A Proof of Love - Women's Fiction - and a Giveaway #WomensFiction #Giveaway

Merida Johns is here to tell us about A Proof of Love, women's fiction.

There's also a great giveaway.

_____________________

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A fictional story with a memoir overlay as narrator Katie Blake reflects on life in small town America and the principles, influences, and big personalities she wants you to never forget.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, 2009, and the town gossips have their shorts in a twist about a mysterious newcomer who wears tie-dye, colorful headbands, clunky necklaces, and rings on every finger.“Who installs a ceiling fan on a Victorian porch?” cries Ned Boomer, Woodburg’s grumpiest man, and the town gossips concur, “She must be a hippie, witch, or maybe worse . . . a socialist.”

Hell-bent on preventing a neighborhood blow-up, precocious, nine-year-old Katie Blake launches a covert investigation to gather the truth about the enigmatic Rose. But when she discovers a decades-old secret binding her, Rose, and bad-tempered Ned Boomer, her world takes a turn.

Penning a memoir sixteen years later, Katie is forced to reconsider whether the real proof of love was in preventing a neighborhood war or finding friendship and comfort among three unlikely grief-stricken souls who should never be forgotten.

Read an Excerpt

Gram taught me to be independent, manage my anxieties, and have confidence in myself, showing me how to use my imagination to wiggle out of a jam or face the “grim crossroads” when confused or sad.

The first time I cried and lost it over a complicated computer problem, she said, “Be inventive, Katie! What can you do to calm down and think things through?”

We put our heads together to come up with ideas. Gram said she brewed herself a cup of tea when needing a break. Mom worked on crossword puzzles. Dad played solitaire. My one decadent delight was a FatBoy ice cream, and that’s how Gram and I hatched the plan of taking two ice cream sandwiches and hiding them under the frozen vegetables to create my private emergency stash.

“Close your eyes, breathe, take a bite, and replace the leftovers. No one will suspect anything. Our little secret. . .”

About the Author:

At heart, I am a storyteller who writes women’s fiction and stories of courage and discovery, showcasing the protagonist’s journey toward a more fulfilled self.

My passion is writing women’s fiction and exploring the human experience—how ordinary people tackle challenges, endure sorrow and betrayal, wrestle with doubt, and act on their aspirations to achieve flourishing lives. My insight into the power of fiction came during a conference call in late 2017 with a group of fellow life coaches. “What would it be like to help women and men achieve a flourishing life through storytelling?” I asked them.

After that phone call, I got started answering that question. The result was my debut novel titled Blackhorse Road, a compelling story of womanhood and the power of choice, gratitude, and forgiveness, published July 21, 2020, by Coffee Cup Press, followed by Flower Girl (2022), Flawless Witness (2023), and now A Proof of Love (2026)

Before embracing writing fiction, I was the author of health informatics and leadership textbooks. Later, I put my leadership experience to use as a leadership coach, focusing on supporting others to fulfill their leadership and economic potential. My range of nonfiction is available on my Amazon Author Page.

Substack: https://meridajohns.substack.com/
Facebook: https://meridajohns.substack.com/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MeridaJohns
Website: https://www.MeridaJohnsAuthor.com

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MFRW BOOK HOOKS - SUBMISSION - Erotic Romance - Reverse Harem - Sex Club - Dominance - Discipline - on AUDIBLE - #MFRWBookHooks #TinaDonahueBooks #EroticRomance #ReverseHarem #Dominance #Discipline

 

Check them out for some seriously great reads!

SUBMISSION

NOW ON AUDIBLE

Three powerful men

will ensure her

submission.

 

A Wanton Club Where Alpha Males Dominate & Pleasure Women

Reverse Harem

Hot & Kinky Play

Shameless Fantasies

Dominance - Discipline

 

Three powerful men will ensure her submission…

Surrender is the lifestyle club where professional women seek alpha males to dominate and pleasure them. A concept Bree envisioned from the moment she fled her impoverished past. However, dreams don’t come easy. To fund her wanton Malibu club, she needs partners.

Enter Lucius, Tav, and Cody, three wealthy and imposing males who know what they want and that’s Bree, stripped and submissive to their will. Bad boy Lucius has billions but what’s money when the right woman isn’t at his side to pleasure him sexually, while he uses her in the most provocative ways. Laid-back Tav isn’t so easygoing between the sheets, his dominance irresistible. Cody’s an adrenaline junkie, enjoying extreme sports in and out of bed.

Hot and kinky play is on the sexual menu, pulling Bree deeper into a shameless fantasy that can’t possibly last. Until and unless she’s willing to offer her heart.

 

PRAISE FOR SUBMISSION

AMAZON REVIEWS

“Wow. A very erotic read.”

Tracey Kennedy

"Excellent story"

Sue Barter

"HOT!!"

Sydney

"This was a great book."

Kindle Customer

TEASERS

Excerpt:

Lucius pressed close, his thighs to hers, his hand cupping her neck. “Like this?”

He captured her mouth, their lips fitted perfectly, his bristly cheeks scraping hers, tongue plunging inside.

Gawd. She sagged against him, powerless to resist his strength, scent, and taste. Something minty but also unique, a flavor belonging to him alone.

She gripped his lapels, needing them to keep steady and to get closer. The moment she had, she ground indecently against him.

A breath couldn’t have slipped between them, her breasts crushed to his chest, not allowing her to inhale fully.

Who the hell needed air?

He deepened his kiss, taking rather than asking, using, enjoying, his roughness a thrill rather than something to worry about, and precisely the behavior she required.

Yet she still desired more.

Once she pulled the leather tie from his hair, she drove her fingers through his thick, silky locks.

A lusty grunt rose from deep within him.

She’d rarely heard a better sound.

He tempered his passion, gentling the kiss.

That was awesome too.

They enjoyed each other as she’d wanted from the moment they’d met, her feelings for him building each time he smiled at her or they shared laughter she’d tried to avoid, their friendship deepening despite her attempts to keep an emotional distance. During those empty days when she’d denied herself physical contact, she never would have believed a kiss could be so wondrous.

The world faded away, sounds retreating, leaving them clinging to each other, savoring closeness and intimacy.

Wasn’t enough. If possible, she would have crawled inside his mind, heart, and soul. Barring such nonsense, she stopped herself from coming on too strong.

He struggled for breath, the same as her, then pulled his mouth free and gulped air.

Lucky him. She couldn’t draw in enough to clear her head.

Tav slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

Whatever air she’d taken poured out and mingled with his, his mouth on hers, tongue slipping inside, his beard rasping her skin.

Her knees sagged, bumping into him, his fresh, woodsy scent surrounding them, bringing to mind a forest, reclining on fragrant grass, leaves floating down, sun winking through countless trees to bathe their naked flesh.

She wreathed her arms around his shoulders, wanting him as a shelter against doubt and everything bad.

Holding her in a firm but gentle embrace, he angled his mouth for greater penetration, his passion as deep as Lucius’s, yet also carefree. As if necking with her here was the most natural thing in the world, even though she’d kept her distance when they’d worked together. Not once sharing a meal unless they bumped into each other at lunch in the employee break room.

Those times had prepared her for now, their intimacy exciting yet comfortable and necessary.

Unable to resist, she pushed his tongue from her mouth and filled him instead.

Rather than protest, he allowed her to enjoy his clean flavor and suckled her deep.

She hadn’t expected anything less from him. Tav took life as it came, greeting whatever was in his path. For the moment, she was his sole focus and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

He eased her closer, his strength impressive yet subdued. His effort at containing it, making him tremble.

She wanted him as unleashed as Lucius would be.

And Cody.

He separated her from Tav.

“Hey, I wasn’t finished.” Tav shot him a look.

Cody shrugged. “You are now.” He grasped her wrist.

Surely, he wasn’t going to kiss it. He’d never seemed the romantic type to her.

And wasn’t now.

After he’d trapped her against the wall, he held her wrists above her head and cupped her breast.

Her nipples peaked, straining against her suit jacket.

He thumbed one rigid tip, his lime fragrance and sweet breath stoking her desire.

She wrapped her leg around his and pressed against him.

His grin spoke volumes. “Bad girl.”

“You think?”

“I know.” He brushed his lips over hers, their softness and heat striking, his smooth cheeks a balm, his tantalizing foreplay increasing her excitement.

Whoever thought wild monkey sex was the only way to go for a good time hadn’t experienced this.

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Waves of Light and Darkness - Speculative Short Stories - and a Giveaway #ShortStories #SpeculativeShortStories #Giveaway

John K Danenbarger is here to tell us about Waves of Light and Darkness, speculative short stories.

There's also a great giveaway.

_______________________

Waves of Light and Darkness challenges and delights a reader’s perception with surreal and surprising world-building.

Waves of Light and Darkness

by John K Danenbarger

Genre: Speculative Short Stories

Waves of Light and Darkness challenges and delights a reader’s perception with surreal and surprising world-building.

Whether they are set in the past or the future, in a Kansas farmhouse or a potentially supernatural cave, these short stories share one commonality: a search for something beyond what one knows is needed. Through a multitude of unexpected perspectives (a cat, a coma patient, a ventriloquist), this utterly novel collection of stories examines and reconfigures universal themes of life, death, and human connection.

Several stories focus on finding identity amidst societal pressure, such as “Seduction,” and "Alexandria Her Smile,” while others like "A Pusillanimous Human" and "The Gift for Albert Smoots" explore mortality and grief.

 

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads

An excerpt of “Death of Angst” from WAVES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS: STORIES

“When my eyes have the ember slits of a viper, some humans think I must be plotting death and murder. Although it happens, out of necessity, most of the time I am merely researching, scrutinizing, and processing feline perfection, because I was found as an orphan under a box. I know now that I must have been in severe pain from having survived an attack by a thug, a ruffian tomcat that wanted to breed with my mother. I remember the sharp claws digging into my fur, the putrid breath hot on my neck. So, no wonder I am skittish; it just does not leave you. The trauma, I mean. My brothers and sisters, dead and gone. More to the point, leaving me with no one to learn from . . . to emulate.

I was certainly lucky to be found by Adele Petrini outside the building where I now live on the third floor. I think Adele was around five years old back then. Human years, I’m talking about. Just a tiny, muddy thing, with messy braids and curious eyes. She wanted to name me Anxiety, but it got shortened to Angst. I don’t mind; I am certainly happy with the name. I find it important that it’s easy for humans to call my name when it’s time to eat.”

John Danenbarger spends much of his time writing in Italy. Born in Atlanta, he graduated from University of Kansas with a degree in English and Creative Writing. With a backlist of short stories, Danenbarger established the Salem Massachusetts Writers' Club. After living in Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, and Salem, MA, Danenbarger achieved a merchant marine captain's license, sailing for two years on the New England coast including two round-trips to Bermuda.

 

Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter the Waves of Light and Darkness Giveaway Here

Thanks so much for reading today's post. Hope you enjoyed it!

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SUBMISSION - Reverse Harem - Sex Club - Hot & Kinky Play - Shameless Fantasies - Dominance - Discipline - on AUDIBLE - Tina Donahue Monthly Newsmagazine #TinaDonahueBooks #EroticRomance #ReverseHarem #Giveaways #EyeCandy

SUBMISSION

NOW ON AUDIBLE

Three powerful men

will ensure her

submission.

 

A Wanton Club Where Alpha Males Dominate & Pleasure Women

Reverse Harem

Hot & Kinky Play

Shameless Fantasies

Dominance - Discipline

 

Three powerful men will ensure her submission…

Surrender is the lifestyle club where professional women seek alpha males to dominate and pleasure them. A concept Bree envisioned from the moment she fled her impoverished past. However, dreams don’t come easy. To fund her wanton Malibu club, she needs partners.

Enter Lucius, Tav, and Cody, three wealthy and imposing males who know what they want and that’s Bree, stripped and submissive to their will. Bad boy Lucius has billions but what’s money when the right woman isn’t at his side to pleasure him sexually, while he uses her in the most provocative ways. Laid-back Tav isn’t so easygoing between the sheets, his dominance irresistible. Cody’s an adrenaline junkie, enjoying extreme sports in and out of bed.

Hot and kinky play is on the sexual menu, pulling Bree deeper into a shameless fantasy that can’t possibly last. Until and unless she’s willing to offer her heart.

 

PRAISE FOR SUBMISSION

AMAZON REVIEWS

“Wow. A very erotic read.”

Tracey Kennedy

"Excellent story"

Sue Barter

"HOT!!"

Sydney

"This was a great book."

Kindle Customer

TEASERS

Excerpt:

Lucius pressed close, his thighs to hers, his hand cupping her neck. “Like this?”

He captured her mouth, their lips fitted perfectly, his bristly cheeks scraping hers, tongue plunging inside.

Gawd. She sagged against him, powerless to resist his strength, scent, and taste. Something minty but also unique, a flavor belonging to him alone.

She gripped his lapels, needing them to keep steady and to get closer. The moment she had, she ground indecently against him.

A breath couldn’t have slipped between them, her breasts crushed to his chest, not allowing her to inhale fully.

Who the hell needed air?

He deepened his kiss, taking rather than asking, using, enjoying, his roughness a thrill rather than something to worry about, and precisely the behavior she required.

Yet she still desired more.

Once she pulled the leather tie from his hair, she drove her fingers through his thick, silky locks.

A lusty grunt rose from deep within him.

She’d rarely heard a better sound.

He tempered his passion, gentling the kiss.

That was awesome too.

They enjoyed each other as she’d wanted from the moment they’d met, her feelings for him building each time he smiled at her or they shared laughter she’d tried to avoid, their friendship deepening despite her attempts to keep an emotional distance. During those empty days when she’d denied herself physical contact, she never would have believed a kiss could be so wondrous.

The world faded away, sounds retreating, leaving them clinging to each other, savoring closeness and intimacy.

Wasn’t enough. If possible, she would have crawled inside his mind, heart, and soul. Barring such nonsense, she stopped herself from coming on too strong.

He struggled for breath, the same as her, then pulled his mouth free and gulped air.

Lucky him. She couldn’t draw in enough to clear her head.

Tav slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

Whatever air she’d taken poured out and mingled with his, his mouth on hers, tongue slipping inside, his beard rasping her skin.

Her knees sagged, bumping into him, his fresh, woodsy scent surrounding them, bringing to mind a forest, reclining on fragrant grass, leaves floating down, sun winking through countless trees to bathe their naked flesh.

She wreathed her arms around his shoulders, wanting him as a shelter against doubt and everything bad.

Holding her in a firm but gentle embrace, he angled his mouth for greater penetration, his passion as deep as Lucius’s, yet also carefree. As if necking with her here was the most natural thing in the world, even though she’d kept her distance when they’d worked together. Not once sharing a meal unless they bumped into each other at lunch in the employee break room.

Those times had prepared her for now, their intimacy exciting yet comfortable and necessary.

Unable to resist, she pushed his tongue from her mouth and filled him instead.

Rather than protest, he allowed her to enjoy his clean flavor and suckled her deep.

She hadn’t expected anything less from him. Tav took life as it came, greeting whatever was in his path. For the moment, she was his sole focus and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

He eased her closer, his strength impressive yet subdued. His effort at containing it, making him tremble.

She wanted him as unleashed as Lucius would be.

And Cody.

He separated her from Tav.

“Hey, I wasn’t finished.” Tav shot him a look.

Cody shrugged. “You are now.” He grasped her wrist.

Surely, he wasn’t going to kiss it. He’d never seemed the romantic type to her.

And wasn’t now.

After he’d trapped her against the wall, he held her wrists above her head and cupped her breast.

Her nipples peaked, straining against her suit jacket.

He thumbed one rigid tip, his lime fragrance and sweet breath stoking her desire.

She wrapped her leg around his and pressed against him.

His grin spoke volumes. “Bad girl.”

“You think?”

“I know.” He brushed his lips over hers, their softness and heat striking, his smooth cheeks a balm, his tantalizing foreplay increasing her excitement.

Whoever thought wild monkey sex was the only way to go for a good time hadn’t experienced this.

What else will you learn about in my newsletter?

CLICK HERE TO READ

Thanks so much for reading today's post. Hope you enjoyed it!

Follow me on Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tina-donahue

Please feel free to share the post via FB, Bluesky, Linked In, and more...share buttons at the bottom of this post :)

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Love at the Fiesta: A Kwentitas Romance Anthology #3 - Romance - and a Giveaway #Romance #Anthology #Giveaway

The authors of Love at the Fiesta: A Kwentitas Romance Anthology, Kwentitas Romance Anthologies #3 are here to tell you about their stories.

There's also a great giveaway.

_______________________

Love at the Fiesta: A Kwentitas Romance Anthology

(Kwentitas Romance Anthologies, #3)

Publication date: May 26th 2026

Genres: Adult, Romance

Return to Hacienda Luz—the world of Pasko Na, My Love and Forevermore—as the beloved Moore family opens the gates once more for a dazzling Santacruzan Fiesta in the heart of Napa Valley.

For two vibrant days, the vineyard comes alive with music, food, pageantry, cultural traditions, and unforgettable moments beneath the spring sky. But amid the beauty and celebration, hearts are on the line.

Some will fall in love.

Some will fall back in love.

And some will risk it all for the love they’ve been waiting for.

From acclaimed and bestselling Filipino American authors comes Love at the Fiesta, a joyful romance anthology filled with family, longing, second chances, and love.

Featuring stories by the Kwentitas:

Cat Santos

Celeste Dador

Elle Cruz

June Gray

Kaye Rockwell

Liz Durano

Maan Gabriel

Maida Malby

Mia Hopkins

Preslaysa Williams

Tif Marcelo

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo

SNEAK PEEKS:

Rice – Mia Hopkins

“Look at us,” she whispered. They were wet up to their thighs. Their clothes and shoes were a mess of sand and seawater. Ace’s wet T-shirt clung to his torso. Pinky longed to strip it off him, to run her hands all over his skin.

“Guess we didn’t see that coming,” he said, breathless.

Overthinking was her specialty, but right now she didn’t allow herself to think at all. Pinky reached forward and placed her hands on his chest. She looked up at his lips. The wind almost carried away her whisper.

“Can I?”

Ace nodded slowly.

Blood rushing, she kissed him. A gust of cold wind whipped at them, but Ace’s lips were as warm and soft as she’d hoped. She tasted salt and smelled his skin—woodsy and clean, with something delicious in the background. Tea with honey. A gingersnap? No—hot salabat. Spicy and sweet.

When Ace finally closed his eyes, Pinky embraced him, and her brain lit up like a chandelier. She felt everything—his hands on her waist, the soft moan in his throat as she lightly pressed the tip of her tongue against his. He held her tightly, quieting her nerves but setting a fire deep inside her. The wind cut through her wet skirt and bit at her bare skin. The waves crashed. In the distance, seagulls called to each other, back and forth.

After a long, long time, Pinky broke their kiss. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes, overwhelmed with pleasure. His arms were cold, but his chest through the T-shirt was hot, and his heart was beating fast. They both could feel that he was hard as a rock, but he didn’t push himself against her. Horny, but polite—a refreshing combination.

“Do you…” she trailed off.

“Do I what?”

She winced. “Please don’t judge me.”

He stroked her hair. “I won’t.”

“Do you…live nearby?”

—

Bring Back The Love – Tif Marcelo

Two days of pretending.

That was all Emmy Briones had to endure. That shouldn’t be hard, right? After all, she’d done harder things in life while on stage as a wedding singer, as a mother to actual grownups, and as a wife in a twenty-two-year marriage that was in a weird stage of limbo.

Granted, it was two days under the watchful eye of the legendary Lola Naty, her husband’s grandmother and matriarch of the famous Hacienda Luz.

No big deal.

Emmy employed the box breathing she’d learned in couples therapy—because yes, she and Aaron were at that stage—and crossed over the threshold of Hacienda Luz while dragging their carry-ons, where the glimmer of the marble floors and the sparkle of the chandelier above took her breath away.

Already decorated for the fiesta, a traditional Santacruzan, the lobby was filled with multicolored flowers. People milled about, talking in hushed voices, many of whom wore shirts that bore the familiar logo of Hacienda Luz.

A step behind Aaron, she swallowed against the enormity of it all. Living in the DC area hadn’t exposed them to this grandeur on the daily, unlike the rest of the Briones and Moore families living in and around the Bay Area. Though she and Aaron had been engaged here, Emmy only kept up with the property’s happenings through social media posts from Aaron’s family.

At the remembrance of their engagement, of Aaron getting down on one knee and pledging his life to her, her chest welled with sorrow.

“Em.” In front of her, Aaron offered his hand. His brown eyes had a message in them, though she couldn’t quite discern his intent.

They’d been in sync, in their thoughts, in their hearts, and in their voices, until they weren’t.

Emmy was just hoping they could pull off this ruse, collect their fee, go back home to their life, and somehow move on from it. It was Aaron who was worried. That his family—specifically Lola Naty—would notice that she and he were not the happy couple everyone made them out to be.

GIVEAWAY!

Love at the Fiesta Blitz

—

Thanks so much for reading today's post. Hope you enjoyed it!

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