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Double-header Release Day!

It's not often that I have two books released in one day! First up, DRIVE YOU WILD, book 3 in the Love Between the Bases series, is out today in both ebook and paperback. The reviews have been phenomenal. Here are a few of them.

They say there is no crying in baseball. Well, Jennifer Bernard threw that myth right out of the ballpark. Not only did I cry, but I balled like a baby. Trevor Stark and Paige Taylor tore me apart and then put me back together again, piece by piece. ~ Kitty, Guilty Pleasures

DRIVE YOU WILD is utter and sheer perfection! What joy it is when an author hits all the right notes with such ease! Jennifer Bernard has woven exceptional characters into a fabulous baseball story, along with a beautiful romance and quite a bit of suspense added to the mix, and makes it work like nobody's business  ~ Fresh Fiction

“DRIVE YOU WILD, the third book in author Jennifer Bernard's LOVE BETWEEN THE BASES series, is an adrenaline-packed, sensual contemporary romance that readers will find nearly impossible to put down.  ~ Romance Junkies

 “Bernard’s Love Between the Bases novels are irresistible fun. What makes this series remarkable is her willingness to challenge readers’ stereotypes and assumptions, resulting in a story that is moving and genuinely entertaining.

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1QBILw2

Nook: http://bit.ly/1UX4B41

iBooks: http://apple.co/1UvyjNG

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1PIar1g

 Next up: SEEING STARS!!!
 

 

Click to Download

When pop star Starly Minx freezes onstage during a show, she knows what her guilty conscience is telling her. She has to make things right with her nemesis, Hope Falls’ own Karina Black. And she has to do it without the paparazzi finding out. If only she didn’t have to leave behind the man she’s been secretly pining for—her sinfully hot bodyguard Hunter McGraw.

Hunter just turned in his resignation. He desperately needs to get some distance from the distracting, enchanting Starly and get on with his life. But if she’s going to Hope Falls, he’s going after her. Who else is going to keep her out of trouble? And with two feuding pop stars in the same tiny town, trouble is inevitable.

They can deal with the paparazzi. They can deal with the curious Hope Falls residents. But can they keep their feelings secret from each other? Is that even possible when every touch has them seeing stars?

 

This is a novella in the Hope Falls Kindle World by Melanie Shawn! Reviewers are loving it:

“Everything about SEEING STARS is absolutely delightful” ~ Monique from Goodreads 

 

“Hunter and Starly can’t resist each other, their attraction was palpable, and the romance felt authentic, and utterly irresistible; Jennifer Bernard wowed me again!”

Click to Download 

As a Kindle World novella, this book is available only for Kindle. BUT -- you don't need an actual Kindle. You can download the free Kindle app from Amazon and read on your phone (that's what I do.) :-) 

Wishing you much book love and happy reading! 

xoxox

Jennifer

RT16 Las Vegas Appearances

This is going to be crazy, y'all! But I'm going for it, and if you are too, I'd love to meet you or see you again if we've met before. Here are the places/times I'm guaranteed to be. But if we cross paths in the hotel bar, at a party, or at the blackjack table, do say "hi"!

• Wednesday at 9:30pm: Vintage Vegas party - Avon's salon is the "Stardust Lounge," I'll be there from 9:30 - 10:30.
• Thursday at 2:45: Prospera's Table. Come play blackjack, poker, and other games for Avon swag and prizes. I'll be at the blackjack table because that's all I know how to play. 
• Thursday 5-6: Reader meet-and-greet with Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Samantha Chase and Melanie Shawn at a TBA hotel bar.
• Friday 4-5:30: Bling it On. Avon's free book signing with sweet treats and wine.
• Saturday 11-2: The Giant Book Fair. I'll be signing in Row 5.
• Saturday at 8:00: LizBeth Selvig and I will be holding our traditional reader appreciation party in our hotel suite, which is also TBA. This year we'll be joined by Maxine Mansfield.

If you'd like to attend the " location TBA" events, email me at JenniferBernardBooks@gmail.com and I'll add you to the list! I'll let you know the instant we've pinned down the details.

I hope to see you there!!

xoxo
Jennifer

Big $.99 Sale!

Sale alert!!

It's not often that your most recent book goes on sale for only 99 cents! But baseball season is starting and my publisher wants to celebrate. Bring on the cracker jacks! CAUGHT BY YOU will be available in ebook at all online retailers for $.99 for a limited time, so grab it while you can. This book has a 5-star rating on Amazon and RT calls it an "utterly sensational romance" with "addictive chemistry."

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1ThMaF4

Nook: http://bit.ly/1Qpiqmq

iBooks: http://apple.co/1VRbtw3

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1LMijU9

I hope you love Mike and Donna's story! 

xoxox

Jennifer

Huge New Sweepstakes for Getting Wound Up!

 

Are you ready to #ScoreWithEli?

Erin Nicholas and I have teamed up to bring you an incredible new hero in our exciting joint book GETTING WOUND UP, which releases in three parts beginning March 8^th. And he wants to get to know you!

Eli Anderson is a six foot one inch charmer with a wicked knuckle ball and panty melting blue eyes.

Eli meets his match in Caitlyn Murray next Tuesday, March 8^th. But until then, you still have a chance to score with him—and be entered to win some exciting prizes. Eli always leaves a woman satisfied.

So ... how can you #ScoreWithEli?

Don’t be afraid to make the first move. Lean in, close your eyes, and ever so gently touch…your cursor to the Score With Eli graphic! Share it on Twitter or Instagram.

Eli wants to make you feel good by touching you someplace really special…your Facebook page. Post the “I’m getting ____ for Getting Wound Up” graphic on your wall and fill in the blank in your post.

As things heat up, Eli will definitely be ready for you to reveal…your email address. Be sure you’re signed up for both Erin Nicholas’s and Jennifer Bernard’s newsletters to get to third base with Eli.

And when you just can’t resist a second longer? Go ahead and preorder Part One of GETTING WOUND UP to go all the way with Eli!

NOW FOR ALL THE RULES, PRIZES AND DETAILS!

#ScoreWithEli Sweepstakes

Score with Eli on any or all of four bases for a chance to win prizes. Here’s how to enter:

First Base: 

Share this “Score with Eli” graphic on Twitter or Instagram, with “#ScorewithEli when the fun, flirty baseball romance Getting Wound Up comes out on March 8!"” and you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of 10 $5 gift cards. While you’re at it, you might want to follow Jennifer and Erin. While you’re at it, you might want to follow me and Erin.

Jennifer:

https://twitter.com/Jen_Bernard

https://instagram.com/jenniferbernardbooks/

Erin:

https://twitter.com/ErinNicholas

https://instagram.com/ErinNicholasBooks

Second Base: 

Post the “I’m getting _XXX__ for Getting Wound Up" graphic on your Facebook wall and fill in the word that best describes how you’re feeling about the upcoming release in your post AND post one of these preorder links:

 

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1ThMgMW

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/h7ef33a

iBooks http://tinyurl.com/j3rqutv

Kobo http://tinyurl.com/j5z6yg4

Use the #ScoreWithEli hashtag so we can find you!  You’ll have a chance at one of 20 “I Scored with Eli” root beer flavored lip balms!

                                                                                  

Third Base: Sign up for the Erin Nicholas AND Jennifer Bernard newsletters to be entered to receive one of 30 keepsake I Scored With Eli shot glasses. (If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll be automatically entered.)

Jennifer: Jennifer's Newsletter

Erin: http://www.erinnicholas.com/newsletter.html

Home Run: Preorder Part One of GETTING WOUND UP** from any retailer for a chance to receive one of 40 limited edition Eli Anderson baseball cards signed by both Erin and Jennifer! (See above preorder links!!)

Want to get a Grand Slam with Eli? #Score with Eli on all four bases** and be entered to win a combined Love Between the Bases/Sapphire Falls swag pack that includes signed print books and swag from Erin and Jennifer along with all of the promotional items!

**Fine Print:  Please email proof of preorder—screen shot, receipt, etc—to ErinNicholasPromo@gmail.com to get entered. No purchase necessary. You can also enter by emailing Home Run to ErinNicholasPromo@gmail.com.

Enter the ScoreWithEli sweepstakes by Monday, March 7 at midnight EST. Winners will be chosen randomly from all eligible entries. 

Most importantly, HAVE FUN! 

The Boys of Winter - A Free Holiday Short Story

 This story was originally part of Literary Escapism's Black Friday event. I'm posting it here for those of you who want more Mike Solo, the hero of CAUGHT BY YOU. Baseball and shopping, what could go wrong ... or right? 

THE BOYS OF WINTER

As a professional baseball player, catcher Mike Solo considered the time between the World Series and the start of Spring Training pretty much a wasteland of workouts and off-season trade rumors. Every gray November day, every dark December night brought him closer to the start of the next baseball season, when life began again. And every year, right around Christmas Eve, it sank in that something else happened in the off-season.

Christmas shopping.

Make that Christmas shopping for his entire family of six brothers and sisters, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and lately, little nieces and nephews. Honestly, it was surprising that Chicago had room for the entire Solo family. His list was enormous and his shopping time was running out. In baseball terms, he was down to the last inning and he hadn’t yet gotten a hit.

Time to swing for the fences. 

Time to dig deep.

Time to hit the malls.

The last few years, he’d resorted to gift certificates. This year, he was determined to shop for real presents selected with his own two hands. Nothing else would get him to set foot on Chicago’s famous Magnificent Mile, a eight-block stretch of pricey boutiques and soaring skyscrapers crammed with department stores.

As he made his way down Michigan Avenue, Mike hunched against the bitter wind blowing off the lake. It felt like icicles slicing through his coat. This was why he’d never been interested in hockey. Give him green grass, blue skies and a sunburned neck any day. He was a baseball guy down to his core.

Much as he detested shopping, Mike had to admit that the city had done a spectacular job decorating the Magnificent Mile. Fairy lights were strung through the bare-branched trees lining the sidewalks. Storefronts offered elaborate displays of gingerbread houses, giant candy canes, evergreen adornments. An early snowstorm had left behind piles of snow, which managed to look festive instead of dingy in the gathering twilight. The sidewalks were thronged with bundled-up shoppers. A fake Santa Claus wandered through the crowds, bellowing, “Ho ho ho” and handing out flyers for the mall.

Mike gritted his teeth and forged down the sidewalk. How hard could this be, anyway? People survived Christmas shopping all the time. If he could hit a knuckleball, he could handle this, right? He scanned the dizzying lineup of stores – Prada, Cole-Haan, American Girl, the Lego Store. Should he get the boys Legos? Or were they a choking hazard at this age? Did his dad need new shoes? Should he blow his entire budget on a single item from Prada? Maybe his sisters could pass it around.

Maybe he should have made a list first. Maybe he should have started before Christmas Eve. Maybe he should go home and admit this was a huge mistake.  

He was in the midst of turning back when something whipped through the air toward him.

This, he could handle. He threw up one hand and snatched the flying object before it could hit him.

A snowball.

He spun around to find a skinny boy in a Chicago Bulls jacket gawking at him. “How’d you do that, dude?” the boy asked in amazement. He looked to be about twelve, with a full head of frizzy hair.

“It’s what I do. I’m a catcher.” He tossed the snowball, which was really more of a chunk of dirty ice, back toward the kid. “You know, baseball.”

The boy tried to catch the ice ball, but missed. “I know baseball. It’s my second favorite sport.”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. Bulls fan?”

“This is Chicago, ain’t it?”

Another snowball winged through the air. Mike had to dive for this one. He flung his arm out, snagging it before it could hit the fake Santa just passing by. “Hey,” Mike called to the snowball hurler. “Watch it, will you?”

A second boy skidded down the sidewalk and joined the first one. Slightly younger, he wore torn jeans, high-tops, and glasses held in place by a headband. “Sorry, Mister! I wasn’t aiming at Santa. I was trying to hit my brother.”

The Santa stopped next to Mike and put his hands on his hips. “Got some troublemakers here?”

“No!” Both boys said at one. “We’re chill. We’re not doing nothing bad.”

“Where are your parents?” Mike asked them. “What are you doing out here?”

They exchanged guilty looks. “Mom’s working at the food court in the mall.” The brother in the Bulls jacket indicated Water Tower Place, one of the multi-story megaplexes on the Mag Mile. “We got bored and she told us to come outside and play.”

“She’s working on Christmas Eve?”

“Yeah, Christmas too. It’s okay. She gets overtime.” But Mike could tell it wasn’t okay. Both boys had that long-faced look that meant their holiday season was likely full of disappointments.

Mike exchanged a glance with Santa. Behind the long white beard and little wire-rimmed glasses, he could tell this Santa was on the young side. “I don’t know about you, Santa, but I have a real problem with this situation.” He offered Santa a wink, hoping he’d play along.

Santa nodded and stroked his fake beard. “Young troublemakers throwing snowballs in the middle of Michigan Avenue? Darn right it’s a problem.”

“It’s not that so much. It’s the baseball taking second place to basketball. I’m not okay with that. You a Cubs fan, Santa?”

“White Sox.”

“I can work with that. Hang on.” A sixty-ish woman was walking by, several rolls of wrapping paper poking out of her tote bag. “Ma’am, I’ll give you twenty bucks for one of those tubes.” When she hesitated, he said quickly, “make it fifty.”

With a beaming smile, she handed over a roll of red and gold striped paper in exchange for the cash. Triumphant, he turned back to Santa and the boys. “We have a bat! Now, for a field.” He jogged to a spot across the street where a storefront sat empty save for a “For Lease” sign.

“You.” He pointed to the kid with the Bulls jacket. “You have a pretty good arm. You pitch. Little brother, you’re up first. Santa, how are you at fielding?”

“All-City, two years in a row.”

“Our lucky night.” Mike exchanged a high-five with Santa. “Let’s show these kids why baseball’s the best game in the world.”

Looking around, he realized that the woman with the wrapping paper had stopped to watch, and other shoppers were pausing in their headlong rush down the Mile. In fact, a small crowd had gathered. He crouched over a spot that seemed like a good place for home plate. The kid with the glasses took a few practice swings with the roll of wrapping paper.

“Pitcher provides the balls!” Mike called to the older brother. Laughing, the boy scooped up some snow and packed it into a tight ball.

“Y’all ready for this?” He made an exaggerated show of winding up and flinging the ball toward Mike. The younger boy swung and missed. Mike caught the ball in his mittened hands, where it fell apart in a spray of snow crystals.  

“Strike one,” someone called.

A few yards behind the pitcher, Santa clapped encouragement. “Hey, batter batter. You got this.” A few more voices called from the crowd.

“Come on, kid … keep your eye on the snowball … swing, baby, swing …”

The next ice ball must have been more tightly packed, because when the boy swung, the roll of wrapping paper thunked against it and sent it soaring overhead. It shed icy sparkles in the fairy lights twinkling from the trees.

“I got it, I got it,” yelled Santa. The crowd cleared the way for him. He caught it softly against the chest of his red Santa suit. The bystanders erupted into applause.

“Need someone to play first base?” A businessman in a long gray overcoat stepped forward. A little girl bundled into a neon orange parka held his hand.

“Can I bat next, Santa?” she asked eagerly. “I love baseball.”

“Sure thing,” said Santa. “I bet you’re going to knock it out of the park.”

Her face lit up. Mike beckoned her toward the ‘plate.’ The boy with the glasses handed her the roll of wrapping paper, which was nearly as tall as she was. Warm laughter spread through the crowd.

“Hey, I’ll cover the outfield,” said a college-aged kid in a thick hoodie.

Mike gave him a “welcome to it,” gesture. The pitcher packed another snowball and, nice and easy, tossed an underhand throw toward the girl in the orange parka. She whacked it to the ground, where it skipped once, twice, then broke apart.

“Fair ball,” Mike roared.

“Run, sweetheart! Run!” Her father yelled from ‘first base.’ The crowd shouted and whooped as she scurried toward her father. Laughing his head off, the pitcher bent to pick up the remains of his snowball. His younger brother cheered for the little girl as if she’d just gotten a hit in the World Series.

Mike met Santa’s eyes, and they both grinned.

For one enchanted moment, everyone stopped hurrying, stopped worrying about what was left on their shopping lists, stopped racing through Christmas Eve. Everyone forgot about the cold wind and gritty snow. For one moment, summer reigned on the Magnificent Mile as baseball—or was it snow-ball—worked its magic on a random collection of shoppers.

And, best of all, two boys had the time of their lives.

Mike would once again be doling out his traditional gift certificates on Christmas Day. But as he looked around at the shining faces around him, he figured it was worth it.

Read Mike and Donna's story in CAUGHT BY YOU, now available at bookstores and all e-retailers! 

Kindle

Nook

Kobo

iBooks