Thursday, June 29, 2017

Blade and Soul by C.M. Estopare ~ Excerpt and Giveaway


Blade and Soul
C.M. Estopare
Publication date: June 30th 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
To defy gods, she will sacrifice all.
After the death of its duchess, Safrana is in turmoil. Two equally powerful families vie for power, quickly turning the beautiful citadels of Safrana into a hellish warscape. While, on the outside, there is a desperate search for the one true heir to the throne. The one man who could stop an encroaching civil war and force the citadels into peace. 
But he is no where to be found. Presumed dead. While a threatening war looms over Safrana, promising to tear it apart.
Thrust into a political world which only buys and sells in blood money, with an impending civil war at hand, Marceline Brandy is called to take charge of a peace effort in a foreign city. But nothing is certain in this world rife with political strife. Everything must be questioned, even a push for peace. 
Desperate to complete her mission, Marceline soon finds herself tangled up in the strange political affairs of an arrogant woman with dangerous ties to the long lost heir of the Safranian throne. But there is another, more powerful presence that lurks on the borders of Safrana’s imploding government. A presence that would stop at nothing to see Marceline and her allies fail. 
Seized by a foreign city she is sworn to save, she has few to turn to for help. The list of allies she could count on is cut short by corrupt patriotists hungry for war and livid at the mere notion of foreign driven peace. Months pass as Marceline heads this peace effort, but the fiercer she works the more dire the situation becomes and time is running out.
A war looms, one that promises to destroy Safrana, as mythological creatures rise from ancient graves. The fiends intent on absolute destruction. 
Is this an all-out test of Marceline’s strength and will? 
Or, are the gods themselves against her?

Excerpt
High overhead, gargantuan wings beat against the night air.
Reine raised her chin and the dragon dove, clouds peeling away from its colossal body as it swirled in midair. Veined wings adorning it like a sprawling cape.   
    It plunged head first. Swung its body around and stared from afar, looking at them steadily with glowing red eyes.
    The length of its scaled throat lit up. Fire roaring in its deep gullet.
    Reine's eyes snapped open, “Go.”
    Marceline froze. Staring.
    As the dragon snapped open its gargantuan jaw and screeched.
    The hairs on Marceline's arms rose.
    “Get inside!” Reine screamed. Turning on her heels before sprinting.
    Marceline followed, the creature piercing through the air like an arrowhead. Veined wings stretched out fully, its shadow engulfing the entire chateau.
    They tumbled into Reine's chambers. Smacked their backs to the walls and watched as undead continued to pour in through the broken barricade.
    Outside, the dragon roared. The warcry deafening. Air exploding from its jowls, breaking glass, splintering the walls. Kiran blanched as he flattened himself near Reine. Smashing his fox body into Marceline's legs and hips, Lucius pressed himself against her as the world seemed to pause. Slow.
    A terrifying screech ripped through their ears as the dragon reared back its massive head and spewed fire. Flame burst through the broken balcony doors, orange and yellow mixing as it blasted through the chamber.



Author Bio:
C.M. Estopare is a full-time author, avid yoga enthusiast, and veteran of the United States military. She is the author of HEARTFELT SOUNDS, a young adult coming of age fantasy about the enthralling power of one young woman’s voice.
KINDRED SOULS is a three part epic and dark fantasy series hitting Amazon and Kindle Unlimited beginning in February 2017. The first book, WINTERSKIN, debuted February 9th, 2017. The second book, BLADE AND SOUL, debuts June 30th, 2017. Be sure to mark your calendars!
When not writing, C.M. Estopare enjoys reading about the fantastical worlds in the minds of others. She also enjoys playing around with her puppy, Duke, and adventuring with her husband.

XBTBanner1

Mick & Michelle by Nina Rossing ~ Cover Reveal


Mick & Michelle
Nina Rossing
Published by: Harmony Ink Press
Publication date: October 31st 2017
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
Fifteen-year-old Mick Mullins has a great life: his parents are sweet, his sister is tolerable, and his friendships are solid. But as summer descends on Queens, he prepares to turn his carefree existence upside down by disclosing a secret he has kept long enough. It’s time to work up the courage to reveal that he is not a boy, but a girl—and that her name is Michelle. 
Having always been the perfect, good boy, Michelle is terrified that the complicated truth will disappoint, hurt, or push away the people closest to her. She can’t continue hiding for much longer, though, because her body is turning into that of a man’s, and she is desperate to stop the development—desperate enough to consider self-medicating with hormones. 
Most of all, Michelle fears that Grandpa, who is in a nursing home after a near fatal stroke, won’t survive the shock if he finds out that his favorite grandchild, and the only boy, is a girl. If she kills her beloved Grandpa by leaving Mick behind, she isn’t sure embracing her real identity will be worth the loss.


Author Bio:
Nina Rossing lives in Norway, where the winters are long and the summers short. Despite the brilliant nature surrounding her, she spends more time in front of her computer, or with a book in her hands, than in the great outdoors (though you may find her out on her mountain bike if the weather is good). She works as a high school teacher, which in her opinion is probably the best job in the world.

XBTBanner1

I Do(n't) by Leddy Harper ~ Cover Reveal




Cover Designer - Wicked by Design

BLURB


I fell in love with Holden York when I was six years old.

Most of my youth came with spiral notebooks filled with doodles, wedding plans, and “Janelle York” looped in bubbly handwriting.

However, one night in Vegas changed everything.

I woke up to more than just a fantasy of my brother’s best friend.

Five years later, I'm standing on his doorstep confronting him about the secret he kept from me. 

If you think this is the story of how we rode off into the sunset together…

You’re so wrong.

But if you think this is the story of how Holden blackmailed me into living with him...

You couldn't be more right.


RELEASING AUGUST 10, 2017



Add to your TBR - http://bit.ly/2tpm4Lt





About Leddy Harper







Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped. 


She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.



She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females. 



The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. Most importantly Leddy wanted to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.



Follow Leddy Harper


Wednesday, June 28, 2017

White Pastures by Xina Marie Uhl ~ Cover Reveal


Whiter Pastures
Xina Marie Uhl
Publication date: July 5th 2017
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance
A romantic novelette in the Icebound series, an ongoing collection of polar delights.
Behold dogsleds and penguins. Howling winds and cold, pitiless wastes. This is Antarctica, where the intrepid inhabitants of the frozen ends of the earth battle the terrain, and each other, to find love—in a past much like that of the early 1900s. 

Reluctant spinster Florance Barton fled to the British Antarctic base to escape a scandalous love affair, among other things. Amidst the handful of other women there, Florance is the perfect chambermaid, meek, mild, and forgettable. No one has a clue that she’s also a novice spy. 
When handsome young Handy McHanagan arrives at the base, he sets everyone agog. He’s charming, artistic, and … an accomplished gardener. His arrival may just be a mistake on the part of naval command. Or is it something more sinister? 
Because killer seals and subzero ice storms and aren’t the only danger in Antarctica: a enemy spy is on the loose. Florance has been ordered to choose between queen and country and her heart. Because penguin is off the menu now–and murder is its replacement.

Be notified of the release!
Subscribe to Xina’s mailing list here!


Author Bio:
Author Xina Marie Uhl lives in sunny Southern California with her husband and assorted furry and scaly pets. The setting of her first novel, NECROPOLIS, has been heavily influenced by her interest in ancient history. She holds both a BA and an MA in history. In addition to fiction writing, she teaches college history courses and writes educational materials. When she isn’t reading and writing, she enjoys hiking, photography, and planning new travel adventures.


XBTBanner1

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

The Hope Collection Series ~ Spotlight

SBPRBanner-CardenoC-SeriesBlast.jpg

The Hope Collection, a sexy, heart-warming MM Series by Cardeno C. is available to start now!

mcfarlandsfarm-1400

McFarland’s Farm

Quiet but lonely Jared has to decide how much of himself he's willing to risk to keep party-boy Lucas.
Wealthy, attractive Lucas Reika treats life like a party, moving from bar to bar and man to man. Thumbing his nose at his restaurateur father's demand that he earn his keep, Lucas instead seduces a valued employee in the kitchen of their flagship restaurant, earning himself an ultimatum: lose access to his father's money or stay in the middle of nowhere with a man he has secretly lusted over from afar.
Quiet, hard-working Jared McFarland loves his farm on the outskirts of Hope, Arizona, but he aches to have someone to come home to at the end of the day. Jared agrees to take in his longtime crush as a favor. But when Lucas invades his heart in addition to his space, Jared has to decide how much of himself he's willing to risk and figure out if he can offer Lucas enough to keep him after his father's punishment is over.

Series-AN

Start the Series Today!

(Free in Kindle Unlimited)
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2tOCY3i

Jesse’s Diner

jessesdiner-Customdesign-JayAheer2015-smallpreview

Two men with a shared history and a mutual attraction must be honest with themselves and each other so both their dreams come true.
Quiet, unassuming Tanner Sellers spends his time running a diner in Hope, Arizona. Not particularly social, twenty-two-year-old Tanner keeps to himself and enjoys his simple life, but he longs for someone to call his own. In his most secret fantasy, that someone is sexy Steve Faus. But Steve is his friend’s father and mentor’s widower and therefore off-limits.
Despite some challenges, thirty-nine-year-old Steve Faus has had a good life. He’s extremely successful at work, has a great relationship with his college-age son, and lives in a wonderful town. Eighteen months after losing his partner, the one thing Steve lacks is someone to share his life. If Steve is honest with himself, that someone is the young man he has known and cared about for years. Steve and Tanner want one another, all they need is a little push in the right direction to make both their dreams come true.

Read Today!

(Free in Kindle Unlimited)
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2sUmuqr

Coming July 17th, Smitty’s Sheriff!

SmittysSherrif_eBookFinal

Todd is too flakey. Richard is too stubborn. Together, they're perfect. A May-December couple get a second chance at love.
Retired soldier Richard Davis wants a stable life in a quiet town with a forever man. Becoming the sheriff of Hope, Arizona, accomplishes two of his three goals, but instead of finding a serious partner, he falls for too-young-to-be-committed and too-flakey-to-be-serious Todd Smitty. Richard won’t find the right man if he’s obsessed with the wrong one, so he walks away from Todd.
It’s lust at first sight when Todd meets his sister’s army friend. He sets his sights on the worldly, strong, stable older man, and the more time he spends with Richard, the harder he falls. But after three years together, Richard cuts off all contact with no explanation.
When a mutual obligation requires Todd to move into Richard’s house, he’s thrilled at the opportunity to earn a second chance. Ignoring Todd from across town was hard enough. Can Richard resist temptation under his own roof?

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2sJWZcB

About Cardeno C.

CardenoC.Cardeno C.—CC to friends—is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few awwws into a reader’s day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno’s stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset.

Connect with Cardeno C.

Join the Romance Readers Club Today to stay up to date with Cardeno C. and get a free read every month:

The Legend by Donna Grant ~ Spotlight

SBPRBanner-TheLegend-RB

The Legend, an all-new sexy standalone from Donna Grant is available now!

The Legend by Donna Grant Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Genre: Contemporary Romance

thelegend_006

Synopsis

A LONE STAR LOVER
They live to protect. They live to fight for honor and justice. They live to love the women who have captured their souls. These are the Sons of Texas, from New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant.

In The Legend, Callie Reed doesn’t need a man to protect her. An expert sharpshooter and renegade hacker, this Texas-born spitfire’s got the skills and the courage to stand up to any danger―no matter how deadly. But when she becomes the target of a shadowy organization known as the Saints, Callie is forced to team up with the one man she can’t outshoot: the gorgeous, and infuriating, Lone Star legend named Wyatt Loughman…

A Delta Force Colonel with a rock-hard body and stone-cold heart, Wyatt has been teasing and tormenting Callie since they were playmates on his family’s ranch. Of course, he’s wildly attracted to the fiery, strong-willed Callie. But he’s always hidden his feelings behind a wall of Texas tough and military cool, even as he’s burning up with desire. Can Wyatt save Callie’s life―without putting her love in the line of fire?

The Legend Countdown - 00

Read Now:

Google Play: https://goo.gl/h3ouoB
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2sGMO8H

The Legend Teaser - Kiss

Check out the Playlist Here:


Playlist - The Legend

Start the series of STANDALONES today with The Hero

The Hero

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2t7vLgY

Donna GrantAbout Donna:

Donna Grant is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the sizzling Dark King series featuring dragons, immortal Highlanders, and the Fae. She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding. Despite deadlines and voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two children, four cats, and one long haired Chihuahua.


Connect with Donna:

Stay up to date with Donna by signing up for her newsletter here: http://www.donnagrant.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Monday, June 26, 2017

Twenty-Four Hours by Carolyn Anthony ~ Cover Reveal


Twenty-Four Hours
Carolyn Anthony
(A Shattered Boundaries Novel)
Publication date: July 3rd 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
The second chance that might never happen… 
Eve Luccio waited years for her first love, but somehow their lives were never quite in sync. Now, at thirty-six, her only focus is completing the final year of her PhD. The last thing on her mind is the honor-driven former Navy SEAL who stole her heart as a teen and left her unable to love any other man since. 
When Jake Theron walks back into Eve’s life, his presence shatters her walls of self preservation. He unleashes a dark sexuality that Eve never imagined she would experience, much less come to crave. All he wants from her is a day of her trust—twenty-four uninterrupted hours before she crosses the country for her Post Doctorate position in New York. But letting down her guard for even twenty-four hours with Jake might just destroy her. 
For Jake Theron, Eve was always “the one that got away,” except even after two decades, she’s still under his skin. When Eve finally agrees to see him, Jake vows he won’t let her slip through his fingers again. 
But nobody knows better than Jake what a vicious bitch fate can be. When his life gets in the way, he realizes he may have to let Eve go once again—this time for her own good.
All he has left are the next twenty-four hours. One day and night in a seaside hotel, after which he has no choice but to let her walk out of his life with no guarantee he’ll ever see her again. The problem is, now that he’s had a real taste of the woman who should have been his twenty years ago, he’s not sure he’ll have the strength to let her go.


Author Bio:
Carolyn Anthony is a sucker for a dark romance with a dominant, tattooed, alpha badass man at the helm.
Her characters deal with real life issues: the painful, the tragic, the damaging sort of life events that leave both external and internal scars, because she’s been there.
Her heroines are strong women at the core who will always find what’s been lost, taken or exploited: their strength, their self-worth, their identity, their innocence or their love. She writes about women exploring their sexuality, owning that sexuality and enjoying it. Along for the ride, the hot-ass men who prove worthy enough to be on that journey with them.
Book one in the Shattered Boundaries Series, Twenty-Four Hours, will be available to buy on July, 3, 2017. Each book is a stand alone with a well earned HEA. Book two coming soon as well as Phoenix, the first book in a Contemporary second chances trilogy.
Feel free to stalk me everywhere!

XBTBanner1

Seducing Lola by Jessica Prince ~ Cover Reveal

SBPRBanner-Seducing-Lola-CR.jpgSeducing Lola by Jessica Prince Publication Date: July 18th, 2017 Genre: Contemporary Romance

Seducing Lola, an all-new romantic standalone from Jessica Prince is coming July 18th!!

Seducing Lola front cover high res

I’ve had my fair share of bad relationships. I’ve dated liars, cheaters, shoe fetishists, and everything in between. Sure, these experiences would make any woman cynical when it comes to dipping her toe back into the dating pool, but I used my past for good and made a career out of helping other women avoid going down the same paths I had.

And I was damn good at it.

Until a random act of fate set my life on a course I’d been avoiding for years, and put me in the crosshairs of a man that made me feel things I swore to never feel again.

Now I’m in his sights and it seems like he’ll stop at nothing to seduce the hell out of me. He might hold my career in the palm of his hands, but if Grayson Lockhart thinks he can blackmail me into submission with his sexy voice and sexy hands and sexy everything, then he’s…probably right.

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2u4YQXv

unnamed-2

About the Author:

Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. That's why God created central air, after all. Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boy--she refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says. In addition to being a wife and mom, she's also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of books--romances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says it's a passion...there's a difference. Not that she'd expect a boy to understand. Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.

Connect with the Author:

Jessica's Princesses: http://bit.ly/JPsPrincesses

Needing More Series by Julie A. Richman ~ Spotlight

SBPRBanner-NeedingMoore-RB

A brand-new version of The USA Today Bestselling Needing Moore Series by Julie A. Richman, containing never seen before NEW FEATURES is available NOW!!.

NMoore_eBook_LowRes

To celebrate the relaunch of this top-rated series, the all new boxed set is ON SALE for only 99¢ for a very LIMITED-TIME!

Synopsis

‗‗‗‗‗
Sometimes the one you never got over is just a friend request away …
There were no cell phones or internet or google when she left me and I never knew why she walked away from our relationship.
I loved her, like head-over-heels crazy loved her.
And when she walked out on me at the end of our freshman year, without even a goodbye, she broke my heart.
So, I got a surprise gift the other night at my birthday party, an old college friend casually mentioned he saw her on Facebook.
Best present I’ve received in over twenty years.
Now, I’m finally going to get my answer.
She owes me an explanation at to why she left …
Damn, I loved her.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗
I was having such a crappy morning at work and then his email arrived.
It was a friend request and to say I was shocked would be an understatement.
A lifetime had passed since we’d last been in contact.
But just seeing his name on my computer screen,
made me react in a way I thought I was no longer capable of,
you see, I had never gotten over loving him,
even though he betrayed me.
And so begins the saga of Schooner Moore and Mia Silver, lovers separated after their first year of college and not reunited again for over twenty years. But two decades was not long enough for their flame to be extinguished and reuniting could cost them everything.

Check out these amazing bonus components that will be exclusive in this box set:

- New Cover (OMG, get ready to fall in love!)
- Never before seen Sneak Peek of MOORE THAN A FEELING, the highly anticipated Holly Moore story - releasing Fall/Winter 2017
- Available for the first time as a set in a single- volume paperback
Single Volume Paperback (all 3 novels) will be on sale for 1-week beginning 6/26
$19.99 (reg. 26.99)
- Complete re-edit of all 3 books
  • Bonus chapters for EACH book will still be included
NMS-AN 3.10.58 PM

Read Today for only 99¢!

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2t6VJkv

About the Author:

Julie Richman

USA Today Bestselling author Julie A. Richman is a native New Yorker living deep in the heart of Texas. A creative writing major in college, reading and writing fiction has always been a passion. Julie began her corporate career in publishing in NYC and writing played a major role throughout her career as she created and wrote marketing, advertising, direct mail and fundraising materials for Fortune 500 corporations, advertising agencies and non-profit organizations. She is an award winning nature photographer plagued with insatiable wanderlust. Julie and her husband have one son and a white German Shepherd named Juneau.

Connect with Julie:

Love Sex Music by Michelle A. Valentine ~ Spotlight





Blurb


Fame can disappear in an instant…

Fortune is a fleeting fantasy…

Laz Rawlings had them both, until he lost it all…

Laz, a former world-famous music producer screwed up everything thanks to his rock-n-roll lifestyle, but he’s been given an opportunity to prove his genius in the music industry wasn’t a fluke, and he’s hell-bent on not letting history repeat itself. But that’s proving difficult when the young singer he’s tasked with grooming has become the object of his every desire.

Life has been an uphill battle for Aundrea Newton, so when a sexy, tattooed stranger hand delivers her dream of a music career, she’s skeptical. Nothing ever comes easy, and she knows Laz has the power to crush both her career and her heart with his undeniable sex appeal and charismatic swagger.

When the line between mentor and student blurs, both begin to question what’s more important: Love, sex or the music.

**STANDALONE. No Cliffhanger**
 


Add to your TBR: http://bit.ly/2rDMOTX

PURCHASE TODAY

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2srxZXP 




About Michelle A. Valentine

New York Times and USA Today Best Selling Author Michelle A. Valentine is a Central Ohio nurse turned author of erotic romance and New Adult novels. Her love of hard-rock music, tattoos and sexy musicians inspired her BLACK FALCON series.



Follow Michelle A. Valentine



Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichelleAValentine/?ref=hl

Website: http://www.michelleavalentine.com/

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1BsvA8B

Friday, June 23, 2017

Carry Me Home by Jessica Therrien ~ Cover Reveal


Carry Me Home
Jessica Therrien
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: September 26th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult
“A riveting page-turner… Jessica Therrien broke my heart into a million pieces — and then put it back together again. This book will haunt and uplift readers long after they turn the last page.” 
-KAT ROSS, best-selling author of The Midnight Sea 
CARRY ME HOME is a fictional novel inspired by the true story of a teenage girl’s involvement in several Mexican gangs in San Jose and Los Angeles. The members of her crew call her, Guera, Spanish for “white girl” and it doesn’t take long for her to get lost in their world of guns and drugs. 
* * * 
Lucy and Ruth are country girls from a broken home. When they move to the city with their mother, leaving behind their family ranch and dead-beat father, Lucy unravels. 
They run to their grandparents’ place, a trailer park mobile home in the barrio of San Jose. Lucy’s barrio friends have changed since her last visit. They’ve joined a gang called VC. They teach her to fight, to shank, to beat a person unconscious and play with guns. When things get too heavy, and lives are at stake, the three girls head for LA seeking a better life. 
But trouble always follows Lucy. She befriends the wrong people, members of another gang, and every bad choice she makes drags the family into her dangerous world.
Told from three points of view, the story follows Lucy down the rabbit hole, along with her mother and sister as they sacrifice dreams and happiness, friendships and futures. Love is waiting for all of them in LA, but pursuing a life without Lucy could mean losing her forever. 
Ultimately it’s their bond with each other that holds them together, in a true test of love, loss and survival.


Author Bio:
Jessica Therrien is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction series Children of the Gods. Book one in the series, Oppression, became a Barnes & Noble best-seller shortly after its release.
Aside from her Children of the Gods series, Jessica’s work can also be found in a published collection of flash fiction stories called Campaigner Challenges 2011. Out of over 350 submissions her story, The Soulless, won first place for people’s choice and fourth place in the judging round of Rachael Harrie’s Writing Campaign Challenge. Her story, Saved, is also available as part of the anthology.
Jessica spent most of her life in the small town of Chilcoot, California, high up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this town of nearly 100 residents, with no street lights or grocery stores, there was little to do but find ways to be creative. Her mother, the local English teacher, inspired her to do all things artistic, and ultimately instilled in her a love for language.
In 2003, Jessica attended California State University Long Beach where her passion for language found her studying Chinese, and in 2005 she moved to Taiwan to study abroad. From 2005 to 2006 Jessica was fully immersed in the Chinese language as she attended National Taiwan University, and in 2008 she graduated from San Diego State University magna cum laude.
Jessica currently lives in Irvine with her husband and two sons. She is working on an adult novel and a children's picture book.

XBTBanner1

Tycoon by Katy Evans ~ Excerpt

SBPRBanner-tycoon-BT.jpg

Tycoon by Katy Evans Publication Date: June 20th, 2017 Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tycoon, an all-new standalone from Katy Evans is available now!!!

Tycoon Amazon

He wasn’t always this rich. This hot. This difficult.
Aaric Christos was a guy who protected me. Wanted me. Maybe even loved me.
That man is gone.
In his place is the most powerful real estate tycoon in the city.
He’s a cold, ruthless, aggressive businessman.
The only one who can save me and my startup from ruin.
It takes every ounce of courage to put my pride aside and ask for his help.
I didn’t expect him to offer it easily.
And he doesn’t.
Instead, he vets me harder than he’s vetted anyone.
Don’t invest in what you don’t know, he says.
He's assessing every piece of me, to the point I've never felt so bare.
I yearn for the boy I once knew, whose touch once craved me.
Putting it all on the line will be worth it, I tell myself.
Until I realize—too late—that some risks are not worth taking.

