Rumor has it that Texas just got a little hotter! Fans of Tessa Bailey and K. Bromberg will fall for this sexy story of mistaken identity, electric attraction, and irresistible romance in the first installment of the addictive new series, Austin Heat.
Jake is desperate to rewrite his past with women and leave behind the media storm surrounding his off-the-field antics that cloud his potential. He’s done with the stream of models, actresses, and NFL cheerleaders that have warmed his bed since he made a name for himself as starting quarterback for the University of Texas. He desperately wants to meet a normal girl in his hometown of Austin.
After moving to Austin to be the hired girlfriend of one of her long-term escort clients, Rakell finds herself wishing she could live a normal life with an average guy. Turned off by the billionaire clients she’s been serving for the last five years, she longs to get out of the business and build a life where she doesn’t live in the shadows of her escort persona.
Their worlds collide and the spice is off the charts. “Pretty boy” Jake Skyler has met his match with saucy-mouthed, Rakell McCarthy. Both think they’ve fallen for an average person. Both are wrong! What happens when their physical connection explodes, their hearts take charge and the secrets they are concealing are revealed?
Amari Nylix (alter ego to author Tara Delaney) tells sordid stories revolving around tempestuous love affairs that are inspired by the secret liaisons of Old West villains, heroes, and the temptress women who lure those powerful men into their webs. Amari delights in sharing her torrid stories of heart-wrenching, epic love that begin with the desires of the flesh and evolve into affairs of the heart.
In the Austin Heatseries, Amari works closely with bestselling author of both non-fiction and fiction, Tara Delaney 😉. Tara has been a pediatric occupational therapist for more than thirty years and has extensive professional experience in sensory processing and nervous system development, while also having studied how early trauma impacts our responses as adults. Tara is responsible for trimming back Amari’s numerous spicy scenes, allowing room for all the FEELS.
Award-winning author James Wade blends atmospheric prose with soul-stirring themes in Hollow Out the Dark, a gothic adventure set against a Depression-era landscape where a whiskey war threatens to decimate a small Texas town.
A veteran of the Great War, Jesse Cole is grateful for the quiet life he now leads. But when his closest friend runs afoul of local criminals Frog and Squirrel Fenley, Jesse is forced to spin his moral compass and enter a violent and volatile underworld. There he encounters corrupt lawmen, hired assassins, and a dark family secret that will upend all he once knew.
Complicating matters are Texas Ranger Amon Atkins—who arrives to investigate the Fenleys just as their empire is threatened by a deadly new competitor—and the green-eyed, raven-haired Adaline, a love Jesse thought he’d lost forever.
With resources scarce and winter falling hard on the town, a desperate Jesse must choose between the law and the lawless and find a way to survive while still protecting the people he loves.
A heart-pounding tale full of plot-twisting revelations, Hollow Out the Dark brings readers into a whiskey-fueled world where everyone has a secret, and love everlasting balances on the edge of a knife.
James Wade is the award-winning author of Beasts of the Earth, All Things Left Wild, and River, Sing Out. He is the youngest novelist to win two Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, and the recipient of the MPIBA’s prestigious Reading the West Award. James’s work has appeared in Southern Literary Magazine, the Bitter Oleander, Writers’ Digest, and numerous additional publications. James lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and children.
The Duchess of Kokora, Phera Ylir Mdana, has entered the marriage games of the neighboring kingdom of Ryene. But she’s not there to woo the dashing Prince Dominic.
Her true objective? To win back one of the other contestants, Lady Rocelle Virae—Phera’s true love and ex-fiancée.
Love proves to be a game like any other when Phera must not only mend matters with her childhood sweetheart, but conceal her true intentions in order to earn votes and stay in the competition.
And as long-brewing political tensions simmer beneath the surface, the playful veneer of the competition begins to crack. In the end, Phera, Dominic, and Rocelle find themselves united in a desperate bid to prevent a duel that threatens the integrity of the kingdom, the stability of the continent, and any hope for a happily ever after.
From playing the DM in Dungeons and Dragons to writing fantasy novels, Nikhil Prabala loves storytelling, delighting in fantasy fiction from the epic to the cozy and everywhere in between. TheDuchess of Kokora is his first published novel.
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he graduated from Stanford in 2019 and is currently based in the Bay Area. In his free time he enjoys ballroom dancing, singing, playing the guitar, tabletop games, and spending time with friends and family.
Contemporary Fiction / Christian Mystery & Suspense / Christian RomancePublisher: Tyndale House PublishersPages: 368Publication Date: September 3, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Hostage negotiator Carrington Reed faces her most dangerous challenge yet in Lethal Standoff. Called to a tense situation in South Texas, Carrington must save fifteen hostages held by the armed Kendrix brothers, who demand justice for their father’s unsolved murder.
Teaming up with investigative reporter Levi Ehrlich, Carrington delves into a web of secrets and lies. As they uncover startling truths, the stakes soar, and so does their undeniable attraction.
Can Carrington solve the mystery and prevent a deadly outcome? A riveting blend of romance and suspense, this is a must-read for fans of high-stakes thrillers.
Carrington and Levi are superheroes in my eyes. I mean, they scare me with some of the things they did in Lethal Standoff. Curiosity got the best of me, and I asked them a few questions about superheroes.
Carrington Reed
Favorite Superhero:
Wonder Woman – Carrington admires Wonder Woman’s strength, independence, and commitment to justice. She wears her costume well, too.
Superhero Carrington Relates to Most:
Black Widow – She relates to Black Widow’s complex background, skilled negotiation, and ability to remain composed under pressure. I can see this with Carrington, in a few scenes, my teeth would be chattering too much to talk.
Superhero Capability They Wish They Possessed:
Telepathy – Carrington wishes she could read minds to better understand and negotiate with others in critical situations. I’d like that ability when in “negotiations” with my husband!
Levi Ehrlich
Favorite Superhero:
Spider-Man – Levi likes Spider-Man’s relatability, wit, and sense of responsibility. I bet Levi would like to scale a few buildings with a flick of his wrist.
Superhero Levi Relates to Most:
Captain America – He connects with Captain America’s sense of duty, moral compass, and desire to do the right thing. Levi probably likes those bulging shoulder and chest muscles.
Superhero Capability They Wish They Possessed:
Superhuman agility and reflexes – Levi wishes he had these abilities to enhance his photography and journalism work, allowing him to capture crucial moments effortlessly. Levi also thinks he can write better articles with superhuman creativity.
I haven’t decided on what superhero best suits me. What about you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ard-winning author DiAnn Mills is known for her gripping romantic suspense novels where readers can Expect An Adventure. With multiple Christy Awards and numerous bestsellers, her stories captivate readers with their depth and intensity. A passionate storyteller and dedicated mentor, DiAnn is also a coffee connoisseur and proud grandmother living in Houston, Texas.
Young Texas attorney JD Thompson enjoys his life in a small Texas town, where he lives with his ABBA tribute band, college roommates, and seventy black cats that his veterinarian partner rescued before Halloween. Probate cases with inheritance squabbles leave him time to help family members, like when his grandfather receives a surprising present from the past. But the squabbles turn deadly, the present isn’t a gift, and the lovely woman who captures his heart isn’t what she seems. As he stands in ashes with murder on the doorstep, JD races to defend his client, his family, and his home. Can he untangle the dark secrets threatening to destroy everything he holds dear? The walls are already splattered with blood.
Join JD and the quirky Black Orchid Enterprises gang in their fifth Texas mystery as the holiday season rolls in—fall holidays, that is, from High Holy Days to Thanksgiving.
After stints in professional orchestras, law firms, cat rescue, bookkeeping, and technical communication, M. R. Dimond returned to a childhood dream of writing fiction, which has turned out to be about musicians, lawyers, veterinarians, accountants, and cats. Her Black Orchid Enterprises Mystery series, set in her near-native Texas, currently contains five novels with more soon to come.
She has had short fiction published in Strange Horizons, Dancing USA, and various anthologies (most recently in Dreaming the Goddess; Hook, Line, and Sinker; and Riddles, Resolutions, and Revenge), as well as nonfiction articles in various publications.
She holds an MBA from University of Tulsa and is a veteran of writing workshops, including Clarion, Viable Paradise, Jim Gunn’s Center for Science Fiction, and Taos Toolbox. She lives in the wilderness east of Austin, Texas, with her husband and many foster cats.
Morningwood is back with big plans to create a death tourism industry. Working with his old Metaphysics professor from Texas Alchemical and Metaphysical University, he delves the purgatorial realms gathering data for his venture. Standing in their way is university president T. Smedley Stalwart and his band of religious zealots – the Ancient and Loyal Order of the Holy Armadillo. FBI agents Flockham and Morales return to infiltrate and monitor ALOHA.
With the help of brilliant metaphysical engineer Yong Mi Hernandez, safety inspector Conrad Dopplebock, and guided by the wisdom of Cotton Widdershins, the Deus Tex Machina is a success. Sort of.
Rob Witherspoon was born and raised in rural Texas. He earned a BA in Physical Education, UT Arlington 1985 and a BS in Aerospace Engineering, UT Arlington 1990. He lives in north central Texas with his wife and youngest daughter and has spent much of his life in rural communities and on the ranch.
Felicity Koerber is finally getting her life together. She has a fiancé, her bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand has become a gathering spot for the community, and she is ready to embrace whatever the future holds. She’s ready for another launch party – despite the disaster at her grand opening, when she’d first gotten involved with solving a murder. And this time she’s embracing her status as a sleuth. She’s hosting a murder mystery weekend to celebrate the new Mystery Flavor line of craft chocolate bars. She’s held a contest to choose the attendees, who will all stay at her aunt’s flip hotel and enjoy the island. It’s all supposed to be perfectly random – only, Felicity starts to uncover connections between her guests. When one of them winds up murdered, Felicity has to keep her aunt from becoming the main suspect.
The killer is very clearly calling Felicity out, leaving clues that mean little to anyone other than her. But that doesn’t narrow down the suspect pool. Her guests are there because they love the true crime podcast she’s been featured on. And she can’t decide whether the killer wants her to catch them – or just wants to taunt her.
Meanwhile, Felicity is also playing host to her future in-laws and discovers that her fiancé’s sister, who is also a cop, is very competitive. Can Felicity hold her own and make a good impression, while keeping her business together and her aunt out of jail? And can Felicity solve it in time to protect the people she cares about from becoming additional victims?
Satchmo the retired police dog turned therapy dog returns to help her sniff out a few clues, and one of the guests brings along a ferret named Cheeseburger, who keeps showing up in the most unexpected places.
Top Ten list for A CHOCOLATE IS ANNOUNCED by Amber Royer
In my newest Bean to Bar Mystery, A Chocolate is Announced, my protagonist Felicity hosts a murder mystery weekend at the hotel her aunt is in the process of flipping. Of course, everything goes horribly wrong.
Mystery weekends are something between a party, a play and a game. There are so many moving parts, it would be easy for something to go wrong. And in a book, it’s best if everything goes wrong. So what are my top ten ways to ruin a mystery weekend?
10. Show up early and ask lots of questions to the folks trying to get everything set up. This is sure to put them in a bad mood when dealing with the guests that arrive on time. This happens to Felicity – before she’s even had her coffee.
9. Bring a pet, without asking permission. Everyone is bound to love your little snookums, right? Nobody will be allergic to or frightened of your pet, right? Well . . . not always.
8. Bring your laptop and phone. You can spend your down time working on something else. That won’t annoy anyone at all, even if you don’t really engage with what’s going on.
7. Show up drunk. It’s bound to be 5 o’clock somewhere. Especially in a beach town like Galveston, where my Bean to Bar stories are set.
6. Take pictures and video of everything, without permission, even during parts of the event that are clearly scripted, and post it immediately. (Felicity has to set ground rules about this one.)
5. Criticize the food. Imply that it’s unappetizing and unsafe. Even if someone winds up being poisoned on sight, you shouldn’t just blame the buffet. So go ahead and make everybody paranoid.
4. Steal things. Nothing will turn people against each other like making them suspect that someone is a thief.
3. Invite extra people. Or even better, manipulate the guest list so that you replace the people who should have been invited with people who know and dislike each other.
2. Make it impossible for everybody to leave. Otherwise, how can they be fully annoyed by all the steps you’ve taken to ruin the fun.
1. Commit an actual murder. This is sure to overshadow whatever lame mystery was scripted for the weekend. Congratulations! You have become a genuine villain. Look forward to being caught by a LARPer or armchair detective.
Of course, not all of these steps are likely to be committed by the same person. Which leaves Felicity with a large pool of suspects, and a lot to deal with as she sifts through the clues. It was a fun book to write. I hope you enjoy the read!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach.
Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape, architecture, and wildlife photographs.
If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at http://www.amberroyer.com.
Time Travel Romance / Contemporary Women’s Fiction / Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Abalos Publishing
Date of Publication: June 11, 2024
Number of Pages: 286 pages
Scroll down for Giveaway!
SYNOPSIS
Most of us would jump at a chance for a do-over of our teenage years…but what if our worst mistakes lead to our happily-ever-after?
Josie Gardner’s life revolves around her amazing children and her career. But, when her husband threatens to take her kids in their divorce, and the business she’s put most of her passion, time and money into building is at risk of failing, a panic attack shatters her grip on reality… and the present.
Josie wakes up in her teenage bedroom, thirty years in the past. She’s forced to relive her emotionally devastating senior year of high school — the year she cut her father out of her life, caused one of her best friends to sever ties, and turned away the boy she loved.
Determined to get back to her children in her own time, Josie tries to fix the mistakes she made, in the hope that righting wrongs will send her back to the present. But when tempted by her high school crush Josie faces the real possibility of losing her future for good.
Would you take a second chance for love…even if it meant losing everything?
This Time Around by Kimberly Packard was such a heartwarming, enchanting modern story! This story follows Josie, a 47 year old who’s life seems to be tearing at the seems. But, before the horrible day is over, Josie is thrust back to her 17 year old self, and gets to relive her senior year of high school. It somewhat reminded me of the movie 17 again, only instead of just having a 17 year old body, Josie is reliving her senior year, but learning so much more about herself. I’m sure we have all questioned “what would we change if we could go back?” And that is the true question that drives this story… what would Josie change? And DOES she change anything once she relives what happens to be a significant year in shaping her life?
There was so much to enjoy about this book! It’s fast paced, with highly engaging characters. The story itself is very enchanting! I have to admit, I really enjoyed Josie’s relationship with her mother. These two were priceless on the page and lovely to read about. I love how Josie seems to have a new awareness about things regarding her mother, it allowed her to see and understand the choices her mom hade made.
This book was so fun! And it grasped my full attention, though it was a quick read, it was hard to put down because I so very much loved Josie’s character and I wanted to see what was going to happen to her.
I highly recommend this book! Perfect read for a summer breeze!
Rating: 5/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Packard is an award-winning author of women’s fiction.
When she isn’t writing, she can be found planning her next trip, asking her dog what’s in his mouth or curled up with a book. She resides in Texas with her husband Colby, a clever cat named Oliver and a precocious black lab named Tully.
Her debut novel, Phoenix, was awarded as Best General Fiction of 2013 by the Texas Association of Authors. She is also the author of a Christmas novella, The Crazy Yates, and the sequels to Phoenix, Pardon Falls and Prospera Pass, and her stand-alone titles Vortex, Dire’s Club and This Time Around. She was honored as one of the Top 10 Haute Young Authors by Southern Methodist University in 2019. Vortex was the 2019 winner of the Pencraft award in Women’s Fiction, and Dire’s Club, was awarded the 2021 General Fiction of the Year by the North Texas Book Festival.
The links in the above schedule are general links and go to each blog’s home page only. At the
conclusion of the tour, a direct links
schedule will be provided so you can go directly to each tour post.
Children’s Horror / Fantasy / Magic / Chapter Book
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press
Page Count: 246
Publication Date: January 9, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Stewart sees a ghostly figure out of the corner of his eye. He and his friend, Andy, begin a ghost investigation that leads to an adventure of a lifetime. Coming face-to-face with a ghost, the boys make a decision to join forces with a group of girls, who have encountered a ghost of their own. The kids soon find that the ghosts that they’ve encountered are in imminent danger and need their help. Can the kids devise a plan to help the ghost in time? Will they be able to reunite a ghost with his lost family? Complete with a ghost village and a feud, this story takes on a life of its own.
Award-winning author Amanda M. Thrasher was born in England and moved to Texas, where she lives with her family. She writes YA, general fiction, middle grade, early reader chapter, and picture books. She is the founder and CEO of Progressive Rising Phoenix Press.
“Discharged from a hospital just means you’re not dead.” These words of Ralph B. Lilly, M.D., describe his early struggle to recover from a traumatic brain injury. Lilly was a forty-four-year-old practicing neurologist sitting on his motorcycle at a red light when a drunk driver rear-ended him in 1980. In the ICU, after regaining consciousness and being told what happened, he asked, “What’s a hospital? What’s a motorcycle?” This tragic experience transformed his life and his approach to his neurology practice: doctors treat those with brain injury; but loved ones heal them.
Second Lives: The Journey of Brain Injury Survivors and Their Healersis written by Dr. Lilly and Diane F. Kramer. After his death in 2021, Kramer completed the book with the assistance of Lilly’s wife Joyce Stamp Lilly. This memoir weaves together Ralph Lilly’s experience with a collage of stories about his patients and their healers. After his recovery, Lilly retrained in the emerging field of behavioral neurology, which focuses on behavior, memory, cognition, and emotion after brain injury.
His clinical skills and expert witness testimony were sought by physicians, survivors, families, and attorneys to secure the best “second life” for survivors. His many patients marveled at his uniquely compassionate approach: “What doctor gives you his cell number and says call any time?” Lilly’s pioneering career spanned forty years from Brown University’s Butler Psychiatric Hospital in Rhode Island to Nexus Health System and private practice in Houston, Texas. He treated ER and hospital inpatients whose loved ones were in acute quandary, as well as outpatients who’d long given up finding a doctor who knew how to help. Lilly’s memoir is full of heart, not science, and will provide insight to general readers, family, and friends of patients with brain injury, as well as those who treat them.
His narration is unintentionally poignant, often punctuated by wry humor. He generously incorporates the words of his patients and their families in telling their stories. Their gratitude for his care is profound. As one former patient said, “Without Dr. Lilly, I’d be dead or in jail.
A neurologist for over half a century, Ralph B. Lilly, MD had a passion for learning and teaching. A traumatic brain injury in 1980 shifted his focus from general neurology to behavioral neurology, the study of how brain injury affects behavior. After completing a fellowship in neurobehavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, he served as a clinical assistant professor with the Brown University Program in Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island, consulting with psychiatrists looking for possible neurological causes for their patients’ psychiatric symptoms. In Texas, he worked joined what is now Nexus Health Systems and became a clinical assistant professor at The University of Texas in Houston. Lilly focused his life’s work on treating brain-injury survivors and counseling their families, who were victims in their own right. He saw these “healers” as instrumental in guiding the injured loved one to a “new life.” He practiced in Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Texas, and wherever he was called to help. Before his death in 2021, Lilly lived in Washington, Texas, with his wife, Joyce, three dogs, six cats, and two horses.
Diane F. Kramer retired from the counseling and psychology departments of Austin Community College in 2008 and began writing personal essays, family histories, and fiction. As a volunteer with the Brenham Animal Shelter, she wrote a weekly column on animal welfare for The Brenham Banner Press. Her writing has also appeared in Alamo Bay Press anthologies and blogs Peace through Pie and Drash Pit. She currently writes website copy and press releases for Brenham Lifetime Learning and the Read of Washington County. She lives with her husband and their rescue dog and cat in rural Texas.
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