Lucy Felthouse: One Night in Paris

Please, help me welcome back the lovely Lucy Felthouse.

Lucy visited with us last September with the re-releases of two of her popular erotica stories, A Bit of Rough, and A Menu with a Difference. Today, she comes to us with something completely new, One Night in Paris, part of the City Nights series from Tirgearr Publishing.

So, who is Lucy Felthouse? Firstly, she's an author of more than 100 erotica and romance stories. Yeah, you read that right -- one HUNDRED. An impressive backlist, to say the least. And there seems to be no let up in Lucy's creativity. On top of this, she's also had her hands in dozens of other books, working as an editor.

How did she get started down the erotic romance path? After writing her first erotica in university, a dare she found well-received by her peers, Lucy took up writing as an outlet from the doldrums of school. It wasn't long though before her stories were selling. And selling well! Today, she has a stellar career as one of the industry's most prolific and most beloved erotic romance writers. And she's loving every minute of it.

Not only does Lucy write incredibly sexy stories, she's also a prolific blogger, a successful marketing expert, and in her spare time she enjoys reviewing books . . . and not just erotic. Lucy is one busy lady, and is one of the lucky few actually making a good living from her work.

Let's talk about the City Nights series from Tirgearr Publishing --

City Nights takes on the best of all worlds where erotica and romance come together. Taking place over a 24 hour time period, in a city somewhere in the world, protagonists come together in some great and sexy ways. Established couples, one night stands, friends with benefits, gay, straight, menage, and everything in between...each story is an equal blend of sexy encounters and great romance. These stories aren't just straight to the sex. There are wonderful stories here with deep emotions and a play on all the senses. And One Night in Paris scores high on the board.

Jacob has 24 hours to see Paris on a layover between jobs. Annabelle is taking well-earned time off from chef school to finally see her adopted city. When they meet on a tour bus, the attraction is instant, but he can't just come out and tell this sexy blond he wants to take her to bed. Annabelle is a straightforward kind of woman though. She fancies Jacob, but they just met. Maybe they can be friends, or at the very least, touring companions for a few hours? Over lunch, things kick up a notch. And soon they can't get enough of each other.

Hot, hot! How else can you say it? This is a fun romp around the city of love--Paris! Jacob and Annabelle take us to some of the city's hottest attraction, and only make them hotter by their sexy escapades. You'll never see Paris the same way once you read this story. Jacob and Annabelle are fun characters. Nothing too serious for them. They just want to relax and enjoy the day, the city, and each other's company. This is a fabulous story that will leave readers with a big grin as they turn the last page. And maybe give them some thoughts about how to spice up their own lives!

Before we get to the blurb and excerpt, remember that we're giving away a copy of this book to one lucky commenter. Be sure to leave your email address for contact.

• • •

Jacob is nearly forty, and has recently come to the sudden realisation that he’s not doing much with his life. Sure, he’s got his own successful business, but what’s the point in earning lots of money and not doing anything or going anywhere to spend it?

He’s in serious danger of being all work and no play, so he starts to rectify this by organising a twenty four hour layover in Paris en route to a meeting in Dubai. Whilst there, he goes on a bus tour of the city, and there meets Annabelle, a fellow Brit who’s studying in Paris. There’s clearly an attraction between the two of them, so when the gorgeous Annabelle makes an indecent proposal to help Jacob fill his time in Paris, who is he to refuse?

She giggled. “Hey, tourist,” she said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, “the Eiffel Tower’s that way.”

“Oh,” he replied, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Well, uh, lead on then. I obviously have no idea where I’m going.”

“Obviously.” She squeezed his hand and they turned and headed in the other direction. Before long, Annabelle was proven absolutely right when he saw the structure revealed between some buildings.

“What are we going to do if the queue is massive?” he asked.

“Huh, I never thought of that. It probably will be. It is the most famous landmark in the city, after all.” Pausing for a moment, she then said, “We could always skip to number two on the list, then number three and so on, leaving the tower until much later. I’m not sure what time it’s open until, but surely the tourists will clear out at some point. The other tourists, I mean.” She tipped him a wink.

“Ignoring your last comment, that sounds good to me. I’d rather get other stuff done than stand in a queue for hours on end. Stupid, really. I booked a bus tour beforehand, but not an entry ticket to the Eiffel Tower.”

“I’m glad you did,” she said, bumping him lightly with her hip.

“Why’s that?”

“Because if you hadn’t been on that particular bus at that particular time, we wouldn’t have met. And if you’d booked a ticket for the tower, you’d have been rushing off now, instead of spending time with me.”

“That’s true.” He grinned widely. “In that case, it was an incredibly intelligent move. Practically genius.”

“Wow, I’m snogging a genius. Who would have thought it? Little old me!”

“But you’re not actually snogging—” Jacob’s words were cut off as Annabelle moved right in front of him, stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. In spite of the wine, he froze for several seconds as his brain tried to catch up with what his body was telling him.

• • •

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012, 2013 and 2014 and Best Women's Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati.

Find Lucy Online --

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Pinterest
Newsletter
Tirgearr Publishing

-- > Lucy is giving away a copy of One Night in Paris to one lucky commenter. Leave her a question or comment here with your email address to be automatically in the draw.

Or you can grab a copy of this book now for just $2.99 through Tirgearr Publishing.

Don't miss One Night in Boise by Troy Lambert, published May 2014, book one.

And stay tuned for book three in the series, One Night in Rome by C. Margery Kempe, available August 2014.

Kristi Ahlers: The Trouble with Sailors

We just love The Trouble Series by Kristi Ahlers. Not only are these great reads, but it also brings Kristi back to chat with us on Heart of Fiction.

Would you believe Kristi's newest publication is the ELEVENTH book in The Trouble Series? Really! And there are more to come. The trouble is, trouble can be found just about everywhere . . . if you know where to look!

Currently, Kristi has two dedicated series with Tirgearr, and soon, a standalone novel in the company's new City Nights series --

Clan Ross Series -- His Heart's Desire and Her Highland Rogue (rumor has it, book three is on the way!)

The Trouble Series -- French Kisses, Pilots, Voodoo, Cupcakes, Mistletoe, Beaches, Vineyards, Halloween, Holly, Surfer, and now, of course, Sailors. (rumor also has it, three more are due before the years' end)

City Nights is a unique erotic romance series from Tirgearr Publishing, with authors contributing to the collection. Each book title starts One Night in . . . and takes place within a 24 hour time frame in a city somewhere in the world. It should come as no surprise that when this series was first launched amongst the Tirgearr authors that Kristi leapt up to claim New Orleans as her city for the series -- One Night in New Orleans. We've already seen two Trouble books set in NOLA (Voodoo and Cupcakes), and anyone who knows Kristi knows it doesn't take much arm-twisting to get her down to Bourbon Street.

So let's talk about Sailors --

Aspyn Cartwright and her fiancé, Martin, just broke up after being together for a long time. Just, as in twelve hours ago . . . that morning. Seeing her devastation, her BFFs take her on a girl's night out, to help her forget her troubles for a few hours. But when Aspyn sees Martin, her heart is torn out all over again. Not only does he not seem phased by their break-up, he's got another woman on his arm--and he's kissing her in a way that tells Aspyn he knows this woman intimately. Very intimately.

Being the BFFs they are, Aspyn's friends arrange for her to take a vacation. Normally a woman who prefers to plan everything out in her life, Aspyn let's her friends plan her trip. She's going to Hawaii!

Jesse Spencer is ready for some down time after many long days on-board his naval ship, which is based out of Pearl Harbor. He's not going far though--no better place for R&R than the exotic Hawaiian Islands--surf, sand, sea, and sexy Polynesian girls. But no sooner does he get settled, friends ask him to pick up someone at the airport. When he first sees Aspyn, he's sure his vacation has just gotten interesting.

A woman recovering from a bad relationship. A man looking for a bit of fun on shore leave. Neither looking for a relationship. Can Jesse help Aspyn learn to get over Martin? Will he be able to handle the consequences if she does and turns her sights on him?

In typical Ahlers fashion, The Trouble with Sailors is a wonderful love story. She packs in a lot within a short space of time. Her characters are fun and believable. The plot has some fun twists, all of which includes some laughs and lots of loving. And we get a great little visit to Hawaii at the same time. We're all busy these days, and The Trouble Series is perfect for those who love a shorter read which compacts a full-length novel into something that can be read in one short sitting. The Trouble with Sailors won't disappoint. Awesome stuff!

Before we get to the blurb and excerpt, remember that we're giving away a copy of this book to one lucky commenter. Be sure to leave your email address for contact.

• • •

When Aspyn Cartwright has been dumped by her fiancé, her friends decide what Aspyn needs is a vacation away from all the drama and pitiful society looks. Normally, one to plan everything down to the minutest detail, Aspyn throws caution to the wind and boards a plane heading for Hawaii. She has no idea this trip is going to change her life in a big way. Who knew that trouble with start with a lei?

Jesse Spencer is a smoke jumper in Colorado and after a long, hard season, he’s ready for a little detox time and a whole lot of time spent on the beach in  Hawaii. No sooner than getting to the islands, he meets beautiful Aspyn. And not in a normal way of meeting, but in a comical sketch involving flying lingerie, a cranky Pomeranian, and an overzealous lei vendor.

Jesse is all about striking when the moment is hot—his job as taught him that you can’t take your time with everything. If it feels right, go for it. When he meets uptight Aspyn, not only is he totally attracted to her, he wants to teach her that life is worth living, and it doesn’t need to be planned out months in advance. Before the end of the trip these two are going to learn that love can come out of nowhere.

“You know what you need, Aspyn?” Sarah looped her arm with her friend. “You need a vacation.”

“Yes! That’s a brilliant idea.” Ashley nodded her head emphatically. “Nothing like a change of scenery.”

Aspyn looked at her two friends—both happily married—which begged the question why they were here and not with their husbands.

“You know I can talk to Trey. He can get you a buddy pass and you could fly anywhere you want.” Sarah offered. “Oh, you should check out some tropical location, get a little sun, have some hot tropical guy on standby ready with the beverage and suntan oil.” Sarah nudged Aspyn. “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

Aspyn stopped walking and stared at her two friends. “Have you both lost your minds?”

“No,” They said in unison and they moved forward toward a waiting taxi.

“Why would you think that?” Ashley ushered Aspyn into the car. “Haven’t you heard the saying the best way to get over a jerk is to get under another one?”

“That’s actually a saying?” Sarah slid into the middle of the backseat. “That really sounds like the wrong kind of advice.”

“I agree.” Aspyn rested her head against the back of the seat and sighed. “I’m not interested in getting under or over any idiot at this point.”

Ashley looked around Sarah. “That’s where you’re thinking wrong. Now is the best time to go and find yourself a little distraction. Get away from all the social drama, let your hair down, and get wild and crazy with some sexy new guy.”

“What is your deal?” Aspyn laughed.

“No deal.” Ashley smoothed her hands down her dress. “I just think you need to have a little fun. Martin was all wrong for you. An investment banker? Seriously? You’re fun, and pretty, and even I know you were with him only because it made mama happy.”

Aspyn sat back with a sigh. It was all true. Martin had been the perfect fit, if one wanted little to no excitement in their lives. Or so she’d thought. Given the eye-opening experience in the last hour, she really needed to reconsider. Had she kept him buttoned down and boring? After all, her replacement was not what most would consider a trade up, but what did she know?

“Stop it.” Sarah fluffed her hair. “I can tell by your expression what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. You’re awesome, sexy and Martin is an idiot.”

Leave it to her friend to come straight to the point and make Aspyn feel a hundred percent better.

“Where to ladies?” The cabbie asked as he met their gaze in the rearview mirror.

“To Miami International,” Sarah directed without a thought.

“No way.” I don’t have a bag packed, I don’t have a ticket. I’ll just go back to the hotel and fly home with you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, no,” Ashley chimed in and pulled out her smartphone. “You can pick something up where you’re going, and I’ll get the destination sorted out ASAP.”

Aspyn, who planned everything, made lists, checked them twice, and then three times before stepping out the door for any travel reason began to panic. “This is insane. I’m fine, really.”

“You’re not fine. You’re in need of some saltwater therapy.” Ashley frowned as she scrolled down a web page on her phone. “Here it is, perfect. You’re going to Oahu.”

“That’s Hawaii!”

• • •

Kristi Ahlers is a California girl! She grew up in Northern California in a small city called Yuba City. Since then she's lived in Brussels, Belgium, and England along with a myriad of other locations. A former flight attendant, she was able to continue to feed her love of travel. This has greatly influenced her writing, allowing her to pen stories about places she's managed to visit and things she's experienced.

