Adriana Kraft

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

Detective

“We know they were in the building…” #SnippetSunday #SnipSun #RomanticSuspense #Sale 99¢

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

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

Continuing with The Heist, romantic suspense.

EXCERPT

Set Up: Kara and Sasha are still puzzling over finding the museum unlocked…

“Don’t worry about it,” Kara said. “You’re a valued member of this staff and our community. Ted Springs won’t think any differently. Now let’s get back to the tasks at hand. You’ve triple and quadruple checked the exhibit areas? Nothing is missing or damaged?”

Sasha nodded. “That’s right. Irving and David have checked everything over and over, too. You walked through the entire building yourself. Nothing is missing. Nothing is damaged. That’s what’s crazy about this. Why would anyone go to the bother of disabling our computers and alarm system and steal nothing?” She paused. “And the creepy thing is we know they were in the building. The two soda cans on the floor in the vanPatten room didn’t just walk in on their own.”

BLURB

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

BUY LINK

On Sale for just $0.99!

https://books2read.com/u/4D65wD

REVIEWS

Five stars at Goodreads: “The sex is hot and I loved the phone sex scenes. Never did I expect the ending. It was brilliant. The Heist is a winner!” Sheila G.

Five stars at Amazon: “From the start, the perspective of Kara, the museum’s director and the thieves are cleverly interwoven…  rich in detail…   held my interest and kept me reading forward.” Gaele  “Very hot…engaging, entertaining, funny and serious, well written and extremely enjoyable to read.” Donna H.

“I’ve never liked outsiders…” #SnippetSunday #SnipSun #RomanticSuspense #Sale 99¢

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

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

Continuing with The Heist, romantic suspense.

EXCERPT

Set Up: picking up where we left off last week. When Kara arrived to open the museum on Monday, she found the doors unlocked. She’s meeting with her assistant.

Kara leaned back in her chair. “We don’t have anything to hide, Sasha. The Upper Midwest Arts Council has the same goal we have—bringing a diverse array of quality art to this community, and doing so with the best level of security we can afford. Given what happened last night, what we currently have is not good enough. The Council won’t send the traveling exhibits you request if we can’t improve our security.”

“I know. It’s just I’ve never liked outsiders prying into my business.”

“I understand.” Kara considered her curator afresh. She’d hired Sasha herself three years earlier, after she’d been promoted from that job to director. Sasha was already highly regarded across the Midwest region for her artistic judgment and presentation skills. That she preferred women to men in her private life had no bearing on her value to the museum. Yet Kara had seen this skittishness from Sasha before. She desperately wanted to keep her private life private. They both knew if an investigator considered either one of them as a potential suspect, their private lives would be open to severe scrutiny.

BLURB

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

BUY LINK

On Sale for just $0.99!

https://books2read.com/u/4D65wD

REVIEWS

Five stars at Goodreads: “The sex is hot and I loved the phone sex scenes. Never did I expect the ending. It was brilliant. The Heist is a winner!” Sheila G.

Five stars at Amazon: “From the start, the perspective of Kara, the museum’s director and the thieves are cleverly interwoven…  rich in detail…   held my interest and kept me reading forward.” Gaele  “Very hot…engaging, entertaining, funny and serious, well written and extremely enjoyable to read.” Donna H.

“We have nothing to hide…” #SnippetSunday #SnipSun #RomanticSuspense #Sale

by

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

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

Continuing with The Heist, romantic suspense.

EXCERPT

Set Up: picking up where we left off last week. When Cara arrived to open the museum on Monday, she found the doors unlocked. She’s meeting with her assistant.

“It’s hard to imagine a guy from Chicago doing anything in Elk Grove, Nebraska—other than holding his nose while he decides which one of us is a likely thief.” Sasha shifted nervously from foot to foot in front of Kara’s mahogany desk.

“Since we have nothing to hide, I doubt he’ll get very involved with any of us. Besides, he’s not coming to investigate the break-in, since nothing was taken. He’s coming to help us improve our security system. That’s a good thing. Right?”

“I guess.” Sasha crossed her arms, underscoring her obvious skepticism.

“He won’t arrive until tomorrow. In the meantime we’ll need to set up a meeting with the Board for him, and I’m sure he’ll want to spend time with our Security Committee. We’ll want to make sure all our procedure manuals are available. And all staff should be on call in case he wants to talk with them.”

BLURB

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

BUY LINK

On Sale for just $0.99!

https://books2read.com/u/4D65wD

REVIEWS

Five stars at Goodreads: “The sex is hot and I loved the phone sex scenes. Never did I expect the ending. It was brilliant. The Heist is a winner!” Sheila G.

Five stars at Amazon: “From the start, the perspective of Kara, the museum’s director and the thieves are cleverly interwoven…  rich in detail…   held my interest and kept me reading forward.” Gaele  “Very hot…engaging, entertaining, funny and serious, well written and extremely enjoyable to read.” Donna H.

“He’s supposed to be very good…” #SnippetSunday #SnipSun #RomanticSuspense

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

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

We’ve spent the last eight weeks in the world of horse racing, following the Triple Crown races – now we’re dipping into the world of art for a bit: The Heist, romantic suspense.

EXCERPT

Chapter 1

Kara Daniels swiveled in her desk chair to get a better look at her curator, Sasha Ivory.

