MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

 A SPECIAL SALES PROMOTIONAL

SCANDAL -- THE DEATH OF A LEGACY

WILL BE REDUCED TO 99 CENTS UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT

After being raped, dealing with an abortion and a man who now wants to kill her makes her glad that in a world of madness a least one man can prove to be her hero, but sometimes, even a hero can have secrets that must be confronted.

 

KRISTINA SUTHERLAND learns she's pregnant, but how?
She couldn't remember having sex with anyone for a long time.
Her only explanation--a date rape drug.
The problem: it happened onboard the corporate yacht attended by every member of the board of directors, older men and friends of her family. Still, the test strip didn't lie. And now, someone wants her to have an abortion to end the scandal and would do anything necessary to make sure she either complies or dies before giving birth.
An insider, the head of security for Lyon International soon offers her the best chance in surviving and discovering the truth. But SHAWN DAVIS has his own deep secrets to hide. While his grandfather, Brent Lyon is the chairman of the board he had tossed Shawn and his mother to the curb when he was born. His mother had refused to have an abortion, a decision Shawn obviously felt thankful for. This time, however, Shawn can make a difference, especially when Kristina needs someone to believe in her, to be her champion.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1

As a tingling sensation ravaged Kristina Sutherland’s body, she nervously waited for the colors to change on the test strip. Damn, she couldn’t be pregnant. How? She hadn’t been with a guy for months now, but still, she had never missed her period before. While a spinning numbness clouded her thoughts she studied the blue strip which indicated a positive response.

While she needed help, she knew that all she would ever receive was criticism. Yes, she loved to party, but she wasn’t stupid. This couldn’t be happening to her. Facing her mother would be the hardest part, since she could only imagine the headlines as Barbara Sutherland, one of the top socialites in New York City had to explain how her daughter got knocked up.

Kristina hid the test kit in a drawer, since she knew that her father, Lawson Sutherland, would be home soon. She didn’t want him to know. While her mother would go berserk, her father would . . . . She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before she shuffled toward her mother’s activity room where Kristina had last seen her painting. As the perspiration coating her body turned to a bitter chill, she shut the door on the way in.

Barbara turned and lowered her paint brush as she studied her daughter, who appeared to be barely able to walk, much less stand. “What is it?”

“You’re not going to like this.” Kristina struggled to find a seat as her legs failed her and her mother rushed to her aid.

“Here.” Barbara tossed papers and small boxes out of the seat and onto the floor. “Kristina, you look sick.”

“I feel like I’m going to pass out.” Kristina realized that she might lose her lunch at any moment.

Her mother knelt beside her and squeezed her hand. “You feel sweaty. What’s going on with you?”

Kristina cried as she lowered her head. Each loud expression of sorrow released one wave of embarrassment after another. “Mother . . . I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant! What? Are you sure?”

“I know. I just took a test. I missed my period, and I’ve never ever missed one.” Kristina felt her mother pull her head into her bosom. Good, she needed support and not criticism. However, she knew that it would come soon enough. The patience of her mother shocked her, since she had never reacted like this with her before. It wasn’t her temperament. “I’m sorry, mother.”

“I’m so sorry, but don’t worry, I’ll take care of you, baby. I think I know what you’re going through. I’m here for you.”

Kristina raised her head to face her mother. “Please, don’t tell Dad.”

“He’ll have to know soon enough.”

“I know, but I don’t know who the father is, and I know he’ll want to know.”

“I see. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure how which guy did this to you.”

“Mother, you don’t understand. I haven’t had sex with anyone in a long time.”

“Well apparently you have.”

“That’s why I’m upset. I don’t remember anyone, and it has been at least four months ago since I was with anyone.”

Her mother offered a smile. “Then perhaps the test was wrong, and we need to have you looked at by our doctor.”

 “Yes, I want to see someone good, but I don’t think there’s any doubt. I need to know what happened to me, and I only have one possible explanation.”

“Which is?”

“I’m thinking someone may have taken advantage of me when I passed out from drinking too much one night.”

“Which night?” Her mother’s mouth opened wide. “This sounds like rape. Are you sure?”

“No, I’m not, but I don’t have any other explanations that make sense.” Kristina forced her attention to the night aboard the company yacht. She remembered the heavy drinking and the partying that occurred later, but nothing else until she woke late the next day. “Mom, I really need to do some thinking before I say anything.”

“I think you’re hiding something.” Her mother frowned. “You know you can tell me.”

In a way she knew she needed her mother’s help, but she also knew how she might explode, accusing others with no proof. She had to think about it when she was alone and could concentrate better. Perhaps she needed to ask some questions of others who were onboard before she said anything and maybe even find someone who could do an investigation for her—discretely.

As Kristina mind raced from one thought to another, her mother regained her normal mannerisms of arrogance and pride she had been breed with—something Kristina had fought against every day. She didn’t want to become like her mother. Her father’s wealth provided her with all of the physical luxury they could ever want, but had also saddled them with a need to protect their image from those intending to ruin it in any kind of scandal. Such was the life of the high society elite in New York City.

“I can tell you’re not mentally able to handle this right now. I think I have no choice but to help you.”

“Mom, you mean control me, but don’t worry since I don’t plan to let the world know what happened until I have more answers.” Kristina rubbed her eyes. “I need to be alone for a while and think.”

“I do hope you have some smarts about you, but we do need to get to the bottom of this as fast as we can.”

“For now, I need to lie down and rest. While I know I need to eat something, I simply want to be left alone for a while.” Before her mother could respond, Kristina walked out of the room and rushed to her own. While she had to concentrate on what she needed to do, she also could really use a best friend right now; someone who really cared about her. Unfortunately, all of the people she had around her insisted on partying all of the time. They would find this hilarious, and their ridicule was definitely not what she needed now.

Her iPhone rang as she entered her room. “Hello.” She waited. “Hello.” She repeated as she glanced at the blank caller id. “I don’t know who you are, but this call can be traced.” The phone connection died. While she needed to call the phone company to see what they could do, she simply wanted to rest for a while. At twenty-five she should be on her own, but for now she felt glad to have her parents around. She walked to her bed as she unclasped her long blonde hair.

ADVICE ON GETTING BOOK REVIEWS

One of the best ways to build sales is to get people interested in seeing more. This is what a reviewer does better than anyone for a writer. As such, all writers understand this and flood reviewers with request. So, how is the best way to make sure your book stands out and you have your book selected. I think the following article is right on target and I hope it helps my writer friends get more reviews.

I would love to have book reviewers friends of mine add their own comments and suggestions.

7 Ways to Get Bloggers to Review Your Products Or Services

Author: decann levreau

As a blogger with a good amount of followers (thank you all - I don't want that to sound smug!) I often get approached by people to review their products or services. I have no problems doing reviews, whether it be for books, products or services - but I want to share with you a few of the rules I think are important when pitching your products to bloggers in order to get reviews.

1) Make sure it's relevant

This is obvious to a lot of people, but not so obvious to so many more! Think about it; I'm a Mum, I work in Internet Marketing and you could probably pick up from my various social media profiles that I love my Wii Fit, am trying to lose weight, live in France and love movies and jewellery (oh and handbags - I'm a woman after all!)

Therefore I'm happy to review baby stuff, marketing books, products and services, stuff to do with losing weight or keeping fit and products or services to do with films, and have done across various blogs and review sites (some as me, some anonymously as requested).

In my business life I promote websites in various ways - so ebooks and services related to marketing and online marketing are always good, online courses and training that i can recommend even better.

The PR company that approached me to review a football DVD could easily have found out I don't like sport. The person who approached me to review his series of ebooks on the Law of Attraction should have known it doesn't fit in with what I do (or what I believe, but each to his own on that score!).

I'm not saying that you have to know the ins and outs of the bloggers you're asking to review things, but it does help to do a little research. If your product isn't relevant, then even if the blogger DOES agree to review it, it's probably pretty pointless as the people reading their blog probably won't be interested too.

2) Ask nicely

This may seem obvious, but I get a lot of pitches telling me how good it would be for ME if I review this or that product. Let's be honest here, if a blogger reviews your product, THEY are doing YOU a favour. Yes, they get a free product or service, but at the end of the day, the blogger is the one sharing details of your company with his / her audience - which could be considerably large. A personal review from someone a person 'follows' will often hold more sway than any PR piece.

Ask nicely, and don't badger if the person doesn't get back to you within an hour

3) Establish where your blogger is based

If your product is physical, this could be quite important. I'm based in France, a fact that I don't hide, and is easily found out by looking at my website and most of my social media profiles. Yet I get asked quite frequently to review something physical and when I mention I am in France, the PR company (it's usually a PR company, sorry!) suddenly realises that having to send this item to France is a bit of a hassle and perhaps they'll not bother.

So, be aware of costs if you have to ship something to someone (and bravo to HP who couriered a rather large printer to me via Arrow Light Haulage for me to review).

4) Accept that a review can be good or bad

This is the one that seems the hardest to get across. See, you're not 'paying' (as some people see it when giving a product or service for review) for a good review, you're offering your product or service in the hope that you'll get a good review.

In order to remain true to their followers, most bloggers will give an honest review of what you have sent to them - this doesn't always mean glowing praise.

Accept that a blogger will flag up the good and the bad of your product. Personally if a product is really bad then I will let the person know and ask them if they would rather I don't review it - other bloggers would print the bad review as that is their agreement with you - an honest review.

If you want a 100% positive review, either have a 100% perfect product or service or send it to your mum to review

5) Realise that full disclosure must be given

FTC guidelines for bloggers state that full disclosure should be given for gifts or items received for review. Most bloggers will abide by this and you should expect that they will say in their blog post that you gave them the product or service, for free, to review.

They're not going to pretend it's a service they've bought and are just sharing with their readers, or that this fab product was a gift from a friend - the majority of bloggers will either open or close their blog with the disclosure that they were given the item in return for a review. Don't insult them by asking them to hide this fact

6) Agree the rules

If you want a review of a specific length, or a specific part or function of your item to be talked about, agree this in advance with your bloggers. It's not the start of a beautiful friendship if your blogger lovingly crafts a 1000 word review and all you wanted was 400 words, or reviews your service in general but you wanted them to focus on a specific part.

Also, agree whether you get to approve the review before it goes live - although you won't be able to change it, there may be some things that the blogger hasn't understood, and you could straighten them out. And of course if it's a bad review you could agree in advance that you get approval and can ditch it if it's negative.

7) Send the product in good time (and, send the product!)

I get asked to review a fair amount of baby stuff for various sites, but as well as that, I obviously buy a fair amount of baby stuff for Baby O. In the case of actual items that I would have bought anyway, there's nothing more annoying than being asked to review something, waiting for it to arrive, and... nothing. I've also been asked to review cameras, business card scanners (yeah, that was a while ago ), graphics tablets, gardening stuff, some fitflops, and jewellery, all of which I was happy to review on various blogs (not this one, obviously as this one is more business focused) but never turned up. It's not the blogger's job to chase you for the item - if you change your mind, or can't be bothered, be polite and let them know.

Incidentally this doesn't just go for physical products, I've also been offered ebooks, subscription services, marketing services and more 'non-physical' products / services that haven't materialised. I'm not moaning, because if they don't get to me I don't have to review them, but it is something to be aware of.

Whether you're a PR company looking for 'blogger outreach' for your client

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BLOG HOPPING

 I plan on visiting a lot of blogs today, looking for what makes one a good blog and a bad one. In doing so, I will be looking for many things, some of which are:

 

 What is it that made me stay on the page, and want to come back?

 

 What is it that made me want to follow the blog leads, network with it, or sign up for their newsletter?

 

 Additionally, do they have a button I want to add to my own site, or in any way want to refer my own bog followers into checking out their site?

 

 Do they have links that are useful to me? Is the content good and useful?

 

 Is the site pleasant and well organized? Do they have ways of sharing their site to other social media sites?

 

 Do they use graphic or animation that draws my interest? Do they have paid advertising space that I might be able to utilize?

 

 Should I consider writing a guest post for this site, considering the amount of exposure the article would get?

 

 What applications do they have running on their site that makes it come alive?

 

 Bottom line is: Is there anything on their site that I wished I had on mine? And what can I learn from this one to increase my own traffic, etc.?

 

 Please feel free to leave comments of what you look for, and a link to your own site, so that we can see it.

I'm often asked what I listen to as I write. I hope you take a few minutes to pause and enjoy the day as you enjoy this.

NEW PROMOTIONAL SITE

TAKE A MINUTE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS NEW SITE.

THE JOURNEY TO WHITESTONE

http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/paranormal-romance/4391

 

LITERARY AGENTS–BEWARE

 http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/romantic-thriller/4392

HER HONOR’S BODYGUARD

 http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/romantic-suspense/4390

 

SCANDAL–THE DEATH OF A LEGACY

 Fhttp://askdavid.com/reviews/book/romantic-thriller/4389

 

A WAR HERO RETURNS

  http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/international-romantic-thriller/4388

 

MODELS AND LOVERS

 http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/love-story/4393

 

STALKING LOVE

 http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/romantic-thriller/4394

 

THE SALSA CONNECTION

 http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/international-romantic-thriller/4396

 

FOR LOVE AND VENGEANCE http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/international-romantic-thriller/4395

A WAR HERO RETURNS

 

After serving eight years in the army, Suzan Mercer returns from Afghanistan to Florida as a female war hero–her works as a CIA operative, of course, would always be hidden.
She couldn’t believe her mother had used a power of attorney while she was gone to sell the land her father had left her. After learning her mother also has early onset Alzheimer's and claims to have been taken advantage of by Matt Harris, the billionaire developer involved, Suzan uses her military and CIA training to plot her revenge and to reacquire her land.
Entering a world where high heels replace combat boots and deep red lipstick becomes more deadly than a colt 45, Suzan never anticipated the cost to reacquire her land would be losing her heart.
Matt also learns his money and power cannot acquire the one asset he has always lacked in his life as he ventures into untested skies without a golden parachute to save him. Also, would the ghost of his playboy image come back to haunt him?

FROM THE OPENING CHAPTER

Chapter 1

“I hate to disturb your Memorial Day cook-out, but my name is Suzan Mercer and I’m here to see Matt Harris.” Suzan brushed her long, black hair to one side to allow her a better view. The freedom to allow her hair to fall free for a change and not having to be tied in a required military style ponytail felt strange.

The security guard, a tall slim man with a deep tan thanks to the Florida sun, glanced at his pad as he stood his ground at the gate guarding the Harris Estate in West Palm Beach. “I don’t see your name on my list. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you permission to enter.”

“I didn’t ask for permission.” Suzan slammed the pedal to the floor of her red Mini Cooper, leaving him shouting at her as she squealed into a spot in front of the large entrance to the main house.

As she emerged from the car, the front gate guard ran toward her, with another uniformed guard rushing from the front of the house. “Listen, lady. You can’t do this!”

“I just did.”

Suzan watched him study her uniform. Her travel clothes were a present of the U. S. Army, her life for the last eight years. “Lady, I don’t know who you are, but I’ll ask you one more time to leave.”

Suzan turned to look at the front door as the second guard joined them. “I heard he arrived here today.”

The gate guard reached for her arm. “You need to leave.”

Suzan grabbed his hand and located the joint and tendon she wanted. With a quick twist, the guy twice her size hit the ground with both knees. “DAMN!”

The second guard rushed closer to assist his colleague squirming on the ground, until Suzan kicked her right foot at his face–stopping inches in front of his nose. “You don’t really want to do this, do you?” The shock of her shoe poised inches from his face paralyzed his movements for a second.

After regaining control, the guard’s eyes glanced at his sidearm before shifting his attention back to the other guard who was groaning on his knees. “You know you can go to jail for this,” he shouted.

“The only one going to jail is Matt Harris. I simply came by to see what he had to say in his defense.”

Suzan watched the front door behind them open and three men walk out. “What’s going on here?” A tall guy in a dark tailored suit stepped forward.

“I’m here to see Matt Harris.”

The guy motioned for the guard to back away as he offered a smug smile. “What do you want with Matt Harris?”

“I want my land back.”

“And which land are you referring to?”

“I’m referring to my land outside Ft. Myers and next to the Everglades.”

“Are you talking about the Mercer property?”

“That would be correct. I’m Suzan Mercer, the real owner of the land. I recently arrived back in the states and heard he stole my land when I was gone.”

“The Mercer property deal closed over a year ago.”

“I only heard about the sale a few days ago. Now, do I get to see Matt Harris, or do you want me to go through you three as well?”

The guy laughed. “Do you think you can go through all five of us? I know the Army has women fighting now, but come on, give me a break.”

Suzan noticed the guard on her right preparing to make a move on her. A quick kick to his knee dropped him. The guard on the ground slipped free, but a quick hand to the back of his head slammed it down on her upcoming knee. When he crumbled to the ground the remaining three men backed away.

Finally, a man stepped forward who she recognized from his photos. His rugged jaw and slim well built body, covered in a million dollar looking suit, completed the assumptions of what she had forged in her mind. His playboy reputation, which was reputed by some accounts due to his strong work ethics, confronted her. He offered the fantastic good looks of a professional model, mixed with the masculine sexy allure of the kind of man she wanted to meet one day. His charismatic appeal startled her as she stumbled in maintaining her focus on her mission.

He placed his right hand in a pocket of his trousers as he started to speak, leisurely indicating he remained in control and was not one to be rushed. “I’m Matt Harris, and I remember this purchase. You must be the daughter away in the Army. Mrs. Mercer, I think her first name was Ann, sold the property by use of a power of attorney you signed for her. It’s amazing she never told you about the sale.”

“I never approved the sale. I want the land back.”