Welcome to Redemption...a small town in Northeast Wisconsin where second chances don’t always come easy, but if you’re willing to try, anything is possible.
“With their easy, breezy style and skilled characterizations, Rogers and Netzel have created a town that readers won't want to leave.” ~ Romantic Times Book Reviews
Hold On To Me
Book 8
After escaping an abusive ex-husband, Jenny Clark focuses on making ends meet from one day to the next. Then she meets her new apartment building manager, and the passion in his kisses dare her to believe she could have a second chance at love.
At a crossroads in his life, Grant Walker returns from New York to manage his apartment building in Redemption. He didn’t expect to meet the woman of his dreams and find everything he never knew he wanted in small town Wisconsin.
But someone doesn’t want either of them to be happy, and even as menacing acts of vandalism pull Jenny and Grant closer together, a harbored secret could destroy all hope of their happily ever after.
Excerpt:
She followed him outside, and once out of sight of the other girls, he turned to face her.
“What’s up?” she asked.
He cast a cautious glance around the barnyard before crooking his finger for her to come closer. His secretive demeanor made her wonder what the heck was going on, and she snuck her own furtive glance as she moved forward. There was no one around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.
“What is it?”
She turned back to face him as Grant leaned in, and she caught her automatic reflexive jerk backward. His lips curved into a grin seconds before settling on hers. Closing her eyes, she relished the warmth of his mouth, and a moment later, willingly parting her lips with the first sweep of his tongue. He slid one hand into her hair at the nape of her neck while the other settled at her curve of her waist.
As the kiss deepened, she lifted her arms around his neck, raising on her tiptoes to press full against him. A low moan rumbled in his chest, and his arms closed around her. His lips and tongue caressed hers, coaxing a response and sparking desire like she hadn’t experienced in so very long. The press of her sensitive breasts against his unyielding chest started that throb of arousal deep inside.
Wrapped in a world of wonderful sensation, she clung to him even as he brought the kiss to an end.
“Well, hell,” he murmured in a husky tone. “That backfired.”
“How so?” Jenny braced her hand against his chest to support her weak knees.
He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face before resting his forearm on her shoulder. “That was supposed to give you something to think about while I’m gone, but all it did was get me worked up.”
Palm still pressed to his chest, she noted his rapid heartbeat, felt the synchronized beat in her own body, and admitted with a suddenly shy smile, “That’s not all it did.”
His brown eyes darkened even more as they took in her flushed cheeks. He rubbed his thumb over the racing pulse point near her collar bone, and a smile curved his mouth. “Good. Because I’ve been wanting to do that since Tuesday.”
Feeling a bit bolder after the kiss, she suggested, “Next time don’t wait so long.”
The smile became a grin. He drew her forward for a brief, firm press of his lips, and then abruptly broke contact and departed with a brisk, “I’ll be back by five-thirty.”
After he’d driven away, she turned for the barn and found the other two women at the doorway watching her. Her face heated, but wiping the foolish grin off her face proved impossible.
“Someone’s got it bad,” Joy said, grinning with her.
“I’m that obvious?”
“Well, yeah, but I was talking about him.”
Pick up your copy of Hold On To Me here:Amazon US UK Canada, Apple iTunes, BN, ARe, Kobo, SWWelcome To Redemption Series on Amazon: http://bit.ly/WTRlist
Award-winning author Stacey Joy Netzel fell in love with books at a young age, so for her the graduation to writing them was natural. An avid reader and fan of movies with a happily ever after, she is thrilled to call herself a full-time writer after 20 years as a travel agent. She writes romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and the occasional paranormal romance short story. Colorado is one of her favorite settings for her books, followed closely by Wisconsin and Italy.
She lives in her native Wisconsin with her husband and three children, a couple horses and some barn cats. In her limited free time she enjoys gardening, canning, and visiting her parents in Northeastern Wisconsin (Up North) at the family cabin on the lake.
Jillian: How often to you get lost in a story?
Stacey: Nowhere near as often as I’d like. My reading time is limited because not only do I have to keep writing, but as an indie-publisher, I have to run a business as well.
Jillian: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Stacey: I’d have to say Cinderella. I especially love the version Ever After with Drew Barrymore where she saves the prince at every turn.
Jillian: Die Hard or Die Harder?
Stacey: Die Hard first and foremost. Second is Live Free or Die Hard set in NYC with Justin Long.
Jillian: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Stacey: The Cutting Edge. “Yes, Doug can read.” *grin* Sahara and Eagle Eye are very close second and third. Then there’s 17 Again, and Music & Lyrics. National Treasure, the Bourne movies, Back to the Future trilogy, Shooter…oh, boy, see what you started???
Jillian: Who’s your favorite villain?
Stacey: I don’t like villains, so I don’t have a favorite. Although…now that I think of it, Julia Roberts made a really funny evil stepmother in Mirror Mirror.
Jillian: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?
Stacey: Writing because I can think before I type. It’s not always ‘pretty’ when I speak. LOL
Jillian: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
Stacey: Any one that makes me forget I’m a writer. Those are the special ones.
Jillian: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?
Stacey: I used to want to live in the Little House on the Prairie days, but that was before I realized there were no toilets, or electric stoves, refrigerators, and washing machines. I don’t think I’d do well in my very own time travel adventure.
Jillian: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
Stacey: I was able to quit my part-time Travel Agent job this past summer and after 14 years, we’re finally remodeling our bathroom and front family room. Double Yay! (or triple?)
Jillian: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?
Stacey: Tea with honey and Truvia.
Jillian: What does it mean to love someone?
Stacey: “In good times and bad, in sickness and health.”
Jillian: Which era would you least like to have lived in, fashion-wise and why?
Stacey: The time with corsets and bustles would’ve really sucked, in my opinion. Most? Now (past 30 yrs), because I LOVE jeans.
Stacey has a question for commenters: My question is 3 part: What’s your favorite kind of M&M, where in the world would you most like to enjoy them, and with whom? I have an ebook copy of the Welcome to Redemption Series Collection Books 1-6 to a lucky commenter.
Stacey's Contact Information:
Website and Blog:
http://www.StaceyJoyNetzel.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/StaceyJoyNetzel
Twitter: http://twitter.com/StaceyJoyNetzel
Author pages:
Welcome to GLIAS, Stacey.
ReplyDelete"Stacey: I don’t like villains, so I don’t have a favorite. Although…now that I think of it, Julia Roberts made a really funny evil stepmother in Mirror Mirror."
TOTALLY AGREE !!! Funny.
My favorite M&M's are the coconut. Only had them twice. With who? YIKES...alone, so I don't have to share. LOL
~Angi
Thanks Jillian and the rest of the ladies for having me here!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Angi! Too funny about not sharing the M&M's. :)
My favorite M & M s are peanut ones and I would pick to have them with my husband on a cruise to Alaska.
ReplyDeletemce1011 AT aol DOT com
Hello, Maureen! Peanut is my hubby's favorite. St. Nick always puts a large bag in his stocking. Alaskan Cruise is a dream of mine one day. :)
DeleteHi, Stacey, welcome to Get Lost in a Story. I love your title and your excerpt. Who wouldn't want to Get Lost in Redemption... M&Ms. I have no bias... Love them all. Prefer them without peanuts... and unlike Angi, I'd share :)))))
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donnell! I got my title from lyrics in a Lady Antebellum song. I also have more than one favorite in the M&M department. I'm willing to share if I have the party bag. LOL
DeleteHi Stacey!
ReplyDeleteType: Almond M&M
Color: Blue
Location: Times Square, M&M's tourist trap gift shop
With: Naked Cowboy
Just kidding! ;) Jillian
LOL, Jillian! You say you're kidding, but I'm willing to bet if given the choice, you wouldn't say no. *grin*
DeleteI love this answer. It resonates with me: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?
ReplyDeleteStacey: Any one that makes me forget I’m a writer. Those are the special ones.
And, uh, I have to go with peanut m&ms anytime, anywhere. Do I have to share?
Isn't it just the truth, Clover? That is the one drawback to becoming a writer (the inner editor who won't shut up), but there's always something.
DeleteYou do not have to share if you don't want to. But I'll make sure there are enough party bags that everyone is totally covered. :) (well, not literally...)
no fav kind, anywhere, by myself
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
You are very easy to please. *grin*
DeleteI'm realizing that I should've thought of what day this would post...Today starts Lent, and I give up all sweets. Thinking about M&M's and chocolate all day has been a bit like torture.
My favorite M&M are the peanut ones.. If I can't find those, I'll take the regular ones and miz them in with dryroasted peanuts...
ReplyDeleteMy sister has a party mix she makes with this and raisins and a few other things. I'm sure it's good, but I prefer my M&M's right out of the bag, no matter what's inside the chocolate.
DeleteI do believe it's time for me to draw a winner...
ReplyDeleteAnd my son drew from the hat...
GirlyGirlHoosier!
Congratulations. :) I don't have your email address, so if you can please email me at staceyjoynetzel at gmail . com, I can get the information I need to gift you a copy.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and shared their favorite M&M's!
I spose I should reveal mine...in this order: Peanut Butter, Pretzel, Plain and as a last resort, Peanut. :)