“You’ve met this Ted Springs who’s supposed to be dashing to our rescue?” Sasha spat out the question and pushed a strand of blond hair back into her fashionable pixie cut.

“Briefly,” Kara responded, trying not to get caught up in Sasha’s frustration. As director of the Nelson Museum, Kara had overall responsibility for the mid-sized institution, including security. She hugged her aching shoulders. The stress had been building ever since she’d arrived early that morning to open the building, only to discover it was already unlocked. “He’s supposed to be very good at what he does.”

BLURB

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

BUY LINK

https://books2read.com/u/4D65wD

 

“…maybe you’ll want to stay for coffee.” The Merry Widow #MRFWHooks #EroticRomance #Excerpt #BookSale

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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!

Here’s little steam from The Merry Widow to heat you up against the wintry weather…

EXCERPT

Jim tried to breathe normally. That wasn’t going to happen as long as he stayed in this woman’s presence. Her lips started to move. He tried to focus on what she was saying.

“No apology required. If I remember correctly—my brain is still somewhat fried—I wasn’t holding back any. I don’t want a different detective.” Merry gave him a sultry smile. “Your cock will do quite fine. I’ll gladly attest to that.”

He crossed the foyer in a flash and crushed her to his body. He kissed her hair, her forehead, her lips while her hands roamed across his back and buttocks.

“Jesus,” he exclaimed, feeling himself harden again. “I’m not a twenty-year-old.”

“Thank God.”

He jerked himself from their embrace. “I don’t know what your game is, lady. I don’t know what you want. But I’m finding it damn hard to walk out of here.”

Merry laughed. She actually laughed at him.

She gripped his arousal. “You don’t seem to have much difficulty getting hard again.” She lowered her hand. “I’m not into games, Detective. Maybe I’m too old for that. I don’t have any particular wants other than some good, mind-blowing sex—which you’ve already demonstrated the capacity for. That’s all I ask. No strings. No commitments. No expectations. No anything but hot sex.”

“Hmm. I’d be one of many if I sign on?”

“Probably.” She never hesitated. She never blinked.

“Never done it that way before.”

Merry smiled. “Neither have I, but I’m learning it can be quite stimulating—quite invigorating, actually. And after so many years of abstinence, I’m not looking for a lovey-dovey relationship. Maybe someday, but not now. I’ve made a commitment to myself to be open to new sexual experiences, new opportunities.”

“Your commitment is to yourself?”

She shrugged. “Yes. And I don’t feel a bit guilty about that. I’ve sacrificed so much of myself because of commitment, I’m setting about to reclaim part of myself.”

“So I was merely part of that reclaiming.”

“Maybe. I enjoyed it. I think you did, too. Maybe that’s enough. Maybe once was enough. Or maybe you want to stay for coffee.”

 

BLURB

The millennium arrived with such promise—will it deliver for recently widowed Merry Delaney?

 

 

So much for all the anticipation about the new millennium. Merry Delaney’s life is still in a rut and shows no signs of changing. Sex? A fading memory, gone long before her husband actually died. Excitement? Hardly the hallmark of an accountant’s life. At forty-two, what can she look forward to?

Until her best friend takes Merry’s predicament into her practiced hands. One passionate kiss unleashes possibilities Merry never dreamed of—and she wants to sample them all. Men? Women? Young? Old? Ménage? Toys? Yes, to all, to pleasure, to making up for lost time.

Enter Chicago Detective Jim Barnes, who solicits Merry’s help with a mob funds-skimming case. Can the scorching passion that soon smolders between Merry and Jim survive the escalating mob threats of exposure? Having discovered a zest for sex, will Merry ever again be satisfied with one man?

BUY LINKS

On Sale through 12/31 at Extasy Books, 40% off

https://www.extasybooks.com/the-merry-widow

Buy at other retailers:

Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/mK61gP

 

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

Do you Play by the Rules? #RomanticSuspense #CrimeFiction #Danger

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Looking for a steamy read full of danger and suspense? Check out my romantic suspense, The Heist.

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set Up: Embarrassed from an earlier encounter where she literally bumped into detective Ted Springs, Kara is cautiously bantering with him as she drives him from the airport to Elk Grove.

“If you ever get to know me, you’ll find there’s nothing unreal about me.”

He exhaled slowly. “And do you think I’ll ever get to know you?”

She giggled softly. “Not in the way you’re thinking.” She thrust out her chin. “At least not while you’re working this case.”

He took his time to chew on that information. “Fair enough,” he said. He wished he knew what he’d done or said to disarm her. Maybe it had been the memory of their brief encounter. “Not that I need more incentive to wrap this museum situation up quickly.” He paused. “Do you suppose we’ll be able to hug now and then like friends, now that we’ve cleared the air? Shaking hands seems so stodgy.”

Kara laughed quickly and then peeked over at him with a devastating smile. “As long as you don’t paw my boobs.”

Smiling, he didn’t miss a beat. “How about your rear?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “That is a different matter. Your large hands did leave a pleasant impression on my ass.”

So she didn’t mind a little flirting even while he worked the case. “Good. I believe in first impressions, and I always like to be clear about the rules of the game. Now maybe you should tell me how you think one or more people entered the museum supposedly without a key.”

She scrunched her mouth. “So do you play by the rules?”

“I didn’t say that. I just like to know what they are.”

BUY LINKS

Available in e-book and print

https://books2read.com/u/4D65wD

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