Blog Tour: Make Mine a Cowboy by Sandy Sullivan

Book Blurb:

Mesa Arraguso writes about hot cowboys for a living. Being a romance writer has it perks and its drawbacks. She spends a lot of time alone in front of her computer, but she gets to fantasize about incredibly hot men wearing cowboy boots and Stetsons. While visiting San Antonio, Texas for a writer’s conference, she finds herself stranded on the back roads of Bandera only to be rescued by one of the most gorgeous men she’s ever encountered, be it fantasy or for real.

Joel Young is a cowboy. From the top of his Stetson to the tip of his dirty cowboy boots, he’s cowboy through and through. Along with rescuing women when they do silly things like running out of gas miles from town on a dirt road, he spends his days herding cattle, fixing fences and breaking horses.

Can one handsome cowboy and a city-girl from LA find common ground is the Hill Country long enough to see beyond a quick fling?

Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Sandy Sullivan is a romance author, who, when not writing, spends her time with her husband Shaun on their farm in middle Tennessee. She loves to ride her horses, play with their dogs and relax on the porch, enjoying the rolling hills of her home south of Nashville. County music is a passion of hers and she loves to listen to it while she writes.

She is an avid reader of romance novels and enjoys reading Nora Roberts, Jude Deveraux and Susan Wiggs. Finding new authors and delving into something different helps feed the need for literature. A registered nurse by education, she loves to help people and spread the enjoyment of romance to those around her with her novels. She loves cowboys so you'll find many of her novels have sexy men in tight jeans and cowboy boots.

Excerpt

 Her reflex was to pull her hand back, but Joel grabbed it in his before she could. “You’re a beautiful woman. Other than guests, which are normally families with young kids, we don’t get a lot like you around here. Prepare to be overwhelmed.”
 He kissed her fingers before he let his grip slacken on her hand so she could pull it free. The zing that raced up her arm bothered her. Those things only happened in her novels, not in real life. “Um, okay.”
 As they rounded the doorway, the volume of noise increased tenfold. Several people either sat at the picnic tables chatting away or they were lined up at the serving area with plates in hand. One long table she hadn’t noticed before took up an entire wall. When she did a double take she noticed nine people, eight men and Joel’s mother, who sat there chatting while they waited for the others to be served. Holy shit! How many freakin’ brothers does he have again?
 “Eight. There are nine of us boys.”
 “Stop reading my mind.”
 “Sorry. I can tell by the look in your eyes what is running through your head. You have very expressive brown eyes.” Joel tugged her hand and brought her to the spot where there were two empty seats. “Hey, ya’ll. This is Mesa.” A chorus of hellos echoed through the room, shushing the rest of the conversations going on around them. Joel quickly introduced the brothers around the table and that’s when she noticed two more who looked like…ohmigod.  There are three of him? Yes, you could tell they all were brothers by the similar features, but…
 “We’re triplets,” he whispered next to her ear with a chuckle.

Ah, hell! One gorgeous hunk to tantalize my senses is enough, but nine of them? And two who look just like him? I’m so screwed!

Blog Tour: Collision Force by C.A. Szarek plus excerpt

I would like to welcome C.A. Szarek to the blog today. Her blog tour is being hosted by the girls at Twinsie Talk Book Reviews

Blurb:
Book one in the Crossing Forces series

Bad boy FBI agent and feisty widowed police detective collide pursuing a human trafficker in small town Texas on their way to true love.

Bad boy, married to his job FBI agent Cole Lucas always gets his man. So when the unthinkable happens and one gets away, Cole grits his teeth and hunts human trafficker Carlo Maldonado all the way to Antioch, Texas, where he collides with Detective Andi MacLaren.

Cole doesn’t do small towns and doesn’t get involved with women he works with, but Andi tempts him in ways he doesn’t want to acknowledge.

Two murders, her partner shot and leading the investigation on her own, the last thing Andi needs is a cocky FBI agent who sees her as no more than a tagalong.

Widow and single mother Andi is used to being on her own. When Cole gets stuck without a place to stay, crashing on her couch puts them in dangerous territory.

Attraction and passion bring Andi to a place she’d left behind when her husband died. Her three-year-old son quickly wiggles his way into Cole’s heart, and he starts contemplating things—family, love—that he’d never planned for himself.

Can being forced to work together make them stronger or will their differences jeopardize their case and their hearts?

