CATE BEAUMAN'S FAVORITE FALL DESSERT

Ethan Cooke Security and their bodyguard team return to action in Deceiving Bella – book eleven in Cate Beauman’s Bodyguards of L.A. County series.

With over 7700 reviews and a 4.4 rating for the entire series, see why the Bodyguards of L.A. County is a multi-award winning series.

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New to the series? No problem! Each book in the “Bodyguards” series is a stand-alone title. Although reading the books in order is preferred, it is not necessary.  Each title features brand new primary characters and limited overlapping secondary characters.  Don’t hesitate to jump right in!

Isabella Colby has always yearned for normalcy. Now that she’s settled in LA, she finally has it. Good friends, a pretty home, and her thriving career as the Palisades’ top skincare specialist are a dream come true. Bella is content until she meets her hunky new neighbor, but her attraction to the blue-eyed cutie is the least of her worries when contacting her long-lost father threatens to destroy her happy life.

Reed McKinley is more than ready to forget the past. His seven-year stint as an NYPD detective nearly got him killed. His wounds have healed and he’s starting over as Ethan Cooke Security’s latest recruit. With sixty-hour workweeks and little time to himself, the last thing on his mind is a relationship. Then he bumps into the gorgeous woman next door.

Reed and Bella become fast friends. Before long, Reed discovers that Bella is keeping dangerous secrets. Bella may have the answers to decades-old questions he’s been searching for. Reed will risk it all to uncover the truth, but he soon realizes that the deeper he digs, the direr the consequences.

One Of Cate’s Favorite Fall Desserts:

I don’t know about you but I love the fall. The air turns crisp and the scenery beautiful, but I think what I love most is the new variety of foods we often eat. We put away the grill for the year (or use it less frequently) and utilize our stoves and ovens more. Typically, I try to share healthier recipes but this is one of my favorite sinful treats. Chocolate raspberry bars are pretty easy to make and they’re great to bring to a potluck or tailgating. Whenever we share these, I go home with an empty plate.

Chocolate Raspberry Bars

·      1 cup of butter, softened (2 sticks)

·      ½ cup packed brown sugar

·      2 cups flour

·      1 can sweetened condensed milk

·      2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

·      Seedless raspberry preserves

Instructions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350-degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish.

2.     Combine softened butter, brown sugar, and flour to make coarse crumbs. Measure approximately 2 cups of the crumbs and press evenly into the greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

3.     While the pressed crumbs are in the oven, combine condensed milk and 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a saucepan and stir together over low heat until chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is combined.

4.     Pour chocolate/condensed milk mixture over hot crust and spread with a spatula until all of the crust is covered.

5.     Sprinkle remaining crumbs over chocolate. Drop jam by ½ teaspoons randomly over crumbs (less is more). Scatter remaining 1-cup of chocolate chips over the entire dish and bake for 25 minutes.

6.     Cool and cut into bars.

Read an excerpt from Deceiving Bella:

Should we get started?” Bella gestured to the kitchen.

“After you.”

She walked in front of Reed, hurrying to the table to pull out a chair. “Does this work?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” He sat down.

She immediately draped him with the black cover, wanting to get to his hair while it was still wet. “So, what are we doing here, exactly?”

“Just a cleanup, especially on my neck.”

“Sure.” She grabbed the sheers and took her place by his side, sliding her fingers though his short hair and stopped. “Oops.”

His shoulders tensed. “What?”

“Just kidding. A little haircutting humor.”

He tilted his head up, meeting her eyes. “A comedian.”

She laughed as he smiled. “I haven’t even started cutting yet.” She gave him a bump. “Try to relax. I promise you’re in good hands.”

“Chop away.”

“Thanks.” She combed her fingers through his hair once more, using small snips to freshen up his look. Silent seconds ticked by as she breathed in the masculine scent that was Reed. He didn’t seem to wear cologne or use any fancy shampoos, but he smelled good just the same. “So, how was your day?”

“Not too shabby.”

She worked her way around his head, finding his cut a breeze to clean up. He easily could have gone another week without any problems. “What did you do?”

“Worked a little. Boxed.”

“Fascinating.”

“I could make up something about stopping a bank robbery in progress or rescuing a cat from a tree.”

She smiled. “The truth is fine, thanks.”

“What about you?”

“It was pretty much a normal day at the office—a second-session tattoo removal, a microdermabrasion, two stretch mark reductions, the usual stuff.”

“What’s the tattoo of? The one you’re taking off?”

“A woman’s name. Genevieve. The relationship didn’t work out.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

“Triple ouch. Tattoo removal is not a pain-free procedure, nor is it cheap—and he went pretty ornate with Genevieve. Hopefully next time he’ll pick a woman with a shorter name or abstain from getting himself tatted up altogether.”

He laughed.

She grinned, loving that sound. Did he have any idea how gorgeous he was when he smiled like that? She picked up the clippers off the table and let her knees rest against his as she leaned in and gently lifted his chin, evening out his sideburns. She swallowed, feeling his breath on her skin and his eyes studying her face. Licking her lips, she met his gaze. “You better hope I get this part right, or you’ll have to tilt your head for the next four days.”

He sent her another one of his pulse-pounding smiles. “You’ll have to help me decide if I should lean more to the left or right.”

Oh, this cutie had the potential to be trouble. Her eyes darted to his mouth mere inches from hers as his five o’clock shadow tormented her sensitized fingers. She took a step back and a steadying breath. It was a good thing they were just friends—currently the only relationship status she was interested in.

Did you enjoy the excerpt?  You can read the first chapter on my website, www.catebeauman.com, or you can finish the whole book with the links below!

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About the author:

International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. In 2015, JUSTICE FOR ABBY was selected as the Readers' Favorite International Book Award Gold Medalist, while SAVING SOPHIE took the Silver Medal. SAVING SOPHIE was also selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense and FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards.

Cate makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on her twelfth full length romantic suspense novel.

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GUEST POST - RAVEN SONG

Name: Raven Song

Series: Inoki's Game (Book 1)

Paperback: 290 pages

Published Date: March 14, 2016

Publisher: Lucid Dreams Publishing

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1944674004

ISBN-13: 978-1944674007

Available @ 

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GUEST POST:

Titles are sometimes as important as the words in a story, how did/ do you come up with your book titles? What is the significance of the tile, Raven Song?

Raven Song is kind of a curious name, I admit! It was actually the very last thing written in the manuscript, something I agonized over, as we authors do, haha. But, I’ve been asked about it a few times, and I’d love to share how it came about. Now, ravens aren’t usually known for their singing, per se. They croak, they chuckle, they mimic: extraordinarily expressive birds. Their song is almost the conversation they hold with their kin and flock and those other lucky beings they regard as family.

Usually the titles in my books speak to some important theme that’s going to drive the story. In the case of Raven Song, it’s a moment of transformation. In the universe of this book, the world’s gone to hell in a lot of ways, and the plucky, mischievous creatures that are ravens have died out. However, one of the main characters, Jackson, has been haunted by visions and dreams of them for as long as he can remember. And another thing that haunts him is a strange magic that he has no control over, something he’s been aggressively medicating into submission for years. Anna, the other main character, has been forcibly removed from her own time and thrust into his, and she has no idea ravens are all supposed to be dead. Yet… she sees them too. She wonders at their meaning.

Magic and ravens have deep ties in mythology, and have for thousands of years. If you’re familiar with Norse myth, you’ll know of the god Odin, who keeps raven companions. They whisper in his ears all of the happenings they spy in the mortal world. Odin is a god who knows, more than most, that all magic comes with a price. To be granted the secret of the runes, he hung himself on the world tree with his own spear for many days and nights. Only after this suffering, this proximity to death, was the secret knowledge of the runes granted to him. 

To be whole, to learn the secrets kept from them, Anna and Jackson will need to face death and transformation, as Odin did. And the ravens, the ones who have been trying to sing secrets in their ears, will be there with them, will lead them to more mysteries.

Hence the title! I hope the promise of myth and magic will entice you to come share this story with me. I love connecting with new readers almost as much as I admire ravens themselves. There is a free excerpt available at ia-ashcroft.com, and I also have some upcoming free short stories for people on my mailing list. Hope to see you around!

Book Blurb:

A century ago, the world burned. Even now, though rebuilt and defiant, civilization is still choking on the ashes.

Jackson, a smuggler, lives in the shadows, once a boy with no memory, no name, and no future. Ravens followed him, long-extinct birds only he could see, and nightmares flew in their wake. Once, Jackson thought himself to be one of the lucky few touched by magic, a candidate for the Order of Mages. He is a man now, and that dream has died. But, the ravens still follow. The nightmares still whisper in his ear.

Anna’s life was under the sun, her future bright, her scientific work promising. She knew nothing of The Bombings, the poisoned world, or the occult. One day, she went to work, and the next, she awoke in a box over a hundred years in the future, screaming, fighting to breathe, and looking up into the eyes of a smuggler. Anna fears she’s gone crazy, unable to fill the massive hole in her memories, and terrified of the strange abilities she now possesses.

The Coalition government has turned its watchful eyes towards them. The secret factions of the city move to collect them first. And, old gods stir in the darkness, shifting their pawns on the playing field.

If Anna and Jackson wish to stay free, they must learn what they are and why they exist.

Unfortunately, even if they do, it may be too late.

Raven Song is the first of a four book adult-oriented dystopian fantasy series, a story of intrigue, love, violence, and the old spirits in the shadows who wait for us to notice them again. Readers of Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, and Charlie Human will enjoy this dark magic-laced tale rooted on the bones of what our world could become.

Reviews:

‘Aware that this is just the first book in the series and I am hooked and will read on, however as a standalone book it would still make a fantastic read.’ ~ Mark on Goodreads

‘A good urban fantasy with well-developed characters and a grim and complex setting. I would recommend.’ ~ Dannica Zulestin on Goodreads

‘Ashcroft has a brilliant imagination coupled with an eloquent writing style that draws the reader in, makes us feel a wide array of emotions, and holds us captivated to the very end. I anxiously await the next volume in this series.’ ~ K. McCaslin on Amazon

‘I usually think endings are the worst part of most books, hard to wrap up into a logical and solid ending, this book did well at it I was satisfied but very much looking forward to the next book.’ ~ taruofatlantis on Amazon

‘The narration by Mikael Naramore was good. He was able to capture the voices of the characters well, especially the manic Tony. In general the characters were distinguishable and the voicing gave life to each of them. The production quality was good as well.’ ~ Poonam on AudioBook Reviewer.

Author Bio:

​I. A. Ashcroft has been writing fiction in many forms for almost twenty years. The author's first book, written at age seven, featured the family cat hunting an evil sorceress alongside dragons and eagles. This preoccupation with the fantastical has not changed in the slightest.

Now, the author dwells in Phoenix, AZ alongside a wonderful tale-spinner and two increasingly deranged cats. Ashcroft writes almost exclusively in the realm of darker fantasy these days, loving to entertain adults with stories of magic, wonder, despair, violence, and hope, bringing a deep love of mythology into every tale penned. The author also loves diverse and intriguing casts of characters.

When not buried in a book, one might find Ashcroft learning languages, charting road trips, and playing tabletop RPGs with clever and fun people.

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PROLOGUE

A boy lay on the broken sidewalk, eyes closed. He was pale and thin, looking not a day over ten years old. His half-clothed body shuddered against the chilly night air. His bony frame scraped against the grime of the street as he curled into himself, trying to keep back the cold. Overhead, the stars hung bright and lonely.

In the alley, almost invisible against the midnight darkness, a man stood tall over the boy. His well-pressed suit was as black as the shadows, as his skin, and as the raven on his shoulder. The way he hovered over the child, he seemed a strange guardian. But his eyes were turned upwards to the sky, away from the boy’s plight, as if it was no real matter. In those black eyes the stars were mirrored, impossible and brilliant. Those eyes stared back into the past, when the celestial lights were loved and revered, when each constellation had a story.

Once upon a time… this was when the world had sung to him, the dream-walker, the song-weaver, the star-stringer.

Once, before humans had forgotten his name.

Now, the starry sky was almost hidden by the glowing blue haze of the Barrier, a shield cast over what was left of the city: proud New York, ruined, rebuilt, defiant.

The stranger kept staring upwards into oblivion, even as the boy let out an unhappy whimper, chills wracking his weak frame. The raven flew from the stranger’s shoulder then, alighting onto the sidewalk, picking past the weeds and rubble. It rejoined its fellows who had settled amicably around the child, oblivious to the fact that ravens were all supposed to be dead. One hundred years ago, poison had leeched into the earth, into the grass, into the grazers, and into the corpses left behind. The blight spared little, its kind no exception. Regardless, this impossible creature affectionately brushed at the boy’s dark hair with its beak.

At the touch, the boy awoke with a start. His wide, uncomprehending eyes took in the world as he struggled to sit up, his head swinging around wildly; past awnings and high rises he had never seen, past scrawled words and graffiti he could not understand. He teetered to his feet, then fell back down again as his knees gave out, sending the birds around him into flight.

He saw no starry eyes in the darkness, no stranger standing nearby. He was halfnaked, shivering, hungry, and alone, his head aching down to his teeth. The nameless boy shook off the dreams he couldn’t remember and wondered where he was.

If there had been any passersby on that cold autumn night, they would have sworn that this boy hadn’t been there a minute ago, and no stranger or ravens had been there at all.