Available Soon: HIS KIND OF COWGIRL by Karen Rock - Excerpt and Giveaway

His Kind 0f Cowgirl

by Karen Rock

Published by: Harlequin

Category: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: March 1, 2016

Would he still love her…if he knew?

Tanner Hayes smashed Claire's life to pieces when he chose the rodeo over her ten years ago. And now he'd wrecked her truck! Fantastic. She'd lost her husband, the family ranch was mired in debt, her father was recuperating from a stroke and her son was being bullied. Why not throw a reckless bull rider into the mix?

All she'd wanted was a safe, stable life. But with Tanner back in town—and staying on her ranch—nothing was safe, or under control. Not the feelings she'd fought so hard to forget. Not the son she was determined to protect. And certainly not her long-held secret…

Everything happened at once and in slow motion.
A crushing jolt shuddered through the truck. Her wheels skidded sideways. She smacked against the window when her pickup rolled down an embankment, as if punched by something large and lethal. Glass rained deadly sharp. The earth tumbled around her, her truck in spin cycle. When a massive tree loomed, the Chevy slammed into it then stilled.
Winded and stunned, she hung upside-down in her lap belt, blood, metallic and warm, on her tongue, a rushing sound whistling in her ears. Her heartbeat changed and grew slow and rolling in darkness. Something hurt, a long way away. Then nothing.
“Ma’am. Ma’am. Are you all right?” A man’s voice shouted, rousing her. She tried turning her head but pain held it in place. When she opened her mouth, silent panic flew out.
“Hold on. I’m getting you out of there.”
Acrid smoke pierced her consciousness. She closed her eyes against the billowing grit.
This wasn’t happening. It was a dream. No. A nightmare.
A tugging motion jerked her right and left, followed by a ripping sound. Large hands halted her sudden fall.
“Got you.”
Her rescuer cradled her against his chest, his breaths heaving beneath her ear. After carrying her some distance, he lowered her slowly to the ground. Grass scraped against her stinging cheeks and she opened her eyes.
“What?” she croaked, then swiped at the trickle leaking from her mouth. A man wearing a cowboy hat hunched over her, his features blurred.
“You’ve been in an accident. We have. Our trucks collided in the intersection.”
“My truck!” She bolted upright and clutched the swirling ground.
An arm snaked around her back and eased her down. “I called the dispatcher. The fire department’s on the way.”
A wail sounded in the distance and Claire wanted to shriek with it.
Her special day. Her anniversary. Ruined. No. Demolished by this…this…
She squinted upward and focused. A dark swirl of hair brushed across the tall man’s forehead; a light scar zigzagged down his square jaw. Recognition zapped through her.
It couldn’t be…
“Tanner?”
“Hello, Claire.” His mouth went up, just a fraction—the same ready-for-anything smile that had once undone her.
She closed her eyes, heart thudding. Ten years since she’d vowed never to see him again…and now here he stood, two for two in wrecking her life.

Karen Rock is an award-winning YA and adult contemporary romance author. She holds a master's degree in English and was an ELA instructor before becoming a full-time writer. Currently she writes for Harlequin Blaze and Harlequin Heartwarming. Her novel, A LEAGUE OF HER OWN, won the 2015 National Excellence in Romance Fiction award in contemporary romance series and the 2015 Bookseller's Best award for contemporary romance, long.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/karenrock5

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/karenrockwrites

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/karenrockauthor

Tumblr: http://www.karenrockauthor.tumblr.com

Website:  http://www.karenrock.com

Quarterly Newsletter:  http://bit.ly/1rcOVJK

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1reobGf

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT by Karen Ann Hopkins

It's time for a cover reveal for the newest book in the Serenity's Plain Secret series by Karen Ann Hopkins.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Check it out!!

When a cold case heats up, Serenity won’t stop until she discovers the truth.

In the fourth installment of the bestselling Serenity’s Plain Secrets’ series, Serenity must work with US marshals to uncover the truth behind a shockingly brutal fifteen-year-cold murder.

Desperate for answers, Serenity finds herself in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where she unravels secrets that threaten to tear her and Daniel apart. But digging up the past is dangerous, and the quaint Amish settlement isn’t as safe as it seems.

If Serenity chooses to trust the man she’s come to love, it could mean a happily ever after… or her final act.

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK

Other Books in the SERENITY'S PLAIN SECRETS Series

Book 1: My Review

Book 2: My Review

Book 3

New Release: ONE DAY SOON by A. Meredith Walters

He found me in blood and tears. 
I stayed with him through darkness and fire. 
We loved each other in the moment between innocence and bitter truth. 
We were the kids easily ignored, who grew into adults we hardly knew. 
We weren’t meant to last forever. 
And we didn’t. 
He ran away. 
I tried to move on. 
Yet I never stopped thinking about the boy who had fought to keep me alive in a world that would have swallowed me whole. He was the past that I buried, but never forgot. 
Until the day I found him again, years after believing I had lost him forever. 
And in cold, resentful eyes, I saw the heart of the man who had been everything when I had nothing at all. So I vowed to hold onto the second chance that was stolen from the children we had been. 
Sometimes fate is ugly. Life can be twisted. 
And who we are can be ruined by who we once were. 
For two people who had survived so much, we would have to learn how to hold on before we were forced to let go.   

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

 

EXCERPT

“Maybe I should tell you a story. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that. You always liked when I made up dumb stuff to get you to smile.” I chuckled. “The more improbable the better, right? So let me think of something completely unrealistic.”

I sniffled, wiping my wet cheeks. I hadn’t realized I was crying.

“Once upon a time there was a sad, lonely boy who was actually a forgotten prince. No one knew that he was rich and powerful and had a family that was searching for him.” I smiled sadly, wishing, more than anything, that this particular story had been true.

“One day he met a girl who swore that she would help him get back home to the castle. They fell in love. The prince wanted her to come back to the castle with him so they could live there together. They fought dragons and defeated ogres. They ran from witches and swam through oceans. And finally they found the castle. The prince’s family welcomed him home and he married his princess. And they lived happily ever after.”

I rested my forehead on the back of his hand, hating how cold his skin was. “You always loved your fairytales,” I mused, wishing he had been able to find his.

The hand in mine stirred and I bolted upright. Yoss’s face was contorted in pain, his eyes fluttering. I got to my feet and reached for the call button so I could alert the nurse that something was wrong.

Then he let out a breath and his eyes opened. They were clouded and confused as they darted around the room, taking everything in.

I was rooted to the spot, not moving. He frowned and then winced when he tried to sit up.

“Uh, you shouldn’t do that. Take it easy,” I instructed, my voice shaking.

Then the wild, green eyes found me. There was no immediate recognition and I felt the crushing weight of disappointment.

He doesn’t know who I am.

His eyes were cold. So cold. Dead. He groaned as he lifted his hand to his face, touching the bandaged skin.
“Let me call the nurse. Your doctor will want to see you now that you’re awake—”

“Where am I?” he asked, his voice rough and hard. 

It was a voice I had heard a million times in my dreams.

A voice I never thought I’d hear again. Not in real life.

“You’re at Lupton Memorial Hospital. You were brought in last night.” I didn’t give him any more details. I wasn’t sure he was ready for all that. He had just gained consciousness after all.

“The hospital,” he repeated. He struggled to sit up and hissed in pain at the effort.

“Seriously, you should wait and let me call the nurse—”

His eyes flashed in my direction and the cloud of confusion lifted as he speared me with a look that I felt in my bones.

Recognition.

His eyes widened and his mouth parted in disbelief. I wanted to say something—anything—but my tongue felt frozen behind my teeth.

Yoss shook his head and closed his eyes. He let out a noise that sounded a lot like a sob and my heart knew the sound of pain when it heard it.

When he opened his eyes again, they were wet.

Long, dark lashes spikey with tears that refused to fall.

A hundred memories arched between us. A thousand words spoken softly in the dark.

A dozen promises never kept. His lips curved upwards into the shadow of a smile that I remembered and loved so much.

“Imi,” he whispered.

I nodded, still otherwise paralyzed.

“Imi,” he said again, a tear traveled the length of his cheek and dripped off his chin.

“It’s me, Yoss,” I said finally, forcing myself to speak.

Our eyes met. They held.

They clung and they devastated.

Fifteen years had passed but none of that mattered.

In that instant we were kids again. Remembering a time when, to each other, we were everything.


      

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series for Gallery Books.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing. 

When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two. 

A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Waiting on Wednesday: WHISPER TO ME by Nick Lake

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

WHISPER TO ME

by Nick Lake

Publication Date May 3, 2016
Published by Bloomsbury Children's

400 Pages

Add to Goodreads

A remarkable story of strange beauty and self-discovery from Printz Award winner Nick Lake

Cassie is writing a letter to the boy whose heart she broke. She’s trying to explain why. Why she pushed him away. Why her father got so angry when he saw them together. Why she disappears some nights. Why she won’t let herself remember what happened that long-ago night on the boardwalk. Why she fell apart so completely.

Desperate for his forgiveness, she’s telling the whole story of the summer she nearly lost herself. She’s hoping he’ll understand as well as she now does how love—love for your family, love for that person who makes your heart beat faster, and love for yourself—can save you after all.

Why I'm Waiting

 A letter to a lost love. You have me right there.

What are you waiting on this week?

New Release: THE TRUTH by Jeffry W. Johnston - Excerpt and Giveaway

The Truth

by Jeffry W. Johnston

Release Date: February 2, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary:

“I tied you up because I need you to listen,” Derek says. “Focus.”

“Please…  W-what do you want from me?”

“The truth,” he says.  “About what happened the night my brother died.” He reaches for my left hand. “If I think you’re lying…” With his other hand, he flourishes a pair of flower cutters. Curved. Sharp.

And he smiles.

When Chris wakes up in a dark basement tied to a chair, he knows that he’s trapped—and why. Eight nights ago a burglar broke into Chris’ home. Eight nights ago Chris did what he had to do to protect his family. And eight nights ago a 13-year-old runaway bled to death on his kitchen floor.

Now Derek wants the truth about what happened that night. He wants proof his little brother didn’t deserve to die. For every lie Chris tells, he will lose a finger. But telling the truth is far more dangerous…

A riveting, edge-of-your-seat thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Jeffry W. Johnston that explores the gray area between what is right and what we’ll do to protect the people we love.

  Add to Goodreads

Purchase Links:

Amazon- http://ow.ly/Wf7sO

Apple- http://ow.ly/Wf7BB

Barnes&Noble- http://ow.ly/Wf7Iw

BooksAMillion- http://ow.ly/Wf7MH

!ndigo- http://ow.ly/Wf7Uq

IndieBound- http://ow.ly/Wf7Zf

Praise for The Truth

"Such a fast-paced read!  What really happened that night? The truth will leave you gasping.” - April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Girl, Stolen and The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

Excerpt from The Truth:

I wake up to find I can’t move, my arms and legs duct-taped tight to a wooden chair.  Duct tape is also wrapped around my chest and the chair’s hard, unyielding back. 

The only thing not bound is my head, but I can only turn it left and right.  I can’t look behind me because of the chair’s high back.

Christ, what is this!

            My head hurts.  I feel nauseous, dizzy.  Can’t focus.  What happened?  How did I get here?  My memory’s a blur. 

            “Hey!” I shout.  “Hey!  Anybody here?”

            I wait a few seconds.  Nothing.

            I see unfinished walls, but I could be in a room anywhere.  The only furniture I can see is a metal folding chair leaning against the wall opposite.

            Wait a minute!  What about Devon!  The last thing I remember was calling on my cell phone to make sure he got to the field OK.  What time is it?  Is he in the middle of his game, wondering where I am?  Is Mom there, wondering the same thing?

I can tell my cell is not in my pocket, not that I’d be able to reach it anyway. Where is it?  How long have I been out?  A couple hours?  A whole day?  Is it still … what, Saturday?  Are people looking for me?  The police?

            “Hey!” I shout again.  “Heeeyyyy!”  I try harder to break free.  “Is somebody here?  Can somebody help me?  Please! Please…!”

            Who could have done this to me?  Why?

            “Help!  Help me!  Heeelllp…”

            This isn’t working.  I need to calm down and try to think.  Come on; breathe.  That’s it.  Again.  OK, now another breath.  My heart is starting to slow a bit.  That’s good.  Maybe closing my eyes will help.

            Two more deep breaths.  Okay.  Now, think.

I remember dialing my cell.  But before that. I had knocked on Rita’s front door.  We were going to go to Devon’s game together.  I was waiting for her to open the door.  Wait, the door did start to open.  Then … nothing.  Or … something.  Something made me pass out.  Something with a sweet smell.  Held against my face.  Making me gag.  Feel sick.  I couldn’t push it away.  Something very strong was holding it in place. 

Not some thing.  Some one.

            I hear movement.  Behind me.  A door opening.  I try to look back; can’t.

The door closes.  A quiet click.

            Then footsteps.  Steady, determined. 

            I recognize the guy who appears in front of me.  Derek Brannick. Only a year older than me, which makes him seventeen, but with the broken front teeth and scar on his throat he looks much older.

            He’s holding something in his hand, which he slips into his pants pocket before I can see it.  Then he picks up the metal chair from against the wall and opens it before straddling it and leaning over the back, facing me.  He lowers his head.  Does nothing for a couple minutes.  My heart slams against my chest.  I wait.  So scared I can’t think straight.

Finally, he raises his head and looks at me.  His eyes… It’s as if there’s no light in them.  Nothing.  Dead eyes.

            “You want some water?”  His voice is raspy.  He stands and moves out of my field of vision.  I hear a faucet turning on and off.  Then he’s back with a paper cup.  “Tilt your head back,” he says.  I do the best I can.  Some of the water runs down my chin but enough makes it into my mouth.  The water’s lukewarm, but I welcome it.

            “Feel better?  Can you talk?  ’Cause you’re gonna need to be able to talk. ” He crumples the cup and throws it on the floor.

            “Yes,” I croak.  “Th … thank you.”  My voice is trembling.  I can’t help it.

            Derek nods, lets out another long breath as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and sit back down in his chair, pulling it closer to me.

“I’m … I’m sorry,” I try.  “I’m really—”

“Shh,” he says sharply, pointing a finger at me.  “I told you before, Chris… I’m not looking for that.”

“I should have showed up at the—”

“Shhh!”

He begins to cough.  It sounds painful.  He starts to talk again, then stops. Maybe it’s painful to talk too.  The way his voice is all rough and raspy, it wouldn’t surprise me.

Derek tries again.  “I tied you up because I need you to listen,” he says. “Focus.  Think you can do that?”

“Please…  Wh … what do you want from me?”

“The truth,” he says.  “That’s all.”

            He reaches for my left hand.  Tied the way I am, I can’t resist.  “I don’t want to hurt you if I don’t have to,” Derek says.  “But you need to know that I’m serious.  If I think you’re lying…” With his other hand, he pulls out what he had shoved into his pants pocket and shows it to me.

A pair of flower cutters.  Curved.  Sharp.

Slowly, even gently, he opens them and slides the little finger of my left hand in between the razor edges.

“One finger for each lie,” he says again, “Do you understand?”

            Oh God!  Oh Jesus!  All at once, I’m sweating, my eyes stinging.

            “Do you understand?” he asks again, voice unchanging, low key.

            “Yes,” I croak.  My eyes remain riveted to the cutters, expecting them to move, to squeeze.

            “Chris.  Look at me.”

            I look up into those dead eyes.

            “I meant what I said.”  He stops to cough again; continues.  “I need to understand everything.  This,” he says, indicating the cutters lightly caressing my finger, “will help you to tell the truth.  That’s all I want.  Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear.  There’s no right or wrong answer.  There’s only the truth.  Do you understand?”

            But I can’t tell him the truth.  Not the whole truth.

My eyes dart back to the cutters. 

Abruptly, he squeezes them.  “Do you understand?”

About the Author:

 Jeffry W. Johnston has published about thirty-five short stories and more than two hundred articles. His first young adult novel, Fragments, was an Edgar Award nominee for Best Young Adult Mystery and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers selection by YALSA.  He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and their teenage son.  Visit him atjeffrywjohnston.com. 

Social Networking Links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

2 Copies of The Truth By Jeffry W. Johnston

Runs 12/23-2/29 (US & Canada only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Favorites Giveaway Hop: HELLO? by Liza Wiemer

One of my favorite reads of 2015!

HELLO?

by Liza Wiemer

Published by Spencer Hill Contemporary

417 Pages

One HELLO can change a life. One HELLO can save a life.

Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma's death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.

Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens' stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.

Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian).

Add to Goodreads

Giveaway Details

Prize: One paperback copy of Hello?

Must be at least 16 or older to enter

U.S. Addresses only

Enter by Rafflecopter below

invalid entries will be disqualified

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BANISHED by Kimberley Griffiths Little - Excerpt and Giveaway

Banished
by Kimberley Griffiths Little
(Forbidden #2)
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication date: February 2nd 2016
Genres: Historical, Romance, Young Adult












She thought she’d lost everything . . .

After spending months traveling the harsh, unforgiving Mesopotamian desert, Jayden reunites with a broken, injured Kadesh. Although everyone was convinced the violent and unpredictable Horeb, Jayden’s betrothed, killed the handsome prince, Jayden knew in her heart that her love was alive and safe. But their reunion is short-lived, as they learn Horeb is on their trail and determined to take back the girl he has claimed. Soon, the two star-crossed lovers are on the run toward Sariba, Kadesh’s homeland, where, as heir to the Kingdom, he plans to make Jayden his princess.

But the trek to Sariba is fraught with heartache and danger. After narrowly escaping being stoned to death for a crime she didn’t commit, and learning that her sister has disappeared, Jayden’s only solace is her love for Kadesh. But even he is keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that will change everything.

This gorgeous and enchanting sequel to Forbidden, is full of love, danger, and heated passion that will leave readers breathless.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes

Sequel to:

Booklist Review:

“This sequel to Forbidden (2014) picks up with desert girl Jayden, distraught that the young man she loves, Kadesh, might have died. But, of course, he hasn’t. Scarred and missing an eye, yes, but he’s escaped the clutches of Horeb, Jayden’s malicious betrothed. Traveling bravely through the desert, Jayden finds him. But that perilous trip is only the first of the dangers to come. Gathering an army, Kadesh is determined to return to his faraway home, where the valuable frankincense grows, and introduce Jayden as his future bride. First, however, they must face betrayal, danger, and a waiting evil. Jayden achieves almost superhero status here, moving from adventure to adventure—not even a near-death stoning can stop her. Little’s descriptions of the landscape are evocative in both desolation and in beauty. Just as good is her pacing, which gets the blood pumping for both characters and readers. Far more than a bridge book, this will heighten anticipation for a no-doubt exciting conclusion."

EXCERPT:

A dirty, callused hand slapped down over my mouth and the stale breath of a man hissed in my ear. “Don’t move or I’ll slit your pretty, little neck.”
I clawed at the stranger’s cloak, trying to push him off, but he was too heavy. A moment later, I realized my ankles were tied together. I couldn’t run, couldn’t even move. Shrieks gurgled in my throat as if I was drowning, his hand cutting off my air.
Only one day into my journey to find Kadesh and I was already dead.
The sharp tip of a blade pressed against my neck, and I whimpered.
“Give me the frankincense of the stranger we killed.” The man’s foul breath dragged across my face. He was referring to Kadesh, the boy I loved, who’d been murdered by Horeb, the prince of my tribe.
With myself as a witness, I’d watched Horeb plunge his sword into Kadesh and then order his soldiers to drag his body off.
Shock flooded me when I realized who my attacker was. I wrenched his fingers away from my mouth and with a raw voice, said, “Gad? What are you doing lurking about the cliffs of Mari?”
This man was a childhood friend of Horeb’s and one of my own tribesmen. His body pressed against mine, and I writhed in disgust.
There was only one reason Gad was in the foothills of Mari, far from the oasis of Tadmur where my tribe camped for the summer. He was a member of Horeb’s army.
Horeb, my betrothed. The man who’d attacked and scarred me. Blackmailed me for the murder of his father to hide the fact that he’d killed his own father so he could steal the tribal crown.

Author Bio:
When I was a kid I read a book a day, scribbled stories, and dreamed about having my very own book on the library shelf. I grew up in San Francisco, but now live in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande with my husband and sons. I think I've drunk so much Land of Enchantment water that some of that ancient magic got into my blood and now spurts out my pencil--I mean ergonomic keyboard. I adore anything old and musty with a secret story to tell.
I'm the author of 10 award-winning middle-grade and Young Adult novels with Scholastic and Harpercollins and I make way too many cookies when I'm writing - and I've got the best book trailers in the universe - for reals! Check them out here: www.kimberleygriffithslittle.com. Please find me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Youtube.

Awards: Southwest Book Award, Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel, Whitney Award Finalist and Association of Mormon Letters of Art Award, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011, 2013, and 2015, a Crystal Kite Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist. 

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by: