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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

***Review and Interview*** Change of Hart by M.E. Carter



BLURB
My name is Jason Hart.

As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep and breathe football. And I like it that way. I’ve only got a few more years before I’ll have to retire, so expending energy on anything other than football seems like a waste of time.

That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy who just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother.

I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn’t ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better, in spite of all her rejections.

Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?

Sandy B's Review

M.E. Carter is a newbie author which is my favorite kind.  It’s a kick to “read” as they grow and mature in their writing. 
Jason Hart is a nice guy.  A nice guy that lives and breathes football. 
“I have a very small window of time to be a professional football player.  Especially since my job was to tackle people. Regularly.” “That left me with about six more years playing the game I loved.”
So when this adorable little boy named Jaxon and his curvy, gorgeous mom (Addison) with a mega watt smile comes into Jason’s life – he’s knocked for a loop.  The attraction is there, unfortunately, Addison is a recent widow, so the timing couldn’t be worse. 
“That perfect woman I had not been looking for had indeed fallen right into my lap.”
Suddenly, the solitary life doesn’t seem so appealing to Jason.  The attraction is there and these two are torn for various reason about how to move forward.  Addison doesn’t want to get hurt and more importantly she doesn’t want her son broken hearted.  Jason cares for Jaxon deeply and by this point, Addison invades his thoughts all the time.  Ultimately, they decide to tread lightly and attempt to have a relationship.  The media is voracious about wanting to find out everything they can about Addison. Truth is she’s not exactly the grieving widow.  Is she willing to put everything on the line?  Can she trust Jason with her heart?  Jason is sure about what he feels for Addison but can he convince her?   
If you’re looking for a heavy erotica where every other word starts with F – then this is not the book for you.  Change of Hart is more along the lines of Nicholas Sparks and I love Nicholas Sparks.  Or the perfect beach read.  It is sexy, it is sweet and it is angsty.  Jason and Addison’s story made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, in the best way possible.  It is perfect?  No, but perfection is subjective, right? Different strokes…..  In my humble opinion, it was a very pleasant way for me to sit back, put up my feet and spend the afternoon.

INTERVIEW WITH M.E. CARTER
What made you decide to write a book?  Was it always something you wanted to do?
I actually never wanted to write a book before.  It wasn't necessarily out of the question.  It's just never been a dream of mine.  My brain runs on hyper drive all the time, so I guess I just assumed I wouldn't have the patience to sit down and write an entire book.  And I was kind of right.  It was the hardest thing I've ever done!  I wouldn't even be finished typing out one chapter and my brain would already be thinking about the next one.  It was quite the challenge to stay focused in the moment and trust myself to remember where the story was going.

Are you surprised by the success of your debut effort?
That is the understatement of my lifetime.  When I sat down and started typing, my goal was to write at a 3-star book that made people happy and I could give my mom for Christmas.  Maybe, just maybe, I'd get lucky and be able to reimburse myself for my expenses.  I never, ever expected it to get all the way to #83 on Amazon!!  Especially as a complete unknown!  But I can't take all the credit.  Sure, the book is making people smile, but I had a FABULOUS team working with me and making sure it was as good as it could be.  Their support and ideas and banter is what got us to this point.  I am so, so blessed and I never want to forget that.

Have you read a bad review yet?  What did you think?
I have to be in a certain mindset when I get criticism because I tend to be on the sensitive side if I'm blindsided.  A couple days after CoH released, I was in the correct mindset and decided to finally venture onto a certain site that shall remain nameless.  There were a couple negative reviews which bothered me when I first saw them.  Until I read what they had to say.  They were actually really interesting and gave me some ideas on how to do things better next time.  One of them in particular, though, was questioning the validity of the football in the book and saying how unrealistic it was.  I wanted so bad to reply because every single thing that happens on the football field in CoH happened while I was watching football this year on TV.  I don't know football well enough to make up stats and plays on my own.  Of course I had to use real games as "inspiration"!

Are the names of the characters in your novels important?
Not necessarily.  Addison and Lindsay were both names we were toying with when I was pregnant with my youngest daughter.  But other than that, most of the last names are random names that popped up on my Facebook feed while I was writing.  So if you're friends with me on Facebook and your name is in my book, chances are you were online at the right time!

Your inspiration for Change of Hart?
I'm not sure inspiration is the right word.  It was more like a couple of seeds that were planted in my brain that spiraled into a story in my head.  This isn't actually unusual for me.  Stories spin in my head all the time.  Anyway, a local pro football player visited an elementary school a couple years ago and the media found out about it before he showed up.  Being that it was supposed to be a surprise appearance, he was pretty ticked.  It was all over the news.  Around the same time, I was working with our local PTA to try and get some professional soccer players to come visit our elementary school for a pep rally.  That got me thinking about how our kids would react and what would happen if that kid didn't have a dad, etc, etc.  So at first the storywas a soccer story.  But THEN a friend of mine went to a football game where she had 50 yard line tickets on the field.  She took a video of the above mentioned local football player as he stood just 10 feet away from her during warm ups.  I saw it when she posted it on Facebook and for whatever reason, it was one of the sexiest things I had ever seen in my life.  At that point, the story that was already spinning turned into a story about a football player and took on a life of its own!

