Day: July 22, 2021
Laughing Dolphins by Amber Polo


1980s Boston art students follow different road signs for twenty years.
Sandy, believing she lacks talent, leaves her dreams.
Jeff, content to wander, plays with art and life.
Stepping onto parallel paths, they chase art trends and love, from Boston’s Dunkin Donuts to California’s Starbucks…from computer networks to soul networks.
“…Tales of the City without the sex and drugs and stretched over 20 years, many cities, and thousands of miles. “


Sandy
Sandy’s head pressed against the window of Jeff’s borrowed Subaru hatchback. Jeff opened the door at a Dunkin Donuts and cold air rolled in. She wished the heater worked. Back on the road a Welcome to Maine billboard flashed by and, half awake, she snuggled Jeff’s New England Patriots parka over her denim jacket. A Harvard Square café double shift had made her too tired to wonder why he refused to reveal their destination. An all-night road trip was the kind of weird fun stuff Jeff thought up.
Two hundred and fifty miles north of Boston, Jeff turned off Highway 95. A half hour later, the Subie’s headlights illuminated a white wooden fence. He parked and helped Sandy out of the car and whispered, “My mom brought me here when I was a kid. She said if I made a promise as the sun rose on Mount Desert Island, it would come true. That morning I promised I’d be an artist.”
In the frigid pre-dawn air, Sandy saw their breath but not much else. She snapped her denim jacket and zipped the parka closed. Jeff took off his Red Sox cap and scrunched it onto her head. Waves crashed on distant rocks and an offshore sea breeze tickled her icy cold nose. She hoped this would be worth it.
Jeff inhaled. “Smells salty and clean. Not like washed up dead things or diesel boats.”
Sandy’s teeth chattered. “Smells like hundreds of miles of open sea.”
Jeff sniffed. “Molecules from countries we’ve never seen.” He pulled two blankets out of the car and led Sandy along an uphill path.
Sandy heard people around them but couldn’t see a thing. “What’s this? A make-out spot?”
Hissing whispers shushed her.
As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Jeff led her close to the top and spread out one blanket and helped her settle next to a large rock. He sat and tugged the second blanket around them, leaving only their faces exposed. Hugging her shivering body close, Jeff whispered, “It’ll be worth it.”
She leaned into the familiar warmth of his body. She loved Jeff’s quirky sense of adventure and wished she possessed that whimsical spark.
Jeff pulled her close and kissed her. “Our love is like a sunrise. Like a desert sun shining on ocean waves.”
She giggled. “We’ve never even seen a desert.”
“We’ll go everywhere. Together. I feel in my heart we’ll always be together. Now, promise you’ll love me forever.”
“I promise.” She tried to sound as sober as Jeff.
“If I lose you, I swear I’ll find you.”
She laughed. “I’ll never leave you.” Sometimes he was so dramatic.
A glow lined the horizon. A speck of dark gold fuzz appeared, then broadened along the distant ocean. “There,” Jeff sighed. “Now, don’t blink.”
Slowly, then faster, the sun rose above the water, its orange-red glow spreading up against layered purple clouds. The panorama was divided by a white seam holding water and air together as the sky lit the ocean in hues painters jealously craved to replicate.
Watchers released their breaths and uttered a spontaneous, “Ahhh.” No artist could ever capture this sunrise or the feeling in her heart. Jeff insisted artists needed to experience everything, even if they didn’t have the skill to translate their feelings into art. She felt hesitant to even try. Her life felt like a still life oil compared to Jeff’s animated talent.
As the sun rose higher, a frisson of excitement traveled through her body. “That was really amazing. We were the first people on the whole continent to see the sun rise.”
The sun globe now hung over the horizon. Through morning haze, the entire sky glowed luminous and soft. Jeff made her see the wonder in the world. When she was with him dreams seemed real. “I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”
They tumbled back on the blanket and rolled together while the other watchers hurried down hill. Pulling apart only far enough to unbutton and unzip, their bodies wiggled, squirmed, and adjusted. Sandy and Jeff moved under the blanket and joined with the easy intensity of two people meant to be one.

Despite napping all the way back from Maine, Sandy was so tired. As soon as they merged into morning rush hour traffic, the honking kept her awake.
Jeff parked the Subaru and pulled her to the stairs to their second floor apartment. She hoped to sleep for a few hours before her Renaissance History Art class and the late afternoon shift at Sam’s coffeehouse. Jeff bounded up the steps, then ran back down and pushed her up before him. “Come on. I’ve got this idea. It’ll be great.”
Inside the apartment Sandy put on a pot of coffee. When Jeff got in one of these moods there was no stopping him. He laid her largest blank canvas on the floor and began throwing tubes of paint down next to it. He took a knife from the kitchen counter, bent it until it looked like a trowel and began spreading layers of paint on the canvas. Sandy slumped onto the futon to watch. As her eyes fluttered and began to close, Jeff looked up. “You got to help. I see it. But I can’t make it real alone.”
“I can’t see what’s in your head. You have to do it yourself.” Jeff was such a nut sometimes.
He teasingly pulled her off the futon onto the floor. “No way.” He grabbed a slab of mouse-gray clay and pushed it into her hand. He started layering ochre, sienna, and crimson over the white-streaked ultramarine background. “Look, see the sunrise reflected in the ocean! You must see it. Now the ocean has to reach up to greet the dawn.”
As Jeff talked and waved his arms Sandy began to knead the clay between her palms. As her fingers poked and massaged the cool mass, the heat from her hands softened it and she felt it grow more pliable under her touch. “I see a water sprite rising out of the cold dark ocean to welcome the love of the sun.”
“Wicked cool! I knew you’d get it.” Jeff reached out to hug her and they both fell on top of the canvas. Getting up, clothes spotted with globs of paint, they stared down at the canvas.
The sunrise scene was perfect.

Boston Art Institute Commencement, June, 1980
Jeff
All Jeff wanted was for this day to be finished. Over. Done. His father unconsciously mimicked the gesture, smoothing his own perfectly styled cut. “Well son, what next? Have you reconsidered going for an MBA? You couldn’t get into the Harvard B school with your,” he scowled, “art degree. But there are several strong programs in the Chicago area. You could live near me and Jennifer.”
“Dad, I’m an artist.” He really wished he’d skipped graduation and avoided listening to his father’s lectures on career choices. His head hurt. He wanted to escape to the pub for a beer.
“I won’t pay for you to paint and drink beer with your friends forever. Why do you think I divorced your mother?”
“I thought you divorced Mom because she was a lousy corporate wife.”
“She surely wasn’t presentable.” He looked at his ex-wife talking with Sandy. “Probably dying for a drink right now. Jennifer wanted to be here, but she’s closing another deal in London. You know, son, if you really want to be an artist, you could work for her. Corporate interior design is a fine career and you could get that MBA later.”
“Your son, the interior decorator?” Jeff hated the tone of voice his father used whenever he said the word artist, like Jeff’s talent was a personal affront to his identity and artist was a synonym for bum. His father was good at making money. Jeff didn’t care about that. When he was creating art he felt alive. His mind was on another plane. His heart thrummed with joy. No one was going to tell him how to live. If Standford Sanders thought he could convince his son to sell out, he was wrong. Dead wrong.
“Jennifer does very well with her hotel clients.”
“I don’t want to work for Trophy Wife Number Two.”
“Watch your mouth. You don’t want to wind up like your mother.”
“Mom’s happy.” Jeff saw his plump rumpled mother hug Sandy. That too-tight red dress made her look like an aging hippie. But he never doubted his mother loved him and was proud of him, no matter what he did. As a graduation gift she’d sent in his test scores and paid his Mensa membership. All his high IQ had ever done for him was to raise other people’s expectations. He wanted to create art and have a good time. Why couldn’t anyone understand. He couldn’t be creative if art was a job.
Sandy waved and walked toward him. The closer she got, the better he felt. He believed Sandy’s talent was greater than his. Sometimes he had to push her to try new things, but she was a great artist. Like their art teachers, he admitted her still lifes were only competent. But when she sculpted the human body, each piece came to life. One day in the studio he’d watched her place her hands on a block of red clay. Her face transformed into this amazing portrait of peace. And when her fingers dug into the moist mass, her whole body seemed to glow. She shaped the torso with strong gentle fingers, as if she were making love. As he watched, he’d felt a bit jealous, but then she turned to him and he saw the love in her eyes. She’d flung herself into his arms and wiped red slurry all over his best Red Sox t-shirt.
Sandy loved him for who he was. She encouraged him. She supported him. He couldn’t imagine not being with her.

The Ice Duchess
Regency Romance, Steamy Historical Romance
Release Date: July 22, 2021
A scandalous countess plays matchmaker…for a man she once longed to take for herself.
Georgiana Whitcomb, Countess Winterbourne, is known as the Ice Countess for her rebellious ways and refusal to marry again. But a scandalous Christmas wager fashioned by Georgiana’s childhood obsession changes everything.
The demanding duke needs a bride…
Dexter Munro, mere days from becoming the Duke of Markham, made a promise to his dying father to find a wife by the Twelfth Night. Except the only woman he’s ever desired has vowed never to marry again. Not even to become his duchess.
Georgiana and Dex share a sizzling attraction and a wicked past…but is their scorching passion enough to melt the Ice Countess’ heart?
If you adore sexy Dukes, feisty Duchesses, and a steamy second-chance romance set in the magnificent Regency era, The Ice Duchess is the romance novel for you!
Chapter One
A boisterous Derbyshire manor where neither hero nor heroine want to be…
December 21, 1820
It couldn’t be, but she knew it was.
Georgiana stood in a shadowed recess beneath the imperial staircase gracing Buxton Hall’s entrance, a beaded reticule dangling forgotten from her wrist, her breath trapped between her lungs and her lips. The fragrances of the season—frankincense, cinnamon, roast goose—swirled, and she closed her eyes, hoping, praying…
But when she opened them, Dexter Reed Munro, the Marquess of Westfield, mere days from becoming the Duke of Markham if the rumor was correct, stood on the lowest step of the flight across from her, his expression amused, his head tilted as if someone had told a joke and he was considering whether to laugh.
When one yearned to hear that laugh.
A horde of fluttering, preening admirers surrounded him, and his smile, polite but winsome, looked so authentic they’d no idea he was soundly rejecting them. She could spot a fake right off. And, heavens, did she recognize the Munro brand of rejection.
He doesn’t care for society, she’d love to tell the flock.
He only cares for his bloody rocks.
About The Author
Award-winning author Tracy Sumner’s storytelling career began when she picked up a historical romance on a college beach trip, and she fondly blames LaVyrle Spencer for her obsession with the genre. She’s a recipient of the National Reader’s Choice, and her novels have been translated into Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish. She lived in New York, Paris and Taipei before finding her way back to the Lowcountry of South Carolina.When not writing sizzling love stories about feisty heroines and their temperamental-but-entirely-lovable heroes, Tracy enjoys reading, snowboarding, college football (Go Tigers!), yoga, and travel. She loves to hear from romance readers!
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Key West Dead
Date Published: 03-31-2018
A beach wedding, with a hidden explosive device waiting to murder the newlyweds.
A kidnapped teenaged girl, strapped with an IED vest that turns her into a suicide bomber.
A former Marine and his girlfriend, along with their trained K-9, who volunteer to hunt for the bomb-maker.
There is trouble in paradise at Margaritaville Resort, where Jake and Sarah try moving in and living together for the first time to see how it goes. Suddenly they have far more than just their progressing relationship on the line. Now their very lives are at stake.
When a murderer begins threatening his friends, Jake vows to hunt him down and stop his crime spree. He and his former war dog, Cody, are soon following the twisted trail of an elusive bomb-maker whose explosive devices are wreaking havoc among the Florida Keys residents and tourists.
The killer is not amused by their interference in his plans, and he soon adds Jake, Sarah, and Cody to his list of targets.
With the islands under constant attack and everybody a suspect, the chase is on in a race against time, as the clock keeps ticking down toward a final heart-stopping confrontation that will bring the trio of Jake, Sarah and Cody face-to-face with death.
Will Cody’s trained nose be able to hunt down the criminal in time, so Jake can stop his bombing spree before he detonates “the big one?” And will Jake and Sarah’s relationship survive their life-threatening ordeal so they can sail away together to sunny islands? Read Key West Dead to find out what happens next.
About the Author
Mark Nolan is the Amazon Bestselling Author of the Jake Wolfe Series. Subscribe to his reader newsletter at marknolan.com for updates, specials, giveaways, and news.
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The Shadow Queen by K. Rea

The Shadow Queen
K. Rea
(The Wolfrik Trilogy, #2)
Publication date: July 22nd 2021
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
A SMOLDERING COURT.
A DIVIDED PEOPLE.
A WARNING FROM THE GODDESS.With the Court of Shadows in ruins, Evelyn Wolfrik has one goal – to rebuild.
After an encounter with the God of the Forest himself and a summons from the Court of Light, Evelyn’s future seems anything but certain.Leaving the forests, her pack, and fledgling Court behind, Evelyn travels to the white mountains of the Court of Light. Deep in the mountains, navigating not only a frigid court but also challenges and trials she never could have foreseen, she risks losing more than just her crown.
—
EXCERPT:
Gryphons in the Night
I snuck up the mountainside as quickly and quietly as I could. The rocks beneath my feet slid, the goats noticed. The ones awake went on alert as I ran towards them, weaving through the coverage. They darted. The sleepy one, though, was slow. Its instincts kicked in, and it ran for open ground away from me. I herded it up the mountainside to the snow in its panic. It floundered in the snow as I stalked it. The goat recognized me as a predator; its bleats became screeches on the wind as I lunged.
With the goat’s neck in my jaws, the screeches I heard grew louder, to an unbearable volume. I snapped the goat’s neck as a roar erupted around me, and the screech kept going. They did not belong to the goat. I pulled my prey free from the snow and ran with it down the mountain to a boulder I had seen earlier.
A shadow crossed over me as a gryphon collided with Ares; both creatures were engulfed in Ares’s cloud of flame. Training in the woods, watching Aiden and Ares tussle, did nothing to prepare me for the violence I now witnessed. The goat carcass slowed me down, but we needed the food, and I knew I needed to get out of Ares ’way. I’d only be a distraction on the ground. A second shadow passed over me, more screeches echoed through the mountain. I reached the boulder and dropped the damned goat in the shadow of the large stone before peeking back around the rock.
There in the fading light, Ares fought in his dragon form, swooping and diving between two gryphons. Their lion bodies were dark, like their avian heads and wings, a silhouette against the darkening sky. Their beaks were sharp and screeching, yet Ares didn’t hesitate or run. He maneuvered around them as if it was all a choreographed dance; to him, maybe it was. The ribbon of light from the protective barrier grew brighter in the growing darkness.
A rake of Ares ’claws along the gryphon rendered its wings useless. As it fell from the sky, its cries rattled the mountains. It was disorienting enough that Ares did not focus back on the other gryphon until it was too late. As if time had stopped, I watched, frozen, as the gryphon launched itself at Ares ’back and ripped his wings to shreds in the same fashion Ares had done to his companion. Ares’s roar of anguish struck a chord deep in my soul. Still in my wolf form, I scrambled to the top of the boulder, and I launched myself into the air.

Author Bio:
K. Rea is a part-time romance writer and full-time mom. When she isn’t writing or playing with her daughter, she’s reading and crafting. She lives with her husband and family in Florida.
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A Crowe’s Song by Leddy Harper

A Crowe's Song by Leddy Harper is now live!

Some secrets can't stay buried forever…
A dusty old journal led me to a forgotten town full of drowned love, sunken promises, and a stranger with familiar eyes and a rumbly voice that made my soul beg for more.
Drew's dark eyes and warm, soft lips were like a memory of a place I'd never visited. They made me believe that our meeting had been set in the stars, as if Fate had schemed with Destiny and devised this elaborate plot to bring us together.
With each day I spent at Black Bird Resort, I learned more of Drew's history. And the more I learned, the more I questioned.
Until I realized just how much the past could tear us apart.
I may not have been prepared for the journey fate had led me on, but no one was prepared for the reason why.

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Meet Leddy Harper

At the age of fourteen, Leddy Harper wrote her first book and never stopped. She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters. She published her first book to teach her children to go after what they want, love what they do and do it well, and to show them what it means to overcome their fears.
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The Edge of Chaos by J. Saman

The Edge of Chaos by J. Saman is now live!

You know that awful moment when you realize you accidentally slept with your best friend's older brother?
I met him on my last New Year's Eve in New York. Sparks flew. Madness ensued. And after the hottest night of my life, I ran out on him.
Three years later he and I come face-to-face again.
Now do I not only learn his name but realize the heat between us hasn't dissipated for a second.
Thankfully, I'm a woman who can spot his type from miles away. Especially when my friend goes on to explain just how off-limits her older brother is. A player who has wrecked her friends' hearts a time or twenty.
He doesn't agree.
In fact, the gorgeous and persistent man believes we should pick up exactly where we left off three years ago.
Sorry, not gonna happen. My life is already filled with more chaos than I can handle and the last thing I need is some hot playboy adding to it.
Only he turns out to be so much more than I expected. Intoxicating and impossible to resist—all over my place, his stairs, it doesn't matter. We're insatiable.
Now I just have to figure out how to keep my heart out of the game.
Not so easy to do when he's determined to win it.

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Meet J. Saman

J. Saman is a USA Today bestselling author who is addicted to Diet Coke, sour candy, and indie rock. She swears way too much (especially after a glass of wine) and has a penchant for sarcasm (or so her husband and children like to tell her).
She's an admitted lover of second chance romances, love triangles, and the perfect amount of angst. She is best known for writing contemporary romance filled with smart, strong women, and sexy alphas who have a softer side–especially for their women.
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Emi: Foreign Lands
Confessions of a Bossy Protector by C.N. Marie.
★.•°`☆ TEASER REVEAL ☆`°•.★
➜ #TeaserReveal for #CNMarie with #PhoenixBookPromo
➜ Confessions of a Bossy Protector (Book #8 in the Frat House Confessions series) by C.N. Marie is #ComingSoon
➜ Hosted by Phoenix Book Promo ➜ @c.n.marieauthor @phoenixbookpromo
➜ Release Date: 24th August 2021
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Synopsis
Confessions of a Bossy Protector is installment 8 of the Frat House Confessions, a 12 part series releasing in 2021.
Synopsis
Aubree Berry
Freshman year. The year of decisions. Of big changes on the horizon. Of the future. A future I’m not ready to decide on.
So when Summer break rolls around and a girls trip to Las Vegas is on the cards, who am I to say no?
One last ditch attempt to ignore the future and my looming responsibility. One last time to play along; heart and all, but will I live to regret it?
Easton Ashby
Ever the peace keeper. The one they come to with problems. Now, my best mates are taking me in hand and dragging me on their couples holiday. A fifth wheel if ever there was such a thing. That is until I set my sights on someone. A sexy golden waved blond with ocean deep blue eyes who sees the real me.
She forces me to own my decisions and take what was meant to be mine. Until I run back to the Fraternity house, with a secret in tow.
Will Easton and Aubree work through their secret and find each other again? Can the Fraternity boys forgive Easton for not revealing his secret? Follow Easton and Aubree’s story for a holiday contemporary romance with an added twist or two.
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