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WHEN WE WERE US #TeaserTuesday Ides of March Edition

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When We Were Us (Keeping Score Book 1) releases on April 7th! That’s in less than a month–yikes! I’m so excited for you to fall in love with Leo and Quinn and Nate.

Since today is Tuesday,  let’s do a little teaser. And since it’s the Ides of March, this one is probably a good one. {WARNING: this teaser contains adult language. Proceed with caution! 😉 }

Remember, if you want to read a full chapter of the book, you can download it for free here!

~~~***~~~

I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I was so fucking fed up with him. So angry for reasons that he probably wouldn’t begin to understand. “Oh, yeah? Last I heard, all our classes require attendance. That’s not optional in high school. At least, it isn’t for most of us. Maybe for the great Leo the Lion, the teachers make exceptions.” I couldn’t keep the snarl from creeping into my tone.

“What’s wrong with you? Who pissed in your cereal?” He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at me. “Did I do something that I don’t remember? Did I miss someone’s birthday or something? Because you and Quinn have both had bugs up your asses.”

“Nice of you to notice, Leo. You must’ve been a real dick to her yesterday, you know? Quinn was pretty upset after school when I walked her home.”

He pulled off the sunglasses, and I could see his bloodshot eyes were narrowed. “I didn’t do anything. She’s the one who’s causing all the shit with my friends, and then I stand up for her, and she ends up yelling at me. Saying I don’t even know her anymore. I don’t know what she expects from me. God, I don’t know what either of you want. It’s like you want to punish me for having other friends. For playing football. For having a goddamn life.”

“You know what, Leo? Keep your fucking friends, your football and your life. Quinn and I don’t need you. We have each other.”

Leo’s lips thinned into a tight line. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Come to think of it, Nate, maybe you should be thanking me instead of giving me hell. If Quinn’s so mad at me, that just makes more room for you, doesn’t it? You’ll finally have her all to herself, which is what you’ve always wanted.”

He was so close to the truth, so dangerously near to saying exactly what I was feeling, that my palms began to sweat with both fury and nerves. “At least I’d be smart enough to hold onto her if—if I ever got that chance. I’d never throw away her friendship.”

 

 

The Keeping Score Trilogy is a New Adult contemporary romance. The first two books may not give youWhen We Were Us Sml complete closure, but hang in there for Book 3; I promise the pay-off is worth it.

You can preorder When We Were Us now at all major retailers.

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play

Read an exclusive excerpt right here!

99 Cent Preorder SALE for WHEN WE WERE US

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The Trio. That’s who we’ve been since birth: Nate, Leo . . . and me, Quinn, the token girl. Our mothers met in prenatal yoga and became best friends, which meant that the three of us hit every milestone together, from the first day of school to the very first kiss.

We’ve always known that Nate’s a little different. He’s not as strong as Leo or me; he spent a lot of our childhood in various hospitals. Leo and I have been his unofficial bodyguards all our lives. I thought that would always be true.

But time moves on, and everything shifts. People change, and sometimes friendships fade away. High school pulled us apart: Leo’s suddenly the most popular guy in school, a football star and the subject of every girl’s fantasy. Nate and I are just people he used to know, the ones he left behind.

Of course, since I’ve been in love with Leo from the time we were eight, that stings a little.

And to complicate matters, I know that Nate is hung up on me. I see the look in his eyes. I wish I could say I felt the same, but I don’t. It’s getting harder and harder to keep him in the friend zone, though.

Then Leo and I were thrown together again, sticking up for Nate. I was surprised Leo came through for us and even more shocked when he kissed me. Me! Am I finally getting my chance with Leo . . . and will it come at the risk of losing both my best friends?

***~~~***

Order  your copy now at the special limited-time sale price!

99 cents for one week ONLY!

The Keeping Score Trilogy is a New Adult romance told in three books, taking Leo, Quinn and Nate from high school through college. Books One and Two will have unresolved endings; you have been warned.

But I promise, the happily-ever-after in Book Three will be the payoff. Trust me.

The release dates, all in 2016, are:

When We Were Us April 7th

Hanging By A Moment May 24th

Days of You and Me September 26th

You can preorder When We Were Us now at all major retailers.

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play

Read an exclusive excerpt right here!

2015AuthorPhoto (1539x1800)Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books run from YA paranormal romance (THE KING Quartet), through NA paranormal and contemporary romance (THE SERENDIPITY Series, PERFECT DISH Romances, THE ONE TRILOGY) to adult contemporary and paramystery romance (CRYSTAL COVE Romances and RECIPE FOR DEATH Series). She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.

Follow Tawdra:

Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Instagram/Website/Newsletter/Amazon/BookBub

When We Were Us Teaser Tuesday #1

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When We Were Us (Keeping Score Book 1) releases on April 7th! I can’t wait. I think you’re going to love Leo and Nate and Quinn as much as I do.

But it’s Tuesday, so let’s have a little teaser, shall we?

Remember, if you want to read a full chapter of the book, you can download it for free here!

~~~***~~~

“Quinn, what was that all about?” He repeated himself, frowning, and let go of my hand. I felt immediately bereft.

“Um, it was nothing.” I took a step back away from Leo. “Stupid cheerleaders.”

His forehead creased, and I realized I was talking crap about girls who were probably his friends now. Maybe more than friends. God only knew what he’d done with some of them; I’d heard stories about football parties. I only hoped he hadn’t hooked up with Trish. I could handle anything but that.

“What were they talking about?  What did you write to set them off?”

Now annoyance flared, almost overshadowing the want surging through my veins. It was typical Leo these days; he’d never assume I was blameless. It had to be me who’d written something wrong.

Plus, this confirmed something I’d suspected—that Leo didn’t read my articles. He gave my work at the school paper great lip-service, but now I knew the truth.  “Maybe if you read the newspaper now and then, you’d know.”

“I don’t read anything but school stuff during football season.” He shook his head.  “No time.  So what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.” I hissed out the words. Of course, it was my fault that those bitches were threatened me. Leo would see it that way. Once upon a time he would’ve stuck up for me no matter what, but those days were in the past.  “I wrote an opinion piece about the special treatment the cheerleaders get. It’s nothing that everyone else in the school isn’t thinking.  Guess some of them obviously didn’t like it.  No biggie.”

Leo ran a hand through his hair, his go-to gesture when he was exasperated.  “Mia, are you crazy?  That’s not exactly the way to make friends.”

Pain sliced through me. Leo rarely used his special nickname for me anymore, and hearing him say it—his voice husky—reminded me of how far apart we’d drifted. And now he was giving me advice on finding friends? What kind of loser did he think I was?

“Thanks.  I didn’t know I needed help making friends.  I used to have some really good ones.” The words were laced with sarcasm.

Leo winced. “I’m still your friend, Quinn, you know that.  But couldn’t you try a little harder?  I mean, with other people?”

The truth was right there in his voice. I was an embarrassment to him. Poor Quinn, the too-tall girl who just couldn’t seem to find her own circle. The girl who reminded Leo of a part of him he’d turned his back on when football and popularity became more important. The impact of what he was saying hurt, and I lashed out in response.

“The people I’d want for my friends wouldn’t expect me to be a phony.  They would accept me for who I am.” I leaned forward a little, just to make sure he heard me.

“You don’t think I do?”  Leo looked stricken, as though what I’d said was some huge revelation.

