March 2014 – Page 2 – Cindy's Love Of Books

Blog Tour Promo/ Falling For Hope

Posted on March 27, 2014April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Title – Falling For Hope

Series – Four Winds #3

Author– Anne Conley

Genre– Paranormal Romance

Publication Date – March 5, 2014

Length (Pages/#words)- 46,000 words

Publisher – Anne Conley

Cover Artist – Vanessa Booke

Book Blurb/Synopsis-

Hope is an eccentric librarian who lives with her five cats and loves to spend her time fantasizing about living in a world of shape shifters, vampires, and fairies. Although the existence of a paranormal world is far from Hope’s reality, she can’t help but sense there’s something different about the mysterious man lurking in her library.

Gabriel is God’s Strength, the Messenger, who’s been tasked with delivering the Word for millennia. His most recent assignment will be his last, to fall in love and become human. But he can’t quite figure out what he’s done to displease the Boss. Gabriel’s latest assignment might be the hardest, but this gorgeous rubenesque quirk of a woman definitely has him intrigued.

God’s Four Winds are his most trusted archangels: Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael. Follow their adventures in “falling” as they each discover their chosen one and what it means to be human. Along the way, the Deceiver, who’s been cast down, only wants what his “brothers” have, and will stop at nothing to foil his Father’s plans.

Falling for Hope is book three in the Four Winds series, but they are all stand-alone novels.

AMAZON | GOODREADS | SMASHWORDS | BARNES & NOBLES

The next morning, Hope was watching her feet as she climbed the steps to the library. She cursed to herself as she tasted the tangy-sweet saliva in her mouth again. Maybe it was some sort of building issue? She’d never heard of asbestos making people taste funny things, but she’d be sure to ask the other employees today, just in case.

As she neared the top of the stairs, Hope felt the prickly feeling yet again, and her gaze rose to the man standing in front of the library doors waiting.

“Aren’t the doors open?” She tried to sound solicitous, but the truth of the matter was, this guy took her breath away. It was the man that had watched her all day yesterday.

“Yes, but I won’t be staying today.” The low rumble of his voice greeted her a cheery good morning unlike anything else she could ask for. Just the sound of his voice made her day perfect.

“Oh.” Disappointed that he wouldn’t be in her little room of the library bit through the fog of his voice.

“Come to dinner with me tonight.”

Shocked speechless, she stared at him. He had an air of expectation about him, and his forehead crinkled in thought at the same time that she heard his luxurious voice rumble inside her head.

Come. Say yes. His sexy-as-sin voice resonated inside her head.

Hope’s eyes darted around, making sure there wasn’t anybody else who could have done that, before she looked back up at him. “You don’t have to use the force on me. I’m thinking. I was just taken by surprise, is all.”

Both of his eyebrows rose, almost to his hairline and his eyes widened in surprise. “You heard that?”

“Didn’t you mean for me to?” She countered, putting a hand on her hip.

His face remained impassive. “Well…yes. But usually it’s not so obvious.” His tone of voice suggested he wasn’t expecting Hope to call him on his little trick, and seeing that gave her a little boost of confidence.

“You go around using Jedi mind tricks on women to get dates often?”

He chuckled, and his eyes dropped to the ground. “No. I’ve never done it for a date, no.”

Hope’s eyes roamed his body from his feet, clad in shiny leather loafers, up his gray woolen slacks (Hello, Fifty), to the black sweater vest he wore over a white long-sleeved button down shirt, open at the collar. His face held strong features: a square jaw with a small dimple in the middle, high, obscenely high cheekbones, a rather large mouth that made her mind travel to erotic places, and those eyes… The man exuded a strength that wasn’t visible. Well, it was visible, he looked like his muscles had muscles, but he had an air of intense power and vigor about him that told Hope he expected people to do what he said. Often.

Then her eyes traveled to herself. She had worn black dress pants today, with a shirt that actually sort of fit her large breasts, although it showed a little more cleavage than she was comfortable with. Hope looked at him again, and his eyes held the question. What was her answer?

“Why?”

The question in his eyes turned to surprise. Apparently, this guy didn’t get questioned very often. An image flitted through her mind, the two of them together at a table, lit with candles, Hope’s head thrown back in laughter.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you do that, too?”

He had the grace to look sheepish. “Will you go to dinner with me?”

“No.”

His head snapped up, and his mouth fell open. “Why not?”

“Because I’m having dinner with my parents tonight. But you didn’t answer my question? Why do you want to take me out?”

It was his turn to peruse her. His eyes started at her feet, and slowly worked their way up her body. By the time they reached her face, Hope was squirming. “Why not?” The timbre of his voice washed over her, like it had yesterday, and Hope actually felt her breasts get heavier, as if they were swelling out of her bra.

Why not, indeed?

“Okay, my lunch is from one to two.”

“I’ll pick you up here, then? At one o’clock?”

Hope nodded, suddenly speechless again, unable to look away as he turned his long, lean frame and deftly descended the steps. Suppressing the urge to do a happy dance, lest he turn around and catch her, she scurried inside the library.

Author bio-

Anne Conley lives in a small town in East Texas, with her husband, two kids and numerous goats. She brazenly stole her pseudonym from her great-grandmother, a true pioneer woman who raised seven kids alone: churning butter, plucking chickens, knitting clothes, and putting coal oil on every visible wound. Anne’s Stories of serendipity feature real people, living life and finding love in a small town. She also has a Paranormal Romance series, the Four Winds about archangels “falling” in love and coping with turning into humans Her writing is escapist therepy, and she succumbs to it every chance she gets.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

GIVEAWAY PRIZE LIST

1 winner will receive all 3 ebooks of the Four Winds series (Falling for Heaven, Falling for Grace, and Falling for Hope)

1 winner will receive a FREE ebook of Falling for Hope

1 winner (US only) will receive an Autographed copy of Hot Mess, a Story of Serendipity

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE AUTHORS GIVEAWAY

sexy woman in red underwear undressing a man

This Tour Organized By:

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

New Cover Reveal/ Discovery by Brina Courtney

Posted on March 27, 2014April 7, 2014 by Cindy

Discoveries can be dangerous. Discoveries can be deadly.

Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews’ boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it’s time to get on with her life. A new home, new job, and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer…

…until a young girl’s body shows up one night in town, wearing a pentagram necklace exactly like Teagan’s.

Now a guy looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It’s a matter of life… and her death.

About The Author

Website Twitter Facebook

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She’s spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

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I thought I would share the old cover of this book. I have to say that I relaly like them both. What do you think?

I can’t wait to read this book as it sounds really good.

Review/ Reveal

Posted on March 26, 2014April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Title: Reveal (Cryptid Tales #1)

Author: Brina Courtney

Pages: 218

Pub Date: First released November 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

You think seeing ghosts is weird? Tell me something I don’t know.

Shay Tafford’s childhood has been fatherless, filled instead with memories of speaking to the
dead. She is forced to hide her unique ability from those living around her. That’s why it’s been comforting to have Jeremy, a child ghost, as her confidante. But recently he’s been absent, perhaps lost as her father is. When Shay meets Hugh, the guy she’s had a crush on for weeks, and finds he can speak to ghosts too, she’s just starting to find a normalcy in her life.

But as Hugh reveals the truth to Shay, about who she really is and about what it is she can do, he erases all chances she had at a normal existence. Turns out talking to ghosts is just scratching the surface of her genetically engineered gifts. Shay learns she may be part of an age old prophecy that could save the entire race of cryptids. But can she?

This is a debut novel by Brina Courtney and I want to quickly thank Mark My Words for allowing me to be a part of the book tour from Reveal and today I am sharing my review with you.

Shay who is the main character of the book is a high school student has lived through her fair share of life events. A young person should never have to live through that much in such a short time. When Shay was a young girl her father went missing without a trace and to this day it still affects Shay. She was very close to her father.

Since that day Shay has been able to communicate with ghosts. One particular ghost is a young boy names Jeremy. He was an orphan and living was living in an orphanage when it was burned down mysteriously. Sadly in that fire 35 other boys and girls died. There ghosts are lingering around and they all have specific tasks to do.

