Thursday, March 12, 2015

Broken Chords by Carrie Elks

Title: Broken Chords
Series: Love in London #2
Author: Carrie Elks
Genre: Adult Romance
Release Date: February 26, 2015
Cover Designed by: Okay Creations

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lara knows she should feel lucky. Married to the man of her dreams, with a gorgeous new baby, she should be enjoying her happy-ever-after. But she never expected motherhood to be so difficult, or for her life to change so dramatically.

Alex has it all: hot, tattooed looks, a beautiful wife, and a band that's finally getting noticed. A lucrative offer of a US tour should be the icing on the cake. But as he leaves the country, distance isn't the only thing that starts to pull their relationship apart.

With half a world dividing them, Alex and Lara have to battle for a marriage they once took for granted.

Broken Chords is the second story in the Love in London series but can be read completely as a stand-alone. 

Though it's a series, it's not a serial and there are no cliffhangers, each book features a different couple!





EXCERPT:

“You want one?” he asked, cupping his hand to shade his match from the slight breeze.

“I don’t smoke. It’s a disgusting habit.” I smiled, letting him know I was flirting more than anything. Trying to wind him up.

He stared at me, throwing the burnt-out match into the ashtray. Already, I’d noticed Alex had this intense way of making me feel as if nothing else mattered. That I was the only interesting thing in the room—or in this case, the street.

“You’re one of those, then,” he said.

“One of what?”

“A crusader.” He inhaled deeply, then let the smoke drift out of his lips. Even I had to admit he looked sexy.

His words made me grin. I was anything but; smoking rarely bothered me at all. “I don’t kiss boys who smoke,” I said.

The corner of his lip twitched up. He leaned forward, still staring intently. “That’s good. I don’t want you kissing them.”

“You’re a boy who smokes,” I pointed out.

This time a full-on smirk broke out on his face. “I’m the exception that proves the rule, sweetheart.”

The way he said it made my heart hammer against my chest. There was something about Alex Cartwright that made me feel breathless. I wasn’t used to boys like him, ones who oozed sexuality out of every pore. Until then my boyfriends had been more friend than boy. Low key, almost feminine

Alex didn’t have a feminine bone in his body.

“What makes you think I want to kiss you, anyway?”

“You’re the one who brought up kissing, not me.” Another cocky response. “Not to mention the fact you keep looking at my mouth and licking your lips. I can tell you want to eat me for breakfast.”

The image his words conjured up made me choke on my coffee. I spluttered the hot liquid out. Alex started to laugh.

“Kissing. I was still talking about kissing.”



 
 


MEET THE AUTHOR

Carrie Elks lives near London, England and writes contemporary romance with a dash of intrigue. At the age of twenty-one she left college with a political science degree, a healthy overdraft and a soon-to-be husband. She loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland as well as the UK. An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and Twitter time to stolen moments between writing chapters. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the two.


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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Safe at Home by Christina Kirby

Watching my dad's health quickly decline over the past few weeks -- and more so over the past two days -- naturally my thoughts have turned to reflecting on my family and home. Which just so happens to the be subject matter for the novel Safe at Home by fellow Soulmate author, Christina Kirby. Home is supposed to be the one place where you'll always be safe and loved. But when that safety is threatened . . .



ABOUT THE BOOK

Driven by fear and desperate to protect her family, Samantha is forced to leave Chicago and everything she’s worked to achieve, only to start over by tossing a dart-at-the-map. The Georgia townsfolk’s true Southern charm is the unexpected prescription needed to heal her soul, and the sexy carpenter who touches her heart are distractions she didn’t plan on, but they might offer her a chance at a new life, if she can let go of her past.

Town heartbreaker, Spencer Malloy, isn’t looking for anything serious. His days are perfect working as a contractor, attending his nephew’s baseball games or taking him fishing. He never expects to fall for the big city girl, Samantha. She’s not his type, timid and closed off, but in her unguarded moments, he’s intrigued by the woman he can’t get out of his mind. The urge to get closer to her grows stronger each day, and when the shadow of evil resurfaces, he vows to protect Samantha, even if it means abandoning his home and joining her on the run.

When confronted by the man who’s bent on revenge, Samantha must choose between running again to save the people she loves, or if she has the strength, to stay and fight for her new life.


Sounds like my kind of story. I adore love stories with a dark danger lurking around the corner.   More, please! Can't wait to read the excerpt Christina sent. 


EXCERPT:

“Here it is,” Jenny announced. She stopped the car in front of an old white house with peeling paint and looked over at Sam whose eyes began to fill with tears.

“Like I said, it needs some work. When Pete got sick, no one really paid much attention to the house. It’s been sitting here idle for a while. His boys just couldn’t bring themselves to sell it at first, and then...”

“No, it’s perfect,” Sam’s voice sounded watery. “It’s the first house I’ve ever owned.”

After fighting off the foolish tears, Sam climbed out of the car, strolled through the freshly cut grass, and up to what could be a beautiful porch. Jenny unlocked the door as she chattered away about the house, but Sam wasn’t listening. This was it, her new home.

