#Spotlight #Giveaway #Excerpt Just One Lie by @_KyraDavis

Book Spotlight!

Synopsis

In the instant international sensation Just One Night, sensible Kasie Fitzgerald unleashed her passions—and found herself—through an explosive affair. In Just One Lie, we meet Kasie’s wild and tortured sister, whose impulsivity and lack of self-control has set off a chain of events that changes her family forever.

Melody Fitzgerald is the opposite of the “perfect” daughter. The lead singer of an indie rock band, she is impulsive and creative, with a rebellious streak that both defines her and becomes her greatest enemy. Her lover, the enticing and unpredictable Ash, shares her free spirit and penchant for trouble. On the face of it, he seems to be her perfect match.

So why is she so drawn to her soft spoken, reliable drummer, Brad Witmer? How can a man who wears polo shirts and reads the financial section of the paper be of any interest to her at all? And why on earth does someone like that appear to be so captivated by her?

Before she knows it, Melody finds herself on a path of self-discovery, passion, and affairs of the heart. But will a dark secret from her past derail it all? Or will its exposure be the very thing that unburdens her heart and allows her to seek a future with the one man who loves her completely?

Buy Links

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1IO5uXH

Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1IO5tmF

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/pyscdql

iBooks: http://tinyurl.com/oku7x3a

BAM: http://tinyurl.com/nld48sw

IndieBound: http://tinyurl.com/ounsj6s

Google: http://tinyurl.com/orkqdg3

Excerpt

It is the perfect moment…until I spot him standing near the corner of the room. He’s almost entirely in the shadows, his features barely visible, but still, I recognize him. There’s something about the way that man holds himself. Right now he’s leaning against a beam, his arms crossed over his chest, chin up. Like with a lion, it’s difficult to tell if he’s on the verge of sleeping or attacking. The first time I saw him-when was that, a year ago? No, over thirteen months since we met-I couldn’t stop staring. I loved his high, chiseled cheekbones and his lightly tanned skin that hinted at a possible Native American heritage, or maybe Latino. But then his bright green eyes insisted that the story wasn’t so straightforward. Oh, and I loved his tribal tattoos and the way his full lips curved into a slow, sensual smile when he saw me for the first time at that club in Seattle. An aspiring musician is how he described himself, but that night, when he sang to me, I could see that his talent was a lot more than aspirational.

            His first name is Ash-maybe it’s short for Asher or Ashley, I don’t know, and at the time I didn’t care. I just recall thinking that a man with a name like that had to have a story to tell, onethat involved passion and adventure and yeah, okay, maybe a little destruction. We talked for hours and I had felt like I understood him in a way that I had never understood anyone else. And then, later, I realized I didn’t know a thing about him. All our words and intimacies had left us strangers.

            Ash is the stranger who took my life.

            One night with him, one night of rapture. That’s all it took to put an end to Melody Fitzgerald.

            And as if killing me wasn’t enough, this son of a bitch has reappeared and he’s fucking with my moment!

            I pull my eyes away and find Rick, the owner of the club, standing at the edge of the bar. Next to him is a couple. A man with light brown hair and chiseled chin with his arm wrapped around an ironed-straight blonde with the sinuous figure of a runway model. All these beautiful people are here to see me! That’s what I have to focus on. Not him. Never, ever him.

            And yet, even as I refuse to bring my eyes back to Ash, my mind can’t seem to leave him.

            The music pushes me forward, forcing me to continue even as I feel my chest tighten. There’s not enough air in here for this. How could I have not noticed that before? Tonio jumps into his guitar solo and I use the opportunity to take a deep breath, inadvertently inhaling the unmistakable scent of marijuana floating up from somewhere on the dance floor. Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter. None of this can matter, nothing but the music and what it can do. With new resolve I fall back into the song, attacking it with even more ferocity than before. The crowd hears it and loves it.

