Except Reveal: Iced

 

Title: Iced 

Author: Cala Riley 

Genre: Sports Romance 

Release Date: September 19, 2024 

Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC. 

Clayton

Being the star player on the Walker Wolves has been everything I was working towards. That is, until my grades slip, threatening to take it all from me. I have to do something drastic to keep my dreams alive, so I hire a tutor. That’s when I met her. Grace Myers. She is the complete opposite of me. Shy, innocent, kind.She’s meant to tutor me on school, so why does it feel like she is schooling me on life?

Grace

I have spent half my life in love with Kellan Cooper, but he has never felt the same. If friendship is all he can offer, it’s what I’ll take from him. I thought life was simple. Until I met him. Clayton James. He is everything I’ve always hated. Loud, arrogant, a player. So why do I find myself unable to stop thinking about him and his lips? When opposites attract, will they have a fairytale ending or are they destined to crash and burn?

AMAZON

“Should I be setting boundaries with you?” I ask. “You already have been.” “Wait. What?” He laughs, grabbing my hand to lead me down the hall. “Every interaction we have, you send out signals. I knew you would need a hug because your body was yelling for one. You were tense and needed comfort. I knew that comfort would be a hug because of the way you have acted in our other interactions. You lean into touch which tells me one of your love languages has to be touch.” I open my mouth to say something, anything but nothing comes out. He has me at a loss for words. “You’ve learned all of that by simply looking at me?” I ask after a few moments of silence. “Listening too.” He admits, opening a door. I smile when I see the rink in front of us. “I didn’t realize that you spent that much time paying attention to me. I knew I shouldn’t have told you where I lived, stalker.” I wink at him. “You really shouldn’t have. Now I’m going to learn all your dirty little secrets. Like which Backstreet Boy you kissed on your wall.” I gasp, “Blasphemy. It was N’Sync and I was a JC

Cala Riley, better known as Cala and Riley, are a pair of friends with a deep seated love of books and writing. Both Cala and Riley are happily married and each have children, Cala with the four-legged kind while Riley has a mixture of both two-legged and four. While they live apart, that does not affect their connection. They are the true definition of family. What started as an idea that quickly turned into a full-length book and a bond that will never end.

Excerpt Tour: A Cure for Spring Fever

 

GENRE: Paranormal Romance 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 BLURB:

For centuries, Gamekeepers have used their magical abilities to create a buffer between the

creatures who dwell in the enchanted forest and the sleepy coastal town that sits in its shadow.

When Gamekeeper Stan Ross’s magic begins to fail, he must find out what went wrong, then fix

it before the two worlds collide. His hit or miss magic has already led to a few close calls so he

journeys to the Sacred Isle searching for answers and advice. Finding a cure proves

elusive—until Stan encounters a kitchen witch who captivates him body and soul. Lynnette

Peters is healing from her own wounds, however, and it isn’t clear whether she’s ready to open

herself to the possibility—or the peril—of love.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

Lynnette sat in a deck chair on the ferry, knees pulled up under her wrap and a travel mug of

strong coffee in her hands. The steady thrum of the vessel’s engines wasn’t helping her

headache, but she found the salt spray refreshing and closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy

the sensation. In a little over an hour, she would be home. Getting back to the sanctuary of her

bakery—where the world made sense and she felt safe and in control—was her primary

motivation. She was running on too little sleep and too much of everything else, and her

emotions were in a sea of turmoil from her encounter in the grove last night.

She’d understood that participants in the fertility rite were archetypes of the divine feminine and

the divine masculine, but she hadn’t quite grasped the emotional aspects of that sacred union. It

was an understatement to say the experience had been more passionate, and more poignant,

than she’d prepared herself for. She’d known there would be pleasure, but she hadn’t realized

the rites would be so intimate, blurring the lines between the sacred and profane.

Pulling her phone from her bag, she checked to see if Leslie was awake for the day but got no

response. There was a notification from Mystic Mingle, and she swiped to decline without

checking the profile. She’d connected with her mystery man on a deeper level than she’dmanaged in over a year of dating on the app, and the thought of going back to the artificial small

talk, staged personalities and lack of sincerity was daunting. She’d gone to the grove to receive

the wisdom to recognize and nurture love when it entered her life, and somehow came away

with a lot of confusing feelings for a stranger she would likely never see again.

Great job, Lynnette, she thought as she took another swig of coffee. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 AUTHOR 

Barbara Robinson is an author of contemporary and historical romance set against a backdrop

of magical realism. She is a deep thinker and tea drinker who finds inspiration in myths and

folktales, poems and ballads, and academic writing on a variety of subjects. Diagnosed with

autism and giftedness as an adult, she enjoys exploring themes of neurodiversity and opposing

character perspectives in her writing.

She is an avid gardener and lover of nature who works out plot lines and character sketches

while nurturing her garden, walking in the woods, or sitting by the shoreline watching waves.

She is known for world building that features rich and immersive detail, supported by meticulous

research and careful observation.

Barbara lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the shadow of ancient mountains that lie along the Bay

of Fundy coast. These rugged vistas shape her story settings, while providing the perfect

backdrop for life with her husband, her hounds and her dragon (Pogona Vitticeps). She has a

Bachelor of Arts from the University of King’s College and a Master of Arts at Dalhousie

University, and she recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from the

Humber School for Writers (Humber College, Toronto).

Website

~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY 

The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

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Excerpt Tour: Underestimate Me, That'll Be Fun

 

BLURB:

This book is a collection of rants, opinions, and observations on random subjects that I scribbled

while running away from and toward my true self.

I hope my words can show others that there is life after years of breaking rocks on society's

conformity chain gang and that real empowerment is being yourself and not what others tell you

that you should be. You cannot sit and read the book of your life as it unfolds. You must write

the next page yourself. That is the way to growth and to peace and yes, you can be homesick

for places you have never been.

Book description by my Inner voice: This is a chunk of at times incoherent ramblings on life and

people one meets as they wander aimlessly on the internet and through the so-called real

world... a shambolic, circumlocutious clustershtuck of a sometimes crap-infused, possibly drug-fuelled word salad. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

EXCERPT:

Mess is a matter of perspective

They say the inside of your purse and your home are the reflection of your mind and how you

live your life. Let’s not discuss the inside of my purse. I need everything in it… or I will

eventually. I’m just happy when it passes airport security.

I love having everything in its place, but I certainly don’t fret none about a sweater thrown over a

chair or stacks of books piling up beside my bed. My house is uncluttered and very clean, but I

do have one clothes closet I am afraid to get to the back of in case a body turns up in there. I

guess I’ll wait until the cast of Hoarders shows up. That might motivate me. I am in the processof throwing things out and giving things away and it feels good to lighten up a little. I will get to

the purse(s) eventually.

Inner Voice: Do you need that 2016 Steven Tyler concert ticket stub or those eight hair ties?

And how old is that chocolate raisin protein bar? Did it have raisins in it when you first put it in

your purse and why are they moving? Ewwwww!

Furiosa: HEY! It’s blasphemy to throw out a Steven Fuckin’ Tyler anything!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

AUTHOR :

Furiosa has been expressing her thoughts and ideas on paper, walls, and sidewalks since she

could hold a crayon. Though she only recently published her first book, Underestimate Me.

That’ll be Fun! She identifies as a bestselling author. She wants you to know that being yourself

is your superpower. Furiosa loves autobiographies, classic old movies, all genres of music,

chasing stars, and visiting far-flung places via roads less travelled.

Website

Giveaway

Excerpt Tour: She's the One Who Cares Too Much

 

She's the One Who Cares Too Much 

(Book Two of the War Stories of the Seven 

Troublesome Sisters) 

by S. R. Cronin

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

GENRE: Historical Fantasy 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

BLURB:

Coral, the second of seven sisters, has been hiding her affair with the perfect man until her older 

sister can get her life together. But the perfect man is getting impatient and now she’s gotten 

pregnant. Coral decides it’s time to consider her own happiness.

But what does she want? The perfect husband turns out to be less than ideal. She adores the 

small children she teaches but the idea of being a mother fills her with joy. Meanwhile, her 

homeland is gripped by fear of a Mongol invasion and she can’t stop crying about everything 

now that she’s with child.

Then a friend suggests the ever-caring Coral possesses a power well beyond what she or 

anyone else imagines. Does she? And why is the idea so appealing?

When Coral’s big sister loses faith in the army and decides to craft a way to use magic to save 

Ilari from the Mongols, she decides Coral’s formidable talent is what the realm needs. Can Coral 

raise a baby, placate an absent military husband who thinks he’s stopping the invasion, and 

help her sister save her homeland?

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exclusive Excerpt:

Two of the children tried to climb onto my lap as I set on the bench after I arrived. Other 

teachers had told me not to be so affectionate with them, but I thought my little kindnesses did 

more good than harm. They always minded me, despite my softness to them.

Sitting on the bench I realized how much I didn’t want to quit my job. What a shame I had to 

choose between teaching, a thing I loved, and having a husband. Yet, everyone expected a new 

wife to move to her husband’s nichna and care for him. Particularly a pregnant wife. 

As Chessa, one of my favorites, snuggled in next to my hip, something else sunk in. If I wanted, 

I could have a daughter like her. Soon. I was surprised by how happy the idea made me.

The girl took my fingers in her two little hands and played with them as she spoke. 

“Miss Coral,” she said. “I want to be just like you when I grow up.”

I sat with Chessa warm against my side, her words warming me on the inside as well. I knew 

plenty of women who’d stopped a pregnancy they’d discovered this early, and I could easily do 

the same. The Velka had their ways. But as I put my hands over my belly, cradling what had 

begun, I knew I wanted the baby that could grow inside me. I wanted to be a mother. I wanted to 

be one now.

It would be easier if I married Davor. He’d be a fine father and provider. 

So, that settled it. Tonight, I’d tell my parents everything. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Author Bio:

Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. 

Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War 

Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it 

obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely 

knew they had.

She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, 

visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she 

answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves 

her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is. 

All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the 

Starship Enterprise. She now liv writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, 

where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case. 

Author Blog.       

Giveaway

Excerpt Tour: Colder Than Ice

Title: Colder Than Ice

Author: Jane Galaxy

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 15, 2019

Publisher: Eventide Press

Series: Super Stars #2

Format: Digital eBook

Digital ISBN: B07MFYGPPD

Synopsis:

SOPHIE MARKES just landed the ultimate writing gig--turning her award-winning superhero comic 'Shadows of the Imperium' into a screenplay for Card One Studios.

TRISTAN ECCLESTON just landed the ultimate acting role--playing the icy, brooding Lucius in Card One Studios' newest blockbuster.

Sophie's dream job quickly becomes a nightmare. Card One has completely changed her story, rendering it unrecognizable. Salvaging the script means plenty of on-set time... particularly with one unbearably gorgeous British actor.

Tristan's dream role is more precarious than ever. His father, British acting royalty, and his scheming ex-girlfriend are determined to sabotage his "frivolous" gig. Avoiding them and their snobbish expectations means spending more and more time with the quiet, nerdy, and irresistible Sophie.

But when Sophie learns the truth behind her butchered script--when Tristan learns the truth behind Sophie's icy facade--it'll take more than the might of the Imperium to thaw their hearts.

Add to your TBR list:  Goodreads

Available:  Amazon

Excerpt:

Copyright © 2018 Colder Than Ice

Jane Galaxy

Tristan Eccleston.

One of her new coworkers.

He was a darling of… well, everything and everyone, it seemed like. Since he’d been cast as Morganna’s brother Lucius, Sophie had spent some time looking into him. Wunderkind of the British theater scene, only son of an acting dynasty that dated back centuries, he had a legendary charm that could infatuate even the iciest drama critic or interviewer. Not that he’d ever met anyone who didn’t like him, from the way articles absolutely gushed over him.

Sophie peered more closely at the tweet. Several pictures, all paired off, featured the actor in an expensive outfit on the left and increasingly fancy old cars on the right. Tristan in a red velvet smoking jacket over his bare chest, next to a glossy Jaguar from the 1960s. Tristan in profile looking moody, wearing blue pinstripes next to a Cadillac with huge fins. Obviously a commentary on the size of his nose. And finally, Tristan in a sleek black tuxedo from last year’s BAFTA awards, one strawberry blond curl springing out from his temple, next to…

Sophie zoomed in on the picture of the last car. A small photo credit at the bottom told her it was a 1938 Phantom Corsair. It looked like a giant bullet, or vibrator.

Who is this guy, and why does he have to be so embarrassing?

She flipped back to look at the editorial photo of him. Like this, for example. Who the hell wore Gucci and then faved photo posts by fans who made life-sized cardboard cutouts of him and posted pictures of themselves pretending to be asleep next to him for Instagram fame?

Sophie zoomed in on the V-shaped split where the velvet smoking jacket opened over the expanse of his chest. Comics Twitter claimed that his workout routine was mostly swimming—he hadn’t bulked up like so many of the Card One players who needed to fill out exoskeletons and spandex, but was focused on being lithe and hungry for power. The planes of his face and angle of the shot combined to make him look like he was gazing right at her, about to suggest that she remove her panties and come closer.

God, she kind of hated him.

Handsome, yes. Annoying and constantly mugging for attention, also yes.

They were going to cross paths on set, and it was going to take a lot of effort to not recall the infamous picture of Tristan on one knee pretending to propose to a girl giving an over-exaggerated look of shock and delight. Sophie tossed her phone to the head of the bed and found a robe to change into.

She could be polite, but ultimately distant. That was really all it required. She’d been raised with good manners.

Being polite and professional was no problem.

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.

Website

In celebration of the release of Jane Galaxy’s Colder Than Ice, book #2 in her Super Stars series, Eventide Press is offering one lucky winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

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Excerpt Tour: Quick Fall

Title: Quick Fall

Author: Michelle Dayton

Published: October 8, 2018

Publisher: Self-published

Series: Tracy Brothers #2

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

Justin Tracy, the perennial life of the party, is used to being teased by his friends about his success with the ladies.  Not that he’ll ever get serious with one. Why should he? His life is absolutely perfect the way it is. But at his brother’s bachelor party, a drunken bet about his womanizing skill gets a little out of control. Before he knows it, his friends have invited his new tenant – a woman he’s never even met – to go to his brother’s wedding with him.

Single mom Maddy Trainor has just moved back to Chicago, ready to reclaim her life and conquer the city.  Maddy’s determined to get her new business off the ground and build a happy home for her son, Teddy. She didn’t expect a gorgeous landlord, but ogling Justin Tracy is definitely a bonus to her new apartment.

Justin intends to apologize to Maddy for the out-of-the-blue wedding invitation and get gone, but his new neighbor turns out to be funny, whip-smart, and sexy as hell.  Why not take her to the wedding for real? Just as friends, of course. To Maddy, the wedding – one night of champagne and dancing with a self-admitted Peter Pan – sounds like amazing no-strings fun.  But the sparks that blaze between the two of them can’t be contained to one night. And two people who think they have life figured out are about to realize they know nothing about love …

Add to Goodreads Here!  

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Quick Ride Excerpt

Copyright © 2018 Michelle Dayton

Ding!

    Justin caught her hand and pulled her out of the elevator before the doors even had a chance to fully open. “I’m all the way at the end of the hall.”

He was walking too fast for her sore feet; she tripped in her heels. “Wait. Slow down. My feet. Blisters.”

    He assessed the complicated gold sandals. “How long does it take to get those off?”

    Given the tiny buckle on the ankle strap … with the way her hands were shaking… She sighed. “Two minutes.”

    He grinned, mischief sparking in his eyes. “That’s two minutes too long.” Without another word, he lunged forward and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.

    Maddy shrieked. She’d never been picked up literally by a man before. Upside down, she felt both ridiculous and ridiculously feminine. Uncontrolled laugher—her noisy, high-pitched kind—bubbled out of her mouth. She wouldn’t have thought she could move from unspeakable arousal to hysterical laughter in the space of five seconds, but apparently that’s what Justin did to her.

“Almost there,” he called.

    Another thirty seconds and he carefully set her down. She clung to his shoulders until she stopped quivering. Eyes sparkling, Justin inserted the key card into the lock. “After you.”

“Oh,” she breathed. The room was so pretty. Dark wood furniture, a crisp, white duvet on the bed, and an incredible view of Michigan Avenue.

    “The hotel sent up a bottle of champagne as a thank you,” Justin said. “Can I pour you a glass?”

    “Please.” She’d stopped drinking at the wedding once the dancing had started. Since that was more than three hours ago, she was stone-cold sober now. And since the laughter had subsided and the fact that she was in a hotel room with a man was sinking in, a glass of liquid courage would be very welcome indeed.

    Although ... she wasn’t nervous, actually. There was nothing to be nervous about. She was a grown woman whose child was perfectly safe. For once, her legs were shaved and her bikini area was waxed. She was with a no-strings-attached man, but one who was genuinely kind and committed to his family. Someone funny. Someone trustworthy.

About Michelle Dayton:

There are only three things Michelle Dayton loves more than sexy and suspenseful novels: her family, the city of Chicago, and Mr. Darcy. Michelle dreams of a year of world travel – as long as the trip would include weeks and weeks of beach time. As a bourbon lover and unabashed wine snob, Michelle thinks heaven is discussing a good book over an adult beverage

Follow Michelle:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | BookBub

Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card + FAST RIDE eBook!

Five will win an eBook of Fast Ride!!!

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Excerpt Tour: Don’t Touch My Petunia

 Title: Don’t Touch My Petunia

Author: Tara Sheets

Series: The Holloway Girls

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 25, 2018

Publisher: Kensington Zebra Shout

Print Length: 304 Pages

Formats: Print and Digital

Print ISBN: 978-1420146288

ASIN: B078QSSQMC

Pine Cove Island is the kind of enchanting place where anything is possible . . .

The Holloway women each have a special gift, passed down through generations, each one a little different. Juliette possesses a magical green thumb, which makes her job managing the local florist shop a dream. She may be a bit wild, but she knows what she wants: to save enough money to buy the shop from her boss. Then in marches Logan O’Connor, more annoyingly handsome than ever, turning all her plans upside down.

Logan hasn’t been back on Pine Cove Island since he was eighteen and broke Juliette’s teenage heart. Now it turns out he’s her boss’s nephew—and will be spending his days remodeling the shop and barking orders. At her.

For the sake of the business, Juliette will have to ignore their simmering attraction and work with Logan. But that doesn’t mean she has to make things easy for him. Because no one knows better than she that one tiny, perfectly planted bit of garden magic could uproot Logan’s own plans and keep him out of her way. And nothing would make her happier. At least that’s what she thinks . . .

Get More information at: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay

Excerpt #1:
It was ten o’clock in the morning by the time Logan strolled in to work. Juliette tried to tell herself it didn’t matter; his job was his business. But that wasn’t entirely true. As the standing manager of Romeo’s Florist Shop, it was her responsibility to oversee everything that went on, which included the business of Romeo’s slow-moving, swaggering nephew.

“Nice of you to finally make it in,” she said when he came through the back door. She’d spent the morning swamped with customers and orders, and in the middle of it she’d had to deal with Logan’s lumberyard delivery all by herself.

He walked over to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup from the new machine. His face looked drawn, and there were dark shadows under his eyes.

Juliette crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak, but Logan held up a hand.

“Before you start,” he said, “you should know that my answer to everything for the next five minutes is going to be ‘coffee.’”

“You should know that you’re late,” she tossed back. “We open at eight o’clock here.”

He raised his mug in salute and took a sip.

“The lumber company stopped by this morning at eight-thirty,” she continued, “and since you weren’t here, they started dumping all the supplies by the front walkway. And this time, the store was filled with customers.”

Logan leaned against the counter and regarded her with bloodshot eyes. He took another slow sip.

“What is wrong with you this morning?” she blurted. “You look like you drank one too many shots of tequila last night and had to crawl home on your lips.”

His mouth lifted at one corner as if he found her amusing.

“It’s not funny,” she said with growing annoyance. “You’re supposed to be here on time so you can handle all the remodel stuff.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with one hand. “A friend kept me up all night.”

An image of the pretty blonde from the bonfire flashed across Juliette’s mind. She’d been wrapped around him like a human pretzel, and it hadn’t seemed to bother him.

Juliette bristled. “Look, if you want to party all night long with Suzy Sunshine, go right ahead. But you’re still expected to show up on time and get some actual work done here. The rest of us have to do our jobs. I’m sure Romeo wouldn’t be thrilled to know you were dragging in two hours late on your second day of work.”

Logan stopped with his cup halfway to his mouth. “Suzy Sunshine?”

“That girl from the barbeque.”

He frowned. “You mean Bella?”

“Whatever.”  She wouldn’t know. Because she didn’t care.

“We weren’t partying,” he said casually. “Not all night, anyway. I wasn’t up for it.”

She had the sudden urge to throw something at him. Instead, she smiled sweetly. “Stamina problems, huh? Not a shocker. It’s your second day on the job and you can’t even keep up.”

Logan set his cup on the counter with a thud, an unspoken challenge in his eyes.

All Juliette’s nerve endings went on high alert. She suddenly felt like a rabbit in plain sight of a wolf.

His gaze slid lazily down her body in a sensual caress, then back up to linger on her mouth before meeting her eyes. “I have no problems keeping up, Juliette.”  He drew her name out on his tongue like he could taste it. “I’d be happy to prove it to you, if you don’t believe me.”

About Tara Sheets:

TARA SHEETS is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Her work has earned first place recognition in literary contests nationwide and her debut novel, Don’t Call Me Cupcake, won the 2016 Golden Heart® award sponsored by Romance Writers of America®. Tara began her career as an author in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the rain and the misty mountains and the rivers of Starbucks coffee.  She now lives in the warm, wonderful South where she can stand outside with no coat on, and she finds that pretty inspiring too.  When not writing, Tara enjoys life with her book-loving family and a book-eating dog named Merlin. She is represented by Sarah Phair at Trident Media Group.

Connect with Tara:  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  BookBub

Follow the tour and #enter to #win a signed paperback set of the first two books in the Holloway Girls series

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Excerpt Tour: Siren's Curse

Title: Siren’s Curse

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: August 13, 2018

Publisher: Indie

Series: The Sea King’s Daughters

Page Count: 76 pages

Format: Digital

ASIN: B07DJK2HQR

Synopsis:

Lorelei Fischer is cursed. A mermaid who can’t shapeshift, can’t create portals, and is no longer fully who she was meant to be. Too ashamed to admit how badly she failed to her sisters, she takes refuge in a small town in northern California and opens a used bookstore. With no way to regain what she’s lost, she resigns herself to a life half-lived.

After nearly drowning under the dark of the new moon, there’s no escaping the truth. She’s being hunted, and this enemy will stop at nothing to take her.

Lorelei must find a way to reclaim her birthright and her abilities before it's too late. Because the sea holds more monsters than she could have dreamed—and one of them wants her dead.

Available at:  

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2syiT2e

Siren’s Curse Excerpt

Copyright © 2018 Katee Robert

I start for home, the wind and water turning my hair into blond snakes that whip around my head. Less than a quarter mile to my house and it might as well be on the moon. I pull my jacket tighter around my body and pick up my pace. Each harsh breath makes my chest ache, reminding me about the way this morning started.

I shouldn’t be alive.

There’s no other way to say it. When I closed my eyes, parted my lips, and inhaled… I made my choice. That I hadn’t died. That I woke up on the beach… Someone put me there, though I can’t begin to guess their purpose.

Lorelei.

I jump and spin in a circle, searching for the source of the voice. There’s no one in sight. There isn’t even a single pair of headlights on the road. Just the trees whipping back and forth in front of me and the beach at my back. I turn slowly to face the beach—the water—and squint into the driving rain. No part of me is dry at this point, so I might as well investigate.

Lorelei.

There it is again, barely more than a whisper on the wind. Calling me back to the water.

I take a step before what’s left of my self-preservation kicks in. “No.” I don’t mean to say the word aloud, but it settles something inside me. I am not some weak-willed creature to be drawn in by curiosity. Whatever has the power to reach me here on dry land is something I want no part of. “Get the fuck out of my head.” That’s where I must be hearing him. There’s no way he’s actually speaking to me on the wind.

Whoever he is.

I have something you want.

I freeze. The faintest tugging in my stomach dials it up a notch. It never really goes away, even when I’m sequestered in the bookstore and surrounded by earth instead of sea. That tug tells me the exact direction my necklace—my powers—lay. I never get more than a hint of water that’s such a dark blue, it might as well be black, or an intense pressure that conveys exactly how far from the surface my necklace is kept. Too deep for humans and their machines.

Too deep for me.

I start for the beach before I can think better of it. For over two years, I’ve been missing a vital piece of myself, walking around as only half of a whole. I might not be completely helpless in my current state, but I’m easy pickings for any supernatural creature who decides to gun for me. Last night more than proved that the sea will take me, one way or another

It might as well be on my terms.

Lightning flashes, bright enough that spots dance over my vision for the several seconds of silence before thunder rattles my bones. The storm isn’t directly overhead yet, but it will be soon. I’m a damn fool if I’m still out by that point.

I yank off my boots and socks and toss them onto the beach just out of reach of the waves coming faster and faster. One step, maybe two, and I’ll be submerged up to my ankles. My finding power will spiral out of me, instinctively seeking the one item I want more than anything in this goddamn world.

Not my sisters.

Not even the portal home.

No, what I want more than anything is to be whole again.

I should just turn around and go home. Whoever this voice belongs to, they mean nothing good for me. There’s a proper way to reach out, and it’s not by drawing a finless one of the merfolk into the ocean and nearly drowning her human body. Stepping into the ocean will boost what little magic I have left, and it will create a clear channel for him to speak to me.

I take that first step, and then the second. My power streaks out into the deep and then rebounds, slamming me with a vision of my necklace. It’s different than it’s been in the past. Barely any pressure to speak of. Blue-gray water that stretches for miles and miles and miles around without encountering land. A vaguely fishy taste on my tongue.

Tentacles.

And then his voice is in my head, curling through me in a way that’s just shy of being invasive. Hello, pretty.

Telepathy isn’t one of my skills, but apparently his is so strong that it allows me to fire off a reply. Tell me what you want and get out of my head.

His chuckle is pure predator. More like I have something you want.

Surely not. The Deep Dwellers, sworn enemy to my people, wouldn’t be so foolish as to lose a coup like my necklace. In the endless history of wars between our kind, I can’t think of a single instance when they’ve managed to steal the very essence of what one of the merfolk is—to sever one of us from our power. It’s priceless. They wouldn’t have traded it—would have, in fact, guarded it with their lives. So why does this monster in my head have access to it?

I cross my arms over my chest and tell myself that the shiver racking my body is from the cold. I’m listening.

Come to me.

That surprises a laugh out of me. Pass.

You’d turn down a chance to regain yourself?

I’d turn down a chance to walk into a trap like an idiot. I shake my head. This is a waste of time. I turn for the shore when power slams into me, sending me to my knees. The water rushes in—or maybe I rush out—and the next thing I know, I’m up to my chest.

Don’t be a fool.

This deep, I finally have a sense of him. He must have held himself back up to this point, because he’s positively ancient. Older than anything I’ve ever felt—even my father—and so powerful that pain lances through my head. It would be so easy to give him what he wants, to stop fighting, to…

“Get the fuck out of my head!” I sprint for dry land. This deep, it’s more of a fast wade, but I curse and spit and fight the pull of the magic current trying to yank me off my feet. “No, no, no, no, get your stupid magic off me!”

He releases me all at once and I fly the last few feet and land in a heap just past the now-normal waves. I sit up and scrub sand from my face. Even without the water connection, his dark amusement slithers through me. Another time, pretty. His presence recedes faster than any tide, leaving the storm just a normal storm.

It’s official—I’m in even worse trouble than I could have imagined.

About Katee Robert

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension."  When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. 

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram | BookBub

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