L.S. Bergman's Blog, page 7
June 8, 2016
Inevitable Lies
It's release day for Inevitable Lies!
So excited to get this one out there. I loved writing Luis and Joy's story, and the Romantic Suspense genre was something new and enjoyable as well.
Inevitable Lies is a suspense-filled adult IR romance, spanning Europe to the Caribbean islands. A perfect summer read.
Hope you'll check this one out!
May 31, 2016
Sample: Smitten
I haven't given Smitten my full attention, been away and balancing too many things. Anyway, I love this couple, Def D and Evon Samples. I do. So, I thought I'd post a sample teaser. Hope you enjoy and check it out on Kindle.
Smitten:
"Leaning against the far wall, slightly in the shadows, Domenico watched Evon round up a slow ballad. Her voice sounded so earthy and passionate. Dressed in a simple white tank top and low-hung distressed jeans, she wore no jewelry and no make-up, except for a light lip-gloss over her full lips.
Taking out a blunt, Domenico lit it, blatantly ignoring the no-smoking sign as Dave Mahony swung around throwing his hands up in the air.
"Hey D, man; hit the alarm switch!" Mahony said in evident frustration. The smoke alarms in the entire building were hyper-sensitive, but never once had Domenico cared. He knew every button. Nothing was going to come between him and his need to get into the creative flow.
Evon stopped singing in the booth, and was staring distractedly over at him, frowning as a smile cracked the side of Domenico's mouth in recognition, lazily punching in the code he knew so well.
D loved making an entrance.
At least he’d grabbed Evon’s attention, and she looked nervous as a result.
Something moved excitedly inside him, a feeling that he’d be able to have his way. Tonight, Mahony could go to hell home to his wife and kid, and let him do the producing, he thought. He was more than capable.
"A'ight, listen Evon, we can pick this up tomorrow. I have a family event to get to tonight, so I'm gonna have to bounce soon," Mahony breathed into the microphone, as Evon's eyes widened looking from Dave Mahony to Domenico and back.
Music to my ears, Domenico's smile broadened.
"Naw man, let her do it again. I'll take over," D replied extending one tattooed arm and pointing at the recording console, while coming over to occupy the chair next to Mahony, giving him some dap.
D knew he’d take the bait. Mahony liked to get things done, and ran a tight ship, but after-hours his family came first.
"You alright if D takes over?" Mahony asked Evon through the microphone. Mahony wasn't even questioning D's competence. She hesitated at first, her eyes locking onto D's as her head slowly nodded, which looked more like a warning shot rather than an act of compliance.
"A'ight," Mahony chuckled, sensing the tension between the two. "But promise you'll tell security when you leave. It's been a quiet day around here. And, don't do any shit!"
"Come on. I've got this," D replied, with a sparkle in his eye, taking another slow drawer on his blunt, before running one hand through his soft head of curls.
Evon gave Mahony a wave, before sitting down on the stool behind her, watching Domenico intently, his toned body, his biceps flexing the form of his chest against the soft fabric of his white T-shirt. The man was definitely a work of art. A distraction, plain and simple.
"So, once again from the top," D spoke into the microphone matter-of-factly, without even a friendly greeting or a tease. Evon's eyebrow raised, as the slow beats filled her headphones once more, and she stood up, turning slightly.
I can do this, she told herself. Just ignore the dude! He thinks turning up hours late is cool? ..." (© 2016 L. S. Bergman)
May 28, 2016
Inevitable Lies
I'll be releasing Inevitable Lies June 8. Romantic suspense is kind of a new genre for me, hope you will enjoy checking this one out...
Detective Luis Richter longs to go places, and become ‘somebody’. But lately he’s being doing not much of either. Between meaningless misdemeanors and boring office gossip, his hometown of Munich is hardly the hub of criminal activity. Until, Luis’s humdrum life is turned upside-down when an international case involving big money and deadly intent lands in his lap, the main victim in all this a wealthy heiress by the name of Joy Evans. Luis is in search of adventure. Joy is in dire need of love. But destiny works in mysterious ways. What happens when the unexpected has a way of confirming the past, and a destiny neither even dreamed was possible...
