Wednesday, October 25, 2017

#GiveAway ~ SINGAPORE FLING By Lisabet Sarai ~ @lisabetsarai

SINGAPORE FLING
 Asian Adventures Book 1 
By Lisabet Sarai

Asian Adventures
By Lisabet Sarai

“Asia”. The word conjures a wealth of imagery and emotions. Exotic. Mysterious. Enigmatic. Alien. Even today, when jets routinely circle the globe, Asia feels strange and faraway.

For me, though, it’s home.

I’ve lived in several Asian countries, and visited many more, though there are still some I haven’t managed to get to—yet! More than a decade ago, for both economic and social reasons, my DH and I relocated to Southeast Asia. I prefer not to specify exactly which country since the powers-that-be  in that nation tend to be conservative about sex, at least officially. If they knew Lisabet Sarai resided within their borders... well, I’d rather they didn’t!

Almost immediately, I felt comfortable in my adopted home. Things that are important in most Asian countries—tradition, family, personal relationships, food—are important to me, too. I also loved the dynamism of the region. Asia is changing much faster than America or Europe. It’s exciting to watch and contribute to the unfolding new society. The energy is contagious.

My love affair with Asia actually began much earlier, though. On our first date, more than thirty years ago, my husband told me tales of his extensive travels. I listened, fascinated and envious, as he painted word pictures of Balinese volcanoes, Malaysian jungles and Thai temples. Our first international trip, not long after we married, was to Hong Kong. Working as teachers, we lived in Thailand for two years in the nineteen eighties. The central location that made it easy to explore the region. After that, we were hooked.

Given my long experience with Asia, it’s probably not surprising that quite a few of my stories are set there. Recently I decided to create a series of short ebooks, erotic romance tales that unfold in different Asian countries. The first to be published is Singapore Fling, set (as you might guess) in that high-tech city-state. Next month, I’ll be bringing out Asian Adventures Book 2. Vows is a M/M/F ménage tale that takes place in Luang Prabang, Laos. Future books will include stories from Cambodia, Indonesia and Japan. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Here’s a bit about the first Asian Adventure. You could win a copy for yourself, too! Just leave me a comment letting me know what first comes to mind when you hear the word “Asia”.

In the cleanest city in Asia, things can still get messy.

Thai entrepreneur Ploy Kaewkornwattanasakul has come to Singapore to close a deal. Ploy needs to convince tech whiz Jason Chow to license his ground-breaking innovation to her company on favorable terms. The future of her startup depends on her negotiating skill. When she meets Jason, though, she realizes she wants not just the invention, but the inventor, too.

Jason Chow is a brilliant engineer, a successful businessman and a bit of a rebel. He’s attracted to Ploy from the moment he sets eyes on her. However, he doesn’t dare respond to her advances, for fear she’ll discover his secret vice.

Ploy doesn’t understand why the sexy CEO has rejected her. She figures she’ll have to content herself with the cold comfort of a signed contract—unless the strength of Jason’s desire overwhelms his shame.

Buy Links:


~*~*~*~*~*~  
Excerpt: 

The two men left her alone to peruse the agreement. A hint of Jason’s scent lingered, though. She tried to ignore it, forcing herself to digest the legalese in front of her.

By the time she reached the bottom of the first page, she was smiling. The smile grew broader as she read further. The contract was generous. More than generous. Exclusive use of Interia technology in Thailand and unlimited technical support, in return for joint branding and a royalty percentage two points lower than what she’d been prepared to offer.

This might be just the push ShopGuru needed to go viral.

Jason stuck his head in the door. “Finished yet?”

She turned her smile in his direction. “Yes. I have.”

“And?”

“It looks highly satisfactory.” Try as she would, she couldn’t keep the glee out of her voice.

“Do you want to run it by your own lawyers?”

Probably she should do so. However, she didn’t want Jason to get any second thoughts about the terms. Plus lawyers cost money.

“No, I’m happy to sign it as is.”

“Excellent. Ravi is here as a witness.” Jason leaned over her to put a second copy of the document on the table. The heat radiating from his body rekindled her carefully controlled desire. “If you’ll give us your signature here—” He pointed to a blank space. She couldn’t help noticing the smooth, hairless skin of his forearm. “And initial here.”

She followed his instructions, struggling to keep her feelings in check.

“And if I could just borrow your pen...” Electricity jumped between them as his fingers grazed hers.

She cursed to herself. Why couldn’t she have gotten the hots for someone normal?

