Padme's Library: 11/15/17

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Blog Tour: Hunger Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Title: Hunger Moon

Author: Alexandra Sokoloff

Series: The Huntress/FBI Thrillers #5

Genre: Adult Mystery, Thriller

Release Date: October 24, 2017

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Summary:
Revenge has no limits.

Special Agent Matthew Roarke has abandoned his rogue search for serial killer Cara Lindstrom. He’s returned to the FBI to head a task force with one mission: to rid society of its worst predators. But as the skeletal symbols of Santa Muerte, “Lady Death,” mysteriously appear at universities nationwide, threatening death to rapists, Roarke’s team is pressured to investigate. When a frat boy goes missing in Santa Barbara, Roarke realizes a bloodbath is coming—desperate teenagers are about to mete out personal, cold-blooded justice.

Hiding from the law, avenging angel Cara Lindstrom is on her own ruthless quest. She plans to stay as far away from Roarke as possible—until an old enemy comes after both her and the FBI, forcing her back into Roarke’s orbit. This time, the huntress has become the hunted…

What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
Wow, huge question! My dad was a horror/mystery/sci-fi fantasy fanatic, so I grew up with hundreds (probably more like thousands) of those classic books and films around me. I loved being scared and challenged. But pretty early on I honed in on female suspense/supernatural authors like Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who wrote about specifically feminine horrors like the madness of societal oppression. I worked in the Los Angeles County prison system and was deeply outraged by crimes against children and women, and the crime genre with a touch of the supernatural seemed to be me the best way to explore those evils.

When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process (outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
I love research and outlining. The WORST part is that horrific, grueling first draft. But then I love rewriting. I come from a theater and film background so rewriting is a joy, like directing onto the page.

When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
I love the crime genre, because it really is the genre that can actually change people’s minds, and society, and laws. And also I just love the feeling and experience of suspense.

If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
Hmm. I don’t think about co-authoring at all! I’m a screenwriter as well as an author, and there are any number of directors and screenwriters I’d like to collaborate with on a film or series. I love developing theater collectively, too. But authoring is something you do alone, that’s the whole point!

Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I was always writing, always! But I started in theater: as an actor when I was a child, then as a director when I was a teenager, and then writing and directing and acting when I was in college. Then I broke into screenwriting after college, and started writing novels ten years after that. So I really have been a professional writer basically all of my adult life.

Author Bio:
"Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre." - The New York Times

ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF is the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill Award-nominated author of the Amazon bestselling Huntress/FBI series (HUNTRESS MOON, BLOOD MOON, COLD MOON, BITTER MOON, HUNGER MOON - now in active development as a TV series), and the supernatural HAUNTED thrillers (THE HARROWING, THE PRICE, THE UNSEEN, BOOK OF SHADOWS, THE SHIFTERS, THE SPACE BETWEEN). The New York Times Book Review called her a "daughter of Mary Shelley," and her books "Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre."

As a screenwriter she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She has also written three non-fiction workbooks: SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS, STEALING HOLLYWOOD, and WRITING LOVE, based on her internationally acclaimed workshops and blog, and has served on the Board of Directors of the WGA West and the Board of the Mystery Writers of America.

Alex is a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where she majored in theater and minored in everything Berkeley has a reputation for. In her spare time (!) she performs with The Slice Girls and Heather Graham's all-author Slush Pile Players, and dances like a fiend. She is also very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. But not an addict. Seriously, it's under control.

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Release Tour: Mistletoe Fantasies by Stacy Eaton

Title: Mistletoe Fantasies

Author: Stacy Eaton

Series: Pleasure your Fantasies #1

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 15, 2017

Summary:

Reba St. James would prefer to serve the drinks or play hostess to the businessmen and their guests at Pleasure Your Fantasies, the gentlemen’s club where she’s employed. Unfortunately, when she needs extra money to pay off an urgent debt, the only position that pays her enough is dancing on stage with barely anything on.

Wallie has been a body guard at the club since it opened four years ago, and over the last year he’s developed quite a crush on Ms. Reba. He might have thought he had a chance with her, except the club has a strict rule: No dating between guards and dancers.

When the attraction between Wallie and Reba reaches undeniable levels, Reba is ready to walk away from dancing altogether and try to find another way to help pay the bills, but when a final notice shows up, she’s forced to go from part-time dancing to full-time, and any chance of a relationship between them is put on hold.

Everything changes on Christmas Eve when Reba and another dancer get into a fight, and Reba is let go from the club. Will Reba lose everything, or will Reba and Wallie get more for the holidays than just their Mistletoe Fantasies?

Mistletoe Fantasies is the first book in the six book Pleasure Your Fantasies Series that spins off of The Celebration Series.

My toes tingled and I dug around in my console until I found two breath mints and shoved them into my mouth. I peered into my rearview mirror and realized that I probably looked a mess, but it was too late now.

Wallie took a few more turns, but it was only a few miles before he pulled into a neighborhood with single family homes. I wished that it was daylight so I could see them, but I did enjoy the few holiday light arrangements that I saw along the way. Wallie pulled into the driveway of a two-story house after making two more turns, and I parked beside him.

Before I got out, I took a moment to try and calm my racing heart. I could leave. I could back out of the driveway and pretend I was never here. I knew that Wallie would understand. He would get it, I knew he would.

“You want this, Reba,” I said to myself softly and, boy, did I ever want it. I grabbed my purse and pushed open my door. When I walked around Wallie’s truck, I found him approaching the steps to his front porch. The light wasn’t on, and I was both glad and disappointed. It was hard to tell much about the house other than it was a two-story and appeared to have stone on the front of it, but, in the darkness, Wallie couldn’t see how nervous I was, or vice versa.

I paused a few feet behind him. He unlocked the door but didn’t open it. He turned to me. “If you leave now, nothing will change, Reba. We can keep things the way they are, and it will be fine, but I guarantee that if you step through this door, things are going to change, so make sure you’re ready for that.”

“What’s going to change, Wallie?”

“You, me—us.” His voice was so deep that chills raced down my spine.

“There will be an us?”

I felt the heat of his stare even with the two feet between us. “The moment you step through that door, Reba, there is only an us.”

I wasn’t sure if that was the hottest thing I had ever heard or the scariest, but I did know that there was no way I was going to walk away now.

I stepped toward him, but instead of stopping in front of him, I skirted him, opened the door, and crossed the threshold, stopping in the center of the foyer. The house alarm began to beep a warning that I didn’t care to heed, and a moment later, the door closed, then five keys were depressed on his alarm pad before the beeping stopped. A muffled sound filled my ears that sounded a lot like his leather jacket hitting the floor. A second later, his hands were on my shoulders and he was turning me. I was pulling my arms from my jacket as he was yanking it from my shoulders.

Author Bio:

Stacy Eaton began her writing career in October of 2010 and as each year goes by, she releases more and more novels. Stacy recently took an early retirement from law enforcement after over fifteen years of service, with her last three in investigations and crime scene investigation.

Stacy resides in southeastern Pennsylvania with her husband, who works in law enforcement, and her teen daughter who is working toward her second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and on the choral and cheerleading squads at school. She also has a son who is currently serving in the United States Navy.

Stacy is very involved in Domestic Violence Awareness and served on the Board of Directors for her local Domestic Violence Center for three years. She continues to volunteer with them when she has time.

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Release Blitz: Wrapped with Love by Beth Bolden

Title: Wrapped with Love

Author: Beth Bolden

Series: Five Points

Genre: M/M Romance

Release Date: November 14, 2017

Summary:
NFL player Jordan Christensen walks into Reed Ryan’s restaurant without a reservation. It isn’t the most serendipitous of meet-cute’s and they certainly aren’t the likeliest of romances, but over venison steaks and crème brûlée, they fall in love anyway.

Flash forward two years . . .

Jordan isn’t a football player anymore.

Reed sold his restaurant.

But even more drastically, they’ve lost each other.

When Reed moves to Los Angeles take a new job, he doesn’t realize Jordan now works at the same company. But Jordan definitely realizes how precious the second chance fate has bestowed on them is. He’s determined to make up for everything that fell apart the first time around, and it turns out he’s not the only one scheming to right old wrongs.

Starting a new career is always difficult but sharing office space—and big projects—with an old lover is particularly rough. Between impromptu Secret Santa exchanges, Christmas light viewings, and more tacos than even Reed can eat, the two former lovers have an eventful holiday season to navigate.

“So,” Rory continued, still shoving hummus into his face at an alarming rate, “how did you two meet? Because I gotta say, Reed barely sticks his head out of the kitchen for more than five minutes at a time.”

“We actually met at Garnet,” Jordan said, all gooey affection, like the first night they’d met, Reed hadn’t accidentally insulted him.

“Oh?” Rory asked, all creamy innocence because he knew how much Reed hated being summoned to the dining room.

“It’s actually really embarrassing. My agent knew how much I’d been wanting to visit Garnet, and just barged in, no reservation. And Reed,” Jordan glanced over, “was kind enough to give us the private dining room. Picked our menu for us and everything. I had to meet him, after all that trouble he went to.”

Rory burst out laughing and Reed shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“You realize why he actually came out of the kitchen, right? Why he picked your menu?”

Jordan shook his head, a baffled expression on his handsome face.

Rory leaned forward. “Let me educate you about the ego of a chef, Christensen. Reed didn’t give you his best table and his best food out of the kindness of his heart. He did it because he wanted to put you in your place with his awesomeness.”

“I’m trying to remember why I invited you out,” Reed interrupted before Rory’s education could continue. But Jordan, intrigued, ignored him, and Rory was never going to stop now that he’d started. Reed flopped back in his chair, somewhat resigned to the inevitable embarrassment to come.

“Reed doesn’t have an ego.”

Rory’s head actually whipped back as he cackled loudly. “Oh, honey. All chefs do, at least the best ones. It’s how we get to the top. We’re insufferably certain of our own perfection. At least in the kitchen, anyway. Garnet is Reed’s castle, and he’s the king.”

Jordan turned to Reed, who could only hold his breath and pray that Rory’s comments hadn’t completely changed his opinion.

“Is that true?” he asked.

“I mean, you can’t be that surprised,” Reed said awkwardly. “Especially after what I said when we met.”

“I thought you were trying to hit on me!” Jordan exclaimed in mock outrage.

Reed flushed.

“I hate to say it,” Rory said, which was a complete lie because he looked like he was enjoying every second of this, “but Reed doesn’t have that kind of game.”

“So, how did you two meet?” Jordan asked, and Reed wasn’t dumb enough not to know he was changing the subject. He told himself it would be okay. Jordan couldn’t be angry about how they’d met, so many months later.

“A butchering class,” Reed said.

“No, not even close,” Rory said, taking another drink from his beer. “You aren’t going to get off this easy, Reed.”

Reed made a disgruntled sound. Of course Rory felt obligated to tell the whole story.

“Yes, it was a butchering class,” Rory said, gesturing with the bottle in his hand. “And you know, I’m formally trained. I mostly took it for fun. But here’s Reed, a newbie who’s read at least fifteen books on his own at this point. He spent at least half the class telling the instructor everything he was doing wrong.”

Reed couldn’t help but frown. Jordan glanced over, ever-attuned to Reed, and reached under the table to squeeze his knee.

“Was the instructor wrong?” Jordan asked loyally, even though if he knew Reed at all, he already knew the answer to his question.

Rory laughed and nodded. “Oh, he was insanely wrong. The rest of us were just ready to write this whole class off as a bad afternoon and go have some drinks later and laugh about it, but Reed was burning with the injustice of wasting an afternoon being taught what he knew was the wrong thing.”

“So he tried to teach the class.” Jordan glanced over, eyes brimming with affection. As if this story, which definitely wasn’t one of the greatest moments of Reed’s life, actually endeared him further.

“It was a power struggle, from beginning to end, but,” Rory said, tipping the bottle in a mock toast Reed’s direction, “you already know who came out on top.”

“He was wrong,” Reed felt justified in adding again.

Jordan’s hand settled warm and firm back on Reed’s knee. Reed jumped, nearly upsetting his own beer. “I wouldn’t expect any less, sweetheart,” he said quietly.

Author Bio:
Beth Bolden lives in Portland, Oregon with her supportive husband and their beloved cat. She wholly believes in Keeping Portland Weird, but wishes she didn’t have to make the yearly pilgrimage up to Seattle to watch her Boston Red Sox play baseball. She’s a fan of fandoms, and spends too much of her free time on tumblr.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published four novels and two short stories, with her next novel, Taste on my Tongue, releasing in August 2017.

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Cover Reveal: Coach's Challenge by VL Locey

Title: Coach's Challenge

Author: VL Locey

Series: Cayuga Gougars #3

Genre: M/M Romance

Expected Release Date: January 10, 2018

Cover Design: R êverie Design & Formatting

Summary:
Victor Kalinski and his husband, Dan Arou, are living the dream. Married for over a year now, the couple have settled into life in Cayuga surrounded by friends, family, and a team that’s poised to make another championship run. Each man is enjoying professional success as well as personal bliss. Who knew life in the suburbs with a spouse and a child could be so darn satisfying? Not Vic. K, that’s for sure.

The happy times are about to turn rough, though. The Cougars have picked up a new player, Sander March, a brash young center whose sass, skill, and attitude can rival Victor’s. When it’s revealed that this new player and Dan have history, tensions begin to rise between the newlyweds. As Victor and Dan work on those issues, the one person Victor never thought he would meet arrives in the small New York hamlet and proceeds to flip everything in Vic’s life upside down.

Can Victor and Dan’s marriage withstand what life is about to drop on it, or will the challenges be too much for them to handle?

Author Bio:
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, two dogs, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and three Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.