Onward and Upward!

Tags

#amwriting, ACHE FOR ME, Aylesford, Aylesford Series, Live For Me

Now that Ache For Me is out and selling (it could use some reviews if anyone feels so inclined– so could Live For Me, just throwing it out there), it’s time for the next book. I have a few I’d like to write this coming year, and if I can actually keep my shit together (and my health in check), I’m hoping you’ll get a book from Aylesford and a book from Ashford Hills this year (of course, you know me– I have been known to think big and then take forfreakingever to write a book, so let’s hope I can make this work).

So, back I go to writing this next book set in Aylesford (any guesses who the central characters are?) and hopefully I’ll have a snippet to give you soon!

LIVE FOR ME is Live (Almost) Everywhere!

Tags

Caleb and Haleigh, kindle, Kobo, Live For Me, new book, Nook, The Everetts of Tyler

Those of you who have been following me know this book tried (and succeeded multiple times) to kick my butt, but it’s now live!  It won’t be in the ibookstore for a while yet,  but you can grab your copy of Caleb and Haleigh’s story at all other ebook outlets (and yes, I will be a good author and give you links).

Amazon Kindle

B&N Nook

Kobo

All Romance eBooks (epub, LIT, mobi)

Smashwords (all formats)

I’d love to say this is written as a stand-alone, and while it is (hopefully) enjoyable alone, it is best read in order as there are a lot of plot ties to FIGHT FOR ME.  As always, reviews, likes and shares are very (very!) appreciated.

Now I have to get back to working on BURN, the first in the Aylesford Series!

 

 

It’s Done!

Tags

Caleb and Haleigh, Live For Me, The end, The Everetts of Tyler

LIVE FOR ME is finished!  I know it’s been a looooong time in the making, and there’s still a final-final read through to do on my Kindle to see how it looks and make sure after the many rounds of edits and proofreading we didn’t miss anything, but Caleb and Haleigh’s story is coming (very) soon to an ereader near you.

Since it’s been so long, a snippet!

 

He raised his hand to knock on the battered metal door, but it opened quickly, framing an overwrought Haleigh haloed by the kitchen light, bringing to mind angels once again. He nearly slapped himself in the head. Her daughter was sick and here he was waxing poetic about how she looked. “Where is she?” he asked, his voice sharper than it should’ve been.

Her blue eyes went wide and he wanted to slap himself again. He knew she was skittish and panicked, yet he’d barked at her. Blowing out a breath, he rushed to the couch to find Georgia pale and curled in a fetal position, her brow slick with sweat. “Where does it hurt, sweetheart?”

“Tummy,” she answered, her little voice tired.

“I’m Dr. E, and I’m gonna make you all better. Is that okay with you?”

“E-I-E-I-O,” she sang softly. He sang the song with her as he lifted her into his arms, the heat of her fever seeping through his shirt. She had to be nearly delirious, but she was singing.

Haleigh followed after them, rushing to snatch her purse and lock the door. “Her car seat,” she called as he made it to his Jeep. She tore open the door of her small sedan to grab the plastic seat in question, crawling into the back of his SUV as soon as she had it in hand. “She has to go in the middle,” she dictated as she secured the seat. “So she’s safe.”

Haleigh was preoccupied with safety, yet she lived in the least secure apartment building he’d ever seen. Granted, he’d seen few, but it bothered him. They’d diagnose and fix up little Georgia and he’d see about the rest of it. If he was going to pursue something—or even if he wasn’t—he wasn’t comfortable with the two of them in a ground floor apartment.

 

Crazy is the Word…

Tags

#amwriting, Caleb and Haleigh, Caleb Everett, crazy, Haleigh Carlisle, Live For Me, slowly but surely, The Everetts of Tyler

That about sums it up right now.  I am closing in on the end of LIVE FOR ME, and by God, I hope it wraps soon.  These characters have given me a run for my money, and they sure have set my schedule back by, oh, a year.  So, yeah, I hope by the time this thing is edited, revised, beta-read, re-edited, and proofread it A) Doesn’t suck and B) You enjoy it.  I love Caleb and Haleigh and their friends and family, but holy crap on a cracker.

