Maggie Wells's Blog, page 22

Monday Mayhem – Mail call!

Are you on my newsletter mailing list? If so, watch your inbox next week. I’m gearing up for the release of FLIP THIS LOVE, and I have some great giveaways coming!

Not on my list yet? Sign up here: Maggie’s Mailing List

Not only will I have digital and signed copies of FLIP to give away, but also some fabulous beach-themed prizes. Want a sneak peek? Pretty, pretty dragonflies!

Make sure your name is on the list!

 

Monday Mayhem – Inspirational tidbits

Part of the fun of writing the Coastal Heat series is exploring all the little treasures I’ve discovered about living in the south. I get to play with the family connections, friendships rooted in childhood, funny sayings, social foibles, and, of course, the food.

The first scene I wrote for FLIP THIS LOVE took place at a high-dollar society do. Where all the food was served on sheets of butcher paper. I’m talking about a crawfish boil, of course, and if you aren’t familiar with the way these are thrown down, here’s a visual image:

Want a taste of Laney and Harley’s story? Read on!

~

“That’s it. Suck, sugar.”

The husky timbre of Harley’s voice sent shivers down Laney’s spine. One warm hand slid from her shoulder to her back. The tips of his fingers dug into the valley of her spine. His hand could nearly span her waist. Her nipples puckered when he slipped that roving hand into her hair. Oh, how she wished she’d worn it up. She loved the feel of him. Loved being skin to skin with him. She almost wept with relief when he wrapped his big, broad palm around her nape. Heat seeped into the taut muscles of her neck. A thin stream of hot moisture escaped from the corner of her mouth and trickled down her chin.

“Oh, yeah. Suck harder.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d said those words to her. God help her, she knew it wouldn’t be the last. She was weak, a quivering mass of happy, hurt, and oh-please-touch-me-again. But she needed to toughen up. She had to be on her guard. The man was as insidious as the kudzu that crept into her mother’s flower garden.

Laney pulled the spent crawfish shell from her mouth and dropped it onto the butcher paper in front of her. Fingers tangled in her hair and tugged lightly; a tiny lightning bolt of white-hot desire streaked straight through her. She looked up in time to see Harley flash old Mrs. Hillbury a dimpling smile and commandeer the folding chair beside hers.

“Evenin’, Delaney.”

Scrambling to assemble her thoughts, Laney turned away from Harley’s choir-boy-gone-bad grin and searched the crowd. She sure could use a swallow of the cold beers her friend Brooke had gone to fetch for them, but her trusty pal was nowhere to be seen. Of course. Laney was on her own. She ought to be used to it by now. She should be a professional when it came to rebuffing this man’s advances. She only needed to tap into the sass. No better way to keep a man dancing on the string than to let him think he had half a chance. But only half.

The first time Harley Cade asked her out, Laney Tarrington laughed in his face. Then she locked herself in the ladies’ room and did a happy dance. The second time, she mocked him mercilessly. To his face. Perverse thing he was, Harley seemed to enjoy her abuse. So much so that she lay awake into the wee small hours plotting ways to entice him.

The third time he asked her out, Harley gave up any pretense of acting like a gentleman. He leaned in close, and right there, in the middle of the Saints Preserve Us fundraiser for their alma mater, St. Patrick’s Academy, in a voice barely above a whisper, he told her all the things he wanted to do to her. With her. For her.

In graphic detail. In language most Southern men would never consider using with a lady.

She almost cracked. How the hell could any red-blooded American woman resist him? Didn’t hurt that the man was built like some kind of old-time mafia muscle and sported a pair of dimples deep enough to bury a body.

But she had resisted.

She resisted the fourth, fifth, and sixth times, too. The seventh time got her. Lucky number seven. Oh, God, had it been lucky. She took him back to the tiny apartment she kept in her parents’ carriage house and let him have his wicked way with her. Unyielding as she might have been at first, Laney had to admit the man lived up to the hype.

And then the son of a bitch up and left town the next day.

If he thought he could waltz back into town and pick up where they left off… She waved the possibility away like she was batting at a pesky mosquito. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He blinked, all boyish innocence trapped in a bar bouncer’s body. “Why, I live here, sugar.” The dimples winked as he scooted his chair closer. “Did ya miss me?”

Laney hoped the shiver his molasses-thick baritone unleashed wasn’t visible to the naked eye. The moment the thought crystallized, she blinked, trying to strike the word ‘naked’ from her internal dictionary. She definitely needed to dispatch the too-tempting man beside her.

