Christi Snow's Blog, page 6

Throwback Thursday...Before the Mission Begins

WARNING: the following excerpt is NOT SAFE FOR WORK or for eyes younger than 18. Do not proceed if you fall under one of those two categories.


About a quick little sneak peek from the beginning of Chapter One from Before the Mission Begins (note: I'd forgotten how hotly this book started off...wow!)
Excerpt:
Lust flooded his body as Chris Robertson immersed himself into the most incredibly sexy dream he’d had in a long time.Her nipple pebbled as he squeezed and massaged the incredible breast under the palm of his hand. Damn, this dream girl was stacked. Warm, soft flesh overflowed from his palm. His cock awakened quickly dispelling the sense that something wasn’t quite right. He continued to caress, pulling her tighter until she was flush against his hips and chest. Her moist heat tempted the tip of his now fully erect cock. He was ready and willing to go at a round two with this girl. But wait a minute. He didn’t remember going for a round one. Why couldn’t he have enjoyed that in this dream too?Dream girl moaned and shifted her hips and all questions fled. The tip of his cock found the edge of heaven. Chris yearned to surge forward and sink into that moist heat, but something niggled. Something wasn’t quite right here.Still half asleep, he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t want to wake up. He just wanted to enjoy the spice of jasmine and pear wafting off her warm body. She smelled and felt so fucking good. It would be so easy to simply surge his hips and ease into her. He moved his hips slightly, sinking another inch into that amazing space between her legs. As he became more awake he began to nuzzle along her graceful neckline. Her skin was satin beneath his lips as her hair tickled at his nose.Finally he managed to crack one weary eye open to find a girl actually there, in his arms. She wasn’t just a dream. He could only see hair so far, but there was no denying the very female body pressed up against him. She sported a spiky splash of purple and black hair. Purple? Who was this girl and why didn’t he remember going to bed with her?He opened his eyes completely to take in his surroundings. He was in Cassie’s guest bedroom. Now he knew something was wrong. There was no way he’d bring a girl into his twin sister’s house. Besides, when he’d arrived in the wee hours of the morning, sex had been the last thing on his exhausted mind. The girl wiggled further onto his cock and he stiffened. He couldn’t help the low moan that escaped his throat as more blood rushed to his shaft and his balls drew up in anticipation. He needed to stop this from going any further, before they both regretted it. All his muscles tensed with the control it took to not slide completely into her, but his dick begged him not to pull back. It pulsed, a reminder that it had been months since he’d gotten laid. He was rock hard. Her petite body fit so perfect within his hold and his cock ached for more.That tightening of his body must have been enough to pull her out of her own slumber. All of her muscles tensed for a split-second before she squealed aloud and struggled to escape the bed. Her creamy, toned legs tangled in the covers and she tumbled toward the floor. He scrambled up to grab her before she hit, but the bed was too big and he was too far away to snag her. He grimaced as she hit the wood floor hard. She clambered up, distracting him with her pert little ass. But then she turned and he couldn’t pull his eyes from those amazing bountiful breasts. They’d felt good, but they looked just as amazing. They had to be “D” cups and were so fucking perfect on that petite, tight body. Both nipples were erect and rosy with arousal. It was enough to cause his mouth to water. As she wrapped her hands around her breasts to protect herself from his gaze, she yelled at him. “Chris Robertson, close your eyes!”Her familiar voice brought him completely out of his sleep-deprived stupor. His gaze flew up to that face he knew so well, her hazel eyes filled with confusion and anger. The bright purple hair was shocking, in more ways than one. How the hell had he ended up in bed with his sister’s best friend, Julie? And why would sweet, innocent Julie have purple hair?


Before his mission began, he went home. 24 hours to say goodbye to his twin sister.
Instead he found her. A girl that was nothing like the one he thought he knew.
They have 24 hours. 24 hours before he deploys on an extremely dangerous mission. 24 hours together in a freak West Texas snowstorm. 24 hours that will have to get them both through the awful next year.When the resident good-girl decides to take on the visiting bad-boy, 24 hours is all it takes to change their lives forever.This is the story of the 24 hours that no one knew ever occurred…until now.

The timeline of this novella is set before the When the Mission Ends trilogy occurs, but this book is actually meant to be read between Book #2, Operation: Endeavor, and Book #3, Operation: Endurance. 
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Our choices make us...

Throwback Thursday...Operation Endeavor

For today's TBT, I'm featuring my favorite book that I've ever written... Operation: Endeavor .
*opposites attract in this reluctant roommate romantic story*

They weren’t five minutes down the road, before it was obvious that Penelope had drifted back to sleep. Her head quickly sunk onto Chris’s lap. Colton looked over at him. “Do you mind if we stop at the pharmacy before I take you home so I can pick up her pain medicine? I don’t want to have to leave her home alone later.”Chris looked down at Penelope’s hair spread over his lap and grinned cockily at Colton. “It’s been a long time since I had a beautiful lady in my lap. You can take as much time as you want.”Colton literally growled at Chris. It was as much of a surprise to him as it was to Chris that he was feeling this proprietary of her. It wasn’t long before Chris looked at him knowingly. “So that’s the way it is with you two, huh?” He took another look at Penelope in front of him. “I never would have put the two of you together.” Colton spoke through gritted teeth. “We’re not together, but you need to keep your hands to yourself. She’s hurt. I’m simply her roommate and taking care of her.”“Uh huh,” Chris said in a tone which said he wasn’t buying this story one little bit. He cleared his throat as he looked over her multiple bruises. “Did you ever get the full story about what happened?”Colton glanced down at her again and clenched his jaw. “No, but you can fucking bet I’m going to find out who did this to her and they will never be able to touch her again. No one is allowed to hurt her like this.” Chris’s eyes widened at the menace in Colton’s voice.They pulled into the parking spot. “I’ll be right back.”“We’re not going anywhere.” Chris just grinned at him like the cat that swallowed the canary. Colton ground his teeth, but shut the truck door gently behind him. He needed to get this done so he could get Penelope home and in her comfortable bed. He didn’t like her sprawled all over Chris. Wasn’t that an eye-opener? But he didn’t have time to dwell on it right now.Penelope still hadn’t stirred when Colton drove up to the front of Cassie’s house. She was still sprawled all over Chris’s lap. Chris gently nudged her to get her moving. Penelope didn’t truly wake up, just looked at him with disoriented eyes. He unclipped her seat belt and turned her so she was facing the back of the seat and could resume the same position on Colton’s lap without hurting her injured side.She settled right back into Colton’s lap and slipped back into sleep again. Colton looked up at him as Chris said, “You can thank me later."



Colton Robertson left his career in the Air Force…

… to come home and help his family heal. Unfortunately, his reception was not quite what he’d hoped for and he ended up as roommate to hippy dippy yoga instructor Penelope Pruitt.

Penelope has spent her life under the restrictive thumb of her parents and she doesn’t want to do the same with the straight-laced, serious Colton. But when it becomes apparent that Penelope’s life is in danger, Colton won’t settle for anyone else protecting Penelope besides him.

Opposites attract and that’s definitely the case with Colton and Penelope. On the surface, they don’t have anything in common, but as the sparks fly and the danger ramps up, their passion is inevitable.

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Difficult roads...

Friday Five...

Something Cool...I discovered something fun recently on Goodreads. When you're looking at "My Books" page there is a column on the left hand side. One of the options over there is a list of your "Most Read Authors". It was so cool to see this list...(and hey, what do you know? I'm #3...LOL. I wonder if I'm caught up on all my books). I'll admit, while I absolutely adore every author on my list, I was surprised at how high some of them were. It was really fun to look through.
authorbooks read1Susan Mallery432Jill Shalvis383Christi Snow374L.A. Witt365Shiloh Walker285Lauren Layne287Suzanne Brockmann258Molly Harper239Robyn Carr2210Garrett Leigh2011Shannon Stacey1912A.M. Arthur1812Annabeth Albert1814Mari Carr1614Katie Reus1614Sawyer Bennett1614Sherrilyn Kenyon1614Kelly Apple1619Kelly Jamieson1519Christina Lauren1519Patricia Briggs15Come hook up with me as a friend on Goodreads. I am VERY active on there as a reader...updating my reviews almost daily. Here's my profile link... Christi Snow .
And speaking of fun books...
This is a book that I saw someone post about on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, and being the addicted bookophile that I am...I had to order a copy for myself. 
It's SO COOL!
This book is incredible. I honestly believe every family member should have a copy in their house. (I'm ordering one for every member in my family.) 
It's perfect for finding an adventure or something to explore for the day. The book is a workbook, with double ribbon bookmarks and at least 100 prompts (I'm estimating that number) on how to find adventure for the day. They range from things like going on a photo scavenger hunt to friend adventure to going on a food explore.
I don't know the author and don't have affiliate links. I just think it's a super-cool book. Go check it out...Find Your Adventure Journal on Amazon.
Trying something new...a bit of a flashback.

I have a lot of books out at this point in my career...29 right now. And I'm awful about writing them, releasing them, and then moving on...although my readers are finding new books of mine they hadn't discovered every day. 


As a result, I've decided I'm going to focus on one of my backlist books every week. This week, I've been focused on Operation: Endgame...my very first release. 
There's also an excerpt on my blog from Thursday. You can find it HERE .
Some favorite new treasures from vacation...Like anyone else, I love to get little treasures when I travel because then those items are tied to the memories of the trip. Our vacation to Denver appropriately had more of an office supply tie (for my memorabilia) which seemed appropriate since the reason for the trip originally was for my writer's conference.
***Papyrus Embroidered Pencil bag***Retro 51 Lincoln copper fountain pen***Pilot Iroshizuku Ajisai (hydrangea bottled ink)
I love all my new little treasures.
Remembering GranddadToday would have been my grandfather's 95th birthday, but he died a couple of months ago. Tomorrow is his memorial service, so he's been on my mind the last few weeks/months.
My granddad was one of those guys. One of the perfect ones. He and my grandmother were married for over 50 years. Until her death 19 years ago, granddad was always there supporting her. She was the talkative, vivacious one in their coupling...and we all worried about what would happen to him when she died...and then we really got to know him...as the mischievous flirt who drove the women's clubs to town, the guy everyone in town could count on to help out, the guy who spent his evenings out in the cemetery gardening and beautifying it. 
As a child I remember that he always had lifesaver 5-packs in his pocket whenever any of the grandkids came around. He was quiet, but he was always there with a jovial laugh and a smile.
I miss him.
Right now I'm writing a series that has an elderly man in it, Walter. I've patterned a lot of Walter after my grandfather.
Two weeks before my grandfather died, he fell and broke his hip. After surgery, my mom stayed in his hospital room with him to help care for him. She talked about how he would wake up cursing because of the pain, not realizing she was in the room. Then he apologized because that's not how a man should speak in front of a woman. 
To me, that epitomizes my grandfather. He was a gentle man and a gentleman who came from a different era, but he was a wonderful man, father, and grandfather. 
They don't make them like him anymore.
I love you, Granddad.

Throwback Thursday...Operation Endgame Excerpt

This is something new I'm going to start doing on Thursdays. We're going to revisit one of my old books with a sneak peek excerpt from it.Today's book is Operation: Endgame.
EXCERPT:
Once Cassie was up and out of bed and sipping a cup of coffee, the prospect of going to work was looking like a more viable possibility. Her body was definitely achy, but with the exception of her broken collar bone, everything seemed to be in working, albeit a bit slow, order. They just had one serious problem she didn’t think Jake had considered. But they were friends and it’s not like he hadn’t seen her naked before, so she looked at him and tried not to blush. “Um, Jake, I need to go take a shower, but I’m going to need your help.” She gestured towards her right shoulder which had been bound up in a sling since she got home. “Until my collar heals a little bit, I can’t get my shirt on and off. I also don’t think I’m going to be able to wash my hair by myself. Do you think you can help me?”Jake looked at Cassie trying to take in what she was saying, but all that seemed to sink into his psyche were thoughts of Cassie naked, wet, and in his arms. The lust that had been simmering since he crawled into bed with her the night before surged through his system and directly into his cock.Cassie was obviously concerned because he wasn’t answering. He just couldn’t get enough blood to his brain to get his mouth to work. “Jake, I’m sorry. I just don’t think I can do this by myself. Maybe I should call Julie or Penelope.”Jake finally found the ability to speak. “No, no, don’t be ridiculous. Of course, I can help you. Are you ready to go right now?”Cassie tried to ignore the butterflies that had started up in her stomach. This was just Jake. No reason for this reaction. He was simply helping her as a friend. “Yes,” she said and she hoped Jake hadn’t noticed the quiver in her voice.Jake and Chris had helped Cassie rebuild this bathroom, but he hadn’t remembered the huge claw-foot tub that was front and center in the bathroom when she made the request. As he looked at it now, he had an idea. “Hey Cass, how about a bath rather than a shower so I can stay dressed and dry through this process?” She quirked an eyebrow at him, “That doesn’t sound quite fair to me, but it’s probably a good idea. Let me just get it filled up.”He waved her aside. “Let me do it for you.” She handed him the bottle of bubble bath with the instructions, “Lots of this. I need the camouflage of the bubbles.”“Where’s the fun in that?”She laughed, “Exactly.”Finally the bathtub was full and steaming with gorgeous fluffy bubbles and there was no avoiding the inevitable. Jake came around behind her and gently loosened the straps of the arm brace and slipped it over her head and off her arm. He unbuttoned the buttons on her shirt and slowly lowered the sleeves down her arms trying not to jostle her right arm. She wasn’t meeting his eyes as she started working her sweatpants down her legs using her good left arm. Jake tried to maintain detachment as he grasped her sweatpants from her and slid them down her long toned legs. He hissed an indrawn breath as he saw the dark blue, green, and purple bruises that lined the entire length of the right side of her body. She was standing there in the purple bra and panty set he’d pulled out of her drawer the night before to take to the hospital. They actually matched many of the bruises that were the same shades. But even with the bruises, she looked absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. The matching set looked so much better on her in real life than they had when he imagined them as he pulled them out of her drawer. He swallowed hard and took a bracing deep breath. He could do this.Cassie watched the myriad of emotions cross Jake’s face as he helped her out of her clothes. She stopped him now though with a hand cupping the side of his face. “Jake, relax. It’s just me, the girl you used to tie to the tree and abandon when we were little.”Jake gave a self-effacing chuckle. “Can we not talk about bondage when you’re standing there looking so gorgeous in just your underwear and about to get naked?”The comment was so out of left field and Jake had such a look of pain on his face that Cassie had to laugh. “Relax, Jake, we can do this. We’re adults.”“Again, not helping, because I don’t need to be thinking adult thoughts right now, trust me.”“Okay, well talking about it isn’t helping so let’s just get it over with, okay.”“Okay.” Jake moved around behind Cassie and unhooked her bra and slowly slid it off her shoulders studiously avoiding looking at her breasts. He then quickly slid her panties down her legs and helped settle her into the water where she gave an audible groan from the feeling of the warm water soaking into her sore muscles.“Cassie, you’re killing me.” Jake shut his eyes and groaned a bit himself.Cassie looked at him and considered, “Why don’t you go out while I get clean? We can wash my hair last after I wash everything else.”Jake nodded, visibly swallowing hard. “That sounds like a good idea. Just holler when you need me to come back.” He quickly slid out the door where he collapsed against the wall trying to regulate his breathing and erection. Even bruised and hurting, she was so incredibly sexy. She was killing him, because he had to be dying from the lack of blood in his brain. How long could a man function while maintaining an erection? The commercial said more than four hours was reason for concern. By his calculations, he had pretty much been rock hard now for twelve solid hours with no relief in sight. His own shower today was going to be a long, cold one. He ran a hand through his hair as he thought about heading back in there again, just as he heard Cassie call his name. He took in a fortifying breath, rearranged his cock which was going to be permanently etched with the zipper impression from his jeans, and turned the handle on the door. ***FREE at all retailers.***
It’s been six months…Six months since Jake Madsen let Chris Robertson die.Six months since the passion between Jake and Cassie, Chris’ sister, stepped over the line.But now Cassie’s being stalked and it’s time for Jake to swallow his guilt, grief, and lust so he can save her life, even if it’s a life without him. He owes it to his dead friend and he owes it to Cassie. He’s fallen in love with her, but she doesn’t have to know that for him to keep her safe. Barnes & Noble Amazon iTunes Kobo

Keep trying...

Friday five...post-vacation and RWA...

Long time no chat. I actually started this Friday Five before we left for RWA and family vacation in Denver, but then life happened and I never got it finished. Eeeps!
So, here we are again.Take 2 on getting this posted.
When I found out that RWA was going to be in Denver this year, I really wanted to go. I have two series set in the area...The Found series and all the books written by KB Jacobs. 
But it's a lot of money to go to these conferences and it's rare for us to even take a family vacation because again...money. So, I asked Ben if we'd like to combine the two and make this a family trip. 
So, we left at 3:00 in the morning for the 13 hour drive to Denver from Texas on Tuesday. That night Ben and Kat stayed with me in the conference hotel, but the next day Jacob arrived from Davis-Monthan AFB, Az and the three of them moved into our rental house and left me at the hotel. Then I rejoined them a few days later on Sunday to finish out the family vacation.
EVERYBODY had a fabulous time!!
Denver-RWA edition...This is only the second time I've made it to an RWA convention and once again, I was blown away by just the sheer amount of enthusiasm and knowledge that comes out of the conference. After four days filled with classes and author signings, I'm buzzing with ideas and plans. Now, I just need to get them all down on paper before I forget them.
I'm actively working to work smarter, not harder. I work hard enough already with my 60 hour work weeks. But I have so many areas to improve and concentrate on. Those changes behind the scenes are happening slowly, but surely. 
I'll be posting more information on that soon.
^^^one of the things that happens at RWA are the publisher book signings. In the above photo, I'm waiting in line for the Harlequin signing. The amazing thing about these signings, is first of all...you get to meet all the amazing authors. Second, all the books are FREE! Yep, almost all those books you see in the top photo are both signed and were free. I did buy 13 of them at the literacy signing, BUT all that money went to Denver literacy, so it was like donating PLUS I got books for doing it.
Win/win!

Denver- Family vacation edition...I'll admit, I liked having my family in the same town as me, but doing their own thing. During the time I was at RWA, I got messages from all three of them, keeping me updated about their activities. For an introvert like me, it was kind of awesome. When I was too exhausted to do anything else, I could go back to my quiet hotel room and decompress and catch up with all them via messaging and emailing one another photos.
But it was even better to then get to join them on Sunday.
I will probably always regret not buying this hat. It was too fun. If only I wrote steampunk...then I would have had the perfect excuse, but I loved it on all of us!
When we finally got together, we managed to hit quite a few tourist spots over the next three days...*16th Street Mall*Hard Rock Cafe Denver (just because we were hungry)*Papyrus (Kat and I were in heaven)*Union Station*Meininger's (fountain pens and art supplies...the whole family was excited)*Manitou Springs
*Cave of the Winds*Manitou Castle*cliff dwellings*Denver Botanic Gardens

And just because I can...I love these people... ^^^Cave of the Winds before the tornados, hail and flash flooding.^^^
^^^Manitou Castle^^^
^^^Kat and Ben enjoying the shade at the Denver Botanic Gardens.^^^
 Other random vacation photos...

They make friends everywhere.
^^^top left: mobile coffee shop; top right: Tattered Cover (so disappointing for romance...3 shelves only...individual shelves, not bookcases); bottom left: gorgeous sculpture; bottom right: how many bags does one person need to go to RWA? A LOT!
The afternoon we went to Manitou Springs was crazy. Luckily, we saved the Cave of the Winds for our last activity of the day. Just as we were scheduled to head into the cave, they issued a tornado warning, but we were inside a cave...so safe. 
But then the hail and flash flooding came. The photos that look like snow are the remnants of the hail an hour and a half later. Down in town, they had 18" of hail on the ground and had to evacuate part of the town (where we'd eaten lunch just a couple of hours before) because of crazy flash flooding. 

It was a good trip!


Ooh...Kat found this trailer and I have to say I'm really excited for this movie coming August 3rd.And note...this came out as a series of books first. We may just have to pick those up this summer. 

It reminds me of my book series, Through the Veil, with the kids and the way they evolve (although, I'm sure the stories are nothing alike, but on the surface, I can see some similarities). 
I've thought seriously about writing that series from the point when the Veil fell and all the characters were children. It would be a young adult tie-in that goes back in time from when the adult series takes place.
I seriously loved that series, but no one read it, so I've had to pseudo-abandon it. I hate that because I love the characters and stories. I'd LOVE to find a way to start it back up again...hmm.
As I'm writing a YA book right now, I'm loving this idea more and more. It would be a way to maybe revive the series (I still have 5 books to write in the adult series and I still fully intend to write them, but since it's one that loses money, I can only do that when I have some money coming in from other books...which isn't now.)
But the good news is... I'm really liking writing the YA book I'm currently writing.
(It's called Firefly Magic ). It's fun to step into the YA mind.
So, anyway, I got a little off-track in this section...just to say, I'm really looking forward to this movie. LOL.

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I hope you're having a great summer!!
Hopefully, I'm gonna get more regular about posting on here from now on... ;)
I have big plans coming...
smiles,
Christi

Need more coffee...ALWAYS!

Keep at it...