Featured Author Lorna Peel and An Incredible Giveaway!

 

Release Notes is thrilled to feature Lorna Peel and her novel, Into the Unknown.  Set during in England during World War II, the story provides a look at love during the time of war.  Make sure to read through the entire post and check out the giveaway at the end of the post.  Make sure to visit Lorna and let her know you saw it here on Release Notes.  Her information is below!  I hope you enjoy!

Make Do and Mend

At the outbreak of World War Two in September 1939, almost a quarter of the British population was entitled to wear some sort of uniform. The increased demand for uniforms put enormous pressure on Britain's textile and clothing industries and rationing was introduced in June 1941. Silk was one of the first fabrics to go as it was needed for the war effort, so Into The Unknown’s Kate Sheridan was very lucky to have been bought two sets of silk lingerie by her aunt Helen to replace her embarrassingly old-fashioned underwear.

Rationing worked by allocating each type of clothing item a value in points. Every adult was initially given an allocation of 66 points to last one year, but this allocation shrank as the war progressed. Eleven coupons were required for a dress, two needed for a pair of stockings, and eight coupons for a man's shirt or a pair of trousers. Women's shoes meant handing over five coupons, and for men's footwear seven.  

Despite these shortages, people were encouraged to keep looking fashionable in order to keep up morale and the 'Make Do and Mend' campaign was launched to encourage people to make their existing clothes last longer. The ability to repair, alter and make clothes from scratch became increasingly important as the war went on. Kate would have studied needlework at school in Ireland, so she wouldn’t have found making clothes from a pattern too daunting a task.

Over 40 million gas masks had been distributed around Britain by the outbreak of war. The population were told to carry them at all times in the standard-issue cardboard box tied up with string. Fashion designers quickly saw a gap in the market, turned the ugly boxes into handbags at the top and a space at the bottom for the mask, and these were snapped up by many women like Kate.

Make-up was never rationed, but was taxed and very expensive. As with their clothes, women found imaginative ways around shortages. Bright red lipstick was a way to look glamorous, even if you couldn’t afford any other cosmetics. And when it just couldn’t be found, beetroot juice was used instead of both blusher and lipstick and boot polish instead of mascara. When stockings were in short supply, an eyeliner was used to draw a ‘seam’ up the back of the legs—which may also have been carefully painted with gravy browning to appear like a tan shade of stockings. So, instead of being moth-balled for the duration of the war, fashion became more inventive and individual—the colours brighter and the colours bolder.

Excerpt:

Following Helen into a department store’s lingerie department, and into a changing room, Kate stripped right down to her embarrassingly old-fashioned underwear. Catching sight of the shop girl’s smirking face in the mirror, Kate wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. The girl measured her before bringing a selection of bras and knickers for her to choose from. Kate stared in consternation. How could she choose? They were all beautiful. Thankfully, Helen decided for her.

“We’ll take the peach set and the white,” she said. “Would you like to wear the peach set now, Kate?” 

Kate had been running her fingers over the silk in awe and jumped. “Yes, I will. Thank you.”

She changed into the lingerie and stared at herself for a long time in the mirror. Silk. She had never felt anything so soft before.

“Let’s see, Kate.” She heard her aunt’s voice, opened the curtains, and both women stared at her. “Good Lord.” Helen seemed astonished. “You do have a figure, after all.”

Passing a boutique a little later, Kate stopped and gazed at a suit in the window. Helen had walked on but returned to her and smiled. “That’s very smart, isn’t it? Do you want to try it on?”

“Oh, no, it looks very expensive.”

 “It doesn’t cost anything to try it on.”

 So the suit was tried on and Kate paraded up and down the shop examining herself from all angles. The suit was deep green and flattered her curvaceous figure.

“Do you like it?” Helen asked.

“Oh, yes, it’s lovely.”

 

“That’s just as well because it’s yours.”

 

“Mine?” Kate’s mouth fell open. It must have cost a fortune. “Oh, thank you.”

 

“Nonsense, you’re starting to look feminine at last. Shoes and a handbag next.”

 

They found a black handbag and matching shoes in a shop across the street. Again, Kate paraded up and down, but this time to get used to the high heels. Standing up in them for the first time, she had almost toppled over. Kate tottered along the street, finding herself much taller than Helen, and followed her into a hair salon.

 

“Your hair isn’t too bad, actually,” Helen told her before turning to the stylist. “A trim, and style it, please.”

Within an hour, Kate’s hair had been swept back from her face into a chignon. Her aunt leaned forward. 

“Cheekbones, too,” she murmured and nodded. “Beauty salon next.”

 A further hour passed with various powders and lipsticks being tried and tested before Kate opened her eyes and gazed at the film star in the mirror, hardly recognising herself.

 “Oh, Kate,” Helen breathed. “You’re beautiful.” She turned to the three women standing behind Kate’s chair. “Whatever she’s got on, we’ll take it.”

 

Out on the street, Kate found herself being stared at and even attracted wolf whistles

from a group of soldiers. It felt strange—embarrassing—but flattering, too.

 Blurb and buy Links

 

London on 3 September 1939 is in upheaval. War is inevitable. Into this turmoil steps Kate Sheridan, newly arrived from Ireland to live with her aunt and uncle, and look for work. When she meets Flight Lieutenant Charlie Butler sparks fly, but he is a notorious womaniser. Should she ignore all the warnings and get involved with a ladies man whose life will be in daily danger? 

Charlie Butler has no intention of getting involved with a woman. But when he meets Kate his resolve is shattered. Should he allow his heart to rule his head and fall for a nineteen-year-old Irish girl while there is a war to fight? 

Private conflicts and personal doubts are soon overshadowed. Will the horrors of war bring Kate and Charlie together or tear them apart?

 

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00UAY719Y

Amazon US - http://amzn.com/B00UAY719Y

iBooks UK - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/id974054282?mt=11

iBooks US - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/into-the-unknown/id974054282

Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/525040

Kobo - https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/into-the-unknown-10

Nook UK - http://www.nook.com/gb/ebooks/into-the-unknown-by-lorna-peel/2940046616323

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121346684

 

Author Bio and Links

 

Lorna Peel is an author of contemporary and historical romantic fiction. She has had work published in three Irish magazines – historical articles on The Stone of Scone in ‘Ireland’s Own’, on The Irish Potato Famine in the ‘Leitrim Guardian’ – and Lucy’s Lesson, a contemporary short story in ‘Woman’s Way’.

 

Her first novel, Only You, a contemporary romance, was published in 2014. Into The Unknown, an historical novel set during WWII, will be published on 5 May 2015.

 

Lorna was born in England and lived in North Wales until her family moved to Ireland to become farmers, which is a book in itself! She lives in rural Ireland, where she write, researches her family history, and grows fruit and vegetables. She also keeps chickens (and a Guinea Hen who now thinks she’s a chicken!).

 

http://lornapeel.com

http://twitter.com/PeelLorna

http://www.facebook.com/LornaPeelAuthor

http://pinterest.com/lornapeel

http://www.goodreads.com/LornaPeel

http://www.tsu.co/lornapeelauthor

https://plus.google.com/+LornaPeel

 

Thank you for hosting me, Karen!

 

GIVEAWAY!

 

Make sure to follow the whole tour—the more posts you visit throughout, the more chances you’ll get to enter the giveaway. The tour dates are here: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/lorna-peel-2/

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

OR

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8b9ec5be116/?

 

Guest Post - Surviving Valentine’s Day: Pauline Parril’s Advice for Married Women by Pauline Daley-Parril

Valentine’s Day hashtags are proliferating on Twitter. That means one thing: #valentinesdayiscoming. For single women, the 14^th of February is tough enough when it’s #nodate and #aloneagain. But for married women, Valentine’s Day is a #minefield #forgetaboutit #norosesforyousister #fml.

For women in general, Valentine’s Day is like trying on a new bikini: single girls hope to find something nice that handles the girls effectively but all too often end up with lingering regrets and maybe a yeast infection from the previous person who tried the bathing suit.

All that married women can hope for is that the top half can still work the old black magic while the bottom half still fits the base.

Meanwhile, the average man is completely oblivious to the whole #chocolates #romance and #finedining thing. That’s because he hasn’t set foot in a shop since the day before Christmas when he did his annual shopping trip. Only women know that, just minutes after New Year’s Day is over, every store and mall in the country turns into a raging river of pink and red hearts with fur-trimmed bralettes on display in every window.

It’s not enough to avoid the flood of lacey crap at the mall. You better stay away from the drugstores too. Trouble is, you forgot to get your flu shot last fall, didn’t you? Now you need lozenges for the bug that is shredding up all the real estate in your throat. In you go, determined to make it past the heart-shaped candies and roses-made-of-chocolate aisle. You quickly skirt the section with the wide selection of ribbed condoms, cherry-flavored lubricants and estrogen massage cream. But, suddenly, you’re confronted by the greeting card aisle. Love is in the air. And it’s sucking all the oxygen from the store.

You pause to look at all the pretty, pretty cards. Maybe it’s a good idea to inject a little romance into your plodding relationship and get your man a special valentine? You pick up a card with a pink satin bow. It says: “You are my forever best friend.” But, last time you checked, your husband wasn’t a Golden Retriever. The card with the velvet trim says, without the tiniest trace of irony: “Every moment I spend with you is a dream.” Every last card is festooned with curvy fonts, cupids, roses, arrows and hearts. As if you weren’t feeling sick enough with the flu before.

The sad fact is there are no realistic cards for wives to give to husbands. Clearly, companies need to offer cards with more truthful messages, such as: My darling, you deserve the best of me. (Sorry I called you a moron yesterday. The stupid of you got the better of me.)

Or: You can be my Valentine, but only if you stop being a prick.

For newer brides, the card could read: Be mine. (Unless you cheat on me. In that case, I will cut you.)

Or: Let’s get married all over again! (Without your drunk cousins this time.)

Together forever. (Unless you screw it up.)

Middle-aged marrieds have even more options: Loving you is my mission. It’s right up there with gaining control of the remote someday.

You are still hot to me. Mostly. (I’m still sleeping in my socks tonight because your feet are freaking blocks of ice.)

You make me smile. (To be honest, sometimes I smirk. Sometimes, it’s an evil grin. And sometimes I laugh hysterically. You say tomato …)

For older marrieds, the card could say: I can’t believe I’m still putting up with your shit. But, wonder of wonders, I am!

Nothing can compare with you! Dude, you could win a snoring contest.

Together, we are stronger. Especially when we fart at the same time.

Never mind. Skip the card aisle. You have a bad head cold. It’s February for goodness’ sake. Your man doesn’t want a card anyway. He’d prefer a roughly hand-drawn coupon for an anytime, anywhere blowjob-on-demand.

Buy yourself some chocolate and don’t forget the cough syrup.

###

Collette Yvonne graduated from York University in Toronto with an Honor’s BA in Creative Writing. Her short stories, including From the Cottage Porch and Wild Words 2010, appear in several anthologies. She's written numerous articles in national Canadian publications, plus over 150 pieces for various Ontario newspapers. Her short story, Snapshots for Henry, was made into a short film, directed by Teresa Hannigan, and received a 2007 Genie nomination for Best Live Action Short Drama.

The Perils of Pauline— http://bit.ly/1Ki2LE0  is her first novel.

The Perils of Pauline BOOK LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1zbZrnS

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1DGMuXv

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1tqQBDq

Astor + Blue: http://bit.ly/1Ki2LE0

In His Own Words - Kevin Anthony, Author of Mad Moral - Guest Post

Release Notes is honored to feature Kevin Anthony,author of Mad Moral, the first book in his Mad Series, in this "In The Author's Own Words" segment.  I hope you will enjoy his guest post on his thoughts behind his novel.

No Vampires or Werewolves Allowed

The moment I started writing my Urban Fantasy novel Mad Moral, I made the decision not to include any vampires or werewolves. I know vampires and werewolves play huge roles in many Urban Fantasy novels and many other genres and that’s the main reason I didn’t want to include them in Mad Moral.

I’m a big fan of vampires and werewolves, but I didn’t want to travel down a road that had been explored so many times. I decided to give a new set of beings time to shine in more humanizing roles, horror movie characters.

I’m aware the word “horror” instantly causes many to lose interest. My novel isn’t a horror, just inspired by the many elements and characters of horror movies.

 Imagine as I did, horror movie villain Michael Myers dropping his children off at his parents’ house for the weekend and heading out on his first date post-divorce. After a disaster date, to blow off some steam he decides to head to the nearest college campus and slash some sorority girls. He spends the morning after sipping a cup of coffee as he watches the tragedy coverage unfold on the morning news.

