Search Results for: a shot of fear

The Seafarer’s Bride by Laura Strickland – Spotlight and Giveaway

January 9, 2023 By 6 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Laura Strickland will be awarding an ebook of the first book in the Viking Brides Series, The Berserker’s Bride, to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A year ago, Magnus Tolljursson helped repel a treacherous attack from his father’s enemies, and discovered he carries the berserker’s seed of madness. Now he must sail to the settlement from whence those attackers came, and fulfill a promise to a friend. He doesn’t know what he’ll find in Husavik and never suspects he may lose his heart.

In her father’s absence, Embra Fritisson has been engaged in a desperate battle to keep leadership of the settlement. When Magnus arrives saying her father is dead, she fears her unstable family will splinter into factions and destroy one another. She must retain control, but how can she hope to keep her head while falling in love with the enemy?

Enjoy an Excerpt

A fraught moment ensued. Embra had parted her lips to say, “I am in charge,” when an interruption occurred. Vanja came charging into the hall, pushing folks out of the way, a sword in her hand.

Ach, by Freya’s heart, this was just what Embra needed.

Vanja looked—insane. Her fair hair had escaped its plaits and her eyes were wild. She came with words pouring from her.

“Where is he? Where is he?” Focusing on Magnus Tolljursson the way a wounded cat might focus on its rival, she demanded, “Are you the one? The one who’s brought word of my father?”

Magnus Tolljursson stared, as did the handful of men he’d brought up from the boat with him.

He sounded calm though when he replied, “I am.”

“Where is he?” Vanja repeated and waved her weapon in Magnus Tolljursson’s face. Any man might be expected to back off. He did not, but held up his hands, empty of weapons.

Perhaps he did have balls the size of Odin’s head.

“Dead.” Magnus shot one inquiring look at Embra.

“My sis—” she began, only to have Vanja speak over her.

“Who killed him?” It was a howl of pain. “You?” again she waved the sword. “Was it you?”

Still, he did not step back though all of his men had their hands on their weapons, and had stepped up behind him.

Beside Embra, Runi chuckled.

“He died in battle on our shore, in Sorvagur.”

“By whose hand?”

“Does it matter?” Magnus spoke to Vanja as directly as she spoke to him, disregarding the pain that infused her voice. “Men who come to our shores seeking to defeat us must be prepared to die.”

Vanja blinked at him. “My brother, Gunnar?”

“He too breathed his last at Sorvagur.”

“Ach, by Tyr’s whiskers! I will avenge them. I swear to avenge them.”

Magnus’s men stirred and he narrowed his eyes, giving Vanja a dangerous look. “Mistress,” he bowed slightly, “as you wish.”

“Did you kill them?” She waved her sword in a wild arc. “Need I slay you?”

“I represent Sorvagur here. If you have scores to settle with anyone there, you must take it up with me.”

Ah, Embra thought upon a thrill of rare admiration. He knew not of what he spoke. No one in his right mind would take Vanja on. She was by turns heedless, cunning and treacherous.

A worthy daughter, in fact, of Friti Gunnarsson.

About the Author Multi award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Her first Scottish Historical hero, Devil Black, battled his way onto the publishing scene in 2013, and the author never looked back. Nor has she tapped the limits of her imagination. Venturing beyond Historical and Contemporary Romance, she created a new world with her ground-breaking Buffalo Steampunk Adventure series set in her native city, in Western New York. Married and the parent of one grown daughter, Laura has also been privileged to mother a number of very special rescue dogs, the latest being a little boy called Tinker, and is intensely interested in animal welfare. Her love of dogs, and her lifelong interest in Celtic history, magic and music, are all reflected in her writing. Laura’s mantra is Lore, Legend, Love, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Fake Fiancé for Christmas by Carol Burnside – Spotlight

January 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Carol Burnside who is celebrating the recent release of Fake Fiance For Christmas.

Faced with a broken engagement due to her guarded heart and her family expecting to meet her fiancé during the first Christmas without her Gran, Lia Taylor decides to take her friends’ advice. She’ll take a fake fiancé home for Christmas.

Ryan Barton grew up in foster homes, unaware he had a family until he met his grandmother at sixteen. Lia’s offer of a noisy family Christmas with a big elaborate meal sounds like heaven, even the part about pretending to be her fiancé.

As Lia and Ryan get to know each other and practice casual touching, hugs, and kisses, their feelings grow. They decide to try for a real relationship with the promise that when either of them withdraws due to old fears, the other will pull them back.

But what will save them when they both withdraw in fear? Are their recent feelings strong enough to save their new relationship or will they hide within the safety of their guarded hearts?

Enjoy an Excerpt

“They’ll expect us to touch.” Lia draped her hand across Ryan’s forearm and his eyes gentled, darkened. “Like this. Casual. Easy. And to hold hands. I hope you don’t mind.”

Ryan turned his arm over and linked his fingers through hers. “We got this.”

She swallowed, unable to tear her gaze off his, and nodded. It felt both foreign and familiar, holding hands with him.

“I think I’m going to like this gig.” He gave her fingers an easy squeeze. “Should we also practice…” His lashes lowered, gaze trained on her mouth. As the fingers of his free hand slid along her jawline, something like static electricity blazed across her skin.

Holy cow. Lia’s pulse bumped and her chest froze, making it difficult to breathe. She parted her lips to answer but couldn’t produce so much as a squeak. After she managed the tiniest of nods, he leaned forward, and his face blurred.

Ryan’s lips touched Lia’s and withdrew. He caught her in mid-gasp the second time and took advantage of her parted lips to flick his tongue against hers, igniting a fire that thawed her chest.

He angled his head and came in for more, tongues teasing, tasting, learning each other. His hands were firm on her back, pulling her closer until she was consumed in the solidness of him and the fire he stoked. She clutched at his shoulders as if they were her lifeline because she was completely engulfed in sensation.

And a choir of angels sang “Hallelujah.”

Ryan chuckled into the kiss, then tore away laughing. Lia scrambled for her phone, the Hallelujah Chorus one she’d assigned to her older brother because he rarely called. When he finally did, she considered it a small miracle. Not so much right now, though. His timing couldn’t be worse.

“What, Spence?” she demanded without preamble. “You’re on speaker.”

“Whoa. Ho, ho, ho to you, too, little sis.”

“Sorry, bad timing. We were…uhm, what’s up?”

“You tell me. My travel app shows your plane came in on time, but we haven’t heard from you. I was elected to find out what the holdup is.”

“Oh. Well, Ryan couldn’t get the same flight, and there was a slight delay, but he’s here now, and we’re about to leave the airport.”

“Right, the fiancé. We can’t wait to meet this guy and size him up.”

“Very funny. Best behavior today, and I mean it, Spence. So help me—” Lia looked over a sea of autos, anywhere but at Ryan.

“Kidding. Damn, girl, where’s your sense of humor?”

“Buried under travel stress. Hey, how’s Mom holding up?” Lia kept her brother on the line to delay renewed mortification over the kiss.

“Oh, you know.” There was a slight pause, and Spence’s voice quieted as if he’d moved out of earshot. “She’s…trying, but the tree isn’t decorated.”

“What?” Lia couldn’t believe it. She pressed her lips together. Ever since Spence had gone to college, her mom made a point of having the tree ready to welcome them home at Christmas.

“She said we’ll all do it together, and it’ll make Brian feel more at home. Having y’all here will help.”

“It’s Ryan. Geriatric brain, much?”

“I could’ve sworn Mom said Brian, but the TV was blaring. Oh, well. Hang up and drive, girl. We’re waiting, and hey, save me a hug.”

“Back at ya. Bye.” Lia returned the cell to her purse, taking extra care to stow it properly.

“Sounds like you deflected the name change deftly.” Ryan buckled his seatbelt.

Lia clicked hers into the slot, relieved to talk about any subject but their scorching-hot kiss. “Yeah, but I think it’ll be fine since your names are similar. Brian, Ryan. Easy to brush it off as ‘Oh, you misunderstood.’”

“Good.”

Silence fell between them. Lia found a radio station and slipped the gearshift into reverse. “Okay, let’s do this.”

– – –
Want to read more? Visit Carol’s website to read another excerpt.

About the Author: Carol Burnside is an award-winning author of “Sizzling romance with heart and humor.” Her personal second-chance-at-love story resulted in an enduring marriage to her high school sweetheart. They reside in the Texas hill country, where Carol enjoys visiting wildlife from her covered back porch. Like any true southerner, she drinks tea in some form year-round. Carol’s novel length manuscripts have placed in numerous contests and won several, including the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence. She also writes as Annie Rayburn.

Amazon reviews say Carol’s books are:

“Highly captivating!” “intriguing and a wonderful read” “Emotional and heartwarming” “Engaging!” and “Great reading!”

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Carol is also releasing the 5th book in her Sweetwater Springs series: Mistletoe Weddings during the holidays. Check it out at your favorite retailer today!

Buy the book at your favorite online venue, Amazon, Amazon UK, or Google Play.

Release blitz organized by Writer Marketing Services.

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Winter Blogfest: Michael Preston

December 19, 2022 By 4 Comments

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of my book Ticket to Paradise for one lucky winner.

Christmas at Grandma’s Farm by Michael Preston

The holidays are here, and of course that brings up many memories of times past when I was a kid growing up in the 60’s. I especially remember Christmas at grandma’s farm in Ohio. She was a widow, living in a large brick house built in the early 1800’s by Quakers. Originally, it had no indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse in the backyard where the early inhabitants would go to do their business, but when grandma bought the place, she converted one closet upstairs into a bathroom. The water pressure was terrible. It would take fifteen minutes to fill up the bathtub.

There were several wells from which water could be hand pumped for cooking and washing. I still remember the delicious taste of the cold water I would drink right from the pump. Grandma kept the pumps even after the indoor plumbing was installed. My cousins and I would play with them for hours, and eventually we would all be soaked.

As the days would go by and it would get closer and closer to Christmas, I monitored the weather forecasts daily. We lived a good hour’s drive away from grandma’s house. My worst nightmare was there would be a big storm the day before Christmas, making the roads impassable, and we could not go to grandma’s house. This meant missing out on presents and seeing my cousins. This was the only time all year we would all be together.

Our family tree was not huge. I had only five cousins, plus my younger brother and sister. You can imagine the excitement when we were all in the same room. While the adults sat and talked in the living room, we were running all over that old house, sliding down the banister on our stomachs, playing hide and go seek, and eating everything in sight. Grandma was an excellent cook, and she would make popcorn balls for all of us kids to eat. There would always be a huge turkey dinner with all the trimmings, which we would woof down quickly, because as soon as dinner was over, it would be time to open presents!

I hope all of you out there have memories of past Christmas gatherings which were as joyful as mine. If you’re stumped for a last-minute gift, my book Ticket to Paradise could fill that void.

Merry Christmas!

Art Garcia, a small-time drug dealer, is always looking for his ticket to paradise, the one thing that will make all his problems go away. Angela, his sociopathic sister, couldn’t care less about her brother. Abused as children, their twisted lives are going in different directions until greed brings them together in a perilous venture.

Their partnership ends suddenly when Angela is found dead after a rainstorm, buried in a massive mudslide. Detectives Ron Jackson and Mary Ann McDonald take the case when an autopsy reveals someone shot Angela dead before the mudslide. While searching for her killer, the detectives discover that eight children under Angela’s protection, vanished without a trace. As suspects die, the detectives race to find Art; the only one left alive who knows what happened to the children.

Art finally has his ticket to paradise, a winning lotto ticket. But cashing it will provide the detectives with a motive for the murder of his sister. Torn between greed and the fear of prison, his situation grows more and more desperate.

I am a freelance writer with a background in telecommunications and appraising. “Ticket to Paradise” is my first novel. When I am not writing, I like to amuse myself by creating mounds of sawdust in my wood shop, or visiting a country I have always wanted to see.

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Vanessa Jared’s Got a Man by LaQuette – Spotlight and Giveaway

November 28, 2022 By 1 Comment

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. LaQuette 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.

Vanessa Jared, a 40-something divorcée, decided that the best way to pull herself out of their post-divorce slump was to form The Savvy, Sexy, Singles Club and start the “Do Me” portion of her and her friends’ lives.

But on the two-year anniversary, a sexy sheriff shows up on Vanessa’s doorstep wanting her to help him keep his little sister from marrying her no-good ex. Vanessa is not down for this at all. She wants nothing to do with her ex…until she spots a photo of her ex’s new fiancée wearing her grandmother’s ring—which he clearly stole from her. So now it is on. Vanessa is ready to take this trifling (fill-in-the-blank) down. What she does not expect is to fall in love along the way.

