The authors of these books have put
together a Valentine Honky Tonk Blog Hop, an easy way for you to get a sneak
peak at every story. And there are prizes to put a bounce in your Texan
Two-Step.
Blog Hop Prizes:
$50 first place gift card to The
Wild Rose Press
$25 second place gift card to The
Wild Rose PressTWRP Mug (for US visitors only)
To be Eligible:
Visit each blog and leave a comment.
Every comment constitutes an entry for grand prizes. The more hop
stops you visit and comment on, the more chances YOU have to win. Comment away, ladies!!! Y'all know how ya love to talk.
Here at Vintage Vonnie, I'm offering prizes too ... NO, not him!!! For two of my commenters, I'm offering your choice of any of my Wild Rose Press backlist in eBook format. Look at the titles to your right and choose one, should you win. To be eligible, you must answer both of my questions asked at the end of the post.
I have two stories in the Honky Tonk Hearts series.
My first is THOSE VIOLET EYES, first place winner in the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (NERFA) and also first place in the Contemporary Novella division of the International Digital Awards (IDA's).
Here's an excerpt:
Evie rolled her
eyes and stepped behind him, tapping him on the back. The metal strainer clattered
in the sink and a blur of motion barely registered before steely hands gripped
her forearms. Oh my God! In a flurry
of movement, he snatched her off the floor and backed her against the stainless
steel counter. Cold wet hands viced her arms. Her eyes snapped wide and the air
whooshed from her lungs when his body slammed into hers.
Win’s eyes were
narrowed, his breathing rapid through a clenched jaw and a vein bulged in his
forehead. “Don’t do that.”
The man was
every inch the warrior, every hard tensed inch. He held her mid-air, so close
they were nearly eyeball to eyeball. As his gaze traveled over her face and
awareness evidently crept in as to the sex of his attacker, several inches of
his frame hardened even more.
Evie swallowed. Oh, good Lord.
He glared and
his nostrils flared.
“I…I’m sorry,
Win. I called your name, but…but you didn’t answer. I was only trying to get
your attention.” Her lips twitched at the humor in the situation—hadn’t Keira
told her the man lost part of his hearing? Evidently she’d startled him. Poor
soul. She felt a portion of herself return. A portion she’d hidden for so long;
that light-hearted part of her soul that teased and cajoled. “Honest, I wasn’t
trying to attack you.” She placed an open palm on his defined pecs and patted.
“You’re safe with me, big guy.” Just to rattle him some more, she winked.
Win’s hazel eyes
flashed for a second, then he slowly leaned in and whispered in her ear,
“You’re not safe with me.”
My second story, BACK WHERE YOU BELONG, is a bit of a love triangle. A different triangle than you might expect. Our heroine, who tends to prattle when she gets nervous, our single-dad-hero and his thirteen-year-old daughter, who likes to play matchmaker.
EXCERPT FROM BACK WHERE YOU
BELONG:
Holy
crap! The
guy from the Lonesome Steer was sitting in her kitchen and looking at her as if
he couldn’t believe this crazy quirk of fate any more than she could. Now, if
she could only get through the next few minutes without prattling and making a
fool of herself—once more.
“Hello,
again, Lacy.” His deep voice washed over her, raising gooseflesh and setting
her insides to melting. Then he smiled and her heart stuttered for a few beats.
Only one man in the entire world could smile like that with dimples so deep
they carved grooves into his cheeks.
“You’re…you’re
Tyler Desmond? I haven’t seen you since I was a teenager and you were young and
handsome.” Shit, did I say that?
Tyler’s
chocolate eyes narrowed.
“I
don’t mean you’re not still handsome, you’re just older.” She cleared her
throat and glanced frantically around the room, mentally searching for a way
out of this awkward situation. “Not that you’re real old.” She waved a hand in
expression. Men like Tyler didn’t age, they sauntered into the arena of
perfection. “You’re just…older.” And twice as sexy. She pursed her lips. “I had
a serious crush on you at one point.”
His
dark eyebrow quirked in silent surprise.
“I
can’t believe it’s you. Why didn’t I recognize you the other night?” She
fingered her curls and shook her head once. “You, of all people. I even took a
picture of you years ago, when you weren’t looking. Just one. A profile shot.”
Now
both dark eyebrows rose.
“Had
it blown up poster-sized and taped it to the ceiling over my bed. That was ten
years ago, the summer I turned fourteen.” Shut up! For God’s sake mouth,
shut up!
But,
of course, her demon tongue kept right on talking. “Grandma had a fit when she
saw it. Said I had no business lusting after a married man.” She pursed her
lips again. “I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. I just simply enjoyed
looking at you.”
He
sat there silent; his gaze locked on her, looking better in a navy T-shirt and
worn jeans than any male had a right to. One of his elbows rested on the table;
his square chin was cupped in his hand and a long finger slowly stroked his
lips as if he were erasing a smile before it had a chance to grow.
