Sand, Salt, and Spirits by Kathryn Hills – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 26, 2021 By 5 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kathryn Hills will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Can a weekend visit to Last Chance Beach undo decades of brokenhearted memories? Conjuring up some island magic might just be their trick. Or treat!

Kyle Worthington hasn’t returned to Last Chance Beach in years. He’s worked hard to prove himself to his overbearing father and the rest of the world. Now it’s October, and the vacation island paradise is celebrating the season with an island-wide Fall Festival. Family obligation demands he participate. Everyone will be there, including the ghost that haunts his grandparents’ B&B.

The running joke that Kyle never sticks with anything—not a career or a woman—will continue to plague him. Unless he brings a knockout of a date to the weekend-long event. Cassandra Corwin fits the bill perfectly. Kyle’s had his eye on his brilliant, beautiful coworker since day one. But Cassie is an enigma, a loner. There’s no room in her life for anyone except Odin, her goofball of a Great Dane.

Will this woman of mystery agree to Kyle’s scheme to impress his family? Can two near strangers from opposite worlds survive family gatherings and back-to-back Halloween events while pretending to be a couple? Kyle’s father seems hell-bent on derailing everything before they even shout “Boo!”

Or will the island’s magic prove too powerful for them to resist?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Cassie snatched up her purse from the coffee table and dug through it until she found his business card. Her fingertip slid over the expensive linen-like cardstock, his name and title embossed in slate blue. Kyle S. Worthington, Senior Sales Representative. Even his card screams class and old money. The polar opposite of who she was and where she came from.

The other night at the restaurant, Kyle had been the only one wearing a two-hundred-dollar shirt, starched and meticulously ironed. With cufflinks. Okay…so he’d ditched the tie, but no doubt, it too likely cost more than she spent on groceries in a week.

Dare I consider his offer to visit Last Chance Beach? Odin whined and tipped his regal-looking head.

“What are you suggesting, big guy? You don’t even know the man. He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met. Certainly not like anyone I’ve ever…dated.”

Cassie scowled when the dog continued to stare as if judging her. Was it necessarily a bad thing that Kyle S. Worthington was different from any of her exes?

About the Author: The rich history and many mysteries of New England are the perfect backdrop for many of KATHRYN’s books. Winding roads lined by old stone walls, forgotten cemeteries, grand homes with shadowy pasts…all sparks for her imagination. Whether it’s a quaint seaside town or the vibrant city of Boston, it’s easy for this “hauntingly romantic” author to envision the past mingling with the present. No surprise, some of Kathryn’s favorite stories include ghosts! Sprinkle in some magic, and you’re off on a great adventure.

When not writing, this best-selling author is reading, researching, gardening, or cooking up something special in her chaotic kitchen. She shares her colonial home in the north woods with those she loves most – her wonderful husband, daughter, and three crazy dogs.

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Writing is Never Easy by Kat Martin – Guest Blog

October 25, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Kat Martin who is celebrating tomorrow’s release of The Last Goodnight.

WRITING IS NEVER EASY

One of the great myths about writing is that it gets easier over time. As the author of eighty novels, I can tell you it just gets harder.

Sentence variety and paragraph construction become easier, grammar and spelling, the basics of writing become second nature. But penning the actual novel? Not so much.

With each new story, you have to come up with a different plot, make each of your characters stand out in some special way, and try to give the readers something you haven’t given them before.

In THE LAST GOODNIGHT, I knew I wanted to write a novel set on a cattle ranch. I love writing Westerns, both historical and modern day. The story is a cold-case murder mystery, something I hadn’t really written before.

In the novel, when Kade Logan said goodbye to his wife eight years earlier, he never thought it would be the last time he saw her alive. Then her car is found in a nearby lake and Kade is determined not to fail his dead wife again–this time he won’t rest until he finds her killer.

Eleanor Bowman, a private investigator, joins him in the search. Having been raised on a ranch in Wyoming, Ellie is able to fit in undercover on the ranch. And of course the chemistry between the two is hot from day one.

The novel challenged me and the Colorado ranch setting provided an intriguing background. I hope you’ll watch for THE LAST GOODNIGHT and that you enjoy it.

Next up is THE LAST MILE, the second Logan brother, Gage, a world renown explorer, the man Abigail Holland hires him to find her grandfather’s missing treasure. It’s a high-action adventure I hope you enjoy.

Till then, all best and happy reading. Kat

When Kade Logan said goodbye to his estranged wife eight years ago, he never thought it would be the last time he saw her alive. Now her car has been hauled out of a nearby lake and Kade is determined to track down the man who murdered her. Enter Eleanor Bowman, a talented private investigator who’s about to stir up a hornet’s nest on his Colorado ranch.

With old scandals still buzzing about his late wife’s many affairs and new violence erupting, Kade is faced with the discovery of another beautiful woman’s body. Are the two killings linked? Who is the man who seduced, then murdered both women? Ellie believes they are dangerously close to the truth.

From corporate Denver highrises to posh Vail mansions, Kade and Ellie sense the killer is closing in again and this time Ellie is the target. Kade must risk everything to save the woman he’s coming to love—before she becomes the next victim . . .

Enjoy an Excerpt

Kade Logan stood on the bank watching the sheriff and his deputies haul the mud-covered vehicle out of the lake. The crane groaned as the automobile tilted upward, the rear end lifting into the air, the front wheels dragging across the spongy earth. Brackish lake water poured out through the open windows.

For eight long years Kade had been haunted by the mystery of what had happened to the dark green Subaru that belonged to his dead wife. Her body had been found in a shallow depression in the hills at the base of the mountains outside Denver, but until now, eight years later, her car had never been found.

And her killer had never been caught.

“You okay?” Sam Bridger, Kade’s best friend, stood beside him, a tall blond man Kade had known for years.

“She’s been dead eight years, Sam. So yeah, I’m okay.” But the rage he felt had never lessened. It should have. At the time of her death, their marriage was already on the rocks. The second time Kade had caught Heather cheating, he had filed for divorce.

“Maybe they’ll find something in the car that’ll give them a reason to reopen the case,” Sam said.

“Maybe.” Kade hoped so. He wanted Heather’s killer found and punished. No matter how things had turned out between them, he owed her that much.

He glanced back at the car. The last time he had seen the dark green SUV was the night Heather had left him. That night, she had packed her things, taken the car, and driven away without a backward glance. Kade had never seen her again.

Since then, he had been tormented by guilt, had lived each day with a terrible sense of failure that he had never found the man responsible for her death.

Never made the bastard pay.

“I’ve seen enough,” Kade said. “I’m heading back to the ranch.”

“That’s it?” Sam asked, a blond eyebrow edging up.

Kade thought of Heather and felt the old rage burn through him. “Not by a long shot,” he said.

Eleanor Bowman sat at her oak desk near the front door of the office, a two-story brick structure on Acoma Street in Denver.

Photos of local wildlife hung on the walls, elk, deer, a big black bear, along with autographed photos of celebrities the company had done business with over the years. The faces of Tom Selleck, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, and Kevin Costner looked down from sturdy oak frames.
Though most of the guys who worked at Nighthawk Security held P.I. licenses, Ellie and a woman named Skye Delaney were the only two female private investigators. Since Ellie had just finished a case, she was looking for something to do, hopefully something interesting, but work was work. She didn’t want her savings account to dwindle.

She looked up as the glass door at the front of the office swung open and a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing a dark brown Stetson walked in. People thought of Denver as a western town, but it had been years since Ellie had seen a guy in a cowboy hat who looked like it belonged on him.

In crisp dark blue jeans that fit snuggly over a pair of narrow hips, brown lizard-skin boots, and a white shirt with pearl snaps on the front, the man removed his Stetson, revealing neatly trimmed, golden brown hair, and strode toward the desk closest to the door, which happened to be hers.

“My name’s Kade Logan.” He had a lean, muscular build, and the long, powerful legs of a bulldogger. His deep, masculine voice fit him as perfectly as his hat, and his hard, handsome face could rival any of the celebrities hanging on the office walls. “I have an appointment with Conner Delaney.”

“Yes, Conn mentioned he was expecting you.” Her boss, the dark-haired, handsome man who owned and ran the company. Ellie wondered if Kade Logan could possibly be the client Conn had in mind for her.

She smiled up at Logan. “His office is down the hall. Go ahead and go on in.” A little under five-foot-four, she was at least ten inches shorter.

Logan gave her a cursory nod, then strode off and disappeared inside Conn’s office. She wondered what kind of help he needed.

Ten minutes later, she found out.

“Kade meet Eleanor Bowman.”

His eyes narrowed, tiny sun lines forming in the corners. “You’re Eleanor Bowman?”

“I’m Ellie.” She smiled and stuck out a hand. “Pleasure meeting you.”

His jaw tightened an instant before he reached out and accepted her handshake.

He turned back to Conn. “Eleanor. With a name like that, I thought she’d be an older woman, someone with more experience. Either way, this is a bad idea.”

“What idea is that?” Ellie asked.

“Eight years ago, Kade’s wife was murdered,” Conn explained. “Her body was discovered in the mountains outside Denver, but the killer was never found. Two weeks ago, the car Heather was driving the night she disappeared was discovered in a lake near Coffee Springs. It’s possible the killer abducted her, dumped the car in the lake, then drove her somewhere else and murdered her.”

“And that’s the reason you want to hire me? To find out who murdered your wife?”

Logan’s gaze swung to hers. “First off, I don’t want to hire you. Conn thought it would be a good idea. He said your specialty is working undercover, but the last thing I need on my ranch is a female playing detective.”

Irritation bubbled up and her spine went straighter. “Did Conn tell you I was born in Wyoming? I was raised on the Grass Valley Ranch near Jackson Hole. Did he tell you I can ride just about anything you have in your remuda? And the weather doesn’t bother me. I know ranching, Mr. Logan. I can fit seamlessly into your operation. I can do whatever it takes to make people accept me and gather the information you need.”

Silence fell.

Conn Delaney’s lips twitched. “I think you can see why I thought Ellie was the right person for the job.”

A muscle worked in Logan’s square jaw. He raked a hand through his hair, mussed a little from the hat.

“I need some time to think about it.”

“Are you sure?” Ellie asked. “Because you’ve already had eight years to think about it.”

Kade’s golden eyes narrowed, seemed to burn into her green ones. “You really think you can do it?”

“If you want me to succeed, I’ll need straight answers to any questions I ask. If you’re willing to do that and if the information is out there, I’ll find out who it was.”

For the first time she caught a glimmer of respect in Logan’s eyes. “When can you start?”

“I can be there tomorrow, if we can figure out the best place for me to fit in. That way I’ll know what I need to bring.”

