Spotlight: Finding the End Zone by Tam DeRudder Jackson

Publication date: November 8th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Never date a player.

Football god Callahan O’Reilly can keep his blazing blue eyes to himself. I have a scholarship to maintain, and I do not have time to babysit a jock through a make-or-break class project. Even if one smoldering glance from him sets my panties on fire.

Time to change her mind.

Jamaica Winslow opens her mouth and spews sass like a volcano. One look at her uptight package and I want to coax the genie from the bottle, unleash all the passion she hides beneath a mop of unruly curls and a smart-ass attitude. She’s not my type, she doesn’t know one damn thing about the game that rules my life, and I can’t stop thinking about her.

Who said anything about love?

Jamaica does her best to keep me at arm’s length, but I’m not a pro prospect because I let the plays come to me. With the game on the line, I always want the ball. When an alum with deep pockets and delusions of grandeur makes demands that threaten my NFL chances and Jamaica’s scholarship, I have no choice but to man up and do the right thing no matter the cost.

It started as fun and games. Now I’m playing for her heart—and my own.

Game Time.

Excerpt

Callahan

In football, timing is everything. When the quarterback does a three-step drop and throws a slant, the receiver needs to shed the defender and hustle his ass to the center of the field to catch the throw that’s coming about two seconds after the center hikes the ball.

The other night, the timing had started moving in the right direction with Jamaica. Then Finn and that bunch of jersey chasers he lets hang around him showed up and blew up the play. Or maybe it was only the one jersey chaser who was the problem. She didn’t react much until Tory opened her whiney mouth.

Usually, I catch Jamaica sneaking peeks at me several times during the hour we’re in class together. I won’t lie, catching her looking at me makes my pickle puffy, as my buddy Wyatt Baxter likes to say. Yesterday in class, I didn’t catch her glancing my way even once. Didn’t take a genius to figure out she thinks I have something going with that spoiled little sorority chick—and she’s not impressed. Right when I dispel one of her stereotypes about me as a football player, something comes along to reinforce a different one. In this case, that football players only date jersey chasers.

I shoved my gear into my over-sized duffel bag, slung it over my shoulder, and headed out of the locker room. As I made my way up the tunnel to the exit into the parking lot, Finn fell into step beside me.

“Hey, what put that Debbie Downer expression on your pretty-boy face, ’Han? You can’t look like that when we’re playing the Trojans this weekend. We are going to mess. Them. Up.” A joyful laugh accompanied his words as he punctuated them with three not-so-easy punches to my shoulder.

“Dude, do you get any school work done when you ‘study’ in the library with that pack of freshman and sophomore hyenas you let hang around?”

We stepped out the doors of the sports complex and headed across the parking lot to the bus.

“Wait, is that what’s bugging you?” A feral grin slid over his features. “It’s that curly-haired hottie you were with. Now that I think about it, you were sitting with her in the library one night last week too.”

“Knock it off, Finn. She’s my partner for my lit class project.” I slung my bag into the compartment in the undercarriage of the bus, resituated my backpack over my shoulder, and headed for the doors.

“You won’t mind then if I make a run at her the next time you’re studying with her in the library.” He tossed his duffel in beside mine and followed me onto the bus. “What’s her name?”

“Don’t even think about it, asshole.”

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Tam DeRudder Jackson's love of all things Celtic led her to write the Talisman Series. Steeped in Celtic mythology, these steamy, fated mates, paranormal romance adventures are set in the mountains of Tam’s native Montana and the Highlands of Scotland. Rogue, the most recent book in the series, was named a best romance of 2022 by the Independent Book Review.

An avid fan of rock music, Tam never misses a chance to see a live show, especially if it’s Shinedown, one of her favorite bands. Her love of rock music inspired her contemporary rock star Balefire Series, a sexy fun ride following the lives and loves of the members of a fictional mega-band. Readers of this series consistently give the books five-star reviews.

Tam earned her BA in English from Montana State University and her M.Ed. in literacy from Lesley University. After a short teaching stint in Bath, England, she settled in the wilds of Wyoming where she taught adolescents all about the Celts and a bit about writing before she stepped out of the classroom to pursue her writing career full time. 

When she’s not writing, you can find her working her way through her mountainous TBR piles, alpine skiing, or traveling to some new place on her ever-expanding bucket list. To stay up to date on her adventures, connect with Tam on her website www.tamderudderjackson where you can subscribe to her newsletter.

Connect:
https://tamderudderjackson.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tamstales32/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063744570934
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19849371.Tam_DeRudder_Jackson

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Death in Dutch Harbor by D. MacNeill Parker

When two murders strain the police force of a remote Alaskan fishing port, veterinarian Maureen McMurtry is tapped by Dutch Harbor’s police chief for forensic assistance. The doctor’s got a past she’d rather not discuss, a gun in her closet, and a retired police dog that hasn’t lost her chops. All come in handy as she deciphers the cause and time of death of a local drug addict washed ashore with dead sea lions and an environmentalist found in a crab pot hauled from the sea in the net of a fishing vessel. 

When her romantic relationship with a boat captain is swamped by mounting evidence that he’s the prime suspect in one of the murders, McMurtry struggles with her own doubts to prove his innocence. But can she? McMurtry’s pals, a manager of the Bering Sea crab fishery and another who tends Alaska’s most dangerous bar assist in unraveling the sinister truth.

Excerpt

By the time Police Chief St. George and his two deputies, Chet and Michele, drove out the gravel road and located them on the beach, the two women had thoroughly examined both sea lions.

Maureen held up the lead slug she’d extracted and offered it to the chief. “I found bullet wounds in both the animals. Looks like it might be a .30-06.”

The chief wore a bulky police parka over jeans. He held out a gloved hand.

She dropped the bullet in his palm and watched him roll it around there.

“Yeah, looks like a .30-06 or maybe a .308. Bag it,” he said, passing it to Chet “And get the GPS readings on the carcass locations before we move them.”

“So, you know something about ballistics?” he said, turning again to Maureen.

“Brothers,” she said. “Dad took us deer hunting.”

“Really?”

Maureen could tell the chief was still trying to size her up. “Nothing worth talking about,” she said, knowing it was nothing she wanted to talk about.

Michele was already down the beach taking photographs of the other corpse. They could see the camera’s flash pop in clusters.

The chief turned back to Maureen, his eyes getting a bead on her from beneath a wide-brimmed western hat. . His mouth was pressed shut. Maureen had learned that meant he was thinking and wanted to get it right before he spoke.

“I’d like you to remove all the bullets and give me an estimate on time of death.” He hadn’t asked her to take a scalpel to anything before, so the query was measured. Sure, she was a vet but the question came anyway. “Can you do it, Maureen?”

The city council had hired Ray St. George as its police chief five months earlier. Like most remote Alaskan communities, the town didn’t have a medical examiner. And unless the community was lucky enough to have an appointed coroner to determine cause of death, the state police expected all evidence, including unexamined corpses, to be sent to Anchorage for forensic analysis. Dutch Harbor didn’t have a coroner, and its lone doctor worked at the hectic clinic. Chief St George had learned quickly that once state police took possession of a body, they also took possession of the investigation, often leaving the local police out of the loop. To Ray St. George, a retired Army investigator, this protocol was unacceptable.

“Can you do it?” he asked again, watching her kneeling in the sand to get her medical kit back in order.

Looking up, she stated the obvious. “The cause of death seems pretty clear, Chief.”

The chief waved it off. “I know these are sea lions, but it’s still a  crime I won’t tolerate. I want to know how many shooters were involved. To do that, I need to know if the bullets were fired from the same or multiple weapons. And I can’t begin to investigate properly without knowing if it happened this morning or last week.”

“Well, not this morning.” She lifted the flipper again and let it drop. “They’ve already passed through rigor.”

Maureen closed the kit, stood up, and hung it over her shoulder. “They’re gonna want to do their own necropsies,” she said, nodding down the beach where Kate still knelt, taking notes by the other corpse.

The chief had three inches on Maureen, making him about six feet tall. His face was clean shaven and his graying hair clipped short. His posture made you want to stand up straighter. She could tell by his expectant face that he was waiting for the wheels to turn in her head.

“Let me think about it,” she said.

Chet stood over the corpse, entering its GPS location in his notebook. He looked over at the chief. “What now?” he asked.

 The sea edged closer, and the surf shot foam their way. The chief pointed toward the tideline. “Look for shell casings,” he said. “And there may be more animals washed up on the beach. I want to collect as much as we can before the tide takes it away.”

Chet, young and with a gait that showed he was eager to please, pulled a yellow tide book from his pocket. “High tide’s in less than two hours. We could lose them.”

 “Don’t worry, Chet, we’ll figure it out.”

Michele offered to call the Northward plant and ask that they send out a flatbed truck to pick up the sea lions. An Aleut native, she’d served as the senior deputy for three years. Among her many duties, she penned the police log. Its droll language made it the favorite section of the town’s weekly paper, The Dutch Harbor News. She’d already keyed in the fish plant’s number and looked to the chief..

 “Ask them to send one with a crane,” he said.

Maureen joined Kate, who’d begun to walk the tide line again. They were almost to the river when their roving flashlight beams landed on another mound of seaweed. Kicking away clumps of kelp, a hideous odor rose to scorch their nostrils.

Half buried in the sand lay a sneaker attached to a white foot. It lay turned away from a twisted leg, its bruised skin exposed like a warning. Maureen knelt beside it and began to strip away the seaweed until she uncovered a shoulder. Following its sloping angle, she found strings of long hair that clung to a scalp like seaweed to a rock. The turned head revealed the nose ridge of a man.

Kate moved the flashlight beam to where the nose met the sand. The beam faltered, quaking as if the earth moved beneath it. But it was Kate, unable to quell her shaking hand.

Maureen  hollered down the beach. “Chief, over here. Hurry!”

Their flashlights bobbing, the chief, Chet, and Michele loped their way to the spot where Maureen and Kate shined their lights. The chief knelt down. He reached for the man’s shoulder and rolled him over.

Looking up was someone they all recognized.

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

D. MacNeill Parker and her family are long time participants in the Alaska fishing industry. In addition to fishing for halibut, salmon, crab, and cod, she’s been a journalist, a fisheries specialist for the State of Alaska, and a seafood company executive. She’s travelled to most ports in Alaska, trekked mountains in the Chugach range, rafted the Chulitna River, worked in hunting camps, and survived a boat that went down off the coast of Kodiak. Parker’s been to Dutch Harbor many times experiencing her share of white knuckler airplane landings and beer at the Elbow Room, famed as Alaska’s most dangerous bar. While the characters in this book leapt from her imagination, they thrive in this authentic setting. She loves Alaska, the sea, a good yarn and her amazing family.

Connect:

Website: https://www.dmparkerauthor.com/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: The Beginning by Mystee Ryann

(Felon Love Series, #1)
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Sometimes your past, no matter how far you think you’ve come from it, can destroy your future and the future of the one you love. Norah was a workaholic and had been alone for 8 years when she was fixed up with her friend’s son. Little did she know, soon she’d fall for the quick-tempered bad boy with a prison history. Stress, heartbreak, turmoil, loyalty, love, guilt, corruption, and more lead this story through ups and downs – good girl to ruined reputation, drugs, alcohol, sex, lies

About the Author

After 14 years of book and product reviews, I have finally got my own books in the works.

Connect:

https://www.instagram.com/amomentwithmystee/

https://www.tiktok.com/@amomentwithmystee

https://amomentwithmystee.blogspot.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20288125.Mystee_Ryann

Spotlight: Wicked Knight by Diana A. Hicks

(Knight Duet, #2)

Publication date: November 7th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Maxim Belov is Papa’s favorite son.

Like his father, Maxim is ruthless and always gets what he wants. He wants me.

He doesn’t even care that our families are mortal enemies,

or that I’ve never seen his face.

Because of him, I’m forced into a marriage with a stranger.

On our wedding night, when I finally come face to face with my worst enemy, my entire life is turned upside down.

Authors Note: Wicked Knight is book two in the Knight Duet, set in The Society World. And it’s best enjoyed if you read book one first.

Exclusive First Look! 🐝

“You’re bleeding, Maxim. Let me look.” Anatoli gestured for Maxim to sit.

Maxim raised his hand and stopped him in his tracks. “No. Let my wife tend to my wounds.”

“Ooo-kay.” Anatoli looked as confused as I was.

“Leave us.” Maxim braced his good arm on his knees and released a breath.

“Everything you need is in the bathroom,” Anatoli said to me then turned to leave. He paused when he spotted the unhinged door. “I’ll get someone to fix that.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at him.

The wife in me wanted to tell my husband to go to hell. But the doctor in me was already thinking of all the things that could go wrong if I didn’t check on Maxim. He was tired because his body was working overtime, trying to heal itself. But also, because he just cracked open a heavy wooden door with his foot.

Cursing under my breath, I strode to the bathroom and got all the essentials to wash out his wounds. When I returned, Maxim hadn’t moved an inch.

“We should rinse your wounds twice a day, then cover them. They’ll heal faster that way.” I approached him tentatively, the way one would do with a wild animal because that was exactly what he was. My gaze swept from the splint and stained gauze to the blood seeping through his white dress shirt in two different places. “I need to take a look first.”

He nodded. With a sigh, he undid all the buttons, then sat back to let me help him with it. I pulled the fabric up then pushed it over his shoulders. The soft hair on his chest bristled the skin on my arms and chest. To my surprise, the gentle exchange eased my nerves.

“Getting out of bed today was a bad idea.” I picked at the gauze and removed it.

“I had things to attend to.”

“Right. You had that illegal wedding to go to.” I shot back.

“Yes.” He chuckled. “I did.”

“This shouldn’t hurt. It’s just water.” I squeezed the squirt bottle and rinsed his entire shoulder.

Even if fear wasn’t a big part of the equation anymore, I still couldn’t get myself to look at him. Not even when he cocked his head to look at me. His hot breath left a warm trail that ran from my cheek all the way down to my hip. He gripped his thigh with long fingers as his inspection of me continued.

“Little late for that, don’t you think?” I sneered.

“What’s that?”

“Buyer’s remorse.”

“I didn’t pay for you.” He took a lock of my hair. “Your hair is shorter.”

“I cut it after…” I’d cut it shortly after Luca left, but Maxim didn’t need to know that. I swallowed and bit my tongue for offering him intimate details of my life. “You were spying on me.”

“Not for long.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Your scent reminds me of something. But I can’t remember what?”

“Probably your dungeon. I’ve showered six times since I left and I can’t seem to scrub the stench off me.” I shuffled back. “I need you to get up to get the other two sutures.”

Slowly, as if he were trying not to scream in pain, he rose to his feet. When I stepped into his circle, he bent down to whisper in my ear, “You smell fine to me.”

The jittery energy intensified and magnified my senses. I could feel the air between us shifting, his breath on my neck, and the sandalwood scent on his skin. Though I kept my head down, I could feel his eyes on me, regarding me with curiosity. He was the wounded one. But he watched me so intently, it reminded me of a predator spying on his prey.

“Stop messing with your splint. Or your nose will not heal properly.” I pointed at the blood fingerprints on it.

“It itches.” He grunted. “How long before I can take it off.”

“How long has it been. It usually takes about two weeks.” I squirted his side.

He flinched, reaching for my wrist. I froze, keeping my gaze on the stitches and the blood running down his side. And because my brain hates me, I thought of our impending wedding night. Though by now, I was sure that would not happen today. The man could barely move without wincing. As formidable as he was, and though he acted like a beast, he was still human.

His fingers slid up my arm. “This one hurts the most.”

“I bet. There was a lot of debris to clear out. I had to dig deep.” I freed my hand. “It is healing fine. I can give you something for the pain.”

“Fuck.” He made to touch his wound then stuffed his hand in the pocket of his trousers. “I don’t know if I should risk taking more drugs from you. Will you poison me this time?”

In his defense, I had considered the option. “Not tonight.”

He scoffed. “If Anatoli hadn’t come to his senses, I’d still be unconscious.”

So Anatoli was the one who foiled our plans. Coward. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shrugged. “Maybe you too will come to your senses soon.”

I strode to the bathroom and rummaged through the medical kit Anatoli had left for me. I went through a bunch of bottles until I found a strong pain killer. Something to knock Maxim out for the night. And every night after that, until I found a way out of this place.

“For the pain.” I offered him two pills and a glass of water.

“Am I so ugly, you can’t even look at me?” He took the meds and knocked them back. “My senses are fine, by the way.”

“Right. Because kidnapping a woman for revenge is the epitome of mental health.” I turned to leave.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me toward him. “You have no idea what your family is capable of.”

