Manday Hotties Blog Hop

 

Ugh, it's Monday again. 

That time of week when we take a collective sigh and hit the snooze for that extra ten. 

Well, how about some eye candy to lure you from your slumber!

HAPPY MANDAY!

Sizzling Summer Blog Hop

The Romance Troupe is hosting its first annual 

Sizzling Summer Blog Hop!

July 4th - July 7th

Please join over 40 authors and bloggers as we celebrate summer with some fabulous romantic tales. 
Each blog will feature a SIZZLING excerpt from one of the author's own books or from one of their favorite reads.

Here is mine from That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine! 

THAT FIRST KISS 
(NIGHT CALLS SERIES, book 2)

 

BLURB: Mercurial and charming, Tate Larson is a rising author and playboy who has a different woman on his arm every night of the week. Focused on his work, Tate has no plans to settle down any time soon. That is until he meets his pretty new assistant, Piper Donovan.

Desperate to escape the promise of backwater living, Piper ditched her Alabama hometown and never looked back. That was almost two years ago. Now that she is out of a job and her bank account is running on fumes, she’s desperate to find a job, fast. She finds the break she is searching for when she lands a position at Bookish Temptations. A little dancing and a lot of drinks with the girls seem the perfect way to celebrate. After a brief but explosive encounter with a man she was never supposed to see again turns out to be the same man she will be bending over backwards to please, her every instinct tells her to run. But when running means leaving the life she has struggled so hard to create, Piper decides her only option is to continue working for the devastatingly sexy Tate Larson...even if it kills her.

Unable to deny their growing attraction, they struggle to keep their distance in a relationship that requires anything but.

EXCERPT: 

“I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”

            “Nah, don’t worry about it.” Tate waved her off.

            “What do you mean, don’t worry about it?” Piper stood there holding the empty pot in one hand and a bag of fresh grounds in the other. “Half an hour ago you were yelling at me because you ran out. Now you don’t want any?”

            “First of all,” Tate said, leaning inside the refrigerator. Piper tried and failed not to appreciate the view. “I didn’t yell. Second, I reserve the right to change my mind.” He selected the jug of orange juice and began pouring a glass.

            “To be clear, you were yelling,” Piper informed him. She just couldn’t resist poking the beast.

            Tate stepped closer, setting his glass on the counter. Unsure what he was up to, Piper held her ground. She nearly sighed when he lifted his hand to brush the back of his knuckles across her cheek. “Did I scare you?”

            For a moment, Piper got lost in the warmth of his eyes. At his touch, her body flamed, acutely aware of his potent masculinity. It was the second time that day he had managed to tilt her world on its axis. “I should get home. It’s late.” She purposely ignored his question and stepped back, putting much needed distance between them. Her shaking legs barely made it to the front door and she was just slipping her purse over her shoulder when Tate’s smooth voice stopped her.

            “You didn’t answer my question.”

            “What question was that?”

            He spun her around and her eyes widened as he backed her up against the door. He leaned forward and, bracing his hands on either side of her head, hovered over her. “Did I scare you?” His face was so close; she felt the whisper of his lips against hers as he spoke.
            “You don’t scare me,” she said breathlessly. Piper was shocked at the kind of responses this man could evoke from her, how readily her body responded to him. She shouldn’t have been responding to him at all. He made her so angry, the only thing she should be feeling for him was hatred and resentment, but every time he looked at her a certain way or spoke her name in a certain tone, her traitorous body melted for him. It was humiliating.

            “You look scared,” he observed, the corners of his mouth twisting slightly.

            “What are you doing?” Piper flattened herself against the door as Tate tilted his head toward her.

            “Thinking,” he said, distracted.

            “About what?” Her heart pounded and she was finding it harder to breathe.

            His lips whispered across hers. “Kissing you.” He dragged his lips down the slope of her jaw to her neck. “Tasting you.” When he reached the curve of her shoulder his hand dipped between her legs and cupped her throbbing mound. “Fucking you,” he whispered, placing a succulent kiss to her heated flesh.

Currently on sale for only $.99! 

Amazon US * Amazon UK

***

Sizzling Summer Blog Hop 

You could win......

Grand Prize #1

An iPAD MINI

(US ONLY)

(Alternate prize for international winner)

OR

Grand Prize #2

$50 Amazon/B&N Gift Card

+ Several Surprise Digital Books

OR

Fabulous Swag Pack #1

+ $10 Amazon/B&N GC

+ Several surprise digital books

(US ONLY for Swag)

OR

Fabulous Swag Pack #2

+ $10 Amazon/B&N GC

+ Several surprise digital books

(US ONLY for Swag)

Follow all Hop announcements via

www.theromancetroupe.com

and on Twitter hashtag

#SizzlingHop

Comment on this page and hop to each stop on the list below and comment to win. REMEMBER, you must leave your email addy in your comment for it to be counted as a valid entry. Each blog you visit raises your chances of winning!

If you follow the Romance Troupe Blog by email. TELL THEM! They will put your name in the hat an extra time!!!

Good Luck and Happy Hopping!

Winners will be chosen using Random.org

A winning blog will be chosen via random.org for each prize and then another number will be drawn to determine the winning commenter. Only comments with email addresses will be considered valid entries for the prizes. This process will be repeated for all prizes. The Romance Troupe will not retain any contributions past the date of the event. All monies collected will be distributed as prizes for the event.

For my part on the hop, I am giving away a copy of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine!  

It's simple and easy. 

Just enter the Punchtab!

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Remember to check out all the great blogs on this hop listed on The Romance Troupe's page!

*New Release Alert* Bliss by Maven West

Author: Maven West

Publication: July 2, 2013

Purchase: Amazon.com

Goodreads

Happy Release Day to new author Maven West!

Blurb

Falling in love and then losing the most important person in your life…
Was it fate? For three years Morgan was married to the love of her life, Eric. A perfect marriage, a perfect friendship everything she could want, everything she needed. But when Eric dies in a car accident, everything she ever wanted is taken on that same fateful day.
And then she meets Carter Sterling, he’s your typical player. And there is one serious problem—Carter is seeing her friend, Ana.
Morgan is desperately searching for someone to fill the emptiness inside of her. But getting involved with Carter or anyone may not be what she needs. But Carter has his own plans, and Morgan isn’t part of it.
All she wants is to feel that way again…
Warning: Contains explicit situations and language.

Excerpt


I knew Eric would have wanted me to move on.
But he would have hated to know I moved on with my grief counselor.
I didn’t know the first thing about grief, or dealing with it, or how to control the breakdown I went through every night when I went back to the apartment we shared together.
I was broken.
I dropped my head back, closing my eyes as Jon’s teeth slid down the flesh of my neck. His tongue visited my earlobe and made my toes curl.
And he made me forget. There were pluses to banging the grief counselor, and also minuses, his own emotional baggage—his dead wife.
I wondered why such a man needed to bang in cars before grief meetings. But as I yanked him by his lush head of dark hair down to my tits I knew why. He was a mess just like me.
“What time is it?” he asked his breath heavy as he worked his gorgeous body back and forth in the perfect rhythm slamming into me over and over again.
I pressed my hand against his mouth making him stop talking. “I’m about to cum and you’re worried about the time?”
He went for my mouth, trying his best to plant a kiss on my lips. I shook my head; my lips were reserved for Eric and only Eric. He drew back like a snake bit him, and slapped on the expression of a man with a bruised ego.
“Not a lot of men want to fuck a girl with issues,” he said.
I stared into his eyes, flecks of gold decorated the center, and a lush set of dark eyelashes covered them. “You’re fucking me.” I reminded him straining under the weight of his muscular body, twirling my hips around his manhood to get him to forget the lecture he wanted to hand over.
He pressed his forehead into my chest, doing his best to hold onto the control. “Because I get you.”
I squeezed his ass refusing to let him stop me. “You don’t get me. You love fucking me. You miss your wife, I miss my husband and you’re the best sex I have had since he died.”
And that was all she wrote. Jon groaned pressing his face against mine, he had beat me to the finish line. I liked the sound of his voice against my ear as he exploded inside me.
 And now it was my turn to make it there,around and around I went begging my body to let go, to give in and let me remember what it felt like to release, but it didn’t happen.
I closed my eyes throwing my head back against the leather of his backseat, hot, and defeated.
“It’s past six,” Jonathan said snapping off the condom. “Shit, we’re late.”
I rolled my eyes watching him tie up the end of the rubber. He found his shirt and slipped it on using his elbow to wipe away the moisture on his window.
I was sure Eric never expected that I would be naked in the back of an old four door wondering why I couldn’t orgasm. He always knew how to get me off;
He was the epitome of what making love was all about. Anymore I seemed to be chasing the ghost of what once was.

4th of July Giveaway Celebration!

Hey, all! Welcome to the 4th of July Giveaway! 

For those of you who didn't see my earlier post, I am throwing this giveaway in celebration of my novel That First Kiss' recent success. It has truly blown me away, and as thanks, I wanted to give you something in return.

The celebration kicks off today, July 1st and will run through Friday, July 5th. 

A few things to note before we begin: This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, however, due to  shipping costs, the First Place prize pack will be held for US RESIDENTS ONLY. Second place will receive a fully digital prize pack, however, I WILL ship the swag where ever it needs to go anywhere in the world. I'm sorry to anyone this may disappoint, but I have most of the prizes already in-home so I am responsible for any and all shipping and handling costs.

  Now let's celebrate!! 

There are (3) prize packages up for grabs and (3) winners. Here is what will be given away:

First Prize:

A Kindle Fire

a stylish ereader carry case by Verso (compatible with most ereaders)

ebook of Stranded by J.C. Valentine

ebook of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

ebook of Bliss by Maven West 

swag pack

Second Prize: 

$25 Amazon Gift Card

ebook of Stranded by J.C. Valentine

ebook of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

ebook of Bliss by Maven West 

small swag pack

Third Prize: 

ebook of Stranded by J.C. Valentine

ebook of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

ebook of Bliss by Maven West

To sweeten the pot, July 3-5th I am offering up the Night Calls series at half price on Amazon from July 3-5th, so if you miss out or simply can't wait to see if you've won, you can pick up Stranded and That First Kiss for at total of just $1.98!

Alright, I've said my peace. Let's get this party started!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ANNOUNCEMENT: Upcoming 4th of July Celebration!!

Hey, all! In light of this year's unexpected but very welcome success on the writing front, I am throwing a big 4th of July celebration to show my deep appreciation to all the readers and blogger out there who have helped me and lent me their support along the way.

The celebration will kick off on Monday, July 1st and run through July 6th. 

To start off the celebration, I will also be hosting a Rafflecopter giveaway here on the blog. There will be (3) prize packages and (3) winners. Here is what will be given away: 

First Prize:

A Kindle Fire

a stylish ereader carry case by Verso (compatible with most ereaders)

ebook of Stranded by J.C. Valentine

ebook of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

ebook of Bliss by Maven West 

swag pack

Second Prize: 

$25 Amazon Gift Card

ebook of Stranded by J.C. Valentine

ebook of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

ebook of Bliss by Maven West 

small swag pack

Third Prize: 

ebook of Stranded by J.C. Valentine

ebook of That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

ebook of Bliss by Maven West 

To sweeten the pot, July 3-5th I am offering up the Night Calls series at half price on Amazon. This means you can pick up Stranded and That First Kiss for at total of just $1.98!

~*~

Let's make this week a HUGE success! 

Make sure to come back here bright and early Monday morning to enter the giveaway. 

Share the love and tell your friends. 

Tweet it and tag me @brandellavanela.

Weekend Writing Warriors 8 Sentences~ That First Kiss by J.C. Valentine

Faint snoring drifted from behind his closed bedroom door, and Piper felt some of the tension lift from her shoulders at the knowledge of not having to endure his temper tantrum over a few lost minutes.

            Entering his room, she found him lying on his stomach, the blankets bunched in a mound at his feet. She approached the foot of the bed and paused to take in the sight of him. Wearing a pair of black BVDs that made his ass look round and firm like an apple, and nothing else, he was simply mouth-watering to look at. Lost in sleep, what she could see of his face revealed its usual scowl was absent, making him seem almost boyish in a youthful, angelic way. She almost felt bad for having to wake him up.

            Almost.

            Slapping the bottom of his bare foot, she shouted into the room, “Rise and shine!” 

***

That First Kiss was released on June 18th and is already taking off like wildfire! If you'd like to check out more of Tate and Piper's story, you can find it at the following online retailers: 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Smashwords

Be sure to check out the rest of the Weekend Writing Warriors!

Happy Hump Day!

Because it's Summer now, I thought something a little more sandy and wet was in order. Personally, I don't think the beach has ever looked hotter or more enticing!