Among their talented authors is award-winning Lauren Hunter. Her new release is THE COFFEE SHOP has an impressive collection of rave reviews. This compelling novel is one you don’t want to miss.
For those of you not familiar with Lauren, she writes Regency and paranormal romance novels, with plans to expand into a variety of other genres, including time travel, angel, ghost, and contemporary romance.
Besides novels, Lauren also writes poetry and short stories. Her poems appear in anthologies from England, Holland, and the US. Showcased in The International Library of Poetry's anthologies, she received the Editor's Choice Award and was published in The International Who's Who of Poetry 2004.
THE COFFEE SHOP
Lauren Hunter
ISBN 978-1-61937-002-9
Musa Publishing
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BLURB:
Meeting and falling in love with Annie Maddock was more than Derrick Sloane could ever hope for---too bad it was only a dream...or was it.
If Derrick thought experiencing alternate timelines and glimpses into the future was strange then he had no idea it was about to get far more strange than he ever imagined.
Meeting and falling in love with Annie Maddock was more than Derrick Sloane could ever hope for. Too bad it was only a dream. So you can imagine his shock when he literally meets the girl of his dreams in the very same coffee shop. Realizing that dream foretold their relationship five months into the future, and that every time he meets her while awake he alters that perfect future, he tries to fix it.
Can he fix what he has changed? Should he even try? Given the opportunity to see two alternate futures can he choose one over the other? Could you…?
EXCERPT:
There was a rap at the door. “Your hot chocolate is ready.”
“Thanks, I’ll be right down.”
There was a pause. “You sure you’re all right?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I can hear something in your voice.”
“In my voice? What are you, part dog or something?”
Derrick chuckled. “There might be a girl from college that may just agree with you on that.” Again there was a pause. “May I come in?”
“Actually, I was about to get dressed.”
“So, you’re saying you’re not decent?”
“No, I’m wearing a bathrobe.”
“Well good, because I’m coming in.”
“No, Derrick…” But he had already opened the door, and setting the cocoa
aside he came over standing before her as she sat on the bed.
“Okay, now I know something’s wrong. Annie, why didn’t you tell me how bad you hurt yourself?”
“It’s not that bad. I’m not about to make a big deal out of nothing.”
“You don’t need to be brave for me. If anything it’s really important that you be as honest as you can, with both yourself, and me, about this. I don’t want you doing any more damage because you are trying to force yourself to do something you shouldn’t be.”
“All right, I’ll admit, my ankles are a little sore. I must have stretched the muscles or something.”
“It looks like they are a lot more than a little sore.”
“Well you know what they say. A sprain is a lot more painful than a break. Although that would obviously depend on the break. But I’ve sprained something, and I’ve broken something, and I’d have to agree with that assessment, the sprain was much more painful. But as far as that goes this isn’t even that bad.”
“Pain is our body’s way of telling us we are hurt.” Derrick looked concerned.
“You do realize you sound like Mr. Rogers?”
“Those people that feel you have to be in pain to accomplish something.” He shook his head.
“Well, I’ll agree with you on that score.”
“If they hurt you need to stay off them. You don’t want to make it worse.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Well, look at it this way, by using them while they’re sore you will probably lengthen the time it takes for them to heal.”
The idea of experiencing what she was now for any longer than she absolutely had to, was not an appealing concept, to say the least. “I’ll try to take it as easy as I can.”
“Try?”
“Well I am not going to spend the remainder of the weekend in this bed.”
“No need.”
“What are you saying?”
Before she had a chance to reply, Derrick had slipped one arm beneath her knees, the other around her back and under her arms.
“Whoa! What are you doing?”
“Well, I would have thought that was obvious.”
“Oh, you have to be kidding me.”
“What makes you think that?”
“You are not serious.”
“Completely.”
“What? So, you’re going to carry me everywhere?”
“Pretty much.”
“Oh now that’s just too much!”
He was already lifting her into his arms as though she was nothing, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her out the door and onto the balcony. He was wearing a sweater but she could still feel his taut and rippling muscles beneath it. The muscles in his arms flexing against her as he carried her carefully down the stairs. The heat from his body reached through her bathrobe as she held her face close to his, the scent of soap and aftershave wafting up around her as he grasped her tightly to him. Setting her on the sofa next to the fire, he turned his face to hers. For a moment they just stayed like that, holding each other, their lips close as his eyes moved down her face to her mouth.
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Learn more about Lauren Hunter on her website and her blog. Lauren is also on facebook and has a Fan Page. If you Tweet, it’s easy to catch up with Lauren on Twitter.
I’ll be back Wednesday with a new menu. Until then…
Happy Reading!
Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey...Hotter than Hell
Lauren sounds great. I will have to check out her books and poems.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Melissa, I believe you'll enjoy both.:)
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