I'll be releasing Inevitable Lies June 8. Romantic suspense is kind of a new genre for me, hope you will enjoy checking this one out...
“An hour later, Joy sat stirring her spoonful of honey into a freshly made mug of piping hot ginger and mint tea. They were in a small half-empty cafe on the outskirts of Lindau. Joy was buried deep in thought, as a smile traveled across her face.
"What?" Luis asked, returning from retrieving his cafe latte from the counter, his eyes passing from the latte to Joy and back to his smart phone still dangling in his hand.
"Oh, nothing," she mused.
"Come on, out with it," he said, sliding onto the bench next to her until their shoulders gently collided.
Well, at least close proximity is no longer a problem, Joy thought.
"Well, I was just wondering… thinking, rather… that it’s kind of funny how such unusual circumstances can lead to moments like this."
"Like what?" he asked, looking baffled.
"Well, sitting here, with you… two strangers, murder, intrigue, grief, I don't know,” she whispered. “I mean, the list is getting ridiculously long, don't you think? But, everything still has this everyday feel to it, coffee, tea. It feels strange that's all, like I've known you a long time."
"Yup, it's been pretty bizarre, but in a good way. I mean, your case was the most worthwhile work I've had in a long time. I was kind of feeling at a dead end lately. That's before I met you and having you piss me off considerably! What’s more to tell…” he smiled.
"I know, we got off to a poor start, huh?" Joy smiled.
"A poor start? That's an understatement, don't you think? Try terrible!"
"OK, terrible," Joy laughed. "But now? Surely things have improved just a little?" She batted her eyelashes.
"Ever so slightly," he teased back, as Joy shrugged in defeat, rolling her eyes, only to have Luis raise a warning finger.
"OK, OK, I'm trying.” She flicked his finger away impatiently. “So, tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"Anything! I mean, new things to add to what I already know like police detective, English mother, German father, younger sister… I mean, we’ve got all of this time to kill."
"Time?" he smirked, amused about her take on things, while taking a sip of his latte. "Well, what do you want to know?"
"Why don't you continue telling me about your life?" Joy blushed a little, feeling embarrassed by the fact that she was evidently prying.
Truthfully? Joy wanted to know everything about Luis Richter. Right down to the real nitty-gritty stuff, like whether or not he had anyone special in his life, of the female variety.
"My life?" he asked smiling, pretending to be taken aback by Joy's forthrightness.
"Yes, your life."
"It was normal, hardworking, bordering on boring, especially lately," he grinned. "That's until…"
"You met me." Joy flushed. She sighed, remembering the bliss she had felt upon waking that morning to find herself wrapped in a mutual caress, all warmth and muscle. Feeling brazen, she decided to cut straight to the chase.
"OK, so are you married, or in a relationship?" she blurted out.
"Married? Now where the hell did you get that idea?"
"Oh, I don't know." Joy blushed deeper, dropping her gaze. "OK, maybe not married, but aren’t all you handsome types usually taken? And you do always seem to be busy with that phone."
Luis tilted his head to one side, and looked intently at her.
"Well, so now I'm handsome all of a sudden?" he shot her a mischievous smile. "I do believe that that is the first compliment you’ve ever paid me, Miss Evans."
"Joy. And don't forget that I also showed you my gratitude earlier."
"Yes, gratitude," he nodded with a chuckle, locking eyes with Joy, green to green.
Is he flirting with me?
"I’m on the phone a lot because I happen to have this job to do,” he paused. “But, to answer the other part. Yes, I do have a special woman in my life, who I’m incredibly close to." He watched Joy as she tugged her hair-tie from her wrist, casually scooping her hair back into a ponytail, trying to look distracted. "But besides my sister, Sophie," he continued, still eyeing her intently, "who is usually a pain in the ass at the best of times, no, there is no one else." He chuckled.
