Tequila Sunrise – Breaking the Rules

Isn’t this a COOL book cover!? I’m honored to have fellow author Terry Poca stop by my blog today! Terry is telling us about her novel -Tequila Sunrise: Breaking the Rules. Check it out!

Learning the Rules…

Becca Sanders hasn’t dated since her ex-fiancée dumped her the night before their wedding.  In fact, she’s spent an entire year ignoring her libido quite nicely. When her three best friends challenge her to indulge in a one-night stand, Becca goes for it. But she regrets following the one-night stand rules when she can’t forget the hot sizzling night she spent with the handsome, sweet stranger.

Until the day she comes face to face with the biggest dare of her life …

Breaking the Rules…

Marcus Blake spent the last ten years as a New York advertising executive and is ready for a change of pace.  After a memorable evening with an enchanting blonde, he awakens alone with only her first name to track her down.

When he resigns himself he’ll never see her again, he runs into the woman who haunts his dreams.

Feisty best friends, an advertising executive’s dream account, and the quest for true love, all collide to fashion a sassy, roller-coaster romance.

Excerpt

“The time has come for you to get laid.” Trudi took a sip of her frozen margarita. “And soon.”

“What?” Becca fidgeted in her seat and glanced around the crowded bar to make sure no one had overheard. The proclamation caused her ears to burn. She wasn’t particularly comfortable discussing her nonexistent sex life with her three best friends, much less in a packed pub full of strangers revving up for the infamous Georgia-Florida game weekend.

“Trudi’s right.” Celeste nodded her agreement, pushed a wayward brown curl behind her ear, and waved down the passing waiter. “We’ll take a round of tequila shooters please.” She flashed her megawatt smile, the same one she used when reporting the six o’clock breaking news from the side of the road for Atlanta AM.

He acknowledged the order with a wink and a nod of his head. He scooped up an empty beer mug and weaved his way through the Friday afternoon crowd. All four of them watched his retreating butt. Trudi took a deep breath causing her ample cleavage to swell and then surrender in a sigh, her earlier declaration forgotten in a shared moment of male admiration. Patrice broke their trance.

“The time has come to end the drought,” she said in her soft voice. Patrice downed her beer, a feat for someone so petite, and lowered the mug on the table with a thud. “What better way to get geared up for the big game tomorrow? That’s why we chose tonight.” She stared at Becca with doe eyes, her pixie-like innocence a sharp contrast to her words.

“Tonight?” Becca scrunched her face and cringed. She was so not ready to troll, but they were right. With her thirtieth birthday looming around the corner, fourteen months was a long time to go without one date. All work and no play made for a boring existence, which Becca knew firsthand.

“Yes, tonight. Harold Houdini dumped you over a year ago,” Trudi said, her features drawn into a stern, no-nonsense expression. Her pit-bull, defense attorney personality matched her fiery hair. She didn’t sugarcoat things. Ever. Becca respected her honesty most of the time, but she sometimes wished Trudi would go by the rule “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

“Don’t use dumped,” Patrice said. “The word seems so…harsh.”

“Okay then.” Trudi softened her tone. “The night he disappeared at the altar.” She squinted her eyes and glared from Patrice to Celeste to Becca. “Better?”

“You’re not being fair. He called off our engagement the day before the wedding. He didn’t actually leave me standing at the altar,” Becca said. Her defense of Harold sounded lame even to her. No excuse existed; he was an asshole.

“Like I said, dumped,” Trudi repeated.

“Don’t be insensitive.” Patrice reached over and patted Becca on the hand. “Harold wasn’t the guy for you anyway. Isn’t that right?”

No truer statement had ever been spoken, and no one, not even Becca, argued with her.

“We love you,” Celeste said.

“Yes, we do love you, and we don’t want you to put your life on hold. Harold was a good-for‑nothing jerk who didn’t deserve you to begin with.” Patrice smiled.