Growing up Jeremy has always been Shay’s best friend and when they have a fight she banishes him and he is never seen again. This has left a hole in Shay’s life and this forces her to find a human friend named Olivia. They spend all their time together and do all kinds of typical teen stuff.

On a recent trip to a coffee house they met Hugh and Shay discovers he is just like her. Through talking to Hugh she discovers that he actually knows so much more then Shay and he tells her that there are others just like them called Cryptids. Shay begins to hang out more with Hugh and his parents are beginning to think that Shay and Hugh could possible be the prophecy couple they heard about. Could they be the answer that is needed?

I loved the cover for the book. I really enjoyed the story. It was nice to read something a little different from what I normally read. Its nice to branch out and discover a new author.

Promo Blitz/ Bad Boy vs Millionaire

Posted on March 25, 2014April 7, 2014 by Cindy

photo onewiththewindbanner_zps89c7c416.jpg

Bad Boy vs. Millionaire – Cover Reveal

By Candy Starr

New Adult

When fate forced Hannah Sorrento to take on the management of indie rockers, Storm, she managed to survive but, when she found out she’d been played by their mercurial front man, Jack Colt, the betrayal hit her hard.

She flees to Tokyo, where her father orchestrates a deal to save their collapsed financial empire. A deal that involves a gorgeous millionaire.

Tamaki is everything Jack isn’t and, with their similar backgrounds, he and Hannah form a bond. He offers her safety and security as well as a return to her luxurious lifestyle. But the passion Jack arouses in Hannah won’t be denied.

In the second Bad Boy Rock Star book, Rock Star vs Millionaire, can Hannah forgive Jack or will she take the sanctuary Tamaki offers?

EXCERPT

Jack was in the kitchen, making breakfast. How could a man look so good first thing in the morning? With his tussled hair and baggy pj bottoms… and I didn’t even want to think about his arms in that tank top. That curve from his shoulders down his arm. A classically trained ballerina could not move as gracefully as that curve in his muscle as he . If I thought too hard about it, the only decision left in this world would be whether I wanted to trace that indent with my finger tip or my tongue.

“Want a coffee?”

I jumped, hoping he couldn’t read my thoughts.

I sat at the kitchen bench with my gaze fixed firmly on my hands.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” he asked.

I hadn’t really thought about it.

“I guess I should start looking for a place to live.”

“You can stay here as long as you like, you know. It’s okay.” He grinned at me. I’d add that to my collection of the other four or five genuine Jack Colt smiles I’d got in this life.

“With you sleeping on the couch, I don’t think so.”

The words hung in the air. Emotions flitting over both our faces, words we didn’t want to put out there. Jack didn’t have to sleep on the couch. I had taken over his bed and that bed had a huge Jack Colt-shaped emptiness that had haunted my dreams.

He squeezed by me to get cups out of the cupboard. In the small kitchen space, I couldn’t help but be aware of his physical closeness, the feeling of his body almost brushing against mine and the smell of his skin that even the fresh coffee couldn’t hide. I wanted to press against him and feel his heat. I wanted him to be mine to touch and caress but he wasn’t. Too many questions hung over us. He’d told me that he wanted me, he wanted to be with me but I still had no idea if I could trust him.

I moved to sit on the sofa, putting some space between us.

Maybe I should just ask, I thought. Bring it all out into the open. Tell him how I felt, my fears and worries. Let him know what was holding me back. But the words didn’t exist in me. This wasn’t some talk show. We were real people and real people didn’t let it all out. They held it deep inside, hugging it to themselves. When you told people how you felt, that gave them the power.

If I was a normal girl, I’d have these straight forward emotions that I could talk about. I’d be able to lay it out on the table, take it or leave it. But, instead my emotions squirmed inside me, burrowing deeper and deeper.

Candy Starr

Candy J. Starr used to be a band manager until she realised that the band she managed was so lacking in charisma that they actually sucked the charisma out of any room they played. “Screw you,” she said, leaving them to wallow in obscurity – totally forgetting that they owed her big bucks for video equipment hire.

Candy has filmed and interviewed some big names in the rock business, and a lot of small ones. She’s seen the dirty little secrets that go on in the back rooms of band venues. She’s seen the ugly side of rock and the very pretty one.

But, of course, everything she writes is fiction.

Author Links

Website | Twitter

Buy Links

Amazon Author Page

Giveaway

$10 Amazon Gift Card

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Book Blitz/ First Impression

Posted on March 24, 2014April 12, 2014 by Cindy

Chira Kelly thought she didn’t need anyone…until she met Ben.
Because of one ugly rumor, Chira lives as an outcast at her school. Which is fine with her, because she works better alone. Always has, always will. And at least she has her one and only true friend, Tasha. When Tasha insists that they join a group to visit a possibly haunted abandoned old schoolhouse, she’s wary, but joins her friend. Because of that decision, their lives are in jeopardy as a malevolent spirit targets the group.
Tragedies and accidents pick them off one by one, and Chira finds herself drawn to the one person who can see the truth. But can he protect her?

First Impression: A Shadow Maven Paranormal

Release Date: March 24, 2014

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/Urban Mystery

goodreads

Chira Kelly thought she didn’t need anyone…until she met Ben.

Because of one ugly rumor, Chira lives as an outcast at her school. Which is fine with her, because she works better alone. Always has, always will. And at least she has her one and only true friend, Tasha. When Tasha insists that they join a group to visit a possibly haunted abandoned old schoolhouse, she’s wary, but joins her friend. Because of that decision, their lives are in jeopardy as a malevolent spirit targets the group.
Tragedies and accidents pick them off one by one, and Chira finds herself drawn to the one person who can see the truth. But can he protect her?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

First Impression

by Pauline Creeden

Giveaway ends April 30, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Teaser Book Trailer

First Impression Teaser Book Trailer from Pauline Jim Creeden on Vimeo.

Purchase Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N| Kobo

Excerpt

She rips my hall pass from her pad and points it toward the young man sitting across from her desk. “Chira Kelley, meet Ben Oscuro. He’s new here and needs someone to show him around. It just so happens he’s also a member of class 18B.”

I finally focus on the boy. He doesn’t look up at me, and his disheveled dark hair is just long enough that it hides his eyes. But he pushes himself up from his chair, and his slim form towers over me. He’s at least six-feet-two and his uniform is almost as crumpled as his hair. He swings his backpack onto a strong, square shoulder and nibbles his full bottom lip. His smooth olive skin and dark hair make him look like a foreign rocker, and there’s something about him that seems vaguely familiar.

“Here’s a copy of his class schedule. When you’re not in the same class, I want you to leave a few minutes early and help him find the next class room. That’s your job for today. Got it?”

I swallow back and resist sniffling again. Taking the hall pass and the copy of the schedule from her, I say, “Um…sure.”

“Excellent. Robin, you’re off the hook.”

The office aide pumps a fist in the air before returning to file more papers in the cabinet. The secretary’s chair squeals a dismissal, and Mrs. Campbell picks up her phone, returning to her duties without another word.

Ben pulls open the office door and stands to the side to allow me to go first. The hallway that was empty only a short while ago is now full of students and their continuous conversations. With a shrug, I eye his class schedule quickly. Except for second and sixth period, we have exactly the same schedule. He’s in all of the advanced classes, too. Only he has gym for second period and Latin for sixth – opposite of my schedule, except I take French.

Piece of cake.

I glance up at him again, and his eyes meet mine. My breath hitches. His intense gaze makes me feel like he’s measuring me. The dark pools of his eyes seem deep and bottomless, but there’s something strange about them. They’re brown, but he has colored contacts. Why would anyone color their eyes brown?

My heart flutters. A sniffle escapes me before I can stop it. Ugh. I clear my throat and start in the direction of first period. “Follow me.”

We elbow our way down the freshman hall toward the second floor, but before we start up I point down the way. “Do you know what your locker number is?”

Ben nods and pushes his backpack on his shoulder farther.

I wait for a second and then smile. “What is it?”

“706.” He has a slight accent, and his voice is deeper than I expect. I suppress a shiver at the jolt the musical timbre of his voice sends through my body. I’m resonating like a tuning fork. I really want him to speak again with every fiber of my being. What’s with me?

“Uh…okay.” I swallow, trying to regain composure. I take him to the general area of the locker. “Here it is.”

He looks at it, nods, and returns his hard gaze to me. Is he always so stiff? Probably just nerves from being new.

“I know you don’t have any books to put in it, but do you want to try out the combination?”

He lifts one shoulder in a shrug and spins the combo quickly through the three numbers. I purposefully avert my eyes so he knows I’m not peeking. He opens the locker wide, nods toward me, and then closes it again.

“Great. We have first period over here.”

“You and I have the same first period?”

My body vibrates again, and I blink hard. So glad my back was to him so he couldn’t see the effect his voice has on me. I swallow and face him. “Actually, yeah. Our schedules are very similar. It’s a smallish school, so there’re only a few tracks that juniors can be on.”

He nods, and his eyes are half lidded as if he’s bored already.

I lead him toward our classroom. “We don’t really have assigned seats, so you can pretty much sit anywhere you want. I’ll show you to the gym at the end of class. I have French next, but it’s not too far from there.”

I lead him to the front of the class, and my friend Tasha gives me a wan smile and raises her eyebrows, looking back and forth between me and Ben. She mouths, Who’s that?

I roll my eyes and put up one finger toward her to let her know I’ll tell her in a minute. Then I turn to the teacher. I hand him the schedule from the office. “Hi, Mr. Scott, this is Ben Oscuro, a transfer.”

Mr. Scott’s kind blue eyes smile at us both. He sets down the Mountain Dew he was drinking and offers Ben a wide grin. He puts a hand out for him to shake. Ben hesitates but takes the hand in what looks like a firm grip. Mr. Scott shakes his hand afterward. “That’s some grip you’ve got there.” He laughs and leans down to the bottom drawer of his desk and hands Ben a geography text book.

With a nod, I return to Tasha and squeeze into the desk next to hers. I’m at Jackson Hall partially on my father’s insurance money partially on scholarship because my stepdad works at the school. What he does, I don’t know, because I’ve never seen him. Because of all this, I’m somewhat of a social pariah. My only real friend is Tasha Brown, a pariah herself, being one of the few African-American kids in the school. Still she tends to be more popular than me, because at least her family has the money they’ve made in the night club and music business. But then there’s that rumor…

“So who is the new hottie?” Tasha hops up and down in her seat.

I shake my head at her. “You are one big hormone, you know that? Sure, he’s cute, but is there any guy in the room you don’t consider a hottie?”

Tasha scans the room with her hand on her chin and a very serious expression on her face. Her hair is in the typical pigtail braids she usually uses to play up the uniform. She has on no sweater, and her shirt is one size too small, the buttonholes at the front stretched to expose part of her red bra. Finally she returns her gaze to me. “There’s only one guy in here that doesn’t rank hottie.”

“Really? Who?”

She leans in conspiratorially and whispers, “Mr. Scott.”

I nearly choke on a laugh as I eye the middle-aged, balding teacher at the front of the room. But I have to admit, Jackson Hall is a prep school. And there’s no one who can afford to make their children look their best more than the wealthy. I guess if I take my father’s words to heart, it’s better to be the poor kid in the rich kids’ school…than the other way around. Right?

Tasha’s smile returns, and I follow her gaze to figure out why. Ben Oscuro walks down the aisle between us and takes the desk right behind mine. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. He smells like pine and mint, and it reminds me of the outdoors. When I open them again, Tasha’s smile has grown impossibly wider. She leans towards me and whispers, “What was that you said about hormones again?”

I shove my elbow toward her, but she dodges me with a giggle.

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One winner will receive a swag pack from Pauline Creeden and its open International!!!

About the Author

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. Her books have hit #1 on the Amazon Bestseller List and Armored Hearts won the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Award in Historical Fiction. First Impression: A Shadow Maven Paranormal is her first mystery. It’s a dark urban fantasy and will be released March 24, 2014.

Website: http://PaulineCreeden.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/PaulineCreeden

Twitter: http://twitter.com/P_Creeden

Promo Blitz/ Glory Days

Posted on March 24, 2014April 12, 2014 by Cindy

Glory Days – PROMO Blitz

By Patrick Szabo

Young Adult / Coming of Age

Date Published: March 3, 2014

Matt is heading into his senior year of high school and has the world at his feet.

School comes easy for him. He’s the lead guitar player in a hard rock band, about to embark on their first gig. He has a job he likes, a car he doesn’t, a best friend he hopes to be friendlier with, and a pretty good set of parents. He has it all.

Until he doesn’t.

His dad suddenly begins acting strange and keeping odd hours. Matt has his own life to live, though, and doesn’t pay it much attention. Until he wakes up one morning to find his dad gone, leaving behind only a short note to his mother, setting into motion a chain of events that sends Matt down a dangerous path that could jeopardize his present as well as his future. Forced to quit a job he likes, he must take on a new job to help his mother out financially, but one that also eats into his ever important social life as well as school. Adding to his troubles, his best friend, Dawn, has a new boyfriend.

Matt can’t wait to become a member of the Class of 1989, but first he must get out of 1988 alive.

* NOTE *Contains adult language

EXCERPT

Chapter 1

I was seventeen years old when I played my first gig.

Thinking back, it really wasn’t that big a deal in the grand, macro scheme of things. It didn’t change my life nor did it lead to a record deal, followed quickly by fortune and glory. Women didn’t throw themselves at me or scream and cry when they saw me, like the girls in the old footage of The Beatles early shows. I played lead guitar in an 80’s hard rock band. We did get a fairly decent sized following around Columbia, SC, but a few years into our music career the bottom fell out of that type of music. Thanks in equal parts to fluffy ‘metal’ bands all over the airwaves and a few groups from Seattle that took the nation by storm. So, yeah, that first gig wasn’t that big a deal.

But at the time? It was the greatest moment of my young life.

The night before the show I didn’t sleep that well. I was way too excited to be bothered by any of those little slices of death, to paraphrase Poe. Don’t get me wrong, I tried to sleep, I really did. But each time sleep started to overtake me, my overactive mind kicked slumber to the curb and whirled with a thousand possibilities, all of them bad.

I only had one guitar, so what if I broke a string during a song? What if my voice went out? What if I forgot how to play the songs or messed up during the guitar solos? What if my dream girl didn’t show up? What if, what if, what if?

Then I would nod off for a few minutes and then wake up again and the cycle would continue.

Frustrated, I kicked the covers off and slipped out of bed. I thought about going for a swim—nothing quite like a middle of the night dip in the pool—and then decided against it. There would be dead bugs in the pool, possibly big ass palmetto bugs (my current Biggest Fear for some reason), and we didn’t have enough light in the backyard to properly scoop out all the detritus. So that was out. I decided to get a pop out of the refrigerator and think about my predicament.

I stepped quietly out of my room into the darkened hallway and tripped over my dog, who was asleep on his side outside my parents’s bedroom door. The big dog yelped and tried to jump up as I stumbled across his previously prone form. I cussed, regained my balance, and then he got his legs tangled in mine, and we both went down with a crash, a jumble of arms and legs and fur.

“Son of a bitch,” I said.

“Bo, shut up,” Dad’s groggy voice bellowed from behind the door.

I started to push myself up but Bo threw himself on top of me and shoved me back to the floor. He licked me.

“Get off me, you big moose,” I said and pushed his head away. He lurched forward and got in one more slobbery dog kiss—his impeccabley aimed tongue lapping my mouth—and then he was gone. I wiped his slobber from my face and swiped my hand on the carpet. “Gross, dog.”

He chuffed at me and then lay back down in front of Mom and Dad’s closed door. I shook my head, got up, and went to the kitchen. I squinted my eyes against the glare of the refrigerator light, grabbed a can of pop, and plopped down at the kitchen table. I popped the top as quietly as I could and took a big gulp. Then another. And one more for good measure.

I sat in the dark and drank and did my best to quiet my mind.

It didn’t really work all that well. I was nervous as hell, but at the same time I was as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve. I finished my drink, got up, and tossed the can in the trash. I thought about that swim again and immediately put it out of my mind. The last thing in the world I needed was a dead palmetto bug bumping up against me in the water. I shivered in disgust at the thought.

I went back to my room and, after closing the door behind me, flipped the light on. I took my guitar off its stand and sat down on my bed. If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well get a little extra practice in. Just a quick run through of the songs we would be playing the next night. I took a deep breath, played a few scales to limber up my fingers, and stopped. I couldn’t remember how to play the song we’d be opening with. Hell, I couldn’t even remember the name.

“Shit,” I muttered. I sat there with my guitar resting across one leg and stared at my closet door, but the set list didn’t magically appear on the wood in blazing letters from the heavens.

“Come on, dumb ass,” I said. I thought about calling the singer but I didn’t think his parents would appreciate a phone call at three in the morning from some dipshit kid panicking over a song title. Why didn’t I write the damned songs down and toss the paper in my guitar case? Why was I such an idiot?

And then it came to me.

“Stagefright,” I said and felt relief flood through me. I shook my head and noticed for the first time that I was sweating. I chuckled. “Flop sweat.”

I did a speed run through the first few songs of the set and figured that was enough. If I didn’t get some sleep I would be pretty useless the next night. I put my guitar away and stretched out on my back and stared at the ceiling.

I ran the set list over and over again in my head and finally fell asleep.

I dreamed of a swimming pool full of palmetto bugs and not being able to scoop them all out. Weird and disgusting.

I woke the next morning just before noon and had some leftover pizza for breakfast. I went outside into the bright heat of the day and glanced at the pool. Nope. Not full of those damnable little insects. Not even one.

I kicked around the house the rest of the day, not really paying any attention to what I was doing. It just wasn’t that important. Finally it was time to get ready for the gig, so I showered, blew dry my hair, and got dressed.

I grabbed my guitar case, told my parents goodbye, and went out to my car. I put the case in the back seat, climbed behind the steering wheel, and prayed it would start. I turned the key and prayed again. It would be just my luck that on the most important day of my life the piece of- – –

It started on the first try. Hallelujah.

I checked my hair in the rearview mirror—I wore it more Iron Maiden, than Poison—and, satisfied, backed out of the driveway.

I popped a tape into the tape deck and drove to the gig, a big dopey grin plastered to my face.

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Review/ Jellybean Kisses

Posted on March 23, 2014April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Title: Jellybean Kisses Book 1
Author: Amy Evans
Pages: 42
Pub Date: February 2014

Source: Mark My Words sent me an ecopy of the book to read and review.

About the book:
First love is the sweetest….

Jax and Jacey are everyone’s favorite couple, even though they’ve barely ever kissed.

In kindergarten, Jax pulled out a chair for Jacey and swept the play dough off so that she would sit down next to him and he’s been carving out ways for them to stick together ever since. Though everyone in their conservative, small beach town sees them as a couple, they’re not, exactly. Because while they both want more, they’ve agreed to wait.

Jacey works hard, respects her elders and follows every spoken and silent rule about fitting in and doing the ‘right’ thing. She doesn’t dare give the gossips more fodder from her family, so she’s kept Jax firmly in the friendzone. It takes a hurricane for her to realize timing is everything, but months later she’s still too afraid to put her heart on the line and tell him how she feels. Then plans change – hers for summer and his for college, and Jacey needs to make the most of the time she and Jax have left, or stay stuck in the land of missed beginnings forever.

This is the first book in what I believe to be a novelle series. This was a fast read and I have to say it left me wanting to read more and I can’t wait to read more when they come out.

This is such a sweet book about first loves. We all remember our first loves, I know I sure do, do you?

This was such a sweet book that made you think back to being in love the first time. The sweet and innocence of it.

I don’t want to say to much because its a really short book and I know I could probably tell you the entire story in this post so all I am going to say is if you are looking for a sweet book to read then I highly recommend this.

I loved the chapter titles as they were all colors in reference to jelly beans.