Magnolia Bay Series:
Bet the House
By Erika
Marks
Sweet Home Carolina
By Kim
Boykin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Willamena
Dunn is having a lousy week. Not only is her baby sister about to marry into
the family of Dunn-Right Preservation’s biggest professional rival, but the
historic bungalow of her dreams has just been bought by the most infuriating
(not to mention exceedingly handsome and notoriously wicked) man to ever hammer
a nail in Magnolia Bay, Knox Loveless.
But
when Knox offers her a wager she can’t refuse, a bet with the coveted bungalow
as its prize, Willa is sure her bad luck might finally be turning around—until
Knox surprises her with a passionate kiss, and suddenly all bets are off.
Could
this be just another one of Knox Loveless’ games, or will two rivals finally
surrender to a long-simmering attraction and declare a truce once and for all?
Sweet Home Carolina by Kim
Boykin
Darcy
Vance has sunk every cent she has into making Mimosa House the best bed and
breakfast in Magnolia Bay. But the key to her success lies in the hands of the
Historic Preservation Society run by the Bloom bitches who are embarrassed
about their father’s connection to the storied house and they have no intention
of validating it with a spot on the society’s registry.
After
losing his PGA card, Trent Mauldin has come home to Magnolia Bay to lick his
wounds and has no plans to stay. Until he falls for Darcy. Things heat up
between the two until Trent’s good intentions to help Darcy go sideways. While Darcy works to save her house, Trent
fights to win her back and keep her in Magnolia Bay for good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPTS:
Sweet Home Carolina
Kim Boykin
©Copyright 2014
The ancient clock that came with the house chimed the hour.
As I shinnied down the ladder, I ran through the to-do list in my head—shower
at ten, hair appointment at eleven, then back to the grind of turning Mimosa
House into a stellar bed-and-breakfast. My brain counted the bongs as they
reverberated off of the walls of my new lease on life that came with a
seven-figure mortgage. Nine. Ten. Eleven. “Eleven? Shit.”
I stepped into my good flip-flops by the front door, the
ones with hardly any paint on them, grabbed my purse and keys, and sprinted
toward the Jeep.
“Yankee.” The hiss came from my lovely neighbor, Mr.
Hunsucker, who was somewhere between five and a hundred and five years old and
wasn’t at all happy I was opening a B&B. He was watering the prize roses
he’d accused me of pilfering on more than one occasion. Okay, so when I thought
no one was looking, I’d pulled a spent blossom off, just to smell it, which
made me a flower thief and a Yankee.
“Good morning, Mr. Hunsucker,” I called and then ducked into
the Jeep before the spray drenched my windshield. Missed me.
Looking up at him in my rearview mirror, he only held up his
middle finger a few seconds this time. A new record. Yep, I was definitely
growing on him.
Bet The House
Erika Marks
©Copyright 2014
As she marched up the bungalow’s uneven front steps,
Willamena Dunn made a vow: No matter who stood on the other side of the
cottage’s peeling door, she would not lose her temper.
Yes, it had crushed her very soul to learn that another
buyer had outbid her for the historic home she’d dreamed of owning since she
was old enough to blink. Yes, she’d said unspeakable things about whoever had
dared to steal it out from under her when she’d learned the awful news the day
before. But no, her personal feelings didn’t change her professional
priorities.
No matter what, Willa wanted to ensure that the neglected
house would finally get the restoration it deserved. As Staff Historian for
Dunn-Right Preservation, her goal was to make sure the historic architecture of
Magnolia Bay, South Carolina, was maintained and respected. Whoever had bought
the nineteenth-century bungalow would have to understand the responsibility
that came with owning a historic home in a landmarked district. And if they
didn’t, Willa would gladly—and firmly—enlighten them.
Her older sister, Connie, hadn’t trusted Willa to carry out
this introduction alone, too worried that she would let her passion for
preservation override her professionalism. Willa had promised it would not.
She would be civil.
She would be courteous.
And, most importantly, she would not use foul language.
But that was before Willa stepped inside and saw the most
infuriating man to ever hammer a nail in Magnolia Bay inspecting the crumbling
green tile of the home’s fireplace surround.
“Knox Loveless, what the hell are you doing here?”
So much for promises.
“Good morning to you, too.” Knox stepped back from the
fireplace and flashed Willa the same devilish grin he’d been flashing her
nearly her whole life. At a little over six feet tall, blessed with hair that
resembled poured molasses and eyes to match, he was a hard man to ignore—though
God knew Willa had been trying long enough. “Here to welcome me to the
neighborhood?” he asked.
“You stole this place from me?”
“I didn’t steal anything,” he said, wiping his palms on his
thighs. “I outbid you, fair and square.”
Oh, that was a laugh! There was nothing fair or square about
the way Loveless Brothers Construction did business, trying to shoehorn new
homes in among the town’s most cherished historic properties. Their lack of
regard for Magnolia Bay’s architectural history was one of the main reasons
Willa’s mother, Lily, had opened the doors of Dunn-Right Preservation thirty
years ago. Now the firm was known up and down the coast for its soup-to-nuts
services to historic home owners. From contracting repair and restoration
professionals, to filling out applications for tax credits, there was nothing
Dunn-Right couldn’t or wouldn’t do to promote the well-being of Magnolia Bay’s
rich architectural history and charm.
If only they could add Putting arrogant building developers
out of business to that list.
Knox pointed behind her. “Be a sweetheart, and hand me that
tape beside you, will you, Meen?”
Willa bristled at the nickname. He’d coined it for her when
they were teenagers, claiming it was short for Willamena but she’d never quite
believed him, and she’d certainly never liked it—which, of course, explained
why Knox still used it.
Willa shifted her glare to the measuring tape on the
windowsill. She’d hand him the tape, all right. Hand it right to the side of
his miserable, underhanded skull. From this distance, she could get some
serious speed.
“Get it yourself,” she said.
“Now don’t frown,” Knox said, sauntering across the floor to
retrieve his tape measure. “You always get that cute little line right there
between your eyebrows when you frown and then you pull at it all day to smooth
it out.” He reached toward Willa as if intending to plant his finger on the
exact point.
She swatted his hand away. “You do know this building is in
a protected district and that any alterations you make will have to be approved
by—“
“The Historical Society Board,” he finished for her,
returning to the window. “Yes, I know. I’m on the board, remember?”
“You so rarely make an appearance at the meetings, I
forget.”
He stretched the tape across the sash. “Now that’s not fair.
I was there just last week.”
“And doodling on your handout the whole time.”
He grinned at her over his shoulder. “So you were watching
me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” Willa crossed her arms tightly,
hoping to squeeze herself hard enough to slow down her racing heart. She blamed
its rapid beat on the shock of finding Knox there—and not on his dimpled smile.
The fierce topknot she’d secured of her wavy blond hair now wilted down one
side of her head. She gave it an exasperated push to realign it. “Knox, there
are plenty of old houses for sale in Magnolia Bay. Why did you have to take this
one?”
“Because I like it.” He squinted to read the measure.
“Since when?”
Knox let the tape snap back into its casing. “Since I dared
you to break into it when you were fourteen and I was sixteen, which—if I
remember—resulted in you needing five stitches in a very tender place.” He
looked at her thigh; Willa slapped her hand over the spot as if he could see
through her jean shorts to the jagged scar underneath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
http://tulepublishing.com/product-category/kim-boykin/
Erika Marks is a women's fiction writer and the
author of LITTLE GALE GUMBO, THE MERMAID COLLECTOR, THE GUEST HOUSE and IT
COMES IN WAVES (July, 2014). On the long and winding road to becoming
published, she worked many different jobs, including carpenter, cake decorator,
art director, and illustrator. But if pressed, she might say it was her brief
tenure with a match-making service in Los Angeles after college that set her on
the path to writing love stories (not that there isn't romance in frosting or
power tools!) A native New Englander, she now makes her home in Charlotte, NC,
with her husband, a native New Orleanian who has taught her to make a wicked
gumbo, and their two little mermaids.
http://tulepublishing.com/product-category/erika-marks/
GIVEAWAY:
Erika and Kim will be awarding a $15 Starbucks card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
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