Series: The Pope Family Trilogy #1
COVER REVEAL: “The Pope Family Trilogy” by Theresa Papa
Series: The Pope Family Trilogy #1
...because every author wants to feel like a goddess!
Title: Tempting Perfection
Author: Kristin Mayer
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: February 2, 2018
Cover Designer: Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Photographer: Perrywinkle Photography
Together we were explosive. Apart we were miserable.
I know he wants more, but he denies himself. His gaze burns with desire when he looks at me. But the wall he has built keeps me out.
I sense he’s hiding something.
But, then, so am I.
To guard our hearts, we’ve kept our secrets locked away. But secrets are like love—one way or another, they find a way.
Kristin Mayer is a wife and proud mother. Since an early age, she has always enjoyed reading and writing. While visiting her father one weekend, he suggested that she should take up writing again. With family and a career, she didn’t give it a lot of thought, until a story entered her mind and wouldn’t leave.
At the beginning of 2013, she decided to sit down and write it all down, but she kept it to herself. One sentence developed into two, and before she knew it, she had the makings of a novel.
Kristin tries to live life to the fullest during every moment. She loves to travel, meet new people, and mark items off of her bucket list.
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You probably won’t like me very much. In fact, I’d venture to say that you’ll likely hate me. I get it. The hardest part for you though, is that you’re going to hate yourself just a little bit too, because I’m going to challenge your morals. You’re going to find yourself rooting for me and trying to justify what I do and that… that’s what will make you hate yourself.
Being a vigilante is hard work, so judge me if he must. Just know that what I’m doing is for the greater good. And yes, before you ask, I believe in God. I believe that He is the ultimate judge and jury, but someone has to help those who can’t help themselves. Why me? I’m just the one filling the role that I was fated for.
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I love to read! It’s become such a big part of my life over the years that I decided to give life to the characters that were running around in my head. This process is still very new for me, but I hope you enjoy these characters as much as I do!
I’m married with 2 wonderful kids. Honestly, they’re great. I’m a lucky girl. We live in Indiana on Lake Michigan and are fortunate enough to experience 4 seasons every year.
I’m a huge animal lover. We share our home with dogs, cats, and a chameleon right now. They make each day an experience.
Our kids are very active in many sports, but gymnastics and baseball occupy the majority of our time. If you have kids in sports, you’ll be able to relate to my first book, Raising The Bar. .Book Two is called Surprise Six, which is Tangier and Judge’s book and a continuation of book one.
My new book, Vigil Andi, was quite a challenge and not anything I thought I’d ever write. It consumed me for almost a year, but so happy to share it with you! If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you!
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“Deadly Race” by Elke Feuer
Blurb:
Race car driver Remy Borden likes fast things: bikes, cars, and men. Her plans to become the first woman from the Cayman Islands to race internationally gets sidetracked when she’s injured and pulled from the final race because of a fiery confrontation with another driver.
Life goes from bad to worse when the racetrack owner is killed and she’s suspect number one because his death puts her back in the race. But racing again proves difficult when Dr. Jackson Wilson insists she stop racing until she heals, making her wonder if his ‘doctor’s orders’ don’t have ulterior motives-the racetrack owner was his friend.
She and Jackson search for the truth behind the murder when accidents start happening at the racetrack, and an adoring fan gets too close. Soon the simmering attraction between her and Jackson boils over, forcing her to admit Jackson makes her think of a life beyond racing.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
The sun’s reflection cast mini mirages across the crushed rock racetrack. Humid air floated off the surface like steam, creating an illusion the surrounding landscape was melting—the trees, control tower, and fans in the stands. A light breeze blew small whirlwinds of white dust across the track, but couldn’t cut through the thick heat and humidity of a sunny summer day in Grand Cayman.
Stock cars lined up in the distance, a staggered rainbow of colors. Their drivers made last-minute checks or chatted with friends who hung over the edges of the truck tire barricade. Remy Borden soaked up every detail playing out around her, letting it permeate through all her senses. She never grew tired of the sounds of the gurgling car engines, or the repeated conversations from the drivers and spectators.
Her family wasn’t in the crowd seated in the stands, but she didn’t care. They never watched her race—too scared she might get hurt. The kids she taught and their parents were in the stands, and that was good enough for her.
She bit back the urge to laugh, jump up and down, and wave her hands in the air wildly like a child who’d just found out they were getting the gift they’d nagged their parents for.
She stroked the hood of her burgundy and black Toyota. “Ready for this, honey?” she whispered. It was a ritual she’d performed since she raced motorbikes as a teenager, connecting her to the machines the way gardeners believe their plants grow better after being talked to.
Her fire-rated jumpsuit was hotter than hell, but she didn’t care. Tingles ran up her arm when she lifted the helmet off the passenger seat. She tucked windblown strands behind her ears before sliding it on.
Her chest tightened as she slid past the roll cage into the seat and secured her safety harness. Her glove-covered hands trembled as they skimmed across the steering wheel.
Her gaze moved over the bare console and checked the temperature gauge and oil pressure, making sure everything was as it should be. Perfect.
Excitement shot through her at the feel of the engine roaring beneath her legs when she started the ignition. The other drivers made their way to the starting line and took their position based on their timed race. She cruised toward them and took her assigned place.
On either side of her were veteran racers, battle-scar David and lightning Adam. Directly behind her was crash test dummy Jason, and in front of her was cocky Sam. Jackass Sam was a better name for him. She couldn’t wait to make him eat her dust. Again.
Dirk, the racetrack owner, stood behind the barricades watching them like hawks about to attack prey they shouldn’t.
The track marshals were in position with their flags. The starting flag rose.
The cars around her roared and adrenaline surged through her veins as she revved her engine.
The racetrack stretched out before her and the cars blurred to nothingness. Sounds became a dull buzz in the distance. The light turned yellow, and then green, and she pressed the gas pedal.
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**Connect with Elke Feuer:
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**Buy “Deadly Race”:
BOOK BLITZ TOUR – Deadly Bloodlines
Book Blurb: Years after leaving Cayman because of her notorious serial killer mother, Angel Mason returns as an inspector on the police force. On the twentieth anniversary of her mother’s capture, someone is murdered in the same manner as her mother’s victims.
To complicate matters more, Angel’s old flame, Bren McDougal, is assigned to help her with capturing the killer, and soon it’s undeniably clear that the passion between them is hotter than ever.
As the killer repeats her mother’s deadly pattern, Angel must face the terrifying truth she’d been hiding for twenty years.
**What people are saying:
“Elke Feuer skillfully keeps you guessing in this twisty-turny romantic suspense story about a Cayman investigator tracking a copycat killer-one imitating the crimes of a her own serial-killer mother. Suspenseful and satisfying!” ~Francine LaSala, author of The Girl, the Gold Tooth, & Everything.
Excerpt of “Deadly Bloodlines”
Angel Mason sat on the edge of her bed and squished the thick caramel carpet between her toes, assurance the deadly grip of another nightmare was gone.
On the nightstand her phone vibrated, startling her. It was Dustin Williams, Chief Superintendent. The time, 6:30 a.m., flashed in red from her clock. She cleared her throat and prayed there was no trace of the bottle of vodka she’d finished off the night before in her voice. “Inspector Angel.”
“Dead body at Galleon Bay.” He never minced words.
“Some tourist die in their sleep?”
“No, looks like she was murdered.”
Brittle silence hung in the air as the words echoed in her mind like a broken record.
“Angel?”
“I’ll be there in half an hour,” she stammered.
“Good, I want this dealt with quickly. There hasn’t been a tourist murdered on the island since…”
“Since Meredith,” she finished for him.
“Yeah, and we remember how that turned out,” he said dryly.
The phone imprinted her hand as she squeezed it. No one had forgotten how it turned out, least of all her—no matter how hard she tried.
“I want you to collect the evidence,” Williams said.
“What? Why?” She didn’t normally question his decisions, but she hadn’t worked in forensics since she had been promoted to inspector.
“You’re the most experienced scene of crime officer we have.”
“I’ll take care of it, sir,” Angel assured him.
“Johnson, Sanchez, and Ebanks are already there controlling the traffic and crowd,” he said, his voice sounding miles away.
“Yes, sir.”
The phone went dead without a goodbye, not that she expected one. He didn’t converse beyond necessity, but she never took it personally. He was like that with everyone.
She went to the bathroom, took out the bottle of painkillers on the second shelf of the cabinet on the wall, and downed two.
As the pills made their way to her queasy stomach, she searched the cloud in her head for how she had gotten to bed last night. Leftover Chinese and drifting to sleep during the nightly news in a vodka-induced haze was all she remembered.
Horrifying screams and blood splattered across her hand paraded before her, remaining trickles from her dream, and the smell of blood filled her nose.
“No!” She gripped the edges of the porcelain sink to steady herself and clear her mind of the images. Her dreams were becoming more frequent and the vivid details lingering long after she awoke.
She let out the breath she was holding and splashed cold water on her face. The reflection in the mirror was an unwanted reminder that she couldn’t escape her heritage or the history that came with it, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Once she showered and got dressed, she pulled her hair into a ponytail. She walked down the short beige corridor to the living room and grabbed her keys off the hook on the wall. The cool morning air blew against her makeup-free face when she opened the door. She inhaled the salty air, and watched the sun peaking over the horizon of the ocean. They calmed her nerves as she made her way down the stairs and to her car. Starting the engine, she pulled out of the parking lot and towards the hotel where Meredith, her mother, had worked before she was arrested for murdering the guests.
**About author, Elke Feuer
Elke was born and raised on Grand Cayman and lives there with her husband and two kids who keep her on her toes. She has a sarcastic, quirky sense of humor not everyone gets, and is in a race to become the first Caymanian in space. When not writing, she’s helping other writers in Cayman through her organization CayWriters.
Author of For the Love of Jazz and Deadly Bloodlines, book one in her Deadly Series scheduled for release in March 2014.
She stumbled into writing romantic suspense because of her fascination with serial killers, but also writes other genres because characters keep telling her their stories and she’s a sucker for a crazy story.
Book review of “For the Love of Jazz”
“For the Love of Jazz” by Elke Feuer
Book Description:
Restoration architect Josie Fagan takes on a project with lawyer and senator’s son, Patrick Pullman. It’s the perfect match. She needs his endorsement to save her business and he wants to restore his ancestral Chicago home. Love wasn’t part of her plan. Neither was being asked to stay at his home, haunted by ghosts, or discovering she has a claim to his home – which she adores. When she finds out his family may be responsible for her aunt’s disappearance fifty years ago, it’s a race to unearth the truth before she loses not only her business and her heart, but also her life.
Patrick can’t deny his attraction to Josie and is willing to take a chance on love since his broken engagement a year earlier. Things become complicated when he learns of their family connection and her claim to the home he loves. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, or that his family is involved in her aunt’s disappearance, so insists they work together. But, when he starts seeing his uncle’s ghost, and threats are made on her life, he’s forced to confront the possibility his family could be responsible.
My Review:
I was very privileged to get to know Elke when we were both in a Gotham Writers’ Workshop class together, which is where got to read a small part of what was an early draft of “For the Love of Jazz!” Even after the class was over, I often thought of this story; there was something about the characters and story that haunted me and I wanted to know more!
When I received an early copy of “For the Love of Jazz” I was so excited and couldn’t wait to start it. When I did, it was late at night, so I thought I’d only read a chapter or two, but I was wrong — I read more than that. I was hooked instantly and with each page I turned I wanted to read more. Elke Feuer is a very talented and gifted author and it’s hard to believe that it’s her first novel. Her writing draws the readers in and makes it seem that you’re literally watching the story unfold and come to life before your eyes. “For the Love of Jazz” was a quick read that was filled with twists and turns, along with the constant thought of what the real truth was. I really liked all the characters, but Josie was definitely my favorite. I liked how she was wasn’t really afraid of anything and took chances, maybe even on Patrick…(sorry, no spoilers!). I also liked how there wasn’t too much detailed talk about the renovations she was doing to Patrick’s house. For someone who doesn’t now a lot about design, I was comforted in the fact that I didn’t need to have much background in design, which I found was a major plus.
It was my first romantic suspense and it won’t be my last! If you’re looking for an intriguing romantic suspense, “For the Love of Jazz” by Elke Feuer is the book for you!
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!
**Contact Elke!
**Buy “For the Love of Jazz!”
**Click HERE to read Elke’s first guest appearance, then click HERE to read her second!