Celebrating A Sexy New Historical From Shelley Munro

All day today on our Cyber Launch Party Blog, we're celebrating Shelley Munro brand new sexy historical MISTRESS OF MERRIVALE.

MISTRESS OF MERRIVALE by Shelley Munro

A marriage of convenience…full of inconvenient secrets.
Jocelyn Townsend’s life as a courtesan bears no resemblance to the life she envisioned in girlish dreams. But it allows her and her eccentric mother to live in relative security—until her protector marries and no longer requires her services.

Desperate to find a new benefactor, one kind enough to accept her mother’s increasingly mad flights of fancy, Jocelyn is nearly overwhelmed with uncertainty when a lifeline comes from an unexpected source.

Leo Sherbourne’s requirements for a wife are few. She must mother his young daughter, run his household, and warm his bed. All in a calm, dignified manner with a full measure of common sense. After his late wife’s histrionics and infidelity, he craves a simpler, quieter life.

As they embark on their arrangement, Leo and Jocelyn discover an attraction that heats their bedroom and a mutual admiration that warms their days. But it isn’t long before gossip regarding the fate of Leo’s first wife, and his frequent, unexplained absences, make Jocelyn wonder if the secrets of Merrivale Manor are rooted in murder…

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 Photo Credit: Princess Cruises

Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her own hero in New Zealand. She writes mainly erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres for publishers Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at her website and you might even find her lurking at Facebook or Twitter. 

WEBSITE   ***   BLOG   ***   FACEBOOK   ***   GOODREADS   ***   PINTEREST   ***   TWITTER   ***   AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE   ***   NEWSLETTER 

WIN - Lots of fun and prizes (gift cards and books) up for grabs over on Shelley's Facebook Event today - Stop by and join the fun!

Celebrating A Romantic Thriller From Lynn Rae and Sweet Cravings Publishing

All day today on our Cyber Launch Party Blog, we're celebrating Lynn Rae's first release, a thrilling romantic suspense with Sweet Cravings Publishing.

BENT BOOT ROAD by Lynn Rae

Lydia Back has problems; a dead end job cataloging artifacts no one wants to see, an office in a dusty basement storage room, and she’s just discovered that her friend is missing. Adding to her frustration is the arrival of a too charming private investigator who needs her help.

Carter Harris has no problems; he has his own successful business and is enjoying a few days in a scenic southern Ohio town to gather information on a missing professor. But his local contact turns out to be an uncooperative woman who prefers traipsing around in the forest to having a civilized conversation with him.

Together, they begin to uncover some of the secrets that lurk under the surface of other people’s lives and to appreciate each other’s abilities. When danger threatens, both Carter and Lydia realize it will be impossible to survive alone.

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With professional experience ranging from contract archeology to librarianship along with making donuts and teaching museum studies, sweet and spice romance author Lynn Rae enjoys incorporating her real-life adventures into her writing (except the naughty bits).

There have been a lot of twists and turns on Lynn's path to becoming an author and, if you follow her blog, she will allow the story to unfold there. But first a few facts about how her books came to be.

-Lynn saw Romancing the Stone at an impressionable age (and yes, some day she will get to Cartagena)

-Lynn wrote a lot of non-fiction in her professional life

-Lynn decided to see if she could write a fiction book after going through a stressful summer in 2011

-Lynn did write a book (more than one)

-Lynn decided to attend a writing conference in the fall of 2012

-While at the conference, Lynn pitched some of her stories to industry people

-Editors politely requested to read her stuff and one of them said YES

WEBSITE   ***   FACEBOOK   ***    BLOG

WIN - Leave Lynn a comment today and your name goes in the have of a copy of her first book and a stress ball (who couldn't use one of those?)!  Please leave your email address so Lynn can contact you if you are today's winner!

There's more fun and other chances to win over on at our Facebook event - Check it out!

Celebrating Wild Child Publishing's August Releases

Today on our Cyber Launch Party Blog, we're celebrating the August releases for Wild Child Publishing!

MAKE OLD BONES by Leslie S. Talley 
 

Fifteen-year-old Connie Kittredge disappears in 1953, presumed drowned, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Almost forty years later, her skeleton is discovered in the disused dumbwaiter of historic Belgrath House, situated on an island in the tidal Halifax River. The discovery coincides with the thirty-five year reunion of Connie’s Class of ’57.

Clarice and Otis Campion function as caretakers of Belgrath, newly restored and opened as a B and B. Clarice, along with their permanent guest Miss Letty, ninety-year-old star of the silent screen, decides to investigate the mystery. Could the murderer be one of Connie’s classmates, now respectable citizens? A rejected boy friend? A jealous girl? Connie, a sneaky child, loved the power of finding out secrets; perhaps she found one just too dangerous for her to live.

At a wake for Connie held at Belgrath House, someone collapses from iced tea laced with cherry laurel, proving that the murderer is still around – and dangerous. Complications cloud the picture in the form of suspicious bed and breakfasters, restoration society members, University of Florida freshmen…and a certain pelican. Clarice and Miss Letty re-double their efforts at sleuthing. The death of Connie Kittredge is tied directly to the history of the house, they learn. The house will ultimately reveal its secrets, but not before exposing Clarice to danger.

Inadvertently left behind during a forced evacuation due to Category Four Hurricane Aphrodite, Clarice finds herself confronting a killer – and a rising tidal surge.

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LOCKED by S.V. Richard 
 

Tristan’s old home old home is not what it appears, and her friends have no idea what this visit will turn into.

 

When the room Tristan’s mother always kept locked is opened, chaos breaks loose. One by one, they are locked away.

 

Will anyone survive?

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CITY OF THIEVES by Audrey Cuff, Ed.D.
 

When Ashley Brown was five years old, her parents left her in the care of her grandma, though her mother promised to return for her. At fourteen, Ashley is still living with her grandmother in Highland, a city on the outskirts of Maryville, a place known as the “ghetto.” 
 

Ashley has shadowy memories of her mother taking her to her favorite place, the library. Reading a good book allows Ashley to escape her poverty and crime infested community. 
 

One afternoon after listening to the Mayor’s press conference, Ashley discovers that the Mayor is taking away the community library. In spite of being put on punishment for a week by her Grandma for defending herself from the school bullies, Ashley feels it is worth the risk to sneak out of her apartment to mail a letter she has written to the Mayor about keeping the library open. 
 

Every day homeless people approach her and beg for something to eat or for money. The most frequent requests come from two disheveled individuals Ashley has nicknamed “Orphan Annie” and the “business-man bum.” As if escaping the homeless people isn’t enough, there are a bunch of bullies who harass Ashley. One day, the bullies chase her into an alley. They force her to the ground and Ashley is afraid of what could have happened next. This is one time Ashley wished she listen to her grandma.

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WIN - Leave a question today for Wild Child Publishing and/or one or more of the authors at today's Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for a $10 gift certificate for Wild Child Publishing or Freya's Bower! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!

Celebrating Wild Child Publishing's June Releases

Today on our Cyber Launch Party Blog, we're celebrating the June releases from Wild Child Publishing!

CARBON COPY by Terri Talley Venters
 
Lilly Allen has brains, beauty, and a trust fund. She's living in New York City and her career as a reporter is taking off. She's hoping the love of her life, Grier, will propose soon. She has it all, or so she thinks.

Grier Garrison, Create Life executive, is running the company while his father, Dr. Michael Garrison, is in the ICU awaiting a heart transplant. Grier knows the truth about Create Life and its shady side business. He fears Lilly and her twin brother, Luke, are in danger.

While working on two unrelated stories, stolen newborns and cloning, Lilly discovers a shocking connection. Horrific things are happening, but who is behind it all?

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MARYLOU Q'S DRAGON DILEMMA by Jan Milusich

News spreads fast in a town as small as Earleville, and Marylou Q with her ten-foot invisible guardian dragon, Josephine, is the town's most talked about curiosity, especially among the girls at Earleville Academy.

But fitting in is the least of Marylou's worries. When Josephine has to leave because of a prophecy foretold at Marylou's, and her twin sister, Tessa's birth, Marylou wants to go too. But Josephine won't let her, and she won't tell her anything more about the prophecy. Marylou's angry and takes it out on Josephine. At home she decides to ask Momma, but Momma won't give Marylou any answers either... at least not until the eve of the new moon. Why then? Marylou's determined to find out.

