Friday, August 23, 2019

The Novel Lady Interviews Author Avery Flynn



Get ready for an awesome experience!!  

I’m so excited to be here with Author Avery Flynn!  Avery Flynn is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author. As you can see under her picture to the left, she has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip (Coffee IV?  Oh yes!  She is definitely my kind of person!!).


She was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs. 


So grab a cup of coffee… or a glass of wine, and join us for a fun interview with this EXTREMELY interesting bestselling author!

Scherry:  Welcome Avery!  Thanks for joining us here at The Novel Lady.  Tell us a little about yourself and your background?

Avery:  Hey there! Thank you for having me! Let’s see, I’ve got three adorable mutts named Gravy, Pepper and Tater Tot (all rescues) and I cannot have Oreos in the house because I will eat the entire package of them. They are so good.

Scherry:  What do you do when you’re not writing?  Do you have any hobbies or guilty pleasures, aside from eating Oreos (which I totally understand)?

Avery:  I love true crime books, binge watch Netflix, and I like to do puzzles. I’m trying to get back into exercising thanks to some fab podcasts that I can listen to and forget that I am exercising.

Scherry:  Where do you do most of your writing?  Sitting on the couch with your feet propped up?  Steadfast at a writing desk?  Lounging on the beach with a recording device in your hand?

Avery:  I have a desk in my front room so I can look out the windows and type away. When I’m under deadline I go upstairs to the guest room and sometimes I like to go to Panera and write while eavesdropping. :)

Scherry:  You can probably get some good writing ideas while eavesdropping!  When and why did you begin writing?

Avery:  Oh, I’ve been writing in one way or another since I got a blue Big Brother typewriter in grade school. I started writing romance in 2010 because I knew exactly what kind of book I wanted to read but I couldn’t find it.

Scherry:  After reading your hot romantic comedy Harbor City series, I have become a HUGE fan! I LOVE the characters.  Sawyer and Clover were awesome together and the story about Sawyer’s brother Hudson and his fascination with Felicia gave me such tingles!!  And that picture of Hudson on the cover of “The Charmer”..… well, he could certainly charm me!!   
Most authors have a special place in their heart for a few particular characters or books. Which of your books or characters is your favorite and why?
Avery:  First off, thank you for reading the Harbor City series! I love those sexy Carlyle brothers. I love them all and hate them all (at least when I’m writing and it’s going slow - ha!). 
I don’t know if I have a favorite overall but I usually have a favorite in each series. For example, Frankie Hartigan in Muffin Top is my favorite in The Hartigans series because he’s just such a good guy who just needs to figure out his shit to be amazing.




Scherry:  I just started reading your latest release, “Parental Guidance”, Book #1 in your Ice Knights series and I’m loving it!  I understand you have another book in this series coming out in October.  Can you tell us a bit about it?

Avery:  Yes! Daddy Dilemma is out in October and it features hockey player Cole Phillips and Tess Gardner (who you first meet in The Hartigans). It’s a one night stand turned more when she finds out she’s pregnant. These two were the most fun. He is all uptight and stuffy and she is the best kind of awkweird. There are shenanigans galore and a HEA. Plus a crazy kitten named Kahn. :)

Scherry:  Where do you get your inspiration for what you write?

Avery:  Everywhere. It really is just how my brain works.

Scherry:  How long does it normally take you to write a book?

Avery:  It depends. If I have a long time until my deadline then I’ll take all that time, if I’m time crunched then I work faster.

Scherry:  What is next for you?  Other than “Daddy Dilemma”, do you have any other scheduled upcoming releases or works in progress?

Avery:  Yes! There is one more Ice Knights book coming for sure, then there are more Hartigans books, and I have a really fun cowboy book coming out in 2020. Shenanigans galore!

Scherry:  Sounds great!  I will  definitely be on the lookout for that cowboy book! How can fans contact you/learn more about you?

Website:  www.averyflynn.com

Scherry:  Avery, thank you so much for joining us here at The Novel Lady!  I’m looking forward to seeing you at Coastal Magic in February!

Avery:  Thank you so much for having me!!!

Readers, if you would like to meet Avery Flynn in person, stop by the Coastal Magic Convention in Daytona Beach in February 2020.  Avery is one of our favorite Featured Authors.  If you haven’t experienced her writing yet, check out the books listed below!

For more information about #CMCon2020, check out the web page at www.coastalmagicconvention.com.


Coming Soon!  Daddy Dilemma is due to be released October 14th, and although we can't see the cover yet, the book is up for pre-order... and it sounds like another fun one!

One night and my life completely jumped the tracks.

Actually, a pack of expired condoms did that –– the rest of the night was pretty amazing.
Open bar at a friend's wedding. Bad dancing all around. Stupid trivia bets with my fellow Ice Knights hockey teammates.
And Tess Gardner.
The factoid-blurting, fandom-T-shirt-wearing, no-I-don’t-want-a-relationship-with-you woman makes me forget for one night that I’m a man with a routine, and my future all mapped out. Still, it sucked she left our room without giving me her number.
Fast forward to when she tracks me down and tells me I'm going to be a daddy.
Jaw meet floor.
Now I've insisted that she and our little peach pit move in with me after her apartment floods. She agrees as long as there’s no funny business, no shotgun weddings, and no more nights spent naked together. Sounds easy enough.
I was prepared for the late night runs for more pickles and peanut butter but I wasn’t prepared for Tess. She’s like a glitter rainbow sparkling in the middle of my all-neutrals house, messing up my rigid schedule and turning my world upside down.
What the hell do we do next?
Each book in the Ice Knights series is STANDALONE:
* Parental Guidance
* Daddy Dilemma



Thursday, August 15, 2019

Book Review - WILDE NIGHTS IN PARADISE (Wilde Security Book 1) by Tonya Burrows

Title:  Wilde Nights in Paradise (Wilde Security Book 1)
Author: Tonya Burrows
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult 
Publisher: Entangled: Ignite
Release Date: June 10, 2013


About the Book:


He'll guard her body all night long.
Former Marine Jude Wilde's motto has always been "burn bridges and never look back," so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they're forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can't ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker's threats escalate to attempted murder, he's left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend's safe house in Key West, FL.
Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby's resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body's demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt?


Audible Version
Title:  Wilde Nights in Paradise (Wilde Security Book 1) 
Author: Tonya Burrows
Narrator: Eric G. Dove
Length: 6 hours, 47 minutes
Release Date: January 13, 2015


Buy Links: Amazon / Audible

My Review:

Wow!  I listened to this on Audible in my car and almost forgot to make the turn onto my street. Heading south, I felt like driving on down to Key West while listening to the rest of the book! Tonya Burrows created such a suspenseful novel with steamy romance and likeable characters!

Living in the Florida Keys made this book especially likeable for me because I was able to connect with all the mentions of iguana's and chickens and Keys-type music. And I thought the narrator, Eric G. Dove, was outstanding!  For me, the narrator can make or break an audio book, no matter how good that book may be.

If you like adult romance, I highly recommend Wilde Nights in Paradise as a vacation read. I'm off now to get the next audible book in this series, which happens to be free right now (just like Book 1) if you have signed up for Audible Escape.

My Rating:

About the Author:
Tonya Burrows wrote her first romance at age 13 and hasn't put down her pen since. Originally from a small town in Western New York, she suffers from a bad case of wanderlust and usually ends up moving someplace new every few years. As of now, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with The Boyfriend, a diva schnoodle, a plucky pug-mix, and #writercat. 

When she's not writing about hunky military heroes, Tonya can usually be found kayaking, hiking, or road tripping across the country. She also enjoys painting and B grade disaster movies.

If you would like  to know more about Tonya, visit her website at www.tonyaburrows.com. She's also on Twitter @tonyaburrows and Facebook www.facebook.com/tonyaburrowsauthor.


If you would like to meet Tonya in person, she will be a featured author at the Coastal Magic Convention in Daytona Beach in February 2020.  For more information, go to https://coastalmagicconvention.com/
#CMCon2020



Wednesday, August 14, 2019

THE YEAR I LEFT by Christine Brae

Title: The Year I Left
Author: Christine Brae
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Womens Fiction 
Publisher: Vesuvian Books
Release Date: August 20, 2019


About the Book:
"A thousand half loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home."
Carin Frost doesn’t understand what’s happening to her. A confident businesswoman, wife, and mother, she begins to resent everything about her life. Nothing makes sense. Nothing makes her feel. Maybe it’s the recent loss of her mother in a tragic accident. Or maybe she’s just losing her mind.
Enter Matias Torres. As their new business partnership thrives, so does their friendship—and his interest in her. Carin is determined to keep her distance, until a work assignment sends them to Southeast Asia where a storm is brewing on the island. In the midst of the chaos, Matias asks her to do something unimaginable, exhilarating, BOLD. Carin knows the consequences could be dire, but it may be the only way to save herself.
An honest look at love and marriage and the frailties of the human heart, this is a story of a woman’s loss of self and purpose and the journey she takes to find her way back.
Buy Links: Amazon 
Available for Pre-Order - Release Date August 20, 2019

About the Author:
Christine Brae is a full time career woman who thought she could write a book about her life and then run away as far as possible from it. She never imagined that her words would touch the hearts of so many women with the same story to tell. Her second book, His Wounded Light was released in December, 2013.

Christine's third book, Insipid, is a standalone that was released in June, 2014, and her fourth book, In This Life, released in January 2016. 

Her latest work, Eight Goodbyes was released on August 28, 2018.

When not listening to the voices in her head or spending late nights at the office, Christine can be seen shopping for shoes and purses, running a half marathon or spending time with her husband and three children in Chicago.

Christine is represented by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin Literary Management.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Book Blitz & Giveaway - LOVE REPAIRED by Deanna Birch


Love Repaired
Deana Birch
Publication date: July 30th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Attorney Amee sets aside her own needs to juggle the broken pieces of her life and family until mechanic Ben repairs her heart.
Divorce attorney Amee Benton—who has an ex of her own—is pretty sure she’s a #MomFail. Showing up late on a Friday night to retrieve her car from the shop and finding the pink frosted cupcakes she forgot to leave at her daughter’s ballet camp confirms it.
When mechanic, Ben Mathis, confesses to stealing one of the confections and asks who is taking care of Amee, she knows he’s a unicorn—a magical, beautiful beast who surely only exists in fantasies. And she tells him just that. With an f bomb for good measure.
Amee has three things Ben finds irresistible in a woman—brains, a family, and a serious potty mouth. At a chance run-in at Ben’s own personal hell, AKA the mall, he summons the courage to ask her out. Though Amee is leery of dating a younger man, and Ben is more than aware of their social gap, the two take a chance.
But Amee’s life isn’t like his. And when her ex returns and the doubting divorcĂ©e blunders, all of Ben’s insecurities are piqued anew. Now, Amee must prove to Ben his worth is much more than stand-in dad and rebound boyfriend or she’ll watch magic gallop off into the forest forever.
EXCERPT:
Amee:
Duggan’s was a not-too-hip, not-too-chic coffee shop downtown. It had its own parking lot and outdoor seating with canvas umbrellas for overly sunny days.
Ben—I didn’t know his last name—was sitting at a table for two toward the edge of the terrace. His long-sleeved army green Henley was pushed up to the elbows and his casual sprawled posture opposed the nerves brewing in my belly. He stood when he saw me, those damn dimples pressing into his cheeks with his smile.
Time to face the unicorn.
He side-stepped around the table and pulled out the wicker chair for me. The earthy scent from Friday night returned, this time without the motor oil.
“Hey.”
The grittiness of his voice made me swallow hard, and I sat in the chair. He reached up to adjust the angle of the umbrella to protect us from the sun. What promised to be the perfectly formed V of his lower abdomen peeked out from between a black elastic waistband under his jeans and the green shirt.
Unicorn cupcake eating man candy. Shit. I was in over my head. He was way out of my league. My workouts consisted of me taking the stairs and vacuuming with headphones on. I hadn’t even been on a date since Pete and I had divorced. I shouldn’t have been allowed to play ball.
New planExcuse my behavior from Friday night, tell him I was not ready for any kind of relationship, go home and take a long, long shower thinking about his stomach.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said as he took his seat.
“I assumed you would be.” He scooted in, and before he could say anything else, the waiter came over. I ordered a fluffy complicated sugary mess of caffeine and Ben asked for just a water.
“You don’t drink coffee?”
“Nope.” He crossed his arms. “So, let’s hear it, Amee Benton.”
“Hear what?” There was no way in hell I would tell him why I’d called him a unicorn. A fucking unicorn.
“Your list.” His blue gaze challenged me from the opposite side of the table, then he blinked.
“What list? I don’t have a list.”
“Yes, you do. You have a list of why you’re not going to give me your phone number and agree to see me again.”
I sank a little into my chair before puffing out my chest, mulling over my next move.
“Maybe you should tell me your list.” Every muscle on my cheeks wanted to smile but years of questioning witnesses had polished my game face. I shaped parallel lines with my forearms on the black wire tabletop.
“Which one do you want me to tell you about?” he asked with a casual grin.
Stupid dimples. His dimples were dumb. Dumb like puppies.
“How many are there?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Many. Many. So many lists…” Leaning in, he licked his lips. He lightly traced a semi-circle on the top of my hand. “Grocery lists, home repairs, back to school…”
The breath from the base of my lungs rose up my chest and escaped slowly through the ‘O’ I’d formed with my mouth. I hadn’t been touched like that in ages and mundane tasks had never sounded better. Christ. I was practically panting.
His recoil startled me and he cleared his throat. The waiter set down our drinks, breaking the beautiful tension.
Creamy froth parted as I blew into the mug before taking a cautious sip. Without the haze of his touch, I regrouped. I placed my coffee on the table and he drank from his water bottle.
“Why?” I asked.
“Why what?” He screwed the cap on and set the bottle on the table.
I’d studied body language. I knew liars and I knew nervousness. His open legs and arms were neither. He was confident, honest. Real.
“Why me?”
A small airy chuckle accompanied a shake of his head and his blond hair brushed against his shoulders.
“Why not you, Amee Benton?”
Questioning soon-to-be-ex-spouses was much more satisfying. They weren’t allowed to answer questions with questions.
“What’s your last name?” I squinted.
“Mathis. And because I like you.”
I sipped my coffee.
He propped his elbows on his knees and searched my eyes. “And you’re kinda beautiful. Beauty and a dirty mouth are a weakness of mine.”
“Like cupcakes?” I fought the smile, but when his dimples appeared, I lost the battle.
“Just like cupcakes.” He shifted in his seat and pulled his phone from his back pocket. Quick tapping from his thumbs hit the screen before he slid it to me.
“May I please have your phone number?”
Yes. He could. Shit.
I picked up the phone. Under the heading New Contact, there was one word. Cupcake. I giggled, like a school girl in a candy shop. Pitiful. I typed in my number, hit new message and sent myself a text.
Satisfied, I grinned and handed the phone back to him. Instead of reviewing my handiwork, he set it face-down on the table.
“You’re not going to check? Make sure it’s the real number?”
“Nope.” He popped the ‘p’.
My toes twitched in my flats. The remainder of my coffee and foam clung to the edges of my cup and trailed down to the empty bottom.
“Are you free Friday night?” Ben asked with a rasp.
Coffee had been one thing. Safe. The sun was shining. Friday night would be a date. Risky. Dark.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked. The man had other lists. Lists hidden in his dimples and heavenly touch.
“A movie. Popcorn.” He lifted a shoulder.
One small step for Ben Mathis and a giant leap for Amee Benton. Crap. A firetruck and its sirens raced by on Third Avenue and the intrusive sound gave me a minute to think. This is what I’d wanted when I’d divorced Pete, right? A chance for something deeper before I shriveled up and had as many cats as Shae had dolls.
But then Pete had gotten drunk and killed another human being. He’d pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and had been taken away to a correctional facility within months, locking away my bright future behind bars with him. Instead of free weekends to build a new life, I had one hundred percent parenting duties twenty-four-seven, not to mention my career.
But Ben’s touch had answered a faded call—a call to be selfish, a call to be human.
“Can I meet you there? I’m not sure the girls are ready for their mom to be on a date.”
“I’ll text you.” He flipped over the check and dug into his front pocket.
With the money and check secured under my used coffee cup, Ben walked me to my car. When we arrived at the driver’s side door, I turned around to face him. He pushed his arm into the window and crowded my space.
“I gotta admit that I’m a little disappointed.” He was close. So close. And the hair on the back of my neck stiffened with the scratch in his voice.
I could have kissed him. I could have absolutely kissed him. Right there. Broad daylight. Sunday morning. Did. Not. Care.
I summoned any courage I had and asked, “Why’s that?”
Soft stubble caressed my cheek as he leaned into my ear. His warm breath brushed my neck as he whispered with his ridiculous rasp, “I was looking forward to your dirty mouth.”
My expression must have been his desired response, because when he stepped back and freed the heat between us, his grin stretched from ear to ear.
“See ya Friday, Cupcake.”
He swaggered away and climbed into a beat-up truck.
Revised planShower and a lonely orgasm.


