Nancy Gideon's Blog, page 14

WeWriWa: Will her Word Mean their Bond? PRINCE OF SHADOWS (“By Moonlight” Book 8)

WeWriWa: Will her Word Mean their Bond? PRINCE OF SHADOWS (“By Moonlight” Book 8)


He made a promise to protect her and make her his queen. His brothers, and even his father, the king, believe the crown was the reward he’s after. But it was her. It always had been. To have that future they’d once dreamed of Cale Terriot will have to do things that make him into a monster in Kendra’s eyes after she’s made the prize in their shapeshifter clan’s contest to claim its crown. But his fierce determination and whispered promises stir memories of selfless love and long-ago kisses, and something else Kendra never expected. Desire.

Was she seriously considering staying with him, bonding as his life’s mate?
That would mean remaining here, locked away from a world she’d hoped to enjoy, a pampered prisoner, but prisoner, nonetheless, sharing every little intimate detail of her days and nights with this quixotic man she didn’t understand while trusting him to care for her, to protect and cherish her.
Before she could stop herself, she put her fingertips to his cheek, then gasped as he caught her wrist roughly.
His eyes flashed open, seeming more incredibly pale and beautiful against the shaded bruising surrounding them. Once he recognized her, he growled, “Probably not a good idea to startle me when I’m sleeping.”
“I’ll make a note.” Kendra withdrew her hand when he released it, rubbing at her abraded wrist while he rolled his head away and laid his forearm across his eyes. “I didn’t hear you come in last night.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have reason to wake you.”
That flat tone deflated fragile hopes.
( . . . and a bit more . . .)
Kendra swallowed hard. A prickle of pride refused to let her beg him. “It should only take a few minutes to pack up my things.”
“What?” His gaze flew up to meet hers, eyes wide and round and filled with a tumble of complex emotion. “You’re leaving?”
“Isn’t that what you want?”
“No.” He drew a quick, jerky breath. “Do you want me to go?”
The last thing she’d expected was for him to place that kind of power in her hands, but he delivered it without any hesitation. Kendra carefully weighed her next words. “I can’t stay if I’m afraid of you.” She gave that time to settle in. His stare, so intense and still, was riveted to hers. “There have to be rules.”
A quick blink. “You’re giving me rules?”
She heard his arrogant claim in her head: “I’m a Terriot prince. I do whatever the hell I want,” but she didn’t back down.
“Someone has to, Cale.”
“So,” he ventured carefully, “what are they?”

PRINCE OF SHADOWS was the first expansion of my “By Moonlight” world, introducing a dangerous rival clan that forces a clash between Max Savoie’s New Orleans and Lake Tahoe’s warrior Terriot clan (two of my favorite places, btw!!). I confess, Cale Terriot, with his strutty attitude and fearless loyalty, has always been my favorite, enough so to bring him and his family into crossover books in the “By Moonlight” series. I can’t wait to create a new cover (was never fond of the first one) and get it back out to readers old and new when I begin reissuing the series. I like that every old being new again!!
Just got back from a two week visit with one of my critique partners and got not just words but chapters (!) done on my Romantic Suspense WIP. Now to clean off my work desk and get those final pages finished!!
Loving this cooler weather here in the Mitten as summer slips into fall (my favorite season!). Gotta go leash up the cats and get them outside before the cubes melt in my iced tea. Can’t wait to dive into your projects!
Happy (almost) Fall, y’all!!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Someone to Come Home to . . . A RISK-TAKING RANGER

WeWriWa: Someone to Come Home to . . . A RISK-TAKING RANGER

FINALLY! After over a month of avoiding a glance over at my work desk where NO work was being accomplished on my new W-I-P, I took some bold action. I made a call to one of my critique partners, packed up my writing materials and loungewear and took a drive across the state to a quiet retirement village with no distractions (other than stranger than fiction MSNBC coverage) and a dining table that would become my creative zone. No family and herd of cats wondering when dinner was going to be, no constant sound of distracting footsteps heading up to my office. Just early morning quiet except for the sound of the words in my head and my hands on the keys. And finally . . . pages becoming chapters. Here’s a peek . . .

Family. That idea played through her thoughts as she tried to enjoy the meal. Someone to come home to, someone to worry over and care about, someone with whom to share the highs and lows of the day and dreams of tomorrow, to laugh with, to cry over, to hold during the long hours of the evening, and lay beside in the dark. She couldn’t deny how well Zayn Bass fit that role . . . except for two things.
One, he wasn’t looking for a life partner. Sharing anything beyond a few hours of pleasure probably never breached his defensive radar.
And two, the idea of what would happen in that dark room, in that big, shared bed was nothing to anticipate with anything but dread.
Though Zayn Bass was damned near perfect, she was woefully far from fulfilling any of his fantasies. If he hadn’t discovered that after her reaction to his kiss, he’d be cruelly schooled if he expected to push the idea of intimacy to an unhappy conclusion. She wasn’t a happily-ever-after candidate. She was a dark, twisted fairytale with a cautionary ending, one that would end badly for all concerned.

I LOVE it when a book talks to you, when characters can’t wait to tell you what they’ve been up to, when you can fall head and heart first into a scene that leaves you sighing in satisfaction. Yah, my week has been like that . . . and I have another one to look forward to!! Let that words flow, and the chapters roll!!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

IWSG: Give Them What They NEED!

IWSG: Give Them What They NEED!
Our IWSG question for August 3 is — When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original, or do you try to give readers what they want?
First off, trying to give a collective group of readers what they think they want is the first way to dry up your creative well. Trying to second guess their wants, desires, and demands is next to impossible. “More of the same” can become a death knell to creativity. This is timely to me because I was just reading through the reviews for a new book from a very popular paranormal series author. Readers were having an absolute fit because the writer had DARED step outside the formula. They demanded she produce exactly the same storyline, give them a carbon copy of the earlier series books. They—very loudly and obnoxiously—were ordering her to stay within the parameters THEY wanted for her creative property. Not just a few, mind you, but thousands! What a nightmare to be a prisoner of your own popularity.

Writing, for me, has always been about the story of the heart: Characters you can’t stop thinking about, scenes and bits of dialog that haunt your dreams and bedevil your waking hours. You can't WAIT to get back to telling their story. THEIR story. Not the readers’ story. Of course we want readers to love and obsess about our plots and characters. OUR plots and characters. And there is nothing wrong with writing the stories/series they’re begging for. But letting anyone other than your muse dictate the direction of your passion isn’t fiction, it’s work for hire.
I laugh because one of my first fan letters was from a woman who demanded my next book feature a blond Norse hero and a heroine with long flowing red hair. She went on to describe exactly how she wanted to see her fantasy played out on my pages. Considering I was writing about the American West, it just wasn’t going to happen.
Readers don’t always KNOW what they want or what they’re going to absolutely fall in love with. Some of my favorite Keepers are books that I never thought would interest me . . . until I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Formula writing can put creativity inside a restrictive cage that says, “You can’t do that!” After 70-some books, my reply to that is, “Watch me!” Because surprise keeps things fun and fresh for both writer and reader. It doesn’t have to be a complete makeover every time, but it has to provide something exciting and fresh . . . for both writer and reader.
How about you? Do you prefer to know what you’re getting or to be surprised? Can’t wait to scroll through your answers.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. The awesome co-hosts for the August 3 posting of the IWSG will be Tara Tyler, Lisa Buie Collard, Loni Townsend, and Lee Lowery!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
 Click Here → 
To join the IWSG Blog Hop and view the List of Hop Participants!
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WeWriWa: When Sparks Fly . . . BETRAYED BY SHADOWS

WeWriWa: When Sparks Fly . . . BETRAYED BY SHADOWS

Nothing sets up a relationship between hero and heroine better than when sparks fly. Those testy words that evolve from unexpected attraction when it’s least expected . . . or wanted. They say opposites attract, and my hero and heroine in the 7th book in my “By Moonlight” shapeshifter series, are the poster couple in this setting boundaries scene from BETRAYED BY SHADOWS . . .

“I don’t need someone looking out for me, so I’d appreciate you keeping your distance.”
She could see him lounging on the wooden swing, wearing the suit coat over an open-collared white shirt, though well-worn jeans and tennis shoes had replaced their dresser counterparts; a good-looking man in a ruggedly conservative way that usually didn’t appeal to her. She liked pretty men with pretty manners and there was nothing the least bit pretty about Giles St. Clair. His big frame was as relaxed as his tone, making him appear a gentle giant, with those calm blue-gray eyes and easy movements, but she wasn’t fooled by that impression.
“Don’t think for a minute that you can tell me what to do or that I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”
“I didn’t think that even for a second.”
“You do know that you’re just a puny human and I can tear through you like a slice of prime rib.”
His teeth flashed white. “I’ve always considered myself more of a slow-cooked, chuck-roast kind of fellow—meaty, a bit of gristle, but tender if basted properly—and I think I could take you. I know a thing or two about your kind, that you can growl, scratch, and bite, but for the most part, you can’t change into anything more dangerous than the average female.”
“You would wrestle me to the ground, Mr. St. Clair?”
“Only if I had to . . . and I’d try not to enjoy it.”

I didn’t expect Giles and Brigit to become one of my all-time favorite couples out of 70-some books. Their shockingly layered and complex pasts, her ego clashing with his calm determination, their needs taking a back seat (and a bunkbed) to stubborn and very opposing missions combined with sparks of danger and desire created a book that was a dream to write and a delight to read and reread as I prepare to get it back out to readers in a reissue of the series. A true labor of love in this case!
Next week, I’ll be moving (literarily) from New Orleans to Lake Tahoe to introduce the “House of Terriot” in PRINCE OF SHADOWS. In the meantime, I hope you’ll stop by tomorrow, the 25th, to view my post on the Paranormal Romantics page about struggling to get words on the page—another common problem we writers share.

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Forbidden Fire . . . BETRAYED BY SHADOWS

After over seventy books featuring hot heroes and courageous heroines, you’d think it would be difficult to pick favorite couple. Nope. Not me. While readers rally behind team Max Savoie and Charlotte Caissie, the main characters in my “By Moonlight” series, I embraced a more unusual choice. I LOVE an underdog, the one struggling against a fate denied them and in BETRAYED BY SHADOWS, Book 7 of 15, I found the perfect pair: A good man drowning in bad deeds and a bad girl denying a good heart. For reluctant hero, Giles St. Clair, a man denied his own aspirations to pay his family’s debt to a devil, that first glimpse of Brigit MacCreedy reminds him of everything now beyond his reach . . . You’ll meet Brigit next week.

“Sorry, what?”
Giles turned to the woman standing at his side to find Charlotte Caissie regarding him with an all too insightful smile.
“If you stare any harder, you’re going to knock her over.”
He grinned, not bothering to deny it, and continued his rapt perusal of Brigit MacCreedy as she descended the stairs.
By all the saints, who’d have guessed the bedraggled female who’d collapsed in his backseat would clean up to such an eyeful!
With her pale porcelain skin and blazing red hair, she was smoldering sex appeal in a curvy bottle-green dress, and the way she moved said she knew it. Brigit MacCreedy was a woman who could work an entrance.
Giles had a healthy appreciation for all things fine and female. His admiration for the NOPD detective currently busting his chops was a prime example. The image of her flashing his boss in lusty Big Easy fashion was burned in a favorite part of his memory. He viewed women the way a connoisseur valued art, noting textures, exquisite lines, and technique—with an eye for the beauty of things he could never possess.
( . . . and a bit more . . .)
Brigit MacCreedy was worthy of her own special showing. She had a rare, almost mythical appeal, so earthy in her sexuality yet unblemished in her perfection. The impossibly red hair blazed like a setting sun searing water. The tempting curve of her cheek and long, graceful neck, the artfully rouged lips with their pouty upper peaks and luscious lower swell, the arch of her brows so descriptively beckoning and yet disdainful. The way the sinuous drape of her dress cupped full breasts, showed off a tiny waist, and flared over sassy hips, leaving delicious legs bare all the way down to the kind of sexy shoes worn to get a lover all juiced up. The fact that she was an unnatural creature, like her brother, only heightened the appeal.
Because looking was stirring a need for some forbidden touching, Giles was wise enough to direct his stare elsewhere.
“What’s her story?”

BETRAYED BY SHADOWS came with a lot of firsts. It was a launch title for Pocket Star, Simon & Schuster’s e-exclusive line, when e-books were a brand-new thing. To celebrate that fact, I jump at another cutting-edge way to promote by putting together a play list and producing a book trailer. It was a fun but tedious learning experience for both me and my virtual assistant, My Girl Friday. Lunch hours in the office where I was a legal assistant were spent scrolling through images of “Bare Male Torsos” (who’da thought you could get sick of that!?) and listening to music clips. When I found all the desired ingredients, MGF put them together into this wonderful book trailer (one of the first to include a video stream!).

Now that I have the rights back to those two e-only titles, BETRAYED BY SHADOWS and PRINCE OF SHADOWS, I’m so excited at the thought of getting them into my hot little hands in paperback for the first time! But first, to finish my contemporary romantic suspense, A RISK-TAKING RANGER, now at 60K!We’ve gotten a brief break from the heat here in Michigan, but the pressure cooker is screwing back down. So I’ll be at my desk under the whir of the ceiling fan while following a dangerous trail with my hero and heroine through the arid wastelands of West Texas. Yee Ha! Get that sun tea a-brewing!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: A Painful Truth . . . SEEKER OF SHADOWS

Could anything be worse than having a fated loved denied? Worse is having to pretend it never existed. When shapeshifter Jacques LaRoche woke up on the docks of New Orleans, all memories before that moment were gone, leaving him to build a new identity, a new life he’s come to enjoy . . . until a lovely visitor from the dangerous North arrives in his bar, stirring up emotions he can’t explain. Dr. Susanna Duchamps comes to New Orleans to right a wrong that denied a good man his freedom and his past. If she can solve a genetic riddle that prevents a future for them together, she can finally tell him a truth too long denied . . . if it’s not already too late. Here’s a sample . . .

Susanna gave up on trying to work, her thoughts fragmented, her emotions, rarely tested or tried, in a knot. Fatigue and sorrow twisted about the sense of blame that refused to let her alone.
She’d done the right thing seven years ago, the only thing she could to save them all. There’d been no other choice, no options, and if she hadn’t let him go, instead of pacing the floor in an agony of frustration, he’d be dead. That simple.
But knowing that truth didn’t lessen her pain.
She couldn’t destroy him with the knowledge that had her heart breaking.
Tears burned in her eyes as she watched his restless movements, knowing he struggled against feelings he couldn’t understand. His desire for her wasn’t natural, not like the earthy affection he had for his female staff, yet it couldn’t be broken by distance or anger or the drink he finally reached for. She knew because she felt it, too.
She could still taste him, feel him, smell him. Wanting him growled through her like a hungry beast, terrifying in its strength, devastating in its potential. And it would only get more difficult.

“Excellent dialogue, fully developed characters, and an engrossing plot. SEEKER OF SHADOWS is what readers wish all paranormal romances could be. Filled with fantastical beings, heartfelt romance, danger, suspense, and the prerequisite happily ever after, this is a novel that no paranormal reader should miss. I highly recommend SEEKER OF SHADOWS and all of the prior books in the series and happily award it an elusive Perfect 10.” –Romance Reviews Today
I’ve been busy searching through Deposit Photos for just the perfect graphics to bring Books 4 through 12 back into print with all new covers. What a delightfully delicious journey! Who knew one could get tired of scrolling through “Bare Male Torsos” for just the right graphic to do a hero justice? I’ve finally matched heroes to backgrounds and am sending them off to my fabulous cover genius, Pat Lazarus Art. Now comes the search for the original manuscript and formatting for reissue . . . a happy but exhaustive process. And somewhere I’ll try to find time to return to my romantic suspense that’s on an impatient backburner for the moment. I know, what a wonderful problem to have.
Off to stealthily get the cat carrier ready to take Kitty #2 to the vet tomorrow for x-rays. Time to find out how many teeth have to go and how deep I’m going to have to dig to pay for the lack of them! Sigh . . . Maybe it’s time for Cat Dentures!



Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

IWSG: It’s Out of This World!

Our IWSG question for July is: “If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?”
One of the greatest things about being a multi-genre writer is getting to write yourself into any time, place, or situations you choose! The Wild West? Yee Haw, been there. Post-Civil War? I’ve walked that desolate road back home where nothing remains of the world you left behind. I’ve dealt into an inside straight on a river boat, felled timber in Upper Michigan, sailed with pirates in the Caribbean, hunted vampires through the centuries, and changed into a shapeshifter . . . all from the safety of my imagination at my office computer. Would I want to walk in the shoes of any of my characters, live their lives, endure their dramas? Ummmm, no, thank you. I’m perfectly content to be both voyeur and puppet master. A mental vacay is one thing, but walking the walk, smelling the smells, experiencing all the situation and emotions I put my characters through . . . I’ll pass. I’m not an adventurer, I’m a dreamer. That’s why my titles are fiction, not biographical.
If I want to experience a different past, present or future from my own snugly boring one, I’ll happily hitchhike with my favorite authors and their characters for a mental journey. When the writing is good, the plot is riveting, and character come to life . . . I AM living in that world . . . until the final page. And when I find myself in a world of my own making that I can’t bear to leave . . . I’ll make it into a series!

