Nature’s Confession

by J.L. Morin

Release Date: January 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9895960-7-7
Trade paperback and eBook formats, illustrated
298 pages, $19.95
Audience: YA/adult, diverse, ‘cli-fi’ romance
Harvard Square Editions
Voted ‘The Top Book of 2014’, Marinovich Books
LitPick 5-Star Review Award winner

Synopsis

When a smart-mouthed, light skinned teen wonders why the work that needs to be done pays so much less than the busywork that’s glorified on holovision news, the search for answers takes him on the wildest journey of anyone’s lifetime. With the girl of his dreams, he inadvertently invents living computers. Just as the human race allows corporations to pollute Earth into total desolation, institute martial law and enslave humanity, the two teens in interracial love set out to save civilization. Can they thwart polluters of Earth and other fertile worlds? The heroes come into their own in different kinds of relationships. Along the way, they enlist the help of female droid Any Gynoid, who uncovers cutting-edge scientific mysteries as their quest takes them through the Big Bang and back. Will Starliament tear them from the project and unleash ‘intelligent’ life’s habitual pollution, or will youth lead the way to a new way of coexisting with Nature?

With illustrations throughout and topics for discussion at the back of the book, JL Morin deftly raises questions about busywork, economic incentives to pollute, sustainable energy, exploitation, cyborgs, the
sanctity of Nature, and many kinds of relationships. With skill and expertise, she creates memorable characters whose struggles could be our own. This fast-paced novel will keep you turning pages until the end.

Trailer

Praise for Nature’s Confession

“A classic” — Fjords Review

“Adventure, satire, dystopia, all in one well-written speculative-fiction package.”  —5-heart review, Foreword Reviews

“The readers are called to think critically about their own lives, and their own role in enabling the greed of the human race. The author’s ability to combine intense social commentary with a genuinely enjoyable
reading experience is impressive…. Fans of science fiction and dystopian novels will love Nature’s Confession, and I would recommend the book to teens and young adults interested in a fun, thoughtprovoking
read.” —5 Star Review Award Winner, LitPick, VBat

“Such an evocative book” —FreeWord.com, Nature’s Confession came in 6th in “12 Works of Climate Fiction Everyone Should Read”

“Morin’s novel is the literary embodiment of a distinctly different way of perceiving, and one that will no doubt work its aesthetic, as well as political ‘magic’ on everyone who reads it…. This book should be prescribed to every student and school-going child on the planet.” —Mail & Guardian, Thought Leader, Dr. Bert Olivier

“ . . . I have to say it’s one of the best books I have ever read.” —I Love Books video reviews

“It was incredibly tough to come up with a favourite, but in the end, I chose on JL Morin’s, Nature’s Confession. It’s a zany, fantastical read and a product of a clearly whimsical mind. This book, however, covers some serious and important topics that are affecting the planet we live on, so very relevant. It reminded me a little of ‘Star Trek’, infused with The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and a little Dr Who thrown in the wonderful mix.” —Voted Top Book of 2014, Marinovich

“As she continues to craft creative stories that are based on prominent issues, Morin is proving herself to be one of the most interesting storytellers for teens.” —Teenreads

“What I enjoyed the most was the author’s ability to combine serious concerns about the environment on Earth, with a sense of humor, at times almost a double-take slapstick, and obviously her wish the polluters on earth, and the policy-makers who foster those polluters could be slapped upside of the head with a dose of reality. Instead, she gives us sublime comedy, which is much better than being preached to, or crying that the sky is falling. Although, I bet she could write a pretty good version of the Sky Is Falling.” —Midwest Book Review

Video Review

About the Author

JL Morin grew up in inner city Detroit and wrote her Japan novel, Sazzae (Gold medalist in the 2010 eLit Book Award, and 2010 Living Now Book Awards winner) as her thesis at Harvard. Adjunct faculty at Boston University, J. L. Morin is also the author of ‘Occupy’s 1st bestselling novel’ Trading Dreams. She writes for the Huffington Post, Library Journal, and has written for The Harvard Advocate, Harvard Yisei, the Detroit News, Agence France Presse, Cyprus Weekly, European Daily, Livonia Observer Eccentric Newspapers, the Harvard Crimson and others.

Twitter * Goodreads * Harvard Square Editions

Synopsis

Burned-out and broke, twenty-two-year-old single mother Anna Jennings moves to her grandparents’ rural home for the summer with her four-year-old son, David. The sudden appearance of shadowy dinosaurs forces Anna to admit that either she’s lost her mind or she can see her son’s active imagination.

