By Adriana Kraft (Guest Blogger)
Have you ever felt like life was passing you by? That shut-down feeling that separates you from everyone you see? They seem to be normal, happy, satisfied, and you just can’t connect. Worse yet, you don’t have the energy to do anything about it, to take even that first baby step toward making a change.
That’s what Merry Delaney is experiencing as the world turns toward the new millennium, New Year’s Eve 1999. She’s an accountant, for god’s sake. Her life consists of managing the math for other people’s lives. She’s been a widow for the past year, but something inside her died long before that, as she watched her husband’s MS take over his body and felt him withdraw from her.
My husband and I co-write erotic romance and romantic suspense under our pen name, Adriana Kraft. The Merry Widow combines both – intense eroticism with underlying suspense. But it is so much more than that. We wanted to capture a woman’s transition from that dark place and explore the process as she opens up and begins to say yes—slowly at first, and then pell-mell into the fast lane.
Especially, we wanted to explore the nuances of transformation: what is the moment, precisely, when a character makes an about face? When she’s passed (or we’ve passed, for that matter) the point of no return and can no longer continue as before? Is it an earth-shattering moment? Is it a moment so tiny it’s lost in the cacophony of choices and activities, only to be recognized much later, upon reflection? Does it happen not when the choice is first made, but when a character is confronted with something she wants very badly that flies in the face of what she’s become?
Naturally, in our story, Merry’s journey of self-discovery is filled with sexual adventure—we write erotic romance, after all. But it’s also filled with choices she must make as she samples new experiences and begins to fall in love at the same time. Will she settle for less than what she truly wants? We hope not—and we hope the same for you, our readers.
Blurb
So much for all the anticipation about the new millennium. Merry Delaney’s life is still in a rut and shows no signs of changing. Sex? A fading memory, gone long before her husband actually died. Excitement? Hardly the hallmark of an accountant’s life. At forty-two, what can she look forward to?
Until her best friend takes Merry’s predicament into her practiced hands. One passionate kiss unleashes possibilities Merry never dreamed of—and she wants to sample them all. Men? Women? Young? Old? Ménage? Toys? Yes, to all, to pleasure, to making up for lost time.
Enter Chicago Detective Jim Barnes, who solicits Merry’s help with a mob funds-skimming case. Can the scorching passion that soon smolders between Merry and Jim survive the escalating mob threats of exposure? Having discovered a zest for sex, will Merry ever again be satisfied with one man?
Buy Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084PCH63T/
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-merry-widow-12
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/1014270702?ean=2940163931583
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-merry-widow/id1499352992
GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Adriana_Kraft_THE_MERRY_WIDOW?id=nbPQDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: https://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2805-1-the-merry-widow/
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51242831-the-merry-widow
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-merry-widow-by-adriana-kraft
Excerpt
Within minutes, Merry had prepared plates of sausages, cheeses, crackers, and assorted fruit. Jim had opened a wine bottle and carried two wineglasses as she led him down the hallway through her bedroom to the adjoining patio, where the late evening sunlight cast a warm glow on the early summer hydrangeas and lilies.
She set the food down and pulled out a chair. “I assume you’re quite familiar with this area. No guided tour necessary.”
“Nope. That won’t be necessary.”
“Are you going to tell me why you followed me and spied on me?” She chewed on a grape and spit out the seed.
“As I’ve already told you, at first I needed to know you weren’t running to the mob with my story.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that one. That’s when you saw me at Camille’s?”
He nodded.
“Sounds like you were quite impressed with my friend’s kitchen table.”
“Absolutely. I want one just like it.”
Merry cut herself a thick piece of sausage and tore off a bite. She chewed, giving her picnic mate time to squirm. “So how long did it take to convince you I wasn’t a mob informant?”
“Not long. A few days at most.”
“So why did you spy on me and my friends after that?”
Jim sipped his wine and never batted an eye. “I had to know what the mob might use against you as possible blackmail.”
“And what about last night? You seemed to have been in your perch—or whatever—again.”
“Oh, yeah. I’d just learned about the computer hacking and I was suspicious of your phones. So I’d raced over here to protect you—only you weren’t here, so I waited.”
“I see.” Merry bit into an orange, which squirted in Jim’s direction.
He reached for a napkin and wiped the table.
“So from where you sat”—she motioned toward the numerous bushes ringing her yard—“did it look like I needed protecting last night?”
“Not really. You’re damn good at asking questions, Merry. Now I have a few for you. Did you think I was out there last night? That I was watching?
Merry tapped her lips with a napkin. “It did occur to me to wonder.”
“And did that turn you on—wondering if I was watching?”
“Maybe. Did watching me turn you on?”
Reviews and Endorsements for Adriana Kraft Books
Wow, what an incredible book! Not only is The Merry Widow a gripping, romantic suspense but the heat level is hotter than Death Valley… The ending took me by surprise and I was a little sad to see it end. I grew attached to the characters and wanted to stay in their world a little bit longer. The Merry Widow will be on my keeper shelf and one I will be re-reading again and again. Highly recommend! N. N. Light
Their romance is hot in all the right places…If you love romance with more than two people, you’re going to love this book! Seducing Cat is a must read! The TBR Pile
Filled with warmth, blazing hot sex, well-developed characters and an interesting plot…not for the faint of heart. If you are looking for an interesting story filled with scorching hot erotica, author Adriana Kraft's novel Vegas Gambler is the book for you. Romance Junkies
Ms. Kraft has a gift for pleasing the reader with vivid imagery and erotic language. Fasten your seat belts – Cherry Tune-Up is one hot ride that you don’t want to miss. Romance Junkies
Definitely recommended The Reunion sizzled as two incredibly sexy women and one gorgeous guy form a super hot triad, eventually. These three are by far and away the best smoldering trio I have read about. Oh, bring on more of this, but read this one first! Rainbow Reviews
About Adriana Kraft
Award winning author Adriana Kraft is a married couple writing Sizzling Romantic Suspense and Erotic Romance for Two, Three, or More. Whether readers open our romantic suspense or our erotic romance, they can expect characters they care about, hot sex scenes, and a compelling story. Our suspense stories deliver one man, one woman, danger and intrigue. Our erotic romance is edgier and nearly always includes ménage or polyamory, sometimes with two women and a man, sometimes with two (or more) couples. We write our Erotic Romance stories to entertain, of course, but most of all we write them because we believe in happy endings for all who fall in love, whatever their gender, sexual orientation or numerical combination.
Social Media Links
Website: https://adrianakraft.com
Blog: https://www.adrianakraft.com/blog
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