Tag Archives: romantic comedy

Shopping for an Heir (Book 10 in the Shopping series) by Julia Kent (@jkentauthor)

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Blurb:

Gerald Wright works for billionaires. He never imagined he’d become one.

The former Navy Seal is a chauffeur by day, artist by night, so when hotter-than-ever ex-fiancée Suzanne Dayton interrupts his nude model sculpting class to serve him with inheritance paperwork from a man he’s never heard of, he assumes it’s a joke.

Turns out the joke’s on him. There’s just one catch. A big one.

And it might be Suzanne — in more ways than he ever dreamed.

Shopping for an Heir is the 10th book in the New York Times bestselling Shopping for a Billionaire series by Julia Kent.

Buy links:

BN/Nook: http://bit.ly/29DaZZv

iBooks: http://apple.co/29ssiMd

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/29ZkKTg

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2a3mXRh

Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/29IQds1

Amazon Australia: http://amzn.to/29JqH84

Google Play: http://bit.ly/29MNgdk

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2afregI

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/2atJMcM

*****

shopping-for-an-heir-finalExcerpt:

He smelled like home. Like love. Like promise and comfort, like passion and disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” he snapped, his face alternating between joy and anger. “Why are you here?”

Coming to her senses, she extracted the thick envelope from her brief bag, looking him square in the eye. “Legal matter. I’ve been instructed to deliver this to you.” She used remarkable restraint in not peering around Gerald to get more of an eyeful of Declan McCormick’s stately form.

Then again, Gerald was an impenetrable wall of muscle himself, not easily subverted. She’d need taller heels to peer around him. He did not move his palm from her arm, and his touch infused her, a deeply satisfying sense of connection slowly creeping along her skin, her breath quickening, his touch ringing bells inside her that had been dormant for a decade.

“What is it?”

“Read it. You’ll understand.” She turned on her heel and started to leave, shaking inside so hard she might trigger the New Madrid fault.

He glared at her. “What? That’s it? Ten years and that’s it?” He pulled back, breaking contact.

All her anxiety faded, like an antidote injected straight into the heart, his words kicking in, providing such clarity.

“Ten years you chose, Gerald,” she hissed, mouth curling, throat seizing. “You do not get to put this on me.” Grief flared in her, a burst like a fireball, and then it turned to the ash of anger, a light coat settling over every spare surface of her heart.

His eyebrows shot up, eyes gliding away, his nose twitching and mouth tightening as if holding back.

Squaring her shoulders, Suzanne decided to make this easy for him. God only knew why. “My law firm is handling the estate of deceased billionaire Harold Hopewell. You’ve been named in his will.” She tapped the thick envelope in his hand. “These papers explain everything.”

“Explain what?”

“You’re his heir. One of them, at least.”

*****

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men’s room toilet (and he isn’t a billionaire). She lives in New England with her husband and three sons in a household where the toilet seat is never, ever, down

Social Media Links:

Website:  http://jkentauthor.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jkentauthor

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Release blitz hosted by Writer Marketing Services.

Out Now – Shopping for a CEO’s Fiancée by Julia Kent (@jkentauthor)

SFACEO-high-res-ebook-683x1024Book Blurb:

We skipped right over the whole fiancée thing and went straight from girlfriend to wife.

At least, I think that’s what happened. I woke up after my brother’s Vegas wedding reception with my luscious girlfriend in bed with me. We’re both wearing wedding rings.

So is her coworker, Josh.

And our Vegas chauffeur, Geordi.

Who the hell am I married to?

Unraveling this mystery will be as difficult as figuring out why Amanda and I are having panic attacks over the thought of being husband and wife.

Or, whoever we’re actually married to.

Oh, ^%$#.

It’s true that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, with one exception:

If she’s my wife, we’ll make it work.

If she’s not?

I’ll make it happen.

Get the 9th book in Julia Kent’s New York Times bestselling romantic comedy series as Andrew and Amanda sort out their wild Vegas night…and the rest of their lives.

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1sBw3IN
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1sgnuDE
Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/25nt9pC
Amazon Australia: http://bit.ly/1TKfjbz
iBooks: http://apple.co/1X94p1O
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1VKr5pI
BN: http://bit.ly/1rvtVlC
GP: http://bit.ly/1TA3zp4

*****

EXCERPT:

As she makes a small sound of pleasure in the back of her throat, my thumb migrates, the pad resting lightly on the pulse at her collarbone, seeking to feel the sound. Our hips press into each other, my erection painful in these cramped, tight shorts, and all I want to do is free myself, then be caged within her warm, wet madness.

Losing myself in her is the best form of escape.

Her hands slide up and down, one north to the nape of my neck, one south to the curve of my ass, which tightens at the initiation of her touch. Her hand is insistent, demanding, righteous and full of assumptions.

She acts like she has the right to touch me like this.

I like that.

I break the kiss and bend, thighs screaming, hamstrings ready to defect, put one arm under her knees and the other around her back, palm cupping her breast, and she’s in my arms, then on my desk.

And I’m on my knees.

Ignoring the shaking muscles in my legs, which tremble from strain and, perhaps, desire, I part her legs, finding black silk, lace, and nothing but barrier. It’s beautiful, but this will not do.

“Not here!” she gasps, but her voice isn’t firm, the protest half-hearted, as if she needs to check a box on a list of How To Be Professional qualities she should have in the workplace. She’s turned on and ready, the illicit desk sex and my mouth too much to let her mount another argument, her head lolling back as I dive in, pushing aside the piece of cotton and finding my way to give.

Sunlight glints off the wedding ring on my hand as I reach back, my hand resting on her knee.

It’s the last thing I see until she chokes back a cry from her orgasm, her fingers pulling tightly on my hair, and begs me, “Please. In me. Now.” Normally talkative, Amanda loses access to part of the speech center of her brain as we spiral deeper into lust and passion. It’s a tell.

I love this tell.

*****

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge, and new adult books that push contemporary boundaries. From billionaires to BBWs to rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every book she writes, but unlike Trevor from Random Acts of Crazy, she has never kissed a chicken. She loves to hear from her readers by email at julia@jkentauthor.com

Social Media Links

Website:  http://www.jkentauthor.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor

Facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581883428728637/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jkentauthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/jkentauthor

Newsletter & Text Signup:  http://www.prosaicpress.com/jkentauthor/contact-us/newsletter-and-text-signup/

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Release blitz hosted by Writer Marketing Services.

Shopping for a Billionaire’s Wife by Julia Kent #romance #romcom

SFABWBook Blurb:

Who needs a SWAT team to escape from their own wedding? Me.

My Momzilla turned us into hostages at our own ceremony, so Declan and I are getting married the good old-fashioned way, just like everybody else.

By calling in his private security team, stealing away before the ceremony by helicopter, connecting to his corporate jet and heading for Las Vegas.

The Boston wedding of the year is about to become a trashy Elvis drive-thru ceremony.

Until the best man spills the beans and Mom, Dad, my sisters, his brothers, my maid of honor, my friend Josh, and even my cat, Chuckles, all come along for the ride.

I can’t win, can I?

Oh. Yeah. I already did.

Love conquers all.

Even my crazy family.

Shopping for a Billionaire’s Wife is the 8th book in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shopping for a Billionaire series. After Declan convinces Shannon to escape from their own wedding minutes before the ceremony begins, the madcap adventures are just getting started. When the mother of the bride pries their location out of the tortured best man, the whole crazy crew follows the bride and groom to Las Vegas in this romantic comedy from Julia Kent.

Buy Links: 

iBooks:  http://apple.co/1MakCyR

Amazon US:  http://amzn.to/1MQ6iHe

Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/1PcrclH

Nook/BN:  http://bit.ly/1UteJ0M

Kobo:  http://bit.ly/1PIOrbz

Google Play:  http://bit.ly/1OMTusz

Print:  http://amzn.to/1QHfwIU

Audiobook:  http://adbl.co/1Ml3l2t

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Excerpt:

Bzzzz.

“I’m ready to throw my phone into a running jet engine,” Declan says against my mouth, the vibration of his deep voice making me shiver.

“Better than throwing in my mother,” I joke.

His silence makes me stomach clench.

“Declan!” I say with a nudge.

He laughs, the chuckle a tactile sensation I feel through his chest. My hands are still on his neck and back, and he’s pressing his forehead against mine.

“Let’s not talk about Marie right now,” he says.

“Agreed.”

Without effort, we pivot and return to the path toward the terminal. My wedding dress has a long train, covered in silk, tartan, tulle and what feels like chain mail. Declan seems to anticipate any potential mishap I may experience, expertly shoving various pieces of fabric out of the way so I can move with freedom and grace. Who on earth thought this monstrosity of a wedding dress was a good idea for a July ceremony in Massachusetts?

Oh. Right.

She Who Must Not Be Named.

I love my mom. I do. But I don’t love what the wedding made her become.

We enter the private airport lounge, where a large, thin-screen television is bolted to the ceiling in one corner. When I was a little girl, Dad liked to bring me, Carol and Amy to the local small airport. The place had a diner in it, and we’d order French fries and strawberry milkshakes, spending an hour or two watching the planes land and take off. If we were lucky, a helicopter would come along.

Once, a really friendly pilot let us climb in his plane.

The place is nothing like that little airport. This is where millionaires and billionaires go to avoid the TSA.

The rich really do live different lives than the rest of us.

This lounge is all clean glass and smoky brown leather. If you told me that the same interior designer who decorated James McCormick’s office at Anterdec had done this job, I’d believe you.

It looks like Teddy Roosevelt came back from the dead and demanded his own airport.

The small bar chairs, dark brown and creased with the kind of patina and age that looks shabby on cheaper leather, but chic and old-world sophisticated among the wealthy, are filled with a smattering of men and women, most in their fifties on up.

All of the servers and bartenders are in their twenties, and not a single one has an extra ounce of fat on them. It’s like Crossfit decided to hold a bartender school.

As we walk into the lounge, every single pair of eyes swivels to take us in.

“Why are they staring at us?” I ask Declan, clutching his arm.

“Because you’re wearing a wedding dress and I look like something out of a BBC documentary?” he answers smoothly.

I look down at myself. Look over at him. Take in the kilt, the socks covering his calves, the laces on his special Scottish shoes.

“Oh.”

One of the patrons, a man who is sitting next to a woman who looks like an adventurous traveler and not a mannequin on a rich man’s arm, points to the television, then back to us.

“You two on the run?”

SFABW teaser 2

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge, and new adult books that push contemporary boundaries. From billionaires to BBWs to rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every book she writes, but unlike Trevor from Random Acts of Crazy, she has never kissed a chicken.

Social Media Links:

Website:  http://jkentauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/jkentauthor

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Happy Release Day! Shopping for a CEO (Shopping for a Billionaire series Book 7) by Julia Kent now available

Shopping for a CEOBlurb

I’m thrilled to be the maid of honor in my friend’s wedding, but the best man, Andrew McCormick, is a chauvinistic pig with a God complex.

And I can’t stop kissing him in closets.

(Don’t ask.)

He’s the brother of the groom and the CEO of my biggest mystery shopping account, but suddenly he’s refusing to be in the wedding. He won’t talk about it. Won’t see reason.

He’s such a man.

And he still won’t stop kissing me in random closets.

(Thank goodness.)

I’m a fixer. That’s what I do. I can fix anything if given the chance. But when the game is fixed there’s only so much I can do.

The ball’s in his court now.

Game on.

* * *

Shopping for a CEO is the 7th book in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shopping series. When CEO Andrew McCormick and mystery shopper Amanda Warrick find themselves in the unlikely position as maid of honor and best man in the Boston society wedding of the year, an undeniable attraction and dual stubborn streaks add fuel to the fire in this romantic comedy from Julia Kent.

 

Buy links

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1MyMNVv
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1HDYXsO
iBooks: http://apple.co/1BTcs5l
Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/1IaHf5I
Print: http://amzn.to/1M1Zc3W
BN: http://bit.ly/1fR0CV9
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1OkyPaX
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1J5zEV6

 

Excerpt

“Will the guys go commando?” Marie calls out. “True highlanders don’t wear underwear.”

“The wedding is in July, Mom,” Amy calls back. “In Massachusetts. If you’re going to make all those men wear wool kilts and socks, they’ll probably gratefully go without underwear just to prevent heat exhaustion.”

Marie nods. “Good point.”

“But then there’s the issue of ball sweat,” Amy adds.

Marie frowns and jots down notes on a sticky pad. “Ball sweat? That’s a real thing?”

Amy nods. “They make a special product for it.”

“There’s a product to cure ball sweat? Balls have sweat glands? Where do they hide the pores? And how do you know this?”

“Venture capital project at my internship. They’re coming out with a new product for breast sweat.”

“Now that I know about first hand,” Marie says with a knowing nod. “Breasts do more work than people appreciate. The Girls work up a sweat on a regular basis.”

Considering the fact that Marie hasn’t been pregnant or breastfed in well over two decades, I don’t really want to know what kind of ‘work’ her chest girls have been up to.

Shannon walks in. Chuckles runs to cuddle with her ankles, then rubs his butthole all over her calf.

“Hi to you too, Chuckles. That’s exactly how Declan greets me most nights.”

“Ewwwww,” Amy says, plugging her ears. “I hear enough about Mom’s sex life. Don’t need to know more about yours.”

“Honey, does Declan have a problem with ball sweat?”

“Huh?” Shannon gives Amy an evil look. “What have you been telling her?”

“Amy says the groom and groomsmen will need testicle powder if I ask them to go commando for the wedding.”

“Testicle powder? Is that going to be a wedding favor?”

“Do they make such a thing?” Marie asks, interest piqued.

“Sure,” Amy says. “Personalized bottles and everything. Think of the possibilities. Shannon and Declan, Dry Forever, with the date stamped on there and a logo of a dove. People will forever associate your wedding with smooth sacs.”

 

releaseblitzbutton_shoppingforaceoAuthor bio and web/social media links

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge, and new adult books that push contemporary boundaries. From billionaires to BBWs to rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every book she writes, but unlike Trevor from Random Acts of Crazy, she has never kissed a chicken.

She loves to hear from her readers by email at jkentauthor@gmail.com, on Twitter @jkentauthor, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor . Visit her website at JKentAuthor.com.

Website: http://www.jkentauthor.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jkentauthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jkentauthor

Newsletter: https://app.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p5h7j7

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jkentauthor/shannons-sane-wedding-planning-board/

https://www.pinterest.com/jkentauthor/maries-scottish-themed-wedding-board-for-shannon-a/

Simon Lipson Tells Us About His Novel Inspiration

Thank you for inviting me to contribute a guest post.

A number of people have asked me what inspired me to start writing Song In The Wrong Key and the truth is, I’m not entirely sure. I remember sitting in my local Starbucks a couple of years ago with time on my hands (I was between engagements, dahling) and just started writing. I thought this would be an exercise, something to pique my interest until a voiceover gig or radio show came along. Neither did, it seems, so I carried on. And it didn’t take me long to realise that I was onto something, inspiration in itself. I don’t mean that I believed I was writing a great book, by the way, more that, having suffered through the writing of a dark psychological thriller some years ago, I immediately recognised that I was now doing something in a style that came naturally to me.

I’ve been a (semi) professional comedian/impressionist, actor and comedy scriptwriter for 20 years and have always looked at everything from the comedic standpoint first. That is not to say that I don’t have a serious side (aren’t all comedians meant to be miserable souls?) and I try not to laugh at funerals, for example, but even in the direst of circumstances, laughter can be a release if not a cure. The protagonist, Mike Kenton, is a middle-aged man whose previously contented existence is thrown out of kilter when he loses his job. His marriage comes under strain and his family life is thrown into jeopardy. Meanwhile, his career fails to re-ignite and he hits rock bottom. What’s funny about that? Well, if you ask me, most of it; not in and of itself, of course, but in the gallows humour it provokes. The fact that most reviewers have agreed that the book is ‘laugh out loud funny’ bears testament to that. But I hope Mike, and indeed all of the characters and situations, are real too. This sort of stuff can and does happen; I’ve just chosen to attack it from a comedic perspective.

I’d always been drawn to tales about Ordinary Joes defying the odds, in particular, those whose previously obscure, private lives suddenly become public. As much as I detest the premise behind shows like X Factor (and the drivel and tittle-tattle that spin off from them) there’s something fascinating about them too. As a thwarted musician myself, I always wondered what it would be like to be thrown into the lion’s den of public approbation and opprobrium, so that was the inspiration behind Mike’s journey.  I thought this would play out as an interesting contrast to the disasters befalling him in his professional and family lives.

My other key inspiration was less to do with the book itself than the lack of books like it in the fiction market place. I’m an avid reader but struggle to find contemporary fiction that makes me laugh. Most of the book shops these days are drowning in fantasy, YA, Scandinavian thrillers and commercial erotica. I have no problem with any genre, but the kind of authors I enjoy – Nick Hornby, David Nicholls, Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Tropper – are increasingly rare. So either I’ve misjudged the public mood or I’m at the vanguard of a new breed of comedy novelists. Time will tell!

*****

Song in the Wrong KeyMichael Kenton is a middle-aged man living in middle-class comfort with wife Lisa and daughters Millie and Katia. Drifting complacently towards retirement, Mike’s world is turned upside-down when he is thrown unexpectedly onto the career scrapheap.

While Lisa’s career sky-rockets, Mike slobs around in his track suit playing guitar, rekindling his teenage love affair with pop music. Knowing Lisa wouldn’t approve, he plots a secret ‘comeback’ at a grimy Crouch End bistro where music executive Ben, desperate and out of time, asks if he can enter one of Mike’s songs into the Eurovision Song Contest. With nothing to lose, Mike focuses on Eurovision but quickly finds himself staring down the barrel of low level fame. His crumbling marriage now page five news, he must choose between his musical dream and mending his broken family, a task complicated by the re-appearance of ex-love of his life Faye.

A laugh-out-loud comedy about love, family, friendship and Euro- tack by acclaimed stand-up and comedy writer Simon Lipson.

*****

Simon LipsonSimon Lipson was born in London and took a law degree at the LSE. After a spell as a lawyer, he co-founded legal recruitment company Lipson Lloyd-Jones in 1987. In 1993, Simon took his first tentative steps onto the comedy circuit and has since become an in-demand stand-up and impressionist across the UK, as well as a regular TV and radio performer/writer. His broadcasting credits include Week Ending, Dead Ringers, Loose Ends and Fordham & Lipson (co-wrote and performed own 4 part sketch series) on Radio 4; Interesting…Very Interesting and Simon Lipson’s Xmas Box on Radio 5 and And This Is Them on Radio 2. He is also an experienced voice artiste who has voiced hundreds of advertisements as well as cartoons and documentaries. His first novel, Losing It, a thriller, was published by Matador in 2008. Simon is a columnist for Gridlock Magazine (www.gridlockmagazine.com). His next novel, Standing Up, will be published by Lane & Hart in Autumn 2012.

 

www.songinthewrongkey.com

www.simonlipson.com

http://www.facebook.com/simon.lipson.3

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Song-In-The-Wrong-Key-Simon-Lipson/140280092721031

Twitter: @SimonLipson

www.simonlipson.blogspot.co.uk

 

Buy links – paperback and Kindle:

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/xaosKp

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/yo7bpY

My show, The Accidental Impressionist, is on at the Camden Fringe 20 – 23 August @ 8pm. Everyone welcome! Details and tickets here: http://j.mp/JDPBnu