Save the Date: May 11, 2012

Lynne's story has been in the works for years. Eons, more like it. (Ok. Ok. 2009) She first showed up as Megan's bestie (2007). Snarky and with secrets. Now see I don't usually write series. Or I didn't. So I didn't think much of writing Lynne's story. Until I re-watched You've Got Mail. Around the same time I watched Gone With the Wind. And because my brain is bent, a story came together.

See, Lynne had been after Megan to sell her the Boutique, a clothing store. (Yeah, I know a creative name. My brain is bent, not original.) My mind started thinking, what if Megan did sell the store to Lynne. She trusts her to take care of the business started from heartbreak. Really, Lynne would be the only person she'd sell it to. She'll start her own business closer to home i.e. Aiden Blake. (And make a nice piece of change. Megan is business-minded after all.) And what if, Lynne finally gets her hands on the Boutique. Sees a grand future in the works and someone comes along to rip it out of her grasp. Of course, since this is a contemporary romance, the person to rip the store out of her grasp is the hero.

So, this book is three years in the making. And finally it's, sort of, here. It'll make it's debut on May 11th To tide you over here's the blurb:

Nathan Craine eats small businesses for breakfast. There's one store he is dying to buy, but this time it is for very personal reasons. He's certain the owner will hand over the store; it's only the matter of naming a price. To his surprise, Lynne Kelley refuses to sell, now or ever. 

For Lynne, this is more than a business--it's a home. For Nate, it is a way to honor his father and right a past wrong. Both are determined to win, yet the more time they spend together, the deeper their attraction grows. In this battle, someone has to lose. And the cost of winning might be far more than either is willing to pay.

Also, some other (some of them older) links to see behind the scenes of Lynne's story.

The first incarnation of Lynne.  As an aside, she looks more like this now. Without the nose ring. But, at one point in time she had one. Lynne, the wannabe rebel.

The collage.

Pinterest board that goes a little more in depth of how the implosion happened. And other stuff.

And, FYI, I'll also bundle See Megan Run and See Lynne Chased together. This is the cover for that edition of the stories.

Why I Write Romance

People scoff at romance novels. Say it's formulaic. Don't understand why it's one of the best selling genres. They say it's not realistic. I beg to differ.

A Freebie For The Weekend

Since I'll be drooling tomorrow, work and more work and then some more work. I'll tell ya now. You can pick up this very, short-short, free on Amazon 4/20 and 4/21 here.

Dumped, on Valentine's Day no less, Samantha doesn't see how this day can get any better. Until she runs into Evan the IT Geek at the local pub. And suddenly there seems to be more to him than a pocket protector. 

Why I Call It Muse-Ic

Me and Mr. Adobe Got Caught

Long ago I met Mr. Adobe. We had a thing going on. He read my books to me so I could get a feel for my story. Plus, I'd be able to find all the typos and clunky sentences I missed. This is how it all started:

We met, indirectly, when I decided to read See Megan Run one last time. But it was Mrs. Adobe. She was nice. She had trouble with a few words. She served a purpose but...her reading to me didn't have the same zing.

Then I met Mr. Adobe. At first he creeped me the hell out. And then he read one of my jokes and it was still funny. He's been reading to me for the past two days. I'm in lurve. Yes, this story has been edited by an outside source, but I'm still finding things I want to change.

Thanks to Mr. Adobe, all my clunky sentences are being put under a microscope. Yes, it was creepy again when he read my love scene, but that's okay. He's pointed out all the "a" and "the" I've forgot to put in. He's even shed light on a sentence I accidentally deleted. I couldn't do this last read through without him.

Lurve, I tell ya. Lurve.

 I don't know how Mrs. Adobe found us out. But now she's reading See Lynne Chased. She's a professional though, so all my jokes still sound funny. All my clunky sentences are still pointed out. Maybe with a little more glee than necessary. But, when I went in search of Mr. Adobe he was no where to be found. I'll miss the way he'd say, "Asterisk, Asterisk, Asterisk, Asterisk, Asterisk." It always made me laugh.

But I'll move on, because I still have 200+ pages to get through before I can send it off to my line editor.

What's on the Horizon

I honestly cannot believe April is here. What happened to the first three months? I know I've been busy, but daggone?

Anyway, what I've been doing? Thinking obsessively about the See Megan Run follow up. No matter what I've done over the years, Lynne, Megan's friend, hasn't been far from my mind. So much so I had to write her story. Then let it linger on my hard drive for a long, long while. I think Lynne has had enough. So much so I...Well...

In my defense, I couldn't sleep. (Release date TBA)

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

In the nine years I've been a parent I've had to apologize to my parents on numerous occasions. The stories I've heard about myself as a child raised my the hairs on the back of my neck. Most times it just starts to make sense. I had one of those moments yesterday.

A little backstory...

My sister and I, at a tender of age of YOUNG loved this song by Changing Faces. R. Kelley produced it, but this was before the scandal broke out. (Heck, the Aaliyah scandal could have still been going on.)

We were in the car one day singing the innocent words, "Do I mind if I stroke you up? Do I mind if I stroke you down? All through the night."

My parents turned with horror on their faces. "You can't sing that song."

"Why?" we asked in protest.

"You just can't."

At the time I didn't understand.

Of course until my son was running around the house singing, "Ya, Trick, Ya."

It's really a song. I had to explain to my son he couldn't sing that song anymore. "But why?"

*head-to-desk*

Mom and Dad I formally apologize....