Giveaway – Grace Among Thieves by Kari Bovee @KariBovee @iReadBookTours

Posted on March 28, 2022 by fundinmental

Join us for this tour from Mar 1 to Mar 28, 2022!
Book Details:

Book Title: Grace Among Thieves (A Grace Michelle Mystery) by Kari Bovee
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 315
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Bosque Publishing
Release date: Feb 15, 2022
Content Rating: PG. Some Mild Language

Book Description:

A priceless heirloom worth its weight in lives. Can she crack the case before she becomes a killer’s trophy?

Hollywood, 1924. Grace Michelle’s professional star has risen. Now a successful costumier for a major studio, the ambitious woman has just about everything she wants. But when the father she thought was dead reaches out to reconnect, the talented designer doesn’t know what to think… especially after his new wife is kidnapped.

Discovering her dad is mixed up with a stolen Russian artifact, Grace puts her sleuthing skills to work to rescue the abducted lady. But with a famous actress murdered in connection with the missing valuable and a man she put away stalking her for revenge, the frazzled amateur detective fears getting to the bottom of this crime will leave her six feet under.

Can she hunt down the treasure before it bankrupts the lives of everyone she loves?

Grace Among Thieves is the nail-biting third book in the Grace Michelle Mystery historical series. If you like bright-but-beset heroines, breathtaking twists and turns, and the glamor of a lost age, then you’ll adore Kari Bovée’s riveting tale.

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon

Check Out These Other Grace Michelle Mysteries:

Book Details:

Book Title:  Grace in the Wings – A Grace Michelle Mystery by Kari Bovee
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 340
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher:  Bosque Publishing
Release date:   September 19, 2019
Content Rating: PG + M. Book has mature themes; adultery, murder, bigamy, but there is no bad language.

Book Description:

A ghost from her past. Her sister murdered. Can Grace slay her demons and find the killer before she ends up dead?

New York City, 1920. Grace Michelle has everything she wants: a home, a family, and a future career as a costume designer for famed showman Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.’s Ziegfeld Follies. Pretty good for a girl who once lived on the streets of New York City. But when her sister, Sophia, the star of the show, is murdered, Grace’s safe and protected life is shattered.

Battle-scarred by the war and emotionally scarred by his past, Chet Riker has made it a practice to keep his distance from others; love, after all, leads only to pain. But Chet has a problem—a big one: he’s become indebted to mob-boss Joe Marciano in an attempt to save his estranged mother’s life, and Marciano wants him to pay up or else. Desperate to get the money, he contacts former client Florenz Ziegfeld for work.

Soon, Chet finds himself playing bodyguard fo introverted Grace, who has reluctantly agreed to be Ziegfeld’s new leading lady—on the condition that Ziegfeld promises to find Sophia’s killer. Upon meeting Grace, Chet quickly finds his hardened theory that love equals pain tested. Grace, meanwhile, is swept up in a life she never wanted as the Follies’ star, and as the pawn in a series of publicity stunts during a transcontinental train trip to California that puts her life at risk. Who would want her and Sophia dead? Together, she and Chet must confront publicity-hungry Florenz Ziegfeld, power-driven Joe Marciano, and their own pasts to find Sophia’s killer—and let themselves love once again.

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon
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Book Details:

Book Title: Grace in Hollywood – A Grace Michelle Mystery by Kari Bovee
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 336
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Bosque Publishing
Release date: May 25, 2021
Content Rating: PG + M. Book has mature themes; adultery, murder, bigamy, but there is no bad language.

Book Description:

All that glitters… is sometimes blood. With her golden ticket buried in the ground, can she save a wrongly accused teen from the gallows?

Hollywood, 1924. Promoted to lead costume designer of a star-studded film, Grace Michelle should be on top of the world. But between her husband’s debt, her sister’s recent death, and the troubled teenaged girl she’s fostering, she’s struggling to please everyone and still keep a smile on her face. And when a Tinseltown shindig turns deadly, Grace is horrified to discover her young charge unconscious alongside the director’s grisly corpse.

Determined to prove the girl’s innocence, Grace’s own haunted past fills her sleep with prophetic nightmares. And no sooner has she sought clarity from a medium than a second body lands the scared teenager in the slammer.

Can Grace turn the camera on the real culprit before another victim ends up on the cutting room floor?

Grace in Hollywood is the second book in the riveting A Grace Michelle Mystery historical series. If you like fiercely loyal heroines, thrilling whodunits, and the magic of old cinema, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s enthralling tale.

BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon
Add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:

When she’s not on a horse riding along the beautiful cottonwood-laden acequias of Corrales, New Mexico; or basking on white sand beaches under the Big Island Hawaiian sun, Kari Bovée is escaping into the past—scheming murder and mayhem for her characters both real and imagined in her historical mystery novels.

Kari Bovée writes the award-winning Annie Oakley mystery series and the Grace Michelle mystery series. In 2020 she was honored with First Place in category for the Chanticleer International Clue Awards for her book Folly at the Fair. In 2019 she was awarded the NM/AZ Book Awards Hillerman Award for her novel Girl with a Gun. The novel also received First Place in the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards in the Mystery/Crime category, and won First in Category in the International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards. It was also a finalist in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Awards. Her novel Grace in the Wings won First in Category for the 2019 International Chanticleer Chatelaine Awards. Peccadillo at the Palace won Grand Prize in the 2019 Goethe Awards, and was a finalist in the 2019 Best Book Awards Historical Fiction category.