Author Bio:
Contemporary romance and erotica writer Deana Birch was named after her father's first love, who just so happened not to be her mother. Born and raised in the Midwest, she made stops in Los Angeles and New York before settling in Europe where she lives with her own blue-eyed Happily Ever After. Her days are spent teaching yoga, playing tennis, ruining her children's French homework, cleaning up dog vomit, writing her next book, or reading someone else's.

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Saturday, August 3, 2019

Book Blitz - THE SPARK OF THE DRAGON'S HEART by Willa Hart


The Spark of the Dragon’s Heart
Willa Hart
(Harem Of Fire #1)
Publication date: July 18th 2019
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Reverse Harem, Romance
One human girl. Five scorching hot dragons. A thousand reasons not to want them. None of those reasons matter.
It’s been five years since my great-aunt and her husband rescued me from foster care — and since I discovered dragons exist.
For reals.
Yeah, I had a hard time believing it too, but now I’m learning what it means to be a dragon keeper — a human with special powers who acts as a sort of liaison between dragons and the unsuspecting human world.
When Uncle Max leaves town and entrusts me with my first case, I’m forced to enlist the help of the last five P.I.s on earth he’d want me to ask — his nephews. As much as I want to hate them for betraying Max, when we all finally meet face to face, the earth shakes with the instant connection between us.
And those powers I’m supposed to have? They seem to grow stronger the more time I spend with the devastatingly sexy dragon shifters.
But the confusing attraction I have for all five men will have to wait until we solve this mystery. That’s if we don’t stumble upon an even bigger one along the way.
Spoiler: We do!
Other books in the series:

Grab the prequel – Glow of the Dragon’s Heart – for FREE!
And lookout for book 2 – The Heat of the Dragon’s Heart – on August 8th!
EXCERPT:
The dense forest became less dense, and a large, beautiful log home appeared in front of us, its roof piled with snow. It was really starting to come down, and the entire scene reminded me of a Christmas card.
Our tires crunched on the gravel-snow mixture as Danic slowed to a stop in front of the house. A muscle in his jaw flexed again and again and his lips were pressed into a thin, hard line of frustration. Grabbing his coat from the back seat, he gave me a hard look as I reached for my door handle out of spite.
“Don’t even think about it,” he growled.
I was tempted to jump out despite his command, but I couldn’t make myself do it. Despite the friction between us, he still wanted to be the perfect gentleman. Regardless, when he whooshed open my door, I gave him my best glare as I took his hand. I even let him help me into my own coat, tension bristling between us like a live power cable.
When my cold fingers fumbled with the zipper, he brushed them aside and zipped me up himself, the fire in his eyes blazing hot. It really should have been enough to keep me warm in Antarctica, yet…I wanted more. There was no denying it, and there was only one thing to do about it.
Without weighing the consequences, without so much as thinking, I lunged up onto my tiptoes and pulled his head down to meet mine. The moment our lips touched, my entire body caught fire. He devoured me. We devoured each other, just like we’d been starving and the other was an all-you-can-eat buffet of our favorite foods. He pulled me closer, and despite our heavy coats, his heart beat in time with mine. Fast and hard, like it might explode.
Danic’s fingers found my zipper again and pulled it down slowly, but just as the frigid air — not to mention his powerful kisses — hardened my nipples, the sound of a door slamming open caught our attention. Red-lipped and woozy, we both looked toward the sound and froze in surprise, our breath rising into the air in puffs of steam.
A man stumbled down the porch steps toward us, one hand holding his head, the other reaching out to us. And he was covered in blood.


Author Bio:
Just like everyone else in the world (except politicians and the entire Kardashian family), Willa Hart hates talking about herself. Seriously, what's she supposed to say? That she's the most talented author in the world? That Liam Hemsworth, Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan are knocking down her door for the honor of starring in the big-screen adaptation of her latest romance novel? That readers get into hair-pulling, kidney-punching, nipple-twisting brawls while standing in line to buy one of her books?
LIES!
Just like every other wordsmith in the world, she's certain everything she writes (including her own bio) sucks big, fat, hairy donkey danglers. But deep down she hopes and prays YOU are just a little bit delusional and think she IS a great writer, that Liam, Zac and Michael would be idiots to NOT want a part in her movie, and that you'd twist every perky nip you could get your fingers on just to LOOK at her new book. Of course, she's not holding her breath, but...can't a girl dream?

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Thursday, August 1, 2019

Book Blitz & Giveaway - KINGDOM OF MIRRORS & ROSES


Kingdom of Mirrors & Roses: A Limited Edition of Beauty and the Beast Retellings
Publication date: August 1st 2019
Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, New Adult
Beauty and the Beast, but not how you remember it
Deep in the forest, a castle hides. No one knows who lives there, but rumors of a beast keep people away.
Cloaked in shadows, hidden from view, a prince destroyed by a curse shuts himself away from the world, ashamed of the beast he’s become.
And in the village, a beautiful girl with her nose in a book, yearns for something more.
True love is the only thing that can break his curse. True love is the one thing she’s looking for, but how can they find true love when neither knows the other exists?
Find out if love really can defy all odds in this set of thirteen captivating retellings of the classic fairytale, filled with love, hope and the strength of two people willing to do whatever it takes…
One click now for your happily ever after.
Other books in the Kingdom of series…
Kingdom of Glass and Ashes (Cinderella retellings)
Kingdom of Salt and Sirens (Little Mermaid retellings)
Kingdom of Sand and Wishes (Aladdin retellings)
Kingdom of Mirrors and Roses (Beauty and the Beast retellings)
Kingdom of Thorns and Dreams (Sleeping Beauty retellings) coming soon


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