23 July 2022

Double Dipped (One Scoop or Two) by Terry Korth Fischer Book Tour and Giveaway!

 

Double Dipped (One Scoop or Two) by Terry Korth Fischer

About Double Dipped

 

Double Dipped (One Scoop or Two) 

Cozy Mystery Novella Setting - Wisconsin 

Part of: One Scoop or Two (41 books) 

The Wild Rose Press, Inc (June 29, 2022) 

Print length ‏ : ‎ 137 pages 

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09W8RLJ4X

Accepting second best is good for her career, but first-grade teacher, Retta Curt, delays signing up for the disappointment. Given two weeks to reconsider her contract, she retreats to Gram’s cottage on Moon Lake, the last place she felt contentment. But the cottage is derelict; Cousin Julie, distant; childhood beaux, Dean, bitter; and Sweet Picks, the family ice cream stand, in danger of folding. Magruder, a surly newcomer, is buying and then neglecting properties until nothing remains of the idyllic lakeside community she remembers. When vandals target Sweet Picks, Retta’s dreams to recapture her happy childhood collapse, and the return to Moon Lake becomes a decision worse than accepting her teaching contract. Star-crossed, can she save the family business and rediscover happiness, or is Retta destined for a second-best future?

About Terry Korth Fischer

Terry Korth Fischer writes short stories, memoirs, and mysteries. Her debut mystery, Gone Astray, introduced Detective Rory Naysmith, a seasoned city cop relocated to small-town Winterset, Nebraska. The Rory Naysmith Mysteries continued with Gone Before, January 2022. Transplanted from the Midwest, Terry lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two guard cats. When not writing, she loves reading, gardening, and basking in the sunshine. Yet, her heart often wanders to the country's heartland, where she spent a memorable—ordinary but charmed—childhood. Learn more about Terry at her author website: https://terrykorthfischer.com

Author Links 

  Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Apple Books 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 11 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 11 – Books Blog – SPOTLIGHT

July 12 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

July 12 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 13 – Novels Alive – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

July 14 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 15 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

July 17 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

July 18 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

July 19 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST

July 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

July 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, GUEST POST

July 22 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

July 23 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 24 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

July 25 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT

July 25 – ebook addicts – REVIEW



Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?





A Little Wilder is book 4 in the Wilder Adventures by Serena Bell Book Blitz and Giveaway! #serenabell #AlittleWilder #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 

A Little Wilder
Serena Bell


(Wilder Adventures, #4)
Publication date: July 19th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

What happened in Vegas? Definitely didn’t stay in Vegas.

Gabe’s the oldest. Brody’s the bad boy. Clark’s the strong, silent warrior. Amanda’s the girl. And Easton—well, Easton’s the panty melter.

I’m Kane.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad job. But usually, I’m not the one people are talking about.

That’s about to change. Because the woman I had a smoking hot one-night stand with in Vegas? The one I should have stayed far, far away from, since women like her are my kryptonite?

She’s the same woman my brother just hired to redesign his fancy new glamping RVs.

I haven’t seen her since Vegas, but the instant I lay eyes on her, I can tell my quiet role as the boy-next-door brother is about to change.

She’s pregnant.

And it’s mine.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT:

There’s a knock on Bernadette’s door.

It pulls me out of deep concentration on the trailer project and sends a small thrill of anticipation up my spine.

Kane.

It’s gotta be Kane. It’s not like I get visitors.

I haul myself off the couch—an increasingly challenging undertaking. Even though I know it has to be him, I peep out. One of the awesome mods on Bernadette, courtesy of her previous owner, is a peephole, which is super useful when you’re a single woman on the road alone.

And even though I know it has to be him, I still feel a surge of pleased surprise when I see his face.

“Delivery,” he says, holding out a big, round Tupperware… cake holder? “Boston cream pie.”

Holy shit, he found it.

I yank open the door and have to stop myself from snatching the cake out of his hands. Or throwing my arms around him and hugging the crap out of him. “Where did you find it?”

“I—”

He stops, appearing to think better of whatever he was about to say, but it’s too late. I know where that sentence was going.

“You made it?”

“Amanda helped,” he says, like that’s going to take anything away from a six-foot-something built-like-a-God man who bakes Boston cream pies.

“Aaaaahhhh!” I cry, overcome. “You are a saint and a genius.”

He tries to bite back a smile. “I think you’re overstating things a little.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. I have been fantasizing about yellow custard, soft yellow cake, and chocolate ganache nonstop since before I knew Kane had planted this baby in me. “Come in. You have to have some, too.”

