~~Desiree Holt's Knockin' Boots!!~~

Thank you for stopping by today. There's a new book in town, check it out!!!

The wonderfully talented Desiree Holt has a new book releasing, Knockin' Boots!

Title: Knockin' Boots
Author: Desiree Holt
Series: Beyond Fairytales

Blurb:
For years, Dan and Kylie Franklin have searched for someone who can fill in all the missing blanks in their situation. When fate brings Clint Gorman into their lives, the instant attraction runs hot and deep. 

After a night of intense, sweaty sex, there’s no doubt he’s the one for them. But when Clint’s past comes to light, they’re forced to decide whether or not the connection they felt is enough to keep the three of them together.


Buy Links:
Amazon:  Knockin' Boots (Beyond Fairytales)
Decadent Publishing
Kobo

Excerpt:
“So.” Kylie waited while Dan dropped onto the extra-long couch then sat on his lap and turned to face Clint. “Dan said you were traveling the country and happened to stop in Whistling Creek.”

“That’s right. He was kind enough to invite me to lunch, and it seems we hit it off.” To his total shocked surprise.

“No definite destination in mind?” she asked.

“Uh-uh.” He paused to take a long swallow of beer. “Wherever the bike takes me.”

“I’ll bet you’re enjoying it. Doesn’t he look like it, honey?” She glanced at Dan, who was stroking her bare shoulder and arm.

“Sure does.” He brushed her hair aside to trail kisses down her slender neck and bit gently at the place where it joined her shoulder. Clint saw a little tremor skate over the woman’s skin. “But I got a feeling he might have a better time here with us. At least for a little while.”

She shifted her gaze to Clint again. “I’m assuming Dan explained our situation to you?”

“He did. And I sure can understand it. Some things are difficult for people to accept.”

“In case you think we’re nuts, putting it out there like that,” Kylie told him, “Dan’s very good at reading people. He’s had to be, over the years, as we try to find a third for our, let’s say, social activities. We made a few mistakes early on, so we’ve learned to be extra careful.”

“And to trust our instincts,” Dan added. “I got a very good feeling about you from the moment we shook hands.”

Clint took another swallow of beer, letting the chilled liquid slide down his throat and hopefully cool his body that seemed to be heating up again very quickly.

“I’d just as soon let the two of you take the lead. But I’m not shy about asking if something pops into my head.”

“I don’t know if Dan mentioned it, but I do have a secret wish.” Kylie looked at Dan, who nodded. “We would love to find someone to move in with us permanently. Of course, that would be asking an awful lot.”

“Yeah?” Clint tried not to show his surprise. He’d been in a lot of one-night ménages. Sometimes even two-night encounters. But a permanent one? Would that ever interest him? He gave the other man a questioning look. “And you’d be okay sharing your wife on a regular basis?”

Dan drained the last of his beer and set the empty on the little table beside the couch. “Hell, yes. I mean, I know there would be a lot of logistics and specifics to work out, but if we could find someone on our wavelength, someone we both wanted to include, that would be the ideal.”

“But that’s just a dream, you know?” Kylie leaned into her husband. “Today, let’s enjoy each other. I’m more than ready”

“Sounds good to me.” Yeah, he was more than damn ready, too.

AUTHOR BIO:

Referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, Desiree Holt is the world’s oldest living published erotic romance author. A graduate of the University of Michigan her earlier careers include agent and manager in the music industry, public television, associate vice president of university advancement, public relations, and economic development.

She is three times a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award (and a winner in 2014), a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio as well as twice a CAPA Award winner for best BDSM book of the year, winner of the Ellora’s Cave Golden Ankh and winner of the Holt Medallion for Excellence in Romance Literature.

She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times, The Huffington Post and numerous other national and international publications. Currently she has signed on as a blogger for The Huffington Post. She is also the Authors After Dark 2014 Author of the Year.


Learn more about her and her novels here:
Twitter @desireeholt

www.desireeholt.com
www.desiremeonly.com
www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor
www.facebook.com/desire01holt
www.pinterest.com/desiree02holt
www.LinkedIn.com/desireeholt
https://plus.google.com/desireeholt


Contact Desiree at
desireeholt@desireeholt.com

Whew! That was one hot excerpt. Thanks for sharing Desiree. I know I'll be adding Knockin' Books to my TBR list.

Stacy Deanne's Worth the Risk Book Release!

Hello!  I'd like to welcome Stacy Deanne to For Whom The Books Toll today. She's here talking about her new book release Worth the Risk.  Take it away, Stacy!!

Hi All,
Stacy-Deanne (Dee-Anne) here and I want to share a bit about my new release, Worth the Risk!


Why I Wrote the Book:
Worth the Risk will always hold a special place in my heart. So far, it is probably the most important book I’ve written. I wrote it in honor of my cousin who has been living with HIV for over a decade. The type of person she is and the struggles she’s been through made me want to base a character of her. I also wrote the book because I feel that it is important for fiction, especially romance, to focus on people from all lifestyles. One thing my cousin has to deal with is finding friends and lovers who understand her situation. I wanted to write this book for others with HIV so that they have faith that they can find love and romance like everyone else.

Why I Feel the Book is Important:
I believe fiction should sometimes show the harsher side of life. I also think it is important that people have characters in which they can relate. People with HIV fall in love and are in relationships the same as others, yet we don’t see many romances focused on them. I don’t know why that is. Maybe some writers don’t know much about HIV and are intimidated to write about it. Maybe some writers feel like audiences would not want to read a romance with an HIV-positive character. All I can say is that so far, reactions from readers and reviewers have been positive toward my book. In fact, a Facebook Group influenced me to follow my heart and write this. I had someone tell me that no one would want to read about an HIV heroine, but when I asked about this I got so many others who said that wasn’t true. I like to follow my heart in my writing so I couldn’t let it go, so the story was born. This a lesson to all writers to listen to your heart. If you feel strongly about something, write it no matter what.

The Importance of Romance Books for Everyone:
As a black child, I didn’t have any books that centered on people like me. None of the children’s books I read and enjoyed had little black girls in them. I always thought about that.
When I was a teenager, I never saw romance books or many other books outside of literary fiction with blacks as characters or on covers. Romance especially weren’t being written for blacks. It was very hard for black authors to get their romances published. Until BET Books and Kimani came along, romance books rarely focused on blacks. I always thought about that.
Now, read what I just wrote and you’ll see why I feel it’s important to have books everyone can relate to. I feel this way because it’s something I’ve experienced. I wondered how many people with HIV who love romance novels ever go, “Hmm, wonder why they don’t write more romances for people like me?” 
That is the question I had in my head when writing Worth the Risk and it made me more determined and proud for writing this story. 

What I Hope Readers Get From This Book:
What I hope people get from this book is simple, entertainment. I also hope that it expands the minds of people who don’t have firsthand experience with HIV or with those who have it. Worth the Risk is an interracial romance before anything else, except the heroine is living with an incurable disease. Madeline is still a woman with feelings and desires like any other woman. What I don’t want is for people to overlook the book because they are afraid of the subject matter. Once again, this is a romance above all else and I hope people see that. 

About the Book:
Houston music critic Alvin Zak becomes smitten with violinist Madeline Deever from the first moment she lays her bow to her violin to perform a concerto. Sent to review the orchestra, Alvin becomes so enraptured by Madeline that he asks her if he can do a feature on her. The polite, yet elusive Madeline agrees to think it over while declining Alvin’s invitation for coffee. Alvin does not understand Madeline’s abrupt refusal to his invite and it makes him even more interested in getting close to her.

The last thing Madeline is looking for is love since she is harboring a secret that has the power to ruin any potential relationship. Convinced no man would love her enough to accept her situation, she fights off Alvin’s advances, but begins to fall in love with him.

Can Alvin convince Madeline to trust him and give into her feelings or is Madeline destined to spend her life alone?

Available August 30th from Secret Cravings Publishing

Add Worth the Risk to your Goodreads list:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22596061-worth-the-risk



Excerpt:
Madeline ran out the door and hurried down the sidewalk toward her dark-blue Mazda.

Come on! 

She dug in her purse for her keys.

The last thing I need is anyone asking questions.

“Madeline?” Alvin busted out the door. “Madeline?” He ran up behind her. “Wait!”

She stopped and sighed.

What do I say if he asks why I’m here? Of course, I can tell him to fuck off but then what? I wake up and the next thing I know another feature of me will be in the magazine?

She turned around.

Hold on. Why the hell is he here?

“Hey.” He squinted. “You okay?”

“Why?” She held the prescription note behind her back. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” She raised an eyebrow. “You saying I don’t look okay?”

“You look beautiful actually.”

Compliments.

She brushed her hair behind her ear.

I do like the way I feel when he looks at me. But, I can’t trust this man. He did a feature on me without my permission. Who does that?

She tilted her head.

I can’t lie and say I’m not a tiny bit attracted to him. Why does he like me though? Is he really interested in me or just my music?

“What are you doing here?” She avoided meeting his gaze.

“I’m here for my yearly checkup.” He swung his arms. “I gotta get my blood pressure medicine refilled.”

“You have high blood pressure?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, I just take the medicine because I like it.”

She grinned. “I guess your job can get stressful, huh? I’ve seen how some react when you give them bad reviews. I saw what that musician did to you on Twitter last year. I couldn’t deal with stuff like that.”

“No one likes a critic.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “That’s the nature of the job, but I love what I do. I love music, so that’s why I like to judge it and study it.” He gestured to her. “Why are you here?”

“I had to see my doctor.”

“Dr. Fox too?”

“No.” She crumpled up the prescription note. “It’s another doctor.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Who?”

“Who?” She exhaled. “Is that really your business?”

He shrugged. “No, but I told you the name of my doctor.” 

“Yeah, but I didn’t ask did I?”

His smile faded. 

I hate being a bitch to him. He seems to be a nice guy but I can’t give him an inkling something can be between us when I know it’s impossible. Better to reject him now than hurt him later.

“Alvin, I told you I didn’t wanna see you again.”

“You don’t wanna see me because of the feature or something else? I’m sorry if doing the story hurt you. It wasn’t my intent.”

“Do you realize how many emails I’ve been getting since you wrote about me?” She touched her hair. “I mean…they’re nice and stuff but I didn’t want this to happen. You should’ve given me the choice.”

“I apologize, but I thought you’d be happy once you saw it.”

“Well, I wasn’t.” She held her arms to her sides. “I wasn’t.”

 “I don’t know how to be with you.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Things that I thought would impress women don’t work on you.”

“I don’t like games or tricks. I’d rather know off the bat what you want. No bullshitting.”

“Okay.” He swallowed. “I wanna go out with you, and I wanna know more about your music.”

She sighed.

“How about I give you a chance to tell your own story this time?” He touched her arm. “I really am sorry if the piece offended you.”

“It didn’t offend me. It was a very flattering feature but—”

“You didn’t want it?”

She nodded. “I don’t like people doing things behind my back.”

“You might be glad to know it’s gotten a lot of attention. I got people calling me asking me more about you and how to reach you.”

“I don’t want anyone to reach me.”

“Why, Madeline?” He moved closer. “You’ve got a wonderful gift that you share with the world, but you don’t wanna share yourself?”

“I can’t.” She closed her eyes. “I can’t share myself with anyone else again.”

“Including me?”

She looked into his eyes. “Especially you.”


Upcoming Release:
Since I’m here I’d like to share about my upcoming September 13th release Empty coming from Sugar and Spice Press.
It’s about a May/December romance and I hope you check it out and enjoy it!

Blurb:

Empty is an endearing love story about soul mates who didn’t realize how lost they were until they found each other. 

Forty-five year-old Sacramento Social Psychology Professor Bella Terry has developed a feverish attraction for her twenty-four year-old student, Cameron Moore. Despite their differences, Cameron finds the elusive Bella irresistible and stops at nothing to get closer to her.

Their interest for each other turns into a fascinating bond neither expected. They share their deepest secrets and Cameron realizes there is more to Bella than he ever imagined. Bella has not had an easy life and because of this, she’s built a wall to her heart. Bella pushes Cameron away, but Cameron refuses to give up on love.

After a traumatic experience, Bella realizes she loves Cameron and can’t afford to walk away.

Add Empty to your Goodreads list:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22818338-empty

Thanks for having me!

Thank you for sharing your new books with us today, Stacy.

Author Bio:

Stacy-Deanne (Dee-Anne) is a published novelist of interracial romantic suspense and interracial romance novels. She started writing professionally in 1997 when she was nineteen years old. Stacy grew up loving the suspense genre. Her idols are Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock. Her love for Psycho and many of his movies fueled her fire for suspense.

Stacy´s books include Everlasting (Simon and Schuster, 2007), Melody (Simon and Schuster, 2008), Bruised (Sugar and Spice Press, 2014), and Captivated (Sugar and Spice Press, 2014). Stacy's books have been nominated for numerous awards.

Giving up the Ghost was nominated for a 2011 African-American Literary Award in the Mystery category and 2012 Swirl Award in the Romantic Suspense category. The Swirl awards are dedicated to recognizing authors of interracial and multicultural romance. Giving up the Ghost was a 2012 Top 20 Black Expressions Bestseller.

The Season of Sin was nominated for a 2012 African-American Literary Award in the Mystery Category and was a USA Today Recommended Read.

In 2012, Stacy was also nominated for Best Female author for the first All Things Literary Awards sponsored by OOSA book club. The Season of Sin also made OOSA Book Club's Top 100 Reads of 2012.

Stacy is profiled in the NAACP-nominated 2006 book, Literary Divas: The Top 100+ African-American Women in Writing by Heather Convington. She has written for numerous sites and blogs pertain to writing. She contributes to the blog Become a Successful Author and to NINA (Woman 2 Woman Magazine).

Stacy supports all authors and loves writers who venture outside the box. She especially encourages minority writers to be different, follow their hearts and to not let their race pigeonhole them when it comes to their creativity or the books they write.

She was born, raised and currently resides in Houston, Texas. 

Contact Stacy:

Website: http://www.stacy-deanne.net

Mailing list: http://www.stacy-deanne.net/newsletter.htm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacy.deanne.5?ref=tn_tnmn

Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=Stacy-Deanne&src=tyah

Book Release-Jessica Shin Instruction by Seduction!!

Thanks for stopping by For Whom The Books Toll. Today, my guest is Jessica Shin and she's celebrating the release of her book Instruction by Seduction at Ellora's Cave Publishing.


Title: Instuction by Seduction
Author: Jessica Shin
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc-Imprint: Exotika   
Release Date: January 22, 2014
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance


Blurb:

You do not open the box. The box opens you.

When Leah picks up an ornate box at a flea market she knows it’s special. But she has no idea how her life as a sexually disappointed college student and grocery store cashier will be transformed.

Through forces unknown, the box summons Hale—a man who knows Leah inside and out. He uses their no-strings-attached sexual escapades—which include a hot threesome and light bondage—as lascivious lessons to teach Leah what she needs to succeed in her job, education and relationships.

With each sexual encounter growing more and more extreme, Leah comes away challenged and questioning everything. But will Leah listen to her new instincts and embrace the life of her dreams or will she continue to hide in her old and comfortable but self-defeating ways?

Buy Links:




Ellora's Cave





Excerpt:
“What are you doing?” Leah squeaked.
“It’s hard to do this wearing clothes. I’ve tried and was unsuccessful.”
“Stop!” She squealed as he pulled his shirt out of his dress pants to finish unbuttoning.
“Do you really want me to?” 
Leah paused. She really didn’t. From the moment the bizarre, beautiful stranger breezed through her door like the January Kansas wind she’d wanted nothing more than for him to take off that fabulous suit. But dare she say it? Dare she say what she wanted? Would she be prepared for what followed if she did?
“I don’t know what I want,” she whispered.
“And therein lies your problem.” Hale continued to unbutton his shirt. He let it fall open, exposing a perfectly hairless, chiseled chest. “What is it that you’re afraid of?”
“Maybe I’m afraid of getting what I want.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.”
Hale slid out of his black jacket and deposited it on the same chair that held his tie. He turned back to Leah and put his hands on her shoulders. His touch was amazingly warm, even after being out in the cold and handling the beer straight out of the fridge. It sent hot shivers through Leah’s body and sent her hormones spinning. She closed her eyes.
Soft pressure moved her in a semicircle, putting her back toward the fridge. Her eyes still closed, Leah let Hale push her back until she was pressed against the appliance. Once there she trembled, waiting. She didn’t have to wait long.
Hale placed feathery-soft kisses at her ear, his lips moving down her neck, planting faint kisses all the way down. She leaned her head back against the fridge, afraid to let this seduction continue but desperate to hold onto it. His hands slid down off her shoulders and came to rest on the top of her towel.
“Hale.” It was half-plea, half-warning.
He gripped the towel and in one swift move, pulled it completely off Leah’s body. Her eyes flew open and she shrieked, moving to cover herself but Hale’s hands found hers and held them out to her sides, leaving her fully exposed.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “You’re beautiful.”
“I’m scared!”
“You’re perfect.” And with that Hale’s lips covered hers in a gentle but forceful kiss, leaving Leah no choice but to open to him. Her sensible side was screaming in confusion while her desire rose within her, an unstoppable force. She moaned softly under his lips.
“Do you still want me to stop?” Hale whispered.
Leah looked up into those perfect green eyes and again felt that inexplicable recognition. Somehow this stranger was already hers, just like the box.
“No.”
Hale smiled and nodded.
“I thought you’d say that.”



Author Bio:
Jessica Shin has been writing longer than she has been reading. As a small child she would scribble nonsense on paper then run and ask her mother if it said anything. She completed her first “novel” just before the fifth grade and hasn’t stopped for a moment.

Jessica is the youngest of nine children and is originally from the Midwest. Now transplanted to Georgia, she finds that her southern home among the Dogwoods and kudzu suits her almost as well as the corn fields.

A woman of endless interests, Jessica has sampled from many forms of martial arts including Tae Kwon Do, Aikido and Jujitsu but finds Chinese Kung Fu and Tai Chi very close to her heart. To keep things in balance, she is also an avid yogi.

Jessica lives in the Atlanta area with her cover model heartthrob husband and their beautiful cats. She loves to cook and enjoys a good glass of wine daily.


Contact Jessica:
Facebook    
Website   


Thanks for stopping by today Jessica. Congratulations on your new book release. It sounds super yummy.