Lisa Fox's Blog, page 235

Moonlight and Merlot

The continuing saga of the lives, loves and heartbreaks of the residents of Dion Valley, CA.

As with all the best things in life, this is for adults only.

*****

Lela watched Zach walk away and sighed. She had a feeling something like would happen sooner or later. Phoebe was so crass and self-absorbed, it was practically inevitable.

At least now she knew the bad premonition she'd had about Phoebe earlier was nothing too serious. Sure, Zach's feelings were hurt, but when she had gotten that feeling in Nick's apartment, the feeling that something very, very terrible was about to occur and that it involved Phoebe, she had imagined it would be something much more than this. Lela supposed she should be grateful.

She glanced over at Nick and couldn't help but smile. God, he was gorgeous! And now he was all hers. A small shiver ran down her spine, but she quickly shook it away. This was not the time to be mooning over Nick. "I'll go see him," she said, tilting her head in Zach's direction. She pointed at Phoebe. "You keep her here."

Nick nodded. "Go."

Lela nodded back and then headed down the road after Zach. It wasn't long before she caught up with him. He hadn't gotten very far. He wasn't even really walking so much as doing a kind of zombie shuffle. She felt intensely bad for him and yet, he should have realized what a flake his "girlfriend" was. Lela certainly wasn't the only person who had warned him.

"Hey," she said as she came up beside him and matched his pace.

"Did you know?" he asked, his head bent, staring down at the dirt road.

"Know what?"

"Know that she wanted to fuck him."

Lela sighed. "Yeah, I knew." She put her hand on his shoulder. "But it's not like she really wants to be with him or anything. It's just cause…" Lela let her voice trail off. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be blunt or not.

"Cause why?" he asked, finally lifting his head to look at her.

"Cause she's a spoiled little brat." She watched his face fall. "Come on, Zach. You can't pretend like you didn't know that."

"I knew," he said, looking off into the distance. "I just didn't think she'd be that way when it came to us."

Lela just raised her eyebrow. Was love really that blind? She hoped not. Otherwise, she herself might be in for a world of trouble. "For what it's worth, I think she really cares about you."

"Thanks, Lela." He smiled at her and then reached out to lightly caress her cheek. "Maybe I should have stuck with you when I had the chance."

She moved out of his reach. "That was a long time ago, Zach."

"Phoebe doesn't know." Not really a question, but almost.

Lela shuddered. She didn't even want to imagine what kind of temper tantrum stunt Phoebe would pull if she knew that Lela and Zack shared a brief though very, very intense history. "No, she doesn't."

"Does Nick?"

Lela shook her head. "What would be the point in telling him?"

"I don't trust him, Lela. There's something…" His fingers moved as he groped for the right word. "Dark about him. Like he's got some kind of secret or something."

Lela often thought the same thing and maybe that was a lot of Nick's appeal. But she didn't want to get into it with Zach. "What are you going to do?"

"I suppose I'll let her apologize and then take her back." He flashed her a rueful, little smile. "I can't live without her, Lela. I love her."

All Lela could do was roll her eyes and shake her head.

[Until next Tuesday…]

*****

Check out other awesome serial stories at Tuesday Serial and under the Twitter hashtags #TuesdaySerial and #TeaserTuesday

Filed under: Moonlight and Merlot Tagged: Free Read, Moonlight and Merlot, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Soap Opera, Tuesday Serial

Excerpt Monday: Santa's Sleeping Beauty

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don't have to be published to participate just an writer with an excerpt you'd like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

*****

I am so very excited to share with you this excerpt from my Christmas Quickie, Santa's Sleeping Beauty. It goes on sale December 8, 2010 from Ellora's Cave!

An Excerpt From: SANTA'S SLEEPING BEAUTY

Copyright © LISA FOX, 2010

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Chapter One

Macy's was a madhouse. Of course it was. It was eleven p.m. on Christmas Eve and every last-minute-shopping, deal-saving-hoping, lazy-slacker procrastinator in New York City was out trying to buy whatever they could, as fast as they could, preferably at a discount.

Jordan blew her long, blonde bangs out of her eyes as she wove her way through the other shoppers toward the cafe. She needed a break. A cup of coffee. A shot of bourbon would be better, but the Bar & Grill was closed, and leaving the store was not an option. If she left, she might not come back, and she really did need to finish her Christmas shopping. There was no way she could show up tomorrow morning at her sister's house a few gifts short.

She let the smells of coffee and cinnamon guide her feet and eventually she came upon the line for the cafe. Jordan shut her eyes and let out a long, weary breath. This was going to take awhile. With nothing better to do, she shifted her weight from foot to aching foot and took a quick peek at the presents she'd already bought to pass the time.

She was still a little bit jealous of the rich, navy cashmere sweater she'd bought for her sister Anne. She thought again about keeping it for herself and getting Anne something else but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. She didn't have time for redos. Besides, Christmas was about giving. She wished she didn't have to keep reminding herself of that.

She moved the sweater aside and fingered the supple leather golf gloves she'd gotten for her sister's husband Mark. They were total quality and she hoped he liked them. Next to them were the Little Mistress Lolly brand jeans she'd risked her life to get for her niece Veronica.

"You're lucky your Auntie Jordan loves you," she muttered under her breath. Physical violence had literally broken out over one of the last remaining pairs in stock, and Jordan had fled the department with her purchase clutched against her chest.

The line inched forward and Jordan groaned, making waving motions with her arms in a futile attempt to make it go faster.

That only left her mother and father. She figured she could get away with some perfume for her mom, but for her dad… Jordan winced inwardly at the thought of shopping for her father. The man was so damn picky, it was a wonder he owned anything. She couldn't even begin to imagine what she might get him.

Finally, thankfully, after an eternity, Jordan had her coffee. She turned from the counter and sighed heavily, seeing nothing but a rolling sea of people and nary an empty seat in the place.

"The fun never ends," she grumbled as she tread through the tables, trying not to hear the screaming children, the frustrated grunts, the whining complaints, the sappy Christmas Muzak.

She roamed the seating area, craning her neck from side to side, trying to find just one unoccupied chair. She didn't care if she had to sit with Hannibal Lecter, just as long as she got to sit down for a minute.

And then she saw it. Off in a far corner, an empty seat. Jordan could almost hear the heavenly choir sing as she traversed the distance, entirely focused on that plastic vision of sublime relief.

The chair appeared to belong to a table where a man sat with his head bowed over a steaming cup of coffee. He wore the lower half of a Santa costume and a white t-shirt. His hat, beard and jacket rested off to the side. A bright red shopping bag sat at his feet. She wondered for an instant if he was the Macy's Santa but quickly realized there was no way they'd let him sit half-dressed in the cafe if he were. He had to be just another tired Santa doing some last-minute shopping.

"Excuse me?" she asked, hovering over him. "Is that seat taken?"

His head came up at the sound of her voice, and Jordan involuntarily gasped. He was gorgeous! Like unbelievably, seen-only-in-magazines gorgeous. Messy dark-brown hair framed his handsome face, and a spark of good-natured humor shone from the depths of his ice-blue eyes. The barest shadow of a beard highlighted the sharp angle of his jaw and outlined his very luscious lips. The t-shirt hugged his arms and fit snuggly against the hard contours of his chest. She knew that Santa Claus should not be inspiring the wicked, wicked thoughts that instantly popped into her head, and yet she couldn't help but gaze at his full lower lip and wonder what his kiss might taste like.

Be sure to stop by the official site and check out all the great blurbs and excerpts and offerings for this month!

Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

Joining us this week:

Kaige, Historical Romance (PG13)

Allison Kelsey, Chick Lit (PG-13)

Chelsie LaFountain, Fiction/Supernatural (PG13)

Ella Drake, Space Western Romance (R)

Elise Hepner, Erotica (R)

Titus McGuire, Paranormal Drama (R)

Alexia Reed, Paranormal Romance (R)

Dara Young, Historical Romance (R)

Sorcha Mowbray, Erotic Historical Romance (NC-17)

Filed under: News, Writing Tagged: Christmas Quickie, Ellora's Cave, Erotic Romance, Excerpt, Excerpt Monday, Santa's Sleeping Beauty

Six Sentence Sunday

For this week, I have another little excerpt from the sky pirate story I am currently playing around with. If you will recall from earlier excerpts, the dashing sky pirate has been involved in a crash and is currently lying on top of our heroine in the forest where she found him unconscious.

"You need to find somewhere else to lie," she said shoving at his shoulders.

"I'm really quite comfortable where I am," he said and shifted his hips just enough to make her gasp. "Are you sure you'd have me move?"

Joceline cheeks flamed. The man was obscene! If he's so obscene, why are you all hot and tingly? a small voice asked in the back of her mind, but she quickly banished the thought.

Check out the OFFICIAL SITE for this week's excerpts from an amazing array of authors!

Filed under: Six Sentence Sunday Tagged: Erotic Romance, Fantasy, Six Sentence Sunday, Sky Pirate, Writing

Six Sentence Sunday

For this week, I have another little excerpt from the sky pirate story I am currently playing around with. If you will recall from earlier excerpts, the dashing sky pirate has been involved in a crash and is currently lying on top of our heroine in the forest where she found him unconscious.

"You need to find somewhere else to lie," she said shoving at his shoulders.

"I'm really quite comfortable where I am," he said and shifted his hips just enough to make her gasp. "Are you sure you'd have me move?"

Joceline cheeks flamed. The man was obscene! If he's so obscene, why are you all hot and tingly? a small voice asked in the back of her mind, but she quickly banished the thought.

Check out the OFFICIAL SITE for this week's excerpts from an amazing array of authors!

Filed under: Six Sentence Sunday Tagged: Erotic Romance, Fantasy, Six Sentence Sunday, Sky Pirate

Saturday Video – Marshmallow Murder

Puts me in the mood for S'mores.

Filed under: Saturday Video Tagged: Fire, Humor, Marshmallow, S'mores, Saturday Video

Spotlight Interview at Romance Writers Reviews

Did you ever feel that you need to know more about me? Well, now is your chance. Check out my interview at Romance Writers Reviews

LISA'S SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

Filed under: Interview Tagged: Interview, Lisa Fox, Romance Writers Reviews, Spotlight Interview

This One Might Be a Keeper

Allow me to introduce the latest member of my personal harem: Brent Van Zant

Filed under: Hot Men Tagged: Brent Van Zant, Husband of the Week, Lust, Nearly Naked, Sexy, Sexy Men

A Word About NaNoWriMo

A lot of people have asked me if I am doing NaNoWriMo this year.

The answer to that is no. I am not.

I like the concept of NaNo, the sense of community that comes with it, the discipline it requires, the challenge it represents. I totally, totally support it, but I could never do it.

I'm just not that kind of writer.

The basis of NaNo is amassing a very large word count in a very short period of time and I have never been able to equate production with numbers. I can't write for speed or give myself a numerical goal for the day, week, whatever. I can't put words on paper and just let them sit there like they belong there without intense scrutiny. I can't move on from a scene and add more words, go forward, without thinking about what just occurred.

Basically, I write really slowly and I edit as I go. I know that is generally considered a cardinal sin of writing, but what the hell. I've always been a rebel. As a "pantser" I don't pre-plot, I have no idea at all where the story will go or even ultimately end up, so editing as I go helps me bond with my characters, get to know them, find their voices.

This style of writing is not at all conducive to the quantity, mission-orientated drive to produce, produce, produce that is the foundation of NaNo.

So, no NaNo for me.

I would like to say good luck to everyone that is participating. I really do admire all of you and your ability to create under such an extremely tight deadline. It is truly an amazing achievement. I hope you all succeed.

Happy NaNoWriMo everyone!!

Filed under: Writing Tagged: Lisa Fox, NaNo, NaNoWriMo, Writing

M&M to Return Next Week

I've been really, really sick these last few days and I'm still in the midst of the whole "I think I might die" thing (yes, I am a drama queen). I haven't had the brain power to write up a new Moonlight and Merlot episode. I am very sorry.

So, instead, here is a happy picture just for you. Moonlight and Merlot will return next week at it's regularly scheduled Tuesday time.

*

Filed under: Hot Men, Moonlight and Merlot Tagged: Lisa Fox, Moonlight and Merlot, Nearly Naked, Pathetic, Sexy Men, Sick

Hot Men Sports Edition

Hot men doing sports stuff.

 

Filed under: Hot Men Tagged: Sexy, Sexy Men, Sports