Excerpt:

I hop off the train and walk several walks to his building.
It’s a brownstone in Park Avenue, one of the most elite of the elite spaces in town.
My lungs feel a little bit overworked from awe as I head up the steps to the double doors, grateful that I came dressed to kill in a little black dress, a jacket, and pumps. Simple, but effective.
See, I may be feeling a little awkward, but at least I don’t look it.
I’m greeted by his maid. She’s dressed in black and white, her hair drawn back in a neat bun, her expression stoic and formal as she leads me down the hall to a gorgeous study.
I catch my breath when I notice all the books and shelves.
It’s like a reader’s paradise in here. There’s a sleek chrome bar, a modern mahogany glass-topped desk, and two huge whiskey-colored leather chairs that almost swallow me up when I’m instructed to wait in one.
I drum my fingers, inhaling the scent of leather and wine, remembering a guy I knew with his mechanic navy-blue uniform, black streaks on his jaw, his big nose always the first thing you’d see, which was a pity because he had beautiful eyes and a really sinful pair of lips.
He’s living in luxury now. Wow. Good for him.
I hear footsteps approaching and the little hair on my arms prick at attention. My head turns as a tall, dark figure steps into the room, and the most intimidating guy I’ve ever seen enters and crosses the room toward the desk. He walks like he’s the shit…his strides proud and composed, elegant and powerful.
Christos, I hear myself breathe in surprise.
He’s so tall now…six three, at least. Dirty-blonde hair, gold-green eyes, chiseled jaw, and a gorgeous profile.
All in black, he looks very much a New Yorker.
He’s wearing a black jacket, black pants, and a black turtleneck beneath the jacket...
            I stare at him, my jaw hanging a little bit open. The man is….all man. Testosterone. Muscles. Height. Width. My chest hurts all of a sudden because I realize…
The boy you knew is gone.
I force myself to stand. “Thank you for seeing me.”
He heads to the bar to pour two drinks, then he prowls over, takes the whiskey leather chair across from mine and leans forward, pushing a glass of cognac with one finger across a small table, toward me.
And he waits.
In silence.
But my stomach dips as if he’d said something ultra-sexy and decadent.
“You might not remember me, I’m sorry to be reaching out like this,” I say, nervous.
“What do you want?”
There’s a pleasant shiver as he speaks. Recognition of his voice, even though it’s far deeper than I remember.
“I was told you sometimes invest in startups.”
“I’d say more than sometimes.” He raises his eyebrows as if I should’ve done my homework better.
Ugh, Bryn! Focus! Be SMART! Make yourself and your business irresistible! A silence settles as he eyes me, slowly setting his drink down as he leans forward and finally, unexpectedly, smiles. At me.
It’s just a smile.
But the world tilts under its impact.
“Hello, little bit.” Amusement touches his gaze as he tilts his head and watches me. “You know, I’d think you’d have grown up the ten-plus years since I last saw you. At least an inch.” He leans back in his seat, seemingly displeased. Wow, this guy is not the lanky kid I knew once. This guy oozes danger.
            Every ounce of “boy” is gone. Oh God. For a moment I wish that we could go back in time and I could discuss my startup with the guy I knew before.
            But time travel is not really my talent, and it seems like I have yet to see if I even have any special talents at all—depending on what this guy thinks.
“I grew two in width,” I shock myself saying.
He laughs then, his eyes drinking me in openly.
“Shame on you, you’re not trying to see if it’s true?” I ask him, frowning now.
He shrugs casually, his lips curved at the corners. “I can’t help it. Something has to have changed.”
“Why?”
“Because nothing good ever lasts. Even you, little bit.” A smile touches those unforgettable gold-green eyes.
A shiver runs through me. Because…
Christos recognized me.
 “I can tell you’re as incorrigible as ever.” I shake my head, but I’m smiling, truly just relieved that he recognized me.
“I try to be,” he purrs dangerously.
I’m feeling warm all of a sudden. I can’t believe I’m staring at him so much, but it’s like I cannot take my eyes away. He looks achingly familiar, but at the same time, so different I cannot help but stare and track the differences in his features. The way his jaw squared out even more, the way his body filled out with hard, lean muscles that shift and ripple beneath his expensive designer clothes. I cannot believe that this is a guy I knew once.
