Promo Blitz + Giveaway: Dangerous Desire by Diane Escalera

Romantic Suspense

Date Published: March 25, 2015

Sometimes you have to lose one thing to find another. 

Sienna Diaz is desperate to find her missing Beagle, no matter what it costs. She hires Cruz Santino, the best—and hottest—in the business. He’s an ex-cop, dangerous on many levels, which comes in handy when all evidence indicates her beloved pet was snatched to use in a dogfighting ring. 

Cruz will do whatever it takes to find Sienna’s lost pet, but he also wants results from the smokin’ hot attraction between them—and he isn’t above breaking his own hands-off-clients rule to get there. However, until he brings her beloved Beagle home safely, he won’t have Sienna's undivided attention...and affection.

Content Warning: Strong language, caliente sex, violence, and a dangerously hot rescue.

*****

EXCERPT

In full view, Cruz stripped off his sweaty black tee and Sienna nearly had a heart attack. Jesus Christ. The men at her gym would’ve despised him. Her eyes slowly drank him in. Good God. He had the sexiest bod she’d ever seen. Taut and tan, his muscles were chiseled in a way that gave his dimensions beautiful symmetry. Tori would’ve been impressed. She’d always preached about the importance of muscle balance. Some men took it to the extreme. Not Cruz. He sported a tapered waist with shredded abs, V-shaped torso, and arms that made her drool because, if she had to pick a favorite body part, arms were it.

He used the dirty shirt to dry sweat off his gorgeous frame. Her eyes followed his movements, stopping at the bulldog tattoo etched on his sculpted pec, with the word Marines below. He’d been in the service, a kickass Marine. How hot!

He busted her checking him out.

She yanked her eyes away. Jeez. Her face probably looked as red as it felt.

Holding up a fresh shirt, he shook it out a few times. The sound of fabric caught her attention. Her gaze slid that way again. Okay. Sound had nothing to do with it. She just had to look one more time. He pulled the shirt over his head. Terrific. Now he wore a white muscle shirt tailor-made for his ripped physique. The thing should’ve been outlawed.

Wearing a sly smirk, he combed his fingers through his short, spiky hair. Running down the inside of his arm below his rock-hard biceps, he had another tattoo, this one with five small Chinese symbols. What a unique spot for a tattoo, and unbelievably sexy, like everything else about him. Even his name sounded hot.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and snapped his door shut. He didn’t look at her, but then, he didn’t have to. She knew he knew what kind of effect that little display had on her. Oh yeah. He had it written all over that smug face. He might be a soaking-wet dream she didn’t mind entertaining on a nightly basis, but she didn’t have to be so obvious.

Sienna grabbed her seatbelt and tried to latch it.

“Damn,” Cruz mumbled, as he watched her struggle with the belt. He turned on the ignition and flipped the air conditioning to the highest setting.

She looked at his face instead of his sinewy arm. It took willpower, because those arms really did it for her. “Is there a trick?” The mechanism wouldn’t click into place.

“I keep forgetting to get that thing checked,” he said. “Don’t usually carry passengers except for Roman.” He looked back at his dog and grinned. Roman sat on the bench seat patiently waiting to go bye-bye.

“It doesn’t work at all?” She preferred to wear a seatbelt, and not just because of the law. South Florida had some loony drivers.

“It just takes a little maneuvering,” he replied. “Let me give it a try.” He turned all that magnificence toward her and reached across her chest.

Holy crap, he was totally in her face, his delicious body stretched across her lap. Sienna held her breath and pressed her back into the seat. She felt his weight, smelled his soap and baby shampoo. Her every cell fell under his spell. She tried to find her voice. “Any luck?” she squeaked out.

They were eye-to-eye, his mouth so close that if she puckered her lips, that would be it. His gaze traveled downward. He tilted his head like he wanted to kiss her. Uh-oh. She hadn’t made out in years. She probably sucked at it by now. A magnetic intensity pulled her to him, and she had a feeling she’d relearn pretty quickly. Her body buzzed with sexual urgency. Not once in her life had she felt this consumed, this desperate to feel a man’s lips on hers.

*****

About the Author

Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, Diane Escalera makes her home in coastal North Carolina. The sultry surroundings are a steady source of inspiration for her hot love stories. Diane is married, has two children and a super cute dachshund she can’t get enough of. She writes contemporary romance and is published with Kensington Publishing and Lyrical Press.

*****

Author Links

Website Facebook Twitter Goodreads

*****

Purchase Links

Available in eBook & Paperback

Special Price for a Limited Time!

Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords

*****

Giveaway

One (1) eBook of Playing With Destiny, a 2015 RONE Award Nominee for Best Novella.

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Promo + Giveaway: Against the Tide by Kat Martin

Against the Tide
The Brodies of Alaska #3

By: Kat Martin

Releasing May 26, 2015

Zebra

*****

Blurb 

Secrets—and safety—melt under a midnight sun… 

Liv Chandler is running for her life, and the cops haven’t been able to do a thing to help. But there’s one man who makes her feel safe, no matter what…rugged charter boat captain Rafe Brodie. 

To Rafe, Liv is a beautiful mystery, one he can’t ignore. He means to unearth her secrets, and in the process, if luck is on his side, maybe the spark between them will ignite. 

But Liv’s past is more dangerous than Rafe could guess, and when his first mate turns up dead, she fears that she’s next. That there’s something else coming she can’t see. That even Rafe and the remote village of Valdez, Alaska can’t protect her forever…

***** 

Link to Follow Tour:  

http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/03/against-tide-brodies-of-alaska-3-by-kat.html

Goodreads Link: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22812429-against-the-tide?from_search=true&search_version=service

Goodreads Series Link: 

https://www.goodreads.com/series/126176-the-brodies-of-alaska

*****

Buy Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

*****

Author Info

Kat Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty books across multiple genres. Sixteen million copies are in print and she has been published in twenty-one foreign countries, including Japan, France, Argentina, Greece, China, and Spain. Her books have been nominated for the prestigious RITA award and won both the Lifetime Achievement and Reviewer’s Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews.

A resident of Missoula, Montana, Kat is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. She and her author husband, L.J. Martin, spend their winters in Ventura, California. She is currently writing her next Romantic Suspense. Visit Kat at www.katmartin.com 

*****

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

*****

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*****

 EXCERPT

Valdez, Alaska

The piercing ring of the cell phone lying on his nightstand didn’t bode well. There was no such thing as good news at three o’clock in the morning. 

With a sigh, Rafe rolled over and grabbed the phone, scrubbed a hand over his face as he pressed it against his ear. “Brodie.” 

“Police Chief Rosen here. We’ve got a problem, Rafe, and it’s a bad one. I need you to meet me down at the harbor. How soon can you get here?” 

Rafe swung his long legs to the side of the bed and sat up. “Ten minutes. What’s this about, Chief?” 

“It’s Scotty Ferris, Rafe. I’m afraid he’s dead. I’ll fill you in when you get here. I’ll be waiting on the dock next to the Scorpion.” The police chief hung up the phone.For several long moments, Rafe just sat there. His chest felt tight. Scotty Ferris was twenty-four years old, a handsome, hardworking kid who was engaged to be married. His June wedding to Cassie Webster, one of the local girls, was only three weeks away. Cassie was going to be crushed. 

Rafe swore softly. What the hell could have happened? 

But in this rugged country where the climate, wild animals, or just bad judgment could get you killed, accidents happened all the time. 

Shoving himself up from the bed, Rafe grabbed a pair of worn jeans off the chair and jerked them on, drew a sweatshirt over his head, pulled on his heavy socks, and shoved his size-thirteen feet into a pair of high-topped, rubber-soled boots. Since the temperature at night even in late May was still in the thirties and it had rained during the night, he grabbed his jacket as he headed for the steps down to the garage. 

The boat harbor wasn’t far from his house, a brown bilevel with an oversized two-car garage that sat a few blocks north on Mendeltna, a street off Hazelet Avenue there in Valdez. Sea Scorpion was his flagship charter fishing boat, a thirty-eight-foot Mac, his pride and joy. It was the boat he usually captained himself, one of three that made up his fleet. Scotty Ferris was part of Scorpion’s crew. 

Rafe thought of the young man as he parked his dark green Ford Expedition in a spot in front of the harbor, climbed out, and closed the door. Puddles from last night’s rain sloshed against his boots as he made his way toward the dock. The occasional streetlight burned into the darkness, but quiet surrounded him, along with the familiar salty tang of the sea. 

Ringed by the snowcapped Chugach Mountains, gleaming white glaciers, and the turquoise waters of Prince William Sound, Valdez was considered one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

But the climate was a major drawback for most people, being wet, cold, and snowy much of the year. Rafe couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. 

Which brought his thoughts full circle to Scotty. With year-round residents numbering less than forty-five hundred, everyone knew everyone who lived there. And everyone knew and liked Scotty. The kid had been born in Valdez. He thrived on the rugged lifestyle, planned to marry and raise kids here, probably never would have left. 

