Haunting
You
Bewitching
Women Series
Book
2
Viola
Estrella
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: 10/25/2014
ISBN: 978-0-9856198-3-1
ASIN: B00OU1V41E
Number of pages: 302
Word Count: 85,500
Cover Artist: Estrella Cover Art
Book Description:
Rachel Spencer's life has been
hijacked by the supernatural. Ghosts seeking help with their unfinished earthly
business won't leave her alone. Her only hope for returning to normalcy and
passing her next attempt at the bar exam is making a deal with one of the
ghostly intruders. It should be simple--Ella keeps the other spirits away if
Rachel agrees to help Ella's two teenage sons. No problem. Well, not until she
meets the boys' guardian.
August Kline misses his old life.
He never planned to raise two teenage hurricanes in an old house in small-town
Indiana. But here he is, and he's determined to make the best of it...if he
could only keep the house in order and not completely screw up his nephews.
Enter a gorgeous redhead who pops
into August's world when life is at its grimmest. Rachel claims to be an old
friend of Ella's and offers to help around the house. Sparks fly whenever
they're together, and August is falling fast. Rachel keeps her distance,
worrying her ghostly secrets will sabotage any chance of a relationship. But
when danger appears and threatens the people she has grown to care about, she
may have to face more than her own fears.
Excerpt
So she actually wanted to go
through with this?
Fantastic. No, more like
embarrassing. And wrong. So wrong.
A beautiful woman had popped into
his life like a granted wish and all she wanted to do was clean his house.
He stepped outside, letting the
glass door close behind him, and smiled at Rachel because, well, he found it
hard not to when in her presence. Rosy-glossed kissable lips, light coppery
hair, delicate features, and seductive eyes framed by thick lashes compelled
him to be happy. Hell, to be ecstatic. The woman magnetized him. He was a
god**mned moth and she was the brightest lamppost on the block. Only question
was when would he get zapped?
“Hi.” She stuffed her hands in
her pockets and rocked on her feet. Cute and sexy. Lethal combo.
“You came back.” Obviously,
dumb*ss.
“I hope you don’t mind. Helping
you and the boys would mean a lot to me.”
When she put it that way, it
seemed kind of rude to object. But… “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I want to. Besides, I owe Ella
for all her mentoring. She helped me so much. And this is how I’d like to repay
her.”
“I don’t know.” Why couldn’t he
just say “no”? Where were his b*lls? They were there a moment ago.
“I insist, August. So…” She
lifted her hand, palm up. “Hand over the house key. You’re not going to win
this argument. I’m a soon-to-be lawyer. I don’t back down easily.”
“I can see that.” He dug into his
pocket and pulled out his set of keys. “I’m going to pay you for whatever you
do.” Truth be told, he should have hired a housekeeper before it had come to
this. If he had, maybe Rachel would be more interested in his bed than his
dirty dishes.
“No, you’re not.” She grabbed the
key from his hand just as he unlatched it. “I won’t accept anything but extreme
gratitude.”
“Extreme gratitude could come in
many forms.” He instinctively reached out to touch her, brushing two fingers
down the inside of her forearm.
Her cheeks flushed pink as she
inched ever so slightly away from him. She averted her gaze to the parking lot.
“Um, I’ll get started. Should I bring the key back to you before I leave?”
So she was shy all of a sudden?
Too bad. He could have some fun debating with Ms. Soon-To-Be-Lawyer. But
shyness was good too. The word “challenge” sprang to mind.
He leaned against the concrete
plaza wall and inclined toward her, catching a whiff of strawberry. He hadn’t
gained women’s interest in the past by being inhibited. And he wasn’t going to
start now.
“You could spend the night,” he
said.
Yep, that got her attention.
She jerked her head back, warm
chocolate eyes wide and alert. “Pardon?”
August kept his cool, something
he’d learn to excel at over the years in NYC, where the women he’d run into
weren’t quite as innocent as this one. He hitched up one side of his grin and
lowered his eyelids somewhat—a look several of his ex-girlfriends had told him
was sexy.
Yeah, he was desperate.
“I mean, if you’re planning on
coming back tomorrow, there’s no point in driving four hours round trip.” He
winked. “With gas prices and all.”
Every inch of her body seemed to
tense, including her clutched fists at her sides. “My car’s pretty efficient,”
she mumbled, glancing at his lips before settling on his eyes.
“Safety then. It’s a long drive.”
As subtle as possible, he reached out again but this time to see if her hair
was as silky soft as it appeared. Her skin certainly was. He ran his fingers
across her smooth cheek, sweeping a thick lock of unbelievably soft
reddish-blond hair away from her face and behind her ear.
She tilted her head toward his
touch, and he hoped to God the two ladies who had just walked out of Dolly’s
Hair Salon wouldn’t scare her away from the kiss he was about to give her.
He cupped her cheek and moved in
closer.
She pulled her bottom lip in to
bite and then released it, making him want to taste her even more.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll
pass.”
Before he could make his move or
argue it was the best idea he’d had in years, she took three sharp steps away
from him, leaving his hand caressing nothing but air.
“I’ll return the key in a few
hours.” She turned on the heel of her tennis shoe and race-walked to her car.
About
the Author:
Viola Estrella loves a story with
flawed characters, paranormal elements, humor and romance. She tries to include
these aspects in all that she writes and loves every minute of it. When she's
not writing, reading, or designing cover art, she's spending time with her
husband and four sons in their Colorado home. Viola is a 2010 RITA® finalist.
Also in 2010, she was honored by
her local RWA® chapter, Colorado Romance Writers, with the Writer of the Year
award. Find out more about Viola Estrella’s writing at www.ViolaEstrella.com
Interview
Where
are you from?
I’m originally from Indiana, and that’s partially
why I use that setting in Bewitching You
and Haunting You. I grew up mostly in
Arizona, and now I live in beautiful Colorado.
Tell
us your latest news?
Haunting
You,
Book 2 in the Bewitching Women Series, was released at the end of October, and
I’m deep into Book 3, Finding You,
which has been loads of fun.
When
and why did you begin writing?
I began writing about eleven years ago. My
motivation was to finish the stories that I had running through my head day in
and day out. It worked!
When
did you first consider yourself a writer?
After I wrote “The End” for the first time.
What
inspired you to write your first book?
Since I was a little girl, I’ve spun stories in my
head. One day I wondered what it would be like to write one of the stories down
on paper and give it a happy ending. So I did. And I fell in love with writing.
Do
you have a specific writing style?
I tend to write light-hearted romance but with some
darker moments. I love writing fun dialogue and banter.
Is
there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
My heroine in Haunting
You has anxiety and self-esteem issues, and she’s forced to face them in
the novel. If readers are able to identify with her, I’ll be thrilled.
How
much of the book is realistic?
Well, that depends on if you believe in ghosts or
not! LOL! Seriously though, I think the people are realistic, but the
situations are on the paranormal side. So the reader will have to be open to a
supernatural storyline, but I also think they’ll be able to relate the
characters.
Are
experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
There’s always a little something I use from my
life. In Haunting You, the secondary
storyline is about an Amish girl who’d died when she was a teenager. I know
about the Amish religion/culture because I have many relatives who are and were
Amish (meaning they left the religion). My parents grew up in the religion, but
left before I was born. Even though I grew up fairly “normal,” I can always ask
them if I have a question. Of course, any errors are my own. Having said that,
please be aware that the Bewitching Women Series is NOT inspirational romance.
It’s actually quite spicy!
What
books have most influenced your life most?
So many! But my favorite books to read are romance
novels. Love a happy ending.
What
book are you reading now?
I just started reading Heiress Without a Cause by Sara Ramsey. It’s cute so far!
What
are your current projects?
I just finished NaNoWriMo, and I was able to write a
rough 50K words to Finding You, Book 3 in the Bewitching Women Series. I’m
loving the characters, and I can’t wait to finish and get it out to readers.
What
would you like my readers to know?
I’ve come to the conclusion that I suck at Twitter.
You’re more likely to find me posting on Facebook. But maybe that’ll change
some day. I also have a newsletter that I send out when I have a new release,
so please sign up!
Links:
Website:
http://violaestrella.com/
Newsletter
sign-up: http://bit.ly/1FM7qeh
If
you still want to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/violaestrella
Also,
if you Google me, you might see that I have a second passion--designing cover
art. Check it out, if you like! http://estrellacoverart.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViolaEstrella
Newsletter: http://goo.gl/XuK1z1
Tour
giveaway
7 $5 Amazon, B&N, or iTunes
gift cards (winner’s choice)
I enjoyed the interview.
ReplyDeleteThank you for presenting this fabulous read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance!
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