Hello, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host A.B.
Michaels and her new book, “The Jade Hunters”!
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click
on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!! Also, come back daily to interact with A.B.
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The Jade Hunters
by A.B. Michaels
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GENRE: Romantic Suspense
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BLURB:
Award-winning
jewelry designer Regina Firestone is proud to exhibit her famous grandmother’s
multi-million dollar “bauble” collection at the grand re-opening of The Grove
Center for American Art, known among the locals as “Sinner’s Grove.”
The
fact that she’s considering modeling the jewels in the nude like her
grandmother did infuriates photographer Walker Banks, a co-owner of The Grove
who’s in charge of the exhibit. Neither is willing to admit the real reason for
the sparks between them.
Their
argument takes a back seat when Reggie discovers that one of the most
compelling pieces in the collection is not at all what it seems. Tracking down
the truth will take the couple into the dark heart of a quest that’s lasted
more than a century, one in which destroying human lives—including Reggie’s and
Walker’s—means nothing in the pursuit of a twisted sense of justice.
The
Jade Hunters is Book Three of Michaels’ contemporary series, “Sinner’s Grove
Suspense.” The series follows the descendants of characters introduced in
Michaels’ historical fiction series, “The Golden City.”
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EXCERPT TWO:
“The Modeling Session”
“Now,
if you’ll sit on the couch and hand me your robe, we can get started.”
Walker
continued in that manner, directing her in a calm, dispassionate voice. She, on
the other hand, was positively humming inside, titillated beyond belief that he
was fully clothed and she was completely naked.
What did he think of her? He had
to be comparing her to the photos of her grandmother. Was she measuring up? She shivered
involuntarily.
“Would
you like me to turn up the heat?” he asked.
It
can’t get much hotter than this, can it? Except if maybe you were naked, too.
“No, I’m warm enough,” she managed… He captured several poses and then, as he’d
done with the first stone, took the camera off its stand and took a series of
hand-held shots from various angles. As he moved, he’d call out a running
patter of gentle commands and comments like, “Look here,” “Turn quickly,”
“That’s it” and “Give me sultry.”
Reggie
thought back to the facial expressions her grandmother had used as a young
model and tried to emulate them. A chuckle burst out instead.
Walker
lowered his camera. “What’s so funny?”
“I
was trying for ‘sultry’ like grandmama, but I can’t do it. I wouldn’t know how
to do it.”
He
paused with his camera by his side. “You really have no idea, do you?” His voice held a touch of wonder and he
murmured, almost to himself, “No idea at all.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
Strong Heroines Don’t Have to be Wonder Women….They Don’t Even
Have to be Right:
We’ve
come a long way from the days of reading about “damsels in distress.” Those
characters (it’s hard to even call them “heroines”) were usually known for
their physical beauty and even if they were “spunky,” they still relied heavily
on being rescued by the hero of the tale. Let’s face it – most of us grew up on
healthy doses of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle. Even the iconic Elizabeth Bennett of Pride
and Prejudice fame, intelligent and witty as she was, still had to rely on
wealthy Mr. Darcy for her happy ending. Lizzie’s predicament reflected the
limitations on women of the time; fortunately, those times have changed.
Today,
women are free to pursue any type of career and lifestyle they desire, and
that’s reflected in nearly all of the current fiction we read—at least in
American culture. That’s a good thing.
But I
worry that in our zeal to show all that modern women can do, we risk making
their fictional counterparts caricatures of another sort: the type of ball-busting “feminist” (in the worst sense
of that label) who is so strong and self-reliant that she doesn’t need anybody,
much less a man, to complete her … a woman who, like her male counterpart of
old, is simply too cool to make mistakes. A case in point: reports are that the
next 007 will be a woman.
There’s
got to be a middle ground—at least that’s what I have tried to present in The
Jade Hunters. The lead female character, Regina Firestone, is a smart,
talented, and successful jewelry designer, but she would be the first to tell
you she hasn’t had much luck in the romance department. It actually took a relative who did some
background checking to point out the fatal flaws of a man Reggie had talked
herself into getting engaged to. When she realizes a crime has been committed
related to her grandmother’s multi-million-dollar jewelry collection, she is
hell bent on ferreting out the perpetrators, all on her own. She says she
doesn’t need anybody, and she has legitimate reasons for wanting to go it
alone. Her colleague, photographer Walker Banks, doesn’t buy it, however. He
thinks it’s a really dangerous idea and they butt heads about it. But here’s the key: Walker doesn’t take over
and make the decisions for Reggie. He
doesn’t force her to do what he thinks is right. He doesn’t “rescue” her.
Instead, even though he strongly disagrees with her, he chooses to support her.
And she, in turn, is grateful for his support.
Conversely, a subplot of the novel involves Walker’s missteps as he
tries to be a real father to the son he’s seen only casually over the years.
Reggie disagrees with his (at times) high-handed approach and states her case;
over the course of the story he learns that she’s worth listening to.
I
take this sense of balance to the physical realm by having each of them suffer
from a phobia (one fears heights, the other fears close spaces) that they must
deal with in order to get out of a dangerous situation. Once again, he isn’t
simply saving her, nor she him; they help each other through some really
frightening scenarios.
The
ability to listen to another’s point of view and respectfully disagree with it
… to support someone even if you don’t agree with them … to provide help when
you can, and ask for help when you need it—those should be the qualities we
look for in all of our modern heroes – male and female alike.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
A
native of California, A.B. Michaels holds
masters’ degrees in history (UCLA) and broadcasting (San Francisco State
University). After working for many years as a promotional writer and editor,
she turned to writing fiction, which is the hardest thing she's ever done
besides raise two boys. She lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in in
Boise, Idaho, where she is often distracted by kayaking, playing bocce, and
trying to hit a golf ball more than fifty yards. Reading and travel figure into
the mix, leading her to hope that sometime soon, someone invents a 25+ hour
day. Her historical fiction series, “The Golden City,” explores America’s
Gilded Age and its effect on characters, both actual and fictional, while her
contemporary series, “Sinner’s Grove Suspense,” follows descendants of The
Golden City as they navigate today’s equally treacherous waters. She is
currently expanding both series.
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CONNECT WITH A.B.
MICHAELS:
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
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BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
A.B. Michaels will be awarding a $30 Amazon or
B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll feel the same after you finish it...at least I hope so!
DeleteYour book sounds interesting. I hope that it is a success.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Berni! If readers like it, then I will have succeeded!
DeleteHappy Friday, I'm looking forward to checking this one out!
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take you to write your book?
ReplyDeleteSorry this reply is late--I Just got back from a writer's conference. In answer to your question, I'd say around four to five months. I wish I could say it all just flowed from my brain through my fingers onto the computer screen, but alas, that wasn't the case! There were lots of little details to iron out.
DeleteI enjoyed the guest post.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim!
DeleteDid you come up with the title of the book before or after you started writing it?
ReplyDeleteBefore. The title just hit me early on and it never stopped feeling right for the book.
DeleteWho is your favorite character in the book?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I am fond of all of them--it's like asking who my favorite child is! I do lie Reggie a lot because she has many talents and attributes, but is still somewhat insecure.
DeleteYou're welcome. I hope you get a chance to read it - you'll enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting, Ally!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book. Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDelete