Do you play with writing prompts?  They can be a lot of fun.  It’s a way to keep the writing muscles limbered up, like going to the gym or yoga class.  Best part is they don’t have to be long; under 500 words is quite useful.  Whether you come up with something you use later, or just play around like an artist makes sketches to train their eye, “It’s all good.”

Here’s an example.  This prompt comes from Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones, but I’m paraphrasing:  take something out of your trash can and write about it.  What she said that stuck with me is this:  “If you can’t write about trash, how can you do justice to beauty?”

One of the times I did this prompt, it went a completely different direction than I expected.  Take a look:

* * *

Piperoncelo picked his way over the piles of newsprint, gingerly setting his paws down in the cleaner spots.  He caught a whiff of something tantalizing but upon investigation turned up nothing but a wrapper for lunchmeat.  The waxy texture of the paper stuck to his tongue and he rubbed it off with his paw.

“Hey!  You – git outta there!”

The shout came, sharply out of the night, like it always did.  Piperoncelo didn’t wait around for the fat man to kick him.  He loped over the piles and streaked though a gap in the fence.  He was almost too slow; a bottle shattered against the metal and wood of the fence and shards skittered past him, tinkling.  It was almost a pretty sound.

Almost, but not quite.

Keeping to the shadows, Piperoncelo trotted down the alley to the Italian place on the corner.  He was always hopeful there, even though they locked up their dumpsters.

Besides.  It’s where he last saw his family.

As he came up even with the gate, he saw the young man who worked in the kitchen.  This time, the youngster saw Piperoncelo and his eyes got huge, even browner than usual.  He started yelling something unintelligible that the other dogs said was “Spunich.”  Piperoncelo slowed, wary now.

“Piper!”

The joyous shout came from inside the kitchen.  His boy and girl came barreling out of the door and nearly knocked him over in their eagerness, just like puppies.  Man and Woman were there too, and Woman was crying.

“Oh, Piper, we missed you!”  Boy was crying too.

Piperoncelo wagged his tail so hard he thought it would come off.  Even the young man from the kitchen blinked a lot, that thing humans did when they were sad, but he didn’t smell sad.  They all smelled like Piperoncelo felt – ecstatic.

And the best part?  He didn’t ever have to eat trash again!

(Unless Boy put the pizza boxes out.  He’d make an exception for that.)

* * *

If this sounds like fun to you, I hope you’ll join me next month for a workshop, “Having Fun with Writing Prompts.”  No experience as a writer is necessary, just a willingness to try new things.  Let’s use some writing prompts and limber up our story muscles. Using pictures, word play, and short scenarios, we will practice writing 500 word scenes for each other. Writing should be fun; let’s play!

It will be from Sunday, June 12 through Saturday, June 25, 2016, online at the Coffee Time Romance forums.  Membership in the forum is free.  I hope you come play with me!

—

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
– E.E. Cummings

My links: Blog | Books | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | LinkedIn | Pandora

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National Novel Writing Month: NaNoWriMo | ChiWriMo | Blog | FB Group | Twitter

Hi, there. Instead of Sophie coming to talk to you today, I decided it’d be more fun to come and share my favourite methods of making Nathe Amergin, a.k.a. Mr I’m-too-serious-to-smile, show his feelings. As if that was a dirty word or something. Trust me, I know much dirtier ones 😉 My name’s Sapphy and I’ll be your tour guide around Nathe’s emotions today. So, how to get this locked-down lover to show you he cares? Here are my top ten ways:

1: Attack him. First impressions count, right? He came after me and yet he got so mad when I sent him flying with my ninja-wind power. Hilarious.

2: Run from him. He tried to take me to jail. Have me hanged. All because of a little mistaken identity. Jeez, humour this guy does not have. Turns out running from him brings out the caveman from Mr Control – and he likes to chase.

3: Tug on his strings. Nathe is an ambassador of the realm, a queen’s enforcer and incredibly loyal. As soon as I implied the danger to his people, he was not happy. And when Nathe isn’t happy, he gets uptight and stiff and sulky. Makes you want to bite his lower lip.

4: Oh, a good one. Kiss him. Nathe gets embarrassed easily when it comes to attraction. His ears blush. So cute. Except when he kisses you back – and then the earth shakes.

5: Tease him. I swear, the man must have grown up where nobody cracked a joke or something. Sarcasm gets an eyebrow twitch, innuendo a strangled comment. And if you say you’re going to tell the uptight nobles where to get off, he goes this deep shade of red that’s hysterical.

6: Ah. Not my favourite. Get hurt. Nathe has this incredibly protective streak along with an archaic idea about women needing his protection. Anyone tries to hurt me, the earth trembles with his contained rage.

7: Push him to talk about his family. If there was ever a man in need of opening up, it’s Nathe. He locks his emotions away so he doesn’t have to deal with them, but he needs to grieve his past. You have to shovel some manure before you can grow roses. Even when he gets annoyed about your pushiness, it’s worth a few displays of irritation to get him to open up.

8: Get seen with other men. So along with that ingrained protective streak, Nathe also has a deep vat of hidden jealousy. See, he doesn’t let himself care for any woman until I pushed my way into his life and if he even thinks another man is making eyes at me, Mr Cool flips to burning point. Watch out for the sparks that fly …

9: Give him the green light. You’d think a man who’s all about control might be a dud in the bedroom, but oh. My. Gods. Enough said.

10: Finally, the tenth way of forcing Nathe’s emotions out from under lock and key? Tell him you love him. I guarantee a display to treasure forever.

For more ways of letting Nathe’s feelings free, I recommend you check out our book. Strap yourselves in – it’s a bumpy ride 😉

****

WHISPERS, Book 2 of the Divided Kingdom Series

He’s no pushover. And she ain’t no fairy princess…

No one would guess that Sapphy, awesome whirlwind of Maze badassness, grew up sheltered in the Fae realm. Witnessing a murder drove her into the humans’ broken cities to hide, but now she’s back, going undercover to keep history from repeating as the tournament to choose a new Fae queen dawns. The only pebble in her shit-kicking boot is the jaw-gritting interference of Nathe Amergin, a Fae Enforcer whose solemn violet eyes set her skin to sizzle.

After the loss of his beloved sister, Nathe saved his last shred of sanity by clamping a lid on his emotions and forging a path to justice. When this frustrating, blue-eyed, my-go-or-I’ll-blow female informs him of a possible threat to the realm, his offer of support is genuine, if reluctant.

While he’s willing to work with her to protect his people, this sinful smart-ass skates perilously close to unleashing an avalanche of passion that, as the final choosing looms and whispers turn to screams, could bury them both.

Product Warnings: Contains ear-blushing sex between a flighty Fae with a mean air jab and a grounded Elemental who makes her earth move. Add a murderous queen clinging to power, and sabotage that strikes out of thin air. Anyone got ear plugs?

***

Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Divided-Kingdom-Sophie-Morgan-ebook/dp/B018VL0860
Samhain: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5737/whispers
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/whispers-sophie-h-morgan/1123095109?ean=9781619230903
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sophie_H_Morgan_Whispers?id=3rkdCwAAQBAJ

****

Excerpt:

With those puzzling words, Tomas slapped a hand on Nathe’s arm. “For all the good it may bring you, she’s on the stairs.”

Hit with a flood of relief, Nathe twisted to where Tomas now pointed.

And stood frozen.

His breath halted, his heart pounded once before forgetting its next action entirely. The dancers melted away, the shouts of laughter and revelry faded, even Tomas blurred until there was but the dark.

And her.

Sapphy stood poised at the top of the marble staircase like an angel from a painting, one graceful hand brushing the bannister, her face in profile as she looked away.

Her long, lithe body was wrapped in silk. The gown was a waterfall of blue, darkest blueberry at the bodice melting into crisp ice at the hem. Baring creamy white shoulders, it cupped her round breasts, slipped down to a waist he could span with both hands, before flaring out to the floor.

Her face had been painted, her lips a pale pink, her eyes a dramatic storm of smoke and ice. Sapphires trickled from her earlobes and graced her throat, simple, understated, elegant.

