Monday, November 14, 2016

Thankful Author 2016- Kristina Knight


I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving Day. And I really can't believe that Christmas will be here in four weeks. I say this every year but this year has flown! 

One thing I am thankful for every year is how the holiday season tends to slow us all down. We notice our surroundings - family and friends at the dinner table, light displays, an afternoon to build a snowman. I like that we're nicer to one another, even the strangers, this time of year. I'm also thankful that I started taking part in the #30DaysOfThanks meme that starts going around Facebook and Twitter November 1...it's fun to think of one thing each day for which I'm thankful.

Today, I am thankful for video games - I loved PacMan as a kid (and still do), but I'm definitely a Wii convert. I love playing Just Dance with bebe, any of the LEGO games and the Wii Fit things, too...mostly, though, I like the time that we spending playing together as a family. Those are minutes I wouldn't trade for anything. 

What are you thankful for?


Title: What the Gambler Risks
Series: Billionaire Cowboys, Book 3
Sensuality Level: Sensual 

Release Date: September 28, 2016
  
Blurb:
  Best-selling author Kristina Knight's Billionaire Cowboys are back for one final ride with this seductive story of long-simmering feelings and hot Vegas nights.

Twenty-something ice queen Sabrina Smith enjoys the fame and fortune she's found writing self-help books for a largely female audience. Her readers hang on every word of how the Vegas Virgin - an unflattering and inaccurate moniker given to her by a local shock jock - juggles dating, working, and friendships in Sin City.

And that's why Jase Reeves spells trouble.

Jase knows Sabrina's secret - that she's not nearly as cold as she would like people to think - and he's through keeping it. He didn't intend to have a one-night stand with the Vegas Virgin, but now he can't get her out of his head. And he can't keep living this lie.

With Jase back at the tables in Vegas, Sabrina has one goal: stay away from the handsome gambler before he melts her career - and her heart.

 Excerpt:
“One more hand. Winner buys the loser a drink?”
            She tilted her water bottle toward him. “I already have a drink.”
            Jase snickered but was careful to keep the sound light and friendly. “That’s not a drink.” He lifted his glass of soda water with lime to his mouth. Most people wouldn’t consider the contents of his glass a real drink, either, but he rarely drank when he played. Alcohol and cards did not mix well in Jase’s opinion. “What do you have to lose?” he pressed.
            “We’ll see,” she said, not meeting his gaze directly, and he was 75 percent positive she was on her way to a yes.
            The dealer switched decks and then dealt the cards. Jase had random cards in his hands, but he didn’t care. The woman studied her hand, one manicured nail tapping against the cards. Considering.
            “Twenty,” she said, throwing a chip on the table.
            “Raise to forty,” Jase said, tossing two chips on the table. The best plan of attack when the cards in his hand were useless was to make her think he held something amazing. He didn’t bluff in real card games, but despite her two wins, he didn’t peg this woman as a true card player. If she were a regular player, she wouldn’t be so transparent about what she held in her hands.
            The woman blinked, and her teeth began nibbling at her lower lip.
            “Are you in?” he asked, a bit more forcefully than was necessary.
            Her finger tapped faster against the cards in her hand. “I’ll take three,” she said and slid three cards to the dealer.
            As soon as her new cards were in her hands, Jase said, “I’ll stand.” And he stacked his worthless cards with all the careless confidence he used in high-stakes games around the globe. The kind of confidence that made big-time, big-money gamblers think twice about going against him in the second betting round.
            The woman circled her index finger around her remaining green chip, considering her options. Call, take the gamble, lose, and have a drink with him. Of course, it would take a truly pitiful hand to lose to what he held. She could fold and have a drink with him. She could also call his bluff and, depending on the cards in her own hand, win. He didn’t like the thought of her winning, but if her winning at the table landed the two of them at the bar, was it really a loss for him?
            “Call,” she said, and Jase felt a wave of admiration for his opponent. Which was not good, because if she was calling she had to have something in her hand, and he had a big, fat zero. Which meant she would win. Jase didn’t like to lose, especially at poker, not even when it was a friendly game instead of a high-stakes match with thousands of dollars to lose.
            She laid down her cards: three queens, a two, and a ten.
            “Three of a kind. Nice.”
            “I was hoping for a full house.”
            “I was hoping you’d fold, so I could buy you that drink,” he said and laid his cards—all four suits, random order—on the table.
            “Nice bluff, I almost folded.”
            “If it had been a better bluff, you would have folded.” He watched her for a moment across the table. “Now you have to buy me the drink; all in all, not a bad night at the table.”
            The woman pushed back from the table, pulling the pot in the middle to her side. Jase pocketed the chips he had left in his stack. “I never agreed to that bed,” she said, and her hands stilled over the chips. Her gaze flicked to his, and despite the dim light, he saw the flush that crept over her cheeks.
            “And here I thought we were just talking about a drink. I have to tell you, I’m not the kind of guy to go off to a strange woman’s hotel room after a lousy hand of poker,” he said with mock outrage.
            “Bet. I meant bet.”

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Author Endorsement: 
“Kristina Knight does it again! If you like relatable characters that you fall in love with from page one, amazing sexual tension, a story line that keeps you turning the pages, and snappy dialogue then you’ll love What the Gambler Risks. Ms. Knight is one of my favorite authors and her stories never disappoint, making it hard for me to pick a favorite from all her titles. If you haven’t read one of her books, you definitely need to.” ~ Christine Warner – author of The Friends First series with Entangled Publishing

"Kristina Knight gets me hooked- What a great start to a sexy new series! I felt right at home with these characters. Gage and Callie (What the Bachelor Gets) kept me on my toes!" ~ USA Today Bestselling Author Nikki Lynn Barrett

"In What the Heiress Wants, Kristina Knight writes a riveting story of corporate espionage and spying with delightful characters you find yourself rooting for and falling in love with." ~ Sharon Cullen, USA Today Bestselling Author
           
Author Bio:

Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police--no, she wasn't a troublemaker, she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States, writing about everything from a serial killer's capture to the National Finals Rodeo. Along the way, she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots and an abiding love for romance novels. And just like the characters from her favorite books, she's living her own happily ever after.
Kristina writes sassy contemporary romance novels; her books have appeared on Kindle Best Seller Lists. She loves hearing from readers, so drop her a line!

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7 comments:

  1. Hi Kristina. I'm not a gamer but I definitely get what you mean about spending lovely days with family during the holiday season. Especially those long lunches—they're my best! xx

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  2. Unique characters and fun excerpt! Good luck with sales and promotion of "What the Gambler Risks."

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  3. Kristina, Like you, I'm grateful that people seem to be a little kinder to one another during the holidays. We exchange smiles and, I think, have lighter hearts. I love that feeling!

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  4. Lovely post, Kristina. Though the holidays can be hectic, I tend to slow down, too. A time of reflection... All the best!

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  5. Great post! With our family it was board games like Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble, etc. That was way back in the 80s so we didn't have video games as yet.

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  6. I'm thankful for board games like Settlers of Cataan, Dominion, and Small World that allow to spend hours around the table as a family with my college-aged kids. I'm not into video games, but I did love butchering Guitar Hero songs with my middle son. Thanks for the reminder!

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  7. Enjoyed your excerpt. We love playing games -especially cards and drinking games. Although we love having family and friends I've never thought the holidays slow us down. Now January is another story.

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