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Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday Peek!

The Sunday Peek is an opportunity to get a buzz going for your soon-to-be released or re-released novel.  

Post a tempting 300-word snippet from your most recent endeavor. Be sure to add your website/blog link, a release date if you have one, and one link to where your other books can be found. Example: Your Amazon Author's Page.
  
Share your participation with our
ready-to-go tweet or make your own!

See what's next on Exquisite Quills' Sunday Peek! http://exquisitequills.blogspot.com/  

11 comments:

Unknown said...

MUST REMEMBER coming November 2nd, 2015
www.csmyersmusings.com

A little tease.

Oy. No more weekday frat parties for me, no matter how noble the cause, especially when I have a test the next day. What was I thinking? And last minute cramming with a headache was not a good idea either. Forget it. My eyes drifted to the clock.
And now I was late. Damn it. With a sigh, I threw down my pencil and scrambled up, my head throbbing. I traded my Eeyore jammies for skinny jeans and a fitted white t-shirt. Shoes, where were my shoes? Gah. I ducked and rooted around in the deep, dark spaces under my bed. Hmm, the green dress I borrowed from Sarah. Mental note: I need to return that. English book, various dust bunnies of uncertain lineage…there.
Sketchers on, I grabbed my backpack, turned up my iPod, and ran out the door. No time to primp.
Good thing the campus I lived on was small. There was a big central courtyard--the quad--filled with towering oak trees and wide--open spaces surrounded by squat school buildings and classrooms. If I hurried, I’d make it…
I raced into the quad out of breath and slowed, turning in a complete circle.
Huh.
No one around. Unease skittered through me on soft paws. The courtyard was always busy. I pulled my headphones out of my ears. Was there some sort of event I didn’t know about going on?
The unnatural silence pressed in on me for a second as the echoes of my steps faded.
Then screams--men’s and women’s--poured from Main Street. I broke into a run and shot between the buildings toward the sound.
Cars littered the intersection. Some guy rear--ended someone else, causing a chain reaction down the road. A horn blared nearby and a faint breeze blew the smell of gasoline, smoke, and copper my way. Clusters of people stood among the wreckage.
In the closest group, a short dude around my own age, nineteen, twenty maybe, bellowed at a huge, hairy bear of a man with a too tight grungy white t--shirt with his belly hanging out. The short dude wore a ton of bling, pants hanging low. He rushed toward his opponent with his fists out. Though why the hell was he fighting that behemoth? Talk about lose lose.
The bear didn’t hesitate. He hammered a punch to the dude’s temple and knocked him out cold. One hit. Bam.
Holy shit!
My stomach dropped. I covered my mouth and backed up until my butt hit brick.

Unknown said...

QUITE THE CATCH coming September 18, 2015
https://www.facebook.com/bergernewromsuspense
http://bookstogonow.com/

"Damn. I was just getting comfortable," Gabriela Concepción muttered as she quickly reached for the ends of her bikini top. Sunning herself on deck at the bow of her father's old sport fishing boat, she untied the back once they dropped anchor. It hadn't been more than five minutes, she figured, before she heard a boat throttling down.
Who could be approaching this far out?
Gabriela, her father Luis, and her brother Manuel often spent Sunday afternoons together on their boat. The men loved fishing, especially deep sea fishing out past the lighthouse that marked the end of Castillo Grande, a peninsula in Cartagena, Columbia, separating Bahia de Cartagena from the smaller bays. And it was not uncommon for other boats to stop nearby to get or give fishing tips. But never this far out to sea. It was always much closer to home. Her intuition told her something wasn't right.
She scampered away from the sound of the approaching boat, ducking for cover behind the cabin. As she hastily tried to tie her top back in place, she heard voices shouting. Angry male voices. Voices she didn't recognize. This far from any kind of help, Gabriela grew scared.
"¡Oye! ¡Dónde está nuestro dinero, Manuel?!"
Her heart raced when her brother pled ignorance. "¡Yo no tengo la menor idea lo que usted habla de!"
A heavy thump came from the other side of the boat, knocking her off balance and nearly over the edge. Her top slipped from her grasp as she fell onto the deck. Gabriela flailed at the air as the garment fluttered out of reach, disappearing over the rail.
Shit!
Realizing her dilemma, she crossed her arms over her chest. Only then did the instinct to race to her family's aid seem as foolhardy as it was.

Erin OQuinn said...

BURNS TOO DEEP: a work in progress, whose first 4 chapters are serialized on my Man in Romance blog. Genre: M/M romance-mystery. Situation: a Police Scotland undercover detective meets a beguiling and mysterious stranger and gives him a lift...in more ways than one. After a few drinks, Thomas Fitzgerald has toild the man Burns his name.
~
Was it the potent whiskey, or the far more potent sexuality of his companion? Thomas leaned forward, and Burns’ voice was husky in his ear.

“’Tis a name to take to bed tonight, one to practice over and over … and then to sing, loud and long, forever.”

Burns leaned back in his chair as though he hadn’t spoken at all and put the glass to his lips, a kind of brittle yet transparent barrier. Thomas felt as though the man, much smaller than he, had sunk a fist into his solar plexus and then retreated to a neutral corner to survey the damage.

By now, silence between them had become almost a kind of conversation. The deep quiet that pervaded their small space now seemed to grow louder as Thomas sat drinking, both his whiskey and the sight of the man in front of him.

He had not been looking for sex when he met Burns, and he still was not. What he felt was … he tried to explain it to his numb mind … he felt a kind of invasion into his most private soul, almost as though he was spreading wider and wider, begging for more and more and more, needing to explode, crying for release.

“Aye, damn it. A poet. Even if your name is not Robert, you are my Bobbie Burns.”

Burns’ gaze seemed to tear a hole straight through him. “Are you sure?”

He met the soulful eyes and tried his best to smile. If I flee from thee, Bobbie, ’tis only because I’m running from meself.

His mouth refused to form the words, even as it moved in a furtive smile. He raised his glass again. “Here’s to music from the heart.”

“Aye, Thomas Fitzgerald. And a harp in every arse.”
~
My blog link to the beginning of the chapters: https://romancemanlove.wordpress.com/burns-too-deep-a-work-in-progress/

peggy jaeger said...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS by Peggy Jeager
preorder available now: http://amzn.to/1Kvp1qY

“Have you ever been friends with a girl before?” she finally asked.
“Friends?”
“Yes. Friends.”
“Have a beer and shoot some pool friends? Or the kind with benefits?”
She laughed out loud, shook her head and grinned. “Have you ever been friends with a girl without having sex mixed into the equation?”
“Not since I was sixteen,” he admitted and then felt his neck heat. “Why?”
She cocked her head again. “It’s no secret I’m attracted to you, too. I think my reaction to the way you kissed me proves it.”
“Why am I hearing a ‘but’?”
Her lips twitched at the corners. “But I don’t jump into bed with a man because I’m attracted to him.”
“I never thought you did.”

“Good to know.”

He cocked his head. “So, what’s being friends got to do with anything?”

Clarissa sighed and settled back against the doorframe. “Can I be honest?”

“I would hope so.”

“I’ve been hearing about your reputation with women since I moved here, and I’m not looking to be the flavor of the week.”
He stared at her for a second as hurt washed through him. “When you say honest, you don’t pull any punches.”

Available at Amazon.com and The Wild Rose Press
http:peggyjaeger.com


Sarah Marsh said...

Surrender: Coalition Mates 4 *releasing in October*

Sally slowly woke up to the feeling of someone tickling her nose, as she swatted away the offensive hand and opened her eyes she was surprised to see Benic in front of her quietly laughing.
“Time to get up sleepy head, you have half an hour before we need to leave for class.” He said teasingly as he slowly stood up.
Holy fuck! He was naked! Benic was standing less than a foot away from her, fully naked and fully aroused from the look of his impressive cock that was now pointing directly at her face. She tried to stop the blush that rose up her body as the beautiful boy just smiled down at her, but she could tell that she’d failed when his smile got even bigger.
“Cat got your tongue Sal?” he teased.
At that same moment Arkenon walked out of the bathroom towards the large bed and all Sally could do was gawk; there was no preparing her for the glory of his naked body striding through the room like a medieval conqueror. His perfectly tanned skin was a revelation with the water droplets shining in the morning suns. He was easily the most attractive man she had ever seen naked and when he turned around to face her she couldn’t stop the heat and wetness that pooled in her pussy as she watched his cock grow thicker and fuller before her eyes. She knew she should stop staring, but damn, was the man impressive. She couldn’t see any body hair. He was smooth and solid all over, when her traitorous eyes finally made their way back up to his perfect face she was relieved to see the desire in his now hooded eyes looking back at her. At least this attraction went both ways, Sally was literally going to leave a wet spot on the bed just from seeing him naked. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so turned on by a man and just as she was preparing herself to look away he spoke.
“Benic I need your mouth.” He said in a strained voice to the other man, but his eyes never left Sally’s.

