Adriana Kraft

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

romance

Thoughts of a full-bodied heroine… The Heist, by Adriana Kraft #RomanticSuspense #KU #ArtTheft #IndieAuthor

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Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

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 ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Kara is meeting with her curator, Sasha, as they prepare for the detective being sent by the Arts Council.

Kara turned back to Sasha. “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.”

Chuckling, Kara agreed, “No, I do believe they were carried in. Maybe someone wanted us to know just how vulnerable this place is.” She scowled. “But who, and why? I thought we were supposed to have a fairly sophisticated computer system.”

“Not sophisticated enough,” Sasha huffed. “Maybe it was some computer geeks at the college trying to show off.”

“Maybe. I hope Ted Springs will be able to shed some light on those questions. Doesn’t look like the cops are going to do much. No theft, no damage. They have more significant crimes to deal with.” Kara checked her watch. “It’s been a long day. Why don’t you head out when you’re ready? I’ll walk around through the place with David while we close up. Thank god it’s a Monday and we didn’t have to be open to the public. I’ll check with you in the morning after I get back from the airport with Springs.”

Sasha smirked. “At least I don’t have to be his chauffeur-slash-babysitter. See you.”

Kara smiled watching her curator saunter out of the office. Monday was their dress-down day, and Sasha was clad in overly tight work jeans and a tank top. For someone who wanted to maintain her privacy, Sasha seldom hesitated to dress provocatively.

Sasha could get by with tight jeans, or slinky outfits, or minis, with her petite frame. Heaving a sigh, Kara tried to keep her envy in check. Petite was hardly a word anyone would use to describe her. Full bodied, perhaps. Voluptuous, if one was trying to be kind. At least she had the strength to help David and Irving unload shipping crates. Some of those weighed three hundred pounds or more, depending on the size of the painting and its frame, requiring dollies and the greatest of care. Sasha usually stood by recording and documenting crate numbers and contents.

Maybe it was their age difference. At twenty-six, Sasha could get by with most any fashion. Seven years older, Kara had fewer options. She shook her head, trying to refocus. It wasn’t age that made the difference—it was the difference in skirt and sweater size. Kara exhaled, letting go of fruitless comparisons.

BUY LINKS

Available in e-book and print

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

Always free to read at Kindle Unlimited

 

A Ghostly Encounter #MFRWSteam #EroticRomance #LGBTQ

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Welcome to the MFRW  Steam Hop,
where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers
entice you with steamy excerpts from their erotic romance stories.

Scroll to the end for more of this week’s tempting excerpts

Today’s ghosts surfaced a little late for Halloween – but we’re only a week out from All Soul’s day, so no harm.

BLURB

One man, two women and two ghosts keep love’s fires burning through the deep chill of a North Woods winter—but which love will hold the key?

A tender ghost story and a sizzling erotic romance with a splash of BDSM, Mistress of Purgatory Point is also the deeply moving chronicle of the mid-life sexual awakening of a stoic widow who thought she’d already experienced her one allotted love.

Not quite fifty, recently widowed Martha Richards has just purchased the old sturdy house at the tip of Purgatory Point overlooking Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. She and her pastor husband often dreamed of retiring there on their summer canoe trips. Now, she welcomes the solitude and time to hone her jewelry-making craft.

Forest Ranger Dan Ford, her reticent neighbor to the south, thinks the aloof newcomer has no clue what it takes to survive North Woods winters. Reluctantly, he volunteers to help her prepare the place for the inevitable blizzards.

Martha is shocked when local shop owner Natalie Bjorg says her jewelry exudes erotic passion. Natalie doesn’t stop there, but explains that as the new Mistress of Purgatory Point, Martha now holds the key to release its two ghosts: Ben and Stella have been trapped between worlds for nearly a century, waiting for an owner of their home to discover a love that matches their own and set them free.

EXCERPT

Martha closed her eyes and welcomed the drifting sensations of dozing.

