Six Sentence Sunday, a taste of "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story"

Their financial arrangement still precluded making love on Friday nights. When Callie prepared to leave, she lingered at the door until Mac took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. Callie felt heat from him travel down her body, starting a desire within her for him. Before they got carried away, she extricated herself slowly, almost unable to leave his arms.
Mac stepped back to give her the space she wanted. With a rapidly beating heart, glow in her cheeks and love in her heart, Callie slipped out the door, waving her usual goodbye while Mac
watched her walk away with hungry eyes.

A little about the book:
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story is about Callie's Richards, a young woman who's known tragedy, and her journey back to a fulfilling life. After losing the love of her life, she meets Mac Caldwell, a handsome dean at Kensington State University. Can they build a life together after facing hardship and loss? You'll cheer with her triumphs and empathize with her setbacks when you read this emotional story.
 Review from The Pen & Muse:
"Joachim brings in the romance we all know and love. A romance where love conquers all and can withstand just about anything. I loved Mac and Callie’s story about their hardship and their courage to continue. I loved the interaction between Callie and Mac’s son. From start to finish you are rooting for these characters and don’t want to put the book down. Joachim always writes great stories of love and passion. Stories like these teach us that love is stronger than anything else. Those who love contemporary romance will love this book!"
To see review click Pen & Muse 
Click here to go back to Six Sentence Sunday 
Buy Links - $3.99 everywhere:
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Secret Cravings Publishing

All Romance eBooks

Sweet Saturday Sample of "Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny"

Here is a sneak preview of "Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny" to be released on November 2 by Secret Cravings Publishing and a special print book contest at the end of this excerpt.

Chapter One

“This way, Danny,” Cal motioned.         

“No, don’t go that way…” Danny hollered.

Too late. The explosion might have deafened him, but Danny got lucky. Running away from  a bomb one minutes,  the next  Danny woke up in an Army hospital in Germany. Still he was the lucky one, he got the Purple Heart and a trip home. Cal had not been so blessed.

Danny had only been out of the hospital for three days when he hitched a ride on a military plane back to the United States. A long plane ride, provided the chance to say goodbye to his buddies.

“Hey, Captain, ever get the guy in Iraq who killed your brother?” asked Sgt. Josh Benson.

“Sure Benson. Him and the rest, too. All those bastards,” Danny retorted.

“You got the highest score. How many killed?” Benson asked.

“Lost count.”

“More than me.”

“Everybody got more than you, Benson. Jenny behind the desk hit more than you,” Danny joked.

“Can’t see nothin’ on you. Look like they never touched you.” Benson crane his neck to look at Danny.

“Yeah, looks can be deceiving. How’s your leg doing?” Danny asked, moving away to make more room for Benson’s leg casts.

“Good,”

Danny saw the beads of sweat on Benson’s forehead…his pale face and knew his buddy was lying about the pain.

“Glad to be delivering you back to your sister. Say what does she look like again?”

“Stay away from her, Captain. She’s got enough to do takin’ care of me. She can’t be cryin’ her eyes out over givin' it to you,” Benson chuckled.

“Too bad. But then if she looks like you, maybe not!” Danny laughed.

“I’m not tellin’...say Captain…you sleep good?” Benson asked, his brow furrowed.

“Okay, I guess,” he lied.

“I see things. I wake up. I don’t sleep all night,” Benson said quietly, looking down at his hands.

Danny nodded, looking away.

“Will those things go away? Will I always be seein’ Joe or Cal when I go to sleep?”

“I hope not,” Danny said, without conviction, looking down at his hands.

“At least I’m still here. Thanks to you.”

“I told you, just shut up about what happened.” Danny snapped.

“Why?”

“Everybody here does his bit. I did mine…with you. Don’t talk about it,” Danny said in a low voice.

“Okay, okay.”

“You’re one brother I’m returning home,” Danny said softly to himself.

“Hey, Maine, we’re coming down over Syracuse. This is your stop, right?” the pilot hollered back to Danny, who moved up to the cockpit.”

“Yeah. That’s me,” Danny said, reaching for his duffel bag.

“Where do you go from here?”

“I got a ride with Sgt. Marie Willis to Willow Falls,” Danny said.

“Some hick town?” He cocked an eyebrow at the Captain.

“College town.”

“You going to school?”

“Teaching."

"Marie, huh?” The pilot remarked.

“Better warn her about the Captain,” Benson piped up from the back.

“Shut up Benson or I’ll have to break your arms, too,” Danny called.

“Ever see her, Benson? Don’t think the Captain will be interested.”

“She’s female, isn’t she?” Danny raised his eyebrows.

“As far as I know.”

“I’m interested,” Danny said with a snicker.

Purchase "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story" and meet the characters before the sequel comes out. 
Buy Links - $3.99 everywhere:
         Amazon  

Barnes & Noble

Secret Cravings Publishing

All Romance eBooks 

Back to Sweet Saturday Sample, click HERE


SPECIAL CONTEST! I will buy the first PRINT copy of "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story", sign it and send it to a lucky winner! Leave a comment with your email address today. I will contact the winner tonight and send the book as soon as it is printed, within the next two weeks!!

10 Things Not to Say to a Romance Writer! And the snappy answers you might get if you do!

1.   Did you model that character after me?

a.     No, you’re too boring to be a character in my book.

2.    Did you get your plot from a TV program?

a.     No, that’s called theft of intellectual property.

3.    Are you going to put what I just said in a book?

a.     Maybe, but you’ll never know, will you?

4.    Who did you fashion your characters after?

a.     No one, they are fiction, remember?

5.    Did that really happen?

a.     No, that’s called nonfiction.

6.    Where do you get your ideas from?

a.     I buy them at the corner store along with my crack, heroin and diet pills.

7.    Does your mother know you write this stuff?

a.     Yes, and she’s buying copies for all her friends for Christmas.

8.    Do people actually buy your books?

a.     Yes, I’ve got the royalty checks to prove it.

9.    I could write something like this…it isn’t hard. 

                     a.      Go ahead…I dare you! 

     10. This isn’t real literature, you know            

                    a.     Really? That’s what it’s classified as by the government (when you file a copyright.) 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now and Forever 1, a Love Story
A little about the book:
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story is about Callie's Richards, a young woman who's known tragedy, and her journey back to a fulfilling life. After losing the love of her life, she meets Mac Caldwell, a handsome dean at Kensington State University. Can they build a life together after facing hardship and loss? You'll cheer with her triumphs and empathize with her setbacks when you read this emotional story.
 Review from The Pen & Muse:
"Joachim brings in the romance we all know and love. A romance where love conquers all and can withstand just about anything. I loved Mac and Callie’s story about their hardship and their courage to continue. I loved the interaction between Callie and Mac’s son. From start to finish you are rooting for these characters and don’t want to put the book down. Joachim always writes great stories of love and passion. Stories like these teach us that love is stronger than anything else. Those who love contemporary romance will love this book!"
To see review click Pen & Muse 
Click here to go back to Six Sentence Sunday 
Buy Links - $3.99 everywhere: 
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Secret Cravings Publishing
All Romance eBooks

 

An interview with author Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Grab your coffee or tea, sit back and relax for a few minutes, talented writer, Lee Ann, is going to tell us how A Time to Love, her brand new release was born.

To reach Louisiana from my little corner of Missouri it’s necessary to travel the length of Arkansas.  Since my husband and I both have ties to the Pelican State, we’ve spent our share of time riding through Arkansas from the Ozarks through the Ouachita Mountains into the Ark-La-Tex.  We were doing this back when our kids were small and as every parent knows entertaining small children on long car trips can be, well, difficult at best. 

          One late Sunday afternoon as we made the long haul from Shreveport back to Missouri we encountered a major thunderstorm near the small town of Mena, Arkansas.  Mena sits at the base of Rich Mountain, the second tallest mountain in the state and I believe the highest in the Ouachita range.  That day, Mena and the mountain were wreathed in clouds and that sparked my imagination.  I’ve always enjoyed time travel stories and the kernel of one involving a woman who walked out of a thunderstorm into the future was ready to pop into a story. 

          My original idea involved a beach but I decided that the rugged and wild environs of the Ouachitas would be ideal and so the story that became A Time To Love was born.  I remember telling a basic version of the tale to the kids to entertain them as we traveled the two lane winding road that remained the major highway at the time and they liked it.

          So back home I began writing what I called “Rich Mountain”.  On a later trip, we spent our anniversary at the beautiful Queen Wilhelmina Lodge on top of Rich Mountain and the history fascinated me so it got woven into the story too.  A trip down a narrow, unpaved rocky lane leading down the southern slope of the mountain added more detail for the novel as well.

          Now, in advance of what I thought would be the publication date, A Time To Love is out from Champagne Books as an eBook and selling for just $5.99.   The lovely cover pegs my heroine, Annie, to a “T” and was the work of cover artist Trisha FitzGerald.  

          

 Here’s the blurb:

          Reclusive songwriter Samuel Baird lives on a remote Arkansas mountain drinking his life away. The last thing he wants is a woman to complicate things but during a spectacular thunderstorm, a woman arrives just in time to save his life. She says she comes from the late 1800's and he thinks she is crazy but Annie still manages to gain his attention and affection. To reach a happily ever after, Samuel and Annie must overcome several obstacles, past and present, but in the end, they find the happiness that they seek.

          And an excerpt:

Her speech tinged with uncharacteristic bitterness. She turned away, arms wrapped about her body to contain old anguish as she walked over to the very edge of the turnout

Quick eagerness fired his curiosity and he thought he might unlock the enigma she represented. Her emotions were so profound that he almost believed she had come through time. Willing to consider the possibility, he asked the first of many questions crowding his mind. “What did you do when they all left home?”

She spun to face him, scowling. “I went to work at the Queen Wilhelmina Inn.” Her clipped tone guarded secrets. “And I’ll answer no more prying questions.”

She whipped around to face south with so much force that the barrette that held her hair slipped.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to be nosy.”

“Humph.”

“Don’t be mad, Annie.” The pleading note in his voice was real and she turned around.  He wasn’t sure if she wanted to avoid him or just admire the view.

Her feet were at the edge of the sheer drop to the thick vegetation below and when she moved, she lost her balance and teetered. She struggled to gain solid footing but failed, going to her knees in an effort to keep from falling. Her hands flailed out with panic.

He grasped her beneath each arm and stayed her. She clung to him and he jerked her away from the brink. Without time to analyze his actions or emotions, he acted on instinct and gathered her to him. She trembled in his arms and he tightened his hold to reassure her.

“It’s all right now.” He made the phrase a mantra by repeating it three times. Her breath slowed as she stopped shaking. With the danger past, he felt an intense awareness of her body against his. Every pliable curve was a fit against his frame. He knew the cadence of her heartbeat and smelled the fragrance of her hair. His body quickened as she moved against him, verification that she felt it too, and the strange pull that could make strangers into lovers.

Annie put her mouth to his. He could not move for one long moment as he felt her warm, sweet mouth moving over his and he kissed her back. The act restored something that had been dormant within and he was the old Samuel, healed and unharmed. He was free of the dark animal lust that once carried him to strange beds, a man reborn and made whole.

No embrace had been so intimate since the early years of his marriage and his senses marked each nuance, each sweet facet of the kiss. His loins engorged and his soul ached to fill its hungering need. Before he lost his ability to stop, he checked himself. He took his lips from her mouth and pulled away, leaving her to stare at him with haunting pain.

“I can’t do this.” He choked out the sentence with anguish and shame. No words existed to explain to this woman that he did not dare risk his heart again. He could not tell her that he was a coward. That would require courage, which he lacked and so he withdrew.

 

Available at

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-atimetolove-608373-141.html#.ToujvkBI9kw.facebook

http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=511

Coming soon to Amazon.com and other retailers

Find me at

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_6?qid=1317812248&sr=8-6

 A Page In The Life

http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com

http://leeannsontheimermurphy.blogspot.com

My website:

http://leeannwriter.weebly.com

Facebook:
Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Twitter @leeannwriter

Here is another cover of a new release from this enormously talented writer, Lee Ann:

TUESDAY TALES

This week we take a break from "Sexy Night at the Museum" to take a peek at the sequel to "Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights" called, "April's Kiss in the Moonlight" the newest book in the Moonlight series:

As April McKenna drove her small car around the bend and approached a tiny town, a good looking, big man with short, reddish brown hair stepped into the street and stuck out his thumb.

