Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Excerpt Time

Can't believe November is almost over. Just a few more hours until the December "madness" begins. Though I'm afraid the "madness" that is the holiday season started before Halloween this year. (heavy sigh)

I'm happy to report that Santa heard my plea, and is sending me my very own Kindle! In fact, with a small assist from my DH (LOVE that man!) my lovely little ereader will arrive in a few days. I hope you have your very own ereader too, because my new release High Seas Deception (Can't get enough of that gorgeous cover!) will be available in electronic format. Of course, even if you don't have an ereader, you can still download the story and read it directly from your laptop or desk top.

Here's a little excerpt to whet your appetite:

From the balcony of the ninth story condominium, the Irishman drained his coffee cup and walked to the railing. Lifting a pair of small field glasses to his eyes, he focused on the boxy white ship gliding across the smooth waters of Banderas Bay. Through the early morning haze, he took a moment to distinguish the black, stylized ‘A’ on the vessel’s smokestack, but once he did, the tingle of anticipation zipped along his nerve endings. Adventure Cruise Lines Intrepid – his objective, was right on time.
He saw the harbor master’s gleaming metallic cutter rushing out to meet the huge ship and guide her into the port. Slipping the field glasses into his pocket, he walked back inside to ready himself for his own meeting with Intrepid.

Forty minutes later, he slumped in the shade on a wrought-iron bench and sipped a bottle of water. Through his sunglasses, he watched the first passengers emerge through the gate in the chain link fence that separated the pier from the tiled plaza in front of the flea market a few meters to his left.

A score of eager taxi drivers descended on the new arrivals, crying out in accented English.

“I take you on a tour of the city…”

“… to Mismaloya…”

“… to the tequila factory…”

“… good price!”

“… cheapest price!”

He’d seen the same scenario in every tourist port he’d ever landed in, though he had to admit that as tourist towns went, Puerto Vallarta was one of the prettiest. When the first hardy group negotiated their way past the gauntlet of aggressive drivers, he tossed his empty water bottle into the nearby trash bin and listened closely to their chatter. Their accents matched his intel which said most of the eighteen hundred passengers were from the US or Canada. He’d have no problem posing as one of them.

As a second, larger group made their way toward the shops in the flea market, he looped his backpack over his shoulder and joined them. Ignoring the calls of the pushy vendors, he took less than five minutes to spot a likely mark. The man at the counter stood close to his own height, though huskier in build. His personal identification stuck out of the back pocket of his shorts when he pulled out his wallet to pay for a tube of sunscreen.

This really is child’s play, the Irishman thought as he side-swiped the man’s shoulder. Then he murmured, “Lo siento mucho,” at the same time his unsuspecting benefactor said, “Excuse me.”

The man scooped up his change, dropped the pesos in the bag with the sunscreen and hurried out the door, wallet still in hand. The Irishman followed at a safe distance just to be sure the American didn’t notice his missing ID card.

The Irishman glanced briefly at the white and blue plastic sea pass card before he zipped itinto the inner pocket of his backpack.

“Thank you, Robert Adams,” he murmured under his breath.

#
So what do you think? Is the Irishman a good guy or a bad guy? Can a hero be a thief? Do you want to read more?


Friday, November 25, 2011

New Cover!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US and I have a lot to be grateful for this year. My family and I are relatively healthy (outside the usual aches and pains), and we are happy in spite of a lot of changes and challenges we've faced in the past twelve months.

I'm also thankful for my network of supportive friends (though they seem to be in rather short supply lately). But most of all, I'm grateful for my readers!

Earlier this year, I made the decision to bring my work directly to my readers through self-publishing electronically. My first self-published work went up on Oct. 7th -- a 14,000 word novelette, The Sidhe Princess. My next release will be a full length romantic suspense novel set on a cruise ship and titled High Seas Deception. I hope to have the editing and formatting complete before Christmas, but right now, I'm excited to share the fantastic cover with all of you. And here's a brief teaser about the story:

In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a mysterious Irishman steals a passenger’s identification and slips aboard Adventure Cruise Lines’ Intrepid. His mission is to intercept a dangerous package before it can be delivered to Los Angeles. However, he is discovered by ACL’s junior security officer Skylar Davidson, formerly with LAPD. Is he “one of the good guys” as he claims? Or the ruthless mercenary Skylar remembers from a bloody shoot-out at LAX airport? With the lives of over two thousand passengers and crew at stake, can Skylar trust her instincts? What about her heart?

What about you? Please share some of the things you are most thankful for this holiday season.


Friday, November 18, 2011

Special Guest Jill James

Since dipping my toes into the vast ocean of Indie publishing a few months ago, I'm met some many other outstanding Indie authors. I've decided to take the blog in a slightly different direction by introducing you to a few of these wonderful folks, starting TODAY!

The lovely and talented Jill James is my guest today. Her debut Indie release is a contemporary romance called Divorce, Interrupted and you can buy it for your Kindle here:

http://www.amazon.com/Divorce-Interrupted-Second-Chances-ebook

So without further adieu, let's ask Jill a few questions...

AC: How long have you been writing?

JJ: Since I could hold a pencil in my hand. LOL I wrote plays and puppet shows as a kid for the neighborhood to perform in and attend. Poetry was my first love until I found romance novels. I started writing seriously in 2004 and joined RWA.

AC: What made you start writing?

JJ: Romance novels, plain and simple. I fell in love with love stories. I wanted to write my own. I wanted to have a hero and heroine who seemed like they would never be together, and I could give them that happily-ever-after.

AC: Did anyone inspire or encourage you to write?

JJ: Mrs. Whitaker, my fifth-grade teacher had us write a story every week and read it aloud to the class. She was so encouraging of my writing. I still remember The Run-Away Chevrolet and The Peanut Butter Airplane.

AC: Plotter? Pantser? Or something in between?

JJ: I think I must be something in between. Some stories I plot and some I just go with the flow. But I am a linear writer. I start with Chapter One and go straight through until I reach The End. No random dialogue or scenes. Point A to Point Z.

AC: Advice you’d like to share with unpublished or recently published writers?

JJ: Don’t give up. The day from Hell, when you receive that thousandth rejection, when the words won’t flow, when you hear your subgenre is dead – Don’t Give Up. That is the day that tests how much do you want this. Your success is just around the corner if you hold on. The quote goes something like this – The only difference between a published author and an unpublished one is the published author didn’t quit.

AC: Please tell us about your current release/project.

JJ: Divorce, Interrupted is my first Indie/Self release. I wanted to explore how some divorces aren’t the end but really a new beginning.

Here's the Blurb: Newly-divorced Todd and Lisa Miller are stranded at their mountain cabin. There to divide a lifetime of memories, they soon are in danger from more than the anger between them. A vicious storm forces them to rely on each other to survive.

Can they trust the one person they lost belief in? Or are their hearts in danger from more than floods and frigid weather?

AC: What’s next for you?

JJ: Book 2 of the Second Chances series, Trust In Me. Should be available in a couple of weeks.

Thanks so much for being here today Jill. Your Second Chances series sounds great and the cover of Divorce, Interrupted is beautiful!

Okay readers, now it's your turn. Do you believe in a second chance in romance? And if you have any questions for Jill about her books or her writing process, please feel free to ask!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Ten Random Facts

Several weeks ago, my buddy Jennifer Tanner tagged me on her blog, Romance and Other Legal Stimulants (http://jennifertanner.wordpress.com/) to do a post on Ten Random Facts. Try not to faint, Jen, but I have finally gotten that famous "round tuit!"

Here then in no particular order are my Ten Random Facts:

  1. I've always lived in California, and of all the places I've visited, the #1 place I'd chose to live is... CALIFORNIA!
  2. I first heard (and liked) classical music on Bugs Bunny cartoons.
  3. My all time favorite flavor of ice cream is Rocky Road.
  4. If my son had been a girl, I planned to name him Nicole Susanna. His great-grandmother was Susie and his grandmother (my mom) was Anna. I just happened to like the name Nicole.
  5. My dog is named for the designer of the Shelby Cobra sports car.
  6. My favorite part of watching American football is "the huddle." All those lovely muscled rear-ends are great eye candy!
  7. My mother told me I was left-handed from birth, but I successfully do two things right-handed: knit and cut with scissors.
  8. I refuse to own a cell phone!
  9. I saw Jim Morrison and the Doors in concert. My son considers this the coolest thing I have ever done.
  10. I think the coolest thing in the world is FAN MAIL!
Okay, the ten things was difficult enough, but this is the part really hanging me up... I'm suppose to "tag" four other people with blogs to do their own "Ten Random Facts." I'm afraid I've only come up with two. Both are Chaptermates: Jansen Schmidt who was my guest a couple of weeks ago and just started her own blog (http://jansenschmidt.wordpress.com/), and Caroline Hanson whose blog is also the title of her debut novel Love Is Darkness (http://carolinehanson.blogspot.com/).

Now it's YOUR turn. Please share some random facts with Aunty!