by Angela Smith | May 2, 2016 | Introspective
Ravel by Shari J. Ryan
272 Pages
Published: November 12, 2015
Published By: Gravity – A Booktrope Imprint
Blurb:
At twenty-three, I’m left with a decision. The outcome could be life or death.
Trent hit me once, and I cried. Then he hit me again. And again. After a while, I got used to it, as I slept on the floor beside his bed, night after night.
Everyone told me to leave him, but I can’t. He won’t let me.
The moment I wanted to give up on myself and any form of hope, Kemper—a tall, sexy Marine just home from Afghanistan walked into my bar. With one look in his eyes, I saw pain that mirrored my own.
At first, I thought maybe he would be my prince charming, riding in to save me, but all it took was one tragedy for me to remember…fairy tales don’t exist in real life.
*The content in this book discusses domestic violence and is suitable for readers over 18*
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Excerpt:
“That’s twice in one day I’ve had to save you,” Kemper says, his soft voice soothing my nerves as he presses a cool compress against my forehead. His other hand is cupped around my cheek. No one has ever cared enough to save me. Kemper’s face is inches from mine and I can smell the cool mint on his breath from the gum he’s been chewing.
“I guess so,” I mutter, falling a little deeper into his gaze.
His thumb runs down the length of my nose, and while most of me is feeling pain, that sensation still drives quivers through my body. “Does that hurt?” he asks.
I shake my head, “Not too much,” I say, noticing a slight ache in my neck.
His thumb moves over to my right cheekbone and he presses gently. “How about that?” All I feel is the warmth from his skin. I shake my head again. He does the same for my left cheekbone. This time I wince. It hurts. I clench my eyes and I hear him yell to someone to grab ice. “Is this the first time he’s hit you?” Kemper’s brows are bowed toward his nose while his thumb continues to trace small circles around my cheek. I’d rather lean into his hand than respond.
In truth, I just don’t want to answer him, but he’s still staring at me, waiting for a response. I look down, away from his gaze. The ache in my chest, mixed with feeling like a weak woman, makes me want to cry, but I won’t cry in front of all these people. His finger curls under my chin and he tilts my face back up to look at him. His eyes are kind and caring, yet pained at the same time. The light is hitting them at the perfect angle, giving them the slightest shimmer in the center of each pupil. Then there are his lips—I can’t stop looking at those either. They’re full and capable. They look like they have the ability to kiss in a way I’ve definitely never been kissed. I want to touch his lips, but I belong to Trent—the asshole that just hit me.
Meet Shari J Ryan~
International Bestselling Author, Shari J. Ryan, hails from Central Massachusetts where she lives with her husband and two lively little boys.
Shari has always had an active imagination and enjoys losing herself in the fictional worlds she creates.
When Shari isn’t writing or designing book covers, she can usually be found cleaning toys up off the floor.
Connect with Shari~
~Enter our month long Giveaway~
by Angela Smith | May 1, 2016 | Introspective
Soldier’s Heart by Megan Green
Wounded Love; Book 2
205 Pages
Published: March 29, 2016
Published by: Megan Green
Blurb:
Isaiah Wright is broken. So broken he’s positive he’ll never be fixed again. Surviving every soldier’s worst nightmare is enough for him to want nothing more than to give into the blackness that plagues him.
Emma Nicholls knows pain. Four years after the devastating loss of her fiancé, she’s set up her own business providing service dogs to veterans in an attempt to put her own life back together.
Circumstance brings Isaiah into her life, but neither are prepared for the fire that burns between them. It’s immediate, one broken soul finding solace in another, but it’s also… terrifying.
His soldier’s heart is surrounded by walls ten feet high. But maybe, just maybe, Emma and her brood of trainee service dogs can break through and be the light he so desperately needs.
Purchase Links:
Excerpt:
“Just through here,” I say confidently.
“Are you sure, Wright? I have a bad feeling about this place. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Trust me. We’ve been watching this area for weeks. The men we’re looking for are on the other side of this wall.”
My men line up, preparing to enter the room.
I lift my hand.
On my count.
One.
Two.
I kick open the door, falling back as I let my men charge into the room.
Everything happens so fast.
A shout in Arabic.
A gunshot.
A clamor of English.
An explosion.
***
I jerk from my bed, my arms raising in a defensive position as I take in the room around me. It’s pitch black, the only semblance of light coming from the digital alarm clock glowing in the corner. By its faint light, I’m able to make out my bed. The chair in the corner covered in yesterday’s clothes. My dresser. I’m in my bedroom. I’m home.
I repeat the words over and over to myself, but they do nothing to calm my frayed nerves. My heart races, my breathing ragged. I feel as if I’m going to crawl right out of my skin. I bring my trembling hand to my face, wiping my sweat-soaked brow.
I sit on the edge of my bed, tucking my head between my knees and taking several deep breaths, like my therapist suggested for when these moments occur. And like every other time this has happened, cowering and deep breathing does jack shit. I stomp out of my bedroom, heading for the medicine cabinet in the hall bathroom. I fling open the cabinet door, grabbing for the pills she gave me for when the breathing exercises don’t work. Fuck breathing exercises. I don’t believe for a minute that shit works for anyone.
I swallow two of the pills, not bothering with water, before placing the bottle back on the shelf and swinging the mirrored door shut. I stare at my reflection. I look like shit. My eyes are bloodshot, the dark circles surrounding them deepening every day. The pallor of my normally copper skin is shocking, even to my own eyes. I splash some water on my face, rubbing at my tired, aching eyes.
