Promo - Saved by You by Helen Conrad

About the Book

Saved By You - Week Blitz

By Helen Conrad

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: January 14, 2014

  

Image is everything

Bad boy Kane's image is what gets him the job protecting Annie and her Hawaiian ranch but it's an image he's restless to shake.  This time he wants to get the girl--not the blame.

Annie Ventura needs Kane to be a tough guy, but what she falls for is the tenderness.  Now she has to figure out how to handle both sides of this irresistible man who is dredging up secrets from her past.

Kane Carrington can't resist a call for help from the girl he secretly loved in high school.  He goes back to his Hawaiian home, only to find he's still the "bad boy" to her golden girl image.  But now he's a man, not a boy and Annie Ventura can't resist him.  But does he have to destroy her memories of her dead husband in order to seal the deal?

As they work together to get to the bottom of the harassment she’s been experiencing, memories return and emotions are rekindled.  Annie learns that protecting the past for her son just might lead to her losing their future.  Kane begins to understand his family and his place in it—and how important it is to build bridges instead of blowing them up.

SAVED BY YOU is book #1 of  Destiny Bay Romances-The Islanders.

The full set:

Destiny Bay Romances~Islanders

Book 1-Saved By You  - Add to Goodreads

Book 2-Found By You – Add to Goodreads

Book 3- Tempted By You – Add to Goodreads

Book 4-Rescued By You - Add to Goodreads

EXCERPT

Emotions were usually pretty deep with him. He didn't like to let them get too near the surface. But for just a moment, he'd stopped and turned slowly, taking it all in, remembering a past that could never be again, missing it, missing home and actually feeling a slight stinging in his eyes.

And that was when she got him.

"Okay, you bastard, hold it right there. Don't make a move."

At the same moment the voice hit him, both barrels of a shotgun were jammed very hard and very painfully into the small of his back, and he groaned in disbelief. He hadn't even heard her coming up behind him. He shook his head. He was losing it.

"I'd like to blast a hole right through you. How would you like that, you slime ball?"

"Hey, hold on just a minute..."

The barrel jabbed him. "Don't try to talk, dirt bag. Just start walking. I'm going to walk you right off my land, and then I'm going to call the cops. And the next time you come slinking around I'm going to blow your brains out. You got that?" She jabbed him again to get him going toward the road. "And you can tell Bart Carlson I'll do the same for any other of his pathetic flunkies that he sends over here to screw up my life."

It took only one quick twist and a little leverage, and he had her on the ground, his big body holding hers down, the shotgun wrenched from her grasp and sent spinning in the dust.

But that didn't mean she gave up. Not by any means. She fought like a wildcat, spitting and scratching at him with fury. It took both his hands to hold down hers, and the full length of his body to hold her captive.

"Cut it out, Annie," he growled at her, annoyed that she wasn't giving up even once she'd realized his superior strength. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The sound of her name was what seemed to still her for a moment. She stared up at him and he stared down at her, wondering if she had any idea that they had known each other before.

She'd changed. But her hair was still blond, still a mass of shimmering tangles that seemed to go on forever. Her body was still slim and lithe, but there was a strength to her he wouldn't have thought she would ever possess. She was still squirming beneath him, but it was beginning to feel good. He glanced at her cotton blouse, all askew and revealing the soft curve of her breast and a tiny strip of lace.

"Don't," she spat at him fiercely.

He looked up. Her face was older, naturally. The crystal blue eyes he remembered so vividly were wary, haunted by pain and struggle she couldn't have dreamed of in her younger days. And she wasn't laughing. In his memories, she was always laughing.

There was no sign of recognition. Didn't anybody remember him? Had he been erased from the minds of an entire community?

About the Author

Helen Conrad

Helen Conrad is an award-winning, best-selling author (over 15 million books sold) of heart-felt--and often humorous--contemporary romances, most of which are spiced with a little heat.  She's published more than 99 romances under various pseudonyms with Harlequin, Silhouette, Mills and Boon, Loveswept, and others and is currently revamping the best of her backlist, creating the Destiny Bay Romances Series about a rich, influential family living along the Central California Coast, Arizona and the Hawaiian Islands.  The Carringtons are good-looking, fast-driving, hard-hitting men and women whose impulses lead them into trouble--and inevitably, into love--every time.  Saved By You is the story of Kane Carrington who returns to Hawaii to settle old scores and revive a lost love.

Authors Links

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Page

Buy Link

Amazon

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Promo - Angel to the Rescue by Petie McCarty

About the Book

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 12/11/2013

Child psychologist Rachel Kelly isn't quite sure how to handle the situation with her newest client -- a six-year-old boy who says he can talk to angels and one is coming to help Rachel. She already has her hands full of trouble this Christmas season, and things quickly take a turn for the worse when a stalker crashes Rachel's Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage.

Police negotiator, Lt. Jake Dillon, walked away from his fiancée Rachel when she suddenly balked at having kids. His kids. Yet when the hostage crisis erupts, Rachel calls Jake first. Now he has a choice to make -- stand back and wait for the cavalry to save Rachel or step in and try to save her himself. Time is running out, and Jake may be their only chance for rescue.

Unless Rachel's little angel-spying client is telling the truth…

EXCERPT

Jake whipped his BMW into the Azalea Center parking lot and switched off his headlights in one smooth motion. Clutch depressed and guided by the light from the few streetlamps, he coasted to a stop next to Wally's jeep though his emotions had tempted him to come screeching around the corner like the cavalry. Common sense and the need for stealth had won out. He couldn't risk driving the trespasser underground only to have him surface later when Jake had left. 

Clicking off his interior lights, he pulled his Sig Sauer from the glove compartment, then climbed out and pushed his car door in until the latch quietly held. He waited several seconds to let his eyes and ears take in the entire scene. All the landscaping crowded around the Center provided a multitude of places for a trespasser to hide. 

He touched the hood of Wally's jeep. Still warm, even in the cold night air. A brief stab of guilt hit him for leaving his team so abruptly in the Beef n' Brew. Couldn't be helped. 

His gaze scanned the closest landscape beds for some sign of Wally. A stiff north breeze whipped across the parking area and stirred up leaves and debris. Barely visible through the treetops, the almost-full moon blazed bright. 

He made his way past the large perimeter oaks to the interior sidewalk where he began a circle of the building, checking sections of garden as he paced. All the offices on the west side of the building were unoccupied, and all windows were dark, a few with vestiges of their interiors visible from adjacent emergency lighting.

Rachel's office faced the back of the property just around the corner. At this time of night, her office interior would be entirely visible with her lights on. Jake knew because he'd snuck over here enough times in the last few months to observe her office from the garden. He was pitiful and every few weeks, had needed a glimpse of her to get by. A wry smile twitched at the edges of his mouth. He could've been called in as a trespasser on any one of those nights should anyone have spotted him and cared enough to make the call.

Careful to remain off the sidewalk, he silently eased his way toward the back garden. If the trespasser was a stalker, then the perp probably knew the Center had no security guard and no security system -- a fact that had always bothered Jake. 

He reached the back corner of the property and crossed the sidewalk to inspect the landscape areas adjacent to the building. Two quick steps and he shifted from one landscape bed to another. He crouched as he left the larger Camellias and moved through the shorter azaleas and Indian hawthorn. 

Clearing the corner, his position was now even with the back of the building. He paused to reconnoiter and stared at the faint pool of light cast by an overhead office -- Rachel's office.

As his gaze rose to the second-floor office, his eyes searched for the all-too-familiar figure. Without thinking, he straightened to his full height, clearly visible to anyone glancing out the window. Yet no one searched for a figure in the garden. All eyes in the office were busy. 

Rachel stood with Olivia and her children on one side of the conference room. On the other side of the room, a man in a worn red jacket and baseball cap faced them -- pointing a gun.

This was Jake's horrible nightmare.

About the Author

Petie earned a zoology degree from the University of Central Florida and enjoys her “day” job as an aquatic biologist at "The Most Magical Place on Earth." Petie is a member of Romance Writers of America, and she shares homes in Tennessee and Florida with her horticulturist husband, a spoiled-rotten English Springer spaniel, and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Angel to the Rescue.

Petie has three other books released with Desert Breeze Publishing: Everglades, Catch of the Day, and No Going Back, recently named a 2014 EPIC eBook Award Finalist for the category of Contemporary Romance.

Website:   http://www.petiemccarty.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/petiemccarty

BUY LINKS

Amazon   

Barnes and Noble

Other:    http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/angel-to-the-rescue-epub/

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Promo - Asking For Trouble by Rosalind James

About the Book

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 2/1/2014

Sometimes you go looking for trouble. And sometimes, trouble finds you. 

Alyssa Kincaid knows she needs to make some big changes. A move to San Francisco is the first step. Now it's time to get serious, and to get the rest of her life on track. If only her messy life would cooperate. And if only it had Joe Hartman in it. 

Joe knows one thing for sure: Making a move on his best friend's little sister, the beloved youngest sibling in the closest thing to a family he's got, would be asking for trouble. Unfortunately, Alyssa always does seem to be asking for trouble. And it's getting harder and harder for Joe to resist answering.

EXCERPT

She hit the door, heard the chime behind her, and knew her new boyfriends were following right along. Until they realized that she was meeting the bike rider, because she could sense them slowing to a stop.

Joe barely looked at her, just reached for her arm and swung her behind him. She peered around from the shelter of his broad back, saw the three guys stopped halfway between the bulk of Joe and the liquor store entrance, looking like they weren't quite sure what to do next.

"You should take better care of your lady," Tall Guy said at last. "Not leave her all alone and lonely like that. She might get into trouble."

"I'm here now," Joe said.

The guy laughed, showing his bad teeth. "What? You looking for a fight? Three of us, man."

"I'm not looking for anything," Joe said, and she could see his hands flexing, could sense the readiness in him, like he was poised on his toes, even though he was standing solid. "But I'm happy to take anything that comes my way."

"Hey, man," the guy said with a shrug, taking a half-step back. "Just hanging out." He turned, would-be casual, and the three of them sauntered off, back to their pals, Alyssa presumed.

Joe stood still a moment, watching them go. Then he turned to Alyssa. "You OK?"

"Yeah," she said, her arms wrapped around herself, shivering with cold and tension. "Just freezing." She smiled, and could feel her teeth chattering. She'd really thought he was going to fight. Three guys.

He unzipped the heavy jacket and handed it to her. "Put this on." He watched her struggle with the zipper for a minute, her fingers too shaky for the task, then brushed her hands aside and zipped the jacket for her as if she were a child. Then he took off the helmet and gave her that, too. "I don't have another one with me. Wear this."

She hefted the weight of it. "Uh, Joe. I can't ride a motorcycle. Maybe you could just wait for a cab with me."

"You don't have to ride a motorcycle," he said. "I'll do the riding. You just have to hold on."

About the Author

Rosalind James is the Kindle-bestselling author of the “Escape to New Zealand” series and the new U.S.-based “Kincaids” series. Rosalind is a publishing industry veteran and former marketing executive who attributes her success to the fact that “lots of people would like to escape to New Zealand! I know I did!”

Website: http://www.rosalindjames.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosalindjamesbooks

Twitter: @rosalindjames5

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Asking-Trouble-Kincaids-Rosalind-James-ebook/dp/B00HND9L66/

Pomo - Baggage Check by M.J. Pullen

About the Book

Contemporary Romance/Women's Fiction

Date Published: November 2013

From the author of The Marriage Pact (2011) and Regrets Only (2012) comes Baggage Check, the third and final installment in this quirky romantic series.  

At thirty-five, Rebecca Williamson is surrounded by happy endings.  Her friends Suzanne and Marci are living out their own personal fairy tales in Atlanta, Georgia. But despite Rebecca’s best efforts four years ago, her adorable college friend Jake Stillwell has officially slipped through her fingers and broken her heart. Even though her job as a flight attendant fits perfectly with her orderly nature, and brings her into contact with lots of eligible men, she can’t seem to find a man who is Jake’s equal.

Then a frantic phone call from her mother in Oreville, Alabama turns Rebecca’s structured life on its ear. She will find herself back in the tiny town she worked so hard to leave behind, and thrown together with Deputy Alex Chen, a face from the past who’s made it clear he thinks of Rebecca as more than just an old friend’s kid sister. 

But Alex is nothing like what Rebecca had in mind; and in the meantime, she has other battles to fight, including her painful family history. Can she navigate the chaos and get her life back to normal? Will Alex prove himself to be the friend she's always needed? Or will she discover that the door to Jake is not as tightly closed as she thought?

Excerpt

“What the hell was that?” Valerie asked, sliding into the booth across from Rebecca. “He was a nice-looking kid. You don’t like foreign guys?”

“That’s not it,” Rebecca said.

“Well, I had that one primed for you. Such a waste.”

“Thanks, Val, but I don’t need you to find guys for me. And I’m sure he won’t go to waste. Look, he’s talking to that girl at the bar already.”

“I didn’t mean him,” Val said. “I meant you. You’re such a beautiful girl: educated, nice nose, and that pretty brown hair is your real color as far as I can tell. We've flown together three years and I never hear about you dating anyone.”

“Well, maybe I—”

Valerie leaned across the table with a loud whisper. “Are you a lesbian?”

“What? No!”

“Because I’m okay with it, really. I’m very hip about this stuff. I even have a lesbian niece. Very attractive, if she would just let her hair grow out. Of course, she’s younger than you, but...”

“Valerie!” Rebecca said too loudly. Then softer, “I am not a lesbian. I used to date men all the time. I just haven’t lately.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. The hours?”

“Bullshit.”

“Come on, Val. Why the sudden interest in my love life? Can we talk about something else?”

“No.”

Rebecca knew from experience Valerie had no intention of letting up. She took a sip of her drink, not terribly helpful since it was mostly melted ice. A long sigh under Valerie’s unwavering stare. “I guess you could say I got my heart broken a few years ago, and I just haven’t gotten over it yet.”

“Really? Who was this? How come I haven’t heard about him?”

Rebecca sighed. In for a penny... “You have heard of him. It was my friend Jake.”

“Jake?” Valerie furrowed her brow. “You mean...your friend, the girl with the blog, what’s her name—Marci? That Jake?”

“Yes. That Jake.”

Valerie whistled. “So how long ago was this?”

“How long ago was what? They got married four years ago. And they have Bonnie now.”

“Yeah, but when did you stop...” Valerie trailed off.

Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t think I have stopped. I know that’s ridiculous, but I-I loved him for so long. It’s like I don’t know any other way to be.”

Val looked down at the table for a minute, and slid the rest of her neat Scotch across to Rebecca. “Here, kid. I think you need this a hell of a lot more than I do.”

About the Author

M.J. (Manda) Pullen studied English Literature and Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, and later Professional Counseling at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She practiced psychotherapy for five years before taking time off for writing and raising her two young boys. Since high school, she has also been an executive assistant, cashier, telemarketer, professional fundraiser, marketing guru, magazine writer, grant-writer, waitress, box-packer, HR person, and casual drifter.

She reads and writes across many genres, and learns something from everything she does. No matter what she’s writing, M.J. believes that love is the greatest adventure there is, and that hopeless romantics are never really hopeless.

She loves to hear from readers and other writers – so drop her a line!

Website:  mjpullen.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/mjpullenbooks

Twitter: @MJPullen

Blog: mjpullen.com/blog/

Buy Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Baggage-Check-The-Marriage-Pact-ebook/dp/B00GS8HSSA

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baggage-check-mj-pullen/1117442130

Other:  Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/377701

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Cover Reveal - Taking Chances by Ariadne Wayne

About the Book

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 3/30/2014

Lauren and Mark Burrows lost their parents in a car accident one night. Despite their father being the drunk driver, both struggle with the urge to turn to drink; Lauren most of all. When all they have is each other, Lauren feels lost when Mark falls in love with Cassie Warren and moves out.

Ethan Stone has been alone since his divorce. His ex-wife took him for everything, and he has felt empty for a long time. He's not looking for love, but Lauren brings him back to life. The question is whether she can fight her demons for the man she loves, and if Ethan can handle the wild ride that is life with Lauren.

Excerpt

Ethan leaned over to kiss her. “I’m looking forward to going to bed too. If I’m invited.”

She laughed, slapping his arm. “Are you kidding? After all that fuss at the door, you had better bring your A game tonight, Mister.”

“I don’t know about that, but I could do with loving you some more. We’ll have to leave pretty early. My schedule is full tomorrow.”

“You still came?”

“Lauren, I told you. You’re worth the effort. If I have to look for work down here, I will.”

“I can’t believe anyone would do that for me.”

“I love you. Even if you don’t feel the same way, I’ll be there when you need me.”

She kissed him. This man was special, and he was hers. 

“I do feel the same way. My whole life, no-one ever loved me,” she said.

“I bet that’s a lie. You have such a good heart. Anyone who doesn't love you isn't worth knowing.”

“Can we skip dinner and get to the bed part?”

Ethan squeezed her hand. “Not after the effort I put in. Maybe afterwards.”

“Well, you can’t wash the dishes. There’s no hot water left.”

“You didn't leave any for me?”

Lauren draped her arms over Ethan’s shoulders. “No. You should have joined me.”

“Next time, beautiful.”

She looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze. “What is it, Lauren?”

“No-one’s ever called me that before.”

    “Well, get used to it.”

About the Author

Ariadne Wayne loves books and lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband and two children. Having always had a prolific imagination she now writes the words down instead of storing them in her head where she can't share them.

When she's not writing she works in Telecommunications, frequently banging her head on the desk with the random things that can happen to the ordinary phone line.

Website: http://www.ariadnewayne.co.nz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariadnewaynebooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AriadneWayne

Promo - Stealing Luca's Heart by Ellie Lyons

About the Book

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: 12/30/2013

   Just what is going on at the Tetari farm in New Zealand? First her father is injured in a suspicious hunting accident, now someone is after the Tetari family and their land. With the help of charismatic businessman and eldest son, Luca Tetari, Ally Edwards is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. As passion flares and love blooms, Ally and Luca search for the answers in Ellie Lyons’ romantic suspense novel, Stealing Luca's Heart, Book 1 of her new, contemporary series.

When Ally Edwards’ father, Cal, is injured in a suspicious hunting accident in New Zealand, she takes leave from her job as a University of Iowa economics instructor to rush down to be at her father’s bedside. When she arrives, she finds herself hosted by her father’s friends, the Tetari family, who welcome her into their home.

Luca Tetari, the eldest son, is not only a businessman in the family corporation, but also the team captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team. Luca is the consummate player, skillful on the pitch and off, indulging his fans and beguiling everyone around him. But as she gets to know him, Ally discovers that Luca is far deeper as a person than his surface charm would indicate, and soon she finds herself falling in love.

But while Ally and Luca are realizing their new affections, the Tetari family and their land are under attack by unknown assailants. With a new “green” energy project in development, who is trying to take over their property, and how? Does this have anything to do with Cal’s injury? After all, if someone has hurt one person, mightn't that same individual be willing to injure—or even kill—additional people to achieve his or her goals?

About the Author

Ellie Lyons

Website: http://ellielyons.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellie-Lyons-Author/194839794021971

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EllieLyonsBooks

Blog: http://ellielyons.com/blog/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7713217.Ellie_Lyons

Buy Links

Amazon

Promo - The Upside of Being Let Down by London Casey

About the Book

Date Published: 1/7/2014
New Adult Romance

The fact that AJ's sister is a stripper has been the bane of AJ's existence for as long as she can remember. Every guy that has showed interest only wanted to get closer to her sister. After being kicked out of college, and subsequently out of her apartment, AJ heads to the strip club for some sisterly advice.  Instead, she lands in the apartment of a cute stranger who seems way too eager to help.

Bryan is a regular guy looking for the simplicity in life.  A strip club is definitely not his idea of simplicity, but he is pleasantly surprised at who he finds not prancing around on stage.  In the middle of a strip club his eyes are glued to a woman that is fully dressed and thus begins a rollercoaster romance that he never saw coming.

When a risky dare is set in motion, an earth shattering truth is unraveled and AJ no longer knows who she can trust.  Can Bryan prove that he loves AJ and help save her bond with her sister before it's too late? 

About the Author

London Casey
(London Casey is pen name for Karolyn James)

Website - www.KarolynJames.wordpress.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/karolynjamesauthor

Mailing List - www.tinyurl.com/kjsignup

Buy Link

Amazon

Promo - A Voice to Love by Karolyn James

About the Book

Date Published: 1/6/2014

Contemporary Romance

The Brothers of Rock series continues with Fallen Tuesday!

Leadsinger Luke Nolan's sudden success is everything dreams are made of.  Going from playing at a local dive bar to touring with megaband Chasing Cross, seemingly overnight, and ultimately saving the headliner's tour, has the men of Fallen Tuesday absolutely loving the life on the road. In fact, Luke is loving it so much that he has used every excuse to not tell his bandmates about his medical condition that is worsening with each performance.

In a small town just outside Syracuse, New York, Amy Deleranne seeks solitude in the kitchen of Tommy Two's, her uncle Tom's restaurant that should have been hers by now.  She understands his emotional attachment, but she has poured her life into its survival and has more at stake than anyone knows...

With Luke battling a skyrocketing career and the medically unknown and Amy terrified to look over her shoulder at all times, it is no wonder that sparks fly when they meet.  However, can their hearts, and their careers, survive the secrets they've been keeping?

About the Author

Karolyn James

Website - www.KarolynJames.wordpress.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/karolynjamesauthor

Mailing List - www.tinyurl.com/kjsignup

Buy Link

Amazon

Promo Blitz - Favorite Places by Kelly Gendron

About the Book

Contemporary Erotica

Date Published: 12/10/2013

A five-minute trolley ride, one troublemaking luggage, and two stolen identities. Six months later, two strangers discover they’re married. She wants an annulment. He has other plans.

Being illegally hitched is about the only way Chase Lennox would ever be shackled to any woman. But when the multimillionaire playboy finds out he’s married to the woman who caused him to lose the biggest deal of his life, Chase decides before he gives his new wife an annulment, she’s going to help him close the deal he’d lost.

Jessina Landi has a three-foot radius comfort zone. The last man she let into it cost her a lot more than a broken heart. And the huge debt she owes for that trust, well, it’s due. If she takes Chase Lennox's up on his offer, it’s sure to cover the bill. 

There’s an annulment waiting at the end of their rainbow… well, that’s if they can get through the next two weeks without consummating the marriage.

About the Author

Kelly resides in a quiet suburb somewhere between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, NY. Her day job? Kelly has worked in the healthcare field for years. She represents a group of reputable nursing facilities in the WNY area. 

She's been faithfully writing for three years. However, she wrote her first book ten years ago but had to put it down to raise her son as a single mom. When her son got a little older, she was able to pick it back up. That's when she settled into her newly married life and started to seriously write again. 

The recipe for the men in her stories: a dash of bad boy attitude, a cup of strong and confident and, of course, besides being packed with magnificent bodies, and doused with shameless aptitudes, they must have a tender heart you want to rip out of the pages (or your e-Reader) and take to bed with you at night.

Kelly loves to hear from her readers! Visit her Blog, FB Page, Goodreads, Twitter. 

Website: www.KellyGendron.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelGendron

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kelgendron

Blog: http://kellygendron.blogspot.com/

Any Others:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18522938-favorite-places

Buy Links

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Smashword 

Goodreads  

Promo - Incurable Insanity by Simi K. Rao

About the Book

Her heart fluttered when she heard the sound of the key turn in the lock. She quickly adjusted her maroon silk sari with the yellow border, the one that had caught his eye, and waited eagerly for his footsteps.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Yes, exactly seven steps before he stopped, hesitated for a few moments, then removed his shoes one by one and arranged them neatly side by side on the shoe rack.

She smiled. He had been mindful of taking his shoes off every day now. 'I am not used to it, but I will if you want me to. It's probably a good thing to do anyway.'

As he settled down, he would pick up the TV remote and, without looking at her, would say in his smooth baritone, 'So how did you spend your day, anything interesting?'

Shaan Ahuja found himself bowing to tradition and agreeing to an arranged marriage to the beautiful Ruhi Sharma. He went through the motions but had no intention of carrying through on his vows. His last foray into matters of the heart with an American girl had left him scarred and unwilling to try again. Thoroughly disillusioned and disgruntled he wasted no time in making his intentions clear to Ruhi on their wedding night. But, he was completely unprepared for what his new wife had in mind.

"In Rao’s debut novel, an arranged Indian marriage sets the stage for an intimate look at the exasperating madness of love.

Shaan Ahuja and Ruhi Sharma’s arranged marriage has an inauspicious start. Shaan spurns his new wife on their wedding night, still pining over the American lover he left back in Los Angeles. However, the begrudging spouses soon make a pact: Ruhi will stay with Shaan in the United States just long enough to avoid embarrassment. The young bride hopes she can use the time to win Shaan’s heart, and although Ruhi’s beauty and attentiveness do change Shaan’s feelings, his immaturity and inability to express himself—and Ruhi’s lingering mistrust—keep them from reconciling. As they attempt to be “friends without benefits,” they start to reveal their true selves, including her needling puckishness and independent spirit and the reasons for his reserved nature and impulsive jealousy. Their eventual reconciliation comes not from forgiveness but from acceptance and understanding. The novel trades in a certain amount of melodrama that, thanks to its light tone, comes across as indulgent but satisfying. ...The novel seems highly aware of its influences, using cultural expectations and delayed gratification in the same spirit, if not with the same deftness, as Jane Austen. Shaan and Ruhi also sometimes mirror the star-crossed lovers from Casablanca (a film that the book directly references). 

An often intoxicating,  will-they-or-won’t-they tale." - KIRKUS 

Excerpt

1: Disillusion

Ruhi Sharma was a blushing bride, practically a newlywed, locked up in this glittering cage for almost a month, twenty-nine days to be exact; an object of envy of all her friends and family.

Twenty-nine days ago, she had signed her name beside his on the marriage certificate. She had gone through all the miscellaneous ceremonies associated with the typical grand Indian wedding—the engagement, the Mehendi, the Sangeet, the Haldi, and the grand finale (her father had spared no expense) until finally her betrothed had staked his claim by placing the Sindoor on her forehead and tying the Mangalsutra around her neck, and she had quietly and blissfully followed him around the sacred fire carefully listening to and reciting the Saath Pheras in her mind.

She was the very beautiful and accomplished daughter of Amrit and Devyani Sharma, the apple of their eye, and they had left no stone unturned in raising her the best way they possibly could.

Friends and family were surprised for not only had Ruhi been provided with a very good education, she held an MBA from a leading institution, but her parents had also made sure that she was adept in all other various skills, which a well-bred traditional Indian girl is desired to be proficient in. Therefore, nobody marveled when marriage proposals came pouring in from all directions.

But the Sharmas were choosy; they wanted only the best for their golden child, and they did get it, or so they surmised.

The idea of giving their daughter’s hand in marriage to the well-accomplished son of the most well-known family in Chandigarh was beyond their wildest imagination. It was wilder because they hadn’t gone in search of it, rather it had come and landed on their lap.

Shaan, the youngest and most eligible of the Ahuja clan, was twenty-seven, a fresh aerospace masters grad from a premier engineering institute located in the Los Angeles county of United States, California, who had already bagged a plum job in a leading aeronautics and space exploration company in sunny LA.

“My son makes interplanetary spacecraft. He’s the man of the future” had become the proud and frequent rant of Mr. Shiv Ahuja, who for some odd reason seemed to be trying to paint his son in the most rosy of tones even though he really didn’t need to, for as soon as Ruhi saw her future husband’s likeness, she lost her heart, and there was no question of a retrieval.

---o---

“Chai?”

“Huh? Yes please with just a pinch of sugar. Thanks!” He took the cup from her hands, careful not to touch her fingers.

Ruhi closed her eyes; she could now repeat every movement, every word by rote. He was a creature of habit…and she was bored. What was supposed to be the most exciting time in every young woman’s life had turned out to be the worst…Well, not really. He wasn’t mean, rather he was the perfect gentleman, too perfect!

Oh how she wished he would rather be screaming mean and nasty. At least that would bring some excitement into her not so-happening life! She laughed, pausing as she brushed her long black hair, rather hysterically.

The bombshell had dropped on their wedding night. He had walked into the room late as she sat there, a shy bride in all her wedding finery waiting, nervous yet excited at the same time, to meet the man she had hardly spoken to or looked at. What would he say, talk about, or do?

She had heard a lot of stories about what to expect, some factual and some fabricated (her friends had prepared her well), but she wanted her own to be special, unique, and it was…

Sitting down on the bed in front of her, he had taken her hand in his and said very gently, as if to tone down the trauma, “I bet you are one of the most beautiful brides in the world, but I’m sorry I cannot make love to you. There is someone else.”

Not sure if she’d heard right, Ruhi had watched puzzled as he lay down on the mattress and turned his back to her. Is that it? A plain and blunt dismissal of her dreams, her life? Was that all?

About the Author

Simi K. Rao was born in India and has been living in the United States for several years. This book is her first foray into writing. The inspiration for the story came from what she has seen transpire among and within the immigrant community.

Some of the experiences included are her own; some have been garnered from friends and casual conversations with acquaintances. She also writes poetry, is an avid photographer, loves to travel, and is a practicing physician. She currently lives in Denver with her family.

You can connect with the author and read more of her work on her website at

www.simikrao.com

Website: http://simikrao.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simikrao

Twitter: @simikrao

Blog: simikrao.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18187461-an-incurable-insanity

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