Sarah Cass's Blog: Sarah's StoryLines, page 51

Hump Day Hook – Week 11 {Changing Tracks}

Another Hump Day Hook!  Once again I’m bringing some Jane and Cole to the party. I don’t have my official release date yet, but I know that it will be out next month with Secret Cravings Publishing!

This is from early in their relationship, before they’ve even kissed. A fun little scene, but I can only show you a little of it :

Setting down the orange she’d been holding, she straightened. “Well, I’m afraid I have a list of things to do today. And you know what? I could search all day and amusing Cole Mitchell would not be found there.”

Saucy. What a challenge she could be. He doubted she could be tamed, but he’d love to try anyway.

 

*~*~*

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:

Tuesday Tales – Light {Untitled – for now}

I’ve joined another weekly writing challenge called Tuesday Tales. I get a prompt every week and write what comes to mind. This first part flowed so well, I’ll probably try to continue the story, using prompts along the way.

As of now, this is untitled. It’s not my usual style to write in first person, so I’m on a learning curve, but it’s how the story wanted to be written.

Please keep in mind that this story is coming in short pieces and is all first draft, so spelling and grammar issues are possible.

This weeks prompt: Light.

The high pitched whine of a delivery truck’s brakes penetrated the sanctuary of peace I’d built. Heavy footsteps plodded through the snow, a shadowy form growing larger through the intricate frosted glass.

Tension started to wind its way through each of my relaxed muscles. The calm center I’d managed to find popped like a bubble at the peal of our insanely loud doorbell.

So much for meditation.

With the kids at school and husband at work I thought maybe I could manage to find peace and quiet for five minutes. That’s what I get for making plans.

“I could try again.” Even as I said it, I knew it was just too much work.

Besides, curiosity tugged my attention toward the door.  Despite last year’s mad obsession with the home shopping channels, I’d been very good about not buying a whole lot this year. I couldn’t recall ordering anything in the past week.

Maybe Darren had ordered something.

I snorted as I rose to my feet.  Darren wouldn’t order anything online. Doesn’t trust the internet, big brother, or the space needle. I have always thought it was adorable, really. The man didn’t even own a smartphone.

Everyone owns smartphones. Even everyone in the government he’s so afraid of.

I pulled open the door and found a small box, hardly worth shipping via the big shipping company. Addressed to Carolyn Riese. Me. Return address, oddly smudged until unreadable.

My hackles raised and I glanced around the quiet neighborhood.

Nothing out of the ordinary caught my eye, but my nerves stayed on edge. Winter covered every naked branch and home, covering the world in white silence. A loud scream from a hawk made me jump out of my skin. I found it high in a tree.

Despite the risk of a neighbor seeing I let my third lid blink so I could see beyond the normal. The moment the membrane restored my inhuman sight the world around me changed. Light shimmered and echoed through each snowflake until the ground itself was as blinding as the sun.

Rays of red light streamed down from the tree, echoing sun-dogs in its effect. The red-tailed hawk had revealed itself to be a phoenix.

They were watching me.

If I ignored the package, the consequence could be great.

“It’s only been fifteen years.”

The phoenix turned its head at my complaint, fiery wings flapping before it lifted into the air and soared toward me.

I snatched the box from the porch and slammed the door before he got too close. The box settled in my lap as I sank to the floor. It couldn’t be.

There was still an option to ignore the box, but if I did they’d turn my life upside down in worse ways than I could imagine.

I couldn’t let that happen.

*~*

Hope you enjoyed it!  Click on the Tuesday Tales badge to see more excellent entries!!

Release Day – The Scientist by Carolyn Wren {With GIVEAWAY}

Today I’m happy to begin welcoming authors more frequently to the blog! I’m thrilled to start this process with fellow SCP author, Carolyn Wren, to announce her book release! Check out the end of the post to learn how YOU can win a PDF copy of The Scientist.

The Protectors

The Scientist is Book 2 in the 7 part Romantic Suspense series, The Protectors.

The books tell the tales of a group of covert agents who form a Protection Agency. Each story is designed to be different, as reflects the personality of the lead characters. We have Jared Knight in Book 1. Quiet, calm, preferring to remain inconspicuous when possible. In Book 2 we have Simon Winters, completely the opposite. Outrageous, cheeky, flamboyant. The other books will all have a different tone, from light and fast paced, to dark and emotional. Hopefully they build into an interesting, entertaining series for my readers.

The Scientist.



A charismatic covert operative known for his love of danger…

Simon Winters has a reputation for undertaking adrenalin filled assignments. But even thrill seekers need some down time. After an arduous desert mission he asks for a more enjoyable assignment. Preferably involving a beautiful woman in peril and a fast car.

Dr. Elizabeth Barrett’s life is quiet and orderly until someone tries to burn down her research laboratory with her inside. Now she has to contend with a handsome flirtatious agent living in her home. With his designer clothing and cheeky attitude, he has an annoying habit of putting her in more perilous situations than he keeps her out of.

Simon is captivated and intrigued by his beautiful scientist with her red hair and hidden fiery temper. But the danger escalates and what begins as a straightforward mission turns deadly when it seems someone wants Beth and her research dead.

Excerpt.

“Time to get ready.”

Beth lifted her head and blinked. “Already?”

“Yes, it’s past five. You don’t want to be late for the ceremony.”

“Do we really have to go?”

“Yes, my little reluctant celebrity, we really have to go. What’s the award for again? Apart from mold?”

“A young achievers award for a scientific research paper on the positive properties of bacteria.” He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “See? It’s special. Okay, it’s gross, but special. Go and get ready.”

Beth wandered into the bathroom. Why does his touch always linger so much on my skin?

After putting on her usual light application of makeup, she dubiously held up the turquoise dress in front of herself in the bedroom mirror. Halter neck, the front and back seemed very low. It fell in layers of soft silk and would come to just above her knees. Laying the designer garment on the bed, she picked out two pairs of shoes and surveyed them both. Which ones? Beth had no idea.

Hearing a sound from the hall, she opened the door. “Simon, what do you think…?” The words dried up in her mouth. Broad shoulders and muscular arms filled her vision. The blond curls held droplets of water from his shower. The sprinkling of hair across his chest was also damp, and the towel draped over his hips did little to conceal the divine specimen of gorgeous almost-naked male standing in front of her.

“Sitting?”

Beth yanked her brain back into focus. He was talking to her.“You want me to sit?”

Simon waved the shoes in front of her face, having plucked them from her fingers without her even realizing. “I asked if we would be sitting. Isn’t it a cocktail party? Or are we sitting for dinner?”

“Cocktail party, I think, but why is that important?”

“These,” he held up the high heeled strappy black sandals, “are sitting shoes. These,” he jiggled the mid-heeled silver-gray plainer ones, “are standing shoes. How much do you want your feet to ache?”

“Not at all, preferably.”

“Good choice. Wear the gray. The dress has silver highlights. It will blend.” With that, he handed the two items back to her and continued along the corridor. Beth tried not to notice how the towel sat low across his back, just above muscular buttocks. I need bigger towels.

A discreet cough made her gaze fly upward to meet his amused grin as he peeked over his shoulder. “Are you staring at my backside, Dr. Barrett?”

“No, of course not.” Her denial was too loud, too husky. Feeling yet another stain of heat across her cheeks, she ducked back into her bedroom and wrenched the door closed.

***

Bio

I was born in England. My parents loved to travel as my dad spent many years in the navy. By the time I reached the age of 12 we had traveled pretty much around the world on cruise ships.

This sounds fun and exciting unless like me you can get sea sick sitting in a bathtub. Lets just say boats do not feature highly in my books.

I still love to travel, but I use planes. All of my life I have written stories in my head. I would rewrite and add characters to TV shows, edit and change novels I was reading, invent scenarios and scenes to amuse myself on long journeys. But strangely I never wrote any of them down. About three years ago I woke up with a scene so clear in my head I knew I had to put it down on paper. Now, what should I do with this one page of prose? I know, I will email it to some friends. The friends approved, in fact they asked what book it was from. I shyly admitted it was my own work and the reaction was immediate…please write the next bit! I did and I have not stopped writing since.

Links

Blog: www.carolynwrenauthor.wordpress.com

Website:  www.carolynwren.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/carolynwrenauthor

Book 1: The Diplomat’s Daughter

Book 2: The Scientist

 

*~*~*

Carolyn is going to give away a PDF copy of The Scientist to one lucky commenter!!  So make sure you say hi, congratulations, or ask any questions you might have! It could win you a copy!

Thanks so much for visiting, Carolyn!  Good luck with your release, and I look forward to seeing you again soon!

 

Hump Day Hook – Week 11 {Changing Tracks COVER REVEAL}

I’m so excited for this weeks Hump Day Hook – because it’s also my official Cover Art Reveal!  I’ve been using a version of this for a few months now – but the finalized look is stunning!  The design is mine, but the lovely Dawne Dominique worked with me and helped kick it up a notch to this stunning cover.

I don’t have my official release date yet, but I know that it will be out next month with Secret Cravings Publishing – that’s right, February!

Blurb is below the excerpt. It’s from one of my favorite scenes. It’s a little longer than a paragraph, so sorry…I usually try to keep it smaller, but this week is special.

