When you plot out a series, you have to think about who will be the heroes and heroines in subsequent books. I always knew that #2 in the At the Shore Series, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER, would feature rebellious younger brother Jonathan. What I didn’t expect is how much I fell in love with Jon in #1 ONE SUMMER NIGHT. As he came alive on the page I realized he was a tortured soul that needed love so badly because he had already lost it twice. First when his mother abandoned him as a child and then when Connie pushed him away after their summer fling. Not to mention that for all his rebelliousness all Jon ever wanted with a place he could call home surrounded by family and the friends to whom he is loyal. That’s why I love Jon and I hope you will too. When I saw this model, I knew he was just how I pictured Jon to look, right down to that sexy grin! So what do you think about today’s Man Candy?
You can purchase WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER at the following locations:
Is there something perverse about working out while watching the Food Network? Seriously? Yep, I do it. Ironic much, but I get lots of ideas for new recipes and ways to make what I’m eating tastier and healthier. I’ve lost 25 pounds so far and it’s been with a balance of sound nutrition and exercise. The thing is, if you feel deprived all the time, you won’t maintain your new lifestyle. I’ve been at it for 6 months with this new regimen and I can honestly say I don’t feel deprived. Anyway, one of the things I came across was vegan caramels. VEGAN! you say. Well, I have tried vegan food recently and found it quite tasty, not that I’m giving up the meat. But variety is nice. Plus, caramels are so fattening but these recipes use mostly three ingredients: dates, cashews, and chocolate. Three tasty things. So take a moment to check out these recipes!
Last year’s RWA conference was so much fun on so many levels. Great workshops, wonderful book signings and most of all, getting to spend time with both old friends and new ones! It was great to see so many people in and around the conference hotel as well as at the Literacy Signing. It was also so nice to spend time with some buddies on a trip to Disneyworld where we got to see the awesome fireworks. I just love fireworks. Believe it or not, this photo was taken with my smartphone. The cameras in them are getting better and better every day.
This year’s conference is in Denver and if you’re in that area, I’d love to see you. The Literacy Book Fair is open to the general public and all proceeds go to a local literacy group so it’s for a good cause. For more info, you can visit www.rwa.org.
When you write it’s good not to have a self-editor that keeps you from putting certain words or scenes on the page. It’s important to let the story flow and then step back and see how a scene works and how it fits into the story you want to tell. That stepping back sometimes shows you that a scene doesn’t belong somewhere and Snip! It ends up on the cutting room floor. That’s what happened with this very sexy scene between Connie and Jonathan in WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER. It was just too much too soon sadly, but don’t worry. The story has other sexy and emotional and tender bits between Connie and Jon. LOL!
WARNING: For Mature Audiences
“I missed you,†she said as she tumbled back onto the mattress and brought him down with her, all earlier trace of playfulness gone as she stared up at him, her exotic green-gold gaze serious as she swept it over his face. Her wavy hair was a dark cloud against the bleached white of the linens.
“I missed you, too,†he said and knew it was more about the separation to come in a week and not about the long hours since last night.
He bent his head and kissed her, his touch tender and caring, and she answered in kind, her lips soft and coaxing. Inviting him to join with her.
Reaching down, he slipped his hands beneath the hem of the cotton nightshirt she wore and eased it off her body. He touched every inch he revealed, savoring the womanly curves. Bending to kiss the tan lines just below her navel and then higher, along the swells of her generous breasts. Feathering his lips across her passion-tight nipples. How he’d wanted to see and taste those breasts last summer when she’d first caught his eye as he’d been surfing down on the beach.
Although Maggie had been bringing her friends to the Jersey Shore every summer since they’d met freshman year in college, he’d never really paid much attention at first. He’d had his share of the girls from his high school class fawning over him.
But when Maggie and her friends had come back the next year, he had finally, gratefully, noticed what a real woman should look like. Like Connie, all luscious curves and gorgeous breasts, he thought as he bent his head and kissed the tips once more. Caressed them into harder nubs with his fingers and sucked them deep into his mouth.
She keened his name and threaded her fingers through the longish strands of his hair. Bumped her hips against his erection and he couldn’t be patient.
Neither could she as together they undid his jeans and peeled them off. He paused only long enough to pull a condom from his wallet and she took it from his hands, opened the packet, and rolled it down his length.
A shudder worked along his spine at her caress and at the knowing smile she gave him from beneath half-lowered lids.
“You’re a hard woman, Connie Reyes,†he teased.
“And luckily you’re a hard man, Jonathan Pierce,†she teased right back and her smile promised he wouldn’t be disappointed.
He slipped between her thighs as she lay on the edge of the bed, eager for him, but he didn’t want to rush. As impatient as he might be to make love to her, he wanted her to know how much this meant to him. How this wasn’t only a summer romance for him.
He leaned over her, his gaze locked on her face. He wanted to say the words, Lord how he wanted to, but they stuck in his throat and so he let every kiss and touch tell her what he couldn’t voice. He reaffirmed his love with caress after caress of her body until she was straining beneath him, wild with need. Begging for him to be with her, not that Connie was normally the kind of woman to beg.
His Connie was proud, smart, and independent. That she pleaded with him to take her only made him that much more aware of how careful he needed to be with the gift she’d given him. Slowly he entered, possessing her inch by tempting inch until he was buried deep inside her warmth. He watched her face as he took her, their gazes locked together as they lost themselves to the pleasure they could bring each other.
Her gaze became molten, golden, as her release pulled her upward and she moved beneath him. She ran her hands all over his body, her every touch a fiery brand against his flesh. Her hot hands smooth against his harder body.
Her breasts moved with each shift of his hips, enticing him until he could no longer resist. He bent his head and tasted and sucked as he drove into her over and over, forcing desire ever higher until her release burst over him.
She grabbed hold of his shoulders, digging her fingers into his muscles as she cradled him with her knees and pushed up, deepening his possession. Her body convulsed around him, embracing him until with a rough shout, he came, shaking and sweating from the force of his release.
He dropped onto her and she held him close. Ran her hands across his shoulders as he gulped in a few rough breaths. Against his ear her heart was pounding wildly beneath her passion damp skin. Her breath was shaky until little by little, peace enveloped them both.
He’d never had such peace with anyone else before. Okay, maybe his brother Owen, who always stood up for him and had his back.
But never anyone else. Never a woman, especially one like Connie.
Order
You can purchase WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER at the following locations:
I love gardening and growing things. I can’t wait for the summer to see all the flowers blooming and get my tomatoes and basil into the ground so I can eat fresh veggies. But let’s face it, gardening can take time and can be labor intensive. How can you reduce the work involved?
For me the solution was to plant perennials in my various flower beds, do container gardening, and get a good layer of mulch or landscape fabric down depending on what kind of flower I was planting.
Mixing in perennials also cuts down on costs and labor. Since these plants come back every year and propagate, you don’t have to replant all the time and once it is time to split them, you can move them to other areas that need flowers.
Also, don’t be afraid to be eclectic and mix in different things, like vegetables with your flower beds. As long as you remember where they are it will all work out.
One last important thing to keep in mind: Make sure you know how much sun you get in the area where you want to plant. The little sticks in the plant pots you buy will tell you whether your plants need full sun, part sun or shade.
Here are some nice examples of beds with a mix of annuals and perennials. If you’d like to attract bees and butterflies, go for a palette of blues, pinks, and purples.
In Bryant Park you’ve got a riot of shrubs like roses and boxwood mixed in with biennial hollyhocks, lilies, petunias and more!
This Ocean Grove garden is heavy on perennials and shrubs. Hydrangea in the back and daylilies to the left mix with a gardenia, what looks like salvia and liriope, a border plant that also flowers! and perennials.
Some of my fav perennials and annuals are:
Hollyhocks (they come up every two years and die down, but are good re-seeders!)
Petunias are awesome for hanging baskets, container gardening and along flower bed edges. Petunias are an annual, so you’ll have to replant every year.
Asiatic lilies and day lilies come in a wide variety of colors and come back every year!
Think about doing a little vignette in your yard. I hauled this old garden cart out of the shed to give it new life out front. Filled it with annual hanging plants – small petunies and Gerbera daisies. A hint: Got the plants at a deal price of 4.99 each at my local supermarket! So don’t think you always have to go to a nursery or big box home improvement store for all your plants.
I was going for a look that said, I’m about to start gardening here and I guess it worked because when hubby got home he asked me if I’d forgotten to unload the plants! LOL! Anyway, coupled with a good layer of mulch and some stone accent to match that around our driveway and I’m happy with the look! I just replanted/remulched this area after the deer decimated my hostas. Sigh.
I’ve always thought Scott’s uber famous father Clint was handsome, but Scott has him beat! I just watched The Longest Ride and have to say I really enjoyed the movie. I was even more shocked that it was based on a Nicholas Sparks book since it had a happy ending. Scott has appeared in a number of movies and you can also catch him in this year’s Pacific Rim Uprising. I know I’ll be looking for lots more of Scott and those baby blues and hot body! You can click here to see some awesome shirtless shots at PopSugar.
Lots happening today! It’s Take Your Dog to Work Day so it seemed appropriate to give you a free read that shows you how Jonathan found his little pup Dudley (who totally stole my heart!). Also, ONE SUMMER NIGHT is free again for a limited time! Don’t miss out on it. Without further ado, here’s your free reads and have an awesome weekend!
Excerpt
At one corner of the park square, a local animal shelter had set up a stand and after he finished his sweet treats, he strolled over. A trio of cages held an assortment of kittens for adoption, but as cute as they were, he had always been a dog kind of guy.
“They’ve got all their shots and are ready to go home with a special someone,†one of the shelter ladies said cheerfully.
He smiled, but demurred. “I’m not really into kittens.†Basically because they grew up to be cats, not that there was anything wrong with that.
“It’s your lucky day, then. We’ve got quite a number of puppies and dogs available at the shelter today. It’s just a few blocks away,†she replied, still bubbling with happy.
It made him wonder if it was an animal thing, the joyfulness and optimism. He’d read more than one article about all the benefits of having a pet. As one kitten peered at him from the cage and meowed playfully, he had to confess that something inside of him lightened a little which for some reason had him saying, “I know where it is, thanks.â€
He pivoted on his heel and instead of heading back through town, he found himself walking in the direction of the shelter where a few minutes later, another perky volunteer was guiding him past a row of cages filled with puppies. Cute, fluffy, hyper, little puppies yipping and yapping as he strolled by.
Despite his sudden and unexpected desire to not feel so alone, not that he was ready to acknowledge that emotion outright, something about the puppies failed to call to him.
“Aren’t they so-o-o-o cute?†the too energetic young woman said with a barely contained squeal in her voice that he was certain would shatter glass at full volume. The perpetual happiness of everyone connected with the shelter only seemed to reinforce that maybe the pets were responsible for the constant state of joyfulness. Which kept him advancing along the aisle to the pens with the older dogs that had been given up for adoption. The sad looks on some of them had his mind playing a woeful Sarah McLachlan soundtrack in his head until he got to one cage where a small cream and white terrier ambled to the cage door. The dog leaned one paw on the wire and climbed up into a jaunty kind of position. With what looked like a wry grin, the dog gave one short demanding bark.
“This is Muffin. His owners only had him for a few months when they had to give him up on account of allergies so he’s kind of still a puppy.â€
With a yip, Muffin confirmed her statement, only he didn’t seem much like a Muffin to him. He had too much attitude to be called Muffin. And what kind of name is that for a boy dog anyway? Jonathan thought as the volunteer, sensing interest, opened the cage and set Muffin on the floor.
The pup took one look at him, obediently sat at a spot right beside his feet, and peered up at him in an adoring way that filled him with warmth and all kinds of gooey feelings which he refused to admit. He bent and rubbed the dog’s head. The fur was soft and curly beneath his hand. As the dog continued to gaze at him, brown eyes gleaming with admiration and possibly love, he was a goner.
Free Book!
I want to thank all of you for your support of the At the Shore series! You’ve really helped make it so wonderful. As a way to say thanks, the first book in the series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, will be free for a limited time. That’s a fabulous offer for a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Romance and a book that was also featured in the NY Times! If you’ve already read it, recommend it to a friend. Word-of-mouth and reviews are some of the best ways you can support your favorite authors.
You can get ONE SUMMER NIGHT at the following retailers:
and perennials.
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