Monday, November 30, 2015

Re-Release of NAUGHTY HEARTS Anthology on Sale

*´¨`¸.*´¸.*´

JUST .99 CENTS 

♡´*★.¸♡´*★.¸☽`¨´*☆•   

 

Buy link http://goo.gl/O0aw2e

 

NAUGHTY HEARTS (Expanded Edition)

 

Eleven Naughty Romance Stories including Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Menage, M/M, M/M/F, New Adult, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Steampunk & Time Travel from bestselling authors!

 

SPECIAL RE-RELEASE! Additional bonus content inside.

  

THE REAPER'S VALENTINE by Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Sometimes a Reaper has to do what a Reaper does. It would be wise for a life-mate to remember that!

 

NAUGHTY BALLS by Suz deMello

Two college basketball players find themselves alone on V-Day evening. (M/F)

 

LOVE POTION #69 by Alexa Silver

When Keith and Jenna accidentally fall under the spell of one of her Valentine's Day love potions, lust is in the air!

 

MY VALENTINE LOVERS by Nicole Austin

All I want for Valentine's Day is to get barbed by a feline shifter and act out a few of the naughty twin fantasies getting me hot and bothered.

 

VALENTIME by Belle Scarlett

Valerie buys a South Carolina plantation and discovers a Valentine addressed to her from a previous owner who bids her to return to him in 1865.

 

DELIA'S HEARTTHROB by Regina Kammer

Gadzooks! Valentine's Day is fast approaching - what's a scientist to do? Edward knows naught of romance. Can steam power prevail over chocolates to win Delia's heart?

 

TWO INTO ONE GOES GREAT by Lynne Connolly

A booker at a top model agency learns she's anything but ordinary when two sexy photographers point their lenses--and more--at her.

 

BUY ME A ROSE by Francesca Hawley

Jessica and Nathaniel Whitewolf celebrate their thirtieth anniversary as True Mates but they've lost their bond. Now a hot couples' retreat will get it back.

 

CHOCOLATE-COATED REUNION by Berengaria Brown

Jake refuses to talk to Matt after he was very late on Christmas Eve. Matt's determined to reconnect with Jake on Valentine's Day.

 

CUPID'S CURIOUS CASE by Marianne Stephens

Alan's last job as Cupid 84 involves neighbor Amy and a special box of candy. Both secretly desire the other. Can they find true love?

 


FIFTY SHADES OF VALENTINE'S DAY by Katherine Kingston

Dumped on Valentine's Day! Melissa only thinks the day can't get any worse. Until she damages her hot neighbor's car, and he demands unexpected compensation.

 

Excerpts:

http://naughtyliterati.com/naughtybookshelf/naughty-hearts/

 

Previous Reviews for NAUGHTY HEARTS!

 

"A must read for fans of quick and sexy reads."

*             M. Fullington

 

"There's something in this collection for everyone and for every mood. There's also a great blend of sweet (sexy sweet), funny and intense."

*             CarolineP

 

"Fantastic... Each story has its own unique flavor, but the one common factor is that they all rate high on the spice meter."

*             Rachel's Willful Thoughts

 

"...this was a wonderful compilation of stories."

*             Tina Brunelle, Redz World Reviews

 

"Super read! A fun and sexy read..."

*             Tina Williams

 

"Quite a bargain!"

*             L.S. Tucker

Friday, November 27, 2015

Kid Classic Movie Night

After shopping all day I returned home to the news that the kids had chosen a classic Disney film for family movie night! 

Enjoy yourselves this weekend!!


Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Introducing Our New REVIEWER -- PRINCESS Z!!!

I am so incredibly excited to announce that my oldest daughter - PRINCESS Z will be joining the Review Staff of this site in the very near future. She will primarily be reviewing the books that she recreationally reads and loves, BUT if you've got a CHILDRENS, YOUTH or YA novel that you'd like to have reviewed please contact us at apalusalight@gmail.com. (All review requests should include the books genre!)

PRINCESS Z particularly enjoys novels of myth, legend, gods & goddesses and novels that include horses. (Can you tell that she is my daughter???) That does not mean that if your novel falls within another genre or subclass that she won't read and/or review it. Ups, Downs, Ins and Outs will NOT at this time be contracting for these specific genre reviews. Princess Z is only 11 years old and is only just starting her "career" of reviewing books. I will be editing and helping her out but still...

If you submit an YA novel for review, it may occur that both Princess Z and I will review it as we both read and enjoy this genre - both reviews will be submitted on Goodreads and Amazon for the benefit of the author.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

TUESDAYS TUNES - Spirits

Yesterday on Inside My Mind I wrote a blog about writers and where/how they find their inspiration. It was also a little bit about the importance of being able to find inspiration in the little, everyday things that many of us take for granted. And I added a song that, honestly, has been in my head and serving as one of those little points of inspiration for me for a while.
 
And since it seemed like a good choice for this weeks Tuesdays Tunes, I'm sharing it again here.
 
Enjoy... The Strumbellas - SPIRITS

Monday, November 16, 2015

REVIEW: The Vacation by Ivy Smoak


Synopsis

Find out what really happens when you have a free pass...in the new sexy story THE VACATION by Ivy Smoak.

Lydia and Scott's relationship had been on the fritz for months. When Lydia's friend, Julia, tells her that there's a sexy, secretive resort, that completely reinvented her and her husband's sex life, Lydia is skeptical. She's even more skeptical when Julia advises her that she should go with Scott and give him a free pass for the duration of the vacation.

A free pass to flirt with other people? Could that really save their relationship? But Lydia doesn't have much of a choice when Julia books the vacation without her permission. What's the worst that could happen? It seemed to help Julia's marriage.

But when the couple arrives at The Blue Parrot Resort, things don't go quite how either of them planned...

This book is intended for mature audiences.
 

Ivy Smoak is an entrepreneur with very fickle tendencies. After much encouragement from her fiancé, she finally decided to dive into her true passion and began writing erotic novels. She lives with her fiancé in Philly. 



REVIEW

A trip taken to try and bring back the spark to a relationship takes a decidedly wicked turn when both partners have their own agendas. But when one is working to try and solidify their relationship, and the other is working to try and make the other pay for the surprise trip, nothing is quite what it seems. 

I love a good quick erotic tale. Every once in a while I enjoy reading something down and dirty. I like plot twists and surprise endings. 

And for all that The Vacation is only 55 pages, it delivers on all of the above. 

For the most part I enjoyed the story. There were a few things that I shook my head at, a few that even now have me scrunching my brow and thinking "huh?" I'm a sucker for a HEA so I am a little disappointed with the way this story ended, but at the same time (without actually giving anything away) in its own way, it was a happy ending. 

As for a recommendation? Give it a try. Erotica is not for everyone but if, like me, you enjoy the occasional recounting of dirty deeds... Well, Ivy Smoak's The Vacation is quite possibly something you'll really enjoy.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

REVIEW - Marigny Street by Annie Rose Welch

Marigny Street
by Annie Rose Welch
Genre: Romance (with a twist)
 
Blurb:
 
Do you believe in the power of dreams?
 
Way down south on Marigny Street in the heart of New Orleans, the land of Catholic intercessions, purgatory, and supernatural superstitions, young Evangeline Chenier dreams of a radiant boy who saves her from a storm. She takes the dream seriously – in her family, dreams are sometimes more than dreams. Sometimes they foretell the future. Sometimes they create it.
 
Years later, Eva is no longer the same wistful girl but a hardened woman who no longer believes in dreams. Losing faith in her gift, she becomes lost in a nightmare of emotion, mourning her son, separating from her husband, and stewing in a dead-end job. And then fate brings her an unlikely surprise: one of the most famous movie stars in the world, Gabriel Roberts.
 
Caught by something in his eyes, Eva agrees to show him the real Big Easy on his last night in New Orleans—an evening that turns into four dreamy days spent recapturing lost faith and discovering a love neither expected. Realizing Gabriel is the boy from her childhood dream, Eva must leave everything behind—her husband, her family, her history, and the beautiful city she calls home—and gamble it all for the dream that has saved her on MARIGNY STREET.

Find out more about this book on the Goodreads Page...
 
REVIEW

Life is complicated.
No one knows that better than Evangeline Chenier. Having suffered a serious personal loss, Eva didn’t believe that she really deserved to be happy ever again. Despite what her family tells her, despite everything that she was ever taught, she simply struggles to believe that she deserves to be happy after failing to protect her unborn child. But what happened wasn’t her fault and perhaps, for someone like Eva anyways, a dream is the only way to truly make her understand that.
Gabriel Roberts isn’t your average Irishmen. He’s not even your average Hollywood heartthrob. He is everything you’d imagine in a superstar, without any of the possible negative traits, and he's a surprisingly sweet, almost naïve male specimen as well.

He’s just what Eva needs. Exactly what her heart is yearning for, without her even knowing, and the one thing that will bring her back to life. But have they missed their chance at forever before they ever even have the chance to try?
I read Marigny Street without any clear understanding of what the story was about. I didn’t even realize (until I’d finished the book) that it was simply the first book in a series that already has multiple books available for purchase. I’d never even heard of Annie Rose Welch.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.
I loved the characters and their humanity. Not the usual turn of phrase there but it's entirely accurate in this case. I loved Eva and the pain and unrelenting guilt over her unborn child’s death. Not because the pain was there, of course, but because it showed that she had flaws and imperfections. Gabriel had his own as well – he was impulsive and rash, impatient and somewhat over-emotional. For both of them, those things made them who they were and were the factors that made them perfect for one another.

I could go on and on, and on, about the story and about how it made me think about life, loss and love. I could talk about how it touched my heart and made me bleed. But the truth is you simply have to experience it for yourself. I loved Welch’s story and I fully intend to search out and read the rest of the Saving Angels series so that I can fully experience the tale that Welch intends to tell. I hope you’ll give them a try too.
And I hope you’ll be touched as deeply as I was.

Purchase Your Copy of Marigny Street today:
 
 
And to learn more about the books in the Saving Angels series, visit Welch's website.
 
 

Thursday, November 12, 2015

RELEASE DAY for BOUND BY PROPHECY by Stormy Smith

 
Purchase on Amazon: http://smarturl.it/26jybt
Purchase on B&N: http://smarturl.it/pmop5c
Purchase on iBooks: http://smarturl.it/3yso88
Purchase on Kobo: http://smarturl.it/5k5f40
Amelia Bradbury is finally free from Queen Julia and Cresthaven, but she isn’t safe yet. The Keeper power runs rampant inside her and it will take an ultimate act of selflessness to contain the darkness that threatens Amelia’s sanity and the future of the Immortal race. Aidan Montgomery refuses to give up on Amelia. Once she’s rescued from the Keeper’s hold, he intends to prove his love is more than a side effect of the prophecy, even if doing so leads him away from his pack and on a journey that will irrevocably change them both. When the past and the present collide and the shocking origin of the Immortals is revealed, Amelia and Aidan are forced back to Cresthaven to end a war that never should have started.

Have you read the first book in the Bound Series? Bound by Duty is FREE!
Free on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Q9EGRo
Free on B&N: http://bit.ly/1XGAAp2
Free on iBooks: http://apple.co/1JOoJL5
Free on Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Uo2Tcx
Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she's an Elder, but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control, but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and doesn't even know his name. Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky southern girl, or fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is, not what she will become. As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head win the battle, or her heart?


Join Stormy Smith and Alys Arden for a LIVE Google Hangout to celebrate their latest releases! Here’s the Facebook event link. They will have ten guest authors, tons of book chat and lots of giveaways!

About Stormy Smith
A word nerd from the very beginning, Stormy Smith has always had her nose in a book or a pen in her hand. From a journalism degree to a public relations career, manipulating words has always been her forte. She never expected her love of stories to translate into writing them, but one day the words were there and couldn’t be stopped.
Stormy lives in Iowa’s capital with her husband and two crazy cats. When she isn’t working on, or thinking about, her books, Stormy’s favorite places include bar patios, live music shows, her yoga mat or anywhere she can relax with her husband or girlfriends.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

COVER REVEAL - Imperfectly Beautiful

IMPERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL COVER REVEAL-1000x500 dividers cover reveal red-428x128 imperfectly Beautiful cover frame
Title: Imperfectly Beautiful
Author: ML Rodriguez
Release Date: January 26th, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover:
Designer: Pink Inks Design
Front Cover Photograph: MJ’s Photography
Back Cover Photograph: Stephanie Ratto Photography
Edited by: MJ’s Photography
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One woman. Her rise, her fall, and her will to continue on... At eighteen, I met him; a handsome young man with amber colored eyes, and with one look, he claimed my heart. The world was at our feet, and we had our futures planned. But even the best-laid plans go awry when you’re blessed with a most beautiful surprise. In a matter of minutes, our lives changed. The years that followed were filled with change and adventure. Our life wasn’t perfect, but we were happy, or so I thought. As I was living my dream, our life was slowly unraveling. The moment I stepped off that plane, my worst nightmare became a reality. Now, I’m empty and lifeless. I live in my own personal hell, drowning in my guilt and trying to forget the memories. That is until a knock on my door changes everything, and I’m forced to face my past.
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Leap of Faith: Book One, La Flor Series
Leap-of-Faith frame
Available Now
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Leap of Faith: Book One, La Flor Series
https://youtu.be/cuwF3glAvvc Imperfectly Beautiful wrap frame   dividers teasers red-428x128   KristianTeaser frame TragicHeroTeaser_IB frame Imperfectly Beautiful Teaser 1 frame dividers author bio red-428x128 ML is stationed overseas with her husband and two children. Her obsessions include Luke Bryan, Brantley Gilbert, her mother's cooking (especially her breakfast tacos), wild berry skittles, coffee, dark chocolate, the color purple, and romance novels—the happily ever after kind, of course. After years of comments from her husband to write and a chance meeting by the city pool where she met one of her favorite authors, ML decided to take a leap of faith into the amazing and exciting world of writing. Terrified, nervous, and with a stomach full of butterflies, she published her debut novel, Leap of Faith, and her second novel, Imperfectly Beautiful will release soon. To all the wonderful people who will read her work, thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on her. ♥ dividers social media links red-428x128
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1MvtSgM
Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/1MkITOZ
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Friday, November 6, 2015

RELEASE DAY for Irrevocably Claimed


Genre: Erotic Romance/Erotica
Release Date: November 6, 2015


ONE FORBIDDEN NIGHT by Sherri Hayes

Justin has had a crush on his best friend’s little sister, Kim, since high school. When she shows up on his doorstep, offering herself to him for one night, will he be able to say no? Or will he give in to one forbidden night with the woman who has haunted his dreams for years?


***

THREEPEAT by A.M. Shrum

Madison’s best friend, Lillian, is constantly sharing the details of her perfect life with husband, Adam, including her off the charts sex life. It’s great, except that Madison has been harboring a secret fantasy: she doesn’t just want to hear about the great sex that Lillian and Adam are having, she wants to experience it for herself…with them.
One night after drinks, the three friends agree to a deal: One night. The three of them. Together. And anything goes.
Will a night of heated passion be exactly what they all need? Or will it go too far and destroy everything they have?


***

LOVER’S SWEET DISCOVERY by KD Jones

Claire Vanderling has reached middle age but doesn’t feel like she has anything to show for it. As the manager of a prosperous art gallery, she works hard, but her personal life is practically nonexistent. Her son, Thomas, has graduated college and is about to start a new IT company in Japan with his best friend. She might not see him for six months, so she arranges for them to have one more trip to a family beach home in the Hamptons. When her son’s best friend shows up, she finds much more than just a simple vacation—she discovers a passion long buried inside her.
Jacob Tanner is excited to be starting a new company with his best friend. He wants to go directly to Japan to get settled, but Tom insists that they spend time this summer with Tom’s mother. He met Claire once before while he and Tom were still in school together. When he sees her again, he is surprised to find that he cannot take his eyes off her. How had he not realized how sexy Claire was?
As desire flares up and passion is unleashed, will they give in to their bodies’ demands or will they be able to resist lovers’ sweet discovery?


***

THE ENCOUNTER by Susan Ward

Jena was Holly’s best friend when they started high school. By graduation, Holly avoided Jena at all cost. Their friendship had become confusing, the emotions so complex, and at times unnerving, that Holly couldn’t even risk being near Jena.
Seven years later, unhappily married Holly is thrown together with Jena at a bachelorette party. Was forbidden desire beneath their unsettling friendship all along? And will Holly surrender at last to Jena’s pursuit?


***

ZEKE’S EDEN by K. Webster

Following Daddy’s rules has always been easy.
Smile. Nod. Repeat.

Until I met Zeke.
Dark. Dirty. Sinner.
A hungry beast, released from his cage.
And I’m on the menu.

Tonight, I’m Zeke’s Eden.
His sugar.
His whore.

Daddy’s little girl is all grown up…


***

COUNTRY METAL by Michael Schneider

Sweet as iced tea, her life was the very anthem of a country song. Blue skies, cornfields and cotton fed her soul.
Tattooed and pierced, he’s the lead singer for Violent Standard. His idea of country is a trek through Central Park.
His band is in town to film their newest music video. Can heavy metal and a country twang blend into a perfect harmony? Will he claim the southern belle before the last note fades?


***

HER SECRET SERVICE by Demi Duke

Presidential candidate’s daughter, Cammie Douglas, needs her wild ways tamed and kept out of the news. So Jude Warner, a tall, dark, and handsome Secret Service agent, is called up for duty. His orders: Control Cammie no matter what it takes… Even if she’s drawing him into her sexual thrall. Will he risk it all for her? Or have to tame his own desires?


***

DREAM WEAVER by Cherry Shephard

When Charlotte is caught by one of her college students in a moment of pleasure, she awakens the Dream Weaver . . . the Master . . . her Dom. Can he revive her confidence and prove to her just how desirable she is?


***

TEMPTING TANNER by Lori King

Ashley Gahl lost her virginity in a whirlwind of passion after a night of celebration, and Tanner Lake has haunted her dreams ever since. One-night flings aren’t suitable for relationships, so she’s determined to pretend it never happened, only he reappears in her life, and throws her carefully laid out plans into disarray. When he becomes a permanent fixture in her world as her new stepbrother, she knows she should put their passionate past behind her, but she finds herself craving him more and more. Is she really ready for the whirlwind that Tempting Tanner with bring?




PURCHASE LINKS





Tuesday, November 3, 2015

TUESDAYS TUNES - Cause Really, Who Isn't STRESSED OUT!

I heard this one in the car while I was taking the kids to school a few days ago and you know... It just stuck in my head so I hit up iTunes and downloaded it. Now it's the song that all 5 of us in my house throw on when things just make us want to pull our hair out.
 
