The Not-Really Death of the Duo by Julie

TODAY’S BREW: the delightfully artificial Dunkins Hazelnut, home brewed

By Julie

NOBODY DIED, BE QUIET.

And the Undead Duo are still the best of friends, Hangover-style.

….but there’s two of us. But like that. I think I’m Bradley Cooper.

Kristen and I still hang out all the time, we text hourly, I babysit her bird, she deals with me. But this blog started when we decided to embark on the journey of publishing together, many moons ago.

Then we did that.

Now we both are still all in with publishing, but we took different routes. Kristen went indie far sooner than I caught on to do. Because guys. You guys. Traditional publishing is not my bag, baby. I just plain cannot deal with trying to please people that aren’t my readers. Kristen figured out a long time ago that indie was better, more in contact with her readers and actually made her some money.

I never claimed to be the smart one.

While Kristen forayed more toward romance and paranormal (check her out here: http://www.kristenstrassel.com/), I went weirder. Big shocker, I know.

Part of our journey together was kicking the baby out of the nest. Wait. You know what I mean. Now it’s time for me to stop clinging to Deadly Ever After, and acknowledging myself as an indie author! Which I’m excited to do! Because while Kristen and I are still a duo in every sense of the word, as an individual, I’m THIS:

I AM PRETTY SCARY. I AM BOTH PRETTY AND SCARY AND PRETTY SCARY. AND I WRITE PRETTY BOOKS WITH SCARY INSIDES AND SCARY BOOKS WITH PRETTY INSIDES.

COME TO MY NEW BLOG, PLEASE. https://juliehutchings.net/  There will be cake and sharks and swordfights.

Here be my newsletter, which I think you should sign up for, but go THIS WAY because if you go THIS WAY through Instafreebie, you can get a RUNNING HOME companion short story for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

GET YOUR INSTAFREEBIE ON https://www.instafreebie.com/free/IBPMb

Instafreebie is awesome, by the way.

Pretty Scary Author News will tell you everything I’m cooking up, and guys. It’s coming along super fantastically. But it takes a little time, so be patient. Still going a helluva lot faster than traditional.

Still bother me @HutchingsJulie on Twitter. You can get all the links you want from me personally if you so desire.

This is not the end of things, it’s new things. And I’ll probably still pop by here because NOSTALGIA. But I’m also a don’t look-backer. Get that damn newsletter, and chase me around like a butcher and a turkey on Thanksgiving.

Love you all and thank you for continuing to be a part of my party!

Welcome to the Shadow World of the Blood Courtesans!

Meet Corynne and Nash!

I was so excited when Michelle Fox asked me to be a part of this multi-author project. We wrote in her world, but came up with our own characters and scenarios. Each story is a standalone, and the series can be enjoyed in any order.

My story is Wanted.

Welcome to the shadow world of Blood Courtesans…where vampires are real and blood is a financial asset. This is the world I live in.
I don’t care about the money I’ll make as a blood courtesan. I need the vampires to protect me from other humans. And more than that, from myself. Any time I think about getting revenge against the bullies who’ve tortured me, the thing I imagine happens. I have no way to control it. And the latest incident has put me in the middle of a murder investigation. I have to convince them to turn me into a vampire. I can’t be tried for murder if I’m already dead. Or…undead.

In the vampire world, blood is money and sex is everything. But when my power catches the attention of the oldest, most powerful vampire in the coven, he’ll do anything to make me his.

Nash doesn’t have to look me in the eye to cast a spell over me. And I don’t even have to look at him to know he wants me.

I’ll either be Nash’s secret weapon–or the downfall of his coven.

Available on Amazon and as part of Kindle Unlimited.

Don’t miss the rest of the books in the Blood Courtesans series!

Reborn Michelle Fox
Marked Gwen Knight
Bitten Kim Faulks
Ensnared Rebecca Rivard
Needed Ever Coming
Hooked Selena Kitt

Happy Book Birthday, Complete Me!

I’ve had a lot of release days, but I think this is a first. We’re having a hurricane/blizzard. It sounds like the roof is going to blow right off this building, and there’s no way we’re keeping power. So I got up in the middle of the night to make sure I could post this. 🙂

X has found his mate, and the Sawtooth Shifters series is complete.

This series became so much more than I expected for me. Every character I write becomes real. I write in first person, as you know, so it’s like they’re telling me their story just like they tell it to you. I’ve never written a seven book series before, and it was only supposed to be four books. Just the Channings and the Forever Home girls. But once I met the Lowes, they refused to be silent. Even though the characters are far from perfect, the characters found the people who loved them just the way they were. It was never about having to ‘fix’ each other, but each character realizing they were good enough just as they are. That there was so much more right than wrong. In Sawtooth Forest, I created a place I’d like to call home.

It’s been hard to let these characters go. I cried when I typed the end.

Keep reading for an excerpt of Complete Me!  And thank you for reading this series and loving these characters just as much as I do! xx

Xavier Lowe wants peace.
A rogue attack kept him trapped in his wolf form, and he’s had enough of the endless war on Sawtooth Forest. His brothers want to play by the rules, but not X. If they don’t take care of this threat, there will be no future to fight for.
Chandra wants to belong.
Her parents left Sawtooth Forest before she was born. They didn’t want her to be sold, instead they gave her a chance to find her true mate. Now she’s in the place she wants to call home, but she never expected her pack to reject her.
Except for one. X knows that Chandra isn’t just any wolf, she’s his mate. And he’ll show her why Sawtooth Forest is worth fighting for.

Excerpt:
X came over to me. Determination and something that made my insides throb uncontrollably swirled in those incredible eyes. He pulled me into his body roughly and his lips crashed against mine in a kiss.
I was too stunned to move. This gorgeous, naked man kissed me in a room full the people who, whether they wanted me or not, had become my whole world in such a short amount of time. I imagined this is what it felt like to be stuck in a snow globe, frozen in time with everything raining down around me. Like the decorative orb, it was magical.
X didn’t give up. His lips moved against mine, coaxing them open. Just like those candy-colored eyes, he tasted salty, sweet, and a little bit forbidden. He’d been starving for this for much longer than the month I’d cared for him, and so had I. I hadn’t exactly been holding out for my true mate, but the way X touched me, his hand cupping the back of my head protectively, his thumb massaging my nape in time with the kiss, I felt like I’d never done this before.
Thank God he held on to me. X probably thought I’d run, but this kiss had turned my knees to junk.
“Come upstairs with me,” he whispered against my cheek.
“X, I…uh…” I had no idea what to say. I forced myself to look away from him, to the rest of the room. They were probably aware of what we were doing, but they didn’t care. There were several similar reunions happening all around us. It was funny, this passion I’d craved all my life scared the hell out of me when I held it in my hands. “We should probably…”
“Talk?” He grinned. “Believe me, there’s a lot of things I’ve been fantasizing about doing with you in my bedroom. How do you think I got through this month? I want to know everything about you.”
I laughed, falling against him in relief. “Talking sounds amazing.”

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1kSgYyD
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Pprjdx
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1Kbgpqi
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1J0Np9L
iBooks: http://apple.co/1ZfElVv
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1J0MKVD
BN: http://bit.ly/1KwQxdY
aRe: http://bit.ly/1TKrbLB

 

Happy Book Birthday, Shelter Me!

Today’s Brew: who ever knew I’d prefer black coffee???

by Kristen

It’s the new moon, and another Sawtooth Shifter finds his mate. We haven’t heard from the Channings in a few months, and there was no way I’d leave Dallas hanging.

Dallas and Lyssie have been in each other’s sights for a while now. They were together at the shelter when Dallas was rescued, and spent some quality time together while the threat from Ryker loomed large, but they were both gun shy about making a commitment. Let’s be plain about what they were actually doing: being stupid. They were waiting for everything to be perfect before they moved forward, until they learned there is no perfect, there’s only forward, whether we’re ready for it or not.

Sometimes when I read over a story in editing or for whatever reason, I’m in shock that I actually put those words together in that exact way.  Shelter Me is one of those stories. I didn’t realize how much I would identify with Lyssie when I sat down with this story. Like Lyssie, I’m guilty of waiting this perfect thing that doesn’t exist. I like to think of myself as this fearless badass, but sometimes I get punched right in the face with the reality that I’m not.

In the middle of writing Shelter Me, someone tried to burn my apartment building down. There were two small fires intentionally set. No one was hurt, and the fires were caught in time that we didn’t lose any material things. No arrests were ever made.

I couldn’t stay there anymore. That morning, I lost my home. I’m in a new place now. I know I’m lucky, because I was able to move to a nicer place that technically makes a lot more sense for me (much closer to the city for the day job, and no more trips to the dreaded laundromat!). But that feeling of coming back at the end of the day and being able to simply exhale and let go hasn’t followed me here yet. I’m hoping it’s just taking the scenic route, because I miss that feeling. A lot. While I’d known I had to move for a long time, I kept putting up with a lot of unnecessary shit because the devil I knew seemed easier than taking a chance on something new.

That fearless badass is still here. She needed a little kickstart. Just like Lyssie. Making the best of the worst is what makes us appreciate all the little things that make life great.

Shelter Me isn’t a downer, I promise you. There are tons of light-hearted moments and appearances from our favorite wolves and the Forever Home crew. And of course, some smokin’ hot sex. The Sawtooth Shifters never disappoint in that department.

And if you don’t believe me, here’s some more teasers:

My next move is definitely to Granger Falls, Idaho. There’s got to be a couple of unattached wolves still roaming Sawtooth. (If only the town really existed!)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Qh7uuJ
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Z91FAY
Amazon AU: http:// http://bit.ly/1ZelODY
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1OccGwy
iBooks: http://apple.co/221P3hj
BN: http://bit.ly/1PiRgeW
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Z88zWZ
ARE: http://bit.ly/1SCXz2c
Google Play: http:// http://bit.ly/1N0IUqz

Check out an excerpt from Shelter Me here.

Haven’t started the series yet?  Forever Home is free.

Happy Book Birthday, Protect Me!

*pops the cork on the champagne*

I did something with Sawtooth Shifters I’ve never done before. First, I didn’t really say anything about it before the series dropped. And I didn’t give you one book. I gave you two. Almost three. Protect Me has been available for what seems like forever now, but today you can finally read it! THANK YOU so much for an AWESOME preorder on Protect Me! I know many of you are waking up to Kiera and Baron on your Kindles or preferred reading devices and fuck, you guys rule. I hope you love them as much as I do.

Kiera is a bad ass chick, and Baron believes it’s time for a different way in the forest. On paper, they don’t look like they’d work. But these two sizzle together.  They’re not a traditional romance couple by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn’t stop them from getting their happily ever after.

Keep reading for an excerpt!

A scarred soldier. A submissive shifter. It’s not what you think.

Baron Channing is tired of fighting.

As second in command, he’s built to take orders. The Channing pack has protected Sawtooth Forest for generations, and now they’re guarding the women who saved the family from the dog fighting ring. The Channings must fight for respect, but Baron doesn’t believe violence is the answer. He needs to take a stand for what he believes in if he wants to keep the incredible woman he’s been assigned to protect.

Kiera is a soldier.

She grew up in a man’s world, and she’s got the scars to prove it. Sent to Forever Home for rehabilitation for PTSD, Kiera didn’t believe she could learn anything from a bunch of homeless animals. But when a rescued werewolf sees her in a way no one else ever has, she realizes how wrong she was.

Together Kiera and Baron learn that the bravest thing is being true to yourself.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1g5hvL1
iBooks: http://apple.co/1UIhaRz
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1KJfi6n
BN: http://bit.ly/1OuKMwt
aRe: http://bit.ly/1P8MCEP

 

Excerpt:

When I was a little girl, I wrote a book. It was similar to the movies I watched a million times with princesses kissing princes and fairy godmothers who waved magic wands, granting them their happily ever after. Because most of the books I read at the time had pictures, I took great care in illustrating it. Colored everything inside the lines. My brothers found it and had a fucking field day. I was the only girl, the youngest of five, so the ridicule was endless. Having nobody to play with but a bunch of boys toughened my ass up in no time, and soon I dreamed of adventures they didn’t laugh at. Anything that would get me as far away from the Kansas farm and the endless flat land we called home had my name written all over it.
I never stopped dreaming of my prince. I didn’t tell anyone about it anymore—I’d learned my lesson. Especially now that I was twenty-nine and my imaginary boyfriend’s GPS didn’t seem to work in Idaho. It was a bitch getting a signal out here.
After the things I had seen, now I was pretty sure happily ever after only existed in fairy tales.
Prince Charming or not, I’d never been satisfied with mediocrity. Baron Channing was the closest thing to my nine-year-old rendition of a fairy tale prince I’d ever seen. I’d originally drawn him in crayon, but I’d nailed the long, shiny black hair and tan skin. I even got the blue eyes right, but I hadn’t dared to imagine they’d be flecked with an impossible amount of gold, like sun streaks on a cloudless day.
Had I met Baron as a man first, I don’t think I would’ve been surprised to learn he was a wolf. Everything about him was sleek and powerful. I was dying to see what his body looked like under his clothes. I got hints of muscle straining against his shirt, but it was just a tease. I hugged my pillow to keep my hands off of him.
I should’ve never let my brothers talk me out of writing romance and becoming a fairy princess. Instead I let them lead me to war.

Ready For Some Fairy Tale Confessions?

Earlier this year, I teamed up with a bunch of awesome authors with one mission: taking on classic fairy tales and putting our own signature stamp on it. This was so different than anything I’d ever done before, so I was in.

When you think about it, a romance novel is a modern day fairy tale.  It brings two unlikely people together. They see something in each other no one else does, and together they can achieve more than they ever could on their own.  And that happily ever after thing, sign me up.

I took on Sleeping Beauty.  I knew I could add my own special twist to this story.  What would wake a modern girl up from a seemingly endless coma?  And what was that slumber a metaphor for?  I came up with Lani, a bad ass rocker chick with her middle finger up in the air, desperately trying to escape the expectations set for her by her famous family, and Darius, the vampire who saw through all the crap–not only the image that her family wanted for her, but they one she’d built for herself–and loved her for who she really was.

This story is EXCLUSIVE to this set. You can’t get it anywhere else.  Also check out Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Jack(lyn) and the Beanstock, Beauty and the Beast, Alice and Wonderland, Pinocchio…seriously, why are you still reading this and not that? Oh, because I haven’t given you links yet. Let me fix that:

Amazon    Amazon UK    BN    iBooks   Kobo

Welcome to Sawtooth Shifters!

Hey Everyone! You may have noticed I was a little quiet all summer with releases. You know it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. I’m excited to reveal what I’ve been up to. Meet the wolves of Sawtooth Forest and the ladies of Forever Home Animal Shelter.

The Channing and Lowe packs have been captured by one of their own, and forced to fight each other in a dog fighting ring. Trina and the ladies from Forever Home rescue them, but the wolves aren’t the only ones in recovery.

With Sawtooth Shifters, I wanted to write strong, realistic women who were starting their lives over. They’ve all been through some serious shit and it would be just as easy for them to retreat and let the bad stuff win. I want them to triumph.

The wolves have something to fight for too. Their future. All the female wolves in their generation have been promised to the wealthiest wolves in the forest. Sold to the highest bidder. The pack system is in jeopardy. The Channings and Lowes have very different ideas on how they’re going to guarantee a future for their families.

Forever Home is an introduction to the world, then the following books will focus on each couple’s love story, with the story of the pack struggles continuing throughout the series. There’s no cliffhangers. You can read them on their own, but you’ll enjoy the series more as a whole.

FOREVER HOME:
Shadow Channing is in chains.

Pack rivalries have imprisoned his family beside their enemies. They’re forced to fight for survival each month in a dog fighting ring. Shadow assures his brothers they’ll escape, but to do so they must either team up with the rival pack that led them to their capture, or fight to the death for their freedom in front of a cheering crowd.

Trina is in recovery.

When rumors of dog fights start swirling around town, the owner of Forever Home Animal Shelter is determined to put a stop to them and bring the dogs to safety. Even when they turn out to be wolves. Trina knows that everyone deserves a second chance at life, especially after a car accident ripped hers away from her.

Shadow will do anything to repay Trina for saving his life, but soon he realizes he’s not the only one who needs saving.

FOREVER HOME IS FREE!

AMAZON  iBOOKS   BN  KOBO

RESCUE ME:

Shadow Channing needs to rebuild his pack.
After six months in captivity, everyone thinks he and his brothers are dead, and Sawtooth Forest is in uproar. The packs must change their ways, or violence will lead them to extinction. To become alpha, Shadow must get revenge on his captor as well as secure the future of his pack. Easier said than done when there’s a shortage of female wolves, and they’ve been sold off to the wealthiest wolves in the forest.

Trina is a work in progress.

After a car accident claimed the life of her fiancé, Forever Home Animal Shelter is the only place she feels like herself, relating to animals much better than people. When the pack of wolves she rescued shape shifts into men on the full moon, their leader will do anything to repay her for her bravery and kindness. Trina knows that Shadow needs her to protect his alpha status, but soon she learns she needs him just as much.
Trina must decide if she’s ready to take a chance on giving Shadow her heart, especially when she knows how easily it can all be taken away.

AMAZON  KOBO

PROTECT ME:

A scarred soldier. A submissive shifter. It’s not what you think.

Baron Channing is tired of fighting.

As second in command, he’s built to take orders. The Channing pack has protected Sawtooth Forest for generations, and now they’re guarding the women who saved the family from the dog fighting ring. The Channings must fight for respect, but Baron doesn’t believe violence is the answer. He needs to take a stand for what he believes in if he wants to keep the incredible woman he’s been assigned to protect.

Kiera is a soldier.

She grew up in a man’s world, and she’s got the scars to prove it. Sent to Forever Home for rehabilitation for PTSD, Kiera didn’t believe she could learn anything from a bunch of homeless animals. But when a rescued werewolf sees her in a way no one else ever has, she realizes how wrong she was.

Together Kiera and Baron learn that the bravest thing is being true to yourself.

COMING OCTOBER 13 PREORDER NOW:

AMAZON  iBOOKS  KOBO

These books will be available on all retailers. Some of them are slower to upload than others. I’ve been waiting for the links to go live, but it’s not fair to you or these books to not talk about them. Each installment will come with the new moon.

November–Conquer Me Major and Cass
December–Cherish Me Shea and Delaney
January--Shelter Me Dallas and Lyssie
February–Complete Me X and his mate

So many of you have been in touch with me lately, so I wanted to answer a couple questions here.

Why aren’t the Sawtooth Shifters books in Kindle Unlimited?

I’m doing some cool things to promote these books, and that required me to release them across all retailers.  I’ve enabled lending on all of the books, so you can lend them to your friends. Authors still get paid when you do that, the same as if you borrowed the book in Kindle Unlimited.  Plus, I want everyone to be able to enjoy these.

I’m introducing them at a lower price, and each month, the next book will be available for preorder at the lower price. Soon after release, they’ll go to regular price.

What about Leah and Jagger? Sure they’re happy RIGHT NOW but we know all hell is about to break loose! When is the next Escort book coming? 

You guys blew me away with your support and enthusiasm over No Strings Attached. It hit #1 in holiday books (appropriate for Jagger Holiday!) and was top ten in all erotic romance. I couldn’t knock off Grey, but holy crap. It was frigging amazing. I love you all! The answer is, soon. I have some deadlines I had to meet, and this is my crazy time of year at the day job.  My next priority is the follow up to No Strings Attached, tentatively titled Wrapped Around My Finger. 

I’m so lucky that the voices in my head tell me awesome stories. And I’m even luckier that you all want to read them.

Okay, back in the writing cave!!  I’ve got my work cut out for me!

No Strings Attached Is Here!

Today’s brew: Sangria! Because that’s what Leah would drink.

All my book babies are special, but here’s why No Strings Attached is close to my heart.  It was born in the most organic way possible, out of a conversation over text. A friend of mine enlightened me that someone I thought was a model was a male escort.

Whut.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Maybe I was envious of a woman who had the brass tacks to call an escort agency and hire a man to show her a good time.  It seems like a simple thing to do, but it’s not. But even more than that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the guys. Talk about work/life balance problems. How does an escort go to work and then come home to his girlfriend or family? How would his personal life fare with a job like that?

So I started to talk to the hive mind about this idea.  They brought up things I never thought of. There was definitely a story here.

I needed to create a confident woman who could afford to hire an escort (these guys aren’t cheap), but I had to give her a reason to take a chance on hiring a date.  And it was time to give my escort some work/life balance.

No Strings Attached was born.  A successful woman brings a male escort to her twentieth high school reunion.

It was supposed to be something that stayed on the surface, but it went much deeper than that.

I hope you’ll read the book to find out the rest.

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1EdPZH2
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1EPqVkm
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1PKONvM
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1U8Ahie

No Strings Attached is available in Kindle Unlimited.

Leah Godfrey has almost everything she could ask for– 

She’s got an interior design business with an A-list clientele, a weekly spot on a national morning TV show, and a great daughter–but she doesn’t have a date for her twentieth high school reunion. It wouldn’t be a big deal, but her ex-husband was her high school sweetheart, and now he’s married to the woman Leah caught him with in bed. She won’t let the biggest failure of her life overshadow her success.

When her best friend suggests she hire a date, Leah thinks the idea is scandalous. But for one weekend, she wants to forget her mistakes and pretend she has everything her ex took away from her.

Jagger Holiday makes women’s fantasies come true–
But working as a male escort leaves him feeling empty. He turns to photography to fill the void. When Jagger gets a call from a lonely single mom who needs the same thing he does, he wants more. He wants her.

Leah and Jagger have no problem convincing everyone at the reunion they’re together. She should’ve known better than to think there’d be no strings attached.

After all, he’s a professional.

Lost Scene From The Fire Dancer

The things I find when I go through my notebooks!  This would’ve never fit into The Fire Dancer, but it was a fun little exploration piece when I was figuring out Holly’s relationship with Callie and Tristan.  Holly travels back to the Seasons in the Sun days for this one, so this was cool for me to see how these two characters, the first I ever came up with, have grown!
(please remember this is raw and unedited, straight from the scribbles in my notebook)

Fourth of July weekend and the Vineyard was packed. I threaded through the crowds on the sidewalk, seeking refuge in a colorful coffee shop. It reminded me of my favorite café in Santa Fe, and I knew this kind of place would have some funky brew of iced tea. Never sure if it was a dream or if I was time traveling at first, I needed to find a place that would ground me.
Women swarmed around the barista station even after they’d picked up their iced lattes. Trevor George’s son, Tristan, was behind the counter. My heart pounded when I saw him, he was the one who brought me here. I went up on my tiptoes to get a better look at him. Looks and charm ran in the family. Waiting in line to place my order, I was captivated. His dark eyes glittered when he spoke, his lips curled up in a slow, easy smile. The things that mouth could probably do already.
“Can I help you?” A girl too young to be working asked with enough force to make me believe it wasn’t the first time she tried to get my attention. She rolled her eyes when I jumped, then shot a quick glare over to Tristan, knowing who’d stolen my attention away from her. Not in a jealous way, but a don’t even bother because he’s mine way. That wasn’t the only reason she caught me off guard. I didn’t expect to give Callie, the future mistress of the most powerful vampire clan in Las Vegas, my drink order.
No, she was the one who brought me here. She had no idea who I was, just another girl staring at her boyfriend. This was a hiccup for me, a trip of five years or so. I always had trouble in my time travels, not blurting something out that would scare the hell out of people. But this time, saying something would change everything. For me. And it was tempting.
“I’d like a large pomegranate orange iced tea, please.” If I didn’t get this tea I was going to explode. Traveling back to another time didn’t make my fire go away. Chaos would break out on the island if I dripped even a spark here.
Waiting for my drink, I had an excuse to watch him. He was just a boy. Jailbait. No matter how good looking he was, it was disgusting to watch women old enough to be his mother flirt shamelessly with him. He took it in stride, born to celebrity through and through, smiling at each one of them like he’d come to work just to make their latte.
Callie joined him to thin the crowd. He softened when she came over. The show didn’t stop, but it changed. Young as she was, she was awfully cute. Tawny skin, green eyes, honey colored hair escaping from a braid. She already had fire inside her, too. Good. She was going to needed it. I smiled as she whipped through the line.
She grabbed Tristan’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me we were out of soy?” She pushed a honey curl back into her braid.
“Who drinks that shit, anyway?” The smile he gave her was like the sun breaking through the dark sky at dawn. Pure adoration, everyone disappearing around them. The other women waiting for their drinks might as well have had their picture taken with a cardboard cutout. How could they not notice that? I was actually envious of this little girl. She had everything I wanted.
“Half the island does!” Callie threw her arms up before stomping into a back room.
“Holly!” Tristan called out, still snickering from Callie’s outburst. “Pomegranate orange iced tea.”
Our fingers brushed as he handed me the drink. No sparks. Our eyes locked but the moment was cheapened because I knew I’d never believe his lie. He’d never be able to love anyone but her.
I wondered if I told him his future, if it would change a thing.
“Thanks.” I turned and pushed past the crowd. I needed air.
Even though in many respects Tristan was already a man, with Callie he could be a boy. Their fates were already hopelessly intertwined, floating together above the earth in a bubble. When it shattered, it would rain down on everyone. And no amount of fire would alter the outcome. I needed to fight my battles in the present, not the past.
Taking a cool, fruity sip of my drink, I was glad I kept my mouth shut. Even if it wasn’t what they expected, they both got what they wanted. Each other.

Introducing No Strings Attached!

 

Today’s Brew: Blueberry Bliss

by Kristen

I have a new book coming out!  (insert Snoopy dancing here) Everyone, meet Leah and Jagger!  Their story is No Strings Attached, a steamy adult contemporary romance about a curvy, successful woman who brings a male escort to her twentieth high school reunion.

No Strings Attached will be available August 24!

Here’s the blurb:

Leah Godfrey has almost everything she could ask for—

She’s got an interior design business with an A-list clientele, a weekly spot on a national morning TV show, and a great daughter—but she doesn’t have a date for her twentieth high school reunion. It wouldn’t be a big deal, but her ex-husband was her high school sweetheart, and now he’s married to the slut Leah caught him with in bed. She won’t let the biggest failure of her life overshadow her success.

When her best friend suggests she hire a date, Leah thinks the idea is scandalous. But for one weekend, she wants to forget her mistakes and pretend she has everything her ex took away from her.

Jagger Holiday makes women’s fantasies come true—

But working as a male escort leaves him feeling empty. He turns to photography to fill the void. When Jagger gets a call from a lonely single mom who needs the same thing he does, he wants more. He wants her.

Leah and Jagger have no problem convincing everyone at the reunion they’re together. She should’ve known better than to think there’d be no strings attached.

After all, he’s a professional.

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