Posts Tagged ‘Beauty and the Ballplayer’
Turquoise Morning Press’ Unforgettable Heroes II boxed set will be available soon, and I’m excited to be a part of it. BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER is among the 13 fantastic books you’ll get for the super-low introductory price of 99 cents (through August).
After Sept. 1, the price shoots up to $6.99. If you ask me, that’s still a bargain for 13 hunky heroes you won’t want to forget—but everyone loves a sale, so preorder your copy now.
Here are all the details:
Pre-order Date – Available Now!
Release Date: August 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62237-423-6
Heat Level: This 13 book set contains stories from sweet to erotic romance
Price Promotion: $0.99 for pre-order period through release week
Retail Price: $6.99 after September 1
Media > Books > Fiction > Romance Novels
Keywords & Themes: romance, heroes, Alpha, contemporary, historical, comedy, cowboys, suspense, paranormal, sweet romance, erotic romance, beach, older couple, ninja, warrior
AMAZON | IBOOKS | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO | SMASHWORDS
13 NATIONAL BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS deliver romance fiction featuring incredible, unforgettable romance heroes. This set runs the gamut from contemporary to historical romance, sweet romance to erotic, suspense to paranormal, and includes baseball players, cowboys, Celtic warriors, and more….
UP CLOSE – ELIZABETH BEVARLY is the New York Times bestselling, RITA Award-nominated author of more than seventy novels and novellas. Up Close is the perfect beach read, blending adventure and intrigue with romance and sensuality, peppered with the author’s signature humor.
PARKER: THE MONTANA MCKENNAS, (Book 4) – MADDIE JAMES is an International bestselling author of more than thirty romance novels and novellas. Parker, is her latest release in the Montana McKennas western romance series.
SPRING CHICKENS – MARGARET ETHRIDGE is a National bestselling author, contemporary romance fan favorite, and TMP top-selling author. Her second chance at love story, Spring Chickens, is a romance that defies the ageists!
CRESCENT MOON – JANET EAVES is a National bestselling author of the Ladies of Legend series of books. Crescent Moon, a Legend After Dark novella, takes the townsfolk of quiet Legend, TN on a bit of a different spin. It’s still Legend, only darker.
RESCUED BY THE CELTIC WARRIOR – AMY JARECKI is a National bestselling author of more than ten Scottish historical romance novels. Rescued by the Celtic Warrior is a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick.
SCENT OF A SHADOW – JENNIFER JOHNSON is a National bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Scent of a Shadow, features a man making his living by hiding in the shadows, and a divorced mother of three, who finds him.
THE GULL MOTEL – AMIE DENMAN is an EPIC Award and Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence finalist for her books. The Gull Motel, a beach read about a young woman who takes over a small Florida motel and falls for the man next door, earned a 4-star review from RT Bookreviews.
NICK OF TIME – BOBBYE TERRY is a Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence finalist in Mystery/Suspense, and a National bestselling author. Nick of Time is a Climax, Virginia novel of suspense, intrigue and romance.
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH – JC WARDON is the author of the thirteen-book Mystic Waters series, called a “series to watch” by her publisher. Diamond in the Rough, is book 6 of the Cavanaugh Family series.
BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER – ARLENE HITTLE is the author of seven contemporary romance novels and novellas. Beauty and the Ballplayer is a 2011 Golden Heart finalist and winner of the First Coast RWA unpublished Beacon.
RIVETING HIS ATTENTION – MAY WILLIAMS is the author of historical romance, Riveting His Attention, which has been called “fun and flirty” and “adorable” by her fans. May writes both contemporary and historical romance.
CORPORATE COWBOY – BELLA MASTERS is the erotic romance pen name of International bestselling author Maddie James. Corporate Cowboy, an All Romance Ebooks bestseller, received a favorable 4 Star Review from RT Bookreviews.
RUNNING NOWHERE – LISA TAPP is the author of Maggie Award Finalist, Finding Beth, the first title in her Young Adult Ro Davis Series. Her book Running Nowhere, part of the contemporary romantic suspense Maystown Series, was the Romantic Suspense winner of the Hot Prospect Contest and was named a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense.
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Happy Saturday! I try not to get political here—not because I have no opinions about what’s going on in the world but because I write to entertain readers, not preach my worldview. No doubt, readers could care less how I feel about gun control, Confederate flag-waving—or any flag-waving, for that matter—and same-sex unions.
However, I can’t let the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage go unremarked. Love is love. Period. And on Friday, love won.
Thanks, SCOTUS, for joining the new millennium. I’m proud that, in the words of President Obama, the court’s ruling has “made our union is a little more perfect.”
“This decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts,” Obama said. “When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.”
In honor of the court’s decision, I’m sharing a snippet from BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER for My Sexy Saturday this week. Matt Thatcher, the hero of BEAUTY, has a brother who happens to be gay. (He’s also a stylist, which a few judges dinged me for when BEAUTY was making the contest rounds. Too stereotypical, they said…but in my mind, at least, Stan is a well-rounded guy. If I didn’t convey that…well, that’s on me.)
