Manic Monday: Payson Book Festival this weekend

by with No Comment Blind Date BrideCher & DerrickMusings

Payson Book FestivalTalk about manic weeks… When I’m not at work, I’ll be running around getting ready for the first-ever Payson Book Festival.

The festival is Saturday, July 25,  from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Gila Community College, 201 N. Mud Springs Road, Payson, Arizona. All kinds of authors will be there. I’m sharing a table with RWA chapter mate Susan Haught.

Activities will include:

  • Book readings by authors
  • Storytelling for kids
  • Book signings
  • Author exhibit tables
  • Local food vendors
  • Musical entertainment

I’m looking forward to interacting with readers, for sure! If you’re in Arizona, plan on stopping by. It’s a beautiful time of year for a road trip to Payson!

Speaking of getting ready, I had to unearth my box of bookmarks and business cards. I hadn’t seen it since my move, and I had a moment of sheer panic last Thursday when I couldn’t find it immediately.

It’s my own fault, really. I snagged boxes from the Daily Sun office for my move. They were the perfect size — big enough to hold books and/or videos without being too heavy to move once filled. And they’re all stamped “Sedona Visitor’s Guide.” So I have a couple dozen boxes all with the same label … with no idea what’s actually in them. (Yeah, that’s a solid argument for labeling boxes as I pack them. I did that at first. Alas, when moving day came and we were still throwing stuff in boxes, the labels went by the wayside.)

Finally, I found my author promo items. Some other crap from my computer desk had been dumped on top of the precious stuff I sought.

My stash

If you stop by to see me Saturday, I’ll autograph a bookmark for you. I’ll also have copies of BLIND DATE BRIDE and HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS for sale.

Ready for Payson Book Festival

LynnSexySaturday_banner

My Sexy Saturday: Getting in the holiday spirit

by with 2 Comments Cher & DerrickExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_bannerAre you as sick as I am of Christmas creep? I don’t know about you, but I tend to get a little ragey when I see Christmas wreaths decking the superstores in September. Let’s give Thanksgiving its chance to shine, shall we?

I’m not really in the mood to read holiday stories before November, either, but perhaps I’m in the minority. Publishers have been releasing Christmas books for weeks now.

Anyway… With Halloween and Election Day firmly in 2014’s rear view mirror, it’s safe to trot out holiday reads.

Speaking of holiday reads, check out the ad My Sexy Saturday authors took out in the Nov./Dec. BTS eMag. (It’s on Page 109.)

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS is in a unique position to capitalize on both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Cher and Derrick get reacquainted on Black Friday. Driving home after a successful mother-daughter shopping expedition, Cher’s mother veers into a ditch to avoid an escaped cow. Derrick is the paramedic who answers the call and comes face to face with the woman he’d rejected in high school because he didn’t want to hold her back.

Enjoy this My Sexy Saturday snippet detailing the first time Cher and Derrick have spoken to one another since high school.

***

Home for the Holidays | Arlene HittleThe smoldering fire in Derrick’s gray eyes set her soul ablaze, offsetting the chill in the crisp November air. “Sweetheart, you can trust me when I say I’ve improved with age.”

To distract herself from the flash of desire his comment sparked, she lowered her lids and tapped her inner smart-aleck. “You think so, huh? You’re not wine or cheese.”

That was a line of crap and she knew it. Even in the watery gray early morning light, he looked as good now as he had in high school. Better even, if she took into account the broader shoulders and more masculine presence.

He knew it, too, judging by his sly grin. Damn the man. Why couldn’t he have developed a paunch, or better yet, started balding?

A low, sexy laugh rumbled from deep in his throat. “Wine and cheese aren’t the only things that get better with age, Cher.”

Her mother hadn’t raised a fool, so she knew even The Grinch’s twenty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole wouldn’t be long enough for her to touch that comment safely.

When she remained silent, Derrick shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and looked at his heavy black boots for two beats. Then he met her eyes and flashed her the charming smile she’d never been able to resist.

Home for the Holidays is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and in print through CreateSpace.

My Sexy Saturday: Getting reacquainted

by with No Comment Cher & DerrickExcerpts

Hi, friends. How was your week?

My week—my second full week of being (f)unemployed—was spent waiting for my severance check and writing feverishly. I’ve been drafting a novella. On Friday, I crossed the 20K mark, giving me about 10K to wrap up the story. I hope to be able to divulge all the details soon.

LynnSexySaturday_buttonUntil then, let’s get to this week’s My Sexy Saturday fun.

Fall is officially here. With the change in seasons comes a new emphasis on holiday romance. Seems every time I check my tweet stream or Facebook feed, someone’s talking about their new holiday release.

Not to be outdone, my sexy 7 this week comes from my holiday novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. In this story, rockstar Cher Stanton reluctantly returns to small-town Indiana for some much-needed R&R. Things get much less relaxing when she bumps into high school crush Derrick Mullins, the one guy who never paid her any attention—or so she thought.

Here, Cher and Derrick are on their way to dinner. They stop to clear the air and she ends up kissing him.

****

Home for the Holidays | Arlene HittleChalk up another one to missed opportunities.

Story of his life. One missed opportunity after another, starting with Cher. Med school— nope. Not going there. Being a paramedic was as close as he’d ever get, and it was plenty. Doctors dealt with way too much stress.

Seemed he wouldn’t get any answers from Cher unless he demanded them. He cleared his throat. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

His gaze locked on her mouth. “That.” He waved his hand between them.

“That kiss?” Her tongue darted over her plump bottom lip, leaving shine in its wake.

Shifting in the Porsche’s bucket seat, he nodded. “Yeah. That kiss.”

Like what you’ve read? Home for the Holidays is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. If you prefer to read books on paper, grab the print version from CreateSpace.

 

My Sexy Saturday: Holiday heat

by with One Comment Cher & DerrickExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonDashing through the malls? That’s so last week.

‘Tis now the season for holding hands with the one you love while strolling through freshly fallen snow and cuddling (and more) in front of a blazing fire. No need to shiver in sub-zero temps when there are so many fun, creative ways to stay warm, right?

The hero and heroine in my holiday short, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, have no trouble staying warm. Cue today’s My Sexy Saturday snippet. Cher has just admitted to Derrick the real reason she’s back in town, and asked him not to tell anyone, even their mutual friend, Elliott.

****

“Especially El. He’d tell my sister, and she’d blab it to everyone we know—not to mention every total stranger we run across. I don’t want my medical history to become fodder for the gossip rags. Any rumors about Starshine’s future would be bad for business.”

He made a zipped-lips motion. “They don’t call me The Vault for nothing.”

The mention of his high school nickname brought a smile to Cher’s lips. “I thought that was because your parents had more money than God.”

“That, too.” His teeth flashed white in the darkness. “But people tell me things. I must have a face you can trust or something.”

“Or something,” she echoed, her eyes glued to Derrick’s supposed trustworthy face. With his killer smile and cheekbones sharp enough to slice a bagel, trust wasn’t the first thing that came to mind. More like hot, sweaty nights. “What do you say we get inside before we end up with frostbite?”

Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled her neck. “We probably ought to wait until the rest of the family leaves, to avoid any more pleas to join in.”

She pressed against him, letting his body’s heat surge through her. No danger of frostbite as long as they were together. “I like the way you think.”

Get HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS now at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Only 99 cents — less expensive (and fattening) than a fancy coffee drink.

My holiday novella’s here

by with No Comment Cher & DerrickStories

Cheryl “Cher” Stanton is about to discover home is where the hunk is …

Today has been more than a year in the making, but I can finally say it, loud and proud: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS is on sale. Just in time for the holidays, it’s available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

My indie publishing debut joins DIVA IN THE DUGOUT, which was released last month by Turquoise Morning Press.

The musician heroine of HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS leapt out at me, fully formed, last year when I read Carina Press’ open call for holiday shorts. I clearly saw the story’s beginning and end … I just wasn’t sure how she got from Point A (singing the blues because she’s forced to return to the hometown she couldn’t wait to get out of) to Point B (singing the town’s praises).

This being a romance, a man had to figure into the transformation. Enter Derrick Mullins, one of her two best friends throughout middle school and high school. Cher had always had a thing for Derrick—and even went so far as to put the moves on him on graduation night—but she left town on the 6 a.m. bus the next morning convinced he didn’t know she existed.

Nothing could be farther from the truth, of course. And now that Derrick’s no longer young and stubborn, he’s ready to pick up where Cher left off all those years ago.

I knew I wanted Cher’s hometown to be a small town, one a high-school girl with big dreams would find stifling. And I knew just the place: Langley, Indiana. I’d already written one story where Langley figured into the equation, so I had a clear picture of the town. Nestled in the Indiana cornfields, it had  just one stoplight. A high school (Langdon High, Cher and Derrick’s alma mater), a barber shop and Dottie’s Diner (the town hangout) dotted the main drag.

It was the kind of place from which Cher couldn’t wait to escape. She returns only because her health demands she get some R&R, and she figures she can hide out at her folks’ house, so far off the beaten path that her fans will never think to look for her there.

And it works. She’s getting her much-needed vacation … until she runs into Derrick. Things heat up and Cher finds herself developing a new appreciation for her hometown.

Why set a story in a tiny Indiana town? Well, they say write what you know. I grew up in small-town Indiana. My high school was in Albion, which had one stoplight—at the intersection of state roads 8 and 9.

Langley is not Albion, but Albion is part of Langley. So are a lot of other small Indiana towns, places I’ve come to appreciate now that I’ve been gone from them for more than a decade.

I hope you enjoy Cher and Derrick’s story, and your stay in Langley. (I have three other stories set in nearby Willow’s Grove, including OPERATION SNAG MIKE BRAD, the manuscript in which Langley was born.)

Pick up your copy of HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It’s a real steal at only 99 cents.