Release Blitz: ADJOURNMENT by Emersyn Vallis

When Sidney Chandler chooses to leave home she walks away from her life as she knows it… her family…

Him…

She stepped back, allowing them all to heal… move on… live without her…

Now at the age of twenty nine and almost a decade behind her, she is a master of disguise. Long gone is the timid girl who lived blinded by the ideas of love. 

Until fate decides to intervene and the one man she has struggled to evade at all costs is pushed back into her life. He knows the real girl behind the façade, only he can pull her out of her self-imposed exile… breathing life back into her cold, protected heart.

Fate will do what fate wants and Sidney’s choices are no longer her own… but were they ever really hers to begin with?

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Turning around to go back inside my laughter stops. I don’t feel the crystal dish slip from my fingers. I just stand here… frozen.

There’s yelling and noise but it’s all muffled… like that night. 

I close my eyes. 

Breathe… Breathe… 

My heartbeat pounding through me the muffled sounds become clear and I hear Morgan screaming at me.

“Jesus, Sidney! Do you want Mom to kill you?” 

Blinking feverishly I look down to see she caught it just as it was about to smash. I can’t bring myself to worry about that right now. I look back up and watch as Simon, the boy I was so in love with just moments ago pulls away from a girl that up until this point was my best friend. A girl I thought I was going away to college with, a girl who knew how I felt about him. 

This is not happening… at my party no less…

“Breathe… You’re in control…” Molly whispers, her hand connecting with my back startles me. 

You know when you witness something and you know you should look away but you can’t because it’s one of those moments, those damn life changing moments that your brain makes sure to take notes on so that nothing is missed, no detail is overlooked, and nothing is ever forgotten. It’s one of those moments in life that you know instantly will repeat itself over and over in your head until it eventually causes you to change. It will break you and from those pieces in that moment will rebuild you. I thought that night was my moment, but I guess that was just a giant stepping-stone to this. Maybe I was wrong about fate… maybe it forgot about me.

My pulse continues to beat through my body in a deep throbbing rhythm, the darkness of a black out building up. He steps back from her, slightly turning his head in my direction and I know he knows I’m standing here, he just refuses to turn and look at me. I’m so dumb, I should have seen this coming. I mean did I really think I was so different from any of my predecessors? Women, real women, who have actually given themselves to him completely only to find out the next morning they’re just one in a crowd of many. Nothing special and forgotten about as soon as he received whatever it was he wanted from them. 

I did… because he told me I was. We had a plan…

 

Emersyn Vallis is a first time author with Adjournment being the first book in the Fated Series. Currently residing on the east coast with her husband and three children she is typically mistaken for being quiet and reserved her friends often describe her as a spastic spider monkey and always the first to be there with her quick wit to pull you back up when you’re feeling down. After reading as a hobby for most of her life it wasn’t until she had discovered R. L. Mathewson’s ‘Neighbor from Hell Series’ and Tara Sivec’s ‘Playing with Fire Series’ that she came up with the idea to fuse comedy and suspense together and her passion for writing was born.

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Blog Tour: EMMA CHASE by Jen Khan

Her life is turned upside down by the one man who should have protected her from it all.

Emma is a survivor. Her father, who has taken off to avoid paying his debts to a well known drug dealer, has kept her down her entire life and she's learned enough from living in his world to take care of herself, because no one else will.

She finally gets her shot at love when she meets the handsome and protective Braden Holt, only to be forced to turn her back on him to protect him from her father's enemies.

Tragedy strikes and Emma has to decide if she is going to do what she always does, build up walls to shut everyone out, or pick herself up with the help of her friends and the man who loves her.

Review
This is a gripping story with a rapid pace.  It has it all - romance, suspense, a good plot.  The characters are well developed.  Emma Chase is well written. It is not for the faint of heart; it includes adult content.

Jen

I can feel myself coming to, and immediately the pain hits me throughout my entire body. My eyes blink at the brightness. As I slowly roll over, my stomach wretches and I vomit all over myself.

My body curls into a fetal position of its own accord, arms wrapping around my knees. I look at what I can see of myself, taking stock of my current situation. From what I can tell through my swollen eyes, my arms and legs are badly beaten, my shoulder is dislocated—which I can only tell because it happened to me a couple of times as a kid—my sweater is torn, and my pants are around my ankles.

I peel back the hair that is glued to the side of my face by a mixture of what must be dried blood and vomit. I wince when I feel the huge, painful lump growing on my right cheekbone.

I force myself to move. I rise up on all fours and crawl to the nearest wall. Putting my hands to the wall, I attempt to bring myself to my feet. My legs give out from under me and I collapse, throwing up again.

My head feels heavy, like I’m in a thick dark cloud. My memories are fuzzy. I look around the room, and my living room is trashed. Definitely signs of a struggle. What the hell? What’s going on?

That’s when it hits me with a jolt through my body. I begin to sob uncontrollably. My mind is finally catching on, and it all comes rushing back to me. I start to shake violently, so I curl back into a fetal position to try to stop it. The waves are massive, and the toll it takes on me is unbearable. I feel overwhelmed with emotion over these memories that keep hitting me. Like one devastating blow after another. I lack control over my body as shock takes its hold on me, dragging me deep into myself.

Oh my God!

The last thing I remember is entering my apartment, and before I could shut and lock the door, I was on the floor, flat on my stomach. “You stupid bitch,” I heard a man say. If I thought hard enough, I was almost able to recognize that voice. “I told your father that I would get to you one way or another if I didn’t get my money.”

Shit.

“Your father knows better than to try to play me, darlin’” he growled.

Yes, I knew that voice.

At that moment of revelation, I was being lifted off the floor by my hair. I screamed and flailed my arms and legs, trying to make contact with my attacker to no avail.

He was angry, and I really didn’t think this was going to end well for me. He reached around and turned me to face him, but it was dark and I could barely make out his face. But I knew him. I could make it out just enough to know what I was dealing with. He backhanded me, my head snapped to the side, and then he punched me in the ribs. Next thing I knew, his fist made contact with my cheek and I went down hard on all fours. I had to get away, but I didn’t know where to go. I started to crawl to the door, my mind racing. The man kicked me over and over in the ribs and the stomach, and then he made contact with my head. I dropped to my stomach with a thud and tried to blink away the stars that were forming in front of my eyes. “Since Joe decided not to pay up, you will.”

I rolled to my side, holding my injured ribs with one hand and my head with the other, and through clenched teeth, I told him that I didn’t have enough to cover my father’s debts.

As if on cue, I heard him undo his zipper. “Well then, I can find other ways for you to settle Daddy’s debt.”

FACEBOOK / GOODREADS

Jen Khan is that very unassuming gal at first sight due to her quiet nature, but look out when she lets you into her world. Buckle up and get ready for an adventure. You will find her at a party, or just out and about with friends sitting in the corner taking a minute to assess her surroundings and the people in it before she dives in with her quick witt, charm and slinging her endless supply of sarcasm. She’s a mom, aunt, teacher, dancing puppet to little people, chauffeur, walking ATM, and master of all things domestic. She loves her son, family, friends, wine, giggling, singing out of tune and dancing like a fool. She has a zest for life that rubs off on everyone in her presence.

Jen has always been an aspiring writer/author. She woke up one morning realizing that it was time to make it happen. She is a teacher by trade which allowed her to put her skills to use. You will find adventure, suspense and always romance in her books.

Jen lives in Northern Virginia with her son. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her going out for a run, on her treadmill or with her beloved Kindle in hand.

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Cover Reveal: EMMA CHASE

Her life is turned upside down by the one man who should have protected her from it all.

Emma is a survivor. Her father, who has taken off to avoid paying his debts to a well known drug dealer, has kept her down her entire life and she's learned enough from living in his world to take care of herself, because no one else will.

She finally gets her shot at love when she meets the handsome and protective Braden Holt, only to be forced to turn her back on him to protect him from her father's enemies.

Tragedy strikes and Emma has to decide if she is going to do what she always does, build up walls to shut everyone out, or pick herself up with the help of her friends and the man who loves her.

Jen

I can feel myself coming to, and immediately the pain hits me throughout my entire body. My eyes blink at the brightness. As I slowly roll over, my stomach wretches and I vomit all over myself.

My body curls into a fetal position of its own accord, arms wrapping around my knees. I look at what I can see of myself, taking stock of my current situation. From what I can tell through my swollen eyes, my arms and legs are badly beaten, my shoulder is dislocated—which I can only tell because it happened to me a couple of times as a kid—my sweater is torn, and my pants are around my ankles.

I peel back the hair that is glued to the side of my face by a mixture of what must be dried blood and vomit. I wince when I feel the huge, painful lump growing on my right cheekbone.

I force myself to move. I rise up on all fours and crawl to the nearest wall. Putting my hands to the wall, I attempt to bring myself to my feet. My legs give out from under me and I collapse, throwing up again.

My head feels heavy, like I’m in a thick dark cloud. My memories are fuzzy. I look around the room, and my living room is trashed. Definitely signs of a struggle. What the hell? What’s going on?

That’s when it hits me with a jolt through my body. I begin to sob uncontrollably. My mind is finally catching on, and it all comes rushing back to me. I start to shake violently, so I curl back into a fetal position to try to stop it. The waves are massive, and the toll it takes on me is unbearable. I feel overwhelmed with emotion over these memories that keep hitting me. Like one devastating blow after another. I lack control over my body as shock takes its hold on me, dragging me deep into myself.

Oh my God!

The last thing I remember is entering my apartment, and before I could shut and lock the door, I was on the floor, flat on my stomach. “You stupid bitch,” I heard a man say. If I thought hard enough, I was almost able to recognize that voice. “I told your father that I would get to you one way or another if I didn’t get my money.”

Shit.

“Your father knows better than to try to play me, darlin’” he growled.

Yes, I knew that voice.

At that moment of revelation, I was being lifted off the floor by my hair. I screamed and flailed my arms and legs, trying to make contact with my attacker to no avail.

He was angry, and I really didn’t think this was going to end well for me. He reached around and turned me to face him, but it was dark and I could barely make out his face. But I knew him. I could make it out just enough to know what I was dealing with. He backhanded me, my head snapped to the side, and then he punched me in the ribs. Next thing I knew, his fist made contact with my cheek and I went down hard on all fours. I had to get away, but I didn’t know where to go. I started to crawl to the door, my mind racing. The man kicked me over and over in the ribs and the stomach, and then he made contact with my head. I dropped to my stomach with a thud and tried to blink away the stars that were forming in front of my eyes. “Since Joe decided not to pay up, you will.”

I rolled to my side, holding my injured ribs with one hand and my head with the other, and through clenched teeth, I told him that I didn’t have enough to cover my father’s debts.

As if on cue, I heard him undo his zipper. “Well then, I can find other ways for you to settle Daddy’s debt.”

FACEBOOK / GOODREADS

Jen Khan is that very unassuming gal at first sight due to her quiet nature, but look out when she lets you into her world. Buckle up and get ready for an adventure. You will find her at a party, or just out and about with friends sitting in the corner taking a minute to assess her surroundings and the people in it before she dives in with her quick witt, charm and slinging her endless supply of sarcasm. She’s a mom, aunt, teacher, dancing puppet to little people, chauffer, walking ATM, and master of all things domestic. She loves her son, family, friends, wine, giggling, singing out of tune and dancing like a fool. She has a zest for life that rubs off on everyone in her presence.

Jen has always been an aspiring writer/author. She woke up one morning realizing that it was time to make it happen. She is a teacher by trade which allowed her to put her skills to use. You will find adventure, suspense and always romance in her books.

Jen lives in Northern Virginia with her son. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her going out for a run, on her treadmill or with her beloved Kindle in hand.

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Blog Tour: FOREVER DOOMED by MaryAnn Kempher

It's not wise to wander the cruise ship Forever alone at night. You might not live to see daylight.

Detective Jack Harney agrees to do an old Army buddy a favor. Curt Noble had some personal business to attend to, he didn’t say what. What he did say was he needed someone to temporarily take over his duties as head of security on the struggling cruise ship Forever. Jack hesitates, but he owes Curt his life so agrees. He’s told the worst mischief he can expect to encounter will be the occasional shoplifter, or drunk. Instead, one week into the cruise, a beautiful red head and a member of the crew are ruthlessly murdered. Are the two murders connected? It’s up to Jack to find out. He must find the killer before the ship returns to Tampa’s port, or worse, before another dead body is found. This won't be easy. The ship is old, it's security systems outdated, and clues are few, or so it seems at first

It’s not just a sense of obligation that motivates Jack to agree to Curt's request; Jack moved thousands of miles, started over, and still can't get Amy O'Brian out of his heart or mind. When she shows up on the ship, as part of a large wedding party, Jack must fight to stay focused. To make matters worse, Amy isn't his only distraction; a sexy and mysterious woman has made it her mission to seduce Jack.

As the body count rises, and time slips away, Jack has to ask himself, “Did someone commit the perfect crime?”

AMAZON / AMAZON CA / AMAZON UK / BARNES & NOBLE

The woman wore a long grey overcoat, and next to nothing underneath it. She was relieved when the elevator she entered was empty and thankful for the costume ball that was going on; it meant the employee cafeteria would be empty. She’d heard that most of the staff would be working the party, and that they’d be allowed to eat there, so the cafeteria was closed. She was still nervous. She’d been told in no uncertain terms to not enter the cafeteria once it closed, but she’d gotten sidetracked and hadn’t gotten down there earlier. Now, she’d need to sneak.

When she arrived at the second floor, it was very quiet and empty. Just as she’d expected. She couldn’t help wondering what the big deal was? She’d go in, get the cake, and be gone. She realized the problem once she’d pushed through the cafeteria doors; it was very dark. They probably were worried she’d trip or something. The kitchen lights were on, she used them to guide her across the room. If someone was in there, she’d just take her overcoat off; one look at her nearly naked body would get her out of any trouble she might be in. However, she hoped the room was empty and luckily it was. She looked around, her cake would likely be in the pantry, since it wasn’t a real cake. Then again, she had done gigs where the cake had actually been kept in the refrigerators alongside real cakes. Go figure.

Just as she was about to open the pantry, she heard someone at the back door. She had just a second to decide what to do; hide in the pantry or stay and prepare to explain why she was there. Being a stripper paid the bills, but it wasn’t something she was proud of. When she danced in front of drunk men, she felt detached. They didn’t know her, and she didn’t know them. But, standing there in the kitchen, she didn’t really relish the thought of having to either talk her way out of trouble or flash her way out. She’d also had one or two unpleasant experiences, it was never a really good idea for a stripper to find herself alone with a man she didn’t know.

She quickly opened the pantry door and stepped inside. Oh, look there’s my cake. By the sound of the wind, rain and even the occasional thunder outside, she could tell the back door had finally been opened. She opened the pantry door an inch and peeked out. A tall, thick man was there, he was making a sandwich. She’d just wait him out. The lights in the kitchen flickered on and off, then on again. Suddenly, another man came into the kitchen. Jeez, I’m never gonna get out of here. The tone of his voice concerned her, he seemed annoyed, maybe even angry.

“What are you doing in here?” she heard him ask.

At least I’m not the only person in the kitchen that’s not supposed to be here.

The other man didn’t answer, he just picked up a rolling pin and hit the guy on the side of the head, hard. The man fell to the floor with a thud. His head lay just outside where she was hidden, she could see through the crack in the door blood on the side of his head, and his eyes wide open and vacant. She swallowed hard, and willed herself not to freak out. She’d need all her composure so she didn’t give herself away. She watched, shocked, as the big man picked up the dead guy like he was a sack of potatoes, and walk outside.

She wasn’t thinking straight. Should she wait, see if he was coming back? Should she run like hell and hope he didn’t see? She did what any good stripper would do. She went to the other side of her cake, bent down, and with all her strength pushed that cake out of the pantry, through the kitchen, and out of the cafeteria. She pulled the hood up on her overcoat and kept it there until she arrived at her destination.

FACEBOOK / GOODREADS / WEBSITE

MaryAnn Kempher's writing is infused with mystery and romance. She spent her teen years spent living in Reno NV where her first book, Mocha, Moonlight, and Murder is set. The setting for her second book, Forever Doomed, was inspired by her love of the ocean. Her writing influences include favorite authors Agatha Christie, Jane Austen and Janet Evanovich. Her guilty pleasures include any and all sweets, including a good cup of Mocha. She is married with two children.

REVIEW

This is the second book by Kempher, a sequel to MOCHA, MOONLIGHT, AND MURDER. It is not necessary to read the first book, however, to appreciate FOREVER DOOMED. Forever is the name of the cruise ship and Jack is working security; this is how he ends up being the "detective". In addition to the mystery, there is the romantic tension between Jack and the woman he recently broke up, who coincidentally happens to take this cruise. Add a few laughs with wedding hassles and some of the other characters, and this is a fun read. I like Jack and Amy, so I plan on going back and reading the first one in the series, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

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