Spotlight: Zero to Sixty by Marie Harte

BAD BOY SAM + GOOD GIRL IVY =
LEARNING TO LOVE AGAIN

After her last disaster of a relationship, Ivy Stephens is content being single. She has her job, her apartment—and the cute little puppy she’s seen hanging around. When he escapes, she finds her search efforts aided by a big, burly, devastatingly handsome man. One who claims a prior claim on her dog.

Sam Hamilton is at loose ends since his best friend fell in love. He finds a sense of purpose in rescuing strays. The puppy who’s stolen his heart just happens to run into blond, beautiful Ivy. And Sam can’t help hoping she’ll take in one more stray—him—for good.

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About the Author

Caffeine addict, boy referee, and romance aficionado, MARIE HARTE is a confessed bibliophile and devotee of action movies. Whether hiking in Central Oregon, biking around town, or hanging at the local tea shop, she’s constantly plotting to give everyone a happily ever after. Visit www.marieharte.com and fall in love.

Spotlight: Return to Autumn by John Richards

Genre: Upper YA Contemporary Fiction/Coming of Age
Release Date: October 14th 2016

Summary

Adam Raynor and his best friends started the summer of 1992 with their usual antics. Each of them in their own way preparing for their last year of high school and the interruption of their friendship that college would bring. What they didn't know was how getting a girlfriend, using drugs and experiencing the death of someone close would turn their worlds upside down.

Excerpt

 Chapter One

The Beginning of Summer

Every year on the last day of school it was our ritual to exit the school bus by jumping out of the emergency exit in the back. Mark, Joey, and I had been doing it since we were in sixth grade. Irritating the bus driver went back further than the sixth grade though. In third grade when we had a substitute bus driver that didn’t know the route, we would yell, “That’s it! That’s my house!” This shouldn’t have mattered since the driver was only supposed to stop and let us out at designated stops. Nonetheless, she slammed on the brakes and jerked the bus to a halt and we hid behind the tall-backed green seats calling out “Why are you stopping?” or “NO! Not here you idiot.” The woman just sat there looking back at all us kids in her huge rearview mirror, stunned and trying to figure out if someone was actually going to get off. Someone would eventually tell her no one was getting off, and she would start driving again to the chorus of our profanity. The bus was so full she wouldn’t have a clue who was doing all the yelling, and in hindsight, I don’t think she cared who was yelling. She just wanted off the bus herself. Now, we were juniors in high school. Even though we all had our driver’s licenses we couldn’t drive to school until we were seniors due to limited parking spaces.

You could only jump out the back of the bus on the last day of school. If you did the jump midyear, the principal would be waiting on the bus after school the next day and the bus wouldn’t leave for home until he found out who had activated the fire exit. He would threaten to give everyone a detention if nobody tattled or confessed. I know because we tried to do it on a Friday once in eighth grade, and the next Monday there he was waiting for us inside the bus. Carolyn Autumn was the one who told on us. She didn’t even hesitate; she wanted to get home and ‘prepare’ for a history test she had the next week. Carolyn was constantly worrying and studying. She lived down the street from us and we rode the bus together since our first-grade year.

“I’m sorry Adam,” she said. “I had to. I thought I was going to fail.”  

But she was one of the most successful students in school. She was always on the honor roll, as long as I could remember anyway. Her obsessive worrying was likely the reason for all her success in school.

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About the Author

John Richards was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs where he currently resides with his wife, kids and German Shepherds. John worked as a book seller for a few years before attending law school and becoming a litigation attorney. John’s writings are loosely drawn from personal life experiences but would never admit to it. When not at work or writing, John and his family enjoy spending time outdoors and vacationing in the Mountains of Tennessee.

Spotlight: Jadeite's Journey by Lucinda Stein

Genre: YA Scifi
Release date: January 2017
Inkspell Publishing

About the Book

When romance turns deadly…

Jadeite’s perfect world comes crashing down on her. In the futuristic world of United Society, her only problem has been how to act around the cute boy on the air shuttle. But Jadeite’s world changes when she comes across a man who looks alarmingly like her father. Clones were declared illegal years ago. When she sees her father, a robotic engineer, headed to the Dark Edge of United Society, she follows him and uncovers her father’s secret life.

