Archangel's Desire

Monday, November 9, 2015

Book Blast: Tail Lights & Teardrops by Connie L. Smith @clsmithbooks @sparklebooktour


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Title: Tail Lights & Teardrops  tail lights gif
Author: Connie L. Smith 
Audience: YA/NA Romance (Clean)  
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: E-book
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing
Cover by: Najla Qamber
Editor: Vicky Burkholder
Pages: App. 213
Date Published: Oct. 2015


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
blurb (3)
 

Bruised and battered hearts can keep beating. But can they heal?
Preston and Nick endured the breakup of all breakups when Nick accused her of cheating on him. He insisted, and she denied while the rain pounded against her driveway and thunder roared in the distance. Then they both ran—Preston to a life of Rock & Roll, and Nick to a career in the Army.
Four years later, they’re damaged and broken almost beyond repair. He’s carrying baggage from his military days, and she bears the scars of living a lifestyle she’s grown to hate.
When Preston’s label forces her to take time away from music, their paths cross in a parking lot not twenty-four hours after her hometown return, anger and sparks flying in a confusing blend. But regardless of the feelings neither has been able to shake, too many lies and secrets stand in the way of the one thing they need in order to recover.
Each other.
 
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excerpt (5)
 

I ended the song with a haunted chord and frowned when I heard clapping coming from somewhere beneath me. Standing, I propped my guitar on the balcony rail and looked over the edge to find Nick leaning likewise one floor below. The sadness in his eyes let me know, without a doubt, he understood the lyrics were about us.
He smiled anyway. “Good song. What’s it called?”
“‘Pirates and Cowgirls,’” I whispered, uneasy that he’d heard a message so personal between us. On the radio would’ve been different. Listening to it being written, and almost face-to-face? “I didn’t mean for you—”
“Don’t apologize, Preston. It happened, and you’re a songwriter. I’d be shocked if I didn’t end up in a song or six. I might even be insulted.” He put a deliberate spin on his last sentence, but the teasing quality didn’t hide his hurt at the reminder of our history. I could see pain in his clouded gaze and thin smile, making me wonder why he’d bother with the attempt to lighten the situation.
Was he trying to make me feel better? I couldn’t think of another explanation, and I had a hard time reconciling that the man who’d broken my heart without mercy was now attempting to lessen my pain by downplaying his. How could the two reactions come from the same person?
I decided not to question the matter out loud. Instead, I offered him a grin as phony as the one he directed at me. “Is this you being civil?”
“Well, you did perform a concert. I hear it’s customary to applaud.”
I rolled my eyes, and he smiled genuinely for a second before he pushed away from the rail. “I guess I should head back in.”
I didn’t want him to leave, but asking him to stay would’ve been one of the dumbest decisions of my life, so I nodded and grabbed my guitar. “Good night, Nick.”
He grunted a response like he’d done so many times when we were younger and he was too tired to bother with an actual reply, then turned toward his apartment. I fought back the warm memories of the same noise being used over the years to mean, “yes,” “no,” “sure—pizza sounds fantastic,” and countless other random, small, beautiful things. If the smile those recollections brought to my face was any indication, diving into the thoughts would be dangerously lovesick territory.
 
about the author (2)
 
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Connie L. Smith spends far too much time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. Her music of choice is severely outdated, and as an adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either), and is currently working on her MA.
 
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Series Blast & Giveaway: What Happens In Venice Trilogy by Diana Cachey @dianacachey

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Series

 

What Happens In Venice Trilogy

Diana Cachey

Genre: Paranormal Romance

TAGLINE: Among the romantic canals of Venice—and oh so many Italian distractions—can a stunning American lawyer, her psychic sister and a free-spirited best friend, help the Ghosts of Venice solve a hushed up crime?

About the Series:

Louisa Mangotti, an American lawyer working as an Interpol expert for the international crime unit in Venice, receives a mysterious postcard from the Venetian ghosts, ancient protectors of the Republic. She scoffs at the ghosts, who plant clues for her to help them solve a hushed up crime that threatens Venice, because she suspects her bad boy ex-lover, Matteo, has crafted a plan to distract her from his own involvement in the crime. Nonetheless she’s forced to depend on him to decipher clues, including diving with him on a haunted shipwreck in the lagoon and venturing to far out hidden islands. Her sister, who communes with ghosts, arrives to rescue Louisa but is lured away from the chase into a steamy affair with a possible phantom. Another feisty foreigner, Louisa’s best friend Rebecca, further spices up the action and adds to the antics when she visits for Carnival and samples the Venetian charm and romance. More sexy men, as well as ghosts, distract the women as they follow a maze of cryptic clues, baffling signs and cunning messengers.

As the three women fall deeper into the whirlpool of the mysterious lagoon town, its wonderful sights, and alluring men, they continue to navigate a stormy course. With time running out, can the beauties solve a crime that threatens the future of Venice itself?

On top of being sexy, gorgeous and classy, Louisa Mangotti is a respected attorney and Interpol expert who is puzzled by the odd postcard that arrives in her mailbox signed mysteriously… "Venetian Ghosts". She assumes it's a quixotic attempt by her bad-boy ex, Matteo, to re-ignite their relationship. Louisa may have dismissed the ghosts, but the ghosts aren’t quite done with her.

Ghosts take over Venice video, Part One

https://youtu.be/GKlQhIjm1vY

Ghosts take over Venice video Part Two

https://youtu.be/V673QdQZQwM

Available at Amazon

Halloween Day of the Dead Sale .99 cents!!

Keywords: 1. Chick lit mystery 2. Venice fiction 3. Ghosts 4. Paranormal mystery 5. Contemporary women novels 6. Travel Italy

 

 

clip_image002Love Spirits

What Happens In Venice

Book One

Diana Cachey

About the Love Spirits:

When the bodies of two glass makers wash up on Murano Island, the cryptic messages persist. Louisa is drawn to the story of the Venetian ghosts and initiates a personal investigation. Reluctantly, Louisa calls upon her bad boy ex, Matteo, to help decipher the clues. Before she knows it, a flame that was never fully extinguished is unexpectedly rekindled.

Sensing that her sister is in over her head, Barbara Mangotti rushes to the rescue, only to be lured away by two hard-to-resist good-looking Venetian men.

With time running out, can these two beauties solve a crime that could threaten the city of Venice itself?

This book is like a magic carpet ride that takes you to Venice, capturing in a most wonderful way its unique allure and mystery. Part travelogue, part mystery, part romance novel, it will warm your heart, send goosebumps up your spine, and leave you breathless.

Available at Amazon

Excerpt

From the Top of Our Great Bell Tower

Saint Mark Square

Venice, Italy

Dear wide-eyed tourist,

Don’t go to Venice.

But if you do, don’t fall in -- in a canal, in love or into Venice itself. As if you have a choice. Hear us cackling?

Listen. We came to warn you about La Serenissima, the Most Serene One, as Venice has been called since before the Middle Ages. You will not heed our warning and you will come looking for us. How do we know? It happens every time a Venetian ghost story is told.

As ancient protectors of the Venetian republic, we ghosts guard her virtues of which she has many. One reason we love her, and you will too, is that she is stuck in time. Did you know Venice functions without motorcars or trucks? We don’t like motorcars or trucks. Hundreds of tiny islands sewn together by foot bridges leaves no need for noisy, fume-spewing vehicles, thankfully.

We prefer floating.

Our classic transport is the gondola. Mostly reserved for you tourists now, gondolas are and always have been helmed by the most prestigious oarsmen in the world -- highly trained gondoliers who stand while rowing through the labyrinth of canals. They don’t mind when we ride with or without you while they serenade us with opera, Frank Sinatra songs and romantic favorites.

Ah yes, romance. As one visitor put it, “It’s their schtick, a Venetian ploy, an act to get sexy with you.” It is true. Venice equals romance equals sex.

If the shadows of Venice frighten you or you feel like you’re in a dream, have fun with it, float with us. We are watching over you. We want to further your journey to a more magical life because we think a person is charmed by a trip to La Serenissima.

It could change your soul forever. Just ignore this cautionary tale.

