Dark Alley to Power Carolina Callings Book 3 by Travis Casey Book Tour!

Dark Alley to Power

Carolina Callings Book 3

by Travis Casey

Genre: Thriller 

Yvette Tyson is making a run for the governor’s office. Her goal is clear. Win.

She has the backing of her boyfriend, Cory Logan. He is kind, gentle, and determined— and offers the kind of support an unmarried black woman needs to get into office. Their relationship has grown over the past year, and she had been seen arm-in-arm with him in public numerous times. She is proud to show him off, and him, her—so there is no color issue—or is that exactly what it is?

Does Cory need a black governor to get a sports center named after him?

Does Yvette need a white boyfriend to win that demographic to get elected?

All bets are off as convicts, ex-husbands, mistresses, unscrupulous family members, secret club affiliations, and manipulating the media are all part of the ammunition at a candidate’s disposal.

All parties are willing to take a
DARK ALLEY TO POWER

**New Release!**

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

The Mayor's Race

Carolina Callings Book 2

Cory Logan retired from boxing after winning millions of dollars, but he never won a world title. When he dies, all he'll have is a headstone that no one will visit. To live in infamy, he wants a sports facility named after him. The only thing that stands in his way is the mayor of Hilton Head, who insists it be named after an African American.

Yvette Tyson is frustrated since she divorced her cheating husband. She struggles with her new life, embarrassed by her past and unable to gain the respect she once had. Does she really have to spend the rest of her life working the graveyard shift at the supermarket?

When Cory runs into Yvette, their past lives converge. It soon becomes clear that Yvette winning the mayor's office would benefit both of them.

It's a simple case of Black and White.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

No Halo Required

Carolina Callings Book 1

Isaiah Hightower has everything a forty-nine-year-old man could want: respect as a high school principal; admiration as a leader in the black community; and a wife who would do anything for him.

Despite his shining public image, Isaiah's life is plagued with indiscretions. When these threaten to unravel his world, he silences the threat by any means necessary.

When his wife, Yvette, witnesses her husband's greatest sin, her life is about to change forever. But it doesn't have to. One lie will protect her lifestyle and save her husband's reputation.

Amazon * Bookub * Goodreads

Excerpt from DARK ALLEY TO POWER

From Chapter 37

“Can we coast yet?” Yvette asked as she bit into her heavily buttered piece of sourdough toast. The flavors melted in her mouth like the sweet taste of victory.

Cory shook his head. “Three more weeks until our journey is complete. This journey, I should say. Then the real work starts.”

Yvette reached across the kitchen table and clutched Cory’s hand. “But you do think we can do it, right?” She pretended to have a microphone in her hand and adopted a media-reporting tone. “Governor Tyson, who took over from a dead Democrat to get elected, moves into 800 Richland Street with her white boyfriend to live in sin in the governor’s mansion. What a great way to make history,” she capped.

Cory moved away from the breakfast table and skirted around the edge, pulling Yvette’s chair to face him. He knelt on one knee in front of Yvette. “Then marry me.”

“What!” Her heart suffered a sudden surge in beats per minute. It wasn’t from fighting an insatiable urge to cry out ‘Yes!’ at the top of her lungs, but more of a ‘Where the hell did that come from?’ rush of uncertainty. It took several moments before her racing heart slowed down to accompany her racing mind. Yvette casually looked at her ring finger, vacant of any jewelry. Then she held her hand toward the sky, still focused on her empty finger. “This is sooo romantic. How could I say no?” Her gaze turned angry. “No! A thousand times no. I will sell my soul for two points in the polls, but I will not marry for politics. I want a husband who will care for me above all else and not someone who will put the South Carolina flag, or a sports center, before me.”

Cory grabbed the bottle of water on the table and pulled off the sealing ring from the bottom of the cap. He held up the blue plastic ring. “Yvette, this is not political bullshit. I want to marry you, not the governor. I love you. Win, lose, or draw, will you marry me?”

She eyed the plastic ring. “And that’s supposed to turn a girl’s head?”

“No.” He put his hand over his heart. “This is. My undying love for you. My heart that beats every day just to see you.”

“Cut the bullshit, Casper.”

Cory shut up, looking befuddled.

She closed her eyes and let the thoughts flow freely through her head. She did love Cory—he was kind, gentle, and loving—while still holding that Alpha mindset that would protect her through any physical adversity. They had been in a serious relationship for over a year, and she had been seen arm-in-arm with him in public numerous times. She was proud to show him off, and him, her—so there was no color issue—or was that exactly what it was? Did he need a black governor to get his sports center named after his white ass? Did she need a white boyfriend to get her black ass elected? She shook her head, telling herself, “No.” She wanted to believe love was blind, but why did it have to come with a white stick?

Travis was brought up in Midwest America before embarking on a nine year Navy career that allowed him to travel the world and learn about life. He has ping-ponged across oceans moving from mainland United States to Hawaii, to Scotland, to Seattle, to England, to Minnesota, back to England, and back to Minnesota where he currently resides ... for now

He writes easy-reading, light-hearted fiction and true stories about his own experiences that even the best fiction writer couldn't make up. Relax by the beach or curl up on the couch on a rainy day while Travis takes you on fun-filled adventures that let you forget about life for a while and have a laugh.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$20 Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pagan Warrior by MJ Porter Audiobook narrated by Matt Coles Blog Tour! @coloursofunison @cathiedunn : @m_j_porterauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub

 #PaganWarrior #TalesOfMercia #TheSeventhCentury #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Book Title: Pagan Warrior

Series: The Seventh Century

Author: MJ Porter

Publication Date: 25th May 2015 (new cover from January 2022)

Publisher: MJ Publishing

Page Length: 294

Genre: Historical fiction/Action and adventure

From bestselling author, MJ Porter comes the tale of the mighty pagan king, Penda of Mercia.

Britain. AD632.

Penda, a warrior of immense renown, has much to prove if he is to rule the Mercian kingdom of his dead father and prevent the neighbouring king of Northumbria from claiming it.

Unexpectedly allying with the British kings, Penda races to battle the alliance of the Northumbrian king, unsure if his brother stands with him or against him as they seek battle glory for themselves, and the right to rule gained through bloody conquest.

There will be a victor and a bloody loser, and a king will rise from the ashes of the great and terrible battle of Hædfeld.

Universal Link:

Amazon UK:

Amazon US:

Amazon CA:

Amazon AU:

Barnes and Noble:

Waterstones:

Kobo:

iBooks:

iTunes:

Audio:

Bookshop.org: 

In which king Edwin of Northumbria learns more about the alliance forming against him and from an unexpected source.

Chapter 18 

AD631 - Edwin of Northumbria

‘Father,’ Eadfrith sits beside me, calling my attention to a man who’s been shown into my hall. He brings the wind and rain that shroud the palace at Yeavering, protecting it and making it an almost mythical place.

‘Who is he?’ I demand. I don’t recognise him at all.

‘I don’t know, but he wears the clothes of the Dal Riatans,’ Eadfrith confirms. Suddenly I’m vigilant; my meandering thoughts are entirely forgotten. Although I try not to, I hope this man brings news that will compensate for my disappointment with Eadfrith’s journey to the north earlier in the year.

I signal to my servants that the man should be brought before me. As he walks closer, he removes his soaking-wet cloak and his layers of furs. He’s come from the north; there can be no denying it. The men there know how to dress to keep warm.

I squint at his face. Something about him is familiar. At my side, Eadfrith gasps in recognition. I turn to him, waiting for him to say something. Only he doesn’t, his face turning quizzical again.

‘My lord Edwin,’ the man says, his voice lilting and soft, his face reminding me so vividly of someone that I feel uncomfortable not knowing the man’s name or how I know him.

‘Eanfrith,’ Eadfrith says beside me, but the man turns his hazel eyes on him and shakes his head. 

‘No, My lord. But he is my brother.’

And now I know who this man might be, another of my nephews, my sister’s son. He looks like her. It’s almost uncanny to see her face on the body of a man.

‘Oswald, my lord Edwin, or should I say, uncle Edwin.’ He says the phrase with no animosity, and I’m surprised. He’s come here unarmed. Yet I killed his father and banished him to the north. As I understand it, he lives not with the Picts but within the kingdom of Dal Riata, the realm separated by the sea.

‘Well met,’ I say, standing and reaching out to offer him an arm clasp of friendship. I’ve not seen the man since he was fourteen or fifteen. Another fifteen years have elapsed since then, and he’s a man now, not a child.

He returns the greeting, his hand firm and steady on my arm. Close up, he looks even more like my sister.

‘Your mother?’ I ask. I’ve often wondered how she survived what happened. It was King Rædwald of the East Angles who insisted on their exile; at least, that’s what I tell myself to assuage my grief at some of my actions. It was probably for the best. I might have had to kill her myself if she’d stayed.

‘Dead, my lord,’ he says without flinching. ‘She succumbed to a contagion about five years ago.’

I close my eyes briefly in grief, an image of her as a young girl flashing before my eyes. She was a pretty thing, although as her younger brother, she tortured me as only sisters can do to their brothers.

‘My sympathies,’ I offer, but he shrugs them aside.

‘She heard of your great victories. I think she hated you a little, but she spoke well of you at the end.’ 

That doesn’t fill me with remorse for her death, but at least it’s honest.

‘Did you come to tell me of this?’ I ask. I’m trying to understand why the man is here after all this time.

‘No, my lord. I’ve come to call on your family honour and ask you to reinstate me to the family. To give me land that I can control and use to support myself and my warriors.’

Ah, he doesn’t come alone, after all. As he speaks, a steady stream of fierce-looking men begins to make their way into my hall. I try to count, but a movement before me distracts me as Oswald flicks his wrist towards me. I tense, waiting for some sort of blow, but he’s simply removing fabric that wraps his arms. He sees my undertaking and glances at me with interest. I assume he doesn’t know of the attempt on my life five years ago because he offers no words of apology but does show me the length of fabric he’s undoing.

‘A device to keep the rain from going up my sleeves,’ he offers as he works on the other wrist.

I’ve not yet offered him food or drink, but Eadfrith must have done so because a servant appears and hands him warmed mead. He drinks deeply from the hollowed-out drinking horn. No doubt it came from a stolen Pictish cow. 

‘A chill day,’ Oswald confirms. ‘Although nothing to what I’m become used to in the north.’

Silence descends. I don’t want to say anything further whilst I consider the implications of his words. I can almost hear my cousin Osric telling me to let this man into our family again, to give him the power of my word and the ability to act in my name. Osric badgers me, saying I need more allies tied to me personally and through fear of what I might do if they err.

‘I’d be honoured to welcome you into my family,’ I finally say and realise I might mean it. ‘I could gift you some land, some small part of your patrimony. You could use it to support your men and fight on my behalf.’

A chair has appeared behind him, and he sinks to it gratefully, the fire now at his back so that I feel cold whilst he must be warm. I shake my head with irritation at the blast of cold air over my body. He must witness my action because he shuffles along a little, the scrape of wood on wood.

‘What would you give me in return?’ I ask. I don’t tend to do anything unless there’s some gain involved.

‘Details of King Cadwallon’s plans and the alliance forming against you,’ Oswald offers, and when I don’t immediately jump at the opportunity, he adds something further. ‘Who your enemies are and who your allies really are. There are traitors everywhere,’ he says ominously, and I know there and then that I’ll have to give him what I promised. I need to know what he knows. 

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to 
Eleventh-Century England, as well as three twentieth-century mysteries. Being raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author's writing destiny was set.

Website:

Twitter:

Facebook:

LinkedIn:

Instagram:

Pinterest:

BookBub:

Amazon Author Page:

Goodreads:

Linktr.ee:

Tiktok:

Narrator, Matt Coles:

Instagram:

Tiktok:

Website:

Tour Schedule Page: 

Call Sign: King by Livia Grant Book Blitz! ⁣⁣#liviagrantauthor #CallSign #BlackSkyOps #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

 #booklover #greatreads #booknerd #nowavailable #fortheloveofreading #bookstagrammer #bibliophile #releaseblitz #bookaholic #mustread #authorsofinstagram #bookblogger #amreading

Call Sign: King
Livia Grant
Publication date: May 8th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

He got cocky. Let his guard down.

Now the love of his life is paying the price.

For a moment he’d forgotten there were men who wanted him dead. Men who lived their lives in the dark, who could reach out of the shadows he used to live in, and he’d been naive to think the light inside her would keep her safe.

She was too bright to hide away though, made for the spotlight, and he’d felt warmer just by being near her… then everything went cold so fast.

