Showing posts with label BEFORE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BEFORE. Show all posts

Monday, April 20, 2020

Before

BEFORE

by Bethany-Kris 
Publication Date: April 20, 2020 
Genres: Adult, Mafia, Organized Crime. Erotic Romance, Novella

Before everything changed … He was just Lev Arsov. Bartender. Occasional illegal fighter. Struggling to get by. Before the world watched … She was just Gigi Parker. Unknown. Fledgling model. Barely making it work. Before he was Pink, the mob enforcer, and she was Gigi Rey, the supermodel, they met by chance. It was only fun. No strings. Two people who didn’t have the first clue how different their lives would soon be. But that was before … Before everything changed. * Before is a free 31k preview of Bethany-Kris’s upcoming 112k standalone Mafia Romance, Pink. Blending in a contemporary beginning with Before, readers are introduced to how it all began for the mob enforcer and his supermodel. Note: Before is also included in Pink.
“Has anybody ever told you that your face should be on magazines?”
Gigi’s head popped up as a laugh burst from her lips. The man that had been working with the girls further down the bar approached her spot at the end, passing by at least twenty other people who gestured with a bit more ferocity at his blatant disregard for their shouts and demands. The white tee he wore stretched across the broad bands of muscle that made up an expansive chest. Rolled up at the sleeves, the fabric tightened to show off the way his strong arms and golden skin, dusted with dark hair, glinted under the pot lights that made up the backdrop of the bar when he placed them in front of her spot on the shiny top.
Black hair, shaved down to a well-groomed buzz, had a blue tint and only added to the sea-color of the stare that flicked over her features and then chanced a glance down at the low dip in the front of her romper. The man had no shame that he was checking her out, but she didn’t really mind all that much, either.
He wasn’t hard on the eyes.
It didn’t hurt to look at him.
Not at all.
And since he seemed content to drink in a good gulp of her, she did the same for him. Standing at least six and a half feet tall behind the bar, he towered higher than even the shelves of liquor behind him. Strong lines made up a face that didn’t have a hint of boyishness anywhere—not in the scruff that dotted a jaw and cheeks carved from stone. He was all man, all over. A thick brow quirked up when her stare slammed back into his, and a sexy grin stretched his thin lips wide to show off the white teeth that made up his smile.
And God.
What a fucking smile it was.
“Well, have they?” he asked.
Gigi had enough sense to swallow before she spoke, lest her next words come out in a girlish rush of hormones and stupidity. It wasn’t often a man could make her tongue-tied, and certainly not by only his approach.
But here she was.
Suddenly, this celebration was looking way better.
“It’s not the first time I’ve heard that line, actually,” she replied.
A laugh burst from his mouth, and yes, she somehow managed to feel that sound all over her body. The noise of the bar began to disappear all around her as the good-looking bartender with a body that looked more suitable to be in the ring than behind the bar leaned in. Edging a bit closer to her, he used his free hand to toss a yellow-checkered bar rag over his broad shoulder.
The action had her swallowing.
Again.
Because she’d noticed his fingers. Their length, the roughness of the digits like he used them a lot, and then their proximity to her when he dared to point one at her.
“But the better question,” he said, “is whether you’ve ever actually been on a magazine, hmm? Something familiar about that face.”
“Really? Because everyone likes to say they’ve never seen one like it.”
Those blue eyes of his blinked.
Then, he smirked.
“Maybe that’s it—never seen anything like it.”
It also wasn’t the first time she had been told that line, either. Except there was something about the way he said it and how his tone dipped at the end. Like his gaze roving down her throat when his tongue peeked out to lick along the seam of his bottom lip.
“Hey, are you gonna get us a fucking drink or—”
The bartender held up one large hand to the left, his palm stopping all of two inches away from the face of a beefy guy leaning across the bar top. “I’m only mixing for front tables tonight—fuck off to the other side of the bar before I move you there.”
Gigi grinned.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
“I’m Gigi,” she said.
He opened his mouth to reply, but the announcer standing at the DJ’s booth just a few feet away from the boxing ring stopped him from saying anything at all when the man’s voice filled the speaker. His attention drifted to the man as he straightened up to his full height, allowing him to easily stare over the crowd of people.
“Next fight—Lev Arsov versus Draven Kinley. Ten minutes to start—one ten-minute round. Betting begins now.”
His gaze came back to her, sharper and sexier than ever. This time, that grin of his was a little more sinful and tempting.
But also dangerous.
“Looks like I’m up next.”
Gigi’s head snapped to the side, and she was sure her face reflected the shock radiating through her gut in that moment. He was just a bartender, right? “What?”
He winked. “Lev Arsov—that’s me. Stick around, Gigi. See what happens next.”

PREORDER YOUR COPY OF PINK NOW!

by Bethany-Kris Publication Date: May 8, 2020 Genres: Adult, Mafia, Organized Crime. Erotic Romance, Standalone

BLOG TOUR: https://indiesage.com/tour-pink-by-bethany-kris/

He’s Pink, the personal enforcer for the boss of the New York mafia. She’s Gigi Rey, a supermodel known across the globe.
They live two entirely different lives but before the mob and the fame, they were Lev Arsov and Gigi Parker. Two people struggling to make it—who met by chance—before life got in the way.
Five years have passed since the nights they shared together, but Fashion Week brings Gigi back to New York and straight into Lev’s path once more, when her work obligations tangles with the mafia’s business. In this world, that’s never a good thing.
They aren’t the same people now. He’s a single dad doing whatever he can for his daughter. Gigi can’t walk down the street without the world watching. A lot has changed. The one thing that didn’t? How they keep finding their way into each other’s heads … and beds.
If only it was that simple. If only the tabloids didn’t back them into a wall. If only they saw it coming.
If only they could go back to the time before he was … Pink.
If only.
*
Pink is a 112k standalone Mafia Romance set in Bethany-Kris’s Commission World.

ABOUT BETHANY-KRIS

Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to four young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.
To keep up-to-date with new releases from Bethany-Kris, sign up to her New Release Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bf9lzD

Monday, October 22, 2018

Monster Mash Countdown Blitz - Day 7




Catina worked her way through college as a TV reporter and a dating game show host. She's a sucker for Young Adult romance stories (both real and make-believe). She has a panache for match-making and loves that many of her "set-ups" have resulted in marriages. 

After spending most of her adult life in Las Vegas, Catina traded in tumbleweeds for earthquakes and now lives with her husband and four children near San Diego, California. If she's not home, chances are you can find her at the beach, Disneyland or In-N-Out Burger.
Angela Larkin writes clean teen romance and is a big fan of kissing (in life and in books). She's been a gold miner, a pool cleaner, a mannequin dresser, and a teacher. She's lived a true romance: meeting her husband in a case of mistaken identity. They recently moved with their four children from the sparkling city of Las Vegas to the shade of the North Carolina Pines. Chances are, she's reading past bedtime.





True love doesn't always mean a happy ending. Presley and Landon finally have a chance at a real relationship when they travel back in time, but their leap backward to two months before his accident has altered reality: Landon has no memory of Presley. 

Hurt and lonely, Presley is still determined to save his life, even as Landon's death-date looms. He's alive for now, but nothing is like it was . . . Before.












Q&A with the Author:


Angela’s Answers / Catina’s Answers 

1)     When did you start writing, and was there a specific event or person who influenced you to become an author: 
a)     I've always enjoyed writing in school, but I started writing short stories and bookish things on my own after high school. It was my way of dealing with a huge unrequited crush! Reading the Grapes of Wrath was formative moment for me as a writer. It was the first book that powerfully showed me how incredible writing can be. 
b)     I've loved writing stories my whole life but developed a passion for it in college when I started writing for our university's newspaper and TV station. One morning, the idea for BEYOND came to me and I knew I had to morph my journalism skills into that of an author, because the story had to be told!

2)            Are you currently working on a project, and if so, can you tell us anything about it? 
a)     Right now I'm querying a romance set in rural NV. It's like The Breakfast Club meets Holes. I'm currently working on a romance about a British Prep School boy forced to accompany his father on a business assignment to a tiny Tennessee mountain town. There he meets a girl struggling to support her family. Though total opposites, they have a lot to learn from each other . . . and of course they fall in love!
b)     I am currently working on a middle-grade adventure. Because I have a request for the full manuscript, I can't say much!

3)            What is your favorite writing snack? 
a)     Trader Joe's dips and hummus.
b)     I love to eat flavored popcorn while I write. I can feel like I'm indulging without doing too much damage!

4)          If you could have dinner with any of your characters, which ones would you choose? Why? What food would you serve? 
a)     I'd have dinner with Reese from the Beyond series because I like the funny boys. We'd eat microwave convenience store burritos and Dr. Pepper - his favorite:)
b)     I'd have to have dinner with Reese and Landon together. I lover their brotherly cousin dynamic and their senses of humor. I'm also a little star struck by their awesome skiing skills and ravishing good looks. Ha! They have huge appetites so I'd probably grill piles and piles of rib-eye and serve it with a yummy pasta salad and dessert.

5)           Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
a)      I learned I can do harder things than I thought I could. And that all skills can be improved upon with practice, no matter who you are. 
b)     I've learned to write what's in your heart. Write, write, write and do not edit as you go. Save the editing for after your entire first draft is complete. I've also learned that my writing improves so much when I hit it every day. Big breaks aren't awesome when it comes to writing skills.

6)           How do you relax, or what do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
a)      I eat brownies in bed and watch Netflix shows about food, decorating or kissing. 
b)     I love going to the movies so much. We are an opening night kind of family. I also love to read as much as I can. At any given time, I'm reading a book for book club, one in the genre I'm writing, one for my kids and one off my personal list.

7)           What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it? 
a)     I'd love to get my MFA in creative writing. Currently, I'm researching schools and hyperventilating about taking the math portion of the GRE.
b)     Ooohhhh - that's a tough one - but I'd have to say seeing my work on the big screen. That would be incredible.
  
8)          What do you fear most? 
a)     Betrayal. 
b)     Spiders. Being bitten by a brown recluse in the night.

9)            What was your favorite Halloween Costume? 
a)     Without my mom's permission, I bought a Harem Girl costume when I was nine. As an adult, I see the folly in this, but at the time I LOVED the purple veil and the gold sequins belt and headband. And it even came with brass finger cymbals!
b)     My favorite Halloween costume wasn't really for me - it was one I created for my son. He was Wolverine. We grew his hair out for four months, found an awesome leather jacket at the thrift store and bought him his first pair of jeans. Ha ha! We nailed it and everywhere we went, people wanted a picture.







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