Kari Bovée has worked as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 Company, has written non-fiction for magazines and newsletters, and has worked in the education field as a teacher and educational consultant.

Connect with the author: We bsite ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram
~ Pinterest

Tour Schedule:

Mar 1 – Mystery Review Crew – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 1 – Working Mommy Journal – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 1 – Bigreadersite – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS / giveaway
Mar 2 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 2 – Kam’s Place – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS
Mar 3 – Casia’s Corner – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS / giveaway
Mar 3 – Bigreadersite – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 4 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS / giveaway
Mar 7 –Kam’s Place – book review of GRACE IN HOLLYWOOD
Mar 7 – History from a Woman’s Perspective – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS / giveaway
Mar 8 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 8 – Casia’s Corner – book review of GRACE IN HOLLYWOOD / giveaway
Mar 9 – Pick a Good Book – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 9 – Kam’s Place – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES
Mar 10 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS / giveaway
Mar 10 – Olio by Marilyn – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 11 – Buried Under Books – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 11 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of GRACE IN HOLLYWOOD / giveaway
Mar 14 – Hall Ways Blog – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 15 – My Reading Journeys – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 15 – @twilight_reader – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 16 – History from a Woman’s Perspective – book review of GRACE IN HOLLYWOOD / giveaway
Mar 16 – Casia’s Corner – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 17 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 17 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of GRACE IN HOLLYWOOD / giveaway
Mar 18 – Baroness’ Book Trove – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 18 – Brooke Blogs – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 18 – Books for Books – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 21 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 22 – Splashes of Joy – book review of GRACE IN THE WINGS / giveaway
Mar 22 – History from a Woman’s Perspective – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 23 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 23 – Older & Smarter? – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 24 – Sadie’s Spotlight – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 24 – Splashes of Joy – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 24 – Review Thick And Thin – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 25 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 28 – Cover To Cover Café – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway
Mar 28 – fundinmental – book series spotlight / giveaway
Mar 28 – Westveil Publishing – book review of GRACE AMONG THIEVES / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

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Giveaway – Moon Madness by Sabrina Silvers @XpressoTours

Posted on March 23, 2022 by fundinmental

Moon Madness
Sabrina Silvers
(Dirigo Pack, #2)
Publication date: March 19th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

A wolf on the edge, deadly shifter political games, and an unexpected attraction.

Sloane Wyman is haunted by her past and she’ll let nothing get in the way of her future. She’s vowed to defend her pack as long as there is breath in her lungs.

Benedict MacKinnon can’t trust the beast within. Not since it burst forth and nearly cost him everything. But, when his brother and mate are accused of murder, he’s willing to put everything on the line. Benedict must stand before the Supreme Council in their defense, even if it costs him his life and future.

Lying and scheming enemies eager to see him spiral out of control test his resolve at every turn. Sloane, as his back-up, is more of a hindrance than a help thanks to the unwanted primal attraction that leaves his inner wolf rumbling.

As they become targets in a game they don’t know the rules, and the clock ticks down on their deadline, can they outsmart their enemies? Will they allow themselves to unite via the mate bond? Or will their attempts to save those they love meet a bloody end?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

He strode around the boulder where he had stashed his clothes earlier and tossed her his shirt.

She caught it, surprise flashing across her face. Then she narrowed her gaze. “You had clothes all of this time and never said anything?”

He shrugged as he slipped on his jeans. “What can I say? I was enjoying the view. And why get dressed if we’re just going to shift again? However, since we’re going to fight, it might be easier if you’re not distracted.”

She rolled her eyes and snorted. But she did slip on his T-shirt. She was tall, but not quite as tall as he was, so the garment covered her to about to mid-thigh, and he mourned the loss of seeing her naked. Yeah, it was commonplace to see a lot of skin as shifters, and it was courtesy not to notice, but Sloane affected him like no other, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Well, he knew what his body wanted to do about it, but he was in control of his cock, not the other way around. Usually.

Sloane narrowed her eyes, crouched in a fighting stance, and began circling, her body low and ready. She had no idea what, or who, she was up against. She still thought he was the desk-jockey shifter who couldn’t control his wolf. This was going to be fun. Or it might kill him. It could really go either way.

He watched her, carefully sidestepping in the circle to counter her as she studied him, partially crouched, her hands in front of her. Sloane was patient, a strong and competent fighter, but she had one flaw. She could be swayed by emotion, which made her vulnerable. Then again, emotion made everyone vulnerable, didn’t it?

So, he let a slow smile stretch across his face and his gaze travel over her shirt to her bare legs. “That shirt never looked so good.”

A low growl erupted from Sloane’s throat, and sparks flashed in her eyes, but she remained calm, just watching him for her way in. She reached out with her hand then kicked her leg to the back of his knee to take him down, but he jumped back in time.

“Not bad, Wyman. A little slow but you’ll get there. Eventually.”

He smirked and swiped a hand out, his claws slicing the shirt in four precise cuts right over her torso, down to the hem. The breeze fluttered the edges of the shirt, and she glared at him, her anger rising. She lunged wildly, and he made a half-turn then grabbed her arm and twisted her off-balance, pulling her close to his body.

