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Two Hearts In Winter by Donna Fasano

4/9/2016

4 Comments

 
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Series: Ocean City Boardwalk, #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 15
Blog tour hosted by: Book Partners In Crime Promotions


Blurb
Loss and betrayal have caused Heather Phillips to give up on love. She’s thrown herself into running The Lonely Loon, her Bed and Breakfast located on the boardwalk of Ocean City, Maryland. The “off season” in this tourist town is usually a time of rest and reflection for her; however, DB Atwell, a famous author, arrives at The Loon for the winter to finish his long-overdue novel. Daniel, too, has faced grief, and tragedy continues to haunt him. Once Heather and Daniel meet, their lives will never be the same.

Reminiscent of Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks and culminating in a happily-ever-after similar to the great Nora Roberts, Two Hearts in Winter is a story about learning to let go of the past, about realizing that, though hardship affects us, it need not define us, and about coming to understand and truly believe that beauty is sometimes covered in scars. The human heart has an amazing ability to forgive, to heal, and to hope, especially when touched by love.


Enter the giveaway:
 
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7996b6c5303/?

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf:
 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29754379-two-hearts-in-winter


Buy the book
Amazon US    http://amzn.to/1ooYAyR
Amazon UK    http://amzn.to/235L56Z
Barnes & Noble    http://bit.ly/TwoHeartsNook
iBook    http://bit.ly/TwoHeartsiBook
Kobo    http://bit.ly/TwoHeartsKobo
Google Play    http://bit.ly/TwoHeartsGoogle


Reviews of Book 1: Following His Heart
“The pleasure of Fasano’s style lies in the scrumptious descriptions… and her characters’ sincere, mature desire to make things work.” ~ Publishers Weekly

“Following His Heart made me go “wow”. . . I found it thought-provoking in ways I’d have never anticipated.” ~ BooksAndPals.com, 5-Stars


Meet the author

USA Today Bestselling Author Donna Fasano has written 35 romance and women’s fiction titles. Her books have won awards, have been translated into two dozen languages, and have sold 4 million copies worldwide.


Social media links

Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/DonnaFasanoAuthor/
Twitter    https://twitter.com/DonnaFaz
Pinterest    https://pinterest.com/DonnaFaz
Instagram    https://www.instagram.com/donna_fasano/
Amazon author page    amazon.com/author/donnafasano
GoodReads page  
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1111480.Donna_Fasano
Blog    http://donnafasano.blogspot.com/
Sign up for her newsletter   http://madmimi.com/signups/110899/join

BookBub author page    https://www.bookbub.com/authors/donna-fasano

Excerpt

It wasn’t Heather’s aim to embarrass the girl; she just wanted to cut through the lies to get to the truth as quickly as possible.

“Listen, hon.” Heather leaned forward. “Why don’t you tell me what this is all about?”

She smiled, but she had to admit, after speaking with the woman at Atlantic Coastal this morning, she’d felt completely stumped. Why in the world would this girl approach her like she had? Why would she lie?

“I’m tired of proofing,” Sandra finally said. “And I don’t want to be an editor. I want to be a writer. And paying writing gigs are few and far between in this business. Newspapers are shutting down. Everyone is going digital. It’s… it’s hard.”

Heather gently pried the plastic lid off her tea. She lifted the rim to her mouth and took a sip. The heady tastes hit her tongue: cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, and the richly scented steam wafted around her face.

The answer Sandra gave was completely plausible. It seemed like a perfectly natural thing for a journalist wannabe to do… write an interesting story about The Lonely Loon and present it to the magazine’s publisher as proof of her writing skills.

Heather nodded. “I see.” She set the cup down again, pleased by the calm demeanor that she’d been able to present. As she’d driven over to the west side of town, she’d fretted about the confrontation. But it had been simple, really. Just asking for the simple truth had been the best solution.

There were still a couple of questions niggling at her, though. “But why lie?” she asked. “Why didn’t you just tell me you were going after a writing job at your magazine?”

Sandra's chin tipped up, and she unwittingly slid her palm over the silver laptop that sat on the table, her gaze zeroing in on Heather’s face. “You would have helped me get a story?”

“Of course, I would help you.” Heather smiled. “I like to see people succeed. If I can help you, I will.” You silly twit, whispered through her mind, but luckily she was able to keep the offensive moniker from slipping off her tongue. “Who wouldn’t like to help someone advance in their career?”

“Oh, wow,” Sandra gushed. “I don’t know what to say. I just… this is so nice of you.”

