For the Love of a Centaur - Centaur Agency Book 1 by A.S. McGowan Book Tour and Giveaway :)
For the Love of a Centaur
Centaur
Agency Book 1
by
A.S. McGowan
Genre:
Romantic Suspense
Analise
woke up in the hospital to find that her parents were dead. Her
father’s business partner has inherited the ranch she grew up on.
To make matters worse her father’s will stipulates she cannot
receive her inheritance until she turns twenty-one. Now penniless and
homeless, she agrees to a marriage of convenience with her father’s
business partner.
After
turning twenty-one and with her inheritance in hand, she no longer
wishes to be trapped in a loveless marriage. Moving out she builds a
life for herself away from the ranch and her husband. When her
husband shows up on her door step asking to give their marriage a
chance, she jumps at the idea of a marriage of love. The problem is:
everyone has been lying to her, her whole life. Now those lies may
very well get her killed.
**On
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November
1997
Analise
slowly awoke. Turning her head to the side, she heard the crinkle of
a plastic pillow encased in the soft pillowcase beneath her head This
was not her pillow. Slowly she took in her surroundings. This did not
make sense. Where was she? Turning her head to the other side, she
spotted Matt Duclain, sitting in a chair next to where she was
laying. Why was her father’s business partner sitting in a chair?
Wait, everything looked like a hospital room. Why was she in a
hospital room? This had to be a weird dream, right?
“Matt?”
she asked.
“You’re
awake. How do you feel?”
“Everything
feels sore. What happened? Why am I in a hospital room? What are you
doing here?” She scanned the room again.
“Analise,
there was an accident. The doctors said that you should be just fine.
But you have a head injury and a few broken ribs.”
“Matt,
where are my parents?” She did not like the look on his face.
Something inside her sank, when he just stared at her. “Matt? Where
are my parents?”
“Analise,
I am so sorry.” He reached out and held her hand.
Sorry?
No, no that did not sound right. Sorry was what you said when the
news was bad. Like when someone dies. Her parents could not be dead.
No, this could not be happening.
She
tried to catch her breath. Her breathing became more rapid and
shallow. She felt herself getting dizzy. She could see Matt standing
by her bed. He was saying something but she could not hear him.
Thoughts began to explode and swirl around inside her head. This
was a dream, a terrible dream in which she would awake soon.
Fight or flight instincts kicking in, she tried to get up out of bed.
She felt hands push her back down. The dizziness increased, and she
could feel her heart racing. The sound of her pulse pounding in her
ears was the last thing she had heard before the dark oblivion began
to pull her under.
When
she came to, the reality of the situation sat heavy on her heart.
What was she supposed to do? Matt, had to be mistaken, her parents
could not be dead. It just did not make sense to her. She carefully
wiped her palms on the blanket that covered her.
“I
see you are awake again,” a voice next to her said.
Slowly
turning her head, she saw Matt sitting beside her. She could not
understand why he was still here. He was her father’s business
partner, but why was he still here with her?
“Why
are you here?”
“Because
you are injured. I stayed to make sure you were alright. When you are
ready we need to talk.”
“No
time like the present. So, what could we possibly need to talk
about?” She watched him as he sat there. Did the man really have to
always look so good? Self-consciously, she raised the blanket a
little higher across her chest.
“I
hate to do this right now but things need to be put into place.
Luther’s will left the ranch to me. The ranch needs to continue to
operate, so I will be moving into the ranch house. Your parents left
you a very sizeable inheritance but you cannot access it till you are
twenty-one,” he began.
“What
are you saying? That I not only lost my parents but that I no longer
have a home?” Tears began to run down her cheeks. Angrily she wiped
at them.
“No.
Of course, you still have a home. I just wanted you to understand
that I would be living at the ranch house as well. Geez, Analise, I
would never throw you out of your home.”
“But
you cannot live there. Matt, you are a single man, and I am a single
female. We cannot live under the same roof. It would cause a
scandal.”
“I
thought about that. There is an alternative. It would prevent a
scandal.” He smiled at her in a way that made her feel a little
better.
“What
alternative?”
“We
could get married,” he started but quickly added, “on paper
only.”
She
shook her head. “Are you sure you are not the one with a head
injury?” This man was out of his mind.
“Think
about it Analise, it makes sense. I am moving into the ranch house.
You still need your home. It would be the only way to protect your
reputation. After all, you just said we couldn’t live under the
same roof because it would cause a scandal.” He smiled at her
again.
“Matt,
please leave. I cannot deal with this right now.” She turned her
head, looking away from him.
“OK
but I will come back later and check in on you.”
She
heard the door to her room close. This could not be happening. She is
injured, lost her parents, and got a marriage proposal from her
father’s sexy business partner all in one day. Only she could have
such a screwed-up day. This would not be the first time she has had
such a roller coaster of a day. Only before she always had her
parents to turn to. Their sound advice and wisdom always helped guide
her decisions. Now they were gone. Who could she turn to for advice
on such major decisions as the one Matt, proposed to her?
There
was always Stella. She loved their housekeeper just as if she were
another mother. She did not want to discuss this with Stella though.
In fact, she did not want to discuss this with anyone. She wanted to
wake up from this nightmare.
Looking
about she took in the room. Countless pieces of medical equipment so
common for hospital rooms were in various locations in her room.
Hanging from the chrome rail was a curtain that had been washed at
least a thousand times. The colors so faded, they were barely there.
Looking upward, she tried to distance herself from her thoughts by
counting the cracks in the polystyrene tiles. It was no use; she
could not shut off her thoughts. Too many of them, running around
jumbled inside her brain.
She
reached for the button to her pain pump. She could lay here and think
about all that has happened, or she could just push the button. In
the end, the relief offered by the pain medication won. She pressed
the button and waited for the medicine to take over her brain. There
could be worse things in life than being married to a sexy man that
she already had feelings for, she
thought, just before the pain meds pulled her under.
When
she awoke later, she saw Matt was back in the chair. Well,
she decided, guess
it was time to face what life had thrown at me.
“Alright,
Matt. I will marry you” she said.
“Good
that settles that problem. You do realize this will not be a real
marriage? Don’t get me wrong I will financially take care of you.
Once you get your inheritance we can end the marriage and go on with
our lives.”
“Of
course, I understand. This is just something on paper to keep people
from gossiping. After all, my mother’s country club friends sure do
love to spread gossip.”
“I
will take care of everything and we can get married as soon as the
doctors release you.” Matt stood and left the room.
Two
days later, Matt returned with clothes for Analise to change into.
The doctors finally said she was free to go home, as long as she
promised to come back in a week for additional tests. Ready to
finally be free of the hospital with all its constant sounds and
nauseating smell of disinfectants, she dressed as quickly as she
could.
The
nurse insisted on wheeling her out of the hospital. Sitting in the
wheelchair, she took in the hospital with cautious eyes. The walls
were the same color as those in her room. The same polystyrene tiles
with various cracks made up the ceiling. Bland artwork decorated the
walls. Someone must have thought the art would liven the place up.
They were wrong. There was no way in which to liven a place up that
was intended for the sick and the dying. It was here she was brought
to recover. It was also here her parents’ bodies had been brought.
There was no way art, framed and hung on a wall could change that.
The Ghosts of a Centaur
Centaur
Agency Book 2
Stella
left one life behind for another. Finding happiness in a new world,
Stella never thought anything could destroy her new life. Until a
package arrived containing a severed head. The threat was clear and
the stakes were high. Leaving her new life behind, Stella hoped her
choice would protect her loved ones.
Now
twelve years later, someone had discovered Stella’s identity.
People she loves are starting to die at the hands of a very cold and
calculated killer. Forced out of hiding, Stella moves fast to protect
her family. Can the Centaur Agency discover the identity of the
killer in time? Or will Stella lose everyone she has ever loved?
**On
Sale for .99 cents 5/1 – 5/8!!**
The Making of a Centaur
Centaur
Agency Book 3
Severely
beaten, "Lucky" wakes up with no memory of who she is or
where she came from. Rescued by the Centaur Agency, she sets out to
discover her identity. Plagued by violent flashbacks, she finds
herself afraid of the men around her.
There
is one man though that makes her feel safe. However time is running
out for all of them. Will "Lucky" get her memories back in
time to stop a madman? Or will her past catch up with her, leaving
the most important person in her life to pay the price?
I am a wife and mother, who lives in a small Southeast Missouri town. I am the author of the Centaur Agency series. Currently I am working on book 3 in the series The Making of a Centaur which will publish in July 2017. I also have plans for a vampire trilogy that I am working on. I will be publishing the trilogy after I finish the 4 book Centaur Agency series. From there I also am working on a Werewolf series. So much planned with a little bit for everyone.
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Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: When I wrote the
second book in the series The Ghosts of a Centaur, I introduced
everyone to Nathaniel. It was during the time that I was finishing up
that book that it hit me that Nathaniel needed his own story. He had
been through so much tragedy in his short life that I wanted him to
have his happily-ever-after.
Q:
If you had to do it over again would you change anything about your
latest book?
A:
To be honest so much got changed during the editing phase for The
Making of a Centaur. While I liked some of what I did before the
editing, the story is so much better now. So, no I wouldn’t change
anything about this book. In fact, I wouldn’t change anything about
any of the books in this series.
Q:
How did you come up with the title for your books?
A:
I went with the Centaur Agency as the overall series as a play on
words. With the agents being undercover and hiding under the cover of
either working on a horse ranch or for the equine magazine, they are
half and half in my line of thinking so Centaur fit. Part of me
slightly regrets this because sometimes readers expect it to be a
fantasy type story when it isn’t. But the regret is only slight
because I still love the name.
Q:
What is your favorite part of this book?
A:
My favorite part is the killer scenes. This same killer moves from
book to book. That is why this series is not a standalone. The fun
comes from having readers trying to guess the killer’s identity.
His identity will be revealed in the next book which is the last book
in the series. I have also decided to play a game on my Facebook page
prior to book 4 publishing. I am going to allow readers to guess the
identity of the killer for a chance to win prizes.
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