Baseball & Broadway by C.L. King & Katrina Marie

Baseball & Broadway
C.L. King & Katrina Marie
Publication date: October 22nd 2018
Genres: Adult, New Adult, Romance, Sports

A broken heart is never an easy one to mend.

Alice spent years forming a new identity while chasing her dreams. A fresh start was just what she needed. When she scores the leading role in a Broadway hit, a new world of possibilities opens up, including singing the National Anthem at the very game her ex was playing.

The biggest mistake of Easton’s life was ending things with Alice before they left for college. No woman has gotten close to him since. Instead, his primary focus is on his baseball career. While warming up before a game, a voice comes over the speakers as the Anthem is sung. A voice that causes something deep to stir inside of him.

Is it possible to rekindle a romance after so much damage was done? This game is bigger than any Easton has ever played. Two hearts are on the line. Either he’ll strike out or slide into home for the win. There’s only one way to find out.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the evening before I depart for college. There’s a twinge of bittersweetness coating the air surrounding our table. It’s the last time I’ll see my high-school sweetheart, Easton, until Thanksgiving break. The last time he’ll hold my hand in his, the way he’s doing it now, for a long while.

I’m not sure how well our long distance relationship will work, but we’ll do what we have to. We’ve been together for so many years, I don’t know what we would do if we weren’t one unit.

We’re at our favorite Italian restaurant, Ramona’s. The flickering candles on the table, our water in wine glasses giving us a look of sophistication, and the Dean Martin crooning from the speakers, keeps our last outing romantic. It’s exactly like I pictured it, down to a T.

It’s crowded in here, which is expected for a Friday night. I don’t hear the other patrons, though. My entire focus is on Easton, as I try to cement his looks in my mind to last me for a while. I’m going to miss his bright green eyes laughing at me when I do something ridiculous. The way his lips pull up into a smirk when I bust out in song and dance regardless of where we are. I won’t be able to cheer for him from the stands as he rounds third base and heads for home.

Just like that, my mood starts to dim. I try to keep my smile firmly in place, but I’m beginning to think I should have chosen a performing arts school closer to him. Even if they are subpar to the elite school I spent my whole life hoping to get into, and actually got the acceptance letter to attend a few months ago.

Easton brushes his fingertips across my palm, bringing me back to the present. He always seems to know when I start to get sad, it’s comforting. I know that I shouldn’t dwell on the future. Everything will work itself out. I glance down at our hands, feeling the butterflies come to life, as they always do. That’s how I know we’ll be okay. Even after the years we’ve been together he still manages to give me warm fuzzies. I always feel that new relationship giddiness.

When I glance up at him, he’s smiling, but it feels forced. His lips aren’t quite as upturned as they usually would be. My stomach fills with dread. Whatever he’s about to tell me isn’t good, and I’m pretty sure this boy I’ve loved for most of my teen years is about to break my heart. I just hope I’m strong enough to pick up the pieces afterward.


Author Bio:

Katrina Marie lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two children, and fur baby. She is a lover of all things geeky and Gryffindor for life. Welcome to Your Life is her debut novel and she hopes you enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

—

When CL King isn’t hard at work writing you can usually catch her reading, baking cookies, dancing to music, or just simply being crazy. She has a huge passion for baseball and the theatre. But her true nerd side comes out when she is doing math for fun. She has an old soul which is evident with her love of the 70s show Emergency. If you want to get on her good side bring her an Ocean Water from Sonic. Even though she tries to focus on one project at a time she always seems to be working on multiple projects at once, it’s a good thing that she is highly organized. Just don’t take her to a bookstore, you do that and you are likely able to spend hours browsing.

Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

GIVEAWAY!

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LAWRENCE IN THE FALL Author: Matthew Farina, Doug Salati (Illustrator)

LAWRENCE IN THE FALL by Matthew Farina & Doug Salati (Illustrator) is out today that I wanted to share the news!
If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Matthew Farina & Doug Salati (Illustrator), be sure to check out all the details below.
This blitz also includes a giveaway for 3 finished copies of the book, US Only, courtesy of Disney-Hyperion and Rockstar Book Tours.
So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.
About the Book:
 
Title: LAWRENCE IN THE FALL

 

Author: Matthew Farina,  Doug
Salati (Illustrator)
Pub. Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 48
Find it: 

 Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

When Lawrence Fox’s teacher announces that students will be presenting their collections at show-and-tell, Lawrence realizes he doesn’t have anything to share.
Luckily, Papa knows just what to do to
help! Together, they venture into the woods. Lawrence is scared at first, but
as he grows comfortable in the forest, he starts to recognize its magic, and how beautiful and unique each tree and leaf is, allowing him to gather a splendid, one-of-a-kind collection of his own!

Excerpts:

 

 

 

About Matthew:
Matthew Farina is a painter and writer based in New York City. His reviews and essays have appeared in the Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, ArtCritical, and elsewhere. Matthew received a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. This is his first book.
Find Matthew online at 

www.matthewfarina.com|Website | Goodreads

About Doug:
Doug Salati is an illustrator living in New York City. He received his MFA from the Illustration as Visual Essay program at the School of Visual Arts and was a 2015 Sendak Fellow. He is also the illustrator
of In a Small Kingdom by Tomie dePaola. See more of Doug’s work online at www.dougsalati.com.
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will win a finished copy of LAWRENCE IN THE FALL, US Only.
 

 

WORD OF SOUTH

VISIT ME at Cascades Park in TALLAHASSEE, Florida today

In April, we’ll again be sponsoring a booth at the WORD OF THE SOUTH festival celebrating literature and music on April 12-14 in Tallahassee.

Our booth will be up and running on the 13th and 14th (Saturday and Sunday) at the lovely Cascades Park.

www.wordofsouthfestival.com

Word of South

Sleuthfest Advert - Copy

via Do No Harm #excerpt: Kill Switch by Dan Alatorre @savvystories

Defined by Others (Defining Ways Series Book 1)


A word, a single word defines a moment for Anne. She needs to find a new one when her spouse, Frank, leaves her at the age of forty-seven, coming out of the closet literally in a closet.

She finds herself back in her hometown of Skvallerby, Connecticut among her high school friends which she had left in her past.
An inheritance from a frenemy leaves her with the means to meddle and spy on the lives of mutual acquaintances.
In an attempt to run from her reality Anne becomes engrossed in a game of fun and flirtation with her friend and fellow sufferer Connie.
Their fun games turn into a deadly reality. It is no longer a game. Life, death and not even a defining word can stop the reality of manipulation.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

M.C.V. Egan

Or Catalina as her friends know her, was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family. Communication in such a large family fueled her desire and need to find a voice and write. She spent her childhood in Mexico. Her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. In the early 1970s at the age of 12 she moved with her entire family to the United States. Catalina was already fluent in Southern English as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There, she won the English award; ironically being the only one who had English as a second language in her class. In the D.C. suburbs, she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977. She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France at the Catholic University for two years. In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish, not the football player kind) Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish business people. She returned to the USA in the late 1980s where she has been living ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish. Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son, who together with Taco, their five-pound Chihuahua, make her feel like a full-time mother. Her many hobbies include astrology and other divination tools used in this book. For more information please visit website TheBridgeofDeaths.com

Caught in the Storm Rachael Brownell


Publication date: April 9th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

Love can be blinding and by the time the truth shines through, it’s too late to escape.
Fame.

Fortune.

Success.Is that too much to ask?All I need is to catch a break. To snag the attention of someone important. Someone who can help make my career everything I want it to be.Joseph was that man. Until the night the lights went out and I left with someone else. Someone who stole my breath and made me want for things I’d never considered before.

I should have known better than to trust a stranger. Especially one of his stature and class. Money means power and power means control.

Over my heart.

My career.

My entire life.

My dreams died the moment I agreed to his terms and a new chapter in my life began. I was blinded by my love for him and thought nothing would ever change the way I felt.

Then I uncovered the truth about him. About the kind of man he really was and the secrets he paid good money to keep hidden from everyone.

Now I’m trapped, with no way out.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider my book. If you have questions or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“I don’t get you, Johnathan. You’re still a mystery to me, but I must admit, I like it. I like not knowing what will happen next. It’s exciting.”

Leaning across the table and taking her hands in mine, I kiss each of them and then whisper so only she can hear.

“And I like that the sound of your voice just turned me on. We’re going to need another bottle of wine before I can stand up from the table thanks to your dirty remarks, my love.”

A fierce blush spreads across Amelia’s cheeks, and a giggle escapes her. She covers her mouth, but it’s loud, and a few tables close to us turn in our direction.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I was just thinking about your little predicament, and I couldn’t help but laugh.”

“Yeah, well,” I start, releasing one hand and reaching under the table. When my hand meets silk, her laugh comes to an abrupt halt. “Two can play at that game.”

The challenge has been laid on the table, and she’s not backing down, uncrossing her legs for me and scooting closer.

“If that’s how you want to play—”

Amelia’s words are interrupted by a camera flash. I knew things were too good to be true. There are three reporters in the lobby taking pictures as Charles attempts to hold them back.

They’ve killed my hard-on, but that also means we can leave now.

 

Author Bio:

An award-winning romance author, Rachael is a midwest girl (yes, they say she has an accent but no, she doesn’t hear it) who loves to create amazing stories that tug at your heart strings. Keep your tissues handy.

When she’s not writing, you can find her on the golf course in the summer or cuddled up with a cup of coffee and her Kindle in the winter.

To keep up with what Rachael is doing at the moment, follow her on social media (IG is her fav) or sign up for her newsletter. bit.ly/2KDE5dG

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

 

GIVEAWAY!

-Enter to win a SIGNED PAPERBACK ARC of Caught in the Storm!

Enter here!

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~ Book Blitz ~ Room 11 by Mari.Reiza  Women’s Psychological Fiction

About the Book:

After an accident leaves his wife in a coma, he sits on a hospital chair day-in day-out singing to her. Nobody can pull him away from her as she threads through the rage that could save her. Meanwhile, a desperate nurse grows her admiration for him into obsessive desire.

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon
The Setting

A hospital room in a private clinic in London. The floors are squeaky clean. Patients smell lovely. Visitors sport well-polished shoes and smell too of expensive cologne; they’re not the kind you may suspect of stealing the antiseptic soap at the entrance, but instead talk in educated ways, despite concern for their loved ones sending them mad. In Room 11, a young comatose woman lies on a freshly made-up bed, her wealthy husband alongside a matronly foreign nurse diligently tending to them both.

Meet the Nurse

She has asked for Room 11 specifically, and for the best shifts to spend with its patient and her husband. On quiet night shifts, as she indulges on a hot-dog dinner with Maltesers before sitting in the dim quiet of the adjacent sleep-room reading secondhand romances, she listens to the husband sing. Her and him are on speaking terms, have shown each other their amulets, shared talk of their years spent in different Africas, even if she hides from him tales of her soulless apartment, her city’s horrific traffic and her lover scattered in pieces on a tree. How on earth can they keep going? Like her he deserves better. And now Dr. Patel has become a common denominator to both their destinies.

Meet the Husband

He arrived on his big feet one day, with his impotent rage and his books he has built into a confident pillar on the side of his hospital chair: every title about comas. On top, he rests his iPhone with her music. He puts his headphones on and sings. Sometimes he puts them in his wife’s ears and sings. He’ll know more about his wife’s condition than her nurse if he has read all his books, but only what he wants. He washes her hair daily in a shallow yellow bucket, rubs her legs caressing them; but her eyes remain shut. How can he see happiness in her outer beauty whilst inside she’s dead? He only leaves his guard to go home a few night hours, returning refreshed with a espresso in one hand and a cup of yogurt with honey in the other, and later to buy two sandwiches for lunch and dinner, both small enough to fit in his trouser pocket. He has left strict instructions, that he’s the only one allowed to visit, pretends the room should be as tightly guarded as a fisheries exclusion zone. He acts guilty. Does he have a secret?

Meet the Wife

She was labelled ‘Traffic accident abroad’ when she was first brought in from a foreign country where her family had stopped visiting, although her mother has since rang twice and her brother once, for a short call during which he only wept. In her sleep, she plunges into the abyss in search of why she’s here. She had been at a family wedding, with her husband. He knows she’s terrified of the lack of empathy between her and her mother dragging her down to the bottom of the ocean. And her own father won’t travel to meet her either; is he fine to stop seeing each other? Even when she had been sick nobody asked of her diagnosis, not even her brother who increasingly feels like her negative about to tear his chains to her. Does she have a son? Is he the reason why she ended here? Is he behind her urge to return?
About the Author:

Mari.Reiza was born in Madrid in 1973. She studied at Oxford University and worked as an investment research writer and management consultant for twenty years in London, before becoming an indie fiction writer. Also by her, Inconceivable Tales, Death in Pisa, Sour Pricks, A Pack of Wolves, STUP, Mum, Watch Me Have Fun!, Marmotte’s Journey, West bEgg, Room 11, Triple Bagger, Caro M, Opera, the Retreat, sells sea shells and aberri (homeland), all available on Amazon.

Author Links:

Website * Twitter * Instagram

 

Supernatural Spy Academy S. S. S.

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

There are three key components required to get into the most prestigious, top spy academy in the world:

Skills. 

Strength. 

Survival. 

My name is Silver Spell Solange. No, I didn’t plan for my initials to be the same rank needed to enter the spy academy. But I would do anything to get into the one of a kind school. I have the magical capability of an Elemental Witch, the strength to kick anyone’s ass, and quick problem-solving skills to get my teammates out of any jam. There’s only one small problem – the other ‘S’ I’m missing.

I’m not a part of the supernatural race. 

After realizing the my only shot at my dreams is at the brink of extinction, I’m unexpectedly teamed up with a werewolf, a dragon, a fallen angel, and a hellhound. The four of them carry the assets and abilities I need to gain my spot into the Supernatural Spy Academy (SSS).

With the clock ticking and not much leg room for an SS score, I accept their bet, knowing I’ll easily handle whatever they request from me.

I didn’t think their bet would lead me to date all four them. 

It’s time for me to buckle up. This four-year roller coaster is about to begin, and its a bumpy one-way ticket to becoming the next “supernatural” spy.

About Yumoyori:

Yumoyori Wilson is a full-time author who has a slight addiction to bubble tea.

She previously was a Pediatric Registered Nurse, working her night shifts away and reading her kindle during her breaks. She decided to take the chance at becoming an author and is now working on multiple projects in various genres, including Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and more.

She lives in Toronto, Ontario and loves to bother her lovely Mother (also known as her Queen) and has many projects and plans for her readers.

Click here to subscribe to Yumo’s newsletter.

Website | Twitter | Instagram |  Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a $10 Amazon GC, International.

I stared at him as he continued to focus his attention on the screen. Any other person surely would have made conversation with him, especially when he was so attractive, but I wasn’t those types.

He sniffed the air, wrinkling his nose. “Too clean.”

“Come again?” I asked.

“It smells like bleach. Makes me wonder if someone died here.”

My baffled self just stared at him, unsure how he came to such conclusions. “Should I even ask?”

He looked at me and smiled. “Where I come from, if you smell bleach, it means there was a crime scene or murder in that place. The authorities use bleach and other chemicals to remove blood stains and body odors.”

“So…” I took a moment to put my evidence together. “You’re secretly a killer.”

He chuckled. How can a killer laugh so easily? He gives me all the red flags. Nikko would have annihilated him.

“No. Just observant.”

“And you like to sniff everything,” I commented.

“It’s part of my nature,” he replied.

There was an announcement informing us of our arrival in less than one minute. We both got up and I watched him put his backpack on.

“Then you’re a wolf?” I questioned.

“Nah.” He shook his head as he lifted his duffle bag. “Nice try, though.”

I wondered what he was, not getting a shifter scent off him. Whatever body wash or cologne he used still clung to his clothes, and I didn’t have his ‘go beyond the scent’ skills to surpass it.

The pod came to a stop, and we moved off onto the large platform. It wasn’t super busy, but even from this distance, I could see the huge school; the golden gates practically glowed from the sun that was higher in the sky.

Pointing to the large sign that read S.S.S. ACADEMY AHEAD, I declared, “That will lead you straight to the school. I’m sure once you get there, you’ll find someone who can help you figure out what you have to do.”

When he didn’t answer, I turned my head, a second before something soft pressed against my left cheek.

I must have blanked out for a few seconds; the sudden action made my brain overload and malfunction. The man smiled as he pulled back from kissing my cheek.

“Thank you, sweet-smelling Blossom. I really appreciate your kindness. Hope I get to see you again.”

“You…you just kissed me,” I blurted out.

“On the cheek, yes.”

“Is that like your way of showing thanks to anyone where you come from?” I asked. He grinned and shook his head.

“Nope. Only to someone you like.” He winked and fixed his bag that was on his back. “Hope to see you soon. Bye, Blossom.” He began walking away.

“My name’s not Blossom, it’s Silver!” I corrected, feeling my face grow hot.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder, blessing me with a perfect teeth-glimmering smile while his eyes danced with satisfaction.

“Nice to meet you, Silver.” He walked away, leaving me speechless on the platform.

If it wasn’t for the warning sound of the pod’s departure, I would have stood there for who knows how long.

Getting back on the pod, I sank into the same seat I’d been in on the journey here. It wasn’t until the pod was moving again before what had just happened finally sank in.

He kissed my cheek. Oh no. I told him my name?! I’m doomed.
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One Mystery Fest Key West Guest Will Nab Cameo Role in Next Gray Basnight Novel

MFKW_Gray Basnight - Author Headshot
Key West, Florida Keys – Organizers of the upcoming Mystery Fest Key West have announced that one Fest guest will walk into the pages of an upcoming novel by Gray Basnight, author of “Shadows in the Fire,” “The Cop with the Pink Pistol,” and most recently, “Flight of the Fox,” an “electrifying, propulsive and timely thriller” that one reviewer has called “worthy of Robert Ludlum.”
All who are registered for the Fest by midnight June 1 will be entered to win a cameo “character placement” role in the author’s next release, the sequel to “Flight of the Fox,” tentatively titled “Madness of the Q” and expected in 2020 from Down & Out Books.
“Since Key West is the final action scene in “Flight of the Fox,” I’m especially looking forward to my first Mystery Fest Key West festival. It’ll be that much more fun when I meet the winner who gets to be named as either a ‘good guy or gal’ or ‘bad guy or gal’ in the sequel. And I can promise there are plenty of both to keep the action moving,” said Basnight.
Basnight, a former broadcast newsman and actor is slated to be a panelist at the upcoming “Mystery and Intrigue in Paradise” themed Mystery Fest Key West, a gathering of mystery, true crime and suspense writers and fans set to take place in Key West, Florida, June 28-30.
All Mystery Fest Key West panels and presentations will take place at The Studios of Key West, a center for the arts located in the island’s historic Old Town district. Event registration is $195 and includes all panels, presentations, a lunch and a brunch, and social events.Sponsored by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, the Key West Citizen daily newspaper, the Helmerich Foundation, The Gardens Hotel, The Laureate Key West, and Margaritaville Key West Resort and Marina. For a full Fest schedule, online registration, and details on the Fest’s 2019 Whodunit Mystery Writing Contest,

visit MysteryFestKeyWest.com.

MFKW_Gray Basnight - Author Headshot

via Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Easter Parade Blog Party – Saturday 20th April and Monday April 22nd 2019 – Party Time.