Blog Tour Promo Post: Blood on the Bayou by Heather Graham

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Review/Excerpt Tour for BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham! BLOOD ON THE BAYOU is A Cafferty & Quinn Series Novella brought to you by 1001 Dark Nights. It is available now, so grab your copy of this sexy novella today!

About BLOOD ON THE BAYOU: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella

From New York Times bestseller Heather Graham...

It's winter and a chill has settled over New Orleans, binding a stream of blood that leads a tourist to a dead man, face down in the bayou.

The man has been done in by a vicious beating, so violent that his skull has been crashed in.

It's barely a day before a second victim is found . . . once again so badly thrashed that the water runs red. The city becomes riddled with fear.

An old family friend comes to Danni Cafferty, telling her that he's terrified, he's certain that he's received a message from the Blood Bayou killer--It's your turn to pay, blood on the bayou.

The two quickly become involved, and--as they all begin to realize that a gruesome local history is being repeated--they find themselves in a fight to save not just a friend, but, perhaps, their very own lives.

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Excerpt

“People in this area all know the legends about the rougarou. Someone out there might be using the legend. In this day and age, it’s quite possible to fake a monster.”

They both looked at him with huge eyes, seemingly wanting to trust in him.

“Sound like a plan?” Quinn asked Larue.

The detective nodded. “Let’s move, though. We have to get out to Honey Swamp. We’re going to help the task force with the investigation.”

Ten minutes later they were at the hotel where the young women were staying. Quinn inspected the balcony while they gathered their belongings together. The room sat on the second floor, but the balcony might have been easily accessed from the street. There was a heavy pipe near enough for someone to crawl up and gain a grip on one of the wrought iron rails. “How did someone walk through the French Quarter all dressed up without being noticed?”

“This is New Orleans,” Larue said. “Not far from Bourbon Street. Think about it, Quinn. Does anyone really notice crazy around here? I mean, there’s a lot of crazy.”

“Something like the rougarou? A giant man with a wolf’s head?”

“Somebody walked stark naked down Bourbon Street about two days ago, and it took that long for anyone to report it to the police,” Larue told him.

“That’s not a rougarou.”

Larue shrugged. “Okay. I’ll give you that.”

“To put a spin of logic on this, I’d say that it was more than possible for a man to dress up, then crawl up here to scare Jane and Lana. It’s also possible that whoever was here had nothing to do with the murder in the swamp, or maybe someone got wind of the situation and knew that the two young women had been on the tour and decided to scare them. They’re visitors, yes, but they know the city and they might have met a young man anxious to scare them. Then he comes along and offers his presence as protection against whatever has them frightened.”

Larue did not argue.

“At any rate,” Quinn said. “Let’s go meet your friends from Pearl River.”

Heather Graham’s BLOOD ON THE BAYOU

Review and Excerpt Tour

January 27^th

Bea's Book Nook – Excerpt

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

From the TBR Pile – Review & Excerpt

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

January 28^th

Books to Get Lost In – Excerpt

Collector of book boyfriends – Excerpt

Deluged with Books Cafe – Review & Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

January 29^th

Brooke Blogs – Excerpt

Extreme Bookaholic's – Excerpt

Only One More Page – Review & Excerpt

Parajunkee's View – Excerpt

January 30^th

Evermore Books – Excerpt

TMBA Corbett Tries to Write – Review & Excerpt

The Consummate Reader – Excerpt

January 31^st

DayReader Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Us Girls & A Book – Review

Romeo &Roo Books – Review

February 1^st

Moonlight Rendezvous – Review & Excerpt

BooksPieAndCoffee – Review

Book-o-Craze – Review & Excerpt

February 2^nd

Write for Your Life! – Review & Excerpt

The Sassy Bookster – Review & Excerpt

Renee Entress's Blog – Excerpt

Books-n-Kisses – Review & Excerpt

February 3^rd

Beneath The Covers Blog – Excerpt

Books Need TLC – Review

Liz's Reading Life – Excerpt

The Two Brains of Book Reviewers – Review & Excerpt

February 4^th

Amazeballs Book Addicts – Review & Excerpt

DRC Promotions – Review

Fictional Reality – Excerpt

Indy Book Fairy – Excerpt

February 5^th

alpha book club – Review & Excerpt

Those Crazy Book Chicks – Excerpt

Love Affair With Fiction – Excerpt

About Heather Graham

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows, and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children’s charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards from Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.


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Blog Tour Book Review: The Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle

THE KNAVE OF HEARTS

Rhymes With Love #5

Elizabeth Boyle

Releasing on January 26, 2016

Avon

In the fifth novel of the captivating Rhymes With Love series from New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Boyle, a young woman's hopes of a match encounter a wickedly handsome complication . . .

Lavinia Tempest has been eagerly anticipating a spectacular season. But one disastrous pile-up on the Almack's dance floor derails all her plans. Add to that, the very stunning revelations about her mother's scandalous past have become the ton's latest on dits. Lavinia's future has gone from shining bright to blackest night in one misstep.

Alaster "Tuck" Rowland admits he's partly to blame for Lavinia's disastrous debut. But it's not guilt that compels him to restore her reputation. Rather, he's placed a wager that he can make Lavinia into one of the most sought-after ladies in London. Who better than an unrepentant rake to set society astir?

Tuck's motives are hardly noble. But in teaching the lovely Lavinia how to win any man she wants, he suddenly finds himself tangled in the last place he ever imagined: in love.

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For a young lady who had made a study of all things proper, Miss Lavinia Tempest always seemed to find her fair share of mishaps.

The small fire at Foxgrove. The bunting incident of ’08. And the rather infamous trampling at the Midsummer’s Eve ball two years earlier.

Sir Roger still claimed he didn’t miss those toes.

Of course, he was joking. He’d been very fond of those toes.

And worse, every time Lavinia attended a ball, soiree, or even just the weekly meetings of the Society for the Temperance and Improvement of Kempton, someone (usually Mrs. Bagley-Butterton) had to remind one and all of one of her more recent follies.

So when Lavinia entered the hallowed halls of Almack’s, it was with, she vowed, a fresh start.

A clean slate.

And so it seemed she was right. No one pulled their hem out of the way as she drew near for fear of it being trod upon or worse, the lace being completely ripped away. No one whispered behind their fan, or laid wagers as to who or what would be broken by the end of the evening.

She was, for the first time in her life, merely Miss Tempest, the daughter of the respected scholar, Sir Ambrose Tempest.

“It is just as I imagined,” she said in awe as she and her sister Louisa handed over their vouchers. The perfect place to launch herself into the lofty reaches of London Society.

After all, she’d spent most of the afternoon planning out her evening (when she hadn’t been reading her favorite Miss Darby novel).

First and foremost, she was wearing her new gown—a demure and respectable dress done in the latest stare of modest fashion. And while she had longed for brilliant sapphire silk that had been on the shelf at the modiste’s shop, that color would never do for a debut such as this.

After all, the very rule was on her list:

Proper Rule No. 3. An unmarried lady always wears demure and respectable colors. Such as white. Or a pale yellow. Or an apple green, but only if the occasion permits.

So the blue silk could only be eyed from a distance, and she’d consigned herself to the muslin, for propriety was the order of the evening.

That is if she was to gain the highest obligation of every young lady making her debut Season in London:

Proper Rule No. 1. Marriage to a respectable, sensible, well-ordered gentleman is the order of business for every proper lady.

So she had the gown, entrance into the very heart of the Marriage Mart, and now all she had to do was finish the evening without incident.

But this was Lavinia Tempest, and that was easier said than done.

“No dancing,” Louisa whispered to her as their chaperone, Lady Aveley, led them into the Wednesday evening crush. Her sister held out her hand, pinky extended, and Lavinia wrapped her own finger around it and the two sisters bound their promise together.

No dancing.

In Lavinia’s defense, she had made her promise most faithfully with every intention of remaining safely at the side of the dance floor.

She had demurred when Lord Ardmore had asked. Begging off in a charming fashion that she was “too nervous to dance,” this being her first visit to Almack’s.

She’d even refused the very handsome and dashing Baron Rimswell—though she had been sorely tested for it was only a simple reel, but then one glance at Lord Rimswell’s glossy boots and she’d thought better of it and remained firm to her promise.

No dancing.

But apparently no one had told Mr. Alaster Rowland. Now in his favor, Mr. Rowland’s boots hadn’t a fine gloss and he was rather squiffy from an indeterminate amount of brandy, so even if she had stepped on him, he was drunk enough that it would most likely dull the pain.