Kristi loves to hear from her readers.

Find Kristi online --

Kristi Ahlers
Facebook
Kristi's Blog
Tirgearr Publishing

Grab your copy of The Trouble with Sailors at Tirgearr Publishing today for just $1.99.

While there, grab a copy of The Trouble with French Kisses for just 99c, on sale through July. This is book one in the Trouble Series.

KA Laity: High Plains Lazarus

Welcome back to a lady who needs no introduction, but I'll give her one anyway :-)

She's an award-winning author of such stories as Unquiet Dreams and the Chastity Flame Series with Tirgearr Publishing, but also has many other titles to her name -- Rook Chant, Owl Stretching, Pelzmantel, and Unikirja, a collection of short stories and a play based on the Kalevala, Kanteletar, and other Finnish myths and legend, for which she won the 2005 Eureka Short Story Fellowship, as well as a 2006 Finlandia Foundation grant. With cartoonist Elena Steier, she created the occult detective comic Jane Quiet.

And if that weren't enough, she also a prolific writer under not one, not two, but three other name de plumes -- Kit Marlowe (Constance & Collier Series and The Mangrove Legacy with Tirgearr), C Margery Kempe (The Man City Series, The Swan Prince, and Love on a Spoon with Tirgearr), and Graham Wynd (a collection of noir including the most recent White Rabbit with Fox Spirit).

Don't think she's busy enough? She's also a professor, lecturer, and researcher. She loves old films, old pubs, and funky coffee houses, where I'm sure she gets a lot of her story ideas. And, enviably, she splits her time between the US and Scotland.

Who is this enormously interesting woman? Why, the incomparable, Ms KA Laity!

If you wonder how she manages to fit it in, you *must* pick up a copy of her wildly popular book, How To Keep Writing with a Full Time Job.

In keeping to character, Kate brings us, as she coins it, a weird western tale. It's a little bit horror, a little bit thriller, mostly western, and a lot funny as hell -- High Plains Lazarus.

If you're picturing a zombie Clint Eastwood in an old spaghetti western, you'd be about on track, though Kate prefers Paul Newman as her hero ;-) Either way you look at it, our hero has a predicament. People are turning up dead, but they refuse to lie down and stop twitching. What's a man to do when dead folks are after you and bullets aren't working?

This is a fabulously funny story which includes all of the traditional western background to set the scene, loads of western lingo, and a hugely engaging hero called Finn. Laity has created a wonderfully visual story here where reader senses will be put to the test by being drawn into the story by the shirt collar to fight zombies side by side with the characters. The old west will come alive . . . err dead? . . . in ways you'll never expect. An awesomely funny read.

Kate will be here through the day to answer any of your questions. And Tirgearr Publishing is giving away a copy of High Plains Lazarus to one lucky commenter. So get your skates on and be sure to leave your contact email address so we can get a hold of you if you win.

And take note, to celebrate the release of High Plains Lazarus, Tirgearr Publishing has reduced the price of Unquiet Dreams: A Mumuration of Unsettling Tales to just 99c/77p through June!

• • •

Dead folk are just about the last thing you want to see while wandering through the deserts of the great wild West. Things get a whole lot worse if they're not the lying down kind of dead but the running around trying to take a bite out of you sort. Whatever's got the corpses jumping is bound to spell a bad day for anyone unlucky enough to ride into town.

As another bottle went whizzing past my head, I knew that I had made some serious miscalculations. I knew, too, that Jim was likely to kill me because of those miscalculations, but at the moment that shambling wreck of a corpse was a much more pressing issue. I had unloaded most of my pistol into it already when Jim shouted that I should quit wasting bullets like they were made of manure and throw something more substantial, but somehow I found myself reluctant to put down the guns as they still seemed like a good idea. I might not be good at much of anything, but I was damn handy with a pistol most of the time.

Cursing his illustrious forebears, I finally holstered my beloved pearl-handled Colts and looked around for something heftier. The dead guy continued his staggering plunge toward me, so I grabbed a chair and flung it wildly across the room. It fetched up a glancing blow on his shoulder, which spun him around to the left. Jim took advantage of this momentary turn in events and hefted up another chair, bringing it down with a little more venom on the old guy’s noggin. The feller crashed to the floor with the splitting wood and lay there twitching and broken, but at least no longer mobile. Jim muttered something under his breath that could have easily been “stupid fucking white man”, but I tried to believe that it was aimed at the corpse and not me.

“Well, that don’t happen every day,” I said needlessly.

Jim just stared at me and wiped some of the blood away from his mouth. His name wasn’t really Jim. It was just I could never quite get my mouth around his real name without calling up a cough and he somewhat pityingly told me to stick with Jim, which is what he told most people who didn’t impress him on first meeting. It wasn’t that I meant any disrespect—I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I know, as my pop always used to tell me—but that Navajo is a twisty language that leaves my tongue twitching in pain whenever I try to repeat the things he tries to explain to me.

“It's still wiggling,” Jim cautioned as I stepped forward to take a look.

“I know, I know, I ain’t an idjit.” Sure enough, the old man was jerking around like a fish on the end of a line, his sightless white eyes rolling around, but his limbs seemed to convulse almost uselessly now. Not like before. “What do you suppose he’s got?”

Jim moved warily toward the too-lively body. “Whatever he has, we don’t want to catch it, I think.”

“Damn! You don’t suppose it’s catching?” I took a quick two-step back and looked around at what had seemed to be a normal sort of shack house. We rode up and hallooed at the open door. As usual, we had been trying our luck to exchange a little work for a hot breakfast of some kind. Now instead we had a strange dead man on our hands with something that might be catching.

“Maybe it is catching, maybe it isn’t,” Jim replied evenly, gazing closely at the old man’s face. “Best to be careful in the meanwhile.”

“Well, hell.” No arguing with that. “You ever seen anything like this?”

“No.” Jim picked up a broken chair leg and poked at the guy’s shoulder. He made a sort of wheezing sound and tried to attack the chair leg. He didn’t have much luck with that because both his arms seemed to be broken. In fact, the jagged end of one bone poked up through the graying skin I could see now as he rolled over weakly trying to right himself. The bone shone out as a flash of white in that corpsely flesh. Under the surface, the broken bones poked every which way. It was a peculiar sight.

“I think we better dismember the body,” Jim said, after we’d watched the old guy struggle aimlessly for a time without making any move to get up and go after us again.

“You mean chop it up?”

“That would be the gist of it in words of one syllable,” Jim said. If you didn’t know him, you might not have realized that he was being sarcastic. It took me a couple of months of riding with him to understand that sometimes he was just being funny when he said things that sounded a bit harsh. Me, I tell you when I’m making a joke. More like to get a laugh that way. Jim just figures you’ll find it out somehow. Inefficient, I call it.

“Why you want to chop him up?”

“Well…he’s dead, yes?”

“Yes.”

“But he’s still moving, yes?”

“Yeah,” I said, “obviously.”

“Well, if we chop him to pieces, maybe he will stop moving and be all dead.”

Kantele music provided by the author herself. Just one of her many talents!
• • •

K. A. Laity is the award-winning author of Rook Chant, Owl Stretching, Pelzmantel and Unikirja, a collection of short stories and a play based on the Kalevala, Kanteletar, and other Finnish myths and legend, for which she won the 2005 Eureka Short Story Fellowship as well as a 2006 Finlandia Foundation grant. With cartoonist Elena Steier she created the occult detective comic Jane Quiet. Her bibliography is chock full of short stories, humor pieces, plays and essays, both scholarly and popular. She also writes romance as C. Margery Kempe and Kit Marlowe.

Find KA Online --

KA Laity http://www.kalaity.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/k.a.laity
Twitter https://twitter.com/katelaity
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2915710.K_A_Laity
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/K.-A.-Laity/e/B002KL29FG
Lady Smut http://ladysmut.com
Tirgearr Publishing http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Laity_KA

-- > Don't forget, Kate is giving away a copy of High Plains Lazarus to one lucky commenter. Leave her a question or comment here with your email address to be automatically in the draw.

Or you can grab a copy of High Plains Lazarus now for just $1.99 through Tirgearr Publishing.

Brid Wade: Sleeping Dogs

A hearty welcome back to Irish mystery writer, Brid Wade!

A former singer, Brid turned her hand to painting while raising three children. Upon becoming an empty-nestery, Brid upped her game when she turned her artistic hand to writing crime stories. An admitted armchair detective, choosing this genre to write in was a natural fit for this lady. And aren't we glad she did!

Brid joined us last summer when she released her debut novel in the Matt Costello Mystery series -- Watchers. This book was a fabulous introduction to Brid's hero. As the story developed, we learned who Matt Costello is, where he came from, and got hints at where he's going.

Today, Brid introduces to her new book in the series, Sleeping Dogs, book two for Matt fans.

When a judge is murdered in his home and the murder weapon belongs to Billy Hannan, a man missing for three years, Matt Costello is brought in. As he digs deeper, he finds a web of deceit and a cover-up with roots embedded deeply in the annals of Irish history. Matt can't let sleeping dogs lie if he's to find the killer and get to the truth of what happened to Billy Hannan.

Brid quickly pulls us into her story and lets us cozy up to Matt as we follow him around Ireland during his investigation. Ireland comes to life through Matt's eyes and Brid's expert writing. Her in-depth research on police procedurals shines through, and her characters spring from the page with realism as the plot deepens. Sleeping Dogs is a great addition to the Matt Costello Mystery series. Anyone who loves crime stories, mysteries, thrillers, and stories set in Ireland will find this book a worthy investment. Well done, Brid!

Brid will be here through the day to answer any of your questions. And Tirgearr Publishing is giving away a copy of Sleeping Dogs to one lucky commenter. So get your skates on and be sure to leave your contact email address so we can get a hold of you if you win.

And take note, to celebrate the release of Sleeping Dogs, Tirgearr Publishing has reduced the price of Watchers to just 99c/77p through June!

• • •

The death of a Judge from a gunshot wound makes headline news. When suicide is ruled out, the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of the crime is the burning question. Previously targeted by the media over a colourful episode in his personal life, the Judge’s death throws up the possibility of a new scandal the State is anxious to contain. The investigation must be low key and discreet. Matt Costello, renowned and respected private investigator, is nominated for the job.

Initial enquiries take Matt to the home of the registered owner of the murder weapon, Billy Hannan, but Billy isn’t around. In fact, nobody has seen Billy for three years – since he disappeared one night on his way home from the local pub. Left behind is Nan, his intended bride, his daughter, Kate, and a large house standing on six hundred acres of prime Irish land. In Billy’s absence, Nan maintains a lonely vigil, tending to the house and gardens as best she can, while eleven-year-old Kate forlornly watches the narrow lane leading to the house in hopes of her father’s return.

As Matt digs deeper, he finds a web of deceit and cover up with deep roots embedded in the annals of Irish history; dark and treacherous, events of the time left scars too deep to ignore, even a century later. Matt can’t let sleeping dogs lie if he is to find the killer and get to the truth of what happened to Billy Hannan.

The dispersing crowd filtered through the trees and side-stepped old graves to merge into a column and tread the narrow pathway towards the road, where drivers stood by limousines awaiting the return of the bereaved. An air of bewilderment pervaded the atmosphere as mourners shared disbelief and sadness at the untimely passing of a good man. 

“Bit of a shock, eh?” Dennis said to Matt when they met. 

“Any idea what’s behind it?” Matt asked him.
“Ach, there’s all sorts of rumours going around. Watch yourself!” Dennis said, pulling him aside as a car came up behind.

Their gaze followed the dark blue Mercedes as it carved a passage through the throng, followed closely by a dark grey saloon.

“Another government minister,” Matt noted. “There’s some turnout here today; Special Branch everywhere.”

“Not surprising. He was a well-known supporter of the party,” Dennis said. “I’ll bet there were a few ripples at headquarters when the news broke.”

“Was it suicide?” Matt asked.

“Nobody’s saying,” Dennis answered. “The inquest hasn’t been announced yet. What brought you here? All of us legal bods are expected to show up, but you’re under no obligation.”

“I just wanted to pay my respects,” Matt explained. “He was one of the best judges around. He was fair and I never had a problem with any decision he made – even if things went against us.”

“Don’t look now,” Dennis said, nudging him as they approached the exit. “The young guy talking with the girl at the gate is the son. He looks shattered.” He drew up the collar of his coat and averted his gaze to the street outside.

As they walked past, Matt glanced casually at the pair. He saw a good looking young man with straight, coal black hair, a sallow, gaunt face and a glazed look in his eyes. “He’s high,” he said with a disapproving shake of his head. “Without the wall behind him he wouldn’t be able to stand up. Is he a known user?”

Dennis sneaked a second look. “Not to my knowledge,” he said. “If he is a bad boy he’s managed to stay below the radar.”

“Who’s the girl?” Matt asked of the young woman with cropped dark hair who seemed to be failing in her efforts to engage him. She turned her head in Matt’s direction and he looked away.

“No idea,” Dennis replied. “She’s not his sister. I know her from shots in the newspapers.”

“Are there just two of them – children?” Matt asked.

“I think so. They stayed with the mother as far as I know. The judge had an apartment in Ballsbridge… separated for years. You must remember it. The press had a field day.”

“It rings a bell alright,” Matt said. “Was there a call girl involved or something?”

“Not quite but you’re not far off.”

As they continued to walk, they chatted about old cases involving the judge; Dennis with his pale skin and untidy fair hair wearing a navy coat over a dark suit and Matt, tanned, broader and taller, with his hands in the pockets of a green wax jacket, his black hair touched with grey.

“Where are you parked?” Matt asked as they reached his Mercedes. “Can I give you a lift?”

“No need,” Dennis replied. “I’m just up the road, thanks.”

“Keep in touch,” Matt said as he opened the door.

• • •

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Brid’s family hails from the inner city, making her a true blue ‘Dub’. One of four sisters, she was educated by the Holy Faith Nuns in Larkhill. Always drawn to the arts, Brid studied piano at the Municipal School of Music. Later she joined a band where she played the electronic organ and sang harmony with her sister. They were known as The Honeybees.

At nineteen, she met her future husband and travelled to Manchester for a year before returning to Ireland where they married and she settled down to become a stay-at-home mum to their three children. At that time she learned to paint, which led to her joining The North Dublin Craftworkers’ Association, on whose behalf she ran the annual Christmas Craft Gift Fair in the city centre. This led to a new career within the exhibition industry.

In 2001, seeking a change of environment, Brid moved to Kilkenny City and began to write. An avid armchair detective, she chose her favourite genre; crime fiction. Her aim was to create a character in a series of mystery stories based in modern Ireland. Matt Costello is that character. In 2006, she relocated to Inistioge, a picturesque village outside Kilkenny City, where she continues to write and paint.
Find Brid Online --

Facebook
The Street Gallery
Tirgearr Publishing

-- > Brid is giving away a copy of Watchers to one lucky commenter. Leave her a question or comment here with your email address to be automatically in the draw.

Or you can grab a copy of Sleeping Dogs now for just $3.99 through Tirgearr Publishing.

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Glenys O'Connell: Winters and Somers

A hearty Irish welcome to Glenys O'Connell who is joining us today to talk about her book, Winters & Somers.

Glenys is a seasoned writer. She's penned some of the Letts Magical Topics series of early learning books, Naked Writing: The No Frills Way to Write Your Book, and several romantic suspense novels.

Glenys' writing career began when she was a journalist working for a large newspaper where she covered local crime. She says it was her love of romance and a deep interest in crime that inspired her to write romantic suspense. A qualified psychologist and counselor, it's easy for her to get into the mindset of her literary criminals and really bring them to life.

Originally English born, it was her time spent in Ireland which inspired the book Glenys is here to talk about today -- Winters & Somers.

Cíara Somers is an Irish private detective who earns her crust, as they say, tracking straying husbands and performing other investigations. She does quite well for herself and is happy with the way things are going in her life.

When Jonathon Winters, a New York homicide detective, suddenly shows up in her life, Cíara's life gets turned upside-down. But she's headstrong, as her grandmother, Grannie Somers, raised her to be. Jonathon soon finds his match with this fiery redhead. Especially when she has her sights on getting Jonathan naked and in her bed.

And there's a jewel thief loose in Ireland. Dubbed The Diamond Darling, Cíara must stay focused on the job, even as those around her threaten to make everything fall apart. Including the delectable Jonathon!

Winters & Somers has a little something for most readers, as it will cause you to grin and chuckle, sign and groan, and definitely keep you turning pages as Cíara and Jonathon spark off each other, and as the case develops. O'Connell has woven scenes of Ireland wonderfully through the story so you'll get a sense of place as you read. This is a fun yet passionate tale. Anyone who enjoys romance, suspense, and Ireland, will surely enjoy this story.

Glenys will be here through the day to answer any of your questions. And Tirgearr Publishing is giving away a copy of Winters & Somers to one lucky commenter. So get your skates on and be sure to leave your contact email address so we can get a hold of you if you win.

• • •

Irish PI, Cíara Somers, makes a good living testing the ‘temptability quotient’ of men for their insecure lovers…but when NY homicide cop and author of red hot romances, Jonathon Winters, makes her take him on as a partner in her Dublin agency, he gets the wrong message from her raunchy style . . . especially when he wants her for himself.

Somers isn’t the type to let a man push her around – the incorrigible Grannie Somers raised her to be her own woman. But when she discovers that even Grannie drools over the sexy Winters, she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to indulge in one of the fantasies that have millions of women reading his romantic books.

And when Somers finally gets her first real case – to capture the notorious jewel thief dubbed The Diamond Darling – she has to survive the help of her weird relatives, the landlady from hell, two stoned friends, a stray dog – and Winters himself . . .

Cíara Somers prowled among the top drawer clientele of the exclusive Dublin nightclub, her scarlet lips pursed in a sexy pout.

When a hearty male hand slapped her bum, she clamped down on her instinctive reaction to impale the man’s foot to the shiny wooden floors with her wicked four-inch stiletto heel. Instead, she cracked a sultry smile and batted her dark eyelashes provocatively.

After all, she was working tonight. And you could hardly blame the poor darlings. Frankly, any man who didn’t respond to her artfully designed siren’s call had to be dead. At least from the neck down.

The nightclub catered to very rich business and professional Dubliners – the place positively reeked of money – but she was after a specific fish, so it wouldn’t do for a woman like her to draw too much attention to herself. If the eagle-eyed club management copped on to what she was up to, she’d be thrown out on her mini-skirted rear end.

She spotted her prey over by the bar, drinking alone and looking sorry for himself. Bingo! He looked exactly ready for the company of a beautiful, sympathetic blonde. Straightening her back to accentuate the rounded swell of her breasts, Cíara sashayed up to the bar with a hip-sway that would raise any healthy hetero male’s blood pressure off the charts.

She leaned on the bar, the action pressing her cleavage into a picture that instantly mesmerized the barman and several other men. But here was the tricky part – to attract only the one she wanted.

Attracting him wasn’t hard at all. The tall, thin man on her right turned his head to follow the barman’s gaze – and was hooked immediately. Slowly, his eyes traveled from her chest to linger on her mouth, before taking a slow detour to her toes while taking in other vital areas along the way.

“Well, hello there,” he growled. A wolfish smile lit up his face and he treated her to a display of crooked teeth. She suppressed a shudder. This was work, after all, but just occasionally it would be nice to work on a guy she really fancied.

Later she’d remember the old saying about being careful what you wished for in case it came true, but tonight she was just another working girl.

So she returned the smile, twitching her lower lip into that full ruby pout that men found so irresistible. She let a wave of blonde hair fall forward over one eye as she languidly stretched out a sun-tanned hand and drew a blood-red fingernail down his shirtfront.

“Hello, yourself,” she purred, and watched with satisfaction as he swallowed the bait.

Thirty minutes later, she extricated herself from her target’s roaming hands, giggled throatily and excused herself with the need to powder her nose.

“Don’t be too long, baby, I’m having a hard time waiting!” he leered, and gave her an indulgent slap on her behind as she walked away. Cíara turned to wink at him and blow a scarlet-lipped kiss in his direction.

He’d already invited her back to his place for a nightcap ‘…and whatever else we fancy!’

• • •

Glenys O'Connell writes romantic suspense and comedy. She became interested in crime & criminal psychology when covering the crime beat as a journalist for a large daily newspaper. This led to a degree in psychology and qualifications as a counselor - but writing is her first love and she says romantic suspense satisfies her cravings for both romance and crime! She is also the author of two books on mental health issues, several childrens’ books, and is an award winning playwright. She was born in Lancashire, England, and has lived and worked in the UK, Ireland, and currently in rural Canada.

Find Glenys online:

Glenys O'Connell
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Roses of Prose
Romance Can Be Murder
Tirgearr Publishing

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