Inked Caffeine: Melrose and Vine Book 1 in the Inked Caffeine Series by Monique Duclos

 Please welcome Monique Duclos author of Inked Caffeine: Melrose and Vine Book 1 in the Inked Caffeine Series

Monique Duclos will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Inked Caffeine: Melrose and Vine

Book 1 in the Inked Caffeine Series

by Monique Duclos 

 

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GENRE: LGBT Romantic Suspense

 

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BLURB:

 

I was just your typical Starbucks barista without an interesting bone in my body. I liked to keep my head down and do my best to cruise through life uninterrupted, although my bright red hair made it almost impossible. Things took an interesting turn when I met Jimmy, an artist from the tattoo parlour down the street. Living and working in Hollywood, California, I met a lot of intriguing characters, but no one as intriguing as him. He brought a new light to my life that I didn't know I had, let alone one that I needed.

 

My past wasn't a great one, but I got out and made a new life for myself. And now, it felt like my future was looking better with Jimmy in it. I felt like life was finally worth living, until... everywhere you looked, something was on fire. The screaming was enough to make you go deaf and the scent of blood made you gag. My body was screaming in pain and I couldn't stop choking on all the smoke in the air. My lungs felt tight, and when I looked up, I couldn't decide if it was snowing or raining ashes. People were firing guns chaotically and I had never run so fast in my entire life. Jimmy jumped up to the roof of a parked car and I was quick to follow, bending over to catch my breath.

 

"Now where?" I panted.

 

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EXCERPTS:

 

 

He laughed. “It’s Jim—” he mumbled, suddenly looking embarrassed and cutting himself off.

 

“Jim?” I repeated, grabbing his cup and popping the lid off the marker.

 

“James!” he added, and it made me jump. Having already written down the letter J, I glanced up at him and laughed.

 

“James . . .” I repeated, hesitant to add the A in case he changed his mind.

 

“Jimmy. My name’s Jimmy. Nobody calls me James,” he said, suddenly sighing loudly.

 

I huffed and glanced down at his cup, deciding to write Jimmy James. Turning my back to him, I made his boring black coffee, then turned back around to hand it to him over the counter.

 

“Here’ya go, Jimmy James,” I laughed.

 

He stared at the name and threw his head back laughing.

 

“No . . . not what I meant. But I’ll take it,” he laughed.

 

Leaning back against the counter behind me, I stared at his hand holding his cup and saw that he had a word tattooed across his knuckles. I tried tilting my head to the side to see what it said, but he had already taken a step back to leave.

 

“Cheers,” he said, raising the coffee up, then grabbing a handful of sugar packets.

 

My eyes widened and I had to hold back my laughter.

 

“Ha! D’you want some coffee with your sugar?” I asked. He shoved the packets of sugar in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders, smiling.

 

“Not sure what I’m in the mood for yet. Have a good day!” he cheered, then left.

 

I watched him walk down the street past the windows to my left and quickly looked away when he stared back. Heading back into the kitchen, I shoved my thumb over my shoulder and frowned.

 

“Did you see how many sugars he took?” I asked Angie, and she nodded with a laugh.

 

The lunch rush came, then ended just as quickly, and suddenly Angie and I were head over heels with dishes.

 

“I’m surprised that guy actually came in,” she said, breaking our silence.

 

I looked at her as I was drying a group of spoons by hand since the two dishwashers were full.

 

“Who?” I asked.

 

“That guy. This morning,” she said.

 

“Oh, we’re back to talking about that,” I laughed, “why do you say that?”

 

“Because. I always see him standing at the door or by the windows, staring inside. But then he always walks away. I think he works at the tattoo parlour at the end of the street . . .”

 

“That would make sense. Did you see his arms? They’re both covered! But that’s kinda creepy, no? He just stands outside and stares?”

 

“Yeah, like he’s not totally sure if he wants to come in or not.”

 

We both started laughing.

 

“He’s probably like . . . a serial killer or something . . .”

 

“It’s okay. You were polite and made him a coffee. He won’t kill you,” Angie said, smiling.

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 

Monique lives in Southern Ontario with her high school sweetheart and her two lop eared rabbits. When she’s not writing, she’s getting tattoos, dyeing her hair, or travelling. She is an avid concert-goer and has way too many houseplants.

 

Connect with Monique Duclos

The author is running a Goodreads giveaway during the blog tour. Anyone in the U.S. with a Goodreads account can sign up to win a free e-copy of Inked Caffeine: Melrose and Vine. Here's the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/343365-inked-caffeine

 

WEBSITE https://moniqueducloswrites.com/

 

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/authormoniqueduclos/ 

 

TWITTER https://twitter.com/ragemonsterr?lang=en 

 

GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21739127.Monique_Duclos 

 

Get a copy of Inked Caffeine              

 

AMAZON.COM https://amazon.com/dp/0228854180

 

AMAZON.CA https://amazon.ca/dp/0228854180 

 

KINDLE https://amazon.com/dp/B09C9YCLFQ 

 

BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/books/inked-caffeine-9780228854180/9780228854180 

 

INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/inked-caffeine/9780228854166-item.html

 

BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inked-caffeine-monique-duclos/1139988904 

 

BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/Inked-Caffeine-Monique-Duclos/9780228854180 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

Monique Duclos will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4138