So enjoy :-)
 
Twenty One Pilots - STRESSED OUT
 

Monday, November 2, 2015

RELEASE BLITZ - All The Way to Heaven


All the Way to Heaven
Becky Doughty
(The Fallout Series, #1)
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: November 2nd 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Anica Tomlin, business major, has just learned that the man she’s been planning her future around, her Global Finance professor, already has a beautiful wife and family. Ani cashes in her graduation gift to herself a little early—a trip to Tuscany—but from the moment she boards the wrong train in Pisa, her plans for solitude and self-indulgence begin to unravel around her.
When a bicycle accident thrusts Ani into the skilled hands of the dashing Dr. Cosimo Lazzaro, she reluctantly accepts his invitation to recover in his family’s country villa, perched on a hilltop surrounded by the Lazzaro olive groves. But it’s been a black year for olive growers all over Italy, and generations of tradition are being put to the test like never before.
Ani is swept up in the drama of life in Tuscany, the convergence of old and new, and the passions that drive people to pursue the desires of their hearts. Just as Ani begins to get her feet under her again, an unexpected turn of events leaves her doubting the very existence of happily-ever-after, unless she can learn to trust the desires of her own heart.
Although All the Way to Heaven is a stand-alone novel, it is the first book in The Fallout Series, a collection of sweet contemporary romances that follow characters featured in the first book.

EXCERPT:
Seven AM in Lucca, and the quaint medieval town was teeming with life, fueled by a caffeine-and-Mediterranean-air-induced high. Bicycle bells jingle-jangled, and boisterous greetings volleyed from one side of the narrow streets to the other. School children laughed and called out to comrades as they scurried off to class.
“Why is everyone so happy?” I pulled a lumpy pillow over my head, but I could find no entry back into the anesthetizing arms of sleep.
My first morning in this enchanted place, and I felt more like a forgotten princess in a tower than a girl on a much-anticipated trip to Italy.
I hadn’t expected to fall asleep right away, but after a hot shower and a bowl of the packaged soup my mom had slipped into my luggage before they drove me to the airport, fatigue settled its heavy cloak around my shoulders. Crawling between the crisp sheets that smelled of bleach and lavender, I was disquieted by the unfamiliar stillness of a town that collectively slept at night. My world was round-the-clock, where the freeway slowed, but never stopped, businesses stayed open twenty-four hours a day, and people lived in shifts, as though afraid the earth might cease turning on its axis the moment no one was looking. But sleep, I did, like a stone, in spite of the tears that made it impossible to breathe through my nose.
Morning, however, had arrived with a vengeance, the stillness before dawn exploding into a cacophony of sound as unfamiliar to me as last night’s stillness. Cobbled streets bordered by tall, ancient stone buildings made shouts and laughter echo and reverberate, each sound amplified. Everything felt so close, but no one here seemed to mind. Like an orchestra tuning its instruments before a performance, each noise outside the window was finding its perfect pitch in the symphony entitled, “A Day in the Life of Lucca.”


Author Bio:
Becky Doughty is the author of the best-selling Elderberry Croft series, The Gustafson Girls series, Waters Fall, and more. She’s also the voice behind BraveHeart Audiobooks. She writes Women’s Fiction with strong elements of romance, as well as Young Adult and New Adult Fiction. Becky’s favorite people are edge-dwellers, those who live on that fine line where hope and despair meet, where love is the only answer and grace becomes truly amazing. Becky is married to her champion of more than 25 years. They have three children, two of whom are grown and starting families of their own, and they all live within a few miles of each other in Southern California. They share their lives with too many animals, a large vegetable garden, and a strange underground concrete room they’re certain was built for dark and sinister purposes….

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Friday, October 30, 2015

It's Almost Time for the HALLOWEEN HAUNT

As I've been talking about for the last couple weeks, I'm hosting a FB-event for Halloween this year - called the Halloween Haunt! And it's nearly time for the Haunt to start!!

From 5-11pm MST there will be author takeovers full of fun and games, giveaways, FAQ's, teasers, pleasers and more!

Are you going to be there with us??

It's not to late to join us at the Halloween Haunt... Do it! You'll be glad you did!!

 
You can find all the details and takeover schedules for the Halloween Haunt on the Special Events page located at the top of the page!!!!