Books, Books, Books!

Lots to share this merry month of May, so I'll just get right to it - right after I share our roses with you. They've been absolutely gorgeous.

To begin, more than the weather is heating up. Contemporary romance author Tara Watson is here to share her new release, Last Call. I started reading and kept right on. Fun book with lots of heat.

Newly-single attorney Gwen Cooper’s list of things that make her happy is pretty simple:
  1. her teenage sons
  2. her stilettos
  3. finally taking control of her own life

While texting the first on the list to warn them she’s missed her flight home, she plows into a hot-shot movie star, has a lukewarm latte dumped down her blouse, and snaps a heel off item number two. When the actor shows up at the hotel bearing an apology of replacement Louboutins, she should be wondering how he got her room number. Instead, she’s simmering over his well-tailored suit and conjuring more sinful ways for him to make things up to her. And why not? The notorious bachelor is the perfect guy to kick off her post-divorce fantasies of no strings attached. Ever again.

Blake Donovan claimed Hollywood’s top spot by playing the self-centered bad boy his manager and publicist created. Lonely as it is, he’s long since accepted the image he portrays to the world. Until the gorgeous lawyer pegs the man behind the façade in minutes flat. After the hottest one night stand in history, he tracks her down in hopes of a repeat performance. And the encore has him craving far more than being tied up in her strings.

Blake will have to step into the role of a lifetime—himself—in order to convince Gwen that taking a chance on him won’t mean giving up on number three.

Excerpt

   "This can't be happening." After finding out my luggage hadn't made the original flight with me, all the fight had been sucked from my soul. Sure, somewhere deep down I wanted to shout and maybe even curse a little, but I'd been standing at the front desk of the swanky hotel for twenty minutes. I'd spoken with three concierges and a manager. They'd all anted up the same bad no-vacancy news. Things had hit bottom.
   "There's not even a room that needs cleaning before it can be occupied? I'll wait."
   "Ma'am, I offer my sincerest apologies." The pristinely coiffed manager didn't look sorry. Her face, eyes, and mouth were pinched so tight she'd need an immediate face-lift if she relaxed them in the slightest. "About two miles south, there's a Motel—"
   "Are you kidding me?" That yanked some of the shouting from the recesses and launched it over my tongue. "If I wanted to stay at a cheap—"
   "Is everything okay, Gwen?" A man asked from beside me.
   The platinum-bleached concierge jerked up straight and thrust her chest forward, blue eyes gone from bored to bedroom in a blink. Miss Tight-Face lost the managerial air and put on the biggest fake smile that side of the California border.
   "Are you kidding me?" I snapped, for the second time.
   Blondie almost choked on her own spit, glaring at me as if my tongue had reached out and slapped one of Blake Donovan's sexy slanted cheekbones. Not for long, though; she quickly forgot anyone else existed on the earth and joined the manager in her suddenly beaming façade, staring hungrily at the movie star in their midst.
   "Mr. Donovan, what a pleasure. Your room is ready and your bags have been taken up. What else can we do for you?"
   Well, at least I knew he hadn't stalked me in hopes of sticking it out until I finally caved and fell to his feet, begging for him to sign the silk blouse he'd destroyed.
   A thin oily-haired man lurking in the background heralded the manager's attention to a phone call, but she waved him off.
   "I believe you were still helping the lady?" Blake placed a hand on my shoulder, a little too familiarly for someone with whom I'd barely spoken three sentences, in less than exciting circumstances.
   "I'm so sorry," she said. "I had no idea she was with you, Mr. Donovan." 
   "I'm not."
   "Oh." The manager looked back to me, down her thin straight nose. "Then we'd be happy to have our shuttle drop you at any hotel you'd like."
   She hadn't offered that before the Great Blake Donovan had shown up, and I'd bet she'd never intended to at all.

About the Author
TL Watson is a South Floridian transplanted to North Carolina, a wife, a lucky mom of twins, and a lover of Happily Ever After. She writes romances that range from sticky sweet to spicy, and beyond. She can usually be found scribbling hieroglyphics on the wall of her Word cave, and doesn't like chocolate, so in case of emergency lure her out with pumpkin lattes.

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Next up is the brand new anthology from Dancing Lemur Press, Tick Tock: A Stitch in Time.

The clock is ticking...

Can a dead child’s cross-stitch pendant find a missing nun? Is revenge possible in just 48 minutes? Can a killer be stopped before the rescuers are engulfed by a city ablaze? Who killed what the tide brought in? Can a soliloquizing gumshoe stay out of jail?

Exploring the facets of time, eleven authors delve into mysteries and crimes that linger in both dark corners and plain sight. Featuring the talents of Gwen Gardner, Rebecca M. Douglass, Tara Tyler, S. R. Betler, C.D. Gallant-King, Jemi Fraser, J. R. Ferguson, Yolanda Renée, C. Lee McKenzie, Christine Clemetson, and Mary Aalgaard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these eleven tales will take you on a thrilling ride into jeopardy and secrecy. Trail along, find the clues, and stay out of danger. Can't wait! Anticipation is a killer!

Links:
Tick Tock Blog: https://ticktockmysteries.blogspot.co.uk/
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Tick-Tock-Stitch-Gwen-Gardner/dp/1939844541/
B&N - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tick-tock-gwen-gardner/1127886068?ean=9781939844545
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38227821-tick-tock

I have my copy. Get yours today!

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For the first time, Jalapeno Cupcake Wench will be on sale for 99 cents from May 21-27. If you don't have a copy and want to read about Gracie Hofner's adventures, now's your chance!

Book Two of The Amazing Gracie Trilogy will be coming soon. You'll get to see the cover next month.

If you'd like to participate in the cover reveal - anytime between June 4-30 - please let me know in the comments, email me at tikihuttime AT gmail.com (formatted in the normal way, of course), or message me on Twitter or Facebook.

♥ I'll be back here with Gracie's new cover on Monday, June 4 ♥