Cole has been in trouble with Jane for 3 weeks. She has ignored him & all his attempts to get her to cave to his charms.  All she wants is an apology for his behavior:

“Sorry.”

She grew still. It was an apology. Not a good apology, but she hadn’t really specified. Her hands rested on her hips, her resolve wavering.

“I said it. You happy?”

Frustration filtered into his tone. It had to be enough. Still, she waited. If he tried to walk away, she’d cave, she knew it.

He grumbled a curse under his breath and covered the distance between them in a heartbeat. Perspiration lit up across her skin. It was a hot day, but his presence made it scorching. His breath brushed her ear, “Sorry I laughed at the thought of you being a teacher. Even when ya told me to stop.”

Now that was good. Good enough. What now? She’d ignored him so long, how could she break it properly? Let him know exactly what she wanted?

“You ever gonna speak to me again?”

“Search me.” Perfect. The way his eyes lit up and he leaned closer, he got the double meaning.

 

*~*~*

There is nothing simple about forgetting your past.

Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He makes time with his women, makes a killing gambling, and exerts his power how he pleases. One thing he never does is let anyone in.

Until the day she falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. He saves her from the pine box, and finds he can’t walk away. The problem is, if he lets her get close he could relive his past – and he worked too hard to forget it.

She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief that someone wanted her dead. With no name she keeps ‘Jane Doe’ and tries to carve out a life. She finds herself drawn to Cole, and they start a fiery relationship that sets the whole town talking. Their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – keep them from admitting the depth of their feelings, but they find they only trust each other.

Through the chaos of renegade Indian raids, an abandoned husband and her recurring nightmares they fight to find the truth of what happened to her. She soon learns that sometimes the truth is the last thing you want to learn, and she starts to think it may be best to leave the past where it is.

That past isn’t that willing to let go. A stranger proves that he’s willing to kill to keep his secrets safe. If Jane doesn’t remember soon, everyone she loves will be in danger.

Changing Tracks is a 110k Historical Western Romance set in the Colorado Territory in 1871.

*~*~*

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:

Hump Day Hook – Week 10

Time for another Hump Day hook!  Edits on Changing Tracks  are done.  I have since written another short story and sold it, and am about to dive into an hours push of writing on Into a Mirror Darkly again.

Since I don’t quite have my cover art with the publisher logo back yet, I’ll refrain from another snippet from Changing Tracks until next week.  If I don’t have it by then, I’ll use a random picture from my files.

So, just for kicks I’m going to post one of my favorite snips from Book 2 in the Dominion Falls series, Derailed. My main character, Jane…preparing for…well, you’ll see:

Simple. No petticoats, no corset. One well cut layer of fabric.

Plain. Rough black wool. No adornments, not even a visible button.

A dress of death. Her death.

Pale skin shone back at her in the mirror.  Shaking hands pulling her tresses back into a simple bun. No hat, no coat. The bitter cold temperatures would mean little to her welfare. Illness wouldn’t claim you if you were already dead.

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:

Growth & Change

Last year I challenged myself in many ways.

This year is challenging me in ways I never expected – especially not so soon (we are only 14 days in, for crying out loud).

Still, there are rays of hope starting to glimmer through.

While working outside the home didn’t work out for a variety of reasons, I’ve managed to pick up odd jobs here and there. I have a part time job working for a lovely lady & the job is 85% virtual/online.

Another odd job is something I’ve thought about doing for a while. I’m just dipping my toe in right now, but so far the water is nice.  If it goes well and starts to build, it could be good for me.

I’m also embarking on a project with my Critique group that is at turns terrifying…and deeply exciting.  It’s a learning and growing experience that’s coming to mean a lot to me.

Of course there’s that book-thing next month that I’m gearing up for – and another in April.  Not to mention some new stories that are truly exciting me, no matter their length.

I’m re-considering my experiment of merging my author and personal blogs. No firm decisions yet, but it’s a definite thought that’s occupying my mind. I suppose it all depends on how active my author blog becomes and how much the traffic grows.

On the family front the kids are back in school, and now that hubby’s flu has passed life should begin to return to our normal schedules and maybe I can get these decorations down.

My smarty-pants Denver is making a DNA model out of K’Nex for extra credit.  Molly is showing real progress in all of her IEP goals.  Kennedy is…well, she’s struggling right now & giving us cause for worry…but she is still ready with at least one heart-melty smile every single day.

Yes, 2013 is certainly throwing its fair share of crap our way…but finally I’m starting to feel that the sun is peeking through the clouds of turmoil.

Now I just need to find new ways to challenge myself like I did last year.

Any ideas?

Hump Day Hook – Week 9 {Into a Mirror Darkly}

Time for another Hump Day hook!  I spent the past week shoulder deep in massive edits for my February release – and my first instinct was to post an excerpt from my new additions to it…but then my publisher emailed me and they’re putting the publisher logo on my cover now…so I thought I’d wait until I get the finalized cover to post again…or until I come up with something else to use in its place.

So we’re back with the ever marvelous Into a Mirror Darkly. Now that the bulk of my editing week is behind me I’m anxious to get back to work on this one. Red always makes me happy.

But for this week, I thought I’d introduce Junior to you.  That’s Ronald Stiltskin, Jr.:

Junior – he was far from careful.  He stumbled out of the brush carrying a bow twice his size.  The man barely came to Red’s belly button, with proportionate limbs but a large head.  His face looked like it had been flattened in a great vice, his eyes and lips barely two fingers apart, scrunched up tiny above and below the long pointed nose.

Large ears that folded over and pointed out away from his head with a bit of fur at each tip bounced with each racing step.  His large feet skidded to a halt when he spotted her at the gate.  “Red! Let me in quick!”

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:

Hump Day Hook – Week 8 {Into A Mirror Darkly}

Time for another Hump Day hook!  I worked up a mock-up cover for Mirror Darkly this past week.  I do have such fun with these.  So, since I’d played with the cover, I thought I’d use it for HDH.

Of course, it helps that I started my 500K Challenge and so have been working on this one again!

And now, without further ado, an exchange between Rose Red, the bounty hunter & Wulfric, the great hunter:

“I’m sorry.  Did you say you called Queen Melisandra, the vilest of Morgana’s queens, Mellie?”

“Should have seen her. I thought she was going to breath fire.” Green eyes twinkled to match his laughter as he tugged her stiff body closer to him.  “Solange heard about it and came to get me out. That’s why I owe her.”

“Solange had to get you out?”

“Apparently I’m not charming.”

“And you’re no prince.” Red’s lips twitched in her efforts to hide the laughter bursting up from her belly.  In a last ditch attempt she snatched the lower lip between her teeth and tried to keep her glare in check.

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:

500k – Now That’s a Challenge

A week ago my joy and confidence was bursting forth.

I said that after 2012, I was ready for 2013. I laughed in the face of danger (yup, quoting Lion King here, times are desperate).  I told 2013 to “Bring It”.

I made the monumental and overwhelming decision to join the 500k in 2013 writing challenge.

In brief it doesn’t look so bad.  1370 words/day?  Easy peasy.

500k?  Holy cow what was I thinking?

Then a couple of days ago my confidence was squashed under a thumb and my muse got grumpy and I got grumpy and I pretended the challenge wasn’t real.

My confidence is still a little shaky, but I am determined to work through it.  I have my new series to work on, and with 500k staring me in the face I could write 5 books in the series with that much playroom.

It’s a lofty goal that I’m certain I could accomplish if I got in “the zone”. After all about 3 years ago I wrote about 500k in 4 months time when I really got into my stories.

So off I go.  Send caffeine, chocolate, and prayers for my sanity.

Because if the 500k doesn’t make me insane – my characters’ trauma drama will!!

Hump Day Hook Week 7 {Dark Territory}

Time for another Hump Day hook.  While I’m waiting for my editor at Secret Cravings Publishing to get back to me with my edits, I’m getting a little antsy now that the distraction of Christmas is over. Soon enough I’ll be wishing I could go back to the days of not pouring over edit notes and corrections.

Until then, I thought I’d give a glimpse into the future of The Dominion Falls Series.  Book 3, called Dark Territory has a scene set soon after Christmas with my FMC, Jane, discussing Christmas presents with her bestie, Kat.  I decided to use that to keep in the spirit of the season

In the scene, Kat is admitting that she thought the man she (scandalously) lives with might ask her to marry him again after she turned him down the first time.  She reveals she had expected an engagement ring as her Christmas present…and what she got was…

Keep in mind, this is ROUGH 1st draft, & I haven’t touched it in over a year…it’s waiting for rewrites…so be kind:

“He kept hinting that he had gotten me something special for Christmas. I wondered if he wasn’t going to risk asking again.” Kat fiddled with her napkin, biting her lip as her cheeks flamed as red as her hair.

“He didn’t…”

“It was a new bed warmer.”

Jane’s eyes grew wide and her lips quivered with barely contained laughter. “A….A…new bed…warmer?”

“Shhhh,” Marjorie pursed her lips.  “It’s not that funny…”

“Of course not.”

“Jane…”

“A bed warmer?” Laughter burst from its seams and Jane covered her mouth to try to stem the volume.

“He wanted to make sure my feet were warm,”

 

Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published.  Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library!  To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below: