Joanie MacNeil is here today with three of her holiday books that will be on Amazon countdown deals at the following dates:
Loving Nick…Again is listed as a Kindle Countdown Deal, 99 cents, on 20th and 27th December 2016 from www.amazon.com/-/e/B00JQRDGTK
All Joanie’s books, including those in paperback, are available at this url.
~~~
Loving Nick…Again Blurb – by Joanie MacNeil
Claire Vincent’s unexpected encounter with old flame, Nick Sheridan threatens her hard-earned independence and the life she’s created for herself and her young sons. She is determined that nothing will take that independence away from her, not even Nick.
Nick is licking his wounds after a messy divorce. When he sees Claire for the first time in fourteen years, the passion he once felt for her, passion he thought died long ago, is reawakened.
Is he ready for a new relationship and an instant family?
Will Claire learn to trust her heart to Nick a second time?
~~~
Loving Nick…Again – Excerpt by Joanie MacNeil
Feeling a thousand times better after a long hot shower, Nick grabbed a beer from the fridge and moved out on the deck to relax. Curiosity overcame him as he watched the new arrival, a woman, unload her car. He wondered again what brought her to such a quiet coastal resort at this time of year.
Her straight russet hair hung loosely around her face. She looked soft and nicely rounded, a pleasant change from the pencil thin females he was used to—like Pammy, or like Belinda with her long legs.
This woman was small, about five feet, he estimated, and compact—tantalizingly so. Perhaps that’s what caught his eye. Nick smiled, reassured he still appreciated feminine charms, and she was definitely built for comfort, not speed.
Now that was a phrase he hadn’t thought of in quite some time.
“Nick my friend, there’s still hope for you yet,” he muttered. In between sips of beer, he puzzled why, all of a sudden, he’d begun to think like his former amorous self.
But there was something else…the movement of her hips when she walked caused Nick to look more closely as she lugged an armful of linen into the cabin and re-appeared seconds later.
“It can’t be,” he mumbled distractedly as he rose from his chair on the deck. “It just can’t be.”
Long forgotten images, which held a special place deep in his heart, teased at his memory. He had to know. Right now.
If he made a fool of himself, well, perhaps the woman would understand and laugh with him when he explained. Or perhaps she’d think he was coming on to her. Whatever, he had to know.
He tossed the empty beer can in the trash and headed down the stairs.
His gaze never left her as he walked slowly down the gravel path. In the crisp afternoon air, the last rays of the sun filtered through the tall eucalypts scattered throughout the park.
He focused on the woman as she moved to the back of her car. Nick smiled. It could be. It just could be. Though the eighteen-year old woman whose image appeared in his mind hadn’t been as shapely as this one, there was something about the way she walked that urged him on. The beat of his heart began to gather speed with each forward step.
The woman was busy shoving bits and pieces from the back of her car into a plastic laundry basket. He stopped a few meters away, rested his forearm against a tree and observed her quietly.
It wasn’t until she turned and lifted her head, allowing him a clear view of her face, that he could be absolutely certain he was right about her identity. He nodded and smiled, then moved in for the kill.
“Hello Tiger,” he said, and grinned when her blue eyes flashed at him.
At first she frowned. Her expression changed quickly from startled surprise at the sound of his voice to the shock of recognition.
“How are you, Claire?” He stepped forward, his gaze roamed over her, took in her soft, feminine curves, the determined little chin, the pretty mouth which had always welcomed his kiss…
His heart lurched, more than it had a right to. More than he wanted it to.
Claire dropped the basket. Its contents scattered across the ground. Her hand flew to her mouth.
“You!”
~~~
Claire stared at the apparition before her, and willed it to disappear when she blinked. Unable to believe her own eyes, she opened her mouth to say something—anything—but words refused to form.
“Well?” One brow raised and suddenly she remembered how the expression always made him look as if he was about to do something he shouldn’t.
Claire wished she could say what a pleasant surprise this was, but in all truth, she couldn’t. Over recent months, she’d had her fill of surprises, all unpleasant. She was no longer as receptive to the unexpected as she once had been.
She racked her brain trying to remember the last time she’d seen Nick Sheridan. It was as if it were in another life.
But she did remember a smooth talking, sometimes over-confident eighteen-year-old with desire-filled deep brown eyes who’d swept her off her feet.
She dared a glance at those eyes and shuddered when she saw them staring right back at her, studying her. They still reminded her of warm dark honey, and more times than she cared to remember, had made her feel like the consistency of the sweet golden liquid. Her spine tingled at memories she’d long since forgotten. Claire swallowed. This man was no apparition. He was real.
The good-looking teenager who’d charmed her very soul was a mere shadow of the man who stood before her now.
This man was taller, broader, and more solid in stature. He looked better than any man had a right to, in snug stonewashed jeans and body-hugging black sweater. And he had a tan—at this time of year!
His hair was still jet black, thick and wavy. She used to like to run her fingers through that hair…
“Aren’t you going to say something? How about, ‘Hello Nick, great to see you. Gee, it’s been a long time. How have you been?'”
Heat flamed her face and Claire knew her cheeks were bright red.
Nick flashed a grin, and she felt eighteen again.
“That’s what I always liked about you, Claire Whitby, you knew how to blush.”
Claire clenched her fists. She hated to blush, and almost hated him for remembering that about her. “Well, I never expected to see you again, let alone here,” she blurted.
Her inner trembling shocked her. She tried to convince herself it was because she hadn’t seen Nick for fourteen or so years. Surprises did that to a person. It could hardly be anything else. Not after all this time.
~~~
All Joanie’s books, including those in paperback, are available at this url.
The Trouble with Natalie Blurb – Joanie MacNeil
Men are trouble, and having a man in her life is not on Natalie Harrigan’s agenda as she’d rather focus on her career. Success in her new appointment to the coveted position of CEO in the recently established Training Advisory Council is her number one priority and she intends to prove she will be the best CEO ever.
Enter Luke DeMarco: newly appointed Director of Public Affairs in the Training Advisory Council, and her young brother’s best friend. Luke DeMarco has always loved Natalie from the moment he first set eyes on her at eight years old. Now, twenty years later, she’s more woman than ever, and Luke’s not too worried about the twelve years difference in their ages. Surely his gentle wooing will convince Natalie that age is no barrier to love? But Natalie is his boss. Will she allow him to move from their boardroom to her bedroom?
~~~
The Trouble with Natalie – Excerpt – Joanie MacNeil
Still shocked, Natalie frantically scrubbed herself dry with a force that left her skin pink and tender. It wasn’t the spider that had sent her into such a spin. Her reaction to the huge Huntsman had been overruled by Luke’s presence. His touch. His gentleness and understanding over her silly feminine fear.
She’d never thought about Luke in any way other than as a younger brother. He’d practically lived with them, with her and Jake, and their father, when his own parents neglected him in favor of spending their time at the pub. She’d become the mother figure in his life, as she had for her own family, when her mother died from complications during Jake’s birth.
But now, fully grown, he was a far cry from the eight year old who’d stumbled into their lives, and the eighteen year old who seemed so unsure of himself as he headed off to university.
Luke DeMarco had grown into one sexy confident man and it was hard to relate the man he was now to the images she remembered of a distressed young boy and a troubled teenager. And at some stage during those missing years, his voice had grown rich and deep, and she liked the way it settled over her.
She tugged on jeans and a sweater and headed to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Not that she thought the hot drink would soothe her nerves or help her sleep. Another warm bath might do the trick, but the bathroom was occupied.
And so was the kitchen.
Fridge door open, Luke leaned into the light inside and searched the shelves. Though he wore well-fitting jeans that enticingly hugged his rear, he was shirtless, from what Natalie could see of his strong body. And his feet were bare.
She swallowed, remembering the feel of her fingertips on sculpted muscles. Even now her skin tingled with the memory. Having Luke share the house would certainly be an interesting challenge, to say the least.
He moved slightly, granting her a better view of powerful broad shoulders and an expanse of back that rippled with his movements. The tanned skin added to her perception of healthy fit male. He was taller than she remembered, but ten years could change a man. And those years had made a difference to Luke.
The package was virile, potent and sinfully sexy.
~~~
Last but not least we have December Heat which is listed as a Kindle Countdown Deal, 99 cents, on December 25th, 2016 and January 1, 2017 from www.amazon.com/-/e/B00JQRDGTK
All Joanie’s books, including those in paperback, are available at this url.
December Heat Blurb – Joanie MacNeil
Following the death of her husband, Nicolette Oliver concentrates on re-establishing her career as a dancer, though still dealing with emotional issues relating to her life with Mark. When his friend appears on her doorstep, Nicolette honors her late husband’s invitation and invites Jake to stay.
Jake Harrigan has always been attracted to Nic and sees her as untouchable, even though she is now on her own. They are opposites, their lives and expectations literally worlds apart. Drawn into a romantic interlude, the parting is difficult when Jake returns to Europe to resume his career as TV news journalist and Nic moves to Sydney to begin rehearsals for the show that will resurrect her career.
Jake returns to Australia to see Nic again and also to finalize details with his network to sail around the world making documentaries. Will Jake follow his heart and ask Nic to give up all that she’s worked for and sail away with him?
~~~
December Heat – Excerpt – Joanie MacNeil
Nicolette’s gaze roamed over Jake, who appeared not to notice, he was so taken with the baby. Her gaze drank in the dark hair with the loose drift of waves that fell across the left side of his brow, that, like him, refused to conform, hinting at his wilder self.
The night they’d met, those curls had seemed to mock her, draw her in, begging her to entwine her fingers with them…along with the curve of his mouth, shapely, inviting, and the kiss that was nearly her undoing. She’d tried to stifle the effect he’d had on her. After all, Mark was her chosen mate, her partner in life.
A fling with Jake Harrigan would have ruined her future happiness and, even so, she wasn’t the type to indulge in a fling for the fun of it. In spite of her fierce loyalty to Mark, she’d been unable to completely shake the knowledge and guilt that a little bit of her had betrayed the man she loved, even though she’d put a stop to progressing the kiss any further.
And she hadn’t encouraged it to begin with. A taste was all it took to shake her inner being, feed her curiosity. Excite her. As enticing as Jake was, she wasn’t his type. He’d quickly tire of her and move on to the next conquest.
Jake stretched lazily, and she realized he’d been watching her assessment of him. Her face warmed. As long as he couldn’t read her mind.
“She’s ready for the next half. Would you like to try?” she asked Jake, breaking what had become an intense silence. Even the lazy drone of the cicadas had quietened down.
“Sure, why not, but you’ll have to show me what to do. I haven’t done this before.” He rose from his chair and moved to sit on the couch beside her.
“Sit here, it’s more comfortable than in the middle.” She grabbed the bottle from between her knees, and rose to her feet. Then as he took his place, she leaned over to hand him the baby.
“Got her?” she asked.
He nodded. “Sure thing. She’s so tiny, there’s nothing to hang on to.”
“Don’t hold her too tight,” Nicolette warned, the sweet freshness of clean baby wafting around them.
“She’s so soft, cuddly…so small. She smells great, not at all like I expected a baby to smell. Never thought much about babies at all, to tell you the truth.”
Nicolette smiled. “I’m not surprised.”
Kylie snuggled into him, making funny little whimpering noises.
“Are you comfortable?”
“Yes.” He looked up at her, amazement in his eyes.
“Good.” She handed him the bottle, and watched as Kylie again latched on to the nipple, though a touch less enthusiastically than before.
“There, just hold the bottle a little higher, that’s it. Then she doesn’t have to work so hard.”
“This is cozy.”
His soft words drew her attention. Without realizing it, Nicolette had placed her hand over Jake’s as he grasped the bottle.
Suddenly aware of the warmth and strength of his hand as it flexed beneath hers, Nicolette quickly withdrew her hold, stood back and observed, glad to put some distance between them.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” he reiterated, as if shocked by his own competence.
“You’re a natural. You’ll make a good father,” she teased, trying to ignore the effects of the image before her, of a tall and broad-chested daredevil gently cradling a tiny baby in the crook of his arm. He looked too sexy for words.
About the Author:
Australian romance author, Joanie MacNeil, writes short contemporary romances, a blend of sweet, sexy, heart-warming stories about new love and second chances. Some of her tales may make you smile.
Home, family and friends are important to Joanie, and she has blended these elements into some of her stories.
Travelling with her own romantic hero is one of her favourite things. When she’s not on the move visiting exotic and interesting locations, or family interstate, she enjoys creating her own romantic stories, reading romance, going to the movies, having coffee with friends, participating in aqua aerobics, catching up with her daughters, and her lively little grandsons and their parents.
Website: http://www.joaniemacneil.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/romanceauthorjoaniemacneil
Twitter: @JoanieMacneil
Angela Scavone 