BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Excerpt & Giveaway "Forbidden (Southern Comfort #2)" by Lisa Clark O'Neill


Another romantic suspense today. Yes, I'm on a mystery kick lately. :D This one has a hero named Clay, and that name always brings to mind Clay of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series and Clay of the tv show "Sons of Anarchy" (that show is so trashy and I love every minute of it, even when I have my eyes closed). One's a cranky werewolf who's mostly a good guy and one is a drug-dealing, gun-running killer. Yeah, this Clay is different. He's a FBI agent and one of the good guys.

Read on for more information, an excerpt and a giveaway.

****************************************************************************

Excerpt

The crowd had grown thick as evening gave way to night, and he wound his way through it to find a spot closer to the band.  Smoke rose in a thin blue cloud, dispelled occasionally by the salty breeze drifting in from the open windows.  Patrons wandered in and out from the patio to the bar, and well-fed diners descended the worn stairs to mix with the crowd.  Clay leaned against a rough-hewn support beam and watched them come and go, amazed, as always, at the way body language spoke volumes.

And his own body started screaming in his ear when a pair of long, tanned legs became visible as they descended from the second floor.  The staircase was angled in such a way that he got an up close and personal view of those mile-long beauties before a torso or head came into view.  Black sandals encased slim feet, a short black skirt hit deliciously at mid-thigh.  The legs paused, one resting a step higher than the other, and Clay felt his body stir.  If the rest of the package lived up to the preview, he was going to be on this particular woman like a flea on a junkyard dog.  He had the overwhelming urge to just wade over and take a bite. 

He took a sip of beer, instead, and waited for the follow through.

A green Murphy’s shirt made an appearance, followed by a hand holding an empty tray.

Staff, Clay assessed.  He wondered what time she got off.

Her other hand rubbed down a thigh as she seemed to be responding to a comment from someone on the stairs above her. The overwhelming jolt of lust he felt caused Clay to choke on his beer. 

Wait for it, wait for it…

After another nail-biting moment, the legs made their final descent.

Clay blinked twice, to assure himself he wasn’t seeing things.  Then he began to curse the psychological gods again, for messing with his head.

“Nice tan,” he murmured as Tate nearly passed him by.

 ****************************************************************************



Publisher: Lisa Clark O'Neill
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Contemporary
Format: ebook, paperback
Length: 539 KB, 412 pages
Buying Links:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple 

Book Blurb from the author ~ 

Special Agent Clay Copeland lives his job. As a behavioral specialist with the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit, his days are spent traveling the country assisting other law enforcement agencies with their most disturbing and difficult cases.  Clay excels at his work, maintaining an easygoing affability and sense of humor despite his frequently gruesome job. 


Until one case goes terribly wrong…

Shaken by the loss of a young child whose death he lays at his own feet, Clay seeks refuge in the sandy beaches and plentiful feminine distractions to be found along the South Carolina coast.  And no female has ever distracted him quite as much as local innkeeper Tate Hennessey.

A woman with her own ghosts, Tate is a single mother to five-year-old Max.  Against her better judgment, she finds herself drawn to the charming and handsome agent.  When an outing to a traveling carnival ends with another family’s tragedy, Tate and Clay are sucked into the resultant investigation into the abduction of a young teen.

And neither of them can be prepared for what their chance encounter eventually uncovers.

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.
About the Author:


One fine day in the not-too-distant past, Lisa Clark O’Neill left Wittenberg University with a BA in English, which she promptly neglected.  After working as an interior designer, decorative artist, and Montessori art teacher (there may have been a BA in art as well,) she finally settled into the role of mother to two very fine children.


However, two years of doing the stay-at-home-mom brain cell melt drove her to pull out a pen and one of her old college notebooks.

That turned into six manuscripts.

Lisa spent subsequent years avoiding housework by burying her nose in just about every romance novel she could get her hands on, after completely falling in love with the genre.  Her own work falls into the romantic suspense sub-genre, with strong comedic undertones.

Lisa currently lives in the Atlanta area with her family, her dog, her cat and her daughter’s pet rabbit.  When she isn’t attempting to keep the rabbit from eating the woodwork, she’s hard at work on her next novel.

Find Lisa online:

website
facebook
twitter
  


****************************************************************************

Giveaway Info:

Prize is 10 eBook copies of “Forbidden” (1 each to 10 winners). Contest is tour-wide, open internationally and ends Mar 18. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, March 11, 2013

Feeling Thankful

So, I've been thinking about this for a few days now, in between bouts of being sick. I started reviewing books several years ago, inspired by several friends. To be able to talk about books I liked and didn't like with people who were actually interested was, and is, an idea that I love. Most of my family and real life friends at the time (and even now for the most part) had very different tastes and it was rare I could find someone to talk with about my favorite books and authors. Then I started hanging out online, found some discussion boards, and that went a long way towards easing my frustration. Thanks to the people I met online I could discuss books and authors and I found new ones.