Blog link:http://sarahmarshfiction.com/
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/sarahmarshfiction
Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/sarah-marsh

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hywela Lyn said...

BELOVED ENEMY
the third 'standalone' romance
novel in the 'Destiny Trilogy', to be released by The Wild Rose Press'.

EXCERPT
Before she could fire, Kerry let off another barrage of plasma bolts into the river, then leapt toward her and ripped the severed tentacle from her leg. It flapped around on the wet grass. She scrambled to her knees, still slightly winded and fired at the hideous thing. The foliage around it flared for a moment with an eerie green flame and the tentacle shrivelled into a slimy black mass, emitting a pungent odour and causing her to gag for a moment.

“It seems I was mistaken about the creature being dead.” Kerry prodded the smouldering mass with his boot and looked across over the water. “It is now.” He leaned down and grasped her wrist to haul her to her feet. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Her shoulder was sore and probably bruised but she’d live.

She tried to control her shivering. The incident affected her more than she wanted to admit. Kerry’s proximity, naked to the waist, his lithe body shining from the water droplets that still clung to his skin, his legs swathed in tight black leather, did nothing to help.

The last thing she wanted was for him to realise how scared she’d been when she thought a snake attacked her. “Thanks. That was close. It would have been a bit ironic if I’d been killed by the same creature I saved you from.”

She realized he still grasped her wrist. She tried to move away, but he pulled her back, obliging her to turn to him.

“You are trembling.”

“I’m fine.”

“No,” he said. “You’re not.” He pulled her closer and his eyes softened, his gaze holding her mesmerized. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but in the same instant he put his hand under her chin and his lips closed over hers.

www,hywelalyn.co.ukMy Author page at TWRP:
http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=138

Jana Richards said...

This excerpt is from my most recent release, ONE MORE SECOND CHANCE, which is currently on sale for .99 cents. In this excerpt, Julia Stewart, who is a high school principal, stands her ground against one of her teachers:

He narrowed his eyes at her. “There’s opposition on the school board and in the community, you know. Some say we need a new direction at the head of the school.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from telling Ralph what a sanctimonious ass he was. A long time high school math teacher at Lobster Cove High School, he’d been a thorn in her side ever since she’d been hired as principal three years ago. He’d felt the job should have gone to him, and he had his supporters in the community. For the last three years, he’d done everything in his power to undermine her authority.

She measured her words carefully. “I’m aware of that, Ralph. I’ll do everything I can to make parents more comfortable with having a daycare for the children of students at the school. But as I said, it will be in place in the fall.”

For a few seconds, their gazes locked in a silent battle of wills. Julia wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing her blink first. Finally Ralph looked away.

“I’m considering organizing a petition against the daycare. If we get enough votes, we can take our views to the school board.”

Julia narrowed her eyes. Bring it on. She kept her voice calm.

“That’s your prerogative, of course.”

He gave her a small smirk. “I thought I should warn you.”

She dipped her head. “I appreciate it. But perhaps I should remind you that the push to create a daycare in the school to encourage students with young children to continue their education didn’t come from me initially. It came from parents and members of the community. And I’m sure they won’t let it go without a fight.”

The smirk disappeared. “I guess we’ll find out.”

“I guess we will.”

Jana Richards
www.JanaRichards.com
Amazon Author Page

Janice Croom said...

DEATH OF AN IDIOT BOSS

There are some days I’d love to bottle up and save: the day I graduated summa cum laude, the days I married and divorced my ex, and if everything worked out, today.

My orange juice was perfect: fresh squeezed with a twist of lime. A basket of warm sweet-potato muffins from Momma Pearl's scented the air with home-made goodness. A bouquet of yellow roses lay on the seat beside me. Despite asking him not to, my boyfriend Terrence had thought of everything down to the new red silk power suit I sported.

“Ante victoriam ne canan triumphum: don’t sing triumphs before the victory,” I’d said.

Terrence didn’t share my fondness for Latin. “Victory is yours,” he’d countered, and so he’d sent all this stuff plus a limo to ferry me to work.

“All set, Ms. MacBride?” the driver asked.

“Carry on, Jeeves.” His name tag said Jerome. That’s no name for a limo driver. Course, some folks might say Kadence MacBride was no name for a thirty-something African-American woman.
Stretch limos didn’t grace my neighborhood that often, especially not on a Friday morning. More than a few curtains rustled as we passed. There’d be more than curtains rustling if I showed up to work in this thing.

“So, Jeeves, I need you to let me out about two blocks from my building. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

Jeeves shook his head. “I’m to deliver you to the front door. Mr. Chandler’s instructions were very specific.”

“Mr. Chandler will never know. You do want me to give him a good report, don’t you?”

Raising two fingers to his chauffeur’s cap, Jeeves saluted. “As you wish.”

I leaned back and sipped my juice. Luther Vandross crooned, “So Amazing,” over speakers that made it sound like he was in the limo with me. No matter what happened today, next Saturday morning I'd be on the first Caribbean-bound flight to meet Terrence for five whole weeks. No phone. No television. The brush of tropical breezes against our skin. The sound of waves crashing on the shore. The smell of—what was that smell? I knocked on the partition separating us.

Jeeves slid it open. “Don’t panic.”

Death of an Idiot Boss available on Amazon

Janice Croom web site

Stephanie Queen said...

BEACHCOMBER INVESTIGATIONS by Stephanie Queen
a romantic detective series novel
Available for Pre-Order NOW on AMAZON

Visits to the hospital were usually nausea inducing events in Shana’s life experience, but this visit had a whole different vibe. She darted a glance at Dane leaning on the doorjamb, oozing his ridiculous brand of sensuality, all casual and strong. With all her might she resisted crediting him with the reality-defying mood she felt standing in the middle of this antiseptic scented room.
Instead, she re-focused and smiled at Cap—Captain Colin Lynch—lounging against his pillows all bandaged and sporting a sling and a grin as if the bullet in his shoulder had been a movie prop and he was playing the role of the injured State Police Chief on Martha’s Vineyard—and playing that role poorly.
“You’re clearly not taking your injury very seriously,” she said. He grinned wider. She squelched the long-suffering sigh reminding herself that Cap was not one of her younger brothers. Far from it. He was a hunk of a grown man if she was in the mood for admitting things. Her gaze slid back to Dane as he moved into the room. He eyed her back and gave her that sizzling stare.


Available for Pre-Order NOW on AMAZON

Kate Hill said...

With a sigh, Jayden peeled off her bloody clothes and took a long shower, as if she could wash away the horror of the night along with the gore. She wasn't happy about killing a man, but it had been self-defense. Lou had no doubt intended to kill her and he'd shot Cinder.

Cinder bothered her even more than Lou. She still couldn't believe what she'd seen. Part of her wondered if she hadn't imagined it. If the police hadn't asked her about the second wounded man she'd reported to the emergency dispatcher, she would have doubted her sanity.

She'd nearly told the cops the truth, but refrained. They would think she was either crazy or a liar. Instead she told them what Cinder had suggested--that the second man had run off. Maybe he hadn't been injured as badly as she'd thought, or perhaps he'd been wearing some kind of bulletproof vest.

She insisted she had no idea who he was, but told them he'd helped her and hadn't appeared to be with Lou.

The police seemed satisfied, at least for the moment.

Jayden turned off the water, stepped out of the shower and dried off. She wrapped the towel around her and walked into her bedroom where she gasped upon seeing Cinder standing by the window. He'd cleaned up and changed out of his bloodstained clothes. Dressed in black pants and a red shirt that draped his muscular frame, he looked incredibly sexy.

"Damn it! You need to stop doing this. You're going to give me a heart attack," she said.

"I'm sorry. I just came by to make sure you're all right."

"And you promised to tell me who and what you are."

"I know." He stepped toward her.

Shadowed (Box Set) by Kate Hill
http://kate-hill.com/shadowed.html