Jadeite shadows her father past the boundary of United Society and into a primitive world of canyons and high deserts. She learns her father is a Ridge Runner passing between the two worlds. Even more alarming, she discovers her younger brother, Malachite, is sick and requires medicine only available from over the Ridge. After her father is arrested, Jadeite takes his place in order to save her brother’s life.

But her world turns even more precarious after she breaks up with her obsessive boyfriend, Mattie. Jadeite soon learns his threats are more than words, and she finds her life is in jeopardy.

Excerpt

Jadeite glanced around at the people huddled together in small clusters. That’s when she realized the spot where they’d slept was empty. Malachite had vanished.

She scanned the room, but he was nowhere in sight. He was not in the alcove to her right. What if he’d gone outside? Her stomach twisted. She wouldn’t put anything past Malachite. She hurried to the main entrance, where a small group of men remained. She was about to turn back when one man stepped aside. Malachite slipped through the middle of the hunters, his curiosity drawing him on.

Halfway to the mouth of the cave, she grabbed his arm and jerked him backward. She cupped his mouth because their safety depended on not being detected. About to whisper in his ear, she saw the man closest to the entrance wave everyone back. Jadeite drew her brother against the wall.

Dark figures passed the cave. It took a moment to realize what she was seeing, what she’d only read about in government classes: the Legionnaires, the warrior division of androids. She’d never actually seen a picture of them. She clapped both hands over Malachite’s mouth, his eyes wide as Ruby’s pancakes.

Marching single file, armored droids explored the bottom of the cliff. The head of one warrior pivoted, its elongated nose blending with its mouth in a long reptilian snout, its red heat-seeking eyes ablaze before it faced forward again.

Jadeite held her breath. Finally, the small exploration group had passed. “Are you trying to get us killed?” she whispered to her brother. A hunter grasped her arm and pointed outside.

A warrior droid swept past the cave. Another followed. It paused and a black telescopic arm extended near the mouth of the cave. Zap. A streak of electricity found its mark, and a high-pitched squeal sounded.

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About the Author

A school librarian for over twenty years, Stein now writes fulltime. Sanctuary: Family, Friends, & Strangers was a 2015 Colorado Book Award finalist. Three Threads Woven, was a 2010 WILLA Finalist. Her story, Sulfur Springs, won First Place in the 2011 LAURA Short Fiction competition. Her stories have appeared in Pooled Ink, The South Dakota Review, Fine Lines, and Women Writing the West online.
When not writing, she hikes desert canyons and alpine trails. She loves anything vintage, her shelter-rescued dog, Opie, and, most of all, her husband, Rob.

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Excerpt: Blood Money by Tee O'Fallon

About the Book

NYPD Detective Gray Yates has major trust issues. Protecting a serenely beautiful woman hiding enough secrets to take down an entire city wasn’t something he bargained for. She’s a loving single mother, hot as hell, and protecting her will test every ounce of his resolve.

Alex Romano is being blackmailed by the Pyramid—an elusive international organization of assassins every cop in the world is after. When Alex tries severing ties with them they refuse to let her go. The darkly dangerous detective she’s irresistibly drawn to is her only hope of staying out of jail. He just might be her savior…or her downfall.

Despite efforts to maintain his professionalism, Gray can’t deny the fiery passion Alex ignites in him. In an explosive confrontation, Alex’s lies are revealed and Gray is faced with the most important decision of his life: trust the woman he’s falling in love with, or arrest her.

Excerpt

Alex still couldn’t believe the two men actually tried to kidnap her baby.

She took a breath to steady her nerves. It didn’t work, far from it. All it did was make her even more aware of the man sitting a foot away. Every inhalation brought with it his wonderful aftershave. Woodsy, yet fresh and clean.

“I have to call Nicky’s school.” Anything to get her mind off thinking about last night. Despite her words to the contrary, she’d wanted Gray to finish what they’d started. But that was a bad idea, one she had to let go of.

Easier said than done.

Since giving birth to Nicky and having to take care of a child alone, sex wasn’t something she thought of very much these days. But she was thinking a lot about it now. The truth of the matter was, she began thinking about it the day she started working for the NYPD.

The day she met Detective Gray Yates.

Alex hadn’t stayed with Nicky’s father long after the physical violence started. She wasn’t the kind of woman to stay in a bad situation. But after what she’d endured, she hadn’t wanted another man to make love to her. Now the only one she wanted to touch her was the last man who ever would. And the last man she should ever let touch her. There was too much between them. She may have hurt him, but he’d been fully capable of inflicting the same level of pain. And he did.

She turned to watch Gray’s handsome profile. Part of her understood his viewpoint. He was one of the most principled cops in the department. Even she’d picked up on that trait right away—and it was one of the things she admired about him. It didn’t matter what her reasons were. The bottom line was that she had spent money received from a Pyramid assassin, and he thought she’d been paid to sleep with him and get confidential police intel.

Now she was nothing more to Gray than someone he and the NYPD would use to take down a band of ruthless criminals. What happened between them in her bedroom was nothing more than a mistake, a latent reminder of feelings they may have had for each other. Feelings she still had. Ones he didn’t.

“Tell the school—” Gray stopped, obviously realizing Alex had been staring at him for some time. “What’s wrong?”

Aside from the obvious?

“Nothing.” She pulled her cell phone from her coat pocket. There was no sense telling him the truth. He might be sitting right next to her, but as far as anything personal went they were a thousand miles apart.

“Wait.” Gray tipped his head toward the phone in her hand. “Tell them you’re taking Nicky out of school for a couple of weeks, but don’t tell them why. The Pyramid has resources sophisticated enough to tap into your personal bank account, so we have to assume they can break into any database. If you tell the school Nicky is sick, they’ll check all the hospitals. When they don’t find him, they’ll come after him again at your apartment.”

“Then isn’t the best story to tell them he’s home sick?” Alex shifted in her seat to face him. “He won’t be there, so what does it matter if I say that?”

“Nicky won’t be there, but you and I will.” Gray paused to look at her. “The last thing I want is for them to break into your place again.”

Alex widened her eyes. “What do you mean, you and I will be at my apartment?”

Gray’s gaze flicked to the side-view mirror before answering. “Until this is over, you have a roommate.”

“No.” She crossed her arms and shook her head. “That isn’t possible. I won’t allow it.”

Because I don’t trust myself to be alone with you ever again.

Gray chuckled. “You don’t have a say in the matter, babe.”

She turned to face him. “The hell I don’t. And don’t you dare babe me.” Last night was sheer torture. There was no way she could live in her tiny apartment with a man she wanted more desperately than she wanted to breathe.

“Too late,” Gray said in a cold voice. “It’s done.”

She grabbed his shoulder. “I do so have a say in this. I’ll talk to Lt. Frye.”

“Negative.”

“Negative?” Alex shouted. She lowered her voice so she didn’t wake Nicky, who was still sleeping comfortably in the car seat. “And don’t speak to me like I’m one of your cop cronies. Why does it have to be you?”

“Because not only won’t the department pay for your protection, but I don’t trust anyone else to keep you safe.” He briefly met her gaze, and there was anger there, but Alex couldn’t decipher the source of it. He shouldn’t care about her, and he shouldn’t care about protecting her.

Ah, she thought. He’s not protecting me, he’s protecting his cooperator.

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About the Author

Tee O'Fallon has been a federal agent for twenty-two years, giving her hands-on experience in the field of law enforcement that she combines with her love of romantic suspense. Tee's job affords her the unique opportunity to work with the heroic and sexy men in law enforcement on a daily basis. For Tee, research is the easy part!

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Spotlight: Reckless Hearts by Heather Van Fleet

About the Book

Three alpha men and a baby.
What could possibly go wrong?

From boot camp to the Iraqi desert, best friends Collin, Max, and Gavin have been through hell and back. But these rugged Marines might need help facing their biggest challenge: raising Collin’s nine-month-old daughter, Chloe.

After the death of his girlfriend in an accident, Collin Montgomery has sworn off serious relationships. His buddies have his back—and convince him it’s okay to cut loose sometimes. Enter the hottest, smartest girl he’s ever met. But what he really needs is a nanny.

Addison Booker needs a job desperately—and fast. She shows up to interview for the nanny position only to find the sexy, cocky man she can’t get out of her head. Collin knows hiring her is a bad idea—they disagree about almost everything—but Addison is so good with little Chloe. And there’s no substitute for chemistry, right?

Excerpt

To curb the anxiety brewing hot inside me, I grabbed Addie by the wrist and marched her to the door.

“Hey, watch it.” She clawed at my hand, only making me want to hang on tighter.

“What is your deal, Collin?”

“It’s time for you to go.” I kept hold of her arm, but not as tight, and grabbed her coat, shoving it against her chest.

“What’d I do this time?” She lifted her chin—always lifting her damn chin. Taking pride to a level I wasn’t even capable of most days anymore.

“Nothing.” I let go of her arm, my hands itching to grab her and pull her close.

Instead, I walked to the door and unlatched the lock.

“Oh no. Don’t think so, buddy.” She threw her coat and her hat onto the floor, crossing her arms just under her breasts. “If I’m going to work for you, we need to set some ground rules.”

I tightened my hands into fists, fingernails digging into my palms. One step forward, then two, and she was in front of me, one eyebrow arched. Her curled lips saying I won’t back down. And damn I didn’t want her to. She messed with me, all fire and sass. And it made me fucking hot.

“You are the most ungrateful son of a bitch I’ve ever met in my life, and if you really and truly want me to be your child’s nanny, then you better cut the attitude or else I’m gonna—”

“Stop talking.” Couldn’t help myself. I had to do it. So I grabbed her waist and yanked her to my chest, while clutching the bottom of her shirt with my other hand. Eyes wide and lips parted, I took what I wanted and kissed her. Hard. Unforgivingly. Relentlessly.

And holy shit.

I mean, holy.

Shit.

That kiss was so much. But it wasn’t enough—never would be enough either. Not until I had her against the wall, touching her anywhere she’d let me touch her. Skin on skin, flesh on flesh. Just once, that’s all I’d ask for. I wasn’t a greedy man, just needy and desperate for the only woman who’d ever mind-fucked me before she actually fucked me.

Fighting against every instinct I had, I used my tongue to explore, only to feel her arms wrap around my neck and her fingers dig into my scalp in response.

With her reaction, my restraint snapped in half.

I walked her backward. She obliged, hands desperate and tight as she clung to me. Warm body soft against mine, pliant and so damn sexy. Almost as needy as my own.

My knee went between her thighs as I pushed her back against the door. She moaned against my lips, the sound going straight to my cock. Her tongue was wet, my brain was fuzzy, but I needed this. I needed her.

I lifted her higher, her legs going right around my waist. She sucked my tongue into her mouth, and I lowered my hands to her ass, squeezing. The skirt she wore rode up higher and higher as she writhed against me, until nothing but her panties pressed against my jeans. She shivered as I rocked her pussy up and down against my cock.

Hot. Tight. Warm. That’s exactly how I imagined she’d be if I sank inside her.

She tipped her head back, bumping it against the wood. Her breathing was frantic, her chest rising and falling in time with my own. I lowered my mouth to her neck, kissing and sucking her skin. She tasted clean, fresh, and I groaned low in my throat, wanting nothing more than to bite her, mark her. Make her mine for just one night.

“Collin,” she whispered, her body trembling as she moved. I rocked her harder against me, sure I was going to come from the friction of the movement alone.

“Please,” she cried out, dry humping my cock like it was all she’d ever need again. And if this was the last woman I ever made come, I’d damn sure not regret it.

“Ain’t gonna stop. Wanna make you feel good.”

I’d been an ass all night to the girl. The least I could do was get her off…and enjoy myself at the same time.

She leaned forward, whimpering as she buried her forehead against my neck. I shut my eyes, blocking out everything around us and inhaling her hair, a smell I’d never forget.

Sweat dripped down my temples as I guided her up and down my length. My hands, as greedy as my lips, now digging tighter into her ass over her skimpy panties.

“Jesus. Addie.”

She shuddered at my words, moving faster, softly crying through what I knew was a quick release.

Damn, did I love that sound. Hadn’t realized how much I missed it until it came from her. And I wanted to hear it again, until she cried out my name next time, loud as hell so the world would know I’d been the one to do this to her. For her.

