Lucky Charm Excerpt Tour

BLURB:
Twenty-eight-year old Annabel Green is about to tie the knot with her college love, an aspiring author Jeremy Blake, but her plans for an ideal wedding are rudely interrupted when she catches Jeremy kissing his gorgeous book agent.
Shell-shocked by Jeremy’s betrayal, Annabel retreats into the quiet routine of TV dinners and solitary evenings. It is then that Annabel’s best friend, fashion designer Lilly Clayton, sets herself on a mission to draw Annabel out of her shell. In an attempt to persuade Annabel to keep an open mind on dating, Lilly takes Annabel for a stunning makeover, but after Annabel passes on a date with a dashing entrepreneur, Lilly decides that more drastic measures are needed. Lilly invites Annabel to see a palm reader who gives Annabel a lucky charm that is supposed to help her find true love.

A few weeks later, Annabel meets a new love interest, and as the two embark on a whirlwind romance, she starts to believe in the power of the talisman the palm reader has given her. But what Annabel doesn’t know is that Lilly is hiding a secret that could unravel her faith in her newly found luck in love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

On Monday Jeremy taught a writing workshop. It was a part-time job that he had started a few months ago. Jeremy’s class ended at six-thirty, and Annabel thought that she would surprise him by meeting him after work.

She locked her notes in her desk drawer, just as an extra precaution in case Janine decided to pay an after-hours visit to her office.

“Have a good night, Janine,” Annabel called over her shoulder as she headed out the door. Janine could stay as late as she wanted to impress Paige, but her copy was still bland and unoriginal – just another proof that quality was rarely replaced by quantity.

Paige’s agency was on Fifty Seventh and Third, and the workshop where Jeremy taught was on Seventy Fifth and Madison. With an hour to spare, Annabel opted for a walk. It was a gorgeous evening, and she had spent the entire day wishing she could be outside instead of being stuck at the office. As she walked up Madison Avenue, she absentmindedly scanned the windows of the nearby cafes and boutiques. The landscape was constantly changing, with new shops opening up and old ones going out of business. Her cell phone began to ring, and she rummaged through her purse. The contents of her bag were always a mess, and half the time she managed to locate her phone only by the time the caller had given up hope and hung up. This time she was lucky and picked up on the fourth ring.

“Wow, I can’t believe you actually picked up your cell phone!” Lilly’s voice rang from the receiver.

“Hi, Lilly.” Annabel ignored her friend’s pointed remark. “How did your date go?”

“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven! Although I don’t know if orgasms are allowed in heaven.”

“Lilly!” Annabel lowered her voice to a hushed whisper for fear that someone might overhear her. “Don’t tell me that you’ve slept with him already? You’ve only just met the guy!”

“Well, he’s going back to Paris in a little over a month. That doesn’t exactly leave much time for chit chat, does it?” When it came to sex, Lilly maintained an opinion that in today’s world, women could sleep with whom they wanted, whenever they wanted. Her choice of partners was as diverse as her timing of intimate encounters. Some got lucky after the first date while others had to wait as long as three months.

“That’s not the point. What do you even know about this guy? He could be a serial killer or a sexual deviant! Serial killers can be very charming, you know. That’s how they lure in their victims,” Annabel recited a line from an article she had read on the subject a while back.

“He’s definitely not a serial killer. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now, would I? As for the sexual deviant part – he could certainly qualify...” Lilly giggled self-contentedly. “Do you want to meet for a drink? I’m dying to dish.”

“How about tomorrow? I kind of wanted to spend tonight with Jeremy.”

“Oh, that reminds me. Did he appreciate your little get-up last night?”

Annabel was about to give her standard “No comment” response, the answer she always gave Lilly whenever her friend’s questions about her sex life got too personal, when her glance fell on one of the tables of a sidewalk café across the street.

“Annabel, are you there? Don’t go all quiet on me. I get it, you don’t want to talk about your sex life, which is fine by me, since I’m more than happy to talk about mine instead.”

“Lilly, I have to go. I’ll call you later.” With her eyes glued to the pair seated at the table across the street, Annabel snapped her cell phone shut and shoved it into her bag.

The wheat-blond back of the man’s head looked unmistakably like Jeremy’s, and the bleached blond updo of his female companion belonged to none other than Jeremy’s book agent, Athena Christy, a statuesque blond whose credentials were as powerful as her looks. The two sat together at a small table - the kind that every New York café with sidewalk space puts out at the slightest sign of warm weather.

Marie will be awarding to five randomly drawn commenters at the end of the tour (US ONLY), one of the following five custom-designed jewelry prizes:

Prize 1: Smoky quartz necklace with sterling silver flower clasp
Prize 2: Lapis and labradorite necklace with sterling silver clasp
Prize 3: Kayanite and turquoise sterling silver necklace
Prize 4: Onyx and red agate sterling silver bracelet
Prize 5: Jade, amber and red agate necklace

So the more you comment, the better your chances of winning!

February 11:  Christine Young Romance Writer
February 12:  The Bunny's Review
February 12:  STOP 2  Rachel Brimble Romance

February 13:  Books and Other Spells
February 14:  It's Raining Books
February 15:  Donna's Blog Home
February 18:  Sharing Links and Wisdom
February 19:  Queen of all She Reads
February 20:  Ramblings From This Chick
February 21:  Dawn's Reading Nook
February 22:  Nightstand Novels
February 25:  Kaisy Daisy's Corner
February 26:  Musings From An Addicted Reader
February 27:  Christy McKee Writes About Women in the "Sweet Spot" of Life
February 27:  STOP 2  All I want and more
February 28:  Andi's Book Reviews
March 1:  Crazy Four Books
March 4:  Cocktails and Books
March 5:  A Tasty Read
March 6:  Deal Sharing Aunt
March 7:  Welcome to My World of Dreams
March 8:  BadBarbsPlace

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bio and Links:

Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels This Tangled Thing Called Love, Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, romantic suspense, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection,  A Dress in a Window. Marie is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain and Back.

If you would like to learn more about Marie’s writing, please stop by her website or visit her on Facebook.

Books by Marie Astor:
This Tangled Thing Called Love – a contemporary romance about overcoming one’s inhibitions, learning to tango, and finding one’s true love match.
Lucky Charm – a humorous contemporary romance about love, luck and friendship.
On the Rim of Love – a contemporary romance about the unexpected power of love.
A Dress in a Window – a collection of short stories about love, coincidences, and fate.
Over the Mountain and Back – young adult fantasy adventure novel about a boy who takes his snowboard for a ride and finds himself in a magical, hidden world he never knew existed.

Social Media Links:
Website
Facebook
GoodReads
Twitter