Society.

Guest Post: Alexis’ Playlist
The Sweet Life by Dakota Star

Alexis is a little city spice. Mitch is country sweet. The rugged cowboy works at a dude ranch as lead wrangler, barn manager, and more. Can Mitch turn this over-achieving city slicker into a country girl?

When dealing with tough clients at the marketing firm in NYC where she works, riding across the open meadows, or rescuing stray cows, Alexis relies on music to get through the day. Her top four favorite songs follow:

A little city
  1. Dua Lipa – New Rules
Alexa is a fiery red head who doesn’t let a man control her, but Mitch finds a way into her heart. Can this couple conquer the city or country conundrum?  
  1. Keith Urban with Carrie Underwood – Fighter
The song itself transcends genre lines just like Alexis and Mitch’s attraction. Hopefully, they will both fight for something that seems so perfect.
A little country
  1. Sam Hunt – Body Like a Backroad
Sounds like a country boy falls for a city girl in this one too. Mitch is going to be sure to show Alexis a good time.
  1. John Pardi – Dirt on my Boots

This song nails the different worlds Mitch and Alexis live in, but also where they meet in the middle. It doesn’t matter how different people are at the start. It’s much more important where they end up.   
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Fierce by L.G. Kelso blitz


Fierce
L.G. Kelso
(A Whatever It Takes Novel)
Publication date: April 3rd 2018 (re-release)
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Sports
Three years ago, Tori beat the wrong man. Her MMA training partner, nursing a bruised ego, snapped—shattering her trust and confidence.
Now, she’s putting herself through college, avoiding all things fight related, and keeping her fists to herself. That is, until her uncle’s failing health draws her back to his gym and her old pounding grounds. With her demons still haunting the cage, she’s determined to keep up the wall she’s so carefully constructed between the past and present.
Until pro-fighter Max Estrada saunters into her life.
The temptation to go glove-to-glove with the sexy Columbian is too much, drawing her back into the world of MMA—a world where her ex-partner reigns as current Middleweight Champion. The secret they share is a liability to his career, and he’ll do anything to keep her quiet. If she wants her old life back, and a future with the fighter she’s fallen for, she’ll have to do more than just survive. With her life on the ropes, she’ll have to face her past and fight like she’s never fought before.
EXCERPT:

The alcohol probably wasn’t helping. The side of the bathtub, cool against the back of my legs, felt as if it would fall out from under me as I stared at the water pouring from the bathtub’s faucet and over the cuts on my leg.
I went to scrub the soap into the cuts, but my wet shirt kept getting in the way. Every time I moved, it stuck to my skin.
Wrapping the hem of my long shirt around my fingers, I lifted the shirt up, over my head—
“Woah, there, Tori. What are you doing?”
“It’s in the way!”
“No, it’s not,” Max said as he yanked my shirt back down.
“It’s wet.”
“Well, yes, it is. You can go change in a second. Tori, put your shirt down.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “Because you’re drunk.”
“You’ve seen me in a sports bra.”
“Which you are definitely not wearing right now.”
His reaction was making my skin burn again, but this time, I couldn’t figure out why. Was it because he so didn’t want to see me without a shirt? Was it that bad? I mean, compared to Cheyenne sure, but still.
“The idea of seeing me shirtless is that awful, huh?”
He tugged. I rolled forward, giving up the shirt.
“That’s—no.”
“I know I don’t look like your lingerie model of a girlfriend, but jeez.”
“Tori.” The conviction in his voice made me stop blabbering like a damn idiot. His fingers found my chin and tilted my head. He was so close. The brown of his eyes were darker in this light, making his eyes look like black pools.
“Should you ever wish to yank your shirt off in front of me when you’re sober, I definitely will not stop you. It would be the opposite of awful.”
Had he gotten closer? And what did he mean by opposite of awful?
His lips were swollen; he must have taken one hit to the mouth before knocking the other guy out.
The alcohol didn’t do as much to my brain as being around Max did. Everything about him teased me in some way. His adrenaline teased out my own. I wanted to pull him against me. I wanted to find someone to fight in an octagon. I wanted to be me again, whoever that was, and I wanted to be it with Max.
“Tori,” he said again, and I tore my gaze away from his mouth and back to his eyes. A wave of shivers started at the top of my spine, my skin prickling as it passed through the rest of my body. The look in his eyes…it was quite possibly the best thing I had ever seen.
He continued a moment later. “But right now, you are drunk. So your clothes are staying on.”







Author Bio:
L.G. Kelso writes authentic sports fiction about characters falling in love with combat sports and also each other. She's a fan of anything that bashes gender stereotypes, and she can be found in her MMA gym when not writing.

Visit her website at http://www.lgkelso.com for more information about her and upcoming projects, including another book in the Whatever It Takes universe.

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