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“I’m a businessman. I have several interests.” #MFRWHooks #EroticRomance #LaterInLife

January 18, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Welcome to MFRW Hooks, where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers share snippets from their stories to entice you into wanting more. Be sure to click on the links at the end to travel!

Today’s excerpt from The Best Man starts where last week’s left off, shortly after Kitty and Jared meet at the wedding dance.

EXCERPT

“I’m not easily charmed—unless I want to be. So you haven’t answered my question.”

“I’m a businessman. I have several interests,” Jared said, handing her a glass of champagne. “I’m a middleman for various overseas companies seeking buyers in this country—copper, steel, aluminum. Most anything, really.”

“So you travel a lot.”

“Maybe that’s why it feels like I work out of San Diego rather than live there. I understand you’re a successful businesswoman yourself.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “That’s a matter of opinion. There’s always room for improvement.”

“I also travel some to follow my horses.”

“Horses?”

“Racehorses. Do you ever get out to Arlington Park?”

“Of course. It’s such a beautiful place.” She’d heard the catch in his voice when he mentioned the horses. She understood the awe those majestic animals could inspire. “I’ve been to the Derby a couple times.”

“Ah, so you have more than passing interests in the addictive beasts.” He gave her a broad smile, took her hand and guided her back to the dance floor.

“Doesn’t every girl dream about horses?”

“Most girls give up their childhood fantasies as reality smacks them in the faces.” He leaned away from her as they swayed to the music. “Somehow, I don’t think you do.”

I can’t resist adding, and neither did we. I was a classic horse-crazy little girl whose parents, instead of buying me a horse, indulged me with all the horsey books they could find that a child my age might enjoy. I devoured them madly and never gave up my fantasy.

Imagine discovering that the man you fell in love with also dreamed of owning a horse – in my husband’s case, having grown up on a farm where, when he was quite tiny, his father still plowed the corn fields with a team of matched Belgians so he could plant cross-checked rows.

It took us several years after our wedding to make the dream come true, but we did briefly own racehorses – two thoroughbreds who did very well by us, and one quarter horse who hated racing and was subsequently trained as a cutting horse for a cattle rancher.

No wonder we support Kitty’s dream!

The Best ManBLURB

Bad boy meets bad girl – is that all there is?

Passionate, hardworking, and every inch a businesswoman, Chicago realtor Kitty Paige likes her sex raw and edgy, and she sees no reason to limit herself to just one man. Never married and not quite forty, the striking blonde has successfully raised her daughter, Susan, and is already pushing her new-found freedom to the limits.

Wealthy commodities middleman and racehorse owner Jared Jacobs is father of the best man at Susan’s wedding. He is smitten by the vision in yellow who exudes sex as she escorts her daughter down the aisle. Also single, the handsome mustached California ranch owner with mischievous eyes views his sex life as a series of splendid love affairs. He sets out to make Kitty next on the list.

Together and apart, their chemistry is explosive, and their sparkling repartee and steamy sex catch both partners by surprise. Jared is first to recognize he’s fallen in love. When Kitty panics, can Jared finesse his every move and reel her in?

BUY LINK

UBL https://books2read.com/u/bzKpPq

Click on the links to travel to the rest of today’s hooks:

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Filed Under: Blog, Erotic Romance, Excerpts Tagged With: Arlington Park, bad boy, California, erotic romance, Later in Life, Racehorses

Release Blitz: Rocky Mountain Dogs, by Virginia Fox #RockyMountainDogs #Giveaway #Romance

January 17, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

 

 

(Rocky Mountain Romances, Book 3)

 

Romance

Date Published: 1.17.2022

Publisher: Dragonbooks Publishing House

 

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

 

Is that a vintage RV— painted top to bottom with paw print-shaped
polka-dots — driving into town? You can bet your pupper’s next
bubble bath it is! Get ready to plunge into the pages of the third book in
the always pet-friendly Rocky Mountain Romances series.
 

When Kathrina gets chased out of her Seattle apartment because of its no
pets policy, she packs up her business, Kat’s for Dogs Mobile
Grooming, and heads to the mountain town of Independence Junction, Colorado.

In Independence Junction, pets are welcome, the local diner is the hub of
social life, and Sam, that good-looking guy Kat met last summer, just
happens to still be around. But oh no! Sam turns out to be a professional
hockey player with an ego the size of the biggest mountain in the state. Not
only is Kat a little man-shy, but she has no interest in wasting her time
trying to tame that wild one.

