STEPPING STONES by Elizabeth Morgan || #Giveaway

Stepping Stones possibly falls under being a strange name for a book let alone a romance book. And perhaps it is even stranger since there aren’t actually any stepping stones in the story.

Have you ever heard the expression, “just take one step at a time?” You probably have since such sayings like, “take each day as it comes,” falls alongside it.

These sayings are our way of telling ourselves or others that we have to take things slowly, we have to take our time, and we can’t rush decision or choices. Every day we are taking steps in our life path. Some days we may take a couple of steps back, but it’s all about progression; about moving forward.

Have I confused you? I apologize if I have, but I shall start at the beginning.

The idea for Stepping Stones came in a dream. Now, I have had many dreams and been shown scenes etc which I have immediately written down when I have woken up, because I thought they would make interesting stories.  But this particular dream was the first and only one I have had to date where I was basically given the story on a silver platter. Not that I am trying to say writing this story was easy, because it wasn’t and for a couple of reasons, but I saw everything.

In this dream I was in Maggie’s shoes. I remember pulling up in a taxi outside this church situated on a cliff top. The bride ran straight up to me and said that her maid-of-honour couldn’t make it and she wanted me to take her place. I was reluctant, but she talked me round.

I remember walking down the aisle and being gobsmacked that my ex was the Vicar marrying this couple. I stood through the service with my eyes fixed on the wall not daring to look at him, and then when I finally could get out of their I ran . . . right into the last person I wanted to see; my foster brother. I was angry with him, but I missed him.

The next scene I was in the garden with my mother and father who told me – and this is where there were some actual stepping stones – and my foster brother to go and argue it out, and each time we told the truth, or made a point, we could take a step forward. The aim being that by the time we met in the middle we had to be fine and make up.

Now, it’s a bit of a strange dream, and sure it lacks in detail, but that was the seed for Stepping Stones, and I woke up knowing that I had to write the story. It took me two years to do so, but I finally finished it and submitted it. Now, the book was originally published at the end of 2012, but then the publisher shut down a year later and the rights for the story were reverted back to me. So, I cleaned it up and submitted it to Bono Books (Decadent Publishing) and they contracted it.

I feel that this new edition is tons better than the original, and I absolutely love the book cover and can't wait to share this new and improved version with you all.

But it still isn’t obvious why I called the book Stepping Stones, is it?

Only a few of those elements found their way in to the book. I added and padded the rest out, but I didn’t add the actual scene with the stones. Why? Well, it probably would have worked if Maggie’s father was a psychiatrist and had crazy exercises for getting people to communicate, but that’s not her father, or how he is.

But even though no stones are visible or present, the point of them, and the saying still apply to this story, because Stepping Stones is about Maggie retracing her steps. It’s about her finding her way back home, back to happiness, and having to take the necessary steps to fix the damage she caused six years prior.

She has to take one step at a time to figure out what she truly wants, where she wants to be, and who she wants to be with.

And that is why the book has been titled Stepping Stones.

  

Genre: Sweet Contemporary Romance 

 There's nothing like a wedding to bring the family together....

If not for her baby sister’s impending marriage, Margaret West would never return home. But after six long years, she finds herself a maid of honor who must answer to the people she left behind.

If her parents’ interrogation doesn’t drive her to drink, facing her foster brother, Adrian, just might. To make matters worse, her ex-fiancé is the vicar who will conduct her sister’s ceremony.

Everyone demands to know why she ran off. But the more time she spends at home, the more Margaret realizes even she doesn’t know the real reason.

 Buy Links:  Amazon   Barnes and Noble 

  

~Excerpt~ 

“When is Aidy getting here?” Jessica grabbed the large bowl of scrambled eggs and brought it closer to her plate.

 “I think his flight is due in at three.” My mother placed a dish of bacon on the table and took a seat beside me. “He will be in time for the wedding rehearsal; don’t worry.”

 My stomach clenched. “Wedding rehearsal?” I coughed, trying to clear the chunk of toast lodged in my throat. “What wedding rehearsal?”

 “Today at four. We’re running through the service.” Jess scooped egg onto her plate. “I told you.”

Nervous laughter bubbled in my throat and try as I may, I couldn’t stop shaking my head. “No.” I patted my chest. “No, you never mentioned a rehearsal.”

 “Oh.” She placed the bowl back in the middle of the table. “I could have sworn I did.”

 “Nope, you didn’t. Believe me, I would have remembered otherwise.” I grabbed my mug and knocked the coffee back before finishing my piece of toast. 

 “Well, it’s no big deal.” Edward took the bowl of eggs and helped himself. “Just a quick run-through.”

 “Will everyone be there?” Forcing a smile on my face, I looked up at them both, hoping like hell my question would pass as innocent and genuine curiosity.

 “Anyone who is involved in the wedding itself will be.”

Great. So that meant Jessica, Edward, the parents, and the bridesmaids, plus me. That left Adrian and…. “Will Vicar Taylor, be there?”

Oh God, did my voice just go higher? 

 “Yes, Margaret, William will be there. He is the one who is marrying Jessie and Edward, so he needs to be there.” My father skewered some bacon and tomatoes onto his fork.

Grimacing, I reached out and grabbed another piece of toast. “Just a question, Pa.” A stupid one, but a question nevertheless….

 “It is normal for people to have wedding rehearsals, Margaret. Just because you—”

Jess picked up the coffeepot. “Does anyone want more coffee?” 

I straightened, my focus fixed on Pa. “I’m aware of that.”

 “Maggie?”

My father’s shoulders went rigid. He lifted his head and our gazes locked. I didn’t miss the way the muscle in the side of his neck ticked. Arguing with my father in front of Jessica and Edward was not an option, so I looked away.

 “Please.” I held out my mug and Jess poured the dark liquid.

I could kick myself. A wedding rehearsal hadn’t even crossed my mind. Having to stand at the altar before William on the actual wedding day would be hard enough, but having to do it twice…my stomach churned.
“So, will Adrian come straight to the church?” Edward cut the awkward silence.

 “Yes. He will get a taxi to the church, and then we will bring him and his luggage back here.” My mother held her mug out to Jess.

 “Adrian is staying here? Tonight?” I added sugar to my coffee. “Won’t it be crowded? I thought—”

 “No more crowded than it was in your childhood.” My father took a bite out of his toast.

More and more good news. Of course he would be staying here; it was his family home after all. I guess, it was stupid of me to hope that he would go to a B&B, but my parents wouldn’t have allowed it even if he did suggest it. I hadn’t seen him in six years, hadn’t spoken to him. And yet, in a couple of hours I would be locked in the same house as him.

~Giveaway~

Elizabeth is giving away two eCopies of Stepping Stones and two Swag packs.

For a chance to win please fill out the rafflecopter below.

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~About the Author~ 

Elizabeth Morgan is a multi-published author of urban fantasy, paranormal, erotic horror, f/f, and contemporary; all with a degree of romance, a dose of action and a hit of sarcasm, sizzle or blood, but you can be sure that no matter what the genre, Elizabeth always manages to give a unique and often humorous spin to her stories.

Like her tagline says; A pick ‘n’ mix genre author. “I’m not greedy. I just like variety.”

And that she does, author of erotic ménage horror, Creak, paranormal erotic horror and UK, US & Australian Amazon best seller (Gay/Lesbian, Fiction, Lesbian), On the Rocks, erotic romance, US, UK & Spanish Amazon bestseller (Erotica Short Story) Truth or Dare? And sweet contemporary romance, UK & US Amazon bestseller (British/Drama & Plays), Stepping Stones.

She also has her hand in self-publishing. Look out for more information on her upcoming releases at her website: www.e-morgan.com

Away from the computer, Elizabeth can be found in the garden trying hard not to kill her plants, or dancing around her little cottage with the radio on while she cleans, watching movies or good television programmes – Dr Who? Atlantis? The Musketeers? Heck, yes! – Or curled up with her two cats, reading a book.

Author Links:  Website   Blog   Twitter   Goodreads   Amazon  

FIELD SEASON by Cory Rivers

Genre: F/F Adult Nature Adventure

Each year during the field season, an expedition of biologists plunges into the Amazon rainforest. They live and work together at a field station so remote that telephones and Internet access are a distant dream, and the only entertainment they have is one another. Peggy Cole is a natural at the nature side of things. She faces down vipers, tarantulas, and jaguars while spearheading a groundbreaking project on short-eared Amazonian bush dogs. Peggy’s real struggle is with people. She must grapple with her unexpected love for Julie and a shattering betrayal from her beloved mentor.

~Excerpt~

Just like her professor, Peggy Cole knew at once that she was in a sacred place. The canopy was so dense that they walked in light made green by leaves hundreds of feet overhead. The air was alive and heavy. It vibrated with the breath of insects and the hum and song of birds. Peggy felt as if she could dissolve into it.

“What do you think?” Professor Jay Lions asked her. He always went by Jay with his students, even his undergraduates.

“It’s unreal,” Peggy said, tilting her head back. The rainforest was rich in all three dimensions. Vines twined up the tree trunks and a group of monkeys swung about the top of a tree that sprawled across the sky. Peggy had never seen wild monkeys before, and she pointed them out to Jay. When he saw that the monkeys were wearing magnificent white handlebar mustaches, he took off his hat and put it over his heart.

“Those are good friends of mine,” he said. “They got me my PhD.” Peggy knew what they were because Jay had been telling her about them for years. She named them out loud - Emperor Tamarins - and saw the subtle shift of a fine facial muscle at Jay’s temple. Peggy suspected he was pleased, but she did not realize that he was ecstatic. He was home.

“Soon all this will be yours,” Jay said to her, sweeping his one free hand around him in a grand gesture as the other tugged on a wheeled duffel bag. Now, as Peggy helped lug the expedition’s equipment from the boat landing up a treacherous staircase and to the field station laboratory, she understood that none of her previous fieldwork could compare to this. This was the most alive place on earth.

Lunch didn’t much interest Peggy, even though she was ravenous. She would eat thousands upon thousands of lunches in mundane places. Now she was in the Amazon rainforest and there was no sense being inside.

“Jay, Daphne, can I go have a poke around?” Peggy asked after she had cleared her plate. Jay’s wife only went by her first name with older students, but Peggy had been underfoot for so long that it would be bizarre to call her anything different.

“Hold on just a second, I have to give a quick introduction,” Jay said. Peggy looked at him keenly for a moment and turned to chat with her soon-to-be roommate. Someone pointed to a sizeable rat near the ceiling on a support beam, and Peggy looked up. It was gigantic, and not like the ones Peggy had seen before. It was tawny-colored and stocky and watched them with impunity.

“Don’t mess with the rats,” Daphne warned them, and Peggy laughed with the rest of the students. “You laugh, but you know what happened to the old freezer? A rat chewed through it. True story,” Daphne said. With that, she stood and Jay joined her. Peggy looked around as they started the introduction. The dining hall had a high lofted roof and a seating area with old couches in the corner. It was the centerpiece of the field station, flanked on both sides by laboratory facilities, with three dormitories in front of it, between it and the main river. All of the buildings on the field station’s main campus had metal roofs and were connected by an elevated wooden walkway covered in palm thatching. Behind the dining hall was a facility to dry equipment, a grill, and a diffuse cluster of cabins that trailed into the forest. All together the station could house 60 people and host 40 active researchers, although it rarely ran at full capacity.

Daphne explained the location of all the facilities and reminded everyone that other research groups would be joining them, and they should expect to share their dormitories with those students. They then went over the projects with everybody again. Peggy’s boyfriend, the only other undergraduate on the expedition, was working with a pair of grad students on one part of Daphne’s macaw feces composition project and listened carefully while Daphne explained where the refrigerator for their samples was and where they should do their fecal dissections.

“I don’t want the bench next to theirs,” Peggy’s roommate muttered to her during Daphne’s introduction. The affectionately labeled “bird-shit project” was in the far lab near the dissecting equipment and refrigerator. Jay’s projects, which as far as Peggy knew involved observing monkeys, were in the main segment of the lab on the left side of the dining hall.

“Okay, my group, let’s go check our equipment,” Daphne announced. She stood up, and her students and postdoc followed her to the lab. Peggy’s roommate and boyfriend made exaggerated sad faces as they left her, but they were distracted before they left the dining hall. They had spotted a lizard basking on the walkway.

“My group, go unpack the equipment and sort it out. Meet in your project groups and get ready for an orientation hike before dinner,” Jay said.

Peggy waited as the other students congealed into their groups and gravitated to the lab. She looked out the window to the lab building and saw Daphne showing her students around. Daphne smiled faintly at Peggy as Jay’s other students lingered to see which team Peggy would be joining. Her official expedition title was ‘field assistant’, and that could mean anything. She waited for one of the groups to claim her, but they all trickled out of the dining hall and disappeared into the lab.

Buy Links: Amazon   Book Strand   Crimson Frost Books

~About the Author~

Cory Rivers is a tropical field biologist, or at least a graduate student. She does the bulk of her fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest but has also studied at field stations in Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico. Her fascination with tropical biology began when she was a young kid listening to her mother’s stories about growing up in a tropical village in Tanzania. Unlike her mother, she never got to school too early and found a lion on the swing set, but during her own field seasons she was treed by a stampede of tropical boars called peccaries, shared a bathroom with a spider the size of a dinner plate, and had the spectacular luck of twice seeing a short-eared Amazonian bush dog.

In fact she has been very fortunate to behold some of the rainforest’s grandest wonders. She has followed a family of giant river otters on canoe and spotted a jaguar lurking on the riverbank by night. She has seen tapirs, giant anteaters, caimans, and the extremely dangerous bushmaster viper (which she was happy to see from a comfortable distance). Unlike some tropical biologists, Cory has only been set upon by wasps once, and was lucky that they were a relatively lazy species that did not chase her too far. She also, by complete accident, interrupted a pair of 10-foot-long boa constrictors during their mating ritual. They were very gracious about the disturbance. Cory has sparred with army ants and been bullied by Capuchin monkeys. During one field observation session a flock of toucans settled right above the field site and heckled her for nearly an hour.

Cory’s observations of people and animals have provided a fruitful avenue for storytelling, and began during her undergraduate years. While in college Cory won the Hoopes Prize and the Blumberg Creative Science Prize for her writing in and out of the classroom. She has been an aspiring novelist for many years and Field Season is her first novel.