Countdown to 2012! Five…
And the countdown continues! Yesterday's winner was Katy B. McKee. Remember, comment everyday for a chance to win one of the daily featured books and to have your name thrown in the hat for the grand prize (a $25 GC to Amazon and a signed book from me).
Five…
Northern Exposure is the book that was a major game changer for me. In a lot of ways! It was my first attempt at co-writing a series. Actually–that's not true! LOL. Just remembered. Jambrea Jo Jones and I wrote a book together once (it doesn't exist anywhere online, so don't go looking–hee hee)!
So Northern Exposure was my second attempt at co-writing. The Compass series has made such a huge impact on my career. Thanks to those books I have that beloved extra line on my signature that says New York Times Bestselling Author! Sigh. I love that thing! Writing with Jayne was a wonderful experience. I'm not going to say it was all sunshine and roses and there were more than a few days where I worried about the survival of our friendship, but we persevered and I think we're both stronger for the journey.
Prologue – Northern Exposure.
Dry brush crackled under the hooves of Silas Compton's roan gelding. It hadn't rained in a while. He could tell it would be a long summer by the clouds of terra cotta dust rising in the wake of his brothers' galloping horses as they raced across the mountain ridge.
Not that he'd know it where he was headed. Alaska would provide a total change of scenery. Exactly what he needed. Pain lanced his chest, causing him to tense in his heirloom saddle. Rainey's ears flicked up. Silas patted the loyal animal's neck, settling into the rhythm of their canter, and wondered how he would survive so far from the land that had been a part of him since he'd been born.
Somehow he would have to make it work.
He sure as hell couldn't stay.
Like the three-legged dog they'd had as kids, he would learn to cope without an integral part of himself. If only he and his puppy had reined in their curiosity and avoided those damn traps…
But they hadn't.
Lucy Silver, the veterinarian's sweet daughter—who'd been dancing through his dirty dreams since he'd been old enough to have them—had spotted Silas making out with her boyfriend in the barn. It'd been like the day he'd watched his puppy scramble toward the razor-sharp jaws lying concealed under a pile of straw all over again.
Removing himself from the equation seemed like the only way he could halt imminent disaster and protect the two people he cared about most outside of his family. He'd already destroyed enough of Lucy's innocence.
Christ, he couldn't explain what had driven him to kiss Colby in the first place.
Impulsive. Rash. Reckless.
Qualities Silas didn't value. The one time he gave in to the dark urges he wrestled, he paid a horrible price. But he'd caught Colby checking out his sweaty muscles as they'd worked together in the heat of the day. Desire had arced between them.
Irresistible. Delicious. Forbidden.
Until the agony on Lucy's face had slammed him back to reality. Silas vowed to leave the couple to mend their fences and live in peace, without the threat of his interference ripping them apart. Lucy and Colby devoured each other with desperate gazes when they thought no one paid attention. It didn't take a genius to figure out their love was the real deal.
Northern Exposure is available at Samhain, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Fictionwise, Kobo and All Romance Ebooks.
Inflamed helped me scratch an itch! LOL. I got a taste of writing m/m with Any Given Sunday and decided I wanted more. In Inflamed, my two cowboys were already a couple when Keri crash-landed in their life. I was aiming for another cowboy quickie (as Inflamed is part of the Spitfire/Rekindled trilogy). As always, the wordy bitch in me took over and my quickie turned into a novella. Jeez. Even so…I won an award at Romanticon for this book. The category? Sexiest use of a pool cue in a book. LOLOLOLOLOL. You should have seen my mother's face when I told her what the trophy was for!
Chapter One – Inflamed
"Dammit." Keri Shields climbed out of her rental car, cursing the billows of steam rising from beneath the hood. The car had started sputtering and she'd managed to pull it to the side of the road before it died completely. If she recalled correctly, she was about five miles from her uncle's ranch.
Using her sleeve, she wiped the perspiration from her forehead. No wonder the car had overheated. ThisTexassun was merciless. Bending into the driver's door, she popped the hood then walked to the front of the car. A huge wave of red-hot heat pushed her a few paces away when she opened the hood, and she cursed again.
Reaching into her pocket, she switched on her iPhone. Yep. Still in a dead zone. She'd noticed a few miles back she'd lost service. Not unusual, considering she was in the middle of nowhere. There were only four ranches spanning three hundred miles, and she'd already passed two of them.
Keri turned and stared at the straight stretch of road ahead of her. It could be hours before another car happened along. She was headed for Mockingbird Ranch, her uncle Brody's place. After escaping four years in a disastrous relationship with the world's biggest jackass, she was ready for a change of scenery and a new lease on life.New Yorkhad officially chewed her up and spit her out. Uncle Brody had been begging her to move back for years and she'd finally wised up and accepted the invitation.
His baby sister, her mother, had gotten pregnant in high school. When Keri's teenage father denied his role in her surprise entrance to the world, Uncle Brody—only twenty at the time—had stepped in and become Keri's father in every real sense of the word. She'd missed her uncle terribly, suffering from genuine homesickness lately. He never failed to make her smile, to cheer her up when she was down. And God knew she could use a healthy dose of his optimism these days.
Inflamed is available at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony and All Romance Ebooks.
Today's releases share a cowboy theme, so let's make the comments fun! Who, in your opinion, is/was the hottest cowboy ever?
