Tuesday, September 17, 2013

SBB: The Last Straw



BLURB:  
Ally Tobin left New York after one too many bad dates, determined to rebuild a stable life and career as a private investigator in Silicon Valley. But when the man she knew as one name walks into her office with another, will her curiosity once again lead her to risk her heart?

The last thing Special Agent Jared Green needs is "security risk" stamped on the resume of his latest undercover identity. Especially by the woman his job forced him to leave in New York without any explanation. She may threaten his cover, but it's his heart on the line. 

He's good at playing a part. She's good at catching a fake. Can they trust enough to give love another chance?
EXCERPT:  
He sauntered through the door, a white, button- down shirt tucked into belted khakis. When his dark gaze found her, he stopped. Stared. Her throat dried and a rustling motion stirred in her abdomen.

“Hi. I’m Darren Ray.”

Keep your cool, she commanded herself, standing and reaching across the desk. His hand was rough.

She yanked her hand back and waved at the chair. “Please, have a seat.” He waited for her to sit before settling in the visitor’s chair. “So, Darren, according to this, you’re being considered for a programmer position in the IT department. Tell me about your background.”

A professional mask settled over his features. “As you can see on my résumé, I have several years of consulting experience.”

“Tell me something about your experience as a mechanic.” Working on his prized old Mustang had been a favorite hobby.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “What do you mean? That’s not in my résumé.”

“You don’t have the hands of a programmer. More of a mechanic.” Oh, his hands.

“Okay, you got me.” He was going to confess. This should be good. “When I’m not programming computers I’m working on my car.”

“And what were you doing in New York City?”

He reached across her desk for a piece of paper, plucked a pen from its stand and scrawled something.  When she took the note their fingers brushed. Meet me for dinner at Pico’s at 7. I’ll explain everything. Can’t talk here.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Nia Simone grew up on the side of a ski slope in Squaw Valley, USA. Later, while learning the craft of story writing, she worked in nonprofit and then high-tech.
The best part of working in the computer field was meeting her husband. He took up skiing and she helped him document his computer inventions! They live in "Silicon Valley" in California where their favorite thing to do is cook together for friends. Nia’s specialties are dessert and veggies while her husband’s are entrees and sourdough bread.
 Their only pet at the moment is the sourdough starter, which lives in the fridge and requires bi-weekly feeding.
​Nia blogs every day about travel, food, writing, books, skiing and photography at niasimoneauthor.com (where she won the Versatile Blogger Award and Inspiring Blogger Award).​
Twitter: @niasimone4
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:
$25 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commenter.

18 comments:

Shelley Munro said...

Congrats on your new release, Nia. Your book sounds intriguing.

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thanks for hosting!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sandra,

Thank you for hosting my blog tour. What a beautiful and fun blog you have here.

All,

I'm flying home from a visit to my brother and sister-in-law in Texas today, so I'll be in and out as I travel through time zones and layovers back to California.

I do have a question for visitors today. I started blogging in January this year and quickly found myself making friends. Have you made friends through following or hosting blogs?

Thanks for supporting my debut story and stopping by to say hello.

Nia

Anonymous said...

Hi Shelley,

Thank you! I'm glad the premise is of interest. It was a fun story to write with these two characters and a bit of intrigue.

Nia

Vanessa Morgan said...

Hi Sandra. This is my first time on your blog and I really want to know more about your books with cats. Are they memoirs? Fictional stories? I'm currently also writing a book about my cat (who passed away this summer). Anyway, I'm following you now via Bloglovin. Looking forward to visiting often.

Pat Hatt said...

Great snippet, awesome cover too

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat,

Thanks!! I was very excited about the cover. It was funny because I spent a lot of time "designing" it. The publisher asks authors to describe what they want and I went so far as to patch together a couple graphical ideas. I requested a specific cover artist and when the cover came out it was nothing like what I designed! LOL I loved it. These artists at WRP know what they are doing with art. I do not.

Thanks for coming by!

Sandra Cox said...

My pleasure, Goddess.

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Nia,
Wishing you all the best with this new venture. Looks like a great read.

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Vanessa, I'm so glad you stopped by. Always a pleasure to meet another cat person. I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. I know how you feel. My series is Cats of Catarau and its fantasy. In each story, a cat has arrived in the afterlife and love draws them back to earth. With Shardai, its his grieving caretaker. Akasha, one of her kittens, and Makita: her buddy Bennie the Boxer. What about your story. Fiction or non? I wrote Shardai, when my cat passed.

Sandra Cox said...

Hey Shelley, thanks for stopping by.

Sandra Cox said...

Have a great day, Pat.

Anonymous said...

Vanessa, I too am sorry for the loss of your cat. I hope your writing helps you feel connected with his or her spirit.

Sandra, those stories sound wonderful. I'll have to add one to my reader. I always like a spiritual lift in my daily reading. What an amazing and healing story concept.

And thank your for your good wishes on my writing adventure.

Sandra Cox said...

Thank you, Nia. I appreciate that.
Please keep me posted on how you're doing. I visited your blog. You've got some amazing pictures.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sandra!

Thank you for visiting my blog. I'm glad you like it. It has been fun and good for me to take a lot of photos and share them in the blogosphere.

Thanks again for hosting me today. I will be back again to check for more comments and make sure everyone is entered in the raffle.

Quick update, the blog tour and giveaway blast really moved my story. I won't find out until the end of the quarter how many people downloaded The Last Straw, but my ranking dropped into double digits. I'm really happy that readers are aware of my story and of me. And it is amazing to me that the promotion effort really made that happen.

Thanks again for your support. I'm really grateful.

Warm regards,

Nia

Natasha said...

Sounds like a great read!
Thanks for the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

Natasha said...

Sounds like a great read!
Thanks for the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Natasha! I entered your comment in the raffle. You've got a good chance. Good luck.