Showing posts with label strickland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strickland. Show all posts

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Release Tour: Cinder-Ugly by Laura Strickland

Title: Cinder-Ugly
Author: Laura Strickland
Genre: Sweet Fantasy Romance
Release Date: July 25, 2018
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Summary:
From the moment Cindra is born, misshapen and ill-formed in face and body, her beautiful mother hides her away, allowing the world to see only her other three perfect children. Cindra, raised by an aged nurse and assigned humble duties in the kitchen, receives little affection and plenty of abuse from both her mother and sisters. Starved for beauty, she longs most of all for love.

Prince Rupert, newly returned from an education outside the kingdom and forced to take over duties as king, sees the beauty of Cindra’s spirit. In her sister-in-law’s garden, he courts her with rare flowers and nearly makes her forget her mother’s hate. But when war tears them apart, will Cindra have the courage to stand on her own? And when faced with the challenge of leading Rupert’s subjects through a siege, will the strength of her compassion be enough to sustain a kingdom?


I dropped the tray. It fell hard with a clatter that echoed through the room. The remaining tarts—still a generous load—flew everywhere spewing their jam fillings as they went—on the carpet, on my shoes, on the Queen’s skirt and all over the Prince’s sapphire blue legs.

Everything froze. The music paused, everyone stopped talking. Someone laughed in horror and said, “Oh, my God!”

Mother’s face seized in a rictus; she leered at me. For an instant I could see nothing else. Not my father, not Bethessa who, I’m pretty sure, had laughed, not even the mess that surrounded me like the fallout from an explosion.

Just her anger. Her horror. Her disgust.

Then the moment’s paralysis broke. Mother reached out quick as a wasp and slapped me. The blow took me on the cheek and its force turned my head. Instant tears flooded my eyes.

“Stupid girl!” She drew back her hand to strike again. Two things happened before she could: Father cried, “Erikka—it was my fault!” And the Prince stepped between me and my mother, and seized her wrist.

“Please, Madame, do not. It was but an accident.”

No rebuke colored his tone. He sounded exceedingly polite. But I knew my mother took it as a rebuke and a public one. Her face stained with ugly red and she transferred her glare from me to the Prince.

Even at that moment, that terrible, terrible moment I knew she would never forgive me for this.

Author Bio:
Born in Buffalo and raised on the Niagara Frontier, Laura Strickland has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. She believes the spunky, tenacious, undefeatable ethnic mix that is Buffalo spells the perfect setting for a little Steampunk, so she created her own Victorian world there. She knows the people of Buffalo are stronger, tougher and smarter than those who haven't survived the muggy summers and blizzard blasts found on the shores of the mighty Niagara. Tough enough to survive a squad of automatons? Well, just maybe.


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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Release Tour: Last Orders by Laura Strickland

Title: Last Orders
Author: Laura Strickland
Series: Buffalo Steampunk Adventure
Genre: Steampunk Romance
Release Date: May 28, 2018
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Summary:
Buffalo Police Sergeant Brendan Fagan, investigating a series of grisly murders spurred by clashes between humans and automatons, only wants to save his city. The last thing he needs in his life is a rule-bending, steam-cannon-toting, unpredictable female like Ginny Landry, a woman who could possibly bring down his career and the one woman he quite likely can't resist.

Ginny means to settle the estate of her mother, an infamous madam, quickly and get out of town. She has no intention of becoming involved with any part of her inheritance or falling for Brendan. In fact, she makes it a point never to date handsome men. But when her rash behavior brings them together, the attraction can’t be denied.

And when the city erupts in chaos, forcing her to choose a moral side, can she deny what’s in her heart?


“Line ’em up again,” the woman cried in a husky voice.

“They’re already lined up, miss!”

She shut one eye. “So they are. Stand back and let me at ’em.”

“She hasn’t missed yet.” The man standing next to Brendan informed him, and then promptly did a double take before yelping, “Hold up! The coppers are here.”

“To hell with ’em!” the woman cried and opened fire. The empties along the wall exploded in an even line, and the room blossomed with heat and steam.

Brendan, mouth ajar, watched in horrified amazement as the explosions continued—at least until the cannon needed to recharge.

“Wall’s on fire!” somebody stated. One of the barmen ran forward and slapped out the flames with his cloth.

“Saints preserve us,” Dennis breathed.

It would take more than saints. Brendan, gathering himself, marched forward and glared up at the woman.

“Get down off that bar.”

She focused on him—a bit blearily, but she focused. She seemed to contemplate his face, his hair, and his uniform before she sneered. “Says who?”

She accompanied the last word with a lean that allowed him a good view of her bodice, most of its buttons undone. Sweet mother Mary, full of grace.

“Buffalo police,” he declared himself, proud to hear he sounded steady as a rock. “Cease and desist. And while you’re about it, you can hand over the steam cannon.”

The crowd booed. The woman looked around at them and waved her hand. “Go away, Officer. You’re spoiling the entertainment.”

“This is not entertainment. It’s sheer stupidity. There are ordinances prohibiting the discharge of a steam cannon indoors.”

“And aren’t you the dull fellow to remind us of those ord-ord-ordinances?” She smiled the kind of smile the devil might. “How about if I blow out that wall? Then we won’t be indoors, will we?”

“We will. At least,” he allowed, “three-quarters. Miss, you’re drunk and shouldn’t have possession of a weapon. Hand it over, please.”

“Isn’t he polite?” She appealed to the bar at large, while Brendan’s temper rose. He didn’t lose it often but felt damned close now.

The other patrons hooted some more and stamped their feet.

Brendan called to his fellow officer. “Dennis, let’s get her down.”

Both of them tall men, each reached for one of the woman’s arms, intending to swing her down from the bar. As soon as they touched her, though, she began to holler.

“Fred! Where are you, Fred?”

A fellow stepped forward. Squat and red-faced, he appeared at least as drunk as the woman. He balled up his fists. “Leave go of her now.”

Ignoring him, Brendan grunted as he and Dennis swung their charge down, him all too aware she still had the now-recharged cannon in her hand.

He set her squarely on the floor, took a half step back, and held out his hand. “Give me the weapon.”

“No one takes this cannon from me.”

“Hand it over, miss, unless you wish to be arrested.”



Author Bio:
Born in Buffalo and raised on the Niagara Frontier, Laura Strickland has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. She believes the spunky, tenacious, undefeatable ethnic mix that is Buffalo spells the perfect setting for a little Steampunk, so she created her own Victorian world there. She knows the people of Buffalo are stronger, tougher and smarter than those who haven't survived the muggy summers and blizzard blasts found on the shores of the mighty Niagara. Tough enough to survive a squad of automatons? Well, just maybe.



FACEBOOK  /  WEBSITE  /  AMAZON  /  B&N



Last Orders
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Dead Handsome
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N  /  KOBO

Off Kilter
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N  /  KOBO

Sheer Madness
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Steel Kisses
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N  /  KOBO





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Thursday, October 19, 2017

Release Tour: Stars in the Morning by Laura Strickland

Title: Stars in the Morning
Author: Laura Strickland
Series: Landmark
Genre: Historical Romance, Americana
Release Date: October 6, 2017
Summary:
Accused of ruining Mae Ballard and faced with a shotgun wedding, Jefferson Lind knows exactly who’s to blame. He’s been taking the fall for Jedediah’s sins as long as he can remember. Mae’s a shrieking shrew, and he hasn’t seen Jed, his identical twin, since they worked digging the Erie Canal together. If he’d been ordered to marry Mae’s sweet younger sister Rosie, instead, he sure wouldn’t complain.

Rosie’s the only member of her family who believes Jeff, and she’d go to any lengths to free him from her sister’s clutches. But when Jedediah turns up with violent thugs on his tail, things quickly grow more dangerous. Gamblers from Buffalo seize both sisters as hostages, prompting a daring impersonation. Can Jeff and Jed shed their troubled past and win the hearts of the women they love?


She poured some of the septic powder she'd brought into the basin. "Let's get you cleaned up first, eh?"

A few of the scrapes were deep. Clearly he'd had a go at washing them off and done a poor job. The next few moments were painful to both of them. Rosie hated hurting anyone, except maybe Mae. Her sympathetic agony, however, was offset by the sheer pleasure of touching him.

By heaven, to have such a man beneath her hands! He smelled like sunshine, fresh air and tangy male, and it went straight to her head.

She concentrated on separating herself from the feelings surging through her and failed completely when he suddenly raised his hand and touched her cheek.

"What happened to you?"

All sense had gone out of Rosie's mind; she had to search it to remember.

"Oh, that was Mae."

"Mae?" His tawny eyes narrowed between their swollen lids. "She hit you?"

Rosie smiled ruefully. "She did."

"Nasty baggage. She left a bruise."

"Don't worry about me, Mr. Lind."

"I think you should call me Jeff, don't you? Seeing as how you're the one person in the world who believes I’m not a liar."

"Jeff," Rosie repeated, suddenly breathless.

"My misbegotten brother is Jed—Jedediah and Jefferson." Humor tinged his voice. "I'm called after the great president."

"Lucky you."

"Never been lucky, no not me." His eyes looked into hers, dodging nothing. "At least, I never was."

Author Bio:
Award-winning author Laura Strickland delights in time traveling to the past and searching out settings for her books, be they Historical Romance, Steampunk or something in between. Born and raised in Western New York, she’s pursued lifelong interests in lore, legend, magic and music, all reflected in her writing. Although she enjoys travel, she’s usually happiest at home with her husband and her "fur" child, a rescue dog. Author of numerous Historical and Contemporary Romances, she resides within walking distance of the Erie Canal.


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Monday, September 11, 2017

Magic of Books Promotions Presents: Back 2 School Part 3: Historical

Authors: Laura Strickland, Heather Hiestand, MCV Egan
Kim Iverson Headlee, Suzanne Jenkins, Tessa Candle
Genres: Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Romantic Regency

Summary:
REJOICE! The children are back in school.

For those who live to read...here are some awesome books provided by the incredible authors who wrote them. All in celebration of the new school year.

While a few of these books might be oldies, but goodies...others could be new and fresh off the presses.

Relax and find your new favorite author.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

HISTORICAL

Historical in traditional literary terms is when the plot takes place in a setting located in the past. Historical fiction can be an umbrella term; though commonly used as a synonym for describing the historical novel; the term can be applied to works in other narrative formats, such as those in the performing and visual arts like theatre, opera, cinema and television, as well as video games and graphic novels.

Please enjoy these books that focus on history and all the sub-genres.


The list is available in alphabetically order by title. Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win an Amazon Giftcard.



Honor Bound: A Highland Adventure by Laura Strickland
Historical Romance
Following the disastrous defeat of the clans at Culloden, Scottish Chief’s son Diarmad Ramsay makes his dying father a promise. Diarmad will play the part of Bonny Prince Charlie in an effort to help the true Prince escape the Highlands. With only the fiery Mara MacIvor for guide and with danger on his heels, he must risk all for a Cause in which he no longer believes.

Mara MacIvor considers Ramsay a poor substitute for her beloved Prince. Ramsay may be one of the bonniest men she’s ever met and a braw sight with a sword in his hand, but his disillusionment makes a wide gulf between them. Pursued through the Highlands by Sassenachs and ruthless Highland renegades bent on claiming the price on Prince Charlie’s head, their physical attraction soon becomes a conflagration. But will they ever be bound by more than Diarmad’s vow of honor?

Lady Be Good by Heather Hiestand
Historical Romance
When exiled royalty and espionage combine, expect a romance as bold as the 1920s . . .

Olga Novikov is a princess without a throne. Her fiancΓ© and her family slain in the revolution, she flees Russia and finds herself working as the head of housekeeping at London’s luxurious Grand Russe Hotel. It’s a far cry from the glamour of her former life, but she’s grateful for the job—until a guest forces her to question where her loyalty lies. The charming nobleman challenges her at every turn—and arouses dreams of romance she thought she’d abandoned forever . . .

Douglas “Glass” Childers is living a double life. On the surface, he’s the indolent Viscount Walling, but in truth he’s an intelligence agent searching for a Bolshevik weapons master. The coolly beautiful and headstrong housekeeper is a distraction he doesn’t need—unless she’s the key piece in the puzzle he must solve. Trusting her could be dangerous—but loving her is an undeniable temptation . . .

Liberty by Kim Iverson Headlee
Historical Romance
How hard would you fight for a chance at impossible love?

“Epic.” ~ Drue’s Random Chatter Reviews.

From the critically acclaimed, award-winning pen of Kim Iverson Headlee comes the thrilling, poignant tale of love across a vast social divide.

WINNER, 2015 BooksGoSocial Best Book.

Betrayed by her father and sold as payment of a Roman tax debt to fight in Londinium's arena, gladiatrix-slave Rhyddes feels like a wild beast in a gilded cage. Celtic warrior blood flows in her veins, but Roman masters own her body. She clings to her vow that no man shall claim her soul, though Marcus Calpurnius Aquila, son of the Roman governor, makes her yearn for a love she believes impossible.

Groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps and trapped in a politically advantageous betrothal, Aquila prefers the purity of combat on the amphitheater sands to the sinister intrigues of imperial politics, and the raw power and athletic grace of the flame-haired Libertas to the adoring deference of Rome's noblewomen.

When a plot to overthrow Caesar ensnares them as pawns in the dark design, Aquila must choose between the Celtic slave who has won his heart and the empire to which they both owe allegiance. Trusting no man and knowing the opposite of obedience is death, the only liberty offered to any slave, Rhyddes must embrace her arena name, Libertas—and the love of a man willing to sacrifice everything to forge a future with her.

Rebels, Rogues, and Romantics presented by Suzanne Jenkins
Historical Romance
Throughout history, women have been susceptible to their charms. Share the adventures of a few of the more memorable ones in this collection of historical tales written by award winning authors Taylor Lee, Suzanne Jenkins, Dani Haviland, Michele Hauf, and Katy Walters.


The Bridge of Deaths Revised Edition: A Love Story and A Mystery by M.C.V. Egan
Historical Fiction
Follow Bill and Maggie from 2010 to 1939 cross The Bridge of Deaths into the past and uncover the secrets of the crash of British Airways LTD. Lockheed Electra10A G-AESY. August 15, 1939. True events and real people investigated through conventional and unconventional sources in Denmark, England, Mexico and the United States. The reader feel that he/she is also sifting through data and forming their own conclusions.

Three Abductions and an Earl by Tessa Candle
Romantic Regency
London-hating dreamer, Lydia Norwood, has failed spectacularly as a dΓ©butante. Now an encoretante whose family has lost a fortune, Lydia discovers that the beau monde is hard on a nouveau riche social climber, particularly one who is no longer riche and only wants to climb trees. Lydia must stave off the effrontery of rogue lords and conniving competitors long enough to make a good match, or else incur society's scorn by by being so scandalous as to earn her own money. Falling for the unattainable Lord Aldley is a distraction she cannot afford. But they share such an enchanted history, how can her heart resist?

The tragically virtuous Earl of Aldley is tired of ambitious families hurling dΓ©butantes at his head, but cannot hide in France forever. He returns to London to seek out the mysterious tree-climbing girl who once saved him from a scheming chit, and finds more than he bargained for. Abductions, seductions, trickery and injury all endanger Lydia, but Lord Aldley's heart is imperiled beyond rescue. He has only just found her; will he lose her forever to his enemy, his best friend, or his own dangerous mistake?


Laura Strickland
Born and raised in Western New York, Laura Strickland has pursued lifelong interests in lore, legend, magic and music, all reflected in her writing. Though her imagination frequently takes her to far off places, she is usually happiest at home not far from Lake Ontario with her husband and her "fur" child, a rescue dog. Author of Scottish romance Devil Black as well as The Guardians of Sherwood Trilogy, she is pleased to say that His Wicked Highland Ways is her eighth title for The Wild Rose Press.

Heather Hiestand
Heather Hiestand was born in Illinois, but her family migrated west before she started school. Since then she has claimed Washington State as home, except for a few years in California. She wrote her first story at age seven and went on to major in creative writing at the University of Washington. Her first published fiction was a mystery short story, but since then it has been all about the many flavors of romance. Heather’s first published romance short story was set in the Victorian period, and she has written in many subgenres of romance since then. The author of many novels, novellas, and short stories, she has achieved best-seller status at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. With her husband and son, she makes her home in a small town and supposedly works out of her tiny office, though she mostly writes in her easy chair in the living room.

Kim Iverson Headlee
Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-twentieth century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet. She has been an award-winning novelist since 1999 (Dawnflight first edition, Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster) and has been studying the Arthurian Legends for nigh on half a century.

Suzanne Jenkins
Suzanne writes page-turning contemporary romance, mystery, and women's fiction with passionately gripping characters that stay with readers long after they turn the last page. The Detroit Detective Stories, beginning with The Greeks of Beaubien Street are a reflection of American fantasy with historical reality. Pam of Babylon books consistently rank in the Top 100 Best Sellers in American Drama with over 500,000 downloads. A retired operating room nurse, Jenkins lives in Southern California.

MCV Egan
M.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan. Catalina was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family. From a very young age, she became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo--mostly the story of how he died.

She spent her childhood in Mexico. When her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s, she moved with her entire family to the United States. Catalina was already fluent in English, as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There she won the English award, despite being the only one who had English as a second language in her class. In the D.C. suburbs she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977.

She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France, at the Catholic University for two years. In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish kind, not the football player kind), Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish businesspeople. She then returned to the USA, where she has lived ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish.

Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son who, together with their five-pound Chihuahua, makes her feel like a full-time mother. Although she would not call herself an astrologer she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in the subject M.C.V. Egan's new series DEFINING WAYS uses Astrology and the Metaphysical tools.

Tessa CandleTessa Candle
Tessa Candle is a lawyer, world traveler, and author of rollicking historical regency romance. She also lays claim to the questionable distinction of being happily married to the descendant of a royal bastard. 

When she is not slaving over the production and release of another novel, or conducting research by reading salacious historical romances with heroines who refuse to be victims, she divides her time between gardening, video editing, traveling, and meeting the outrageous demands of her two highly entitled Samoyed dogs. As they are cute and inclined to think too well of themselves, Tessa surmises that they were probably dukes in a prior incarnation. 

The next book in her Parvenues & Paramours series, is scheduled for release in early fall, 2017. 


Laura Strickland
FACEBOOK  /  WEBSITE  /  AMAZON  /  B&N

Heather Hiestand
FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE
BLOG  /  PINTEREST  /  B&N  /  KOBO
iTUNES  /  GOOGLE PLAY  /  AMAZON

Kim Iverson Headlee
FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  BLOG  /  WEBSITE
SMASHWORDS  /  GOOGLE PLAY  /  SCRIBD  /  BaM!
B&N  /  PINTEREST  /  LINKED IN  /  YOUTUBE
KOBO  /  iTUNES  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS

Suzanne Jenkins
FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE
YOUTUBE  /  B&N  /  KOBO
iTUNES  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS

MCV Egan
FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE
BOOK BLOGS  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS

Tessa Candle
FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE



Honor Bound: A Highland Adventure by Laura Strickland
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N

Lady Be Good by Heather Hiestand
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N
iTUNES  /  KOBO  /  GOODREADS TBR

Liberty by Kim Iverson Headlee
AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N
INKTERA  /  iTUNES  /  KOBO
SCRIBD  /  SMASHWORDS  /  BaM!

Rebels, Rogues, and Romantics
presented by Suzanne Jenkins

The Bridge of Deaths Revised Edition:
A Love Story and A Mystery by MCV Egan

Three Abductions and an Earl by Tessa Candle
B&N  /  KOBO  /  GOODREADS TBR





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