What the hell had happened? Rafe thought again as he walked toward his boat.And why did Chief Rosen want to meet him at the Scorpion? 

A few spaces down from where he’d parked, Rafe spotted a black-and-silver Ford police SUV. In the distance, the familiar antenna above the wheelhouse of the Scorpion marked where the boat bobbed near the middle of the dock. 

Rafe started down the long wooden walkway, his gaze on the group of people gathered next to where the Scorpion was moored. The area was cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape, the boat clearly off-limits until the police were finished collecting evidence. 

Police Chief Clifford Rosen, a stout man in his fifties, bald head ringed by thinning gray hair, stood next to a figure lying on the dock, covered by a long, white cloth. Knowing Scotty Ferris lay under the cloth made Rafe’s stomach burn. 

Two other officers quietly conversed while a doctor he recognized as Karen Ward, a woman who worked at the local clinic and served as medical examiner, knelt next to the sheet-draped body. 

“What happened?” Rafe asked the chief. 

“Looks like he was robbed,” Rosen answered. “Wallet’s missing, jewelry’s gone. Car keys. Cell phone’s missing. Single blow to the back of the head. Blunt instrument. Baseball bat seems the most likely, something that size that would be easy to handle.” 

“Jesus.” 

“I asked you to come down because I need someone to identify the body. With his parents both dead, I figured better you than his fiancée. Soon as you do that, I’ll break the news to the Webster girl.” 

Rafe just nodded. Cassie was going to be devastated. She and Scotty were crazy in love, the kind Rafe figured had a good chance of lasting. Sometimes fate could be a real bastard. 

“Who found him?” 

“Young couple wandered out this way from the Fisherman’s Catch Saloon. Found him lying right there. Shook ’em up pretty bad.” 

“What time?” 

“Two a.m. The M.E. makes preliminary time of death between eleven and two.”One of the officers, a red-haired young cop Rafe recognized as Rusty Donovan, leaned down and lifted the edge of the sheet. As the cover rolled back, Rafe’s gaze fixed on Scotty. The boy’s brown eyes were open, staring sightlessly into the black night sky. His handsome face was frozen in a look of surprise. 

He was wearing a jacket but it was unzipped, revealing a long-sleeved blue T-shirt that read FISHERMEN DO IT DEEPER. Rafe could almost see the grin on the kid’s face when he’d put it on. 

“It’s him,” he said darkly. “Scott Ferris.” 

“You know what he was doing down here?” 

“No.” But once he got his head wrapped around Scotty’s death, he intended to find out. 

“As soon as we check for any forensic evidence on the boat, I’ll want you to take a look inside, see if anything’s missing. At first glance, there’s no sign of a break-in. Probably took him out before he went aboard.” 

Rafe just nodded. 

“That’s it then,” the police chief said. “We’ll wrap things up here and I’ll talk to Cassie Webster.” 

Rafe looked down at Scotty and clenched his jaw. “You’re going to catch the sonofabitch, right? You’re going to find the guy who killed him?” 

“If he’s in town, we’ll catch him. If he’s some loser just passing through, might be a whole lot harder.” 

Rafe frowned. “You don’t think he was killed by a local?” 

“Wouldn’t be my first guess. Hell, we haven’t had a murder here in years. But violent crime’s been creeping up lately—assaults, thefts, burglaries. These days anything’s possible.” 

“Either way, you’re going to get him,” Rafe repeated, making it clear there had better not be any doubt. 

Rosen just nodded. “Thanks for coming down.” 

“Keep me posted, will you?” When the chief made no reply, Rafe shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, turned, and started back the way he’d come. 

It was almost dawn. If he had a fishing charter today, he’d be at the dock by five, getting ready to take the boat out at six. He did half-day cruises; nine hour; or full-day, twelve-hour charters that lasted till six p.m. 

He wasn’t taking a group out today, which meant he wouldn’t be seeing Jaimie Graham, the nineteen-year-old girl who crewed for him along with Scotty. She dressed like a man, worked like a man, but under her determination to prove herself in the world of men, Jaimie had a bad crush on Scotty. She was going to take the news damned hard. 

Rafe got into the Ford and started driving toward the house Jaimie lived in with her parents. He needed to speak to her, break the news before she found out from someone else. He hated to wake up her folks, but he didn’t have any choice. 

Rafe sighed into the darkness. He wished he could just go back to bed, get some badly needed sleep, but there was no chance of that. 

Not with his mind circling around, going over what had happened, trying to make sense of the senseless murder of Scotty Ferris. Trying to think why Scotty might have been down at the Scorpion in the middle of the night. Wishing he knew who had killed him. 

Thinking how much he’d like to wrap his hands around the bastard’s neck and squeeze till he paid for what he had done.

*****

Tens List/Excerpt/Giveaway: All For Love by Susanne Matthews

This is my stop during the blog tour for All for Love by Susanne Matthews. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 26 may till 8 June, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.

All for Love

By Susanne Matthews

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age category: Adult

Publisher: Anaiah Press

Release Date: May 26, 2015

*****

Blurb: 

To overcome your fear, you must first face it. 

Someone is out to destroy Greg Simmons and everyone he has ever loved. After an accident leaves his teenage daughter depressed and distraught, Greg will do anything to make her happy again. 

Olivia Marshall lost both her fiancé and her cousin in a deadly avalanche. She has vowed never to set foot on a ski hill again. But now, working as a bodyguard with Anderson Security, Olivia must face her greatest fears to save Greg and his daughter. 

Something about Olivia’s determination strikes a chord in Greg, but will she be the salvation he needs, or will he be her destruction?

***** 

You can find All for Love on Goodreads

You can buy All for Love here:

- Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Kobo - Smashwords

*****

About the Author: 

Susanne Matthews grew up as an avid reader of all types of books, but always with a penchant for happily ever after romances. In her imagination, she travelled to foreign lands, past and present, and soared into the future.  

Today, she has made her dreams come true. A retired educator, she now gets to spend her time writing, so she can share her adventures with her readers. She loves the ins and outs of romance, and the complex journey it takes to get from the first word to the last period of a novel. As she writes, her characters take on a life of their own, and she shares their fears and agonies on the road to self-discovery and love. 

Susanne lives in Cornwall, Ontario with her husband. She has three adult children and five grandchildren. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, chatting on the Internet with her writer friends, and hearing from her readers.

***** 

You can find and contact Susanne here:

- Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon - Google+

*****

EXCERT

Jack frowned and grunted. “Do you think it’s someone in the family looking for a bigger share?” 

“No, I don’t. Besides, the police have checked that aspect and found nothing. If money is the goal, it has to be someone who stands to profit from my death who isn’t getting much from me alive. That’s the only thing that makes sense. With an heir, forty percent of my literary gains go to my publisher and agent. Without an heir, all revenue from the movie and all of my books reverts to them.” 

Jack shook his head. “That’s the problem with you celebrities. Someone always wants to get a piece of your pie. You might as well have painted a target on your back. You’re too attractive dead.” 

Greg grimaced. “Unfortunately, that’s true, but painting a target on George Stanton’s back is one thing, painting it on my daughter is quite a different story.”  

“So, what do you want from us?” Jack’s voice was determined, showing Greg whatever it was he wanted, it was his for the asking. 

Greg relaxed. “I need you to help me keep my daughter safe.” 

“How?” 

“Sheena’s a world class skier, but she was badly injured in the accident. While she’s recovered well, there’ve been a lot of changes for her. I want to give her the opportunity to ski competitively again, meet new people, and make new friendships. I want to give her back her dream, and this is where I need your help, but with a maniac after me, it will be dangerous.” 

Lord, if you’d like to give me the words to convince them to help me, it would be grand. The prayer would probably fall on deaf ears, but he couldn’t help uttering it. He wasn’t asking for himself. Sheena was just a child, and wasn’t God partial to helping children? 

He took a deep breath and renewed his pacing. “I want to send her to ski trials in late January in Vermont—give her a chance to train with others. Her injuries have given her a new face, but she’ll need a false identity and an undercover bodyguard who can ski. I know I’m asking a lot, and you may not know someone who can handle that challenge, but that’s not all.” 

“Go on.” Jack prodded.  

Greg glanced at Tim who nodded. 

“Although my daughter hates me at the moment, I won’t let her go anywhere without me. Tim is going to let me use one of his former identities … that is if you agree.” He looked pointedly at Vicki who scowled, and Greg read the uncertainty on her face. 

Veronica stood up, seemingly oblivious to her twin’s inner agony. She clapped her hands and turned to her husband. “And I know exactly who can help. Livy’s perfect for this job, and you know it.”