That visual sparked my series about a mad world where others like the horror movie villain mentioned are your friends, neighbors and lovers.

My first main character I created was a young adult named Ford Fischer. He’s a slasher, unemployed and does his best to live a straight and narrow lifestyle. I was raised by a single mother and I consider my sister my best friend, so I had to have strong female presences in my story. Ford’s mothers play huge roles and both are bystanders or victims in this mad world I created.

 Another main character is an exorcist named Sidnee Vincent whose romantic life is constantly sabotaged by pesky demons. I’m sure we all have a bit of evil in us all and she just happens to have the ability to communicate with it. My final character I included was a dreamer named Milo Amos. His identity is questioned the most by readers who haven’t started the series yet. His character enters dark nightmares every time he sleeps and must fight for his survival or risk death not only in his fantasy existence, but reality. 

This novel faced the toughest set of critics yet, teenage girls. I posted it on website mostly used by those in that age range. It sometime took a lot of convincing and me constantly explaining it wasn’t entirely about blood, gore and things that go bump-in-the-night. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from these young readers who instantly started to root for my characters to overcome the madness in their lives. I encourage putting all pre-judgments aside and giving my novel, Mad Moral, the opportunity to entertain you.

Guest Blog Post - Zara Stoneley, Author of Forfeit.

Release Notes is thrilled to feature author, Zara Stoneley.  Zara is the author of the new release "Forfeit" and is currently conducting a blog tour promoting her new novel.  Enjoy the post and excerpt, then go and pick up the novel!

Blurb!

Cat’s life is falling apart – her boyfriend’s dumped her, she’s lost her home and she’s about to quit her job. Her boss, Brent, has a solution: become his wife for a year, to help him land a big promotion. But Cat’s had a taste of Brent before, and she knows he’s a bad boy who loves women and leaves them. So she agrees to marry him, but tells him there’s to be no sex. He adds his own condition: if she as much as talks to another man in that time, she must pay, by acting out 12 of Brent’s kinkiest sex fantasies. When she breaks the rule, the forfeit is on: but opening up and letting Brent into her heart, as well as her bed, could be the most dangerous game of all …

Cat’s Story

Why is it that every time you’ve got life sorted someone or something comes along and screws it up? I thought I was in that perfect place, with a job that I loved, even if the pay was rubbish, and a man who I thought I loved even more. We had a great place to live, in his city centre apartment, and a wedding planned - ours. I’d not quite got the dress picked, but I was already half aboard on the idea of a few mini me’s and the image of a cottage in the country and baking cupcakes. And then the bubble burst. He suddenly decided I wasn’t the girl for him, all I did was try and spice up our sex life a teeny weeny bit (and I do mean teeny), and I shocked him straight out of bed and back into singledom.

Which kind of confirmed my idea that just when the garden is rosy, a tidal wave always comes to wash it away. Life has always been a bit like that, even when I was a kid. But you live and learn and I was happy enough. And I’d decided that maybe I was better off young, free and single – even if I was broke, homeless and in need of a better paid job.

So why did I sleep with the boss? Well there’s a question. I could come up with all kind of excuses, but maybe it was just because I fancied the pants off him and just for once in my life I wanted to take a risk, throw caution to the wind, just act on instinct. And phew my instincts were spot on. A night with Brent was well...well let’s just say that it took every bit of willpower to be sensible and make sure I never did it again. Except maybe you should never say never, isn’t that what they say?

Excerpt

‘What’s this?’ The deep, silky voice sent a shiver down her spine. He flicked a long finger at the unopened letter on his desk, then looked up, his blue gaze meeting her head on. 

She tried to ignore the glow of heat that rushed to her cheeks. Tried to ignore the way he was looking at her, as though he could read every embarrassing thought that was racing through her head. Tried to ignore the way her stomach was starting to do somersaults in response. She swallowed hard. ‘And there was I, thinking you’d be bright enough to read.’ Hoped he couldn’t hear the husky edge to her voice.

‘Humour me.’ He was tieless, the top buttons of his shirt undone, just enough for her to see a distracting patch of silky, tanned skin, the slight hint of dark hair. Dark hair that she knew … She snapped her eyes back to his face with a guilty start. 

‘I’m quitting … It’s my resignation letter.’ 

‘You can’t just leave, no one does.’ 

Oh yeah? He was being so goddamned laid back, like he was about everything; well, nearly everything. Did he expect her to just agree and walk away? ‘Well, someone does now.’ She bit her lip, matched the challenge in his stare. ‘A week’s notice, I think that’s all you can hold me to, isn’t it?’ 

‘I thought you liked it here?’ His eyes had narrowed. 

‘I’ve been offered a better job, you don’t pay me enough.’ He was beginning to annoy her, all he had to do was say OK and let her walk out, but he had to play games, didn’t he? To a man like him, power was everything. 

‘Oh, don’t I?’ The edges of his mouth curled just enough for her to notice, which annoyed her. The fact he was doing it and the fact that she’d noticed. 

‘No, actually you don’t.’ She glared. Which seemed to amuse him even more; the man needed a slap. ‘This isn’t funny. Do you even know what I get paid?’ 

‘I try to make sure people get what they’re worth.’ His voice was a lazy drawl; his eyes were drifting slowly over her body. Boy, she really could slap him now. 

‘Well I’m obviously worth more to someone else.’ 

His eyes seemed to darken and for a second she thought she’d gone too far, let her temper outweigh commonsense. He raised a hand and she fought the urge to flinch, touched her lips nervously with the tip of her tongue, and then watched as he ran strong fingers through his hair. His head tipped slightly. ‘How about I make an offer you can’t refuse?’ His eyes never left her. 

She would have laughed normally at the melodramatic words, but he looked deadly serious. And she did like her job here; it was challenging but fun. It was just the seeing him bit that she didn’t like. And the pay; she’d not been messing, it wasn’t enough for her to rent anywhere on her own. And going home to mother wasn’t an option. 

When Jamie had chucked her out her best mate had offered her a room, but now her best mate had just announced the boyfriend was moving in. The biggest dick out, and he hated her. Dick in, her out. 

Brent seemed to be watching the thoughts run through her head. She hesitated. She could cope with seeing him every day, she could get over it. After all, it had only been one shag. ‘What kind of offer?’ She waited; 2 per cent, 3, feeling like a horse at market. How much was she worth to Mr Hotshot? 

And then he smiled a wicked, toe-curling smile that raised her internal temperature a notch. He leant back slightly in his chair, the crystal eyes never leaving hers, and made her an offer she really hadn’t expected at all. 

‘How about you marry me?’ 

She stared, aware her mouth was slightly open, and not in an attractive way. ‘How about you get serious?’

Available from - Xcite Books,  Amazon (UK),  Amazon (US), Barnes & Noble,  All Romance and all other good e-book sellers.

About the author

Zara is a writer and lover of all things romantic, from the sensual to the sexual, who knows that naughty can be nice. She lives in the UK, but whenever she can she heads off in search of some sunshine and inspiration for her stories.

She love sexy high heels...good food....good wine....music...coffee (lots and lots of coffee)... and Italy. All things Italian from the countryside to the culture, the wine to the food...and of course the sexy men.

She's been a consultant, a teacher, a mother, a wife, a lover... and has always been a writer and she'd love to hear from you.

Where you can find her-

Blog: http://zarastoneley.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter:  @ZaraStoneley

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ZaraStoneley

Email – zarastoneley@gmail.com

Guest Blog Post - Margaret Frazier-

Today's guest blogger is Margaret Frazier, author of The Murderer's Tale and her newest release, Winter Heart.   Margaret discusses how her love for unrelated interests led to the interesting plots that weave through her stories!

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

I grew up in a small town in the middle of Illinois.  I wasn't sure why I often felt like an alien there, but I did – as if I was out of sync with the whole world.

      Then I discovered science fiction and fantasy and -- as I moved into my teens -- archaeology and anthropology.  A strange combination of unrelated interests?  Not really.  All four – science fiction, fantasy, archaeology, and anthropology – show us different worlds and different ways of being from our everyday one.  At the very best, they take us so far outside our familiar ways of seeing the world that we’re then able to turn around and view our lives from outside -- see our lives as one way of being, not the only way of being.

        It was a great comfort to realize that being "other" was not the same as being "wrong".

        And then I fell into medieval England.

