Blog Tour and Excerpt - The Guilty Innocent

BLURB:

Title: The Guilty Innocent
Series: The Knight of the Darkness Chronicles
Author: D.N. Simmons
Genre: Urban-fantasy
Sub-Genre: Paranormal Romance, Mystery, GLBT, Horror, Multicultural,
humor, erotica
Publisher: Rushmore Publishing
Pairings: M/F,M/M,M/F/M – The series features straight, gay and bisexual
characters. Sexual content is rated “Hot and Steamy”.
Other Ratings: Mature Audience, Graphic Language and Violence, Strong
Sexual Situations and all sort of good things and naughty bits that make
for great entertainment.
Pages: 282
ISBN-13: 978-0615688381
Word Count: 104481

 
The Guilty Innocent is the second novel in the edgy, action-packed,
sexually-charged, Knights of the Darkness Chronicles.

In this installment, Darian, the gorgeous, charismatic and charming
master vampire of Chicago is framed for a crime he didn't commit, but
why? His lover, Xavier, Natasha and a few others must travel halfway
across the world to find out who and why before time runs out and all
hell breaks loose!

Original, sexy and gritty, the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles will
suck you in and take you for a ride you won't forget!

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EXCERPT:

    My name is Natasha Hemingway, I’m an ordinary person, but lately I've had to start learning to adapt to an extraordinary life. I recently discovered that I have some special abilities, well, my best friend and roommate, Annette believes my abilities to be special—a “gift from God.” I’m what some people might call a psychic, and I’m also clairvoyant, though that skill needs a lot more fine-tuning. I see visions of future events whenever I fall asleep. At first, I thought my visions to be erratic dreams. I was unaware that I had formed connections with certain people by touching something personal of theirs and had no idea how to control them. However, thanks to the supernatural and expert help from Darian, I am now able to manage the visions better. 

    Four months ago when I realized I had these abilities, my friend Annette and I were out partying and decided to take a cab home. We were involved in a deadly two-car accident when our cab was rear-ended. We survived, but our driver and the driver of the other car didn’t. The strange thing about that accident was that I saw it happen seconds before it actually did, through the eyes of the driver who rear-ended our cab. I knew he was the same man I had bumped into as we were leaving the nightclub. He was drunk and had dropped his car keys. I had picked them up and had sent Annette to give them to the bartender. That stupid bartender had returned the keys to that highly intoxicated man. And now two people were dead because of two irresponsible idiots, (I hope that phrase isn’t redundant). 

While I was recovering in the hospital, I discovered that the medication I had been taking for years for migraines was actually a dream suppressant. My friend convinced me to use

my abilities for the greater good, so I no longer take the medication every night, some nights I have to, just to get some sleep. You’d be surprised how many morbid dreams I can have in one night. I’ve seen all sorts of things, such as murders, rapes and sexual orgies, to name a few. The orgies can sometimes be entertaining if I allow myself to pry, which doesn't happen often. But sometimes, you know ... I can't help myself.  

I’m sure you can imagine just how rare my abilities are, but trust me, they can be a pain in the ass at times. And as if my plate wasn’t full enough, I now have two vampires courting me. If you think like my friend, Annette … then two kind, sexy, and gorgeous vampires courting you is a good thing. A once in a lifetime thing one shouldn’t pass up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying all of the attention they’re giving me. I mean, what woman wouldn’t relish being spoiled by two rich studs, even if they were undead? I’ll admit, it’s still taking me some time to get used to the supernatural living among us. It’s been about two and a half years since the supernatural races were revealed. Up until that time, vampires and shape-shifters were only creatures in movies and myths. 

At the time of the discovery, they were teachers, doctors, lawyers ... well, let me clarify that. A lot of them were those things before the “Exposure”. And even now, most of them still cloak their true identities out of fear of being discovered. For a doctor to reveal that he or she is a supernatural would be career suicide. Many people wouldn’t want a supernatural examining them, not to mention operating on them. I suppose this could be blamed on humans beings suspicious and unwilling to trust anyone different from themselves.

