Coming July 10th!

 

BLURB

Meggie MacDougall often dreams of Quinn O’Connell, the sexy Irish football coach who swept her off her feet in Dublin. But what happened in Dublin must stay there. She has responsibilities at home, and she refuses to fuel the gossip fires in Glenhalish.

 

Quinn has never forgotten Meggie and the explosive weekend they shared. Overwhelmed by memories of her passion, beauty, and zest for life, he jeopardizes his cushy career to find her and test the connection between them.

 

When Quinn arrives in her Highland village, Meggie is determined to ignore him. However, she isn't prepared for the claim he lays on her heart with his sexy charm and his tender soul.

 

Will pride and fear keep Meggie from embracing possibilities, or will Quinn's gentle persistence break down her defenses and lead her to a silent surrender?

 

EXCERPT

Quinn came toward her, the ball juggling between his feet. “Get him, Miss Meggie!” someone called from across the pitch.

Her heart rate, already soaring, tripped at the sight of her man. Her nerves tightened, her muscles clenched. She rocked on the heels of her feet. She’d steal the ball for her team.

He closed the distance between them. Meggie pushed against his rock-hard abs and tangled with his feet. He tugged on her ponytail, slid his foot between hers, and sent the ball to his teammates.

Meggie yelped, her arms flailing to her sides. Her feet remained tangled with Quinn’s, and she lost her balance.

Quinn’s arms circled her waist and twisted her so his body took the brunt of the impact with the dirt-packed earth. She rolled to the side, still cradled in the crook of his arm and with the pressure of his delicious body over every inch of hers. “Are you all right?” He propped himself up and brushed her hair away from her face.

“Aye. Thank you for taking the fall for us.”

“You’re down here with me, aren’t you?”

“Aye, but you protected me. Thank you, my Irish knight.”

“My pleasure, my lady.”

Aye, she was his lady and she decided she rather liked it.

He leaned down and claimed her mouth.

“Is she hurt?” one of the lads yelled. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

“Aye, ye daft fool. He’s giving her mouth-to-mouth,” yelled another.

Together they both giggled and ended the kiss. “You should probably let me up before they call for an ambulance.”

“Right.” He jumped to his feet. “No worry, boys. She’s fine.” She missed the feel of him against her body. As she propped herself on her forearms, he reached down and pulled her to her feet.

 

Last Day of the CARRY ME HOME Release Party!

Hello again! Today I'm again on the Get Lost in a Story Blog sharing details about what's next for me and the people of Glenhlish, Scotland. PLUS, I've revealed the cover of my next Tease book, Silent Surrender! Check it out and let me know what you think of all my plans!

PLUS.....

Today I'm also hanging out on Elizabeth Morgan's Blog and we're playing 20 questions!

AND.....

I also stopped by Laurey Buckland's Blog too!

Remember, commenting in any (or all) of these blog posts will give you an extra chance at winning one of the FIVE prizes! Winners will be chosen and posted tomorrow. For more chances, you can go bakc and comment on any of my blog posts for any day this week! Check Monday's post for the deets. AND if you tweet about it, which will give you MORE chances to win, make sure to include me @AlexaBourne and #CMHReleaseParty!

Sneak Peek Sunday!

Welcome! Today's blog post has a new name. Instead of Section Sunday, this day's posts will now be called Sneak Peek Sunday! Several authors are joining together each Sunday to bring you six paragraphs of one of their works. Find out more about it here.

Today I'm bringing you six paragraphs from the Tease Entice book I'm editing right now, Silent Surrender. I don't have a release date for it yet, but it's soooooooo coming along and I LOVE these characters! Meggie and Quinn had a fling in his hometown of Dublin eight months ago. Now he's come to her Highland village of Glenhalish (From Her Highland Champion and the June Tease book Carry Me Home) to find her and explore the connection they have. She is worried about her reputation in her tiny village. In this scene, they've just been making sandwiches for a group of people watching football at her house when he starts this conversation. Let me know what you think!

“Meg, I wanted to explain about the picture. I’m sorry I seemed insensitive to it, but try seeing it from my point of view. People recognize me all the time. Some ask for autographs, others want pictures. Some take what they want without me even knowing it. When I first started coaching and people recognized me, it drove me mad. But the reality is I can’t control everyone’s movements. Unless it’s something that’s truly offensive, I don’t get angry about it anymore.” He pulled her knuckles to his lips and kissed them. “And I really did love that picture. I went to the store and bought more copies of it.”

Why did warmth coil in her belly at those words?

Quinn invaded her space and cupped her cheek. “It’s a wonderful picture of you with your ginger curls, that purple shirt molding to your lovely curves.”

“Don’t.” But she didn’t push him away.

His thumb swirled along her skin and the scent of him invaded her nostrils. “Why do you fight it? Us?” His lips brushed over the shell of her ear. Dizziness swirled inside her brain. So much she wanted to give in, to fall back into his strong arms, to feel the muscles in his chest, his back, to surrender to the beautiful experience she could have with him. But she had too much to lose.

She raised her hands, planted her palms on his chest. To ward him off, aye?

---

Section Sunday!

Welcome back to Section Sunday! In honor of my new book contract, I'm sharing another section of Silent Surrender, which will be part of Decadent Publishing's Tease line later this year. Quinn and Meggie are in her kitchen making sandwiches for a group of people. Hope you enjoy!
 

Quinn invaded her space and cupped her cheek. “It’s a wonderful picture of you with your ginger curls, that purple shirt molding to your lovely curves.”

“Don’t.” She said, but she didn’t put him away.

His thumb swirled along her skin and the scent of him invaded her nostrils. “Why do you fight it? Us?” His lips brushed over the shell of her ear. Dizziness swirled inside her brain. So much she wanted to give in, to fall back into his strong arms, to feel the muscles in his chest, his back, to surrender to the beautiful experience she knew she could have with him. But she had too much to lose.

She raised her hands, planted her palms on his chest. To ward him off, aye?

“We were so damn good together,” he whispered before his teeth grazed her earlobe. “We could be again.”

Her breasts tingled, yearned for the touch of his hands, his lips, his tongue. Oh, what this man could do with his mouth! She inhaled an unsteady breath.

She shook her head. “No,” she said with absolutely no conviction.

“Come on, Meg.” His hand drifted up her side, under the curve of her breast. “Let me have my way with you again.”

“No.” Did that come out firmer this time? “I don’t want to.”

“You do.”

Her head shot up. “Calling me a liar, are you?”

“Yes. I can see it in your eyes, in the way your body responds to me.” He pressed his thigh further against her, teasing her while he swiped his thumb over her clothed nipple. “Stop fighting me.”

Bugger. Her whole body shivered. “I said no, Quinn.” She slapped her palms against his chest and shoved. Of course he didn’t move.

“‘Ere. I’ll thank you to take your hands off me sister.” Jamie’s hardened voice held a thinly veiled threat.

Section Sunday!

Good morning! Happy St. Patrick's Day! While I'm out celebrating my heritage, I'm sharing with you another part of my recently submitted story, Silent Surrender. This is the story with the Irish football coach who has come to the Scottish Highlands because he can't get the heroine, Meggie, out of his mind after their amazing weekend. In this snippet, Quinn is sitting at the bar and Meggie is working as the lead bartender. In honor of the holiday and Quinn, I give you Silent Surrender:

When the games began to finish and the crowds fell away, Ewan left her in charge and went home for the night in the arms of his on-again-off-again girlfriend. Meggie needed to do another round of dishwashing. She'd put off working around Quinn long enough.

“You’re still here?” She gathered the empty glasses and dirty napkins left from his entourage. “No signatures to give out or lasses’ numbers to collect?”

“None.” He took the last swig of his drink and set the empty glass in front of her. “I’ll have another.”

Only a few lads still sat watching the last of the night’s games.

“So tell me,” she began while refilling his glass. “You’re on holiday. Is this all you intend to do? Sit in the pub, watch football matches, and drink?”

“I’m only waiting to hear from my lovely lass when our date will be.”

“I’m not your lass and are you familiar with the phrase when hell freezes over?”

“Oh, but you already agreed.”

“Aye, but that was to get you to stop holding me hand.” She pulled another rag out of a bucket by her feet, grabbed a small tray and walked toward the far side of the bar, the area with the pool tables and several empty glasses and dull bar lights. No doubt he would be watching her. Hopefully her knees would keep solid.

“Margaret MacDougall, I thought you a better person than that.” He took a sip of his drink and sauntered over toward her. “You, trying to get out of our deal. I’ll not take no for an answer. Come on. You said yourself we had a good time together. I’m only asking for a few more good times with you.”

She tossed the dishrag onto the tray and pressed her free hand to her hip. “I’ll not go to bed with you again.”

“I’m not asking you to. I enjoy your company out of bed too, you crazy woman.”

What was she thinking even considering this? In only a few hours, with a load of people surrounding them, he’d broken down her wall of defiance. What would he be able to do to her resolve when it was just the two of them? She moved to the corner table.

“Meg, it’s one more long weekend, a few more days to share stories. A chance for you to play tour guide in your hometown.” He crowded close to her, trapping her between the wall, the table and him. “Do you not remember our site-seeing in Dublin? Temple Bar, Jameson Distillery, the Guinness Storehouse. We even met up with your friends and took that River Liffey tour.” His fingers drifted up to her cheek and brushed against her skin.

The tray wobbled in her hands, clinking the glasses together. She set it on the table before she dropped it. “Yes, I do remember that.” Don’t look up. “It was grand.” Don’t react. No doubt, people would be watching. His hand slinked in to cup the back of her neck, his fingers rubbing her skin and igniting shivers down her spine. “But...”

His eyes twinkled and a sexy smile tugged at those luscious lips. Memories of that mouth caressing her skin, taunting her into wild, frantic orgasms, even now made her weep with need.

Damn, her knees quivered. Yes, she wanted him, wanted this, but she could not be this irresponsible.

Quinn slid his knee between her legs, tipped her head up. “Shhhh. No buts.” His mouth covered hers, warm, strong and oh so demanding. She dropped one hand on his arm and pressed the other along his chest. She’d meant to push him back, but the feel of his abs through his shirt joined with the pressure of his knee against her intimate places to stir her desires. In her ears, her heartbeat steadily rose. His tongue pushed against her lips, gentle but insistent.

Like a starving lass, she surrendered to him and welcomed him into her mouth. Swift and in control, he swirled his tongue around hers, along the roof of her mouth, and ended the sweet torture with a quick taunt of his tongue’s tip against hers.

Too soon, he pulled back, leaving her body trembling for more. “Tomorrow. I’ll come for you here at four.” His hand moved back to her cheek, to a sweet sweep of her jaw line with his thumb, and then he released her completely. “Goodnight, Meg.”

As he turned and walked toward the pub door, her traitorous body begged for more time with him. The question was, could her brain convince the rest of her how dangerous this could be?

Lucky In Love Blog Hop!

Lucky in Love? Well, are you? It's a time of luck and wealth...or not. With each romance we find ourselves in a new world of love and memories. Are these just by chance? Is it luck? Welcome to your second annual Lucky in Love Blog Hop where we want to hear about your love, your romance, and how much you love St. Patrick's Day!!! Are you wearing green? Ready to get pinched...or wait...do you like that?

Almost 300 bloggers have giveaways and posts about those men we love!

But that's not all....

We have TWO grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

2nd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

 

And now a word from me.....

Welcome to the Lucky in Love Blog Hop! I'm so excited to be a part of this. Why? Because St. Patrick's Day is my 2^nd favorite holiday (2^nd to Christmas). Now yes, I like a good drink just as much as the next girl, but that's not why I love St. Patrick's Day. In the family background (on my English grandfather's side) we have Irish in us. I love celebrating my heritage and I also love celebrating all things Irish. I was fortunate enough to visit Ireland in 2007 and it was such an amazing experience. I'd had some trouble getting there (delayed plane, rerouted plane) and I arrived in Dublin exhausted & about 8 hours late. But, when I managed to get through the airport and outside, I remember I raised my gaze to the blue sky with the few wispy white clouds, smiled and sighed. The trip was perfect, with beautiful scenery and such wonderfully kind people, too!

I think part of my excitement brewed in my head over the previous few years. Some of my favorite characters are Irish. I'm a huge fan of these movies and characters: Circle of Friends with Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver, PS I Love You with Gerard Butler, Jason O'Mara as Fergal on Monarch of the Glen, and Leap Year. (Oh! I also loved the Irishman in Braveheart. He was awesome!) I could fall in love with ANY of these Irishmen...except the guy in Braveheart. He was just interesting!

But my favorite Irish character? Quinn O'Connell in my latest submission, Silent Surrender. I tried to make him Scottish, like most of my heroes so far in my published books, but Quinn wouldn't have it. He charmed his way into my head and onto my manuscript and demanded I make him an Irishman. Here's a snippet of that story:

 

“Quinn, what a nice surprise.” Meggie flashed him something that posed as a smile and then she began unloading the dishwasher. “What brings you here?”

He wanted to jump across the bar, pull her into his arms and demand how she couldn’t know. He settled for the carefree answer. “Work.”

“Glenhalish doesn’t have a football team.”

“I know, but we’ve got some time off before our next match so I thought I’d take a trip up here to see the sites.” Or rather, one beautiful, sexy, amazing site.

Slowly, she raised her head. With what looked like a death-grip on an empty pint glass, she asked, “Why are you really here? What do you want?”

Such a loaded question. She asked as a bartender. He’d answer the woman. Slowly he glanced to each side of him, stepped up and leaned over the countertop. With his mouth so close to her ear, she gasped but didn’t move.

    “What do I want? You. Anywhere I can have you. Any way I can have you.”

Writing Quinn has also made me hungry for more Irish characters and, eventually, Irish set stories too. I look forward to bringing them to you later this year!

Okay, I need to get back to work so I can take Sunday, March 17^th off completely. I intend to be celebrating with friends somewhere. If you celebrate, be safe!

Remember to leave comments for a chance to be in the running for the awesome prizes mentioned above! AND, if you leave a comment I will also choose a lucky winner to receive an Irish prize from me at the end of the Blog Hop! (Winners can be international except for the 2nd Grand Prize.)

Here's something to help you with commenting: Do you like Irish stories? If so, who is your favorite Irish character?

 

Section Sunday!

Welcome back for another installment of Section Sunday!

This weekend I'm bringing you another snippet from my Scottish contemporary romance, Silent Surrender. I LOVE this story and hope you will too. Today I'm editing the manuscript and then submitting it to my publisher, Decadent Publishing. (Hopefully they'll love it too!)

Here's the background you need to fully appreciate this scene. Meggie went to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day with her friend and ended up meeting Quinn. She and he had an amazing fling over the few days she was there, and she intended to leave what happened in Dublin, in Dublin. But on the day of this scene, Quinn has arrived in her Scottish Highland village.

Be sure to let me know what you think! Enjoy Meggie and Quinn's reunion!


    Meggie dished out drinks to the patrons of her family's pub, Cuan MacDougall. Fueled with confidence, she waited for Quinn to walk through the door. He would at some point. Their pub was a highpoint in the village. They offered drinks and football matches on five screens.

Her plan was simple. She'd be casual, respectful, but that was it. She'd not encourage him. And who was to say he'd come for her? Maybe he was here for something else and he didn't even remember her.

A niggling pain twinged behind her temples. Och, that would be even worse since she hadn't been able to get him out of her mind in the last eight months.

She poured another drink for a waiting patron. “I'll just go about my business, do me job and not worry about it,” she whispered.

“Meg, you're talking to yourself again.” Ewan retrieved two bottled beers from the cooler next to her. Leave it to her brother to point out her failings.

“Aye, and if you don't mind I'd like to finish the conversation.”

The bell on the pub door jingled and a blast of cold air whooshed through the room.

“Hiya,” Ewan greeted the new visitor.

“Busy place you've got here.”

Meggie's veins strung tight as a bow at the sound of the Irish accent. Her heart rate tripped. Her hands stilled. Be calm. With a casual lift of her head, she caught his eyes as he slid onto the stool directly in front of her. His scent wrapped around her and ignited shivers through her spine. Already, and he hadn't even said anything directly to her yet.

Without looking at him, she delivered the beer to the patron two stools down and returned to him. Just a few more seconds, then she'd gather her nerves and meet his gaze for more than a few seconds. But the extra time did nothing. When she stood in front of him, all her breath whooshed out of her mouth. His dark green eyes sparkled and that sexy grin shoved her right back into that hotel bed they shared oh so many months ago. After swallowing the lump in her throat, she managed a poor excuse for a greeting. “Hiya.”

Och, ignoring him? Staying casual? It would not be as easy as she'd thought.

Section Sunday

Hello! Welcome to "Section Sunday"! Each Sunday I will post a section of one of my works for you to read and comment on (if you choose).

Today's "Section" is part of my current Work-In-Progress, Silent Surrender. This is a short story romance set in the Highlands of Scotland (modern day). The heroine is a secondary character from my very first book, Her Highland Champion, and the hero is a football coach originally from just outside of Dublin, Ireland. I'm hoping to submit this to my publisher within the next couple of days.

As this section opens, they are playing football with a few kids on the school field. Of course, Meggie and Quinn are on opposite teams, which makes it even more fun! Be sure to let me know what you think! (And please remember this is still part of a rough draft, so don't be too hard on me!)

He closed the distance between them. Meggie pushed against his rock-hard abs and tangled with his feet. He tugged on her ponytail, slid his foot between hers and sent the ball to his teammates.

Meggie yelped. Her arms flailed to her sides. Her feet remained tangled with Quinn's and she lost her balance.

Quinn circled her waist and twisted her so his body took the brunt of the impact with the dirt-packed earth. She rolled to the side, still cradled in the crook of his arm and with the pressure of his delicious body over every inch of hers. “Are you all right?” He propped himself up and brushed her hair away from her face.

“Aye. Thank you for taking the fall for us.”

“You're down here with me, aren't you?”

“But you protected me. Thank you, my Irish knight.”

“My pleasure, my lady.”

Yes, she was his lady and she decided she rather liked it.

He leaned down and claimed her mouth.

“Is she hurt?” one of the lads yelled. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

“Aye, ye daft fool. He's giving her mouth-to-mouth,” yelled another.

Six Sentence Sunday!

Welcome to my snippet for Six Sentence Sunday! You can find other participants here.

This week I'm sharing a snippet from my current work in progress, Silent Surrender. I'm hoping to get a HUGE chunk of work done on it this coming week so that I can submit it to my epublisher by the end of January. This is a short, contemporary romance set in the Scottish Highlands. If you read my first book, Her Highland Champion, you'll recognize the setting and some of the characters. The heroine in this story is Meggie MacDougall who works part of the time in the family pub and part of the time in the B & B from that first story. Here's the really, really unofficial blurb for this story so far:

To Quinn O'Connell, working as a football coach meant everything to him until a chance encounter with vacationing Highland lass Meggie MacDougall showed him just how to live.

Well? What do you think? Yeah, I know, the blurb's not that great, but I'm pretty happy with my six sentences. See if you agree!

He'd come to find a woman, but he'd bought the train ticket before he could think this plan through. What if she didn't remember their wild, sex-filled weekend when she'd come to Dublin? No, that wasn't likely. He had enough faith in his ability to charm and satisfy a woman, but what if she didn't want to see him? That was entirely possible, but he wouldn't let it discourage him. The bottom line was he'd come for Meggie and Quinn was used to getting what he wanted.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop!!!

Week 25: THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you’ve never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might not have heard about, but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

I was tagged by Julie Kenner. You can learn more about her book Carpe Demon (and all sorts of other titles!) on her website www.juliekenner.com

This blog hop includes ten questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress, so here’s a little info about my current project:

1: What is the working title of your book?

Silent Surrender

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

My senior editor at Decadent Publishing suggested I write a story for one of my secondary characters from my first book, Her Highland Champion. I loved the character, Meggie MacDougall, so I was thrilled with the chance to tell her story too!

3: What genre does your book fall under?

It is a short story contemporary romance.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ah, I never reveal my actor inspiration. I leave that up to the reader!

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

To Quinn O'Connell, working as a football coach means everything to him until a chance encounter with Highland lass Meggie MacDougall teaches him how life is worth so much more.

6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Neither. It will be submitted to my publisher this month and hopefully available for readers in the spring of 2013!

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Because it's a short story, it only took about two weeks. (Of course, there are LOTS of revisions to do in the following weeks, though!)

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Hhhhhmmmm, not sure about that. I think it's along the same lines as the TV show Monarch of the Glen, which was actually the first inspiration for all my modern day Highland stories.

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?

As I said, my senior editor had a lot to do with this story coming to life. As for the Irish hero, he showed up on his own and demanded a spot in the story. I tried to make him Scottish, but he refused.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The story is set in the Highlands of Scotland, but it's a modern story. Also, the hero is a fiesty Irishman who won't take no for an answer!

Jane Sevier (http://janesevier.com/) will be joining the hop for week 26 on December 19th. I hope you’ll visit her blog next week and learn more about her FANTABULOUS books. Maybe Jane will become your new favorite author! Thanks for visiting with me!

 

Six Sentence Sunday-Silent Surrender!!!

Welcome back for another Six Sentence Sunday snippet from my current Work-In-Progress, Silent Surrender. If you're interested in reading other authors' snippets, visit www.sixsunday.com for links!

This short story is coming along so well, I'm hoping to submit it to my publisher in about another week. Wish me luck!

Now, if you've been here over the last few weeks, you've met Meggie and Quinn. They had a one-night-stand a while back in Dublin while Meggie was on vacation. Now back home in Scotland, she's mortified to find her favorite Irishman has come for her. She's trying to get rid of him, and has decided to go home and relax. But when she gets home, she finds her brothers (Jamie is one), their friend Duncan, and....you guessed it: Quinn.

“You don’t belong here,” she whispered harshly.

“Do you two know each other?” Jamie asked.

“No,” she snapped at the exact moment Quinn answered, “Yes.”

Her brothers traded glances while Duncan picked at the label on his beer. Except for the commentators discussing the football match, no other sound circled the room.

Why couldn’t the floor open up and swallow her whole?

I'm so excited for this story, and I LOVE this part! What do you think?

Six Sentence Sunday-

Good morning! Welcome to another set of Six Sentence Sunday! To read snippets from other authors, visit the official website, www.sixsunday.com.

This morning I'm bringing you another snippet from Silent Surrender, my short story with my heroine, Meggie, from Her Highland Champion, and Quinn, the Irishman. Here you go!

Aye, she'd had a grand time with him, but she'd left him behind in Dublin. She'd tucked that woman away and returned to her life. It had been a good decision.

Hadn't it?

Now she couldn't be sure because those feelings he released in her all shot up and out of her mind and body. And THAT bothered her more than anything.

So? What do you think? Remember this is the really, really, really rough draft. This snippet isn't as good as the others over the last few weeks, but it still works. Poor Meggie! She has no idea how to handle or what to make of Quinn!

And We're Off!!!!!

HAPPY NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH!

I'm already hard at work writing Silent Surrender. I got a neat idea just the other day and the characters were screaming at me so I decided to scrap my originally planned book for NaNo and write this one. I'll tell you more about it when I learn more about it! Check out here during the month and I'll keep you updated on my progress.

ALSO.....Fractured Paradise comes out next Tuesday (November 6th). I'll be partying here all week starting Monday (Hey, even with NaNo a girl needs some breaks!) with snippets, blurbs, fun facts, prizes and more. So make plans to visit and join in the fun!