Saturday 9 November 2013

Book Blitz - Drowning By Rachel Firasek


Drowning by Rachel Firasek
Publication date: October 26th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:
*Drowning is a New Adult Contemporary Romance suited for 18+ due to some violence, language, and sexual content*
“I dare you.”
Those words would change adrenaline junkie, Alice Harrison’s life forever. She’s a party girl that doesn’t believe in love until she meets a man that only writes about it.
Seth James escaped his overbearing father and moved into one of the James family’s vacant condos, hoping to create the music he loves in peace. But the fragile calm he’s envisioned shatters when a tiny woman with a world full of energy bounces out of the elevator and nearly takes him out.
With the patience of a saint, Seth seeks the dark that keeps Alice from enjoying life. He challenges her to exorcise the demons in her past in order to discover the true meaning of love. But when the walls fall down, the hidden deceptions will bare the ugly truth about a woman drowning in sorrow and a man who may not know how to be her hero.

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drowning-rachel-firasek/1117186911?ean=9781493533572

BUY LINKS:


Excerpt
In the hall, arms laden with musical equipment, four large and totally hot guys fill the space—Seth James leading the pack. He stops, drops the cymbal dangling from an index finger, and stares. His too bright gaze travels down my scantily, and very sweaty, clad body and back up. When our eyes meet, he grins. “Come to help?”
“No.” I have no idea what makes me do it, but I snatch his cymbal off the floor and carry it into his apartment. I’m asking for trouble, but can’t seem to stop myself. They follow me inside, jaws still slack. Okay, so I’m cute, but not worthy of jaws dropping. I plop it down on his couch and rush back to the door. Taking on Seth doesn’t scare me, but a crew of hotties is a little much.
His strong fingers wrap around my shoulder before I make it through the walkway. It’s not controlling or holding me back. His hand is simply resting on me. “Hey, thanks. I’m sorry if we…uh…interrupted your day.”
His words sound sincere and slightly slurred, and I can’t find it in my heart to be bitchy to the first guy in a long time that has only shown me kindness. I sigh and pivot to face him. “It’s not me I’m worried about. My sister is asleep.”
He glances at his watch and frowns.
“She’s recovering from an accident. So, if you don’t mind, keep it down in the halls.”
He leans forward. “Will do and I’m sorry.”
When he enters my personal space, my heart speeds up. His eyes stare into mine. I feel this incredible connection, like he knows my pain. Like he can see my guilt.
The distance between us seems to be shrinking, and I’m not sure if it’s me shuffling closer or him.
He snags the zipper on my jacket and runs it up and down. “Is she going to be okay?”
I pluck at a button on his shirt and glance up. “Eventually.”
His friends form a half-moon circle around him and gape at me. I flick a glance at each of them. They all have a very different style of dress, which only raises more questions about the man in front of me. “Am I the first girl they’ve ever seen?”
Blondie, with the coal lined eyes, on the left snickers. “In Seth’s apartment? Hell, yes.”
Seth elbows him, but grins.
The tall guy in a kind of hot-nerd ensemble leans over and shakes my hand. “Deacon. Would you like a beer?”
I eye the leering men again. “It looks like you started without me, and I’m not into gang-bangs.” I disengage the overlong hand play with the nerd and back away from the group. “G., I’ll catch you later.”
“Hey, wait. I’ll walk you back over.”
The hotties chuckle, high-five, and rib Seth as we walk toward the hall. He shuts the door to their gazes and catches my hand before I can cross back to my apartment. “Hey, are you going to tell me your name?”
“Nah, this is more fun.”
“Why?”
“I think you’re used to having your way.”
He smiles. “Maybe.” He leans against his door and crosses his arms. His smile slips into a smug grin I’d seen on so many rich boys in this city. He thinks he has me. “I’d like to have my way with you.”
He’s quite the talker when he’s sauced. Good to know. It’s nice to see his thoughts. “That’s the beer talking.” I step close, arch up on tip-toe, and tap a finger to his slightly parted lips. “A few hours ago, you didn’t have much to say. I’m okay with keeping this awkward tension between us. It’s all we’ll ever have.”
He scowls at that and twists the knob back to his apartment. “Whatever.”
Mission accomplished. I’d succeeded in pissing him off. If he stayed mad at me, then we could squash this weird attraction that we obviously both feel.
I grin. “Bye, G.”
His brows dip low, and I shove the door behind me, sagging against it. My breath swooshes out from between my clenched teeth. Damn, he is going to be trouble. I feel it all the way to my pinky toe.
A soft knock against my back drives home the point. I twirl and open the door before he disturbs Molly—or maybe because I’m not ready to share him with her yet. “What?”
He tucks a hand into the waistband of my shorts and hauls me into the hall, pulling my door shut behind me. “Where did you get that?” His gaze lingers on the small bump decorating my forehead.
I reach up and touch the sore knot. “Oh, I fell.”
“How?” He raises his free hand and traces the swelling.
I don’t even feel the careful prodding. No, my concentration is solely focused on the fingers tucked inside my shorts and only inches away from becoming way too familiar with me. “Um…I was doing yoga when you guys came down the hall.”
“And?” He tugs me closer. His thumb rakes a small path below my belly button.
Oh my. “Uh…I fell out of…of…my pose and banged my head on the floor.”
His eyes darken and those beautiful lips part. I want to snake my tongue across the bottom one to find out if it is as soft as it looks.
He winces and lowers his eyes to mine. “So this is my fault?”
I grab onto his wandering hand and pull it free of my shorts. If I didn’t, I’d be asking him for a wall orgasm in less than two minutes and random teasing and fleeing was a no go for me now. “No. It was an accident. Lighten up, G.”
“I don’t want to cause you pain.”
Wow, that feels like a loaded proclamation. “Okay. Well, keep the noise down, and we should be good.”
He drops the hand that had been rubbing away my bruise. Funny, I’d totally forgotten it. “I don’t want to cause you pain. It’s a personal thing.” A deep shudder races over him, and for some reason, I don’t think he is with me anymore.
“You didn’t. I’m fine.” I lift a hand and cup the side of his face, bringing his gaze to mine. It is the gentlest moment I’ve ever had with a man, and we’ve just met. “I’m not sure what this is, but I think I should go inside.”
He glances down the corridor, takes a deep breath, and nods. “Yes, you should.”
“Go play with your friends. Be men or whatever that means, and I’ll go back to my yoga.” I was going to need it after this.
He groans and drops his head back, his hint of an Adam’s Apple bobbing down the column of his neck, begging for my tongue to taste him there. “Did you have to bring that back to mind?”
I grin. “What? Me all hot and sweaty in contorted positions? Do you like that?”
He groans, and one side of his mouth slants up. “I have things to do and don’t need no-named neighbors distracting me.”


 
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About The Author
 
 
Rachel Firasek spends her days daydreaming of stories and her nights putting the ideas to ink. She has spent a dull life following the rules, meeting deadlines, and toeing the line, but in her made up worlds, she can let the wild side loose. Her wonderful husband and three children support her love of the written word and only ask for the occasional American Idol or Swamp People quality hour.

She has a philosophy about love. It must devastate or it isn’t truly worth loving. She hopes that you all find your devastating love and cling to it with all your heart! 
Links:
 
The White Light at the End of the Tunnel
One of my Facebook friends asked me a really great question, and I thought it’d make a great blog post. So, we’ll see.
“…give background on the white light at the end of the tunnel that drove you to push the book to get finished when you had so much going on.”
Well, so here goes. Drowning was created in my car, driving down I-35, the winter of 2011. I know, that’s so long ago. I was finishing the last of a paranormal series and needed a switch. So, I let the characters percolate.
In January 2012, I found a knot on my neck. After a couple of doctor’s appointments, a biopsy, several more doctor’s appointments, being incorrectly diagnosed and treated for whooping cough, I discovered I needed surgery. It’s now October 2012. Surgery was a success, and I was left without a thyroid. Two weeks later, I found out I had stage III thyroid cancer and would need RAI (radioactive iodine treatment.)
I had roughly 30 days from the time I found out I had cancer to the date of my treatment. And it was NANOWRIMO time. For any of you that don’t know. Every November, writers all over the world go crazy and try to kick out a 50K novel in a month.
I didn’t really know that much about my cancer or how crappy my quality of life was about to be for the next few months, but I knew that I wasn’t going to sit around and mope. So, I wrote a novel…well, most of it. I worked on Drowning until my treatment, and as soon as they let me out of quarantine and I quite glowing (joking, but only barely) I got back to the book.
I’ve been through several scans this year, and they always beat me down a bit, but I’m well on the road to recovery. And I’ll be a writing beast for a while. Writing is my white light. It’s what kept me sane when most would have lost it. It’s what brings me back from the depression that have the C word can give you.
So…that’s been my last two years of producing this book. Not that exciting, but certainly filled with emotion. And because of this, I’ll always be just a little bit more in love with this book than any others.
To have a chance at winning an eCopy of Drowning, I’d love to know what brings you back from the dark. Is it your kids? Hubby? Knitting? Please feel free to share. Let’s get some good conversation going.


Author interview
Can you tell readers a little bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?Rachel: I’m  a thirty-ish Texas native  who corals two teens and husband that puts all of my heroes to shame. I have a sprawling spread of Mesquite trees and sheep in a hidden country community of Central Texas.  I’m a switch. Sometimes I like paranormal, horror, or just a sweet romance, but it’s always romance. When I stumbled upon NA Contemporary romances, I just knew I’d found a home
When and why did you begin writing?
Rachel: I started writing when I was a teen, but lost time and interest in my early twenties. When I hit thirty I decided to dig back in and to try to make a go of this gig.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Rachel: A writer or an author? I’ve always been a writer, but I considered myself an author when I signed the contract on my first sale, Piper’ s Fury.
Tell us your latest news?
Rachel: Well, you know that I have Drowning out. But…prior to Drowning, I worked with two great authors to write and produce a Halloween Anthology that ended up hitting best seller lists! I think that’s pretty awesome news. Oh, and I’m still going to try to make it to RT14! Who else is going?

What inspired you to write your first book?
Rachel: Well, my first book ever was a 98 page short story due for an assignment in my 9th grade English class. It was a historical fantasy with a heroine named Amethyst (that of course had purple eyes, because that’s what color eyes I wanted) and a white steed. Now the horse didn’t belong to the knight, oh no, that was Amethyst’s ride that she used to save the knight who was locked in a tower.  Yes, there was even a touch of the feminist in me back then.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Rachel: Almost all of my stories have a “get over yourself” theme. I’ll explain: When things happen in our lives that are difficult to overcome, we have two options: Get over it and move on, or wallow in whatever pity party that’s happening at the moment. I want to find the way to dig out of the party even when everything seems to want to keep you there. So, mostly that’s my themes.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Rachel: I read for entertainment, not for self-growth so I don’t know that any book has had a huge impact. I write for my therapy, but I do know that even though everyone moans and groans about the Twilight series, I’ve read it 8 times. Take away the creepy age gap, the dead and alive elements, and the weird lack of parenting, and it’s a truly innocent story meant to make us fall in love with romance again. 
What are three things that always make you smile?
Rachel: My hubby, my kids, and my happy readers…notice—I said happy. 
Just for fun, who would you single out as your number one celebrity crush, and what would you like most to do with/to them?
Rachel: Johnny Depp. I adore his versatility. I'd have him dress up as Sweeny Todd and sing and dance with me in a ratty bakery. *cackles maniacally*
If you could live a day in the world of someone else's story, whose would you choose, and why?
Rachel:  Oh, I'd live a day in Alice's world. Doesn't Wonderland look like a fab place to play.
What do you hope readers take away from Drowning?
Rachel: I want them to be moved. I want them to be jerked out of their comfy beds with soft pillows in the middle of the night and remember that sometimes, somewhere, there’s a child doing the same thing…only it’s not a nightmare they’re living through—it’s their life. I want everyone to realize that we’re all a pile of mistakes waiting to happen. It’s okay to take a wrong turn as long as you find the right way home. But most importantly, I want everyone to know that love does conquer all when the will is strong.
What do you love most about your hero?
Rachel: I love that he’s a little messed up. He makes bad calls and doesn’t always fit the typical hero profile…but then again, most of my heroes don’t.  Oh… and he plays drums…and is damn hot…and he writes music…should I keep going?
What about your heroine:
Rachel: Alice? Let me tell you… There’s not one thing that I don’t love about Alice. She’s so twisted. She’s a tease. She’s a strong person. She’s weak. She’s humble. She’s hot. She’s. Just. Like. You. &. Me.
Why did you create Drowning?
Rachel: It’s not often that I’ve stepped out of the box. But, my very first editor told me once to take the dark inside me and turn it into something. Well…that’s what I did. No, I’m not Alice…but I’m close. I know that pain…that terror…and I know what it’s like to overcome it…as much as anyone that’s lived through abuse can. (No, E. Harrison is not my father. I promise. But there was someone like him in my life once.)
What’s next?
Rachel: Well, I’m working on book 2. Burning and hope to have it out Spring of 2014. I’m also working on a new Contemp NA titled Something After. It’s not quite as dark as Drowning, but almost as twisted—if not more so.
 

Book Blitz - In Kelly's Corner By



 
In Kelly’s Corner by Roxie Rivera
(Fighting Connolly’s #1)
Publication date: September 27th 2013
Genres: Adult, Romantic Suspense

Synopsis:
After a stalker breaks into her home, internet entrepreneur Bee Langston decides Kelly Connolly is the only man who can help her—but  seeking help from the former Marine isn’t easy, especially after she made a spectacular fool of herself trying to kiss the sinfully sexy bodyguard.

When Kelly spots Bee weaving her way through the Houston nightspot where he’s working security, all those feelings he’s desperately tried to deny for his best friend’s sister come flooding to the surface. He’ll do anything to keep her safe, even if means getting up close and personal with the one woman he simply can’t have.

Soon, Bee’s stalker isn’t his only problem. His gambling addict father is tangled in a mess of debts to two of Houston’s toughest loan sharks. With the family gym on the line, there’s only one way for Kelly to make everything right. He agrees to fight for the Albanian mob in an underground bare-knuckle fighting tournament.

But winning the tournament and saving his family’s legacy comes at a high price—one that just might cost Bee her life.

Purchase:
 
--B&Nhttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-kellys-corner-roxie-rivera/1117000229?ean=2940148812807

Excerpt

I didn't dare look up from my laptop screen. After the way Kelly had picked me up earlier, there was no way in hell I could wipe the yearning look from my face. I needed his help and didn't want to push him away again by making a jackass of myself.
"Bee." He said my name in that rough, rumbling voice of his. My tummy trembled wildly. "We need to talk. Now."
His gruff tone very nearly drew a yes, sir from my lips. Instead, I nodded and stepped around Coby. She surreptitiously reached out to give my hand a reassuring squeeze. Grateful for her support, I descended the stairs to the dance floor where Kelly awaited me.
When he held out his hand, I stared at it for a second before finally working up the nerve to place my palm against his. The rough heat of his fingers closing around mine blazed right up my arm and arced into my chest. I hated that every single touch affected me in this way, but I couldn't stop my reaction to Kelly.
He led me to one of the tables along the far wall. Choosing one of the sleek silver chairs, I avoided the sticky spill on the tabletop and rested my hands on my lap. Kelly sat close to me, too close, and made it impossible for me to avoid eye contact when he slid his arm along the back of my chair. Trapped between the table and his bigger body, there was no escape.
"Aren't you still on the clock?" I glanced at the small group of patrons hanging around the main floor.
"You let me worry about that." Tapping my shoulder, he said, "I want you to start from the beginning of this mess. Don't leave anything out. I need to know everything if I’m going to protect you. When did this start?"
Hearing Kelly say he was going to protect me eased the tight knot in my stomach. With a little sigh, I explained, "The first week of April, I had this weird feeling that I was being watched. I never saw anyone, but I had this creepy sensation following me around, you know? Then, the last week of April, the texts and phone calls started."
"What kind of texts?"
"They described what I was wearing or what I had for lunch, and were filled with compliments. They were specific enough that I knew they were legit and not simply someone trying to mess with me."
"Do you still have them? Dimitri keeps a couple of IT guys on the payroll at LSG."
I shot him an amused smile. "Kelly, come on. It's me you're talking to, remember? Jeez—I have friends who work at the NSA! And anyway, the messages came from burner phones bought with cash. The signals bounced off different towers around the city,"
"Even so, I want our guys to look at the messages." He rubbed his jaw. "When did this start to escalate?"
"Right before I sat for my finals, someone spoofed my LookIt page."
"Spoof?"
"Copied," I clarified. "Someone created a copy of my blog, but they filled it with some really filthy porn and other not so nice stuff. I caught it and took it down quickly, but it was a real pain in the ass, especially with that offer on the table."
The corners of his mouth turned down with irritation. "We'll talk about that later."
I bristled at his tone. "I've been wanting to talk to you about that for weeks."
"And we will talk about it," Kelly assured me, looking slightly chagrined, "but not until we've settled this. Now, what else has happened?"
"Three days ago, I began to find pictures."
"Find them where?"
"The first one was tucked under the windshield wiper of my car. I found another one slipped inside my backpack."
"Do you leave your backpack unattended?"
"Sometimes," I admitted reluctantly. "When I'm working, it's usually out of my sight."
"And you're blasting music and engrossed in your code," he said knowingly and with a little frown. "What sort of pictures have you received?"
Embarrassment turned my ears hot. Glancing away from him, I said, "They're of body parts."
"Body parts? You mean dead bodies?"
"No," I quickly disabused him of the notion that someone was sending me chilling or gory messages. "Um…I mean…like male body parts."
Anger etched harsh lines into Kelly's handsome face. "Do you still have them?"
"They're in my backpack."
"I'll get them. You shouldn't have to look at them again."
I decided not to tell him that those images were burned into my retinas for life. The vein in his temple was already throbbing.
"And what about tonight, Bee? Tell me what happened."
"I was working late—"
"At that coffee place you like?"
"Yeah. I stayed there until Ron closed up, and then I rode my bike home to the—"
"You rode your bike that late at night?" Kelly interrupted, aghast. "Bee, you could have been hit by a car. You could have been grabbed by your stalker. You could have been—"
I held up my hand. "Yes, I know. Believe me. I know."
Kelly blew out a noisy breath. "So you get to your apartment and?"
"I found a gift box wrapped in a white bow and freaked out, Kelly. I ran out of there and made it a couple of blocks before I finally stopped. I thought about calling 9-1-1, but then I thought of you…" I decided not to tell him exactly what I'd been thinking. "I had a message from Coby, and she said you were here, so I grabbed a cab and sweet-talked Big V at the front door."
Kelly stunned me by rubbing his thumb against the spot where my neck curved into my shoulder. His searing touch sent my heartbeat into overdrive. "I'm sorry, Bee."
I blinked with confusion. "For what? You aren't the one stalking me."
"No, but I promised Jeb I'd look out for you. I haven't done that. I should have been here for you when this started, not running around Dubai."
"Kelly, you have to work. I'm sure Jeb didn't intend for you to shadow me around the clock."
"Whether he intended it or not, it's going to happen."
"What do you mean?"
His thumb traced the fabric of my shirt. "In the morning, I'm taking you to see Dimitri and Lev so they can assess your situation and make recommendations for a full-time detail. I'm not sure how much money is on the table for the LookIt deal, but I'm going to assume it's enough to make you a huge target."
I met his questioning gaze and realized he was fishing for information. "It's a lot. Like—nine zeroes a lot."
Kelly's face slackened with surprise. Then, with a wide grin that made my heart swell, he said, "Bee, I'm so damn proud of you."
"Really?" It was the first time he'd ever said anything like that to me.
"Yes." He seemed incredulous that I would doubt him. "How many other people in the world have accomplished what you have and done it all before they're even twenty-three?"
"In my field? More than you'd imagine."
He playfully chucked my chin. "You don't have to be so humble."
Even though I had some freak harassing me, I couldn't stop the silly smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth. It had been so long since we had shared a conversation like this, everything so easy and friendly.
As if realizing how good it was between us, Kelly let his fingertips drift along my jaw before inhaling a long breath. Sitting back, he said, "I'm going to wrap up here, and then we'll go home."
"Home? My home?"
Kelly stood and fixed his gaze on me. I couldn't read his face. "No. Mine."
Without another word, he pivoted on his heel and left me staring after him. Of all the ways I'd ever imagined Kelly asking me to go home with him, this sure as hell wasn't one of them.
 
 
About The Author

I like to write super sexy romances and naughty erotica that make your pulse pound. You can get updates on new releases by visiting my website (roxierivera.com), signing up for my newsletter (http://eepurl.com/sX-z1) or liking my author page on Facebook.
I also write erotic romances as Lolita Lopez including the red-hot GRABBED series for Ellora's Cave and the upcoming Dragon Heat series from Forever Yours/Grand Central.

Author links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roxie-Rivera/498250823565481

Oh Brother!
For the Fighting Connollys series, I wanted to tell the stories of three brothers—Kelly, Jack and Finn Connolly—fighting to save their family legacy. After a rough childhood that included losing their mother and enduring their alcoholic, gambling addict father's abuse, the brothers joined the Marines and survived some truly harrowing moments while deployed multiple times. Each of the brothers lost something over there—a best friend, partial vision and a leg—and now they're trying to rebuild their lives.
The idea of writing about three emotionally and physically wounded alpha males was one I simply couldn't dismiss. Deciding to write about three brothers gave me the chance to explore some interesting themes—brotherhood, sibling rivalry, humor, guilt and even forgiveness. Throw in three love interests and some suspenseful action, and things get interesting very fast!
In Kelly's Corner is the first in a spinoff trilogy from my Her Russian Protector series. In the HRP universe, the heroes of the first four books share brother-like bonds forged in their very early years living in an orphanage. Ivan, Dimitri, Yuri and Nikolai came to Houston to start over and build better lives—and end up rescuing their damsels in distress from the Albanian mob, a Latin street gang, a shady real estate developers, a Mexican drug cartel and a madman hell-bent on usurping a certain mob boss' throne. Kelly, one of Dimitri's employees and Yuri's former bodyguard, finds himself facing some of those same foes—including two of the most notorious loan sharks in the city.
What can I say? Fictional Houston's underbelly is a pretty seedy but dangerously sexy place!

Grand prize giveaway

Prizes (open internationally):
--$100 gift card to Amazon or B&N
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Another Giveaway

Another giveaway for book 1 and 2 of Her Russian Protector series in ebook (1 winner gets both). Open internationally. The prize will be sent out after December 2nd.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal In The Lyrics By Nicole Stayton


Title:  In the Lyrics
Author:  Nacole Stayton 
Genre:  New Adult 18+
Publication Date:  February 7, 2014
Cover Design:  Toski Covey Photography and Sommer Stein of Perfect Pear Creative
Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.

Synopsis
Hensley Bradley is the definition of the girl-next-door. She’s kindhearted, beautiful, and talented. Bored with her mundane life, thoughts of fleeing her small town begin to consume her. With aspiring dreams to use her voice as a one-way ticket, she suddenly discovers that music might not be her only passion.

After a fallout back home, Colby Grant decides to leave his family’s farm, determined to show his father he’s more than just a wanna-be country singer. With his All-American good looks, it doesn’t take long for girls in his new town to focus their eyes on him. But things aren’t what they appear from the outside, and it isn’t long until Colby feels he doesn't fit into the perfect world that so quickly embraced him.

A chance encounter places Hensley in Colby’s path, but it isn’t her natural beauty that first captures his attention – it’s her voice.

When love and music mix, will the combination blossom into a beautiful melody or wither into a heart-wrenching tune?

Warning: This book is intended for readers 18+ due to explicit language and sexual encounters


Add to Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18110409-in-the-lyrics


 
About The Author
Christian “Nacole” Stayton is twenty-something years young and currently resides in the Bluegrass state. She spends her days working at a local hospital in the billing department and nights writing vigorously on her current novel. She has a passion for helping others and wears her University of Kentucky gear proudly. While her husband loves all things outdoors, Nacole enjoys the finer things in life like getting pedicures while reading on her Kindle Fire. She is passionate about her faith, family, and The Bachelor.




Giveaway (offered directly from the author ~ see graphic for details)
2 Advanced Reader Copies of In the Lyrics
 
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway