Friendy Friday... a day late and nothing short including A TEASER FROM MY LATEST WIP!
So guys, the blog-y thingie has been quiet, but that's because I was expending all of my writer-y energy on NaNoWriMo, which sadly I am not going to win this year BUT I have three new stories started and I can't WAIT until my muse comes crashing through like Wonder Woman in Justice League and takes out the bad guys who have been holding my writing hostage this month!
In the meantime, I want to share a couple of new releases from some friendy folks that are coming soon or recently out.
First up, Diana Nixon, who runs Inks and Scratches magazine, Her latest, Fragile, comes out Tuesday.
FRAGILE
BY DIANA NIXON
Synopsis
She was off the limits for many reasons: too young, too naïve, and too beautiful to resist. But most of all – because she was my best friend’s little sister. She was like a taboo that should have never been broken.
But we crossed the line together… We gave in to the temptation and made a mistake that changed us forever.
Years passed, but for some unknown reason, the memories of her never stopped haunting my dreams.
I was even more obsessed with her than I was years ago, while she hated me to the bone. And she had a very good reason to feel that way…
“I owe you a lifetime of us, and I will not let you down, not again…”
1-Click on Amazon:
Add on Goodreads:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana Nixon, an International Bestselling Author of contemporary and paranormal romances, is a woman of contradictions. She was born in Minsk., Belarus. She has a Master of Law degree and speaks several foreign languages, including English, Polish and Spanish.
Diana’s writing career is like a roller coaster ride. It started with a fantasy novel named Love Lines, that was originally written in Russian and only later, it was translated into English. Since then, Diana has published 15 more books, both of contemporary and fantasy genres. Her books are being translated into Spanish, French and Russian.
I also want to give a shoutout to a couple of my local pals. Regina Kammer, who I will always refer to as one of my San Francisco Area RWA buddies, even if she moved away (sob sob) put out a new one that I started reading today.
The Westerman Affair is now available!
An acclaimed painter. His provocative muse. Her obliging husband. The Westerman Affair. A tale of spanking and polyamory in the Victorian art world.
Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077MZXC6S/
Regina Kammer is a librarian, an art historian, and an award-nominated, international best-selling, multi-published writer of high-heat historical romance. Her short stories and novels make history more fun, whether the era is Roman, Byzantine, Viking, American Revolution, or Victorian. She's even heated up contemporary settings, Steampunk, and Greco-Roman mythology. She has been published by Cleis Press, Go Deeper Press, Ellora's Cave, Andrews UK, Story Ink, The Naughty Literati, and her own imprint, Viridium Press. She began writing historical fiction during National Novel Writing Month 2006, switching to romance when all her characters suddenly demanded to have more "fun".
And from my new gal pal from the Silicon Valley RWA chapter Eva Moore, a Christmas story to get those holiday juices flowing.
Christmas Spirits: A Girls Night Out Book Five: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0762QHQY
As a young woman, Eva Moore loved nothing more than to dive into the pages of a romance and lose herself in the story. They were perfect for avoiding midterms and report cards. She even met her husband while reading a book. About the time the second baby came along though, she found she had little time for diving into anything but laundry. Missing her stories desperately, she began to make up her own. The stories she played with in her mind while she washed dishes and changed diapers eventually made their way onto the page, and she was hooked. Winning Cherry Adair's Finish The Damn Book Contest has propelled her career into high gear. Eva now lives in Silicon Valley, after moving around the world and back, with her college sweetheart, her three gorgeous girls, and two Shih Tzus who think they are cats. She can be found most nights hiding in her closet/office, scribbling away, and loves to hear from the outside world. Please visit her at www.4evamoore.com.
Eva and I met at a meeting of her chapter of RWA earlier this year and then we met up at RT Atlanta and she's just a total kick to be around. Another mom author who I love to kvetch about the joys of parenting and trying to do this authory gig. She's had tremendous success this year and I'm very excited for her. So excited, in fact, that I even get to work with her! She and I will be featured in the Down N Dirty Blue Collar Heroes Anthology coming out in May 2018.
My story for this anthology is shaping up to be quite yummy. The current title is Mud and Honey, which could change, you never know. You will get to meet Kelly Graham's cousin (my hero in Road Trip) Calvin Graham, who is in field training with the local sheriff's department doing traffic control in the canyon while some tree trimmers attempt to keep the storm-battered trees out of the road. Here's a snippet that is completely raw and unedited, but I thought I'd share it with you and see what you think!
So that’s how I found myself parked on Black Creek Canyon road blocking part of a lane, waving traffic through a coned-off area where Alcosta County Public Works was trying to remove a downed tree that, if left to hang there, would end up in the middle of traffic the next time it rained. The hillside looked awfully close to sliding right down on top of us, but I suppose that’s why the good old Sheriff’s Department was out here keeping the public safe.
Cars were flying by, ignoring signs to slow down, and my field training officer Sergeant Diaz warned me this could be a seriously hazardous situation. Diaz and I had thrown down some flares to hopefully grab the attention of drivers multi-tasking in their SUVs. Maybe we needed to put up a Starbucks sign. People sure as hell seemed to stop for that.
I couldn’t help but be distracted myself. Way up high on the hillside, a lone tree trimmer was strung up in the tree trying to cut back some limbs that had fractured but hadn’t dropped. The guy’d been up there for at least two hours and the crew kept a close eye on his progress. He’d come down a few minutes prior and was on his way up the second tree, and for the life of me I couldn’t help but watch the graceful way he managed to climb the ropes like some sort of acrobat in Cirque du Soliel. He was graceful and obviously experienced. I turned back to watch the traffic but I couldn’t help glancing back, captivated by his movements.
The wind picked up and howled through the canyon, causing his ropes to sway. Someone in his crew shouted at him in Spanish and he flipped them off. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I turned back around.
In time to see my life flash before my eyes.
Diaz shouted as the SUV heading right for us skidded at a forty-five degree angle. The driver overcorrected, clipped our patrol car causing the front end to slam into me and knock me backward. The SUV slammed into the trees, one of which the trimmer was suspended from.
Everyone froze as that tree groaned and lurched sideways, slamming into the tree next to it. The trimmer dangled between the two frantically trying to grab onto one or the other. He swung into the tree that the car hit and it creaked ominously, shifting further into the other one, so he let go. He swung to the other tree and wrapped his arms and legs around the trunk.
And just like that everyone sprung into action. Except me. I was still trying to catch my breath from where the fall knocked the wind out of me. Diaz ran to my side.
“Sonofabitch, Graham! You alright dude? You went down hella hard, mijo.”
I nodded as I coughed and gestured for him to help me up. He was shorter than my six foot three inches, but he was a stocky guy and he had me on my feet in no time.
“Paramedics are on their way. You need to get checked out.”
I did a quick assessment: bruised ribs on one side, hip fucked up. Yeah. My ass hurt from landing on it. Maybe a little road rash, but other than that I was fine.
“Let’s check the driver.”
A patrol car that had been parked going the other direction pulled around to close the road completely and two men from the Public Works crew waved down drivers to stop. Diaz cursed under his breath and ran with me over to the SUV now crumpled against the tree.
The airbag had deployed and the woman was groaning when we got to her side. With her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” Diaz asked as I checked the back seat.
Fuck. She had two kids in booster seats. They were both crying, but neither looked hurt.
“My car just started skidding. I don’t know what happened,” she said over and over. Diaz and I both shook our heads, knowing exactly why she didn’t know what happened.
California adopted strict hands-free laws this year, and since the lady’s car was fairly new, it most definitely was equipped with hands-free or bluetooth technology. She was one of those holdouts that made things dangerous for the rest of us.
I opened the rear door and looked into the biggest blue eyes I’d ever seen.
“Hey sweetie, are you alright? Did you bump your head?”
The little girl clutched her American Girl doll to her and shook her head, her cries settling down to whimpers and sniffles.
Her little brother was still wailing away. He looked to be a little younger than her, maybe two to her four years old. She looked over to him and held out her hand. He took it and squeezed, continuing to cry.
“I don’t know what happened,” the mother was still mumbling.
“Ma’am, the ambulance is on the way, do you feel like you can—”
A cracking noise came from the other tree her car smashed against and it shifted, jolting the car. Diaz and I exchanged looks and began moving quickly. He opened the driver’s door while I fumbled with the carseat buckle on the little girl’s seat.
“Honey, I need to get you out of this car, okay? I’m going to get your brother out first and then I want you to wrap your arms around my neck so I can carry you both, okay? We need to hurry.”
She nodded, her big blue eyes growing even wider. I leaned across her and started working on her brother’s buckle, but he just screamed louder for his mommy and slapped at my hands.
Diaz got the mother out of the car but she was so out of it she didn’t seem to notice her kids were still inside. I worked frantically to get the boy out of his seat, finally springing the buckle from the latch and I had to move quickly to scoop him up into my arms.
I heard another crack and then shouts from the Public Works crew.
The little girl snaked her arms around my neck and I backed out of the SUV with both kids in my arms. I backed up a few steps as the tree groaned once more and fell forward onto the car.
The tree trimmer screamed as the rope, which was caught in the second tree, pulled his legs away from the tree he was holding onto.
That was a female scream.
That’s a woman up there!
I looked over my shoulder in horror to see the woman being pulled towards the fallen tree. She held onto the other tree desperately but she was losing the battle.
Well? I hope this piques your interest a bit! I'm hoping to finish this story in the next couple of weeks and then it's back to more Bane brothers!
I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Please know, as I sat surrounded by family drama, that I was thinking of how fortunate I am to have met all of you and to have been able to share with you all of my stories. I can't wait to bring you even more in 2018! Which means I need to end this here blog post and get to work!
Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance!
