The Key
Secret Defenders, Book 1
How should I begin? The Key is a novel with multiple layers. Everything from the names to the descriptions, to the umm, creatures, have double meanings. Some are easy to catch, some are not. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I should probably start at the beginning.
The Key is a Young Adult paranormal romance that was conceived of at my kitchen table over a span of two weeks. Like most novels it started with one thought — a girl who refused to date a guy with an ugly truck. The thought has little to do with the actual plot of the novel, but we all need a spring board, right?
Maddie Clevenger is alone. Her parents have died and she doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Coal Creek High is no different. Two months into school and she still doesn’t have a locker. She is basically invisible, at least until two new kids show up. Dougal and Chase. They are as different as night and day. They are like two sides of the same coin. One dark, handsome, and mysterious and the other light, handsome, and well, mysterious.
But you have to understand, Maddie Clevenger isn’t just some random girl without a purpose. She isn’t the class dork as she believes. No, she has a purpose. A purpose that has been passed down. A burden she must bear. Question is, how will she handle it?
Excerpt:
“What’s wrong with you?” asked Stephanie.
Marley lifted her shaky finger. “Th-that ain’t natural.”
Maddie gritted her teeth. It wasn’t natural that someone would want to walk with her? Oh, one of these days Stephanie and her crew would go too far. Stephanie stared at Chase and Maddie as they passed by. “What’s happening this week? Is it the coming of the apocalypse or something?”
“That’s him,” whispered Marley, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
“Him, who?”
“The other new guy.” Stephanie groaned.
Maddie would’ve smiled if she hadn’t been distracted, but Dougal sat in her seat again. She stiffened as she prepared to approach.
Maybe Chase sensed her discomfort, because he leaned down and whispered in her ear, his cool breath tickling her neck and sending shivers along her spine. “Is that your seat?” She nodded. “Do you want me to say something?”
Grateful, she shook her head.
****
The Key, Secret Defenders, is a contemporary YA paranormal romance.
Buy links:
Felicia Rogers is an author of multiple novels and novellas. When she’s not writing, Felicia volunteers with the Girl Scouts of America, teaches at a local homeschooling group, hikes, and spends time with her family.
To find out more information about Felicia Rogers visit the sites below. She loves hearing from her readers.
Release Day Blitz for
Once Upon a Marriage
Intro to Once Upon a Marriage
This is what happens when three college friends decide to buy an old apartment building…
Welcome to the Historic Arapahoe! (If you’ve been here before, welcome back!) Though most of the residents here are elderly, they’re still getting up at five-thirty in the morning to work, they’re still going on romantic dates, changing the insides of their toilets, and protecting those around them. Including the three thirty-one-year-old friends who recently purchased the building so that the elderly, fixed income residents wouldn’t be forced into nursing homes or be put out on the street.
Who’s really taking care of whom remains to be seen. Or maybe, this is life, everyone doing what they can to take care of each other. Marie, one of the three owners, has been taking care of others most of her life. She owns the coffee shop on the first floor of the building and spends her days trying to make life a little easier, a little more pleasant for everyone around her.
There’s a stalker hanging around. And her father, a womanizer who broke up their family but also managed to be a good dad, is struggling. Marie tends to it all. And she’s still lonely. Because, ultimately, she can’t trust.
I think, in today’s world, many of us struggle with trust issues. I also believe that happiness depends on our ability to trust, and that trust is still rewarded. I’m just not sure I can convince Marie of that fact…
Once Upon A Marriage is her story.
— Tara Taylor Quinn
Once Upon a Marriage
(The Historic Arapahoe #2)
by Tara Taylor Quinn
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 368 Pages
October 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming
Anyone could be hiding a secret…
Marie Bustamante does not trust or love easily. Growing up with a philandering father and an overprotective mother, she comes by her reservations honestly. So after only three months, how can she be falling for her best friend’s bodyguard? This isn’t like her at all. But Elliott Tanner is strong, gorgeous and…trustworthy. Honest. At least he seems to be. Of course, some things about him remain a mystery. Protecting the privacy of his clients is Elliott’s job. That doesn’t mean he’s hiding anything from her. Does it?
Also in the Series
Once Upon a Friendship
(The Historic Arapahoe #1)
Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
July 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming
They’re a team…not a couple!
Falling for Liam was unthinkable. He and Gabi had been best friends since college, nothing more. And crucially, now Liam was her client and needed her to be focused on his case. Gabi could never risk their friendship — or Liam’s freedom — over these feelings. They could never be a couple, anyway. He was Liam Connelly, the handsome and privileged son of a billionaire. She was Gabrielle Miller, the girl who’d fought her way out of poverty and put herself through law school. They were unlikely friends to begin with. Anything more was impossible. Unless…he felt it, too.
The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages,
Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. She is known for delivering deeply emotional and psychologically astute novels of suspense and romance. Tara is a recipient of the Reader’s Choice Award, a five time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award and appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists. Tara is the past-president of Romance Writers of America and served eight years on that board of directors. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning and is a frequent guest speaker. In her spare time Tara likes to travel, climb Arizona mountains, and inline skate.
Tara is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.
$10 VISA Gift Card & print copy of Once Upon a Friendship (US only)
2 ebooks of Once Upon a Friendship (INT)
When the Right One Comes Along
(K-9 Trilogy #1)
by Kate James
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 293 Pages
October 1st 2015 by Harlequin
Brought together by disaster. Kept together by love.
In the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, it’s chaos for trauma surgeon Jessica Hansen. Among the many victims, one patient stands out: San Diego Police K-9 search and rescue officer Cal Palmer.
Cal vows to help Kayla, a child orphaned by the disaster. But he needs Jessica’s help. Will their shared concern for Kayla and for Cal’s canine partner, Scout, allow them to put aside their personal torments and discover the difference love can make?
Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Harlequin – iTunes – Kobo
Excerpt:
He signaled to Scout, ordering him to do a quick search to make sure they weren’t leaving anyone behind. The dog didn’t give any indication that there was anyone else present.
A light vibration had Cal bracing himself again and grabbing for Scout’s collar. The rumble passed and he exhaled.
Back in the atrium, he strapped Scout into the hoisting harness and tugged on the guywire, signaling to the firefighter to lift him out. When the harness came back down, Cal secured himself in quickly, and gave the two tugs to let Adam know he was ready. He could hear the winch kick in and he began his slow ascent.
He was almost at the top of the atrium, nearing the elevator shaft, when he felt what seemed to be a gust of air whoosh down the opening. Simultaneously, the building shuddered again, and Cal started to swing and twirl on the hoisting rope. With the next tremor, he was catapulted toward a solid interior wall. He leaned back to try to control his motion and was able to maneuver sufficiently to cushion the impact with his legs when he collided with the wall. The force sent him careering backward. Just as he was twirling around once again, another rumble emanated from the ground beneath and seemed to rise up to engulf him. An ominous grating sound followed.
Cal’s blood ran cold as he watched a ceiling beam tear loose to his right. Still anchored to a column by some rebars, it hurtled toward him like a battering ram.
He thrust back and as far out as possible, and flailed his legs to increase the swing of the rope. Unable to control his spin, he was propelled in the opposite direction from the one he’d intended, right into the path of the beam.
Kate James spent eight years of her childhood living in foreign countries as her professional parents travelled on business. She lived in four countries and spoke five languages before settling down in Canada again to attend university. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering, she held a variety of positions in the field of real estate development and operations, and ran three substantial organizations. While her writing during this period was mostly business related, including presentations and speeches she delivered both nationally and internationally, her passion is and always has been fiction.
Kate’s business and personal experiences enable her to write fiction with a deep, often first-hand knowledge of what she is writing about. This approach makes Kate’s stories richer and more vivid.
Kateís goal is to entertain you with well-written, engaging stories, set in intriguing places and with strong, likeable characters. ìI hope my stories bring you pleasure and entertain you. Nothing pleases me more than receiving feedback from people who have chosen to spend their valuable leisure time with one of my books,î notes Kate.
Kate married her husband, Ken, in an elegant, ocean-front wedding on a tropical island. When they are not traveling, they split their time between their properties in southern and central Ontario in Canada.
Grand Prize: Spa Gift Basket and a print copy of When the Right One Comes Along (US/CAN only)
2nd Prize: $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of When the Right One Comes Along (print if US/CAN, ebook if international)
3 ñ 3rd Prizes: copy of When the Right One Comes Along(print if US/CAN, ebook if international)
Happy fall! It may not feel like fall here in Taiwan, but I guess technically it is. In some parts of the world people are already starting to prepare for winter (and of course in other parts, they’re welcoming spring), but in Taiwan we’re looking forward to cooler weather in the hopefully not-too-distant future.
So, who’s ready to celebrate the change of seasons with a good book? If you live where it gets cold at night at this time of year, maybe you’re looking for the perfect book to curl up in front of the fireplace with. Personally, I’m looking forward to being able to read out in my hammock again without sweating! In either case, I have just the thing for you!
I’ve collaborated with a number of other authors in putting together a “Fall Into Reading” sale. The first page on the website has all the books on sale categorized by genre, so you can easily find the type of thing you like to read. Here are the genres we are featuring:
children’s booksmiddle gradeyoung adultmystery/suspense/legal thrillersclean romanceparanormal/fantasy/science fictioninspirationalhistorical
Some books on that page are FREE and others are discounted. All four of my novels are represented there – three are significantly discounted and one is free, so if you don’t have copies of all of them yet, now’s your opportunity!
If you want to find other clean books that aren’t necessarily on sale, check out the second page. All the same genres are represented there, plus one more: humor! (Some of these books are permanently FREE.)
I hope you find some books that are just right for you. And feel free to tell your friends!
NEXT DOOR TO A STAR by Krysten Lindsay Hager
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
Release Date: September 1, 2015
★ SYNOPSIS ★
Hadley Daniels is tired of feeling invisible.
After Hadley’s best friend moves away and she gets on the bad side of some girls at school, she goes to spend the summer with her grandparents in the Lake Michigan resort town of Grand Haven. Her next door neighbor is none other than teen TV star Simone Hendrickson, who is everything Hadley longs to be—pretty, popular, and famous—and she’s thrilled when Simone treats her like a friend.
Being popular is a lot harder than it looks.
It’s fun and flattering when Simone includes her in her circle, though Hadley is puzzled about why her new friend refuses to discuss her former Hollywood life. Caught up with Simone, Hadley finds herself ignoring her quiet, steadfast friend, Charlotte.
To make things even more complicated, along comes Nick Jenkins…
He’s sweet, good-looking, and Hadley can be herself around him without all the fake drama. However, the mean girls have other ideas and they fill Nick’s head with lies about Hadley, sending him running back to his ex-girlfriend and leaving Hadley heartbroken.
So when her parents decide to relocate to Grand Haven, Hadley hopes things will change when school starts…only to be disappointed once again.
Cliques.
Back-stabbing.
Love gone bad.
Is this really what it’s like to live…Next Door To A Star?
★★ PURCHASE LINKS ★★
~ Available on KINDLE UNLIMITED ~
Tagline: “They like me…they like me not.”
Excerpt:
The school year should end right after spring break, because all anyone can focus on is summer vacation. You can’t learn anything new, because all you can think about is all the fun stuff you’re going to do once you don’t have to get up at the butt crack of dawn. Summer always seems full of possibilities.
Nothing exciting ever happens during the school year, but maybe, during summer vacation, you could run into a hot celebrity and he’d decide to put you in his next music video. Okay, it wasn’t like I knew anybody that happened to, but my grandparents did live next door to a former TV star, Simone Hendrickson, and Simone was discovered in an ice cream parlor one summer. Of course, she lived in L.A. at the time and was already doing plays and commercials, so the guy who discovered her had already seen her perform. But hey, it was summer, she got discovered, and that was all that mattered.
Amazing stuff didn’t happen to me. You know what happened to me last summer? I stepped on a bee and had to go to the emergency room. They’re not going to make an E! True Hollywood Story out of my life. I didn’t go on exotic vacations—like today, I was being dragged along with my parents to my cousin’s graduation party. Most people waited until at least the end of May before having a grad party, but Charisma was having hers early because she was leaving on a trip to Spain. I was dreading this party because I didn’t want to listen to everybody talk about how smart and talented Charisma was—making me feel like a blob in comparison—but my mom RSVP’d even though I said I’d rather die than go. My death threats meant nothing. But still, for some strange reason, I had a feeling this summer was going to be different.
★ ★ KRYSTEN LINDSAY HAGER ★ ★
Krysten Lindsay Hager is an obsessive reader and has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and humor essayist, and writes for teens, tweens, and adults. She is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series and her work has been featured in USA Today and named as Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values and Virtues Fiction and Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Children’s Books on Values. She’s originally from Michigan and has lived in South Dakota, Portugal, and southwestern Ohio. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.
Sweet Mountain Rancher
(Those Marshal Boys, #2)
by Loree Lough
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 385 pages (large print)
September 1st 2015 by Harlequin Heartwarming
HE CAN SAY NO TO EVERYONE BUT HER…
Nate Marshall used to be a yes-man… until being so agreeable cost him dearly. But Eden Quinn has a way of getting him to reconsider his “just say no” policy. Which is how a bunch of troubled teens end up at his ranch for the weekend. Nate can’t help but be attracted to the woman who keeps them in line.
This cowboy knows Eden’s no damsel in distress, yet hers isn’t a one-woman job. If she must do everything on her own, how can he help her… let alone get her to fall for him?
The First Book in the Series
Yes, it’s true: Once upon a time, best-selling author Loree Lough (literally) sang for her supper, performing before packed audiences throughout the U.S. Now and then, she blows the dust from her 6-string to croon a tune or two for the “grandorables,” but mostly, she just writes. (And writes.) Over the years, her stories have earned nearly 100 industry and “Readers’ Choice” awards, 7 movie options, and over 80 4- and 5-star reviews.
There are more than 5,000,000 (yes, that’s FIVE MILLION) copies of Loree’s books in circulation, and in September of 2015, she’ll have 108 books (fiction and non-fiction for kids and adults) 72 short stories, 2,500+ articles in print. To date, she has received 50,000+ letters from fans (a carton of books goes to Meredith P. in Joliet, IL — which she has elected to donate to her local library –for writing the 50,000th letter)!
Loree loves sharing learned-the-hard-way lessons about the craft and the industry, and her comedic approach makes her a favorite (and frequent) guest of writers’ organizations, book clubs, private and government institutions, college and high school writing programs both here and abroad.
A writer who believes in “giving back,” Loree dedicates a portion of her income to Soldiers’ Angels, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, and other worthwhile organizations.
She splits her time between her home in the Baltimore suburbs and a cabin in the Allegheny Mountains, and shares both with her real-life hero Larry, who rarely complains, even when she adds yet another item to her vast collection of lighthouses, wind chimes, and “wolf stuff.”
Have you ever wondered how freelance writers make a living? By writing to-the-point articles, turning them in on time…and learning how to resell what they’ve submitted, that’s how. Below, a peek at the method I used to rack up more than 2,500 articles under my byline:
How to Sell and Resell (by Loree Lough)
Be informed…
- …by learning as much about the publications you’ll contact before you query them.
- …by reading masthead so you’re sure to direct your query to the appropriate editor. (NOTE: Don’t count on Writer’s Market!)
- …to make sure you know who reads the publications.
- …to make sure the publications’ audiences are different.
Be specific…
- …and never write a query that’s longer than one page.
- …by providing a clear overview of what you’ll write about.
- …and let the editor know you understand the publication’s rules by mentioning the proposed article length.
- …and name the department(s) your article best fits.
Be persuasive…
- …by including writing samples and/or credentials that highlight your skills and the reason you’re qualified to write the proposed article.
- …by providing a short list of other publications where your work has appeared.
- …by listing potential sources you’ll interview.
Be prompt…
- …when an editor shows interest in your article, reply as quickly as possible.
- …nail down the deadline, amount you’ll be paid, and approximate print date.
- …submit the article on time with a cover letter (see below).
Sample Query…
Date
Your Name
Home address
Phone/cell
email
Publication Name
Editor’s name
Publication Address
Re: Proposed article “Vet Turns Dreams into Reality”
Dear Editor’s Name (Do not precede with Mr./Ms.)
Young Blaize McCrandall’s life changed forever one summer day, when he found a barely-alive rabbit on the side of the road. Gently swaddling the wounded creature in his t-shirt, Blaize carried it home, where his dad explained why the animal would have been better off right where Blaize had found it. The teary-eyed eight year old convinced his dad to let him at least try to save it. Convinced the local vet to donate tiny splints and antibiotics…and how-to-use them advice, too. And after a month of tedious, round-the-clock care that cost Blaize baseball games, movies with his pals, and field trips to the zoo, the time came to turn Whiskers loose. “Would you believe,” he recalls with a grin, “the ungrateful thing bit me before he hopped away, never to be seen again?”
I’d like to propose a 1,000 word story for your “Right Here In Town” about how Blaize McCrandall—son of a disabled Vietnam vet and an alcoholic Avon lady—turned his dream of becoming a veterinarian into reality….
By dint of drive and determination, Blaize worked construction, waited tables, dog-sat, and performed janitorial duties (and more) to earn his degree, then put hard-earned skill to use, building the clinic where he still practices veterinary medicine.
Tour Giveaway
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Print copy of Sweet Mountain Rancher
Kindle copy of Sweet Mountain Rancher (to be gifted through Amazon)
Open internationally
Ends September 12th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fall in love in Swallow’s Fall with
The Turnaround Treasure Shop
by bestselling Australian romance author Jennie Jones!
Introduction and Exclusive Excerpt
Looking for a delightful, warm story about family and second-chance love? The Turnaround Treasure Shop follows the adventures of the heart for Lily Johnson. Everyone has the right to at least one dream coming true, and Lily is determined to achieve her goal on her own. But things are tough on the financial front and if she doesn’t take the chance offered to her by ex-Navy Captain Nick Barton, she might find that “one day” never comes.
The Turnaround Treasure Shop is book #4 in the bestselling Swallow’s Fall series. But each book in the series can be read alone and frequently are – Jennie’s had plenty of readers buy book #3 and then go back for books #1 and #2.
Jennie’s fictional town of Swallow’s Fall is set in a remote country area in the Australian Snowy Mountains and boasts 100 residents. Lots of them falling in love, some of them longing for dreams to come true, some of them scheming or creating mayhem with their matchmaking plans – but all of them leaving a mark on this small country town.
Jennie has a great rapport with her readers all over the world and recently asked them if they’d read a new series: Daughters of Swallow’s Fall – and the resounding answer was – Yes! But before that, the next book in this series (#5) The House at the End of the Street is releasing on July 27th.
Read on for the excerpt…
“Good morning.” Lily Johnson didn’t look at Nicholas Barton, instead skimming her smile in the direction of the top of his head and off it again as fast as politely possible. Not that he noticed.
“Morning, Lily,” he said, dark head bowed to the breakfast plate she’d put on the table in front of him.
He wore a dark green crewneck with a white T-shirt beneath, the sleeves of his sweater pushed up his arms, the way they always were. How he got through the Snowy Mountains climate without a coat, Lily didn’t know. Even summers weren’t exactly drenched in heat in this part of Australia, and autumn always had a nip in the air. He was hardly ever out of dark green or bark-brown colours. A throw-back to his armed-forces days, probably. The strong silent type — but not mean or standoffish — just reserved. Which suggested a caring nature, Lily had always thought.
She moved to an empty table next to him and picked up a cruet set and a tomato sauce bottle, reminding herself to tell the young girl who’d worked Saturday night’s restaurant shift that she needed to make sure every table was set for the next day before leaving work.
“There.” She fussed with the salt and pepper, and straightened the napkin holder. “Enjoy,” she said, wiping her hands onto her white apron and hoping the salutation sounded the way it did when she said it to every customer she served breakfast.
“Thanks,” he said, in the same low-toned, unruffled manner he’d used to thank her for his weekend breakfasts for the last year.
He picked up his knife and fork. His forearms were thick and toughened with muscle. Those muscles wouldn’t stop at his elbows, they’d go right up his arms to support his heavy-duty shoulders. It was all that muscle which probably kept his body temperature warmed.
He looked up, his hooded leaf-green eyes holding an enquiry. “Everything all right?”
Lily stumbled over her laugh. “Sorry. Daydreaming.” Ouch. Daydreaming about Nick was taboo, and she didn’t want him knowing any of her taboo thoughts.
She turned for the kitchen of Kookaburra’s Hotel, and fanned her blazing face. Nicholas Barton made her tremble. He’d been making her tremble for 12 months and no matter how hard she tried to put the moment behind her, the recollection of the awkward position she’d put him in at last years’ Easter Bunny Ball fried her brain every time she saw him. Like a splash of hot oil on the scalp.
This year’s Ball was happening in two weeks’ time. Would he remember last year’s and stay clear? Or had he wiped the incident from his memory the way she wiped her hands on her apron? He was too much of a gentleman to have referred to it since, but sometimes Lily had the sense that behind his unflappable exterior, there was a zing of anticipation in the air between them. That was the bit that made Lily tremble.
The Turnaround Treasure Shop
(Swallows Fall, #4)
by Jennie Jones
Adult Contemporary Romance
Ebook, 142 pages
May 22nd 2015 by Harlequin MIRA
Fatalistic, long divorced and doing her best to give her children a good life, Lily Johnson works two jobs in her hometown of Swallow’s Fall, saving every spare cent for the day she can lease the empty corner shop on Main Street. She longs to open it as Turnaround Treasures, a second-hand shop bursting with rescued country curios — but there aren’t enough spare cents and Lily’s dream is slipping away.
Ex-Navy diver Nick Barton arrived in Swallow’s Fall a year ago to quietly reunite himself with civvy life. Recognising an instant attraction to Lily, Nick backed away fast. Given his track record of an unhappy ex-wife and the baggage that comes with a Special Forces career, Nick doesn’t think he stands a chance with shy, reserved Lily. He can’t be with her – but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see her.
Lily has spent her whole life cheerfully giving to others. When Nick offers her the ultimate chance for a turnaround, will Lily’s fear of being ‘second hand’ ruin the opportunity of forever love for both of them?
Book Trailer
Other Books in the Series
Bestselling author Jennie Jones loves writing rich, warm-hearted and refreshing stories of adventures of the heart. She’s a self-confessed would-be small town country girl and longs for the day when she and her family can set up home in a cute country cottage in the middle of a huge field. Until then, Jennie is enjoying life a five minute walk from the beach. She can hear the ocean as she types her stories.
Tour Giveaway
$10 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Cash and a Kindle copy of The Turnaround Treasure Shop
Open internationally (as long as you can receive winnings)
Elizabeth Renee Watson never dreamt that she would ever be proposed to.
She’s had several bad relationships end because of an illness that almost killed her. Now she has this wonderful guy down on one knee, asking her to marry him. Can she say yes or will her illness come back to haunt her? Will Tyler be able to deal with her illness or will he run like the rest of them.
Tyler James Smith had given up on finding his “forever girl” until he took his best friend’s son to school one day. When he walked into that classroom, he finally met the girl of his dreams. Tyler had always envied his friends and their loving relationships. He wanted what they had.
Can Elizabeth and Tyler have the “forever” they’ve always dreamed of?
Book one
Book Two
Book Three
As a stay at home mom, I became an avid reader who loves and reads most genres. The love of these books spiked my interest to learn more about the book world and the process it took to become an author. Learning as much as I can about the wonderful world of writing, I had to write my stories. I’ve had these stories building in my head for over a year and I just needed to share them with everyone.
Educating myself in this industry has made me work hard to obtain my goals of writing and becoming an author. The learning process has also made me appreciate, what all these authors have accomplished and all the hard work they put into writing and publishing. I quickly learned that it is important to thank an author by leaving reviews of their work. Having many author friends who always answer my many questions has helped me and I love each of them. These authors are my inspiration.
I can’t wait to share all my stories with you!!! My novels are Clean New Adult/Young Adult Romance. Hope you enjoy my unique stories about love and happily ever after.
Why do I write clean romance novels? I wanted to share my story with everyone and focus more on the storyline. As a mother, I needed to know that my children would be proud of what I write and not be afraid to let them read and be apart of my journey as an author. This world already has too much going on in it that I can’t control them from seeing, but I can make my books something they can be proud to read.
Now I can share my stories with anyone at any age group. Adults and teenagers alike can read my stories and I am proud to have kept it clean for everyone to read.
Thank you for being apart of my world and taking a chance on reading my stories.
I love hearing from my readers so feel free to contact me and let me hear why or how you liked my stories.
We’re blitzing the Grand Finale for:
The Good Father
By Tara Taylor Quinn
If you missed any part of this tour, including any of the excellent guest posts (some of the best we’ve had the chance to promote) go back and check them out now, along with some excellent reviews…
Launch – Intro to The Good Father
This is the story I sat down to write. What happened on the page was, as usual, a total surprise to me.
His father had failed first.
And then, according to his mother, she’d failed, too.
Brett didn’t agree with her assessment, knowing that when she’d lashed out at him the afternoon of Livia’s funeral, beating him on the chest with blows that didn’t even leave bruises, she’d been railing at life, distraught with grief, and clinging to him as much as pounding her fists against the wall he presented between her and her need to die…
“The characters are so realistic and lovable, I mean how can you not love them with everything that they have been through.”
In every good story there has to be ‘that’ moment. The one in which the reader can’t see how the characters are going to get past their hurdles. The one that keeps the reader turning the page to find out…
Still in the navy blue suit he’d worn to attend the morning board meeting, he’d loosened the knot of the red tie a bit. His one concession to relaxation. His wing tips were shined. His smart watch in place.
Brett’s life was a mission—and all pieces were accounted for.
When my story went public, my editor gave me another purpose. She wanted me to write a series of books revolving around a domestic violence shelter. I’d never felt more in commune with a project in my life. And so The Lemonade Stand was born. The Lemonade Stand, Where Secrets Are Safe. It’s a very unique women’s shelter. One that I wish so badly had been there for me to run to all those years ago. One that I wish existed today.
“Tara Taylor Quinn weaves a story here that grabs you and doesn’t let go until well after you turn the last page. The characters are compelling and realistic, their motives clear, and the conflict is high stakes and seems insurmountable. Ms. Quinn doesn’t shortchange the reader by giving us a pat ending that doesn’t take into account all that has gone on before, but gives the reader both a satisfying and realistic ending that makes the ride worth it–just like she promised.”
He’d been celebrating. Ten years since he’d sold the dot-com he’d started his junior year in college. A decade of his life had passed, and here he was. Standing alone in the walk-in shower in his elegant, historical, two-story walk-up across a quiet street from a flowered lot that led to the ocean beyond.
The books revolving around The Lemonade Stand are not all interrelated. Many of them don’t even feature characters who lived and breathed in previous books. The books are connected by a place. The Lemonade Stand. The series started out with ideas for three books. I am currently working on an eighth one and number nine is on its way, too. So for anyone who is new to the series, and for those of you who want a reminder, I’ll give you a one liner look at the first five books.
“I really loved this story, I loved that it shows there are help for women out there and there is also love out there, even when it is hard to realize.”
It was right then that Brett told me about his favorite meal. He told me, not to fill in background noise, but because it showed me the conflicted man he was. His favorite meal was a peanut butter and bacon sandwich. He loved them. And as he scarfed one down, he was angry with himself, too. Because his father had introduced him to the delicacy when Brett was a young boy. And Brett, the adult, hates his father with every dark crevice in his being.
I sat down to write the first book in the Where Secrets Are Safe series, Wife By Design, and the hero shows up at The Lemonade Stand – the unique women’s shelter around which the series is revolving – as a landscaper. Kind of threw me for a loop. I know very little about landscaping. I tried to convince him he was something else. He kept coming back as a landscaper. So I did some research.
The Good Father
(Where Secrets Are Safe #6)
by Tara Taylor Quinn
Adult Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
June 1st 2015 by Harlequin
Starting over…again
It seems a lifetime ago that Brett Ackerman wanted to share his life with Ella Wales. He really believed he could put his abusive family history behind him…until he realized it would always be part of him. Then he pushed her away. Hard.
Now Ella’s back as part of the High Risk Team at The Lemonade Stand, the unique women’s shelter Brett founded. And she needs his help with a family crisis. But even now, Brett can’t admit he still loves her. Until one night of passion with Ella turns Brett into the one thing he fears the most—a father.
Also in the Series
Tara Taylor Quinn
The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. She is known for delivering deeply emotional and psychologically astute novels of suspense and romance. Tara is a recipient of the Reader’s Choice Award, a five time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award and appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists. Tara is the past-president of Romance Writers of America and served eight years on that board of directors. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning and is a frequent guest speaker. In her spare time Tara likes to travel, climb Arizona mountains, and inline skate.
Tara is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.
Click on the banner to take you to Tara’s landing page for all her tour events.As part of Spend the Summer with Tara Taylor Quinn, Tara is holding a contest for those who share on social media about how they love life during the summer! Each day you can share an image, picture, or quote, linking to her events’ landing page (http://www.tarataylorquinn.com/Summer%20With%20ttq.html) to enter to win ONE BIG SUMMER BASKET!!! We’ll be pulling the best submissions and voting for the top one during her Facebook Party on July 16th. Pull out your creative juices and share your joy of summer, be it with friends, family, or the love of your life!
Beach-themed basket will include: shell wind chime, shell choker and matching bracelet, beach/flip flop note cards, picture frame, 4×6 picture album, plus some surprise print copies of Tara’s books (including Once Upon a Friendship).
Share must be public to be eligible. Can enter once each day. US only. Giveaway ends July 16th.
$10 VISA Gift Card & ebook of The Good Father (INT)
Print copy of The Good Father & a Spend the Summer with TTQ T-shirt (US only)
ebook of The Good Father (INT)
Ends June 18th
(All to one winner – US only.)
$10 VISA Gift Card
Copies of all five books on Tara’s Summer Tour
Spend the Summer with TTQ T-Shirt
Ends July 16th
Check out the trailer here:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nowpEJqB00Y]
Hello!
Today we are going to focus on the next book in the compilation.
Check it out!
Shark Boss:
When Tara takes up a job at the local aquarium, her colleagues warn her about their harsh boss, Mr. Carter Jones. She soon discovers how impatient he can be, but she also can’t deny her fascination and attraction to him. Carter can’t stop watching Tara as she works but holds back from her because of his secrets. If she knew what he was, she would never want him. Could the reason for Carter’s moods be related to something more troubling than what’s on the surface? Tara soon discovers Carter’s secret, and it only bonds them closer. But the curse starts to take over Carter’s life, and he won’t give his heart to a beautiful woman when he can only cause her pain.
Now about the amazing lady behind this book!
Kathy Bosman Kathy loves reading and writing even more. She homeschools her three kids, so in between unsuccessfully explaining the difference between subject and predicate or how to divide fractions, she enters an imaginary world of troubled and passionate characters whose stories take over the page. Kathy lives in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, where the summers are hot, the winters cool, and bugs thrive. Her first published novel, Wedding Gown Girl, came out in 2012 with Astraea Press. She belongs to the Romance Writers of South Africa Group (ROSA) which has been her greatest support and inspiration the last few years.
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Interview with Tara, the main character in Shark Boss
1. What is your favorite food?
A good breakfast with eggs, bacons, mushrooms, toast, the works. I don’t get it often as I spend most mornings body-boarding and then grab and go to get to work on time. If I have a good breakfast, it’s a real treat.
2. What is your favorite pastime or hobby?
Body-boarding, although it’s more my life than just a hobby.
3. What is your favorite book?
I love the Chalet Girls series by Lorraine Wilson. I’m a beach babe, but it’s such fun learning about women who live in the snow and ski. Skiing is similar to body-boarding in a strange way, if you know what I mean. Plus, the books are so romantic and fun to read.
4. Who would you consider is your least favorite person, and why?
It should be my new boss, Carter Jones, as he keeps on shouting at me for nothing, but it isn’t. He’s too handsome and mysterious to hate.
5. What is your biggest pet-peeve?
Perfectionism – harping on the smaller issues. And cruelty to animals.
6. What is your dream vacation?
Mauritius or anywhere where the waves are good.
7. Did you struggle to tell your author anything?
Yes, I struggled to mention my affair with my high school teacher. I felt really ashamed for falling for that jerk.
8. What is your favorite part of your story?
When Carter tells me the truth.
9. What inspired the title of your story?
My writer kept on thinking of shark bait. But Carter is a boss and he was a shark in the business world, plus, well, I can’t tell you anymore as it will give away the story.
10. Do you think that there is a specific message to your story, that you’d like your readers to learn?
That love wins in the end. That meeting and loving the right person can set you free of some of your “curses.” That simply loving a person is one of the greatest gifts you can give to the world. That love surpasses duty.
Book Buy Links:
Don’t forget to get your name into our GIVEAWAY!!!
Book Tour Schedule:
(You can check out posts that have been made during this tour here:
Don’t forget! Each author in this tour will be featured once during the tour, and on her special day there will be all kinds of fun facts to check out about her and her book!
June 6th:
Featuring Dreaming in California by Debbie Lee
June 7th:
Featuring A Summer of Stars by Lisa Watson
June 8th:
Featuring Drowning Sandy by Sarah Daley
June 9th:
Featuring Summer Holiday by Carol Malone
June 10th:
Featuring Shark Boss by Kathy Bosman
June 11th:
Featuring The Best Place to Meet a Man by Robyn Echols
June 12th:
Featuring the entire compilation
Once Upon a Friendship
The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. She is known for delivering deeply emotional and psychologically astute novels of suspense and romance. Tara is a recipient of the Reader’s Choice Award, a five time finalist for the RWA Rita Award, the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Bookseller’s Best Award and appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists. Tara is the past-president of Romance Writers of America and served eight years on that board of directors. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning and is a frequent guest speaker. In her spare time Tara likes to travel, climb Arizona mountains, and inline skate.
He’s sweet, good-looking, and Hadley can be herself around him without all the fake drama. However, the mean girls have other ideas and they fill Nick’s head with lies about Hadley, sending him running back to his ex-girlfriend and leaving Hadley heartbroken. 
★ ★ KRYSTEN LINDSAY HAGER ★ ★
