Friday, February 13, 2015

#NewRelease: Elite Metal anthology



For decades the US Marines funded a top-secret unit known as Elite Recon. A deadly group of men and women sent to infiltrate dozens of countries completely undetected. Mission objectives so extreme casualties were not only probable, but expected.

The current batch of operatives had returned from hundreds of assignments unscathed…until one mission went horribly wrong. Several men lost their lives and the group disbanded. The remaining leathernecks were scattered in the wind with new identities. They were told to blend in. Be normal. Or face being forever silenced just like their fallen brothers.

Now, two years later, each living member of the group is kidnapped and given a chance to make things right. But this time they’re no longer under the thumb of Uncle Sam. A mysterious private backer who knows about their past has brought them back together. No longer are they forced to turn a blind eye to the lost and forsaken.

A new life. A new future…Elite Metal.



Bound By Steele
By Anna Alexander and Jennifer Kacey

To save his Marine brothers and sister he must accept the past isn’t dead and buried. Reuniting survivors means he is forced to first forgive…the enemy.

Steele, the man he was, died. A civilian with a new name stands in his place in the wake of death. Everything he had, lost when his undercover contact, Venus, disappeared when it counted most. In the shadow of regret, Steele is reborn from the flames of a Phoenix. To right the wrongs that destroyed his military family, he must put his trust in the hands of a mysterious backer, and the woman who led his team to the slaughter.

Not knowing who sold her out at the final hour, Alayna Devlin, spent the last two years on the run. Then the mastermind behind Elite Metal tracked her down, and offered her the chance to atone for past mistakes. To cleanse her conscience requires a baptism by fire and submission to the man who will either put the final nail in her coffin or set her heart free.

The past. The future. Truth. Lies. Nothing is as it seems when two shattered hearts are finally given the chance to heal.

Chrome’s Salvation
By Jennifer Kacey

A former leader of Elite Recon, reduced to nothing more than an apathetic existence.

Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance…now nothing will stand in the way of him coming back to life.

Chrome had it all. Exactly what he wanted. A career in the Marines he loved, fighting alongside his brothers and sisters to protect the US from everything set out to destroy it. Then on their last mission as Elite Recon they were double-crossed…and everything went horribly wrong.

Cammie needs help rescuing her siblings from the clutches of a man determined to crush everything she holds dear.  But she has no one to turn to. No one to lean on when she’s trapped in a world she never knew existed. Lost in a world of pseudo-normalcy Chrome’s reduced to nothing more than existing. Day in. Day out. Nothing to live for.

Until his girl’s life hangs in the balance. Now nothing will stand in his way of coming back to life.

Love at first sight is a myth. Or so Chrome thought. Everything he thinks is true disappears in the presence…of his salvation.

Adamantium’s Roar
By Anna Alexander

Adamantium left Beth to what he thought was a better life, only to find she had been living in hell. Now he’ll do anything, break any vow, to claim her as his for all time.

Adamantium feels right at home being back to what he does best with his Elite Metal buddies, especially if it keeps his mind off her.  Beth Bradshaw. His best friend’s girl. But when their paths cross again, he discovers Beth is in the hands of a dangerous man. Vow or now vow to his Elite Metal family, Ant will do anything to claim the woman he loves.

Pure Copper
By Heather Long

Copper will do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means seducing and betraying the one man who really sees her.

Former Marine special forces, Sachi “Copper” James is a chameleon. She thrives on being someone else. Her mission? Identify the rat who sold her team bad intel. Gabriel Danvers, ex-CIA analyst, is a master of disseminating the details. He wants to enjoy a normal life, retired from the game. His mission? Teach classes.

 When Gabriel becomes the target of Copper’s investigation, he re-enters a world of danger and deception--all to claim the passion of the one woman who’s haunted him for years.

Sterling’s Seduction
By Sabrina York

When a snoopy reporter threatens the Elite Metal, Sterling will do whatever it takes to kill her story about the team. Even if it means he has to tie her to his bed.

When Sterling spots a reporter masquerading as a waitress in a dingy bar in Deep Ellum, he suspects she’s investigating the team. And that’s something he just cannot allow to happen. Too many lives are at stake. He will do everything in his power to learn the truth—even seduce her. And to stop her story from coming out? He might even tie her to the bed.

 Nothing is off the table when it comes to keeping his brothers safe. Nothing. It’s a damn shame she’s everything he’s ever wanted. It’s a damn shame her touch warms his cold, dead heart.

