Spotlight: Marlene: A Novel of Marlene Dietrich by C.W. Gortner

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Marlene Dietrich’s femme fatale persona defined her, but behind the glitz of 1930s Hollywood was a remarkably modern woman, determined to live by her own terms.

A rebellious girl, Marlene’s genteel family expectations curtail her until Germany’s defeat in the Great War gives rise to the decadence of Weimar Berlin. Here, Marlene finds her niche as a cabaret actress. With her sultry beauty, smoky voice, and androgynous tuxedo, she performs to packed houses and has a series of stormy love affairs that push the boundaries of social convention until she finds overnight success in the scandalous movie The Blue Angel. As Hitler seizes power, Marlene sets sail for America to become one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies, starring opposite Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Cary Grant. When Hitler tries to entice her back to Germany, Marlene defiantly declares her stance, risking her life to perform for Allied troops. And upon the war’s savage end, she finally returns to Germany to discover a heartbreaking secret amidst the war’s devastation.

MARLENE is out in paperback on December 13 and features exclusive extra content. A perfect gift for lovers of old Hollywood and strong dames! To find out more, please visit: www.cwgortner.com/Marlene.html.

Synopsis

From the gender-bending cabarets of Weimar Berlin to the tyrannical movie studios of Los Angeles, this sweeping story of passion, glamour, art, and war is a lush, dramatic novel of one of the most alluring legends of Hollywood’s golden age: Marlene Dietrich.

Raised in genteel poverty after the First World War, Maria Magdalena Dietrich dreams of a life on the stage. When her budding career as a violinist is cut short, she vows to become an actress, trading her family’s proper, middle-class society for the free-spirited, louche world of Berlin’s cabarets and drag balls. With her sultry beauty, smoky voice, and androgynous tailored suits, Marlene performs to packed houses and conducts a series of stormy love affairs that push the boundaries of social convention until she finds overnight success in the scandalous movie The Blue Angel.

For Marlene, neither fame nor marriage and motherhood can cure her wanderlust. As Hitler rises to power, she sets sail for America to become a rival to MGM’s queen, Greta Garbo. As one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies, she stars with such legends as Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Cary Grant. Desperate for her return, Hitler tries to lure her with dazzling promises. Defiant in her stance against the Nazis, Marlene chooses instead to become an American citizen, and after her new nation is forced into World War II, she tours with the USO, performing for Allied troops in Europe and Africa. But one day, she must return to Germany, where she will discover a heartbreaking secret amidst the war’s devastation that transformed her homeland and the family she loved.

An enthralling account of this extraordinary legend, MARLENE reveals the inner life of a woman of grit and ambition who defied convention, seduced the world, and forged her own path.

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About the Author

C.W. GORTNER holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California, as well as an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco.

After an eleven year-long career in fashion, during which he worked as a vintage retail buyer, freelance publicist, and fashion show coordinator, C.W. devoted the next twelve years to the public health sector. In 2012, he became a full-time writer following the international success of his novels.

In his extensive travels to research his books, he has danced a galliard at Hampton Court, learned about organic gardening at Chenoceaux, and spent a chilly night in a ruined Spanish castle. His books have garnered widespread acclaim and been translated into twenty-one languages to date, with over 400,000 copies sold. A sought-after public speaker. C.W. has given keynote addresses at writer conferences in the US and abroad. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights, in particular companion animal rescue to reduce shelter overcrowding.

Half-Spanish by birth and raised in southern Spain, C.W. now lives in Northern California with his partner and two very spoiled rescue cats.

For more information visit C.W. Gortner’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twittter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and YouTube. Sign up for C.W. Gortner’s Newsletter for updates.

Cover Reveal: Chance by Charlotte Casey

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About the Book

One night. One moment. One chance.

Buried in obligation, Aveline Michaels is in over her head, caring for her bed-ridden mother, taking college courses, and working her ass off to make ends meet. When she finally agrees to let loose and take one night off from her duties, everything changes.

College student, Greer McQueen knows meeting Aveline face-to-face is exactly what he wants. After all, he’s wanted her since the day they met in his online class. But when she learns that he’s “the” Greer McQueen, bassist for Rusted & Reckless, her all-time favorite band, everything changes.

Aveline can’t possibly give up on her responsibilities to be somebody’s groupie. And there’s no chance Greer will give up on her.

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About the Author

Charlotte Casey’s roots in country go back to singing Achy Breaky Heart in her car seat at the top of her lungs. She finds nothing sweeter and nothing more desirable than a southern man with drawl. With a romantic at heart, Charlotte couldn’t imagine reading or writing anything that doesn’t revolve around romance. Her stories may be fiction but her characters will leap from the pages and pull you into their world.

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Excerpt: Being Brooke by Emma Hart

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About the Book

My name is Brooke Barker…
And I’m a freaking disaster.

No, seriously. I’m a college drop-out working a dead-end job, my best friend Carly’s dog gets more action than I do, and I have more bad dates in my diary than there are movie remakes.

Not to mention I’m completely and utterly in love with Cain Elliott.

The problem? He’s in a relationship. With a girl who’s so plastic she makes Barbie cry herself to sleep with jealousy.

The second problem? He’s my best friend. 

My shut-up-and-put-harry-potter, yes-this-is-your-shirt, help-I-have-no-power, crap-I’m-out-of-tampon, kinda best friend.

And that’s all he can be, right?

Right.

Being Brooke is a standalone romantic comedy. Hilarious, super-sexy, and possibly highly inappropriate at times, this is the perfect feel-good read!

Excerpt

Cain’s phone begins to buzz on the table. The screen lights up, and the short name on the screen makes me have to fight a frown. 
I know it’s Nina. It always is. It’s like she has a Brooke-dar. She can sense whenever Cain and I are alone and hanging out.
My heart sinks, slowly but heavily, and I school my expression into one of not caring. I refuse to look away from the TV now.
Cain hands me his pizza box, which I take, begrudgingly, then he leans forward and grabs his phone. He waits for the buzzing to stop, then unlocks it and turns it off vibrate.
Then? Then he shoves it under the table, screen down. 
Ho. Lee. Shit.
I gape at him. I can’t help it. 
A piece of pepperoni drops off the slice of pizza in my hand—the same one that’s frozen halfway to my mouth as I stare at him in total disbelief. Did he really just do it?
“What?” Cain shrugs and takes his box back, grabbing a piece of half-eaten, meaty pizza and shoving the end in his mouth. The crust crunches as he bites down.
I swallow and glance at the coffee table. “I don’t think you’ve ever not taken a call from her.” I can’t help the derogatory way I say ’her’. It’s not intentional—honest. It’s ingrained in me to be vicious to other women. I think it’s a female thing. Self-preservation and all that.
“I don’t think I ever haven’t either.” Cain tilts his head to the side and meets my gaze, a suspicious glint in his green eyes. “But the point is, we haven’t done this in weeks, and I’m having too much fun to leave. Besides, we have all this junk food. If I don’t help you eat it, you’ll eat it all, then it’ll be my fault when your pants don’t fit.”
Oh my god.
“Does she know you’re here?” I smirk slyly and raise my eyebrows. 
He shifts uncomfortably. With a cough, he puts his pizza down and grabs his beer bottle to swig from it. 
Oh. My. Shitty. Life.
“She doesn’t, does she?” I sit up straight, throwing my half-slice back into my box and shoving his shoulder. “Cain!”
“No,” he mumbles, scratching the back of his ear. “She doesn’t know.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. It’s totally immature of me to delight in the fact he hasn’t told the Prissy Princess where is he and he’s ignoring her calls, but I do. It’s hilarious. 
And, okay. I’m smug. Totally smug. There’s only one reason he hasn’t told her, and that’s because she hates me too. 
Bitchy Best Friend Mission: Level Up!
“And tell me.” I snicker, just about holding back the volcano of laughter threatening to erupt. “Where does Nina think you are?”
“She thinks I’m at Mom’s.” He looks at me, his lips flattening into a thin line. “Stop laughing, B. No, don’t shake your damn head. I fucking mean it. She’s a little insecure over my friendship with you and Carly, that’s all. Sometimes it’s easier to just tell a... little white lie.”
“A little white lie? She thinks you’re at your mom’s!” I laugh harder and wipe at my eyes because they feel a little too wet. 
“I just want the best of both worlds right now, all right?”
“What is the best of both worlds? Pizza with me and blow jobs from her?”
“She chooses not to eat gluten. Until she finds a gluten-free recipe she likes, I can’t eat pizza when she’s around.” 
Which is a lot.
I raise my eyebrows again. “Your girlfriend won’t eat gluten but she’ll happily put your dick in her mouth?”
“Brooke. Don’t be a bitch.” He chucks a piece of chicken from his pizza at me, his eyes narrowing.
I’m dying. I think this is it—this is how I die, laughing at Cain’s lame excuses for lying to his girlfriend about spending time with me.
“Oh my fuck. This is hilarious. Seriously. Someone call Comedy Central.”
“Brooke.” He says my name again, this time quieter.
I stop laughing. Just about.
“I’m sorry. I just think it’s funny. You want me to be nice to her but you lie to her about spending time with me.” I shrug a shoulder and peel a piece of pepperoni off my pizza. I’m not even that hungry anymore.
He sighs, putting the top down on his box, and sits back. “She thinks there’s something going on between us.”
I laugh even harder because I might cry if I don’t.
Hi, breaking heart. Grab the tissues, yo.
There’s an awkward silence hanging between us now. It’s not the first time someone has thought that, but given that the more time I spend with Cain, the more I seem to fall for him, it’s awkward. Especially since he’s lying to her just to hang out with me.
I clear my throat and look up at him. “That’s ridiculous. You’re my best friend. Like anything would ever happen between us. I can’t put up with your shit taste in music, for a start.”
“Exactly,” he replies in a quieter voice, scratching behind his ear again. “It’s fucking stupid. I can’t stand your taste in music either. Who the fuck likes Justin Bieber?”
“People who think Kanye West should retire.”

Find it online: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

About the Author

By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies—usually wine—and writes books.

Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.

She likes to be busy—unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.

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Spotlight: Golden Dragon by V.E. Ulett

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Genre: Historical Fantasy/Steampunk Adventure
Release Date: October 30th 2016

About the Book

Romance, Intrigue, and Airships - Code Black Book 1

Miriam Kodio Blackwell is caught between East and West. When a Code Black arises she is recruited by Lord Q, head of British intelligence and airships, who helps Miriam escape Iran only to press her into service of the Crown. Will Miriam survive when she's put aboard the airship Nonesuch—with her captain, crew, and a Hell-Cat of fearsome reputation—and the assignment to rescue the niece of a Dutch ally taken captive in the South China Sea? 

Golden Dragon is a witty new steampunk adventure, set in the Romantic age of Byron and Shelley. 

Praise for Golden Dragon

“Miriam is a great character. She figures out quickly how to use what she has in order to make an impact. I am very excited to see what new adventures will await the characters in the next book! This is a solid pick!” - MEGAN WESSELL, A Bookish Affair

“...a delightful fusion between historical fiction and fantasy with believable characters and an entertaining plot: highly recommended.” - ALARIC BOND, author of The Guinea Boat, Turn a Blind Eye, and The Fighting Sail Series

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About the Author

V.E. Ulett is a long time resident of California, but spends most of her time in a romantic nineteenth century world of airships and adventure. When she isn't head down in a first hand account of capture by pirates, battle at sea, or experimental flight, V.E. is an ordinary Silicon Valley warrior. Rare leisure hours are spent with her own small Hell-Cats.

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Spotlight: Grail (Le Fay #3) by Realm Lovejoy

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Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: December 2016

About the Book

A hero has fallen, and darkness threatens a splintered Camelot. In the midst of turmoil, the last hope for the kingdom is Morgan le Fay. Morgan is both feared and revered . . . and currently in prison for treason.

In the wake of King Uther’s tragic death, the wicked Mordred is closing in on young King Arthur, and the boy king turns to Morgan for help. Freed from her imprisonment through his order, Morgan searches for a way to protect him. But she is still an outcast, and no one believes her suspicions about Mordred.

To save King Arthur, Morgan must reach the greatest Royal Relic in the world—the Grail—before Mordred does. It’s a journey that will challenge her in ways she’s never been challenged before. Traveling deep into a land of darkness, she will need to overcome the ghosts of her past to find her true power.

Can Morgan defeat Mordred and save King Arthur? And this time, can she defend Camelot without destroying herself? In this third book in the Le Fay series, author Realm Lovejoy reveals secrets from the past as Morgan’s epic journey unfolds.

Excerpt

Footsteps sound across the marble. I swallow and get back to mopping, watching the marble and wood patterns beneath become shiny with the cleanser. It’s a small relief to be surrounded by beauty after being locked in my closet room. I study the depth of the wood grains, the slices of gold and sparkling black marbles.

The steps stop in front of me. A clearing of the throat.

I grab the handle of the bucket, preparing my leave. “I will be out of your way,” I say briskly.

“Morgan?” the voice says.

I halt, meeting eyes with Lancelot.

He looks a bit older too. The grays in his eyes more somber like the ancient temple rocks I saw in Avalon, stained with mist and forgotten by man. There’s a welt over his left brow that wasn’t there earlier.

The space between us seems defined as the light rays slice past me, toward him. We stand there with dust glinting in front of us for what seems like minutes.

“Sir Lancelot,” I say, straightening. “I’m in your way. Excuse me.”

“Morgan,” he repeats.

I tighten my grasp on the handle, worried as to where this is going. I push away the memories of him.

“I’m sorry,” he says, not taking his eyes off mine. “I didn’t know what to do. I saw you in the cafeteria serving the food and I… well, I froze up with shock. I heard about the parole thing. I didn’t know you’d be… doing work like this.” He shakes his head. “What am I saying? I’m glad you’re alive.”

“Thank you,” I reply stiffly.

“I wanted to see how you’re doing.”

Having someone want to “see” me seems worse than being invisible.

“This is how I’m doing,” I say, motioning to the mop and my work—the shiny floor.

The glossiness ends at the halfway point between us, like a dividing line. He moves his foot, the boot coming a smidgen closer.

“This is… not acceptable,” he says.

I tense even more, afraid to know what he means.

“This,” he says again, pointing to the mop, the bands, and my terrible jumpsuit. “You are so much more than this. The Cabinet is crazy to have someone so gifted waste away.”

“Lancelot,” I blurt out, terrified by his care and where it has led to before. “Don’t pity me. Just move on. Forget about everything—about me. That’s what everyone else is doing.”

“Nobody will ever forget about you. Right now everyone is desperate to feel safe and normal. I admit even I’m desperate and tempted to jump into denial. And you. I’ve never seen you like this, not even in prison.”

I snort. “Jumpsuits weren’t my thing, exactly.”

He points at my face. “I mean, your eyes. You have dead eyes. It’s not like you to meekly mop and serve food quietly while keeping your head down. What happened to your inner fire?”

I open my palm to observe my burn wounds with a bitter smile. “I’m a little burnt out, I guess.”

“At least you still have your morbid sense of humor,” Lancelot comments.

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About the Author

Realm Lovejoy is an American writer and an artist. She grew up in both Washington State and the Japanese Alps of Nagano, Japan. Currently she lives in Seattle and works as an artist in the video game industry. CLAN is her first book. You can find out more about her and her books at realmlovejoy.com

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Spotlight: The Travelers by K.L. Kranes

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Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: October 2nd 2016
Sanguaro Books

About the Book

Dagny lives a dangerous life. Pursued by an unknown enemy, Dagny and her family are always on the run and must use magic to stay hidden and safe. When Dagny meets Marc, everything changes. For the first time, she can imagine a future that doesn't involve constantly changing her life. Despite the risk, Dagny vows to stop running. But as their enemies start closing in, Dagny wonders if she can ever really live a normal life and if she can actually trust Marc. 

This fast-paced debut novel by K.L. Kranes merges fantasy and romance and takes the reader on an exciting magical adventure.

Excerpt

Dagny

My fingers shook violently as I dragged them across the smooth, cool surface of the metal coffin. It was pitch black inside the eight-foot cell and there was no way for me to tell if my sight had returned. I had been through this before but my new heartbeat still quickened with fear every time. In darkness and confinement, rational thought did not always prevail.

Suddenly, a spasm raced through my right leg. The sensation was more intense than I ever remembered feeling. That wasn’t saying much. I forgot a lot of things. The power to magically move your soul to another person’s body was not as exciting as it sounded. It had consequences. For me, one of those was memory loss.

To fit my soul into this new body, I had to chip away little pieces of myself and let them fall into oblivion. Every time I ‘Traveled’, I lost more and more of myself. I was just a bunch of broken pieces inside the shell of a body. I didn’t even know what it meant to be me anymore. When my limbs began to wiggle, I knew I’d finally whittled away just enough to resemble a real person.

A jarring crack of a metal door thrown open announced one of my siblings was free.

“Where’s Dagny?” my brother asked, with a grunt.

“This is unacceptable. Look at this. I’m ugly,” my sister barked, ignoring my brother’s question.

Hiding in my cold, dark container, I felt as if millions of wires were attached to my body. With every word spoken, another wire jerked and compelled me to leave my cell. But I wasn’t ready yet.

When I ‘Traveled’, which is what we call it when we move from one body to the next, I felt free, at least for a little while. My soul floated above the earth. I had no weight, no burdens. I didn’t have eyes in that state of being. But my mystical vision saw all the auras on earth.

Beneath me millions of colored lights pulsed in the darkness. My parents called it flying on the wings of the raven because the raven ushered souls across realms. We Traveled by summoning its power. This was the first part of the transition. It was beautiful. It was peaceful. It was fleeting. Then came the second part, my parents called that the landing, which was a nice way of describing it. It was more like crashing. I crashed down into someone else’s dead body and had to force my way through the flesh and into the marrow. I can’t lie. That part hurt.

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About the Author

K.L. Kranes lives in the Washington, DC metro area with her husband, daughter and their adorable dog. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Communications. K.L. moved to New York City after college and worked in public relations before returning to her true passions of writing and editing. She currently works as a freelance writer and editor. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her family and trying out new potential hobbies. Her latest endeavors include driving her dog crazy as she learns the guitar and making a fool of herself as a novice swing dancer.

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