Kirsten Mortensen on Reading Books Out of Curiosity @KirstenWriter #AmReading #Romance #Suspense

In the Mood: What Book Do You Want to Read Right Now?

By Kirsten Mortensen

Oh, how I envy people who know exactly what kind of book they like to read!

Because if you asked me what books I like, I’m not sure how I’d answer.

The problem is, my “taste” changes from day to day—even hour to hour—depending on all kinds of factors. The mood I’m in. What books I’ve been discussing lately with my friends. How my day went, even!

Because I’m a writer, I read some books out of curiosity. Although I enjoyed science fiction when I was in high school, for example, I didn’t touch it at all for many years. Now I’ve met some sci-fi fans and I’ve become curious about the genre. I’m reading a sci-fi book now by the novelist Sarah Hoyt, and I’ve picked up some classic sci-fi titles for my TBR pile. I love how it’s expanded my reading world!

Another type of book I enjoy is classic literature, but I have to be in just the right frame of mind to tackle it. So often, classics are denser and longer than genre or “poplit” books. I think of it like the difference between stopping at taco stand and booking a reservation at a 5-star restaurant. Both meals can be fun and satisfying, but one demands a bit more of a commitment. The next classic I plan to read: Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.

Sometimes all I want is to escape. You know that feeling? I want to read something that just takes me away from day-to-day life—something that gives me a rest from the hassles of paying the bills, getting over a head cold, or whatever other little problems are bothering me at the time. For this, the prescription is a fast-paced, plot-driven book. When Elmore Leonard passed away, for example, I bought a couple of his novels, and wow, I enjoyed them. Fun, fast-paced, and often laugh-out-loud humorous. Perfect escapist books!

A related feeling I have, sometimes, is the desire to become aware of the reality of the non-physical or spiritual dimensions of life. I satisfy this by reading non-fiction books on spiritual topics or first-person accounts of spiritual experiences. I recently read a book by Mason Winfield on supernatural phenomenon in Upstate New York, and I loved how it made me slow down and think about the impressions the past leaves on the present.

I find reading non-fiction to be very settling, so I gravitate toward books about history as a way to feel calm.

So how about you? Do you look for different kinds of books depending on your mood?

A woman's worst nightmare

Drugged by something...that makes her think she's fallen in love.

All Haley Dubose has ever known is beaches and malls, clubs and cocktail dresses.

But now her father is dead.

And if she wants to inherit her father's fortune, she has to leave sunny Southern California
for a backwater little town near Syracuse, New York. She has to run RMB, the multimillion dollar
chemical company her father founded. And she has to run it well.

Keep RMB on track, and she'll be rich. Grow it, and she'll be even richer. But mess it up, and her inheritance will shrink away before she gets a chance to spend a dime.

Donavon Todde is her true love. But is it too late?

He's RMB's head of sales – and the more Donavon sees of Haley, the more he's smitten.
Sure, she comes across at first as naïve and superficial. But Donavon knew Haley's father. He can see the man's better qualities stirring to life in her eyes. And Donavon senses something else: Haley's father left her a legacy more important than money. He left her the chance to discover her true self.

Donavon has demons of his own.
 
He's reeling from a heartbreak that's taking far too long to heal. But he's captivated by this blond Californian, and not only because of her beauty. It's chemistry. They're right for each other. But has Donavon waited too long to woo this woman of his dreams? Because to his horror, his beautiful Haley falls under another spell. Gerad's spell.

A web of evil.

Gerad Picket was second-in-command at RMB when Haley's father was alive. And with Haley on the scene, he's in charge of her training. But there are things about RMB that Gerad doesn't want Haley to know.

And he must control her. Any way he can.

Romantic suspense for your Kindle

Will Haley realize that her feelings are not her TRUE feelings?
Does Donavon have the strength left to fight for the woman he loves?
Will the two of them uncover Gerad's plot to use RMB pheromones to enslave the world?
And even if they do – can they stop it?

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Romantic suspense

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Kirsten Mortensen through Facebook & Twitter

Website http://kirstenmortensen.com/

THE END #Excerpt by @DMoncrief0131 #Romantic #Suspense #AmReading

I’d never heard him sound so husky. In that moment, I could have sworn he was choked up and pushing his words past tight vocal cords. Had his feelings grown for me while I was gone, just as mine had for him? Was it true? Did absence make our hearts grow fonder for each other?

I had two things I needed to say. To explain why I’d left without telling him where I was going and to apologize for not allowing him the chance to explain how he was involved in the Patterson mess. I should have trusted him. He’d never been anything except straight up with me, even when I didn’t like what he had to say. Sometimes he was brutally honest. Suddenly, the overwhelming urge to purge the speech I had practiced repeatedly on the multi-legged flight from Albuquerque to New York swelled in me so strong, I practically spit my spiel all over him.

“I’m so sorry, Paul.” Tears welled in my eyes from the stress of not knowing how he would receive my confessional. “I should have told you where I was going. I was scared and I didn’t know who I could trust. I should’ve trusted you, but everyone and everything was confusing me. You were confusing me. And then… I know you tried to tell me—”

“I know all that.” His laugh was filled with indulgent amusement. “That’s not what I want to know.”

Wasn’t it? Hadn’t I hurt him or insulted him or pissed him off by refusing to trust him or listen to him?

If possible he pulled me further into him. His nearness confused me and thrilled me, all at the same time. Shouldn’t he be chastising me? No. That apparently wasn’t his way. The man knew the power he had over women. Was he aware of what he was doing to me?

My body informed me that being near him like this was what I wanted…what I’d been longing for, desperately craving, what I had been too stubborn to admit to myself. Every part of my being surged toward him, striving to connect with him on all levels, physically, emotionally, mentally. Parts of my body responded to him in ways they hadn’t reacted in a very long time. His nearness warmed me from the inside out.

His head bent toward me. His mouth only microns from mine. A teasing smile curved his lips. I wanted his lips on mine so badly I was about to explode into a million tiny Ellie pieces.

“What do you want to know?” My whispered words barely left my mouth.

His reply fell soft on my ears, as soft as my question had fallen from my lips. “Why did you come back?”

I could have told him I came back because I wanted to hear for myself how he was involved with Patterson’s case. I could have told him staying in New Mexico wasn’t resolving anything for me in New York. I could have told him I had questions for which I desperately needed answers. Instead I blurted the truth. “I came back because I couldn’t get my mind off—”

“I’ve missed you, Ellie.”

“—you.” My eyes closed against my will.

His mouth met mine before the final word had finished passing my lips.

Sometimes the end is only the beginning.

Almost a year after her husband dies, Ellie Marston opens the file for Tab’s last manuscript, a thriller so compelling it reads like a true story. His manuscript needs an ending, so Ellie writes the obvious conclusion. The same morning she types The End, her career as an assistant district attorney falls apart. Accused of throwing the high profile Patterson case, she resigns in disgrace. The only friend she has left in the criminal justice system is Det. Paul Santiago, a man she has worked closely with on numerous cases. While she was married to Tab, she squashed her growing feelings for Paul, determined to make her deteriorating marriage work, but circumstances after Tab’s death bring Ellie and Paul together.

Ellie’s paranoia increases as she becomes convinced Patterson is harassing her, certain that someone is searching her belongings for any hidden evidence she might have that would reopen his case. It becomes clear there was a conspiracy to release Patterson. She seeks help from her former co-worker, Presley Sinclair, but soon discovers Presley is deeply involved in the subsequent cover up. Worse yet, Tab’s affair with Presley drew him into the twisted conspiracy as well.

Together Paul and Ellie attempt to uncover the conspiracy in the District Attorney’s office, the set up that forced her to resign. The key to the mystery is hidden in the pages of Tab’s manuscript. Once Paul and Ellie come to the correct conclusion—Tab’s manuscript is a true story and Ellie’s added ending is the only logical outcome—Ellie attempts to reveal Patterson’s hidden partner in the District Attorney’s office, but the co-conspirator she uncovers is not whom she suspects. Danger swirls around her as she steps further and further into the conspirator’s trap.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Romantic Suspense

Rating – PG

More details about the author

Connect with Denise Moncrief on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.denisemoncrief.com/

Chance Collision (Crossing Forces) by C.A. Szarek @caszarek #Romance #Suspense #MustRead

She tried to convince her heartbeat to slow. Pete’s expression softened and her face warmed. Swallowing back a gulp, Nikki forced words out of her mouth. “It’s okay.”

Their gazes locked and she was swept into him. Intensity and fire were in his eyes. A zing of awareness sparked between them and Nikki moved closer. Felt the heat coming off his body. But then Pete stepped back and squared his shoulders. Looked down at his dark cowboy boots. Shifted on his feet like a teenager caught doing something wrong.

What the hell?

He cleared his throat and finally met her eyes again. “Thanks for making dinner.” His tone was natural. As if the moment they’d just shared didn’t signify.

“What’s wrong with you?” Nikki blurted.

Pete stared, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. He bunched up his broad shoulders and opened his mouth then closed it.

“Well?” She dried her hands with a dish towel then tossed it on the counter behind her. Propped her hands on her hips and stared right back. Dared him to be honest with her.

“What are you talking about?” His voice cracked.

Nikki narrowed her eyes, irritation flaring. “You’re hot and cold. Frankly, it’s driving me crazy.” There. She’d said it. Now what?

Her heart thundered in her ears as she waited for her detective to speak.

He didn’t.

Pete took a step forward. She didn’t move away.

Nikki looked up into his handsome face. His cheeks were ruddy and his eyes carried the same intensity he’d regarded her with only moments before.

A groan tore from his lips then she was against the hard wall of his chest. Her breath was forced out as her breasts flattened into his pecs and he wrapped his arms around her.

Her hip hit the edge of the sink as Pete’s mouth came down on hers, but Nikki didn’t care. He was kissing her again, and it was heaven. She snaked her arms around his neck and pushed closer, opening her mouth as he slanted his for a deeper kiss.

Proof that Pete wanted her—at least physically—pressed into her belly, so she rocked into him and kissed him harder.

In a tangle of lips and limbs, they stumbled into the living room without breaking the seal of their mouths. They landed on the couch.

Pete’s weight on top of her stole her breath all over again, but she didn’t care. She kept kissing him, winding her tongue around his as he cupped her breasts through her favourite printed T-shirt. Her nipples peaked and she arched into him, needing more. The warmth of his big hands seeped through the cotton material, but it wasn’t enough.

Nikki wanted his hands on her bare flesh. Wanted his lips on her. Needed him to suck her into his hot mouth. Everywhere.

She moaned his name when finally he yanked the front of her shirt up and brushed her belly. Wiggling to help him free the rest of it from her jeans, her thigh rubbed the erection straining against his own denim.

Pete groaned. “Darlin’…”

Nikki closed her eyes and sighed. The endearment was a caress that slid across her skin. Making her as hot as his hands.

Her sex throbbed and he hadn’t even touched her there yet.

“Touch me, Pete.” The whisper sounded desperate to her ears, but her detective didn’t make her wait.

Air hit her at all angles as he pushed her shirt up, exposing her bra and her hips when he tugged her zipper down and pushed the denim out of the way. Without preamble, he shoved his hand into her pants, pushing into her panties. But he leant down at the same time, popping one breast out of the frilly pink lace cup. He fondled her hard nipple with nimble fingers before enclosing it with his hot mouth and teasing with his tongue.

Crossing Forces series:

Small Town Texas doesn't always mean small time crime.
Welcome to Antioch, population fifty thousand.
With a police department full of detectives and officers who are good at what they do, throw in the occasional FBI agent, and the bad guy doesn't have a shot, no matter how big the crime.

They work together and fight together. Relationships will be forged and changed along the twists and turns.

When fate intervenes, love and happiness can be found in unlikely places.

Crossing Forces by C.A. Szarek

This is book two in the Crossing Forces series

Vowing to protect her had nothing to do with feelings.

Detective Pete Crane catches a new shooting case and considers it business-as-usual. But when the lead witness is the Chief of Police’s fiery assistant, he never anticipated she’d challenge him—personally and professionally. Especially while under his protection.

Little do they know, the shooting she and her grandmother witnessed was anything but random.

Thrown together, their attraction sizzles, even though she’s squarely in the no-fly zone. She makes him break every rule in his little black book.

Nikki Harper has been attracted to Pete since they met two years ago. Witnessing a brutal shooting throws her into a stigma that’s always been her greatest fear—a victim. She has no choice but to accept his protective custody and let him help save her and her beloved grandmother.

Can Pete protect his witness and solve the case, while fighting the intense heat with Nikki?

Buy Now @ Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Totally Bound | ARe | Sony | Kobo | Barnes&Noble

Genre – Romantic Suspense

Rating – R

More details about the author

Connect with C.A. Szarek on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://caszarekwriter.blogspot.com/

#AmReading #Romance #Suspense - Razer 8 Series by P.T.Macias

The hard driven, ambitious delta force operative is immune to women. His heart has been destroyed by a treacherous woman and the unexpected loss of his family. These events have driven him nearly into insanity. The hard knocks in life propel him into grasping his emotions, his thoughts, and his physical condition. He focused on his goal. Loco doesn’t allow any type of distractions or obstacles to stop him. His actions and recklessness have earned him his nickname, Loco.

The Infinite power, Razer 8 operatives, are united and linked for infinity. His team mates recognize his pain, anger, and strength is derived from the intense impotency he feels from his loss.

The unexpected mission and unexpected encounter with his soul mate, tests his strength. His mind, heart, and soul recognize his love even before the actual encounter. The ruthless criminals threaten to harm his soul mate, pushing and transforming him into a fearless warrior.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Ghost is an old-fashioned Southern boy fighting hard to forget his pain. He’s forced to protect his Mama and sister from their abusive Pa. Ghost is strong, silent, and soft spoken. He works hard against all obstacles and hurt.

Ghost grows up to become a Delta Force. He meets and falls for a hot Latina who sets him on fire! She captures his soul and brightens his world. He would do anything to protect her.

Duty calls and he’s forced to leave her unprotected. The unspeakable happens! Ghost calls on Infinity. Infinity aids to extract his woman from the clutches of a soulless prostitution mob. Time is running out!

Buy Now @ Amazon

Bulldog is the youngest of the Razer 8 Delta Force Operatives. He enjoys life. He’s called upon to help out one of his team operative. Infinity is there.

He runs into Katherine Morgan, a sweet young victim. In the the process of extraction he gets caught by the prostitution gang. They mistake him with being her boyfriend.

Bulldog grabs onto that line and poses as her boyfriend. In the process of rescuing Katherine from the mob he becomes entangled in her web. Will Bulldog’s skills and training save him from falling under her spell? Will he be able to outrun the mob and his soul?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Redfox, Razer 8 operative mission is to infiltrate the Police Commissioner’s office and home. He has 72 hours to gather the intel on the Commissioner’s dirty business.

Redfox charms his way into the Commissioner’s home, throwing him into the arms of his soul mate. The unexpected love rocks his world and the success his mission.

The Commissioner’s daughter, Marsha Diane Bryant is a lovely sweet young girl. She falls under Redfox spell and unconditionally bestows her soul.

Redfox fears losing his soul mate in the process of completing his mission. Can their love survive the storm?

Buy @ Amazon

Genre – Romantic Suspense

Rating – PG 13

More details about the author

Connect with P.T. Macias on Facebook and Twitter

Website http://ptmacias.com/