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Mariana Reuter Five on Friday
Mariana and I met via http://www.thenextbigwriter.com and today I’m pleased to feature her book on my blog. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out her novel, Amber Eyes, and read all about her because she’s had an interesting life!
Be sure and read all the way to the end of this post to find out what questions Mariana chose to answer and follow her on social media.
Mariana Reuter is a Cosmopolitan girl. Born French and daughter to a diplomat, she has lived in Paris, London, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and New Jersey. Don’t think it’s been easy! She never learned Portuguese, but otherwise, she mixes English, Spanish, and French up to a point she feels she’ll go crazy and will end up locked in a cushioned room.
As a little girl, she was nicknamed Gazelle (in French, even though the spelling is the same in English) for reason not completely clear nowadays. After living in Mexico, it was translated to Gacela, a nick all her friends and relations use.
Currently working for a worldwide pharmaceutical company, she commutes between Puebla, Mexico, and Raritan, New Jersey, every two weeks. Talk about reasons to end up institutionalized!
Since a little girl, her two passions have been reading and writing. Her favorite stories are Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Montecristo, Romulo Gallegos’s Doña Barbara, Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. In middle grade, she started writing Doyle- and Christie-inspired mystery stories, but, by the end of high school, she discovered that young adult stories were her true inspiration. Her first novel, Amber Eyes, was published in May 2015 on Amazon. Her second novel, Where Heaven and Hell Meet, is due for September 2017.
An active Girl Scout, Mariana loves outdoors and hiking. She has a younger sis and, while in Puebla, she lives with her parents. She currently has no boyfriend, which doesn’t mean she’s not accepting applications for dating!
Alexandra is a teenage tomboy. On the same day on which her mother escapes with her lover, her friend Jennifer asks Alex to be her girlfriend and start dating her, which utterly confuses Alex—she’s never thought of taking the tomboy thing that far. A week later, her stepfather attempts to rape her, but Alex runs away from home in the middle of the night.
Seeking help, Alex travels to her grandmother’s hometown. Unbeknownst to her, the town’s ruinous mansion keeps the key to solving her father’s murder, but the ghouls who keep the secret are not somebody to mess with. The mansion’s old, half demented gatekeeper seems to be only one who recognizes Alex. However, can an old, crippled man save her from her fate?
Alex will fall in love with the wrong chap, which will further confuse her—wasn’t she about to start dating another girl? Despite his efforts to protect her, both will face certain death. Will Alex be able to act fast enough to save them, or will he die in the same cold-blooded way in which her father did?
An epic coming of age tale in which a teenage girl must be brave enough to break with her family’s paranormal past to understand her present. A tender story about a girl who must first discover her own sexuality before falling in love.
Social and buy links
Amber Eyes, purchase in Amazon link: http://goo.gl/b5JSS8
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelgaMarianaReuter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Mariana_Reuter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mariana_Reuter
Five on Friday Questions
If there was one person, real, fiction or fantasy, you could spend time with, who would it be and why?
I would certainly date Edmundo Dantes, the Count of Montecristo. He has such a strong character! Mysterious, a billionaire, charming and elegant, he protects his beloved ones and is merciless with his foes, has traveled the world and been in exotic countries. Wow! He must be the most interesting man on Earth, well above the Dos Equis beer chap!
Ann: That’s a great choice. He has all the qualities a woman wants!!
Do you have any family traditions? If so, what?
Besides Christmas, my family also celebrates Easter with a large family dinner. Or course, there are no presents, but lots of chocolate eggs!
Ann: A girl can never go wrong with chocolate.
Do you ever write naked?
It’s not my regular way of writing. However, there’s an erotic scene (as erotic as it can be in YA) both in Amber Eyes and Where Heaven and Hell Meet (to be published in September 2017), which I did write naked for greater inspiration. It was fun and sexy!
Ann: Oh my gosh, Mariana! You’re the first person to ever choose to answer this question. I’ve never written in the buff, but I do wear a crown from time to time just to lift my spirit!
Are the names of characters in your novels important?
I strongly believe in it. A name is a way to represent a person’s psyche. In Amber eyes, the protagonists’ names start with the first letters of the alphabet while the antagonists’ with the last ones. In, Where Heaven and Hell Meet, the protagonist’s second names are city names, e.g., Melissa Denver, Patrick London, while the antagonists’ are Scotch brands: William Lawson, Mr. Buchanan. Clever readers can easily tell the good guys from the bad ones only by their names. I also tend to hide other character traits within the names.
Ann: I love that! Names are a big deal to me also. Since I’m a Texan, I like to stay true to our state choosing unusual names I’ve heard over the years, or, visiting cemeteries to get old names off of tombstones.
What’s next for you? Any upcoming releases we should be looking out for?
My new YA story Where Heaven and Hell Meet is planned to be self-published on Amazon in September 2017.
This new story is about Athens McLaren, a 16-year-old, high school freshman in a wheelchair after she tried to commit suicide. Suddenly, this mysterious society, The Brotherhood, is after her. They had already killed another girl from Athens’s high school, even though nobody suspects them–well, nobody even knows the society exists. When Athens learns they are looking forward to locating and destroying the reincarnation on ancient she-devil, and that they think she’s such reincarnation, her life turns into a nightmare running for her life.
Ann: Sounds interesting and YA is such a big market these days. And, you’ve used a name I love for your character, Athens. I grew up about 15 miles from Athens, Texas!
Thank you so much, Mariana for posting on my blog today. We’ll keep an eye out for your new book!
J.J. Montgomery Blog Tour and Giveaway
The Maui Heat Series
J.J. will be awarding 5 ebook of Gun For Hire to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here.
BLURB:
The job should have been easy—patrol a swank beach that serves as a backyard for Maui’s rich, kick out the riffraff, and get a tan in the process. But rent-a-cop Samantha Winters didn’t anticipate a deliciously grumpy cop, Sergeant Grady Roark, who comes down to the beach to bust her chops and instead leaves her breathless…and wondering why the one man who could help her seems determined to thwart her at every turn.
Grady is keeping secrets from Sam that have him walking the line between attraction and duty. But when Sam becomes the target of a shadowy organization, Grady will have to choose between the law and the temptation of a woman who has him breaking every rule he’s ever known.
The job should have been easy, but when the bullets start flying, Sam learns nothing is as easy as it seems when you’re a Gun for Hire.
Buy Links:
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press
Excerpt:
Author Bio:
J.J. MONTGOMERY writes romantic suspense novels with a sense of humor. Her heroines are as smart as they are smart mouthed and the men in their lives are just trying to keep up. Gun for Hire is the first book in J.J.’s Maui Heat Series.
If you’d like to know more, including info on her newest book, where she gets her ideas, and how it’s possible she can’t use Facebook, please visit her:
Social Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Five on Friday with Karla Brandenburg
Today on Five on Friday, I’m featuring Karla Brandenburg, contemporary romance writer and her award-winning paranormal Mist Series. She lives in Illinois and is a card carrying cookieholic. That give us a lot in common!
Lovely cover of The Twins, her latest release in The Epitaph Series. First, we’ll learn a little about the book, then about Karla as she answers her chosen Five on Friday questions!
Although she vowed never to go back, nurse Siobhan McCormick returns home after two family members have died and her brother’s life is threatened. Her new job introduces her to accident victim Jared Pierce, a man whose casual charm tempts her with the same bad decisions she made in high school.
Haunted houses don’t sell, and Jared Pierce’s family sends him from Louisiana to Illinois to make sure there aren’t any ghosts lingering in his great-aunt’s house. An accident on an icy road extends his visit from a few days to a few months.
Though the house is ghost-free when Jared arrives, a violent ice storm breaks apart a tree and releases the spirits of twin boys who were buried in the backyard. Temporarily disabled by his injuries, Jared needs his nurse’s help to give the ghosts peace. There’s only one problem. Siobhan doesn’t believe in ghosts. Will Jared earn her trust and affection or will Siobhan retreat into the safety of her job?
Buy Karla’s latest book, THE TWINS, at
https://www.createspace.com/6946608
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-twins/id1223502661?mt=34
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-twins-karla-brandenburg/1125834000
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y22Q7RH
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/705913
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-twins-21
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y22Q7RH
Now for the questions:
If you could choose your last meal, and you weren’t in prison, what would it be?
Karla: TACOS! I had a boyfriend once who said, when I met him many years later, when I look at you I think tacos. Still my favorite dinner.
Ann: She may be from Illinois, but I think there might be a drop of Texan in her if she loves Tacos!!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Karla: AIX-EN-PROVENCE. My husband and I went on an anniversary cruise in the Mediterranean and we had the best excursion in the south of France. I could imagine Belle from Beauty and the Beast wandering through the streets, I could envision ME shopping at the fresh market every day. Really a lovely place.
Ann: That sounds so romantic…sigh.
What is the most romantic thing a man/partner has ever done for you? Have you put it in a book?
Karla: I had surgery last summer, and my husband waiting on me hand and foot, helped me with all the things I couldn’t do for myself. He really was the best at-home nurse and he never complained. Just took care of me. I did use my experience in a book (THE TWINS), but no, I didn’t highlight all the romantic things my husband did for me.
Ann: Another thing we have in common…great husbands!!
What’s your favorite dessert?
Karla: I’m a cookieholic, so I’d go with the chocolate chip cookie—or something chocolate.
Ann: Chocolate chip is one of the few cookies I don’t like!! Such sacrilege.
How do you react to a bad review?
Karla: Obviously , o one likes when someone criticizes their hard work negatively, but I look it over and decide if there might be something in their comments I can learn from. By the same token, reading is highly subjective. I’ve had reviews from people who were clearly not my audience, and for those reviews, you understand that and don’t take it to heart. My choice is not to react, but to either learn from it or move on.
Ann: Excellent advice. Sometimes a bad review can actually boost sales. I had someone complain about the steamy scenes in one of my books, and I saw an upswing in sales the next few days!! How funny.
Connect with Karla at on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKarlaBrandenburg/
or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AuthorKarlaB
BIG Texas thank you, Karla for taking part in my Five on Friday! Now, I think I’ll go have a cookie!!
New Release~ Oh Danny Boy, by Josie Riviera
I am thrilled to share Josie Riviera’s new release, Oh Danny Boy. Be sure and read the first chapter excerpt included here! It’s available today!!
This pot of gold could hold more than they bargained for…
Grand. Just grand. Clara Donovan’s failure to keep her brother from going off the rails—again—is a public spectacle. Including a handsome stranger who puts down his guitar case to help her talk Seamus down from Farthing’s tallest bridge.
Everything about Danny Brady reminds Clara how many times she swore she’ll never again be that pathetic, weak woman who got taken in by a good-looking man. Especially when, the next day, she walks into a new coffee shop in her little Irish town and discovers Danny’s secret.
Danny didn’t lie—technically—about his coffee shop chain. He’s just tired of women going after him for his wealth. Clara is a graceful, fiercely loyal, non-Irish Irish damsel in distress, a combination that tugs at his heart. A heart that’s spent its share of time in pieces.
Danny has never hesitated to go after what he wants, but melting Clara’s defenses will take more than hot tea and charm. He’ll have to prove he’s made of stronger stuff—even when her past threatens to tear her carefully reconstructed world to shreds.
Amazon Pre-order link: http://a.co/fl9Sj6E
**This book will be featured on Kindle Unlimited and was Kindle Scout approved.
Josie Riviera is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable Shih Tzu who constantly needs grooming and live in an old house forever needing renovations.
Sneak Peak~~Oh Danny Boy
“Seamus, don’t jump!” Clara Donovan heard her own cries, the shouts resounding through the misty night air. She raced across the sidewalk toward Farthing Bridge, her gaze riveted on a horror she didn’t want to believe. Her older brother Seamus sat on the edge of a tall bridge with his head slumped in his hands, a bottle of whiskey beside him. The arched stone bridge spanned the River Farthing, connecting the town to a once-popular marketplace.
No. It couldn’t be. Her breath burned in her chest as she took in gulps of dampness and drizzle. Don’t stop. Run faster.
When she reached the bridge, she elbowed through a group of late-night revelers. Several pointed up at Seamus. “He’s off the rails!” someone shouted.
Her brother seemed unaware of the gathering crowd. He swung his legs back and forth like an underwound metronome and stared into the ice-cold river below.
She shook off the image of him on her living room floor several days earlier. He’d been passed out drunk. Should she have phoned a treatment center? No. She could fix her brother’s problems. He simply needed encouragement, surrounded by his loving, supportive family.
Seamus. Gentle Seamus. Kind and fiery-haired, quick to temper, quicker to make amends. Her heart squeezed at the scruffy, dejected man he’d become since his wife had died.
Clara put her hands on her knees and took in calm, even breaths. Quickly, she assessed the corroded pedestrian catwalk leading to the top of the bridge, the skull and crossbones sign that warned Danger.
She stared upward at her sweet brother. “Dear saints in heaven, Seamus,” she whispered. “You promised me that you’d never drink again.”
She stuffed her wool gloves into her jacket pockets and bent to lace her weatherproof boots tighter. There was no time to dash around the river to the street that crossed the bridge, and she certainly wouldn’t ask anyone in the crowd to lend a hand.
She yanked off the “Danger” sign and threw it to the ground. That pressing feeling in her chest, like she was running out of air, slowed her movements. Dragging in another breath, she grasped the slippery wet handrails and stepped onto the bottom rung of the catwalk.
“Missus, are you trained for this?” a man from the crowd inquired.
She glanced around. The man stood a hairsbreadth away. He was tall with piercing blue eyes and carried a guitar case. His dark brown hair had a reddish tinge and his navy wool jacket strained against his athletic form.
Iris Blobel~More Beginnings
~~ More Beginnings ~~
by Iris Blobel
AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071F7FPQ9/
AMAZON AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B071F7FPQ9/
Zach Taylor, an escort in Sydney, living in Hobart, enlists the help of Natasha Peterson when his teenage friend, Mia, runs away. He soon finds out that the ‘dragon’ is really more of a kitten. And although Natasha, Mia’s teacher, is attracted to him as well, she has her own problems to deal with, not to mention her initial reaction to Zach’s occupation.
Will Zach’s job keep him from a chance to be with Natasha?
Life is good for teenager Mia Levesque. But when Darren Schuster shows up in Hobart, she knows something is up once Sophie and Mark cut their weekend away short and rush home in the middle of the night. When Sophie won’t answer Mia’s questions, emotions run high, and Zach confirms Darren’s identity to Mia. Disappointed, angry, and feeling alone, Mia runs away.
Will life settle back into a routine for Mia once she finds out about the stranger in her life?
New Beginnings have given the Levesque girls a new start in life, will More Beginnings be another chance for them?
IRIS BLOBEL
Iris Blobel was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only emerged recently, but now her laptop is a constant companion.
Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband and her two beautiful daughters.
Next to her job at a private school, she also presents a German Program at the local Community Radio.
Social Media Links:
Click here to subscribe to Iris’ Newsletter
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♠ Twitter ♠ Goodreads ♠ Bookbub ♠ Instagram ♠ Bookbub ♠
Five Famous Real Life Menages
I welcome guest blogger, Kryssie Fortune who writes racy fantasy, and today, she’s giving us a glance into some real life naughty tidbits, the kind she writes about, only her characters are vampires, werewolves, and dragons! Now, those three would make for an interesting menage!! Talk about fur flying!! Be sure and check out Kryssie’s Amazon page, and follow her on social media!
Five Famous Real Life Ménages
1. Back in the 1780s the Duke of Devonshire, his wife Sarah, and her best friend Bess lived together. Everyone knew Bess was the Duke’s mistress, but some of her letters suggest she was also Sarah’s lover. When Sarah died, the duke married Bess.
2. Move to the 1790s. Horatio Nelson, Emma Hamilton, and her husband Sir William Hamilton openly lived together. Emma even bore Nelson a son.
3. Demi Moore and Ashley Kutcher reportedly had an open relationship to accommodate Moore’s bi-sexuality. I don’t know how true this is.
4. Kim Kardashian, Julian St Cox, and Emily Anne reputedly had a three-way, but Kim denies it. To quote St Cox – great name for a porn star – “She was good. She knew what she was doing.”
5. Star magazine claimed Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had a three-way with underwear model Karolina Kirkova. The couple never denied it, so draw your own conclusions.
• Sneak peaks into other people’s sex lives are always fun. Claimed by the Vampire, Seduced by the Werewolf is a romance revolving around a witch too scared to touch her powers – mostly because of the exploding cauldron and stuff. Things would be a lot easier if her vampire and werewolf lovers didn’t want to kill each other. Worse, one day, she’ll have to choose between them.