 It’s my speculation that many humans feared that they would be accidentally (or purposely) turned or eaten for dinner. Even though the humans and supernaturals must coexist, thanks to the new laws, I’ve noticed many humans can only accept the supernaturals as attractions. They do such things as going to their hangouts to look at the sexy, exotic vampires. Many of them want to feel the animal magnetism of the shape-shifters.

Not me. I was never one to want to be up close and personal with the supernaturals, but in the past four months, certain events have thrust me into their world. Hell, who am I to say anything? If people knew about my abilities, they would toss me in the lot with the rest of them.

  

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BIO:

D. N. Simmons lives in Chicago IL., with a rambunctious German Shepherd
that's too big for his own good and mischievous kitten that she
affectionately calls "Itty-bitty". Her hobbies include rollerblading,
billiards, bowling, reading, watching television and going to the movies.
She has been nominated at Love Romances and More, winning honorable
mention for best paranormal book of 2006. She has won "Author of the
Month" at Warrior of Words. She was voted "New Voice of Today" at Romance
Reviews and "Rising Star" at Love Romance and More.

To learn more, and have the opportunity to speak with the author
personally, please visit the official website and forum at
www.dnsimmons.com . D.N. is always interesting in meeting new and
wonderful people.

ONLINE LINKS:

Website: http://www.dnsimmons.com

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/dnsimmonsKOTD?feature=watch

Twitter: http://www.youtube.com/user/dnsimmonsKOTD?feature=watch

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000552496587&ref=tn_tnmn

Blog: http://authordnsimmons.blogspot.com/?zx=824e0b32bd268e30

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1396694.D_N_Simmons

BUY NOW LINK:

Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Innocent-Knights-Darkness-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B004EPYUTY/ref=pd_sim_b_1

B&N Link:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-guilty-innocent-dn-simmons/1112046040?ean=2940012243102

All Romance Ebook Link:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theguiltyinnocent-728019-139.html

First Chapter Link:
http://www.dnsimmons.com/Guilty_Innocent.pdf

Review - To Catch a Bad Guy

Janet Maple's stellar career ended with a lay off and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.

Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

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My review:

This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites for contemporary romances.  I just really enjoy reading her stories.

In this story we meet Janet, who at the start is a lawyer who is out to help keep people from being taken advantage of.  When she finds out that all the credit for the work she has been doing is taken by another or that her findings are worthless while at the same time being dumped by her boyfriend she realizes its time for a change.

Janet ends up working for one of her former friends at a high end brokerage firm.   What seems like a great job soon turns to boredom as she finds out the company outsources any real legal work to be done.   While doing the grunt work for an audit she starts to question some of the companies practices.  She ends up turning to the cute IT engineer whom she is surprised to learn is there to find just the information she has stumbled upon.

Dean, who is really Dennis, is at the firm to find information about illegal trading the company is under suspicion for.  What he finds is Janet.  Janet is new to the company and thanks to her former job used to investigating when things seem wrong.  Dennis has to figure out if she can possibly be involved or if she is someone he can trust and work with to keep harmless people from losing their life savings.

Its a fun story with Janet's friend trying to set her up with the lawyer the firm uses, but Janet really wanting to get to know Dean (Dennis).  At the same time, Dennis really wants to get to know Janet better, but he is under a time constraint to get the information needed to prove the company is under suspicious practice.   And if he confides in Janet, will she help him or turn him in.  And more importantly will she ever trust him again once she knows his real identity.  

I enjoyed my time with these characters and would love to see them again in the future.  Until then I recommend anyone looking for a fun read with a sense of mystery and romance pick this one up. 

Review - Finding Claire Fletcher

Book BLURB:

Down on his luck, Detective Connor Parks takes solace in the arms of a woman he meets at a local bar, but in the morning, Claire Fletcher is gone, leaving behind clues to a decade-old mystery—her own abduction. Perplexed and driven by an unsettling need to see Claire again, Connor must solve the mystery of her disappearance and find her once and for all.

