Inked Caffeine: Melrose and Vine
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GENRE: LGBT Romantic Suspense
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BLURB:
I
was just your typical Starbucks barista without an interesting bone in my body.
I liked to keep my head down and do my best to cruise through life
uninterrupted, although my bright red hair made it almost impossible. Things
took an interesting turn when I met Jimmy, an artist from the tattoo parlour
down the street. Living and working in Hollywood, California, I met a lot of
intriguing characters, but no one as intriguing as him. He brought a new light
to my life that I didn't know I had, let alone one that I needed.
My past wasn't a great
one, but I got out and made a new life for myself. And now, it felt like my
future was looking better with Jimmy in it. I felt like life was finally worth
living, until... everywhere you looked, something was on fire. The screaming
was enough to make you go deaf and the scent of blood made you gag. My body was
screaming in pain and I couldn't stop choking on all the smoke in the air. My
lungs felt tight, and when I looked up, I couldn't decide if it was snowing or
raining ashes. People were firing guns chaotically and I had never run so fast
in my entire life. Jimmy jumped up to the roof of a parked car and I was quick
to follow, bending over to catch my breath.
"Now where?"
I panted.
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Exclusive Excerpt
Every day was kind of the same at Starbucks. We had a lot of
the same recurring customers and the odd random that came in, but overall, it
was just the same boring, fake smiling shit. I made fresh food every morning
for the display up front and brewed almost five fresh pots of coffee, all
before opening. I turned on all the machines so they could warm up, and then
Angela walked in the back door, yawning.
“Morning!” I called out from up front.
“Yup . . .” she mumbled, dropping her purse and walking out
to meet me. “How was your night?” she asked, leaning against the counter and
rubbing her tired eyes.
“It was fine. Nothing special,” I mumbled.
“Jason had another detention yesterday . . .” she said in a
very monotone voice. “The principal is talking about enrolling him in summer
school,” she sighed.
I frowned, walking around her to the front door and flicking
on the neon open sign.
“What’s up with him? What’s he doing?” I asked, walking back
and sitting down in the kitchen.
She followed. “He’s being bullied by a bunch of other kids,
so he gets physical. He punched this other kid in the stomach . . .” she
explained, opening the fire exit door and lighting a cigarette. “I dunno. I
don’t know what I’m going to do with him,” she added.
Just then, we both got distracted by the bell going off at
the front door and we both exchanged looks.
“Wow. Someone’s early,” I said, laughing a bit, then
standing to go greet them.
We’d only been open for a minute or two.
He looked my age, maybe a bit older, and had black messy
hair. His shirt was black, his pants were black with holes in them, and he was
wearing black and white converse. Both of his arms were covered in tattoos, as
well as his hands and even one side of his neck. He also had a nose ring on the
right side, and his left eyebrow was pierced. I was never one to judge a book
by its cover because I’ve been judged my whole life because of my hair, but I
was still intimidated. I arched a brow, staring at his tattooed body up and
down, then made eye contact and forced a smile.
Get a copy of Inked Caffeine
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Monique lives
in Southern Ontario with her high school sweetheart and her two lop eared
rabbits. When she’s not writing, she’s getting tattoos, dyeing her hair, or
travelling. She is an avid concert-goer and has way too many houseplants.
Connect with
Monique Duclos
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GIVEAWAYS
The author is running a Goodreads giveaway during the blog tour. Anyone in the U.S. with a Goodreads account can sign up to win a free e-copy of Inked Caffeine: Melrose and Vine. Here's the link
The tour dates can be found here
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteFun excerpt! Nice description....I can really picture the guy that walked in.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear!
DeleteNow don't you want to read more about him? ;)
I love what you chose for the excerpt! Thank you so much for the feature!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds very intriguing. Love the cover!
ReplyDelete