Daily Archives: 28/03/2024
RELEASE BLITZ – Scars on my Heart (Willow Valley #) by S.L. Sterling
Title: Scars on my Heart
Series: Willow Valley
Author: S.L. Sterling
Tropes: Single Dad, Single Mom, Friends to Lovers, small town romance, second chance at love, only one bed scene
Cover Design: Thunderstruck Cover Design
Release Date: March 28, 2024
Goodreads: https://geni.us/ScarsonmyHeartGR
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/scars-on-my-heart-willow-valley-book-5-by-s-l-sterling
Blurb:
Willow Valley had become like home to me and my two boys, Dylan and Noah. Everyone knew everyone in this small town, and they helped us heal from our devastating loss.
Once I knew my kids would be okay, I started looking for work. Bluebird Books hired me almost right away. I was to run the new kids program that Trinity was starting. That was where I met Zach and his daughter, Grace.
Zach was the new owner of the Willow Valley Inn. He’d come in to return a book his daughter had borrowed from the program. We exchanged pleasantries and that was when the computer had gone down. Zach lost his patience, and that was when our pleasant conversation turned sour. I wasn’t worried about it because I figured I’d never see him again.
I was wrong. It turns out in a small town, everyone sees everyone almost daily, if not twice a day. At the grocery store, the gas station, the elementary school and as luck would have it, the bookstore. Soon, our conversations turn pleasant again, and without even trying, I find myself drawn to him. Then he asks me out on a date.
Despite my reservations, I decided to take a chance on love again. But just when things start to look up, Zach’s ex-wife suddenly reappears, causing chaos in his life once more. Which somehow causes chaos in mine when my children begin acting out.
Leaning on one another for support, we navigate obstacles that life throws at us. As time passes I begin to wonder if another chance at love will bring us closer together or make each one of us run the other way?
Buy Links:
Universal: https://geni.us/ScarsonmyHeartWV5
Amazon: https://amzn.to/49NeD1y
Apple Books: https://apple.co/49KaBHc
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3v6Minu
Smashwords: https://bit.ly/49Dk2YI
Google Play: https://bit.ly/49WxiY4
Excerpt:
I entered, grabbed a cart, and began making my way through the store over to the junk food aisle. I was about to round the corner when another cart rammed into the base of mine. Irritation growing, I poked my head around the corner and was about to apologize when I caught sight of Zach.
“You again!” I gritted.
This time, a smile fell onto his lips. “Apparently so. Sorry about that. I wasn’t—”
“Paying attention?” I grumbled. “Like earlier?”
This time he chuckled. When he wasn’t scowling or yelling, he was a handsome man, dark brown hair, blue eyes. He wore a black T-shirt that hugged his body, showing off his impressive build.
“What exactly is your problem?” I demanded. “And what the hell is so funny?”
“My problem?” He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. When I didn’t answer right away, he stopped, and his face started to get a little red. He began to shift from one foot to the other, and then he dropped his arms to his sides. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said, finally letting his guard down. “It’s been a hell of a day. Shit, a hell of a month, and to be honest, I’m just not really at my best right now.”
“Could have fooled me.” I shrugged, still feeling a little under attack.
“I think perhaps we should start off on a different foot. I’m Zach,” he said, holding out his large hand to me.
“What if I don’t want to?” I bit back, watching him. When he didn’t move, I finally slipped my small hand into his and gently shook it. “Zach, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Iris.”
“Iris, nice to meet you,” he said, slowly letting go of my hand and meeting my eyes.
“So, what has you all frazzled?” I questioned.
“God, what doesn’t. It all started this morning with my eleven-year-old.”
Small world, I thought to myself. “You have an eleven-year-old? My oldest just turned eleven a couple of weeks ago. Right now, my boys are home, probably killing each other.” I smiled, and we both laughed. I glanced at my watch. I really should grab what I came in for and get back to The Deep Dish. I needed to order the pizza before too much longer.
“Look, I should get going. I’ve got to get our pizza ordered,” I said, reaching in front of him and grabbing two bags of the boy’s favourite chips and a bottle of soda.
“Taking pizza home for dinner?” he questioned.
Almost forgetting our run-in only a few minutes earlier, I nodded. “Yep, I promised them tonight would be pizza.”
Zach glanced at his watch. “Once I get our pizza, I have to get my daughter. The guy at the pizza parlour said it would be a good fifty minutes. Did you want to grab a coffee while you wait?”
I glanced around at the people passing by. I’d never had coffee with a stranger, especially one who had treated me the way Zach had earlier. However, he seemed to have a lot going on, and he seemed to be a little calmer at the moment. I glanced at my watch. “I guess it won’t hurt. I’ll go pay for this and then go order the pizza, and I’ll meet you at The Crispy Biscuit.”
“Sounds good. While you order your pizza, I’ll grab us a table.”
Ten minutes later, butterflies in my stomach, I met up with Zach outside of The Crispy Biscuit. It took no time for us to get a table and a cup of coffee.
“I don’t normally do this,” I said, shrugging out of my sweater.
“Do what?” Zach questioned.
“Meet up with complete strangers for coffee.”
Zach chuckled. “I wouldn’t call us strangers. We are on a first-name basis.” He winked. “And you know I have a daughter.”
Author Bio:
S.L. Sterling was born and raised in southern Ontario. She now lives in Northern Ontario Canada and is married to her best friend and soul mate and their two dogs.
An avid reader all her life, S.L. Sterling dreamt of becoming an author. She decided to give writing a try after one of her favorite authors launched a course on how to write your novel. This course is no gave her the push she needed to put pen to paper and her debut novel “It Was Always You” was born.
When S.L. Sterling isn’t writing or plotting her next novel she can be found curled up with a cup of coffee, blanket and the newest romance novel from one of her favorite authors on her e-reader. Her favorite authors include Kendall Ryan, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Lauren Blakely, Alessandra Torre and Willow Winters.
In her spare time, she enjoys camping, hiking, sunny destinations, spending quality time with family and friends and of course reading.
Social Media Links
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SLSterlingGoodreads
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hearomance/
Instagram: http://bit.ly/SLSterlingInstagram
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/SLSterlingBB
Sterlings Silver Sapphires: http://bit.ly/SterlingsSapphires
Amazon: http://bit.ly/SLSterling
Newsletter: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64d6991578891ef5c9a2f474
Share this:
RELEASE BLITZ – War of the Mind (Olympian Wars #3) by Dana Claire
War of the Mind
Olympian Wars #3
by Dana Claire
Immense grief causes demigod Calli to do the unthinkable and use her powers to erase herself from the memories of her beloved Henrik. Calli rebuilds herself and her crew, only to be reunited with Henrick by order of the crown to stop Perseus and his accomplices before it’s too late. As remnants of their passion haunt their voyage, will their wounded hearts find their way back to each other, or will past choices stand in their way? Readers who love pirate adventures and Greek mythology with forced proximity and second-chance romances will want to devour Dana Claire’s new Young Adult Novel, War of the Mind.
Blurb
His sacrifice could save humanity. Her revenge could turn it to stone.
When immense grief turns demigod Calli Bordeaux’s heart to vengeance, she does the unthinkable. Using her powers, she erases herself from the memories of her beloved, Henrik, so that he cannot join her hunt for the notorious pirate Captain Fredrick, Henrik’s savage father. Shattered, Calli rebuilds herself and the crew of her parent’s ship to vanquish her enemy, only to discover a piece of Henrik came with her after all.
Unaware that he lost the greatest love of his life, former pirate turned royal guard, Henrik, sets out with Cava’s navy to find a woman the gods forsook and the humans fear. Medusa. Her latest rampage of stony destruction is not mindless slaughter but self-preservation from pirate assassins. The demi-god Perseus has put a bounty on her severed head, seeking the power it possesses to slowly slaughter mankind.
United by order of the crown, Calli and Henrik must stop Perseus and his pirate accomplices before it’s too late. Echoes of their past passion haunt their voyage, tipping them into turmoil when humanity needs them most. Can their wounded hearts find their way back to each other in time? Or will the barriers constructed by past choices stand in the way as the world around them turns to stone?
Buy link:
Amazon → https://amzn.to/3VD46Bz
Goodreads → http://tinyurl.com/hz9u3awn
Excerpt
Copyright 2024 Dana Claire
My head snapped up. Hope fisted my heart. “My parents? You spoke to them? What did they—”
“I thought The Freedom was pursuing Captain Fredrick and The Black Hollow,” Henrik interrupted. He took the book from my grasp and thrust it into Savina’s beckoning fingers.
“No. I haven’t spoken to them.” Savina addressed me before returning her gaze to Henrik. “And yes. They were following your father—or they are.” Savina gripped the sides of the ledger, her knuckles whitening. “We don’t know any more than that. Captain Fredrick’s ship and Medusa were seen in Sottom at the same time. We think there is a connection. We thought The Freedom was trailing them, but we lost contact. I don’t know where either ship or Medusa is now. That’s why I’m waiting for Conleth to return with news.”
My arms trembled. Where in the underworld had my parents gone?
Savina pointed to the wingback chairs next to a pair of end tables. “Sit.”
Henrik guided me across the room. His calluses scratched the threads of my blouse as he coaxed me down with gentle pressure on my shoulders. My knees wobbled, and I flopped into the seat.
“Is that why Captain Niles took interest?” Henrik asked. “He has stacks of Jacarian maps marked up with circles around mountain sides and x’s laid in front of cave entrances.” He arched an eyebrow. “What is he looking for?”
Savina looked down at the leather-bound book, then back up to Henrik. “Is that where these came from?” Her voice built like a thunderclap, lifting her half out of her seat. “Did you two board The Serpent’s Snare by yourselves and steal this?”
Before Henrik or I could confirm or deny, the king’s voice boomed behind us. “Savina, are you in there?”
The door swung open. I twisted, and the look of raw devastation marring Conleth’s face spurred me to my feet. His black hair stood on end as if he’d been pulling it. Creases of worry marred his lips. Behind him, my great-uncle Hermes scoured the room like a man who’d wandered away from a shipwreck, brown eyes red-rimmed. I’d never seen either man cry. Not much could break them, but I knew the sort of bereavement that painted the windows to their soul’s crimson would sever my heart as well.
“Oh, my gods. What happened?” Savina rounded the desk, stopping before her husband. “Tell me, Conleth. Who’s dead?”
The second she asked, I knew. Their missing ship, my uncles’ dried tears, the silence. I dropped to my knees, a sob wracking my chest.
“No, no, no.” Impossible. My father was a demi-god born from Apollo and Calliope with the power to heal and bring men to their knees with his song; my mother, Lou, the fierce captain of the first all-female-crewed pirate ship, The Freedom. Together, they’d navigated the seas with the greatest warriors and battled amidst the waves like gods. Poseidon’s kingdom was their domain. No enemy could thwart them there.
“Cal?” Henrik called out, but Conleth quickly moved in front of him, blocking his path to me.
Hermes ignored everyone else. With an ease only my great-uncle possessed, he walked over and knelt to cradle my head in his hands.
I fought his embrace as my chest threatened to collapse and crush my heart. I refused to believe they were gone.
“Let me go!” Henrik shouted at Conleth, but I didn’t dare look at him.
“I’m so sorry,” my uncle whispered.
“My parents are dead. Are you sure?”
Hermes’s nod tore a sob from Savina. He rubbed his thumbs under my eyes, catching the droplets on his skin. Uncontrollable tears gushed like a river that escaped its bed.
I swallowed the giant knot that had twisted in my throat. “I don’t believe you. It can’t be.” My father grew up with sirens. He swam with them. His peers called him the Emperor of the Sea for a reason. How could he possibly die on the water? And my mother. She embodied the tides, the very salt-water air she breathed. How could she just be gone?
“It’s true.” My uncle reached for me.
I shook my head. None of this made sense. “My brother?” Adelphi had been on The Freedom as well. My parents would never let someone steal his soul away to the underworld. Not if they could help it.
“Also gone.” Hermes dropped his arms.
A burning fury surged through me, scorching my grief down to hot embers. “Who killed my family?”
My uncle looked away for the first time, his almond-shaped eyes darting over my head. Without meeting my gaze, he breathed, “Captain Fredrick of The Black Hollow.”
About Dana Claire
Dana Claire is an award-winning author whose stories explore identity, fate, and destiny at the crossroads of romance and adventure. Her love of romantic tension, the supernatural, and non- stop action has elicited positive feedback from many readers, as their online reviews reveal her flair for spine-tingling action and unforgettable characters. Dana is now sharing her stories through speaking events and book signings, introducing more readers to the worlds she created. She lives in Los Angeles, CA with her adoring husband living her dreams: writing books, telling stories, and changing the world, one reader at a time.
Follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok |Goodreads | BookBub | Website | Newsletter | Amazon | Gift Shop |
This promotional event is brought to you by Indie Pen PR
Book Loving Pixies 