LOVE AND DIAMONDS ANTHOLOGY BLOG HOP

 

 

 

LOVE AND DIAMONDS

ANTHOLOGY

BLOG HOP

 

February 12 through February14 (Midnight)

 

LOTS OF FUN AND PRIZES!

 

FIND THE

SECRET KEYWORD

HIDDEN IN THIS BLOG POST!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my new release:

 

FACETS OF THE HEART

 

1 of 15 short stories

 contributed to this fabulous 

Astraea Press Anthology

 

 

If you ponder the symbols of true love, several fine images will undoubtedly conjure. For me, there's a favorite that stands above all others, and undoubtedly endures the cruelest weather of time.

 

The emblem that I favor coincides with my personal convictions and faith, and represents the spiritual values of purity, innocence, peace, and absolute fidelity. Without a doubt, the gentle, humble dove is the essence of meekness, full of joy, promise, and encompasses all things that are truly blessed and Holy.

 

 

 

 

CHECK OUT THE CONTEST BELOW!

 

 

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN

ONE OF 6 BOOK BUNDLES

(EACH BUNDLE HAS 5 BOOKS!)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

1) If you think you've identified my secret word in this post, click HERE and enter the correct word for one (1) entry.

Pssst!!!! All blog hop posts contain a secret word, so be sure to visit each blog for an additional chance to win a Book Bundle!

 

2) Click the picture below to be taken to the Link List for hopping to the other Anthology Author blogs for more chances to WIN!!!!! 

 

 

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:

 

WWW.KRISTINECHENEY.COM

 

  

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US!!

BEST OF LUCK IN THE CONTEST!

 

  

Photo Credits:

Box of Diamonds: © Webking | <a href="http://www.dreamstime.com/">Dreamstime Stock Photos</a> & <a href="http://www.stockfreeimages.com/">Stock Free Images</a>

 

 

  

 

 

BOOK SIGNING ALERT!

YOU ARE INVITED!

 

COME AND JOIN ME

FOR A BOOK SIGNING!

 

 

 Author Kristine Cheney has become a vendor with IT'S VINTAGE CHARM and will be selling and signing paperback books. WE'LL HAVE LOTS OF FUN!

 

 

 It's Vintage Charm

Downtown Glendale, Arizona

7142 North 58th Avenue, Glendale, Arizona 85301

                                                 623-201-3363

 

Saturday, October 19, 2013

starts at 10:00 a.m.

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

 

xoxo

 

Kristine Cheney

 

 

www.kristinecheney.com  

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

 

 

Like "Hallmark Style"

Christmas Stories?

 

 

Then you will

fall in love with...

 

SECRET SANTA 

 

 

 

 

Holly Gordon’s estrangement from her family makes loneliness of the Christmas season hit close to home. Volunteering for the annual Ashton Falls Secret Santa Program is more than a comfort, it’s a blessing. Just knowing she’s able to help another hurting soul experience the joy of a heartfelt Christmas makes her own reality a tiny bit sweeter, that is, until Marcus Jenner ends up on her list.Marcus Jenner is more than a bronze muscled looker. This Chickasaw loner isn’t happy being placed on the town’s Secret Santa list. Suffering the blow of a devastating loss, he's chosen to withdraw from living almost completely. For the life of him, he can’t figure why this pretty little blonde keeps bumping into him, calling him by name, and insisting on giving him presents. Unfortunately, every time she does, a billowing cloud of havoc seems to ensue. Why can’t this vixen leave him alone?

Holly is drawn to Marcus like a moth to the flame. But Marcus has no intentions of submitting to the threat of his newfound feelings. A painful exchange pushes their lives into a pendulum chaos. His demand for privacy is granted by Holly’s hidden illness. Her sudden absence hits him hard, especially when the arrival of a stranger delivers the rest of his gifts. Right away, he knows something's horribly wrong.

Love and selfless giving can rouse a wounded, sleeping heart. But sometimes a Secret Santa gets a few unexpected gifts of her own.

 

CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS!

 

 





JUDAH'S ALIBI IS RELEASED!

LOVE FAITH-BASED

INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE?

 

JUDAH'S ALIBI

IS NOW

AVAILABLE!

 

 

 

 

 

Shelby struggles behind a masquerade, fooling the world into believing her role as Jesse Bryant’s wife is nothing less than a charmed, happy life. When a Christian woman marries a non-believer, the consequences aren’t always easy. A week after their lavish fairytale wedding, the prince of her dreams evolved into her worst nightmare. Beneath her veil of heartache and bruises, Shelby guards the secret of her pregnancy, until Jesse discovers the news and demands an immediate abortion. Empowered by the Holy Spirit to protect God’s precious gift of life, Shelby takes a stand. But with her husband’s sudden disappearance, she’s forced to come to terms with abandonment.

Judah Bryant is visiting Bison Lake on business, where the fate of his universe is shaken off-kilter. An emotional beauty confronts him publicly with a river of tears. Humiliated beyond reason, he’s accused of being her abusive, deserting husband, and slandered by implications of some brutal, shady deeds. From the moment the woman calls him Jesse, she’s mistaken him for the identical twin brother he hasn’t seen in a decade. When the fiasco of pre-term labor complicates her trauma, Judah’s penchant for being a sucker-fish hero enlists him to save the day.
Judah heeds the strange supernatural pull that calls him to step forward and protect his brother’s wife. Intending to reveal his true identity, his plans are thwarted when a doctor insists that Shelby and her unborn baby are mortally at risk, requiring a constant vigil of care and a non-stressed environment. He never intended to fall in love with the girl whom Providence made his ward. Tortured by his deception, Judah longs to claim the wounded family he can never call his own. When revelation and tragedy bring the foundation of their lives crumbling down, Shelby’s devastated to find the man who holds her healing heart is a lying imposter. Can the power of Christ, love, forgiveness, and destiny be enough to help her believe in Judah’s alibi?

 

 

CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS TODAY!

 



 

 



CHECK OUT MY NEW WEBSITE AT WWW.KRISTINECHENEY.COM

THE NEW WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING!

 

COME JOIN ME!

 

 

www.kristinecheney.com

 

 

 

 

 

 



NEW RELEASE FROM KRISTINE CHENEY COMING IN JULY!

 

JUDAH'S ALIBI

 

Scheduled for Release

before July 31st!

 

Chapter One Excerpt:

 

**This excerpt may not be copied or reproduced, in all or in part, 

without the express written permission of Kristine Cheney**

 

Jesse ignored the pleading in her eyes. Averting his gaze in blatant dismissal, he swiped his lunch from atop the sparkle of the costly granite counter. She pretended not to notice how the whooshed blunt crinkles of his brown paper sack were a dead-ringer match to his typical stiff, torqued off demeanor. Didn’t he care she roused early to appease him, in spite of nauseating pangs of morning sickness? She sacrificed her world for his sole benefit.

Shelby filled her husband’s thermos with steaming hot coffee. Assaulted by the rising malaise of her stomach, she swallowed the excess saliva that tickled the threat of retch. Surviving the aroma of his ketchup-coated meatloaf sandwich was miraculous, and so was chopping the ingredients of his ritzy, high-born salad without need of a single stitch.

Southpaws had no business in the kitchen.

“Jesse, please forgive me. How many times must I tell you that I’m sorry?” She pleaded through the distorted blur of tears for the umpteenth time. Falling upon her knees onto the hard Saltillo tiles, she begged for his acceptance of the baby growing deep within her belly. But Shelby wasn’t fortunate. Contrite behavior would never be enough to melt the hatred of his hardened, self-loving heart. Jesse’s preference for coldness took root long ago. The man was frigid as an iceberg.

Today’s demand for an immediate late-term abortion proved his penchant for cruelty had only grown worse; the reason she guarded her secret for several weeks. Standing her ground and defying his wishes was a first within their long nine years of damage. Christian conviction refused ability to entertain a death sentence for this innocent unborn child.

Shelby told him no.

The man expected sex when he was wasted. Jesse’s typical ritual was arriving home late, bumping against walls and tripping over furniture, creating a ton of racket. Stumbling into the retreat of their bedroom, his waking jostles were harsh and abrupt. Jesse’s ardor under liquor’s influence made rejecting his advances impossible. Shelby despised the stench of oak-barreled bourbon that lingered on his breath when he wanted her.

To deny her husband’s masculine needs made his lovemaking rough and painful; a lesson learned merely a week after their lavish, fairy tale wedding. Carrying his latest child wasn’t a shocker. The night she conceived, he’d ignored all of her pleas to insert her contraceptive diaphragm. Russian roulette was a frequent game Jesse played with her monthly cycle. Sadistic and controlling, he craved that Alpha rush. Hadn’t Dr. Riddick warned her plenty of times?

Desperate, lone doses of spermicidal jelly won’t prevent a pregnancy!

“Please kiss the children,” she sniffed. Don’t let them leave for school believing they’ve done something wrong to make you angry.”

Jesse pondered her tear-streaked face, much to Shelby’s surprise. The mask of fury haunting him relented. Angry lines that creased his brow visibly softened, allowing a faint glimpse of his young handsome cast; a shadowed impression of the man she chose to marry over dashing off to college. The muscled brunette with a vibrant gaze of blue ceased to be the prince of foolish dreams. Time now captured only tormented moments. Smiles of love had wilted into fears.

A mother’s concern forced the craning of her neck toward the little bodies seated at the table. Hovering over their character bowls in child-like earnest, Annabelle and Ezekiel gobbled up the last floating remnants in their bowls of fruity cereal. Shelby’s contemplation lingered with a mournful longing. Despite Jesse’s stoic, stormy protests, the empty chair beside them would be replaced by an infant’s high chair.

A brisk air swirled about her, forcing a chill of frost to roam her flesh. Jesse intentionally brushed hard against the hem of her skirt, crushing the fabric in his quest to reach the children. Planting his kisses upon their foreheads, he mimicked the doting of a perfect television father. Jesse’s scowl of hatred proved him a liar.

Shoving Shelby aside on his passage way back, Jesse ensured his wife would follow after him. For her, nothing was left but his war of punishment. The leathered taps of his expensive Italian shoes scraped to a halted silence. Without warning, he whirled an about face, causing her crash into his chest. Safe from view of the kids, he placed his hands on her. Jesse dug craters of contempt into the delicate skin of her upper arms. The burns of popping blood vessels promised there’d be fresh bruises. In the life of Shelby Bryant, what was another discolored blemish to add to her collection?

Why must the man she loved always be cruel?

“I meant what I said this morning. “Get rid of it!” Don’t force me to take matters into my own hands, because I swear you’ll be sorry. Be a good girl and make the blasted appointment. The cost of the procedure is of no concern to me, because I’ll gladly pay them double. I want this situation dealt with by Friday.” Jesse held her chin firmly, squeezing her cheeks until they pulsed with blinding pain. He refused her focus to set on anything else in the room but him. “Do you hear me?”

The sob in her throat almost choked out her whisper. She didn’t want the children to hear them fighting. Would he listen to reason? “Please. Think about this, Jesse. I’m almost sixteen weeks along and already I’m showing. I love you, but there’s no way I can participate in what you’re asking. Every child is a gift from the Lord. How can you expect me to—?”

Jesse jerked her back and forth like an unwanted rag doll, and forced her backward with several awkward shuffles. The muffling of her mouth with the cup of his palm was timely, stifling her cry that would give him away. Her backside knocked in impact against the happy yellow color of the kitchen wall.

Reeling from the blunt force of trauma, Shelby caught the aura of his spicy aftershave on his fingers. The jarring rattle of her jaw threatened to disintegrate. Would all of her teeth break in several enameled pieces? Radiations of fire spread throughout the expanse of her skull, spine, and hips.

“Listen, woman!” He emphasized the word of her gender as if it were some awful, wretched curse. “I’m the one in charge here, and am sick and tired of hearing the excuses about your God. If memory serves, I’m the one who puts the food on the table and money in the checking account. If it wasn’t for me, your debit card wouldn’t work. This crowns me the one you bow down and worship.”

To belittle her intelligence, Jesse tapped the nail of his forefinger repeatedly against her forehead. “Since it’s difficult for you to follow simple directions, I’ll speak in layman’s terms so you’ll understand that I am not asking. You-will-do-as-I-say-and-get-this-task-finished!” The warmth of his breath moistened her ear, making her skin crawl with disgust.

An acute conveyance of a bold empowering coursed within her spirit. It was the same electrified, static-filled jolt she experienced while standing her ground earlier. Despite the trembles of adrenaline-laced dread, Shelby mustered the courage to unleash the power that restrained her inner voice. “And if I don’t?”

His laughter was sadistic, whirling the staleness of his recent sips of coffee into her sinus cavity. The glands in her neck tightened in reactive, soured revolt. Her stomach churned, percolating its own concoction of bile-laden prenatal reflex. Saliva once again pooled in her mouth. The urge to gag aloud festered to the point of eruption.

“Then I will destroy you,” he spat with enough poison to require several doses of anti-venom.

The whooshed stealing of her breath was an act of shock. In the history of Jesse’s bullying, he’d never threatened with the loss of Shelby’s life. Every pulsed flow of her blood pounded terror within her jugular. The pinching slice of her teeth restrained her bottom lip, drawing pearls of blood. Refusing to the risk the chance of angering him further, she silently ruled the jerk she’d married was a monster.

Jesse spun on his heel and headed toward the foyer. A draft of relief had never blown so vertical. The rattled slam of the heavy front door reverberated through the house, shaking her core. Bleeding out wasted energy, Shelby resisted the urge to collapse and sob in misery. She cradled the gentle curves of her belly, recalling why her fictitious composure was vital.

Her babies sat in the other room.

Annabelle’s voice belied a knowing worry. “Mommy?”

Shelby stumbled toward the kitchen faucet, gasping to catch her uneven breaths. Cupping running water into the pockets of her palms, the zinging ice cold splashes refreshing the flushing of her face. She pat-dried her features with a clean flowered dish towel and skittered to the table. Difficulty was enduring the tall-tell scrutiny of her children. How did she believe they were too young to realize the truth?

Annabelle’s lashes fluttered in frightened, five year old reaction. “Mommy, why is Daddy mad?”

Ezekiel’s eight years of experience in the Bryant family proved he had it figured out. “Don’t be so dumb, Belle. Dad’s always mad.” His honey-hazel stare captured hers. “Mom, I feel sorry for you.”

“Why is that, baby?”

“Because you always have to put up with dad’s crap.”

“Zeke! Watch your mouth!”

“Well, it’s true.” He shrugged his shoulders, so fed up and matter-of-fact. “Why don’t you just leave him? That’s what Tommy’s mom did.”

“Tommy’s mom?” She never heard the mentioned of his name before.

“Yeah. Tommy’s a kid at school who eats lunch with me. He’s pretty cool.”

Shelby nodded, hoping Zeke’s new train of thought would get off him off the taboo subject of her wretched marriage.

“Tommy’s dad is really mean. He hits Tommy’s mom and gives him and his sister lots of spankings. One day his mom got sick of it and she called the cops—”

Annabelle’s piggy tails danced with the snapped turn of her little chestnut head. Her whooped intake of breath spoke volumes. The bottom lip of her heart-shaped pout began to quiver. “The cops! Does that mean daddy’s gonna go to jail? I won’t be his princess anymore?”

“Enough!” Shelby snapped at her eldest, much harder than she meant to. The span of a second adjusted her tone to where she desired it; softened and under the Spirit’s control. “This topic is not open for discussion. You’re scaring your sister.”

“But mom—”

“No more, Ezekiel. Momma said enough.”

Zeke’s pout now rivaled his sister’s for the trophy. “Sorry.”

Temptation was the fight to lose her sanity. Shelby overcame perdition and chose to smile; an effort to dispel the cross expressions that hijacked her children’s beautiful faces. “All is forgiven.”

Tousling her son’s sandy brown hair was soothing. Caressing the baby soft skin of her daughter’s dimpled cheek gifted joy. “You’ll always be daddy’s princess, sweetheart. No one’s going to jail.” She gazed into the pools of the prettiest blue eyes that were the spitting image of Jesse’s.

“Now go! Both of you grab your backpacks. We don’t want to be late for school.”

 

 

I hope you enjoyed your snippet!

 

xoxo

 

Kristine Cheney

 

 



AUTHOR KRISTINE CHENEY

WELCOME

TO THE

CHRISTMAS WISHES

BLOG HOP TOUR!

 

All Book Trailer Showcase Links are below for a chance to win a  Kindle Paperwhite, A Nook Glow, and a $90 choice giftcard for either Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Both Tablets will come with a book bundle!! Best of Luck!

AUTHOR KRISTINE CHENEY

AWARD-WINNING, BEST-SELLING

AUTHOR OF PARANORMAL

& CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
 

 

SPARTAN HEART SAGA

TITLES:

SPARTAN HEART

PART ONE

SPARTAN HEART

PART TWO

Back Cover Blurb:

Sent away to college in America, Evangeline swore she would never return to England. Anger loses its value when tragedy forces her home to assume ownership of the family's beloved Greco-Roman museum.

Placing a foolish, drunken kiss on a Greek statue in the museum's basement, Evangeline unknowingly frees a Spartan prince from an evil oracle's curse. Suddenly, her lonely life is invaded by the rakish man with knowing emerald green eyes who never eats or sleeps, and seems to know her every thought and feeling.

Falling in love is dangerous, especially when it's with a man who has already been claimed by the bitter oracle Demona. From the moment of her kiss, Evangeline is swept into Dorien's world of mystery, danger, and passion. The Oracle's fury only mounts as they unravel Demona's darkest secrets, but not before Demona finds out about their unborn half-breed immortal twins. 

Demona uses her knowledge of the future to manipulate, but sometimes love has a will, and a heart...of its own.

SPARTAN 

SURRENDER

Back Cover Blurb:

The exciting Spartan Heart Saga continues!

Stubborn and independent, Taryn Hampton takes a calculated gamble. Despite the dangers of a half-breed birth, she’s run off to Blackpool Sands, determined to deliver Thessalus’ baby alone. But when complications arise, desperation soon sets in. With no one around to save Taryn and her unborn child, she’s forced to barter with an evil nemesis for the safety of her newborn. Cursed to endure the consequences of her foolish decisions, she must face this eternal punishment with a mother’s sacrifice.

Thessalus Agiad wants only Taryn, but the willful woman refuses to submit to her feelings. Finding out about his unborn, half-breed babe, he’s aware that Taryn loves him, but she’s still terrified of his immortality. To make matters worse, she now fears his child that grows within her belly. Tired of her repeated rejections and the endless game of chasing after her, Thessalus gives the woman he loves an ultimatum.

The Oracle Demona is wretched, as ever. Tipped off by one of her visions, she awaits the day to retaliate against Dorien and Evangeline. Aware of Taryn’s impending folly, Demona exploits her mistakes to the point of utter devastation. The Witch hires the rakish immortal, Dastan, to carry out her evil plans, knowing well that he’s just another pawn in her self-rigged game.

Enamored with Taryn Hampton, Dastan wants the feisty vixen for himself. Thessalus Agiad is the only man who stands in his way. Hired by Demona to kidnap Taryn, Dastan decides it’s an added bonus to torment his enemy. But Taryn is sick with fever, and he gets more than he bargained for when she becomes a tempting siren in his bed. It matters not that his comely hostage believes that he is Thessalus.

Curses, manipulations, and fears may decimate everything that lies between Taryn and Thessalus, but sometimes love can balm the scars of a wounded soul, and force the most stubborn heart to surrender.

Coming Soon!

SPARTAN PROPOSAL

(2013)

SPARTAN RAPTURE 

(2014)

SPARTAN FIRE 

(2015)

ALSO BY KRISTINE CHENEY

SECRET SANTA

Back Cover Blurb:
                                                                                                                                  
Holly Gordon’s estrangement from her family makes loneliness of the Christmas season hit close to home. Volunteering for the annual Ashton Falls Secret Santa Program is more than a comfort, it’s a blessing. Just knowing she’s able to help another hurting soul experience the joy of a heartfelt Christmas makes her own reality a tiny bit sweeter, that is, until Marcus Jenner ends up on her list.

Marcus Jenner is more than a bronze, muscled looker. This Chickasaw loner isn’t happy being placed on the town’s Secret Santa list. Suffering from the blow of a devastating loss, he has chosen to withdraw from living almost completely. For the life of him, he can’t figure why this pretty little blonde keeps bumping into him, calling him by name, and insisting on giving him presents. Unfortunately for Marcus, every time she does, a billowing cloud of havoc seems to ensue. Why can’t this uninvited vixen leave him alone?

They say time and fate have all of the answers. Holly, in all of her innocence, is drawn to Marcus like a moth to the flame. But Marcus has no intentions of submitting to the threat of his newfound feelings. A painful exchange pushes their lives into a pendulum chaos. His demand for privacy is granted by Holly’s hidden illness. Her sudden absence hits him hard, especially when the arrival of a stranger delivers the rest of his gifts. Right away, he knows something’s horribly wrong. 

Love and selfless giving can rouse a wounded, sleeping heart. But sometimes a Secret Santa gets a few unexpected gifts of her own. 

Buy Now Links!

CLICK HERE

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