Showing posts with label contemporary romance authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contemporary romance authors. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Book Tour and Giveaway - The Wanted Bride by Sylvia McDaniel


Thanks for joining me today. Todays book tour is "The Wanted Bride" by Sylvia McDaniel. A fun short contemporary novel, with a book giveaway too! Enjoy...........

BOOK INFO

Title-The Wanted Bride
By-Sylvia McDaniel
Genre: Short Contemporary
Publisher: Virtual Bookseller
Date of Publication: April 19, 2013
Number of pages: 232 pages
Word Count: 60,000
Cover Artist: Kat Baldwin


Blurb-

She’s a Runaway Bride
Valerie Burrows is running from a wedding, her attorney fiancé and the law. Pampered Valerie takes a bus to nowheresville, where she learns her cash and credit cards have been stolen. Left with only her designer clothes and luggage she takes on a new identity and must learn to be self-reliant. She swears off men, especially attorneys, only to find the one man who refuses a one night stand and wants a relationship.

He’s Looking For A Wife
Matt Jordan, the Colorado Crusher, is the most successful liability lawyer in the state. After the death of his brother-in-law, he realizes he’s ready to settle down with a family of his own. His only requirements are intelligent, great-looking, wants more than a hook-up and doesn’t lie. After witnessing the lies his father told his mother, he demands complete honesty. Yet Valerie Brown shows him sometimes in order to find yourself, you must become someone else. Even if that means lying.


Purchase Links:
Amazon UK -  Click here
Amazon US - Click here
Barnes and Noble - Click here 

Goodreads - Click here 

Excerpt 

Chapter One

“I need a one-way ticket to anywhere,” Valerie Burrows commanded the girl behind the bus counter in downtown Dallas. A charred piece of her wedding veil sagged onto her face.
Impatiently, she flipped the singed lace away, her throat closing off the tears that threatened her vision. On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life,
she reeked of smoke, not flowers, saw red not white, tasted bile
not cake.

Glancing up from the counter the clerk’s eyes widened, making Valerie acutely aware of her appearance. On what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, she felt
traumatized, not joyous.

“Where do you want to go?” the clerk stammered.

“Anywhere, as long as I leave in the next five minutes,” Valerie insisted, wishing people would stop staring. So she looked like a crazy woman. After this morning maybe she was a
little loco.

“The bus to Amarillo is loading now,” the agent advised, her large brown eyes riveted to Valerie. “I have one seat left. The one-way fare is sixty-five dollars.”

Though she preferred to travel by plane, there was no time or way to get to the airport. She could take the bus or stay and face the consequences of her actions.

Valerie dug the cash out of her Bottega Veneta purse and handed the money to the ticket agent. “I’ll take it.”

Dirty lace from her wedding veil fell onto her face again, so she yanked the offending garment off her head and threw the veil on top of her matching Louis Vuitton luggage. The beautiful lace of her Vera Wang wedding gown was streaked with gray and black. Burn streaks made a crazy pattern on the silk that didn't accessorize the seed pearls.

The heel of one of her Stuart Weitzman pumps had snapped several blocks ago, and her feet were blistered. And yet her heart beat on in spite of her ruined wedding.

The clerk handed her the ticket, sympathy in her dark eyes. “The bus is ready. You’re the last one to board.”

Not even time to change. Head held high, spine locked in place, she limped to the white steel carriage, her suitcases trailing behind.
There, she handed her two suitcases to a gawking young man. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up her hand. “Just load my luggage.”

She glanced up to see faces pressed against the glass windows of the bus, gaping at her like she was a freak show. Hadn’t these people ever seen a runaway bride in real life before? Julia Roberts may have made the movie, but she didn’t own the copyright to wedding disasters.
With her carry-on bag hanging from her shoulder, Valerie marched up the steps of the waiting bus as if she walked around in a wedding gown every day. The babble of sixty voices ceased
as she handed the driver her ticket.

He mumbled, “Lord, I need to retire.”

Her silk dress pressed against her legs and swished as she made her way to the only empty seat on her getaway bus. Thank God she’d ditched the petticoats in the Corvette.
A gray-haired woman glanced at her as she put her luggage in the overhead bin.

“Hm hm hm, I can’t wait to hear this story,” the elderly Hispanic woman said. “Are you all right?”
Valerie plopped in the seat, her ruined silk gown making a mighty swish. She exhaled loudly, her heart aching, her eyes blurring with unshed tears. For the last hour she’d been holding
her breath while making her escape.

But now, now all the pain she'd carefully controlled broke free and she chuckled. Hysterical laughter rumbled from deep inside her, echoed through the bus. A single tear rolled down
her cheek.
“I am now.”
 

Author Info-

Sylvia McDaniel is a best-selling, award-winning author of historical and contemporary romances. Known for her sweet, funny, family-oriented romances, Sylvia is the author of The Burnett Brides a historical western series, The Cuvier Widows, a Louisiana historical series, and several short contemporary romances.
President of the Dallas Area Romance Authors, a member of the Romance Writers of America®, and a member of Novelists Inc, her novel, A Hero’s Heart was a 1996 Golden Heart Finalist. Several other books have placed or won in the San Antonio Romance Authors Contest, LERA Contest, and was a Golden Network Finalist.
Married for nearly twenty years to her best friend, they have two dachshunds that are beyond spoiled. She loves gardening, shopping, knitting and football, but not necessarily in that order.
Currently she’s written fifteen novels and is hard at work on number sixteen, a Christmas Novella about the Burnett Family. Look for her the first Tuesday of every month at the Plotting Princesses blogspot http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com/ and twice a week at her own blog Downward Dog Diva With Sass http://sylviamcdaniela.blogspot.com/. She can be found online at: www.sylviamcdaniel.com or https://www.facebook.com/SylviaMcDanielAuthor.

