New Release– End of Lonely Street by Alicia Dean – Plus an Awesome Giveaway

I’m excited to share my latest release from The Wild Rose Press on what would have been Elvis’ eightieth birthday. ‘End of Lonely Street’ is a Vintage Romance Short Story set in 1957, in the era when Elvis first burst on the scene. Like my heroine in the story, I am a diehard Elvis fan. (As you probably figured out, I took the title from a line in Heartbreak Hotel, which was Elvis’ first million selling record).

Check out End of Lonely Street and enter to win GREAT prizes…

GIVEAWAY: - Entries accepted from January 8, 2015 through noon on January 22, 2015

Three prizes –

Elvis Gift Basket including DVD, CD, plus more
$25 Amazon Gift Card
$10 Amazon Gift Card

First place winner has first choice, second place winner has second choice, third place winner receives remaining prize.

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00QQO3BK0

Blurb:
Can she let go of the past, before it destroys her future?

All Toby Lawson wanted was to go to college to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher and to be free of her alcoholic mother and the painful memories of finding her and the guy Toby loved kissing. But when her mother nearly burns the house down, Toby must put her dreams on hold and return home to care for her. The only time she isn’t lonely and miserable is when she’s listening to her heartthrob, Elvis Presley. His music takes her away, helps her escape from everything wrong in her life.

Noah Rivers has always loved Toby, but no matter what he says, and even though she knows her mother initiated the kiss, and that he didn’t kiss her back, she can‘t seem to get past what happened. He soon realizes that the true problem lies in Toby’s belief that she’s not good enough for him and in her fear that she will be just like her mother.

What will it take to prove to her that she deserves to be happy, and that he would give anything to be the man to make her dreams come true?

Excerpt:

Chapter One
Mapleton, Tennessee, November, 1957
Toby Lawson closed her eyes and shut out all sounds of the diner, except for Elvis Presley’s voice. He was crooning about how she was the only one for him…no matter where he went or what he did… he’d spend his whole life loving her…
Rough hands landed on her waist and shattered the fantasy. She caught a whiff of hair tonic and too much cologne, and she snapped her eyes open. Wes Markham’s hateful face replaced the image of Elvis’ beautiful, crooked smile and smoldering blue eyes.
“Let me go.” She gritted her teeth, keeping her voice low. If her boss, Mr. Winstead, knew there was trouble on account of her, he’d explode. He’d barely let her have the job in the first place. Everyone in Mapleton knew the Lawson women were trouble.
“Come on, honey. If you like that hip swivel, Presley ain’t the only one who’s got it. I got it too.” He released her with his left hand so he could run it over his slicked down hair and gave her a big-toothed, wolfish smile. “Only we’d be naked.” He shot a cocky grin over to his two companions—Chuck Stenson and Billy Garfield—who were leaning against the jukebox making kissing and whooping sounds.
Toby gripped his right wrist with one hand, tightening her hold on the utensils she held in the other. “I said let me go. Now!”
“Aw, be a sport, Green-Eyes.”
The bulge of his pelvis pressed into her abdomen, and she gasped in shock. Nausea tightened in her esophagus. “Wes Markham, I’m warning you…”
She shoved against him, but he didn’t budge.
He pulled her tighter. “Your momma’s a whole lot friendlier than you are. They say the apple don’t fall far from the tree, so how’s about you cut the pretense and we go someplace quiet? Winstead won’t miss you for a few minutes.”
Her cheeks heated. She didn’t dare look around. No doubt the customers were watching, listening. Elvis had stopped singing and everyone in the place could hear what he’d said about her mother. It wasn’t like they didn’t all know, though. Constance Lawson hadn’t exactly kept her escapades a secret.
Toby clenched her teeth and brandished the utensils. She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “Release me this instant, or I swear, you’ll be pulling this steak knife out of your eyeball.”
He held her gaze for a split second, then gave a laugh that was somewhere between nervous and furious. “Sure, sure. Okay.” He released her and stepped back. “I was just foolin’ around anyway. I got better things to do with my time than waste it on a used up chick like you.”
Muffled laughter rose around her. Oh God, she could crawl into a hole.
“How about you apologize to the lady, then beat it?”
Toby whirled at the male voice. Noah Rivers stood behind her, looking handsome and sharp in his police uniform—even with his dark hair in the military buzz cut. Her knees weakened, and tingles swept over her skin. She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. She’d heard he was back, but hadn’t seen him until now. And what a time to have a reunion.

*** 10% of all of Alicia Dean’s net royalties for End of Lonely Street will go to

The Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation http://www.graceland.com/epcf/  ***

Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. She has three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few vintage historicals.
Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching her favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, The Mindy Project, and Dexter (even though it has sadly ended, she will forever be a fan). Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.
Find Alicia here:
Website: http://aliciadean.com/
Blog: http://aliciadean.com/alicias-blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008364070487
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alicia_Dean_
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/aliciamdean/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/468339.Alicia_Dean

I'm not gone

No, I haven't abandoned this blog. Life has gotten in the way.

My grandson was born two months early. He's doing well, thank you very much. We still don't know when he'll be released from the hospital, but he's not having any unusual medical issues. He's not even in the NICU anymore. :)

But in the meantime, I have a baby quilt to get finished. I'm working on it like crazy, because I'd love to have it done in time for him to be wrapped up in it when he goes home. That means my writing time has ceased to exist. Yes, I miss it, but first things first.