        It happened by accident when I was in my mid-teens.  In close succession, a movie (El Cid), a play (Richard II), and a novel (The Daughter of Time) twitched my interest about a time I’d had no interest in at all until then.  Wanting to know a little more about the actual world of the people in that movie, play, and novel, I found myself being drawn in deeper and deeper, wanting to know more and more, and in many ways, I found myself in a world as alien as anything you’ll find in many science fiction and fantasy stories.  The difference is that there are actual remains from that medieval world.  We have the letters people wrote to each other, can read the stories they told, visit places where they lived, hear the music and see the pictures they made.  We have documents of actual lives.

        All right – yes – I confess I turned into a research freak.  I couldn’t learn enough about this new world I had discovered; I wanted more, always more.  Oh, all right – full disclosure here -- I still can’t get enough of it.  The research goes on!

        But even stronger than my urge to research is my urge to tell stories.  I was making up stories for myself long before I was able to write them down, and so my love of The Other that finds fulfillment in late medieval England has been turned into novels and short stories – and now a novella, Winter Heart – as I take the richness of details about a complex, multi-layered world and weave strands of it into stories, trying to make that long-vanished world and its people alive again for readers now.  I have two series.  The newer one follows Joliffe the Player, a travelling actor beginning to be involved in spying for a powerful bishop.  My older series centers on Dame Frevisse, a Benedictine nun, with Winter Heart the latest of her stories.  Despite it has characters familiar from novels and other short stories, it’s meant to stand alone, a story woven around the beliefs, emotions, laws, and faith as lived by people in a small place in a long ago time and yet mirroring so much we can see in ourselves today, because love, lust, and greed are strong in all times, whatever different forms they take.  I constantly explore them in my stories – darkly as in the novel The Murderer’s Tale and the short story The Stone Worker’s Tale; with greater hope in ones like The Squire’s Tale.

        I love to travel otherwhere and otherwhen, both in what I write and what I read.  As for the science fiction, archaeology, and anthropology that saved my sanity when I was very young -- I still love them: they’re where I go on vacation from medieval England!

Irish Moon - The Movie? Guest Blog Post by Amber Scott

Irish Moon…as a movie?

We all dream it. Our book, there, in the bright lights, on the big screen, awing audiences the world over. The really fun thing about writing fiction? I’m practiced at ‘playing pretend.’ So why not do it BIG?

Okay, cut to scene. The camera sweeps over the stormy gray ocean at dawn. A skiff is being tossed about at sea, dangerously close to cliffs, so flat, so steep. Viewers feel it down in the pit of their guts, this can’t be good.

“Wake up!” the audience wants to scream. But the man in the boat doesn’t stir. He’s passed out, haggard looking (yet devastatingly handsome) and clutches a wooden chest. A flash of lightening pierces the sky making us notice an old man standing at the top of the cliffs, his arms raised to the heavens….

This is the image that came to me when I first imagined Irish Moon. It’s Tristan and Isolde meets The Mists of Avalon. I see magic and betrayal and passion that cannot be denied.

Oh! How I love this era. The beauty, the drama, the possibilities.

For Ashlon, I would cast Adrian Grenier (swoon!), for Breanne, I’d cast…hmmm. That one I might need help on. She’s fair, petite, blonde but strong-willed and not interested in frivolity. Finn might be the most fun to cast, particularly since his role would only be a voice. Whoever played him would need to be fluent in snark.

The special effects and beauty of Harry Potter, the music of Enya, and my book turned movie would feel complete. Well, almost.

I’d want you there, too, large butter drenched bucket of popcorn in lap and a grin on your face that practically screamed, “This is going to be so good!”

I’ll buy the popcorn.

:}Amber Scott

***

“Who are you?” the man asked, sounding so inspired that Breanne returned to his side and touched his cheek.

“Shhh. Rest now. You have a long journey ahead of you.” Then she bent forward and kissed his forehead, giving in to an urge to feel how soft his skin was. Part of her knew she shouldn’t be so intimate, tender. It took advantage of his vulnerability and compromised trust. A healer walked the fine line of trust with any charge.

But, she didn’t regret it when her lips pressed his skin, warm, moist with sweat. His hand covered hers on his cheek and then touched her cheek. His fingers trembled. Breanne inched back and lowered her gaze to his. What she saw there startled her. Never before had she seen such intensity, such heat in another’s eyes.

Breanne leaned her cheek into his palm and searched his eyes. His hot gaze trapped her, spellbound and unable to retreat or progress. She needed to do neither, as he did for her.

