Book Deals & New Releases

Fiction – Latch Key Kids

Fiction – Latch Key Kids

 

Fiction, Coming of Age, Dark Humor 

 

Date Published: September 2020 

Publisher: Paragraph Line Books 

 

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Latch Key Kids, the long-awaited follow-up to Small Town Punk, chronicles the enduring impact one life can have on another.  

Resilience and the power of sibling friendship combine into a surprising, ingeniously layered comic novel about a boy inventing himself.  

In Latch Key Kids, Sheppard strips the flesh from the bone. He makes you laugh by combining searing wit with keen social observation. 

Also by John L. Sheppard

Small Town Punk 

Publisher: g Publishing 

Trapped in dreary Sarasota, Florida in the early 1980s—during Reagan’s “Morning in America,”—going to high school with junior fascists by day, working at Pizza Hut by night, his family a dysfunctional nightmare, 17-year old Buzz Pepper feels that nothing matters in life beyond drinking, drugs and punk rock. 

As the country around him is becoming more conservative and corporate, and adulthood seems like the ultimate corrupt existence, Buzz can only find solace within a close-knit group of fellow disillusioned teens, which includes his devoted younger sister, Sissy. As they drive around in Buzz’s beat-up van, encountering redneck cops, mocking the local “geezers,” and wondering if there is any meaning in what seems to be a meaningless world, Small Town Punk perfectly captures how it is to be young, yet feel that you have no future. 

In the tradition of Hairstyles of the Dammed and Perks of Being A Wallflower, Small Town Punk is a brutally funny and poignant coming of age story that brilliantly evokes the surging joy, confusion and rage of youth. 

Amazon

 Read an Excerpt 

Years later, Sissy would say, “You remember. Of course you remember. How could you forget?” 

No,” I’d insist. “I don’t remember that at all.” 

The summer we moved to Sarasota, one of the local news anchors shot herself live on television with a gray, little pistol. Bang, went the report, sounding like someone clapping together a pair of wood blocks. That’s the way Sissy told the story. I don’t remember any of it. 

Sissy and I were up early, she told me, eating Cocoa Puffs out of the box, dry. We paused and looked at each other, stopping mid-crunch. Sissy swallowed her mouthful of cereal and asked, “Did that just happen?” 

Did what just happen?” I asked. 

That cereal. I remember that. My teeth were sugary rough. I sucked at my molars. But the dead woman. Was there a dead woman? And why did Sissy insist on watching this woman every morning on some public affairs show called Suncoast Digest? 

Wait. I remember that part. It was because the anchor was clearly weird, for one thing. Like you knew that one day she’d do something odd on the air and if we missed it, Sissy would never forgive me. 

For another, the anchor had a recognizable accent. She was from our part of Ohio. It was like hearing the voice of home listening to Christine. Christine! That was the anchor’s name. 

The picture on the color set wiggled. It made everything orange, or maybe that was the 1970’s. Maybe the 1970’s were particularly lurid. There was this dead woman slumped over in a field of wiggling orange. There was another person screaming. A man wearing a headset ran up. He waved at the camera and then some color bars glowed. They were primary colors. Soon enough, an episode of Gentle Ben came on to replace Suncoast Digest. A boy and his pet bear. Sissy turned the dial, clunking through the channels that we could get from the antenna on the roof. She found nothing satisfying and turned off the set. 

You have so much to learn about life, little brother,” Sissy said. 

I’m your big brother,” I said. 

Sure you are.” 

But I am. I’m almost two years older.” 

Do we have any orange juice?” Sissy smiled, showing off her dimpled cheeks. Adults liked to pinch them. “Do you think she’s really dead?” 

Who?” 

My God, you’re dumb. How’d you get so dumb?” 

I don’t know. I think I got it from Dad.” 

That makes sense.” She stood up, so I stood up, too. She handed me the box of Cocoa Puffs. I rolled up the waxpaper bag inside and clicked the boxtop shut. “That weird anchor lady. You think she really shot herself?” 

I don’t know. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

She made a little fist and rapped gently on the side of my head. “Knock-knock. Anybody home?” 

Stop making fun of me.” 

You make it so easy, little brother.” She went into the kitchen and I followed her. 

About the Author 


John L Sheppard wrote Small Town Punk. He lives in Illinois.
 

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Historical Romance / 20th Century Historical Literature  – A War Apart

Historical Romance / 20th Century Historical Literature  – A War Apart

 

Historical Romance / 20th Century Historical Literature  

 

Date Published: November 11, 2020  

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press 

 

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Anger at her cheating husband spurs grieving war widow Rosemary Hopkins to spend an impromptu night with an overseas-bound soldier. Fearing her small hometown would discover her secret, she makes him promise to not write her. Yet, she can’t forget him.  

Eager to talk to a pretty girl before shipping out to fight the Germans, Guy Nolan impulsively implies they’re married and buys her ticket. The encounter transforms into the most memorable night of his life when he falls for a woman he will never see again.  

While Guy tries to stay alive in combat, Rosemary finds work in a secret defense plant and a possible future with another soldier. Will she choose security or passion? Can she survive another loss?   

Read an Excerpt 

I need a ticket to Kerrville, Tennessee.” Her fingers squeezed the strap of her purse. “I need to get there as soon as possible.”  

He clerk grunted but held his tongue as he pulled out a book of timetables and flipped through its pages.  

Fastest would be to route you through Chicago. Then south.”  

How long will it take?” she asked hopefully, maybe she’d misunderstood his conversation with the man in front of her.  

He looked up and eyed her over his glasses. “It’s just about forty hours to Chicago on the Zephyr. Another day or so going south.”  

That’s good. I told my mother I’d be there in three or four days.”  

Ma’am, that’s travel time. Heading east cross country, the earliest civilian tickets we have available are for next Thursday, if they haven’t already sold out.” 

‘What?” she gasped. “But you don’t understand. I have to get there.” She gripped the counter with her free hand, holding on for dear life. “I can’t stay here. I…I…” The words wouldn’t come. She couldn’t say it, yet she had to make him understand. “My husband…”  

A man pushed his way to her side, a man in a uniform. “I have orders to report to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. And she’s going home to stay with her sick mother, isn’t that right, dear?”  

Rosemary looked up into soft green eyes peering from beneath bushy brows. He nodded ever so slightly and for some odd reason she instinctively trusted him.   

About the Author


Barbara Whitaker writes historical romances with a focus on the World War II era. Originally from a small town in Tennessee, she currently calls Florida home. You can visit Barbara’s website at http://www.barbarawhitaker.com/
 

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Mystery, Thriller  – The Adults in the Room

Mystery, Thriller  – The Adults in the Room

 

Tim Hall and Mary Ann Wilson, Book 1 

 

Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: The Good as Gone Group

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The Adults in the Room is the first book in the high octane Tim Hall Mystery series. If you like stunning revelations, deep state conspiracies, and a touch of romance, then you’ll love Jeffrey Mechling’s mind-bending thriller!

A CIA officer is still suffering partial amnesia from the car crash that stole his wife from him.

Now the memories he has forgotten, might be the only things that can keep him alive. Can he fill in the blanks of his fractured memory?

Relieved by the familiar face of his biker girlfriend, he’s shocked to learn her true identity and the devastating secrets about his accident. And soon he’s swept up in a deadly that could decimate American politics. 

The Adults in the Room is a standalone book.

 

Other books in the Tim Hall and Mary Ann Wilson Mystery Series: 

 

The Safe House

Tim Hall and Mary Ann Wilson, Book 2

Publisher: The Good as Gone Group

A spy under pressure. A secret below the sea. Can he blow the lid off a treacherous conspiracy?

CIA Case Officer Tim Hall will go to any lengths to protect his safe house. And with his FBI agent girlfriend now under the same roof, he’s confident everything is locked down. So when a Soviet-era submarine lurks off the Florida coast, he’s sure they’ll send someone else to assess the threat.

Headstrong Bureau operative Mary Ann Wilson isn’t about to take orders from her lover. When she pulls the assignment to investigate the mysterious submersible, she accepts without hesitation. But an unfortunate misstep sends her in over her head and snares Agent Hall in her wake…

As duty tears the lovers apart, they sink deeper into a dangerous web of lies, secrets, and betrayals. And when they find themselves trapped aboard the underwater menace, it may doom both their love and their missions.

Can they force justice to the surface before they’re both sent to a watery grave?

Amazon

 

The Decoys

Tim Hall and Mary Ann Wilson, Book 3

Publisher: The Good as Gone Group

After an attempt is made on Tim and Mary Ann lives, they travel to San Francisco seeking answers from Ex-CIA Agent Bernard Haskell. However they soon discover that there are many more questions than answers. Now married, CIA Agent Tim Hall continues to butt heads with his wife, FBI Special Agent Mary Ann Wilson-Hall. Although their investigative methods may differ, the couple still enjoys a meeting of the minds in the bedroom but will that be enough to keep these two together?

This is the third novel in the Tim and Mary Ann Hall mystery series and Jeffrey Mechling does not disappoint. In San Francisco Tim and Mary Ann face the homeless issue, the real estate industry, and local political corruption. There are also murders that appear unconnected but are they? Are Tim and Mary Ann investigating rampant corruptions or are they simply being used as decoy?

Amazon 

About the Author 

Jeffrey Mechling was born in Alexandria Virginia to a family full of secrets. His maternal grandfather was thought to be an original member of the OSS [The Office of Strategic Services].

Other members of the Mechling and Emerson families, as well as family friends, lived within the shadowy world of espionage and would only revealed that they “worked for the government”.

Mr. Mechling himself has worked as a Financial Economist and Operations Research Analyst with a not too secret government agency. 

Jeff has written three novels – The Adults in the Room, The Safe House and The Decoys. All three feature super spy couple Tim Hall and Mary Ann Wilson.

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Fantasy, Alternative History – Bollywood Invasion

Fantasy, Alternative History – Bollywood Invasion

 

Fantasy, Alternative History 

 

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Brooklyn boy reincarnates as John Lennon in 1958.

Can he escape Lennon’s tragic fate?

Modern-day Brooklyn boy John Palmieri is hit by a bus, what a coincidence, and he wakes up as the prince of a royal family in India, 1958! In this distant past, where the Beatles does not exist, he finds love and sex, and eventually conquers the world with the Beatles’ songs in his memory. One day in 1980, he runs into a man named Mark Chapman and realizes that fate is pulling him towards something he knows is coming…but cannot easily escape.

 

 Excerpt 

 

Intro 

Imagine you’re sixteen, and living in Brooklyn, being bullied by every kid who’s bigger than you. Then, BAM! You wake up as a young prince in 1958 India. Suddenly, you find yourself with riches and power beyond your wildest fantasies. This is how your journey starts in Bollywood Invasion, which uniquely blends Indian cultural experience, time-travel and the legendary songs from the Beatles.

Brooklyn is readily forgotten. Life becomes a constant stream of debauchery, coming to a stand-still only when you meet “the one.” However, love doesn’t come easy. You must become a better man and you decide to sing your way into her heart with the songs based on your memory of vintage Beatles music. One night, you come to the lawn outside her dormitory building to ask her out, for the last time…

Hey Raj 

Ankita! Ankita!” 

At eleven in the night, Ankita woke up to a familiar voice calling her name outside her dorm. “Not again!” she groaned as she crawled from under the covers.

Why don’t you write a song for me too? I am not that bad!” 

Ankita could hear the banter outside. She walked to the door but could not open it. Priyanka must be in the building, she thought.

Ankita!” 

Raj stood on the lawn exactly where he had the last time he was there.

I wrote another song, especially for you!” 

Ankita opened the door and saw Raj standing next to Arun with his acoustic guitar. “Raj, please leave,” she begged.

Not until you’ve heard this!” Arun started playing a tune on his guitar and the entire dorm fell quiet. 

Hey Raj, don’t make it bad …” https://youtu.be/vxv_6YDOqvs

He never took his eyes off her the entire time that he sang Hey You, his parody of Hey Jude. Had she always been this beautiful?

Hey Raj, don’t be afraid …” 

Who the hell is singing at this ungodly hour!” the matron shouted from somewhere. Raj continued to sing, not flinching at all. Arun, on the other hand, was not feeling as confident as Raj.

Raj, we should go!” 

I am going to break every single one of your bones, you rascal!”

Raj, run! She will catch you!” yelled Ankita.

Raj smiled. She cared about him.

He continued to sing.

 “It’s you again!” The matron was on the lawn now, brandishing a large broom in her hand ominously. 

Raj, we should go!” 

Keep playing! Na nanananana!” 

He started running, the matron after him.

I am done here,” said Arun and ran away into the darkness.

Na nanananana!” Raj continued to sing while running around in circles in the lawn, the matron closing in. Some of the girls watching the moment unfold started singing with him. “Na nanananana!” 

Raj, what are you doing?” yelled Ankita. “Go back!”

Na nanananana!” The entire dorm building sang.

I…love…you…Ankita!” he shouted as he ran, his breath running out. “Give…me…a…chance!”

I am going to break your legs, YOU RASCAL!” The matron flung the broom at Raj. 

Na nanananana!” 

For god’s sake, run! I will go out with you! Just once! Go now!”

The entire dorm building erupted.

I love you, Ankita!” said Raj as he broke into a run. “Na nanananana!” he continued to sing as he disappeared into the darkness. 


About the Author


Ricardo Alexanders is the author of Bollywood Invasion and The Last Resistance: Dragon Tomb. He lives in Massachusetts, enjoys music, and loves to write time-travel stories that blend fantasy, science, and real history.

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Contemporary Romance – Hollywood Enigma

Contemporary Romance – Hollywood Enigma

 

Hollywood Name Game, Book 5

 

Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 29, 2020

 

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From internationally bestselling romance author Alexa Aston – the final book in the exciting Hollywood Name Game – a stunning new contemporary romance series. Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

 

She’s a legal shark—sleek and deadly—but doesn’t trust anyone beyond her small circle of family and friends.

He’s internationally famous—and yet a mystery to the world as he cloaks himself in privacy.

Can they shed their fears and open their hearts to one another?

Actor Wynn Gallagher is at the peak of his fame, playing superhero Carbon Man in the Alpha Tharra Universe film franchise. While the role has made him wealthy, he’s ready to move on to newer challenges—but his ironclad contract will keep him tied to the role for years to come. Seeking legal advice, he approaches Scarlett Corrigan, one of the top entertainment attorneys in Los Angeles.

Scarlett is the younger sister of Hollywood’s highest paid actor, Rhett Corrigan, but she’s made a name for herself in entertainment law. She thrives on challenges and readily accepts Wynn as a client, but she puts the brakes on the strong attraction between them, not wanting to mix business with pleasure.

Eventually, Wynn and Scarlett become involved but tragedy strikes not once, but twice, threatening to end their relationship before it has a chance to grow and flourish.

Can Wynn and Scarlett overcome overwhelming odds and find lasting love?

 

Hollywood Enigma is the fifth and final book in the Hollywood Name Game series. Each book in the series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.

 

Other Books in the Hollywood Name Game Romance Series:

 

 

Hollywood Heartbreaker

Hollywood Name Game, Book 1

Release Date: August 6, 2020

 

From internationally bestselling romance author Alexa Aston comes a stunning new Contemporary Romance series. Book One in the exciting Hollywood Name Game series has arrived. Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

 

Being late to an interview lands her the biggest job opportunity of her life.

He may be rich and successful—but he’s just this side of miserable.

Can a wannabe be The One for the biggest star in Hollywood?

Cassie Carroll came to Hollywood with big dreams that never materialized. Acting isn’t even on the back burner anymore—it’s completely off the stove. Working for a third-rate agent, Cassie hopes to land a new job that will give her credibility, as well as help pay the rent. Late to her interview, she swerves to avoid hitting a dog—and totals the car of Hollywood’s leading action superstar. Surprisingly, she walks away from their encounter with a job—as the sexiest man alive’s personal assistant.

Rhett Corrigan is bored with the movies he makes and the drop-dead gorgeous model he’s dating. He’s afraid that Hollywood has typecast him—and that he’ll never be able to break out of his action mold and try new acting challenges. When Cassie Carroll literally slams into his life, she brings a breath of fresh air and common sense to his world. She pushes him to be a better actor and a better man.

Can these friends become lovers—and can their love survive—in a tabloid-happy town that thrives on rumors and backstabbing?

Amazon

 

 

Hollywood Flirt

Hollywood Name Game. Book 2

Release Date: August 27, 2020

 

From internationally bestselling romance author Alexa Aston – Book Two in the exciting Hollywood Name Game – a stunning new contemporary romance series. Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited! 

She’s Hollywood royalty whose trail vanished a dozen years ago.

He doesn’t do relationships and thinks commitment is a four-letter word.

They Google each other . . . and sparks fly . . .

Sydney Revere, the daughter of a famous movie couple, left Hollywood behind over a decade ago. Christened The Wild Child by the media, she reinvents herself as a serious student who becomes an attorney and marries a safe, predictable man. When her husband cheats on her and the law loses its glitter, Sydney returns to Hollywood. Her father hires her to storyboard his upcoming movie, No Regrets—and then stuns Sydney when he offers her the job as his assistant director.

Dash DeLauria is a rising actor who hasn’t trusted a woman since his mother left. He’s now the guardian of his mentally-challenged brother. Dash is looking to grow professionally and after he wins the lead in No Regrets, he finds he’s lost his heart and soul to Sydney. With both their careers on the upswing, life is sweet.

But Sydney’s ex-husband isn’t finished with her yet. Discovering who she really is—and that she’s wealthy—he tracks her to California, ready to start over with her again.

No matter what it takes . . .

 

Amazon

 

 

 

Hollywood Player

Hollywood Name Game, Book3

Release Date: September 17, 2020

 

She has zero friends . . . and is wary of men, living life as a recluse.

His only friend is 90 and when she dies, he’s adrift.

Can a dyslexic actor and a shy loner find happiness together?

Famous from the time she was fourteen, London Russell lands the cover of Sports Illustrated to cap off her modeling career. Leaving the fashion world behind, she follows her dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. Thanks to an ex-boyfriend’s vicious attack on her, London becomes a recluse who turns out hits but never tours—and can’t trust a man. Her life changes course when she encounters a Hollywood screenwriter and director and agrees to write the theme song for their next movie.

Knox Monroe grew up as America’s darling, a child actor featured on several popular television series. After his mother’s betrayal, Knox drops out of sight, returning years later to make the successful transition to adult roles. A known womanizer and loner, Knox meets London by chance. Through her connections, he winds up with the lead role in a new movie.

Will London be able to open her heart and move past Knox’s player reputation? And will Knox knock down the emotional fortress that he’s built around his heart?

In Hollywood, anything’s possible. . .

 

Amazon


 

Hollywood Double
Hollywood Name Game, Book 4
Release Date: October 8, 2020

From internationally bestselling romance author Alexa Aston – Book Four in the exciting Hollywood Name Game – a stunning new contemporary romance series – has arrived. Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

She’s a Hollywood leading lady who’s never found love – except with Jax, her Basenji.

He’s divorced from a cheating wife and refuses to ever give his heart away again.

Together, their smoking-hot chemistry leads to movie magic . . . and murder . . .

Mac Randall’s life turns upside down when he walks in on his wife and her lover. He finishes his tour of duty overseas and leaves the army, becoming a popular stuntman in Hollywood. When the actor Mac doubles for is murdered, Mac is surprised to find himself cast as the film’s leading man—at the suggestion of the actress who will play opposite him.

Keely Kennedy has built a solid career in Hollywood, rising from supporting roles to leading lady, but she’s been unlucky in love. She becomes close friends with Mac Randall, her new co-star, while she helps him prepare for his first on-screen role. Friendship blossoms into love during their shoot and despite several mishaps on the set, she knows not only has she done the best work in her career on this film, but she believes Mac will become an instant star.

Before production is complete, though, the murderer surfaces—ready to kill the film—and its two stars.

Hollywood Double is the fourth book in the Hollywood Name Game series. Each book in the series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.

Amazon

 

 

 

 Excerpt

 

Wynn had never experienced such a physical rush as he did sitting next to Scarlett. The tall beauty fascinated him. Over the years, he’d quietly seen a few women but as his success mounted, he’d almost lost interest in the opposite sex. Or rather, they’d lost interest in him. No one wanted to know Wynn as a person. Every woman seemed more interested in being seen with Wynn Gallagher, the superstar, and what that could do for them. He found himself shrinking inside until he’d almost disappeared.

Scarlett was different. A highly paid professional in a competitive field. Comfortable in her own skin. She came from a world where she mingled with the rich and famous on a regular basis. She didn’t seem impressed sitting next to Carbon Man. She treated him as Wynn, a guy—not Wynn, the megastar.

That was a huge turn-on.

He noticed people seated at tables around them began rising. Scarlett scooped up her casino money and he said, “You must’ve done Sarah a good favor to get double the money to play with.”

Those mesmerizing gray eyes looked at him with amusement. “I helped her work out a problem that arose at the last minute.”

With a straight face, he said, “It involved a demanding donor who wanted a front row seat to tonight’s action, I’d guess.”

The corners of her sensual mouth turned up. “I believe it did. Fortunately, this donor came alone. No plus-one. Since I ended a relationship this morning, it was easy to insert this fussy donor into my plus-one’s seat.” Her smile widened. “Problem solved.”

“Was this a longtime plus-one?” he asked.

She shrugged. “A couple of months. I had the feeling Chaz was more interested in the people he would see tonight and chat up than he was spending time with me.”

“Then Chaz is a fool,” Wynn said. “I’ve known you less than two hours and see you’re smart, capable, interesting, and incredibly beautiful. If I were your plus-one, it would be hard to get rid of me. I’d be stuck to you like glue.”

Her eyes lit with interest. “You would?”

“Definitely.”

 

About the Author

 

Award-winning and internationally bestselling author Alexa Aston lives with her husband in a Dallas suburb, where she eats her fair share of dark chocolate and plots out stories while she walks every morning. She’s a binge fiend (The Crown and Ozark are favorites) who enjoys travel, sports, and time with her family. 

Her historical romances bring to life loveable rogues and dashing knights, while her contemporary romances are light and flirty and sometimes contain a bit of suspense.

 

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Science Fiction – REMEMBER: A Prelude Novella to The Existence Series  

Science Fiction – REMEMBER: A Prelude Novella to The Existence Series  

A Prelude Novella to The Existence Series  

Science Fiction  

Date Published: October 2020  

Publisher: Patella Publishing 

 

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One invention and two men hoping to change the way humans connect—through memory exchanges—but days before it’s released, one man realizes it may do more harm than good.  

Foster Grady pleads with doctors to give his dying wife a moment of reprieve. He wants her to experience his creation: the ability to relive their life together through his memories. But when doctors refuse, terminal patient, Ashyr Harmon, convinces Foster to give him the chance instead.  

The exchange becomes Ashyr’s lifeline and the two form a friendship and business deal which ignites dangerous consequences.  

BEYOND THE END, BOOK 1 of THE EXISTENCE SERIES – Coming Nov 2020 

Other Books In The Existence Series: 

 

 Beyond the End  

The Existence Series, Book One  

Publisher : Patella Publishing  

Release Date: November 20, 2020 

Nothing else exists—at least that’s what she’s been told.  

Strong-willed teenager Leilani Grady is suffocating on her family’s island. She wants off, but her parents say the rest of Earth is destroyed.  

When a stranger shows up, Leilani realizes her parents have fed her a life of lies.  

Ashyr Harmon shares a complicated history with her parents—and now he wants Leilani’s help with saving his society. It’s her chance to escape the only place she knows. But Leilani must decide who she trusts: her flesh and blood or this man who promises to fulfill her dream. 

  Amazon

Excerpt 

Both men pressed shoulder-to-shoulder to look down at the resume, neither commenting on the fact Mariana had emailed it to at least one of them earlier in the week.  

Regardless, while they looked, she looked too. Past the pizza boxes, down a long table against the east wall. She slid a foot back toward the table and, with a lean of her head, read physiology handwritten across a banker box. Then a slide of the foot to the right to see the scribble in permanent marker mind vs the brain across a journal cover, and then to a loose sheet of paper with a sketch of a glove with the word pressable next to circles which lined the palm.  

Her feet had shifted ninety degrees when she heard Ashyr say, “We want to hire you.”  

She looked behind her back, a grin spilling over her face. “Just like that?”  

He shrugged. “I almost died before I discovered this…this…”  

Em-Path” Folsom added, standing directly next to Ashyr as if the two spoke as one.  

It saved my life. And showed me what to live—”  

And we don’t have time to waste,” Folsom inserted.  

Ashyr twisted to face Folsom, nodding his head, as if Folsom had said the key words. “Yeah. It’s about timing. And you seem like an excellent fit.”  

Mariana turned her focus back to scanning the details of the room. On the north wall, a table presented itself as a technology graveyard with broken tablets, game consoles, power cables, remote control boxes, and all sorts of other things she didn’t recognize. She felt awkward, her back toward these men who had just offered her a job. But an urgent curiosity kept drawing her forward, her feet moving toward a dark room, only partially visible, tucked in the far corner between the back table and the west wall, which was lined with a lab sink, a long counter, and a fridge. The room’s door was ajar. Taped to the center of the door, she read the handwritten note.  

Please Do Not Disturb—Memory Exchange in Progress.  

She drew her head back and turned around to face her interviewers. Her breath caught in her throat, the question ready now. “What’s the pay?” As long as it was higher than minimum wage, she would have to take the job.  

Ashyr stood taller. “What do you want it to be?”  

Folsom released a sharp cough. “Within reason.” He gave her an apologetic grin. “We don’t have much to offer yet, but with your help finding the support we need, we will soon.”  

Ashyr stepped closer toward her. His clear blue eyes pulling her in again. “We are committed to making this work. We’re investing everything we have into this. In other words, we’re super, absolutely, insanely committed to this. And we want to make this a win for you too.”  

Mariana nodded slowly, unsure of what exactly she was agreeing to.  

Help secure us a sponsor in—what—?” He twisted looks from Folsom to Mariana, “Two? Three months? In three months. You secure us a sponsor in three months and…” his voice turned soft, dipping into a whisper, “we’ll make you a partner with us.” Then he flung back to face Folsom. “Right? She helps get us a sponsor and she has partial ownership, with you, me, and Brody. It’ll be the four of us.” He looked again, back and forth between the two of them. “A percentage.” He started waving his hands around as if a number wasn’t within his mental reach. “We draft up all that legal stuff. We’ll figure it out. Together, we all make this dream come alive.” He whirled back to face her with a grin. With a lopsided tilt of the head, he said, “It’ll be worth it for all of us.”  

Folsom stepped forward, the three of them forming a triangle.  

Ashyr straightened. His clear blue eyes met hers. From him to Folsom’s rich blue eyes, Mariana looked at both of them, a nod growing inside her, just as Ashyr said, “So, you in?”  


About the Author 

TARA C. ALLRED is an award-winning author, instructional designer, and educator. She has been recognized as a California Scholar of the Arts for Creative Writing and is a recipient of the Howey Awards for Best Adult Book and Best Adult Author. She lives in Utah with her husband.  

Her published works include REMEMBER (The Existence Series), SANDERS’ STARFISH and UNAUTHORED LETTERS (John Sanders Series), HELPING HELPER and THE OTHER SIDE OF QUIET, a 2015 Kindle Book Award Finalist and Whitney Award Winner.  

Through online coaching, she helps other writers unleash their creative stories.  

To learn more about the author, visit www.taracallred.net.  

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Romance – Holiday Home Run

Romance – Holiday Home Run

 

Romance, Holiday Romance 

 

Date Published: October 27, 2020 

Publisher: Kensington, Zebra Books 

 

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Event planner Julia Fernández is in Chicago for an internship that she
hopes to turn into a full-time job. She’s ready to live on her own, out from
under her familia’s expectations that she take over their catering business
in Puerto Rico and away from their year-round baseball fever thanks to her
three ball-playing brothers. Ex-MLB pitcher Ben Thomas knows what it’s like
to have different dreams than your family intends for you, but since his
injury-caused early retirement, he’s been struggling to find the sense of
family baseball once brought him. When he volunteers as the emcee for
Julia’s big holiday fundraiser for a local youth center, he finally begins
to find a sense of purpose working with the kids and alongside Julia. 
 

She’s focused on organizing the best holiday event the youth center has
ever seen, not on romance. But Ben…he’s got a game plan for them that
includes both. 

 

Holiday Home Run was previously released as part of the holiday anthology A
SEASON TO CELEBRATE.

 

  

 

About the Author

Priscilla Oliveras is a USA Today Best-Selling author & 2018 RWA® RITA®
double finalist who writes contemporary romance with a Latinx flavor. Her
books have earned Starred Reviews from Publishers Weekly & Booklist, hit
the top 5 on Barnes & Noble’s Top 100 Book Bestseller list, &
notched Amazon #1 Bestseller status. Her latest release, Island Affair, made
it onto O, The Oprah Magazine’s “28 of the Best Beach Reads of Summer 2020”
list. Priscilla earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill
University and currently serves as adjunct faculty in the program while also
teaching the online class “Romance Writing” for ed2go. She’s a
self-professed romance genre junkie, who’s also a sports fan, beach lover,
Zumba aficionado, and hammock nap connoisseur. Follow her at
prisoliveras.com and on social media via @prisoliveras and
https://www.facebook.com/prisoliveras.

  

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