Spotlight: The Six Month Lease by Melanie Munton

The Six Month Lease
Melanie Munton
Publication date: August 18th 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Never have I ever…moved in with a guy after dating him for only three weeks.

Just kidding. That’s exactly what I did.

And like most of you are probably thinking, it inevitably blew up in my face when we broke up two days after signing our lease.

Now, I’m stuck living with my ex. The same man who turned my life completely upside down in record time.

For. Six. Whole. Months.

It doesn’t matter how many times he flashes those abs at me after a shower, or how close his bedroom is to mine. I will resist him because he’s simply not the right guy for me.

But if I thought he’d done a number on me before, that’s nothing compared to what happens after I finally learn the secret he’s been keeping from me this entire time.

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EXCERPT:

We touch down on the helipad near Patriot’s Point where we left from. The slab of concrete is on the edge of the now mostly empty parking lot, the park having closed over an hour ago. The sun has lowered in the sky, painting it a pink hue with notes of orange and gold.

West does some more talking into his radio headset while going through the process of shutting the aircraft down, flipping switches and pushing buttons. After I’ve had time to take stock of everything, I realize that I’m coming down from a small adrenaline rush. My chest is heaving, my heart still racing.

Now I really get West’s love for flying. It gives you a high like no other.

Helicopter heroin.

The blades slowly stop rotating until the whooping sound of their spinning eventually ceases. West removes his headphones and unstraps himself. Then he leans over and repeats the same process with me.

But once he has my straps unbuckled, he falls back into his own seat.

Slowly removes his aviators—

And spreads his legs.

It’s only then that I notice the tent between his legs.

“Does that happen every time you fly?” I ask, my gaze lasered in on his lap. “Or is that special for me?”

“It’s always for you,” he answers roughly. “That’s the fucking problem. Nothing does it for me anymore but you. The other night when you went out for drinks with the girls, my hand could barely get the job done, even though it was your naked body I pictured in my head the entire time. It’s like nothing will satisfy except the real you.”

I tsk my tongue. “Poor baby. What do you recommend for the pain?”

He unbuckles his belt, lowers his zipper. “I just gave you a ride.” He reaches inside his briefs, palming his erection. “Now, it’s your turn to give me a nice…long…ride.”

I lick my lips unconsciously, feeling my nipples pucker underneath my breezy, linen dress. “These windows aren’t exactly tinted.”

“No one’s around,” he growls, his face reddening with burning lust. “Plus, the cockpit is facing those trees. No one can see us at this angle.”

My pulse jumps at the word cock.

Wriggling his hips, he shoves his shorts and briefs down past his manhood, freeing his rod until it’s rising straight up in the air. When he wraps his fist around the base, I flashback to how he looked handling the control stick. Gripping it so tight, his fingers absently stroking it when he was letting the aircraft coast.

My God, I never thought helicopters could be so sexual.

I’ll never be able to look at any kind of control stick the same way again.

His eyes lower to my chest. “Come sit on your throne, princess.”

Author Bio:

Traveler. Reader. Beach-goer. St. Louis Cardinals fan. Pasta-obsessed. North Carolina resident. Sarcastic. Bit of a nerd.
Author of the Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie loves all things romance, comedies and suspense in particular because it’s boring to only stick to one sub-genre! From light-hearted comedies to sexy thrillers, she likes to mix it up, but loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.
Go visit Melanie’s website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!

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Spotlight: The Dazzling Truth by Helen Cullen

Poised to celebrate Christmas Eve on a beautifully scenic island off the coast of Ireland, the Moone family’s holiday is instead marred by tragedy. So begins Helen Cullen’s stirring family saga, THE DAZZLING TRUTH (Graydon House; August 18, 2020; $17.99 USD). Maeve and Murtagh Moone’s love story began in 1978, at Trinity College. As an aspiring actress and potter respectively, the two creative spirits were drawn to each other in an intense and lasting way, able to withstand almost anything, even Maeve’s bouts of crippling depression and anxiety. For a short time, anyway.

Marriage and children are the next chapters in the Moone family story, but Maeve struggles to reconcile her old life with that of the wife and mother she is supposed to be. Until one heartbreaking Christmas Eve in 2005 changes everything. Now each member of the Moone family must learn to confront the past on their own, until one dazzling truth brings them back together towards a future that none of them could have predicted. Except perhaps Maeve herself.

Excerpt

Inis Óg: 2005

Murtagh had woken that morning, once again, to an empty bed; the sheets were cool and unruffled on Maeve’s side. He had expected to find her sitting at the kitchen table, wrapped in her hound’s-tooth shawl, pale and thin in the darkness before dawn, a tangle of blue-black hair swept across her high forehead like a crow’s wet wing, her long, matted curls secured in a knot at the nape of her neck with one of her red pencils. He had anticipated how she would start when he appeared in the doorway. How he would ignore, as he always did, the few moments it would take for her dove-grey eyes to turn their focus outward. For the ghosts to leave her in his presence. The kettle would hiss and spit on the stove as he stood behind her wicker chair and rubbed warmth back into her arms, his voice jolly as he gently scolded her for lack of sleep and feigned nonchalance as to its cause.

But Maeve wasn’t sitting at the kitchen table.

Nor was she meditating on the stone step of the back door drinking milk straight from the glass bottle it was delivered in.

She wasn’t dozing on the living-room sofa, the television on but silent, an empty crystal tumbler tucked inside the pocket of her peacock-blue silk dressing gown, the one on which she had painstakingly embroidered a murmuration of starlings in the finest silver thread.

Instead, there was an empty space on the bannister where her coat should have been hanging.

Murtagh opened the front door and flinched at a swarm of spitting raindrops. The blistering wind mocked the threadbare cotton of his pyjamas. He bent his head into the onslaught and pushed forward, dragging the heavy scarlet door behind him. The brass knocker clanged against the wood; he flinched, hoping it had not woken the children. Shivering, he picked a route in his slippers around the muddy puddles spreading across the cobblestoned pathway. Leaning over the wrought-iron gate that separated their own familial island from the winding lane of the island proper, he scanned the dark horizon for a glimpse of Maeve in the faraway glow of a streetlamp.

In the distance, the sea and sky had melted into one anthracite mist, each indiscernible from the other. Sheep huddled together for comfort in Peadar Óg’s field, the waterlogged green that bordered the Moones’ land to the right; the plaintive baying of the animals sounded mournful. Murtagh nodded at them.

There was no sight of Maeve.

As he turned back towards the house he noticed Nollaig watching him from her bedroom window. The eldest daughter, she always seemed to witness the moments her parents had believed—hoped—were cloaked in invisibility, and then remained haunted by what she had seen. Ever since she was a toddler, Murtagh had monitored how her understanding grew, filling her up, and knew it would soon flood her eyes, always so questioning, permanently.

He waved at her as he blew back up the pathway. Later, he would feel the acute pain of finally recognising the prescience his daughter seemed to have absorbed from the womb.

‘How long is she gone?’

Nollaig was now standing before the hallway mirror, her face contorted as she vigorously tried to brush her frizzy mouse-brown hair into shape. She scraped it together into a tight ponytail that thrust from the back of her head as if it were a fox’s brush.

‘Ach, you should leave your gorgeous curls be, Noll,’ her father cajoled, ‘instead of fighting them.’

She smiled at him but slammed the mother-of-pearl hairbrush down on the sideboard.

‘I don’t have curls, I have Brillo pads,’ she sighed. ‘Did she say where she was going?’

Murtagh squeezed his daughter’s arm as he continued into the kitchen. ‘I’m sure your mother is just out for a walk. Happy birthday, love. Lá breithla shona duit.’

He placed a small copper saucepan of water on the range to boil and waved the invitation of an egg at his daughter. She nodded begrudgingly and curled into the green-and-gold striped armchair that sat in front of the stove.

‘With your white nightdress, you could almost pass for the Irish flag,’ he joked, and was gratified with her snort of glee.

He watched the clock hand count three minutes in silence. Expected any moment to hear his soaked wife splash through the door. He was poised, ready to run towards her with a towel and hushed reprimands for her careless wandering, but the boiling, cooling, cupping, cracking and spooning of each egg passed uninterrupted. Nollaig yawned, stretching her arms and legs before her in a stiff salute.

‘Why don’t you go back to bed for an hour?’ Murtagh asked. ‘We’ll all have proper breakfast together later.’

She eyed him with suspicion but acquiesced. ‘If Mam’s not back soon,’ she said, sidling away, ‘come and wake me. Promise? We’ll go out and find her. Remind her what day it is, for God’s sake.’

Murtagh nodded, ushered his daughter out of the kitchen and watched her climb the stairs.

Born on Christmas Eve, twenty years before, she was the only one of their children who came into the world via Galway maternity hospital and not into the impatient arms of Máire O’Dulaigh, the midwife of the island. She resented it; how it made her feel less of a true islander. What was more, the specialness of her own day for individual attention, her birth day, was irrevocably lost in the shared excitement of Christmas. In retrospect, it had been a mistake, perhaps, naming her Nollaig, the Irish for Christmas, and further compounding the association. No nickname had ever stuck, however. She wasn’t the sort of child who inspired others to claim her for their own with the intimacy of a given name.

‘Born ancient,’ her little sister, Sive, always said of her, with bored disdain.

And Murtagh sympathised. Nollaig carried the weight of being the eldest with pained perseverance, heavy responsibilities that were self-imposed. Her mother harboured a not always silent resentment of it, and it seemed only natural, if unfair, that Maeve and Sive gravitated more towards each other; the baby of the family shared her mother’s wit and wildness and often expressed the irritation her mother tried to hide at Nollaig’s sense of duty.

Excerpted from The Dazzling Truth by Helen Cullen, Copyright © 2020 by Helen Cullen. 

Published by Graydon House Books

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About the Author

HELEN CULLEN wrote her debut novel, The Lost Letters of William Woolf, while completing the Guardian/UEA novel writing program. She holds an MA in Theatre Studies from University College Dublin and is currently studying further at Brunel. Prior to writing full-time, Helen worked in journalism, broadcasting and most recently as a creative events and engagement specialist. Helen is Irish and currently lives in London.

Author Website

Twitter: @WordsofHelen

Instagram: @WordsofHelen

Facebook: @WordsofHelen

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Spotlight: Wicked is the Duke (Mayfair, #4) by J R Salisbury

Wicked is the Duke 

Mayfair Book 4 

by J R Salisbury 

Genre: Historical Romance 

Henry Blackmont, duke of Blackmont has a reputation as a rakehell and all around scoundrel. Invitations to his notorious house parties are highly sought after.

A few years after the untimely death of both his parents, and left with a parcel of siblings, Blackmont swears to change his wicked ways. He needs a wife, a woman who will be his duchess. Someone he hasn't found among the usual fare of young ladies. Until he meets Miss Anna Grover...

Anna Grover is a quiet, well educated young woman, someone Blackmont might have overlooked. Born and raised on the continent, she serves as hostess to her older brother, Robert. Her facade may show her to be demure, but Blackmont soon finds her to be far more stimulating.

The duke finds himself head over heels in love, but will it all be thwarted by another young lady determined to be the next duchess of Blackmont. 

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I've always been a creative individual. Writing is just a facet of that creativity...

My careers in public relations in and around the entertainment industry, photography, editing, artist management, modeling and special event planning all elevated my passion for writing, not to mention gave me a treasure trove for story lines. 

I write women's fiction; contemporary romance (as Jamie Salisbury) and historical romance (as JR Salisbury) which is ever evolving. I am fortunate enough that writing (and marketing of said product(s)) is my full-time job, although I always have one or two other projects going at the same time.

I now live in a suburb of Atlanta. Some of my other interests include photography, equestrianism, reading, and of course, travel.

I sincerely hope my writing will entertain, enlighten, and inspire others to pick up the pen and pursue their own dreams. I love to be contacted by readers, writers, and history buffs. 

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Spotlight: The Amish Newcomer by Patrice Lewis

Can a modern city girl ever become one of the Plain People?

She needed a safe place to hide. Instead, she found a place to call home.

Television journalist Leah Porte never imagined her career would end with her witnessing a murder. Now she’s temporarily living among the Amish in witness protection. Instead of feeling alone and adrift, Leah is warmly welcomed by the close-knit community—and Amish bachelor Isaac Sommer. But caught between two very different worlds, choosing love would mean leaving her big city life behind forever.

Excerpt

So,” he added as he released her hand and fell into step beside her, “you said you were from Los Angeles?”

“Yes.”

“Big city. Why are you here in Pikeville?”

Leah froze inside. It was the one question she didn’t want to be asked, but at least she had a predetermined story she could tell, one that mingled with just enough truth to be plausible. “I was in a car accident.” She touched her cheek. “It messed me up pretty badly. I used to work as a television journalist, but you can’t be in television with a face like this. I—I needed to get away. I have friends who know the Bylers, and they invited me to stay with them until I heal up.”

Unlike some other men she’d encountered, Isaac didn’t seem to be put off by the scar in the slightest. “And then what? What happens after your face heals?”

“I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped, and for a moment she allowed despair, which was never very far away, to claim her. “I don’t know. I suppose I’ll have to change my career, and it’s something I’m reluctant to do. I loved being a TV journalist.”

“Why are you dressed in Amish clothes? It seems unusual for a visitor.”

That was a question she hadn’t anticipated. “Uh… uh…since I’m here for so long, I wanted to fit in. I speak a little German, and Edith thought it best if I didn’t stand out. But I’m hoping everyone can forgive me for any blunders I make.”

“Oh, they will.” He fell silent as she padded along, her bare feet still tender. “Will you be attending the hot dog roast at the Millers’ tonight?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure it’s polite to show up without an invitation.”

“The Millers won’t mind. They’ll have a large crowd of youngies anyway, so one extra person won’t matter.”

“What’s a hot dog roast?”

“Just as it sounds. They have a long pit where they build a fire, so everyone has a chance to stand by the flames and cook their hot dogs.”

“But what do they do, besides eat hot dogs?”

“Talk. Sing. Play games. And sometimes flirt.” He grinned at her.

Leah caught her breath. If she didn’t know any better, she might have thought Isaac was flirting with her. If so, it was subtle almost to the point of imperceptible. And there was no possible way she could flirt back, not with a man bound within the rules of a faith she didn’t share.

She looked away. “I’m much older than Sarah or Rachel. Is this a gathering just for young people?”

“How old are you?” he blurted, then made a gesture as if to snatch the words back. “Sorry, I hope that wasn’t rude.”

His expression was so comical she laughed. “It’s no secret. I’m twenty-eight.”

“Ain’t so? Me too.”

“And you’re not married? That seems unusual, from what I know of the Amish.”

“I had—” He hesitated. “I spent some time away. Many years, in fact. Now I’m back and I intend to stay, but many of the women in the community aren’t encour-aging when it comes to risking their future with me. I have too much Englisch in me, they say.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle. “I assume Englisch is the catchall phrase for anyone who isn’t Amish.”

“Ja. It’s not meant as a pejorative, just a distinguisher for anyone who isn’t Amish.”

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About the Author

Living on a remote self-sufficient homestead in North Idaho, Patrice Lewis is a Christian wife, mother, author, blogger, columnist and speaker. She has practiced and written about rural subjects for almost thirty years. When she isn’t writing, Patrice enjoys self-sufficiency projects, such as animal husbandry, small-scale dairy production, gardening, food preservation and canning, and homeschooling. She and her husband have been married since 1990 and have two daughters.

Connect:

Author website: http://www.patricelewis.com 

Blog: http://www.rural-revolution.com/   

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4798049.Patrice_Lewis

Spotlight: Random Acts of Baby by Julia Kent

Random Acts of Baby
Julia Kent
(Random #11)
Publication date: August 14th 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

You know those television stories about the woman who goes to the emergency room thinking she has a bad case of indigestion or kidney stones or a burst appendix and she comes home with a bouncing baby boy?

