Teresa J. Reasor's Blog, page 23
July 15, 2012
Breaking Through THE BLURB
Yesterday I went to a Kentucky Romance Writers meeting. I had the best time. The meeting was about blurbs. Well, I've been working on mine for several days now. How anybody can sit and stare at the same four paragraphs for two days is beyond me, but that's what I'd been doing. STARING, TWEEKING, ADDING, PARING DOWN, READDING. Well you get the idea.
Blurbs are sooooo important. They sell the book to the customer. Thus all the work and agonizing I've done over mine.
With the help of some new friends and some old from my KYRW chapter and my wonderful crit loop Lethal Ladies, I hammered out my blurb. So, here it is. This will be on the back of my book when my book is released at the end of August. That's a tentative date. The book has taken on a life of its own, and I have four stories to tell all at the same time.
But excuses aside, I'm making good progress because I HAVE MY BLURB!!!
What happens when a Navy SEAL wakes from a month-long coma to discover he’s being investigated for murder?
Ensign Brett Weaver knows he’s innocent of the crime he’s accused, but how can he prove it with NCIS breathing down his neck? A chance meeting with reporter Tess Kelly, offers him an opportunity to get the press on his side. But can he trust Tess to keep his other secrets off the record?
Tess is working hard to live up to her father's expectations. When Brett offers her information about SEAL training in exchange for an introduction to her award-winning journalist father, she jumps at it. The situation Brett lobs into her father's lap is a major scoop. But the secret she discovers about Brett is just as newsworthy. Will her feelings for this wounded warrior win out, or will she release a story guaranteed to destroy Brett’s SEAL career?
When Tess’s father is kidnapped, Brett’s team is deployed to find him. At the same time, a leak in the investigation puts Tess and Brett’s lives in danger. Will Brett be able to break through the lasting effects of his injuries and prove he’s a battle-ready SEAL? Or will he and Tess lose everything at the whim of a vengeful killer?
Let me know what you think.
Teresa Reasor
Blurbs are sooooo important. They sell the book to the customer. Thus all the work and agonizing I've done over mine.
With the help of some new friends and some old from my KYRW chapter and my wonderful crit loop Lethal Ladies, I hammered out my blurb. So, here it is. This will be on the back of my book when my book is released at the end of August. That's a tentative date. The book has taken on a life of its own, and I have four stories to tell all at the same time.
But excuses aside, I'm making good progress because I HAVE MY BLURB!!!
What happens when a Navy SEAL wakes from a month-long coma to discover he’s being investigated for murder?
Ensign Brett Weaver knows he’s innocent of the crime he’s accused, but how can he prove it with NCIS breathing down his neck? A chance meeting with reporter Tess Kelly, offers him an opportunity to get the press on his side. But can he trust Tess to keep his other secrets off the record?
Tess is working hard to live up to her father's expectations. When Brett offers her information about SEAL training in exchange for an introduction to her award-winning journalist father, she jumps at it. The situation Brett lobs into her father's lap is a major scoop. But the secret she discovers about Brett is just as newsworthy. Will her feelings for this wounded warrior win out, or will she release a story guaranteed to destroy Brett’s SEAL career?
When Tess’s father is kidnapped, Brett’s team is deployed to find him. At the same time, a leak in the investigation puts Tess and Brett’s lives in danger. Will Brett be able to break through the lasting effects of his injuries and prove he’s a battle-ready SEAL? Or will he and Tess lose everything at the whim of a vengeful killer?
Let me know what you think.
Teresa Reasor
July 11, 2012
Stay On Top of Your Story With Story Boarding
Story Boarding by Teresa Reasor
What is a Story Board?
A story board is an aid used to help the writer both brainstorm and to visualize the different elements of their plot.
It can be used to insure the character arcs are realized, the turning points in character development are reached, and also monitor the forward momentum of the plot.
With the use of brainstorming, post-it notes, colored markers, or the computer, you can plot an entire novel, tie up all your loose ends, and insure your plot doesn't falter.
The Different ways to construct a Story Board.
You can construct a story board the old fashioned way and use a desk calendar and five different color markers.
You can use a laminated desk calendar for teachers you can purchase at Office Depot or any teacher supply store. And three to five different colored Post-it notes.
You can use a laminated desk calendar and three to five Vis-à-vis markers. (these are markers used to write on overhead projector film and can be purchased at any office supply store.)
Or you can use your computer which is the easiest way to make changes.
Setting Up your Story Board On The Computer
Using word, open a blank document, go to table, hit insert, slide over to table and click on the word.
A box will come up with options for you to set columns and rows. Set three rows, and three columns and hit okay.
Select the whole grid with your cursor. Do not use the select all function in word. Hit the right mouse key while everything is highlighted, keeping your cursor on the highlighted table, and a menu box will appear.
Go to the bottom and hit table properties. Select the row tab and check the box specify row height. Use the up or down menu to set your box at 2.8 The columns are flexible and will expand as needed but this size will allow you 9 boxes on each page.
I type in everything in black font, then change the different elements to color.
I use red for romance.Blue for SuspensePurple for introducing characters.Green for turning points and important rising stakes developments.I’ve also added POV to my story board with a fuchsia to insure my POV is balanced.And I add black to remind me of the character arcs that are being met. You can also change font size or underline so it points out turning points for your characters.
Important TipSave a blank copy of your story grid to copy and paste and you won’t have to build one each time you need it.
My stories are usually 100,000 words and I know they’re going to be at least 32 chapters long so I just go ahead and paste in 36 chapters.
Example of my story board
PROLOGUE Suspense HookAdam “Hawk” Yazzie goes back into a building about to explode to rescue one of his men. He discovers Brett Weaver unconscious and stuffed behind a cabinet. He carries him to safety. Who is responsible for Brett’s injury and how can he find out what happened?Hawk’s call to action (suspense)SEAL team introduced.
Hawk Chapter 1 Romantic HookHawk and Zoe at Langley Marks barbeque. Zoe introduced. Zoe is not receptive to any of the guys flirtations but finds she’s drawn to Hawk. Zoe’s internal conflicts introduced. Hawk offers her and her mom a place to stay until Brett is better. Hawk’s Call to Action. (Romance)Zoe questions Hawk about what could have happened to her brother and like a good SEAL he can’t tell her. Zoe, Hawk Chapter 2 Katie Beth, Clara, and Sharon introduced. Hawk goes to the hospital with her to see Brett and realizes how badly Brett is hurtZoe’s Call to action (suspense)Angela, Brett’s nurse, and Doctor Connelly introduced. Hawk talks Zoe into moving in with him with her mother. ZoeHawk
Pros and Cons of each method.
The ProsOne of the major pros of all the methods is that, in writing everything down on a board, it forces you visualize all your plot points.
It also makes you aware of whether or not you are maintaining the forward momentum of the plot.
It insures that you’re not creating an info dump in any of your chapters so the story unfolds at a normal pace.
It helps you visualize and maintain a balance among the many elements of your plot. Say for instance you are writing a romantic suspense. If you have one whole chapter that is romance then you know you’re going to have to put something in the next that has to do with the suspense element of the book to balance things out. (Mainstream romantic suspense runs about 70-30, or 80- 20 with the suspense being heavy. Certain category romantic suspense lines read more like 80-20 heavy on the romance. ) You need to know your market so you’ll know which element you want to expand and carry the most weight.
You want to give each of your characters equal billing so the reader maintains interest in them both. If you’ve stayed in one person’s POV for a chapter, then you probably need to mix it up and change POV in the next scene/chapter. Also these switches give you time to explore their internal conflicts about the relationship and to develop the character traits and emotions that will trigger a connection to the reader.
Whether you do your story boarding on a physical board or on the computer, you can leave spaces for pictures to inspire you along the way. Say you’ve run across a picture of a really handsome hunk that reminds you of your hero. Stick it in one of the slots of your story board to remind you of how he looks. You can always print it off your computer if you want to do a physical board.
The computer board can be printed out and glued, or taped, to a physical surface if you need or want it in front of you. (as I often do) Or you can print it off and carry the pages around with you to study and tweak.
It acts as a physical reminder of where you are in your plot so you don’t waste valuable time going over and over the same ground.
It helps you track an intricate braided plot, or parallel plot structure and follows the course so all the elements are addressed and nothing’s overlooked.
It insures you’ve included all your plot points so you don’t have to do so many rewrites.
In short it helps you remember to cover all the bases and acts as a physical prompt to get the damn book done!!!
The Cons
Doing a physical board is more time consuming because you have to physically write everything down and if there are any changes to make, you have to erase everything and put it back in. Unless of course you use the post-it note method and then you just move your notes around.
On the computer, it is of course just a matter of cutting pasting or deleting which makes it much simpler.
My Process
Let me say that I have not always been a plotter. But I have always been a story boarder. And when I moved away from story boarding, my writing didn’t hold the dimensions that a story board allowed me to maintain. In other words, I left out elements that should have been in the book and I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t included them, until I allowed someone else to read it. Big mistake.
My process in plotting may be totally different than yours. In fact, I can guarantee that it will be because no two human beings on the planet ever think alike.
Story boarding has turned me from a pantser to a plotter. But it has also sped up the process of my writing. In fact, once the stories through, I don’t have to do any major rewrites, or plug any holes. All that’s left is line editing for repetitive phrasing, missed punctuation, typos, extra spaces, and all those pesky little quirks we have.
So, I begin with a premise, my hook, the event that will totally change two peoples lives forever. I write Hook in big bold letters then I write a brief summary down on my story board. I may even write the Hook chapter so I can get it down on paper and wait to expand it later.
The second part of my process is to do a character grid. I need to know the two main characters who are going to be a part of my story. I work out what their concrete goals are and what barriers those goals may create to their starting a relationship. I usually have a suspense element in my book so the suspense element may be what triggers the whole story, but the relationship still has to have a barrier to overcome. This is usually a major internal/emotional thing (character flaw) that will keep them apart along with the suspense. This is also important because you have to know your characters in order to know what kind of choices they will make. Those choices will drive your plot.
Once I’ve gotten to know my characters really well, I start fleshing out my story.
So I’ve written my hook down on the board then I start to write on the board, to just keep my vision focused--- on the turning points my plot needs to follow. I usually use the Stairway to Suspense. Stairway to Suspense1st step: The hook (the Call to Action.) 2nd step: The decision that turns the story.The decision or choice the heroine/hero makes that turns the story in the direction it will travel. This choice is based on some character flaw that guides the character’s motivation for the choice. Romantic call to action. 3rd step: The choice creates obstacles to solving the situation.First Kiss 4th step: Another choice, More problems, situation worsens.The character makes another choice which causes more problems and the situation worsens. First Time They Make Love5th step: More choices ,more obstacles.The more choices a character makes, the more obstacles will fall into his/her path. Gray Moment6th step: The climax.The greatest obstacles are faced and the greatest attempts are made to overcome the situation created in the hook. Black Moment 7th step: The resolution. It’s short, sweet, and should tie up all the loose ends and leave the reader feeling completely satisfied. Romantic ResolutionI don’t know where I got the stairway so I can’t give credit where credit’s due, but this is the one thing I use every time I write a story. I keep a copy printed out to remind me of the steps I need to make during my writing so I’m constantly looking for ways to up the stakes and drive in more conflict.
I write each short-handed step at equal distances on my story board (in order of course) to remind me what I’m working toward. Then I also write in the romantic elements like First Kiss, First Time they Make love, The Gray moment, The Black Moment, The Romantic Resolution in red. These are just different enough that you’re able to keep the two elements of your plot, the suspense and the romance self-contained yet working together. Most of the time, your gray moment, black moment, and romantic resolution will mesh and will be resolved as part of your suspense elements. Because all the plot components are interlocked.
At this point I make a Name Grid to list the names and descriptions of all the people who will be part of my story. I usually have a cast of thousands (just kidding--MAYBE), so this is important to me. It’s an aid created so I don’t misspell someone’s name or get character descriptions confused.
I print out my character grids, my name grids, and my story board and put them all up on the wall next to my computer. It’s at this point I get the post it notes out, or if you’re doing it on the computer you can type it out. I start saying, “What if? I try to list about twenty-five things I want to happen at the beginning of my story for both the romance and the mystery. Twenty-five things that would be fresh, new, and spark interest in my readers. No details just possibilities. Once I’ve made my choices, I write or type them on the story board. This helps you see what you are working toward and provides you, and your characters, a concrete goal to shoot for.The brainstorming process is on going all the way to the end of story and the end of your story board. So I have twenty-five possibilities for each step of the Suspense Stairway. And if I get stuck I go back and do twenty-five more to jump start me. The choices I make will have to reflect my character’s personalities and hopefully endear them to the reader so that, by the time I reach the end of my story, they’re pulling for them both.
Then as you write your story, you’ll take out those possibilities you’ve listed and put in a brief summary of what happens as you write it, using the color components I mentioned earlier. That process will help you track your plot points, romantic elements, character developments, and POV all laid out at a glance.
Whatever process you use, you may be able to use components of story boarding to help you brainstorm. Or make certain your story contains all the elements essential to a well developed plot. Or to insure all those elements tie together into a cohesive whole.
It is a great deal of work, but it’s well worth the effort if it keeps you focused and insures your plot maintains the forward momentum essential to writing a successful story.
And just another tip you may want to try. With each book, because my characters may live in an unfamiliar place, or they may have jobs that I have no knowledge of, I start a three ring binder in which I organize all my research. I put in divider headings of setting, time, clothing, travel, and of course their job information, Archaeologist, FBI agent, Saturation Diver, and ect. In that manor, I compile all the information so the next time I need it, I have it all printed out and at my finger tips. And if you write a series where all your characters spin off, you may use all this information multiple times. But that’s another blog.
Write on,Teresa Reasor
July 1, 2012
INDIE PENDENCE DAY BLOG FEST FEATURING DANCE WITH ME
I'm participating in the first annual INDIE-pendence Day Blog Fest.The Indie author I'm recognizing is Hayden Braeburn with her new release DANCE WITH ME.
Hayden Braeburn packs a great deal of suspense, romance, and conflict into her 40,000 word book DANCE WITH ME.
Katerina Nemecek has financial problems, and the bank is breathing down her neck just waiting to foreclose on her dance studio. Mason Everett, the love of her life, is the banker who’s been put in charge of foreclosing on the property. When Mason proposes, Kat wants to say yes more than anything, but she’s concerned Mason and his family might think she’s marrying him for his money.
Mason knows Katerina loves him and that his family will accept her. Well, most of them. But Mason has been keeping his feelings for Katerina under wraps— not because he’s worried that his family won’t accept the woman he loves, but because someone from his past is determined that if she can’t have him, nobody will.
I found Dance With Me, fast paced and entertaining. The love scenes were sensual and hot. And the situation Mason finds himself in a surprising reversal. Most romantic suspense books put the female character in jeopardy. I thought that by putting the male character under the gun, the author, Hayden Braeburn, dusted off an old writing device and made it into something new and interesting.
I enjoyed Dance With Me very much and give it a five star rating!!
You can find more information about Hayden and her other projects at her website: http://haydenbraeburnweebly.com
Read her blog: http://haydenbraeburn.wordpress.com/
Or contact her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HaydenBraeburn/235335549867566
or Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5989571.Hayden Braeburn
If you want to learn about upcoming events about the Everetts of Tyler releases here's another link
http://haydenbraeburn.wordpress.com/the-everetts-of-tyler/
And buy her book DANCE WITH ME at Amazon
Barnes and Noble or Smashwords
IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO CHECK OUT OTHER INDIE AUTHORS BEING RECOGNIZED IN THIS BLOG FEST HERE'S THE LINK: INDIE-PENDENCE DAY BLOG BASH
Read on,Teresa J. Reasor
June 30, 2012
Fourth of July Food
Happy Fourth of July!!! I know we're not there yet, but I thought I'd post a couple of recipes that I've done just recently I thought everyone would enjoy. And they're totally non-fussing recipes. And since it's hotter than HADES, these are cool recipes that won't heat up your house.
I love to marinate everything so I use pineapple juice to marinate meat a lot and to cook with. I keep the little 6 oz can's on hand.
My marinade is:
1 6oz. can pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
Pour about 1/4 cup of this marinade into a small bowl and reserve it for your vegetables
I love to fancy up food and make it look pretty and kebabs are pretty to look at.
I cut either pork or chicken in 1 inch cubes and let it sit in the marinade over night.
Save it you're going to need it.
Now using wooden skewers or metal ones, it's up to you. Put the cubed meat onto the skewers and rest them back into the marinade. If you leave tiny spaces between the cubes the meat cooks more quickly.
I like to use fresh yellow and zucchini squash, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and any other vegetable you can think of you can put on a stick. You can even put asparagus in a tin foil package to put on the grill as well and use the same marinade. I do rest my vegetable kebabs on aluminum foil because sometimes as the veggies get done they become so tender they'll fall off the skewer. Now I brush olive oil very sparingly over my veggie kebabs with a pastry brush then drizzle the marinade I saved over them as well. I'm very generous with it because I love the sweetness of the taste blending with the veggies.
Pop your meat kebabs on first and let them cook about 5 minutes. Using the marinade they've rested in brush plenty of marinade over the meat. Then pop your vegetable kebabs on for the next 10 minutes until your meat is well done and the vegetables are tender. I keep brushing the marinade on every three minutes until they're done. If you feel your meat needs a few more minutes take the veggies off and leave the meat on a few more minutes.
Take them off the grill put them on a platter and serve.
You can fix rice to go with your kebabs but my family seems thrilled with just the vegetables and some cheese and fruit for the entire meal.
Home made Bruschetta
I love Bruschetta because it is cool and fresh in the heat. I fix it a lot for lunch because I don't like to eat anything real heavy during the day. This recipe is good for several days lunches or you can invite your friends and serve it.
You will need french or Italian bread. I LOVE SWEET ITALIAN bread so that's what I usually get but the long skinny french bread actually works better for Bruschetta because it's already crunchy. Pick out what you like.
6-8 Roma tomatoes. (They don't have a lot of seeds in them and juice so they're perfect for this.)
8-10 Basile leaves chopped up fine ( today you can buy basile in a tube if you can't find it fresh in the produce department. I prefer the fresh basile because it gives the dish color and texture.
I tablespoon olive oil.
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic minced ( this too can be purchased in the produce section in a tube already minced and all you have to do is squeeze it out like toothpaste. It's just fine for my purposes purchased like that. But since we grow our own garlic I very rarely have to buy garlic at the store. If you want to attempt growing your own, be sure to place it in an area you don't mind it spreading in because otherwise you will find your flower beds and yard taken over.)
Garlic Salt
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Put your tomatoes in a colander and pour boiling water over them. This will make it very easy to peal their skin off.
Peal the tomatoes and take out the little round dimple where the stem would be. Dice up the tomatoes very fine and put them in a bowl. Chop up the Basile and add it. Add the minced garlic, olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to suit you and set it aside to allow the flavors to combine.
Turn on the boiler. Cut your bread into 1 inch thick slices, place them on a cookie sheet. Brush olive oil sparingly over the top of the slices. Put under the broiler and toast the bread. Take out flip it over and do the same on the other side but this time sprinkle with a tiny bit of garlic salt. ( I don't usually use the garlic salt but on one side.) Traditionally you would rub a clove of garlic on the bread but I'm all for expedience.
Leave the boiler on.
If you're not going to fix the whole loaf of bread for your family and you're only doing lunch you can store the bread you don't use in a zip lock bag. Be sure to sqeeze out the air so it will stay nice.
On each slice of bread. Put the tomato mixture, I use a slotted spoon so the extra juice will stay in the bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese and pop back under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to melt. Take out and serve.
I recently fixed this for my mother and I for lunch and we each ate 3 slices of bread. I had enough left over to have some for several days and even my husband and daughter came in and fixed some.
It's refreshing and light and most of all cool.
In honor of the holiday I'll be participating in a Indie-pendence day Blog Fest that will run from July 2 through the 4th.
On Monday I'll be posting a review of Dance With Me by Hayden Rayburn.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO CHECK OUT OTHER INDIE AUTHORS BEING RECOGNIZED IN THIS BLOG FEST HERE'S THE LINK: INDIE-PENDENCE DAY BLOG BASH
Be sure to check back Monday for the review.
I hope you have a wonder 4th Of July. Eat healthy and be safe!!!
Teresa Reasor
I love to marinate everything so I use pineapple juice to marinate meat a lot and to cook with. I keep the little 6 oz can's on hand.
My marinade is:
1 6oz. can pineapple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
Pour about 1/4 cup of this marinade into a small bowl and reserve it for your vegetables
I love to fancy up food and make it look pretty and kebabs are pretty to look at.
I cut either pork or chicken in 1 inch cubes and let it sit in the marinade over night.
Save it you're going to need it.
Now using wooden skewers or metal ones, it's up to you. Put the cubed meat onto the skewers and rest them back into the marinade. If you leave tiny spaces between the cubes the meat cooks more quickly.
I like to use fresh yellow and zucchini squash, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and any other vegetable you can think of you can put on a stick. You can even put asparagus in a tin foil package to put on the grill as well and use the same marinade. I do rest my vegetable kebabs on aluminum foil because sometimes as the veggies get done they become so tender they'll fall off the skewer. Now I brush olive oil very sparingly over my veggie kebabs with a pastry brush then drizzle the marinade I saved over them as well. I'm very generous with it because I love the sweetness of the taste blending with the veggies.
Pop your meat kebabs on first and let them cook about 5 minutes. Using the marinade they've rested in brush plenty of marinade over the meat. Then pop your vegetable kebabs on for the next 10 minutes until your meat is well done and the vegetables are tender. I keep brushing the marinade on every three minutes until they're done. If you feel your meat needs a few more minutes take the veggies off and leave the meat on a few more minutes.
Take them off the grill put them on a platter and serve.
You can fix rice to go with your kebabs but my family seems thrilled with just the vegetables and some cheese and fruit for the entire meal.
Home made Bruschetta
I love Bruschetta because it is cool and fresh in the heat. I fix it a lot for lunch because I don't like to eat anything real heavy during the day. This recipe is good for several days lunches or you can invite your friends and serve it.
You will need french or Italian bread. I LOVE SWEET ITALIAN bread so that's what I usually get but the long skinny french bread actually works better for Bruschetta because it's already crunchy. Pick out what you like.
6-8 Roma tomatoes. (They don't have a lot of seeds in them and juice so they're perfect for this.)
8-10 Basile leaves chopped up fine ( today you can buy basile in a tube if you can't find it fresh in the produce department. I prefer the fresh basile because it gives the dish color and texture.
I tablespoon olive oil.
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic minced ( this too can be purchased in the produce section in a tube already minced and all you have to do is squeeze it out like toothpaste. It's just fine for my purposes purchased like that. But since we grow our own garlic I very rarely have to buy garlic at the store. If you want to attempt growing your own, be sure to place it in an area you don't mind it spreading in because otherwise you will find your flower beds and yard taken over.)
Garlic Salt
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Put your tomatoes in a colander and pour boiling water over them. This will make it very easy to peal their skin off.
Peal the tomatoes and take out the little round dimple where the stem would be. Dice up the tomatoes very fine and put them in a bowl. Chop up the Basile and add it. Add the minced garlic, olive oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to suit you and set it aside to allow the flavors to combine.
Turn on the boiler. Cut your bread into 1 inch thick slices, place them on a cookie sheet. Brush olive oil sparingly over the top of the slices. Put under the broiler and toast the bread. Take out flip it over and do the same on the other side but this time sprinkle with a tiny bit of garlic salt. ( I don't usually use the garlic salt but on one side.) Traditionally you would rub a clove of garlic on the bread but I'm all for expedience.
Leave the boiler on.
If you're not going to fix the whole loaf of bread for your family and you're only doing lunch you can store the bread you don't use in a zip lock bag. Be sure to sqeeze out the air so it will stay nice.
On each slice of bread. Put the tomato mixture, I use a slotted spoon so the extra juice will stay in the bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese and pop back under the broiler just long enough for the cheese to melt. Take out and serve.
I recently fixed this for my mother and I for lunch and we each ate 3 slices of bread. I had enough left over to have some for several days and even my husband and daughter came in and fixed some.
It's refreshing and light and most of all cool.
In honor of the holiday I'll be participating in a Indie-pendence day Blog Fest that will run from July 2 through the 4th.
On Monday I'll be posting a review of Dance With Me by Hayden Rayburn.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO CHECK OUT OTHER INDIE AUTHORS BEING RECOGNIZED IN THIS BLOG FEST HERE'S THE LINK: INDIE-PENDENCE DAY BLOG BASH
Be sure to check back Monday for the review.
I hope you have a wonder 4th Of July. Eat healthy and be safe!!!
Teresa Reasor
June 25, 2012
Dance With Me an Interview with Hayden Braeburn
I first met Hayden Braeburn when I was invited to participate in a live chat on another blog Bitch Can Write a Book. I did a live chat with them and enjoyed it so much. Part of the reason it went so well and I had such a good time was the ladies there were fantastically supportive. And Hayden was one of those ladies.
At the time I didn't know she was a writer or that she lives in Kentucky. So, imagine my surprise when someone else on our Kentucky Indie Writers group asked me to send her an invitation to join us. I was thrilled to invite her to our group.
I recently read Hayden's first book DANCE WITH ME. It's the first book of a series titled the Everett's of Tyler series. I'll be doing a review of it next week on My Muse's Musings and I'll be sending an announcement out on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to return next week to read it. I guess you've guessed since I'm having her on my blog this week, I thought it was great.
Champion ballroom dancer Katerina Nemecek pushed the love of her life away when he offered to save her studio from foreclosure. She loved him despite the secrecy surrounding their relationship, but she refused to take advantage of him or his wealth.
Mason Everett wants nothing more than to share his life, his family, and his fortune with Kat, but keeping her a secret was the only way he could keep her safe. He'd rather hide her away than chance losing her.
When Kat and Mason's relationship finally goes public, it sets in motion a plan to keep them apart. Can they survive the firestorm to dance together forever?
41,000 words
Interview:
Tell us what inspired your story?
Honestly, I think I was watching Dancing with the Stars and thought, 'what if a heroine owned astudio?' and went from there. The first sentence, “Katerina Nemecek buckled her heel beforestepping in front of the studio's mirrored wall,” was a lonely sentence for a week or two before the rest of the story presented itself.
What genres are you most drawn to to read and to write?
Mason Everett is a strong, solid family man. He's in the family business of banking, has dinnerwith them once a week, cleans up after his younger siblings, and... keeps the love of his life fromthem for more than a year.
Describe your heroine and tell us a little about her. Katerina Nemecek is strong in her own way. Her mother is serving time for embezzlement, and she's never met her father, yet she came home to Tyler to strike out on her own. It takes a certain ballsiness to do that, and it's unfortunate things didn't work for her quite as she'd planned.
What brings the two together and what threatens to keep them apart?
I did something strange with this book—Mason and Kat were in love with each other the whole time, and that was never an issue. Of course, Kat doesn't see it that way, and feels she's not good enough for him, but the real problem is his ex.
If you're writing a series, have you kept the same characters throughout? And what through line or theme have you used to tie it together?
DANCE WITH ME is the beginning of a series based around the Everett siblings. It may branch out to other families/friends in Tyler, but right now the series is planned for four books. Excerpt:
Mason Everett watched Kat as she performed a series of intricate moves. She was so beautiful, it hurt. He was there to serve her with papers stating she had one month to pay her back mortgage or she was headed to foreclosure, but he had to watch her. She was utterly mesmerizing when she danced, and he hadn't seen her in over a week.
The economy had come crashing down around them and although ballroom dancing was more popular than ever with that TV show, people just weren't taking lessons like they had a few years ago. He knew Kat was working her ass off, he knew she was doing everything in her power to stay afloat, but the bank–what was once his family's bank–didn't care. The day the national chain bought them out was the day Kat's mortgage troubles began. Now, he was here, having taken this assignment himself. He wasn't sure if he'd volunteered to torture himself or because he thought he could comfort her, but he was here nonetheless. He watched her dance a while longer before making himself known.
“Kat,” he called.
Her lithe movements stopped abruptly. “Mason? What are you doing he–” she broke off. After the last time she saw him, she knew he wasn't here for her, he was here on behalf of the bank. “Oh.”
“I can't hold them off any longer,” he apologized as he walked toward her. Quietly he added, “I just wish you'd let me pay it.”
She crossed her arms under her full breasts. “Mason,” she began in her most censuring tone, “we've been through this before.”
Their last conversation was one he wouldn't soon forget. He'd offered to pay her mortgage off at the most inopportune time–while naked in her bed–and had lost her because of it. He searched her face as he pinned her with his espresso gaze. “Why can't you just accept my help?”
She turned away from him. “I just can't!”
“Why not?” He threw his hands in the air as he made his way to her. “It's not payment for services rendered. This is so much different than that.”
Brows raised, she turned toward him. “Different how?”
He blew out a sigh. “I... I can't bear to see you lose something you love so much.”
She looked at him, the epitome of the town golden boy with his perfectly styled caramel hair, handmade grey suit, and his Italian leather shoes. She knew firsthand the mouthwatering body those impeccable clothes covered was honed by plenty of tennis and sailing and daily workouts in his home gym. He was, in a word, perfect. She knew he had more than enough money to fix her problems, and that was the problem. She didn't want him for that. Worse, she didn't want anyone to think she wanted him for that. She refused to sully him with her problems.
Mason watched her stare at him as if she were memorizing him, committing him to memory. No way. She wasn't going anywhere. “Kat? Say something,” he asked. Not that he didn't enjoy looking at her. Today she was in a wrap style dress that accentuated her hourglass figure, the purple doing great things for her light blue eyes. Her black hair was pulled away from her face into a messy ponytail, and her mouth, oh, the things she could do with that mouth.
Yeah, he more than liked looking at her, but right now he needed her to say something. “Kat?” he practically plead.
“It's okay. I know why you're here. I know I'm losing this place. I know I have to move,” she said, her tone even and quiet.
“No!” he barked. “It's not okay.” He crossed the floor to pull her into his arms. “Dammit, Kat, it's not okay.” He crushed her to him then, taking her lips in a hard kiss. “You're not leaving. I won't let you.”
She tore from his arms, her cornflower blue eyes flashing like gas flames. “You cannot tell me what to do, Mason Everett. You gave up that right when you hid me from your family. I may not be good enough for you, but I don't deserve to be treated like a dirty little secret.”
He opened his mouth to speak, closing it just as quickly. That's what she thought? “You thought I was hiding you? That I was ashamed of you?” He let out a bitter laugh. “I was trying to protect you.”
She stalked away from him, heels clicking on the hardwood. “Protect me?” She stopped, turned to face him fully. “From what?”
He shook his head. “Priscilla.”
“You dated Priscilla in high school,” she said, her face a mask of confusion.
Something he regretted to this day. “She's run off every woman I've dated since.” He reached out to touch her, but stopped short. “I couldn't let her get to you, I didn't want to lose you.”
She made a disgusted sound. “That's rich. You didn't trust me enough to stand by you when someone else staked a claim on you–”
“You don't understand,” he cut her off. “She's ruthless.” Kat gave him a disbelieving look and he elaborated, “She pulled the old Visine trick. Mel was sick for a couple days.”
Her jaw dropped. “That's what happened to Melanie Andrews?” She shook her head. “She told me not to get involved with you when I choreographed her wedding dance.”
“That was almost two years ago.”
She shrugged. “She knew I had a thing for you.”
“I have a thing for you, too,” he echoed with a smirk, taking a step toward her.
“Wait.” She held up a hand to stave off his advance. “Why hasn't anyone done anything about Priscilla?”
“We couldn't prove it.” He lifted a shoulder. “What should I have done? Priscilla is one of my sister's best friends.”
God, she'd missed him. She had tried to be strong, had avoided anywhere he might have been for almost two weeks for fear of seeing him. She'd thought he was ashamed of her, but he'd hidden their relationship to protect her from Priscilla? Priscilla McClaren would blow away in a stiff wind and seemed as sweet as honey. Well, sweet as honey until you crossed her. She was famous for her tantrums, spoiled princess that she was, and Kat could understand Mason's reticence to a point. She sucked in a long breath, letting it out slowly as he watched her. Oh how she still wanted him with every fiber of her being, but if this was going to work, he had to trust her. She closed the gap between them, laying a hand on his forearm. “I can take it, Mason. If you want this to work, if you want me to let you help me. If you want...” she trailed off.
“I want,” he promised.
“Then no hiding.”
“No hiding,” he agreed before pulling her into a kiss.
She felt so good in his arms, her curves flush against him. He could kiss her for days and not get enough. He'd known Priscilla was scaring off his girlfriends for years, and hadn't really cared. With Kat everything was different. He couldn't lose her, couldn't let her be driven away. So, he'd hidden their relationship. He kissed her again, sliding his hands into her hair, dislodging her ponytail and savoring the feel of it through his fingers. When he broke the kiss, he took a step back to look into her eyes. “Never, never let anyone make you think I'm ashamed of you.”
She shook her head slightly, the black silk of her hair brushing the tops of her breasts. “You're the town golden boy, Mason. The oldest son of one of the richest families in town.” She looked down. “I'm a woman about to lose her livelihood, who's deep in debt.”
“So?” he asked, his caramel brows furrowed.
“So?” She pulled from his arms, threw her own out in a helpless gesture. “Mason, I am... God. I am completely and totally in love with you.” She turned around then, her voice quiet as she said, “I am not a gold-digger.”
His arms were around her before she'd finished her statement. “Of course you're not. I know you're not.” He spun her around to face him. “I love you, too. I was going to ask you to marry me after I offered to pay off this place,” he paused at her shocked expression. “That didn't quite work out how I'd planned it.”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she found her voice. “You were?”
“I was.” He grinned at her then. “What would you have said?”
“I would have thought you just wanted to save me.” She sighed. “You'd just promised to make all my financial troubles go away.”
He shook his head. “I only wanted to help.”
She went up on her toes to kiss him, her eyes sparkling. “Is the offer still open?”
“Until you say yes, the offer is there,” he promised as he tightened his hold on her.
She gave him a mischievous smile before she said, “Good to know.”
He laughed. “Good to know? Good to know? I lay my heart at your feet and you say, 'Good to know'?”
You can find more information about Hayden and her other projects at her website: http://haydenbraeburnweebly.com
Read her blog: http://haydenbraeburn.wordpress.com/
Or contact her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HaydenBraeburn/235335549867566
or Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5989571.Hayden Braeburn
If you want to learn about upcoming events about the Everetts of Tyler releases here's another link
http://haydenbraeburn.wordpress.com/the-everetts-of-tyler/
And buy her book DANCE WITH ME at Amazon
Barnes and Noble or Smashwords
Write on,
Teresa Reasor
June 24, 2012
777 Challenge for Breaking Through
Okay. Devon Matthews tagged me on the 777 Challenge and I'm posting my 7 lines from my 7th page of Breaking Through. Now I'm off to tag 7 people to do the same.
Derrick pressed a finger to his lips and rested his ear against the door listening. He gave the all clear and signaled for him to hurry.Brett nodded, thrust his pistol into its holster, and turned back to the task of arming the charge.He checked his watch, his finger reached toward the timer. Sensing a movement to his right, his attention jerked upward. A gunstock hit the side of his head with the force of a baseball bat, tearing the NVG’s from his face and slamming his head sideways. Instant blackness crashed over him.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!!
Teresa J. Reasor
Derrick pressed a finger to his lips and rested his ear against the door listening. He gave the all clear and signaled for him to hurry.Brett nodded, thrust his pistol into its holster, and turned back to the task of arming the charge.He checked his watch, his finger reached toward the timer. Sensing a movement to his right, his attention jerked upward. A gunstock hit the side of his head with the force of a baseball bat, tearing the NVG’s from his face and slamming his head sideways. Instant blackness crashed over him.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!!
Teresa J. Reasor
June 20, 2012
Kallypso Masters and Nobody's Perfect
I'M SO PROUD TO BE THE FIRST STOP OF KALLYPSO MASTER'S BLOG TOUR AND TO INTRODUCE HER LATEST RELEASE (COMING SOON) NOBODY'S PERFECT.
KALLY'S BLOG HOP
I'm an eclectic reader. I'll read any kind of fiction, non-fiction, history, biographies, you name it. But my first love is romance, military romance, historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, erotic romance and romantic suspense. Actually any kind of romance. The more conflict in a story, the more I love it. And Kallypso Masters can pour on the conflict. And I love it.
Her books are also BDSM erotica. I don't read erotica a lot. But I have a few favorites in the genre, Cheryl Norman, Jennifer Madden, Mia Jae, and recently I've added Kallypso (Kally) Masters to my list.
Hers are my first sojourn into BDSM and they are totally different than I expected. I really love her heroes (OH MY) and her story lines. Her female characters are fighting through things just as ferociously as her heroes and really fit well with the men. And the sex ain't nothing to shrug off either. I'm fanning myself just thinking about it.
And if you didn't get a chance to read the interview I posted yesterday it's still up. Kally told us about the characters in NOBODY'S PERFECT and you may want to read it, too.
I've read her MASTERS AT ARMS, the prequel to the series which gives you a taste of the story lines and her writing and NOBODY'S ANGEL thus far. I have NOBODY'S HERO on my Kindle to read next. And of course I'll have to have her next release to have read the whole series thus far. There are others coming later in the year!!
I'm thrilled that she's agreed to let me be her first stop on her blog kick off for her next release due out in just a few weeks. NOBODY'S PERFECT. She's providing a daily prize of a $10 Gift Card and swag for each blog of her blog tour so you may want to follow along. In order to enter, you have to leave your email address in your comment. So please don't forget.
The grand prize will be a $200 Gift Card to a bookseller of your choice. (Amazon, B&N, smashwords or All Romance Ebooks). The lucky winner of that will be chosen July 1st!
To win this you have to fill out a form. Just click on the link and it will take you there. GRAND PRIZE CONTEST.
With all these opportunities to get something for just reading this blog, it's a win win. You get to read a WONDERFUL excerpt, get your name into a hat for the $10 Gift Card and enter a contest for a $200 dollar Gift Card. EXCELLENT!
All that said here's:
NOBODY'S PERFECT
Savannah Gentry, now Savi Baker, escaped the torture and degradation forced upon her by a sadistic father for eleven years and has made a safe life for herself and her daughter. When her father threatens her peace of mind—and her daughter's safety—Savi runs to Damián Orlando for protection. Their one day together eight years earlier changed both their lives and resulted in a secret she can no longer hide. But being with Damián reawakens feelings she wants buried—and stirs up an onslaught of disturbing flashbacks that leave her shaken to the core with little hope of ever being a sexual being again.
Damián has his own dragons to fight, but has never forgotten the one perfect day he spent with Savannah in a cave at the beach. He will go to the ends of the earth to protect Savi and her daughter, but can never be the whole man she deserves after a firefight in Iraq. Besides, the trauma of war and resulting PTSD has led him to find his place as the Masters at Arms Club's favorite sadist. Savi needs someone gentle and loving, not the broken man he has become. But he sees that the lifestyle he's come to embrace also can help Savi regain control of her life and sexuality. How can he not help redirect her negative thoughts and actions if she needs him?
Here's a peek at the UNEDITED prologue to Nobody's Perfect:
Prologue
Savi circled another job listing in the classifieds as Christmas music played in the background. Office clerk. After all her years of college and clinicals, she had finally achieved her dream of working as a social worker with young abuse victims. That work had ended abruptly three weeks ago. She needed to find a way to support her daughter and herself until her supervisor could fight Savi's recent firing with the higher-ups in the state's department of mental health services. Unraveling bureaucracy took time. She didn't have time.
Savi opened her mini laptop to update her resumé and do a cover letter, hoping to make it through several more letters before Mari got home from practicing for the children's pageant at church.
The doorbell interrupted her work some unknown amount of time later. She looked at the clock on her desk. Too early for Mari to be dropped off—unless something had happened. Heart hammering against her chest, Savi nearly ran to the front door and opened it, expecting to see one of the youth leaders from the church group.
Lyle.
Bile rose in her throat and she moved to slam the door again. Stupid! Why hadn't she looked through the peephole first? He wedged his foot into the doorway, keeping her from closing the door in his face.
"What kind of greeting is that for an old friend, Savannah?"
Not a friend. Enemy. She gasped to fill her lungs with much-needed air. Dangerous. She needed to get rid of him before Mari came home.
"What do you want, Lyle?"
"Invite me inside and we'll talk."
"You're not coming in. Now leave before I call the police."
He narrowed his eyes and Savi familiar ligatures of fear encircled her neck. Vile man. Could she fight him off?
"Let me in, Savannah, or you and your little girl will regret your misplaced bravery."
Marisol. Did he know where she was? Oh, God, she prayed. Don't let Mari come home early.She needed to get rid of Lyle. Now.
"Just state your business. I'm not letting you inside my…"
Without warning, Lyle leaned back then slammed his body against the door sending the edge of the wood into Savi's eye and cheek, hurtling her backward until she lay sprawled on the floor. The sight of his navy-blue dress pants and wingtip shoes made her shudder as a distant memory enveloped her. Looking up at the angry man in the three-piece suit who towered over her, she realized he hadn't even mussed a hair on his blond head.
"Ah, just where a slut like you needs to be, Savannah—at my feet. Now let's see if we can hear you scream the way you used to for me."
No!Memories of the night he had placed her father's shameful mark on her could never be erased. Neither could any of the degrading things Lyle had subjected her to at her father's orders. She turned over and got on all fours and scrambled away. Just when she'd thought she was far enough away to stand up and set her feet to defend herself, Lyle's wingtip gouged into her side. The air whooshed from her lungs and she gasped to try and recover her breath.
"Your father asked me to bring you and his granddaughter to him. But I thought perhaps we would enjoy a little playtime first. For old time's sake. What your father doesn't know…"
Another blow struck her side near the same place and panic set in as her breathing became labored.
Breathe!
Maman, help me. Give me the strength to fight him off.
Savi pulled herself up using the hallway table and tried to regulate her breathing again. She turned to find Lyle smirking at her. Bastard. Picking up a brass candlestick from the table, she didn't hesitate as she swung it at his head, striking a blow she hoped had left him more than just stunned. Not waiting for him to recover, she followed up by kicking him in the groin. He doubled over and fell to the floor. As he lay moaning, holding his privates as his head bled on her hardwood floor, she remembered the lessons in cutting off the blood flow to the brain that she'd learned from a veteran Marine who had studied with her in college. She cringed as she touched his neck, hating to place her hands anywhere on him, but finally found the point she sought in his neck and pressed—hard. She counted. By thirty seconds, Lyle's body grew even more limp. She didn't wait around to see how long he'd be out.
Running to the bedroom, she pulled out a suitcase to throw a few clothes into it, but when she tried to lift it, her breathing became constricted again, forcing her to leave it on the floor near the closet. After she filled half of it, she wheeled it to Mari's room and threw in some of her daughter's things, then zipped it up and wheeled it to the kitchen. After grabbing her purse and keys, she stumbled out the back door.
A black BMW sat parked behind her little blue Nissan. She glanced back at her bungalow. Home, but no longer her safe place.
No sign of Lyle yet, but he wouldn't be unconscious forever. She fought to control her breathing again, but refused to escape into her head to dull the pain. Taking as deep a breath as she could and holding it, she swung the suitcase into the trunk and slammed the lid down. Oh dear Lord. She couldn't breathe! She pressed her arm against her chest and the place where Lyle had kicked her repeatedly as she opened the door, got behind the steering wheel, and turned the key in the ignition. She couldn't zone out now. She needed to get to San Miguel's…to Mari.
Then what?
I wanted to end the blog with Kally's other books. Though you don't have to read them in order, I'd suggest that you do because her story lines hook together and may take more than one book to conclude. I didn't mind that at all. Just more great conflict and story to read. Check them out.
MASTERS AT ARMS
NOBODY'S ANGEL
NOBODY'S HERO
Here's a short bio about Kally:
Kallypso Masters writes emotional romance novels with dominant men and the women who bring them to their knees. Sometimes it seems she lives with these Masters at Arms Doms twenty-four/seven--yes, they tend to dominate her life. Often, she'll wake up with one or more characters waiting by her bedside to share some delicious secret about themselves. It's a tough job, but she loves every minute of it.
Kally has been writing full-time since May 2011, having quit her "day job" the month before to pursue a full-time writing career. Masters at Arms was her debut novel (published in August 2011) and was followed by Nobody's Angel in September and Nobody's Hero in December. She plans three more books in the Rescue Me series in 2012: Nobody's Perfect (expected release date mid to late June); Nobody's Dream (late September); and Nobody's Home (November/December).
She lives in rural Kentucky and has been married for almost 29 years to the man who provided her own Happily Ever After. They have two adult children, one rescued dog, and one rescued cat--and now four Doms (Adam, Marc, Damián, and Luke) and a Domme (Grant) have taken up residence in her head and still others are in the wings for the first eight books in the series (through 2013).For more information about Kally please feel free to browse this site or her Web site at kallypsomasters.com. If you have any questions that haven't been answered here, feel free to contact Kally directly at kallypsomasters@gmail.com. She loves to hear from readers and will answer as soon as she's able.
Website http://www.kallypsomasters.comBlog http://www.kallypsomasters.blogspot.comAuthor Page https://www.facebook.com/KallypsoMastersAuthorPageFacebook https://www.facebook.com/kallypsomastersTwitter https://twitter.com/#!/kallypsomasters
Thank you for joining my blog today Kally. And thanks to those readers who stop by to share in this kick off.
Teresa J. Reasor
AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO YOU'LL BE ENTERED FOR THE $10 GIFT CARD.
KALLY'S BLOG HOP
I'm an eclectic reader. I'll read any kind of fiction, non-fiction, history, biographies, you name it. But my first love is romance, military romance, historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, erotic romance and romantic suspense. Actually any kind of romance. The more conflict in a story, the more I love it. And Kallypso Masters can pour on the conflict. And I love it.
Her books are also BDSM erotica. I don't read erotica a lot. But I have a few favorites in the genre, Cheryl Norman, Jennifer Madden, Mia Jae, and recently I've added Kallypso (Kally) Masters to my list.
Hers are my first sojourn into BDSM and they are totally different than I expected. I really love her heroes (OH MY) and her story lines. Her female characters are fighting through things just as ferociously as her heroes and really fit well with the men. And the sex ain't nothing to shrug off either. I'm fanning myself just thinking about it.
And if you didn't get a chance to read the interview I posted yesterday it's still up. Kally told us about the characters in NOBODY'S PERFECT and you may want to read it, too.
I've read her MASTERS AT ARMS, the prequel to the series which gives you a taste of the story lines and her writing and NOBODY'S ANGEL thus far. I have NOBODY'S HERO on my Kindle to read next. And of course I'll have to have her next release to have read the whole series thus far. There are others coming later in the year!!
I'm thrilled that she's agreed to let me be her first stop on her blog kick off for her next release due out in just a few weeks. NOBODY'S PERFECT. She's providing a daily prize of a $10 Gift Card and swag for each blog of her blog tour so you may want to follow along. In order to enter, you have to leave your email address in your comment. So please don't forget.
The grand prize will be a $200 Gift Card to a bookseller of your choice. (Amazon, B&N, smashwords or All Romance Ebooks). The lucky winner of that will be chosen July 1st!
To win this you have to fill out a form. Just click on the link and it will take you there. GRAND PRIZE CONTEST.
With all these opportunities to get something for just reading this blog, it's a win win. You get to read a WONDERFUL excerpt, get your name into a hat for the $10 Gift Card and enter a contest for a $200 dollar Gift Card. EXCELLENT!
All that said here's:
NOBODY'S PERFECT
Savannah Gentry, now Savi Baker, escaped the torture and degradation forced upon her by a sadistic father for eleven years and has made a safe life for herself and her daughter. When her father threatens her peace of mind—and her daughter's safety—Savi runs to Damián Orlando for protection. Their one day together eight years earlier changed both their lives and resulted in a secret she can no longer hide. But being with Damián reawakens feelings she wants buried—and stirs up an onslaught of disturbing flashbacks that leave her shaken to the core with little hope of ever being a sexual being again.
Damián has his own dragons to fight, but has never forgotten the one perfect day he spent with Savannah in a cave at the beach. He will go to the ends of the earth to protect Savi and her daughter, but can never be the whole man she deserves after a firefight in Iraq. Besides, the trauma of war and resulting PTSD has led him to find his place as the Masters at Arms Club's favorite sadist. Savi needs someone gentle and loving, not the broken man he has become. But he sees that the lifestyle he's come to embrace also can help Savi regain control of her life and sexuality. How can he not help redirect her negative thoughts and actions if she needs him?
Here's a peek at the UNEDITED prologue to Nobody's Perfect:
Prologue
Savi circled another job listing in the classifieds as Christmas music played in the background. Office clerk. After all her years of college and clinicals, she had finally achieved her dream of working as a social worker with young abuse victims. That work had ended abruptly three weeks ago. She needed to find a way to support her daughter and herself until her supervisor could fight Savi's recent firing with the higher-ups in the state's department of mental health services. Unraveling bureaucracy took time. She didn't have time.
Savi opened her mini laptop to update her resumé and do a cover letter, hoping to make it through several more letters before Mari got home from practicing for the children's pageant at church.
The doorbell interrupted her work some unknown amount of time later. She looked at the clock on her desk. Too early for Mari to be dropped off—unless something had happened. Heart hammering against her chest, Savi nearly ran to the front door and opened it, expecting to see one of the youth leaders from the church group.
Lyle.
Bile rose in her throat and she moved to slam the door again. Stupid! Why hadn't she looked through the peephole first? He wedged his foot into the doorway, keeping her from closing the door in his face.
"What kind of greeting is that for an old friend, Savannah?"
Not a friend. Enemy. She gasped to fill her lungs with much-needed air. Dangerous. She needed to get rid of him before Mari came home.
"What do you want, Lyle?"
"Invite me inside and we'll talk."
"You're not coming in. Now leave before I call the police."
He narrowed his eyes and Savi familiar ligatures of fear encircled her neck. Vile man. Could she fight him off?
"Let me in, Savannah, or you and your little girl will regret your misplaced bravery."
Marisol. Did he know where she was? Oh, God, she prayed. Don't let Mari come home early.She needed to get rid of Lyle. Now.
"Just state your business. I'm not letting you inside my…"
Without warning, Lyle leaned back then slammed his body against the door sending the edge of the wood into Savi's eye and cheek, hurtling her backward until she lay sprawled on the floor. The sight of his navy-blue dress pants and wingtip shoes made her shudder as a distant memory enveloped her. Looking up at the angry man in the three-piece suit who towered over her, she realized he hadn't even mussed a hair on his blond head.
"Ah, just where a slut like you needs to be, Savannah—at my feet. Now let's see if we can hear you scream the way you used to for me."
No!Memories of the night he had placed her father's shameful mark on her could never be erased. Neither could any of the degrading things Lyle had subjected her to at her father's orders. She turned over and got on all fours and scrambled away. Just when she'd thought she was far enough away to stand up and set her feet to defend herself, Lyle's wingtip gouged into her side. The air whooshed from her lungs and she gasped to try and recover her breath.
"Your father asked me to bring you and his granddaughter to him. But I thought perhaps we would enjoy a little playtime first. For old time's sake. What your father doesn't know…"
Another blow struck her side near the same place and panic set in as her breathing became labored.
Breathe!
Maman, help me. Give me the strength to fight him off.
Savi pulled herself up using the hallway table and tried to regulate her breathing again. She turned to find Lyle smirking at her. Bastard. Picking up a brass candlestick from the table, she didn't hesitate as she swung it at his head, striking a blow she hoped had left him more than just stunned. Not waiting for him to recover, she followed up by kicking him in the groin. He doubled over and fell to the floor. As he lay moaning, holding his privates as his head bled on her hardwood floor, she remembered the lessons in cutting off the blood flow to the brain that she'd learned from a veteran Marine who had studied with her in college. She cringed as she touched his neck, hating to place her hands anywhere on him, but finally found the point she sought in his neck and pressed—hard. She counted. By thirty seconds, Lyle's body grew even more limp. She didn't wait around to see how long he'd be out.
Running to the bedroom, she pulled out a suitcase to throw a few clothes into it, but when she tried to lift it, her breathing became constricted again, forcing her to leave it on the floor near the closet. After she filled half of it, she wheeled it to Mari's room and threw in some of her daughter's things, then zipped it up and wheeled it to the kitchen. After grabbing her purse and keys, she stumbled out the back door.
A black BMW sat parked behind her little blue Nissan. She glanced back at her bungalow. Home, but no longer her safe place.
No sign of Lyle yet, but he wouldn't be unconscious forever. She fought to control her breathing again, but refused to escape into her head to dull the pain. Taking as deep a breath as she could and holding it, she swung the suitcase into the trunk and slammed the lid down. Oh dear Lord. She couldn't breathe! She pressed her arm against her chest and the place where Lyle had kicked her repeatedly as she opened the door, got behind the steering wheel, and turned the key in the ignition. She couldn't zone out now. She needed to get to San Miguel's…to Mari.
Then what?
I wanted to end the blog with Kally's other books. Though you don't have to read them in order, I'd suggest that you do because her story lines hook together and may take more than one book to conclude. I didn't mind that at all. Just more great conflict and story to read. Check them out.
MASTERS AT ARMS
NOBODY'S ANGEL
NOBODY'S HEROHere's a short bio about Kally:
Kallypso Masters writes emotional romance novels with dominant men and the women who bring them to their knees. Sometimes it seems she lives with these Masters at Arms Doms twenty-four/seven--yes, they tend to dominate her life. Often, she'll wake up with one or more characters waiting by her bedside to share some delicious secret about themselves. It's a tough job, but she loves every minute of it.
Kally has been writing full-time since May 2011, having quit her "day job" the month before to pursue a full-time writing career. Masters at Arms was her debut novel (published in August 2011) and was followed by Nobody's Angel in September and Nobody's Hero in December. She plans three more books in the Rescue Me series in 2012: Nobody's Perfect (expected release date mid to late June); Nobody's Dream (late September); and Nobody's Home (November/December).
She lives in rural Kentucky and has been married for almost 29 years to the man who provided her own Happily Ever After. They have two adult children, one rescued dog, and one rescued cat--and now four Doms (Adam, Marc, Damián, and Luke) and a Domme (Grant) have taken up residence in her head and still others are in the wings for the first eight books in the series (through 2013).For more information about Kally please feel free to browse this site or her Web site at kallypsomasters.com. If you have any questions that haven't been answered here, feel free to contact Kally directly at kallypsomasters@gmail.com. She loves to hear from readers and will answer as soon as she's able.
Website http://www.kallypsomasters.comBlog http://www.kallypsomasters.blogspot.comAuthor Page https://www.facebook.com/KallypsoMastersAuthorPageFacebook https://www.facebook.com/kallypsomastersTwitter https://twitter.com/#!/kallypsomasters
Thank you for joining my blog today Kally. And thanks to those readers who stop by to share in this kick off.
Teresa J. Reasor
AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO YOU'LL BE ENTERED FOR THE $10 GIFT CARD.
June 19, 2012
Interview with Kallypso Masters
In preparation for the start of her blog tour tomorrow I thought I'd post Kally's interview today so you could get to know her, and a little about her characters before the big kick off. Be sure to come back tomorrow and join us for the big kick off. There'll be a drawing for a $10 gift card and you can put your name in for the July 1st drawing for a $200 gift card.
Tell us what inspired your story.As an incest and child sexual abuse survivor myself, I have found that Romance novels helped me recover and to be able to go on to a happy marriage of 29 years with my own hero. But sometimes the books just glossed over the traumatic effects such abuse can have on a couple's sexual relationship and the ability to trust someone again in such an intimate way. Flashbacks, triggers, it's like a minefield for the partner, as well. I wanted to tell the story in more realistic terms. As I write this, very close to completion of the book, I can't tell you if Savi and Damián will even have sex in this book. But I do know that they will form a bond that will move them toward that in the future. As my loyal readers have learned from back in Masters at Arms and even Nobody's Angel, I don't get to happily ever for a couple in a single book. My RESCUE ME series is more of a serial.While I didn't choose this path for my own healing (or even know about it), I've met a number of women online who were abused and have used BDSM to help them regain control of their sexuality. So, this story tells how a woman who has gone as far as she wants to with traditional therapy finds herself exploring sadomasochism in particular as a way to achieve that. What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?It has definitely been an emotional roller-coaster for me to write, which is partly why this one has taken me much longer to write than the first three books in the series. I enlist the help of many experts to help me get it right and the clinical psychologist who read it told me my flashback scenes are some of the most emotionally honest ones she's ever read in fiction. (As they say in fiction, none of it happened, but all of it's true.) Describe your hero and tell us a little about him.Damián Orlando is the youngest of the Doms who own the Masters at Arms Club, but by far the most evolved emotionally. My Chicano hero has been through a lot—the loss of both parents at a young age, time spent in juvenile detention for beating the crap out of his brother-in-law (who had abused his sister), losing his job and his Harley as a result of rescuing Savi from an SM scene gone bad, having his foot amputated as a result of a combat wound in Iraq, and fighting his way back from PTSD (with the help of his combat brothers, Adam Montague and Marc D'Alessio, the other owners of the club). And all that's just what we learned about him in Masters at Arms! He's brave, selfless, and everything you could want in a hero. Describe your heroine and tell us a little about her.Savi Baker (Savannah Gentry in Masters) is a fierce mama bear who will do whatever it takes to keep her daughter safe from her father and his partner, even run to her daughter's father, who doesn't even know he is a father. She's a therapist who helps child sexual abuse victims cope with and move on from their traumas. She is reunited with Damián in Nobody's Herowhen Damián's niece is raped and he takes her to the clinic where Savi works. While she's been through years of therapy, she's avoided dealing with sexual healing because she has no intention of having a sexual relationship with anyone. But when Damián discovers her hurting herself to try to cope with the pain that has built up inside, he proposes SM as a means for her to get the endorphin release she needs, but in a much safer way. What brings the two together and what threatens to keep them apart?While the threat of her father finding where Savi and her daughter are hiding is constant throughout the book, the biggest hurdle for them to overcome is their own hangups about needing to be perfect. While both are wounded, neither is broken. If they can lower their walls long enough, they might be able to see that together they can have a future. They might not get the storybook ending their daughter loves to read about, but it will be perfect for them at this point in time. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?There is someone out there who is for them, even if they haven't found them yet. Never stop looking or give up hope. And don't put yourself on a shelf and think your life is over—ever! If writing a series, which characters will you continue with in other books? I'm not one to contain a hero and heroine to a single novel. Adam and Karla's journey took three books—and they'll come back later this year in Nobody's Home struggling with some unresolved issues keeping them from total happiness. Marc and Angelina first met in Nobody's Angel, but they only knew each other about a week. While they ended Happy For Now, some kinks in the armor were revealed in Nobody's Hero, and they have a major story line in Nobody's Perfect where they are faced with a major crisis of trust. Damian and Savi also have taken three books to get them to the point of a commitment, but they will continue to work on their relationship in future books, as well. The next book, Nobody's Dream (due out in September or October) will be about Luke and Cassie, but will include updates on all of the other characters readers have come to love. I posed the question on my Facebook wall and my blog recently about whether it was a distraction for readers to go off into another couple's relationship other than the main hero and heroine's, and they let it be known that's one of the things they love best about my books. Over and over, they tell me my characters have become their family, too. And family members don't just make cameo appearances in each other's life stories. They're a vital part of it.One thing I try to convey in this day of disposable marriages is that Happily Ever After (HEA) is just the beginning—it takes maintenance to remain HEA. So, my characters will continue to have their ups and downs—but, while sometimes tested in profound ways, their commitment to each other can never be broken.With more than 52,000 copies sold of my first three books since last August and an additional 25,000+ downloads of the introduction, Masters at Arms, on Amazon since it went free there on June 4, I must be giving readers what they want! (The introduction to my series will remain free at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and All Romance eBooks.)A word of caution: Please fight the urge to skip ahead in the series to Adam's or Damian's stories because you'll miss important turning points for them if you skip any books. I recently learned that one reader was so anxious to continue Adam's story, she skipped from Section One of Masters to the third book in the series—totally missing where Karla and Adam were reunited at the end of Masters and several pivotal, emotional, and sexy scenes in their relationship in Nobody's Angel. So, be good and read them in order! At $3.99 for each romance and a free introduction, the price certainly is right! As for Damian and Savi's story, final edits are taking place now for Nobody's Perfect and the publication date will be later this month at the same four places you'll find the first three books in the RESCUE ME "serial." Blurb:
Savannah Gentry, now Savi Baker, escaped the torture and degradation forced upon her by a sadistic father for eleven years and has made a safe life for herself and her daughter. When her father threatens her peace of mind—and her daughter's safety—Savi runs to Damián Orlando for protection. Their one day together eight years earlier changed both their lives and resulted in a secret she can no longer hide. But being with Damián reawakens feelings she wants buried—and stirs up an onslaught of disturbing flashbacks that leave her shaken to the core with little hope of ever being a sexual being again.Damián has his own dragons to fight, but has never forgotten the one perfect day he spent with Savannah in a cave at the beach. He will go to the ends of the earth to protect Savi and her daughter, but can never be the whole man she deserves after a firefight in Iraq. Besides, the trauma of war and resulting PTSD has led him to find his place as the Masters at Arms Club's favorite sadist. Savi needs someone gentle and loving, not the broken man he has become. But he sees that the lifestyle he's come to embrace also can help Savi regain control of her life and sexuality. How can he not help redirect her negative thoughts and acti
June 18, 2012
FIRST STOP FOR KALLYPSO MASTER'S BLOG TOUR
Hey all!
I just thought I'd send out a post and let you know that I'll be Kally Master's first Blog stop on her Blog Tour for her new release NOBODY'S PERFECT THIS WEDNESDAY!! FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLOG TOUR YOU CAN CHECK OUT KALLY'S BLOG POST.
BE SURE TO STOP BY AND LEAVE A COMMENT. YOU'LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A $10 GIFT CARD IF YOU LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.
AND IF YOU FILL OUT A FORM ON MY BLOG YOU'LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A $200 GRAND PRIZE AT THE END OF THE BLOG TOUR THAT WILL BE DRAWN ON JULY 1st.
I hope to see you here at My Muse's Musings on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20TH.
TERESA J. REASOR
I just thought I'd send out a post and let you know that I'll be Kally Master's first Blog stop on her Blog Tour for her new release NOBODY'S PERFECT THIS WEDNESDAY!! FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BLOG TOUR YOU CAN CHECK OUT KALLY'S BLOG POST.
BE SURE TO STOP BY AND LEAVE A COMMENT. YOU'LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A $10 GIFT CARD IF YOU LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.
AND IF YOU FILL OUT A FORM ON MY BLOG YOU'LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A $200 GRAND PRIZE AT THE END OF THE BLOG TOUR THAT WILL BE DRAWN ON JULY 1st.
I hope to see you here at My Muse's Musings on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20TH.
TERESA J. REASOR
