Love in a Small Town Series – Page 3

Book Blog, Book Promo and Updates!, Love in a Small Town Series, love story, Teaser Tuesday

Cover Reveal: The Love Song Girl

January 23, 2018 No Comments

My very first release of the new year is part of the Love in a Small Town series, and I’m so excited to share Tori and Hunter with you!

I love their cover . . . it captures this sweet and fiery couple and the music that both unites and divides them.

You can preorder your copy NOW exclusively on iBooks!

Who doesn’t love a love song? Especially a love song that’s crooned by Hunter Jaymes, the hottest new star in country music?

Tori Westin doesn’t have time for love songs. Now that she’s finally moved off her parents’ farm and ditched her cheating, lying boyfriend, she’s ready to start life on her own terms. Those terms definitely do not include falling in love with the sexy and irresistible Hunter. Yes, he’s the kind of guy who makes her laugh, takes her breath away with a single touch and tempts her to imagine what could be . . . but he’s also not planning to stick around Burton.

When Hunter looks at Tori, he sees the possibility of forever. The road is his life, but she feels like home. But convincing this woman to give love a chance will take more than a song.

Book Promo and Updates!, Love in a Small Town Series

Always For You–On Sale Now! (And enjoy this excerpt)

January 16, 2018 No Comments

Welcome to Burton, Georgia, a small town just west of Savannah. In this farm community, the women are sassy, the men are sexy and happily-ever-afters are a specialty of the house.

I love Burton. It’s one of my favorite places to write about, because I know it so well. I could visit and walk the streets of this fictional town, waving as I pass Cory Evans on her way to the library, stopping by Kiki’s bakery for just the right treat, lingering in the town green to catch up on the gossip . . .

And of course, I’d have to drive out to pick up the best fresh produce at the Colonel’s Last Stand, the farm stand that belongs to the Reynolds’ family, before I swing over to the Road Block to have a beer and shoot the breeze with Mason.

If you love this small town, too, I have some great news! This year, I’ll be releasing a new Love in a Small Town romance. It’s called The Love Song Girl, and it kicks off the next trilogy of books in this series.

And to celebrate this event, Always For You, book 5, is on sale right now for a very limited time–free!

This story is one of my favorites. Maureen has been in love with Smith Harrington since they met at college. She never acted on her feelings, but over the years, they’ve kept in touch . . . and when she needs a partner at the veterinary clinic she just took over, Smith is the first person she calls.

But can she keep their friendship uncomplicated and easy?

The following excerpt is one that might leave you a little breathless . . . so you should probably go download Always For You now!

iBooks/Amazon/Kobo/Google/Nook/Books2Read

***~~~***~~~***

“Did the famous Tim kiss you good night?”
I dropped my eyes to the table. “Do you think that’s any of your business, Smith?”
“Probably not, but I’m asking anyway. Call it my right as your cookie supplier.”
I huffed out a short laugh, but Smith didn’t even smile. His eyes were fastened on my face, as though my answer really mattered to him.
“He did. Sort of. I mean, just a light . . . kiss. Not even. He barely touched me.”
“Ah.” Smith nodded. “I guess that was one way to go. A man kisses a woman like that, it means one of two things. Either he isn’t really into her and just wants to be kind to end the evening, or he does want her, but he’s taking it slow. Building up. Setting the stage for when he gets serious.”
“Really.” I meant for my voice to sound amused, but it came out as almost a whisper. “And suddenly you’re the expert in how and why people kiss?”
“Oh, I’ve definitely got some expertise there. And in this case, judging by how he looked at you when he was here, I’d say it’s more likely the second. He thinks he’s got time to pull you in. Next time, next date, he’ll step it up. A little more of a kiss. Maybe a little tongue. Maybe not.”
I pressed my lips together, as though I were denying Tim access. “You said it was one way to go. You would’ve gone another?”
“Oh, yeah. I get patience. I understand a man who can practice it. But that wouldn’t be me. I figure, if I can hold off on kissing a woman and it doesn’t matter to me that much, or if I can handle just giving her a bland, meaningless kiss, she must not matter than much to me. There’s no spark.”
My eyes widened. “Spark?”
A smile spread slowly over Smith’s face. “You know. The spark. The thing that makes your heart beat a little faster when you see the other person. Makes it hard to breathe for a few minutes when she smiles. And when you make her laugh, you feel like you’d give anything in the world to do it again.” He lifted his hands. “You literally itch to touch her. You look at her skin, her hair, her body, and you think, if I have to go another moment without putting my hands on her, I might die. And when you do finally kiss her, it feels like you never want to stop.”
I was mesmerized, a hot mess of electrified nerve endings and yearning pulse points. If Smith so much as moved toward me, I was certain I’d jump him. Knock him onto the kitchen floor and . . . well, I was pretty sure what would come next would be strictly NC-17.
“If it had been me in that car with you, I’d have started out slow, probably. I’d have taken that route. But I wouldn’t have stopped there. After I’d brushed a kiss on your lips, I would have pulled back, stared into your eyes for the space of a few heartbeats, and then I would have leaned forward and taken your mouth again. But this time, there would be nothing gentle about it. I’d have opened your mouth, used my tongue to stroke the inside of your lips, all the time holding your face in my hands. Your tongue would begin to tangle with mine, both teasing and thrusting, and I’d lower one hand to press against your back, so that your . . . chest was plastered into my body. I’d spend an endless amount of time learning every part of your mouth, and even then, it wouldn’t be enough. When we finally broke apart, because we had to breathe or die, it would be like we’d never touched before and we’d be on fire for the next kiss, just by looking at each other.”

Book Blog, Crystal Cove Romances, Love in a Small Town Series, Promotion and Publicity, Teaser Tuesday

Fourth of July . . . Small Town Style

July 4, 2017 No Comments

{Psssst . . . if you want to read the prequel to this short story, go here. Happy Fourth of July!}

“Hey, Sam! Happy Fourth of July.” Mason slapped me on the back, grinning. “I’m kind of surprised to see you here. I figured you and Meghan would be celebrating at home today, what with . . . you know. Everything.”

He nodded in the general direction of my wife, and I followed his gaze. Meghan sat in a lawn chair next to my sister. Her beautiful red hair was up on top of her head in what she called a messy bun, keeping it off her neck in this oppressive Georgia heat. Her face was as gorgeous as it had been five years ago when I first saw her on the side of the highway just outside town, and her smile was serene.

It wasn’t until my eyes traveled lower that my stomach clenched with the same nerves that had been tormenting me for the better part of nine months. Meghan’s belly was enormous, so large that it dwarfed her frame. We’d known from the beginning that she was carrying twins, but sometimes lately, I wondered if it might be more than just two babies.

With great effort, I dragged my gaze back to Mason. “Oh, you mean the fact that my wife is currently eight days overdue? And that twins are almost never born this late? And that she looks like she’s balancing four watermelons on her middle? And she’s been contracting pretty steadily for the last two days? You think all of that would convince that stubborn woman that we should, I don’t know, go to the hospital? Or at least stick close to home?” I shook my head. “Nope. She said she wasn’t missing Independence Day, no matter what. She even joked with me that maybe the fireworks would scare the babies into being born. Can you believe her? Joking at a time like this?”

Mason threw back his head and howled with laughter. “Oh, Sam. Settle down, buddy. Meghan’s fine. Look at her over there, enjoying herself with all of our friends and families . . . she looks great. And just think: if she does go into labor, you’re closer to the hospital here than you would be out on the farm.” He elbowed my ribs. “Relax, man. Impending fatherhood is damn scary, but you can handle it. Look at me. I’m basically a pro by now.”

So saying, he swung down an arm to catch the little boy who was racing past, lifting his son into the air and tossing him high before he hugged him tight. A few feet away, his daughter Piper was sitting at the picnic table with my niece Bridget, both of them eating watermelon.

“You do make it look easy. You and Rilla, I mean,” I admitted. “But two at once? I’m already having nightmares about how we’re going to handle this.”

“Hey, if anyone should be freaking out here, it ought to be me.” He lowered his voice. “Rilla doesn’t want to make it public knowledge until after Meghan has the babies, but she’s cooking number three. We’re going to be officially outnumbered, come early next year.”

“That’s wonderful, Mason.” I gave him a punch in the shoulder. “I’m happy for you. I know Meghan will be, too. She—”

“Sam!” My sister’s voice interrupted me, calling my name with an urgency that had my heart jumping into my throat. “Get over here! Meghan’s water just broke.”

My feet were suddenly frozen, unable to move. I felt like I was standing in cement. “What?”

“You need to get her to the hospital!” Ali dashed over to me and shook my arm. “Come on, big brother. Get moving. You’re about to become a daddy. Times two.” She twisted, scanning the green expanse of grass where Burton’s Fourth of July celebration always took place. “Flynn! I need you to get the kids and take them over to where your mom is sitting. Tell everyone that Sam and I are driving Meghan to the hospital, and then come meet us.”

“I’ll call Meghan’s mom,” Rilla volunteered. “I know she’s been on standby to race up here the minute she hears things are getting underway.”

“Great.” Ali took my hand and dragged me toward my wife. “Sam, snap out of it. Meghan needs you.”

Those were the magic words. I stumbled to where my wife was still seated and leaned over her chair. When she lifted her eyes to meet mine, I expected to see panic. Pain. Fear.

But I should have known better. Instead, I saw joy, anticipation . . . and love. So much love.

Suddenly, I was back on that dark highway, looking down into the face of a young woman I was holding, whose eyes had just blinked open at me with wonder. I touched her cheek.

“Hey, babe. Ready to go meet our kiddos?”

Her smile was radiant. “So ready. So way over ready. I love you, Sam.”

I kissed her lips. “I love you, too. Now let’s get moving before you give birth here on the green.”

As I hauled my wife to her feet, applause and shouts of love and well-wishing rose around us. Our family, our friends and our town were sending us off in grand style, and this time, my heart swelled with gladness. I might be scared about becoming a dad, and I might be anxious about Meghan’s delivery, but I knew without a doubt that dozens of people loved me and had my back.

This was life–and love–in a small town.

