Spotlight: The Dasher by Cindy Kehagiaras

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Publication date: December 18th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Lisa—My business is failing, my father disappeared, my brother is lazy, and my uncle just mansplained me—again. Ben is nothing I want right now, but he might be everything I need.”

Ben—My new brother-in-law, the legendary “Zen Shredder,” is making me launder my karma which is bullshit and interesting. The coolest man on the planet just married my spreadsheet-loving sister and is about to save Tennent Surf Company, making him Lisa Tennent’s hero.

I’m the one who should be her hero, yeah, me, a tattooed ex-con with anger issues. I’ll show her my friendship and loyalty and return her magic.

“The Dasher” is a friends-to-lovers, single father, over 40 romance sequel to “The Perpetual”- with GenX pop culture references and lessons in self-love as we age.

Excerpt

I took a cigarette from my purse and stuck it between my lips, staring at the rain. The water hitting the asphalt was getting louder in my brain. Before I lit the cancer stick, I stepped out from under the overhang and into the downpour. This kind of rain wasn’t common in Southern California. I was compelled to embrace it every time it poured like this. I didn’t give a shit that my hair, makeup, and $700 Gucci sneakers would be ruined. Fat water drops hit the cigarette I had between my lips, reminding me it was there, and I lifted my hand with the lighter.

“Good luck getting that lit,” I heard from behind me and spun to see Benstanding with his hands in the pockets of his baggy shorts—his chain wallet swinging, and his arm tattoos on full display.

I wasn’t sure how long I stood there staring at him.

In an act of defiance for him and mother nature, I flicked the metal of the lighter several times. Then threw the damn thing, followed by the cigarette.

“Let me ask you something.” He had to shout over the rain, but his tone was calm.

That pissed me off. I was standing in a rainstorm. Soaked from head to toe, I tried to light a cigarette. How in the fucking hell was I qualified to answer any question right now? I hadn’t even taken a breath yet.

“Is it about the money? Or is it a fuck you to your old man to prove him wrong about you? Or to fix something that you think is broken?” he asked.

I had to blink to keep the water from getting in my eyes that was now dripping from my forehead.

“That’s three questions.” I shook my head. “Why are you even out here?

What do you care about any of this? Who the fuck are you, Ben?”

He stepped closer. “Now you asked me three questions.”

God, he was impossible. What did he think would happen, some romance movie moment in the rain where I jumped into his arms, and we lived happily ever after getting matching tattoos and motorcycles?

In my silence, he answered one of my questions: “I’m Billy-fucking-Joel.”

My heart clenched then fell into my stomach. He knew. Of course, he knew what I’d thought last night when Jason described “Uptown Girl” as a man falling in love with a woman out of his world and how it had changed him. Was Ben in love with me? I didn’t expect him to change for me. He shouldn’t even like me or, God forbid, love me. I wasn’t worthy.

“I don’t need this shit right now,” I shouted at him.

“Answer my question, Lisa.”

I wiped the rain from my eyes. “Which one?”

“Is it about the money?”

“Yes, damnit, and my father and fixing broken things. It’s all of it.”

“Lisa—”

“No.”

It was too much. I couldn’t keep this up. His questions, his mysterious look, the mere presence of him. My desire for him. My lust for him. My fear of him. My fear of him and me together. I wasn’t strong enough.

I was too broken. “You have to stop. You want to fix me—”

“No, I don’t. I like you like this.”

“What? Having a breakdown, standing in the fucking rain? You like this?

You’re a sick fucker.”

He laughed. He fucking laughed at me. I was having a stage-three meltdown, and he was laughing. I threw my arms up and spun away from him.

“You’re the only one who can fix you,” he hollered to my back. “All of the business stuff, though, you can figure that out. Just think about it. We all know you’ll make it work.”

I turned back around. “Why? Why do you think I can? I can’t even figure out that a lighter doesn’t work in the damn rain.”

He laughed again. “You are so fucking hot.”

About the Author

My writing journey began after my 50th birthday, and the pandemic lockdown provided the opportunity to write. Some of my stories have haunted my dreams for decades. When the characters shouted day and night, I knew I had to write about them.

My previous lives have been in advertising, fashion, and a small business owner. I've made it my life’s ambition to push through challenges of a dyslexia diagnosis to consume novels, poetry, articles, and tell fun, swoony, romantic stories.

A proud GenX woman and native Californian, I live in Hermosa Beach, CA, with my husband aka "The Greek", two beautiful kids, and two spunky-rescue kitties.

Connect:

https://cindykehstories.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/genxromance/

https://www.instagram.com/cmkehstories

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

https://twitter.com/CMKehStories

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21037496.Cindy_Kehagiaras

Spotlight: Shadow of Doubt by P. A. DePaul

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Michelle Alger flees when her secretly recorded tryst winds up on the internet. She has no option but to hide. Her one-night stand—the son of a powerful US senator—was murdered. Learning she’s the prime suspect is traumatizing. Already a member of witness protection thanks to a Colombian drug lord kidnapping her in college, she now has to run from the senator and law enforcement. To make matters worse, the drug lord finally knows her location and is hot on her trail. There’s only one man she trusts. He saved her once, can he do it again six years later?

Captain Jeremy Malone no longer wears a Green Beret. He’s traded in his fatigues for a new life leading Delta Squad, a covert unit within SweetBriar Group. His latest orders from the senator: find the unknown woman and bring her to me. But Jeremy knows her identity. He once rescued her from a Colombian cartel, and has never forgotten her. He assigns his squad a new mission: find Michelle first and learn the real story.

Michelle and Jeremy can’t deny their explosive chemistry. But, with every new piece of evidence, Jeremy’s faith in Michelle’s innocence is questioned. Is her plea for help a ruse…or a trap set by a beautiful woman determined to expose Jeremy’s own secrets…

This is the second book in the SweetBriar Group (SBG) series and can be read as a standalone. 

Excerpt

Cappy was going to hell.

The sight of Michelle’s perfect ass disappearing out the window was now permanently burned into his brain. He was such a bastard for avidly watching it wiggle as she forced her body through the tight opening.

Every nerve ending north of his toes still vibrated from touching her. Though he had sounded like a bumbling idiot earlier, he’d meant it when he’d blurted how amazing she looked, so healthy and whole. The antithesis of the bloody, broken woman damaged by the Osvaldo Cartel in that shithole room six years ago. This beautiful, vibrant, sexy woman surged his blood and overloaded his fantasies. God built her body for a man like him. Built her for deep, hard sex, be it up against a wall or bent over a chair . . . Goddammit.

Straight. To. Hell.

Remember the mission. He couldn’t think of her in any terms other than professional. For Christ's sake, he had to find out if she killed the senator’s son. Not have her starring in his latest mental porno.

He pulled a disposable phone from his leg pocket and dropped it inside her overlarge bag. Once he zipped the thing closed, he called, “Heads up. Purse coming through.”

He gave it a little nudge over the sill, hearing it thud into her hands before he yanked the battery out of the back of her cell phone. Now no one could trace her from the GPS in the device—which had been his plan if she hadn’t called him.

He dropped the pieces into his leg pocket for later disposal. Putting on his sunglasses, he ensured his gun holster wouldn’t knock into the frame's edges, and slid soundlessly through the small opening, then closed the window. Turning, he half expected to find her gone, but she stood just to the left, chewing on her lip with fear lacing through her irises.

“This way,” he whispered, grabbing her hand and motioning toward a grungy building next door.

The electricity from the contact instantly had him hard. He grunted and urged her forward. He pulled her around the back corner of a convenience store and stopped, shifting his hips to relieve the pressure.

“Cutting it too close, Cappy,” Talon admonished softly. Michelle jumped, squealed, then slapped a hand over her mouth.

Yeah. Talon had that effect on people. He was so damn good at blending into the background, he caught most by surprise.

Cappy seized Michelle’s hand to stop her from inching backward. “Relax.”

Her eyes were as large as her face, and she didn’t seem able to look away from his teammate. A sudden shot of jealousy spiked through his veins. Stow that shit. He had no time for the destructive emotion, and it was wrong on so many levels.

“Where’s the car?” he barked, jolting them all. Christ.

Engines raced into the parking lot next door and instantly shut off. Car doors opened, then slammed shut.

Cappy didn’t need to see his teammate’s eyes to know they were both thinking about how they had just barely made it. Michelle trembled underneath his palm.

“Car’s on the other side of the dry cleaners, as commanded.” Talon pointed to a building that had seen better days adjacent to the convenience store.

* * *

Dear God, who is this guy? Michelle couldn’t stop staring at the wicked knife with the onyx blade still protruding from SCK’s [Stone Cold Killer’s] fist.

She shivered.

A male voice yelled from the hotel’s parking lot, “You two cover the back. White, start peering in windows. I’ll talk to the desk clerk.”

“Our signal to move,” Jeremy whispered, jerking her arm as he pulled her forward.

She ran as fast as possible but knew she wasn’t close to the speed both men wanted. Tough darts. She didn’t live in a gym like them.

Had she done the right thing, calling Jeremy? She trailed behind the two men, still rattled by his apparent connection to the FBI’s investigation. He saved you before. Yeah, he did. Was he doing that now? Every TV show, movie, and book she’d ever read clearly pointed out how only those closely connected to a case were privy to details like a raid on a hotel room. Did that mean Jeremy saw the YouTube video?

Talon glanced over his shoulder. His dark shades had slid down and the cold light in his eyes sent fear racing down her spine. No. No! She pulled against Jeremy’s grip, her mind plunging back into Colombia without warning. Cold steel bit into her skin while the man with a pair of emotionless yet fanatical eyes stared at her. “You going to talk now, puta?”

“Michelle,” Jeremey snapped. “Stay with me.”

She blinked away the vision, disoriented at being ripped back into the present so fast. Jeremy tightened his grip and dragged her against his side. For a brief moment, she allowed her head to fall against his meaty shoulder. She inhaled his addictive scent and instantly felt better.

“Eyes front, Talon.” Jeremy flattened her body against the side of the dry cleaners. “We clear to make a break for the car on the other side?”

From beyond the hotel and as far as Michelle could glimpse in the other direction, the backs of the buildings were relatively flush with each other. Some had blacktop as if for additional parking while others had large dumpsters filling the space.

“O Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?” Talon crooned softly.

What the heck?

Jeremy flashed SCK a grin and placed his lips next to her earlobe. She shivered at the faint breath and almost missed his command. “Keep low but run as fast as you can. Don’t stop or slow down. Once you clear the corner, wait for us.” Her mind turned to mush at his whispered words. “We’ll use our bodies to block the view if someone should glance this way.”

It took everything she had not to giggle and lift her shoulder. Get it together, Michelle. This is serious.

He placed a large hand at the small of her back. “Go.” He gave her a little push.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

P. A. DePaul is a Publishers Weekly Bestselling and award-winning author.Her books are full of action, suspense, and romance.

As a hybrid author, she has books traditionally and independently published. Her traditional publishers include Berkley, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Harlequin Books. 

Website: https://padepaul.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/padepaul/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/padepaul/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@padepaulauthor

Spotlight: Head Over Heels by B Crowhurst

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Genre: Teacher/single mum romance

Release Date: November 30, 2023

Mr Woodgate is the epitome of a school girl fantasy. He's the whole tempting package - hot teacher, sharp suit, stern, handsome face. Except he's not any teacher, he's the Headteacher and I'm not a school girl. I'm a stressed out single mum of two troubled teenage twins. A match made in heaven? More like a recipe for disaster!

Try as I might, resisting this man's charms is proving to be harder than I thought. He's off limits and I know that, but try telling that to my overzealous heart. I'm head over heels for the man and falling fast. Only time will tell how much it will hurt when I land.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Connect:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bcrowhurstauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bcrowhurstauthor

Spotlight: Faked and Fumbled by Gina Azzi

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Knoxville Coyotes football heartthrob Cohen Campbell is my brother's best friend. Now, he's the man posing as my fake boyfriend. Simple, right? Wrong.

I thought my luck couldn't get worse than when my long-term boyfriend publicly dumped me. Wrong again. Now, my ex is dating my cousin, and our friend group is embarking on an annual ski trip.

Desperate to save face, I beg Cohen to pretend to like me. To bluff wanting me. To lay it on thick to convince my friends that I'm not heartbroken or hurt. I'm not damaged goods. That I have, in fact, moved on.

But during the trip, things change. Cohen's longing glances make my heart race. His casual, familiar touches stir up new feelings. And his kiss? His kiss makes me yearn for things I've never experienced before.

Toss in one bed, an epic snowstorm, and a gossip circle a mile wide, and I'm praying we don't fumble our fake relationship.

Obviously, I'm always wrong.

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About the Author

Hey Lovelies!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I’m Gina Azzi, a book-obsessed, coffee-drinking, globetrotting, mama of three! I write steamy Contemporary  and Sports Romance books with heartwarming happily-ever-afters.

A Jersey girl at heart, I spent my twenties living and working abroad before settling down in Ontario, Canada with my family. When I’m not dreaming up storylines or writing all the words, you can find me hanging with my littles, attempting to bake, or planning my next adventure.

Keep up with Gina Azzi and subscribe to their newsletter: https://ginaazzi.com/

To learn more about Gina Azzi & their books, visit here!

Connect with Gina Azzi: amkusinovels@gmail.com

Spotlight: Never Plan a Billionaire’s Wedding by Julia Kent

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(Whatever It Takes, #1)

Publication date: November 28th 2023

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Rule #1: Don’t fall in love with the groom

Stalker exes. Momzillas. Drunk uncles. Hurricanes. Jealous siblings. Paparazzi.

You name it, Kari Westveldt has seen it all.

And that’s why brides and grooms hire her.

Because she makes it all go away.

Wedding Protectors, Inc., is here to make sure that special day stays special.

Whatever it takes.

No matter what.

But when her newest client turns out to be her own long-lost high school sweetheart, rising tech star billionaire Caleb Mikelmas, suddenly Kari’s not sure whether she’s protecting the wedding couple —

Or her own heart.

Tech billionaire Caleb never thought he had a chance, much less a second chance with his first love and high school sweetheart, Kari. When a case of mistaken identity turns their reunion into one big misunderstanding, unraveling his feelings about the one who got away while supporting his brother’s nuptials means facing old demons.

And kissing Kari.

He likes kissing Kari far more than that whole demon thing.

But if kisses were enough, Kari would already be his wife.

Maybe it’s time to revisit the past and right some wrongs.

One vow at a time.

Welcome to the Whatever It Takes series:

Every bride needs something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue –

But you know what brides don’t need?

Complications.

Welcome to Wedding Protectors, Inc. Have a spritzer or a latte or some lovely Zen tea and sink into a comfortable chair in our sunlit offices as we listen to your wedding problem – and form the perfect solution to every possible contingency.

We plan for everything.

Except our own love lives.

But that’s not your problem. ;)

Excerpt

Carolina was introducing him to his former fiancée.

Fine. Near fiancée. It had been a promise ring, not an engagement diamond, but still.

The run he'd just finished was apparently unnecessary from a cardio standpoint, since his heart was now racing, crashing into his ribs as if it were fleeing a crime scene. Not that he was the bad guy. But still.

Kari. No way.

It was his Kari. And okay, maybe she was never formally his fiancée, but until college and distance broke them up, they always planned on it. He’d given her a promise ring in high school, so that was close enough.

When Carolina had mentioned she was meeting two wedding professionals named Katie and Carrie, he'd heard it as the more familiar spelling. She'd never spelled it out, and she hadn't bothered to tell him Kari's last name.

“Caleb, have you swallowed your tongue along with your manners? Shake the poor woman's hand, for goodness sake!” Carolina crooned, giving him side-eye while managing a puzzled smile at Kari as the two stood awkwardly in front of each other, gaping.

Kari had changed in some ways, for sure, but it was her, alright. Her brown hair was a darker shade but still thick and shiny, framed in soft layers around her face, brushing the edges of straight, strong shoulders. He recognized those whiskey brown eyes, deceptively sleepy unless you knew her, knew that behind them, her brain was working constantly at warp speed.

She was taller now–or anyway, she didn’t wear four-inch heels back then–so instead of having to bend to kiss her lips, he could just dip his head.

If he wanted to kiss her.

If wanting to kiss her wasn’t the only thing he could think about.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

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 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

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.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Connect:
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3238619.Julia_Kent
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Julia-Kent/e/B00A99V268/

Spotlight: The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor

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From USA Today-bestselling Jillian Cantor, THE FICTION WRITER follows a mid-list writer hired by a handsome billionaire to write about his family history with Daphne du Maurier and finds herself drawn into a tangled web of obsession, marital secrets, and stolen manuscripts.

Last night I dreamt I went to Malibu again…

The once-rising literary star Olivia Fitzgerald is down on her luck. Her most recent novel--a re-telling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca--was a flop, her boyfriend of nine years just dumped her, and she’s battling a bad case of writer’s block. So when her agent calls her with a high-paying ghostwriting opportunity, Olivia is all too willing to sign the NDA.

At first, the write-for-hire job seems too good to be true. All she has to do is interview Henry “Ash” Asherwood, a reclusive mega billionaire, twice-named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, who wants her help in writing a book that reveals a shocking secret about his late grandmother and Daphne du Maurier. But when Olivia arrives at his Malibu estate, nothing is as it seems. Ash is hesitant to reveal any family secrets, and he seems more interested in her than their writing project. The more Olivia digs into his grandmother’s past, the more questions she has—and before she knows it, she’s trapped in a gothic mystery of her own.

With as many twists and turns as the California coast, The Fiction Writer is a captivating story exploring the boundaries of creative freedom and whose stories we have the right to tell.

Excerpt

Prologue

Last night I dreamt I went to Malibu again.

I stood barefoot on the sand, the cool water nipping at my ankles. And there, high above me, perched on the edge of that magnificent cliff, his stunning house sat as it once had, alive, whole. It had ten bedrooms and was on three private cliffside acres, with a lap pool, a tennis court, and a garden blooming flush with pink and white bougainvillea. But from the beach down below all I could see was its long wall of privacy-tinted glass windows, slanting out toward the sea.

He could see me here, out on the beach. I was certain he could, even in my dream.

He was still behind those windows, watching my every step. Though I couldn’t see him. The glass was one-way. But I imagined him there behind the glass so vividly, it had to be real.

Until it wasn’t. Until the heat from the flames would shatter all the windows, break them apart, send smoke spewing from the piano room, down the cliff, evaporating in wisps into the lonely Pacific.

But in my dream, the flames hadn’t existed yet. Or, maybe they never would. He and his house were there, watching me. Wanting me. Haunting me.

“Come back!” His voice was a desperate echo, my undoing. The smoke was so thick, even out on the beach I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t breathe.

So that’s why I did it, in my dream. I turned away from the house, and I walked into the bone-chilling water. It was so cold, it numbed me, but I walked into the sea, up to my shoulders, my neck, my chin. Until I could no longer smell the smoke or hear his voice.

And then my entire head was underwater, and the tide was strong. It sucked me in, held me there.

But I wasn’t trying to drown. I really wasn’t. I was merely trying to escape the fire.

Excerpted from The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor, Copyright © 2023 by Jillian Cantor. Published by Park Row Books.

Buy on Amazon | Audible | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Jillian Cantor is the USA Today and internationally bestselling author of eleven novels for teens and adults, which have been chosen for LibraryReads, Indie Next, Amazon Best of the Month, and have been translated into 13 languages. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Born and raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Cantor currently lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Author website: https://www.jilliancantor.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliancantor

FB: https://www.facebook.com/authorjilliancantor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JillianCantor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1651861.Jillian_Cantor