P.G. Forte's Blog, page 20
September 10, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Current Events ~
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "How do current events impact your stories? Give an example."
For the most part, current events only matter in terms of how they affect my characters. I'm currently working on a book set in Napa, California, and the fires that occurred there in 2017 and 2018 were very traumatizing to my hero, who had been eighteen/nineteen years old at the time. That changed the course of his life...or at least the past six years.
In the Oberon series I really notice the effect of current events because A. the books are now twenty+ years old, so what's current within the world of the series is not the same as what's current now, and sometimes that really shows.
In my most recent re-release ( The Spirit of the Place ) for example, my characters talk a lot about politics--upon which they don't always agree. But disagreement then looked VERY different than disagreement now. So re-releasing it in an election year has been...interesting.
In my most recent NEW release ( Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life ) on the other hand, current events are still very current and show up very obviously in the first few pages where my title character throws shade at a very well known TERF.
I think the biggest problem with using current events in stories is that it undeniably dates your books. A good example of this is in my upcoming re-release (Visions Before Midnight) where two characters discuss California's marriage equality situation, but at this distance, what they're saying could be misinterpreted to mean the opposite to how it sounds. Kind of how that TERF I mentioned earlier, had she been alluded to in a book set ten years ago, would have evoked a very different mood. And had she been mentioned in a book set twenty years ago, that would have suggested something different once again.
Luckily, I'm currently annotating the Oberon series , so I get the chance to explain myself...and give the reader a little history lesson in the process. It's been a fascinating journey.
What if your car broke down on a deserted highway in the middle of Texas? Would you think it was fate and that it would change your life?
When Wylie Nichols walked toward the nearest town, his future was forever altered. The problem when you’re a stranger in a small town is you never know what you might discover. In this particular place, there is murder, greed, lust.
But waiting is earthy, sexy, enigmatic Kennedy. With a convoluted family history and the power to make his dreams come true.
The Spirit of the PlaceA Oberon Book 6.0
https://books2read.com/SpiritPlace
'Tis the season to be jolly, but Jasmine Quinn is far from happy about her mother's latest folly: her upcoming wedding to former Wall Street financier, Sam Sterling. Jasmine doesn't like her future stepfather, or his values. Anybody with as much money as Sam, should be spreading it around, aiding worthy causes, making it count for something. Instead, he seems intent on using his wealth to embarrass her mother by throwing a ridiculously lavish wedding. But there's one thing about Sam that Jasmine can't help but admire, no matter how much she'd like to--the graduate student he's hired as an intern.
Brandon Ablemarle is also finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit. Especially since his dream job has just become a nightmare, thanks in part to the fiery redhead with some of the goofiest ideas he's ever heard of. But what else can you expect from the daughter of a self-proclaimed psychic? Marsha Quinn has a lot to answer for. Not only has she encouraged her daughter's esoteric craziness, she's also turned one of the most brilliant stock analysts Wall Street had ever seen into a nutcase as well. One who actually appears to believe that the answers to the stock market can be found in the stars!
It's a clash of ideologies when Jasmine and Brandon get together. Can the spirit of the season, and the spirit of the place help them to see beyond their differences?
September 9, 2024
Musical Monday: Footprints in the Snow Jamie Lawson
Right. So. I'm in the midst of writing and editing Christmas stories (and will be for most of the rest of the year) so that means, you can expect a lot of these Monday posts to be very, very seasonal.
This is a heart wrenching song. Beautiful, but sooooo sad. The story I'm currently working on isn't THAT sad. It's got it's angsty moments, and this song definitely works for those. But mostly this song makes me think of my dog. It's been over a year now since I lost him and I'm definitely not over it.
September 6, 2024
Fall Fantasy Book Fair!
WELCOME TO THE FALL FANTASY BOOK FAIR 2024!
ALL BOOKS FEATURED ARE ON SALE FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. CLICK THE IMAGES BELOW TO GRAB YOUR COPY AT YOUR LOCAL RETAILER.
September 5, 2024
New Release! Love and Espresso
Love and Espresso(A Limited Edition Contemporary Romance Anthology)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CSKS814M/
This collection features meet-cutes that take place in a bookstore/coffee shop. The heroines are looking for their HEA but never expected it to happen while picking up a cup of coffee or picking out their next book boyfriend.
Includes my new Atlas Beach story, Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life:
Blurb:
"Life is more than just the lies we try and tell ourselves about what we’ve done and who we are.
