#SaturdaySpotlight is on Alina K Field & Haunting Miss Fenwick

Good Morning!

Well our Fall weather is quickly turning to Indian Summer here in SW Louisiana. Cooler mornings the last couple of days faded to warmer temps getting up in the 80's. That's OK though....those cooler nights allow us to open windows and let lots of fresh air in!

Today's guest is not brand new to the blog. She shared some did an Eggcerpt Exchange   on Thursday Thoughts a couple years ago so please welcome Alina back with her latest book!

Take it away, Alina....

While he’s haunting Miss Fenwick,

Miss Fenwick haunts him.

Thrilled to finally have a permanent home, a Squire’s daughter won’t let a supernatural creature scare her away. While hunting the ghost she doesn’t believe in, she stumbles upon a mysterious flesh and blood man who might be the key to all of her problems.

When the new Squire moves into Fenwick Manor, an ex-army officer secretly searching the sprawling medieval wreck devises a plan. First, the manor’s legendary ghost will chase servants away. Then, he’ll convince the new residents to leave.

But the Squire’s spirited daughter soon has him wondering if he might have found a perfect comrade in arms to help battle old enemies and find the proof that will clear his family name.

Excerpt: “I would never hurt you or Sir Newton.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it.

Her answering tremble passed through her arm and into him.

Outside, the lightning and thunder had died, but the rain slapped the window sharply. Like as not it had had turned to sleet.

He slipped the edge of the blanket over her shoulder and pulled her closer. “You’re cold as well.”

She angled her head and studied him. “Is there truly treasure here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

Never confess. Money would be sweet, but it wasn’t what he was looking for.

“You would steal it from us?”

It wasn’t stealing. If he found money, he would merely be taking back from Sir Richard what was owed, what was needed to save his brother’s life.

Digging deep, steeling himself, he gave her the look he’d honed as a young officer, a look he’d used on his most ill-disciplined men, the one he could hold observing a lashing…and for the worst cases, a hanging.

She glared back at him, as fiercely defiant as the worst denizens of the rookeries.

He shook his head and sighed.

“Does anything frighten you?” His hand slipped lower, down her arm and under it, over a slim waist to a generous curve that made his breath—and other parts of him—stir.

“Mr. Greggson’s attempt on my person was alarming. I thank you for saving me.” A shudder went through her. “Would he have attempted more than a kiss, do you think?”

His fingers moved of their own will, softly stroking. “He’s not a man you should be alone with.”

“Yes, I do know that. You and my father have both said so. But what about you, Freddy? Ought I to be alone with you?”

He’d never forced a woman, not ever. Not even after the madness of battle had he succumbed to that primitive drive. He’d done his duty to restore order within his men as well.

He’d understood their mad impulses though.

“I am a gentleman, Tilly.”

She stirred. “Papa…has not been feeling well, I think. I was ever so happy to see him out in the fresh air, but I’ve worried so about him. Mr. Greggson doesn’t know that, but he does know I’m my father’s only child. He seeks to coerce me into marriage because he’s after the estate and its income, and whatever valuables may be found here, which when Papa dies, he believes will be mine.” She let out a minty breath. “But you, Captain Sanderford, you I believe would prefer just money and not my person along with it.”

“Tilly—”

“And so, it would probably be wise for you to unhand me.”

His hand tightened, bunching the cloth of her robe. “Unhand you?”

She tilted her head and gazed at him, almost an equal in height now that they were sitting. Her lips had parted a fraction and locks of hair draped the deep blue of eyes that glistened in the light from the candles.

“Oh, Tilly.” He dipped his head and touched his lips to hers.

Softness. The scents of mint and soap and lilac.

His chest pounded and every nerve in his body roared. She hadn’t pulled away, hadn’t pushed, hadn’t slapped him.

Proceed with caution, he reminded himself. He pressed closer and slanted his lips, coaxing until her mouth opened.

His hand strayed up, under her breast, and he drew her against him.

What, besides parchment, was under the high-necked gowns and the heavy robe?

Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but she prefers the much happier world of romance. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband, her spunky, blonde, rescued terrier, and the blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave.

She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!

Visit her at:

https://alinakfield.com/

https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield

https://twitter.com/AlinaKField

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field

https://www.pinterest.com/alinakf/

https://www.instagram.com/alinak.field/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field

Newsletter signup:  https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z6q6e3

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY

Haunting Miss Fenwick is PG-13 heat level, releases next week, is on Pre-Order for only 99 cents! and can be purchased at Amazon, Kobo, B&N for Nook and Apple Books.

Wow....nice excerpt Alina! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new release.

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care and God bless!
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight

Good Morning!

Normally I'd say welcome to the last Saturday Spotlight for March but my scheduled guest could not be here, and I was unable to scramble in a replacement, therefore NO Saturday Spotlight today )and NO this is NOT an early April Fools joke either LOL!).

Since it is Easter weekend I don't mind not having a guest. We'll just take today to remember what today and tomorrow signify.....

the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The St Patrick's day romance giveaway is over as is Eggcerpt Exchange but Timeless Suspense is still available for a limited time.

I pray your Easter is Blessed and Happy and that you'll take time out to reflect on all God has done for you!

Join me next week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday spotlight.

Until then, take care and God bless.

PamT

#ThursdayThoughts #EggcerptExchange with Jana Richards

Good Morning and Welcome!

It's Holy Thursday, the day many celebrate the Last Supper.

It's also the last Eggcerpt Exchange post for this year.

Tuesday I introduced a new to me author and today is another....

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.

In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com or the following Social Media sites...

Blog:  http://janarichards.blogspot.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards

Amazon UK Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B002DEVWWG

Newsletter Signup: http://janarichards.com/contact.html#newsletter

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards

Google+ Profile:  https://plus.google.com/100820406211390323245

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jana-richards

Jana is sharing with us her brand new series of contemporary romances and tells us they are "spicy with fully developed love scenes" so be aware if you check them out!

Love at Solace Lake Series Blurb:

Love is worth the risk…

When their grandfather dies, the Lindquist sisters, Harper, Scarlet and Maggie, inherit the northern Minnesota fishing lodge that had been in their family for three generations. The inheritance is bittersweet. They were raised at the lodge by their grandparents. The natural beauty of the place hasn’t changed, but the building itself is crumbling and desperately in need of repair. The lodge also reminds them of what they lost. Twenty-two years previously, their parents died there in what was ruled a murder/suicide.

 As the sisters struggle to breathe new life into the failing lodge, old fears and questions rise to the surface even as new love presents itself. Why did their father murder their mother? What truths did their grandparents keep from them? The sisters must fight to keep the wounds of the past from putting their futures, and their fledgling relationships, in jeopardy.

She can’t live with one more lie. He can’t tell the truth.

Harper Lindquist is convinced she’s found the answer to her financial prayers. Unless she pours cash into crumbling Solace Lake Lodge, she’ll lose her family’s legacy. Her would-be savior arrives in the middle of a Minnesota blizzard and she’s determined to prove to her reluctant, and trapped, financier the lodge is a sound investment. But Harper isn’t completely honest with him. And she has no idea the lake is hiding secrets of its own.

Ethan James is a liar, but his money is very real. He isn’t convinced a broken-down inn is a smart investment opportunity. But the more he understands Harper’s dreams and desires, the more he wants to be the man to make them come true. The trauma in both their pasts means neither can fully trust the other. They must find the courage to love, to trust, and to accept, or yesterday’s sorrows will keep them apart.

No matter how deeply buried, secrets rise to the surface.

Scarlett Lindquist has agreed to help her sisters rebuild the dilapidated fishing lodge in Minnesota they inherited from their grandparents. Although the lengthy restoration is bringing the three sisters closer together, Scarlett’s support is temporary. Her leave of absence from her job in Chicago is temporary and she has no intention of staying at Solace Lake Lodge, where the lake holds dark secrets. When frightening childhood memories resurface, they are tempered by her fascination with an irritating contractor. If only she could trust her feelings for him. If only he could trust her.

