Enhanced by Courtney Farrell plus Giveaway!

Welcome Ms. Farrell and congratulations on your newest release, Enhanced! Let’s find out more about your YA novel.

enhanced_Courtney Farrell

On the back cover

At the Institute, they breed people like livestock. One powerful doctor decides which children get to grow up, and which will die. Losers are dumped in the savage slum outside Institute walls. Those kids never come back. Sixteen-year-old Michelle is a perfect specimen, destined for a luxurious life as a breeder. When her brother and her boyfriend are both mysteriously culled from the breeding program, she jumps the wall to find them. Alone in the ghetto, she’s in trouble until handsome, streetwise Dillon stakes a claim to her. She’s mortified by her attraction to a Normal. But the doctor is using the missing boys in a twisted experiment, and she needs Dillon’s help to stop him. Michelle must rescue the boys, but a plague is spreading, the doctor is after her, and Dillon isn’t thrilled to help find her lost boyfriend.

Enhanced is available on Amazon

Read an excerpt from the novel

A creaking sound came from outside, and Michelle realized that was the noise that woke her. She lay still, listening. Another creak raised goose bumps that tingled their way down her spine, and then a man’s heavy boots thudded slowly across the balcony. A shadow ghosted past the draperies. It’s a robbery. Some crazy Norm snuck over the wall, looking for valuables. Or worse, girls.

Michelle pushed off the covers and got out of bed as quietly as she could, suddenly aware of the ridiculously low cut neckline on her sheer thigh-length nightgown. Buying her first sexy nightie had seemed fun at the time. Now it was just another stupid thing to add to the list. Terror made her heart thud, but she forced her feet to carry her across her bedroom to the double doors that opened onto her private balcony.

A spark of anger caught fire in her chest and burned there. Filthy Norm. How dare you? In the dark, her hands balled into fists. Three steps to the door. Two. The night breeze toyed with the hem of her gown, but she ignored it. One. Michelle reached for the latch, her body tense, ready to run or fight. The door suddenly flew open in her face and the intruder’s huge shoulders filled the doorway, blocking the faint moonlight. In her shock, Michelle forgot to scream.

“Michelle,” a deep voice hissed.

It took a heartbeat for her to recognize him. “Brian! What are you doing here?”

“Shhh.” In a stride he closed the distance between them and placed a finger softly on her lips. His arm slid around her waist and pulled her to him. She felt tiny beside him. His big hand wrapped halfway around her waist.

“Sorry I scared you. I…I just needed to talk to someone.”

“Someone.” Michelle repeated frostily. “At two in the morning.”

“You, I mean. You.” Brian’s voice was hoarse with pain. “Things have been so awful lately…”

His agonized tone melted Michelle’s heart, so she reached up with both hands to touch his face. The stubble under her fingers made him feel like a stranger. Even his scent smelled musky and foreign, but it sent heat down her body to the core.

“Okay, but we have to be quiet so we don’t wake my father.” Michelle took Brian’s hand and pulled him outside onto the balcony, where two chairs and a little round table stood beside her cushioned recliner. Brian surprised her by taking her in his arms and lifting her a few inches off her toes. When he sat down on the recliner, he brought her with him, so she ended up straddling his lap in her white lace panties. Michelle flushed, completely distracted by the feeling of his body beneath her. With an effort, she put both hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. “So, you came here to talk?”

“Yeah, but you look amazing,” Brian rumbled, pulling her into a kiss.

A moment later, he stood up, still holding her, and turned around to set her down lightly on the cushion. When he turned his back to stare into the darkened grounds of the estate, Michelle leaned back with a sigh. Damn. He really did come here to talk.

“What’s wrong, Brian?”

He flopped face down on the recliner beside her, nuzzling her neck lightly with his lips. “Nothing. Everything.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Michelle whispered.

Brian rolled over onto his back and pulled her head onto his shoulder. One of his hands twined with hers. “I wish we could connect like we did before.”

Michelle smiled. “I think you have to be born with the gene for that to work.”

Brian squeezed her hand a little harder before he gave up and ran his fingers down her bare arm instead. Michelle gasped a little when he pulled up the white nightgown to stroke her sleek flank.

“Sorry,” Brian murmured, taking his hand away. “I forget how young you are.”

“Don’t. I mean do, forget it, please.”

He kissed her again, but then stopped and stared into space. “You know, I fought so hard just to survive here.”

“Survive?” Michelle repeated apprehensively.

“You know. Beat the tests,” Brian said bitterly. His great chest heaved under her hand as he took a deep breath. “I made it, Michelle, and nothing changed. They didn’t even mark the event. You’d think they’d be like, hey, Brian, you made it to eighteen without getting culled, you can relax now. But we’re all still here, still being tested, still trying to hang on.” He buried his face in her curls. “When does it end?”

“I don’t know, Brian. I don’t know.” Michelle held him in her arms and stroked his back until he left her in the gray light of dawn.

You can connect with Courtney Farrell on her website or any of her social media Courtney Farrell author picpages:

She is also hosting a giveaway! You can enter the rafflecopter here:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3c79ce9416/? 

Good luck and as always thank you for stopping by!

Jody

The Night Medicine Is Here At Last!

The Night Medicine is available now! This full length novel is packed with unforgettable characters and an exciting plot that will have you turning pages late into the night!

I really hope you like the new novel as much as I enjoyed crafting this tale of history and adventure.

Custom TNM w drop shadow

On The Back Cover:

In 2012, Blackfoot tribal member, Dean Wolfsblood, is the reluctant guardian of a centuries old medicine pipe that makes time travel possible. When Dean’s former Marine buddy, Badger Lowell, bribes him to take the arduous trip into the past, the last thing either of them expects during the “Night Medicine” ceremony is for an intruding grizzly bear to chase Kai, a beautiful and complicated Cree woman, into the past with them.

Upon arrival in 1868, the three unlikely companions discover deceit, murder, buffalo hunters, and a kidnapping waiting for them as they travel across mountains and plains to the gold mining town of Helena, Montana. As hidden motivations are exposed, secrets are revealed, and all well-meaning plans for their journey are cast away into the winds of time. Can they survive history and each other long enough to make it back, or will the past change their futures forever?

Genre: Action/Adventure*Historical*Time Travel*Romance

Available on Amazon

Read an excerpt from the novel

Disoriented, Dean watched as Kai dropped the pipe’s stem and placed protective arms in front of her body. She wasn’t completely naked. She wore a T-shirt and white socks, but her pants, underwear, and shoes were gone, as history hadn’t yet discovered synthetic materials.

Backing away from the others, Kai stumbled over an unseen log and landed hard on her rear end with a shriek.

“Look,” Badger said, and pointed at the empty space where the shack should have been.

“We did it,” Dean said definitively.

“What’s going on?” Kai asked. “What did you do to me?”

Dean was aware of the panic in Kai’s voice, but also acknowledged her attempt to suppress it. He stared at the empty space where the old hut would be built sometime in the future, instead of at a half-dressed Kai. He was fairly certain their journey was over. Or just beginning, depending on how he wanted to think of it. He needed a minute to let the truth sink in, but it was a minute he didn’t have. He swung his leather pack off of his back and set it down at his feet, reassured that it had also made the trip. His supplies gave him a small sense of security. What triggered his insecurity was scrambling to her feet while trying to hide her bare backside.

“Send her back before she gets us killed,” Badger muttered as he set his own pack next to Dean’s.

“Send me back?” Kai asked. “What’s that supposed to mean? Back to where?”

Dean heard her buried hysteria rising with the tone of her voice. He decided a calm approach would be the best way to handle things.

“That’s not going to happen,” Dean said to Badger. “Give her your extra pants.”

“Give her yours,” he snapped back.

“Mine will be too big. You’re closer in size. Just do it. Shoes, too. How would you feel if your ding-dong was hanging out in front of her?”

“Proud,” Badger answered, but he tossed the clothes over to Kai. “I want those back,” he warned.

She slipped on the pants and shoes and walked up to Dean as he squatted down to start a campfire, much like the one they had just been burning in 2012. He thought it was even in the exact same spot. He had a second to marvel at the thought of a century and a half-old fire ring, before he felt his ear being pinched.

He swatted at her hand, and then promptly tipped over from trying to get away from the pain. He caught himself before falling into the grass and forest debris.

“Hands off, woman,” he said as his ear flared with stinging pain.

She glared at the pipe bundle sitting on top of his pack.

“Explain everything. Right now!” she ordered.

Dean righted his body and continued to start the fire. He placed a lit match to some dry pine needles and punk wood and blew gently, staying focused so as to not waste a single precious match.

“Settle yourself for two seconds, would you? We’ll be here for the rest of the night, and we need a fire.”

He wouldn’t look up at her, knowing the futility of his words. He could all but see the angry fumes oozing out of her.

“This is a disappointment, Wolfsblood. She’s a complication we didn’t plan for.”

Kai turned on Badger. “Shut up, you stupid pig. What did you do to my clothes? Where is the bear?”

“Can we just put her out of her misery and save us some trouble?” Badger mumbled, more to himself than to Dean.

Dean didn’t want to get in the middle of these two, but how could he avoid it? They were standing there because of him.

“Your damn truck broke down, and you need to fix it right now and get me the hell out of here,” Kai said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“My truck?” Dean asked, feeling confused for a second.

“That’s right. I was driving it back to town, following behind Gena, and it stopped running. The belt is broken,” she said, waving a hand through the air. “Now give me my pants and shoes back. I have to be at work in the morning.”

“Kai, you need to sit down and let me try to explain some things. And believe me when I say that the truck is the least of your worries, woman.”

“I’m not your woman. If you say it again, I’ll cut your ding-dong off. Since you like that word,” she snapped back at him.

She shot a hostile look at Dean’s crotch, and he doubted that she was lying. Feeling the fearful retreat of his cojones, he stepped back from the awakening fire and cleared his throat. Running his tongue around his teeth to moisten his suddenly dry mouth, he settled one hand on the grip of his knife and started again.

“Kai. You’re not going to like this, just as much as we don’t like having you here.”

“This isn’t happening. You know what? Play your weird little warrior games on your own. I’ll sleep in the truck, and walk back to town in the morning.” She shook her head at them as if in denial, and turned for the trees.

“Does time travel cause women to lose their marbles?” Badger asked, sounding almost genuinely concerned. Almost, but not quite. “I mean, didn’t we all just feel the darkness come over us? Could she have gone insane without having the time to prepare for this kind of journey?”

“Maybe,” Dean said.

“Screw you both,” Kai tossed over her shoulder before disappearing into the forest.

“Stop,” Dean said, but Kai didn’t.

The next sound had Dean rushing blindly after her. Her scream was suddenly cut off with heart-stopping silence. Before he saw her again, the weight of what felt like a tree trunk crashed into him, and he collapsed to the ground. Everything went black.

***

Thank you for stopping by! And, happy reading ~ Jody