Title: Speak Easy
Author: Melanie Harlow
Expected release date: July 22, 2013 Genre: Historical
Age Group: New Adult
Cover Designed by: Tom Barnes Design
About the Author
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On the surface, twenty-two year old Cole Morgan is exactly what any girl would be proud to take home to meet her parents: He’s charming, intensely handsome and goal-oriented...Only he has some secrets of his own, which include provoking bar fights and a former drug-addict of a mother slowly wasting away in a medical facility.
At barely twenty, Violet Lynn is Country Music's hottest star, until one night of partying gets out of control. Violet ends up in jail and on TMZ. Suddenly, she’s the girl least likely to be invited anywhere. Sick of the drama and keeping secrets, she runs away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi to her grandmother’s home in Forrestville, North Carolina.
A chance meeting knocks Cole off his feet, but he doesn’t recognize Violet for who she is. In fact no one does and Violet plans to keep it that way.
Circumstances, however annoying,keep throwing Violet and Cole together. Unable to stop themselves they give into the inevitable.
But when Nashville is ready to forgive and forget, Violet is forced to choose between Cole and claiming her spot as the new and improved Princess of Country Music.
Will Violet and Cole have the courage to live for their dreams...Or their hearts?
“You’re amazing.” I mean it. Nothing about my words are meant to seduce, meant to tantalize and tease. Yes I want inside her, but even more I want inside her head. I need to know this girl. What makes her tick; what she likes and dislikes. I need to know all of this, despite knowing how long she’ll stay here.”
Nothing burns as bright as the flames of the refiner’s fire.
Moments after hearing the Council sentence her enemy to life imprisonment for attempted murder and illegal use of magic, Darcy is whisked away by the Fates—accused of tampering with destiny. The cherished dream she shared with Mason has been called into question, placing doubt about whether they are actually true mates. To resolve it, a price must be paid—the Heart or Death—a grueling series of tests designed to reveal a person’s worth.
The stakes are high and Darcy finds herself facing the unknown in conditions that leave her more vulnerable than she’s ever been. Separated from Mason and her Pack, with Devlin as her only companion, she is pushed to her very limits. She must succeed—or lose everything.
Will she crumble under the pressure or emerge stronger for testing fate?
Excerpt“I wondered if I’d find you here.” A masculine voice stirred my awareness.Sitting up, I found myself looking at a stranger, the gorgeous stranger from before. He was tall, with a muscular frame and the most stunning blue eyes I’d ever seen. He was peering down with a smile that said he was happy to stumble across me.“Do you know where ‘here’ is?” I asked, reluctantly standing and bringing my contented sunbathing to an end. I tugged my t-shirt down to cover my bare stomach and pulled on the hem of my shorts. I hadn’t been naked, but the way the guy’s focus seemed to be soaking in my appearance, I felt that way. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel threatened.“It’s our place.” He grinned, taking a step closer. He raised his arm to brush his fingers through the hanging branches and pulled off a few leaves. Inhaling the fragrance for a moment, he let them fall to the ground and glanced around. “We like to come here and be alone.”I followed his gaze and nodded. It did fit the description as a place for an intimate getaway. “We come here?” I studied his face, but still didn’t recognize him. This turn in the dream made no sense, but I wasn’t going to fight against it. I was here, with a man who looked on me with desire, in a place that was nothing short of heaven.“We do.” He didn’t add anything more to his response. With a wink, he moved toward the water’s edge and crouched to test the temperature. “Perfect. Shall we?” He extended his hand and when I stared back at him curiously, he laughed. “I’ll go first.”Stripping off his shirt, my eyes feasted on his hard muscles and contoured ridges. He was tanned, showing he’d spent many hours out in the sun. I gave a soft, appreciative sigh. He dove into the pool, swimming below the surface until he reached the other side.“Are you going to join me?” Liquid cascaded off him as he stood and my mouth felt suddenly dry. I quickly slipped out of my clothes, leaving just my bra and panties on, before carefully jumping in. The water glided over my skin and I smiled at how good it felt.I dipped under the surface, sleeking my hair back. “Is it strange that I don’t know who you are?” I kept a close eye on him as he started swimming toward me. “I feel like I should.”“You will. In time,” he answered cryptically, and disappeared beneath the water.I scanned the area, wanting to see where he was and shrieked when I felt his hand grab my leg, tugging on it. Fingers grazed up my thighs before he vanished again. His touch was so familiar—everything was and I was determined to understand.“What’s your name?” I coaxed as he emerged a few feet away, a large grin on his face. “I’m Darcy.”“I know who you are.” He grinned.“But I don’t know who you are.” I was getting tired of being evaded. My dream had gone from something relaxing to exciting to frustrating.He stopped moving and locked eyes with me. Heat blazed from within him. “You know me as many things: best friend, partner, lover.” The water parted about him as he strode toward me with definite purpose.The descriptions struck a chord with my heart. Yes, he was. But still, I couldn’t I remember his name.“Does it matter?” He traced the side of my cheek tenderly, tilting my chin so he could study me. When I nodded, he parted his lip to speak. “Very well, my name is . . .”
She’s a Runaway BrideValerie Burrows is running from a wedding, her attorney fiancé and the law. Pampered Valerie takes a bus to nowheresville, where she learns her cash and credit cards have been stolen. Left with only her designer clothes and luggage she takes on a new identity and must learn to be self-reliant. She swears off men, especially attorneys, only to find the one man who refuses a one night stand and wants a relationship.He’s Looking For A WifeMatt Jordan, the Colorado Crusher, is the most successful liability lawyer in the state. After the death of his brother-in-law, he realizes he’s ready to settle down with a family of his own. His only requirements are intelligent, great-looking, wants more than a hook-up and doesn’t lie. After witnessing the lies his father told his mother, he demands complete honesty. Yet Valerie Brown shows him sometimes in order to find yourself, you must become someone else. Even if that means lying.
Author InterviewHow did you get started writing?All my life I have been a voracious reader. One day I read a particularly bad historical romance and thought, I could do a better job. So I bought a typewriter (yes, this was before home computers) and started a book. I quickly learned that it's not as easy as it appears, but I finished that novel that terrible first draft and realized I loved writing. At that point, I began the journey to learn how to craft stories. Along the way, I met some fantastic writers who not only taught me the craft, but some were my critique partners who helped guide me on this journey. It took me three books and eight years before I published. I published nine historicals with a major New York Publisher before I decided to go straight Indie.Tell us about your current book.My book, The Wanted Bride is a runaway bride story. My heroine is an only child who has received everything she wanted and never had to work hard in her life. But that’s about to change.What is your favorite part of writing?I love to storyboard an idea, so that I have the necessary map to take me on the journey. Then I sit down and I let the fingers fly on the keyboard, while the movie plays in my head. I'm sort of the stenographer at his point, just getting the story down on paper. I hit roadblocks and things change along the way, but to me this is the best part of writing, just letting the story flow onto the page.What is your least favorite part of writing?My least favorite part of writing is the last draft. At this point, I've edited the story 3-4 times. Usually around draft 5, I have everything the way I want and I'm going back through to make certain that the scenes work, end on a hook, setting, grammar, etc. By the last draft, I'm ready for the story to end and to start thinking of a new project.What is your next project and when will it be released?Right now, I'm working on the first draft of a Christmas novella that is about the matchmaking mother in my Burnett Brides series. I thought she deserved her own story. So Eugenia Meets Her Match is what I’m currently working on.What is your typical day like?I get up at six am, ride the elliptical for twenty minutes and then I'm off to the computer. I work on the computer for an hour and then get ready for the day job. The day job is working for a small insurance agency, where I take care of commercial insurance for clients. I'm home at five thirty and back on the computer until supper time. Eat a quick bite and then back on the computer until about nine o'clock, when the body wears out and the eyes start to see double. I sit downstairs and watch several taped TV shows, until I crash into bed about eleven o'clock.How has your experience with self-publishing been?I absolutely love self-publishing. I'm learning as I go, but I know that I don't have the time to do everything, so I am hiring out editing, cover design and formatting. That being said it's really important that you find someone who is good at the formatting. I’m in charge of my own destiny and if I fail, it's no one's fault but my own.What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?I was scared to try. I also didn't want to be seen as someone who was "vanity" publishing. It took me hearing from at least three people that this was the future and how successful they were before I decided to put out my backlist. Now, I doubt I ever sell to another New York Publisher. I'm not a New York Times Bestseller yet, but I'm doing okay and I'm publishing again. I'm hearing from readers again. I'm back doing what I love and I'm not waiting for an editor or agent to send me a rejection letter any longer. Now I'm working at my pace, not a publishers pace. I'm happier than I've been in years and it just feels right for me.What if you found out five minutes before you walk down the aisle, that your best-friend is pregnant by your fiancé? Everyone is seated in the church when Valerie goes running out the door, jumps in his vintage corvette to escape until the car breaks down in downtown Dallas.I won’t tell you what she did, but there’s a reason it’s called The Wanted Bride. If you like sassy heroines and tales of women who change, then you’ll enjoy The Wanted Bride.
Alex had everything when he was with Madison. But the darkness within him wouldn't go away. After two years apart, he returns to Pelican Bluffs and to the girl he never wanted to leave. Madison wants to give their love another chance, but Alex can't fight fate.
He is what he is.
Ruined. Crazy like his mother. And Madison deserves so much more. When his secrets spill out into their small town, Alex has a choice to make. Hide away in the darkness forever, or let love in.
ExcerptMy first memory of my mom’s schizophrenia is of her, locked in the bathroom of our home back in California, shrieking that “they” were coming in the windows. I was maybe four years old, and the only one able to talk to her because she always lapses into Japanese when she gets scared. I didn’t know how to call the police. I wasn’t even in kindergarten yet. I just sat outside the bathroom door and begged her to let me in. Maternal instinct won out and she opened the door, then told me to call for help. She showed me how to use the phone.After that, I became Mom’s protector. I was the one who made sure she took her medication by begging her to open the childproof bottles and dumping the pills into a pill sorter that put a dose in each compartment. I was the one who warded off the social workers who wanted to take her away or me away or both, by playing games and refusing to speak if they separated us. I was the one who became her legal guardian when I turned eighteen. I’ll be the one to look after her for the rest of her colorful and tortured life. Assuming I can hold it together.My life isn’t one I’d wish on my worst enemy. I love my mother, but her condition destroyed my childhood. Whoever ends up responsible for me is in for a similar catastrophe. There’s not much I can control about losing my mind, but I can control this: The person responsible for me will never be Madison Lukas. She deserves better than that. Even if I have to break my own heart a thousand times over to give her freedom, I’ll do it, because I love her more than she could ever imagine. She’s everything to me.
Joclyn is in hiding, hunted by the man she still desperately loves. Ryland is gone, his mind erased, no memory of Joclyn remains. But, Joclyn’s heart desperately begs her to hold out hope. While, in reality the black eyed monster that possesses him, attempts to kill her over and over.
If it wasn’t for Ilyan, Joclyn would be dead by now.
Ilyan. The man who once stalked her, is now Joclyn’s protector, the only thing she has left. He protects Joclyn from the men who seek to end her life, and while she is haunted by dreams where Ryland begs her to break the bond between them.
Ilyan is there. Always there.
Ilyan trains and prepares her, teaching her everything she needs to know in the hope that one day she can avenge Ryland, if not protect herself from him.
And then there is her father.
The man who has never been there, is suddenly responsible for everything. And who he is has made Joclyn into something she never wanted to be.
The Silnỳ.
Overall Score: 4 StarsWow. That was some book. I honestly wasn't expecting this turn of events because if you read the first book, it's a complete opposite of what Eyes of Ember brings! So much intensity and action, I didn't know what to expect next. & Ilyan???? -drool- Please please please let me have some Ilyan in my life! I've always been sucker for romantic tenstion and the whole breath-holding action and the author nailed it!"I was where my heart held out hope that someday I would be again. It was the reason I never forgot him. My heart had held onto him. And as he clung to me, as he soothed me, held me, I felt everything begin to relax.”![]()