~*~*~*~*~*~  
About Lisabet:

Lisabet Sarai has been addicted to words all her life. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romancenearly one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genreparanormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, GLBT, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads and finally, on Twitter.  Sign up for her VIP email list here:  https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh



Tuesday, October 24, 2017

#GiveAway ~ Ethan's Daughter By Rachel Brimble ~ @RachelBrimble

 
Ethan's Daughter
Series: Templeton Cove Stories, #7



About the Book:
There's safety in solitude…isn't there?

Single dad and best-selling thriller writer Ethan James has no problem being Templeton Cove's most famous recluse…until a surprise visit from the past plunges him into a real-life crime drama just as feisty nurse Leah Dixon barges her way into his world.

Ethan's first priority is to protect his daughter. His second priority is to keep Leah out of this dark web—and that means out of his bed. Except Leah isn't going anywhere; she's afraid little Daisy is in danger. Ethan couldn't live with himself if anything happened to Leah…but pushing her away may be even harder!

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: August 1, 2017

 Add to Goodreads
Amazon: US | UK | AU | CA


Excerpt: 

     Leah froze. How could she have been so stupid? He couldn’t possibly drive with his injured hand and now she’d have to endure sitting side by side with the man all the way to Clover Point. Which, strictly speaking, was a ten-minute drive tops…but still.

     She forced a smile. “Of course, you are. I’ll grab a child seat from the trunk.”

     Surprise widened his eyes. “You’ve got kids? I didn’t realize…”

     “No.” She huffed a laugh. “But I am a little anal about being prepared for anything and everything.”

     “Right.” His gaze softened with something that looked far too much like acceptance…as though he should have guessed as much. “Got it.”

     Leah quickly looked away and walked to the back of her car. Shoving her first aid kit, car jack and mini tool box to the side, she pulled out one of the two child seats. Closing the trunk, she opened the back door and pushed the seat inside. She waved toward the open door. “All yours.”

     She stood back as Ethan buckled Daisy safely inside, her gaze roaming over his strong back and perfectly edible ass encased in cargo pants. Sighing, and purposefully ignoring the twitch deep in her abdomen, she walked around to the driver’s side…but was too slow opening the door. Ethan’s steady gaze met hers over the car’s roof and for the first time in a long time, her automatic smile was far too long in coming.

     She stood frozen to the spot.

     The air seemed to charge with electricity as they stood staring at one another, until Leah broke the moment and took blessed escape by sliding into the driver’s seat.

 Other Templeton Cove Stories 







About the Author: 
Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had seven books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and an eighth coming in Feb 2018. She also has four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical Press.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. 
When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.



Join Rachel's newsletter HERE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#SpotLight ~ PUPCAKES By ANNIE ENGLAND NOBLIN ~ @aenoblin

PUPCAKES
By ANNIE ENGLAND NOBLIN

***Note from Crystal: This book is really good. And could that cover get any cuter? I will post my review soon as I am almost done with the book. 

 ~*~*~*~*~
ABOUT PUPCAKES:

Sit! Stay! Speak! author Annie England Noblin’s novel takes one woman starting over, adds an aging pug named Teddy Roosevelt, and proves the power of a well-baked dog treat.

All she wants is a settled-down life.
What she gets is a dog—and a whole new normal . . .
There he stood in the doorway: overweight, depressed and nearly homeless—a pug named Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy was Brydie Benson’s latest problem, arriving on top of her messy divorce and sudden move. Brydie needed a place to start over, so this rent-free home seemed a great idea. She just never counted on Teddy, or his owner, the Germantown Retirement Village’s toughest customer, Pauline Neumann.
And because rent-free doesn’t mean bills-free, Brydie gets a night-shift job at a big-box grocery. Whoever guessed there were so many people who wanted baked goods after midnight?
Then, she gets an idea—why not combine her baking skills with her new-found dog knowledge? And so her store Pupcakes is born. Along with a new start comes a possible new love, in the form of Nathan Reid, a local doctor with a sassy Irish Wolfhound named Sasha. And as fall turns to winter, and then to Christmas, Brydie begins to realize that life is a little bit like learning a new recipe for puff pastry—it takes a few tries to get it just right!

BUY LINKS for PUPCAKES:

 ~*~*~*~*~
Excerpt: 

After dinner, Nathan refilled their wineglasses and led her into the living room. Sasha and Teddy had settled there as well, and when Nathan built a fire in the fireplace, Teddy dropped right in front of it and started to snore. Sasha wasn’t far behind him.
 “The living room at Mrs. Neumann’s house has a fireplace, too,” Brydie said. “I thought about lighting it the other night, but it hasn’t been lit in ages.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it if you burned her house down trying to light the fireplace,” Nathan replied.
“No, I can’t imagine that would make her too happy.”
“Listen,” Nathan said, scooting closer to her on the couch. “I’m sorry if I asked too many intrusive questions earlier. I’m hopeless at small talk, and when I get nervous, I tend to fall back into doctor mode. I swear I didn’t mean to interrogate you over chicken.”
“That’s okay,” Brydie replied. “It was actually kind of nice to talk about it with someone who doesn’t know anything about my life before I moved here.”
“How do you like Memphis so far?”
“It’s getting better,” Brydie said with a sly grin. Between the wine and the fire, she felt deliciously warm.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Brydie watched him watching her. She liked the way his curly black hair fell in his eyes when he was concentrating. She liked the way his T-shirt fit, not too loose or too tight. She liked the way he asked her questions—soft, curious, but not intrusive. It made her want to tell him everything, anything, just to keep him looking at her. Paying attention to her.
But more than that, she realized, there was something familiar about him, comfortable. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but despite the constant butterflies in her stomach, he made her feel calmer somehow. She could understand why people would be drawn to him as a doctor. She could even understand why a woman might visit her elderly aunt in order to be near him.
Nathan moved a hand up to Brydie’s face, tucking a wandering strand of damp hair behind her ear. It sent a bolt of electricity through her, and when he moved his hand away, Brydie felt herself grabbing a fistful of his T-shirt and pulling him closer to her until her mouth was on his, and she could taste the wine on his lips.
Brydie fell back into the couch and pulled Nathan down on top of her. She could feel his hands exploring her body underneath her T-shirt, and she burned with a need she hadn’t known existed until that very moment.
“Do you want—” Nathan began in between frenzied kisses, but before he could finish, the ringing of his phone in his pocket cut him off.
“Ignore it,” Brydie murmured.

“I can’t,” Nathan said, pulling himself away from her with a groan. “I’m on call at the nursing home tonight.”

 ~*~*~*~*~
ABOUT ANNIE ENGLAND NOBLIN:
Annie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and three dogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in creative writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English and communications for Arkansas State University in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Her poetry has been featured in such publications as the Red Booth Review and the Moon City Review. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs.

Connect with Annie
Twitter: @aenoblin
Instagram: @aenoblin

#GiveAway ~Appointed by Fate By Skye McNeil~ @Skye_McNeil7

Appointed by Fate
Series: The Mobster Files, Book 1


About the Book: 


One of Iowa’s most prominent criminal attorneys, Joci Dorous is ruthless and devoid of emotion in the courtroom. It’s what makes her the best. Her most recent client allegedly committed murder and, despite a rocky start, Joci is determined to win Cameron Shearer’s case.

Since this is her first homicide, she has the support of a second-chair attorney—her ex who wants her back. To make things more complicated, her hunky cop of a booty call, Cameron’s arresting officer, isn’t quite ready to let her go either. Who knew being surrounded by three hot guys could be so deliciously exhausting?

As the mystery of the case unravels, she soon discovers the true reason behind Cameron’s impromptu visit to Iowa. It’s this knowledge that endangers all those she holds dear. Caught up in confusion, chaos, and criminal law, how will her heart survive the final verdict?

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 30, 2017
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Cover Designer: Claire Smith

 Add to TBR


 Available now! 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gEQFQE

All others: books2read.com/fate




Excerpt: 
They sat in comfortable silence, Cameron’s warmth spreading over her and compelling her eyes to close. No doubt it was way beyond the normal time she fell into bed at night.

“Just so you know, neither the attorney douche nor the cop stripper will work for you,” he whispered into her ear, forcing her eyelids to stay open.

Joci grunted. “You wouldn’t know who works for me.”

Cameron circled a bold arm around her waist, pulling her flush to him. His mild scent filled her senses, lulling her. “Maybe not yet, but I can tell neither guy could make you happy. Not in the long run.”

Lifting her eyebrows, she let her eyes linger on his torso. He was magnificent up close, but even more so because she felt him beside her. She’d never thought the lanky kid with Metallica T-shirts would grow up to be more handsome than the majority of her exes. Why she allowed him to grip her like this, she’d never understand, but it was familiar.

“How would you know who would bring me happiness?” she questioned.

“I just do.” With fluid movements, he reached back and tugged at her ponytail. “I hate these things, by the way.” He clutched the hair tie and slid it down until her hair fluttered into her face. “Much better.”

“Why are you so much nicer when it’s the two of us?”

He tilted his neck and trailed his hands up her sides. “I don’t know. You’ve got this effect on me. I’m either an asshole because I want to see that angry crinkle on your brow.” He smirked when she obliged. “Yeah, that. Or because I want to know how your lips taste on mine.”

Joci’s breath caught in her throat. No words could form in her mind. She couldn’t admit to having reciprocal wayward thoughts. They were friends. Even if he was my first crush. Instinctively, her eyes lowered to his mouth. That was a mistake. His full lips curved in a smile.

“You too, huh?” Cameron’s hands disappeared, making her whip her attention to where they were going.

With care, he eased her back to the couch and tucked her under his arm. She expected him to make a move—they both wanted it—but he didn’t do anything. He simply kept her safe in his arms. With heavy eyes, Joci sensed her body drifting to sleep. The steady rhythm of Cameron’s heartbeat in her ear calmed her. She shouldn’t stay, but her tired body swayed her from the thought. Falling asleep in the sturdy arms of an ex-convict who also happened to be her oldest friend was her best definition of perfect. They used to build forts in the basement of his house and spend the night in sleeping bags, so what was the harm?

Startled to consciousness sometime later, Joci sat up and gasped. Somehow, the lights had been turned off, save the lone one above the kitchen sink. She glanced around the room and saw the clock on the wall. Shit, it’s three in the morning.

Cameron shifted beside her, and her pulse quickened. He looked too damn handsome for a murderer, with his unruly curls and long eyelashes. The darkness hid his tattoos, but she ached to turn on a light to see them. They were always a deterrent before, but the ones he wore fit him and drew her in more each time she viewed them.

“Aren’t you going to make me breakfast?” his sleepy voice mumbled when she managed to retreat from the cozy couch.

Cursing, Joci turned around to see him studying her. “It’s not morning yet, so I’m off the hook,” she teased.

He didn’t try to stop her, just watched her instead. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell your boyfriend wannabe or your fuckboy about this.”

Joci was startled when she realized that possibility didn’t bother her. Thinking on it, she wasn’t sure how either Adrian or Quinn would react to hearing she’d slept in Cameron’s arms. She wasn’t in a relationship with either one, so it didn’t matter. Adrian would curse her out for putting herself in a compromising position with the ethics board, but they hadn’t done anything, and they were friends long before her firm was retained for the case. Plus, it was sleeping, not screwing.

“It’s fine,” she reiterated, searching for her purse.

“Then you’d want to do it again?” Cameron appeared at her side.

“Shit, you move like a ninja.”

He clicked his tongue. “Not an answer.”

Swinging first her coat and then her purse over her shoulder, Joci shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, Cameron. It can’t happen again. I’m your attorney, whether we knew each other years ago or not.”

His arms were around her in a flash, sending her off-balance. Cameron caught her against the wall, his dark eyes scouring her face. “Pretty soon you won’t be.” He pressed his body to hers, the act sending a ripple effect through Joci. “But it is kinda hot this way too.”

She should move away from him, but the tender yet steady way he held her made Joci second-guess herself. By the time she talked her body into escape, his lips were there to silence her.

Erratic butterflies swarmed her gut when his mouth fastened to hers. Cameron plunged his hands in her tousled hair and tilted her head up to meet his. Any gasp she wanted to muster dissolved at his prodding tongue. The more he kissed her, the more Joci was positive this was a dream. She couldn’t be kissing a client like a slut! It was a dream and nothing more, she was certain—until he came up for air.

“I want you to remember this in the morning, Ms. Dorous.” His eyes dropped to her neckline and he let out a shaky breath. “Because you would be the type to think you’re imagining this.”

Not given the chance to answer, Joci’s moan echoed in his mouth when his hands cupped her ass. His kiss bolted her feet to the floor, hurling her mind into fathomless wonder. Leisurely, his lips moved to her neck, then lower until he reached her shirt.

“Don’t say I never gave you anything,” he warned, dropping to his knees and lifting her shirt.

Joci’s breath hitched. Having him in front of her in such an intimate way sent naughty visions through her imagination. She dug her nails into his shoulders when his lips clashed with the tender flesh of her breast. Her brain screamed at her for allowing his daring act, but the delightful pain he caused in her veins silenced her.

When he detached his mouth from her, Joci whimpered at the loss. Time was a foreign concept as he stood to tower above her. His breath washed over her face.

“Better scurry home, Joci. If you stay here much longer, I won’t have any control of myself,” he warned, his brown eyes filled with longing. His hand traced the breast he’d left moments prior. “Sweet dreams.”

She bobbed her head in agreement. She needed to get out of there before he killed her with his lips. On a cloud of desire, Joci moved to the exit and felt his gaze on the back of her head. Checking over her shoulder, she spotted his tall figure, but couldn’t decipher the emotions on his face.

Once outside the apartment, her hand fluttered to her chest. She reached the elevator and pressed the button for the ground level. What just happened couldn’t be described. She didn’t know why it happened or what it meant, but her body wanted more of it.

Curiosity got the better of her and she yanked up her shirt. “A hickey! That son of a bitch gave me a fucking hickey!” She yelped at the sight of the red love mark. A smile overwhelmed her face before she could stop it. She had to hand it to Cameron; she wouldn’t be forgetting what transpired anytime soon, thanks to his reminder on her body.

It was then that she was thankful she refused both Adrian’s and Quinn’s proposals for relationships. After feeling a portion of what Cameron could give her, she couldn’t think about, much less accept another man’s touch. The problem was she wanted more of what he offered. A craving that was both foolish and erotic.

About the Author: 


Skye McNeil began writing at the age of seventeen and has been lost in a love affair ever since. During the day, she moonlights as a paralegal at a law firm favouring criminal law.

Skye enjoys writing romantic comedies and cozy mysteries novels that leave readers wanting more and falling in love over and over. She writes contemporary and historical novels ranging from sweet and sassy to steamy and sultry.

Her constant writing companions are two cats and two dogs. When she’s not writing, Skye enjoys spending time with family, photography, volleyball, traveling, and curling up with a cup of coffee and reading.

Sign up for Skye's newsletter HERE.

 Rescue Me Submissions


Saturday, October 21, 2017

#GiveAway ~ Inked Hearts by Lindsay Detwiler ~ @lindsaydetwiler


Title: Inked Hearts
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 21, 2017
Cover Designer: Claire Smith
 Add to TBR

 On sale for half price! 

All other links: books2read.com/inkedhearts

 
“Six years, a complex about my freckles, a love for pastrami, and a fear of failure. That’s what he gave me before slaughtering my heart and my faith in men.”



Suffering from the sting of betrayal, twenty-eight-year-old Avery Johannas quits her job and moves hundreds of miles away to Ocean City, the beach town of her dreams. With the help of her zany roommate, Jodie, Avery finds a new career, home, and freedom. Throughout her self-exploration, she makes only one rule: She won’t give her heart to a man again. She’s living for herself this time.



But then she meets Jesse.



A tattoo shop owner, the green-eyed Jesse Pearce is wild with a touch of mystery. As Jesse and Avery explore Ocean City and their friendship, they’ll have a hard time drawing a line in the sand between their hearts.



When summer nights get a little more heated than either expected, they’ll have to ask themselves: Can they let go of their notions of love, or will their hearts be permanently inked by past pain?




 (Please add your review here.)



 On sale for half price! 

All other links: books2read.com/inkedhearts



A high school English teacher, an author, and a fan of anything pink and/or glittery, Lindsay's the English teacher cliché; she love cats, reading, Shakespeare, and Poe.

She currently lives in her hometown with her husband, Chad (her junior high sweetheart); their cats, Arya, Amelia, Alice, and Bob; and their Mastiff, Henry.

Lindsay's goal with her writing is to show the power of love and the beauty of life while also instilling a true sense of realism in her work. Some reviewers have noted that her books are not the “typical romance.” With her novels coming from a place of honesty, Lindsay examines the difficult questions, looks at the tough emotions, and paints the pictures that are sometimes difficult to look at. She wants her fiction to resonate with readers as realistic, poetic, and powerful. Lindsay wants women readers to be able to say, “I see myself in that novel.” She wants to speak to the modern woman’s experience while also bringing a twist of something new and exciting. Her aim is for readers to say, “That could happen,” or “I feel like the characters are real.” That’s how she knows she's done her job.

Lindsay's hope is that by becoming a published author, she can inspire some of her students and other aspiring writers to pursue their own passions. She wants them to see that any dream can be attained and publishing a novel isn’t out of the realm of possibility.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Rescue Me Submissions