Her curiosity is on high alert. Marylou's ability to hear peoples' thoughts and her new found ability to see into the past and the future give her clues, but no answers. Her investigative explorations lead to a hidden statue of a demi-god that is the sworn enemy of dragons. Why would her Momma have such a statue and what does it have to do with the prophecy? And why does Mr. Rukh, a peculiar new neighbor, show so much interest in it? Many surprises await Marylou as she searches for answers, least of which is the help she receives from her arch enemy, Piper Johnson, a girl who's joy in life is teasing Marylou. Journey with Marylou, Tessa and Piper as dragons multiply, danger mounts and Marylou's dilemma grows. Adventure and mythical creatures await your every turn of the page as Marylou fulfills the prophecy and seeks her destiny.

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WIN - Leave a question today for Wild Child Publishing and/or one of the authors at today's Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for a $10 gift certificate for Wild Child Publishing! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!

Celebrating Sandra K. Marshall's Romantic Suspense Release

Today we're celebrating Sandra K. Marshall's recent romantic suspense THE DECEIVED.

Sandra worked 36 years in the aviation field before retiring to full-fill her dream of writing and being in print. She loves writing mystery romances, and she loves to travel, and she hopes to combine both with her real-life hero.

WEBSITE *** BLOG *** MYSPACE


THE DECEIVED - a romantic suspense from Sandra K. Marshall

The games they play can lead them to love or ruin.

Melanie Dubois detests her family's casino business. The way this addiction destroys people has her on a tear of magnificent proportions. Then again, this young lady has been put through a train wreck of her own design. She distrusts everybody except for the people who are determined to use Melanie as a poster-child for zealots.

Mike Mercer has spent nearly a year in a deep cover mission for the FBI. The one fly in the ointment of completing his objective to take down a group of dangerous anti-gambling zealots is a fiery-tempered, blonde-haired woman named Melanie DuBois. Worse than that, she's got a passion brewing just beneath the surface that's an even deadlier attraction.

Fighting for your life is never easy when the odds are stacked against you.

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WIN - Leave Sandra a question about her and/or her latest release today at her Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for a copy of her book ADDICTION, in either print or ebook. Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!

Reissues For Three Of Tim Smith's Romantic Suspense Thrillers

Today we're celebrating the lower-cost, second edition printing of author Tim Smith's action-packed romantic suspense Nick Seven novels!

MEMORIES DIE LAST

Former CIA agent Nick Seven finds that some memories are better left alone in this romantic political action thriller by Tim Smith.

Former CIA agent Nick Seven gets pulled from his peaceful life on Key Largo to pursue a resurrected terrorist halfway around the world, only to find himself drawn into a web of espionage, murder, blackmail and high-level government corruption that threatens national security and the principles of freedom.

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NEVER TRUST YOUR DREAMS

The covert intelligence community got more than they bargained for when they crossed Nick Seven in this romantic topical thriller by Tim Smith.

Nick Seven left the CIA for the tranquility of the Florida Keys, thinking he'd found an idyllic life in paradise with Felicia, his dream lover from Barbados, and that his life of intrigue was once again in the past. The last thing he wanted was to be used by his former employers as an unwilling pawn in America's war on terror.

As Nick and Felicia maneuver through a complex maze of treason, assassination and government corruption, they cross paths with a rogue agent with a personal agenda, a mentally unstable killer, and a wealthy industrialist with ties to several terrorist organizations. When Nick is set up as the fall guy for a murder he didn't commit, and Felicia becomes part of the agency's scheme, the stakes become higher and more personal. Nick's quest to get out from under the CIA's thumb and regain control of his life forces him to realize that what dreams may hold, nightmares also share.

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THE VENDETTA FACTOR

Former CIA spook Nick Seven doesn't realize what he's up against when he takes on the mob in this suspenseful, quirky adventure by Tim Smith.

When former CIA agent Nick Seven did a favor for his friend, gambler Rock Moretti, he didn't know that his innocent gesture would place him in the middle of a turf war between two crime families, each fighting for control of the lucrative Miami market. Nick's peaceful life in the Florida Keys becomes a battle of wills as he must call on his instincts to outwit both Dons, as well as a Justice Department prosecutor with a personal agenda. When Nick becomes the target of a hired assassin, he realizes that he has his own vendetta and thirst for revenge.

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WIN - Leave Tim a comment or question today at his Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for an autographed copy of your choice from these three books! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!