When I started blogging it was a mix of my own books and library books. A friend of mine who had a book blog told me about NetGalley so I went and signed up and after a bit began receiving books. For a while I was part of a communal blog; it was excellent experience and I'm grateful for the opportunities they gave me. Now I blog here and occasionally review books at BookTrib. I still review a mix of books I own, books I get from the library (thanks to yesterday's mailbox posts, I requested another dozen book) and review books but the currently the mix is more skewed towards review books.

This blog has been up and running since September 2010 and every day I'm thankful for everyone who helps make it possible. I'm thankful for the people who read, the people who comment, the people who share their expertise and time, the people who have stuck by me through ups and downs. I'm especially thankful for the authors, publishers and publicists who ask or send me books to review.

I still get a thrill when a book shows up in my email or post box; I still get a thrill when I get an email requesting a review. I still get buzzed and excited. I may not review that book, I may delete the email without answering, I may review the book and then hate it but it's still a thrill that someone wants me to read and review their book. Someone thinks my thoughts are worthwhile. When someone comments on a post, review or otherwise, it's exciting that they were inspired to respond.

I could blog and have few people reading, have few people requesting reviews, and still enjoy it, but it's a lot more fun to share this with all of you. So thank you for sharing your love of books with me and I hope we'll be doing so for several more years.

ETA: I forgot to mention how awesome it is when an author responds to a tweet or an email. I have several authors that I chat with regularly via email and twitter but even just the one time response makes me happy. Yes, I'm easy, but you knew that already. :D

Giveaway & Book Blitz - Cheers by Vallory Vance






Blurb ~


As a successful Sales and Catering Manager for the posh Hayden Court Hotel located in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter, Darcey St. Claire is absolutely thrilled to be working on New Year’s Eve.  The commission and bonus, she’ll receive from the two day Guidry Construction event will not only fund her spring trip to New York City, but buy a cute pair of shoes for the plane ride!

Her enthusiasm quickly turns to barely disguised irritation when Vincent Guidry arrives hours early for his scheduled check-in demanding access to his suite.  After he slashes the budget for the event, not even the crystal blue eyes of the former quarterback can quell the anger surging in her chest. That is until he walks into the Chat Noir where she is trying to regroup after her irksome day.

In the private enclave known as the Cristal Room, Vincent willingly lights up Darcey’s New Year’s Eve and just may have lost his heart in the process.

A sexy, short story introducing the characters of the upcoming Rose Gold Collection.
Publisher: Vallory Vance
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Format: ebook
Length: 7500 words
Release Date: November 30, 2012
Buying Links:   Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | ARe | Sony | KoBo |

***********************************************************************

About the Author:

Vallory Vance is a color inside the lines, Human Resources professional living in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex by day. After her family consisting of a husband of almost twenty years, three kids and two dogs have filled her evenings with laughter, she sits down to her laptop to write tales of the first moments of falling in love when nothing else seems to matter.

As a fortieth birthday present to herself, she decided to share her stories of romances that range from sweet to spicy with use of an occasional prop.

Find Vallory online:

email - t[dot]mailhes[at]yahoo[dot]com



***********************************************************************

The author is doing a tour wide give away an Amazon Gift Card of $15.00, $10.00, or $5.00 PLUS each will include an eBook of Cheers. Ends 03/18/2013

If you aren't one of the lucky winners, the story is only 99 cents and is available now. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday Book Share #27





I'm participating in Feed My Reader Friday hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A WriterThe Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and Stacking the Shelves, hosted by Tynga's Reviews. These  memes allow book bloggers the chance to share print and digital books they've received, and different posts and events at their blogs.

Mother Nature is PMSing, I swear. More freaking snow. It started Thursday, stopped briefly, then started up again. School closed early on Thursday and was closed on Friday so I got a three day weekend out of it but I am so DONE with winter. Grrrr. Apart from Mother Nature acting up, it was a good week.

The Week In Review






Giveaway: 
A signed cover flat of "Memories of Murder" by Lara Nance will be given away at each stop and a $50 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.




Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge: I'm off to a poor start. I've read several books but only one that counts - Drop Dead on Recall by Sheila Webster Boneham

Odd phrase that led to the blog: "bea in me sex" Erm, wtf? No, just no.

Upcoming This Week

Blog Tours:  Book Blitz & Giveaway: "Cheers" (The Rose Gold Collection) by Vallory Vance
Review of "Baked Alaska" by Josi S. Kilpack
Excerpt & Giveaway "Forbidden (Southern Comfort #2)" by Lisa Clark O'Neill
Excerpt from "Secrets of an Aztec Temple" by Paty Jager

Books

Click on images to go to the goodreads page.

Bought - Kindle


Review - Kindle



Kindle Freebies


Now look at how small that freebie is, amazing isn't it? Of course, I did buy some books and accept some reviews. :P Still, it's smaller than most weeks and that's a good thing.

You know the drill, leave a link to your share post and I'll stop by.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Chat with Kristan Higgins




Are you a fan of Kristan Higgins? Heard about her but don't know much? She'll be chatting live with readers on Tuesday March 12th at 3PM EST over on BookTrib. She'll be discussing her new book, "The Best Man". Click here for more info or to sign up for an email reminder about the chat.