Showing posts with label #suspense #romanticsuspense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #suspense #romanticsuspense. Show all posts

Monday, December 13, 2021

Restless Heart

 New Release

Born in a brothel in Paris in the early 1700s, Madeleine's future had been decided by her courtesan mother and Madame Claudine. Her innocence at age fourteen would be sold to the highest bidder. She’d be treated as a usable and disposable toy to fulfill her patron’s every perverted desire until he tires of her. Then she’d become a courtesan to entertain anyone who visits the brothel.

Madeleine dreams of a better future. She runs away and finds temporary refuge in a convent, but she doesn’t have too many options when she turns eighteen. Either going back to the brothel, becoming a servant with an uncertain future, living her life as a nun, or becoming a filles à la cassette, one of the King’s Casket Girls, since no reputable man would marry her in France with nothing to her name. To escape her gloomy future, she sails to the New World with hopes for a better life.

What will her future hold? Will she find happiness?



Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Cursed Bloodline: Secrets and Lies

Cursed Bloodline

Romantic suspense with historical elements
EBOOK     PRINT     AUDIO
Is it possible that an ancient curse cast by a powerful witch sixteen-hundred years ago could destroy families in every generation for centuries?
Dark family secrets separated Sofia and Daniel when they were children, but fate brought them together years later.
When Sofia’s brother finds a leather book in his grandmother's secret room that was written in 426 by a shaman, dark memories of their childhood start to surface.
Reading the ancient runes, they learn about their family's curse. If it remains unbroken, the curse will bring tragedy and ruin their lives as it destroyed many of their ancestors' lives. Could they find the way to break the ancient curse?

“This is the curse of an evil deed that incites and must bring forth more evil.” ~Johann Friedrich Von

Prologue

Present day
“Wow!” Sofia blurted as they entered the secret room. “You were right, there are lots of treasures in here.”

“I looked only in this trunk but look at the shelves.”

Sofia walked to the shelves and touched the carved, wooden and stone statues one by one. “Look,” she said, “the Sacred Turul. This wood carving is a masterpiece!”

“Yes, I estimate it to be at least a thousand years old. Look at this horse.” He pointed at the black onyx statue.

“Magnificent!” Sofia marveled.

“We can look at those later,” Jayden mentioned to Sofia. “Let’s see if we can find more writing in the trunk.”

“Okay…” Sofia hesitantly replied. She was having a hard time averting her eyes from rows after rows of statues, jewelry, headdresses adorned with beads, gold chalices and bowls.

Jayden opened the wooden trunk and started taking out the items that were wrapped in leather. He pulled the coverings open which revealed swords, knives, handmade leather shoes, and carefully-wrapped scrolls.

“Jay, look!” Sofia pointed at the inside of the trunk lid. “There’s an envelope and it doesn’t seem old.”

Jayden grabbed the corner of the white envelope but couldn’t pull it away. “It seems to be glued to the top,” he stated as he carefully lifted the corner with a knife and pried it away from the wood without ripping the paper.

As he turned it he saw writing on the envelope. “For Sofia and Jayden,” he read out loud. “It’s Grandma’s handwriting and it’s for us.” He sat down on a box, opened the envelope and pulled out the folded letter. He started reading it out loud.

Dearest Sofia and Jayden,
You’re reading this letter, which means I’m gone. I swore to your mother that I would never tell you about the family curse, but I cannot take it to my grave. Although your mother always strongly believed that it is merely a stupid legend and refused to listen to me, I must let you know somehow. Jayden, your life in danger…

The year 426 in the Carpathian Basin
As they got close to the trees and peeked out, they saw disheveled men sitting on the ground around fires. Their savage laughs, as they were eating and drinking, cut through to their hearts. Elana gasped when she saw the lifeless bodies of her neighbors thrown to the ground. Zala turned to Elana and raised his eyebrow, silently asking if she was ready. Her eyes shone with anger. She nodded and placed an arrow on her bow and pulled the string, aiming at the head of the loudest bandit who seemed to be the horde’s leader.

Zala whispered, “You have lost the most. You have the right to revenge.”

Elana let the arrow fly, and it pierced the bandit’s forehead between his eyes, coming out at the back of his head halfway. His body fell backward, limp and lifeless.

Zala looked at the waiting wolves and motioned them to go forward. The bandits scrambled to their feet in horror as their leader fell, and the wolves attacked them. Zala and Elana started riding around them in circles, aiming and shooting as the men tried to flee. A few slumped to the ground pierced by arrows, others screamed as the wolves chomped at their hands.

Elana spotted the alpha as he clamped his powerful jaw over a man’s wrist and with a jerk of his head, bit the hand off. And then Elana froze when she saw her mirror image looking at her with crazed eyes.

“Tuana!” Elana yelled and urged her horse toward the disheveled young woman.

Tuana turned her horse and kicked its side, urging the horse to a gallop. Within seconds they collided. The horses neighed in terror as the women were thrown off their backs by the impact. Both women jumped to their feet and faced each other. Elana gave out the warriors’ battle cry, raised her sword, and thrust it toward Tuana. Elana’s move was swift, but Tuana was fast as well and leaned out of the way of the deadly blow. As Tuana jumped back, she looked down with terror in her eyes. A gray wolf standing next to her growled and dropped Tuana’s hand on the ground; it was still clutching the sword. The wolf shook the blood from his muzzle, turned, and ran toward the bushes. Tuana stared at her stump as it spurted blood on her legs.

Tuana howled like a wounded animal and then gave out an insane laugh as she held the stump of her arm close to her chest and started backing away. “I curse you and your descendants! Every woman in your bloodline will have a daughter like me who will be thrown away like garbage. The daughters will kill their brothers and leave their sister alive to carry the bloodline. All mothers for eternity will pay for what your mother did to me.” 

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Favorite Reviews #3

My favorite reviews



 Book reviews (good or bad) provide important feedback to the authors and without reviews, a book gets lost in the thousands of other books that are released every month.

Every author appreciates and values the opinion of readers but we’re strongly discouraged from engaging with readers and thank them for their reviews on publishing sites.

The authors of Our Author Gang celebrate and appreciate the readers by posting our favorite reviews between September 10 and 22. Every day a different author of the group posts about their books and quote from their readers’ favorite reviews.

     Thank you for your interest in our books and happy reading!
My favorite reviews 
 
Buy Link

Chasing Victory was the first book I published. I am beyond grateful for my reader’s support and their wonderful reviews. The review below is one of my favorites because it makes me laugh, while at the same time making me extremely proud that I followed my dream.

"WOW!! This is the kind of debut novel that every author dreams about writing! 

Chasing Victory is perfect and masterful blending of science fiction, romance, and the paranormal into one tight perfectly delivered book. Page after page, I found myself becoming more and more engrossed with the story and its characters. You can even ask my husband when I tell you that he missed a meal because of this book. I think one of the biggest reasons why this book resonated with me so much is that it pulls on my career heart strings as I am a cancer research scientist. It’s not often that you see a bit of science thrown into a book such as this. 

Joanne’s characters are very well thought out and developed. Her hero is the perfect balance of intelligence, brass, and sex appeal. Tristan will melt your panties off with a smile while boggling you with his wit and intelligence. Yet, I am pulled more towards Victory. She’s special to me both in the sheer fact she’s a sassy female scientist (YOU GO GIRL) and her additional abilities. I have often wondered what my cats or puppies are thinking at times and she gets to do that!! Outside of Dr. Doolittle and the wild world of werewolves and shifters, do you ever see a human woman with these kinds of abilities!! Braxton is the perfect anti-hero. He’s willingly to do whatever it takes for his company and his ideals to succeed including kidnapping a woman and forcing her to work on her pet project. Just the sheer evilness of man who threatens peoples live in the name of science just screams evil genius to me!

Joanne Jaytanie has delivered the perfect paranormal romance & suspense novel. Like me, I bet you’ll find it difficult to put it down. So before you pick this one up, and I know you will, you might want to just clear your calendar for a few hours. I look forward to reading by Joanne!" – Lauren, Saints and Sinners Books


Buy Link 

One of my biggest concerns when releasing a new book is ~ will my readers like this book as much as the last book. 

“Joanne Jaytanie shows us that "Chasing Victory" was not a fluke. Her talents again shine in "Payton's Pursuit" with well developed characters and a plot that flows smoothly and quickly. The drama never slows as it builds to it climatic end. The chemistry between Payton and Collin is off the charts but the chasm they must cross to reach forgiveness and love is wide and one they are not always willing to traverse. Adventure, intrigue, suspense, paranormal abilities and romance abound. Join the second Winters sister as she learns about her abilities and connection to Collin and some of the others on campus. Another great read to be savored and enjoyed.” 
- DelAnne for NetGalley


There’s nothing I love more than a reader saying that they couldn’t put my book down. 

“Wow! Just wow! I’m finding it hard to express just how much I loved Willow’s Discovery. I may be wrong, but I think I may have achieved a new PB when I finished reading this book. I just didn’t want to put it down and I got a bit snarky when life got in the way of my reading time.

I’ve read the first two books in the Winter Sisters series. Willow didn’t play a big part in either of these books so I wasn’t sure if I would love Willow’s Discovery as much as I loved the first two books. I was wrong, but I’m glad I was.

The books in the Winter Sisters series tick all the boxes as far as I’m concerned – characters to love or hate, hot guys, suspense and the icing on the cake, paranormal content. This book held me in its grip from the very first page right until the last. It was full of unexpected twists and it definitely wasn’t predictable…” - Karen from A Thousand Lives Book Blog
I’m extremely honored that Chanticleer Book Reviews gave each of The Winters Sisters glowing reviews. Willow’s Discovery and Corralling Kenzie were awarded, First in Category for Paranormal Awards, in the Chanticleer International Writing Competition, for two consecutive years. Thank you.
  
“…For fans who are caught up in the lives of the Winters sisters, they are in for a big surprise with Jaytanie’s fourth installment. Up to this point, books one thru three have mainly concentrated on Victory, Payton, and Willow and KG’s sinister schemes directed toward the girls. But with the addition of the sisters’ neighbor Kenzie, Jaytanie opens the door to a whole new world of outsiders who have fallen prey to DNA tampering. Although pseudo-realism in design, this chilling realm into the dark side of medicine is reminiscent of the grisly experiments on children throughout history.

Jaytanie does a stellar job balancing the bad and ugly with the good, and “good” comes in various forms, the most obvious from the alpha-male SOCOM team and the Winters sisters. But on a deeper level, Jaytanie has created relatable characters; their near-realistic personas are riddled with strengths and weakness, even on a romantic playing field. Certainly, when Logan and Kenzie get their mojo on, it’s steamy. Leading up to those moments, Jaytanie sets an example of what a beautiful friendship should look like—slow but steady.

As with all of the books in this series, "Corralling Kenzie" functions perfectly well as a stand-alone read. There is richness when readers start from the very beginning of the series. Let’s just say that Jaytanie is a master of all things and will thrill and delight new readers as well as her loyal fans with this new installment.

The exciting aspect of this series is that book four does not complete the set. Closing on a major cliffhanger, Jaytanie has much more in store for her beloved audience. Stay tuned!” – Chanticleer Book Reviews

A heartfelt "thank you" to every reader who has left a review.


COMMENTS

Tricia Drammeh

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
These are great reviews, Joanne. Nothing feels better than having a reader tell you they can't put your book down!
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Thanks so much, Tricia! Reviews like these help boost me along to my next book.

Tricia Drammeh via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Author Joanne Jaytanie-Duncan​ shares her favorite reviews on her books at #OurAuthorGang today. Stop by and check out these great reviews of her fantastic books!
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Thank you, Ruth.

Ruth de Jauregui

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wonderful reviews! Thank you for sharing!!
 
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Thank you, Ruth.

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on #OurAuthorGang, author Joanne Jaytanie-Duncan​ shares her favorite, and fantastic reviews of her books with us.
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Joe Bonadonna

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
These are fantastic reviews, Joanne! Congratulations! Chasing Victory sure sounds very interesting.
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Thanks, Joe.
 
+Joanne Jaytanie -- you're welcome!

Nikki McDonagh via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
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Nikki McDonagh

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
ISn't it great to read such positive and supportive reviews? You must be so proud Joanne.
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It is wonderful, Nikki. Thank you.

Chris Weigand via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today Joanne introduces us to her books through some exciting reviews.
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Chris Weigand

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wow I may just have to add these to my reading list. What great reviews for exciting books. Good job Joanne
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Thank you so much, Chris.

Toi Thomas via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, Joanne Jaytanie-Duncan​ shares some of her favorite book reviews on Day 3 of #OurAuthorGang Favorite Reviews.
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Lorraine Carey

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
WOW! That review for Chasing Victory was awesome, especially when she noted her hubby missed a meal so she could keep on reading. I'm adding this book to my 'To Read' list.
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Thank you, Lorraine.
 
+Joanne Jaytanie You are most welcome.

Erika M Szabo via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today Joanne shares her favorite reviews
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Joanne Jaytanie via Google+

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
It's a rare thing to have me comment on a review. Stop by and see which ones I chose and why. #OurAuthorGang
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Grace Au

4 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wonderful reviews to forever cherish. I love this series, Joanne, and can't wait for book 5!!!
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Thank you so much, Grace. That means everything.

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