Cameron Hainstock meets Scarlett at his brother’s wedding to her sister and their attraction is instantaneous. But Cam avoids the beautiful marketing executive. All his efforts are aimed at battling for custody of his only child. When the unimaginable happens and Cam faces the biggest challenge of his life, he’s reluctant to accept help to halt his downward spiral. Can they learn to trust each other and fight for a future together or will they go their separate ways?

The truth could destroy them. Or set them free.

Maggie Lindquist left Solace Lake determined never to return. Circumstances have pulled her back and she’s helping to restore her family’s dilapidated fishing lodge. When she agreed to the plan she didn’t expect to have to work side by side with the man who abandoned her ten years earlier. She didn’t expect to like him, or want him ever again. But can she trust him as she once did?

Luke Carlsson rushes home to tend to his ailing mother. Her lengthy illness means he needs to stay, at least temporarily. And to stay, he needs to work. Solace Lake Lodge offers him a job and an opportunity to work with the woman he’s never stopped loving. But the restoration is unleashing secrets hidden for decades and no one is left unscathed. Especially not Maggie and Luke, whose love needs to be resilient enough to forgive, and strong enough to build a future together.

If you enjoy contemporary romances, this sounds like a great series! Love at Solace Lake books can be purchased through Amazon

Jana will be out of pocket today but will check in and respond ASAHP and over the weekend.

Hope you enjoyed today's Eggcerpt Exchange and that you'll stop by each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Also today is the LAST day to participate in the St. Patrick's Day Romance Giveaway so if you haven't entered do so ASAHP!

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#TuesdayTreasures #EggCerptExchange with Robin Michaela

Well, March is wrapping up as is this year's Eggcerpt Exchange. I am always pleased to bring you a new to me author so please welcome, Robin Michaela with The Billionaire’s Club Boxed set. I was on Robin's blog last week. You can check it out here.

I'm Robin Michaela and I’m thrilled to be one of the 12 authors in The Billionaire's Club multi-author boxed set! The Billionaire’s Club is all about high stakes, risk takers, and power-wielding billionaires. This sizzling hot set will take you on a ride of romance, seduction, and games of wealth and fortune. Find out what happens when these powerful men meet their match.

Part of my book, Stealing the Billionaire’s Heart, takes place in Venice. In one scene, Lyra and Nicolas take a dreamy gondola ride to a romantic restaurant overlooking a tiny canal. While they’re dining, their gondola gets caught up in a traffic jam of sorts, plugging the canal entrance and forcing them to walk back to Nick’s palazzo.

When my husband and I visited Venice a few years ago, I was fascinated with a small corner of a canal off St. Mark’s Square. It was filled to overflowing with at least a dozen gondolas (and a lot of noise!) as the gondoliers jockeyed for prime positions to snag customers. That memory inspired Lyra and Nick’s romantic evening. I hope you enjoy it!

BLURB:

Lyra Bretton is stunned when she’s abandoned at the altar. Figuring the best way to get over one man is to get under another one, she combs the luxurious Las Vegas resort where she was to be married, intent on spending her almost-wedding night with the sexiest man she can find.

Billionaire womanizer, Nicolas Sebastian, is tempted by the beautiful bride’s shocking proposal. The workaholic COO of the family hotel chain can’t deny his attraction to the woman who should be weeping in her room instead of shredding her wedding gown in his lounge. Their chemistry is explosive, but Nicolas has been burned before. He’ll never commit his heart because he learned years ago that women are only interested in his wallet.

Their Vegas fling soon turns into something neither of them can control. But, when they travel to his lavish property in Italy, money goes missing and expensive jewelry turns up in Lyra’s possession, putting their fragile future in jeopardy. Unless they can find a way to trust again, they risk losing each other forever.

EXCERPT:

As Nicolas stood in the shadows, Lyra shifted and caught sight of him. When she did, she beamed and held out her hand. “Come here, Nick. You’re missing all the fun.”

“What’s up?”

“Well…I’m hoping you will be, lover…and very soon.” She wet her lips and squeezed his hand.  “But I was referring to the Gondola Wars going on down there.” Gesturing toward the canal, she raised her wine glass and saluted the gondoliers on the canal below.

He grinned and slid into his chair, then leaned over to look below. Two boats were cruising the tiny canal, side-by-side. They’d apparently gotten stuck together in the narrows, but that didn’t deter the gondoliers. Each was pushing and prodding the other’s boat in an attempt to get free. Their passengers clung to each other as the gondolas rocked in their wake. While Nicolas watched, their own gondola got caught in the altercation. Their gondolier had untied his boat and drifted away from the other vessels, but ended up being just wide enough to snugly jam all three boats together, blocking the entrance to the canal.

“Looks like we’re walking home,” Nicolas commented.

“I hope not. I have no idea where we are. This city is like a maze.”

“No worries, I know exactly where the palazzo is.” He winked at her. “Stick with me, kid, I’ll get you places.”

Lyra squinted at him. “Isn’t that an old joke? I don’t remember the setup, though.”

“What did the stamp say to the envelope?”

Lyra giggled. “Oh…stick with me…I get it.”

By the time they finished their meal, she was grateful for the chance to walk off some of their food. They were holding hands, strolling the dark cobblestone streets, and stopping about every fifty feet to kiss.

“It’s a good thing I don’t live here,” she told Nicolas. “I’d be on a permanent diet. I adore pasta.”

“The meal was superb,” he agreed, “but you wouldn’t need to diet if you lived in Venice.”

“Why not?”

He stopped as they reached the crest of the small bridge they were crossing, then cupped the back of her head and drew her into a leisurely kiss that had her pulse thrumming. “Because I can think of plenty of ways to work it off. Say, by chasing you around the bedroom every night.”

“Why, Nick, what makes you think I’d run?”

HEAT LEVEL:

PG-17 to X (Steamy to erotic romance)

BUY LINK:

The Billionaire's Club releases on May 29, 2018. PREORDER NOW for just $0.99!

BIO:

Robin Michaela writes heartfelt, small town contemporary romances in all levels of heat, from sweet to steamy. Her stories combine family, pets, hope and friendship – all the elements that bring her readers emotional and enduring love stories.

By day, she’s a dental hygienist in the Deep South. By night, Robin can be found crafting her next novel - often while trying to type around The Cat On The Keyboard. She's a runner and chocolate lover (which explains why she runs) and happily married to her own Handsome Prince.

Robin loves to hear from readers. Subscribe to her newsletter and get her FREE sexy novelette, Marrying Mr. Wrong, just for signing up!

Website: www.robinmichaela.com

Blog: https://robinmichaela.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobinMichaelaRomances

Twitter: https://twitter.com/robinsromances

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16141341.Robin_Michaela

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#ThursdayThoughts #EggCerptExchange with Valerie Ullmer!

Good Morning!

Well the EggCerpt Exchange blog hop is coming to a close. Just two more posts after this one. Hard to imagine Easter is just a little over a week away! On April Fools Day no less! Can't say as I ever remember that happening before.

Anyway please welcome a new-to-me author to our blog and get a peek into her paranormal, erotic, novel, Jade....

Jade never wanted a mate.  She loved being an assassin and she had a family in her fellow assassins, their mates, and little Silas.  She truly had everything she needed.  But when Ghost assigned her to track the same immortals who tried to kill Xander’s family, she couldn’t refuse. 

But the complication arises when Ghost requests she partner with Noah, a human and ex-special forces soldier.  Jade has never worked with a human before, much less one that hated her from the moment he laid eyes on her.  But she was a professional and if she could play a part in destroying the immortals who threatened her family, she could accept the human.  If only she knew how to fight her attraction to him.


All Noah Hale wanted was to kill the immortals who lured his best friend and fellow ex-Navy SEAL to his death.  He had no desire to be teamed with a beautiful tracker who mesmerized him the moment she turned her emerald eyes his way.  But in order to stop other soldiers from pursuing the same fate, he needed to swallow his pride and work with a group of immortals he didn’t trust.

As Jade and Noah track the group of shifters through the mountains of Colorado, the danger lurking around every corner threatens everything they both hold close.  Will they be able to find a way through, together?

Excerpt:

Jade caught a scent of a human as she entered the fourteen-story building in downtown Snowfall.  It wasn’t just any human scent, but something that made all of her instincts flare.  She knew that she’d never caught this particular scent before, but something told her that this human might be important to her.  She tried to brush it off as quickly as the thought came, but she couldn’t find it coincidental she smelled it in the same steel building owned by Ghost and housed the headquarters of Dark Company.

As she dismissed the fleeting thought of searching for the scent, her heart thumped once, hard, in her chest at the thought of not finding its owner.  She forced herself to walk toward the elevator bank, ignoring the unwanted perusals she received from the men in the lobby.  Even in an unassuming hoodie and black yoga pants, she drew unwanted attention.  A side effect of being an immortal.

The elevator opened as soon as she pressed the up-button and she kept her gaze down as she walked into the elevator.  She entered the code to get to Ghost’s private floor, her movements too quick to be caught by the human eye, before she squeezed into the corner.  Jade used her other senses as three men in suits and two women entered the enclosed space with her.  There was no need to glance at the glass interior that covered the back wall to see what she looked like.

She sensed eyes on her.  Instead of searching out the gaze, she whipped her long, straight dyed black hair into a bun on the back of her head with quick movements before sneaking her hands into the front pockets of her hoodie.

Jade waited patiently as the car traveled toward the penthouse, her ultimate destination, but she couldn’t help but try to find the intriguing scent from earlier.

After my meeting.

All she knew was he hadn’t used the particular elevator she was in and the higher the lift took her in the building, the more his scent dissipated.

In her entire existence, or what she remembered of it, she’d never been attracted to…anyone.  She’d never felt the pull to find someone either.  But lately, she’d felt increasingly restless whenever she had any downtime and her skin tingled in a way that had nothing to do with signaling immediate danger.  It was as though her body tried to convey something she didn’t understand.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a man who had gotten into the elevator with her on the first floor stepped into her personal space.

“Hey, beautiful?”

Jade rolled her eyes and raised her head to glare at the man.  Of course, he wouldn’t take the hint that she wanted to be left alone.  To emphasize the point, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, moving away from his intrusion.

The man decided to take this as an invitation and moved to wrap his arm around her waist.  The move gave her a clear shot to his ribs and she took it, gently moving her elbow back and making contact.  She flinched when she heard a distinctive crack, realizing she hadn’t been careful enough.  Before she could apologize, the elevator door opened and he ran off without looking back, holding onto his side.

She sighed.

Purchase Jade at Amazon  Amazon UK & Amazon AU

Author Bio: Valerie writes paranormal and contemporary erotic romances. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her wonderfully supportive husband and their funny and wise black lab. She's addicted to coffee, crime shows, and reading and writing character-driven romances.

Hope you enjoyed the eggcerpt exchange (I was on Valerie's blog Monday) and that you'll stop back each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#ThursdayThoughts #EggcerptExchange with Kathleen Rowland

Good Morning!

Yep, it's time for another Eggcerpt Exchange. Today's guest has visited often so please welcome her back....One note of importance, Reader Friends, Kathleen writes hot, steamy, erotic romance so please be aware if you check out her books!

Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with an erotic love story sure to melt their hearts.  Her latest release is One Night in Havana, #34 in the City Nights erotic romance series.

Kathleen also has a steamy romantic suspense series with Tirgearr Publishing, Deadly Alliance is followed by Unholy Alliance. Keep an icy drink handy while reading these sizzling stories.

Kathleen used to write computer programs but now writes novels.   She grew up in Iowa where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake Okoboji.  Now she wears flip-flops and sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were lightning bugs in California.

Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband, Gerry, in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy neighbors.  While proud of their five children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write.  If you’d enjoy news, sign up for Kathleen’s newsletter at http://www.kathleenrowland.com/ or connect with her via one of her blogs (Wordpress or Blogger), on Amazon, Good Reads, Twitter, and/or Facebook

HAVANA BAY CUBA

Author Kathleen Rowland picked the setting of Cuba for a reason. She wanted to trap her proud Cuban professor there. He survives because of his flamboyant personality and opportunistic nature. Cuba is a fascinating mid-century time warp. The 1950s cars still run due to amazing mechanics.  No matter how hardworking, Cubans exist under strict communistic rules such as the inability to move from one section of the country to another. Without free-enterprise they can’t make much money.  If they do leave, they can only bring ten thousand dollars with them, but this would be a huge amount of money for most Cubans. Big business such as cigar manufacture is government-run.

