My Sexy Saturday — Meet Beth & Cody

by with 5 Comments Bethany & CodyExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonIt’s Saturday, and you know what that means: Time for another sizzling trip down desire lane with the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules are simple:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

Today, I’m sharing something a little different. This excerpt is from TROUBLE IN PARADISE, the WIP I’m having trouble finishing at the moment. It’s not the sexiest moment in my manuscript, but it cracks me up every time — and I feel the need to laugh this week.

Bethany and Cody, the heroine and hero in said WIP, might be giving me fits, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them both.

You might remember Beth and Cody as the best friends from BLIND DATE BRIDE — the ones that got more wedding-night action than the bride and groom.Trouble in Paradise coverTROUBLE IN PARADISE picks up nine months after BRIDE leaves off. Bethany, worried Cody might be losing interest, wants him to apply for another Romance TV show, “Invitation to Sin.” Cody is firmly anti-reality-TV after seeing what his buddy went through, but agrees to apply because he figures they won’t get picked for the show — no way will Romance TV lightning strike their circle twice.

Except it does, and soon Beth and Cody find themselves on Bora Bora with a TV production crew and a pack of other contestants, fighting to not only win the grand prize but hold together their previously solid relationship.

In this scene, Beth and Cody have gathered with the other contestants at Romance TV HQ for a meet-and-greet reception.

***

Cody munched on pineapple and mango chunks and sipped the punch. He hoped there wasn’t any alcohol in it, because it tasted vaguely pina colada-ish. Then again, he didn’t have to drive, so what was he worried about? He took another gulp. Beside him, Bethany sipped her drink, too. Suddenly, she spit it back into her cup and started coughing.

He put his drink down. “You okay, sweetheart?”

Clearly not okay, she shook her head. Her face was redder than the cherry on top of the chocolate and whipped cream cookie he’d picked up for her. When she stopped coughing, she whispered, “Did you get a good look at the ice cubes?”

“No.”

“Why don’t you do that?”

Puzzled, he picked up his glass again and studied the ice — cubes shaped like penises and breasts. Come to think of it, that cherry-topped cookie looked like a boob, too.

He looked back at the table of refreshments, seeing it for the first time for the work of “art” it was undoubtedly intended to be. Things were arranged to resemble … well, hell. The spread looked just like a woman’s spread legs, with the cookies in the center, spilling sweetness into the vast, empty middle.

“Trouble in Paradise,” coming in Fall 2014.

Cover reveal: Home for the Holidays

by with No Comment Stories

If you know me on Facebook at all, you’ve probably seen it already — but I’d be a Bad Author if I didn’t post an official cover reveal here on the blog.

So here it is: the cover for HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

Cover artist Rogenna Brewer did another beautiful job! And Ruby Slippered Sister Kelly Fitzpatrick gets props for suggesting the tagline. I was on vacation last week, but taking the task of coming up with one way too seriously — until Kelly came up with that gem.

This cover wasn’t quite as simple to choose as the ones for BRIDE and PARADISE, though. Right before Rogenna sent me her initial idea, I’d just read a piece of advice: Don’t sign off on a cover until you get at least 5 people to say they love it.

With her permission, I posted the cover on my Facebook author page (and a few other places) and asked for opinions. I did get quite a few “love its.” Then Rogenna sent me a different take. It, too, went up for input — and got some definite love.

Unable to decide which one I liked best, I made a side-by-side comparison of the two covers and solicited votes.

two cover concepts

Right up until I decided to go with the pink background — mainly for the pop of color, reasoning that it’ll stand out more in thumbnail view — the vote was dead even. A couple of extra votes for Cover B (on the right) showed up on the thread AFTER I told Rogenna to go with the pink.

I’m still happy with the decision. With so many votes for both, I think either cover will be a winner.

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, a 30,000 word novella, is my first indie release, slated for mid-November — just in time for, well, the holidays.

 

My Sexy Saturday with Mike James

by with No Comment Bree & MikeExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonIt’s my favorite time of the week again: Time to share an excerpt for the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules, in case you’ve forgotten:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

This week, I’m giving you seven paragraphs from the beginning of  OVEREXPOSED, the third book in my Women of Willow’s Grove collection. This time, Mike James, the object of Erin’s lust at the start of OPERATION SNAG MIKE BRAD (Book 1), finally gets the happy ending he doesn’t believe he deserves.

Before he gets there, though, he has to go through a whole lot more torture and self-flagellation.

I’ve always liked Mike. He’s pure figment of my imagination — but that’s not to say my imagination wasn’t sparked by a coworker. The guy was Greek-god-gorgeous, like Mike. Flirty and funny, too (also like Mike). Anything Mike does (or did … or didn’t do) is all on me, though.

In this scene, heroine Breanne Garvey (photographer for the Willow’s Grove Journal-Times), is at the tiny town’s male strip joint for her roommate’s bachelorette bash. She doesn’t yet know that Mike, her coworker at the paper, moonlights there.

How much you want to bet she’s about to find out? 😉

***

This “Masked Avenger” reminded her of Mike: Tall, blond and — behind his black Lone Ranger-type mask — chock-full of cuteness potential. The man had well-defined thighs, and when he turned around to shake his rear end in her face, she could see that it, too, was in perfect shape. And every inch of exposed skin was a nice, even golden color — the color of smooth clover honey.

Just like Mike’s tan.

Suddenly the idea of flirting with this guy didn’t seem nearly as far-fetched. She was only a virgin, not dead — and having Mike James dance for her was full of potential. Intriguing possibilities blossomed in her fertile brain … ideas a good girl would never act on.

No harm in looking, her inner rebel assured her.

For once, she listened. After all, it was likely the only chance she’d ever have to see Mike in the flesh. If he hadn’t picked up on the “let’s date” vibes she’d been sending him for the last year and a half, she doubted he ever would — although she’d never understand how a guy who loved women could be so darned oblivious to her hints.

Pretending it was her colleague in front of her, she dropped her hands so she could enjoy the view. She even went so far as to accept the bill Cassie waved under her nose. Why not have some fun? Cassie was right: She wasn’t getting any younger.

But where do I put it?

DIVA has a release date

by with No Comment Dave & Melinda

When I decided I wanted to join the ranks of indie publishing last spring, my initial plan was to release my first book, OPERATION SNAG MIKE BRAD, around my birthday in October. I thought having a book out by my 42nd birthday sounded like an excellent idea.

Plans changed, and I decided to test the publishing waters with a holiday novella, out in November, instead.

Then I sold DIVA IN THE DUGOUT to Turquoise Morning Press. Today, I got word that they’ve set DIVA for release the week of Oct. 15 — just a week after my birthday (Oct. 7).

Turns out I’ll have a birthday book after all.

The universe really does have a sense of humor, doesn’t it?

On another note, it’s all happening so quickly! With final edits due Sept. 1, I’m going to be hard at work in August.

LynnSexySaturday_button

My fourth contribution to My Sexy Saturday

by with One Comment Dave & MelindaExcerptsStories

LynnSexySaturday_buttonTo celebrate the sale of DIVA IN THE DUGOUT to Turquoise Morning Press, I’m digging deep for this week’s My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

The rules are simple:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

Like I said, I’m going way, way back in my archives for this septuplet — back to DIVA’s roots. That’s right: These seven paragraphs kicked off the now-deleted first chapter of the story.

After my readers/CP insisted the chapter was really a prologue (it happened five years before the main story) and painted neither hero nor heroine likable enough, I dutifully chopped the scene that I loved. I still love that scene, which has some fantastic lines … but I know how to accept criticism. After a little — okay, a lot — of whining, I deleted the whole darn thing — and blogged about it.

I may have cut the scene from the MS, but I saved it with the hope that one day I could release it as an online extra — a “wanna see how it all began?” teaser. (File name: HowItAllBegan.doc.) That day hasn’t come — yet. But I can offer a tantalizing glimpse of what almost was.

The setup (directly from my query letter):

Melinda Cline was a rash, almost 20-year-old motormouth when her high-school sweetheart dumped her weeks before their wedding. She took solace in the arms of the first hottie she had the pleasure to meet, a sexy-as-sin ballplayer whose name she insisted she didn’t want to know.

Mel meets Dave Reynolds, shortstop for the semipro Arizona Condors, at her favorite watering hole, which she snuck into with a fake ID. These seven paragraphs were the original first seven.

* * *

When Melinda’s now-ex-fiance admonished her to grow up, she doubted playing tonsil hockey with a man old enough to be her father was what he’d had in mind.

The thought jarred Mel just enough to make her end the kiss. Through lowered lashes, she regarded the man whose lap she currently warmed. Saying he was her father’s age wasn’t fair. Old enough to be her slightly older brother, maybe. But definitely not her father.

She took stock of his lithe torso. Defined biceps. Warm, easy smile. Nope. No signs of middle age marring the perfection that was —

What was his name?  Dan? Drew? Del? Dave? Why couldn’t she remember?

Who was she trying to kid? She didn’t want to remember. His name didn’t matter — not one whit. It was far more important that he was here, all too willing to distract her from the spectacle in the corner.

Her ex of just two weeks had the gall to be at her favorite bar, canoodling with a blonde who looked — well, old enough to be his mother. No wonder Bud told her to “grow up” if that was his type.

She cast a mutinous glance toward Bud’s corner. He wanted someone older than 19? She’d show him just how grown up she could be.

* * *

Hmm. Reading that now, I can see my readers’ point: Mel isn’t terribly likable here. Dave fares no better as the scene goes on. Perhaps I need to rethink releasing the deleted scene, one-liners or no.

Diva in the Dugout, coming soon from Turquoise Morning Press.

The ECall

My story about The Call

by with No Comment Dave & MelindaProgress

The Call, when it finally came, didn’t happen the way I expected it to. Does anyone’s?

Rather than arriving with the ring of my phone, my call happened on the click of a mouse.

I was sitting at my desk at work Tuesday night, killing time while I waited for our editor to finish with the stories I needed for the page I was laying out. “Killing time” = surfing the Net.

A new email in sat atop my Gmail inbox. The subject line, CATEGORY ROMANCE SUBMISSION — DIVA IN THE DUGOUT, didn’t faze me. Don’t ask me why I didn’t make the connection, but I didn’t. I thought it was confirmation from the Golden Pen category coordinator, since I’d just entered the GP on Monday.

Yeah. Tell me why that makes sense when I entered Bree and Mike’s story, OVEREXPOSED, in the GP’s single title category. Can you say “blonde moment”?

Then I opened the email and read this:

The ECall

And immediately commenced squee-ing. I may or may not have burst the eardrums of my two coworkers who were sharing office space with me at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday. At the very least, I got their attention. Eric asked, “What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Someone wants to buy my book!”

More squealing and hyperventilating (all mine) ensued before I dashed off a quick affirmative response … and received an auto reply thanking me for my submission. Eep.

Some poking around the website offered up a different email address, so I responded to THAT one, too. This time, I got a response from a real person, TMP CEO/Publisher/Owner Kim Jacobs. Kim said that email address didn’t go to the acquisitions editor, but that she’d make sure it got passed along.

You can bet I didn’t get a whole lot done for the next hour or so. Being superstitious, I didn’t want to tell just anyone the news before it was official … only everyone I saw, could text or email. 😉

I sent a text to Anne Marie Becker, who reminded me that being our chapter president was good karma. (We both sold after taking the job.) Then I texted the Boyfriend, mentioned it on a few of the loops I’m a part of and emailed my CP, Jennifer Faye, and a few other folks.

Every time, I said, “It’s not official yet, but …” before filling them in.

But I knew it wouldn’t feel real until I got another response from the acquisitions editor, Shelley Rawe. Until I heard back again, I’d worry that first email was a mistake … or that they changed their minds.

After work, I went home and tried to get some sleep. Every time I woke up, I checked the email on my phone. Nothing when I woke up to pee at 6 a.m. Ditto at 8, when the puppy woke me with his whining/crying because he got crated. At around 9, I saw the response I’d been waiting for.

Since then, we’ve exchanged a flurry of emails (none of which bounced back an auto response). I’ve submitted my other Love & Baseball story, BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER, for their consideration as well.

And I received and signed the contract.

Screen Shot 2013-07-18 at 9.50.25 AM

My first contract. (I had to take a screen grab.)

May it be the first of many …

After receiving a copy of the signed contract, I hit all the social media sites: Facebook, Twitter … even Instagram (though I primarily use that account for my weight-loss blog). I also announced it here, at Chicklets in the Kitchen and my weight-loss blog. I’ve spent the hours since celebrating and basking in the congratulations that have been rolling in.

A part of me wishes I could have been at RWA Nationals. My coworkers have been great, but it’d be so much more fun to celebrate with fellow writers who really understand.

NARWA meets next week. I’ll save my party hat for them.

Wearing my SD Padres Spring Training shirt to celebrate ...

I have big news!

by with 2 Comments Dave & MelindaProgressStories
Wearing my SD Padres Spring Training shirt to celebrate ...
Wearing my SD Padres Spring Training shirt to celebrate …

Finally, I can shout it to the world:

Turquoise Morning Press wants to publish DIVA IN THE DUGOUT!

I’ll sit down to blog about my call story soon, but I wanted to share the news as soon as I received the signed contract. (I’m superstitious that way — didn’t want to say anything until it was official.)

Until I write the next lines, enjoy this picture of me, ecstatic about my big news.

And know that I’m going to treat myself to a big-a$$ drink at Starbucks to celebrate. It’s not every day that I sell my first novel!

My Sexy Saturday #3

by with 2 Comments Blind Date BrideExcerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonIt’s Saturday again. You know what that means — My Sexy Saturday time. I totally forgot to take part last week … but I hope that’s the exception rather than the rule.

The idea is simple:

Post 7 paragraphs or 7 sentences or 7 words. The choice is yours. It can be from a WIP or something you already have published. Your post should be live by 9 am US Pacific Time on Saturday. Put those lucky 7s to work for you!

In honor of receiving the cover for “Blind Date Bride,” this week’s My Sexy Saturday entry is from that story.

Blind Date Bride coverA little about “Blind Date Bride”:

The last thing Kari Parker wants in her life is another man — especially one as tall as a Windy City high rise. Yet when her best friend enters her in Romance TV’s “Get a Love Life” contest, that’s what she gets. Sparks fly between Kari andher bogus groom, and as she and Damien share close quarters, intimate meals and — gulp — his bed, Kari doesn’t stand a chance of resisting his considerable charms. But building a real future out of their sham marriage will be tougher than baking a wedding cake from scratch … with no flour … in a broken oven.

The setup for these seven paragraphs: Their blind-date wedding now a bad memory, Kari and Damien have ditched the reception in favor of getting to know one another over coffee (at the nearest Starbucks, of course!). Kari’s having trouble concentrating on Damien’s words over the attraction she doesn’t want to feel for her bogus husband.

* * *

Damien’s eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t seem all that shy when you were kissing me.”

Oh, god. There was that directness again. Kari bit her lip. How could she handle a man who said exactly what he meant? “Call that an aberration.”

Damien shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Trust me. I don’t normally act like that.”

He leaned across the table, and for a second she thought he’d kiss her again. Her lips parted in anticipation. But he merely turned her hand over, palm up, and ran his thumb over the skin at the base of her fingers. She watched it move back and forth, fast then slow, fascinated by the friction-generated heat.

His eyes never left hers, so she saw the instant his desire flickered back to life. Her thighs grew damp as her body answered Damien’s call.

The dampness provided a rude wake-up call. Kari clamped her knees together as she jerked her hand out of his grasp, ruthlessly reminding herself how badly her last run-in with lust at first sight had ended.

“Blind Date Bride” coming to e-bookstores everywhere in late 2014.

Check out the other entries in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop here.

The big cover reveal

by with No Comment Bethany & CodyBlind Date Bride

Anyone who likes my author page on Facebook has already seen the news … several times. I’ve also been showing everyone at the office — and the baristas at my regular Starbucks. Pretty  much anyone I can get to look at my phone is seeing my beautiful new cover.

To say I’m pleased is an understatement. “Pleased as punch” is, of course, a dreaded cliche — something the lovely Susan Haught keeps warning me I use too many of. She’s one of my NARWA chaptermates, and quite possibly my biggest fan. But she’s not afraid to point out where my WIPs need more W-O-R-K.

Anyway … back to the story of how I ended up with covers for two manuscripts that are NOT the one I plan to release first.

It all started last month, when I asked about cover artists — and the timing of cover purchases — on the Indie Romance Ink Yahoo loop.

Rogenna Brewer was one of many friendly, helpful folks who responded. She said that she was designing covers, and linked to her page of premade covers. That’s where I saw her. Bride.

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 1.19.53 PM

“If she were blonde,” I thought, “she’d make a great Kari.”

Kari is the heroine in “Blind Date Bride,” the tale of a guy and gal whose friends enter them in a cable TV network’s “Get a Love Life” contest in hopes of them winning lesser prizes. But when a panel of experts deems them to have the worst love lives in America, they win the grand prize — a blind date wedding.

So I emailed Rogenna to ask if there was any way to make the bride in her “Bride” cover a blonde. We started exchanging emails about “Blind Date Bride” and its sequel, “Trouble in Paradise.” Since the stories are related, I wanted covers that looked like they belonged together. The next thing I knew, I’d agreed to a deal — buy one custom-made cover, get one free.

The results:

Blind Date Bride cover Trouble in Paradise cover

I couldn’t be happier.

The photo Rogenna found for “Blind Date Bride” hints at so much — my hero, Damien, is a veterinarian, so the puppy is a fantastic touch. And obviously, this photo would have been taken toward the HEA end of the story.

The photo for “Paradise” is actually from Bora Bora, the island Beth and Cody visit to film the reality show that may kill the perfectly healthy relationship that Beth thought was headed south.

(Oops — cliche alert! Luckily, I’m pretty sure I never use that phrasing anywhere in the manuscript.)

Now that I have gorgeous covers, I have a lot of work to do. The first draft for “Paradise” hasn’t even been completely written yet — I have about 20K to go. This is the story that got decimated in the Golden Pen a couple of years ago. Judges hated my heroine. Said they had no idea why the hero was with her … Obviously, I have some rewriting to do.

And I will. But first, I need to polish “Home for the Holidays,” the novella I plan to release this November.

Rogenna’s already got some great ideas for that cover, too. Through the end of July, she’s running a deal for cover design clients: Buy 2, get one free. Check it out.

 

Back at Six Sentence Sunday

by with One Comment Dave & MelindaSix Sentence Sunday

Wow. Long time, no blog, eh? It’s been too long since I jumped into Six Sentence Sunday, so here goes.

When last we left Dave and Melinda, they’d just started making out. Terrible place to leave the poor dears, I know. These six sentences pick up several days later. Dave’s on the road with his team, still stewing over Mel’s attack on his character. Telling him she’d kept their daughter a secret because he didn’t strike her as father material. Hmph.

Dave reassumed his batting stance, ready to take another swing.

Matt stopped him by dropping a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve hit enough.”

Three hours at the batting cage wasn’t nearly long enough. He wanted to keep smacking balls around until he no longer saw the doubt in Mel’s big, green eyes …  until he forgot the mother of his child had so little faith in him. If she doubted his skills as much as he doubted himself, he didn’t stand a chance of succeeding.