Platinum’s Choice
By Rebecca Royce

Platinum left the life he had with Rose in New York to rejoin his team and silence the nightmares from Operation Phoenix.   But when Rose is forced to go on the run with Platinum’s hidden son, he will have no choice but to return to his old life and reclaim what he has ached for every day since. Red Wolf’s sniper wants to nudge Plat’s underbelly and they’re going to find out quickly how deadly he can be.

Platinum was a man of few words before he changed his name and had his sniper rifle taken away. But as Elijah, he could start over, maybe even fall in love with his hidden son's Kindergarten teacher, Rose. But Platinum is reborn when Elijah is kidnapped, so he's left with no choice but to vanish, leaving Rose to wonder about his fate, broken-hearted.

Rose has spent the last year getting over the disappearance of the man she knew as Eli. Now, alone and terrified, she finds herself on the run from a sniper while trying to hide a scared little boy from certain death.

Red Wolf's crew isn't done with Plat, and his soft underbelly is just the place to nudge. Sniper vs. sniper, Platinum will reclaim what is his. That is, if she'll even have him back...


Mercury’s Poison
By Saranna DeWylde

A scarred, mad genius more monster than man must protect the beauty he's become obsessed with from a beast more terrible than himself.

Serum 17 took his face, took his kindness and took his empathy. It took, in essence, all of John Thrace leaving only the Elite Metal operative "Mercury" in his place. A man marked with a biohazard tattoo because he knows he's incompatible with other living things. Until he becomes obsessed with the seemingly innocent doctor Hazel Brewer and a chance encounter changes everything.

Hazel knows the giant scarred man won't hurt her even though she's in the business of saving lives and he'd rather take them. In fact, she's never felt safer or more alive than when she's with him. Even when a terrible biological weapon forces her into his arms for a night of hot passion she won't soon forget.

Their love could be the redemption he never thought he wanted, or something even more toxic: Mercury's poison.

Forged in Silver
By Roxie Rivera

Rebel. Nomad. Troublemaker.

After surviving the double-cross during Operation Phoenix, Former Elite Recon Marine Silver embraces the underworld and builds a new life as one of the world's most renowned thieves. Jewels, paintings, corporate espionage--there's no job he won't take for the right price.

Until Poppy Jones orders her ghosts to snatch him up in Budapest and haul him back to Texas to face her brand of justice...

Forced to decide between a prison cell and signing on to Elite Metal, Silver chooses the latter. Quietly operating in the background of a team that no longer trusts or wants him, he completes all the dirty little jobs that keep the team alive and flush with new intel.

But when he learns Poppy plans to infiltrate a terrorist gathering, he refuses to hide in the shadows a moment longer. In a world of secrets and lies, Poppy Jones is his bright light of truth and trust.

And he'll brave the fires of hell--and the disdain of Steele and Chrome--to protect her.



Excerpt:
Platinum’s Choice

Platinum stalked toward the car. What could have happened to Kent? Young children with grandmothers who wouldn’t let them eat anything with red dye number five in it—he knew because it was a fact Tony presented him with at the last meeting—didn’t simply disappear in such a way where professional private eyes couldn’t find them. His danger radar went off in a big way.

“Stop it.” Copper grabbed his arm. “Whatever happened in there, whatever you need to get done, you can’t run off and not tell Chrome or Steele where you’re going. Fuck it, Platinum, you’ve been trained better.”

“It’s personal.”

She shook her head. Copper was the strongest, toughest woman he’d ever known. Why she decided to make friends with him when most everyone else left him to his own devices never ceased to puzzle him. Cooper and Mercury were thicker than thieves, only whatever relationship those two shared—or didn’t—he wouldn’t pretend to understand. Copper had gone and fallen in love with someone other than Merc and everyone seemed okay with it.

“Yes. And?” She wasn’t going to let it go.

“I have a kid.” He could hardly mutter the words. A year of impossibly long days passed since he’d thought about The Boy let alone told anyone, even the people he trusted with his life, about Kent’s existence.

“I think you’d better go see Poppy. Whatever it is, you can’t hide it from the uppity-ups. Whatever happened, it’s only going to make things harder.”

Damn it. He hated when she was right.

Plat wasn’t going to find Kent if Tony hadn’t been able to, not without resources his team could provide. They usually worked in groups of four, each member reporting to Chrome or Steele, depending on who was heading that particular mission. He couldn’t ask anyone else to be involved. Any danger he took on would be his own

None of those facts meant he couldn’t ask permission to go so he didn’t end up with his teammates chasing him down assuming he’d gone off mission.

Steele would talk to Poppy and Poppy would manage Warbucks.

