Excerpt

A new burst of music sounds, pulsating and wild, and suddenly, my thoughts fade clear away, blotted out as completely as the sun during an eclipse.

I see him.

Standing, poised, waiting for his intro, his body proud and arched, arms raised. There’s a girl waiting beside him, his partner, but I only have eyes for him.

God, he’s gorgeous. Dark curly hair, tanned skin, and piercing blue eyes that seem to shimmer against the gold of his skin. He’s dressed in a starched white shirt and tuxedo pants that fit him like a glove. The breath is sucked from my lungs, and I feel a thrill ripple through me, a sensation I’ve never known before: anticipation, as if I know something important is about to happen. Something life-changing.

And then he starts to dance.

Dear Lord …

I swear, time stops as I watch him move. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen: part Latin ballroom, part street, part modern contemporary. And all of it totally devastating.

I stare, awestruck, as he plays out a wicked game with his partner: bringing her in, sending her away, lifting her as effortlessly as if she was made of air. His movements are bold, dominating. There’s no cheap grinding, or tacky thrusts, but somehow, every step oozes sensuality, such an intimate connection between the dancers that I feel myself start to blush.

It’s mesmerizing, out of this world, and I’m completely lost to it, caught up in the story of love and betrayal they’re telling with their bodies until at last, he whirls her out one more time and then pulls her back; dipping her so low her hair grazes the ground.

They freeze there, holding the pose. There’s silence, so pure you could hear a pin drop, and in that moment, he lifts his head and looks out across the square.

Our eyes lock.

It’s only a split second, those piercing blue eyes on mine, but I feel the moment stretch for an eternity. His gaze crashes through me, setting every nerve and sense alight, as if I’m touchpaper and he’s a molten spark, dancing through my bloodstream.

And then the thunder of applause breaks the spell, and I realize I’m digging my nails into my palms, gasping for breath.

Who is this man?

Synopsis:

Rome. The city of young lovers, old secrets, and intoxicating new desire…

I thought I knew what I wanted in life. I thought my destiny was set. Then I met him, and everything changed.

Raphael is bold, passionate, and seductive. He sees something in me I never dreamed possible, and now he’s determined to show me a world beyond rules — a dance without limits. I want to trust him, but I’m scared. Because I know once I fall, there’ll be no going back.

An innocent dancer. A mysterious stranger. As Annalise is drawn deeper into the romantic delights of Rome, she’ll question everything she believed about her future. But with opening night looming, can she find the strength to risk it all? And will she be forced to choose between her one true love, ballet, and the new passion in her heart?

Find out in this enchanting new series from Melody Grace.

NYT and USA Today Bestselling author – Sawyer Bennett

 “Melody Grace has crafted a sweeping and emotional romance that pulls you in so deep, you won’t ever want to surface. It’s that good.” 

NYT Bestselling author – Lauren Blakely

“Breathtakingly intense and unbelievably sexy – WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT will have you packing your bags for Italy to go find a real-life Raphael. Another sizzling must-read from Melody Grace!”

 NYT Bestselling author – Monica Murphy

“WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT will touch your heart and stir your blood. Lush and enchanting, a must for all you Dirty Dancing fans!”

My Review

“That’s the dangerous thing about the truth:  once you grasp it, it cannot be un-learned.”

Raphael is a molto caliente, and talented Italian modern dancer.  He lives to dance.  His father has never accepted that he chose dancing in a street troupe over attending school and becoming a successful businessman.

Annalise has been working her entire life trying to being the best ballerina she can be to make her mother proud.  She lives and breathes dancing, from the moment she awakes, until she goes to bed at night.  But, will she ever be good enough to live up to her mother expectations or will she constantly fail her?

Annalise and Raphael are kindred spirits brought together by destiny.

“I feel his eyes on me long after I turn away.  That night, when I fall asleep, I dream only of him: dancing alone in a moonlit square, his body a blur of perfect motion.  His eyes blazing pure as the heavens.”

The thing about destiny is that what’s meant to be, will be, no matter how hard you try to fight it.

Melody Grace does an excellent job in setting the stage and taking the reader behind the scenes and into the world of ballet.  I could see the dancers, feel their pain after working such long hours, and feel sorry for them when they had to walk away from the pizza and gelato to keep up their tiny figures.

The character development is this story is exceptional.  Annalise’s innocence and desire to please her mother really shines true. but Melody also shows you a strong, sexy, and mature young lady that can choose her own path and still be successful.  Annalise becomes Raphael’s rock because she believes in him with all of her heart.

If you love hot, sexy, Italian men, who know what they want, and will stop at nothing to get it, then you will adore “With Every Heartbeat”.

Author Interview:

When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?  When I was pretty young, about 11 or 12 years old. I would sit in the back of class scribbling bad poetry and lyrics in my notebooks 🙂 But I didn’t take it seriously until college, when I started working on my first novel. Then I was hooked!

Can you share a little bit about your writing process?  I’ll usually have a nugget of an idea, and let it sit in the back of my mind for a while, until more elements come together. Then I like to outline — I’m a nut for outlining! Some authors can write by the seat of their pants, but I like to know how the story ends before i begin. After that, it’s a question of being disciplined and getting words on the page until the dreaded first draft is done!

The next two questions are more for me and my indie author friends that are too afraid to push publish on amazon.

How did you know when your book was good enough that you should take the risk to self-publish? And once you did how did you go about promoting your book? It’s always scary, putting your work out there for people. I was lucky to have my amazing agent, Rebecca Friedman, holding my hand through the whole process. She was a huge support, and gave me the confidence to push forwards. UNBROKEN was a book I really believed in, and I felt like i had to get it out there and share it with the world!

To promote it, I learned from the best: I looked at some of the big names like Colleen Hoover, Cora Carmack and Emily Snow (authors I really love and respect) and saw how they built a readership through social media. There’s no cutting corners, you really have to put time and effort into being a part of the community, and build genuine relationships with bloggers and readers to make it work.

Do you have a favorite food or drink that you have to have when you are writing?

I am asking this because Ella Grace/ Christy Reece has to have chocolate and Lauren Blakely has to have tea or it is all down hill. 🙂

I have such a sweet tooth, it’s not even funny. I’m trying to cut back on cakes and muffins, but i’ll usually fold and get a blended creamy coffee drink to help me along.

Where do you draw inspiration for your characters?  All my characters are based a little bit on me… I try and ground them in emotions I’ve experienced, even if the details are different, to make that emotional connection with my readers.

I saw in your bio that you are a SoCal transplant. Where are you from originally?  I’m from a little village in the countryside in England, so I’m a long way from home! I love California, especially this time of year. It makes a change from freezing back home!

Do you have any brothers or sisters?  One sister, older. She says she can’t read my books, because she imagines me in all the sexy scenes! Ha, talk about a buzzkill.

Do you have any fun or interesting hobbies?  I need to get one! I’ve been writing full steam this year, so I’m looking for ways to relax… Maybe I should take up knitting for winter.

Who are your favorite authors?  On the indie side, I love Emily Snow, Lauren Blakely, Sawyer Bennet, Monica Murphy… The list goes on! I also love Marisa de los Santos, Eloisa James, and Sarah MacLean for my romance fix.

Is there any advice you can give to other indie authors out there?  Believe in your work, be open to critique, and never stop improving your craft. I look back at my early drafts and cringe, but you don’t get better unless you keep trying, so don’t give up!

Melody Grace is the USA Today bestselling author of UNBROKEN and UNTOUCHED. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach-lover, she spent years with her nose in a book before deciding it was time to write them for herself. She loves bad boys, good books, and pistachio-flavored ice-cream.

Enter to win the opportunity to name a supporting character in WITH EVERY SONG 

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Buy Links:

Amazon

iTunes

Barnes and Noble

Where you can find Melody Grace:

Website: http://melodygracebooks.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Melody-Grace/329573187160227

Twitter: http://twitter.com/melody_grace_

WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18518814-with-every-heartbeat?ac=1

Melody Grace Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6926290.Melody_Grace

WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2im1BPpjgE

From the New York Times & USA Today bestselling author who brought you the Nice Girl to Love trilogy, comes A Nice GUY to Love spin-off…

Synopsis

Brian Sullivan has been in love twice in his lifetime. He lost his first love to early-onset Huntington’s, and he lost the other more recently…to his brother. And somehow, his heart has managed to heal itself after both. Amazingly, without therapy. That doesn’t mean Brian hasn’t gotten more wary along the way, however. In fact, he’s been thinking lately that maybe his brother’s now retired nothing-but-flings rule isn’t such a bad idea. Unfortunately, being the nice guy poster boy and all, he isn’t exactly versed in the fine art of flings. So he looks to the outrageously ‘unique,’ provokingly button-pushing Tessa Daniels for a crash course.

There’s absolutely no way he’s falling in love with this one…right?

Tessa has no idea what she was thinking telling Brian that she was some sort of fling expert. She’s never been flung before and she sure as heck doesn’t know where or how to begin flinging a guy like Brian. It was a temporary lapse in sanity, really–no doubt because of the can’t-help-but-fall-for-him brain fuzz that hits her whenever he’s around. Not only does the man have her being more herself than she’s ever been in her life, but he’s the only person she knows who seems to have as many demons and skeletons in the closet as she does. What’s more, he’s got her thinking of the one thing she stopped letting herself even hope for years ago.

A happily ever after.

My Review

Does true love only come once in a lifetime? How can you do everything right and still end up with a death sentence? Do you run and hide or do you love life to the fullest?

Brian Sullivan has done everything right. He was the rock his wife Beth needed when she was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease (HD). He stood by her even when she did not remember who he was. He is now the sole caregiver for his daughter Skylar and she is showing signs of having the horrible disease his wife fought for years. He really believed that Abby was the one for him, but she chose his brother Connor in the end. They are still really good friends, but it is not the same. He is so lost and lonely..

Tessa has done everything right. She took care of her sister and father when their HD was at its worst. She worked several jobs to keep them afloat and pay for their medical bills. Her mother walked out on them and left Tessa to pick up the pieces. She loved her family with all her heart and would not have given up her time with them for the world. She has never allowed anyone to get close to her for fear of losing them someday.

What happens when Brian and Tessa cross paths? Will each of them find the one person that can complete them? Could they have another chance at true love? Nobody else understands what it is like loosing someone to HD like they do. Or will this terrible disease drive a wedge between them and keep them from ever loving anyone again?

Violet does an excellent job teaching the reader about this terrible disease and the toll that it takes on the person that has HD as well as how it affects their friends and family. She shows us in this story that no matter how much time you might think you have on this earth, that you should live and love to the fullest. This book had me sobbing at one point and laughing at Tessa and her quirkiness that drove Brian mad. Brian is such a caring, kind soul and to top it off is smokin hot. He is an alpha male warrior when it comes to Tessa. I think his character might be have been inspired by MVD if I had to guess.

This book is about taking chances on love and living life to the fullest even in it’s darkest hours. If you like a hero and heroine that are willing to fight for each other and can beat the odds then you will love this wonderful love story.

To Celebrate the Release of Finding the Right Girl I am giving away five swag bags that I obsconded with at the Southern Magic RWA Readers Luncheon this past weekend.  Each bag is filled with tons of swag including e-books, three randomly selected books, and one hardcover copy of Deborah Coonts So Darn Lucky.  A special thanks goes out to the Southern Magic RWA Vice President for donating these awesome bags for me to giveaway.

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My Review 

Hello, as you probably know already, my name is Maja. I’m 28 years old and live in Denmark.

I want to share a little bit about myself and my private life because I want to stay true to who I am and that’s being open and honest.

I’m a single mom to my precious son, Tobias. He’s my blessing and teacher in life – that may sound a little weird but he’s shown me so much, thanks to him, I’ve learned how to fight and to keep on fighting. You see, my son is very sick from some unknown illness and doctors have given up but I haven’t and I will never ever give up.

Last year I read the Fifty Shades book series and loved it, obviously who didn’t?! Anyways, it got me thinking that maybe I should start writing again and let my imagination run wild. I started writing on another story, actually, from a man’s perspective but then Eye Telling came creeping in my mind and I started writing on that instead because I wanted to create a story where the lead male character isn’t a rich and career-minded man in an expensive designer suit but instead a regular but HOT guy who’s not as fortunate. He has a youthful clothing style and tattoos. He had a hell of a childhood but his ‘demons’ isn’t standing in the way of him wanting to be with Katherine (the lead female character).

In this story Katherine is the one who can’t seem to commit.

I never thought it would develop into a full length novel, but somehow it did and I’m so proud to have published my very own romance. It’s been a sweet escape for a sometimes rough everyday life and I can’t wait to share more of my stories.

XOXO Maja

My social media links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Maja_SF

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MajaSFlak

Website: http://www.majaflak.com/

I don’t have a blog that’s specifically an author blog because I started my blog a long time before I became an author and since I’m not writing short stories or poetry, I haven’t started a new blog site. My personal blog is all about me, life, feelings, ups and downs, hobbies etc. Feel free to check it out and subscribe. I love to receive comments.

Blog: http://majasf.wordpress.com

Amazon:

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-Telling-ebook/dp/B00E2YJ4CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380785171&sr=8-1&keywords=Maja+Flak

US: http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Telling-ebook/dp/B00E2YJ4CA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380785145&sr=8-1&keywords=Maja+Flak

And you can also buy it here http://passiontime.co.uk/ebook-erotica-digital-downloads-/408-eye-telling-amazon-kindle-edition-.html  (this site is ONLY for 18+)

Playlist:

– Nina Simone with “I Put A Spell On You”

– Mads Langer with “If This Is Cool” / “Last Flower”

– What Now with “Move Like A Sinner”

– The Gracious Few with “Honest Man” / “Guilty Fever” / “Crying Time” / “Silly Thing”

– Snow Patrol with “The Lightning Strike” / “Run” / “You Could Be Happy”

– Train with “Marry Me”

– Yeal Naim with “Lonely” / “Too Long”

– Marilyn Manson with “Coma White”

– Soley with “Bad Dream”

– Lenny Kravitz with “Can’t Get You Off My Mind”

– Soul Asylum with “Runaway Train”

– Kings Of Leon with “Revelry” / “Closer” / “The End”

– Annie Lennox with “Why” / “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”

– Colbie Calliat with “Fallin’ For You”

– Shoes For Julia with “Papercut” / “I Am The Other” / “Bringing On The Heartache”

– Howie Day with “So Much Love”

– Stone Temple Pilots with “Plush” / “Creep” / “Big Empty”

– Brenda Lee with “Ballin’ The jack” / “Hallelujah I Love Him So”

– Birdy with “Without A Word” / “Fire And Rain”

– Ayo with “How Many Times” / “Down On My Knees”

– Marie Mena with “Miss You Love”

– Passenger with “Let Her Go”

– Tyrone Wells with “Running Around In My Dreams”

– Finger Eleven with “Change The World

– Lukas Rossi with “Runaway” / “Heartbreaker” / “Evolution”

– Ron Pope with “Wherever You Go” / “One Grain Of Sand”

– Jenni Alpert with “Simple Mood”

– Bic Runga with “Captured”

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