THE BASTARD SON by JERRI HINES

The Bastard Son

by Jerri Hines

Series: Winds of Change, #2

Genre: Historical Romance
Cover Designer:  Erin Dameron-Hill at edhGraphics

Release Date: July 26, 2016

Sumner Meador walked in a world of wealth and privilege as part of Charles Town’s elite, but that was years ago. Now he fights in the Southern backwoods driven by the passion he holds for the Patriot cause, shadowed by his past. Reeling from a devastating defeat at the hands of the British, Sumner seeks haven at his farm, only to find an interloper—an unwelcome and unwanted distraction. He has no time for the young woman or the complications she brings with her, but soon discovers he has no option but to give aid to the stubborn, courageous beauty whether she wants it or not.

Jane Kilmer has been violently thrust into the midst of the civil war ensuing in the backwoods. Hiding from one of the most dangerous vigilantes, Jane trusts no one. Suddenly, she has no choice but to put her life in Sumner’s hands. Both desire revenge, but neither wants what happens—to fall completely, undeniably in love with each other. As the war rages around them, their love is put to the ultimate test. The question becomes not whether their love will survive, but will they.

Author's Note: This book was previously published with Whiskey Creek Press as Another Night Falls under the Tides of Charleston Series.

Night had fallen. Everything had been set for the evening. The horses fed; the dishes cleaned. Warren promised to bring a cow next time out, although Sumner didn’t see the necessity since he wasn’t planning to be around here for long. But there again, the girl might enjoy fresh milk.

Jane prepared another fine meal for supper. She was a good cook, but he expected she had cooked from an early age.

Walking back from the barn, he found her sitting on the porch, smiling up at him. In the fading light, she looked beautiful. She had taken off her cap, leaving her hair down in a braid over her shoulder.

For the life of him, he couldn’t get the thought of having her in his arms out of his head, with her firm breasts pressed against him…her body arching instinctively to his.

Warren hadn’t even suggested it would be harmful to leave a young, innocent in his care. Perhaps, Warren thought it the lesser of the evils in her life.

“Thank you for the supper, Jane. I was thinking of retiring for the night.”

“I will do so shortly.” Rising, she moved over to the railing and stared out into the coming night.

Go, leave her. Instead, he came up behind her. “Are you feeling well? I know you still have the effects of the bump upon your head.”

“I have recovered,” she whispered. “It is not what bothers me. I feel so lost. I had thought I would at least have my grandfather’s land after…”

“We are working on a plan to remove you from this area. I know of people where you would be safe and won’t have to worry until after this war is finally over.”

Turning, her eyes met his. “I don’t want your pity.”

“It isn’t pity I feel for you.” With the words, all his good intentions dissipated with a strong craving to have her back in his arms. He gently caressed her cheek. “Run, Jane, from me.”

She made no movement to leave him. She lifted her face up to his. He needed nothing else for his lips to descend upon hers. He would have stopped if she pulled away. She did not.

His kiss deepened, devouring her with his lips. His hand lowered, caressing and smoothing along the curves of her body.

“I want you, Jane,” he whispered. “More than I have ever wanted another. You feel it also…this longing between us. Tell me you do.”

“Yes, Sumner, yes.”

He talked no more, but swept her in his arms and answered the dictates of his body. In quick strides, they were in the bedroom, making quick work of the barrier that lay between their bodies and their desire.

Book One: The Governor's Daughter

Jerri Hines is an Amazon bestselling author of the Winds of the Betrayal series and Southern Legacy serial that were inspired by her fascination with history. She is a Southern gal who has lived the last thirty years near Boston with her Yankee husband. She believes in love and the power it holds. It is the reason she writes romances. Her next release under Jerri Hines will be the much anticipated conclusion to Winds of Betrayal, Set Fire To the Rain, coming in 2016.

She is also an Amazon Bestselling author under her penname, Colleen Connally. Her historical romance series, Secret Lives, is riddled with romantic suspense and a touch of paranormal. Fragmented, Book One Boston's Crimes of Passion, marks her first contemporary suspense thriller. Framed, Book Two, will be released in 2016.

She is a supporter of The Home For Little Wanderers in Boston and the Alzheimer's Association.

Jerri has limited spots open on her Street Team. If you are interested, please click here to send her an email.

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Busy Mom's Cheat Sheet

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Busy Mom’s Cheat Sheet AUTHOR – Lilly Cadoch GENRE – Parenting Self-Help PUBLICATION DATE – July 2016 LENGTH (#Pages/# Words) – 153 pages / 31,181 words PUBLISHER – Picki Beli Publishing COVER ARTIST – Eli Hershko

Busy Mom’s Cheat Sheet was a finalist at the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards?

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Finally! A book that makes it easy to understand how to feed your kid’s body, mind, and spirit for ultimate health and success.

• Do you have the desire to feed your kids healthy food but don’t know where to begin? • Are you a modern parent struggling to find balance for your children in a busy lifestyle? • Do you worry that your kids may not have all the necessary tools to reach their full potential?

Then this book is for you!

In this book you will learn how to teach your children to: • Make healthier food choices including 18 tips for foods to avoid • Have a battle-free and enriching bedtime routine • Integrate regular exercise into your kid’s weekly schedule • Incorporate time management skills to allow more free time • Reprogram their mind for success to handle life’s inevitable challenges

Includes 45 bonus recipes that are quick, easy, and delicious!

Lilly Cadoch, certified health coach, award-winning author and mother of two boys, explains in a simple and understandable way, body, mind and spiritual lessons to teach your kids. She learned these lessons the hard way over many years and vowed to change that when she had her children. After witnessing first-hand the tremendous results this has had in her family, she wrote this book to share these lessons with all caregivers and their children. This book is a quick guide aimed at simplifying a lot of information into a very accessible and easy to understand way.

For more information visit BusyMomsCheatSheet.com

BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE UK AMAZON KINDLE FR - AMAZON KINDLE IT AMAZON KINDLE DE - AMAZON KINDLE ES AMAZON CA - AMAZON PAPERBACK CREATESPACE - GOODREADS

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EXCERPT

INTRO

In today’s global economy, more is expected of our kids than ever before. To have a better chance for a successful future, our kids are expected to perform from a very young age. They are taking more standardized tests than we can count, expected to excel at competitive sports, participate in extracurricular activities, all while excelling academically in their coursework. Not only that but college admissions are getting more and more difficult, with no guarantee of getting into the college of choice. As a result, we expect a lot from our kids for them to succeed.

Our goal as parents is to make sure our kids are provided with the optimal conditions in which to succeed. One of our responsibilities is to ensure our kids are eating healthy. This starts with the food we provide them. But our food supply is getting worse every day, which is only working against us. Our kids are eating more processed foods and sugar than ever before, and not enough fruits and vegetables. We live in a country where they count ketchup as a vegetable in the school lunch program and where we are not always told what is in our food supply. According to Food Chemical News, the leading news service on US food law and policy, a U.S. Senate appropriations bill also stipulates that “tomato paste used to make pizzas can be counted toward the weekly total of vegetable servings." The childhood obesity rate is at an all-time high, leading to more cases of childhood diabetes than our medical system is prepared for. It is a very sad fact that this might be the first generation that our kids’ lifespan is expected to be shorter than ours, even by five years.

That is why we need to arm our kids with the physical, emotional and mental tools so that they have a better shot at figuring out their life-path and achieving their goals. A part of arming our kids with this knowledge means that we need to communicate to our children that a healthy life starts with a healthy body. A strong body leads to a strong mind. An open, calm mind helps us discover our life’s purpose. Providing these tools to our loved ones is no easy feat considering we are already very busy caregivers. We have so much going on and adding more items to our ever growing to-do list could be enough to throw us over the edge. That coupled with the fact that the food system isn’t really in our favor and most of the food options out there are not really good for us.

BODY

Drinking water is the most important of all lessons and a habit that we want to ingrain into our children’s everyday routine. Water makes up approximately 60% of your body weight. According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, “The brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water.”^[1] Water is involved in every cellular activity in the body, and when you don’t drink enough water, those processes are not as efficient. Some of those processes include metabolism, removing toxins from the body, bringing nutrients to your cells, enabling kidneys to filter properly, etc. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy, make you tired, cause overeating, constipation and prevent weight loss. Another interesting fact about the importance of proper water intake is that most cravings are due to dehydration, so if your child has a craving, first see if it subsides after drinking a glass of water before giving into it.

What exactly does drinking water on a regular basis mean, you ask? While it used to be “drink eight glasses of water per day,” the one-size-fits-all rule, now we are seeing more information that suggests that the amount of water we drink should be more customized to individual needs. A metric to help you gauge the proper amount of water intake is to drink ½ ounce to 1 ounce per pound of your body weight^[2]. So if you weigh 100 lbs., then you should be drinking between 50-100 ounces water per day. Be sure to remember that the level of activity, weather, etc. determines where you fit in that range. So if your kids are tired, sluggish and cranky, try giving them a glass of water.

[1] Batmanghelidj, F. Your Body's Many Cries for Water: You Are Not Sick, You Are Thirsty! Don't Treat Thirst with Medications. Falls Church, VA: Global Health Solutions, 1995. Print.

[2] Batmanghelidj, M.D., F. "Frequently Asked Questions." WaterCure. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.

If making sure you’re drinking enough water every day wasn't enough of a challenge, another thing to consider is the pH balance of the water you drink. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, “pH is a number between 0 and 14 that indicates if a chemical is an acid or a base.”^[1] pH can either be alkaline or acidic. pH is measured on a scale of 1–14, with 1 being extremely acidic and 14 being highly alkaline. Water should be at least 7.4 pH, which is the same level as your blood or higher for optimum health and hydration. You are probably wondering what does this all mean and why does it matter?

Let me explain: Our bodies work best when our body is alkaline. If it is too acidic, it can cause inflammation, which is a breeding ground for ailments, disease and a variety of health issues. Imagine a fish tank. When a fish tank is clean, water is flowing through the filtration system, the water is clear and fish swim quickly to and fro. As the fish tank gets dirty, the water gets cloudy, algae starts to form on the surface and the fish don’t move as quickly. Eventually, if the tank isn’t cleaned, the fish will ultimately die.

I never realized that the water we drink can have different pH balance levels. This is not typically labeled on the water we drink, so how do we know? Well, you can use a simple and fun water experiment. My kids love putting their scientific hats on and testing different brands of water. I bought pH test drops for water pH. I found pH test drops for water pH with a color chart on Amazon for a pretty reasonable price (approximately $20.00). You need to get the drops, not the strips, to have an accurate reading of water pH, as the strips are used for testing the pH level of urine or saliva. My kids and I added a few drops of it into the different types of water we drank and waited to see which color the water turned. Light green, yellow and orange tinted water are progressively more acidic. Darker green, blue and purple tinted water are progressively more alkaline. I was shocked to see that the store brand water bottles I was sending my kids to school with every day had an acidity level of four!

MIND There is a direct correlation between eating a healthy balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep, and how it affects our thought patterns, how it makes us feel about ourselves and how we view the world around us. The food we eat doesn’t just feed our cells. Food also nourishes our thoughts, which then affect our actions. Now that we know what it takes to get our children's bodies to work better by eating healthier, drinking more water, exercising and sleeping more, we can focus on how to make our children’s mindset optimal. We are all programmed genetically for negative thinking—it's a survival mechanism to make sure we take action in times of need to stay “safe and sound.” Did you ever wonder why you never forget any mistake you have made and dwell on them way too long, while you brush off or downplay your accomplishments and successes, attributing them to luck or something that is not a big deal? How we think and our mindset as to how we approach life has a direct correlation with the type of life we are going to have. So it is very important that we retrain our thoughts for success and happiness by focusing on positivity, abundance, giving, gratitude and love. Failure is just life telling you that you are heading in the wrong direction—against your goals. So in reality, failure is just life giving you a nudge to make sure you adjust your course so that you can continue on the right path to achieve your goals. Happiness does not mean you will have no setbacks. It's how you deal with those setbacks and learn from them that cultivate happiness and ultimate success. WE are usually the ones that get in our own way, telling ourselves it's too hard, we are not good enough, we can’t do it, etc. One way to teach kids the lesson about how to view failure and how to overcome fears is through examples of other people's stories. All people that have had success experienced rejection at some point. To drill this home, the kids and I google autobiographies of successful people, especially the ones my kids admire, to show that success came with hard work, failure and continued perseverance. We read these articles to understand what they did to succeed and, as a result, they feel inspired to pursue their own goals.

[1] Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.

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AUTHOR BIO

Lilly Cadoch is a certified Integrative Nutrition health coach and award-winning author living in New York with her husband Eli, her two boys Natanel and Itai, and her dog, Angel. She has spent the last few years learning about nutrition and mindful living for both herself and her family while working full time.

Being a very busy working mom, she was determined to find a way to feed her kids healthy and teach them the tools to have a healthy body and mindset so that they could successfully face the ever growing expectations kids face today. She learned these lessons the hard way over many years and vowed to change that when she had her children. After witnessing first-hand the tremendous results this has had in her family, she wrote this book to share these lessons with all caregivers and their children. This award-winning book is a quick guide aimed at simplifying a lot of information into a very accessible and easy to understand way.

Lilly has a passion for food and cooking and loves spending time in the kitchen experimenting with different recipes with her kids. She spends her time educating herself on various different aspects of food and nutrition, creating life memories with her kids, going to spin class with her husband, and playing in her backyard garden.

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

WEBSITE / BLOG – TWITTER – INSTAGRAM - AMAZON - FACEBOOK

GOODREADS - READERS FAVORITE WEBSITE

PERISCOPE – BusyMomsCheatSheet

SNAPCHAT – BMCheatSheet

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GIVEAWAY PRIZES

2 Free eCopies of books

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Initiation by Sierra Cartwright

When wannabe sub Jennifer Berklee calls him Master and begs him to flog her, PI Logan Powell knows all his military training won’t be enough to keep his jaded heart safe.

Private investigator Logan Powell does the women of the world a favor by avoiding emotional entanglements. They deserve to be loved and cherished. And he’s not capable of it.

That belief is challenged when he sees Jennifer Berklee at a BDSM play party. The innocent wannabe sub is everything he wants to avoid. He fears all his previous military training won’t be enough to keep his jaded heart safe.

Anything She Wants…

Jennifer has been interested in BDSM since she first heard about it. And after her engagement ends in an embarrassing disaster, she’s determined never to settle again.

But when the stunningly sexy Dom Logan Powell offers to scene with her, she is overwhelmed and flees.

One evening, Logan and Jennifer are set up by well-meaning friends. This time, Logan is determined not to let her go. Jennifer will submit to him, no matter the cost to either of them.

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Winner of the 2013 Best BDSM Book of the Year award (Over The Line), the 2014 LASR Book of the Year award (In The Den), and the 2015 Golden Flogger (Crave), Sierra was born in Manchester, England where she spent her early years traipsing through castles. After living in Denver for a number of years, the internationally acclaimed author now calls Galveston, Texas, home. She loves the way history blends with Southern manners (being called "sugar" is an experience unto itself) and rich pirate lore.

She invites you to join her on a sensual journey where the limits are explored and expanded.

Pretty Perfect Toy by Angel Payne

“It’s time to live in the light, Ella…”

With their attraction too explosive to ignore, Cassian Court has whisked Mishella Santelle from her tiny island kingdom to the empire he rules: New York City. Here, they have succumbed to the magic of Temptation Manor, surrendering to their lust—and a love that won’t be denied.

But happiness is nearly ripped away, when an act of heroism turns Cassian into a target of violence…from which physical recovery is only the beginning of healing. Cassian must find a way to expose his emotional scars too—meaning he must visit a past refusing to release him from its haunting grip.

“Take me into the darkness, Cassian…”

What are the secrets of Turret Two? Once revealed, will they clear a path for new connection to Ella…or anchor him deeper in the past as they struggle with the challenges of the present? Being touted as New York’s fresh “it” couple is insane enough—but just when Ella decides she’s had enough of being the city’s perfect little toy, a shocking visitor changes everything…and she must accept an even more agonizing reality.

Deception isn't always black and white. And sometimes, the prettiest toy hides the darkest secrets.

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Hi there. I'm Angel: book lover, writing addict, hopeless romantic, pop culture geek and avid shoe lover.

**I have a monthly newsletter now! Sign up for it right here: http://eepurl.com/LoNkz. It's a cool way to get exclusive info, talk hot heroes, learn about new items in the Angel Payne store, talk hot heroes, further the pie or cake debate...and oh yeah, did I mention talking hot heroes?

A bit about me...

I've been hooked on books since I was a kid but it got worse in my twenties, when I discovered romances--the hotter, the better. Growing up in Southern California, with lots of surfer manliness surrounded me, was certainly a good boost for reading about delicious alpha guys and the women who adore them. When I learned I had a knack for telling these stories too, I guess you could say I was doomed--though my path toward romance novelist took a few detours via a concert-reviewing gig for my college newspaper (free show tickets...backstage passes...that was a no-brainer), artist interviews for a Beverly Hills dance music mag, personal assistant work for a record producer, dance club disc jockey, and a lot of fun in the hospitality industry.

These days, I still live in California, and have found an amazing alpha guy of my own who was brave enough to marry me. We live on a street that looks like Brigadoon, with our beautiful daughter. I have the best life ever, and never forget to thank the Big Guy Upstairs for it, either.