☀ The Congressman's Wife: The Congressman Trilogy [1] - Charlene Keel & Arie Pavlou

Following our feature back in August, welcome back for the opening day of the Virtual Book Tour for The Congressman's Wife, a Contemporary Romance / Political Suspense by Charlene Keel & Arie Pavlou (8 February 2016, Red Sky Presents, 226 pages).

This is the first book in The Congressman Trilogy series.

Don't miss our interview with authors Charlene Keel & Arie Pavlou on 3 October 2016.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the Prologue and the first two chapters with Amazon Look Inside.

Authors Charlene Keel & Arie Pavlou will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.   Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Teaser | Authors Q&A | About the Authors | Giveaway & Tour Stops

---

Synopsis

All Eden Bancroft has ever been to her high-profile politician husband is a trophy wife, born and bred for the part. She believes she has no choice but to play it—until she meets a talented chef and restaurant heir who makes her feel loved for herself alone.

The more her husband uses and belittles her, the more deeply Eden falls for Kaleb. Even with Mitchell’s congressional campaign in full swing, the lovers manage to find brief stolen moments together. When her husband is wounded by a bullet from a disgruntled lobbyist, Eden must stay by his side. What she learns can set her free, if she has the courage to take a stand.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

back to top

---

Teaser: Excerpt

Love at First Sight

     This was an important night and Eden was at her best. Her makeup was flawless and she’d pulled her honey-blonde hair up, letting it cascade down her back in a waterfall of curls. Her Norma Kamali gown, a dark emerald green that made her eyes sparkle, clung to her body and defined every curve.
     Mitchell took her elbow and steered her towards the entrance to the ballroom, and the photographers followed them inside. They had missed cocktails, partly because Mitchell wanted them to make an entrance, but mostly because he didn’t want her to have access to freely flowing liquor so soon after they’d had a fight. The row they’d had earlier had been a big one.
     He didn’t like it when she told him he was getting ahead of himself. As soon as he’d decided to run for congress, he’d started spending, running up the balance on their credit cards. There was no guarantee he’d win, she’d argued, even though he was well known on the political scene. His family had owned a few dozen acres in this part of Long Island for over a hundred years, and his father had been a state Supreme Court judge. Mitchell was convinced that, along with his mayoral record, it was enough to guarantee him a seat in congress.
     The fight tonight had started when she’d reminded him that if the dinner didn’t go well, his campaign would be over before it got started. This was their first formal fundraiser. At five hundred dollars a plate, she was worried they wouldn’t meet their goal.
     Their argument had been pointless—like most of them. When he had his mind set on something, Mitchell didn’t want to hear that his scheme of the moment was imperfect, and he especially didn’t like being told it wasn’t smart to spend money they didn’t have. They both had ample designer wardrobes, but he had insisted on the expensive gown for Eden and a new tuxedo for himself. The limo had been his campaign manager’s idea and she thought it ridiculous. Mitchell, however, had been delighted.
     All she had been able to think of as she got dressed was that their credit cards were almost maxed out—again. Whether he won the election or not, she would have to get a second job if she didn’t want him to ask his mother to pay them down—again. His law practice, which could have been successful if he would stay focused on it, was suffering because of all the time he was putting into the campaign.
     Mitchell didn’t cope well with any kind of disappointment and if tonight was a washout, he would be impossible. She was so tired of taking care of him, doing everything for him, especially the constant, incessant ego stroking he required.
     As they walked into the Ocean Club, appreciative murmurs swept through the crowd—most of the comments she’d heard before. Mitchell and Eden Bancroft were the glamorous, golden couple—beautiful, bright, young, sophisticated and well-connected pillars of the community. Suddenly, a new insight dawned on her.
     Except for his height Mitchell was completely unremarkable. Having her at his side transformed him into a mysterious, even sexy man. To look as ordinary as he did and still get a woman like Eden made him sexy. This unexpected epiphany delighted her. Laughter bubbled up in her throat as she flashed her million-dollar smile.
    
     That’s when Kaleb saw her. He had gone out to the dining room to consult with the maître d’ and as he started back to the kitchen, he heard the full, rich sound of her laughter. He’d turned to see where it was coming from and at that moment, for him, time stopped. It was as if every moving part of the universe froze in a weird kind of suspended animation. For a moment he could hardly breathe. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
     She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her dress was emerald green, slightly darker than her eyes, and her just-right tan accented her soft, blonde hair. It looked soft anyway, and her skin looked dewy and inviting. Kaleb stared at her in awe. Doris, a waitress who had worked all day at her regular job and was doing the gig tonight to pick up a few extra bucks, followed his gaze to the amazing woman.
     “Good choice, kid,” she said, heading into to the kitchen. “She’s hot.”

The Congressman's Wife
Available NOW!

back to top

---

About the Authors

Charlene Keel | Arie Pavlou |

Charlene Keel has written over a dozen novels and how-to books as well as multiple episodes of popular TV shows such as Fantasy Island and Days of our Lives.

Her Dell book, Rituals, was the basis for the first made-for-syndication soap opera. Recently she co-authored The Tracks, a YA supernatural trilogy. Shadow Train, the final installment, won a Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award.

Keel has also written screen adaptations of novels by bestselling authors, and has worked as editor or managing editor for a few international magazines.

In her spare time she ghostwrites books and screenplays for celebrities, doctors, corporate moguls, spies, strippers and anyone who has an interesting story to tell.

Follow Charlene Keel:

back to About the Authors | back to top

Arie Pavlou is a popular chef who attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and then perfected his craft at some of the top-rated Michelin restaurants in France and New York.

He has lived and worked in France, Cyprus and the U. S. and is an avid world traveler who speaks five languages.

 He enjoys all sports and has a talent for knife-throwing, which he perfected at Le Cordon Bleu.

Currently Chef de Cuisine at the renowned Bridgehampton Inn in New York, his specialties include Caramelized Baked Alaska, Winter Salad, Roast Lamb Fondue, Wild Game and Poached Pears with Mint Ice Cream.

The Congressman’s Wife is his first novel, and he’s currently writing a cookbook.

Follow Arie Pavlou:

back to About the Authors | back to top

---

Giveaway and Tour Stops

October 2016: Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
Remember to comment to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
1 August 2016: Enter to win a $25 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
Remember to comment to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow The Congressman's Wife's tour at:

Oct 3: BooksChatter
Oct 4: Fabulous and Brunette
Oct 5: Liz Gavin's Blog
Oct 5: The Reading Addict
Oct 6: Long and Short Reviews
Oct 7: Booklover Sue
Oct 10: The Silver Dagger Scriptorium
Oct 11: LibriAmoriMiei
Oct 12: Author B. L. Blair
Oct 13: EskieMama Reads
Oct 14: Louise Lyndon Romance Author Hear Me Roar

1 August 2016 Blast:
1: Harp's Romance Book Review
2: Aly's Miscellany
3: BooksChatter
4: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
5: Kissing Bandits
6: Liz Gavin's Blog
7: Long and Short Reviews
8: Read Your Writes Book Reviews
9: Sharing Links and Wisdom
10: T's Stuff
11: The Avid Reader
12: The Silver Dagger Scriptorium
13: Wake Up Your Wild Side
14: Where the Story Comes First
15: Fabulous and Brunette
16: The Broke Book Bank
17: A to Z Reviews
18: Beer. Books. Buildings. Balls.
19: Book Lover Promo
20: Bookjunkie's Book Blog
21: CBY Book Club
22: Emotional Journeys
23: EskieMama Reads
24: LoveBooks
25: Lynn Crandall
26: My Odd Little World
27: Nickie's Views and Interviews
28: Readeropolis
29: Romance Author Hear Me Roar
30: Romance Writer and Lover of Books...Vikki Vaught
31: Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'
32: The Book Return
33: The Romantic Fanatic
34: The Snarkology
35: The Writer's Life
36: Two Ends of the Pen
37: underneath the covers
38: Wendi zwaduk - romance to make your heart race
39: Writer Wonderland
40: Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog

back to top