July E-News Promotion - Keeping Secrets

Keeping Secrets
By Darlene Fredette
Secret Cravings Publishing
August 2011

Samantha Witherspoon is a strong, independent, businesswoman, determined to prove her worth as the heir to her late-grandmother’s chain of cafés. When she clashes with Matt Sullivan, the stubborn contractor who refuses her renovation project, Samantha returns to her childhood home to convince him. Sparks fly, tempers flare, and Samantha quickly realizes that befriending the rugged contractor isn’t as easy as she thought.

Despite her reservations, desire ignites between them under the city stars of Montreal. Matt’s mere touch makes her long for the kind of love Samantha thought she’d never have. When a mystery box reveals devastating family secrets, Samantha decides it’s time to come-clean with Matt. But before she can, her own secret arrives on her doorstep. Samantha’s heart is torn. Will a promise made to her late-grandmother prevent her from finding true happiness?

Keeping Secrets Excerpt
     Samantha’s ears twitched at the sound of a crackling coming from the ceiling just above her. She watched as a trickling line split and plaster showered downward like a heavy rainfall.
     Suddenly a set of strong arms encircled her and held her tightly, taking the breath from her chest. Her feet were lifted from the concrete floor and she was yanked backward, slamming her and her rescuer into a wall. An image out of a romance novel, where the hero sweeps the woman of his dreams into his arms, declaring his everlasting love, flashed through her mind…until another large piece of plaster fell from the ceiling, crashing loudly on the floor before shattering into thousands of tiny pieces. Samantha no longer saw a vision of two lovers, but one of her, crushed under the debris. She took several deep breaths.
     Hammers stopped and were followed by the rush of work boots running across the concrete. “Matt, you okay? Is the lady hurt?” they asked. “That was a mother of a close call!” another said.
     Her hero ignored the men and set her back on her feet. His once warm brown eyes were now cold and throwing daggers. “What the hell are you doing here?”
     “I...I was...looking for you.” Winded, her breathing was heavy.
     From the drooping brows and harsh pressed lips, she could tell Matt was not at all happy to see her, but Samantha couldn’t have been more pleased. Her search was over and the incredibly attractive man she had been seeking had rescued her.

Web Site: http://findingthewritewords.blogspot.com/

Buy Links:
Secret Cravings Publishing Store: 

http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=3&products_id=96

Bookstrand:  http://www.bookstrand.com/keeping-secrets-0

All Romance Ebooks:  http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-keepingsecrets-588544-149.html
Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Secrets-ebook/dp/B005GG7T5W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312898809&sr=1-1
Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeping-secrets-darlene-fredette/1104665025?ean=2940013202863&itm=19&usri=keeping%2bsecrets

A Writer's Words - Barbie and a Teenaged Boy

Barbie and a Teenaged Boy:
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare
By Vicky DeCoster

I’m pretty sure I know when it happened - the moment when I finally I lost complete and utter control over everything as a mother. It was the last week of school. As I had done every morning for the past three weeks, I made a pot of coffee and then reluctantly removed yet another link from the paper chain I had hung from the kitchen ceiling. According to my calculations, I only had two more days before peace and quiet suddenly went missing in the middle of the night and were replaced by anarchy and deviancy. Summer vacation was about to begin. I sighed, poured a cup of coffee, and listened to the clock tick on the wall behind my head.

Three minutes before he was due to leave for high school, my sixteen-year-old son casually walked into the kitchen and announced, “I completely forgot I have to give a speech in third hour on uranium.” Just as I had clutched my hand to my chest and yelled, “WHAT?” he added, “And I have to take four finals today and I cannot find a pencil anywhere in this house.”

In the blink of an eye, I suddenly transformed into Wonder Woman without the cape, cleavage, and cool boots. I dashed down the stairs to the computer where I quickly performed an online search on uranium with one hand while frantically searching the desk drawer for a pencil with the other hand. I peered into the drawer. It was full of rulers, highlighters, matches, and glue sticks. Not a pencil in sight. I slammed the drawer shut as I pulled a stack of papers off the printer and dashed upstairs. “Did you check every drawer in the house for a pencil?” I screeched as I stuffed the papers into his hand.

My son stood frozen in place and stared at me like I had just landed in the kitchen from Mars. Without the cleavage, cape, or cool boots of course. “Seriously Mom,” he said, “You are freaking out.”

I kept talking like someone had pulled a string in my back and I had to wait for the string to run out before I could stop. “I printed out the periodic table, the toxic effects of uranium exposure, and the mathematical formula for removing hydrogen from uranium hydride,” I told him. I had no idea what I had just said, but it sounded great in my opinion. I looked at the clock. I had thirty seconds to find a pencil.