J. K. Maze's Cyber Launch Party Winner

Thanks to all of you who stopped by yesterday to welcome J K Maze to the Island and to celebrate her release FRAMED IN FEAR!

Congrats to Estella - you win a copy of her first book MURDER BY MISTAKE - thanks for leaving your email address, we'll be sending you your free ebook shortly!

Celebrating J.K. Maze's New Romantic Suspense

Today we are celebrating the release of FRAMED IN FEAR, a thrilling romantic suspense from J.K. Maze and Red Rose Publishing.

Meet J.K. Maze -

I've always been involved in the arts, music, writing and painting, beginning with studying voice at Northwestern University. I interrupted this endeavor for a family, but finally finished my degree at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota. The emphasis, this time, was in subjects related to writing.

My first attempt at fiction was at the age of eight when my mother taught me how to use her turn-of-the-century typewriter. It was so heavy I couldn't lift it, but that didn't stop me from spending hours learning to type and, supposedly, write. As far as the story is concerned, it contained every mistake known to the publishing world, but it sparked my interest, which grew from that point on.

After spending years learning the craft of writing and producing stories, I joined Romance Writers of America, then KOD, the mystery and suspense group, and subsequently others. While I've received help from a local non-RWA writers' group, I credit RWA for bringing my writing to the point where it was considered publishable. Red Rose Publishing is a great organization to work with, and I'm delighted and honored to be one of their authors.

My first published novel, MURDER BY MISTAKE, is a cozy and the first in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, it was followed by FRAMED IN FEAR, a single title romantic suspense. The second Mollie Fenwick mystery is almost ready to present to Red Rose Publishing, and is entitled MURDER FOR KICKS.


VISIT WEBSITE

A thrilling new romantic suspense from J.K. Maze.

Andi Holton came to Colorado to find a new life, but instead must run from a killer and find her missing girlfriend at the same time. After seeing her friend's location in a vision, Andi is struck and left for dead in her friend's burning house. Unfortunately, she can't act on the vision because there's a dead body on the premises and the police want to talk to her.

Detective W.D. "MAC" McAndrews questions Andi, and acting on a tip, they head to a mountain casino town, looking for a killer, and Andi's friend. Several attempts are made on Andi's life and Mac's been burned before, but he's drawn to her and intends to keep her safe. Working together, using Andi's psychic and artistic talents, they find two killers. Andi not only gets a job, but finds new life through danger and betrayal – a new love and a fresh start in Colorado's mountains.

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WIN - Leave J.K. a comment or question today at her Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for a free download of her first book - MURDER BY MISTAKE. Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are our winner! Have fun and good luck!

Celebrating A New Mystery Anthology From L&L Dreamspell

Today, we're celebrating the release of a new mystery anthology from L&L Dreamspell which features a story by Pauline Baird Jones.


Pauline was born and raised in Wyoming, and then lived in New Orleans with her husband and children for 18 years before moving to Houston TX in 2003. For four years, she wrote a humor column for her Wyoming hometown paper, The Lovell Chronicle, about adjusting to life in New Orleans (which is the polar opposite of Wyoming!).

She's always loved reading and writing, but prefers to give arithmetic a pass. Her blend of suspense and humor is, she believes, a natural outcome of growing up in a large family. "Lots of love and laughter," she says, "but you're never quite sure you'll survive your siblings' idea of what's fun."

She published her first novel in 1998 and is amazed to be releasing her ninth novel, Girl Gone Nova, in 2010, with a steampunk novella, Tangled in Time, to follow later in the year. She's also had stories in six anthologies and has three non-fiction handbooks for writers.

She explains the shift into writing science fiction romance, for her last two novels, at first made her panic. Then she remembered that her high school science was, according to her teachers, fictional then, too. Her contemporary readers might be puzzled by this change in direction, but Pauline points out that the new books have her signature suspense, action and humor. Only the setting has changed.

"I've always followed my Muse where it takes me, even if I need to don mental speed jeans (g-suit) for the ride. And my books have always had a strong action/adventure bent, all the way back to The Spy Who Kissed Me."

VISIT WEBSITE

The Mystery of the Green Mist includes a delightful assortment of stories, from cozy to creepy, by ten talented authors, including the shorty story DELETING DENNIS by Pauline Baird Jones .
Capri Hinkenlooper thought her name - and Monday mornings - were the worst things in her life, but then her fellow editor and all around slimy guy gets deleted with her letter opener. On the upside, the two homicide detectives investigating the murder are seriously cute...

Other stories in this anthology include Mystery of the Green Mist by Linda Houle; The House on Grays Prairie Road by Sally Love; The Clue in the Crumbling Cottage by Jo A. Hiestand; Trust No One by Morgan St. James; Between Friends by D. Nathan Hilliard; The Scent of Blood by Cherri Galbiati; Death Hereafter by Jacqueline Seewald; Reservoir of Death by Sylvia Nickels; The Mystery of Moonstone Manor by Randy Rohn.

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WIN - Leave a comment or question about this new anthology today and get your name in the hat for a fun prize package from Pauline Baird Jones - a copy of A BOX OF TEXAS CHOCOLATES signed by Pauline and a very cool L&L Dreamspell T-shirt. Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are our winner! ** And don't forget to check out the great contest Pauline has posted on the contest page over at http://www.authorisland.com/ - she has two prizes up for grabs!!

Lori Armstrong's Cyber Launch Party Winner

Thank you to everyone for stopping by and wishing Lori the best with her new release!!

Congrats to Lisa F!!! Please email me at AuthorIsland at yahoo.com with your mailing address so we can get you out an autographed copy of BLOOD TIES.

Former Army sniper Mercy Gunderson debuts in today's new release NO MERCY, the first book in a gripping new mystery series by the Shamus award winning author, Lori Armstrong.

Mercy Gunderson is a straight shooter with a hard edge. On medical leave from the Army, she returns home to South Dakota, which isn’t much safer for her than Iraq. Arriving just after the death of her father, it is up to Mercy to decide what to do with the family ranch. Trying to deal with her irresponsible sister and nephew and feeling guilty that she didn’t make it home soon enough to see her father one last time; Mercy is suddenly pulled into the local community when the body of a Native American boy is found on her land. But nobody seems to be doing anything about it, especially not the local law enforcement.

When tragedy strikes again, Mercy is ready to throw all her energy into her own investigation, and she’s out for revenge. As she digs up the truth behind the shocking crimes, Mercy uncovers dark and dangerous secrets and must race to stop a killer before everything she’s fought for is destroyed forever.

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Celebrating the Release of Lori Armstrong's NO MERCY

Former Army sniper Mercy Gunderson debuts in today's new release NO MERCY, the first book in a gripping new mystery series by the Shamus award winning author, Lori Armstrong.

Lori G. Armstrong left the firearms industry in 2000. Her first mystery novel, BLOOD TIES, published in 2005, was nominated in 2006 for a Shamus Award for Best First Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. The second book in the Julie Collins mystery series, HALLOWED GROUND, released Nov. 2006, was nominated for a 2007 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original, a Daphne du Maurier Award and won the 2007 WILLA Cather Literary Award for Best Original Softcover Fiction. SHALLOW GRAVE, released in Nov. 2007, was nominated for a 2008 High Plains Book Award, a Daphne du Maurier Award and was a finalist for the 2008 WILLA Cather Literary Award. The fourth book, SNOW BLIND, released in Oct. 2008, won the 2009 Shamus Award, from the Private Eye Writers of America, for Best Paperback Original. Lori is a proud fourth generation South Dakotan and lives in Rapid City with her family.

VISIT LORI'S WEBSITE

Mercy Gunderson is a straight shooter with a hard edge. On medical leave from the Army, she returns home to South Dakota, which isn’t much safer for her than Iraq. Arriving just after the death of her father, it is up to Mercy to decide what to do with the family ranch. Trying to deal with her irresponsible sister and nephew and feeling guilty that she didn’t make it home soon enough to see her father one last time; Mercy is suddenly pulled into the local community when the body of a Native American boy is found on her land. But nobody seems to be doing anything about it, especially not the local law enforcement.

When tragedy strikes again, Mercy is ready to throw all her energy into her own investigation, and she’s out for revenge. As she digs up the truth behind the shocking crimes, Mercy uncovers dark and dangerous secrets and must race to stop a killer before everything she’s fought for is destroyed forever.

BUY THE BOOK *** READ THE EXCERPT

WIN - Leave Lori a comment or question today at her Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for an autographed copy of BLOOD TIES the first book in her Judy Collins Mysteries. A winner will be announced right here tomorrow, so be sure to check back. Good luck and have fun!