Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr.

Justice Gone

by N. Lombardi Jr.

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GENRE: Thriller (legal)

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BLURB:

When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down.

A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran's counselor, is caught up in the chase.

Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa's patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets off to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers gets there first, leading to Darfield's dramatic capture.

Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge?

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EXCERPT:

Justice Gone

In memory of Kelly Thomas, who was beaten to death by members of the Fullerton Police Department on July 5, 2011.

Chapter 1

Bruntfield, New Jersey, just another banal town in a part of the country that nobody thinks about, was about to become famous; or rather, more aptly put, infamous. People sauntered past lackluster shops unaware that in a few days, the lackadaisical streets would bear the rabid frustrations that divided the nation; a pus-like bitterness that was held in check by the demands of everyday survival and the distractions offered by obsessive consumerism and brazen media.

Some would inevitably blame the cascade of events on the weather, since the origins could be found on a hot summer day in 2006. Sure, just about all summer days are hot, but this one was close to the record, and humid to boot. By the end of July, the Northeast coast was suffering under a sweltering heat wave. Despite the humidity, no one could remember the last time it had rained. A hundred-year drought was predicted, they’d said.

Bruntfield, among the many places under this curse, had its water supply so severely depressed that the city authorities were forced to impose water rationing. As if that wasn’t enough, the excessive load on air conditioners led to incessant brownouts. With the weather nothing less than insufferable, suffocating, oppressive, even provoking, tempers flared along with the temperature. But the local situation, as bad as it was, was about to get worse.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

N. Lombardi Jr, the N for Nicholas, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian).

In 1997, while visiting Lao People's Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.

Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotian culture, Buddhism etc. http://plainofjars.net

His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya.

His latest novel, Justice Gone was inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police.

Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Visit his goodreads page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6982373.N_Lombardi_Jr_

Buy links:

Amazon UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Justice-Gone-N-Lombardi-Jr/dp/1785358766

Amazon US

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1785358766/ref=x_gr_w_bb

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40398725-justice-gone?ac=1&from_search=true

Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/justice-gone-n-lombardi-jr/1128875661?ean=9781785358760

Book Depository

https://www.bookdepository.com/Justice-Gone-N-Lombardi-Jr/9781785358760

Waterstones

https://www.waterstones.com/book/justice-gone/n-lombardi-jr/9781785358760

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/justice-gone

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Iissues such as police brutality and the treatment of vets are hard to write about, but this book addresses both with unflinching honesty.  Mr. Lombardi writes with authority about legal procedures, war veteran disabilities, mental health difficulties, PTSD, and police brutality - all intrinsic parts of this story that starts when Jason Felson, a decorated war veteran and homeless man, is beaten to death by four police officers for the crime of standing on a street corner. The town erupts and soon after, three cops are killed by a sniper. A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veterans counsellor, is caught up in the chase because the suspect is one of her patients. She is the head of the New Hope Trauma Recovery Centre that runs a centre for posttraumatic stress disorder. Another important character is Nathaniel Bodine, the blind defense attorney for the defendent.  I liked the blind lawyer, and Tessa Thorpe was a strong character as well. The story was told through several viewpoints, all of which were well developed. In all, a fast-moving interesting story. Highly recommended.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nine facts about one of the characters in my book 'Welcome to Paradise'

#NineForTheWeekend with Jennifer Macaire who says... Welcome to ParadiseAnd what a great nine we have.

From Raven's Ramblings Blog -  the wonderful writer, Raven McAllan, invited me for a Nine for the Weekend - 

Nine facts about one of the characters in my book 'Welcome to Paradise'

Over to you, Jenn...

Hi Raven and thank you so much for this opportunity! 

9 interesting things about my heroine Sugar, in "Welcome to Paradise"

1) Sugar would think she was too boring to write about - she would be embarrassed with all this attention. You see, she's super shy. She grew up with a huge scar that cut her face nearly in two. A wave dashed her into the rocks at the foot of cliffs and cut her face. In St Thomas, the rocks are volcanic and can be as sharp as glass. She had to wait until she'd stopped growing to get the scar fixed. 

2) I wrote the whole book without mentioning her name once. When it was done, my editor said, "But what is the heroine's name?"  Once, in the book, someone called her "Sugar". It was a term of endearment, but it became her name. 

3) I based a lot of Sugar's story on my own childhood, because I grew up in the Virgin Islands. The people, the birds, the insects (& the tarantulas!), and the beaches are all part of my life.

4) The house Sugar lives in is the replica of a house I used to live in. It had a balcony that overlooked the ocean, a hibiscus garden, and a path that led down the cliffs to the sea. 

5) Sugar speaks fluent Spanish, because her grandparents are from Puerto Rico. She loves to go to Puerto Rico to visit them - they let her watch TV - (something her parent on't have in their house!)

6) What happens to Sugar in Germany was the hardest part of the book for me. Abuse is a sensitive subject, and it was incredibly difficult to write about it. After, I had to address the story of her father's abuse, and that was hard too. 

7) Sugar's fiancé, Reliance, is named after a boat I fell in love with.

8) Sugar and Reliance make love in a secluded bay that is a copy of the one I used to swim in when I was living in St. Thomas. Sometimes at night, during the hottest part of the year, phosphorescence glows in the shallows. It's incredibly beautiful, (and very romantic!) 

9) Sugar becomes a model, and I used my experience to describe her work, which was a lot of fun!

Blurb:  Growing up on an island paradise isn’t as easy as one might think. Sugar is infatuated with the boy next door, worried she won't make the cheerleading squad, and even more worried that she will. She is paranoid that because of the horrendous scar on her face, no one really expects her to succeed at anything. Her sister is smart, her mother is a legendary model, and her father is a famous artist. Her family’s success sets a high bar for her to live up to.

Everything changes for Sugar when a plastic surgeon removes her scar. The surgery makes her beautiful, but she makes the shocking discovery that being beautiful can be awful. When she finally discovers who she is, and what she wants from life, it nearly destroys her tightly knit family. She must confront abuse, an elopement, loss, and a secret her father has kept from her all her life. Sugar is struggling to pull everything together and find her own version of 'Happily Ever After'.

Email: jennifermacaire@gmail.com

Twitter: @jennifermacaire

Website/blog: www.jennifermacaire.com

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Jennifer+Macaire&search-alias=books&text=Jennifer+Macaire&sort=relevancerank

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/271874.Jennifer_Macaire

Welcome to Paradise buy links:

http://www.evernightteen.com/welcome-to-paradise-by-jennifer-macaire/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZTAX8M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Thank you!!!!

Jenn

~~~ you are so welcome, a great post

Mamma's Moon by Jerome Mark Antil

Mamma's Moon

by Jerome Mark Antil

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GENRE: Literary Fiction

Jerome Mark Antil will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. - scroll down to enter! 

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BLURB:

A bond that can only happen on a dance floor happened in a cafe off Frenchman Street among four unlikely characters: a man who was about to die; his friend, an illiterate Cajun French yardman; and two of the most successful women in New Orleans.

Aging Captain Gabriel Jordan, retired, was given two months to live, three months before he met "Peck"--Boudreau Clemont Finch--a groundskeeper on the back lawn of his hospice on Bayou Carencro, Louisiana. It was at the hospice that Gabe told Peck his dream of seeing the Newport Jazz Festival before he died. They became friends, and Peck offered to help grant his wish by taking him there.

And they began their journey.

It quickly became a journey with complications and setbacks. They saved each other many times, but they were in turn saved by two extraordinary women: Sasha (Michelle Lissette), a real estate agent in New Orleans's posh Garden District, and her best friend, Lily Cup (Lily Cup Lorelei Tarleton), a criminal attorney.

Less than a year before the events in Mamma's Moon, Gabe and Peck wandered into Charlie's Blue Note, a small jazz bar in a side alley just off Frenchman Street, where the music was live and mellow and the dancing warm and sensual.

Here they encountered Sasha and Lily Cup, and amid the music, the dancing, the food, the flirting, and the cigar smoke, the four formed an unusual and lasting friendship that would see them each through a series of crises, disappointments, life-threatening situations, and moments of great joy and satisfaction.

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EXCERPT:

Did you murder the kid, Gabe?” Lily Cup asked. The aging army captain, veteran of Korea and Vietnam, lowered his newspaper just enough to see over the entertainment page.

“Close the door, honey, AC’s on,” Gabe said.

In a tight, black skirt with a tailored matching waistcoat and white Nike walking shoes, she leaned and propped a black leather briefcase against the wall by the door. She stood like an exasperated tomboy, adjusting and refastening the diamond brooch on her lapel.

“I heard you’ve been walking with a cane, dancing man.  What’s that all about? You’ve never carried a cane. You jazz dance for hours a couple of nights a week and Sasha tells me you started carrying one everywhere you go when you don’t need one. It’s smelling pretty premeditated to me, Gabe. What’s up with the cane thing?”

“Does Sasha know about this morning?”

“I haven’t told her anything. She’d have a canary.”

Gabe lifted the paper again to read.

“I need to know if it was murder,” Lily Cup said.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Gabe said.

He closed the paper, folded it in half, and in half again. Dropping it on the arm of the chair, he stood and left the room.

“Define murder,” he said from the kitchen.

She tossed a handbag and white driving gloves onto the other chair, lifted Chanel sunglasses to the top of her head.

“Gee, I’ll have to think on this one. Hmmm…Oh, I know. How about the police have a cane with blood on it and there’s a dead man.”

“It’s a walking stick. My cane is over by the door.”

“Well now it’s a goddamned murder weapon. They checked for prints, and yours are the only prints on it, and their guess is the lab will say the blood has his DNA.”

Gabe came out with a coffee urn in one hand and his finger and thumb through two empty cup handles. He held the cups out for her to take one.

“No more,” Gabe said.

“You’re rather nonchalant for the spot you’re in. Why’d you clam up on me like that at the precinct? It didn’t set well with any of them. The DA entered a charge of second-degree murder. The police chief put out a warrant for you from lunch at Brennan’s.”

He held the empty cups closer to her.

“Just made it. Chicory and cinnamon.”

“If you had television you’d have seen it—‘Daylight killing on St. Charles Avenue.’ It’s all over the news, freaking out the DA and the Visitors Bureau. No telling how many videos from streetcars going by will wind up on You Tube.”

“That’s enough,” Gabe said.

“People can live with violence after dark. That’s expected in any city, but when it’s in broad daylight, forget it. The DA pushed for an early docket with a magistrate and it’s Tulane and Broad for you at nine a.m. tomorrow.”

“What’s Tulane and Broad?”

“Magistrate Court. Congratulations, Gabe, you made the big time. You have to appear before a magistrate to hear the second-degree murder charge against you.”

She took an empty cup in one hand, pinched his arm with the other.

“Look me in the eye and swear it wasn’t murder,” Lily Cup said.

“This some kind of technique they teach at Harvard Law, Miss Tarleton?”

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

Author Q & A

Hello, Jerome,  and welcome to my blog! Can you tell me a little about yourself, and how you became an author?

My name is Jerome Mark Antil, a seventh child of a seventh son of a seventh son. I was born before the Pearl Harbor attack and weened in my youth on Mark Twain, The Hardy Boys or Sherlock Holmes. My biggest influencers have been John Steinbeck, Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway the most for writing disciplines. I was encouraged to write by my eighth grade English teacher who was flunking me in Latin at the time – but giving me As in English composition. Always want to be a writer I wrote in industry for many years, marketing, training, manuals, films, speeches. My daughter inspired me to write my bedtime stories. I did and a month later Syracuse University named me ‘Writer of the Year’ and a top executive from Barnes and Noble called me at home and told me to continue writing, that I was a true storyteller. She got my novel in their stores – and that was my start.

What is your book about?
My book is about Peck, a once illiterate Cajun French fisherman and lawn boy in Southern Louisiana who befriends an old dying black man who loves jazz and dancing. Young Peck, who ran away from home at nine wants to return to the swamps and bayous he remembers and try to find any family he may have left behind. Mamma’s Moon, is a standalone read but a sequel to One More Last Dance.

Who is your hero/heroine? Is he/she based on someone in real life?
Gabe, is based on two dear friends of mine – Donald Gaffney and Eddie “Ned Reid” – the former gave me my first writing job and when he was ninety four and on his death bed I encouraged him to get up and finish the book about WWII he had always promised. He did – he finished the book and lived a full 19 months longer than the day the doctor said he’d be gone in an hour – and the priest gave him last rights. Eddie “Ned” Reid – taught me jazz in the 60s. One time he pulled off the New Jersey Turnpike onto the shoulder to have me listen for the guitar strumming the rhythm on a Count Basie tune. My Gabe is Don Gaffney because Gabe outlives his Hospice bed…and he is Eddie ‘Ned’ – because he is black and a lover of jazz, blues and dancing.

What are your favorite times for writing? Morning? Evening?
Morning. I am in our kitchen at 6AM making coffee for me and my wife. At 6:30AM I am in my studio with my thermos and I write until 1PM every day without fail. I count my words.

Who are your favorite authors? Did they influence your writing, and if so, how?
John Steinbeck, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Yes, they all influenced my writing. Steinbeck for teaching me how to capture one’s soul and thoughts even if they’re only pumping gas in their truck. Doyle for his timing, and fast turnabouts in actions and setups. Ernest Hemingway for his very simple writing rules and disciplines. 1. Only write what you know. 2. Count every word, every day. 3. Rewrite is true writing. – and Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s – to me quite possibly the best set of words ever put together. It is written as if you are he in the novel. Even Norman Mailer said of Breakfast at Tiffany’s – “I wouldn’t change a word”.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

JEROME MARK ANTIL writes in several genres. He has been called a “greatest generation’s Mark Twain,” a “write what you know Ernest Hemingway,” and “a sensitive Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.” It’s been said his work reads like a Norman Rockwell painting. Among his writing accomplishments, several titles in his The Pompey Hollow Book Club historical fiction series about growing up in the shadows of WWII have been honored. An ‘Authors and Writers’ Book of the Year Award and ‘Writer of the Year’ at Syracuse University for The Pompey Hollow Book Club novel; Hemingway, Three Angels, and Me, won SILVER in the UK as second-best novel.

Foreword’s Book of the Year Finalist for The Book of Charlie – historical fiction and The Long Stem is in the Lobby – nonfiction humor. Library Journal selected Hemingway, Three Angels and Me for best reads during Black History Month.

Before picking up the pen, Antil spent his professional career writing and marketing for the business world. In this role, he lectured at universities - Cornell, St. Edward’s, and Southern Methodist. His inspirations have been John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, and Ernest Hemingway.

Website: http://jeromemarkantil.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012149166797

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jerome-Mark-Antil/e/B0046C4AOK

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

Jerome Mark Antil will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Shape of Secrets by S. R. Cronin

Shape of Secrets

by S. R. Cronin

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GENRE: Science fiction/fantasy

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BLURB:

Seven year old Zane vowed to become a superhero. As a child too smart to fit in, he studied chameleons and muscle groups to learn to alter his appearance.

Now Zane is starting his first job at Penthes Pharmaceuticals, where he finds layers of corporate secrets and learns that knowledge is dangerous. Good thing he excels at blending in.

Once upper management discovers him, life gets more complicated. A sales trip to the South Pacific leaves Zane dealing with an unsolved murder, an unsavory boot camp manager, and new friends with abilities as surprising as his own and with problems far worse.

Zane wants to help them all. First, however, he has a few work-related issues to handle. Someone at Penthes will kill to protect mysteries the company has worked so hard to keep hidden. He has to figure out who, and then use his unique talents to stay alive.

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EXCERPT:

It was hard not to like Peter Hulson when one met him in person. In spite of his age, he had a liveliness about him, and his sharp, bright blue eyes were probing but not unfriendly. He shook Zane's hand, gestured him onto a soft green velvet-covered settee and offered Zane water or coffee. Zane passed, although he wasn't sure if it was ruder to accept or to decline. He allowed himself an appreciative peek at the surprisingly unobstructed view of Lake Michigan.

"I'll get right to the point, young man," Peter began, drawing his attention back. "It's well known I'm seeking bright new young people, and I like to mentor them myself. I get a fair amount of grief from my VPs about it being beneath my pay grade, but the fact is I want my company to thrive for a long time. The way I see it, that only happens if I can hand the reins over to at least two more generations of focused and brilliant successors."

A swirl of sorrow came and went from his face so fast Zane thought he might have imagined it. The older man kept talking.

"I'm finding these brilliant successors to be in short supply. But, you've landed on our doorstep with excellent grades from an exceptional school, and managed to get yourself in a position reporting directly to my director of sales and marketing. Word is she thinks you have excellent potential."

Zane tried to smile appreciatively.

"Excellent potential." Peter repeated the words for emphasis. "I don't think there are two finer words in the English language. So I'd like to personally do what I can to encourage you."

Zane tried to make the smile even more appreciative because he had no idea what to say.

"Would you consider a trip to Fiji to be encouragement?"

Okay, he could answer this one.

"Yes. I think most people would."

The older man chuckled. "Good, good. Brenda and Gil are in the process of putting together an important conference for us and I've told them to spare no expense. We believe we can save families huge amounts of grief by providing a treatment to guide young people into making more mature and acceptable choices. Mind you, the drugs aren't new, but the combination and the approach are. This conference in Fiji will introduce our new product in the most favorable light possible, so its success is important. I've okayed sending Brenda to Fiji late this month to do a recon and I want you to go with her. Help her with travel and logistics, but also keep your eyes open and your brain on. Help us find ways to make this symposium better. Have ideas for us, Zane. Think for us. Will you do that?"

Of course Zane said yes. He said it sincerely and shook the man's hand and thanked him. Because Zane wasn't an idiot.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Sherrie Roth grew up in Western Kansas thinking there was no place in the universe more fascinating than outer space. After her mother vetoed astronaut as a career ambition, she went on to study journalism and physics in hopes of becoming a science writer.

She published her first science fiction short story long ago, and then waited a lot of tables while she looked for inspiration for the next story. When it finally came, it declared to her it had to be a whole book, nothing less. One night, while digesting this disturbing piece of news, she drank way too many shots of ouzo with her boyfriend. She woke up thirty-one years later demanding to know what was going on.

The boyfriend, who she had apparently long since married, asked her to calm down and explained how, in a fit of practicality, she had gone back to school and gotten a degree in geophysics and spent the last 28 years interpreting seismic data in the oil industry. The good news, according to Mr. Cronin, was that she had found it to be entertaining and ridiculously well-paying. The bad news was the two of them had still managed to spend almost all of the money.

She was now Mrs. Cronin, and further good news was that they had produced three wonderful children whom they loved, even though, to be honest, that was where a lot of the money had gone. Even better news was that Mr. Cronin turned out to be a warm-hearted, encouraging sort who was happy to see her awake and ready to write. "It's about time," were his exact words.

Sherrie Cronin discovered that over the ensuing decades Sally Ride had already managed to become the first woman in space and apparently had done a fine job of it. No one, however, had written the book that had been in Sherrie's head for decades. The only problem was, the book informed her it had now grown into a six book collection. Sherrie decided she better start writing it before it got any longer. She's been wide awake ever since, and writing away.

Author Social Media Links

Twitter: @cinnabar01

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Number46Ascending

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sherrie-Cronin/e/B007FRMO9Q

Blogs:

46 Ascending: https://46ascending.org/

Face Painting for World Peace: https://tothepowerofzero.org/

Fire Dancing for Fun and Profit: http://ytothepowerof1.org/

Treasure Hunting for a Good Time: http://zsquaredblog.org/

Leaving the Nest to Touch the Sky: http://ctothepowerofthree.org/

Touching the Sky to Save the World: http://dtothepowerof4.org/

Email me at lola.zeitman@gmail.com

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Zane is a smart, inquisitive boy with parents who don't understand him. His mother and father try, but  Zane is mostly left to figure out life on his own. He discovers a talent - that of disguising himself by changing his body shape, and even his skin color. Very cool! Later, this comes in handy as he manages to blend in at the university, becoming nearly invisible, which suits him just fine, as he's not very sociable. However, he does have a "super hero" syndrome - he can't stand by and watch people get hurt. After he graduates, he lands in the sales department of Penthes Pharmaceuticals, he begins to uncover layers of corporate secrets. 

A murder mystery with a sci-fi slant, it was a hard book to classify. There is a homosexual relationship, and the author also addresses the ideas of greed, inherited wealth vs wealth that has been earned, and troubled teens sent away to "boot camps" in faraway tropical islands. I could not decide what age group the book was aimed at - in the begining it reads like a book aimed at 10 -12 yr olds, then changes and it becomes more of a young adult or even a new adult book.  

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

S. R. Cronin will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC and a kindle copy of One of One (the first book in the 46. Ascending Collection) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Vivi's Leading Man by Emily Mims

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Emily will be awarding two prizes each containing ebooks Mist and Smoke, the first two books in the Smoky Blues series, to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

EXES AND OHS

The marriage was one of convenience. She had status and he had money. But... there was something there, and both of them felt it. After three years of him working long hours and her spending too much time at the Durango Street Theatre, Miguel Abonce and Vivienne Heiser called it quits. One year later, they are forced to work together to save or sell the theater. In the process they discover things they never knew about each other and they learn there's more between them than burning up the sheets. They might really love each other after all.

Read an Excerpt

For a moment, he looked like she’d shot him through the heart with a sawed-off shotgun. Then he straightened. “You don’t love me, either, Vivi. Marriage is like any other business arrangement. It’s all about assets, querida. Who is bringing what to the table.”

“You know what? I just lost the thing in this life that I love with all my heart and you’re standing here giving me a Wharton Business School lecture. I don’t want a business deal. I want a husband I love who loves me back. I deserve that much out of life and I’m going to get it.” She pulled the ring off her finger and pushed it into his hand.

He turned away and walked to his car. Her hands trembled as she beeped open her car. She heard him pull out of the parking lot as she slid into her seat. As she started the engine and got the air conditioner going, fat, sloppy tears ran down her cheeks.

About the Author:

The author of over thirty romance novels, Emily Mims combined her writing career with a career in public education until leaving the classroom to write full time. The mother of two sons, she and her husband split their time between central Texas, eastern Tennessee, and Georgia visiting their kids and grandchildren. For relaxation Emily plays the piano, organ, dulcimer, and ukulele for two different performing groups, and even sings a little. She says, “I love to write romances because I believe in them. Romance happened to me and it can happen to any woman—if she’ll just let it.”

website: http://www.emilymims.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emily.mims.756
twitter: http://twitter.com/emilymimsauthor
instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mims_emily
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Emily-Mims/e/B00FQQ247K/ref=sr_tc_2_0

Buy link: http://boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/vivis-leading-man

Emily will be awarding two prizes each containing ebooks Mist and Smoke, the first two books in the Smoky Blues series, to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway