Blog Tour & Giveaway: Selling Out by Amber Lin

Shelly Laurent escapes her life as a high-class escort, but against her better judgment she takes the scared young Ella with her. In retaliation, her pimp and his dirty cops frame them both for murder. On the run, Shelly turns to the one man who could be her salvation: Detective Luke Cameron. She doesn’t know if she can trust him or if he’s just a mirage, but she needs his help to free them all.

With a heart forged in fire and irreverence born of necessity, Shelly fights Ella’s demons—and faces her own. She throws light on the shadows of Chicago’s underworld, challenging everything she knew and the man she’s come to love. Together, a prostitute and a cop fight for truth stronger than secrets, hope deeper than deception, and a bond more enduring than betrayal.

Selling Out is not your typical romance read.  It’s got grit and backbone to it.  Shelly has such a horrible past.  I just wanted to climb into a time machine, go back and shelter this girl.  Fight for her, protect her like someone should have done.  She really would like to have a normal life; feel worthy of a nice, decent man.  She would like to be worthy of Luke.  What she doesn't realize is she already is.  Luke sees past what's on the surface to the gem below.  He sees what Shelly cannot.  Unfortunately, it's not as easy as that.  They both have emotional hurdles and secrets to overcome.  Oh yeah and dirty cops and bad guys too.

"Jesus.  For a girl who's seen everything, you can be really blind sometimes."

If you read the first book from this series, Giving It Up, you know Amber Lin does not pull punches.  Just when you think you have things figured out, Ms. Lin will throw twists and turns at you and take you on one hell of a wild ride.   But oh what an exhilarating ride it is!    Seriously I’m still waiting for Lifetime to pick up these books and make a mini-series out of it.  HBO, Showtime, anyone listening?  Alright, in the mean time add this to your TBR list and hang on because it's going to be quite a show!

  

EXCERPT

I drove home on fumes and climbed directly into a scalding hot shower. I scrubbed away the rejection from earlier, the fear and the stench of the streets. After using up half the bottle, I poured the rest of the soap out and watched as the peach-colored gel swirled down the drain. I couldn’t have used it again anyway, not after using it today. Maybe it was strange, but the rituals kept me sane, and what did they hurt? Who did they hurt? I lay down on the cold, hard floor of the tub and curled into a ball on my side, letting the water rain down on me.

Distantly, I heard the phone ringing, but I couldn’t have moved. Not until the water turned cold, and I began to shake. I pulled myself up and turned off the shower. After throwing on a large shirt to sleep in, I grabbed the answering machine and climbed into my plush bed with 600–thread count sheets. I curled my body around the little black box and pressed Play.

“Hey, it’s me.” He sounded tired. “I guess you’re busy.”

There was a pause, which I scribbled in with well deserved recriminations. I may not have been with a client today, but I would be tomorrow. This was my life. I could apologize for it, but I couldn’t change it any more than a ship could change the tides.

“I worked a double shift today,” he said on the recording. “One of the other guys, his wife went into labor, so I took over for him. Wasn’t too bad, though. Just tiring. For her, I mean. It took her ten hours to push him out, so what the hell do I have to complain about? Nine pounds, a boy. I didn’t see him yet, came straight home.” There was silence. “Straight home and called you. Funny.”

The answering machine broke the awkwardness with a click.

There were no more messages. I pressed the button again.

“Hey, it’s me. I guess you’re busy. I worked a double shift today. One of the other guys, his wife went into labor…”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Amber Lin married her high school sweetheart, birthed a kid who’s smarter than she is, and spends her nights writing down her dirty thoughts. In other words, life is good.

Come say Hi back on Twitter:   http://www.twitter.com/authoramberlin   

Through Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5827158.Amber_Lin 

Or by email: mailto:amber@authoramberlin.com

You can get Selling Out from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Lin/e/B008H6L74M 

Or Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/amber-lin

 

Amber will be awarding a $25.00 prize, author's choice, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  So enter your comments below.  Good Luck!