Oh Hey! Books.: September 2018

The Man on the Train

Over the course of her lifelong search for the perfect man, Devon had learned two things: 1) There were perfect men in the world, and 2) they were not interested in her.

Those men usually went for her best friend, or they already had a girlfriend, or she just wasn’t their type. “You’re too nice,” a “perfect” guy had told her once. “I need someone who’s a little less … nice.” He wanted the bad girl. Devon had tried to be the bad girl, but it hadn’t worked out so well. Leather made her hot and itchy, and she’d nearly thrown up while sitting in a chair waiting to get a tattoo. In the end, she’d fled the scene, inkless.

She assumed this meant she was destined to be alone like her Aunt Mary, who she was on her way to visit by train this very evening.

The man sitting across from her on the train was perfect. She could tell. Maybe it was just that he looked perfect, but that was enough for the moment. He stared out the window, his hand fisted and pressing against his chin and mouth. His brows sank low over his eyes, and his dark, curly hair hung just over the collar of his long, gray trench coat.

Devon wondered if he was traveling to Scotland, as she was. Or would he disembark at Darlington or Durham? It hardly mattered. She would never know him. She’d only have the luxury of staring at him for the few remaining hours that the train was in motion, and then they would part ways, and she’d never see him again. Wasn’t that the way it always was?

When she’d boarded the train at King’s Cross Station that evening, the train had been standing room only. Now, two hours later, the train had cleared out, and she’d taken a seat next to this heartbreakingly attractive man.

But it was Halloween, and she was on an adventure. If she’d been at home, she’d have been sitting with her flatmate in their tiny flat, eating popcorn, and watching horror films.

The train’s brakes squealed as it began to slow, and her purse fell from beside her and onto the floor. Her cell phone shot from the opening and under the seat of the gorgeous man sitting across from her.

He had not quit staring out the window, even as the train howled to a halt and stopped altogether.

Devon shifted forward. “Excuse me.”

The man turned. His dark eyes touched hers, and something in her belly flipped. Yes. Definitely perfect.

“I-I’m sorry, but my phone slid under your seat.”

Without dropping his gaze, he reached under his seat and retrieved the lost phone. He handed it to her.

“Thank you.”

He smiled a little. “We’ve stopped.”

Devon nodded, glanced out the window into the darkness. “We’re somewhere near Darlington, I think.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the muffled announcement reverberated through the carriage. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be stopping here momentarily. Please do not leave your seats. If you are in the food car, please remain there until we give you further instructions. As soon as the situation is resolved, we hope to be on our way again shortly. Alternatively, we will move you to another train if the need arises.”

“Must be mechanical problems,” Devon said.

The stranger nodded slowly, his eyes fastened to hers. “Must be.”

Moments ticked by. The couple in the seat behind her grumbled about the delay. Everyone was in such a hurry. But she wasn’t. No, once the train was on its way again, the beautiful stranger would be that much closer to parting ways with her.

“Are you going to Edinburgh?” Devon asked.

“Not quite that far. Just to Newcastle.”

He had a low, melodious voice that rippled through her. She swallowed. The man’s dark stare was so intense. “Family there?”

“No.”

She waited, but he didn’t elaborate. Okay. Obviously, he wasn’t going to reveal much about himself.

“I’m headed to Edinburgh,” she offered. “Visiting my aunt.”

He nodded, his gaze remained fixed on her.

She looked away. Her body heated as weird, wild snippets of fantasy ran through her mind. The lights going out in the train, two strangers grappling in the dark, kissing, unclothing one another, silent writhing in the darkness. She shook her head. Where had that come from? When she glanced up again, he was still staring.

“Do you ever wonder about the safety of public transportation?” he asked. “I mean before you get on a train or a plane or a bus, do you ever stop and think—this could be the last time I do this? There could be a terrible accident. I might not make it off of this.”

“Not really.” Strange line of conversation, but she was willing to go for it. Anything to keep talking with this guy.

“Is that because you’re young?” He continued, arching a dark eyebrow. “You assume you’ll live because you’re too young to die.”

Devon shrugged, and a strange, prickly sensation prodded at her skin. “I don’t know. Maybe. How old are you?” She would have guessed he was mid-twenties. Thirty at the most.

“Older than I look.”

“Okay.” She’d never been good at determining ages anyway. It really didn’t matter how old he was. He was perfect. Whether he was twenty or forty, he still made her heart flutter.

The train began to move again, but slowly.

“We’re moving again,” Devon said, slightly disappointed. She turned back to the man, determined to maximize whatever time they had. “What do you do … for work, I mean.”

His mouth twitched into a smile. “I’m a vampire.”

Oh, ha-ha. Right. It was Halloween. Even so … wow. This guy really didn’t want her to know anything about him.

The train inched into the station, and as Devon glanced out the window, she glimpsed the sign for Darlington.

Another garbled announcement vibrated the walls of the carriage. “Passengers for Darlington, please disembark at the station. Passengers traveling on to Edinburgh, please disembark and transfer to the train on the opposite platform.”

Devon locked eyes with the vampire sitting across from her. “I guess that means we’re switching trains.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

He stood, and so did she. The back of his tall, lean body was in full view as he turned and filed down the aisle. Devon quickly followed, but when she reached the luggage receptacle, her bag jammed against another’s, and it took her a few minutes to pull it from the tight space. In the meantime, the perfect vampire had left the carriage and disappeared into the mix of people milling around the station.

She suppressed the disappointment. Now she’d have to look for him in the next train. Otherwise, so much for her shot at the perfect man.

A crowd had gathered just in front of the train, and Devon stared down the length of the platform, where police darted in and out of the last carriage, calling out orders for everyone to keep moving, stay away from the carriage car. Emergency technicians quickly followed them, and all around, the air echoed with sounds of concern.

Devon turned to a middle-aged woman standing next to her. “What happened?”

The woman stared at her. “Did you just get off that train, love?” She pointed at the door from which Devon had just exited.

Devon nodded. “Yeah.”

The woman patted her arm. “You’re that lucky.

Devon glanced again at the last carriage as two emergency techs carried two stretchers out … and were those … bodies that they were transporting, covered with sheets? “What happened?” she asked again.

The woman’s brows knitted. “I overheard one of the police say that there were four dead people on that carriage. Killed. A Halloween murder spree.” She shook her head.

Devon felt a chill run through her. A murder spree. How was that possible? On the very train she’d been sitting on moments before… talking to the perfect man.

The woman continued. “All of the bodies drained of blood.”

Devon’s breath caught in her throat. “What?” At that moment, she looked up at the train on the opposite platform. In the window of the first carriage sat her perfect man, his dark eyes staring out at her, a slight smile gracing his lips.

She found she couldn’t move until the man in the window had passed by her, and she’d missed her train.

The Meadows
Legacy of Darkness
Book One
London Clarke

Genre: Gothic suspense; supernatural thriller

Publisher: Carfax Abbey Publishing

Date of Publication: October 2018

ISBN: 9781386765233

Cover Artist: Stephen Lee Designs

Tagline: Bed, breakfast, and blood.

Book Description: A decades-old murder. A strange, blood-thirsty cult. And a house full of spirits.

It was supposed to be a new beginning, a fresh start in the Shenandoah Valley, where Scarlett’s memories weren’t riddled with drug addiction and rehab. But after purchasing an abandoned house with a checkered past in the hopes of transforming it into a luxury bed and breakfast, strange things start to happen. Disturbing voices and noises interrupt her new life. Strangers appear to her, bearing cryptic warnings. A tunnel is discovered underneath the house—one historically used for a local cult’s rituals. After several of Scarlett’s guests are hospitalized after visiting the underground, she finds herself targeted by violent spirits.

Driven to the edge of despair, Scarlett vows to fight back—but she has no idea what she’s really battling. And her nightmare is just beginning…

The Meadows is a gripping supernatural thriller in which the monsters may be vampires, demons, or flesh and blood. It is a nightmare that will make you believe it could easily happen to you.

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About the Author:

Obsessed with vampires and haunted houses from a young age, London grew up reading gothic tales featuring romantic and tragic heroes. Wuthering Heights and Dracula are her favorite novels, and although now happily married, she readily confesses that she is a recovering runaway, who once moved to England in search of a man who was the perfect amalgamation of Dracula, Hamlet, Heathcliff, and Mr. Rochester. London holds a B.A. in Music and M.F.A in Creative Writing. She’s had an eclectic array of jobs including receptionist, legal secretary, literary assistant, high school English teacher, and freelance editor.

London lives in a Washington, DC suburb with her husband and three greyhounds. She’s happiest when she’s writing novels, reading books, or binge watching her favorite programs like The Vampire Diaries or Being Human.

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Promise Me Forever
Jennifer Woodhull
(Promise, #3)
Publication date: November 8th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

He Knows How Lucky He Is…
That Doesn’t Mean He’s Happy
There are a hundred guys in Nashville who would kill to be in Rome’s shoes. He’s a damn good guitar player, and in Nashville, that means one thing – country music is his bread and butter. Rome’s passion is classical guitar, though, and in Guitar Town, those gigs are few and far between.
His brother-in-law offers to get him an audition with an artist in the United Kingdom who needs a guitarist to play classical and Celtic music with her on tour. The opportunity is a dream come true. When Rome meets Lauren, the brooding and mysterious musician, though, he finds out the tour may be more than he bargained for. He’s the magnet to her broken steel. Lauren’s painful past keeps her at arms’ length. Is the promise of forever one Rome can really keep? Or will he end up leaving her behind, just like everyone else?

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Author Bio:
We all need moments of escape. With all the demands on us day in and day out, we each need something just for ourselves. Perhaps nothing provides a private moment - a brief respite from the everyday - like escaping into a great story. When you pick up one of my books I hope you find that place that you can escape to. Explore the streets of Paris with new heroines, or fly around the world to reclaim your lost love with a favorite hero. Whether it's the romance that takes your breath away or those climactic encounters that make your pulse race, I hope you find that solitary moment of enjoyment while lost in one of my stories.
Jennifer Woodhull is based in the Southern United States, spending time in her second home of England, and traveling as often as she can. Her love of travel permeates her work, and her characters often find themselves exploring new and foreign surroundings.
A keen observer of human behavior, Jennifer often draws inspiration from something as simple as a fleeting connection, or the glimpse of a unique trait or characteristic. Her favorite place to write is on airplanes.
"The drone of the engine, the scores of people, all traveling to something or from something, and being disconnected from digital distractions are a combination that provide the perfect place to write," she says. "If you see a woman in seat 9F who is balancing her Macbook on her lap because it's time to close your tray table, please have patience. I'm just trying to finish one more sentence."

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On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Political Parties

Rachel Magee

Contemporary Sweet Romance

Paperback & ebook, 246 pages

September 25th 2018 by Clean Reads

Planning one amazing party is more complicated than it sounds.

Reece Ryan is known as the best wedding planner in town, but it’s time to take her company to the next level. Getting the contract from a prestigious law firm to plan their upcoming political related events is just the break she needs to prove that she can put together more than just the perfect nuptials. Sure, these events which will receive national coverage might be slightly out of her league, but it’s nothing she can’t handle. Managing the hotshot lawyer the firm has tasked as their liaison for the project is a whole other story.
Griffith Brighton always thought the start of his political career would come from hard work and his brilliant legal mind, not throwing some fancy party. But when the firm’s managing partner asks him to work with the event coordinator to organize a fundraiser dinner for the presidential candidate, he knows it’s the opportunity he’s been waiting for to get in front of some major political players. After years of goal setting and career planning, his future finally seems to be coming together …until two weeks of working with Reece make him reconsider everything he thought to be true about life and falling in love.

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Party Planning 101: Taking your Party to the Outdoor Festival

One of my favorite parts of my new book Political Parties is when Griffith and Reece head to the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the hot air balloons and the crisp fall air, things between them really start to heat up.

But you don’t have to hop a plane to Albuquerque to enjoy an outdoor festival this fall. With the cooler weather, this is the season when outdoor festivals start popping up everywhere, and it’s the perfect excuse to take your party on location. This is the ultimate easy entertaining solution to gathering all your friends together.

I love outdoor festivals because many times they offer free or relatively cheap entertainment. The hardest part sometimes can be finding out about it. Local newspapers, neighborhood websites or social media are great ways to find out about upcoming events in your area.

Once you know about it, invite your friends! This is a great way to entertain without having to do a lot of work. Invite several friends to go with you and set up a designated time and meeting spot. Poof. Instant party. And you don’t even have to clean your house.

Keep the cost down by bringing your own picnic. Some festivals don’t allow you to bring in your own food, so check this out beforehand. But if outside food and drinks are allowed, pack a small cooler full of things you can share and are picnic friendly. Some of my favorites are chips and dips, a charcuterie tray or easy fruits and veggies such as carrot sticks and grapes. And, in my experience, most people won’t say no to a brownie. But many parks have a no glass policy, so make sure to pack your treats in shatter proof containers.

And don’t forget the chairs! Setting up a sort of home base allows your friends to have a place to gather together while also having the freedom to explore and come back. Bring along a blanket. It will provide plenty of places for people to sit and doesn’t require a lot of effort to get it there.

And lastly, enjoy! Gathering your friends and family at an outdoor festival is a great way to make lasting memories.

Are you planning on going to a festival this fall? Tell us about it in the comments!

Rachel

About the Author

Rachel wrote her first novel when she was twelve and entered it into a contest for young author/illustrators. Unfortunately, the judges weren’t impressed with her stick figures. So she dropped the dream of becoming a world famous illustrator and stuck to spinning stories. When she’s not busy working on her latest book, she loves to travel with her family and friends. By far, her favorite destination is the beach, which tends to work its way into most of her stories. Between vacations, you can find her at home in The Woodlands, TX with her wonderful husband, their two adventurous kids and a couple of spirited pets, all of whom share Rachel’s love of the ocean. Well, except the cat and dog. They’re both afraid of water. Find out more about what Rachel has been up to at rachelmageebooks.com.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Google+│Newsletter

Tour Schedule

September 24th:

Launch

underneath the covers

Remembrancy

September 25th:

Colorimetry

Jorie Loves A Story

Katie's Clean Book Collection

September 26th:

My Life Loves and Passion

Wishful Endings

September 27th:

Rockin' Book Reviews

Heidi Reads...

Getting Your Read On

September 28th:

Oh Hey Books

Reading On The Edge

Bookworm Lisa

September 29th:

Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

Prize Party Pack (US residents only):

Everything you need to throw your own party and gather your people:

· Pillow with "gather"

· Decorative Fall Scented Candle

· Brownie Truffle Baking Mix

· English Butter Fudge

$25 Amazon e-gift card (US and International residents)

Giveaway ends October 3rd

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