Deveraux Legacy Sale
Sale Alert!
The entire Deveraux Legacy Series is on sale now!
We’re in the home stretch leading up to the release of The Hardest Hit on 10.18.21! Now is the time to snag the entire Deveraux Legacy Series. The Hardest Hit is on preorder sale for .99 cents NOW but the price will go up 24 hours after release day.
BUY NOW QUICK LINKS:
Amazon Series Page:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GK7CK8M?ref_=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_tkin&binding=kindle_edition
ALL STORES:
The Second Shot (Book 1): https://books2read.com/The-Second-Shot
The Cinderella Secret (Book 2): https://books2read.com/Cinderella-Secret
The Hardest Hit (Book 3): https://books2read.com/Hardest-Hit
MORE INFO:
SERIES: The Deveraux Legacy
GENRE: Romantic Suspense
READ THE FIRST CHAPTERS: https://bethanymaines.com/deveraux-chapter-1/
BLOGGER/READER SIGN UP: http://bit.ly/ReleasePromotionTheHardestHit
ADD TO GOODREADS: https://bit.ly/TheHardestHitTBR
The Second Shot Audio Book
On my first book, Bulletproof Mascara, the novel was also spun off into an audio book and (guilty admission) I have never listened to it. Or rather, I got ten minutes in, freaked out, turned it off and never went back.
It wasn’t that it was bad. It was more that the voices in my head had become external, but they weren’t actually my voices. The process of publishing is, in many ways, about taking something deeply personal and turning it over into the public domain. And at the time, I had barely come to terms with my friends, family, and complete strangers having opinions on my characters. Having the auditory sensation of hearing them in different voices was completely disconcerting.
However, it’s been a minute since then. Don’t you love how that phrase implies that it really was a short amount of time? And I’m a little more resigned to the process of sharing my fake people with the world. So I recently took a deep breath and dipped a toe back into the audio waters.
This time the process was much better. Not only did I get to select my voice actor, but I could add my two-cents on her interpretation. I’m completely in love with this new interpretation of my romantic suspense novel The Second Shot. It’s been so fun to hear the book with her voice. It has also been illuminating to realize when I’ve written something that looks so good on the page, but turns out to be difficult to read out loud.
The Second Shot is book one of the Deveraux Legacy series and I can’t wait for my voice actress to tackle book 2, The Cinderella Secret, and 3, The Hardest Hit (due out 10.18.21). Currently the book is under going the Quality Assurance check with Audible and once approved it will hit the virtual store shelves.
You can check out the audio version of The Second Shot here: bethanymaines.com/the-deveraux-legacy/
A drunken mistake in college cost US Marshal Maxwell Ames the affection of Dominique Deveraux and six years later, he’s determined to fix the slip-up. But there’s just one tiny problem—someone wants the Deveraux family dead. Dominique Deveraux never expected Max to reappear in her life, let alone apologize, but as Dominique investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family Max quickly becomes far more than her one time college classmate. Now, Max and Dominique must dodge mercenaries and bullets as they try to make sure that they’re the only ones who get a second shot.
Countdown to The Lost Heir
With one week left until The Lost Heir is released, I find myself excited and nervous to hear reader reactions. The novella is a prequel to the first two book in the Deveraux Legacy series – The Second Shot and The Cinderella Secret. Each book of the series focuses on one of the Deveraux cousins and that works great for each individual story. The Second Shot is about the youngest cousin Dominique as she investigates the mysterious attacks on her wealthy family and discovers that maybe the jerk from college isn’t quite what she thought he was and might be the only one who can help. The Cinderella Secret features Dominique’s brother Aiden as he searches for the mysterious girl who stole his heart and a murderer who’s set to strike again. And in 2021 we’ll see The Hardest Hit with older cousin Evan Deveraux as he tries to solve a decades old mystery and hang on to the girl who loves him in spite of being a Deveraux. And last, but not least, The Fallen Man will showcase Jackson Deveraux as he discovers that while he’s spent years saving his family, they may be the only ones who can save him. But The Lost Heir is about the family as a whole and it’s the first time that all of the cousins are featured equally AND we get to hear from the Deveraux matriarch, Eleanor. But it’s also the first time that there isn’t a central adventure or mystery to be solved. I love the Deveraux family and I love spending time with them, so I’m hoping that readers do too. Fingers crossed!
Pre-Order: https://books2read.com/Lost-Heir
***THE LOST HEIR TEASER***
“He is your cousin,” said Eleanor and the walls stopped moving, along with Evan’s heart. “His name is Jackson Zane and you are going to get him out of prison.”
Evan looked at Aiden and then at Dominique, trying to make sure he’d heard their grandmother correctly.
“Uh,” said Aiden. “That’s not… I don’t… I just got out of law school. I haven’t even gotten my bar exam results back yet for here. I’d have to pass the bar in Illinois.”
Evan knew he was still mostly high, but he could tell by the flat look in their grandmother’s eyes that the decision had been made. Which meant that Aiden should probably start studying up on Illinois State law. Dominique was frowning and he realized that her eyes had been resting on him for an extended period of time. How much had she noticed? She was never as unaware as she pretended to be. Fuck.
“What do you think, Evan?” Dominique asked. He tried to remember the last time she’d spoken directly to him.
“It doesn’t matter what Evan thinks,” said Eleanor. “This is what we’re doing. It’s been decided.”
“And I would like to hear what Evan thinks about that decision,” snapped Dominique. Aiden and Eleanor blinked at Dominique’s tone, but Evan was still trying to figure out the content. Why the hell would she care what he thought?
Dominique turned back to Evan, her blonde hair swinging, and fixed him with a glare. “Well?”
His palms were sweating on his cutlery. He wanted to wipe his hands on his pants, but didn’t dare.
“I think Aiden should get him out of jail,” said Evan. “If he’s ours then we should bring him home.”
Comfortable Discomfort
I once had a cousin/uncle/grandparent-ish person (he was my second cousin once-removed if you want to get technical here, but the point is that he was in his eighties and I was around ten, you get the idea) who once posed the question that I probably wasn’t supposed to hear – what’s the difference between naked and nekkid? Naked is simply having no clothes on. Nekkid is naked, but with intent. In other words, the difference is subtle and mostly to do with what you intend to do about it. Which is how I feel about old and vintage.
My general preference, when given a choice, is for old things. Which is to say I like old books, old furniture, old clothes and my grumpy old dog. Although, usually I say vintage, which is the same as old, but with character. I don’t want new things (unless they’re electronics and sometimes not even then). I want the things I’ve become accustomed to and work for me. Which is why sometimes, even when something gets actually too old to use, I still hang on to it. Recently, my favorite skull-n-crossbones mug developed an unfortunate hairline crack that resulted in it weeping tea over everything. It was unusable but I hung on to it for two weeks. What was I planning on doing with this mug? It wasn’t fixable. It wasn’t art. Did I think it would magically heal itself? It wasn’t until I had resigned myself to it’s passing that I was able to let it depart into the recycling bin.
I don’t think my preference for the old and familiar is particularly unusual. I think most of us are little grumpy about being forced into new things. We’re uncomfortable with being uncomfortable. On the other hand, studies seem to indicate that actively being in a place of uncertainty and learning keeps Alzheimer’s at bay. Being used to a little discomfort makes us appreciate what we have and have grace for those who also in discomfort. And I think that if a few more people were used to being told no and being a little more uncomfortable then they wouldn’t lose their cool and have public temper-tantrums in the middle of Target (why is it always Target?). Perhaps we need new things periodically just to remind us that sometimes we don’t always get to keep our favorite mug. And sometimes we need a new mug to tell us that everything will be OK. As long as it looks vintage.
And Now…. Book News!
The Cinderella Secret is coming 10.19.20 and there are gifts, prizes, and sneak peeks for you to delve into! The Cinderella Secret is a romantic thriller that continues the Deveraux family saga, this time with Aiden Deveraux, the handsome lawyer going up against Ella Zhao who blames the Deveraux family for her father’s death. With family secrets and thrills at every turn, The Cinderella Secret delivers a one-two punch of passion and action that will keep readers turning the pages.
Pre-Order The Cinderella Secret on all ebook platforms: https://books2read.com/Cinderella-Secret
Bonus Gift (but just for my friends)
The Lost Heir, a Deveraux Legacy prequel novella, will be released in December, but members of the Blue Zephyr Press / Bethany Maines newsletter will receive it on October 19 with the release of The Cinderella Secret!
Join here: https://bethanymaines.com/the-deveraux-legacy/
Giveaway
Want a chance to win a free copy of The Cinderella Secret? One lucky winner will also get a copy of Book 1 – The Second Shot. Giveaway ends 10.17, so snag your entry now!
Enter at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54817893-the-cinderella-secret
Try Before You Buy
Read Chapter 1 of The Cinderella Secret!
Read here: bethanymaines.com/cinderella-secret-chapter-1/