A Life of Inches by douglas esper 

Publication Date: May 26, 2015 

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance, Sports

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Ryan Kelly and Woodie Wodyzewski always fight for every inch. Whether on the baseball diamond, the basketball court, or even the dance floor, these two friends are true competitors. When Ryan beats Woodie in a bike race because Woodie has the misfortune to be hit by a car, he seems to have won. But the beautiful girl who crashes into their lives is worth far more than any trophy. Molly De Leon knows all about winning, and nothing will keep her from her goals. Ryan and Woodie have been vying for Molly since the day they met. How can she possibly choose between them? Woodie has a complicated family situation and she desperately wants to help him through his misery and confusion. A little on edge with a temper, he’s the bad boy in her life who reminds Molly a lot of her mother, a powerful politician she’s grown up watching bend men and women to her will with a simple smile. Ryan, on the other hand, is very close to his parents, grounded, and has a good sense of humor. He’s not your typical jock; he’s a safe, reliable pick, and a constant in Molly’s life—that is, until his injuries lead him down a destructive path. Molly realizes it’s time to make a decision… But how can she risk losing either one of them when they both own a piece of her heart?

I turn in time to witness Woodie’s arms lash out in an exaggerated sign of frustration. Fury and adrenaline fuel his fist outward, connecting with Molly’s jaw just as she reaches to wrap him in a caring embrace.

She’s falling before I can comprehend what happened. Whatever breath her lungs still hold escapes as a grunt as she hits the ground. Woodie pivots, eyes too full of anger to carry concern.

Overcoming my shock, I unfreeze my feet, and call out, “Molly.”

Woodie tilts his head skyward and screams louder than his last outburst. It carries throughout the whole park, an echoing challenge to anything within earshot.

I cradle Molly’s head up from the dirt, rocks, and anything else that might cause her further damage. I place my other hand on her stomach to hold her still.

All of a sudden I have to act as a shield between her and Woodie, and that’s something I never ever dreamt I’d be. Woodie has always had a temper, but this feels different. My best friend just hurt Molly, yet his only concern revolves around a bouncing orange ball and a rusting hoop.

I call, “Get over here, Woodie.”

Adrenaline must be pumping through his veins by the bucket, but I know he’ll come to his senses. Hell, let him yell and scream all he wants. I’m fine right here with this angel in my arms.

I look down and realize I’m caressing Molly’s cheek. She reaches up and matches my action. Overwhelmed by the moment, I lean forward, making my advance and ambitions as obvious as possible. I follow her raised jaw and peck a darkened area, already bruising.

 “My hero,” she sighs, smiling despite the ugliness of the situation. “If you’re going to sweep me off…well, back onto my feet, you had better kiss me with more passion than that.” Her mischievous grin widens as she grabs my shirt and pulls me toward her. Our hands seek placement and purchase. Following her lead, my lips part. I run my fingertips down her arm as the taste of orange pop touches my tongue.

I flash back to the thousands of times I’ve pictured this moment, our first kiss. I don’t recall ever daydreaming of it happening to the soundtrack of screams. Though, as I pull back to peck down her left cheek toward her neck, I can’t imagine a more perfect moment.

It was at a very early age when I, Douglas Esper, (your friendly neighborhood author) realized I had a passion for the written word. As a youngster, I couldn't get enough books to satisfy my desire to read and to this day, I still own many books my parents got for me. In school I gravitated toward reading and writing to the point teachers grew impatient with me for writing stories in class.

The passion and drive to read and write continues to this day and my goal of feeling comfortable in my own writing skin seems within reach. I've self-published 2 picture books for kids, Sammy's Birthday Surprise and The Mystery of the Flying Tomatoes, a few short stories, and my debut novel, A Life of Inches, will be released by Limitless Publishing spring of 2015.

I live in North Ridgeville, Ohio, just west of Cleveland, with my wife, our kids, and that meddlesome dog.

I'm currently falling in love with David Fulmer books, and also enjoying the latest Les Roberts mystery novel. If I'm not reading or writing you can find me watching the Cleveland Browns losing on Sunday, writing music with my band, or observing my kids doing cute, and usually messy, stuff. Hope this helps you learn a bit about me, but now it's your turn...introduce yourself!

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Title: Somewhere With You 

Author: Britney King 

Book Blitz: May 27-29

 Hosted by: SBB Promotions

 

This is the tale of first and last loves. And those that come in between…

Jack Harrison is a relentless overachiever who leaves little in the way of compromise. A businessman to the core—he’s hell-bent on being at the top of the food chain. After all, no one can trip you up if you’re on top, as he likes to say. The problem for Jack is there’s only one thing that continually trips him up—and that’s her.

Amelie Rose, with a name like poetry and a heart of gold, as her father always said, is a free-spirited photographer who has managed to land a job at one of the top travel magazines in the world. This is both a blessing and a curse since Amelie never stays in one place for long and has refused to commit to anything—ever.

It might seem to the casual observer that these two have almost nothing in common. But fate would disagree. The story chronicles Jack and Amelie’s lives from childhood into adulthood, beginning when they meet as then eight- and ten-year-olds at summer camp specifically designed for children who’ve lost too much.

As fate steps in, and that first summer seals the deal, they come to depend on each other in ways neither of them expected, with each summer bringing them closer than the last. As they come to terms with life and loss, with hanging on and letting go, they’ll teach each other that some bonds are meant to last. Together, they will travel the world, meeting in various places where they’ll come together, and fall apart, all the while struggling to discern if the other could possibly be the one.

This unlikely love story takes us on an adventure where two people come of age, fall in and out of love, and question the role timing plays in it all.

Their story is proof that neither time nor distance—perhaps not even death—can destroy what love creates.

So it seems the only question left to ask is whether love is enough?

My Dearest Jack,

If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably just had your heartbroken for the first time. Or at least it feels that way, anyway. But I want you to remember, son, that this isn’t the first time (nor will it likely be the last) that you’ve felt this way. You’ve been through so much already, and if you’re reading my letter, then obviously, you’ve survived thus far. And while it may not feel like it just now, you’ll survive this, too.

There are so many things I want to tell you about love, Jack. Oh, how I wish I were there to tell you this in person, to hug you, and hold your hand. Though,I’m guessing at this age, you might not like hand holding so much anymore. I try to picture you, what you look like now, where you are as you’re reading this, and it brings me so much joy to think of you all grown up. I looked in on you tonight as I’ve done every night since the day you were born, and as I watched you sleep, I pictured the man you’ll become. It’s hard not to feel a little bit bitter knowing I won’t be there to see it all. Oddly enough, though, it is with that sentiment that I want to tell you about love. If you are reading this and your heart is broken, you are lucky, Jack. I want you to pause a moment and let that really sink in. You are so damned lucky. Feeling this way, it means that you are living and more importantly—that you are loving. You cannot know how lucky you are to love until you’ve felt the immense pain of having to let that love go. It is a part of life. And as I am learning, it is also a part of death. Do not waste it. Do not play small. Lick your wounds, but then get back out there. Love harder next time. Most people don’t do that, you see. They get hurt once, and they hide behind it. They use it to excuse themselves into living guarded lives, never quite feeling the passion, the love that they are capable of. But not you, son. Don’t make that mistake. And I hope that if you consider taking that route, you’ll think of me and you’ll feel my love and know that even though I may have lost my battle, that I didn’t go down without a fight.

Neither will you, my love.

Neither will you.

I love you always,

Mom

P.S. Tips for healing a broken heart: time, above all else (don’t worry, you won’t feel this way forever), ice cream, and meaningful work. Now is the time to start a new project, Jack. Try something new, throw yourself into it, and let yourself get lost in it. You’ll come out all right in the end. You always have.

For those of you who prefer it straight up, no chaser: Mama to five. Writer. Juggler extraordinaire. That just about covers it...

The extended version and in third person no less ;): Britney is married to a man she adores (when he isn't driving her crazy) and is the mother of FIVE pretty amazing kids, who (surprise!) also have a habit of driving her crazy. Her best guess is that it's genetic. She is the author of two novels, Bedrock and Breaking Bedrock, with plans to release a third and fourth in 2014. In addition, she founded a local network for women in 2012, which has grown to over 1200 members. Currently, she occupies a job she enjoys--serving and running Austin Women's Network. To further prove that she may in fact be certifiably insane, she decided to pursue her dreams and published her debut novel in May of 2013. Then and only then, could she consider her training to be an expert (life) juggler complete.

Afraid to Fly

S.L. Jennings

May 26th

Meet Dirty Dom in this fantastic stand-alone!

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I’d like to tell you that I’m ok.

That the meaningless sex with countless women has somehow numbed the pain. That it’s deciphered the constant confusion in my head. Eased the self-hatred that sinks into my gut every time I look in the mirror.

I’d like to tell you that time heals all wounds.

That we evolve and grow into well-adjusted, stable adults, set on a path to right the world’s wrongs. That we are not our past…we are not our pain.

I want to tell you all those things. Hell, I want to believe all those things. But I’d be lying. I’m good at that. Living a lie is the only way I truly know how to survive.

But the day I saw her, I stopped surviving. I stopped existing. And for the first time in 24 years, I started living.

She brought me back to life. Set me free and sent my soul soaring. Made this useless shell of a man feel like…something. Something whole and real and good.

She saved me.

Although she believes I wasn’t even worth saving.

This story chronicles the journey of Dominic Trevino, a character from Fear of Falling. However, it can be read as a standalone.

Velvet sucked me until I was on the brink of release and for a quick moment, I thought about just getting it over with. But I needed more. I needed that physical connection. I yearned for her touch, her kiss, her smell. It reminded me that I was not like him. I was not what he had hoped I would be. It stated that just because I had been violated, that didn’t make me…it didn’t make different. It didn’t make me gay. I didn’t want that. I wanted this.

Spreading those shapely, toned thighs and filling her up until I pulsed in her womb validated me. Every stroke was a confirmation, and the deeper I went, the more whole I felt. But the moment it was over, the moment I pulled out of her, my latex-sheathed cock wet with her gratification, the doubt began to claw its way back in. Telling me that I was dirty—stained. Used. Useless.

She smiled lazily at me, the dark kohl outlining her eyes smudged along the apple of her cheek. I brushed it tenderly with the pad of my thumb and told her she was beautiful.

“Oh, Dom. You’re such a sweet gent. Too bloody sweet for this shit,” she giggled, looking soft and girlish. I liked her better that way, untarnished by the hardness of life.

“You think so?”

“I know so. Good guys like you shouldn’t be fucking strippers in the middle of the day. I mean, I’m not complaining—I can still feel you inside me, for crying out loud—but, I don’t know. You deserve better.”

I winced at her words, and how much I longed for them to be true. She was just feeding me more lies, and I was ingesting them like candy.

Except this one. This one I knew would never be true. Even if it was the one I wished for the most.

 “Nah, I don’t. They don’t call me Dirty for nothing.”

Fear of Falling (A Fearless Novel)

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S.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy.

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Two years into the aphid plague, there’s little hope left. Food and ammo are scarce. The mutated monsters are growing faster, smarter. And the ratio of men to women is millions to one. Mankind faces imminent extinction.

But Evie carries a cure for women.

Fiercely protected by three men, she sets out to heal as many infected females as possible. The journey becomes more complicated as her feelings for her guardians evolve, and theirs for her intensify.

When a voice from the past prophesies a solution for the dying race, she must make a choice.

Will she survive for love?

Or will she die for it?

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Expected release date → Summer 2015

Read Dead of Eve (Trilogy of Eve #1) by Pam Godwin

A virus devastates humanity. Few men survive. The rest are monsters. The women are dead, except Evie. Through a quirk in her genetics, she survives. When her physiology begins to evolve, she must come to terms with what she is and accept her role in finding a cure.

The mutated hunt her. The men brutalize her…except three. Cryptic warrior, contrite lover, caring enemy; they are fiercely protective of the last living woman, but divided in their own agendas. Can they come together to protect the only hope for humanity?

Evie must survive.

Content advisory: Guns. Gore. Sex.

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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.

Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes. 

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