Thursday, July 31, 2014

Better Than Cake by Lisa Carlisle a #RockingSummerRomance


Better than Cake

Lisa Carlisle
After the worst fight of their relationship, the last place Stephanie wants to be is a wedding reception. She still can’t get over what happened. Could their five years of marriage be destroyed after a blast of heated words? Johnny suggested separating. Separating! Now with her marriage on the line, she has to put on a brave face and pretend love is grand.
Johnny doesn’t know why he’d freaked out the way he had and is left with one emotion. Regret. He doesn’t want to lose Stephanie. He must find her and make things right.
Stephanie enters the reception, fearing the end of her marriage. Johnny has something else in mind—a much more decadent proposal that will turn her friend’s wedding into an event they’ll never forget.

A short erotic romance for only  99 cents! Perfect for a beach or summer read.

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Excerpt
Who gets ditched at a wedding? Stephanie paused and took a deep breath before walking into her friend’s reception. Something like this could only happen to her.
Ditched wasn’t a strong enough description. “Maybe we should try separating.” Johnny’s words echoed in her mind, lashing her psyche raw with repetition.
Separating! She closed her eyes. Unthinkable.
It’s okay. You can do this. Stick it out for a couple of hours and then you can deal with the mess.
How would she explain her husband’s sudden absence? He was at the ceremony, but wouldn’t be at the reception. What would be a reasonable explanation? They were spending the weekend here in Cape Cod so it would be tough to feign a work or family excuse.
Illness. Yes, something about seafood. That would be plausible at a seaside resort. Food poisoning. She had an excuse—but it didn’t make her feel any better about the situation.
Beyond the Sea wafted out from the ballroom, appropriate for this Cape Cod seaside resort. She glanced up at the imposing exterior of the multi-level hotel. Her hand trembled so she clutched her silver purse tighter. She raised her chin to steel herself and entered the hotel.

Stephanie scanned the place settings to find hers. Mr. and Mrs. John Silvio. Table nineteen. She dropped her purse to her side, but her fingers still clenched it. The last place she wanted to be after a killer argument with her husband was a wedding. She forced herself to enter the reception area, squeezing through all those decked in suits and evening gowns. Searching the table numbers for nineteen, she followed them to the back of the room. She guessed she’d be furthest from the head table, since she was neither family nor close friend, but an old college roommate of the bride. She made her way to the back of the room, braved a smile, and introduced herself to the couples already seated.
“Hi. I’m Stephanie.”
“Elaine,” a heavyset woman with puffy blond hair said. “You’re alone?”
Great. Just fantastic. Starting right with the topic she wanted to avoid. “Yes. My husband couldn’t make it tonight. Something he ate earlier,” she babbled. “Probably the shellfish.” She shrugged.
The others introduced themselves as she sat down and peppered her with questions about where they bought the seafood. A few shared their stories of food poisoning.
It was going to be a long night.
Once the attention was off her, she replayed the fight for what had to be the fortieth time since it happened. After a ripple of snide comments evolved into a tsunami of a fight, she stormed away from Johnny and ended up talking to herself like a crazy person as she pounded through the surf.
“Separating? Why does he take a small argument and blow it up into something like this? How could he do this to me at my friend’s wedding? What the fuck!”
A couple of miles later, she had calmed down. It wasn’t all his doing. She was the one who’d dragged them here when he had other plans. Her fury decreased as the sun sank lower in the sky, replaced by a cloak of sadness.
She didn’t want to split up.
Her eyes began to water. How the heck would she make it through the night without breaking down? Her marriage could be over. How long could she sport a brave face before it dropped?
“Excuse me,” she said and hurried into the ladies room. She barely made it through the door before her eyes pooled with tears.
She grabbed tissues and blotted them, fixing her smudged makeup the best she could.
“You can do this,” she told her reflection in the mirror.
As much as she dreaded being at a wedding while her own marriage hung in jeopardy, she had to put her feelings aside for the sake of Caryn. She’d only get married once.
Hopefully.

* * * * *

Johnny caught glimpses of the ocean from the cab and couldn’t help but brood on what he had said to Stephanie down the beach this afternoon. A cold black cloak had surrounded him since, fastened with shackles of regret. The same question echoed in his head ever since.
Why?
Why had he freaked out the way he had? Said the things he had? The day had started out great. They woke up at the bed and breakfast and had the morning free before the ceremony. They’d rented bikes on the Cape Cod Rail Trail and had ridden past sand dunes and shacks, cranberry bogs and duck-filled ponds, villages and pine forests, and even a couple of lighthouses. The scenery was one thing, his beautiful wife riding alongside him something else. He could barely keep his eyes off her lithe body and on the trail.
When they’d stopped to buy sandwiches from one of the beachside shacks and had a picnic lunch on the beach, things were still good. It wasn’t until after the seaside wedding ceremony this afternoon that he’d opened his mouth and all kinds of stupid fell out. And for what? Something trivial, not something to throw away a marriage over.
Their argument had stirred weeks before. He resented her for dragging him to a wedding when he’d already had plans for his monthly camping trip with his buddies, He had stormed about it for days, but downright exploded on the beach earlier. Telling her she was too controlling, she shouldn’t speak for him and make him cancel his plans to do something she wanted. How his outdoor trips were how he decompressed from work and if she didn’t get it by now, she didn’t get him. She’d countered, saying he used the same justification for his softball games, and sometimes he had to suck it up and act like an adult. Snide comments had escalated into verbal jabs. Past grievances were drudged up as their defenses rose. Accusations flew, growing uglier, and digging up past perceived injustices, until finally, he had suggested a trial separation.
He still wasn’t sure why he’d said it. A heat of the moment incident, blurting out something to end the fight with something he didn’t even mean.
Her shocked expression had turned to one of hurt as she blinked back tears. Then she’d lashed back at him. “If you’re so shallow and selfish that you consider a weekend away from your buddies such brutality, then yeah, maybe we should.”
When she had stormed away from him across the beach, he had turned away thinking to hell with her and pounded through the sand in the opposite direction. It wasn’t until he had turned back several minutes later to see she was gone that he realized he might have made the biggest mistake of his life.

About the Author

Lisa loves stories with dark, brooding, isolated characters and tough, independent, caring heroines. Her reading tastes very widely and she’ll read almost anything—especially mysteries, romance, and non-fiction on any new topic of interest.

She is thrilled to be a multi-published author writing since she’s wanted to write since the sixth grade. Her travels and many jobs have provided her with inspiration for novels, such as serving in the Marine Corps in Okinawa, Japan, backpacking alone around Europe, or working as a waitress in Paris. Her love of books inspired her to own a small independent book store for a couple of years.

Lisa lives in New England with her husband and their children. She spends her days writing for corporate clients and her evenings writing stories and novels.

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Thanks Lisa for sharing,

Anita

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

@BookieNookie Presents Soul Seduction by Joy Daniels





Soul Seduction 
by Joy Daniels


Description:

An eternal Succubus

For centuries she has visited men in their beds, arousing their bodies to harvest nefesh, the life energy that the demon world depends upon. Any man will do, and she has never visited a man twice. Until now.

A mortal man

For weeks Sean Moran has dreamed of a beautiful woman who pleasures his body and ravishes his soul. Afraid that he is losing his mind, he follows a trail of mysteries and magic to an extraordinary conclusion.

One night


In the space between the worlds, Sean and the Succubus come together to experience passion in each other’s arms. But in their union a powerful secret is revealed—one that could endanger their very souls.  
Forever.






Excerpt:


Hunger. It pulled at her, a soul-deep craving demanding to be filled. The succubus closed her eyes, tried to it block out, but the ache only intensified. She had gone too long without feeding. It was her duty to travel to the Earthly Plane, visit humans in their beds, and harvest the soul-sustaining nefesh that sustained the demon world. A duty she had performed for centuries without thought. Without question.

Until now.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to feed. Oh no. I want to so badly. To sense a human beneath her. To hear his cries of pleasure and sate herself on his essence. But not just any human. And that was the problem.

One night—was it only a month ago?—she’d sensed a presence stronger than any other, a soul-source so rich and deep that she flew to it like a bee to a flower. She hadn’t stopped to wonder why this soul called out to her as it did. She still could not answer that question.

Her kind fed during dream sex while the human slept. For the mortal it might be a pleasurable experience, transcendent even. For her it was a meal. Some were fast food, others steak—this man was like a gourmet meal laced with crack cocaine. Each night that she had gone to his bed, she'd told herself would be the last. Each time she'd been wrong.

Tonight she would break the spell. Resist feeding as long as she could. Then, when she was weak and desperate for sustenance, she would go to the nearest source. Convince herself to visit another man’s bed.

She was playing a dangerous game. Taking an enormous risk, and not only because she would be punished severely if the Master found out. No, if she went too long without the soul-sustaining nefesh, her Master’s punishments would be the least of her concerns.

Pain shot through her and the scene wavered. She had to go now, before feeding was no longer an option.

She opened her eyes to the rumble-strewn landscape of the Sitra Achra, the Other Side. This desolate plain was at the very edge of the demon realm, where the veil between the worlds was thinnest. Here, she could sense the human souls that pulsed with life on the Earthly Plane. And one soul in particular… To a hungry succubus, the human soulscape should sparkle, like a night sky filled with stars. Instead, the myriad souls faded in comparison to the one whose beacon seemed to glow just for her. Tugging, pleading, his spirit cried out to her. Implored her to join him.

She could no longer deny her need. With a curse and a cry, she descended out of the darkness and flew towards the light.

Enter to Win - A Progressive Giveaway! 

For every 250 Rafflecopter Entries, there will be a winner and a new prize level will be opened!


There will be 1 WINNER for each level below:




250 entries - ARC of Soul Seduction

500 entries - ARC of Soul Seduction + ecopy of Revving Her Up

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About the Author:


I write erotic romance because I like to expose my characters completely – strengths, flaws and scars. My debut novella, Revving Her Up, was the first story in the Full Throttle series, which focuses on the bad boys – and girls – of stock car racing. It was a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick, and has been called "one heck of a sexy ride" (Sizzling Hot Books), and "a hell of a sexy read" (Read-Love-Blog). I am currently working on the next two stories in the series.


My newest novel, Nashville Trio, is a steamy MMF ménage novel about a country singer and the two very different men in her life. It comes out May 5, 2014.


New Adult romance is my new favorite passion. I love writing stories with angst and heart, heart-melting kisses, and happy endings. I'm currently working on two New Adults series. The first, Running Scared , is about a Boston University student and the bodyguard hired to protect her from herself. It will be out in August 2014. The second series is a trilogy (Scarred, Burned, and Marked) about three friends bound together by a terrible tragedy and the scars it left behind.


I'm originally from New York City, (and still a loyal Yankees fan!), but since moving south, I've developed passions for NASCAR and country music. Both feature in my recent stories. In addition to writing (and reading) I enjoy yoga, bellydancing, and growing veggies in the Washington, D.C. area with my scientist husband and two curious kids. I'm active in the Washington Romance Writers, and the Maryland Romance Writers, and have been a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) since 2009.


I love hearing from readers so stop by, and say Hi! at www.authorjoydaniels.com or friend/follow me on Goodreads, Facebook or Twitter. Come join me on Pinterest to see pics of hot kisses, sexy heroes, and images relating to current and future works-in-progress (WIPs). 


If you want like to hear all the latest news and gossip, including information about upcoming releases and appearances, you can sign up for my newsletter here.


Be the first to hear about works-in-progress, help plot and plan upcoming stories, and get great swag by signing up for my street team, the Front Runners! For more info contact me via email at: authorjoydaniels at gmail dot com.



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