Friday, May 31, 2013

Guest Blogger: Crow for Breakfast by Lori Ryan



Ugh. This morning I ate crow for breakfast. My husband and I were walking our daughter to school with our eight month old son and three dogs in tow. Although I’m now a stay-at-home mom and an indie romance writer, my most recent past career (I’ve had a lot of them) was as a professional dog trainer. My husband is the anti-dog trainer. He lets the dogs get away with all kinds of things and specializes in letting bad habits build and spiral out of control. 

I, on the other hand, see potential problems before they get out of control and take the time to train the dogs when I’m out walking with them. It’s no secret that the dogs respond a little better to me than they do to him. And, of course, at times, I lord this fact over him. 

Like this morning. As we got to the corner where he would turn home with our older dog, who can’t make the walk all the way to my daughter’s school, my husband looked down skeptically at our youngest dog. Four year old, Rev, is exuberant, energetic, and at times, a royal pain in the…well, you know what. We always walk him on a harness for added control and because he’s been known to slip out of his collar. In fact, I’m the one who instituted this harness walking rule. About a year ago, I told my husband that Rev is never, ever, ever to be walked without his harness after he had slipped out of the collar a few times. 

So, there we are on the corner. I’m ready to take our daughter and Rev and out other young dog, Zeke, to the school a block down the road. My husband is ready to take the older dog, Buddy, home. Hubby looks at Rev and looks at the busy road I have to walk down and tells me it probably isn’t a good idea to walk Rev on that busy road, especially since he didn’t have his harness on.
Being the brat that I can sometimes be, I proceed to tell that it’s no problem for me to walk Rev on the busy road without his harness. After all, I argue, I’m a professional dog trainer and Rev listens to me. I also go on to blab to my husband that even though I always make him walk Rev on a harness, I’ve secretly walked Rev on a regular collar for months, because I have more control over Rev than he does.

My husband is a saint. Have I mentioned that? A real life, genuine saint, who puts up with my crap with a holy amount of patience. He said nothing and walked home with Buddy. Two minutes later, I’m out on the busy road where I proceed to drop Rev’s leash. Yes, I dropped the damn leash! He starts whipping around in circles, ecstatic to be off leash and free. My daughter is screaming because she’s terrified of the dogs being off leash, running wild. 

Don’t worry, he came right back to me when I called him, but it was a scary few seconds with him loose so close to such a busy road. And, I did have to go home and eat crow. It’s a good thing I married a Saint.

*****

Lori Ryan is an indie author who lives with her husband, two children, three dogs, and a cat in Austin, TX. She is the author of the Sutton Capital Romance Series and is an avid reader of contemporary romance novels. To find Lori’s books, visit her author page on Amazon.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Goddess Fish Presents: Legal Ease by Lori Ryan





Legal Ease: Sutton Capital Series, Book One
by Lori Ryan

Legal Ease is available from Amazon.

BLURB:

Jack Sutton needs a wife and he needs one now. Jack loved his mother, but she really screwed him over when she set up her will. If Jack doesn’t have a wife by the end of the week, he’ll lose control of the largest chunk of voting stock in his company and will most likely lose his position as CEO as a result.

And Jack’s Aunt Mabry is waiting in the wings to make sure that the terms of the will are enforced. If he doesn’t find a wife, she’ll seize control of the stock so she can install her own son at the helm and she couldn’t care less that her son doesn’t want the job or that he probably won’t be any good at it.

Enter Kelly Bradley, a twenty eight year old college graduate with a spot at Yale Law School but no way to pay for it. Kelly and Jack’s eavesdropping secretary have discovered Jack’s secret need for a wife and Kelly comes up with a plan to fix both of their problems.

Just when Jack needs her, Kelly breezes into his office, introduces herself to his Aunt and cousin, and hands Jack an offer. She will marry him for a year so that he can retain the stock that will keep him in control of Sutton Development if he’ll pay for her to go to law school. Jack has no idea where his beautiful savior came from or who she is but he’s willing to take a chance to save it all.
               
The deal may have kept Jack in control at Sutton Development but his private life quickly spirals out of control. Just when Jack realizes that he wants more than a year with Kelly, his wealth puts her in great danger and he is left scrambling to save her life and their future together.           


EXCERPT:

Kelly whipped through the house and up the stairs, calling out for Mrs. Poole as she ran. “Mrs. Poole, come quickly! We have to move. We have to move.” Kelly continued yelling as she ran into her room and grabbed drawers full of clothes and piled hangers with slacks and dresses on them.

Mrs. Poole came up the stairs with a puzzled look on her face. “What on earth are you hollering about, Kelly?” she said as she tried to enter the room. She had to jump out of the way as Kelly made a mad dash to Jack’s room.

“We have to move all of my stuff into Jack’s room,” Kelly said, out of breath from her packing and running. “Jack’s Aunt Mabry is on her way here and she’s staying with us for a couple of weeks,” Kelly blurted out as she ran back down the hall to gather more of her belongings.

“Oh Lord,” Mrs. Poole rolled her eyes and followed after Kelly. She quickly grabbed clothes and toiletries and rushed down the hall to Jack’s room. She and Kelly repeated the trip half a dozen more times as they transferred everything and set it into place. Mrs. Poole cleared out half of Jack’s dresser and closet and made room for Kelly’s things while Kelly folded and put her clothing away to make it appear as though the two had been living in holy matrimony since day one.

Kelly put away the last of her things and took a deep breath. She turned to survey the masculine-looking room. There was a dark mahogany dresser and matching armoire against the deep green walls. Large windows looked out on the same beautiful waterfront view that her guest room windows had shared. She stopped suddenly and held her breath when her eyes landed on the king-sized bed in the center. Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to her that she and Jack would now have to share a bed. Kelly’s smile fell away as she realized that keeping her attraction hidden from Jack just became a lot more difficult.

Legal Ease is available from Amazon.

AUTHOR BIO:


Lori has had a number of careers before embarking on her newest adventure of writing novels. After graduating from the University of Connecticut School of Law, she practiced law for three years, working primarily in the areas of utilities law and intellectual property litigation.

More recently, Lori owned and operated a dog training business in Austin, Texas, where she specialized in aggression and became an expert in the field of dog bite analysis. Lori sold her dog training business in 2013 and is now a full time writer and mother of two.

Lori still lives in Austin with her husband -- who is endlessly supportive of her changing career paths -- and her two children, one cat, and three dogs.

How can your readers follow you?

To follow me on Facebook, visit: http://www.facebook.com/loriryanromance

To visit my website, visit: http://www.loriryanromance.com/

Want to be a part of my online street team? Email me at Loriryanauthor@gmail.com and put the words ‘street team’ in the subject line. I’ll email you back with directions for joining my team.

To join my email list to receive updates and news, including sneak peeks and free giveaways or contest news, visit http://www.loriryanromance.com/#!join-my-mailing-list/cdpp

Lori will be awarding a $25 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so please leave a comment to better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/virtual-super-book-blast-legal-ease.html

Book Review: Legal Ease by Lori Ryan

Legal Ease: Sutton Capital Series, Book One
by Lori Ryan

Legal Ease is available from Amazon.

BLURB:

Jack Sutton needs a wife and he needs one now. Jack loved his mother, but she really screwed him over when she set up her will. If Jack doesn’t have a wife by the end of the week, he’ll lose control of the largest chunk of voting stock in his company and will most likely lose his position as CEO as a result.

And Jack’s Aunt Mabry is waiting in the wings to make sure that the terms of the will are enforced. If he doesn’t find a wife, she’ll seize control of the stock so she can install her own son at the helm and she couldn’t care less that her son doesn’t want the job or that he probably won’t be any good at it.

Enter Kelly Bradley, a twenty eight year old college graduate with a spot at Yale Law School but no way to pay for it. Kelly and Jack’s eavesdropping secretary have discovered Jack’s secret need for a wife and Kelly comes up with a plan to fix both of their problems.

Just when Jack needs her, Kelly breezes into his office, introduces herself to his Aunt and cousin, and hands Jack an offer. She will marry him for a year so that he can retain the stock that will keep him in control of Sutton Development if he’ll pay for her to go to law school. Jack has no idea where his beautiful savior came from or who she is but he’s willing to take a chance to save it all.
               
The deal may have kept Jack in control at Sutton Development but his private life quickly spirals out of control. Just when Jack realizes that he wants more than a year with Kelly, his wealth puts her in great danger and he is left scrambling to save her life and their future together.         

Review:


Legal Ease by Lori Ryan is the first book in the Capital Sutton series. Surprisingly, it is a "marriage of convenience story", which is uncommon in this day and age. Even more surprising, it is a contemporary (rather than a historical) novel about two people who marry for practical reasons but fall in love despite themselves. It is an easy, engrossing story to follow.



Kelly Bradley is a smart, competent woman who has been admitted to law school. She wants to acquire a legal degree in order to help people...the only trouble is finding a way to pay for her education.  Enter Jack Sutton, a hard-driving corporate executive bound by the terms of his mother's will--to marry by his thirty-fifth birthday--or lose control of the company his father built. 

Through the clever machinations of Jennie--Kelly's friend and Jack's secretary--Kelly and Jack meet and realize a means of solving their respective problems. They agree to marry for the period of one year. Jack keeps his company. In exchange, he pays for Kelly's law school. They move into Jack's mansion together, and discover an intense mutual attraction to one another. Once their attraction to one another becomes clear, their relationship develops with relatively little difficulty.

Both Kelly and Jack are such honest, decent people. Both are good-looking, intelligent, and likeable. Even though Jack is allegedly a disreputable womanizer, he fails to act like one. For this reader, it was a stretch to believe that Kelly and Jack both remained single and solidly unattached. In real life, both hero and heroine would have been snatched up long ago.

As a whole, the narrative relies heavily on external conflict to drive the plot.  Throughout the story, Jack's detestable elderly aunt is gunning for him, determined to oust him from his position and expose his marriage as a sham. He treats her with a remarkable amount of patience and tolerance, once again proving he is a truly sweet person.

Near the end of the story, the plot diverges from the obvious path, taking a rather strange turn into kidnapping and human trafficking. Without giving away spoilers, I must state that it caught me entirely by surprise and wasn't at all what I expected. Love scenes are spicy, lacking specific details, largely focused on the emotional interaction between the hero and heroine.  Legal Ease is definitely a quick, pleasurable read and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a contemporary romance with an old-fashioned twist.

Legal Ease is available from Amazon
 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Goddess Fish Presents: The Perfect Duke by Dawn Ireland





THE PERFECT DUKE

By

Dawn Ireland

ASIN: B00BT0NGOC

BUY LINK:
Amazon 


BLURB:  
Known as The Marble Duke amongst the Ton, Garret Weston, the Duke of Kendal sets himself apart from his peers. Nothing will hinder his guilt-driven attempt to become a perfect duke.  Nothing that is, save the alluring and imaginative betrothed he’d thought dead. His intended believes-of all things-that she is a Vicar’s daughter. The “perfect” duke needs a “perfect” duchess, but how was he to discern her suitability? Employing her as a governess to his niece seemed like an ideal solution. But whose “suitability” is being tested? His betrothed refuses to see he is beyond redemption. And most grievous of all, she stirs his blood, making him forget what’s important.

Cara believes fairy tales really can come true, until she meets the unrelenting and arrogant Duke of Kendal. He looks like a Prince, but acts like a Beast. Why must he challenge her at every turn? Her greatest peril is her attraction to the vulnerable, seductive man behind the title. A match between them would be impossible. But can she show him, without losing her heart, that “perfect” is in the eye of the beholder?  

EXCERPT:  

Garret’s voice stopped Cara before she reached the door. “What of the cut on my chest?”

She turned back, fighting to sound normal. “It didn’t look that bad.”

He picked up the cloth, soaped it, then stalked toward her. Everything about him belied fluid grace as he handed her the fabric, a challenge in his gaze.

With as much indifference as she could muster, she dabbed at the cut on his chest.

“Harder,” he breathed, his dark velvet voice sending shivers down her spine. “You’ll not hurt me.”

She cleansed the cut, admiring the feel of the hard muscle beneath the cloth. Her fingertips extended beyond the material to caress his moisture-slicked skin. She stepped closer, until his chest was the only thing in her vision.

The rag dropped between them. Of their own volition her fingers spread, pressing her hands flat against the hard contours of his body. She began an exploration, noting the fine dusting of curling golden hair that tickled her palms as she moved them upward.

The smell of the ointment clung to him, but it couldn’t block his alluring scent, a mixture of brandy, wood, and spiciness. She inhaled deeply, savoring the heady combination as she ran one fingertip around his nipple, marveling at the pebbling on the outside edge.

Part of her brain acknowledged she shouldn’t be doing this, but she couldn’t seem to stop.


BUY LINK:
Amazon

AUTHOR BIO:

“Once Upon a Time” are four of Dawn’s favorite words. Her love of story became a love of romance when she read Georgette Heyer’s, Devil’s Cub. It inspired her to write stories with strong characters that discover love is never easy, but always worthwhile. Dawn’s written several award-winning novels set in Georgian England – an era filled with rules and intrigue. Her characters often defy “Society” as they pursue love, run away, pursue, run away – well, you get the idea.  

Then again, she might write romance in order to do the research. What other profession encourages you to sit in the audience at Harlequin’s Male Model search, and take notes, or just sigh?

Dawn lives in a Victorian home in Upstate New York with her husband and very independent cats. When she’s not writing, she’s singing, gardening, learning to play the harp or wood carving. If you’d like to learn more about Dawn and her novels, go to her website at www.dawn-ireland.com
  
LINKS:

One randomly chosen commenter will receive a $20 Amazon gift card. Please follow the tour and comment in order to better your chance of winning.  The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/super-book-blast-perfect-duke-by-dawn.html