But then her breathing slowed and she kissed my neck, the sensation light and soft. Too intimate. Too much.

And that’s when the high came crashing down, hitting me as hard as a truck.

I’d just dry-fucked my daughter’s new nanny against the front door.

And I liked it.

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About the Author

Contemporary romance author Heather Van Fleet is stay-at-home-mom turned book boyfriend connoisseur. She’s a wife to her high school sweetheart, a mom to three little girls, and in her spare time you can find her with her head buried in her Kindle, guzzling down copious amounts of coffee. Heather was born and raised in Moline, Illinois, where she lives with her wonderful family.

Excerpt: Accidentally on Purpose by Jill Shalvis

From New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis comes the next sexy, standalone novel in the Heartbreaker Bay series...

About the Book

There’s no such thing as a little in love . . .

Elle Wheaton’s priorities: friends, career, and kick-ass shoes. Then there’s the muscular wall of stubbornness that’s security expert Archer Hunt—who comes before everything else. No point in telling Mr. “Feels-Free Zone” that, though. Elle will just see other men until she gets over Archer . . . which should only take a lifetime . . .

There’s no such thing as a little in lust . . .

Archer’s wanted the best for Elle ever since he sacrificed his law-enforcement career to save her. Their chemistry could start the next San Francisco earthquake and he craves her 24/7, but Archer doesn’t want to be responsible for the damage. The alternative? Watch her go out with guys who aren’t him . . .

There is such a thing as . . .

As far as Archer’s concerned, nobody is good enough for Elle. But when he sets out to prove it by sabotaging her dates, she gets mad—and things get hot as hell. Now Archer has a new mission: prove to Elle that her perfect man has been here all along . . .

Excerpt

“Hey, honey,” Trudy said in her been-smoking-for-three-decades voice. “Need anything?”

    “Nope, I’m good.” Good plus mad, but although she adored Trudy, the woman couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. “Just taking in the nice morning.”

    “Oh, that’s a disappointment,” Trudy said. “I thought maybe you were looking for that hottie with the nice package, the one who runs the investigation firm down the hall.”

    Elle nearly choked on her tea. “Nice package?”

    “Well I’m old, not dead.” And with a wink, Trudy pushed her cart down the hall.

    It was true that Archer was annoyingly hot, not that she cared. Hot was useless to her. She’d much rather have the things that had eluded her for most of her life—safety, security…stability.

    Three things Archer had never been accused of.

    At the other end of the hall, she stopped in front of the door with a discreet sign: HUNT INVESTIGATIONS.

    The investigative and elite security firm was carried on Archer’s reputation alone, no ads or marketing required. Basically Archer and the men he employed were finders and fixers, independent contractors for hire, and not necessarily tied by the same red tape as the law.

    Which worked for Archer. Rules had never been his thing.

    She opened the door and let herself into the reception area, which was much bigger than hers. Clean, masculine lines. Large furniture. Wide open space. A glass partition separated the front from the inner offices.

    The check-in counter was empty. The receptionist wasn’t in yet—it was too early for Mollie. But not for the other employees. Past the glass Elle could see part of the inner office. A group of men, five of them, entered by a private door. They’d clearly just come back from some sort of job that had required them to be locked and loaded since they currently looked like a SWAT team.

    Elle literally stopped short. And if she was being honest, her heart stopped too because sweet baby Jesus. The lot of them stood there stripping off weapons and shirts so that all she could see was a mass of mind-blowing bodies, sweaty and tatted and in all varieties of skin colors.

    It was a cornucopia of smutty goodness and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. In fact, she couldn’t speak either, mostly because her tongue had hit the floor. Her feet took advantage of her frozen brain, taking her to the interior door, where she wanted to press her face up against the glass.

    Luckily, someone buzzed her in before she could. They all knew her. After all, her job required her to work closely with the security firm, and therein lay her deepest, darkest problem.

    Working closely with Archer Hunt was dangerous in oh so many, many ways, not the least of which was their history, something she did her best to never think about.

    She was greeted with variations on “Hey, Elle” and “Mornin’” and then they all went their separate ways, leaving her alone with their fearless leader.

    Archer.

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About Jill Shalvis

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

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