Brenda Whiteside's Blog, page 81

GIVE ME A VILLAIN TO LOVE

WICKED WEDNESDAY Everyone loves a hero! He's willing to put himself in the line of danger; he'll do anything to keep his lady safe and always knows the perfect thing to say.
But let’s not overlook the villain. Personally, I love the bad guy…or woman. Without the villain, the hero doesn’t look nearly as good. Without the villain, you wouldn’t have someone to hate and route against.
The reason I love villains is because they’re so much fun to write. They can be ugly or gorgeous, short or tall, male or female, educated or ignorant, young or old. I’ve used just about all the varieties.
So for Wicked Wednesday, I thought I’d give a taste of the variety. In my first contemporary romance, Sleeping with the Lights On, I had a villain. This book couldn’t technically be called romantic suspense…there was just too much humor. The redheaded, voluptuous, Amazon of a woman made a great villain. She stalked and threatened poor Sandra to distraction. The reader really isn’t sure of what wickedness she is capable. This villain has very few words and intimidates with actions. There’s a real surprise ending in Sleeping with the Lights On, so enough said.

My romantic suspense Love and Murder Series, is rich with an assortment of villains. Book one in the series has a host of nasty characters; money grubbing step aunt, idiot Book Onestep cousin, jealous woman, deceitful historical museum curator, and the elderly but handsome and wicked professor. One of these characters is the truly evil villain…love does drive some people to craziness.
Book TwoBook two in the Love and Murder Series, Southwest of Love and Murder, has a villain that is both stupid and cunning at the same time. You won’t wonder for long who the villain is, but you will be biting nails on who he’s offing next. I will say, he uses colorful language and his bizarre thought process is intriguing. Love gone crazy in a wicked way.
A Legacy of Love and Murder, book three, will release worldwide on March 30, Book Three2016. I think I’ve upped the ante on villainous antics with these badies. I certainly do not want to give away the villain right now. As with most of my books, because they’re suspense not mystery, you won’t be hung up too long on who the villain is. But let’s keep the secret until you read. I will shoot out a couple of words: sexy, neo-Nazi, and pure wickedness.
Ah, villains…you gotta love them!

MY AUSTRIAN CONNECTION

MUSE MONDAY
This is a reprint of a blog I posted on The Roses of Prose a week ago. 

Way back, a long time ago, I lived in Germany for three years. I fell in love with the Alps, the mountain range that belongs to several countries including Austria. A couple of trips to Austria, and I fell in love with Austria, too. And the people. What warm, friendly people!
Hartmut and his wife Uli in AustriaFast forward to 2016, and I have a book releasing worldwide on March 30, which just happens to be set in Austria. A Legacy of Love and Murder is the third book in my Love and Murder Series.My love of Austria, and my memories lent much to the story, but I would’ve been lost if it hadn’t been for a special Austrian friend of mine. Not only did he correct my German (the primary language of the Austrian people), helped me with so many other details such as food and dress and geography, but he also supplied me with his name for one of my characters, Hartmut.
I didn’t meet Hartmut when we visited Austria. Harte, came to us years later as one of the hockey players on the Austrian team that played in the Easter Tournament along with my son’s team. We boarded the players, and Harte was placed with us. We became fast friends. It was as if I’d known this young man all of my life. Over the years, he’s visited us several times, and my husband and I visited him and his family in Austria. Such good memories.
I hope my love of his country comes through in my words.
The Art of Love and Murder, Book One is set in Flagstaff, ArizonaSouthwest of Love and Murder, Book Two is set in Chino Valley, ArizonaA Legacy of Love and Murder, Book Three is set in Austria
Coming 2016/17The Power of Love and Murder, Book Four is set in Flagstaff, ArizonaThe Deep Well of Love and Murder, Book Five is set in Chino Valley, Arizona

NEGATIVE CALORIES...YOU WISH!

TRIPPIN' THURSDAY

In everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose...in our latest season, with only a vague plan and a touch of creativity, we're off on another adventure. Half of this twosome is retired; my half will probably never know what that means. I promise to share. Hate to disappoint, but no travels out of the ordinary this week. I did spend two days at the Chocolate Affaire (sold a bunch of books), but the intake of food is sending me off in another direction today. No eye-opening ways to save $$$ either, but a dessert that is not costly and will have your guests drooling.

I just want to talk food. Argh...whenever I want to lose weight, all I can think about is food.  What I really need is more exercise, and I've made a commitment to myself which I won't share. Announcing my new routine makes it more of a chore, and I want it to be more of a lifestyle. Oh so chic.

So, back to food. I've heard of negative calorie food. Celery supposedly takes more calories to digest than it has. Well, probably not. I took five minutes and did a little research. I think you can find anything on the Internet you want to back your beliefs. I'm going with this one! I did find a list of foods, low enough in calories compared to calories expended digesting them, that is a plus. I'm going to try a couple of weeks eating these foods:
celery
asparagus
cauliflower
tomatoes
papaya
chili peppers
apples
black coffee (okay, this one may not happen...I love my flavored creamer)
very lean meat like turkey and chicken

My friend Nancy Dow and me at the Chocolate Affaire.Do you know about the crock pot dessert that is to die for? I might have given you this before but since I tried it myself yesterday, I have to repeat. This is one of the many foods I've had over the last few days that sent me in search of some food to lose weight. I had a delicious week of tasty tacos, spaghetti, fried potatoes, and chocolate treats at the Chocolate Affaire. And the below dessert. This is so scrumptious!

In a crock pot, layer the following ( a single layer of each):
Two cans of apple pie filling
One box of spice cake mix
Two sticks of butter (yeah, just plop on top)
Cook for 2 1/2 hours on high

So yummy! Not to be repeated for at least a month.

Wish me luck on that list of foods and my desire to lose a few pounds. I'm sure if I eat only those foods, my glass of wine with dinner and snifter of brandy at bedtime when I read will not be a problem! Right?

I Never Had a Valentine by Peggy Jaeger

MUSE MONDAY

Please welcome my guest, Peggy Jaeger to Muse Monday! Growing up, Valentine’s Day was never any fun for me because…I never had a Valentine. In grade school the teachers would basically force us to buy those little packets of generic Valentines cards to send to every kid in the class.  Somehow I always ended up with less cards than I gave out. In middle school we weren’t forced but encouraged to include each kid in homeroom in the card-giving department. I gave a card to every kid. Sometimes I was lucky if I received half as many in return. High school, you were on your own. This was the age of budding teen romances and starter-dating (unlike today, where I swear the kids start hooking up at 8!). I was that girl in class…you know. The smartest, shy-est, fattest girl, with thick eye glasses and a different last name from her mother (divorce and remarriage weren’t the norm back then.) In 4 years of high school the only Valentine cards I ever received were from my cat, signed in my mother’s handwriting. Suffice it to say Valentine’s Day was not on my top 10 list of holidays. So when my publisher, the Wild Rose Press, put out a call for Valentine’s Day novellas, I wondered what I could possibly write about with any flare.  And then it hit me. I’d write about a girl a little like I used to be (only I made her slightly chubby, not fat!) looking for the perfect guy; a guy she’s wished for since she was 15. A girl who was smart, career-driven, and one who came from a big, supportive, loving and LOUD family. Once I pictured Chloe San Valentino and her family in my head, I wrote the first draft of 3 WISHES in 2 weeks! Chloe is one of my favorite heroines. Smart, sassy, sexy and successful, she is what I wish I could have been all those years ago in school when I felt like an overweight, overachieving, geekazoid. In my writer’s mind she ALWAYS got Valentine cards in school. 3 Wishes tells the tale of Chloe’s journey to her own happily ever after on the day we celebrate devoted to love. This year’s Valentine’s day is going to be one of the happiest ones in my memory.And I don’t even care if I get a card!
3 WishesBlurb: Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes. Excerpt:      At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.            If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.            About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.            “We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”            It was at that moment he looked over at me.            His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.            “Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”            So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.Buy Links:Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NUT6m6Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=195&products_id=6627
 

GOOD, CHEAP....

TRIPPIN' THURSDAY

In everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose...in our latest season, with only a vague plan and a touch of creativity, we're off on another adventure. Half of this twosome is retired; my half will probably never know what that means. I promise to share. Hello from the trailGood, cheap fun...the best kind. I've always had a line item on my budget for entertainment. But at one point, a few years ago, I had to decrease it significantly. "Entertainment" without spending much, if anything, made me stop and think about what I really enjoyed doing. The best things in life are free--hmmm--not entirely but there are a lot of free (or cheap) best things to do.

We've always been big movie goers. So when we did that reduction in
Getting off the beaten pathspending a few years back, we turned to renting movies instead of going out. Between the movie, popcorn, and a drink you could make your next house payment. Nowadays, there are plenty of options if you have computers or other forms of technological devices. Sorry, but I have a laptop and that's as far as my knowledge takes me. Once we hit the big 55, we got discounts at most movie theaters.

Friends are a great source of fun. As a kid, we went visiting a couple of times a week. All the young people would gather in a bedroom or family room and play games or listen to music. The adults would fix a meal, play cards, or just talk. We often had people just drop in, no advance notice, to visit. Through most of my adult life, that diversion has been lost
The Salt River in Tonto Basinto some extent. We always had friends but we usually "went out" which entails spending money. These days, we're getting back to "visiting." Everyone pull up a chair around the fire and talk. Summertime, head to the patio or deck and visit with friends. Good cheap fun!

Let's go this wayGetting outside, is one of my favorite entertainments. We like to hike, or walk. It doesn't have to be a grueling climb. There is so much to explore out there, outside your own backyard. A walk

through a neighborhood might help to meet some of those people you'd like to have over for a visit on the patio. Here at the RV park, we take a short drive in any direction, park, and get out and walk...or hike. Good for the body. Good for the soul.

WICKEDLY GREAT GIFTS

WICKED WEDNESDAY
Aren't these wickedly pretty glass pendants?

In case you haven't heard, the Members of my Quarterly Newsletter Group, receive gifts like these pendants every month. Why? Just for being loyal readers! If you aren't a member yet, consider receiving the newsletter that shows up in your email inbox only four times a year. The purpose of the newsletter is a quick update about me, but mostly to let you know about my next book coming out and what I have in the percolator for the future. And to announce the latest winners of my
random drawing for some cute gifts. Here's what's in store this year:

January: signed copy of either The Art of Love and Murder or Southwest of Love and Murder Congrats to Tena Barnes
February: a beautiful glass pendantMarch: a handcrafted bracelet from the Prescott Farmers' Market
 April: eBook of my latest release, A Legacy of Love and Murder, book 3 of the series
May: a beautiful glass pendant
June: a pink and white coffee travel mug July: a beautiful glass pendantAugust: a leather fanny packSeptember: a handcrafted bracelet from the Prescott Farmers' MarketOctober: a pink and white coffee travel mugNovember: Christmas ornamentDecember: weekly giveaways to be announced

Sign up now for my Quarterly Newsletter Group!
Join Brenda's Quarterly Newsletter Group


Releasing Worldwide March 30, 2016, A Legacy of Love and Murder , third book in the series: Inheriting an Austrian Castle is an Alpine fairytale for August, until someone begins killing the heirs.

LAZY COOK USES SHABBY CHIC

  TRIPPIN' THURSDAY
In everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose...in our latest season, with only a vague plan and a touch of creativity, we're off on another adventure. Half of this twosome is retired; my half will probably never know what that means. I promise to share. Sunset over the RV RanchI've been visiting the same old haunts these last two weeks, zig-zagging between the RV Ranch, Phoenix, Prescott, the farm, back to Prescott, the farm again, and now a stint at the RV Ranch. May gas prices keep dropping! The traffic is awful in Phoenix and the gophers are taking over the farm. You'll have to allow me to continue calling it the farm. We do still have fruit trees. And once this frigid weather is over, I'll plant a veggie or two. It will technically be my home with a garden, but to me it will always be "the farm."

I've decided RVer's like to eat. In the last two weeks, we've had Mexican food night (my contribution was
Mexican Food Nightsome tasty but greasy tacos) and a potato/dessert buffet. All my favorite foods. I love potatoes baked in foil on the grill and topped with all kinds of spicy or fattening additions. The desserts were great, too. Below is the recipe for one we had. This is my kind of recipe since I don't bake and typically don't enjoy cooking. This was absolutely delicious with vanilla ice cream.

CROCKPOT APPLE PIE
In the bottom of the crockpot, empty a can of apple pie filling.
On top of the filling, empty a box of spice cake mix.
Plop two sticks of butter on top of that. (no need to cut up or melt)
Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.

The beginning of my shabby chic dinnerwareMy other great find over the last two weeks is the Goodwill Stores. I've always loved second hand stores. Browsing through "other peoples junk", as my husband calls it, amuses me. And you never know what you might find. In the last couple of years, Goodwill has really improved their display and what they sell as far as quality.

I've had a set of white Fiesta dishes for the last couple of years, but I'm down to three plates. Replacing them won't be cheap. Then I had a thought. I'll go shabby chic for the RV. I've accented with purple and green in our traveling home, so that's the color for the dishes. I mentioned this to my mom. Before I could get out shopping, Mom and her friend hit four Goodwill Stores and I now have a real good start on my RV dishware. For $18, I have 8 dinner plates, 10 small plates, 8 saucers, 4 soup bowls, 3 mugs, and 4 glasses. It helped that they were having a half off that day. I have to be on the lookout for some smaller bowls which I'll have fun finding.

Buying used is the ultimate recycling. Finding those deals is a real feel-good experience.

VERONICA'S CANDY HEART by Veronica Lynch

MUSE MONDAY Veronica Lynch has a new book out and it's one of the Candy Heart books for The Wild Rose Press. Read on to learn more about this enticing book. And be sure to comment to be eligible for the cute tote! Did you always want to be a writer?  I wanted to be a doctor but my mother told me [this was the late 50's and early 60's] becoming a doctor wasn't something women did. I started writing in nursing school and never stopped.  As a nurse in the Operating Room right out of training I learned real fast that women indeed become physicians and were successful at it. It was too late for me by then. Tell us about your new Candy Hearts book. As a Vintage Rose story, For Keeps takes place in the late 1980's when victim advocacy came into its prime. While advocates and cops 'hooking up' did happen, it was viewed by both sides of the issue as going over to the dark side. I wanted to show the conflict a professional woman might face with the idea of spending the rest of her life with a man who completes her versus remaining in an thankless occupation which often brings heartache and burnout. What gave you the idea for the story? Personal experience. There comes a time in the story when the heroine responds to the hotline only to find the hero on the other end. The essence of that conversation [“if I was any better, I'd scare myself”] actually happened. I laughed the rest of the day and still smile when I recall that man's voice. It was a gift in the middle of a very stressful day. I'm sure that poor cop thought I was a raving lunatic.  How do you normally come up with your characters?From news accounts, either print or electronic. I often receive a newsletter from one of the charities I support, such as Doctors Without Borders, and think, I'm going to do a story about a woman physician with PTSD. What did you like best about your current hero and heroine in your Candy Hearts book? Keenan Rossi is patterned after a cop I once worked with. He had a great voice, the warmest hands in town and listened to my opinions. I miss him terribly. I like Meg Muldoon because she faced down detractors with grace and dignity. I wish I'd had half her courage back in the day.  How about a blurb?  Meghan Muldoon is at a crossroads: struggling to balance the demands of a high stress vocation as an advocate for victims of violence with her feelings for Keenan Rossi, a man who wants to make their relationship permanent.On Valentine's Day,  a series of routine crises force Meg to question staying in a profession which fulfills her both professionally and spiritually—or devoting the rest of her life to the one person who completes her.Which one is For Keeps? CONTEST:  one lucky person who comments on my blog visit will win a small zippered tote fashioned in a Valentine's theme fabric. 
How can readers reach you or find you online?
Blogs:              www.WildWomenAuthorsx2.blogspot.com                        www.ApronsWithAttitude2.blogspot.com  Facebook:        Kathy.Doran.944@Facebook.com.                         KatsKarryAlls2@Facebook.comGoodreads:     www.Goodreads.com/Author.VeronicaLynch

THE OTHER SIDE by Starr Gardinier

FEARLESS FRIDAY What a great post I have for you today, written by my guest Starr Gardinier. Love the spooky stuff, but it tugs at your hear too! Read on.

There’s a rumor going around that the paranormal is bogus. What does ‘paranormal’ mean? According to Dictionary.com, it’s an adjective, meaning “of or relating to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as ‘psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.”
Should you fear it? Perhaps, perhaps not. It’s about the not knowing for most of us. We really don’t know what a ‘paranormal’ event is unless and until we’ve experienced something without a ‘scientific explanation.’ So, we tend to fear the unknown.
Unless, you’re in the know…
While “The Other Side: Trent’s Story” is completely fictionalized and over-exaggerated, even for my beliefs, parts have a ring of truth to them. At least I can say that because I’ve experienced a ‘paranormal’ event.After my mother passed away, I was distraught and, please keep in mind here that I’ve shared this with no one, suicidal. My mother meant the world to me and when I lost her, all I could think about was being back with her. No matter how. I didn’t care if I had to die to be with her again. These feelings went on for months. My depression got out of hand. All I wanted to do, and did every chance I got, was sleep. One afternoon, I laid down and the most extraordinary ‘paranormal’ thing happened.
Before I continue, I need to clarify something. It doesn’t matter if you believe in the paranormal or not. It doesn’t matter if you fear it. What matters here is the fact that if you open your mind, surprising things can happen.
My mother saved my life. No one, and I do mean no one, can convince me that what I’m about to tell you did not happen.
While resting (sleeping…dreaming…hiding in my depression, however you’d like to see it), I was on a shopping trip with a few of my friends and my mother. It was time to go home and I hugged my friends goodbye and turned to my mother. She was wearing all white and seemed to be glowing (I’m not lying here). I rushed into her arms and begged her to come home with me. She hugged me back and told me that she couldn’t. I then begged to go with her, wherever she was. She said no, that it wasn’t my time. I still had things to do here. (Sounds so cliché) I cried, begging for her to let me go with her, but she left without me. I went home and was showing my boyfriend at the time, what I’d purchased. He looked over at my purse and asked, “What’s that?” I looked and just said “Oh, Mom.” There lay a pair of pure white gloves. I feel as if she gave me those as a way of ‘holding my hand.’ When I got up that afternoon, a sense of peace came over me. One I’d never experienced before. I knewwithout a shadow of a doubt, that my mother had just saved my life. I was no longer suicidal, but beyond happy that I shared that moment with my mother.
Can science explain that? Can you explain that? Was it extrasensory perception? Is it paranormal? It’s unexplainable in our human sense. I know that in one afternoon, my life completely made sense. My mother said I wasn’t done here. I made peace with my mother’s death. She was only physically gone. She was, and will always be, in my heart.
Am I fearless of the paranormal? Yes. I don’t fear it, but I certainly have quite the respect for it. My experience, fortunately, was a great one. Good things can happen, but so can the bad. We are all sensitive. What separates us is some refuse to believe while others are open to the world of the unknown; that which science cannot explain.
So, today, on this Fearless Friday, tell me
A paralegal by day, Starr Gardinier is an author by night. Apart from being an award winning author for her short story “Cut,” Starr has appeared in a blaze and made her mark on the literary world with her Ivanovich series and now her Other Side series.
Having studied and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Literature/Creative Writing, she has found her unique style and is known for her works' distinctive voice, making every character stand out. She’s the founder and owner of Editing by Starr.
Starr is a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and of Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles Chapter and nationally.
Please see more on her editing service at www.editing.queenwriter.com, read more about her at www.QueenWriter.com, and/or visit her blog at www.qw-blog.blogspot.com.
AVAILABLE JANUARY 22, 2016
Melinda James is finally out of Skyview Haven—an asylum where she was confined for years—and is living her life, free at last. However, things are not going as planned; harassed by unexplained paranormal experiences, she doesn’t feel safe in her own home. And when she turns to her best friend Trent for help and support, she is surprised to find her feelings for him have grown far beyond a simple friendship.
Trent Miller isn’t prepared to fight evil, but he will do whatever it takes to save Melinda from an evil entity that is seeking revenge for past events. Armed with knowledge gleaned from television shows, a team of paranormal investigators, and the prayers of family and friends, he is ready to face anything.
The question is, does he tell her about his feelings for her before or after he fights a battle with evil for Melinda’s very soul?
Buy Links:
http://amzn.to/1OtIOgv                      http://bit.ly/1ODxDO3http://bit.ly/1PGpX2Jhttp://bit.ly/1R9xVTG

TEXT ME by Erin Beven

MUSE MONDAY
Please welcome Erin Beven to Muse Monday. Be sure to enter her Rafflecopter drawing at the end of her post. You could be a winner!Hey Brenda! Thanks for having me on your blog today. This story came to me last year when The Wild Rose Press did a submission call for short and sweet romances for their new Candy Hearts Romance line. The title of the story had to be one of the cute sayings on the sugar candy hearts people eat around Valentine’s Day.
Text Me popped into my mind. The new way of communicating now is through texts, tweets, and emails, so I decided to mix a little old school with a little new school so to speak. My heroine seeks the newspaper classifieds for a date avoiding the Internet, but decides to stick strictly to texting her date scared for the actual face-to-face meeting. What if he’s a killer, or crazy, or heaven forbid ugly! He turns out to be exactly what she’s dreamed about. I had a lot of fun writing this short and sweet romance. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks again for having me!


Blurb: When Erika’s ex becomes her boss less than a year after dumping her by text, she gets desperate to find a date to the corporate Valentine’s dance so he doesn’t suspect she still has feelings for him. Though not a fan of texting for the obvious reason, she doesn’t have much choice but to tap the keypad in order to gain the attention of the only viable candidate from the classified ads. Grayson made the mistake of listening to his brother a year ago and has regretted what he did to Erika ever since. But his brother’s next suggestion just might be his salvation when he takes out an ad for a Valentine’s date…and Erika answers. Using a pseudo name and keeping contact to text messages only, Grayson’s plans to make Erika fall back in love with him appears to be working…until the date of the dance draws near, and she pushes a meeting—face to face. Excerpt: Valentine’s Day. She sank deeper into the couch. What was she going to do? She couldn’t show up alone to the company dance. Not with the chance of Grayson being there. No way. “Maybe go to another speed dating session?” She grabbed a tissue off the coffee table and wiped the excess slime from her fingers. “My hairdresser’s single. You want me to ask him?” “Your hairdresser’s gay. I don’t think he’d be interested in me.” “Really?” Megan gave her a funny stare. “Really.” Erika snorted. “Have you not seen the picture of him and his ex-partner at his station?” “That was his partner?” Her friend’s mouth gapped open. “I thought it was his brother.” She shook her head. Her friend was one of the smartest people she knew, but common sense eluded the girl. Megan popped more hearts in her mouth. “That explains so much now,” she mumbled around the candy. “No wonder my hair always looks good.” “Yes, it does.” Erika sipped her wine. Her friend swallowed. “Well, I’m sorry, honey. I don’t know any single guys. If I did, I’d try to date them myself.” “That’s okay.” She sighed and slumped back onto the sofa. “Is Grayson single?” “I don’t know. Why are you asking?” She narrowed her gaze. “You want to date him?” “No.” Her friend said “no” as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “I’m thinking about you. You wouldn’t go back out with Grayson again, would you? Please say no.” Megan’s shoulders sagged. Go back out with Grayson. She never thought she’d be given another chance. Would she go back out with him after the way he treated her? Of course not. She deserved better, despite how wonderful he had been. “I don’t think so. He really hurt me. I can’t give him that privilege again.” “Good for you.” Her roommate perked up and patted her on the back. “Stay strong. You’ll find someone.” “You’re right. I’m going to have a date for that corporate Valentine’s dance, even if I have to search the classifieds.”“Surely, it won’t come to that.” Megan held up her glass for a toast. Erika clinked hers with her friend’s. “Yeah, surely.” Her roommate sat her glass down on the table and reached for more hearts. “Here, give me one of those.” “I love reading the little sayings.” Megan passed her a heart and tossed her dark hair behind her shoulder. “What’s yours say?” She flipped over the candy to see the phrase. Bright pink letters stared back at her. Oh, you can’t be serious. “‘Text me’. Seriously?” Megan burst out laughing. “You would find that funny.” Erika popped the heart in her mouth and obliterated the little saying she had grown to hate so much.
Erin Bevan is a wife and mother of three. An avid reader, one day she decided to try her luck in writing stories of her own, and the idea paid off. She spends her days deep in the heart of Texas, fighting mosquitoes, cleaning dirty faces, and writing when the kids nap. If it's a really good day, she even finds time to brush her hair. Links: https://www.facebook.com/erinbevanwrites/ www.erinbevan.com https://twitter.com/ErinBevan Twitter @ErinBevan
Buy Link: a Rafflecopter giveaway