Heather’s smile widened. Now that the truth was sitting like an open book in front of them, they could get down to work. She could tell Sandra that her mother had been the one who had established The Lonely Loon, and she could explain where the name had come from. And how she’d taken over the business after her mother had died of breast cancer. She’d be sure to name a few of the neighboring boardwalk businesses and their owners to offer as much promotion to her friends as she could. The owners of the shops, restaurants, and hotels on the boardwalk were a tight-knit group.

Sandra reached into her satchel and pulled out an eight by ten piece of paper and slid it across the table.

“What’s this?” Heather asked.

As her eyes scanned the short, full-caps header—WRITER DB ATWELL’S DAUGHTER MISSING. Heather’s blood froze and she felt like she were sitting in a vacuum.

“This is the story I want.” The words burst from Sandra like blustery wind during a nor’easter. “I have a friend who works at the Associated Press. He sent this to me just before Christmas. It’s taken me weeks to track him down. DB Atwell, I mean. The teachers at his daughter’s school aren’t talking. His publisher isn’t talking. Even his agent blew me off.”

Heather watched Sandra’s mouth moving, she even heard the words, but the situation had taken such a bizarre turn, that she felt truly dumbfounded.

“I’ve tracked him to Ocean City, I believe,” Sandra continued. “And although I haven’t seen him, I’m pretty sure he’s hiding out at your B&B. He's the one you mentioned yesterday, isn't he? The guest who needs quiet. I want you to tell me about him. I need you to tell me everything you know. About him. And his missing daughter.”


4 Comments

Need inspiration? Check out Pinterest 

4/7/2016

1 Comment

 
PictureHere's Marianne's inspiration for Grayson in Then Came You.
Today's guest post by author Marianne Rice deals with a favorite obsession of hers and mine: perusing pictures and other content on Pinterest, as well as using it for book promotions. Take it away, Marianne.

Unless you’ve been living in the wild and don’t have access to the Internet, you’ve probably heard of Pinterest. I’m addicted.
 
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pinterest, here’s the basic gist. You make a “board” and give it a title (desserts, quotes, writing tips, hero inspiration etc.) Your page can have as many or as few boards as you’d like. Totally your choice. When you search within Pinterest for whatever the heck you want to search for, click “pin” and select which board you want the image/website/link to go to. Easy peasy and organized for future reference. Most Web sites and blogs have a direct “Pin” link so you can click and pin even when not on Pinterest.
 
I started using Pinterest years ago as a way to save recipes I found online. At first I only had a “Recipe” board and quickly learned I needed subcategories to help organize my bazillion recipes I saved. I now have boards for desserts, breakfast, snack, main dishes, soups…you get the picture. My son was diagnosed with celiac disease two months ago so now I have Gluten Free Desserts, Gluten Free Snacks etc.
 
So how do I use Pinterest as an author? Research. I have a “Hero Inspiration” board where I keep pictures of beautiful men. I have a “Heroine Inspiration” board as well (not sure why I don’t have as many images there as I do in my Hero board. Hmm). I also have a board for each book, whether it’s published yet or not. If there’s a hero or heroine whom I use as inspiration or who looks like my characters, I pin them. I also pin quotes or other “things” that have to do with my books.
 
There are times when I’m working on edits for one book, writing another and pimping yet another. Sometimes I forget what my hero/heroine look like! I refer back to my Pinterest boards and sigh and stare and drool…and then get back to writing.
 
And, yeah. Because I have an itsy bitsy shoe addiction, I have a Shoe Porn board. And a Dessert board. And a Girly Drink board. It’s not all writerly stuff. Visit me at https://www.pinterest.com/mariannericeaut.
 
Is Pinterest a time suck? Heck, yeah. And I love it. Come visit me on Pinterest. You can follow all my boards or select which ones inspire you. Check out my board for Then Came You, which came out last week (it’s FREE on Kindle Unlimited). Here’s a little taste…
 
Excerpt


“I kind of have this love-hate relationship with you.”
The look of shock on his face made her laugh. “Okay. Maybe not such strong emotions. How about like and dislike? One minute you’re sweet and kind and gorgeous and the next minute you’re too caught up in work and image but still working the gorgeous angle.”
“Is being gorgeous good or bad?”
“You seem to work it in no matter what you do. You can’t help it. You’re pretty.”
“Guys don’t want to be pretty.”
“Yeah. They do. But you’re hot, too. Pretty and hot.”
“Can’t you just call me pretty hot and call it good?”
“See, and then you throw in a dash of humor and I’m a goner.”
“Goner? Really?” Grayson set his hands on her waist and tugged her closer. She shivered from the heat, from the chill, from the anticipation.
“It was easier when I thought you were a jerk,” she whispered, her mouth dangerously close to his.
“Why is that?” he whispered back, his breath mingling with hers.
She swallowed, her throat tight and hoarse, and licked her lips. “Because then I wasn’t tempted to do this.” Thyme stood on her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips against his.

 
Amazon   bit.ly/thencameyou
Amazon UK   http://www.amazon.co.uk/Then-Came-Wilde-Sisters-Book-ebook/dp/B01D10A52I/
Amazon CA  https://www.amazon.ca/Then-Came-Wilde-Sisters-Book-ebook/dp/B01D10A52I/
Amazon AU   https://www.amazon.com.au/Then-Came-Wilde-Sisters-Book-ebook/dp/B01D10A52I/

 
 Sign up for my newsletter and you’ll be automatically entered to win free stuff every month! http://www.mariannerice.com/connect.html
 
Read more about Marianne and her books here: amazon.com/author/mariannerice
https://www.facebook.com/mariannericeauthor/
http://www.mariannerice.com/
https://www.instagram.com/mariannericeauthor/
https://twitter.com/mariannericeaut

https://www.goodreads.com/MarianneRice



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Author bio
Marianne Rice writes contemporary romances set in small New England towns. When she’s not writing, Marianne spends her time buying shoes, eating chocolate, chauffeuring her herd of children to their varying sporting events, and when there’s time, relaxing with fancy drinks and romance books.

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1 Comment

Cover reveal of Once by M.S. Kaye

4/3/2016

0 Comments

 
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Her first and also her once.


Jonathan and Rebecca’s paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say.

But Jonathan is three days from entering the priesthood, and Rebecca leaves him to his peace. But he is unable to find peace.


Without each other’s comfort and strength, they must each struggle to forge a new path, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.

But are they able to forget and let go?

Will be released July 2, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29630603?source=ebfg_tw
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Once-Book-1-MS-Kaye-ebook/dp/B01DQ6JVE0
>
> Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/once-20

Author bio
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.

To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website.


Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Google+  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  TSU  |  Pinterest  |  LinkedIn

Once & Again, book two
Will be released September 4, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.

She was once his secret desire…will she be again?

Father Aiden, an ex-marine and new priest, falls in love with Maylynn, but he struggles to stay away from her. He’s successful for many years, though he can’t keep her out of his dreams.

Then one day she shows up for a pre-marital counselling session with her fiancé, Davis. Aiden soon realizes Davis isn’t who he says he is, but what does that mean for Maylynn, and for himself?


Once & Forever, book three

Will be released December 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.

Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? As Eden and Trace grow closer, confessing their pasts to each other, will they be able to resist getting too close?

Excerpt from Once

“What’s the answer?”

He paused. “A switchblade.”

With my fingertips, I reached out and traced the scar across his cheek. “Did you win?”

He removed my hand and closed his eyes. “Yes.”

I slid his Book back to him. “This says we can find forgiveness.”

His eyes still closed, his jaw clenched. He bowed his head. “It also says ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”

I took his hand in both of mine, petted his rough skin, and then brought it to my lips. He had a talent for guiding invisibly, but I didn’t know how to do that.

He watched me again. His eyes were intense, like the black of the night sky, and his forehead was furrowed, as if his emotions were scattered, as if he was shocked at my reaction, as if he had been sure his answer would drive me away. But I knew him. Already, I knew him.

“You’re still a good person,” I said.

His jaw clenched. “I’ve been trying to believe that.”

“I have faith in you.”

He continued to watch me. His forehead never smoothed, as if he was fighting for strength, but his eyes softened. He slid around the booth, closer to me.

I didn’t move, not sure what to do, what was right, what he wanted.

He leaned closer.

I only watched him.

He touched his lips to my cheek, the faintest pressure. I struggled to sit still, to keep my hands in my lap, not to grab hold of him. And then his lips were gone, such brief contact that I couldn’t be sure if he had actually kissed my cheek or if I wanted his contact so much that I’d imagined it.

He spoke in my ear. “You must be some kind of final test.”

My heart pounded into my ribs, against the point of the blade. “Are you going to pass?”

His lips brushed against my jaw. “I don’t know.”

He trailed to my neck, his mouth softly pressing. My hand curled into his hair, the other on his shoulder, holding, clutching. His mouth found mine, barely touching. His warmth invaded my head.

“God give me strength,” he murmured.

The door slid open, and the compartment filled with laughter.

He closed his eyes. Then he slid away from me.



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    Annette Mardis writes the kind of contemporary romance novels she loves to read: sexy, funny, smart and filled with "ah" moments.

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