Saturday, April 29, 2017

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Behind the Love by PC Zick


Series: Behind the Love #1-4
Author: PC Zick
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Behind the Altar #1
Summary:
Leah Bryant lives a quiet life helping others. When her future mother-in-law, Geraldine, threatens her causes, she’s left confused by the hypocrisy and befuddled by a stranger who roars into town on a Harley.Dean Davis never wanted to return to his hometown. But when his father dies, he knows he must return and faced his mother, Geraldine, and his ugly past. When Leah discovers the stranger is the brother of her fiancé that she’d been told was dead, she’s drawn to him and furious about the deception. Both are bowled over by an intense attraction to one another. The magnetic pull draws them into a passionate embrace within minutes of meeting.

Leah’s controlled life and Dean’s emotional barriers both shatter and force them to examine their lives. Leah must choose between her safe engagement to Dean’s estranged brother, Jacob, and a dangerously passionate affair with Dean. And Dean must confront the demon from his childhood, his mother. Dean’s fear of loving and Leah’s need for security pull them together, rather than apart.

But none of it will matter if they can’t stop Geraldine, an unhinged woman on a destructive course to abolish everyone who opposes her thirst for power. When Dean and Leah, along with Jacob, threaten her, she goes on a rampage to destroy them all.

Behind the Altar is the first novel in the Behind the Love contemporary romance series that features sizzling attractions, dramatic confrontations, and intertwined and complicated lives. Set in the fictional small town of Victory, Florida, friends fight and love and form families of their own choosing.

Behind the Bar #2
Summary:
Susie Williams yearns for a romantic wedding with her boyfriend of five years. Reggie Barker runs from demands to marry any woman, including Susie. After the wedding of their best friends, Reggie resists Susie’s hints about marrying. He suggests they take a break. An angry and heartbroken Susie kicks him down the road and into the arms of the voluptuous Sally Jean. After Susie is mugged, she discovers Reggie’s gambling debt brought the thugs to Victory to scare him into paying. With her love for Reggie in doubt, she is tempted by a rich publisher and reconsiders her options. Meanwhile, Reggie starts to realize Susie means more to him than the tavern he owns, more than the gambling he’s hidden, and more than any other woman he knows.

But it all might be too late for Susie, who begins to unravel a mystery from a night long ago when Reggie and all the other characters played a pivotal role in her life. And before Reggie can commit to marriage, he must come to terms with a father who abandoned marriage many years earlier Both Reggie and Susie must learn to trust each other before love can ever survive a second chance.

Behind the Bar is the second novel in the Behind the Love contemporary romance series, but it is also a stand-alone romance. Once you read one novel in this series, you’ll want to learn more about the romances that feature sizzling attractions, dramatic confrontations, and intertwined and complicated lives. Set in the fictional small town of Victory, Florida, friends fight and love and form families of their own choosing.

Behind the Curtain #3
Summary:
Lisa Williams has discovered a way to achieve her life-long goal of becoming a famous actress by bringing a reality television show to her hometown. Tommy Jackson despises the idea of exploiting the town and hates it even more when his editor assigns him to cover the show for a Tampa newspaper. Lisa and Tommy have known each other all their lives. Tommy even dated her baby sister, Susie back in high school. But he’s not her type, and her values disturb him. Besides, when she returns to town, she comes with her boyfriend, Jet, who will also star in the television show. When Sally Jean makes an appearance on the show, the producer falls in lust with her, and Lisa worries that Sally Jean will be made the star of the show. Tommy is disgusted by Lisa who seems intent on dragging her family and friends through painful memories in her pursuit of stardom.

When Tommy’s mom is diagnosed with cancer, Lisa shows a different side to her character. Sitting with Mrs. Jackson during her final days gives Lisa a perspective on her own life she’s never had before. Tommy and Lisa are drawn to one another through the real-life tragedy unfolding. But first they must deal with an out of control Jet and reality show producer who want to exploit the small town even more as they see the potential of showcasing some of the more famous of Victory’s citizens, such as the fallen football star, the criminal publisher, and a tattoo artist turned farmer. Mrs. Jackson and Lisa’s sister Susie share in the circle of life to bring this dramatic romance to a bittersweet end.