He leaned into her ear, nipping lightly. “Gotcha.”

He quickly released her and stepped back. She whirled around, her eyes wild, her teeth bared, frustration evident. He grinned. “This is so much better than sparring with Hugh. I’ll have to come back here more often.”

Again, her leg kicked out, catching him behind the knee, but instead of going down, he grabbed her leg and flipped her. He followed her down onto the soft earth, pinning her in place. Her wide eyes stared up at him, and then he did the one thing he’d been wanting to do since he’d seen her two weeks prior.

He kissed her.

Sloane froze under him, her body stiff and tense, her lips cool and unresponsive, but then they softened, and she opened her mouth, responding to his kiss with as much passion as she had in the previous fight. His tongue tangled with hers while his hand roamed under the shirt that barely covered her, riding up to expose her skin to him. He caressed the side of one of her breasts, his thumb stroking over her nipple until it beaded under his touch, and she arched into his body as if silently begging for more.

Her hands clutched his back, claws pricking his skin, not to push away but to pull him closer, and she lightly scored him down his back, marking him for anyone to see later. Her leg wrapped around his waist, her heel digging into his lower back, bringing his denim-covered erection into full contact with the heat of her center.

A howl in the distance broke their concentration, and he lifted his head, listening to gauge the distance. A second howl answered, a bit closer, and Sloane shoved Benedict off of her, scrambling to her feet and gathering the shreds of the shirt around her.

“That can never happen again.” Her words were angry, vehement, but her breath sawed in and out as her chest heaved, belying her own reaction to the kiss.

He took a step forward even as she stepped backward. “Sloane, you can keep running, but you clearly need stress relief, if nothing else.”

She pointed at him then at herself. “This is never going to happen again. You and I have to work together, and sex just muddies everything up.”

He shrugged. “It also gives new meaning to close cover. No one can guard me better than from my own bed.”

She growled and threw her hands up, forgetting about the sad state of her shirt. “I also might be the one to kill you in your sleep.”

Author Bio:

Sabrina Silvers began her writing career dreaming of elves, orcs, and hobbits in the fantasy section of her local library, looking in wardrobes for Narnia and Aslan, and hunting for gnomes in the forest. To her dismay, she never found any of them except between the pages of her books. So, she had to go out and create them for herself, leading to her lifelong love of reading and writing and dreaming about adventures, fantasy creatures and love in fantasy lands! She divides her time between writing sexy contemporary romances under a different pen name, reading, knitting and being owned by a very spoiled cocker spaniel who does not share her love of fantasy creatures.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub

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Giveaway – Zealot by C Vanzale Lewis @cvonzalelewis @XpressoTours

Posted on March 22, 2022 by fundinmental

Zealot
C. Vonzale Lewis
(Blood and Sacrifice Chronicles, #2)
Published by: Parliament House
Publication date: March 22nd 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Nicole Fontane thought her demons were buried deep enough. She was wrong.

After barely escaping the blood bath of the Harvest ritual, Nicole and her vigilante compatriots learn that there are others practicing blood magick on Tulare Island.

Hired to rid the island of the remaining blood magick users, Nicole and her allies come face to face with The Better Day Church and the mysterious Young Family, whose nefarious behavior is well known on the island. The murky organization stirs old memories of a cult buried deep in the Louisiana bayou—flickers of Nicole’s traumatic past and the altar she barely escaped.

But when Nicole receives an invitation to the Young family’s private residence to attend a secret meeting with The Daughters of the Vine—an elusive sect of women led by Gavina Young—she knows there is no escaping her fraught history with cults.

The invite is clearly a trap, but it’s also an opportunity to take down the church. Nicole soon learns that the sickness lurking behind the walls of the Young family’s manor runs far deeper than the banal allure of blood magick. The church’s matriarch harbors a predatory interest in Nicole’s power—barely disguising her desire to harness it.

Nicole must unravel the mysteries of her newfound abilities, or her first job may be her last. Worst of all, she may end up on the altar again.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

PRAISE FOR ZEALOT:

“For those who read Lineage, be prepared for Zealot’s wild ride…The twists were great, the writing fabulous…It’s a sequel not to be missed!”
– Candace Robinson, Best Selling Author of the Faeries from Oz series.

–

“Ms. Lewis kept us on a fast track with everything that was happening.”

–Rita Smith, Goodreads Reviewer

–

“Could. NOT. Put. It. DOWN!!!”
–Kelli Lea, Goodreads Reviewer

–

“This story is full of exciting twists, turns and mystery sure to suck in many avid readers.”
–Elizabeth Chapson, Goodreads reviewer

–

“A definite must read.”
–Thomas Lake, Goodreads reviewer

–

“I love this series.”
–Shell Moore, Goodreads reviewer

–

“Lacing magic and demons, the author takes us on a freefall ride of terror and violence as Nicole and her friends take on the monsters that hide and feed on the innocent.”
– Dave Wickenden, Author of Homegrown

—

MEET SOME OF THE CHARACTERS!

Author Bio:

My name is Carla Vonzale Lewis and I like my martinis shaken… never stirred.