THE
TWO QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ANSWER IN YOUR COMMENTS TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN WHAT I’M
OFFERING – What color are Win’s eyes? Why did Tyler stroke his lips?
*** Don't stop here!!! Click on the following story titles which will take you to the author's blog where you can read about their Honky Tonk Hearts story and leave a comment to increase your chances to win!
36 comments:
Woot!! I'm first here - and first to ogle the man-candy. Sorry for the drool, ladies. Let me just wipe up a little here. But boy-oh-boy does Vonnie do GOOD candy! ;)
Win's eyes are Hazel and Tyler is erasing a smile.
I'm pretty sure I've got every single one of your books, so count me out of the draw but never fear - I'm leaving with a smile on my face :P
Hi LaVerne! My first blog guest and all the way from New Zealand, too. Thanks so much for popping in. Hugs, darlin'.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Same to you, Angela!! Stay warm!
I really enjoyed Those Violet Eyes. I have to read Back Where You Belong!
NICE! I enjoyed both excerpts SO much! I have your books, now I need to treat myself and take time to read them.
Win's eyes are Hazel and Tyler is erasing a smile. Fun game! (You can leave me out of the drawing since I work for TWRP) Off to check out the other posts...
Win's eyes are hazel. I LOVE that story! And I haven't had a chance to read Tyler and Lacy's story yet, but I'm fairly certain he's either erasing a smile or the urge to kiss her. I can't wait to read it now!
Thanks for stopping by, Brenda. Back Where You Belong also deals with bullying, especially in schools. As a grandma, it's something that concerns me.
Alicia, so glad you enjoyed the excerpts. Thanks for popping in for a visit!
Calisa, Lacy is like many of my friends. Put her in a stressful situation, and she'll talk your ear off, say things she doesn't mean to and the entire time wish the earth would open up and swallow her whole.
Read and loved Those Violet eyes. Now I need to read the second one! Very entertaining excerpt, vonnie, and those pictures...whew!
Good mornin' Vonnie! Great excerpts! Have to say I love the pics! Happy Valentine's Day!
Thanks, Jannine. As a mother of girls, I think you'll fall in love with Olivia, Tyler's daughter...and get mad as blue blazes over her being bullied in school.
Well, Sherri, if I can't dazzle you with my words, I'll snag you with my pictures. LOL Thanks for stopping by!
Great writing! there's no doubt why you won the NERFA award. Congrats!
Aw. thank you, Sylvie. Everyone seemed to like my wounded vet story.
Hi, Vonnie!
Loved both of your HTH books! Was great to add just a smidgen of an appearance of Win in mine. Thank you for letting me borrow him. :-)
1. Win's eyes are hazel
2. To erase a smile.
Happy hopping!
Donna, it was my pleasure to let you borrow Win...and he didn't seem to mind a bit. Enjoy the blog hop.
Hi, Vonnie, and a Happy, Happy VLentine's Day to you and Calvin. As others have already said and I readily confirm Win has hazel eyes and Tyler seems as though he wants to erase a smile from his lips. Lovely excerpts, but, all of your books I've read have always been terrific.
Thanks, Darcy. You're good for my ego. Happy Valentine's Day to you also. It'll be a snowy one here.
2 Awesome stories in the series...both with Vonnie's special brand of tugging at the deepest parts of you.
Happy Valentine's Day Vonnie!
Win's eyes are Hazel (like mine) and Tyler stroked his lips--as if to erase a smile.
No drawing for me either, I am just totally enjoying myself on this blog hop! Thank you all. Congrats on the awards, Vonnie. Well deserved!
Okay, Win has hazel eyes and Tyler stroked his lips to keep from smiling. And it's a hard choice to pick one. But I think I'd go with Back Where You Belong. Although both sound great.
Fun, fun stories! Thanks for writing them for this series! Happy Valentine's Day!
So glad you stopped by, Stacy. Thanks for you kind words about my writing. This was a great series to be part of.
Catherine Lee, of the hazel eyes, thanks for taking part of our blog hop.
Margo, I'm thrilled you're enjoying the blog hop. I had a good time making the rounds too.
Thanks for taking part in the blog hop, Debbie! Happy Valentine's Day to you.
I enjoy writing fun stories, Lauri. My humor sometimes gets the best of me.
I have not read one of your books so far but I really liked the blog post so I am adding your books to my list.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Thanks, Debby. I hope you enjoy them.
Oh man, I loved both of these and just had to re-read the excerpts. Now I need to re-read the stories themselves. :-)
Thanks, Mac. They were fun stories to write.
Ohhh how I wish HE were the prize!!! Thanks for sharing :)
Oh, Nancy, you made me laugh out loud. He is a dreamboat, isn't he? So glad you stopped by.
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