Max Henry Exclusive - Excerpt from Devil You Know and a Lance Jones Q&A

 Devil YOU KNOW

Release Month Special: Exclusive Blog Post

We all love our books, right? And let's be honest—how many new authors would we discover if it weren't for the tireless efforts of countless book bloggers?

These heroes of the industry share news, covers, release day specials and more, all for the love of a good story. And us authors are forever grateful for the work these guys put in, usually for no pay, and little reward other than knowing that they have brought another great story to their subscribers.

So, to say thank you to the fantastic blogs who have signed up for my Release Day Blitz for Devil You Know, I have put something special together: a Q&A with my cover model, Lance Jones.

I first saw this image of Lance, shot by Michael Meadows, close to a year ago. It popped up on my newsfeed, and quite literally stopped me in my tracks. The expression, the mood, everything about it started to speaking to me ... and as a consequence Malice was born.

But, as much as we all love to look at it (I know a few of you have it as your home screen!) there is a story behind the picture—and who better to give us a glimpse into that world than the man himself?

Q: Lance, I get asked this all the time. What was on your mind when Michael snapped that shot of you?

A:  Relaxing after a hard days work.

Q: Did you always find it easy to pose? Or is it something you have had to work on over time?

A:  Well, it’s not too bad. Guys have it pretty easy ☺, but def took some practice.

Q: How did you get your first modelling job?

A:  Just contacted the local photographers.

Q: Christina Gragg (easily your BIGGEST fan) asks: What has been your favourite photo shoot to date, and why?

A:  I’ve had so many fun shoots. That’s a hard one to answer.

Q: Mary D’Agostini asks: If you weren’t doing modelling/fitness, what would your dream job be?

A:  Always thought it would be cool to be a professional football player.

Q: Now, you’ve done a few shoots, including those for the Ominous clothing line, which include tattooed women as well. Jennifer Gonnerman Wenstad asks: Are you okay with women having ink?

A:  Of course I’m okay with women having ink!

Q: I guess that last question kind of leads into one from Jeanne Adkins: What is your ideal woman?

A:  I like a woman that is smart, humble, nice, honest, with a good personality, and not afraid to get her hands dirty ;)

Q: I have to ask, what is the weirdest proposition you’ve had from a complete stranger since you started modelling? Or even before?

A:  No comment lol

Q: Lance, your tattoos are unique, and even if a photo is only of a portion of you, we all know who it is! Darcy Lankford asks: When you get more ink, where will it be, and of what?

A:  I plan on getting more – gonna do a rib piece, a back piece, some more on my chest and legs. Not sure what’s next, I’m in the process of deciding.

Q: How old were you when you got your first piece, and what was it?

A:  Fifteen – last name on left shoulder.

Q: We all saw how proud you were of your Mach 1 when you got to take it home. (Hubby would give you a thumbs up for owning a Ford ;) ). Just for my girl Christina, because I know she loves her cars, how fast have you had it? We won’t tell …

A:  lol 120

Q: Over the last year, you’ve definitely made waves in the industry. The one thing everybody who meets you has to say is what a genuine, friendly guy you are. What do you have to say to people looking to start a career like yours? What would be your number one tip?

A:  Stay humble, hard working and focused, and don’t give up. Create a page, and build yourself a portfolio.

Q: Amy Burgett asks: What are your top plans for 2015?

A:  To help create more amazing book covers, and looing forward to all my upcoming signings.

Q:  Where do you see yourself in ten years?

A:  Ha, who knows?

Q: Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?

A:  All the authors, fans and friends who have supported me through my modelling career. You know who you are ;)

I hope you guys enjoyed this little session with Lance! Thank you, Lance, for taking the time to answer these for me. I can’t wait to get a print copy of Devil You Know in my hands, and there’ll definitely be one coming your way to add to the collection! Not long now until Devil You Know releases on February 2nd.

In the mean time, here is a sneak-peak just for you!

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM DEVIL YOU KNOW

Subject To Copyright

PROLOGUE

Being alone, while not alone, is such a curious thing. How can one who is surrounded by many, still feel the hollow ache of a person who has nobody to confide in, nobody to trust.

Nobody to love.

Human beings in general are a companion-based animal. We long, and yearn for that soul mate since the day we were born. It’s only that we don’t fully understand the emotion until puberty has taken hold, and love is no longer what we feel for a cherished toy, but rather a self-inflicted torture we endure in the name of connecting with somebody who makes us feel magical.

A week of madness, an hour of pain, all for a few simple minutes of ecstasy.

So many of us would give that—sell our soul to the devil—and never look back. The euphoria we get from a simple touch, a look, a whispered word can undo the greatest of heartache. Usually heartache we endure in the pursuit of such a fabled moment.

It’s only when the heartache follows the treasured moment that we begin to question this whole ‘love’ thing. Only then will endless hours be lost standing in the shower, questioning everything we thought we knew. The devil on our shoulder starts the guessing game, and we delve too far into every decision we make. Should I? Would I? Could I?

A form of insanity takes hold, and we lose ourselves to the madness before we recognize the signs. By the time we realize what a muddled mess our head is in, it’s too late; we crossed the road, and took a wrong turn long ago.

The cycle begins.

A whispered word, a gentle touch, a stolen glance, and we’re brought from the brink of self-destruction, back to that cloudless sky with nothing but sunshine on the horizon. We live in that euphoric state, gladly burying the pain of not so long ago, to bask in the warmth of love once again.

All until that trust is shaken.

Until the feeling is no longer reciprocated.

Until all we see in that once faithful companion, is a stranger.

Or in my case … the enemy.

You can add Devil You Know to your shelves on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23592724-devil-you-know

Or preorders are available exclusively through iBooks:

http://tinyurl.com/mvakmzb

Come and say ‘hi’ on Facebook, too:
https://www.facebook.com/MaxHenryAuthor

While you’re surfing the interwebby thingamy, go and check out these links to the two men who made this image possible:

Lance Jones:
https://www.facebook.com/LanceJonesTattooFitnessModel

Michael Meadows Studio:
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelMeadowsStudios

Hope you will all enjoy Malice and Jane’s story as much as I did writing it! <3

Sneak Peek - #Triple X by Angelisa Stone and Christine Zolendz

Book Title: #Triple X Size Matters 

Author: Christine Zolendz & Angelisa Stone 

Genre: Chic-Lit 

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

 

#TripleX

By: Christine Zolendz & Angelisa Stone

Does size really matter?

Two women spin a tale of comedy and new beginnings after they wake up and find themselves in a jail cell over 3000 miles away from home. Rehashing their adventure in front of a less-than-sympathetic judge, they give a laugh-out-loud and extremely detailed story of a road trip that finds them in a ton of trouble.

Battling age, weight, and their own personal demons, not only do they discover the open road and a life they misplaced somewhere in their 20s, they also find themselves. From breakups and stealing cars to blurry memories of something that might have happened in New Mexico, these two women will take you on a real journey, full of fun and, well, situations that people only write about and never really do….or do they?

 

Prologue

Twitter: That awkward moment when you wake up in jail and you wonder what you did to get there. Then smile. #TripleX

A lone dimly lit light bulb sways gently from the jail cell’s ceiling. It hurts to open my eyes toward it, so I squint to try to ease the pain. A handful of loudly buzzing insects fly wildly around the dull yellow globe and just the sight causes me to scratch at my arms and neck madly. I loathe bugs. And it's like Swarmageddon above my head right now.

Pulling myself up into a sitting position, the throbbing behind my eyes turns sharp and shatters into millions of razor-tipped tiny pieces of glass. I moan as I grab my head in pounding pain. The room spins, and I fall back with a hard thud against the cold concrete wall.

I hear footsteps, heavy and impending, walking along the rough cement of the hallway. I peek through my fingers, but all I can see is the knotted hair of my cellmate, my partner in crime.

The footsteps become louder, closer. Keys are jangling. Someone is whistling, and the screech of the rusty cell door makes scorching bile burn the back of my throat. I swallow twice to keep it down.

"Stone. Zolendz. Up-and-at-'em. Going before the judge," a deep voice bellows. I hate the man instantly.

I believe I moan out some sort of unintelligible sound, but I'm not sure. Who can be sure?

The dull bulb overhead flickers and makes a sizzling sound. Damn, I'm in a place where even the bugs are killing themselves. "Come on ladies, let's go," the voice yells. It's closer now, and the body attached to it starts kicking the wooden bench I'm sitting on. I think my head is going to explode from the vibrations and violent crashes that echo through my head. "What's the matter, not willing to offer up your goods this morning?"

My head snaps up, "Excuse me?"

The man standing over me is older, in his sixties with a long gray beard. His eyes dance with laughter. "Well, Ma'am. That's what you tried to bribe us with last night when we put you in here. Your goooooooods." He kind of shimmies a little and gives a few humps into the air. I vomit a little in my mouth.

"Oh my God. Seriously? Just don't...just don't pay any attention to anything I said, okay?" I mumble my mortification.

"You mean to tell me, you'll be cancelling our hot date tonight?" he laughs, snidely, mocking me. "Come on, Darlin' the judge is waiting on you both. No harm done last night, you both were quite intoxicated."

"Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick." Slowly, I pull myself off the bench, every bone in my body screaming for a few more hours of silently sound sleep. And really, that stupid light bulb is annoying the Hell out of me; someone needs to shoot it.

"Angelisa," I whisper and shake her awake. "Come on. We have to go. A judge wants to see us."

"Blah...Ha. Ha. Very funny. Lemme sleep," Angelisa groans and swats her hand at me. It falls to her side with a loud thwack against the metal rim of the bed.

"I can't. Clear your head and think about last night. Think back. Go ahead," I urge. She doesn't. She remains motionless and silent; all but a small, low snore can be heard. "You seriously need to open your eyes right now, because we're in trouble," I hiss ominously.

Her head slowly turns toward me, eyes blinking open. They dart around the room and widen; a bubble of laughter escapes her lips. "We're in jail, aren't we?"

I smile and join in with her laughter, "We are indeed, waking up together in a jail cell."

"Damn it, I can't go to prison. You know how horrible I look in stripes," she whispers as she climbs up to her feet, grabbing onto my shoulder and using me for leverage.

"Quick," I look around the cell and laugh, "anybody got a cell phone? I wanna take a cellfie."

And we try, we really do try not to fall back down into a fit of giggles, but it's way too hard. We follow the guard down the hallway.

“Dude, I could so be a violent criminal.” Angelisa mumbles. “Shouldn’t you cuff me? Why doesn’t anyone ever want to handcuff me, Chris?” she whines.

“Ummm, she’s not violent. We swear. She’s just…just…dumb.” I explain, nudging her.

“Seriously though, how does he know I’m not packing an oozie in my girly stuff?”

“Ya know that is true. It’s kind of sexist that you don’t think we could be hiding heat?”

“Ladies, the only thing you two are trying to hide…or hide from is good old-fashioned middle age. And quite frankly, neither one of you is doing a bang-bang up job of it,” the son-of-a-slut says, pretending to shoot us.

“Is that what you do now? Shoot blanks?” Angelisa quips, exploding in laughter that spirals out of control until we’re both laughing like lunatics.

“Enough!” he shouts, trying to silence us before we enter the courtroom.

The two of us are still giggling like two immature kids being brought in front of the principal. Matted hair, mascara-streaked cheeks, and barefoot. I’m pretty sure I even have an extra tattoo somewhere.

We're sworn in; big vocabulary is used. Case numbers are brought forth, and I almost fall asleep. I’m just about to face plant into the table with exhaustion when Judge Caroline Jacobson calls both of us up to the podium. "Ms. Zolendz. Ms. Stone. Approach the bench please." She has dark tired brown eyes, the kind that are weighed down with darker brown bags beneath them. Her light blonde hair is pulled back into a tight, painful looking bun. It's streaked with gray. I want to pull out all those restraining pins. I want her to stop feeling so tight and tense behind her bench. I want her to feel free like me, like us.

Almost as if Angelisa’s reading my thoughts, she mumbles, “Man, she needs to get laid…and needs to get those roots done.” I can’t control the giggle that escapes me. The judge eyes us sternly, and you can nearly hear our mouths snap shut.

"As I hear, you both were found in the fountains of the Bellagio last night. Swimming. Naked," she chirps.

"Yes, that's true," Angelisa giggles, proudly next to me.

I nod my head in agreement, "Yeah, that certainly sounds like us—well, the new us, anyway."

The judge pinches her lips into a tight pucker. Doesn't she realize that’s exactly what makes those little wrinkles all around her mouth? She pulls out an envelope marked Prisoner Property/Currency and unfastens the clasp. I suck my lips between my teeth to stop myself from laughing, because this isn't funny—at all. But if I remember correctly, the things in the envelope are.

She slips one dainty little hand in.

Angelisa and I lean forward to watch.

Two books of matches, fifty-six dollars, a bent wedding ring, a fake moustache, a shoehorn, four glow sticks, two “Call for a good time” prostitute cards, a tube of Ben-gay, and an extra large rubbery dildo that flops on its side when she places it on her desk.

"Do you want to explain to me why two fully grown women, respected in their fields, would be caught in this situation…with these items?"

Angelisa and I look and back and forth from her to each other and back again. We both shrug.

"Well, it all started with an apple pie," I smile.

Angelisa nods next to me, "Yes, definitely. That's probably where it all started, the apple pie fiasco."

The judge leans back and draws in a long breath. She pulls her glasses off her fatigued eyes and rubs them softly with her hands. "An apple pie?"

"Yes. A forgotten apple pie. I can tell you every detail except for three or four days where I have no recollection. Both of us can, it's what we do, tell stories."

The corner of the judge's lips curl up the tiniest bit, "Come into my chambers ladies, this I have to hear."

 

Christine Zolendz resides in New York City, and is the author of five novels. Her first series, a paranormal romance (heavy on the romance and light on the paranormal) was published in 2012-2013 and includes Fall From Grace, Saving Grace, and Scars and Songs. Her newest series, published in 2014, includes the dark romance Brutally Beautiful and Cold-Blooded Beautiful.

Angelisa Stone is a typical Midwestern wife and mom, frazzled by parenting and housework, and overwhelmed with sports schedules, doctor appointments, and three-dimensional creative projects due "tomorrow morning." Angelisa dreams of white sandy beaches, clear-blue waters, and Midori coladas in hand, but realizes that her loving husband and four not-so-perfect children are her real dreams-come-true. Writing and reading are her passions, and she hopes (and prays with her fingers tightly crossed) that readers will find enjoyment and escape through her words and characters.