            And now it’s me that’s moving, across the stage and back again, running, screaming, and the crowd screams right back. This is everything. But then there he is, leaning against that beamn,just…watching me. Has he followed me? Isn’t one death enough for him? The question stirs up some rage I’ve been trying to set aside since our last meeting. Impulsively I knock the microphone stand to the ground with the smack of my open palm. The crowd thinks it’s part of the act and so I go on, finding that I can rejoice in anger as much as any other emotion. As we reach the last stanza, Traci’s and Tonio’s voices join mine, and the sound is an assult on anyone who would ever dream of challenging us. Maybe tomorrow they’ll say I’m a cross between Courtney Love and Fiona Apple. Maybe they’ll say the whole band is destined for fame and greatness. Yeah, that’s what they’ll say, those who are sober enough to remember. But right now they just cheer as our song comes to an end.

            “Thank you,” I whisper into the mic. I look back at Ash. Even from here I cans see that he’s clapping, but it’s a slow, purposeful movement. He puts his hand to his mouth, kisses his palm, and then extends his arm leisurely toward me. It’s not so much that he’s blowing me a kiss as he is offering it to me. Inviting me to climb down from my pedestal and take it from him. Again I inhale deeply. “So, I gotta ask you guys something,” I continue. “It’s the end of an era and you’re bringing in the new millennium at Apocalypse listening to a band called fucking Resurrection. Is that tripping anyone else out?” There were yells of approval and at least one person cries hell yes! “By the way,” I add, “it’s really just Resurrection, only our parents call us fucking Resurrection.” General laughter and one woman screams out, “Parents suck!”

            Ooh, if these guys only knew how much I agree with that one. “Incase you missed it, this stud on the guitar is Tonio.” Tonio strums out a few wrenching chords as the crowd cheers. “The hot chick in the leather mini is Traci.” Traci plays the opening piano notes of “Sympathy for the Devil.” It’s doubtful that this crowd recognizes it even as they whistle and scream for her, but I do, and the reference makes me laugh. “And allow me to introduce our new drummer! Brad’s only been with us for a week and he’s killing it, am I right?” The crowd roars as Brad launches into a drum solo that is so intense, so aggressive, and so beautiful I turn my back on the audience, momentarily forgetting all of them, even my killer, as I lock eyes with this man who must have sold his soul for this kind of talent. His lips curve into a little half smile as his sticks fly across the stretched membrane surfaces. Physically he doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the group-too athletic, too clean cut, too aristocratic-but the rest of his viciously beautiful rhythm is downright sinful.

            When he ends with a perfectly executed clash, I realize for the first time that I’ve been holding my breath. The crowd cries out, solidifying the triumph as I match his smile with my own and slowly pivot back to the room. “And of course, I’m Mercy. I…” but I give up on continuing as the crowd erupts again, drowning me out with their cheers, chanting my name.

            My new name, a choice I made for myself only months ago, now reverberating through the room: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. It’s on the lips and tongues of everyone in this room…except for his. Beneath the harmonious hum of voices, like an insidious undercurrent, I can hear his silent accusations: That is not who you are. You are not Mercy.

            I swallow and look into the spotlight, letting the light assault my vision, temporarily turning the entire club into a murky blur as the crowd quiets enough for me to speak again. “So we got”-I turn and point to the large red numbers projected by a laser clock onto the wall behind my head-“fifteen minutes until the four horsemen arrive. I’m thinking we better stop wasting time and get back into this!”

            The crowd cheers again. I spot Rick giving me a thumbs-up as the rugby guy next to him pumps his fist in the air. And again Tonio strums the strings of his guitar. And again my voice rises high then low, elating the crowd and giving me the fortitude to turn my thoughts away from the beast who watches me from the shadows.

            And when it’s 11:59 we stop midsong. I hold my hands up in the air and point to the numbers. “It’s almost Y2K time, people!” I cry and glance back at Rick, who is staring intently at his watch. And then he lifts his hand and begins to tick off the seconds with his fingers as I count them down into the mic, “Ten, nine, eight…”

            The crowd’s counting with me. “…seven, six…” The beautiful black man has raised his glass in the air; a young woman behind him scrambles on top of the bar with a small video camera in her hand. “…three…” The muscle boy is bounding his fist against the stage. “…two, one!”

