Warrior Priest by Kate Hill
Science Fiction Romance
Blurb What happens when a warrior priest from a strict religion meets a free-spirited priestess from a new age commune?
Jade and Selena are as different as two people can be, but to facilitate an alliance between their worlds, they engage in a cultural exchange. With their galaxy in danger from a planet that wants to conquer or destroy all others, they realize the importance of their assignment, but it is difficult for a warrior priest and a nonviolent priestess to understand each other.
Selena is both attracted and appalled by his old school masculinity, and Jade is tempted to break his vow of celibacy until marriage due to his powerful desire for her. Will this unlikely pair not only find common ground, but unconditional love?
Excerpt “I thought I saw my father.” Jade couldn’t believe he was confessing to her. “Back there at the waterfall. I heard him, and I saw him.”
Selena reached for his hand and squeezed it. “That’s what upset you? I dreamed about a bakery, and you dreamed about your dad.”
“I wasn’t dreaming. I didn’t fall asleep.”
Selena tilted her gaze up to his. “I’m not sure what to say. Have you ever seen a ghost before?”
“No, Selena! No, I’ve never seen a ghost, and I’m not crazy. I’m thinking that maybe this head wound is—”
“The scan was fine, Jade. Once we’re out of here, I can check again, but if the way you’re trekking through this cave is any indication, there’s nothing wrong with you physically.”
“You think I’m crazy, then?”
“No, I don’t think you’re crazy. I believe we might be able to communicate with spirits. My religion is based on a variety of beliefs that include the dead leaving imprints on the corporeal world. I also believe that sometimes ghosts aren’t about spirits reaching out from beyond, but about closure we need.”
“I never told him I loved him.” Jade’s stomached clenched. He felt more than a little embarrassed. There was no reason for him to tell her this. Still, he went on. “We didn’t talk much about feelings. Emotions are to be controlled. A lack of discipline can get you killed.”
“That’s true, I suppose. But pretending you don’t have emotions can kill you, too. Slowly. So you can’t ever be truly happy or even sad. It’s kind of like ignoring an injury. It won’t heal, or it’ll heal badly.”
Purchase Links: Warrior Priest is on sale for $0.99 until June 30, 2022 at Smashwords and Amazon
Author Bio: Kate Hill is a vegetarian New Englander who started writing many years ago for pleasure.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, watching horror and action movies, working out, and spending time with her family and pets.
Blurb: Tamsyn McKiernan thinks her dreams have come true. She’s engaged to a dashing Key West bachelor and finally in her widowed father’s good graces. But in her heart, she knows something’s wrong. She loves the ocean and the quiet pleasures of nature—so what does the aristocratic life she’ll lead truly hold for her?
Mercenary captain Drake Ashton is neck deep in preparations for the Spanish-American War, running guns and other supplies to Cuban natives who want out from under their Spanish masters. He and his brother Freddie risk their lives daily, focused on saving his friends on the island. Nothing else matters but his mission.
A chance encounter with a spiny sea urchin brings the two together, and neither of their lives will ever be the same again.
Excerpt The wine would go straight to her head soon, she knew from previous, infrequent consumption, so she must sip it slowly. One of them had to keep their wits.
She felt the curious eyes of the crew, some shy, others bolder in their observation. Tamsyn smiled at them all. One broad, bullish man came forward with a blanket, which he spread on the deck. Drake clapped the man on the shoulder.
“Good thinking, Chaney. A picnic it will be!” He gestured to Tamsyn that she should seat herself, which she did without hesitation.
Within a few minutes, trays of food came up from belowdecks, chicken spit broiled with crispy skins, fruits and cheeses, Bahamian bread with a thick slab of butter. The men vied for the opportunity to serve her until Drake finally dismissed them with a laugh.
“Cook has enough for all below. Go take your supper. We may have some business awaiting us yet tonight.”
The men cheered and noisily went down to eat. The skinny cabin boy remained to serve his captain. Drake saw that the boy got a plate of food, then sent him away. “A few moments alone,” he whispered conspiratorially.
“Just a few,” she said with a sad smile. “Then I must—”
Drake held up a finger, silencing her. “Not a word of that now.”
Tamsyn started to argue, then realized he would just cut her off again. It was right. What might happen in a minute, in an hour, would not be changed if she took the time to immerse herself in the joy and comfort of this time with Drake.
The food smelled so good in the fresh night air, and Drake urged her to taste everything, from sweet melons to spicy chicken. It was simple fare, but it satisfied her more than any of the expensive delicacies that had been served at the Pickhams’ buffet. Surely it is the company which has improved my appetite. Drake’s dark eyes danced in the moonlight, and he often turned to her with a smile, perhaps wanting to say something but reluctant to break the spell they seemed to be under.
But not yet, Mamma, not yet…Can you see me, Mamma? Tamsyn wondered silently. Can you see how happy I am?
####
He said, “An old Cuban woman taught me one evening as we sat around a fire at a rebel camp, drums beating in the distance, smoke in the air. She leaned close to me and took my hand, just as I’m holding yours now, and told me my future, showing me how the lines of my palm intersected and moved apart.” He examined her face, more serious. “I never believed a word until now.”
Tamsyn was thoroughly intrigued, her curious streak in high gear. “What did she say?”
“She told me a time would come when a young woman would rescue me. That woman, she said, would be…” He stared at her, intently watching her face.
His deep gaze hypnotized her. She could almost smell the camp smoke, so taken was she. “Would be what?”
“Would be—” He shook his head. “It’s not important. Something about love.”
Tamsyn pulled her hand back sharply. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with me, then.” She turned and walked away in the direction of her carriage. But she lost one of her sandals in a sudden rush of water and stepped hard onto white coral rock. “Ow!”
“Allow me,” he said behind her. Before she could argue, he scooped her up in his arms. As she protested, he replied, “I told you I was in your debt. Please permit me to repay you.” Ashton’s boots easily traversed the rocks, his arms strong around her. He smelled of salt water and the ocean breeze, and she felt gentleness within him as he carried her.
It would be better if Drake was happy for Tamsyn’s good fortune. She’d not want for anything material as the wife of Winslow—no doubt, a beautiful house and gardens, a fine carriage, a husband whose future was financially secure.
His own fortunes lay along a much different path.
If Drake were to be caught by the Spaniards, it wasn’t likely he’d live to be tried for the crime back on the mainland. The Spanish were known for their quick tempers and sharp swords. The mercenary trade paid him well, for now, and if the buzzing rumors he’d heard on the Pickham veranda were true, war would come within the year. Guns were a prime commodity in time of war. He always carried rum when he returned from the islands, of course, and sugar and tropical fruits, to cover his real motives. He had not been interdicted yet. As young men often did, he played the odds and planned to beat them.
For the first time, however, that focus was shaken by thoughts of this woman.
What distinguished Tamsyn MacKiernan from the other women he’d met in a hundred different ports? Drake couldn’t put his finger on it. He just knew she appealed to his heart in a way that possessed him. She held an intriguing blend of strength and vulnerability, stomach ironclad in the face of blood yet timid as a lost waif left alone in the midst of the ball. He wanted to know her better.
But she was to be married. Even if he had been able to marry her, even though he had a proper home with a hired woman to maintain it, it was nothing compared with the empire Winslow would command in a few years. Drake knew he had no business thinking Tamsyn might prefer a lonely pirate to the golden boy.
Damnation!
Author Bio Alana Lorens has been a published writer for more than forty years. Currently a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the aging hippie loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. One of her novellas, THAT GIRL’S THE ONE I LOVE, is set in the city of Asheville during the old Bele Chere festival. She lives with her daughter on the autism spectrum, who is the youngest of her seven children, and she is ruled by three crotchety old cats, and six kittens of various ages.
by Jana Richards
Genre: Small Town Contemporary Romance
Love can make you stronger, if you let it.
Charlotte Saunders has a full life—a rewarding career as a nurse, meaningful volunteer work at a dog shelter, and family, friends and pets she adores. But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t forget the horrible event that’s haunted her for ten years.
A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Damon Greyson now helps others who have suffered trauma. His experience and intuition alert him to trouble in Charlotte’s past, and he wants to help her, if only she’d let him.
As they work together to help veterans suffering from PTSD and neglected dogs needing loving homes, their feelings for each other deepen. But when the trauma from Charlotte’s past roars back to life, both are forced to confront their painful histories—or die trying.
Single dad Ben Greyson wants only to retain custody of his two stepdaughters. A dysfunctional childhood has made family the most important thing in his life. When his late wife’s parents sue for custody, a desperate Ben is left with two choices – run away with his girls or marry his next-door neighbor.
Jamie Garven wants to be a mother. She’s intrigued by her handsome new neighbor and falls in love with his little girls. Then Ben is faced with losing his children, and Jamie agrees to marry him for a chance at motherhood. They’re determined to show the world, and the girls’ grandparents, two loving parents.
Their marriage of convenience turns into unexpected love. But Ben interprets Jamie’s efforts to save their family as betrayal—they could lose everything, including each other.
Garrett Saunders’ world changed two years ago on a road in Afghanistan. Back home, he feels like a stranger. As he struggles to find his place in the world, he meets a horse destined for the slaughterhouse and a woman bent on rescuing the strays of the world, including him.
Blair Greyson moves to Masonville to look after her ailing grandfather and give her rescue horses a home. Right away she butts heads with a surly former Marine. Despite a rocky start, they come to an agreement: Blair will board Garrett’s rescue horse and he’ll help with repairs around her farm.
Garrett finds purpose working with Blair—and falls in love with her. But she’s hiding a secret. Can she forgive herself and accept Garrett’s love, or will she let guilt and regret continue to rule her life?
**On Sale at Amazon for .99cents May 20 – June 3!!**
Is Lauren’s love for Cole stronger than her fear of scandal in her hometown?
Lauren didn’t intend to sleep with her brother-in-law Cole on the day of her husband’s funeral. But now that she is pregnant, she’s not sorry. Cole’s given her a baby, a long-wished-for miracle. He’s been her friend forever, though she never told him or anyone else how unhappy her marriage to his cheating brother was. And she’s afraid to tell the small town that considered her husband a hero that the baby isn’t his.
Cole’s been in love with Lauren since he was sixteen. It kills him that everyone believes the baby is his dead brother’s. All he wants is to claim the baby, and Lauren, as his own. Though she marries him, will Lauren’s heart ever be his?
Lauren must tell the truth or risk losing Cole. Is her newly-discovered love for him greater than her fear of scandal in her hometown?
When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com
One moment Juniper Reese existed, and the next she vanished into thin air.
This is how it feels for Lavender, her twin, when she receives the call that Juniper didn’t show up to her job one morning. Still adjusting to Juniper’s cross-country move to run from the ghosts of their mother’s death, Lavender knows something is wrong — but she also knows her sister is still alive.
As she follows Juniper’s footsteps in an unfamiliar town, she begins to uncover a plot that seems to suggest her sister was being stalked before her disappearance. Now it’s on her to find Juniper before time runs out and convince those around her that her disappearance wasn’t an attempt to “get away.”
What she doesn’t know is that she’s being watched by someone who just realized perfection came twice. He begins to hone in on Lavender, his attention never satisfied until he can have them both for himself.
Will Lavender be able to find her sister before time runs out?
Or will she be the next target in an obsession gone wrong?
It started when she was four, when she taught herself how to read and write as a way to entertain herself while her grandmother kicked and danced in aerobics class. She cut her teeth on books from Dr. Seuss and writing anywhere she could find the space — including her Fischer Price kitchenette, the pages of picture books, and Highlights Magazines.
She’s matured a bit since then, now choosing to write in the margins of her books and on the mirrors of her bathroom ideas and thoughts surrounding story and what makes us human. By day she leads a team at a tech company, waking up before the sun rises to get in her love for words before stepping into her role of helping others see the plot line of their own story under development.
Intuition and beauty get her through the day, as well as her chef-husband and their little lion son. Curious Obsession is her fourth novel.
Beatrice Callahan loves lists. Sometimes she even makes a to-do list of things she’s already done, just to go check, check, check and feel accomplished. So it’s easy to understand why, when her divorce is finally final and her ex is all moved out, Bea takes a cool, close look at her life…and makes a list.
It’s not exactly a bucket list.
It’s a love list.
Bea loves the outdoors, so she puts visit 10 National Parks on the list.
She loves animals, and on goes get a puppy.
She loves the beach, and she adds take a dream vacation to the list, and decides to do that one first. After all she’s been through and all she’s lost, she needs time to relax, rest, and reset.
On the first day she arrives in Hilton Head Island, she meets Grant Turner, the man whose house she’s renting for her fabulous beach vacation. He’s just there to make sure she settles in properly and has enough towels.
But when Bea asks for recommendations around the island, Grant quickly becomes her tour guide and then a friend and then…more than friends.
Bea turns to her lists when things get confusing and her love list morphs once again… Can she add fall in love at age 45 to the list and check it off?
She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a co-founder of The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon. She is a member of ALLi and NINC and a popular speaker for libraries, teens, and writer’s conferences across the United States. To contact Elana to speak at your event, please see her contact page.
I’m so thrilled to be a guest on this blog. Thank you so much for hosting me. My name is N. N. Light, otherwise known as Mrs. N. I write uplifting stories with my husband and better half, Mr. N.
In late February of this year, Russia invaded Ukraine. My heart plummeted as I saw the brute force of Russia’s army attach a sovereign nation. Can this really be happening? After all we have been through as a people, can we just sit by and watch the elimination of a race of people? I knew I needed to find some way to help. I certainly didn’t have the resources to fly over there but what could I do? The answer came in an Instagram post about two weeks ago. My fellow author, Dania Voss, put out a message on Instagram asking for more romance stories for a charity anthology. I signed up right away and I’m so honored to be a part of the Love Wins anthology. 100% of the proceeds go to a charity with boots on the ground helping Ukrainians in need.
We can’t stop the bombs from falling but we can do our part from this corner of our world. Please consider purchasing the anthology for $1.99. Not only will you be helping innocent people struggling to stay alive, but you’ll get fifteen romance novellas/short stories. These stories vary between sweet and contemporary.
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Charity Anthology, Romance Short Stories
Book Blurb: Stories include: ALL ROADS LEAD TO SHEPHERD GROVE–DANIA VOSS PAST, PERFECT, POLO–MARIBELLE MCCREA THE MADAM’S FRIEND–MARLENE F CHENG HAVEN OF SECRETS–PAMELA CLAYFIELD GOLD MINE–TIFFANY CARBY MISROUTED BY LOVE ~ A TALE OF MAYBE–AIMEE O’BRIAN CLICKING–R.A. CLARKE THE POWER OF LOVE–JUDY FISHER LOVE, ETERNAL–ROBERT BEECH SHIFTER: A WERE-CAT’S TALE–E.J. POWELL ON THE WINGS OF KITES–ALEX GREHY MOANA ACCOUNTANT–KERRY CARLISLE TWO WEEKS IN THE TETONS–MARIS PARKER
Authors include Dania Voss, Maribelle McCrea, Marlene Cheng, K.M. Jenkins, Deborah King, Annie McEwen, Pamela Clayfield, Tiffany Carby, Aimee O’Brian, R.A. Clarke, N. N. Light, Judy Fisher, Robert Beech, E.J. Powell, Alex Grehy, Maris Parker
Jack took a step back letting go of her pinky. He crossed his arms; his eyes glittered angrily. Sally’s nostrils flared. Taking a step back, she crossed her arms. “That’s a fine thing to say to me after all we’ve been through.” She turned to leave. “Maybe Trevor’s right…” “What?” Jack sat down on the cot, not looking at her. “What did Trevor tell you?” “Trevor has a buyer for the farm. It’s a friend of his father’s and he loves the idea of a brewery out here in the country. He wants to add a restaurant and make it some sort of oasis for city folk.” She ran her fingers through her blonde hair. “A buyer?” He put his head in his hands and sighed. “It’s too fast.” “What are you talking about?” She looked down at her watch, wishing she hadn’t come. Her sister was right; men were nothing but trouble. “Look, I know I’ve messed things up.” He stood and walked towards her. “But you’ve got to give the farm and me a second chance.” He extended his hand through the bars. Sally’s emotions shook her body. Guilt, love, pain, regret, anger and hope battled for supremacy in her heart. She eyed his outstretched hand warily. Could she trust him? Could he be depended upon? “Why should I give you another chance, Jack?” She let her arms fall to her sides. A force not her own pulled her body closer to his. She whispered, “You hurt me.” Tears welled up but she didn’t care. He reached up and wiped her tears away. “Oh Sally,” he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. Her lower lip quivered. “I’m so sorry. I’m a first-class jerk.” He cupped her face with his hands. “Please don’t cry.” Sally closed her eyes. She felt like a tiny dingy in the middle of the ocean, battered and torn in pieces. She leaned her head against the bars. “Your opinion matters most, it always has. When you say things like you just did, it tears me apart.” She lifted her head. “I need you, Jack. I can’t do this without you.” “That wasn’t me; it was my jealousy rearing its ugly head.” “What do you mean? What do you have to be jealous of?” Her brows furrowed, she thought hard. “I’m jealous of how happy you seem to be with Trevor,” he replied.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Preorder your e-copy for only $1.99. The price goes up to $4.99 after release week! 100% of the proceeds going to World Vision’s Ukrainian Refugee Fund.
N. N. Light is the award-winning husband-wife writing team, commonly known as Mr. N and Mrs. N. Books are their addiction and lifeblood. Life is meant to be lived; cherish the exciting moments, and relish in those all too brief moments of relaxation. They are here to live their own lives, read as many books as humanly possible and live it passionately. N. N. Light’s Book Heaven serves as a vessel to project their passions, and clue in their loyal readers as to what inspires them in this crazy world. So, sit back, relax, and read on. One link to rule them all: https://bio.link/nnlightsbookheaven
War correspondent Kate Tessler has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?
Injured in a bombing, Kate returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age (49), even though she’s living like a teenager again: staying with her father, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into people who still think of her as Kitty.
Seeing her mother in an Alzheimer’s unit is the hardest part – until an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at that nursing home. Is a self-appointed “Angel of Mercy” killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit.
If Kate can’t uncover the truth, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.
Get a free short storyplus bonus material when you sign up for Kris Bock’s newsletter. This free collection starts with a ten-page mystery short story, “The Case of the Missing Monkey,”set in the world of The Accidental Detective series. That is followed by information about the first books in the series, Something Shady at Sunshine Haven and Something Deadly on Desert Drive, plus the first chapter of book 1. After that are three fun, short stories originally written for children.
Praise for Something Shady at Sunshine Haven
I just LOVE your protagonist and the cast of characters that you built.” – Sinclair Jayne, author
“A really fun read and the perfect set up for a great series.” – Lisa Honeycutt, author/illustrator
“Book one was a good read, and I’m looking forward to a series with Kate Tessler.” – Teresa Fannin, writer
“So much fun! Her wry notes always make me laugh. The mystery seems so impossible to solve. You have so many details and such a limited ability for the heroine to get answers, which makes the story even more engaging. I love her dry sense of humor.” – Emma J. Wallace, author
My childhood home had faded in the harsh Arizona sun and now showed its age—rather like me. I’d never dreamed of living here again after thirty years of traveling the world.
This is temporary. You’ll find a way out.
“Do you need help?” My sister’s tone made it clear the correct answer was no. She’d already hinted that picking me up at the airport had been one more burden in her busy life.
“I got it.” I eased out of the car and limped to the trunk to retrieve my travel backpack, still getting used to my new cane. My thigh throbbed where the doctors had dug out the shrapnel and stitched it back together with Frankenstein scars. My usual fast stride was an awkward hobble up the walkway. My luggage might have been “light,” considering it held everything I owned, but it still nudged the airline’s weight limit.
The front door opened, and I forced a smile. Jen disappeared inside, and Dad and I stood face-to-face.
Our smiles faltered. I dropped the backpack and stumbled into his arms. Tension drained out of my body. I blinked back tears and felt his frailty, the tremor in his hands. He smelled like Dad with a hint of a newer scent, something that only seemed to come from old men.
“Welcome home,” he whispered.
“It’s good to be home.” I needed to rest and heal, and where better to do that than in my parents’ house? In a few weeks—I promised myself weeks, not months, and definitely not years—I would be well enough to return to journalism. “How’s Mom?”
“Good. Well, you know. She’s settled in. She can’t wait to see you.”
I didn’t ask if she’d remember me. I hadn’t noticed signs of Alzheimer’s on my last visit, but that had been a year ago, and Jen assured me Mom had faded fast. She also made it clear that since I was home with no job, it was my turn to take care of our parents.
“Sit,” Dad said. “You need to rest that leg.”
Behind him, Jen sighed loudly. “Don’t coddle her. She needs to stay active.” You wouldn’t know from the way she acted that Jen was younger by two years.
Dad winked at me. “Come and sit anyway.”
Jen hustled outside. She glanced back through the open door. “Welcome home.” She sped down the path without waiting for an answer.
I closed the door and looked at Dad. “I guess I caught her on a bad day.”
“No, just a day. Hey, a friend of yours runs the care home. She gave me a message for you. Said it was urgent.” He shuffled through the mail on the little table by the door.
I couldn’t think of any friends in Arizona. I hadn’t had any here since my childhood. My friends were scattered around the world, wherever news was happening. If she ran the nursing home, she might hope I’d write a story on the facility to promote it, or do some free PR work. Drat. Were people going to treat me like I had nothing better to do than give away my time?
Double drat. I did not, in fact, have anything better to do. And I wanted a nap.
Dad handed me an envelope. I leaned on the door and propped my cane against the table so I had two hands to tear open the envelope. The handwritten message inside was brief:
Kitty—Please come see me ASAP. I need your help.
—Heather Garcia
“She sounded. . .” Dad hesitated. “She asked about your journalism and begged me to bring you in as soon as possible.”
Begged? This could be interesting after all. But who was Heather Garcia? Someone I knew in high school, given her use of my old nickname. Maybe I’d recognize her when I saw her. Or maybe not. I hadn’t changed a bit, of course, but other people sure looked different after thirty years.
Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. She has lived in ten states and one foreign country but is now firmly planted in the Southwest, where many of her books are set. Learn more at www.krisbock.com. Kris’s cat café series is lighthearted sweet romance. Readers call it heartwarming, fun, and delightful. Visit the Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series page on Amazon US or Amazon UK.
Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. Follow the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for our romantic comedy newsletter and get Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. These first two chapters from the novel Felony Melanie in Pageant Pandemonium stand alone as a short story. In the future, you’ll get fun content about upcoming Felony Melanie novels and other romantic comedy news and links. Or find book 1 at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.
An Angel’s Wylder Assignment A Wylder West Novel by Tena Stetler Genre: Paranormal Romance
It takes a Warrior Angel and Native American Shifter to save the past and create their future.
Angel Killian Dugan’s annual trip to the family castle in Scotland is shattered by the arrival of Legion Commander North. Killian’s skills are needed for an urgent time travel assignment. A rogue demon has escaped back in time. He must discover the why and where then stop the demon before it can damage the past and change the future.