*****

TENS LIST

My Top Ten Favorite “Chick Flicks” 

Thank you so much for having me here today. I don’t watch hours and hours of television, but when I do watch it, I prefer watching movies. I’ll admit to enjoying action and sci-fi movies, my husband’s favorites, but if I were to rate the movies I’ve seen that have impacted me as a romance writer, looking to convey falling in love, then I have a few favorites I’d like to share with you. I’ve hyperlinked to movie reviews in case you haven’t seen them and would like to know more about them.  

1. The Notebook There’s no way I can watch this movie without dissolving into tears for the last half hour. Allie (Rachel McAdams and Gena Rowlands) and Noah (Ryan Gosling and James Garner) pull at nm=my heart strings each time. Theirs is a love that endures to the very end. 

2. The American President  I choke up each time Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) gives his speech defending Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) and American freedom. I love the way they meet and the humorous situations they find themselves in—whether it’s her getting lost on Dupont Circle or him trying to get her flowers—I find the complexity of their relationship fascinating. Talk about having issues! 

3. Gone With the Wind   I was fifteen when I read the novel, seventeen when the movie was released again. I fell madly in love with Rhett Butler, (Clark Gable) and oh, how I wanted to shake Scarlett O’Hara (Vivian Leigh) and tell her to smarten up. I cried so many times during the movie, but when it was over, I wished it would continue. I fell in love with the American South—the gowns, the grand houses and the gentility, while bemoaning the oversimplification of the causes of the Civil War. I’ve been to Gettysburg, to the reenactment of the battle, walked through the parks commemorating this dark period in American history, followed by an even darker one, but the movie remains a favorite. 

4. Titanic Who wasn’t moved by the extraordinary tragedy of the Titanic. Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) became as real as any historical fact, and a few exaggerations in the film. People who lived not too far from my hometown died aboard the Titanic. Their son and his nurse survived. I’ve seen at least three different Titanic exhibits, but possibly the most moving was a visit to the cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia where many of the bodies were buried. While many of the grave markers only have numbers since the bodies were never identified, there is a marker there marked J. Dawson. Following the movie, people started bring flowers there. The marker doesn’t say if J. was male or female, but… 

5. Dirty Dancing  While this film didn’t get good reviews, it remains one of my all-time favorites. I loved the music from my youth that provided the backdrop for the unlikely love affair between Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze). I loved the awkwardness between them at first, the way they gradually fell in love, but nothing beats the line “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”. I bought the music and I was lucky enough to see the theatrical performance a couple of years ago.  

6.    Mamma Mia Again, not a great review, but I love the movie. ABBA was one of my favorite groups, and seeing their songs come to life made the movie even more enjoyable. To be honest, I saw the musical before I saw the movie, but the sparks between Donna (Meryl Streep) and Sam (Pierce Brosnan) just seemed so right. I’ve been a Brosnan fan through Remington Steele and his stint as Bond, so, seeing him as the one who got away and came back, added to my enjoyment of the film. 

7. Pretty Woman Who doesn’t like a Cinderella story? How many romance novels are based on the premise of rich man falls in love with the girl who has nothing? While I’d have preferred she have another profession, Vivian (Julia Roberts) and Edward (Richard Gere) brought out the best in one another. There are funny scenes, sad ones, and touching ones that make the movie an enjoyable and memorable event. As usual, I cried at the end, and the last song. It Must Have Been Love, by Roxette remains one of my favorites. Along with this is another Julia Roberts film, Notting Hill, where she teams up with Hugh Grant for the Cinderella story in reverse. She’s a famous movie star and he owns a book store, but love finds a way.  

8. Breakfast at Tiffany’s This film from my youth never fails to remind me that attitude goes a long way toward success. Holly (Audrey Hepburn) and Paul (George Peppard) make an unlikely couple, but as their strange relationship grows they seem the perfect fit for a lost girl and a good boy gone sort of bad. The scene in the rain searching for the cat, always melts my heart. Moon River, the theme song, is also on my playlist.  

9. When Harry Met Sally  Only Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan could have brought these characters to life. During the movie, I laugh, I cry, and at the end, I sigh. Who can ever forget the restaurant scene? When I need a little pick-me-up, that movie does it. 

10. Beaches  Is a very different kind of story. It’s the story of friendship and loss. The Wind Beneath My Wings is another at the top of my playlist, and every time I hear it, I remember the touching scene between Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. So few people realize how much we admire them and count on them, until it’s too late and they’ve gone. That song was one we chose for the soloist at our daughter’s wedding because she w=is out hero, the wind beneath our wings.

*****

GIVEAWAY

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of All for Love. These are the prizes you can win: - 2 $10 gift cards (US Only) 

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below: 

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