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New Release: One Night in Inverness by Charlotte Howard #EroticRomance #CityNights #eBook

New Release: One Night in Inverness by Charlotte Howard #EroticRomance #CityNights #eBook

Blurb:

In order to save their marriage, Des and Frankie decide to mix business with pleasure when they attend a literary festival in Inverness. But once they arrive, Frankie soon discovers Des’s long-kept secret, and has left her questioning whether she can ever trust him again. Des isn’t the only one with secrets, and Frankie wonders if it’s all worth the heartache. As the night wears on, they are both forced to face the truth about their marriage.

Can Frankie accept the truth about Des?

Can Des forgive Frankie’s past?

Can one night in Inverness fix their marriage?

Excerpt:

The sound of my husband swearing snapped me out of my mouth-watering daydream, and back into the dullness of reality. I put my book, and the sinfully delicious Nathan Mathers contained within its pages, down on the hotel bed and glared at him. “What’s happened?” I asked, trying to sound concerned and not irritated that he had ruined my fantasy.

“They want Roberta Hathaway to attend the festival,” he said, pacing the room and running his hands over his head, raking his fingers through his light brown hair, which was in desperate need of a trim, I noticed. I’d started doing that – picking up on little things about him that grated on my nerves. I gave myself a mental chastising. This was supposed to be a weekend for us to rekindle our long-lost spark. And it hadn’t been that long, after all. Some couples go years without sex. What were a few months? My stomach knotted as unwanted memories began to swim towards the surface of a very deep lake.

I grazed my teeth along my bottom lip and glanced down at the name on the cover of the book I’d been reading. “Is that a problem?”

I was secretly giddy at the prospect of finally meeting my favourite author, and didn’t understand why he was so stressed. Roberta Hathaway was a prolific, and best selling, erotic romance author. She’d achieved the top spot on numerous sought-after lists. The Sunday Times, New York Times, USA Today, Amazon… They all raved about her novels. But she was also famously reclusive.

In the ten years that Des’s company had represented her, she had never once attended a signing, festival, or book launch, leaving all the publicity down to him and his business partner, Peggy. In fact, the only time anyone saw her was when they looked at the rather dated black and white photo on the back of her books. My husband had been her agent for a decade, and I’d never met her. The idea of her finally attending a literary festival was immense! I mentally played out the conversations I’d have on the playground when the other mums found out that I had met Roberta Hathaway. They’d be insanely jealous.

I’d first discovered her through Des a few years earlier, when he’d handed me a copy of her first novel Sinfully Yours to glance over. He’d called it an Advanced Reading Copy. It hadn’t even had a front cover then, and was full of typos. It had been a good read, but hadn’t really been my thing at the time. I’d glanced over it, more than read it. Before Roberta, the most erotic thing I’d ever read was an old Jilly Cooper novel, tucked away and gathering dust in the school library when I was a teenager. It had felt naughty at the time – I was sure it had been put there by mistake. Probably a prank by one of the sixth formers. When I look back, I realise how tame it was in comparison to what I read now. Especially when compared to Roberta Hathaway. She had certainly improved since that first book I’d scanned all those years ago.

“Think of the publicity,” I said, trying to keep my tone smooth and unexcited, although I suspect he heard the eagerness seeping through my words. I wondered if that made me a sad and lonely desperate housewife. I spent my free hours lost in so-called Mummy porn, supposedly written and designed for women whose sex lives were lacklustre and boring.

Des ignored me, as he always did when I dared to make a suggestion regarding his business, and picked up his mobile. He pressed a button and held it to his ear. “Peggy? Did you get the email? Shit… Yeah, I know… I know. What the hell is she playing at? How the hell does she expect us to pull that off with no notice whatsoever?” He cast a glance at me before checking his watch. “Half an hour? Yeah, I could do that.” He hung up. “I’m really sorry, hon, but I have to go and meet with Peggy to sort this shit-storm out. Get yourself some room service or something, and I’ll make it up to you another day. I promise.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead – more action than I’d had in weeks.

I clucked my tongue and frowned. Our trip to Inverness was supposed to combine business with pleasure; a book festival for Des to mingle at, sell some of Roberta’s new books, and make new contacts, and a dirty weekend away for the both of us to try and relight a flame that had been long extinguished. It was the first time we’d had more than a day to ourselves since our eldest son had been born, almost twelve years ago. And now I was being abandoned, yet again, so that he could go and discuss my favourite author with his business partner. So much for stoking dwindling fires. The guilt of a certain dalliance started to feel unwarranted, and the suspicions I’d been flirting with began to stain my vision once more.

Author bio:

British author, Charlotte Howard, was born in Oman and spent much of the first part of her life flitting between Oman, Scotland, and England. Now settled in Somerset, Charlotte lives with her husband, two children, and growing menagerie of pets.

Her career as a writer began at an early age, with a poem being featured in an anthology for the East Midlands. Since then Charlotte has written many short stories and poems, and finally wrote her first full-length piece of fiction in 2010.

During what little spare time she has, Charlotte enjoys reading and writing (of course), spending time with her family, and watching action movies whilst eating curry and drinking tea.

Charlotte is an active member of Yeovil Creative Writers Group.

Social Media Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog

Buy Links:

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Opening Lines: Charlotte Howard

It’s with great pleasure that I welcome Charlotte Howard to my site today. She is my first guest in a new- twice monthly- series: “Opening Lines.”

Each “Opening Lines” blog will share the first 500 words from a work of erotica.

So, over to you Charlotte…

 

About A Different Kind of Therapy:

A Different Kind of Therapy was voted Best Interracial Romance in the Evernight Readers’ Choice Awards 2017, and has been nominated for Best Contemporary Romance in the LR Café Best of 2017 Awards.

Blurb:

Psychology student Hayley has always been intrigued by sexual fetishes, so when the chance to be mentored by renowned sexual therapist, Adrian De Silva comes up, she jumps at the chance. It soon becomes apparent that the kind of therapy Adrian offers is far from mainstream, and Hayley is introduced to the world of domination therapy. As her training begins, Hayley finds herself falling for her boss and dreaming of being his submissive. Then she meets her new client, and it is Hayley who must be the dominant one.

Will Hayley take to her new role? And how will her personal feelings affect her work? Can Hayley really provide A Different Kind of Therapy?

 

The first 500 words:

Hayley peered up the tall building, a jutting tower of metal and glass in the middle of Knightsbridge. She swallowed the lump of apprehension that had built in her throat. A bitter cold wind blew through the streets, sending a shiver down her spine. Pushing her shoulders back, she stepped through the revolving door and headed straight for the sweeping reception desk. The heels of her black court shoes clacked as she walked across the tiled floor, catching the attention of the woman who sat behind her computer. She glanced up and gave Hayley a forced smile.

“Hayley Moore to see Adrian De Silva.” Hayley placed her handbag on the polished surface, garnering a raised eyebrow from the receptionist. Her pinched features made her look severe, not helped by the fact that her jet-black hair and been pulled back into a taut ponytail. The badge on her shirt labelled her as “Niamh”.

“Eighth floor, take a seat in the waiting room.”

“Thank you.”

Hayley looked over the names on the wall, while she waited for the lift to arrive. It appeared that D.S. Therapies took over the top two floors, with the rest being shared between lawyers, accountants, and other professional businesses. The doors pinged open and Hayley stepped in, only to be joined by an older woman dressed in a dark gray trouser suit, with a plunging white blouse. They both reached for the button, numbered “eight”.

“You have an appointment with Adrian too?” the woman asked. Her thin lips curved into a smile and she straightened her spine. “He’s good isn’t he?”

“I’ve never had the pleasure–”

“Oh, is it your first time? You won’t be disappointed.”

Both women stepped out and headed for the waiting room. The business woman went straight for the mirror that stretched across one wall, running her fingers through her short gray hair, before wiping away an invisible smudge of lipstick at the corner of her mouth. Hayley shrugged off her jacket and sat on the brown leather sofa that had been pushed against the back wall and studied the woman for a moment. Hayley placed her in her late fifties, possibly early sixties, and she exuded confidence and sophistication. By her business attire, it was obvious that she was a professional at something.

“Ursula…” came a voice from the doorway. Hayley shot a look at the man who spoke. He was tall, at least six-foot-three, with closely-cropped black hair, eyes the color of liquid chocolate, and the dusting of black stubble across his solid jaw. He wore dark gray trousers and a light blue shirt, undone at the top button and with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, showing over the toned muscle of his forearm. His whole outfit complemented the cool undertones of his deep brown skin. Hayley felt her breath catch, and scolded herself silently for reacting in such a way.

“Adrian…” purred the woman he’d called Ursula. She winked at Hayley as she moved past him and

***

Buy links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Different-Kind-Therapy-Romance-Book-ebook/dp/B01N5JZ5LZ

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/a-different-kind-of-therapy/id1191903305?mt=11

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-different-kind-of-therapy

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/a-different-kind-of-therapy-by-charlotte-howard/

 

Author bio:

Award-winning, British author, Charlotte Howard, was born in Oman and spent much of the first part of her life flitting between Oman, Scotland, and England. Now settled in Somerset, Charlotte lives with her husband, two children, and growing menagerie of pets.
Her career as a writer began at an early age, with a poem being featured in an anthology for the East Midlands. Since then Charlotte has written many short stories and poems, and finally wrote her first full-length piece of fiction in 2010.

During what little spare time she has, Charlotte enjoys reading and writing (of course), spending time with her family, and watching action movies whilst eating curry and drinking tea.

Social media links:

http://charlottehowardauthor.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteHowardAuthor/

https://twitter.com/Shy_Tiger

https://www.instagram.com/choward_author/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829768.Charlotte_V_Howard

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlotte-Howard/e/B00935EFFE 

***

Many thanks Charlotte- a most tantalising beginning…

Happy reading,

Kay xx

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