What’s next?
I have a couple of different stories in progress.  But I think we're going back to the Hart family again.  I'm excited to see how their story continues, but I'm a little nervous, too.  Things are going to be rough for a while and I know it's going to make some readers mad!  (Don't worry.  It's not a cheating story.  That would just crush me.)

Lastly, can you give me a one line philosophy that resonates with you? 
I'm not sure I have any particular philosophy or quote that helps me out.  However, I was raised in an extremely devote Christian family and one verse I learned at church camp stuck with me.  It's Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Whenever I'm going through a hard time, that verse runs through my head.  It gives me that extra boost to get through whatever is going on and reminds me that I can get the finish line...wherever that finish line may be for me.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

***Cover Reveal*** Asa (Marked Men Novel) by Jay Crownover

We are so excited about the cover reveal for Jay Crownover's ASA! ASA is the sixth and final book in Jay's Marked Men Series, published by HarperCollins. Check out the hot cover and don't forget to pre-order your copy today!

  Image Map  

Amazon US ** iBooks ** Barnes & Noble ** Kobo

About ASA:
Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn’t it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one stunning arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best. 

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

Marked men Banner

And don’t miss the previous books in The Marked Men Series!

RULE

JET

ROME

NASH

ROWDY

And don't miss Jay at 3pm EST over at the Between The Covers page on Facebook today! Come chat with her!

Jay CrownoverAbout Jay Crownover: Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She will also be introducing the dark and sexy world of The Point in a new series this summer starting with Better When He’s Bad. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.      

Website ** Blog ** Facebook ** Twitter ** ASA Goodreads ** Jay Crownover Goodreads



Image Map

***New Release and Giveaway*** Change of Hart by M.E. Carter


Title: Change of Hart
Author: M.E. Carter
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 15, 2014

My name is Jason Hart. 

As the best defensive lineman in the country, I eat, sleep and breathe football. And I like it that way. I’ve only got a few more years before I’ll have to retire, so expending energy on anything other than football seems like a waste of time.

That is, until I have a random meeting with a little boy who just lost his father. We have more in common than you might think and it creates an unlikely bond. As our friendship grows, so do my feelings for his mother.

I know Addison, as a recent widow, isn’t ready to date again. But I want to get to know her better, in spite of all her rejections.

Is it possible that I, a self-proclaimed bachelor, could be having a Change of Hart?







ME Carter didn’t set out to write a book. She just had a random story rolling around in her head after working with her local PTA. Then one day, it became all-consuming and had to be written down. This should come as no big surprise since she has always had random stories rolling around in her head and even wrote an episode of CHiPS at age 11. (She was the guest star, of course)

She lives in Texas with her husband and three children, Mary, Elizabeth and Carter. Get it? ;)

    


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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

***Cover Reveal*** Henry's End by Julie A Richman

henry's end cover.jpg
Pre-order on iTunes: http://bit.ly/1xTNrrd
RELEASE DATE: February 2015
Blurb
Dreams.
I used to have them—before the nightmares started.
I dreamed of nice guys, love…normalcy.
Things like reading the Sunday paper in bed with my
lover.

But who needs dreams when your reality is filled with a string of faceless dominating men in uniform? Men that pack a thick bulge and are only too happy to satisfy my deviant sexual cravings.

Me. That's who.

And then HE walked through the door and shared with me, a total stranger, his intimate dream of love. Damn him for verbalizing every single detail of the dream I buried long ago.

And now I don’t know how I'm going to live without that dream.
Or him.



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Needing Moore Trilogy
ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME
ONLY $4.99

Goodreads Link:  http://amzn.to/1yyKmic
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1yLMAJg

All three Bestselling, Top-Rated Books from The Needing Moore Trilogy by USA Today Bestseller Julie A. Richman, PLUS never before seen BONUS CHAPTERS for each book.

SEARCHING FOR MOORE – Book 1
MOORE TO LOSE – Book 2
MOORE THAN FOREVER – Book 3


henry's end teaser sue 3.jpg



About the Author:
julie richman bio.jpg
Author Julie A. Richman is a native New Yorker living deep in the heart of Texas. A creative writing major in college, reading and writing fiction has always been a passion. Julie began her corporate career in publishing in NYC and writing played a major role throughout her career as she created and wrote marketing, advertising, direct mail and fundraising materials for Fortune 500 corporations, advertising agencies and non-profit organizations. She is an award winning nature photographer plagued with insatiable wanderlust. Julie and her husband have one son and a white German Shepherd named Juneau.



***Blog Tour Stop*** Ripped The REAL Series #5) by Katy Evans

The fifth story in the new adult series that began with the New York Times bestseller REAL.

New Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release: December 9, 2014
Every woman wants me--except the one I sing for.
Seattle shakes with anticipation: they call it the concert of the year. They say girls are getting pregnant just thinking about my band being in town.
But when you love a girl, you don't leave her with nothing but a ring and a promise. Any man with half a brain should know.
So what did I expect my girl would do when she saw me again?
Well, for starters, she loathes our music. Particularly the song I wrote about her.
When I sing it, the stadium is in an uproar. Thousands of fans scream my name like I'm a god--but yeah, not her. Crystal clear: the girl's not happy to see me.
Black hair, black boots, a bad attitude, that's her -- Pandora Stone is a freaking man-eater and she's out for my blood.
That's alright.
Let her come at me. Because I'm out for her heart and, this time, there's no way she can stop me.

Sandy B's Review 

Oh to be young and desperately in love is a beautiful thing.  Then it all goes wrong and a trail of tears and pain is left in its wake.  Pandora and Makenna are everything to each other – until circumstances drive a wedge between them.  Then Makenna leaves town without any explanation, taking Pandora’s heart with him and leaving her soul shattered in a million pieces.  Years later, Makenna is a huge rock star of God-like proportions.  Pandora hate for him is even bigger than his stardom.  Hearing that Kenna is coming back to town to perform, Pandora decides to attend his show with her friend Melanie and put on a show of her own. 

It seems that showering a superstar with tomatoes in the middle of a show is not the smartest idea.  Before long Pandora  and Melanie are dragged off and being threatened with arrest, fines and a host of other things.  Oh God –what the hell was Pandora thinking when she conceived of this crazy idea?! Not the brightest idea she’s ever had.  Now the man that she’s wanted to forget is standing in front of her in red hot, sexy as all get out, mad as hell, living glorious color! Before you know it, Pandora is made an offer she can’t refuse.  Join the documentary being filmed on the Crack Bikini (yes, that’s the name of the band), make nice with the lead singer and get a big cash payout.

There is always an angle, right?  Pandora has her reasons for needing this money, Kenna is keeping secrets too and the dirt bag manager – well – he’s just thinking about his own bottom line.  Anyone within 2 feet of Pandora and Kenna can feel the heat between these two.  The groupies, especially, they want Pandora gone!  Pandora wants to despise him, but she wants him so bad that she can’t think when she’s around him.  Kenna can plainly “see” that she doth protest too much but he wants her just as bad.  Before long these two are into some seriously hot (Sweet Baby Jesus I need a cold shower) sex.  Katy Evans certainly knows her way around a sex scene, without making it feel like contrived crap.  There is deep emotion here.  You feel for these two and wonder if they can move forward and leave the past behind.  Can they ever trust each other again? I was rooting for them big time.  Then Katy Evans hit me with a surprise that I didn’t see coming.  Hook, line and sinker – dang – my love of this story moved to another level. 

I could tell you more, but I won’t, because this LOVE should be experienced first-hand. 

"The kind of hatred that’s only born of an intense, out-of-this-world love that went woefully wrong.”

That sentence sums it up nicely.  I highly suggest that you pick up Ripped.  Get to know Kenna and Pandora.  You can thank me later.  


  Buy Links







About the Author
Katy Evans grew up with books and book-boyfriends until she found a real sexy boyfriend to love. They married and are now hard at work on their own happily ever after. Katy loves her family and friends, and she also loves reading, walking, baking, and being consumed by her characters until she reaches “The End.” Which is, hopefully, only the beginning…







***Cover Reveal and Giveaway*** Something Like Love (Something Like Normal #3) by Monica James


Title: Something Like Love
Series: Something Like Normal, #3
Author: Monica James
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
Release Date: February 2015

Blurb
The secret’s out...
Fate has never been kind to Mia Lee, but her misfortune has driven her to seek redemption from a past filled with regret. 
Mia’s future depends on uncovering her past, but sadly, the answers lay with her mother, a mother who abandoned Mia when she was only a child.
Now that Mia has finally found her kin, she’s determined to get the answers she so desperately seeks.

But those answers come with a price…

Mia’s blossoming relationship with Quinn Berkeley is the sole reason she carries on.  But Quinn has a secret of his own. Will his secret destroy the one stable foundation in Mia’s life? And more importantly, what will Quinn’s secret do to him once he confesses the sins of his past?

Life for Mia and Quinn is about to explode in a way she never thought possible…


About the Author
Monica James spent her youth devouring the works of Anne Rice, William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson.
When she is not writing, Monica is busy running her own business, but she always finds a balance between the two. 
She enjoys writing honest, heartfelt and turbulent stories, hoping to leave an imprint on her readers, and her inspiration comes from every day life. She is an Amazon best selling author in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Monica James resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her wonderful family, and menagerie of animals.
She is slightly obsessed with cats, chucks and lip gloss, and secretly wishes she was a ninja on the weekends.

Author Links

Other Books in the Series
                                       Amazon US             Amazon US              
                                       Amazon UK            Amazon UK
                                       Amazon CA            Amazon CA             Coming
                                       Amazon AU            Amazon AU              Soon!!!
                                             B&N                        B&N
                                             Kobo                        Kobo


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