Entering through the wood and glass front door, Sam stepped into a little hallway and felt her heart swell. The inside was small and cozy. The perfect place to sit and feel safe from the outside world.

“Excuse me, earth to Sam. Do you want to see the rest of the house?”

Sam turned, face warm. “Yes, sorry. Lead the way.”

Jenny led her down the hall to show her the kitchen, which had a wonderful view of the backyard, they moved through the dining room and then the upstairs before returning to the den. It was a wonderful little house, so much more than what she imagined for herself.

A car backfired out on the main road and Sam jumped.

“Are you okay?” Jenny’s blue eyes widened, her voice threaded with concern.

“Fine.” Sam let out a shaky breath and waited for her heart rate to return to normal. “I must’ve been so lost in all my plans for the house that I was in another world.”

Jenny gave her a warm smile, but continued to watch her with a crease between her perfect eyebrows.

“Should we be off to your office now?” Sam tried to sound relaxed.

Jenny beamed. “The papers are ready for you.”

Relief washed through Sam as the thrill of the sale seemed to distract Jenny from Sam’s nervous behavior. She led the way out the door and took a deep breath of country air. It was going to be okay here. No one knew where she was. Not her family. Not her best friend. No one. She glanced over her shoulder at the little white house, which for her, symbolized so much more than a new house. She was home.

Sounds like Sam has a deep, dark secret that's about to catch up with her. Okay, so maybe I already knew that from reading the blurb, but this scene definitely helps drive that point home. 

To purchase this title, you can click on the links below. 

Amazonhttp://amzn.com/B00TKWTKEG
Soul Mate Publishinghttp://www.soulmatepublishing.com/

Let's meet the author behind the story. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Kirby holds a degree in Public Relations from Auburn University. She worked in banking for four and a half years before deciding to become a stay at home mom to her two sons. Moving every couple of years because of her husband’s job, Christina has had the opportunity to meet all kinds of people and live in many different states. Fortunately, writing is something she can take with her no matter where she lives. Christina is an avid reader of romance, young adult and anything having to do with pop culture. She also knows a copy of Entertainment Weekly and a chocolate chip cookie can cure anything.

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINA: 

Twitter: @CKirbyWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christina.kirby.395?fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9791223.Christina_Kirby
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorchris0192/

Sign up for her newsletter on her website: www.ChristinaKirbyBooks.com

Thank you so much for joining me today, Christina. Please let us know when book 2 in the series hits Amazon's virtual shelf. I'd love to have you come hang out with me again. 

What's up for me next week?

On Tuesday's Romance Weekly Blog Hop, your favorite romance writers will be describing their perfect writing retreat. 

Next Thursday, Carrie Elks will join me to talk about her newest release. 

See y'all soon! 

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Romance Weekly: A Space to Write


I'm finally back on the blog hop train! For those who don't know, each Tuesday, the fabulous authors at Romance Writers Weekly spend the day chatting about love, writing, and pretty much anything under the sun. To join in on the fun, simply hop from blog to blog and listen in as we spill all of our secrets . . . trade or otherwise!

If you found me by way of Eden Ashe http://edenashe.com/, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay.

This week, I posed a question to the group. I want to know where everyone works their writing magic. How many authors have cozy little writing caves they hole up in while they plot their stories? Are they taking up residence at their local Starbucks? Or do they have the luxury of writing on location, traveling around the world on a whim?

I would love to say I have an office to call my own, a place where no one would complain if I plastered my walls with photographs and sticky note reminders. A whiteboard filled with plotting notes and character analysis would line one wall, while I sit at a huge desk with plenty of space to spread out. Of course I would have to have a cute, comfy couch tucked under a bank of windows where I could read or zone out at will. Of course, my view from my cave would be overlooking a sparkling lake or ocean, or even a forest. I'm not all that picky about this. Outside, a cute guy, would periodically wander by, shirtless, of course, and I'd have a new muse to inspire me each day.

But I don't.

Instead, this is where I do most of my writing.


I usually sit on the bed, surrounded by snacks, laptop open, noise-canceling headphones on, and try my darnedest to avoid any and all distractions. Which I usually fail at doing. But once I get in the zone, I can easily spend the entire day here, hopefully capturing my characters' conversations.

On a side note, the afghan at the bottom of the bed is one my mom crocheted. It use to hang over the back of our couch when I was a child. Just a little thing to keep her close to me.

While searching the net for cool images for my post (which I never did find), I managed to stumble upon a nifty link on setting up a writing space. http://stacyennis.com/5-tips-for-setting-up-a-writing-space/

Someday, I'll get my cool and cozy writing cave, but until then . . . . You can find me locked in my bedroom, surrounded by unhealthy snacks, chatting it up with waylaid lovers and killers on the run.

Next up on the blog hop? Dani Jace http://www.danijace.com. Swing on by to see how her writing space stacks up against mine!