Too Good to Be True is just #99cents for now #RomCom #RS #smalltown

Too Good To Be True

Contemporary Small-town Romance (with suspense elements)

I've been in love with this hero since he first visited me. Some of you know I do a lot of writing in the tub. Well, Luc followed me there and told me his story. I had no idea until he started telling Del about his family that... well, that's a surprise. 

Anyway, six of the books are available or on preorder now for just #99cents everywhere. I love my #nook, #Itunes and #Kobo readers as well as #kindle so run don't walk to your favorite store for this deal.

Blurb:

Love happens when, where, and with whom you least expect it. . .as Delilah discovers.
An experienced police officer, Delilah Burke is no pushover. She prides herself on her instincts but when she arrives at the scene of a convenience store robbery she finds herself unwillingly intrigued by the tall dark and handsome perp dressed in a mercenary uniform and armed with fake weapons which begs the question – what else about him is fake?
Luc seems too good to be true, but his huge, surprising family embraces Del and when he’s threatened they join in her efforts to protect him. Delilah is drawn to him like no other but can she keep him safe so they can have a future together?
Preorder book #2 and the rest – When the Right One Comes Along, Only the Heart Remembers and Christmas Wishes now for $0.99 until each book’s release day. (7 books in the series)

Excerpt

“All right, Luc. I understand you had an incident at your home yesterday. Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

“Not much to tell. I was headed to KPI for work…”

“That’s Knights Production, Inc. on Garnet?” Jed asked. 

“Yes, I had a 8 a.m. shoot. I guess it was about 7:40 when I walked out and found my SUV with all four tires flat.”

Jed wrote in a small notebook. “Is that your Expedition out front with the US Navy tag?”  

Luc answered him. “Yes.”

“I’ll get a complete description when I leave. So why didn’t you file a police report?”

“I didn’t realize at first that the tires had been punctured. I just figured some kids had come through and let the air out of them. I’d heard about the other incidents a couple weeks ago in the area. But by late morning, the tire center called and said they’d been cut.” 

Jed took the name of the tire center. “I’ll run by there in the morning and see if they still have the tires. It would have been better if you’d called yesterday. Sometimes they haul the tires away at the end of each day.”

Luc anticipated Jed’s next question. 

“Any idea who might have done this?” Jed studied him while Luc considered his answer. 

Jed knows Del and I are involved and he’s wondering what I’m dragging her into, Luc thought. He answered honestly since he wasn’t willing to label Mercy a complete lunatic yet, “I really don’t.”

“Made any enemies lately? Kicked any kids out of the gym? Crawled out of your neighbor’s wife’s window? Anything like that?”

“Jed—” Del nearly punched her partner on the arm but Luc knew it was a tactic they used sometimes. Most people weren’t a hundred percent straight with cops for whatever reason. Present company included. 

“Look, I really thought it was kids. You know hazing rituals or something.”

“Anything happen over the weekend that might have precipitated this?”

Luc looked at Delilah, who looked at Jed, who shook his head and snapped his notebook shut and let out a frustrated breath. “All right. Give me the number for your insurance agent and the guy you spoke to at the tire center and I’ll let you know what we find. Probably won’t do any good now, but I’m going to see if I can lift some fingerprints.” He nodded at Del. “She knows where to get me if you think of anything.” The door clicked shut behind him.

Luc and Del blew out a breath at the same time. Laughing, Del said, “I feel like I’ve been sneaking out and my big brother just caught me.”

Luc walked toward her, backing her up to the door. He was close enough to see the darker rim around her blue irises. She was so pretty. “Well, like they say, might as well be shot for the deed as accused of it.” When she saw his aim, she turned her head to the side.

So Luc kissed the corners of her eyes, her temples, heard her intake of breath as she turned back to him prepared to reprimand him. But as he settled his lips over hers, coaxing, tasting, then invading, she opened for him. His body melded to hers as he took her head between his hands gently holding it so he could savor the silk of her mouth. Rocking back on his heels he smoothed her hair back in place wondering at the intensity of his feelings. So quickly…I just about love you.

Twin bluebonnets searched his as if she didn’t quite know what to think. A smile slid up one side exposing a dimple. “Don’t you have a basketball game to get to?” she asked.

Luc stepped back, adjusting his jeans, “Yeah, and I’m gonna need a minute.”

She laughed, put her hand on the doorknob.

“You’re staying for the game, aren’t you?”

Delilah’s expression showed none of the passion that had been there just minutes before. “I’m on call until ten but as long as I’m not needed, I’ll stick around. I haven’t seen my brother play basketball since…”

She didn’t have to finish. Then she looked up. “That’s why you never asked me about my family. You know Tommy.”

“That and I figured you’d tell me about your family when you wanted to.”

Her eyes dragged from his face to the bulge behind his zipper. “Ready?” She flashed him a wide-eyed look.

“Quit.” 

She laughed, opened the door and walked out.

Where to buy Too Good to Be True

Publisher Campbell Hill Publishing
Books 2 Read https://books2read.com/toogood
Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GMVTQP8 
Amazon CA CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07GMVTQP8
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.com.uk/dp/B07GMVTQP8
Amazon AU https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07GMVTQP8
Ibooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/too-good-to-be-true/id1431548338
Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/too-good-to-be-true-livia-quinn/1129350719
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/too-good-to-be-true-57

What is a hero? #NFLhonors Men of Honor by @LiviaQuinn #integrity #selfless

It's a big weekend in the Quinn household. Super Bowl LII,  NFL Honors and the release of my Men of Honor box set. (And by the way there are women of honor here, too!)

Growing up in DC as my daddy's tomboy, I went to many a Redskins or University of Maryland game. Football is in my blood. Now that I'm in Louisiana, my team is the Saints... but I've been thinking naturally about what a hero is lately.

Surrounded by so many veterans and law enforcement professionals, I've seen the values shared by these men and women - integrity, commitment, duty to country, community...and family - our larger global family.

One of the things I love to watch is the Man of the Year awards during the NFL Honors, which is on tonight on NBC, 7PM EST. It's of course cool to watch all the celebrities show up on the red carpet as well. Last year Hugh Jackman brought his hunky self along with Mark Walberg and so many others.

My idea of a real hero is someone like any of the men up for Man of the Year through their foundations and work in the community, none of them for their own personal glory or enrichment.

One of my favorite heroes:

Benjamin Watson, an ex-Saint with his organization One More partnered with the International Justice Mission (IJM), the world's largest international anti-slavery organization working to combat human trafficking, modern day slavery and other forms of violence against the poor, the Watsons joined the global fight to end the scourge of sex trafficking. This effort was highlighted in April during a three-day trip to Lebanon, where Benjamin witnessed firsthand the Middle East's refugee crisis. Additionally, he and his wife, Kirsten, traveled to the Dominican Republic in June to begin formulating plans that combat sex trafficking.  

What I love about Benjamin, in these days of people using the Flag demonstrations to be down on the NFL, is that he uses his platform to create dialog between all groups and individuals he speaks too - to bridge the divides. 

J.J. Watt, the popular Houston Oiler and former Offensive player of the year who started a fundraiser in Houston after Hurricane Harvey hoping to raise $200,000. He raised $33 million!! All this when the team had suffered depressing losses, his own and their super QB's season ending injuries. It raised the spirits of the Houston people, and once again his motivation wasn't seen as heroic by him, just something he was moved to do for his community.

All of these Man of the Year nominees are deserving of the title hero and yet none would call themselves that. Isn't that the definition of heroic? Someone who puts others before their own needs. 

In researching my Men of Honor books I'm constantly confronted with this mentality by our military personnel, past and present as well as my local law enforcement. They not only don't want thanks or glory, they resist it.

Some of the most courageous heroes this year are women. Do you know of heroes in your own sphere? They are everywhere. Let's give them some love.

My books are available on all stores. You can purchase Men of Honor here.

Footprints and Baby Steps #IARTG @LiviaQuinn #youcandothis

There's an analogy that's used to describe how writers should approach the marketing of their books. A single "Footprint" vs. many feetprints if you'll pardon the misnomer. But the analogy holds true and has a great deal of merit.

Late in 2011 I decided to self-publish after a series of weather mishaps that threatened to end my writing for good. That book, under a previous pen name ultimately became Undone. It was the right decision for me at the time and I'm not sorry I went that direction, even though there have been so many changes in the market since. I seem to always be at the end of a trend. ;)

So, I published my little book expecting big things... then pretty much walked away. Not on purpose; my business required my time more than ever, but honestly, I didn't know what I was doing. Finding one little book on Amazon is like finding a particular grain of sand on that beach.  I was learning about the footprint theory, and I learned a lot from that experience. In 2014 with more books under my belt, both partials and final drafts, I decided to restart my writing career. I started fresh with a new pen name, set a goal to publish three books before the Romance Novel Convention in July and three by the end of the year. I accomplished that goal and didn't see any reason why I couldn't continue at that pace for a couple years.

I made a small spreadsheet to brainstorm my prospective minimum and maximum word counts for the year (by month). It was an eye opener. It can be adjusted on the fly when you see something coming up like a two week trip, busy summer plans, or a heavy workload. It's a wonderful tool to encourage you when you think your writing isn't getting anywhere. When I convert my smaller total into books, I get two or three novels, one or two novellas, or a possibility of 3-5 books for the year with the minimum written.

I anticipated being able to follow my "maximum" guidelines but then it was like Tom Brokaw came on TV saying, "We interrupt this lofty writing plan to announce some major changes in your dayjob, your husband's health, and the hit to your writerly budget. Oh, and by the way, did you forget to factor in the maintenance of your published books? social media? promo? newsletters? new covers, formatting and uploading revised books and new books?  Add to that, scheduling of events and followup with readers and other authors?"

Boy, did I!  In 2015, I only published 4 books (the reason for that second column ;) It took seven months to write the first one but it got done.)

In December, I decided to remove my books from KDP select and put everything on Kobo, Nook, Itunes and ARe as well to widen my readership and hopefully increase sales. This took almost three months because there was constant correcting of files, pricing, descriptions, formats, links, "also by" pages... the list goes on.

By mid March my business was in FULL swing and I was again behind on book 5 of my paranormal series. So here I am having just put my newest book, Take These Broken Wings, up for preorder on those sites for September.

Once again I'm reminded that I can only do what I can do and have a semi-balanced life. Still the long range plan is to keep adding to that footprint. As of now, I have published eleven books. Hopefully, by the end of next next year, I'll be closer to twenty, but who knows? Life has a funny way of getting in the way.

Self-publishing is very hard work. You're the "man" no matter how things go. And if you're in it for the long haul, you just gotta keep plugging until you look over your shoulder and see a nice wide footprint.

Can you share your experience with publishing either traditional or self-publishing? Do you struggle to stay on track? I'm here to tell you - You CAN do this! Just don't give up.

Baby steps are better than no steps.


See all my books at  http://liviaquinn.com/book.html
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