Update: The two winners selected are Vicki S. and SupaGurl. Congrats! Will you both please contact me via katiereus@gmail.com so I can get the book to you? 
Hi, everyone! I hope that you had a terrific weekend! Today, I’ve got guest author Katie Reus here with a fun post and giveaway. Katie’s got a new romantic suspense story that I can’t wait to read (it will be my reward as soon as I turn in the two books that are due by mid-June!). Katie, I’m glad you came to visit!
Thanks so much to Cynthia for letting me blog here today! I just got to see this fabulous woman on Saturday and she was talking about wanting to see hear some sexy firemen speak at one of our local RWA chapter meetings sometime in the future. Which got me thinking about why the heck have I never written a fireman as a hero?? Okay, that’s not the point of this post, but now I can’t stop thinking about hot guys in fire hats and nothing else… anywho, moving on 😉
Somehow it’s already June and I’m still having a hard time believing half the year has flown by. My son is about to turn one (holy crap!) and is already walking and getting into pretty much everything. I call him my little hurricane (my very adorable hurricane). Right before he was born I started the story No One to Trust. That’s the first story in my Red Stone Security series and now Danger Next Door, the second story, is out and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
I’ve always been a fan of fairytales and the concept for this story has been simmering in the back of my brain for quite a while. Only recently did I have the time to actually work on it and I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally be releasing Danger Next Door. It’s a contemporary beauty and the beast themed romantic suspense with a scarred hero and a very outspoken heroine. Of all the fairytales I read while growing up, Beauty and the Beast was my favorite. I think it’s probably because everyone has scars whether they’re visible or not, so it was a lot of fun to use the theme in a story and put my own twist on it.
I’d love to give away copies of Danger Next Door to two random commenters. Just tell me what your favorite fairytale is. Or if you don’t have one, tell me if you have a favorite theme or trope in romance stories. I’ll leave this open until Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at noon Central.
Also, with the release of Danger Next Door I’ve marked down No One to Trust to 99 cents via Smashwords. Just enter the coupon code CR37V. It will be live until June 8. Feel free to share it with others!
Danger Next Door excerpt:
Grant opened his eyes at the sound of his cell phone buzzing across the nightstand. The insistent hum was going to drive him insane. Grabbing it, he looked at the caller ID then shoved the phone under his pillow.
It was Porter. Again.
He loved his oldest brother—okay, his whole family, but he wished they’d leave him the hell alone. If he decided to take the job at Red Stone Security and work with both his brothers and father he’d do it when he was damn well good and ready.
And not a minute sooner.
He rolled onto his side, ignoring the stiffness in his shoulders. Right now he was just trying to keep it together. After leaving the Miami Police Department he felt lost for the first time in his life. Not something he was used to. Right out of high school he’d joined the Marines just like his big brother had done. Four years later after an honorable discharge he’d joined the Miami PD. His first two years as a rookie he’d gone to night school while working as a patrolman. When he’d made SWAT he’d spent the next two years finishing up with his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. And for the last two he’d been working as a detective and he loved it.
Well, had loved it.
Now he was on temporary disability and trying to figure out what he was doing with his life. Half a year ago things had been so clear. He’d had his entire life mapped out. Now, not so much.
Forcing himself to get out of bed and to stop the fucking pity party he was about to have, he took a quick shower and didn’t bother looking in the mirror before or after. Seeing his scars only reminded him of what a deformed monster he was. No thanks. He thought about it enough and didn’t need the visual aids.
Making his way to the kitchen he avoided glancing at picture frames dotting his hallway walls or anywhere else. They were all filled with pictures of his happy smiling family. His brother Porter and fiancé Lizzy. Or his brother Harrison and gorgeous wife Mara. Or his brothers, father and Grant, before the accident.
When he’d been a normal guy. Not Hollywood handsome, but good looking enough to get laid on a regular basis. Now…fuck, he hated the bitterness welling up inside him.
He was alive and had a great family. He’d get over it. Just not today. As he started making a pot of coffee he glanced out his kitchen window and into his neighbor’s window and froze.
He had the perfect view of his new neighbor. She was beautiful. Scratch that. The word didn’t even come close to describing her. There’d been moving guys in and out of the two-story house all day yesterday but he’d had no clue who was actually moving in. Holy shit, if that was her he’d probably scare the hell out of her the first time she saw him. Gorgeous women like her did not associate with someone like him. It would only make her self-conscious or worse—pity him.
But she wasn’t even aware of his presence so he could drink in his fill right now. Even if he did feel a little like a peeping Tom.
She didn’t seem very tall, though it was hard to measure. Her dark wavy hair cascaded down over her shoulders, reaching just below her breasts. Very full breasts. Definitely enough to fill his palms. And the tight tank top she was wearing left very little to the imagination. It was obvious she’d just woken up as she rubbed a hand over her face and reached for the coffee pot.
Look away, he ordered himself.
But he was rooted to the spot. There was a lot of natural light shining into her kitchen from the windows at the back of her house. He couldn’t see the other windows from his angle, but he’d been inside the house before his former elderly neighbors moved out, and it was bathing her like she was some sort of goddess.
Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head and showed off a nice expanse of toned, tanned belly and—yep, he was walking away now.
Before he really did turn into some sort of pervert.
***
Available now from Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, and All Romance eBooks.
Thanks for stopping by!
A little about me: I’ve been reading romance since a young age—ever since I discovered my mom’s hidden stash. Luckily the addiction stayed with me into adulthood. I write paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense for Carina Press, Harlequin Nocturne, and NAL/Signet Eclipse. To learn more about me please visit my website, my blog, facebook or find me on twitter @katiereus.
