Mid Week Tease: Her heart pounded and her mouth went dry. #MWTease

mid-week-tease-buttonHi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! I’ve changed the book I’ve been featuring to Moonlight Magic, an upcoming paranormal collection featuring my story, The Accidental Adoption. The set releases 31st October and if you pre-order, you’ll get it for the bargain price of just 99c!

Moonlight MagicAs soon as Rosie stepped into the kennel area, she feared she’d made a huge mistake. Barks, whines, yips and the sounds of furry bodies climbing and bouncing up against the wire of the cages filled her ears. Her heart pounded and her mouth went dry.

She froze just past the doorway, hovering on the very edge of indecision. Should she carry on, or turn and leave? Would she be able to cope with the emotional battering she’d undoubtedly get if she continued? All those sad faces, those soulful eyes, tragic stories… she’d want to take them all home, and neither she nor her compact house and garden were equipped for that.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Come on, Rosie, get a bloody grip! You can’t save them all.

Nodding and gritting her teeth, her decision made, she walked tentatively towards the first kennel. The dog that greeted her was gorgeous—a mass of black fur, lolling tongue, heavy panting and frantically wagging tail. Aww! Already Rosie’s heart was melting, but she knew she had to be sensible about this. Lovely as… she read the information notice stapled to the kennel’s frame… Aidan was, he was far, far too big for her house and garden. The poor boy would go stir crazy.

She’d thought long and hard about getting a dog, had weighed up the pros and cons, figured out costs and budget, and come to the decision that it was perfectly doable, as long as she found the right one. For his or her sake, as well as her own. No point in rescuing a dog if she couldn’t keep up with its need for exercise, or couldn’t afford to feed its enormous appetite or make the pet insurance payments. That would be worse than leaving it where it was, to be potentially adopted by someone who could provide those things.

She gave Aidan a fond smile. “Sorry, beautiful boy. I think you’re amazing, but you’re too big. Someone’s going to come along soon who’s got acres of land, though, and they’re going to snap you up. You’ll have an amazing time!”

Pre-order Moonlight Magic here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/moonlight-magic/

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!

Mid Week Tease: There was a chance the bubbly could be poisoned… #MWTease

mid-week-tease-buttonHi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another tease from my new novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. Things are hotting up… and I’ll be moving onto something else next week, so if you want to find out what happens next, you know what to do 😉

Hiding in Plain Sight“A-and you,” she forced out, fighting to get a grip on her emotions. It wasn’t at all like her to be so affected by someone, but in a bizarre twist of fate, the very fact that he’d surprised her, had surprised her. During her years in the service, she’d seen so many things, so many facets to human nature, that it was nigh on impossible to surprise, shock or faze her. She made a mental note to watch this man carefully. She hadn’t got any vibes from him to indicate that he was anything other than an attractive barman and waiter, but it was entirely possible she wasn’t the only intelligence officer watching the gang. Their activities were widespread, after all. Any number of countries could be keeping an eye on them, trying to bring them down. And not all of them would necessarily want to team up with the British in order to do so. The Brits had as many enemies as they did allies.

“So!” she said brightly, crossing over to the sofa, deliberately exaggerating the wiggle of her hips and bottom as she walked, hoping to distract him from her moment of being flustered. “It was very good of you to bring champagne. Shall we?”

Erasmus had followed her over to the seating area, and inclined his head, then reached for the bottle. With finesse born of frequent practice, or possibly he was an exceptional actor, he opened the bottle, snagged a glass and filled it, before handing it to her with a grin.

“Thank you.” She smiled back, waiting until he’d poured his own drink before even thinking of taking a sip. There was a chance the bubbly could be poisoned, or drugged. It irritated her immensely that she had to even take such precautions, to consider that everyone she met could be out to get her, but it was an instinct that had saved her life on more than one occasion. Besides, it was ingrained so deeply within her that she’d never shake it. She’d probably still be looking over her shoulder when she was old and grey, and long-retired from the intelligence game.

Fortunately, Erasmus didn’t seem to find anything odd in this behaviour. Instead, after filling his champagne flute, he took the seat opposite her, then leaned forward, holding out his glass. “To new friends,” he said, tipping her a wink.

Get your copy of Hiding in Plain Sight here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/hiding-in-plain-sight/

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!

More Than Words – A Guest Post by Becky Flade (@beckyflade)

I started high school in September 1990 [edited to correct a typo that had me starting high school in 1900], a time when hair rock ruled absolutely. I had the concert rigged lighter – that on more than one occasion set my Aqua Net brick of teased out bangs on fire – and a denim jacket with all the lyrics to Civil War printed on it in black sharpie.

Close to twenty-five years later, I walked down the aisle to a piano solo of GnR’s seminal November Rain. We didn’t realize at the time that we were accidentally recreating the video, that bulb didn’t light until we were on our honeymoon, but we didn’t care.

A Love RestrainedA Love Restrained, my new romantic suspense releasing October 4th, though set in present day Philadelphia, involves the romance between a good girl and a bad boy who harbored crushes on the other from afar in high school during the first half of the 90’s. They reunite under the most of unlikely of circumstances and find a mature love that endures the deadliest of secrets. It only felt right to mainline the music of their teen years [and mine] while I wrote, and while I edited, and as a result there are references, subtle and overt, throughout the book.

Sadly digital remasters don’t have the same sound, the same glory, the same character, vinyl did. And I miss sitting for hours beside the radio, tape queued up, waiting for that *one* song to play so I could hit record. God, I wish I had some of those mix tapes now. But the music holds up. I found old favorites I hadn’t heard in years. And goofy crap that still makes me smile and sway my hips like Miley Cyrus partying in the USA.

Everything about A Love Restrained is my very own personal love letter, to my husband, my youth, the city I’ve always called my home, and the music that provided the soundtrack to my adolescence.

A few favorites:

More Than Words

Heaven

High Enough

Close My Eyes Forever

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

I want to put together a power ballad playlist for the book on my youtube channel. Help me? Share with me, Lucy and her fans the name of your favorite power ballad in the comments below and I’ve got a free book for a randomly drawn commenter. Good luck and party on!

*****

About the book:

Philadelphia police officer Kylee Parker is dedicated to protecting and serving. She sees the work in absolutes: right and wrong, black and white, good guys and bad guys. That is, until she chases a drug dealer into a dead-end alley and finds the bad boy she had a painful crush on throughout her teen years has turned into a more dangerous and more attractive man.

Jayson Donovan knows he doesn’t deserve someone as good as Kylee Parker. As the right hand man to a local drug-pushing mobster, he’s solidly on the wrong side of Kylee’s moral compass. But he can’t help reaching for her time and again when he knows he shouldn’t.

Even when his secrets threaten them both.

Where to purchase A Love Restrained

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | iBooks | Kobo

*****

About the author:

Home is where the heart is and Becky makes hers with her very own knight in slightly tarnished armor, their three daughters, son-in-law, two grandsons, and their psychotic cat Jaxon. When she’s not busy living her own happily ever after, she’s writing about someone else’s.

Contact Details:

beckyfladeauthor@gmail.com

http://www.beckyfladeauthor.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BeckyFlade

https://twitter.com/beckyflade

http://www.amazon.com/Becky-Flade/

http://www.goodreads.com/Becky_Flade

Sign up for Becky’s quarterly newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/7WDZj

Mid Week Tease: His lips were warm and dry… #MWTease

mid-week-tease-buttonHi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another tease from my new novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. I was away on holiday in Wales last week, so I didn’t take part, but I’m back now. I’ll probably do a couple more teases from this book before moving onto something else.

Hiding in Plain Sight“You…” His expression turned uncomfortable, much to Mallory’s confusion, and he fixed his attention on the plush carpet. “You will forgive me… it seems silly in the circumstances, but… I don’t know your name.”

Mallory clapped a hand over her mouth, hoping he’d see it as a gesture of surprise, rather than her covering up her amusement at her faux pas. She’d been so focused on the task at hand, spying on the gang she was here to infiltrate, that she hadn’t been fully concentrating on her flirtation with the handsome waiter.

Hoping she’d rearranged her features into an appropriate expression, she removed her hand from her mouth and took a step towards him. “I’m so sorry, Erasmus. It completely slipped my mind. My name is Bea Winchester.” The lie tripped off her tongue so easily that she was sure even a fellow intelligence officer would believe her. But as much as she disliked lying to Erasmus—he was, after all, nothing to do with her reason for being here; rather a pleasant diversion along the way—it was essential to maintain her cover. Plus, if curiosity got the better of him at any point, he’d easily be able to check the hotel’s computer system and discover what name she had checked in under.

He closed the gap between them still further, and held out his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bea Winchester.”

She took his hand, then was surprised when, instead of shaking, he gently twisted her wrist and bent to place a kiss on her knuckles. His lips were warm and dry, and her astonishment at his action swiftly gave way to arousal as he lingered there for a few moments, before releasing her.

Get your copy of Hiding in Plain Sight here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/hiding-in-plain-sight/

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!