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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday, My Tribute to 9/11

These eight sentences are dedicated to my neighbor, the night manager at Windows on the World the restaurant on top of The World Trade Center. On 9/11 he lost his entire staff, couldn't deal with the loss and returned to Australia.

The Day that Changed the World

            We can cure a multitude of diseases, create safer cars, trucks, bridges, railroads and increase emergency response times to greatly reduce fatalities from accidents and illnesses but we can’t seem to save ourselves from our most deadly enemy, hate.
            Smarter inventions, closer communications, charities, giving and expressions of love don’t rid our world of hate so virulent it destroyed innocent people, people unattached to the haters, people unaware they were on a deadly path.  
            Ten years ago, on 9/11, I lost my innocence along with hundreds of thousands of other Americans. I lost my ability to believe, like Anne Frank did, that underneath it all, people are basically good. In one day my beliefs were destroyed, along with those of all New Yorkers, that we were safe or could ever be safe again from people who hate.
            To those who lost people they loved, people they depended upon because of the actions of those who hate, there is nothing I can say to you to bring your loved ones back. But I can assure you I will never forget those who died at the hands of the haters.
            Every spring, when the daffodils gifted to New York City from Holland to commemorate those who died on 9/11 bloom, I stop, look and remember. They lived, worked and loved in my city and I try to keep the haters from removing the memories of their love from those of us left behind.  


Sweet Saturday Sample of "Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights"

Sunny couldn’t believe how different he was. A good-looking
boy at eighteen, he was now a real hunk, with a handsome face plus
a fabulous muscled chest and shoulders nicely filled out and
outlined his t-shirt. She had watched the powerful muscles in his
arms work as he attached the new spigot. She was curious where
had he been and what he was doing now.
                                             ****
Sunny put her clothes away, then took a shower. She selected a spring-like dress with a small flower print in blue and lavender on
a white background, accentuating her blue eyes. She pulled out her
lavender shawl and khaki sandals with little heels, as she was
already five foot five. She had been called a natural beauty, so a
little blush, lipstick and mascara was all she needed. She thought
she looked pretty good for someone whose life had fallen apart. She
heard a soft rap on the door. He was right on time.
“Sunny,” he called.
“Coming, Mickey…uh, Mike,” she called from her bedroom.
When she walked out, Mike started to cough, choking on his
own saliva.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“You sure have changed,” he said, his eyes red and watery
but still able to take her in.
“You’re repeating yourself,” she said.
“You look great, Sunny,” Mike managed, his eyes looking her
over with approval.
“Thanks. Where are we going?”
“I thought we could go to Homer’s, down by the lake,
remember?”
“Yes, I remember a restaurant there, but it wasn’t called
Homer’s.”
“It is now. They’ve renovated the place and it’s pretty
nice…for up here. Now if you’ve been living in New York City, you
might not be impressed,” he said, holding the door open.
“I never got to go there when I was a kid…too expensive.”
“Expensive? Not now.”
“It was for my parents.”
“It isn’t for me, so don’t worry. You can sit by the window
overlooking the lake. See if the fish are biting.”
“What I wouldn’t have given to be going out for a burger with
you when I was thirteen,” Sunny admitted, unable to hide a smile.
“Better late than never,” he said, closing the door and joining
her on the path.


Get "Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights"  on sale for only $1.99! at:
Amazon
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Astraea Press (all formats)
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 SPECIAL OFFER: 2 FREE BOOKS! 
Click titles to get to free download:

Moonlight and Roses
Prequel to "Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights"











 
Prequel to "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story"

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

FREE BOOKS

Here is a taste of each of my brand-new contemporary romance novellas  you can download FREE at Smashwords and the links to find them.


Moonlight and Roses




She had agreed to return to New York City to live with her mother, leaving behind her college and graduate school friends in Willow Falls, New York. She missed her friends, but her mother, recovering from a bout with cancer, needed her. 

But now, Linda was pressuring her to find a man and Caroline wanted to make her mom happy. If she was honest with herself, Caroline had to admit she was lonely, too. Her college boyfriend left her behind when he went to medical school where he met and married another medical student. 

She scanned the faces at the dance again, hoping to find someone she knew. A tall dark-haired man with brown eyes, perhaps the right man to alleviate her loneliness approached her and introduced himself as Cary before he asked her to dance.

As the fast song became a slow one, he drew her into his arms, holding her close. It felt good to be held by him. Caroline closed her eyes and let the warm summer breeze and the woodsy scent of his aftershave wash over her. After the music stopped, the band took a break. Cary plucked two glasses of wine from a waiter‟s tray and took Caroline's hand, leading her into a shadowy area of the park. He sat down on the thick grass and gently tugged her down next to him then handed her the wine.


Before she knew what he wanted, he was kissing her. At first, the kiss was nice, but then it got too passionate, too urgent. Caroline pulled away. "Come back, beautiful thing," he murmured, reaching for her.


For a FREE copy of the sweet, contemporary romance novella, "Moonlight and Roses" click here


Now and Forever, Callie's Story




Chapter One
Callie swore to her sister she knew something was up because the sound of the doorbell was different. The teen remembered going to the big picture window in the living room that Saturday to watch sheets of rain come down hard from heavily clouded skies. 

Boredom crept into her body and she slumped down on the window seat, tracing behind raindrops racing down the pane with her finger. Then the doorbell rang. Afterward, everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

She opened the door to reveal a grim-faced policeman dressed in dark blue, water dripping off his hat, his hands nervously clenching and releasing. She looked up at him with a questioning gaze until she saw the look of sadness in his eyes. Her hand flew to cover her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

“Callie Richards?” he asked. “There‟s been an accident.”
Callie stood there, not hearing him, just staring.
“There has been an accident. Your parents…” He gestured helplessly. “You‟d better come with me.”



For a FREE copy of the sensuous, contemporary romance novella, "Now and Forever, Callie's Story", click here.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

TUESDAY TALES - A SEXY NIGHT IN THE MUSEUM

Sexy Night at the Museum
Chapter Four

            Liza was embarrassed when she woke up. It was one thing to go to bed with Dr. Rick Banks, ornithologist and another to wake up with him in the morning. They spent a wild night sating their mutual lust but, now it was eight o’clock and they were both late for work.
            She jostled him and he groaned and rolled over. Seeing her there, naked in his bed, he reached for her and pulled her close. His hand closed around her breast and his lips began nibbling her neck. Liza tried to focus but the Rick’s presence stole her attention. She moved closer to him and whispered in his ear, her breath coming quicker.
            “It’s eight o’clock, Rick.”
            Rick sat up in bed, letting her go and stared at the clock.
            “Crap, we’re going to be late,” he said, whipping the sheets and blanket back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
            Liza sat up, disappointed they had to stop but she knew how important being on time was to Rick. He was never late and insisted his interns be on time as well. Here she was, his star intern and recent lover, making both of them late to work. Was it her fault?
            “Do you think we can shower together and actually just get clean?” he asked.
            Liza stood up and stretched. His eyes traveled the length of her body and he shook his head.
            “No way. If you’re in there with me…I’ll never get to the museum,” he said with a snort.
            Liza gave him a lazy smile and went into the bathroom.
            Dr. Banks made the bed, went to his closet, selected clothes for the day and laid them out. He threw on boxers and padded down to the kitchen to make coffee.
            “Save some hot water for me,” he called as he descended the steep staircase.

****
            Liza wasn’t happy with the way she looked. Her clothes were wrinkled and the same ones she had worn the day before. She hoped no one would notice. Rick looked devastating in his white shirt, brown corduroy jacket and khaki pants. He pulled up his car and pushed the door open for her.
            “I hope you don’t mind if I let you out a block away from the museum. We shouldn’t walk in together. It’s forbidden for us to be dating, museum policy,” he said, negotiating the thick Washington rush hour traffic.
            “What? You mean we’re breaking the rules?”
            “Big time. If Jackson Randolph found out, we’d both get fired,” he explained.
            “So we have to lie about dating?” She asked.
            “I’m afraid so. I hate lying but it’s either that or not see you again. I don’t think I could do that,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze when he could take his hand off the steering wheel.
            Liza smiled at him. He was everything she ever wanted, a fellow scientist, handsome, sweet and a terrific lover. She sighed and looked out the window at the other cars.
            “How long to we have to keep this charade up?” She asked.
            “Until we either stop seeing each other or get married,” he said.
            She stared at him.
**** 
           
Dr. Banks pulled up to the curb about a block from the Washington Museum of Natural History. He leaned across Liza and opened the door for her.
            “You owe me a shower, you know,” he said, looking at her with desire in his eyes.
            “You think?”
            “I know. If we had risen on time this morning, there definitely would have been a shower together.”
            She laughed as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her passionately. Liza pressed herself against the gear shift as his chest crushed hers.
            “God you taste good,” he muttered into her neck.
            “I’ve got to go, Rick,” she breathed.
            “I know, but I don’t have to like it.”
            She closed the closed the car door behind her and started walking. He pulled away from the curb and headed into the private parking garage for Museum employees. Liza reached the front door first. When Rick saw her, he hung back and let her proceed first.
            “Good morning, Angela,” Liza said, walking up to the front desk where she signed in.
            Angela, the receptionist looked her over carefully.
            “Didn’t you wear that pink blouse yesterday, Liza? Hot date, last night, huh?”
            Liza blushed under the other woman’s scrutiny as Rick walked up to the desk. He noticed her heightened color but said nothing.
            “Good morning, Dr. Banks,” Angela cooed at Rick, obviously flirting with him.
            “Good morning Miss Carr,” he said, then turned to Liza, “oh, good morning to you, too, Miss Parker.”
            Liza looked at him and saw no glimmer of recognition in his eyes. His easy ability to hide his feelings for her made her wonder how many other women he had done this with before.

****
       
The morning went along as usual. Liza got coffee for Rick then retrieved specimens for him and returned them when he was done. She typed up a letter, did some filing, brought him the mail and carried out the usual duties. He referred to her as “Miss Parker” and she called him Dr. Banks.
Shortly after lunch, Rick sent her to the supply room with a fairly long list of things he needed. After five minutes, she heard the door open. It was Dr. Banks. She looked at him quizzically, not sure how to treat him.
He walked over to her and took her in his arms. He kissed her passionately, his lips parting hers, making way for his tongue to tease hers. She melted against him wanting more.
After a few minutes he broke from her. His face was flushed and her lips were swollen.
            “Can we do that?” she asked, running her thumb over her lower lip.
            “We just did. This is killing me. You’re killing me. I never had a woman in my life like you before, Liza. You share my interest in science, in birds and yet you’re gorgeous…sexy, responsive,” he said, running his hand down her chest to cup a breast through her clothing. His touch sent heat shooting through to her core.
        “Dr. Banks…should you be doing that? Anyone can walk in here at any time,” she pointed out.
            “I can’t resist you. You’ll stay with me tonight, won’t you? We’ll go to a nice dinner then spend the evening together?”  
        She couldn’t resist him, allowing him to pull her close again for a kiss. She nodded.
            “Good. I’ll meet you where I dropped you off at, say, six?”
            She nodded again, pressing her lips to his. Then he left the supply room first. Liza waited five minutes before she returned to her desk. Angela walked by her desk on her way back from the ladies room. She sauntered by, looking Liza over carefully. She was acutely aware that she no longer had lipstick on so she pulled one out and hastily applied it.
            “Better put that lipstick on before someone else notices you lost yours in the supply room, Miss Parker. Stay away from Dr. Banks. He’s mine,” she warned.
            Liza looked at the woman who must have been ten years her senior. She had skinny legs, a large bosom held up by wide shoulders and narrow hips. She was shaped sort like a man except for her breasts. Angela’s long blonde hair got scraggly at the ends.
            Liza tossed her short locks and looked her right in the eye.
            “What I do in the supply room is none of your business.”
            “As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with Dr. Rick Banks, then I don’t care. But keep away from him. I’ve been reeling him in for the past year. I’m getting close, so stay away.”
            “And if I don’t?”
            “If you don’t? I’ll report you’re sleeping with him and get you fired.”
            “But I’m not sleeping with him.”
            “Liar,” Angela asserted, placing her hands on her hips.
            “You’ll get him fired, too,” Liza pointed out, her brow furrowed.
            “But if I tell him it’s your fault, you’ll lose him, too.”
            “If you’re so crazy about him, why would you do that?”
            “He’s mine alone or he belongs to no one. See?” She said with a toss of her head.
            “Oh, I see all right,” Liza said, walking away to stop the conversation.

**** 

            Later that night after dinner and lovemaking, Liza snuggled in Rick’s arms.
            “Did you know Angela has a thing for you?” Liza said, rolling onto her back.
            “She stalked me for a while but finally stopped,” Rick said, propping himself up on his elbow.
            “She’s crazy. She threatened me today. Said she’s say I was sleeping with you.”
            “She can’t prove anything. Don’t worry,” he said, stroking her arm and burying his face in her neck.
            “Sure?”
            “Sure. The only thing I worry about is having enough stamina to keep you satisfied,” he teased.
            Liza laughed and let Rick take her to Nirvana again as the clock struck midnight.

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