Showing posts with label Allie Boniface. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allie Boniface. Show all posts

Monday, January 24, 2022

Welcome to Drake Isle by Allie Boniface

 

 


Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post.

Welcome to Drake Isle

Books 1-2 in The Drake Isle Series

by Allie Boniface

Genre: Small Town Contemporary Romance 

Welcome to Drake Isle, where time moves differently, the air feels cleaner, the sun warmer, and the world feels calmer…”

Emotions are intense and unstoppable. This island is filled with love.”

I want to live on Drake Isle!”

Find out why readers love Allie Boniface’s island romance series in this duet boxed set:



Because of You (Book One) - 

Ten years ago, Piper Townsend fell to her death from the top of a fraternity house, and no one on Drake Isle has ever been the same. Blake Carter's fraternity was scandalized. Misterion College closed down. And Blake's girlfriend Emmy fled the island after her best friend died and never looked behind her.

Now Blake's the CEO of a multi-million dollar tech firm looking to relocate to the island. Emmy owns a yoga studio in the building he wants to buy. They haven't spoken in ten years. They're on opposite sides of the bargaining table. But old flames die hard, and sometimes soulmates can set the world on fire all over again…



Finding You (Book Two) -

Lillian Santini came to Drake Isle pregnant, broke, and alone.Two decades later she owns a renowned beauty salon and has raised her twins to adulthood. Fiercely independent, she has no interest in settling down. Then she meets Trey.

Trey lives a jet-set life on the mainland, a billionaire who's hidden a shockingly abusive childhood from the world. His best friend, the only person who knew his secrets, died in a tragic accident twelve years earlier. Lil and Trey’s attraction is instant. Their desire is powerful. But can two people from different worlds find love on Drake Isle, or will past secrets tear them apart?

Bonus Story! Deck the Isle is a sweet Christmas story that takes place between Books 1 and 2 and highlights the island decked out at holiday time (along with a few more secrets between characters…)


If you like small town island romance with a hint of mystery, then you’ll love this introduction to the Drake Isle series. Jump in and discover the magic of the island!


Excerpt: From Book One, Because of You 
 
 “Why don’t we all close our eyes and get started,” Emmy said. Her hands were sweating. The back of her neck was sweating. She blew out a long breath and focused on the back wall of the studio. “Breathe in, hold one second, and breathe out. Again, breathe in...” 

She had no idea how she got through the hour. She wished Blake had chosen an Advanced Class, just so she could put him through pigeon pose and a headstand or two. But apparently the basics of Sun Salutation were torture enough. He grunted trying to keep up. Once he stumbled and nearly took out the little girl in front of him. A sheen of sweat appeared on his brow, and in the middle of tree pose, as he was wobbling and reaching for the wall to keep from falling, Emmy could swear he cursed under his breath. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. He narrowed his gaze at her. She narrowed hers right back. 

Finally the class drew to its ritualistic end. “All right, lie back, extend your arms and legs fully, and let go. Relax your breath. This is Savasanapose, also known as corpse pose, the way we end every yoga class. It is a chance for you to let go of all your efforts and let the effects of your practice sink in.” And a chance for Emmy to gain her composure, because as much as she’d gotten a kick out of watching Blake struggle, she’d also felt a slip of desire more than once. 

Those palms, spread wide on the mat, that had once wrapped around her waist. 

Those legs, strong calves and thighs, that used to flex while sprinting down the college football field. 

That square jaw, the dark hair, the quiet sounds of sleep she used to love to wake up next to. 

Stop remembering all that. 

Sure. She could stop breathing too, while she was at it. 

Emmy summoned them to a seat at the end and chanted the final meditation. As they rolled up their mats and replaced their shoes, she turned on the lights and slipped a waiver onto a clipboard for Blake. Really, she didn’t want his paperwork. She didn’t even want his money. It wasn’t like fifteen dollars was going to make or break her at this point. If he had five thousand dollars he wanted to put out for the class, that would be another story, but he’d made it pretty clear the other day that he was interested in buying the whole building out from under her. For way below its market value, probably. 

Goodbye, thank you, see you soon!” she called as the women walked out. She hoped one of them would stay, even if they made comments about Blake being her boyfriend, but they didn’t. It was as if Bev’s Boutique was having a fire sale they all had to get to. In less than five minutes, she and Blake were alone. 

Well, that was interesting.” He rubbed his shoulder. “That was a beginners’ class?” 

It was.” 

Some of those women are in pretty good shape.” 

They are.” Maybe if she spoke in single syllables and short sentences, he’d get the hint and leave. “Here you go.” She handed him the clipboard. 

Emmy.” 

Please don’t call me that.” 

He swallowed back whatever comment he’d been about to make and glanced at the clipboard instead. He filled in the lines with a few scribbles, pulled out his wallet, and handed over a ten and a five. 

Thank you.” 

Can we talk?” 

About what? Did you have questions about the class or any of the poses?” 

He gave her a look, thatlook, the one he used to level on her back in school when she was being deliberately unreasonable and they both knew it. “Actually, yeah. That dog one? Where we were supposed to be upside down? I don’t think I was doing it right.” 

Downward Dog?” One corner of her mouth tugged. Don’t laugh at him. Don’t even smile at him. But she couldn’t help it. “You weren’t.” 

I knew it.” He looked at his mat, still lying on the floor. “Can you help me?” 

Blake.” 

I’m serious. My doctor keeps telling me I need to relax. If I can learn yoga, maybe she’ll be happy. My father had already had his first heart attack at my age.” 

Fine. Come over here.” She unrolled her own mat and laid it a few inches from his. “Now watch.” She balanced herself on her hands and feet, straightening her legs and stretching deeply into the pose. She loved Downward Dog. It made her feel grounded and secure, even when nothing else in her life did. “See how my back and my arms are straight? And my head is down?” 

He ran one hand along her spine. “Yes.” 

She dropped to her knees. “Hey.” 

Sorry. I couldn’t help it.” 

She looked up at him, and there was another look she knew, a look she’d seen a thousand times before. Want. Love. Or something like it. “Don’t look at me like that.” 

Like what?” 

Like you’re about to kiss me.” 

An eternal moment hung between them, and then Blake leaned over and did just that. 

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Allie Boniface is the USA Today best-selling author of over a dozen novels, including the Drake Isle, Cocktail Cruise, Hometown Heroes, and Whispering Pines series. Her books are set in small towns and are all about the feels of falling in love. 

Allie currently lives in a small town in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York with her husband. When she isn't teaching high school English, she likes to travel, visit the local shelter and love on the kitties, lose herself in great music, or go for a run and think about her next story. Take some time to browse around Allie's website, check out new and upcoming releases, and sign up for her newsletter. You'll get all the news about releases before everyone else, along with free stories available ONLY to subscribers. See you in virtual romance-land! 




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Monday, April 07, 2014

INFERNO OF LOVE - HOMETOWN HEROES SERIES AND AUTHOR INTERVIEW






Inferno of Love (Hometown Heroes #2) 

by Allie Boniface

To kick off her post about INFERNO OF LOVE, Allie Boniface has let me interview her.

Caroline: Tell us about growing up.

Allie: Hi Caroline, and thanks so much for having me here today! I am a born and bred New Yorker who grew up in a very small town in the middle of the state and now lives in a very small town closer to New York City. I do love big city life and have lived in a few, but there's a very nice, peaceful, safe vibe to small towns that I love too. Of course, saying that, small towns also have their own dark secrets, complicated histories, entwined relationships that sometimes go back generations, and challenges as time marches on, and that's what I draw upon when I write my books.
            I was most definitely a bookworm growing up. I graduated at the top of my class and went on to do other scholarly high-achieving things in college and graduate school too. Today I'm a high school English teacher living with my husband, also a teacher, in the Hudson Valley. No kids – unless you count the 75 or so that I teach each year!

Caroline: Who are your favorite authors and favorite genres?

Allie: I love women's fiction and contemporary fiction overall, though I've also been reading a lot of Young Adult lately. Favorite authors, just because they're great storytellers, are Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, and John Green.

Caroline: What’s your favorite way to relax and recharge? Hobbies?

Allie: When I'm not writing, reading, or grading papers, I'm a gym rat. I love working out plus it keeps me sane during the school year. My favorites are Zumba, kickboxing, and yoga, but I'll take on the challenge of weight lifting too. Running is my second favorite when I can't get to the gym. All you need is a pair of sneakers and a road in front of you!

Caroline: Do you have a favorite quote that sums up how you feel about life?

Allie: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  Eleanor Roosevelt said this, and I believe it and try to live it every day. There is so much in life that can terrify us, from the everyday to the enormous. Facing down our fears is the best way to make it through.

Caroline: How long have you been writing?

Allie: My whole life.
           
Haha. It feels like that sometimes! I've been writing seriously, full-length novels, for about 10 years. My first book was released with Samhain Publishing in 2007.

Caroline: Are you a plotter or a panzer?
           
Allie: Although I do prefer to plot, I've learned over the years to let my characters deviate when they want to and grow within my outline. They're going to anyway, so I might as well go with it! But in all honesty, some of the best and most interesting scenes do emerge when writers let themselves go.

Caroline: So do I. I believe that makes us plotzers. Do you use real events or persons in your stories or as an inspiration for stories?

Allie: I write contemporary romance, so almost all my stories are somehow based on people I know or events I've seen or experienced or read about. I love examining the interactions between people – and not only the romantic ones, but the friendships and the family dynamics and even those of strangers and enemies too. It's fascinating.

Caroline: Since you have a time consuming day job, I imagine setting daily writing goals is out of the question. Do you get a chance to write every day?

Allie: Since I teach full time, it's hard to write every day. I don't set daily goals, though when I sit down to write, I do aim for at least one hour/one chapter.  It used to take me about a year to write a full-length novel, but I've gotten that down to about 8-9 months now.

Caroline: What do you hope your writing brings to readers?

Allie: My favorite reviews or emails from readers are ones that say they loved the emotions between the characters. I hope that my readers find hope and belief in true love when they read my books.

Caroline: What long-term plans do you have for your career?

Allie: Long-term I'd like to publish at least 2 novels a year. I'm also in the process of working on a Young Adult novel, and I'd like to see where the possibility for that might go. It's definitely a genre I'm interested in both reading and writing.

Caroline: Would you like to tell us what you’re working on now?

Allie: Sure! I'm working on the 3rd book in the Hometown Heroes series, Labyrinth of Love, but before that comes out, I'm excited to announce that I have a trilogy of novellas releasing this summer: The Cocktail Cruise Novellas. They feature intertwined characters and all revolve around romance on a cruise ship: Tequila Sunrise, Sex on the Beach, and Between the Sheets. Make sure to follow my website, blog, or Facebook and Twitter pages so you'll know when they release!

Caroline: Sound like fun reads. What advice would you give to unpublished authors?

Allie: Never give up. Be persistent in your dreams of writing, and learn as much about the craft and your particular genre as you can. Also, develop a thick skin, because not everyone will love your books. Poor or mediocre reviews, or rejections from editors or agents, can sting. Allow yourself time to feel lousy, and then move on.

Caroline: Share a fun fact readers wouldn’t know about you.

Allie: I'm going to Iceland on vacation for the second time, this spring. It's a beautiful, unique country with a laidback vibe, and it's only a 5-hour flight from New York. I can't wait to go back!

Caroline: That’s the way I feel about Ireland and the UK. Is your book a series? Your book is a series. Tell us about the series.

Allie: Inferno of Love is the second book in the Hometown Heroes series. Beacon of Love, the first, introduced readers to Lindsey Point, Connecticut, a small coastal town with a haunted lighthouse and a whole slew of local townspeople – some with pretty dark secrets. Inferno of Love picks up about a year later, when the heroine Aubrey returns to Lindsey Point with no memory of the summer she spent there twelve years earlier, falling in love with Finn. When Finn sees her again, and discovers why she doesn't remember him, it's all he can do not to tell her about their history together...


 Caroline: Thanks, Allie, for sharing with us. And now, here's more about INFERNO OF LOVE.

Quick Facts                                        
                                   

Release Date: February 23rd, 2014                  
Genre: Contemporary Romance                                              
Formats to buy: Kindle, epub and Paperback 


INFERNO OF LOVE Synopsis


What happens when your soul mate returns after twelve long years – and has no idea who you are?

Aubrey Anderson is a pediatric occupational therapist who’s spent the last twelve years rebuilding her life after a car accident killed her boyfriend and crushed her legs. A series of strokes on the way to the hospital left her with no memory of either the accident or the weeks leading up to it, so when she starts having nightmares she can’t explain, she decides to return to the scene to see if she can piece together her past.

Finn Cavallo is Lindsey Point's resident playboy, owner of a popular bar, and hero of the Cove Fire, when he pulled seven people from a burning building twelve years earlier. But his flirtatious personality hides the heart of a man who lost his soul mate the night of the fire. When Aubrey walks into his bar with no memory of who he is or what they had, he’s stunned – and it takes everything he has not to tell her about the summer they spent falling in love.

It's only a matter of time before bar conversation turns to passion on the beach and more. But when a series of events raises suspicion that Finn himself might have started the Cove Fire, Aubrey is forced to do whatever she can to discover the truth about both their pasts, including going back to the spot where it all began...






PURCHASE







Excerpt:
Aubrey stared at her glass of wine. "God, I just – I wish I could remember something."
            Finn fell again just like that, watching her catch her bottom lip in her teeth as she mulled over her words. The rhythm of her voice, the way her eyes caught the light…he was nineteen all over again, crushing on another man's girlfriend without a clue of what to do about it.
            Only he wasn't nineteen anymore.
            And Aubrey wasn't here with another man.
            Forget it. He was done thinking. He moved from around the bar without a word, and as he closed the distance between them, she slipped from her stool, moving toward him and landing in his arms like she'd been there all this time. His hand went to the back of her head, cupping it and easing it closer. Her chin lifted, and he caught her mouth with his, loving the way her breath hitched in her throat. She melted into him, the warmth of her curves searing his skin and soaking into the very core of him. His eyes closed.
            He slid his tongue over her bottom lip, taking it slow, waiting for her to step back or break the connection. She didn't. A minute passed, then another. The kiss deepened, and he wasn't sure who pressed first, who wanted more urgently, but it didn't matter. Their tongues met, twisting over and under, delicious and wet and so hot he could barely stand it. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his waist to slide down the back of his jeans and pull him close, closer, until he knew she could feel the way he rose under her touch, wanting her like no other woman he'd ever been with.
            "Oh, Finn…" she said into his mouth, and the words set him on fire. He couldn't wait, couldn't hold back one more second. His palm skimmed down her dress and beneath it, to the swell of her ass and skin so smooth he wanted to taste it. She rose onto her toes, and her mouth crushed his until she pulled her lips away and moved them to his neck and his jaw line and up to his ear, leaving a breathy trail every place she touched.
            "Listen, we  – " know each other. We've done this before. He had to tell her. Didn't he?

            "I don't want to talk."

The Author

Allie Boniface was born and raised in a tiny community in upstate New York, which probably explains her fascination with the magic of small town life. She currently teaches high school English in the lower Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband and two furry felines. She is the author of six contemporary romance novels; INFERNO OF LOVE is the second in her Hometown Heroes series. Allie loves chatting with other authors and readers and can be found around the Web (visit her on Facebook or Twitter, and stop by her blog to check out the latest news). She loves attending writers' conferences, giving workshops, swapping stories, and generally talking about romance. Allie loves stories set in small towns and is a firm believer in the power of love and the emotions that connect us all!




Find more about her at:





Other books by Allie Boniface:





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Follow the tour:


April 1: Karen Docter's Blog: Author Interview

April 2: My Devotional Thoughts: Spotlight

April 3: Mythical Books: Top 10 List


April 7: A Writer's Life: Author Interview

April 8: Every Free Chance Book Reviews: Spotlight

April 9: Reviews By Molly: Review

April 10: Roxy's Reviews: Review
               Books and Fandom: Spotlight


April 14: Clean Romance Reviews: Interview

April 15: Deal Sharing Aunt: Review

April 16: That Girl Reads: Review


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