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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

#CoverReveal FINDING JULIA by Desiree Holt

Cover Reveal Today!
 
 
On July 29 FINDING JULIA will be available for preorder. Watch for the links. This is Desiree Holt’s first book for Kensington Publishing’s Lyrical Imprint and I’m helping her get the word out. She has also signed a contract for a football series and is well into the first draft of Book One: Forward Pass. Hooray!
 
Get a taste of FINDING JULIA here: http://bit.ly/1rMi7c5
 
Finding Julia

Monday, July 28, 2014

#VirtualBookTour Goddess, Awakened by Cate Masters

Please welcome my guest today, Cate Masters!

Cheers,
Cindy
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The Goddess Connection Book 1

Goddess, Awakened

by Cate Masters
 

 

Blurb

 

With a little help from a goddess, battling evil is a piece of cake for Jocelyn Gibson.

A descendant of the goddess Iris, Jocelyn Gibson may have forgotten about the realm of magic, but it hasn’t forgotten her. When Eric Hendricks is targeted by a demon, Joss must step in to battle the evil and save the town’s awkward, but endearing, vet…who also happens to be the man she loves.

Joss’s new inn, a culinary career specializing in cooking with lavender and a new love all make for a fine recipe of disaster. She needs to embrace her inner goddess and harness the powers she never knew she had before it’s too late.

Goddess, Awakened

The Goddess Connection, Book 1

Fantasy/paranormal romance novel

About 89,700 words


 

The Goddess Connection Series

Every woman should embrace her inner goddess. What’s your connection?

 

In each novel of The Goddess Connection series, the heroine is somehow connected to a goddess. Her lifelong quirks will become strengths once she finds her true place in the world, and accepts herself for who she really is.

 

And in each, the heroine is encouraged to embrace her inner goddess. And the hero treats her like one! As it should be for every woman.

 

 

About the Author

Cate Masters has made beautiful central Pennsylvania her home, but she’ll always be a Jersey girl at heart. When not spending time with her dear hubby, she can be found in her lair, concocting a magical brew of contemporary, historical, and fantasy/paranormal stories with her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company. Look for her at http://catemasters.blogspot.com and in strange nooks and far-flung corners of the web.

 

Contact Details




Twitter: @CateMasters

 

Book video




 

Full Excerpt

The sting remained with Joss long after Eric fled the inn. Deep-rooted pain emanated from him when he’d first entered, and his palm against her arm sent an electric shock straight to her bones. The poor man. Grief kept him its prisoner. Joss understood how easy it was to fall into that dark trap. The way he’d held her, he sought escape. Comfort.

He awakened deep-seated sensations in her. In the few moments with him, she’d felt more alive than she had in three years.

So strange. Normally, one look allowed her to see the person inside. With Eric Hendricks, her receptivity went into overload. His soul, pent up for years, stirred to life and churned up love, fear, joy, hopelessness, yearning, jumbled and shifting faster than light. He displayed great strength in his firm stance and gentle touch. Beneath a hard veneer of sheer pain, one other trait came through clearly—purity of spirit, and integrity enough for many men.

The arrival of more guests drew Joss to the foyer again. Another matronly witch and an older man wearing a checked flannel shirt, jeans, and boots stepped inside, followed by a princess and a boy in a fabric turtle shell.

Joss recognized the girl as one of the riders whose horse was boarded at the inn’s stable. After greeting them and pointing them toward refreshments, she returned to Lydia. “Sorry about Dr. Hendricks.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s wonderful you have so many guests.” Lydia fingered the flowers in the vase on the table.

One woman stood in the archway to the front room, her bright-eyed glare directed at Joss. Wearing a short white shift adorned with large red hearts, the woman held a wand topped with a glittering red heart.

Confused by the woman’s malevolence, Joss approached and fought to overcome the negativity oozing from her. “Did you try some of the booscotti?”

The woman tilted up her chin. “I’m not hungry, Mrs. Gibson,” came her familiar nasal reply.

Recognition finally hit. Of course—the girl who worked at the diner in town. “Sheree?”

At her curt nod, Joss forced a smile. “I love your costume.”

Sheree’s gaze darted her length. “Likewise.”

What could be her problem? The woman wielded her wand like a weapon, ready to strike. “Please have a drink and make yourself at home.”

“Thank you.” Her narrowed eyes swept the room as if suspecting an ambush, and then she moved stiffly away.

Joss crossed the room to Lydia. “That was weird.”

Lydia whispered, “Be careful of her.”

“Sheree? I can’t imagine why.” Could she be nervous the inn would take away some of the diner’s business? Though Joss would have liked to think it was the cause of her strange behavior, Sheree’s vibes told Joss otherwise. Business had nothing to do with it. The waitress directed her bad juju at Joss personally. Had Joss unintentionally insulted Sheree? She’d barely met the woman.

Leaning close, her aunt spoke sternly, “I warned you to watch for others who seek the power of this place.”

Sheree? Her aunt must be mistaken. The woman’s terrible attitude resulted from something. Maybe an imagined slight? Joss would find a way to put Sheree at ease.

More guests entered, and Joss excused herself. She left Lydia deeply inhaling the air. Joss couldn’t deny the charged atmosphere was one of the reasons she’d bought the place. Not to tap into any lines of power for herself, but maybe to enhance the lavender field she planned. Joss needed the garden to thrive so the inn would as well.

 

 

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

#SneakPeek - Sharing the Courtesan

Hello all! It's been a turbulent spring and summer for me, but I wanted to give a shout out about my upcoming release. It's titled SHARING THE COURTESAN and it's coming to Ellora's Cave later this summer!

Have a look :)

Excerpt:


The guards stormed the courtesan’s suite of rooms. Merewyn shrieked at the sudden intrusion.

“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, struggling against the men restraining her. Her black hair hung loose around her porcelain shoulders, a dressing gown barely covering her curvaceous form. Ahron felt a twinge of shame at catching the lady in such an informal state.

“That won’t be necessary,” Ahron told his men, who promptly released her.

“Lady Merewyn, I regret to inform you that you must now gather your belongings and then we shall escort you from the castle grounds to The Outlands. You have been sentenced to exile.”

“On whose authority?” She pulled her frightened children closer to her—a boy of two years old and a girl of five. The eldest boy stepped between Ahron and his mother, the chiseled features of the child’s father evident even in his nine-year-old face. He displayed the same bravery Aldfrid would have if faced with the same situation.

“Don’t touch her.” Anger flashed in his ice-blue eyes―the one feature he had inherited from his mother.

Ahron laid a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You show valor beyond your years, but this is not a fight you can win. The queen herself has ordered the exile of your mother and siblings.”

“Exile? That cannot be. The castle is our home.” Merewyn spoke to Ahron, but nudged her son Owain to join the others. Two guards caught the boy by his wrists.

“Owain is to stay here.” Ahron met Merewyn’s gaze. Her eyes widened as his full meaning dawned on her.

“No,” she pleaded, clutching at his hand. “No, you can’t take my son.”

“Milady, I have no choice.”

Two more guards restrained her as the others escorted Owain from the room. The boy put up a fight, as did his mother, but their efforts came to naught. Merewyn collapsed to the floor, screaming and sobbing. “She can’t do this.”

Ahron knelt down and stroked the woman’s perfumed hair. “She can do anything she likes. She’s the monarch de facto. The king’s will names her regent until Owain comes of age.”

Wild-eyed and shaking, she looked up at her oldest boy. “What will be his fate?”

“I cannot speak to that.” Ahron nudged her to her feet. “But I swear you this―I will protect him as much as I can.”

Merewyn shook her head. “I will not accept this.”

“You must.” Ahron gripped her arm, leading her toward the door. “We must go.”

Dragging the boy down the hall, the guards disappeared, Owain’s objections echoing for all to hear.

Tears streamed down his mother’s face and the other children hid sobbing in her skirts.

Ahron produced a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Merewyn. “I’ll give you a moment to collect yourself and some of your belongings. Then, milady, we really must go.”

As he led the shattered family from their suites, he hardened his heart against the woman’s pleas. The cries of the children proved much harder to ignore.
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