Friday, May 26, 2017

**Giveaway** Seeing Double by Nancy J Alexander **Review**



On the heels of her last mystery, Elisabeth's new patient is more than meets the eye, and unraveling his secrets will throw her team into a desert storm of double agents and religious extremists.



Book Details:

Book Title:  Seeing Double: An Elisabeth Reinhardt Thriller by Nancy J Alexander
Category:  Adult Fiction,   318 pages
Genre:  Espionage Thriller
Publisher:   NJA Productions
Release date:  Nov 2015
Tour dates: May 8 to 26, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M for themes of terrorism, kidnapping, some bad language, but no explicit sex or violence.


Book Description:

​"A chill ran up her spine, triggering an alarm that spread through her system. Her eyes studied him as his eyes studied her. In the recesses of her mind, a fragment of a memory tingled...a tiny blip from long ago. An image spiraled, then vanished. There was something about this young man, this Ari Ben Aviv. There was something about him she couldn't pinpoint."

On the heels of her last mystery, Elisabeth's new patient is more than meets the eye, and unraveling his secrets will throw her team into a desert storm of double agents and religious extremists. All that stands between love and war are two families, two brothers, and two conflicting versions of the truth.

To follow the tour and read reviews, please visit Nancy J. Alexander's page on iRead Book Tours.


REVIEW:
This is part two of the Elisabeth Reinhardt series. Perhaps you could read this as a stand a lone but, I don't recommend it. The story is very much a gripping, emotional, grab-you-by-the collar kind of story. I enjoyed this book very much but, just be forewarned, it does take a little focus while reading it as there is a lot going on. Not that it is confusing but, if you don't pay attention to the storyline and the details within, you could find yourself getting lost or confused. There is some adult language - so be forewarned about that as well..
This story was captivating and kept my attention and because the ending left me hanging, I am safely assuming there will be a third book; otherwise the ending (in my humble opinion) was weak and unfinished. 

Interview with Nancy J Alexander:

How did you do research for your book?
While Seeing Double is a work of fiction, my research was fairly extensive involving hundreds of Google searches into history, geography and incidental cultural facts about such things as customs, food and clothing.  In addition to news articles, I read a number of books about world events, the Middle East and the CIA written by authors such as Fareed Zakaria, Avi Melamed and Michael Hayden accumulating a fact-based platform about conflicts and players tangled in the Middle East imbroglio.
Where do you write?
I have a ‘writing room’ equipped with needed electronics, reference books, globe, maps and character pictures posted on a bulletin board. My equipment and its effectiveness is critical. Most of the time I use both my desktop and laptop, each device open to different applications, for example one holds the document I’m working on while the other is open to maps, research information or follow-up notes. Because I use Dropbox, all documents are easily available to both devices.
There, surrounded by bookshelves, pictures and art objects, I can gaze out the window at birds flitting through the trees and calmly focus on my story. With one major exception … Tahji.  A huge Himalayan mix, white with red points, Tahji is not a fan of boundaries; he spends his day jumping on the desk and torturing me by sprawling in front of the monitor, bumping it back and forth on its swivel base, walking on the keyboard, batting my mouse across the floor and scattering stacks of paper on the floor. All the while purring loudly and pawing my hands as they move. Tahji is not to be ignored; he seems to see my novels as his main competitors and is determined to eradicate them. It is through sheer will power that I manage to write tap out an email!

In this tech savvy world, do you use computers or write by hand?
I have my laptop and desktop open at the same time; writing on one and doing research on the other one. I would never write by hand because it would take forever and I would never be able to read what I wrote!
I love my computers and love writing on them. It’s my habit to open lots of documents, reference materials and novels at the same time. I find that I think very quickly and want to capture my thoughts as quickly as possible. I do not want to be interrupted or take breaks because I don’t want to slow down or lose track of my thought process. Because I don’t outline and am an intuitive writer, I want to be able to write quickly and as fully as possible. My ‘first drafts’ are fairly comprehensive and though I edit and rewrite parts of the book, the actual story is essentially complete by the time the first draft is finished. None of that would be possible without my trusty computers!

Are there things you include in most of your books?
Yes. I always have animals in my books, dogs and cats are usually included and wildlife is always present in various forms throughout each book depending on where in the world my characters are living. I use wildlife metaphors and include them in environmental descriptions throughout every book. As you read, see how many animal and/or wildlife references you can find!
Another thing I do is describe the scenes in great detail. I want to draw a picture for my readers and create a vivid world setting for my characters. I would not say ‘character entered a room.’ I would always describe how they entered the room, how they looked and felt as well as details about the room and whatever they encountered there, including grounding environmental clues and descriptions.

What’s your next project?
I am currently writing the 2nd book in The Olive Branch series called Sun Runner. As the follow-up to Seeing Double, many of the same characters will be returning with new assignments and interpersonal issues. The title Sun Runner was derived from a rare spider by that name, also called the Camel Spider. They live in the Middle East and have a terrifying appearance and reputation that is both fearful and highly inaccurate. Because its mischaracterization parallels so much of what happens in the Middle East, I named the book after these misunderstood arachnids to underscore global mischaracterizations and misunderstandings about the Middle East itself and the conflicts it subsumes.


Buy the Book: 



Meet the Author:



​Love of the mystery/thriller genre combines with psychotherapy training and experience to produce an emotionally supercharged dramatic novel. Nancy Alexander has devoted much of her professional life to helping survivors of childhood trauma; their distress has been ingrained and works to create characters who give voice to their plight. To analyze the evil minds that prey on others and the intricacies of law enforcers who pursue them seemed a natural interlacing of professional, literary and creative interests.

Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook


BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:

May 8 -   Library of Clean Reads - book spotlight / giveaway
May 8 -   Working Mommy Journal - review / giveaway
May 8 -   Over the hills and far away - book spotlight / giveaway
May 9 -   Leels Loves Books - review
May 10 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review / guest post / giveaway
May 11 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / giveaway
May 12 - NorthernMSW - review
May 16 - Olio by Marilyn - review / author interview
May 17 - Celticlady's Reviews - book spotlight / giveaway
May 17 - The World As I See It - review / giveaway
May 18 - Rainy Day Reviews - review / author interview
May 19 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
May 22 - My Journey Back - review / author interview - giveaway
May 23 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway
May 24 - Bookaholic Banter - review / author interview / giveaway
May 24 - JBronder Book Reviews - review / guest post / giveaway
May 25 - Books for Books - review
May 26 - Jessica Cassidy - review / author interview / giveaway


Enter the Giveaway!
Ends June 3





Thursday, May 25, 2017

**Giveaway** I Knew You Were Trouble by Lauren Layne **Exclusive Excerpt**















A feisty beauty must choose between
winning back Mr. Right 

or giving in to Mr. Wrong.












I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE

Oxford Series #4

Lauren Layne

Releasing June 13, 2017

Loveswept




New York City’s hottest bachelors are stirring up trouble in this fun, flirty Oxford Novel, as a love triangle forces a feisty beauty to choose between winning back Mr. Right or giving in to Mr. Wrong.

Taylor Carr has it all—a sleek job in advertising, a stunning Manhattan apartment, and the perfect man to share it with: Bradley Calloway. Even after Bradley dumps her for a co-worker on move-in day, Taylor isn’t worried. She’ll get her man eventually. In the meantime, she needs a new roommate. Enter Nick Ballantine, career bartender, freelance writer—and longtime pain in Taylor’s ass. Sexy in a permanent five-o’clock-shadow kind of way, Nick knows how to push Taylor’s buttons, as if he could see right through to the real her.

Nick’s always trying to fix people, and nobody could use a good fixing more than Taylor. Sure, she’s gorgeous, with mesmerizing silver eyes, but it’s her vulnerability that kills him. Now that they’re shacking up together, the chemistry is out of control. Soon they’re putting every part of their two-bedroom apartment to good use. Then Taylor’s ex comes crawling back to her, and Nick figures she’ll jump at the chance to go back to her old life—unless he fights for the best thing that ever happened to him.




PRE-ORDER TODAY!








Bradley froze when he saw her, and she was pretty sure she saw the urge to turn and run flicker across his face.

Again she felt a stab of disappointment. In him. And in herself for apparently having misread him. She’d thought he was better than this.

Bradley’s eyes moved between her and Nick, and though he didn’t look all that surprised at seeing them bickering, his gaze grew hard as he saw Nick’s hand on Taylor’s face.

Nick, naturally, took his sweet time removing it, and she resisted the urge to kick his shin.

“Morning, Bradley,” Taylor said, pleased that her voice sounded calm and friendly. As well it should. She’d had plenty of practice over the better part of a year pretending that she and Bradley were nothing more than colleagues.

Other than a few close friends who knew they were dating, they’d done a mostly decent job of hiding their romantic relationship from coworkers. Better than she and Nick had done hiding their antagonistic one.

“Hey, Taylor. Nick,” Bradley said.

He entered the room and reached for a coffee mug, turning his attention toward the other man. “Didn’t realize you’d taken on another assignment. What for?”

“Not sure,” Nick said, checking his watch. “Have a meeting with Cassidy in a few to find out.”

“Here’s hoping it’s an offsite gig that takes you far, far away. Maybe he needs someone to cover Siberian winters,” Taylor said to Nick, even as she watched Bradley out of the corner of her eye.

“Don’t need to travel to find severe winter. It doesn’t get any chillier than right here,” Nick retorted, waving his hand over her head in a storm cloud gesture.

She shoved his hand aside, her attention still on Bradley, who was determinedly avoiding her gaze.

Coward.

It was going to be darn hard to get him to see reason when he wouldn’t even make eye contact.

Nick, ever too perceptive for his own good, noticed the tension and gave a quick look between her and Bradley, his gaze turning speculative.

She shot him a warning look that clearly said, Dont.

He shot an answering smile that clearly said, Watch me.

“Bradley, don’t suppose you’re in the market for a roommate?” Nick asked, his voice deceptively casual.

Bradley’s head snapped up, and finally, finally his blue gaze collided with Taylor’s. Dammit. Why did he have to be so beautiful? He was like a mischievous angel, all twinkling blue eyes, dimples, a sexy cleft in his chin, dark blond wavy hair . . .

“What?” he asked Nick distractedly, still looking at Taylor.

“Taylor here wants to share her original crown molding with someone.”

Bradley winced, and Taylor felt a little surge of gratitude toward Nick. He couldn’t have known it, but it was the perfect jab. She and Bradley were both into prewar architecture—had eaten up the broker’s description of all the building’s original elements.

Taylor should be sharing that crown molding with Bradley. And he damn well knew it.

His eyes met hers in silent misery—an apology that she wasn’t quite ready to accept. Heck, she wasn’t even ready to acknowledge it, because she had no intention of being dumped. Not by him, not by any man.

Taylor ignored the guilt written all over Bradley’s face as she held his gaze. “Yes, it seems I unexpectedly have a free bedroom and more rent than I can afford. If either of you knows anyone looking for a roommate . . .”

Bradley’s handsome face twisted regretfully, and he set his coffee aside, taking a step toward her, apparently forgetting—or not caring—that Nick was still in the room.

“Taylor. Damn it. I told you—”

“Actually, I do,” Nick said, interrupting.

Taylor forced her gaze away from Bradley’s pleading face toward Nick’s smug one. “You know someone who needs a roommate?”

“Yup.” He crossed his arms and watched her.

She made an impatient gesture with her hand. “Who? It can’t be one of your ex-girlfriends—I don’t want to inadvertently hear any gross details about you. And not one of your frat-boy guy friends—my living room isn’t cut out for Call of Duty.”

“Yeah, because that’s all I do all day.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, for real, who is it?”

His grin was slow, sly, and the very definition of trouble. “Me.”

















Lauren
Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen
romantic comedies.



A former
e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York
City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career.



She lives
in midtown Manhattan with her high-school sweetheart, where she writes smart
romantic comedies with just enough sexy-times to make your mother blush. In
LL's ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry
a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books. 









*No Purchase Necessary*