I am stoked to be hosting a stop on the
blog tour for RTHE DEVIL AND DAYNA DALTON by Brit Lunden! I have an excerpt to share
with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!
About the Book:
Title: THE DEVIL
AND DAYNA DALTON (Book 9) A Bulwark Anthology
Author: Brit Lunden
Pub. Date: September 30,
2019
Publisher: Chelshire
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 128
Read for free on
KU!
Reporter Dayna Dalton's reputation has been ruined since birth. The
daughter of wild child, Becky Dalton, is expected to follow her mother's
footsteps; never given a chance to prove she's different. Dana's been in love
with Clay Finnes since she was a teenager. Her unrequited love for Sheriff
Finnes leaves her empty. He's happily married and unavailable. Instead, Dayna
finds herself stuck in the revolving door of bad relationships. But this is
Bulwark, Georgia, a town where strange things are always happening. Dayna is
doomed to this loveless life until she can find someone who will appreciate the
depth of her character. Can she overcome her fears and look beyond her own
perceptions to accept a greater love?
*Contains Sexual Content*
P R A I S E F O R T H E
B U L W A R K S E R I E S A N D B R I T L U N D E N
“If the Brothers Grimm and Stephen
King had co-authored a novella, Bulwark would be the result. Lunden’s story is
a modern, paranormal take on the classic Hansel and Gretel. If you like to sleep with the light on
after having the wits scared out of you, Bulwark is the perfect read.”~ BlueInk Review (Bulwark)
“Bulwark is all about the
plot. Lunden keeps the narrative moving at a brisk pace, introducing one
catastrophe after another, only to delicately bring them all together. Every
character has a purpose; every line advances the story, con-founds the reader,
but offers necessary clues.”~ BookTrib (Bulwark)
“…jam-packed with elements that
will give readers the heebie-jeebies.”~ Kirkus (Bulwark)
“The novel is very effective at
creating atmosphere, conjur-ing a Gothic world populated by monsters and the
stuff of fairy tales.”~ Joseph S. Pete, Foreword
Reviews (Bulwark)
"Readers who grew up
with the likes of Barker, King and Lovecraft will have a field day reading this
classy, dark fan-tasy novella. And, yes, it’s that good. Lunden’s plot is
first-rate and her writing is smooth, assured and polished to a high sheen.
Bulwark is most highly recommended.”~ Jack Magnus for Readers’
Favorite, 5-Star Review, (Bulwark)
“The engaging tale’s centerpiece is
the teens’ romance, with a Southern setting the author masterfully
captures... The unadorned prose and concise
descriptions make for a quick read all the way to the bittersweet ending...A
short but undeniably charming love story.” ~ Kirkus Reviews(The Knowing)
Book Trailer:
Excerpt:
C H A P T E R 1
“I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the
devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love.”
~ Marilyn Monroe
The crisp, clear sunlight was not her friend.
Dayna Dalton winced at the bright light that squeezed in through the
slats of the venetian blind. She reached over and gave the cord a hard tug,
sending the pint-sized bathroom into near darkness. Behind her, the shower head
dripped with a steady plop, plop that reminded her of the exposé she did
on water torture in Guantanamo
Bay that never got published. It was deemed too
harsh to print.
The Bulwark Advance preferred
her to write… fluffy pieces. She sneered thinking of the crap on
her computer, the half-written article about the elusive Easter Bunny that awaited
its final edit. She hung her head in shame, thinking of what her sorority
sisters from Georgetown would feel if they knew where Dangerous Dayna Dalton
had ended up. There’d be hell to pay in the form of eternal humiliation.
Dayna twisted the faucet, her freckled knuckle turning bone white from
the effort. It was no use; the leak continued relentlessly, driving a hole in
her throbbing head. Oh, that last round
of shots was totally not necessary.
No matter how hard she wrenched the faucet, the dribble continued. She
thought she should ask her guest to fix it before he left. He was a plumber,
after all. She was sick of this place. Dayna peered at her reflection in the
mirror. She was sick of her life.
Skip Benson’s bearlike yawn turned into a growl from the bedroom.
“Dayna.” His voice grated on her nerves.
Dayna rolled her kohl-smeared eyes.
“Dayna, come on back to bed.”
Dayna took a steadying breath and used both hands to grip the sink as
if it were holding her up. What was she thinking last night? Skip Benson? How
low could she go? A shudder ran through her lithe frame. That left only Trout
Parker, and she could now report she had officially and irrevocably scraped the
bottom of the barrel of Bulwark, Georgia.
She rubbed her forehead where a hammer banged against the inside of her
skull.
Skip wailed for her to return to the warmth of the bed. Dayna wrinkled
her nose, thinking about Skip’s performance, or rather what she remembered
about it. Oh yeah, too many tequila
shots will make anyone desirable, even
stupid Skippy Benson.
She ran her fuzzy tongue over her dry teeth, fighting the urge to gag.
Skip Benson had never been on the football team, the basketball team…Hell, he’d never even made the chess
team. He had been the school screw-up, and now
he could brag that he and Dayna had…
Dayna turned away from the mirror with disgust, her cheeks flushing.
She staggered to the doorway of the
bedroom. Using the frame to hold herself erect, she shouted,
“Get up!”
“Wha–?” Skip rose, the
comforter bunched at his flabby waist,
his chest bare and the pathetic tattoo of a red devil across the front of his
right bicep.
Vague memories of kissing that image flitted through her foggy brain. Dayna picked up a
pillow discarded on the floor during
their frenzied arrival and threw it at his head.
“I said, get up and get out of here!”
Skip ducked, then slid off the bed, his behind exposed, another image
of a werewolf on his left butt cheek. Dayna convulsed at a hazy memory of
talking to that tattoo.
“You weren’t so eager to get rid of me last night.” Skip stood in all
his naked glory, which wasn’t much.
“Ugh. I’m never drinking again,” Dayna muttered under her breath. “I
said get dressed and get out of here.” A
shoe sailed past Skip’s head.
Her unwanted guest scrambled to find his clothes.
“Hey, cut it out, Dayna!” Skip was living up to his namesake as he struggled into his work pants,
bouncing toward the door.
Dayna’s face split into a demonic smile that was known to strike fear in the hearts of single
men everywhere. Here, she thought, was the elusive Easter Bunny.
She watched Skip hop toward his escape as though he were in the Fourth of July potato sack race.
Dayna picked up a shirt that had been discarded on the floor and threw
it at him. The garment appeared to have a life of its own and engulfed his
head. Skip’s muffled cries were nearly smothered by the material. His hands
tore at the shirt to no avail.
His fingers—Dayna looked closer, grimacing at the dirt under his nails, and watched his
wrestling match with the clothing. She pushed him into her shabby living room, then out the door of her condo.
Mrs.
Sweetpea, an antonym for sure, watched in revulsion as Dayna shoved her
guest out of her apartment.
Dayna lived in Shady Oaks, a rundown condominium community, where she
reluctantly shared a front porch with her neighbor. The building was a
connected row of apartments that bordered undeveloped land, as though a builder
had left the project unfinished halfway through. It was hot real estate when
they released the first phase, and half the town bought investment properties.
Then the real estate bubble burst, and the whole thing came tumbling down.
Dayna had an inside scoop about what was really going on, but once
again, the paper wouldn’t print it.
The mayor had sold the land and gotten a back-end deal for it. He made
a ton of dough and then skipped off to Colombia—the country, not
Columbia, South Carolina. The builder had used inferior products, and once he
went to jail for money laundering, the whole place went to seed. There was no
one to call when things broke.
Dayna cast Mrs. Sweetpea a jaundiced eye, daring the nosy neighbor to
say something about her guest.
While the old crone might have appeared to be like the proverbial sweet
grandmotherly type, Dayna knew her to be an ornery bitch with a sting as sharp
as an angry wasp.
She hated her; had for years. Thelma Sweetpea had been her babysitter
back in the day when she was a small child. Dayna’s mother had dropped her off
at the old lady’s house for the first nine years of her life.
Dayna looked at Mrs. Sweetpea and shivered. The old woman had moved
into the complex a year and a half ago, cutting up Dayna’s peace. What were the
odds they’d end up living next door to each other? She was a mean old woman,
and Dayna felt judged every time those beady eyes settled on her.
Dayna considered moving but was so underwater with her mortgage, she
couldn’t think of selling. She was stuck at Shady Oaks, and she was stuck with
the prying eyes of Thelma Sweetpea.
Mrs. Thelma Sweetpea took out her aggression with a broom and started
to sweep as though the hounds of hell had just taken a shit there. Dayna fought
the urge to say something. Speaking with Mrs. Sweetpea usually ended up in a
hissing contest. Dayna’s compressed lips turned up just a bit with a smile at
the result of this morning meeting. Mrs. Sweetpea was in a frenzy of spring
cleaning, as if she could wipe the interlopers from reality.
The sky was overcast, and even though it was springtime, the air was
decidedly chilly. A wave of cold air stole under Dayna’s shirt, making it
billow out. She tried not to shiver. Her bare feet felt the shock of the
freezing concrete. She’d be damned if she would show that old biddy any
weakness, even if it was unseasonably cold.
Dayna looked up at the watery sky, searching for a glimpse of the sun.
Global warming was playing havoc with Georgia’s weather. Either it was extremely
hot when it was supposed to be cold or freezing when the time of year dictated
heat. It didn’t rain anymore; it stormed with funnel clouds that touched down,
ripping homes and trailers from their moorings.
Mrs. Sweetpea stopped her sweeping to look at Dayna, her lips pursed as
if she’d eaten something sour. Dayna returned the stare, her eyes observing the wrinkled face,
watching the older woman judge her half-naked form.
Dayna’s freckled shoulder peeked out from an over-sized tee shirt. It
was paired with her long, bare, coltish legs underneath. Dayna looked down and
cursed when she realized she was wearing Skip’s tee. Glancing up, she realized
he was struggling with her shirt from
last night.
Watching her neighbor’s shocked face, Dayna ripped Skip’s shirt over
her head and tossed it to him. He paused in his scuffle with her clothing to
admire her perfect breasts.
“I don’t have to leave,” Skip said with a broad smile.
“Oh yes you do, and don’t come back here.” Dayna turned around, her
shoulders straight. She paused to look at the older woman, who stood with her
jaw hanging in shock.
“Have you no shame?” Thelma Sweetpea sputtered.
Dayna looked back at the gawking plumber, then her scandalized
neighbor. She shrugged indifferently.
“Apparently I have no shame at all.”
About Britt:
Brit Lunden is a prolific author who’s written over 50
books in assorted genres under different pen names. Bulwark was her first
effort in adult fiction and was chosen by several of her fellow authors as the
basis for a new series, A Bulwark Anthology. Using her characters, they are
creating new denizens in spin-off stories to this bizarre town. Brit Lunden
lives on Long Island in a house full of helpful ghosts.
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE DEVIL
AND DAYNA DALTON, US Only.
1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon GC, International.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
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11/4/2019
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Excerpt
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11/4/2019
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Excerpt
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11/5/2019
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Excerpt
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11/5/2019
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Review
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11/6/2019
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Review
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11/6/2019
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Review
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11/7/2019
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Review
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11/7/2019
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Review
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11/8/2019
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Review
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11/8/2019
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Excerpt
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Week Two:
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11/11/2019
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The Phantom Paragrapher
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Review
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11/11/2019
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Delilah Bluette
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Review
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11/12/2019
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Don't Judge, Read
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Review
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11/12/2019
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Good Choice Reading
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Excerpt
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11/13/2019
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Books a Plenty Book Reviews
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Review
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11/13/2019
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Burgandy Ice
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Excerpt
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11/14/2019
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Reese's Reviews
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Review
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11/14/2019
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Owl Always Be Reading
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Excerpt
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11/15/2019
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Lisa Loves Literature
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Review
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11/15/2019
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Parajunkee
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Excerpt
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I love this cover! Sounds like a great read!
ReplyDeleteSounds really good!
ReplyDelete