BIO:

Lisa Regan is a suspense novelist.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University.  She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter. 

ONLINE LINKS:

Website: www.lisaregan.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Regan/189735444395923

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisalregan  @lisalregan

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6443334.Lisa_Regan

BUY NOW LINK:

·         Amazon paper book

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My review:

This was a real psychological suspense.  And it really kept you reading. 

Claire Fletcher has been missing for years, she disappeared one day on the way to school.  Connor Parks has had a rough day and has been assigned desk duty pending resolution of a case he was working on.  While unwinding at a local bar he meets a woman who the next morning disappears only leaving her name and an address.  When he goes to the address he find out she has been missing for over 10 years.  This starts a brand new investigation for him, he is determined to find out who was this woman he met and if she was really this missing person.

The rest of the story is told between Claire's perspective at the hands not only of her kidnapper but what has happened to her in these years she has been missing.  The rest is told from Connor's point of view in his search for Claire.  This is very well done and you do not get lost even when the chapters switch to from one to the other. 

We find out Claire is a very strong character.  She is beaten down but still tries to find ways out.  She is a fighter and you know that if she wasnt this story would not be possible.  There are rough things that happen to her and I am thankful the author does not go into detail, but does let you know these things do happen in situations like this.

I dont want to say what happens as it does all tie into the story and could potentially spoil parts, I will just say that it is a satisfying conclusion and even once it reaches a part where you can accept the ending.  The author does keep the story going and progressing to give a real conclusion.  This was a well written suspense and I am looking forward to more from this author.

Review - Traces of Kara

Kara Knight can't wait to leave her hometown for the promise of nursing school and a fresh start on her future--leaving behind an over protective mother, a broken heart and painful memories. However, twenty-five miles away, the brother she doesn't know is determined to be reunited with the sister he cannot forget.

Kara is abducted and thrown into her obsessive captor's delusional world. As the past she thought she knew unravels around her, Kara struggles to make sense of the memories that come creeping back, threatening her sanity and her safety. Meanwhile, Kara's mother races against time to save the daughter she fears she will lose when a long-held secret is revealed. The hours tick away as Roland plays out his plan--to take Kara with him into death at the exact moment of their birth, never to be separated again.

TRACES OF KARA is an action packed, pulse pounding psychological thriller/suspense novel that features a determined killer who slowly loses his grip on reality as his carefully detailed plan starts to fall apart and a heroine determined to move forward with her life who now must reconcile everything she believed to be true about her family with the reality of their tragic past

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My review:

This was a great suspense.  It is action packed and keeps you on your toes throughout.  Its hard to give too many details without spoilers, but I will say what I can to hopefully try to get you to read it yourself.

Kara is trying to get out of her hometown to pursue her dream of going to nursing school.  She has quite a few things to get away from including a cheating ex.  Her mother really just wants her to be happy but their levels of communication can have issues at times.

One day while at work in the local plant she is abducted by a man she does not know.  This starts a chain of events that lead to her remember things from when she was a child and fighting back to try to find a way out of her captivity while finding out the truth in her mixed up memories.

This is a well-written suspense story with strong psychological issues.  It take place at a good pace and you fight along with Kara to figure out what is going on and who this man really is.  If you are looking for a good suspense I highly recommend you pick this one up.

VBT and Giveaway - Memories of Murder

Memories of Murder

by Lara Nance

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Memories of Murder by Lara Nance, a Paranormal Romance is available now but will be $0.99 from March 4 – 8th on Amazon Kindle.

BLURB:

When Maeve McKenna renounces her witch powers and accepts a low-key nurse practitioner position at a Virginia retirement community, the last thing she expects is a suicide her first day on the job.

     

As the town's sexy sheriff, Paul Sutton, starts looking into the tragic death of his father's friend, Maeve can't help but get involved--with both the case and him. Their informal investigation unveils an old journal that connects the ruins of a nearby asylum and long-forgotten cemetery with the shiny new retirement community's memory unit--and Maeve's Alzheimer's patients.

