Zara West's Blog, page 28

Zara’s Words for Readers & Writers

Zara West Suspense

I have always loved words. Words are amazing things. They can make us feel happy. They can cut us to the quick. Loving words as much as I do, it comes as no surprise that I am a reader and a writer.

When I was a teenager I collected favorite words and phrases on index cards. I no longer have those cards nor the rusty metal file box I kept them in. In some ways it would be exciting to read them again and see what words would still have meaning for me.

Then again, perhaps it is for the best that they no longer exist. There is something frightening about our older-self meeting our younger-self and discovering that we have changed — or that we have not.

What I have learned about words since I was a teenager could fill volumes. Here are a few thoughts…

Single words can be powerful. They can encompass a universe of meaning or mark on our souls. Writers collect words. I have an overflowing looseleaf binder of words I love and use in my writing. Are you a word collector too?

Salubrious | Toothsome | Euphony | Gobbling | Miraculous

Phrases make us think and feel. They add action and texture to the single word. They are similes, metaphors, bits of events and sensory splashes. I keep a small notebook in my purse and jot down phrases describing people, events, and nature whenever the inspiration strikes. Do you?

the hunched shoulders of a homeless man

the pervasive stink of disinfectant and alcohol

the sticky sweetness of a lollipop

Paragraphs form complete thoughts. As every high school student has learned in English class, there’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. In fiction, a paragraph might start with the setting, then an action, followed by a physical or emotional reaction, and end with an internal or external thought or decision. When I write a rough draft, I never think about paragraphs. But when editing, the paragraph is the thing. Each one needs to be complete and yet link the one before and the one after. Otherwise the writing sounds choppy, and the action gets lost. When paragraphs are well-written, the reader will never ever notice them.

It was a night for lovers. The city air had that clean, fresh Sunday-night taste. The factory emissions from the weekdays had blown away at last. Overhead, the stars twinkled like the children’s rhyme. Melissa slipped her arm into his and dreamed of romance and kisses and a future with this man as they walked along the river’s edge. He was everything a girl could want.

Snippet from Beneath the Skin

Quotes convey the thoughts of others over time and space. They embody history, hope, dreams, and nuggets of wisdom. It is not surprising that quotes are widely re-shared and re-tweeted on social media. How many times have you shared a quotation? I must admit that I am a quotation junkie. perhaps, you have seen some of mine floating around the Internet. If not, I have posted a few below. You will find more on my favorite Quotes for Readers & Writers in my Google Plus Collections. Go take a peek and feel free to share  on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else!

Of course not everybody loves quotes. Here are some quotations about quotations…

A quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious process. A.A. Milne

A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought. Dorothy L. Sayers

Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously, the words of another. Ambrose Bierce

What do you love about words? 
Let me know. I love getting your comments & questions.

Related articles across the web

Quote of the Day on Nature Photo
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”
They’re Only Words….. Aren’t They?

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Awesome Romance Author Nancy Northcott

Zara West Suspense

This week I am interviewing romance author Nancy Northcott. If you love history blended with suspense and fantasy you will love Nancy’s books. 

Nancy writes in two of my favorite romance genres, historical fantasy and romantic suspense. In her interview, Nancy shares some of the background experiences, especially comics, that shaped her as a writer and gives us a sneak peak at her latest book – a romantic suspense anthology.

Here’s Nancy…

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

As a child, I hoped to grow up and become Wonder Woman–until about fourth grade, when I realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes.  That didn’t stop me from loving comic books, though, and I also gravitated toward Nancy Drew, science fiction and fantasy, history and romance. I still read all those genres.

What interesting jobs have you had?

I had a part-time job selling comic books for about a year.  I enjoyed that a lot, but the demands of my full-time job eventually led me to give it up.

In college, I worked as a ride operator in an amusement park one summer and fall.  You really see a cross-section of people in that job!

What was the most interesting place you every visited?

It’s hard to pick the most interesting, but the most unusual, and the one my friends are most surprised that I love, is the Okefenokee swamp. It’s really a black water peat bog, not a swamp, so it doesn’t smell.  Still, I’m not Nature Woman.  I like my surroundings climate-controlled and my wildlife safely distant, as anyone who knows me soon realizes. Yet there’s something about the Okefenokee that draws me.

The water perfectly reflects the sky and the terrain.  There are cypress trees draped in Spanish moss, water lilies, and other interesting plants.  We’ve seen alligators, otters, turtles, and various birds there, and I know there are also deer and bears. The Okefenokee is 400 square miles of wilderness.  If you look at a night-time photo of North America from space, you can see a big, dark space just north of the Florida/Georgia line.  That’s the Okefenokee.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

The genres kind of chose me.  Thanks to Nancy Drew, I love romantic suspense.  The comic books, speculative fiction, and history drew me to write paranormal romance and historical fantasy.  I write mages, or wizards, because they’re the closest option I have to the superheroes I’ve always enjoyed so much.

I sold a paranormal romance first, so I have more of those out, as the Light Mage Wars/Protectors series, but I enjoyed writing straight romantic suspense for the Capitol Danger anthology with Suzanne Ferrell, Jeanne Adams, and J.D. Tyler. Just by the way, the anthology is set at an inaugural ball for the first woman president, but that’s not us picking sides in the election. We wrote our novellas when there were several women still in the race.

Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?

Yes.  I have a spy series that skates the line between romance and suspense.  It’s written in first person snarky, and the series features one continuing couple.  I plan to publish it myself once I have the first few books written.  I hope that will be next year.

What project are you working on now?

Aside from the snarky spy books, I’m writing Nemesis, the next novel in my Light Mage Wars paranormal romance series.  I’m also writing a Light Mages Christmas story, “The Magic Christmas Guy,” and developing a sequel to my novella in Capitol Danger.What do you like most about writing?

I get to dream up magic and play “what if” as much as I want.  And I can safely have adventures that would scare the bejabbers out of me in real life.

Thanks for having me, Zara!

Capitol Danger
A Romantic Suspense Anthology

This is a romantic suspense anthology like no other! Four stories, one event and four dangerous missions on the same night.

It’s Inauguration Night.  Glamorous balls throughout the nation’s capital celebrate a landmark event. The town and nation are in the mood to celebrate. But not everyone is so pleased.

A home-grown sect known as the Red Mantle plan to make it an event to remember for their reasons. As their assault succeeds it will be up to those attending the ball to step up and face the fanatics, or die trying.

UNMASKED: An Edgars Family Novella-by Suzanne Ferrell

Abigail Whitson and Luke Edgars are working an undercover operation during the inaugural ball in an attempt to discover who has stolen land to air missiles before they can be sold to a broker—their target for the night. When the playboy arms dealer arrives at the ball, his bodyguard turns out to be someone from Luke’s past.

That isn’t the only surprise of the night. When the ball is invaded by terrorists, Abby and Luke find themselves trying to extract the arms dealer from the fray to protect their mission, while they also risk their lives to protect innocents from the carnage.

DEATH UNDER GLASS by Jeanne Adams

Edward Millner and his girlfriend, Retta Geminous, are celebrating a glittering inaugural.  When Red Mantle terrorists take the ballroom, both bullets and glass start flying.  Edward and Retta help the agents still standing retake the ballroom, but casualties are high.  Can Edward face his demons and use his former Special Forces medical skills to save the night?  Can Retta and Edward overcome their troubled hearts in the face of certain death?

DANGER’S EDGE by Nancy Northcott

When terrorists disrupt the inaugural ball, new Arachnid Agency operative Kelsey Mitchell tables her planned undercover operation and works to bring help into the hotel.  Her only ally is Greg Reed, an FBI agent on medical leave after being shot during a robbery.  Kelsey dreads making a novice mistake, and Greg is afraid he’s lost his edge.

Attraction flares between them though Kelsey knows the Feds disapprove of people who work for her freewheeling agency. Together, she and Greg must fight their demons and the terrorists to gather intel for the FBI and create a safe landing zone for a rescue force.  Can they succeed against overwhelming odds, or will the battle cost one or both their lives—or their hearts?

LETHAL TARGET: An Armed & Deadly Novella by J.D. Tyler

FBI Special Agent Dalton McCoy is playing a deadly game, working undercover for Methan, leader of the extremist terrorist group, the Red Mantle. He’ll stop at nothing to keep Methan and his men from achieving their goal of bringing down key members of the government. When Dalton’s plans come to an unexpected head at the glittering inaugural ball, he doesn’t count on tenacious reporter Jolie Montfort placing herself in Methan’s line of fire as well. Now the agent must take out the terrorist leader and get them both to safety before it’s too late…

Buy Links
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | KOBO

Learn more about Nancy…

Nancy’s Social Media links;

Website: www.nancynorthcott.com

Twitter: @NancyNorthcott

Facebook:  https://facebook.com/nancynorthcottauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3468806.Nancy_Northcott

If you have any questions or comments for Nancy Northcott, please post them below, and she will get back to you.

 

 

 

 

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Awesome Romance Author Terri Reed

Zara West Suspense

Looking for a great romance author to read? This week my guest author is author Terri Reed. Terri writes both heart-warming romance and romantic suspense novels. She has just released a new Harlequin  Identify Unknown, and I am so pleased she is here to share her writing experiences with us today. 

For my interview, Terri  answers questions about her writing and her advice on criticism.

Please welcome Terri Reed…

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you would change?  

Yes there is. When I was twenty I had a college creative writing professor tell me I should be writing for Harlequin. He offered to introduce me to a friend of his that wrote for the publisher but I was too afraid to believe him and too sure that I wasn’t a good writer. I regret not taking him seriously and I wish I could go back to take him up on that offer.

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I have always wanted to be an author. I remember in junior high school telling people that I would one day be a writer. Even though I took a writing class in college, I didn’t pursue writing until I was in my late twenties. I took a class at the local junior class on how to write a romance since that was what I read. I discovered Romance Writers of America, starting really learning the craft and embarked on my first book. It took ten years for that book to become published but I was determined I wouldn’t give up.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

There are so many books that have touched my life at various points. My love of mysteries and suspense began with Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

I had a reviewer call me uneducated along with a swear word. My book apparently hit a nerve.

What has been the best compliment? Every time a reader writes to say they were touched, or helped by one of my books I am deeply grateful.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?  

Never stop learning, never stop believing in yourself and your writing and never give up. Perseverance in this business is a must.

 

Identity Unknown by Terri Reed

Identity Unknown from Love Inspired Suspense is a heart-pounding romantic suspense set in a fictional town on the coast of Maine. Its nearly Christmas, deputy sheriff Audrey Martin is watching over the town when a call comes in that a man has washed ashore. The man’s memories are missing. Someone wants him dead. Can Audrey help him unravel the past and stop a killer in time for a bright Christmas?







Buy Link
 Amazon


Discover more about Terri…
If you’d like to receive Terri’s newsletter and learn more about her and her writing you can sign up on her webpage at www.terrireed.com If you’d like to join her readers group for early access to books and prizes, you can join from my webpage as well.

Terri can also be found on Facebook


If you have any questions or comments for Terri, please post them below, and she will get back to you.

 

 

 

 

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I Have Started a Journaling Blog – Check It Out!

Zara West Suspense

Why would anyone want to write?
What is the hardest part of writing?
What ideas are swirling around in my mind?
What frustrates me as a writer?

I have always kept a journal ever since I did ethnographic research and learned the discipline of recording my notes every night.

When I wasn’t doing fieldwork, my journaling focused on my work as a teacher and the joys and non-joys of being a parent. When I traveled, I would carry small leather bound journal to capture the things I experienced.

Now I am starting a whole new career, a whole new persona. I am a writer. A published writer! I started keeping a hand written journal and then another and another until my desk is overloaded with little spiral notebooks, and my poor kitty can’t sit beside me for her petting. So here goes. I am tossing the little books and taking my journaling up a notch. I have a set up a Journaling Blog.

If you are interested in reading about my trials and tribulations as a writer, you can find my journaling blog at https://zarawest.wordpress.com. There you will find my irregular posts about my experiences as a writer.

