Through the course of my writing and publishing journey, ...
Through the course of my writing and publishing journey, I have had the honor of making some great friends, of turning idols into friends and basically being able to surround myself with people who really are amazing!
Katie Mettner is one of those people that gets my humor, is quick to laugh, LOVES COFFEE as much as I do, is a ballroom dancer, a mother, um...let's see...what else??? OH YEAH----is an awesome writer!
With the release of her second book coming quickly - NOVEBER 9, 2012 - Sugar's Song -- I thought I'd give you a peek at the first book in that series... So in honor of Katie, grab a cup of coffee, and sit back and relax!
Love you girlie and thanks to everyone for your continued support!
Hugs,
A
I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and moved to the Northwoods as a young adult where I now reside with my husband and three children. My love affair with Lake Superior began when I met my husband, Dwayne, and he drove me across the bridge one snowy November day with my nose pressed up against the glass. It was in that moment the scene was set for my breakout novel!
As a young adult I enjoyed ballroom dancing and spent many hours on the dance floor and like Sugar I didn’t let my physical limitations hold me back very long. I’m happy to report that I’m back on the dance floor again! My stories are a reflection of my love for family intricately woven with life experience. When the gales of November blow early you can find me at the computer with a cup of joe, listening to Michael Bublé and working on Sugar's next adventure....
Excerpt:
Will the events of one snowy November night haunt her forever?
Grab a cup of joe and meet Tula DuBois, Sugar to everyone who loves her, an accomplished ballroom dance instructor living in the Twin Ports of Lake Superior. From the outside Sugar appears to have it all, a successful business and a wonderful family, but behind closed doors Sugar’s emotional walls are crumbling as the events of one snowy November night ten years ago fill her nights with terror. As she struggles to keep her sanity from slipping away she is taunted by the never-ending mantra of why. Why is she still here? Why was she spared?
When Drug Task Force Agent Donovan Walsh arrives in Duluth, Minnesota, there is no doubt in his mind that it’s the tip of the end of the world and he prays that his assignment will be short so he can escape back home to sunny, warm Texas. That is until he meets his latest protected witness, Sugar. His job is simple -- protect her from a madman determined to engage her in a dangerous tango. All it takes is one dance across the floor and Agent Walsh quickly discovers there is nothing simple about Sugar.
As the gales of November blow early, Van finds himself drawn to Sugar as he leads her through a tender dance of grief and guilt. The sadness in her eyes when she thinks no one is looking compels him to help her rediscover her love for dancing and the reasons why she was left behind.
As one storm eases another intensifies and Sugar is pulled back into a high stakes promenade with a psychopath hellbent on destroying her family and her town. Sugar must summon her strength and give the performance of a lifetime as she becomes an unwilling partner in a treacherous dance of drugs, kidnapping and family betrayal. It’s a dance where one misstep could leave her fighting for her life!
As winter descends upon Lake Superior, Sugar will waltz through the darkness to find faith, hope, and the greatest of these, love….
I had the music on low so that I didn’t disturb Van. He had been up early because of me and I wanted him to sleep. He was going to be spending the morning outside tomorrow and I could hear the wind blowing against the window and knew that the storm was rolling in over us like a blanket, but not one that would keep us warm. Hiding under the covers until Sunday seemed like it would be easier all the way around as I stood staring at myself in the mirror. My clothes looked too big on my frame and I knew I had lost too much weight already. I stood on the floor as Hootie sang “Only Want to Be With You” and I leaned up against the mirror with my forehead pressed against the cool metal and the song took me back to that first ride with my dad in the Mustang. We had the windows down and the radio up as we floated down I-35 and we sang at the top of our lungs. My dad loved Hootie and the Blowfish. He would have loved the fact that Hootie was now a single recording artist. “I only wanna be with you. Yeah I’m tangled up and blue, I only wanna be with you.” It took me more than a second to discern it wasn’t Hootie singing. I opened my eyes and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was standing behind me in a ripped up pair of jeans that he had thrown on over his boxers, which hung out between the rips in his jeans and a long sleeved shirt that said “Guinness, don’t be afraid of the dark”. I kept watch in the mirror not turning around hoping that if I didn’t acknowledge him maybe he would go back to bed and leave me to my memories.“Hey there, fancy meeting you here. Is this the new nightly routine?” he asked lightly. I shook my head no and didn’t turn.“Tula, why aren’t you in bed?” he took a few steps forward until he was nearly plastered up against me and reached out with his hand laying it on my shoulder.“I’m not tired.” I said, the words sounding slurred.I heard him give a snort like laugh, “Sure and I’m not thinking about kissing you right now.” I whipped my head around and he was laughing at me, “See I knew I could make you look at me.” And the funny thing was I think he wasn’t lying about the kissing part or maybe it was me that was thinking about the kissing part. His hair was curled around his ears and his eyes were soft and I was thinking about that kiss on the pier. Stop it, stop it, stop it, Sugar. Edwin McCain opened up into “I’ll Be” and he pulled me in, turning me into the first steps of a Viennese waltz. My body responded immediately to the music and I felt the breeze blowing across my face as we waltzed. I was floating around the floor my eyes closed as he led me through turns, not talking, just dancing, flowing and moving like two flowers in the wind. I tuned out all the thoughts about how bad of an idea it was to depend on him this much and enjoyed being led through a dance that made me love life. It was a dance that let me forget about the nightmares and the pain that was my life right now. The dance floor was what made me smile when nothing else could by releasing the weight of life from my shoulders. There was something here that gave my soul a break from the demons. A break from having to be something I couldn’t figure out how to be and simply be who I was. I was a dancer and I was dancing with someone who loved being here as much as I did. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to love how it felt in his arms as he danced me around the floor and I knew it wasn’t a good idea to like him as much as I did, but each turn he led me through and each time he pulled me to him to dance me across the floor was filling my tank up for what I had to face over the next few days. “I’ll be your crying shoulder. I’ll be love suicide. I’ll be better when I’m older. I’ll be the greatest fan of your life.” he sang to the music softly pulling me to him as the saxophone began its plaintive cries at the end of the song and turned me around in a circle held tight to him.“Why are you here?” I asked breathlessly.“Because I want to be.” And then his lips were on mine and he was finishing the kiss from the lighthouse and I was reluctantly responding.
Katie Mettner is one of those people that gets my humor, is quick to laugh, LOVES COFFEE as much as I do, is a ballroom dancer, a mother, um...let's see...what else??? OH YEAH----is an awesome writer!
With the release of her second book coming quickly - NOVEBER 9, 2012 - Sugar's Song -- I thought I'd give you a peek at the first book in that series... So in honor of Katie, grab a cup of coffee, and sit back and relax!
Love you girlie and thanks to everyone for your continued support!
Hugs,
A
I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and moved to the Northwoods as a young adult where I now reside with my husband and three children. My love affair with Lake Superior began when I met my husband, Dwayne, and he drove me across the bridge one snowy November day with my nose pressed up against the glass. It was in that moment the scene was set for my breakout novel!
As a young adult I enjoyed ballroom dancing and spent many hours on the dance floor and like Sugar I didn’t let my physical limitations hold me back very long. I’m happy to report that I’m back on the dance floor again! My stories are a reflection of my love for family intricately woven with life experience. When the gales of November blow early you can find me at the computer with a cup of joe, listening to Michael Bublé and working on Sugar's next adventure....
Excerpt:
Will the events of one snowy November night haunt her forever?
Grab a cup of joe and meet Tula DuBois, Sugar to everyone who loves her, an accomplished ballroom dance instructor living in the Twin Ports of Lake Superior. From the outside Sugar appears to have it all, a successful business and a wonderful family, but behind closed doors Sugar’s emotional walls are crumbling as the events of one snowy November night ten years ago fill her nights with terror. As she struggles to keep her sanity from slipping away she is taunted by the never-ending mantra of why. Why is she still here? Why was she spared?
When Drug Task Force Agent Donovan Walsh arrives in Duluth, Minnesota, there is no doubt in his mind that it’s the tip of the end of the world and he prays that his assignment will be short so he can escape back home to sunny, warm Texas. That is until he meets his latest protected witness, Sugar. His job is simple -- protect her from a madman determined to engage her in a dangerous tango. All it takes is one dance across the floor and Agent Walsh quickly discovers there is nothing simple about Sugar.
As the gales of November blow early, Van finds himself drawn to Sugar as he leads her through a tender dance of grief and guilt. The sadness in her eyes when she thinks no one is looking compels him to help her rediscover her love for dancing and the reasons why she was left behind.
As one storm eases another intensifies and Sugar is pulled back into a high stakes promenade with a psychopath hellbent on destroying her family and her town. Sugar must summon her strength and give the performance of a lifetime as she becomes an unwilling partner in a treacherous dance of drugs, kidnapping and family betrayal. It’s a dance where one misstep could leave her fighting for her life!
As winter descends upon Lake Superior, Sugar will waltz through the darkness to find faith, hope, and the greatest of these, love….
I had the music on low so that I didn’t disturb Van. He had been up early because of me and I wanted him to sleep. He was going to be spending the morning outside tomorrow and I could hear the wind blowing against the window and knew that the storm was rolling in over us like a blanket, but not one that would keep us warm. Hiding under the covers until Sunday seemed like it would be easier all the way around as I stood staring at myself in the mirror. My clothes looked too big on my frame and I knew I had lost too much weight already. I stood on the floor as Hootie sang “Only Want to Be With You” and I leaned up against the mirror with my forehead pressed against the cool metal and the song took me back to that first ride with my dad in the Mustang. We had the windows down and the radio up as we floated down I-35 and we sang at the top of our lungs. My dad loved Hootie and the Blowfish. He would have loved the fact that Hootie was now a single recording artist. “I only wanna be with you. Yeah I’m tangled up and blue, I only wanna be with you.” It took me more than a second to discern it wasn’t Hootie singing. I opened my eyes and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was standing behind me in a ripped up pair of jeans that he had thrown on over his boxers, which hung out between the rips in his jeans and a long sleeved shirt that said “Guinness, don’t be afraid of the dark”. I kept watch in the mirror not turning around hoping that if I didn’t acknowledge him maybe he would go back to bed and leave me to my memories.“Hey there, fancy meeting you here. Is this the new nightly routine?” he asked lightly. I shook my head no and didn’t turn.“Tula, why aren’t you in bed?” he took a few steps forward until he was nearly plastered up against me and reached out with his hand laying it on my shoulder.“I’m not tired.” I said, the words sounding slurred.I heard him give a snort like laugh, “Sure and I’m not thinking about kissing you right now.” I whipped my head around and he was laughing at me, “See I knew I could make you look at me.” And the funny thing was I think he wasn’t lying about the kissing part or maybe it was me that was thinking about the kissing part. His hair was curled around his ears and his eyes were soft and I was thinking about that kiss on the pier. Stop it, stop it, stop it, Sugar. Edwin McCain opened up into “I’ll Be” and he pulled me in, turning me into the first steps of a Viennese waltz. My body responded immediately to the music and I felt the breeze blowing across my face as we waltzed. I was floating around the floor my eyes closed as he led me through turns, not talking, just dancing, flowing and moving like two flowers in the wind. I tuned out all the thoughts about how bad of an idea it was to depend on him this much and enjoyed being led through a dance that made me love life. It was a dance that let me forget about the nightmares and the pain that was my life right now. The dance floor was what made me smile when nothing else could by releasing the weight of life from my shoulders. There was something here that gave my soul a break from the demons. A break from having to be something I couldn’t figure out how to be and simply be who I was. I was a dancer and I was dancing with someone who loved being here as much as I did. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to love how it felt in his arms as he danced me around the floor and I knew it wasn’t a good idea to like him as much as I did, but each turn he led me through and each time he pulled me to him to dance me across the floor was filling my tank up for what I had to face over the next few days. “I’ll be your crying shoulder. I’ll be love suicide. I’ll be better when I’m older. I’ll be the greatest fan of your life.” he sang to the music softly pulling me to him as the saxophone began its plaintive cries at the end of the song and turned me around in a circle held tight to him.“Why are you here?” I asked breathlessly.“Because I want to be.” And then his lips were on mine and he was finishing the kiss from the lighthouse and I was reluctantly responding.
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