In a breath she was gone, in the hands of his enemies, and he’d seen first hand what happened to women who crossed paths with the Volkov Bratva. They’d touch her, hurt her. She’d be afraid, suffering.

All because of him. All in the name of vengeance.

But that was their mistake, because in the maddening darkness her absence has put him in, a beast was sleeping… and they woke him up. Now everyone will pay.

Black Sky Ops – Danger for Hire

This network of global mercenaries stay in the shadows, going on the impossible missions no one else will take. The elite soldiers of Black Sky Ops aren’t afraid to break the rules as long as it’s for the greater good — and the paycheck is high enough. But sometimes the line between right and wrong gets blurry, especially when protecting the people they love.

Note: The Black Sky Ops series is made up of full length novels with no cliffhangers and guaranteed happily-ever-afters. Each book is a standalone and the series can be read in any order.

Goodreads / Amazon

It was on the sideline of the theater he literally bumped into Trevor — the only other man on the planet he felt confident leaving his wife’s safety too.

“That was one of her best performances,” Trevor said. “I knew when they were filming last year it was special.”

“Yeah. She better damn well win this year.”

“She will,” Trevor said sounding as proud as Ryder felt. “And while she deserves it, each notch she raises on the ladder of fame makes our job just that much harder.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Ryder groused, as aggravated today as he had been four years before by the impossible love match between an international celebrity and a deep-cover agent. “As much as I love being here with her tonight, I can’t shake the feeling that it was a mistake to come.”

Ryder tried not to share his fears with Khloe, but he hid nothing from Trevor McLean, his queen’s Royal Guard.

“Your contacts at the CIA gave you a clean report last month, right?”

“Just because the Volkov’s have been wounded, I’ll never count them out — not until Alexi runs them into the ground for good.”

Just thinking about his last mission in Russia before he burned his cover put him on edge.

“You said yourself he’s a weak leader compared to his dead cousins. But if he’s still a threat, why not just have BSO take him out?”

Trevor asked a question Ryder had found himself contemplating more often these days.

He sighed. “Because killing him would be just another ‘whack a mole’ mission as the team likes to say. Someone new would take his place… maybe even someone worse. At least I know him — understand how he thinks. And anyway, the Volkovs are just one of a dozen crime families that would love to see me six-feet under. I can’t very well take hits out on all of them,” Ryder groused, never taking his eyes off his beaming wife.

“Why not?” Trevor asked.

It was a simple enough question, and in all honesty, it was a solution he had the means and resources to pull off.

“I guess because despite all of the fucked up shit I’ve done, my moral compass has always pointed squarely in the good-guy direction. Voluntarily taking out dozens of marks I haven’t interacted with in years just so I can get a better night’s sleep seems like a slippery slope.”

“I get that, and even respect that, but at the end of the day, they’re the bad guys — not you. And certainly not Khloe. I love seeing her this happy. You being here made that happen.”

USA Today bestselling author Livia Grant lives in Chicago with her husband and furry rescue dog named Max. She is fortunate to have been able to travel extensively and as much as she loves to visit places around the globe, the Midwest and its changing seasons will always be home. Livia's readers appreciate her riveting stories filled with deep, character driven plots, often spiced with elements of BDSM.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub

GIVEAWAY!

5 ebooks of books 1 & 2 of the Black Sky Ops series

a Rafflecopter giveaway

—

Not Today, Cupid by @jbondswrites Book Blitz! #NotTodayCupid #JenniferBonds #XpressoTours @XpressoTours⁣

 #bookstagram #instabooks #bookish #booklover #greatreads #booknerd #nowavailable #fortheloveofreading #bookstagrammer #bibliophile #releaseblitz #bookaholic #mustread #authorsofinstagram #bookblogger #amreading

Not Today, Cupid
Jennifer Bonds

Published by: Entangled: Amara
Publication date: May 8th 2023
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Notes from Triada Investment Meeting:

As compiled by Scarlett Evans—executive assistant, grad student, and reluctant admirer of CEO Nick Hart’s snacktastic abs

Well, my fellow corporate drones, it’s another less-than-exciting investor meeting with the executives (Loud Talker, Human Buzzword, Master Delegator). And at the front, CEO Nick Hart, the world’s coldest—and ok, unbelievably sexy—tech badass. The man hasn’t smiled in the history of ever, he runs a tight ship filled with miserable employees, and gosh, he just really does not love feedback. Especially from me.

Development updates, acquisition delays, and…holy hell, why does he keep looking at me? I don’t work for him. I work for his brother. Which is good, because otherwise I’d spend every meeting secretly wondering what actually lies beneath that cool, aloof demeanor. Like, is he an uptight geek in the boardroom…and a sexy-assed freak in the bedroom?

He’d better not find out I’m the one stuffing the company suggestion box. What’s so wrong with a Valentine’s Day Social, anyway? But the fact that my notes are less professional and more entertainment is one seriously dangerous game. Because if he ever found out what I really thought of him, there’d be all kinds of sweet, delicious hell to pay…

Each book in the Harts series is STANDALONE:
* Miles and Miles of You
* Not Today, Cupid

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

“I’ve gotta admit, I’m dying to know what you just signed up for.”

“That makes two of us.” I shove my burger aside. There’s no way I can eat it now. Not with the prospect of some half-baked project hanging over my head like a guillotine.

Miles smirks. “Drumroll, please.”

I give him the finger, but Beck indulges him, tapping the edge of the table.

“Anonymous says we need a—oh, this is too perfect.” Miles howls as Beck and I stare at him, waiting for the punchline. “A—” He chokes on his laughter and has to take a drink of water before continuing. “A Valentine’s social!”

He’s messing with me.

He has to be. Who would put that in the suggestion box? This is a place of business, not a fucking romper room.

Even if sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.

“Let me see.” I reach for the laptop, shooting Beck a dark look. They’re both laughing like hyenas now. “Have you two been stuffing the suggestion box?”

“Don’t look at me,” Beck says, shaking his head. “I don’t have time for that kind of petty prank.” He chuckles. “It is pretty ironic, though. You know, since the only thing you hate more than Valentine’s Day is the suggestion box.”

Miles is laughing so hard now it’s a wonder he doesn’t bust a blood vessel.

Asshole.

Could this be his doing, some ass-backward attempt to make me appear likable?

It doesn’t matter. I’m not doing it.

“Pick something else. February fourteenth is the Epos launch. The timing is terrible and four weeks isn’t nearly enough time to put something like this together.”

“Oh, no you don’t.” Miles wags a finger at me. “You already agreed. Besides, that was the last one.”

Fucking hell. Leave it to Miles to pick the one week the damn thing isn’t overflowing.

“No way. It can’t be done.”

“Not with that attitude,” Miles says through peals of laughter. When he finally gets control of himself, he adds, “Relax. If anyone can handle it, it’s you.”

It’s true. I’ve never walked away from a challenge in my life, but what the hell do I know about planning a social? I’m the last person in the world who should plan this event.

On the other hand…

It could be the perfect opportunity to prove I’m not the controlling bastard Scarlett thinks I am.

Arrogant. Uptight. Cold.

Her words chip away at my brain with maddening persistence. I shouldn’t care what she thinks. I know it on a cerebral level, but after last year’s bad press, her ludicrous, ill-informed assessment is infuriating.

Salt on an open fucking wound.

“So?” Beck spears a piece of lettuce with his plastic fork. “Are you going to do it?”

My gaze slides from Miles to Beck and back again. It won’t be easy—I’m already spread thin with the Epos launch—but I’m no quitter. With a little time and a plan of attack, I can do this. And who better to help plan a Valentine’s social than Miles’s snarky, highly organized, whip-smart assistant?

“I’ll do it on one condition.” A slow grin curves my lips. “I want Scarlett to help.”

Jennifer Bonds is the USA Today bestselling author of sizzling contemporary romance with sassy heroines, sexy alphas, and a whole lot of mischief. She’s a sucker for enemies-to-lovers stories, laugh-out-loud banter, and over-the-top grand gestures. Jennifer lives in Pennsylvania, where her overactive imagination and weakness for reality TV keep life interesting. She's lucky enough to live with her own real-life hero, two adorable (and sometimes crazy) children, and one rambunctious K9. Loves Buffy, Mexican food, a solid Netflix binge, the Winchester brothers, cupcakes, and all things zombie. Sings off-key.

To connect with Jen—and get a FREE book—visit www.jenniferbonds.com!

You can also find her on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook @jbondswrites.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!

$15 Amazon gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

—