            And the room erupts. Confetti flies everywhere and the kind of fragmented light that comes from a disco ball splashes across the celebrants. Tonio pops a bottle of cheap champagne he’d been hiding in the wings and douses everyone in the band with it before passing it around. I let the bubbles tickle my tongue, then turn back to the microphone and launch into a happier, more celebratory tune. The people standing beneath us have woven together like vines against the wall, limbs tangled with limbs, lips against lips. There is no separation, no individual distinctions. They all have become a snarled mass of exhilaration and lust.

            Except for Ash. He continues to just stand there, apart from all of it. He’s simply watching me. Waiting for me to come to him and claim my kiss.

Author Spotlight

 Other Books in the Series

Book 1

You should sleep with a stranger, her best friend whispered in her ear—and so begins the intense, erotic journey of Kasie Fitzgerald in Book One of the Just One Night series, a blockbuster bestseller and “an uplifting story in which sex is presented both as freedom and as a metaphor for power” (Publishers Weekly).

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1Dea6Uw

Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1LUbnBK

Nook: http://bit.ly/1gs4Pio

iBooks: http://apple.co/1MAJkJe

Book 1.5

The romance that began with the runaway New York Times bestseller Just One Night continues with the Just Once More. Download it now!

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1MAIPij

Nook: http://bit.ly/1I8OkSR

iTunes: http://apple.co/1K5PtfH 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1GufrCq

About the Author

Kyra Davis is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Just One Night, Pure Sin and Sophie Katz series as well as So Much For My Happy Ending. Just One NIght has been optioned for television by Anonymous, (the producers of True Detective)

Before publishing her first book, Sex, Murder And A Double Latte in 2005 Kyra supported herself and her son as a marketing manager for a sports club and before that was a department manager at Nordstrom’s Savvy department. She studied at The Fashion Institute Of Design and Merchandising and Golden Gate University.

Kyra now lives with her husband (director and screenwriter, Rod Lurie), her teenage son (proud science-geek and Hawaiian-Shirt-aficionado), dog (champion eater and guardian of the backyard…no squirrel will dare set foot in it) and gecko (the gecko doesn’t do much).

Author Links

Website  │  Facebook  │  Twitter  │  Pinterest  │  Instagram  │  Goodreads 

Newetter │  Google +      

Giveaway

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Author Spotlight & Giveaway! Archer Kay Leah @ArcherKayLeah @BookEnthuPromo

Book Title: A Question of Counsel (Novella) 

Author: Archer Kay Leah 

Genre: Fantasy/Romance 

Release Date: May 27, 2015 

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

Life hasn't been easy for Aeley since she arrested her brother, and her role as a political leader leaves her feeling isolated and lonely. Days before her brother's trial, she meets Lira, a quiet and modest scribe who makes Aeley want more than just a professional relationship.

When she attends the trial and leaves with a marriage contract, Aeley doesn't know what to do. She must choose one of two brothers, marrying into a family she doesn't know. Then she discovers that Lira is part of the same family—a sister to Aeley's suitors and the family's disgrace. And not at all opposed to an intimate relationship.

Except random acts of violence against her people test Aeley's ability as a leader, and a web of lies and deceit threaten not only her chance at happiness, but her life...

"If my father hadn't already made a deal with your family, I wouldn't have approached them. But he did and now I have to see it through. It doesn’t mean I get to be happy. It never was about that. Duty’s always been more important. Besides, if it weren’t them, it’d be some son of someone else who was important. It doesn’t make it any easier."

Lira nodded slowly. "I doubt they’ll make any woman truly happy. Out of all the choices and it was them."

