H.K. Rowe's Blog, page 18

Unbridled Excerpt #2

Please enjoy another excerpt from Unbridled…

 

“In moments, he felt her nails dig into his arms as she pulled his hands away from covering his face. He looked at her, piercing into her vehement eyes with his own. She was enraged, her brow furrowed and her lips curled in disgust.

“You mean little punk! How dare you say that about my father! He’s done everything for you and your pathetic family. He doesn’t even compare to the lives of your parents! Now show him your respect!”

She didn’t need to threaten him; it was just instinct. He knew what she could do if he didn’t obey her. And all he could do was listen to her. He wouldn’t even allow himself to show emotion for what she said about his parents, and he knew that they were better off dead than knowing the mess he had gotten into with her. As much as it pained him to think like that, he felt it was true.

He relaxed under her grip as she held his arms above his head. His face softened to a listless expression. He saw Staisha relax as he stared at her with his own submission.

He said in husky tones, “I apologize, Staisha.”

She frowned, and her angry disposition faded with her strength around his wrists. His voice could sometimes do that to her, no matter how angry she became. Though if he ever brought up her mother, it would take more than that to subdue her. She fell over his chest and lied on top of him, stroking his skin on his arms lovingly.”

Thanks,

H.K. Rowe

Memorial Day

The proof copies for Unbridled have been ordered and they are on my way to my house. Create Space recommended I look at a physical copy before selling, and I agree. I bought the maximum number they allow for proofs too.

I should be getting them next week some time. I hope sooner than that, but I understand they have to print them. :)

I hope everyone had a good relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Bless you all.

Marketing for the book continues, and then next up is working on some of my WIPs and drafting “Killer Orange”. I’ll probably peruse through my kindle app to read some indie books while I’m at it, as well as catch up with my poor overflowing DVR shows. :)

Cheers,

H.K. Rowe

Writing Helpers

I hope everyone enjoyed the excerpt from Unbridled yesterday!

It’s a quiet Sunday morning and I’m about to get ready to go pick up my client for lunch and do her community and personal goals for the day. I usually hang out with her on Saturday but she had a wedding yesterday so we’re getting together today.

helpers

Before that, I’m enjoying my coffee while I preview my print version of my book that will be released through Create Space. Of course, I wasn’t happy with how the cover looked, so I edited in Photoshop and re-uploaded it. I have to wait all over again for the review process to finalize. I guess it’s better than looking at a cover all the time of my own story that bugs me!

In the picture above are my helpers, Malachy and Whiskey. Whiskey is purebred beagle and Malachy is a beagle/schnauzer mix. Other than my husband, they are the loves of my life. They have been with me through some tough times. Beagles are sweet, loving dogs, but they are also very stubborn and food-crazy, which I guess makes life interesting.

I hope everyone has a great day. It’s already beautiful out here in the ‘burbs of Chicago. Sunny and a clear day with beautiful temps. I’m looking forward to enjoying it!

I’ll be posting the print links to Unbridled soon!

Cheers,

H.K. Rowe

 

Unbrided Excerpt #1

Sharing some excerpts from my book “Unbridled”. I hope you like this first one. This is basically one of the first scenes that popped into my head that gave form to the rest of the story.

Unbridled

by H.K. Rowe

Available Now

Ethan clenched his jaw in annoyance. Apparently, he was trying to be serious when she wasn’t taking his anger to heart. Elekta didn’t want to be serious; she was still too scared.

“No, it’s not,” Ethan said. But he said nothing. Elekta regarded him curiously.

“Why don’t you come into the pool then, Ethan? If it’s going to be a longer chat.”

He sighed in defeat. “Is that the only way you’re going to listen to me?”

Elekta nodded slowly. “Besides, it should cool you off.” She locked eyes with him, her expression intense. “We both had a bad night.”

Her confidence wavered though when Ethan began undressing himself at the edge of the pool, standing before her in nothing but his underwear. She eyed him hungrily, with his taut, youthful muscles, his darkened flesh, and his skin still glistening from sweat. She tried to avoid looking below his stomach, but could not resist. He was wearing tightly fitted black briefs after all. 

And suddenly, with his feet first, he jumped into the pool with her. She swam around him, but was suddenly surprised as he came up close to her and grabbed onto her arms. He pushed her flush against the adjacent edge. Ethan’s head surfaced and he was glowering at her, yet there was something else plaguing his troubled eyes.

“They almost killed you tonight,” he said, his voice an angry whisper. “I can’t believe how stupid you were.”

“I know, Ethan,” she said softly. She shifted in his grasp, and she felt him rub against her body under the water. She lifted her head and stared at him. “I know. I shouldn’t have followed you and Howin. I didn’t know that you’d be in such danger.”

“But why, Elekta? Why are you following me? Why do you even care? Haven’t I rejected you enough? When will you get the hint?” he asked bitingly at her, and his grip on her arms tightened. Elekta winced, and she knew she’d have bruises there tomorrow.

“I’m… I’m sorry, but I can’t stop,” she whined. “I had to know where you work. I wanted to find out more about you because…” She stopped. Could she really tell him her grand plan? She was afraid how he’d take it. She was sure, given Ethan’s personality, he would get angry at the idea of a silly girl wanting to save him.

“Because what, Elekta?” He shook her in the water. “Tell me!”

“Because I want to save you!” she yelled out, sobbing. Her head fell down against his chest as she cried. Ethan froze, stunned from her words. She slowly lifted her head to him, cupping his jaw in her hands. “I don’t know how, but I’m in love with you. I’ve felt your suffering since day one. Something wasn’t right, and I knew you were cursed. I also knew it had to be me that would help you.” She pleaded with him as he started to back away.

She grabbed his face. “Listen, Ethan Carpenter, you give me purpose. I’m nobody here. I’m stuck in this family with parents who barely acknowledge me, and they push me away and drop me into stupid ballet classes and piano lessons so I’ll keep away from them. My mother is an alcoholic and my father doesn’t love his family anymore. He’d rather sit downtown in a cathouse than spend time with his family. If someone annoys him enough, he just throws money at them. No one has ever cared for me, but I can still care for others.”

She paused and smiled at him. “Ethan, I have all this love to give someone, and I want to give it to you because you have none.”

He looked bewildered by her confession, and he dropped his hands from her, backing away from her. He frowned, his eyes glazing over with despair and anger. “I’m sorry, Elekta,” he said. “You can’t save me. My life belongs to someone else.”

Thanks for reading!

H.K. Rowe

Thank You!

I want to first shout out a thank you to my early reviewers of my novel Unbridled: LAB, Ladytuono, and RSO Kent. Thank you for your honesty and feedback. I appreciate it beyond anything a blog post could ever say!

It’s the end of the week, and I hope everyone is excited for the Memorial Day weekend. Work ended well as our company president let us out two hours early today. I am Blessed to work for someone that generous and cool.

I was able to do a few errands: go to the bank, buy some potting soil for my poor Spider plant who has grown out of her old pot, and do some laundry. Husband and I had dinner, and I called my mom. All was good. The only thing that was probably disappointing today was that the baby-making journey still continues, but at least I can party a little bit more when I go on vacation in June to see friends in Philadelphia.

Tomorrow the husband and I will finally get to do some more errands we’ve been wanting to do around the house. I still need to unearth my summer clothes now that the Chicago weather has decided to skip Spring this year. I went into my closet today to grab a shirt only to find sweaters. No, I don’t miss the Polar Vortex at all!

Sunday I will see my client for my at home Supported Living Assistant job, and I have to do some research on something we can do. I hope the weather is nice. Monday, Mom comes out for a visit while my husband grills and I’ll make salad and sides. Then Mom and I will enjoy some suburban shopping. I might take her to Savers.

Memorial Day is going to be tough for Mom and I. I miss my dad alot, and I know she misses him a lot too. It’s been hard but he will be sorely remembered even more this weekend.

I intend on drinking a beer for him and having a pork rib, knowing in spirit he would enjoy those things with us too. And I hope my husband and I can give my mom a day where she won’t be lonely. We will have to create new family traditions now that he is gone.

Blessings and Cheers to all.

H.K. Rowe

Unbridled is now on iTunes!

Unbridled is now available on another e-reader platform. You can find Unbridled at iTunes for purchase to read on your iPad, iPad Mini or iPhone. :)

Unbridled on sale now!

I’ll be working on the print copy for release soon, and I hope it will be available next week.

Thanks for the support!

H.K. Rowe

To My Younger Self

It’s been a few days since I released “Unbridled” and though the promotion is not done yet, I have had some time to reflect on how accomplished I feel. I’m soaking in the happiness so to speak.

At one point I felt like I reverted back to my younger self, writing and drawing on the floor as I watched TV with my mom, dog Georgie Girl, and three cats, Misty, Checkers and Butterscotch. I remember writing my stories on lined paper, drawing my own covers, and then binding them with Elmer’s glue like they were a real book you could pick up in a store and read. Or I would do my own graphic novels, tell a story with pictures from one panel to the next. I still have several of these hand made books. Every once in awhile I get them out and look at them. It’s sad how much the pencil has faded, but I love seeing my old handwriting, my old drawings, and the budding mind of a writer.

A couple of days ago, that little girl’s dream came true. My book is out there… selling!

Does it matter that it’s not traditional publishing? Does it matter that it’s not on a bookshelf in my local library? Not really. I give a lot of thanks to the advanced technological world, the ease of self-publishing, and most of all, the existence of fanfiction culture. If if hadn’t been for the latter, I may NEVER have had the mindset to get this far, to have the connections to encourage me and give me tips over the years, nor would I have gained the accessibility. Utilizing social media and forums and blogging over the years makes self-publishing so much more possible.

I am going to soak a little in the happiness of raw accomplishment. It’s only my first book but personally speaking, I never thought I’d get to this point. I’d been beaten and exhausted from terrible past jobs, challenging mental health periods, stress and dealing with a parent who lost his life to cancer. At one point publishing my own work felt like a pipe dream.

I know it’s ONLY self-publishing, but it’s still something very important to me. Plus, I love the hard work already. I love the engagement. I love the possibilities and the control. I’m a Type A personality and I love my schedules, my organization and my control. This is my heaven.

I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I’ve ended my days this past week with a smile on my face.

I treasure that. So does my younger self. She’s over the moon.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

H.K. Rowe

Unbridled is now on Nook

Just a quick post…Unbridled was first released for Amazon Kindle but now it’s also available for the Nook as well as through the Nook app for devices.

Unbridled on sale now!

Please pick up a copy of the book for the Nook HERE! I’ll be adding more links as they become available!

The Next Step

Still riding the excitement of Unbridled‘s release!

But I guess now that the book is out and I’m in full swing adding it to other sites, I need to start thinking about the next releases.

Obviously, I’m committed to releasing the next novel, “Killer Orange” hopefully at the beginning of August. I was thinking in the mean time of releasing too short novellas in June and July to help keep the momentum going.

The only challenge now is what to do! I have a ton of story ideas! Now I have to see which one my muse wants to tackle the most.

:-)

Cheers!

H.K. Rowe

The Day After: Thank You!

Unbridled has been out for less than a day and I thank everyone for spreading the word, purchasing and reading the book.

I want to do a special shout out to Heather who even plugged me on her blog.

Kisses!

Thanks so much!

And don’t forget, Unbridled is available at Amazon right now!

I will update my blog further when other purchasing options become available.

Also please tag it on Goodreads if you intend to read!

Please also sign up for my mailing list at the link on the side!

Thanks!

H.K. Rowe