#ForeverHis #HistoricalRomance

Forever His by Christine Young

Excerpt Heat Level: 

Book Heat Level:

August 30, 1895

Near Buffalo Creek,

South Dakota

Buy at Amazon

REVIEW: Forever His

Christine Young has done it again in this historical romance. The blizzards, betrayal, deceit and a ruthless bandito like Chavez made this a great romance.

Melinda for Night Owl Romance     5 out of 5

BLURB: Forever HIs

Struggling to come to terms with the part she played in Jacob St. John’s death, Etta Barringer resigns from Pinkerton Agency and seeks peace and solace in a Rocky Mountain Cabin.

Jacob has vowed to discover the reason Etta has betrayed him, sold him out to his enemy and left him for dead.

Isolated in their cabin, they discover their love for each other and learn to trust. But the trust is shattered when Jacob learns she is married to his sworn enemy; the man who left him in the desert to die.

EXCERPT: Forever His

The sun beat down. Searing heat waves hit the hard packed earth, blistering, charring everything, even the dry prairie grass. Jacob St. John, his arms stretched overhead and bound to a whipping post, no longer counted the lashes tearing into his back, no longer felt the horrific agony. 

More than a half-dozen men and one woman were gathered in the sage-patched backyard of the run-down shack. So far not one person made a sound as they watched Chavez wield the whip, stripping the flesh off his back.

If Chavez weren't so angry and seeking revenge of his own, he would probably have just had him shot. Revenge was a powerful motive. Chavez wanted Jacob to suffer, to yell before he died. It seemed Etta Barringer did too. So far Chavez was toying with him, taunting and teasing him, cutting an inch here, ripping an inch there, not doing much damage but making mincemeat out of his back.

Jacob hadn't made a sound yet, not even a sharp, indrawn breath. He wasn't about to even though he knew Chavez would get impatient and start slashing. There was no hurry. Chavez had as long as he wanted. No one save Etta knew where he was, no one would come looking for him, at least not until the sun went down. By then Chavez would be done with him, and he would either be dead or buzzard-bait. For the life of him, he couldn't figure why Etta would hand him over to Chavez. She had always been Pinkerton to the core, yet she had betrayed him once before. If he survived this, he meant to have answers. He'd move heaven and earth to search out the lying Etta Barringer and find out exactly what she had against him.

The pain of betrayal at the forefront of his mind, and vows of revenge against the instigator of this kept him going. He focused on the woman's laughter and the scent of lemons that permeated his soul.

He had been taken by surprise. Still, he didn't go down easily. It took all of Chavez's men to get him bound securely to the post in back of the shack. And of those men, not one came away from the encounter without a scratch. Blood from the multitude of small cuts Chavez had inflicted ran in rivulets from his back, pooling on the parched thirsty ground, soaking into the dirt, staining it. 

He stood, his head proudly erect and that seemed to draw anger from Chavez. The grip of his fingers curled around the top of the post, the only sign of Jacob's pain--and fury.

The first real stroke of the whip felt like a red-hot branding iron searing across his back. Jacob didn't flinch, nor would he as long as he could hear her laughter or smell lemons floating languidly on the breeze. He wished he could see her, stare into her beguiling, green eyes until she knew he'd never stop hunting for her. Fury at his own weakness rose, and the anger he felt deep inside simmered, because she'd always attracted him. Ever since she showed up in a small town in Oregon, seduced him then drugged him and left him to sleep off the opium-laced whiskey, she'd fascinated him.

Concentrate on her--on what you're going to do when you find her again . . . 

Christine Young has done it again in this historical romance. The blizzards, betrayal, deceit and a ruthless bandito like Chavez made this a great romance.

Melinda for Night Owl Romance     5 out of 5

#FoolishForPiper #HistoricalRomance

Title: Foolish for Piper

Author: Christine Young

Genre: Historical Romance/Regency

Book Heat Level: 

Buy at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, Google Play

Read first chapter

TAGLINE

When Piper picks Brett MacLachlan’s pocket, she has no idea her life is going to change forever. 

BLURB: Foolish For Piper

The pickpocket...

Piper has spent her life surviving the streets of St. Giles Parish in London, a den of iniquity and crime. Masquerading as a boy she escapes the whorehouses the young girls are sent to as they come of age. The day she encounters Brett MacLachlan begins the same as every other one. When she picks his pocket, she has no idea her life is going to change irreversibly. 

...and the mark

Handsome aristocrat Brett MacLachlan has come to London for his amusement only to find his world turned upside down by a thief and her dog. From the moment he spots her, Brett knows there is something intrinsically wrong. In his arms, Piper discovers passion and joy. Yet secrets of her past haunt her, and a scar will tell the true tale as well as her identity.

EXCERPT: Foolish For Piper

“Mrs. Pickery!”

Good God, but he couldn’t take his gaze from her perfectly formed figure. Her tight butt was nothing like the women he bedded, his mistresses. In a flash, his body hardened with a desire he couldn’t control. “Mrs. Pickery!”

“Yes, sir.” His cook poked her head in the door. “What is it?”

“He’s a she.”

“What did you say?”

“Get her in the bath. If you need anything, ring for me and I’ll be here even though she’s naked. Don’t let her leave.” Well, that was stupid. He really didn’t think she’d run out the back door stark naked.

His gut rolled. He’d never forcefully disrobed a girl, ripped her shirt. He rubbed his face then roughed his hands through his hair. Trying to make excuses, and attempting to convince himself, he truly believed Piper was a boy. He inhaled a long deep breath, wishing he could take the last few minutes back and do them over.

“It’s alright, sir. You didn’t know. None of us knew. I’ll take care of her now.” Mrs. Pickery touched him on the back. “Don’t you worry about her.”

“That’s just it. I should have known. Every instinct I possess was telling me there was something wrong, but I didn’t listen to my gut.” He berated himself then before he strode through the kitchen door. “Don’t give Mrs. Pickery any grief. You’ll rue the day you were born if you do.”

“I’ve already done that too many times to count,” she told him, looking over her shoulder, her breasts visible to him.

His hands fisted tight, he strode through the house and out the front door. For a few seconds he thought to get his horse. A good ride might ease the tension radiating across his shoulders and throughout the rest of his damn body. The site of her naked evoked a powerful sensation through him.

He stopped himself when he rounded the corner of the house and saw the back door, the entrance to the scullery, reminding him of the girl soaking in his tub. A young lady who’d had one hell of a life. He decided to find out more about her.

Swiveling on a heel, he walked back to the house, entering through the front door. Brandy seemed to call his name. At the sideboard, he poured a full glass and thought to sit down and wait for the outcome of the bath. He didn’t hear anything emanating from that direction and decided that was a good thing.

“Ah.” He swirled the amber liquid in the crystal, mesmerized by the changing colors or thoughts of Piper, he wasn’t too sure. What was he going to do with the lass? And what about Jocko and the scarred man? If anything, she said held a hint of truth, her life might be in danger now that she was out of their fold.

The alcohol burned an enjoyable path down his throat. She would need clothing, everything a woman likes as well as a position in the house. 

The downstairs maid perhaps. 

Short Blurb.

The pickpocket... Piper has spent her life surviving the streets of St. Giles Parish in London, a den of iniquity and crime. ...and the mark Handsome aristocrat Brett MacLachlan has come to London for his amusement only to find his world turned upside down by a thief. Secrets of Piper's past haunt her, and a scar will tell the true tale.

Blog URL: http://christineyoungromancewriter.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JosephAllen.Author/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/achristay

Triberr: https://triberr.com/pages/new-posts.php?action=redirect

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/christine-young-5a991c21-1f11-47a0-ada5-6c2e6b689cbe

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/chrisy/

LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082YQBSSH

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/foolish-for-piper-christine-young/1135687890;jsessionid=4028D04497200DE62D97B5530531F140.prodny_store01-atgap15?ean=2940163170517

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/foolish-for-piper/id1492647673?mt=11&app=itunes

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/foolish-for-piper

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christine_Young_Foolish_for_Piper?id=Qe_FDwAAQBAJ

#CheckInAndShareDay

It's Check In Day.

Let's Make Fireworks

Time to pay the piper! How did you do? How much did you write? Did words explode on your WIP?

This is the Rogue's Angels weekly check-in. Every Thursday we encourage the Angels and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

How well are you doing?

Had problems this week? That's ok. Just sit down this coming week and write. Whatever you do, don't let difficulties from the week before get in your way this week.

Every word is one word closer to the finished product.

My Sweet Broc, is done and is up on Amazon and other sellers.  Finished the rough draft of A Sucker For Wynnie a novella in the Angel's Halloween Anthology. Crazy For Cam is being edited. This book is the second book in the Bad Boys series. First five chapters of Pleasing Arie is done.


Busy, busy, busy!

Counting on Trust, Audio Book by Mary Ferguson Powers

Please welcome Mary Ferguson Powers author of Counting on Trust

A randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter will receive a digital and an audio copy of the book

Counting on Trust, Audio Book

by Mary Ferguson Powers 

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GENRE: Mystery/Suspense

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

My biggest inspiration for writing was Jane Austen. I appreciated the way she deconstructed relationships and the social norms around romance and marriage in her day. Counting on Trustfollows three couples of different ages and background, each struggling with issues of trust.

2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?

I think the most important elements for this genre are a compelling and well-paced story flow that builds suspense and , clearly defined character motives and conflicts. 

3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

My interest in globalization and its impacts, especially with regard to China and its relations with the U.S. began when I accompanied my husband on a trip to China in 1978 with a delegation of faculty members from the University of Pittsburgh. At that time, China was just opening up to the West. 

The idea for a story about corporate intrigue came while my husband and I were living in Nebraska. There was a lot of research on GMO foods being done at some of the universities there. We lived on a small lake, and I decided to invent a company, Omniprotein, that was doing research on GMO fish. The theft of this company’s intellectual property by a Chinese general kicks off all the subsequent action.

4. What expertise did you bring to your writing?

I had a career in academia. I received a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in experimental psychology from George Mason University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Following graduation, I taught microbiology, headed a university office of research, served as executive director of two university-business partnership centers, and co-authored two books on university administration. My background and experience played a big role in all my books, but especially Counting on Trust. My experience traveling to China and working in collaborative partnerships with Chinese institutions also contributed to my writing.

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I don’t have a definite story in mind yet, but I would like to continue writing about the same themes I have explored in my three novels – especially relationships and trust, and eco-activism.

6. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

That would be ELEANOR LOCKE. In the book, she is a co-founder and  president of Omniprotein, Inc., the company at the heart of Counting on Trust. She is smart, wise and resilient in the face of tremendous stress in her personal and business life. She exemplifies a successful woman who has not scarified her empathy and humanity in achieving her success.

7. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

I have a group of friends and fellow writers whose feedback I value that I use as my critique group. 

8. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I prefer to start with an outline of the scenes in the story. Once the story flow is organized, I start the writing in earnest. I write a description and backstory for each character, and also outline the relationships between each of the principal characters. Once those are in place, I start the writing in earnest.

9. How do you maintain your creativity?

I like to take events and / or characters that I I observe or read about, and create short story fragments out of them. This helps me get my creative juices flowing when I get stuck with a project, or when I am trying to get ideas for a new story. 

10. Anything else you might want to add?

I have several videos that I made and posted on my Counting on Trust Facebook page in which I explore the main themes of the book and also talk about the main characters. You can view these at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/countingontrust/videos/?ref=page_internal

BLURB:

In this suspense-charged, touching novel, Counting on Trust, information is stolen from a U.S. genetic engineering company (Omniprotein) by an employee promised payment by a Chinese general who wants to profit from selling the company’s technologies in the military region of China he commands.

• To force quick payment the thief attacks fellow employees and threatens to continue until his money arrives. Will his next targets be: young lovers, computer geek Gabriel and gorgeous biologist Selena, who are discovering loving sex while trying to overcome post-traumatic effects of Selena’s girlhood rape.

• Company president, Eleanor, who’s determined to keep some privacy and intimacy although her job’s high profile and her husband, Charley, has just had prostate cancer surgery.

• Venture capitalist, John, who plans to duplicate Omniprotein’s facility in China and reunite with his ex-wife, fashion designer Ziyi, who returned to Shanghai after their only child died.

The personal stories of these couples explore how privacy, intimacy and trust are changing in our social-media age. They paint a compelling portrait of our time.

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EXCERPTS:

Excerpt – Bad Day - https://www.facebook.com/countingontrust/videos/2207571426229974/

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Themes of novels by M. Ferguson Powers reflect the author’s varied interests, including preservation of the natural world and its creatures; 

Challenges of building and maintaining loving relationships in a culture with decreasing respect for personal boundaries and privacy

Influences of globalization on world events and how the U. S. and other nations relate to one another

Public policy issues such as controlling the military-industrial-political complex and requiring the health care industry to be more respectful of its clients

The need for cooperation across governments, cultures, and societies to address global challenges such as climate change

Developments in business and university administration and management

Powers has taught microbiology, headed a university office of research, served as executive director of two university-business partnership programs, and co-authored two books on university administration. She has a bachelor of science degree in bacteriology from The Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in experimental psychology from George Mason University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. 

She lives on an island near Seattle with husband David R. Powers and their two shelties. Her first novel, Each Unique and Fascinating, about a bullied young girl whose father has gone to war, was published in 2012. OrcaSpeak, a novel of relationships and suspense, was published in 2013, and its prequel, Counting on Trust, was published in 2017.

Website: http://www.mfergusonpowers.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Counting-on-Trust-452725141841646/

Buy Links for audio book:

https://bookmate.com/audiobooks/m9qwmqtu

https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9780985794668

https://www.downpour.com/counting-on-trust?sp=349165

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/audiobook/counting-on-trust

https://www.hoopladigital.com/search?page=1&q=counting+on+trust&scope=everything&type=direct

https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/counting-on-trust/399403

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

A randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter will receive a digital and an audio copy of the book

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3294

Rogue's Angels Present: Gouster Girl by David E. Gumpert

Please welcome David E. Gumpert author of Gouster Girl 

David E. Gumpert will be awarding a $25 gift card to Garrett Popcorn, then a Water bottle with Chicago flag for a second winner, and a Mug with Chicago flag for a third winner, all randomly drawn via rafflecopter during the tour,

Gouster Girl

by David E. Gumpert 

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GENRE: YA, Young Adult 

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BLURB:

Gouster Girl is the coming of age, risky affair between Valerie Davis a cute black girl from the South Side of Chicago and nerdy white Jeffrey Stark.

While the two are somewhat smitten they are late to realize that falling in love on Chicago’s South Side in 1963 is a highly risky business for an interracial couple.

Opportunities arise for both of them to help one another out of tough fixes—he saves her from attack at an all-white amusement park and she saves him from injury in a racial brawl at their high school. But as their romance becomes more serious, so do the racial dangers. White police target Valerie as a prostitute and black gang members see Jeffrey as trying to sexually exploit a black girl. Seemingly inevitably, the blossoming romance collides head on with the realities of Northern-style racism one hot summer afternoon at one of Chicago’s most beautiful Lake Michigan beaches, when a racial protest turns ugly, confronting the couple with terrible choices.

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EXCERPT:

Everyone also knew that the vast parking lot outside the museum was the main South Side make-out spot. And sure enough, on this warm, late-spring evening, there were about fifteen or twenty cars scattered around the lot. In almost every one, the profiles of two people were visible, usually in the driver and middle seat, or else the middle and passenger seat. In two or three cars, only one person was visible, at least for a time. 

I rolled my window down a bit, and Valerie did the same, to allow the refreshing lake breeze in. The huge ornate edifice we faced, with its marble columns and green dome, looked like it belonged in Washington DC.

I turned on the dome light inside the car, pulled out my drawing, slowly unfolded it, and handed it over to Valerie without a word. She studied it silently for a few moments. I could see her dark eyes darting up and down. I feared another rejection a la Robin at the youth-group dance. At least there weren’t other people around to watch me being humiliated. 

Then she began folding up the drawing, interrupting my worst-case scenarios. “Aren’t you even going to kiss me?” 

I hoped she didn’t see the look of shock I must have had all over my face as I slid over on the car bench to the middle of the front seat, and leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. They were soft and cool. I pulled back, expecting to see her eyes closed in rapture. Instead, she looked at me with that smirk. “You kiss like in the movies.” She paused, taking in my bewilderment. “Haven’t you ever heard of French kissing?”

I could feel my face flushing hot, despite the pleasant cool lake breeze flowing through the car. She put her arms around my neck, pulled me toward her, and the next thing I knew, we were kissing for real. Her tongue was twitching around in my mouth, and mine in hers. Her lips were noticeably warmer. I realized as I put my hand on her neck, that her hair felt coarser than it looked. I wanted to ask her if she had it straightened, but decided that would have to wait for another time. 

I placed a hand on a breast and she gently removed it. I pulled back, and she had that smirk on her face. “You better watch out, white boy. I’ll get Booker after you.” 

Then a little less smirky: “You just think us colored girls are easier, don’t you? That’s why you like me.” 

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

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

David E. Gumpert grew up on the South Side of Chicago, in South Shore and Hyde Park. In the years since graduating from the University of Chicago, he has attended Columbia Journalism School and worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and an editor for the Harvard Business Review and Inc. magazine. He has also authored ten nonfiction books on a variety of subjects—from entrepreneurship and small business management to food politics. His most prominent titles include How to Really Create a Successful Business Plan (from Inc. Publishing); How to Really Start Your Own Business (Inc. Publishing); Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Food Rights (Chelsea Green Publishing), and The Raw Milk Answer Book (Lauson Publishing).

He spent ten years in the 1990s and early 2000s researching his family's history during the Holocaust. The result was a book co-authored with his deceased aunt Inge Belier: Inge: A Girl’s Journey Through Nazi Europe (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing).

He spent much of the last half-dozen years going back to his own roots in Chicago to research and write the historical novel, Gouster Girl. While some of it stems from his own experiences growing up in South Shore and Hyde Park, he also conducted significant additional research to complete the book in late 2019.

Author website

http://www.goustergirl.com/

Twitter: @davidgumpert

BUY NOW

https://books2read.com/goustergirl

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49189542-gouster-girl?from_search=true&qid=P5qupRngtb&rank=6

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

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

David E. Gumpert will be awarding a $25 gift card to Garrett Popcorn, then a Water bottle with Chicago flag for a second winner, and a Mug with Chicago flag for a third winner, all randomly drawn via rafflecopter during the tour,

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3284

The Collie Chronicles

The Collie Chronicles

was inspired by the Collies

who have guided and supported me

throughout this lifetime.

Posted by: Genie Gabriel

www.GenieGabriel.com

BOOK 1

Digital version just 99 cents!

Print version available for $5.49

Read an excerpt of MORE THAN JUST A DOG at

www.GenieGabriel.com

BOOK 2

Digital version just 99 cents!

Print version available for $5.49

Read an excerpt of MORE THAN A STAR TRAVELER at

www.GenieGabriel.com

#CheckInAndShareDay

It's Check In Day.

Let's Make Fireworks

Time to pay the piper! How did you do? How much did you write? Did words explode on your WIP?

This is the Rogue's Angels weekly check-in. Every Thursday we encourage the Angels and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

How well are you doing?

Had problems this week? That's ok. Just sit down this coming week and write. Whatever you do, don't let difficulties from the week before get in your way this week.

Every word is one word closer to the finished product.

Foolish For Piper, is done and is up on Amazon and other sellers.  Finished the rough draft of A Sucker For Wynnie a novella in the Angel's Halloween Anthology. My Sweet Broc will be published soon.. This book is the first book in the Bad Boys series. First three chapters of Pleasing Arie is done.


Busy, busy, busy!