October 15, 2015

:*:Excerpt Reveal:*:THE FALL UP by Aly Martinez



         
 EXCERPT ONE

Chapter One

Levee

It was raining. Isn’t that the way all great love stories start? And also usually end? The midnight air was cool against my skin as I stared off that bridge. My blond wig was secured in place by a headband, and chunky sunglasses covered my whiskey-colored eyes. I didn’t look like myself any more than I felt it. Bruises from the night before painted my legs while fresh scabs covered my knees, but it was the hollowness in my chest that hurt the most.

 Yep. Still me.

Which was exactly why I was standing on that bridge, wishing for the mental fortitude to hurl myself off.

A man’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “You finally gonna do it tonight?”

I instinctually smoothed my fake hair down and pressed the bridge of my glasses closer to my face, sealing out any possible glance he could catch. I stared ahead as I snapped, “Excuse me?”

“I’ve seen you here three nights in a row now. I was just wondering if tonight was going to be the night you finally jump.”

My eyes flashed wide, but since they were covered by the dark glasses, my reaction remained hidden. “I just like the view. That’s all.” What a load of shit.

I watched him nod out of the corner of my eye. “Yeah me too. It’s gorgeous up here.”

Shuffling my feet to the side, I attempted to slip away as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered it my way.

“You want one?”

I shook my head and then crept down a few inches to put distance between us.

“Suit yourself.” He used a hand to shield the lighter from the wind, but the constant sprinkle of rain made his task impossible. “Damn it,” he cursed with the cigarette tucked between his lips. “Little help?” he asked, swinging his gaze to mine.

Arching an eyebrow, I asked, “With what?”

“It’s raining…and windy…and I’m trying to burn one.” He tilted his head, equally as incredulous.

“You want me to call God? We had a bad breakup recently, but he might be willing to do me one last favor.”

He breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. “That would be fantastic. What’s the big guy’s response time like these days? Last time we spoke, it was”—he paused to look at his watch—“oh, twenty-seven years.”

A soft laugh bubbled from my throat, and one side of his mouth lifted in a gorgeous grin.

“I’m not exactly in the mood to wait that long, so maybe you could just block the wind with your body?” His smile spread as he stepped toward me, forcing my gaze to nervously bounce away.

“Sorry. Can’t help you there. Lung cancer and I broke up too.” After gathering the back of my wig into a ponytail, I pulled it over my shoulder and turned away from him. The chill of the wind blasted my face and roared over my ears as it rushed past me.

I went back to staring out at the dark, choppy water, becoming lost in the idea of how cold it might be.

Is tonight the night?

No.

My feet would more than likely never leave the edge of that bridge, but there was a definite reason why I was imagining ending it all. Exactly zero other people in the world would understand why. I had it all, and I dreamed about losing it all—more often than I would ever admit, even to myself.

After stepping out of my heels, I slipped my foot between the bars on the railing. The wind slammed my bruised leg against the metal. “Shit,” I hissed as pain shot through me.

“You think that hurts? Imagine falling twenty-five stories then crashing into the water, which might as well be concrete, at speeds upward of seventy miles per hour,” the man said, leaning on the metal railing next to me.

“Wow. Someone’s done some research,” I said sarcastically, barely sparing him a glance.

“Daily,” he responded frankly, causing my surprised gaze to swing to his. Simply shrugging at my reaction, he turned his back to the railing and propped himself up on his colorfully tattooed forearms. “You forget I’ve been here the last three nights in a row too.” He smirked, lifting the cigarette up to his lips for a deep inhale.

 “Listen, I’m not going to jump if you’re some kind of caped crusader on a mission. I just needed some fresh air.” I pointedly glanced at his cigarette.

A laugh escaped his mouth in a grey puff. “Fresh air is overrated. Especially given the reason you’re standing here.” He knowingly arched a dark-brown eyebrow.

“Riiiiight,” I drawled, rolling my eyes behind my glasses. “Okay, well, I was just heading out anyway.”

“Then my work here is done.” He bowed, and the corner of my mouth lifted in a smile as I stepped back into my shoes and walked away.

I shook my head at the random stranger. Then, a thought struck me, stopping me only a few feet away. Spinning back to face him, I asked, “Wait. Were you reaching out to me as a cry for help?”

“Oh look. Designer Shoes has a conscience!” He dropped his cigarette to the damp ground, stepping on it with the toe of his well-worn, black boots. Bending over, he picked the butt up and tucked it in his pocket.

At least he didn’t litter.

“Oh look. Tattooed Stalker has jokes!” I smarted back.

He smiled, pulling another cigarette from his pocket and then pausing just before guiding it between his lips. “Were you judging me based on my tattoos? I’m offended.” He feigned anguish then laughed while lifting his lighter to once again battle the wind for a nicotine fix.

I wanted to walk away, but he wasn’t wrong. I did have a conscience, and right then, I was worried that it might really be his night to make good on his apparent numerous visits to the bridge.

With a huff, I headed back towards him, praying that I could wrap it up as quickly as possible then head back to my house for a few hours of sleep. Or, more likely, lie awake while staring at the ceiling and crying.

“Are you planning to jump for real?” I asked.

His smile fell as he focused on the water. “Nah. I don’t have the balls to do something like that. Talking to you wasn’t a plea for help or anything. You just look worse than usual tonight.” His gaze slid down to my battered legs.

“Oh!” I exclaimed in understanding. “That’s not at all what you’re thinking. I fell down some stairs.”

He quirked his lips in disbelief.

“I’m serious!”

“I’m sure you are,” he told the wind. “You can go. I’m good.”

I could have walked away, but for some reason, I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders and silently stood there while he finished his cigarette.

After a final deep inhale, he flicked it over the railing of the bridge.

Apparently, he does litter.

Turning to me, his face became serious. “You need to call the cops before he makes the decision to end it all for you.”

“Who?” I asked, watching the burning ember hit the metal column then explode in a million different sparks before disappearing down to the water below.

Lucky cigarette.

 “The stairs…and whatever inanimate object you’re blaming for those bruises you’re hiding behind sunglasses at one in the morning. You should call the cops before…” His voice trailed off, but his dark gaze narrowed on mine. His eyes bored into my hidden stare, combining with the rain and wind to send chills down my spine.

I took the moment to secretly assess him. He was insanely sexy, but nothing like the men I was accustomed to. His chin was the kind of scruffy that made women weak, but it was obvious he didn’t pay four hundred dollars for his personal hairstylist to shape it. Judging by his shaggy, brown hair that begged for me to thread my fingers in it, I wasn’t sure he was even a barbershop kind of guy. He stood a few inches taller than I was in heels, so I pegged him at around six one. And while his tattooed forearms were deliciously sculpted and his shoulders were notably defined, his body didn’t appear to be swollen with muscles from hours spent at the gym. By the aura of bad boy he gave off, I would have expected him to be a self-consumed, arrogant prick.

He wasn’t though.

He was just an average guy worrying about the well-being of an average girl.

Only he couldn’t have been more wrong, and a pang of guilt hit me hard.

Just not hard enough for me to do anything to correct his assumptions about who I was.

Very softly, I attempted to put his fears to rest. “I promise it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“Okay,” he responded, unconvinced. He nodded to himself before dragging another cigarette from his pocket.

I watched him struggle for a second before I scooted towards him, using my body to block the wind.

Biting the cigarette between his straight, white teeth, he smiled devilishly around it. “Thanks.” Flicking the flame to life, he hunched over until a stream of smoke swirled up from the red tip.

“You should stop smoking.”

“Noted.” He exhaled through his nose.

We went back to silently staring over the side of the bridge. The familiar lights of the San Francisco skyline danced all around us. And, even as tourists and locals alike passed by us, I felt an odd, and unbelievably comfortable, isolation standing there with him.

When my teeth began to chatter, his attention was drawn my way. “I’m not here to jump. You really can go.”

I nodded but didn’t move away.

He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest and rubbing his biceps for warmth.

“How are you not frozen?” I asked, taking in his thin Henley for the first time since we met.

Shrugging, he dropped his cigarette, answering as he bent to retrieve it. “Thick skin? I’m used to it? I come here a lot? I’m half Eskimo?”

I eyed him suspiciously. “You’re cold, aren’t you?”

“Fucking. Freezing,” he admitted, tucking his arms close to his body and blowing into his hands. “I just came up here for one smoke. Then I saw you. Now, come on. Be a lady and loan a man a jacket,” he joked, tugging on the edge of my coat.

I laughed, hugging it even tighter around my body and stepping out of his reach. “How about we both just leave? Then neither of us have to worry about the other plummeting to their death.”

“Sounds like an amazing plan.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of the tattered jeans riding low on his hips. As we began the hike back down to the foot of the bridge, he asked, “You have a name, Designer Shoes?”

I smiled and shook my head, not willing to lie—or divulge the truth.

“Yeah. Me either,” he replied.

I bit my bottom lip to suppress a laugh.

Side by side, we trudged the rest of the way in silence.

When we got to the foot of the bridge, he turned to face me and sighed. “Well, I genuinely hope I never see you again.”

My head snapped back in shock, and maybe a little hurt.

But he quickly corrected himself. “No! I just mean… Shit.” He ran a nervous hand through his hair while I watched, amused. “I just mean, given the way we met… I…um. I hope you never have a reason to go back up there.”

I teasingly tipped my head to the side. “But I really like the view.”

He cleared his throat. “Right. Of course, the view. Okay, well, have a good night.”

“You too.” I smiled tightly, but my feet didn’t budge. I told myself that it was because I didn’t want him to see my car or the bodyguard waiting for me behind the wheel. But, in reality, I just wasn’t ready to leave. Home wasn’t where I wanted to be. I didn’t actually want to be anywhere.

Not even standing at the foot of a bridge, talking to a witty and sexy man.

Okay, maybe I wanted that a little bit.

 “Yep. Have a good night,” he repeated, shoving his hands inside his pockets and slowly backing away.

I gave him a quick wave, which he returned before he jogged in the other direction.

I smiled to myself, shaking my head at the entire interaction—secretly lamenting that it hadn’t been longer.



Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall

in love at rock bottom—up.
 
Add The Fall Up  to your TBR list on GOODREADS

RELEASE DATE: October 26th
I wanted to jump.

He made me fall.



As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight. 



Until he found me.



Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.



But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.



Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?



Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.
   
 Aly Martinez

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.




^*^Cover Reveal & Giveaway*^*My Soul To Keep by Kennedy Ryan


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EEPPP!!! Here it is!! We have been crazy waiting to be able to share this cover with everyone!! And you know what a Cover Reveal means right? THE WORDS ARE ALMOST HERE!!! Oh MY!! So Kennedy Ryan is one fabulous writer with one successful series under her belt and now she is trying her hand at being a self pub author as well with My Soul To Keep!  This Cover! I LOVE IT!! We are so looking forward to this !! 

Enjoy and don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY at the bottom! 


  My Soul to Keep AMAZON

My Soul To Keep

Kennedy Ryan

Coming November 16th

Cover by Hang Le

 
My-Soul-To-Keep-print-FOR-WEB 
 It seems the things worth keeping are often the hardest to hold...
KAI
I had two things in life that mattered. My mother and my music. Mama was taken from me too soon, and now music is all I have left. It’s the thing that’s pushed me right out of backwoods Georgia into Los Angeles, where the line between fantasy and reality shimmers and blurs. I’m finally making my way, making my mark. I can’t afford to fall for one of music's brightest stars. Not now. Music is all I have left, and I’m holding on tight with both hands. I won’t let go, not even for Rhyson Gray.
RHYSON
I had one thing in my life that mattered – music. The only constant, it’s taken me to heights most people only dream about; a gift dropped in my lap at birth. I thought it was enough. I thought it was everything until I met Kai. Now she’s all I think about, like a song I can't get out of my head. If I have to chase her, if I have to give up everything - I will. And once she's mine, I won't let go.

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Young passionate lovers lie on the floor and enthusiastically kissing. The boy grabbed the girl's face with his hand.

I just can't write about myself in third person for one more bio! I'm a wife, a mom, a writer, an advocate for families living with autism. That's me in a nutshell. Crack the nut, and you'll find a Southern girl gone Southern California who loves pizza and Diet Coke, and wishes she got to watch a lot more television. You can usually catch me up too late, on social media too much, or FINALLY putting a dent in my ever-growing To Be Read list!
   

Connect with Kennedy

Facebook / Amazon/ Twitter/ Website / Goodreads / Instagram

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»»°««Broken Pride, D.D. Chant Blog Tour»»°««

Broken Pride - Banner
TITLE – Broken Pride  
SERIES – Broken City 
 AUTHOR – D.D. Chant  
GENRE – Post-Apocalyptic Romance/Adventure  
PUBLICATION DATE – 09/20/2015 
 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 115.600 words  
PUBLISHER – Self Published COVER ARTIST – Kate Lacy

Broken Pride - Cover

In a future filled with warring factions, one young woman must risk everything to be reunited with the man she loves.
Despised for the name she bears, and trapped behind enemy lines, she knows her life and the lives of those she loves rests on her choosing her allies wisely.
Yet, in a world where greed is rampant and only the strong survive, how can she find the courage to trust again?
BUY & TBR LINKS

Suddenly he knew exactly what the next few minutes would bring.They find the first body slumped against the wall of one of the outer buildings. The young man, little more than a boy, is propped up at an awkward angle, his face frozen into an expression filled with so much fear that it was difficult to look at him. And then there was more. More bodies, more blood, more horror than Ryder can take in. He feels sick to his stomach and, for a few moments, he is a teenage boy again picking through the dead carcasses that had littered the Kelly compound. He shakes his head, trying to bring his focus back to the present. Bodies litter the streets and hang over thresholds. He blinks the sweat running into his eyes away, trying not to dwell on the death that surrounds him. He couldn’t think about the awfulness, about the fact that most of the dead were so young. They break into the square, yet by then Ryder had known what they would find. Val swears and when Ryder looks across at him it is to find that his sardonic, ever smug half-brother looks like he is going to be sick. “What the… how the hell did they do this?” Val splutters, lifting his hand to his head and looking around wildly. “How did the Lewises manage to do this? We were right here for goodness sake! How did we not know this was happening?” Ryder doesn’t answer him. He had no answers, just the sickness that rolled around his stomach. Beside him Connell turns and vomits on to the ground. Ryder isn’t surprised to see one of the hard-bitten Andak soldiers displaying such weakness. He was pretty close to joining him in heaving out the contents of his own stomach. Out of the corner of his eye he catches sight of a movement and lifts his gun warningly. Ian sits in the dust outside one of the hovels the Brownelys called homes. It takes Ryder a minute to realise that it was Ian’s house, the same one he had seen him standing in the doorway of yesterday. He moves forward, ready to offer assistance. It wasn’t until he was much closer that he became aware of the fact that Ian clutched a lifeless body in his arms.

 

 Well written, cleverly plotted 3rd installment in the Broken City series. I have been waiting for this third book for some time now, so you can imagine my excitement when I was graciously informed that it was finally available.

When last we saw Deeta and Tom they had been painfully separated from each other after being ambushed by the Lewises. Deeta was saved by a smaller tribe, the Birds while Tom was being held prisoner by Captain Max, Linus and Neddy all from the Lewises clan. This book picks up from where we left off. Deeta has a nasty leg injury and Tom is still being held by Max, who interestingly enough starts to show a whole new side to himself one in which He and Tom can find some common ground.

This book has a lot of moving parts both with the separate situations going on with our two protagonists and many other actions/situations taking place with some of the more minor yet equally important characters. We see several of Tom's brothers plot to not only find him but also work towards what was ultimately one of his main goals, peace. This book is clever, intelligent and has many political undertones at the same time it is action packed, thrilling, sometimes violent but also enlightening especially through Deeta.

Deeta by far has the biggest transformation in this story. Being newly exposed to the outside world she is coming face to face with all the emotions and violence that reside within the other clans. Hate, revenge, disgust and fear are all very prevalent among the people who cross her path and it begins to affect her outlook on not just life in general but also herself. By the end of this third book we see a very capable, cunning and fearless Deeta rise up to start taking control of her situation. Its well done and very believable, as a reader you almost start to go through the same evolution if you will. You are right there with Deeta as she starts to go down this new journey of her life. You feel the same pain, rage, love and hope.

Chant gives her readers a nice little twist at the end of this book that I didn't see coming and it was both quite a surprise and also well received. I think it was a very smart and slick little shocker but I won't be spilling the beans on what it is. You will just have to read the book!

By the looks of the ending the Broken City Series is not over just yet and I can't wait to see what tactics Chant will employ in the next installment of this series. Chant's series is thoroughly developed with a multitude of complex characters that are both easy to despise and easy to admire. The Broken City world is not only creative but ingenious. Very well done, readers of the apocalyptic genre will definitely enjoy it.
Author Photo - DD Chant 

Hi everyone, My name is DeeDee and I live in a beautiful part of Devon, England, with my family. I’ve always loved to read, and I’ve never been picky about which genre I read in. I’m just as happy curled up with a regency romance as I am with a dystopian adventure. When I first wrote Broken City I had no idea that it would turn in to a series, but Deeta’s story begged to be told. So the stand alone Broken City became a trilogy, and now I know there will be a forth book as well. I also write in other genres, I have a series of contemporary comedic short stores (The Claire series). I also have a historical romance series (The Lady Quill Chronicles), and a dystopian adventure series (The Chronicles of Discord). I really hope that you enjoy reading my stories as much as I enjoy writing them!

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS


OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

Cover - Broken City 
Book #1 – Broken City
Broken City is #FREE During the Duration of the Tour
BOOK SYNOPSIS
A girl with no future A man with no past A little lost boy And those who seek to find him.... ....Welcome to Deeta's world. Deeta Richards has never seen the outside world. Before she was born a banking crisis brought civilization to an end and now no one leaves the safety of the compounds unless they need to, but Deeta still dreams of seeing more than the building she was born in. Tom is in the guard, this group are the only people that the tribal elders allow to leave the compound and Tom knows only too well that Deeta could never survive the harshness that exists outside. Then tragedy strikes and Deeta and her Sister Jan find themselves captured by a hostile tribe. Why does Tom know so much about these people? And why do they know so much about him? As this mystery draws to a climax, they discover that their friend Tom is not quite what he seems... 
Amazon US Amazon UK Smashwords Barnes & Nobles Kobo

Cover - Broken Truce 
Book #2 – Broken Truce
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Life isn't turning out the way that Deeta thought it would. With the Lewises defeated and peace between the tribes, she had believed that the dark times were a thing of the past. But troubles between the tribes continue, and the Andak council have selected Tom as their ambassador and spokesman to the other tribes. Deeta knows that there is still much resentment against the Andak, and that Tom is in danger every time he leaves the safety of Andak City. Struggling with her own complicated feelings against the tribe that she is now a part of, Deeta tries to ignore the changing attitudes growing within her. But when Tom is betrayed and they are thrown into great danger, Deeta finds that reality can't be ignored forever...Amazon US Amazon UK

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