The final installment in the Hot Nights in St. Blaise series is now available!
Download Daring Miss December today and complete the set!
Monday Mayhem – Hello, old friend.
Containment! I’m deviating from my usual post to tell you that I am writing Containment!
While I’m not even half way done with the first draft, it seems to be flowing this time. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I’d cross mine, but then I couldn’t type.
It’s the last week of NaNoWriMo and I’m a day or so behind. That means I’ll be sprinting for the finish. But I’m just so damn happy that this book seems to be happening. *knocks wood* Want a taste?
****
“I love you. You know I love you….”
Shel stared at his mouth transfixed. She’d kissed that mouth thousands of times. Even when he was stuffed up and snotty, when he had god-awful coffee breath, or worse, onions for lunch, she’d still kissed him. He was hers. At least, she thought he was. Until this afternoon, she thought his lopsided smile worked only for her. That was why she’d listened and believed when he said he loved her.
She’d obviously been a fool.
“I swear, it meant nothing.”
He wagged his head, trying to back up his platitudes with exaggerated denial, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from his mouth. It wouldn’t stop moving, no matter how much she wished it would.
“I never meant for this to happen.”
She watched as each word formed, fascinated by the exaggerated push and pull of lips, teeth, and tongue. Each denial wrapped around a moment and stretched it into a lifetime. Her lifetime. The lifetime she vowed to spend with him.
“I’d take it all back if I could.”
His vehemence slowed the instant replay of their life together to a snail’s crawl, warping and distorting the soundtrack of good times and bad until they were indistinguishable from one another. The sluggishness of her reactions pissed her off. The life they led had little space for slow-mo sequences. She was a mother. A wife. A friend. An artist. A woman in control. At least, she thought she was until about five minutes ago.
Shel blinked at last. She should have slapped him by now. If she had any balls at all, she’d have hauled off and punched him square in that lying, cheating mouth. She could push him out the door and tell him to never come back.
Or better yet, she’d bolt.
A sizzle of illicit thrill chased down her spine. She could. She should take off and leave him here to deal with the mess he’d made of their lives. He would deal with the endless rounds of appointments and disappointments. He could wait and wonder and question every choice he’d made over the last ten years of his life.
****
Yes, this book is going there. Containment will deal with the sticky wicket of infidelity. That’s why it’s been such a bear to tackle. So, yeah. There it is.
Remember, this is wholly unedited first draft. Things can change radically between now and final revisions. It’s also a good bet there will be markedly fewer commas later.
Keep praying to the writing gods for me! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!
Monday Mayhem – Snapshot
This week I am celebrating the release of my short story, Snapshot, in the premier issue of Fictionvale e-zine. Here are the first five lines:
I never told anyone I was the girl in the picture. There wasn’t any point. The kiss didn’t mean anything at all. He was just a fella cast adrift in the big city at a time when everyone wanted to hold their loved ones close. I was just the girl who was close at hand.
Snapshot was inspired by Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic “V-J Day in Times Square” photograph.
Want to read more? Buy a copy of Fictionvale episode 1: Enter Fictionvale here or at Amazon!
Happy Monday everyone!
Monday Mayhem – Throwback Edition
What I’ve been working on: I finished the first draft on Going Deep! Yay! Finally.
What’s running around in the back of my mind: It was a crazy busy week with work and travel and family and catching up with old friends. The front of my mind is too tired to deal with the back of my mind.
What I’ve accomplished: I’m on track (ish) for NaNo. I typed my two favorite words on the last page of Going Deep.
What new goal I’m chasing: I’m diving back into Containment in hopes of finding new inspiration. Wish me luck!
What I saw: Friends too fabulous to be called ‘old’ no matter how many years have passed.
Special bonus! Here are the LAST five lines from the first draft of Going Deep:
Brooke drew back, ready to give him hell, but the sweet smile he wore grabbed her by the heart and squeezed. The indignation she should have felt was drowned in a hot rush of love. Brilliant or not, he was undoubtedly the dumbest man she knew when it came to women. A fact that made him all the more appealing in a twisted sort of way. Damn, she was in too deep.
Last, but certainly not least:
It’s Veteran’s Day here in the states. I’d like to say a special thank you to all the men and women who have served. We greatly appreciate you and the sacrifices you have made for our country. God bless.
Monday Mayhem – Here we go NaNo!
What I’ve been working on: I’m still working on the marine biologist story. The darn thing just keeps going and I want to see where it ends up without my interference.
What’s running around in the back of my mind: Holy crap November is busy! There’s work and writing and laundry and travel and birthdays. Not to mention Thanksgiving and the DSRA book signing. Sheesh! I think we need to spread this month out a bit. We’re four days in and I’m exhausted.
What I’ve accomplished: I’m doing NaNoWriMo again this year. Because I am crazy. And because it’s my fifth year and I don’t want to break the streak. So far I’m on track. I consider that an accomplishment. Check with me on day 20.
What new goal I’m chasing: 50,000 words in 30 days!
What I saw: The inside of many, many conference rooms. And a sweet pea in a pod.
New release!
Hot Nights in St. Blaise book #11 – Nabbing Mr. November is now available!
Here’s the scoop on Luke and Elena:
There’s nothing like a butt full of birdshot to help a girl nab an elusive man.
The doctor becomes the patient when Luke Langston lands in St. Blaise’s overrun emergency room with a keister full of birdshot. Worse than the obvious Dick Cheney jokes, he has to endure the abject humiliation of having the one woman he wanted but never quite got round to calling pluck bits of shrapnel from his ass.
The minute Intern Elena Mendes pulls the last shard of shot from Luke Langston’s magnificent tuchas, she strips off her gloves and plants a big, wet kiss square on his assailant’s lips.
It was about time someone took Dr. Iceman down a notch. Or twenty.
Luke’s cockiness makes Elena crazy, but she can’t resist the sparks that fly each time she they butt heads. Every time he’s near, she’s compelled to turn it up a notch, curious to see how much heat it will take to melt the ice-man’s heart.
She doesn’t know Luke has been on a slow simmer since the day he first saw her. A tease, a taunt, a whispered confession and a heated kiss are all it takes to make their attraction boil over into something too hot to handle.
Be sure to check out all of the Hot Nights in St. Blaise books!
Monday Mayhem – A nibblet
I’m traveling this week, so I thought I’d leave a little bit of my work in progress behind. Here are five lines from Going Deep:
“This is way too fast, Brian.”
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Not saying today or tomorrow. Just…it’s possible one day.”
“When you talk next moves, you go all in.”
“I see no point in wading when I know I’m going under.”
What are you up to this week?
Monday Mayhem
What I’ve been working on: Honestly, I’m working on eating this entire loaf of sourdough bread. Other than that, it’s been edits and revisions on Jump Into Love.
What’s running around in the back of my mind: Jamie Fraser. In truth, Jamie is never completely out of mind. It’s just that I bought the audiobook versions of Outlander, Dragonfly In Amber, and Voyager. My Jamie love is once again reaching fever pitch.
What I’ve accomplished: Uh, I did some homework for an upcoming seminar I’m attending for work. Um, revisions. Oh! And baby kissing. Does that count?
What new goal I’m chasing: Finish the damn story. Wait. That’s not exactly new, is it? Well, it’s still a goal and I’m still chasing it.
What I saw: Love about to take flight at Midway Airport
Random recipe share
I’m getting in the Halloween mood, so I thought I would share a couple of fun to make treats with you.
First up: Scary Spiders
6oz chocolate chips
6oz butterscotch chips
salted peanuts
chow mein noodles
and candy for the eyes (since they don’t sell the little silver balls nymore, I used Nerds)
Melt the chips over low heat, stir in penuts and noodles and stir until coated. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper and add candy eyeballs. My hubby likes to add extra chow mein legs because it tickles him. He’s cute, so I let him get away with it. Here are some pics:
And now my claim to fame: Bloody Ladyfingers
Any shortbread cookie recipe will work. I use:
2 sticks butter
1/2c Confectioners sugar
1/4c Corn starch
1 1/2c All purpose flour
Sliced almonds
Red decorator gel
Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until firm but not golden.
Mix dough and roll into finger length ropes. Press a sliced almond into the end of each finger for the nail:
Use a toothpick to press three slight indentations into the middle of each finger for the knuckles:
Bake and remove to rack to cool completely.
On a sheet of wax paper, smear the end of each finger with decorator gel for blood. We like to add little extras, as if she tried to put up a fight…
What do you think of my lovely assistant? Nice hands, huh? There you have it, a glimpse into the sick and twisted mind of the Bloody Ladyfinger Lady.
Boo! Skeered ya, didn’t I?
Monday Mayhem – Long Distance Edition
Hey, y’all! I’m out of town for a family wedding (fill you in next week), but I didn’t want you to think I forgot you. Since I’m phoning this one in long distance, I thought I’d share a bit of Long Distance Love.
A fast five:
Standing tough was so much easier when she was three hundred miles away, damn it. Ellie showing up at his place unannounced was definitely not part of the whole ‘play it cool’ game plan. How the hell was he supposed to keep his paws to himself when she was standing right there burrowing into his chest like some kind of helpless little woodland creature? Why did he ever want to? His arms tightened around her.
Long Distance Love is available now!
A Christmas Eve snowstorm leaves newly single Ellie Nichols trapped in an airport terminal with only hunky FBI Agent Jack Rudolph for company.
Lucky Ellie.
For Jack, the passing of a long winter’s night turns into a New Year filled with possibility. State lines and hundreds of miles separate them, but the spark that flares each time they meet cannot be denied.
Can two ambitious, career-driven people find a way to make a long distance relationship work when matters of the heart bring them up-close and personal?