I have not had the chance to read this one yet but I have read many teasers from the author during the writing process. I look forward to reading it in the near future. Congrats Chrissy and many many best wishes. XOXO

Excerpt:

“Goodnight, Cole.” Obviously, she didn’t want to talk to him about anything, let alone his overdue apology.
“So, that’s it? You’re not going to accept my apology?”
“Not tonight. I’m tired, and we have a long day tomorrow.” She turned to go.
“Andi, wait.” Why was he calling her back? He could respect that she was still upset with him—she had every right to be. He’d gone a bit overboard with some of the things he’d said. 
Keeping Cass’ phone call from her had been unnecessary from the start. He hadn’t needed to carry it on in the car after they’d left the warehouse. It’d only served to get her so pissed off at him she’d barely uttered a word all day. So much for getting somewhere on the case.
Andi glanced over her shoulder and Cole grabbed her wrist. He yanked her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. 
He hadn’t intended to kiss her but as her soft, warm lips caressed his, Cole couldn’t have changed his mind even if he’d wanted to. Her curves hit his chest with enough impact that should have jarred him back into his head, but he was lost and overheated immediately. He wrapped her in a tight embrace and kissed her harder.
She fought him, but his mouth was demanding over hers, and Andi opened for him, melting against him, surrendering to him. She slipped her arms around his neck and Cole bit back a groan. Her taste, sweeter than he’d imagined, was like ripe berries. He needed more.
Andi whimpered against his mouth, her tongue dancing with his. His cock stood at attention, straining against his zipper. He moaned as her body melded to his, breasts to chest, hips to hips. Cole had to have her.
As he walked them back towards the couch, she pushed hard against his chest, breaking the kiss and shoving him away from her. They both panted hard.
“Don’t…don’t ever do that…again,” she stammered, the gorgeous swell of her breasts lifting and pulling her shirt taut as her chest heaved. He could see peaked nipples. His erection throbbed and he struggled for coherent thought.
Cole dragged his gaze to her face. Blue eyes wide, cheeks rosy, freckles noticeable, her lips swollen from his. Though she’d been appealing before, how she stood before him now blew that out of the water. She was gorgeous.
He needed to say something. Anything. Apologise? He wasn’t sorry in the least. Speechless just about covered it. 
She trembled and rubbed her arm. It took all he was made of not to pull her back to him and kiss her again.
There was no chance to answer. Andi turned on her heel and fled down the hall, slipping into the room farthest away from the living room. She didn’t even pause to look at him as she slammed the door.
He winced. What the hell should he make of what had happened? He stared down the hallway for a moment, his heart pounding. Never in his life, not even when he was a teenager, had one kiss stirred him to the point that Andi’s had. Then she’d run from him. His body shook with unfulfilled need. 
Cole couldn’t blame her, really. No way should he have given in to the urge to kiss her. But he had the sinking suspicion he would have to do it again—and more. He wouldn’t be able not to. And hell, she’d kissed him back.
The voice of reason chided that he didn’t get involved with women he worked with, but his cock certainly disagreed. He ignored them both and dragged his hand over his face. The morning would bring complications.
Cole sighed and glanced at the couch. It looked comfortable, but would he be able to sleep?

Cover Reveal: Love Resisted by Melanie Condina

   For Allie Baxter, love was never something she had to worry about. She was loved by her friends, her family, her husband … until the day it was ripped away. Losing love was the deepest pain Allie had ever endured, and it was an agony she vowed to avoid feeling ever again. Crippled with guilt over her loss, for five years Allie served her self-appointed exile from the daily comforts offered by friends and family, only to return and attempt to fit herself back into their open arms—even if she knew she didn’t deserve it. Mike Lawson was not something Allie expected; the love of a man was not something Allie was prepared to want. The spark of desire that had long ago died inside her suddenly returned, bringing the memories of her pain with it. She swore she would never allow herself to love again … but how long could love be resisted?

Teaser:

Allie stepped out her front door and immediately missed the cool air-conditioned condo she just left. It took a moment to adjust to the heat in the air as she locked her front door. Southern California may not be hot and humid like the east coast, but this was a hot for San Diego in June. It should make for long afternoon at her nephews outdoor graduation. She was making her way down the steps when she heard her neighbor’s voice, “Well don’t you clean up nice.” She wasn’t expecting to run into Mike Lawson just yet, so it caught her totally off guard and she stopped abruptly. If she were being completely honest with herself, she had hoped to avoid him entirely—forever would be good—but since they were neighbors, it wasn’t a realistic expectation. Her need to avoid him and all of his hotness was becoming a strong necessity for her self-preservation.
His ability to melt her with only a smile was beginning to wear her down. Her only defense against him was to be snarky. Pulling her I’m-the-queen-bitch persona tightly around her, she turned to him, cocked her hip, and placed her fist appropriately as she said, “That implies that you think I look like shit the rest of the time, Lawson. You really need to work on how to compliment a lady.” Raising her eyebrows at him in challenge, she continued while gesturing to her entire body, “I’ll have you know, this is just another level of fabulous I'm demonstrating here.”
The man had the nerve to throw a huge grin her way, once again showing her that he was not fazed in the slightest by her snarky attitude. Just another reason to stay the hell away from the man, she thought as she finished making her way down the steps. It was becoming harder to ignore him on a physical level. Not to mention the fact that he made her belly flutter and her heart rate pick up when she saw him. Every time she thought about his effect on her, it pissed her off. She knew it was paramount to resist him at all costs.
What she really needed to do was move the hell out of the condo near his. The problem with that was, she loved her new place. Well, it wasn’t hers yet, but she planned on making an offer when the landlord’s lease was up. Even though she only found this place because of Mike, she secretly hoped he would randomly up and move, solving her problem immediately. She really wanted to stay there. It finally felt that she had come to a point where she was okay being alone, and she wasn’t living with a ghost anymore. It was almost like she had moved on … maybe a little bit … almost. But just because she felt that way, didn’t mean that she had moved on, moved on. That wasn’t about to happen, may never happen ever again … she couldn’t let it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by McHottness himself when he fell into step next to her and said, “Maybe so, but then how else would I get that fire snapping in your eyes? Mission accomplished if you ask me.” Shocked by his blatant admittance that he was trying to rile her up, she swung her head his direction to say something when he winked at her. Once again shocking her and rendering her temporarily speechless. She was this close to kicking him in the shin when he continued, “I take it you are on your way to the graduation as well. Want a lift?”
Thankful for his question to bring her out of her shocked moment, she said. “A lift? It’s more like a hoist. I need a damn trampoline to get up into that truck of yours.” And as if the great Gods of Nastiness were smiling down on her, she snatched the opportunity to up her game from snarky to bitchy. “Just what kind of message are you trying to put out there anyway? Everyone knows a big truck like that only says the owner suffers from little dick complex.” 
They were walking and had made their way around back to where the garages were located so she didn’t see, only heard him huff a laugh before saying. “There certainly is no little dick to have a complex about. I assure you …” He mumbled something at the end, but she didn’t catch it. Not wanting to prolong the conversation she ignored the desire to ask him to repeat himself. Pointing her keys at the shiny red Mini-Cooper to unlock it when Mike popped the bottom of her outstretched hand, causing her keys to fly up in the air. 
As soon as they were airborne, he reached out and grabbed them before she could process what was happening. Shocked again, she looked over at him only to see that damn smile once more before snarling at him, “What the hell did you do that for?”
“I offered you a ride, you didn’t decline, only mocked my truck. Therefore, by not rejecting it, you inadvertently accepted it.” He shrugged, smiled bigger, and finished with, “Well, at least in my book you did, so get in the truck, Baxter.” Turning away from her, he walked toward his truck, her keys in hand. Still a little startled at his maneuver to get her keys, yet slightly impressed since it was something she would do, she stood there and watched as he made his way to the oversized truck. When he stopped at the passenger door and looked back at her, he laughed and said, “Oh come on, I’ll give you a boost. And I won’t even try to look up your skirt … scouts’ honor.”
Shaking her head, she made her way toward him as she grumbled, “Is that the box-car-building kind of scout or the cookie-peddling ones? I bet you probably looked great in that green sash.” Tossing her purse on the floorboard of the truck, she reached up and grabbed the handle to lift herself in but turned her head and looked back at him over her shoulder. “I bet the little beret looked good, too.” 
Feeling like she had been bitchy enough to make him not want to have her for company, she turned back to the open truck door. Preparing to jump in, she let out a squeal when Mike’s big hands wrapped around her waist and hefted her effortlessly into the cab. Turning quickly to glare down at him for doing such a thing, she only met his intent stare as he said, “I look good in anything I wear sweetheart. Now buckle up, wouldn’t want you to fall out or anything.” And then he closed the door.

Author Bio:

Melanie is an amazing mother of four, an awesome and tolerant wife to one, and nurse to many. If you don’t believe her, just ask anyone in her family, they know what to say. She is also a devoted chauffeur, the keeper of missing socks, a genius according to a six year old, the coolest soccer uniform coordinator according to a twelve year old, and the best damn ‘mac-n-cheese-with-cut-up-hot-dog maker in the whole world. Well that last title isn’t really official, but it’s still pretty cool to be called it.

When not being ordered around by any of the kids, you can find her with her nose in a book or on the sideline of a soccer game cheering on one team or another. But that’s mostly because she has a thing for the coach. When she is not doing all of the above, you can find her obsessed with a group of fictional characters all vying for a spot on the page of whatever she’s working on. It’s a fun and crazy life to lead, but wouldn't have it any other way.

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Check out my review for book one int the Love Series- Love Realized