Summertime eReader Giveaway: Day 4

6:08 AM

SHELLY BELL

Twelve years ago, I gave up the search for Mr. Right. After countless dates with frogs who never turned into my prince, I’d decided I’d rather be single than endure another night of listening to a

man complain about his three ex-wives or brag about how much money he made. Of course, that’s when I got the email that would change my life. Here’s a snippet:

Hi Shelly,

My name is Jason and I live in Milford. I hadn’t looked at the Speed Dating site in a long time, and then I received an e-mail that the site was shutting down. So I decided to take a last look and found you there. I guess my profile on the site is fairly accurate, but I never submitted a picture or completed any essays. Just from your profile, you sound like someone I would like to meet. So to fill in the gaps from the profile (and convince you that I’m not some crazy stalker) let me tell you a little more about myself. I also enjoy camping and hiking as well as traveling, mostly the US by car, but someday a bit more. I am a civil engineer and work in Ann Arbor.

Boris the dog and I have a house in Milford, walking distance to downtown. We usually get a bunch of exercise walking all over town, but this cold makes it a little more challenging. He likes the cold much more than me. Or maybe the fur coat makes him not care…I’ll see if I can get a photo of myself to send to you…

We spent the rest of the day emailing back and forth. He didn’t get a photo of himself, but he did send me one of his dog, Boris and it was love at first site! Jason and I set up a phone call for the following day, and it was in that conversation, I learned his last name was Bell. My mother had told me that when she .met my father, she’d heard “bells” and I would too. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I had a feeling he was “the one.”

A day later, we met in person. As soon as I saw him, it was as if a piece of me recognized him as my soul mate. We talked for hours and only ended our date because I had a prior event. Rather than wait, he called me that night and we spoke another few hours on the phone.

Five months later, we were engaged and six months after that, we were married.

Then Boris…became my dog too.

BIO

A sucker for a happy ending, Shelly Bell writes sensual romance often with a bit of kink and action-filled erotic thrillers with high-emotional stakes for her alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines.

She began writing upon the insistence of her husband who dragged her to the store and bought her a laptop. When she’s not working her day job, taking care of her family, or writing, you’ll find her reading the latest smutty romance.

She currently writes for Avon Red Impulse.

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Red Handed (A Benediction Novel)
An exhibitionist who's waited her whole life to be seen …After her stepmother is abducted, Danielle Walker has no choice but to follow the kidnapper's cryptic instructions. Under the guise of a sex slave trainee, she must infiltrate Cole DeMarco's BDSM club and find evidence of his offshore bank account … or she'll never see her stepmother alive again. But Master Cole is no stranger, and despite the dark past they share, Danielle cannot resist his magnetic pull.

The voyeur who's always been watching …As Danielle begins uncovering Cole's secrets, the artistic voyeur arouses her deepest desires, and she surrenders to a fiery passion she never expected. But with time running out to save her stepmother, Danielle and Cole will face off against an evil growing more ruthless by the day … and discover a twisted web of lies, betrayal, and murder that neither saw coming.

iBooks | Amazon | B&N | Kobo

JANE PEDEN

The stupidest pick-up attempt I ever heard was when I was in my early 20’s working for a nonprofit

There was a particularly annoying guy named Bob from the Cincinnati office who had been bossing me around all day because he had been on many of these fundraising assignments before, and this was my first. (Rule #1: If you are thinking about trying to pick someone up later, it’s not a good idea to be condescending to them earlier in the day.)

        So, he knew what room I was in and as I was getting ready to go down to the lobby he knocks at my door. When I open it Bob says, I thought we could walk down to the lobby together. Ok, that’s a little lame, but fine.

        Then he stares down at his hand as if he’s just discovered he is holding his briefcase, and pastes this surprised, sheepish look on his face. Oh, wow, says Bob, whose own room is about five doors down the hall, I don’t want to drag this thing along to dinner. Can I just leave it here in your room and pick it up after? (Rule #2: If you think leaving your briefcase in a woman’s hotel room is your only chance you’ll be invited in, you’re probably right.)

        Needless to say, Bob never had a chance with me (See Rule #1), and I told him I’d be happy to wait right there in the hallway while he took his briefcase back to his own room. I’ll admit, though, that I flirted with him a bit later in cab on the way back from dinner, just so I could shut him down when we got to the hotel. He deserved it.

        Bob could take a few lessons from Sam, the hero in my contemporary romance, THE

MILLIONAIRE’S UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL. When millionaire Miami lawyer Sam finds himself alone in Las Vegas - and spots an elegant blonde also alone in the hotel lounge – he knows he’d much rather the two of them spend the evening together. But Camilla is as unapproachable as she is beautiful.

        Will Sam have better luck with Camilla than lame-o Bob had with me? Well, he couldn’t

do any worse . . .

BLURB:

One night together will change his life forever…

Camilla Winthrop is about to do something she’s never done in her life—she’s about to ask a man to marry her. Not just any man. She hasn’t seen Sam Flanagan in almost five years, after he coldly walked away from a passionate and intense two-week affair. Now Camilla is widowed and desperate…and marrying Sam is the only way she can protect their son.

The son he never knew about.

A hugely successful attorney in Miami, Sam certainly never expected to see the stunning Camilla come through his door again. Nor can he ignore the desire heating his blood. But after she tells him her situation, Sam is furious. He’ll marry her, but under his terms. And he’ll take everything, including Camilla in his bed…unless she can find a way to thaw the millionaire’s icy heart once more.

BIO:
Jane Peden is the pen name of a Florida trial attorney who writes sexy contemporary category romances set in the exciting South Florida city of Miami, where millionaire lawyers live extravagant lifestyles and find love when they least expect it. When Jane is not in court, you can find her at the beach with her laptop, dreaming up stories about successful, confident men who know what they want and how to get it, and smart, sexy women who demand love on their own terms. Her books promise sizzling chemistry in the face of insurmountable obstacles. And just when things could not get any worse, an emotional payoff that makes it all worthwhile. Jane grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, but decided early on that the only thing better than escaping the cold for a two-week vacation at the beach was to live there all year around, so she traded her snow boots for a jet ski and has never looked back. Jane lives on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida with her husband, two kids, two dogs, and a fish.

You can reach Jane here: @JanePeden | Facebook | Website | Goodreads

Her debut book,THE MILLIONAIRE’S UNEXPTECTED PROPOSAL is available here:

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disaster relief agency on an out-of-town job in Pittsburgh raising funds to help flood victims. After work a group of us from various cities made plans to go out to dinner together. Everyone agreed to go back to our rooms and change out of business clothes and meet up in the hotel lobby in half an hour.

KRISTI HANCOCK

At first I thought, what in the world am I going to write about? I've been married for what seems like forever, and I dated my husband exclusively for almost four years before that. So I decided to cheat. My sister is divorced and just experienced the worst pick-up attempt of her life. I'm going to share her nightmare then I'll tell you the simple thing my husband did to hook me then reel me in.

Sis, who isn't currently "on the hunt" has an old friend from high school who plays acoustic covers at different bars near where she lives. She likes to go see him with some of her girl and guy friends from high school to indulge in some no-pressure nostalgia. The singer--we'll call him Mike--knows their little tribe comes just to see and support him, so he visits with them between sets.

Approaching one of Mike's breaks on a Saturday, an older gentleman sidled up to my sister and started hitting on her. Whatever his come-ons were, they had zero impact on Sis who kept finding more creative and aggressive ways to say "no" while simultaneously flagging Mike down to come save her.

My sister is gorgeous and always has been. I've spent my life watching men fall all over themselves to grovel at her feet, leaving me to wonder, What am I? Chopped liver? The point being that I can imagine exactly how this man did whatever he could to garner her attention. He worked hard at it. Before Mike could finish his song and come to Sis's rescue, the man knocked his drink over. On my sister. On purpose. He then proceeded to wipe it off her exposed legs as she fought off his octopus-like moves.

