Two Thousand Lines Michelle Jester Publication date: November 21st 2019 Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance, Young Adult
Olivia Brooks has been able to keep her life in Sugar Mill, Louisiana held perfectly together, far away from the small town where she grew up. Even though her past still haunts her, she has found a perfect process of surviving, until a string of events brings Luke Plaisance to Sugar Mill and turns her organized life upside down.
While Olivia fights to hold on to the life she’s created, unraveling it may be exactly what it takes for her to truly survive. She must accept her past in order to live, or let it threaten the only future she’s ever wanted. Because some secrets can’t stay buried… and shouldn’t.
An inspiring and heartbreaking tale of abandonment, survival, and purpose. A harrowing journey of self-discovery and perseverance.
“I’m not asking you why, Olivia, but also don’t feel like you have to lie to me. It’s none of my business and I know that. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
“Then why are you here?” she turned abruptly to face him, obviously angered.
“I like cinnamon rolls.”
“You also don’t have to lie either.”
“Mama Gigi,” Luke responded quietly.
“What?” Olivia bowed her head slightly.
“Mama Gigi. She said when I smell cinnamon and baking bread, if I look over here and your kitchen door is open, and I quote, ‘go to her and stay until she’s safe.’”
Olivia looked up with tears welling in her eyes again, “I’ll be sure to close my door next time.”
“No, you won’t. Mama Gigi said you will always have your door open when you make them. She thought whatever you were mourning was pretty strong, ‘cause it obviously made you feel suffocated.”
“I miss her. I miss her so much.”
Luke stood quickly and went to Olivia. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her. But, as he got closer she stepped back, so he stopped.
“I can’t leave until you’re safe.”
“I’m never safe,” she whispered.
“You’ve been safe since I got here.”
Author Bio:
Michelle Jester lives in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana with her husband, high school sweetheart and retired Master Sergeant. Together they have a son and daughter. She is a hopeless romantic and has been writing poems and stories for as long as she can remember.
One of her prize possessions is a bracelet with only a yellow, Rubber Duckie charm on it; which she wears every day to remind her to enjoy the fun and happy things of life!
Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share some songs we’ve been enjoying lately! If you would like to play, and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below.
Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you’ve been enjoying lately. It doesn’t have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites – just something you’d like to share with others. If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).
If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post’s url HERE
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LATEST HAPPENINGS
Hello fellow bloggers. How are you today? I am doing this post while watching college football, my normal during the football season. I don’t watch a lot of Nascar since Jeff Gordon retired. We thought about it long and hard and chose Kyle Busch to be our champion. I loved his snarky, confident attitude. He has settled down since getting married and having kids. I thought it was funny that Mr Wonderful spends about five minutes on I10 going to work in the morning and what did he see the other day? The M&M truck that holds all Kyle Busch’s goodies, heading for Homestead. He is in the running for the championship and I wish him all the luck. We will be flipping back and forth on TV, watching the race and pro football.
It’s been chilly here with some rain and sunshine both. It has warmed up a little today and I need to clean the pool, but hey, who are we fooling. I won’t be getting in it, so no big deal. I’ll get to it…eventually. LOL How about you? I have gotten pretty good at taking care of business, especially knocking out the things I want to do the least, Otherwise it hangs in the back of my head, driving me nuts. Are you a procrastinator, putting off til tomorrow what you could do today? Would you rather binge watch TV? Catch a good movie? Read a good book? Do some blogging? Or just hang out with the family?
Well, that’s about it for this week. Leave a link and I’ll stop by and check you out.
Cosmic Cat (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery)
by Mollie Hunt
About Cosmic Cat
Cosmic Cat (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery) Cozy Mystery 6th in Series Independently Published (September 28, 2019) Paperback: 306 pages ISBN-10: 1726419339 ISBN-13: 978-1726419338 Digital ASIN: B07X4BK75S
When a superhero cosplayer falls to his death at a comic con, Lynley is left holding the bag– and a cat!
Who killed Captain Cat? His tribe wants to know.
When the Captain is murdered at
Bridgetown Comic-con and philanthropist Esmae Westhouse is arrested for
the crime, sixty-something cat shelter volunteer Lynley Cannon steps out
of her comfort zone and dons her Star Trek uniform to expose the real
killer.
A decade-spanninglove triangle, a band
of vigilante cosplayers, a shady pharmaceutical company,and an ancient
black cat named Kitty tie into a puzzling plot that has Lynley running
in all directions. The death of Captain Cat is only the beginning, and
Lynley must stay one step ahead of a ruthless hit man if she is to make
it out alive.
About Mollie Hunt
Mollie Hunt: Native
Oregonian Mollie Hunt has always had an affinity for cats, so it was a
short step for her to become a cat writer. Mollie is the author of THE
CRAZY CAT LADY COZY MYSTERY SERIES, featuring Portlander Lynley Cannon, a
sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat
in catnip. The 3rd in the series, CAT’S PAW, was a finalist for the
2016 Mystery & Mayhem Book Award, and the 5th, CAT CAFÉ, won the
World’s Best Cat Litter-ary Award in 2019.
Mollie’s sci-fantasy, CAT SUMMER (Fire
Star Press) is the first in her CAT SEASONS TETRALOGY where cats save
the world from an evil older than history—twice! Mollie also published a
non-cat mystery, PLACID RIVER RUNS DEEP, which delves into murder,
obsession, and the challenge of chronic illness in bucolic southwest
Washington. Two of her short cat stories have been published in
anthologies, one of which, THE DREAM SPINNER, won the prestigious CWA
Muse Medallion. She has a little book of Cat Poems as well.
Mollie is a member of the Oregon
Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, Willamette Writers, the Cat Writers’
Association, and NIWA. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband
and a varying number of cats. Like Lynley, she is a grateful shelter
volunteer.
Blog Hop Question: What is your favorite holiday memory?
(This includes Hanukkah,
Kwanza, Yule/Winter Solstice, Christmas, etc.)
My Memory: I can’t really choose a favorite holiday memory because I have been through many changes in my life. I loved celebrating with my son when he was small (there’s something special about sharing the holiday with children). I moved from Michigan to Alabama and celebrating without the cold weather and snow was a new experience to me. I moved to Florida alone and the holidays were spent at my two of my favorite hangouts. At Ms Newby’s, all of us with nowhere to go would bring a dish to pass around at the liquor store/bar and it was so much fun meeting new people. I also spent time at Schooners, usually going for a swim and sitting at the bar with dripping hair, a bathing suit, and numerous cocktails. Now, that’s my kind of Christmas. Now, I have Mr Wonderful and living in Florida, in my little piece of paradise. I love all the holiday decorations, especially the lights. I feel there can never be too many lights. Every year we make a trip to New Orleans for the Christmas decorations. What’s up for this year with whatever family can make it? No plans…yet.
What about you? Do you have a favorite holiday memory?
Cape Cod 2019. I love this buoy Christmas Tree.
New Picture Book Release from Elaine Kaye
BLURB: On Christmas Eve, Gregory and Sammy get a
special visitor—Santa Claus! Santa brings them on a once-in-a-lifetime
adventure around the world and to the North Pole. Bundle up and come along for
the ride!
About the Author: Elaine Kaye is the author of A Gregory Green
Adventure series. She created Gregory Green after her son, who loved her
homemade pea soup.
Kaye has worked as a
library assistant and teacher’s assistant in elementary schools. She currently
lives in Florida, but has called Michigan; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan
home.
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of your post by clicking HTML, which is beside the “compose” button on Blogger.
Then scroll down and insert the code at the bottom. Switch back to “compose.”
The list won’t show in the post you’re editing, but if you preview the post
it’ll be there.)
I have been remiss in keeping up with my challenges and am now crossing off the Z for my Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, Zombies v Ninjas by R A Barnes. I have K, Keeper of the Peace by Jennifer Malone Wright, X, EXtinct by Ike Hamill (which I am currently reading), and You Can Run by Willow Rose to finish it off. I pulled them from my Amazon free downloads. I will be squeezing the reviews in before the end of the year, because I like all my challenge books to be reviewed.
I picked this up on 9.10.15 for free and it was still FREE when I created this post.
The tile for Zombies v Ninjas made me have to pick this up. I was curious how they would come together and it happens quickly.
An island, the Undead, an evil mastermind…and ninjas, there has to be a lot of slash ’em up, rock ’em sock ’em action…and there is. Have I died and gone to…HELL?
This is a different slant on zombies and how they came to be and the ninjas are recruited to save humanity from the apocalypse.
I felt like that’s cool, oh yeah, i like that, all right, way to go, but I never felt like OH NO! OMG! Run for your lives. Watch Out.
All in all a fun read and I would continue with the series.
3 Stas
GOODREADS BLURB
The dead are coming alive on an island in the North Atlantic Ocean. A bullet isn’t going to stop them. They feel no pain.
Flesh-eating walkers have been taking sheep and cattle from the fields. A minor inconvenience until someone, or something, starts to organize them.
A force of pure evil, building an army of undead offspring, planning the end of mankind. Only the ninjas are suitably skilled to identify the undead, understand them and cut off their heads. So few against so many.
Will the human race survive?
Featuring Ruby Barnes, John Baptist and D.I. Andy McAuliffe.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Geoffrey Saign will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Serve justice. Discover a secret. Find his daughter. Repay betrayal.
Jack Steel trains for the impossible, and it looks like it found him.
On a black op to neutralize terrorists, elite specialist Steel puts honor and integrity ahead of orders when he spares a monk. He just never expected his decision to put crosshairs on his back.
Hunted by a twisted killer, a vengeful billionaire, and the highest levels of government, Steel races to discover who’s behind a conspiracy that will decide the fate of two countries—and why one monk is the key to it all.
Aching from a missing daughter, Steel finds it easy to fall for Christie, a beautiful counter-terrorism analyst who offers to help. But he isn’t sure he can trust anyone.
To have a chance at love and a new life, and to serve justice, Steel just needs to stay one step ahead of a bullet…
*****
Revenge. Love. Family.
To protect their families, Jack Steel and Christie Thorton must become assassins.
Deadly Blackhood Ops specialist Jack Steel has moved on from his bloody past, but his past won’t let him go. He has it all; his partner Christie, his daughter Rachel, a protection agency he’s proud of, and his head on straight.
But it’s all torn apart when a madman blackmails him and Christy. Their skills are pushed to the limit as they are forced to become assassins to save those they love. The Mexican cartel, terrorists, and people from Steel’s past force them into a non-stop fight that they can’t walk away from.
To protect his country, and everyone important to him, Steel will be forced to trust the very people he swore to kill.
And he might have to walk away from those he loves…
Read an Excerpt from Book 2: Steel Assassin
Steel heard the ooh ooh ooh cry of a Mexican spotted owl. It began softly and escalated rapidly to a louder pitch. Wishing he could just stand still and enjoy it, he kept moving. He had a deep, abiding love for nature—which always grounded him.
As he made his way south, he also wished he had taken a firmer stand with Christie and refused her help. It probably wouldn’t have mattered. She would have come anyway. But the fact that she was in a dangerous Op, with little field experience, gave his steps more urgency.
A deeper fear lurked beneath that idea. When the Colombian had threatened to send Christie’s photo to the cartel, he had intuited that it wasn’t just a threat, but a plan. The Colombian would have to die before that happened.
The trees formed dark shadows under the moon. He ran from trunk to trunk until he was far enough south that he could approach the side of the house directly from the east.
Decades of exploring caves had made moving in darkness second nature to him.
As he got closer, the house lights guided him in. He stopped fifty feet out behind a tree. No one was visible in the windows. It triggered an alarm in his head to be more cautious.
About the Author:
Award-winning author Geoffrey Saign has spent many years studying kung fu and sailed all over the South Pacific and Caribbean. He uses that experience and sense of adventure to write the Jack Steel and Alex Sight thriller action series.
Geoff loves to sail big boats, hike, and cook—and he infuses all his writing with his passion for nature. As a swimmer he considers himself fortunate to live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota. See what he’s up to at his website.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
An erotic tale of passion and power and their dangerous consequences
In
1978, Dawit, a young, beautiful, and educated Ethiopian refugee, roams
the streets of Paris. By chance, he spots the famous French author M.,
who at sixty is at the height of her fame. Seduced by Dawit’s grace and
his moving story, M. invites him to live with her. He makes himself
indispensable, or so he thinks. When M. brings him to her Sardinian
villa, beside the Bay of Foxes, Dawit finds love and temptation—and
perfects the art of deception.
I won this ARC quite some time ago and thought I read it. I don’t have it marked read and I don’t really remember it, so….It is erotica and that is not a genre that is at the top of my reading list, but I do try to read everything that sits on a shelf in my house. So….I will need to read it again to be sure. It looks like a fast read at 235 pages. I added it to my TBR on 7.6.12.
Wicked is his name. He watched her from the dark, barely able to control himself.
Gwen saw him approach from the dark, tall, heavily armed and looking like the warrior he is.
At first I had trouble figuring out who was talking, him or her. It took a moment to catch the shift.
How she becomes a vampire is a bit different and so are these vampires. I am always on the lookout for an author that represents them in a new to me light. They are accepted as part of the human world.
When I heard Gwen say, “Well, hurray for me. Don’t I feel special?”, I knew I was going to love this character. LOL I love her sarcastic wit. She is a Halfling, half vampire and half human.
We have other supernatural characters visiting and, in my book, we can never have too many.
Have you ever felt like…one minute I was attracted to him and wanted him to kiss me and the next I wanted to punch him in the face and watch him bleed.
As Gwen sits at his beside, tears rolling down her face, I came close to crying with her. I love a story that evokes emotions.
He met his match in her, but will she be his mate? In the supernatural world, love and romance is on a different timeline and I love to go with it, letting the author take me where they will.
Kayden…I laughed and worried about him. He is a great warrior, but, deep in his soul, who is he really?
Great and a bit gory fight scenes and sweet lovin’. This is not erotica, but I highly recommend it for adults only. The sex scenes are more sweet and loving than erotic.
As I saw the end coming, I knew what would happen, with 500 pages left, I was racing through the pages as I see the story undold right before my eyes. I worry so much more for Kayden than I do for Gwen and Wicked. After all, they are the stars of the show and can’t be killed off…can they?
Whew…no cliffhanger, unless you count the tease, which did its job and hooked me. I have to know more and this is one of those series that I want to read to the very end.
I am hooked on the characters, the vampire warriors, and Evi’s ability to spin a tale that captured me totally, completely. I was afraid I would have to wait for the next book in the series, but, no worries. It has been written. The only problem I see is there is no Kindle version available. Hey, Evi, help a girl out, please. I have to know more!!!!!!!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Wicked Night by Evi Rhodes.
4 Stars
BLURB
Follow
the journey of a strong, independent, yet caring woman as she navigates the
supernatural world she is thrust into. Gwen steps out of a dysfunctional family
life and into a world filled with danger she never realized lives at every
turn, fiery passion, and a love that is ever binding. How will she handle her
strange new surroundings as well as the man with the intense and overbearing
personality who threatens to destroy the emotional barriers around her heart?
Wicked, the next in
line to become the vampire king, is caught off guard when he grudgingly agrees
to take on a charge, something he never wanted to do. He is unsure how to
handle the fierce and vibrant woman with the unsettling green eyes. It doesn’t
take long for them to clash, but will it end passionately or burn down around
them?
EXCERPT
Wicked stood in the darkness staring at his soon-to-be
charge and felt like a deer in the headlights. He couldn’t take his eyes off of
her and just stared, blinking with wide eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to be so beautiful,” he whispered to
himself. He was late meeting her but he
could not face her yet, not until the blood in his veins cooled and his
breathing returned to normal. The last thing he needed to do was make an ass of
himself by acting like a high-school boy hyped up on hormones. He had never in all his 148 years felt this
kind of draw toward anyone. He had the strongest urge to reach out and touch
her hair, to whisk her off her feet into his arms and kiss her until their lips
hurt and she breathlessly begged him to stop.
His blood felt as if it were boiling in his veins as the image of this
woman in his arms flickered across his mind.
Out of the blue, she laughed aloud, seemingly for no
apparent reason, but it was almost his undoing. It was like she was purring in
his ear; he could feel her breath against his skin as if she were standing
right beside him. He growled under his
breath and then turned around and closed his eyes as he ground his teeth
together in response to his body’s reaction. Good God, he wanted to march
across the short expanse separating them and do something that he would
definitely regret later, like push her up against the wall and take her right there. He could picture ripping open her jacket and
lifting her off the ground . . .
AUTHOR Bio and Links
Evi Rhodes has
always had a passion for writing and likes to spend as much time as possible
hanging out with the array of rescue animals on her farm in Ontario, sipping on
a cup of coffee and typing on her laptop.
In addition to
getting her degree in business as well as competing in her favourite equestrian
sport, dressage, she is an entrepreneur, and has coached many of a riding
enthusiast, but she has always found herself coming back to wanting to write
full-time.
“I just want to
be me and to be authentic. To tell a story that others can immerse themselves
in and enjoy is what I have always wanted.”
I loved Perry Prete’s Ethan Tennant series, so I was curious how he would handle these four dark tales of horror…and I think they are a complete success. Well done Perry.
The stories are short, so I didn’t have time to get lost in them, but I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be Social Studies.
THE ELEVATOR: This was one creepy story and it had my mind wondering what was real and what was I imagining as I got lost in the dark…trapped in the elevator and in my own mind. Well done. 4 Stars
REUNION: It had been five years since his girlfriend went missing when the creature attacked and he had been back for a family reunion. Sad, frightening, but ya gotta hang in til the end because ya just never know. 4 Stars
SOCIAL STUDIES: One assignment = one grade and it took over her life. I didn’t see where this going and, wow, it was all over the place and I loved it. 4 Stars
HIGHWAY 7: Predictable, now you see it, now you don’t, but with a twist and I loved it.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Highway 7 by Perry Prete.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A terrifying tale of
claustrophobia reveals a dark secret even more disturbing than the
present ordeal. What should be an idyllic family reunion turns to trauma
when a demon from the past reappears to claim its victim. An innocent
girl investigating a series of brutal murders becomes warped in ways one
cannot imagine. And a pit stop along a long highway drive may lead to
love, or it may be the final destination in a bizarre twist of fate…
Award-winning
mystery novelist Perry Prete returns with Highway 7: 4 Dark Tales, an
anthology of unsettling horror stories that are sure to leave you
shivering as you triple-check your locked door. Get ready to experience a
weird world as you journey along Highway 7!
ABOUT PERRY PRETE
Perry
Prete is a Canadian crime writer and paramedic. His first novel, All
Good Things, introduced us to Ethan Tennant, a City of Ottawa paramedic
who looks at crimes from the medical perspective.
Perry continues to work full-time as a
paramedic and uses his thirty plus years of life changing and sometimes
dramatic experiences to bring realism to his gripping medical novels.
His other works include, The Things That Matter Most and All Good
Things.
He is also a business owner,
specializing in the pre-hospital care field. His company sells medical
equipment across North America, primarily to EMS agencies.
A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Perry, graduated from Fanshawe College in London but now lives and works in Brockville, Ontario.
