Romancing the West Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to my stage coach layover for the tour.

My individual blog stop prize is a $15 gift card, winner's choice. 

Hopefully you'll pick up some of the wonderful books featured in the tour!

Grand Prize for the entire tour: A swag pack which includes books (both ebooks and paper), Amazon gift card, custom made butterfly jewelry, book cards, magnets and much more all tucked away in a keepsake box. (Available to US residents only. Winner will be announced on February 26 at 10 PM EST)

You've got 30 stops on the tour, but we've got a linky list at the bottom to make sure you have a smooth ride. And don't forget, every post you comment on with your email address listed will give you an entry into the drawing for the Grand Prize. So settle into your seat, have fun reading, and good luck!

My love of cowboys stems from thinking a man willing to put in a hard, honest days work is one of the sexiest things there is. Any cowboy hero I write will have a good heart and epitomize a man who works hard to earn the heroine's love. He may go about it the wrong way at the start, hit some bumps along the trail, but that's what makes life (and books) interesting, right?

Speaking of keeping things interesting, here's a short excerpt from the first book in my Colorado Trust Series.

“[Trust in the Lawe] is another keeper I'm adding to my library that's written by a wonderfully talented author who knows what readers want to read. Well done, Ms. Netzel!” Diana Coyle ~ Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK

Kendra Zelner has three brothers: Eight-year old Noah she's determined to protect, Joel who has no clue she exists, and Robert who wants her dead.

With reason to be distrustful of cops, she takes Noah and flees their Manhattan home for Joel’s ranch in Colorado. Under the pretense of needing a job, she plans to hide out until her twenty-fifth birthday, when she’ll inherit her trust fund and legally gain custody of Noah away from Robert’s greedy hands. Unfortunately, her brother’s sexy, infuriating ranch manager insists on demolishing her defenses and digging into her past.

Colton Lawe has good reason to suspect Joel’s beautiful, long-lost sister isn’t what she seems—the little liar stole from him! He silently vows to expose her secrets, but long hours together on the ranch fosters a closeness and fiery attraction neither of them expects. Can Kendra trust Colton with the full truth before Robert finds them?

~*~

In the darkened bedroom, Kendra sat straight up and strained her ears to pick up anything unusual. Any sound to explain why she suddenly found her eyes wide open in the middle of the night without having had the dream.

A glance at the clock brought her up short. It was only ten-thirty. In the absence of any other explanation, she began to imagine that Robert had found them. Her heart pounded so hard in the acute silence, she heard the thump of each beat.

Then she heard a sound that chilled the blood in her veins—the muted sounds of footsteps on the kitchen linoleum. They were too heavy to be Noah’s…

Noah!

She flew out of bed and peered into the hallway. All clear. Pressing against the wall, she scurried to the entryway between the living room and kitchen. A quick glance revealed the living room to be empty.

In the dim illumination from the light above the sink, she saw the kitchen was, too. Whispering across the floor in her bare feet, she grabbed a butcher knife and went to check on Noah.

She froze at the sight of a hulking shadow backing out of his room. If he hurt Noah…A blinding red wave of anger swept through her and she sprang forward, the knife raised high. “Leave him alone, you monster!”

The shadow’s arm rose to deflect her attack. He was definitely real, not a dream.

Flesh and blood after her brother. She had to stop him.

That single thought screamed inside her head. When his hand closed over her wrist, the one with the knife, the one thing she’d mastered in self-defense class flashed back.

She dropped the knife and seized his wrist with her free hand. Pure adrenalin gave her the strength to twist her back to his chest and plant her feet. Using his own weight and forward momentum against him, she bent at the waist and heaved him over her shoulder.

He landed flat on his back with a loud thump. The breath whooshed from his lungs. She heard a strangled gasp and squatted down, scrambling to locate the knife. The bite of the blade had her reaching with her other hand for the handle.

Ironically, a rush of temporary relief shook her knees even more.

She braced her free hand against the wall for support as she rose with the knife extended in front of her. Slightly crouched, she swept her hand back and forth along the wall until she located the light switch. One flip and she’d confront Robert face to face. Her heart clogged her throat, but she forced her fingers to move.

The hallway lit up. Kendra nearly dropped the knife again as her other hand flew to her mouth in astonished horror.

Colton?

He lay on the floor in front of her, squinting in the bright light. Then his gaze fixed on the nine-inch blade in her hand, and he scooted to sit against the wall.

What was he—her gaze narrowed before she spun around and hurried inside Noah’s room. Assured he was unharmed and still sleeping soundly, she returned to the hall to find Colton picking himself up off the floor.

Dizzying relief gave way to anger. He’d scared the living daylights out of her! “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.

His green eyes narrowed. His attention dropped to the hand at her side and then, without a single word, he strode toward the kitchen. She rushed after him and he whirled to face her. She jerked the knife up in automatic warning. “Stay there. I asked you a question.”

His gaze caught hers and held. The challenging glitter in his eyes held her immobile as he took a deliberate step forward and slowly reached to close his hand over her fingers on the handle. Heat from his touch radiated up her arm and through her entire body. She tried to pull away and his gaze darkened in tandem with the tightening of his grip.

“Threaten me again, and you’d better be damn sure you succeed the first time.”

~*~

And good news! My publisher recently discounted TRUST IN THE LAWE so readers could give my Colorado Trust Series a try at a great price of just $5.99 $2.99! 

You can lasso your copy here: The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, BN, ARe

Now that you've got that taken care of, leave a comment (with your email!) telling me What's your favorite western movie or book?, then go ahead and use the Rafflecopter to enter to win the $15 gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Then head on out to the next layover! (Make sure to stop by NovelFriends where I'm talking about my other western, CHASIN' MASON.)
Thanks so much for coming by.

***PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT TO QUALIFY for prizes***

Valentine's Ebook Sale

Today's hottest ebooks are on sale from Feb. 14-16 only! Mystery, romance, young adult - there's something for everyone ...

... including the chance to win 1 of 4 $25 Amazon gift cards!

More Than a Kiss
 Regularly $3.99, on sale for $0.99

Head on over for some more great titles like:

An Eternity of Roses, by Natalie G. Owens

Under His Command, by Kristine Cayne

Into The Dark, by Stacy Green

Storm on the Horizon, by Meredith Bond

Wicked Sense, by Fabio Bueno

Fourteen Days Later, by Sibel Hodge

Something to Live For, by Natalie G. Owens

and many more!

Have fun shopping and Happy Reading

Happy Valentine's Day

~ Stacey

Meet the Book Bloggers: Becky & Randi

Today I have two book bloggers so Double the FUN! Let's give a warm welcome to Becky and Randi from the Cardigans, Coffee and Bookmarks Blog. I'm going to jump right in because they have a lot to share.

When and how did you get started with book blogging?

Randi

n  Randi: Well, this is a bit of a long story. I’ll try to make it short. J Back in January 2009, Becky and I met as fellow English majors at a little college in rural Iowa. Our snarky attitudes and love for books created a slow bond. Fast forward to the summer of 2012. Becky and I had been hanging out on Goodreads and Skype together, and one day I mentioned “hey! We should start a book blog!” Since I’m a pre-service language arts/English teacher and Becky’s a soon-to-be youth librarian, it was one of those “duh” moments. We both thought it was a cool idea and pretty soon, while chatting on Skype, Becky informed me she had started our blog! And the rest is recent history. ;)

n  Becky: Here’s my version of the same story…Randi made me do it ☺

LOL I love it!

What can readers expect from your reviews?

n  Randi: Readers can expect honest reviews, first and foremost! We mostly review young adult books, with the occasional middle grade, picture book, and adult book thrown in. We try to keep them brief and to the point, though sometimes fangirling is unavoidable. We also try to be conversational and informal in our reviews so that they’re more like conversations about books rather than the stuffy kind of reviews you might see from literary critics. We love books and we want to share that love while having fun and meeting other readers!

Becky

n  Becky: I think we also try to provide a usability aspect to our blog and reviews that is not common in book blogs. We have our reviews separated by ages (picture books, tween, teen, adult…) so if you’re looking for something to hand someone right away then you can just do a quick scan. In the works are a series of booklist pages such as “books for boys, GLBTIQ books, Historical Fiction etc). I think they will be helpful to teachers and librarians who need a quick reference.

What is your favorite genre and is there anything you won’t review?

n  Randi: My favorite genre varies. By far, my favorite is young adult, so I’ll try to break that down a little. (Favorite adult genres are gothic and fantasy!) It used to be primarily fantasy, though the broader my reading becomes, the more I find I need different kinds of books at different times. Fantasy still catches my eye the most, but I’ve been reading a lot of young adult contemporary this year and have fallen in LOVE with this subgenre. I like the occasional paranormal, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, mystery, thriller, verse, etc., but honestly my favorite changes from book to book and week to week! I won’t review erotica, and I’m picky about nonfiction, but that’s really it.

n  Becky:  My favorite genre hands down for any age is horror/scary.  I never feel all the way invested in a story unless it creeps me out.  I read fairly broadly in the other genres, particularly fantasy and science fiction.  I gravitate to darker stories and don’t care much for romance.  I won’t review erotica or most romance.  I don’t review much nonfiction either.  I do love picture books, though ☺.

What was your most exciting ‘fan-girl’ moment with an author?

n  Randi: I read a spectacular book by Trent Reedy called Words in the Dust (read my review HERE). It was one of those hard-hitting make-you-feel-all-the-things books. So I just had to send Mr. Reedy an email (also, he’s from me & Becky’s beautiful state of Iowa!) and he RESPONDED. I almost passed out. Especially because, as a pre-service teacher who hopes to teach middle school, this is a book that I would lovelovelove to teach in my classroom. I included that note in my email, and Mr. Reedy responded that he does Skype visits and such! WHAT?!?! Total fangirl moment. There was also a tweetback from Courtney Summers about me talking someone into buying her latest book, This is Not a Test, and that was also a fangirl moment!

n  Becky:  I’m not a fangirl lol.  I don’t have those moments.  So sorry. 

Randi, that's awesome! And Becky, don't apologize. Viva la difference!

Is your significant other/family supportive of your book addiction?

n  Randi: Luckily, my husband is also a reader, though I read far more often and more quickly than he does (he also has all those video games to play, ya know). So he understands my addiction to book-buying. And besides, I have that nice little phrase “But I’m building my classroom library!” which usually garners an eye-roll, a sigh, and reluctant acceptance. My friends always give me crap every time they see my ever-expanding bookshelves. But they know it’s just part of me!

n  Becky: I don’t really buy mass amounts of books.  I’m an avid library user, as you might expect from a future librarian.  I do have a bad habit of checking out 20 books at a time hee hee.  Since I don’t have that towering stack of books that Randi does, my reading addiction stays (for the most part) off my family’s radar.

Do you have a pet who loves to snuggle with you when you read?

n  Randi: I have three! Hester Ann, Brady, and Bacon are my three cuddly guinea piggies. Hester Ann is especially cuddly so she’s my most regular reading buddy. They sit on my chest (one at a time) while I read and/or do homework. J 

n  Becky: I have a new-used English Cocker Spaniel named Kit who chillaxes with me on my bean-bag chair when I read. When she feels left out she either shuts the book with her paw or comes and sits on my book…she’s very direct. 

What does it take in a book to absolutely annoy you to the point where you quit reading or throw the book at the wall?

n  Randi: Generally, bad writing. I notice typos and bad grammar, so when there’s a lot of mistakes like that, I get really annoyed. I wouldn’t say I’m either pro-plot-driven or pro-character-driven, because I like both and there are different times when I prefer reading one over the other, but I need whatever book I’m reading to have at least strongly written characters or plot, otherwise I won’t finish it.

n  Becky: I’m always up for good book toss and I usually love books or hate them, as Randi can attest.  I’m a woman of many feelings lol. My biggest issue with books, particularly YA, is that characters don’t have consistent personalities or actions. They do and say things just to move the story that don’t really make sense for them.

What makes you a fan for life?

n  Randi: Short answer: a book I can get lost in. If I can fall into a book’s world, that’s my kind of writer!

n  Becky: I’m a fan for life if the author has 1 book that I absolutely loved, even if I don’t like all of their others.  I’ll keep trying until they stop writing. The key element for me is atmosphere. I’m all about a richly described setting and tone, hence my love of gothic literature.  Stephen King is an all time favorite for this reason, Juliette Marillier, and Shirley Jackson are two more.

Do you have a popular blogger meme started by you?

n  Randi: I’ll let Becky take this one since it was her idea! J

n  Becky: We are a very new blog, so we’re still figuring things out.  We do have a meme that we’ve started,  called Twice Baked Thursday.  Randi and I read the same book and “argue” with each other about it in a post.  It’s great fun and if you have more than one blogger on your site or a guest partner, feel free to join in.

You mentioned earlier that you try to keep your reviews conversational, which is what I love about your Twice-Baked Thursdays. Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don't, but it truly does come across like two friends chatting (discussing/arguing) about the book.  :)

Can you share with us up to 5 authors who are auto-buy for you?

n  Randi: I can’t wait for these authors to write MORE: Huntley Fitzpatrick, Erin Morgenstern, Ruta Sepetys, Diane Setterfield, and Trish Doller. All of their debut novels are absolute favorites of mine, and I will auto-buy anything they write!

n  Becky: I never auto-buy. I’m a very selective buyer and I can count on my hand the books I’ve purchase this year.  If I had a full-time job and a huge bookshelf, though…. Stephen King, John Green, Joanne Harris,  Maggie Stiefvater, and Juliette Marillier.

Definitely some great authors! 

A huge THANK YOU to Randi and Becky for taking the time to answer my questions and spend the day with us here.

Find Becky and Randi here:

Blog: http://cardiganscoffeeandbookmarks.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @BeckyandRandi (blog twitter)

              @randinicole13 (Randi's twitter - better to get ahold of us!)

Reader's, now it's your chance to ask them any questions you may have. 

Elvis Rejected and Recycled

Elvis rejected? What??

Whoa, relax. Yes, I rejected one of my Elvis writing prompt efforts (explanation to follow), but since I'm the one who did the rejecting, that means I can recycle it for you here!

See, over on the NovelFriends blog, we did a fun writing prompt and the keyword was "Elvis". My friend Delia Deleest mentioned that she managed to fit 17 song titles into about 200 words. Now, I hadn't read it yet, but subconsciously I channeled her idea as I was writing mine. I realized it when I was about half way through my first attempt.

I decided to finish it, but then wrote a second mini-story to go with the above NF blog post because I worried it would be too close to what she did. Turns out I was right. Go ahead and click the link to check out the original post - NovelFriends

I'll wait................

And you're back! See? I told you they were fun!

Now you get to read my original (or maybe not so original) story. And I'm adding a picture of Bailey the basset hound, courtesy of my friend Sherry, because I realized after the fact that I was also channeling someone else as I was writing. (I see tons of Bailey pictures on FB, along with his 'sister' Babette.)

So, here we go...

~~~

“Elvis.” I stage-whispered the name as I tiptoed through the dark, then muttered under my breath, “This is getting ridiculous.”

The dew-wet grass chilled my bare feet and goose bumps rose up on my arms. It was cooler than our typical Memphis June nights and if my brat of a dog would just stay home for once, I wouldn’t have been out walking around in my pajamas at nine-thirty.

With a brisk rub over my bumpy arms, I crept forward and peered onto my neighbor’s back porch. The one that belonged to the tall, sinfully good-looking single guy who’d moved in a week ago.

I knew he was single because my meddling mama had done some snooping though the neighborhood grapevine. Once she found out Danny was only two years older than me at thirty, had a decent job, was the grandson of a friend of a friend, she’d promptly ordered me to “Go see if that boy’s lonesome tonight.”

The woman was pushy with a capitol P and desperate for some grand babies I might have even suspected her of somehow orchestrating Elvis’s new nightly wanderings, but she was on a cruise in the Caribbean, so my suspicious mind had no leverage on that one.

“Elvis.” I repeated the entreaty through clenched teeth, trying to sound commanding without raising my voice. Failing that, I resorted to insults and threats. “If you don’t get your mutt butt over here, you’ll be grounded to the leash.”

I put my foot on the first step, then remembered it had a loose board. A creak echoed in the silence.

I froze.

Had that been me? I didn’t think so. My heart thundered in my chest, each beat loud in my ears. Another squeak reached my ears, as if someone were sitting on the porch swing.

Please, Lord, don’t be so cruel.

“Hey, Jude. Puttin’ this teddy bear in jail would make you the meanest girl in town.”

The deep southern drawl swirled my insides like a Tennessee twister. He knows my name? “Um, I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean…he doesn’t usually…”

Darn it. I was so shook up I couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.

The porch light flared to life, revealing my spoiled hound’s head resting oh-so-comfortably on the lap of my sexy neighbor.

“It’s actually my fault Elvis is here.”

“Your fault?” I asked in confusion, moving to the top of the stairs with reluctance. My hair was a mess and I had no make up on. Not how I’d envisioned us meeting.

“Well…” He hesitated, then took a deep breath and rushed on. “Your mother said we should meet, but—”

“My mother?”

He nodded as he stroked Elvis’s long ear. “She stopped by the other day.”

I knew she was involved in this somehow! Hard headed woman.

Oh, God, what if he thought I’d sent her over to talk to him? I felt like an idiot. As if I needed my mother to find me a man. I was perfectly capable of managing my own love life. Eventually.

“Elvis, come,” I commanded, tucking a curl back into my wreck of a ponytail.

"Elvis" aka Bailey

He lifted his head. His droopy, puppy dog eyes shifted from me, up to Danny’s face. He looked back at me, gave a yowl of protest, then lowered his jowls back to the jeans-clad thigh he’d been using as a pillow.

When Danny made no move to push the traitor off the swing, I stalked across the porch. “In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s cold out here, so how about a little less conversation and hand over my dog.”

In truth, my anger had taken care of the goose bumps, but pretending to be cold was much better than revealing my humiliation.

As I reached the swing, I heard Danny mutter under his breath.

“It’s now or never.”

“Excuse me?”

He sighed and raised his gaze to meet mine. “Listen, I’ve been wanting to talk to you since the first time I saw your face, but I felt like a fool rushing over to introduce myself. When I spotted you sprinting off my porch with your dog last night, I…um…”

When he trailed off, I lifted my eyebrows and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I left a trail of treats to get him back over here tonight,” he admitted.

I stared as his sheepish expression, completely dumbfounded, all anger deflated. This brown-eyed handsome man had planned this just so he could talk to me?

He dropped his gaze and shifted Elvis from his leg so he could stand before me. “So, I’m the one who’s sorry now. I won’t bother you again.”

Again, Elvis gave me The Eyes. He looked so lonesome I wouldn’t put it past him to cry.

I became as much a teddy bear as my dog and caught Danny’s arm when he would’ve brushed past.

Sticking out my hand, I offered a warm smile. “Nice to meet you, neighbor. Now, about that conversation…”

~~~

Thanks so much for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day, and I'm going to get back to writing Run to Rome, my Lost in Italy sequel.

Oh, hey, anyone got a title for this short little story? 

Stacey Joy Netzel

Book of the Year?

I hope so! But I need your help.

LOST IN ITALY has been nominated for Book of the Year (2012) at LASR and now the book needs all the votes it can get!

It's the old cover below, but still the same book. 

Voting ends at midnight Feb. 14th, so head over right away, please!

VOTE HERE

I'd greatly appreciate if you'd take a moment to vote and maybe  share with friends also willing to do so. 

THANK YOU!

Sunday Share: Biting Oz, by Mary Hughes + giveaway

It's been awhile since I've had a Sunday Share, so today I'm very happy to welcome Mary Hughes with an excerpt from her spicy paranormal romance, Biting Oz.

Read on and have fun, my friends!

Biting Oz, by Mary Hughes 
(Biting Love Book 5)

Paranormal romance
Spicy

Real vampires do musicals.

Gunter Marie “Junior” Stieg is stuck selling sausage for her folks in small-town Meiers Corners. Until one day she’s offered a way out—the chance to play pit orchestra for a musical headed for Broadway: Oz, Wonderful Oz.

But someone is threatening the show’s young star. To save the production, Junior must join forces with the star’s dark, secretive bodyguard, whose sapphire eyes and lyrical Welsh accent thrill her. And whose hard, muscular body sets fire to her passions.

Fierce as a warrior, enigmatic as a druid, Glynn Rhys-Jenkins has searched eight hundred years for a home. Junior’s get-out-of-Dodge attitude burns him, but everything else about her inflames him, from her petite body and sharp mind to what she can do with her hip-length braid.

Then a sensuous, insidious evil threatens not only the show, but the very foundations of Meiers Corners. To fight it, Junior and Glynn must face the truth about themselves—and the true meaning of love and home.

Warning: Cue the music, click your heels together, make a wish and get ready for one steamy vampire romance. Contains biting, multiple climaxes, embarrassing innuendos, ka-click/ka-ching violence, sausage wars and—shudder—pistachio fluff.


First Meet EXCERPT: (In the theater. Junior is late and rushing to get to the pit, but is blocked by a sea of Munchkins.)

A stampede of girls playing horse galloped into me, knocking me off my feet again. I fell, trampled under their small hooves. Terrific. My obituary would now read, “Gunter Marie ‘Junior’ Stieg, pit musician and sausage queen, pounded flat by a herd of size-three Mary Janes.” I braced myself for death, or at least a bad bruising.

Big, warm hands slid under my arms, drew me to my feet.

“Here now,” said a musical baritone. “I’ll take care of this, babi. You sit here, out of the way.”

The hands assisted me to a plush seat. I sank in. Mmm, comfy. The city sure had gone all out remodeling the theater…babi?

I blinked. A pair of shoulders wider than a freeway waded out into the sea of kids. The leather-jacketed shoulders belonged to a man, black-haired, tall and strong-looking—but even Gulliver fell to a raging river of Lilliputians. I called out a warning too late. Kids grabbed the man’s hands, his jacket, and climbed him like a tree. He was swarmed, overwhelmed, swallowed up by the horde of prepubescent terrors. I covered my eyes.

“Sit now, younglings. All in a row, that’s it. Sit quietly until it’s your turn to have makeup.”

He had a lovely accent. I uncovered my eyes. Somehow he’d freed himself from the swarm of kids and was calmly shepherding them into the first two rows of seats, adjusting a tie here or hat there as they filed neatly by.

Holy Dr. Spock. There was a handy man to have if I ever wanted kids.

I smacked myself discreetly between the eyes. No children, at least not right now. First, make a good impression on the director of this show, turn the show into a smash hit, and go to New York.

Which meant getting into that pit before the overture started. Maybe I still could. I jumped to my feet, snatched up my Manhasset stand and corpse sax, shouldered my instrument bag and trotted down the rapidly clearing aisle.

And nearly slammed into a six-kid pileup.

The adults doing Munchkin makeup had stopped the kids from filing into the third row of seats in order to fix one Munchkin’s smears. I screeched to a stop on my toes, off-balance. My bag slipped, dropped off my shoulder, jerked me into stumbling. I nearly dropped the sax, did drop my stand, tangled feet with it and had to wrench myself backward to keep from falling.

Except the sax didn’t hear about the change in plans. Momentum carried it in my original direction, popping it from of my grip.

To my horror, the tenor case pitched straight at the kids.

The man turned instantly, as if preternaturally aware of the danger. But he was behind the kids. He’d have to hurdle like Jesse Owens to get between the deadly sax and those small bodies.

Palming the wall, he levered against it to kick up and over Munchkin heads, clearing them with incredible grace and ease, landing on my side.

On the way he snatched my tenor. Midair.

I set down my instrument bag and blew out my tension. “Wow. Thanks. I…”

Straightening to his full height of six-OMG, he faced me, emanating strength and energy. Powerful chest muscles pushed into the jacket’s gap right in front of my nose.

I gaped, realized I was starting to drool and looked up.

Sondheim shoot me. His face was all dark, dangerous planes. His eyes were twin sapphire flames that hit me in the gut. My breath punched out and none came to replace it. Bad news for a wind player.

He turned to set the sax down. I started breathing again.

A tapping caught my ear, the conductor ready to start. I needed to get into that pit now.

Half a dozen kids and two makeup adults were still in my way.

I’d have crawled over the seats myself but my joints weren’t as limber as the kids’…unless I used my black Lara Croft braid as a rope. I was desperate enough to consider it.

The man, turning back, saw my predicament. He lifted my instrument bag and music stand over kids with the same strength and grace as when he’d snatched the tenor. Then he turned to me.

And swept me up into his arms.

An instant of shock, of male heat and rock-hard muscle. A carved face right next to mine, masculine lips beautifully defined—abruptly I was set on my feet beside the pit. The sax landed next to me with a thump.

“There.” His accent was jagged, as if he were as rattled as me. “There’s your instrument.” He bounded to the back of the theater and was gone.

~*~

Wow. *grin*

Thank you for being here to share with us, Mary. I really enjoyed the excerpt and hope everyone else does, too!

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win an ebook copy of Biting Oz...

**Comment through Wednesday to enter, leave your email if you'd like Mary to contact you directly if you win. Adults only, please. Winner chosen by random number.

...but if you can't wait to find out more about this hunk, then go grab your copy of Biting Oz now!

Biting Oz at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Samhain, ARe, Kobo,  Fictionwise, Sony, iTunes

And did you notice this is Book 5? I'm thinking you're going to want to check out the rest of the series as well!

Mary Hughes is an author, computer consultant, and professional musician. At various points in her life she has taught Taekwondo, worked in the insurance industry, and studied religion. She is intensely interested in the origins of the universe. She has a wonderful husband (though happily-ever-after takes a lot of hard work) and two great kids. But she thinks that with all the advances in modern medicine, childbirth should be a lot less messy.

To learn more please visit www.maryhughesbooks.com or email mary@maryhughesbooks.com. Mary's also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MaryHughesAuthor and Twitter http://www.twitter.com/MaryHughesBooks

Happy reading everyone!

Stacey