First Fight Friday: A Prince in Gangland (The Royal House of Dalvad Book 1) by Kenton Crowther

Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads, and then it’s over.

Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight from one of their books.

Author  

Kenton Crowther

     is here for...

First Fight Friday 

with a scene from

A Prince in Gangland
The Royal House of Dalvad Book 1

Lester and Gus are drinking one evening with Lino Franter. 

A man comes in and tries to intimidate 'Freaky' Franter. 

Lester welcomes the opportunity to jump in.

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It took that boozy, bald-headed Northerner to go into the Silver Spade, see Lino there with his shoulders all padded up and shout:

'Is that f***** for real?'

The others at the table were offended. Lino shrugged. Lester began to twitch, clenching his fists and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

'Toss-pots!' concluded the Northerner. With his three friends, one of whom was a local side of beef well known in the Silver Spade, he went to the bar.

Silence settled over the corner table. Gus was watching Lino, or the 'Zombie' or 'Freaky Franter', as people called him. Lino cocked his head, but showed no other reaction.

The newcomers perched themselves on bar stools. People either side moved away. Every so often the four of them would snigger, looking over their shoulders at the 'Freak' sitting at the table that was once again creating a lot of noise. One of the visitors muttered something about a 'geek t*** puffed up like wheat'.

Lester opened a window and one of the newcomers said he didn't like the draught. He came over to close the window.

'I can feel a real breeze,' said the guy, running his hand down his arm.

'That's not a breeze, it's this stuff known as fresh air,' said Lester with a menacing grin. 'Don't touch the window, pal.'

'OK, OK,' said the guy. He returned to his bar stool.

The MC got on stage.

'Please welcome the Bandar Log, a combo destined for higher things!'

Maybe they were. For a folk outfit they produced a fair racket.

It was during a rendition of 'Molly Malone' that the red-faced Northerner came over on Lester's coat tails as he returned with a tray of drinks. The man stood facing Lino. As the Bandar Log concentrated on their lament everyone felt that this was the clincher. Lester parked his tray of drinks.

Lino and the Northerner eyed each other, then Lino shifted in his chair and raised his padded shoulders.

At that moment the Northerner turned back to Lester and, taking up his friend's complaint, began arguing about the breeze from the window. Lester got the guy by the collar, hauled him outside and landed punches one two three. The skin and hair began to fly, not much of it from Lester. In the end the Northerner decamped with his retinue, shouting abuse.

'He's actually saying he WON that little bout,' said Lester, offended like.

Copyright © Kenton Crowther

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A Prince in Gangland by Kenton Crowther

Rubbing Shoulders With the Heir Apparent

A bodybuilder, a hipster and a Church of England curate agree to accompany their enigmatic friend Lino Franter into another England. 

The idea? They will help Franter in his attempts to overcome and eliminate Farris Cable. With the aid of his paramilitary force called INTEG, Cable is bent on taking over the rightful domain of King Leonard VIII. 

This other England is a country full of forests and has a population of lower class 'hailfellas' and upper-class 'squires'. Television exists but has not caught on. However, the radio, the newspaper and the movie newsreel are highly influential. 

The four friends get involved with an aggressive street gang that has Dion, the Prince of Wales, as a member. They enjoy the simple pleasures of eating, drinking, smoking War Horse tobacco, and making love, but feuds and backstabbings are always getting in the way.

‘Lots of character and lots of colorful, diverse scenery. The author makes very clear, obvious distinctions between the social classes of the time period … 

The book is relatively fast-paced, with plenty of action scenes 

guided by skillful narration.’ Amazon review

A Prince in Gangland

is available on

Amazon

Kenton's Bio:

Kenton Crowther: former bricklayer's labourer, plasterer, paint sprayer. The writing: he now has eight ebooks out, but maybe the true triumph came some forty years ago when his notebooks were routinely passed around as entertainment among the school's hipsters.

Follow Kenton Crowther online

WEBSITE ~ TWITTER

Thanks for sharing Kenton!

First Fight Friday: Best Man for the Bridesmaid (The DeFiore Brothers) book 2 by Jennifer Faye

Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads, and then it’s over.

Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight from one of their books.

Author  

Jennifer Faye


     has returned for...

First Fight Friday 

with a scene from

Best Man for the Bridesmaid
The second book in a Harlequin Romance duet—The DeFiore Brothers.

A recipe for dating DeFiore men…
Take two Italian brothers with a pinch of playboy charm 
Add two American sisters with a liberal dash of feistiness 
Simmer under warm Italian skies until perfectly combined 
Serve with lashings of love.

Stefano DeFiore is proud and reserved — he likes the quiet life. So planning a wedding for his celebrity chef brother is his idea of hell. But when bold and colorful Jules Lane enters his world— chief bridesmaid and sister to the bride —Stefano decides to take his best-man duties seriously…including doing all he can to make Jules’s time in Italy simply heaven…

In the scene below Jules has just flown into Rome, Italy to help plan her foster-sister’s Italian wedding. When something urgent comes up, the groom’s brother, Stefano, is sent to pick her up at the airport. They are on their way to meet with the happy couple and along the way, they are getting to know each other…

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The silence stretched out. 

The longer it took Stefano to answer her, the more concerned Jules became. With her sister’s happiness at stake, Jules couldn’t let the subject drop. Not without some answers. 

She turned in her seat in order to gauge Stefano’s expression. “Why do you want them to delay the wedding?” 

He sighed. “I just think they are rushing into this without thinking it through.” 

“It sounds to me like you’re opposed to the wedding.” Jules sank back against the leather seat. Surely she had to be jet-lagged and reading too much into his reserved demeanor and hesitant words. Perhaps she needed to be more direct. “Will you try and stop the wedding?” 

Jules studied his handsome face with its aristocratic features for some indication of his thoughts. Because there was no way she’d let anyone come between Lizzie and her happiness. Over the years, when they’d fantasized about the future, Lizzie had always dreamed of meeting Mr. Right. But neither of them had ever invested much hope in those dreams. Until now. This was Lizzie’s chance to live out her dream. 

Though that meant breaking up their small family and the thought saddened Jules, she refused to dwell on it. Lizzie’s happiness had to be the priority. And on a positive note, this meant Jules would at last gain her freedom to make all her own choices. They’d been making decisions together since they were kids, but now it was time they each stood on their own. And for Jules that meant making her own career choice—one Lizzie wouldn’t approve of. 

And if Jules was ready to see her foster sister— her only family—move an ocean away so that she would be happy, what possible reason could Stefano find to object to the wedding? Or was she reading him wrong? It was so hard to tell—his tanned face wasn’t giving her any clues about his thoughts. 

“I’m waiting for an explanation.” She crossed her arms. No way was she going to drop the subject until they sorted it out. 

“Fine. I’ll admit it. I’m not a fan of marriage.” 

“This particular marriage? Or just marriage in general?”

Copyright © Jennifer Faye

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Best Man for the Bridesmaid
(The DeFiore Brothers) book 2
by Jennifer Faye 

Always the bridesmaid… 

Planning her sister's Italian wedding only reminds Jules Lane of how far away she is from finding her own true love. And worse, she's doing it alongside the brooding, mouthwateringly handsome best man, Stefano DeFiore. 

Having seen the destructive power of love, Stefano has no time for weddings—but Jules's smile is captivating. Making her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world is one thing, but can he give this blushing bridesmaid a happily-ever-after of her own?

Best Man for the Bridesmaid
is available on 

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes ~ Harlequin 


Don't forget to check out Jennifer's previous First Fight Fridays
First Fight Friday: A Moment to Love (A Whistle Stop Romance, book 1)

First Fight Friday: The Playboy of Rome (The DeFiore Brothers) book 1

Jennifer's Bio:

Award-winning author, Jennifer Faye pens fun, heartwarming romances. Step into the pages of exciting destinations with rugged cowboys, sexy tycoons & enchanting royalty. Jennifer has won the RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, named a TOP PICK author, and been nominated for numerous awards. Now living her dream, she resides with her patient husband, amazing daughter (the other remarkable daughter is off chasing her own dreams) and two spoiled cats. 

Jennifer loves to hear from readers—you can contact her via her website.

Follow Jennifer Faye online

WEBSITE ~ TWITTER ~ FACEBOOK ~ GOODREADS ~ GOOGLE+ ~ TSU

Thanks for sharing Jennifer!

The Crossing Worlds YA Bundle featuring Destiny's Hourglass by Nic Tatano

Seventeen-year-old Riley Jamison has always wondered why he could predict the future. 

Turns out he's not predicting it, he's changing it with his thoughts. 

Now he's in demand by the forces of 

both good and evil.

Riley must now develop his talents at The Compass, a school run by The Guardians, a benevolent group committed to changing the future for the better. 

And since Riley's powers are off the charts, he must resist the biggest temptation.

To play God.

Destiny's Hourglass by Nic Tatano

a teenager discovering great power 

brings great responsibility and

life and death decisions.

The Crossing Worlds YA Bundle

is available here

Story Bundle

Nic is the author of

Jillian Spectre series

Welcome to the Mystic Quarter… 

Jillian Spectre knows what happens after you die.

Because the seventeen-year-old mystic seer can see the future of her clients even after they’ve passed on. And that’s not even her coolest power…

She can be in two places at once. Problem is, her heart can only be in one.

Supernatural abilities aside, she’s a typical high school senior torn between two guys. But that takes a back burner when she discovers the father she had long assumed was dead is actually alive, with unique powers of his own. He’s a technopath, with the ability to interface his mind with technology. And he’s got a plan to take down society.

Unless Jillian can stop him.

And pre order Jillian Spectre and the Dream Weaver now!

Release date: April 16, 2015

There’s a new villain in town…

One who can manipulate dreams and reality to the point that people can’t tell the difference.

This is a job for Jillian Spectre.

The snarky eighteen year old redhead with paranormal powers has already saved the world once but now she’s under attack by a force that might be above her pay grade.

The Dream Weaver.

When Jillian’s own dreams are invaded she finds herself desperately trying to separate reality from fantasy and struggle with a totally inappropriate crush on someone who isn’t her mind reading boyfriend, Ryan.

When her own soul is on the line as the Dream Weaver manipulates her, Jillian has one shot to save herself and the rest of the world… or she and the rest of the world could be trapped in their dreams forever.

Nic's Bio:

I’ve always been a writer of some sort, having spent my career working as a reporter, anchor or producer in television news. Fiction is a lot more fun, since you don’t have to deal with those pesky things known as facts.

I spent fifteen years as a television news reporter and anchor. My work has taken me from the floors of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to Ground Zero in New York to Jay Leno’s backyard. My stories have been seen on NBC, ABC and CNN. I still work as a freelance network field producer for FOX, NBC, CBS and ABC.

I grew up in the New York City metropolitan area and now live on the Gulf Coast where I will never shovel snow again. I’m happily married to a math teacher and we share our wonderful home with our tortoiseshell tabby cat, Gypsy.

Follow Nic Tatano online

HARPERIMPULSE ~ TWITTER ~ BLOG 

First Fight Friday: Never Marry A Warlock by Marilyn Vix

Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads, and then it’s over.

Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight from one of their books.

Author  

Marilyn Vix

     
is here for ...

First Fight Friday 

with a scene from

Never Marry A Warlock
Novelette #1 in Beware of Warlocks Series

When Catherine walks in on her husband in bed with her best friend,

it helps that she is a witch.

Unfortunately, so is her husband. 

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My husband’s arms were wrapped around her naked body. The blankets were strewn and interwoven between their legs. He was spooning her with his biceps draped over her. I stood in the doorway taking in the scene of my husband and my best friend. It was the end of the world, at least for me. But I wasn’t going to take it lying down. I should have known better than to have married a warlock. 

I hit him with a force spell that knocked him up against the headboard. He fell back down and braced his hands out to catch his fall. Cassandra scrambled out of the bed, dragging the silk comforter with her. Bitch. She better get out of my way. She was next. 

Rich was naked as he sat up to look at me. Normally, the abs-flash trick would work. But not now. I was too pissed off. I knew what spells he used to look like that. It was easy to fool a mortal and ex-best friend on the floor. But not me. Thing is, we were too evenly matched. I think that was the problem. 

He threw a counter spell that lanced light through my arm, digging into the flesh as it tried to anchor and link me to him. I flicked out a removal spell that broke the connection, laced my hands together, and hit him with a burst of everything I had. He went flying backward, through the window into the pool. It was satisfying to watch. He tried to rise up and hover toward me, but I knocked him back in the water with another force spell. 

He yelled from the pool. His wavy, brown hair trenched with water. “Baby, we can talk it out. It’s just a moment of weakness. You’ve had them with mortals.” 

I’d drown him if he couldn’t breathe water. Blowing up the six-million-dollar house probably wouldn’t kill him either. Like I said, never marry a warlock. 

I shot another burst of energy, creating a field that pushed him under. He swam back up and came to the side, with both chiseled arms on the edge of the pool. His brown eyes tried to melt my insides. I wasn’t going to let him win again. 

I walked through the window ledge, broken glass crackling under my heels. “It’s over Rich. Just over. I’m done with playing the games, or sharing you with the next mortal you pick up. Really, when I said my vows, it was forsaking everyone. Including mortals.” 

“I haven’t touched another witch in ages, Catherine. Really. Scout’s honor.” 

I blasted him into the pool again. Rich came up from the bottom, laughing. He swam back to the side and got out. He walked toward me with glistening, rock-hard muscles. I fought down the attraction, along with the writhing anger. Maybe blowing him up was too good for him. Slow, painful death. Maybe. 

He walked up to me, his brown hair wet and slicked back, brown eyes mirroring the puppy I had as a kid. “It’s only good fun. Really, I haven’t been with another witch the entire year of our marriage.” 

“Which is now over.” I crossed my hands in finality. “I’m not renewing the yearly vow. It’s done.” With a final touch to his arm, I put a lock spell on him. He froze for a moment and grinned with a snarl. Rich vibrated and lines glowed on him as he tried to counter the spell. 

I knew it wouldn’t hold him for long. It was just my time to get away before he tried to kill me. Sweet-talking would only buy so much time before he’d retaliate. Like I said, we were evenly matched, and our marriage had been a good peace between us. Until now. 

I raced through the room, past the ex-friend mortal cringing under the comforter on the floor. I yelled to her, “You’re lucky I don’t have time for you.” I could see Cassandra’s blonde hair and blue eyes as she brought the blanket down to get a better look at me. “How did you do that?” she whimpered from under her tent city. 

“I’m a witch, you bitch.” But then I felt Rich’s energy building behind me, and knew I had to get out of there before he brought the house down on me. 

Copyright ©Marilyn Vix 
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Never Marry A Warlock by Marilyn Vix

Catherine walks in on her husband in bed with her best friend. What is a woman to do? It helps that she is a witch. Unfortunately, so is her husband. 

Before you can say spell battle, Catherine high tails it up the coast of California to clear her head. Lucky for her, she finds an 
Aussie hitchhiker. 

She'll have to face her soon to be ex-husband in a witch divorce, spell battle style. Can she have a little fun with her new found boy toy, 

or will he get scorched in the foreplay?

Never Marry A Warlock
Novelette #1 in Beware of Warlocks Series
is available on

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Nook ~ AllRomanceEbooks 

Marilyn's bio: 

Marilyn is a debut paranormal romance novelist. She enjoys the characters that just don't fit in. From witches to time traveling researchers, she is letting her imagination soar to explore new worlds and write all the details down. Marilyn has traveled to Paris, London, Sydney, and Munich. She loves to include these in her settings. Best of all is letting her readers enjoy them through the perspective of a character. She currently lives in Northern California with her husband and cat. The cat, of course, is the center of attention.

Follow Marilyn Vix online

FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER  

Thanks for sharing Marilyn!