TUESDAY TALES - picture prompt - beach scene - #football #nfl #romance

Welcome! This week we have a picture prompt and a 300-word limit. My snippets from my WIP, "Overtime" will continue for another few weeks. It's the last book in the First & Ten series and will be published soon. 

This week we have Griff's story. His wife, Lauren, has sprung a surprise vacation on him. They headed to the beach in Florida. Seems there was a bigger surprise in their future than either had anticipated.

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

He’d made plenty of mistakes in his life, but marrying Lauren wasn’t one of them. He blew  up an inflatable beach ball and bounced it to the kids. After a lively game of catch, they ran to the ocean, where Griff took their hands and waded into the surf, ankle-deep. They shrieked with joy and ran up on the warm sand, then back into the water over and over.

He layed out a blanket. The kids sat long enough to eat the food Lauren had packed. They pelted the quarterback with questions, which he answered as best he could. Where did the ocean go? Where did pelicans come from? He didn’t know the answers. Their curiosity charmed him.

As their beach time edged toward two hours, Chip and Gracie slowed down. His daughter crawled into her stroller and Chip lay down on the blanket. Griff knew it was time to head home. He brushed the sand off them as best he could then layed them in their beds and covered each with a light blanket.

Lauren’s face had appeared drawn when they got in the car at the airport. Concern knitted his brows as he wondered if she was coming down with the flu. He had hoped not as this vacation was her idea and he wanted her to enjoy it, too.

Feeling pooped, he popped a beer and sat in the shade outside on the deck. Lauren often took naps, but never quite this long. On a hunch, Griff climbed the stairs to the master bedroom. Before he arrived, the sight of a bloody towel on the floor stopped him cold. He picked it up. The blood hadn’t completely dried yet, but it wasn’t fresh. Something had happened to Lauren and not in the last hour. 

Thank you for coming. 

Return to Tuesday Tales

My website

TOP 20 #NFL PLAYERS FOR 2015 - WHICH ONES ARE YOUR FAVORITES? #Football #nflteams

I love football! 

These are my men -- the major players on the Connecticut Kings, the team in my bestselling football romance series, FIRST & TEN. 

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

I love real football, too. Here is the list of the top 25 players in the NFL for 2015. Which ones are your favorites? I love them all!

RANK	PLAYER	POSITION	2015 TEAM
1	J. J. WATT	DEFFENSIVE END	HOUSTON TEXANS
2	AARON RODGERS	QUARTERBACK	GREEN BAY PACKERS
3	TOM BRADY	QUARTERBACK	NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
4	DeMARCO MURRAY	RUNNING BACK	PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
5	PEYTON MANNING	QUARTERBACK	DENVER BRONCOS
6	CALVIN JOHNSON	WIDE RECEIVER	DETROIT LIONS
7	ANDREW LUCK	QUARTERBACK	INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
8	ANTONIO BROWN	WIDE RECEIVER	PITTSBURGH STEELERS
9	MARSHAWN LYNCH	RUNNING BACK	SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
10	ROB GRONKOWSKI	TIGHT END	NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
11	RICHARD SHERMAN	CORNERBACK	SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
12	JAMAAL CHARLES	RUNNING BACK	KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
13	JULIO JONES	WIDE RECEIVER	ATLANTA FALCONS
14	LUKE KUECHLY	LINEBACKER	CAROLINA PANTHERS
15	DEZ BRYANT	WIDE RECEIVER	DALLAS COWBOYS
16	LE'VEON BELL	RUNNING BACK	PITTSBURGH STEELERS
17	DARRELLE REVIS	CORNERBACK	NEW YORK JETS
18	JORDY NELSON	WIDE RECEIVER	GREEN BAY PACKERS
19	PATRICK PETERSON	CORNERBACK	ARIZONA CARDINALS
20	DEMARYIUS THOMAS	WIDE RECEIVER	DENVER BRONCOS
21	EARL THOMAS	SAFETY	SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
22	RUSSELL WILSON	QUARTERBACK	SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
23	JOE HADEN	CORNERBACK	CLEVELAND BROWNS
24	NDAMUKONG SUH	DEFENSIVE TACKLE	MIAMI DOLPHINS
25	JOE THOMAS	OFFENSIVE TACKLE	CLEVELAND BROWNS

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

Meet Griff Montgomery, Quarterback, who started it all for the First & Ten series -- from the locker room to the bedroom.

Two people, two tragedies, two deep, devastating secrets….  Griff Montgomery is the headline-making, heart-breaking star quarterback of the Kings – a  6’4”, 33 year old womanizer. Lauren Farraday is a beautiful young interior designer, bitterly scarred by divorce, whose life is falling apart. Though they violently oppose one another in court over her beloved pug (she thinks he’s arrogant and  conceited, and he thinks she’s a bitch on wheels), something happens....

These are the bare bones of this sizzling romance, riddled with passion -- the first in a brand new series that’ll tantalize football fans and have readers glued to every page and on the edge of their seats!

Griff looks like a super hero with his tousled, mahogany hair, dazzling smile, dark, sexy eyes, and a body  that does something indescribable to a tight pair of jeans. Though Lauren’s sworn off men forever, one look sends shivers down her spine, making her feel lonelier than ever before. Her lustrous, long hair, sparkling green eyes, and nonstop curves make his fingers tingle at the thought of touching her.  How do they deal with their cataclysmic attraction? Will they be able to drop their protective facades – his to camouflage his grief over his sister and her family, for whom he was a surrogate father, moving 3000 miles away…. And hers’ to shield her from the incalculable loss of her husband and hoped for child?

For Griff, the thought of falling in love is as foreign as toe shoes and a tutu. For Lauren, it’s like putting on cleats and a helmet and running 50 yards…. Can they, will they, risk it? 

Get started for only $2.99 for ebook, $9.99 for paperback. Available in audio, too! Find it here:

AMAZON

AMAZON PAPERBACK

AUDIBLE
(share with  your honey)

BARNES & NOBLE

ITUNES/APPLE

ITUNES/AUDIO

KOBO

GOOGLEPLAY

SMASHWORDS

AMAZON U.K.

AMAZON CANADA

FIND ALL MY BOOKS ON MY WEBSITE

THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK - UNPREDICTABLE LOVE

I'm starting out with a bit of the beginning of the book before I talk about the inspiration for the story:

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

Unpredictable Love

Anger bubbled up inside her. She made a beeline for the house, only to collide with her sister.

“Amber! What the hell?” She waved the envelope in the young woman’s face.

“I just sent him one letter.”

“This is the fourth you’ve gotten from him. When are you going to write back?”

“It was a mistake…”

“You can say that again. Especially the part where you signed my name!”

“Laura was so convincing. I thought she meant one time. Only one letter.”

“She asked people to sign up to write to guys in the military. Not to write only one letter and include a lewd photo.”

“It wasn’t lewd, whatever that means. Just me in a bikini. I’m not good at writing. Much better at pictures.” Her beautiful, blonde sister, with a Miss America figure, grinned.

“And the reason you signed my name?”

“I always liked yours better. Besides, if he wanted another letter, I knew you’d write it for me. So, it might as well have your name on it.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit smile. I’m on to you. And the answer is ‘no.’” Jory shoved the envelope from T. Stevens into Amber’s hand.

“Please? Pleeeaassseee, Jory. You’re the writer. Not me.”

“That’s right. You’re the pretty sister, and I’m the smart one.”

Amber nodded. “I don’t mean it like that. You’re so much better than me.”

“Than I.”

“See?”

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

The story behind the book

I've always been intrigued by stories of mistaken identity, and movies, like Hitchcock's North by Northwest and Vertigo. Mistaken identity creates conflict, tension, and suspense. 

I'm not sure where the idea of the penpal in the military came from. After some time had passed, the "what if" was born. If you know me, you know that most of my books are born out of that question, "what if..." 

I said, "what if the Marine is writing to one woman, only to  discover later that his correspondent is actually someone else?" That idea grew until it switched gears. 

It became the woman's story. What if Jory gets involved with this Marine and panics when she realizes he's in love with the woman in the picture, her sister!

I loved that premise. It lived in the back of my consciousness and became fleshed out with conflict and suspense, while I wrote other books. 

Finally, the story, brewing inside me for at least one year, was "cooked" and ready to be written. Unpredictable Love pushed aside the book I was working on and demanded my attention. I threw myself into writing it, desperate to get it all on paper as fast as possible.
One note: the Aunt Nan and Uncle Ben are the real names of two of my favorite aunts and uncles. I was very close to them and took care of my aunt in the later years of her life. I never use real names, but wanted to this time. I will be dedicating the book to them as well. 

This is the first in my small town contemporary romance series, called "Pine Grove".  It's a novella and up for preorder now. It will be releasing on May first. 

I hope the story grips your guts the way it gripped mine. Thanks for stopping by. Here's where you can order the ebook and the paperback:

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

KOBO

ITUNES/APPLE

AMAZON U.K.

The Story Behinid the Book. #1 Harley Brennan, Running Back #amreading #romance #football

In answer to readers' questions, I'm starting a new series of articles, sharing the "stories behind the books".  Here's the first. I hope you'll stop by to take a peek, or sign up for my newsletter, where they will be published every month. (Scroll down for sign-up link). 

The Story Behind the Book

#1

Harley Brennan, Running Back

I’m often asked if my story ideas come from my life. While I’ve denied a direct connection, there is some truth to the statement that they come from some of my life experiences and those of people I know. Something I’m living or wondering about pops into my head. Then I can’t resist saying to myself, “what if…” and a story idea is born.

            This new section will be a peek into the background that gave birth to my “what if” for each of my books. I’m starting with Harley Brennan, Running Back, since it’s my most recent and most controversial book. I’ll be adding these to my newsletters and posting them on my blog, too.

            I’ve long been a fan of “The Bachelor” television program. In one episode, one of the female contestants, vying for the Bachelor, had spent the night with a member of the crew.  In his desire to escape detection, he’d jumped over a balcony and broken his leg. They shipped him and her home. I wondered what would have happened if the Bachelor, himself, had slept with a member of the crew? And the kernel for Harley Brennan’s story was born.

            Originally, this was supposed to by Shyla Hollings’ story and the seventh book in the Hollywood Hearts series, where Harley had made a brief appearance. But the more into the football series I got, the more convinced I became that it was Harley’s story and belonged in the First & Ten series.

            Although the book idea started with them together on the show, “Marriage Minded”,  I had to develop more to support an entire book than simply one encounter. Their stories evolved on many walks in the park with my pug, Homer, bus rides, car rides, subway rides and strolls through the City. As their story took shape, my enthusiasm grew. They became real in my mind.

            Two years later, the story had grown so compelling, I had to write it. It gripped me with its darker side, with the love, loss, sacrifice, and ultimate triumph of Shyla and Harley –separately and together. The phrase that keeps echoing in my head when I think about this story is “sometimes people have to lose everything to find each other.”

If you haven’t read Harley Brennan, Running Back, I hope you’ll take the time to give it a shot. Harley’s not your Prince Charming hero, but he’s real. Love him, hate him, want to throw his book across the room –I hope you’ll never be bored with his story.  

Questions? Please feel free to put them in the comments and I'll answer here. 

Buy Harley in ebook or paperback here:

AMAZON

ITUNES/APPLE

BARNES & NOBLE

KOBO

SMASHWORDS

PAPERBACK

AMAZON U.K.

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

MY WEBSITE

LOVE AMONG THE IRISES

I love flowers. It's hard to pick the prettiest one. Irises keep coming to mind as the most graceful and beautiful of all. I love irises and football romance. So here's a blend of both.  

He's looking to settle down, have a family. A family's the one thing she can't give him. Can a pug named, Spike, bring them together? More about Griff HERE

 

She left him in the dust and became a
rock star. Now he's a star wide 
receiver. Can they put aside the their differences and recapture their passion from the past? More about Buddy 
HERE.

A smart, beautiful woman who knows football doesn't walk into Coach Bass's life every day. But can he support her as an equal? And what about that secret he's keeping? What will she do if she finds out? More about Pete HERE.

Fleeing abuse, Stormy runs smack dab into her past. Can she forgive the boy she once loved, now that he's a man?
Can he convince her he's changed? Who's her abuser? Will she spill the truth?  More about Devon HERE

Can a locker room Lothario convince his teammate's sister he's a changed man? Can he live down the escapades he'd bragged about to her brother? Can Samantha handle the dangers of running a shelter for abused women? 
More about Bullhorn HERE

Using football to escape a horrific childhood, Trunk thought he'd set up the perfect life. But not long after his marriage, cracks appear. As his world crumbles, a deep secret he carries may prevent him from rebuilding. He's convinced no woman will ever want him. Maybe he's right. More about Trunk HERE.

Sometimes two people have to lose everything to find their one true love. 
More about Harley HERE.

I hope you've enjoyed these gorgeous iris photos from Big Stock. And maybe I've intrigued you about my football romance books. Irises and football romances, two of my favorite things. 

Thank you for coming. If you want to know more about my books, you can find them all on my website. 

Please leave a comment. Which iris did you like best? Which book cover? 

LOOKING FOR MY TUESDAY TALES? CLICK HERE.