He seems to silently be taking in my changes too, his keen stare allowing me to see that he seems to approve of it all. Even the dress I’m wearing. “You changed enough for the both of us,” I blurt.
“Really. How so?” he asks.
“You grew into your nose.”
“Really?” He chuckles as if despite himself.
“Width and height too. Quite a bit,” I add.
“Anything else,” he prods, one eyebrow rising.
“You learned how to dress.”
He looks down at his black suit. “This old thing?” He grins, then shifts forward, sobering up. “What can I do for you, Bryn? Considering I’m rather surprised to see you here, I’m eager for you to satiate my curiosity.” His stare becomes keen.
“So am I. I didn’t expect to be here,” I admit, and for a moment when I look into his eyes, all I see is someone I’ve seen before. Someone who belonged in my life long ago. “You know when you had that misplaced crush on me and told me one day I’d know what it felt like to throw pebbles at someone’s window wanting them to open? I’m sort of throwing rocks here.”
“Not to sing me a love song,” he says flatly, his eyes shuttering.
“No. Well, you know that was never....I mean...” Don’t bring up your rejection of him, Bryn! “It’s for something better. Business.”
“Go on.”
“I knew that’d get you.” I smile privately. “So it’s true your love is money now.”
“She gives back what I put in. Though her ass isn’t as juicy as I like,” he says nonchalantly.
“Wow. No matter how polished you look, your mouth is still as crude as ever.”
“Thank you,” he purrs, his eyes grinning at me.
I laugh. Then I sober up and realize he’s waiting for me to speak. “I’m looking for money for my startup,” I say.
“How much.”
“One hundred thousand.”
“I don’t invest less than a million.” He twirls his whiskey in his glass, eyeing the liquid.
“Well then, I’ll ask for a million.”
He raises his brows, setting his glass down. “It’s not how much you want to ask for, it’s how much the company’s worth.” Eyebrows up, he skewers me with a cold, intimidating look.
“It’ll be worth more than a million, trust me,” I bluff.
“Good for you. Except…” he leans back with a rustle of clothes, every athletic inch of his black-clad body flowing sinuously like a feline with the move, “considering that has yet to happen and I’ll need to trust you on that, my trust needs to be earned.”
This version of Christos is even more intimidating than the old one, unfortunately.
I try to hide it, keeping my voice as level as possible. “How does one earn your trust?”
“I’d tell you if I were interested, but I’m not exactly sure that I am.” He eyes me as if debating in silence.
This guy is the only guy in the world that unnerves me in this way, and I can’t seem to slow the fast pounding of my heart in my chest as I try to remember what I came here to say.
“I have a full presentation for you. I’m not taking no for an answer.” I reach into my briefcase.
 “Darling. Are you ready?”
I start at the female voice and glance at a gorgeous woman striding into the study. Christos continues looking at me as he stands and reaches for the cell phone the woman extends out.
“We’re done here,” he answers her as he pockets the phone, his gaze remaining on me.
“I’ll wait for you in the car.” She leans up and kisses his jaw, her hands proprietary on his chest, then sends me a woman-to-woman claiming look, before she swishes away, all glittering jewels and lean body.
There’s a silence as he approaches, and for a second all I can hear is the sound of a toilet flushing, taking my only opportunity with a possible investor away.
“I’ll think about it,” he says.
“Christos.”
“I said I’ll think about it,” he says from the door.
“Please do,” I say as he exits the room.  I cup the sides of my mouth, “I’ll be back tomorrow. Same time?” I say jokingly.
I’m surprised when I hear footsteps returning. He pauses when our eyes meet. “I’ll make contact,” he says, raising his eyebrows meaningfully, “If I’m interested in hearing more.” He nods. “Nice to see you, Bryn.”
“Nice to see you. Christos.”
Well, that went sort of awful.
Tycoon-ANLOGOS

Read Today!

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2rO2bIY

blog tour teaser


About the Author:

Katy Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.

Connect with the Author:

Email: katyevansauthor@gmail.com
Twitter @authorkatyevans