He’d have strong hands. She’d have soft hands. Dan’s fingers. Natalie’s fingers. As if from a distance, Martha recognized her own soft moans. Her loins ached. It was an old ache, yet a familiar ache.

Her nipples pebbled and strained against the flannel gown. Fingers brushed against her inner thigh. She squeezed her legs tightly together, trapping them.

Whose fingers? Hers? His? Natalie’s? She was dreaming. She knew she was. She had to be dreaming. She let herself sink farther into the darkness.

“That a girl,” came a soothing whisper penetrating her fuzzy brain. “You’re a passionate woman. Let it out. Cherish your passion. Let me help. Let me touch you.”

“Natalie?” Martha whispered, unable to awaken.

A soft chuckle answered. “Not this time. Maybe later, if you allow yourself. Now let me help you.”

The pressure of fingertips on her thigh matched the pressure building behind her loins. Her brow furrowed as another set of fingers caressed her taut nipples still protected by flannel. “Oh,” she moaned. She tensed and then relaxed. The fingers on her thigh slid upward to where she burned the hottest.

Martha bit down on her lower lip as a finger seeking more heat found it. She gasped and lurched up and down, helping to seat the intruder in her sex. “This can’t be happening,” she moaned, widening her thighs.

“But it is. You’re not pretending it isn’t, are you?”

Martha hesitated. The finger stopped its exploring. She shook her head in response to the question and to her overwhelming desire. She wasn’t even certain what she wanted, but she wanted it with her entire body.

BUY LINKS

Mistress of Purgatory Point is on sale for $3.00 from the publisher:

https://www.extasybooks.com/mistress-of-purgatory-point

Also available at these retail outlets:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-of-Purgatory-Point-ebook/dp/B003XRF09S

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mistress-of-purgatory-point

We’ve got nothing to hide… The Heist by Adriana Kraft #KU #RomanticSuspense #Crime #Danger #Detective

by

Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

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 ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Kara is meeting with her curator, Sasha, as they prepare for the detective being sent by the Arts Council.

“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.

“I doubt he’ll get very involved with any of us,” Kara responded. “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.”

Kara leaned back in her chair. “We’ve got nothing 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.

BUY LINKS

Available exclusively at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNE7366

Always free to read at Kindle Unlimited

Also available in paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/Heist-Adriana-Kraft/dp/0990747611

Aren’t you the new Mistress… #MFRWHooks #LGBTQ #EroticRomance

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Welcome to MFRWHooks!

Scroll to the end for more of this week’s tempting excerpts!

Mistress of Purgatory Point, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A tender ghost story and a sizzling erotic romance with a splash of BDSM, Mistress of Purgatory Point is also the deeply moving chronicle of the mid-life sexual awakening of a stoic widow who thought she’d already experienced her one allotted love.

Not quite fifty, recently widowed Martha Richards has just purchased the old sturdy house at the tip of Purgatory Point overlooking Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. She and her pastor husband often dreamed of retiring there on their summer canoe trips. Now, she welcomes the solitude and time to hone her jewelry making craft.

Forest Ranger Dan Ford, her reticent neighbor to the south, thinks the aloof newcomer has no clue what it takes to survive North Woods winters. Reluctantly, he volunteers to help her prepare the place for the inevitable blizzards.

Martha is shocked when local shop owner Natalie Bjorg says her jewelry exudes erotic passion. Natalie doesn’t stop there, but explains that as the new Mistress of Purgatory Point, Martha now holds the key to release its two ghosts: Ben and Stella have been trapped between worlds for nearly a century, waiting for an owner of their home to discover a love that matches their own and set them free.

One man, two women and two ghosts keep love’s fires burning through the deep chill of a North Woods winter—but which love will hold the key?

EXCERPT

Chapter One

“Aren’t you the new Mistress of Purgatory Point?”

Martha Richards tilted her head to the side and stared at her inquisitor. She’d never met the sprightly blonde, but then she’d only been in the combination book-and-craft store once before, to see if it seemed a worthwhile place to consign some jewelry pieces. Mistress of Purgatory Point. Really!

“I bought that property about a month ago,” Martha said in clipped tones. “I didn’t realize it came with a title.”

“Oh, it does,” the petite blonde bubbled, not in the least put off by the purposely cool response. “Oh, excuse me,” she said, smiling broadly, “I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Natalie Bjorg. I own this place.” She arched an eyebrow. “Well, I’m buying it from my parents, who moved to Florida over a year ago.”

Martha narrowed her eyes, “So you make decisions about what you will or won’t sell?”

“That’s right.” Natalie glanced at Martha’s shoulder bag. “Are you an artist?”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far.” Martha sighed. This was the hardest part of picking up her art again. Creating pieces, pouring her soul into them was one thing, but then she had to try and market them. “I do make jewelry from time to time, and I wondered if this shop might be interested in displaying them.”

“Come on over to my table,” Natalie said, pointing at one of four small round tables in a nook.

The intimacy of the nook surprised Martha. She could see it offered a pleasant place for customers to chat or read. So why were her palms sweating? Was she that anxious about her jewelry being rejected? There were several other shops in Ely that might work with her.

She scrutinized the shopkeeper as she pulled out a chair. Natalie Bjorg was hardly the kind of woman she’d expected to deal with when she’d entered the store, but if Natalie was the proprietor, she hardly had a choice. Natalie seemed rather young for the responsibility, though actually it was hard to determine the ages of women living year-round in Ely. Most of them spent so much time out on the Boundary Waters in the sun and wind or cross-country skiing in the winter that their tan skins made them appear ageless. “So you’re a native to the area?”

“Yep. Born and raised in Ely. Couldn’t imagine living any place else. Though I do want to travel more. Would you like some coffee? I don’t have the special blends, but I make good coffee.”

“Thanks. That would be nice.” Martha sighed softly, relaxing in spite of herself. How could she not, faced with such an infectious, energetic presence?

“So show me what you have,” Natalie said, after filling two coffee cups and pulling up a chair. “I am so pleased you came by. This is sort of our off season. Not much happens here until the snow flies.”

Holding her breath, Martha reached into her bag for a couple pieces wrapped in cloth. Carefully, she unwrapped the first piece, watching Natalie closely. The woman’s eyes rounded, and she gasped as soon as she saw the gold waxing moon pendant suspended from a circle.

“It’s beautiful!” Natalie exclaimed, with a hand at her throat. “You made that?”

“Of course.” Martha smiled. Why did people often seem so amazed by her creations? She pulled the cloth from the second piece, and again Natalie sat stunned. Martha caught herself grinning—probably the girl had seldom been without words.

“It’s so…so erotic. It’s absolutely stunning.”

BUY LINKS

Mistress of Purgatory Point is on sale for $3.00 from the publisher:

https://www.extasybooks.com/mistress-of-purgatory-point

Also available at these retail outlets:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mistress-of-Purgatory-Point-ebook/dp/B003XRF09S

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mistress-of-purgatory-point

Be sure to click on the links to travel to the rest of today’s excerpts!

Review: Book Lovers, by Emily Henry #RomCom #BookReview #WomensFiction

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Book Lovers is a serious book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fabulous RomCom, with countless laugh out loud moments. But it is never trivial, always raw and honest. Emily Henry has turned a classic trope upside down and given us the other woman, the other man, who don’t abandon the fast-paced city and don’t save a small town business and don’t fall in love with the simple life.

Why, you might ask? She’ll tell us, in her own words:

Romance is treated as a guilty pleasure, and in the last ten years or so I have asked myself a lot of questions about guilty pleasures and why I am made to feel guilty for enjoying these narratives. It’s as though these novels are just candy for your brain, bad for you, and do not teach you anything like a more ‘serious’ book would. I wanted to challenge that notion. [London Magazine Interview with Emily Henry]

She absolutely succeeds, with all three of the romance novels that have expanded her genre niche from YA to women’s fiction/romance. In order, these are Beach Read, People You Meet on Vacation, and Book Lovers.

I’d never heard of her until last spring, when my next door neighbor gave me her copy of People We Meet on Vacation before she headed back north at the end of the season. I don’t own or read many print books – when we sold our house in 2012 and lived/traveled/wrote across the country in our motor home for the next six years, Kindle was the way to go. Our most treasured print books lived in our son’s basement until we settled in 2018, and we now live in a tiny house that doesn’t have room for shelves upon shelves of books.

I packed People We Meet on Vacation along for my flight to visit a Chicago friend in July – and could hardly put it down. I was a convert. I gave it to my friend at the end of my visit, but I immediately downloaded and read first Beach Read, and then Book Lovers. I loved all three of these books. It fascinates me that the heroines in each book make their living in the world of writing: a RomCom author (Beach Read), a travel writer (People We Meet on Vacation), and a romance/women’s fiction agent (Book Lovers). Write what you know. Somehow Henry is able to both be in the tumultuous world of authors-agents-editors-publishers that make up women’s fiction while simultaneously seeing through it, poking fun at it, and challenging its tropes and assumptions. Brilliantly.

I love seeing a best-selling author dare to do that. Her characters are far more clever than any real people I know, but I love their snappy repartee. What especially captures me is the intense honesty in each of her protagonists – they may start off not being honest with either themselves or each other, but the choices they must make force the honesty to surface, and that’s the arc of each book. Oh, and a happy ending, which by then is both deeply sought and desirable.

I highly recommend all three books, and it doesn’t matter which order you choose to read them in.

Beach Read

https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Read-Emily-Henry-ebook/dp/B07XNKRV83/

People We Meet on Vacation

https://www.amazon.com/People-Meet-Vacation-Emily-Henry-ebook/dp/B08FZNYQJC/

Book Lovers

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Lovers-Emily-Henry-ebook/dp/B09BTQ9HW6/

        

The Eggplant Story ~ Is This a #MeetCute? #RomCom #RomanceReads

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Since Hubs and I don’t write Rom Com or Chick Lit, we don’t really write Meet Cutes, at least not on purpose. A Meet Cute might set an odd tone for our romantic suspense and erotic romance stories…

But having got this far, I’m thinking that how he and I met might be a true-life Meet Cute. Here’s our story—we’d love to hear whether it qualifies. For that matter, if any of you have a real Meet Cute in your life, we’d love to hear about it!

The first time I ever saw my husband, I was a grad student and an instructor in a new program at my university.

Early that fall, the entire school faculty were gathered in the lobby for the introduction of new hires. There were only two or three new faces, but a distinguished looking bearded man with mischievous eyes stood out to me immediately. It got even better when it turned out he was a new addition to the program I was teaching in. I won’t say I stalked him—but I will say that when I got home, I told my roommate about him, and through her contacts in a similar field, she got me his bio.

Fast forward to a Chicago January: Snow is piled high in streets and on sidewalks, and our program is having a potluck an hour’s drive away. I have a car (which I’ve duly shoveled out). The new professor does not have one. A fellow prof suggests that I give him a ride, he accepts, and we have an hour each way to talk to each other. I had two conclusions at the end of the evening – I was very definitely interested in him (okay, I was crushing on him), and I suspected he was living with someone (someone who wouldn’t share her car? Wasn’t sure).

The following week he materialized in my office doorway to ask me for the recipe of the dish I’d brought to the potluck. Triumph! I shared it – and nothing else happened for five more months. He had some loose ends to tie up, it turns out…

Our first date (finally!) was that June, and we married the following June.

Why is this the Eggplant Story? Because the dish I’d taken to the potluck was one of my favorite veggie recipes of my mom’s, an eggplant-tomato-bacon casserole. Hubs and I had been married for over two years when the confession finally came: He’d had no idea which dish was mine—he was just looking for a way to start a conversation with me, and he hates eggplant.

We’re still married.