Killian’s girlfriend Chinoah Grace, a Native American shapeshifter is included in the mission, which takes them to the wild west town of Wylder, Wyoming in 1878. She will have her hands full fitting in and making friends. Nothing is as it seems. They encounter visions, spirit quests, and a mysterious shaman. On top of it all, blending in as a blacksmith is more physically difficult than he imagined. But not as challenging as keeping his hands off his undercover wife. Will they complete their assignment or run out of time?
Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance with an over-active imagination. She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. Colorado is home; shared with her husband, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-five-year-old box turtle. When she’s not writing, her time is spent kayaking, camping, hiking, biking or just relaxing in the great Colorado outdoors.
Her books tell tales of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Travel, adventure, and a bit of mystery flourish in her books along with a few companion animals to round out the tales.
Avery Dawson thought she had it all figured out. A music career, a tour, and the entire world at her feet. Then her bus crashed on a deserted road and she found herself stuck… and in need of a hero.
When Jackson Pole stopped to help the country star trapped in the bus, he thought he was doing a good deed. But the next day, with Avery staying in his house and her fingerprints all over everything, he has one very disturbing realization: Now that she was here, she was going to change everything.
Life in his small town in North Carolina, on the ranch he worked so hard to buy, has always been more than enough for him. He never wanted anything more, and he certainly never wanted a woman. Especially a high-profile, high-maintenance one like Avery.
But when she leaves, intent on starting her tour and moving on from the disastrous week she spent waiting for her bus to be repaired, it turns out he was wrong.
He does need a woman. And only one woman will do: the one that just left him.
Hero in Waiting is a sweet romance that features cowboys, small-town characters, and plenty of romance, with a guaranteed HEA, and is the start of the Southern Rogues series.
Shelby Flynn is a fan of red wine, cheesecake, perfect hash browns, and really good punk rock. She’s also obsessed with everything piratical—though she refuses to acknowledge any actual connection to pirates. She studied English and Film at UCLA and, when forced to choose a career, chose publishing rather than teaching or being a film maker. Quinn lives in San Diego with her husband, dogs, and far too many cats.
Title: You Can’t Hurry Love ASIN: B09S35VNTL Release Date: ebook: March 24, 2022, print: March 6, 2022 Rating: Explicit/Mature Audiences Only
Blurb:
Sometimes love is worth the wait.
Sara Carlisle and Charlie Rhodes are complete opposites. Oil and water. Chalk and cheese.
Before Sara even meets Charlie, she hates him. He’s insulted her best friend -a woman Sara considers family- and that is unforgivable. In person he proves to be just as obnoxious and insufferable as she’d anticipated. And, as far as she’s concerned, the fact that he’s tall and muscular with an accent to die for is not enough to redeem him. Charlie Rhodes is an arrogant A–hole (with a capital A!) and that’s all there is to it!
For his part, Charlie thinks Sara is a conceited pain in the arse. A prissy princess to the nth degree. It becomes his prerogative to get under her skin for the sheer pleasure of riling her up. He feels genuine enjoyment in the face of her frustration, and he makes no secret of it. Besides, she gives as good as she gets!
Fundamentally opposed in every way, it’s obvious to those around them that they’re not going to get along.
But unfortunately, thanks to their respective families, they are stuck in each other’s lives for the foreseeable future. Being civil is as good as it is going to get…or is it?
When their relationship turns from reluctant acquaintances to red hot lovers, they find it’s good.
Really good.
What could possibly go wrong?
In a slow-burn romance that follows hot on the heels of Handle With Care*, Sara and Charlie discover that you really can’t rush romance.
*Both Handle With Care and You Can’t Hurry Love can be read as standalone novels in the expanding Jukebox Collection series.
Guess Who’s Back? (Someone You’ve Never Heard Of)
When I wrote Handle With Care, I wrote for myself. I wrote because I could feel some sort of countdown clock hanging over my head. I’d graduated high school in 2002, and the twenty-year deadline I’d given myself to become a published author was looming. So I wrote and then published it -silently, without fanfare- without any idea of what I was doing.
I just NEEDED to get it out there.
I thought that would be that. I thought I’d wash my hands of it. I’d ticked my bucket list goal off my list (an entire year early!) and I could sleep easily from there, right?
Wrong!
Writing has always been an escape for me, though I stuck to the realm of fanfiction for years. Despite changing fandoms a lot (I’m a fickle cow), I’m comfortable in the fanfic community. The anonymity of it. Borrowing pre-existing characters and worlds…but then I developed my own, and suddenly I’m in love with them.
So in love, in fact, that I couldn’t actually leave Handle With Care as the one-shot that I’d intended it to be. Instead, Charlie and Sara’s story begged me to put it to paper. It flowed so easily -easier than its predecessor- and not long after that an entire series of plot bunnies started bouncing through my head.
And that brings us here. You Can’t Hurry Love is my second release, a follow up (but easily stands alone) to Handle With Care. This time, I wrote not just for myself, but for other readers: people who had emailed me and asked me if I was going to delve into Charlie and Sara’s story, people who have offered feedback and ideas that have honestly helped improve my writing.
I won’t lie – I’m more anxious this time around. With my first novel, I had hoped other people might like it, but the goal at the time was simply to prove to myself (and the 17-year-old version of me who dreamed big things) that I could do it. This time I want to entertain other people. I want people to fall in love with Charlie and Sara, to laugh at their antics and wonder what’s next in the series. And I think that I might have achieved that. Maybe.
It’s A Small World Afterall
So, I’m back with a new contemporary romance novel, once again set in my backyard of Brisbane, Australia. For the most part, anyway.
Aside from writing about a location that I’m familiar with, I guess I chose South East Queensland as my main setting for the Jukebox Collection series because most Australian novels I’ve read have sort of skipped my little corner of the world.
And I get it. I do. Brisbane’s pretty much unheard of. Most people, when you say “Australia”, automatically imagine the outback or Sydney or Byron Bay. (Ugh. Byron. I’m not a fan. It’s overrated. This is the hill I will die on.)
But South East Queensland has so much to offer. We have beaches that are far superior to Bondi or Byron (fight me), rainforests to explore and mountains to climb, zoos, and theme parks, and a cultural centre in Brisbane which -while it is admittedly nowhere near as good as Melbourne- is steadily growing and improving over time. Hell, we even have movie studios on the Gold Coast. Oh, and the subtropical climate here is generally pretty awesome. (Let’s not consider the recent flooding and months of rain. That’s a once-or-twice-every-decade sort of deal.)
It seemed only natural to set a series of novels here. My little urban paradise.
I’m aware that I spend a bit more time describing the local setting in Handle With Care (Book 1 of the Jukebox Collection), but in You Can’t Hurry Love we venture a bit further north to explore Hervey Bay, and also take a short flight across the pond to visit Charlie in London.
And I love that. I love that novels can take us all over the world, without ever leaving our homes. That’s something I’ve relied heavily on since a certain pandemic happened. As much as I’m looking forward to travelling again, I’m glad I can do it from my armchair…and I like to hope that, through my writing, I can share the gift with other readers, too.
Anita (A.N.) Verebes is a daydreamer and romance novelist. As a civil marriage celebrant, Anita makes a living telling other people’s love stories and celebrating real romance! Also armed with a Bachelor of Education (Secondary), Anita is a qualified -but not practising- High School English teacher who loves to read anything she can get her hands on, including fanfiction. (And, yes, she’s written her fair share of that, too.) Living directly between Queensland’s sunny Gold and Sunshine coasts, Anita spends her days exploring the Great South East with her husband and their two rambunctious sons. When at home, she’s also a slave to two cats and one very spoilt Great Dane X.
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