Exciting Contest!!!

Looking for an exciting contest? Check out Cynthia Eden's 30 Days of Demons and the last book in her awesome Midnight trilogy, to be released June 30th!

More Appearances!

Today I'm guesting at Pamela S. Thibodeaux's blog! Wednesday I'll be chatting all day at Romance Excerpts Only so please join me. If there's a good turn out, I'll do another giveaway. I'm really excited about my appearance at Happy Endings with Jeannie Ruesch on Monday, June 8!

Also today everyone should stop by The Roses of Prose. Fellow Red Rose author Delilah K. Stephans is discussing about her new release, intriguing time travel romance Sarah's Story, and giving away prizes to one lucky commenter.

Congrats, Valerie!

You're the winner of the LoveRomances Cafe e-book giveaway! Thanks to all those who participated in Wednesday's chat and special thanks to Dawn Roberto for hosting me on release day! I definitely enjoyed my day at the cafe!

Cyber lattes all around!!!

Release Day Schedule!!!

It's release day! A Summer's Hope is now officially available in e-book and print from The Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com, and Barnes&Noble.com! *squeeee*

Join me for a chat at LoveRomances Cafe at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. I'll be there all day posting excerpts and discussing ASH, Blackest Heart, Fox & Hound, Denied Origin, and sharing some very big news about The Way Back Home anthology! I'd love to see you there!

Also yesterday I guested at Rose Marie Wolf's blog. View an exclusive excerpt and get the inside scoop on the place that inspired Briar and Cole's story.

Since I've somehow managed to be in two places at once, I do believe I'm also guesting at the LRC blog today!

I have to say that today's release coincides with a very, very, very special event in my personal life. Three years ago today, Dh and I were married under a jasmine-strewn awning and the most perfect blue sky! Here's to us, love of mine! If there is one story that reminds me of you, it's A Summer's Hope. It's only right that its publication should occur with this milestone in our lives!

Free Giveaway!

Head on over to The Roses of Prose to win a free download of Fox & Hound today to celebrate my May birthday! Contest ends at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard!

Excerpt 2: A Motorcycle Ride For Two

*As promised, here's the second excerpt from my Tuesday release from TWRP, A Summer's Hope:

“These are for you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, taking them. Her heart tugged and her lips curved as she stared down into their wide, bright faces. “They’re my favorite.”
He smiled. “I was hoping. They made me think of you.”
Awed, she lowered her nose to sniff the blooms. “You got them from Adrian?”
He shrugged. “Only the best.”
She nodded in agreement. “I’ll just set them here.” She put them on a bench in the shade of the magnolia tree, and then faced him awkwardly.
“Are you ready?”
“When you are.”
He held up the helmet. “I have to take precautions. I don’t want anything to happen to your pretty face although it’s a shame to cover it up.”
Her insides turned to dough and her heart pattered giddily as he slipped the helmet over her head. She lifted her chin when he motioned for her to do so.
It took him several seconds to secure the strap. “Feel okay?” he asked when he was done, lifting the visor so she could hear him.
She nodded, feeling nerves jump into her stomach again. “Um, Cole? There’s something you need to know.”
He chuckled as he went back to his bike. “I know.”
She stiffened. “You do?”
He nodded, grinning at her as he strapped on his own helmet. He lifted the visor to speak. “You’ve never ridden a bike before.”
“Is it that obvious?” she asked, rubbing her damp palms on her thighs.
He shrugged, tying the strap under his chin. “Just a little. It’s okay.” He took her hand and pulled her close. She could smell fresh aftershave and the underlying spice of motor oil. It was downright seductive. “Just lean with me into the turns and hold onto me real tight.”
Her knees quaked. “I’m a little nervous.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll do fine.” He threw a leg over the seat to straddle it. He gunned the engine and the machine roared to life, stunning her with its raw, wild power. As exhaust smoke tickled her nostrils, she didn’t know if she was really going to be able to go through with this.
He motioned for her to get on.
Now or never. She took a steadying breath, putdown her visor and stepped forward. Gripping his offered hand for balance, she crawled on behind him and put her feet on the passenger pegs. She hesitantly put her hands on his waist and clutched his shirt as he backed out from under the magnolia.
He looked both ways down Scenic 98 then turned to look at her. “You ready?” he shouted.
She nodded and gave him the thumbs-up.
She saw his quick grin before he hit the accelerator. The force of it sent her back. Her heart pounded with terror as she grabbed him around the waist tight to keep from flying off the open seat.

It's HERE!!!!!

I know I've kept you waiting long enough, but here finally is the trailer for A Summer's Hope, which will be released in e and print in just eight days! And as a bonus I'm giving all my bloggets the first taste. Enjoy!!!

Briar has spent half her life upholding the family business. As another summer rolls around, it looks like her luck is running dry and she’s dangerously close to losing the only thing that matters, Hanna’s Inn, her late mother’s bed and breakfast. Amidst deep financial difficulty, a shaky relationship with her estranged father, and a non-existent social life, hope is all she has left.

Enter Cole, a new guest at Hanna’s. Fresh from the turmoil of a bitter divorce and haunted by his mistakes, he’s desperate for escape. In a matter of weeks he captures the lonely innkeeper’s heart and together they discover a passion as hot as the southern sun and as unstoppable as the bay tide.

Do they dare trust this wellspring of hope they’ve found in each other’s arms?

*Excerpt:

He watched her for a moment, his eyes reflecting all the pain she felt. When he reached for her, his fingertips brushed over her hair.

She looked at him, surprise fluttering past the sadness. His eyes were so tender, so sympathetic. She wanted to dive right in and wallow in them.

She turned away and moved out of his reach. She couldn’t be weak. She refused to be. She’d mourned enough for what she’d lost all those years ago. It wasn’t about to happen again. Not when everything was at stake. “I thought you were going out with Adrian tonight.”

He dropped his hand. “She couldn’t find anyone to watch Kyle.”

She nodded shortly, staring at the horizon behind the western shore. “She’s been mistreated before. It ate at her for a long, long time but she came through in the end.” She turned her gaze back on him. “If you hurt her like he did, if Olivia doesn’t cut out your heart, I will. But pray she does it because I’ll use a spoon.”

Shocked, he stared at her for a long moment. Then he let out a breath. “We’re just friends.”

“You don’t have to lie—”

“I’m serious. She knows it and I know it. We were friends before and we are again now.”

“But you’ve been on two dates….”

“They weren’t dates. When we’re not talking about old times, all I ever talk about is…”

She waited as he hesitated then looked away. “What?” she asked curiously.

He slowly brought his eyes back to hers. Dragging in a bracing breath, he brushed a nervous hand through his hair. “All I ever talk about when I’m with her is you, Briar.”

Her eyes widened. “Me?”

“Yeah. You.” He looked away again. “I’m not interested in Adrian. The only one who intrigues me around here, who pulls me in, is you.”

Now she was really having trouble breathing. “Are you sure?”

He laughed at her stunned expression and took a step forward. “Pretty sure. I can’t get you out of my head. When I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. When I’m sleeping, I’m dreaming about you. You’re always there. I can’t get you out.” He closed the distance between them, lifting a hand to her hair again. This time he brushed it through. “I don’t want to get you out.”

She gulped hard. “I-I can’t get a breath.”

“Me, either,” he admitted, laughing at both of them. “This has never happened to me before. I’ve never felt this drawn to anyone. There’s something about you, Briar, and every time I’m with you I try harder and harder to find out what. I’ll be damned if I don’t find out.”
He so perfectly described what happened to her when she was with him, it froze her. She gripped his shirt when he rubbed his lips over hers, softly, so softly. Just enough to make her pulse scramble. Her breath shuddered out. “Cole…”

“Don’t,” he whispered against her lips. Her heart thundered in her ears as he brushed his fingertips over her shoulders, down her back until he was holding her in his arms. “I just want a taste of you. Just one taste…”

When his lips covered hers fully, she felt her world tip off axis and fall right off the edge of the universe. Stunned, she swayed back against the rail. His hands rose to her face, fingers spreading over her cheeks.

Her lips parted under their own will. Something exploded inside her, a rocket of flame that shot from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. His tongue stroked hers ever so slightly and she quivered, breath whooshing out in surprise. It terrified her.

When he backed away slightly, she used her grip on his shirt to pull him back to her. “Oh, Cole, don’t stop.” Mindlessly, she dragged his mouth back to hers, praying the fluttering, weakening, heating sensation in her joints would never fade, praying she would always feel just like this. Weak.

*Check back this weekend for more tasters and be sure to stop by The Roses of Prose next Monday for my birthday giveaway :)