SLIDING IN AN EXCERPT

Posted by: Genene Valleau

Current project: Nine-book series

Mood: Productive

I wanted to slide in one more excerpt on the blog; this one from the first chapter of my novella that will be released as part of an anthology in February 2010 by Rogue Phoenix Press. This story is a romantic comedy, which is a departure from my other releases, which have been more dramatic action romances. Hope you enjoy!

            Chapter One

       Ka-boom! The blast shattered the settling peace of dusk as Marissa Madison pulled into the circular drive. Rissa threw open the car door and sprinted toward the gray stone house.

            "Please, no blood this time," she whispered as her feet hit the rough-hewn steps leading up to the broad double doors.

            A bespectacled man stepped through the doorway amid a confetti shower of envelopes and leaflets. His silvery hair stood in startled spikes around a balding pate as if it too had been a victim of the explosion.

            "Too much torque in the mail conveyor," he muttered with a frown.

            "Please turn it off, Uncle Horace!"

            "Right." The old man disappeared back into the house. Within moments, the clanking stopped and silence fell over the rolling hills once again.

            Just another normal day, Rissa thought, as she surveyed the day's mail scattered in gay abandon across the landscape.

            The sullen gray sky rumbled ominously and tossed a few raindrops against her face. Rissa grabbed a check out of the privet hedge, an overdue bill off the bird bath, a shampoo sample from the branches of the azaleas, and a plain brown envelope from the lawn.

            I hope I didn't miss anything important. Rissa scanned the inner courtyard once more. Lightening crackled across the sky, hurrying her steps back to the navy blue sedan to grab her briefcase and a bag of groceries. She closed the heavy wooden door behind her as a gust of wind pushed fat, sloppy raindrops against the mullioned windows.

            Maybe Uncle Horace should invent a mail dryer instead of a mail conveyer. Rissa dropped the soggy mail on a cherry wood table as she stepped out of her shoes.  With the bag of groceries balanced on one hip, she padded barefoot toward the kitchen. A tall figure in a sweeping lavender print dress stood at the sink.

            "I couldn't tell if the grocery list said chips or cheese, so I got both." As Rissa moved closer, the person she thought was her aunt turned toward her. She shrieked and dropped the groceries. "Ryan!"

            Rissa's twin brother grinned at her from beneath the purple feathers of one of her aunt's collection of hats.

            "Do I want to know what's going on?" Rissa asked warily.

            "I'm going to a Valentine's party tonight," Ryan replied.

            "Dressed as Aunt Madelaine?" Rissa retrieved a head of lettuce and a package of marshmallow pinwheel cookies from the marbled tiles.

            "It's a great way to pick up women." Ryan bent down and caught an escaping tomato. "You'd be amazed at what they tell dear Aunt Mads."

            "You've done this before?"

            "Sure. Madelaine thinks it's a hoot."

            "Where is Madelaine anyway?" Rissa pushed aside a stack of unwashed dishes to set the tattered grocery bag on the counter.

            Ryan shrugged. "She's been gone all day. By the way, I left your food in the microwave since I knew you'd be late."

            Rissa opened the microwave and poked at the still-warm entree.

            "It's beef tips over rice--one of your favorites."

            "Thanks." Rissa glanced over her shoulder. With the hat pulled low across his face, Ryan bore an uncanny resemblance to their tall, raw-boned aunt. She couldn't resist one jibe. "You'll make someone a wonderful wife some day."

            Ryan fisted a hand on one hip and struck a pose until Rissa chuckled.

            "Come with me," Ryan urged. "When was the last time you went out?"

            "Thanks, but I'm tired."

            "You work too hard."

            The truth of her brother's statement stirred a wistfulness in Rissa, which she quickly pushed away.

            "I think Madelaine might have a special surprise planned for tonight." Ryan grinned wickedly.

            "What are you scheming now?" Rissa frowned at her brother.

            "Guess you'll have to come with me to find out."

            "Oh, no. I'm not falling for that trick. I'm going to eat this gourmet dinner you so thoughtfully prepared and go to bed."

            Ryan shrugged, and Madelaine's lavender feather boa slid off his shoulder. "Well, you can read about it in the morning paper anyway."

            Rissa's fingers gripped the plate holding her dinner. Ryan was baiting her. That was all. He wouldn't really do anything too foolish.

            The muffled thud of the front door echoed her brother's departure.

            He'll go to the Pink Flamingo, have a few drinks, pick up another blonde, and come home just before my alarm clock goes off, Rissa told herself. Nothing out of the ordinary.

            Of course, she never would have guessed that Ryan dressed up as their aunt, either--and apparently got away with it.

            "No, I am not going to follow him." Rissa marched to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, and spread a napkin across her lap. She even lifted a bite of food to her mouth.

            "Oh, bother and damnation." She set her fork carefully back on her plate. What if her brother really did something spectacularly stupid? Rissa would have to pick up the pieces anyway. She might as well stop the disaster before it got started.

***

VISIT my Web site: www.genenevalleau.com

Busy month in Writer-land

Posted by: Heather Hiestand/Anh Leod
Currently working on: Holly's Pledge
Mood: cautiously optimistic

This has been a busy month in writer-land, as you can probably tell by the dearth of blogs here this month. Heck, I couldn't even get past my first sentence without interruptions. But writers with more interesting lives and cash flows than mine have been up north in King County at a writer's conference this weekend, and my fellow Ellora's Cave/Cerridwen (coasting through another interruption here) authors have been at the first annual publisher-focused conference over the past weekend. Some people probably even made it to the Portland RWA chapter meeting. I was home alone with the baby as usual, though I did get my 500 words written at least. We lead busy lives.

After writing almost nothing over the previous year, I find myself almost finished with a book. I'm on the last chapter of the first draft, though more than half the book is in third draft. It's a wonderful feeling, but also terrifying because in the last year I lost my editor and will be submitting to someone new. So cross your fingers for me next month as I submit this project.

I've also been dealing with the frustration of knowing I have to turn down an unsuitable contract offer. It doesn't fit my schedule or my career, but it is so hard for a writer to turn down any contract, particularly when much of the material is already completed. But, we have to be brave and in charge and know what is best for us. What do we want for our career? What will build our names? What is likely to be bad time wasted after good? Particularly in the small press/e-press world that I dwell in, the latter question is of vital importance.

Everything is a balancing act, in our lives and careers. Make good choices!

This morning, I woke up feeling renewed. At last fall has arrived in the Rose City. My favorite time of year. Cool and rainy. For the last few weeks, the change has been threatening to happen, but finally on Tuesday, the change took hold.Outside my window, green leaves are starting to turn yellow and red. Birds are starting to fatten up for flights south. And today a hummingbird came to drink at my fountain.

This fall is extra special for me. On September 23^rd, my debut novel, Widow’s Peak, was released in both Print and E-book Formats from The Wild Rose Press.

Here’s an excerpt:

Morning sun streamed in through the open windows as Amye sat next to the young man’s bed, silently reading her book of poetry. The small volume was the last gift Thomas gave her before leaving for Outremer. He must have spent a fortune to have a cleric copy the poems and bind the pages together in the leather cover. The parchment corners were worn smooth from the many times she had read through it. Amye did not know all of the men who penned the words, but they ardently expressed the love that she and Thomas had shared.

In the few moments he was conscious, the young stranger seemed to be in some pain. She had worried when he became fevered in his sleep, but now his deep full breaths told her he rested comfortably. He was quite handsome, almost angelic looking. The two-day growth of beard covering his swarthy face matched the dark curly hair that fell just to his shoulders.

She had ordered him brought to a guest room where she and Sela had washed his body, and then Amye dressed his wounds with healing ointments. It was then she noticed the tattoo.

A crescent moon, the mark of the Saracens.

The same mark Sir Edward had carried when he brought her Thomas’ ring. Only this moon surrounded a symbol she had never seen before. A scripted letter M with an arrow at the end. What were the two men doing in that tree?

It had been obvious to her from the first he was no knight. His body was well muscled but lean, rather than bulky. And unlike a knight, his hands were smooth with only small calluses on the fingertips. The belongings on the horse they found confirmed him as a troubadour.

Though they had never really met, she remembered seeing him at summer court one year. His bags held a book of songs and some scraps of parchment on which had been penned some verses of lyric poetry. Also, a beautiful psaltery carefully wrapped in a black velvet sack. The finely made stringed instrument must have cost a king’s ransom. The clothing he carried was of the highest fashion. He must have been on his way to one of the courts to the south. Entertainers of his quality hardly ever stopped this far north.

“My Lady, where am I?” The quiet, deep voice startled her from her musings, and she looked into stunning green eyes. She’d not noticed the vibrancy of their color before. But as he peered straight at her, Amye’s heart began to pound so hard she thought it might leap from her chest. She took a deep breath as she stood and the beating slowed.

“You are awake. This bodes well.” She put down the book and moved toward the bed. “I am Lady Amye de Barnard. You fell from my tree and were brought to the castle so I might tend your injury.”

“I thank you, my Lady Barnard, for your aid. I am Alain de la Vierre. Most call me Laine.”

“Yes, I know.”

The troubadour looked at her askance.

Amye walked over to the bedside table and held up his book of songs. “I beg your pardon, but I had to search your things. I could not have a thief or a rogue loose in my home. I have charges to consider.”

“And how, my lady, can you tell I am not a rogue?” He arched a brow to emphasize his question.

“A rogue would not write in such a civilized manner. That aside, I have seen you at King Henry’s court. You are a very fine court troubadour. You must sing for us when you recover.” Amye felt a heated blush rise to her cheeks as a smile spread across his face.

“At your leisure, my lady.” He tried to sit up but with a slight touch, she pushed him back against the pillow.

“Stay. You are still too weak. You have been unconscious for more than two days. I worried your injury might be too great for you to recover.” A sharp breath as he grasped at his side made Amye fold back the bed cover to check the cause of his discomfort.

“Your wound was quite severe, so I thought it best to close it. I need to see to your stitches.”

Surprise crossed his face. Though obviously still in pain, he smiled. “It seems I was most fortunate to fall from your tree and not some other.”

Amye picked up a cup from the bedside table and held it to his lips. “Drink. This should help ease the pain.”

He drank until she pulled it away. “My lady, does the king know you have such a fine brew wife. He would surely steal her away. I have never tasted such a fine ale in all my years. This house does boast a most delicious drink.”

“Thank you.” She helped him sit up so she could unwrap the binding. “You lost a bit of blood and though I could find no broken bones, there might be a more severe internal injury.” She removed the sticky brown moss she used to draw the bad humors from wounds and inspected the neat row of stitching underneath. Careful not to separate the newly healing wound, Amye pressed two fingers to the surrounding skin. It was cool to the touch, not hot as it had been when she had first stitched it closed. “‘Tis healing nicely. I think we might do without the poultice now.” She covered the wound with a clean cloth and rewound the binding around his chest.

“Are you hungry?” She helped him lie back, and he let out a deep breath once he rested on the bed. “I shall send for some gruel. I think you could stomach that now.”

“My lady, might I meet your lord to thank him for saving my life?”

“Master de la Vierre, there is no lord at Edensmouth. My husband died in Outremer, eight years ago.”

I finally get to harvest the fruits of my labors. Widow's Peak is now available at Amazon.com, Barnesand noble.com, and thewildrosepress.com.

Stop by my website at www.hannarhys.com and sign up for my quarterly newsletter for a chance to win a free copy of Widow’s Peak as well as a chance to win one of two beautiful art pieces in my Super Contest.

Hanna Rhys Barnes is one of those people with an evenly balanced right and left brain. She has a BA in English, but recently finished her final year as a high school math teacher. She loves to cook and was a pastry chef in a former life.

A member of RWA’s national organization and of several local chapters, she currently lives and works in Portland, OR, but occasionally visits her retirement ranchette outside of Kingman, AZ

Hanna’s Debut Novel, Widow’s Peak, is currently available from The Wild Rose Press. She is currently working on Book 2 in the series, Kissed By A Rose.

SEDUCED BY SHADOWS is out there!

Posted by: Jessa Slade
Currently working on: Celebrating!
Mood: Celebratory!

It's finally here! The release month of my first published book. Almost a hundred rejections over more than ten years on nearly a million final draft words -- rounded to the nearest heartache. When I say "finally!" I'm serious.

Rumor has it, my hero Ferris Archer has been seen racing half nekkid around bookshelves in a Books-A-Million in the Nashville area. That's the site of next year's national RWA conference, so I think it's an auspicious sign. I am tempted to set up camp in my local bookstore and wait, but I wouldn't wish to importune.


Someone asked me the other day how it feels to have a dream come true. But does it count as a dream if it takes so much work? I don't work very hard in my dreams, unless I'm running away from monsters. Not that hard work alone counts for much either. There's that pesky luck/fate/serendipity to take into account too.

So let's see, the formula I followed to get this far:
Hard work + a million words X 10 years / 100 rejections + (100% persistence/x% luck) = Book

Yeah, that doesn't seem likely, does it? Maybe I'm still dreaming. Well, don't wake me up.

SEDUCED BY SHADOWS is available (or will be next week!) at all major bookstores and online.

Read Chapter 1 on my website and check out my "Possession Prize Pack" giveaway for the month of October, or read the prequel short story introducing the world of the Marked Souls at Borders online.