Friday, July 31, 2020

THE BABY CONTRACT





This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Nan Reinhardt will be awarding a set of 6 handmade wineglass charms and a $10 Starbucks gift card. (USA only) to 5 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


She wants a baby…he wants a family

Firefighter and paramedic Tierney Ashton has always been a bold adventurer, but at thirty-four she longs to embark on a new adventure—motherhood. But who will be the father? Although financially challenging, a sperm bank appears to be her best option. That is, until she shares her dream with her long-time pal, Brendan Flaherty.

Government analyst and world traveler Brendan Flaherty returns home to River’s Edge to help out at his family’s thriving winery and his brother’s new community theater. He also plans to finally achieve his lifelong goal of writing a novel. But when Tierney shares her wish, Bren offers to be her baby daddy—with one condition. Marriage.

It seems like a perfect contract, but will love get in the way?


Read an Excerpt

Three texts from Bren—he’d heard about the fire—wondering if she was okay. He was moving into his cabin; did she want to come up to the winery and help him celebrate. And, hey, it was almost midnight, where was she?



She smiled. Good old Brendan Flaherty. Her buddy had returned home from Washington, DC, nearly a year and a half ago. It was good to have him back in River’s Edge. He’d been her older brother, Mike’s, best friend since elementary school and had always treated her like his own little sister. He’d stepped right in as surrogate big brother when Mike died in Afghanistan fifteen years ago, and the two of them had helped each other through the grief. She treasured their friendship, especially now that Bren was home to stay.

Her eyes went to the photo on the mantle above the fireplace in the living room—Mike and Bren on their bikes with her sitting on Mike’s cross bar, his arm around her skinny form. The boys had been in seventh grade in the picture and at eight years old, Tierney had worshipped her older brother, although she’d always found his best buddy a little geeky. Actually, both Mike and Bren had been kind of nerdy—into computer games and science experiments and exploring the caves down by the Ohio River.

Bren was still geeky, but in the nicest way possible. He still made a point of looking after Tierney, even though at thirty-four, she was quite capable of taking care of herself. She went into the kitchen, refilled her coffee mug, and retrieved the box of marshmallow cereal from the pantry. Plopping back down at the table, she ate fingersful of dry cereal directly from the box while she texted Holly to let her know she’d be there at three and then Bren to reassure him that she was fine and would love to come out to the winery to celebrate his new digs.



About the Author

Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today-bestselling author of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. Nan has been a copyeditor and proofreader for over 25 years, and currently works on romantic fiction titles for a variety of clients, including Avon Books, St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins, Kensington Books, Tule Publishing, and Entangled Publishing, as well as for many indie authors.

Although she loves her life as an editor, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!), and a member of Herman’s Hermits. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! Her latest series, the Four Irish Brothers Winery series is available from Tule Publishing and all book retailers. Books 1 through 3 are currently available; Book 4 releases July 16, 2020 and is available for preorder.

Visit Nan’s website at www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully…mostly. Nan also blogs every third Tuesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with five other romance authors, is a frequent contributor the RWA Contemporary Romance blog, and she contributes to the Romance University blog where she writes as Editor Nan.

Website: http://www.nanreinhardt.com

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


Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NanReinhardt

Buy Link for The Baby Contract

BN https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-baby-contract-nan-reinhardt/1136768046

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-baby-contract-6

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Contract-Irish-Brothers-Winery-ebook/dp/B086L7MMYL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0



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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

ULTIMATE BETRAYAL BY KAT MARTIN


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kat Martin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


To prove her father’s innocent of treason, she’ll have to face a killer--and risk everything ...

When journalist Jessie Kegan’s father is accused of espionage and treason, Jessie has no doubt the man she looked up to her entire life is innocent. Worse yet, before Colonel Kegan can stand trial, he’s found dead of a heart attack…but Jessie knows it was murder. Forcing down her grief, she’s determined to use her investigative skills and resources to clear her father’s name. But going after the truth means Jessie soon finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who wants that truth to stay buried with her father.

