Man on the Run by Gail Hamilton +Excerpt

This reminds me of something my friend used to always say, 

"I like my coffe like I like my men, tall and black."  

Have to admit, this sounds like a fun read!

Lydia Marshall needs to round up the last samples of an unpredictable "relationship enhancer" created by her employer, NuGenn Pharmaceuticals. The last batch of the so-called potion is in the hands of a test subject, Damone Reid. But when Lydia finally tracks him down she's in for a shock. He is no longer the shy, awkward programmer she interviewed months before. Suddenly, she finds herself swept up in Damone's potion-fueled quest to live life to the fullest. They go kite flying.  They go whale watching. They go dancing in the moonlight.

Even though Lydia tries to keep things professional the former nerd's enthusiasm--and kisses--are infectious. As the tall, sexy adventurer takes her on a wild ride, Lydia finds herself falling for him. But is it the love potion that is igniting her feelings? And what will Damone do if he finds out her secret mission is to destroy the very thing that is changing his life? The discovery could destroy their blossoming romance.

OK... so, obviously, it's not hump day (when I usually post.)  Bad Alana!  But to make it up to you, I have an excerpt!

Lydia asked to see Damone right away but Mrs. Benson shook her head. 

"He's gone.  Packed a bag this morning and told me he was going on a trip to have some fun. Didn't know when he'd be back.  Whistling show tunes, he was, and said he meant to start at some place called Barrel-o-Thrills.  Took off before I could get another word out of him."

Hastily, Lydia thanked Mrs. Benson and rushed out to her car.  A quick search on her cell phone found Barrel-o-Thrills out on the edge of the city. It was a club specializing in bungee jumping. The website announced: Give yourself the thrill of a lifetime.  Your molecules will never be the same.  

Lydia remembered the 50-foot railing and tore out of the driveway.  What if Damone came to real harm because of NuGenn!  What if he'd used too much of the potion and it had morphed into a thrill enhancer instead of a relationship enhancer!

Oh, the lawsuit!  Oh, the bad publicity!

By the time Lydia got to Barrel-o-Thrills, parked and paid admission, her heart was pounding.  She raced over to bungee towers just in time to see a long, gangling body flying through the air, arms and legs wind-milling, yelling with delight.  When she finally got to where the crew were slipping the harness from Damone, she could see what his grandmother meant. He was grinning even though, wobbling and whooping, he could barely stand upright.

Could the potion have done this? Lydia wondered again.

Or had he just discovered common recreational drugs?

Moving swiftly and decisively, she rushed over and grabbed Damone by the elbow.

         "Let him go.  I'll take care of him from here," she told the crew chief.

Unclipping the last of the harness, the man shrugged and handed Damone over.  Reeling from the wild plunge, Damone staggered straight into Lydia.  Hanging on to stay upright, he blinked at her in disoriented, astonished surprise.

"Volta..." he gasped.

The next second, he flung both his arms around Lydia and started kissing her with a passion that curled her toes and shocked her at the same time.

In fact, Lydia was so shocked that she just stood there while Damone tightened his embrace even more.  His mouth feasted on hers with such total delight, and such complete abandon that the sensation swept away any resistance Lydia tried to muster.  The fellow was kissing her as though he hadn’t kissed a woman in ages--kissing as though he meant to claim every delicious pleasure he had missed living like a hermit in a basement.   Lydia could actually feel the determination rushing through him.

Gail Hamilton has been creating novels since the great romance boom of the eighties, writing for Harlequin and other publishers. She has been a farm hand, English teacher, ad copywriter, and once rode a British Bedford truck across the Sahara and back to see Timbuctu. All of it is fodder for her fiction. She is drawn to action, romance, adventure and characters with a distinctly odd twist. These show up in her many romance novels and her fast-moving historical novel, The Tomorrow Country.

After trying urban life in Europe and Toronto, Gail returned to live on the family farm where she grew up. In this rural corner hugging the north shore of Lake Ontario, Gail digs into the rich, raucous local history. She cherishes a secret passion for animated movies and loves snapping photos of nature all around her, reading the constant changes like a newspaper every morning. What better place to hatch brand new tales for everyone’s enjoyment.

Visit Gail’s website at www.gailhamiltonwriter.com.

Second on the Right by Elizabeth Los - Blog Tour & Giveaway!

Title: Second on the Right

Author: Elizabeth Los

Genre: Fantasy

Book Description:

Spawned from an ancient promise, treachery and intrigue follow the protagonists through our world and one lost to the waves. Bound by an invisible bond, they are thrust into a fantastical world of pirates and demons.

James Benedict is a just man haunted by evil. Pushed to the edge, everything stripped from him, a new man arises . . . a man whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all who hear it: "Captain Hook".

Eileen Davis was a timid woman. Through a fateful cruise she finds herself in the company of the Captain of the Mistral Thief. With his guidance, and the meddling of the local barista, she eventually finds her inner strength.

Will the two of them unite through time to fulfill the promise of their ancestors or will tempers ignite leading all to failure?

Excerpt:

Eileen woke with a start. Carefully, she peeled back the privacy sheet. A lump caught in her throat. The cabin door was open. She frowned. In the dim moonlight, a shadow stood just within the captain’s quarters. It moved. Her heart raced. She blinked, then stared. The dark silhouette glided silently. She watched, unbelieving. The shape loomed over the captain. She released the sheet.

He doesn’t know. He’s still asleep. I have to do something. But what? Her thoughts rattled through her mind. She had to be quick.

As quiet as possible, she slipped from her hammock. Her stocking feet made no sound. She crouched. Her fingers slid down her leg until they found her dagger. She removed the blade. Her hand trembled as she pulled back the sheet. Squinting, she could make out the shape. She rose. The floor creaked under her shifting weight.

Red eyes stared at her from across the room. They seemed to float in midair. She held her breath. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. She blinked. The eyes grew larger. She looked to the door. When she looked back, the eyes were closer. She panicked. The shadow lunged towards her.

Eileen screamed. “Captain! Captain, wake up!” She stomped on the floor boards and yelled, “Smythe! Anyone! The captain’s in danger!”

The creature howled.

Eileen swung her dagger at the intruder. He slid to the right. She slashed. He slipped to the left. She thrust. Her blade met air. He moved with little effort. And now, he drew closer. She slashed haphazardly. She hit nothing.

The shadow hissed. She felt a rush of wind. The creature flew at her. A powerful blow to the chest, her back slammed into the wall. She tried to defend herself. Another rush of wind and her dagger was knocked out of her hand. Her head hit the wall. Sliding to the floor, she felt cold. She heard a raspy inhalation. Looking up she was met with red eyes that glared at her. A cold breeze wrapped around her. She tried for her dagger, but it was gone. As she struggled for breath, her hearing diminished. The shadow loomed over her. Eileen’s vision tunneled until darkness enveloped her and there was nothing.

About the Author:

Elizabeth uses writing as therapy, her release from everyday stress. At night, after work and once the children are finally tucked in bed, for the fifth time, she sits at her laptop and lets her imagination flow. 

Elizabeth has produced short stories, one of which will be published in an anthology. She’s had fun writing a Sherlock Holmes fan fiction story, A Case of Need, based on the BBC’s Sherlock. By July 2011, her first novel, Second on the Right, had been completed. She spent several years polishing the story in order to provide a high quality product to the public. Second on the Right is her first professional novel.

She currently resides in California with her husband, children and two dogs: Black Lab (Raven) and Saint Bernard (Duke).

Author Links 

Twitter

Smashwords

My blog

Facebook

Goodreads

Amazon 

Where to Buy

Createspace 

Smashwords 

Goodreads

Amazon 

iTunes

Barnes & Noble 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Second on the Right

by Elizabeth Los

Giveaway ends July 04, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Poppy (Behind the Words #3) Cover Reveal! +Excerpt!

I'm a day late and a dollar short to the release, but at last minute I heard Schlitterbahn's siren call and despite my best efforts, got burned.  *Sigh*  70+ SPF my lily white bottom!  But, this is hot in an entirely different way to celebrate the end of your hump day....

Release Date: August 2014 (no specific date set yet)

Synopsis: 

Poppy Taylor is a successful hair, makeup, and clothing stylist with a client list packed full of elite musicians, actors, and celebrities. After months of touring with the bands, The Daughters of Darkness and the platinum selling rock group, From Yesterday, one final night changes everything. Will love evade her, as always, or will she find it in the least likely of places, in the arms of a rebellious rocker she never expected?

Riley Huntington is the bass guitar player for the rock band, From Yesterday. His bad boy exterior isn’t exactly the lifestyle he lives though. With his longtime relationship on the rocks, Riley finds himself alone and full of new feelings for a girl he never saw coming. When life gives him a chance to start fresh, will he take it?

When two unlikely people are thrown together during one night of passion, will sparks ignite a long-lasting fire, or will the temporary flame burn out before it ever has a chance to catch?

Goodreads links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22429277-poppy

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorsavannahs

Twitter: @Savvy2287

Excerpt from Poppy:

Everything on the guest floor was rattling from the bass of the music blaring throughout the rooms. I was sure that I had drank close to my weight in tequila alone, not to mention the amount of whiskey shots I had thrown back, but I was still standing and I was feeling good; no, better than good. I was feeling fan-fucking-tastic as I moved my body along with the beat of the rap song that was playing. I threw my hands in the air above my head before bringing them back down, trailing across my body as they went. Sweat was bedding across my collar bone as a few drops trailed their way down the valley between my breasts. The melody was enchanting me, making me move provocatively with every beat and I loved it.

Grinding my hips from side-to-side, I felt a large body step up to my swaying backside. Most guys were my height or barely taller, but whomever was taller than the average Joe. I continued to rock my hips from side-to-side as I spun around to face my dancing partner and smiled widely when I took in Riley’s large frame behind me. He looked sexy as ever; black jeans hanging loosely on his hips with a plain forest green shirt stretched tightly across his broad chest. He gripped my hips as I snacked my arms around his neck. When we had first arrived he disappeared, I assumed to get ready for the party but when he never returned I felt a sting of disappointment and turned to the liquor quickly.

I looked up at him through my lashes as I rubbed my body along his to the beat of the song. Riley’s hands were still gripping my hips as he rolled his large self along with my rhythm. My liquor induced bravery was taking control, and I had no desire to try and tame it. Riley’s hands pulled me gently until I was completely flush against him and I felt him straining against the zipper of his pants. I drew in a long heavy breath as he moved his hands around my waist and splayed one of them across my ass while resting the other on my back underneath my shirt. His skin was warm against mine. I closed my eyes and took in the feel of his hand moving gently up and down my spine as we continued to move against one another when I felt his breath tickle the side of my neck.

“Your dancing's as passionate as sin.” His words crawled slowly across my neck causing the skin to rise with goose bumps. I shivered and leaned forward to reply when I heard Jayde yelling for me to do a body shot from across the room.

“Come on, Poppy!!!!!! Body shots!!!” Here slurring voice called out before the next song started up and Riley took a couple steps back.

I watched his electric blue eyes darken just a little as I called back to Jayde and made my way through the crowd to the long bar that split the kitchen from the living room. I stumbled a little in the shoes I was wearing but surprisingly I wasn’t falling all over the place from the amount of alcohol I had consumed.

“Hop on up on the bar, it’s your turn!” Jayde spun around and pointed her index finger at my chest. She was so care-free and unbelievably funny when she was sober, but when she was drinking those same attributes about her seemed to grow even more. Jayde was a knock out! I envied her different colored eyes; one green and one blue. It was hard not to look back and forth between them whenever I spoke with her.

“Are you crazy?” I placed my hands on hips and laughed. “I’m almost as long as the bar, Jayde, and all of those alcohol bottles at the end will be in jeopardy if I jump up there.” I laughed again as I twirled my hand around in the air when I felt big hands latch around my waist.

“Up you go.” Riley’s baritone voice was at my ear, sending chills across my skin. I gasped from the unexpected contact as my bottom was placed against the cool wood of the bar.

“Keep your legs bent and you won’t knock anything off.” Cash suggested as he grabbed the bottle of tequila, salt, and a few lime slices. “Who’s up first?!” He held them up in the air.

“Me!” Jayde snatched the items from Cash’s hands. His eyes seemed to darken when she said it. I wasn’t sure if it was due to the fact that she was going to be taking a shot off of my body or the fact that he was head-over-heels in love with her and wouldn’t admit it.

“Where you taking it from?” I asked as I laid my body across the wood bar.

“Navel I suppose. It’ll hold the tequila the best.” Jayde shrugged as she plucked the top from the bottle. I grabbed the hem of my belly shirt and pulled it off. Apparently they weren’t expecting that because Cash let out a cat call that had me blushing and Jayde cracking up. Most girls would have been ready to scratch my eyes out if their man whistled at me like Cash had, but not Jayde. It was just another reason why I loved having her as a friend.

I was wearing a black laced bra that had studs running across some of the lace on the front of the cups. It was a pretty bra, one of my favs…and apparently a new focal point for Riley’s eyes. When he realized I was watching him watch my chest rise and fall, a wicked grin spread across his face. Yes, I had a good size chest. No, I wasn’t born that way. I was the girl that was overly tall but lacking in the boob department. Did I go overboard and get gigantic tits when I got implants? Nope. I went with a full C cup and mine didn’t look like the easy-to-tell implants. Hell, you couldn’t really tell unless I had on a massive push-up bra or you felt them.

Jayde poured the cool tequila into my navel and I felt my stomach contract from the feel of it. I took a lime slice and placed it in my mouth as she trailed a line of salt up my stomach and between my breasts. “Here goes nothing!” She called out just before she dropped her mouth to my body, licking the salt from between my breasts to my navel before she sucked the tequila from my navel swiftly. Her lips were on mine as she sucked the tart lime juice from the slice of lime resting between my lips. Jayde pulled the lime from my mouth and I sat up enough to brace myself with my elbows against the bar. We definitely had a crowd of observers around us then.
I looked over at Riley and felt my heart pick up the pace from its normal steady beating. His electric blue eyes looked like tiny lightning bolts were going off throughout them. I had never seen him look so intense before. It was like something inside of him was ignited and I was hoping I would find out just what that something was.

“My turn!” Cash stepped up but was quickly pushed back by Riley.
“I don’t think so lover boy.” Cash’s face fell. “She’s all mine.”

Those three words bounced around inside my head.

She’s all mine.
I knew he meant he was up next for the body shot, but the thought of it being something more was knocking loud and clear. I laid back against the bar and felt the chill of tequila fill my navel again as I slid a new slice of lime into my mouth. The grainy feel of the salt was back in the exact same spot as before. I took a deep breath to try and steady my erratic breathing and closed my eyes. There was no way I could watch Riley lick his way down my body, suck tequila from my navel, and drop his lips to mine. The thought of it was erotic enough, but watching him while he did it…that wasn’t anything I could handle.
His warm breath tickled the skin across my collar bone just before I felt his tongue make its way between my breasts, skipping the area where my bra came around, and continued down to my navel. My body was screaming for more as he sucked the tequila up into his mouth. The loss of his tongue and lips on my skin was devastating, but it quickly subsided as our lips connected, causing an unexpected moan to escape up the back of my throat. Riley squeezed the lime juice from the slice between my lips and discarded it onto the counter before bringing his mouth back to mine. The tart juice of the lime lingered between us as his tongue danced around mine, adding a hint of salt into the mix. The kiss seemed to go on forever, but forever wasn’t long enough when Jayde stepped into the mix.
“Whoa there, Riley! Give the girl some room to breathe.” She drunkenly laughed and Riley pulled his lips from mine as if I had burned him.
He didn’t say another word before he walked off into the crowd of people dancing and grabbed hold of some brunette that I didn’t know. I quickly looked away as I slid down from the bar and quickly put my shirt back on.
“Where ya goin’?” Jayde asked as she filled a solo cup and extended her arm to me.
“I need some air.” I fanned myself with my hand and took the Bourbon filled cup from her. I needed to cut myself off, but seeing Riley all over some girl not even five seconds after his tongue was down my throat left a bad taste in my mouth.