Links-

Amazon- amazon.com/author/sylviamcdaniel
Twitter- @WriterSylvia


The Wanted Bride Tour Schedule
May 26th-
Black Words-White Pages- Excerpt/spotlight, book soundtrack post, playlist post
Recent Reads- Review, excerpt/spotlight, book soundtrack post
May 27th-
The Shadow Realm-Review, Excerpt/Spotlight, Guest Post
TeamNerd Reviews-Excerpt/Spotlight, Book Soundtrack
Reading in Twilight- Excerpt/spotlight, guest post

May 28th-
Bookalicious Traveladdict-Excerpt/Spotlight
May 29th-
Reading Fiction for Life-Review, dream cast, playlist post

May 30th-
Bianca2b-Excerpt/Spotlight, Character Bios
Bookmarks, Spoilers and Happily Ever After-Excerpt/Spotlight, Playlist Post

May 31st-
Sassy Book Lovers- Excerpt/Spotlight
Lost in A Sea of Words -Author Interview
Indy Book Fairy-Top Tens, Excerpt/Spotlight

June 1st-
Book Addict Mumma-Excerpt/Spotlight
Cu’s e Book Give Aways-Excerpt/Spotlight, Character Bios
Big Girls *Heart* Books-Review, Author Interview, Spotlight/Excerpt
Eclipse Reviews- Excerpt/Spotlight, Dream Cast
 



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tuesday, 2 April 2013

VBT & Giveaway - Beneath Southern Skies by Terra Little

Beneath Southern Skies
by Terra Little

About The Author: 

Terra Little is a native of Missouri, where she currently resides and works as a secondary English Literature teacher. She is a critically acclaimed contemporary, romantic, and women's fiction author, and also an avid reader. In 2009, "Where There's Smoke", Terra's sophomore literary effort, was named a Best Book by Library Journal. Prior to this honor, as well as in the aftermath of it, Terra's work has been recognized by numerous book clubs and book reviewers, including Kirkus Reviews, The San Francisco Book Review, Fresh Fiction and The Romantic Times.









PUBLISHER: Harlequin Kimani Press

PUBLICATION DATE: April 1, 2013

GENRE: Romance


BACK COVER BLURB:

A little Southern comfort goes a long way…

To the world she's Vanessa Valentino, the poison-penned gossip columnist and blogger, but back in Georgia, she's just Tressie Valentine. After digging up one scandalous secret too many, she's forced back home to the sleepy town she thought she'd left behind forever. And now she must face Nathaniel Woodberry, who became her sworn enemy when one of her stories hit too close to home. Yet for some reason, Tressie can't turn off her longing for the irresistible investigative journalist.

Nate can't believe Tressie's back to wreak havoc on the close-knit community they both grew up in, and he can't help holding a grudge against her past deeds. But soon the commitment-wary bachelor discovers that the Southern belle is still a compassionate, loving woman. Nate finds himself drawn to her and he can't stop thinking about seducing her with a healthy dose of down-home passion. But can he stop Tressie from making a mistake that could destroy their hometown—and their blossoming love?


Excerpt #1

The shower.
It was going full blast and she was singing along with the water’s spray. No, that wasn’t quite right. Actually she was singing—horribly—over and above the water’s spray.
The sound of her voice scraped across his nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard, spiking his irritation level into orbit. Without stopping to think about what he was doing, he barged into the steamy bathroom and snatched the shower curtain back.
What the hell are you doing here?” he bellowed.
She turned just as a blast of cool air slammed into her skin, and then visions of warriors rushing in for battle flashed before her eyes—big, strapping men with bulging muscles, bloodthirsty expressions on their faces, and mighty swords slicing through the air. She saw herself being impaled to death and then buried in a shallow grave deep in the woods, where no one would ever find her. She saw, as plain as day, the likelihood that no one would even bother to look for her because the sad fact was that she wasn’t the most popular person in the world and she had no real friends to speak of. Every questionable deed that she’d ever done played before her eyes like a movie. Her killer would go unpunished and her death would be in vain. The public would probably celebrate once her true identity was revealed. They would—
Oh God. She was going to die.
Partially blinded by soap bubbles and completely on the verge of hysteria, Tressie opened her mouth and did the only thing she could think to do under the circumstances. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
It seemed like an eternity, but it really took only a few seconds to wipe the soap bubbles from her eyes and focus. When she did, the first thing she saw through the steam was a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes staring into hers. Expanding her gaze to a wide-screen view, she took in a pair of perfectly shaped lips and a dimpled chin, thick eyebrows and smooth pecan-brown skin. Something in her brain eventually clicked and she recognized Nate Woodberry, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to scream like a banshee. The only difference was that this time the sounds she made were intelligible. “What the hell,” she shrieked frantically as she snatched the shower curtain from his grasp and wrapped it around her body, “are you doing in here?”
I rang the bell. You didn’t answer.” He was the epitome of calm.
So you just walk right on in and make yourself at home?” She slung her wet hair back and out of her face and shut off the water. “Idiot! Hand me a towel from over there, would you?” She snatched the towel he handed her and only released her death grip on the shower curtain long enough to make the trade. The fact that he had undoubtedly seen more of her naked body in the past thirty seconds than her doctor had in years burned her skin to a cherry-red crisp, especially since he hadn’t so much as given it a second glance in all that time. So much for cutting back on sweets and working out like a demon.


Giveaway:

2 $10 Gift Cards To Winners Choice of Amazon or Barnes and Noble