I guess the truth is that I never stopped loving Ben. And I never stopped imagining how different my life might have been if he were only the person I needed him to be, instead of the person that he is. Which is silly, right? I mean, truly; it’s laughable. Because if he were someone else, he wouldn’t be him. And the world is already full of people like that. What good is one more gonna do me?
Besides, if I’m honest, Ben wasn’t ever the problem. That was me. I was never the person he believed me to be. Oh, I thought I was, in the beginning. I tried hard to be, and that worked for a while. Sort of. But eventually I reached the point where I had to make a choice between living life for myself, or for everyone else.
And when it came right down to that…how could I not choose me?"
September 4, 2024
Wine Wednesday: Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon
I love knowing where my wine comes from, which is why this wine annoys me. All Line 39 will say about its location is that it's in California at the 39th parallel. Which, I think puts it somewhere near Lake Tahoe? Not a huge wine growing region, AFAIK.
Unless, thanks to climate change, it now is?
Anyway, it's a decent enough Cab--from somewhere in California. It's a dark, inky red with good tannins and nice legs. It's dry and full-bodied with a pronounced blackberry flavor. The nose is filled with dried fruit and baking spices--dried fig, dried cherry, caramel, vanilla. There are hints of black tea in the finish, but there's a creaminess to the mouth feel, so it's more like milk tea...which I'll admit makes it sound awful. But it's not. I'd say it's surprisingly good, except, since I don't know where it actually comes from, might not be surprising, at all.
Here's another excerpt from A Taste of Honey. This passage can also be found in the FREE prequel novella, Such Fleeting Pleasures. I'll post links to both, below.
Lucy gestured at the cluttered countertop. “What’s all this?”
“Dinner.” Dan motioned her towards one of the stools pushed beneath the breakfast bar. “Here. Sit down.”
“Are you a vegetarian or something?” she asked as she surveyed the platter he’d arranged on the counter. Her friend Marsha had recently embraced a vegetarian lifestyle, and she certainly didn’t have anything against the occasional meatless meal, but he sure didn’t seem like the type.
Dan grimaced. “No, I’m not. But I wasn’t exactly planning on entertaining anyone here tonight, either. So we’re just gonna have to make do with what I’ve got on hand. Okay?” He’d picked up a slice of avocado as he spoke, and now he held it out to her.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” she replied as she reached for it, but he pulled it away from her hand.
“Uh-uh.” He shook his head, a tiny smile just teasing the corners of his mouth. “Not like that. Open up.”
Lucy felt her stomach tense. He had to be kidding? He wanted to feed it to her? She frowned at him again, but his smile didn’t waver and his eyes held a challenge she couldn’t back away from. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth and he gently slid the slippery green-gold chunk inside. It was perfectly ripened; soft and buttery, with just a hint of balsamic vinegar.2 Her taste buds—traitorous little beasts who couldn’t care less how the food got to them, it seemed—immediately went into ecstasy.
“Good?” he asked popping a piece into his own mouth.
“Mm,” she murmured, noncommittally. She helped herself to another piece.
“Here, try the tomatoes next.” He picked up a tiny orange cherry tomato, and once again held it inches from her mouth. Lucy sighed, and rolled her eyes, but this time she opened her mouth for him just a little more willingly. The tomato was also delicious, and just slightly warm, as if it still retained some trace of sunshine. She bit down on it and it burst inside her mouth with a rush of flavor.
The second tomato was as good as the first, but this time, instead of popping it into her mouth he brushed it back and forth across her lower lip teasingly, until she grew impatient and took it between her teeth and tugged it free of his fingers. She smiled at him, triumphant at having beaten him at his own game. But Dan was smiling too, as if she’d done exactly as he’d wanted her to. His blue eyes gleamed wickedly, and she felt her breath go as she caught sight of the heat that smoldered there. She was no longer certain she understood the rules they were playing by.
“My turn,” she announced recklessly, picking up a tomato and dangling it in front of his face. He leaned forward and took it into his mouth. His lips and tongue briefly caressed her fingertips. A tiny tremor ran through her at the touch and she felt a flush of heat spread across her face.
When he turned to remove something from the oven, Lucy took the opportunity to gather her wits, slipping another piece of avocado into her mouth with trembling fingers.
The rest of the meal went much the same way. They fed each other from the wheel of melted Brie that Dan had heated in the oven. The soft cheese stuck to their fingers and had to be scraped away with their teeth, as well as their tongues. A surprisingly time-consuming process, Lucy discovered, and one which left her fingers tingling from his touch. Next, he’d produced artichokes dripping with melted butter and firm, briny, black olives; sweet, peppered pecans, and last of all, a whole can of smoked oysters. All of it washed down with several glasses of a locally produced Cabernet that was deeply dark, almost earthy in flavor, with an elusive cedar scent. It tasted like a summer night in a pine forest, Lucy thought, feeling dizzy after a couple of glasses.
A Taste of Honey
Oberon Book 4
Buy links: TasteOfHoney
For Lucy Greco Cavanaugh, life is a dream come true. She has it all. The perfect family. The perfect husband. The perfect marriage. What more could she wish for? Other than the chance to do it all again. To experience once more the agony and ecstasy of falling in love with the man of her dreams. To recapture the joy and uncertainty that comes with starting over.
As far as Dan Cavanaugh is concerned, his life has become a nightmare. His storybook marriage is on the line when Deirdre Shelton-Cooper, the runaway daughter of a former girlfriend arrives in Oberon intent on proving Dan is her father. Even though he's convinced the girl's claims are false, Dan decides his only chance to keep from losing everything lies in keeping her very existence a secret from his wife and family.
But, sometimes, what you don't know can hurt you—and those you love. When Deirdre, masquerading as a surfer girl named Monica, accidentally hooks up with their son, Seth, Lucy and Dan are left to wonder: has their perfect, fairy-tale romance, turned into a classic Greek tragedy?
Sometimes you get exactly what you wish for. And it's more than you'd ever dreamed.
Such Fleeting Pleasures
An Oberon Prequel Novella
Download link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/gw5pntz7zp
Love wasn't always strawberries and cream for Lucy and Dan Cavanaugh...or was it? In this Oberon prequel, we travel back in time to see how it all began.
Most of the material in this prequel novella (set some eighteen years before the series begins) also appears as flashback scenes in A Taste of Honey.
September 3, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Favorite Time in History ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "What's your favorite time in history and why?"
I don't actually have a favorite time in history. I think every time has had good and bad aspects to it, depending on who you were and/or where you lived. I love exploring different eras in my writing, but I don't think I'd actually want to live in any of them.
When it comes to writing, on the other hand, I definitely like exploring time frames that I've actually lived through. I may have been a little too deeply influenced by the TV show Quantum Leap.
In my novella Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life (out today! as part of the Love and Espresso Anthology!) my character uses artwork to explore the history of her hometown. Here's a teaser:
Giada pushes a stack of papers across the table to me. “Here. Take a look. They’re numbered. Just line them up, left to right. Let me know what you think.”
I arrange the pages as directed, and then it’s my turn to look astonished. “Holy shit, G. This is incredible!”
Spread out on the table before me is a panoramic view of downtown Atlas Beach. More specifically, it’s a close approximation of the view you’d get if the wall on which the mural will be painted was transparent. With one major difference. It also shows how much the town has changed over time.
The first picture, the one closest to the back of the shop, where all the original, architectural details have been preserved, shows the town as it would have appeared when the building was first constructed. As the scenes progress, you see the town change and grow over time. The final sketch, the one at the very front of the shop, shows the town as it is today in a way that will let it blend seamlessly into the actual view as seen through the store’s front windows.
“It’s perfect.” I tell her, still studying the string of drawings, finding more to like each time—like the way the background colors shift, moving from warm, almost monochromatic, sepia-tones on the one end to vibrant, full-spectrum, color on the other.
“You like it?” she asks, looking pleased.
“I more than like it, Giada,” I confess, knowing—even as I say it—that I’m telling only part of the truth. “I freaking love it.” But not as much as I still love her.
NEW RELEASE
Return to Pine Meadows
When Kara’s dad is diagnosed with dementia, Kara is forced to return to her family’s ranch. All she wants to do is sell the ranch and get back to her life in the city. She didn’t expect Hawk Mitchell, a boy who tormented her in high school, to have turned into someone she can’t resist. Can the isolated Montana ranch she left in the past, turn out to be her future?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBRJVBPC
It's Release Day for:Love and EspressoA Limited Edition Contemporary Romance Anthology
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CSKS814M/
This collection features meet-cutes that take place in a bookstore/coffee shop. The heroines are looking for their HEA but never expected it to happen while picking up a cup of coffee or picking out their next book boyfriend.
Includes my new Atlas Beach story, Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life:
Blurb:
"life is more than just the lies we try and tell ourselves about what we’ve done and who we are.
I guess the truth is that I never stopped loving Ben. And I never stopped imagining how different my life might have been if he were only the person I needed him to be, instead of the person that he is. Which is silly, right? I mean, truly; it’s laughable. Because if he were someone else, he wouldn’t be him. And the world is already full of people like that. What good is one more gonna do me?
Besides, if I’m honest, Ben wasn’t ever the problem. That was me. I was never the person he believed me to be. Oh, I thought I was, in the beginning. I tried hard to be, and that worked for a while. Sort of. But eventually I reached the point where I had to make a choice between living life for myself, or for everyone else.
And when it came right down to that…how could I not choose me?"
September 2, 2024
Musical Monday: Saturday in the Park
So it's Labor Day here in the States, signaling the end of summer, the start of another school year, the countdown to Halloween, and the Holiday Season. For me, however, it's also inextricably tied up with my marriage. My husband and I went on our very first date (and had our first kiss) on Labor Day.
And no, it wasn't on a Saturday or in a park, but this song (which was released the previous December) reminds me of that summer, all the same.
But, speaking of the end of summer, here's my character Giada Mazzi (whose story releases TOMORROW in the Love and Espresso anthology--see details below) talking about her love for Autumn.
I used to think that the reason I loved autumn so much was because it coincided with the start of the school year, but—
No, seriously; I mean it. Hear me out. That’s not as crazy as it sounds.
Every year, like clockwork, as soon as September rolled around, my foolish heart would begin to beat faster, my stupid hopes would start to rise. And my idiotic inner voice would stubbornly insist that this year—this year, for real—things would be different, things would get better.
And then, of course, I’d walk into class and that was never the case. There were no do-overs, no new opportunities, no fresh starts, no second or third or fourth chances to be had. Which, of course, there wouldn’t be!
I lived in a small town. Still do, for that matter. I went to a small, parochial school. My world was, and is, vanishingly small. And nothing’s ever going to change that fact unless I move away, which I don’t plan on doing.
At least, there was always shopping. That was fun…in theory. New clothes, new books, new school supplies—I was there for it! Even when the clothes were wrong, and I didn’t like the way any of them looked or felt on my body. Even though I was never allowed to pierce my ears and was forced to keep my hair unflatteringly short. Even when the looseleaf binders or backpacks that I fell in love with caused the adults in my life to side-eye me and second-guess my choices.
“Are you sure that’s the one you want? That one, really?” I swear, every year I’d have to field the exact same questions. “You can’t possibly like that? Wouldn’t you much rather have one like this instead?”
You’d think they’d learn. But “no, thank you,” I’d have to explain over and over again. To no effect, I might add. “No, I would not rather.”
I’m not saying that their ideas were bad, per se. Primary colors, space exploration, dinosaurs, construction vehicles—those are all very solid choices. For someone else. For someone like Ben (my childhood best friend, who’d’ve loved any of those) they’d have been perfect.
But none of those things ever spoke to me—the me that I always was inside. At least not in the way that mermaids and unicorns and glitter-covered kittens did.
And yeah, okay. I get it. I know what you’re thinking. That I’m as caught up in gender stereotypes as anyone else. And yes, I suppose that’s true. I also know (oh boy, do I) that there are people out there, including an author whose books I grew up reading and used to love, who believe that I’m the one with the reality problem. That I’m the one in denial about my true nature; the one who doesn’t know her own heart, mind, and soul. They think they know who I am better than I do.
And all I have to say about that is, walk a mile in my shoes, biatch. Or better yet, buy me a pair—Jimmies, Manolos, Christians—any of those will do just fine. Double up if you’re not sure; I wouldn’t say no to two pairs, or even three. Your ass can afford ’em and mine never will. Not on my salary. And not to mention that HRT is forever, and it doesn’t come cheap.
But I can see that we’ve gotten off track. Suffice it to say that Autumn rocks and bigots do not.
Love and Espresso
(A Limited Edition Contemporary Romance Anthology)
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Espresso-Zakrzewski-Anthologies-Ashley-ebook/dp/B0CSKS814M/
This collection features meet-cutes that take place in a bookstore/coffee shop. The heroines are looking for their HEA but never expected it to happen while picking up a cup of coffee or picking out their next book boyfriend.
Includes my new Atlas Beach story, Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life:
Blurb:
"Life is more than just the lies we try and tell ourselves about what we’ve done and who we are.
I guess the truth is that I never stopped loving Ben. And I never stopped imagining how different my life might have been if he were only the person I needed him to be, instead of the person that he is. Which is silly, right? I mean, truly; it’s laughable. Because if he were someone else, he wouldn’t be him. And the world is already full of people like that. What good is one more gonna do me?
Besides, if I’m honest, Ben wasn’t ever the problem. That was me. I was never the person he believed me to be. Oh, I thought I was, in the beginning. I tried hard to be, and that worked for a while. Sort of. But eventually I reached the point where I had to make a choice between living life for myself, or for everyone else.
And when it came right down to that…how could I not choose me?"
August 28, 2024
The Spirit of the Place--available now!
The Spirit of the Place
Oberon Book 6.0PG ForteParanormal Romantic Suspensehttps://books2read.com/SpiritPlace
'Tis the season to be jolly, but Jasmine Quinn is far from happy about her mother's latest folly: her upcoming wedding to former Wall Street financier, Sam Sterling. Jasmine doesn't like her future stepfather, or his values. Anybody with as much money as Sam, should be spreading it around, aiding worthy causes, making it count for something. Instead, he seems intent on using his wealth to embarrass her mother by throwing a ridiculously lavish wedding. But there's one thing about Sam that Jasmine can't help but admire, no matter how much she'd like to—the graduate student he's hired as an intern.
Brandon Ablemarle is also finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit. Especially since his dream job has just become a nightmare, thanks in part to the fiery redhead with some of the goofiest ideas he's ever heard of. But what else can you expect from the daughter of a self-proclaimed psychic? Marsha Quinn has a lot to answer for. She’s not only encouraged her daughter's esoteric craziness, but she’s also turned one of the most brilliant stock analysts Wall Street had ever seen into a nutcase as well. One who actually appears to believe that the answers to the stock market can be found in the stars!
It's a clash of ideologies when Jasmine and Brandon get together. Can the spirit of the season, and the spirit of the place help them to see beyond their differences?
Wine Wednesday: Becker Vineyards SAUVIGNON BLANC 2022
Today's wine is another Texas white wine. I haven't been to Becker Vineyards yet, although I did visit their tasting room in Fredericksburg. I generally like Sauvignon Blancs and this one is...interesting.
The nose is very green--fresh cut grass with maybe a hint of floral and something creamy. It's a pale, pale gold. Very Sauvi-B-like. And the taste is more mineral than most. It's a very light, mild flavor. Maybe a little honey dew, maybe a little lime zest. I think it would make a nice brunch wine. I could see pairing it with raspberry tarts or quiche and salad or maybe shakshuka or chilaquiles. Or perhaps fish tacos or chips and guac.
It would be a good summer wine, or maybe an early autumn wine--I could see pairing it with butternut squash soup or ravioli, or something along those lines. Ooh, maybe some lobster ravioli?
So, of course, thinking of lobster ravioli reminds me of this scene from A Taste of Honey...
Dinner was still going on, and on, and on in the banquet hall. Black truffle bruschetta had followed Dan’s oysters and had in turn been succeeded by a dish of lobster ravioli and fresh steamed asparagus in a creamy rosemary Alfredo sauce.
Dan glanced at his watch again, but the hands seemed hardly to have moved since the last six times he’d checked. It was still too soon to leave, still too early to go home. And probably a little too late to fake a sudden illness. But it was definitely time to take a break. He hadn’t had this much to drink in a while, and his tolerance for bullshit and hypocrisy was at a dangerously low level. Perhaps a strategic retreat to the men’s room was in order.
He splashed cold water on his face and wrists, in a vain attempt to cool down. But the sudden rush of heat that his memories had aroused in him resisted all his attempts to chill it. His body felt tight and uncomfortable, and the images that danced through his mind refused to settle down.
The smart thing to do would be to just stop thinking about it. To force himself to concentrate on something else. But where Lucy was concerned, he had never been terribly smart.
He left the men’s room and, passing a phone, he tried to call home. The phone rang and rang, and when the answering machine picked up, he hung up, disappointed. He hadn’t really wanted to leave a message. He’d only wanted to hear her voice.
And he didn’t want to return to the dinner. Not yet, anyway. He slipped out the side door of the restaurant—just going to check on the dog, he told himself—but really what he was after was the night’s cool darkness and relative quiet.
If he couldn’t be with his wife right now, if he couldn’t even hear her voice, he could at least indulge himself with a few more minutes alone, in the dark, with his thoughts and his memories…
A Taste of Honey
Oberon Book 4
Buy links: TasteOfHoney
For Lucy Greco Cavanaugh, life is a dream come true. She has it all. The perfect family. The perfect husband. The perfect marriage. What more could she wish for? Other than the chance to do it all again. To experience once more the agony and ecstasy of falling in love with the man of her dreams. To recapture the joy and uncertainty that comes with starting over.
As far as Dan Cavanaugh is concerned, his life has become a nightmare. His storybook marriage is on the line when Deirdre Shelton-Cooper, the runaway daughter of a former girlfriend arrives in Oberon intent on proving Dan is her father. Even though he's convinced the girl's claims are false, Dan decides his only chance to keep from losing everything lies in keeping her very existence a secret from his wife and family.
But, sometimes, what you don't know can hurt you—and those you love. When Deirdre, masquerading as a surfer girl named Monica, accidentally hooks up with their son, Seth, Lucy and Dan are left to wonder: has their perfect, fairy-tale romance, turned into a classic Greek tragedy?
Sometimes you get exactly what you wish for. And it's more than you'd ever dreamed.
August 27, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Settings ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "How big a role does setting play in your writing?"
In general, I'd say setting plays a really big part in my writing. The town of Oberon, for example, is so important to the Oberon stories that it's practically a character--maybe even the main character--in the series.
I'd go so far as to say my writing process begins with nailing the setting down--almost before anything else. Each story (maybe even each scene) has to be grounded in a specific place before I can move forward to actually writing it. Even if the details don't always make it onto the page, they have to be clear in my mind.
Setting is more than the way a place looks--it's not just window dressing. It's weather and politics, mind-set, and language. Which is why, when I decided to re-release the Oberon series I chose to annotate them rather than update them. In my opinion, time period also counts as setting. When the stories are set is almost as important as where they're set.
The same holds true for me as a reader. Nothing pulls me out of a story faster than inconsistencies in location. Especially if it's a location that I'm familiar with, or a time period that I'm familiar with.
Now, hop on over to Brenda Margriet's page to find out how she feels about settings. And don't forget to check out her book, No Life But This .
No Life But This
Travel without leaving your chair! No Life But This is set on one of the gorgeous Portuguese islands of the Azores.
Abigail Garsson feels trapped in her safe, boring, conventional life. Desperate to escape, she signs up for an adventure vacation on the Portuguese island of São Miguel.
Santos Carregado enjoys introducing tourists to his tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic. At first he barely notices the unassuming Abigail. He soon finds her meek exterior hides a vibrant woman who teases his senses and ignites his passion.
Abigail is stunned to discover the handsome, confident Santos is attracted to her, but his fiery kisses and searing caresses convince her to accept a sensuous invitation.
Will the realities of life shatter Abigail's holiday daydream? Or can the shifting sands of a short-term fling become the rock on which a life-long relationship is built?
https://books2read.com/NoLifebutThis
It's Release Day for:The Spirit of the PlaceOberon Book 6.0
https://books2read.com/SpiritPlace
'Tis the season to be jolly, but Jasmine Quinn is far from happy about her mother's latest folly: her upcoming wedding to former Wall Street financier, Sam Sterling. Jasmine doesn't like her future stepfather, or his values. Anybody with as much money as Sam, should be spreading it around, aiding worthy causes, making it count for something. Instead, he seems intent on using his wealth to embarrass her mother by throwing a ridiculously lavish wedding. But there's one thing about Sam that Jasmine can't help but admire (no matter how much she'd like to) and that’s the graduate student he's hired as an intern.
Brandon Ablemarle is also finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit. Especially since his dream job has just become a nightmare, thanks in part to the fiery redhead with some of the goofiest ideas he's ever heard of. But what else can you expect from the daughter of a self-proclaimed psychic? Marsha Quinn has a lot to answer for. Not only has she encouraged her daughter's esoteric craziness, but she's also turned one of the most brilliant stock analysts Wall Street had ever seen into a nutcase as well. One who actually appears to believe that the answers to the stock market can be found in the stars!
It's a clash of ideologies when Jasmine and Brandon get together. Can the spirit of the season, and the spirit of the place help them to see beyond their differences?
