Spotlight: Half Moon Whim by Erin Brockus

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(Half Moon Bay, #5)

Publication date: September 30th 2022

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Sara and Jack… Will her searing flame scorch him to the bone?

Sara Collins never wanted to put down roots. When her sister offers her a job at the sunny Caribbean scuba diving resort she owns, Sara jumps at the chance to manage her own spa. Even if it means interacting with the divemaster who humiliated her.

Jack Powell is finding out his dream life is more challenging than expected. Especially after his boss’s sister moves to town—they don’t exactly get along. He tries to avoid the situation, which is difficult when he can’t stop thinking about her.

Throw in a handsome, successful developer who offers Sara everything she ever dreamed of, and she finds St. Croix might be exactly what she’s always wanted. But which man holds the key to her heart and her greatest dream?

Half Moon Whim is a standalone, sensual beach romance. This curvy girl, enemies-to-lovers novel is Book 5 of the Half Moon Bay series, and is the springboard into the next phase of this captivating series. Dive in today!

Excerpt

Sara Collins climbed onto the pier, the wooden slats creaking pleasantly under her feet. Though Half Moon Bay was primarily a scuba diving resort, Sara’s sister Hope had opened a spa recently. She’d spoken with the new massage therapist, Selena Allen, several times prior to the wedding, and immediately bonded with her enthusiastic personality, especially since the spa was Sara’s kind of place. 

Halfway down the pier, she passed through a tunnel of buildings and made her way past the dive shop to a long staircase at the north end. A covered deck with an incredible St. Croix ocean view dominated the area at the top of the stairs and served as the outdoor massage area. Next to the glass entrance door, a wooden wall formed a privacy screen, and a second, more nondescript door led to a restroom. Sara entered the clean, brightly lit spa, where Selena stood behind the glass check-in counter, refilling a small bottle with massage oil. The warm scent of sandalwood filled the air.

The massage therapist glanced up at the door’s opening, her dark face bursting into a wide smile at Sara’s entry. She was a trim, small woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a light-blue staff polo shirt. 

What I wouldn’t give to have her small, petite frame... Lucky girl.

Sara made an effort to dress well and appear professionally styled and made-up, partly to compensate for her voluptuous and curvy figure. No manner of diet or exercise had ever changed that and now, at age thirty-three, she was resigned to her fate. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t self-conscious about it

“Sara! You stayin’ a few more days?”

“No, I’m flying out this evening. Hope’s working, so I thought I’d come up here.” Her gaze took in the mani-pedi station along one wall, with a full stylist area in the corner. Like a magnet, she was drawn toward the hair salon. Several windows let in plenty of light. “You have a massage scheduled?”

Selena finished filling the bottle, shaking her head. “Not till tomorrow. I’m just gettin’ ready.”

Sara ran a hand over the back of the stylist chair where she had cut Hope’s hair and given her a deep-conditioning treatment the day prior to the wedding. They had chatted throughout, almost like old times. Immediately afterward, they had met the rest of the wedding party on the resort dive boat, Surface Interval.

Heat crept up Sara’s neck as she tried to push away the memory of what had happened next. The resort’s newest employee, the divemaster Jack, had tripped and dumped an enormous bucket of water over her head, drenching her from head to foot. In front of everyone. She’d been mortified and embarrassed but determined not to show it.

 As Sara passed by a window next to the stylist station, movement at the end of the pier caught her eye. A gleaming white boat was tied up and the group of divers was already headed away. “There’s good sound insulation in here. I didn’t even hear the boat come in.”

“They did a great job on the construction. It always stays nice and cool in here, too.”

Sara turned toward the front door. “I’d better get going. Hope said she’d be finished about lunch time.” The two women said their goodbyes, then Sara opened the door, turning left to descend the stairs.

And collided right into a warm body, smashing her nose into a shoulder. “Oof!” Wincing, she rubbed it as she staggered back. She was preparing to apologize as she looked up into a pair of huge, gorgeous brown eyes that widened in recognition.

Unfortunately, the eyes belonged to Jack. The horrible divemaster.

Her chagrin instantly erupted into fury, and she dropped her hand from her face. “Goddammit, watch where you’re going. Pouring water over me wasn’t enough? You have to break my nose too?”

Jack’s face flushed crimson as he took a big step back, holding up both hands. “I’m sorry! I need to use the restroom and wasn’t watching where I was going.”

He was of average height, but at five feet three, she still had to look up at him. He spoke with a very slight twang. Texas? “Yeah. No kidding. You really need to stay the hell away from me, understand?”

His obvious embarrassment was replaced by a flash of anger that he quickly covered, raking a hand through his short, dark-brown hair. He had a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones, and really was rather good looking.

Too bad it’s all wasted on him.

“Look, I’m not doing it on purpose. Lighten up, princess.”

Clenching her jaw tightly, Sara drew herself as tall as she could. “No. I won’t. But fortunately for both of us, I’m leaving later today.” She breezed around him toward the staircase. “Have a nice life, Jack.”

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About the Author

​Dive into a romantic escape!

Erin Brockus writes sensual contemporary romances set in exotic, tropical locales. Her books provide the perfect beachy escape from everyday life, and she features mature, relatable characters you actually enjoy getting to know. Count on plenty of adventure with a focus on the ocean, especially scuba diving.

Two of her greatest passions are scuba diving and travel, which combined to form the inspiration for her characters and stories. Sipping a cocktail on the beach after a morning of diving is her idea of the perfect day. Erin has even been known to pull on a drysuit and explore the cold, murky waters of the Pacific Northwest. She is also an avid runner and cyclist.

Erin lives with her husband (a scuba instructor) in the middle of Washington wine country. She is currently at work on the next Half Moon Bay installment.

Connect:

https://www.erinbrockus.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ErinCBrockus/

https://www.amazon.com/Erin-Brockus/e/B08JJL9YPL

https://www.instagram.com/erinbrockusauthor/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/erin-brockus

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20764876.Erin_Brockus

Spotlight: Green House Haunting by Olivia York

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Publication date: September 29th 2022
Genres: Mystery, New Adult, Supernatural, Suspense

A terrible tragedy dead and buried. Can a young woman dig up the haunted truth without falling into madness?

Andy Watts needs a break. So when the struggling journalist is asked to revisit a fifty-year-old mystery, she jumps at the chance to move into an abandoned house and honor her long-gone mom by becoming a respected reporter. But she’s shocked when she discovers not only did a polio-stricken boy disappear from within its rooms, but his mother took a fatal tumble down the stairs.

Stonewalled by the locals and unnerved by unexplained events in the eerie home, Andy fears the town would rather bury evidence than admit one of their own could commit murder. And with the ghostly image of a youngster in leg braces persisting, she’s terrified by hints that the awful answer is calling from beyond the grave.

Can Andy deliver justice for the voiceless before she becomes the next victim?

Excerpt

Green house stood solemnly in a noiseless field of overgrown vegetation. The dim rays of daylight disappeared in the distance beyond, darkening the front while sharpening the jagged exterior outline with a looming violet glow. It rose above the ground, perhaps two floors high, but a lack of windows at the top told Andy it may not have an attic to speak of.

The house drew her closer. The windows appeared somewhat new, the lining freshly painted white. It contrasted the worn, splintered wood on the verge of collapsing from the weight of a perched bird. At the base of the sagging stoop was the frame of a crumbling, rusted bicycle, rendered useless by the rain and condensation.

Andy climbed the front steps. Two, three, four steps upward, each one creaking an undecipherable note of an ominous melody. An unraveling front door mat read “Home” in tattered, fading letters.

This isn’t so bad.

Andy winced, unable to swallow her own lie. Quickly, she found the key in the envelope before she could change her mind and turn back. The shiny silver looked brand new compared to the decrepit bronze lock on the door. Studying the door closer, she spotted the new keyhole. A stern-looking deadbolt glinting a couple of inches above what must have been the original lock.

She pushed the door open, and the weight dragged it all the way open to gently bounce off the interior wall. Andy peered inside, but her feet stayed glued to the mat outside the door. The interior contents were fuzzy in the fading light, yet she could spot the three glinting hooks on the wall for sweaters and hats. A little deeper inside was one wing of the house, and to the right was another. In the center was a semi-carpeted staircase leading upstairs, where what followed remained unseen around the corner.

There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the home. She was no expert on houses made in the ’30s and ’40s, but it looked about how she’d expect. The ceilings were low, and the wooden floor was dull. However, Andy couldn’t help but feel something was different. That there was something in plain sight she couldn’t see. She stood motionless at the door, searching for what she thought was missing. The house stood, too, waiting patiently.

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About the Author

Olivia York writes supernatural suspense novels with family drama woven throughout (and hints of mystery). After a stint working for a local news station as reporter/anchor in the Midwest, she decided to make the switch to her imaginative side and write.

She is a lover of cats, road trips, and visiting old fashioned candy shops along the coast. Olivia lives with her husband and two cats, who are kind enough to humor her love of paranormal TV shows and never-ending collection of horror films.

Sign up for Olivia York’s Newsletter to find out about new releases, updates, cover reveals, and more!

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22660124.Olivia_York

Cover Reveal: ClickMate by Tia Kelly

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Publication date: January 24th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

After a public and very messy divorce nearly drained his bank account, Cole Howard is too focused on trying to save his basketball career to even think about shooting his shot outside of the arena, especially with women like his uptight neighbor, Bella Barnes. Despite being beautiful and intelligent, she’s no stranger to drama, one thing he’s desperate to avoid.

His only escape is an online culinary covert persona he uses to share his passion for all things food with a stranger who’s only interested in what he can do in the kitchen and not on the court.

After having a problematic entanglement with a very famous and still married celebrity aired out on a nationally syndicated radio show, being unceremoniously fired, and moving in with her sister, Bellamy Barnes is too focused on trying to get her life back together to even think about getting herself entangled with another emotionally unavailable man. This especially includes men like her sister’s annoying neighbor, Cole Howard.

Despite being gorgeous and charming– though she wishes he would stop calling her Bella because he knows she hates it—he’s exactly the kind of rich, thinks-he’s-God’s-gift to women player (on and off the court) she’d spent her entire life avoiding.

Her only refuge is visually indulging in the culinary masterpieces cooked up by her online crush and confidante.

Cole and Bellamy have sworn off love IRL but on Beyoncé’s internet, cupid plays by a different set of rules.

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About the Author

Tia Kelly is the author of contemporary and women's fiction. She is known for her candid way of capturing life, love and relationships… one story at a time.

Connect:

https://www.tiawithapen.com/

https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/l0c3r1

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6906106.Tia_Kelly

Spotlight: Whispers in the Waters by Sarah Chislon

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Publication date: September 27th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery

Ladies don’t shame their families.

Ladies don’t confront Otherwordly threats.

Ladies certainly don’t admit some taint of the fae has touched their souls—unless they wish to find themselves confined to an Institution.

Gently-bred herbalist Jessa Caldwell is trying to be a lady. She conceals her true nature amongst her plants and her sketches—where she can almost shut out the whispers she alone hears. But a threat to her beloved aunt forces her from the comfort of home to a town perilously near an Otherworldly Crossing, with its ever-present risk of fae incursions.

To protect her aunt and the townsfolk she comes to care for, she must uncover the individual responsible for a series of increasingly dangerous attacks—but to find this saboteur will require embracing the part of herself she fears most, an act that could cost her dearly. In a world where Vigilists lock up fae-touched mortals, Jessa must decide if she’s willing to risk exposing her true nature to obtain the truth and protect those she loves.

Whispers in the Waters, a gaslamp fantasy novella, serves as the prequel to Tattoo of Crimson, the first book in the Blood of the Fae series. If you like quick-minded heroines who solve cases with logic and intuition, Otherworldly intrigues, and beautiful yet deadly fae, then you’ll love this mystery set in a world of manners and mythical monsters.

Excerpt

I rounded a bend, and the slight woman I’d seen in the stratesman’s shadow when we’d arrived in Milburn stumbled down the lane, her gown of muslin streaked with dirt and littered with forest debris. She clutched a ragged silk shawl around her shoulders, as though it could shield her from notice. 

Nelda, Mrs. Wilkins had called her. Her palm dripped blood, and tears streaked her cheeks. For a moment, I remained rooted in place. If the townsfolk were to be believed, Nelda had brought a vengeful attack against Melle and her family. But the downcast lines of her body spoke of brokenness and distress, not malice. 

“Nelda?” I hoped she wouldn’t take offense at the use of her given name from a stranger. I hurried forward. “You’re hurt. What happened?”

“I . . . I don’t know.” Nelda lifted her hand and watched as blood wept from it, one drop after another splatting against the dusty surface of the road. The wound cut deep.

Could Mrs. Wilkins have been right when she’d suggested madness? I shifted the bundle of clothes from one arm to the other. “Can I accompany you home and find someone to tend your injury?” 

She laughed, a wild, off-key sound. “Home? I have no home.”

“Then where are you staying?” I lowered my voice in an attempt to soothe her. “I’ll help you there and fetch an herbalist, if it suits you.”

“Staying? No one will house me. Not after what’s happened at the mill.” She jabbed toward the trees with her uninjured hand. “I stay in the forest. At least here, I’m close. Close to where home used to be.”

I drew in a sharp breath. To live in the forest, this close to a Crossing? It was unthinkable. Otherkind might lurk anywhere, not to mention natural predators. Had the entire town truly forsaken her, simply because she’d wed the wrong man and he’d abandoned her? Or was there more that I missed? Society offered swift condemnation for those who failed to abide by its strictures, but other than a poor choice in a husband, what wrong had she done?

She swayed, and I rushed to steady her. “You can’t stay out here. You need proper shelter and someone to look at your wound. Come with me into Milburn, and we’ll find an herbalist.”

“No, I can’t.” She backed away, every scrap of color leeching from already-pale features. “No one here wants to help. They’d only try to lock me up!” 

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About the Author

Sarah Chislon lives in Virginia with her husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing, she’s homeschooling her children and running a web development business with her husband. As an avid reader and a lifelong story-weaver, she delights in creating fantastic worlds and exploring them alongside her characters.

To find out more about her, visit sarahchislon.com.

Connect:

https://sarahchislon.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sarahchislon/

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https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22625938.Sarah_Chislon

Spotlight: Silent Chaos by Nikki Ash

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Release Date: September 29

From USA Today Bestselling author Nikki Ash comes a hate to lovers, second chance, rock star romance.

Braxton

Our senior year, I promised my girl forever. 
Forever, as it turned out, wasn't enough. She told me so in her actions. When she took a match to my life, burning it to ash. 
I headed to LA with my band—Raging Chaos—like we always planned, while Kaylee went to college, taking my damaged heart with her. 
This was where our story was supposed to end. 
Only six years later, our lives collide again.
Kaylee is the only thing I ever loved more than music, and I wish I could hate her for it, but the line between love and hate is thin, and often straddled.
And the thing about collisions? They result in deadly debris. 

Kaylee
When you love someone, you let them go. But what I did was so much worse. 
Because instead of pushing him away, I shoved Braxton straight over the edge.
I’ve spent the past several years avoiding him, trying to make things right.
When my reputation has been dragged through the mud, and I’m given the opportunity to clean it up, I have no choice but to cross paths with him again.
Being around Braxton is a harsh reminder of the way I lit his life up in flames, but I'm not sure he knows I've been burned, too. 
If suffering in silence is the cost, I'll pay the price to make things right. 
I just hope our history won’t play on repeat and he’ll see me as more than the stupid girl with the lit match. 

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Like real life, the characters are far from perfect, make morally gray decisions, and deal with subjects that may be sensitive for some readers. If you are looking for a safe romance, this series is not for you. Trigger warnings (which contain spoilers) can be found on my website.

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About the Author

FIGHTING FOR YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER…

Nikki Ash resides in South Florida where she is an English teacher and mom by day and a writer by night. When she’s not writing, you can find her with a book in her hand. From the Boxcar Children to Wuthering Heights to the latest Single Parent Romance, she has lived and breathed every type of book.

Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out. – Pam Allyn

While reading and writing are her passions, her two children are her entire world. You can probably find them at a Disney park before you would find them at home on the weekends!

Connect with Nikki Ash:

https://authornikkiash.com/connect-with-nikki-ash/ 

Spotlight: In the Shadow of a Queen by Heather B. Moore

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Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction

Publisher: ‎Shadow Mountain Publishing (October 4, 2022)

Based on the True Story of the Free-Spirited Daughter of Queen Victoria.

Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother―the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.

Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.

Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria but finding a match for the princess is no easy feat. Protocols are broken, and Louise exerts her own will as she tries to find an open-minded husband who will support her free spirit.

In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of a battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown’s reputation unsullied no matter the cost.

Excerpt

Papa was not getting better. 

His symptoms had progressed from bad to worse. 

“Gastric fever,” Louise muttered to herself as she turned page after page of Domestic Medicine. She was in the library late in the afternoon. The icy wind outside made it impossible for any outdoor activities. Arthur had asked her to play chess, but Louise couldn’t even bring herself to do that. She’d overheard the cook speaking to Eliza Collins, “Her Majesty told us that the doctor said there is no cause for alarm with gastric fever.” 

Louise turned the page and landed on the description of gastric fever. Symptoms were high fever, headache, stomach pain, blotchy skin, and either constipation or diarrhea. Louise continued to read, her heart thumping harder with each symptom described. 

Her father was seriously ill.

Above the sound of the wind, Louise heard an approaching carriage. She rose to look out the window. Were they to have a dinner guest? Mama had canceled all dinners and social events this past week and had taken meals in her room. 

Alice had attended to Papa when Mama had to handle government business. But Louise and her younger siblings hadn’t been allowed near Papa’s convalescence.

Louise blinked when she saw the man exiting the carriage. She recognized his iron-gray hair and heavy brows immediately. It was George Wellesley, the dean of Windsor, who was Mama’s advisor on church matters. 

Then Louise heard a familiar voice coming from the corridor. She hurried out of the library and saw Wellesley talking to her brother. “Bertie!” she breathed.

She rushed toward him, only slowing when she saw the grave look on both of their faces.

When Wellesley hurried away, she stepped forward, then wrapped her arms about Bertie. “I didn’t know you were coming home so early for Christmas.”

But Bertie wasn’t smiling, and his blue eyes didn’t have their usual twinkle. “I’m not here for Christmas, Loosy. I arrived at three o’clock this morning to see Papa.”

Louise stepped back at that. “Did Mama send for you?”

“Alice telegraphed me,” he said. “I had no idea the seriousness of Papa’s condition until I arrived.”

It was as if Louise’s stomach sank to the floor beneath her. “Is he very bad?”

“When’s the last time you saw him, Loosy?” 

It had been a full week. “We’ve been kept away because of infection. The doctor said he has gastric fever, and there is no cause to worry. So we shall all have a happy Christmas together.”

Bertie’s eyes slid shut, and this scared Louise more than anything. “What is it?” she asked in a small voice.

When her brother opened his eyes again, they were clear. “Gastric fever is another name for typhoid fever. Does Mama not know this?”

Louise stared at her brother. The rock in her stomach turned and turned. Typhoid fever was fatal. No one survived it. Not even Papa’s Coburg cousins, who had been a king and a prince. “Are you sure?” It was a foolish question. She didn’t understand why Mama would be telling everyone that Papa would recover. 

With a small nod, Bertie said, “Alice wouldn’t have telegraphed me it if hadn’t been serious. I’ve disappointed Papa greatly, but I hope he can forgive me before he leaves this life.”

Louise wanted to say of course Papa would forgive his oldest son and that he wasn’t going to truly die. Papa was young—forty-two. People Grandmama’s age died, and that was sad. But not people Papa’s age. Not the husband to the queen of England. Not her own father. 

Bertie grasped her hand and squeezed it. 

Not until he did that did she realize tears had fallen upon her cheeks. 

“I’m sorry, Loosy.” His throat bobbed as if he were trying to hold back his own tears. 

She wiped at her face with her sleeve, not caring about the fabric. “Is Affie coming home too?” 

“He’ll be notified by telegram, then he’ll come.”

Vicky was in Prussia—too far to come if Papa was so very close to the end. And Leo in France was also too far away. 

“Can I see him?” she said in a half whisper.

“Not until Mama gives her permission.”

Louise bit her trembling lip and nodded. The tears were coming faster now, and she hadn’t even fully digested the news from her brother. Just seeing Bertie suddenly at Windsor had been a shock. And now . . . she felt dreadfully ill as her stomach plummeted, her body reacting faster than her mind. 

Bertie draped an arm about her shoulders. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Loosy. No matter what happens, you always have me, all right?”

She nodded because her throat burned too hot to speak. 

“Now, I’m going to sleep for a little bit, then return to the vigil.”

The word vigil should have never been part of her brother’s language that day. Bertie headed along the corridor alone. Louise felt rooted to the floor, stuck between two different times. The time before Bertie came, when she thought Papa was ill. And the time after, when she found out Papa was dying.

A sob hitched in her chest, then burst out of her. She ran. Down another corridor, then around a corner. She didn’t have a destination in mind. All she knew was that she had to move because the weight of the pain filling her limbs was so great, she was sure she’d sink right into the floor like a cannon.

Chapter 5, pages 31-34

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About the Author

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today best-selling and award-winning author of more than seventy publications, including The Paper Daughters of Chinatown. She has lived on both the East and West Coasts of the United States, as well as Hawaii, and attended school abroad at the Cairo American Collage in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. She loves to learn about history and is passionate about historical research.

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