However, when injured dogs start turning up in the woods, Kat must find a
way to help. Before she knows it, Kat is tangled up in the small
town’s dark side. Will she rescue the animals? Will she accept
Sam’s help? Will the townsfolk finally have enough with whoever, or
whatever, is hurting their dogs?
 

Welcome back to Independence Junction in Book 3 of The Rocky Mountain
Romances series. Your quirky friends are waiting for you to join them for
another small town suspense story, complete with a nice blend of laughter,
mystery, and heart-warming romance along the way!

Praise for Rocky Mountain Romances Book 1:

“An enjoyable, mixed-genre romp with an intriguing main couple and
colorful townsfolk.” – Kirkus Reviews

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Filed Under: Blog, Guest Bloggers Tagged With: Giveaway, romance

New Release Blitz! Rory & Ink by Alexa Piper @ProwlingPiper #paranormal #Romance #M/M

January 17, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Title: Rory & Ink

Series: Monster Apocalypse 4

Author: Alexa Piper

Publisher: Changeling Press

Release Date: January 13

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 145 pages

Genre: Romance, Thriller/Suspense, Action Adventure, Futuristic, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Comedy, Urban Fantasy, Alien Encounters, Alternative Universe, Elves, Dragons & Magical Creatures, Gay, Magic

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Rory has never been the kind of person who enjoys fights or violence, but when a member of his newfound family is kidnapped, he will not just stand by and do nothing. No, Rory will use his still new and not entirely welcome magic to help. And when that is done, Rory will once more put all his efforts into becoming a trophy mate to his handsome blue husband, and he will worship said husband from the tips of his horns to his paw feet.

Inkiri has never been happier in his life. His human mate accepts him, and not just that, Rory loves him. And while Rory seemed afraid at first, he will stop at nothing to protect the people near and dear to him. All Inkiri can hope is that he will prove himself worthy for such an extraordinary mate.

With his future life as trophy mate almost within reach, Rory might be forgetting something that he has to do, but that’s okay. There are people in his life now who will remind him of all the things that are important and of all the things that aren’t.

Content warning: While this series is a comedy, this book alludes to physical and sexual abuse. It is not experienced on page, but it is a reality of a side character’s life.

Excerpt

All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2023 Alexa Piper

Rory

It would be fine, I told myself, everything would be fine. I could do this. Once, but not because I would die the first time. I was going to be brave this once, because someone I cared about was in trouble and needed help. Starting right after we had Kinnek back, I would stop caring about people, because I would ask the presence if it would turn me into a shrub, a really fancy one with tiny berries and no attachments whatsoever.

And of course, when I wondered whether shrubbery was in fact a goal I could aim for, I wondered whether Inkiri would mind. If I were a shrub.

The presence was mildly amused, Inkiri locked eyes with me and told me he would protect me, and Vergis squeezed my hands to let me know I needed to do magic.

“Dispense,” he mumbled, because that’s what he’d started saying since sometimes, I got distracted and didn’t… dispense right away.

Fudge, but if it had been anyone but Vergis’s dad we were going to save, I would have told Vergis that I was not an effing paper towel dispenser.

Get us close to where Kinnek is, I told the magic even as I mentally waved it over to power up Vergis.

The presence — the land — acknowledged that, and off we were.

There were ten of us, all told. Vergis, Inkiri, and Lissir were the ones the land cared about most, I felt that. It also cared about Charles, either because he was Vergis’s dad or because he had already come to protect me once during the raspberry incident that had ended with Charles revealing he had a bunker and my guys liking the concept so much they’d imprisoned the cola asshat in there.

It is good he is here since two of your knights stayed with your mate’s blood, the land told me as we hopped through the veils.

Well, okay. The land could be prickly if it didn’t like a person, and it didn’t like that Zeddira was requiring medical attention.

You need to protect everyone, though, even Luëris and the other protectors, I told it. Remember, no bloodletting.

Remember how I told you such a thing is not within my power, Rory. We are here.

Here was not the dark camp made up of tents and orc-like Koa Esher with a cloud of doom looming above I’d expected, but instead a very fancy estate. It was almost a castle, from the size of it, from the gray, ivy-encrusted stone I spied from where we’d arrived… which was a golf course, one of those sandy pits, and the castle was right across a small and no doubt artificial lake, framed by formerly neatly groomed trees that had taken the chance and were growing wild now, with mistletoe in the upper branches. The lawns that were supposed to be perfectly green and flawlessly mowed were mottled, grasses growing there now and making any games a thing of the past.

“Where?” Charles asked.

He was calm and held his gun as if he was ready to use it. He was. And he might. Violence might happen. I needed to get used to the idea.

The other protectors and Inkiri closed in around me and Vergis immediately, and Lissir unsheathed one of his sickle-like swords. He got a look in his fiery eyes that I’d not seen there before, and his mouth pressed to a thin line.

I turned to the presence, and it reacted immediately.

I will guide you. There are many of them here, a lot who have the strange magic.

I started walking where the land was pointing me — toward the extremely large house or small castle — but Inkiri stopped me. “Tell us.”

Purchase

Changeling Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Meet the Author

Alexa (she/her) has a lot of characters living in her head and wanting their stories told. Many of these people get snarky and won’t stop complaining if Alexa is too slow writing them, which means that for this author, sleep is a luxury. Consequently, Alexa is a coffee addict, but she is sure she has it under control (six cups of coffee are normal in a morning, right? Right!?)

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Filed Under: Blog, Contests, LGBT Tagged With: Action Adventure, Alien Encounters, Alternative Universe, Dragons & Magical Creatures, Elves, Futuristic, gay, magic, paranormal romance, romance, romantic comedy, Thriller/Suspense, urban fantasy

It’s a Tie! Love it? Hate it? Depends on your point of view. #EroticRomance #SlutShaming #BadGirl

January 16, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

Our sizzling novel about a bad girl who meets her match averages exactly three stars on Amazon reviews. There are a smattering of 3-star rankings, but 44% of readers give it four or five stars, and 44% give it only one or two stars.

What’s going on here?

Kitty is a bad girl. We knew that going in – that’s how she popped into our fertile imaginations. Our son is both a contractor and a real estate agent. There aren’t a vast number of women who do both, but through him, we chanced to meet a few, and our story took off.

Our heroine wears stiletto heels when she visits her construction sites, both to bolster her own confidence and to exude authority. She revels in the power of flaunting her sexuality and keeping men guessing – employees, and other men as well. She takes no prisoners. She’s clear about what she wants and she goes after it – on the construction site, in her sales office, and in the bedroom. Or any place else she decides to be sexual.

I suspect part of the negative reaction derives from a marketing mistake on our part – we released this book nearly a decade ago, and at the time, we labeled its genre as contemporary romance in addition to erotic romance. We didn’t give readers enough warning about what was coming, and lots of readers who picked it up found it wasn’t to their taste. Those words pop up in some of the negative reviews.

But underneath the negative rankings and comments lies a dynamic that troubles me: Slut Shaming.

Slut-shaming is the experience of being labeled a sexually out-of-control girl or woman (a “slut” or “ho”) and then being punished socially for possessing this identity. Huffington Post

The bottom line is that Kitty is what many would label a slut. Almost 40, she’s always been sexually active. She has pursued and conquered a series of men. She’s always looking for the next exciting sexual experience.

I don’t judge the reading preferences of others, any more than I judge sexual orientation or someone’s favorite color. Perhaps we owe an apology to readers who picked up The Best Man expecting something different. But what I want to say here is that we celebrate Kitty, and other women like her, who aren’t afraid to go after what they want in whatever realm.

EXCERPT

The Best ManFrowning at the unfamiliar number on her caller I.D., Kitty nodded at the contractor she’d hired to do the rehab on a nineteen-twenties four-square she planned on reselling within the next six months. She’d been making the rounds of the four construction projects she had underway. It was her experience that if she didn’t keep routine tabs on them, the projects slowed. Contractors often responded to the squeaky wheel.

She smiled as she carefully made her way across the sub-flooring, making sure her high heels resonated through the empty house. She knew that sound translated into power with most construction workers. As usual, she’d chosen her wardrobe with her day in mind. This was not a day for refined, potentially high-paying buyers. This was a day for making sure the men she hired didn’t forget they were working for her. In addition to her blue high heels, she’d chosen a beaded pair of blue denim hip huggers and a simple canary yellow cardigan that failed to reach her jeans.

She avoided eye contact with the workers as she made her way to her car. She saw no need to embarrass them as they fantasized about her ass. One of her goals was to be the squeakiest wheel contractors ever heard. So far, she seemed to be meeting her goal.

She chuckled, leaned up against the car, and glanced back toward the four-square. Men working on its siding quickly found something to do. Damn, she loved being a woman.

BLURB

Bad boy meets bad girl – is that all there is?

Passionate, hardworking, and every inch a businesswoman, Chicago realtor Kitty Paige likes her sex raw and edgy, and she sees no reason to limit herself to just one man. Never married and not quite forty, the striking blonde has successfully raised her daughter, Susan, and is already pushing her new-found freedom to the limits.

Wealthy commodities middleman and racehorse owner Jared Jacobs is father of the best man at Susan’s wedding. He is smitten by the vision in yellow who exudes sex as she escorts her daughter down the aisle. Also single, the handsome mustached California ranch owner with mischievous eyes views his sex life as a series of splendid love affairs and sets out to make Kitty next on the list.

Together and apart, their chemistry is explosive, and their sparkling repartee and steamy sex catch both partners by surprise. Jared is first to recognize he’s fallen in love. When Kitty panics, can Jared finesse his every move and reel her in?

BUY LINK

UBL https://books2read.com/u/bzKpPq

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Filed Under: Blog, Erotic Romance, Excerpts Tagged With: Bad girl, erotic romance, sexy, Slut Shaming

Sapphic Seductions Vol. 2 by Lucy Felthouse @CW1985 #LGBTQ+ #Lesbian

January 15, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

The marvelous Lucy Felthouse is my guest over at the Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas Blog today.

She’s talking about why she writes lesbian stories, and you won’t want to miss a yummy excerpt from her latest collection.

https://sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com/2023/01/why-i-write-lesbian-stories-by-lucy.html

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Filed Under: Blog, Erotic Romance, Guest Bloggers, LGBT Tagged With: erotic romance, erotica, lesbian, LGBTQ, Lucy Felthouse, Sapphic

My Review: The Forever Queen, by Helen Hollick @HelenHollick #MedeivalHistory #UKHistory

January 14, 2023 by Adriana Kraft

This week I’m continuing my reviews of fiction about women across the ages who’ve had an impact on the history of the British Empire. Two weeks ago I reviewed Cathie Dunn’s novel Ascent, focused on the Viking invader Rollo’s hand-fasted wife, Poppa. Poppa is the great grandmother of today’s impactful heroine, Queen Emma.

When I wrote about Poppa, I was writing about a direct – although very distant – ancestor of my husband. Like so many Americans of British descent, his lineage traces back to Edward III, in his case through Edward’s son John of Gaunt and John’s mistress and later wife, Katheryn Swynford.

Queen Emma is not my husband’s ancestor, and the British royal line descends not from her but from her brother. Nonetheless, she and her children had a profound and powerful impact on the course of UK history.

MY REVIEW

The Forever Queen, by Helen Hollick

Emma was but thirteen when her brother – the future Duke of Normandy – accompanied her across the channel from France in 1002 to wed King Æthelred, later known as Æthelred the Unready. Little could she know that as England’s future queen, she held in her hands both England’s rise to success across the middle decades of the century, and its fall to William the Conqueror, her grandnephew, in 1066.

Perhaps more is known about this pre-Norman queen than about any who preceded her, in part because late in her life, she commissioned a book about herself. One may need to take the details of that book with a grain of salt, but its broad strokes mesh with much that is documented elsewhere.

As Æthelred’s queen consort, Emma ruled England with him until his death except for a brief interim in 1013, in which the Dane Sweyn Forkbeard conquered the island and Æthelred fled with his family to Emma’s brother, by then Duke Richard, in Normandy. After Æthelred’s death in 1016, a son of Emma and Æthelred ruled briefly, but was defeated by Sweyn’s son Cnut the Great, who shortly married Emma; hence her title, the forever queen. She ruled with him until his death in 1032, and she was an active participant in the government of her two sons who succeeded him, Harthacnute and Edward the Confessor. Emma died in 1052. Counting her years as advisor to her ruling sons, Emma was central to English politics for nearly half a century, a ruler in fact if not in name.

Author Helen Hollick has taken these known and conjectured facts and delivered a compelling account of Emma, her inner world, her dilemmas, and her choices. In addition, she embeds this narrative in a rich and detailed presentation of Emma’s outer world – the backward state of England’s royal and liturgical structures, the complex medieval culture, the political interplay and some of its traitors, the powerful role of the Catholic church and its bishops, and the incessant Viking invasions.

The Emma who emerges is engaging, often admirable, sometimes devious, and clearly very clever to successfully navigate the swirling power plays that surround her. Is she a likable character? Yes and no. For me, Hollick succeeds in making us understand and empathize with her, so that even when she takes an action we might disapprove of, we know why. I found the presentation of her character and her era to be highly engaging and informative.

Five Stars ~ Highly Recommend.

BUY LINK

The Forever Queen: Sometimes, a desperate kingdom is in need of one great woman.

Helen Hollick

https://amazon.com/dp/B0042JU7QW/

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Filed Under: Adriana's Library, Blog Tagged With: Aethelred The Unready, Historical Fiction, Medieval history, Pre-Norman history, Queen Emma, UK History

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