I'd hoped to have my next book, Her Ladyship's Ring, released by the end of January. That's not going to happen. I haven't set a new time frame in my mind yet, but maybe March? I'll be taking off for a couple of weeks when he is released to spend time with him and his parents, and that will factor into the schedule. Once things settle down somewhat, I'll let you know.

And hey, when I get the quilt done, (it's a stamped cross-stitch embroidery kit) I'll post it on here.  

Thanks for reading!

Added 1/4/2015

Happy New Year! And I did it!  I finished the quilt. As I promised, here's a picture. 

Cover Reveal- Double Betrayal by Ada Frost

Double Betrayal (Surviving #3)

By

Ada Frost

Release date: 29^th January

Firstly I want to thank you for taking part in my cover reveal, you don’t know how much your support means to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart x

Emily’s life had three basic rules, love her family fiercely. Never expect forever and most importantly, shield her heart from pain. At a tender age she had learned love is not forever, sex destroys and if you don’t invest your heart, it can never be broken. She played life safe.

All it takes though, is one moment, a defining light in the perpetual darkness to bring life into your heart. For Emily, it was a night she would never forget, an ordinary evening of dancing, drinking and if she was in the mood, a brief one night stand. But then he beguiled her. His emerald eyes captivated and enslaved her to him.

What Emily didn’t anticipate was the mysterious giant to sit beside her and rock her foundations. His dirty mouth and sexy innuendos intrigued her. The green eyed Adonis took her for the ride of her life, on his motorbike. One she would never forget. He intertwined himself into her life and captured her soul.

But the illusion of beauty can hide a broken past. And as the lovers fall deeper, the darkness leeches into the light, suffocating and destroying all within its path. Until there is nothing left but betrayal and shattered hearts.

Due to sexual content, it may not be suitable for readers under the age of 18 years of age.

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New Release from my friend Lila Rose

I'm tickled to share this. Lila Rose was an immense help with my first book, Wolves' Pawn. Her new book looks to be another great read!

Title: Black Out

Author: Lila Rose

Series: Hawks MC Series, Book 3

Genre: Fiction/Humorous/Romance/Erotica 

Cover Designer: Louisa at LM Creations  

Editor: Hot Tree Editing 

Release Date: December 15, 2014

At twenty-four, Clarinda James has lived a traumatic life. One of the last images she saw before losing her sight was that of her parents' death. The nightmares of that time still haunt her every night.  Taken in at nineteen by her sister, Clary didn’t know there was going to be a price to pay, a price far greater than her blindness. It’s not until Blue walks into her life, she realises it’s possible to experience the joy of warmth. In her darkness, Blue will become her beacon, her guide. Little does she know that she’ll need to count on Blue more than she thought she would. 

She has to…if she wants to stay alive. 

Blue Skies is on the lookout for a woman. Always there to support his brothers, Talon and Griz, he’s not a stranger to the craziness of love or life. Nor is he a stranger to making it clear that comments surrounding his name are out of bounds. Despite the often effed-up situations his brothers find themselves in as a result of their women, he’s more than happy to settle down when he finds his missing piece. 

After three weeks of seeing a gorgeous redhead in a café, he refuses to let the opportunity pass him by. Building a tentative relationship with Clary is no easy task; she’s damaged. It’s not until he discovers the truth behind her darkness that he willing lays claim to her. He is determined to protect her, no matter the cost. She is irrefutably his. 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

The Christmas Ship

I'm please to welcome Linda Andrews and her new book The Christmas Ship.

In 1917 when U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany, the entire nation went to war. Families didn't just send their sons and daughters overseas, they too were expected to make sacrifices. None other than Herbert Hoover (future president) was in charge of making certain the soldiers and sailors had enough food by making families conserve. His plan was simple—give up one thing per day of the week to help the war effort and bore his name, Hooverizing.

There were Wheatless Mondays (corn meal was substituted)

Meatless Tuesdays (beans and fish were substituted)

Porkless Saturdays (beans and fish were substituted)

Heatless days to conserve coal (needed to power the steamships carrying troops and supplies overseas)

Legal holidays every Monday during the winter to conserve coal

Industrial shutdowns to conserve coal.

And the introduction of Daylight Savings Time to allow work to be done during normal daylight hours.

Woman in large cities were sent to pick over rotted produce to save what could be saved and canned for troop use. These volunteers rescued millions of tons of produce and received extra rations for their families for their work. 

Land Armies were created in every available lot to grow produce and we saw the rise to the Victory Gardens usually associated with World War 2. Families sent jars of grease collected from their kitchens for the war effort. Every association banded together to create comfort bags and donate goods to relief efforts. 

The efforts were enough to turn the tide of a war that had been stalemated for years and bring an end to the suffering of peoples on both sides of the conflict. So as we enjoy our holiday this year, take a moment to be thankful for those whose sacrifices have been mostly forgotten and remember that when humanity stands united, anything is possible.

Blurb:

American businessman Jacob Kerrigan works behind enemy lines to help feed seven million starving Belgians and bring Christmas to the children. The Commission for Relief in Belgium asks only one thing of its delegates: remain neutral in a war-torn country.

Roselle Perrine works in soup kitchens and her family farm by day, and spies for the Belgian resistance at night. She uses her position in society to convince Jacob to stay in her chateau, hoping the relief delegate’s presence will cover her nocturnal activities.

But the Kaiser’s Army is watching.

When Roselle’s spying is discovered, will Jacob remain neutral or fight for love?

amazon us

amazon uk

amazon ca

To be entered in a drawing to receive an electronic copy of The Christmas Ship please leave a comment with a tradition you continue that connects you with  your family's past.