Blog Tour - Excerpt + Giveaway - At Midnight by Lainee Cole, Lynn Crandall, and Rena Koontz

At Midnight

by Lainee Cole, Lynn Crandall, and Rena Koontz 
Publication Date: December 4, 2017
  Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Anthology

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Three talented authors. Three love stories. Three approaching deadlines. 

Midnight Casanova by Lainee Cole 

Stranded at midnight by a broken-down car, dog trainer Maddie Lockhart finds refuge in a deserted farmhouse. When the owner of the house, Chance Marlow, tries to oust her, Maddie uses the stray mutt he calls Casanova to convince him she can help with his collection of homeless animals. While their paths seem incompatible, working side-by- side to rescue animals, they discover otherwise. 

Two Days Until Midnight by Lynn Crandall 

Time is running out for reclusive billionaire Tamier Rein to save himself from transforming into a cheetah, and bird-shifter Lark Ellis is his only hope for surviving past midnight.

Midnight Deadline for Love by Rena Koontz 

T.B. Amanscott is Harrison City’s wealthiest man and his kidnappers want one million dollars ransom by midnight or they will kill him. Every possible resource is available to Sergeant Ariana Jeanne Lozione, who is heading up the rescue attempt. There’s only one problem. A.J. wants him dead.



Excerpt

Chance found her in the kitchen when he returned to the house. She was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, and Casanova half lying in her lap. She stroked his fur as she stared at the floor. Her cheeks were streaked with tears.
Living on the farm, he’d grown up with the cycle of life. It was hard, but it was something you accepted.
City people, and sometimes rural people, didn’t have those experiences to pull from. People like Maddie took those losses much harder.
He hung his coat on the rack beside the door and reached out a hand to her. “You can’t sit on the floor all night. Let’s go back in the living room.”
She looked at him then, tears still in her eyes. It was hard to see her so upset, but there were no words to relieve her pain. He knew from experience it was something she had to learn for herself. It never got any easier, though.
Gently, he tugged when she accepted his hand. Then her arms were around him, her nose buried in his chest and her small body shaking silently. Ah, hell. With a groan, his arms went around her and he held her tight while she cried.
He wasn’t sure how long they stood together, absorbing comfort from each other. The coolness of her tears streaking his chest turned to heat. When he started to ease her away, her arms tightened and he groaned.
“Maddie…”
She tilted her face up to him then, her eyes searching his. For what he didn’t know. He only knew he couldn’t deny the desire in her eyes, nor that of his body.
He swung her into his arms and she clung to him as he carried her into the bedroom. He laid her down gently. The tightening of her arms urged him to follow. He kissed her with all the gentleness he could, showing her with his kisses what he hadn’t been able to say with words.
She’d worked her way into his heart in just a few short days. The thought of her leaving left a new hole in his soul. She’d become a part of the farm, an extension of who he was.
When she kissed him back with matching passion, he allowed himself to get lost in her touch.


Playlists Matter By Lynn Crandall

Music is often playing in my background. When I start a new story, I like to create a new playlist that is tailored to give me inspiration grounded in music that is fitting. For Two Days Until Midnight I needed music that reminded me of despair and hope, death and rebirth, and triumph and love. These songs helped me tap into those kind of fictional experiences.

I Bet My life by Imagine Dragons – I enjoy the exuberance of this song. I placed it at the beginning of the list because it energized me immediately and sounded like a promise.
The Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel – The story needed to go deep, and this contemplative song helped me with that task.
Somewhere Only We Know by Keane –I love this song! It speaks of intimacy, not sex, intimacy.
Secrets by One Republic – This upbeat song gave me a sense of sacrifice for love.
If You Go Away by Neil Diamond – This song oozes angst and loss, which helped me write parts of the story in which the hero sunk into internal pain.
Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park – I love how this song expresses regret and hope. 

Supermassive Black Hole from Twilight –Robust and strong, this song reminded me to write confident characters that are larger than life when they needed to be, just as people can be in real life.

She’s Like the Wind by Patrick Swayze – I couldn’t help but immerse into a large love while this song played.

Used to be Happy by Clint Eastwood – Soulful and beautifully contemplative, the song was perfect background for characters facing their reality as they perceive it.

Two Weeks by FKA twigs – I have included this in three playlists. It is raw and painful and yet supportive.
Levitate by Hadouken – I’ve seen a video of fantastic feats with this song as background, so it takes me above ordinary.

Dark Horse by Katy Perry – I just like the power of the words in this song.

Here with Me by Dido – Gut-wrenching allegiance to a loved one is in the words and the music. Good for fueling intensity in relationships.

What does music do for you? What are some of your favorite songs?


About the Authors

Lainee Cole

  Lainee Cole’s love affair with books began when she was young. By the time she was in seventh grade, Lainee was making up her own stories and poems, exploring various styles of writing. Reading voraciously and exploring different types of writing led her to romances. She loves the challenge of writing romance, developing characters and figuring out what makes them tick. They often take on a life of their own, surprising and annoying her. But they also give her hope and inspire her to follow her dreams. Lainee strives to write stories that will make readers laugh and cry, give them hope, and encourage them to believe in the power of love.

Lynn Crandall

Lynn Crandall started spinning stories as a child when she tried to entertain her younger sister at night when they were supposed to be going to sleep. In the dark, her stories typically took on a scary or paranormal element — didn’t do much to put her and her sister to sleep. Today, she hopes here stories still fail to put readers to sleep, but rather take them on a journey. That’s what she’s been on since she decided to make writing her focus. As a reporter and magazine feature writer, she truly enjoys learning as she works on stories. As a romance writer, she enjoys following an evolving story of her characters. She loves to tell stories about characters who don’t back down and use their challenges to grow.

Rena Koontz


I’m a lifelong journalist and an award-winning author. My writing career has taken me into the sports arena, politics, feature writing, editorial writing, and, my favorite, cops and courts. I’ve chased fire trucks and police cars, covered all sorts of crimes, including murders, and reported criminal, civil, high profile and ordinary trials. And that’s what I write about. In my books, cops are the good guys and the good guys always win. I’m a Pittsburgh native and an avid sports fan. I work Pittsburgh connections into all of my stories and my characters often wear black and gold or reference the city’s outstanding sports teams — the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. My books are based on real incidents. Plus, I’m married to a retired FBI agent whose stellar career fuels my ideas and whose technical advice is invaluable. He also takes credit for the steamy scenes!



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