Migraine Awareness….

Tags

#amwriting, #wip, ACHE FOR ME, Aylesford, Burn, Camryn & Carter, migraine, Nate & Belle, snippet, The Everetts of Tyler

So, June is Migraine Awareness month and of course those of us with this affliction are well aware of them, but I have been especially knocked out this year. In fact, I am WAY behind on both books I’ve been working on–ACHE FOR ME and BURN– but as soon as they are actually books and not, well, the collection of chapters I have so far I will share them with you.

Actually, since I haven’t posted anything in, like, four months, maybe you’d like an excerpt or two? Yes?

ACHE FOR ME (The Everetts of Tyler, Book 4)

Carter feigned sleep as long as he could, wondering what was going through Camryn’s head as he did. She’d been sobbing the night before, obviously shaken, and he hadn’t known what to do for her besides gather her in his arms. The decision had been the right one, but it’d been torture for him holding her and knowing that was all he could ever do. When her fingers slid across his biceps, feeling the muscle for a moment before trailing to his shoulder, he had to make himself known or pin her to the bed and take what he wanted.

“Morning.”

Her hand immediately left his body. “Do you work out?”

She was wondering why he didn’t look like the nerdy pushover she remembered. He’d always stayed fit, but with brothers like his he’d been the runt. Smart, but not particularly athletic. In a family full of professional athletes, he was the one who played chess. He propped his head on one hand. “I’ve been learning martial arts with your brother.”

She laughed. “The doctor and the lawyer.”

“Caleb is the teacher. Mason and I are learning.”

“The doctor, the lawyer, and the banker?” She paused. “You’re lifting, too.”

“Gotta stay healthy,” he replied before steering the conversation away from his physique. He might be learning some moves, and he did have a weekly session with a trainer, but he wasn’t vain. “What do you say I make coffee?” he asked before rolling away. It was morning and he’d held Camryn in his arms all night. He needed to make a quick and inconspicuous exit before she noticed more than his muscles were hard.

BURN (Aylesford Book 1)

Giving up on sleep herself, Belle headed for the bathroom, dropping onto the low stool tucked under the built in vanity. She had the look of a woman well-loved, but she needed to get into the shower and get started on work. She had new inventory coming in for fall and nowhere to put it, so despite the lack of a building, she had a business to run. A chill snaked down her spine. Did the arsonist mean to kill her when he burned the store down? Everyone knew she lived above her shop. She rubbed her arms. This wasn’t mere destruction of property, this was attempted murder. Pure hate. Who hated her enough to kill her? And for lingerie and sex toys?

She shook her head. There was a strip club in Tyler, and at least two full-blown sex shops in Sheridan. She swallowed. Hers was the raciest store by far in Aylesford, but it was tasteful and her ads weren’t any more risqué than the national chains. Shit, the largest chain in the world had fashion shows with nearly naked women wearing wings on national television. Seduction was small potatoes compared to that. She shrugged. Maybe not such small potatoes in a conservative southern town.

She’d met some push-back when she’d first opened, but had paid it little mind. Women needed to feel sexy, and their men—or women, she wasn’t judgmental—ate it up. So, who, then? Who would try to kill her to prove a point, to drive her away or at least shut down her business? She rubbed her temples. She didn’t have the answers, but she had a lot of questions. It’d been three days since she lost her shop, and there was always Gabe’s theory the arson had something to do with Nate. He’d said he hadn’t dated in months because of her. She ignored the curl of warmth that settled in her belly at the thought. She hadn’t dated either because it was pointless. No other man had elicited the chemistry she had with Nate. She’d just ignored it for too long.

She tugged at her hair to get her mind back on track. If Gabe was right, maybe someone wanted her out of the way because she wanted Nate to herself. He was an incredible specimen of male perfection, but to kill to get him? She watched her expression sour as she thought about what happened to Mason Everett not long ago, and prayed Nate was safe.

Editing, Writing, and Reediting

Tags

#amediting, #amwriting, #wip, Burn, DANCE WITH ME, Nate & Belle, SPEEDING

Today was a rare grown-up snow day, and tomorrow will be as well.  Kentucky was slammed with a big winter storm and Lexington ended up with over ten inches of snow and a high in the teens, so everything shut down.  Given the chance to write instead of earning a real living today I tried to embrace it (well, around the barometric migraine) but all I managed to do was edit what was already there and decide that as much as I like the bones of this book, I’m not loving it the way it is.  This happened with Live For Me as well, so I’m not surprised, but I really don’t enjoy removing words when I feel like I should be adding them.

At the same time, I know Dance With Me is in need of some editing it didn’t get three years ago when I started this whole writing thing, and Speeding needs not only editing, but an actual ending, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Speeding might need to be wrapped before Burn can really move forward.  It’s a frustrating thought, but the Aylesford series really begins with Reid and Kendall.  So… yeah, I have a lot of work to do.

So… I suppose I should stop complaining and get back to work!

If Weather Could Kill….