"It could be any one of the available men and I still wouldn’t be happy about it." The words tumbled from Aeley's lips before she could stop herself. "It isn't just your brothers being themselves, it's the whole concept of giving myself over to a guy I don't care for. I have no interest in sleeping with them, or procreating. And it isn't because I don't know how—I know how. I've slept with guys before; I just don't care for it. I don't get pleasure from it like everyone thinks I should. I know Father wanted me to find someone nice, but his idea of nice isn't the same as mine."

"Is it the same reason why you and Mayr aren't together?"

"Partially," Aeley replied. "That, and he's my best friend. The only one who really understands me. We never wanted to ruin it." She tilted her head back to stare at the stars. "If only it wasn't your brothers. If only it was y—"

Closing her mouth, she knew she'd said too much already. It always happened whenever they were together. Rarely did she tell anyone her most private thoughts, and when she did, she trusted only Mayr. But even then, she preferred to keep her deepest thoughts to herself, protecting them as if they were precious and easily shattered. Why could she not stop exposing those secrets when she was with Lira?

"What were you saying?" Lira asked softly, her eyes searching Aeley's.

"Nothing. Never mind. I was rambling."

"Or telling the truth."

When Aeley turned, Lira stepped closer. Their chests touched—a deliberate move, Aeley realized, when Lira leaned into her. She watched the rise and fall of Lira's chest under the simple gold pendant around her neck.

"Imagine if you could tell me everything, without worrying about what I'd think," Lira murmured. Her face neared Aeley's. "Maybe this is exactly the change you wanted. Maybe you just need more time to put everything together. Or maybe you just need all the pieces."

There was no time to breathe before Lira's lips touched hers, coaxing a soft kiss from Aeley with a gentle push and tug.

Her thoughts spun. Aeley raised her hand to the balcony to keep steady, only barely registering the fact that her hand made it halfway before stopping in the air. Was the silence just in her head or had the music stopped?

By the time Aeley realized what was happening, Lira's lips left.

"Something for you to think about," Lira whispered. Without waiting for a reply, she walked towards the ballroom.

She paused in the doorway and looked back, the light from the room illuminating her face and giving her skin a yellow glow. Her lips showed the hint of a smile, but her eyes said everything.

 

 

Playlist for A Question of Counsel

Songs to capture Aeley’s harder, kick-butt-and-take-names personality and Lira's softer, confident demeanor. Then there's the sensual, passionate connection between them...

Original ideas conceived to:

Ke$ha - Take It Off

Florence + the Machine - Blinding

Writing done to:

Chase & Status - Embrace (feat. White Lies)

Chase & Status - Midnight Caller (feat. Clare Maguire)

Ellie Goulding - Beating Heart

Ellie Goulding - Hanging On (I See MONSTAS Remix)

Emika - Wicked Game

Nonpoint - In the Air Tonight

Fever Ray - Keep the Streets Empty for Me

Emily Browning - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Marina & The Diamonds - Lies

Alex Clare - Too Close

Active Child - Hanging On

Active Child - Johnny Belinda

Florence + the Machine - Howl

Florence + the Machine - Heavy In Your Arms

The Neighbourhood - Afraid

The Neighbourhood - How

Bedroom Rockers - Nothing Else Matters

Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful (Dan Heath Orchestral Version)

iiO - Is it Love

Eivør - Is It Cold Outside

Nikki Holland - Secret

Nikki Holland - Skyfall (feat. Gardin of Edan)

Banks - Waiting Game

Delilah - Go

Archer Kay Leah was raised in Canada, growing up in a port town at a time when it was starting to become more diverse, both visibly and vocally. Combined with the variety of interests found in Archer’s family and the never-ending need to be creative, this diversity inspired a love for toying with characters and their relationships, exploring new experiences and difficult situations.

Archer most enjoys writing speculative fiction and is engaged in a very particular love affair with fantasy, especially when it is dark and emotionally charged. When not reading and writing for work or play, Archer is a geek with too many hobbies and keeps busy with other creative endeavors, a music addiction, and whatever else comes along. Archer lives in London, Ontario with a same-sex partner and their cat.

 Less Than Three Press

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Blitz Excerpt & Giveaway! @SusannaCarr The Tarnished Jewel of Jazar @BookEnthuPromo

Book Title: The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar 

Author: Susanna Carr 

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

Jeweled veil weighing heavily on her head, Zoe Martin waits for her sheikh husband-to-be. The shame of her adoptive family, orphan Zoe has endured six years of being kept as a slave—now she's been sold into marriage…to a man known as The Beast!

Being discarded to the sheikh has one bonus—this could mean freedom! Zoe must play along with the three-day—and three-night—ceremony, but she isn't expecting the blazing attraction from just one stolen glance at playboy sheikh Nadir.…

"Come, Zoe." One of her cousins unceremoniously pulled her from her chair and her female relatives surrounded her. "It's time to prepare you for your wedding night."


Her wedding night. Her stomach twisted sharply and she battled back nausea. Her aunts smiled and giggled as they swept her out of the courtyard and up to the honeymoon suite. She hunched her shoulders as corroding fear, thick and searing hot, bled through her body. It pooled under her skin, pressing harder and harder, threatening to burst through.


It suddenly sank into her. She belonged to the Sheikh. A man they called The Beast. She was married to him. Married.


Her married cousins were offering words of advice, telling her how to please her husband, but Zoe didn't hear a word of it. There was a desperate energy among the women. Their laughter was a little shrill, their advice raw and uncoated.


Zoe didn't resist as the women settled her in the center of the bed. She knelt on the mattress, her hands folded in front of her, her head bent down. She wanted to jump out of bed and run, but she knew these women would bring her back and guard the bedroom.


She closed her eyes and took a deep, jagged breath. She heard the women leaving the room, their laughter harsh as they tossed her more marital advice. She had always thought her wedding day would be different. In her daydreams it had been full of laughter and joy, not to mention love.


The reality was much bleaker. Zoe slowly opened her eyes. She was marrying because she was out of options and running out of luck. She was taking a leap of faith, believing she could use this marriage to her advantage. But she might have given up more than her freedom to a man who was a dangerous stranger.

What had she done?

 

"This book is everything that you would enjoy about a Harlequin, and will fulfill the echoing refrain in the heart of every Presents fan who wants a new story to strike that familiar chord. -- The Season for Romance 

"The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar shimmers with a fiery spirit and surprises galore. Susanna Carr blends strong likeable characters with a plot spiced with steamy situations. The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar is an unusual twist on romance. Perfect vacation reading fare!" -- Romance Junkies 

" This book had me captivated from start to finish and I would highly recommend this book." -- Harlequin Junkie 

"This fast-paced read is filled with love, turmoil, hope and understanding. It's cover to cover of 4-star worthy talent and captured my heart from the start. Transported to the middle of Jazaar, Ms. Carr made me a true part of this story and I loved walking beside these amazing characters! I can't wait for the next book! -- The Romance Reviews 

"The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar is a book that entertains and takes a reader on a journey filled with emotions and feelings. The finale was peaceful, romantic and true to all time-loved happily ever after endings. The dialogue is insightful, the romance scenes were wonderfully done and although harsh at times, the story is compelling. It’s a quick tale but well worth taking the time to read." -- Longand Short Reviews 

The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar is anything but tarnished. It is a standout in the “Sheikh finds love” plotline. Zoe and Nadir make a sexy and smart couple! I look forward to sampling more of Ms. Carr's writing because it's beautiful and rife with emotion."-- Joyfully Reviewed

Susanna Carr is an award-winning author known for her contemporary romances. Readers throughout the world find Susanna's stories a delightful escape that has often helped them through difficult times. Reviewers frequently describe her work as "fun", "sexy" and "a must read." When she isn't writing or spending time with her family in the Pacific Northwest, Susanna enjoys reading romance and connecting with readers online.

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