Carla was born in Georgia, but please don’t mistake her for a Georgia peach. She’s more like a prickly pear. Speaking of being born, someone asked her recently if she remembered her birth. And she had to say, “Yes, I do remember that handsy doctor pulling me out into the cold. Right Bastard!!!”

Despite being born in the South, she grew up in California. Every once in a great while she gets to experience all four seasons. But mostly, it’s just heat.

When not writing, Carla enjoys reading, binge watching shows on Netflix, and trying to convince her husband that getting a dog is a wonderful idea.

And one day, she will discover how many licks it actually takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bookbub / Pinterest / TikTok

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The Spotlight is on Flare by Jay Hogan @XpressoTours #JayHogan

Posted on March 18, 2022 by fundinmental

Flare
Jay Hogan
(Style Series, #1)
Publication date: April 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

My own fashion label. The shiny new sign above the door means everything. My dream. My life. Worth every gruelling hour I’ve spent making it happen. Nothing can stop me now. Not the fear. Not the nightmares. Not my sad excuse for a love life. And certainly not Beckett Northcott, the sexy English professor who wouldn’t know a fitted shirt if it slapped him in the face and who has flannel down to an art form.

I don’t date for a very good reason, and yet Beck makes me want to break every damn one of my rules. But with my debut at Fashion Week looming, my business in trouble, and Beckett Northcott peeling open my terrified heart to a future I’ve never imagined, the threads of my carefully woven life are unravelling at the seams.

I could walk away. Or I could take a chance that Beck and I might just have what it takes to fashion a new life, together. A fresh design from a new cloth.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

Heart, humour and keeping it real.

Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.

She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel

Author Links

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Giveaway – Daemon Blood by Mary Maddox @Dreambeast7 @XpressoTours

Posted on March 7, 2022 by fundinmental

Daemon Blood
Mary Maddox
(Daemon World, #3)
Publication date: March 8th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror

Our war will not unfold in your imaginary heaven. We will fight on Earth with human beings as pawns and weapons.

Lu Darlington is a seer, bound to the daemon Talion through ritual and blood. It’s not a role she enjoys, but she has little choice: daemons take what they want and destroy whoever stands in their way.

So Lu’s surprised when Talion doesn’t punish her for her newfound ability to keep him from possessing her whenever he likes. In fact he’s pleased. The stronger she is, he explains, the more powerful he becomes.

And he needs that power, because a war is brewing in the daemon world, a war that will be fought by—and through—humans.

Lu’s friend Lisa Duncan can’t see daemons but she’s seen what they can do and so has stayed far away from Lu for years. After a bizarre attack on Lisa leaves half a dozen people dead and she learns it’s just the first skirmish in the daemon war, Lisa realizes the safest place to be is with Lu.

Then Talion sends Lu away to teach her skills to another seer and Lisa must stay behind to look after Lu’s son Solly, conceived through a daemon ceremony with Talion. At four years old Solly’s seer abilities are already so strong Lisa is sometimes more afraid of Solly than for him.

As Talion’s enemies grow bolder, Lisa and Lu face attacks from every direction. There seems little hope any of them will survive—until Talion and his allies devise a plan.

The only problem is how much it will cost.

“With Daemon Blood, Mary Maddox has crafted a timeless tale of good against evil. With compelling characters and a keen sense of the darkness that lurks within us all, Daemon Blood will stay with you long after you turn the final thrilling page.”

— David Sodergren, Author of The Forgotten Island

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT

Panic wells up in Lisa as the drugstore’s automatic door slides open and winter air balloons against her face. The idea of stepping outside suddenly terrifies her. Post-traumatic stress, says her therapist, Sandi—as if naming a thing steals its power. A bearded guy in a camo jacket is close behind her. She has to move. Clutching her plastic bag of antidepressants and tampons like a talisman, she hurries through the door.

A semi rumbles past on the two-lane highway beyond the drugstore’s narrow parking lot. Its diesel fumes trigger the usual nausea. The clouds unveil the sun. She imagines getting in her beat-up Honda Civic, driving until it runs out of gas, and then walking until her legs buckle. Wherever she ends up will be fine with her.

“Hey Lisa!” A gaunt man pops out of his SUV and trots across the parking lot. His glossy parka, unzipped despite the subfreezing day, bounces against his fashionably threadbare jeans.

He’s no one she knows or wants to know. She plunges her hand into her purse as she runs for her car. Where are the stupid keys? She’s still groping for them when she reaches the Civic.

A hand seizes her shoulder and spins her around. The man in the parka presses her against the car, his groin against hers, and pokes her in the ribs with something hard. She looks down at a pistol with a short barrel, almost toylike. His open parka conceals the gun from anyone watching. Not that anyone is. Halfway across the lot, the bearded guy is climbing into a truck jacked up on monster tires. She doubts he noticed her at all. “Sorry, Lisa,” the gunman says. “I know what you’ve been through and I hate—really hate—doing this. But we need to talk.”

Panic muffles everything but her thumping heart. She wrenches her gaze from the gun to his face and opens her mouth to scream, but his eyes silence her. Colorless irises encircle the bottomless wells of his pupils. Her scream drowns in their depths, but she manages to whisper. “Who are you?”

“Willard Steeples.” His grin displays a mouthful of capped teeth edged with black along the gum line. “Author of Professor of Death.”

