GENRE: New Adult Chicklit Romance
 
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 BLURB:
 Kassandra is a single, independent woman who prides herself on her own success. But when she’s asked by her best friend Laura to be the Maid of Honor in her wedding, Kassandra finds herself questioning her lifestyle. Helping Laura plan the wedding is no problem—she’s done it before for all their other friends. The first time was a blast, the second super fun, but doing it without receiving any help from the rest of the girls gets old really fast.
 
The whole event kicks off with the worst kind of surprise when Kassandra discovers who her friend's fiancé really is, and she's torn between supporting Laura's future happiness and hiding the deeply buried, intimate past she shares with the groom-to-be. Struggling to be the bigger person and do all the hard work on her own, Kassandra finds surprising comfort in Josh, the best man in the wedding and someone she's been avoiding for years. He's charming, thoughtful, handsome, and the worst kind of womanizer, but she just can't seem to stay away. All the while, Kassandra can't help wondering if the wedding could be any more cliché—until she finds unexpected ways to change things up a bit.
 
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Excerpt One:
 
From Chapter 1
 
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. I’d heard that saying more than once now. And I was about to hear it once again.
 
“Kassie! Kassie, wake up! I’m getting married,” a high-pitched voice squealed at me at 3:00 a.m.
 
Who the hell is this? I had picked up the phone without even looking at the caller ID. Oh, Laura. Great.
 
“Kassandra, are you listening? I’m engaged!” Laura screamed from the other side of the phone.
 
“Yeah, wow,” I said. “Congratulations.”
 
“I can’t believe you, Kassie. You should be more excited. You’ll get to be my bridesmaid!” The volume of her voice kept rising.
 
“I’m happy for you, Laura.” I really didn’t know at the moment how I felt. I was trying to look around to see exactly where I was. “Believe me. It’s just…it’s three o’clock, and I was sleeping.”
 
After looking at my surroundings, I remembered I was in my own house. I had a minor headache, probably from all the drinking the night before, and my body ached a bit. I looked beside me and found the reason for my hurt.
 
Next to me I found the silhouette of a beautiful man. The memories of the few hours before my abrupt awakening came back at me:
 
A bar. A blond. My home. Some sex...in that order.
 
“I know it’s late, but I had to give you the good news.”
 
“And news it is.” She was the last of my best friends who was single; not so long ago we roamed all the bars in town together, looking for men to hook up with, and suddenly she was engaged.
 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
K.T.  Castle  is  an  author/artist  in  progress.  She's on  a  quest  to  find  the  words,  forms,  and  colors  to materialize    the    worlds    and    people    of    her imagination.    She    never    saw    herself    as    an incurable romantic, but lately, that's what she finds herself  musing  about.  Love  is  found  everywhere, regardless  if  it  comes  from  a  nice  person,  an ass — mundane or even vampire. When  she's  not  busy with  work,  in  front  of  a computer  placing  many  thoughts  in  order,  she makes her best to be creative or relax with a good book and a snack. Some of her favorite characters are Sookie, Rule and Shaw, Bella, Edward, Clary, Jace, Wrath, Hollywood, Blaire, Woods, Ethan, the Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel.
 
Get to know her more on her social media pages.
 
Facebook: @KTCastle.author
 
Google+: K.T.Castle
 
Twitter: @KTCastle_author
 
Pinterest: KTCastle_author
 
Website: www.ktcastle.com
 
Get a copy of her book on Amazon
 
https://amzn.com/B01IOOBO0I
​

 
GENRE:  Women’s Fiction / Magical Realism
 
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BLURB:
 
A Vegas cocktail waitress. An Indian herbalist. A British chemistry professor. An Italian-American widow. Four unique women with one thing in common: each is haunted by a tragedy from her past. The women are surrounded by ghosts long before they step aboard, but once they do...
 
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Excerpt One:
Somewhere in the Atlantic, 1949
 
In an ocean as dark and still as death, the Queen floated. The scythe-shaped moon engulfed in mist gave off only a dank tinge of light. Waves skimmed lazily along the Queen’s sides, like the careless caress of an indifferent lover. She was only fifteen years old, but she’d already witnessed so much misery: war, love lost to tragedy, and once, a vile murder that had left a stain on her no sea she traveled had ever washed away.
           
Now she was about to witness another. The killer’s rage was silent and patient. And yet, she could feel it. In desperation, the Queen willed her fog horn to blow…
 
***
 
Under the cover of the dimly lit stairwell on the deserted sports deck, the sailor waited. He’d timed it well. The watch wouldn’t make his rounds up here until after it was over.
           
Long before he could see his prey, he heard the click of her heels on the planked wood, echoing off the water as she approached. He pressed himself back further into the darkness as she came into view, her eyes focused on what he’d stolen to lure her, carefully placed so that it would be visible to her while he remained hidden. As she bent to pick it up, he stepped swiftly behind her and clamped his forearm around her throat, cutting off her scream and her breath as he pulled her into the shadows.
           
She felt her windpipe close up and the blood rush to her head.  She couldn’t twist around to face him, but ─ oh, God ─ she knew who he was. How ironic. In a life as mousy as the color of her hair, the one impetuous thing she’d dared do, would end her. As dreary as her life had been, she didn’t want it to be over.
           
So she struggled. She dug her nails into Death’s rigid forearm and clawed at the skin on his elbow. But he only swore at the blood she’d managed to draw and kept that arm hooked resolutely under her chin, dangling her legs up off the deck, pressing even tighter against her throat as she kicked. He shook her and she felt the cool night air hit the sole of her foot as one of her shoes fell off. The thump it made against the deck startled him. He lost his vice hold on her for an instant and she tried again to scream. He slammed his other hand across her nose and mouth. With a rush of stinging pain, the salty iron taste of blood filled her mouth, mingled with the smell of his familiar aftershave. Who’d have thought Death would come wearing Old Spice?  He’d groomed himself as carefully for her murder as he once had for her seduction. She went queasy with the realization that his arms were not the only part of his body that felt rigid against her.
           
But mere seconds later, she was too lightheaded to feel disgust or even fear. She now lay in his arms, compliant, his hand still pressed against her bloodied mouth and nose. Her head was tipped back as he continued to suffocate her and she could see the night sky, a depthless backdrop for the stars that flickered through the gauzy veil of ocean fog. And the moon looked like a grin. Lovers walking the decks below must think it all so romantic.  Dimly, she could hear the band playing in the ballroom. She was amazed she could even recognize the tune ─ a new one, just come out that year:
           
“Some enchanted evening, you may meet a stranger…” 
           
Her final act was to pray that he wouldn’t dump her before she was truly dead. As cruel as his arms were, at least they were warm. She didn’t want the ice cold water to be the last thing she felt.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
Patricia V. Davis is the author of the bestselling Harlot's Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss and Greece, and The Diva Doctrine: 16 Universal Principles Every Woman Needs to Know. Her latest work, "Cooking for Ghosts: Book I in The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy" first of three novels set aboard the RMS Queen Mary, is due to be released in October 2016.  Despite the diversity of Patricia's writing projects, they share the universal theme of "female dynamism," a term she's coined which signifies women taking positive action to support each other and better the world around them. To that end, Patricia also founded The Women’s PowerStrategy™ Conference:
​  http://womenspowerstrategyconference.com/
 
Website URL: https://www.TheSecretSpice.com
Facebook Contest and Updates Page: http://www.facebook.com/thesecretspice/
Amazon Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Ghosts-22The-Secret-Trilogy-22/dp/0989905640
COOKING FOR GHOSTS is also available at retail book outlets.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2091952.Patricia_V_Davis?from_search=true
http://www.patriciavdavis.com/
http://twitter.com/patriciaVdavis
https://www.facebook.com/patriciaVdavis

GENRE: New Adult, Contemporary Fiction
 
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BLURB:
 
Mama didn’t want me. In fact, she would’ve traded my soul back for someone different if God would’ve let her, but he didn’t, so she was stuck with me.

For eighteen-year-old Lacey, life at home is a rollercoaster. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be good enough to truly deserve Mama’s love.

But when Lacey enters college and meets Walker, everything starts to change. Suddenly, Lacey is face to face with the realization that maybe what she’s always seen as normal really isn’t. Her entire life—and everything she’s ever believed about herself and her family—is abruptly hanging in midair.

Lacey is left facing two paths, and she has to make a choice. The first means walking away from everything she’s ever known. The other means never really knowing the truth.

The Truth She Knew offers an honest and powerful glimpse into mental illness, the meaning of true love, and the psychological waltz that a daughter dances as she endures her mother’s unpredictable emotions, manipulation, and abuse.
 
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 Excerpt One:
 
Mama didn’t want me. In fact, she would’ve traded my soul back for someone different if God would’ve let her, but he didn’t, so she was stuck with me. She reminded me of this on a consistent basis, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t change her mind. Finally, I had to make a choice: her or me.
 
