Showing posts with label Blog Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Tour. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Tour: The Siren Wakes by J.A. Hayman

 Title: The Siren Wakes
Series: The Sleeper Series #1
By: J.A. Hayman
Publication Date: August 10, 2016
Publisher: Clean Reads
Genre: SciFi/Thriller
Alex wakes in a field with no recollection of how he got there. He is accused of lying about his identity by the police and told his memories are false. He is forced on the run by the corrupt government or face almost certain death. Alex is led on a journey of self discovery, searching for the truth behind the sickness which plagues the country and searching for the truth behind his identity.
Who can you trust.. when you can’t trust yourself?
In the corner of my eye I spotted something behind Terry. There was a man. A man walking by. He looked just like me. It was like looking in a mirror, and my mind struggled to comprehend how this could be possible. He glanced at me before scurrying off into the stairwell. I stood up in a daze and walked to the corridor. Terry protested, but I just ignored him. I reached the empty stairwell perplexed. Feeling inexplicably drawn to the man, I ran out into the stairwell. I felt like I had to find out why he looked just like me; was this some sort of bizarre prank? The man was gone. I looked down the middle of the staircase, but he wasn’t there. I sprinted up the stairs toward the roof, leaving Terry floundering in the stairwell entrance, unsure what to do. My footsteps thudded as I paced upward, anticipating what could be happening, but when I threw open the roof door, I found the roof to be empty. There was no way the man could have gone anywhere else, but he simply wasn’t there. Terry caught up to me. “You...okay there, man?” he said, panting. He wasn’t the most interesting man I knew; however, he was kind, which meant he was decent friend material, not to say I wouldn’t ditch him if someone else swooped into my desolate life. I was confused. I was sure I had seen someone a moment ago, but no one was out on the roof. I gave a nervous laugh, scratching at my palm. “I thought I saw something.” Giving him a meek look, I returned to the stairwell. Maybe I was just tired and seeing things. Could have I fallen asleep for a moment and dreamed it? It’s hard to determine a dream from reality; in a dream everything seems to make sense, only upon waking do you realize the absurdity of it all.
Native to the UK, I was born in the Garden of England in the early 90s. I was creative from a young age, always wrapped up in my own world and fantasies. I was a big reader from a young age, reading Les Miserables and Lord of the Rings while I was still in primary school. I was fortunate enough to be able to travel a lot in my youth, from Hong Kong to Houston I experienced the world and gained a greater perspective of the world outside my small woodland village I grew up in. In secondary school I was told I was too cynical to be a writer and was put off writing for many years. Instead I pursued a degree in Physical Geography, gaining my Masters degree in late 2015. University gave me time to really discover myself as a person. Allowing me to pursue my passions and dreams to their fullest. I want to share my stories and ideas with the world. As a child I hungrily devoured fiction and now I will help feed the minds of others.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Blog Tour: Politically Incorrect by Jeanne McDonald



 Title: Politically Incorrect
By: Jeanne McDonald
Publication Date: August 16, 2016
Cover Designer: Jada D'Lee Designs
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sex. Lies. Greed. Power. Scandal. Politics. Political strategist, Elizabeth McNeal has been called a lot of things throughout her career—bitch being at the top of the list—but she doesn’t let it get to her. She’s bold, she’s blunt, and she takes orders from no one. This is how she’s survived working in a man’s world. She’s the master of diversion, and her specialty is winning an election—no matter the cost. That is, until she meets her new client, Democratic candidate, Congressman William Baxter. Kind, considerate, insanely handsome, honest, and ten years her junior, he’s a unicorn among politicians. He infuriates her. He challenges her. Most of all, he makes her see past the scandalous world of politics and helps her to discover the heart of the woman inside her. With sparks flying between them and the election rapidly approaching, the last thing either of them need is to be caught in a compromising position. Some lines are meant to be crossed and some rules broken, but for Elizabeth and Liam is it worth the cost of being politically incorrect?
Amazon UK - https://goo.gl/Owk0G8 Amazon CA - https://goo.gl/2aFuq4 Barnes & Noble - http://goo.gl/B8Dd4b iTunes - https://goo.gl/8lmPwe
Chapter One
Dark garnet liquid reverberated in the wineglass as I circled my finger around the rim. With every swirl, the motion of the wine increased. The effect was almost hypnotic.
“Elizabeth?”
The flicker of fingers snapping in my face drew me from my entranced state.
“Elizabeth, are you even listening to me?”
Truthfully, I’d tuned out the conversation a while back, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. There was only so much a girl could listen to when it came to what it took to make ugly people beautiful.
For the most part, this date had been a complete and total failure. At least he had good taste in restaurants, however, with the location being inside one of the most elegant hotels in Dallas, I was sure he had more than dinner on his mind. He could think again.
“Of course I am,” I schmoozed, gracing him with my most polished smile.
Dr. Jack Gamble had met all my criteria on his dating profile. First and foremost, I needed a professional man. Having been out of the dating game for far too many years, gainful employment was pretty much my main criteria. I didn’t have time to babysit a man who didn’t have a job and I certainly wasn’t going to become someone’s sugar mama. Work took up a lot of my time and I would never apologize for loving my job. If a man couldn’t understand that then he wasn’t the one for me.
My second criteria – he had to be good looking, and Jack fit the bill there. He was handsome with his ocean green eyes, wavy black hair, and perfect smile. While the black suit and red button-down shirt hid his body, it was easy to see he spent many hours at the gym ensuring he stayed fit.
And my third criteria, which was probably the most important of all, was he had to be a Democrat. There was no way in hell I’d be caught out on a date with a Republican. I’d never hear the end of it. I worked too long and too hard to make a name for myself as the political strategist of the Democratic Party. I might’ve enjoyed the occasional tryst with a Republican, but dating one, nope. Not gonna do it.
“Oh, really?” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. The luxurious white linen table cloth bunched beneath the Italian silk of his well-tailored jacket. His dark brow lifted and his lip curled into a half grin.
“Yeah, really.” I batted my eyelashes and widened my grin. Another tactic I’d learned while working with politicians. Lie all you want, but do it with a smile on your face.
Taking my wineglass by the bowl, I swirled the alcohol twice and took a sip, savoring the rustic flavor on my tongue. Up to this point there had been food sitting in front of me, which allowed me to keep busy. Now, the only place to direct my focus was on Jack and my wine.
This wasn’t the first date I’d been on since my daughter, Jordyn, persuaded me to get out there again, but this might very well be my last for a while. Men my age were full of themselves. They wanted a little thing, more like my daughter's age, that they could dangle on their arm as a trophy, not a successful woman who spent her life raising a child and making a career for herself.
Yep. It’s certain. Perpetual bachelorette life for me.
And why couldn’t I remain alone? What was wrong with it? I was happy. I had a full life. Just because I didn’t have a man didn’t mean I was incomplete. No. Dr. Jack Gamble had officially made me realize that finding Mr. Right wasn’t in the cards for me. Mr. Good for Right Now was all I needed. At least with him, I could toss him back when I was done. No harm, no foul.
Jack stroked the stem of his wineglass between his thumb and index finger. It took all the self-control I had not to roll my eyes at his unconscious sexual suggestion. He leaned back in his seat, continuing to tease the stem of the glass. As if to challenge me, he lifted an eyebrow and rolled his tongue along his bottom lip. “Okay. What did I just say then?”
Dammit! He had to ask that.
I had no clue what he’d said. For most of the date I’d been off in La-La land. He talked so much that I really didn’t need to worry about doing anything more than nod and ask the occasional appropriate question. This man was dull and entirely full of himself. He even had the audacity to mention his last girlfriend was only thirty. Who gives a fuck? I sure didn’t. It was right about then when I completely tuned him out.
I positioned myself so that my cleavage would draw in his attention. Just because the guy wasn’t getting any, didn’t mean I couldn’t use the gifts the good Lord gave me. I might be forty-five, but I still had a great rack. Pursing my lips, I peered over the rim of my wineglass as I took a sip. “You were talking about a patient,” I guessed.
He didn’t waver. His eyes flickered down to my breasts, but only for a moment. Those blue-green eyes remained locked on mine as a smirk curled the corners of his mouth. “Which one?”
I gulped down the last of my wine without so much as enjoying it. My gaze dropped to the black screen of my cell phone. If only it could give me the correct answer. “The one who had a facelift.” It was a viable answer, and I had a fifty/fifty chance of being right.
“Wrong,” he snapped. “I was talking about the penial extension I performed last week. You haven’t heard a word I’ve said all night, have you?”
Every inch of my skin crawled at him admitting to discussing such a terrible topic. In my line of work, it was customary for me to go to places no one else wanted to go. Dark, dirty, sweaty, smelly, seedy, or forbidden. I’d seen it all and did it all in the name of a win, but for him to discuss this, well, that was too much for even me.
My fingers drummed against the screen of my cell phone. The one night I wished it would ring, it was silent.
“Okay. You caught me.” I released a sigh. “I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Jack leaned forward and took my hand in his. “I can tell by the way you stare at that phone; you’re anticipating it to ring. Trust me. I know the feeling. My life is a constant on call fiasco.”
On call? Who was this guy kidding? He’s a plastic surgeon not a heart surgeon. Good grief!
His thumb rubbed along the outer shell of my index finger. “I turned mine off to be with you. So, how about you put it away for the night?” His thumb continued to rub along my fingers. “We can get a room and I can help you relax a little.”
I slipped my hand from his, resting it in my lap, creating distance. “It’s a sweet offer, Jack, but we’ve only just met.”
“But I feel as if I’ve known you all my life.”
Face meet palm. Of all the pick-up lines he could choose from, he went with that one?
I scratched the back of my neck looking for the waiter. It was time for me to make my exit and fast. “That’s sweet, but I think we need to get to know one another a little better first. Besides, I told you when I agreed to this date that I’m leaving town in the morning. I have to get back to DC for work.”
Jack ran his fingers through his perfectly coiffed hair. “I know what you said, which is why I want to spend the night with you,” he stated in a slight huff. “And quite honestly, you’re making me feel like a sleaze here. I only want to help you relax. You seem so tense.”
Nope. Just bored.
“Thanks, but really, I’m fine.”
“Okay. Fine. I understand and I’d never take advantage of a lady.”
I nodded, my eyes searching the room for the waiter.
Jack reached into the pocket of his jacket, retrieving his wallet. He pulled out a little black card and handed it to me. “How about you stop by my office tomorrow before you leave for some Botox.”
My smile dropped and my brow furrowed. “I beg your pardon?”
“Many of my patients tell me it’s very relaxing, and it’ll take about ten years off your face. It’s only an hour of your time and you’ll feel like a million bucks afterward.”
This asshole was serious!
My perfected persona dropped. It was a rare person who could cause me to break my polished demeanor, but somehow, Jack Gamble had managed it.
“Listen here, buddy, I don’t know who you think you are…”
Just as I was about to tell this prick what I really thought of his offer, my cell phone started playing the Star-Spangled Banner and flashing the name Guy Harper across the screen.
Saved by the bell, dickwad!
“Hold that thought.” I paused and took in a deep breath. “I need to take this.”
Without giving Jack a chance to respond, I grabbed the phone from the table, slid my finger across the screen, and answered, “McNeal.”
“My, my. So professional,” came Harper’s jovial tone.
“How can I help you?”
“Oh, right. I forgot. Tonight’s date night! I take it’s not going very well.” Harper’s chuckle only added to my bad mood. He was taking too much pleasure in my torture.
“You might say that.”
“Wow! This guy must really be a doozy.” Harper chuckled low.
I glanced up at my date. A look of frustration brightened his tanned skin. Served him right after insulting me like he did.
“You don’t know the half of it…”
“Well, then, ditch him, Bet, and get over here. We have business to discuss.”
Harper and I had known each other since high school. He was my ex-husband’s best man and Jordyn’s godfather. It was safe to say, he was pretty much family. I trusted Harper with just about everything, which was saying a lot. Trust was a high commodity in politics, and was never given freely. While I worked my way through college, Harper coasted through life on his family’s dime. He came from a long line of old money, but no one would suspect it if they’d seen him on the street. When I entered the realm of politics, he joined me by donating to campaigns for many of my most promising candidates. He always said his donations weren’t wagers on the candidates, but on me, because I was the safe bet. Hence, the nickname. Over the years, he’d developed a good eye for finding the right person for the job, so when he said we needed to talk business, I knew exactly what he meant.
I didn’t have to look up this time to know I was being stared down by the man across the table. Frankly, I didn’t care. Harper had given me the out I needed. “I’ll be there in forty minutes or so.”
“Perfect. See ya then.”
I ended the call and slipped my phone into my clutch.
“So that’s it? I try to help you by offering my services and you’re going to give me the brush off?” Jack sneered.
My eyes jolted up to meet his death stare. I stood up and leaned over the table, coming nose to nose with him. “My dear, Jack, your services are not necessary.”
“I beg to differ. Not only do you need some work on those crow’s feet, but I can help you get rid of those extra ten pounds you can’t seem to run off in the gym.” His mouth bowed and his thick brows lifted as if he’d actually one-upped me.
He didn’t.
I took in a deep, cleansing breath and plastered a smile on my face. “I’ll have you know I look damn good for my age. Now, if you’re interested in spending your time with a twenty-year-old blonde bimbo, go find one, but don’t you dare try to Dr. Frankenstein a woman to meet your stereotypical idea of perfection.”
“At least a twenty-year-old woman would know how to be engaging on a date. She’d listen to me.”
“Jack, if you’d had anything interesting to say, I might’ve listened to you.” I let out a half-hearted laugh. “But from what I did hear, I can tell you this. You and I are on the same side of the coin. We both tell people how to look, but the difference between us is I tell them how to act. So, the next time you try to tell a woman how she should look or what standard she should try to achieve, think of me and what I do. Because no matter how pretty you make her, she’ll never be what I turn my clients into. You see, Jack, I create power.” I moved in a little closer to him. “I create legends…” I paused for dramatic effect, “I create gods!”
I reached into my purse, pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill from my wallet and dropped it on the table. “Don’t say I never paid for your services.” I dusted my hand over his shoulder, pretending to remove lint from his jacket. “It was nice meeting you, Jack.”
With a flick of my blonde locks, I grabbed my belongings and started to walk away. “Oh, and Jack,” I called out without so much as a glance back to see the baffled expression on his smug face, “the next time you want to implant something, how about you implant some brains in that head of yours, because you’re thinking with the wrong one, buddy.”
Throes of laughter reverberated behind me as I slipped into my frock coat and exited the building with my pride intact.
Jeanne McDonald is an author, a mother, a wife, a student of knowledge and of life, a coffee addict, a philosophy novice, a pop culture connoisseur, inspired by music, encouraged by words, and a believer in true love. When she's not spending time with her family, she can be found reading, writing, enjoying a great film, chatting with friends or diligently working toward her bachelor's degree in literature. A proud Texan, Jeanne currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with her family. Social Media Links
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Jeanne.M.McDonald/ Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/JeanneMcDonald Twitter - @JeanneMcDonald_ Website - http://www.jeannemcdonald.com/ Facebook Reader Group - http://bit.ly/2ardmBi Newsletter- http://eepurl.com/VFamn Pinterest- http://bit.ly/2avdUre Tumblr- http://bit.ly/2aaCDhu Google+- http://bit.ly/2aazNdf YouTube- http://bit.ly/2aaDT42 Amazon Author Page- http://amzn.to/29f6C9z BookBub Author Page- http://bit.ly/2arcEEm

Friday, May 13, 2016

Blog Tour: Live by the Team by Cindy Skaggs





Title: Live By The Team
Series: Team Fear Series #1
By: Cindy Skaggs
Publication Date: April 23, 2016
Genre: Romantic Suspense
They created a monster. Trained by the army, enhanced by medical experimentation, and tested in war. What happens to the creature when the war ends and the man awakens? SSgt. Ryder was born, bred, and enhanced as a warrior, but when he returns home to his new wife—exiled from the army along with the rest of his disgraced team—he faces mounting anger and paranoia. When a fellow soldier does the unthinkable, Ryder disappears to protect his wife, but his departure leaves a vacuum filled with danger. Can he save her or will he lose himself to the beast and destroy what matters most? Abandoned most of her life, Lauren Ryder married thinking she had finally found stability, until her new husband disappeared. He returns altered and secretive. Can she forgive him for crushing her dreams of picket fences and happily ever after? Will she survive what he has become? The surviving members of Team Fear are out of the military and in a world of secrets, lies, and cover-ups in this new romantic suspense series by Cindy Skaggs.


Amazon UK - http://goo.gl/GL5dXy
Amazon CA - http://goo.gl/ThMmP4
Amazon UK - http://goo.gl/s9E3Wo
Amazon CA - http://goo.gl/8XhCJZ
A free excerpt...
Live by the Team
A Team Fear Novel
CINDY SKAGGS


This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Cindy Skaggs. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the author: Cindy@CSkaggs.com
Edited by Jessa Slade
Cover design by L.J. Anderson
First Edition April 2016
  
ISBN: 1532795742
ISBN-13: 978-1532795749
Prologue
Six months ago
Ryder shifted through the crowd gathering behind the police barricade. A local news crew panned the scene from a vantage point to his left. In front of him, a young blonde lifted a wide-eyed toddler to her hip, giving the kid a better view. Gunshots fired had turned into a three-ring circus complete with spectators and media crews.
Crime scene tape snapped under his fingers before he made the conscious choice to proceed. A uniform cop moved to intercept him, but Ryder stopped him with a glare. Menace was an art form he’d studied for twelve years in the Army. He knew how to intimidate without a word, without a weapon. Could kill as easily.
No one stood between Ryder and his men. Ryder dialed back the tension bunching his shoulders. He scanned the scene, gauging overall mood and readiness. Time didn’t allow for more than superficial recon.
A row of patrol cars created a barricade behind which officers lined up, guns drawn. They faced a nondescript ranch house on five acres of hard dirt. A pickup truck was parked under a stand of trees, the only shade for a good ten miles. The shade didn’t help much; it was Texas summer hot.
Nervous energy spread like gossip through the officers on this side of the scene. They were getting trigger-happy the longer the standoff lasted. Jittery men did stupid things.
Ryder walked through the line of patrol cars. No one noticed until he placed his body between the police and the scene of the crime. A last line of defense for the soldier in the barricaded house.
Expletives exploded behind the cop cars. Ryder let loose a sarcastic grin and turned; sure he had their attention now. He lifted his hands so they didn’t feel compelled to shoot him. The energy in the open field shifted from unease to outright distrust. Sweaty grips tightened on guns. Every eye in the area focused on Ryder and judged him a million kinds of fool.
Ryder met their uncertainty with cool resolve. Today’s mission involved getting PFC Madigan out alive, which put Ryder in the hot seat. Times like this, he missed the adrenaline rush: the increased heart rate, the quicker thinking, and increased energy that presaged a good fight.
“Sir, step back,” a male voice spoke into a bullhorn.
Ryder shook his head no. He raised his voice for the camera and the crowd. He didn’t need a bullhorn. “I served with the man inside the house. You want this to end peacefully?” He nodded at the camera. “Let me go in and talk to him.”
More expletives before a tall, slender man wearing a ballistics vest stepped to the west end of the barricaded cars. Tall like a Jolly Green, the man’s shadow stretched across the desert, the setting sun casting him in silhouette. Any half-trained soldier coming off a three-day bender could take him out. The soldier trapped in the house qualified as exceptionally trained. Ryder had done the training.
Ryder held his position, protecting both sides from bloodshed. “Sheriff,” he guessed, rightly so when the man nodded. “I was on the phone with your suspect when you arrived on scene. We’ve established rapport. Let me go in before the situation escalates.”
It wasn’t a question. Ryder didn’t back down. Another news van pulled up in a billow of dust. The crew jumped out, filming on the fly.
A sidebar conversation happened behind the cars while the cameras whirred. Even at sunset, the temps were in the triple digits. The heat factor fueled tempers. Voices raised and lowered with curses and outrage.
Standing between the police and their suspect, Ryder didn’t break a sweat. He absorbed the heat, used it to fuel his system. Guns from both sides pointed at him. The police maintained their vigil, while inside, Madigan would do the same, his sole focus on the troops massing in his front yard. “Mad Dog” Madigan was a weapons specialist. He would have the scene covered.
While the sheriff and his men deliberated, Ryder’s backup moved into position through the rear of the house.
The phone in his back pocket buzzed with an incoming call. He reached and guns lifted to the top of the cars. His hands stayed steady as he pulled the phone out, keeping his movements slow and deliberate. The voice on the other end reached his ears before the phone did.
“Please tell me these reports aren’t live.” The Texas drawl didn’t calm the panic in her voice. He could picture her pretty face, brows raised in frustration. Her hands fluttering as she spoke.
“They’re live.” Regret closed his eyes for a barely perceptible moment. Lauren. He’d told her he had to go help an Army buddy. “This is me helping a friend.”
“With guns pointed at you?”
“Sometimes, that’s what it takes, baby. I gotta go.”
“Ryder—”
He clicked off and dialed Madigan. The call connected without a word spoken. The soldier’s breathing pattern was high and erratic, which concerned Ryder more than the police standoff. Every damn thing about this situation felt wrong. None of this shit was the way they were trained. Hell, Ryder would have sworn emotion had been beaten out of them until he heard the sob on the other end of the line.
“This is bad, Ryder.”
“No shit.” He kept his tone low and measured, aware of the audience.
“Do you think—”
“I’m coming in whether they let me or not. Keep it holstered.” He pocketed the phone and looked across the yard to the sheriff. The other man’s gaze hid in twilight shadows, but his stance read more relaxed than the rest of his men. “Sheriff, I have him on the phone. This is your one chance to end this standoff without bloodshed.”
“How do I know you’re not taking another weapon inside?”
The smirk came natural to Ryder. Who was the sheriff kidding? Madigan stockpiled enough weaponry to start a civil war. The cache of weapons was what kept the sheriff’s men hunkered down instead of going inside. Ryder lifted his shirt and turned slowly, he even smiled for the cameras as he proved he wasn’t armed or dangerous. Well, the dangerous part was open for interpretation. “I’m not losing another soldier, Sheriff. That’s a promise I made my men when we came back.”
There wasn’t a soldier alive who didn’t know the odds. Twenty-two suicides a day. Not today. The words were a prayer. Too bad Ryder had nothing left to believe in or pray to. Sometimes you had to handle shit on your own.
“You can shoot me in the back for the cameras if you want, but I’m going in.”
He didn’t wait for a response. The dirt shifted under his boots as he spun and headed to the front porch. Ants circled a discarded pizza box on the welcome mat. The stench of rancid cheese hit him as he grabbed the doorknob, which turned easily in his hand. Ryder pushed into the house. Gloom shrouded the entryway.
“Close the door.” The voice came from the black void several feet to the right. “Lock it.”
“Not my first rodeo,” he said, but moved to comply. “You hung up on me earlier today, Mad Dog. We didn’t finish our conversation.”
They followed a strict protocol. No matter where a soldier lived, if he called, someone came running. No questions. They weren’t going to be part of some fucked-up statistic. Ryder was geographically closest to Madigan, so he dropped everything, kissed his new wife, and hit the highway. Rose had moved in from the north, and they’d arrived about the same time.
“I shouldn’t have called. Shouldn’t have involved you. I woke up—” Another hiccup from a hardened warrior. What the ever-loving hell?
“Nightmare?” They happened, and when they did, they felt real. Sounded real.
“I called before I had time to pull my head out.” Madigan’s tone calmed. “Before I could pin down what was real, a shitload of cop cars came barreling down the drive. How the fuck did they know to show up?”
“Good question.” Ryder kept his tone slow and easy as he catalogued the surroundings, waiting for his backup to come at Madigan from behind. Ryder was the distraction. They weren’t losing another soldier.
“You did the right thing, calling me. That’s the deal. Live by the team.” They might be out of the Army, might be disillusioned and disgraced, but they were still a fucking team.
“I lost time today, Ry.”
Could they still be having side effects after all these months? “How much time?”
“Hours.” The anguish in Madigan’s voice turned the dark hall into a black hole. “I’m afraid to turn on the light. Find out what’s real.”
“The hell you are.” No fear wasn’t just a motto. “Pack that shit up. Concentrate on the situation. Where are Maggie and the baby?”
“They’re my life. You know that?”
“I do. So let’s end this so you can get back to living.”
Sniffling sounded from a corner and Ryder was closer to triangulating Madigan’s position. He could take him in the murky light, but Madigan’s eyes were already acclimated to the black void. He’d have the upper hand. Darkness was Ryder’s friend, helped him focus, but today, night vision didn’t give him the advantage. Ryder reached to the wall and patted until he hit a switch. He flipped the light.
“Fuck.” Madigan shielded his eyes with one hand while the other aimed a gun at Ryder.
Where the hell was Ryder’s backup? Rose was supposed to take Madigan from behind, but Mad Dog’s back was now against a wall. Madigan backed himself into a corner looking every bit like his call sign: Mad Dog. A halo of red hair capped a tall, lean body smeared with war paint. The wild expression on his face surpassed insane. Blood covered Madigan’s hands and bare chest as if he’d painted himself in some twisted ritual. His eyes were dilated.
“You on drugs?” Maybe drugs explained the panic that shouldn’t be there. And the lost time.
“No.” Madigan scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “At least I don’t think so.”
“What does that mean, Mad Dog? You know better than to experiment with that shit.” With everything they had had pumped into their systems, even alcohol was a gamble.
“I didn’t, not on purpose, Ryder, I swear, but I woke up with the worst fucking headache. Disoriented.”
They’d all experienced those symptoms at least once. Shit. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“I went into town to get pizza. Maggie didn’t feel good and the baby was fussy. I thought—” He pounded his forehead with the hand holding the gun. “Why the fuck can’t I remember?”
“What time was that?”
“Lunch.”
Hours ago. “Your truck’s out front. Do you remember pulling into the drive?”
“Yeah.” He pounded the back of his skull into the wall. “Maggie screamed. That’s what I remember. She screamed. I bolted. God, I can’t believe— I wouldn’t, but I had to, it’s only me in the house. And I’m covered in it.” His voice rose. “They’re my life.”
“Calm down.” Something was seriously fucking wrong, because the soldier stank with fear. Ryder took two measured steps closer.
“Stay back.” Madigan lifted a handgun and aimed at center mass. “Don’t take another step.”
Ryder paused. “I’m not afraid of dying.”
“Neither am I.”
Wasn’t that the problem?
Keep him talking. “Did Maggie leave you?”
“I wish.” Panic lifted his voice. “Not the way you mean. I don’t remember, but it had to be me.” An unfocused haze covered his eyes in a thin white film. “I’m the only one here, and there’s so much fucking blood.”
“You’re not making any sense.” Two steps closer. “Sitrep,” he barked, demanding a situation report from the soldier.
The order snapped Madigan’s shoulders to attention. “They’re dead.” He twisted his bloody hand in front of his hazy eyes as if the five fingers held the answers. “They’re my life.”
Seconds later, something in his eyes went hard. Determination replaced the haze, causing a shift in the soldier’s stance. All the training and the mood-altering modifications clicked into place until Mad Dog metamorphosed into a warrior.
Madigan knew how to kill and he’d finally settled on a target.
...

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Blog Tour: Seeking Davi by Megan Slayer





Seeking Davi

by Megan Slayer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: M/M, Paranormal, Contemporary, Erotic, LGBT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A place to belong and strong arms to hold him—but will this shifter get what he needs?

After being rescued and taken to the Sanctuary, a refuge for lion shifters, Talisman knows he’s safe. But he’s restless. All the other shifters have paired up, except Talisman and one other shifter. The guy is fine, but he doesn’t make Talisman’s heart beat or his lion roar. Talisman refuses to give up looking for what he wants, but he never expected love to come running, stark naked, through a hole in the fence.

Davi doesn’t understand what’s happened to him. One minute, he’s a happy lion at the petting
zoo. The next, he’s being hunted and humans want to use his head as a trophy. When his hope
is almost gone, two lions appear to show him an escape route. At the Sanctuary, he realizes his
power to shift and the desires of a human male. He doesn’t trust humans, but there’s one shifter
Talisman and Davi must decide whether to give in to their animal urges or let the ghosts of the
past tear their world apart for good. No matter what they choose, there’s one person who
doesn’t want anyone, especially the shifters, to get their happy ending. As Talisman and Davi
seek forever, it just might be ripped right out of their hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

©Megan Slayer, 2015, All Rights Reserved

The guy waited for the longer haired man to walk away then he sat in the grass. He didn’t say
Davi watched him, unsure what to do. His cat wanted to sniff out the stranger and scope out the
situation. Did Davi trust his cat? Yes, but not that man.

Neither Davi or the guy sitting in the grass moved for what seemed like forever. Finally, the man
spoke.

“Davi? My name is Talisman. I don’t know if you remember me from the petting zoo, but I
was there with you.”

 He didn’t look at Davi or even in Davi’s direction. “I think I’m a few months
older than you. I remember being in the pens, having the kids pet us and feeling wonderful.
Then the good feelings stopped. I know you’re scared. I was scared, too. Unlike the humans at
the petting zoo, we won’t hurt you here.”

Davi debated sitting up but remained hunched down. Maybe, he could trust Talisman, but he didn't remember him.

“It’s scary. You’ve shifted, and you don’t understand why. I know. I’ve been there. I didn’t shift
until I was safe, but when it happened, I didn’t understand what was going on. It’s okay.” He
glanced over to where Davi hid. “If you don’t come out, I can’t help you. I promise. I won’t hurt
you, and I’ll help you get used switching between your cat and human forms.”

“No.” Davi kept hiding, but decided to at least try to talk to Talisman.

“Can you come out?” Talisman crawled across the grass, closer to Davi. “Would it help if I
shifted?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he yanked his shirt up over his head then stood
and shoved his pants down his legs. He kicked out of the boots and stood nude before Davi.
Davi watched Talisman move. Wow. He’d never seen a naked man before, but if that’s what
they looked like, he liked what he saw. His cat wasn’t upset, either.

Talisman dropped to his knees and placed his hands in the grass. He lowered his head then
wriggled. Fur sprouted on Talisman’s shoulders and back. His teeth elongated and a growl
ripped from his throat. The fur spread down his chest to his belly and covered his legs. His
hands and feet shifted into paws. When he shook his head, thick fur sprouted behind his ears
and beneath his chin. Before Davi’s eyes, the man shifted into the lion.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she's not writing the stories in her head, Megan Slayer can be found luxuriating in her hot
tub with her two vampire Cabana boys, Javier, Luke and Jeremy. She has the tendency to run a
tad too far with her muse, so she has to hide in the head of her alter ego, but the boys don't
When she’s not obsessing over her whip collection, she can be found picking up her kidlet from
school. She enjoys writing in all genres, but writing about men in love suits her fancy best. The
cabana boys are willing to serve, unless she needs them. She always needs them. So be nice
to Javier or he will bite--on command.

She also masquerades under the name Wendi Zwaduk and is published through Loose ID
Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, MLR Press, Resplendence Publishing, Totally Bound
Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and Decadent Publishing.

Megan’s site: http://wendizwaduk.com/indexMegan.htm

Megan’s blog: http://theauthormeganslayer.blogspot.com

Megan’s Fan page! facebook.com/wendizwaduk.meganslayer

Megan on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Megan-Slayer/e/B008BJCFSC

Megan on Tsu! https://www.tsu.co/MeganSlayer

Megan on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5330530.Megan_Slayer

Megan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MeganSlayer

AuthorGraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/MeganSlayer

Newsletter sign up:  http://ymlp.com/xgjmjumygmgj

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Megan will be awarding a prize pack featuring a handcuff bracelet or necklace as well as

a hand beaded bracelet and signed swag by the author to a randomly drawn winner via

rafflecopter during the tour. (International Giveaway)

Please use this rafflecopter code on your post:


a Rafflecopter giveaway