Title: Franco’s Fortune Series: Redemption #2
Author: Cara Marsi
Audience: Adult
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Formats: E-book
Publisher: Cara Marsi
Cover by: Harris Channing
Editor: Laura Kelly
Pages: 172
ISBN: 9781301731787
ASIN: B00BNA3JQI
Date Published: Feb. 2013
"When a female bodyguard is hired to protect a rich playboy, she finds saving his life is easier than protecting her heart."
When the past and present collide...
Somebody wants rich playboy Franco Callahan dead. When security expert Josephine Fortune arrives on his doorstep thanks to his sister Doriana, Franco finds it hard to refuse. He's had a secret attraction for the diminutive bodyguard since they met at Doriana's wedding five years before.
But attraction is all it is. Combat boot-clad Jo is not the kind of woman Franco usually loves and leaves. Which makes the ruse that Jo is his new live-in girlfriend just that until Jo gets a makeover. Suddenly seduction is on his mind and Franco has all the time in the world to pursue it—and Jo.
Martial artist Jo can take down men twice her size without blinking, but Franco's appeal outmaneuvers her emotional defenses. Jo's tough exterior hides a dark past, and Franco seems determined to learn her every secret. But he has secrets of his own.
The more Franco gets to know Jo, the more he realizes he needs her in his life, and not as his bodyguard. But as the threats to Franco escalate, Jo must use every one of her combat skills to protect him.
Can Jo keep both Franco and her heart safe, or will they pay the ultimate price for love?
He answered his ringing phone as he hurried toward his car, and heard a deep male voice rasp, “You didn’t get our message the first time, Callahan. You’ve forced us to play dirty. Give us the money and we might let you live.”
The menace in the stranger’s voice chilled Franco, tightening his gut. “Who is this?”
“Maybe you’ll listen to our new message.” The call disconnected.
Franco stared down at his phone.
An ear-splitting boom rent the air, vibrating the ground beneath his feet. The blast sent Franco on his rear, the breath knocked out of him. Ears ringing, struggling to sit, he saw a ball of fire at the end of the street. Flames licked at what was left of his car.
<><><>
One Week Later
“Heard you need a bodyguard, Callahan.”
The sultry female voice jerked Franco’s attention from his computer. He swiveled his chair and glanced toward his office doorway. A thrill shot through him at the sight of the petite redhead, arms folded across her chest, leaning impudently against the doorjamb. He tamped down the excitement she always aroused in him and narrowed his eyes.
“Well, if it isn’t Josephine Fortune. What are you doing here?”
She stepped into the room and deposited her duffel bag on the floor. “I’m real glad to see you too, Callahan. And the name is Jo.”
The tough little spitfire rarely wore anything other than camouflage fatigues, T-shirts, and combat boots. He couldn’t help noticing the way her khaki-colored T-shirt stretched over her firm breasts and the way her full, pink lips—kissable lips—parted. She wasn’t his type he reminded himself, not for the first time in their five-year association. His type was tall, blonde, leggy, and a tigress in bed—not a fireball more comfortable on the shooting range than between satin sheets. He shot her an insolent smile, retreating into the playboy persona he showed the world.
Her green eyes, translucent and light as a spring leaf, studied him. “Logan and Doriana sent me to protect your sorry ass.”
His eyes never leaving hers, he stood. “I told them I don’t need protection. I’m sorry you had to come all this way. Go back to Tucson.”
Tension in every line of her toned body, she moved closer. “I don’t like this any more than you do, Callahan. Think I want to spend my time babysitting some spoiled playboy? As far as I’m concerned, if one of your bimbos has it in for you, that’s your problem.”
“Then leave.”
“No can do. Logan’s my boss. He sent me to keep someone from killing you and that’s what I’m going to do.”
The fear that was his constant companion these days pressed against his chest. Masking his feeling of vulnerability, he flattened his palms on his desk. “Tell Logan and Doriana thanks, but the Philadelphia police are handling the case. I don’t need a bodyguard.”
She moved even closer and leaned over the desk until their faces were inches apart. The woman had guts. He had to hand that to her. He wondered if anything scared her. A familiar scent surrounded her, teasing his nostrils. Grapefruit? On her the fruity aroma smelled tantalizing and seductive. Jo Fortune, seductive? He moved back from temptation.
She straightened and stepped away from his desk. “Sure, I’d rather be in sunny Arizona than rainy Philadelphia. But Doriana’s not too keen on her brother getting killed. So you’re stuck with me until the cops get whoever’s after you.”
He studied her and something stirred in him, the same feeling he’d had minutes ago; the feeling he’d gotten the first time he’d met her at Logan and Doriana’s wedding five years before, and every time after that. As an honorary member of the Callahan-Tanner clan, Jo was present at family holidays and functions. For all her smart mouth and bluster, he recognized the hurt that shadowed her eyes and softened her generous mouth. A part of him wanted to find out who put that hurt there and to take it away if he could. Jo brought out a protectiveness in him that scared him nearly as much as the thought of someone killing him.
Title: B0040JI3PG Series: Redemption #1
Author: Cara Marsi
Formats: E-book
ASIN: B00BNA3JQI
Date Published: Jan 2014
Doriana Callahan's life is unraveling. Someone is stalking her and sabotaging her father's company; her teenage son is rebelling; and Logan Tanner is back in town. For sixteen years she's kept an explosive secret from Logan, a secret he soon discovers.
Logan never belonged in Doriana's world, but a long time ago he allowed himself to dream of a future with her, until the awful night he was forced to run. Now he's back and he needs her forgiveness, but first he must forgive himself.
Despite the fact that Doriana kept the existence of his son from him, Logan vows to protect her. He races against time to stop the culprit threatening Doriana and works to forge a bond with his son.
Can the love and passion that still burn between Doriana and Logan overcome old lies and new dangers? The clock is ticking on a second chance at love.
"Logan's Redemption has all the elements that keep the pages turning: romance, passion, thrills and suspense." Linda at Fallen Angel Reviews.
"LOGAN'S REDEMPTION by Cara Marsi is a great read, plain and simple. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I definitely give it a Top Pick!" Julie at Romance Reader at Heart Reviews.
"Logan's Redemption should definitely be added to your must-read list." My Romance Story Reviews.
"Logan ’s Redemption is riveting." Lisa at My Romance Junkies Reviews.
Title: Luke’s Temptation Series: Redemption #3
Author: Cara Marsi
Formats: E-book
ASIN: B00MYC97LU
Coming: Sep 30, 2014
Anita Santisi is an independent, successful businesswoman with a wounded heart. And some very bad people after her. Break-ins, home invasions, and attempted abductions have turned her comfortable life dangerous. Can she trust her mysterious, sexy new neighbor, Luke Corrado, or is he behind the criminal acts?
Special Agent Luke Corrado carries his guilt like a loaded Glock. A woman he loved was murdered because of him. Now, on a new undercover assignment to protect Anita Santisi, he’s determined to redeem himself. What he doesn’t expect is that Anita will tempt him to let down the barriers around his heart.
As Anita and Luke find themselves in ever-increasing danger, they must fight to stay alive. Will they open their hearts to each other before it’s too late?
Thank you to Portals to New Worlds, for having me today. Cool name. They’ve asked me to write whatever I want. Always dangerous to give writers carte blanche, but I’m glad to oblige.
I’m a fan of David Letterman and his Top Ten. I decided to write about my Top Ten Favorite Romance Heroines.
I love the heroines in all of my books, of course. To name a few: Doriana Callahan from Logan’s Redemption, Redemption Book 1. Logan Tanner disappeared from her life sixteen years ago, but she’s never stopped loving him. Now, he’s back in town. She’s kept an explosive secret from him all these years. What will happen when he discovers it?
Jo Fortune from Franco’s Fortune, Redemption Book 2, is a security expert with a horrid past who hides behind a tough façade. Inside, she’s vulnerable. Her job is to protect wealthy playboy Franco Callahan from whoever is trying to kill him. She finds protecting him is easier than protecting her heart. Will he discover her secret and reject her because of it?
Anita Santisi from Luke’s Temptation, Redemption Book 3, was betrayed and hurt badly in the past. Whenever a man gets close, she walks away, protecting her heart. But she can’t walk away from her sexy new neighbor, Luke Corrado, a mysterious man with his own dark past.
Here are my Top Ten Favorite Romance Heroines, which may not be ones familiar to a lot of you, but these are characters whom I’ve never forgotten:
10. Diana Hudson, aka Queenie Baby, from the Queenie Baby series by Christina Burke and Gemma Halliday. These books are hilarious. I love Queenie Baby’s sense of humor, and the fact that trouble follows her wherever she goes.
9. Maddie Springer from Gemma Halliday’s High Heels mysteries. Maddie is hilarious, but she’s also a klutz who gets her long-suffering hunky cop husband into dangerous scrapes, like a modern-day Lucille Ball.
8. Ginny Brandon from Rosemary Rogers’ Sweet Savage Love. The reason Ginny’s on this list is because I love the book, and it’s the first romance I read that contained explicit sex. I read it over and over. I might not like Ginny today because she’s a spoiled brat. But I loved her when I first read the book because this book opened a whole new world for me.
7. Shanna Trahern from Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss. This was the second romance I read that had explicit sex. I read this one over and over too. Shanna isn’t as spoiled as Ginny, but she is a bit spoiled. Sweet, Savage Love and Shanna hold special places in my heart.
6. Claire Randall from the Outlander series. Jamie Fraser from that series is my favorite romance hero. I had a little trouble relating to Claire. She seemed cold at first, but then I learned to really like her as her romance with Jamie burned up the pages. Claire is smart and resourceful.
5. Callie Michaelson from One Wore Gray by Heather Graham. She’s a strong, independent woman in the middle of a raging war. Loyal to the Union, she fights her attraction to the Confederate officer who wins her heart and her respect.
4. Elspeth Lamond from Bride of the MacHugh by Jan Cox Speas. This is one of my favorite books, a book not many have heard of. It’s a historical romance written in the 1950’s and set in the Scottish Highlands. The sex is behind closed doors, but it’s one of the sexiest books ever, much like Gone With the Wind, movie and book. You didn’t see behind those doors but you had a pretty good idea of what Rhett and Scarlett were doing. My girlfriend and I read Bride of the MacHugh when we were teens. We spent hours trying to figure out what Elspeth and the MacHugh did in that bedroom. This was back in those innocent days when teens really didn’t know much about sex. In the book, Elspeth is recovering from an illness and visits relatives in the Highlands. When she falls in love with the powerful MacHugh, head of his clan, her feelings scare her, but she has the courage to follow her heart.
3. Celia Marsdon from Green Darkness by Anya Seton. This is my favorite book of all time. Celia, in her current life, is an unhappy woman desperate to save her marriage. I admired her courage to work for her marriage, but also the courage to allow a hypnotist to regress her to a murderous past life that would help her solve her present-day problems and find happiness.
2. Douglass Montgomery from A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux. This is one of my favorite books. I love the way Douglass starts out as a bit of a doormat for her jerk boyfriend, but grows to a strong courageous woman by the end of the story.
And my favorite romance heroine:
1. Tamsen McCleod of the McCleod sisters in Aola Vandergriff’s Daughters of the South Wind series. I love this series and I love Tamsen. She’s strong, a fighter who will risk anything to protect her sisters and keep them out of harm’s way. She and Dan Tallent make one of my favorite romance couples. This is an author and a series not many seem to know, but I loved every one of these books that went from the 1800’s Wild West to WW1 Europe.
Who are your favorite romance heroines?
Thanks again to Portals to New Worlds for having me.
Excerpts from all my books are at my website: www.caramarsi.com
I love to hear from readers.
I’m on Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorcaramarsi
Twitter: www.twitter.com/caramarsi
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Cara Marsi, an award-winning author and self-proclaimed TV junkie, is a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller. Freed from her fabric-covered cage, she can now indulge her love of all things romance. She craves books with happy endings and loves to write about independent heroines and the strong heroes who love them. And she loves to put her characters in dangerous situations or situations merely dangerous to their hearts and watch them fight for the happy endings they deserve. An eclectic author, Cara is published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She's also published numerous short romance stories in national women's magazines and online. When not traveling or dreaming of traveling, Cara and her husband live on the East Coast in a house ruled by their fat black diva of a cat named Killer.
Tour Schedule - One Week Blog Tour for Franco’s Fortune by Cara Marsi from Oct 13 to Oct 21, 2014.
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