Spotlight & Excerpt: American Bourbon + Giveaway

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American Bourbon
by Jennifer Jenkins
Genre: Fiction, Drama, Suspense

 

Jennifer Jenkins’s AMERICAN BOURBON is a compelling and potent family saga filled with evocative characters as strong and flinty as the Appalachia hills from whence they come, set against a smooth plot that goes down with an easy, supple, clean finish.” –Tony Ray Morris, author of DEEP RIVER BLUES

Peopled with a cast of characters and a setting out of an early Cormac McCarthy novel, American Bourbon . . . starts out with a burn, working its way through you, then settling into your bones, where memories of the journey linger.” – Jeff Talarigo, Author of THE PEARL DIVER

A day of reckoning, as thick as the fog in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, looms over the McKinsey clan in this spirited tale of fury, whiskey and grief. And while Jenkins’ rendering of Caleb, the abusive and hard-driving patriarch who parlays an illegal moonshining operation into a multi-million dollar company, is harsh, there is grace to be found among his three grown children as they find their way back to one another. Illuminating, nuanced and heartfelt.” – Laurie Loewenstein, Author of DEATH OF A RAINMAKER

When an illegal moonshine still explodes deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the McKinsey family’s world-famous (and legal) whiskey, Bourbon Sweet Tea, is threatened. Government agents swarm the area, eager to implicate Sweet Tea founder Caleb McKinsey, who was a notorious bootlegger before going legit. Finding out he is dying, McKinsey’s ready to hand on his legacy. But none of his children are on speaking terms. His daughter Brigit is determined to remake the company against her father’s will, while his sons want nothing to do with their abusive father. When Caleb dangles a lucrative inheritance if all his children return, Brigit and her older brother Mack grudgingly call a truce to find missing brother Kieran. They journey to New York City, where Kieran fled after his girlfriend disappeared. As crimes from Caleb’s past promise to destroy Bourbon Sweet Tea, the only way to save their company is for Brigit to convince her brothers to embrace the family legends, and live as outlaws once again.

americanbourbon - excerpt
Brigit McKinsey charged into her last illegal hangover with eyes wide open. She burst out from under a mess of tangled blankets, dirty clothes, an empty cellophane sleeve of cracker crumbs, and a scrawny gray cat that did not belong to her. At a little after noon, she banged at the insistent alarm clock that had been ringing and knocked it off the stand, when it finally shut up. She glanced at an indecipherable phone number scribbled on her left hand. Swinging her legs slowly to the floor, she sat up to assess the condition of her head. Not clear, but not terrible either. Time to shake off the cocktail cobwebs of the night before.
Stumbling to the kitchen, she twisted up long, wavy masses of wild auburn hair and fastened them in a potato chip clip. A half-filled bottle of her family’s famous product, Bourbon Sweet Tea, perched precariously near the sink before she tucked it safely back into the cabinet. She searched the refrigerator for a Coke and grabbed two lonely Saltines off the counter. She prided herself on her ability to get up and go, no matter how much she’d drunk. That was why she was a Master of the Party, a title she relished. None of her friends in Touraine had come to the party innocent; drinking was a hazard of small-town living in western Virginia. Either the Baptist God was going to save you, or the Devil had already taken hold of your soul. Brigit didn’t think she needed her soul.
“Happy-almost-birthday!” Annamae Hamilton cried as she flung open her best friend’s front door, bringing in the bright August sunshine. Her cornsilk hair flowed around her tiny shoulders like a waterfall, the coveted treasure of all the Southern belles in her family. With Annamae barely five foot one, Brigit towered six inches over her. They were polar opposites in looks and temperament, with Brigit forgiving Annamae’s addled innocence and Annamae putting up with Brigit’s sharp cynicism.
Brigit, with a mouthful of crackers, raised a hand to wave.
“I think I know where your birthday party’s going to be,” Annamae said. 
 “Where?” Brigit mumbled.
“You’re not going to believe this, but I saw your brother making plans.”
“Mack?” Brigit said, spraying crumbs down the front of her shirt.
“He was going into the library with a very intense look on his face.”
“Wait, what?”
“Mack, your sexy brother,” Annamae purred.
“Ew, shut up, you pig.”
“So I think the party’s at the library.”
“Maybe he was just getting a book.”
“Brigit …”
“What? He knows how to read.”
Brigit absently placed the crackers on the counter. She snagged a pair of blue jean shorts from a pile of discarded clothing on the floor and pulled them on. She grabbed a wadded-up T-shirt too before Annamae shook her head and snatched it away, handing her a cleaner shirt with fewer wrinkles and no stains.
“No, but seriously. Remember the bluegrass party last fall at the library? Remember how much fun it was, with the bar and band and everything? And they stayed open all night, because it was a private party,” Annamae said.
“But why? Why is Mack doing this?”
“He’s your brother.”
“Look, Annamae, I know it’s supposed to be a surprise and all, but you gotta come clean. Tell me what you know.” Making demands of Annamae wasn’t really fair. She was too honest and too convinced the world was a good place.
“Well, I don’t know anything. Yet. But Mack’s got a lot to make up for, in the party department.”
“Did you talk to him? What did he tell you?” Brigit was now digging through the clothing pile for a pair of shoes that matched.
“No one in your family talks to me until the very last minute.” Annamae said. It was true. Annamae couldn’t keep her mouth shut any better than a big dog at a barbeque.
“Well, it’s insane, even for you.”
“What if he is, though? What if he and your dad are doing it together? Wouldn’t that be a great twenty-first birthday present?”
 Brigit watched her friend’s face as she floated into the childhood fairy tale of one big happy McKinsey family.
“No. There’s no way my brother’s throwing me a party. Or my father, either. It’s been three years since the Graduation Disaster, Annamae. Mack and Caleb have learned to leave me alone.”
“Brigit,” Annamae said, “You have to forgive them sometime.”
“No, I don’t.”
“But …”
“I thought you had an interview at Fardowner’s Cafe today,” Brigit said.
“I forgot!” Annamae jumped up. “I gotta go. I’ll figure it all out and call you later.” She sprinted out the door, leaving it open.
“You won’t figure anything out, you never do,” Brigit yelled after her from the doorway. She and Annamae had been friends since they could sit up in a sandbox, but my God, she was blonde.
The acrid scent of smoke assaulted her nose, the slightly sweet warning of alcohol going up in flames. She hurried outside to see two thin plumes of black, dancing and twirling around each other as they rose from Bucks Elbow Mountain. It was not Bourbon Sweet Tea that was burning, she noted with relief. She’d know if that was going up. She was connected to the distillery in her heart. It was where she belonged. On her twenty-first birthday, she’d finally be old enough to vote on her stock. It was the day she’d been waiting for her whole life. She’d have her big twenty-first birthday bash, and then cut back on the drinking and get serious. She was no longer the little girl, the little sister, and they could no longer pretend she didn’t exist.
She was going to take over Bourbon Sweet Tea.

 

Jennifer Jenkins has written for Hippocampus Magazine, NonBinary Review, Up North Lit, Canopy Review, Parentheses Journal, and others. She earned two Glimmer Train Fiction Award honorable mentions and a nomination for a PEN America Short Story Award. She has also worked in the theater, with Manhattan Theatre Club, Sondheim’s Young Playwrights, and the PBS series Great Performances.

 

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Book Blitz & Excerpt: Kim & Skip + Giveaway

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TITLE: Kim & Skip
SERIES: Men of Memphis Blues #0.5
AUTHOR: Sam E. Kraemer
COVER ARTIST: Arden O’Keefe – KSL Designs
RELEASE DATE: June 25th, 2021
LENGTH: 15,000 words approx.

Kimber “Kim” Donlyn

Mistakes… I can’t say I’ve made any. I couldn’t have imagined some of the things that came my way, but I wouldn’t change them for anything because if I did, I wouldn’t be the man I am, nor would I have the people I love. I live my life without regrets because life is too short… That’s a lesson I would prefer to skip, but that’s not possible.

I’m a drag queen—Gimme Dong—and I co-own a drag club, Ben Dover’s Dragtime Cabaret. I’ve had men come and go in my life, but one stuck around—in a most peculiar way. Our relationship isn’t for everyone, but it works for us. I’ll never find another man like mine. Here’s how my grand love affair started…

Stephen “Skip” Mitchell

I’m a baseball scout for the Miami Sharks, and I’m a cliché—I find a boy in every port. One night I get some life changing news, and I don’t want to be alone with it. Down the block from my apartment, there’s a bar, and lo-and-behold—there’s a stool that fits me well. The bartender is just the eye candy I need, but he becomes much more than I can imagine I’d want… or need.

Finding the person who is made for me is a blessing. I find my priorities change in ways I’d have never believed. This is the beginning of a story I never thought I’d tell.

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EXCERPT

There was a cute guy—about five-eight with light brown hair and a bubble butt that deserved an award—pouring drinks. He had a big smile and exuded positivity, based on his body language.

He had some meat on his bones, which I liked a lot, and the five guys at the bar were laughing at whatever story he was telling. I decided his jocularity was just the pick-me-up I needed, so I walked over and took a seat in an empty chair to listen.

“So, I had my wetsuit around my waist while I was checking the equipment before we got on the boat. I’d seen him giving me the once over a couple of times, so I just smiled and went about my work. Unfortunately, his girlfriend didn’t miss him checking me out either.

“After everyone was settled and we were headed out to open water, I started organizing things for the dive.” I could see the other guys at the bar were intrigued by his story, and I was looking for any fucking thing to take my mind off the news I’d just received. The bartender seemed to notice me and nodded before he turned to his friends.

“Hang on, y’all.” The good-looking guy held up a finger and headed in my direction. “Hello and welcome. I’m Kim, and I pour the booze. What can I get for you?” He had the most incredible brown eyes and a killer grin.

“Uh… I’ll have a Jack on the rocks, please. Actually, make it a double.” The guy—Kim—nodded and stepped away to pour my drink, returning to where I sat before he tossed a pink napkin on the bar, along with a fresh bowl of snack mix and my drink.

“‘S this about the size of a Tuesday night crowd? I live in the neighborhood and travel a lot. Been meaning to come in, but I’m usually too tired by the time I get home.” I was shit at chit-chat with a cute guy.

He grinned, thankfully. “It was busy earlier—Queen Karaoke semi-finals were tonight. We’ve been having a contest since the beginning of the year for the best drag karaoke performer in Miami. Next Tuesday we’ll have the finals from eight until eleven. What’s your name?”

I took a sip of the mind-numbing elixir that was the dream-child of Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel. It burned all the way down, but it didn’t burn away my broken heart.

I placed the glass on the napkin and looked into sparkling eyes. He was a damn attractive guy, and his smile was uplifting to my shitty state of mind. “I’m Stephen, but someone as handsome as you better call me Skip, as in ‘let’s Skip the small talk’.” The bartender released a raucous laugh, and I immediately liked the guy.

AUTHOR BIO

sam e kraemerI grew up in the rural Midwest before moving to the East Coast with a dashing young man who swept me off my feet, and we’ve now settled in the desert of Nevada. I write M/M contemporary romance, subgenres: sweet low angst, age-gap, cowboys, mysteries, and military/mercenary to name a few. I am a firm believer in “Love is Love” regardless of how it presents itself, and I’m a staunch ally of the LGBTQIA+ community.

I have a loving, supportive family, and I feel blessed by the universe and thankful every day for all I have been given. I’m old enough to know how to have fun, but too old to care what others think about my definition of a good time. In my heart and soul, I believe I hit the cosmic jackpot. Cheers!

Stalk me everywhere.


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Book Blitz & Excerpt: Revealed + Giveaway

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Revealed, by Zoe Allison

Word Count: 84,315
Book Length: SUPER NOVEL
Pages: 324

Genres:

ACTION AND ADVENTURE
CONTEMPORARY
EROTIC ROMANCE
MYSTERY
PARANORMAL
VAMPIRES

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Book Description

Valentino has a secret—but he’s not the only one.

Valentino Bianco is the leader of a covert league named The Organization. Made up of benevolent vampires, its objective is to thwart and destroy the malevolent of their kind and protect humanity. Operating under the anonymous guise of Mr. X, Valentino’s identity as leader is shrouded in secrecy, as is the very existence of vampires.

Victoria Black has her own secrets, one of which is that she’s in love with Valentino. However, that isn’t the only matter she must keep from him at all costs.

Valentino and Victoria, along with their allies, must investigate a devastating malevolent campaign that is destroying humankind on a massive scale. But can they unravel the mystery of who is behind it in time to prevent the fall of both humanity and The Organization? And in the end, will all the secrets be revealed?

Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of murder and bloodletting, acts of terrorism, coercive control and emotional abuse.

Publisher’s note: This book is a sequel to Impervious and is best read in order.

Excerpt

Valentino studied the data that Priyanka was displaying on the virtual screen.

“We now have the last of Glassmarsh’s allies in custody,” she said, as a list of names

accompanied by pictures flashed up. “But none of them has yielded any information regarding the background of his sibling.”

“Therefore,” Vale said, “we are no further forward than when we captured him over ten years ago. The only advance is that we now know he is Glassmarsh’s brother.”

“Correct,” Priyanka said.

Victoria examined the details. “We don’t know where they came from?”

“No,” Priyanka confirmed.

“How can we find out,” Victoria asked, “if none of these guys knew anything?”

The three sat in silence for a moment. Vale stole a glance at Vic as she frowned and bit her lower lip. Her blue-green gaze seemed troubled. Priyanka tapped the keyboard and the screen changed to display intelligence from other agencies around the world. “We need to cast the net back out again,” she said.

The door opened and Lorenzo entered, followed by Gareth.

Lorenzo took his place next to Priyanka, leaning across the table to shake Vic’s hand. “Hi, we’ve not met in person yet. I’m Lorenzo, Priyanka’s deputy.”

Vic smiled. “Great to meet you. Victoria Black.”

Lorenzo smiled back. “I know. We’ve been very impressed with your work on this case so far.”

Vic flushed. Gareth approached her from the other side and kissed her cheek as he sat next to her. Vale blinked and looked away.

Priyanka frowned, glancing at Gareth and Vic as she moved some images around on the screen. “We’re checking to see if there’s anything here that could help us.”

Vale scanned the information, but it all pertained to human issues…mainly the latest spate of terrorist attacks that were sweeping Europe. He read through the details of the most recent bombing, in Berlin. Why do humans do it to each other? Their life spans were short enough without these atrocities.

There were no particulars that might aid them in their own cause, however.

“What’s that?” Vic asked.

“What’s what?” Vale said. “I cannot see anything here that would help us.”

“No,” she said. “It’s not something I see. It’s something I hear…outside.”

Vale tuned into his sensitive vampire hearing, detecting a subtle noise. He pressed a button on the desk and the tint of the glass wall morphed from opaque to transparent. He moved over to the window. The noise was a low-pitched rumbling, too low for the human ear to pick up. It was coming from the tallest building in London.

“What’s happening at The Shard?” Lorenzo said. He typed a few things into the keyboard but nothing of value appeared on the screen.

Vale peered more closely, trying to zoom in on any slight giveaway as to the source of the noise.

Just then, a boom emitted from The Shard, loud enough this time for the human ear to detect. Shattering glass sprayed out from the top floors. Everyone froze for a split second. Vale looked at Vic and the two of them broke into a sprint toward the stairs, Priyanka, Lorenzo and Gareth hot on their heels. Within seconds, they’d made it to the lobby of HQ.

“Get to the main entrance of The Shard,” Vale told them. “We can sneak in while everyone is running scared, then divide up to search for survivors and pull them out.”

They ran onto the sidewalk and toward the damaged building. The panic on the street was palpable as people ran past them in the opposite direction. No wonder they call it terrorism.

It didn’t take long to get there. They couldn’t go flat out and alert the public to their superhuman speed, but they could go faster than usual because the petrified humans were too focused on escaping danger to realize the velocity of their group.

They entered the building. Something didn’t sit right with Vale. “Why is no one exiting?” he asked the others. “This lobby is deserted and there was no one coming out of the main doors.”

“There were a lot of people on the street running away,” Vic said. “Maybe whoever could get away is out already?”

He shook his head. “They didn’t look as if they had come out of the building—more like passers-by on the street who were fleeing.”

“Let’s stick with Vale’s plan,” Lorenzo said, determination in his dark eyes. “Divide and conquer.”

The others made noises of agreement.

Vale adjusted his earpiece. They all carried them to stay in contact during such situations. “Take a section each and start searching.”

Priyanka gestured to the rear of the lobby. “Use the stairs, because the elevators will be out of commission.”

Gareth smiled. “We’re faster than the elevators anyway.”

Priyanka glanced at him and he gave her a wink.

“Fall out,” Vale said. “I will take the top.”

They entered the stairs and Vale streaked ahead, arriving on the highest habitable floor within seconds. A smoky atmosphere greeted him, but it impaired neither his enhanced vision nor his breathing. He listened for the sound of injured humans but could only hear silence, and it increased his unease.

He walked into one of the bars and scanned the room. Bodies were apparent, lying on the floor and the chairs, yet none of them made a sound or any movements. The blast cannot have immediately killed everybody in here. Someone must still be alive.

Vale checked the lifeless form of the nearest person. Nothing…and not the next. He rubbed his forehead as he scanned the area and something occurred to him. None of these people had a mark on them. For all intents and purposes, they appeared to be sleeping. A gut feeling told him to check their necks. As he moved the nearest person’s head to the side, two small puncture wounds on the neckline became apparent—very neat, with no laceration of the flesh.

His insides turned to ice. “Guys,” he said, speaking to the others via their earpieces.

“I know,” came Vic’s reply. “I see it too.”

“So do I,” Priyanka said. “This is the work of the malevolent.”

“Everyone,” Lorenzo said. “They’re all drained. But how?”

Vale exited the bar. “So what was the meaning of the explosion?”

“A cover-up,” Gareth said.

“But it isn’t covered up,” Priyanka replied. “The authorities will find these bodies once the search and rescue get here, which could be any minute.”

The true meaning behind it hit Vale, just as another rumbling started deep below them. “Get out!” he said. “The building is coming down!”

He dashed to the stairs and joined the group zipping down and out onto the street, where they accelerated into a sprint. Another huge explosion ripped through the building as they traveled flat-out along the road, a huge cloud of dust and debris overtaking them.

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About the Author

Zoe Allison

Growing up, Zoe Allison loved stories about falling in love. But rather than being rescued by a knight in shining armour, she imagined herself fighting dragons alongside him, battling supervillains as heroic allies, or teaming up to dive into perilous waters in order to save a loved one from drowning. Once Zoe did grow up, she became a doctor. But as time went on, she craved a creative outlet to counter the soul sapping burnout that her career inflicted upon her, and also to achieve those happy endings that were so often lacking in the real world. She wanted heroes who truly love and value women, who find their true love inspiring, are fascinated by her, want to connect with her as a soulmate and fully open themselves to her on an emotional level. And so, Zoe began to write her romances.

A Zoe Allison novel promises a heroine who is not only her hero’s equal in ability and intellect, but whose hero equals her in emotional intelligence. Her characters overcome conflict infused with spine tingling sexual tension to forge a deep connection as soul mates as well as lovers, and ultimately, they both rescue each other emotionally. Even if they might begin their journey as enemies…

Giveaway

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Zoe Allison Revealed Giveaway

ZOE ALLISON IS GIVING AWAY THIS FABULOUS PRIZE TO ONE LUCKY WINNER. ENTER HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A LOVELY GIFT PACKAGE AND GET YOUR FREE ZOE ALLISON ROMANCE BOOK! Notice: This competition ends on 6th July 2021 at 5pm GMT. Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.

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