Frightened for David’s safety, Anna struggles to learn the rules of this bizarre phenomenon and how best to protect him. But what she uncovers along the way is completely unexpected: revelations about what her son’s imaginary friends truly represent and dark secrets about her own childhood imaginary friend.

Living right next door is Jamie Presswood, Anna’s childhood friend who has grown much more handsome and hardened than the boy she once knew. Jamie reminds her of simpler times—Ferris wheels and sparklers, picnics by the river, and Neapolitan ice cream—but due to past regrets and the messy lives they’ve since led, rekindling their friendship proves easier said than done.

Between the imaginary creatures stalking her son and her tumultuous relationship with David’s biological father, Anna doesn’t have any room left in her life or her heart for another man. But as David’s visions become more persistent and threatening, Anna must learn to differentiate between which dangers are real and which are imagined, and who she can truly trust.

Amazon Paperback * Barnes & Noble Paperback * Amazon Kindle * Barnes & Noble Nook * Apple iBooks * Overdrive * Kobo eBooks

Praise for Imaginary Things

“Andrea Lochen writes another beautiful book, filled with vivid scenes, unforgettable characters, and oodles of heart. With a page-turning plot and an utterly unique concept, IMAGINARY THINGS entertains, inspires, and provokes thought–a perfect book club pick.”  ~Lori Nelson Spielman, author of international bestseller The Life List

“Cleverly written with a perfect touch of magic, Imaginary Things will take you on a journey of the unexpected, and leave you contemplating the power of your own mind.” ~Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, authors of Your Perfect Life

“An honest, charming novel that blends reality and magical possibilities, hard struggles and small victories, starting over and daring to dare.”~Cathy Lamb, author of Julia’s Chocolates

“IMAGINARY THINGS reminded me again and again that the act of raising a child is a love story, a test of strength, and a thrill ride.” ~Susanna Daniel, author of Stiltsville

About the Author

Andrea Lochen is a University of Michigan MFA graduate. Her first novel, The Repeat Year (Berkley, 2013), won a Hopwood Award for the Novel prior to its publication. She has served as fiction editor of The Madison Review and taught writing at the University of Michigan. She currently teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, where she was recently awarded UW Colleges Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Website * Goodreads * Facebook

Crime Thriller

Date Published: September 2014

Synopsis

Columbia student Rachel Wallen descends into the netherworld of runaways and predators to find her sister, Olivia, who has been abducted by a killer who auctions the deaths of young girls in an eBay of agony. As she closes in on the killer who’s taken Olivia, Rachel becomes his next target.

Recent Praise for The Schwarzschild Radius:

“A fierce thriller that doesn’t offer many chances to catch a breath.” ~Kirkus Reviews

“A top-rate thriller.” –San Francisco Book Review

“One of the Top-Ten Fiction Books of 2014″ –Thelatinoauthor.com

“The next GONE GIRL”–Bestthrillers.com

‘Vivid, sinister, unsettling – Florentin delves into the darkest recesses of humanity in this fast-paced thriller’ – Crime Thriller Hound

The Schwarzschild Radius is available in both print and ebook formats.

About the Author

Gustavo Florentin was born in Queens, New York and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. He spent a decade in the defense industry then, after the fall of the Soviet Union, he moved on to the financial sector in New York where he is currently a network engineer. His passions include violin, travel to exotic places and exploring worldwide conspiracies. He lives in New Jersey where he is working on his third novel.

Website * Publisher * Facebook * Twitter

Blood on the Bayou is the second book in this series set in the Big Easy by author D.J. Donaldson. The first book is Cajun Nights and the third book is No Mardi Gras for the Dead.

Synopsis

Hefty and quirky New Orleans Chief Medical Examiner Andy Broussard loves fine wine, gourmet food, and Louis L’Amour novels almost as much as he hates murderers. In a city as hedonistic and dangerous as it is wonderful, Andy connects the mystery dots in ways that amaze and irritate the less gifted. Fresh out of her PhD program, the sumptuous and shapely criminal psychologist Kit Franklyn regularly fends off suitors and felons, and what she lacks in experience, she makes up for in cleverness. Together, the two are unbeatable at investigating crime, corruption, and more

Something terrible is roaming the French Quarter, leaving mutilated bodies in its wake. Andy and Kit are called to investigate who—or what—is lurking in the darkness. Fueled by their desire to catch this monster, they concentrate on identifying the killer responsible for ripping out victim’s throats. As they start to close in, it becomes clear the wounds couldn’t have been forged by a human… but what about a werewolf? Has the infamous Loup Garou finally descended on the Big Easy?

Written in his unique style, Donaldson’s Blood on the Bayou combines hard-hitting, action-packed prose with brilliant first-hand knowledge of forensics and the sultry flavor of New Orleans. The result is a gripping mystery involving murder and some supernatural flare in the creole heartland.

About the Author

D.J. Donaldson is a retired professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology. His entire academic career was spent at the University of Tennessee, Health Science Center, where he published dozens of papers on wound-healing and where he taught microscopic anatomy to thousands of medical and dental students.

He is also the author of seven published forensic mysteries and five medical thrillers. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his wife and two West Highland terriers. In the spring of most years he simply cannot stop buying new flowers and other plants for the couple’s prized backyard garden.

Website * Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter

Tour Schedule

About the Book

Sixteen year old Rhea Shah never thought that she would find herself falling for her brother’s best friend, Joy Fernandez, when they come home from college. Because she never thought that the dork who used to go to school with them would suddenly reinvent himself in college.

The only people she’s able to talk to about her absurd crush, are her best friends, Sophie and Arjav. Both of whom at first encourage, and then almost blackmail, Rhea to confess her feelings, which leaves the poor girl more muddled than ever!

Plagued with upcoming Board Examinations along with her friends’ suggestions, Rhea finds it difficult to concentrate, because she’s fallen for Joy, hook, line and sinker. In an attempt to vent to her feelings, she begins a blog, where she publishes all her songs and poems, dedicated to Joy, keeping her identity a secret.

But things do not go quite how she planned when a certain blogger named J. Fern begins to read her blog, and wishes to work with her…

Will Rhea ever confess her feelings to Joy? And will Joy find out the real identity of The Guitar Girl?

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.in / Goodreads

Meet the Characters of The Guitar Girl

Rhea Shah: 16-year-old Rhea Shah develops a crush on her brother, Robbie’s, best friend, Joy Fernandez. She adopts the alias The Guitar Girl in a misguided way to keep a hold on her feelings. Rhea cares about her two best friends, Sophie and Arjav, although the latter knows how to push her buttons. She is pretty awful at hiding her feelings.

Joy Fernandez: 18-year-old Joy is Rhea’s brother’s best friend, as well as Arjav’s cousin. He takes on Rhea as his student, teaching her how to play the guitar, unaware that she harbours feelings for him. He can be pretty dense at times – refusing to see what is really happening right in front of his eyes. He dates a rather crazy girl in college, Rosetta, who later becomes Robbie’s girlfriend.

Sophie Ghosh: Rhea’s best friend in school, who discovers her secret at the beginning of the novel and keeps encouraging her to confess to Joy about it. Initially united with Rhea on the front by finding Arjav, she begins liking him more than a friend. Both she and Arjav believe in meddling with ‘destiny’. 
Robbie Shah: Rhea’s older brother who has no idea has his sister has fallen for his best friend. He is too preoccupied with his band and his girlfriend, Rosetta, who Joy had dated before him.

Arjav: Rhea’s oldest friend, who knows her secret and wants her to tell Joy as well. He and Sophie like each other and likes to meddle with ‘Fate’. 

About the Author

Aniesha Brahma has loved writing since the age of six. She was schooled in Dolna Day School, and then pursued BA honors in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University, where she went on to complete her MA in the same. Currently, she’s pursuing MPhil in Comparative Literature from the same place. Her hobbies include reading, writing, playing with her favorite pet, Pippo the cat, (and other kittens too), traveling and blogging.

She has written innumerable short stories and poems, most of which can be found on her blog and in various magazines and newsletters. Her debut novel was, The Secret Proposal, published by General Press in September 2012. She won the Editor’s Pick for Romance genre in the IndiReads Second Short Story Competition, and her story The Difference, was subsequently published in the anthology, Voices, Old & New. She has interned with www.womanistan.com and www.zapondo.com, as their content writer. She has volunteered at Hope Foundation, Kolkata, teaching the children who attend the Chetla Lock Gate Coaching Center. Aniesha also had a brief stint as a writer for the Kolkata-based travel magazine, Touriosity.

Blog I Facebook I FB Page I Twitter I Email

 

Title: Blessed Are Those Who Weep
Series: A Gabriella Giovanni Mystery
Author: Kristi Belcamino
Genre: Fiction/Mystery & Detective/ Woman Sleuth
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Witness Impulse
ISBN: 9780062389404
Pages: 320
List Price: 1.99 USD

~Synopsis~

San Francisco Bay Area reporter Gabriella Giovanni stumbles onto a horrific crime scene with only one survivor–a baby girl found crawling between the dead bodies of her family members. Reeling from the slaughter, Gabriella clings to the infant. When Social Services pries the little girl from her arms, the enormity of the tragedy hits home. Diving deep into a case that brings her buried past to the forefront, Gabriella is determined to hunt down the killer who left this helpless baby an orphan.

But one by one the clues all lead to a dead end, and Gabriella’s obsession with finding justice pulls her into a dark, tortuous spiral that is set to destroy everything she loves …

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | HarperCollins

Critical Praise for Ms. Belcamino

“Tense, disturbing and smart….Belcamino is a writer to watch.” — Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls

“Truly first- rate.” — Bruce DeSilva

About the Author

Kristi Belcamino is a writer, photographer, and artist. In her former life as a newspaper crime reporter in California, she flew over Big Sur in an F/A-18 jet with the Blue Angels, raced a Dodge Viper at Laguna Seca, watched autopsies, and interviewed serial killers. She is now a journalist based in Minneapolis, and the Gabriella Giovanni mysteries are her first books. Find Kristi on Facebook or on Twitter.

 Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Website | Blog

Giveaway

Free download of the Blessed are the Dead and Blessed are the Meek. Winners must have access to Bluefire Reader and have an Adobe account to receive free download.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Title: The Logic Bomb
Author: Scott Richard Lord
Publisher: The Logic Bomb
Pages: 264
Genre: Thriller
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Kindle

Synopsis

Fiction collides with fact with frightening prescience in Scott Lord’s ripped-from-the-headlines techno-thriller, THE LOGIC BOMB.

In his exciting debut as a novelist, Lord, a practicing lawyer, mixes shady financial deals, organized crime, and the real-life threat of cyber warfare into an unlikely but always entertaining blend of high drama and comedy.

Lord’s hero, Tom Tresh, is a Los Angeles lawyer living on an aging sailboat while struggling to support his seven-year-old son and an ex-wife. When a friend offers him a “huge payday” if he helps with a shady deal to sell a complex but seemingly harmless computer program to a Hong Kong company, Tresh finds himself in a firestorm of intrigue, because the program is actually a powerful cyber weapon, capable of infiltrating and destroying computer systems.

Lord cites former National Security Advisor Richard A. Clarke’s 2010 book, “Cyber War,” as one of the chief inspirations for writing THE LOGIC BOMB. Lord explains that a logic bomb is a type of cyber weapon, a “virtual explosive,” that can infiltrate various systems and wreck them.

So-called “logic bombs” actually exist, says Lord, and, according to the best authorities, are already planted in U.S. software programs that run our financial, transportation, utility and – scariest of all – defense systems.

(Clarke’s book) “describes in great detail the types of cyber attacks which we are all becoming familiar with,” Lord explains. “I decided that one of the cyber weapons he describes, a logic bomb, would be an excellent `MacGuffin’ for my story. Now cyberwar is filling the news. Little did I know!”

Praise for the book

Scott Turow, author of the bestselling legal thriller PRESUMED INNOCENT, hails Lord as “a terrific writer. Read THE LOGIC BOMB.”

Kirkus Reviews praises THE LOGIC BOMB as “rife with tense scenes dominated by gleefully unpredictable characters.

Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Excerpt (from Chapter 8)

My telephone rang at 5:20 a.m. When I picked up, a computer voice told me it was a collect person-to-person call from “Charles Papadoks.” I accepted. The only people who call collect these days are in jail.

“Tom, you there?” It was Charlie, of course.

“Charlie,” I yawned, “what’s going on?” There was a lot of crackling on the line.

“Tom, I’m in jail. They arrested me an hour ago, just came to my house and took me to the police station. All they’ll tell me is that a couple of guys got killed, they think I know something about it.”

I sat up in my bunk. “Did they say who?”

His voice came back through the interference, “No, they won’t tell me. But there’s a TV in here, it’s all over the news. Says it happened somewhere in the west valley, maybe near Chatsworth.”

“Chatsworth?” Naturally. “But why would they arrest you, they think you did it? That’s crazy!”

“I know,” he shouted, “completely crazy! Tom, there’s going to be some kind of lineup later this morning. They say they got someone saw me in the area. You gotta help me.”

I came fully awake. “Sure, Charlie, I’ll be there. I’ll try to find out what’s going on.”

“Tom, you think this could have anything to do with… “

“Shut up, Charlie.”

“What?”

“Just shut up. Take my advice for once.” They didn’t advertise the fact, but pay phone lines at jail are recorded. I hung up.

I turned on the television to a local station.

I could see a helicopter view of a crime scene lit up like a movie set, with crime scene tape and dozens of people milling around. The reporter was saying that two bodies were found near the old Spahn Ranch. The early morning news anchor, clearly hyped on too much caffeine, was playing up the Manson angle and the crawl at the bottom of the picture kept repeating, “Spahn Ranch Bloodbath – Manson Copycat Feared.” A police helicopter was circling overhead, and at least two news helicopters were there to cover the “breaking” news. The anchor quoted an unnamed police spokesman as saying that one of the victims had been killed with one shot in the head, and the second body had been disemboweled.

The police couldn’t, or wouldn’t, say whether the bodies had been killed in the field, or killed elsewhere and dumped in the field. An eager young reporter at the scene, dressed in a bright red leather miniskirt and a matching jacket, reported that there was a swastika tattooed or cut into the forehead of the second victim.

Smith answered his cell phone. “We have a witness, Tresh. She was walking her dog a few minutes after midnight. Says she saw someone coming from this field. Charlie’s business card was in one of the victim’s pockets.

When we called him, he told us that he’d been up here earlier, visiting a house in the area. He wouldn’t explain what his visit was about. Denies being here last night.”

“Why the quick lineup? Don’t you need time to beat a confession out of him?”

“Very funny. I’m pretty sure it’s not Charlie, but I gotta follow up. And all Charlie’ll say to us is he wants his lawyer and you’re it.

Either the old broad recognizes him or she doesn’t. I’ve got no interest in a phony ID.”

“Why arrest him then?”

“He’s a flake, Tom. I just wanted him to be somewhere I could find him.”

“How far away was she from the guy she saw, assuming it was a guy of course?”

“About fifty feet she says. She was near a streetlight.”

“What have you told her about Charlie?”

“Just that we have a man who might have been in the area, can she come down and look and see if he’s the man she saw.”

“I’d like to go to the crime scene first, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. We could use a first-class mind like yours, help us with any clues we might have missed.”

I ignored the sarcasm. “You still be there in an hour?”

“Yeah.” He hung up.

The first victim was a young man with a blond crew cut, a beatific smile, and a small red round hole in the middle of his forehead. It struck me that if you didn’t know what had happened, you might think the young man was one of those Western devotees of the Hindu religion, lost in the joy of meditation under the stars, quietly chanting his mantra as he lie still. His feet were splayed out and were clad in leather sandals. His hands were flung loosely at his sides, the way yogis do when they take the position of savasana, the corpse pose. Of course, if you looked closer, you would notice the small trickle of blood from the red spot on his forehead and the fact that he didn’t seem to be breathing. He wasn’t in a yogic trance or pose. He was a corpse.

And I knew him. His name was Chet Harris.

About the Author

Scott R. Lord has been a highly successful criminal and civil trial lawyer for 35 years and is active in the practice of law with the law firm of Cohen & Lord, a P.C., located in the Century City area of Los Angeles. Scott is a devoted student of Italian language and literature. He is the father and step-father of six children and lives with his wife and children in Santa Monica, California.

Website * Goodreads * Contact

Title: Kiss the Earl
Author: Gina Lamm
Series: Geek Girls Series
Pubdate: April 7^th, 2015
ISBN: 9781492607823

Synopsis

A modern girl’s guide to seducing Mr. Darcy

When Ella Briley asked her lucky-in-love friends to set her up for an office party, she was expecting a blind date. Instead, she’s pulled through a magic mirror and into the past…straight into the arms of her very own Mr. Darcy.

Patrick Meadowfair, earl of Fairhaven, is too noble for his own good. To save a female friend from what is sure to be a loveless marriage, he’s agreed to whisk her off to wed the man she truly wants. But all goes awry when Patrick mistakes Ella for the would-be bride and kidnaps her instead.

Centuries away from everything she knows, Ella’s finally found a man who heats her blood and leaves her breathless. Too bad he’s such a perfect gentleman. Yet the reluctant rake may just find this modern girl far too tempting for even the noblest of men to resist…

Amazon * iBooks * BAM * B&N * Indiebound * Kobo

***

Today we are pleased to sit down with author Gina Lamm, whose title, Kiss the Earl, is out this April. To celebrate the release of this fun time-slip novel Gina’s here to share a snippet from the book with a time-travel tip for aspiring adventurers!

“Oh for the love…” Ella scowled at her foot before letting it go and swapping positions. With her other foot atop her ankle, she inspected it. This one wasn’t as bad—a couple scrapes and bruises, but nothing like that puncture. She was going to have to be careful of that one. Who knew what kind of germs had just been invited to party in her bloodstream? When was her last tetanus shot? Had she ever had a tetanus shot? There was no way they would have any kind of vaccines available here.”

#4 – Gina’s Time Travel Tip – Stay up to date on your shots. No such thing as herd immunity way back then! And if you’ve got some antibiotics handy, keep ‘em in your purse. There’s a reason the mortality rate was so high. Don’t become a time-travel statistic!

About the Author

Gina Lamm, a bellydancing, wisecracking, marshmallow-addicted geek, loves nothing more than penning funny, emotional tales of love, lust, and entertaining mishaps. Married to a superhero, she lives with her beloved family in North Carolina, surrounded by tobacco farms, possums, and the occasional hurricane. She also writes erotic romance for Ellora’s Cave under the pen name Regina Cole.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dropping the Dime by Ellie Ashe

Romantic Mystery

Miranda Vaughn was once falsely accused of stealing millions, and now she’s helping others who are facing criminal charges. While being an assistant to her former defense attorney isn’t Miranda’s dream job, she’s eager to prove herself, and her first task is a simple one—protect Kathryn, a shy CFO turned informant, and help her prove that a popular real estate developer is embezzling millions from his company. But what should be a straightforward assignment is deliciously complicated when Miranda is thrown together with FBI Agent Jake Barnes, the man who saved her life, broke her heart, and then disappeared.

Beneath the neatly plotted rows of new homes lurk dark secrets, bitter feuds and a whole lot of greed. Nothing is what it appears, even Miranda’s timid client, who is hiding secrets of her own. Despite her growing distrust of her client, Miranda must protect Kathryn from becoming the target of the FBI’s investigation and protect herself from the real thief—all while protecting her heart from the sexy FBI agent she can’t seem to resist.

99 cent special – only for a limited time !!

Kobo   Nook   iBook   Smashwords   Print     Amazon   Gemma Halliday Publishing

Thoughts from Ellie

In Dropping the Dime, Miranda’s thrown back into Jake Barnes’ life, the handsome FBI agent who saved her life in Chasing the Dollar. It’s been six months since they’ve seen each other, and I decided that Jake needed a little competition for Miranda’s affection. Enter Quinn Bishop.

Quinn’s rugged good looks are nearly enough to make a girl forget his rough history—a conviction for drug trafficking and time spent in federal prison. But if the sexy rancher were really bad news, would all of Miranda’s friends be pushing her toward him?

(excerpt)

“Mind if I join you?”

I looked up to find Quinn smiling down at me and motioned to the empty chair next to me. As he sat down, Sarah jumped up and grabbed my empty wine glass.

“I’m going to get us some more wine. Quinn, can I get you anything?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a beer.”

She smiled and hurried away, leaving Quinn and me alone in the middle of the huge crowd.

“This is quite a party.” I didn’t know what else to say, and the direct stare of his blue eyes unnerved me.

“Thank you, but my mother is the one who put everything in motion,” he said. “Are you having a good time?”

“Oh, yes. The food was amazing and everything is just beautiful,” I said.

He smiled and then held out a hand. “How about a dance?”

I hesitated. Dancing was never my strong suit unless I’d consumed a lot more alcohol. And even then, my moves were all in my head, not in my feet.

But Quinn took my silence for acceptance, and I found myself trailing behind him to the wide wooden floor, my hand firmly clasped in his. As he pulled me to him, the band broke into a ballad, and I found myself nestled up against Quinn’s chest, slowly swaying to the romantic song.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” I said, by way of an advanced apology for the damage I was about to do to his feet.

