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SATURDAY SNIPPETS
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Welcome to Saturday Snippets where I present to you some fun and interesting reads from a variety of genre's. I'm also giving 1 lucky blog commentator a chance to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card. Check these stories out...
A Summer for Scandal by Lydia San Andres
Genre: Historical Romance
The train, which had until then been rumbling underfoot, jolted to a start, making Mr. Torres lose his balance. He stumbled, and would have fallen on her if he hadn’t caught himself in time, one hand on the back of the seat and the other flat against the window, his face perilously close to hers. At this distance, she could see the tiny patch of stubble by his ear that he’d missed while shaving, and the two freckles under his right eye. An unexpected warmth stole through Emilia.
He righted himself and sat down beside
her, but not before she had caught a whiff of lavender-scented soap. His hair,
still damp from his recent bath, curled at the neck, right where it brushed his
collar. Emilia felt herself flushing slightly and turned to the window,
pretending to be interested in the view of the town as it rolled past.
But there was no ignoring him. She could
feel the warmth of his body all down her side, from her shoulder to her foot,
even though they were separated by some ten centimeters. Trying to look as
though she was glancing through the opposite window, she studied his profile.
Except for the bookish sultan, all the men in her stories were rakes and
scoundrels. There was nothing roguish about Ruben Torres. His hair was parted
on the side and slicked back with pomade, his collar neatly pressed and his hat
a sober black. He was nothing if not respectable.
Unremarkable, too, at least at first
glance. He was of medium build, taller than her but not as tall and physically
imposing as Luis. But his shoulders were pleasantly broad and Emilia was all
too familiar with the sharp definition in his arms and the easy way he’d pulled
the boat through the water. He turned to her then and caught her looking. His
lips spread into a smile and he raised an eyebrow, saying, “Contemplating your
next assault?”
Something inside her fluttered but she
pushed the sensation aside. There was, after all, was no reason why she should
feel so unsettled by his proximity. Trying to look as though she hadn’t been
admiring his arms, which were hidden by the sleeves of a dark charcoal suit,
she said, “Of course not. My dastardly plan is already in motion.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he said, laughing.
“I see you’re quite recovered from your
swim in the fountain.”
“And I see you’re quite unrepentant of your
part in it. Do you make a habit of dunking men, Miss Cruz?” he asked, amusement
lingering in his eyes.
“I try to do it at least once a week,”
she answered gravely. “Especially in the summer. I find it helps keep tempers
cool when arguments grow heated.”
“As with other pursuits, I find an
argument that isn’t heated isn’t worth having at all.”
Geek Meets Girl, in the Falling in Love box set by Kathryn Lively
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Mick Wray savored her withering reaction. He’d attended enough sci-fi cons to know how to push a fangirl’s buttons. The first time he attended Liberty BellCon—a pimply thirteen, helping his older brother cart a boxful of Poul Anderson novels for the author to sign—he saw maybe a handful of women. Yes, there’d been a few die-hard, legitimate fans of the genre, but others had merely come along with their significant others, sighing and glancing at their watches. The surge of female attendance in recent years brought on by a collective fondness for handsome British actors and sparkling vampires annoyed him to no end. Mick felt their presence cheapened the spirit of an event he loved, though he knew the organizers greatly appreciated the money these giggling young girls spent.
He studied this woman, and the scarf
obviously purchased from some geek paraphernalia website, and wondered if she’d
actually seen a Doctor Who episode from the era represented by that particular
article of clothing. He supposed he could quiz her with some the questions he
hoped would come up at the panel—of course he had intended to go. The Quantum
Leap remark served entirely to irritate her. Hey, if he was going to be stuck
in this elevator for a while, he might as well have some fun.
“What’s wrong with Quantum Leap?” he
demanded.
He thought to look menacing, but he
refused to frighten the young woman. Indeed, he found her naturally disarming.
She wore no makeup, and her soft blue eyes glared daggers at him. He sensed the
temperature rising already.
“Nothing, I like the show fine,” she
said. “I wouldn’t rank it above Doctor Who on a list of top sci-fi shows,
specifically where time travel is the focus.”
Mick folded his arms and settled in for
a plausible explanation. The most sparkling of the vampire fangirls probably
knew enough to bluff through such a discussion, and he couldn’t wait to hear
the lady Doctor expound on her viewing preferences. “Fine, I’ll give you that
the show only lasted a few seasons, but compared to Doctor Who every friggin’
television series is short-lived. Judging on what’s available for Quantum Leap,
you can’t deny the high quality of acting, or writing…”
“The narrow scope,” she added. “Exactly
what is the science behind the accelerator device that allowed Sam Beckett to
leap physically into other people’s bodies at different points in time?
Wouldn’t it make more sense if he traveled through time as himself, without the
confines of another identity to memorize?”
“That’s the thing: each episode is a
challenge. It’s not so much he has to solve a puzzle as a fish out of water, he
is part of the puzzle and has to figure out that piece before finding the rest.
He discovers the self he is in that time, acclimates to his environment, then
he solves the mission. Sometimes he doesn’t get the chance and has to do
everything at once. That makes for an interesting drama. What science is found
in a flying blue box manned by some goofball with weird fashion sense?” Mick
posed.
She winced at that. Off came the
metaphorical gloves. “The Doctor is an alien, using alien technology, and at
least he has better control over where and when he travels. Quantum Leap was
limited to a forty-year time span in the twentieth century. Yeah, you could put
Scott Bakula in a dress for one episode and get some laughs while he pretends
to be a woman, but eventually they were going to run out of ideas. Doctor Who
had all of time and space to work with.”
Mick snorted. “And yet, every other
episode in the last few series brought him back to present-day London. What a
stretch.”
Her eyes narrowed. Oh, but she looked
cute this highly annoyed. BUY LINK
The General's Wife: An American Revolutionary Tale by Regina Kammer
Genre: Historical Erotic Romance
The Memoir was written by a girl a little younger than herself, but with a far more vigorous and enterprising spirit. Clara had never read such a story! Fanny Hill’s adventures were of such voluptuousness Clara had to glance around to ensure she was actually alone. Her body heated as Fanny was seduced by a woman, her ire raised when Fanny’s virginity was offered to a man far too old for her, her sex tingled and swelled as Fanny awakened to the pleasures a man could bestow upon a woman.
Clara shifted on the cot trying to
relieve the wet tightness between her legs, only managing to arouse herself
further. She pulled her cloak around her shoulders and leaned against the cold
stone wall, her legs splayed open and crossed. When Fanny opened the parlor
door to see a beautiful, sleeping youth, an idea sparked in Clara’s mind that
she could touch herself as she read, a thought dismissed quickly. The pleasures
of the mind were far more respectable than the sins of the flesh. Better to be
caught reading an immoral story than to be caught assuaging one’s lust.
Whatever would the captain think if he happened upon her in such a state? Clara
smiled. Perhaps he would—
The door to the captain’s quarters
crashed open.
She jumped, flattening herself against
the wall, her heart pounding so loudly she was sure whoever had just entered
could hear it. She peeked through a tear in the annex curtain.
Captain Taylor and Lieutenant Hamilton
entered the bedroom with a clandestine air. The lieutenant bolted the door as
the captain stripped off his jacket and threw it on the bed, clearly cross and
irritable, muttering about that “blasted woman,” as the lieutenant countered
with “Sam, Sam,” and soothed him with calming words. Clara could not quite hear
what they were saying but she was certain she was the topic of conversation.
Suddenly, the captain pushed the
lieutenant against the wall and took him in a violent kiss. Clara froze. Two
men kissing? She had never heard of such a thing. The men tore at each other
hungrily, stripping off clothes, biting, clawing, licking each other like
animals in heat, until, finally, they stood completely naked, and simply
pressed themselves together in a tangle of arms, their mouths and tongues still
teasing tenderly.
BUY LINK
Digging Up The Past by Sandi Brackeen
Genre: Urban Fantasy
The Spade of Apocatequil can raise the dead and grant immortality--and it's been stolen! When supernatural agents Riley Perez and Jason, her partner at the clandestine government agency DUE, are given the task of tracking down the magical artifact, they discover the culprit may be one of the workers at an archaeological dig. Is it John Braden, the head archaeologist on site, who was involved in the original discovery of the spade? Or is it Danny Roget, the anthropologist, who claims that there have been strange sightings? The hunt for the spade is endangered by a rash of sudden deaths at the dig. Together with Cameron, the alpha werewolf who runs the security company in charge of protecting the dig, Riley and Jason must find the spade before it can be used to destroy the world!
BUY LINK
The Undercity Chronicles of Babylonia Jones, P.I.; The Guicai Talisman by A.M. Griffin
Genre: Urban Fantasy
What does a woman have to do to prove she belongs in the Undercity? Sure, I’m unclassed and only half paranormal, but that doesn’t mean I can’t solve cases. Since the established PI’s won’t acknowledge my right to a territory, I’m taking jobs from whoever will hire me, doing what I do best…proving myself to be a bad-ass problem solver. Which is how I find myself breaking into Zaid’s house, looking for a talisman my witch client says the very powerful vampire stole.
COMING: March 2016
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Peace and hair grease!
Thanks for featuring The General's Wife on your blog, A.M.!
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