The Wolf of Kisimul Castle
Heather McCollum
Published by: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: August 14th 2017
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance

Mairi Maclean is kidnapped on her wedding day by the enemy of her dead husband. Taken north to the water-surrounded Kisimul Castle, she is held captive in the name of retribution. But The Wolf of Kisimul Castle soon learns Mairi is not a docile pawn in this game of war between neighboring
Scots. Nor will she be frightened into walking down the aisle to wed the fierce Highland chief.

Alec MacNeil is set on revenge. When he finds his enemy dead, he takes his wife to replace the one that was murdered. An eye for an eye. A bride for a bride. But Mairi is more tiger than kitten and refuses to bend to his will. Set stubbornly against one another, the passion that flares between them threatens to tear Alec’s strategy to shreds.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

--

EXCERPT:

He crossed to the window without a word and looked out at the courtyard, his eyes scanning beyond. “Where is everyone?” he asked. “At the chapel, I assume,” she said, stepping closer. He probably smelled of sweat or ale. She inhaled. Nay. She smelled pine and the sea and fresh air on him.

He turned, and she rubbed her nose to hide the action of sniffing him. His gaze dropped to her as if her nearness surprised him. “We will go,” he said.

Mairi sighed. “I won’t have Geoff wondering if I would have failed his test, so go ahead.” She let her eyes flutter shut and waited. “Go ahead?” he repeated, and she blinked open.

“Aye,” she said, starting to feel foolish. “Kiss me, if ye’re going to. Otherwise take me to the chapel.”

The only change in the man’s devilishly handsome face was a slight rise in his brows, his clear blue-gray eyes widening the smallest amount. Those damnably tempting lips opened and closed, and his gaze drifted to the shut door before returning to her. He stared at her, as if he were delving into her thoughts. The idea shook Mairi, and she frowned.

“Well, if ye’re not—”

The man wrapped his hand around her arm, slowly reeling her in with constant, gentle pressure until she had to tip her head back to see his face. He radiated authority and determination, as if he could order the mountains to move, yet chose to hold her instead. Her heart hammered in her chest as he set his hand on her cheek. “A kiss, and then we go,” he murmured, moving his thumb across her jaw.

She had time for only a quick inhale as he descended. Mairi had expected a bruising press of his mouth like Geoff had given her when he’d asked her to wed. But this man’s kiss was gentle and warm. With slight pressure, he tipped her head to seal their lips together, moving against her as if tasting an aged whisky. Heat flowed down through

Mairi, wiping away all rational thought. Her knees numbed, but the man seemed to accept her weight easily as he held her against his hard body. His height made him loom over her, but Mairi felt safely surrounded by power instead of fearful. Her fingers reached behind his head to feather through his wavy hair. They were still woven in the dark mass when he gently pulled back, ending the most sensuous kiss Mairi had ever experienced. What bloody foolishness was Geoff thinking? Her traitorous body begged for more, but she stepped back, hands to her flushed skin above her low neckline. The man adjusted himself through his kilt, proving that he too had been affected by the kiss.

“Who are ye?” she asked.

Author Bio:

Heather McCollum is an award winning, historical and contemporary YA paranormal romance writer. She earned her B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine, much to her English professor's dismay. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, won the 2015 Readers' Crown, and was a 2009 Golden Heart Finalist. Ms. McCollum has twelve historical romances released in both electronic and digital formats. She also has three YA paranormal romances released in both formats.

When she is not busy writing and answering calls of "Mom", she can be found educating women about ovarian cancer. She is a teal warrior herself and slayed the ovarian cancer beast in 2012.

She currently resides with her very own Highland hero and three spirited children in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast.

More information about Ms. McCollum and her books can be found at www.HeatherMcCollum.com.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carolyn LaRoche grew up in snow country but fled the cold and ice several years ago. She now lives near the beach with her husband and their two sons. She’s been known to lug her laptop to the baseball fields and keeps a notebook by her bed to jot down the next big story idea in the wee hours of the night. Facebook Blog Goodreads Twitter Amazon Daisies in the Outfield After his professional baseball career crashed and burned, Jamie escaped to the scenic coastal town of Falmouth for a fresh start. With a new career that fit his personality, Jamie lived life on his terms. His terms were simple—fight fires for the adrenaline rush, coaching MLB hopefuls for the love of the game, and spending his nights with one of the many pretty faces that crossed his path. Plenty of women passed through his life but none had tempted him to settle down. Until a feisty brunette changed all that. Too bad the sexy paramedic had no interest in Jamie or spending the night with him. She carried an attitude as thick as her New York accent and he wanted to coax a smile on her face.Mandy was running from something and Jamie couldn’t help but be intrigued. Can a sexy little wager convince a confirmed bachelor and a woman running from her past to take a chance on love? Goodreads Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon CA Amazon AU iTunes Nook Dandelion Wishes When a terrible injury ended his pro career, Grant knew nothing would ever take the place of his one and only love—baseball. Fighting fires didn’t hold the same kind of excitement as catching a ninety mile an hour fast ball at Fenway Park but he loved every minute of it. Especially when he met the sassy, sexy as hell paramedic that’s as complicated as a three-alarm fire. Callie had already lived through her fair share of serious. At twenty-eight, her current plans for the future included having a good time and enjoying the MLB hopefuls that showed up on the Cape every May to play in the summer baseball league. College boys were fun but didn't hold half the appeal as the sexy firefighter that kept showing up when she least expected it. He wanted her and she wanted absolutely none of it. Or, so she thought. Grant could not only set her body on fire with just a look but with only a few kisses she started to forget that serious was off the table for her life. After hiding so much for so long, can she open her heart up and trust that Grant’s in it for more than just the chase? Goodreads Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon CA Amazon AU Barnes & Noble iTunes An Excerpt from Daisies in the Outfield "Come on, Sally, when's dinner gonna be served?" All the guys had a girl name for their night on kitchen duty. Jamie's was Sally. Grant had been harassing him big time and it was getting way beyond annoying. Every time the door to the house opened, he held his breath hoping Mandy would walk in. "You'll get your food when it's ready," he snapped, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "Touchy today, aren’t we. Is it your time of the month, Sally?" "Go to hell." Jamie stirred the sauce then poured the five pounds of pasta into the oversized colander to drain it. "Damn, man. You need to get laid something serious." "You might not understand this, but there is more to life than getting laid and getting drunk." "Tell that to my liver and my dick. They are pretty feisty little guys and they want what they want when they want it." "You really need a life, Grant." "I have a great life. A job I like, a twenty four hour grocery store across the street and plenty of pretty ladies around town with a thing for firefighters." "Why don't you and your dick go tell the guys grub's on. I need to step outside for some air." "Thinking about my parts got you all hot and bothered, does it?" Grant left the kitchen laughing and Jamie stepped out the back door to the little grassy area behind the fire station. Stretching, he let the cool ocean breeze that always accompanied nightfall, wash over him. The smell of sand and salt assaulted his senses. It was a heady combination on a warm summer night. Even better if he had a certain woman in his arms watching the waves crash in over their toes. "Hey," a voice called out quietly from the dimness of dusk. A very familiar voice. A voice that made his heart jump around wildly in his chest. Mandy. He turned around and saw her standing at the corner of the building, peering at him with an amused look on her face. Suddenly feeling a little shy, he replied, "Hey, yourself," instead of striding over and taking her in his arms like he had ached to do all day long. Mandy giggled and twisted her hands in front of her. "What's so funny?" "Well, I came here to meet a guy named Jamie but it looks like I've found Betty Crocker instead.” Oh, shit. The apron! "You got a problem with a man in an apron?" He grinned and she laughed again, shaking her head. "No. I don’t suppose I do." "Good." This time he did close the distance between them but he didn’t touch her. She shivered a little and he hoped it was because of his proximity and not the evening breeze. "It's a house joke. The guy on kitchen duty has to wear one—the frillier, the better—and he gets a girl name. Hazing at its best, I suppose." "What's yours?" "My what?" It was getting hard to think when all he could focus on was her lips and how badly he wanted to taste them. Mandy ran a finger lightly up his arm until she reached the place where the full length apron started up around his neck and hooked her finger there. "Your girl name. What is it?" "Sally." "Hmmm…I've always had this secret fantasy of kissing a girl named Sally. Ever since I heard the song Mustang Sally." "You have? Maybe we should do something about that." "Maybe we should." Mandy was more relaxed than he had seen her over the last few days, flirting with her words and ravaging him with her eyes. He sure liked this side of her. Jamie bent down and scooped her up in his arms. Mandy wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She leaned back slightly and murmured, "Oh, Sally. You have the most amazing—eyes." She ran her tongue over her lips, never once looking him the eyes. "So do you," he replied focused only on those now slightly dampened lips. The space between them disappeared as she took his mouth with a passion he wouldn't have thought her capable of. Worried one of the guys might walk outside and see them, he carried her into a stand of pine trees on the side of the building, never once breaking their contact. She let a tiny little moan escape as she ended the kiss. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." She sounded embarrassed. "I never want you to not do that if you have the urge. Did that even make sense?" He chuckled huskily against her throat as he placed tiny little kisses across the neck line of her top. The thin, silky material was erotic, caressing his chin and cheek as he explored the bare skin of her shoulder with his tongue. "Yes. It made sense." She pulled his mouth back up to hers. "I feel like doing it again." Jamie dropped to his knees, setting Mandy gently onto the ground. He sat in the cushion of the pine needles and pulled her onto his lap. "Then by all means—" The second kiss was better than the first as his tongue sought hers. She was as fervent as he was in her desire to get as close as possible. If he weren't in uniform, twenty feet from ten other guys, he would have given into her every demand. As it was, they were about to go to a place he wouldn't return from without an ice cold shower so he pulled back reluctantly. "Did I miss something?" he whispered against her ear. "No. Why?" "This morning I wasn't sure I would ever see you again. I mean, there was something—" "I know. I'm sorry. I was having some doubts but then I talked to Callie and worked a few things out." "I like when you talk to Callie." He grinned and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, behind her ear. "Can you talk to her more often? Preferably on a day when I am not on duty?" Mandy laughed. "I think that can be arranged." "Are you hungry?" She shook her head. "Not anymore." There was no mistaking the meaning in her words. "Yeah, me either. Unfortunately, I have to get back inside. The captain can be a bit of a ball-buster." Mandy moved to stand but Jamie pulled her back in, crushing his lips to hers in one last hard kiss. He wanted to remember the feel of her lips all night long. She snaked her arms around his neck and murmured, "I know exactly what you mean." His hands slid up her back slowly, slipping under the hem of her top and finding the soft skin of her lower back. A groan rumbled through his chest. Frustration mounted and that ice cold shower was definitely about to become reality. "I should go," she whispered. "I don’t want you to get in trouble on my account. I'm thinking you are going to need those balls your captain will want to bust in the near future." He groaned again, this time in sweet agony over the image her words had conjured in his mind. They walked out of the stand of trees hand in hand, Jamie cursing his need to be employed. "Are you sure you don’t want to come in for a bit?" She shook her head. "No. I don't want to get in the way." "You are never in my way." He loved the way all her skin, not just her face, changed colors when she was embarrassed. Half the time he said stuff like that just to make her blush. "See you for the game tomorrow night?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in for one last kiss. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Coach." She batted her eyelashes exaggeratedly and gave him a sugary sweet smile. "Good. I'll make sure one of my uniforms is clean just for you." "You can but you'll be wasting your time." Mandy stepped away and gave a little wave. "I never lose a bet. Enjoy the rest of your shift." He watched as she walked away, stopping just before she turned the corner and blew him a little kiss. What the hell was all that? That was a side to Mandy, he hadn't expected. All her temperature changes over the past few days hadn't prepared him for what had just gone down. The door opened behind him. "Where the hell'd you get off to, man? I was about to call in search and rescue." "Nowhere. I've been out here the whole time." "You've got dirt on your knees." "I dropped something." "And found it by rolling around under the trees?" Grant reached up and pulled a pine needle out of Jamie's hair. "I guess so." "You look like a freak in that apron." "Mandy likes it." Grant's eyes widened as he scanned the area. "She's here?" "Was. I invited her for dinner." "Well, why didn't you all come inside then?" Jamie turned and grinned at his friend. "Because she skipped the meal and filled up on desert." "You dog! You didn't—?" "No! Not that. I would have but you know, work and all." "Always getting in the way of the good stuff," Grant grumbled as they returned to the kitchen. "If I could get paid for having sex, I would." "You can. But, you can also get arrested for it." "I meant legally, you ass hat! Maybe I'll become a porn star." He gyrated his hips exaggeratedly, making Jamie laugh. Jamie pulled off his apron and tossed it to Grant. "Sorry, dude. You better stick with fighting fires. You're on cleanup. I need a shower." A very, very cold shower.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CUTLASS by T.M. Franklin is NOW AVAILABLE!

