A dead body, a large inheritance from an ex-boyfriend, a scam netting
three-quarters of a million dollars, and a love attraction throw Suzie
Tuft's serene writing life into chaos.
Textbook writer, Suzie Tuft, discovers a body near her rural home and
learns he was an attorney from the estate of her deceased ex-boyfriend, who
bequeathed her a small fortune. Suzie's life is thrown into chaos when she
is threatened by the ex's crazy live-in girlfriend and his unsavory friends
looking to recover nearly a million dollars from a con they executed
him.
Fortunately, Suzie has her book club friends to help her unravel the
mystery, all while falling in love with the handsome detective investigating
the murder.
A Book Club's Guide to Murder & Mayhem is the first book in A Suzie
Tuft Mystery series in which a textbook writer recruits her book club
friends to help find the killer of the victim she found near her rural
home.
Follow the Publisher on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook - @harborlanebooks
Warning: This is a Razor’s Edge Daddy Dom BDSM Erotica short story.
Expect limited plot and character development, and lots of heat. If
you’re looking for a lengthy plot driven erotic romance, this is not
it!
After an exhausting, but fun, flight to paradise, Kitten is looking forward
to spending quality time with Daddy. Feeling completely free for the first
time since giving birth to their daughter Andi, Kitten enjoys every
decadence Daddy can provide -- and he can provide quite a few. Not to
mention fabulous sex. But things are about to change for Kitten. And a
wedding isn’t always about rings and flowers. Kitten wants a new
collar.
ALERT: THIS POST CONTAINS MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR ADULT READERS ONLY!
Excerpt
I had no idea where we were when we landed, but the flight was only about
three hours long. Not that I noticed. Daddy kept me busy the entire flight.
After he let our flight attendant, Adam, and my bodyguard, Enzo, fuck me, I
was exhausted. Daddy took me to his suite and I dozed occasionally. Between
rounds of vigorous sex, that is.
The weather was sunny and warm. A cool breeze ruffled my hair and I turned
my face into the wind. Just so happened the wind came from the direction of
the sun so I closed my eyes and basked in the warmth.
“Feel good, Kitten?” Daddy smiled down at me with so much love
and affection my heart swelled.
“It does, Daddy. I love feeling the sun on my skin. It’s like a
warm hug.”
He chuckled. “That it is, Kitten. There will be plenty of that over
the next couple of days. Did you check in with Max?”
“Yes, just before we landed. He says he and Andi are getting along
fine.”
“Good. Let’s get upstairs to the room. You can shower if you
like, then we’ll begin our adventure.”
With a glad cry I threw myself into Daddy’s arms. He chuckled and
hugged me back, squeezing me tight. He set me down and let me walk beside
him hand in hand through the hotel lobby up to the room. I was hardly able
to contain my excitement. Once inside our suite, I didn’t even stop to
take in what I was certain was magnificent decor. Instead, I threw myself at
him again, this time peppering kisses all over his face before wiggling free
and shedding my clothing as I hurried to the bathroom. Daddy’s
laughter followed me as I scampered to the shower.
As I’d hoped, it wasn’t long before Daddy joined me. Snagging
the shower gel, he eyed my hungrily. “We’re going have so much
fun, Kitten.”
I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck, stretching up on my tiptoes
even as I pulled him down for a hot, wet kiss. Water sluiced over us as
Daddy’s soapy hands slid easily up and down my back, then to my ass as
he squeezed and kneaded. “I think my little Kitten needed this time
away.”
“Maybe. I love being home with our little family, but I feel like
I’ve been let out of a very big, very gilded cage.” I grinned up
at him, knowing he’d understand what I meant.
As I expected, Daddy chuckled, leaning down to kiss me again, his hands
never stopping their soothing stroking. “I understand completely.
Before we continue, though, I need to explain my thoughts with regard to
you.”
I cocked my head, a thread of worry slinking through me. I knew I was still
insecure with Daddy. As long as he’d been in my life, I’d have
thought I could feel comfortable. He’d even asked me to marry him! But
there was still that last little bit of doubt that told me I wasn’t
good enough.
Daddy had picked me up from a very low time in my life, a woman with no one
and nothing, and brought me into his world as his pet. A treasured pet, but
a pet nonetheless. He’d assured me time after time that I was so much
more, that I was his woman and I would always be with him, that I was his
and he was mine. Sometimes, though, I remembered that Daddy was not only
good looking but exceedingly, obscenely wealthy and could have any woman he
wanted. Most men I’d known would have, given the opportunity. I
didn’t believe Daddy was like that. Not at all. I just needed
reassurance sometimes. This was one of those times.
“I brought Enzo into our circle. I let one of my valued, trusted
employees partake of your sweet body. That’s not always going to
happen. I allowed Adam to fuck you because he’d pleased me, but mostly
because I knew you needed it. I think you need me to share you as much as I
need to share you. I chose Adam because he was available and had taken care
of both of us, anticipating both our needs. I chose Enzo for a very
different reason, though.”
“Because he guards me. You wanted to reward him.”
“Partly, yes.”
“Partly?”
He bent down to take one of my nipples between his lips and sucked.
About the Author
Welcome to Wanda Violet O.'s world of bedtime fantasy, where you'll find a
variety of sexy creatures ready to drink their fill. Wanda specializes in
extreme kink. Monsters, BDSM role play... she's got it all. Come take a look
for yourself!
Any other year, hockey player Grady Armstrong would be licking his wounds after a disappointing playoffs exit. Somehow, this year, he’s in the stands as his rival-turned-boyfriend Max Lockhart competes for the Stanley Cup… and there’s nowhere he’d rather be. Well, except maybe lifting the Cup himself. So along with preparing his body for next season, Grady prepares to ask Max to stay in his life permanently.
Max figures it can’t be easy for Grady to watch Max cash in on his dreams, but if he’s struggling, he hides it well—which is great, because they don’t get much time together during the season, and it would suck if Grady spent the summer sulking.
But while Grady may still be a competitive bastard, he doesn’t sulk. He nurses Max through hangovers. He comes home with him for the summer. He loses fishing bets. He earns so many boyfriend points Max should really level him up. The question is, how?
Excerpt
The day after the parade, Grady and Max took Max’s parents to the train station. “Thank you so much for the hospitality,” Max’s mom gushed as she hugged Grady goodbye. “You’ve been a wonderful host.”
Grady, who didn’t know how to talk to parents because his had died before he became an adult, looked embarrassed. “It’s Max’s house too.”
This was an abject lie; Max’s name was nowhere near the paperwork. He just lived there.
But Max’s parents didn’t know that—at least Max didn’t think they did. Max’s dad just said, “I hope you’ll come out and visit us all this summer. It would be good to see you.”
They shook hands and Grady said, “I’ll be there.”
Max almost fell over. How many boyfriend points was that? Was Grady doing some kind of speed run?
“I’m flying, though,” Grady continued, gesturing at the train platform.
Max’s mom laughed and hugged him again. “I don’t blame you. We’ll see you in a few weeks, boys.”
When she wrapped Max up in her arms, she squeezed so tightly Max’s eyeballs almost popped. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. You deserve this.”
Max was less than 50 percent sure she was talking about hockey, but he squeezed back. “Love you, Mom. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You’re darn right.”
Then they got on the train, and Max and Grady got back in the car to go home.
“I’m supposed to do altitude training with Jess in Colorado this summer.” Grady flicked on the blinker to merge onto the highway. “Ten days in early August. You want to come?”
Max swallowed. Grady took sibling time with Jess very seriously, since they were each other’s only family. “I won’t be crashing?”
Grady glanced at him sideways, then returned his attention to the road and changed lanes. “I’m inviting you, so no.”
“Okay.” Max felt warm all the way through. He would’ve needed to do some altitude training anyway, but it meant something to have an official invite. “Thanks.”
“I mean….” Grady paused and hit the brakes as LA traffic LA trafficked. “That’s assuming you’re not sick of me by then, I guess. Or were you planning on having me stay with your parents?”
What? Max tilted his head and stared at him. “Why would you stay with my parents?”
Grady’s ears had gone pink. “’Cause you still haven’t officially invited me to your Cup party. Or, you know, your house in New Brunswick.”
Oh.
“Okay, well, now that I’m not drunk, hungover, or jinxing it, hey, Grady, do you want to come spend the summer with me in New Brunswick?”
The car jolted a little as Grady braked hard to avoid an accident. When he’d navigated around it, he said, “The whole summer?”
“I mean, other than going to Colorado and maybe if you want to take a vacation somewhere.” Preferably with Max, but would that be too much? “I mean, we don’t see a lot of each other during the season, so—”
“Yes.”
So many boyfriend points. “Are you sure? I’m related to, like, half of New Brunswick. It’s going to be a lot.”
“I can handle it,” Grady said.
Max heard, You’re worth it.
They were worth it.
Truthfully, it would be a lot for Max too. His family would give him endless shit over falling in love with a rival player—and Grady, who had a reputation as kind of a stick in the mud, would provide plenty of opportunities for his aunts and uncles and cousins to mock him. But Max had never minded that, and he didn’t think Grady would either.
At Christmas last year, Grady’d held his own with Max’s siblings and niblings, and Max’s heart had grown three sizes because he got to give Grady a full family holiday experience. And that was before they were technically even together. It was Max’s pleasure to provide Grady with family-level chirping—and to be chirped about him—forever.
Well. Now he knew what happened if someone got too many boyfriend points.
Max cleared his throat. “Okay, then. I’ll book us tickets.”
About the Authors
Ashlyn Kane likes to think she can do it all, but her follow-through often proves her undoing. Her house is as full of half-finished projects as her writing folder. With the help of her ADHD meds, she gets by.
An early reader and talker, Ashlyn has always had a flair for language and storytelling. As an eight-year-old, she attended her first writers’ workshop. As a teenager, she won an amateur poetry competition. As an adult, she received a starred review in Publishers Weekly for her novel Fake Dating the Prince. There were quite a few years in the middle there, but who’s counting?
Her hobbies include DIY home decor, container gardening (no pulling weeds), music, and spending time with her enormous chocolate lapdog. She is the fortunate wife of a wonderful man, the daughter of two sets of great parents, and the proud older sister/sister-in-law of the world’s biggest nerds.
Morgan James is a clueless (older) millennial who’s still trying to figure out what they’ll be when they grow up and enjoying the journey to get there. Now, with a couple of degrees, a few stints in Europe, and more than one false start to a career, they eagerly wait to see what’s next. James started writing fiction before they could spell and wrote their first (unpublished) novel in middle school. They haven’t stopped writing since. Geek, artist, archer, and fanatic, Morgan tends to pass their free hours with in imaginary worlds and people on pages and screens—it’s an addiction. As is their love of coffee and tea. They live in Canada with their massive collection of unread books, where they are the personal servant of too many four-legged creatures.
The
Fallenwood Chronicles is the ongoing story of Ash Kensington, a young
woman who finds herself transported into a fantasy world, where she
must take up arms in a battle of Good vs. Evil, against the Dark Lord
Malegaunt. Tragedy strikes her life in the real world, but she finds
friends in Fallenwood, like her mentor Will Everett, a talking cat
named Greymalkin, and a court jester named Terces. Working together,
they battle against the odds as Ash faces attacks from the world and
from within. Eventually Ash finds the strength within herself, to
attempt the fight against Malegaunt, against overwhelming odds, come
what may.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
Her
heart raced and she breathed slowly, trying to calm her frazzled
nerves. Glancing around, she wondered how far off the road she’d
wandered. She knew it had been midday when she’d started running,
and now looking up into the star-filled sky, it had to be late into
the night. A rush of air greeted her the moment she reached this
strange part of the forest, before her eyes had temporarily forsaken
her. The wind whipped around her from all sides. She backed away from
where she stood, and the wind felt like it was whooshing up from a
precipice. Ashley paused to allow her eyes to adjust to the dark.
When her sight returned, she realized that she was standing nowhere
near a cliff—it was just an unfamiliar area of forest. Suddenly, a
ball of fire hurtled overhead in an arc toward her. Her mind screamed
at her to run, but she found that her legs wouldn’t move. The
flaming orb continued its descent, burrowing itself into the soft
ground only inches away from Ashley’s boots. Two men rushed toward
her, arguing all the while as Ashley stood immobilized. Her bones
were in revolt. Her brain scrambled for an alias to give out to the
men if they asked, but she could only come up with Ash, because she
was looking at the little pile of soot at her boots. “Deflected,”
the man in the lead announced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Leslie
D. Soule received her M.A. in English from National University. She
is a scholar, artist, citizen journalist, and martial artist. She has
been an established writer for a decade, and has novels published by
Melange Books, Terror House Press, Gypsy Shadow Publishing, and Nat 1
Publishing. The Fallenwood Chronicles is her 4-book fantasy series
and features the novels Fallenwood, Forgetting Fallenwood, Betrayer,
and Retribution.
A
tragically attractive vampire, a hunky wolf-man and a skeptical but
susceptible career gal. What could possibly go wrong?
Bianca
Sorenson understands obsession. Her phenomenally successful Vamp
magazine feeds the popular fascination with the undead. The city is
full of fanatics who want to believe vampires are real. Bianca knows
that’s a fantasy. Then a blond, blue-eyed blood drinker walks into
her office looking for a model’s job and turns her universe upside
down. Jim Bush hasn’t been a vampire for long, but his terrible
history and seductive hunger undermine Bianca’s single-minded
ambition and her cherished self-control.
Trying
to escape from Jim’s disturbing influence, she collides with a
shaggy giant of a man whose mere presence inspires irresistible lust.
When Zack Kane reveals that he’s a wolf shifter and claims Bianca
as his mate, she finds herself on the horns of a supernatural
dilemma. How can she resolve her feelings for her two mutually
hostile lovers while defusing a city-wide conflict between the
vampire clique and the werewolf pack?
Fans
of Twilight:
get ready for a wilder ride than you ever imagined!
Excerpt
The blond vampire reached over to her
dressing table to pick up a leather-bound notebook. “It’s lucky
you use a physical day planner instead of a calendar app.” He
sighed again, apparently out of habit. “I admit, I came looking for
you tonight. I was desperate to see you. I thought we should
discuss—well, I’ll be honest, I was weak. I imagined that perhaps
we could—I kept remembering your warmth, your scent…” He shook
his head as his voice trailed off. “It’s so easy to deceive
myself. To let the hunger think for me.”
“Oh, Jim!” She bounced off the
bed and enfolded him in her arms. Though his skin was like cool
marble, fire sizzled through her at the contact. A steady pulse beat
between her legs. An ache grew in her chest, an echo of his pain. She
could soothe him, heal him, if only he’d allow it. Leaning in, she
pressed her lips to his, silently urging him to surrender.
For a fraction of a second, she felt
his answering passion. Then he turned his head away to break the
connection.
“Don’t. Please. Don’t tempt me,
Bianca.” Extricating himself from her clutches, he pinned her with
his gaze. His normally blue eyes deepened to wells of blackness.
“Stay away from vampires, for your own safety. Away from me, and
definitely away from that harpy at the club.”
“How did you arrange for the
police? Did they really have a warrant?”
Jim’s embarrassment was obvious.
“It seems I have some ability to plant ideas in the minds of
suggestible individuals. I didn’t realize I had that kind of power,
but when I saw that creature—Elena? —messing with your thoughts,
I figured I had to try.”
“Well, I’m very grateful. I
probably should have known better than to accept her invitation in
the first place.”
Jim rose from his chair and began to
pace. “I agree. You took a grave risk.”
Bianca slumped back down on the bed,
her eyes following his back-and-forth progress. “But she’s a
business associate. Elena Lazarescu’s a major force in the vampire
ecosystem. She’s a wizard at branding. Just think about how many
potential subscribers she could deliver…”
He whirled to face her. “Bianca!
Just listen to yourself! ‘Vampire ecosystem’? ‘Wizard at
branding’? After you came close to being Elena’s victim! Didn’t
you see what was going on at her club? Pathetic humans being drained
to feed her blood hunger and that of her clique. This isn’t about
business or marketing, fashion or fads.”
“But—”
“Your readers live in a fantasy
world, but vampires are real. And they’re not trendy, romantic or
sexy. They’re monsters, driven by an insatiable craving they’ll
do anything to satisfy.” The young man glared at her, fists
clenched at his sides. “I’m
a monster, Bianca—no
matter how I try to fool myself.”
She was on her feet again, hand on
his arm. “No, Jim—you’re not like her. You’d never hurt me.”
He yanked himself from her grasp. “I
already have, don’t you see? This bond between us—”
“So you feel it, too…”
“It’s the blood, Bianca, the
blood we’ve shared. Nothing more. And it will destroy us both if we
let it.”
Soul
Mates (Plural)
The
notion of finding one’s soul mate—the one individual in the
universe whom you’re destined to love—is possibly the most
fundamental romance trope. I can understand the appeal of this
concept. It’s both reassuring and thrilling to imagine a lover
perfectly attuned to your needs, your ideal complement and companion,
a person who makes you whole and vice versa.
Paranormal
romance frees me from the constraints of realism. In a world infused
with magic, I can suspend disbelief about forever-after perfect
matings. Magic imposes structure and symmetry on the tale. Perfect
love may be kindled by enchantment, or may reflect age-old
connections. Old souls, old lovers, may meet again in a new life. A
quest, a struggle against evil forces, may bind two characters
together for eternity.
In
paranormal erotic romance, you can recognize your soul mate by the
transcendent and irrational lust he inspires. The author doesn’t
need to explain the attraction; it’s magic, a given.
What
happens, though, when more than one character feels like the One?
That’s the situation in my new paranormal erotic romance Fangs,
Fur and the Single Girl.
My heroine Bianca is a hard-headed businesswoman, supremely
self-controlled and immune to flights of fancy. When she succumbs to
temptation and offers her blood to an emotionally wounded vampire,
though, she finds herself bound to him, both physically and
psychically. Meanwhile, she encounters a shy but potent wolf shifter
whose scent overwhelms her with desire. Each of them wants to claim
her. Each of them feels “right”.
Is
it possible to have more than one soul mate? Read Fangs,
Fur and the Single Girl
and find out!
Colorado Medicaid stuck it to a whole bunch of people, so I'm no one special in my status of being one of those who got the shaft. They now cover my mostly useless Medicare B premiums, but no medical services. I can buy back in at $25 per month if I can show proof of self-employment. However, I can't make too much money, or SSDI will discontinue my benefits. Hard place, meet rock.
Thus, I offer my services as a line editor/proofreader on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. The cost is a minimum of $5, but I greatly appreciate it if you can afford to pay more.
Please email me at chartley65 at Gmail or carahartley at protonmail to request assistance. I can generally thoroughly proofread a 10,000-word story in 2 or 3 days. I have many years of experience editing what may be the worst writing in existence (mine). Surely, I can help you with yours!
I'm not a dev editor, but I will point out areas that could benefit from rephrasing or clarifying. I keep my eyes open for the sort of thing where the writer knows exactly what's going on but doesn't quite explain it to the reader. Of course, I never do things like that. My writing is always perfectly clear and never includes too much backstory or anything of that nature because I am literary perfection personified!
My dumb sense of humor is an additional service I offer free of charge.
Seriously, if you'd like me to give your manuscript the once-over, you can pay me as little as five bucks. There's pretty much no limit on length, but if you're submitting a five-hundred-page manuscript, maybe you could up the ante. You'll have another set of eyes on your manuscript, and you'll be helping me a lot.
Regarding book reviews, I still do these free of charge, but I would appreciate a tip if you liked the review. I will not guarantee a five-star review. It is rare for me to give less than three stars. You can do a search for reviews on this site to see samples of my style. I prefer to receive ARCs as a PDF, but if you only have an epub, I can convert it to a PDF.
For promotion, I strongly suggest that you compare the book tour services featured at the bottom of the blog and choose one of them to work with. Their rates are reasonable, and they will get your book in front of a lot more eyes than I can as a solo blogger. Feel free to leave a comment on any recent post telling me the name of the book and who you're working with and I will sign up to help if I have availability.
I am also willing to swap a post for a post. In other words, I feature your book on this blog, and you feature one of my books on your blog.
If you would like to do a guest post, I will need a Blogger-friendly HTML file or a media kit plus a picture of your book cover, blurb, purchase links, and an excerpt from the book. You can also include an author bio if you wish.
