Hi, everyone!
Welcome to another edition of Spotlight Saturday at Darlene's Book Nook, where we feature authors and their books!
We will be joined today by Chastity Bush.
About Chastity:
Chastity Bush is the author of several published novels known for their spice romance, suspense, and humorous edge. When not working on her next novel, you can find her spending time with her husband and two daughters. Chastity loves to hear from her readers and answers all email/mail received.
Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Chastity!
Chastity has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her!
Thanks for having me here today, and thanks to all you wonderful readers for taking the time to see what’s on my mind!When being interviewed I get asked one question more than any other, and that question is, “What do you look for in a good book?”Well, there are several things. Good, believable characters, a thick plot and setting, and of course lots of steamy, funny, mysterious action, depending on what type of story I’m reading.A lot of different things make up a good book. For instance, if you can read the book and forget the world around you. If the book sucks you in and you’re thinking about it even when not reading it, or after you’ve finished it, then it’s definitely a good book.With that being said, I’m wondering, what do you look for in a book?As an author, while writing I’m always asking myself whether or not what’s going on the page is something readers will enjoy. Is it believable? Fun, when it needs to be, sexy in the right places? Instead of you peeking into my head, let me see what you have going on!So, toss me your opinions. What do you think makes a good book?I can’t wait to read your comments! Thanks for having me here today!XOXO,Chastity Bush
Thanks so much for joining us today, Chastity!
Three lucky winners will win digital copies of Chastity's contemporary romance, The Stranger Next Door.
The last thing Officer Tess McCoy expected was to meet her sexy new neighbor wearing nothing but her birthday suit, but since her partner’s death nearly six months ago, nothing seemed to go the way she planned.
Despite his incredibly good looks, Tess needs to keep her distance from the sexy stranger next-door. The last thing she needs is another complication in her life, and the man living across the street looks like he could be a very big, very sexy, complication.
But her life takes a startling turn when Jack rescues her from would-be kidnappers in the dead of night. Now, she needs Jack’s help in order to stay safe, find out who wants her, and why.
Sparks fly high as things between them heat up, and Tess can only wonder if she’ll escape the ones attempting to kill her, only to fall victim to Jack’s killer charm.
Buy Links:
Amazon Kindle
Excerpt:
To enter the giveaway, you must complete the Rafflecopter entry form below.
Amazon Kindle
Excerpt:
Shaking his head, Jackson Blake wandered down the stairs of his newly purchased home, cell phone pressed against his ear as his best friend Robbie chattered away.
Jack was on vacation, and while he’d much rather be working, he and his partners had decided they each needed to start taking some time off now and then. Working the hours they did could drive a man insane.
His job was a hard one. Being a private investigator wasn’t as fun as it had sounded when he was a kid. It seemed like he was always on the go, living in hotels and out of his car at times. There’d been moments he felt like kicking his own ass for becoming a PI. Sometimes his job flat out sucked, especially when people who were supposed to love each other turned against one another.
He’d seen situations ranging from cheating spouses to people trying to hire a hit man to kill said spouse.
Truth be told, he was exhausted, but after working a job that required constant action, it was hard to just sit around and do nothing now that he was able.
“So, you like the house? I never pictured you secluding yourself in the countryside. Isn’t action and adventure more along your lines?”
Grinning at his friend’s description of him, he replied, “It usually is, but a person can only handle so much lying and deceit.”
“Well,” Robbie began, “I know how you feel, but I don’t think I could enjoy a vacation. I need to keep busy, you know?”
Jack did know. Jack and Robbie had been friends most of their lives. They were similar in many ways, including their desire to keep busy and help others, but recently Jack had been feeling a growing weariness. He associated that weariness with being over-worked. Purchasing this house had been an impulse he still couldn’t explain. After all, one didn’t usually buy a house when taking a vacation, but in the end, it’d been a good decision. He needed a place to get away from the fast-paced comings and goings of the city, and this was it. While he enjoyed his small apartment in the city, he needed a place to escape, a real place to call home.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, but I just need a break. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.”
“Well, in the meantime, get some rest. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Robbie said.
Signing off, Jack closed the cell phone and slipped it into his pocket. He stepped off the last step and stood on the ground floor.
Jack wasn’t one to act on impulse, but the moment he’d spotted this house, and its appealing surroundings, he knew it was meant to be his. But he had to admit the beautiful woman living across the street had helped sway his decision.
Thinking back on the day he inspected the house with the real-estate agent, he smiled at the memory of his cute neighbor.
She’d been standing on her front lawn gazing up at her house, her hands perched on her curvaceous hips, her dark hair billowing gently in the breeze. Then, for a fraction of a second, she’d turned and looked him directly in the eyes as though she’d sensed him watching her where he stood on the thick, green grass. In order to comprehend what the agent had been saying before looking like an idiot, he’d had to shake himself free of her mesmerizing beauty. After that one look, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. An hour later, he’d made an offer on the house.
Now he found himself watching her. No matter how much he fought the urge, he couldn’t keep himself from doing so.
“When did I turn into a stalker?” Jack asked himself. He crossed the foyer barefoot. He felt no better than the scumbag stalkers he caught on a daily basis.
“What the hell’s the matter with me?”
Perhaps it was the fact he hadn’t been with a woman worth mentioning in a very long time. He took his job seriously, and he supposed, after seeing so many betrayed at the hands of the person who was supposed to love them, he’d developed a jaded opinion of love and relationships.
Shaking his head, Jack wandered to the bay window at the front of the house, something he found himself doing quite often since moving in. Only this time, it wasn’t
the sight of a roofing crew or plumber’s van across the street that caught his attention.
“What the hell’s she doing?” he muttered to himself, unable to believe the sight before his eyes.
Struggling to stifle the surprised laughter bubbling inside him, he reached up to cover his smile with his hand.
Just across the street, his little mystery stood in her front yard, completely naked. Her wonderfully rounded bottom bounced up and down. Soap ran in rivulets into her eyes and over her shoulders as she tugged at what he could only guess was a towel, stuck in something in the ground.
He couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten herself in that predicament, but he was glad she had.
Her pale skin glistened with water. The bubbles from her hair ran down her neck, over her shoulders and breasts as she tugged at the thick, white cloth.
Her soft skin captivated him, called to him like a siren’s song, and before he knew what he was doing, he was already halfway across his lawn, robe in hand.
What on Earth am I doing? He’d grown up with three sisters and knew she’d throw a hissy fit when she saw him. She’d probably scream and squeal and jet back into the house as red as a beet, but he couldn’t just let her stand there naked for the entire world to see. Anyone could happen along at any minute.
Why doesn’t she run back into the house? He shook his head. She was probably too shocked by losing her towel to think clearly.
Well, I’ll just have to come to her rescue, won’t I? He smiled. He’d wanted to meet her, and it appeared he would finally do so today. It just wasn’t the way he expected. Not that he was complaining.
So as not to startle her, he approached her warily. She glanced up.
“Oh great, an audience.” She groaned. She rolled her eyes as she continued to tug at the trapped towel with one hand, while trying fruitlessly to cover her generous bust with the other.
Stopping just steps away from her, Jack smiled. “That wasn’t the greeting I expected,” he said with a soft laugh of disbelief.
“What’d you expect?” she asked dubiously, looking up to meet his gaze, her expression clearly one of irritation.
“Well … maybe some shrieking, or blushing, or some other such feminine response. After all, you are naked,” he finished with a grin as he held his robe out to her and forced himself to avert his eyes. How he managed to do so was beyond him. She was perfection.
She watched him warily for a moment before reaching out to take the offered robe. Sliding her arms in, she smiled. Not a full smile, he noticed, just a small tilt at the corners of her mouth.
“Running around in the nude isn’t something I do often. Sorry if I offended you.”
Jack furrowed his brow. “Why would your nudity offend me?”
This time, her smile reached her eyes.
“Well, I had this neighbor in the city and he once saw me naked through my windows. He was very offended and made sure I knew about it. Turns out he was gay and didn’t appreciate the female form.” She finished with a shrug.
“Well, I'm not gay,” Jack stated bluntly. If she’d take a closer look, she’d be able to tell for herself from the bulge in the front of his pants that her soft, nude form did
anything but offend him.
“Thanks for the robe,” she said, pulling it tighter around her.
From her long, onyx-black hair to her soft pale skin, from her feminine curves to her sky-blue eyes, the sight of her sent his senses reeling. It surprised him he could form a coherent sentence as all the blood rushed to his head … and not the one on his shoulders.
“You’re welcome.” He grinned, battling to control his fast-rising arousal. “But if you don’t mind me asking, why were you out here in only a towel to begin with?”
Laughing, she flipped her heavy, soap-laden hair away from her face. “This house is old, and I haven’t replaced all the pipes yet. One in the bathroom burst while I was in the shower then leaked from behind the wall and out onto the floor. I came out to shut off the water until the plumbers get here. This place is so quiet I didn’t think anyone would see me, but then the corner of my towel got caught in the meter cover and…” She held her hands up and shrugged. “I guess I was wrong,” she finished with a mischievous grin.
But he had seen her, all of her.
The image of her hot, sexy body had seared into his memory. Even with his robe covering her, he could still picture her sensual curves, her creamy skin, and plump breasts. For a moment, he was envious of the cotton touching her and wished it were him instead.
“Why don’t you come over to my place? You can shower there.”
He wasn’t sure what made him extend the invitation. It was a bit presumptuous of him to assume she’d just agree to bathe in a strange man’s house without question, but he couldn’t help it. The words flew past his lips before he could stop them.
Maybe he just wanted to be a good neighbor. And maybe he just wanted to have her all to himself, for whatever reason, if only for a few innocent moments.
He could tell she was contemplating the invitation from the expression flickering across her face. She was so easy to read, her emotions showing clearly in her brilliant blue eyes. Silently, he willed her to accept.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar blue van rolling down the desolate street.
The neighborhood didn’t see much traffic, and he’d seen this van in her driveway many times. The plumbers had come to her rescue.
“Thanks, but the plumbers are here,” she said, confirming what he already knew, in what sounded to him like a relieved voice. Sending him a small wave, she started back in the direction of the house.
After weeks of wondering who she was, she was about to escape without his learning anything more about her than the fact that she wasn’t modest. She intrigued him, and in an attempt to learn more, he tossed out the first offer he could think of that would keep her with him a little while longer.
“Don’t you need to rinse out your hair?”
She turned and gave him a look.
Jack was on vacation, and while he’d much rather be working, he and his partners had decided they each needed to start taking some time off now and then. Working the hours they did could drive a man insane.
His job was a hard one. Being a private investigator wasn’t as fun as it had sounded when he was a kid. It seemed like he was always on the go, living in hotels and out of his car at times. There’d been moments he felt like kicking his own ass for becoming a PI. Sometimes his job flat out sucked, especially when people who were supposed to love each other turned against one another.
He’d seen situations ranging from cheating spouses to people trying to hire a hit man to kill said spouse.
Truth be told, he was exhausted, but after working a job that required constant action, it was hard to just sit around and do nothing now that he was able.
“So, you like the house? I never pictured you secluding yourself in the countryside. Isn’t action and adventure more along your lines?”
Grinning at his friend’s description of him, he replied, “It usually is, but a person can only handle so much lying and deceit.”
“Well,” Robbie began, “I know how you feel, but I don’t think I could enjoy a vacation. I need to keep busy, you know?”
Jack did know. Jack and Robbie had been friends most of their lives. They were similar in many ways, including their desire to keep busy and help others, but recently Jack had been feeling a growing weariness. He associated that weariness with being over-worked. Purchasing this house had been an impulse he still couldn’t explain. After all, one didn’t usually buy a house when taking a vacation, but in the end, it’d been a good decision. He needed a place to get away from the fast-paced comings and goings of the city, and this was it. While he enjoyed his small apartment in the city, he needed a place to escape, a real place to call home.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, but I just need a break. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.”
“Well, in the meantime, get some rest. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Robbie said.
Signing off, Jack closed the cell phone and slipped it into his pocket. He stepped off the last step and stood on the ground floor.
Jack wasn’t one to act on impulse, but the moment he’d spotted this house, and its appealing surroundings, he knew it was meant to be his. But he had to admit the beautiful woman living across the street had helped sway his decision.
Thinking back on the day he inspected the house with the real-estate agent, he smiled at the memory of his cute neighbor.
She’d been standing on her front lawn gazing up at her house, her hands perched on her curvaceous hips, her dark hair billowing gently in the breeze. Then, for a fraction of a second, she’d turned and looked him directly in the eyes as though she’d sensed him watching her where he stood on the thick, green grass. In order to comprehend what the agent had been saying before looking like an idiot, he’d had to shake himself free of her mesmerizing beauty. After that one look, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. An hour later, he’d made an offer on the house.
Now he found himself watching her. No matter how much he fought the urge, he couldn’t keep himself from doing so.
“When did I turn into a stalker?” Jack asked himself. He crossed the foyer barefoot. He felt no better than the scumbag stalkers he caught on a daily basis.
“What the hell’s the matter with me?”
Perhaps it was the fact he hadn’t been with a woman worth mentioning in a very long time. He took his job seriously, and he supposed, after seeing so many betrayed at the hands of the person who was supposed to love them, he’d developed a jaded opinion of love and relationships.
Shaking his head, Jack wandered to the bay window at the front of the house, something he found himself doing quite often since moving in. Only this time, it wasn’t
the sight of a roofing crew or plumber’s van across the street that caught his attention.
“What the hell’s she doing?” he muttered to himself, unable to believe the sight before his eyes.
Struggling to stifle the surprised laughter bubbling inside him, he reached up to cover his smile with his hand.
Just across the street, his little mystery stood in her front yard, completely naked. Her wonderfully rounded bottom bounced up and down. Soap ran in rivulets into her eyes and over her shoulders as she tugged at what he could only guess was a towel, stuck in something in the ground.
He couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten herself in that predicament, but he was glad she had.
Her pale skin glistened with water. The bubbles from her hair ran down her neck, over her shoulders and breasts as she tugged at the thick, white cloth.
Her soft skin captivated him, called to him like a siren’s song, and before he knew what he was doing, he was already halfway across his lawn, robe in hand.
What on Earth am I doing? He’d grown up with three sisters and knew she’d throw a hissy fit when she saw him. She’d probably scream and squeal and jet back into the house as red as a beet, but he couldn’t just let her stand there naked for the entire world to see. Anyone could happen along at any minute.
Why doesn’t she run back into the house? He shook his head. She was probably too shocked by losing her towel to think clearly.
Well, I’ll just have to come to her rescue, won’t I? He smiled. He’d wanted to meet her, and it appeared he would finally do so today. It just wasn’t the way he expected. Not that he was complaining.
So as not to startle her, he approached her warily. She glanced up.
“Oh great, an audience.” She groaned. She rolled her eyes as she continued to tug at the trapped towel with one hand, while trying fruitlessly to cover her generous bust with the other.
Stopping just steps away from her, Jack smiled. “That wasn’t the greeting I expected,” he said with a soft laugh of disbelief.
“What’d you expect?” she asked dubiously, looking up to meet his gaze, her expression clearly one of irritation.
“Well … maybe some shrieking, or blushing, or some other such feminine response. After all, you are naked,” he finished with a grin as he held his robe out to her and forced himself to avert his eyes. How he managed to do so was beyond him. She was perfection.
She watched him warily for a moment before reaching out to take the offered robe. Sliding her arms in, she smiled. Not a full smile, he noticed, just a small tilt at the corners of her mouth.
“Running around in the nude isn’t something I do often. Sorry if I offended you.”
Jack furrowed his brow. “Why would your nudity offend me?”
This time, her smile reached her eyes.
“Well, I had this neighbor in the city and he once saw me naked through my windows. He was very offended and made sure I knew about it. Turns out he was gay and didn’t appreciate the female form.” She finished with a shrug.
“Well, I'm not gay,” Jack stated bluntly. If she’d take a closer look, she’d be able to tell for herself from the bulge in the front of his pants that her soft, nude form did
anything but offend him.
“Thanks for the robe,” she said, pulling it tighter around her.
From her long, onyx-black hair to her soft pale skin, from her feminine curves to her sky-blue eyes, the sight of her sent his senses reeling. It surprised him he could form a coherent sentence as all the blood rushed to his head … and not the one on his shoulders.
“You’re welcome.” He grinned, battling to control his fast-rising arousal. “But if you don’t mind me asking, why were you out here in only a towel to begin with?”
Laughing, she flipped her heavy, soap-laden hair away from her face. “This house is old, and I haven’t replaced all the pipes yet. One in the bathroom burst while I was in the shower then leaked from behind the wall and out onto the floor. I came out to shut off the water until the plumbers get here. This place is so quiet I didn’t think anyone would see me, but then the corner of my towel got caught in the meter cover and…” She held her hands up and shrugged. “I guess I was wrong,” she finished with a mischievous grin.
But he had seen her, all of her.
The image of her hot, sexy body had seared into his memory. Even with his robe covering her, he could still picture her sensual curves, her creamy skin, and plump breasts. For a moment, he was envious of the cotton touching her and wished it were him instead.
“Why don’t you come over to my place? You can shower there.”
He wasn’t sure what made him extend the invitation. It was a bit presumptuous of him to assume she’d just agree to bathe in a strange man’s house without question, but he couldn’t help it. The words flew past his lips before he could stop them.
Maybe he just wanted to be a good neighbor. And maybe he just wanted to have her all to himself, for whatever reason, if only for a few innocent moments.
He could tell she was contemplating the invitation from the expression flickering across her face. She was so easy to read, her emotions showing clearly in her brilliant blue eyes. Silently, he willed her to accept.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar blue van rolling down the desolate street.
The neighborhood didn’t see much traffic, and he’d seen this van in her driveway many times. The plumbers had come to her rescue.
“Thanks, but the plumbers are here,” she said, confirming what he already knew, in what sounded to him like a relieved voice. Sending him a small wave, she started back in the direction of the house.
After weeks of wondering who she was, she was about to escape without his learning anything more about her than the fact that she wasn’t modest. She intrigued him, and in an attempt to learn more, he tossed out the first offer he could think of that would keep her with him a little while longer.
“Don’t you need to rinse out your hair?”
She turned and gave him a look.
To enter the giveaway, you must complete the Rafflecopter entry form below.
This giveaway is open worldwide until 12:01 AM EST on November 10, 2012.
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What do I think makes a good book?
ReplyDeletewell,first of all the characters because if the heroine is annoying i would not put up with it!
oh,and of course a good plot is always a winner ;)
The characters and the storyline.
ReplyDeleteGood sex scenes help too:)
I like a book that has a few unexpected twists and turns. I don't like to see the ending halfway through the book. Also, a good book should have characters I can relate to.
ReplyDeletemtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
A good book makes the rest of the world just disappear. I fall into the story & just come up for air.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
A great cover,strong characters and fast-paced action. :)
ReplyDeleteMakes me forget about the people around me, it's so captivating that you can't put it down until it's all finished ;)
ReplyDelete