Love's Required by Aja

 Only Love Can Heal What's Broken ...

Camille "Cami" Douglas doesn't have it all figured out. In fact, she is known for making a lot of mistakes in the name of living-it-up and following her free spirit, but this time she has bumped her head and broken her own heart in a way that has taken its toll. She's done. 

Logan Graham, also known as "Angel" by fellow paramedics, has issues of his own, but his came from a 911 call he responded to months ago that still gives him nightmares and makes him avoid the people closest to him. 

Two people, each broken apart by life's choices and circumstances, form a deep friendship because of one's need to be saved and the other's need to be hero. Both have to learn to use LOVE to heal old wounds and to redeem their battered souls.

Love's Required debuts January 18th

Buy link: http://bit.ly/AjaLove

About Aja:

Aja is the writer of sensually erotic and passionate women’s fiction. Her stories allow readers to experience realistic, inspiring, and soulful interactions and intense passion while overcoming life’s challenges. She is inspired by soulful music and sensual art to craft her stories. Her published works include the Love & Passion series and the Unexpected series with Roy Glenn. 

Author Links: 
Aja's website: http://www.ajathewriter.com

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Aja/e/B00K30K138/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aja_thewriter/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AjaTheWriter

FB Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/ajawriter/

Sign up for Aja's mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/cnEs1f

Sample Sunday ... The Thick of Things #NewRelease

The Thick of Things was released this Friday and I'm grateful that people are reading this story, which marinated in my mind for a few years before I ever wrote one word. Life changes make Khalila Skyers gun-shy but Douglas Blythe is just the person she needs to make her take stock, get her mind off her grief, and start living again.

Here's an excerpt from this brand new read ...

Douglas squinted at me, disapproval in his deep-brown eyes and every line that appeared on his forehead. “Why are you so defensive?”

I put a hand to my forehead and let out my breath. “You’re not listening to me. This whole thing doesn’t matter. It’s in the past. Let it go.”

“Not a chance.”

I moved back by a step. “What?”

“I said no.”

Shaking my head, and unable to hold back the laughter trickling from me, I stared at him. “That’s just weird. You can’t tell me no.”

“I already did.”

I shrugged and stood straight. “You know what? It doesn’t even matter. You’re free to do exactly what you want.”

He put both hands in his pockets and stared back at me. “You don’t have to tell me. I know that.”

“Douglas…” I paused to gather my thoughts, feeling foolish that I’d started talking without knowing exactly what I wanted to say. The man staring back at me was that frustrating to deal with.

He raised his eyebrows and assumed an expectant expression. “Yes?”

Stop this.” I lowered my voice as I pleaded. “Please.”

He smiled and swung on the balls of his feet before going motionless. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“What?” I said, moving sideways as a family of four tourists passed us, going toward the elevator.

Only then did it occur to me that we were conspicuous, standing between the corridor and the open space in front of the elevators. I hoped nobody we knew would see us before I got rid of him.

My mind came back to our conversation with a jolt when he said, “Has it crossed your mind that I might actually be interested in you?”

Continue reading Douglas & Khalila's story by getting a copy of the book at any of these outlets.

❖Amazon: https://buff.ly/2IveYcS   
❖B & N: https://buff.ly/2FZgu8t  
❖iBooks: https://buff.ly/2FLewFr
❖Kobo: https://buff.ly/2tSuhJp

The Thick of Things is here!

Today is the day that the reading public meets Douglas and Khalila, a couple who meet each other under less-than-perfect circumstances, but move on to make the best of their situation. If a story filled with mature characters is to your liking, then you will enjoy The Thick of Things. lrd,to/ttothings 

TAGLINE: When love takes you by storm, hang on for the ride of your life.

BLURB: Life has a way of going awry when you least expect it, and Khalila Skyers learns this lesson the hard way. In one devastating blow after another, she loses her cosy existence. Then Douglas Blythe overtakes her life like a flood, and she’s not equipped to deal with an attraction that seems forbidden and overwhelming. But her body and heart want what they want, and leave her wondering if she ever knew herself at all.  

Douglas is determined to help Khalila move beyond her obsession with the past and reach for love a second time. No matter how long it takes. No matter the distance. He’s going to prove he’s worth the risk. 

GENRE: women's fiction with romantic elements, contemporary romance

Excerpt: 

We watched each other as we drank from our glasses. When we placed them on the table, Douglas wrapped one hand around my arm and sat closer. He was going to kiss me.

My breathing went raspy and I licked my lip.

As Douglas’s lips covered mine, I sucked in a breath. His skin against mine was a teasing whisper and the hairs of his moustache were downy. He planted a soft kiss on my lips and then another.

My mouth opened and Douglas’s hand went to the back of my head, holding me still. His tongue met mine in a bold, demanding move. I made a soft sound in my throat and laid my hands on his chest. The cognac on his tongue and the wine in my belly made for a drugging recipe.

Douglas deepened the kiss and I knew if we didn’t stop, I would be in danger of doing something stupid. His other hand settled on my knee and my heart took off like a runaway train.

I laid my hand on his as a deterrent, but he made no move to take things further.

He continued to seduce me, laving my tongue with his in lengthy kisses that had me wanting more of him. With his fingertips, Douglas stroked the back of my neck in circles that had me squirming. A warning bell jangled in my head, but I was too far gone to think about anything but how wonderful it felt to be with this man. Our lips separated and he laid a soft trail of kisses to my ear, then sucked the lobe into his mouth. The brush of his moustache against my skin made me shiver.

This second would have been a good time to end what was sure to be a disaster if it went any further, but I was undone. The tip of his tongue traced my outer ear, and when he whispered my name, I raised my head to stare into his eyes. After a silent but intense exchange, I nodded.

He got up and stretched his hand to me.

I slipped mine into his.

Douglas—and the heat between us—was the only thing that existed now and I wanted him more than I had wanted anything for the longest time. I sighed again, knowing that at this point, there was no going back.

Buy Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thick-Things-Media-Res-Book-ebook/dp/B07B7B8JY2

B & N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-thick-of-things-jl-campbell/1128105800?ean=2940159080509

iBooks: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book//the-thick-of-things/id1353238245?l=en&mt=11&at=

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-thick-of-things

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Thick-Things-Media-Res-Book-ebook/dp/B07B7B8JY2

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thick-Things-Media-Res-Book-ebook/dp/B07B7B8JY2

Shades of Love Anthology is Live! #MulticulturalRomance #NewRelease

I have exciting news! Today is release day for the Shades of Love boxed set! We are live on Amazon!

Love knows no boundaries and bridges the gap between creed and culture. Whether prince or pauper, beauty or beast, cupid entangles unsuspecting hearts. From the exchange of a glance to the throes of romance, follow these couples as they discover that love has no limits. Indulge your taste for adventure with ten diverse tales from familiar and exotic parts of the globe.  

“Shades of Love” is brought to you by a select group of ten award-winning and best-selling writers, whose stories feature couples who close the cultural divide through their love.  

Claiming Lana - Reana Malori 
Jake Bradford and Lana Miller are two strong-willed people who seem to be sworn enemies. That all changes in the blink of an eye when they’re thrown together for an important project. When passion simmers just under the surface, the outcome is not what either of them could have expected, but exactly what they needed.

Reana Malori is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of sensual and contemporary romance. She weaves stories that pull the reader into her world and to share in her universe, even if only for a short time. Her stories feature women you’d love to hang out with and men who love them with everything they have.


Caliente Nights - Suzette Riddick 
Nursery school teacher Jeanette Adams and athlete Alonzo Castro are immediately attracted to each other. He is aware of his Cuban mother's disapproval, but it's not enough to keep him from pursuing the African American beauty.

Suzette Riddick enjoys writing romance novels with real life situations readers can relate to. She’s an Amazon bestselling author of African American Romance. In 2013, she was nominated for an Emma Award and was a featured author in USA Today ~ Happily Ever After. 



The Blind Shot – J.L. Campbell
Kofi Danquah and Regina Chu are settlers in a foreign land, but the one thing they have in common is their attraction to each other. As their relationship moves from platonic to passionate, so does their families’ opposition to their love … but Kofi and Regina want what comes naturally and they won’t be denied.

J.L. Campbell is an award-winning, Jamaican author who writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, sweet romance, women's fiction, as well as new and young adult novels. She is a certified editor, who also writes non-fiction. 

When East Meets West - Annamaria Bazzi
Winter Portobello, a coed from a faith-based Italian family falls in love with a fellow student, Samir Chamas, a Lebanese immigrant. Together, Samir and Winter must prove their love to be as strong as the hearts that bind them, despite the cultural and religious differences that threaten to destroy the Chamas family.

Annamaria Bazzi - Love is an important part of life, not just something to be experienced but also to be read. After thirty-one years of marriage, and still going strong, Annamaria Bazzi believes in the happily ever after. This strong belief transcends into her romance novels—every person deserves his and her own happily ever after. Annamaria writes contemporary romances to bring new love experiences to her readers. She also writes young adult sci-fi/fantasy and dabbles in paranormal short stories.

Would Smell As Sweet - Janae Keyes
Sick of feeling like a prisoner in her own home, Shayna moves the small town of Cotton Springs, Texas. She puts the pieces of her life back together and finds romance, but Happily Ever After only lasts until Shayna's stalker finds her hiding place and turns her dream into a nightmare.

Janae Keyes is an American mom, wife, and hopeless romantic living in Europe. She loves to explore various cultures coming together through the magic of love. Residing in a suburb of Brussels, Belgium, with her husband and daughter, Janae loves to share her passion for romance with others. 


Postcards from Havana - Toye Lawson-Brown
Arlene Joy never expected to win a five-day trip to Havana, Cuba. After meeting Arlene at a fiesta, Vincenté Martinez is happy he came home.

Toye Lawson- Brown is an Amazon bestselling author of multicultural romance novels. In 2014 she was nominated by the B.R.A.B Book Club for Breakout Author of the Year.

Third Base - P.C. Zick
Baseball star Tomas Vegas loses focus on his game when he meets Adriana Moretti from a tight-knit Italian family. When she falls for the handsome Puerto Rican, their families attempt to pull them apart, which only brings them closer together.

P.C. Zick - Bestselling and award-winning author, P.C. Zick, creates contemporary romances with a social consciousness. She describes herself as a storyteller no matter what she writes. Strong female leads, handsome and heroic men, and descriptive settings grace more than a dozen published novels. 

The Best Game – Hebby Roman

After years apart, Liana De Leon and Damian Escobedo meet again in their San Antonio hometown. Liana wants to escape her high-profile life, but coming home isn't working out the way she planned. Instead of the quiet life she envisions, the city's most eligible bachelor is set on winning her heart and making all her dreams come true. 


Hebby Roman is a New York traditionally published, small-press published, and Indie published #1 Amazon best-selling author of both historical and contemporary romances. Her book, “Border Heat,” was a Los Angeles Times Book Festival selection. She has been a RONE Finalist three times and in three different categories. 



Small Town Boy - Caroline Bell-Foster
They were first loves, but tragedy struck before Kerry and Noah could explore their lives further. Years later, can the British politician and the American Country singer ever re-connect?

Caroline Bell Foster is an international bestselling, multi award-winning British author of diverse romantic fiction and named as one of the most influential people in culture & entertainment in the East Midlands, England. 




Sometimes Money Ain’t Enough - Stacey-Deanne 
Raquel Hood has everything a woman could want; money, beauty, and an entire town under her command. But after meeting Tobias, Raquel realizes that sometimes money ain’t enough.

Stacy-Deanne (Dee-Anne) is an award-winning author of sensual romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and women's fiction books. She's written Amazon Top 100 bestsellers, and her work has been praised and reviewed in USA Today numerously. Stacy's books are full of passion, thrills, intriguing characters and so much emotion you can't get enough! If you want something different and unpredictable then definitely check out her work. 

Get your copy of Shades of Love at $0.99 on Amazon or with your subscription on Kindle Unlimited. Find the boxed set at: lrd.to/shades-of-love

See How Ayisha & Vance Win The Long Game!

On Friday, The Long Game hit the Amazon platform. Like every other story, theirs is unique and took me to places I hadn't gone before as a writer. It is my hope that you'll enjoy their story. 

Blurb:

Aside from a brief stint of madness during their teen years, Vance James and Ayisha Glenn are not each other's idea of relationship material. Vance, a financial analyst and avid golfer, is preoccupied with getting his fill of women, and finding that special someone doesn't factor into his plans. Yet all it takes to turn his world upside down is one remark from Ayisha about his lifestyle. Suddenly, his focus shifts and he's spending his days trying to prove he can be the man she needs.

Ayisha is a go-getter who knows what she's about—a successful business, a lifetime with the man of her dreams, and children to complete the picture. Vance is an expert at romance, but with Ayisha it's all or nothing. She's waited years for Vance to stop chasing the wind in pursuit of what's already in front of him. Now that he's set his heart on having her, will she accept his love? 

Get your copy of The Long Game. 

Aaaaaand if you don't want to miss another release, be sure to follow me on Bookbub.

Sample Sunday ... Dissolution: A Marriage in Crisis

It's been a while since this blog saw some action, but despite that, I've been majorly busy. This weekend saw the re-release of an oldie but goodie, Dissolution, which was previously with a publisher. It's a story that's dear to my heart and the picture below captures the essence of the major plotline. A sample is also posted below.

Justin was the last drop-off, as usual. When he stood outside the van, he slung his knapsack over one shoulder, slid the door closed and said, "Hold on, Mommy."

He walked around the front of the vehicle and stood beside the driver's window.

"I know," he said.

She tried smiling. "What d'you think you know, Justin?"

"That boy is Daddy's son."

He moved the knapsack to his other shoulder. "He looks too much like us not to be. Plus, both of you are acting weird, which tells me something big is up."

Sherryn gripped the wheel and waited for her throat to open up, but what could she say? She couldn't deny the truth, and refused to lie to her son. Not that he'd asked a question. Justin had made a simple statement of fact.

He hugged her around the neck and kissed her cheek, right there in the driveway with students passing them both ways. Then, he murmured something in her ear that he hadn't told her in a long time. "I love you, Mommy."

Tears stung her eyes and wet her cheeks, but she answered. "I love you too, baby."

 She lowered her head, ashamed of breaking down in front of him.

Smiling despite the sorrow in his eyes, Justin patted her shoulder. "Things'll work out. You'll see."

She cupped the side of his face, blinking to clear her vision. "Thanks for being my bestest son."

 He grinned at their oldest, corniest joke from when he was her only child. "And you're still the bestest Mommy in the whole of Jamaica."

He walked away, reminding her so much of Reece it hurt to look at him. Justin liked to consider himself a roughneck, which made him cool among his friends, but Sherryn was acutely aware that the little boy in their home had experienced the harshness of life firsthand, having lived in the ghetto.

Justin knew nothing of that life and probably couldn't imagine the hardships that came with living hand-to-mouth. Still, his attitude told her he had matured and would someday be a considerate and sensitive man.

She rested her head on her hands, working out her next move. It didn't take long before she found a stopgap that would clear her mind for a while.

Dissolution is available on Amazon and Smashwords, among other places.

Who's Your Hero is Monday & The IAR Train Moves On ...

Monday is the day when we share information about the heroes in our lives. 

As Michelle Wallace puts it:

EVERYBODY has a hero/heroine. It can be real-life or a fictional hero/heroine.

Here is a list to get you thinking...
1.  The Perfect Hero
2.  The Misfit
3.  The Grizzled Old-Timer
4.  The Everyman
5.  The Anti-Hero
6.  The Prodigy
7.  The Loner Hero
8.  The Tragic Hero

I'm sure that's enough to get those creative juices flowing. You can write a story/flash fiction, share an anecdote, write a poem... remember, you are only limited by your imagination...

Join us if you have a hero you can tell us about in 300 words.

Three $5.00 Amazon gift cards will be given, based on the entries received.

If you're game, sign up on the linky list below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Coming soon!

You've heard it said ...

Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.

                                     - William Congreve, English playwright

Dumped by her spouse of seventeen years, Annette McKellop has no choice but to adjust to life on her own. An accomplished social worker, she can't help but see the irony of treating clients who live parallel lives, disrupted by cheating men who leave broken families behind. Not that she intends to suck up her ex-husband's betrayal.

Her plans for revenge start out brilliantly, but instead of striking a blow for all wronged females, Annette's quest to get even with Xavier is all-consuming and leads down avenues where even the most reckless souls won't go.

Until she meets Roderick Minto—a man who is off limits. Her role as counselor to his daughter prohibits anything more than a platonic relationship, but Roderick has other ideas. As their relationship deepens and she does what is taboo, Annette questions the direction of her moral compass. Should she follow her heart and Roderick's leading? Is losing a second chance at love worth the relentless pursuit of a man who has moved on and isn't coming back?

Follow Annette's journey in Absolution, coming on November 1, 2014. You can pre-order at this link.

The Island Adventure Tour also continues on Monday. Take a chance to win the items mentioned on the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Plan to tell us who your hero is come Monday? Have an exciting plans for the weekend? Do share.