Becca knew the girls wanted the best for her. They’d been friends since middle school and were more like sisters than girlfriends. They stood by each other through the good times and the bad ones, and they were all by her side when Harold decided at the last minute marriage wasn’t for him. And Patrice was right. Harold hadn’t been her knight in shining armor.

*

Get Your Copy Today!  Amazon

About the Author:

Terry Poca graduated from Kennesaw State University with a degree in Education, Secondary English. When not writing and brainstorming the remainder of The Tequila Series, she reads her favorite authors, watches movies and her favorite television series, and hangs out enjoying life with her one true hero a.k.a. her husband. Terry is currently contemplating cross-bow lessons in preparation of the zombie apocalypse.

She lives in metro Atlanta with her husband and two spoiled Plott hounds and one bossy, alpha Pomeranian.

Find Terry online:  Website   Facebook

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Cover Reveal and Giveaway – Love Redeemed by Love Belvin

Look what’s coming soon (and there’s a giveaway – see below):

Love Redeemed – the conclusion of the of the Love’s Improbable Possibility series:

Life’s complicated…

Life’s not fair…

All is fair in love and war…

You ever wonder what events led up to an individual’s inability to trust? Love Lost starts off by peeling back layers of a young girl who experienced the loss of essential, reliable and nurturing love.

Rayna Brimm, hailing from an inner-city in New Jersey, survives a series of betrayal and loss only to forge forward in self-preservation and obtain an education in North Carolina. After receiving her degree, vowing never return home, she finds herself in California where she tries to build a self-contained life. She made a personal declaration to get through life without further dependence on others in order to avoid yet another heartbreak. Only, fate said otherwise.

Enter Azmir Jacobs, a tall, dark, handsome and very wealthy man, who has street credibility and executive power in the corporate world. Azmir has money, power and beautiful women at his beck and call, but only one woman has caught his eye. The resilient Rayna Brimm, a woman whose dysfunctional upbringing contributes towards her tough skin, issues with trust and a deep-seated fear to love, turns out to be more than he bargained for when he discovered her in his boardroom presenting a leasing proposal.

Rayna isn’t the only one with a checkered past. Can Azmir conceal his convoluted life long enough to prove that he can provide Rayna the stable and reliable love that she clearly needs and deserves? Or will his lofty lifestyle and endless resources scare her away?

Find out in this riveting conclusion how Rayna reconciles her inability to trust and willingness to explore love in ways she thought she wasn’t worthy of. See love redeemed for someone who thought it was not in the cards. Also, experience Azmir’s lessons on love, forgiveness, and acceptance as his world is transformed to include a life partner.

Love Redeemed coming in April…

In the meantime, enter for a chance to win a $5 Amazon giftcard! NOTE: Four winners will be chosen!   Rafflecopter

Romance Slam Jam

Have you heard about Romance Slam Jam?

Last year was the first year that I heard about the reader’s conference and had no idea that this year makes 19 years that it’s been going on. Well, I’m pleased to announce – this year it will be in New Orleans AND I’ll be attending! YAY!!

Guess who else will be there –  some of my favorite authors including: Beverly Jenkins, Phyllis Bourne, A.C. Arthur, Sienna Mynx, Farrah Rochon, Zuri Day, Candace Shaw, Angeline M. Bishop, Regina Hart (Patricia Sargeant) and the list goes on..and on…and on!!! I can’t wait! I’m going to try not to act like a … groupie!

There’s still time to sign up for the conference! Hope to see you there!

Click on the photo below for more conference details or click here.

Reunited and it Feels So Good

In anticipation of Truth or Consequences, book 3 of the Reunited Series being released…soon, books 1 and 2 are on sale! That’s right, Blue Roses (book 1) and Rendezvous with Danger (book 2) are available for only .99! Though all of my books are able to stand alone, this is a great time for you to catch up and get all of the books in the series, if you don’t already have them. Keep in mind – this deal will not last forever, so make sure you get your copies today!

