Morrigan – Book Spotlight – Author Laura DeLuca

Laura DeLuca4PREVIEWBlurb:

Shuffled from place to place in the foster system, Morrigan doesn’t know the meaning of home. Plus, she is different. She has power over fire, the ability to move objects with her mind, and glimpse into the future. Just when she believes her life can’t get any stranger, she discovers her true identity.

Filtiarn, a knight with a dark past and a surprising secret, has been tasked with guiding the heir of Tír Na NÓg through countless perils to be returned to her family. Once Morrigan has been reunited with her mother and grandmother, their triad can save the forgotten land of magic from being devoured by an ancient evil.

Short Excerpt:

“Guardians!” A low snarl emanated from the back of his throat. “What are you doing with Guardians?”

“Stop it! Sit down!”

Morrigan wasn’t sure who she was addressing, the man or the animals. Luckily, they both obeyed her command. She stepped in between them to avoid any further confrontations. The cats took a seat on either side her legs, but their posture hardly relaxed. They still glared warily at the newcomer, even though their hisses died down to an occasional soft growl.

“Dirty, filthy beasts!” Tiarn snarled as he climbed to his feet. “I hate Guardians.”

“They’re just little cats,” Morrigan told him. “What’s the big deal?”

“Just cats! Hah!” He was standing at a careful distance, even though they had started licking their paws nonchalantly. “They are much more than simple cats! Though even those I find distasteful.”

Morrigan narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind. It does not matter.” Tiarn dismissed her question with a wave of his hand. “They are not coming with us.

“They most certainly are coming!”

Tiarn growled again. “I beg to differ with you, Your Highness. They would only get in the way.  Possibly even get killed.”

Danu raised her head from her grooming to hiss at him again, as though she had taken that last statement as a personal threat. The strange reaction of her faithful sidekicks made Morrigan wonder again just how much Tiarn could be trusted. She also wondered why, when she wasn’t sure she could trust him, she still felt the undeniable urge to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.

“If they stay here alone, they’ll definitely get killed or at least sent to the pound,” Morrigan told him. “I can’t let that happen. So, they’re coming. End of story.”

Tiarn’s eyes flashed dangerously, and he looked like he wanted to argue, but thought better of it. “Very well, Princess. Bring your mongrel felines. Just keep in mind that Guardians and lycans do not mix well.”

“Lycans?” Morrigan repeated.

A sick feeling started to settle in her stomach, as the truth of his words sunk in. It all started to make sense—his hairy arms and chest, his reaction to the cats, even his earlier comment about smelling her out. Her dark knight had a much darker side than she had ever seen in her dreams.

“Why yes, Your Majesty. Did you not realize? You are a witch and a sorceress. And I, your faithful traveling companion, am a lycan—a werewolf.”

*~*~*

authobiopicLaura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart.  In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the sole author of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years.  Her current works include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan, Player, and Demon.

Silent Tears – by Lacie Nation {Book Spotlight}

I’m pleased to have Lacie Nation here today to spotlight her wonderful book, Silent Tears. I’ve enjoyed reading her snippets during Hump Day Hook and am thrilled to have a copy in my inbox having won it last week. I can’t wait to dive in very soon.  For now, enjoy this wonderful excerpt and then head on out and buy it yourself!

Excerpt:

She bowed her head in a slow nod as he moved past her and left them alone. His office was nearly soundproof, so the pounding music from the club below was nothing but a low thump.

“What can I do for you, Ms. DeLuca?” Brax walked around the desk and leaned back against it crossing his feet at the ankles.

“Don’t you think Ms. DeLuca is a little formal considering we are to be married in a few months?”

“Perhaps it is, but that would depend on what you’re doing here.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I thought since we are, in fact, going to be husband and wife, maybe we could get to know each other.”

“I can promise you, you don’t want to marry me.”

“You’re absolutely right, but since neither of us have a choice in the matter, why not learn all we can about each other. Many things have changed in the twelve years since we’ve seen each other.” She took a step closer to him and her eyes traveled from his face all the way down to his wing tipped shoes.

Brax stood up to his full six feet four inches. With two long, powerful strides, he closed the distance between them and circled around her like a vulture. The curls from earlier were gone and her hair was straight and glossy. Her legs were bare instead of covered in panty hose and her skin looked silky smooth.

“You don’t want to know me, Camellia.”

“Why is that, Braxton?” Her voice sounded a little breathy as she spoke.

“Because, I’m a very bad man.” He pulled out his .45 and ran the barrel from her temple to her collarbone. Cam shivered, but never showed any sign of being threatened as her eyes followed his every move. “I do things that would make you shudder.”

“Show me.”

“Show you what?” He stepped closer, so close that her breasts were pressed against his chest.

Having her body so close to his made him want her in a way he had never wanted another woman. Brax had a hard time figuring out what emotion was stronger. Figuring out what she was hiding, or taking her to his bed.

“Show me how bad you can be.” Her gaze never left his. He pushed her hair away from her face with the end of the gun.

As the words left her mouth, Brax saw a brief flash of confusion cross her face. As if she couldn’t believe she had said what she had. Before he could think anymore about it, she recovered and was back to being the sexy, sassy woman she’d been when she walked in his office.

He leaned in even closer. “I don’t think you’re ready for that, bambina.”

“Trust me, Mr. Godfry, I’m no baby.” Before Brax even realized she’d moved, there was a knife at his throat.

Their eyes met, neither of them backing down an inch. A woman who could hold her own was incredibly sexy. Her gaze was sharp and cunning, but as he looked her right in the eyes, he knew for a fact she had secrets. Even if he hadn’t seen her in years, he had known her better than anyone else before she left. A person could change over time, but there were still little mannerisms that were ingrained to deep to disappear completely. The way she flexed her jaw as she looked at him told him was her tell.

“Tell me your secrets, Camellia.”

“I have no secrets,” she hissed and pressed the knife harder against his neck. The cold steel of the blade nicked his skin.

“Careful there, Cam. A little tighter and you will have the entire Godfry family on your ass.” He pressed his gun to the side of her head because at the moment she wasn’t a beautiful woman, but an enemy who posed a threat. She backed off, but he did not, and as she moved away from him, his arm extended out straight, keeping his aim on her. “Try that shit again, and woman or not, I will put a bullet through you.”

“Noted, now that we’re clear on that, how about a drink?” A slow, sexy little smile graced her lips.

Brax flipped the safety on and holstered his weapon. “We’ll be lucky if both of us make it out of this marriage alive.”

silent tears medBlurb: Braxton Godfry thought he had it all. He’s filthy rich, women lined up just to be with him, and his family was the most powerful mafia family in the world. Everything changes in the blink of an eye when his father announces Braxton is to be married to the daughter of his father best friend and ally. Braxton realizes his wife to be, Camellia DeLuca, is the only girl he had ever loved. Camellia isn’t the same carefree girl Braxton knew when they were young. She is a trained killer and a savvy business woman who has secrets that could end Braxton. When a mafia war erupts and threatens to rip Braxton Godfry’s family apart, he will know the pain of silent tears. Blood will flow like a river and vengeance will be had as Braxton fights for the life of his love and his family.

Buy Links:
[amazon_link id=”B00BHKYV7A” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link]
Barnes & Noble
Sweet Cravings Publishing
All Romance Ebooks

Excerpt – Forgiving Patience – Guest Author Jennifer Simpkins

Delighted to have Jennifer Simpkins (fellow Secret Cravings Author) join me today. And for the record, I do remember that first email exchange, Jennifer 😉

ForgivingPatience_LRGBefore anything, I have to thank Sarah for hosting me today. She probably doesn’t remember this, but after I signed my first contract with Secret Cravings Publishing she came to my rescue a time or two when I was trying to set up my Facebook page. Now we both participate in Hump Day Hook. It’s been fun getting to know her through her writing.

I noticed that besides on my publisher’s website, I have not posted a story excerpt for Forgiving Patience. I hope you don’t mind if I do that today. Here is a blurb, followed by an excerpt:

Anna Kelly had no intention of returning to her hometown of Patience, Tennessee. At eighteen, feeling powerless from an abusive childhood and heartbroken from her high school sweetheart, she needed to put distance between her and the small town. Now, eleven years later she’s invited to her best friend’s wedding and has no other choice but to return. Though she feels much stronger the second time around, nothing can prepare her for when she sees her ex again.

 

After a baseball injury, Jake limped back into Patience, damaged and angry. Throwing himself into remodeling Anna’s childhood home has given him purpose again. He is just getting his life back together. He can’t risk sending it all back to hell again, but the woman who broke his heart has whipped back into town…and she wants her house back. In hopes of reminding Anna of what she ran away from all those years ago he makes her an offer she can’t refuse—three dates, that have Anna rethinking Patience…and the life she was supposed to have with Jake.

 

I love scenes that involve a jealous man. To me there is so much raw emotion shown to the reader. In this particular scene Jake is jealous because he has been watching Anna from across the bar while she is having a good time with another guy. When he finally approaches her he has only one thing on his mind. I hope you enjoy!

 

Excerpt

 

“I see your pansy team won again. You must feel pretty damn good.”

Anna recognized the male voice coming from behind her without having to even turn around. She could feel his breath on her neck and smell the cologne that had become familiar to her. Just the sound of his deep, manly voice sent a chill through her entire body, making her stomach do a freefall. And she wondered if it would land anytime soon. She didn’t want to turn around to look into those deep blue eyes—most likely shaded with a ball cap—and wonder what he had just done with Carly.

Quit feeling sorry for yourself and turn your ass around.

“You can’t call them a pansy team when they have the best record in baseball right now.”

Between the dim lighting and low cap, his eyes were unreadable. But she could feel something coming off him. Electricity or something crazy. She couldn’t move. The only thing she could do was stand there and torture herself by looking at a man she would never have.

“You have a good night?” he asked, pointing to the straw hat that still sat on her head.

He said it in a way that told her several things—one, he’d been watching her for some time, and two, it was a slim chance that he’d spent any time with Carly. If he had, he wasn’t as good as everyone said…and she highly doubted that. The thoughts made her feel giddy, or maybe that was because of the two drinks she had consumed earlier in the night. He must have seen Tex with her. Hmmmm…now that explains why he just up and left, but not without laying a kiss on me…right in front of Jake. Interesting.

“Actually, I did. You just missed Tex. It was fun to have someone to watch the game with.”

With a clenched jaw, he said, “Yeah. I saw him. You know he was only interested in getting down your pants? He could care less about your precious ballteam.”

“Jealous, Jake?” She gave her head a playful tilt.

“I’m not jealous of that asshole,” he retorted with little conviction. “I just wouldn’t let any woman who had been drinking walk out the door with him.”

“I wasn’t leaving with him. I was simply watching a baseball game with the guy. Plus, I thought you two were friends?”

“We are. How do you think I know all this?”

Both fists were clinched at his sides. He looked like he could take down a Mack truck. What was the deal? She hadn’t expected this—after all, he was the one who had left with some Barbie doll tonight. He was the one who accused her of wanting his brother. And he was the one who had smashed a plate against the kitchen wall. When she took a minute to let all three of those things sink in, she was mad all over again.

“Well, thanks for….whatever, but I’m going home now.” She did a half wave and grabbed her purse, making her way past him, but not before brushing up against him. Everything in her body became aware of the feelings she’d been having for the past week. There was tingling in places he hadn’t even touched, and the feeling only intensified when he reached out and grabbed her arm before she could step away.

She was forced to look up at his face. Their bodies were pushed against each other’s, and he wasn’t letting go. She wasn’t sure how long she looked into his eyes, trying to read what he was thinking.

“Listen, Anna, the guy is a jerk when it comes to women. I was only looking out for you. Why can’t you understand that?” His voice was more tender, but stern. He eased his grip just a bit, but not enough that she could pull her arm out. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted him to let her go.

With a shaky voice, she replied, “I do understand that, but I’m a big girl. I know when a guy is only interested in what’s under my panties.”

His gaze fell to said panties. Well, actually, he could only see her jeans, but the intensity in his stare made her aware of what he was actually envisioning. She kept her eyes on his face, because she wanted to appear strong and not rattled by their closeness. With his hands on her, she couldn’t think logically.

“Will you let me drive you home?” His voice was low, just above a whisper that blew through her ear. It was sexy and intoxicating. She could have melted in a puddle right there at his feet.

Stuttering, she asked, “W-why?” Did he really have plans to take her home and see what was under her panties? Did she want him to?

“You’ve been drinking. It’s been made clear you can’t handle your liquor.”

He did have a point. She’d proven that at the bachelorette party. However, she didn’t want to put herself in the same position as that night. While she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, it still brought up memories she was desperately trying to forget. She wasn’t drunk now and didn’t need rescuing.

“I’m not drunk, Jake.”

He pulled her closer, causing her to let out a startled cry, and letting her feel every part of him, even the bulge pushed against his zipper. She couldn’t help but look down and notice she was all but rubbing up against him. It was the only natural thing to do.

Oh…God…what was happening here…in a public place no less?

She could barely croak out, “Ja-ke.”

“You feel that?” he asked. “Answer me, damn it. Do you feel what you do to me?” he demanded when she didn’t answer.

And if her brain hadn’t been made of mush she might’ve jerked out of his hold, demanding he never speak to her that way again. But because she was having trouble thinking and speaking at the same time, she let him get a pass. And because, after all, this was her Jake, a man she’d loved so much at one time that he’d had the ability to hurt her badly.  She knew he was thinking with one part of his anatomy and not thinking about his tone.

All she could muster up was a slight head shake. This was too much for her.

He was too much for her.

“This is what you do to me every time I think of you, whether you’re in the room or not. So can I please drive you home?”

“Yes.”

* * * *

 

Buy Links:

Amazon

Secret Cravings Publishing

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BookStrand

ARe

 

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