Anthology Release: Unholy Nights Featuring novellas from popular authors Linda Barlow, Andra Brynn, Carly Carson, Alana Albertson, Kara Ashley Dey, Nicole Blanchard and Cherie Chulick.

For folks who like their Christmas a little twisted, seven tales of charms and magic, curses and intrigue...

Featuring novellas from popular authors Linda Barlow, Andra Brynn, Carly Carson, Alana Albertson, Kara Ashley Dey, Nicole Blanchard and Cherie Chulick.

Snap up this Christmas collection and spice up those frigid winter nights with a great story at an irresistible price. Seven riveting romances by award winning authors for $0.99. The perfect gift for you favorite bookworm. (Regular price: $4.99)

Releases December 2, 2013 at your favorite retailer in ebook and print.

A Kiss is Just a Kiss by Linda Barlow

Synopsis

It's Christmastide, but Holly Mathers can't seem to get into the spirit. She's been obsessing for weeks over a hook-up gone wrong with the hot, green-eyed Will MacIvey, who's treating her like the ghost of Christmas past. When she and her roommate are invited to a Winter Solstice celebration by their faculty advisor, Holly is thrilled to learn that Will is going to the party. Holly's roommate has procured a sprig of enchanted mistletoe that she plans to use to steal a kiss from the sexy professor. When she chickens out, Holly decides to try the spell on Will, hoping that a kiss under the mistletoe will remind him of the steamy night he seems to have forgotten. But magic always comes with a price...

About the Author

Linda Barlow lives in New England with her mysterious spouse (who sleeps during the day, which has often made her wonder if he's a vampire) and their equally enigmatic and nocturnal cat.

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In the Bleak Midwinter by Andra Brynn

Synopsis

In the bleak midwinter... With no money and nowhere to go, Ayla MacFarlane's first midwinter break from college returns her to the decaying house she grew up in--and to the shadow of her father, whose perverse obsession with her made her years there a misery. Now under her father's control again, Ayla knows that if she leaves once more it will only be a matter of time before their father turns his sights to her little sister Julia... "There's a boy in the woods..." But the hunted are not always without protection. While Ayla has been away, Julia has made friends with a mysterious boy in the woods that surround their property. Certain he is up to no good, Ayla sets out to confront him, only to find a beautiful young man who speaks in riddles and makes her heart race. What is stranger is that he knows things no human should know, and he tells Ayla that he can help her...for a price. The hunt is on... As the solstice nears, the time of reckoning is at hand. Will Ayla have the courage to reclaim all her father stole from her and protect her little sister, or will she be be a slave to her fear, and lose her chance to save herself forever?

About the Author

 


I write books. Obsessively. And I read books. Not quite as obsessively as I'd like, since there are all these books I have to write, you see. One day I will take a book vacation and do nothing but read my TBR list.
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Love Charm for Dakota by Carly Carson

Synopsis

Nantucket is the home of hedge fund titans, old money and hidebound tradition. Habits are comfortable, and the habits of the rich are very comfortable. Into Cabot Saltonstall's sedate world blows Dakota Bishop, possessor of a wild spirit and a magical love charm. Cabot's blue-blood family history includes an ancestor who resigned from the Salem Witch trials, because he refused to believe in witchcraft. But Cabot is all too willing to be bewitched. Dakota can't stay still long enough for anyone to tie her down, nor is Cabot the right kind of guy for her. If only he'd have sex with her so she could get him out of her system. Why does he need to be so traditional with his emotions and plans for the future? Does she know enough of witchcraft to overcome the spell of the accidentally cast lovecharm?

 About the Author
 


Carly lives near Nantucket Island, where the Christmas Stroll is an annual event. Having found her own Prince Charming at a young age, she's never needed a love charm, but please join her as she tells the tales of other women who've used a bit of magic to find true love.
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The Snow Queen by Alana Albertson

Synopsis

Five years ago, Cambridge Ballet's Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier vanished after performing The Nutcracker. Despite extensive city and statewide searches, no traces of them, besides their ballet slippers, were ever found. Every year since, another member of the cast has gone missing after closing night: the Mouse King, an Arabian Dancer, The Dew Drop Fairy, a Flower. Nieves Alba, who as a thirteen-year-old played Clara in the first ill-fated performance, is now cast as the Snow Queen. On closing night, every police officer in Boston surrounds the theater, determined to catch the perpetrator whom they’ve dubbed “The Nutcracker.” Can Nieves break the curse or will she be the next victim of America's favorite ballet?

About the Author

 


Alana Albertson never was fortunate to get cast as the snow queen though she did play the soldier. She has extensive collections of snow globes and nutcrackers but none of them have ever been enchanted. 
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How Lovely Your Branches by Kara Ashley Dey

Synopsis

Recluse, Katie Crowe, has observed the world from a window in her father's loveless house. With the death of her father and the departure of her only friend, Katie sees no point in venturing out. Then a new neighbor and his three female companions take up residence across the road in the very house her friend had vacated four months ago. Gabe's eyes hold a promise to Katie when she gazes into them--a way out of her lonely prison, if she could but step beyond her threshold. Something holds her back: Though the past and its people seem far from her now, the trees still know her haunting secret. 

About the Author



Kara Ashley Dey is a writer of UF and Sci-Fi Romance. Her alter ego is an abbynormal cg artist.
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The Perfect Gift by Nicole Blanchard

Synopsis 

 Sera Flaherty would rather take lumps of coal and be committed to the naughty list for life than admit that she has a role to play in her failing marriage. She deludes her way into a negative bank balance and is left with no chance of getting her husband Spencer a present. When faced with the reality of their relationship, Sera finds she's willing to sacrifice anything to fix her mistakes and find her husband the perfect gift...even if doing will cost more than she bargained for. 

About the Author

Nicole Blanchard loves receiving gifts from strangers so long as they don't come with an ominous warning or risk of dismemberment. She also enjoys taking full advantage of the fringe benefits of being on the naughty list in her spare time.

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Until the Twelfth Night by Cherie Chulick

Synopsis

Lady Elizabeth Darling has fled her overbearing family to spend the holidays with her late husband’s Aunt at Scarsbury Manor in the hills of Herefordshire. What she hoped would be a quiet Christmas quickly turns upside down as strange sightings begin to stack up and rumors fly that the great house is haunted. She tries to stay out of the drama, but when a young maid who also lost her lover in tragic circumstances asks for her help to move forward she drops everything to come to her aid. With age old traditions underway and a diverse guest list including the handsome and outspoken Captain Wolfe on the premises, can Lady Elizabeth heal both their hearts and find love before it’s too late?

About the Author

Cherie Chulick will not be spending her Christmas holiday at a haunted manor, but she does keep an eye out for the occasional ghost. Fortunately the glow of her Kindle seems to keep them at bay.

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Blog Tour: Love Waltzes In by Alana Albertson, spotlight, excerpt, review and giveaway

Love Waltzes In

By: Alana Albertson

Blurb

To her millions of fans, ballroom champion Selena Marcil seems to have the perfect life: a great dance partner, a hit reality show, and celebrity perks. But underneath the glamorous ball gowns, Selena longs to find someone to share her life with when the stage lights dim.

Selena’s childhood sweetheart, Bret Lord, hung up his dance shoes after winning two national titles with her as a teenager, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He never saw his former fiancée again, except on television and on the cover of men’s magazines. Ten years and three deployments later, Bret gets an offer to audition for Selena’s dance show. When the Marine Corps gives him temporary leave to appear on the series, Bret can’t refuse the quick cash that will enable him to provide financially for the widow of his buddy, even if it does mean coming face to face with his past.

When Bret shows up at her national championship, Selena is shocked. For years she searched for him to no avail. After spending time with Bret, Selena realizes despite their past romance, they have no future. He has no desire to live under a spotlight and she has no desire to leave it. Can Selena and Bret recognize when Love Waltzes In?

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Excerpt 

Staff Sergeant Bret Lord sat on the dirty floor of his tent, going through the day’s mail: the latest Men’s Fitness magazine from his sister, a care package from his mom. He ripped open the package—socks, lip balm, sunflower seeds, and a thin letter that contained an old magazine clipping.

Dear Bret,

I miss you very much. Benny asked me to send you this article. I really wish you would consider his offer. Please stay safe.

Love, Mom

He swallowed hard. A neon sticky pressed on the wrinkled page had a note scrawled on it from his former master dance coach.

Bret, m’boy,

We’ll make it worth your time.

Cheers, Benny.

Thumbing the edge of the article, Bret stared at the sixteen-year-old boy in the picture and could barely recognize himself. His shoulder length, wavy blond hair was slicked back, not shorn in a “high and tight” like his current haircut. No signs of the tattoos or muscles that currently defined his body. Golden skin stained from a bottle, not the harsh sun of Iraq. His arms were wrapped around a gorgeous, curvy young girl with long jet-black hair. The jade Latin gown she wore matched the color of her almond-shaped eyes.

Bret tossed the article aside and removed his nine-mil pistol from his holster to clean it.

Lance Corporal Hernandez walked by Bret and snatched the article off his cot. After staring at it, Hernandez’s face brightened.

“Hey, Staff Sergeant, this you?”

“No, it’s my clone who’s also named Bret Lord.” Bret slid the rail back on his weapon and began disassembling it.

“Staff Sergeant, you know Selena Marcil? Did you hit that?”

“Shut up, Hernandez, or the one getting hit will be you—with the butt stock of my rifle.” Bret grabbed the paper out of Hernandez’s hands, and smacked him on the side of the head. The kid didn’t flinch.

“Staff Sergeant Twinkle Toes. Hey—can you hook me up with Selena? I’ll be her boy toy. I love her. Man, she’s smoking. Has the nicest ass. Not like all those skinny, Russian chicks on that show.” He nodded to himself with an eyebrow dancing. “Selena’s on my list. She’s Latina, too. We’d be perfect together. What was she doing with a gringo like you?”

“Hernandez, you’re way out of line.” Bret reassembled his pistol.

“My bad, Staff Sergeant.”

Bret grabbed the article, his pack, and his rifle. It was impossible to get some privacy in the tent. His only option was to sit outside in a sandstorm but even that sounded like a welcome retreat from his immature men. He walked about five hundred feet, then plopped down in the hot sand.

The red sky hung above him, thick from smoke from the nearby town. Bret struggled to catch a glimpse of the distant mountains. Sand seemed to pelt down from the heavens, blinding him and settling into every crevice in his body. He closed his eyes against the sting of the sand, and turned his thoughts to Selena. Was she the diva the tabloids made her out to be? Even after ten years, he could almost smell her buttery-coconut scent. A welcome change from the overflowing shitters, toxic diesel, and stench of his fellow Marines who hadn’t bathed in three weeks. 

MY REVIEW

A Love letter from a true dance lover

5 ballroom Trophies

Hotness: a hot soldier who can dance, I repeat, a hot soldier who can dance

I received an ARC in exchange of an honest review

My friends made fun of me when DWTS premiered in 2005 but my childhood sweetheart Joey McIntyre (I wish) was competing and I haven't seen him for… ever. So I watched and cried when he and Ashly got eliminated. As a former standard dancer I love dancing and I’m still quite good at it so this book was an early Christmas present. I did something I haven’t done in a long time, stay in bed all morning to read a whole book.

Brett, an all American hero (sorry Brett, I call it as I see it) and Selena, the hot latina ballroom dancer (sorry Selena I call it as I see it) are reunited after a whole decade of unresolved feelings, secrets and heartache. Where you may ask? Dancing Under The Stars that’s where! Best dancing related show on television.

Bret was the character who spoke the most to me. He is what every woman wants in the man. He’s handsome, kind, selfless and he can dance. He can dance Ladies! (Spoiler Alert) As much as I enjoyed the love story and I did, I loved the dancers’ interactions even more. This book could have been about Vika, Jenny, Dima and all the other dancers it wouldn’t have made a difference to me. It was so fresh and oh so authentic, the world of ballroom dancing has secrets… juicy ones! I'm so existed about the second book...

I recommend this book to all my fellow dance lovers because it was written by one and she made it justice. I recommend this book to all my fellow gossip lovers, you will never watch DWTS the same way again. And last but not least, I recommend this book to all my fellow soulmate believers, hopeless romantics, you know who you are. 

Link to Follow Tour

Author Info

Alana Albertson is the former President of both Romance Writers of Americas’s Young Adult and  Chick Lit chapters and the founder of Academe Advantage, a college admissions & test preparation company. Alana Albertson holds a Masters of Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University. A recovering professional ballroom dancer, Alana currently writes contemporary romance and young adult fiction. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two young sons, and four dogs. When she’s not spending her time needlepointing, dancing, or saving dogs from high kill shelters through  Pugs N Roses, the rescue she founded, she can be found watching episodes of House Hunters, Homeland, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.

Author Links

http://www.alanaalbertson.com/waltz-like-a-man/

https://twitter.com/AlanaAlbertson

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlanaAlbertson

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7189293.Alana_Albertson

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