Anger bubbled up inside me. I was sick of the whole thing. Sick of mooning after this boy, sick of the pain of losing my best friend. Sick of him pretending nothing had changed, when everyone else in the world knew that it had. I took another step back and spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t know, Leo.  Do you even know who I am anymore?”

~~~***~~~

The Keeping Score Trilogy is a New Adult contemporary romance. The first two books may not give youWhen We Were Us Sml complete closure, but hang in there for Book 3; I promise the pay-off is worth it.

You can preorder When We Were Us now at all major retailers.

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play

Read an exclusive excerpt right here!

Paw Love: My Very First Pet

 

What could make seven contemporary romance shorts by award-winning and best-selling authors even better? Add seven sweet, scene-stealing pets . . . and then make the whole project a benefit for animal rescue charities!

That’s just what we’ve done. LOVE PAWS features short stories with a little bit of steam, a little of sweet and happy endings all around. Each story also includes a pet, just to give the romance a little boost.

This anthology releases April 19th, in celebration of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. You can preorder your copy today exclusively through iBooks.

I am an animal lover. I’m one of those people who talks to cats–always–and can’t stand to see those horrid abused dog ads on TV. (You can usually hear me shrieking, “TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!!” across the house.) And because of this love, I have lots of sweet animal love stories–the type between me and the many pets I’ve been privileged to love.

Nammy

My First Dog

FullSizeRender 8In 1966, my father left for his first tour in Vietnam. My mother stayed behind in New Jersey, where she lived with her in-laws . . . and me, in utero. Yes, she was pregnant.

While he was in country, my dad worked with a platoon of Vietnamese (south) soldiers, who had a dog with puppies with them. I don’t know all the details–or perhaps I’ve forgotten them–but he fell in love with one of the puppies and adopted him. According to my father, adopting this pup likely saved him from being someone’s dinner. (YUCK!!!) He named the dog Nam, which means five in Vietnamese, since that was my dad’s call number there.

In Vietnam, Nammy became the platoon’s mascot. He rode on the top of the armored personnel carrier, unless the fighting was too dangerous. Every night, he slept under my father’s cot, in their tent. Years later, when I met the men who’d served with my dad on that tour, they all remembered Nam! 

Meanwhile, back in New Jersey . . . in April, I was born. Two months later, it was finally time for my father to come home. And of course, there was no way he was leaving his dog behind. He managed to pull some strings and send Nam home . . . two weeks ahead of his own arrival.

My mother was not a dog person. She and my grandfather left me with my grandmother while they FullSizeRender 6drove across the bridge to pick up this new and foreign friend. Poor Nammy . . . he had never seen a house, and being inside freaked him out. My grandfather spent the day building him a kennel in the backyard, but when the time came for him to go into it, turned out Nam didn’t love it. He howled and carried on, and when my unhappy grandfather went out in the middle of the night to calm him, he found the poor dog had tried to dig his way, gotten stuck and was nearly strangling. Sa (that’s my grandfather) took Nam inside with him. The dog curled up next to Sa’s bed and slept there. For the rest of his life, whenever we stayed with my grandparents, Nam slept there, next to Sa.

For me, Nam was my first friend. When we lived in Kentucky, he and I would vie for a spot at the door to watch for Daddy. Apparently I pulled out his whiskers, poor doggy . . . and every night, when my father came in to read to me (as he did my entire childhood, from babyhood to the night before I left for college), Nam would come, too. 

FullSizeRender 7He traveled with us across the country, not once but twice. He had a habit of leaning his head on my dad’s shoulder as he drove and falling asleep there, his head becoming dead weight. He also was a runner. We had to keep Nam inside or he would take OFF. People learned this lesson the hard way. He was a fierce defender of his family. 

I was in eighth grade when it became apparent that Nam was suffering; he’d run out into traffic at some point in my childhood and been hit, and though he recovered fully, in his old age, that injury was affecting him. When he could no longer walk and was clearly in pain, my father made the difficult decision to let his buddy go. 

It was the first time I’d seen my father cry. I remember with such clarity how horrible that day was. (Yes, I’m crying now as I write this.) Daddy brought Nammy home and buried him in our backyard, and later he made him a grave marker. (If you live at 15 Mansfield Avenue in Pitman, New Jersey, that marker is probably still there in your backyard.)

My parents used to say that we weren’t dog people. We liked to travel too much, and both my sister FullSizeRender 3and I were timid around strange dogs. But Nam was more than a dog. He was family. He was my sibling before I had one, he was my homework buddy, my reading pal and my companion on my earliest journeys. 

I know there is controversy about whether or not dogs go to heaven, or if they go to the same heaven people do . . . but I know with steadfast surety that Nam is with my dad in the Great Beyond.  I know they are sharing old memories and enjoying each other once again. 

When I think of Nammy, I think of the Biblical phrase: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

 

 

***~~~***

Becca BoydFire Up

Rene FolsomBy Chance: A Playing Games Spin-off Novella

Alison FosterSaving Grace: A Beautiful Ruin Story

Olivia Hardin:  All in the Takeoff: A Rawley Family Romance

Tawdra Kandle: My One and Always (An Always Love Short)

Lyssa LayneDig Deep

Juli ValentiTaunt : A Twisted Wolf Tale

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When We Were Us Cover Reveal!

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The Trio. That’s who we’ve been since birth: Nate, Leo . . . and me, Quinn, the token girl. Our mothers met in prenatal yoga and became best friends, which meant that the three of us hit every milestone together, from the first day of school to the very first kiss.

We’ve always known that Nate’s a little different. He’s not as strong as Leo or me; he spent a lot of our childhood in various hospitals. Leo and I have been his unofficial bodyguards all our lives. I thought that would always be true.

But time moves on, and everything shifts. People change, and sometimes friendships fade away. High school pulled us apart: Leo’s suddenly the most popular guy in school, a football star and the object of every girl’s fantasy. Nate and I are just people he used to know, the ones he left behind.

Of course, since I’ve been in love with Leo from the time we were eight, that stings a little.

And to complicate matters, I know that Nate is hung up on me. I see the look in his eyes. I wish I could say I felt the same, but I don’t. It’s getting harder and harder to keep him in the friend zone, though.

Then Leo and I were thrown together again, sticking up for Nate. I was surprised Leo came through for us and even more shocked when he kissed me. Me! Am I finally getting my chance with Leo . . . and will it come at the risk of losing both my best friends?

The Keeping Score Trilogy is a New Adult romance told in three books, taking Leo, Quinn and Nate from high school through college. Books One and Two will have unresolved endings; you have been warned.

But I promise, the happily-ever-after in Book Three will be the payoff. Trust me.

The release dates, all in 2016, are:

When We Were Us April 7th

Hanging By A Moment May 24th

Days of You and Me September 26th

You can preorder When We Were Us now at all major retailers.

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play

Read an exclusive excerpt right here!

2015AuthorPhoto (1539x1800)Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books run from YA paranormal romance (THE KING SERIES), through NA paranormal and contemporary romance (THE SERENDIPITY DUET, PERFECT DISH DUO, THE ONE TRILOGY) to adult contemporary and paramystery romance (CRYSTAL COVE BOOKS and RECIPE FOR DEATH SERIES). She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.

Follow Tawdra:

Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Instagram/Website/Newsletter/Amazon/BookBub

And if you love her books, join the Naughty Temptresses!

Want to enter to win a $25 iBooks or Amazon gift card? Share about the cover reveal TODAY on any social media account (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus . . .) and fill out the Rafflecopter below.

 

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