But it was her hair that was magnificent. A sweep of silvery-blue, the color of ice crystals on the verge of melting, it had been left loose to wave down to her hips, the different blues shimmering in the electric lights. A crown of bluebells adorned her head, a dramatic contrast between sensuality and innocence. The awakening.

She moved like the wind she called her own when she began to descend, a rolling of her hips that had Nathe’s blood sizzling, snapping, aching for her. His body stiffened, but he drifted toward her, unable to stop himself. Drawn together, he thought. Magnets.

And still there was nobody but them as he met her at the middle. She spoke not a word, but her eyes remained watchful, knowing. Even bluer now that her true colors had been revealed. They blistered him with a knowing look.

With a small smile, she held out a hand.

In the dreamscape, every movement was slow, and his taking of her hand was no different. Raising it to his lips, he inhaled the scent of her skin, brushing his lips over her knuckles, lingering.

His eyes flicked up. Breathless was how she looked, sensual and slumberous as she watched him out of hooded eyes.

His groin was on fire, his belly in knots as he longed to yank her to him, gather her skirts up and ride them both to ecstasy.

She waited for him to speak, but he couldn’t find the words to describe her beauty, every one trite and cliché. Every one fell short.

So he took the hand he still held and pressed it inside his jacket, against his racing heart. As her smile floated away, he moved in as close as the steps allowed.

“I burn,” he said softly. He held her gaze as his breath whispered across her cheek.

****

About Me:

Sophie H. Morgan is a paranormal romance author with a love for hot guys, sassy heroines, and HEAs that seem impossible. When not at the keyboard working out ways to drive her characters into each other’s arms, you can find her rambling about the English countryside with her crazy spaniels, shopping for one more pair of shoes, or devouring yet ANOTHER romance novel with ANOTHER bag of raisin cookies.

Website | Facebook | Twitter: @SophieHMorgan

Years and years ago I had an idea for a story about a woman who’s only loved one man and a man who didn’t think he was worth it. Final Surrender was this love story and several years later it was published.

In Final Surrender, Campbell, Clay’s business partner and fellow bodyguard, shows up and makes himself so likeable in the big brother / womanizer / hot as hell but not to date kind of way ‘cause he’s a man-whore. So of COURSE I have to tell his story.

Ultimate Surrender was born and released the beginning of May!!

Here’s a taste of Ultimate Surrender available NOW!!!

He’s hired to protect her, but will her love save him?

Amazon – http://goo.gl/o7JWFR
B&N – http://goo.gl/f80xF5
Samhain – https://goo.gl/yo5BhB
Kobo – https://goo.gl/cQly3g
Are Café – https://goo.gl/eb5wCu
Ibooks – https://goo.gl/nz360T

Campbell Newbury could not believe who his new client was: Natalie Grant, philanthropist and pain-in-the-ass extraordinaire. Of all the security firms in New York, she had to pick his to protect her. But her flaming red hair and curves turn him on. Blond and toned, Campbell is a sex-with-no-strings guy and has bedded countless women. Love? Not an option. Forever? Not in the cards for him. But a bet with his best friend may change everything.

On their first official meeting, Natalie knew all the rumors about Campbell were true. If he weren’t the best security money could buy, she’d want no part of the cocky womanizer. But she needs him. The sudden rush of near hit and runs is proof of that. As the threats escalate, she sees a side of the bad boy he’s tried to hide—and his strong arms provide comfort and something more she didn’t know she needed. Still, she’s careful not to let her heart rule her head. They keep their relationship strictly business by day—and lustfully kinky by night. Will this unlikely couple find their way to forever or will their needs disappear once the dust settles?

Warning: Contains one at-odds couple who like nothing more than to satisfy each other’s kinkiest desires in a no-strings attached hookup. Danger and an unseen threat bind them closer than ever before.

So in honor of finally getting to tell Campbell and Natalie’s story let’s have a giveaway!! This is open to all of my lower 48 states peeps and is for a Signed Print copy of Ultimate Surrender and some kinkylicious swag!!! How do you enter? Simple. Comment below and tell me your love story. One you’ve lived through, heard of, seen, dreamed of. Anything that means a love story to you!

Can’t wait to hear what you guys share and then I’ll pick a winner in a couple of days! Good Luck!!