In this scene, it’s the morning after Matt and Meg have sex for the first time. Matt, in the heat of the moment, told her it didn’t matter that she was pregnant…but now he’s having second thoughts. In a panic, he calls his brother Stan, who already knew Meg’s secret because she’d told him in the stylist’s chair. Stan, ever a straight-shooter, wastes no time laying into Matt: “Oh God. Tell me you didn’t feed her some line so you could sleep with her.”
Happy reading!
***
Stan’s reaction stunned him into silence. That’s exactly what he’d done, even if he hadn’t been conscious of it at the time. When he rediscovered his voice, he asked, “Why would that be so terrible?”
“That girl needs a man with staying power you have yet to demonstrate.”
Stan’s accusation hit him with the power of a 105 mph fastball, and Matt sank to the floor again. His butt hit the carpet with a soft “thunk.” His brother was right. These days, his relationships lasted no longer than Greg’s.
“Please tell me you’re still in the same room with her. Meg’ll feel abandoned all over again if you’re not there when she wakes up.”
Odd that Stan was more concerned about Meg than his own flesh and blood. “Are you forgetting who you’re related to? I’m your brother.”
Stan’s silence spoke volumes. Wondering how he managed to convey such strong disapproval without saying a word, Matt sighed. “I’m in the hallway outside the room. Does that count?”
“Barely.” Stan sniffed. “I suggest you get back in there, pronto.”
BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER is available now at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, Smashwords, Kobo and iTunes.
And in August, it will be re-released as part of Turquoise Morning Press’ UNFORGETTABLE HEROES boxed set — a collection of 14 books from New York Times, USA Today and national bestselling authors. Preorder now and get BEAUTY and 13 other titles for just 99 cents on Aug. 25: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
It’s a lot like life …
And if that doesn’t set you to humming Depeche Mode’s “Master and Servant” … you’re not as big a fan of that group as I am.
My parents didn’t have cable until I went to college (and even then no MTV), so I didn’t get to watch a lot of music videos. Imagine my surprise when I caught the “Master and Servant” video, years later. I had no idea they were talking about the corporate world.
Yeah, right. We know what that song was really about.
Anyway, that’s all just a tangent. It’s how my brain works (or doesn’t). I’m popping in today to share my guest post over at Just Contemporary Romance. I’m waxing poetic about baseball as a metaphor for life.
OK, I’m mostly quoting other folks who’ve waxed poetic about baseball as life. But I only picked out the quotes I agree with.
Isn’t “Beauty’s Release” the title of an Anne Rice book? Haven’t read it, but I was in high school when I first heard of it. I remember being intrigued by the mere idea of her Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, written under the pen name A.N. Roquelaure. I’d just read—and fallen in love with—THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, and wanted to read all the Anne Rice books I could get my hands on.
You can imagine that, in small-town Indiana in the late 1980s, the Beauty trilogy wasn’t readily available on the library shelf. I wonder if they have it even now …
Ahem. File that under “jaunt down memory lane.” Funny how the strangest things send you down that road, eh? When I typed in my blog post title, I was off.
Welcome to the My Sexy Saturday in which I get to celebrate the release of BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER. BEAUTY, which went live Thursday, has been many things to me — my first manuscript set somewhere outside the Midwest (in Flagstaff, Ariz), the first one with a baseball player hero, the first (and only) one to final in the Golden Heart (and win the FCRW Beacon).
Yet it’s the second book in my All Is Fair in Love & Baseball series. How’d that happen?
Not only was BEAUTY the second book I sold to Turquoise Morning Press, it fell second in my Arizona Condors timeline. Dave and Mel had already bumped into one another and reconciled by the time Matt meets Meg. In fact, Dave’s experience, which Matt went through alongside him, plays a role in Matt’s reasons for doing some of the things he does to piss Meg off. (DIVA IN THE DUGOUT came out of Matt’s explanation to Meg.)
You know the My Sexy Saturday drill by now, right?
Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words ONLY. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!
This scene, from the early chapters, finds Matt kicked out of his hotel room while his brother, super-stylist Stan, cuts Meg’s hard-to-manage hair. Roping his brother into cutting her hair was Matt’s “in” to see her again. While he kills time in the lobby, one of his teammates tries to pick up the hotel restaurant’s hostess. The kid enlists Matt’s help, and Matt realizes she’s a baseball groupie just as Meg and his brother get to the lobby. But Meg doesn’t know he’s a ballplayer, and that’s the way he likes it … so he has to get her out the door before the hostess exposes his identity.
****
Matt pushed the door open and dragged her through it just as flashes started going off behind them.
Desperate that she not turn around to try to see what—or rather who—someone was attempting to photograph, he wrapped an arm around her waist and bent his head to kiss her.
Her lips were soft. Extremely soft. Beyond that, she tasted like something he couldn’t put his finger on. Slightly salty, but comforting.
As he maneuvered her away from the doors and into the darkness, he deepened the kiss. She responded in kind, and he forgot where he was. Forgot everything except kissing this woman who didn’t want him only for his talent.
Oh, she wanted him all right, but not because he could play baseball. That couldn’t be why; she had no clue.
Spurred by the thought, Matt pushed Meg against the wall. He was about to hike her leg up over his hip to draw her closer when his brother’s voice whispered in his ear.
“Matty, you don’t want people to see you out here like this, do you?”
Beauty and the Ballplayer, available now from Turquoise Morning Press and other e-tailers.
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