My Sexy Saturday: Home for the Holidays

by with One Comment Excerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonThe release of my holiday novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, is just around the corner. It’s my first indie release, and I’m stoked.

Does anyone say stoked anymore? Probably not. I’m hopelessly uncool—and mathematically challenged. (More on that in a future post.)

To celebrate my upcoming indie debut, I’m dedicating this week’s My Sexy Saturday snippet to HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

Since I’ve been too busy to play for a couple of weeks, here’s a quick refresher on the My Sexy Saturday rules:

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!

Arlene_HomeHolidays_300dpi(1600x2560)In this sweet and sexy holiday short, singer Cheryl “Cher” Stanton reluctantly returns to her tiny Indiana hometown for Thanksgiving—and some forced R&R. When her mom’s SUV swerves into a ditch to avoid a cow in the road, she hits her head on the dash. One of the paramedics answering the call is Derrick Mullins, her high school friend and the one guy who didn’t know she existed … or so she thought. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

In this scene, Derrick has—at his best friend’s urging—returned to the scene of the accident to talk to Cher, whom he hadn’t recognized at first. She was more than a bit put out that he’d called her “ma’am.”

****

… She found herself hurt and angry he hadn’t seen through the disguise. “You know me well enough.”

His eyebrows shot skyward. “After ten years? I don’t think so. A lot’s changed since then.”

“Well, excuse me for not peaking in high school.”

The 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.”

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, coming to Amazon and Barnes & Noble Nov. 25 … just in time for the holidays. Can’t wait to read more? Find the first chapter at TheCheapEbook.com.

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.

 

Another My Sexy Saturday

by with No Comment Excerpts

LynnSexySaturday_buttonWelcome back to another My Sexy Saturday. I’ve really been having fun with this blog hop, and I hope you are, too.

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!

Last Saturday, I shared a deleted scene from “Diva in the Dugout,” the book I just sold to Turquoise Morning Press. I signed the contract last Thursday. It’s my first sale. I was — and still am — very excited.

But this week, I’m going back to my holiday novella, “Home for the Holidays.” Here, Cher and Derrick just arrived at an Italian restaurant for dinner. This is the evening of the day they met up again at the accident scene.

I normally go the seven paragraph route, but this week I picked just seven sentences. I think they’re good ones. I hope you agree.

***

When they were seated at DeLuca’s, Cher dove into the basket of garlic bread with the enthusiasm Derrick usually saved for more carnal pursuits. Come to think of it, her moan of pleasure as she licked the butter from her fingers reminded him of a woman enjoying herself in bed. When her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned again, Derrick squirmed in his chair.

He tried cooling himself off with a sip of water. “You really love that bread, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She savored another bite before leaning across the table to whisper, “Sometimes, I dream about it.”

“Home for the Holidays,” coming to e-bookstores near you in November 2013.

My Sexy Saturday, Part Deux

by with 2 Comments Excerpts

It’s Saturday — and you know what that means. That’s right. Time for another visit to Sizzletown in the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

My entry this week is again from “Home for the Holidays,” the novella I’ll be releasing this fall. The setup: Cher and Derrick have recently escaped the crowd that gathered when someone recognized Cher in Chicago. They’ve stopped for Chicago dogs at a dive in Jeffriesburg, Ind., on the way back to Langley.

“I hate to tell you this, your diva-ness, but that hat-and-sunglasses disguise doesn’t render you invisible.”

Her giggle filled the space in the car with warmth and bright light. “Just incognito.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” With that, Cher pushed open the car door and exited the vehicle.

Enjoying how her jeans hugged her curves, Derrick remained seated. He watched her sweet backside until she turned and stuck her head back in the car.

“What are you waiting for?” She raised her sunglasses to look at him, no doubt so he couldn’t miss her narrowed eyes.

“Nothing.” Oh, how he loved Cher’s quick temper. Smiling to himself, Derrick shook off the reverie and followed her into the restaurant.

Coming to ebookstores near you in November 2013.

 

My first My Sexy Saturday

by with 2 Comments Excerpts

Have you heard about the My Sexy Saturday blog hop? I just did, and it sounded like so much fun I decided to jump right in.

The rules:

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!

For my first stab at My Sexy Saturday, I thought I’d treat you to an excerpt from “Home for the Holidays,” a Christmas novella set in small-town Langley, Indiana, in my former neck of the woods.

When singing sensation Cheryl Stanton finds herself back in Langley — against her will — for some much-needed R&R, she runs into old friend Derrick Mullins. Derrick was the one guy she wanted to date in high school — and the only one who was immune to her charms … or so she thought.

In this scene, Derrick, now a paramedic, has come to the scene of the accident that resulted when Cher’s mother swerved to avoid a cow standing in the road. (I mentioned this was small-town Indiana, right?) His mind on business, he doesn’t recognize Cher right away — a fact that peeves her to no end, even though she is in disguise.

Here’s the excerpt:

His eyebrows shot skyward. “After ten years? I don’t think so. A lot’s changed since then.”

“Well, excuse me for not peaking in high school.”

A spark lit Derrick’s smoldering gray eyes. “Sweetheart, you can trust me when I say I’ve improved with age.”

That look set fire to her very soul, offsetting the chill in the crisp November air. To distract herself from the flash of desire, 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 just 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.”

Coming to ebookstores near you in November 2013.

Don’t forget to check out the other participants’ posts.