Hell, she’d spent most her life putting men in their place. It was child’s play for her. At least, it should have been. A smart mouth combined with a cool stare had long been her number one, never-fail defense mechanism. It worked like a charm. Except with Harley. For some reason, it always took a little extra moxie to dispense with this particular man.

Arching one eyebrow, she turned enough to catch sight of his eye. Big mistake. Those eyes were the smooth, clear green of old fashioned Coca-Cola bottles. Looking into them made her mouth run dry. She wanted a long, deep drink of this man. Damn good thing her own mama had drilled the art of self-denial into her almost from the cradle.

She could overpower this unseemly desire. She only needed to put her mind to it. And get her heart to stop thumping like a drum line. All the aforementioned physical reactions coalesced into one big pot of want, and judging by the knowing glint in his eyes, she wasn’t hiding a damn thing from him. She knew exactly how to wipe the smile from his face. Pursing her lips, she gave her head a slow, pitying shake.

“Well, they will let anyone into these things, won’t they?”

“It’s a fundraiser, so yes. Anyone with plenty of money in the bank.”

~

Read more on April 26th!

Monday Mayhem – Ramping up!

April is here! That means it’s almost time for FLIP THIS LOVE!

At last!

All month long, I’ll be ramping up to release day. That means you can expect lots of blog posts, giveaways, and tidbits on social media. The fact is, writing the book doesn’t take nearly as long as the editing, packaging, and promoting does.

I received my author copies in the mail a couple weeks ago, and ordered a supply of paper books to have on hand for the book signings. Remember, I’ll be at the Chicago North RWA Spring Fling (May 21st, Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, IL 3-5pm) and the Diamond State Romance Authors 10th anniversary signing at Hastings (Benton, AR) on June 18, 2016.

In the meantime, I’m still making new words for Ransomed Heart. I’m past the 70k mark. That means I’m heading into the last quarter of play. Gotta keep moving!

How about you? How are you ramping up for Spring?

Monday Mayhem – long weekend checklist

Sleep in every day? Check.

Engage in a little retail therapy? Check.

Lunch with the mister at our favorite BBQ joint? Check.

Eat peanut butter pie? Check.

Nap? Check.

Errands run? Check.

Yard work? Check.

Put words on page each day? Check.

Read other people’s words? Check.

Watched television between wording? Check.

Completed second round copy edits on Love & Rockets? Check.

Deliver Easter basket to grandbaby? Check.

Hot date to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2? Check.

Popcorn and SnoCaps consumed? Check.

Ready to head back to work so I can get some rest? Eh…

How was your weekend?

 

Monday Mayhem – Ten good things

Lots of good things going on. Ready for a check in?

I’m over the halfway point with drafting  Ransomed Heart ! Woohoo! This is the point in the story where I have no idea what my characters are doing, and I just hope they will bring it around again. You see, they’ve stopped listening to me a few thousand words back. Being a panther, I’m okay with letting them go for a little bit. I can always rein them in at revision time. 
I have received and returned the first round of edits on book #3 in the Coastal Heat series, Love & Rockets ! And…just one of the many cool parts about this book: it will release on my birthday! Look for it at your favorite retailer on November 16, 2016!
Speaking of Love & Rockets , the cover art fairy visited my inbox this week, and I may have squealed a bit. I’ll share the goods as soon as I get the green light.
Got an AWESOME 5 STAR early review for Flip This Love (Coastal Heat #2, April 26, 2016) at Epilogue Book Blog! From the feedback I’ve had so far, readers are loving our new hero, Harley Cade. Yay!!!!
Going Deep  (Coastal Heat #1) is on sale this month for only $0.99. This is the first book in the series, so if you haven’t read it, grab it now!
Six? Funny, I have about 6 future story proposals under consideration. Cross everything!
Six must be the number of the week! It’s been just over a year since I sent a query letter off to Sara Megibow, asking her to read Full Court Press . Since then, we’ve done deals for 6 books together.
Have you tried the Buttered Toffee shakes at Sonic Drive-Ins? Yeah. Best. Shake. Ever.
Completed my 100 word/100 days challenge. Stats: Total words added to WIPs 88,446! Today, I am starting a new 100 day challenge, but this time I’m going to try to go for 500 per day.
This week, I was reminded again of how very lucky I am to have such loving and supportive friends and family. Thank you for being a part of my life. You are the very best part.

 

Monday Mayhem – Venturing forth

It has rained for more than a week. Not a few intermittent showers, either. We’re talking steady, pouring, sometimes torrential rains. While it wasn’t as bad here as it was in southern Arkansas and the northern part of Louisiana, the flash flooding in prone areas was bad enough to make us have to alter our usual routes for a few days.

Those of you who know me know that I’m rather like a kitten when it comes to getting wet. I don’t care much for it. Oh, I kept myself busy with writing in the evenings. Even picked up a few beach-y themed prizes for the FLIP THIS LOVE launch next month:

 

But by the end of the week, we were getting restless. So what did we do? We went off to the races!

It’s racing season at OakLawn track in Hot Springs, so we drove down to meet up with some friends to watch the ponies run a muddy track. It was Daffodil Day at the track, so my boyfriend bought me a crown.

After a day of tossing $2 bets around like we were big money, we headed back to Little Rock for the real big time. A date with a 3 year-old and a giant rodent. Due to the ceaseless rain, my boy’s birthday party had to be moved from the nice little park near their house, to the dreaded Chuck E. Cheese.

We survived. A nap was procured (for him and for me), and now I am back in the chair and past the halfway point on this draft of Ransomed Heart. Oh, and the sun is supposed to make an appearance today. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

Monday Mayhem – Welcome March!

So glad March is here. Not only did we have a beautiful weekend, but the daffodils are blooming and a young woman’s thoughts are turning to romance. Writing romance.

I’m proud to say I managed to keep up with my 100 words/100 days through all the trauma of February. There were some days when I eked by with just over 100, but I made my goal each day. If I can make it through to the 19th, I’ll hit the 100 day mark. I’ll share my total word count when all is said and done.

I’m working on the second book in the Warrior series. I’ve also got a few proposals for future work out there, so cross your fingers. Writers are like sharks, we just have to keep moving forward.

One of the fun things I’ve been doing is participating in the Seasoned Romance group on Facebook. This group is for readers and writers who want to see more couples with a little more life experience behind them. If your’e on Facebook and want to talk about book you love, join us!

In other news: GOING DEEP is on sale this month for only $0.99!

Why, you ask? Because FLIP THIS LOVE is going to be released next month!!

I can’t wait for you to meet Harley and Laney! I think you’ll really like them!

That’s what I have going so far. What’s new with you?

 

 

Monday Mayhem – Farewell February

Okay, ‘farewell’ wasn’t my first choice of ‘F’ words to use, but I’m trying to keep things polite.

What craptastic month is has been. It may be the shortest month on the calendar, but February more than made up for its deficiencies by hitting me, my friends, and loved ones with an overabundance of deaths, illnesses, accidents, financial hurdles, as well as personal and professional disappointments.

So, yeah, buh-bye, February.

Take your extra day and hit the road, Jack. We’ve had enough of you and your shenanigans.

Coming next week: Attitude adjustment and forward progress. Stay tuned.

 

 

It’s been mayhem

We lost my mom on February 11, 2016.

It’s been a long couple of years for her. For all of us. And now she’s at peace.

I could write a thousand words about my thoughts, feelings, and blah blah blah, but I won’t. I can’t. It’s just not me. Let me just say I’m sad. Very sad. I’m trying to keep moving forward because that’s the way I cope. But it isn’t easy.

So my plan is to keep trying. I may spin my wheels a bit, but eventually I’ll get traction.

In the meantime, I’ll take my mommy’s advice and try not to let my ‘little heart grow weary.’

Hug your loved ones.

xoxo

Margaret

 

Monday Mayhem – Affairs of the Heart

Like contemporary romance? I’m participating in the Affairs of the Heart Valentine’s giveaway February 8 – 15th, and we’ll be giving away tons of awesome books and a Kindle! This includes my book, GOING DEEP!

Enter today and tell all of your romance loving things!

It was migraine week in Magsland, which means very little got done. I did, however, finish Chapter Seven of RANSOMED HEART. That puts me at the 1/3 point. I’ve discovered a lot about my characters that I didn’t know before. That means, I’ll be spending a good chunk of this week tearing apart what I have, tightening the story arc, and exploring some of that uncharted territory.

I’ll also be ordering a big tin of Garrett’s Mix for my beloved. How about you? Making big plans for hearts and flowers day?