Favorite tropes, taboos, worst thing done to a character…these and more are all questions I, Kelsey Browning Nancy Naigle Caridad Pineiro with moderator Nan O’Berry discussed on the romance panel, Do Not Disturb – Fashioning the Perfect Romance at the Suffolk Mystery Book Festival. You can watch the replay here.
Join me and 10 other authors on April 25, 2019 for the Death of a Debtor Takeover Party held online. The fun starts at 2 pm eastern and runs until 8 pm. You can join in any time, even after 8 pm. There will be fun, prizes, freebies and more! To learn more and RSVP visit the Death of a Debtor event page.
Forced to move back home to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia after her father and brother end up in jail for running a Ponzi scheme, Sophie Parker does the best she can. While living with her curmudgeonly aunt, she works as a wench waitress at a pirate-themed restaurant and learns the ins and outs of discount shopping through a coupon group.
Life goes from bad to worse when an innocent airplane ride with her former teenage crush, AJ, leads to her being picked up by the police. The plane’s indebted owner has been murdered, and he’s the man who helped put her father in jail.
What started as a curiosity has now turned into a quest to make sure she isn’t arrested. Armed with gossip from the women in her coupon group, and her cantankerous aunt, Sophie sets out to find out who killed the ruthless businessman minutes after she flew off with AJ.
To celebrate, there’s a ton of stuff going on including a Kindle giveaway, free ebooks with every order (and pre-order), fun activities, blog tours and much more. Check out all the fun and activities in store today:
FREE ebooks with every purchase of Drawn to Her. EVERYONE who buys a copy (or pre-ordered) of Drawn to Her can also pick up the following for free:
Visit the Drawn to Her Goodie Giveaway page for details on picking up your free ebooks. You can pick up your copy of Drawn to her at your favorite retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, iBooks
Win a Kindle, plus other great prizes, meet and mingle with other authors and have fun at the Drawn to Her Facebook party. From 11 am to 7 pm eastern standard time, visit the Drawn to Her release party on Facebook to join in on all the fun, and enter to win cool stuff, including a Kindle!
The release of Drawn to Her is quickly approaching… April 12! I’m in a flurry of activity preparing for a big launch that includes:
An all-day Facebook Party with many of my author friends and lots of chances to win great stuff, including a Kindle!
Free e-books with every pre- and day-of-release order of Drawn to Her .
SweetHartes can also win a new Kindle Fire, Amazon giftcards, books and other cool stuff. If you’re not a SweetHart, you can learn about this FREE exclusive group here, and then join the SweetHarte group at Facebook. You’ll find details about contests, some cool free stuff and much more.
Wow. What a roller coaster ride of emotions! This book will hook you and take you for a ride. I was frustrated, angry, upset, sad, elated at various points within the story and I LOVED it! ~ Kelly’s Book Blog
This book was absolutely brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it.~ PLeslie at Goodreads
Overall, I found this North vs. South clash of cultures/wills quite entertaining. The writing style flowed, and I was so fully engaged I couldn’t put it down. ~ A Klue from Goodreads
Drawn to Her was definitely a fun read that left me in a good mood when I was done. ~ Lauren from Goodreads
“Rummy again.” Lexie McKenna laid her cards on the table over Oliver Carmichael’s hospital bed.
“You wouldn’t be trying to take advantage of a dying man, would you?” He grinned at her, despite the fact he was indeed dying. At least he is dying on his terms. Lexie admired his courage to abandon his life of riches in New York to live out the rest of his days in his quiet, childhood home, in Charlotte Tavern, Virginia. He was comfortable, or as comfortable as could be expected when dying of lung cancer.
“Oh, please, you’re richer than God.” She gathered the cards and prepared to shuffle them. “I couldn’t win enough dough to dent your stockpile of money.”
He laughed. “You got that right.”
“Since you can’t take it with you, I might as well pad my pockets with your loot.” She dealt them each seven cards, glad he was in good spirits today. Being his personal nurse hadn’t always been card games and banter. Oliver was the definition of cantankerous with his brusque demeanor, quick temper, and low tolerance of others. His illness hadn’t improved his attitude. Lexie understood it was difficult for a larger-than-life man such as Oliver to accept his mortality and the limitations imposed by his illness, but that didn’t mean she was going to put up with his surly behavior. Over the six weeks she’d been his private nurse, they’d come to an understanding; whatever he dished out, she gave back. As a result, Oliver’s behavior had improved, and they’d become friends.
“Double or nothing?” Oliver picked up the cards she dealt him.
“It’s your money, Warbucks.”
“What the hell?” A man stepped into the room.
Startled by the intrusion, Lexie turned to the man behind the deep, harsh voice. “Great day!” She drawled the southern expression of surprise and dismay, under her breath as a scowling, very tall, broad-shouldered man approached. In Lexie’s world, nearly everyone was taller than her, but this man was humongous, not just in size but in presence as well. He swallowed up space with each step until the room shrunk to the size of a closet. His narrowed gray eyes moved from her to Oliver. His dark foreboding stare reminded her of Oliver when he was in one of his moods.
Finally, someone has come to visit. Except that a glance toward Oliver told her neither man seemed particularly happy.
“What are you doing here?” Oliver’s scowl matched the man’s although his voice, raspy from cancer, didn’t match the dark intensity of his features.
“I’m here to see you, and I’m not leaving until we talk.” The newcomer stood at the end of the bed in a casual stance, belying the expectant look in his face. Lexie couldn’t deny there was something compelling about him. He was handsome for sure, with short, jet black hair, and dark, steely gray eyes made more attractive by the long lashes rimming them. He exuded a power that suggested he always got what he wanted without much effort, and an energy that said “keep your distance.” Typical New York businessman.
“I’m sick.” Oliver slunk down in his covers, letting his eyes drop to half-mast.
Lexie frowned. Oliver wasn’t one to take orders or be intimidated by others, and yet, instead of telling this man to take a flying leap, he hid under his blankets.
The change in Oliver’s demeanor concerned her. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
Lexie’s hackles rose. Who did Tall, Dark, and Brooding think he was coming into her home, well, Oliver’s home, making demands like he owned the place?
“Harrumph.” Oliver straightened in his bed. “Lexie McKenna, this is my grandson, Drake Carmichael. Drake, this is Lexie, my nurse.”
Lexie’s annoyance was lessened slightly knowing someone in Oliver’s family had finally come to visit. She’d made so many calls and sent several letters, all of which had been ignored. She stood and extended her hand. “How wonderful that you’ve finally—”
“Nurse? What the hell kind of nurse jokes about dying and taking your money?” Drake stepped close to her, towering his imposing body over hers, causing a shiver that had nothing to do with fear or intimidation. She should have been wary. Instead, she was intrigued. “Your bedside manner is lacking.”
“Now wait a minute.” Lexie ignored the crackle of electricity zapping within the narrowing gap between them. She wasn’t going to let some stranger, no matter how big, mean, and gorgeous, intimidate and insult her. Unfortunately, at five-three, she only came to his chest. Not a good vantage point to make a statement.
“Hold that thought.” She grabbed the step stool next to Oliver’s bed and gained the extra foot she needed to look Drake in the eyes. “You have some nerve.” She poked him in the chest with her index finger, ignoring the jolt of heat zapping her each time she felt the hard, firm muscle underneath his starched white shirt. “Where have you been all this time your grandfather has been sick? You never once called or sent a note.” She glared at him, pleased at the surprise in his steel gray eyes.
His surprise quickly changed to disconcertedness as his dark stormy eyes sized her up from head to toe and back again. He glared at her with such intensity, she worried she’d whither into nothing. But she wasn’t a delicate flower. She gathered her resolve and turned her stare on him, openly assessing him back. At first, his eyes remained hard and cold but, upon closer inspection, there was something smoldering and compelling hidden behind them. As quickly as it was there, it was gone, and his gray eyes turned flat and unreadable.
“Ahem.”
Lexie ignored Oliver’s attempt to get her attention because she couldn’t turn away from Drake no matter how forbidding his eyes. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of flinching first. At least that was what she told herself as she continued to hold his gaze. It wasn’t easy with her heart hammering and her knees turning to jelly.
“I hate to interrupt this moment, but I’d hate for someone to get hurt,” Oliver’s voice cut through the standoff.
Drake’s gaze held Lexie’s. “I’d never hurt a woman.”
“It’s not Lexie I’m worried about.”
Drake looked at Oliver, breaking the impasse.
Lexie’s lips curved in satisfaction. That’s right, buster. You don’t scare me. You might make me swoon, but you don’t scare me. With the battle of wills over for the moment, she turned on the charm southern women were famous for.
“Let’s try this again. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Carmichael.” She held out her hand.
He looked at it as if she had cooties. Finally, he grasped her hand, his long fingers wrapping fully around her hand in a firm, although not crushing grip, as she might have expected.
“Ms. McKenna.” His voice was rough, laced with annoyance. Even so, he held her hand, his gaze boring into hers as if searching for something. Her heart skipped a beat at the heat of his gaze. It was oddly thrilling, yet terrifying.
“Why don’t you sit here?” She disentangled her hand from his before she turned to mush, motioning to a chair near Oliver’s bed. “And, you.” She fixed Oliver’s covers and moved the over-table out of the way. “Be nice.” Casting Drake one last glance, she left the room.
~ End Excerpt~
You can pre-order Drawn to Her and have it on your device on release day, April 12, 2016! And don’t forget to keep your receipt and check in her for details on getting some free goodies!
Pre-Order through Barnes & Noble
Today is the first day of a two week blog tour, where I answer interview questions, write articles and even give away books. Today I’m at Reading Addiction Blog Tours for a meet and great and book giveaway. You’ll be able to learn a little about my writing process, my challenges and what I’m working on now. Plus, you can enter to win a free copy of Endangered.
Please stop by Reading Addiction Blog Tours and say hello!