Title: CUTLASS

Author: T.M. Franklin

Genre: Historical Adventure/Romance

Release Date: August 7, 2017

A quest for vengeance.
A high-stakes treasure hunt.
An attraction they both try to deny.

Convinced One-Eyed Jack Tremayne killed her father and stole his prized cutlass, Sarina Talbot sneaks aboard the pirate’s ship to exact her revenge. To her surprise, she’s met by a declaration of innocence and an offer of help. She doesn’t trust him, and he doesn’t trust anybody. But they need each other to catch the killer and beat their enemies to a hidden cache of Aztec gold.

They’re not the only treasure-seekers, however, and there’s a traitor in their midst.

Caught between Crown ships and enemy pirates, Sarina and Jack discover a prize greater than gold as their uneasy alliance leads them on the adventure of a lifetime.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play

T.M. Franklin writes stories of adventure, romance, & a little magic. A former TV news producer, she decided making stuff up was more fun than reporting the facts. Her first published novel, MORE, was born during National Novel Writing month, a challenge to write a novel in thirty days. MORE was well-received, being selected as a finalist in the 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Awards, as well as winning the Suspense/Thriller division of the Blogger Book Fair Reader's Choice Awards. She's since written four additional novels and several best-selling short stories...and there's always more on the way.

Connect with T.M. Franklin

Website | Bookbub | Facebook | Newsletter | Twitter

Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

Cheryl Low might be an Evil Queen, sipping tea and peeping on everyone from high up in her posh tower—a job she got only after being fired from her gig as Wicked Witch for eating half the gingerbread house. …Or she might be a relatively mundane human with a love for all things sugary and soap opera slaps. Find out by following her on social media @cherylwlow or check her webpage, cheryllow.com. The answer might surprise you! But it probably won’t. Social Media Links: Twitter& Instagram: @cherylwlow Website: cheryllow.com In the Realm there are whispers. Whispers that the city used to be a different place. That before the Queen ruled there was a sky beyond the clouds and a world beyond their streets. Vaun Dray Fen never knew that world. Born a prince without a purpose in a Realm ruled by lavish indulgence, unrelenting greed, and vicious hierarchy, he never knew a time before the Queen’s dust drugged the city. From the tea to the pastries, everything is poisoned to distract and dull the senses. And yet, after more than a century, his own magic is beginning to wake. The beautiful veneer of the Realm is cracking. Those who would defy the Queen turn their eyes to Vaun, and the dust saturating the Realm. From the carnivorous pixies in the shadows to the wolves in the streets, Vaun thought he knew all the dangers of his city. But when whispers of treason bring down the fury of the Queen, he'll have to race to save the lives and souls of those he loves. “A deliciously decadent debut that will make you reconsider the world within which we live – because how different are we than Low’s drugged-up citizens of the upper crust?” -- Sara Dobie Bauer, author of the Bite Somebody series Grab your copy now World Weaver Press Amazon Barnes & Noble iTunes Kobo Goodreads My journey as a writer Vanity in Dust is a dark fantasy and my debut novel. The editing process was grueling but well worth it and finally being published is daunting. It’s something that was a dream for so long, that actually reaching it is as thrilling as it is unnerving. I have to continually remind myself that it’s real and, strangely, that it changes nothing. I’ve learned more tricks and I have my foot in the door, now I just have to keep writing books. Hopefully, the rounds of editing on this first one will make the others go smoother. If not, there’s a serious chance my editor will throw things at me. I’ve been writing books since I was in middle school. I finished my first one in high school. It was massive and ultimately terrible—but it was finished and that’s what mattered. Finishing a book makes you realize, as a writer, that you can finish a book. You can reach the end. After that it’s just a matter of finding the one worth publishing. Vanity in Dust and the Crowns and Ash series are not the first books I’ve written by far—but they’re the first ones I believed in publishing. If you’re a writer, not yet published, don’t be afraid of trying something new. It’s okay to finish one book and then not do anything more with it. It’s okay to go on to the next. It’s okay to try another genre. When I first started writing, I did high fantasy, then I tried urban fantasy, and finally I found the world of Vanity in Dust—my own fantasy world. Since then I’ve also dabbled with horror and sci-fi. I hope someday to have books published in many genres, because why not? If there’s anything I’ve learned as a writer from the editing and publishing process so far, it’s that your book can always be improved. Stand by your guns on the things you love and know are important, but don’t be too firm to bend when you’re given good advice. The goal should always be to make the story the best it can be. After that, we just cross our fingers and hope someone out there loves it as much as we did. Excerpt “Vaun took another deep drag off the cigarette one of his new friends, Gabby, had offered him. She and the man sitting beside her pretended quite comically to be from the High. The prince did not ruin the show by telling them that he knew everyone in the High, to some degree. The quality of their vanity charms indicated they were not, not to mention the state of their clothing. Being rude was only fashionable if one’s victim was up to the challenge and could strike back. Besides, Vaun never discouraged people who tried so hard to amuse him. The prince exhaled black smoke. It was thick and dramatic, but his skin didn’t hum the way it usually did after a deep breath of dust. In fact, the tingle was more of an agitation, making him shift in his seat and flick his cigarette more angrily than usual. Ash fluttered through the air. How much tea did he have to drink for a decent buzz? He all but dropped his cup back on its chipped saucer in disgust. “I shouldn’t have come,” he muttered. “You’re leaving?” Gabby’s smile faltered. Her fingers clenched around her teacup. She wore fingerless, black lace gloves like his sister did on occasion and Vaun noticed that her skirts and bodice were also in dark colors with hints of lace sewn in wherever possible, some obviously added as an afterthought and not even matching the lace elsewhere. It would have been easier to try to imitate the High fashion of Belholn but Gabby had aimed even higher, for the princess herself. “Yes. I’m sure I have a date somewhere.” Some part of him enjoyed the distress of the people around him at the possibility of his departure. It made him want to leave even more. “Wait!” Gabby grabbed at the man beside her, whose name Vaun had forgotten a while ago, and tugged at the sleeve of his obviously repaired jacket. “Show him,” she whispered urgently. Vaun took another draw of his disappointing cigarette. The best part about going to a teahouse or club in the thick of the Main was how the people tried so desperately to impress him. The people in the High knew him too well to try so hard. They feared his mockery even more than they desired his attention. But this group had spent the better part of the last hour trying to wow him with their trinkets and knowledge of the High. It was all nonsense read from the paper and mostly outdated. “I truly doubt you have anything to show me that I have not seen.” The man reached into his jacket a little uncomfortably and took out a small mason jar. Others giggled, recognizing it, but Vaun only blinked at first. Its glass belly was full but not with anything liquid or solid. Light, captured and pulsing, swirled inside the jar. Vaun felt it as much as he saw it. He heard it like a whisper against his senses and found himself leaning forward to see it more clearly: a soul. Vaun had seen them before, but they weren’t common. So uncommon, in fact, that he was surprised they hadn’t led with this in their attempt to impress him. He supposed they might have been afraid he’d take it. Soul capturing was an old craft that most considered barbaric now. His gaze turned up from the jar to the man holding it. “Who is it?” The soul was a beautiful captive, but the person walking around without it was the real prize—the puppet, someone that could be made to do anything. “I couldn’t say.” The man smiled. “He wouldn’t be much of a spy if I did.”