Like Eloisa James, Elizabeth Boyle was one of the authors whose books I practically inhaled. This is the fifth book in the Rhymes with Love series that E. Boyle has started a number of years ago. I started this series around this time and then college happened, so I lost track of the series. I am glad that I started reading historical fiction again! So in this book, we have Lavinia Tempest, twin sister to the heroine in book 4. The timeline of this book coincides with the timeline from book 4, just from the other twin's POV and what happens in her story. Lavinia is a klutz; to put it nicely. Whenever she is in attendance at a social event, there's a tendency for something to go terribly wrong. How much trouble can one young minx cause? Quite a bit. At the biggest event of the season, Lavinia tries her best to not cause a ruckus, but as best laid plans go…. Unfortunately with the help of one Mr. Alaster Rowland, Lavinia accidentally causes a scandal of epic proportions. With her reputation in tatters and chances of landing a good match out the door, Lavinia has no choice, but to return to the little town of Kempton and live out her days as a spinster. This is where Rowland a.k.a. Tuck, comes to the rescue. He hatches a plan to make Lavinia the most sought after young lady by the end of the season. Quite a feat, but not impossible. While Tuck does his best to help Lavinia, other plots are going on behind the scenes. Was Tuck's offer of assistance made in good faith or was it a mask for something else entirely? As the two work together to get Lavinia back on the marriage mart, they become closer and to me, they make the best couple, but as all love story goes, it takes a while for the players to acknowledge this little fact. All in all I thought it was a great addition to the Rhymes with Love series. I don't think there will be more stories in this series. All of the Kempton single ladies have been married off, to my best recollection, but E. Boyle might write up more stories. :D I certainly hope so.

4.5 stars

ELIZABETH BOYLE has always loved romance and now lives it each and every day by writing adventurous and passionate stories that readers from all around the world have described as “page-turners.” Since her first book was published, she’s seen her romances become New York Times and USA Today bestsellers and win the RWA RITA Award and the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice awards. She resides in Seattle with her family, her garden and always growing collection of yarn. Readers can visit her on the Web at www.elizabethboyle.com.

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Release Day Blitz: Devious Minds by Colleen Helme

(A Shelby Nichols Adventure Series #8)

by Colleen Helme

It’s been almost a year since a near-fatal gunshot wound left Shelby Nichols with the ability to read minds. In that time she’s faced one problem after another. She’s been shot at, framed for murder, and targeted by a serial killer, just to name a few. Now she’s trying to help her lawyer husband win a murder trial that will enable him to become a partner in his law firm. Sounds easy, right? But nothing ever goes as planned when it comes to Shelby Nichols.

When special agent, Blake Beauchaine, shows up to collect a debt from Shelby, things get even more complicated, and Shelby is soon on her way to Paris. A routine meeting with a rogue agent reveals a sinister plot, putting Shelby into the cross-hairs of a known terrorist. Even worse, she doesn’t speak French, so it seems her mind-reading abilities won’t help her this time.

Things go from bad to downright dangerous for Shelby, especially since her usual guardians, Uncle Joey, and his hit-man, Ramos, are back in the states. Lost and on her own in the streets of Paris, can Shelby escape the cold-blooded killer in time to stop his devious plans, or will this be the end of the line for Shelby Nichols?

Available for purchase at 

Excerpt

TEASER from Devious Minds: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

Copyright 2016 by Colleen Helme

The first day of spring arrived, filling me with an overwhelming sense of freedom. Even though the temperature wasn’t real warm, it meant that winter was officially over. Even better, a ride on the motorcycle behind Ramos was now a possibility.

I’d missed that and I’d missed him. He’d been gone for two weeks helping Uncle Joey take care of some out-of-town business. I wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed and... believe me, I didn’t want to know. Jackie, Uncle Joey’s secretary and wife, told me they were both due back in the next few days, and deep down where I didn’t want to admit it, I could hardly wait to see them again.

That probably made me a bad person, since I worked for Uncle Joey, and he was a mob-boss. Ramos was his hit-man and he’d saved my life a few times. I had to admit, it was a far cry from the first time I’d met Ramos almost a year ago, when he was thinking he might have to kill me for the big boss.

I’d had to tell Uncle Joey my secret that I could read minds to stop that from happening. Since then, my skills had come in handy for Uncle Joey, and gotten me into a lot of trouble. But he’d always been there to bail me out, both literally and figuratively.

So now I helped Uncle Joey, not because I was forced into it, but because I wanted to. That was just twisted on so many levels, and he wasn’t even my real uncle. But I couldn’t seem to stop, so I did my best to keep on the right side of things.

Ramos was another part of that story. He was one hot and swoon-worthy man any woman would fall for. I had to keep reminding myself that I was happily married every time I laid eyes on him. He was the quintessential bad boy and, like a decadent chocolate dessert with whipped cream and a cherry on top, something that I might want in the worst way, but would also be very bad for me.

If I wasn’t married with kids... well, who knew what could happen, but I loved my husband and children, and Ramos respected that. Even so, there were still times when my heart seemed to have a mind of its own around him, and I’d have to rein it in or lose control, which was not an option.

Only a handful of people knew I could read minds, and I liked it that way. I told everyone else I had premonitions, and that mostly worked. I also had my own consulting agency, which included helping the police along with my own clients. Because of that, I managed to get into even more trouble, and that wasn’t counting the mob-boss part.

Like now.

My husband, Chris, had asked for my help on a hard case. He was an associate partner in the prestigious law firm of Cohen, Larsen and Pratt. This case was the single most important event of Chris’ career, mostly because the partners were looking to replace the Cohen part of the firm, and changing it to Larsen, Pratt and... Nichols.

This was a huge deal, and I wondered if the fact that Chris handled all of Uncle Joey’s accounts had something to do with it. Probably, but I wasn’t touching that with a ten foot pole. This put a lot of pressure on me. Not as much as Chris, but still… I didn’t want to screw it up for him.

That brought me to my problem. I wasn’t sure I wanted to help Chris, mostly because he was defending a woman accused of killing her husband, and ten million dollars from the life insurance policy was in the balance. To complicate matters even more, the husband’s company was one of Chris’ biggest clients.

If they won, Chris’ firm would get a nice, fat share, and also keep the company as a client. But from everything he’d told me, she sounded guilty as sin. If I listened to her thoughts, I’d know for sure, and that would just ruin everything. It made me realize that sometimes my ‘gift’ wasn’t so great. Not when I had to use it to get someone off who actually deserved some jail time.

But... wasn’t that what I did for Uncle Joey? So how was this any worse?

In fact, I’d recently made a deal with a government agent to keep Uncle Joey out of prison. In exchange for my help on one of his cases, he’d agreed to make any charges against Uncle Joey disappear. When Uncle Joey found out what I’d done, he wasn’t too happy with me. Especially since he thought I’d told Blake Beauchaine I could read minds.

Once he knew I hadn’t, and Blake just wanted me for what he thought were my mad interrogation skills, he’d calmed down. Still, Uncle Joey told me he could have handled anything Blake might have thrown at him without my deal. To be honest, it kind of hurt my feelings. Then he made me promise to involve him if Blake ever came to collect.

So now on top of everything else, I had Blake’s phone call to look forward to, and Uncle Joey to involve after that. It was enough to give me an ulcer.

“Shelby? We’re ready for you,” Chris said, poking his head out of the conference room.

The Shelby Nichols Adventure Series

Series Trailer

About The Author

As the author of the Shelby Nichols Adventure Series, Colleen is often asked if Shelby Nichols is her alter-ego. “Definitely,” she says. “Shelby is the epitome of everything I wish I dared to be.” Known for her laugh since she was a kid, Colleen has always tried to find the humor in every situation and continues to enjoy writing about Shelby’s adventures. “I love getting Shelby into trouble… I just don’t always know how to get her out of it!” Colleen lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family. Besides writing, she loves a good book, biking, hiking, and playing board and card games with family and friends. She loves to connect with readers and admits that fans of the series keep her writing.

               

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Blog Tour Promo Post: Into the Fury by Kat Martin

BOSS, Inc. #1

Kat Martin

Releasing on January 26, 2016

Zebra

A bodyguard, a bounty hunter, a P.I.--the men of Brodie Operations Security Service, Inc. are down for the job. . .

Sinners, whores, and sluts beware--your time is at hand: a faceless menace is threatening lingerie models on a cross country tour, and Ethan Brodie is there to defend and protect.

Ethan's learned the hard way that beauty is no substitute for character. So even though Valentine Hart is one of the most breathtaking women he's ever seen, he's keeping his hands off and his eyes open. Or that's what he tells himself.

Then one of the models is murdered, and the closer Ethan gets to the answers, the closer he finds himself to Valentine--and the hotter the pressure feels. There's more to Val--more to the other girls--than he could have guessed. But one is keeping a secret that could kill them all.

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After he’d talked to Heather and a couple of the other girls about the notes they’d received, he’d decided to concentrate on the four women who lived in the Seattle area, since the note had likely come from someone in the vicinity.

            That meant Valentine, Megan, Delilah, and Isabel. He’d spoken to all but Isabel and come up with zilch.

            He figured Mark Dargan, Valentine’s trainer, was worth talking to. As Ethan shoved through the glass front door, the familiar sounds of clanking metal and the thud of weights dropping onto rubber mats reached him. The air conditioner hummed, keeping the rooms just shy of chilly, exactly the way he liked to work out.

            At the front desk he asked for Dargan, found him easily. Six feet tall, blond and athletic, the guy seemed popular with everyone in the gym. He was working with a client, midforties, balding, and probably fighting to keep the weight off. Fortunately, the workout was coming to an end.

            Finished with the last set, Dargan’s client set down the barbells, said good-bye, grabbed his workout towel, and headed off to the showers.

            “You’re Mark?”

            “That’s right.”

            “Ethan Brodie. I’m working security for La Belle. You know the name, right?”

            “Yeah. One of my clients models for La Belle.”

            “Valentine Hart.”

            “That’s right. What can I do for you?”

            “With the show coming up, we’re trying to nail down any potential problems before they arise. Valentine mentioned she’d had trouble a couple of times with guys working out at the gym. Said you’d handled them.”

            Dargan shrugged a set of lean-muscled shoulders. The guy was in great shape. But he got paid to be, same as Ethan.

            “Wasn’t any big deal,” Dargan said. “One or two got flirty, tried to get a date. One got a little pushy.” Mark grinned. “I told him I was Val’s boyfriend and he’d better leave her alone.”

            “Are you?”

            Mark shook his head. “Don’t I wish. She’s too busy for men. Or at least that’s what she says. We’ve never really been more than friends anyway, and besides, I’ve started seeing someone.”

            “Good for you.”

            “Val’s the best,” Mark said. “She’s got a beautiful figure,    not overly muscled, you know? Just smooth and toned and fit. That’s what La Belle wants in a model. It’s my job to keep her that way.”

            Ethan thought of how she’d looked in black tights under a pair of cutoff jeans, midriff bare, her top cut just low enough to hint at full breasts. His mind conjured an image of what she’d look like in nothing but skimpy lingerie, and an unwanted tightening started in his groin.

            “Any chance the guy who gave her trouble would pursue the matter, send some kind of threatening note to Val and some of the other models?”

            “I don’t think so. The man never bothered her again, only came around here a few times after that. Most guys start working out but stop after a couple of months.” Mark’s gaze ran over Ethan. “Not you, though. You stay in shape.”

            “Part of my job, same as you.”

            “You’re a bodyguard, right? How about keeping a special eye out for Val? Like I said, she’s the best.”

            “Seems you aren’t the only one who thinks so.” Mark glanced over, caught a wave from his next customer. “Anything else?”

            Ethan handed him a card. “Not unless you think of something.”

            Mark took the card and walked away, and Ethan headed for the door. As he reached the parking lot, he looked down at his big stainless-steel wristwatch. It wasn’t that late. Clouds still hovered above the city, but a weak sun pushed through in places.

            It wasn’t Hannah’s bedtime yet. His daughter would still be awake, and he wanted to see her. Since he would soon be leaving the city, he was determined to make that happen, and this time Ally wasn’t going to stop him.

            The porch light was on when he rolled up in front of the big two-story house, parked his black four-door Wrangler hardtop at the curb. Through the curtains, he could see the yellow glow of the lamp next to the sofa in the living room.

            He had almost reached the front door when he heard Allison’s laughter out in the backyard. Ethan stepped off the cement path and headed in that direction. Stopping at       the side gate, he lifted the latch, shoved the gate open, and kept walking.

            Allison Winfield sat in a blue canvas swing on the big covered patio. A man in a short-sleeved yellow Izod shirt, sandy brown hair neatly combed, sat in the swing beside her.

            In the fading light, Ethan could see Hannah sitting crosslegged on the patio a few feet away, playing with the doll he had given her. Her silky blond hair, pulled up in a ponytail, swung from the top of her head, and her blue eyes danced as she spoke to the doll she’d named Martha, God only knew why.

            His heart squeezed. Surely his little girl couldn’t have changed so much in the few weeks since he’d seen her. Surely she didn’t look older, more grown up. Yet, as he watched her, it seemed that she did.

            He started striding toward her, heard her squeal of delight when she spotted him, felt a tightening in his chest.

            “Daddy!” She was on her feet and racing toward him, the ponytail on top of her head bobbing madly. “Daddy!”

            Ethan bent and scooped her up in his arms. She smelled like cinnamon graham crackers mixed with a child’s natural sweetness. Just holding her made his heart hurt.

            “Hi, sweet cakes. How’s Daddy’s best little girl?”

            She giggled, slid her arms around his neck. “I’m Daddy’s only little girl.”

            Ally’s shrill voice had him turning. “What are you doing here, Ethan? You know you aren’t welcome.” Allison Winfield was auburn-haired, of average height, and very pretty. She had a great figure and came from a family with way too much money.

            She was also spoiled and conniving. When he’d met her, he’d been so in lust he hadn’t been able to see her faults. By the time she was pregnant with Hannah, it had been too late. “I’ve got a job that’ll take me out of town for a while,” he said. “I wanted to see Hannah before I left the city.” He kissed his daughter’s soft cheek and she giggled. Hannah made up for all the trouble Ally gave him.

            “The least you could do was call before you showed up uninvited.”

            “Every time I call, you say you’re just leaving. There’s never a time that’s convenient. She’s my daughter, too, Ally. If you don’t start making it easier for me to see her, I’m going to take you back to court.”

            He’d had to hire an attorney and get a DNA test to prove he was Hannah’s father. He’d spent a small fortune on legal fees to establish his rights, and if Allison continued to block his visitation, he was going to have to go to court again.

            “Do whatever you like,” Allison said smugly. Because she was still on Daddy’s purse strings, legal fees and court costs weren’t a problem for her. “You should have thought of Hannah before you left me.”

            “You’re the one who ended it, Ally. I would have married you and you know it.”

            “And divorced me. You made no bones about it. You said from the start you didn’t think it would work.”

            “I couldn’t make you happy. Both of us knew that.” He tipped his head to the man who stood watching from a few feet away, back straight, shoulders rigid. Slender, athletic, and handsome, he looked like a guy who played tennis or golf; not a tough guy, but ready to defend his damsel in distress.

            “Who’s your friend?” Ethan asked.

            Allison glanced behind her, tossed her shoulder-length auburn curls, gave the poor fool a come-on smile. “That’s Arthur. If it’s any of your business, which it isn’t.”

            Ethan ignored the guy, tried not to feel sorry for him. “I just want to see Hannah, Ally. I’d think you’d be happy about it. Seems like you could use a little time to yourself once in a while.”

            Arthur walked up beside her, set a hand possessively at her waist. “If you want me to make him leave, Allison, I will.”

            “Take it easy,” Ethan said. “I’m just here to see my kid.” He turned to Ally. “Give me five minutes and I’m gone.”

            Her mouth curved into a catty smile. “Why should I?”

            “Because if you don’t, there’s going to be trouble and your friend will feel obliged to interfere. That won’t go well for him. Five minutes. That’s all I want.”

            She cast Arthur a glance. He was puffed up and ready to fight. Ally must have known what the outcome would be if she goaded him any further.

            “Fine. Five minutes. Then you leave.”

Kat Martin is the author of twenty-one Historical and Contemporary Romance novels. She tackles many different aspects of her genre with settings ranging from the rugged West to the Antebellum South, Regency, Georgian, and Medieval England. Not one to shy away from change, she also tackles Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels which involve the paranormal. Some of her titles include Nothing But Velvet, Sweet Vengeance, and Dangerous Passions. These works have won a bevy of awards including a recent Romantic Times Magazine nomination for Best Historical Romance of 1998 for her latest release, Wicked Promise. She is also published in, among others, Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Russia, and Spain.

Before starting her writing career in 1985, Kat was a real estate broker. During that time, she met her husband, Larry Jay Martin, also a Kensington author. After double majoring in Anthropology and History at the University of California at Santa Barbara, she found herself incredibly interested in the past. In fact, she and Larry often do research in the areas where their books take place. She remarks, "We like to stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a bygone era."

In May, Kat will release her next Historical Romance, Night Secrets. Following that is an upcoming Zebra release, a Contemporary Romantic Suspense entitled The Silent Rose, which will be out in August. "It's a ghostly tale of romance and intrigue that was based on a real life incident," says Kat. "It's a little bit scary, a whole lot sexy, and hopefully lots of fun to read."

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