#MFRWauthor BOOK SPOTLIGHT: McKellan's Run by Nicole Hurley-Moore @NHurleyMoore

McKellan's Run
Nicole Hurley-Moore

Violet Beckett once made the mistake of falling for the wrong McKellan brother. Now, eight years later, fate has brought Violet back to her home town with her daughter, Holly.

As soon as Violet runs into Charlie ‘Mac’ McKellan, she wonders if she should run all the way back to the city. But something about him makes her want to linger. Can she trust him, can she trust herself or will she be burned again?

Charlie McKellan has had a soft spot for Violet Beckett for longer than he can remember. It almost killed him to watch his brother woo her, use her and finally lose her. From his very first encounter with Violet he’s hooked. But how can he convince her that not all McKellans are the same?

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EXCERPT

‘I think we got a bit carried away.’
‘That’s okay. We can slow things down, whatever you want, I’ll do it,’ Mac said his arms still wound around her.
‘I’m not sure if this is such a good idea, Mac, I mean with our history…’
‘What history? Violet what the hell are you talking about?’
‘Okay fine, the history I have with your family, with your brother.’
‘I don’t give a damn about the past, Violet. Screw the history – I just want a future, with you,’ he said as he released her.
Violet felt bereft without his touch. Here she was trying to do the right thing, the noble thing and not let him sacrifice himself. Mac deserved so much more.
‘You don’t mean that Mac. You’re just trying to fix things like you always do. You want to protect me and Holly and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. No one has ever wanted to do that before. But I can’t let you; it wouldn’t be fair.’ She reached out to him.
Mac snatched his arm away. ‘Is that what you think?’ he asked. ‘After what just happened? You think I’m with you out of some sort of misguided duty?’
‘You’re a good man but I’ve said it before, I’m not your mistake or your problem.’
He pushed away from the fence and walked away without a look or a word.
‘Mac! Mac, please don’t leave like this. Please don’t just walk away.’
He whirled around and faced her crossing his arms in front of his chest as if he was putting a barrier between them.
‘Is that the way you want to play it? Damned if I know if you’re stubborn or just plain blind. Either way, I can’t talk to you right now.’
‘Mac.’
‘Just leave it, Violet. Before something is said that can’t be taken back,’ he said turning again and walking away his anger palpable and the air almost crackling with tension. The look in his eyes made it clear she’d hurt him. She’d never meant that to happen.
‘Mac!’
He didn’t answer or stop, he just kept walking, his back stiff and unyielding.

ABOUT Nicole Hurley-Moore
Nicole lives with her family in an Australian rural town in the Victorian Central Highlands. She's a full-time writer and a fan of happily-ever-afters.

www.nicolehurley-moore.com
http://nicolehurley-moore.blogspot.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/nicole.hurleymoore.author
https://plus.google.com/u/0/112124717603317230246/posts
https://www.pinterest.com/hurleymoore/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5336013.Nicole_Hurley_Moore
https://twitter.com/nhurleymoore

Meet the Futuristic #MFRWauthor of The Turn of the Card @VickyBurkholder

Meet Vicky Burkholder.
Vicky Burkholder lives in a three-generation home with spouse, kids, grandkids and cats. Fortunately, two of the other adults are writers so she is surrounded by creativity in the midst of chaos. She has worked for magazines, newspapers, government organizations, e-publishers, and private clients. At various times in her life, she has been a teacher, a secretary, a short-order cook, a computer specialist, a DJ, and a librarian.

http://www.vickyburkholder.com  |  http://www.facebook.com/victoriaburkholder

Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing? My dad was the first one to influence me. He taught me my love of the written word and that books can lead to whole new worlds.

How long does it take you to write a book? It really depends on the book - how long it's going to be, how much research is involved, and all that boring stuff. But generally, if I have all the backwork done, just a couple of months.

How do you come up with your ideas? From everywhere. From something on TV, a snippet in the news, something I see on the street... ideas are everywhere. You just have to be aware of them and run with them.

Tell us about your latest book.
The Turn of the Card was a ""what if"" sort of idea. What if... you got bet in a game of cards, and lost? What if... the man who bet you was your father? What if... he sold you off to pay off his debts? What if... and so on. And outer space? Whole new worlds to explore. It's a little science fiction, a little adventure, a little mystery, and a lot of romance.

The Turn of the Card
Liquid Silver

Jessica Windemere loses her freedom when her father bets her in a poker game. But she isn’t willing to accept her fate without a fight. To have her revenge, she first must survive an unknown world while contracted as some stranger’s wife. She wants nothing more to do with men until a huge, dark god rides into her camp. Can she risk losing her new love on the turn of a card?

Kiernan Randall is on his way home from a trading mission. The group of abandoned women he finds were definitely not expected, especially their feisty red-haired leader. She is contracted to his enemy, but gives herself to him and firmly entwines his heart. Can he trust her enough to let her wager their future together on her skill with cards?

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EXCERPT

“Did you see how big they were?”
“I saw the big bulge in the leader’s pants.”
“I’d love to get some of that.”
“Me too.”
Jess strode into the sleeping area and shut the door. Her body temperature rose from warm to hot as she remembered the way his eyes had traveled over her. Her nipples tingled and tightened into hard nubs. Lower down, the heat built in intensity and she fought to control her libido. “He’s a man. Nothing more.”
But oh, what a man.
She went into the bathing room and ran water over her head, attempting to cool her overheated body.
“Jess?” Cammy called. “The food is ready and the men are here.”
“Fine. I’ll be right out.” Jess leaned against the sink and stared at her reflection in the grainy mirror. “Just a man. Nothing more.”
She stopped at her bunk and pulled her PDA out of her bag so he could see the contract. If these men weren’t their mates, then who were they? She felt for the knife in her pocket. No matter who they were, she wouldn’t take any chances.
She went out to find the men sitting at the long table in the center of the room. The women stood around them, glaring at each other.
“What’s wrong now?” Jess asked.
Cammy came to her. “They can’t decide who gets to sit with the men and who has to sit at the other tables.”
Jess snorted. “Oh for star’s sake.” She went back to her room and retrieved the deck of cards. Maybe her father had been good for something after all. He’d taught her how to handle cards well over the years. She returned to the group, shuffling the deck as she went.
“Everybody draws a card. High cards sit at the main table. Low cards sit elsewhere. In the case of a draw, hearts are high, followed by spades, diamonds, clubs.” She spread the deck face down on the table. “Don’t show your card until all have drawn. Cam, you start.”
“You will not draw,” the leader of the men said to Jess. “You sit by me, or we leave.”

What can we expect from you in the future? More futuristics - this one is just the first of a series (but they're all stand alone books so no cliffhanger endings!) and more paranormals and shapeshifters. Why stick with the plain when you can create new life and new civilizations? :)

Do you have a favorite author? Too many to list, but some of my favorites include Anne McCaffrey, Neil Gaiman, Misty Simon, Laura Bradford... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

TALK TO Vicky...

Who are your favorite authors?

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Lord Love a Duke by #MFRWauthor Renee Reynolds @eenayray

Lord Love a Duke

Book 1 in The Lords of Oxford series
by Renée Reynolds
Rock Creek Publishing

Jonas Leighton, Duke of Dorset, needs to find a husband for his spirited sister, Lady Miranda, before she drives him insane. His hastily organized house party causes her enlist the help of her best friend, Lady Juliet Quinn, to enact a series of pranks meant to distract the Duke . . . if only he would cooperate and be the victim.

Most complicating of all is the Duke's secret admiration for Lady Juliet, who is off limits in many ways; not only a friend to Miranda, she is also the sister of his close friend, Charles, Earl of Bristol. It doesn't help that Lady Juliet herself has vowed to avoid marriage, wanting no part of something based on convenience, money, or titles.

Everyone at the party seems to have their own plots and schemes, and the final prank yields the biggest surprise of all. Whatever is a duke to do?

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EXCERPT
"Zounds!  Lady Juliet was stunning, thought Jonas as he climbed into the carriage to escape the hot summer sun.  She lay across the plush, navy velvet seat with one leg dropped to the floor, her tall, curvy form stretched out as much as possible in the close confines of the carriage.  Her hair was the color of rich, dark chocolate, piled high on her head with several tendrils escaping as she rested.  Long lashes lay against smooth cheeks that had pinkened slightly from the warmth of the day, their color matching her full pink lips.  He unconsciously stretched a hand toward her face to see if her skin was as soft as it seemed when she suddenly spoke.

""I know you are here.  I can hear you breathing.  Perchance do you have any treats to share?"" she asked drowsily without opening her eyes, the corner of her mouth quirked up in a half smile.  She raised and opened the fan that had been sitting across her stomach.  ""We picked the hottest day to travel, did we not?"" He watched as she delicately pulled her bodice away from her warm body to fan air down the top of her gown.  His mouth went dry and he suddenly felt it was much warmer in the carriage than without.  He struggled to swallow past a throat that was too dry.

""Indeed, Lady Juliet, it is rather warm for May, but we shall soon feel a cooling breeze off the Channel, I should think.""

Juliet's eyes flew open at the sound of his rich baritone voice and she scrambled to right herself in the seat, dropping her fan and shaking the carriage in her haste.  ""Saints and sinners, Your Grace, I thought you were Miranda.  You nearly scared me to death!""  He smiled and watched as she blushed furiously.

""Forgive me, my lady, but I sought the shade offered by the carriage while the horses were watered and rested.  Mama and Miranda are yet inside.""

""Yes, your sister had thought to find some lemonade or cider.  I think Her Grace was also anxious to stretch her legs.""  Juliet felt as if she were prattling but was too shaken to stop herself.  His stare was unnerving her, his blue eyes the color of the sea they would soon be near.  She felt her blush deepen as he continued to watch her.  It seemed the carriage had gotten smaller with the presence of his tall, muscular, and broad-shouldered frame taking up both space and air.

""Tell me, Lady Juliet, when did you grow up?” he could not prevent himself from asking.  “It seems the last I noticed you were a tomboy in pigtails, chasing frogs and causing mischief with my sister.""

She fluttered her lashes down in embarrassment, not realizing the alluring nature of her action.  Her lips turned up with a slight grimace.  ""You have been occupied with affairs of more import than your sister's friend as I have not worn pigtails nor chased frogs for some years now, Your Grace.  Miranda and I are of an age, which you well know, having been tormented by basically having two younger sisters each summer for the past fifteen years.""

""I think my true torment may have yet to begin,"" he murmured to himself."

ABOUT Renée Reynolds
Author Renée Reynolds grew up all over the world in a family whose motto is you can never learn too much, travel too much, or talk too much.  She owns an impressive stack of degrees that she ignores to instead write about what she cannot do: go back in time to dance at balls and flirt with lords and scoundrels.

Renée found her HEA in Texas, where she resides with the hubs, the kiddos, and a menagerie of pets. They've added to the family motto: you can never read too much, too often, or too late at night.

Website: https://obstinateheadstronggirl.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reneereynoldsauthor
Google+: https://plus.google.com/112824395033256812686/posts
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eenayray/
Amazon: amazon.com/author/reneereynolds
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7348689.Renee_Reynolds