I just got the rights back to my “By Moonlight” shape-shifter series and am currently reading through all fifteen (!) of them so I can come up with new cover concepts for the twelve I’ll be reissuing. I’ve “lived” in that world for over fourteen years with characters who are almost like family (a very strange and dysfunctional family who’d liven up any holiday get together!), so I guess I could say I know their world almost as well as I know my own – perhaps better since I control theirs (most of the time!). Would I want to sit down on that side porch overlooking the bayou with them? I’m thinking . . . maybe not. THAT world wouldn’t be one I’d like to spend my retirement years in, no matter how much I enjoy the mental visits! I like my reality predictably boring and will happily leave the adventures up to my characters!
How about you? Where would you like to “escape” to if it were possible?

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. The awesome co-hosts for the June 1st posting of the IWSG will be SE White, Cathrina Constantine, Natalie Aguire, Joylene Nowell Butler, and Jacqui Murray!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
 Click Here → 
To join the IWSG Blog Hop and view the List of Hop Participants!
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group
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WeWriWa: You Ought to be in Pictures . . . FROM THIS DAY FORWARD

Sorry I missed last week’s post, but I was out of town (Chi-town, to be exact!) with one of my critique partners visiting her sister for a writers’ weekend. With all the sun, visitors, pool- and Netflix-time, not a lot of actual wordage happened, buuuuut something potentially Big Screeny did happen. I zoom pitched two of my contemporary romances to the executive producer of an Ontario-based film company actively seeking Hallmark-ish stories! What an exciting first! Not my typical topic, but I did write a handful of them for Kensington’s short-lived Lucky In Love line back in the ‘90s and two of them, now available through BelleBooks, fit the bill. The first was FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, written as Dana Ransom, detailing that awkward moment when you’re confronted with a near stranger the morning after . . . even if nothing happened! Widowed wedding planner Robin Lee isn’t ready to move on with her life, on to someone new, even if that someone spent an innocent night with her and now makes all sorts of not so innocent innuendos. Hard-edged news photographer Kyle Travers hasn’t a romantic bone in his body but the delicate and delectable female handling his sister’s nuptial plans has him questioning that determined stance. What if two broken hearts can make a perfect whole . . .?
Here’s the taste I shared . . .

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo BooksPublished: November 20, 2014Length: 188 PagesAdd to Goodreads TBR→

“How’s the coffee?” she asked, impatiently, the nonverbal suggestion, Drink up and hit the road. Contrarily, he took a small sip.
“Strong and black, just the way I like it when I get up in the morning.”
She got all edgy at that reference, as if struggling not to imagine him getting out of bed . . . or in bed, so he smiled at her, looking smug and lazy, and as inviting as rumpled sheets. And because he had her running scared, she blurted out the next sentence without forethought.
“Last night was a mistake.”
“I’ll say.” Just as she began to relax, Kyle added, “Next time I’ll put the chain lock on.”
A shiver of desperate tension rose up through her. “There won’t be a next time, Kyle.”
( . . . and a bit more . . . )
Who was she trying to convince with that staunch claim? He didn’t believe it, not after the way her mouth had followed him down to the sofa cushions. Nor did she, not when he could see the way her hands clutched at the wedding photo.
He could do one of two things—be a gentleman and back off to a cautious distance, or he could plunge full steam ahead to rock her off her safe pedestal of grief.
Kyle Travers was a full steam ahead kind of guy.

Unfortunately (sigh), they’d just wrapped a series based on a wedding planner so . . . no go there. Buuut, she loved LIFETIME INVESTMENT (I’ll touch on that next week), a rekindling romance tale . . . which was unfortunately between a married couple. Not something they do, as their focus is on the first meet and fall in love type trope. Buuuut, she enjoyed my pitches enough to offer to pass my name on to other similar production companies looking for the type of content I presented. Squeeee! Okay, I’m not packing my bags for Hollywood any time soon, but it was gratifying to hear that I had the right stuff to reach smaller screens.
Moral of the story: The only truly missed opportunity is one not taken.

Happy Fourth of July to all who celebrate. I’ll be cleaning my grill in anticipation!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Fated Mates . . . HUNTER OF SHADOWS

New Orleans detective Silas MacCreedy has a purpose: To secure his family’s place and safety within the Shifter hierarchy. What he didn’t count on was a sexy assassin determined to get in his way both professionally and intimately. Before she can explore her annoying attraction to the man she’s supposed to kill, Nica Fraser must discover the truth about her secret abilities to free herself from the forces that control her. But that freedom comes with a price—trusting those she’s ordered to eliminate. Here's a tease . . .

Silas caught her scent.
Just that hint, teasing like a whisper across his senses, was enough to send a jolt through his system; his skin sizzling, his blood growing thick and hot, and the breath shaky in his lungs from some unknown place deep inside that was instinctual, not rational.
His gaze swept the room without pausing when it touched upon her, tucked back in shadows. Hiding from his notice, perhaps?
The fact that his mysterious and murderous lone wolf female chose to conceal herself amongst trusting sheep wasn’t his concern, so he drew no attention to her as he continued to the door and out into the sultry night. There, he chafed his arms restlessly until the static-like sensations eased.
Instinct was something he trusted without question, but this time, MacCreedy couldn’t give credence to the cause.
This female was nothing to him. Nothing but trouble.
( . . . and a bit more . . . )
He could almost hear his little sister Brigit, back when she was young and still adored him, taunting that someday he’d be brought to his knees when he least expected it. Not by a fellow warrior or in retribution for his past, but by fated sexual chemistry, by an irresistible pheromone drawing him to his mate. Then he’d be humbled and helpless and remember how he’d laughed, calling her a foolish romantic. And he’d have to apologize for making fun of her fairytale nonsense.
Silas wasn’t laughing now, but he wasn’t ready to apologize, either.
What he was, was unbearably and unwisely curious.

Thrill of thrills came when Pocket Books asked me to expand my “By Moonlight” world beyond the two main characters who established it in the first four books of the series. It’s not often that a writer gets to deepen and explore the paranormal world she (or he) loves, especially when I created it to do just that – to make every character unique and LARGE enough to carry their own adventure. A pretty ambitious plan made twenty-two years and fifteen books ago! But the minute I introduced Silas MacCreedy, Cee Cee’s steadfast NOPD partner with a mysterious past, and Monica Fraser, a dangerous enigma with a hidden agenda, fireworks ensued making them one of my favorite couples!

“Complex new characters. Sparks fly immediately. Vivid writing, intriguing plot twists, and a satisfying ending will keep readers coming back to Gideon’s magical NOLA.”
—Publishers Weekly

Having such a great time re-reading these books! I’m looking forward to getting new covers made and repackaging books 4-8 for a new release!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Letting the Big Dog Out . . . BOUND BY MOONLIGHT [By Moonlight - Book 4]

Click Image to View Full Size AwesomenessWho let the Big Dog out? And not to play! Max Savoie has a serious bite and wants to sink his teeth into his mate’s NOPD partner in a bad way in this taste from Book 4 in my “By Moonlight” series. A taste too good to miss . . .

“Leave my house, Detective Babineau. You can wait for Charlotte in your car.”
Then there was just Cee Cee and her fierce glare and sharp bite.
“Are you quite finished with all the Big Dog posturing, or do you stake your claim a little more dramatically?”
“What do you want from me, Charlotte? He comes into my house, insults me, threatens those I care for, and I’m supposed to do nothing?” He grabbed a jacket with enough violence to send the coat hanger flying. “You know what I am, and now so do they. How am I supposed to be comfortable with that when they could crush everything I value with one careless word.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
( . . . and a bit more . . . )
Far from comforted, he growled, “Fine. Handle it your way, smooth it over like it was nothing more than a social blunder. Talk.” He flung the jacket onto the bed and peeled down his jeans.
For a moment she said nothing, just staring at him in his designer shirt and bare legs until the raging impulse to ride him down to the floor and bang his brains out subsided. It took another minute to move her thoughts off that back burner where her hormones constantly simmered, to try and see him as Alain Babineau saw him, as the others on her team saw him.
But she couldn’t see past the man she loved.

I’m LOVING this chance to revisit my dark shapeshifter series as I prepare Books 4-8 for self-pub reissue. The problem is, once I start peaking between the covers, I want to reread the whole book! It’s like having a reunion with friends from the old neighborhood . . . only these friends aren’t quite housebroken. For now, I can only tease because the paperbacks need to be sent out for rescanning . . . unless I can find the original manuscripts. It’s always something. But a little detective work will be worth the effort. Off to the basement to look through a mountain of boxes that have followed me through four different moves . . . Wish me luck.

I’ve had little else to do as a home captive of the workers busily breaking apart, grading, and pouring a new driveway. It’s now complete and so smoooooooth! My Honda feels like it’s on a showroom floor!
While I wait for those big *ss vehicles lining both sides of the street to move so I can finally leave the house, I’ll be catching up on your WIPs! Hope you’ve got weather as lovely as we do here in Michigan . . . for at least a minute.

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...