Adriana Kraft

When it's time to heat things up...

Romantic Suspense

“You’ve been vouched for…” #99¢ #SALE #SundaySnippet #SnipSun #TripleCrown #HorseRacing

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Welcome to Snippet Sunday – ten sentences from all your favorite romance authors! You’ll find them all at this Facebook Group every Sunday:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

Did you watch the Kentucky Derby yesterday? Those late scratches threw everyone’s tickets into a mad scramble to replace horses. What a race! And now it’s on to the Preakness, always two weeks after the Derby.

Our four steamy romantic suspense novels set in the thoroughbred racing world are on sale for just 99¢ each, now through mid-June, to celebrate this year’s race for the Triple Crown.

Book Two, Heat Wave, draws on our years in Iowa, our own experience raising and training horses, and a family member’s journey to sobriety. That young man has read and vouched for those elements of Ed’s journey in Maggie’s story. We celebrate all who struggle and succeed.

EXCERPT

Set up: On the porch at Maggie’s farm. Ed has just driven to the farm to accept the job Maggie has offered him to train her horses.

“There is one thing – you know I can’t take your horses to the track.”

Maggie nodded. “I know about the ban, Ed. That doesn’t have anything to do with me. You’ve been vouched for, and that’s enough—there are likely a lot of bridges yet to cross. Let’s take them one at a time.”

“I’m all for that, Maggie.” Harrington lifted his cup in salute.

That was the first time he’d called her Maggie. It sounded too familiar, yet they had to be on a first name basis if they were going to work together as a team. She took a short breath, excited about actually beginning to put in place her plan to save the farm. Her nerves tingled at the prospect.

Or, perhaps her nerves were responding to the man who pronounced Maggie in a gravelly voice that oozed intimacy.

REVIEWS

Goodreads: Five Stars: Heartfelt with mystery and hope…made me cry. Spot on interplay between the main characters…well written and extremely enjoyable to read. Donna H.

Amazon: Five Stars: I felt like I was on a roller coaster reading this story! Laughing one second, then felt like crying the next, always on the edge wanting to know what is going to happen next. Amy B.

BUY LINK

99¢ SALE

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JZ6GW6G

BOOK INFO

Title: Heat Wave
Series: Rider Up, Book Two
Can be read as a stand-alone
Author: Adriana Kraft
Publisher: B&B Publishing
Publication Date: April 30, 2014
ISBN 978-0-9907476-2-8  ASIN B00JZ6GW6G
Length: 93,000 Words   418 Pages
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance, Sports Romance
Pairings: M/F
Tags: Horse Racing, Thoroughbred Racing, Small Town, Saving the Farm, Young Widow, Horse Trainer
Heat rating: 3 flames

BLURB

During an oppressive Iowa summer of drought and farm foreclosures, widowed Maggie Anderson makes a bold decision: She’ll merge her love of horses and her family’s three hundred and twenty acres into a horse farm and try her hand at nearby Prairie Meadows Racetrack, where racing purses have just been augmented by the recently added casino gambling.

Down on his luck after being falsely accused in a racing scandal and banned from training, former Arlington Racetrack trainer Ed Harrington has skulked home to Des Moines to drown his sorrows and wait for the dust to clear. He’s unprepared for the piercing robin’s-egg-blue eyes of pint-sized Maggie Anderson, who finds him at a flophouse and offers him a job. Can he pull himself together and meet the challenge?

As the two forge a tumultuous working partnership, they soon discover someone is out to get Maggie’s farm and will stop at almost nothing to force her off the land. Can they find and stop the culprit before someone is killed? Can they survive the far greater danger unleashed by the raw passion simmering just beneath the surface of their relationship?

~ o ~

…about the foal in my promo photo at the top of this post – I’m well aware he’s not a thoroughbred racehorse. His sire is Arabian, his dam, pictured with him, is a Saddlebred, and we gave him a role in Book Four in the series, Detour Ahead.

FIND EVERYONE’S POSTS IN THIS FACEBOOK GROUP:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday/

 

Triple Crown Fever! Steamy Romantic Suspense #Sale #ThoroughbredRacing #Fiction

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 TIME FOR SOME TRIPLE CROWN FEVER

 

In just four more days, twenty top thoroughbred three year olds will load into the post and race in the Kentucky Derby for the first crown.

I’ve been to the Kentucky Derby in person twice – it turns out I don’t like mint juleps very much, but I do love the hats! My former roommate and longtime best friend is a southern Indiana gal whose family always had tickets and kept an attic full of hats for visitors to borrow in season. No sense turning down that invitation!

I was a horse-crazy kid, and as fate would have it, so was my husband, who was with me at those Derbys and once also at the Belmont Stakes. When we first lived out west, we had a friend who owned and trained horses that ran at Wyoming Downs and sometimes at Los Alamitos in California. A small financial windfall empowered us to follow a dream – Hubs and the friend attended Barrett’s sale in California and came home with two 3-year-old thoroughbred fillies.

One of them never raced but proved an excellent brood mare whose offspring won races:

 

The second filly ran successfully at Wyoming Downs, then also ran at Los Alamitos and won her first race there:

 

There’s lots more to our horse story, and I’ll be posting more during the Triple Crown races.

In the meantime, we poured our love of horses and the experience gleaned from our foray into horse racing into a four-book steamy romantic suspense series set in the world of thoroughbred horse racing.

To celebrate the upcoming Triple Crown, all four books are on sale for just 99¢ from now through the Belmont Stakes in mid-June. Though they are a series, each book can be read as a standalone.

Book One: Cassie’s Hope

High stakes, a fiery Irish redhead, her stunning racehorse, and a fiercely loyal rancher

Five stars at Goodreads An emotional roller-coaster, with twists and turns you never see coming! …I feel I know them, I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a truly good book. Faith

BUY LINK https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GDWTUGY
LINK TO BLURB AND EXCERPT https://adrianakraft.com/books/cassies_hope/

Book Two: Heat Wave

Hang onto the land – but at what cost? Feisty widow hires ace racehorse trainer to salvage her family’s heritage. Can they survive escalating threats to life and limb?

Five stars at Amazon: Adriana Kraft made me a believer in this beautiful tale. I loved that no matter how many times she was told she would fail, Maggie never backed down. Melena

BUY LINK https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JZ6GW6G
LINK TO BLURB AND EXCERPT https://adrianakraft.com/books/heat-wave/ 

Book Three: Willow Smoke

When the chips are down, there’s nobody there. Willowy blonde Daisy Matthews has survived the Chicago streets with this mantra – is she ready for a May/September romance?

Five stars at Amazon “Adriana Kraft has created memorable characters that linger long after the story has ended and I’ve closed the book. She has done what an author should—brought me into the book’s world and made me care about the characters so that my world will not be the same.” Sheila G.

BUY LINK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0DH13I
LINK TO BLURB AND EXCERPT https://adrianakraft.com/books/willow-smoke-2/ 

Book Four: Detour Ahead

Threatened race horses, city slicker attorney, sexy California wrangler—what can possibly go wrong?

Five stars at Amazon: TopPick This is a story about letting go of your past so you can move on to your future, letting go of being the victim and becoming a survivor…Add into this touching story of recovery a mystery that will keep you guessing to the very end, and you’ve got a story you won’t be able to put down. Angi, Night Owl Reviews

BUY LINK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RPT6YJA/
LINK TO BLURB AND EXCERPT https://adrianakraft.com/books/detour-ahead/

“Very Nice…” #SundaySnippet #SnipSun #Steamy #RomanticSuspense #Sale #KentuckyDerby

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Only six days to the Kentucky Derby! All four books in our horse racing romantic suspense series are on sale for just 99¢, now through mid June.

This week’s snippet continues the scene from Cassie’s Hope – Clint and Cassie are just meeting for the first time.

Set up: Cassie has trailered her dad’s prize thoroughbred filly from Illinois to Wyoming to try to get her first stakes win and is just getting Hope settled into her stall…

Our last sentence last week: This was no drugstore cowboy…

EXCERPT

He stepped closer, and she could make out a scowl. Dark eyes snapped a foreboding anger. Raven black hair framed chiseled features, searing them into Cassie’s brain. Her toes curled involuntarily and she rubbed Hope’s coat vigorously.

Who the hell was he? And to top it off, he didn’t even seem to notice her – his eyes appraised only the horse.

The handsome stranger walked around the horse. “Very nice,” he drawled at last.

Cassie kept on grooming, doing her best to ignore the man.

“You’re gonna wear a hole in that horse with all that hand rubbing,” he commented dryly.

REVIEWS

An emotional roller-coaster, with twists and turns you never see coming! …I feel I know them, I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a truly good book. Faith, Goodreads

Just downloaded this book yesterday and didn’t set it down until I was finished. Great story! Great characters with steamy love scenes. Will look for more suspense written by this author. Would recommend this book to all romantic suspense readers. Billie D.

BUY LINK

Amazon

BLURB

What happens when a fiercely loyal widowed half-Ute cowboy meets a fiery redhead with an Irish temper to match? Cassidy O’Hanlon – Cassie, to her friends – has set aside her Chicago career for six months to train racehorses for her dad after his stroke.

Furious the interloper has shipped in a ringer from the Chicago circuit to his Wyoming turf, Rancher/trainer Clint Travers sets out to put her in her place. Sparks fly immediately, but after their rocky start, the two quickly forge a passionate relationship, and he follows her to Chicago.

When it becomes clear someone is drugging Cassie’s horse, Clint sets out to solve the mystery, but storms off in a cloud of wounded pride when suspicions turn to him.

Can love trump pride?

“Nice lookin’ filly…” #SundaySnippet #SnipSun #Steamy #RomanticSuspense #Sale #KentuckyDerby

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It’s less than two weeks to the Kentucky Derby!

…so my Sunday Snippet is switching gears to prep for Triple Crown Fever. Do you love horses? I was a horse-crazy kid, and as fate would have it, so was my husband. We poured our love of horses and the experience gleaned from our brief foray into horse racing to pen a four-book steamy romantic suspense series set in the world of thoroughbred horse racing.

To celebrate the upcoming Triple Crown, all four books are on sale for just 99¢ from now through the Belmont Stakes in mid-June.

Here’s our Sunday Snippet from Riders Up: Book One, Cassie’s Hope

EXCERPT

Set up: Cassie has trailered her dad’s prize thoroughbred filly from Illinois to Wyoming to try to get her first stakes win and is just getting Hope settled into her stall…

Shaking her head, Cassie grabbed a hoof pick from her back pocket, lifted one of Hope’s front hooves, and began extracting dirt and pebbles.

“Nice lookin’ filly.”

Cassie groaned at the strange deep voice and the too-familiar line. Couldn’t men anywhere be a little more original?

Dropping the hoof, Cassie glanced across Hope’s back and gasped. The deeply tanned hunk behind the voice had shoulders that stretched taut a pale yellow polo shirt covered, in part, with a thin buckskin vest. The wide cowboy buckle appeared unnecessary to hold up well contoured Levi’s. A sweat-stained brown Stetson, tipped low, cast a light shadow across his facial features. His worn boots were those of a working man. This was no drugstore cowboy.

REVIEWS

An emotional roller-coaster, with twists and turns you never see coming! …I feel I know them, I took their journey with them. I felt their pain, their sadness, their struggles, and most of all their love. And that is the mark of a truly good book. Faith, Goodreads

Just downloaded this book yesterday and didn’t set it down until I was finished. Great story! Great characters with steamy love scenes. Will look for more suspense written by this author. Would recommend this book to all romantic suspense readers. Billie D.

BUY LINK

Amazon

BLURB

What happens when a fiercely loyal widowed half-Ute cowboy meets a fiery redhead with an Irish temper to match? Cassidy O’Hanlon – Cassie, to her friends – has set aside her Chicago career for six months to train racehorses for her dad after his stroke.

Furious the interloper has shipped in a ringer from the Chicago circuit to his Wyoming turf, Rancher/trainer Clint Travers sets out to put her in her place. Sparks fly immediately, but after their rocky start, the two quickly forge a passionate relationship, and he follows her to Chicago.

When it becomes clear someone is drugging Cassie’s horse, Clint sets out to solve the mystery, but storms off in a cloud of wounded pride when suspicions turn to him.

Can love trump pride?

Just Released! The Feisty Lawyers Bundle by Seelie Kay @SeelieKay #RomanticSuspense

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Title:  Feisty Lawyers Bundle

Release Date:  February 17, 2023

Content: Three books from the five-book Feisty Lawyers series, including Snatching Dianna, Infamy, and Cult.

Genre:  Romantic Suspense

Heat Level: Three flames

Pages:  377

Price: $7.50

Book trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgVP-BDKgDU

Buy Link:  https://www.extasybooks.com/collections/bundles/Feisty-Lawyers-Bundle

Blurbs

Feisty Lawyers Series

They’re smart. They’re feisty. They play to win!

The lawyers who make up The Agency are committed to bringing justice to situations in which justice is not normally found. At the behest of the President, they intervene in matters that impact Americans around the globe. Human trafficking, terrorism, cults, and the disappeared are just a few of the cases with which they are tasked, and they execute uniquely designed solutions with determination and no small amount of courage. Their journey begins with an American law student kidnapped by a sex slave traffickers. It ends with justice served. Three heart-stopping adventures from a five-book series are combined into one scintillating bundle of romantic suspense, including Snatching Diana, Infamy, and Cult.

Snatching Diana

The hours are counting down as investigators try to prove that Dianna Murphy has been snatched. Unfortunately, without witnesses and solid evidence, all the police really know is that she is missing.

When suburban Milwaukee law student Dianna Murphy fails to connect with her roommate, there is no real evidence that she has been snatched. Until Law Professor Janet MacLachlan, a former covert agent, discovers a single clue, one that points to a taking by a slave trafficking cartel. In a race against time, Janet recruits her husband, secret agent Cade Matthews, small-town Police Chief David Manders and his wife, criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant, and other law students to uncover the truth. Can they prove she has been taken, before Dianna disappears without a trace?

Infamy

Infamy. An evil or wicked act. Terrorists bent on revenge have found a way to make planes disappear from the sky, without a trace. And when one winds up buried in a Wisconsin cornfield, it’s a race against time to rescue the passengers from certain death.

When international law attorney Sheikh Harun Ali is lured to the Amazon and warned of a frightening plot against the United States, he and his wife, Marianne Benson, enlist the assistance of their neighbors, covert agent Cade Matthews and his wife, Constitutional Law Professor Janet MacLachlan. Ultimately, these feisty lawyers are pushed to the wall, desperate to find a plane that has been buried in an unknown cornfield, the passengers still on board. The terrorists’ hatred for the Alis is absolute—the Alis once left their organization bankrupt and broken—but they hate America more. And their fiendish games are just beginning. They are seeking a much bigger prize, one that could destroy a nation and possibly the world. An act that will live in infamy.

Cult (winner of the Editor’s Choice Award)

It’s supposed to be a simple assignment. A quick trip to a South American country for an “in and out” fact-finding mission. Unfortunately, the cult has other ideas.

When college students begin disappearing from American campuses, a notorious cult, God’s Delight, is the primary suspect. God’s Delight has been hosting shows featuring sex, drugs, and rock and roll around the country, and young people are flocking to them.

Among the missing is the President’s goddaughter, and he wants answers. When he asks Agent Cade Matthews, a member of a secret covert organization, to find her, the mission appears fairly straightforward. Find the God’s Delight compound, determine whether a welfare check on American cult members is warranted, and get out. Simple. Clean. Easy.

Cade sends newly-married Agents Dianna Murphy and Anders Mark to the University of Wisconsin to follow the trail to God’s Delight, but when they wind up in Bolivia, things go sideways. Suddenly, what appeared to be nothing more than a simple in-and-out could cost Dianna her life. When an Agency extraction is ordered, chaos erupts, and the question becomes, will anyone survive?

Excerpts

Snatching Dianna

After what seemed like hours in the sweltering van, it lurched to a stop.

Dianna heard a man bark orders. A door to the van opened and someone pulled the rope from her feet, then removed her hood. She took a deep breath.  A man grabbed her by the arm, forced her to her feet, and pulled her from the van. Dianna stumbled when she hit the ground. The stones were hot and her feet were covered by athletic socks, no shoes. Show no weakness.

Dianna immediately surveyed her surroundings. It was still night, but she was in a well-lit courtyard. A large stone mansion stood in front of her. She looked to her right, then her left. The courtyard was enclosed by a large stone fence, at least eight feet high. A fortress. Fortunately, Dianna was a rock-climber. She could rappel over the fence with the right equipment. All she would need was something to serve as a pick, maybe a rope. A knife, a screwdriver, even a fork. Keep your eyes and ears open. Be ready.

A large black man, dressed in a white suit and a maroon turban, walked out of the front door and down the stairs. He stopped and flashed a malevolent smile. He flung his arms wide and in a cultured baritone boomed, “Welcome to paradise, ladies. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

Some of the guards laughed.

“Crikey,” Tillie muttered. “Sounds like a blasted genie.”

Dianna glanced sideways and for the first time, got a look at her new friend. She was tall and thin, her body well defined. She looked strong and aware, almost fierce. Her eyes seemed to be studying the place, taking everything in. She showed no fear. Instead, she seemed interested. Something was off. Tillie did not act like a victim as the others did. She was not cowed. Was she a cop? Or like Dianna, someone who would not permit themselves to be broken?

There was only one thing of which Dianna was certain. She had found a friend. A useful one.

Infamy

Cade grasped his water bottle with both hands. “Before his brother died, he said eight words.”

Harun nodded. “They are going to make American planes disappear.”

Dianna’s eyes grew wide.

Anders rubbed a hand over his face, then through his long dark hair. His deep green eyes stared up at the ceiling of the plane. “Fucking hell. Nine-eleven all over again.”

“That is our fear,” Harun said. “However, so many precautionary measures are in place in this country, simply hijacking planes and flying them into buildings is no longer easy. They must have a different plan.”

Cade emitted a heavy sigh. “And that is what we need to figure out. What exactly do those eight words mean? For example, he did not specify that the planes would disappear in America, which could mean that they will disappear abroad or over oceans.”

Anders sat up straight. “And disappear could mean many things. Crash. Hijack. Pull a Malaysia. How many ways can you make a plane disappear?”

Cult

“But everyone can leave when they want, right?”

Tillie cocked her eyebrow, clearly amused. “Of course. But why would they? This is paradise.”

“It is indeed, darling Miranda,” drawled a deep sultry voice. A tall, well-built man dressed in a white cossack, a thick wooden cross draped around his neck, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. His loose, long blonde hair framed a tan, handsome face with a strong nose and a wicked, full-lipped grin. He turned his piercing blue eyes toward Dianna and smiled. “Hello.”

The man studied her, his expression predatory.

Dianna shifted uncomfortably. So, Tillie is using another name. Meaning she’s undercover. Noted. Dianna stuck out her hand and said. “Hi, I’m Bennie. I’m one of the students from Wisconsin working over at the orphanage. You were kind enough to allow us to stay here.”

The man took her hand and stroked it, his expression suddenly thoughtful. “Tell me, Bennie from Wisconsin, what do you think of my paradise?” His hand moved to her lower arm.

Dianna flushed. My paradise? Is this Reverend John? “It’s beautiful. Peaceful. But hot. And humid. Really humid.” She gazed up into the man’s eyes, somewhat stunned at the lust she found there. My God, he looks like he wants to devour me. Dianna quickly looked away.

The man chuckled. “You get used to it. But we keep the air-conditioning on in the dormitories for the newbies and limit their time in the sun. And of course, we all take a siesta during the hottest part of the day if we need one.” He released her arm. “We worship at day’s end when the air begins to cool. Otherwise, things get a little…sweaty.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, gently tugging her hair. Then he walked away. Dianna’s gaze did not leave him as children followed him, playfully competing for his attention. Just like Jesus.

Reviews

“To me this is one of those series that I will be reading over and over again. From the very beginning I was drawn in, it’s got action, danger, suspense, and even, romance. I can’t recommend this series and Author enough…I highly recommend reading this whole series. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next.” (Goodreads review)

“Seelie Kay has an unforgettable imagination, and will keep you wanting more. You can tell she brings her all, while reading this story. I love her characters, especially the strong-willed, independent women. This is a must read! Along with the rest of her Feisty Lawyers Series. Well Done Seelie Kay, Well Done.” (Goodreads review)

“This author really knows how to deliver an edgy, and dramatic story. It was heart in throat entertainment. A complicated and colourful cast filled with many events that left me gasping and wondering if I read it correctly. I was captivated and intrigued. These kinds of stories are what keep me in my happy place. They keep me entertained and out of my head. I have travelled the world and experienced every feeling and moment with theses characters. Seelie Kay has a knack for enrapturing an audience and it is a dangerously decadent state to be in, and totally addictive.” (Goodreads review)

About Seelie Kay

Award-winning author Seelie Kay writes scintillating tales of lawyers in love, sometimes with a dash of kink.

Writing under a nom de plume, the former lawyer and journalist draws her stories from more than 30 years in the legal world. Seelie’s wicked pen has resulted in twenty-two works of fiction, including the new paranormal romance series Donovan Trait, as well the erotic romance Kinky Briefs series and The Feisty Lawyers romantic suspense series. She also authored The Last Christmas, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, The President’s Wife, The President’s Daughter, Seizing Hope, The White House Wedding, and participated in the romance anthology Pieces of Us.

When not spinning romantic tales, Seelie ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. Currently, she resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, WI, where she enjoys opera, the Green Bay Packers, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.

Seelie is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Seelie can be reached at www.seeliekay.com, www.seeliekay.blogspot.com, or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.

Author links

Website:  https://www.seeliekay.com

Blog:  https://www.seeliekay.blogspot.com

Twitter: @SeelieKay https://twitter.com/SeelieKay

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/seeliekay51/

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Seelie-Kay/e/B074RDRWNZ/

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/seelie-kay

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16492565.Seelie_Kay

TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@authorseeliekay

Newsletter sign-up:  https://rb.gy/w69pim

Prior Books

Kinky Briefs:  https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs-1

Kinky Briefs, Too:  https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-too

Kinky Briefs, Thrice: https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-thrice

Kinky Briefs, Quatro: https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-quatro

Kinky Briefs, Cinque:  https://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs,-cinque

Snatching Dianna:  https://www.extasybooks.com/snatching-dianna

Infamy:  https://www.extasybooks.com/infamy

Cult:  https://www.extasybooks.com/cult

Hope:  https://www.extasybooks.com/hope

Martimus:  https://www.extasybooks.com/martimus

The Garage Dweller:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-garage-dweller

The President’s Wife:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-presidents-wife

Seizing Hope:  https://www.extasybooks.com/seizing-hope

The White House Wedding:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-white-house-wedding

The Last Christmas: https://www.extasybooks.com/the-last-christmas

The President’s Daughter:  https://www.extasybooks.com/the-presidents-daughter

A Touchdown to Remember:  https://www.extasybooks.com/a-touchdown-to-remember

First, We Kill All the Lawyers:  https://www.extasybooks.com/first,-we-kill-all-the-lawyers

Ye Gods! The Law is an Ass!:  https://www.extasybooks.com/ye-god-the-law-is-an-ass

Vive la Resistance: https://www.extasybooks.com/Vive-la-Resistance

 

New Release! Out of the Shadows, by Tim Smith @extasybooks #Thriller #RomanticSuspense

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Today my blog guest is fellow Extasy author Tim Smith. If you haven’t dipped into his Thriller series Nick Seven, don’t miss it—you’re in for the roller coaster ride of your life!

BOOK INFO

Published by: eXtasy Books
Author : Tim Smith
Word Count :67807
Publication Date :2022-10-28
Series : Nick Seven #8
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense and Mystery, Thriller
Winner: Extasy Books Editor’s Choice Award

BLURB

How can a couple of former spies enjoy life in their personal corner of paradise, when things from the past keep coming back to haunt them?

What does a former spy have to do to get some peace and quiet in his personal corner of paradise? In the laidback ease of the Florida Keys, Nick Seven has carved out a life far removed from the intrigue that once defined his life in the CIA. He runs his trendy club on the Gulf, keeps a low profile, and enjoys the tropical setting with Felicia, his Barbadian lover and former co-worker. After he sees a woman being killed at a resort, Nick finds himself thrust into an investigation where there is no corpse and no evidence of a crime. The police are busy with a string of high-profile home burglaries and don’t have time to look for his imaginary victim, so it’s up to Nick to investigate. Then French con artist Marco St. Julian unexpectedly surfaces from Nick’s past. Are the incidents related? And what part does the wealthy young trophy wife of a convicted financial scammer play in all of this? Throw in a career-hungry FBI agent, a mysterious Cuban crook and an ex-patriate Irish gunrunner, and it’s more than just another day at the beach.

EXCERPT

The intruder stood in the shadows at the rear of a spacious oceanfront home on Duck Key, waiting for the right moment to go to work. The nighttime Florida sky was punctuated by a bright slice of quarter-moon and a handful of stars. The only light in the old-moneyed neighborhood was provided by ornate street lamps and security lights. Just the way the intruder liked it: enough light to see by, not enough to be seen. The background noise was a combination of waves lapping ashore and distant trawlers scooping up fresh catch. Occasionally a car would cruise by.

The home was one of many in the rich Florida Keys oceanfront enclave known as Hawk’s Cay, just south of Conch Key on the Overseas Highway. It was the kind of place that catered to a certain brand of people, like rich retirees, trust fund babies and savvy bankers who got out while the market was still good. Thousands of people cruised past it every day on their way to and from Key West without giving it more than a passing glance.

The intruder wore a black nylon catsuit that covered every inch of flesh from head to toe, as though they had been sprayed with onyx lacquer. They saw their shadow flash briefly in the glass of the French doors, tall and slender with narrow hips, an elfin-like creature gliding through the night. Their gloved fingers ran along the frame of the door that led to the interior of the home, but stopped when they located the security system sensor near the top. It was a cheap hardware-store variety contact alarm, not appropriate for such an expensive house. The person carefully slid a thin piece of magnetized metal between the two contact points, then crouched to work on the lock. Two metal picks in the keyhole were expertly moved against the tumblers until the intruder heard the telltale click of the lock giving way.

They opened the door and stepped inside, finding themselves in a small dining area off of the kitchen. The interior of the house was illuminated by one lamp from the living room. They stood still for a few moments, not detecting any sounds, then walked to the bedrooms at the rear of the home. They used a small flashlight to illuminate the way, then stopped when they reached the largest bedroom at the end of the hallway. According to the floor plan, this was the master suite.

They approached a dresser and found a small wooden jewelry chest in plain view. Their gloved hands opened it and the flashlight’s beam reflected off the gold and diamond baubles the chest contained. The intruder took a black vinyl drawstring bag from a pocket and transferred the contents to the bag.

They switched off the flashlight, then retraced their steps to the French doors leading to the deck. They momentarily froze when a car passed on the street nearby. After waiting a few moments, the person left the way they had come in and moved to the street, taking advantage of the natural cover provided by shrubs and hibiscus bushes. They made their way to a black Toyota coupe parked down the block and got in.

The driver pulled off the black hood of the catsuit, then fluffed her long dark brown hair, letting it cascade to her shoulders. She pulled down the visor and looked into the lighted vanity mirror, arranging her hair with her fingers. She checked her tanned face for a moment and satisfied herself that she looked natural, not like someone who had just committed a home invasion.

She drove slowly along the narrow street, then crossed a wooden bridge that traversed the channel that ran through the subdivision. When she reached the Overseas Highway she merged with the northbound traffic and maintained the speed limit to avoid any attention from the police routinely patrolling the highway. She glanced at the small bag of gems on the passenger seat and smiled, feeling a little giddy. She gazed forward and saw the marker sign on the right berm, the one reminding her that she was 15 miles from Key Largo.

She continued her northern trek while doing mental calculations. Tonight marked the sixth successful break-in over the past two weeks at various locations along The Keys. All were of fancy homes owned by well-to-do people with more money than they knew what to do with–wealthy industrialists and financiers who had made their riches off the sweat of blue-collar types, and the investors who fell for their scams. People who were smart enough to fleece the flock and dodge the subpoenas when the lawsuits began flying.

The woman slowed as she reached the entrance to the Sunset Resort on the Gulf side of Key Largo. She signaled her turn, then crossed the median into the parking lot, nosing the coupe into a spot at the end of the building, where there was no security camera. She got out, used a key card to enter the hotel, and took the elevator to the third floor. She hesitated before walking to her room, checking that there were no guests in the hallway.

Once inside the suite, the woman transferred tonight’s haul into a gallon-size freezer bag. She took a moment to give a closer look at something that had caught her eye. It was a gold pendant in the shape of a unicorn, about two inches long, with emeralds making up the horn and eyes, on a heavy rope chain. She pocketed the necklace, then secured the bag alongside three others in the designated hiding place.

BUY LINKS

Amazon

Out of the Shadows (Nick Seven Book 8) – Kindle edition by Smith, Tim. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Extasy Books:

Out of the Shadows by Tim Smith | Extasy Books

REVIEWS

Five Stars: A fast-paced story from the get-go, with some romantic moments between Nick and Felicia, to relieve the suspense. Plus, a few interesting twists to keep you guessing till the end.

Five Stars: Once Again, Tim Smith has penned an excellent thriller, worthy of the highest recommendation!

BIOGRAPHY

I’m an award-winning, bestselling author of mystery/thrillers and contemporary erotic romance. I’m also a freelance writer/photographer and blogger. When I’m not writing I can often be found in The Florida Keys, indulging my passion for parasailing while seeking out the perfect Mojito.

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