Countdown to 2012 contest! Three…

And the countdown continues! Yesterday's winner was…Lisa Anderson! 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).

Three…

Southern Comfort  – the release of this book freaked me out. As y'all know, Jayne wrote Northern Exposure. It did really, really well, so from March to July I got to fret over being the one to ruin the series. It wasn't a comfortable feeling!

I loved Seth. Loved Jody. And I cried when I wrote the JD scenes. Especially the part where Silas and Seth take him to the doctor and they learn what he has. God. Killed me to write. Luckily…Seth and Jody were fun, easy characters and her BFF Paul cracked me up. Paul comes back in Western Ties because I couldn't stand not to have him show up again. Actually…he's the maid of honor for Jody! LOL

Prologue

Seth Compton let his horse run free across the dry earth, enjoying the cloud of dust stirring around them. He and his brothers raced over the mountain ridge, heading to their favorite camping spot. Summer was just kicking in, but given the heat and lack of rain, it promised to be a brutally dry one.

Though the heat and humidity were unusual for Wyoming, they certainly didn't bother him. He loved hard earth and the loud clomping of his horse's hooves as they beat out a tempo that proclaimed his freedom. He was connected to the land, to the animals, to the fresh mountain air and even the unusually brutal sun. All of it made him feel alive and he whooped, grinning at his brothers.

The ride to the campsite went a long way to easing the ache in his chest that had started at dinner, when his older brother, Silas, broke the news he was moving away. It had shocked Seth, stunned him. Silas was the most like their pop, JD, and he was the one brother Seth never thought would leave the ranch. He figured like every ancestor who'd come before them, Silas would lay down deep, solid roots in Compton Pass. He belonged to this place, to their home, and Seth simply couldn't imagine living here without him.

While Silas was made for Compass Ranch, Seth knew his greener pastures lay elsewhere. He longed to leave, to head south and work in Texas. While attending a livestock show with his pop a few months ago, he'd met Thomas Kirkland. Kirkland lived outside San Antonio and owned one of the biggest working ranches in the state. Seth had spent most of one afternoon picking Thomas's brain about the workings on a real Texas ranch. He must have impressed the man because Thomas had sent him a letter last week, inviting him to come down after graduation to work for him. Seth kept the offer a secret from his pop and brothers. He wasn't sure why, but the time to tell them his plans had never felt right.

The setting sun drew patterns on the ground, and Seth let the images wander through his mind. Some people looked for pictures in the clouds, but Seth found them on the earth. The shadows of the trees as they neared the mountain ridge looked like an army of soldiers, standing at attention, all waiting for his command. His destiny was at hand. He could feel it. One more year of damn high school and then he would be free.

He looked back at Silas once more, worried about the deep lines carved in his brother's face. Something had happened. Seth could sense it deep in his soul, but he knew his brother. Silas would never tell him why he was really leaving. Glancing forward, he watched the backs of the twins as they rode side by side, always together. Unlike most identical twins, there was no mistaking who was Sam and who was Sawyer. The two were as alike as mud and soap. Sawyer possessed a recklessness that didn't seem to reside in the refined Sam.

Southern Comfort is available at Samhain, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and All Romance Ebooks.

Well, I have a feeling my EC editor is ready to string me up over this darn Cocktales series! I pitched it right after I finished the Wild Irish series because I knew, knew, knew I wanted to do another series. She accepted it AND (much to my surprise and delight) she contracted all four on proposal. That was pretty damn cool of her. I'd started Inflamed, so I finished that first. Then we'd (my editor and I) discussed me rewriting Three Reasons Why at RT, so I did that. Then Heat Wave sparked the Black Jack idea! Finally I managed to write Party Naked. Yay. BUT…then I wanted to write Wild Irish Christmas. AND Travis from White Knight wouldn't shut the hell up.

I suspect my editor's starting to worry about me ever getting this series finished! I've sworn to her (and I've started) the second book, Screwdriver. Hoping to put a dent in it over the holidays and have it to her some time in January. Pray for me. LOL.

Chapter One

 

"Goddamn, motherfucker, son of a bitch on a cheese cracker!" Stephanie Harper looked at the mass destruction around her feet and felt the overwhelming desire to smash every bottle in the damn bar.

"What was that?" Her best friend Jayne's head popped up from where she was bent over, stocking new-release books on the shelf.

"Just me redecorating the bar area with broken glass." Her tone betrayed the fact she was finding no humor in her clumsiness.

"Trip on the mat again?" Jayne's question—laced with a giggle—told Stephanie her friend was finding humor in the situation.

"Yes, Miss Unhelpful. I tripped on the motherfucking mat again."

"Uh oh. Two MFs in under a minute. You really are having a bad day."

Stephanie took a deep breath and tried to take stock of the damage. "You can say that again. I just broke two bottles of vodka, one of Jack and a brand new Beefeater."

Jayne approached the bar, crawling on a stool to peer over at the mess Stephanie had made. "What's Beefeater again?"

"Gin. Jesus, Jayne. You've worked in this bar nearly two years now. You'd think you'd pick up some of this stuff."

Jayne shook her head, plopping her ass down. "I work in the bookstore. You work in the bar. And I don't like alcohol."

Stephanie shook her head in mock disbelief, though Jayne's distaste for the strong stuff was a well-known flaw in her friend's character. "Yeah, well, you don't know what you're missing. Nothing like a splash of Beefeater with Sprite and a twist of lime in the summertime. Very refreshing."

"Lemonade serves the same purpose. I take it the gin was important."

Party Naked is available at Ellora's Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and All Romance Ebooks.

Southern Comfort is a well known liquor, while Party Naked is the name of a cocktail. What's your favorite drink and what will be in your glass as you ring in the new year?