My thoughts return to my dream. The same one I’ve had every night for the past six months. I hear the voices. The sound of gunfire. I see the flash of the grenade exploding.
“Fuck it,” I mutter, grabbing the pills again and swallowing three more, this time with a small sip of water from the sink. It’s more than Beth wants me to take. But I need some fucking sleep. I need some fucking silence. I need some fucking oblivion.
I stagger out to the couch, feeling the rush of calm already settling over me. I honestly don’t know why I don’t take these damn pills all the time. They’re so much fucking better than the alternative. I collapse on the couch, pulling a blanket around me before allowing the sweet serenity of sleep to take over.
Meet Megan Green ~
Megan lives in northern Utah with her husband, Adam, and incredibly spoiled dog, Tucker. She spends far too much time reading anything and everything she can get her hands on.
Connect with Megan~
~Enter our month long Giveaway~
by Angela Smith | Apr 3, 2014 | Guests
Welcome to Carolyn Crane on my blog today! She answered some tough questions, and I can’t wait to hear what she had to say. She’s also giving away an ebook of OFF THE EDGE to a random commenter. So be sure to comment!
First, a little about Carolyn and her books:
RITA-nominated OFF THE EDGE
SHE MAY BE HIS WORST ENEMY…For deadly secret agent Peter Macmillan, language is a weapon—one he uses to hunt criminals, destroy plots, and charm enemies. Seducing information out of a beautiful singer in a Bangkok hotel should be easy…except this particular singer has the power to destroy his cool façade, and with it, his last defense against a dark past.
HE MAY BE HER ONLY HOPE…He tricked her. He helped himself to her body and her secrets. He has enemies everywhere. Laney Lancaster should hate Peter, but when she discovers him shirtless, sweaty, and chained up in the hotel’s dungeon, all she can think about is freeing him. Because she knows what it’s like to be trapped and alone. And she could use a dangerous friend.
They might be wrong for each other, but the instant they join forces, Laney and Peter are plunged into an odyssey of hot sex and dark danger. To survive, they must trust each other with their lives—and their hearts.
Carolyn Crane writes romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and other tales of adventure and romance; she also writes erotic romance about bank robbers as Annika Martin. She lives in the American Midwest with her husband and two cats. During rare moments when she’s not at her computer, she can be found reading in bed, running, or helping animals.
http://authorcarolyncrane.com/
https://twitter.com/CarolynCrane
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynCrane
Newsletter: http://carolynjeanjackson.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f2412c16d838ecf6c1fe740a1&id=fc81556a81
What was your favorite part of writing OFF THE EDGE?
I enjoyed the playing with this relationship between these characters. My heroine is very artistic and into emotional honesty, and my hero is a spy who is all about deception and violence, but the place they meet is in language. They both love language and use it masterfully—it’s their battleground, but it’s also what connects them.
What is your favorite aspect of reading a novel?
I read in bed every night, and I just love the feeling of excitement when I have a book waiting for me that is really engrossing. And I know the world can just float away and I’ll be breathlessly caught up in a story. It’s such a luxury to me! So I guess that is just the same as a lot of people!!
Are you a plotter, a pantser, or both?
I’m both. I do a rough outline of events, and sometimes I jot down notes about ideas I have for scenes—some I use and some I don’t. So, I guess I’m a loose plotter. I usually know roughly how a book is going to end, but not always how I’ll get there. And, it sort of depends on the book. I’m a little more specific in my outline with my spy books, because they’re more complex, than with my Annika Martin hunky bank robber books, which are pretty much pantsed.
Do you have a certain theme in all of your novels?
Ooh, that is a good question. I tend to get attracted to themes of honesty and deception. Of being known for who you are, seen for who you are, accepted no matter what. Of flaws and obsessions becoming powers.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I think it can be hard for authors to say how they write. For example, I think I write dark as Carolyn Crane, but I don’t think I’m seen that way. I think my books are always a mixture of dark and light.
Do you ever use your life experiences in your novels?
Yes, I totally do. And I use people I know, too, but usually by the time I’ve finished a book, I’ve twisted everything around so much and loaded in so much made up stuff, nobody would ever know. And, I have a straight job as an advertising copywriter, which means I know a little bit about a whole lot of stuff, from how they make those reflective vests look so bright to how parking ramps are constructed to how people’s personalities relate to their choice of coffee shop. I find weird uses for a lot of that stuff.
Are you working on any projects right now?
I’m working on three projects! The next Undercover Associates (it’s about Thorne, and it has a secret baby in it). And another Taken Hostage by Hunky Bank Robbers book by my dirty-writing alter ego, Annika Martin. And a third top-secret project where one of my pen names is collaborating with another author.
Do you see writing as a career?
Oh, definitely. Well, it already is, considering my copywriter job, but I’m hoping to increase the hours I do fiction writing and decrease my copywriting. Which is one of the great things about a freelance gig.
If you had the career of your choice, what would you choose and why?
Author!! I would do this stuff full time! I love writing.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I’m a slow writer, so I’m really trying to get faster. I’m trying to understand why I write some books faster than others so I can write them ALL fast!! And I want to get better at working on characters, too. Better at writing from character on a first draft instead of stumbling around forever trying to figure characters out.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Read romance earlier. I was too uptight and I read difficult, boring books for too long. I was too hard on myself. I needed to have more fun. I feel like I went through a total Renaissance as a read and writer when I discovered romance. Why wasn’t I reading and writing this stuff all along?
Hey, Angela, thanks again for having me!! And I’m giving away a prize…an ebook copy of OFF THE EDGE to one random commenter…