My heels clicked against the cold tile floor of the hospital and my heart fluttered as I searched the room numbers.
 
I rubbed my clammy hands against my jeans as I saw the ladies’ restroom and hurried toward it. I needed a minute before I reached her room. I pushed the door open and scanned the bathroom for anyone else. It was empty.
 
My purse landed with a thud on the bathroom counter. I turned the cold water on, splashed it on my cheeks, and wiped my face with a paper towel.
 
“Breathe,” I muttered. “She can’t hurt you anymore. You’re grown.”
 
My pep talk wasn’t working. Fear was gnawing at my stomach.
 
I reached into my bag, grabbed my powder compact, and touched up my makeup. My green eyes shone brighter against the redness left from my tears. I ran a brush through my long, blond hair and dabbed a hint of gloss on my lips, more out of habit than need.
 
“Let’s do this, Lacey. Suck it up,” I said to my reflection. I released a slow, deep breath and headed out of the restroom and down the hall toward the ICU.
 ​ 
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
J.A. Owenby lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and two cats.

She's a published author of six short stories, and she is currently working on her second full-length novel. She also runs her own business as a professional resume writer and interview coach—she helps people find jobs they love.


J.A. is an avid reader of thrillers, romance, new adult, and young adult novels. She loves music, movies, and good wine. And call her crazy, but she loves the rainy Pacific Northwest; she gets her best story ideas while listening to the rain pattering against the windows in front of the fireplace.
You can follow the progress of her upcoming novel on Facebook at Author J.A. Owenby and on Twitter @jaowenby.
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Truth-She-Knew-Book-ebook/dp/B01HAKBWVI/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-truth-she-knew-ja-owenby/1124108680
 

 
GENRE: Historical Romance
 
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BLURB:
 
Inside the glittering walls of a famous hotel, an ingénue experiences first passion . . .

As she stands before the gilded doors of The Grand Russe Hotel, Alecia Loudon is poised on the threshold of a profound awakening. It is the Roaring Twenties, and London is buzzing with opportunities for adventure . . . and indiscretion. The young personal secretary knows nothing of the ways of men, but a chance meeting with the hotel’s handsome night watchman sets her imagination afire.

Ivan Salter has noticed the quiet Englishwoman and wonders what delicate beauty might be lurking behind Alecia’s plain clothes. As the handsome Russian draws Alecia further into the hotel’s luxurious world, he introduces her to fine food, cool jazz, and forbidden assignations. Their dalliance is tested, however, by a surprising link between Ivan’s family history and Alecia’s bosses. Tangled up in international intrigue, the lovers must decide if their sparkling new romance is worth the cost . . .
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 EXCERPT
 
When he was two feet from her, he stopped. His gaze wandered the space, taking in the empty sofa, and, oddly enough, the carpet.
 
“What?” she demanded, very un-mouselike. She had resolved to be as belligerent as a maiden aunt. “There isn’t a sign saying hotel guests are not allowed back here.”
 
He cocked his head. She wilted when he sucked in his cheeks, highlighting the magnificent structure of his cheekbones. No. He may have every blessing God might offer a man, but he was only a night watchman. She was just a secretary. Unless she was breaking a rule, he had no right to intimidate her. She would not be cowed.
 
 “Say something,” she said very crisply, as if she was dressing down a young nephew.
 
His lips curved. She felt a sinking sensation in her midsection.
 
How dare he look so knowing?
 
“Young ladies wandering about unchaperoned are looking to be kissed.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
Heather Hiestand was born in Illinois but her family migrated west before she started school. Since then she has claimed Washington State as home, except for a few years in California. She wrote her first story at age seven and went on to major in creative writing at the University of Washington. Her first published fiction was a mystery short story, but since then it has been all about the many flavors of romance. Heather’s first published romance short story was set in the Victorian period and she continues to return, fascinated by the rapid changes of the nineteenth century. The author of many novels, novellas and short stories, she makes her home in a small town with her husband and son and supposedly works out of her tiny office, though she mostly writes in her easy chair in the living room.
 
For more information, visit Heather’s website. Heather loves to hear from readers! 
 
Author Links:
Website: http://heatherhiestand.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.hiestand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/heatherhiestand
 
Buy the book:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2bSifWG
Apple: http://apple.co/2bSii4T
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2bSi3qi
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2bSizEW
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2bSjsNK
​