I welcome your comments and feedback.
Warning! You may find typos and missing words in my journal posts as this is where words come streaming out of my mind and land on the page unedited. Feel free to correct.

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Awesome Romance Author Vicki Batman

Zara West Suspense

Looking for a great romance author to read? This week my guest author is fellow Wild Rose author Vicki Batman. Vicki writes romantic comedy with a twist of suspense. She has just released a new book Temporarily Insane, and I am so pleased she is here to share it with us. 

For my interview, Vicki answers questions about her hobbies, handbags, and her advice on criticism.

Please welcome Vicki Batman…

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

What do you do when you are not writing?

Mostly, I needlepoint. I’m just your average kind of stitcher-the basics. And sometimes, embroidery. Love to read. And go with Handsome to the movies.

What interesting jobs have you had?

I’ve had a lot of different ones: I really began babysitting at age 13, volunteered as a day camp aid, lifeguard, day camp leader, amusement park employee in several areas, hardware store clerk, antique store clerk, department store clerk, assistant buyer, marketing assistant, finance assistant, worked special events for a book store, worked for Handsome, worked market.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

I think the romantic comedy genre found me. First, I had no idea I was funny until a friend told me so. Second, I’ve read mysteries every since I can remember—Trixie Belden, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew—and my favorite is Dick Francis. So the funny came out in a light mystery. Voila!

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

I am a huge Dick Francis, Mary Stewart, Emilie Loring, Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, Janet E. fan.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

Temporarily Insane is a follow up to Temporarily Employed. Heroine, Hattie Cooks takes temporary jobs when the job she adores falls down the drain due to an economic downturn. Murder and mayhem ensue.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

Oh yes, there’s some things, like favorite car – Jeep. Favorite accessory – handbag. Favorite treat – chocolate. And some people have done or said things that inspired me!

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

What has been the best compliment? When I first began, I entered contests and one judge wrote on the front of my submission “Why are you writing?” I was devastated. Like most newbies, I thought I was doing a good job. I lamented over her comment for two days. Then I decided “no one can determine my destiny but me.” I went back to work. So what was bad and could have been worded more delicately, ended up pushing me.

Temporarily Insane by Vickie Batman

Bad job. Wrong love. And Murder.

Hattie Cooks is still searching for her dream job and one might be available…in the Big Apple, far from friends, family, and Allan Wellborn, the man who still makes her heart race. In the meantime, she finds temporary employment at an accounting firm where two auditor friends turn up dead.

Detective Allan Wellborn dropped Hattie for Blonde Bimbo who, coincidentally, is employed at NLB where fishy things are taking place. When Allan interviews Hattie, he must determine why all signs point to her as a suspect.

Can Hattie discover why Allan dumped her and who is murdering auditors before death strikes again?

Buy Links

Amazon ebook or paperback | Barnes & Noble ebook| Wild Rose Press e-book or paperback

 

 

Discover more about Vicki here…

Website: http://vickibatman.blogspot.com/p/more-about-me.html

Facebook: http://bit.ly/293iZIz

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickiBatman/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/vickibatman/

Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/author/vickibatman

Email: vlmbatman@hotmail.com

If you have any questions or comments for Vicki, please post them below, and she will get back to you.

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Minimalist Tattoos – Perfect for a Romance Writer or Not?

Zara West Suspense

To Tattoo or Not To Tattoo?

As many of you know, the next book in my Skin Quartet series, Close to the Skin, features a tattoo artist, Bella Bell, as the heroine. Now, I have to admit that I personally do not have a tattoo. Occasionally, I wear a temporary one. I have worn ones from Inkbox and from Tattly. I even have a specially designed temporary one for Book 1 Beneath the Skin as shown here. [If you like it, e-mail me, and I will send you one.]

However, I bet right now you are scratching your head and asking, how can you write about something you’ve never experienced? Well, with a background in anthropology, I have had a lot of opportunity to write about cultural practices that I have not experienced personally.

So how have I learned about tattooing? A good anthropologist and a good writer both have to be fantastic researchers. I have interviewed tattoo artists and people who have tattoos. I have read blogs and watched videos about the process. I have read dissertations about the meaning of tattoos and why people get them.

However, I am wondering if I should still get a tattoo. Just a little one. A minimalist tattoo. That way I will have even more understanding of the process as I write about it.

Today, I found this collection of beautiful tiny or minimalist tattoos on the Bored Panda blog. They are really beautiful and very tempting. They were created by New York City tattoo artist JonBoy. You can see a collection of his work on his website. http://www.jonboytattoo.com. [Photos used by permission]

Here are four I particularly like.

 

 

The question is would I get tired of having the same design on my skin over time? From research, I  know that very fine lined tattoos blur and fade rather quickly and will need retouching. What do you think? Is it worth getting one? I like the cat and the pine tree. The wild flowers are elegant. But the wave is the one I would get. It’s simple and elegant and makes me think my writing retreat on the ocean.

So what do you think? Should I get a tattoo?  Which one of these would you pick?

Related articles across the web

10+ Minimalist Digitally-Designed Tattoos By Russian Artist
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How to get rid of a tattoo
Harry Potter Tattoos That Would Make J.K. Rowling Proud
These guys invented realistic tattoos that last only two weeks

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Awesome Romance Author Doreen Alsen

Zara West Suspense

Looking for a great romance author to read? 

This week my guest is fellow Wild Rose Press author Doreen Alsen. I have know Doreen for a long time. She is a member of my romance writing chapter and has been very supportive in my own writing career. Doreen has written over 12 romance novels. How she does that along with everything else she does is just amazing!

Please welcome, Doreen…

What do you do when you are not writing?

All kinds of things: I started my adult life as a music teacher (private and public school), opera singer, and choral conductor and those things are still a large part of my life, though I no longer teach public school. I teach water aerobics, which is a blast! I love to cook, and I am learning to play the folk harp.

What has influenced you as a writer?

When I was a child I was a devoted reader of the Happy Hollister mystery series, which totally gave me a love of reading and writing a series. I loved Louisa May Alcott, in particular Little Women and the following books. While most people love Jo, I loved Meg and John Brooke.

Then I discovered Victoria Holt and all bets were off. My goal was to write a book like hers. I especially loved The Curse of the Kings (if we’d had a boy, I’d have talked my husband into calling him Tybalt!) and On the Night of the Seventh Moon.

Authors I admire now, who write in my genre, are Suzanne Brockmann (Kiss and Tell), Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Heaven, Texas), Susan Andersen (Exposure), and Jennifer Crusie (Fast Women).

Tell us about your newly released book.

Worth A Thousand Words is part of both my At The End Zone series from The Wild Rose Press and part of TWRP’s Lobster Cove series. The story: Disgraced and disfigured supermodel Angelique Durand has moved to Lobster Cove, ME to recuperate and decide what she wants to do with the rest of her life. All she knows for sure is that she never wants another picture taken of her ever again. Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Tim Baldwin returns to his family’s summer home in Lobster Cove after being kidnapped by ISIS and barely escaping death. The kidnapping has robbed him of many things, his ability to take pictures being one of them. Imagine his relief when he finds he can take photos again – of Angelique, but he has to keep that fact a secret. Angelique comes from the fourth book in my End Zone series, A Taste of Hope. We meet Tim in the very first book of the same series, Mike’s Best Bet.

Worth a Thousand Words by Doreen Alsen

Angelique Durand had it all, beauty, a flourishing career as a super-model, and a fabulous existence living the high life in Europe. All that came to a crashing halt when she was arrested for a crime she didn’t commit and had a tragic accident that left her face disfigured. She’s come to Lobster Cove to hide and rebuild her life. Nothing in her future is certain except for one thing – she will never, ever stand in front of a camera again.

Tim Baldwin, a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist, was kidnapped by ISIS and held hostage. Rescued just before his scheduled execution, Tim returned to his family’s summer home. Suffering from PTSD, he has also lost his ability to take pictures. Things change when an intriguing woman moves into the beach house next door and she is the only subject Tim can photograph.

Can these two battered souls come together to find everlasting love?

Excerpt

This was going well, Angelique thought. The Oysters Hope tasted pretty much the same as they did when Lucien made them. And she had double-checked. There wasn’t a single piece of shell or grit in any of the oysters. She hoped she hadn’t messed up the gumbo.

Although, could you call it gumbo if it didn’t have any okra in it? Even so, she kept her fingers crossed. At least she’d been able to find Abito beer here in the great wild North, the only thing to drink with gumbo.

“It smells great.” Tim sniffed into the air, like he was Chester scenting hamburgers cooking on a nearby grill.

She put some saffron rice into each bowl then ladled the gumbo over it. It smelled pretty much like Grand-mère’s.

“Go ahead,” she told him. “Let me know what you think.” She held her breath.

He dipped his spoon into the soup then brought it slowly to his mouth. He blew over the spoon and slid it past his lips. His faced turned red and he started wheezing. He looked like he was having a heart attack.

Oh my God! What did you do for someone having a heart attack? She had no idea, so she went with the basics. Call 911. She scrambled back into the house to get her phone. She punched the numbers.

“This is 911. What is your emergency?”

“My friend is having a heart attack! You’ve got to come quick!” Angelique started to hyperventilate.

“Please calm down, ma’am. What is your address?”

“Fifteen Seagull Lane. Hurry!”

“The E.M.T.s are on their way.”

“Okay! Thank you!” She clicked the phone off and turned to run back to the patio and try to keep Tim from dying out there.

She froze. Tim stood in the door from the deck.“What are you doing there? You’re supposed to be dying of a heart attack!”

“Sorry to disappoint you. It wasn’t a heart attack.”

“It wasn’t?” she squeaked.

“Nope. That gumbo is pretty spicy.”

“Spicy! Spicy? I thought you were having a heart attack! I called 911!”

“Um, about that…are those sirens I hear?” He coughed. It might have been to cover up a laugh.

Since he wasn’t having a heart attack, she might have to kill him with her own bare hands. “Oh, no,” she groaned. “Can they put you in jail for calling in an emergency when there wasn’t one?”

He grinned. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Great. Just great. Lucien can never, ever find out about this.”

The E.M.T.s were pounding down her door. “I’m coming,” she hollered as she went to let them in. They burst into the room lugging a small fortune in electrical equipment and a gurney. “Where’s the victim?”

Tim waved from the door. “Right here.”

Buy Links

TWRP ~ Amazon ~ AllRomance

Visit Doreen at







doreenalsen.com & doreenalsen.blogspot.com

If you have any questions or comments for Doreen, please post them below, and she will get back to you.








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Awesome Romance Author Diane Burton

Zara West Suspense

Looking for a great romance author to read? 

Diane is my first featured author who writes bothThis week my guest is fellow Wild Rose Press author Diane Burton.  romantic suspense and science fiction.  Today she  talks about facing rejection, her romantic suspense, One Red Shoe, which is celebrating its 3rd birthday, and her new book Mission to New Earth. She is also offering my lucky readers a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. You will find the entry form at the end.

So please welcome Diane Burton…

It’s a pleasure to be here, Zara. I love visiting a fellow The Wild Rose Press author.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I live near the west coast of Michigan with my husband of 43 years. We have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. After moving around the Midwest following Hubs’ job, we finally settled close to our daughter and 2 of the grandchildren. Our other family lives in Phoenix, so we visit them in the winter. Leaving snowy Michigan for Arizona is so hard. LOL

What interesting jobs have you had?

My daughter and I learned sign language because a deaf child was in her 1st grade class. Subsequently, I became a substitute teacher in the deaf education classes. As the only non-musician, I worked as a data entry clerk in a flute store (which sold flutes and flute music). Along with being a long-time volunteer, I worked for the Girl Scout council as (again) a data entry clerk. My last job before retirement was as a technician in the Land Department of an oil and gas company.

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

Does the word rejection sound familiar? After ten years of serious writing, I sold my first book, a science fiction romance, to a small niche publisher. That book was released two weeks before September 11, 2001. More rejections, then Life interfered. In 2011, I self-published my first book in digital form. Since then, I’ve self-published eight more books (2 PI mysteries; 6 science fiction romances). I also published a romantic suspense with The Wild Rose Press. Tomorrow is One Red Shoe’s book birthday.

How did you come up with the title?

That was the easier title to come up with. Originally, the first sentence was “The man limping toward her wore one red shoe.” The story started as a writing exercise during a writers’ meeting. Much changed, especially after I went to NYC and rode the subway. The romantic suspense is a road trip with the heroine rescuing a wounded spy who’s being chased by hit men for the Russian mafia.

Will you have a new book coming out soon?

I just released Mission to New Earth, a science fiction romance novella about astronauts preparing to go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet for Earth’s inhabitants before our world is destroyed.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?

To quote the movie Galaxy Quest, never give up, never surrender. The difference between those who write and those who are published boils down to perseverance. You have to finish the book and submit it.

Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

I am so thrilled that readers have found my books. I hope they have enjoyed the adventure and, at the end, let out a sigh of satisfaction. I do hope that if readers like my books they will leave a review. Or even if they don’t like it, still leave a review. I can always learn.

Thanks so much for having me here, Zara.

Happy 3rd Birthday to One Red Shoe
One Red Shoe  by Diane Burton

Adventure and romance…in this world and beyond

It Happened One Night meets Knight and Day

When elementary teacher, Daria Mason, left Iowa for a writers’ conference in New York City, she didn’t expect to come home with a wounded spy. Sam Jozwiak works for a shadow agency that gathers intel vital to U.S. security. From the moment he steals digital files from a Russian Mafia kingpin, Murphy’s Law takes over. No matter how he covers his tracks, the kingpin’s assassins find him. What’s worse than getting shot in the butt? Accepting help from an Iowa tourist. Thus, begins a road trip that takes Sam and Daria cross country with the assassins right behind them.

Excerpt:

For the second time in her life, Daria Mason came face-to-face with a man pointing a weapon at her. A pervert, with unzipped jeans, wielded a green box knife. Because she’d raced into the restroom without checking out the situation, he now stood between her and the exit.

She was at the end of the proverbial rope. After walking in circles, she finally found a restroom and nobody was stopping her from using it. Especially not someone playing copycat with that guy in the movie who wore one red shoe.

“I am having a really bad day,” she declared in the don’t cross me voice she used on her brothers. As soon as her words echoed off the hideous pink and black tiled walls and floor, she lowered her voice. “You are in the wrong place, mister. Now zip up and get out.” She pointed straight-armed toward the door.

The man shook his head and set the flimsy knife on the counter. “Lady, you have more guts than sense. You are in the wrong place, at the wrong time.” His voice was even softer as hers. He eyed her with a look so dark and intense it paralyzed her like a hawk froze its prey.

TWRP ~ Amazon ~ iTunes ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble ~ ARe

Mission to New Earth by Diane Burton

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to ramp up exploration of new planets for a possible new home. As Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, are they ready for the one-way trip? Will they be in time to save Earth’s inhabitants?

Amazon ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ ARe ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. She is also a contributor to two anthologies: Portals, Volume 2 and How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

 Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/dmburton72

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor

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Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/

Amazon author page: http://amzn.com/e/B00683MH5E

Sign up for Diane’s newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf

 Diane Burton’s $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

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Awesome Romance Author Isabella Laase

Zara West Suspense

Looking for a great romance author to read? This week my guest is fellow Wild Rose Press author Isabella Laase. 

For my interview, Isabella shares what it’s like to escape the PG zone and write naughty romance. 

Please welcome Isabella Laase…

Hi Zara…thanks for letting me take the opportunity to talk about myself!

A little bit about myself…ummm…It’s tough to write a biography when you are hiding behind a veil of naughty romance novels. I didn’t even tell too many people about my first book until it was out for a week or so and sold some copies on its own.  The strategy is pretty much the opposite of what marketing you are supposed to do, but one really has to stop and think twice about revealing to the world things you don’t mention in pleasant company…I mean…can you look your coworkers in the eye after they read THAT!

Generally, I have been married to the same guy for a long time, and we spend our time watching our little dogs chew toilet paper.  I might have a few grown up kids that don’t particularly want to be acknowledged, and I have spent a lot of money lately buying things on Amazon for a baby that shares my DNA and thinks I am wonderful.

What do when I am not writing… I’ll let you know when I stop.  We love to travel and I love history, so the opportunity to write a naughty romance novel set in a critical historical period for the United States really appealed to me. The writing part of the job is time consuming, but the marketing side was a huge amount of work, and it’s easy to make a full time job out of it. Combine that with the full time job I already have and the family, house, gardening, exercising, laundry etc. of daily life and there isn’t a lot in my outside circle.

The most interesting place I have visited…We are travelers!  I have been to forty six different states and seventeen countries.  We drive, cruise, fly and walk every chance we get. I live life with the idea that God only gave you one shot at this thing, so you need to do it right.  Thailand was probably the biggest shell shock for me. I was twenty-one-years-old and it was my first time on a plane to a third world, tropical country.

How did I choose my genre…Naughty historical romances…a little spanking and restraint stuff…even a touch of BDSM…  Wow… a lot of people didn’t see that coming from me.  I think that you approach a certain age in your life, and you just say screw propriety.  Why stay hidden behind the PG rating for your entire life?  Our daily existence IS the average fiction novel, so when we decide to devote a few hours to a book, why shouldn’t it be outside of our comfort zone?  Push some edges; break away from what is acceptable, and you will find that your own life has more joy and meaning. I think you also adopt a little more serenity for your personal challenges when you have a secret passion that is just a lot of plain fun.

Would I do anything different…I am not a patient person and there is a little OCD in me.  When I decided to write, I wrote and edited three full length novels in one year, plus numerous short stories, plus the draft for three others that I rejected to the “needs work” folder on my computer.  I created webpages, Facebook pages, wrote short stories, and book reviews on similar genres, but I needed the vindication of a published novel.  The success and positive feedback from Tamed by the Virginian is what convinced me  I wasn’t writing garbage that only my mother would buy…BUT if I took it slower, established the author’s following first…waited for each of the books to gain momentum…I might have been able to look at it all from a different point of view.

Marketing… I was not prepared for this, and I think taking my time to establish the persona for the author would have been an easier step.  My book was due to be released within hours, and I had nothing except a pen name that googled easily…there was nobody else with that name when I chose it!  I had the skills to start a Facebook page, find the right groups for the genre, find author friends who wanted to support me, and monitor my sales with a slightly imperfect Novel Rank app.  I learned how to set up author pages on Amazon.com, Amazon.com.uk, and Goodreads.

I also found a few websites that specializes in the naughty short story and submitted a few. They are getting good reads and at the edge of my comfort level for writing, but they are REALLY tame compared to some of the other stories on their site. It has been a little personally challenging for me to see some of my competitors, but the last short story I wrote had almost 10,000 reads in a week with a connector to my book.  If only a handful of them moves to Amazon to check it out, it was worth it, but some of the other stories on the website are a bit disturbing, even to me!

I also started a blog on Blogspot.  If I had played my cards right, I would have learned word press last year, cut back on the writing a little, and had a full blown webpage going by the time the first book was released.

I think the strategies have worked. Out of the three novels I have finished, Tamed by the Virginian was published in August 2016, and I am very pleased with the consistent sales for the last three weeks.  It was as low as 7,000 in the Amazon ranking for the first week, but for the last week it is between roughly 10,000 and 20,000 in ranking.  It is enough to get it a top 100 spot for Time Travel Historical Romance and it occasionally drops below the top 500 for Historical romance in all of Amazon.

Upcoming work….  Training Tia is due to be released in the fall of 2016.  It tells the story of another smart sassy woman who has to adjust to a whole new life when her mate reclaims her from the human world to teach her submission at his powerful side.  It is funny and light, and I am looking forward to marketing it now that I have some platform established.

 I am also stretching beyond my comfort zone a little and working on a BDSM series that I hope to see published in the spring.  I am trying to write the realistic novel where the women make informed decisions about their sexual preferences, but they are not weak victims in creepy relationships with total masochists.

Given the positive feedback from Tamed by the Virginian, I have outlined a follow up book with similar historical details about a young girl who is forced into a marriage and travels to the wilderness of Florida during the British colonial control in the late 18th century. I am hoping for publication in the summer of 2017…

and no…I haven’t had writers block yet…  Writers exhaustion…yes.  I make a point to walk away from it every hour when my fitbit tells me I have sat too long and remember to take the occasional day off to refresh my focus.

The novel never published…On the total opposite spectrum of naughty romance novels, I completed a coming of age, literary fiction piece that I totally love.  The experience of writing the first two naughty ones truly has made me a better writer and I have no regrets, but I would love to see this one get published.  It is much harder to break into this genre than the naughty stuff, but my query letter to agents can now include the success of Tamed by the Virginian, and hopefully, the equally as successful launch of Training Tia.

Am I in the book… yeah…I had to answer this one.  I think that anytime you write a book, there are elements from every aspect of your life.  The kid in the grocery store says something funny and it sticks with you when you are writing the next chapter.  I love the character Jory from Tamed by the Virginian.  She is tough and capable, but she also needs to grow up and learn how to trust family.  She is not me…

I make it pretty clear that the genre I have chosen is a fantasy world because that is what a good book should do for us.  Take us away from our everyday existence and look at something else.  Otherwise, I would be writing a book about folding laundry and emptying the dishwasher.

Tamed by the Virginian by Isabella Laase

Eighteen-year-old Jory Logan has made more than her share of bad decisions, but things come to a head when she is involved with a robbery that goes horribly wrong. Facing a long prison sentence, she decides to play along with a mysterious woman who claims to be able to offer her an alternative to jail. According to this seemingly powerful stranger, Jory must spend four years in the past, learning the lessons she was never taught in her own life, and then she will be free to return to the present day with a clean slate.

Though she agrees to the woman’s offer, Jory does not truly believe such a thing could be possible, and thus it comes as a shock when she awakens in Virginia in the year 1785. Alone and utterly unable to fend for herself in a world so different from her own, she is relieved to be taken in by frontiersman Nial McKay and his brother. She soon discovers, however, that life on a farm is hard work and disobedience, disrespect, or failure to carry her own weight will earn her a sound spanking on her bare bottom.

Nial is determined to keep his relationship with Jory chaste and proper, but as time passes he is forced to admit that he is falling in love with the beautiful, spirited girl. Can he bring himself to claim her as his woman rather than his ward, or will his hesitance cause him to lose her forever? And when her four years is up, will Jory be forced to leave everything she has grown to love behind in the past?

Publisher’s Note: Tamed by the Virginian includes spankings and sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Excerpt

Jory needed answers. “What do you want from me? Can’t you just let me walk out of here? I promise I won’t do anything like this again. I have some good friends in New York. We were foster children together, and they aged out of the system. I just need a few bucks and nobody has to worry about me.”

Afia scowled. “No, Jory. There needs to be a consequence for the choices you made. This is a hard lesson, but we all must face our punishments.”

Jory was disgusted. It was pretty easy to scold about lessons when half a life in prison wasn’t in front of you.

Jory and Afia sat in silence while she absently picked at her food. A twenty-four-hour news channel showed the images of a hurricane forming in the mid-Atlantic, but Jory paid little attention. Afia said, “Do you ever wish you could go back in time?”

Jory had a long history of county-provided psychologists and knew the answer they wanted to hear. “Oh, yes, if I could go back in time I would do everything differently. I wouldn’t have skipped school or stolen from people. I wouldn’t have gotten caught selling the pot for that kid from the high school. I would definitely have stayed away from the stolen car. I would have gotten my diploma, so I wouldn’t even have met Peter and…”

As Jory listed her transgressions, she slowly processed how many horrible things she had done. When the image of the dead clerk formed in her head, her voice couldn’t go on. She also couldn’t figure out one single way to make a different choice, even if she were given the chance to do it all over again.