Tags

#amwriting, #snippetSunday, Burn, Nate & Belle, snippet

This summer has been especially brutal for me as one of my biggest migraine triggers is barometric pressure changes.  I have managed to add to BURN, but although I’m not as far along as I’d like this book shouldn’t take a year and a half to land on your ereader of choice (probably.)

So… What do you say to a hot snippet from BURN?

She crept into Nate’s room, stopping to take in the smörgåsbord of muscle lying among the twisted bedclothes. Intellectually, she knew fighting fires was hard work, understood that he worked hard for the rippled abs and bulging biceps, used them to do good work, but as a woman she couldn’t help but sigh. This is how men were meant to be built. Strong, protective, unyielding. She couldn’t wait to trace the furrows with her tongue, to line up his rock solid body with her much softer one. She’d taken two steps toward him when he startled her, his voice low and roughened with sleep. “You’d better be ready.”

“I’m here,” she answered, suddenly unsure of herself, all the reasons she’d stayed away swirling in her mind.

“You have about five seconds to leave,” Nate said, an almost menacing edge to his voice.

She swallowed, grateful for the darkness surrounding them. Hopeful she sounded confident, she promised, “I’m not leaving.”

“Then come here and let me touch you. I’ve been dying to touch you,” he growled, and she was powerless to deny him. She closed the space between them, vaguely aware she was holding her breath. If he had been dying to touch her, so too had she been desperate to touch him. He rose from the bed, his gloriously naked chest rising and falling with short pants, his fully aroused cock tenting his boxers. Her mouth watered. She wanted to lick him all over, to take him down her throat, to feel him explode within her, swallow his salty essence, but all she could do was stare.

“Come here,” he commanded and she obeyed. As soon as she was within touching distance he had her plastered to him, his mouth on hers. He devoured her, exploring her with his tongue, owning her mouth, stealing her breath. She wrapped her arms around his strong neck and jumped, throwing her legs around his waist. He was so strong he held her easily, allowing her to climb him like a tree.

He continued to ravage her mouth as he turned and pressed her to the bed. “I have dreamed of you here,” he whispered. “Tell me you’re really here.”

(c) Hayden Braeburn

 

Holy Overbooked Summer, Batman!

Tags

#amwriting, #wip, Burn, Nate & Belle, snippet

Ya know how those short people who eat money in your house take all your time?  Well, why is summer worse than the school year?  LOL.  I love Girlchild, but I think we’re going to need a driver just to take her to all her scheduled events, and when you add Boychild to the mix, well, we’d better open up an account for lunches and gas money.  *sigh*

So, instead of listening (well, okay, reading) me lament about my wonderfully popular kiddos, how about a snippet from BURN?

 “Uncle Nate, Uncle Nate!” the children screamed in unison as they jumped into his open arms. She guessed them to be about seven or eight, cute as hell, and they obviously adored their uncle.

“You guys are so big!” he exclaimed when he caught them, feigning falling over. “I won’t be able to pick you both up before too long.”

“Nu-uh,” the girl protested. “You’re strong!”

“The strongest man ever!” The little boy chimed in. “You’re stronger than Superman!”

“Nah,” Nate disagreed. “I’m not that strong.”

“You save people,” the little girl said. “Momma says you’re a superhero.”

She liked the sound of that, even if it made her stomach turn to think about him running into burning buildings.   

Villains Running Amok!

Tags

#amwriting, #wip, Burn, Nate & Belle, snippet, villains

I’ve been working on BURN for the last few days, and I have to say the villain has been running amok.  It’s not a bad thing, but I keep having to go back and rethink/rework the story line every so often.  When it’s finally finished, I hope it will be a book worth reading, and I have to say the Aylesford series is shaping up to be more on the Erotic Romance side of things, although definitely with suspense and action (surprise!).  So, since I’m off-schedule blogging, and I need to go get ready to go to the day job (which I really do love, ignore me when I whine), I will leave you with a snippet.

 Nate stood beside Gabe, the damage to the building appalling. They’d fought the fire hard and technically won, but Juliette Jamieson had a lot of clean up and rebuilding to do before she could teach here again. He turned to his friend. “What the hell kind of connection is there between a lingerie shop and a school of dance?”

Gabe thought about that for a moment before answering, “Sex and dancing are sins?”

Sins? “Are you kidding me?”

The large man frowned. “No. The church Liza belonged to before she met me wouldn’t even allow ballerinas to join.”

He must’ve spent Sunday school learning about the Golden Rule or miracles or something. “So, Belle’s store sells sex,” he thought back to those Sunday school lessons, “or lust, and Juliette teaches dance?” He paused. “That’s not one of the deadly sins. That much I remember.”

“But dancing is sexy.”

He thought most dancing was boring, but who was he to judge? “If this arsonist is targeting sexy things, we have a problem.” Aside from the absurdity of the idea, sexiness wasn’t universal. “What class was Juliette teaching when the alarm went off, anyway?”

A strange expression lit Gabe’s face before he answered. “See, there’s where my theory came from,” he started, his face unreadable. “She had a guest teacher scheduled to teach—get this—cardio pole-dance.”

“Cardio what now?”