Well, yesterday was SO exciting! So many of you came by to read…I hope just as many come by today. If you missed yesterday’s entry, click here!
The winner of yesterday’s GIFT CARD is listed at the bottom of this entry! (You didn’t think I’d put it at the top, did you? Hehehehe).
Today, you meet the heroine and her best friend. Hope you enjoy them! Remember, post comments or questions in the thread below and you’re registered to possibly win another $20 gift card from Amazon/Borders.com!
St. Augustine, Florida
April 2008
-1-
“What are you doing?”
From behind her, manicured hands coiled around Alexa Chandler’s face and pressed gently against her temples. Even without turning around, she knew who’d come up behind her. Catalina Reyes’s scent always gave her away. Spicy. Rich. Exotic. Alexa had tried wearing the same fragrance and had come off smelling like a proverbial French whore. On Cat, however, the scent reminded Alexa of pure freedom–of the wild life she could be living if she used her money for evil rather than good.
If simply making more money qualified as “good,” of course.
“What do you think I’m doing?” Cat replied.
Alexa sighed. They’d played this game before. “Trying to read my mind.”
Cat chuckled softly.
“Only trouble is,” Alexa continued, “you don’t read minds.”
“Says you,” Cat countered.
“Oh, yeah?” Alexa said, sounding much more confident than her previous experiences with Cat should warrant. “What am I thinking?”
Alexa clutched the railing on the hotel suite’s balcony tighter and focused on the horizon, on the tiny sliver of land far in the distance, where, with any luck, she’d be exploring sometime in the next few hours.
“You’re thinking about how much money you’re going to make if that abandoned old castle on that barren little island your father left you is the cash cow in disguise that you think it is,” Cat replied.
Alexa turned abruptly, breaking Cat’s contact with her skin.
“How’d you know that?”
Cat laughed, the otherworldly tone in her voice completely gone. “Because I’ve watched you go after properties for six years now. What else would you be thinking?”
Alexa rolled her eyes. “See? Not psychic.”
Cat gave her a sly smile. “You’re also entertaining some fairly naughty fantasies about finding a mysterious, dark knight in that castle and letting him have his way with you.”
Alexa’s breath caught in her throat. She was fairly sure that she’d never shared that particular fantasy with anyone–not even her favorite drinking buddy. Of course, with all the tequila they’d shared over the years, she supposed she might have gotten a little too tipsy once or twice and spilled her most secret desire to her friend.
As a young girl, castles, headstrong maidens and handsome princes had been her easy, innocent daydream. Her mother had spared no expense in transforming Alexa’s bedroom into a perfect princess palace, right down to the step-up four-poster bed and shimmery sheers flowing from the canopy. After her mother had died, Alexa had forbidden anyone, least of all any of her stream of stepmothers, from changing the décor.
In her teen years, the setting had become more private. More sensual. Ripe for a young girl’s fantasies. Only she’d never wanted a knight or prince to rescue her. From what? A life of wealth and privilege? No, she’d simply wanted a sweet-voiced young man who could satisfy the torturous, mysterious aches that haunted her in the middle of the night. A man who could steal her away with pleasure and perhaps, a forever love.
Luckily for her, college had pretty much knocked those delusions right out of her head. Sex, while enjoyable, was no longer a mystifying secret. And as far as Alexa had experienced, men who could weave prince-worthy magic with their bodies were few and far between. No, Alexa had now turned her princess fantasy into something much more practical.
Profit.
“I’m not talking about my sexual fantasies,” Alexa said, “until you’re ready to spill a few of your own.”
“You want the ones I’ve actually lived out or the ones I’m still working on?” Cat replied quickly, a sculpted eyebrow arched over a sparkling eye.
Alexa steeled herself against a shudder. “Forget I said anything. I don’t play games I can’t win and God knows your love life has always been more exciting than mine. Let’s talk about something important, like how you’ll help me with this project.”
Cat stepped back. “God, that hungry look is scary.”
Alexa chuckled. “So I’ve been told.”
“You do realize that you already have more money than God, right? I mean, in case you’re wondering where your next meal is coming from, I’d say from the nearest five-star restaurant that delivers. Hell, who cares if they deliver? You can buy the place and have the chef come over to make you a peanut butter sandwich. With truffle sauce.”
Alexa blanched at the combination of flavors, imaginary or not. “It’s not about the money.”
Cat laughed out loud. “Come on, Alexa. With you, it’s always about the money.”
Alexa turned back to the sliver of land on the horizon, shaking her head as she gazed. She couldn’t blame Cat for making that assumption. She presented that picture to everyone, even to her best friend. Her father had left her millions–millions he’d made with his own ingenuity and back-breaking determination. He’d worked his way up from a doorman to become a contemporary and competitor to the likes of Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott. Crown Chandler hotels exemplified excellent service, meticulous décor and premium prices. Since Richard’s death six years ago, Alexa had kept the business running with keen precision, but she hadn’t been raised to whittle away her legacy without first adding to the pot. She’d worked twenty-four seven to ensure that everyone from the maintenance man to the top executives knew that Alexa Chandler put the solvency and growth of her business above all else.
When she discovered that in addition to his all-consuming work ethic, her father had also left her this perplexing piece of land off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, uncharacteristic whimsy had shot through her. What could be more perfect for her than an abandoned island and a castle? Though Richard Chandler had died in the same car accident that had also nearly killed Alexa, no mention of the property had been made in his will and the deed had only recently been discovered by her step-brother, who found the deed among his mother’s belongings–along with a note that said, “For Alexa” jotted on the corner. None of his attorneys knew a thing about it, though they’d verified the authenticity of the document and Richard’s signature.
The discovery had spawned a series of events that had led her here, to St. Augustine, with her best friend, the occult expert, opening her briefcase in preparation of a meeting Alexa had anticipated for hours. Initial research revealed that the island–and the castle–were reportedly haunted, which put them right up Cat’s alley. A well-known paranormal researcher with a list of degrees as long as her waist-length hair, Cat was the perfect person to delve into the history of the land Alexa had inherited. And if the rumors of ectoplasmic activity were true, Alexa knew she had a real discovery on her hands.
In more ways than one.
“The only reference I could find to Valoren was in a database run by a gypsy genealogy site,” Cat informed her after placing pointy-cornered glasses on her regal nose.
At the news, a thrill shot into Alexa’s veins and she spun, excited and terrified at the same time. The word, Valoren, had been scribbled on the bottom of the deed, with no explanation.
Alexa had tried to research the island–called Isla de Fantasmas by the locals–on her own and had come up with little more than rumors and speculation. She’d learned that the island’s reputation as a gathering place for ghosts had been recorded as far back as the Spanish occupation of Florida in the 1500s. Tales of hostile spirits, coupled with the inhospitable terrain made up mostly of prickly palmettos and thick walls of bamboo, had kept anyone from inhabiting the land. Even sea birds and turtles stayed away. Locals speculated that the tales of spectral activity had been planted by pirates protecting their stronghold, but the tales had remained long after the privateers vanished from the Florida coast.
Then, sixty years ago, according to a local historian, a mysterious speculator had bought an abandoned castle in Germany and began moving it to Florida to rebuild on Isla de Fantasmas.
Piece by piece.
Quietly, almost secretly, the medieval-styled stronghold had been rebuilt by a foreign architect and workers housed exclusively on a ship anchored off the island. Armed men in fast boats had kept any curious onlookers away. Even the press had been thwarted in their quest to find out more about the project.
And then, in 1948, two years after the work began, the project stopped.
The architect, the workers, the ships disappeared. The castle remained, but the local fishermen claimed that even if a visitor did find a place to go ashore on the craggy island, the castle was surrounded by a twenty-foot, completely impenetrable stone wall. Or at least, if anyone had made it over the wall, they hadn’t returned to tell about it. The sheriff had reported that thrill seekers often claimed to have breeched the island’s natural defenses, but no one cared enough about an empty scrap of land to provide proof.
Interestingly, the county court house contained no record of the land being bought by Alexa’s father, though the quitclaim deed had been declared genuine by a local judge. Yet when she’d asked for a guide to take her to her property, the local sailors had scattered faster than a school of grouper startled by a hungry shark.
That’s when she’d called Cat.
“So, the rumors…are they true?”
Cat shook her head, her ironed-straight hair brushing along her bared shoulders. “That the island is haunted? I’ll need to see that for myself,” Cat said, her tone, as usual, ripe with skepticism. Though Cat’s genetic makeup included a potent mix of New Orleans Creole and Santería-worshipping Caribbean stock, her friend didn’t believe in any magic she couldn’t prove–and so far, Cat had built a reputation for proving more paranormal phenomena than any other researcher in her field–and disproving even more.
“The only other reference I found to Valoren was in a book written twenty years ago by a gypsy Chovihano whose family dated back to the seventeen hundreds,” Cat said.
Alexa slid onto the sleek leather couch beside her friend. “And?”
“That book was useless.”
“Then why–”
“The writer is dead, the mention to Valoren the equivalent of your father’s note on the deed though it does lead me to believe that Valoren is a place, not a person or a Romani word. The Chovihano left no relatives. His publisher was no help. Small press. Out of business. But,” she said triumphantly, “in the acknowledgments, the author made reference to an anthropology professor in Texas. A gypsy expert. I called him.”
“And he’s heard of Valoren?”
Cat nodded. “And not just an oral history, either. He’d read about the place, though his memory was sketchy. He remembered something about it being a gypsy enclave. A sort of safe haven.”
“I thought gypsies never stayed in one place.”
Cat shrugged. “They don’t, ordinarily, which makes the place all the more interesting, doesn’t it?”
“Could he remember his source?”
“No, but he seems to think it was a dissertation or an academic paper of some sort. Maybe a diary. Unfortunately, he has hundreds of professional journals and personal memoirs in his private collection and he can’t remember which one has the reference.”
Alexa cursed. Why she felt so compelled to figure out the answer to this puzzle perplexed her, except…she missed her father desperately. This gift seemed so personal, as if he’d searched for a castle for his little princess, remembering how fierce she’d been about her room, about her mother’s legacy. And her father had been just the type–loving and whimsical one minute, serious and driven the next–to try and turn her childhood dream into a money-making reality. In all practicality, a reportedly haunted, five-star hotel on an exclusive, hard-to-reach island could become the crown jewel for Crown Chandler. If Alexa made this project happen and filled the rooms with celebrities, dignitaries and nouveau riche entrepreneurs who appreciated privacy with their pampering, she might finally be accepted as the shrewd, creative new leader of Crown Chandler Enterprises and not just the spoiled, little rich girl who’d inherited her legacy because she’d lived and her father had died.
Or was she simply so hard up for a decent lover that she was pinning all her hopes on some Sleeping Beauty fantasy?
“What’s our next step?” Alexa asked, shaking off her apprehension.
“I’m flying to Texas,” Cat informed her. “The professor said I could search his collection. I’ll check out the island when I get back. That is, if you’re still interested in the history of the castle before you move forward with your plans.”
“Oh, she’s interested.”
Alexa sat up straighter, her spine rigid. Ordinarily, she didn’t react so icily to her step-brother walking into a room unannounced. However, she ordinarily didn’t allow Jacob anywhere near Cat, either–at least, not since their messy break-up.
“My, my,” Jacob said, his nose crinkled as if Catalina’s exotic scent offended his delicate sensibility. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
Cat skewered him with a sharp glare, tore off her glasses and snapped her briefcase closed. “God, Jacob. You’re such a drama queen. You could at least make an attempt at being original.”
Alexa jumped to her feet. Blood would be drawn if she didn’t act quickly. “Okay, now that we’ve had our warm reunion, can I talk to you, Jacob, in the other room?”
With a sneer, her step-brother begrudgingly headed toward the suite’s bedroom. Just to be on the safe side, Alexa shut the door behind them.
“Why are you still hanging out with that freak?” he asked.
Alexa bit the inside of her mouth. Black pot? Meet kettle.
“Just because the two of you broke up…four years ago, I should remind you…doesn’t mean I can’t be friends with her.”
Clearly, time hadn’t lessened the bitterness between her brother and her friend. Catalina had kicked Jacob to the curb once she realized he’d been using her to meet the self-proclaimed witches and vampires who flocked to Catalina unbidden, sometimes because of her research into the occult, most times because of her legacy as the granddaughter of a Santería priest and a Voodoo priestess.
From the moment Jacob Sharpe’s mother had married into the Chandler family, Alexa had realized that her new brother had interests that were more than a little weird. While Alexa herself had always been interested in ghosts, her reasons leaned toward the capitalistic and had nothing to do with Cat. Long before Alexa had met her friend, her interests in the paranormal had always stemmed from how a rumor of ghostly hauntings in the hotel world nearly always equaled financial gain. Travelers often paid big money to have a cold, otherworldly breeze blow across their cheek in the dead of night.
Jacob, on the other hand, had proclaimed himself Wiccan, Goth and anything else that would drive his parents crazy. After college, he’d stopped trying to shock everyone. Alexa had figured he’d finally grown out of his rebellious stage. Cunningly, he’d let the inky dye fade out of his brown hair, gave up lining his icy blue eyes with black kohl, traded his favorite black duster jacket and Nazi storm trooper boots for Armani suits and Bruno Magli shoes just long enough to land himself in her daddy’s will. Which was why she had to deal with him on a regular basis.
“Why are you here?” she asked. “I told you I could handle this situation on my own.”
He had an unnerving habit since the accident of following her around like a guard dog, despite the fact that she’d given him an entire division of established, top-performing hotels to supervise. She’d survived the car wreck, even if his mother and her father had not. Therapy for her concussion, punctured lung and broken thighbone had been a bitch, but she’d recovered with even more strength–and determination–than before.
Jacob shrugged in that boyish way that made her forget he was nearly thirty years old. “Things are running like clockwork as usual. But I’m bored. I need a challenge.”
“You can always look into that ski lodge in Utah.”
He scrunched his nose. “Too many Mormons in Utah.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “Yes, they do tend to gravitate there.” And the good Lord knew that Mormons weren’t her step-brother’s speed.
“Let me help you here,” he said, his tone vaguely whiny. “I am the one who brought you the deed. I didn’t have to, you know.”
She supposed he didn’t. He’d taken his mother’s death pretty hard, harder than she’d expected for all the tension that existed between the two of them.
Apparently, he’d waited until recently to go through the last of her effects and Alexa supposed that if he had wanted to be cruel, he could have kept the deed to himself. But while Jacob had nearly always been a pain in her ass, he’d never been underhanded or mean.
“Come on, sis,” he pleaded. “I can make myself more useful with your spooky castle than I can approving budgets for bed linens. With your knowledge of hotels and mine of all things mysterious, we can build a property that will make our competitors weep with envy.”
Jacob’s grin quirked up on the right side of his face and his eyes glittered. They might not have been related by blood, but Alexa couldn’t deny that they both suffered from a condition that caused hot flashes at the possibility of growing their portfolios.
“Yes, well, I can’t make any decisions until I see the place close up,” Alexa said, wearing her most unengaged expression. She didn’t want anyone, even her step-brother, to know how desperately she wanted this venture to work out. “But since you’re here, you at least can come with me. I hate flying.”
Alexa’s father had taught her everything he knew about hotels in particular and business in general. He’d also insisted that a smart woman adhered to the old adage of keeping her friends close and her enemies closer. She wasn’t exactly sure where her step-brother fell most of the time, but as she was on the brink of a spectacular opportunity, she’d rather not take any chances.
At least, not until she arrived on the island.
Want to read Chapter Two? Click here!—————
Comment #54, Amy Addison!
Amy, please email me (julie at julieleto dot com) with your snail mail addy so I can get that gift card right to you!
Congratulations! Remember…there are still six (possibly more!) chances left to win!
By all reports, Julie Leto was a sweet child once, somewhat shy, preferring to play quietly in her room making up stories. However, being raised with three brothers in a loud, primarily Italian household did have its influences and Julie discovered her inner tough girl. That’s probably why most of her heroines kick serious butt. Writing sassy heroines has worked out, as she’s sold nearly thirty books to three publishers featuring strong, confident women. Julie lives in Florida with her husband, daughter, spoiled dachshund, enormous guinea pig and a wide range of relatives all within driving distance.
ANOTHER WILD WEDDING NIGHT
Hard to Hold
Love Me If You Dare
Wild For Him
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Congrats Amy!
Another fabulous excerpt. You’re making me crazy here, Julie. I want this NOW.
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Awesome! Love it! Can’t wait to read more!!
Plus, I couldn’t not compliment this excerpt!!!)
(1st commentators usually don’t win, but I’ll take this for the team
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Bunny, the drawing is totally random (numbers out of a hat…though it’s technically an old vase I keep in my office!) or picked by my daughter, so you never know!
Glad you all are enjoying the book. I so wanted you all to meet my heroine!
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Ok, now I am totally hooked.
Is it Wednesday yet??
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And will Cat get her own story????
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You REALLY are hooking us in. LOL.
Who are some of your favorite authors besides your fellow monkeys? And is there one particular book that you read that you will never forget and why?
Are we supposed to enter every day? Or just entering yesterday’s post covering us? Not that I am not stopping by to get more of the excerpts.
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Congratulations, Amy!
Julie, this is just getting better and better. Color me intrigued.
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I’m ready for the next chapter! Another great excerpt. Thanks!
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Congrats Amy!
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O this is so mean I just get into it and bam I have to wait another day !!!! Julie you are one smart lady !!! I will be back tomorrow………
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Oh, now I’m going to be sounding like an NBC announcer, but I can’t help myself. Can Cat really see into Alexa’s head? Is Jacob good or bad? What will happen to Alexa when she gets to Florida?
Thanks for the fun! I’ll stay tuned.
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Woo Hoo! Another fabulous excerpt. I am completely hooked now. Can’t wait to read the next installment. Thanks for posting!
Have a great day all,
Cher
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Great chapter. I love your heroine.
Spooky castles and gypsy legends…also very cool.
I hope my Amazon order comes soon. :)
Lara
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Great excerpt. Can’t wait to get it.
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congrats to Amy.. im telling you.. this book is a must have.. i will be buying it thats for sure..
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HI julie,
yesterday I couldn’t get my computer to load the second page of yesterdays exceprt.
Today it worked go figure. I have read everything and I
Love the story. I have always loved books with a twist of the paranormal. I can’t wait to read tomorrows excerpt.
Oh and the title is Wonderful with a a capital ‘W’. Did you pick it out or did the publisher?
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Wow! Great story so far and it’s unique!!! Can’t wait for more.
Have a great day. :wave:
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My ancenstors were gypsies
great chapter!
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Congrats Amy. Loving it Julie! Can’t wait for the next chapter. I hope my bookstore puts Phantom Pleasures out early…
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Congratulations, Amy!
Yet another great excerpt, Julie! Tequila, castles, handsome princes – what’s not to love? ;-)
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Ooooooohhhhh I can’t wait to read this!!!!
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Congrats Amy.
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Wow and I thought the beginning was good!
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I found this site through Passion For the Page and have thorougly enjoyed my time here – have it listed on my favorites now!! Wonderful excerpt and can’t wait to get my hands on the book. :wave:
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ev, Cat won’t get her own story…but her story unfolds over the course of all the books. At least, that’s the plan right now! Each hero/heroine gets a complete story per book, but Cat has adventures through out.
Pat asked about my favorite authors. I have so many! But the authors whose books I run out and buy and read the minute they hit the stands include some of my best friends! The other Plotmonkeys, of course! Julie Kenner. Diana Peterfreund. Roxanne St. Claire. Stephanie Bond. Gena Showalter. JD Robb. I love Ally Carter’s YA books, as well as those by Caridad Ferrer. I buy Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez immediately on release of a book. Those are just the book sitting here on my bookshelf right now (most already read…I really need to clean the bookshelf!)
I started Roxanne’s new book, FIRST YOU RUN, last night. I’m so in love with her Aussie hero.
There are also a lot of unforgettable books in my life, but I think that Rita Clay Estrada’s THE IVORY KEY is memorable on a lot of levels. First, it was my first Temptation novel. Second, it was my first paranormal. I was mesmerized by the book and still own a highly coveted first edition. It was a time travel, too…historical hero with a contemporary heroine. I believe there was an island involved…hmmmmm…..
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Tasha! LOL, I can’t answer any of your questions!
(I know you didn’t mean for me to…it’s just awesome that you’ve picked up on all my hooks!)
I had a reviewer (yes, the same one who said the book had too much plot) remark that she knew Jacob was instantly bad the minute she met him–the villain of the book. My reply, “Oh, really?” Makes me wonder if she read all the way through to the end…
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Thanks for coming by Kara and we do hope you come back!
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You are EVIL, Julie. Evil! teasing us with chapter like this, but I don’t care, keep ‘em coming!! *grins*
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BTW, Congrats Amy!!
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I WANT THIS BOOK!
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Wonderful excerpt. Thanks for this great glimpse.
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Another great excerpt. Alexa and Catalina are both great characters.
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These are some excellent characters! Love it!
~Lindy
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It just keeps getting better and better. Thank goodness it comes out soon.
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Gypsies and spooky castles! A winning combination! I absolutely love this story Julie! I can’t wait to see tomorrow what happens next!
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Great excerpt!! I’m definitly going to have to buy this book. Can’t wait for tomorrow!!
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What a great beginning. I’ll definitely be coming back to read more. :)
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Great job, Julie — can’t wait to read the whole book!
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Enjoying the reading…I’ll be back for more tomorrow! :flower4you:
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I can’t wait to read this book!!!
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Lovin’ it!!! You do know that most of us would buy your book without advanced screenings. We are such fans!
But keep ‘em coming because it’s something to look forward to. 
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Great exerpt!
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You’ve got me hooked too, Julie! I can’t wait to keep reading!
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Great excerpt. Is the book mainly set in St augustine Florida? I grew up in St Augustine and miss living there so much. There is so much history and I bet that setting would make for a great story.
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I don’t know if anybody’s reading down this far in the comments, but just had to share…
I got a Rita call!! My book She’s No Angel finaled in the Best Contemporary Single Title category!
Woo hoo!!!
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LESLIE!!! Mega congrats!
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Julie, I’m like a moth to light….. You have drawn me in and i can’t wait to read the entire book!!!!!
i’ll be here tomorrow for the next chapter….
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Great excerpt!
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I like Alexa – bold, brassy with just the right amount of vulnerability! Cat too – as fascinating as her legacy. Jason – I’m not so sure about. But I want to know more about him too. The island sounds eerily spooky and promising. In short – I’d love to read this book!
Thanks,
aBookBlogger
A Book Blogger’s Diary
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Very interesting!
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I won! It’s like a double-treat! The excerpts are fabulous, and now…more prizes! Thank you!
Julie: I am riveted by this story!
Leslie: Congratulations!
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Awesome excerpt! I SO want to read this book!!! Love the contest too!!
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Julie, thanks for continuing the sneak peek!! Yow!
Leslie, HUGE congrats!!! WOOHOO!
And congrats, Amy! Yippee!!
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Oh, and Julie, thanks for the info on the island and other places in the book–sounds just the right amount of really interesting and intriguing without crossing over into creepy! Also, Cat sounds like a very cool character!
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It sounds so mighty cool!! :) Just loved that dialogue between them — soooo terrific!! :)
Lois
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Congrats, Amy!
Add an exotic, paranormal expert friend and a weird/evil stepbrother to the mix, and we have ourselves a story! Of course, I knew the prologue was historical and the story contemporary but I wanted my questions answered sooner, rather than later.
Exactly the thing to make a reader keep reading!
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Congrats Amy and Leslie on the RITA! Cool characters, Julie. You’ll definitely have us hooked by Friday.
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SUPER CONGRATULATIONS. LESLIE!! I HOPE YOU’RE IN THE WINNER’S CIRCLE!! YOU ROCK!!
Cher
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Oooh the more I read, the more I want to know what happens next… I like the sound of this book!!!
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Congratulations, Amy! Woo hoo, Leslie!
These characters are outstanding! Fantastic excerpt, I can hardly wait for tomorrow. I’m hooked!
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Congrats Amy! Sounds great! Adding to my wishlist!
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It’s getting better and better! Congrats Amy.
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So happy for you Leslie!!!
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Love the excerpt. Jacob sounds a little creepy.
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:lips: i hope you are working on the next book of this, cause i would sure like oone
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Wow! I’m hooked and can’t wait to read tomorrow’s chapter.
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OOoh, oOOOh, I can’t wait for more. I gotta find out the scoop on Jacob and Cat now….geez…this is going to be great, Julie!! LOL, but you do know this is teasing, right??? :dominatrix:
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Very much looking forward to more of this story. It looks really, really good – not to mention it’s written by the lovely Julie Leto. Gorgeous cover, too.
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Julie, I can not wait for this to be released already. I so want this book already. Loving the excerpts. Thanks for sharing with us. Sounds like another wonderful read by you and I love the cover for it :-)
Congratulations to yesterday
Amy :-)
Hugssss
LindaH
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I just want more…more I tell you! I can’t wait for it to come out I’m addicted already!
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I want to go out to the island with Alexa and Cat, stay in a room in that castle and learn its secrets! Pleeeze! What a great set up! I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t want to learn more about your characters…and the island…and the ghosts…and Valoren…and oh well, you get my message. I’m thoroughly hooked. Great story Julie…
Congratulations Amie!
Congratulations on the Rita call for your book “She’s No Angel” Leslie!
Lynette
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Gosh, it’s like a party here. Cool. TEASER excerpts.. you know we all want this book.
Congrats to the RITA finalists and to AMY! WTG
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Julie this is so much fun!! I’m loving this, but wish I didn’t have to wait till tomorrow for the next chapter.
Leslie :banana:
Congratulations!!!
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I can’t wait to read tomorrows installment!
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Did I say a ripping yarn? That is an understatement! Don’t get me wrong, the beginning was great and intriguing, BUT now it’s really getting fantastic with the intros of more great characters. Just wondering, as a writer, do you find you sort of warm up to the story as you go along? Sometimes, when I re-read my first couple of chapters, I wonder where my head was when I worte them. Suppose that’s what rewrites are about, right? Cheers on another great chapter! Anne
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Looks really good, Julie.
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Loved this today, it just keeps getting better and better!
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Wow Julie I didn’t think I was going to like it…I LOVED it. Now I am going back to read yesterday’s excerpt, can’t wait for more!!!
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:readdabook: This story definitely has my attention! Great excerpt!
Blessings,
Rhonda
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Congrats Amy! Wow! That was great. You left me wanting more.
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Oh, this book sounds SOOO good!!!
Congrats, Amy!!!
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Congrats, Amy!
I’m enjoying the excerpts, Julie!
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I enjoyed the excerpt, and our peek at Alexa.
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When did you say this was coming out?
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I NOW HAVE A visual. Has anyone seen the old Bob Hope/Paulette Goddard movie “Ghost Breakers’? Well there is the island and the castle! Can’t wait for tommorow!
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Next week, Estella. On the first. Though I heard through CL Wilson’s blog that someone already bought one!
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I’ll definitely be back tomorrow, same time, same Bat Channel !!
Pat Cochran
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Congrats Amy!!
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I am so hooked on this story! I love it! I can’t wait for tomorrow’s excerpt.
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Ladies,
Can someone tell me about idea of using the “Sexcapades” book at “Divine Events” in several stories, written by several authors? I know I have read 3. Janelle’s His Every Fantasy, Vicki Lewis Thompson’s and another I can’t remember by who. Are there more?
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Jeannine, the other three stories were written by Carly and me. Carly’s was a short story and mine is two novels, Blazes, LOOKING FOR TROUBLE (which actually introduces the Divine Events store) and UP TO NO GOOD. You can probably find them in a used bookstore. Carly’s story was reprinted not too long ago. Carly?
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Thanks Julie, for the info on the “Sexcapades” I look forward to reading all of your new book next week!
I have loved being introduced to all of you through the “Bad Boy” and “Christmas” anthologies. Now I’m hooked! A steamy novel and a margarita. Life doesn’t get any better. Now if only someone would clean the house so I can continue to READ!
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This keeps you coming back for more.
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Congratulations Leslie!!
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wow
::jots down another must have book for my future shopping list::
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Wow. I definitely want to read more.
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Congratulations to both Amy and Leslie. That’s fantastic about you making finalist, Leslie.
As for the excerpt, it definitely has me hooked. Introducing Jacob at the end of the chapter really has me impatient for the next chapter. The fact that he appears as such an enigma, even to Alexa, makes me want to know what his angle is.
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I’m loving this one already! Can’t wait to pick it up
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CONGRATULATIONS AMY. STILL LOVING TO READ THE STORY.
ALICE IN TEXAS
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All I have to say is AWESOME!! I can’t wait for tomorrow. As others have said I am hooked. I have a question, I am sure you have been asked this many times but how do you come up with your names for for your characters?
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Wow, this is so cool that you’re doing this. Honestly, I haven’t read it yet, I’m in AZ visiting my mom and I just wanted to stop by real quick and see what was happening in the jungle. This is not a real quick thing
so I’ll be back later tonight and read yesterday and today’s post. Thanks for giving us this wonderful advance reading of the first couple of chapters!
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Very cool!
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Pabast, usually, I hit the tried and true baby name books and I usually look them up by time period and nationality. There are a lot of English and French names in this book…except for Cat, who is Latina. Sometimes, names just come to me. Damon has been Damon since I first came up with this story 15 years ago (yes, 15 years!) but Alexa was not. Her name was Brynna. I had to change it because I created a character named Brynn in my Marisela stories who was very unique. It took me a long time to settle on Alexa’s name.
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Jules, this chapter was awesome…I am really interested in finding out the back story of Cat and Alexa’s step-brother…seems like a lot of sparks are going to fly between them throughout…Alexa seems to be one cool chica…sex is overrated she says, so since it is you, I am thinking that she is going to get the best reintroduction to it in the best way possible…can’t wait to see what happens next…I should go and check the mail to see if Amazon mailed my pre-ordered copy yet…I just can’t wait…I have really gotten into paranormal/fantasy stuff these days…why does it seem that the sex is always better in these book? Well done and I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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I couldn’t wait to get to this after the hectic day I’ve had. I’m hooked. Really enjoying this. I get more tomorrow, right?
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CONGRATULATIONS LESLIE…I am so happy for you….
…
Amy, I neglected to congratulate you too…sorry about that…I was distracted by yet another wonderful teaser by Jules…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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congrats amy and this chapter just whets my appitite even more.
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Kudos, Leslie – I love your books. Those Santorini books were the best. Read them all.
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Loved it Julie!!
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LOVE IT!
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Yay Amy! Big congrats to you!
Julie, I am soooo loving the chapters. Can’t wait till tomorrow!
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Hi Julie! I went to the doc’s today so after I sneaked in and checked if the book was out yet (I know, not to buy until release day, I just wanted to pet the cover) but sadly it wasn’t out yet, so back to bedrest I went.
Gosh, this is so good! I know you probably hearing this alot, but its so hard to put into words when reading this so far, what its been like reading this! I’m so immersed in this that at the end of reading just now, I felt like in my hand I wanted to turn it over to the next page! Looking forward to Wed!
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now that sounds really awesome…i should really buy this soon
whenever it comes out
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;ike the sound of the book :flamer:
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I just read the prologue and first chapter the story looks like it will be great. A very interesting concept. :grin1: :grin1:
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wtg amy
:elf: 
:banana:
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OK ~ going to have to pre-order now… tonight!