Then he said, "I'm as bad as my grandchildren."

Sis isn't looking for someone at all right now and has only dated guys her own age. Nothing against AARP members, but she isn't interested in pursuing them or anyone else. Regardless, she's just not into more experienced men, let alone seeking them out on Match.com. I can only imagine her trying to clean herself up while simultaneously fending him off--while holding down her mini-skirt and sitting on a barstool at a hightop table. Imagine anyone trying to do that without falling off the seat.

Talk about what not to do.

Which begs the question, What in the world did my husband do to land a wild child like me?

He didn't say a word. Mr. H. is a major introvert and barely spoke with anyone in our group of friends. He came to visit his brother in our college town right after I left for a two-month internship, so he had bonded with our group while I was away. One of us graduated shortly after I returned, and our small circle of friends met up in a fast food parking lot before heading to the ceremony.

I said, "I'm thirsty."

He passed me his Mountain Dew.

We spent the rest of the day together, talking all through her party and into the night.In the morning, he kissed me when the sun came up. Sigh.

Every time I share that story I fall in love with him all over again. We're living the dream: happily ever after.

Rock His World Blurb

Sasha Ford lives life her way. Tattooed, pierced, and professionally satisfied, the Seattle music-lover has found her groove. She’s living her dream as a free-spirited graphic artist, but the fearless vixen has grown bored with her booty-calls and is on the prowl for a new conquest. Her trademark black eyeliner and scarlet lips serve as both invitation and warning to any man she pursues.

Seven years of college transformed small-town bad boy Avery Kingston into a super-geek. New to the city with his shiny PhD, he struggles to find his social identity by connecting with his tough guy roots. Attempting to merge his past with his present in the counter-culture, he finds himself in over his head—especially when sexy Sasha drags him into her world of mosh-pits and after-parties.

Sasha only expects a one night stand, but their searing chemistry leads them in a direction she’s less than comfortable with. Confronted with the female version of who Avery thought he could be, Sasha’s sexual advances bring out a carnal need to give as good as he gets. Sasha believes she can't maintain her own identity if she’s in a serious relationship, but Avery wants more than sex from his hot rebel. He must convince her of his love and respect for her fierce independent streak or say goodbye to her forever. Is Avery strong enough to make Sasha break her own rules?

Pre-order Links: Liquid Silver Books | Amazon

About Kristi Hancock

After years as a slave to corporate America riding in Learjets and limos, Kristi Hancock dropped out of the business world to teach English and reading at an inner city school. A voracious romance reader since her teens, she was thrilled to discover she could write something more than technical manuals and business proposals. She lives with her husband, a tabby cat, a Maltese, and dozens of colorful fish. She loves being a passenger on her man’s motorcycle as they carve up winding mountain roads and speed across the local lake in their boat. With a Buddha statue on her desk, a teddy bear dressed like Shakespeare on her shelf, and a drawing of a skull with a Mohawk on her wall, she lets her imagination run wild as her characters tell her their naughty stories for all the world to read.

Connect with Kristi: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Barclay Publicity’s Summertime eReader Giveaway!

More than 20 authors will be sharing their best and worst pick-up lines during this EPIC eReader Giveaway! Win dozens of prizes, including swag packs, print or eBooks, gift cards, tote, posters, themed prizes, etc...and of course, a grand prize of four (4) eReaders! Win one of four (4) eReaders including: Two 7” Kindle Fire Tablets One Kindle Paperwhite One Kindle Touchscreen + tons of runner-up prizes

Participating Authors:
7/27 Patty Blount, Sarah Castille, Lisa Nicholas
7/29 Jodi Linton, Michelle Madow, Jane Peden, Kristi Hancock, Caroline Lee
7/31 Robin Covington
8/3 Veronica Forand, Samantha Ann King, Sharon Hamilton
8/4 Kerry Adrienne
8/5 Suzie T. Roos
8/6 Linda Bond Heather Long Alyssa Richards
8/7 Michelle Sharp, Kristine Bria
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