AnnMarie Stone: Blog Tour: Finally Home by Ann Vaughn

Title: Finally Home

Author: Ann Vaughn

Release Date: March 10, 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Mike Casiano has lived his life by a certain creed: take care of all those who depend on you and leave no man behind. He wanted more for his life than joining his family's law firm when he graduated college. His best friend was joining the Navy after graduation, and Mike decided to join him. After surviving the horrors of war, he has returned to his hometown to run a private securities company along with the other men from his unit who were now out of the service. Out of all his men, Mike has had the hardest time adjusting to civilian life...until his best friend's cousin comes into his life.

At a society ball when she was seventeen years old, Lainey Riley looked up from the dance floor to the balcony above and saw a man in Navy dress whites who would haunt her dreams for years to come. He was her cousin's best friend and commanding officer, and he had the most beautiful, unique eyes she had ever seen. She would not see him again for nearly ten years, but the image of his face and his eyes was never far from her thoughts. When she meets him again while counseling the son of her cousin's fiancée, sparks definitely fly between them.

When a man begins stalking Lainey, her cousin calls on Mike Casiano to keep her safe. Despite their attraction, Mike and Lainey butt heads at every opportunity. Will they get past their own differences and hard headedness to allow the attraction between them to grow? Lainey will try every trick in her arsenal to help Mike conquer the demons that haunt him and make it possible for the wounded warrior to see that he is Finally Home.

Excerpt

With Mike, everything was raw and on edge. There was no hesitation in his touch, no timidity at all. He was intense and she knew instinctively that making love with him would be like being caught in a storm.

"Oh, God," she whispered, feeling a chill run down her spine. It was overwhelming, this passion she felt for him. She'd been angry with him for giving her their first kiss to get back at his family, but at the same time, it thrilled her that he would kiss her in front of others. Kevin had always been very much aware of the fact that she had practically grown up with his family and so he'd been reluctant to show affection around others.

She wondered what would have happened between them had Riley not shown up when he did. She's thrown a phone at him. He'd been furious but had stayed on the other side of the room from her to try to sort out why she was so upset. If Riley hadn't come in just then, would things have escalated? Would she be in bed with him right now? It was highly possible, she realized. If the alarms hadn't gone off downstairs, where would they be? She was so attracted to him, she had no doubt she would have given him whatever he'd asked for at that moment.

Book Trailer

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About the Author

Ann Vaughn is a Native Texan now living in Oklahoma. Writing has always been a comfort and a release for her, though she never expected to be published. It wasn't until a conversation with her husband about the rise of eBooks that she decided to try her hand at self-publishing. It was scary and exciting and ever since the release of her first book, Long Way Home on August 7, 2013. She now has three books available for purchase through Amazon, Long Way Home, Finding Home and A Home for Christmas, with the fourth and final book in the Home Series, Finally Home, releasing on March 10, 2014. In December 2013, Ann was named to Amazon's Romance Editor's List of Fan Picks for Top Debut Author.

When not at her desk, lost in the world of the Home Series, Ann can usually be found at the ballparks watching her son's high school baseball games, or her daughter's softball or soccer games...or chasing after her energetic Border Collie puppy!

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon Author Page ~ Goodreads

20 Fun Facts about Ann Vaughn

I am addicted to Dr. Pepper. Don't drink alcohol much. Don't smoke. Never done drugs. Don't drink coffee. But I cannot function without at least 1 Dr. Pepper per day.
I love the movie Tombstone and can quote lines from it at a moment's notice (ask my Sinful X bud, Ren Alexander...we will start randomly quoting it to each other just for the heck of it). I love it so much that my characters tend to throw out "I'm your huckleberry," and "You're a daisy if you do" whenever the chance presents itself...watch for it! ;)
I am from a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business, even down to what kids are getting along with what other kids and who is dating who in high school, because it's the same group of kids who I went to school with and their kids are now in school...it was like living in a freaking fish bowl and it drove me bonkers, but now that I'm no longer there, I do kinda miss it...so that small town element usually worms its way into my stories as well.
I love listening to music. Growing up, I wasn't allowed to freely listen to the radio. I was like Lane from Gilmore Girls; had all my tapes hidden away in a shoebox under my bed...now that I have my own home, I play music all the time. If I'm writing, I listen to soft instrumentals because if there are words in the music, I get distracted by singing. I was a Band Geek in school; I always have a song in my head...along with character voices...it's a very crowded place, my head ;)
Growing up, I was always a cat person. At one time, we had over 25 cats. I loved cats. The last one I had, my baby, died two weeks before I got married. I have not had a cat since. But I've had 3 dogs. Now, I can't imagine my life without a dog. I can't imagine having a cat. Dogs are so much FUN!!!! I've had a Beagle, a Lab-mix and now I have a 1-year old Border Collie. She absolutely cracks me up and amazes me because she is so smart.
About a year or so ago, I got into researching my family tree on Ancestry.com. I learned that through my paternal grandmother's line, I am related to the Scottish Royal Family, going all the way back to Robert the Bruce. I also learned that my husband's maternal grandmother's family ancestor came to America because he was a Scottish Rebel who was banished here for his participation in an uprising. So, in essence, the Scottish Princess married the Scottish Rebel.
Another distant relative of mine, James V. Allred, was the 33rd Governor of the Great State of Texas from 1935-1939.
I can play the flute, piccolo, saxophone and xylophone (a little).
I can play the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon game in 2-steps, thru my brother-in-law who was a professional baseball player. He was a teammate of Barry Bonds, who was on the ESPN ESPY Awards, with Kevin Bacon ;)
I have known my husband since we were 3-years old. I hated him. He lived down the street from me and he was really mean. We started dating in high school and have been together ever since.
I have had the wonderful, unique experience of going through a tornado and an earthquake at the same time since we moved to Oklahoma 4 years ago.
Yes, there are earthquakes in Oklahoma.
I love, love, love caramel. If I go out for ice cream, I get something with caramel in it. Rolos and Milky Ways are my favorite candies. Sometimes, I buy the bags of Kraft caramels and eat one or two per day until the bag is gone, just for a sweet fix.
I have a strange fascination with the movie Sky High. If it is on, I have to watch it; even though I have it on DVD...same with Avatar and the Harry Potter movies.
One of my all-time favorite TV Shows is Simon & Simon (yes, I know I'm dating myself). LOVED Jameson Parker; one of my other all-time favorite shows is Gilmore Girls.
I began writing Finally Home in 1993. The story of Mike and Lainey exists in several versions and to-date, I have over 1 million (yes, I said million) words written about them; they are my babies.
One thing I miss the most about no longer living in Texas...freshly made tamales and breakfast burritos from hole-in-the-wall TexMex restaurants. That song "Come Back to Texas" is right, the Mexican food sucks north of Texas (or at least it does in Oklahoma)...because it isn't TexMex.
Did I mention I am a Native Texan and now that I no longer live there, I am a Misplaced Texan? Sometimes, I can be out at a store or the mall or something and I look around and it just hits me: these people are not Texans! What is wrong with this picture???? lol
I have to sleep with the covers drawn all the way up to my chin with only my head sticking out. Why? Because when I was a kid, I read a book about a ghost coming up and laying it's icy fingers on a girl's arm when she was in bed. I'm not saying I believe in ghosts...but ever since then I have to be completely covered up in bed. Yeah, I'm weird like that.
I love the snow. Being from Texas, I didn't see much snow until we moved up here. Oklahoma doesn't get near the accumulations as my fans up north get, but we get around 4-8" at times so for a Misplaced Texan who isn't used to seeing it, it is awesome. Whenever it is snowing, I like to sit by the window and just watch it come down. It's beautiful; I never get tired of it. BUT, I also LOOOVE baseball, and this snowfall is interrupting my son's baseball season, so as much as I love it, I'm ready for Spring and Baseball Weather!!!!!