Friday, December 28, 2018

Sale Alert: Harder Than Steel


Title: Harder Than Steel
Author: Jane Galaxy
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 4, 2018
Publisher: Eventide Press
Series: Super Stars #1
Format: Digital eBook
Digital ISBN: B07DJ42L7S

Synopsis:

A SEXY MOVIE STAR, A DESPERATE PHOTOGRAPHER, AND THE SECRETS THAT COULD DESTROY THEM BOTH...

Henry Jackson (Jax) Butler is Hollywood's hottest bad boy. Ever since the release of STEEL KNIGHT, his first movie in the world-famous Defender superhero film franchise, he's been able to land any girl he wants, even his co-star's sexy model girlfriend. But this dream job comes with downsides—like feeling completely typecast and unable to move on artistically. That and the paparazzi. The evil, privacy-invading scum who tail his every step, smearing his name and reputation just for having some innocent fun. And one pap in particular has become his worst enemy...

Vanessa Reyes would give anything to be a real photographer, shooting for investigative journalism pieces that could make a difference in the world. But with her sister's medical bills to pay, she's stuck tailing Hollywood's latest bad boy Jax Butler through New York, cashing in on every one of his plentiful hookups. She might not love her job, but she feels no remorse about exposing Jax for the heartless heartbreaker he is. Why shouldn't she cash in on his dirty dealing?

But when Jax is ordered to clean up his public image, he can think of no better media contact to approach for help than his rival. Keep your friends close and your enemies... Well, you know the rest. As for Vanessa, her boss has ordered her to find him newer, dirtier dirt on Jax. What better way to worm her way into his good graces than by accepting his offer to write some fluff pieces about him?

Yet the more time the two enemies spend in one another's company, the more they begin to see different sides to one another. Is Jax really the ruthless hookup artist he seems? Is Vanessa just another shady pap out for his blood? Or do they both have another, deeper self? One that only shines when they're together...

Add to your TBR list: Goodreads


!!!!NOW ON SALE FOR $0.99 thru January 2, 2019!!!!


Copyright © 2018 Harder Than Steel
Jane Galaxy

Jax stayed where he was at the foot of the bed. There was still time, but maybe not as much as he’d counted on. Wardrobe tended to show up early. He brushed his fingertips together lightly.
“They are going to be here soon,” he enunciated clearly. “And I am afraid, my dear,” he leaned over to grasp her foot and playfully pull her toward him to soften the blow, “That you have to make yourself scarce.”
“You said we’d spend an afternoon together!” She pulled herself up to run her hands over his biceps. “You promised me, Jax.”
“Yes, but you were naked at the time, and it doesn’t really seem fair to hold me to a promise in circumstances like that,” he pointed out. She swatted him lightly across the arm, then caressed him. “Besides, I have interviews, and there’s that dual press junket next week. Maybe I’ll see you there.”
Georgina was looking at him more acutely now. When she dropped the sex kitten act, there was a resilience to her that he found encouraging, like hearing about someone small and strong winning against all odds. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead.
“It’s not the same in public,” she said with a sigh, and went to get fully dressed. Jax wandered over to the windows to notice that his view had changed yet again. New York was in real flux these days—going up next door were either luxury condos or an office complex. The sun glinted off glass on the street below. When he’d left for Los Angeles, there had been the rubble of a warehouse that had probably once made pickle jar lids; now there were sidewalk sheds and signs with fantasy graphics of completed structures. Light flickered at him again, and Jax squinted carefully down to the street.
Someone with a very large camera was photographing him from the sidewalk.
“Oh shitting fuck Christ,” he whispered, and looked around to see if Georgina had heard him. She was smiling down into her phone, one index finger playing across her lips in an aesthetically-pleasing pose. “You need to leave,” he said, and gathered up her purse.
“Wha—”
“Now, preferably. We need to get moving.”
“What the hell, Jax?!”
“Listen to me,” he said. Georgina curled her lip and looked down her nose at where he’d set his palms on her shoulders. “There’s paparazzi downstairs.” 
Her face twitched into eager surprise, disgust forgotten. “How many?”
“Just one. But they give off a pheromone, and soon it’ll attract others,” he said. She made to move over to the windows, but he held her wrist. “They’ve already seen me.” He felt his hand tug. “Georgina.” That seemed to bring her around to slightly-disappointed sanity. 
“Ugh, fine. I can call a car if you tell me where the back door to this place is.”
“There isn’t one. And don’t call a car,” he said, pushing her phone out of her face to look at her. “That’s like a pap magnet.”
“Which is why you take a back way. There’s always a celebrity exit—loading dock, alley entrance, anything?”
“I’d bet good money on the alley door being blocked because of the construction.” The landlords on places like these were more concerned about getting the right color light from Edison bulbs than basic safety regulations. He shook his head in disbelief. “But you need to go now, before there’s a crowd. Walk just a block, or take a taxi.”
“God, you’re no fun when you’re jetlagged, you know that? I know how papping works.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’d like to go light with the tabloids this week.” Jax looked at her significantly.
“You know, there’s no such thing as bad press,” Georgina told him on the service elevator, once they were dressed and had managed to get down the hallway to the service elevator without meeting anyone. “You’re lucky you get this kind of attention, people wanting to know what you’re doing every minute. As if you couldn’t just take a picture of yourself. It’s gotta be this huge production—someone has to actually get in a car or ride the subway to go to your location and report back on what you’re doing. It’s almost vintage, isn’t it?”
He pushed open the metal doors onto the stretch of asphalt between buildings. No one was passing on the distant sidewalk except the usual dog walkers and flocks of tourists in screen-printed t-shirt uniforms, and for a moment Jax felt foolish for an abundance of paranoia. They came up nearly to the street and stood in the shade of a sidewalk shed.
“Maybe it’ll be—”
Through the jolt of pneumatic screw guns and a low grinding hum of heavy equipment, Jax distinctly heard with a chill the horrifying sound of a shutter clicking on a digital SLR.
“Hey, Henry!”
Fuuuuuuck. Fuck.
Henry Jackson “Jax” Butler closed his eyes for just a moment, hoping Georgina had dosed him with LSD. Or peyote. But not ayahuasca, he hoped. Worst Comic-Con ever. The cloying sing-song voice sounded like a delighted friend seeing him for the first time in a while, and Georgina turned to face it.
“Do you know her?”
Jax turned and raised both fists out in front of him, middle fingers jutting up nonchalantly. The woman with the camera bent her knee slightly to get a better shot of him flipping her off.
“Aww, it’s you!” he said in a mock-enthusiastic voice as he recognized her face—olive skin, dark eyes, hair pulled back into a ponytail. The one girl who could find him anywhere and always create a shitty way to get him into the tabloids. “My least favorite pap of them all! Having a good summer? How’s the life-ruining business going? You know, maybe it’s just me—I feel like our connection is so one-sided, we never talk, does that ever worry you?”
The paparazz—well, it was probably paparazza, now that he thought about it, not that anyone would ever use that word, but there were very few women paparazzi out there, it was one of those markets men seemed to dominate—she lowered the camera to her side and cocked her hip, scrunching up her mouth and looking wickedly thoughtful.
“Nah, my conscience is pretty clean. Mostly because I’m not an accomplice to... whatever this is.” The girl waggled her finger at them and cocked her head to one side, gazing at Georgina’s face intently to try to place her.
Ah, shit.
“Go,” said Jax, and gave Georgina a light push. The camera whipped back up to capture his hand on her shoulder blade.
“Isn’t that your co-star’s girlfriend?”
Only then did Georgina seem to remember that she was Jax’s co-star’s girlfriend, and disappeared along the building.
“Still the worst, Reyes, you know that?” he called out to her. She focused the camera again, and caught him looking overhead suddenly, squinting at something near the fire escapes. “Is that—?” He pointed to it, floating upward on a breeze like a lost balloon. “Is that your clean little conscience?” His hand reached out to grasp empty air. “Oh, it’s getting away, there it goes. Say goodbye, Reyes, better make it a full break. No regrets.”
She was ignoring him, briskly clicking through the images on her viewscreen, just casually scrolling through her power over the situation, over him, over the money to be made off other people’s lives. He started toward her, not entirely sure of what he was about to do, when a screeching thud turned end over end on itself, sounding like a semi jackknifing through traffic. Jax saw it before he heard construction workers hollering at each other.
One of the steel beams had come loose and was coming down.
He took a running start off of nothing and threw himself headlong, tackling Reyes in a dive. The girder slammed onto a flatbed trailer parked next to where she’d been standing, crumpling the cab.
Jax’s head rang. He’d rolled at the last second to avoid throwing his whole weight onto her, and now Reyes was twisting around underneath him to get loose. She had more muscles than her loose, nondescript clothing suggested, hard and compact, but still curving where she ought to. Jax wished she’d give him just a minute, for the dust to clear, and finally stood, breathing hard. Reyes came up to her feet, and he saw why she’d been squirming—she wanted to make sure her camera had survived being pressed between the two of them.
The Butler Did It—Jax Assaults Photographer After Alley Affair Shocker, the headline would read, and the Steel Knight toy marketing executives would haul him into their offices for another lecture.
“Jesus Christ,” he said to her. She was inspecting the lens and hadn’t even bothered to check herself for damage. Or him. “Really? Now?”
Reyes frowned down at her camera, but instead of lining up another shot, she gingerly twisted the focus to feel for damage.
“I can’t believe you managed to do that without breaking it,” she said. “Or me.” He could hear construction workers shouting to one another, footsteps in the distance.
They stared at each other for several moments, and she let the camera drop to the strap on her neck.
“Um,” said Reyes. “Should I—How can I—Thanks? You?”
“How can you thanks me?” said Jax. Reyes’ mouth opened and closed several times, and her eyes shut for a moment, only to open on Jax holding out his palm.
“By deleting those photos.” When she didn’t move, he flexed his hand. “Come on, lemme see it.”
Reyes drew the strap from around her neck carefully, as if it were heavy.
“I’m only interested in the ones of me,” he said, quiet, but her strange expression didn’t change. Jax went into the image review and removed every shot involving him, even the one of his apartment building rising up to loom over the street. He paused and moved his thumb off the delete button on the picture before that: a plump older woman striding through a zebra crossing with one arm flung out as if to welcome or guide, looking directly into the lens. Jax flicked the power off and handed the device back to Reyes.
She stood for a moment as distant sirens echoed off the buildings, and they looked at one another.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” Her dark eyes flicked back and forth across the pavement in front of him, and her throat moved when she swallowed. “You okay?”
“Uh… yeah. Sure.”
Reyes nodded.
“Okay,” said Jax. “I have to go be on TV now.” He turned and went back into the apartment building through the metal doors.



Jane Galaxy has the heart of a romantic and a brain full of pop culture knowledge. She loves to escape into the world of super-powered heroes and heroines with awesome abs who punch stuff, but putting them through their paces when it comes to the hard work of emotions and true love is even better.
You can usually find her pining over gifs from ComicCon and coming up with the perfect song for a hot guy to play in the background of his latest angst-riddled workout session.




Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Blurb Blitz: Oasis



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bharat Krishnan will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Once, there was a truce. Desperaux controlled the west with magic, and Desire claimed the east with steel and science.

But now magic has disappeared, and the world has changed.

The kingdom of Desire will stop at nothing to maintain the new world order. On Juno’s wedding day, their Mengery soldiers came marching through the Nine desert to rip his world apart. Now he journeys east with his adopted brother, Trey, in search of revenge after the murder of his family. Along the way, the two face bandits and the magical creatures of the Nine. When they finally reach Desire, Juno and Trey will face something even deadlier – their own fears and ambitions.

This is a tale of brotherhood, a revenge story that will remind you that everything has a cost – a cost that will be paid to Desire and to the inner demons that govern us all.

Read an Excerpt:

Lee thought this seemed like a lot of effort over the stealing of some fruit. Although, he guessed the Mengery were mad he blew up the marketplace in the process. Using the special shoes Asha had given him before he left the Silo, he jumped backwards out of reach of a Mengery’s daga.

“You’ll have to catch me if you want to dance, big boy!”

He jumped away, turning his osmosis shoes on mid-leap so a spurt of water from their bottoms propelled him to the top of a building. The beams of laser shot from their guns were so hot they caused the water in his shoes to evaporate. If there was one thing the resistance needed, it was guns. And food. And water. A place to sleep. Maybe some TV.

As Mengery on the ground shot at him with pistols, another two set a wooden ladder against the building and started climbing up. Lee took a bite out of his apple before throwing it at the armored man scowling at him.

“You are one bad apple.”

The fruit landed hard against the ladder, toppling it over and sending the two guards crashing down. Propelling himself to an adjacent building, he crashed through a window as his fuel gage read empty. His shoes needed water. The resistance could definitely use water.

About the Author:
Bharat Krishnan is a philanthropic consultant in Columbus, Ohio. After ten years in Democratic politics, he wrote a memoir about his life on the road as a political campaign manager and just released a fantasy novel called Oasis. He refers to himself as a professional storyteller and amateur cook.

https://www.amazon.com/Bharat-Krishnan/e/B01KSCZ1ZS
https://twitter.com/bharatkrishnan9
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15640359.Bharat_Krishnan

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFG7BZ5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Cover Reveal: The Duke of Distraction

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The Duke of Distraction, an all-new historical standalone from USA Today bestselling author Darcy Burke, is coming February 26th!

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After witnessing how love embittered his uncle and broke his father, Felix Havers, Earl of Ware vows never to love. He conceals his emotions behind a wall of wit and charm, and is celebrated as the master of entertainments—parties, picnics, races. When his best friend’s wallflower sister needs to find a husband, he promises to make her the toast of London... without losing his heart.
Miss Sarah Colton has given up on the pursuit of marriage. When her parents learn she intends to open a millinery shop, they give her an ultimatum: choose a husband or they’ll do it for her. She accepts Felix’s help, never imagining their scheme will ignite a mutual attraction neither of them dare indulge. But when tragedy strikes, can they heal each other or will the demons of Felix’s past consume them both?
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Pre-order your copy today!
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2RPqiVr
Cover designer: Hang Le
Photographer: Period Images
 
About Darcy:
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, emotional historical and contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. Join her reader club at http://www.darcyburke.com/readerclub. A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, two Bengal cats and a third cat named after a fruit.
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Connect with Darcy:
Stay up to date with Darcy by joining her Reader Club today:

Monday, December 10, 2018

Spotlight: A Duke Changes Everything


Title: A Duke Changes Everything
Series: The Duke’s Den #1
Author: Christy Carlyle
Genre: Victorian Romance
Release Date: November 27, 2018
Length: 384 Pages 
Format: Digital/Paperback
In the first novel in Christy Carlyle’s sizzling Duke’s Den series, three men, intent on making a fortune, discover irresistible opportunities . . .
Nicholas Lyon gambled his way into a fortune and ownership of the most opulent, notorious gentlemen’s club in England. But when Nick’s cruel brother dies, he inherits a title he never wanted. The sooner Nick is rid of the estate that has always haunted him, the sooner he can return to the life he’s built in London. But there’s one obstacle—the exquisite Thomasina Thorne.
When the new heir to the Tremayne dukedom suddenly appears in Mina Thorne’s life, she’s flustered. Not only is he breathtakingly handsome, but he’s also determined to take away her home and position as steward of the Enderley estate. If Mina learns what makes the enigmatic duke tick, perhaps she can change his mind—as long as she doesn’t get too close to him.
With each day Nick spends with Mina, his resolve weakens as their colliding wills lead to explosive desire. Could she be the one woman who can help him finally bury the ghosts of his past?



Excerpt from A Duke Changes Everything:
“Your sleep was troubled?” she asked softly.

“It always is.”

“I heard you call out. I thought you said my name.” Mina swallowed hard after the admission. She’d probably misheard him, but some rationale felt necessary to explain her presence in his room.

“Did I? Perhaps you’re haunting me in my sleep.” He did that thing with his thumb again, a seductive slide against her skin. His touch rippled out to spark goose bumps along her arm and heat between her thighs.
“You don’t remember your dreams?” she asked, her voice trembling like her insides.

“I try not to.”

“What troubles you?”

“Everything.” He let out a low chuckle, like the rusty creak of a door hinge. Lowering his chin, he assessed her. “Especially you.”
“I never intended to.” She pulled her hand from the duke’s, ignoring the shiver that spiked up her spine from the friction of his skin sliding against hers. “I’ll leave you so that you can get back to sleep.”

“Mina, wait.” He reached out, caught the edge of her arm, and a few strands of unpinned hair tangled between his fingers. “There’s something I must say before you go.”

She moved closer. He was utter temptation, all blazing heat and forest scents, and she felt an odd comfort being near him. She knew she should be scandalized. To be alone with him, a duke of the realm. A gambling club owner. Especially while he wore nothing but trousers and a half-buttoned shirt.


About the Author:
Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there's nothing better than being able to combine her love of the past with a die-hard belief in happy endings.


Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Excerpt Tour: This Happened to Jessica


Title: This Happened to Jessica 
Author: Michele Pariza Wacek
Release Date: November 27, 2018
Publisher: Love-Based Publishing
Series: Secrets of Redemption #2
Genre: Psychological thriller/mystery/romantic suspense
Synopsis:
Becca would like nothing better than to put the past behind her and focus on making Redemption her home. But what do you do when the past refuses to stay buried?
Becca still can't remember the night sixteen-year-old Jessica disappeared from a party, never to be seen again. Which is bad enough (especially since she was supposedly the last person to see Jessica alive), but it's not the worst …
Strange events are making Becca think there's a link between what happened to Jessica fifteen years ago and the darkness happening now.
With help from her friends and her teenage crush, Daniel, Becca races against time to uncover the truth about Jessica before another sixteen-year-old girl is doomed to the same fate as Jessica.

Goodreads ~ Amazon

THIS HAPPENED TO JESSICA Excerpt
Copyright © 2018 Michele Pariza Wacek

Celia was looking around the table with a bewildered expression on her face. "I don't understand. Why does it matter if Jessica is related to Brittany?"
"Because Brittany looks like Jessica," Mia said.
Everyone fell silent. A woman next to us burst into hysterical, high-pitched laughter. Another table over, a group of college-aged guys started chanting as one of their friends, wearing a Wisconsin Badger cap, guzzled a pitcher of beer. Glasses clanked as they were plunked onto tables.
"Not this again," Celia breathed out, picking up her Cosmo and draining it.
"What do you mean, ‘not this again?’" Mia asked, her voice quiet, but with a dangerous edge.
Barry put a hand on Celia's arm. "Nothing. She means nothing." He glared at his wife. Celia kept her mouth shut, but her sour expression spoke volumes.
"Barry, let her talk," Mia said. "What do you mean, 'not this again?'"
"You know what I mean," Celia said. "It's been fifteen years. It's time to let it go."
"Let it go?" Mia said, her voice sounding even more quiet and dangerous. "Let it go? Our friend disappeared! And we don't know what happened to her!"
"First off, I'm sure Jessica left on her own. Her stuff was gone ..."
"But, it wasn't the right ..." Mia tried to interrupt, but Celia kept going. "And even if something did happen, she's gone. Gone!" Celia leaned forward. "I know this is difficult for you to hear, but you're not going to heal unless you, all of you …" here she looked around the table, "… accept it. She's gone. She's been gone for fifteen years. She's not coming back. And no amount of rehashing or talking about it is going to change that."
"She was our friend," Mia said. "Don't you get that? How heartless can you be?"
"I know she was your friend and I know this is painful to hear. No, Barry, stop it. Let me talk. This isn't healthy. It's not healthy to live in the past and that's precisely what everyone here is doing. Someone has to speak the truth and I guess that has to be me. I didn't know Jessica, but I very much doubt she would want all of you still obsessing over what happened to her fifteen years later. Besides, this has all gotten worse since she," she nodded toward me, "came back. We don't need to keep living in the past. Jessica is gone."
"I agree," Rich said, his deep voice cutting across the table. His voice was quiet, but there was something about it that caused everyone to pay attention. Maybe it was because he so seldom talked that when he finally did, it was really noticed. "If we're not going to be honest about what happened that night, then it makes no sense to keep talking about it."
"What aren't we being honest about?" Mia asked.
Rich stared at me, his dark eyes glittering. "If we're honest, we know exactly who to blame for that night."
Did he mean me? I stared at Rich, dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"
His gaze didn't flinch. "You know exactly what I mean."
You were the last person to see Jessica alive. Daniel had told me that. And Daphne. But, he couldn't possibly mean I had anything to do with Jessica's disappearance. Could he?


About Michele PW:
Michele Pariza Wacek (also known as Michele PW) taught herself to read at three years old because she so badly wanted to write fiction. As an adult, she became a professional copywriter (copywriters write promotional materials for businesses, nothing to do with protecting intellectual property or putting a copyright on something) and eventually founded a copywriting and marketing company. She grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and currently lives with her husband and dogs in the mountains of Arizona. You can reach her at MicheleParizaWacek.com. She’s published two novels, “The Stolen Twin” and “Mirror Image,” both psychological thrillers/mystery/suspense books.