The Tender Bonds by #MFRWauthor Ute Carbone @wildwords2

The Tender Bonds
by Ute Carbone
Mainstream (PG13) Women's Fiction
Turquoise Morning Press

There comes a moment when the past we’ve left behind draws attention to itself and demands that we come to terms with it.  For Patty Dykstra, a woman who has long led an unassuming life, that moment comes after her aunt dies. Among a life’s worth of things,  Patty finds unopened cards from her father, a man that she hasn’t seen since she was six years old.

Patty is compelled to return to a small town in upstate New York to find the man who used to call her Star Shine, a man she barely remembers.  The Tender Bonds is the story of Patty’s life- altering journey, of the faith and hope that grow in the meanest of places, and of what it means to be truly home.

Sometimes the end is a new beginning

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What REVIEWERS Are Saying...
Patty’s life-changing journey isn’t a syrupy-sweet one, but the author paints it with sweet moments woven in and with brilliant imagery. At points, Carbone’s writing almost sings off of the page, in notes that range from discordant to melodious. 4 out of 4 stars - Online Book Club

Beautiful words, elegantly strung together, this is a wonderful example of writing from the heart reaching towards the hearts of even the most calloused readers.  - Tome Tender Book Reviews


EXCERPT
He played with the cupboard door before shutting it. “Lenore worked at the Fulton Elementary School. She was the school librarian.” I sat down. The light from the living room shadowed his face. “After…at the service. The teachers from the school and some of the kids and their parents, they came. They brought these balloons. A whole bunch of balloons. Judy, Lenore’s mother, said later that she didn’t like them. That they felt too celebratory and we’d just lost…but I thought they were beautiful. I remember when they released them, all these bright colors heading for the clouds. I remember hoping Lenore and the kids were like those balloons. That floating up to heaven was like that. I wished I could float away, just be unanchored. Just head out, unanchored.”

When he looked at me, his eyes drove a pin through my heart. He put his hand to my cheek, his fingers lingering light against my skin for a minute, and then he walked out. I heard his footsteps on the stairs, and I didn’t try to follow him.

I should have left. My head was telling me to go, an angry bee buzzing ‘get out, get out while you can.’ But my heart said otherwise. My heart, heavy as the darkness in that room, said ‘stay.’

ABOUT Ute Carbone
Award winning author Ute Carbone pronounces her first name Oohtah, but doesn't spell it that way. She lives with her husband in Southern NH, where she spends her days drinking coffee, eating chocolate, walking in the woods, and dreaming up stories.

CONNECT with Ute
Web page:  http://www.utecarbone.com/
Blog  http://www.utecarbone.com/inside-the-writers-garret
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ute-Carbone/234417796596443
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wildwords2
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5114798.Ute_Carbone
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ute-Carbone/e/B005G7U8RM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/utecarbone/

Book Spotlight: Portrait of a Girl @Luanna_Stewart #MFRWauthor

Portrait of a Girl

by Luanna Nau
Entangled Publishing

Tony Simons is on the trail of an art theft cold case. He's hoping that by sticking close to Heather James—the daughter of his deceased prime suspect—he'll find the answers he needs.

Instead, he's finding himself distracted by a gorgeous woman who drives him crazy in every way imaginable. Now Tony's in serious trouble. Even if Heather can't—or won't—tell him where the stolen paintings and money are, she may well have stolen his heart. And now someone wants her dead…

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EXCERPT
She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him close, her soft lips laying claim to his mouth. He slid an arm around her waist, pulled her close, pressing against her heat. Her scent made him forget all the reasons why this was a bad idea.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” She nibbled at his lips, playing and teasing.

“You’re right.” He nuzzled her neck, tempted to take a bite.

“I hardly know you.”

“Exactly.”

“Why are you so agreeable?”

“One of us has to think clearly, and I’m doing my damnedest to be a gentleman.”

“Maybe I don’t want a gentleman.”

She pulled him back for another kiss, openmouthed, tongues clashing. If the bad guys showed up right now—

He broke the kiss. They were both breathing hard, and her heart raced along with his. He had to get her out of his house. “I’ve got a deadline to meet, or I won’t get paid. I’d hate to make my landlord upset by being late with the rent.”

He felt her smile against his neck. “I happen to know your landlord, and her cat would go hungry if you were late with the rent.”

“I’d hate to be responsible for a cat going hungry. Maybe we can continue this discussion later.”

“You can count on it.”

ABOUT Luanna Stewart
Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. As soon as she discovered her grandmother's stash of romance novels, all plots had to lead to a happily-ever-after.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Luanna now lives in Maine with her dear husband, two college boys and two cats. When she's not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious.

CONNECT With Luanna
http://www.luannastewart.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Luanna.Stewart.nau
https://twitter.com/Luanna_Stewart
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14104212.Luanna_Stewart
https://www.pinterest.com/luannastewart/

Have You Read Roz Lee's Suspended Game? @Iwriteromance #MFRWauthor

Suspended Game
by Roz Lee
Loose-Id

After five years spent proving his innocence in a gambling scheme, Jimmy Doyle Walker is back on the field for the Washington Diplomats. Given one season to demonstrate he can still contribute to the team, he guards his secrets well, knowing exposure of his unorthodox sex life would create a career-ending scandal. When he meets Evelyn Gardner, she tests his resolve, and he risks everything to show her the delights to be found in his arms.

Living day-to-day as a switchboard operator, Evelyn Gardner loathes the sexual cravings that cost her the home and family she’d always dreamed of. When she meets Jimmy Doyle Walker, the sexy first baseman for the Washington Diplomats, at a church revival meeting, he challenges her beliefs and her expectations. Determinedly, he seduces her through erotic letters, sensual gifts, and sexual play, until she dares dream she can have satisfaction and respectability

"The Natural meets 50 Shades in this erotic story of sex, secrets and seduction. He’s an athlete with a secret that could end his career. She’s a woman with a past that could destroy them both."

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What Reviewers Say...
"Suspended Game features everything I look for in a romance; an intricate plot, characters I want to know and I care about, interesting dialog, just enough drama to make it interesting without bogging down the story, steamy intimate scenes and a relationship that develops out of respect, communication and deep feelings. Author Roz Lee offered all of that and more in this book making it one hell of a story."  - 5 Stars from Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

EXCERPT
His eyes met hers, held her gaze. “I want to see your hands.” He tugged on the fingers, one at a time until the worn glove slid free, leaving her bare fingertips resting on his skin. Fuck. He was going to lose it right there, and that was not acceptable.
Sliding his hand beneath hers, he clasped his fingers around her wrist. Her pulse raced as fast as his, another reason he shouldn’t be doing what he was. Neither one of them was ready for what he wanted to do with her, but it was only her hand, he reasoned. Touching her this way was inappropriate as hell, but he couldn’t stop. He needed to feel her skin, and it was imperative that she get used to him touching her. It was never too soon to begin teaching her to accept him.
“Keep your eyes on mine, sugar. Don’t look away, no matter what.” He explored her fingers with his thumb, rubbing it along the length of each one before repeating the process, this time gently nudging into the soft flesh between each digit as he went from one to the next. When her eyes dilated and her breath grew shallow, he almost came in his pants. Shit, she was a natural submissive, and he couldn’t wait to have her completely under his spell. The things he’d do to her body. The pleasure he’d wring from both of them.
“Your hand is incredible, sugar. I can imagine these fingers shoving in, pulling out. All. Day. Long.” He turned her hand over and began massaging her palm with his thumb. “Does your hand cramp at the end of the day?”
“Sometimes.” Her lips barely moved as she formed the word.
He pressed his thumb hard into the center of her hand. Her fingers instinctively curled inward, encasing his thumb in the sweetness of her embrace. He returned to stroking her skin. “And do you massage the ache away? Alone? In your bed?”

ABOUT Roz Lee
USA Today Bestselling author Roz Lee has penned over a dozen erotic romances. The first, The Lust Boat, was born of an idea acquired while on a Caribbean cruise with her family and soon blossomed into a five book series published by Red Sage. Following her love of baseball, she turned her attention to sexy athletes in tight pants, writing the critically acclaimed Mustangs Baseball series.
When Roz isn’t writing, she’s reading, or traipsing around the country on one adventure or another. No trip is too small, no tourist trap too cheesy, and no road unworthy of travel.

Website - http://www.RozLee.net
Blog - http://www.authorrozlee.blogspot.com
FB - http://www.facebook.com/authorrozlee
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Iwriteromance
Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117203149124252445714/117203149124252445714/about
Pinterest - httpL//www.pinterest.com/RozLee