PROMO Blitz - The Game That Never Ends

Romantic Action, Drama

Date Published:  October 2016

In 1953 Sandy and Alex meet and fall in love in Adelaide, South Australia. She comes from a wealthy Catholic family and he is the son of a shopkeeper and an Anglican. Her mother has marriage plans for her and takes Alex to Italy to keep them apart. He goes to Oxford University where he achieves great success in cricket and rugby football. For the next seven years their love has to overcome many conflicts and is sorely tested by a tragic event and her Catholicism. In 1961 now working in San Francisco and believing Alex lost to him forever, Sandy falls in love and marries Kate but Alex, now finally free of her marriage, returns to him plunging his life into chaos. Will he be able to bring an end to this never ending game?

Excerpt

She woke me up in the morning at eight saying their group was departing at ten and I should leave before anyone saw me. The Italians knew she was married to Paolo but in true Italian style would never say anything about last night, but it was probably best not to be seen together in the morning. I was getting dressed when she picked up my jacket to hand it to me and she noticed there was something heavy in the pocket.

“She said. “Oh there’s something here in the pocket.”

I had totally forgotten about it but her hand went in and brought out Eva’s watch.

She looked at me strangely. “It’s a ladies watch. Why do you have a ladies watch in your pocket?”

I tried to look nonchalant. “Oh, it’s Eva’s. She gave it to me when Göran gave her a new watch as a birthday present. I’ll give it back to her in the office on Monday.”

“But why did she give it to you?”

I stammered a little. “Well… well, I was sitting next to her when she took it off.”

I saw the disbelief growing in her face and I had a flash back to the Darlene’s gold chain incident in Naples.

“Don’t lie to me Sandy. She gave it to you because you were going to take her home and sleep with her, weren’t you?”

I shook my head. “No, no.”

“You’re lying Sandy. You were going to have her last night until I came along. How inconvenient for you, but then you had me instead. Is she better than me Sandy? How long have you been sleeping with her?”

“Alex, I did not lie to you. I’ve never had sex with her.”

She was completely furious now. “Just a month ago you promised me you would wait for me and marry me when I am free. Is that a lie too?”

“Alex please calm down.”

In answer she hurled Eva’s watch at my face, hitting me on the forehead. I caught it as it bounced off me.

This was too much and I lost my temper. “Alex I did not lie to you but my God how long do you expect me to wait for you? How long will you remain married to Paolo and expect me to stay celibate while wait for you to pop up occasionally? You tell me you don’t sleep with him and I believe you, but when I told you I have never slept with Eva you don’t believe me. If you don’t trust me then maybe we should forget the whole thing. It’s a crazy situation anyway.”

I had gone too far and instantly regretted it.

She burst into a torrent of tears. I went to her but she pushed me away and said “just go”. I put on my jacket, slipped the watch into my pocket and walked out. I could feel blood trickling down my nose and put my handkerchief over the cut in my forehead.  

I stayed in my hotel room and drowsed through all of Sunday. I went over the whole scenario, over and over again. I wished I could take it all back. I shouldn’t have reacted angrily to her charges. I would have slept with Eva so she was partially right but I had not lied when I said I had never slept with her. But poor Alex had all the stress of a loveless marriage and her secret. I knew she loved me and I could understand her being upset when she saw me dancing romantically with another woman. But where does that leave us now? By dinner time I had decided that I should wait for her to contact me again. She knew I had another year at Oxford. Despite everything I was still in love with her.

On Monday morning I went straight to Göran’s office. He looked up smiling at me as I walked in. Then he saw the small elastoplast on my forehead.

“Oh no Sandy, please don’t tell me she hit you.”

I pulled Eva’s watch out of my pocket and placed it on his desk.

“She found it in my pocket and threw it at me.”

He felt its weight. “My God Sandy, what a woman. Adrian had told me about her and she was exactly as he described her. Adrian and Pete call her the movie star. Did you know that? What a beauty and she’s violent too. What a combination. You are a lucky man.”

“Well I’m not so lucky now. I think she’s finished with me this time.”

Göran looked upset. “Oh no and it’s entirely my fault because I set you up with Eva.”

I told him it was not his fault and that our relationship was very complicated but I was sure she would come back. I wasn’t really sure but I didn’t want Göran feeling guilty about it.

Except for this one incident I had a wonderful summer in Stockholm. I’d met Mr. Axel Persson, Göran’s father, and he seemed interested in me. Perhaps that would lead to other opportunities. Had cricket opened another door?  

About the Author

David Adamson Harper started his working life as a British naval officer serving out of the Hong Kong station, which became the backdrop for his first novel KWANGCHOW. After leaving the navy he joined the management program at Grace Line in New York and spent many years in Panama and San Francisco. He then joined United States Line as a senior executive and ran their South Asia Division from Bombay and later the Africa Division stationed in Durban, South Africa. He returned to San Francisco where he ended his career as a maritime consultant to major west coast ocean carriers. Wherever he went he was always involved in the game of rugby football and was a referee for many years. On retiring he moved to Mexico to become a full time writer. He and wife Susan live in a village on the north shore of beautiful LakeChapala at 5000 feet in the Sierra Madre Mountains. THE GAME THAT NEVER ENDS is his third novel and follows the critically successful HOW TEDDY TOOK PANAMA.

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#BOOK BLAST - Never

Write Now Literary is pleased to announce Never, Book Release Tour with author Joy  Avery on December 13, 2016.

Publication Date: November 14, 2016.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

ASIN: B01MSLP8FO

About The Book

Never say what love can't—or won't—do.

Balloon Artist Gadiya Lassiter never imagined waking up without the love of her life, small-town fire chief Nico Dupree. Then one day, it becomes her tortured reality. Fast-forward two years…he's back and making his intentions to rekindle their flame known. But she vows to never love him again. As determined as she is to keep her heart out of his hands, love seems to have its own agenda.

For Nico, returning home to Mount Pleasance, North Carolina is not without its benefits. The most valuable, Gadiya. He’s determined to reclaim her heart—despite her obvious goal to hate him. But he’s not giving up on her; not again. He’ll just have to convince her the disdain she harbors for him is far less potent than the love he knows she still has for him. And he'll do it one scorching kiss at a time.

As their attraction grows hotter and hotter, will Gadiya be able to escape the flames, or will Nico's fire consume her?

About The Author

By day, Joy Avery works as a customer service assistant. By night, the North Carolina native travels to imaginary worlds—creating characters whose romantic journeys invariably end happily ever after.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Garner, Joy knew she wanted to write. Stumbling onto romance novels, she discovered her passion for love stories; instantly, she knew these were the type stories she wanted to pen.  Real characters. Real journeys. Real good love is what you’ll find in a Joy Avery romance.

Joy is married with one child. When not writing, she enjoys reading, cake decorating, pretending to expertly play the piano, driving her husband insane, and playing with her two dogs.

Joy is a member of Romance Writers of America and Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

Excerpt

Nico allowed Gadiya to escape his hold. He may not have broken her shell, but he’d surely cracked it. As she made her way across the floor, he said, “I’ll tell you what’s a waste of time. Your fighting this. You have a right to be pissed at me, Gadiya, but you can’t deny you still feel something for me.”

This stopped her in her tracks. Whipping around, she charged him like a raging bull. “Anything I may have felt for you in the past is long gone. I feel nothing for you now, Nico Dupree. Nothing. And I never will.”

“Is that why you’re still single?” He regretted the words the moment they escaped. There could have been a myriad of reasons why she wasn’t in a relationship, none of them having anything to do with him.

Gadiya slowly shook her head, something in her expression turning sad. “The reason I’m still single has nothing to do with you. But if you must know, I decided to never give my heart to another man, because the one man I trusted with it, shattered it into tiny pieces. I loved that jerk, that coward, far more than he deserved. I loved him far more than breathing, which was okay, because, with him, I never feared suffocating. He gave me life. Then he took it away.”

Nico hadn’t expected her powerful summation. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t move toward her, could hardly breathe. All he could do was dumbly stare into her glistening eyes, then at her back as she turned to leave.

Gadiya stopped at the door. Over her shoulder, she said, “On second thought, I guess my being single has everything to do with you. I never want to see you again, Nico. You are dead to me. Just like the idea of me ever loving you again.”

With that, she was gone.

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#MondayMotivation - 2 Corinthians 11:26-27 – Persevering

For this Monday Motivation post, I thought I'd share a short devotion I wrote for a publication. CLICK HERE to read it.  I hope it blesses you! 

The Gilded Cage - #TeaserTuesday

TEASER TUESDAY

YA/Historical

Date Published: 12/1/16

Add to Goodreads

Masie, the flaxen-haired daughter of notorious bootlegger Dutch Schultz, returns home from boarding school to find her family in crisis. Her mother is dangerously unstable, her father’s empire is on the brink of ruin, and the boy she once loved has become a ruthless killer for hire. To keep her family’s dangerous secrets Masie is forced into a lie that will change the course of her future—and leave her trapped in a gilded cage of her own making. As she watches her world fall apart, Masie must decide whether to take her place in the hierarchy, or spread her wings, leaving the people she loves, and the life she despises, far behind her.

Website

Excerpt

“How you feelin’, Mas?” Vinny asks.

Relaxing back into the chair I look up, unable to keep the sour grin from my face. “Never better.”

Releasing me he steps around the table, helping himself to a seat. “That’s not how I hear it. I hear you lay in bed all day feelin’ sorry for yourself”

“Can you blame me?” I ask harshly, straightening in my chair.

He’s still for a minute, then pulls the fedora off his head and plays with it in his hands. “I’m sorry about your ma, she was a fine lady.”

I snort, the booze in my belly making me bold. “She was a nut job and everyone knew it.”

Now he looks up, his thin lips downturned at the edges, “She was good to me.”

Sighing I stand, helping myself to the crystal decanters on the tray. “She loved you like her own,” I offer gently as I pour myself another drink. “It’s the only thing she was good at, loving people. Wasn’t great at taking care of them, though.”

She’d tried to take care of Daddy at first. I know she always secretly hoped he’d change his ways, as if her love could make him a better man. But, as much as they may want to, people don’t really change. Time passes, choices are made, but we are who we are in the end.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asks, twisting in his chair to look at me.

I just hold up my glass, “This seems to be helping.”

Standing, Vinny walks over, taking the glass from my hand he swallows back the contents in one gulp. “Never drink to feel better, Mas. That’s not how the stuff works.”

I frown, pushing past him, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

He stops me, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward him until the tip of his crooked nose is touching my forehead, “I’m not gonna let you throw yourself away like she did.”

His words are sharp and they cut like glass

I shut my eyes against them, against the closeness of him, the heat radiating off his body, the smell of bourbon on his breath. Part of me demanding to push him away, the other part wanting to lose myself in him.

“You left,” he continues, his tone accusatory. “You left so you wouldn’t have to watch—but I watched. I watched the light in her go out. I won’t watch that happen to you, Masie. I can’t. So you’re going to have to be strong. Because we need you. I need you. It’s awful dark here, Mas. We need you to be the light.”

The first tear slips from beneath my closed lids. Maybe it’s the desperation in his voice, or the fact that he’s right, but something in his words strikes me to the core. It’s tempting, far too tempting, to drink the pain away, to let it eat me from the inside out until there’s nothing left to hurt.

But I can’t.

I can’t be like my mother.

I won’t.

  

#MondayMotivation - #Quote

"Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment."
 --Stephen Covey

#Book Spotlight - Inner City Blues by Chicki Brown

Release date: November 6, 2016

Blurb:

Dr. Jesse Stafford, successful surgeon, husband and father of three lives in an exclusive enclave in Atlanta. He volunteers his time at a neighborhood free clinic in one of the roughest parts of Atlanta where his wife, Cydney's family still lives. When an unarmed thirteen-year-old boy is shot and killed by the police in this neighborhood, Jesse finds himself in an ethical dilemma and at odds with some family members. His involvement puts everything he’s achieved on the line.

Excerpt:

“No kidding. That’s major.” Jesse paused for a moment. “Mama and Daddy taught us well. That’s why I can’t wrap my head around why he wants me to separate myself from what’s going on in the Hollowell area.”

“It’s because you’re personally involved. He’d be happy if you were just sending a check.”

“This is a different situation, though. Money isn’t going to bring that kid back. Only visible, vocal protests will keep the media focused on the case. Black men have to be seen and heard speaking out against what’s happening with the police in our neighborhoods.”

“Just be careful, man.” Marc slapped him on the back. “Bullets don’t discriminate.”

A few nights later, Jesse’s skin prickled with trepidation as his brother, Marc’s words echoed in his head. Even though he had performed hundreds of surgeries in the past ten years, the prospect of this one scared the hell out of him. He took pride in the work he’d done as an oncology surgeon helping patients battle the most dreaded disease on earth. These two patients were another story. He’d never found himself in this situation.

For the past four decades Atlanta had been known as the Mecca of the South. The city and its surrounding suburbs had seen an unprecedented pilgrimage of African-Americans from other parts of the country seeking their part of the area’s employment and minority business prosperity. Black millionaires like entertainers Tyler Perry, Ludacris, and Usher, entrepreneurs like Herman Russell and the Bronner Brothers along with many others in business, entertainment and sports had made their city home.

But the presidency of Barack Obama had spawned a rise in hate groups that had once ruled the South. Young white men and women alike were proudly donning confederate gear and white robes and hoods in a backlash over the black pride for which Atlanta was known. Several small crosses had been planted and burned in conspicuous locations, supposedly as a warning to residents. A church which had been in the area for nearly one hundred years, mysteriously caught fire in the middle of the night and burned to the ground. The boldest of these domestic terrorists had the audacity to ride through the neighborhood with huge flags flying from the back of their pickup trucks doing the rebel yell, the battle cry used by confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Historically, the soldiers used the yell during charges to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale. Little did they know they weren’t dealing with the terrified blacks of the early 1900s. A new breed of young African-Americans¾both educated and unlearned¾refused to cower in fear against these threats. And as a result of the rabid redneck support of gun rights, these young blacks were also well armed.

It had seemed at one point that things had calmed down until confederate flags suddenly showed up around the damaged urban landscape. 

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of this book!!!!!!!

Buy links:

Kindle - http://amzn.to/2fssIXM  Nook - http://bit.ly/2eFLdcr 

Coming soon in paperback on CreateSpace.com

About the Author

Contemporary women’s fiction/romance author Chicki Brown has been featured twice in USAToday. She was the 2014 B.R.A.B. (Building Relationships Around Books) Inspirational Fiction Author and also the 2011 SORMAG (Shades of Romance Magazine) Author of the Year. Chicki was also a contributing author to the Gumbo for the Soul: Men of Honor (Special Cancer Awareness Edition).

A transplanted New Jersey native who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, Brown still misses the Jersey shore, the pizza and the hot dogs.

Nia Forrester, Beverly Jenkins, Iris Bolling, Lisa Kleypas, and J.R. Ward are among her favorite authors.

Online contacts:

Blog: http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/@Chicki663 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chicki.brown

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/chicki663/

Amazon Central Author Page: http://amzn.to/l2kjXQ

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/qcsiMD

On Top Of The World (Until The Bell Chimes) Virtual #Book Tour

Please join author David Lamb as he tours the blogosphere with Write Now Literary Book Tours and his new release On Top Of The World, (Until The Bell Chimes) October 24- November 4, 2016.

Genre: Romantic Comedy, African-American Romance, Contemporary Romance,

Humor & Satire, Re-tellings

 ISBN-10: 0986445304

ISBN-13: 978-0986445309

About The Author

David Lamb is a native New Yorker, born and raised, bitten with the writing bug since he was in elementary school and had handwriting nobody could decipher. Like Charles Dickens, David grew up a poor boy in the big city who found that the pen really is mightier than the sword. In middle school Lamb's hero was David Lampel whose velvet voice could be heard reporting the news over David's grandmother's radio. Whenever he heard him on the radio, David would substitute Lamb for Lampel and pretend he was delivering the news. Sure that he was destined to be a famous reporter David was happy to go to a high school with a journalism program. Like most kids, by the time he finished high school he had a whole new career in mind. After high school he went to Hunter College and majored in Economics because he wanted to be cool like that college kid who came to speak at his last year of high school. He was an Economics major, he was dressed sharp and above-all the girls thought he was the man! So like any unreasonable high school boy fueled by overactive hormones David figured if he majored in Economics they'd think he was cool. After finishing college David went on to law school at NYU, but all the time writing was still his heart. While working as a lawyer by day, at night he transformed into a writer and eventually wrote and produced the award-winning hit off-Broadway romantic comedy Platanos Y Collard Greens. Being a writer and having the chance make people laugh out loud while challenging them to think about the world around them, and inspire each of us to believe in the power of love and our own ability to overcome life's challenges is a great gift that David truly enjoys and thanks you for allowing him to share with you in On Top Of The World (Until The Bell Chimes).

About The Book

WINNER 2016 BEST FICTION-Pacific Book Awards. From award-winning playwright David Lamb, creator of the hit play Platanos Y Collard Greens, comes a fast and fun modern spin on Dickens that perfectly combines laughs and love in a satire about race, class and celebrity worship. Scrooge, or rather Scrooje, is music's biggest superstar, with one hundred million albums sold and twenty-five million Twitter followers. Belle is a take no prisoners legal shark whose beauty causes traffic accidents as she stylishly zips through the sidewalks of Manhattan. They never imagined being music's most powerful couple, but that's what happened when Belle fell head over heels and gave the  Coke-bottle glasses wearing, biggest nerd on campus the ultimate makeover, turning him into a fashion impresario whose style sets trends from Milan to NY Fashion Week. Then it happens. Belle realizes too late she's created a chart-topping monster as Scrooje ego explodes. Now, it's been three years since they’ve spoken. But tonight at Hollywood s biggest red carpet event they'll be given a second chance. With twenty-five million viewers tuned in will Scrooje finally shed his ego, jeopardize his image and declare his love for Belle? Will Belle even give him a chance? The Romantic Times says On Top of the World is "hilarious, highly entertaining, incredibly fun," and ESSENCE best-selling author, Nancey Flowers, proclaims that its a "Fun and Entertaining story of fighting for love against all odds!" While music star Talib Kweli says that On Top Of The World is a "Dynamic novel about the price of fame packed with so many laughs and so much heart I couldn't put it down."

Connect Socially

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theauthordavidlamb/

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Amazon ebook:  http://amzn.to/2dJ4sjm

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#Book Blast - The Final Ultimatum

Please join author Unoma Nwankwor as she tours the blogosphere with Write Now Literary Book Tours and her new release The Final Ultimatum, October 21, 2016.

Book Title: The Final Ultimatum

ASIN: B01LQO2F60

Author: Unoma Nwankwor

Publication Date:  Oct 21, 2016

Genre: Christian Romance

About The Book

For the second time in Olanma Obinze-Rice’s life love hasn’t been good to her. Five years ago, a repossessed car and the looming threat of eviction, left Olanma Obinze-Rice in dire need of cash. Then out of the blue, she landed an interview of a lifetime that would solve all her problems. But she had to go through former bad boy and heir of Rice Holdings, Abayomi Rice. One ultimatum, a whirlwind romance and a life scare later, Olanma and Abayomi were married.

Now all Olanma wants is to be free. Free from her rocky marriage, manipulative husband and overbearing father. If everything goes according to plan, she’ll be divorced and free from her father’s clutches by her thirtieth birthday. All she has to do is wrap up one last business deal. Once he gets divorce papers, Abayomi Rice knows his wife has called his bluff. He didn’t mean to manipulate her but her broken promises and inability to stand up to her father tore them apart.

Despite their present state, the finality of a divorce is not an option. He wants his wife back. With his sister’s wedding coming up, he sets his plan in motion and issues one final ultimatum- pretend to be a happy couple one last time. Their farce leads to unexpected healing of their hearts, but then life throws another wrench in the plan. An ultimatum brought them together will this final one tear them apart?

About The Author

Born in Akron, Ohio to Nigerian parents, Unoma Nwankwor is a multi-published author and 2015 winner of the Nigerian Writers’ Award for Best Faith Based Fiction. Her readers are in love with her unique story telling that fuses faith, romance and African spice, capturing the essence of her present home base; Atlanta and her Nigerian culture. She is also the COO ofKevStel Group LLC and resides in Atlanta with her husband and two kids.

Excerpt

“Nma, so where’s this husband you keep saying you have?” Abayomi heard the man say as he approached.

Olanma giggled and then abruptly stopped. Abayomi knew that in that moment she sensed his presence. She turned sideways, but the man she was with was so busy checking her out that he didn’t see Abayomi walk up.

“If he’s not taking care of…”

“I hear you’re looking for me and I take care of my wife just fine.” Abayomi came to a halt between Olanma and the man.

The look of shock on both their faces was satisfying. Nma? He couldn’t believe she allowed another man to call her that. Not even her father called her “beauty.” Only two people had that privilege – he and her grandmother. Or so he thought.

Abayomi snaked his arm around his wife’s waist and kissed her hair. He then stretched out his other hand to the man. “Abayomi Rice, said husband.”

The expression on the man’s face switched from shock to embarrassment. At least he had some shame.

After a few moments, he heard his wife say, “Yomi, this is Emeka Maduka, an old friend.”

Old friend? That’s what she thought. The man wanted her. Abayomi wasn’t fooled. He wrote the book on old friends. It was time to cut this little reunion short. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll take my wife now.”

Abayomi didn’t wait for a response before he ushered Olanma out of the ballroom. He found a secluded area where they could talk. He stared at her and began to pace. He had never been good at hiding his possessive nature.

“Yomi, that was rude and what are you doing here?” Olanma asked in a hushed whisper.

“Apparently, reminding you that you’re still my wife.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “No, I’m not doing this with you.”

“Really? Nma,” Abayomi said, his tone laced with irritation and sarcasm.

“You’ve got some nerve. You pop into Lagos two days ago, and then you don’t come home…” Her voice was shaky with rage. “I’m not doing this with you. Not here.” She began to walk away.

Abayomi exhaled. He was messing this up. “Olanma, wait.”

She stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“I’m sorry. I saw him touch you and then you laughed with him. I haven’t heard that sound in ages and I saw red.”

He hadn’t meant to reveal all that, but masked feelings were what had brought them to this point. If there was going to be a chance for them, they would have to lay down the masks. And since he was the one that was served with divorce papers, he had to take the first step. His prayer was that his vulnerability would lead them back to the intimacy they once shared. Where their souls were tied as one and hopefully rebuild their trust. He hoped she would see that.

Olanma walked back to him and stared at him intently. “It’s been a year. What did you expect? That I’d curl up and die?” She turned and walked away.

Her heated eyes showed him her soul. She was hurt, but so was he. This wasn’t what he imagined for them. Past the pain and anger he saw in her eyes, he also saw longing and love. It was clearer to him that restoring his marriage would be an uphill battle. Losing, however, wasn’t an option.

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#MondayMotivation - #Quote

"Change is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is." – Seth Godin

#Book Blast - Taffy

Please join author Suzette. D Harrison as she tours the blogosphere with  Write Now Literary Book Tours 

and her new release Taffy on

October 4, 2016.

Author: Suzette D. Harrison

Genre: Historical Fiction; Historical Romance

Book Title: TAFFY

Publication Date: February 11, 2016

ISBN-10: 1523298251

ISBN-13: 978-1523298259

About The Book

Welcome to the sleepy, all-Black southern town of Bledsoe, where Colored residents proudly declare "ain't nothing white here 'cept milk and teeth." It's 1935. A press-and-curl costs a quarter. Records play on phonographs. And a telephone is a luxury.

Meet twenty-three-year-old Taffy Bledsoe Freeman. She doesn't need her gift of second sight to know her "mockery of a marriage" to a man twice her age is far from good. After a seven-year exile Up North, Taffy travels down-home to the small town bearing her family's name, plotting her escape from a marriage not worth the price of a press-and-curl. She only needs to retrieve the son her husband banished to her parents' care, before boarding a train headed for the Windy City filled with liberty and opportunity. Instead, Taffy stumbles into Roam Ellis: the man Taffy meant to marry.

Twenty-six-year-old Roam Ellis is a "broad-shouldered, hard-bodied" Pullman porter riding the rails coast-to-coast, outrunning the bitter heartbreak Taffy left behind. Now, after a seven-year absence, Roam is face-to-face with his first love. Anger ignites. Old wounds are exposed. But when pain subsides, passion rises, thrusting Taffy and Roam into a hurricane of buried secrets and lies.

Reminiscent of the works of Bernice McFadden, Bertice Berry, and Andrea Smith (The Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner) this Historical Romance is bathed in southern lore and sweeping imagery. Lyrical and powerful, Taffy is a story of restoration and redemption that you won't soon forget.

About The Author

Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary “career” began when her poetry appeared in a volume of creative writing published by her junior high school. While Ms. Harrison pays homage to Gloria Naylor, Dr. Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison for initially inspiring her creative spirit, it was Alex Haley’s Roots (which she read at the age of fourteen) that unveiled the tremendous power and importance of African American literary voices. In addition to being the wife of a university professor and mother of gorgeous children, Suzette is a cupcake proprietor who loves singing gospel-with-a-hint-of-jazz. An elementary school librarian, Suzette is currently working on her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes.

Excerpt

Taffy made ready to fuss him out only to reconsider. That steel-headed man won’t move. She would. Taffy eyed the fence, knowing she’d earlier hopped it with ease. But she couldn’t hike her dress up before present company.

“Go ahead,” Roam goaded, popping peppermints in his mouth, ready to enjoy the spectacle. “I’d like to see you try.”

Options were few with the opposite side of the road lined by a ditch and a frighteningly out-of-control briar patch. Taffy could reverse her path. I’m not! Taffy had long ago learned how to do what she had to.

“You ‘bout to break something,” Roam warned, shaking his head as Taffy prepared to climb. “Gal, quit acting up and walk this way.”

Ignoring Roam, Taffy hoisted herself onto the bottom rail. Fumbling, she tried climbing with shoes in hand, finally dropping them over the fence, onto the other side.

Roam moved quickly before Taffy, too, was beyond reach.

Taffy felt an arm snake about her waist, effortlessly hauling her backward as if it didn’t cost Roam a thing. “What’re you doing?!”

“Whatever I want,” Roam responded, setting Taffy on her feet, anchoring an arm about her waist when Taffy spun, spitting heat.

“Move, Roam.” Taffy strained against Roam’s iron hold. “Get off me before I hurt you!”

“Already did.”

Her fire fizzled. Voice softened, tongue tasted regret. “Roam, what do you want?”

“You.” Taffy stilled. Roam reinforced his hold. “Two things I won’t do with you: mince words or waste time.” Lifting her chin, claiming her mouth, Roam proved his point.

His lips were hot, soft, sweet. Taffy got lost savoring them and him, and the bombarding emotions of mere moments before became nonexistent. Oh my blessedness, Taffy inwardly purred, feeling a slow, unsanctioned melting. They’d shared quick, quaint kisses in adolescent sweetheart days. Never this. Never with man-to-woman savoir faire. Resuscitated passions exploded and multiplied. Taffy could barely breathe let alone think, so she followed love’s lead and held on for the ride.

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