“You’re wrong. I know exactly what they can do.” I jerked to free myself, but he held me tighter. I was no match for his strength. I exhaled. “One day my love will find me. He will make sure you pay.”

“Your love?” He let out a dark chuckle.

“Yes.” I panted a breath. “And when he does, he will chop you up and feed you to your dogs.”

“He sounds violent.”

Luca was an erudite, a distinguished professor despite all my efforts to corrupt him. He wasn’t a brute like Maxim, punching his way through doors. But regardless of their extreme opposites, Luca would find a way to save me. I knew he would. I just had to hang on a little longer.

“He will come for me. You can be sure of that.”

“The only thing I can be sure of, princess, is that it’s time for bed. And since Prince Charming isn’t here, I guess I would have to do.”

🔥 Don't Forget to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for a chance to win an Early copy of Wicked Knight, Book #2!

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Diana A. Hicks is an award-winning author of steamy romantic suspense and science-fiction romance.

When Diana is not writing, she enjoys hot yoga, kickboxing, traveling, and indulging in the simple joys of life like wine and chocolate. She lives in Atlanta and loves spending time with her two children and husband. Connect with Diana on social media to stay up to date on her latest releases.

Connect:

https://www.tiktok.com/@dianahicksauthor
https://amzn.to/3vY39WD
https://www.instagram.com/dianahicksauthor
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/diana-a-hicks
https://www.facebook.com/DianaHicksAuthor/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DianaSexyReaders/
https://twitter.com/diana_hicks
https://dianaahicks.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17596254.Diana_A_Hicks

Spotlight: Road to Ruin by Piper Davenport

Publication date: October 24th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

18+ for language and sexual situations…

Daisy Carver

Who knew that a wardrobe malfunction would change the trajectory of my life? My father is the VP of the Dogs of Fire MC and I’d grown up believing that I was destined to fall in love and marry a biker of my very own, but a pair of patent leather pants and a broken zipper changed all that.

Huck Wilton

I was a starting rookie for the Hurricanes, but my NHL career ended before it even had a chance to begin. Now I’m back home, licking my wounds, and trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do with my life.

But then my sister’s sexy neighbor walked into my life and I had to peel her out of her pants… literally… and I now know exactly what my destiny is. I’m just not sure if it’ll lead to my ruin.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Piper Davenport writes from a place of passion and intrigue, combining elements of romance and suspense with strong modern-day heroes and heroines. 

She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her author husband, Jack Davenport, and an obnoxious YorkiePoo named Pepper who may or may not be an international spy.

Connect:

https://www.facebook.com/piperdavenport

https://emailjackson.wixsite.com/piperdavenport/

https://www.instagram.com/piperdavenportauthor/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4181099.Piper_Davenport

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Fall in Kentbury in Kentbury by Claudia Burgoa

Release Date November 10

USA Today bestselling author Claudia Burgoa invites you back to the small town of Kentbury with this swoony novella where frenemies become more, and the failed one-night stand might fall for more than the season.

Everything is falling apart.

I just got fired—by my father.

My boyfriend decided I wasn’t good enough—during my Grandma’s funeral.

That hot guy I met at the bar—I didn’t get one kiss from him.

All I have left is to start a new life.

But before I embark into the unknown, I head to Kentbury.

Someone has to warn my paternal grandmother that her son wants to leave her destitute.

And who do I find instead?

Tall, hot, and delicious Bishop Harris.

My failed one-night stand.

He’s trying to run me out of town.

But between the autumn festivals, apple picking, and hard cider, things get a lot more interesting

I go from trying to avoid the small town to wondering if I can spend more than Fall in Kentbury.

Buy on Amazon | Audible

About the Author

Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. 

She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breaths away. Her books are the perfect blend of steamy and heartfelt, filled with emotional characters and explosive chemistry. Her writing takes readers to new heights, providing a variety of tears, laughs, and shocking moments that leave fans on the edge of their seats.

She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, her youngest two children, and three fluffy dogs.

When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At nights, she likes to binge watch shows or movies with her equally geeky husband.

Keep up with Claudia Burgoa and subscribe to her newsletter: https://bit.ly/NwsletterCB%20%20

To learn more about Claudia Burgoa & her books, visit here!

Connect with Claudia Burgoa: https://claudiayburgoa.com/wp/contact/