The New Pioneer Series by Deborah Nam-Krane: Giveaway

Title: The Smartest Girl in the Room

Series: The New Pioneer Series, Book One

Author: Deborah Nam-Krane

Published: March 29th, 2013

Page Count: 291

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:
Nineteen year old Emily wants her college diploma fast, and she’s going to get it. But when the perfect night with perfect Mitch leads her to a broken heart, Emily is blind to her vulnerability. When the person she cares about the most is hurt as a result, Emily’s ambition gives way to more than a little ruthlessness. She’s going to use her smarts to take care of herself and protect the people she loves, and everyone else had better stay out of her way. But shouldn’t the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she’d cross the line for would do the same for her?

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Excerpt

Miranda had a recurring dream. She was sleeping in a bed in a small room when her beautiful, blonde, green-eyed mother walked in and sat on the bed with her. She was wearing a black dress. They would talk for a few minutes and sometimes her mother would stroke her hair or tickle her, but she was always smiling. In the dream Miranda knew her mother was happy to be with her. As Miranda grew, the conversations were different, but they didn’t matter. The dream always ended the same way. Her mother would kiss her goodnight and tell her that she loved her, then turn off the light and close the door.
Sometimes Miranda would wake up crying for her mother, even now, although not as loudly as she used to. Sometimes she would wake up but close her eyes tightly, to try and hold onto the dream. Because Miranda didn’t remember her mother except for that dream, and she couldn’t be sure if her mother’s hair had really been that thick or her eyes that green. The only thing she could be sure of was that her mother had loved her, but that wasn’t something she remembered, it was just something she knew.
Miranda’s first real memory was a rainy day in a tiny garden. There were drops of rain on white honeysuckles. A sad older woman with white hair and green eyes smiled as Miranda put the flower to her mouth and sucked out the nectar. She remembered thinking that it was the best thing ever, and that now everything would be alright. But she didn’t remember what had been wrong in the first place.
When she was a little girl she had often asked Alex about the garden. Alex would smile and say that someday he’d take her there again. But she could tell it made him sad like the old woman, so she stopped asking by the time she was twelve. Now, every once in a while, she remembered the garden and the old woman and made a note that she’d have to ask Alex to at least tell her where it was.
Miranda’s first memory of Alex was from when she was five. She remembered that she was wearing a light beige dress with small pink flowers and a sash that tied in the back. He was sitting on a chair in a living room, across from the old woman, who was sitting on a couch. The couch and the chair had flowers, just like her dress. Those were the things you noticed when you were five.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She thought he was the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen. His hair was darker back then, and he had been wearing a dark red sweater. Burgundy. She had taught herself that color, because it was Alex’s favorite, and it became her favorite on him. She loved the way it made his brown eyes stand out.
She had walked over to the old woman and taken her hand, then looked down at the floor while she talked. She didn’t remember what was said. But she did remember Alex’s voice. “Would you like to come and live with me?” he’d asked. And then she’d looked up, and she remembered that she’d smiled. He smiled too; he hadn’t been smiling before. Even as a small child, she knew that they were going to love each other forever.
She remembered hugging the old woman goodbye. She didn’t remember because she wanted to. She remembered because she couldn’t forget. It was a forever goodbye, which she knew even though no one had told her. She remembered that she cried, and that she had cried in the car. But Alex had said that she could use the phone at her new house to call the old woman whenever she wanted to, and they stopped to get some ice cream before he took her to her new home, her forever home.
Years later, she’d put it together. Her mother had died. The old woman was her grandmother, and Alex, her mother’s friend, had come to take care of her. But that wasn’t what was important. What was important was that she had loved Alex from that day forward.

Title: The Family You Choose

Series: The New Pioneer Series, Book Two

Published: September 28th, 2013

Page Count: 290

Synopsis:
Miranda Harel has been in love with her guardian Alex Sheldon since she was five years old, and Michael Abbot has despised them both for just as long. When Miranda finds out why she wants both men out of her life for good and questions everything she believed about where and who she came from. Finding out the truth will break her heart. Without family or true love, will her friends be enough to bring her back?