As he stuffed the papers in his backpack, I dashed into the bathroom and opened my makeup drawer. I rifled through blush, brushes, lipsticks, loose change, and nail polish. “Here pencil, pencil, pencil,” I called, “Come to Mama.” It was official. I had lost my mind. But it didn’t matter. He was a completely unprepared teenager who needed a pencil - and quick.

My thirteen-year-old daughter sauntered into the room with a pencil in hand. “Here you go, Mom,” she announced. “He can borrow my pencil.”

“You are an angel,” I said as I took her face in my hands and kissed it. I grabbed the pencil and sprinted into the kitchen where my son still stood frozen with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “Here,” I shoved the pencil in his face. He looked down at the pencil. A look of horror passed over his face.

He held up the pencil. “Did you see this, Mom? This is a BARBIE pencil.” But even he knew he was a desperate, completely unprepared teenager who had no choice. For today at least, he and Barbie would be a mismatched team with one goal in mind - to find the right answers - together.

“Just don’t be distracted by her beauty. Concentrate on the questions. And remember a speech has a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion - just like life!” I yelled as I shoved him out the door. Off he went in a flurry of hormones, unpreparedness, and chaos.

A few minutes later, my daughter left for the bus stop. I slowly closed the door, smoothed my hair, and pulled my robe tight around me. I sat back down at the kitchen table. The clock ticked loudly behind me.

As I fingered the paper chain that I had tossed next to my cup in a moment of panic, the reality of what I had just done began to sink in. I had just sent my son to school with a Barbie pencil. I put my head in my hands. It was true. No matter how hard I tried, I would never be a perfect mother. And my children would never be perfect either.

I slowly began to smile. For in that moment, I had finally realized that is just how I wanted it.

“No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids.” ~Bill Cosby
© 2011 Vicky DeCoster

Award-winning humor writer Vicky DeCoster is the author of Husbands, Hot Flashes, and All That Hullabaloo! and The Wacky World of Womanhood. Vicky lives in Nebraska with her husband and two children where she is working on her third book of humorous essays. Visit her at http://www.wackywomanhood.com/

Publication Date: July E-News

Between The Pages - Cupcakes and Killer Heels

Cupcakes and Killer Heels
By Heidi Rice
Mills & Boon / Riva
May 2011

     Ruby Delisantro never blushes…but after one glance from the infuriating Callum Westmore’s bedroom eyes she’s flushed redder than a glacé cherry. Her body has the right idea, for now Callum’s convertible has crashed into her life nothing will ever be the same…
     Cupcake baker Ruby has always been in the driving seat when it comes to relationships, but something tells her that Callum sees straight through her snappy one-liners to her soft-as-buttercream heart beneath. For Ruby’s in danger of losing control and – worse still – of liking it!

Review: I’m a big fan of the Riva covers and the cover of Cupcakes and Killer Heels is so appealing, I couldn’t wait to start turning the pages. This was my first read from Ms. Rice, and I was very pleased with her writing style and story premise. The attraction kicks off immediately between Ruby (the sexy and sassy heroine) and Callum (the hotter than hot hero). Their first night together is deliciously steamy. Combine their passion with a good plot and you have a great book.

Between The Pages of this story is a romance filled with emotion, fun, and sizzling hot scenes.

Review Rating: 4 Stars

July E-News Promotion - Solitary Cove

Solitary Cove
By Catherine Anne Collins

The peaceful town of Solitary Cove will never be the same again. It’s about to be overrun with a movie crew and an assorted group of people all running to or from something in their lives.

Fleeing her husband’s killer, Nicole Warner rents a lighthouse on the cliffs of Solitary Cove and spends her time writing and living in fear for the safety of those she comes to care about. Determined not to fall in love again, her emotions betray her when she meets Ian Calder.

Living a life filled with fame, fortune, and women, Ian should be happy, but he’s not. He can no longer perform sexually. Searching for elusive fulfillment, he agrees to act in a movie filming in the small Canadian town of Solitary Cove. When he meets Nicole, his life is further complicated by her rejection, his abused daughter’s appearance, and the necessity of protecting both the women he loves from Nicole’s dangerous stalker.

The Author: Catherine Anne Collins writes books that focus on myths, legends, romance, and fantasy. After daydreaming her way through her school years, she decided it would probably be a good idea to put her imagination to work and write books. Currently, she has 5 published novels. Her first novel, Sword Across Time, garnered great reviews with comparisons between her writing style and that of Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mary Stewart. Her next two novels, The Crystal of Light and A Witch's Lament, finaled in the Next Generation 2009 Independent Book Publishers Awards, with A Witch's Lament finaling in two categories. Solitary Cove and A Witch’s Legacy, sequel to A Witch’s Lament, are now available as well. You can find Catherine on her 50-acre farm playing with her barnyard full of animals and writing her next novel. You can find information on her books and photos of her animals on her website: http://www.catherineannecollins.com/

Solitary Cover now available! www.catherineannecollins.com/books.html
Also available through Solstice Publishing: www.solsticepublishing.com

Solitary Cove Endorsement
“If you love fast-paced romantic suspense novels peopled with characters you'll cheer for, SOLITARY COVE is the book for you. A seaside village in Nova Scotia, a movie hero with a daughter he barely knows, and a woman on the run from danger equal the perfect formula for a terrific read. Catherine Anne Collins has a winner on her hands!” ~USA Today Best Selling Author – Barbara Bretton

Between The Pages - A Little Light Magic

A Little Light Magic
By Joy Nash
Leisure Books
June 2009

     When a girl with no family meets a guy with too much...
     For Tori Morgan, family’s a blessing the universe hasn’t sent her way. Her parents are long gone, her chance of having a baby is slipping away, and the only thing she can call her own is a neglected old house. What she wants more than anything is a place where she belongs…and a big, noisy clan to share her life.
     For Nick Santangelo, family’s more like a curse. His nonna is a closet kleptomaniac, his mom’s a menopausal time bomb and his motherless daughter is headed for serious boy trouble. The last thing Nick needs is another female making demands on his time.
     But summer on the Jersey shore can be an enchanted season, when life’s hurts are soothed by the ebb and flow of the tides and love can bring together the most unlikely prospects. A hard-headed contractor and a lonely reader of tarot cards and crystal prisms? All it takes is…A LITTLE LIGHT MAGIC.

Review: I loved this story! A perfect summer read, jam-packed with quirky characters, vulnerable emotions, and sizzling passion.

Between The Pages of this story you’ll find a magical story you can’t put down until the last page.

Review Rating: 5 Stars

July E-News: A Witch's Legacy

A Witch’s Legacy

The darkness was born in ancient times, when druid magic ran deep in family bloodlines. Fighting a deadly battle on a cliff top high above the raging sea, Seabhac hovers on the point of death. With a final thrust of magic, he escapes to Avalon where he passes the essence of his magical knowledge to his apprentice, Ainevar. Driven to protect the endangered druid magic, Ainevar flees Seabhac’s attacker and begins a course of events that wind through history and take root in modern day Salem.

A true New Yorker, it took a hefty bribe to make Cassandra agree to decorate her brother’s new house. Especially since it’s located in Salem and Cassandra has an aversion to magic. Her arrival in town embroils Cassandra in ritual murders, latent powers gone awry, and Salem’s attractive police chief, Samson, who harbours his own history of magic, curses, and deadly secrets.

Past and present collide as the legacy of evil that has stalked Salem for centuries, returns with a vengeance.

About The Author:
Catherine Anne Collins writes books that focus on myths, legends, romance, and fantasy. After daydreaming her way through her school years, she decided it would probably be a good idea to put her imagination to work and write books. Currently, she has 5 published novels. Her first novel, Sword Across Time, garnered great reviews with comparisons between her writing style and that of Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mary Stewart. Her next two novels, The Crystal of Light and A Witch's Lament, finaled in the Next Generation 2009 Independent Book Publishers Awards, with A Witch's Lament finaling in two categories. Solitary Cove and A Witch’s Legacy, sequel to A Witch’s Lament, are now available as well. You can find Catherine on her 50-acre farm playing with her barnyard full of animals and writing her next novel. You can find information on her books and photos of her animals on her website: http://www.catherineannecollins.com/

A Witch’s Legacy now available!
www.catherineannecollins.com/books.html
Also available through http://www.crescentmoonpress.com/

Between The Pages - Absolution

Absolution
By Patsy L. Parker
Eternal Press
Historical Paranormal Romance
Heat Level: Spicy

A private war is raging, and Slayer Zaccarius unwittingly holds the fate of the world in his hands. Sent to judge Lady Chloe's vampiric destiny, and a deadly vampire in his own right, Zaccarius sets out on a quest to determine her moral fiber. Only one problem exists, Lady Chloe doesn't know she's a vampire. Birthed the night her mother suffered a vicious attack by the evil Jochad, Chloe spends her first eighteen years living normally under the doting eye of her father, Lord Alric. But when mysterious symptoms develope, Lord Alric tends to her needs with a special "tonic", keeping her true nature hidden. Only a few trusted servants know the truth, and on the night of Lord Alric's death, his manservant, Gavin, finalizes Lord Alric's plan to protect his daughter, secreting Chloe away to a special tomb in the French Vosges mountains. There she sleeps for six centuries, awaiting a cure for her 'disease', until two research students uncover her grisly chamber. With her waking, the battle heats up. Both good and evil forces seek to capture her, each for their own specific reasons. Chloe struggles to acclimate herself to modern times with the help of three friends, while at the same time her love for the mysterious Zaccarius deepens, a dark stranger who seems determined to protect her despite all the risks.

Between the Pages
Set in both the past and present, Ms. Parker does an excellent job of weaving history throughout this story, while at the same time maintaining a high level of intensity, action and page-turning romance. Chapters that took place in the past were expertly written, with great dialogue and scenery, and the present-day battles were epic, edge of your seat nail-biters. I loved this story...and more importantly I loved the characters. Chloe's innocence coupled with her determination to do the right thing, made me empathize with her plight. And Zaccarirus, I dare any woman NOT to fall in love with him. He was the perfect hero, trying to sort out his deep connection with Chloe while at the same time struggling to do the job he was born to do. A highly recommended read, and suggest the reader get lost for a few days of Absolution.

Rating: 5 Stars

July E-News Review

The July E-News is a big hit with lots of great reviews coming in!
We thought we'd share a few with you.

"I love this edition of the magazine, beautiful, interesting and full of articles I want to read." J.Joachim

"Another great issue with lots of fab books to hunt down." L.Fielding

To receive a free copy of the E-News, send us an email.

July E-News

We just released our July E-News!
Jam-packed with stories, jokes, recipes, enticing book reviews, and much more!

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Between The Pages - Sold To The Highest Bidder

Sold To The Highest Bidder
By Donna Alward
Samhain Publishing
February 2011

All she wants is his name on the dotted line. He’s got other ideas…
For Ella, marrying Devin had seemed like a good idea at the time. Friends since childhood and in love with him for as long as she could remember, marriage had been the next logical step. Then the real world called, and Ella’s feet had itched to get out of Backwards Gulch, Colorado. Now, with a new opportunity on the East Coast beckoning, it’s time to put her past behind her once and for all. When she sees Devin standing on a charity auction block, she decides it’s the perfect opportunity to finally get his signature on the divorce papers he never signed
Devin’s certain about one thing when he sees Ella for the first time in twelve years—she’s not the girl he married. The way she left him still stings, and if she wants him to sign on the dotted line he’s going to make her work for it…for the full forty-eight hours she paid for. When the old attraction flares between them, the years apart disappear and resolve melts faster than high-country snow in summer. But when Ella awakens with the same determination to get back to Denver, divorce papers in hand, she has a problem…
Devin still hasn’t signed them.
Warning: Bourbon shooters, shirtless cowboys, and a hot rendezvous or two.

Review: A steamier novel from Donna Alward, this story starts out flirty and fun. Ella is determined to have her shirtless cowboy sign their divorce papers, and comes off a bit too strong at first, but there’s no mistaking the attraction she feels for her husband. Devin is a wonderful hero and has a past that will break your heart. Their chemistry drives the story and has you rooting for a reunion.

Between The Pages of this story you’ll find passionate love scenes and a plot that turns the pages.

Rating: 4 Stars

Between The Pages - Tempted By Trouble

Tempted By Trouble

By Liz Fielding
Harlequin
June 2011

T is for ...Trouble?
Elle Amery has grown up a fighter—her late mother's bad-boy-loving reputation was not the best inheritance….
Tempted?
So when smooth-talking Sean McElroy turns up with a pink-and-white ice cream van called Rosie that's apparently hers, Elle tries to ignore the traitorous flicker of attraction!
Or the Time of their lives?
Family-oriented Elle is the last girl Sean should want, but as they embark on a journey filled with unexpected twists, these two misfits may discover they are the perfect fit for each other!

Liz Fielding is one of my top five favourite authors, so I've come to expect a lot from her stories. Did Tempted By Trouble meet my expectations? It did, and then some.

This novel draws you in with it’s striking (UK Riva) cover, and keeps you turning the pages, enjoying every new chapter heading with a delicious quote from ‘Rosie’s Diary’. Elle is an independent heroine, taking care of her family, and Sean is an irresistible hero. They aren’t looking for love, but Rosie, brings Elle and Sean together. There’s a line in the story I think says it all. “They’d been good for each other. Each challenging the other’s fear and bring out something shining and new.” The only thing I felt was missing from the story, was a reunion scene between Elle and her uncle.

Between The Pages of this story you’ll find a tender romance filled with emotion and temptation. And by the end of the story you’re sure to be craving a big bowl of ice cream!

Rating: 4.5 Stars