One Night in Havana—blurb:

A desperate competition and sizzling attraction leads to dangerous desire.

New York Marine biologist Veronica “Roni” Keane is attending the Havana Bay Conference in Cuba. Tomorrow only one grant will be awarded which will provide the winner with professional recognition, resources for a project, and living expenses for two years. She hopes to continue her deceased father’s work, but smooth operator, Carlos Montoya, has won many grants in the past.

Carlos, a freelancer for the Havana Port Authority, works to help protect Havana’s reputation as a bastion of safety. As international travelers flock to the island, attracted by its 1950’s time-warp and colonial architecture, the drug business is running rampant, particularly on Roni’s cruise ship. Something’s not right, and when her scuba tanks are tampered with, Carlos brings in the military police to investigate. For her safety, he keeps her close, but he craves her body.

Their attraction leads to a fun night with a bit of kink. But Roni finds herself in more trouble than she bargained for when the criminals blame her for alerting the military police and come looking for her. Can Roni trust Carlos to protect her? Will she stay in Havana if Carlos wins the coveted grant, or kiss her lover goodbye?

Excerpt-- Chapter One

“Why, Veronica Keane.” A voice heavy with a Spanish accent drawled from behind her. “A dive bar?” A taunting tsk. “What do we have? A slumming New Yorker?”

She stiffened and closed her eyes. She knew that voice and its owner, Dr. Carlos Montoya, a finalist like her, competing for the same damn grant at the biggest Cephalopoda conference of the decade. Her heart pitter-pattered against her ribs. To turn toward him would intimate distress, or worse yet, weakness. She wouldn’t fail to win this grant, not when she was a final contender. “I like this funky little place.” Sia Macario Café, smack in the center of Havana, allowed her to observe locals and their daily lives.

“You need to eat with all the mojitos you’ve downed.” The big tease wasn’t counting. This was her first drink, but his rumbling, sexy timbre hinted at all kinds of dark, hot promises. She’d rubbed shoulders with the Cuban scientist all week. This splendid specimen of Latin male brought on a physical ache that punched low.

A flare-up stirred fear. For her own good, she needed to resist. “I ordered camarones enchiladas.” By now she knew the menu on the chalkboard by heart. She tipped her head back to whiff grilled shrimp soon to arrive in sofrito sauce with fried sweet plantains.

“The flan is good. Just like my abuela makes.”

“I bet. Your grandmother would be happy to hear that,” she said, knowing he brought out the best in most people. Two days ago he'd invited her and a handful of others scuba diving. The chance to ogle him had been one of the perks. He’d worn nothing but swim trunks, his bare chest on display. Every glistening muscle was finely etched. Not a drop of fat on him. Since he’d not given her the time of day, she’d checked him out without him noticing.

The hard-bodied host had led the way toward habitats of soft-bodied creatures. To find where invertebrates lived was never an easy task. Octopuses squeezed into narrow passages of coral for protection and gave females a place to keep their eggs. She’d discovered the remains of a few meals nearby. Octopuses scattered rocks and shells to help them hide.

 This grant meant so much to her and no doubt to him as well. Veronica mindlessly toyed with the gold necklace around her neck, but anxiety crackled through her brain. Unlike this man of action, she lacked the flamboyant personality necessary to talk people into things. Carlos had that ability. He'd made friends with judges on board while she’d conversed with an older woman about a box of scones made with Cuban vanilla cream.

That day the wind had picked up to a gale force, and this woman named Bela with Lucille Ball red hair needed help walking to her home. The half mile down the seaside promenade, The Malecón, had provided her with time to practice her Spanish. Turned out Bela was Carlos’s grandmother. She’d worked as a maid when the Castro government came to power. When private homes were nationalized, titles were handed over to the dwelling occupants. Bela owned a crumbling home in the respected Verdado district and rented out rooms.

What Veronica detested about Carlos was his abnormal level of talent for schmoozing. Not that he wasn't charismatic; he drew her like a powerful magnet with emotions hard to untangle. Why was a self-assured woman who ran her own life thinking about a man who commanded everyone around him?

Get a copy of One Night in Havana at Amazon or from Tirgearr Publishing.

Once again folks, I hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#TuesdayTreasures #EggcerptExchange with Tina Gayle!

Hello and Welcome to another edition of Tuesday Treasures!

Today's guest is the lady who came up with the Eggcerpt Exchange promo idea, Tina Gayle.

Tina has been a guest on our blog numerous times but it is always a great pleasure to welcome her back.


What I treasure most....

My family means the world to me. They are my inspiration and the reason behind almost everything I do. 

Being from a family of all girls, I learned how much women depend on women. It was my inspiration for writing the Executive Wives Club Series. Each woman is struggling with what is happening in her life. With the help of her friends, she weathers the storms and comes out better in the end.

BIO: Tina Gayle grew up a dreamer and loved to escape into the world of books.

After years of working in the business world doing a variety of jobs, she decided to try her hand at writing and hope to incorporate the joy of being a woman into her books.

Married thirty years, she and her husband love to travel and play golf.  She can’t wait to do more of both.

Read the first chapter of any of her books by visiting her website.

Find Tina Gayle everywhere

Home - www.tinagayle.net
Blog - www.tinagayle.blogspot.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/AuthorTinaGayle
Goodread - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1641826.Tina_Gayle
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/tina.gayle

Brie Sullivan has a new baby girl and there are a million things to do, but Brie doesn’t have the energy to keep up. Why? She’s still grieving for her husband and suffering from baby blues, but she won’t let that stop her. She’s come up with the answer--find a new husband to be the father of her kids.

Jason Clark has been doing everything he can to help Brie. He loves her but can he accept her proposal of marriage knowing she’s not thinking clearly about the future?

Comments from Reviews for IT Exec’s Baby (2nd book of the Executive Wives Club series)

“IT Exec’s Baby is almost a love story in reverse. The marriage comes first, then the sex, and finally the love - at least from Brie's point of view. It is tender and poignant at times, and full of strong descriptive passages.”

“What I love about series books. Every book gives you more about the characters that you've fallen in love with during the first book.”

“IT Exec’s Baby is a riveting story of a woman with numerous problems.”

Excerpt:

With the warmth of the sun beating down on her head and the sound of her children’s laughter ringing in her ears, Brie spread her arms and spun in a circle.

She raised her voice and called to her kids as she walked to the railing of the upper deck. “You better find a good hiding place because ready or not here I come.”

With Isabella down for a nap, Brie drew in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air and the freedom from being stuck inside the house. The kids had convinced her to play with them outside. She loved the easy game of hide-and-go-seek. Glancing over the rail, she scanned the backyard, searching for Ethan’s and Allison’s young forms.

A giggle sounded from below the deck.

Brie stepped down a few stairs to search the patio below. Still unable to catch a glimpse of her children, she continued down the staircase, listening for sounds that might give her a clue to their whereabouts.

Not seeing either one of them, she hugged the back wall and silently slipped to the corner of the house that had concrete steps, which led to the front yard.

Determined to catch one of her kids heading for home-base, Brie refrained from peeking around the corner. The squeak of a tennis shoe alerted her to someone’s arrival.

Ready to grab them the minute they rounded the corner, Brie stayed out of sight. A shadow fell across the patio, and Allison’s young form raced past.

Jumping out to grab her, Brie touched her daughter’s shoulder.

Allison’s wail of surprise vibrated off the bottom of the deck and pierced through Brie’s brain. Undeterred by the noise, she caught her daughter’s arm and spun her around.

“I got you.”

“No,” Allison screamed again.

Read the 1st chapter at http://www.tinagayle.net/BirthChpt.html

Purchase at Amazon

Pick up Tina’s Free Read at  http://www.tinagayle.net/

Hope you enjoyed today's Eggcerpt Exchange and that you'll drop by each week and check out Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT