Posts Tagged ‘novella’
Join me in welcoming Mary Behre to the blog for this edition of Writer Wednesday. I’ve known Mary for what seems like forever. I think we met for the first time at RWA Nationals in Anaheim, but had exchanged emails before that. Mary is an organizational queen, forever coordinating contests and marshaling volunteers. She’s also another member of the LaLaLa group that I love.
Fun fact: her name rhymes. Before we met in person, I assumed Behre was pronounced “bear”—like a certain hero from JUST RIGHT. But you know what happens when you assume. It’s actually pronounced “Berry”—like the fruit.
In her own words: Award-winning author Mary Behre loves stories with humor, suspense, a touch of the paranormal and above all else, a good romance. She tries not to take herself too seriously, often claiming as the lone female in a house full of males, she’s the undisputed queen. And even has the glittery tiara to prove it. When not writing, she enjoys reading, gluten-free baking, and hanging out at the beach with the most important men in her life, her family.
Mary’s newest book, Harmonized (A Tidewater Novella), continues her popular Tidewater series. It’s Book 2.5 — and it just came out yesterday. Isn’t the cover gorgeous?
About the book:
Old lovers reunite on Valentine’s Day to find a missing baby the world thinks is already dead…
After nearly dying on assignment, Tidewater police officer Zig Harmon has been awarded the Silver Star and desk duty. But handling every case that walks through the door while his entire department is out hunting a serial killer is nothing compared to dealing with his former flame, Karma De La Cruz.
As much as she hates it, Karma knows that her best chance of finding the kidnapped baby haunting her visions is the man she once left behind. Forced to work together, Karma and Zig start to realize that they may have let go of something incredible. But now, time is running out, both for the missing infant and for their chance to start again…
Harmonized is already getting some great press:
“Mary Behre consistently delivers a fun, suspenseful read with a delightful paranormal twist.” –Lena Diaz, author of Exit Strategy
And my personal favorite:
“Harmonized hit all the right notes.” –Herding Cats & Burning Soup
I love a good play on words! Read on below this week’s “This or That” questions for a sneak peek. But first, let’s get to know Mary a little better.
Sweet potato fries or regular fries? Oh, regular definitely. I detest sweet potatoes. The best fries are steak cut and coated in Old Bay seasoning. They’re so yummy, I think I’ll go make some right now!
Leather or lace? Leather’s too sweaty and lace is too itchy, so I’ll have to say neither. I’m a cotton or silk girl all the way. I prefer to wear something that breathes. Unless I’m getting dressed up, then it’s silk for me.
Night owl or early bird? Mostly an early bird. Although, when I’m really pushing myself to finish the first draft of a novel, I often sprint with friends in a cyber chat room at night. Still, I usually hit a wall at 11pm my time. LOL
Personal chef or personal trainer? Personal chef. I love to eat well but I hate to cook. One of the first things that had me falling for my husband was he prepared a caesar salad from scratch. Best salad ever. Then he introduced me to marinated flank steak. Yep. He definitely worked his way into my heart through my stomach. 🙂
Writing time: Home office or coffee shop? Neither. I do some of my best writing at the library. Plus, I don’t have to worry about dogs barking, kids yelling, or the phone ringing. Plus, I love the whole shush factor at my local bibliotheca.
A library? That’s a new one for me. I might have to give it a try. I like the whole “no dogs, no phone” thing. (I’d no doubt appreciate the “no kids” part, too, if I had any.)
Now the excerpt you’ve been waiting for:
“You shook my entire belief system to the core when you walked out. The woman I’d fallen in love with was full of compassion and kindness. She wanted to be a nurse. To save the world. But the woman who abandoned me? I couldn’t reconcile her with the woman I loved.
“It was conceivable that the party girl did take the money and run to Cabo. You never called to contradict the story. I didn’t know what was real, and it screwed with my head every time I thought of you. Eventually, I tried not to think about you at all.”
“Great,” she said, her heart in her throat, choking her almost as badly as his words. “Because I never stopped thinking about you. See, more regrets. Had I just talked to you that day—”
“We’d have argued.” Zig dropped his arms to his sides and closed the distance between them. “We’d have fought and you’d have still left. I might have chased you, but I couldn’t have stayed in Mexico for four years. We’d have still broken up because eight years ago, we were children trying to act like adults. Today, you’re a woman and I’m a man.”
“So that’s it? Eight years of pain was for nothing?” Karma didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or kick Zig in the balls.
“No, not for nothing. We had to take separate journeys to get here, to this moment. So I could apologize to you for not fighting harder. Being too young and stupid to see you needed me, even when you thought you didn’t. I’m sorry, Carmelita. Truly sorry.”
“I’m sorry too,” she said, the fight drained out of her. She’d lost him so long ago but at least she could start over knowing he didn’t hate her anymore.
“No more apologies, Karma.” Then he silenced her by brushing his lips gently over hers.
It wasn’t a kiss of old lovers reunited. But it could have been.
It wasn’t a kiss of promise. But it might have been.
It wasn’t a kiss of passion. But it was.
It was all those things and more. The feel of his soft mouth on hers, was old and new, and more than she could have hoped for.
Get Harmonized on your e-reader of choice: Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million
You can find Mary on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or her website, marybehre.com
Hi, friends. How was your week?
My week—my second full week of being (f)unemployed—was spent waiting for my severance check and writing feverishly. I’ve been drafting a novella. On Friday, I crossed the 20K mark, giving me about 10K to wrap up the story. I hope to be able to divulge all the details soon.
Until then, let’s get to this week’s My Sexy Saturday fun.
Fall is officially here. With the change in seasons comes a new emphasis on holiday romance. Seems every time I check my tweet stream or Facebook feed, someone’s talking about their new holiday release.
Not to be outdone, my sexy 7 this week comes from my holiday novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. In this story, rockstar Cher Stanton reluctantly returns to small-town Indiana for some much-needed R&R. Things get much less relaxing when she bumps into high school crush Derrick Mullins, the one guy who never paid her any attention—or so she thought.
Here, Cher and Derrick are on their way to dinner. They stop to clear the air and she ends up kissing him.
****
Chalk up another one to missed opportunities.
Story of his life. One missed opportunity after another, starting with Cher. Med school— nope. Not going there. Being a paramedic was as close as he’d ever get, and it was plenty. Doctors dealt with way too much stress.
Seemed he wouldn’t get any answers from Cher unless he demanded them. He cleared his throat. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
His gaze locked on her mouth. “That.” He waved his hand between them.
“That kiss?” Her tongue darted over her plump bottom lip, leaving shine in its wake.
Shifting in the Porsche’s bucket seat, he nodded. “Yeah. That kiss.”
Like what you’ve read? Home for the Holidays is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. If you prefer to read books on paper, grab the print version from CreateSpace.
It’s Saturday—time for another installment of everyone’s favorite blog hop, My Sexy Saturday.
A quick reminder of the rules:
Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!
This week, I’m celebrating the release of my holiday novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
The tale of a singing sensation forced to return to her tiny Indiana hometown just in time for Thanksgiving is a little bit sexy, a little bit sweet and a whole lotta hilarious.
Enjoy this sneak peek:
Derrick didn’t seem to mind her lapse into brainlessness. He merely chuckled and stepped away to strip off his T-shirt, revealing the muscles she’d been fantasizing about all night. Hair dusted his chest, narrowing down to …
Oh my. They weren’t in high school anymore. This Derrick was all man, and finally, all hers. She raised her eyes back to his face too late. He’d caught her looking.
His lips quirked up in amusement. “You looked your fill yet?”
Not trusting her voice, she nodded.
“Good. Now it’s my turn.”
“What?”
“Strip for me, Sweetness.”
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, my indie publishing debut, available Monday at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The release of my holiday novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, is just around the corner. It’s my first indie release, and I’m stoked.
Does anyone say stoked anymore? Probably not. I’m hopelessly uncool—and mathematically challenged. (More on that in a future post.)
To celebrate my upcoming indie debut, I’m dedicating this week’s My Sexy Saturday snippet to HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.
Since I’ve been too busy to play for a couple of weeks, here’s a quick refresher on the My Sexy Saturday rules:
Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!
In this sweet and sexy holiday short, singer Cheryl “Cher” Stanton reluctantly returns to her tiny Indiana hometown for Thanksgiving—and some forced R&R. When her mom’s SUV swerves into a ditch to avoid a cow in the road, she hits her head on the dash. One of the paramedics answering the call is Derrick Mullins, her high school friend and the one guy who didn’t know she existed … or so she thought. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
In this scene, Derrick has—at his best friend’s urging—returned to the scene of the accident to talk to Cher, whom he hadn’t recognized at first. She was more than a bit put out that he’d called her “ma’am.”
****
… She found herself hurt and angry he hadn’t seen through the disguise. “You know me well enough.”
His eyebrows shot skyward. “After ten years? I don’t think so. A lot’s changed since then.”
“Well, excuse me for not peaking in high school.”
The smoldering fire in Derrick’s gray eyes set her soul ablaze, offsetting the chill in the crisp November air. “Sweetheart, you can trust me when I say I’ve improved with age.”
To distract herself from the flash of desire his comment sparked, she lowered her lids and tapped her inner smart-aleck. “You think so, huh? You’re not wine or cheese.”
That was a line of crap and she knew it. Even in the watery gray early morning light, he looked as good now as he had in high school. Better even, if she took into account the broader shoulders and more masculine presence. He knew it, too, judging by his sly grin. Damn the man. Why couldn’t he have developed a paunch, or better yet, started balding?
A low, sexy laugh rumbled from deep in his throat. “Wine and cheese aren’t the only things that get better with age, Cher.”
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, coming to Amazon and Barnes & Noble Nov. 25 … just in time for the holidays. Can’t wait to read more? Find the first chapter at TheCheapEbook.com.
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