#WriteWed Plotting with Friends & Lucy the Elephant

This weekend I got together with some writing friends from the fabulous Liberty States Fiction Writers. If you write genre fiction, you should really check out this organization. They’ve also got a great conference coming up in March with a number of workshops as well as editor/agent appointments.

I’m in the process of writing ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE and wanted to bounce some ideas off my friends. They were awesome in helping me firm up some issues that I had and right now I’m chugging along on the first draft of this novella. I’m loving Bridget who is my kind of girl. Laid back and more comfortable in jeans and work boots than a fancy gown or high heels.

Of course, her first sexy encounter with the hero, retired Navy Captain Mark Smith (who you met in STAY THE NIGHT) will put her out of her element and into those girly clothes she just hates.

Actually, you kind of hear about Bridget in ONE LAST NIGHT and you get to meet her at the end of STAY THE NIGHT.

I’m having fun so far in setting the opening of this story in an Atlantic City casino and researching where I’ll take Bridget and Mark in Margate. I got to stay in Margate once many many years ago and it’s the perfect setting for Mark’s home. If you are ever down in that area, make sure to check out Lucy the Elephant. Lucy is a national history landmark and is one of the last animal-shaped buildings in the world (I believe). It’s been used for several different things such as a restaurant and tavern and it had a nearby hotel. Here’s a photo of it and it’s sure to get a mention in the book.
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I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at my writer inspiration.

#ManCandyMonday Rafe from STAY THE NIGHT

I have to confess that I really love Rafe from STAY THE NIGHT and since many of you don’t do Facebook, you’ll have missed him during last week’s #ManWars so I’m sharing him with you today.

What I love about Rafe is that he’s a big strong Navy Seal and seemingly invincible and yet inside, he’s so vulnerable and so in love, but battling it out of fear of being rejected. He feels as if he’s been left behind in the five years that he’s been at war while his wife has become someone whom he barely recognizes.

I also loved tackling a story where the romance is about two people who are already married. Let’s face it. Marriages have ups and downs and you can fall in love all over again sometimes.

You’ll see more of Rafe and his wife Elena in ONE NIGHT OF PLEASURE that I hope to have out for you in mid-February. That is if I can get past post-holiday blues and work issues. I’ve been outlining the story and hashing out some language with my daughter. She liked what she heard, so I hope that’s a good thing.

In the meantime, I hope you like sexy Navy Seal Rafe.

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#WickedWednesday Sexy Excerpt from Stay the Night

Stay the Night Erotic Military RomanceSTAY THE NIGHT is available for pre-order at various retailers and will be available on December 15. It’s the next book – #4 – in the Take a Chance series.

I have so loved writing these stories about military heroes risking it all for a night that may lead to a lifetime of love and passion. I hope you’ve been enjoying the series as well. If you haven’t checked it out yet, your best bet is the Take a Chance Box Set which is only 2.99. That’s 99 cents per novella.

STAY THE NIGHT is a story about Rafe Castillo, a Navy Seal who has been away at war for five years and finds himself coming home to a woman who has changed drastically since the day he married her. Rafe still loves Elena, but he’s not sure if she’s still in love with him and whether there is a place in her life any more. She’s accomplished so much and he feels as if she’s passed him by.

In this scene, Rafe is on his way home and remembering the very first time that he and Elena made love. Warning – this scene is for mature audiences. If you can’t read the excerpt below, click here to read this teaser from Stay the Night.

#TeaserTuesday STAY THE NIGHT Erotic Military Romance

Stay the Night Erotic Military RomanceI’m so excited that I’ve almost finished the final editing on the next book in the Take a Chance series!

STAY THE NIGHT is the story of Navy Seal Rafe Castillo and his wife Elena. They are two people who have been in love with each other forever, but when they are forced into marriage by an unexpected pregnancy, it changes the course of their lives.

Blurb

He was the kind of man that every woman would want . . .

Sexy and handsome Rafael Castillo was a star athlete and honor student. Everyone knew Rafe was going places and would make his hometown proud. Elena Martinez dreams of the day that the friendship she shares with Rafe will turn into something more. When that moment comes she doesn’t hesitate to grab it, and Rafe, with both hands.

She was the woman he’d dreamed of and whose life he’d ruined . . .

Rafe has been in love with Elena since the fifth grade when she stood up for him and stopped bullies from teasing him for being different. In the years since then, Rafe has watched Elena grow into a smart, beautiful, and desirable woman. He had hoped Elena would be a part of his future and was determined to show her how special she is to him.

Can they forget the past in order to build their future?

A fateful night of passion will change the future both Elena and Rafe had envisioned. Forced into marriage by an unexpected pregnancy, they find themselves separated by the demands of impending parenthood. Rafe enlists in the Navy Seals to support his new wife and the child who is on the way, but Fate is determined to throw them another curve. After Elena’s miscarriage and years of separation during Rafe’s tours of duty, have they grown too far apart or is love still possible between them?

Teaser

If you can’t see the excerpt below, you can click here to read the Stay the Night excerpt.

STAY THE NIGHT will be released on December 15th, but you can pre-order STAY THE NIGHT at the following retailers:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AMZStay
Nook: http://bit.ly/BNStay
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KoboStay
iBooks: http://bit.ly/iBooksStay

#ManCandyMonday Rafe from Stay the Night

We had a little contest the other day on Facebook (so sorry to those not on FB! I promise we will do another one here soon!) to pick what Rafe might look like for STAY THE NIGHT, the next book in the Take a Chance series!

So the winner of an acknowledgement in Stay the Night, as picked by random.org is JoAn Varner! The overwhelming choice for Rafe was the clean cut version and so here he is on this #ManCandyMonday!
Rafe from Stay the night

Stay the Night will be out the first week of December! Can’t wait for you to read this really emotional and sexy story about a Navy Seal husband and his wife who have grown apart and now must decide if there is a future together for them!

Also, if you have a blog or other social media page and want to participate in the release day blitz for the Take a Chance Box Set, please sign up here: http://bit.ly/TakeAChanceboxsetRDB
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#WriteWed Take a Chance Series #Military #Romance & #Giveaway

One Last Night erotic military romanceWow, oh wow, talk about writing inspiration! I’ve just started STAY THE NIGHT, the next novella in the Take a Chance series and again, Wow! I am having so much fun exploring the conflict between a couple that have become strangers during the husband’s military duty, but still have passion (and maybe more) binding them together.

The hero in the story is Rafe Castillo, a Navy Seal coming home for leave before heading back for his last months of duty. His wife, Elena, was only eighteen when she became pregnant and Rafe’s honor and deep-rooted beliefs made him marry her. Of course, Rafe has kind of been in love with Elena for a very long time otherwise he wouldn’t have become involved with her.

Flash forward three years later and Elena is now a woman. A smart, sexy and independent woman who Rafe almost doesn’t recognize when she meets him at the airport. Elena has a good job, is going to college, has just gotten a promotion complete with a new company car, and she’s bought them a home.

Elena has basically moved on with her life and Rafe is not sure if he has a place in it anymore.

I’m just loving exploring that and the passion between them. I hope you’ll like Stay the Night also when it comes out in late November.

Take a Chance Erotic Romance Box SetSpeaking of November, the time is up for the ONE LAST NIGHT campaign for Hope for the Warriors and I made a donation yesterday. Thank you to all of you who participated in the Thunderclap and purchased the novella. It’s specially priced at .99 cents all this week, but then the price will go up.

You will still be able to get all the novellas as standalones, but on November 17, you can also buy them as part of the Take a Chance box set! Thank you again for your support for me and for our military men, women, and families.

Speaking of the military, join me and other romance authors at Read.Write.Remember on November 11th, Veteran’s Day, as we talk about why we honor and support our military in various ways!

As I mentioned on Monday, we had a bit of an issue with the Seductive Supernaturals release, but thankfully we’re back from the dead! You can now find the box set in searches and all the right categories. Thanks to Amazon for figuring it out!

To celebrate, we’re having a “We’re Back” blog hop and Facebook Re-Launch Party! So please come and play with us now that we are back from the great unknown of cyberspace.

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