The print copy of SEAL OF MY DREAMS is now shipping from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The digital (ebook) version will be available on November 11th, Veterans Day. This is a charity anthology where all of the proceeds benefit the Veterans Medical Research Foundation. Here’s a pretty awesome book trailer for the anthology:
In honor of Halloween, today’s topic is scary/thrilling. I decided use an excerpt from my latest Intrigue, THE BIG GUNS. It’s not spooky, but the book is a thriller so I think it fits.
Here’s the start of the scene:
“Don’t you dare give me over to this guy. I will hunt you down and…” Something. She’d do something violent if Zach abandoned her now. Her hands clutched at his shirt. She’d pull out every one of his chest hairs and then start with his skin to make her point.
When he stared at her with cold eyes, a bolt of fear crashed through her. Then she heard it. A whisper so low she thought she slipped into a dream. “Trust me.”
Trust me? At Zach’s toneless murmur she wanted to run, to scream for help. To do all the things that would seal her death.
Before she could argue, he set her to the side, steadying her with one hand. He made one last command, this one in a much stronger and louder voice for Johnnie to hear. “Stay. I’m not chasing you around the woods again, woman.”
“That’s right,” Johnnie said.
Zach turned back to Johnnie. “Okay, my arms are free. No weapons. No bullets. You want to see who’s in charge of the lady now?”
Johnnie nodded in Zach’s general direction. “Where’s your gun?”
“Lost it.”
She hoped that wasn’t true. Counted on it being a lie meant to throw the attacker off.
Johnnie’s gaze clouded. “No way, man.”
“If I have a weapon it would be aimed at you right now.”
“I’ve seen you fight with fists. That was bad enough.” Johnnie looked from her to Zach and back again. Sweat
formed in the dirty creases on his forehead as desperation sparked behind his cold eyes.
“Thought you wanted to battle man-to-man,” Zach said.
I have three books coming out at the end of this year. Yes, three in two months. All three are now up for pre-order, so go reserve your copies. The books have one thing in common – they are all part of a anthology. That’s pretty much where the similarities end.
First up is SEAL OF MY DREAMS, an anthology of shorts about Navy SEALs. This is a charity anthology where all proceeds go to charity. My story is about an attack at an ambassador residence in the made-up country of Erites. The heroine is in the foreign service and is there to assist in the set-up of a new embassy. The hero is the SEAL who comes to the rescue when the bullets start to fly. It’s short but the romance makes me smile and LCDR Hal Robertson is pure hero.
This is a short of about 8500 words. I’m super excited about it because all of the charity aspect and because of the list of authors included in the anthology. It is an honor to be a part of this book.
The next book is my holiday novella, IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU, in the HOLIDAY KISSES anthology. You can buy this one as the anthology with stories from me, Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton and Alison Kent or as a solo novella. It’s a reuntied-lovers story. These two have been a couple for years, broken up, and are now trying to find their way back to each other again. The hero, Austin Thomas, is what I call adorably clueless. If you like holiday romances, this one is for you. Trees! Snow! Bundling in thick jackets!
I’m thrilled to be in this anthology with these authors. I also love writing novellas. This one is 28,000 words.
The third release is my short JUST SAY YES in the AGONY/ECSTASY anthology. Jane at Dear Author put this book together. This one is NOT about Christmas. It’s a bit naughty and very sexy. It’s a workplace romance and I love workplace romances. They are a bit hard to write, what with issues like sexual harassment and such, but I love this short. I was thrilled to be chosen for this anthology and am excited to read all the stories. I’m not going to say much about it because there’s a bit of a twist, but this hero is yummy.
This is definitely a short, but I think it packs a lot of punch into 6,000 words. Again, very sexy.
I have covers for my December 5th holiday release from Carina Press. The first is for my individual novella, IT’S NOT CHRISTMAS WITHOUT YOU:
Carrie Anders officially broke up with Austin Thomas when she accepted a dream job in the city. Unofficially, she misses him and is tempted to sneak back to her West Virginia hometown to see him. That’s why this year, she’s not going home for the holidays. Her heart can’t take any more mornings-after where nothing has changed—and Austin has made it clear he’s not interested in relocating.
Austin’s been waiting for Carrie to realize she can’t live without him. But when he hears she’s not coming home for Christmas, he decides to take action. If Carrie won’t come to the country, he’s going to bring a piece of the country to Carrie—in the form of a Christmas tree lot just minutes from her apartment. He’s certain daily meetings will entice her to come home with him, this time for good.
Their attraction is as hot as ever, but with such contrary Christmas wishes, can either of them get what they really want this year?
The second is the anthology cover:
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Love!
A man gives the gift of trust and receives a second chance at love in return. A woman helps to heal the wounded heart of a soldier. A couple finds that true love knows no distance. And a young widow learns that there can be two great loves in a lifetime. Love, romance and passion come together in this collection of four seasonal shorts.
Anthology includes:
This Time Next Year by Alison Kent
A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton
It’s Not Christmas Without You by HelenKay Dimon
Mistletoe and Margaritas by Shannon Stacey
I’m currently teaching an online class about characterization. The exact title has to do with building realistic and believable characters. I realized when putting together my lectures that I have a pretty obvious pet peeve in romance novels. It has to do with the hero. Basically, I get all grumbly when the hero’s sole internal conflict centers on him being anti-commitment. I’ve posted three lectures and mentioned this pet peeve in every one. And just wait until we get to the in-depth talk on the hero.
I view the commitment issue as the easy way out and one that’s not all that compelling. Not putting down any author or author choice here, just stating my view. I need something more. Sure, I’ve had talk of commitment in my books before, but I’ve tried very hard not to have the traditional anti-commitment hero. I just think so many times anti-commitment becomes a shortcut for what keeps the parties from getting together. Like, the main conflict – that tension preventing the characters from just declaring their real feelings immediately – is the hero’s “I never want to get married” thing.
Many times the hero is said to feel this way and there’s no real basis for the anti-commitment bias. Then there’s the part with this same hero has no problem commiting to a job or emotionally commiting to good friends or relatives. Yeah, that’s a different kind of relationship, but the point is the hero can make connections when he wants to. So then I’m supposed to believe he can connect with people except the heroine? I tend not to buy it. I want something more. If the hero shuns commitment, I want a good reason and need the conflict to go deeper.
Clearly I have decided to spread the word on this anti-commitment issue, and now I have.
If you’ve looked at my Events page you know I teach courses at MiraCosta College and UC San Diego extension campus. Starting next week, I’m also teaching an online workshop. In case you’re interested, here’s the press release:
Course description
Characters are the center of your story. They drive your plot and keep readers coming back. Whether you are writing about a Scottish Laird, a small-town sheriff or a centuries-old vampire, your characters need to be complex, believable and compelling. In this class you will learn how to build characters, layer by layer, until they are unforgettable.
Today’s topic is gift. That could really mean almost anything. I decided to go a little more literal and use my Christmas novella, It’s Not Christmas Without You in the HOLIDAY KISSES anthology. It comes out December 6th from Carina Press. I don’t have a cover or link yet, but soon…
Something or someone thumped against her front door early the next morning. At the sound, Carrie jumped and a black smudge of mascara slashed across her cheek.
“What the hell?” A glance at the small clock on her bathroom counter told her it wasn’t seven yet.
After barely sleeping and hours of trying to kick the image of Austin’s ridiculously handsome face out of her head, she’d showered and gotten as far as drying her hair and throwing on a robe before the thud. Thanks to the scare, the make-up application was a bust and would need a second attempt.
But first, the door. She wiped off the smear and dropped the tube into the sink. Stepping into the entry, she cursed under her breath and generally worked her nerves into a full-blown fury as she went. There were twenty apartments on her floor and if someone had wandered to the wrong door she’d scream. She glanced through the peephole and her planned unreasonable explode-on-a-stranger rage fizzled. A whirring mix of anxiety and unwanted hope spun around in her belly. The sound of whistling hit her a second later.
I don’t have the cover for my Christmas anthology, HOLIDAY KISSESfrom Carina Press (December 6th release), but I do have the back cover copy. How this works is Carina releases the four contemporary holiday novellas two ways. You can buy each novella individually or you can buy them together in an anthology for a discounted price. That means I’ll have two covers – one for the anthology and one for my novella – and two sets of cover copy. Here’s the copy for my novella, It’s Not Christmas Without You:
Carrie Anders officially broke up with Austin Thomas when she accepted a dream job in the city. Unofficially, she misses him and is tempted to sneak back to her West Virginia hometown to see him. That’s why this year, she’s not going home for the holidays. Her heart can’t take any more mornings-after where nothing has changed—and Austin has made it clear he’s not interested in relocating.
Austin’s been waiting for Carrie to realize she can’t live without him. But when he hears she’s not coming home for Christmas, he decides to take action. If Carrie won’t come to the country, he’s going to bring a piece of the country to Carrie—in the form of a Christmas tree lot just minutes from her apartment. He’s certain daily meetings will entice her to come home with him, this time for good.
Their attraction is as hot as ever, but with such contrary Christmas wishes, can either of them get what they really want this year?
Here’s the copy for the anthology:
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Love!
A man gives the gift of trust and receives a second chance at love in return. A woman helps to heal the wounded heart of a soldier. A couple finds that true love knows no distance. And a young widow learns that there can be two great loves in a lifetime. Love, romance and passion come together in this collection of four seasonal shorts.
Anthology includes:
This Time Next Year by Alison Kent
A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton
It’s Not Christmas Without You by HelenKay Dimon
Mistletoe and Margaritas by Shannon Stacey
Stories also available for purchase separately.
I am so excited about this anthology. I’ve known my fellow authors – Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton and Allison Kent – since I started writing. They are amazing writers and great people. I am truly humbled to be included in a book with them.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m part of this awesome anthology called SEAL Of My Dreams. This is a charity anthology, meaning all of the proceeds benefit a cause. In this case, the Veterans Research Corp. The website is live, so check it out HERE. My story is called Finding Home and here’s an unedited excerpt:
Megan slipped her shoulder out of her hiding place and peered around the desk. The door to the office remained close but the shouting had stopped. She couldn’t even hear a low rumble of voices, which touched off a free-fall in her stomach.
She cleared the throat, trying to fight off the cough tickling her. Smoke choked the room now. A steady stream of gray haze moved through the one-story building from outside. That meant there was an open window somewhere and either a huge lapse in protocol or a situation too horrible to contemplate.
She shifted to her knees, ignoring the hard shaking that moved her body from side to side. She’d keep low, crawl then run. She repeated the plan until it was the only thought running through her mind.
“Don’t stop.” She mouthed the words, surprised when they escaped her lips.
She tried to get a foot under her when something moved in front of her. A face peeked around the doorway connecting the area to the hallway running to the back door and kitchen. A scream raced up her throat but she stopped it in time when the figure put a finger to his lips. Black pants, black long-sleeve tee, black hair. The man almost blended into the dark wall, which she guessed was the point.
Even from across the room, a good fifteen feet away, she could make out his shocking blue eyes. The black watch and razor short haircut shouted military but she’d met every Marine protecting the Ambassador on this mission and he wasn’t one of them. She’d remember that face, lean with a strong chin and a serious frown that comforted rather than scared her.
Ducking low, he ran in a line straight for her. Crouched and soundless. Focused and determined. He reached her before she could lift her hands to fend him off. Then he balanced in front of her, right at the small opening under the desk. “Lieutenant Commander Hal Robertson, United States Navy.”
Relief raced through her, zapping every ounce of strength as it went. “You’re a SEAL.”
It wasn’t a question because she knew. The steely determination, the visible lack of fear. He walked into a disaster, his gaze constantly surveying as if he were analyzing and dissecting every move and every exit.
“Yes, ma’am.” He lowered his weapon as he stared straight into her eyes. “You are?”
“Megan White.” She held out her hand.
He folded her cold fingers in his palms, heating them with a gentle rub. “Are you hurt, Megan White?”
“Scared witless.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Then let’s get you out of here.”
The anthology comes out Veterans Day, November 11th.
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The third release is my short JUST SAY YES in the 
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