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Alpha's Voodoo by Haley Whitehall

6/15/2015

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The lure of fortune tellers

 I’d like to thank Annette for hosting me today. It has been a long time since I released a new romance. Many changes have happened in my life. Oftentimes I’ve wished I could have known the future. Hindsight is always 20/20, as the saying goes.

 Often when people think of fortune tellers they think of gypsies. All forms of fortune telling such as astrology, palm reading, tarot cards, etc. continue to be very popular. In fact, there is a business in my town that advertises such services, although I’ve never been there myself.

In my new release Alpha’s Voodoo, the Voodoo Queen’s daughter Marie Laveau II tells the hero’s fortune, specifically relating to his love life. I had a lot of fun bringing Marie Laveau and her daughter to life.

Mini blurb

 With her reputation in tatters, debutante Violet Creed is forced to exchange her life of luxury for one of uncertainty. Mark Afton wants nothing more than to take his rightful place as the leader of the Bayou Pack, but he needs a mate. Is Violet Mark’s destined mate, or is their attraction merely Voodoo magic? Haley Whitehall is pleased to present Alpha’s Voodoo, Book 1 of her hot, new paranormal romance series, Bayou Pack.

Buy links

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble | Liquid Silver Books | Kobo | All Romance Ebooks

 Excerpt

Mark stiffened in his seat, sitting across from the daughter of the Voodoo Queen. Coming here had been a terrible idea; however, he couldn’t back out now. The young woman would realize he’d lost his nerve if she couldn’t sense his apprehension already.

“Let me take your hands, Mr. Afton. Please relax your mind.”

Marie Laveau’s tender dark fingers closed around his rougher white ones.

“This won’t hurt, I assure you,” she said with a hint of teasing. “I’m sure you have a bright future ahead of you, sir. Let me peer into your soul.”

Mark tried to relax, focusing on her sonorous voice, but his inner wolf remained alert, afraid to let his guard down. When he’d received word that Marie Laveau had taken to bed with fever, he’d jumped at the chance to have his fortune read by her daughter. He didn’t trust any of the other Voodoo practitioners in New Orleans. Hell, he didn’t even trust her mother.

He blew out a breath softly, trying to banish all thoughts from his mind. Perhaps his wolf did not want to be seen by the Voodoo Queen’s heir. The fact his family were shifters was a closely guarded secret. He knew his mother would not approve of him seeking out Marie Laveau’s services, but he was a grown man and did not need her to treat him as a child when it came to matters of the heart.

Marie Laveau’s energy pulsed from her hands into his body. Their connection grew stronger and then suddenly ceased as if her magical power had been dowsed. She drew a deep breath. “I cannot see your future if you keep this wall between us.”

Mark looked into the Voodoo priestess’s hickory eyes. The contrast of her brightly colored red, green, and yellow head wrap against her dark skin was striking. Golden hoops dangled from her ears. Her mother’s pet snake, Zombi, rose behind her and rested his white head on her shoulder, similar to a pup seeking affection.

Seeing the large snake, Mark bristled and his inner wolf snarled.

Unfortunately, the snake seemed very content perched on her shoulder and did not feel threatened.

Marie Laveau stroked Zombi’s scaly head. “He bothers you,” she stated.

“Yes,” Mark admitted, hoping she wouldn’t take offense. He knew the snake wouldn’t harm him, but his inner wolf did not like him nonetheless.

Marie Laveau petted Zombi several times and then spoke softly to him. The snake slid off her shoulder and curled up in a large wicker basket sitting by her chair.

“Now, perhaps you will allow me to work. You have paid me handsomely, Mr. Afton, and I do intend to tell your fortune.”

“I want to know who I am to fall in love with,” Mark clarified, not wanting to get her distracted on financial or other matters. He had heard that the Voodoo Queen’s specialty lay in matchmaking. Hopefully Marie Laveau had trained her daughter in that specialty as well. Surely, she couldn’t do any worse than his mother when it came to finding him a suitable wife.

Most wolves knew their mates instantly, but that was not the case in his family. They had become wolf shifters against their will and the curse made finding the perfect mate difficult. Thus, he came to the daughter of the Voodoo Queen as a last resort. He needed to know which woman to court and woo. Who was the perfect woman to stand by his side and help him lead the Bayou Pack when it was his time to take over for his uncle?

Marie Laveau took his hands again and began humming in a soft, sweet voice. His inner wolf fought to remain alert, but the woman’s power was too strong. Slowly he felt the beast relax, lulled into a sense of security, as if wrapped in a protective embrace.

The young Voodoo priestess quit humming and instantly the trance ended. His inner wolf rose to just under the surface. Mark opened his eyes slowly and blinked, struggling to keep his facial features from turning wolfish. How long had he been under her spell?

“A half hour,” Marie Laveau announced as if reading his mind. “Normally my readings are a lot shorter, but I had much to see. You, Mr. Afton, are more than meets the eye.” Her tight smile and the knowing glint in her eye made him swallow hard. She was aware he was a shifter.

Damn it, he knew this was likely to happen.

“Your family has been cursed,” she said. “By my mother no less.” She tilted her head and looked wistful. “I learned to recognize her magic at an early age. It is like a signature.” She let out a small sigh and then returned her attention to him. “My mother cursed your family and yet you come to me. Why?”

“I knew nowhere else to turn.” The honest ring to his words made him wince. He was desperate. “Being a wolf shifter is all I know.” He shrugged. “I suppose my grandfather deserved to be cursed. When I was a young boy he told me the story, and I have since learned more details.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” She hummed a few notes and tapped two fingers to the side of her cheek. “You don’t come to me asking for the curse to be removed?”

Mark’s eyebrows winged up. “I never figured there was a way to revoke the curse.”

Marie’s feminine laugh filled the room. “There is always a way to remove a curse. However, it is seldom easy.”

Did he want to give up his duel nature? Running wild in the woods was freeing, and taking over leadership of the Bayou Pack had seemed his destiny. No, it was something he’d have to think over long and hard. Whether living as a man or as a shifter he still needed to find a wife. Love first.

Where to find Haley Whitehall

Author Website | Facebook  | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest |Author Amazon Profile Page


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About the author

Haley Whitehall lives in Washington State where she enjoys all four seasons and the surrounding wildlife. She writes historical romance set in the 19th century U.S. When she is not researching or writing, she plays with her cats, watches the Western and History Channels, and goes antiquing. She is hoping to build a time machine so she can go in search of her prince charming. A good book, a cup of coffee, and a view of the mountains make her happy.

 Previous books       

Midnight Caller — Moonlight Romance Book 1
Midnight Heat —  Moonlight Romance Book 2
Midnight Kiss —  Moonlight Romance Book 3
Soldier in Her Lap
Wild and Tender Care
Civil War Valentine

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Heat Wave: A Summer Loving Anthology

6/15/2015

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Cover designer: Cassy Roop
Release date:  July 14 

Heat Wave features 13 authors and 13 hot romance novellas sure to heat up your summer. All proceeds will benefit Paws With A Cause®, a leader in the dog assistance industry. Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained assistance dogs.

This collection contains seven never published and six currently loved books from a variety of authors, including New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble best-sellers: 

Hilary Storm – Banded Together
Chelle Bliss –  Rebound
AD Justice – Just One Summer (New)
Cassy Roop – The Other Side (New)
Rebecca Brooke – Acceptance (New)
LA Casey – Sheltered  (New)
S Moose – Interrupted
Michelle Dare  – Persuading Him
Kathy Coopmans – Exclusive preview of Keep Me (New)
AM Madden  – LOVE on the Horizon (New)
Alexis Noelle – Fractured
Tamsyn Bester  – When Summer Ends (New)
Kelly Robinson – Taming Alec

This collection of hot summer reads is available for a limited time. Grab your copy before it's gone.

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25724726-heat-wave

Pre-order links (only 99c)

US:  http://amzn.to/1Baa4N1
UK:  http://amzn.to/1L5ut5Q


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Coming Soon by Christy Gissendaner

6/11/2015

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I'm pleased to welcome Christy Gissendaner to tell you about her New Adult romance novel, Coming Soon, just out today. Happy release day, Christy.

In Coming Soon, Cara faces several difficult challenges. She’s a victim of abuse, a silent cutter, and she loses her parents in the most horrific way possible.  Beyond that, Cara also suffers bullying…both online and in real life. It’s enough to break a weaker person, but Cara struggles to heal herself, and with the help of her best friend, she might just be able to overcome it all.

Coming Soon was a different direction for me to take. I’d never written in first person POV. I’d never attempted a New Adult romance. I’d never tackled such dramatic topics such as sexual abuse, murder, adultery, and mental illness. For me, this work was cathartic, and I hope the close attention I paid to the sensitivity of the issues comes through. I didn’t aim for shock value, but I wanted to remain true to the storyline, so several of the scenes will be difficult to read. Even for me. Perhaps most especially for me.

 I’ve always said I put a little bit of myself in each of my characters. This is doubly true when I created Cara. Although she’s had way more curveballs thrown at her than I can possibly imagine, there are events in my life that have shaped me to the strong person I am. Like Cara, I rose above them and eventually found happiness.

Coming Soon is not only a romance. It’s a celebration of being able to overcome adversity. Cara finds love and happiness in even the darkest of times. That’s all we can hope for, right?


Book description 

Cara Daniels lost almost everything. Her parents. Her home. Most of her innocence. Her close friendship with Jase Whitmore is the only thing keeping her sane, but hidden secrets threaten their relationship. To escape an abusive uncle, Cara embarks on a journey to save herself.

Desperate for money, she auditions for a role in an adult film and soon discovers Jase is a leading porn producer…and her new employer. The starring role of Dagger Production’s upcoming release is hers, but how can she pretend to be a sexy vixen when all she wants is the best friend who doesn’t realize his new star is a virgin?

Caught up in a tormented web of pain and guilt, Cara learns Jase has demons of his own. His dark obsessions have the power to destroy the fragile thread holding them together if they give in to their shared desire. She’s determined to heal him, but is Jase strong enough to protect Cara from herself?

Buy links

http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Soon-Christy-Gissendaner-ebook/dp/B00XZSMTMG/

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-comingsoon-1810439-177.html

Excerpt

Rain misted in my hair, but I paid no attention to the damp chill. Two gray stones stood before me, a stark reminder of all I’d lost. Two parents. My home. My innocence.

The day was colder than the night I lost everything. Pumpkin spice lingered in the air then. Now the scent of pine needles and freshly baked cakes hung heavy about me, a sign the holidays were in full-swing. Unlike the two-story homes surrounding the tiny cemetery I stood in, no family waited for me. I was eighteen but felt like an old woman, broken and beaten by the curve balls life had thrown.

A friend slipped his warm arm over my shoulder, and I turned my nose into Jase’s chest. He held me as I cried, a silent presence at my side for two months, ever since it happened. He’d been the first to arrive at the house when I found my parents, making it there before the cops and paramedics, and he’d been the one who held my hand the day their bodies were lowered into the cold, damp earth.

The familiar citrus and mint of Jase’s cologne, a smell I’d always associated with my best friend, comforted me. He hadn’t started out as my friend. In fact, he pretended I didn’t exist when I’d hung out with Jackie, his sister. As we grew older, my friendship with Jackie dissolved as many pre-teen friendships did. Jase was the one who remained with me, pushing me when all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and pretend I hadn’t seen both my parents with their brains blown out against the wall of our pink stucco home.

“It’s good to cry,” Jase said, his voice deep and husky. “Let it out, Cara. No one can hurt you here.”


I opened my mouth, wanting so much to tell him what waited for me at home, but I snapped it closed. I couldn’t tell him. Jase wouldn’t understand. I had to make it work, at least until graduation in May. Five months to go.

Jase let me go when I pulled away, but with enough reluctance to prove he hadn’t tired of playing hero. I retrieved the two wreaths he’d carried from the car for me and kneeled to lean them against my parents’ headstones.

I ran my fingers over the engraved name of my mother, wishing for the thousandth time she hadn’t cheated on my father, hadn’t led him to put a bullet through her head and then his own.

What sort of legacy had I inherited? Being so consumed by love it destroyed everyone around you?

“Cara?” Jase squatted beside me. He tugged off his green and white striped toboggan and ran an awkward hand over his mussed brown curls. “Is everything okay?”

No. Nothing was okay. My parents were dead. I was alone, and I hated who waited at my temporary home.

I turned my face to the gloomy skies, the clouds gray and heavy with the promise of rain, and did what I always did.

Pretended.

“Everything is fine. It’s just the holidays, you know?”

“You’d tell me though. Right?” Jase prodded. “If you need anything—”

I stopped him before he made more promises. “You’ve given me enough, more than anyone. I don’t need anything.”

I owed Jase more than I could repay as it was. Not just money, although he’d given me plenty to supplement my parents’ meager life insurance. I owed my sanity to him. If not for his steadying presence, I would’ve slipped into madness, truly curled into a ball and wished for death to take me too.

“I miss them.” My voice came out needy. Weak. I hated it. Hated them for leaving me.

Jase pulled me back into his arms. I snuggled against his hard chest and pretended I’d stay there forever.


Warm. Safe. Protected.

His breath ruffled my bangs as he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “If you need me, call. I have my apartment in the city. You can crash anytime you need to.”

The offer tempted me. More than he’d ever know. “Thank you, but I’m going to tough it out here.”

Jase was twenty-one with a life of his own. He didn’t need an eighteen-year-old orphan crashing on his couch and upsetting the careful balance he’d created for himself there.

A sigh lifted his chest, reminding me of how lean and strong he’d become. Where once he’d been somewhat overweight, Jase was now a tight slab of muscle, thanks to twice daily work-outs and a strict diet regime. “I can carve out time in my schedule, make sure you get to school every morning and pick you up after your shift at the cafe.”

I held out my hand. “No. Jase, stop. I can’t ask you to. You’ve given me too much already.”

“God damn it, Cara.” His green eyes snapped with fire, a lambent heat that always appeared when I upset him. “Don’t consider it charity. You’re my friend for fuck’s sake, and I want to do something nice for you.”

“You have.” I framed his warm cheeks with my palms. “You do. Thank you.”

The fire in his gaze disappeared, replaced by resignation and sorrow. “Promise me you’ll call if you need me. I don’t care when or why. Promise me.”

“I promise.” It was a lie. I wouldn’t burden him with my problems any more than I had to. “We should go.”

Jase straightened effortlessly and reached out a hand to help me up. He towered above me, well over six feet tall to my five-four. Designer jeans, scruffy but still expensive, clung to his muscular thighs, and a distressed T-shirt covered his broad chest.

Jase was hot, if I had to be honest, something I seldom was. Life had taught me candor came with repercussions best avoided.

Jase led me away from the gravestones, his hand clutched around mine. He opened the wrought iron gate and stepped aside for me to pass through first before locking it behind us.

The Gardens was small and inconspicuous, a tiny spot nestled in the center of suburbia. Vestavia Hills was close enough to Birmingham to give us the benefits of a large city without the crowded housing and traffic.

Jase drove me to my step-uncle’s house, my home until graduation. I sat in Jase’s Hummer, staring out the tinted window, and wished I could tell him to keep driving, to take me home with him like he offered.  The cheerful, yellow house and white picket fence gave the impression of picture perfect, happy domesticity, but horror awaited me inside.

A chill passed through me, chasing away the warmth from the Hummer’s heating vents. I pressed into the soft leather seat and willed my body to move, to open the door and go inside, but my muscles betrayed me.

“Cara.” Jase reached across the console and touched my thigh. Fleeting and gentle, as only a friend would touch me. “Want me to keep driving?”

More than anything, but I shook my head and forced a laugh. “No, I’m just not looking forward to getting out in the cold.”