With that said, since it’s been hella long since I have posted anything here let alone a snippet…

 

She was cleaning up her office when a chill crawled up her spine, making her turn to look out the door and down the hall. Instincts on high alert, she took a deep breath to keep from panicking and searched the corridor for something or someone out of place. Finding nothing, she returned to her office, but the unease didn’t dissipate. Afraid something had happened to Georgia, she fished her phone from her bag.

“Mommy!” Georgie greeted from Caleb’s phone.

“Hi, baby. Are you having fun?”

“We seed a billion animals!”

“A billion?”

“Uh-huh. And we had hot dogs and ice cream!”

At least she could say Caleb was true to his word. “I’m happy you’re having such a good time, baby girl. Can I talk to Dr. E?”

She heard Georgia tell Caleb it was his turn, and braced herself for the sound of his deep voice in her ear. “We’re fine, Mommy,” Caleb said through a laugh when he took the phone from Georgia.

“I wasn’t worried,” she denied, causing his laughter to intensify.

“Yes you were, and that’s okay.”

She sighed. “Having fun, Doc?”

“More than I thought possible. I promise she’s fine, and I won’t let anything happen to her. You don’t have to worry, Angel.”

It was silly that his endearment made her feel better. Ignoring the niggling sensation something was still wrong, she said, “I’m glad you’re enjoying the zoo. I’ll see you both after work.”

 

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Tags

Broncos, Caleb and Haleigh, Football, Live For Me, NFC, Peyton Manning, Seahawks, snippet, Superbowl

As someone who has lived in both Knoxville and Seattle, I am a tiny bit torn with who I’ll be rooting for tonight.  (For those of you who don’t know, Peyton Manning was the QB at UT).  Honestly, I think I’ll be pulling for a great game, and may the best team win (and, yeah, maybe I’ll be yelling a little harder for the Hawks since not only did we live there for a while, Girlchild was born there.)  Of course, I should also root for the Hawks since I am a Redskins fan at heart, and my mother always taught me to root for my division if I couldn’t root for my team, so… GO NFC!

And… since I’m still working on Live For Me, I’ll give you a football-based snippet.

He didn’t often feel the need to shout, but watching football involved yelling, and he hated that it made her so uncomfortable. He winced at the memory. This past Sunday he’d been watching the Redskins play the Cowboys and as the running back made his way up the field all Caleb could do was scream, “Hold onto the ball! Hold onto the ball!” Haleigh had stiffened, but Georgia had been in his lap, bouncing up and down as he told the players what to do. At least Georgie didn’t much care when he yelled.

He’d apologized to Haleigh afterward, berating himself for making her upset, and she’d just given him a wide-eyed shrug before telling him, “It was only a game, Caleb. I’m okay.” She wasn’t okay, she was traumatized, and every day he wanted to get his hands on the bastard who had made her scared of a man barking at the television. She knew he’d never hurt her, but that didn’t stop her from reacting like he would, and that made him angry. Angry at the man who’d mistreated her, angry at himself for not keeping a lid on his rabid fanaticism, angry at her for reacting when she wasn’t in the least bit of danger. It wasn’t fair, but it was there just the same.

Welcome 2014!

Tags

2014, Caleb and Haleigh, Caleb Everett, Happy New Year, Live For Me, The Everetts of Tyler

2013 has given way to 2014 and while I can’t say 2013 was a bad year, I’m excited to begin a new one.  While we did buy a house at the end of February, I did not have a book release, and that is something that will definitely change this year!  In fact, there will be two books released in 2014 come hell or high water!

And now I’d better get myself back over to one of those books I just promised!

 

Oh, and speaking of Live For Me….  A snippet!

“You still with me?” Caleb asked from across the table and she pulled herself out of her thoughts.

“Always.”

“Not just then. Where were you?”

She toyed with her food and he waited for an answer. “Upstairs,” she finally admitted quietly.

His smile was boyish. “Oh, really?”

“It’s your fault.”

“I am pretty irresistible.”

She loved him like this. Carefree, playful, seemingly unburdened by all that had transpired today. “Yes you are.” She flashed a grin before righting Georgia’s sippy-cup for the third time. “Even when you’re being impossible.”

“I’m not impossible,” he denied and she laughed.

Holidays, a Great Review, and a Snippet

Tags

Fight For Me, Five Star Reviews, Holidays, Live For Me, review, Satin Sheets Romance, The Everetts of Tyler

You’d think after 15 years in retail I would be used to this, but every year I think I’ll be able to, I dunno, DO something, or see people, or pretend I have a life outside of the store, but every year I am wrong.  Oh well, it is what it is, right?  Supporting my family is the most important thing, and thank God for Amazon and Etsy– without them, no one would get anything for Christmas!

That said, I AM still working on LIVE FOR ME, and it is coming together.  This has been a very hard book to write, and I really hope it doesn’t suck after all this time.  I am still holding out hope for getting it to you before this year is out, but please don’t kill me if I’m wrong!

Speaking of the Everetts of Tyler, FIGHT FOR ME got a great review over at Satin Sheets Romance today!  5 Pillows and 2 Flames!

 

Aaaaaand…. since it’s been forever (or 5 weeks, whatever), a snippet from Live For Me!

Haleigh stood transfixed, the woman in the mirror unfamiliar. She’d spent the better part of two hours in Robin’s stylist chair, lotions and potions and whatnot applied to her hair and face, and now she… She was downright sultry. Added to the clothes her friend had finagled her into wearing, she felt like someone else, someone confident, someone sexy. She smiled, her teeth white behind her painted lips. She knew better than to think she could jump in with both feet, but she had ensured Georgia could spend the night with the Sinclairs anyway. If she was going to look like this, she wasn’t wasting it—Caleb was going to see her in all her glory. The thought sent butterflies skittering through her stomach. Maybe not all her glory, but he was definitely seeing this.

“You look spectacular,” Robin said from behind her.

“I look like someone else.”

Robin’s eyes narrowed in her reflection. “You asked for that.”

“I did, it’s just hard to get used to. I’m not this woman.” She had never dreamed she could be this woman, and she was still unsure whether she liked it. She didn’t look cheap by any means, but she looked untouchable, and that wasn’t her goal. Robin had done an amazing job, but underneath the paint she was still the same broken down house.

“You can be,” Robin said quietly. “You don’t always have to be therapist and mommy. Sometimes you can be a woman.”

“I don’t know how,” she admitted, the idiocy of her words ringing in her head.

Fall is in the Air

Tags

#amwriting, Caleb and Haleigh, Caleb Everett, fall, Live For Me, October, The Everetts of Tyler

Well, let’s just say I’m more behind than I thought I was and leave it at that.  I got mired in a HUGE project at work and ended up working from home after hours and on weekends, so as soon as I have a book for you, you will have it.  I swear– pinky promise and everything.

Until then, enjoy pumpkin spice everything and a snippet from Live For Me!

After last night at Chris Delmonico’s family restaurant, he wasn’t surprised the detective had insisted, although with what he knew about the former undercover narc, imagining him with a bunch of two, three, and four year olds made him want to sputter with laughter despite the gravity of the situation. “If you’re sure it’ll be safe, then she can go back to school. I don’t think I can shove off my surgeries again, and when I asked Haleigh to cancel her appointments yesterday we got in a fight.”

Jason’s eyes were bright with banked laughter. “A fight, eh?”

“Drop it.”

“You’re living with a woman, taking days off to go to the zoo with her daughter, trying to protect them both from a past you know nothing about, and I’m just supposed to drop it?”

He felt the muscle ticking in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to go down this road with a trained interrogator, didn’t want to admit to anything when there was nothing from Haleigh to back him up, so he just gritted, “Yes.”

Every Book is Different!

Tags

#amwriting, Caleb and Haleigh, Live For Me, snippet, The Everetts of Tyler

Ain’t that the truth?  I mean, it took about six months to write Fight For Me, and I honestly thought Live For Me would be similar, the characters speaking and everything coming together relatively easily.  Um… NO!

I hate, hate, hate that this book isn’t ready, but I don’t want to put something out there that isn’t done, so I am moving the release date of Live For Me (again!).  As soon as it’s to a point where I feel comfortable telling you when it will release, I will shout it from the rooftops, but until then, know I am working on it!

I’m sure you’ve also noticed that I haven’t been around very much online, which is part of the problem as well.  School started, I’m working 50 hours a week, and we just got two puppies, so life is a little full.  I am definitely writing, but I will likely continue to be relatively quiet on facebook, twitter, pinterest et al.

And… since I have made you wait six weeks for a blog post and I don’t have a book for you yet…

 

She shook her head and cut him off, “You can’t protect me, Caleb.”

“I can. I will.”

“From bad guys, maybe, or you can pay someone to protect me. You can’t protect me from me.”

He regarded her through narrowed eyes, his face scrunched in disbelief. “What?”

“I need therapy.” She sighed. “Lots and lots of therapy before I can even pretend to be a whole person. I’m afraid I can’t be who you need me to be.” She looked down, fiddled with her silverware. “I want to be.”

“You already are.” He leaned across the table. “I spent weeks with you and Georgia—the best weeks of my adult life. I thought I’d made myself clear at the hospital, that I knew I was going to screw up, and we’ll take as much time as you need, and I’ll be gentle and patient. I don’t care about your past; I want your present, your future.”

She made a gesture at herself. “I’m not this woman.”

“Look at me,” he commanded, and she met his eyes with her blue ones. “This woman, this perfectly made up woman who my friend assumed was a model is beautiful, but she’s not the woman I want. I’ll take her if she’s part of the package with the real Haleigh, the Haleigh who dances in the kitchen when she thinks no one is watching, who makes pancakes in the shape of elephants for her daughter, who loves her patients, who puts everyone ahead of herself, who escaped from a past to find her way to me. That’s the woman I want.” 

July Already?

Tags

#amwriting, #wip, Caleb and Haleigh, Caleb Everett, Dylan and Cassidy, Haleigh and Caleb, July, Live For Me, The Everetts of Tyler

First things first, happy Independence Day!

Now, second things, well, second… how the heck is it already July?  I mean, holy crap on a cracker, this year is already more than half gone?  School starts back in six weeks?  I promised two releases this summer and neither are ready yet? Ack!

So, without further ado (what a fun word), I give you a snippet from Live For Me.

Hand shaking, she picked up the phone on her nightstand, staring at the buttons for long minutes before finally making the call.

“Hello?” Cassidy answered the phone after the first ring, her voice tired through the line.

“Um…” Haleigh hadn’t been prepared for Cassidy to answer, even though she knew she and Dylan lived together. “Is Dylan around?” she finally asked.

“Haleigh? Are you okay?” the other woman asked instead of answering the question. “Dylan isn’t home, but what’s wrong?”

It was then she realized it was nearly three in the morning. She’d taken a nap after putting Georgie down so she could see Caleb when he got home, and had completely forgotten it was the middle of the night. She winced at the thought of waking Cassidy, and took a breath before explaining herself, careful not to say a word about the other woman’s younger brother. “I’m sure you know about the preschool thing with Georgie,” she began, grateful to hear an affirmative noise from Cassidy before going on, “and I just don’t feel safe here by ourselves. I mean—”

“I understand, but Dylan’s out of town tonight.” She paused. “What about Chris Delmonico?”

She held back a sigh of relief. “I know Chris.”

“Would you be okay with him staying in your house?” Cassidy asked, and Haleigh wondered just how much about her the town knew or presumed. She didn’t imagine that would’ve been a question posed to everyone.

“I would,” she answered, happy it was true. “But it’s three in the morning, and he has to be at the school in a little while, and…” she trailed off. She could make it through the next five hours before she had to be at work without being attacked. She could make it through the rest of her life without Caleb in it. She choked on the thought. No, she couldn’t. “Ya know what? We’ll be okay. I’m freaked out, and called in the middle of the night, but we’ll be fine.”

“You will not. I’ll come stay with you if you need, but if you’re scared, don’t ignore it.”

Really? “You’d do that for me?”