Wednesday WIP (and other stuff, too!)

Tags

All Summer Long, Double Down, Fool's Gold, Forever and a Day, Jill Shalvis, Katie Porter, Lucky Harbor, Susan Mallery, Wednesday WIP

 

Good news: I have been slightly less distracted with the Olympics and have been writing.

Bad news: What I thought was a reveal in the plot turned into a twist…  We’ll see how that works out for our lovely hero and heroine.

So, first the excerpt from Fight For Me you expect on Wednesdays

He held back a groan. Was he sure? “I wanted to toss you on the floor before we left, pin you to the wall at your parents house, have you ride me in the truck. I am not the one who has to be sure, Cassie. It’s you.”

“I.” She closed her mouth, her eyes tracking the lights in the ceiling, and he prayed the rest of the sentence was “want you.”

And now, something I haven’t done in a great while–I read a book!  I know, I know, the ticker-tape parade should be headed my way any minute now.  All kidding aside, I haven’t been reading the way I used to because of this pesky writing thing (and no, I’m not complaining, just stating facts).  I actually, believe it or not, was able to read three books in the past couple weeks (to the detriment of sleep, but who needs that, right?)

    

Oddly, they are all series books, and two are the third of trilogies within series (I know, I know my addiction is showing).  First, we have Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis.  Third in the Chocoholics trilogy within the Lucky Harbor Series, this book is my favorite of the three and quite possibly my favorite of the six.  It centers on doctor, father, and weight-of-the-world carrier, Josh Scott and dog walker/nanny/bookkeeper/not-sure-what-she’s-doing Grace Brooks.  Of course, as expected, there are strong supporting characters in both sets of best friends (and stars of the two previous trilogy books), Mallory and Ty and Amy and Matt, not to mention Josh’s son and sister and the rest of the delightfully nosy citizens of Lucky Harbor.  Josh is trying to hold down the fort and control his world, and Grace is, well, Grace is a necessary and wonderful rocking to his boat.  You know me–I am not a synopsis writer, and I don’t do spoilers, but suffice to say this is a book (and series) so worth reading.

Next we have Double Down by Katie Porter.  This is the first of a series revolving around Air Force fighter pilots, and as soon as I finished this book I pre-ordered the other two.  Major Ryan Haverty has a predilection for role-play and when he meets Cassandra Whitman she’s wearing seamed stockings with her waitress uniform.  A hot and heavy relationship ensues, and although Cassandra is all-in with the role-playing, Ryan feels like his wants and needs are dirty and wrong.  This is a hot book, and although I think the good Major is way too hard on himself, I very much enjoyed it.

Last we have All Summer Long by Susan Mallery.  Like Forever and a Day, this is the third in a trilogy within a series, this one wrapping up the three Stryker brothers with the wholly delectable Clay Stryker.  Former model and Hollywood butt double, he has come home to Fool’s Gold to be near his family and do something with his hands instead of standing around looking hot.  His heroine is Charlie, a firefighter struggling with feeling like an ugly duckling and issues with men.  Naturally, she asks Clay to help her and just as naturally, she doesn’t believe  he could be attracted to her because he’s so perfect.  I love Fool’s Gold, and enjoyed this story a little more than some of the others because (*spoiler alert*) there is no unplanned pregnancy!

Sooo…. Now, it’s back to my own fictional small town.  See ya Sunday!

Reading is Fundamental

Tags

Contemporary Romance, Donovan Brothers, Fool's Gold, New Releases, Susan Mallery, Victoria Dahl

Shoot me for the cheeseball title, but it’s true.  Or, at least that’s what I tell myself when I know I should be writing but am reading instead.  Call it research, call it escape, but I call it necessary.  Oh, and new releases rock!  Well, until you finish them and want the next one RIGHT NOW.

So… What new releases have I read?  Well, let’s see…

Victoria Dahl has a new series she’s started, The Donovan Brother’s Brewery Series.  So far I’ve read everything out- there’s one more to go and I want it now!  The intro story, Just One Taste  is part of an anthology, The Guy Next Door (there are also stories by Lori Foster and Susan Donovan) and is, well, just one taste of oldest brother Eric’s story.  Since it’s short, I won’t detail it here, but it’s a great introduction to the Donovan family, the brewery and Boulder, Colorado.

Next is little sister Tessa’s story, Good Girls Don’t.  Tessa is the baby of the family and really the glue that holds them all together.  In fact, she finds she’ll bend over backwards and, um, bend the truth a little to keep everyone together.  While she’s trying to manage her brothers with a business deal in jeopardy, she’s also dealing with the hot detective, Luke, investigating the break-in at the brewery.  A hot detective with a past that puts her overprotective brothers on high alert.   What’s a good girl to do?

I just finished middle child, Jamie’s story, Bad Boys Do yesterday.  Branded as a playboy, never taking life seriously, Jamie Donovan has decided to grow up.  He has plans he wants to implement and finds himself intrigued by Olivia when she comes into the taproom for a book club meeting.  She’s nothing like the women he’s usually dated, and truth be told, he hasn’t dated nearly as much as everyone thinks he has. She’s buttoned up, mature, REAL, and she thinks she’s all wrong for him.

Those of you who have kept up with me and this intermittent blog know I don’t do spoilers, so there’s not a lot here.  I will say this: I love this series and can’t wait until October 25th for the last installment, Real Men Will.  Victoria Dahl writes very real characters, with real hang-ups and real dialogue, (guess I think it’s real, there, huh?), and I love it.  There is big-time familial friction, fun supporting characters with depth, and of course, hot sex.  You really can’t go wrong.  I thank Victoria Dahl and HQN for releasing these one after the other so we don’t have to wait too long for the conclusion.

This was also release week for Only His, the third in the Hendrix triplet trilogy within Susan Mallery’s Fool’s Gold Series.  This one centers on Nevada as she tries to challenge herself by moving from brother Ethan’s company to a much larger construction company working on a huge project in Fool’s Gold.  Little did she know, the man she was desperately in love with at eighteen is heading the project.  Tucker thinks love is a trap he refuses to fall into again, so when he and Nevada get together he wants to keep it short-term.  Of course, that won’t work in a romance novel, now will it?

This book ties up the Hendrix girls well, and definitely leaves itself open to stories about the two unattached Hendrix brothers, Kent and Ford and more intimately introduces us to Heidi, the goat girl, the fire chief, Charlie, and the new librarian, Annabelle.  I’m sure the blonde, brunette and redhead trio will be next in the the Fool’s Gold series.

Well, I think that’s all I have for now.  So, good night!

((hugs))

Great Week for Reading

Tags

CODA, Contemporary Romance, Fool's Gold, Kendal Flynn, kindle, LOOSE CANNON, military romantic suspense, ONLY MINE, PLAYING DIRTY, reading, Romantic Suspense, Sisterhood Diaries, Susan Andersen, Susan Mallery

Wish that was how I was reading MY Kindle....

It was a great week for reading since it’s been too damn hot to do much of anything else.  So, aside from working, the normal family stuff, and attending the wedding of a good friend (and having weather-induced migraines), I’ve been reading.  And, since I know you’re dying to know what I’ve been reading, I’ll tell you.  (Hey, if you’re here, you must care at least a little bit ;P)

Tuesday was release day for two of my favorite authors, Susan Mallery and Susan Andersen.  Both were pre-orders and series books (yeah, yeah, we all know about my addiction).  The first one, ONLY MINE, is the fourth Fool’s Gold book by Susan Mallery (actually fifth if we count the novella Sister of the Bride).  I love Fool’s Gold, and think I’ll have some fun the next few months with the Hendrix triplets.  This book centers on Dakota Hendrix, who is reluctantly acting as liaison to a reality TV crew shooting a dating show in Fool’s Gold, and Finn Anderssen, an Alaskan pilot and incredibly overprotective big brother to his younger twin brothers.  Everything here is character-driven, and some of the same plot devices are used as in some of the other Fool’s Gold books, but I’ll say I still very much enjoy this series and have the others pre-ordered, too.

PLAYING DIRTY is the third of Susan Andersen’s Sisterhood Diaries trilogy.  Set in Seattle, this series is one I was hooked on from the beginning, and dearly love.  What I love the most about this series is the interplay between the three women of the Sisterhood, probably because I can see some of myself and my own girlfriends in each of the three of them.  If you haven’t read the first two, this book can stand alone, but you’re missing out on a lot of fun.  The first one, CUTTING LOOSE centers on Jane, the second, BENDING THE RULES, centers on Poppy, and this one, PLAYING DIRTY, centers on Ava.

Ava was the “fat girl” back in high school and although she is a beautiful, curvy size 12/14 now, the self-esteem issues linger, as well as the betrayal she felt when she found out Cade had slept with her to win a bet.  Now, 13 years later he wants to shoot a documentary in the mansion she inherited with her girlfriends Jane and Poppy, and he needs her and her concierge business to do it.  Yes, yes, we have all read a bunch of contemporary romance, so we know where this is going, but Susan did a wonderful job with it and there was a lot of heat and emotion here.  This was a great end to the series and Susan Andersen remains high on my “gotta buy it” list.

The next book I read was by a debut author, Kendal Flynn.  LOOSE CANNON is the first of a series revolving around a shadowy government agency, CODA (Counterintelligence Defense Agency), an agency so secret it doesn’t officially exist.  Here we have a total kickass heroine in Raeanne Springfield and a badass among badasses in her hero, Alex Dante.

Seven years ago Raeanne left CODA, and entered into civilian life believing she had been jilted by her lover, Alex.  She became a bodyguard to a senator and had a son.  Now, her son is kidnapped by a man she thought was dead, Alex is back in her life and everything goes to hell in a hand-basket real quick.  You know how I feel about spoilers and recaps, so I can’t tell you much more than that.  What I CAN tell you is I could hardly put this one down (I had to go to work and attend a wedding, but still finished it this morning when I started it yesterday).  There were times I wanted to smack Alex, and there are a lot of unanswered questions- I so want the sequel right now!- but this was full of action, heat, intrigue, and emotion.  I actually exchanged some messages with the author yesterday, since I was having so much fun with this book.  Of course, we all know how I feel about romantic suspense, military romantic suspense and spies, so this was right up my alley.

So, now I’d better get some of my own writing done.  I started something that just popped in my head this morning, and I’d like to flesh it out some more.  I have no idea where it came from or if it connects to anything else, but I figure I’d better get it from the paper (I know!  I actually wrote it out longhand!) into the computer.  Wish me luck.