He plucked at my thin sweater. “You need a coat. What happened to that ridiculous ski jacket you used to wear?”


I didn’t tell him it was gone, too stained by the blood I’d washed from the walls before calling him the night of my parents’ murder. I’d burned the coat in the fireplace. “Maybe if I’m good, Santa will bring me another.”

He moved his hand to my cheek and cupped it, turning my face toward him. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t elaborate, didn’t have to. He knew how tough the first Christmas without my parents would be.

I covered his hand with mine. “Don’t.”

He tightened his fingers, but he released me without argument as I unbuckled the seatbelt. “Call me.”

“I will.” The belt slipped through my hands, and I pulled on the door handle with chilled fingers.

When my feet touched the sidewalk in front of my uncle’s house, I wished I was anywhere other than the yellow house at the end of a quiet cul de sac.  I was eighteen now. Nothing or no one could force me to stay.

But where could I go?

I turned to give my friend one last look before I shut the door. “Goodbye, Jase. Thanks for coming.”


He stared at me, his silence more damning than anything he could’ve said. “I mean it, Cara. Don’t shut me out.”

I briefly closed my eyes and prayed for the strength to resist. “Merry Christmas. I’ll call you. Promise.”

I slammed the door and rushed away. My spirits sank. With Jase gone, there was no one to protect me. To save me.

To love me.


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About the author
Christy Gissendaner is a paranormal and contemporary romance author who believes laughter and love should go hand in hand.

Christy lives in Alabama with her husband and three sons. She’s always hard at work on her next novel, but in her spare time she loves blackjack, karaoke, and anything resembling a vacation!

To find out more, please visit:
 http://christygissendaner.webs.com
http://www.twitter.com/christygis
http://www.facebook.com/christygis
http://www.goodreads.com/christygissendaner


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It's a party, and you're invited

6/4/2015

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I'm throwing a Facebook party on June 25 to celebrate the June 22 release of my romantic suspense novel Shore to Please, Book 3 in the Gulf Shore series, published by Liquid Silver Books.
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I love all my characters, but some have a tighter hold on my heart than others. Paul "Flipper" O'Riley is one of those. He looks like a simple guy who cares about nothing more than catching the next wave. But don't let his surfer-dude appearance fool you. He's intelligent, hard-working, and totally dedicated to the dolphins under his care at Gulf Shore Aquarium. 

He's also inexplicably attracted to a woman who couldn't be more wrong for him.

Tara Langley is a graphic artist who crusades against keeping dolphins in captivity. The activist group she co-founded, Stop Whale and Dolphin Suffering, SWADS for short, held a sign-waving demonstration across the street from Gulf Shore Aquarium.  Tara also has sent letters to aquarium officials asking for a change in policy.

But the head honchos at GSA have ignored her request to sit down and discuss the controversy. Flipper tried to appease her by talking about the issue over lunch, but that only landed him in trouble with his bosses. 

And then anonymous letters began arriving at the aquarium, threatening mayhem if GSA didn't release its captive dolphins. The letters have become increasingly more sinister, and one even showed up nailed to the front door of Flipper's beach cottage. 

His boss is convinced that Tara is behind those nasty messages, but Flipper is convinced she's innocent. Is she being unfairly accused? Or has she fooled everyone, especially the man who can't help wanting her?

Gulf Shore Police Detective Joanna Tompkins is on the case, but will she find whoever's responsible before someone gets hurt?

Preorder Shore to Please  now from these e-book retailers:

Liquid Silver Books (20% discount): http://www.lsbooks.com/pre-order-coming-soon-romance-books-c322.php

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/q9lmzsz

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shore-to-please-annette-mardis/1121964097?ean=9781622102297

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/shore-to-please


Be sure to stop by my book release party on Facebook on June 25 for prizes, surprises, and fabulous guest hosts. Don't worry about getting sand in your shoes or battling beach traffic.  Just settle back in a comfortable chair with a tropical beverage and some key lime pie and join me and my author friends for a  night of fun.



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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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