Decadently Yours,
Jennifer Kacey

About the Author

Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her miniman in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.

Website – Newsletter – The Decadent Divas– Amazon Page

Facebook – Facebook Author Page – Twitter – Goodreads – Pinterest

What image does the word winner conjure up for you?

Champion? Hero? Conqueror?

For me, it represents reader satisfaction.

To win an award for writing means that readers have enjoyed and applauded the story that has been woven for them. As an author, there is no greater reward than knowing that your work has given joy and pleasure to another. With fiction, we are able to escape to worlds and eras that can transform us. Truths can be disguised as entertainment, lessons can be learned, and our souls refreshed. For a writer to be applauded for their work signifies that they have succeeded in conveying the reader to a better place, if only for the few hours it takes to read their novel.

Simply the Best is a collection of International Digital Award Winning Romances

Six First Place authors of the International Digital Awards, have combined their winning novels together in a boxed set priced at $0.99. This is an opportunity to read the stories that others have found exceptional. This multi-genre set spans different times and worlds. There is historical, contemporary, suspense, science fiction, and young adult combined in one set.

THE BOOKS

HAUNTED BY DEATH by Dale Mayer
Suspense Winner

Death haunts anthropologist Meg Pearce…  In her last summer before college, an innocent camping trip ended in a friend’s disappearance…and destroyed her life.

ANGEL’S ASSASSIN by Laurel O’Donnell
Historical Winner

Damien is an assassin, a man with a tortured past. Sold into slavery, he is trained to kill. Lady Aurora of Acquitaine is the epitome of purity and goodness. When Damien enters Aurora’s life, tempting her with promises of forbidden lust, he threatens to tear her peaceful world apart.

BE MINE THIS CHRISTMAS NIGHT by L.A. Sartor
Short Contemporary Winner

Children’s author Annie Hamilton’s dream of having a family resurfaces when Cole Evans moves next door with his two young boys during the Christmas season. But the lure of happily-ever-after with the brilliant scientist is overshadowed by the risk that revealing her secret will destroy this chance.

AHUNTER4RESCUE by Cynthia A. Clement
Paranormal Winner

A unit of elite alien warriors, known as Hunters, crash lands on earth and their leader is torn between getting his men to safety or protecting the human woman he has bonded with.

THE FINE ART OF KEEPING QUIET by Charity Tahmaseb
Young Adult (Contemporary) Winner

No one expects the girl who has mastered the art of keeping quiet to join the speech team. But Jolia does. When a crush-worthy rival offers to coach her in secret, she can’t say no. But secrets have a price, and this one might cost Jolia everything.

THE MAPMAKER’S WIFE by Kathy L. Wheeler
Short Historical Winner

A flippant proposal and an attack on her person finds one young woman married to the mapmaker who only needs someone to take control of his ungovernable child. Feelings quickly shift into something less platonic and when the enemy gains vital secrets, her suspicions land her in jail.

Book Links

Amazon–  https://amzn.com/B01F9RHLE6

Kobo – https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/simply-the-best-a-multi-genre-collection-of-international-digital-award-winning-romances

IBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1109950492

Nook – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/simply-the-best-a-multi-genre-collection-of-international-digital-award-winning-romances-laurel-odonnell/1123750422;jsessionid=56DA0B68699B9BA0AA0F936D89C596EA.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=2940153203652

I’ve got a new series starting with The Dark War and it’s about witches!

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of mythical witches. Like the ones who have magic abilities, can sometimes fly, and are powerful supernaturals in their own right. In fact, if I had to choose what type of supernatural creature I’d like to be, it would be a witch. And I’d use my powers for mostly good…probably…I mean, come one…magic powers…

In honor of my newest release I thought I’d list some of my favorite witchy things, in no particular order.