Logan’s hard mouth edged up. “You mean besides your pistol?”

“You better make that plural.” Ellie flashed him a phony smile. “Remember, Mr. Logan, I’m from Wyoming.”

About the AuthorNew York Times bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film. Kat’s new novel, THE LAST GOODNIGHT, a Romantic Thriller, will be released in hardcover on October 26th and is the start of her new Blood Ties series.

THE LAST GOODNIGHT

Kat Martin Bio
New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.

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Something Discovered by Bernadette Marie – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 22, 2021 By 4 Comments

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bernadette Marie will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Sometimes coming home opens the door to discovering something new.

After Coach Diaz’s funeral, Alex Burke realized there was nothing left for him in Boston, especially after he found out his girlfriend had moved on. Moving back to Colorado, and bonding with his college friends, is what Alex needed to get his life back in order.

Catherine Anderson grew up in the shadow of Coach Diaz’s daughter. The best friend that was always overlooked, Catherine had reservations about the men who had been Coach’s Fabulous Five, especially Alex Burke who always had eyes for Rachel, and didn’t even know Catherine existed.

Coming together to mutually help Rachel through hard times, Catherine and Alex realize they’d had eyes for one another back when. Perhaps now that Alex was home, it would be a good time to explore an adult relationship. But when news out of Boston rocks his world, it just might be more than Catherine can handle.

Enjoy an Excerpt

He understood Catherine’s dislike of the whole team, in general. She was a protector, and when that many horny teenagers are hanging around, any sensible girl would want to shield their friend. And, Alex had made his move on Rachel after Craig left back then, but in his head, he remembered his intentions being a little more wholesome than Catherine might have thought they were.

Either way, she’d held onto that grudge for a very long time. And wasn’t it a shame?

The beautiful blonde with the magnificent smile had been on Alex’s mind since he’d seen her at Coach’s funeral. He’d thought there was a breakthrough between them when they’d all rallied around Rachel on the Fourth of July, when the sound of fireworks triggered the trauma she’d gone through with the active shooter at the school. Catherine had let him ease in, wrap his arm around her, and they’d even settled on the couch together. Maybe that night had done them all in.

Still, awkward wasn’t how he wanted to talk about his time with Catherine.

He sipped from his beer. Once upon a time, Alex Burke had game, maybe it was just time to try and get it back.

About the Author:

Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011. Since then she has authored and published over forty-five books. The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it.

Obsessed with the art of writing and the business of publishing, chronic entrepreneur Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, in 2011 to bring her own work to market as well as offer an opportunity for fresh voices in fiction to find a home as well.

When not immersed in the writing/publishing world, Bernadette Marie can be found spending time with her family, traveling, and running multiple businesses. An avid martial artist, Bernadette Marie is a second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, and loves Tai Chi. She is a retired hockey mom, a lover of a good stout craft beer, and might have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate.

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The Earl of Callander’s Secret Bride by Raven McAllan and Cassie O’Brien – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 21, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Raven McAllan and Cassie O’Brien who are celebrating the recent release of The Earl of Callander’s Secret Bride, the first book in their The Scots and the Sassenachs series. Enter for the chance to win a $50.00 First for Romance Gift Card!

A treasonable letter. Attempted blackmail. Can a secret marriage save the day?

Duncan, the Earl of Callander, loves his beautiful neighbour Lady Cairstine McColl but has held back from proposing until she has enjoyed her debut in Edinburgh. However, matters are taken out of his control when Cairstine discovers a plot to blackmail her father with her hand in marriage demanded as the ransom price.

A daring plan is hatched. To protect Cairstine, she and Duncan will wed under Scottish law, then travel to England incognito to find and destroy a letter that could see her father accused of treason and the family ruined.

But all is not straightforward once they arrive in Corbridge.

They must hide the passion they feel for each other from the blackmailer, and worse, there may not be just one blackmailer, but two.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Lady Cairstine McColl knew it was wrong to slip out from her family home unnoticed and go for a long tramp across the hills. Nevertheless, after the news her papa had just imparted, she’d had to get away. It was that or completely lose her temper. Shout, scream and be the termagant she didn’t want to be. She acknowledged it had been a close-run thing. Hence her escape. A pity she couldn’t escape the future as easily.

How could he?

She skirted the three large boulders that edged the head of the loch and jumped over the burn that flowed into it with a gurgle as it danced across the stony bottom. In winter, when it was in full spate, she would have had no chance. Now in June, when the nights were short and daylight hours long, the weather was sometimes drier and the burn no more than a trickle.

Cairstine strode up the slopes to where the forest began, her boots giving her purchase on the slippery rocks. It might not have rained recently, but these slopes were always damp and covered in moss. As she walked, she mulled over her papa’s words.

How, how could he?

He had promised her in marriage to an Englishman. An Englishman! Whom she had never met. How draconian. And how undoubtedly, in this so-called enlightened age, unacceptable. Surely she should at least have met the man and decided if this marriage of convenience was for her?

Sadly, her papa had been unmoved by her pleas. He’d simply told her she would leave for England in five days’ time.

England. Who on earth would want to go there? And to a place called Corbridge? Not even London, or Carlisle. Until she’d studied a book of maps in the library she’d had no idea where Corbridge was. Evidently between Newcastle and Carlisle. A market town, near the site of the wall built in Roman times to keep the Scots out of England. What a pity it was no longer used for the same purpose. That would have meant there was no way she could have been forced to head south.

According to a pamphlet she’d found on the desk—it seemed her papa had been investigating—this Corbridge was a pretty well set-up place with lots of new and imposing buildings sitting side by side with older, equally as imposing ones.

She couldn’t have cared less. It wouldn’t matter what it was like, it was not home.

George Armstrong, she thought in disgust. An Armstrong. One of those murdering, thieving Border Reivers of old who had thought nothing of riding from England into Scotland to steal the cattle of good honest Scotsmen—and women. The family names of the marauding bands were still notorious enough to put the fear of God into anyone who lived within a day’s ride of the border even in these modern times. Cairstine had been raised on stories of Scots venturing as far as Yorkshire, and the English to Edinburgh. All in retaliation for some real or imagined wrongdoing. You had to be thankful such days were over—but that made her papa’s demands even harder to fathom.

Worse though than the raids—if it was possible for anything to be worse—Armstrong was a Sassenach with, he was said to boast, not one jot of Scottish blood in him. Where was the common ground?

Why, oh why had her papa thought she’d be happy married to one of them?

If he had thought at all. These last couple of weeks he’d been preoccupied, less likely to chat or ask what she had been doing, and never sharing his day with her. Not at all the man she had adored for so many years.

How could he? Is he demented? When the name of her prospective husband was enough to put fear into even the bravest of people… She was no different.

She shuddered and gathered her breath for the final steep few yards to her favourite place on the estate. The lookout. Where in times gone by a sentry would have been placed to keep guard for enemies.

Now she was the only one who ever went there.

Or so she’d imagined.

Head down, deep in thought, she ploughed into a tree.

A very human tree, which swayed before it steadied again.

She scowled. Of all the people it could be it had to be Duncan Callander. Her neighbour, her…her what? She had no idea except that he was the one man who made her skin tighten in an arousing way and made her wonder…what if?

A child of the countryside, she was no stranger to the way animals mated and had on more than one occasion caught sight of a man and a woman in the undergrowth, the lady’s skirts kilted around her waist, his trews around his ankles. It wasn’t something she’d contemplated doing herself though—until recently.

“Where’s where the enemy? Who do I have to shoot?” Duncan grabbed her arm with one hand to rescue her from falling on her rump, put his other hand to his forehead and scanned the area with an extravagant movement. “Pistol or bow and arrow?”

Cairstine giggled. Trust Duncan to cheer her up. “The culprit is too far to reach with either,” she said glumly as she smoothed her skirts down and remembered what had sent her to the lookout in a rush. “In England, at a place called Corbridge.”

“Corbridge?” he said as he dropped his hand from his face. The confusion in his eyes mirrored the incredulous tone of his voice. “Why in hades Corbridge? What the hell’s going on?”

Cairstine sighed. “Hell just about sums it up. My papa says I am to marry the black-hearted devil that is George Armstrong.”

Duncan’s jaw clenched as she said the name. George Armstrong of Corbridge…the bastard! Not that he had ever met the man, but the fame—or infamy—of the Armstrong family was well known and noted in the annals of history. Around a hundred years earlier they had been given a baronetcy—under somewhat suspicious circumstances—and they revelled in their reputation.

Blood raced through his veins at the thought of Cairstine in the clutches of such a man. She stood close enough to kiss, her lips mere inches from his own. Another part of his anatomy stirred deep within his trews with an emotion other than anger. The heady scent of her teased his nostrils and he sniffed the air. Violets, he decided—sweet and seductively entrancing like the lady herself.

He dropped his hands to his sides against an urge to sweep her into his arms and assure her he would not allow the marriage to take place. He was powerless to prevent it—Cairstine’s father’s title being higher ranked in the natural order than his own. What was he, as an earl compared to a duke? Instead he concentrated on not curling his hands into fists and asked with a calmness he didn’t feel, “When and where is this event to take place?”

Cairstine gazed at him, a question written in her eyes as if she sensed the power of the emotions running through his body. “I leave for Corbridge in five days. Oh, Duncan, something is wrong, and I have no idea what it could be. I have asked Papa to explain his decision, but all he says it I have to do this thing. Why?” She whirled around and her skirts followed her, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of a well-turned ankle visible above her half boot. How he wished it showed more.

Callander, get your mind out of the gutters.

“What on earth could be going on?” Cairstine asked in a plaintive tone that hit him hard. “Duncan, I’m at my wit’s end. I cannot move him.”

Duncan nodded, his mind busy with possible plans, and he turned to one side, needing time to think of ways and means to execute them as well as considering the likely consequences. “Stay strong. I’m off to check my snares and have a think. Don’t worry, I will see you again before you go. Can you be here at the same time tomorrow?”

Cairstine nodded. “I will make sure I am.”

Duncan nodded. “Until then.” He spun on his heels and set off in the direction of his manor a mile or so distant on the opposite hill, his thoughts in a whirl.

What in hades is her father up to? To date, the Duke of Glenard, known as Lord Nathaniel McColl in these parts, had been a loving and somewhat protective father to his only daughter.

He strode on. The smell of pine resin carried on the warmth of the June breeze replaced the scent of violets in his nose, but Duncan hardly noticed as he began to gather his thoughts. A rescue plan was needed, one that would absolve Cairstine from all blame so as not to leave her in her parent’s bad graces. Or give any hint of collusion between the two of them. She should not guess his part in it, to allow her to answer with perfect honesty if questioned later by her father.

A bold idea occurred and he quickened his pace while contemplating the prospects and pitfalls of it. A disguise would be required so she didn’t immediately recognise him. It would ruin everything if she inadvertently gave his identity away to anyone with her. Plus, he needed to decide on a place of safety for her to pass the time until his plan achieved its aim.

About the Authors

Raven McAllan After 30 plus years in Scotland, Raven now lives near the east Yorkshire coast, with her long-suffering husband, who is used to rescuing the dinner, when she gets immersed in her writing, keeping her coffee pot warm and making sure the wine is chilled.

With a new home to decorate and a garden to plan, she’s never short of things to do, but writing is always at the top of her list.

Her other hobbies include walking along the coast and spotting the wildlife, reading, researching, cross stitch and trying not to drop stitches as she endeavours to knit.

Being left-handed, and knitting right-handed, that’s not always easy.

She loves hearing from her readers, either via her website, by email or social media.

Website | First for Romance

Cassie O’Brien I love:

Being with family and friends.

Writing and having the freedom to do so now child four of four has passed her driving test and is off to uni later this year.

I Like:

Any excuse to throw a party.

Any excuse to open a bottle of fizz.

Shoes in vast quantities – the higher the heel the better.

Ambitions:

To write many more books.

To own a pair of Louboutin’s.

To never go near an iron or a hoover again.

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Lessons I Learned from My Heroine by Kathy Strobos – Guest Blog and Giveaway

October 18, 2021 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kathy Strobos will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Lessons I Learned from My Heroine

One of the key messages I learned from my heroine was what she learns along the way as career (and dating) advice: “If you don’t ask, you’ve already got the no. You might as well ask and try to get the yes.” I can’t remember where I read this as career advice, but it is so important. It’s not always easy to do, but I am trying.

I also love the whole “Find a Boast Buddy” (“Find a Boast Bitch” to quote exactly) advice that she gets after reading Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett. Studies show that women don’t look good if they brag about themselves, but they do look good when they do it for their colleagues. So, women should find a boast buddy, and each can brag about the other. It’s something I think women do instinctively when friends with colleagues.

And I love Winnie’s advice to Audrey to make sure she controls the narrative about her when involved in office politics. I also love the message of the importance of having good friends cheering you on and women supporting women.

Also, I do think it’s important to go for what you want, but also to step back every once in awhile and re-assess and think about what you really want and if your current goals are in line with your vision of your future.

I wish I knew some of these lessons back when I was working in a corporate environment.

I also like that Audrey pursues Jake by sending him gifts with notes. I’m all for it!

When a workaholic lawyer meets a fun-loving music marketing executive for opposites attract, friends-to-lovers adventures, which partnership will she choose?

Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.

Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor.

Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.

He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.

But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.

And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.

If only she had not met him now.

Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle
work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.

But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Jacket on the back of the chair. Check.

Desk light on. Check.

Now, Ms. Willems, your mission, should you choose to accept it: Get out of the office on the sly. Audrey snorted silently at her own badly-played movie line. She stuffed the Save the Children t-shirt she’d gotten from a Central Park Zoo benefit in her Tory Burch brown leather satchel, added as many legal pads as could fit, and plumped the bag to look like it held at least four case files. She casually leaned the bag against the side of her desk, in view of her open office door.

The excited chatter of the exiting assistants filled the hallway. She typed up the Popflicks engagement letter and then entered Popflicks as a new client into the law firm database. Yes. Her pulse quickened.

The office was now quiet. She put an uncapped red pen in the middle of a legal pad on her desk. It looked like she’d be right back. The scene called for something more. If only she had a permanently steaming cup of tea. She poured a bottle of water into a glass.

She should depart boldly, but leaving early was frowned upon by the partnership powers-that-be. They might even think she needed another assignment. She definitely did not. She had just landed Popflicks. She had stayed until 11 p.m. every night this week. Okay, so I’m not always very good at saying no. But now was not the time to say no to a partner—not when she’d been working so hard for seven years, her life on hold. Now that she was in the homestretch, she could practically see “Audrey Willemson, Partner,” embossed on her law firm’s business card.

About the Author:Kathy Strobos is a writer living in New York City with her husband and two children, amid a growing collection of books, toys and dollhouses. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and Harvard-Radcliffe University magna cum laude. She previously worked as a lawyer. She left law to pursue her dream of writing fiction full-time and getting in shape. She is still working on getting in shape.

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To Entice a Spy by Diane Scott Lewis – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 14, 2021 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Diane Scott Lewis will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In 1794, Widowed Countess Eseld Trehearne seeks revenge for the brutal death of her female companion during a Paris riot. On her return to England, Eseld delves into espionage to defeat the French rebels.

Baron Robert Penhale, Eseld’s childhood love, rejoins the Secret Services after his wife’s death. He’s determined to protect England from the revolution terrorizing France.

A ruthless French spy fights for the common man while disguised as an English aristocrat. He’s intent on revenge against those who oppose him.

With the spy stalking them and Robert in fear for Eseld’s life, the fate of the couple verges on disaster.




Enjoy an Excerpt

“Don’t you wish to celebrate with us, Citizeness?” A drunken man with pocked cheeks spewed spittle in her face. “Where’s your tri-color cockade?”

“I’ve lost mine.” Eseld swept her hand to her collar and winced. “Please excuse us; we’ll celebrate later.”

She swore silently as she’d forgotten to use her roughest French. Her tricolore had been swiped by a scrubby boy near the entrance gate.

Hester held aside her cloak, displaying hers. Eseld gripped her friend by the shoulder and rushed with her into a narrow passage, which turned at a right angle. The hotel was located in a court, at number 8. Dank air filled her lungs as her pulse hammered.

“That one sounded like a ci-devant,” the drunk accused, his shout echoing after them. “I want to know what they’re up to.”

He and his slouching friend ran after them, boots beating on the cobbles.

“We should’ve brought a pistol, if we owned one,” Hester said with a gasp as they hiked up their skirts and bolted.

The two men were on them in a few seconds, in a waft of perspiration and cheap wine. The first drunk, in his ragged black coat, grabbed Eseld and swept off her hood. “She’s a pretty one. With witch’s red hair.”

“Please, let us go.” Her lips trembled, but more with anger than fright. She struggled to stay calm. “We are loyal citizens. You have no reason to harm us.”

“I’ll wager your skin is soft.” The drunk shoved her up against a mold-stained wall.

About the Author:

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up near San Francisco, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons in Puerto Rico, California, and Guam. She’s a member of the Historical Novel Society and wrote book reviews for their magazine. She’s always loved travel and history and has had several historical novels published. Her most recent is the Oyster War Novel set in the 1950s: Ghost Point.

Her spy novella, To Entice a Spy, set in England during the French Revolution—two former lovers chase a ruthless spy; will love rekindle as murder stalks them?—will be released on October 11, 2021.

Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dog in western Pennsylvania.

For more on her books visit her website.

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Willow’s Ridge by Gisèle L Grieves – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 12, 2021 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gisèle L Grieves will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Life as a young adult can be exciting. We seem braver and are willing to explore life, love, friendship and our sexuality. Ally is no exception.

Journey through Ally’s life as she goes through trials and tribulations, love and happiness, fear and devastation. Just when life for Ally seems to be nearly perfect, one phone call changes everything.

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It is the perfect place—just a little pub off the beaten path. But they have beer and whisky, and they have amazing burgers. Something that needs to be known about me is my love of food. I love to cook, and I love to eat. Thank God for my ADD, which makes me go nonstop and melts the pounds away as I enjoy my food.

We talk and laugh for a few more hours, enjoying each other’s company at the pub. It feels so easy, which is a little scary. I’m waiting for the weirdo to come out; no one can be this perfect.

After dinner, he drives me back to the park to get my car. I left it there when we decided to drive together to the pub. He is such a gentleman; he runs around the car insisting on opening my door. He takes my hand to help me out and walks me to my SUV.

I stand there, palms starting to sweat, unsure how this date will end. The silence is killing me. I want to know what he is thinking. Finally, he turns to me and reaches for my hand. He looks into my eyes, reaches behind me and pulls me into a passionate kiss. I am not expecting it, but oh, when those lips make contact with mine, my body catches fire. His kiss is passionate but so gentle. When he finally loosens his hold, I wrap my arms around his neck, stand on my tippy toes and pull him in for a more urgent kiss. I gently thrust my tongue into his mouth, tasting the ice cream he had for dessert. My body is aching for more. I want to see and feel more of him. His body tells me he also wants more. Even through his jean shorts, I can feel his hardness pulsing against my stomach.

He finally breaks away, almost gasping for air. He looks a little frazzled but is grinning from ear to ear.

“Ally, I want to see you again. I had an amazing time and would love the opportunity to wine and dine you properly.”

I am out of breath. Of course I want to see him again.

“I would love that,” I respond a little breathlessly.

About the Author:Gisèle was born in a small town in Northern Ontario and now resides in the most southern part of the province. She has been married for 16 years and has 4 wonderful children. Gisèle has had many careers over the years, ranging from truck driving and selling insurance, to working in schools and cattle ranching. No job has ever mattered more to her than being a mom. Gisèle started writing to give her something to do once her kids were in bed. She also has a vivid imagination, and writing gives her a way to get her thoughts out. What started out as a guilty pleasure has turned into is something much bigger. She is excited to share this second novel with her readers.

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666 Things to Do with a Demon by Eleanor Harkstead and Catherine Curzon – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 8, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Eleanor Harkstead and Catherine Curzon who are celebrating the recent release of 666 Things to Do With a Demon. Enter for the chance to win a $50.00 First for Romance Gift Card!

What you can’t see could kill you.

When Cecily arrives at her new home with her fiancé, Raf, she’s looking forward to a happy life with all her fears behind her. No longer a put-upon drudge, she is loved and free, ready to explore their new world.

After a summer spent battling the forces of darkness, Raf’s happy to get back to the garden of his chaotic ancestral home. There are flowers to tend and vegetables to harvest and he’s determined to create a perfect sanctuary for Cecily to call her own.

But when a demon made of glass escapes from an ancient church window, the peace of their idyllic village is shattered. Neighbour turns against neighbour, crops turn bad in the soil and flies blacken the air. As a child lingers between life and death, bewitched by the glass demon’s bite, Raf and Cecily must remind the villagers of what really matters and unite the community in a battle to send their infernal tormentor back to hell.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Peri sat cross-legged on the floor in the middle of her chalked-out pentagram with Grizelda, her sleek black cat, on her knee. Supposedly this made looking for a boyfriend more effective, but all she was doing was swiping left on the app, with Grizelda occasionally intervening to swipe left for her. Why did none of the men on Spellr look even vaguely appealing? Some weren’t too bad. In fact, some were quite handsome, but they all lacked that certain something.

And Peri had no idea what that something was.

All her friends were getting married, one by one, and Peri’s wardrobe was bulging with bridesmaids’ dresses. But there seemed to be no sign of her ever adding a wedding dress to her collection.

Her friends had tried to pair her off, usually with their own brothers or their husbands’ friends. They told her she couldn’t keep hunting for the perfect man, because he just didn’t exist. But Peri couldn’t help it. Life was too short to settle for second best.

But the Assistant Great Wizard’s Halloween ball was that evening and Peri still didn’t have a date. She could have turned up as a merry spinster, but she just wanted to be able to sweep up the grand steps with a devastatingly handsome man on her arm.

Is it too much to ask for?

She got up to her feet and paced back and forth across the room. Spellr was hopeless. Her friends’ matchmaking attempts had been hopeless. Then her gaze fell on the pentagram.

What if I—?

She’d once found a spell that would conjure a demon who would materialise in the form of the most perfect man one could ever meet. He would exist for the night, then by morning would be gone—much like Peri’s last experience with the opposite sex. But at least he’d be her demon for a few hours, because after she’d summoned him, he would be hers, to follow her bidding. At least, within a carefully defined set of rules, because no one wanted to upset a demon.

Peri switched on her computer and flipped through a folder of photographs she’d taken on her various visits to the National Witchcraft Archives. She found the image she wanted, of crabbed handwriting on a page of parchment. A very rare spell, one that had been assumed lost, or known only to sorcerers of rank like the Assistant Great Wizard, until Peri had found it.

It hadn’t been in the grimoire’s table of contents, and had looked like nothing more than a blank page to start with. But slowly the words had appeared, as if bubbling up from the parchment beneath, and quite by accident Peri had found herself staring at Ye Spelle to Summune A Daemon Lover.

Or, as it had been whispered about at university, The Sex Demon Spell.

Peri hadn’t photographed the page with any intention to use the spell. It had been more of a trophy find. But that was then. Now she needed the perfect man for the party, and if that meant summoning a demon lover for the evening, so be it.

She made her preparations, lighting candles at the five points of her pentagram and sweeping the space with a bundle of lavender. She set up her cauldron on a trivet in the middle of the pentagram and added the vast number of ingredients demanded by the spell, including an Eve root and an Adam root in a pouch, rosemary oil and red rose petals, all stirred with a length of unicorn horn.

Which would have been easy had Grizelda not decided to help. She rubbed herself around Peri’s legs and nearly knocked her over. She sent a candle flying, spilling wax onto the floorboards. She climbed up the shelves of grimoires and ingredients and batted at the jars. She leapt with no warning over Peri’s head, hell-bent on catching a spider.

And brought down a shelf with a clatter.

“What are you doing?” Peri folded her arms as Grizelda nonchalantly rolled about on her back, tummy uppermost, and proceeded to have a wash. “Some witch’s cat you are!”

Peri crawled about on her hands and knees with a dustpan and brush, trying to clear up the mess. At least the jars were old and sturdy—none had broken, even though some had lost their lids, spilling their contents all over the floor.

But Grizelda continued in her efforts to be as unhelpful as possible. She walked through powdered centaur tears and chased a bead of quicksilver.

“Griz!” Peri picked the cat up and Grizelda slipped out of her clutches, purring as she slunk onto Peri’s shoulders and draped herself there. “Right, let’s hope you behave now.”

Peri carried on clearing up, balancing the cat as she worked. But when she went back to the cauldron, the ingredients had turned into a revolting soup. Peri gave it a stir, trying not to inhale the rancid stench.

Will this work?

She intoned the words of the spell anyway, hoping things might not be quite as bad as they seemed.

Lightning cracked overhead and she stepped back, holding the unicorn horn aloft and chanting the last line of the spell again over the motorboat roar of Grizelda’s purr.

“Demon I summon thee! Asmodeus, come!”

Peri fully expected the room to fill with the smell of scorching, swiftly followed by her perfect man.

But nothing happened.

Rain battered against her windows now, the storm growing keener all the time.

No demon appeared.

As Peri blew out the last candle, Grizelda hopped down from her shoulders and twined around her legs.

“You can’t really be my date, Grizelda, sorry…”

And now it was time to get ready for the party.

About the Authors Eleanor Harkstead likes to dash about in nineteenth-century costume, in bonnet or cravat as the mood takes her. She can occasionally be found wandering old graveyards. Eleanor is very fond of chocolate, wine, tweed waistcoats and nice pens. Her large collection of vintage hats would rival Hedda Hopper’s.

Originally from the south-east of England, Eleanor now lives somewhere in the Midlands with a large ginger cat who resembles a Viking.

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Catherine Curzon is a royal historian who writes on all matters of 18th century. Her work has been featured on many platforms and Catherine has also spoken at various venues including the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and Dr Johnson’s House.

Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Film and when not dodging the furies of the guillotine, writes fiction set deep in the underbelly of Georgian London.

She lives in Yorkshire atop a ludicrously steep hill.

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Keeper of My Dreams by Susan Leigh Furlong – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 6, 2021 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Susan Leigh Furlong will be awarding a $20 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.

Reid Haliburton, a skilled gunsmith, wants to control who uses his revolutionary handgun until a vicious pirate decides the gun will be his. The price of refusing is Reid’s life and those of his three young sons. Reid’s only chance to save his sons is to send them away and face the pirate’s wrath alone.

Leena Cullane Adair is stunned to find three lads hiding in her cart, and, although she only met their father a week ago, he holds her heart and her dreams, and she will do whatever it takes to keep him and his sons alive.




Enjoy an Excerpt

Still, she had to get across the road, so she took her first tentative steps. She was on a mission to reach the wardrobe mercer’s shop to buy cloth and notions, one of the reasons she and her brothers had come to this awful city. Horses, wagons, and people heading in all directions at a fast pace, none of them looking out for the others, darted around her in some sort of confusing dance unknown to Leena.

She was nearly to the shop when disaster struck.

Two young girls, herding a gaggle of geese across the muddy, rut-riddled street, arrived at the same spot as three men carrying bales of fleece coming from the opposite direction…. A chaotic mess of feathers, fleece, shouting men, and squawking geese surrounded her. Stumbling, she fell facedown over a bale of fleece now sitting ruined in the mud. She righted herself just as the geese tangled in her legs again, honking and nipping at her. …She closed her eyes and prepared herself to land on her backside.

Suddenly she felt strong arms around her waist, lifting her up. Those arms carried her safely the rest of the way across the street,… pressed against a tall, muscular man wearing a leather apron, she eventually found her footing.

“Oh, my stars,” she said in a breathless voice….Turning around to see her rescuer, she looked up into the most enchanting pair of eyes she had ever seen.


About the Author:

Susan Leigh Furlong was born in the middle of a blinding spring snowstorm at the University of Michigan, which forced her mother to walk across campus in the snow to the hospital while in labor. Susan doesn’t remember any of this auspicious beginning, but it always makes for a good story! As a child she moved across the country six times to various big cities before the age of fourteen because of her father’s career in women’s ready-to-wear clothing. At college she met and married her love, and moved to his small hometown in southern Ohio, and you couldn’t get her out of there with a crowbar! She taught first grade and fourth grade and raised her children who did not have to change schools even once. Creating stories started early in life—as is typical of most writers—even before she could actually write. Then came handwritten pages stuffed in her underwear drawer, followed by stories created on a manual typewriter. Her first computer—a Commodore 64—was replaced by a series of computers and laptops, which her husband promised she could never fill up the storage space, but she always did. At age 32 she performed in her first community theater play—Guys and Dolls—where she quickly realized that she wanted to play ALL the parts, which is exactly what a writer does. She writes and/or directs church-related plays and sketches and also performs and sings with a music and drama ministry, LightReaders.

Her love of history led her to write two plays about her now hometown, presented in reader’s theater style by local citizens, followed by two non-fiction books about the local history published by Arcadia Publishing. She loves to do the research even though old books and documents make her cough and sneeze! Susan first discovered romance novels when she won a copy of Velvet Song by Jude Deveraux at the local bookstore. She reads all varieties of books, but historical romance is forever her first choice.

Steadfast Will I Be and By Promise Made were published by The Wild Rose Press in 2019 and 2020 respectively. By Promise Made won the NEST – National Excellence in Story Telling – for Historical Romance for 2021. Her third book – Keeper of My Dreams – a continuation of the Cullane family adventures – will be officially released on September 6, 2021.

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Unexpected Connection by Sue Jaskula – Spotlight and Giveaway

October 5, 2021 By 3 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Sue Jaskula will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Confident and resilient homicide detective Jennifer Scott is instinctively suspicious when her best friend’s life is disrupted by the arrival of an unbeknownst twin sister. When a murder coincides with her appearance, the mysterious twin becomes the prime suspect.

Adding confusion to Jen’s organized life is another unexpected intrusion, her handsome and sophisticated new partner, Detective Luke O’Connor. As mischievous as he is charming, chemistry between the two intensifies, threatening Jen’s reputation and testing her limitations.

As the murder investigation unfolds, the detectives are forced to back-burner their heated connection while they race against time to figure out what other long-lost family members may be involved, how they’re connected to the twins and why they’ve surfaced now.

Read an Excerpt

His reply was also hushed, but other officers snuck curious glances our way. “Well, you are full of yourself, Detective Scott. I wasn’t hitting on you, I merely shook your hand and re-introduced myself, trying to make the situation between us comfortable since we will be working together. As your new partner, it’s my job to have your back, so to speak, so you have no choice but to have me in your personal space. I also don’t date cops and I would appreciate it if you would keep the “your type” comments to yourself since you know nothing about me, due in part to the fact that you can’t see two feet past your own ego that tells you every good-looking dude who walks by your blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pretty face must want to get into your pants.”

About the Author:

My career has spanned many years in a mix of criminal and civil law and hospital surgical administrative work. Along with my work and life experience, I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Creative Writing Certificate both from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to take early retirement and pursue a career in writing, a pursuit I have entered into with energy and enthusiasm. I am currently a registered member of Toronto Romance Writers and Crime Writers of Canada.

My husband and I share our home in Grimsby, Ontario, with our youngest daughter, her boyfriend, our dog and two cats. But I spend a great deal of time at our cottage in Kincardine, Ontario near my daughter, son-in-law and first grandson. On these shores of Lake Huron, with some of the best walking trails in the country, my imagination soars and my best stories come to life.

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