Choosy Bookworm Holiday Extravaganza: Jackie Weger ~ Nick Tory ~ Pete Barber

Welcome to the Choosy Bookworm Holiday Extravaganza! 

Choosy Bookworm has partnered with eNovel Authors at Work to bring you a month long celebration with great books, great book deals, and let's not forget the great giveaways! 

Check out today's featured authors and books, then head on over to the event page and enter to win one of two $250 Amazon Gift Cards or Paypal Cash!

Be sure to check out the featured books and the awesome author sponsored giveaway below!

Almost Perfect: 
Three Volume Collection

by Jackie Weger

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Three men, seductive as sin and living single, meet three strong women passionate about life, loving and family who will change their lives forever.

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On sale for $0.99

November 9 - 14

Meet Jackie Weger

Traveller of the good earth by foot, mule, train, plane, pickup and internet.

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Johnny Real Estate

by Nick Tory

Series: Johnny, #4 - Legitimate Job Trilogy #1
Genre: Humor

Trouble has a way of finding Johnny Tee. That's why after years of consorting with organized crime types, he is set on finding a legitimate job and making a go of it as a functional member of society. Of course we all know he will fail miserably. As a new trilogy begins, Johnny is off to join the world of real estate. It's escrows. It's liens. It's a bunch of other terms he doesn't know and isn't learning. That's okay because Johnny is a born salesmen. But it's also not okay because he's a born idiot.

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Meet Nick Tory

Nick is the author of four books, including Johnny 12 Steps and Johnny Vegas.  He lives in a big city with his wife and two daughters.  He loves baseball, concerts, and on less lucid days, hollering at the mailman while shaking his fist in the air.

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When a Warrior Comes Home

by Pete Barber

Genre: Women's Fiction

When Sarah Braeman’s husband returns from the Iraq war, she is thrust into the role of caregiver to a man she hardly recognizes. Tortured by wild mood swings, flashbacks, and anti-social behaviors, her husband becomes a danger to himself and others.

A business opportunity seems to offer a way out for Mike from a military that now considers him weak and surplus to requirements. But can Sarah risk her family’s future on a man who may be damaged beyond repair?

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Meet Pete Barber

Born into a blue-collar family in Liverpool, England, Pete missed The Beatles but did go to The Cavern a few times. He immigrated to the US in the early 90s, and became a citizen. After twenty years in the corporate madhouse, Pete moved to Western North Carolina where he lives with a couple llamas, two spoiled dogs, a brace of cookie-eating goats, one ferocious cat, and a wonderful wife who thankfully understands his obsessive need to write fiction.

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Forever Your Earl & Scandal Takes The Stage by Eva Leigh

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FOREVER YOUR EARL

The Wicked Quills of London Book One

Eva Leigh

Released Sept 29th, 2015

Avon Books

Eleanor Hawke loves a good scandal. And readers of her successful gossip rag live for the exploits of her favorite subject: Daniel Balfour, the notorious Earl of Ashford. So when the earl himself marches into her office one day and invites her to experience his illicit pursuits firsthand, Eleanor is stunned. Gambling hells, phaeton races, masquerades…What more could a scandal writer want than a secret look into the life of this devilishly handsome rake?

Daniel has secrets and if The Hawk’s Eye gets wind of them, a man’s life could be at stake. And what better way to distract a gossip than by feeding her the scandal she desperately craves? But Daniel never expected the sharp mind and biting wit of the beautiful writer, and their desire for each other threatens even his best laid plans.

But when Eleanor learns the truth of his deception, Daniel will do anything to prove a romance between a commoner and an earl could really last forever.

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But Lord Ashford up close was rather...appalling.  It didn't seem right that a man so blessed by fortune and title should also be so attractive. 

His dark brown hair was fashionably cut and artfully tousled, as if he'd recently risen from a lover's bed.  Given his reputation, that was most likely possible.   He had a broad forehead, a coin-clean jawline, thick brows, and eyes that, even with yards between her and him, stunned her with their blue clarity.  Naturally, he had a mouth that looked very adept at kissing and...other things. 

He moved with a long-limbed ease that betrayed his skill as a sportsman.  His ink blue coat fit the broad width of his shoulders, and his cream and gold-embroidered waistcoat defined the shape of his torso—his tailor on Jermyn Street produced excellent work.  Snug doeskin breeches were tucked into polished Hessians that came from Bond Street.  

Truly, he was quite alarming.

“Miss Hawke?” he asked sharply, coming to stand in front of her paper-cluttered desk.  “I wasn't expecting a female.”

“Neither were my parents,” she answered, “but they learned to adapt.  How might I help you, my lord?”

Though she felt an obligation to ask the question, she braced herself for what was sure to be a scorching lecture.

He removed his hat and set it aside.  Then he held up an issue of The Hawk's Eye and began to read.

“'Lord A—d, a figure well-known to our assiduous and genteel readers, was lately seen in the company of a certain Mrs. F—e, whose late husband made his considerable fortune through the manufacture and sale of a woman's garment we blush to mention in these virtuous pages.'”  He tossed one of the issues to the ground. “Wrong.”

“You cannot deny—”

But he wasn't done.  Holding up another issue of the paper, he read again.  “'It may or may not stun our honorable readers to learn that the notorious Lord A—d has not amended his ways following the duel over Lady L., from Y—shire, and has been espied with another married lady of questionable character, at the late night revels hosted by the equally rakish Mr. S—n.  Yet it was noted by our keen-eyed intelligence that this married lady was not the only female vying for the earl's favors.'” This paper he also cast to the floor.  “Wrong.”

She herself had written those pieces, and while they weren't matchless examples of English prose, she was still rather proud of them, as she was of all her labors.  To have her hard work thrown to the ground like so much garbage was rankling.

“I assure you, my lord,” she said bitingly, “The Hawk's Eye strives for the greatest of accuracy.”  She had a network of sources which she used regularly to provide information. 
 Many members of the aristocracy were in dire need of funds, and they gladly turned on each other in order to maintain the pretense of effortless wealth.  Eleanor always paid her informants to keep them returning.

Whether or not they lied to her just to collect payment wasn't her concern, but she always preferred it if she could validate their statements.  Sometimes that meant going out and conducting a few investigations.  But she was a very busy woman—writing articles, editing countless others, managing the paper’s finances—and didn't always have the time.
She had to earn a living, after all.  And men like the earl didn't.

***

SCANDAL TAKES THE STAGE

The Wicked Quills of London Book Two

Eva Leigh

Releasing Oct 27th, 2015

Avon Books

Successful playwright Maggie Delamere has no interest in the flirtations of noblemen like Cameron, Viscount Marwood. She once paid dearly for a moment of weakness… and vows to rebuff the wildly persistent-and irritatingly handsome-scoundrel at every turn. But when pressure to deliver a new play hampers her creativity, an invitation to use his country estate as a writer’s retreat is too tempting to resist...

For years, Cam has admired Maggie’s brilliant work and he can’t pass up the opportunity to discover if the beautiful, mysterious playwright is as passionate and clever as the words that flow from her quill. He’s never offered a lady his bed without being in it, but if it means loosening Maggie’s pen-and her inhibitions-he’ll do exactly that.

But soon Cam’s plans for seduction become a fight for Maggie’s heart. He’s more than the scandalous, carefree rake society believes him to be… and she’s the only woman who has ever noticed.

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Not every work affected him as much. But for a reason he couldn’t quite articulate, Mrs. Delamere’s tragic burlettas stabbed him through as beautifully and cleanly as a jeweled knife. Her use of language, perhaps, was so much more articulate than other staged dramas. Or the relatable human longing and pain contained within in each work. Whatever caused it, Cam craved the next work from her the way a drunkard needed wine.

Still somewhat tipsy from the performance, he strode from the box. Almost at once, he ran into two young, red-faced lordlings, already listing from too much ale. A pretty courtesan snuggled between them.

“Marwood!” they exclaimed, practically tripping over themselves as they clumsily bowed.

“Gents,” Cam answered, a little coolly. He didn’t mind being a little disguised from drink, but it was a classic mistake of the young not to pace themselves.

“Come with us!” they cried. “We’re going to Vauxhall. Supposed to be quite a crush.”

For a moment, Cam contemplated it. The pleasure garden always promised a good time, and delivered. Its theatricality and lurid beauty never failed to entertain, and more than once, he’d taken a female companion to the Dark Walk for an al fresco amorous encounter. There was something thrilling about being outside when engaged in carnal pursuits—the fresh air, the possibility of being caught.

The courtesan accompanying the two young men gave him a not very discreet looking over.

 Judging by the way her eyes brightened, she liked what she saw. Maybe she would be agreeable—if not enthusiastic—about the prospect of a trip to Vauxhall’s Dark Walk.

However . . .

“Save me a slice of roast beef,” Cam said. “I’ll join you another time.”

The two bucks looked somewhat crestfallen, but, after a quick exchange of further pleasantries, they and their female friend moved on.

Leaving Cam free to head toward his destination: backstage. That’s where the real action took place. As he slowly ambled toward his goal, he passed more and more friends and

acquaintances. All of them hailed him. Dozens of invitations were issued. Some to sanctioned Society events, others to more daring, exclusive gatherings. Tempting, every one. He wished he had more than one self, so that he might partake of everything presented to him. Galas, private assemblies, midnight horse races. There was no shortage of amusements, no limit on the pleasures he might experience. Bold widows and bored wives offered their own wordless invitations with their provocative glances and heated gazes.

How could he resist? More often than not, he didn’t.

Tonight, however, he had other plans. Specifically, the actress playing the ingénue.

After disentangling himself from another posse of aristocratic theater patrons, he headed down the stairs. Closer to his objective.

“What a perfectly dismal surprise,” someone behind him said wryly.

Cam’s heart rose. He knew that voice, almost as well as he knew his own. Now the night could truly begin! He turned to face the Earl of Ashford.

Standing beside Ashford was the earl’s new wife, a very pretty blonde, and some of Cam’s enthusiasm dampened. It wasn’t that he disliked Lady Ashford. Far from it. But ever since she’d come into the earl’s life, Cam’s own world had been in a state of upheaval. It wasn’t nearly as much fun running wild through the Town without Ashford.

“Now the evening’s truly ruined,” Cam answered.

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EVA LEIGH is the pen name of a RITA® Award-nominated romance author who writes novels chock-full of smart women and sexy men. She enjoys baking, Tweeting about boots, and listening to music from the ‘80s. Eva and her husband live in Central California.

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Cinderella's Shoes by Shonna Slayton

Cinderella's Shoes
by Shonna Slayton
Release Date: 10/06/15
Entangled Teen

The war may be over, but Kate Allen’s life is still in upheaval. Not only has she discovered that Cinderella was real, but now she's been made Keeper of the Wardrobe, her sole responsibility to protect Cinderella’s magical dresses from the greed of the evil stepsisters’ modern descendants.  

But Cinderella’s dresses are just the beginning. It turns out that the priceless glass slippers might actually exist, too, and they could hold the power to reunite lost loved ones like her father—missing in action since World War II ended. As Kate and her boyfriend, Johnny, embark on an adventure from New York to Italy and Poland in search of the mysterious slippers, they will be tested in ways they never imagined. 

Because when you harness Cinderella's magic, danger and evil are sure to follow...

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Cinderella's Dress

Being a teen-ager during World War II is tough. Finding out you're the next keeper of the real Cinderella's dress is even tougher.

Kate simply wants to create window displays at the department store where she's working, trying to help out with the war effort. But when long-lost relatives from Poland arrive with a steamer trunk they claim holds the Cinderella's dress, life gets complicated.

Now, with a father missing in action, her new sweetheart shipped off to boot camp, and her great aunt losing her wits, Kate has to unravel the mystery before it's too late.

After all, the descendants of the wicked stepsisters will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve.

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Cinderella's Shoes: Chapter Two pgs 14-16 

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Kate, but short of finding Cinderella’s missing slippers, I don’t know how your brother will find anything new. It’s been—” 

Kate held up her hand. “It’s been too long. That’s what everyone keeps saying. But Mom and I can’t quite believe it. She still won’t look through Dad’s things that the army returned. She’s still hoping... Wait. Why would you mention the slippers?”  

Johnny looked sheepish. “That’s what those Burgosov men said. I know they were trying to trick you, but why would they come up with that particular lie? They didn’t seem like the brightest fellows, so maybe they let the truth slip out.” 

Kate leaned back and stared at the ceiling. That was exactly what she had been thinking. “Did I make a mistake?” 

“You followed your intuition, and it paid off. They didn’t have the slippers, and they didn’t know about your dad. Doesn’t mean the shoes aren’t real.”  

“I wish I could talk to them again.” 

“The guys in jail? You’re kidding, right? Why don’t you just ask Princess Kolodenko?” 

“I did, but she told me the shoes were lost to the family. The Burgosovs are the only ones who can help.” 

Johnny gaped at her. “Do you hear what you’re saying? You want to risk talking to those criminal brothers to get information on a pair of fairy-tale shoes that don’t belong to you, and whose owner seems to be satisfied that they’re gone. She’s not even looking for them, is she?” 

Princess Kolodenko didn’t have the need that Kate did. One of her granddaughters 

had died in the war, but they knew what happened to her. There was no mystery for them to solve. No need to risk anything. Kate raised her eyebrows in a look that she hoped said, Yes, it sounds foolish, but I’m going to do it anyway.

Johnny laughed. “Anyone hearing us outside this room would think we were loony.”  

Kate smiled, and soon began laughing herself.  

Johnny sobered. He leaned forward and searched Kate’s eyes. “How do you think the shoes will help you find your dad? Didn’t the prince have to go door to door until he found Cinderella?” 

The last of the laughter floated out of Kate. “I don’t know. I thought maybe if I wore them, they would guide me to him.” She cringed. “Silly, right? But the dress is unusual. What if the shoes are, too? What if they do find people? I have this crazy connection to a fairy-tale family; I should be able to use it when I need help.” 

“Okay,” he said. “I’m in. Whatever you need me to do.” 

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SHONNA SLAYTON is the author of the YA novels Cinderella's Dress, (Summer 2014) and Cinderella's Shoes (Fall 2015) published by Entangled Teen. She finds inspiration in reading vintage diaries written by teens, who despite using different slang, sound a lot like teenagers today. When not writing, Shonna enjoys amaretto lattes and spending time with her husband and children in Arizona.

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Sinner's Steel by Sarah Castille

He’s hell on wheels and she’s the one who got away.  Sinner’s Steel, the third novel in the Sinner’s Motorcycle Club series is a vivid and powerful MC romance from Sarah Castille.  Fans of Joanna Wylde and Kristen Ashley’s biker romances will love this intense, rough and raw addition to the Sinner's Motorcycle Club series.

Title: Sinner’s Steel

Author: Sarah Castille

Series: Sinner’s Tribe

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Print Length: 352 pages

HE’S HELL ON WHEELS.

Tall, dark, and dangerously handsome, Zane “Tracker” Colter is the strong, silent type of tattooed muscle biker who drives women wild. But as a master of strategy for the outlaw MC club, Sinner’s Tribe, he doesn’t have time to play around with groupies and biker chicks-especially when he can’t stop thinking about Evie, the girl who got away…

SHE’S PLAYING WITH FIRE.

Evie’s been in love with Zane ever since they were children-until he broke her heart and disappeared. Now he’s back in her life, bigger and badder than ever. Zane is stunned by how beautiful and confident Evie’s become, using her artistic talent to customize motorcycles. He wants her so bad, he’d ride through fire to win her back. There’s one problem: Evie is dating his deadliest rival-the leader of the Black Jacks-and if Evie and Zane hook up, there’ll be hell to pay…

See where it all began with book 1 of the Sinner’s Tribe series, Rough Justice.

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“I can’t do this.” Evie pulled away, her cheeks burning with a flush of heat. She knew Zane, the dark, passionate, slightly awkward high-school senior who made her stomach flutter when he smiled; the boy with a good heart who’d been dealt a bad hand in life; her protector and one-time friend. But this man . . . this biker—broad and heavily muscled, tatted and pierced, ruthless and dominant, who walked and talked with confidence and swagger, and so easily manipulated her body, awakening long dormant passion and desire—was a stranger to her. 

A stranger who made her body respond with a single touch. A stranger who ignited a blazing hot chemistry that made her feel alive. A stranger who had disappeared when her father’s body was still warm on the ground.

Zane released a tortured breath and turned her to face him. “Things didn’t go right between us when we met the other day. We had things we needed to say, and we didn’t get to say them.” His corded throat tightened when he swallowed. “Ask me, Evie.”

Emotion welled up in her chest, pushing the words to the tip of her tongue. Although she knew the question was a betrayal in itself, she needed to hear the truth. For Ty. And for her own peace of mind. “Did you kill my dad?”

“No, sweetheart. It wasn’t me.”

Her breath left her in a rush, her knees giving way. If not for his arms around her, she would have fallen to the ground. 

“In my heart I knew, but I needed to hear it,” she whispered.

“And I needed to say it.” He brushed a rough finger over her cheek. “After I saw

you again, and we had words, I thought we were done. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get over the fact you didn’t wait for me. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. When I was at your place, and T-Rex had his hands on you . . .”  He drew in a ragged breath. "We’re not done, Evie. I don’t expect you to forgive me for leaving the way I did, and maybe one day I will understand why you didn’t wait, but I will never be done with you.” He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her.

At first, his lips were soft, hesitant, as if he thought she might slap him again, but when a low moan escaped her lips, he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer as he ravaged her mouth. 

Evie wrapped her arms around him and molded her body against his as she met every desperate stroke of his tongue with one of her own. His grip tightened and when she tried to pull away, gasping for breath, he nipped her bottom lip demanding more.

Shocked by the intensity of her reaction, she wrenched herself away, the rapid rise and fall of her chest matching his, but when she took a step back, he followed, one hand curled behind her neck, the other gentle on her hip as he pressed his lips to her temple. “I got shit to do tonight, but I need to see you again. I’ll swing by your place tomorrow night.”

Her blood chilled, and not just because she wasn’t ready for him to meet Ty. “You can’t. I ... I have plans.”

“Cancel them.”

God, those two words, demanding and defiant, laced with expectation and desire, did strange things to her stomach. If it had been anyone else she had agreed to meet for

dinner, she would have done as he asked. But she had no way of contacting Viper other than making a trip to his clubhouse, which she wasn’t prepared to do, and as Connie said, he wasn’t the kind of man to blow off in such a casual manner. Plus, she needed some distance. Kissing Zane had never been in the program.

“I can’t.”

“Then I’ll find you.” He didn’t wait for a response. Instead he reached over her for the paint box, then took her hand and led her out of the closet, as if he could keep her from running with only his touch.

It would be so easy to give in.

Rough Justice (The Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club Book 1)

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Beyond the Cut (The Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club Book 2)

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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies.

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Josette by Kathleen Bittner Roth

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JOSETTE

When Hearts Dare #3

Kathleen Bittner Roth

Releasing Sept 29th, 2015

Kensington: Zebra

"Monsieur Andrews, welcome to my home."

At the smoky, velvet sound, Cameron swung around. Every function in his body--heart, breath, blood ceased to function.

She was lovely. More than lovely.

Tendrils of raven hair framed a face so exquisite, it disarmed him. Her mouth, a soft, dewy pink, parted. And those eyes, as dark as Creole coffee, intelligent and assessing, roamed over him and then back to take hold of his. He needed to step closer, to stroke her skin. To possess her. But would his wealth and worldly experience be a match for the free-spirited Cajun-born widow?

Across the oceans, between worlds old and new--two lost souls find themselves at a crossroads.

"An exciting new voice in historical romance." --Anna Campbell, award‑winning author of What a Duke Dares

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In less than ten minutes, Cameron and Alex were in and out of the mercantile and in front of the public baths.

Alex twisted away. “I ain’t goin’ in there to get buggered by some lusty sailor who can’t wait to be slidin’ his wiggle worm into some doxy.”

Cameron halted, his neck hairs bristling. “Is that why you refused a bath aboard ship?”

A slow turn of Alex’s head away from Cameron’s eyes, and he let go a soft, “Oui.”

By now, Cameron had moved beyond hunger and frustration, and was fast working his way into full-blown anger. “Then it’s to my home we’ll go, but if you so much as slip a candlestick inside one of your pockets, I’ll have your head on a platter.”

“Oui, Papa.”

“Don’t call me that!” Hell, the boy could belong to his cousin, Trevor. No, those were definitely Cameron’s eyes. But still, the idea was preposterous. “How old did you say you were?”

Alex shrugged. “Didn’t.”

“Well, do so, now,” he roared.

Alex only grinned. “I’ll be needin’ dat bath first, don’cha know.”

Bates, a miner-turned-butler, met Cameron at the door to his California Hill mansion. Cameron shoved the paperwrapped clothing at him. “See to it Alex here gets a decent bath, and have Cook fix a couple of plates.”

“Jambalaya would suit,” Alex piped in. “But I ain’t takin’ no bath with your man here tinkin’ to scrub me clean an’ bugger me at the same time.”

The butler’s cheeks flushed, but he made no comment. Cameron fought a grin. That must have curled the old boy’s toes. “There’s no jambalaya to be had in San Francisco, and you can bloody well take a bath alone, but I’ll be checking your pockets when you come down, you hear?”

“Oui,” Alex said, and jauntily climbed the stairs behind Bates. “You got yerself a peculiar accent, Papa. Sometimes you sound like a right good Frenchman out of Nawlins oughta, but other times you sound like a proper Englishman. Just saying so you know I pays attention.”

“Christ.” Cameron turned on his heel and made his way into the library, where he dropped onto the sofa with an exaggerated exhale. How the devil could a predicament like this have popped up out of nowhere? And now of all times, when he was about to embark on an endless journey to nowhere.

A Cajun bastard? Not likely. Cameron had been just seventeen when he left New Orleans. He and Trevor had been hell-raisers, which was why Cameron had ended up in a private school in England and later at Cambridge, but the last thing he could’ve done was leave a child behind. An hour later, when Alex failed to appear, Cameron went looking for him in the guest quarters. He gave a quick rap on the door.

“Entre, Papa. I be all cleaned up and dressed in my new clothes, now.”

“Haughty little fool,” Cameron mumbled, and helped himself inside.


And nearly fell over.

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Born in Minnesota, Kathleen Bittner Roth has lived all over the U.S.: Idaho, Washington, California, Texas and New York. Currently, she resides in Budapest, Hungary, often called the Paris of the East. Kathleen has won countless awards for her writing, including finaling in RWA's prestigious Golden Heart contest. She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, including the Hearts Through History chapter and has been a contributing editor for an online romance magazine as well as writing and producing successful seminars and meditation CDs.

You can learn more about Kathleen and her books at kathleenbittnerroth.com 

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