Yuletide Time Travel Romance. A Viking Holiday-The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin.

Season’s Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying a fabulous holiday season so far. I'm thrilled to announce Sean and Svala's holiday novella is finally available. It was interesting writing a festive story around a Christian and a Pagan, but love most certainly found a way. Not to say it was easy! But then nothing about Svala really is. Nonetheless, it was a fun ride and I hope you enjoy!  

Be sure to join A Viking Holiday on book tour for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.. Find out more details about everything below!

Description

Having time travelers in your life isn’t always easy. Given that he’s said goodbye to several of them over the past few years, Sean O’Conner knows that better than most. Now his best friend Megan has returned from tenth-century Scandinavia to modern day Maine. Not only has she aged over twenty-five years, she hasn’t traveled through time alone. Her troublesome daughter Svala is with her. 

Of dragon blood and proud to be Viking, Svala Sigdir has no use for the twenty-first century and makes it evident to all around her. Even so, she will protect her mother at all cost. Meanwhile, she needs a man. Sean to be exact. Despite his aversion, she is determined to make him hers. 

Svala might be after him, but Sean wants nothing to do with her. At least that’s what he tells himself as the holidays arrive and he struggles to keep peace in what’s become a battleground instead of a festive Winter Harbor home. At his wit’s end, he finally calls on an old friend’s help. Or so he had hoped. Cast beneath the spell of a powerful Scottish wizard determined to protect his Viking Ancestors, Sean and Svala go on an unexpected yuletide journey. As it turns out, there’s only one way to break free from the spell. A life-altering choice that might very well cost Sean both his sanity and his heart.

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Excerpt

Svala wrapped her fur cloak around her shoulders and started to breeze past them as she eyed his crew mate. “So you’re New England’s finest, are you?”

“Naw.” Nick chuckled and nodded at Sean. “Most ladies think he is.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that,” she said before she started down the hallway.

“I don’t think so.” Sean grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Nick, go make sure none of the guys head this way. Tell them I’m catching a rat or something.”

Svala winked. “Or a dragon.” 

“Where you gonna hide her, Cap?” Nick kept grinning. “She don’t look like the type of woman who’ll keep hidden if she’s decided otherwise.”

Svala cocked a grin at Nick. “I think I like you.”

“I know I like you, beautiful,” he returned.

“Just make sure no one heads this way, Nick,” Sean reiterated. “And I’ll make sure Svala stays hidden.”

“I betcha will.” Nick chuckled as Sean pulled her toward the meager sleeping quarters. 

“I am not staying down here.” Svala started to fight him. “I want to be on deck. I want to help you fish.”

“Hell, no.” Sean grabbed her before she could bolt in the opposite direction. “My men won’t be able to concentrate on work with you around.”

Her eyes met his. “Then you must not lead them well if they are so easily distracted.”

It felt as if the narrow hallway only grew smaller as her eyes pinned his…as he remembered with vivid clarity how she’d felt against him last night. “You know damn well the effect you have on men.”

“I did not dress in modern day clothes.” She pulled the cloak off her shoulders. “See, I am dressed like a Viking again.”

His eyes fell to the fur-trimmed, leather tunic. To her unmistakable curves. He swallowed and tore his eyes away. “What difference does it make? You’re still trouble.”

“Only when I dress like a modern-day woman, yes?” Svala cocked her head. “That is why you fought for me last night, is it not? Because you desired me in those clothes?” She frowned. “Now I am not wearing them. You will not desire me so they won’t either. There will be no trouble. You will not be ashamed of yourself.”

Sean had no idea what to make of her logic. “I’m not ashamed of myself.” But he had been when he overreacted last night. “And trust me, sweetheart, it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing. You’re gonna distract my men.”

She didn’t press closer, but her words made the hallway seem even narrower as she murmured, “Am I distracting you now, Sean? Is that why you seem so convinced?”

When they hit a small swell, he braced his hand against the wall beside her head and bit back desire. “Just do as I ask, Svala. I don’t need any trouble, okay? Not with my men.” He ground his jaw. “This is my livelihood. Please don’t screw it up.”

Shockingly enough, Svala looked as though he’d slapped her. “That’s not why I’m here, Sean…” She trailed off, clearly upset before she gathered herself. “I just wanted to see you fish.”

“Commercial fishing isn’t like normal fishing.” He shook his head. “There’s not much to see, really.”

Except when the nets came up. That feeling of excitement and expectation before they found out how big a load they’d caught. 

He had no idea what to make of the look on her face. She was vulnerable in a way he’d never seen her. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, not sure what to say, still confused about why she hadn’t already traveled back in time. “Maybe I can take you out fishing another time?”

“Maybe,” she said softly, her eyes alarmingly gentle as she stepped close. “So how are you going to keep me entertained while you hide me away?”

Ah, there she was. The little Viking he knew so well. Except this time he wasn’t stepping away.

Something about having her on one of his boats, on his turf, on the high sea…was different. Somehow, though it was on his territory, they had found common ground. The sway of a ship. The pulse of the ocean beneath them. 

“Sean,” she whispered, clearly sensing a crack in the wall he’d kept between them. Slowly, inch by inch, she unzipped his jacket. “If I understand things correctly, you aren’t needed for hours yet. Why don’t we use that time in a pleasurable way, yes?”

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Paranormal and Suspense. Highway Thirteen to Manhattan by Kourtney Heintz.

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome Kourtney Heintz, author of Highway Thirteen to Manhattan, Book Two in The Six Train to Wisconsin Series.

Genre: Paranormal and Suspense

Publisher: Aurea Blue Press

Date of Publication: 11/1/2016

ISBN: 978-0989132688

Number of pages: 420

Word Count: 94,000

Cover Artist: Creative Paramita

Book Description 

His secrets almost killed her. Her secrets may destroy them both.

Kai is recovering from a near-death experience when she realizes something isn’t right. Her body is healing, but her mind no longer feels quite like her own. Her telepathic powers are changing, too. She can’t trust herself. The darkness growing inside of her pushes her to use her telepathy as a weapon.

Oliver clings to the hope that he can save their marriage, even though he was the one who put her life in jeopardy. As his wife slips further and further away from him, he becomes increasingly obsessed with bringing the man who ruined his life to justice.

The sequel to The Six Train to Wisconsin is a genre-defying tale of love and consequences. Once again, award-winning author Kourtney Heintz seamlessly weaves suspense and paranormal intrigue into a real-world setting, creating characters rich in emotional and psychological complexity.

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"Family secrets, paranormal suspense, and romance collide in Heintz's fascinatingly original tale. A compelling read that will keep you guessing and haunt you long after the last page is turned." -Gretchen Archer, USA Today Bestselling author of the Davis Way Crime Capers

Tour Giveaway! 5 signed copies shipping to anywhere in the world AND Kourtney’s Giveaway open from October 1-December 1 - prizes include naming a character in her next book, Butternut gift basket, and a $50 Amazon gift card. Enter on her Facebook page: http://gvwy.io/bwh02f9

  

Grab Book One for Free October 1- December 1
 The Six Train to Wisconsin

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Let’s Interview…

How did you come up with the title?

For me, love is a journey, never a destination. So my title is meant to be thematic and hint at the difficult journey my characters will take.

Since this is a sequel, I tried to build off of the initial title in terms of style and theme. In the first book, The Six Train to Wisconsin, my characters live in Manhattan near the 6 subway line and use it to get to work every day. Obviously, that subway line doesn’t run to Wisconsin so the title was meant to convey how difficult their journey was.

In Highway Thirteen to Manhattan, Kai and Oliver are dealing with the aftermath of everything that happened at the end of the first book. Highway 13 is a state highway that runs through Butternut, but does not leave the state of Wisconsin. However, in this book, circumstances cause both Oliver and Kai to return to Manhattan. It isn’t an easy journey for either of them.

What made you choose the main setting for your book?

When I was picking the location for my story, I wanted to give my characters a “fish out of water” experience. Since they were city dwellers, moving to another city wouldn’t do it. Plus that wouldn’t help Kai’s telepathic issues, which are caused by too many people being too close to her. I decided on a small town in the Midwest. I searched my atlas and I found Butternut. It fit all the requirements of my story and I adored the name. When I went to visit, I fell in love with the town and its people.

If you had to sell your book based on one run of dialogue (start quote to end quote), which would it be?

Right now, it felt like we were wandering through the graveyard of our love and neither of us was courageous enough to admit it.

Tell us about your book cover and how it relates to your story.

The book cover features my main characters, Kai and Oliver.  There is a huge disconnect between them in this story, which is why they aren’t facing each other. Oliver and Kai must deal with the aftermath of her abduction and his lies. And they’re forced to confront the consequences of Kai’s own sins of omission. There is incredible tension and uncertainty between them. My cover designer came up with this concept based off the back cover summary and my notes on the emotions and conflict in the book. I think she nailed it! 

Did you enjoy writing one scene above all the rest? If so, share.

There is a scene at Brennan’s Green Brier with Oliver and his high school sweetheart Michaela. I spent a night at the bar, trying to capture all the details of what it was like there, so I could write this scene. I repeatedly peppered Terry Brennan, whose family owns the bar, with questions to make sure I got it right. I really love all the details about the bar’s history and I wanted to give Oliver a tie to that bar, so I worked that into the opening with Oliver and Dan reminiscing about old times there. It’s just one of my favorite scenes in the book—I smile every time I read it.

What genre/genres do you prefer to write? Are there other genres you’d like to write in the future?

I’m a big fan of mystery and suspense. I’ve never written a story that didn’t contain elements of both. I’ve always been fascinated by the paranormal. I can’t seem to write fiction without something paranormal at its core. But it’s not about genre for me. I always set out to tell a good story.  I love to get inside my characters’ minds and explore their true motives and deepest emotions, which contributes a more literary flavor to my writing in this series. I tend to cross genres so there’s not much I wouldn’t try. I have an idea for a paranormal romance and a sci-fi suspense both milling about in my head.

Do you write books in series? If so, share a bit about the series you currently have published or are coming soon.

I do. This is the second book in a limited series, The Six Train to Wisconsin Series. I see it as four books to tell Oliver and Kai’s story, so there are two more on the horizon.

I also have a YA time travel mystery series, The Unbelievables, written under my pen name K.C. Tansley. The first book was about a girl who accidentally time traveled to solve a murder and break a curse. The second book continues her adventures and will be out next summer. I see it as  a 6-7 book series.

CHAPTER 1

Kai

Like most daughters, I loved my parents, but right now, I wanted them anywhere but here. Hospitals are always hard, but my parents managed to make it harder. My head was already pounding from all the thoughts and emotions coming at me. Not just from the patients and their families and the doctors and the nurses, but also from my mother and father. Instead of shielding their thoughts and trying to make it better for me, they let their emotions crash into me.

My mind wasn’t strong enough for all this. Neither was my body. Tubes eviscerated my right hand. A giant bruise blossomed beside the newest IV line. A cast wrapped around my left wrist. My broken pinky finger had been set and taped to my ring finger. The back of my head was held together with stitches. Beneath the blanket, my body was covered in bruises.

I didn’t feel any physical pain because of the medications the doctors pumped into me. They said I needed it to recover, but it made my body feel like it wasn’t mine. And the steady drip of opiates didn’t just steal my physical pain; it left me unable to form the psychic shield I needed to protect myself from the misery swirling around me.

Mom sat in the chair closest to my bed. She wore one of her flowing peasant blouses and faded jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and light brown strands slipped loose to hang around her face. The corners of her hazel eyes were pinched with worry.

Her hand hovered over my arm, unsure where to touch me—if she should touch me. Finally, she laid her hand gently on my thigh. “You just need to rest here for a few more days.”

She was wrong. I needed to get out of here. Away from all these thoughts as soon as possible. “I want to go home.”

Mom shook her head. “You need to let the doctors help you.” Like they did last time.

Her thoughts slammed into my brain. She thought hospitalization was the solution to everything.

“Please. Look at what’s happened to you. You can’t go home until you’re better,” she said. I can’t lose you. I won’t let that happen.

I didn’t know how to reassure her. Yes, I’d almost died, but being here was hurting me more than it was healing me. I swallowed all the words I wanted to say and hoped for Caleb to come back soon. My brother would know how to talk to Mom, how to make her understand.

The doctor came in to check on me and Mom’s agonizing fear rose up. Don’t let her have brain damage.

Dad patted Mom’s shoulder. He looked like an older, surfer version of Caleb. Both were tall and muscular with curly blond hair. Dad’s hair was a darker blond streaked with platinum from decades in the sun and salt water. His eyes were greener than Caleb’s, but like Caleb’s, they were rimmed with purple bruises. When Dad smiled, sun lines radiated from his eyes and cut across his cheeks. But I hadn’t seen them since he’d arrived at my bedside. Instead, waves of exhaustion rolled off him and rippled over me, right before I heard his thoughts. I can’t go through this again, watching you slip away.

My younger sister Naomi lounged in the chair in the corner as far from me as she could get. She had Mom’s light brown hair and thin frame and Dad’s green eyes and height. She looked nothing like me and only distantly related to Caleb. Her long legs looped over the armrest as she flipped through a magazine. Thanks for ruining Christmas break. I’d rather be anywhere but here.

I felt the same way.

At least Oliver was gone for the moment. Mom had convinced him to go home, take a shower, maybe even sleep. I couldn’t bear his guilt; it was so thick it choked me.

Oliver. My husband. God. I’d never loved and hated someone so much at the same time. I still couldn’t believe he’d called my parents. He knew how bad they were at handling me. How could he have thought that having my family here would be good for me?

Bitterness frosted my thoughts. I was in a hospital, bruised and battered. I’d almost died. That’s what Caleb had said. He was the only one willing to tell me the truth. Oliver had said it was bad, but he wouldn’t say how bad. He couldn’t bear to admit what happened to me.

About the Author 

Kourtney Heintz is the award-winning and bestselling author of The Six Train to Wisconsin (2013), the first book in The Six Train to Wisconsin series. She also writes bestselling young adult novels under the pseudonym K.C. Tansley. Heintz is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers of America, and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Heintz has given writing workshops and author talks at libraries, museums, universities, high schools, conventions, wineries, non-profits organizations, and writing conferences. She has been featured in the Republican American of Waterbury, Connecticut; on WTNH’s CT Style; and on the radio show, Everything Internet.

Kourtney resides in Connecticut with her warrior lapdog, Emerson, and three quirky golden retrievers. Years of working on Wall Street provided the perfect backdrop for her imagination to run amok at night, envisioning a world where out-of-control telepathy and buried secrets collide.

You can find out more about Kourtney and her books at: http://kourtneyheintz.com

http://kourtneyheintz.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/kourhei

http://www.facebook.com/kourtneyheintzwriter/

http://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomkourtney_heintz

    

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A Heart-Wrenching Journey Through Time. Vengeance of a Viking- The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors' Kin #Romance #Dragons

Hello, all! I hope you had a great summer and enjoy a wonderful autumn. As always, I’ve been writing away. Lately, it’s all about Bjorn and Samantha as they continue the saga of The MacLomain Series: Viking Ancestors’ Kin in Vengeance of a Viking. I loved getting to know vivacious ‘Sam’ better and have been super eager to finally write about Bjorn. After all, he’s already been in three other novels. So I've been looking forward to getting to the root of what makes this overly disciplined Viking tick. As expected, it was a challenge bringing these two characters together. However, they ended up surprising me several times over. I hope they do you as well.

Be sure to read on to learn how you can enter for a chance to win a $25 gift card!!

Description

Recently divorced, Samantha is all about new beginnings. Her own company. A beautiful seaside house in Winter Harbor, Maine. A chance to reconnect with her sisters. But fate has something else in store. Tenth-century Scandinavia and a reality she never could have anticipated. After being whisked back in time not once but twice, she ends up in a situation she didn’t see coming. Kidnapped by a Viking.

Of dragon blood, Bjorn Sigdir knew the moment he met Samantha that she was nothing but trouble. How else could it be? She bears the mark of Gungnir, the sword given to Odin by Loki. A blade he is convinced will ruin his people and all affiliated with them. Determined to protect his kin, he concocts a plan that will keep Samantha and her unfortunate tattoo far away from trouble. Or so he thinks when he yanks her back in time.

One a captor, one a prisoner, Bjorn and Samantha embark on a journey full of unending strife. Feisty and independent, she has her own mind. Headstrong and stubborn, he does too. However, they soon have bigger problems than their mutual dislike of each other. Secrets. Ones that force them closer and forge something unexpected. Respect. Attraction. Desire. Yet they face a huge obstacle. If they give into love, all could be lost, including everyone they care about.

Follow the turbulent, heart-wrenching journey of Bjorn and Samantha in Vengeance of a Viking.

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Excerpt

“All right, lead the way, kidnapper,” Samantha declared. “But I hope to heck it’s in the direction of your fortress because last I checked you had an ailing father and a best friend turned king who needs you.”

Bjorn ignored her sarcasm and frowned as he nudged her along through the forest. Näv had done him no favors with Samantha’s outfit, and well the devious seer likely knew it. Now she wore brown, fitted leather pants and a snug jerkin that did nothing to hide her figure. Naturally, the feisty redhead swayed her hips invitingly though they traveled over rougher and rougher terrain. And by Loki’s balls, he knew she did it on purpose.

“So, when are you gonna tell me why you’re avoiding your family and obligations just for little old me?” she finally said.

Samantha had a strange way of saying things. He understood her meaning more so because of her various, unending expressions than because of her actual words. As it was, the Yggdrasill allowed them to understand one another’s language but not necessarily the slang terms or twenty-first century sayings. So there was room for interpretation. Or at least there would be with any other woman besides Samantha.

His eyes remained locked on her swaying backside.

She made things pretty clear.

“Bjorn?” She stopped short, and he walked right into her.

Like the night before, they both froze. Unable to control himself, he leaned down, nuzzled close and inhaled the scent of her soft, thick hair. It smelled of sweet flowers that had warmed in the sun all day.

“Bjorn,” she whispered and turned ever-so-slowly, curling into him like a cat might her master…like a sweet little dragon might her captor. He licked his lips, eager to play her game. Curious to see how far she would take it.

“Did you know I’ve got a thing for you?” she purred as she flicked her tongue along the side of his neck and her hand trailed up his thigh. “Since the moment I saw you in that cave in the mountain.”

“Did you really?” he murmured, remembering well her appreciation for all men present. But hell if he wasn’t enjoying this. So he grabbed her backside with one hand and more than relished the gasp she released when he yanked her close. “Tell me more.”

She swallowed, unsure for a moment before she continued, her voice ridiculously sultry. “How could I not?” she murmured. “You were all big and strong and…”

When her hand closed over the hilt of the dagger at his waist, his hand closed around hers and squeezed. “And what, Samantha?” he whispered close to her ear.

Yet again their eyes met and narrowed on each other except this time their lips were inches apart. Her heartbeat quickened. So did his. He squeezed her backside while slowly guiding her hand to pull his dagger out and press it to his side. Bjorn repositioned it until one good thrust would be all it took. “Is this what you want, woman? To end me?”

Their eyes continued to hold, but she said nothing.

Yet something happened.

Something he didn’t expect.

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The Silver Dagger Scriptorium

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Ramblings of a Book Nerd

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Fanatical Paranormal Romantical