Evil parasite, feeding on people’s suffering. On her suffering. When she was fifteen, a psychopath tortured and disfigured her, and Steeples’ book made her into a freak show.

“You’re angry,” he says. “I get that. But your story doesn’t end with the Professor. There’s Grifford Riley, the bent cop from Chicago.”

She finally manages to speak. “What do you want?”

“This isn’t about what I want. My readers cry out for the truth.”

Author Bio:

Mary Maddox is a suspense, horror, and dark fantasy novelist with what The Charleston Times-Courier calls a “Ray Bradbury-like gift for deft, deep-shadowed description.” Born in Soldiers Summit, high in the mountains of Utah, Maddox graduated with honors in creative writing from Knox College, and went on to earn an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She taught writing at Eastern Illinois University and has published stories in various journals, including Yellow Silk, Farmer’s Market, The Scream Online, and Huffington Post. The Illinois Arts Council has honored her fiction with a Literary Award and an Artist’s Grant.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
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Hosted by:

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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Giveaway – Audiobook Club by Jessica Frances @XpressoTours

Posted on March 1, 2022 by fundinmental

Audiobook Club
Jessica Frances
Publication date: February 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Being a police officer in a small town doesn’t often offer up many surprises. Working the night shift means I rarely see or do much of anything that doesn’t involve a speeding vehicle, or a drunken rant. And, while quiet nights are better than deadly ones, it still takes some getting used to after living in a big city for years.

So, I’m rather shocked when I pull over a driver and find the dirtiest audiobook playing from the car speakers. And, paint me intrigued when the hot driver struggles to get the enticing words to stop broadcasting to the entire street.

The embarrassing encounter has us both lowering our guard, and I find myself a new friend, one who suggests we start our own audiobook club.
Soon, we become more than just friends as we listen and fall into stories and new worlds together and, naturally, the sexy scenes we’re listening to become a blueprint for our own experiences to try … together.
But, when life intrudes and our audiobook club breaks up, I’m left wondering if everything was just fiction, or if maybe there is something real under it all.
Can we get our happily ever after, or will it all fizzle out before it has a chance to become something permanent?

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

Thirty minutes later, we have a functioning bedframe. Two minutes after that, with just a few grunts and one moan stating permanent back pain, the mattress sits on top of it.

“Should we test it out?” I ask, my hands on my hips, breathing just a little hard from the exertion to get the mattress on it.

“You mean, have sex on it?” Ethan asks around a surprised cough.

I laugh, since I’m definitely not that bold as to suggest something like that. “I more mean just jump around on it; see if it holds. But, I mean, if you’re offering …” I trail off and waggle my eyebrows, only a tinge sad when he laughs instead of taking me up on the offer.

“I haven’t jumped on a bed since I was a kid.”

“Me, neither. I wonder why we stop doing this kind of thing? Why does being an adult mean you can’t still have silly fun?” I ask, crawling up onto the bed, feeling all sorts of out of balance as I force my shaky knees to stiffen and hold me.

I have never been great with heights and, apparently, even being just a bed high off the ground is too much. Still, I need to save face now. So, I do a small jump and watch Ethan roll his eyes at me.

“If that was supposed to test the bed out, then you must have the most boring and lifeless sex in here.”

“Who says I don’t like boring and lifeless sex?” I say somewhat defensively, and then I regret it immediately. “Fine, release your inner child and jump all over my bed to prove your handyman skills and impress me,” I tease, moving off the bed, grateful to be back on steady ground.

Ethan removes his shoes, and then, much more confidently, he gets up on the bed, standing to his feet with an ease I never had. While I shook and probably went three shades paler, Ethan grins widely and is as steady as a seasoned yoga instructor.

“Ready to have your bed and world rocked?” he asks me with a cheeky smile.

“Fuck yes,” I breathe out, meaning it in more ways than just jumping on my bed. I think he knows that, given the heat in his gaze. Then he proceeds to do a small jump, perhaps testing out the strength of the bedframe.

So far so good.

Another couple of jumps, and he begins to laugh. The carefree way he does this has me grinning back up at him. He looks so joyful, so happy, and so … close to the ceiling.

“Ethan, maybe you—”

His next jump has more oomph to it, and the top of his head slams straight into the ceiling.

Drywall and paint rain over him, while his legs collapse out from under him, and he lands down hard on the mattress. This is apparently too much for the newly erected bedframe, since it cracks, perhaps the wooden slats that are there breaking, and the middle caves in.

Shock silences me, and my heart is in my throat. I fear Ethan could have been knocked unconscious. He’s not moving.

Did I just kill my neighbor? How the hell am I supposed to explain this to anyone?

Then Ethan coughs while moving his hand to cover his mouth, and then that cough turns into a laugh, and that laughs has him folding in half as tears start to run down his face.

“Ethan?” I hesitantly reach out to touch his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I’m not sure I’m ready to find the situation funny, given he could have a head injury.

“I think … I …” He can’t stop laughing, and I have to wait a good two minutes for him to get himself under control. “I think I just figured out why adults don’t do this shit anymore.”

I look up at the head-sized hole in my ceiling and chuckle. “You could be right.”

Author Bio:

Jessica lives in Adelaide, South Australia. When she is not writing, you can find her reading, napping or watching excessive amounts of TV. Connect with her on Facebook and Goodreads.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

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Giveaway – Endless Encore by Kaylene Winter @kayleneromance @XpressoTours

Posted on February 28, 2022 by fundinmental

Endless Encore
Kaylene Winter
(Less Than Zero, #5)
Publication date: February 17th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Ty:

I’ve made promises I’m struggling to keep.
Because my past is too dark and painful.
Zoey is everything to me, my beautiful soulmate.
I can’t bear for her to think I’m broken.
But pressure’s building and I’m losing control .
Will one fateful day destroy everything I’ve ever dreamed of?

Zoey:

My life with Ty is idyllic.
This past year has been everything I dreamed about and more.
It’s just—I can’t shake this feeling.
Something’s going on with my fiancé.
I can’t help but wonder, is he hiding something from me?
Will his past demons prevent our perfect future?

Happily ever after can mean so many things.

Life happens.

Faith is tested.

Will Ty & Zoey survive the biggest challenge of their lives?

Is the deepest love endless?

ENDLESS ENCORE is Book 6 in the Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance Series, and is the sequel to ENDLESS.

It is strongly recommended you read Books 1-4 before reading any of the “ENCORE” sequels, otherwise you will be spoiled!

Get ready for more stories of captivating passion!

Trigger Warning: Content in this book deals with childhood abuse and severe neglect.

Goodreads / Amazon

CHAPTER 10 – TYSON

“I guess it’s our turn.” Mike and Olivia stand, holding hands. Mike smiles and points at me. “You. I can say now that you put a ring on my daughter, as a father who is highly protective of his only daughter, I was terrified when she brought you home that night. A long-haired, bad-boy rocker is not who you envision for your child.”

Olivia interrupts, “Except you won both of us over immediately. We loved you from the beginning, Ty, but the two of you were so young. We weren’t surprised when things fell apart, and I think we both knew that Carter meant well.”

“Watching Zoey suffer for all those years was tough,” Mike continues. “When you found each other again, there were still a few more bumps in the road, but Tyson? You proved yourself again and again. There’s no one else on earth we’d trust more with our precious Zoey. Welcome to our family.”

“Oh, Dad. Mom.” Zoey pops up and the three of them embrace. She waves me over and I join them.

That’s when it hits me. Holy shit, I have in-laws. I actually have parents. I can’t help but well up a bit. “Mike and Olivia, I’m so lucky to be part of your family.”

“Ty, you’re calling us Mom and Dad from now on, don’t argue.” Olivia kisses my cheek. “I’ve always wanted a son and look at what a handsome one I’ve acquired.”

Zoey nestles back into me as we both sit down, whispering in my ear, “I’m so fucking happy right now.”

Author Bio:

When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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Giveaway – Audrey by Sean Paul Thomas @XpressoTours

Posted on February 1, 2022 by fundinmental

Audrey
Sean-Paul Thomas
Publication date: May 21st 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

From the author of My Sister and I and The Old Man and The Princess (recently optioned to be a motion picture) – comes a new, suspenseful romantic tale that will knock you off your feet. A story that has a reminiscence of ‘500 days of Summer’ and ‘Midnight in Paris’ with a fair dollop of ‘The Graduate’ thrown in. And of course Audrey, a delightful, older female protagonist who takes the young and wayward ex-con Joe under her wing.

Just out of prison Joe, a young builder from Edinburgh who writes movie scripts in his spare time, randomly meets Audrey, a washed-up, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, middle-aged French film actress at his local film festival. After hitting it off and spending one crazy, magical night together, Audrey sees some potential in Joe and his writing and tries to help him win back his estranged daughter by getting his first screenplay made into a movie in Paris. And so, the adventure of a lifetime begins…

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT

“Don’t say that. Jesus. You were brilliant up there. And you barely look a day over twenty-nine.” Joe said with a reassuring grin. Audrey’s eyes widened and she smiled with delight at the compliment.

“Well the dim lighting out here in this dark alleyway is fantastic, yes?” she teased. “It hides all of my lovely wrinkles and skin imperfections.”

“Okay,” Joe said rolling his eyes. “Maybe thirty-five then when you were outside earlier in the natural light,” Joe said, teasing her back, trying his best to flirt with her now, but it had been such a long time since he’d played the flirting game with anyone, that he didn’t even know if he was doing it right anymore. They both chuckled at his words and Audrey even slapped him lightly on the arm. Joe took it as a pretty good sign that she enjoyed his rusty flirting banter, even if she was only humouring him. He was just about to ask her something else. Something a little bit deeper and meaningful. That was when the festival host suddenly appeared through the fire escape, desperately searching for Audrey. Joe realised instantly that he was coming to steal her away even before he gave Joe a quick dismissive look.

“Miss Beart? We need to take some more pictures now. Can you please come back inside?”

Joe had never felt so gutted before in his life. It was like the brick alley walls around him were all crumbling in and there was nothing he could do to stop the imminent disaster. They both hesitated and looked deeply into each other’s eyes like they knew they had so much more to say and ask of the other. At first, the festival host just assumed that Joe was only a starstruck fan and would be dropped by Audrey like a hot piece of coal effective immediately at the host’s mere white-knight presence in front of them. But after a long but comfortable silence, even Joe felt surprised that Audrey was still standing there and hadn’t made her excuses to leave already.

“So…” She finally uttered with that cute and delightful smile of hers, which was directed straight at him once again. “It would appear as if they remembered who I am after all…”

Audrey threw her almost finished cigarette down onto the ground and stamped it out with her shoe.

“I guess it was nice meeting you then… Joseph…”

“Please, just call me Joe”

“Hey, Joe, what do you know?” Audrey replied right back at him with a playful smile and a casual wink.

“You too, Audrey. It was an absolute pleasure,” was all Joe could fire back even though he wanted to say a million and one other things.

There was another fleeting second of hesitation. Joe didn’t want her to go anywhere and he knew she could feel it too, but in the end, he felt utterly powerless to make her stay. Who the hell was he to demand such a thing? In a normal world of boy-meets-girl, this would have been the ideal time to ask for her number or e-mail address or at least add her on bloody Facebook. But Joe did nothing. Not only was he well out of practice on the boy-meets-girl market front, but who the hell was he to ask anything of her? Joe knew he didn’t belong there. He knew he didn’t belong in Audrey’s world at that particular moment in time. He hadn’t yet earned that kind of accolade or respect as an artist. He was a nobody, and she was a somebody. Joe lived in Edinburgh as an ex-con, part-time plumber, and a starving writer and she lived in the vibrant, stunning, and equally chaotic city of Paris, or so he’d read on her IMDB page, deep within the magical film world that Joe hadn’t even begun earning the right of entry into. Plus, it felt even more awkward to him with the festival host still impatiently leering over them, still wondering why on earth Audrey hadn’t made her excuses and left with him yet, but at the same time not wishing to appear verbally rude by enforcing her to come back into the cinema.

“Good luck with the movie, too, and your writing.” Joe finally added, still not taking his eyes away from the middle-aged beauty.

“Merci Beaucoup,” Audrey replied, still gazing right at him before finally turning away and beginning to make her idle move back through the fire exit doors and into the cinema. “See you then,” she continued in a tone that suggested if Joe would only man the hell up and ask her to meet him later that evening for a drink or a late-night coffee so they could chat some more about movies, writing, or whatever the hell other life subjects that came up, then she would absolutely and positively accept his invitation. But Joe didn’t say another damn word, because Joe wasn’t that bold, or charming, or confident. Had he ever been? Yes, perhaps, once upon a time, before five long years of living in a lonely cell had robbed him of some crucial part of his personality and socialising skills to the extent where two minutes conversing with a French film actress convinced him that was two minutes more than what he actually deserved. Then, to the cinema host’s deep frustrations, Audrey suddenly paused at the fire exit door for much longer than he would have liked.

“What are you doing later, Joe?” Audrey asked out of the blue. Joe found himself utterly taken aback by her question, but quickly composed himself with a sharp, cool, and confident response that he would thank himself for in the not too distant future.

“Nothing I can’t get out of. Why, what do you have in mind?”

“Can you show me where to buy some cigarettes around here?”

“Aye. I can do that.” Joe replied, utterly delighted but trying his best to hold it in.

“Good. Why don’t you meet me out front in say… thirty minutes, and I’ll maybe even let you show me around your wonderful city, too, if you’re lucky?” Audrey said, finishing with a wink.

Joe smiled with utter pleasure. He couldn’t quite believe what Audrey had just said, but he went with it all the same.

Author Bio:

Scottish Author/Screenwriter.

Sean is an author from Edinburgh in Scotland. He is the best selling Kindle Author of ‘The Old Man and The Princess’ which was recently optioned to be a major motion picture.

Sean spent most of his childhood and teenage years on the move with his Scottish and Irish army Parents growing up in the likes of Cyprus, Germany, Wales, and England, as an army brat.

With a keen interest in both reading and writing, he was diagnosed with travel and writing bugs very early in life. Now, writing, travelling, reading, cinema, and Scottish football (Supporting the mighty Edinburgh City for his sins) are his main passions in life.

His main inspiration for writing today comes from living in such a beautiful, charming and hauntingly, Gothic city, such as Edinburgh. An awe-inspiring wee city that has given him so much amazing inspiration to write the more time he spends there.

Recently, Sean has been working on a couple of screenplay adaptations of his books. One of which ‘The Old Man and The Princess’ made the final of the Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition 2018 and has since been optioned by an award-winning Director /Producer team. Scheduled to go into production in Ireland in the summer of 2021 filming has been postponed until 2022 due to the recent covid pandemic.

Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Amazon

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Giveaway – L’Origine by Lilianne Migrom @virtualangel14 @iReadBookTours

Posted on February 1, 2022 by fundinmental

Join Us for This Tour from February 1 to February 21!

Book Details:

Book Title: L’Origine: The secret life of the world’s most erotic masterpiece by Lilianne Milgrom
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 255 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Girl Friday Books – a new imprint from Girl Friday Productions
Release Date: 2020 first edition. October 2021 re-released by Girl Friday Books
Content Rating: R. My book does not have bad language and only one descriptive sex scene, but the protagonist is a painting whose explicit depiction of a woman’s lower torso and genitals has made it a controversial work of art for over a century and a half.

Book Description:

The riveting odyssey of one of the world’s most scandalous works of art.

In 1866, maverick French artist Gustave Courbet painted one of the most iconic images in the history of art: a sexually explicit portrait of a woman’s exposed genitals. Audaciously titled L’Origine du monde (The Origin of the World), the scandalous painting was kept hidden for a century and a half. Today, it hangs in the world-renowned Orsay Museum in Paris, viewed by millions of visitors a year.

As the first artist authorized by the Orsay Museum to re-create Courbet’s The Origin of the World, author Lilianne Milgrom was thrust into the painting’s intimate orbit, spending six weeks replicating every fold, crevice, and pubic hair. The experience inspired her to share her story and the painting’s titillating, clandestine history. L’Origine is a tale of survival, replete with French revolutionaries, Turkish pashas and nefarious Nazi captains. Hold onto your berets for a riveting ride through history.

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ B&N
Bookshop ~ Powell’s
Waterstone’s
add to goodreads

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Welcome Lilianne Milgrom. It is so nice to have you on fundinmental, sharing your thoughts. So, without further adieu…take it away:

How long have you been writing?

Aside from my work as a professional studio artist, I have been a regular contributor to numerous arts publications over the years. I love reading and I love writing. I think that penning my debut novel L’Origine was a natural progression, especially since the book marries my three passions – art, literature and history.

How did you come up with this idea?

This could well be a chicken-or-the-egg type of question, but in this case, it is definitely the chicken. I did not start writing L’Origine because I had an idea to write about the remarkable adventures of a 19^th century painting. It was the painting that found me! I stumbled on Gustave Courbet’s irreverent and shocking painting at the Orsay Museum during an artist’s residency in Paris a decade ago. As I learned more and more about it, I became obsessed with exposing its remarkable story of survival against the odds to readers outside of the confines of the art world. Art history is not some dry subject you have to take in college–it’s vibrant, exciting and often scandalous!

Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?

The book spans a century and a half, and introduces the reader to multiple eccentric characters through whose hands the painting passed. The ‘easiest’ character was Gustave Courbet himself because he was a prolific letter writer and I could visualize the way he spoke, the way the thought. The hardest characters to write about were those collectors whom history largely overlooked and about whom so little is known. On the other hand, this allowed me to exercise more artistic license and rely more on my imagination to flesh them out.

If you could put yourself as a character in your book, who would you be?

Oh, that’s easy to answer because I make a significant appearance both in the prologue and towards the end of the novel. I play myself as the artist authorized by the Orsay Museum to copy Courbet’s masterpiece. My intimate encounter with Gustave Courbet’s painting L’Origine du monde (The Origin of the World) plays a significant role in the novel.

What is your next project?

Receiving six literary honors for my debut novel gave me the validation and the motivation to embark on a second novel whose working title is The Boudoir Princess. It is another historical fiction largely taking place in Paris towards the end of the 19^th and early 20^th century. The protagonist is a woman by the name of Marguerite Alibert whose checkered past leads her to commit murder. I want to encourage the reader to decide whether Mme Alibert was a victim of circumstance or a scheming murderess….

What advice would you give budding writers?

Stay the course. Writing is hard work and when you finish your manuscript, that’s when the really hard work begins! Don’t give up.

Name a quirky thing you like to do.

To let off steam, I belly dance–something I picked up while living in the Middle East!

Meet the Author:

Paris-born Lilianne Milgrom is an internationally acclaimed artist and award-winning author residing in Washington DC. In 2011, she became the first authorized copyist of Gustave Courbet’s controversial painting L’Origine du Monde, which hangs in the Orsay Museum in Paris. Milgrom spent a decade researching and writing L’Origine: The Secret Life of the World’s Most Erotic Masterpiece. Her debut novel has been awarded six literary honors including the Publisher’s Weekly 2021 US Selfies Book Award for Best Adult Fiction.

connect the author: website ~ twitter ~ instagram

Tour Schedule:

Feb 1 – Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway
Feb 1 – fundinmental – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Feb 2 – Gold Dust Editing & Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Feb 2 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – book spotlight / giveaway
Feb 7 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Feb 8 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 9 – Kam’s Place – book spotlight
Feb 10 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Feb 14 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – book spotlight
Feb 15 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 16 – Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Feb 17 – Westveil Publishing – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Feb 21 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:

L’Origine Book Tour Giveaway

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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Giveaway – Haunted Real Estate by J C Valentine @AuthorJCV @IndieSagePR

Posted on December 13, 2021 by fundinmental

WHERE’S GARY?

by J.C. Valentine A Haunted Real Estate Novel Publication Date: October 29, 2021 Genres: Adult, Mystery Romance, Small Town, Ghost Story

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pTSskx B&N: https://bit.ly/31RvYbN iTunes: https://apple.co/3yrL6bO KOBO: https://bit.ly/3lU9cqs Additional Buy Links: https://books2read.com/u/31Kaln

SYNOPSIS

When a distant relative dies, Claire Montgomery inherits an ages old house with a storied past. Intending to flip it for profit, she travels to a quaint burrow in the middle of nowhere and becomes the talk of the town. Or maybe it has more to do with the house that everyone claims is haunted by a history that’s even more mysterious than Claire could ever imagine. Can she finish the renovations and get out of Dodge before the quest for a profit kills her?

About the Author

J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Trilogy. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn’t sorry.

Living in the Northwest, she has three amazing children and far too many pets. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.