His hand slid back and into her hair. She covered his hand with hers, her touch intrigued by the change from stubble to smooth texture. He pulled her gently. His lips caressed hers, a whisper of touch, and his eyes closed. Breanne’s closed as well and the feel of his lips on hers magnified. A dizzying hunger for more took root in Breanne and she pressed her lips onto his, opening her mouth. The hunger grew, spreading through her limbs, down her belly, between her thighs.

A shockwave tingled there when his tongue met hers, soft and warm. He tasted sweet. His lips on hers were so firm but pliant. She gripped his hand and leaned in for more. His tongue swept into her mouth, jolting her with pleasure.

She reveled in this new experience and grew bold. All thought beyond the feel of it, of him, escaped her. She matched his sweep with her own, suckling his lower lip, letting her teeth drag against it, savoring the plump feel.

The tingle warmed, changed, into an ache unlike any she'd ever known. It made her heart beat harder, her breathing feel desperate. She needed something more, craved a satisfaction she could not name but sensed it there in his lips pressing hers, his tongue twining and tormenting her mouth.

His hand stroked her jaw and explored lower, brushing her throat, tickling her collarbone and all the while taking Breanne's hand with it. She couldn't let go and as it drew farther and farther down, a strange, wonderful beating of anticipation built in her.

Upcoming Guest Blog- Bestseller For A Day - March 16.

The Indie Book Collective's next "Bestseller For A Day" is scheduled for March 16.  The featured writer will be Amber Scott and the book will be "Irish Moon".   Also on  March 16, a guest blog by Amber will be posted here at Release Notes discussing her book and her movie vision for it!  The post is fun and exciting and so totally Amber.  On the 16th, buy the book from Amazon and let's make "Irish Moon" bestseller for a day!

Guest Blog Author - Carolyn McCray

I'm SOOOOO excited!!  Carolyn McCray was gracious enough to stop by with a blog post about her upcoming "Bestseller For A Day"!  Without further ado, this blog is hers!! 

I couldn’t be more excited for Monday to get here #foottapping

You think I’m crazy, right?

Well, wait. I have a very good reason!

Monday could very well mark what could potentially be a historic day in publishing history. Not bad, right?

Because this Monday, February 28, 2011 is the ginormous promotion by the Indie Book Collective (which I cofounded) called Bestseller For A Day where my thriller 30 Pieces of Silver will be priced at just 99 cents to propel it onto the Amazon Top 100 Kindle* List! With your help I can do it!!

But wait…how realistic is this…really?

Well, I’ve already dipped into the 600’s overall ranking, so with YOUR help, we can make this happen! Let’s show the big NYC publishers just what an indie author can do, baby.

Plus, you get great prizes too! Just by purchasing my book, you can enter to win a free Kindle…woot! That’s right. By helping me drive 30 Pieces of Silver to the top of the Kindle Lists YOU can win too!!

Simply purchase my book on Amazon for 99 cents and then head back over to the Bestseller For A Day site and enter your email address and the first 5 numbers of your Amazon purchase confirmation code – and viola! You will have 5 entries to win a FREE Kindle!

But that’s not ALL (pft. This is ME, after all.) How about a BONUS BUY? Yep. Purchase Plain Jane by Cristyn West at the same time you purchase 30 Pieces of Silver, and receive a full rebate for the purchase price of “Plain Jane” PLUS another 5 entries to win the FREE Kindle. #ohyea I did just say that!

I could not do what I do without the wonderful support of reviewers like Karen, her fab site and readers like YOU, who inspire me to keep writing my stories. Please continue to support your favorite authors, particularly indie authors who continue to forge our own path through promotions like Bestseller For A Day and the IBC’s upcoming Blog Tour de Force CAGE MATCH Tour in April!

We love and need you! Help us spread the word—tell your friends, your mom, your neighbors, your dog—tell everyone to buy 30 Pieces of Silver on Monday! I promise, based on all the 5/5 star reviews, you will enjoy the book!

See you Monday, readers!

*Remember, even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download an eBook: all you need is a smartphone or computer. See the Amazon free Kindle app page for details.

You can find Carolyn McCray on Twitter at @craftycmc, @IndieBookIBC, or @writingnodrama where she teaches writers writing stuff. You can also check out her website http://carolynmccray.com for all of her books and multiple personalities.