At the beach with Meghan and Sam (Love in a Small Town)

July 3, 2017 2 Comments

At the beach with Meghan and Sam

{This short originally appeared on Literary Escapism as part of the Coastal Magic At the Beach series.}

“See? I told you. September is the best time to visit the Cove.” I kicked off my flip-flops and dropped the bag of food from the Rip Tide that my mom had packed for us onto the stripped blanket Sam had just spread. “Weather is perfect, crowds are virtually non-existent and the water is still pretty warm.”

My husband squinted toward the ocean. “It’s pretty, that’s for sure.” He reached over his head and pulled his T-shirt off in one fluid movement, and I smiled at his white chest and stomach. My man was a farmer, and he had the tan to prove it . . . on his arms and neck.

Sitting down on the blanket, I opened the bag and pulled out two burgers. “One medium-rare Ripper burger for you, one very well-done Ripper for me, with extra . . . crap.”

Sam stretched out next to me, taking his sandwich, as his mouth curled into a half-smile and one eyebrow rose. “Extra crap? I thought you asked Sadie to make it with extra blue cheese.”

“Yeah, I did.” I folded the wrapper back around my burger. “I’m not really hungry at the moment. I think I’ll just stick to the fries for a bit.”

“Okay.” Sam took a bite and moaned a little. “Oh, baby. Now this is heaven.”

I grinned. “Because of the burger or because of me?”

“Hmm.” He pretended to consider, and I elbowed him in the ribs.

“Babe, you know it’s all about you. It’s always all about you.” He wiped off his lips with a napkin. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s been over four years since I stopped alongside that highway to help out two drunk college girls with a broken-down car. When I think of how everything in my life has changed since that night . . . it’s crazy.”

“To be fair, Laura wasn’t at all drunk. It was only me.” I shrugged. “But four years—wow. So if you had to do it all over again, knowing what you do now, would you still stop?”

“Every time.” He slipped his around my back, pulling me against his side. “I know things have been a little hard lately, with all the fertility issues, but we’re still good, right? We’re okay?”

“Of course we are.” I kissed his cheek, feeling my heart began to thud in anticipation. “No matter what, it’s you and me. I love you, Sam Reynolds. You’re my one.”

Sam touched the tip of my nose with his finger. “My first, my last, my only. Always.”

Running the tip of my tongue over my lips, I made my voice as casual as possible. “Hey, can you grab my sunglasses from the bag? They’re in the case.”

“Uh, sure.” He rummaged for a minute before finding the hard black case. “Here you go, babe. So did you—” He paused as a thin white piece of paper flutter out with the glasses. “What’s this?”

I pretended ignorance, but it was impossible to hide my smile. “I don’t know. Look at it and see.”

Sam held the paper in front of his eyes, frowning. I watched his face closely, waiting for the moment when realization dawned.

And when it did, I’d never seen anything so beautiful. He glanced at me, back at the paper, and then at me again.

“Meghan, is this—it’s—is it what I think it is?”

I nodded. “That, Sam Reynolds, is the very first picture of your babies.” I lifted his hand and laid on my still-flat stomach. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but come early next summer, the next generation of the Reynolds’ family will be ready to meet you.”

Sam stare leaned forward to kiss me, that simple touch conveying everything I knew he was feeling. Releasing me, he bent down to press his lips to my stomach, glancing up as he did.

“Meghan Reynolds, I love you.”

I combed my fingers through his short hair and smiled.

“I know.”

{Want to read about how Sam and Meghan met? Check out THE LAST ONE right here!}

{And if you want another short about these two–go here to read more!}

Book Blog, Crystal Cove Romances, Love in a Small Town Series, Promotion and Publicity

BIG News about Love in a Small Town

June 28, 2017 No Comments

Being an indie author oftentimes means being flexible and rolling with the tides of the business. It also means going back to fix things later . . . or re-doing something that sounded like a good idea at the time.

When I published The Last One in September of 2014, it was supposed to be a stand-alone, a spin-off from the Crystal Cove Romances. But by the time I’d finished writing it, I realized that I was oh so wrong . . . this wasn’t just a spin-off, it was actually the start of a new series. I thought it would be three books, a trilogy: The Last One, The First One, The Only One. But then, it turned out that there were more Burton stories to tell.

The Always Love books take place in Burton, Georgia, just as the The One books do, and there are tons of crossover characters. It really IS the same series. But oftentimes, readers couldn’t figure that out.

Enter re-branding, the dread of every indie author.

What we’ve done here is:

–Created a brand-new series called Love in a Small Town that encompasses all nine of the books currently set in or connected to Burton, as well as any subsequent books released in that series.

–Created brand-new covers for each book that capture the feel of these books. The marvelous Meg Murrey did an amazing job.

–Released The Perfect One, a novella that had previously only been available as part of the box set. (If you didn’t read it as part of the box set, you can buy it here.)

–Tweaked the blurbs to carry through the flavor and heart of these books.

–Added extra content in the form of an additional chapter to each full-length book. The new content is from the point of view of one of the main characters featured in the subsequent book.

To celebrate this re-branding business, The Last One is free for a limited time! You can get your copy by clicking any of the links below.