Read an exclusive excerpt from 'Secrets From a Dangerous Time' by Hunter S. Jones

Blurb:

Chaos reigns in a lawless time filled with revenge and betrayals. Following the American Civil War, the Southern States are reeling under the revenge taken on them by the victors.

Casey King must change her name, fake a marriage and forget modern comforts to survive within the world she now finds herself - 1873 post-Civil War Reconstruction Era Chattanooga, Tennessee...a world full of violence and mystery.

The charismatic Dr. Garrett Cleighton, a mixed heritage Cherokee, decides to give her a part in his traveling medicine show. Casey takes a chance in order to hide her secrets. Dr. Cleighton could betray her or he might keep his promises.

Author Hunter S. Jones mixes romance with Civil War drama and brings contemporary suspense to life in the setting of the Reconstruction South. The journey begins in "Secrets from a Dangerous Time, Story 1".

Read an excerpt:

With that, he removed another blanket from the back of the saddlebag. “Here, place that over you.” He picked up the saddle and sat it down on the east side, which did help block the breeze that was starting to blow colder. He stretched those long legs out on the ground and put his arm over the saddle, propping himself up to look up at me. His long, blond hair seemed to glow in the light. The nearness of him made my skin tingle and my pulse race.

After a pause in which the night sounds combined into a symphony, Garrett took a long drag from his cigarette. He looked at me, eyes raised and moving from my chest to my face. Even with the blanket over me, it felt as if he could imagine me naked. As he looked at me, he whispered, “What I want to know, as a man, is why you aren’t wearing a corset and why your breasts are in some kind of harness.” He exhaled the smoke slowly and continued, “But, as a gentleman, I’d best not be asking about such things. Why don’t you explain to me what you do in Atlanta all day?”

The wind whipped around my face and I knew he could hear my heart pounding in the stillness of the night. What a sexy thing to say. Is he attracted to me too? I felt the sky going dark before I was able to respond to his question.

The sensation of Garrett taking my face in his hands brought me to the surface. “Girl, I can’t let you lose consciousness yet due to the injury to your head. Stay with me now. We are going to keep you awake by talking. Don’t you be passing out on me or going to sleep.” He revived me by patting my face with his hands and massaging my throat with his long fingers. He removed one hand and inhaled from the cigarette, blowing the smoke directly at my nose and mouth.

“Why did you do that? That tobacco smells terrible,” I said.

“It works every time. I knew that it would revive you.” He laughed. “Now go on. Tell me about yourself, seeing how we are stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with not much else to do.”

Available on Amazon

About the author:

Deb Hunter writes fiction as Hunter S. Jones. She is a member of the prestigious Society of Authors founded by Lord Tennyson, Rivendell Writers Colony, Historical Writers’ Association, Historical Novel Society and the Atlanta Writer’s Club. Her Tudor History blog, Fear and Loathing in Tudor England, is a reader’s favorite. Originally from a Chattanooga, Tennessee, she currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her Scottish born husband. Her best seller, PHOENIX RISING, a fictional story of the last hour of Anne Boleyn is available on Amazon.com and at a bookstore near you.

SECRETS from a DANGEROUS TIME is a multi-dimensional series set in post-Civil War Reconstruction in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the north Georgia. This series is an Amazon Exclusive available via MadeGlobal Publishing.

Follow her on social media at these sites:

www.Facebook.com/HunterSJonesPR

www.Twitter.com/HunterSJones101

Get the latest from the Dangerous Time series by following the Pinterest board: www.pinterest.com/huntersjones/dangerous-time/

'Listed for Love' by Matthew Price is on sale this weekend!

Blurb:

A hot, erotic trilogy for adults that is full of surprises. A nice take on the office romance short story.

Jacob has set out on his own to create The Real Agency, a top-tier real estate brokerage in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lauren is his personal assistant, who is in training to become a broker, but is thrown into the deep end of the cutthroat business after Jacob is forced to fire his top-selling agent, and she must pick up the slack as they try and negotiate an important sale of a multi-million dollar estate. During the long hours of work, Jacob tries to woo her, but she has a personality all of her own, and she's not one to be controlled. 

Rave reviews!

"I have a policy of avoiding short stories and serials but I decided to take a chance on this one. Don’t ask me why. I had a hunch and I went with it. So glad I did. This was a great read. I was really impressed with the author’s ability to give an authentic female voice. The dialogue was both realistic and interesting. There was no contrived angst and no overdose of sarcasm and wit. Humor is definitely present but it wasn’t overblown. The push and pull between Lauren and Jacob was immensely amusing. Both characters were strong. There is an air of mystery in Jacob’s business dealings. The story ended at a perfect place, without an overly dramatic cliffhanger. I look forward to the release of the next two installments."

Available on Amazon

FREE on Saturday & 99 cents on Sunday! 

About the author:

Matthew Price grew up on a ranch in a small town in Southern California. While he had always had the passion to write, he just recently made it a reality. A chance at a fresh start took him to Oregon where he met his wife and eventually settled down.

When he is not writing and publishing his books, Matthew Price enjoys hanging out with his Labrador, gardening, fishing, spending time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and spending time with his family.

Watch for upcoming titles by Matthew Price, including the continuation of the "Listed for Love" Trilogy.

Follow on Twitter @MWPrice77
Like on Facebook at facebook.com/MWPrice77

'One Night Stand Romance (A Collection of Short Stories)' by Hombre Darby

Blurb:

A vivid cast of characters fills out this collection of erotic short stories for the romantic soul. A definite intense literary page turner exploring the sensual relationships between everyday men and women: 

• A busy professional formulates an inventive way to keep his wife happy.
• A plus-sized wife struggles with insecurities about her husband’s happiness.
• A woman of influence struggles between a vulnerable love and her career
• A wife and her soldier love from different sides of the world.
• A couple married for over forty years have no problems keeping the fires hot.
• A man’s visit to the doctor ends in an interesting diagnosis from the nurse.
• East Indian lovers avoid arranged marriage for true love.
• More!

Buy links

About the Author

Hombre Darby has enjoyed writing for over twenty years. For years he enjoyed underground notoriety as an internet romance writing sensation. He enjoys creating worlds for his characters to live and love in. The idea that his creations can be an outlet for a single reader or used to create a spark for a couple to stoke the fires of a happy relationship give satisfaction to the writer that takes great pride in his craft.

He is the proud father of a son and daughter.

'The Strongest Love...' by T. Lawrence Harrison

Blurb:

"The Strongest Love..." is a homage to the great novelist and short story writer W. Somerset Maugham. Composed of three novellas - each treating our common struggle to find happiness and security in an all-too-often unhappy and insecure world. The first novella bears the title of the book - "The Strongest Love...," and is story of a Catholic priest whose chance encounter at an airport terminal with an aging and dying African-American porn actress and prostitute, who is raising her teen age son, leads to obsession, danger and the loss of his vocation - all for a tough - strangely heroic - woman who "will not settle" for his love - and who hopes until the very end for a miracle that will heal her body and erase her past. Have a box of tissue handy for this provocative contemporary homage to "Of Human Bondage" You will use every one! And then some!

The second tale is called "Adam's Peak" - and, for this, you will need another box of tissues. It is a very powerful story - inspired by the short story "The Pool" - that tells of a grieving husband carrying the ashes of his deceased wife back to her native Sri Lanka. The plan had been for him to carry the ashes to the top of Adam's Peak - but plans change - and not even death can separate Mark Mason from his beautiful Akuti.

The final story in this homage to Somerset Maugham is called "All Boxed In" - and it was inspired by a very early novel of the great writer and a fairly recent recording by Bob Dylan. It is the powerful and inspiring story of a young, gay veteran of the War in Afghanistan who returns to his home in Orange County, California a national hero - only to quickly find himself "all boxed in with no where to escape" by the expectations of his wealthy family and its very conservative circle of friends. And, again, a box of tissues is highly recommended!

Buy links

About the author:

T. Lawrence Harrison - The Reverend Deacon Sir T. Lawrence Harrison - is the pen name of a former Protestant clergyman, former Catholic cleric and Papal knight - and self-described Somerset Maugham and Hermann Hesse devotee. Retiring as the Vice-President of a libertarian leaning "think-tank" in late 2012 to partner with his screenwriter son on several screenplays, Harrison is now working on the intense contemporary political thriller "THE HUNT FOR BONIFACE." Look for it soon!

#BookReview 'Sapphire Beautiful' by Ren Monterrey

We both joined The Club and made an arrangement. I got the money to pay my mortgage and he got access to my body, whenever and however he wanted it...

SAPPHIRE BEAUTIFUL, a new full-length, stand-alone novel in Ren Monterrey's THE CLUB series.

I never imagined that I'd be starting my fifth year as a faculty member in the Medieval Studies department as a thirty-two-year-old widow. I'm sure to be the butt of every joke around campus as the collateral damage of a sex scandal that made national headlines. And my husband left me completely broke after he killed himself.

I don't want to lose my house and all the money I invested in it so I make an arrangement through The Club. I'll get what I need...money to get out of the financial ruins my dead husband left me in. And Dante McNally will get what he wants...access to my body...whenever and however he wants it...

There's only one catch. Dante is one of our new graduate students and the recipient of a prestigious research fellowship funded by his billionaire father. And this is the year I'm supposed to be applying for tenure.

**My thoughts**

Ren Monterrey is the one pen name I had not yet read by this author. So, when the opportunity to review this book came up, I was glad to take it. These are definitely darker and steamier than her other books!

I can't imagine being pushed to the point where I felt like I needed to sell my body to solve a financial problem. Sure, it is something we all joke about, but don't usually take seriously. Mary is pretty easily tipped to that point when she overhears the opportunity.

I have to admit that I found Dante a little creepy, especially at first. He is very intense, somewhat possessive, and tries to use his wealth to influence Mary's behavior. I have to wonder about people who feel the need to pay others for company and affection. However, his intensity is the foil to her vulnerability and they find that they are able to truly fill a need for each other.

In some ways, their relationship and story reminded me of 50 Shades of Grey, but not abusive and less gratuitous. There are signs of a real relationship and real feelings in their story.

There are a couple of slight twists that I wasn't quite expecting, that also added some depth to the plot.

I did enjoy this quick read. It is a standalone in the series, but I have gone back to download the first one in the series, to experience more of the world of The Club.

Buy on Amazon

About the author:

REN MONTERREY lives in a small town outside Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and their bloodhounds. She writes New Adult and Contemporary romance under a number of different pen names including Sierra Avalon, Savannah Young and Dakota Madison

Website / Facebook / Twitter

 

 

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Tips for Dealing With Rejection - Guest Post by Joan C. Curtis, author of 'e-Murderer'

Tips for Dealing with Rejection—My Personal Advice

Rejection. With trembling hands we open the email only to find the familiar words, "So sorry, but this isn't for us."

What do you do next?

When I began putting my words on paper, I was a young English student. I expected rejection and ridicule. I had no lofty belief that my English teacher would read what I wrote and rave about my brilliance. Instead, I expected (and rightly so) criticism. At that point in my life, I realized that writing is fraught with the prospect of rejection.

Never did I realize then what I know now--that rejection is a part of a writer's life. Each time a perfectly crafted query goes unnoticed or worse still in the slush pile, I cringe and hide my head. More than once, I've given up on the project and allowed it to disappear among my long list of documents, unread and forgotten.

Withstanding rejection is one of the hardest things any artist has to learn to do. Whether you're a painter, artisan of jewelry, writer or performer, there are people out there who will not love your work. Those people tend to drive us nuts.

As a stand-up trainer I face audiences all the time, and I've learned a thing or two about rejection.

1) For every person out there who frowns at you, there are fifteen who are smiling.

2) If we focus on the frowns, we will not only become paralyzed, but we will also fail those smiling faces.

3) Sometimes the frowns are misinterpreted. Sometimes even they are smiling underneath the frown.

4) Those who persist win.

I'm trying to adapt these insights to my writing endeavors. When someone rejects my work, I remind myself that agent or publisher or reader is not rejecting me. If I persist, maybe someone will look up from the page and smile.

My best personal advice for handling rejection? Keep writing, keep submitting and set up a rejection file.

********************

e-Murderer

On this anything but typical Monday morning Jenna Scali, who works part-time for a shrink, opens an email that depicts the brutal death of a young girl. On that same day the police uncover a dead coed two blocks from Jenna’s house. The e-murderer’s description creepily echos the death described in the newspapers.

When Jenna receives other emails, she takes what she knows to the police and thus begins her journey in the path of the e-murderer. Her curious nature impels her from e-messages to dead coeds to a ring of prostitutes. With the help of her quirky friends, Jenna learns that she’s more than a conduit for the killer. She’s his target. New secrets unfold, and finally her love life takes a tumble when the true killer emerges.

THE E-MURDERER is a race to find a psychotic killer before he kills again.

This new mystery series with a young female sleuth promises to keep you glued to your seat until the last page.

Buy on Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo Books / MuseItUp Publishing

The author is giving away two prizes: One, a $15 Amazon or BN Gift card (their choice) and Two, a signed copy of the award-winning book, The Clock Strikes Midnight.

About the author:

Joan is an award-winning writer who has published 6 books and numerous stories. Readers compare her to the great Southern writer, Fanny Flagg. “She writes characters and a story that will stay with you.”

Her debut mystery/suspense novel, The Clock Strikes Midnight, won the silver medal for fiction/suspense in the Global eBook Awards for 2015 and is a finalist for the Royal Palm Literary Award. The e-Murderer won first place in the Malice Domestic Grants competition for new writers.



Joan has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. She reads all kinds of books, including women’s fiction, mysteries, biography, and nonfiction. Mystery/suspense with a psychological twist is exactly the kind of book Joan loves to read.

"I write about characters who remind me of myself at times and my sister at times, but never fully so. My stories are told from a woman's point of view with a destiny. Characters drive my writing and my reading."

Having grown up in the South with a mother from Westchester County New York, Joan has a unique take on blending the Southern traditions with the eye of a Northerner. She spent most of her childhood in North Carolina and now resides in Athens, Georgia.

Author website: http://www.joancurtis.com | Author’s blog: http://www.joancurtis.com/blog

Facebook Author page: http://www.facebook.com/joanccurtisauthor | Twitter page: @joancurtis http://www.twitter.com/joancurtis

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Available for pre-order! 'Betrayal's Dust' by Vina St. Fran - An exclusive sneak peek!

Coming soon ...

This October ...

The anticipated second book in Vina St. Fran's Amorous Trilogy ...

Check out Betrayal's Dust.

Blurb:

Betrayal, sex and secrets: will the sisters find the happiness they deserve?

Cyndarella, Tavie, Denise and Vette have been best friends since junior high, there for each other through the ups, downs, triumphs and tears in their relationships. There’s one thing they all agree on: their men like to call the shots. Cyn makes her husband, Bashar, feel he’s the one in charge of their marriage, while Tavie and Vette are getting tired of waiting on their guys to propose. Denise has been left struggling to get pregnant and at odds with her husband, Sean. For all, it’s a waiting game—though with lots of great sex!

But a girl can’t live by loving alone; she has to find ways of letting her man think he’s setting the pace, but get what she needs. For Cyn, that means banishing the dark secrets of her husband’s past before he and she can be truly happy; for Tavie, finding a faithful lover, and dealing with Geneva, the ex of her exes who just won’t go away; can Denise have that longed-for baby and save her marriage; and how will Vette handle the lust she holds for Pete, Cyn’s brother, and settle for Louis, her handsome older man?

Find out in Vina St. Fran’s powerful, passionate and unputdownable novel—the sequel to One Foot outside the Door--that charts the next phase in her unforgettable characters’ lives!

Read a chapter:

CHAPTER FOUR

“Hell, no,” Bashar whispered to himself at the sight of seeing his wife sleeping soundly in their bed. But not for long if he’d had his way. Bashar had been hot and bothered all day after watching Cyndarella this morning dressing for work in a simple pencil black skirt, white V-neck blouse and several layers of the white pearls that he’d gifted her.

She’d quickly slid on her pantyhose and finished the look with red high heel shoes which screamed to him, Fuck me! Afterwards, she’d kissed him goodbye and seductively walked away, leaving him with a hard-on and thinking about her all day. He swore she’d pay for that one and had warned her via text, and she’d shot back at him, “Talk is cheap!”

Bashar began unbuttoning her silk pajama top, exposing honey-colored bare breasts that stared back at him. Cyn’s body was a banquet that he never got tired of feasting on, and sexually neither of them had a limit when it came to their appetites.

From a cultural view, Chaldean men’s wives were supposed to be submissive and do exactly what their husbands requested, in bed and out of it. Bashar had a bit of old-school tradition left, but he did not mind switching roles with his wife and letting her being the dominant one at times—he loved her fire! But from day one, she’d never had a problem being submissive. When it came to anything to do with sex, the Bazzis were quite fluent in the seductive language of love.

Cyn began to stir. Opening her eyes, she smiled at seeing the state of dress she was in, but then hesitated for a moment as her thoughts raced to the wellbeing of their sons.

“I checked in on Nadia, and she’s okay, but how are my babies?” she asked.

“They’re fine and resting,” Bashar assured her while removing the last barrier of clothing between them, leaving her completely naked.

He began to kiss his wife, while one of his hands caressed her pussy until he felt her wetness trickle down his fingers. Cyn moaned and said, “Oh God, Bashar, that feels so damn good! Please don’t stop!”

“I don’t plan to,” Bashar whispered into her ear, then pulled back to quickly discard his pajama pants. Cyndarella grinned up at him with a devilish smile on her face. The fullness of his erection and the sight of his wife alone could cause him to climax, but what he needed now was much more than mental. He knew for sure, judging by the lustful look in her eyes, both of them needed to be fulfilled.

“Damn, I’ve been waiting for this since this morning. You are driving me crazy!” And she was. He had no problems letting her know it as his hands explored her body.

“Me too!” She said looking him directly in his eyes, which turned him on even more, while his fingers delved deeper into her juicy center, causing her to pant with raw desire.

Bashar began a trail of soft kisses from the top of her neck down to her hotbox, where the husky scent of his woman’s pussy beckoned him. He loved her smell, and it intoxicated him even more as he licked her with precision by means of his tongue, mouth and fingers until her body trembled and she climaxed.

“Round one,” Bashar said to Cyn, who managed to rebound quickly from their initial bout. Her hair had been pulled back in a ponytail, but she took off the elastic band and allowed it to fall to her shoulders because she knew how that turned Bashar on.

“Like what you see, babe? I think you’re checking me out.”

“Damn right. You’re beautiful,” he growled.

Cyndarella reached for his manhood and stroked it with her hands, telling him how big and hard he was.

“You see all of this? I want every single inch of your hardness inside me,” she said. “Are you with me?” Before he could respond, Cyn pushed Bashar back down onto the bed and reached for his member, then proceeded to consume his thick, long rod. He got off watching her as he pulled her hair back. The animalistic sounds she produced as she blew him made him want to unload, but he would hold out longer than that.

“Oh shit, I’m close,” he exclaimed. He loved how skilled she was with her mouth. Cyn was so completely into orally pleasing him. Neither of them could keep their hands off each other. But he knew if she continued at the pace she was going, he would explode.

“Good,” she smiled as she reached up to kiss him on the mouth. He could tell she wanted to be the dominant one tonight, but he wasn’t going to allow it.

“Lie back on the bed for me, spread your legs and show me your pussy,” he ordered. She complied and parted her legs, revealing a neat little patch on her freshly waxed pussy. Bashar took his cock and began teasing the entrance which was dripping with her wetness, leaving her breathless for more.

“Bazzi, now,” she begged.

“Tell me what you want, babe.”

“Now, I need you now. Fill me up.”

Bashar eased into his wife as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Even after all the years that had gone by, her pussy’s grip was like no other woman he’d ever been with. He eased his way in with slow, rhythmic thrusts, while he buried his face in her breasts and sucked on her nipples, giving each one ample attention. Cyn’s vaginal walls constricted against his dick, quickening his movements.

“Please don’t stop,” she screamed out. He gently bit her nipples as she wrapped her muscular legs around his neck. The waves of sexual gratification heightened and rippled throughout their bodies.

“You ready to come with me?”

“Yes, Bashar, yes,” Cyn moaned. “Now, please, right now!”

“No! You got to hang in there longer with me okay, Cyn? You got yours earlier, now it’s my turn,” he commanded.

“Fuck!” she cursed as she inclined her hips backwards a bit further to accommodate the continued hard pounding of the thickness of his meat.

Cyn couldn’t keep track of how many multiples she had. Each orgasm left her weak but yearning for more. Bashar’s final strokes were like the Fourth of July fireworks grand finale when he pumped a load of man juice deep within her engorged pussy, causing them both to see stars before collapsing into each other’s arms and drift off to sleep.

Available for pre-order!

See the award-winning first novel here!

Bio: 

Vina St. Fran is the author of the Amorous Trilogy series. She writes contemporary romance, and erotica romance for Zam Publishing, LLC. She also is a Political Contributor for The Examiner. A native Michigander, she resides in the Midwest with her family.

Author Links: 

Website: http://zampublishing.com/blog 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Vinastfran 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5457662.Vina_St_Fran