Mid Week Tease: …she probably could have stripped naked and walked past their table… #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’m sorry I didn’t post last week, but I’ve been on some really tight deadlines and things have been manic!

Hiding in Plain SightShe watched the group, careful not to seem as though she was staring. She wasn’t yet ready to gain their attention. It was unlikely, she quickly realised. They were so absorbed in their own little bubble that she probably could have stripped naked and walked past their table and they wouldn’t have noticed.

With happy guests and word of mouth on her mind, she came to the conclusion that, although the gang was happy, there were plenty of other people in the bar that weren’t. The more champagne the group quaffed, the more their volume increased. And with that volume increase came plentiful sighs and glares from the bar’s other patrons. But, in their bubble as they were, they didn’t notice.

Mallory smirked as she watched one angry-looking man start to get up from his chair, only to be stopped by the woman he was with, with a hand on his arm and a shake of her head. Mallory didn’t blame her. This hotel might be the most expensive and exclusive in the Netherlands, but it didn’t mean drunken guests wouldn’t turn nasty or even violent if confronted. Really, management should be getting involved at this point. Maybe she could hurry things along in that department and see if it helped her cause any.

Just then, the waiter returned with her drink. “One Manhattan, madam,” he said, placing it on the table with a flourish.

“Great. Thank you.” She deliberately glanced over at the group, then back at the waiter, her eyes wide and innocent. Quietly, she said, “I don’t mean to make a fuss, but would it be possible for something to be done about those people? They’re totally ruining the ambiance in here. Not what you’d expect from such an establishment.”

The waiter—she peeked at his name badge; Erasmus—gave a tight smile. “It is already in hand, madam. We are working to rectify the situation with the absolute minimum of fuss. However, as an apology and gesture of our deep regret, your drink is free of charge. I hope it is to your satisfaction.”

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!

Abbey MacMunn Talks the Exotic Far East and Terrible Cooking (@abbeymacmunn) #tirgearr

In One Night in Kuala Lumpur, my erotic romance novella, artist Ziva Clarke visits the exotic Far East with three ‘S’s on her mind.

Sketch whatever inspires her.

Soak up the amazing culture.

Savour the exotic food.

However, when she meets the troubled businessman Sam Tempest, that’s not the only thing beginning with ‘S’ that she has on her mind! 😉

Like Ziva, when I visited Malaysia I was in awe of their diverse culture, the beautiful landscapes and the modern, vibrant cities. I tried many exotic foods, some of which I was probably better off not knowing what was in them, but that’s where the similarities end. I took with me the memories and even tried some of the recipes at home.

Alas, I am not a good cook. I’m a mum of four, I manage, just, and I haven’t given anyone food poisoning yet! My kids constantly remind me of my culinary disasters. While my intentions are good, and there hasn’t been a Bridget Jones’ blue soup incident yet, there have been plenty more.

Like the Fishless Fish Pie.

I swear I spooned a pound and a half of fish into the white sauce, covered it with mashed potato and popped it into the oven, but when we came to eat it, the fish had mysteriously disappeared. We ended up eating what was basically potato in white sauce. Yum!

Then there was the Lasagne Disaster.

Normally, I’m not too bad with lasagne, but this particular one, I decided to try out my new dried herb set. ‘Give it a bit of extra flavour,’ I thought, or as the top chefs like to say, ‘Elevate something ordinary into something worthy of a Michelin star restaurant.’ Well, needless to say, I over-did the oregano and basil and the thing tasted like a herb garden.

Another meal catastrophe was the Roast Dinner Salmonella Scare.

In my defence, we’d just moved into a new house and I was using an unfamiliar oven. We were hungry, the oven was taking forever to cook anything so I turned up the temperature. I burnt the roast potatoes but the chicken was so uncooked we had to throw it away.

So is there anything I can cook?

I’m happy to say, yes there is! A lemon dessert, a recipe handed down from my mum. It’s so delicious I get asked to make it at family gatherings, and it’s absolutely perfect for a summer barbecue. It’s fair to say Lemon Crunch is not the lightest in calories, but it’s summer—we’re all eating healthy salads, right?

And the best thing? It’s quick to make and so super easy even I can’t mess it up!

If you’d like to give it a go, you can find the recipe here on my website: https://wordpress.com/post/abbeymacmunn.com/489

Thanks for reading,

Abbey x

*****

Excerpt:

Sam ran the last few feet across the reception area’s marbled floor towards the half-closing lift doors. He arrived as the gap narrowed to six inches and shoved his arm inside. “Wait, hold the lift, please.” The doors squashed his arm for a second before sliding back.

His breath caught. Sam couldn’t believe who stood there, knee-deep in shopping bags.

Her. Ziva.

Feet rooted to the floor, he took in her appearance. Saturated curls framed her face and stuck to her neck. He followed the ringlets as they dripped water down her short, strappy sundress, equally wet and clinging to every delicious curve. Her protruding nipples showed through the flimsy fabric, virtually begging for his attention. Dear God, she’s sexy. And wet. Soaking wet. His pulse rate rocketed.

A smile flashed across her elfin face, lighting her features as if they had their own sun emanating from within. “Sam! What are you doing here?”

She seemed genuinely pleased to see him. A refreshing change from the women he usually met—gold-diggers mostly; those who hung on his every word, but whose false personas matched their fake tits and orange Tango tans. “Ziva.” Her name rolled off his tongue like a puff of sweet air.

“You remembered my name?”

An unusual name, but one he’d heard before, although where eluded him right now. What were the chances of meeting her like this? There were hundreds of hotels in Kuala Lumpur and she’d picked this one. Somebody up there was playing Cupid, and doing a damn good job of it, too. Sam grinned back and stepped into the lift “You’re kind of difficult to forget.”

“Only kind of?” she teased.

The doors closed behind him and he caught her scent, fruity and sweet. His whole body buzzed with awareness. “I thought you didn’t like shopping,” he said, pointing at the numerous bags around her ankles.

She didn’t press a button to her floor. “You remembered that, too?”

“Yes.” He remembered everything about her. Including the black, lacy bra.

*****

One Night in Kuala LumpurBlurb:

In search of inspiration and excitement, successful artist, Ziva Clarke, takes a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her exhibitions in the UK have left her exhausted, she’s had no fun in ages and her creativity is at below zero—the exotic Far East could be just what she needs.

Charmer Sam Tempest is visiting Kuala Lumpur on business with his father, but behind the impeccable suit and the wicked smile, he’s not a happy man. Duty bound to join his family’s international business, Sam longs to follow his true passion—to carve wood sculptures.

The two lonely souls meet by chance on a crowded street, and when it turns out they might not be the strangers they first thought, so begins a night of confessions, shared dreams and hot sex.

Can one steamy night in Kuala Lumpur be the answer to both their dreams?

Buy Links:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Smashwords

Apple    

Kobo

Nook

Goodreads

*****

Author bio:

Abbey MacMunn writes contemporary, paranormal and erotic romance. She lives in Hampshire, UK with her husband and their four children. She is a proud member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

When she’s not writing, she likes to watch films and TV shows – anything from rom-coms to superheroes to science fiction movies.

Contact links:

One Night in Kuala Lumpur Tirgearr Page

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

New Release: Fast Lust #romance #sexy #badboy #biker

Hi folks,

I’m delighted to announce the release of my sexy romance novella, Fast Lust! It was previously in the British Bad Boys boxed set, and is now available as a standalone release. Here’s what it’s all about:

Blurb:

When a straitlaced journalist and a fearless motorcycle racer are thrown into an interview together, will they find any common ground? Or are they destined to clash?

Gloria Heath loves her job as a lifestyle journalist. She also loves the perks—free meals, complimentary spa treatments, behind-the-scenes access and more. So when her boss sends her on an assignment to the British Superbikes tournament at Donington Park, she’s less than impressed. Sports are definitely not her thing, and her brief is to find a rider with an interesting back story and write about their journey. But how is she supposed to do that when she really doesn’t care one way or the other?

When she experiences the atmosphere and the racing, however, she starts to see the attraction. Soon after, she finds the perfect case study for her article. Rafe Donovan is fearless, ambitious, and the underdog of the tournament. He’s also drop dead gorgeous. She eagerly sets out to interview him, but soon discovers the bad boy biker is a tough nut to crack. The more she asks questions, the more he shuts down. Throw some chemistry into the mix and things go from bad to worse. Can she get the material she needs, or is her first foray into sports writing doomed to fail?

Sound like your kind of read? Grab it here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/fast-lust/

Add to your Goodreads shelves here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36045818-fast-lust

Happy Reading!

Lucy x

Mid Week Tease: …it always paid to be cautious. #MWTease

mid-week-tease-buttonHi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! As promised, here’s another tease from my new novel, Hiding in Plain Sight. I hope you’ll check out this sexy spy thriller!

Hiding in Plain SightPicking up the leather-bound cocktail menu, she used it to further obscure herself as she took in the rest of her surroundings. She’d already done a scan of the place in her peripheral vision as she’d made her way from the door to the table she now sat at, but before she fixed her attentions on her target, she wanted to make absolutely certain there were no other persons of interest in the vicinity. The last thing she wanted was to start eyeballing the group, only to discover they had some covert security bods in the bar, who were eyeballing her. She doubted it—their intel suggested that they only used hired goons when absolutely necessary—but it always paid to be cautious.

After a couple of minutes—luckily it wasn’t a huge area, and therefore she didn’t have to hold the menu in front of her face for too long, making her look suspicious or terribly indecisive—she was satisfied, and slowly lowered the cocktail list to the smoked glass table, then closed it with a slap.

As if by magic, a handsome waiter around her age materialised. “Hello, madam,” he said in Dutch, a language that she was, luckily, fluent in. He’d have switched to English with no issues—the Dutch were well known for their excellent command of English, and in a place such as this, being multilingual would no doubt be in the job description—but she’d blend in more effectively if she spoke the native tongue. “What can I get you?”

She hadn’t actually had time to read the menu, but it didn’t matter. Cocktail selections were almost the same the world over, unless establishments decided to give drinks different names, or put a new spin on an old classic. Even if they did, though, she’d never been refused an old classic when she’d ordered one, whether it was on the list or not. “Hi,” she replied, also in Dutch. “I’ll take a Manhattan, please.”

“Very good, madam. It’ll be with you in a few moments.”

“Thank you.” She treated him to a wide smile, as well as exercising her best manners. It certainly couldn’t hurt to establish a rapport with a member of staff. After all, there was a chance he might be useful at some point.

While she waited for her drink, she pondered her next move. The group was still there, still being loud and obnoxious, and had successfully managed to get their oysters and caviar. She rolled her eyes. That was one benefit to staying in such a high-end hotel, she supposed. There was serious money at stake, and the management would want to do anything possible to keep guests happy, knowing that word of mouth, particularly in circles with such funds at their disposal, was by far the biggest influence in bringing in more people. More people with money. And so it went on. Here, at least, money really did make the world go around.

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!