Afia said quietly, “We always have choices, Jory. Sometimes we can’t see them, but they are always with us. What if you could choose something very different right now? Your mother left when you were very small. Those were the years that should have taught you right from wrong. Time travel could give that all back. It could even put you in a whole new life and a whole new place. You could change histories. Have you ever thought about it?”

Jory assumed Afia was speaking hypothetically and jumped at the opening. “Oh, yes, going back in time would give me the chance to do it all over again and not make the same mistakes. I have truly learned from all of this.”

“Would you go back to a distant time, Jory? Would you go back someplace strange and unknown for four years if you could return with a clean slate?”

“I could easily do four years of probation. Especially if I could get to my friend’s house.” Despite her verbal sincerity, she knew she would be off the grid the minute the crazy old bitch turned her back. Jory’s excitement grew with the idea she could start over in a different city.

“No, you don’t understand,” said Afia. “I mean truly go back two hundred thirty years to a distant past. Could you live your life with different people, morals, and resources? Could you start over?”

Jory’s heart sank when she realized the woman was plain crazy. She wondered briefly if she was dangerous too and moved a little further away before she spoke. “You’re seriously fucked up, lady. Why the hell did you bring me here? Are you trying to harass me or turn me into a hooker or what? Leave me the fuck alone.”

As Jory got up to leave, two uniformed police officers came into the diner. Torn, Jory lowered her eyes to avoid contact and sat back down.

Afia looked serious. “This is your choice, Jory. Now. I can wave my hand, and the officers will recognize you as missing from the courthouse because people are already looking for you. They will transfer you to an adult prison for twenty years. Or you can take my hand and we will walk out of here. We will get into my car, but you will not get out until you are in your new life. At the end of four years, you will come back to this spot. Nobody will recognize you and your crime will be omitted from the court system. You can go to your friends in New York or wherever else you chose.”

Jory seriously considered turning to the two police officers for protection, but she didn’t want to move back to custody any more than she wanted to listen to craziness. In confusion, Jory closed her eyes and looked into her heart for the answer. She felt her hand grow warm under Afia’s gentle touch, and her mind raced through the last few months. She thought about the dead clerk on the floor of the small convenience store as the blood trickled silently from his head like it was reaching out to her soul. The screams would forever be ingrained in her mind, but it had taken her months to remember that it was her own hysteria that filled the memory. Guilt rose to her throat in an attempt to suffocate her, and she felt her stomach clench tightly in response.

Behind her were foster care, unstable relationships, and regret at the decisions she made. Ahead of her was more uncertainty and years of adult prison. The police officers were her ticket back to that horrible life. “If only you could get me that far away from here. It’s too bad that that nobody can fix this.”

Afia took her hand. “You can trust me, Jory. You can trust your own choices. Do you like the path you are on, or are you interested in a different one?” Tears formed at the corners of Jory’s eyes. Nothing could be as bad as her past. With the biggest leap of trust in her life, she took Afia’s hand and followed her out of the diner.

They drove quietly out of the city and into the surrounding countryside. As they approached Lancaster, she asked Afia if she meant the Amish countryside for the new path in the past. But Afia just laughed and said, “That is not what I meant, Jory. I mean two hundred thirty years ago. Not a few miles away.”

Her last memory before darkness settled around her was the comfort of the orange SUV while Afia chatted about new chances and opportunities. Jory grew strangely tired and curled into a small ball on the front seat. As the cab grew colder and Afia’s voice became distant, Jory’s mind began to flash through her past. Images of her mom, social workers, foster care providers, friends, judges, and teachers all began to fly around in her head, and she felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Eventually, the world went black.

Buy Links
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE 

Learn more…

Visit Isabella Laase at her blog  or on Facebook 

If you have any questions or comments for Isabella, please post them below.

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Awesome Romance Author Barbara Barrett

Zara West Suspense

Looking for a great romance author to read? This week my guest is fellow Wild Rose Press author Barbara Barrett. 

For my interview, Barbara answers questions about her interest in anthropology, her travels, the filming of The Bridges of Madison County, and her new book, Keeping it Casual, which has a very interesting hero.

Please welcome Barbara Barrett…

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a woman of a certain age who is in the process of reinventing herself, partly because I want to jazz up my bio when I appear on blogs like this but also because I’ve been one of the lucky ones who has accomplished much of what she set out to do and is now writing the next chapter in her life rather than resting on her laurels. Here’s an example. In college, I switched my major from Anthropology to American History, because I didn’t want to do the field work, but I recently got the opportunity to reverse that decision, a tad, by taking an online course in Archaeology offered by the Kiss of Death Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of RWA. I can’t wait to get back to the subject matter. Who knows where this will lead, but I’d be willing to bet Archaeology will figure somehow in one of my future books!

I also consider myself a culture junkie, another aspect of that long-ago interest in Anthropology. I’m fascinated by social trends and how they affect our everyday lives. That includes an intense interest in the entertainment world, especially television and film.

What interesting jobs have you had?

Most of my work career was in human resources management analysis for Iowa State government. In my early years, I performed position classification and selection. The former required me to spend time with incumbents studying their jobs, specifically their tasks and the competencies required to perform those tasks. Oops! Just talking about it sends me back to my technical writing persona. Sorry about that. Anyway, my job acquainted me with a wide range of jobs: bridge inspectors, highway design technicians, information specialists, conservation officers, environmental specialists and many more. When I was developing a hiring test for entry level bridge inspectors I got to go in the field with them and almost, had I pushed more, I might have actually gotten to go up in one of the cherry pickers (lifts) with them. I used a similar piece of heavy equipment in my romantic comedy, Driven to Matrimony, when the hero has to rescue the heroine when her car goes off the road into a body of water.

What was the most interesting place you every visited?

I loved visiting Stratford-on-Avon in England (the unique roofs on the cottages) and I never tire of trips to France (three so far). But the most interesting place? A farm in Madison County, IA, not far from where I now live. Until it burned a few years back, it was referred to as “Francesca’s House,” after they filmed “The Bridges of Madison County” there. My son was chosen to play Francesca’s (Meryl Streep’s) son in his teens in the movie. Because he was underage, he needed a guardian on set with him. Both his dad and I had that privilege. Remember that part in an earlier response about my fascination with the entertainment industry? This experience was the pinnacle for me, getting to be on an actual location shoot, observing an incredible director in Clint Eastwood, and being seated not far from Streep on breaks and watching her knit.

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

The third and final book in my “Sullivan’s Creek” series, Not Your Mama’s Mambo, doesn’t have a release date yet but should be coming out late this year, just in time for Christmas, because it ends on that holiday. I’m very proud of this book, because I wrote the first draft while I recuperated from knee surgery last summer. During the early days, I could only spend an hour to ninety minutes at a sitting. With the exception of my current release, Keeping It Casual, I went deeper with this book than I have with prior books because a secondary plot involves the gambling problem of the heroine’s sister.

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

Keeping It Casual revolves around the hero’s inability to deal with his MS, not the physical challenges but the scary proposition of living his life to its fullest knowing his days might be limited. That’s not my life experience, but a former high school classmate who has been living with the condition for many years agreed to review the book for its credibility. Although she may not have faced the same situation as my hero, she certainly is familiar with the challenges presented by the condition. In appreciation, I named a nurse in the book for her.

On a lighter note, however, my hero and heroine take a road trip through Iowa from the southeastern part of the state to the far west. On their way, they stop in Pella, a community southeast of where I live. I’ve often stopped there myself on various trips to my hometown in Burlington. It prides itself in its Dutch heritage, building styles, tulips, windmills, and food. There are two bakeries on the town square. My stops are primarily to sample their goods, especially the Dutch letters, which I reference in the book. If you’ve never sampled this pastry, you’re missing something. Put it on your bucket list. I also check out the Delft pottery and have purchased a few pieces. My hero does the same in the book.

What project are you working on now?

Besides getting ready to review the galley pages of Mambo, I have just started a series about cable television interest shows. Once again, I’m writing about an aspect of the entertainment industry, learning as I go. Things are changing in television. Enterprising streaming technologies are challenging the cable and network business models more each month, so I have to keep up with these changes as I write these books. Another challenge is to figure out how to write stand-alone books linked by the production company formed in the first book without having it overshadow the characters and plots in the subsequent books. It’s slow-going, but when that’s the case, I’ve learned I just have to keep plodding away although analyzing what I’ve got as I go so I don’t go off on paths that won’t work.

Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

First, if you’ve gotten this far in this blog post, thank you for your interest in me. If you’ve read one or more of my books and have followed me here to learn more, I truly appreciate your support. If you’ve never read one of my books but I’ve enticed you here to consider checking me out, please do. Like I said before, I’m still inventing myself, and that includes my writing. I hope it continues to evolve and bring pleasure to my readers.

Keeping It Casual by Barbara Barrett

Talent manager Alex Appleby needs Geoff McKenna’s help. Her vicious client is threatening the reputation of Alex’s television-star father if Alex can’t convince her stepsister to go along with the client’s demand.  Alex turns to Geoff to make the case to her sister.

Geoff has his own proposition for Alex. Thus far, his case of multiple sclerosis has been mild, but he’s unsure of his future. When his girlfriend pushes for a stronger commitment, he enlists Alex as his new pretend love interest so his girlfriend will break things off.

When they discover they actually are attracted to each other, they agree to keep things casual, since Alex is only in town briefly and Geoff isn’t interested in anything serious. But fate intervenes as their feelings deepen. Alex must decide whether to relocate to Iowa from LA, and Geoff must place faith in his future.

Excerpt

Was this Graham McKenna? It had been almost a year since she’d last seen him. And then only briefly. She remembered the man being slightly taller and thinner.

His gait was slow, strained. He almost stumbled once, even stopped about ten feet from the door on which she’d pounded a few minutes prior. When he bent, gripped his thighs, she shot from her car.

“Are you okay?”

He didn’t seem to hear at first, until she realized he was trying to catch his breath.

“Who’re you?” Voice slurred, he attempted another few steps, only to pull up again.

“Let me help you to the door.”

He hesitated briefly, then almost fell into her. Something jabbed her. Keys. He couldn’t be an intruder if he had keys; he had to be one of the McKennas. No time to debate whether she could trust him enough to go inside with him. The man needed help. “Okay if I unlock the door?”

He nodded.

He leaned heavily on her as they made their way into the building. Her white slacks would take a beating, but she didn’t have a choice. He seemed out of it, as if he’d been drugged.

He indicated a light switch tucked away on the back wall. She flipped it, illuminating the cavern of a garage. A blue-and-black motor coach occupied the center of the room, although she barely noticed it as he veered off to the right. They came to an interior wall with three doors.

“Other key.” He headed to the door closest to the front of the building.

She unlocked this inner door and helped him into the room, then located another light switch inside.

“Thanks,” he got out before he collapsed on the couch.

“You need a blanket.” By the time she’d retrieved an afghan from the back of the sofa, he was out. She covered him, then stepped away to study the man.

A real pretty boy. That type abounded in Los Angeles, her home territory. A long time ago, she’d learned the hard way to avoid the category. Too much into themselves.

She should probably take off and return later, because she was pretty sure this wasn’t Graham McKenna. She was no shrinking violet where men were concerned, but she was also savvy enough to realize lone women should not put themselves at risk around men they didn’t know. But he was so out of it, should she leave him on his own?

Buy Links
ALL ROMANCE | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO| WILD ROSE PRESS

About Barbara Barrett

Barbara Barrett spent her professional career as a human resources analyst for Iowa state government, and that training has stayed with her in her writing of contemporary romance fiction. Now retired, Barbara spends her winters basking in the Florida sunshine and returns to her home state of Iowa in the summer to “stay cool.” Married to the man she met her senior year at the University of Iowa, they have two grown children and eight grandchildren. Keeping It Casual is her seventh romance novel published by The Wild Rose Press and her third and final one in the “Matchmaking Motor Coach Series.” Her previous works include: And He Cooks Too, Driven to Matrimony, Saved by the Salsa, The Sleepover Clause, Tough Enough to Tango and Seduction on Wheels.  Tweet her @bbarrettbooks

If you have any questions or comments for Barbara, please post them below, and she will get back to you.

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