Where most women would welcome love from a wealthy, good-looking man, Chicago-based investment manager, Dallas Marcel, is not one of them. She will never let a man control her life again. That includes handsome entrepreneur, Tyler Hollister. Dallas is on track to making partner and she’s not letting anything or anyone get in her way. But when her life is put in danger, and a Ponzi scheme ignites a SEC investigation of her firm, she realizes the one man she’d banned from her heart, might be the only one who can save her career and her life.

Tall, dark, and handsome, Tyler Hollister can have any woman he wants, but he only wants one – Dallas. When he starts talking marriage, she breaks things off between them, claiming she doesn’t want a romantic entanglement to hinder her plight to making partner. A chance meeting, six months later, brings them face to face and Tyler soon realizes the intense sexual attraction they once shared is stronger than ever. But he swore he was done with her. Except he finds out her life is in danger, and his protective instincts take over. Can he save her life without losing his heart … again?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords  |  All Romance E-books (ARE)  |  iTunes

Alandra Pargas, ex-CIA counter-intelligence officer, plans to wreak vengeance on the people who tried to kill her. A little rendezvous with danger is not what scares her, though. It’s seeing the tall, dark, and dangerously sexy man she vowed to love forever that has her running for cover.

Former U.S. Special Operative, Quinn Hamilton, left the world of covert operations after the love of his life died in his arms during a black op. Three years later, he still loses sleep wondering if maybe he could have done something more to save her – until Alandra shows up on his doorstep. With her lies and betrayal, he wants nothing to do with her, yet, his heart won’t cooperate. It’s not until unknown enemies come after her that he must decide if he can leave the past behind and protect the woman he’ll always love. Will they survive this last mission and rekindle the love and passion they once shared?

 Amazon | All Romance ebooks | Barnes and Noble  | Smashwords  |  iTunes

And Secret Rendezvous is still FREE!

Former Navy SEAL, Quinn Hamilton, has been secretly dating CIA counter-intelligence officer, Alandra Pargas, for the past eight months. She’s brilliant, captivated by danger, and the sexiest woman he’s ever known. Together they are a force to be reckoned with – in and outside of the bedroom. But while Alandra is on assignment in Guerrero, Mexico, she’s captured by the most dangerous drug cartel in the country, and Quinn sets out on a black op of his own to save the woman he can’t live without.

Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |   Smashwords

A Life Less Ordinary and Giveaway

I’d like to welcome Victoria Bernadine to my blog! She’s introducing her novel and doing a giveaway! Check it out!

About the book:

For the last fifteen years, Rose “Manny” Mankowski has been a very good girl. She turned her back on her youthful fancies and focused on her career. But now, at the age of 45, she’s questioning her choices and feeling more and more disconnected from her own life. When she’s passed over for promotion and her much younger new boss implies Manny’s life will never change, something snaps. In the blink of an eye, she’s quit her job, sold her house and cashed in her pension, and she’s leaving town on a six month road trip.

After placing a personal ad for a travelling companion, she’s joined in her mid-life crisis by Zeke Powell, the cynical, satirical, most-read – and most controversial – blogger for the e-magazine, What Women Want. Zeke’s true goal is to expose Manny’s journey as a pitiful and desperate attempt to reclaim her lost youth – and increase his readership at the same time. Leaving it all behind for six months is just an added bonus.

Now, armed with a bagful of destinations, a fistful of maps, and an out-spoken imaginary friend named Harvey, Manny’s on a quest to rediscover herself – and taking Zeke along for the ride.

Excerpt:

The coffee shop wasn’t very busy.  Only a couple of tables were occupied, with several more people standing in line. Manny sat rather nervously at her table sipping her third vanilla latte and wondering if she was as crazy as Rebecca and Daisy claimed. This would be her fourth interview today of a potential travelling companion and she hoped this guy would be more of a possibility than the other three she’d already met. Oh, they all seemed nice enough, but Olive had been jittery and they’d quickly realized their personalities would never mesh well enough to travel together for six months. Isaac had had a predatory, speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked her over–and she hadn’t needed Harvey to tell her to stay as far away from him as possible.

Darius was very sweet and charming, just eighteen, but he couldn’t pay his own way, and Manny wasn’t about to support him for six months. He’d shrugged and accepted her decision with an adorable smile and she offered to call Daisy’s boss, Max, to see if he had any work that Darius could do. Darius had thanked her and even paid for their lattes, and they’d chatted for a good forty-five minutes before he’d finally gone on his way. Yes, he would have been a good choice–and she might change her mind if she didn’t find anyone before she left in two weeks.

You can always go by yourself.

I know. But it would be more fun with someone else.

You’ll have me.

Manny glanced at Harvey sitting in the chair across from her. He was dressed casually in jeans and a button down shirt open at the throat to show the strong lines of his neck and chest.

You’re not real.

Harvey winked at her. Just checking.

She shook her head and Harvey blinked out of existence as the door opened and a darkly handsome man walked in. He paused in the doorway and removed his sunglasses as he glanced around the small room. Securely hidden in her corner, Manny considered him.

Tall; over six feet. Dark. Handsome, with large, dark eyes and full pouty lips. His black, tousled hair and dark stubble on his face gave him a sexy, scruffy appearance. He was slim, with broad shoulders, narrow hips and long legs encased in jeans.

I’ll bet he has a great ass.

I’ll bet you’re right.

He’s like a younger version of me.

Manny blinked at the man standing in the doorway and realized Harvey was right. Oh, they didn’t exactly look alike, but they had similar colouring, and a similar underlying confidence and arrogance in their stance. Probably something natural when you’re that naturally gorgeous, Manny thought ruefully, or, in Harvey’s case, that unnaturally perfect.

I’d almost be jealous…if I was real.

But you’re not–and he’s quite something. I wonder who he’s here to me…eeet.

Her internal dialogue trailed off as the stranger’s gaze met hers. He gave a half smile and headed towards her.

*

Buy your copy today! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Enter for a Chance to Win Victoria’s Giveaway:  Entry-Form

About the Author:

Victoria Bernadine (a pseudonym) is, as the saying goes, a “woman of a certain age”. After twenty-something years of writer’s block, she began writing again in 2008. Victoria enjoys reading all genres and particularly loves writing romantic comedy and post-apocalyptic science fiction. What those two have in common is anybody’s guess. She lives in Edmonton with her two cats (The Grunt and The Runt). A Life Less Ordinary is the first novel she felt was good enough to be released into the wild.

You can connect with Victoria online:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Cover Reveal of Truth or Consequences

Can you believe it’s been a year since Rendezvous with Danger (Reunited Series) was released? Time is truly flying! At any rate, after reading Quinn and Alandra’s story, many of you have asked – “Is Malik, Wiz or Natasha getting a story?” and I have answered – yes. Well, though I don’t have an exact release date for Truth or Consequences (Malik & Natasha’s story), I figured the least I could do is reveal the book cover. Here it is!

Blurb:

Hospital Chief of Staff Natasha Lockham’s life has been all about work and no play. That is until a one-night stand with a man who lives his life on the edge, turns her sexual fantasies into reality. She never expects to see him again, but their paths cross when Natasha suspects an esteemed doctor of committing an unspeakable crime against his patients and danger lands at her doorstep. The closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes she’s not prepared for the truth – or the consequences.

Former Navy SEAL, Malik Lewis, will always remember the night he spent with Natasha. It was the single most amazing night of his life. So when Natasha narrowly escapes a brutal attempt on her life, Malik stops at nothing to protect her, including hunting a man whose skills match his. Can Malik and Natasha outsmart a vicious assassin who has nothing to lose? And will they ever get to explore the sizzling passion between them that neither can deny?

Stay tuned… Truth or Consequences is coming soon (Spring 2014)!