“I’ll call Steele.”

Cooper patted him on the back. “Good.”

“Could you do something for me?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.”

“Good answer.” Never make a promise until you knew what it entailed. Not unless it was in the field. Then he knew she’d do what he asked as he would. Team relationships were the only friendships Plat ever understood.

“What is it?”

“There’s an asshat in the bar named Tony. I think he’s about to drop dead. I don’t want him to do it here, too many questions.” He really didn’t want to have caused problems for Bone Daddy’s. Tony Di’Fallipi dying at the table minutes after Plat walked away seemed a headache he didn’t need. Plus, needless death irked him. Why let someone die when you could save them?

Some deaths had to happen, others didn’t.

“I’ll take him out and maybe I’ll drop him at an ER.”

“Thanks.” He unlocked the car. First Steele then Kent.

“Platinum.” Copper called his attention. “Sometime you’re going to have to tell me how you ended up with a kid.”

“Copper, if you don’t understand how it works then Gabriel is doing something really wrong.”

His teammate hooked up with her guy months ago and much as Plat didn’t understand how any of their group could manage to have a real social life, Copper seemed happy, which meant she needed to be ragged about it, every chance he got.

“Fuck you, Platinum.”

“I’m pretty fucked. Trust me.”
  

Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC during the tour!
 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Interview with @MaeClair1 for Eclipse Lake

Mae Clair opened a Pandora’s Box of characters when she was a child and never looked back.  Her father, an artist who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars.

Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that vary from contemporary to mythical. Wherever her pen takes her, she flavors her stories with mystery and romance. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about cryptozoology, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats.

You can find Mae Clair at the following haunts:
Twitter@MaeClair1
Google+
Facebook Author Page
Amazon Author Page
Goodreads
 

  1. At any given time do you work on only one story at a time and maybe plot out the next one or are there many ideas racing around your head?
It seems I always have ideas racing in my head but I concentrate on one story at a time. It’s rare that I move onto a second project without finishing the first. Generally, though, by the time I am three-quarters of the way through a WIP, I know what my next project will be and that idea and characters are already percolating in my head.

2. Is there a genre you haven't written in but would like to? Or wish you could write in?
I read many different genres and have written in several, but I’ve only published in a few. I concentrate mostly on romantic suspense and mystery, but I’ve often thought about exploring some of my other works which include fantasy, speculative fiction, and light horror. I have a fantasy trilogy I wrote years ago I’d love to work on again, I’m just not certain I want to step away from romance and mystery.


3. Do you add an element of romantic suspense in your stories?
Absolutely! My present release is better described as a romantic mystery, but the next two are full blown romantic suspense. One of those, MYTH AND MAGIC, releases on June 9th and is about ghostly occurrences at a corporate retreat. The other, which revolves around the legend of the Mothman, should be ready for submission to my publisher later in February.

4. Say you have unlimited funds: What kind of writing office/cottage would you create for yourself?
What a delight that would be! I would have a seaside cottage in a small coastal village overlooking a bluff. Lots of large windows for incredible views, a covered porch with a swing and rocking chair for relaxing, and a path that winds down to a private, sandy beach. I wouldn’t even mind if the weather turned chilly part of the year, because the cottage would have a large stone fireplace and warm rugs over hardwood floors.

5. If you could turn your novel into a TV show, which novel or series would you do? Where would it be set? Network TV (ABC, NBC, CBS), Cable (AMC, BBC, Lifetime) or Premium Cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz)?
ECLIPSE LAKE would make an intriguing TV series, I think, because of the cast of characters involved—a hero with a criminal past, a heroine who works for a national magazine, the hero’s outspoken teenage son, Jesse, (who has a knack for digging into his dad’s past), even the hero’s brother who still carries a fifteen-year-old grudge. Then there’s the town sheriff who’d like nothing better than to settle an old score, plus a host of minor characters who range from a dispatch officer with a heart of gold, to a nosy teen trio who befriend Jesse. Sounds like something that would fit on Network TV or cable. Tune in next week as the saga continues… J

6. Finally, tell us about your latest release!
ECLIPSE LAKE is about Dane Carlisle, a man who returns to his hometown after a fifteen-year absence. He’s left a criminal past behind, and become a successful businessman and philanthropist. His goal is to make peace with his estranged brother, Jonah, but there’s bad blood between them. Complicating matters, Dane begins a relationship with Ellie Sullivan, an outspoken photojournalist who has no intention of settling down. Circumstance goes from bad to worse when  freshly discovered skeletal remains put Dane dead center in an unsolved crime—one a vengeful sheriff is determined to pin on him.

