Showing posts with label multicultural romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label multicultural romance. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2015

The Forbidden Man by Elle Wright: Get You In The Mood


I'm so happy for my friend Elle! Her new book looks awesome, and I'm excited to share it with you. To get us all in the mood for the excerpt below, Elle came up with a list of her favorite songs to write love scenes to. Take a look and see if you agree...

And make sure you check out the giveaway down at the bottom of the post!


Top five 'get you in the mood' songs for writing love scenes to


I’m a huge fan of music, all styles: from classical to Hip Hop to R&B to Jazz. I even have some Country favorites. I actually have a specific playlist for love scenes. (LOL)  I call it the “Set the Mood” playlist. Here are my top 5 favorites.

1.     Feeling U, Feeling Me (Interlude) by Alicia Keys

2.     Are you Ready? by Boney James – One of my favorite saxophonists.

3.     Say it by Ne-Yo – The first line is “Close the door.” Enough said.

4.     I Want You by Marvin Gaye – I love Old School music and this is my favorite song by Marvin Gaye. I also adore the version by Kirk Whalum. Both are HOT.

5.     Inside My Love by Minnie Riperton – One of the most beautiful voices EVER!






THE FORBIDDEN MAN 

by Elle Wright 

(July 28, 2015; Forever Mass Market; The Edge of Scandal #1)


Blurb

In Love With the Wrong Man

Sydney Williams has forgiven her fiancé, Den, more times than she can count. But his latest betrayal just days before their wedding is too big to ignore. Shocking her friends and family, she calls off the engagement. She walks out on Den . . . and into the arms of his brother, Morgan.

Known as a player, Morgan Smith has secretly spent years fighting his feelings for Sydney. When Den's latest dirty deed leaves Sydney devastated, Morgan can't stop himself from coming to her rescue. What begins as friendship quickly escalates into all-consuming passion. Despite their intense connection, Sydney would rather deny her desire than come between brothers. But as Morgan is determined to make Sydney his, Den won't give her up without a fight . . .


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BAM


Excerpt


“Are you still feeling cold?” he asked, adjusting the heater and finishing off the contents of his flask.

“Actually, I’m feeling pretty hot.” She jumped when he started coughing. “Are you okay?”

He wiped his mouth. “I’m straight.”

“You sure?” Syd studied his face as she smoothed her hand over his back.

“Yeah.” He closed the flask and tucked it back into his pocket. “It’s the liquor.”

“Huh?”

“The bourbon.” He patted his pocket. “It’s making you hot.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” she mumbled.

“What?” he asked, leaning in closer.

I doubt it’s the liquor. “Forget it. I’m cold again.” She burrowed into him.

“You want me to make you hot?” he asked.

Her eyes flashed to his and her lips parted.

“I meant . . .” He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.

“Uh, I can turn the heat up.”

“No.” She forced a smile and lowered her gaze. “It’s fine.”

When his hand caressed her cheek, her eyes closed of their own volition. Time seemed to stand still. She felt his warm breath on her skin above her lips. “I think—”

She dug her nails into his knee. “Maybe you should call Kent again. See where he is.”

He slid his thumb down the side of her neck.

She exhaled. So this is what Terry McMillan meant when she waited to exhale?  “Because this isn’t going anywhere good. You’re acting like you want to kiss me and I know that’s not true,” she joked.

He clenched her hair in his hands and tugged gently.

“How do you know that?”

She searched his eyes. “Do you? I mean—do you want to?”

“I do—and so many other things.”

She let out a nervous giggle. “I think you’re feeling the effects of that gasoline you’re drinking, Morgan.”

His gaze dropped to her mouth as his hand crept up her thigh and rested on her hip. She jumped in surprise when he squeezed. “Actually, I don’t believe I’m drunk enough,” he said. “At this point, I know exactly what I’m doing, which means I’d be held responsible for my actions.”

Syd placed her hands on his stomach and felt his taut muscles tighten in response. “Den would kill you. So would Red.”

Morgan traced her lips with his thumb. “It may be worth it. Let me . . .” Then, his mouth was on hers, drawing a low moan from her mouth. The simple touch of his lips to hers set off a fire in Syd that seemed to burn brighter and hotter with every second.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he continued to assault her senses with his kisses. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip, demanding entrance, which she happily granted. She gripped a fistful of his hair as he pulled her onto his lap. He rocked into her, introducing her to his rock hard erection. She braced her other hand against the window as she grinded into him. He trailed hot, wet kisses down her throat and cupped her breasts in his hands. As his thumbs traced her nipples, she cried out and he captured her cry with his hot mouth.

Reluctantly, she tried to pull away, but he latched onto her bottom lip with his teeth and sucked. He obviously wasn’t ready for this to end . . . neither was she.


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Bio


About the author:
Born and raised in Southeast Michigan near Ann Arbor, Elle learned the importance of reading from her mother. It was also her mother who, later on in her life, gave Elle her first romance nove: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. From that moment on, Elle became a fan of Ms. Jenkins for life and a lover of all things romance. An old journal she wrote back in college became her first book (which she still wants to publish one day).


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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Show Me How To Love by Synithia Williams

Love. This. Cover.
Now you know I'm nothing if not a rebel, so when I heard my friend Synithia was having trouble with Facebook because there was too much skin on her new book cover, I immediately started thinking of ways I could help. Like, maybe, making a blog post and sharing it in the comments? We'll see if my sneaky idea works...

Above and beyond that, I'm pleased as peaches to promo this book, because it's one I beta-read a while ago and I thought it was a fantastic story. I love her writing (& I LOVE her heroes! *ahem Kareem ahem*), and I hope you check this one out, because it's too fun!

Blurb:

Just when Mikayla Summers is convinced dating her boss is a good idea, she discovers him having sex in the closet with someone else. Refusing to stick around for further humiliation, she escapes with the one other person affected by what happened, her now ex-boyfriend’s cousin, the sexy, Andre Caldwell. 
Though Andre believed the feud between him and his cousin over, he wasn’t surprised by what happened. What is surprising is how much he’s attracted to Mikayla’s personality and charm. As he gets to know her better, he realizes there is more than betrayal bringing them together 
But the Caldwell feud runs deep, and when family obligations threaten the fragile connection between Andre and Mikayla they’ll both question if their love is real or a result of revenge.

Excerpt:

He smirked and shook his head. “My family doesn’t marry for love. You only briefly met my dad and step-mom, but a few minutes in a room with them will quickly reveal there’s no love between them. They started as an affair that resulted in both of them dumping their old spouses for a newer model.”

“Don’t you want to love someone,” she asked.

“No.”

Simple, abrupt, with no explanation. 

“I’ve been in love.” Some of the wistfulness of what she’d once felt floated with her voice. “It’s not so bad.”

He leaned back and crossed thick arms over his wide chest. “Ryan?”

She shook her head. “No. My college boyfriend. We met our junior year and dated all of our senior year. He asked me to marry him.”

“What happened?”

“He died in a car wreck.” She said simply. 

Andre’s dark eyes lowered briefly. “I’m sorry.”

She shifted and toyed with the edge of her shirt. “I’ve come to terms with my loss. Cried enough tears to fill Lake Michigan and yes, I still miss him. But his mom insisted that I live after it was over. He wouldn’t want me to cry every day.”

“What was his name?”

Brown eyes that crinkled when he grinned in a thin face tanned from spending so many days outside flashed across her mind. “Brenden.” She smiled. “He made me laugh, all the time at the silliest stuff. He was such a great guy.”

Andre slid closer, wrinkling the patterned quilted bed cover and her will to slide away.  “The look on your face. You didn’t have that look with Ryan.”

She lifted then lowered her shoulders. “No, I didn’t.”

Andre lifted a hand and brushed the hair from the side of her face. His fingers trailed down the side of her cheek, sending shivers across her skin. A warning flared somewhere deep that they were getting too comfortable again. Mikayla ignored it and turned to rest her cheek against his palm. 

She met his gaze. His dark eyes were alive with desire. Heat sparked between them. She took a stuttering breath and blood pounded in her veins like a rushing stream. Too many emotions swirled inside of her. She hadn’t talked about Brenden in years, mainly because she didn’t want those old feelings brought up. Andre was the last person she should trust with those feelings, but after he’d spent the night keeping her nightmares away it seemed silly not too.

“You don’t talk much, but when you do you get right to places I don’t like going,” she said in a wobbly whisper. 

“If you’re going to talk, it might as well be about something.” He slid a hand to the back of her head. Long fingers gently twisted in her hair, which was probably now a mess. He pulled her closer.

Anticipation ignited and flared along her skin. As much as she’d wondered about Ryan’s kiss, she’d never longed for his lips to touch hers the way she did now for Andre’s. She called on reason to stop her now.  “We shouldn’t do this.” 

“No, we shouldn’t.” If she loved his voice before, she was completely enamored with the thick layer of desire flavoring the deep rumble.  “That’s why it’s just going to be a kiss.”

(Blogger's note: Sigh...)

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Bio:

Synithia Williams has loved romance novels since reading her first one at the age of 13. It was only natural that she would begin penning her own romances soon after. When she isn't writing, this local government gal balances the needs of her husband and two sons. You can learn more about Synithia on her website: www.synithiawilliams.com, Facebook: www.facebook.com/synithiarwilliams and Twitter: www.twitter.com/SynithiaW 

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Guest Post: Destiny Mine by Nana Prah

Cute baby photo? That's cheating...

So my friend Nana Prah is taking part in a blog tour to promote her hospital romance Destiny Mine. Nana and I have more in common than just writing - we're both nurses, and therefore we tend to laugh at the same thing. She promised me a special post for her blog tour, and I think she delivered. Give it a read and see what you think...and keep going, because there's a $20 Rafflecopter giveaway at the end.


The truth about nursing humor

Nurses have a, well, let’s just say peculiar sense of humor. 

When we get together in a huddle during a rare break, it’s on. People outside of the nurse’s circle don’t always get us.  Okay, we may look like angels in scrubs, but we tend to be worse than sailors when we aren’t speaking to a patient. Not just with the cursing, but with our choice of topics. 

Sex being high on the list.

What body part has a nurse has never seen? Penises and vaginas of all types. Yes we make fun of them at times, but only the body part. It’s rare that we remember who it was connected to.  It’s one of the things we do for stress relief.  Sometimes our conversations are subtle while other times they are downright bawdy.

One of my co-workers years ago took a towel and started telling a story about Thanksgiving and a turkey. By the time she ended, she’d rolled the towel into the exact replica of a penis. It was so funny.

A conversation that sticks out in my mind between two nurses (I wasn’t one of them).

Nurse 1: Here take a packet of KY.
Nurse 2: I don’t need it. I get so wet I can bottle and sell stuff.

Yeah that conversation had me gaping right before I laughed.

When I write medical romances, I make my nurses raunchy, at least to a minor extent when they’re talking to each other. Not only is it fun to do, but it reflects the conversations nurses have in real life. 



Blurb


Extraordinary midwife, Esi Darfour, is looking to get married.  She’s a master matchmaker but has no luck when it comes to her love life and has yet to find a man worthy of her. Until she has to deal with gorgeous Dr. Adam Quarshie outside of work. 

Adam is a player who refuses to get married—ever. His interest lies more in getting her into bed than in having any kind of committed relationship. Esi’s matchmaker instincts warn her to run in the other direction as quickly as possible, but her heart insists she stay…get closer…and see if what they feel for each other can change his mind.


Buy Links

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About the Author:

Nana Prah is a multi-published author of contemporary, multicultural romance. Her books are sweet with a touch of spice. When she’s not writing she’s reading, indulging in chocolate, and enjoying life with friends and family. 


Contact Details:

Blog - Facebook - Goodreads - Twitter - Google+

Enjoy the following excerpt for Destiny Mine:


Esi and the other midwives sat at the nurse’s station relaxing while they could. The one client on the ward was experiencing her first delivery. During her last vaginal examination, she’d reached two centimeters. Delivery would take place after getting to ten centimeters, so she had a long way to go until she’d push her baby out. 

Although the labor ward was quiet now, at any moment it could fill up, creating an unimaginable amount of work. The midwives took the rare opportunity to chat. 

“Have you heard who Dr. Quarshie is dating?” Efia asked. 

Esi’s ears perked up as the conversation moved from the exorbitant price of tomatoes to someone considered to be one of the hottest doctor’s in the hospital. 

Alice looked up from writing her note on the patient. “I haven’t heard he was dating anyone.” 

“I bet she doesn’t work in the hospital. Rumor has it, he’s given up on dating nurses.” 
Martha protruded her lower lip out in a pout. “I never had my chance with him.” 

Esi’s eyes widened in shock at the sweet woman. “Martha, you’ve been happily married for ten years. What would you do with Dr. Quarshie?” 

Martha wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, you’d be surprised. I love my husband, but a girl can fantasize. Can’t she?” 

They all giggled. 

“Tell us already, Efia. Who is the great Dr. Adam Quarshie dating these days?” Alice asked. 
Efia jerked her head towards Esi. “None other than our own star midwife.”

Esi snickered remembering how ludicrous rumors could get. “What? Where did you hear that? Would have been nice if I’d been the first to know.” 

“From Yaa in the outpatient department.” Efia responded. “She said she saw you two getting cozy at a dinner about three weeks ago. Is it true Esi?” 

She ignored the question. “If she came up with this conclusion three weeks ago, why is she spreading the rumors now?” 

“She’s not. We were talking yesterday, and she happened to mention it to me because she knew I worked with you.” 

Breathe. No need to get angry. You’d provide more fuel. “Because she saw me at my cousin’s house, and Dr. Quarshie was there. She presumes we’re dating? She was there too, and they conversed a bit. Can’t I say the same for her?” 

Efia’s grin turned impish. “Only if you also saw them walking down the most popular street in Osu the previous night.” 

This damn man is going to be the death of my reputation.


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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Love Undercover Blog Tour


Love Undercover by +Nana Prah 
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction (Sweet, Multicultural)
Publisher: Black Opal Books

Today I'm thrilled and excited to feature my friend Nana Prah. Nana lives in Ghana, so I've only ever met her on-line, but she's a lovely person. She's a nurse, as well as a writer, which makes us almost sisters, you know? I had the chance to read Love Undercover, and it's a fantastic book. My review is down below, but before you get to it, check out Nana's Top Ten list - it'll give you some hints as to why the book is so good.

~~~

Top 10 real life experiences in Love Undercover

One thing that many people don’t know is that Love Undercover is a romance based on an experience I had. Not the romance part, but the jail aspect. Without further delay I’d like to present 10 things that happen in Love Undercover that actually happened to me.
  •  My first cellmate was awesome. We would laugh all the freaking time. We had similar personalities and loved to have fun. She was a bisexual, but didn’t fancy me. I’m a heterosexual, but I was like why not? Still laughing about that.
  •  I butchered my eyebrows by attempting to shape them with thread. It was hilarious- even to me
  • I was strip searched after having a visit (It was not fun in the least)
  • There were some hot guards in that prison. But unfortunately I had no romantic liaisons with any of them (damn).
  •  Many of the detainees stories in the book are true. I’ve dramatized them just a tad.
  • Most of what happened to one of the characters in the novel is what I went through, only I’ve never had a boob job (darn it).
  • Sarita and I had the same second cellmate, only there was no fight in real life. The devil part is true, though- very scary.
  • The library was awesome. No covert operations for me, even though it does happen in the system.
  • We baked a cake. To this day I still find it weird, but it’s true.
  • To the best of my knowledge there was no blind spot at the prison I was detained at. That came from my imagination so I could get some intimate scenes in there for Sarita and Matt.
So there you have it. If you have any questions on what else is true in Love Undercover once you read it, just contact me and I’ll let you know.
  
And you really must read this one, to see how these events unfold in the story...here's my review...

Love Undercover is the story of a government agent who is sent to a medium security prison to act as a body guard for the daughter of the South Korean President. The thing is, she has to show up a couple days before her target, to make things look realistic.

The other thing is, prison guard Mathew Carter rocks her world.

The romance was a lovely story thread, appropriately hot and awkward and satisfying. The story of the women in the prison, though - detainees from all over the world - would have fascinated and entertained me all on it's own. Every woman in the prison has her own adventure to tell, but they all share two things: they want to stay in the US, and they are being sent home. Ms. Prah does such an amazing job with the details, and this was one of the only prison stories where I believed that the setting was close to the real thing. The romance between Sarita and Mathew is the happy sugar frosting on a wonderful story cake, and one I can highly recommend.



Blurb

The last thing she expects is to fall in love with a prison guard…

Hotshot Secret Service Agent, Sarita Cerez is thrown into a medium security prison—for work. Her job is to protect the daughter of the president of South Korea. She never envisioned making friends with illegal immigrants or falling head over heels for one of the guards. Now the clandestine activity, which is integral to protecting her charge, may destroy her only chance at love.


He's never fraternized with the inmates—until he met her…

Matthew Carter always plays by the rules, which includes maintaining a strictly professional relationship with the inmates in his charge. But when Sarita saunters onto the unit, all bets are off. Her status as a deportee with a permanent ticket to Columbia means they can never be together, but try as he might, this doesn’t stop him from risking his career for her.

He's a man who values honesty above all else, and she lies for a living. Can two people from such different worlds find any common ground?



As they walked down the first flight of stairs, Sarita’s breath caught when she glanced at him. She missed her footing and would have gone head-over-ass down the steps if he hadn’t grabbed her.

The heat emanating from Matt’s body seeped into her. “Thanks. You saved me from a nasty fall.”

“You are so beautiful, Sarita.” His whispered words feathered over her cheek.

She moved forward as his lips came down on hers in a crushing kiss. The impact brought tears to her eyes and a whimper to her throat. He eased the pressure. She took the light pecks as his apology.

She desired his passion over such teasing gentleness. Her hand moved to the back of his head and held him against her mouth, opening for him as his tongue thrust in. She hung onto him for fear of tumbling down the stairs.

Swinging her around, he lifted her onto the railing, wrapping her legs around him. His hardness met the juncture of her thighs. The need to feel more of him suffused her. She rocked her hips and squeezed him closer when he moaned.

The sound of whistling broke through the haze. She eased her feet to the steps and they continued down the stairs as if she hadn’t been about to rip off his shirt.

She held onto the railing so her wobbly legs wouldn’t slide out from under her. She chanced a glance up and saw the camera. How could she have forgotten where they were?

He looked back at the space they’d just vacated and raised an eyebrow. “Blind spot,” he whispered. “Didn’t you know?”



Buy links



About the author
Nana Prah is a multi-published author of contemporary, multicultural romance. Her books are sweet with a touch of spice. When she’s not writing she’s reading, indulging in chocolate, and enjoying life with friends and family.

Contact details
Twitter: @NanaPrah
Goodreads: Nana Prah
Google + :  Nana Prah   



Nana is giving away a $44 Amazon or Smashwords Gift Card