“Yeah, right, Mr. Serial Killer, like I’m going to give you a ride,” she said aloud to herself, speeding up to pass him quickly but unable to direct her gaze away from his.

She averted her eyes hastily, trying instead to concentrate on sorting out her life. Driving the back roads from Willow Falls, NY to San Francisco gave April time to think. She had finished her MBA and was heading back for an internship in her father’s company, prelude to a staid, boring, corporate life. The thought of such a future left her restless . . . and restlessness was fast turning to unhappiness. April didn’t want to go back . . . didn’t want to live her father’s life. She wanted to break out, but didn’t know how, she she’d always been the good girl, doing the right thing, what was expected of her.

With her mind occupied, she was driving on automatic pilot and saw the glass scattered in the road too lates to avoid it. Her tire lasted another half mile before it blew. She pulled onto a muddy shoulder and got out of the car. She rummaged around in the car trunk having no idea where the spare tire or the jack were or even how to use them if she found them. She pulled out her cell phone only to remember she’d forgotten to recharge it before leaving school. Then she laughed when she realized there was no one to call anyway. You’re supposed to hang something white on the door handle when you need help. April returned to the car, took off her white lace panties, the only white object she had and hung them on the door handle, closed the door and waited.

Only a few houses dotted the lonely country road, but acre after acre of green fields was bursting with ripe crops.  Standing on tiptoe, she could make out a farmhouse in the distance. The tall corn stalks of late July blocked her car from view by anyone at the house.

Half an hour passed and no car came by. Was she about to spend the night there in her car? Then she saw him in the rear view mirror. It was Mr. Serial Killer, coming around the bend, and heading straight for her car. She felt panic rise in her chest as she locked all the doors and hunkered down.

 He walked up to the car and knocked on the window, startling April, who jumped. When she turned to look at him, he was smiling at her.

“Flat?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Pop the trunk,” he said.

Can’t you get inside the car through the trunk? He could attack me . . .

“Take it easy. I’m not a mass murderer. Want to help you change your tire,” he called to her.

April popped the trunk. If she didn’t want to spend the night alone in the dark, accepting his help was her only choice.

“Are these yours?” he asked, plucking her panties off the door handle and holding them up to the car window. The white lace bikinis looked ridiculously small in his large hand.

April felt heat seep into her face and knew she had turned several shades of red. Avoiding the stranger’s gaze, she opened the car window and snatched the panties from him. He laughed, shook his head and headed for the trunk, as she struggled to put the panties back on while sitting in the front seat.

“Easier to jack up the car if you’re not in it,” he called to her.

Reluctantly, she got out of the car, keeping an eye on him and perched on a large rock at a safe distance to watch him, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Rusty,” he said, extending his hand after taking off his backpack.

Look for "April's Kiss in the Moonlight" to be published soon. Thank you for stopping by. Please give me your feedback at sunnydaysbook@gmail.com.

Six Sentence Sunday, a taste of "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story"

She moaned at his touch. He unfastened her buttons, opened her blouse and looked at her. Her breasts were perfect, exactly as he imagined. He bent down to kiss one then came up to give her another deep kiss, possessing her mouth while his hand gently squeezed her breast. Callie unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his tee shirt up then she slid her hands up his bare chest, feeling the softness of his chest hair and the power of his muscles. Then the doorbell rang.

A little about the book:
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story is about Callie's Richards, a young woman who's known tragedy, and her journey back to a fulfilling life. After losing the love of her life, she meets Mac Caldwell, a handsome dean at Kensington State University. Can they build a life together after facing hardship and loss? You'll cheer with her triumphs and empathize with her setbacks when you read this emotional story.

 Review from The Pen & Muse:
"Joachim brings in the romance we all know and love. A romance where love conquers all and can withstand just about anything. I loved Mac and Callie’s story about their hardship and their courage to continue. I loved the interaction between Callie and Mac’s son. From start to finish you are rooting for these characters and don’t want to put the book down. Joachim always writes great stories of love and passion. Stories like these teach us that love is stronger than anything else. Those who love contemporary romance will love this book!"
To see review click Pen & Muse 
Click here to go back to Six Sentence Sunday 
Buy Links:
Amazon (only $3.99)

Barnes & Noble

Secret Cravings Publishing

All Romance eBooks