Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

One Week Blog Tour for The S.P.I.R.I.T Series by Dawn Gray from Dec 8 to Dec 16, 2014

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Sparkle Blog Button info book1Title: S.P.I.R.I.T. Fire Storm Series: S.P.I.R.I.T. Series #1 Author: Dawn Gray Audience: Adult Genre: Paranormal Formats: E-book and Paperback Publisher: Anchor Group Cover by: Najla-Qamber-Designs Editor: There For You Editing Pages: 290 pages ASIN: B007SZR7T2 Date Published: 1 January 2014
blurb
When Samantha Ricketts finds herself placed in a town half-way across the country, her only worry is how did she get there, but when her life is saved by a handsome and mysterious man, the connection they feel is almost more than she can stand. Zander Smith was only acting on his instincts and training when he moved the dark-haired woman to safety but what he got from his heroics wasn't the distressed woman he had thought he was helping but a fireball of fury that sparked a storm within himself. Together they tap into the supernatural to uncover the mysteries surrounding the strange town they were slowly growing fond of before they became part of its history.
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book 2Title: Malevolent Gateway Series: S.P.I.R.I.T. Series # 2 Pages: 290 ASIN: B00AM4I1BO Date Published: 10 Dec 2012 blurb The Green Mountains of Vermont is a wonderland of picturesque valleys and hills, a landscape of fields and small towns that are hidden treasures. However, they can also hide many secrets. Burke Flats, located in the upper right hand corner of the state, the Northeast Kingdom, has many skeletons in its closet. Lieutenant Will Stiles and his group of men, the S.P.I.R.I.T. team, are called in to investigate the strange happenings around the marshlands of Burke Flats. For generations the marshes have been a place of ghostly lore, disappearances, and strange deaths. Anna and Blake call the Flats home, but when the deaths begin to pick up in numbers they are more than happy to have the help of the military’s new elite. Will having the S.P.I.R.I.T. team so close open up a world of evil that they aren’t prepared for? Can a member of a different unit help spread some light on the subject? Join Anna, Blake, Will, and his team in a fight against a stronger malevolent presence than anyone ever expected.
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info book3Title: Hidden Demons Series: S.P.I.R.I.T. Series # 3 Pages: 290 ASIN: B00IA7A94M Date Published: 5 Feb 2014 

blurb In the quiet Northeast Kingdom town of Aldenville, surrounded by beautiful mountains and a lake that crosses borders, something is amiss. Construction begins in the midst of protest, which only escalates when the remains of an ancient skeleton is found. Suddenly, the ground opens up to reveal a hidden cavern below the town itself. Special Agent Scott Embry of the S.P.I.R.I.T unit is flown in from Washington when the leader of the dig site goes missing. Their only witness, her best friend, Peighton Weak, is a Speleologist who was brought in to lead the team of cave divers. Their plan is to go down into the depth of the darkness to explore the strange writings that cover the dig site and bring about the mysterious beginnings of Aldenville. Along with the help of Evan Reed, a peculiar man himself, the team begins to uncover the secret beginnings of Aldenville and its hidden demons, some which span over five centuries.
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My playlist for writing is usually soundtracks and instrumental music.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Harry Potter
Dungeons and Dragons
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
and Pandora on random/shuffle
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book1

SAMANTHA RICKETTS: 25-30 long hair, dark, feisty. Sam grew up in a haunted house being able to hear ghosts that her father (a scientist) help conjure up and capture. They torment her for her whole childhood and she finally breaks free of them become a mythology tutor. She wakes up to find herself in the field of a church which blows up and she is rescued by Zander but doesn’t let her guard down. Lieutenant Zander Smith: 25-30 dark hair, military man. Zander can see ghosts and uses his ability to help the military team find and destroy the ghouls that they trace. He is fascinated by Samantha when he finds her on the field. He has had run ins with the ghost in the old house that she used to live in and find s that he is very protective of her and very attached.
book 2
ANNA NEUVILLE had lived in Burke Flats most of her youth, had seen the comings and goings of the strange little town, but for her there was nothing magical about the place. Scary, dark, secretive, and definitely a place of unrest-those were the words that she would use to describe how she felt about her home in the mountains. That was until she met William Stiles. FIRST LIEUTENANT WILLIAM STILES never liked being so close to any hot spot. Something in Burke Flats wasn't just hot, it was steaming, especially out by the marsh. He was a strong-headed lifer; there was no way he was getting out of the service anytime soon. He had entered straight from high school and moved up the ranks quickly, gaining a college education and taking command in Iraq several times. He had a Master's in Homeland Security and a Bachelor's in Strategic Leadership. He had never questioned his abilities until Anna stepped into his life.
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PEIGHTON WEAK She was the one that Dell always called in. There was nothing that Peighton couldn’t figure out when she’s put in the right situation. Having witnessed Dell’s death, Peighton set out to solve the mystery that surrounded Aldenville, and she had Scott by her side to do it. Peighton came with the highest recommendations in her field, and Dell always requested her when she stumbled on the black hole. She is an expert at dry cave diving and anthropology. SPECIAL AGENT SCOTT EMBRY Embry was an ex-Special Ops, if anyone could ever be one, who transferred to the FBI’s special new division after his medical discharge. It was strange to step into a world outside his own after living in the military ranks for so long, but at the same time he had seen some things on his tours that brought the rest of the “known” world collapsing down on him. The S.P.I.R.I.T. division of the FBI was a bit different than the military units deployed around the country. Most of the agents he knew were the first in after everything was cleared and taken care of, but with Embry and his canine companion, they seemed to be the ones that stepped in just as everything came to a boil and things weren’t looking good for the unit members.


Angels with Attitude - Author Interview

What would you have done differently if you were the main character of your book ? 

 I think they are all perfect, I believe the love story in Fire Storm could use a little more time.
What was your inspiration behind this book?  A dream, the first chapter is the last thing I remember when I woke up.

Why did you become a writer? 

 I’ve always been a writer for as long as I could remember.  Adventures never ended when I came in from playing with friends.

Do you have a favorite author or authors? 

 Anne Rice, Stephen King, Christine Feehan, and a lot of the Anchor Group authors and Indie authors that I have come to know since publishing

Do you like to write your books in a continuing series? 

My books follow a path of their own.  While the S.P.I.R.I.T. series follows the actual military unit, each book is a different team or individual connected to it.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?

I actually would date Julian Deveraux from the Vampire Legacy, he has been my crush since I met his inspiration.

What kinds of books do you like to read in your spare time?

 Anything

As a reader and writer I think it is important to get to know your fans and make a connection with them as an author who takes the extra step to hear what their fans think and want in their continued writing is continued success and key to selling more books .Do you agree with that?

  I absolutely agree with it.



 Yes.

Did you have a Cover Designer? 

 Originally I designed the covers myself and after joining Anchor Group, we’ve had several cover designers.

Who is your fictional boyfriend crush? 

Julian or Zander, it’s a toss-up
If you were able to dine and have a one on one with your favorite writer/author who would it be?  Anne Rice, definitely.

Do just re-read your favorite books?

 Most definitely.

Do you ever get in a reading slump like your readers do?

 I get into a writing slump, especially when things are busy and I can’t get myself going.


What is the funniest book you ever read? 

 There are a lot of them, I don’t think I pinpoint just one.

giveaway
author
clip_image017 Being raised in both the Northeast corner of Vermont and one of the larger cities in Massachusetts has given Dawn, a divorced mother of three, the unique ability to mix the spookiness of a small town ghost story with the fast pace action of city life. Island Pond, Vermont was every child's wonderland, with looming mountains and small towns nestled in the valleys, its simple lifestyle gave Ms. Gray the ability to let her imagination run wild, thus creating her unique style of writing, where the stories speak for themselves. Big city living, in her teenage years to the present allowed her to harvest that energy and creativeness to bring to life some of the most unique characters, such as Michael Raven and Julian Deveraux. Although Vampires are her most used basis for characters and settings, Ms. Gray's novels also venture into those of other supernatural realms, with ghosts, witchcraft and werewolves coming into play in several of her upcoming manuscripts.
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follow the tour
Tour Schedule - One Week Blog Tour for The S.P.I.R.I.T Series by Dawn Gray from Dec 8 to Dec 16, 2014
Dec 8
Coffee Books & Art - Promo & Dream Cast
Indy Book Fairy - Promo & Character Bio's
Dec 9
A Little Bit of R&R - Promo & Author Interview
Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog - Promo
Dec 10
Loves All Things Books - Promo & Playlist
Angels with Attitude Book Reviews - Promo, Author Interview & Playlist
Dec 11
Trips Down Imagination Road - Promo & Review
The Avid Reader- Promo, Dream Cast, Character Bio's & Playlist
Dec 12
Evanlea's Bookshelf - Promo & Review
Patricia D. Eddy - Promo
Dec 15
Eclipse Reviews - Promo, Dream Cast, Character Bio's, Character Interview & Playlist
Portals to New Worlds - Promo, Dream Cast, Character Bio's & Playlist
Dec 16
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It Book Reviews - Promo & Dream Cast
Fictional Rendezvous Book Blog - Promo
Ms. Me28 - Promo & Review

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

One Week Blog Tour for The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall by Lauren Smith from Nov 17 to 25, 2014

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Title: The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall
Series: Dark Seductions # 1
Author: Lauren Smith
Audience: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Modern Gothic Romance
Formats: E-book and Paperback
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Cover by: Heather Howland
Editor: Tracy Montoya
Pages: 253 pages
ISBN: 978-1-63375-104-0
ASIN: B00NE06UI4
Date Published: 29 September 2014

blurb

To defeat a dark evil, they must face his family’s past…
Bastian Carlisle, the Earl of Weymouth, doesn’t believe in ghosts. Even though tragedy and mysterious hauntings have driven his family away from his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall, he is determined to restore the castle to its former glory. His plans are disrupted when a stubborn American shows up on his doorstep hoping to pry into his family’s tragic history.
Jane Seyton, an American graduate student, is convinced there’s more to the tragedy of Stormclyffe Hall than history claims. Ever the scholar, she is determined to discover the truth, even if it means putting up with the arrogant, yet sexy, Bastian.
Although Bastian wants nothing to do with the pushy American, it soon becomes clear that something evil is in the house—and that something is targeting both Jane and Bastian. The two must join forces to purge the ghosts of Stormclyffe Hall once and for all—even as they try to fight a physical attraction between them that grows more and more impossible to deny.



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excerpt


Weymouth, England, 1811
The crash of thunder woke Richard, Earl of Weymouth. The fire in the hearth was low, the embers no longer crackling, and a cold draft pressed in around him as a storm raged outside. Pulling a loose sheet around his hips, he reached across the bed for his wife, who was still weak from bearing him a healthy son a month ago. His hands stopped short as he encountered nothing but the twisted sheets where her body had lain.
An icy tendril of fear churned in his stomach. She never left their bed when it rained. Storms frightened her. Isabelle usually curled into his side, burying her face against his throat for comfort.
Heavy rain whipped against the windows, the fierce staccato a warning to stay inside. Wind whistled through the room, teasing tapestries out, then back against the walls as though bodies moved behind them. A rumble of thunder seemed to shake the stones of his ancestral home, Stormclyffe Hall.
“Isabelle?” he called out. “Love?”
Only the crash of thunder answered. Lightning streaked past the window and illuminated his son’s cradle.
A sharp cry split the air.
Richard leaped out of bed, the icy floor stinging his bare feet as he rushed to the cradle. Murmuring soft, sweet words, he lifted his son, Edward, tucking him in the crook of one arm, relieved the babe was safe. He never thought he would be the paternal sort, but Isabelle and their babe brought out the tenderness in him.
The town viewed his marriage as a disgrace. Earls didn’t marry the daughters of innkeepers. But Richard hadn’t cared. He loved her and would do anything to have her in his life.
A frown tugged down the corners of his lips. “Where is your mother, Edward?” Thunder once again rocked the hall. October storms thrashed the castle and nearby cliffs with a wicked vengeance. Trees were split in half by lightning; the edges of the cliff decayed inward, inching ever closer to the castle. Although the storm this night was no different, something felt wrong. A bite to the air, a sense of dread digging into his spine.
As the baby’s long eyelashes drowsily settled back down on his plump cheeks, Richard assured himself that the baby’s linens were dry and Edward was content. He brushed his lips over his son’s forehead and set him back in the cradle. When he stepped back, glancing out the window that overlooked the sea, his blood froze. A feminine silhouette clambered through the rock outcroppings by the cliff’s edge.
Even from a distance, he knew with a horrifying certainty it was Isabelle.
It was madness to be outside, alone by the cliffs. She knew the dangers, knew the soft dirt around the cliffs crumbled into the sea. Only the year before, a boy from the village had fallen to his death when the ground by the edge gave way. “Isabelle!” he gasped, the single intake of air burning his chest as though fire had erupted within.
Before he had time to move, the sky blackened, his vision robbed of light. When lightning again bathed the rocks, Isabelle was gone.
His stomach clenched with a fear so profound, it flayed open his chest with poison-tipped claws.
Shouting for his cloak and boots, he raced from the room. The nurse emerged from down the hall, her white cap askew, and gray hair frizzing out from under the edges.
“Take charge of the baby!” he yelled as he ran past her.
She nodded and hurried to his room.
His valet, followed by several footmen, raced to his aid, carrying clothes. He snatched them and dressed as he ran, his men right behind him dashing through the deluge.
When they reached the cliffs, there was no sign of Isabelle.
“My lord!” a footman by the edge shouted.
Afraid to look, yet unable to tear his eyes away, Richard stared down to where the man’s finger pointed. The black shadow of Isabelle’s cloak caught on a razor-thin piece of rock, fluttering madly like a bat’s wing. Lightning slashed above them, its terrible light revealing a dark smear beneath the cloak’s erratic movements. Blood. Isabelle’s blood. Had she jumped to her death?
“No!” A crash of thunder swallowed his roar of despair.
He dove for the edge, wanting to follow her into the frothing gray seas. A cloak smeared with blood. All that remained of his wife.
He’d fought too hard to win her love, her trust. They’d suffered through too much together, to be divided now. He couldn’t raise Edward alone.
“No…please, no.” The pleading came from the bottom of his soul, torn from his heart.
She was gone.
Strong arms hauled Richard back from the ledge, pinning him to the earth.
“It is too late, my lord. She’s gone.”
She was his Isabelle, his heart…
Why had she jumped? Had she been unhappy? It couldn’t be that. He would have known, and he would have done anything in his power to make her happy. “We must find her,” he told the men standing around him.
An older man, Richard’s head gardener, shook his head. “We can’t search in this weather, and her body will be gone by the time the storm ends. But we’ll try to find what we can on the morrow, if you wish.” “I do,” Richard growled. Despair was replaced with vengeance.
He faced Stormclyffe. Lightning laced the skies behind it in a white, delicate pattern. The centuries-old castle loomed out of the darkness, a defensive wolf with the battlements as its bared teeth.
It didn’t matter that his infant son waited in a lonely cradle, eager for the loving touch of his remaining parent.
Richard was lost.

He wanted nothing to do with the life he’d had, the riches, the earldom. He despised it all. Every blessed memory he ever had that reminded him of Isabelle made him furious. She was gone from his life forever. He could not bring himself to dwell on his son; it only cleaved his chest in two. His love, his heart, was being battered against the rocks below.

Our Author Interview

What would you have done differently if you were the main character of your book ?

    If I was Jane, I would probably have not handled the ghosts as well as she did. She was a lot braver than me. I would probably have been hiding under my bed, praying the ghosts wouldn’t come after me. I believe in ghosts and the idea of bad spirits can really be frightening.

What was your inspiration behind this book?

   I loved the old classic gothic's by Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt and I wanted to capture that old classic magic but put a sexy new spin on it.

Why did you become a writer?

    I love telling stories and when I learned in third grade that I could share my stories by writing them down, it was going to be my destiny. What better way to entertain people with wonderful stories, especially love stories, than to share them by writing.

Do you have a favorite author or authors?

    Julia Quinn, Johanna Lindsey, Lisa Kleypas, Gena Showalter and Christina Dodd.

Do you like to write your books in a continuing series?

  Yes! I love series. I have currently three series that will be out for reading. A historical series, a modern gothic series, and a edgy almost erotic (but not quite) contemporary series. I love setting books with the same characters and in the same universes.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?

    Aramis from The Three Musketeers. He just sounds playful, sexy and total trouble in the best way!

What kinds of books do you like to read in your spare time?

    Romances, literary fiction, historical fiction, historical non-fiction.

As a reader and writer I think it is important to get to know your fans and make a connection with them as an author who takes the extra step to hear what their fans think and want in their continued writing is continued success and key to selling more books .Do you agree with that?

    Absolutely! I love talking with my fans and getting to know them and finding out what they love  or in some cases didn’t love about my books so I can write better stories next time.

Do you cry when writing sad scenes?

     Yes. I sometimes cry when I write happy scenes too. If, as a writer, you aren’t emotionally moved when writing your stories, then the story needs to be stronger.

Did you have a Cover Designer?

    Yes. I work with 3 different artists for each of the three series I have published. They are all selected by my publisher.

Who is your fictional boyfriend or girlfriend crush?

    I have a fictional crush on Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series heroes. ALL OF THEM. I can’t pick just one. They are all sexy and fantastic!


If you were able to dine and have a one on one with your favorite writer/author who would it be?

    Christina Dodd. I met her at a writer conference in 2012 before I was published and she was the most gracious person, sweet, heart-felt and genuine. I told her how she’d inspired me to be a romance writer and how reading her books changed my life and she got teary-eyed and so did I! It was one of the best moments of my life.

Do just re-read your favorite books?

    During edits, I do re-read them! After they’re done I tend to leave them alone, except if an audiobook version comes out. I love audiobooks and I have to listen to them to hear the voices. It’s a fun experience.

Do you ever get in a reading slump like your readers do?

    Definitely! I got in one this past month. I ended up listening to lectures on Ancient Egyptian History for a while which was fascinating and cleared my reading pipes so to speak so I could dive back into fiction.

What is the funniest book you ever read?

   Soon I Will be Invincible by Austin Grossman. Absolutely hilarious and absolutely genius. I could read this over and over again and laugh just as hard every time.


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Chapter 1
Weymouth, England, Present Day
Blood splashed against white porcelain, the ruby-red liquid spreading outward in a chaotic pattern.
Jane Seyton hissed, clutching her leg. The cut burned like the devil. She slapped a palm over the sliced flesh, but crimson liquid seeped through her fingers. She set down her razor and reached for the shower nozzle, aiming it at the red streaks, washing them down the drain. A thin trail of red still trickled down the tub’s edge, and she blasted with the nozzle again, desperately trying to erase the unsettling sight of her own blood.
She hobbled out of the shower, rummaging through her makeup bag until she found a Band-Aid.
Her room in the tiny inn was quiet, the silence thick and a little unsettling. She hummed to break up the suffocating lack of noise.
It had been a tiring journey from Cambridge to the small, desolate coast near Weymouth in southern England. The White Lady Inn had an almost macabre wooden sign, a silhouetted woman in white standing at the edge of a vast cliffside, her dress billowing out to sea in a cloud of smokelike swirls. It swung above the door and creaked with the slightest breeze. Despite the inn being situated between a lively pub and a quaint grocery store, there seemed to be a zone of quiet within the inn itself. Her room was a drab little place, with a narrow bed and whitewashed walls.
The same family had owned this inn for over two hundred years, passing it down from generation to generation. It was only natural that the place had seen better days and could use a little work. Yet, the awful silence made her skin tingle. She’d hardly slept last night, jumping at every small creak and groan. Taking herself to task, she’d consciously reminded herself that older places made such noises as the wood and stone settled into place.
Today she was driving up to the old castle-like manor house, Stormclyffe Hall, where she was going to meet the owner, the ninth Earl of Weymouth. After several emails back and forth, he’d reluctantly given her permission to tour the grounds along with other visitors but made no mention of getting access to the house’s historical papers. Her dissertation was on the tragic stories of some of Britain’s ancient castles and manor houses, with a particular emphasis on Stormclyffe and its effect on Weymouth. Her committee chair, Dr. Blackwell, had given her two weeks to find sources to supplement her theories on Stormclyffe Hall. Since the last four years of research footwork had been done on this one particular castle, she couldn’t switch the focus easily to another location. If she couldn’t get what she needed, she wouldn’t get Blackwell’s approval and she’d have to start her dissertation, for a PhD in history, over completely.
In order to complete her research, she had to find out what actually happened to the current earl’s ancestors, Richard and his wife, Isabelle, who’d both died under mysterious circumstances. Rumor had it Isabelle had committed suicide. People claimed to have seen her ghost walking the cliffs. Richard had been found one foggy morning shortly thereafter sprawled in his study, a broken brandy glass next to his body. He had apparently drunk himself to an early grave a year after his wife’s passing. The locals claimed the earl’s spirit was trapped within the walls of his castle, restlessly searching for his dead wife, his mournful cries piercing the air on windless nights.
What Jane hadn’t told the current earl or anyone else was the more personal reason for her focus on Stormclyffe Hall. Ever since she’d seen an old photo of it, she felt an almost mystical pull. Lately she couldn’t seem to focus on anything else.
The hall whispered to her on the darkest of nights, with soft murmurs and teasing visions just as she began to fall asleep. Before dawn, she’d awaken, hands trembling with the feel of heavy stones against her palms, her heart racing and lips drawn back in a scream as though she’d fallen from the cliffs herself. What she felt, however, in each and every dream she had lately were hands shoving at her lower back, pushing her over the edge against her will.
The obsession with Stormclyffe had cost her so much already. The months of work on her dissertation were now at risk of being set aside if she couldn’t find primary sources. It would be back to square one if she had to pick another castle and start all of her initial research over again, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Her fiancé Tim had broken off their engagement and ended their two-year relationship, telling her he found her obsession with the castle “creepy” and that he worried she was mentally unstable.
But Jane’s dreams made her wonder if the young countess hadn’t jumped but been pushed by…someone. And that was the root of her obsession. The nightmares were slowly driving her mad, and she knew she had to get to the bottom of what happened to Isabelle if she ever hoped to find peace. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand waking up every night gasping for breath and her bones aching as though they’d been smashed upon saltwater-covered rocks. The last few months she and Tim had been together, her dreams had grown increasingly vivid and terrifying, and they’d woken him up as well.
The beginning of the end.
She would never forget the look on his face, the tightness to his eyes and the way his lips pursed as he’d held out his hand and asked for his engagement ring back. His bags were packed and sitting by the door, and he’d left within minutes of destroying her life and all of her hopes for the future. Their future.
With a little sigh, she smoothed her left thumb over the base of her naked fourth finger. Even after four months, she still felt bare without it. A splinter of pain shot through her chest, and she clenched her fist, avoiding looking at her hand anymore. She rubbed a towel through her hair before blow-drying it. She could have used a flat iron to tame the mess of dark waves, but she’d fried that when she first arrived in England and plugged it into the wall socket with a converter that hadn’t worked properly. She’d never gotten around to buying another one.
Not that it mattered. Given that her academic pursuits tended to involve panels of older, balding male professors in tweed jackets, she rarely bothered with her looks. Her current mission, though, required a more professional touch to her hair and wardrobe. She figured if she looked fashionable and presentable, it might help further her research goals. Easier said than done. She was fully aware she wasn’t the sort of woman men fawned over, but her dissertation depended on access to the earl’s family archives, and she’d get dolled up if it would help make sure he didn’t change his mind about letting her pry into his papers.
The current earl had proved initially reluctant to allow her access to his family history, but when she’d persisted through a deluge of emails and letters, he’d reluctantly said she’d be welcome to tour the grounds along with other tourists once the remodeling was over. That had been four months ago. Stormclyffe didn’t have a website to clue her in on whether the grounds were open to tourists or not, but the remodeling had to be done by now. She couldn’t wait any longer. And she wasn’t going to take no for an answer on getting into those original sources from the current earl.
A smile tugged at her lips.
Sebastian Carlisle, the ninth Earl of Weymouth. A rich playboy with the world at his fingertips. Of course he was tall, with gorgeous, dark blond hair like melted gold and eyes the shade of cinnamon. By all reports, his life consisted of fast cars, leggy models with perfect hair, and wealth beyond imagining. The man was definitely not her type, but she needed to impress him if she was to stay at the castle and work.
Her internet searches also revealed a fair amount about him, aside from his romantic entanglements, and she’d been impressed. With a PhD in history from Cambridge and degrees in numerous foreign languages, he showed a surprising amount of scholarship. Despite his flashy lifestyle, he’d helped push for preservation of historical landmarks throughout Britain and was a member of the Royal Historical Society.
His town house in London was rumored to have one of the country’s best library collections, second only to other collections in aristocratic homes like Althorp, home to the ninth Earl Spencer. Even she had to admit that despite Carlisle’s reputation as the most seductive man in all of England, and he might also be one of the smartest.
She slipped into her favorite pair of jeans and a comfortable pair of black boots before donning a thick, gray, cable-knit sweater. Back home in Charleston, the weather would be light and warm, but the English coast was always cold in late October. Sea spray drifted far into town, sinking into her bones through the walls of the White Lady Inn.
Though it was still early afternoon, the sky outside her room dimmed as the low-hanging clouds drifted off the sea, dragging their vast looming shapes through the town and blocking out the sun’s illumination. A chill seeped through the glass of the window, frosting the edges with dew that pebbled around the panes.
A sudden knot gathered at the base of her skull, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck rising. The air inside was now as cold as outside. Her breath exhaled in a cottony puff, and her skin tingled with a strange sensation. Her muscles tensed in response as though her body expected something to happen. If she hadn’t known without a doubt that she was alone, she would have sworn someone was watching her.


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giveaway


 
about the author
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Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets—a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She's won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.

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follow the tour
Tour Schedule - One Week Blog Tour for The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall by Lauren Smith from Nov 17 to 25, 2014.
Nov 17
Kimber Leigh Writes - Promo
Kelly P's Blog - Promo
Portals to New Worlds - Promo & Character Interview
Nov 18
A Cauldron of Books - Promo
Angels with Attitude Book Reviews - Promo & Author Interview
Nov 19
Rustys Reading - Promo
The Avid Reader - Promo & Author Interview 
The Adult Cover (And Everything in Between) – Promo
Nov 20
Movies, Shows & Books - Promo
Smile Somebody Loves You - Promo
Eclipse Reviews - Promo & Top Ten
Nov 21
Dalene's Book Reviews - Promo & Review
Bound 2 Escape - Promo
Stories and Swag! - Promo & Review
Nov 24
Books, Authors, Blogs - Promo & Top Ten
Book Nook Nuts - Promo
Girlygirlbookreviews – Promo & Review
Nov 25
Fictional Rendezvous Book Blog - Promo
Patricia D. Eddy - Promo
Booky Ramblings of a Neurotic Mom - Promo
Indy Book Fairy - Promo