Thursday, March 17, 2016

Time on her Hands & Giveaway


About the Book
Title: Time on Her Hands
Author: Melissa Jarvis
Genre: Historical Time Travel Romance
A race against time, to save the world.
Derek Massey is the enigmatic head of the time travel agency The Lineage.  He makes the difficult choices, ones that have isolated him from everyone. Sarah James is an experienced Lineage agent, the one others look to for help. She hides her secrets and past well. Only one man has ever caused her to lose her temper. 
But when the timeline is betrayed, Sarah will have to work with Derek to solve the biggest anomaly of all, one that threatens to destroy not just the Lineage, but the world itself.  Their journey will take them to the last days of Pompeii and to Renaissance Italy, to a familiar traitor and a pocket watch that could be the key to everything. Sarah and Derek also discover each other’s vulnerabilities, behind the confident agent and the inscrutable leader. Danger ignites the passion between them.
When the truth is finally revealed, both Sarah and Derek’s secrets, about their past, their families and their own feelings will come to light.  Each has to make a terrible decision.  Can a new love stand against years of duty?  Or will one of them choose the ultimate sacrifice?   Only time will tell.  

Author Bio
We all have two sides...Melissa Jarvis is a mild-mannered publicist by day, and action-packed writer by night.  She writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy, and cites Anne McCaffrey, Robert A. Heinlein and Robert Asprin among her influences. Melissa lives in celebrity-friendly Southern California with her husband and son. A native of Texas, you might hear the word “y’all” a lot from her, and watch out, it’s catching.

For over 15 years, she has also worked in the public relations industry, with clients ranging from the Playboy Jazz Festival to the Los Angeles Mission to JVS, as well as indie film directors and comic writers.  She’s won numerous awards from the Public Relations Society of America LA Chapter for her efforts.  And she’s survived with most of her mind intact!  

When not writing or trying to convince her family to let her have a pet dragon, she loves antiquing, crafting, and of course, reading.

Links

Book Excerpts


Throughout Pompeii, vendors hawked their wares, horses neighed and clacked their hooves against stone streets, children darted about, believing themselves free from the watchful eyes of their mothers, and tradesmen haggled their goods with raised voices and handshakes. It was a scene she had seen played out in countless cities and countless eras. She recognized several of the places they passed, standing now in their full glory, instead of buried by ash and resurrected by man.
Sarah had hoped Derek would break the impasse, but his gaze remained fixed on the road ahead. As if he couldn’t see the people, the vibrant signs of life that would soon be gone. Did he ever regret the “do not interfere” rule of the Lineage? Her throat felt tight, as if it was trying to prevent her screaming “danger” to everyone she saw.
Where should we start?” She forced the words out.
We are looking for something out of the ordinary in a place where ordinary is an illusion. It was your idea to bring us here.”
He’d sidestepped the question. A well-used trick of his. Sarah grit her teeth, trying to divorce her emotions from the situation. It demanded logic, not feeling. It demanded the return of her calm, unflappable demeanor. She closed her eyes, breath shallow, and then smiled as the answer came to her, along with an image she hoped would match the reality.
The baths. We need gossip, and they are the center of it.”
I have stripped once already today, and now you are asking me to do it again?” Derek sounded indignant.
I once had to dance on the lap of a sultan wearing nothing but a veil that was not strategically placed and a few gold chains. We all have to do what the job demands. And if that means bathing naked with a few dozen people, well, be thankful I don’t have a camera.” Sweet blackmail. If only. She could at least cherish the memory.
Sarah watched him struggle with his expression, as if he was trying to reset it to neutral. “I agree to the necessity. I believe the balnea are next to the forum. You are not the only tourist to have visited this ghost town.” Derek strode down the Via Stabiana as if he’d tread it a thousand times before, and she hurried to catch up. His eyes were no longer fixed but roamed the landscape around them, calculating, assessing. The wall was back up. He made a sharp right and Sarah caught a glimpse of a stone etched sign, Via di Nola.
There were less people crowding the city than she’d expected. Was it the cold keeping them away, or had they sensed the imminent danger of the mountain slumbering in the distance? She shivered, despite the layers of clothing. Not so much as a goose bump marked Derek’s arms, though.
Derek stopped at a stone building, clearly marked as the public baths. “Do you have more coins, or am I going to need to charm my way in?” she asked.
There is no need for you to ah, display anything. But we should agree on a basic cover. I suggest we present ourselves as a married couple who just arrived in town. Claim ignorance of local events.”
I see. And what do I call you, husband? Or is it my darling? Sweetie pie? Honey—”
He cut her off. “Faustus. And you are Domitia. Those are the names in the pouch I grabbed earlier.”
She wondered which sadistic Lineage employee had come up with those ids. Although the man who made a deal with the devil was an appropriate pseudonym for her companion at present.

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