Where to Buy:
Amazon Kindle Add ECLIPSE LAKE to your Goodreads List

Excerpt:
Ellie stopped walking and turned to face him. “Why are you here?”

Dane picked up a flat stone. With a flick of his wrist he sent it skimming across the lake. It danced effortlessly across the surface as if he’d done the same thing a thousand times before. “You know that skeleton they found?”

She nodded.

“I’ve got more skeletons than a graveyard. I can’t pick up and go to another place…to the next photo shoot.” He turned to face her. “Half of my life is here and half’s on the west coast. I have to make them fit together.”

The revelation reminded her of the family she’d left behind in Idaho, reawakening a familiar tug of homesickness. In an effort to find more comfortable ground, she changed topics. “You told me you’re from San Diego. I did a photo op there four years ago. What do you do for a living?”

“I get by.” He took her hand and started walking again.

She sent a speculative glance in his direction, recognizing evasiveness when she heard it. He was wearing a Rolex, and though dressed casually, clearly had expensive taste. Yet he’d booked an ordinary cabin rather than one of the exclusive chalets higher up the mountain.

She liked the feel of his fingers around hers, warm and firm. The contact sent a pleasant tingle up her arm. What the hell was wrong with her, getting caught up in his touch as if it were magic? As if she’d waited her whole life for that sensation. He had skeletons in his past, a brother who couldn’t stand the sight of him and a sheriff who wanted to run him out of town. Eccentric, or just plain trouble? 
 
Mae will be awarding $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour!
 

Monday, February 9, 2015

#NewRelease: One More Second Chance by @JanaRichards_

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.

In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com

Social media links:
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Blurb:
Dr. Alex Campbell has an agenda—finish his contract to provide medical services in Maine, pay off his medical school debt, and head back to his real life in San Diego. But when he meets Julia, all his carefully laid plans are put in jeopardy.
 
Julia Stewart, Lobster Cove’s high school principal, swears she’ll never let another man drag her away from the home she loves. Her aging parents need her, and the Cove is where she wants to raise her daughter. When her mother’s illness brings her and the big city doctor closer together, panic sets in. Her marriage taught her men don’t stay.

Can she put aside the heartaches of the past and trust Alex enough to accept the love he’s offering? Or will her fear of abandonment mean she’ll send him away forever?

Where to Buy:
Amazon
The Wild Rose Press
Kobo
iBooksChapters/Indigo

Excerpt:
Ralph Sykes stuck his head through the open door. “Can I see you for a minute?”  

Her stomach clenched. Ralph Sykes was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. But she made herself smile instead. “Of course. I have an appointment I need to get to shortly, but I’ve got a couple of minutes. Have a seat.”

He slipped into her office and closed the door. Instead of sitting, he paced the small area beside her desk.

“Ms. Stewart, you know my feelings about the daycare you’re proposing. I believe it’s wrong for our school and for our town.”

Julia suppressed an impatient sigh. “Yes, you’ve made your opinions well known, Ralph. I understand them, but I respectfully disagree.”

“I wish you’d reconsider.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to do that. I believe the daycare is very necessary.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “There’s opposition on the school board and in the community, you know. Some say we need a new direction at the head of the school.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from telling Ralph what a sanctimonious asshole he was. A long time high school math teacher at Lobster Cove High School, he’d been a thorn in her side ever since she’d been hired as principal three years ago. He’d felt the job should have gone to him, and he had his supporters in the community. For the last three years, he’d done everything in his power to undermine her authority.

She measured her words carefully. “I’m aware of that, Ralph. I’ll do everything I can to make parents more comfortable with having a daycare for the children of students at the school. But as I said, it will be in place in the fall.”

For a few seconds, their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills. Julia wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing her blink first. Finally Ralph looked away.

“I don’t like the idea of my Chloe being exposed to talk of sex out of wedlock and everything your daycare implies.”

Julia nodded. The news was hardly a surprise. Ralph’s sixteen-year-old daughter Chloe was a good student, and a sweet kid. She often babysat Ava. But she was socially awkward, which made her a target for teasing that often bordered on bullying. Julia had stepped in on a couple of occasions when she’d witnessed Chloe being harassed in the hallways. Having a father who was a teacher at the school, one that most of the students thoroughly despised, didn’t help her cause.

“I understand your opinion.”

“I’m considering organizing a petition against the daycare. If we get enough votes, we can take our views to the school board.”

Julia narrowed her eyes. Bring it on.
 
Jana will be awarding $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour!

Friday, February 6, 2015

#NewRelease Just the Way You Aren't by @LyndaMSimmons

Lynda Simmons is a writer by day, college instructor by night and a late sleeper on weekends. She grew up in Toronto reading Greek mythology, bringing home stray cats and making up stories about bodies in the basement. From an early age, her family knew she would either end up as a writer or the old lady with a hundred cats. As luck would have it, she married a man with allergies so writing it was.

With two daughters to raise, Lynda and her husband moved into a lovely two storey mortgage in Burlington, a small city on the water just outside Toronto. While the girls are grown and gone, Lynda and her husband are still there. And yes, there is a cat - a beautiful, if spoiled, Birman.

When she's not writing or teaching, Lynda gives serious thought to using the treadmill in her basement. Fortunately, she's found that if she waits long enough, something urgent will pop up and save her - like a phone call or an e-mail or a whistling kettle. Or even that cat just looking for a little more attention!

Website
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Blurb: 
What happens when an everyday Cinderella makes a play for the prince?
A moment of madness. That’s all muralist Sunny Anderson expected when she donned a glittering mask and a fabulous gown to crash the gala at Manhattan’s newest boutique hotel. Project manager Michael Wolfe has no idea that the beauty staring up at the mural on the ballroom ceiling is also the artist who painted it. He’s captivated and she’s willing, but when their moment of madness on the sofa in his suite comes to an abrupt end, his princess is off and running, leaving nothing behind but a pair of earrings. He’s determined to find her again, but all he has to do is look closer at the woman painting the mural in his office to see that the one he needs is standing right in front of him.
 
Excerpt:
Sunny’s feet moved of their own accord and she stared straight ahead, horrified and thrilled at the same time. Wondering what she was playing at and not at all surprised when he fell into step beside her.
This was why she wasn’t ready to leave, she realized. She was enjoying herself too much. Enjoying the fact that as Sonja she could do anything or say anything. Be shocking and sexy, and make Michael Wolfe sit up and take notice.
She glanced over at him as they walked, feeling beauti­ful, powerful, but most of all desirable. Because if that wasn’t hunger she saw in those dark eyes, then she’d been out of circulation for far too long.
Which was a distinct possibility given that her last sexual encounter had been almost a year ago in the back of Vince Cerqua’s convertible when the top wasn’t the only thing that wouldn’t go up. She’d spent the drive home assuring him that it happened to men all the time; at least that was what she heard in the tearoom.
She felt her face warm, knowing instinctively that Michael’s top would never let him down. Not that she wanted to find out. Not really. Not now, at any rate.
“Where will you be going in the morning?” he asked.
“New Jersey.”
He drew his head back and she laughed. “There’s a theater group I’m rather fond of. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. I’m just a wanderer. Never in one place long enough to plant a garden as they say.”
“Is that what you’d like to do? Plant a garden?”
“Yes,” she said, slipping in a touch of Sunny, but staying true to Sonja. “Of course, with so many emerging artists, I’m not thinking about that right now.”
He stopped and took her hand. “What are you thinking about?”
Trouble. And sex. Mostly sex. For all the good it did her.
 
Truth to tell, Sunny wasn’t the kind to have a one-night stand. She was conservative in her thinking and cautious when it came to matters of the heart. She was the kind who delivered hampers at Christmas, painted faces at the community center on Halloween, and made sure her organ-donor card was signed. No question about it, she was Sunny the good: Balanced. Friendly. And utterly predictable.
But Sonja? Now there was a real vixen. A woman who traveled the world, took risks every day, and was never, ever predictable. It seemed a shame to make her leave the ball so early when she was only in town for one night. And Sunny had the rest of her life to spend being good.
 
Michael ran his thumb across hers and the pull was stron­ger than ever, bringing her back a step. After all, it wasn’t as though he was a total stranger, some masked man she picked up at the sushi bar. This was Michael Wolfe, Beast of Brighton, Terror of the Tradesmen. And she already knew he looked good without a shirt.
 
Maybe Hugh was right. Maybe a moment of madness was good for the soul.
The music changed again, the singer launching into a slow, sultry torch song that begged an answer to the question women had been asking for centuries: what is it with men and commitment?
 
Sunny had wrestled with that issue herself for years, convinced that the boy she’d loved too much would come back for her one day. Pale and contrite, wanting nothing more than to love her the way he should have all along. But commitment wasn’t on her mind at all when she twined her fingers with Michael’s and gave him Sonja’s best come-hither smile. “I’m thinking we should go to your place,” she said, and was sure she was floating as they headed for the door.
 
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card during the tour.
  

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