“Sure you are,” he said, taking my right hand in his and spinning us around.

With Quinn leading, I almost felt like I could dance. He gave me a crooked grin. “See, you just need to dance with the right man.”

A thrill zipped up my spine at his words. Oh, boy.

Excerpt

(what a deal you get 2 excerpts in this one post!)

One of my favorite parts of writing the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries is exploring the chemistry between Miranda and Jake Barnes, the hot FBI agent who saved her life, then broke her heart. In Dropping the Dime, Miranda and Jake are thrown together on an investigation. Miranda’s trying to protect her client, Kathryn, a whistle-blower who is working with the FBI to expose her crooked real estate developer boss. But Kathryn’s keeping her own secrets and before long, Miranda is fighting to keep the FBI from turning its investigation to the timid accountant.

Here’s a peek of how Miranda and Jake navigate those conflicts in Dropping the Dime:

“So, you’re not investigating Kathryn?” I asked.

The question hung in the air between us in the quiet kitchen. Jake reached up and put the plates away in the open cupboards, then turned and leaned against the counter.

“Should I?”

“No,” I said. “You shouldn’t. She’s a nice person who just tried to do the right thing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t even know her.”

“I know her better than you do. She’s not a criminal.”

“She’s lying. She’s lying to you. And she’s lying to the FBI, which is a federal crime,” he said, his expression hardened.

“Kathryn is not lying!” I had nothing to back that up. “She’s smarter than that.”

“She’s just going to get herself in trouble if she doesn’t come clean with us,” he said. “Look, Finn is happy to finally nail Simon Leonidis, but I’m not looking at this as a personal vendetta. If we’re going to prosecute him, we need evidence. Not just his CFO’s suspicions.”

I knew that, but for some reason, I had a feeling there was more to it than that.

“You just don’t believe her, do you?”

He crossed his arms and I was momentarily distracted by the way his biceps flexed. I looked away quickly.

“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about work,” he said.

“That’s a good idea,” I said, then paused. What else would we talk about? All of my interaction with Jake had been work related, in one way or another, starting with our first encounter when he arrested me. Was my attraction purely lust? Based on nothing of substance?

“So, how was your day?” he asked, a slight smile on his lips.

I discovered that I’d been defending a liar and uncovered a Greek tragedy. “Uh, it was fine. How was yours?”

Oh God. Was this what happened when you fell for someone based solely on looks? And a lot of adrenaline. And chemistry.

He smiled and my heart did an extra little flutter. “Well, I got to take a romantic drive in the country with a beautiful woman, then take her to dinner.”

The heat rose up my face. “You certainly spun that in a positive light.”

Jake’s smile widened. “How would you have spun it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that I completed a successful undercover mission,” I said. “I guess I’m not as mushy as you.”

He laughed and raised an eyebrow. “Mushy?”

“Yeah, you know. Romantic. Soft.”

He was in front of me in an instant, his arms on either side, leaning in, a wall of chest covered in a snug black t-shirt backing me against the counter. I had to tilt my head back to look at him and when I did, my breath caught at the nearness. My gaze lingered on his lips, so close. So very close.

“Not soft,” he whispered and leaned in.

It had been more than half a year since I’d felt the touch of those lips, but the effect was the same. Dizzying. Electric. A tug of passion that reached from my soul. Nothing, no one, had ever made me feel like that.

“We shouldn’t do this,” I whispered.

“I know.” Jake’s voice was low and gravelly and thrilled me to the pit of my stomach.

“I told Rob there wasn’t anything between us,” I said as his lips grazed my neck, sending a shiver through me.

“The case will be over soon.”

It wasn’t his voice that caused the tremors this time, it was the words. It didn’t matter that we had nothing to talk about except for work, which we were not allowed to discuss. It didn’t matter that we were at odds. This connection wasn’t something to give up on, just because of our jobs. I’d work at the bakery for the rest of my life to keep this.

About the Author

Ellie Ashe has always been drawn to jobs where she can tell stories—journalist, lawyer, and now writer. Writing quirky romantic mysteries is how she gets the “happily ever after” that so often is lacking in her day job.

When not writing, you can find her with her nose in a good book, watching far too much TV, or trying out new recipes on unsuspecting friends and family. She lives in Northern California with her husband and three cats, all of whom worry when she starts browsing the puppy listings on petfinder.com.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Newsletter sign up

Giveaway

$20 Amazon Gift Card
a Rafflecopter giveaway