     

Maeve senses a sinister presence in the old asylum, calling to the patients, but in order to stop it from killing again, she must first conquer some demons of her own and reclaim the magic she's denied herself.

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EXCERPT:

As if on cue, her cell phone rang and when she saw her mother’s number she sighed. Her Mom had been great during her crisis, but now had trouble letting go. Of course Maeve was grateful her mother and aunts had flown to Atlanta as soon as they’d heard about the attack. The Gems—the triumvirate of her mother, Opal, aunts Ruby and Pearl insisted Maeve return to Savannah to heal as soon as she could leave the hospital. There, the Gems helped restore her health with tenderness and a little magic.

Her mother and aunts had to stop worrying about her. She took a deep breath and forced a brightness into her voice she didn’t feel. “Hi, Mom.”

“Emerald, darling, how are you?” Her mother’s voice was a rich contralto tinged with concern.

Maeve cringed at her mother’s use of her first name. She chose to use her middle name after she bound her powers. However, her mother persisted in calling her Emerald or Em no matter how many times Maeve reminded her.

 “Yes, I’m fine. I made it and I’m on the way to the cabin I’m renting now,” Maeve said. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m the same as ever,” her mother said with a deep chuckle. “Incorrigible.”

Maeve had to laugh. Yep, that was her mom.

“So, do you like it there?”

Maeve sighed. “I just got here. But so far it’s very picturesque. The retirement community is obviously exclusive. You should see it. In a few months maybe you guys could come up for a weekend and sightsee.”

“You’re not telling me something. What happened to upset you?” Opal’s tone sharpened.

“Mom, stop it. You always say that when I talk to you from out of town. I’m perfectly fine,” she lied.

“Really, Maeve, Ruby saw a crow in her front yard this morning. A crow!”

“Big deal, a bird flew into her yard.”

“No, not just any bird. And then she went out back to work in the garden and found another one dead on the stone path. You can’t say that’s a coincidence.” She ended on a triumphant note.

“Mom.”

“I know, I know. You don’t want to hear about omens. But mark my words Emerald Maeve McKenna, one day you will recognize the value of your heritage and be glad you have the powers.”

“Mom!”

“Okay. I’m done.”

“Good. Now please give the rest of the Gems my love, tell them I miss them and take care. I’ll call you later in the week and let you know how the job is going.”

“I will. Take care and I hope whatever it is you’re not telling me is nothing really bad.”

“Mom!”

“Good bye, darling.”

“Bye, Mom.”

She didn’t know whether to smile, grit her teeth, or both. Although her Gems had saved her, she also needed distance from her family for a while. It was important to find her own balance now that she had renounced her witch powers. She swallowed, regrouped her thoughts, and then headed into downtown Rolling Gap. She had to keep going. There was no other way to survive.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lara Nance grew up and lived in many cities throughout the South. She loves to write in a variety of genres within the scope of women’s fiction. But the basis of all her stories is a tale that will entertain and intrigue.

If you want to escape and lose yourself in a novel, you’ve come to the right place. Choose your genre and settle in to be entertained. From thrilling mysteries and steampunk tales, to paranormal romance and adventure, Lara’s willing to explore a variety of compelling stories full of danger and suspense, with a touch of romance.

Having been on the fencing team in college and now living on a sailboat convinces her that she was a pirate in another life, or possibly kin to Errol Flynn… However, due to the unfortunate demise of the romantic pirates of the past, she lives out her fantasies, thrills and adventures in her stories.

Currently docked in Norfolk, Virginia (until the wind changes) Lara enjoys living on her sailboat and spends time reading, of course writing, indulging a variety of artistic endeavors, cooking and sailing with her husband, Joe and their Yorkie, Rio.

WEBSITE:  www.laranance.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Lara_Nance

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Nance-Author/164262596944196?ref=hl

BUY LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Memories-Murder-paranormal-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00AVKAFE0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358027204&sr=8-2&keywords=memories+of+murder+lara+nance

 

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GIVEAWAY:

At each stop, Lara will award a signed cover flat; and a $50 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/virtual-super-book-blast-memories-of.html