Natasha Anders's Blog: Natasha's Blog, page 4
February 8, 2014
Would you like a bit of a...
... teaser?
Well then, why didn't you say so? Thank you for your patience and for being amazing, wonderful, awesome readers :)
Here's the prologue to A Husband's Regret (sorry about the formatting issues. Not easy to properly format anything on this blog):
Prologue
Cape Town, South Africa
“What do you mean, you’re pregnant? What about your studies? We were going to wait, Bronwyn, remember? Just tell me you’re joking?” Bronwyn felt her husband’s furious words strike her like boulders. She stared up into his livid face and didn’t recognize the man standing in front of her. He was shocked, that was all. He was thrown by her news. Her words would sink in soon enough and he’d go back to being the man she adored, the wonderful man to whom she had entrusted her heart. She just needed to give him time to get over his shock. The more she tried to rationalize his inexplicable reaction to what should have been joyous news, the more the insidious little voice in the back of her mind kept telling her that she was lying to herself. This was a side of Bryce that she had never seen before—one that he had never allowed her to see—and she was terrified of what that said about their two-year marriage.
“I know that it’s sooner than we’d planned,” she said softly, trying to maintain an even tone of voice. “But this is the reality of our situation now, and it can’t be changed. We’re having a baby…a baby, Bryce. Don’t you get how wonderful that is?”
“I can’t believe you did this. I can’t believe you would stoop to this,” he gritted out bitterly. “This was supposed to be a joint decision. I’m not ready for this, Bronwyn. I don’t want a kid, damn it!”
“But it’s our baby. We made it together,” she protested, trying and failing to keep the pain and confusion from her voice. She tried to find a glimmer of her kind and loving Bryce beneath the mask of anger and frustration that he was displaying, but he wasn’t there. She wondered if he had ever been there.
“You mean you made it, without my consent.” He could barely meet her eyes, and she was grateful for that because the tears that she had been struggling to keep at bay were finally winning the battle.
“I don’t know why you’re being like this,” she cried. “I didn’t plan this, it just happened. Our birth control failed. I asked the doctor and he said that if I’d had a stomach virus or anything like that it could have provided a window of opportunity. And remember? I was sick a couple of days before your company party three months ago.” He strode out of the conservatory without a word and she followed him as he made his way downstairs to their en-suite. She watched in sick disbelief as he opened the medicine chest and yanked out her birth control pills.
“What are you doing?” She tried to maintain her composure as he counted the pills left in the box and felt the hope that she had been clinging to shrivel up into a tiny ball inside her chest and die. She felt nauseated as she watched the man she had married turn into a monster right in front of her. Slowly the confused mortification turned to fury. How could he do this to her? How could he humiliate her like this?
“God, have you been chucking pills down the drain every night?” he wondered out loud, and she found herself almost hating him for asking the question.
“You know I wouldn’t do that.”
“Do I? Well I obviously don’t know you as well as I thought I did, do I?”
“Of course you know me, Bryce.” She tried to appeal to the reasonable man who had to be in there somewhere and laid a tentative hand on his rigid forearm, but he yanked his arm away and turned away from her.
“Get out of here,” he whispered harshly, and Bronwyn felt something give way and break at those four words.
“What?” She must have misheard him. Still she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Get the hell out,” he said before turning to face her. Bronwyn tried not to flinch when she saw his face. There was nothing there—no anger, no regret, just a blank mask. She didn’t know this man at all. “Go now.”
She sobbed, whirled from the room, and did as he had commanded. She fled.
Well then, why didn't you say so? Thank you for your patience and for being amazing, wonderful, awesome readers :)
Here's the prologue to A Husband's Regret (sorry about the formatting issues. Not easy to properly format anything on this blog):
Prologue
Cape Town, South Africa
“What do you mean, you’re pregnant? What about your studies? We were going to wait, Bronwyn, remember? Just tell me you’re joking?” Bronwyn felt her husband’s furious words strike her like boulders. She stared up into his livid face and didn’t recognize the man standing in front of her. He was shocked, that was all. He was thrown by her news. Her words would sink in soon enough and he’d go back to being the man she adored, the wonderful man to whom she had entrusted her heart. She just needed to give him time to get over his shock. The more she tried to rationalize his inexplicable reaction to what should have been joyous news, the more the insidious little voice in the back of her mind kept telling her that she was lying to herself. This was a side of Bryce that she had never seen before—one that he had never allowed her to see—and she was terrified of what that said about their two-year marriage.
“I know that it’s sooner than we’d planned,” she said softly, trying to maintain an even tone of voice. “But this is the reality of our situation now, and it can’t be changed. We’re having a baby…a baby, Bryce. Don’t you get how wonderful that is?”
“I can’t believe you did this. I can’t believe you would stoop to this,” he gritted out bitterly. “This was supposed to be a joint decision. I’m not ready for this, Bronwyn. I don’t want a kid, damn it!”
“But it’s our baby. We made it together,” she protested, trying and failing to keep the pain and confusion from her voice. She tried to find a glimmer of her kind and loving Bryce beneath the mask of anger and frustration that he was displaying, but he wasn’t there. She wondered if he had ever been there.
“You mean you made it, without my consent.” He could barely meet her eyes, and she was grateful for that because the tears that she had been struggling to keep at bay were finally winning the battle.
“I don’t know why you’re being like this,” she cried. “I didn’t plan this, it just happened. Our birth control failed. I asked the doctor and he said that if I’d had a stomach virus or anything like that it could have provided a window of opportunity. And remember? I was sick a couple of days before your company party three months ago.” He strode out of the conservatory without a word and she followed him as he made his way downstairs to their en-suite. She watched in sick disbelief as he opened the medicine chest and yanked out her birth control pills.
“What are you doing?” She tried to maintain her composure as he counted the pills left in the box and felt the hope that she had been clinging to shrivel up into a tiny ball inside her chest and die. She felt nauseated as she watched the man she had married turn into a monster right in front of her. Slowly the confused mortification turned to fury. How could he do this to her? How could he humiliate her like this?
“God, have you been chucking pills down the drain every night?” he wondered out loud, and she found herself almost hating him for asking the question.
“You know I wouldn’t do that.”
“Do I? Well I obviously don’t know you as well as I thought I did, do I?”
“Of course you know me, Bryce.” She tried to appeal to the reasonable man who had to be in there somewhere and laid a tentative hand on his rigid forearm, but he yanked his arm away and turned away from her.
“Get out of here,” he whispered harshly, and Bronwyn felt something give way and break at those four words.
“What?” She must have misheard him. Still she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Get the hell out,” he said before turning to face her. Bronwyn tried not to flinch when she saw his face. There was nothing there—no anger, no regret, just a blank mask. She didn’t know this man at all. “Go now.”
She sobbed, whirled from the room, and did as he had commanded. She fled.
January 10, 2014
World's Worst Blogger...
Hello from The World's Worst Blogger
I actually just received a lovely medal with WWB prettily engraved on it and my name beneath it :P
I hope you're all well. Happy New Year - I hope you have an awesome 2014.
Thank you so much for your patience these last few months (years???? It feels like years) - but as a lot of you probably know by now, The Unwanted Wife will be re-released on March 25.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Unwanted-Wi...
And the second book, A HUSBAND'S REGRET, will be released on April 29 (neeeerves).
http://www.amazon.com/Husbands-Regret...
Book 3, HIS UNLIKELY LOVER, will follow on an as-yet-undecided date later this year :)
All three books will be available in paperback, e- and audio books.
On a more personal note, I've settled in quite nicely back in Cape Town and Oliver arrived safely and is enjoying the South African summer immensely. I'm loving the publishing process and am fired up to write a few more stories... I mean there are so many heroines out there in need a good (if initially dysfunctional) hero.
