Marshals of Journey Creek Guest Post and Giveaway ($10 Giftcard-INT)!

Dora will be awarding one $10 GC to http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop during the tour as well as to the host with the most comments.

Guest Post:


ROMANCE IS ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY
By Dora Hiers

I write heart racing romance, but I’m a firm believer that romance isn’t about the bedroom. You don’t need to be embarrassed if your children or grandchildren pick up one of my books and start reading. They won’t find graphic words or bedroom scenes.
They will meet characters dealing with real life issues such as single parenthood, domestic violence, weak self-images, emotional or physical abandonment, job-related dangers, and more.
Characters who live out honor and courage. Characters who struggle with decisions and don’t always make the best choices. Characters who may have unsavory backgrounds but choose to grow and move past the person they were. Characters like Renner Crossman, from Journey’s Edge, a guy who messed up in his past, but wants to make things right, starting with his ex-fiancé, McKinley.
Characters with a goal, one that sinks deep and grabs you around the heart. Like Chelsea, from Journey’s End, a widow who opens a shelter for troubled teens in honor of her late husband. Or Delaney Hunt, from Journey’s Embrace, a flight medic who spends her spare time raising funds to build a new cottage for the orphanage where she grew up and mentoring the teens there.
You’ll laugh with them, maybe cry with them, but just sit back and enjoy the ride because my books always end with a happily-ever-after.
I love it when a pet wrangles its way into my books. Have you ever known a person who collects strays? An animal magnet? That’s Chelsea from Journey’s End. At last count, five squawking ducks, one motherless fawn, two horses, and a wounded Labrador Retriever called Journey’s End home. Lost, hurting souls seem to find their way to Journey’s End, a shelter for more than just troubled teens.
Every great romance needs a little conflict sprinkled in and shaken up, and I’m not talking the arguing kind. Do you enjoy books where the main characters constantly argue with each other? Aren’t they supposed to be falling in love? Journey the road to romance with Delaney and Sage from Journey’s Embrace. After growing up in the same orphanage, Sage considers “Dane” a sister. When he reconnects with the grown-up Delaney, a woman who embraces passion and life, his confused heart beats an entirely different rhythm. Suddenly, he’s not feeling so brotherly.
Do you enjoy stories with second chances at love? Prior relationships where the fire hasn’t quite burned out? Years and emotional baggage separated McKinley and Renner in Journey’s Edge, but their hearts never disengaged from each other. When a vengeful client threatens McKinley and her daughter, Tessa, McKinley turns to Renner for protection. She’s so not over him, but she’ll have to be when he finds out about Tessa. And Tessa’s father? It’s probably best not to go down that road…
Do you enjoy books that leave you with a contented sigh and an “Awww” when you turn the last page? Journey’s End is a message of forgiveness, that it’s never too late. Journey’s Edge is about second chances and rebuilding trust. Journey’s Embrace shows you that with God all things are possible and that you can overcome your fears.
To me, romance isn’t about the bedroom. Romance is all about the journey. From the first spark of an idea in a writer’s mind to the characters that come alive on the page. From that first zing of attraction to the sweet emotions as they build up to their first kiss. You make the choice to journey along with the characters as they reach for their happily-ever-after.
Romance isn’t about the bedroom. Romance is all about the journey.
What elements of romance do you enjoy most?



Summary:

A Routine Audit? Hardly.
Red flags—including some goon who's following her—raise McKinley Frasier's suspicions that numbers don't add up at the insurance firm. When someone tries to snatch McKinley's daughter from school, she turns to police officer and ex-fiance, Renner Crossman—the cop who walked out on her a month before their wedding. But Renner's not the same guy who broke her heart ten years ago. He calls himself a "new man." She trusts the new Renner with her daughter's safety...but what about her heart?

Excerpt:

"Honey, if you’re looking for that kind of action, you’ve got the wrong room."
"What?" McKinley gasped. She knew that voice, that rich timbre with just a hint of teasing. Always teasing, forever flirting.
Renner Crossman.
Oh, no! What kind of twisted sense of humor did James suffer from? She didn’t want to see Renner. She only wanted to know that he was in the hotel.
McKinley tilted her head back, inching her line of vision up to Renner’s face. Just to be sure. A lot could change after ten years. Look at her. She was a prime example.
She heard his deep intake of breath. Shock? Yeah, well, she could relate.
"Kinny?"
Ten years faded into yesterday. Those espresso-colored eyes still gleamed with mischief. Or was it something else? Maybe he hadn’t changed that much.
His hands tightened around her arms, pulling her against him. She closed her eyes and leaned into his chest.
Renner.
His heart thumped a tune with hers. His breath whispered against her hair. And the scent of his aftershave was like a dear friend. She sighed.
What was it about him that latched on to her innermost dreams and desires and wouldn’t let go? His grin? His have-no-cares-in-the-world style against her organized, have-to-know-everything-beforehand outlook?
He looped his arms around her back and pressed his forehead to hers, just like he used to do. When he’d made her feel loved and cherished. Protected. Special.
A clamp tightened around her stomach, cut off air, and she almost tossed the cookies she’d scarfed down in place of dinner. Gag.
Special.
Yeah, right. More like used and abused. Thrown away with the trash.
She wasn’t safe in here, either. She braced her hands against his chest and jerked a step back, telling her brain to reject his familiar, comforting scent. She would take her chances in the hall.

Author Bio:

Meet Dora Hiers:
After a successful auditing career, Dora left the corporate world to be a stay-at-home mom to her two sons. When her youngest son didn’t want her hanging out at school with him anymore, Dora started writing heart racing, God-gracing books. Dora belongs to the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Carolina Christian Writers. Her first inspirational romance, Journey’s End, released with White Rose Publishing in 2011, and her second, Journey’s Edge released in March 2012. White Rose also contracted her third book in the Marshals of Journey Creek series, Journey’s Embrace, and her first short romance, Small Town Treasure. Dora and her husband make their home in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Purchase Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3ADora+Hiers&keywords=Dora+Hiers&ie=UTF8&qid=1333027958&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B005FCDYB0
Pelican Book Group: http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/journey-s-edge-softcover
Autographed Copies: http://dorahiers.blogspot.com/
Readers can connect with Dora:
Website: www.dorahiers.com
Email: Dora@DoraHiers.com
Blog: http://dorahiers.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Dora Hiers Author
Twitter: @DoraHiers


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