Protecting Jessie Kegan is a job bodyguard Brandon Garrett can’t refuse. Jessie isn’t just a client at Maximum Security—she’s the sister of his best friend, Danny, killed in Afghanistan. With dangerous forces gunning for Jessie from every angle, keeping her safe will mean keeping her close and Bran finds their mutual attraction growing, though being Danny’s sister puts Jessie out of bounds.

With their backs against the wall, Jessie and Bran will have to risk everything to expose her father’s killer—before his legacy dies with his daughter.


Read an Excerpt

Lounging back in the chair behind his desk at Maximum Security, Brandon Garrett looked up at the sound of the front door swinging open. A gust of cool, late October winds swept in, along with a petite, whirlwind of a woman with the prettiest strawberry blond hair Bran had ever seen.

It wasn’t tough to read the anxiety in her big green eyes as she surveyed the room, but instead of heading for the receptionist’s desk, those big green eyes landed on Bran and as she started toward him, there was something about her that rang a distant bell. Interest piqued, he rose from his chair. “Can I help you?”

“You’re Brandon Garrett, right? You were a friend of my brother’s. Danny Kegan? I recognize you from the photos Danny sent home.”

The mention of his best friend’s name hit him like a blow, and the muscles across his stomach clenched. Daniel Kegan had been a member of his spec ops team, a brother, not just a friend. Danny had saved Bran’s life at the cost of his own. He was KIA in Afghanistan.

Bran stared down at the girl, who was maybe five-foot-four. “You’re Jessie,” he said, remembering the younger sister Daniel Kegan had talked so much about. “You look like him. Same color hair and eyes.”

She nervously wet her lips, which were plump and pink and fit her delicate features perfectly.

“My brother said if I ever needed help, I should come to you. He said you’d help me no matter what.” She glanced back toward the door and his mind shifted away from the physical jolt he felt as he looked at her to the worry in her eyes.

“I’ll help you. Danny was my closest friend. Whatever you need, I’ll help. Come on. Let’s go into the conference room and you can tell me what’s going on.” When her gaze shot back to the door, his senses went on alert.

“I didn’t mean I needed your help later,” Jessie said nervously. “I meant I need your help right now.”

Gunshots exploded through the windows. “Get down!” Bran shouted to the other guys in the office as he shoved Jessie down behind his desk and covered her with his body. Glass shattered and a stream of bullets sprayed across the room.


About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana with her Western-author husband, L. J. Martin, Kat has written sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. More than sixteen million copies of her books are in print and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Kat is currently at work on her next Romantic Suspense.



Buy Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Betrayal-Maximum-Security/dp/1335080600

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ultimate-betrayal-dwayne-t-martin/1125832346?ean=9781488056048

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-ultimate-betrayal-26

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kat_Martin_The_Ultimate_Betrayal?id=GqmqDwAAQBAJ


Itunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-ultimate-betrayal/id1477473206

Social Media

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katmartinauthor

Website: https://www.katmartin.com/



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Monday, July 27, 2020

THE SECRET BY SUSAN SAXX





The Secret
A Real Men Series Prequel
Novella 
by
Best-selling Author 
Susan Saxx


Genre: Contemporary Romance  


A once in a lifetime Hawaiian vacation...
...what could go wrong?

Dare is crazy about Abby. But he struggles with his feelings, knowing he
can never match the lifestyle she was born into.
But when he takes her on an exotic vacation to Hawaii and his plans to
personally pamper her fall apart, his love for her is tested in ways
that surprise even him.
READER NOTE:
This book is a short prequel to REAL DEEP, Book #2 in the REAL MEN
series. It is not required to understand the story in Real Deep. It
can be read and enjoyed as a standalone and does not end with a
cliffhanger.

Reviews:
“…a delightful prequel novella”

Susan Saxx writes with both heart and honesty and The Secret is a great
addition to  the wonderful 'Real Men' series.”


FREE EXCLUSIVE GIFT
NOT FOR SALE
ANYWHERE
ONLY FOR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBERS!

If you’d love this
short, sparkling read for your summer escape readathon, 
GO HERE: 

THE SECRET 



The Real Men Series


Come on a Journey.

Meet the band of military reservists from Jack’s
Bay, Northern Ontario, and Terrence Point Mountain, British Columbia,
as well as the strong women they fall in love with. 

Brothers,
with an unbreakable bond, living in two very different parts of Canada.

Yet family, brotherhood and love...are the same.


Readers say:

I absolutely love this series!”
~ 5 STARS, Amazon Reviewer

But mostly there’s a lot of heart, tons of deep friendship, and the
kind  of loyalty and trust that you can’t find just anywhere.
Oh, and men—did I mention this place was full of testosterone? Yep.
Sounds like paradise to me. I’ll be back to Jack’s Bay!”
~ 5 STARS, Amazon Reviewer

Bestselling Author
Susan Saxx's REAL MEN are waiting...
...for YOU.

Check out the series here!



Hi there! I'm SO glad we've connected!

I write books set in the small towns and big cities of Canada. Right
now I'm writing the Real Men series - first installment set in Jack's
Bay, northern Ontario - a place I 

My heroes and heroines haven't had an easy time of it. But they take
what life dishes out, and somehow, with grit, determination and heart
- especially heart - they transform it into gold. Their gold.

Their stories - like life! - range from sweet to sexy, contemporary to
suspenseful.


Want to know when there's a new Susan Saxx book released? Click the yellow
"FOLLOW" button above.

Want more news and special, subscriber ONLY 'insider' stories? Join my
newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bFwHOb.

Interaction your thing? Come hang with me at Saxxy Reads, on FB. I promise - the
water's always fine!

And welcome...to Jack's Bay, northern Ontario, to the upcoming sister
series in B.C., and to the rancher (#1), the tormented dark-netgenius (#5), 

the 'hit rock-bottom' ex-Seal (#4), and the ex-star hockey player (Coming Dec. 2018) - all military reservists, and the passionate, heroic women they fall for.

REAL MEN is the series - get to know them all at www.susansaxx.com.





Follow the tour HERE
for special content and a giveaway!




Friday, July 24, 2020

WHAT FREES THE HEART


Don't miss the Rafflecopter at the end of the post!

**New Release!**

What Frees the Heart
Cowbird Creek Book 2
by
Karen A. Wyle
Genre:
Western Historical Romance 


Q and A with Author Karen A. Wyle

Q. Did you plan from the start to write a historical romance series?

A. No. I barely had the nerve to write historical romance at all! I’ve read historical fiction for many years, and had thought of attempting it, but the necessary research intimidated me. Within the last few years, I started reading both historical and contemporary romance, but felt even less prepared to tackle that. And yet, as November 2018 loomed and I asked myself what book to write during National Novel Writing Month, I somehow headed in the historical romance direction. The result, after some initial changes in character and backstory, and a significant course correction once my beta readers weighed in, was What Heals the Heart, Book 1 in the Cowbird Creek series.

I was greatly relieved at how well the book was received – and in particular, that readers thought I’d managed to convey the time and place in a convincing manner. That emboldened me to return to Cowbird Creek for another book, and to start planning Book 3 for November 2020.


Q. How does a romance series work? Where do you go from Happily Ever After?

A. You move on to another couple from the same setting and give them a HEA of their own! Some romance series go from one to another member of a family, while others, like the Cowbird Creek series, feature different people in the same town.


Q. Who are the main characters in What Frees the Heart? Did they show up in the first book? And will we get to see any other residents of Cowbird Creek this time around?

A. Caution: the answer to this question includes spoilers for Book 1, What Heals the Heart!

Readers of What Heals the Heart have already met Tom and Jenny. Tom is the farm lad whose leg Joshua had to amputate. Jenny is the young prostitute whose arm Joshua bandages, and who reminisces about rolling bandages for soldiers when she was a child.

Joshua and Clara appear frequently in What Frees the Heart, both (especially Joshua) playing a role in the plot. Silas Finch, the cordwainer who married Dolly, is a significant secondary character. We naturally see a good deal more of Madam Mamie, Jenny’s employer. And even though Freida and Jedidiah have left town, they do turn up and play their part in the HEA. (If I’d planned a series from the get-go, I might have found a way to keep them around, as Freida is a favorite of many readers and close to my heart as well.)


Q. What was the most challenging aspect of writing What Frees the Heart?

A. There were a few challenges! I had to deal with prostitution without either glamorizing it, or so thoroughly depressing the reader as to overwhelm the romance plot. I had to show Tom’s life as an amputee as realistically as I could, while also showing the spirit that helped him cope with that disability. But the most daunting challenge had to do with character voice. Joshua Gibbs was a well-read scion of an upper-crust Philadelphia family. Tom and Jenny had to think and speak in a very different way. I’d never tackled anything like their points of view before.


Q. What’s next in the series?

A. I’d like to keep the key details to myself for a bit longer. One of the reasons: I have an author newsletter, and I try to give my subscribers the first look at covers, excerpts, and other details about upcoming books. The signup link for the newsletter, accessible from my author website’s home page (http://www.KarenAWyle.com), is https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/k9z1m0. (One of these days, I’ll figure out how to customize that unwieldy URL.) I send one newsletter a month, except during release months when I may send two – and I make it easy to unsubscribe.

I will drop this hint: readers already know a fair amount about one of the two main characters. The other character probably doesn’t live in Cowbird Creek full time. And the tentative title is What Shows the Heart.


Q. What’s National Novel Writing Month?

A. Pardon me while I tear up – because National Novel Writing Month (also called NaNoWriMo or NaNo) gave me, or gave me back, my writing career.

It was my childhood ambition to be a novelist. In fact, at age 10, I wrote a 200-page novel for which the kindest words would be “disjointed” and “derivative.” (My mother, praised be she, typed up all 200 penciled pages and bound the result so I could feel “published.”) I tried again at age 14 and gave up after 40 pages. And while I wrote poetry in high school and took a disastrous short story seminar in college, I gave up on writing novels, or any fiction longer than a picture book, for several decades.

Then, my oldest daughter tried NaNoWriMo in 2009,during her senior year in high school, and “won” by completing a 50,000 word rough draft – all while visiting colleges and finishing high school. When she told me she was doing NaNo again the following year, I decided to give it a try, figuring I’d probably drop out in a day or two. And here I am, almost ten years later, about to publish my tenth novel.

But to actually answer the question 😀, NaNoWriMo is a group endeavor, organized online, for anyone who wants to write a novel. Each November, people from all over the world sign up and undertake to write at least 50,000 words of a new novel, entirely within that month. The idea is to bull on through, at an average pace of 1,667 words per day, without stopping to self-edit. The goal is a very rough draft, which the writer can then revise and edit to their heart’s content. One can update one’s word count online, track one’s progress, find “buddies” with whom to compete or commiserate, and visit various forums. In the forums, one can ask research questions (which can get very arcane and bizarre), find writing prompts, and vent about the writing process.


Q. What was that about picture books?

A. I started writing picture book manuscripts when I was pregnant with my older daughter, the one who later led me to NaNoWriMo. I even had an agent for a while, who never did succeed in snagging the interest of any publishers. Now that self-publishing has evolved to the point where it’s feasible to self-publish a picture book, I’d like to find an illustrator whose vision for one or more of these books matches my own, and who’s interested in collaborating. The titles include Mommy Calls Me “Acorn”; Catching Mommy’s Shadow; Where Do Fireflies Sleep; When It’s Winter; and You Can’t Kiss a Bubble.

Can they set each other free?

Cowbird Creek has its share of troubled souls. For Tom, a farmer’s son, losing his 
leg felt like losing his future. Jenny, a young prostitute at Madam Mamie’s
parlor house, has never thought she had much future to lose.

But the job Tom is able to get leads him to rediscover a long neglected
talent. And both Tom and Jenny have a knack for hitting on new
possibilities. Can they, together, find a better path?

This novel, second in a series, returns to the small town of Cowbird
Creek, Nebraska, in early 1876, a few months after the conclusion of
What Heals the Heart. Several favorite characters from Book 1 make
return appearances.

"Truly a romantic tale . . . .  Wonderful characters, many with hearts of gold, small-minded
characters that truly showed their ignorance and dreams that couldn’t be broken . . . from an 
author who lets her words feed our imaginations." – Tome Tender review

"Magnificent story . . . a remarkable historical romance . . . great chemistry
between the characters . . . It is always a joy to read this author's
stories." – Amy's Bookshelf Reviews






What Heals the Heart
Cowbird Creek Book 1

Joshua Gibbs survived the Civil War, building on his wartime experiences to
become a small town doctor. And if he wakes from nightmares more
often than he would like, only his dog Major is there to know it.

Then two newcomers arrive in Cowbird Creek: Clara Brook, a plain-speaking
and yet enigmatic farmer’s daughter, and Freida Blum, an elderly
Jewish widow from New York. Freida knows just what Joshua needs: a
bride. But it shouldn’t be Clara Brook!

Joshua tries everything he can think of to discourage Freida’s efforts,
including a wager: if he can find Freida a husband, she’ll stop
trying to find him a wife. Will either matchmaker succeed? Or is it
Clara, despite her own scars, who can heal the doctor’s troubled heart?

Amazon          B&N


Karen A. Wyle, Author


Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in
Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers
herself a Hoosier. Wyle's childhood ambition was to be the youngest
ever published novelist. While writing her first novel at age 10, she
was mortified to learn that some British upstart had beaten her to
the goal at age 9.

Wyle is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother
of two daughters. Her voice is the product of almost five decades of
reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also
influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of
law practice. Her personal history has led her to focus on
often-intertwined themes of family, communication, the impossibility
of controlling events, and the persistence of unfinished business.





Follow the tour HERE
for special content and a giveaway!




Wednesday, July 22, 2020

MADAM IN SILK



This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gini Grossenbacher will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


San Francisco,1849. Despite her objections, twenty-year-old Ah Toy and her servant Chen voyage from China to San Francisco with her husband who dies on board ship. With little cash and bound feet, how is she to find employment in the Gold Rush town?
Since she is the only Chinese woman there, she opens a "Lookee Shop," catering to miners who pay in gold dust to see her exotic beauty. As her notoriety grows, so does her attraction to the devoted policeman, John Clark. Yet should she put her faith in one man? Will their love survive despite her frightening encounter with Sydney Ducks, threats from rival madam Li Fan, and a tempting offer from Henry Conrad who promises her wealth and security?
Armed with her mystical beliefs of the inner dragon and Goddess Mazu, Ah Toy faces much more than the journey from the ancient ways in China to the new world in America. In fact, she must find the true source of courage in a life or death struggle for her own fate, justice, and dignity. Based on page-turning accounts about the life of Ah Toy, one of San Francisco's most legendary madams.





Read an Excerpt

Clark fondled his hat brim. “Tell me which shop, and I shall go find her.”

Chen clenched his teeth. “I think that is not a good idea,” he said.

Clark frowned. “Forever why not?”

Chen fell silent. . . .

Clark’s face reddened. “Chen, are you hiding something? Out with it, my man. Why would it not be a good idea?” He looked up at the ceiling, then let out a heavy sigh. . . .

Ah peered through the crack in the door. Chen was probably wondering if he should tell Clark the truth—or not. She watched him gaze at Clark whose lips pressed flat.

Then Chen broke Ah Toy’s rules for servants—again. . . . “I will face great trouble from my mistress for telling you this. You can never tell her how you learned this information.”

Clark leaned forward, sliding his chair closer. “Of course, Chen, your secret is safe with me.”

“She is to be married. She is out shopping for a wedding garment.”

Clark blinked rapidly. Was he trying not to show his surprise?

She held her breath for a moment. A debate raged inside of her: if she went to Clark, here and now, as she was sorely tempted, her risk was great. After his wife’s loss, Clark had already drifted away from her to New York. How could such a man be trusted?

Clark stiffened; his knuckles white around the rim of his hat. “She is going to wed?”


About the Author

MADAM IN SILK is California teacher and editor Gini Grossenbacher’s second historical fiction novel. Her debut novel MADAM OF MY HEART garnered the 2018 IPPY silver medal for Historical Fiction; finalist in the 2018 American Fiction Awards for Historical Fiction; honorable mention at the 2018 San Francisco Book Festival for General Fiction; and runner-up in the 2017 Hollywood Book Festival for Genre Fiction. She is also a copyeditor and leads an aspiring writers group called Elk Grove Writers and Artists, providing lessons in novel writing, memoir, poetry, and flash fiction. When she’s not writing, Gini can be found taking long walks, tending the roses in her garden, and barbecuing with her husband and beloved dog, Murphy Brown.

Amazon buy book link: https://www.amazon.com/Madam-Silk-Gini-Grossenbacher-ebook/dp/B07VH5SXVN/ref=sr_1_1



Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.ginigrossenbacher.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ggrossenbacher

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggrossenbacher/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ggrossenbacher/



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Monday, July 20, 2020

MARTIMUS - FEISTY LAWYERS BOOK 5


Don't forget the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post!


Martimus
Feisty Lawyers Book 5
by
Seelie Kay
Genre:
Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance 

Agent Cate Creighton is in love. Unfortunately, as the Agency honeypot, she
is knee-deep in an assignment that tests the bounds of her new
relationship. It seems eight socialites have gone missing, all
wealthy twenty-somethings with influential parents. No one seems to
care until a former vice president’s daughter disappears.

When the vice-president shares a tale of false arrest, a broken promise of
deportation, an illegal diversion into a private prison, and an
alleged trip to an underwater habitat called Martimus, Cate and her
colleagues must find a way to follow the same path. In other words,
they must enter the right prison, meet the right fixer, wind up on
Martimus, and hopefully return in one piece. And it looks like Cate
is the perfect bait.

That doesn’t sit well with Cate’s lover, former U.S. Navy Seal Warren
Hazelton. He intends to protect her until death ‘til do they part.

Fortunately, another possibility appears, in the form of an MISix agent who has
interfered in one too many Agency operations. Tillie Henderson owes
them and they are all too willing to serve her up on a plate. It’s
race against time as the Agency attempts to lure their adversary out
of hiding and into their somewhat ambiguous trap. Maybe then Cate can
finally focus on love.



Tom cocked an eyebrow. “Warren, you’re a former Navy Seal. Isn’t there some sort of limit on the amount of time you can spend under the sea before it starts to seriously impair your health?”

Warren frowned. “Usually two weeks. After that, the lack of exposure to the sun and the constant high pressure oxygenated environment would begin to take a toll. There’s also a psychological impact. Think sensory deprivation. Your senses are out of whack because you’ve been dumped into a soundproof sponge. There is no normal sensory stimulation. No sunlight, no sound… Even taste and smell become compromised. Coming back to the real world would be an adjustment.

“In addition, those underwater stations are small. People are right on top of each other. Things we take for granted, like privacy, hot showers, home cooked meals, are in short supply. That can create anxiety, depression, and stress. No way he served that sentence consecutively. He had to take a break in between.”

Warren gazed at Tom. “That environment is more hostile than a prison. You may not be in danger from other inmates, but you are putting your life at risk. Three months sounds like way too much time to be stuck underwater though, especially if you’re not leaving the station for deep sea diving on a regular basis. They must be breaking up the time somehow, otherwise they’d have a pretty tough situation on their hands. A lot of contract workers would be headed to a rubber room. It would be extremely difficult to survive a month, much less three, down there.”

“Could they be treating the inmates like guinea pigs?” Hope asked. “Testing their limits? Tracking actual survival rates?”

Warren sighed. “Possibly. It’s not like they have to answer to anyone. They are located in international waters. No country in particular has legal oversight. I imagine they could be doing anything they want without recourse. Unfortunately, when the prospect of a reduced sentence is dangled in front of some people, they grab it, damn the consequences. If one or two inmates suffer some sort of harm or die along the way, they chalk it up to collateral damage.”

“And who’s going to know?” Cate shook her head. “Someone dies, they probably flush them down a chute into the deep sea and they become shark chum. No evidence left behind.”

Hope cringed. “God, that’s kind of evil. But that still doesn’t answer our original question. Where the hell is Fuzzy? Has he already served out his sentence? Has he been released, and if he has, where the hell is he? He’s the one we need to find. He could have a lot of the answers.”

“That lack of governmental oversight is troubling,” Tom said. “If Cassie McIntyre is down there, I can’t believe the CIA isn’t all over it. At least, our government should be doing a welfare check through the Red Cross or something.”

Warren grimaced. “Unless no one knows she is down there. Think about it. They are on the bottom of the ocean, more than two miles under the sea. It’s not like you can just go down there and knock on the door. Any regular monitoring would be impossible.”

Cate nodded. “And we haven’t been able to confirm that she embarked on the same path as Fuzzy. All we’ve got are suspicions. Right now, she’s missing. We need to sit down with her family and get more information. And we need to find other prisoners who contracted with Martimus.

“Otherwise, we’ve got nothing.”





Hope
Feisty Lawyers Book 4 

No one knows what they’re made of until they’re broken. At the
tender age of twenty-two, Hope Ali has finally joined the
organization of her dreams, the Agency, an elite group of attorneys
who go undercover to right wrongs the law can’t. The requirements
are stringent, the training exhausting.



After seeking asylum in the United States when she was sixteen, Hope and her father,
Sheikh Harun Ali, settled in a quiet Wisconsin town, hiding from
those who had placed a price on their heads. Still, she excelled,
finishing her university and law school education by the time she was twenty-one.

Now, after breezing through the Agency training
program, Hope appears to be indestructible—until she is assigned a
simple task during the rescue of an author among the disappeared in
the UAE. The task? To distract the woman’s captors until she can be
spirited out of the country.

Unfortunately, a member of MISix has other plans. In an attempt to disrupt the Agency’s mission, she tips off one of Hope’s enemies, alerting them to her location. Hope
manages to lead the author’s captors on a merry dance, freeing
others to rescue her, until she is unexpectedly confronted with a
violent angry mob intent on harm.

She is left bloody and broken. No one knows whether Hope’s body or her mind will heal.
Suddenly Hope is no longer just her name. It is also the one thing
she must embrace to find her new normal.





Cult
Feisty Lawyers Book 3 

When college students begin disappearing from American campuses, a
notorious cult, God’s Delight, is the primary suspect. God’s
Delight has been hosting shows featuring sex, drugs, and rock and
roll around the country, and young people are flocking to them.

Among the missing is the President’s goddaughter, and he wants answers.
When he asks Agent Cade Matthews, a member of a secret covert
organization, to find her, the mission appears fairly
straightforward. Find the God’s Delight compound, determine whether
a welfare check on American cult members is warranted, and get out.
Simple. Clean. Easy.

Cade sends newly-married Agents Dianna Murphy and Anders Mark to the
University of Wisconsin to follow the trail to God’s Delight, but
when they wind up in Bolivia, things go sideways. Suddenly, what
appeared to be nothing more than a simple in-and-out could cost
Dianna her life. When an Agency extraction is ordered, chaos erupts,
and the question becomes, will anyone survive?





Infamy
Feisty Lawyers Book 2 

When international law attorney Sheikh Harun Ali is lured to the Amazon
and warned of a frightening plot against the United States, he and
his wife, Marianne Benson, enlist the assistance of their neighbors,
covert agent Cade Matthews and his wife, Constitutional Law Professor
Janet MacLachlan. Ultimately, these feisty lawyers are pushed to the
wall, desperate to find a plane that has been buried in an unknown
cornfield, the passengers still on board. The terrorists’ hatred
for the Alis is absolute—the Alis once left their organization
bankrupt and broken—but they hate America more. And their fiendish
games are just beginning. They are seeking a much bigger prize—one
that could destroy a nation and possibly the world. An act that will live in infamy.




Snatching Dianna
Feisty Lawyers Book 1 

When suburban Milwaukee law student Dianna Murphy fails to connect with
her roommate, there is no real evidence that she has been snatched.
Until Law Professor Janet MacLachlan, a former covert agent,
discovers a single clue, one that points to a taking by a slave
trafficking cartel. In a race against time, Janet recruits her
husband, secret agent Cade Matthews, small-town Police Chief David
Manders and his wife, criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant,
and other law students to uncover the truth. Can they prove she has
been taken, before Dianna disappears without a trace?





An Interview with Seelie Kay:

Q. Why do you write romance?

Because I am fascinated by the games people play to find and secure a lasting relationship, which is not always love. There’s the chase, the courtship, the falling, the surrender. That’s what I try to capture in my stories.

Q. Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?

I adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge. They can be a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, I they have to be paired with strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love.

Q. Why did you write “Martimus?”

This is the final book in the series, so I needed a way to tie up a lot of loose ends. That meant the Feisty Lawyers needed a compelling story to accomplish that. Something in space was beyond the realm of believability, but something at the bottom of the ocean? The possibilities were endless. I went in all sorts of directions at first, but ultimately made Martimus a key step in a much broader journey. The bottom of the ocean is an unforgiving environment. Survival is never guaranteed. Divert a few socialites there to serve out a prison sentence, make then disappear, and you’ve got what I hope is an exciting story!

As a former lawyer, I also developed an interest in private prisons. These are institutions that are governed by a different set of rules and not all institutions follow the same rules. In some cases, the private prison an inmate winds up in can mean the difference between survival and death. In addition, there have been several cases of prosecutors and judges who received a financial incentive to divert inmates to private prison. Some were so incentivized that people innocent of the crimes with which they were charged have been convicted just so the prosecutor or judge could get their kickback. It is an industry that requires serious regulation and monitoring.

Q. How does your former profession as a lawyer impact your writing?

My friends say I am obsessed with justice and I guess that’s true. After 30 years, the law and the legal world are so firmly embedded in my brain that I can’t flush them out. That has become the lens through which I view the world and that naturally guides my characters and plots. Injustice infuriates me, but it also leads me to great stories!


Seelie Kay, Author

Seelie Kay is a nom de plume for a writer, editor, and author with more than 30 years of
experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public relations. When
she writes about love and lust in the legal world, something kinky is
bound to happen! In possession of a wicked pen and an overly
inquisitive mind, Ms. Kay is the author of multiple works of fiction,
including the Kinky Briefs series, the Feisty
Lawyers
series, The Garage Dweller, A
Touchdown to Remember, The President’s Wife
, The
White House Wedding,
and The President’s Daughter.

When not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other
professionals. She resides in a bucolic exurb
outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home with her
son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an
occasional bottle of red wine.

Ms. Kay is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her
message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it
does not define you!



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