Awesome Excerpt Thursday ~ Hot for Teacher by Kandeis Lynne

College is a time for new discoveries.  When Leah meets David Leitner, she discovers a whole new world of sensations and emotions.

Leah Gwaltney and Eric are best friends and have been since freshman year. Eric wants more than friendship but is willing to wait. Leah wants to love Eric. He is her best friend and she cares about him, but something is missing. There is no electricity between them. 

Leah discovers what she has been missing when she meets David Leitner, the handsome graduate student who is old enough to be her father. Instantly and powerfully attracted to each other, they play a titillating game of cat and mouse while he does his best to do the right thing. 


Eventually, Leah is forced to take things into her own hands and show him that not only does she know what she wants, but she knows how to get it. In a happy-for-now ending, they discover love does not have an age limit.

Excerpt

“Needs some help?” David asked.

“No, I’ve got it!” Leah said while trying unsuccessfully to lift the heavy bag clear of the can. Blowing a strand of dark copper hair from her eyes in frustration, she muttered, “Yes, please. Damn thing weighs a ton.”

“It galls you a little to let me help doesn’t it?”

“No…maybe…oh, shut up!” she said in mock irritation at the twinkle of humor in his eyes. Good God, he had sexy eyes. Gray-green, they were the color of worn military fatigues. Her breath caught in her throat a little as she noticed the widening of his pupils and the suddenly overwrought silence that fell between them.

“I…uhm…I better take this out to the dumpster,” David said without breaking eye contact.

“Yeah, you know, mice and everything,” Leah breathed.

“Yeah, mice…” He sighed. “Wait. What?”

Leah broke the tension by bursting out laughing. “Mice! If you don’t take out the trash, the studio will be swarming with mice! They come in through the loading dock!”

As David maneuvered the trash bag to the door, Leah called out, “I’m going to pull the gels now that the lights have cooled down.”

“Wait a minute and I’ll brace the ladder for you,” David offered over his shoulder.
Leah ignored his suggestion as she tugged the giant ladder under the Kleigs she had used during the production. The ladder, like everything else, was on wheels. In reality, the twenty-foot ladder was extremely sturdy. Rather than using a metal ladder with wheels, Sullivan had secured hefty wooden ladders to rolling plywood frames. They were massively heavy and practically impossible to tip over. In addition, she had no fear of heights. She had climbed those ladders with a forty pound Fresnel light in one hand so many times that she had lost count.

“Hey, I thought I told you to wait for me.”

“I’m…almost…done.”

Leah stretched to retrieve the last colored filter from the frame in front of the concentric lens.

“Heads up!” Leah shouted as she dropped the red and blue plastic filters from the top of the ladder. There was no reason to carry them down the ladder. They were trashed. Filters could only be used so many times before they became brittle and warped. These were at the end of their lifespan and so she allowed them to flutter to the ground rather than carrying them down with her. As she began to back down the ladder, she noticed the annoyed look on David’s face as he braced the ladder with both hands below her.

“There is no reason to be careless!” David scolded.

“It would take a wrecking ball to knock this thing over!”

“It would not take a wrecking ball for you to fall off of it though!”

Leah halted her progress down the ladder when she reached the top of David’s head. Turning her back to the ladder, she slid down a step at a time while enunciating with annoyance, “I…can…take…care…of…my…self.” On the next to last step she found herself face to face, caged in by his arms, still spread to brace the ladder.


Slowly David leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I bet you can, Leah.” His hot breath tickled her ear and sent chills down her arms. “And I wouldn’t mind watching that at all.”

On Sale Now at eXtasy Books


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Writing Warrior Wednesday! ~ The Zombieland of Book Titles

So I was watching Zombieland, great movie, and I was inspired! If you have never seen the movie, zombies have taken over the country and four survivors meet and travel together, kicking serious zombie ass. The main character makes this list, the rules of how to survive Zombieland. So I thought why not make the ‘rules’ of picking a book title.

Okay here we go, in no particular order, feel free to add on…

Don’t be cliché but don’t be too abstract - One of my pet peeves is when a book has a title that says one thing and content that is another. You can always tell when someone is overly dramatic with the title…you know what I am talking about.

Google it before you choose it – perfect example, my first book is entitled Serenity Lost. Well there are several challenges here, apparently there is a rock band by that name. There is also the television show Serenity. So every time you type in Serenity Lost all of this other stuff comes up. Then there is the second book, Veiled Deception, yeah…there is another book with the exact same name and by a bigger author. Suck!

Hook ‘em – Your title is as important as the blurb or the cover itself. It needs to grab attention and work with the cover to make you want to pick up the book.

Don’t pull your hair out, it will come – picking a title can be one of the most frustrating parts of the process. Sometimes I have the title before the book, other times the book remains untitled until the very last moment. Either way, you will find it, and sometimes in the most unexpected ways. It is different for everyone.

Make sure you love it – It is your book, your name, your heart and soul. Do not skimp on the name. It is a representation of your work. (no pressure or anything…lol!)

Be prepared to change it – It will happen. You will have the PERFECT title and then someone says no. Or you have to take the one book and make it into three. This has happened to me twice now! Lol! Trust Me turned into Serenity Lost, Veiled Deception, & Jaded Promises. Dead Air turned into Shockwave, Backlash, & Fallout.

All of this is nothing you don’t already know. Writing a book is not an easy thing to create and build. It takes blood, sweat, tears, passion, and heart. Number one rule, above everything else, go with your gut it will never do you wrong.

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Teaser Tuesday ~ Shockwave by Amy Romine

Special Agent Kate Weiss is hiding from a kidnapping she doesn’t remember. 

Jack Tucker’s life as a morning radio host is uncomplicated, attachment free, and without regret.
Brought together by a mutual friend, the pair are at odds from the moment they meet. She finds his confident swagger arrogant and beyond reproach, while he in turn sees her as a self-righteous controlling dictator.

As Kate struggles with her confidence, Jack begins to realize his life without strings is missing something, or someone. Adversity quickly becomes attraction. Jack and Kate find themselves flirting with the flames of unexpected desire.

As emotions rise, scars are revealed and secrets are uncovered. Will the reality of their very different worlds bring them together or rip them apart?

Excerpt

She popped the trunk, lifted the carpet, and yanked on the trap door. She pulled, revealing a long flat plastic suitcase. Her five foot six inch muscular frame lifted it out and balanced it in her hand before she closed the trunk lid.

Suitcase in hand, she made a steady stride to the stairs. Her heels echoed off the concrete walls of the parking garage. Two flights later, she exited the stairs and picked her vantage point. Scanning the immediate area for civilians, she found few cars and no people.

Her Bluetooth beeped. She made her way across the upper level of the garage.

“Parker.”

“Are you in?”

“Almost.”

“You're going to miss your window.”

“Have I ever missed my window?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Gotta go. I’ll check back once I’m set.” She reached her destination.

She looked at her watch. It would take three minutes for her to set up, and she would have two and a half to spare.

Set and ready to go three minutes later, she scanned the area, twisting her mid-length chocolate hair into a pony tail. Laid out below, an overflowing fountain, concrete benches, and various idle suits walking around, oblivious to the world beyond their iPhone. Her Bluetooth beeped and she opened the line.

“Impatient much?”

“Usually,” the familiar voice replied. “Are we on target?”

“Probably,” she replied, her phone in hand. The GPS tracker she’d attached to her victim was beeping steadily

.

“Probably isn’t good enough, Kate.”

“Pipe down, Warren.” Pocketing her phone before checking the scope, she listened to Warren huffing on the end of the line. Her target came into view. 

“You’re getting to be a nag.”

“Can you give me a count?”

“Zero.”

“Parker.”

She disconnected the call. “Bye, bye.”

She used her scope to focus on the sidewalk below. She moved the scope to follow a well-dressed, manicured blonde. The woman stopped next to the fountain, and waited. Her target was in place.

Kate pushed the air from her lungs. Her hand moved behind her ear, and she heard a low tone in the bottom of her ear.

“Ember Rose, eight six five.”

“Copy eight six five.”

“Mark is set.”

“Copy.”

Her focus remained on the blonde just below.

Forty-five seconds.

Kate pushed out another breath. Her finger slid toward the trigger. She watched and waited. Without warning, the blonde turned, and fell into the fountain. A stain of blood leaked into the water, confirming Kate’s fear.

Shit…        

She lunged forward, searching the area. Above her came the scraping of concrete. She saw movement, and ran to the stairs. She leapt two at a time, and turned the corner to see a well-dressed man, black suitcase in hand.

He saw her, dropped the case, and ran. She took off after him. He led her down the first ramp. She gained some ground, but then he turned the corner. She rounded it a moment later. An arm swung. She ducked, responding with a spin kick to the lower back. He caught her leg and twisted. She turned into it. Her hands braced her torso. She hit concrete. Raising the opposite leg, she connected with his chin. He released her leg. She twisted her torso using the momentum to stand upright. He lunged. She turned her back into his chest rolling him over her shoulder. She moved with him, the heat of a second party at her back. She turned. Metal met with her temple and the explosion sent her reeling into blackness.

* * * 

Starting on April 18th I will be touring the virtual universe to talk about the Dead Air Chronicles. This is an Excerpt from Book 1 - Shockwave! Stay tuned for more details. 

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