Enjoy an Excerpt

She turned around to face him, and he damn near missed the bottom step by focusing on her instead of his feet. She was wearing a tuxedo that fit every curve she had and made him ball his hands into tight fists for fear he wouldn’t be able to keep them to himself.

Her sleek bob had been curled into beach waves with one side pinned back, exposing the elegant curve of her neck. Her jacket was open, and the sight of her plump breasts essentially standing at attention for his viewing pleasure made his tuxedo pants more uncomfortable than the stiff material usually would.

“That bad,” she said with a playful grin. She knew damn well there was nothing remotely bad about her look or her outfit. Every- thing about it said Sexiest Boss of the Year.

“Yeah,” he choked out. “Perhaps we should stay in and discuss my thoughts on what you’re wearing.”

She walked closer to where he stood, pushing both hands in her pockets, which gave him a better view of the beautiful brown skin of her chest and bosom. She was definitely not playing fair.

“Really?” she questioned, lifting her brow in mock confusion. “What exactly are your thoughts?”

He somehow found the strength and focus to make his legs and feet work to step down off that bottom step that led into the living room. “I’m afraid what I have to say might offend your delicate nature. Getting slapped right before an event may depreciate the value of the goods I have to put on display to get people to part with their coins.”

“And if I promise to keep my hands to myself?”

He stepped closer until they were almost touching. “That’s the problem.” He looked her up and down before bringing his gaze back to hers. “I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself.”

He waited to see if she would back away. If she showed even the slightest bit of hesitancy, he’d pause this game they were playing. Yes, he wanted her again. But only if the desire was mutual. His ego couldn’t take it if he didn’t see the exact same need in her eyes. “You see that as a problem?” She shrugged her shoulders and folded her arms, pushing her tits impossibly high, making the de- licious vee of her cleavage more pronounced and tempting. “I see it as a goal.”

“I keep telling you you’re playing with fire.”

“And I keep telling you, I like the heat. What’s the problem, Sheriff?”

About the Author:2021 Vivian Award finalist and DEIA activist in the romance industry, LaQuette writes bold stories featuring multicultural characters. She crafts dramatic, emotionally epic tales that are deeply pigmented by reality’s paintbrush.

This Brooklyn native’s novels are a unique mix of unapologetically sexy, stylish, & sensational characters who are confident in their right to appear on the page.

She is the 2016 Author of the Year Golden Apple Award winner & the 2016 Write Touch Readers Award winner. Writing—her escape from everyday madness— has always been a friend and source of comfort. At the age of sixteen, she read her first romance novel and realized the genre was missing something: people that looked and lived like her. As a result, her characters and settings are always designed to provide positive representations of people of color and various marginalized communities.

She loves hearing from readers and discussing the crazy characters that are running around in her head causing so much trouble

Latoya Smith at Arthouse Literary Agency
Please send all publishing and film industry
inquiries to Latoya@arthouselit.com .

Keisha Mennefee at Honey Magnolia Co Publicity
Please send all press and or publicity inquiries to keisha@honeymagnolia.co

Please send all conference speaker and teaching inquiries to LaQuette@LaQuette.com.
LaQuette at
Brooklyn Girl Ink, LLC
412 N Main St Ste 100
Buffalo, Wy 82834 USA

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Blood Sport by David J. Gatward

October 4, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Blood Sport by David J. Gatward
Publisher: Weirdstone Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A mysterious red sports car. A bloodied animal corpse. He’s caught the scent of a brutal crime, and he won’t stop until it’s solved…

DCI Harry Grimm is weary of humanity’s evil. Dragged to the middle of nowhere during the darkest of hours, he’s enraged by grisly evidence of a horrific illegal dog fight. And when the mutilated remains turn out to be a gamekeeper’s stolen pet, the gritty detective senses he has a solid lead after learning of a long-running feud.

Immediately putting his team on the case, Grimm worries the stakes may be escalating when the animal’s owner is beaten and left for dead. And though the tough investigator puts his nose to the ground and follows the bloody clues, he fears there’s only one shot to apprehend the real monster.

Can he bring a loathsome criminal to justice before the savagery turns deadly?

DCI Harry Grimm is now the permanent DCI for their small community, and he feels he’s finally settling right in. So, when a friend and local calls Harry in the middle of the night, upset at finding blood and the signs of a fight he’s not worried about the lack of sleep. Only all indications of the crime scene indicate there’s a ring of dog fighters and Harry knows too well how insidious – and dangerous – such criminals and actions can be. Will they be able to stop things before they get out of hand?

I’ve been really enjoying this series and found this book to be a solid addition to it. While there’s quite a few smaller plots that are linked in to this dog-fighting ring I feel readers who haven’t read any of the previous stories should be able to follow along quite well without any problems. Those of us who have read the previous installments however should be very happy – I was thrilled that quite a few of the previously unsolved issues got cleaned up in this book and felt quite satisfied with how those plot-arcs were resolved.

There is a fair bit of character growth in a number of Harry’s team in this book and I found it overall a really well written and interesting book. I was pleased to see this progress and feel it will likely make a lot of other readers happy too. I was glad the animal scenes weren’t too gritty and there was no titillation in these scenes – no graphic descriptions of abuse or cruelty to animals and indeed I was very pleased that the police are shown as taking this kind of cruelty and criminality every bit as seriously as abuse and damage to humans.

Readers looking for a country feel but still strongly police procedural and mystery solving story should absolutely try this series. Personally, I feel the books are better read in order, but I think they can be read out of order and still enjoyed.

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The Virus of Beauty series by C.B. Lyall – Q&A and Giveaway

September 15, 2022 By 7 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

The ability to teleport. I’d no longer have to use airplane to visit my family in England or for vacation. We waste so much time getting from one place to another. I think it would be amazing to take seconds rather than hours to travel.

What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

I’ve parachuted. When I was 21 years old. A friend and I went to a small airfield in Sunderland, UK. Being the only female on the jump I had to go first. We jumped solo on static lines. It is the most frightening experience I’ve had. I blacked out after I jump. The chute opening revived me. Needless to say, I only jumped the once.

When writing descriptions of your hero/ine, what feature do you start with?

Height usually, although this is the first time, I’ve thought about it. At school I was taller than average. And having lived in India and Hong Kong I became aware of other people’s height a lot. My youngest son grew to be above 6 feet and was made very conscious of his height when we traveled around India and Asia. Strangers would want to include him in their family photographs!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I like the “Save The Cat” method, which definitely makes me a plotter. Writing a series, I think you must be. That doesn’t mean I know everything about the story when I sit down to write a first draft, but I know where I want to start and how the book will end.

Did you learn anything from writing this book? If so, what?

First, I learned that I could write a novel length manuscript. That is a big deal in itself. A lot of would-be authors start and never finish that first book. I also learned about the process of writing. Giving yourself permission to write without editing that first draft, then being patient about the number of revisions required before a manuscript is ready for publication.

The Virus of Beauty – Book 1

Ugliness is power, and the Virus of Beauty is spreading causing panic throughout the witch population.

Wilf Gilvary is a teenage wizard who is terrified of using magic. When his father dies under mysterious circumstances, the same day the Mages Crystal shatters, Wilf is plunged into the middle of a political struggle between the witches and wizards in the Magical Realm. He’d rather play soccer than practice magic, but he’s forced to make a choice between the life of a normal Hong Kong teen and one of wizardry after a powerful virus begins to decimate the witch community. The cure is spellbound in a journal Wilf inherited from his father and when his friend Katryna contracts the virus, Wilf understands that he must overcome his fear of magic to unlock the journal’s secrets – but will it be too late to save her?

The Veil of Corruption – The Virus of Beauty Book 2

Witches and magic are taking over Wilf’s life.

After being thrust into a long-standing conflict between the witches and wizards that has destabilized the Magical Realm and finding the antidote for the Virus of Beauty, Wilf would like to return to his normal soccer playing teenage life. But he can’t rest until his stepsister, Myra, is caught and brought to justice. It’s been three days since Myra took to the skies above Hong Kong and disappeared. Now Wilf is accused of corrupting the Veil, a defensive barrier between the witch and wizard cities. As the spell expands throughout the magical realm it is attacking witches and wizards. But Wilf would rather embrace his witch friend, Katryna, than his wizard powers. When evil forces have other plans and they kidnap Katryna, Wilf realizes that he’d do anything to save her and the Magical Realm, even if it means risking his own life by connecting to the primary source of all magic.

The Vassal of Magic – The Virus of Beauty Book 3

Wilf Gilvary is a slave to the magic he hates.

Yet his powers seem a solution for saving the Magical Realm and Katryna, the girl he loves. If only he could figure out how to tap his magic’s full potential.

As factions of witches and wizards vie for control of the Magical Realm, Wilf embarks on a harrowing journey that plunges him into the realm’s ancient secrets. At first, Wilf begins to doubt everything. His affection for Katryna might be the remnants of a broken love spell. And he still struggles to control his magic.

But Wilf risks his life to learn more about his powers and his destiny. It leaves him facing an impossible choice: forever abandon his dreams of life as a Normal in Hong Kong, or allow magic and the Magical Realm to perish from the world.

Enjoy an Excerpt from The Virus of Beauty

“Wilf, is that you?” Reginald’s shout was followed by a creaking sound from the basement stairs.

Wilf bolted for the front door. His shoes crunched on the broken glass. He jerked open the door and the bell gave a traitorous jingle. He shot out of the store and back into their living quarters. He barged into the kitchen.

“What happened?” Myra asked, putting down the bread knife.

He threw himself onto a chair, poured cornflakes and milk into a bowl, and shoveled a spoonful into his mouth.

“Wilf,” Myra said, taking on the adult tone she’d started using two years ago, when she’d turned eighteen. “I take it you didn’t find your card in the store.”

“It wasn’t me,” he mumbled through his mouthful of cereal. “But I’ll be blamed. Tell him I was here, having breakfast.”

“Why am I covering for you again?” She folded her arms and tried to look more imposing than her five-foot, two-inch height would allow.

Wilf’s spoon leaped from his hand and splashed into the bowl with the first heavy footstep on the stairs. The faucet stopped dripping and the clock held its next tick. The small kitchen in the Gilvarys’ Hong Kong apartment held its breath.

The kitchen door flew open, and revealed his father, shaking with rage. After a moment, Reginald thrust his hands into his pants pockets.

“You’ve shattered the Mages Crystal.” His lips formed a thin line on his angular face. “It’s been in our family for generations.

About the Author Carolyn Lyall was born in Stockton-On-Tees, United Kingdom. As a child Carolyn growing up in Northern England in the sixties Carolyn loved sports, reading and amateur dramatics. She joined a renaissance group, practiced the broadsword and dreamed of visiting other worlds. Her
passion for what could be drove her forward when faced with everyday struggles. Her first memorable skirmish with gender inequality came at nine-years old when she was told that only boys were allowed to play soccer. In response, she simply refused to do any classwork until
they changed their old-fashioned policies. She won that battle.

At the age of 18, she took a role as typist for a nursing school in Middlesbrough. She then moved to London and enrolled in night school. She was quickly recognized for her ability to fit in anywhere and for not being afraid to push back on the predominantly male leadership. She
eventually became a project manager in software development and micro-computers, bridging the gap between computer programmers and management.

Her dream to travel was finally realized in 1990 when she moved to New York City, USA with her husband and the first of three sons. This was the steppingstone to a lifelong adventure that has taken her and her family to India, Belgium and Hong Kong.

Raising her family in multiple countries around the world, she saw that each move, while a shock, was an opportunity for her sons to redefine themselves against new challenges and different cultural norms. Now, that her sons have left home, Carolyn has used her passion for
the fantastic to create a world where every day gender inequalities are at the forefront of a world ending conflict. She shares this story through the eyes of a young man who is suddenly thrust into this new world along with all of his own woes and prejudices. The introduction to this world is in Carolyn’s debut YA fantasy novel, “The Virus of Beauty,” which wasreleased July 31, 2019 under C B Lyall.

Carolyn has published two short stories in an annual anthology by 25 Servings of Soop. She wrote a number of articles for the American Women’s Associates Magazine. Fueled by her love of the works of Terry Pratchett, Sarah J Maas, Cassandra Clare, Brandon Sanderson and others, Carolyn has completed a number of writing courses, which included a Master Fantasy/Science Fiction writers course with Gotham Writers’ Workshop, a YA Voice class and Advance Novel Writing course at Sarah Lawrence College’s Writing Institute.

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Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen

August 25, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Beauty and the Thief by Shana Galen
The Royal Saboteurs Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Historical, Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Callahan Kelly is a conman, pure and simple. With his dark hair, dark eyes, and dimpled smile, he can smooth talk anyone out of anything and has a keen nose for sniffing out liars and thieves. So clearly someone somewhere made a mistake including him on a train heading toward a training ground with an elite group of agents for the Crown. But Baron, the leader of the newly formed Royal Saboteurs, makes a deal with Callahan: stay until his troubles in London die down, and if he still wants to go, he’ll be paid and discharged. But Cal finds the training at the camp fascinating, and even more intriguing is Bridget, the red-haired beauty who’s immune to his charm. When Cal is asked to partner with Bridget to infiltrate a group of Irish separatists or return to London, the choice is neither simple nor easy.

Bridget Murray was sent from London to serve as Baron’s secretary. She never expected to be given the chance to carry out a mission for the Royal Saboteurs. She doesn’t like Callahan Kelly from the moment she meets him. But when they’re paired to infiltrate the Irish nationalists, she reluctantly agrees to pose as his wife. Living in close quarters with Callahan isn’t as awful as she expected, and that’s just the problem. The closer they become and the more real the danger surrounding him, the more she realizes she doesn’t ever want to let him go.

Ms. Galen has done it again. Given readers a new adventure with intrigue, suspense and drama while weaving a romance between two unlikely people – a lady who is proper, prompt, great with schedules and cyphers, and a man who’s a thief running from the results of his addictions. How can a heroine who lives in her head, and a hero who thinks of himself as nothing but a selfish thief more worried about how much blunt he’ll get instead of any good he might do, fall in love? That’s the challenge and the author delivered.

To say their first meeting was unusual is an understatement. Readers understand right away what type of person Bridget is, and based on the characters that chase Cal (Callahan) they’ll know that trouble abounds with a capital T.

The first part follows their training. As this is the first book in the series, the author spends time introducing the secondary characters that are going affect the hero and heroine, either directly or indirectly. Baron, the leader of the Royal Saboteurs, is in charge but overall, his role isn’t a forceful one. He triggers the plot and moves things along but it’s like he steps back and lets things play out. He steps in when needed but the relationship that develops between Cal and Bridget is pretty much tailor-made for the mission.

When it was time to go, it started off kind of slow. Makes sense since they have to get the lay of the land, the players and their cover story. The thing about the drama and suspense as Cal meets and tries to get on the good side of the head villain, is that it seems more drama-light. It’s not heavy handed, well, except for the part in the train yard, but the whole delivery of the ultimatums, challenges and the ‘spying’ seemed glossed over, so I never felt a deep sense of worry or fear for the main characters. One of the female villains is quite overt in her distrust and it escalated from 1 – 60 really fast. How Cal escapes from the locked room is again drama-lite. It didn’t grab the depths of my emotions, but the whole scenario did entertain.

The one thing readers won’t be surprised about is what happens when a hero and heroine find themselves in close quarters, especially when they both try to lie to themselves that they are not affected by the other person, that they don’t really like each other all that much. They find out the truth of their lies and end up eventually exploding in passion. Readers will have no doubts as to their true feelings for each other, not their hearts and not their physical attraction – it’s quite clear Bridget and Cal are meant for each other, and they are falling in love.

The big dust-up when the main villain catches up with the hero and heroine seemed anticlimactic to me. I didn’t get the feeling of impending doom, nor did I worry about the outcome. I was surprised as to how it ended, how they ended up escaping. I didn’t see that coming, until I read the description of another party in the scene. Then it made sense. I found it kind of sad too. Only then did I get worried because gunshots can easily become fatal.

The happy ever after is one befitting a newly created outfit called the Royal Saboteurs. One adventure down, another to go – this time, Cal and Bridget are more than what they started out like in the beginning of Beauty and the Thief. They are no longer alone – they have each other. They have grown, matured, fallen in love and in doing so, have become better people. They now have a goal, a job and the strength of their love to see them through the rough spots as they head to their next mission. I wonder what it’ll be? I enjoyed this novel enough to be intrigued and excited to read the next story.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tarot in The Starfolk Arcana and Starfolk Falling by Martha Dunlop – Guest Blog and Giveaway

August 4, 2022 By 10 Comments

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish promotions. Martha Dunlop 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.

Tarot in The Starfolk Arcana and Starfolk Falling

I have long been considering writing a book using tarot. I learned to read the cards years ago, and I’m always inspired by their rich imagery.

Although tarot is largely known as a divination tool, it is more helpful for personal development than for telling you what’s going to happen next week. It can help you get a feel for what’s coming, and which path is likely to work out best for you, but specifics tend to come from the reader rather than the actual cards.

I considered writing a book where I allowed card pulls to dictate the story, but who know where that would have ended up? I can hear my structural editor gasp as I write this, and I’m sure she’ll be grateful I haven’t followed this idea through … yet!

In the end, I decided to use the tarot archetypes different characters. This starts simply, with the main characters each personifying one card, but becomes more complicated as some of them start to switch.

Beth, my main character, is the first card in the deck, The Fool in traditional tarot, or Potential in The Starfolk Tarot, the deck in the book. Beth comes across The Starfolk Tarot in a local bookshop, and is drawn to the deck even though she doesn’t know how to read the cards. She buys it on a whim, and when she opens the box she finds that one of the cards, Intention, or The Chariot in traditional tarot, has a picture of someone she knows.

Just before she bought the deck, she was in a TV studio and was challenged by the guest on stage, Amelia, who was trying to frighten her audience with stories of paranormal attack. Beth could see through the stories. She knew they weren’t real, but the rest of the audience were pulled along by Amelia’s charisma and drawn into the trap. Amelia started off with the same Tarot card as Beth, Potential, but by the time the book begins she has already changed card. She is now represented by Fear, or The Devil, which asks us to face our own fears and learn through them. Amelia tries to build a following by inspiring fear in others, but will they learn through the experience or will they get drawn in by the hype over and over again?

Also in the TV studio is Jonan, the mysterious man with the violet eyes, the man on the Intention tarot card. Beth feels instantly drawn to him. She feels a connection she can’t explain, and although he looks completely normal, she knows he is different in ways most people can’t understand. His role is to help Beth wake up to the path she incarnated for, and to help her realise the importance of her own intention in life.

As Beth becomes more involved, and meets other members of Jonan’s family, the mystery of the tarot deck deepens. At the beginning of the book Jonan explains that he knew the deck’s illustrator and she used his family as models. But how did Beth’s own image end up in the deck as Potential? As the story progresses, more characters from the deck arrive in their lives, and even Jonan can’t explain it.

As characters change and decisions are made, some of them change their card allegiance. Amelia changes from Potential to Fear, but this has a domino effect and other characters shift then and in the future.

The deck doesn’t tell all, but it does give an insight into the energy of the character experience and a roadmap of their journey.

Do you know the tarot? Which card would represent you and your journey right now? And how do you think that knowledge might help you to make the best decisions in your life?

Destiny calls. Soulmates draw closer. One woman stands in the way.

Beth trusts her psychic senses. So when her birthday visit to a daytime TV talk show takes a weird turn, she knows something is wrong. Amelia, the celebrity on stage, is oddly fixated on Beth and the man with the microphone is hauntingly familiar. Things become even stranger when she buys a tarot deck, and they are all pictured in the cards.

Jonan has waited an eternity to be with the woman who haunts his dreams. When he finally sees her at the TV studio, he hopes life with his soulmate is within reach. But as Amelia refuses to let go of their past together, his hopes fade.

Amelia stands between Beth and Jonan. Spinning tales of supernatural threats to her adoring fan base, she builds a personality cult through fear of the paranormal. As her power grows, she does her best to scare Beth away from Jonan and plans to reclaim him for herself.

United by a destiny that spans lifetimes, Beth and Jonan are determined to stop Amelia’s fear-mongering. But Amelia has more than one card to play. Even though they are fated to be together, Amelia’s destructive nature may once again tear them apart.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Beth sighed and slouched down in her front row seat at the TV studio. If she’d known she was going to be subjected to this drivel, she wouldn’t have come. She’d been here for two hours already, and not one of the stories had been genuine. Her so-called friend and flatmate had a lot to answer for. She was pleased Laura loved her new job, and it had been obvious her friend’s enthusiasm about the chat show was overblown, but this was worse than she’d expected.

She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned. Laura was standing off to the side of the set, waving her clipboard at Beth. She shifted on her mile-high spikes. Her feet must have been so uncomfortable, but Laura had been determined to make an impression today. Her eyes were bright as she scanned the set, drinking in her world. This job was her triumph. Beth couldn’t fault her enthusiasm, she just wished Laura had left her out of today’s charade.

Seated on the dais, Katherine Haversham waited for a moment, eyebrows raised, bright red lips pursed.

‘Thank you for staying with us over the break. I know this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Model and It girl Amelia Faustus is here, live, on Deep and Dark to break her silence over the horrific out-of-body attack that took her from the media spotlight. After weeks of fear and soul-searching, she has decided to step back into the public eye. Amelia, welcome. Tell us what happened.’ Katherine leaned forward. ‘Start from the beginning.’

About the Author:Martha is a dreamer and lover of stories who likes nothing better than spending her days getting to know the characters in her head.
She is a tarot card reader and reiki master, and loves to chat reading, writing and all things mystical on social media, as well as posting pictures of her fellow pack-member, Bertie the Cavalier.

A fiddle player, Martha fell in love with traditional music, particularly Irish, and is also teaching herself to play the Irish Bouzouki. She played her way through her English degree at York and remembers that time as much for the music as the books.

Martha is the author of three books: The Starfolk Arcana, Starfolk Falling, and standalone Wild Shadow. She is currently working on Book 3 of The Starfolk Trilogy, Starfolk Rising.

You can keep up with Martha’s news, book releases and extra content at www.marthadunlop.com, or on her Amazon page.

Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Head shot by Gene Genie Photography, www.genegenie.photography

The first two books of the trilogy are on sale for only $0.99 for a limited time at Amazon.

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The Lightning Rod by Ged Gillmore

June 3, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Lightning Rod by Ged Gillmore
Publisher: deGrevilo Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

All she wanted was an Uber – instead she got a corpse.

When gunshots ring out on a respectable Sydney street, Anna Moore finds herself sharing an Uber with a dead man. To make matters worse, the dead man was part of the feared Mendoza drug cartel, and now Anna’s the only one who knows his whispered last words.

Ruthless undercover cop, Charlie Hall, sees a perfect opportunity when she interviews Anna. Charlie has a secret agenda, and Anna might just be the perfect pawn for her to use to bring down Mendoza’s operation.

Meanwhile, the Uber driver, Bassam, still has the dead man’s bags in his trunk. He should tell the cops. But what harm will it do to take a look first?

The cops want results. The drug cartel wants no loose ends.

As Anna, Bassam and Charlie descend into the murky depths of the criminal underworld they’ll have to trust each other to outwit Mendoza. But when pressure mounts and morality blurs, the three will face a desperate fight that only two of them will survive…

Anna’s walk of shame late one Saturday evening is interrupted by what she’s positive is the sound of a gunshot in a ritzy Sydney suburb. In a matter of moments her regular life is thrown into chaos when she shares her Uber home with a stranger who ends up dying in her arms. Anna is the only person who hears this dying man’s final words and all too soon her regular existence is tied up with a fierce skirmish between one of the biggest drug cartels and the police. Anna has a ruthless cop on her heels, determined to use Anna as bait in shutting the cartel down, and the uber driver, Bassam, is left literally holding the bags everyone forgot in the rear of his car. These three lives are now forever entwined – but can they all survive?

I’ve read a few of Gillmore’s previous books and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I’ve found his gritty, darkly humorous writing tone really appeals to my tastes and I adore how Gillmore isn’t afraid to make his characters – even his heroes – be flawed and all too human. I find it refreshing and an excellent read although the darker undertones often won’t be to everyone’s tastes. Readers who enjoy heavily and well plotted action packed mystery/thrillers should absolutely give this book a try. I was pleased Gillmore didn’t rush the first chapter of this book – this was no movie-like, high octane, heart pounding rush of a scene, but still managed to a hundred percent grab my attention and empathy and hook me in to the story. I enjoyed Anna’s character and found her modern and relatable but it was very clear there were numerous layers bubbling under the surface. The fact I could so easily see this very scene happening in reality pretty much anywhere in the world just helped draw me in and grab me and not let go.

The three main characters took a bit of time to explore in greater detail, but this full length novel had ample time to really delve into each character and show the reader many of the complex and multi-faceted layers. No character is ever really as simple or straight forward as a quick glance might portray and so I really enjoyed that Gillmore spent quite a bit of time unraveling Anna, Charlie and Bassam. The pace of the plot moved along well but I was glad it wasn’t some over-the-top, movie style, action sequence where there just wasn’t time to catch your breath. I really enjoyed that the longer length of this novel was such that the events – and in particular the three main characters – could all be explored in depth and in good time.

Readers who like a modern, realistic and complicated plot with strongly written characters should find this story really fits the bill for them. With enough action and pace to keep readers attention, but enough detail and complexity to appeal to those who like a more plot and character driven story I felt Gillmore struck an excellent balance and really delivered with this. An excellent concept that was superbly written and carried out this was an awesome story and one I will really enjoy rereading again in the future. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Snap Me Up by Landra Graf – Spotlight and Giveaway

May 10, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Long and Short Reviews welcomes Landra Graf who is celebrating the recent release of Snap Me Up, the first book in the Full Throttle Cyborgs series. Enter for the chance to win a $50.00 First for Romance Gift Card! Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.

For this mechanic, anything is fair game.

Snapper Rodriguez never met a woman or a racer he didn’t like, until Gina Morales shows up. She’s butting her head under every hood, moving his tools and plain annoying. He’d rather fall down a mine shaft and lose his other limb than put up with her any longer.

Gina Morales is still trying to figure out what it means to be human, and as the first AI with a body in existence, she’s eager to find her maker. A racing garage like Full Throttle seems like a great place to start, though the head mechanic is an ass and she can’t help but get involved when their latest racing engine fails.

When Snapper and Gina are forced to work together to create a new engine and steal parts from competing racing gangs, the thrill of the job and the close quarters bring unwanted attraction. Too bad Snapper still wants her gone and will do anything to make that happen, even promise her tastes of human connection that she’s never experienced before. As things heat up, the threat to Gina’s synthetic heart grows, along with her confusion. They’ll have to decide if love is worth the risk or if this is a finish line they can’t cross.

Reader advisory: This book contains references to theft, cyborgs, and the major injury of a minor character.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Wrench to the left to loosen. Wrench to the right to tighten. Gina Morales found the process interesting, like everything else human.

Who came up with the idea to tighten clockwise or loosen counterclockwise? Who came up with a clock?

Of course, she could answer these questions with her big AI brain, though completing the actions, experiencing them, meant far more than simply knowing.

A loud winding noise started at the opposite end of the bay and Gina didn’t even bother to look. No, she’d tried to tell that idiot Snapper the engine wouldn’t work, but he, like most male humans, believed he knew more than a woman did.

All right, that may be unfair. He believes he knows more than me. Stubborn through and through.

A small explosive blast erupted at the opposite end of the bay, the air wafting the scents of combustion and melting metal. Then the fire exhaust compression tanks hissed. This brought a different smell. Gina sniffed and got a good hint of ozone, crisp and clean, before the fans kicked in to clear out any possible toxic chemical reactions.

“Fuck!” Snapper’s exclamation brought a smile to her face.

Since the first day Gina had stepped into the Full Throttle mechanics bay, Snapper had acted suspicious and rude. Though she half admired his cautious nature, it got a little old when he questioned every move she made.

Sure, she was lying to his face, but that was for her safety and security. No one could know she was the first-ever synthetic. Her AI brain had once been the primary software component of a ship named after her, but she’d evolved, and six months prior had discovered a madman from Earth’s moon had worked with someone on Mars to create synthetic bodies. It was her chance to exceed her parameters and prove her worth to her creator.

Though becoming human had opened a whole new universe for her.

It’s all new.

Snapper swore again and threw something. Gina set her wrench down and leaned up, squaring her shoulders as she approached him.

“It wouldn’t have done that if you—”

“Don’t say it, Gina.” Snapper brought his hand up and massaged his temples, rubbing black slick all over his tan skin.

The dirt marring his face bothered her. The lack of attention to cleanliness—she itched to take care of it. Problem-solving was a natural reaction to her root programming, as it had been for more than twelve years.

“You have—”

He whirled around to face her, blue eyes blazing. “Are you finished with the engine tune-up on that hauler?”

A shit job he’d given her for daring to make a suggestion the last time. As an AI, she should have learned her lesson, and she had, but being human meant trying again. At least, Sampson had always told her that.

“I’m almost done. Just tightening the last few bolts.”

“Then maybe stick to it and let me worry about the engine.”

She took a deep breath. “I would be happy to, though you should know that if you added an extra row of plugs, it would be able to distribute the load more evenly.”

“You’re a racing engineer now, are you? Your skills were slip drives and trolling motors when you showed up. Best stick to haulers, drifters and ships, and leave the racers to us.”

Gina clenched her jaw. “Snapper—”

“Gina, how about you finish your assignment and let me deal with ’ol grumpy ass here.” The voice beside her belonged to Drag, the newly appointed leader of Frog Lick and the Full Throttle gang. This town and the gang had once belonged to the Smiths, but they were long gone now, moved on or arrested. What was left was a blend of Smiths, others from another gang called Macintosh and some stragglers from non-affiliated gangs who had earned a place with Full Throttle.

Drag had been the one to give her a chance, while his buddy Snapper wanted to give her a hard time. Where Drag was all blond hair, straight-cut and slicked-back, with a solid build and trimmed goatee, Snapper was dark, curly hair and untamed beard. Like a wild man fitting into the uncivilized stereotypes often used to describe Mars men on the Upper Planets.

“Aye, aye, cap…er, boss.” She caught herself but didn’t miss how Drag’s blond eyebrow raised a fraction.

Instead of doubling down with more words that might give herself away, or cause more questions, she pivoted on her foot and went right back to the hauler. Her wrench waited for her, and she grabbed it, though her curiosity couldn’t be helped. She’d always been more of a listener anyway, from her years possessing an inanimate object.

“I don’t like her, Drag.”

She wrenched with a little more force than planned, and the damn bolt squeaked. Her grip eased up as the conversation continued.

“You could at least hear her out. She might have a good idea or two.”

Gina liked Drag. Liked him a lot. He was logical, smart, thoughtful, and he was constantly attempting to improve the gang-town, in more ways than others did. Starting with equality for women and men… Prior to Drag taking over as gang leader, women weren’t allowed to work in the mechanics bay or any areas of ship building and mining.

Snapper growled. “Maybe, but I don’t have time for ideas right now. We needed this racer ready to start testing. We’re pushing it as things are. Now, I got nothing.”

“You got a body, just not an engine. It’s all right, we have time and you go back to the drawing board. We’ll get thoughts from others at the town meeting tonight. Many heads are better than one.”

Funny how Gina had tried to tell Snapper the same thing a couple of days ago and he’d shot her down. Drag, on the other hand, was able to get through. At least, Snapper’s weary sigh implied most of his fight was gone.

“Fine, I’ll be at the meeting, though I was hoping to skip it.”

“No,” Drag replied. “I need you there. You and Rune are my right hands. We need to show a united front, more than ever.”

Gina tightened the last bolt in place and slammed the engine cover down, doing her best to give the impression that she wasn’t hanging on every word…except the pair had gone silent. She glanced over and saw Snapper’s pensive expression. Those fingers were back to massaging engine grease into his skin.

She rubbed her own fingertips together. The presence of grease there made her stomach turn a bit. Dirt, grime—she’d been a ship, knew the feel of such things, yet even now she ached to clean her hands.

“They turned us down, didn’t they?”

Snapper’s question was met by Drag’s nod of agreement. Not good at all.

She gathered her tools and dropped them in the box against the wall. Another quick look—Drag and Snapper were now talking to their driver, Hemi. She took that moment to slip away to the sink and contemplate her next move.

The water and soap were a mash of odd sensations that she’d never gotten used to, though less overwhelming than the baths with the full immersion into the liquid. She’d almost frozen in fear the first time she’d cleaned herself, her experience limited to the ion showers on the ships. No water, no waste. Though here, everything was recycled, filtered and re-used.

Soapy suds were swept clean by droplets of liquid—the same liquid that powered humanity. Seventy percent of their bodies was composed of this life-giving nectar.

Gina dried her hands on a towel then took another peek around the corner—with Drag and Snapper sidetracked, she could log her progress on the hauler in the computer and potentially access the other files. It wouldn’t take long, and this was her best chance, while the system was unlocked and available.

She hadn’t dared let the machine log her as getting in after hours or attempting to erase the evidence. In other circumstances, a little light hacking might work, but one never knew when a tech might discover her digital fingerprints and cause her trouble.

Snapper’s attitude toward her increased her desire to take the risk. She was tired of waiting, taking it slow, per Sampson’s suggestion. Hell, Sampson didn’t even know she wanted to find her maker.

Maybe Sampson didn’t fix my morality and ethics subroutines from when I was hacked eight years ago.

She logged the information then let her fingers fly. Her eyes scanned everything as fast as she could. Access to the Smiths’ old files, the visitors, the mechanics, the software developers and ship builders… The name imprinted on her mind, Torrent, never appeared anywhere.

Clicking out of the last file took her back to the main screen.

“I see you watching him. Best not to get any ideas.” Snapper’s deep timbre washed over her, a low rumble like when she’d be caught in the edge of a current floating through space and trying to get her bearings.

She froze. “What do you mean?”

“You watching Drag, getting that admiring look in your eyes like he invented Marsanium or something.”

Turning slowly, Gina found little to no space between them. Two steps max, but they were eye-to-eye. The big difference between her and most of the other women in Frog Lick—they had to look up to him. Maybe she did intimidate him. Sampson had suggested as much on their last holo-call.

“He didn’t invent Marsanium. The discovery was made by Jangles McKinney in 2292.”

Snapper shook his head and muttered under his breath, “You’re just a little walking encyclopedia and I know that, Gina. It was a comparison.”

“A figurative method of speech? I’m afraid I don’t see the reference clearly as I don’t admire the invention of Marsanium, though I do admire Drag. He is a good leader.” Hopefully, complimenting his best friend would deflect him away from noticing her inability to react to his figurative language. Fatch.

Snapper shook his head. “What are you working on here?”

“Just updating the maintenance records on the hauler and listing the parts and supplies I used.” She crossed her arms behind her back and stood up as straight as possible, prepared to handle whatever attitude he responded with. She suspected more vitriol.

“A lot of open files to be logging basic information,” he replied with a frown.

“I forgot where things were.”

Snapper stepped closer. “Then allow me to show you again, though maybe you should spend less time reading books and memorizing facts about my planet and focus more on your job?”

Gina stood her ground. “I found everything, and I’ll do better. See you at the meeting?”

She could smell his sweat, mixed with a citrusy flavor that reminded her of the lime grove on the planet Eden. Sharp and bitter, much like him. Scents were another gift humans took for granted. She enjoyed the smell of new things, along with trying to determine which ones appealed to her.

This close she could also glimpse the hairs on his chin, as curly and wild as the ones on his head. Though they weren’t all the same color—dark brown, ginger, even a couple of gray strands graced his face. Her exploration of his features meandered on to the Grecian nose, a near Romanesque style like the old books of Earth displayed. Bluest eyes with a smattering of wrinkles around the edges…and the indention between his brows that grew more pronounced every time he was frustrated.

“Gina, why are you looking at me like that?”

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the towel there. Every mechanic kept one, though she didn’t sweat like the others and rarely had a use for it. Now she reached up and rubbed the grease away from his temples, one by one.

He took in a sharp breath, almost a hiss. There a was creak and groan of metal at her side as he clenched his cyborg fist tightly. Another difference… He, like Drag and a couple of the others, was enhanced with cybernetic parts. While she possessed more strength than the average human, there was a good chance Snapper could give back as good as she gave. Another thing we have in common, but I can’t tell him that.

She froze, and slowly pulled her arm back. “There. Clean.”

Her fingers still tingled from the limited contact with his skin. So much sensation, three thousand touch receptors in a fingertip. How do you humans not go into overload from a fleeting touch?

Snapper growled, that indentation between his brows back again. “Next time, Gina, ask for permission before you touch someone.”

She dropped the cloth at his feet. “Excuse me?”

“Leave Drag alone too. He doesn’t need you trying to moon after him.”

“What does that mean? I don’t moon after anything. You’re implying a moon can move outside of its orbit?” She cocked her head to the side as he took a step back.

“And pick up that cloth.”

He walked off without answering her question, on top of treating her like some Mars adolescent or a cleaning robot. She wasn’t a damn robot anymore, and high time she showed him, too.

About the Author:Landra Graf consumes at least one book a day, and has always been a sucker for stories where true love conquers all. She believes in the power of the written word, and the joy such words can bring. In between spending time with her family and having book adventures, she writes romance with the goal of giving everyone, fictional or not, their own happily ever after.

Website | Amazon Author Page | Pinterest | First for Romance | Goodreads

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