"Oh, your sister?" Joy exhaled, nodding, trying to rid herself of the emotional roller-coaster ride she had just been on which went something like, disappointment, surprise, relief!
(Copyright © 2016 L. S. Bergman)
April 19, 2016
Smitten
'Smitten' coming April 22...
Smitten, Book 4 in the Soul Love Series (available for Amazon Pre-order), takes forward the intense mutual attraction between Evon Samples, the songstress with a famous last name but tons of musical talent of her own, and the established and seemingly "untameable" big-time rapper Def D aka Domenico Fernandez.
D is renowned for struggling with the entire idea of a "relationship", committing to just one woman, despite a recent desire to relinquish or, at the very least, distance himself from his player reputation.
He's been getting better at it. But even his current relationship with hip-hop star Chantelle is best described as an “open one”. Neither truly understand the meaning of faithfulness.
If there is one woman capable of holding his attention for long enough, it is Evon Samples. An unexpected compulsive turn has D smitten and determined to step-up his game.
The only problem is: Is Def D really 'the one' Evon has been searching for?
Smitten, Book 4 in the Soul Love Series (available for Amazon Pre-order), takes forward the intense mutual attraction between Evon Samples, the songstress with a famous last name but tons of musical talent of her own, and the established and seemingly "untameable" big-time rapper Def D aka Domenico Fernandez.
D is renowned for struggling with the entire idea of a "relationship", committing to just one woman, despite a recent desire to relinquish or, at the very least, distance himself from his player reputation.
He's been getting better at it. But even his current relationship with hip-hop star Chantelle is best described as an “open one”. Neither truly understand the meaning of faithfulness.
If there is one woman capable of holding his attention for long enough, it is Evon Samples. An unexpected compulsive turn has D smitten and determined to step-up his game.
The only problem is: Is Def D really 'the one' Evon has been searching for?
April 6, 2016
Smitten...coming soon
Dropping a teaser from my upcoming release, Smitten, Book 4 in the Soul Love Series, available for Amazon pre-order now:
"As D approached, Ray caught his eye. "Hey man, wassup?" he said giving Domenico some dap. Raymond Parks was D's manager, and CEO of ex-rapper and business mogul Spade's Stax label.
"All good, man," D replied, shaking Spade and Marcus's hands as well, before Ray broke off to have a one-on-one. "And you? Still surviving marriage, man? I mean, that ain't no joke!" Domenico laughed, his face lighting up and his hazel-green eyes dancing at his own take on things.
"You don't know what you’re missing, man. You wait 'til you get caught!" Ray chuckled, feeling suddenly worthy in the presence of men like Spade and Marcus, all grown with kids of their own.
"And, you wait 'til you get tired!" D countered. "I ain't never gonna let no woman tie me down."
"That's just it man! There ain't no tying involved, other than the pleasurable kind," Ray snorted in satisfaction, a broad smile covering his face." excerpt from,
Smitten © 2016 L. S. Bergman
"As D approached, Ray caught his eye. "Hey man, wassup?" he said giving Domenico some dap. Raymond Parks was D's manager, and CEO of ex-rapper and business mogul Spade's Stax label.
"All good, man," D replied, shaking Spade and Marcus's hands as well, before Ray broke off to have a one-on-one. "And you? Still surviving marriage, man? I mean, that ain't no joke!" Domenico laughed, his face lighting up and his hazel-green eyes dancing at his own take on things.
"You don't know what you’re missing, man. You wait 'til you get caught!" Ray chuckled, feeling suddenly worthy in the presence of men like Spade and Marcus, all grown with kids of their own.
"And, you wait 'til you get tired!" D countered. "I ain't never gonna let no woman tie me down."
"That's just it man! There ain't no tying involved, other than the pleasurable kind," Ray snorted in satisfaction, a broad smile covering his face." excerpt from,
Smitten © 2016 L. S. Bergman
March 1, 2016
Loose Ends, a short sample
Here’s another sample from Loose Ends, the continuation of Spade and Alma’s relationship drama, but with a new unexpected attraction blossoming at the edge of vision. Hope you enjoy:
“Spade, meanwhile, could sense that whatever it was that was bugging Ray lay more characteristically in the female department than in the work side of things.
Spade recognized all those signs.
Raymond Parks was caught in someone and he had a good idea who!
"So, what's the deal with you and Sharon?" Spade asked, looking out of the tinted window at the freeway.
Ray sat up in his seat.
"Everything's cool," he murmured, as if trying to convince Spade if not himself that he wasn't at all bothered. "That ain't nothing. Let’s just concentrate on our shit for right now, you know what I'm sayin'? There ain't nothing going on," he said with a quick side-ways glance.
"Two denials from my nigga in one sentence; she must have you sprung, man?"
Straight-up?
Spade didn't mess around.
"Hell no!" Ray retorted. But it sounded like a feeble denial at best, in trying to act like Spade had suggested the inconceivable.
"I'm just sayin', back there at the crib, it sure looked like it?"
"What is this? The inquisition or something?" Ray said, biting down on the side of his lip, shaking his head.
"No, I noticed you checking her, that's all. You know what I'm sayin'? And it wasn't the first time either....and, I know ...," Spade said, running one hand over the smooth of his signature shaved head, with a smile.
"What's that supposed to mean? What do you know, man?" Ray's voice trailed off in disbelief, amazed that they were actually having this conversation.
"It means, I know you. You know what I'm sayin'? You like having a woman's attention, holding it, and if you can't get it? If it don't come easy...it bugs you. It becomes your next big thing. Except, this time, Sharon ain’t the challenge you're looking for," Spade continued. "From what Alma's told me, she doesn't do or like what you do, damn, what we used to do together...she's not looking to get messed around." Spade said, laughing. "She's looking for a real relationship, man. So, that leaves you definitely out of the mix!" (©Loose Ends, L.S. Bergman)
“Spade, meanwhile, could sense that whatever it was that was bugging Ray lay more characteristically in the female department than in the work side of things.
Spade recognized all those signs.
Raymond Parks was caught in someone and he had a good idea who!
"So, what's the deal with you and Sharon?" Spade asked, looking out of the tinted window at the freeway.
Ray sat up in his seat.
"Everything's cool," he murmured, as if trying to convince Spade if not himself that he wasn't at all bothered. "That ain't nothing. Let’s just concentrate on our shit for right now, you know what I'm sayin'? There ain't nothing going on," he said with a quick side-ways glance.
"Two denials from my nigga in one sentence; she must have you sprung, man?"
Straight-up?
Spade didn't mess around.
"Hell no!" Ray retorted. But it sounded like a feeble denial at best, in trying to act like Spade had suggested the inconceivable.
"I'm just sayin', back there at the crib, it sure looked like it?"
"What is this? The inquisition or something?" Ray said, biting down on the side of his lip, shaking his head.
"No, I noticed you checking her, that's all. You know what I'm sayin'? And it wasn't the first time either....and, I know ...," Spade said, running one hand over the smooth of his signature shaved head, with a smile.
"What's that supposed to mean? What do you know, man?" Ray's voice trailed off in disbelief, amazed that they were actually having this conversation.
"It means, I know you. You know what I'm sayin'? You like having a woman's attention, holding it, and if you can't get it? If it don't come easy...it bugs you. It becomes your next big thing. Except, this time, Sharon ain’t the challenge you're looking for," Spade continued. "From what Alma's told me, she doesn't do or like what you do, damn, what we used to do together...she's not looking to get messed around." Spade said, laughing. "She's looking for a real relationship, man. So, that leaves you definitely out of the mix!" (©Loose Ends, L.S. Bergman)
February 1, 2016
Loose Ends
My new release, Loose Ends, delves deeper into Sharon’s story, the highly-driven PA with hidden musical talents.
Sharon's arrival in LA to organize her bosses wedding to rapper beau Spade has, Spade’s side-kick, Raymond Park’s troubled. She’s the one woman who’s fast becoming much more than just a foreign distraction. Sharon’s got Ray all hot and bothered in ways even he is struggling to cope with, let alone understand!
Hope you enjoy this teaser excerpt from Loose Ends:
“Ray’s jaw clenched, unwilling to admit the blatantly obvious. Whatever was happening between him and Sharon, it didn’t feel like something he could control.
Both women seemed blissfully oblivious to his presence, and that suited him just fine. At least, reading her body language from a distance went without complication and awkwardness. Ray liked watching her, if not more than liked. He knew it was stronger than all that, but he was unwilling to process the uncontrollable force of whatever it was that he was feeling. It felt like too much of a tall order. All he had managed to get his head around so far was that whatever he was feeling, it was heavy and strong…
Ray noticed everything about her. The way she laughed, always with that genuine smile. Or folded her graceful fingers through her hair, in that characteristically Sharon kind of way, scraping her teeth seductively over her lower lip whenever she was concentrating on something serious. He knew it sounded foolish, but he found it too sexy for words. She was driving him crazy with desire, and he hadn't even started analyzing the kiss yet, the pillowy feel of her lips, the expressive beautiful honey-brown color of her eyes, intense and wide, that could see right through him…” (©Loose Ends, L.S. Bergman)
Sharon's arrival in LA to organize her bosses wedding to rapper beau Spade has, Spade’s side-kick, Raymond Park’s troubled. She’s the one woman who’s fast becoming much more than just a foreign distraction. Sharon’s got Ray all hot and bothered in ways even he is struggling to cope with, let alone understand!
Hope you enjoy this teaser excerpt from Loose Ends:
“Ray’s jaw clenched, unwilling to admit the blatantly obvious. Whatever was happening between him and Sharon, it didn’t feel like something he could control.
Both women seemed blissfully oblivious to his presence, and that suited him just fine. At least, reading her body language from a distance went without complication and awkwardness. Ray liked watching her, if not more than liked. He knew it was stronger than all that, but he was unwilling to process the uncontrollable force of whatever it was that he was feeling. It felt like too much of a tall order. All he had managed to get his head around so far was that whatever he was feeling, it was heavy and strong…
Ray noticed everything about her. The way she laughed, always with that genuine smile. Or folded her graceful fingers through her hair, in that characteristically Sharon kind of way, scraping her teeth seductively over her lower lip whenever she was concentrating on something serious. He knew it sounded foolish, but he found it too sexy for words. She was driving him crazy with desire, and he hadn't even started analyzing the kiss yet, the pillowy feel of her lips, the expressive beautiful honey-brown color of her eyes, intense and wide, that could see right through him…” (©Loose Ends, L.S. Bergman)
December 27, 2015
Loose Ends
Hi everyone!
So, I just released Loose Ends, very excited about it and I hope that you'll enjoy it. I'm currently working on Evon's story, as something compelled me to tell it! You know how it is, a labor of love, all of it. I'll be putting up a couple of sample quotes from Loose Ends in the coming weeks:
"Ray liked watching Sharon, if not more than liked. He knew it was stronger than that, but he was unwilling to process the uncontrollable force of whatever it was that he was feeling. It was too much of a tall order. All that he had managed to get his head around so far was that whatever he was feeling, it was heavy and strong."
Loose Ends, by L.S. Bergman
So, I just released Loose Ends, very excited about it and I hope that you'll enjoy it. I'm currently working on Evon's story, as something compelled me to tell it! You know how it is, a labor of love, all of it. I'll be putting up a couple of sample quotes from Loose Ends in the coming weeks:
"Ray liked watching Sharon, if not more than liked. He knew it was stronger than that, but he was unwilling to process the uncontrollable force of whatever it was that he was feeling. It was too much of a tall order. All that he had managed to get his head around so far was that whatever he was feeling, it was heavy and strong."
Loose Ends, by L.S. Bergman