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Title: An Engagement: A New Pioneers Short Story

Series: The New Pioneer Series Short Stor

Published: March 7th, 2014

Page Count: 20

Synopsis:
Annabelle Hendrickson always knew Alex Sheldon couldn’t be trusted, but even she couldn’t have guessed how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted.

No one was as decent as her brother Jim, but Stephen Abbot had a kind soul behind his mischief. She could accept his reprobate father- he’d be dead soon anyway- but she would never accept his longtime friendship with Alex, her father Gerald’s ambitious employee. Annabelle knew it was just a matter of time before he stepped on someone she cared about.

What a pity she didn’t realize who that person would be- and who was going to give him the opportunity.

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Title: The China Doll

Series: The New Pioneer Series, Book Four

Published: March 27th, 2014

Page Count: 202

Synopsis:
Hypocrisy, half truths and lies…

Sick of being treated like she’s going to break, Jessie Bartolome is back to her old ways and calling everyone on their hypocrisy. Sheesh! One little breakdown and even easygoing Martin Shepard thinks she’s too fragile to handle their age difference. Good thing her older and equally yummy teaching assistant Robert Lester thinks otherwise…right?

After spending so long cleaning up after everyone else, Jessie’s cousin Richard has never had the time to start a life of his own. However had he managed to find his girlfriend Zainab? So what is Richard going to do now that everyone else has grown up? Marry Zainab and start a family? Things have never been that easy for a Hendrickson…just ask his cousin Michael.

Richard’s mother, Lucy, is one of the most powerful women in Boston… so when is she going to put a stop to the blackmail ruthless Alex Sheldon has holding over her for years? And if Richard knows more than he’s letting on, why hasn’t he gone after Alex himself? The question is, how much does he- or anyone else- really know?

Welcome to the Bartolome/Hendrickson family.

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Title: Let’s Move On

Series: The New Pioneer Series, Book Five

Published: September 29th, 2014

Page Count: 186

Synopsis:
Zainab has spent years keeping Emily from going over the edge, giving Miranda a shoulder to cry on and nursing Jessie back to health. They’ll be the first to agree that she deserves whatever makes her happy, especially after the drama Richard put her through. But did she have to choose the guy who threw everyone’s lives into the shredder?

Richard knows he screwed up and he’d do anything to get Zainab back, but first he needs to make sure his company—and his loyal employees—don’t go under. (Who knew kicking your primary investor to the curb would have consequences?) Good thing his family has such deep pockets; too bad he doesn’t want to take a cent from them. Why should Zainab take him back if he can’t get out of his own way?

Maybe Zainab can eat her cake and have it too—that is, until she’s given an ultimatum. The choice isn’t Lover A or B; it’s protecting her friends or letting them fend for themselves. With that hanging over her head, what’s it going to take to make sure she and everyone else can finally move on?

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About the Author

Deborah Nam-Krane is a Boston-based writer. She began working on the New Pioneers almost thirty years ago and is excited to see her creations finally ready to strike out into the world on their own.

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Hearts in the Storm by Elmer Seward: Giveaway

Title: Hearts in the Storm

Author: Elmer Seward

Published: May 2014

Word Count: 35,400

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Content Warning: Mild profanity and “off camera” sexual situations

Age Recommendation: 18+

Synopsis:

Struggling with loss and regret, Trista sets out for North Carolina’s Outer Banks, hoping to find peace in her stormy life. Fate and an old golden retriever set her on a path toward healing with an unlikely hero, the man that the locals call “Duck.” Despite his careless and irresponsible behavior, Trista is drawn to him.


Trista discovers that Duck is haunted by the ghosts of his own shattered past. Desperate for help, she is faced with the necessity of placing her hopes and her life in the hands of this man that many blame for the death of his best friend. As Hurricane Renee bears down on the Outer Banks, Trista and Duck drive a wave-battered boat into the teeth of the storm. Each one hopes to conquer the tempest that rages around them and the tempest that rages within.

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Excerpt

He dragged out of the seaside door onto the long, wooden deck. Standing for a moment, he looked out at the ocean. The waves were crashing and churning, whipping up foam as they battered the beleaguered sand. Shells, rocks, and other debris were dragged out as quickly as they were deposited. The water was in constant motion. There was a storm off shore, and the beach was catching the brunt of its fury.
He took a long, slow sip of coffee, hoping to clear the cluttered remnants of last night's bender. Shirtless and wearing a tattered pair of shorts, he stood watching the eastern sky. It was gray and ominous, but the thickly filtered daylight still hurt, and he watched the waves through squinted eyes at first.
He laid his cup on the deck railing and leaned forward, straining to glimpse the pelicans riding the rolling waves just beyond the break. They would appear as they crested the top of the roller coaster waves and then disappear as they glided down into the valleys between them. Occasionally, one would take flight, circle for a moment and then dive, disappearing beneath the water for a brief moment.
The beach was deserted – only him and the pelicans. As he watched, something odd caught his attention. Just beyond the birds, another dark object in the water appeared and disappeared. At first he thought it was one of the pelicans, but there was something unusual about the shape. Maybe it was a fin. It was common to see dolphins just off shore. It could be a shark fin. They prowled just off shore more often than the local tourist rental companies or local city officials wanted to announce. It crested into view again. No, it was too far out and in the sunless water, too dark to identify . . . but not a fin. It disappeared again. He watched closely, waiting for it to crest. There it was, but it was taller. It was moving. It was . . . an arm. A head and a waving arm being tossed in the tumultuous water.
The sound of the waves roaring and crashing was all consuming, but faintly he could hear another sound almost imperceptible. He strained and was sure he heard a voice in the intermittent roar and crash, a voice crying for help.
He searched frantically up and down the beach. There was no one. He had to act quickly. He grabbed an old cork safety ring that hung as a decorative prop on the deck of the cottage and jumped down the steps into the deep sand. As he ran, his feet sank into the loose, shifting sand. It felt like he was lifting leaden legs as he struggled forward. Finally reaching the firmer wet sand, he sped up only to hit the water. Again, each step was like moving an anvil. He moved into the waves, diving into each one to avoid being knocked backward. As he wrestled with the waves, he tried desperately to find the person who would rise and then vanish with the rolling action of the water.
Swimming now, fighting against the current determined to rush him back to shore, he was becoming exhausted. The water was battering and pulling him, but he pressed on, trailing the safety ring in his wake.
He was close now. He could see the figure. It was a girl, maybe in her mid-teens. She was flailing her arms, desperately trying to keep her head above water. She wasn't being successful. Alternately, she was choking, gasping, and screaming as her head broke the water. Then she was sucked down again.
As he swam to within feet of the struggling figure, the girl disappeared and did not reappear. He looked frantically for her. He dove hoping to find her. The dark, churning water was murky and obscured his vision. Then he saw her hand just below him. He swam deeper, his lungs burning. She saw him and was reaching toward him. Her eyes were wide with panic. He extended his arm as far as he could. His fingers were inches away. In the next instant, she was swept away in the shifting current. He peered through the darkness, his lungs about to burst. She was gone.

About the Author

Elmer Seward was born and raised along the Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia. Growing up, the cemetery behind his house was his playground. The metaphorical theme of death and rebirth that figures prominently in his novels is probably influenced in some way by the time that his mother heard, through the screened window, a small voice crying for help. Rushing from the house and through the yard, she discovered her all-too-curious six-year-old son at the bottom of a freshly dug grave. In that moment, he discovered that trouble is much easier to get into than it is to get out of. Sometimes we need help getting out of the hole that we jump into willingly.

He is blessed to have a blended family of six children and four grandchildren. He is also the reluctant servant of two crazy dogs, a Maltese and a Japanese Chin. All of these strongly influence the characters and events in his novels; however, his beautiful wife, Mitzi, is the true inspiration for the tender hearted but determined women in his stories.

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roomies

roomies

Aftermath by Sandy Goldsworthy Blitz + Giveaway

Title: Aftermath
Series: The AfterWorld Saga
Author: Sandy Goldsworthy
To Be Published: December 2nd, 2014
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Page Count: 361
Genre: Paranormal Romance Action Adventure
Content Warning: Adult language, violence, and sexual content
Age Recommendation: 14+
Synopsis:
After losing her father, Emma Bennett moves to her aunt’s small town of Westport to finish out her senior year of high school. Emma wants to forget the pain and loss of the past few weeks, finding relief in the company of Ben Parker—a local boy who she has an instant attraction and uncanny connection with. When Ben seems a little too preoccupied with other responsibilities and has no time for her, Emma turns to the town’s hottest flirt—Lucas Crandon—for affection. Unfortunately, she realizes a little too late that, sometimes, bad boys really can be bad for you.

Life as an undercover agent for the Afterworld’s Bureau of Investigation isn’t an easy job. When Ben Parker finds his soul mate, Emma, in a small town, he finds himself forced to choose between doing his job or rekindling a relationship with the love of his existence. After Ben is notified that a notorious immortal is loose somewhere near Westport, he realizes that his love life will just have to wait. There is a criminal to apprehend before he can have his girl.

When lives are at stake and immortals are on the loose, can two soul mates find their happy ever after?

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About the Author

Sandy Goldsworthy was born and raised in a small Wisconsin town. Her passion for writing began when her high school English teacher inspired her to be more descriptive in her work. Today, Sandy is writing the second book of Emma and Ben’s story. When she’s not writing, Sandy enjoys spending time with her husband, Mike, and two children, Brittany and Kyle, or playing with her English Mastiff, Miles.

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TEASER OF WIP

He found her in the dark with a bottle resting beside her. She knew it was him—no normal human being was that tall, that muscled, and that graceful. She turned her eyes to the window and raised the vodka to her lips, letting it burn her throat and chest, warming her.

"Go away."

"Didn't come to work today."

"Fuck work."

"Don't come to work, don't get paid."

"Don't care."

She felt him kneel beside her, his body heat scorching her, the scent of sandalwood surrounding her as a band of muscle shot out in front of her and he yanked the bottle from her. She grabbed for it and he moved his hand away, Reese pitching forward as he did so. She landed half on him and shoved him the rest of the way down, satisfaction swimming through her inebriated brain as his head thunked against the floor.

"You reek," he told her, effectively maneuvering them both to sitting positions so that they were no longer touching.

"Fuck you."

"Drunk too."

"What is it with you and saying the most obvious things? I also smoke, fuck a lot of men, and enjoy saying fuck just as much."

His jaw tightened and he wordlessly got to his feet, walking out of the living room and into the kitchen. When she heard the sound of liquid meeting sink, Reese scrambled to her feet and tried to run for the booze, but she ended up stumbling instead and banging her knee against a corner of the wall. Cursing, she hobbled into the small kitchen.

"You're wasting it!" She reached around him, but he just moved to the side, only righting the bottle once it was empty. "You're an asshole," she told him.

He shrugged. "Take a shower and get to the shop. Got an appointment in forty minutes and can't be babysitting you all day."

Crossing her arms, she said, "No."

Two pale brown eyebrows lifted as he studied her. Shrugging again, he moved for her, grabbing her around the waist and tossing her over his broad shoulder before she could assemble a protestation. Amid screeching and pounding on his back, Leo took her to the shower, dropped her into the tub, and turned cold water on her. She inhaled sharply at the shocking sting of it, instantly shivering. The curses became louder and more vulgar as she sat under the spray of water.

“Ready to work now?”

“Fuck you!” He aimed the spout directly at her face and she sputtered as water tried to drown her, moving to her knees and crawling to the other end of the tub, though that didn't help much. “Turn it off!”

“Coming to work?”

“Yes, damn it! Yes.” The absence of water was immediate, the trembling of her limbs turning uncontrollable. She looked up at him, feeling beat down in a way she never had before, and she hated him for it, for him to be the one to take her bravado away, for him seeing her so vulnerable. That blank expression customary to his features lifted minutely, a softening of his eyes the only indication he had a heart.

Without speaking, he left, and she blinked at the heat of the tears mingling with the water dripping down her face. Crouching on her knees, she hung her head, shudders sweeping through her, pain tightening her throat. She couldn't do this anymore. Why did she even bother? She held her face, closing her eyes, and tried to breathe. When she heard the return of his heavy footsteps, her pulse picked up in part trepidation and part gratefulness. She’d thought he’d left, expected it.

She looked up to see a towel near her face, and beyond it, he stood stoic and silent, watching her with his secretive eyes. Averting her face to wipe the tears away, she stood on weak legs and grabbed the towel from him, covering her face with it.

“Go away,” she whispered.

He did, and again an ache went through her heart at the thought of him leaving, but all he did was go into her bedroom. When she realized that’s where he’d gone, she dropped the towel with a frown and sprinted after him.

“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded when she found him rifling through her underwear drawer.

“Need dry clothes.”

She snatched a sock from his hand and shoved him away from the dresser. “I can find my own clothes, thanks.”

He stayed near the bed, just standing there. His dark eyes were burning her up, never once shying from her. She could feel them on her like the imprint of redemption never to be hers, merely close enough to endlessly tease her.

“You can leave now,” she told him when the tension became too thick. His nearness was weirding her out, making her nervous. She didn’t like him so close, and especially in her bedroom. She felt exposed—her soul was bared for him to analyze. She wanted him to go.

He didn’t go.

Through the mirror above the dresser, their eyes met. Damn if her body didn’t react to the shared look through the reflective glass—the darkness of his stare, the mere fact that he stood behind her, even if he was a couple feet away and out of touching distance. The attraction couldn’t just be on her side. How could he not feel it too? She knew men. She knew when one wanted her. He had to want her, even if in some small, hated way.

She slowly turned, aware that her thin shirt didn’t leave much for him to wonder about.

His lips pressed together as she moved toward him. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” She paused, searching for a clue, something to let her know he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

When he didn’t say anymore, Reese raised a hand and he immediately caught it within his, halting its progress. He gently squeezed, a warning in his eyes. Just that simple touch made her tremble. Her pulse picked up. He was strong, warm. Leo was good, better than she would ever be. He symbolized everything she was not, and she wanted to pretend she was good, just for a moment. Her eyes stung, and the longer he continued to hold her wrist, the more she needed him.

Reese stared into chips of flint as she pushed forward, feeling him tense as her breasts brushed against his arm. She pressed closer, every part of her front touching his in some way. She could feel him, feel the hardness of his muscles and everything else, through his clothing. His body responded even as he was moving back. Sex was something she did to feel good. She knew it was wrong, knew using her body and letting others use it as well only damaged her more, but it was the only power of any kind she had.

But that was different. What she wanted from Leo was unknown to her, just beyond reach, but close enough to realize if she let herself.

“Please, Leo,” she whispered, her eyes begging for something she didn’t understand.

He looked down at her, even his height and width, constructed to intimidate, instead creating a safe haven for her. The man with little words still said so much with his body language, most of it conflicting. His eyes told her no, his body told her yes. His hard mouth wanted to kiss her, his elegant fingers wanted to mold her into some form of art, his body wanted to claim her. At the same time, he was repelled by her. That, she at least, understood.

She wanted him to fix her, to heal her. She wanted him to take the pain away, even if all that did was produce more pain. When he moved for her, she tensed, her breaths quickening. His calloused hand reached up, fingered a strand of short blond hair, and caressed the side of her face. The simple tenderness of it made her eyes tear up again. Her mouth quivered and she looked down. That wasn’t what she’d expected, not from him. Not from anyone, but least of all, from him.

He wrapped his arms around her, careful to keep their lower halves from touching, and he hugged her tightly. At first, she remained stiff, shocked, unsure whether she should push him away or not. Her sister, so many years ago, was the last person she’d allowed to hug her or that she’d initiated hugging. This was foreign and awkward.

His heart beat close to her ear and she pressed the side of her face to his chest, listening. She focused on how his chest rose and lowered with each breath he took, how his warmth surrounded her like a blanket, his scent filtering through her senses, bringing peace with it. It was just a hug—a lame, insignificant hug. Why did she feel so safe inside this man’s arms?

As soon as she realized her thoughts and the repercussions of this moment and what it made her feel, she shoved him back. He staggered a few steps, the footboard of the bed halting him. There was nothing in his face, no hint of his thoughts or emotions as he looked at her.

Burnt Edges by Dana Leipold: Giveaway

Title: Burnt Edges

Author: Dana Leipold

Published: October 21st, 2014

Word Count: 56,000

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Content Warning: contains sexual abuse and domestic violence

Age Recommendation: 18+

Synopsis:

Abuse or an uncertain future. This is Laurel Lee Page’s choice when she is faced with an unplanned pregnancy at 18. Born into a broken family, all she has ever known is guilt and shame. No matter what she does or who she meets, Laurel appears to be living a condemned life but she is determined to find independence and freedom in spite of her family’s legacy of hatred and self-contempt. Can Laurel see that she is in a powerful position, poised to break the cycle of abuse? Set in Southern California during the tumultuous 1960s era, Burnt Edges is based on true events and proves that strength can be found even in the most horrific situations.

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Excerpt:

Laurel decided that Rusty was Mother’s favorite child. The afternoon in the garage had been proof. But because he often took the brunt of Father’s anger, she felt a bizarre kinship with him. She also loved the stories he would tell when they had nothing to do. He would make up tall tales like the one about spacemen who came to Earth to taste hamburgers because they had none on Mars. He described them as little green men with antennae.

“Whenever they come to visit, people find their hats miss-ing, because the Martians steal them to conceal their antennae,” Rusty said.

“That’s just silly,” Laurel said.

Gerry sat in the dirt, playing with rocks and half-listening. Laurel thought he’d rather be playing football or punching some kid, so he sometimes got bored of the stories.

“No, it’s true, really.”

“What did they do to hide their green skin?” Laurel asked.

“They also steal women’s pancake makeup and put it all over their faces. Helps them blend in.”

“Ew, they wear girl’s makeup?” Gerry said, sticking out his tongue.

Laurel giggled, imagining Martians wearing makeup and hats just to get a taste of a hamburger.

“Why don’t they just steal the recipe and learn how to make hamburgers on Mars?” Laurel thought she’d caught Rusty off guard with this question.

“They tried that once, and it was a disaster,” he said, pick-ing up rocks and throwing them against the fence in their backyard. “Yeah, it almost wiped out the whole Martian race.”

“What’d they do, get all sick and throw up?” Gerry laughed at his answer.

Rusty threw a rock at Gerry but missed him. “No, moron.”

He kept throwing rocks without saying anything. Laurel thought he was trying to come up with a good story. She wait-ed another moment.

“Well, what happened?” she asked.

“I’ll tell ya! Don’t rush me!”

He stopped throwing rocks and sat Indian style, his elbows resting on his legs, hands clasped together so he was leaning forward a bit.

“The explorer Martians who had just come back from Earth brought the hamburger recipe to the King of Mars. They told him about the most delicious food they’d ever tasted and that they had brought the secret to it. The king was excited and told his royal cook to make up a batch, but they don’t have meat on Mars.”

Rusty paused, and Gerry rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and climbed the rope up to the tree house. Rusty watched him, but Laurel was listening, waiting for Rusty to tell the rest of the story.

“Go on,” she said.

“Nah, no one cares about the dumb old story,” he said.

“I do! Tell me!”

“All right, but it’s horrible!”

“I don’t care. Tell me!”

“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Rusty paused and then he began again. “So the cooks tried to figure out what to do. They didn’t want to tell the king that there was no meat. Once a cook had told the king he was all out of Martian mush-rooms and the king executed him. They thought and thought about what to do, and then they called in the royal jester.”

“The jester? What does he know about cooking?” Laurel asked.

“Exactly.”

Laurel looked confused.

“So the jester came in, and the cooks smashed him on the head and put him in a boiling pot. Once the Jester was done cooking, they ground him up into bits and fed him to the king.”

“Yuck!”

Gerry must have heard about the cannibalism. He peeked his head through the hole in the tree house. “That’s disgust-ing,” he said, loud enough for Rusty and Laurel to hear.

“The king loved it and ordered the cooks to make more. So they did. This time they called in the royal guard, bopped him on the head, boiled him up, and fed him to the king. The king couldn’t get enough of those hamburgers, so he made a royal decree stating that the official food of Mars was hamburgers.”

Gerry had the tree house door open and was sitting on the floor with his legs hanging out. Laurel shook her head.

“The cooks went through the whole Martian Royal Army, the royal court, and most of the Martian population before the king caught on. He ended up executing the cooks, but now the King of Mars comes to visit Earth himself, because he loves hamburgers.”

“That’s the dumbest story I ever heard,” Gerry said.

“If it’s so dumb why did you listen to it?” Rusty answered back.

“Hamburgers aren’t that good,” Laurel said. “Not as good as pizza.”

About the Author:

Dana Leipold is a freelance writer, author, and member of the Association of Independent Authors and Creativity Coaching Association. She has self-published two books: a collection of limericks in Dr. Seuss-style for adults entitled, Stupid Poetry: The Ultimate Collection of Sublime and Ridiculous Poems, and a non-fiction book entitled, The Power of Writing Well: Write Well. Change the World, to help writers get their message heard, create stories that connect, and leverage the power of writing well. In addition, she coaches other writers on story structure, messaging, and writing skills so they can achieve their dreams to become published authors. Leipold lives with her husband and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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ROOMIES IS OUT

Hello, you fabulous Zartians! For those of you anxiously awaiting the arrival of Roomies (try saying that three times fast), it is finally HERE. Prepare to bask in the wondrousness of laughter, sarcasm, and of course, love.

Genre: NA Rom-Com

Blurb:

Graham Malone is my roommate, my personal eye candy, the reason I get up in the morning smiling (that could be from the illicit dreams I have about him too, I suppose. Let's move on.). He's also beautiful to look at, but his heart is where his true beauty lies. Take away the exterior and the interior still shines.

I love him. I mean, I'm pretty sure I do, having never been in love before. Anyway, it seems legit.

And now his brother Blake is here, and, well, he's the complete opposite of Graham. Sarcastic, brooding, and totally available. But he's leaving soon, and Graham's the one I want. I shouldn't have to remind myself of this, right? I wouldn't have to if Blake would quit looking at me like I'm something yummy and he's starving.

Here's a toast to roomies; the ones you should never fall in love with. Or something.

Excerpt:

The apartment is dark and quiet when I get home, which is odd because it's not even ten yet. I stumble around in the dark, not wanting to turn on any lights—why, I am not sure. Because Graham turned them all off, I suppose, and turning even one on, would be letting him win, in some stupid, childish way. But, hey, have I ever once said I was mature? If I did, I was totally lying. Just so you know.

“Why is it that you say you don't have a thing for my brother, and yet every time I turn around, you're with him?” The voice is low, too even to be natural, and creepy since there is no body to accompany it.

“Why are you turning around all the time? Maybe you turned around a few times and got super dizzy so you just think you're still spinning around, only you really aren't,” I spew forth in a rushed manner only a truly gifted person is capable of.

A light turns on and I feel all 'naughty girl caught in the act'. Of what, I don't know. I blink in the sudden light and focus on Graham's form. He's standing against the wall opposite me with his arms crossed. I pay a little too much detail to his bare chest, but I am merely reacquainting myself with a sight I have missed, so it's totally acceptable. His golden hair is standing up in a few spots, he's sporting a scowl, and he looks so good my mouth goes dry.

“You know he needed someone to talk to.”

“They have shrinks for that. Since when is he your responsibility? Last time I checked, even with how orally gifted you are, you do not have a license to be dragged into the mess that is Blake's mind.”

Orally gifted. Why did my face just burst into flames? And I feel like giggling. I school my features into a mask of calmness. “What happened to being real? What’s really bothering you?”

He gives me a look, shaking his head. “You know what I find funny? Women say they want a nice guy, but who do they usually go for? Not the nice guys. Any woman ever given the choice between someone sweet and someone rude, takes the rude guy. And you know why? Because women like to think they want the nice guys, but they really don't. Nice guys look good on paper, but in real life, not so much. Women don't even know what they want, so how do they think men are ever going to figure it out?”

“That should be on a shirt. And are you trying to imply something?”

“No.”

“Graham.”

“I’m the nice guy here.” He rubs his face, giving me a bleary-eyed look as his hands drop to his sides. “I feel like a complete ass, but I have this—this insecurity inside of me, telling me you want Blake. It’s this monster of doubt and I keep telling it to shut up, but it just isn’t going away.”

“Well, I want you to seduce me, but that isn’t happening either, so I have my cross to bear as well.”

“What?” His voice is faint.

“Nothing.”

Graham’s expression tells me he didn’t appreciate that jab. “What happened to being real?” he mocks.

I scowl. “Can you make brownies again? I have too many clothes on.”

His jaw tightens. “There are brownies in the kitchen.”

“It's just not the same as when they come fresh out of the oven.”

“Did you sleep with him?” His voice is blunt, razor-edged. He doesn't even sound like Graham anymore. I thought I would like that, but I don't. I want old Graham back. He was so much sweeter.

My good humor dissipates likes droplets of water under the sun as his words sink in. “You did not just ask me that.”

He shrugs, his shoulders stiff under the guise of nonchalance he is trying to portray. “You said if you didn't get it from me, you could get it from him. So? Did you?”

“You know, I change my view on you. You...are an asshat.”

“Whatever.”

Whatever. I'll give him whatever. My mouth puckers up in distaste and I storm past him to get to my room. He grabs my arm as I pass by, but I jerk it away. I slam the door behind me and slide down its length, my butt firmly planted in the carpet beneath me. I stare into the darkness, seeing nothing but blobs of black over more blobs of black. What has happened to us? Our relationship used to be so effortless. We've turned into these two insane people that snap at each other and make little sense. I mean, I'm pretty much the same, but Graham? What the hell happened to Graham?

You happened to Graham.

Shut it.

I figure he's gone to bed, but then his voice talks from the other side of the door, startling me so that I kick my leg out and my foot connects with my bed. I inwardly curse, rubbing at the throbbing toe as I listen.

“You want to know why I chose to be a golf instructor?”

So you can flirt with women all day? I bite my lip to keep the words unspoken. He's not really a flirt. He's just a super nice guy and women like to think he's flirting with them because he's attractive, and attention from an attractive guy is hard to come by sometimes. I have it all figured out. Don't ask how many hours I spent analyzing it all.

“I hate confinement. I acted like I didn't know what Blake was talking about when he said the same, but...I know exactly what he meant. I just—I didn't want you to know how truly messed up my childhood was. Blake has no problem playing the victim in his own twisted, sarcastic way, but I can't do it. I won't.”

There are other jobs that require being outside, my hateful side sneers.

“I mean, yeah, there are other jobs I could have picked and still been outside.”

I whip my head around to frown at the door.

“But I actually do like golf. And I like teaching people something they want to learn, not something they have to or need to learn.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I whisper, not sure if he can hear me or not.

Silence is my answer for a long time, and then, quietly, he says, “I just want you to know me. All of me. Even the asshat parts, but especially the non-asshat parts.”

I twist around so that my head is resting against the door, and somehow, I feel that Graham's is as well. I do know him. And I love him—every part of him, even the ones that would be considered flawed by many. I have to, 'cause I have been given no less of the same from him. Friends or roommates, lovers or nothing, he's always cared about me, even when I was probably unlikable.

I hear him sigh. “Good night, Kennedy.”

“Good night, Graham.”

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Aftermath by Sandy Goldsworthy

Title: Aftermath
Series: The AfterWorld Saga
Author: Sandy Goldsworthy
To Be Published: December 2nd, 2014
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Page Count: 361
Genre: Paranormal Romance Action Adventure
Content Warning: Adult language, violence, and sexual content
Age Recommendation: 14+
Synopsis:
After losing her father, Emma Bennett moves to her aunt’s small town of Westport to finish out her senior year of high school. Emma wants to forget the pain and loss of the past few weeks, finding relief in the company of Ben Parker—a local boy who she has an instant attraction and uncanny connection with. When Ben seems a little too preoccupied with other responsibilities and has no time for her, Emma turns to the town’s hottest flirt—Lucas Crandon—for affection. Unfortunately, she realizes a little too late that, sometimes, bad boys really can be bad for you.

Life as an undercover agent for the Afterworld’s Bureau of Investigation isn’t an easy job. When Ben Parker finds his soul mate, Emma, in a small town, he finds himself forced to choose between doing his job or rekindling a relationship with the love of his existence. After Ben is notified that a notorious immortal is loose somewhere near Westport, he realizes that his love life will just have to wait. There is a criminal to apprehend before he can have his girl.

When lives are at stake and immortals are on the loose, can two soul mates find their happy ever after?

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About the Author

Sandy Goldsworthy was born and raised in a small Wisconsin town. Her passion for writing began when her high school English teacher inspired her to be more descriptive in her work. Today, Sandy is writing the second book of Emma and Ben’s story. When she’s not writing, Sandy enjoys spending time with her husband, Mike, and two children, Brittany and Kyle, or playing with her English Mastiff, Miles.

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