“It’s all for you,” he says. “I wouldn’t take any of your special treat. Your presentation was fantastic. You deserve all the cake.”

This guy. I swear. He was too much in Vegas, when all I knew about him was that he asked real questions and knew how to use his body for both good and evil. Now…
“Well, come in anyway.”

He hesitates again, then follows me in, setting the cake on the counter. I wash my hands and take two small plates down from the cabinets. I grab two forks from the utensil drawer and two mugs from the overhead hooks. “I don’t have coffee—” I gesture at my belly, “—but I have tea, milk, or water.”

“Water would be great,” he says. “And no cake. I’m serious. It’s yours.”

I wrestle the cake carrier open and cut into my prize. My mouth waters as I do. It’s so—
Not gonna say moist, but holy shit, it soooo is.

We sit at Bernadette’s little pink dinette table. I’d forgotten how small this table is with two people at it. Or maybe it’s how big Kane is; his knees touch mine, and his arms cover so much territory, even with his hands folded. I force myself to look away because staring at close range is both rude and dangerous.

His eyes are very, very blue.

I dig in. “Oh, wow,” I say. “Wow.”

It’s soft. Moist (again, sorry!). Tender, springy. The custard is cool and smooth on my tongue, the ganache dark and flavorful.

“Mmm. Just. Thank you.”

Kane grins at me, like he’s pleased, though there’s something else in his expression I can’t quite read. “I did good?”

“You did amazing. So good I could kiss you.”

One eyebrow goes up, but he only says, “How does it rate among the Boston cream pies of the world?”

“It’s up there. Although pregnancy might be biasing me.” I lick a bite that’s mostly custard from my fork, and catch a glimpse of Kane’s face. His eyes are… interested. I lick again, for good measure, and notice the muscle in his jaw tense.

A ripple of tension slides down the lower slope of my belly and lodges itself in my internal muscles. In their constantly primed state, they… quiver dangerously.

The next time I look at him, Kane’s eyes are on my chest. I’m wearing a flowy green maternity dress with a low scoop neck, and, why, yes, it does show off my newly ridiculously huge boobs to excellent advan—

“You have—“

He reaches out. “Some cake—”

His finger almost touches the upper curve of my breast, and, oh, whoops, yes, that is cake on my boob. I use my own finger to scoop it up, then lick it clean.

I hear the moment the breath leaves Kane’s lungs.

I see the moment his gaze travels from my chest to my mouth, when it fixes on my finger, sliding between my lips. The moment it sticks, and stays, right there on my mouth, even as my hand drops away.

“Mari—”

His voice is hoarse.

“Do it. Just—do it,” I order him.

Then he’s leaning over the table, setting his mouth over mine, hot and unhesitating and so, so good.


USA Today bestselling author Serena Bell writes contemporary romance with heat, heart, and humor. A former journalist, Serena has always believed that everyone has an amazing story to tell if you listen carefully, and you can often find her scribbling in her tiny garret office, mainlining chocolate and bringing to life the tales in her head.

Serena’s books have earned many honors, including an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, Apple Books Best Book of the Month, and Amazon Best Book of the Year for Romance.

When not writing, Serena loves to spend time with her college-sweetheart husband and two hilarious kiddos—all of whom are incredibly tolerant not just of Serena’s imaginary friends but also of how often she changes her hobbies and how passionately she embraces the new ones. These days, it’s stand-up paddle boarding, board-gaming, meditation, and long walks with good friends.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:
XBTBanner1

Keeping My Girl by @AuthorAngelaS Book Blitz sand Giveaway! #AngelaSnyder #KeepingMyGirl #XpressoTours @XpressoTours




Keeping My Girl
Angela Snyder


(Keeping What’s Mine, #2)
Publication date: July 19th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Nico Vitale

The girl I fell in love with was ripped from my arms, never to be heard from again.

She was sold to the cruelest man on the planet, Constantine Carbone — my family’s number one enemy.

Over the years, I haven’t stopped looking for Selina.

And then one fateful night, I finally find her.

In a move that will undoubtedly bring war upon my family, I save Selina, killing Constantine’s son in the process.

I soon come to realize that Selina is nothing like the girl I once fell in love with, but none of that matters.

She’s mine.

She’s always been mine.

And when her past comes back to haunt her, threatening to steal her away from me again, I vow to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

This time I’m not letting her go.

Author’s note: Keeping My Girl is Nico Vitale’s story, and although it is a standalone, it would be better enjoyed after reading Keeping My Bride.
**Warning: Due to the sensitive subject matter contained in this book, it may cause triggers. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

SELINA

I WAKE UP slowly, my vision blurry as I rapidly blink away the moisture in my eyes. Once my vision begins to clear, I study the room I’m in. It’s lavish, luxuriously decorated in muted grays and purples. And the first thing that comes to mind is that I’m back in Constantine’s clutches.

I try to remember the last thing that happened, and my heart begins to pound rapidly in my chest like an angry war drum when the memories come flooding back in a rush.

Gino was assaulting me.

There was a stranger in the room.

The knife.

Gino’s neck being sliced open.

Me being covered in blood…and other gross stuff that I can’t even think about right now.

Me struggling to breathe.

And then…nothing.

Now I am here, and I have no idea exactly where here is. Did the man in the room work for Constantine? No, he couldn’t have. Constantine wouldn’t have sent a hitman after his only son. And if I’m not with Constantine but with the man who drugged and kidnapped me…then I might be in bigger trouble than if I was with my original captor.

Sitting up, I stare down at my right arm, which has an IV needle sticking out of it. Wincing, I pull the needle out and quickly climb out of bed. My heart beats in a weird staccato as I grab onto things to help with my balance and make my way over to one of the large windows on the other side of the room.

It’s getting dark outside, so I can’t see much. My eyes dart around, fixating on the high fence surrounding the property. Have I been here before? I search for anything that looks familiar. Constantine has many homes scattered all over the US and in other countries, and I think I have been to all of them. Perhaps I’ve been here before with him.

I try to think harder, but my brain is fuzzy and I’m having trouble focusing.

My pills. I need my pills.

I stare down at my wrists. The fact that I’m not chained or handcuffed in some way and the fact that I am dressed, albeit in a hospital gown, is all new to me. I was Constantine’s property, and he liked to remind me of that often.

The door to the room swings open suddenly, and I jump back from the window, alarmed. A young woman dressed in dark blue scrubs enters the room, and her eyes widen when she sees me.

“You’re awake,” she says, clearly surprised. Her bright blue eyes immediately shift to my arm, and I follow her gaze there. “And you pulled your IV out.” She frowns when she sees the blood dripping down my arm. “Please get back in bed. I’m going to go get some bandages and disinfectant. I’ll be right back.”

She leaves the room, and the door is left open. When she disappears into another room down the hallway, I decide now is my chance to try to escape.


Angela Snyder is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Angela grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania with a passion for reading and writing stories since she was a child. She recently decided to pursue her lifelong dream and published her debut novel, Vampire Next Door, in 2013. Angela currently lives in an even smaller town in Pennsylvania with her husband and her very spoiled Golden Retriever.

In October 2015, the paranormal romance anthology Wicked After Dark, including her standalone debut novel, Vampire Next Door, hit #13, her lucky number, on the New York Times bestseller list.

On January 17, 2019, the romantic suspense anthology, Wanted: An Outlaw Anthology, including her novel, Devious, hit #64 on the USA Today's Best Sellers List.

Angela has continued to top Amazon's bestseller charts with her newest release, Keeping My Bride.

Sign up for Angela's newsletter to be the first to know about her upcoming new releases, sales, freebies and more: http://eepurl.com/cNF0o5

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / TikTok / Newsletter


Hosted by:
XBTBanner1

 

Love You Again by @jkentauthor Book Blitz and Giveaway! #JuliaKent #LoveYouAgain #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 

Love You Again
Julia Kent


(Love You, Maine, #2)
Publication date: July 19th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Set in the woodsy small town of Luview, “Love You,” Maine – a tourist favorite where every day is Valentine’s Day – local police officer and single dad Luke Luview has spent the last two years making his young daughter his priority after his wife’s death. When first-love Kylie Hood comes back into town under bizarre circumstances, he learns that nothing’s a coincidence – and maybe second chances are possible after all.

If you’re looking for a fun read about first kisses, second chances, featuring a hot single dad small town police officer and his accidental nanny, set in a small town in New England, with a golden retriever named Jester, a heroine whose dream in life is to run a fairy camp, and a hero who wants to build a place where everyone belongs – then this is your book.

Grab a cup of coffee, tea, and maybe some edible glitter, and get your happy meter ready as you read the second book in the Love You, Maine series – where love isn’t just a feeling – it’s a way of life.

✓Single Dad
✓Second chance
✓Small town romance
✓Local police officer and his last-minute nanny
…and a Golden Retriever named Jester

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT:

A white puff of air filled the space between him and the steering wheel, and he realized he’d sighed. How long had he been sitting here, mind and memory in the past? Shoving his hands into gloves, he opened the rear door, grabbed the white plastic bag, and made his way to the front of the bin.

Determined, focused, and grim: That was Luke Luview these days. A bad match for a town that existed to make people feel good about love.

Living in Love You, Maine–heck, being a Luview–was never harder than when you had a broken heart.

Time to let go of some of the pain.

“AAAAAAooooooooo,” called out a band of coyotes in the distance, making Luke jolt. His personal weapon was at home. He didn’t carry it in the glove compartment or on his body when he was off duty, but as the coyote population grew in the area, maybe he should.

A few feet from the donation bin’s front, he looked at the lever to pull down, squeezing the bag slightly. A whiff of Amber’s perfume caught his nose, so faint he almost imagined it.

Colleen had washed all the clothes a few weeks ago, so he knew he imagined Amber’s scent. Didn’t matter. He’d take the illusion. That was how much he hurt.

A skitter inside the box made him frown.

Damn animals. They got in those bins all the time. He felt sorry for the poor sap who emptied these metal boxes, carting all the goods to the warehouse in Manchester where they cleaned and sorted, getting it all ready for the second-hand retail stores.

Just do this, he thought, swallowing hard as the coyotes mated in the distance. The sound was violent and creepy, but for whatever reason, it felt fitting.

Throwing the tangible reminders of that terrible day into the donation box felt dangerous, too.

“I love you, Amber,” he murmured. “But I have to let you go. Have to let that day go. Harriet needs a daddy who isn’t tied down by grief. Just because I’m doing this doesn’t mean I love you any less, though.”

Tears pricked his eyes. “Why is this so hard? Because it’s hard,” he said with a huff. “That’s what you would say if you were here. You’d hug me and comfort me and tell me feelings are meant to be felt or they’d be called something else. You’d have all the right words. I don’t have any. I just have a big hole in my life, Amber. And you’re never going to fill it. Colleen says I can’t feel guilty for moving on. I don’t. But I sure do feel weird.”

And then he reached for the handle, pulled it down, and threw the bag in while calling out loudly, “I love you.”

To his utter shock, she replied from the darkness of the box, “I’m in here!”


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. Since 2013, she has sold more than 2 million books, with 4 New York Times bestsellers and more than 21 appearances on the USA Today bestseller list. Her books have been translated into French, German, and Italian, with more titles releasing in the future.

From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire she met in a romantic comedy).

She lives in New England with her husband and three children where she is the only person in the household with the gene required to change empty toilet paper rolls.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, on Facebook at @jkentauthor, and on Instagram @jkentauthor. Visit her at http://jkentauthor.com

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Amazon / Bookbub / Newsletter


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:
XBTBanner1

Two Boy Summer by @melissachambersauthor Book Blitz and Giveaway! #melissachambers #TwoBoySummer #XpressoTours @XpressoTours

 




Two Boy Summer
Melissa Chambers


Publication date: July 19th 2022
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Two boys, one boardwalk, and her sweetest summer ever

Jules Jarvis never asked to be a rags-to-riches cliché. Since moving from simple Sugarbush Island, Florida five years ago to elite Greenwich, Connecticut, she has done little but miss the life and the true friends she left behind, especially Adrian Ryker. With one touch of her knee against his, her then twelve-year-old heart was stolen and never returned.

Now seventeen and headed back to Sugarbush for the summer, Jules hopes to reconnect with her old life by working at the candy apple stand on the boardwalk and reuniting with the friends she left behind, particularly Adrian. The only problem is she ghosted them all five years ago when seeing their pictures and posts became unbearable. Now she’s back and ready to eat a big ole crow sandwich with an extra-large side of groveling. It’ll be worth it to follow the hope of discovering where that magical knee touch might lead.

But Heath Townsend, the irritating boy interning with her stepdad for the summer, won’t quit popping up at the exact wrong times, making it twice as hard to connect with Adrian. Jules is here to rebuild her life—not fall for a preppy, cocky, Yale-bound jerk, no matter how charming that quirky smile of his can be.

For fans of Jillian Dodd, Beth Reekles, Jenny Han, and anyone who loves a great YA love triangle romance!

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT:

“Your mom’s really young, isn’t she?” Heath says.

“Yeah. She had me when she was sixteen.”

“She looks like she could be your sister.”

“Yep,” I say, that being exactly the eighteen hundredth time I’ve heard that.

I reach for my suitcase, but he lifts it and heads up the stairs. “I’ll take it up for you.”

I hesitate before following him. Craig would sooner gouge his eyes out than have something happen to me on his watch, so he must trust this guy implicitly. But that’s not to say I do.

Heath stops at the top of the stairs and scoots to the side. “Lead the way.” I poke my head into each of the rooms, Heath doing the same. “This one looks out on the pool and it’s got its own bathroom,” he says.

I had already pretty much settled on that one, so I shrug and head inside.

He points to the window on the far wall. “It’s got a view of my room too.”

I lift my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

He hefts my suitcase onto a bed and then points again. “My family’s in that one.” He squints one eye. “My room’s right there. The blinds are pulled right now, but I’ll be sure and lift them, especially when I get out of the shower.”

I peer at him, starting to seriously question Craig’s judgment.

“I’m kidding. One of us had to break the ice. You’ve been looking at me like I’m a serial killer since before you got in the car. I don’t bite…unless you want me to.” He waggles his eyebrows and then picks up a decorative shell and inspects it.

I eye him. “Who are you?”

His lip quirks up in a smile, his gaze still focused on the shell. “Such disdain already. I must be doing something right.”

“You want me to dislike you?”

“Oh no. That’s impossible. I’m far too charming for that.”

I try to make out if he’s being irreverent or if he’s a cocky a-hole. I can’t tell yet. I plop down on the bed. “So, you’re starting the apprentice program, huh?”

“For the summer, yeah.”

I frown. “You mean you’re not doing the full five-year plan? The high school to college to real life program?”

“Nah. Just the summer. Just to occupy my time and keep me out of my parents’ house. What about you? What’s your gig this summer?”

“I’m working at the boardwalk. My uncle manages the place.”

He nods, picking up a turtle knick-knack from a bookshelf and then setting it back down. “Sounds fun,” he says with sort of a sigh, and again, I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or serious. “What’s there to do around here?” he asks peering out the window at the pool.

“Have you never been here before?”

“Nope. Just got here yesterday. Spent last night right out there.”

I rest my hands on my hips. “Why are you so familiar with this house? Don’t you live at the one next door?”

He shoots me a dry look. “My family’s over there.”

I nod, like I get it, but I really don’t. I’ve got a great family. I’ve got two of them actually. Craig and my mom are always including me in everything they do, and when my dad is in town, we do all kinds of stuff together. I guess I never went through that whole my family sucks phase. Because my family’s kind of awesome, even after what I’ve put them through the past five years.

He drops his hands down to his sides. “Well, it’s been stimulating.” He goes to head out of my room.

“Hey,” I say, at my limit with trying to figure this guy out. “Are you an asshole or are you just hard to read?”

He huffs a little laugh and then looks me up and down. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”



Melissa Chambers
writes contemporary novels for young, new, and actual adults. A Nashville native, she spends her days working in the music industry and her nights tapping away at her keyboard. While she’s slightly obsessed with alt rock, she leaves the guitar playing to her husband and kid. She never misses a chance to play a tennis match, listen to an audiobook, or eat a bowl of ice cream. (Rocky road, please!) She has served as president for the Music City Romance Writers and is the author of the Love Along Hwy 30A series, the Before Forever series (YA), and Courting Carlyn (YA).

Website / Goodreads / Facebook Group / Facebook Page / Twitter / Instagram / Amazon / Bookbub


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:
XBTBanner1

Gilded Butterfly by @leslieosullivanwrites Book Blitz and Giveaway! #leslieosullivan #GildedButterfly #instabooks #XpressoTours

 

Gilded Butterfly
Leslie O’Sullivan


(Rockin’ Fairy Tales, #2)
Publication date: July 30th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Gilded Butterfly is the second book in the Rockin’ Fairy Tales adult romantasy series by Leslie O’Sullivan. King Midas and the Golden Touch meets King Lear in a slow-burn, friends to lovers, romance set against the backdrop of a fictional Hollywood music scene.

Chorda Lear is a mega-hot pop artist, Internet influencer, and Irish witch who’s poised to inherit a magical family legacy, the Golden Guitar. She’s the fan favorite on a wildly popular reality television show, “Kickin’ It With Midas,” a trendy chronicle of three Hollywood influencer sisters and their aging rock star father, Midas Lear.

Adair Holliday, a Hollywood producer wunderkind, is slated to step up as showrunner of the Lear’s lucrative TV franchise. He must constantly temper his skepticism over best friend, Chorda’s, practice of magic, but his biggest challenge is denying romantic feelings for her.

When Chorda goes disastrously off-script during the live broadcast of the season finale, Lear banishes her from the show and his life. Adair follows his friend into exile with a plan to reconcile father and daughter. Away from the pressures of Hollywood, a steamy encounter under a waxing moon, deepens friendship into romance. Now, the two must reverse Midas’ edict to save both their professional futures and new-found love.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

This book is in the world of Rockin’ Fairy Tales with some character carryover from Pink Guitars and Falling Stars, Book 1, but it does work as a standalone.

Windshields are a dark destiny for butterflies. As I wind up the drive to Midas Lear’s Waterfall Palace in the Hollywood Hills, my windshield becomes one such destiny for a vibrant blue butterfly. The poor critter traveled to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune with plans to name its cover band Wing Spread.

The driver’s side glass of my deep blue, Tesla model 3 had other plans. In a single fatal moment, the band, Wing Spread became Smush, which sounds more like a pop-up night club than a cover band. In Hollywood, it’s all about the name.

I pull as far off the road in front of the mansion as the narrow drive allows. There are those who would mock me for bemoaning the death of a bug. In my humble opinion, sadness should be mandated when something lovely is destroyed. I, Adair Holliday, am to blame for a drop of beauty gone from the world.

I retrieve an index card from the leather messenger bag my half-brother, Desmond, gave me last month on my thirtieth birthday with the directive: “Time to upgrade from your folksy backpack look, Adair.”

Across the road, I pick my way down a steep bank landscaped as a butterfly garden to the shore of a narrow stream fed by cascading water features of the mansion. It’s ironic the intentional flora attracts winged beauties only to threaten death via windshields and waterfalls.

Before me, the final brushstrokes of a California sunset reflect off Midas Lear’s Waterfall Palace, three stories of glass framed with stacked stone walls. The president of Golden Pipes Records runs his music empire from this Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water House meets Irish castle.

Spray from the waterfall spilling from the cantilevered stone shelf at the mansion’s base dots the butterfly’s wings. I crouch at the water’s edge to release the creature and its paper ship into the current, a Viking funeral in miniature. The card flips, sending broken blue wings beneath the surface.

A bend in the stream disappears into shadows underneath the peppy blossoms of overhanging purple and pink crepe myrtles. Were I slightly metaphoric, I’d define the waterway as a parallel to the new turn my life is about to take. Maybe the fact I’m figuratively pondering means I possess a drizzle of the poet in my soul. A good showrunner needs such drizzle in the ole creative toolbox.

I’ll leave poetic musings to Midas Lear and his three red-headed daughters. Rubata, Glissanda, and Chorda Lear will be my trio of responsibilities when I step into the executive producer spot on their reality TV show, Kickin’ It With Midas, after we shoot tonight’s season finale. I’m primed to step up my creative splash on the Golden Pipes Network.

I emerge from clusters of crimson columbine and lilac to the roar of an approaching engine. Desmond’s vintage red Ferrari 360 Modena zips around the corner, screeching to a stop inches from my toes.

“Shit, Adair. You nearly ended up on my windshield.”

The timeliness of his comment is not lost on me. I decline to share deets of my Viking butterfly funeral. “Cooling my jets for a sec by the water.”

Des shakes his head. “Cooling your jets? My little brother, crowned prince of outdated idioms and clichés.”

I celebrate and perpetuate the resurrection of sayings I’ve absorbed from the classic and not so classic movies and television programs I adore. More than one person has accused me of time traveling to the present from a black and white 1960s sitcom.

I tap a finger to my chin. “Are colorful phrases ever outdated?”

Rubata, the middle Lear sister, springs through the open pop top of the car. Her dyed cherry-red hair clashes with the Ferrari’s paint. She raises her phone to grab a selfie with a green, white, and red striped bag. “Gelato. I gotta gelata,” she sings and waves a handle bag stamped with the Gelato Buono logo.

I dive to catch the phone she tosses to me.

“Adair, get a shot of me with the gotta gelata and the car.” Rubata holds the bag next to her cheek and puckers her lips. As I snap pictures, she flips her hair and kisses the bag. “Did you get the shot? Wait, switch to video of me singing gotta gelata, gotta gelata.” Through the window, I catch her gold painted toenails dancing across Desmond’s shoulder. “Oooo, Desi, feed me gelata. That’ll look sexxxxy.”

Leslie O’Sullivan is the author of Rockin' Fairy Tales, an adult romance series of Shakespeare/fairy tale mash ups set against the backdrop of Hollywood’s music scene. Coming soon is her Behind the Scenes contemporary romance series that peeks into the off-camera secrets of a wildly popular television drama. She’s a UCLA Bruin with a BA and MFA from their Department of Theater where she also taught for years on the design faculty. Her tenure in the world of television was as the assistant art director on “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show.” Leslie loves to indulge her fangirl side each year at San Diego Comic Con.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:
XBTBanner1

22 July 2022

The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth Book Tour and Giveaway! #TheCrimsonThread #KateForsyth #HFVBT @KateForsyth @blackstoneaudio @hfvbt

 


The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth

Publication Date: July 5, 2022
Blackstone Publishing

Genre: Historical Fiction


In Crete during World War II, Alenka, a young woman who fights with the resistance against the brutal Nazi occupation, finds herself caught between her traitor of a brother and the man she loves, an undercover agent working for the Allies.

May 1941. German paratroopers launch a blitzkrieg from the air against Crete. They are met with fierce defiance, the Greeks fighting back with daggers, pitchforks, and kitchen knives. During the bloody eleven-day battle, Alenka, a young Greek woman, saves the lives of two Australian soldiers.

Jack and Teddy are childhood friends who joined up together to see the world. Both men fall in love with Alenka. They are forced to retreat with the tattered remains of the Allied forces over the towering White Mountains. Both are among the seven thousand Allied soldiers left behind in the desperate evacuation from Crete's storm-lashed southern coast. Alenka hides Jack and Teddy at great risk to herself. Her brother Axel is a Nazi sympathiser and collaborator and spies on her movements.

As Crete suffers under the Nazi jackboot, Alenka is drawn into an intense triangle of conflicting emotions with Jack and Teddy. Their friendship suffers under the strain of months of hiding and their rivalry for her love. Together, they join the resistance and fight to free the island, but all three will find themselves tested to their limits. Alenka must choose whom to trust and whom to love and, in the end, whom to save.

Amazon | Audible | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound 


In this extract from The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth, a young Greek woman named Alenka has put herself in acute danger by hiding two Allied soldiers during the German occupation of Crete. Her younger brother Axel is a Nazi sympathiser, and she knows he will betray her if he should discover her secret. 


Alenka lay curled on her bed, examining the angry red circle of teeth marks on her arm. She could not believe her brother had bitten her. She had tried so hard to be loving and kind. Yet again and again she failed.

Alenka wanted to crawl under her blankets and never come out again. What was the point? Another day of digging through frost for weeds to make soup, another day of grinding acorns to make bread, another day of shrinking away every time she heard the stamp of German boots.

Tears slid down her face. She wiped them away, but still they persisted. Her brother had bitten her so hard. Would it leave a scar? Like the welt on her other arm. Axel had given her that when he was only nine. She had been sitting at the kitchen table, chopping onions with the big kitchen knife, trying to make her brother do his homework. She had put the knife down so that she could lean over and correct his maths. He had picked up the knife and sliced open her arm.

‘Why? Why?’ she had asked him then too, weeping and struggling to stop the blood. He had shrugged. ‘I wanted to see what was inside.’

Flesh, muscle, sinew, nerves, veins, capillaries, arteries, intestines, lungs, heart.

Alenka had been afraid of her brother ever since, no matter how much she pretended not to be.

She lay still, listening to the thudding of her heart, watching the blood seep through the tiny crescents her brother’s teeth had made in her skin. It was dark outside. She could hear the bare branches of the almond tree creaking in the wind. If she did not get up now, it would be too late to go to the little church and be back before curfew. Jack and Teddy relied on her for everything. They would be looking for her, hoping she would come, fearing something had happened to her. Alenka could not lie in her warm bed feeling sorry for herself, when the lives of two young men depended on her. If she failed them, she was letting the Germans win; she was letting terror and death win.

Slowly Alenka got up, put on her shabby coat, wrapped an old black scarf about her head, and pulled on a pair of battered boots soled with the rubber from old tyres. At least they were soundless on the stone floor. She crept into the kitchen, lifted the pot of lentil soup, wrapped it in a cloth to keep it warm, tucked it under her arm and hurried out into the bitter-cold blackness.


Axel was roused by the furtive sound of the front door opening. He peered out his shutters. Alenka was creeping down the laneway. At once he got up, put on his coat and shoes, and slipped out after her.

He knew the general was angry people kept painting huge white Vs on the walls of the villa. Perhaps it was Alenka. If he followed her, he might catch her in the act. Then he could tell Papa Ringel. He would be so pleased, he would have to take Axel to Germany.

But Alenka was walking away from the villa, heading south into the hills. It was hard to see her, so Axel had to creep close to be sure not to lose her. After about half an hour, the old Venetian aqueduct loomed ahead. The road led into the archway, swallowed by darkness.

Alenka trudged into the shadows, her head bent. Suddenly she gave a cry of surprise. It was cut short, as if a hand had been clapped over her mouth. Axel hurried closer.

‘Teddy, no,’ Alenka was saying. ‘Please, stop it. I don’t want . . .’ Again her voice was muffled. Then a loud yelp.

‘Hell, Alenka, there’s no need for that,’ the man’s voice said. Axel stiffened all over. The man was speaking in English.

‘Yes, there is,’ she answered in the same language. ‘Here’s your food. But you’d better get good at catching snails because it’s the last I’m bringing you.’

A low murmur. Axel sidled right up to the archway, trying to make out the words. ‘Okay, okay, I’m sorry,’ the man said. ‘I just wanted some time alone with you. Is that such a crime? It was just a kiss.’

‘Now is not the time for kissing. There’s a war on, remember?’ 

‘All the more reason for it, we might be dead tomorrow.’

‘We will be if you don’t stay hidden. Now I’m going home, and you should too.’ Alenka came quietly out of the shadows, and Axel had to duck down so she wouldn’t see him. She hurried past, her scarf drawn close about the pale oval of her face. Axel waited. He wanted to see who she was meeting.

The scrape of a match being struck. Axel turned back in time to see the flare of light illuminate the face of the man as he lit his cigarette. Fair hair, blue eyes.

Axel recognised him. It was the Australian soldier who had guarded the king.

He grinned.

 

Kate Forsyth wrote her first novel at the age of seven, and is now the internationally bestselling author of 40 books for both adults and children.

Her books for adults include 'Beauty in Thorns', the true love story behind a famous painting of 'Sleeping Beauty'; 'The Beast's Garden', a retelling of the Grimm version of 'Beauty & the Beast', set in the German underground resistance to Hitler in WWII; 'The Wild Girl', the love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told him many of the world's most famous fairy tales; 'Bitter Greens', a retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale; and the bestselling fantasy series 'Witches of Eileanan' Her books for children include 'The Impossible Quest', 'The Gypsy Crown', 'The Puzzle Ring', and 'The Starkin Crown'

Kate has a doctorate in fairytale studies, a Masters of Creative Writing, a Bachelor of Arts in Literature, and is an accredited master storyteller.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads


Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, June 28
Excerpt at Novels Alive

Wednesday, June 29
Review at Novels Alive
Review at Gwendalyn's Books
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Thursday, June 30
Review at The Lit Bitch

Friday, July 1
Review at Books In Their Natural Habitat

Monday, July 4
Review at A Girl Reads Bookss

Tuesday, July 5
Review at My Reading Getaway

Wednesday, July 6
Review at Books, Writings, and More

Thursday, July 7
Review at Girls Just Reading

Friday, July 8
Review at Dive Into a Good Book

Sunday, July 10
Review at Carole's Ramblings

Monday, July 11
Review at Jessica Belmont

Tuesday, July 12
Excerpt at Bonnie Reads and Writes

Wednesday, July 13
Review at The Page Ladies

Thursday, July 14
Review at Momma Doc Reads

Monday, July 18
Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, July 19
Interview at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Wednesday, July 20
Review at Passages to the Past

Thursday, July 21
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, July 22
Excerpt at CelticLady's Reviews

Saturday, July 23
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Monday, July 25
Review at A Darn Good Read

Tuesday, July 26
Review at With a Book in Our Hands

Wednesday, July 27
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Thursday, July 28
Review at Bibliotica

Friday, July 29
Review at Reading the Past

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth! We have 10 copies up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on July 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Crimson Thread


View My Stats!

View My Stats

Pageviews past week

SNIPPET_HTML_V2.TXT
Tweet