• Practical Magic is one of the best witch movies EVER! I have probably watched it a million times. Give me a quote, any quote from the movie and I can tell you when it happened and who said it. What I love about this movie is not only the idea of a witch family that sticks together but also that it confronts issues of discrimination and originality. Great messages, great cast, powerful women. Love it. In fact, I think I should go watch it right now…
• Witch tattoos…I have a few, but my favorite one is my Wicked Witch of the West because I got it for my son. He loves the Wicked Witch of the West and he has watched The Wizard of Oz so many times that he can recite all of her lines as well as reenact her parts. He’s five now but he’s been doing this for years. I just had to get a tattoo for him.
• The Witching Hour by Anne Rice is one of the first witch books I read (not counting the childhood books I adored like The Good Little Witch). Rice creates a family of witches with a rich history in a house that I hope one day I’ll get to see, one that she used to own in the Garden District. It’s a hefty book but so worth the read.
• Salem, Massachusetts is an awesome place to travel to. I went there when I was pregnant with my daughter and fell in love with the atmosphere. Everything caters to the witch history and Halloween and there’s a ghostly charm that you just won’t find anywhere else. Even the police badges have a witch flying on a broomstick!
• American Horror Story -Coven is another great viewing experience. It’s dark, disturbing and the storytelling is awesome. Anything that depicts women in powerful roles intrigues me and this is a series that I’ve watched a few times already.

Of course there are many more examples I could list but then things would get a bit crazy here. If you’re like me and you find the supernatural witch intriguing and you’re interested in seeing a powerful woman kick some serious ass then you’ll like The Dark War.

I’m giving away a $20 Amazon GC – enter the rafflecopter for your chance to win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Dark War

As the darkness rises, magic is their only defense—if it doesn’t end the world.

The Dark War, Book 1

Witch. Hunter. Traitor. Kali Richards’s solitary life’s work is to hunt the evildoers of her own kind and bring them to justice. She’s poised to catch her latest bounty when she realizes her quarry is a witch-vampire hybrid with a taste for blood—Kali’s blood.

She’s lost quite a lot of it when Wyatt, the ex who still owns the pieces of her shattered heart, comes to her rescue. Eight years apart hasn’t cooled her anger over their breakup. Neither has it cooled the desire still steaming between them.

As Wyatt heals her wounds, he brings disturbing news: Kali’s mother has awakened from a years-long coma with a prophecy on her lips. A Dark War is coming that will pit supernatural against human. Kali is the key to stopping it.

Except Kali isn’t what you’d call adept at spellcasting. Like it or not, she needs a lot of help. From Wyatt, and from the organization that she turned her back on once before—the Witch Hunter’s Union. Even with an army at her back, she’s in for one hell of a ride…

Warning: May contain a stubborn little kick-ass witch, a wickedly sexy ex-boyfriend and a whole lot of hybrid trouble

About the Author

Every day is Halloween for author Angela Addams. Enthralled by the paranormal at an early age, Angela spends most of her time thinking up new story ideas that involve supernatural creatures in everyday situations. She has also been known to dabble in dark thrillers. She believes that the written word is an amazing tool for crafting the most erotic of scenarios.

She is an avid tattoo collector, a total book hoarder and loves anything covered in chocolate…except for bugs.

She lives in Ontario, Canada in an old, creaky house, with her husband and children.

Website: www.angelaaddams.com
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/blFHeL
Twitter: @angelaaddams
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/angelaaddams/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.Angela.Addams
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4801196.Angela_Addams
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/angela-addams

Find the book:
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/the-dark-war-2

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-War-Angela-Addams-ebook/dp/B018K0HY78/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Amazon.uk :http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dark-War-Angela-Addams-ebook/dp/B018K0HY78

Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/Dark-War-Angela-Addams-ebook/dp/B018K0HY78/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452819952&sr=1-2

Samhain: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5793/the-dark-war

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ni/book/the-dark-war/id1062498074?l=en&mt=11

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dark-war-angela-addams/1123048424

Ever make a really bad typo?  I mean really bad.

My worst ever professional mistake was in an Annual Report for a one-hundred-million dollar corporation, when I was the director of marketing and communications.  Unfortunately, an innocent little ‘t’ went missing from the word ‘assets.’  The board was not amused by “This year, we experienced an increase in corporate asses.”

Recently, I found out what one little vowel can do to Rowena and the Dark Lord, book 2 in the Land’s End sexy fantasy series.

Okay, REALLY uncool when you misspell the name of your own book on a guest blog.

Rowena and the Dark LARD is probably not the best way to get sales for a ‘Outlander meets Sex and the City’ fantasy series.

However, as I do write comedy, I’m thinking about a parody.

Is it okay to write a parody of your own book?

Draft one: ROWENA AND THE DARK LARD

Synopsis 1: Rowena moves back to Land’s End and opens up a bakery.

Synopsis 2: Cedric’s use of dark magic goes totally out of control, and so does his appetite.

Synopsis 3: Thane and Rowena return to Land’s End and become pig farmers.

Synopsis 4: Rowena messes up another spell that causes all who look at her to turn into donuts.

Synopsis 5: Rowena kills off Nigella Lawson in a battle with pastry rollers, and assumes the role of Prime Time Network Food Goddess <sic>.

Synopsis 6: Someone takes a totally justified whack at the author. End of series.

Postscript: Recently was quoted by someone as the author of ROWENA AND THE DORK LORD.  Trial for murder is pending.

Post postscript (where is a Latin scholar when you need one?):  Another contract is out for the professional book tour company last month, who, in all their advertising, inadvertently switched book 3 Rowena and the Viking Warlord to… wait for it… Viking Landlord.  Yup.  Obviously there will be hell to pay if you forget the rent.

Excerpt from Rowena and the Dark Lord:

Men’s voices again, echoing like souls lost in a fog. The mist lifted in one swift movement to disappear into nothingness. In its place, were at least a hundred men.

Bugger. I messed up.

“Houston, we have a problem,” I said out loud. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I must have pronounced one of the spell words wrong.

“Who is Houston?” Lars said.

“Romans!” Gareth hissed. He drew his sword.

“Romans?” I stared at the battle-scarred men before us. They looked exhausted. They also looked bloody, dirty and rather short. Not to mention confused.

How the heck could they be Romans?

Someone yelled “Form Square!” in—yup—that was Latin.

“What the hell?” I stared. The men came to life moving with purpose into a square. Within seconds we were facing a shield wall bristling with spears.

The man on horseback stared at me. No stirrups on his saddle. A helmet that was in history books. Definitely Roman. I stared back at him.

Romans? In this time? What the poop had I done?

“It’s a freaking temporal rift!” My laugh was strident. “Where is Spock when you need him?”

*~*~*~*

Amazon link: Rowena and the Dark Lord

Melodie Campbell – short and sweet bio

The Toronto Sun called her Canada’s “Queen of Comedy.”  Library Journal compared her to Janet Evanovich.   Melodie Campbell got her start writing stand-up.

Melodie has won the Derringer, the Arthur Ellis, and eight more awards for fiction. Last year, her Land’s End series (which includes Rowena and the Dark Lord) made the Amazon Top 50 bestseller list, sandwiched between Tom Clancy and Nora Roberts.

My favorite thing about romance is the tension and chemistry between the hero and heroine. Give me a couple whose opposing traits create friction and sparks, who are quick with the witty banter and who challenge each other, and I’m all in. With my own stories, the heroine is usually the first character to appear in my head. Once I have her figured out, I sink into the deeply satisfying process of creating her perfect match—although that’s not how she’ll see him at first.

When I was plotting THE EXORCIST WHO LOVED ME, I knew the heroine Holly had been in a bad marriage…after all, she’s being haunted by the ghost of her dead husband’s mistress. She’s a down-to-earth single mom who’s trying to do the best for her kids while recovering from trauma and loss. She needs someone who’ll be good to her, someone without the hard edges of a typical alpha male. Since the hero of MUST LOVE GHOSTS—the first novella in the series—was an alpha, I was excited at the prospect of writing a beta hero.

Enter Lawe Callahan, Exorcist. He’s a loner, more comfortable with the world of the dead than the living, but he longs for a deep connection with a partner. A hearth-and-home kind of girl like Holly is exactly what he needs…once he gets over his fear of putting down roots. And Lawe is exactly what Holly needs: a good guy who’ll push her out of her comfort zone.

Writing a beta hero was as much fun as writing an alpha hero. I’m not sure which I like better. What about you—do you fall for alphas or betas?

The Exorcist Who Loved Me

Hiring an exorcist is not something widowed single mom Holly Archer ever thought she’d do. But the blackouts she’s been having mean someone—or something—is hijacking her body and she wants it stopped, like yesterday.

The hottie who shows up at her door is the first man who’s sparked her interest since her awful marriage. It’s no hardship to give herself over to his skills, and in short order the spirit is ejected—and Holly comes face to face with Celia, the ghost of her dead husband’s mistress.

Lawe Callahan figured this would be an easy case, and by morning he’d be headed for another town, leaving Holly and her witchy amber eyes behind. Until she agrees to help the ghost, who refuses to budge until her killer is brought to justice.

As the investigation heats up, so does Lawe and Holly’s attraction. But their differences not only threaten any chance of something real, their quest for the truth could drive a killer to tie up all loose ends—permanently.

EXCERPT:

A thud sounded on the hardwood floor. He’d hopped down from the counter.

“Come here,” he said softly.

When she didn’t move, he took her gently by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. He smiled down at her, sure and confident and strong, and her heart hitched.

“I’m not leaving until this thing is settled.”

She put a hand on his cheek, ran her thumb across his prickly stubble. “Why? We’ve gone way beyond exorcist duties. I was awful to you at the graveyard, yelling at you about your fear of commitment. On the first night we met, no less.”

He kissed the inside of her palm and she shivered. “You were right. I’m lousy at relationships.”

“But you’re still here. Helping me solve a crime that has nothing to do with you. And I’ve been, well, you know…” She dropped her hand to her side and closed her eyes. The words tumbled together in her throat and heat flooded her face. She must be turning red as a cranberry, but she had to say this. Forcing herself to meet his eyes, she felt her skin go even redder. “I’ve been trying to get you into bed. For a short-term fling. The irony of that isn’t lost on me, that I lectured you about not committing, then turned right around and decided to…to use you. For sex.”

Lawe went still, not a flicker of emotion crossing his face. “You’re using me for sex?”

It sounded even worse when he said it. “Sort of. Or at least that’s the plan, since we haven’t actually slept together yet.” Humiliation burned the back of her throat. “Not that I have a plan plan, like something I’ve plotted. I mean, I’m attracted to you and you seem to be attracted to me, so I figured we’d naturally, you know, act on that.”

“So I’m your boy toy?” His tone was thoughtful.

“No! I like you, I really do. I feel more comfortable with you than with anyone I’ve ever known. You’re definitely more interesting than anyone I’ve ever known. That ghosts thing…wow. And you’re helping me when there’s nothing in it for you. Well, besides the paycheck, but you could do another exorcism for that and it’d be a lot easier. You backed me up today when we ran into Jake. I don’t know how I’d have made it through that without you. I selfishly took advantage of your willingness to help, and then I propositioned you in the car.”

Lawe hooked a finger in one of the belt loops on her jeans, urged her a step closer. His thumb slipped under her shirt and skimmed her belly button. If she took a deep breath, her chest would brush his. Her nipples hardened and she felt even worse.

“Thanks for being so honest,” he said. “It’s never easy to hear you’re being used. There’s just one thing I’m wondering.”

“Yes?” she whispered miserably, staring at his mouth so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes.

“When you launched your nefarious plot to get me into bed, did you have anything specific in mind? Locations, positions, props…sex toys?”

“Well, I…”
His lips quirked.

She glared and stepped back. “You’re making fun of me.”

“Hell yes.” His teeth flashed in a grin. Taking her hands, he laced his fingers deep with hers. One tug and the space between them disappeared. “You’re adorable when you’re nervous and babbling.”

“I’m serious. I feel really bad about things.” Although, pressed up against him, bad wasn’t the sensation that came to mind. Not when she could feel the rock-hard evidence he was A-okay with the situation. Still, there was something she had to know. “Why are you staying? Why are you helping me?”

His hands moved to her back, caressing. “Because it feels right.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, gently this time, his lips sweet and comforting against hers. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, opening her mouth to him. This was what had been missing in her relationship with Paul. This physical give-and-take of caring and support and friendship.

And maybe something more.

*~*~*

Must Love Ghosts – Haunted? Call 1-800-GHOST-HUNK.

The Exorcist Who Loved Me – Digging up the truth could lead them to their graves.

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