Hayden Braeburn's Blog, page 10

Sunday Six!

I know I haven’t done Six Sentence Sunday in a while, I hope you forgive me!

He devoured her, one hand in her hair, the other on her hip. Miraculously, they made it to the desk without injury, focused as they were on each other. He wanted to give her pretty words of love and encouragement, and he promised himself he would. Later.

Kat had no intention of making Mason jealous when she’d come downstairs to dance. Every day she danced in front of an audience, and he had never reacted like this. 

I apologize for such a short post this week, but I am working on SPEEDING, Chapter 12 and FIGHT FOR ME, so I am a busy bee!

Go check out the other sixers this week!

Vegas, Baby!

So, as anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows I was in Las Vegas this week for a buying trip for work.  Good news?  We got lots of work done and pieces picked/purchased.  Bad News? Fiction just didn’t happen.  *snicker* Well, perhaps fodder for fiction did occur, but I didn’t write any of it… yet.  So… yeah, I have big plans to sit down and write tonight and tomorrow.

In other news… Yeah, there really isn’t any other news.  More than 3 days in Vegas is entirely too long, and going to bed when the sun is almost rising is overrated.  I mean, really?  Oh well.  It’s only one week a year, right?

And… Of course, I’m sure if you’re here and reading my blog, I don’t need to remind you that DANCE WITH ME is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords, and clicking the cover will put you through to Amazon or the hyperlinks here will put you through to the outlets mentioned.  Reviews, referrals, etc, are very (very!) appreciated.

I’ll Admit, I Got Teary-Eyed

So, this morning DANCE WITH ME was reviewed by Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews and got 4 stars!

The review is here:  http://www.guiltypleasuresbookreviews.com/2012/05/review-dance-with-me-by-hayden-braeburn.html

Of course, if you’ve been following/reading me for a while, you followed the tie-in with our Aylesford cops.  If not, click the link to SPEEDING in the sidebar.  (Can’t miss it, it’s a hot Jimmy Thomas cover).

Oh, yeah, the links… Can’t forget the links!

Dance With Me on Amazon

Dance With Me on Smashwords

Dance With Me on B&N

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since it’s Sunday, let’s do Six Sentences, too.

He raised his eyebrows at his brother. “The pleasure is all mine.” Caleb held onto her long enough to watch his brother’s coffee eyes heat. With a grin at Mason, he dropped her hand. “So, Katerina is the woman you’ve been mooning over lately?”

Mooning over? Was he that dopey? 

And We’re LIVE!!!

Today is a special day.  Not only it is a wonderful, supportive and overall fabulous friend’s birthday, but it’s release day for DANCE WITH ME!

Dance With Me on Amazon

Dance With Me on Smashwords

Dance With Me on B&N

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re saying, “That’s great and all, Hayden, but…um… what’s it about?  Here’s the blurb:

Champion ballroom dancer Katerina Nemecek pushed the love of her life away when he offered to save her studio from foreclosure. She loved him despite the secrecy surrounding their relationship, but she refused to take advantage of him or his wealth.

Mason Everett wants nothing more than to share his life, his family, and his fortune with Kat, but keeping her a secret was the only way he could keep her safe. He’d rather hide her away than chance losing her.

When Kat and Mason’s relationship finally goes public, it sets in motion a plan to keep them apart. Can they survive the firestorm to dance together forever?

A long excerpt is on my site here: http://haydenbraeburn.weebly.com/dance-with-me.html

Oh, and speaking of the lovely birthday girl, Maureen has gushed about DANCE here: http://bitchcanwriteabook.blogspot.com/2012/05/dance-with-me-everetts-of-tyler-by.html I can’t begin to tell you how much of a cheerleader she is (although, admittedly, she tends to just scream, “MORE!” at me).  She and Cindy at BCWAB are amazing, and I have to give a shout-out to my beta-readers (a wonderful group), as well as a big, giant pat on the back to Jodi Jo, the incredible cover artist.  I hope the book lives up to the visual she created (props go to Jimmy Thomas and RNC for the original photo, too).

So, yeah, now what?  Well, it’s long past time for Chapter 12 of SPEEDING (I heard you, Maureen!), and FIGHT FOR ME is knocking around in my head, too.

Oh, you wanted a snippet?  Let’s pretend it’s Sunday and do Six Sentences.

His eyes traveled slowly down her body, snagging on all the good places. “You look wonderful, Katerina,” he said, his voice rough.

She swallowed. “We match, Mason. We look like we’re trying too hard.”

“You were made for me, babe. Matching or not won’t change that.”

It’s Release Week!

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Well, this will be a short post, since really, all I have to say is: It’s release week!  So, I am doing another read through to make sure I haven’t missed anything, and DANCE WITH ME will release on Friday.  I am excited (and nervous!)

So…  A what do you say to a snippet?  Yes?

Come home with me tonight.” He softly kissed her again. “Please.”

“I don’t think I can wait that long,” she murmured.

He gave her a slow, sexy, panty-melting smile. “You will come home with me every night.” He kissed her fully then, his hand finding its way back into her hair. “Oh, you will come,” he promised, “after dinner at my parent’s.”

That jerked her out of her hormone-induced buzz. “What?

A Long Day and a Mother’s Day Snippet

So, yesterday was our largest sale of the year and I was on the floor all day (*not* where I normally am, by the way).  We were open longer hours than normal, and I was literally on my feet for 12 hours.  In heels.  In the heels up there.  Beautiful, stylish, three and a half inch heels.  Then, when I got home I sat down in my recliner, ate a half piece of pizza and… woke up this morning at six thirty.

(Waits a minute for you to stop laughing…)

Yep, I am *that* cool.

In other news, DANCE broke 40K words this week, and is really, truly almost done. In fact, it really may *be* done, and I just can’t let it go and am writing an unnecessary scene–we’ll see what my Fabulous Betas have to say about that.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, aunties, foster moms, etc.

Today’s snippet is in honor of Carolyn Everett, Mason’s mom.

 “Forty years ago, Charlie and I were high school sweethearts. His father hated me because I was from, well, we Masons weren’t from the same “class” as the Everetts,” she began, complete with air-quotes. “Charlie told his father he could either accept that I was going to be his wife or he could stick it in his ear.”  She stopped to shoot a smile at her husband, and Kat knew Charles had used much harsher language. “Curtis Everett kicked Charlie out and cut him off.”

The four Everett children, who had grown up with this story and the, ‘You are no better than anyone else, and don’t you forget it,’ lectures looked slightly bored, but Kat gasped. “He kicked him out? What did you do?”

The End is Near!

No, not THAT end, the end of DANCE WITH ME!  I know!  The little story that started life as a 5000 word short story for a contest is will wrap at close to 50,000 words, (I think) and will be the first of the Everett Series.  Who knew?  I still have at least one scene to finish, then hardcore editing and a round of (fabulous) beta readers, not to mention the whole formatting thing (which I reeeeally hope isn’t as poopy as it looks like it might be), but, YAY!

Sooo…  Before I get back to the story to, like, actually finish it and stuff, how about we pretend I did what I was supposed to do, and do six sentences?

 God, she was sexy. Unable to stand the other men watching her, clapping for her, he strode across the room and swept her into his arms. She was his, and no one and nothing would keep her from him. He cupped her chin and brought his mouth down on hers fiercely.

She lost herself in his kiss, in the feel of his tongue against hers. Before she registered what was happening, she found herself backed into Mason’s office.

Saturday Snippet

I made a new banner for the facebook page.  I know that is so not exciting, but I wanted to share anyway (*shrug*).  I apologize for not being a good blogger lately (I have also not been a good tweeter, facebooker, or writer… I have, however, been a very good worker), but I will try really hard to be better (really, I will!)

So… now onto why you’re really here (I hope!)  I don’t recall if I have given you much about our villain, Priscilla McClaren, but here is a little insight into her twisted psyche.

 Giving in to the need to throw something, she hurled her glass of iced tea into the wall, reveling in the smash of glass and the rivulets of dark liquid running down the pale plaster. How dare he do this to her?

 She tore her gaze from the carnage that used to be her tumbler, and stalked the room as she thought. Right this very minute, Mason would be taking his little dancer home. She kicked over an upholstered ottoman, swearing when her delicate Italian leather pump did nothing to protect her toes. The thought of him making love to the little whore made her seethe. She’d waited for him for sixteen years. Sixteen godforsaken years.

 When all her friends were getting married and having babies, she’d waited. Even while standing up in countless weddings and attending even more baby showers, she’d never lost sight of her goal. Mason had always been hers, but she hadn’t pushed him, understanding his need to grow up, make it in the banking world, and get his wildness out of his system. At first, she hadn’t minded biding her time. She’d had pageants to win, degrees to obtain, and a business to learn. Now, she was ready to take what was rightfully hers.

Gym? What Gym?

So, I’ve noticed something since I started really spending time writing…  Between my day job, my family and my book, I have exactly zero free-time.  And you know what fell to the wayside for me?  That’s right, working out.  See, here’s my problem–I can’t type while on a treadmill.  And, since I tend to multitask, when I am watching television, I have my laptop on my lap at the same time (usually doing things like sales reports, since the fiction doesn’t flow as well while watching, say, Lost Girl).  I  need to rectify this situation or I won’t fit in my clothing before long, but it’s a balancing act that is bothersome.  What to skip?  Oh, right, that thing you hate to do!

So… right now the only real exercise I’m getting is best saved for a romance novel, and while that’s fun and all, I don’t think that’s the best regimen.

In other news, DANCE WITH ME has just hit 30,384 words, so it will be even longer than the latest estimate of even longer.  And, since you asked so nicely, a snippet!

 Priscilla poked her bottom lip out. “C’mon, Drew, you don’t think I’d really ask you to kill a furry little animal, do you?” She stood then, putting a little extra swing in her step as she walked toward her young assistant. “I need you to take care a problem for me, but it’s not an animal.”

He felt the need to run out of the office, but held his ground. He hoped she wasn’t asking what he was afraid she was asking.

Annoying Businesses are Annoying

So, my website registrar wants to “upgrade” my site… no, let me rephrase that, they want me to manually migrate my site to their new, upgraded, pay-per-month registration that will allow “increased business functionality”, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I don’t NEED increased functionality, I just want you to be able to read my stuff… So… I made a new site.  You can now find me and my writing (well, a little bit, anyway) at http://haydenbraeburn.weebly.com/.  I’m pretty happy with it, and right now, I’m totally down with free.

So….  I suppose you’d like a snippet since I have been incredibly remiss with writing and such lately.  We can do that.

 Kat had never been more bored in her life. She was stuck inside on what was purported to be beautiful day—at least that’s what the weather forecast had promised—made to stay away from windows. A woman could only watch so many cooking shows and repeated primetime dramas. Lordy, she needed to dance. Making the decision, she gathered her shoes and made her way downstairs. The living room had hardwood floors and fewer windows than the kitchen. She cursed Mason’s good taste when he built the house. Windows and French doors were beautiful, but they weren’t safe when one was trying to avoid being shot.