After seven centuries, Elias, a former Spartan turned vampire, finds his eternal bride.
Seth, Elias’s werewolf half-brother, scents his mate.
Vampire and werewolf loathe each other. The only thing they agree on is that Tempest is their mate–and they’re not sharing.
A prophecy will force Tempest, a twenty-first-century witch, to choose between them.
A vampire can’t survive without his fated bride. A werewolf dies if he loses his mate. Their future rests in Tempest’s hands. Which one will she choose?
• Note: While loosely linked to the Scattered Siblings series, this book may be read as a standalone story
Buy links
Loose id https://app.bitly.com/BebnjNZnvC8/bitlinks/2pFyQ5Z
Amazon USA http://amzn.to/2pLmmK4
Amazon UK http://amzn.to/2pd1Hvt
Kobo http://bit.ly/2qBMdl5
Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/2q36rI5
Kryssie Fortune writes the sort of hot sexy books she loves to read. If she can sneak a dragon into her paranormal books she will. Her paranormal heroes are muscular werewolves, arrogant Fae, or BDSM loving dragons.
Kryssie likes her contemporary heroes ex-military and dominant. Her heroines are kick-ass females who can hold their own against whatever life – or Kryssie – throws at them.
Kryssie’s pet hates are unhappy endings and a series that end on a cliffhanger.
Her books are all stand-alone even when part of series. Plot always comes before sex, but when her heroines and heroes get together, the sex is explosive and explicit. One review called it downright sensual.
Media Links
Website http://kryssiefortune.wixsite.com/kryssie
Blog http://kryssiefortune.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter https://twitter.com/KryssieFortune
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KryssiesFortune
Pinterest http://bit.ly/1OGFnjc
Goodreads http://bit.ly/2kxqabJ
Amazon Author Page http://amzn.to/2hA0ZVO
Excerpt
Accepting his offer of coffee had been stupid. She knew that now. Eyes closed, she tried to picture Elias. Major fail. Her confused emotions showed Seth cradling her in his arms. She shouldn’t lust after him, not with Elias waiting for her at home.
Seth’s delicious scent—all fast-flowing rivers overlaid with the scent of ripening corn—pulled her in like a lure. His solid muscles made her want to run her hand down his torso. She loved his dimpled smile and kept stealing glances at his tempting lips. Part of her wanted to taste him right back. Damn it, I’m not a sleep-around kind of girl. With Seth, her wicked intentions punched a hole in her good-girl persona.
Determined to resist him, she shoved at his shoulder. Undeterred, he lowered his head toward hers. She ran her tongue over her lips and puckered up for him. Surely one kiss—one tiny taste—won’t hurt. Leaning toward him, she buried her hands in his curls and tugged him closer. He smiled as he moved in for his kiss, a butterfly caress that whetted her appetite and made her greedy for more. Kissing Seth seemed sensual and abandoned, a taste of forbidden fruit she couldn’t resist. Didn’t want to, really. One gentle sweep of his tongue over the seam of her lips, and she opened for him, inviting him into the damp heat of her mouth. Another moan escaped her, soft, low, and desperate.
Pulling back, he cupped her cheek and gazed down at her face. His intensity, his need, and his determination to claim her showed in his eyes. She’d never felt so alive—and excluding last night—so desperate.
As if in slow motion, he lowered his lips back to hers, plundering her mouth for kisses the way a pirate did treasure and slid one arm beneath her thighs. He rose to his feet and sat her, legs open, on the table. She supported herself by putting her hands behind her as her legs dangled over the edge.
Seth shoved her skirt up her thighs, stood between her legs, and untied the bow on her blouse. The unadulterated joy in his gaze made her think of a little boy unwrapping a long-awaited Christmas present.
Thank the Goddess I’m wearing my raciest bra and panties. Her pulse rate rocketed as Seth kissed his way down her neck.
A needy shiver ran down her spine as he slid her blouse from her shoulders and unfastened her bra. She sat with her skirt pulled over her thighs and her torso bared for Seth’s delight. Forgetting everything except the deliciously sinful man who held her with reverent intent, she curled her arms around his neck. He’d protected her in the parking garage, comforted her, and now his lips dominated her into sweet submission.
Ann Everett, Best Selling Author
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