We remain in your service,

The Venetian Ghosts

 

clip_image004Lagoon Lure

What Happens in Venice

Book Two

Diana Cachey

About the Lagoon Lure:

Sexy sleuth Louisa is back! She captivated romance novel readers and mystery lovers in Love Spirits, the first book of the intriguing international mystery and crime series, What Happens in Venice. Book Two, Lagoon Lure, continues this seductive ghost story and resumes the carnal pleasures, conspiracy and corruption.

American in Venice, Louisa, resumes her Venetian exploits, steamy love affairs and paranormal assisted murder investigation she began in Love Spirits. The mystery and romance further ensnares her in the second book of the What Happens in Venice mystery series.

Still unnerved by the notion that Venice ghost stories are real, Louisa delves further into the mystery of the deaths of two glassmakers while juggling the lustful manipulations of her ex-lover, Matteo, whose role in the double murder grows murkier.

Meanwhile Louisa's usually shy sister, Barbara, explores her new-found sexuality with Venice's willing men, sharing her adventures with her sister but keeping one particularly mysterious man a secret. Romance novel readers will love the changes in her and the tension created by the affairs of the heart that Venice leads her into before she realizes that she's fallen hard despite the haunted happenings around her.

When Louisa's best friend, "Rouge," arrives for Carnival to sample its masked men and create her own romance novel subplots and complicates the situation further by encouraging the sisters to embrace the pleasures of secret Venice. Rouge not only steams up the landscape but she is lured into her own complicated romances and supernatural events, if not a reluctant ghost story or two.

With Venice as the lush backdrop for double murder and a web of passionate intrigue, Louisa deciphers clues planted by ghosts and struggles to resist the wicked charms of the very tempter she suspected in the crimes. Her unfinished romance and ghost story compete against her love affair with Venice and its secrets. While she tries to enjoy her days of Venice travel, food and fashion, as well as her new admirer’s own brand of magic, the mystery of the dead glass makers still looms in the lagoon.

Lively supporting characters add sex, chuckles and suspense to the already twisted plots and turned phrases when they too must navigate Venice mystery, romantic liaisons and the ghost story encounters. The gothic setting, the romance laden environment, the mysterious corners and shadowy lagoon lead everyone astray. Haunted Venice gives everyone plenty to puzzle over right until the end.

Venice cafés, restaurants, and other haunts play a prominent role in this sexy supernatural romance and international crime series about a beautiful American in Venice guided by ghosts to solve the mystery of a hushed-up crime. Paranormal clues and ghost apparitions lead Louisa deeper into the lagoon, and she is forced to reluctantly enlist Matteo's support. Can she trust him, or will this ghostly lagoon lure prove deadly?

Available at Amazon

Excerpt

Venice always delivered. For thousands of years she spread out her bounty for swarms of people who feasted upon her beauty. They stayed in ornate palaces or luxury hotels and paraded in stylish fashions. They admired diverse art, listened to sweet music, sampled delicious food.

They also enjoyed plentiful romantic opportunities.

Ah, the romantic allure of Venice. It continues to this day. Indeed, soon after Barbara’s arrival, Venice offered her no less than three handsome men. Now there stood her sister, Louisa, who begged to hear the dirt on two of them but knew nothing of the third man, the one Barbara wanted most.

She planned to keep him a secret.

Barbara looked around and tried to take it all in, all that Venice had to offer. She saw in front of her a small island, which sat placidly in the lagoon and proudly displayed its huge monastic bell tower. Although a massive presence, this tower was easily dwarfed by the one it faced -- the more famous one -- the one that housed the bells of San Marco. She gazed across the water, let the reflecting sun’s rays warm her face and both Venetian towers began to toll their bells behind her and before her. They echoed across the lagoon, reverberated throughout the tranquil setting. Barbara took note of the bells. She’d been trained by her Italian friends to pay particular attention to what she’d been the thinking in that precise moment these bells began to chime.

She’d been thinking about secrets. That third man. He must remain her secret.

Thus began her diversion, a long philosophical theory about her twin orange cats.

“Back home in Seattle,” she said, “my cats confuse and distract me during morning meditation, just like those two Venetian men did my first night in Venice. The two inquisitive cats circle my cushion then jump on the table where I offer blessings of flowers and candy. They sniff and inspect as if they’ve never seen the ritual before.” 

Louisa yawned.

“Those cats seem to see me anew each day, as a thing they need to supervise, approve or inspect. Eventually, they settle nearby to meditate on their own. They observe my struggle to quiet my mind while they remain perfect little meditators. Those two Venetian men were the same. While I was nervous and disquieted, they just purred.”

Louisa frowned.

 

clip_image006Magic Island

What Happens In Venice

Book Three

Diana Cachey

About Magic Island:

Sexy sleuth Louisa is back — with Venice as the lush backdrop for double murder and a web of passionate intrigue. In this final installment of the Trinity, Louisa captivates readers by deciphering clues planted by ghosts & struggling to resist the wicked charms of the very tempter she suspects. Her unfinished love story continues to compete against her love affair with Venice and its secrets. She tries to enjoy her days of Venice travel, food and fashion and new admirer’s own brand of magic but the mystery of the dead glass makers still looms in the lagoon.

Lively supporting characters add more sex, chuckles and suspense to the already twisted plots and turned phrases as they too must navigate their own romantic liaisons and thought provoking ghost encounters. Magic Island gives everyone plenty to puzzle over right up to its surprising finish!

Available at Amazon

Excerpt

 

At the landing point, halfway to the upper level, she felt it. A cold wind blew.

Why would the thrift shop women leave the window open during one of the coldest days of the year? Venetians, and Italians generally, were obsessed with energy conservation, not out of duty or political bent, but out of necessity or greed. Why would the darling elf-man allow it? Why hadn’t he gone up to close it?

She blinked.

In the second floor attic room, a man stood by the open window and fanned himself. He’d removed his coat, hat, scarf and shirt. Bare-chested, he was about to try on what looked to be the next best deal in the shop, a cashmere sweater with Armani label.

The room wasn’t suffering from the dreaded “they heat the place like people don’t always come in dressed for the outdoors.” It was not an unbearable oven. It was chilly. Yet sweat poured down the man’s face.

Louisa couldn’t help but stare for he stood half naked with perfect abdomen and a peek of what was below the belt. His pants hung low on his tan, tempting, tapered waist.

The man jumped and gave an unnecessary apology in thick Buranese dialect.

“My name is Antonin. Your friend, Marco, sent me,” he whispered. He made no attempt to cover up for which Louisa gave another silent nod of gratitude.

She stepped closer then remembered she was supposed to seek guidance before acting. She started to speak but he gestured for her to be quiet and pulled her to the window. He pointed to the canal.

Not exactly the answer to my prayers, but go with it, she reckoned.

She leaned squarely up against him then wrapped an arm around his waist, that tempting, tapered waist.

He felt her desire rising so he moved them both away from the window where he pulled his pants a little further down to reveal those, those whatever those lines are, those muscle things that go diagonally from the hips to the important region.

“Spetta mattimo,” he whispered, “wait a minute,” or something like that, and he pressed his hips against hers.

“Prima, guarda la,” (First, look at this) he said and nodded towards the window.

************

  

 

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About the author

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Diana Cachey is a licensed attorney, published academic, and former adjunct law professor. She also holds a BA in English, and while in law school, she was the first female editor in chief of her university’s law review.

The author of the novel Love Spirits, she has trained with several New York Times best-selling writers, including Robert Allen, with more than seventy-two million books sold.

For more than a decade, Cachey has been traveling to Venice, the setting of her novel, on extended trips several times a year. The cafés, restaurants, and many other haunts of Venice play a prominent role in her sexy paranormal mystery-romance about a beautiful American lawyer guided by the Ghosts of Venice in the investigation of a hushed-up crime.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00N6HDHSG

https://www.youtube.com/user/dcachey

@dianacachey

https://www.facebook.com/diana.cachey

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Cachey/153347544749839

HAUNTEDP-PALOOZA VIDEO: https://youtu.be/4wTodeBxiY8

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