So three years ago, I blogged about Les. I loved the Bay City Rollers when I was a kid. I still can’t spell Saturday without singing it. Those songs will come on and it just takes me back. So when I ended up in that place three years ago I got an idea for a story. Dog Day Afternoons. The main character was inspired by Les. It got published in an anthology that eventually got pulled from publication when that publisher merged with another. So earlier this week guess who retweeted one of my Bay City Roller Tweets. Les himself. It was exactly what I needed to be reinspired and remember once again why I love the Bay City Rollers and Les McKeown and always will.
Thanks to my friend Joan, I have been crushing all over again on my childhood pop idol, Les McKeown. of the Bay City Rollers. Being the mother of one son and involved in Boy Scouts. I often find squealing girls annoying until I realized watching YouTube that the Bay City Rollers make me squeal now. Besides crushing I’ve got an idea for a story too so that’s doubly good. Thanks Joan. So here’s my crush clad in plaid in his youth and not bad looking these days either.
My latest story, Tall, Blond, & Brutal: Tempted was released today. It’s part two of the Tall, Blond & Brutal Series. Gunnar. the hero, was inspired by Alexander Skarsgard. He’s an attorney and a control freak. Except in the bed room where he is dominated by Elaine a 5 foot nothing court reporter who rules with a firm hand and on occasion leather. Part two of the series finds Gunnar Tempted.
Leave a comment about the things that tempt you and one random commenter will get a copy of the book.
Beginning Saturday, January 4, 2014 and continuing through January, 8, 2014 you can get a free copy of my story Always a Bride Click the picture below to link you to Amazon to get your free copy. Enjoy.
Today my friend Jillian Chantal is visiting and talking about her latest release, The Gambler’s Daughter.
Thanks to Darlene for inviting me back yet again over to hang out at your blog and chat about my newest release, The Gambler’s Daughter. It’s the third book in a trilogy involving the same family and their voyages on the Queen Mary ocean liner. All three stories are stand alone books and there’s no need to have read them other ones to enjoy this one. They all have mystery and murder and romance- three of my favorite kinds of stories in one.
I’m fascinated by ghost stories and this book has spirits galore in it and they even take part in solving some of the mysteries going on during the voyage. The heroine has the ability to see dead people (and no, it’s not another Bruce Willis movie) and she uses that gift in trying to solve the crimes onboard the Queen Mary on its last ocean voyage before becoming a floating hotel in Long Beach, California.
Bernadette McSwain’s family has a strong connection to the Queen Mary ocean liner. They’re invited to sail on the Queen’s final voyage to her new home in Long Beach, California in 1967. Bernadette and her cousin, Michel are writing a book on the spirits who haunt the mighty ship. Bernadette’s psychic abilities help in their research. They meet a young Spanish grandee, Lazarus Garcia, who’s on the ship as a chef to learn to run his own first class restaurant. He’s surrounded by anguished spirits whom Bernadette can see. When passengers start to die in violent ways, Bernadette suspects Lazarus of the crimes. This suspicion causes a rift between the cousins as Michel has befriended the Spaniard. As the voyage continues and Lazarus tries to charm her, Bernadette must make a decision about him or face losing her cousin, both literally and figuratively.
Excerpt:
Bernadette stomped down the corridor with Michel hot on her heels. “Wait up, Detta. He’s just some hired hand. Don’t let him ruin our walk around the ship. We need to cover some more ground for you to get a feel for the energy of the place. It’s a big ship and soon there’ll be a lot of people onboard. We’re lucky they let us on early and have given us free rein.”
She kept walking, faster and faster.
Michel grabbed her upper arm. “Stop. Stop and tell me what the heck is wrong with you. You’re walking so fast, it’s like some demon is on your tail.”
She turned toward him. “That man is evil. He’s surrounded by spirits. All kinds of spirits. I’ve never seen anything like it. They’re all trying to get his attention and he’s oblivious. It terrifies me.”
“Come over here and sit down a minute. Your face is red and you look like you’re going to explode.” Michel pointed toward the alcove near the elevators.
She followed him over to the sofa and chairs. They sat on a green velvet sofa, side by side. Michel took her by the hand. “Tell me exactly what you saw.”
“When I first opened the door, I didn’t see anything except the man’s head, but once he stood all the way up, I could see wisps floating around him. It was almost like a fog. Then it seemed to lift and filter out into separate shapes. None of them tried to communicate with me, but they were clearly trying to communicate with him.”
“What did they look like?”
“It’s hard to describe. They were very nebulous and unformed. They looked like they were in anguish and all I could focus on was their faces. It was all I could do to talk to the insufferable, arrogant–”
“It’s all right. Chances are, you won’t run into him again. He’s a kitchen worker and you’re a first class passenger. It’ll be rare that you’re even in the same area of the ship.”
“Good. I don’t want to see him again.” She reached out and grabbed Michel’s hand. She squeezed it. “It made my heart ache to see all those spirits. Do you think he could’ve killed those people?”
“I have no idea.” Michel reared back. “I just met the man and only spoke a couple of words to him. I can’t make any judgment about him based on that.”
“I sure can.” She let go of Michel’s hand and stood. “Come on, then, we have a vessel to inspect.”
My friend and favorite Author Jillian Chantal has a free read available for Christmas. I have read this story and it’s great. The best part is that there are two more in the series and another one coming in the spring. You are going to want to read them all. Here’s the cover for the great free read available now:
New Orleans, Christmas Eve, 1947: Brothers, Dirk and Beaumont McSwain are both about to become fathers. Dirk’s wife has had a number of miscarriages and at thirty-six years old, is afraid this is her last chance for a healthy baby. Bo’s wife is pregnant for the first time. Both are due to give birth soon. The brothers arrange a surprise ride for their women in Papa Noel’s sleigh which is actually a horse drawn carriage with fake reindeer. The evening starts out merry and bright but before the night is over, they will need a Christmas miracle.
Since I found my way to True Blood via Magic Mike (had to find somewhere to watch Joe Manganiello came for the werewolf fell in love with the Vampire) I have been a bit obsessed with Alexander Skarsgard. The two big things in the news about Alexander are casting rumors regarding 50 Shades of Grey and Tarzan, What do you think Christian Grey or Tarzan? Here are some pictures that I think show Alex as Christian Grey and some of him shirtless to show why he would be fabulous as Tarzan…. Enjoy
Note: none of these are my personal pictures and no copyright infringement is intended by their use. If a picture posted is your intellectual property please ask and I will remove it immediately.
So my friend Jillian Chantal tagged me in a post. I guess we want people to look because that’s the game. You find the word look in your work in progress (WIP) and you post an excerpt around it. So here’s my bit from the story with the working title of Wedding at the Castle
*******
“I hope not. That wouldna be a good thing. You look tired lassie let’s get you to the castle.”
“It’s a real castle?” the history professor in Joan was intrigued.
“When you’ve had a chance to rest and can appreciate it, I’ll tell you the whole story.”
“I’ll take you up on that.” Joan yawned.
“Come on now. Give me that bag and let’s go.”
Joan handed him her carryon bag and finally took a moment to look at the man she’d been talking to and gasped. “I am such an idiot.”
“And why is that lass?”
“I just realized who you are.” Joan did a quick inventory of her appearance. She was grateful that the outfit she had chosen to wear was not only comfortable, it looked good. The suit was tailored to flatter her figure. She’d chosen the green silk shirt under the gray jacket because it brought out the deep green of her eyes. She knew she was going to meet the teen idols of her youth, the Strange Bedfellows, but she never dreamed their lead guitar player, Rory Munro would be picking her up from the airport. She’d have found a bathroom to freshen up a bit; at the very least, she’d have eaten a mint.
Many, many thanks to Darlene for inviting me over today to talk about Surf Break, my story based on Pensacola Beach, a place we both love. I decided to share a favorite cocktail that Pensacola is famous for (now, gramatically, I should say, “for which Pensacola is famous”, but dang, that sounds formal, doesn’t it?) Anyhow, you didn’t come here for an English lesson, did you? Heck no, bring on the drink recipe, Jillian, you evil soul, you.
Okay, okay – here’s the recipe- This is the standard recipe for a Bushwacker but I kind of like adding some Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum (doesn’t hurt that the Captain in the commercials is a hottie) and maybe a banana (for the nutritional value,of course).
Ingredients:
2 0z Coffee Liqueur
1 oz dark rum
1 oz Creme de Cacao
4 ozs half and half
4 oz coconut cream
Vanilla ice cream (3-6 ozs depending on how strong you want it)
Pour all into a blender. Add two cups of ice and blend til mixed. Serve in tall glass.
And there you go, a Bushwacker. Watch out, they sneak up on you since you think you’re drinking a milkshake.
My hero in this story, Pete, is a cop who tells the heroine he’s going to work security at a Bushwacker Festival being held at club on the beach. I couldn’t very well write a Pensacola Beach story without a Bushwacker, could I? After all, I could be hauled out of town on a stick for that.
I hope you enjoy your Bushwacker and maybe curl up with my lil ole story while you drink it.
Blurb: Her past life as a professional surfer comes back to the fore when Juliette Mackey spends her summer break surfing the Gulf of Mexico. She left the pro-circuit when her former husband broke her heart. Returning to her beach roots, she signs on to work part time at a local burger joint to have the funds to rent a cottage on the shore. While working there, she meets a local cop named Pete Schwartz who is determined to let the world know about her surfing skills and force the younger crowd to acknowledge her gifts.
Attracted to Pete but wary of risking her heart again, Juliette resists Pete’s advances and wants no part of his plans to have her display her surf skills. It’s a battle of wills that Pete is determined to win. More importantly, he’s on a mission to break the wall Juliette has built around her heart.
For me Halloween does not bring to mind scary spooky images.
No ghosts or ghoulies.
Halloween makes me think of a ppier more simple time
trick-or-treating dressing up as a princess
Jack O’Lanterns not vampires and werewolves
Coming home with a huge bag of candy and spreading it out all over the floor. Picking out the good stuff for myself. My mom carefully reviewing my choices.
Candy to go with lunch at school the next day.
Those are the thoughts that come to mind when I think of Halloween.
So how does all this tie in with Romance and my writing? Well both of my stories have a nostalgic element. In Always a Bride, Alex runs into her high school sweetheart and longs for those less complicated days. In Dog Day Afternoons, Jessica is grieving when her dog drags her in to an encounter with her childhood idol and she rethinks her childhood fantasies. If either of these stories sounds interesting to you I’ll be giving one lucky reader their choice of Something Borrowed (featuring Always a Bride) or Unleashed Hearts (with Dog Day Afternoons) Just leave a comment with your e-mail address and just for fun tell me what your favorite candy was when you went trick-or-treating.
Romance Southern Style 