Mari Carr's Blog, page 97
August 15, 2011
Quote of the Day
"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
August 13, 2011
Saturday Snippet
Today's theme is a public scene and what could be more public than a good old fashioned bar brawl! Thought I'd share a snippet from Spitfire.
Snippet:
"There you are," Rem said, walking up behind her and enveloping her in his arms. He tried not to spend too much time dwelling on how right she felt as he pulled her close to him. His cock came to life as her taut ass brushed against it and he gritted his teeth. This wasn't exactly the best place to sport a hard-on.
She twisted her head, looking over her shoulder at him in surprise. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
He bent down to whisper in her ear. "Taking you home. Come with me now and nobody in this room will get hurt."
"Slick owes me fifty bucks. I'm not leaving without it," she said.
Slick seemed an apt name for the man as Rem wondered what grease pit the asshole had crawled out of.
"I was explaining to the little lady that it's only polite to give a guy a chance to win his money back."
"And I told you—" she started angrily.
"We're leaving," Rem said shortly. "Give her the money."
Liv jerked lightly in his arms, clearly surprised by his demand. No doubt she'd expected him to merely drag her away.
The man began to protest again but Liv cut off his comments by slamming the pool cue on the table. "Are you trying to renege on our deal?" she shouted.
Several patrons who'd been drinking, not paying attention to the drama unfolding at the pool table, turned. Rem could see that while there might be an unspoken rule about playing a second game, there was a hard-and-fast rule about paying a debt. A couple badass customers walked to the table.
"There a problem here, little lady?" one of the men asked. Jesus, Rem thought, as he gazed at the giant. At six foot five, he wasn't used to looking up to any man, but this guy had him by at least three inches.
"Slick owes me money. Won't pay up," Liv answered. Several of Slick's friends had gathered at his back and as quickly as that, she'd thrown up the flag to indicate the beginning of the brawling phase of the night. He needed to get her out of here now.
"Let's go," he murmured in her ear, backing them both away from the pool table and forcing his way through the crowd gathering.
"No," she said, attempting to break his iron-tight grip on her. "He owes me money."
"I'll give you the goddamn fifty dollars," Rem growled. "Now move!"
Angry words began flying across the table and Rem wasn't sure who threw the beer bottle but within seconds, every man in the room jumped and he was reminded of a pack of wild dogs he'd once seen attack an unprotected calf. Chaos ensued.
He was shoved roughly from behind, losing his grip on Liv, who'd been waiting for a chance at freedom. She made her way over to Butch, grabbing the man and punching his jaw with the force of a trained boxer. Rem tried not to be impressed, but she was fierce and powerful and by God, she was going to be his. He couldn't wait to release that fiery spirit in the bedroom.
Spitfire is available at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony and All Romance Ebooks.
Want more snippets? Check these out!
August 12, 2011
The end is near…
…of my family vacation. I'm on the last day of a wonderful beach trip spent with family and friends.
…of my summer holiday. Alas, I return to work at the high school on Monday. Sob.
…of my writing to-do list. I made a list in June of writing duties. Mercifully, I didn't do too badly. Since mid-June, I've written Because You Love Me, White Knight, and done the edits on Slam Dunk. Only one wee thing was left undone, but it's next up. I still need to write Wild Irish Christmas.
…of the Harry Potter saga. Saw the last movie in July and felt very sad to realize it was then end of an era.
…of my eating! With the end of the beach trip, complete with margaritas, seafood, and big breakfasts, I now return to the dreaded diet on Monday.
Sigh. Always sad to see good things come to an end, but luckily, I have lots of things I'm looking forward to in the fall, such as…
…attending Romanticon and RAW in Sept and Oct.
…writing the last Compass book with Jayne Rylon.
…hanging out with my critique partner, Rhian Cahill, at the end of Sept.
…and, God willing, losing weight, so I can buy some slinky new clothes! 
August 8, 2011
Quote of the Day
Tomorrow will be my 20th wedding anniversary. I felt the need for something romantic…
"Make of our hands, one hand, Make of our hearts, one heart. Make of our vows, one last vow, Only death will part us now. Make of our lives one life, Day after day one life. Now it begins, now we start. One hand, one heart, even death won't part us now." – Tony and Maria, West Side Story
August 6, 2011
Saturday Snippet
Today's snippets revolve around humor and when I think of funny, I think of my romantic comedy, Saturday Night Special. The book is part of the Wild Irish series, but it is certainly a stand-alone story. I had a ball writing about Riley and Aaron!
Snippet:
After a very late lunch, Riley and Aaron headed back to the spot where the clerk at Sal's said they would find Bubbles. They'd nearly reached the corner when Riley stopped mid-stride.
"Holy shit," she muttered, her gaze falling on Bubbles.
Aaron had gone two steps farther when he spotted the woman as well and halted.
"Jesus," he said.
Riley stood rooted to the spot, blinking several times. The clerk hadn't been lying about Bubbles' love of animal prints, but she hadn't really fully appreciated his joke about them not loving her until this moment.
Aaron walked back toward her. "Wow." His grin proved he was enjoying Riley's reaction.
Riley looked at him and shook her head in disbelief. "Tit Mecca."
"Oh yeah," he agreed. "Not sure I've ever seen…" His words faded away unfinished as he turned to look at the hooker again.
"That woman has managed to squeeze her 34DDD boobs into an extra-small shirt. It's like…"
"Like she's defying gravity," Aaron finished for her. "The animal print certainly accentuates her…"
"Her everything."
Riley studied Bubbles, prying her eyes away from the woman's chest to take in the rest of her. She was tall, close to six feet—not including her hair, which added at least another three or four inches to her towering frame. Her hair was long, teased to within an inch of its life and—as they'd been warned—pink. Hot pink. Her dark skin and eyes betrayed her Hispanic heritage and she was wearing a wildly patterned spandex shirt that barely contained her girls.
Riley could now understand the woman's nickname. Her "bubbles" were very impressive, given the fact the woman possessed such a lanky frame. She wasn't sure how Bubbles was remaining upright with all that weight in front. She had on super-tight pants that outlined her shapely ass and legs, and strangely, despite her crazy outfit and hair, Riley considered Bubbles one of the most beautiful women she'd ever seen.
Aaron turned to face her again and from the corner of her eye, she saw his smile grow.
"You doing okay, Riley?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Think I just got my first serious girl crush."
He laughed. "On Bubbles? Jesus, I'm gonna have to get you out of Vegas soon. You're starting to fit in here."
Saturday Night Special is available at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony and All Romance Ebooks.
Want more snippets?
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
Lacey Savage
Sasha White
August 3, 2011
Kindlegraph!
Not sure if y'all have heard about this or not, but now you can get your Kindle books autographed. Simply check out Kindlegraph for details. Basically you sign in with your Twitter account (I believe a Twitter account is necessary), then check out the author list and make your requests. Be sure to read the fine print in terms of costs.
I have a Kindlegraph page as do some of the other International Heat authors. I thought I'd share our links in case you were interested.
J.R. Patrick
Jambrea Jo Jones
Jayne Rylon
Jess Dee
Mari Carr
Rhian Cahill
Lexxie Couper
Lila Dubois
August 1, 2011
Quote of the Day
"But this had been a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
July 31, 2011
Eastern Ambitions!
Jayne and I received the final cover for Eastern Ambitions, book three in the Compass brothers series. It's coming to Samhain on November 8 and it features Sam! Valerie Tibbs, cover artist extraordinaire, has created all three covers for the series and they just keep getting better and better!
He's lost everything. Can he win her heart?
Compass Brothers, Book 3
Sam Compton never liked getting his hands dirty, at least not on Compass Ranch. Armed with a business degree, he's about to become the youngest VP at an illustrious Wall Street investment firm. Until his partner in an office romance turns into an ultra-refined snake in the grass.
Staggering from the punch betrayal, another blow threatens to level him. His father is dying. He races home to lend his brain to his brothers' backs at the ranch, and finds something he never expected. A sophisticated yet playful woman stimulates his mind…and parts below the belt.
Compass Ranch gave Cindi Middleton's wounded soul everything it needs: a home, acceptance, and respect—not to mention unlimited sex—from the ranch's sexy cowboys. Despite their instant and intense sparks, Sam's defection to the bright city lights she left behind is a big red flag. She's been there, done that and burned the t-shirt.
Yet the heat of their attraction brings them circling back to each other's arms…until a certain snake reappears, threatening to endanger the acquisition of the one thing Sam has realized is truly priceless.
Warning: Tissue alert! The authors recommend you have a few on hand while reading this book. To make up for any sniffles, a host of cowboys with open arms await to console you, distract you or make your wildest dreams come true.
July 30, 2011
Saturday Snippet
This week's theme is about travel, so I thought I'd share a snippet from Do Over. The hero and heroine have been married for over twenty years. When Faith begins to suffer from empty nest syndrome, her husband, Troy, decides to take her back to their hometown for a trip down memory lane.
Snippet
When the parking lot was almost completely clear, he turned to her. "Happy anniversary, Faith."
Her brows lowered. "Our wedding anniversary isn't until next Tuesday."
He shrugged. "It's close enough. I wanted to celebrate it with you here."
"At the high school?"
He chuckled. "No, here. In Carlylse. Home."
She smiled at his words. "This place hasn't been home in nearly thirteen years."
"It'll always be home. Too much of our lives happened here for it to be anything else."
She nodded, knowing he was right. Then, he picked up the present and she blushed. "I feel terrible. I didn't get you anything yet."
Truth be told, she hadn't planned on buying him much more than a card. After twenty-five years of marriage, a simple card exchange and dinner out had sort of become their standard routine. There wasn't too much that either of them really wanted and with two kids in college, spending money on anything frivolous seemed like too much of a waste.
"You give me plenty, Faith," he said, tapping her nose playfully, and she had to take a quick breath to fight back the tears at his unexpected, sweet comment. She loved her husband and she knew for a fact that he loved her, but neither of them spoke in flowery phrases. Every night of their lives together, they'd kissed good-night and said the words, "love you," but after awhile, the meaning behind the words was lost in the rote pattern.
Looking down, she carefully opened the beautifully wrapped package. Pulling off the lid and digging into the tissue paper, she was surprised to find a photo album. She started to open the cover, but Troy's hand covered hers.
"You can only look at the first page," he said.
She looked up, the question in her eyes, but he didn't give her time to voice it.
"This is only the first stop in our celebration. One page for each place. I'll tell you when you can turn the page."
She looked at him for several moments, trying to assimilate this man and this incredibly romantic gesture with the easygoing guy who'd been leaving wet towels on her bathroom floor year after year.
Opening the photo album to the first page, she saw a picture of her and Troy the night of their senior prom. They hadn't come to the dance together, but they'd certainly left the gym hand in hand. His original date had come down with the flu, canceling the morning of. She'd come with Travis Scottsdale, her first semi-serious boyfriend and asshole of the century. Ten minutes after arriving at the dance, he told her he wanted to break up with her, leaving her sitting alone while he proceeded to make out in the corner with Amber Cooper.
"Oh my gosh. Look at us. We're so young."
"And sweaty," Troy joked. "We danced our asses off that night."
"It didn't help that the AC in the gym didn't work." Faith grinned at the memory.
"Must've been at least a hundred degrees in there."
Faith looked back at the photograph. "Where did you get this picture? I've never seen it."
"It was in the pocket of that letter jacket. I can't remember exactly where I got it. I think Judy Hayes gave it to me a couple weeks after the dance. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to pass it along to you."
"And obviously you forgot." Forgetting little things was a special talent of Troy's. She always had to remind him it was garbage day or to stop on the way home from work to pick up the dry cleaning.
Troy shrugged. "I was a teenage boy falling in love for the first time. Believe me, I was not about to give up that picture. I looked at it all the time."
This time, she couldn't hold back the tears his kind words provoked.
"Troy," she whispered.
He bent forward. "Kiss me," he murmured. Their lips touched. They'd kissed a million and twelve times in their lives, but this kiss, gentle and sweet and innocent, reminded her of their first. It was in this parking lot after the dance and she could still remember the excitement she felt when Troy Wainwright offered her a ride home. They'd gotten into his car and before he started the engine, he'd turned to her and said the exact same words.
Kiss me.
The request and the action had taken her breath away that night and she was feeling the same lightheadedness now as she had then. As soon as the memory entered her mind, she pulled away with a gasp and looked around. If she wasn't mistaken, this was very nearly the same parking spot.
"Our first kiss."
He grinned, pleased she'd remembered. "Yep. Right here. In front of the school." He turned on the radio and slid in a CD. Pushing Play, he pointed back down to the photo album as the sounds of Fleetwood Mac drifted through the speakers.
For the first time, her gaze traveled from the picture on the left page to a letter protected under the plastic film on the right page. It was written to her in Troy's handwriting.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Read it."
Faith,
You and I have known each other nearly our entire lives, traveling the same path through elementary, middle and high school. While we were acquaintances through those early years, I feel like I never really knew you, never saw you until the night of our senior prom.
Betsy Jordan coming down with the flu was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, even though I didn't realize it at the time. I remember how pissed off I was after her mother called and said she couldn't go to the dance with me. I almost stayed home that night, but my mom insisted I put the rented tux to use. You know my mom— waste not, want not.
I came late and by the time I got there, that dickhead, Travis had left you sitting all alone. I knew you all had been dating, so I was surprised when I saw him with Amber. I can still remember the look on your face as you watched him dancing with that other girl. You were so pale and yet, so strong. I could see how hard you were fighting not to cry, to hold on to your dignity. It was like a light went on inside me. I'd passed you in the hallways for years and never really looked at you, but that night, you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen and I wondered why in the hell I'd never noticed it before.
I was nervous as shit when I walked over to you and asked to sit down. You smiled at me and I felt like somebody had punched me in the gut. Talk about an instant attraction. We talked and laughed and after awhile, we started dancing. The last song of the night was "Landslide" and I took you in my arms and we slow danced while Stevie Nicks sang. After the dance, you said I could drive you home and we had our first kiss in the parking lot. I fell in love with you that night even though I was too stupid at the time to know it. When I dropped you off at your house, I asked if I could call you again and you said yes. I smiled the whole way home, thinking about you.
Even after all this time, I only have to think about you and I smile.
Love, Troy
Do Over is available at Carina, Amazon, Sony, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks.
July 27, 2011
July Report Card
As you know, I'm in education. Summers are my time to rejuvenate, refresh, and lay down some serious words! I started this summer with some very ambitious writing goals and I've worked hard to carry through on them. It was the summer of sequels as I wrote Because You Love Me (follow-up to Because of You and White Knight (Travis's story from Black Jack). They were fun books to write, though both held some special challenges. They were VERY different genres, so it took a bit of doing to switch gears.
Because You Love Me is a romantic suspense novel surrounding Bridget, a journalist who witnesses a brutal killing involving a high-powered judge. After going into protective custody, this New York City girl finds herself in ranch territory–Saratoga, Wyoming, and she's embroiled in a mystery, trying to find evidence that will put the murdering judge away for a good-long time. While there, she meets Mark and Matt James, Caleb's twin brothers and from there, the story heats up…in a lot of ways! It's on my Samhain editor's desk. Fingers crossed she likes it.
White Knight will mimic the same format as Black Jack. It's sort of two-stories-in-one as the action switches between the historical Shea and Travis and the contemporary counterparts. I got to stretch my historical writing skills again. I'm a HUGE regency romance fan and it was fun to write in that genre–tough, but fun. The story is set in Scoundrels again, let the fetish fantasies commence. Shea is the new waitress and she's hiding something from her new boss, Emma. When Travis sees Shea, he instantly senses she is a kindred spirit. He exposes her to some of his kinks–voyeurism and bondage, while succumbing to her in ways he never as before. You see, Shea's not the only person with a secret.
My next story will be a quickie as I write A Wild Irish Christmas. I've been missing the Collins clan and I thought it was time to get the gang back together for the holidays. The mom, Sunday, will make a big appearance in this one!
Then, my fall will be devoted to writing the last (sob) Compass book, Western Ties. Sawyer's story is fighting to be told. He's a bad boy…in a very good way.
