Truth or Consequences

Welcome Wednesday has a return visitor, today. Sharon Cooper is here with a new novel - Truth or Consequences.

About Sharon

Bestselling author, Sharon C. Cooper, spent 10 years as a sheet metal worker. And while enjoying that unique line of work, she attended college in the evening and obtained her B.A. from Concordia University in Business Management with an emphasis in Communication.

Sharon is a romance-a-holic – loving anything that involves romance with a happily-ever-after, whether in books, movies or real life. She writes contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense and enjoys rainy days, carpet picnics, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When Sharon is not writing or working, she’s hanging out with her amazing husband, doing volunteer work or reading a good book (a romance of course).

Sharon’s Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page 

Truth or Consequences

Hospital Chief of Staff Natasha Lockham’s life has been all about work and no play. That is until a one-night stand with a man who lives his life on the edge, turns her sexual fantasies into reality. She never expects to see him again, but their paths cross when Natasha suspects an esteemed doctor of committing an unspeakable crime against his patients and danger lands at her doorstep. The closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes she’s not prepared for the truth – or the consequences.

Former Navy SEAL, Malik Lewis, will always remember the night he spent with Natasha. It was the single most amazing night of his life. So when Natasha narrowly escapes a brutal attempt on her life, Malik stops at nothing to protect her, including hunting a man whose skills match his. Can Malik and Natasha outsmart a vicious assassin who has nothing to lose? And will they ever get to explore the sizzling passion between them that neither can deny?

• Buy Links: Amazon

 

Here's a little excerpt to get you intrigued:

 “So why haven’t you remarried?” Malik asked her out of nowhere. “You seem like the marrying type who would have two-point-five kids and a white picket fence by now.”

Natasha grunted. “Yeah right. Well, I tried the marriage thing once, and as you know that didn’t turn out too well for me.”

“Have you ever thought about trying it again?”

Natasha was surprised by the question, especially coming from a confirmed bachelor who, from what she’d heard, had never been in a relationship for more than two months.

“I’ve thought about it,” she answered honestly. “Even more so the last couple of months. I have been so focused on my career that I rarely do stuff like this.” She waved her hand around, indicating their surroundings. “Now that I feel a little more comfortable in my career, I’d like to try marriage again and maybe have one or two children.” She turned slightly in her seat toward him. “What about you? Is marriage and kids in your future?”

Damn. He had walked right into that, not thinking that she might turn the question on him. Discussing marriage and kids with a single woman was risky considering most of them were trying to snag a man. Yet, with Natasha it was different. She didn’t come across as a woman whose sole purpose of going out with a guy was to make him fall in love or lust with her, and then expect a marriage proposal within a few weeks.

“Had you asked me six months ago I would have said no, and probably would’ve said a few more things that your delicate ears wouldn’t have been able to handle.” They both laughed.

“But now?” she prompted.

He stretched his other arm along the back of the empty seat next to him, finding it impossible to get comfortable. A few seconds passed as he debated on how to respond to her question, but decided to be honest with her.

“Now … maybe.” He glanced at her. “And if you ever tell Wiz or Quinn I said that, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you out to the woods never to be seen again.”

She laughed hard at that. “Well, dang, you act like someone is asking you to give up a kidney or something. Marriage is not that bad.”

“No?” He looked at her pointedly. “Then why aren’t you still married?”

She fiddled with her necklace, something he saw her do often. Seeing her deep in thought made him wonder if he shouldn’t have saved the question for another day. The last thing Malik wanted to do was ruin the good time they were having. The game wouldn’t start for another twenty minutes and he was enjoying their small talk.

“He cheated on me.”

Malik sat up straight. He knew he didn’t like her ex before, but now he was tempted to hunt the bastard down and beat his ass.

“It wasn’t his fault, though.”

“How the hell wasn’t it his fault? Nobody accidently cheats,” Malik said before thinking.

“Okay, it wasn’t totally his fault. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t present in our marriage.” She shrugged. “He got tired of sleeping alone, eating alone, and point blank being alone. Unfortunately, I put my career first.”

“You were young, ambitious, and working to become a surgeon. He should’ve understood.”

“Would you have understood?” She looked at him expectantly.

Silence fell between them as he searched her face, finally zoning in on her tempting lips. “For you, yeah. I would have understood.” He pushed a lock of hair out of her face and the back of his finger glided down her cheek. “I would have understood, but I probably would have been at the hospital every damn day. Either bringing you a meal, pulling you into a broom closet for a quickie, or I might have done something real stupid like cut off a finger so that I could get you to sew it back on for me.”

“That is the sweetest…and the most disturbing thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Thanks for popping in today, Sharon. Best wishes for great sales of Truth or Consequences. 

Slainthe!

Murder in Mind by Amelia Pasch

Murder in Mind by Amelia Pasch

I really enjoyed reading this tale set in medieval Florence. It had plenty of tasty historical details which enlivened and enriched the setting. The cast of characters is vast and varied and some are, naturally, much more likeable than others. It is many years since I visited the city of Florence but as I read I tried to match up my memories with the vivid scenes as described by the author. There are also some surprising details of events which made me want to reach for the history books to read more about their earliest origins-but I won’t spoil the story by telling you what. It’s the era of Borgia and Medici rule and of Popes who were less than pious or truly saintly, so the tale is full of intrigue and deadly dealings are rife. Political back stabbing is a fact of life- literally and figuratively. Vittorio Venditore’s geniality is balanced by some of his family who are portrayed as a lot less so. Lady Isabella seems a lady out of her time and not just because of her mode of dress, but the character I liked best is Allesandro Gironi, though his job as a security chief with endless staff seems incredibly ‘modern’. The main plot has some nice twists and turns and although I worked out who the political spanner in the works was well before the end, there were still other aspects to the intrigue and sub-plots which kept me guessing till the end. Mostly a well written novel.

Rock Me Gently by M.J. Schiller

It's release day for M.J. Schiller! There's a chance to WIN an ecopy and a little extract to get to know what Rock Me Gently is all about. 

Rock Me Gently

Like so many others, their romance started in Las Vegas…

He’s a rock star. She’s an ad exec. After almost having a one night affair in Sin City, Josh can’t get Cassie out of his mind. Why had she run out on him?

Like so many others, their romance started with a shot of tequila...

When the Josh Dunningham of Money Back Guaranteed tries to seduce her, Cassie is taken aback. Sure, he’s hot. And he could definitely rock her world. But can she have a fling with a man she doesn’t even know?

Like so many others, their romance turned rocky…

When Cassie returns to Chicago and finds a ten-foot tall Josh Dunningham on a radio station’s banner across from her office, she is tortured by memories of their short time together. When they meet again, things explode—in a bad way—and Josh has to prove himself to Cassie to earn her trust. But will he succeed when outside forces also want to tear them apart? When Cassie receives threatening letters and is attacked in her home, Josh is determined to find out who is behind it. But will the stalker’s encore performance bring an end to their show once and for all?

ROCK ME, GENTLY ~ releasing MAY 1^ST!

To enter to win a free e-copy go to www.mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com! Drawing on Saturday, May 3^rd.

 Buy Rock Me Gently from Amazon:

From Rock Me Gently: 

Josh steered Cassie toward an exit, hoping fresh air would help to sober her up.  They ended up at the outdoor pool, a monstrosity complete with overhanging palm trees. Not a soul was in sight, unusual, even at this time of night.

Away from the casino hubbub, it was easier to talk. She eyed him. “Tell me about the band.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, as an advertising person, I’m interested in the gimmick, Money Back Guaranteed. Did you ever have to back up that promise?”

Josh took a couple of seconds to think about that. “Yeah. A few times. Once, when an elderly couple came with their granddaughter. They didn’t like the show at all.”  Remembering their reaction, he grimaced. “And once, when a girl caught her fiancé in the hall with another girl. Hardly our fault, but, she didn’t enjoy the concert, and that’s our promise, so…” He shrugged.  

“Interesting. Interesting.” She lifted a leg, grabbing his shoulder for balance, and tugged on the heel of her boot.

“Uhh…what are you doing?”

“My feet are killing me. You’re so lucky you are a guy and don’t have to wear heels.”

“Yes. I was just mentioning that to my friend, Ryan, the other day.”

She didn’t look up. Having successfully removed one boot, she switched legs to work on the other. “Really?”

He smiled. “No. Go on.”

Yanking the other boot off, she nearly toppled over, though still holding on to him. She squeezed his arm. “You’re built.”

He nearly laughed at her frank statement. “Thank you.”

Holding her boots in one hand, her brow furrowed as she concentrated on her next question. She began to balance on the edge of the pool, which was deserted, and scoop stepped, trailing one leg in the water, not seeming to mind at all that her jeans were getting wet.    

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he warned, taking her arm to steady her. 

“I’m fine,” she assured him, breaking away for an instant to do a pirouette in the pool’s gutter to demonstrate.

“Okay, okay,” he muttered, grabbing her arm again. “No need to show off. So why are you in the advertising game?”

“I like the creative aspect of it. And, I can be very persuasive,” she said, smiling at him. As if he somehow silently challenged her, she stopped with a jerk and turned toward him, lifting up on her toes to kiss him. The taste of her was just as intoxicating as the booze had been, and left him equally dizzy. The flavor of sweet lime and midnight rolled across his tongue and sank into him unbidden. Someone in the hotel rooms surrounding the pool above them slammed a door, startling Cassie, the sharp sound almost like gunfire. She jumped away from him like she had been shot herself and started to lose her balance. He reached to save her, but too late, she fell into the pool, dragging him in after her.

 ***********

MJ is a lunch lady in the heart of Central Illinois. My gosh, can you get more folksy than that? She met her husband at the University of Missouri-Columbia and now she has an nineteen-year-old (how did that happen?) and seventeen year old triplets! She loves to read, karaoke (where she can pretend she is a rock star) and spends WAY too much time on Facebook. She grew up in St. Louis and still has family there.

Best wishes for a great launch day, M.J. 

Slainthe!