The Last Straw is Nia Simone’s debut novel. The book will be available for FREE from Amazon during the tour, so be sure and grab your copy.
THE LAST STRAW
By
Nia Simone
BLURB:
Ally Tobin left New York after one too many bad dates, determined to rebuild a stable life and career as a private investigator in Silicon Valley. But when the man she knew as one name walks into her office with another, will her curiosity once again lead her to risk her heart?
The last thing Special Agent Jared Green needs is “security risk” stamped on the resume of his latest undercover identity. Especially by the woman his job forced him to leave in New York without any explanation. She may threaten his cover, but it’s his heart on the line.
He’s good at playing a part. She’s good at catching a fake. Can they trust enough to give love another chance?
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EXCERPT:
He sauntered through the door, a white, button- down shirt tucked into belted khakis. When his dark gaze found her, he stopped. Stared. Her throat dried and a rustling motion stirred in her abdomen.
“Hi. I’m Darren Ray.”
Keep your cool, she commanded herself, standing and reaching across the desk. His hand was rough.
She yanked her hand back and waved at the chair. “Please, have a seat.” He waited for her to sit before settling in the visitor’s chair. “So, Darren, according to this, you’re being considered for a programmer position in the IT department. Tell me about your background.”
A professional mask settled over his features. “As you can see on my résumé, I have several years of consulting experience.”
“Tell me something about your experience as a mechanic.” Working on his prized old Mustang had been a favorite hobby.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “What do you mean? That’s not in my résumé.”
“You don’t have the hands of a programmer. More of a mechanic.” Oh, his hands.
“Okay, you got me.” He was going to confess. This should be good. “When I’m not programming computers I’m working on my car.”
“And what were you doing in New York City?”
He reached across her desk for a piece of paper, plucked a pen from its stand and scrawled something. When she took the note their fingers brushed. Meet me for dinner at Pico’s at 7. I’ll explain everything. Can’t talk here.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nia Simone grew up on the side of a ski slope in Squaw Valley, USA. Later, while learning the craft of story writing, she worked in nonprofit and then high-tech.
The best part of working in the computer field was meeting her husband. He took up skiing and she helped him document his computer inventions! They live in “Silicon Valley” in California where their favorite thing to do is cook together for friends. Nia’s specialties are dessert and veggies while her husband’s are entrees and sourdough bread.
Their only pet at the moment is the sourdough starter, which lives in the fridge and requires bi-weekly feeding.
Nia blogs every day about travel, food, writing, books, skiing and photography at niasimoneauthor.com (where she won the Versatile Blogger Award and Inspiring Blogger Award).
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GIVEAWAY
Nia Simone is offering a $25 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commenter.
For more opportunities to win, follow the tour schedule below and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.
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Grab a copy of Nia Simone’s debut novel from Amazon by clicking on the cover below.
Thanks for hosting!
It is always a pleasure. Thanks for stopping in.
XXOO!
The mystery deepens! Sounds really interesting and the cover art is fantastic.
Are you reading this one?
Oh, what kind of beer is that sitting on the post in your header pic?
Not reading it yet, but I did pick up the freebie. Did you? The beer? Hmmmm. It’s usually Miller Lite, but sometimes it’s whatever happens to be handy. lol
Hi Laura, thank you!! I just wrote a long story about the cover art to Emily, below.
Love your question about the beer. You have a sharp eye. I had to scroll up and examine the header image to find that. 😉
Okay, the cover alone has my interest peaked! Lots of love, Emily
That caught my attention first. The book does sound like a great read and is on my TBR. ^_^
Thank you, Emily! I have a story about the cover. So… my critique partner has been published with The Wild Rose Press for a couple years now. And I’m a reluctant publishee. I wrote a lot but when it came down to being published, I wasn’t sure I wanted to because it looked like a lot of work (and I had a killer day job). Anyway, I digress. I watched my CP’s experiences with TWRP and it looked fun. So when I left my day job I submitted a story to them and it was accepted. (Squee!) Then I wanted the same cover artist as my CP because I LOVE her work. (All the artist’s are very good at TWRP, but Angela has that un-definable something. There was a wait for her. I told my editor I would wait however long was necessary.) I submitted two different ideas to her along with mock ups patched together with different movie stars and stock art. Took me many hours. When my cover came back, my CP asked me how much of what I submitted was used? Answer: None. LOL!!! I totally love the cover. I’m really glad I didn’t try to do my own. There is a difference between a trained artist with thousands of covers under her belt and an amateur, self-taught, beginning artist. Also, the way I described my heroine’s clothes would have made her look my age, not like the sexy young heroine people want to read about!
Very interesting. Thanks so much far sharing that. I love to learn about new authors and their experiences. It pays to “have people”. ^_^
Hello Fundinmental… love your blog name! Thank you for hosting me on my debut blog tour and thanks for downloading The Last Straw. I really appreciate the support!
I will loop back in a sec and answer you early bird commenters. But first I’d like to invite visitors to answer a question… although all you have to do is say hi to be part of the raffle.
My question is, what famous person would you like to meet and talk to over a meal or cocktails? My answer is Robert Redford. Matt Damon is a close second. These are stars who I think are really interesting people in addition to their talents.
Thank you Nia and I am very happy to be hosting a book like The Last Straw. The cover caught my eye and the synopsis finished me off. I love crime novels and this sounds like a good one.
Who would I want to party with? I don’t think I can choose just one. ^_^ I love Mark Harmon, Cher, Kid Rock……
Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
Cher would be really fun! Kid Rock — pretty wild, I think! And Mark Harmon… goooooood choice! Yummy.
Thanks again, it was a great day. I’ll be back to make sure I get any last minute commenters.
It has been a pleasure hosting you on my blog. I look forward to working with you again. ^_^
Thank you, you too!
Great post!
Thanks for stopping in Dianne.
Thanks, Dianne! Good luck in the raffle!