Take care everybody. Will try to ditch the WWB medal and update a bit more regularly.
Natasha
I actually just received a lovely medal with WWB prettily engraved on it and my name beneath it :P
I hope you're all well. Happy New Year - I hope you have an awesome 2014.
Thank you so much for your patience these last few months (years???? It feels like years) - but as a lot of you probably know by now, The Unwanted Wife will be re-released on March 25.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Unwanted-Wi...
And the second book, A HUSBAND'S REGRET, will be released on April 29 (neeeerves).
http://www.amazon.com/Husbands-Regret...
Book 3, HIS UNLIKELY LOVER, will follow on an as-yet-undecided date later this year :)
All three books will be available in paperback, e- and audio books.
On a more personal note, I've settled in quite nicely back in Cape Town and Oliver arrived safely and is enjoying the South African summer immensely. I'm loving the publishing process and am fired up to write a few more stories... I mean there are so many heroines out there in need a good (if initially dysfunctional) hero.
Take care everybody. Will try to ditch the WWB medal and update a bit more regularly.
Natasha
August 14, 2013
Hello there :)
Hello everybody.
I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've been busy moving and stressing about getting my little Oliver from Japan to South Africa. We had an unfortunate hitch in our travel plans when Oliver's quarantine fell through but it looks like everything's finally sorting itself out. Because of Oliver's quarantine issues, I've stayed in Japan longer than I've wanted to (still here in fact). I've been lounging about in a friend's apartment (since my timeline was screwed up Oliver and I are basically homeless in Japan) doing nothing but reading and enjoying the time off. But time to start my new job now since my publishing contract has finally come through. YAY!
That means it's back to Book 3 with a vengeance. Panic!!!!
I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've been busy moving and stressing about getting my little Oliver from Japan to South Africa. We had an unfortunate hitch in our travel plans when Oliver's quarantine fell through but it looks like everything's finally sorting itself out. Because of Oliver's quarantine issues, I've stayed in Japan longer than I've wanted to (still here in fact). I've been lounging about in a friend's apartment (since my timeline was screwed up Oliver and I are basically homeless in Japan) doing nothing but reading and enjoying the time off. But time to start my new job now since my publishing contract has finally come through. YAY!
That means it's back to Book 3 with a vengeance. Panic!!!!
March 20, 2013
Book Update
Hey all
Hope you're all doing well? I've been writing and teaching and trying to organise a huge move from Japan to South Africa. Busy busy busy.
That doesn't mean that I've been neglecting Book 2 though. I'm working on the epilogue at the moment. So it's going pretty well.
So about release dates - I've agreed to a three book deal with Montlake Romance. The first of those three books being The Unwanted Wife. This means that a professionally edited version of TUW will be republished in e-book format and in print later this year. Book 2 will follow a couple of months later and Book 3 will follow in 2014.
I'm pretty excited about this deal because I'm keen on having the books in print (my family will be particularly happy since none of them have Kindles). I hope you guys will be as excited about this news as I am :)
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me. I'm always happy to answer your questions.
As always, I thank you for your patience and support.
Cheers
Natasha
Hope you're all doing well? I've been writing and teaching and trying to organise a huge move from Japan to South Africa. Busy busy busy.
That doesn't mean that I've been neglecting Book 2 though. I'm working on the epilogue at the moment. So it's going pretty well.
So about release dates - I've agreed to a three book deal with Montlake Romance. The first of those three books being The Unwanted Wife. This means that a professionally edited version of TUW will be republished in e-book format and in print later this year. Book 2 will follow a couple of months later and Book 3 will follow in 2014.
I'm pretty excited about this deal because I'm keen on having the books in print (my family will be particularly happy since none of them have Kindles). I hope you guys will be as excited about this news as I am :)
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me. I'm always happy to answer your questions.
As always, I thank you for your patience and support.
Cheers
Natasha
January 14, 2013
BACK on the IR List :D
I'm very excited to announce that TUW is BACK on IndieReader's List Where Indies Count)!!
http://indiereader.com/the-list-where...
That's so awesome. I'm so happy that so many readers are still buying and (mostly) enjoying it :D
http://indiereader.com/the-list-where...
That's so awesome. I'm so happy that so many readers are still buying and (mostly) enjoying it :D
January 4, 2013
Connie Brockway recommends TUW :)
Hello all
I'm baaaaaaaack! I had an awesome time in San Francisco. What a beautiful city.
I arrived home last night, woke up early to fetch my little Oliver from his (VERY EXPENSIVE, ouch!) pet hotel and am now sitting here like a bit of a zombie refusing to go to sleep again (at least not until 8 pm - nearly five hours away). I won't let the jet lag have its wicked way with me.
I hope you all had equally wonderful holidays and I hope that 2013 has been fantastic for you so far.
Anyway, I wanted to share this bit of news with you (thanks very much to Shannon for bringing it to my attention :D ), Connie Brockway has read and recommended The Unwanted Wife on this authors' blog!! I am a huge fan of Connie Brockway and am so flattered that she read and liked TUW. You can read her post here: http://www.omnivoracious.com/2013/01/...
Okay, I'm a bit sluggish today and my brain is so slow. I'm a little jealous of Oliver who seems to have no qualms about taking a little nap. He's sitting over in his cage his head tucked back and his beak buried in his feathers. I think he's taunting me.
Have a lovely weekend.
Natasha
I'm baaaaaaaack! I had an awesome time in San Francisco. What a beautiful city.
I arrived home last night, woke up early to fetch my little Oliver from his (VERY EXPENSIVE, ouch!) pet hotel and am now sitting here like a bit of a zombie refusing to go to sleep again (at least not until 8 pm - nearly five hours away). I won't let the jet lag have its wicked way with me.
I hope you all had equally wonderful holidays and I hope that 2013 has been fantastic for you so far.
Anyway, I wanted to share this bit of news with you (thanks very much to Shannon for bringing it to my attention :D ), Connie Brockway has read and recommended The Unwanted Wife on this authors' blog!! I am a huge fan of Connie Brockway and am so flattered that she read and liked TUW. You can read her post here: http://www.omnivoracious.com/2013/01/...
Okay, I'm a bit sluggish today and my brain is so slow. I'm a little jealous of Oliver who seems to have no qualms about taking a little nap. He's sitting over in his cage his head tucked back and his beak buried in his feathers. I think he's taunting me.
Have a lovely weekend.
Natasha
December 24, 2012
Holiday Wishes
Hey there everybody
I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that you and your families are enjoying the spirit of Christmas, wherever you may be. If you don't celebrate Christmas then I wish you and yours a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season :) I will chat with you again in 2013!
Warmest Regards
Natasha
I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope that you and your families are enjoying the spirit of Christmas, wherever you may be. If you don't celebrate Christmas then I wish you and yours a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season :) I will chat with you again in 2013!
Warmest Regards
Natasha
December 17, 2012
Book 2 Update
Hello everybody
I trust you're all doing well and gearing up for the holidays?
I'm looking forward to it myself. I won't be going home for the holidays this year. It's the first time in years that I'll be travelling somewhere other than sunny Cape Town for Christmas and I'm a little sad about that.
Anyway, I'm headed to San Francisco for a wedding (which definitely makes up for the sadness of not going home) and hopefully for lots of shopping. Shopping for clothes in Japan can be a bit demoralising when you're slightly (ahem)curvier than most of the local ladies, so I'm looking forward to getting a few cute things to wear. Does anybody have any sight-seeing recommendations? So far I have this vague idea that I'll go for a cruise around the bay but that's about it. I'm awful when it comes to planning my vacations, I tend to show up and hope for good things to just happen. Sometimes that works out for me... other times I sit around wondering where the party's at.
So an update on the book's progress. It's coming along fine but I've decided to push back the release date until after December (I'm not entirely sure when yet) because I don't want to rush it and have it filled with mistakes like the last one. I'd rather have a better product for all you lovely readers out there.
I also admit to be rather ambitious when I promised a Mid-December release. I was a bit giddy off the success of The Unwanted Wife and I totally lost sight of the fact that I have a demanding full-time job to worry about too(boo)! Silly, silly Natasha.
I've thought hard about this decision, I don't want to disappoint anybody or lose people's trust but I really would hate to put a bad story out there. I was hoping to finish it but I realised that I was rushing and that the quality was suffering. The story is done BUT there are a lot of issues that need resolving and I've added a few extra chapters as well.
I hope that you all will stick with me. I don't want to lose your trust or support but if I published an awful second book I think I'd definitely lose that trust and support anyway.
I'll keep you updated on the new release date.
In the meantime, if you're taking some time off in December, I do hope you enjoy your well-deserved rest and have a happy holiday. I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous 2013.
Stay safe where ever you may be.
Regards
Natasha
I trust you're all doing well and gearing up for the holidays?
I'm looking forward to it myself. I won't be going home for the holidays this year. It's the first time in years that I'll be travelling somewhere other than sunny Cape Town for Christmas and I'm a little sad about that.
Anyway, I'm headed to San Francisco for a wedding (which definitely makes up for the sadness of not going home) and hopefully for lots of shopping. Shopping for clothes in Japan can be a bit demoralising when you're slightly (ahem)curvier than most of the local ladies, so I'm looking forward to getting a few cute things to wear. Does anybody have any sight-seeing recommendations? So far I have this vague idea that I'll go for a cruise around the bay but that's about it. I'm awful when it comes to planning my vacations, I tend to show up and hope for good things to just happen. Sometimes that works out for me... other times I sit around wondering where the party's at.
So an update on the book's progress. It's coming along fine but I've decided to push back the release date until after December (I'm not entirely sure when yet) because I don't want to rush it and have it filled with mistakes like the last one. I'd rather have a better product for all you lovely readers out there.
I also admit to be rather ambitious when I promised a Mid-December release. I was a bit giddy off the success of The Unwanted Wife and I totally lost sight of the fact that I have a demanding full-time job to worry about too(boo)! Silly, silly Natasha.
I've thought hard about this decision, I don't want to disappoint anybody or lose people's trust but I really would hate to put a bad story out there. I was hoping to finish it but I realised that I was rushing and that the quality was suffering. The story is done BUT there are a lot of issues that need resolving and I've added a few extra chapters as well.
I hope that you all will stick with me. I don't want to lose your trust or support but if I published an awful second book I think I'd definitely lose that trust and support anyway.
I'll keep you updated on the new release date.
In the meantime, if you're taking some time off in December, I do hope you enjoy your well-deserved rest and have a happy holiday. I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous 2013.
Stay safe where ever you may be.
Regards
Natasha
November 12, 2012
NUMBER ONE!!
The Unwanted Wife has just moved into the #1 spot on the Amazon Contemporary Romance Bestseller List!! And #3 on the overall literature and fiction list :D
I'm a little shocked by this. I was really expecting it to peak at #2! Thanks to everybody who bought, reviewed and recommended it. I'm so humbled and so grateful...
I'm a little shocked by this. I was really expecting it to peak at #2! Thanks to everybody who bought, reviewed and recommended it. I'm so humbled and so grateful...
November 6, 2012
Moving up the List Where Indies Count
I'm happy to announce that The Unwanted Wife has moved up a couple of spots on the the List Where Indies Count: http://indiereader.com/the-list-where...
Thank you once again for recommending it to your friends :)
Natasha
Thank you once again for recommending it to your friends :)
Natasha