Behind the Curtain is the third novel in the Behind the Love contemporary romance series, but it is also a stand-alone romance. Once you read one novel in this series, you’ll want to learn more about the rest of the romances that feature sizzling attractions, dramatic confrontations, and intertwined and complicated lives. Set in the fictional small town of Victory, Florida, friends fight and love and form families of their own choosing.


Behind the Door #4
Summary:
A VOLUPTUOUS WOMAN UNLUCKY IN LOVE. A WOUNDED PSYCHOLOGIST ON A MISSION. AN UNDENIABLE ATTRACTION WITH AN ETHICAL DILEMMA.

Sally Jean Compton is in love. And this time it's with a man who isn't in love with someone else. Dr.Brett Gorman arrives in Victory to help the veterans of Deer River with PTSDsymptoms. When tragedy strikes, neither Sally Jean nor Brett are prepared for what happens next.

The shocking aftermath of the terror of PTSD untreated leaves the entire town of Victory reeling. But none are more affected than Sally Jean and Brett who must deal with their own pasts and the trauma left behind. When Sally Jean seeks out the expertise of Dr.Brett, the psychologist of the river folks, they discover an intense attraction that leads them both to learn about themselves.

But before anything happens, Sally Jean must learn she deserves to be loved, and Brett must forgive himself for the death of his friend and his sister, his wife. It's a rocky journey to love.

Behind the Door is the fourth novel in the Behind the Love contemporary romance series that features sizzling attractions, dramatic confrontations, and intertwined and complicated lives. Set in the fictional small town of Victory, Florida, friends fight and love and form families of their own choosing.


Behind the Altar #1
Dean turned and walked out the same door he’d entered a few minutes earlier when he’d captivated Leah so thoroughly. No wonder he looked familiar, Leah thought. He and Jacob were brothers. She ran to the door, ignoring her fiancé’s plea to stay there. She needed to know more about Dean.

She found him sitting on a motorcycle on the side lawn of the church used for Sunday morning parking overflow.

“Where are you going?” Leah asked as she approached the bike where he straddled the engine. He was sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest. He rolled his eyes at her approach.

“What do you care?” he asked. “You almost accepted my invitation for dinner back there. Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I was being tested.”

“For what?”

“For my love for Jacob. I wouldn’t have gone on a date with you.”

“But you wanted to go with me.”

“For a few seconds, yes, I did.”

She walked closer to him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close until his knee rested on her hip. He placed one arm around her shoulders and put the other around her waist. He leaned so close to her, their lips almost touched as they stared into each other’s eyes. It happened so quickly that Leah didn’t have time to react. Now that they were touching, she couldn’t even think, let alone pull away from him.

“It won’t take you long to find out what I learned at a very early age,” he said softly, his breath caressing her lips. “When you do find out, you’ll come running to me for more of this.”

He leaned down until his lips touched hers, gently at first, but then he pushed with a hardness that made their teeth clink. Leah parted her lips further, allowing his tongue to enter. She put her arms on his chest and felt the hardness of his pecs. She started to push him away, but then she lost herself in the sensations of his touch.

Leah forgot everything, until the sound of a horn from the street only yards away startled her. It was enough to draw her back to reality. She pushed against his chest with the palms of her hand and pulled her head away from his.

“I have to go back inside,” she said. “I can’t do this. I don’t know what happened.”

“Have it your way,” Dean said. “I’m finished with those two, but you go back to them. If they lied to you about me, what else have they lied about?”

Behind the Bar #2
SUSIE WILLIAMS WATCHED AS her best friend, Leah, exchanged wedding vows with Dean. She stood next to the bride, and on the other side of Dean, stood Reggie, her boyfriend of five years. Susie—while happy for her friends who had only met a few months before—couldn’t help but wonder when she and Reggie would stand next to one another and vow to love and cherish until death.

When she glanced around the couple, she tried to catch Reggie’s eyes. But he wasn’t paying attention to the ceremony. His body was turned toward Leah and Dean, but Reggie’s head was turned out to the guests. His eyes roved around the crowd. Despite her fervent prayer willing him to look at her as they witnessed the open expression of love between their best friends, Reggie never turned toward her.

Leah and Dean exchanged their rings. When the wind blew in the trees, a small branch fell behind the minister as he blessed their union. Susie wistfully watched them kiss.

She wanted to be the bride, not the maid of honor. Reggie and she had dated long enough for her to know he was the one she wanted to marry. But Reggie hadn’t asked, despite her hints. Worse, he made disparaging comments about the institution of marriage every time it came up to whomever would listen. He always treated his comments as a joke, but lately Susie had been worried that he really meant the things he said. The time had come to have a serious talk about their relationship. She’d hinted at what she wanted, and then she’d waited for him to suggest the rest.

She looked at Reggie again, but he still surveyed the small crowd gathered on the banks of the river for the wedding. Finally, she followed his gaze, and to her surprise, she saw her sister, Lisa, standing in the front row with the others who had come to witness the marriage of Dean Davis and Leah Bryant.

Why hadn’t Lisa called to tell her she was coming to the wedding? Typical of her sister, who did exactly what she wanted when she wanted to do it. But Susie was still happy to see her. Lisa had left years ago, but now she’d finally come back to Victory.

Behind the Curtain #3
LISA WATCHED AS HER baby sister, Susie, exchanged vows with Reggie on the front porch of their house. Standing next to her smiling new husband, Susie glowed. Reggie patted his new wife’s protruding belly, and the crowd of friends roared with laughter.

Lisa smiled. At least one of them had managed to find love.

Sally Jean greeted Lisa when she stepped off the front steps to mingle with the folks gathered in the front yard. Lisa had known most of the guests her entire life, even though she hadn’t spoken to many of them in a decade. But Sally Jean Compton had been one of her best friends since high school. The third member of their trio, Mable Cornish, had died years before. Her death had probably drawn Lisa and Sally Jean even closer, even though Lisa lived in New York City.

“She’s a beautiful bride,” Sally Jean said as she hugged Lisa. “I’m really happy for the two of them.”

“Not jealous?” Lisa asked. “I thought you had a thing for Reggie. At least, that’s what Susie thought at one time.”

“I know she did, and I love Reggie like a brother, but that’s all. You know as well as anyone Dean always had my heart. But that ship sailed when he met Leah.”

“But you’re over him, right?”

“I’m more envious that they found one another while I’m still searching for the right person.” Sally Jean frowned. “Dean’s still a hunk though.”

Lisa put her arm around her friend. A decade ago, Sally Jean dated Dean Davis and Lisa was set to marry Sam Rollings. They both thought back then that they’d found their forever princes. But princes turn to frogs. They were all so young. Both those relationships ended right after their high school graduation ten years earlier. She felt sorry for Sally Jean sometimes, but Lisa knew she was just as messed up when it came to relationships as her friend was. What right did Lisa have to judge her? The people in their small hometown of Victory, Florida, already did enough of that.

“I hope you don’t have any lingering thoughts about him. Leah has that man all wrapped up in her arms and legs.” Lisa felt compelled to address Sally Jean’s sometimes misplaced emotions. “Besides, did you know Leah is pregnant?”

Leah would be furious if Sally Jean still harbored feelings for Dean. Leah was Susie’s best friend, and by extension, a friend of Lisa’s as well. Sally Jean needed to face reality, and Lisa was the only person who would tell her.

“Pregnant?” Sally Jean turned pale under her heavy blush. “I’m really happy for them. Dean is probably over the moon. When he settled down, he did it with a big thud.”

“Are you okay? You look pale.” Lisa knew the news had the potential of upsetting her friend, but Sally Jean had to face the facts. “I thought you should know.”

“And I appreciate that. It’s better hearing from you than from the guys down at the Tavern. I like Leah, I really do. But if Dean asked me to be his girl again, I’d be hard pressed to say no.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that happening.” Lisa watched Sally Jean’s mouth turn down, and she immediately regretted her words. “I’m sorry, Sally Jean. I just meant, their relationship is pretty rock solid. And I want you to be realistic.”

“You’re right.” Sally Jean smiled. “My relationship with Dean ended ten years ago when he left town without saying a word to me.”

“That’s exactly what I did with Sam, and I did it because it was over. But both Dean and I owed you and Sam explanations.”

“That’s true. Dean had to leave because of Geraldine and her awful accusations, and you had to leave because of what Sam did. I understand all that now. And who cares what Sam thinks? He deserved it.”

“What a town,” Lisa said. “The Peyton Place of Florida.” They both laughed.

“We need to put that on the welcome sign at the city limits,” Sally Jean said. “Now let’s forget about the past and get some of that champagne they’re pouring. I want to forget everything but having a great time tonight.”

Just then a tall man with red hair approached them with two glasses of champagne.

“What are the two most beautiful women at this wedding doing over here in the corner without drinks in hand?” Tommy Jackson handed each of them a glass of champagne as if he’d heard Sally Jean’s suggestion.

Author Bio:
Bestselling author P.C. Zick describes herself as a storyteller no matter what she writes. And she writes in a variety of genres, including romance, contemporary fiction, and nonfiction. She's won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction.

The three novels in her Florida Fiction Series contain stories of Florida and its people and environment, which she credits as giving her a rich base for her storytelling. "Florida's quirky and abundant wildlife—both human and animal—supply my fiction with tales almost too weird to be believable."

Her contemporary romances in the Behind the Love series are also set in Florida. The novels in her most recent series, Smoky Mountain Romances, are set in in Murphy, North Carolina. She is currently working on a new romance series, Rivals in Love. Join the Crandall family of Chicago as the siblings find love despite their focus on successful careers. All of her books are stand-alone reads, even if they appear in a series.

Her novels contain elements of romance with strong female characters, handsome heroes, and descriptive settings. She believes in living lightly upon this earth with love, laughter, and passion, and through her fiction, she imparts this philosophy in an entertaining manner with an obvious love for her characters, plot, and themes.

You can keep track of P.C. Zick's new releases and special promotions by signing up for her newsletter by clicking here. For more immediate information, sign up for P.C. Zick’s Lovers of Romantic Tales on Facebook by clicking here.


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Behind the Altar #1

Behind the Bar #2

Behind the Curtain #3

Behind the Door #4(Coming May 16, 2017)





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Release Blitz: Laurent & the Beast by KA Merikan

Title: Laurent & the Beast
Author: KA Merikan
Series: Kings of Hell MC #1
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: April 29, 2017
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
Summary:
Nothing can stop true love. Not time. Not even the devil himself.

1805. Laurent. Indentured servant. Desperate to escape a life that is falling apart.

2017. Beast. Kings of Hell Motorcycle Club vice president. His fists do the talking.

Beast has been disfigured in a fire, but he’s covered his skin with tattoos to make sure no one mistakes his scars for weakness. The accident not only hurt his body, but damaged his soul and self-esteem, so he’s wrapped himself in a tight cocoon of violence and mayhem where no one can reach him.

Until one night, when he finds a young man covered in blood in their clubhouse. Sweet, innocent, and as beautiful as an angel fallen from heaven, Laurent pulls on all of Beast’s heartstrings. Laurent is so lost in the world around him, and is such a tangled mystery, that Beast can’t help but let the man claw his way into the stone that is Beast’s heart.

In 1805, Laurent has no family, no means, and his eyesight is failing. To escape a life of poverty, he uses his beauty, but that only backfires and leads him to a catastrophe that changes his life forever. He takes one step into the abyss and is transported to the future, ready to fight for a life worth living.

What he doesn’t expect in his way is a brutal, gruff wall of tattooed muscle with a tender side that only Laurent is allowed to touch. And yet, if Laurent ever wants to earn his freedom, he might have to tear out the heart of the very man who took care of him when it mattered most.


Hound’s alarmed growling was coming his way, along with whines, when he reached the right door and opened it, only to have the massive Rottweiler’s body rush past him and into the corridor. Beast expected his pet to rush toward the room where the accident happened just minutes ago but Hound looked back at Beast, as if signalling he wanted to be followed, and rushed the other way, stirring the worst of feelings in Beast.

Was there an intruder somewhere in the house? With the sheer size of the former asylum that has served as the Kings of Hell Clubhouse for the last fifteen years, it was easy to overlook things happening in the disused parts of the property. They once had a bunch of teenagers who came over wanting to spy on the orgy. That thankfully didn’t end in blood, and out of the whole mess they got Jake to join their ranks.

Beast wondered whether he shouldn’t go back to the armory and get himself a gun but ultimately decided against it. There would be police and emergency services coming for Davy, and he didn’t want to run around with a firearm, no matter how good their relationship with the local police was.

Hound moved as if he were following a clear trail, but Beast couldn’t smell anything apart from dust and dampness. They were leaving behind the shouting and even the sound of the ambulance approaching, and eventually entered a corridor so disused it had a thick layer of dust on the floor. Now even Beast could see faint footprints in the dust, and next to them, dark droplets that could be blood.

Hound smelled the traces, looked back and broke into a run, which had Beast following him with the worst of expectations as to what he would eventually find. His heart beat faster as they ran down the dark hallway.

The building was a labyrinth, and this far away from where they all lived and worked, it wasn’t even wired anymore, so he breathed in the smell of mildew and followed Hound through the darkness in hope he would not stumble.

Windows in the doorless rooms on both sides of the corridor were the only source of light, now delivering a faint red and blue glow of the approaching ambulance. For all Beast knew, this could have been a gothic castle, something out of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with bloodthirsty monsters waiting for their next victim in one of the endless hallways, and yet he only ran faster, listening to the steady tap of Hound’s paws.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Hound rushed inside one of the rooms and gave a growl so vicious something inside Beast mourned his decision not to take a gun with him. But no one shot at him when Hound let out a single bark. Beast pushed past the empty doorway, jumping over a fallen chair, only to see someone hiding in the shadows.

Judging by the long, wavy hair and small stature, Beast at first thought it was a woman, but then the person spoke with a distinctly male voice.

“I… I’m not certain where I am.” The stranger took half a step out of the shadow, and into the flashing light coming from outside. His accent was distinctly foreign. French maybe?

Beast took him in with a scowl. Blood covered the stranger’s face, hair, dripped from his chin, from the tips of his trembling fingers, and stained the outfit that looked as if he’d stolen it from the set of a costume drama. Knee-high boots, fitted pants, a vest worn under a tailcoat.

“What the fuck are you doing on our property, boy?” hissed Beast, watching the soft features of a very young man. “Whose blood is this?” he asked, still cautious. In his experience, a non-threatening presence could hide an adept fighter, so he was not taking any chances as he joined Hound in front of the stranger, who was so short in comparison to Beast’s own six foot five form that his red-stained head only reached Beast’s pecs.

The stranger backed away into the corner, whimpering in fear the moment Hound growled at him again and lowered his head, but Beast wasn’t having any of it and grabbed the boy’s arm. “Is the blood yours then? Someone attacked you? Where?” he asked, not hesitating to pat the intruder down, to make sure there were no weapons hiding under the fancy coat.

The boy tried to weasel out of his grip, but he didn’t seem adept at using force. “N-no. I don’t think it’s mine. I don’t know. Is this hell?”

Beast groaned, staring at the silly-looking young man, whose white shirt was completely drenched in red. Someone must have died to produce this much blood.

“You will explain yourself to King.”

Author Bio: 
K. A. Merikan is the pen name for Kat and Agnes Merikan, a team of writers, who are taken for sisters with surprising regularity. Kat’s the mean sergeant and survival specialist of the duo, never hesitating to kick Agnes’s ass when she’s slacking off. Her memory works like an easy-access catalogue, which allows her to keep up with both book details and social media. Also works as the emergency GPS. Agnes is the Merikan nitpicker, usually found busy with formatting and research. Her attention tends to be scattered, and despite pushing thirty, she needs to apply makeup to buy alcohol. Self-proclaimed queen of the roads.

They love the weird and wonderful, stepping out of the box, and bending stereotypes both in life and books. When you pick up a Merikan book, there’s one thing you can be sure of – it will be full of surprises.


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