Stupid woman, right? Who the hell doesn’t know she’s pregnant for nine and a half months? I used to think those mamas were one block short of a level trailer.

Used to.

Random Acts of Baby is the 11th book in Julia Kent’s New York Times bestselling series as Darla, Trevor, and Joe go on a long, crazy journey involving a baby, living two lives, and learning who you can count on most when you need a helping hand.

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Previous books in the series:

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Download the first 5 books in the series for FREE and get acquainted with the members of the up-and-coming music group, Random Acts of Crazy, and the women who love them. (That’s $21 in free books!)

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EXCERPT:

Her hand clamped on my knee, moving up the inseam of my jeans so fast my cock turned into a paratrooper, leaping toward that palm.

“Take the next rest area,” she said, just as we crossed the state line for Ohio.

“What?”

“Old time’s sake.”

Deciphering her words took more effort than it should have. “You need a bathroom? We’re less than half an hour away.”

“I need to ride your one-eyed trouser snake.”

“Huh?”

“I. Want. Sex,” she said slowly, drawing out the words with an aligned tone, as if saying them this way were diplomatic.

“Now? Here? While I’m driving? I’m flexible and up for anything, but not while I’m careening down the Ohio Turnpike at 72 miles per hour. Even I have sexual limits.”

“No. At the nearest rest area.”

“Are you serious?’

“Do I ever joke about sex?”

“No.”

“Then shut up and put on your turn signal.”

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 19 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French and German, with more titles releasing in 2020 and beyond.
From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

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Spotlight: A Haunted Love by Dakota Star

A Haunted Love
Dakota Star
Publication date: August 14th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Ash detests Halloween. Three years ago, her husband’s death during the same week left her scarred. Now, all she desires is a simple, ordered life in the small town of Humble, Connecticut and time with the cutest boy ever – her nephew. That becomes impossible when her sister brings a handsome soldier, Cole, to her door. From the moment they meet, Ash has a hard time ignoring his good looks and those intense gray eyes that have seen enough war and heartbreak to fill a lifetime. What starts as a mutual attraction and a romp in bed leads Ash to face her demons. War has left Cole with more than just physical scars as well. But does serendipity, a ghost, or something sinister have other plans for them? When someone starts stalking Ash, Halloween turns to horror. Does Cole have what it takes to incinerate Ash’s doubts and keep her safe?

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EXCERPT:

“Do you mind if I stay and finish my coffee out here?” Cole asked.

Was this another significant decision in her life?

She could go on the way she had been for the past three years and ask for her privacy or admit to herself she was curious about and attracted to Cole. If she let him stay, it meant that she wanted to explore what might be between them.

Was she ready to move on and think about a date? If she allowed him to stay, this had the makings of more than an accidental meeting.

She decided she was overthinking. “Sure. Rambo appreciates your company.”

“And you?”

“I can tolerate it.”

He grinned at her snark. “How was the rest of your day after we met at the beach?”

“Rather boring. I did some grocery shopping and took Rambo to the dog park. You?”

“I went to the gym and explored a little bit. There are some excellent parks and hiking trails not too far away. Do you hike?”

Memories flashed before her eyes before she answered. “I used to hike often when my husband was alive. Rambo was just a puppy and even crazier than he is now. Not so much lately.”

“Do you think you’d want to? I love to hike and learn more about the area but could use a guide.”

“Maybe.” She didn’t want to make a commitment she couldn’t keep.

“This is the perfect time of year with the foliage and the cooler temps,” he pressed. “You should take at least one trek in the woods.”

Author Bio:

Dakota Star lives in Connecticut with her husband and two daughters. Both her daughters have finished college and moved away so her dogs, cats, and retired horse now keep her busy. When not outside hiking or horseback riding, she loves to read and travel.

She has worked as an editor, a freelance writer for local newspapers, and an educator at local environmental non-profits like aquariums and The National Audubon Society.

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