#FindingHunter Excerpt #2

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015 / Marcia Meara / Leave a comment

Thought I’d share a bit more of the romantic part of #FindingHunter with a scene from Chapter 3. First, the Chapter 3 snippet from the top of the page, then a moment from Hunter’s POV, as he has lunch with Willow Greene, something he’s terrified to be doing. (Hunter has issues. 😀 ) Later, I’ll share another scene from Chapter 3, from Willow’s POV, which that will include their first kiss. Hope you’ll enjoy this bit, and THAT one. 😉

CH 3 Snippet/Poem

Which way, he asks, face all sharp angles and bright teeth
Under a straw hat, and above his bib overalls.
South, I mumble, climbing into the car.
South toward death—but I don’t say
That part.
~ Traveling Man ~

Excerpt

His thoughts were tangled around each other in his head, and his mouth betrayed him, as usual. “Never have grown up, have you?” He saw the hurt in her eyes immediately.

“Why would you think that, Hunter?”

“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Willow. That didn’t come out like I meant it.”

“It sounded clear to me. You think I’m still a silly teenage girl, full of frivolous ideas.”

“No.” He gave a determined shake of his head. “Don’t think that at all. What I think is that the rest of us grew up … grew weary … grew complacent. We bent to the way of the world, beaten down, or just too tired or unhappy to care anymore. Some of us grew old by thirty. None of that happened to you. You grew up without letting the world kill who you are. Life may have touched you—or even hurt you—but it hasn’t changed you.”

Now she was staring at him, and he felt his face burn. “That’s what I meant,” he mumbled, studying the green and white checked tablecloth. “Just didn’t get it all out.”

“Oh. Well, then … thank you. I think? I mean, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

He raised his eyes to hers. “A very good thing. Nice to see.”

They finished up lunch, Hunter still feeling like a clumsy bumpkin, but doing his best not to spoil the mood again. Chatting more easily, they covered mutual friends, the challenges of taking care of an older home, and anything else Willow thought of. Hunter just went along for the ride, letting her pick topics that made her happy. He didn’t really care what the subject was, as long as he could sit there watching her hands fly and her eyes shine.

She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. It’s like talking to a being who’s made of pure joy. Gunn may not be able to see how she sparkles, but I do. She’s magic, all right. None of us are good enough for her, especially not a bumble-mouthed country nobody like me.

Finding Hunter available for download on Amazon. Print book coming soon.

#RomancingSeptember Days 14 and 15

September 15, 2015 / Marcia Meara / Leave a comment

Two more wonderful romance writers for you to learn about. Day 14 brought us two interviews with Nicky Wells, and today, Day 15, features two interviews with author Felicia Myers. Hope some of you have been enjoying these fun posts, learning more about how authors write, and what books they have available for your reading pleasure. Remember to share, thanks!

Rosie Amber: #RomancingSeptember Day 14 with Nicky Wells
Stephanie Hurt: #RomancingSeptember Day 14 with Nicky Wells

Rosie Amber: #RomancingSeptember Day 15 with Felicia Myers
Stephanie Hurt: #RomancingSeptember Day 15 with Felicia Myers

#Excerpt Week – Epic #fantasy – THE PRINCE’S MAN by Deborah Jay

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / Deborah Jay / Debby Lush / 8 Comments

Excerpt from THE PRINCE’S MAN

Epic fantasy ~ Think James Bond meets Lord of the Rings…

Chapter 12 – TUNNEL CREEPERS

Rustam squeezed past Nightstalker, and scrambled up behind Elwaes. He had no idea what tunnel creepers were, but the fear in the elf’s voice was all too apparent.

“Go Risada, go!”

The grey leapt forward, kicking loose stones from beneath its feet to clatter away down the mountainside, adding to the horses’ rising panic. Sickly pale, bloated creatures swarmed out of the holes, and Rustam gagged on the mephitic stench that preceded them. Risada’s mount spooked sideways and jumped half a length up the left bank to reveal the pallid, segmented body of a creeper blocking the path ahead.

The nightmarish thing, which stood as high as the gelding’s chest, shifted its weight rapidly between its six legs, threatening great speed although the huge body merely quivered up and down with the multiple joints clicking loudly. Tiny eyes glittered from behind its mouth-parts, vanishing as ragged fronds waved under its pincers. Those pincers with their wickedly serrated edges and pointed tips held Rustam’s horrified gaze, and he felt his empty stomach constrict even further: the monster’s exoskeleton looked as tough as armour, probably impervious to steel, except perhaps at the joints. Not that he had any desire to get close enough to test the theory. Continue reading →

Finding Hunter Excerpt #1

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 6 Comments

Finding Hunter is Book 2 in my Riverbend series. It follows Swamp Ghosts, and can be read as a standalone, but since most of the characters were introduced in Swamp Ghosts, it makes more sense to read that one first.

At the beginning of Chapters 1 through 20, there is a “snippet” at the top of the page. I’ve included the one from Chapter 2 here, even though the excerpt is actually from the middle of Chapter 1. This is Willow Greene thinking back to meeting Hunter Painter when they were in the 11th grade at the small town high school. Enjoy!

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

CH 2 Snippet First:

Before, I never thought about taking a life. Not once.
Now, the thought fills my mind day and night, and
I wonder how I’ll hide that terrible need,
As an old car swings to the shoulder,
And stops.
~ Traveling Man ~

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

CH 1 Excerpt:

He had been a quiet, thoughtful boy, cut from completely different cloth than his brothers. Forrest, a senior that year, and the oldest brother, Jackson, were like peas in a pod. Outgoing, popular, and always up to something. But not Hunter. He marched to that different drummer we’ve all heard tell of, always present, but never quite in the moment.

Willow was very popular with both girls and boys, but the more the other boys came calling, the more Willow had thought about Hunter. He never seemed to be dating anyone, and he always greeted her with a smile and a quiet word or two, but then he would turn away, ambling off to find a quiet spot by himself.

The only class they shared that first year was English, and even though Willow had chosen the seat directly behind Hunter, he never turned to talk to her before the final bell. In fact, he usually waited until the last minute to enter the room and take his seat, leaving Willow to stare at the soft, brown hair curling against his neck, fascinated by the slight bump of each vertebra marching along under his pale skin.

It was his neck that did it. I never would have loved him so much if I hadn’t fixated on that one bit of skin, right in front of my eyes, five days a week. Who falls in love with a neck? And who still remembers it sixteen years later?

All that junior year, Willow had longed for Hunter to call her, to ask her out, or at least to sit by her at lunch. But he never did, and she never told anyone—not even her best friend, Maggie—that out of all of the boys they knew, only Hunter Painter touched her heart.

****

Finding Hunter for Kindle is Available on Amazon now.

Miyuki, Harvard Girl by Eldon Brown

September 14, 2015September 15, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 3 Comments

Excerpt from Miyuki, Harvard Girl by Eldon Brown, soon to be available on Amazon.com:

     He knew that I had observed this procedure before, so I surmised that he had another reason to get me alone. There were some things that I wanted to ask him too. On the way to the orchid house, I just blurted out, “Mr. Seto, were you spying on me?”
     “Not spy,” he said, “watch.”
      “But why?” I asked.
     “It is Japanese way. Everyone is watched. You are seeing my daughter. I must know all about you.”
      “The present was a nice touch.”
     Seto smiled. “Yes, but you did not accept.” He paused and became more serious. “Mattu-san, by now I am sure that you know I am yakuza. It is no secret. Your FBI knows, the baseball players know. It is why I always have bodyguards. I don’t think Miyuki knows, and I would prefer that she believes I am just a simple farmer.” Just then the orchid truck departed from the orchid greenhouse.
     “Is it true that you clear fifty thousand dollars for each of these shipments?”
     He smiled again and offered a slight bow. “Your information not entirely correct. I must pay a commission on every order. Each politician has a budget for meetings and official functions. I pay them twenty-five percent commission.”
      “Isn’t that a bribe?”
      “No, not bribe, commission. We call it tea money.”
     I thought, One man’s bribe is another man’s incentive.
      He looked up at me and smiled. “I suppose you believe that some tea is not exchanged in your country when those big defense contracts are signed.” His eyes seemed to twinkle.

Happy Book Release Day!

September 14, 2015 / Jenny / 4 Comments

Today is the day! I’m so excited, you seriously have no idea. I can’t wait for you to finally get your hands on my brand new contemporary romance: Boys Don’t Cry.

Taliesin Wick knows exactly what she wants to do with her life. Even when her house-flipping father puts their home in Austin on the market and moves the family to Pennsylvania, it’s nothing but a minor wrench in the cogs of her dreams.
Then she meets Nate Thorne.

From the moment she first spied Nate playing guitar on his front porch, Tali was drawn to him. The sorrow in his songs, the deep sadness in his beautiful eyes… she can feel Fate pulling her to him.

Something haunts him. He never talks about the sins of his past, but she knows he doesn’t trust himself, especially not with her heart. Tali can’t imagine the sweet, loving boy she’s come to know being the awful monster he thinks he is, but what if he’s right? What if learning his secrets changes the way she feels about him?

Tali doesn’t know if their whirlwind of bliss is just a summer fling, or something much more, but she does know falling in love with Nate is going to leave the kind of mark you can never erase.

Available for $2.99 everywhere eBooks are sold

Amazon

Amazon US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, France, Spain, Japan, India, Mexico, Brazil, The Netherlands

Kobo

iBooks

Nook

All Romance ebooks

You can also grab paperbacks for $9.99 from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or U.S. residents can snag a signed paperback copy right here on the site for $9.99 plus $3.00 shipping and handling:

I am also running a big giveaway over on Facebook until 12 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, September 15. I’m giving away paperbacks, ebooks, book swag… all kinds of goodies. So if you’re on Facebook, you won’t want to miss out.

You can find out more about that right here.

Once Upon a Crime

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / Evelyn Cullet / 5 Comments

Here is an excerpt from my latest romantic suspense novel, Once Upon a Crime:

The sound of the van pulling up to the front of the cottage made Charlotte’s heart skip a beat. Striker grabbed her arm, pulled her off the sofa and walked her toward the front door. He opened it wide, and put his face next to hers. “When we get outside, don’t try anything funny.”

He pulled the handle on the back door of the van, and swung it open. “Get in.”

She stood straight and stiff, her chin lifting in her most defiant stance as she braced her feet in the snow.

His hard eyes stared her down. “I said, get in!”

When she didn’t move, he lunged at her. She dodged to the side and delivered a sharp kick to his knee. He’s not getting me in that van.

He grunted and stumbled back. She spun around and made a mad dash toward the lake, but her short legs struggled in the deep snow. Striker’s long strides caught up with her after a few moments. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground.

“All right.” He grunted under her weight. “If you wanna do things the hard way…”

She twisted and squirmed and kicked at him with every ounce of strength she had, but his grip was so unyielding as he walked back, that only a few of her blows made contact. He shoved her into the van. She managed to get in a strong kick to his hand before he slammed the door, leaving her breathless in the dark.

Once Upon a Crime is available at the following:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/l41hxxb

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/lcpl5d9

Wings ePress – http://www.wings-press.com/

Check out my website and blog: http://evelyncullet.com/

Like me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvculletsAuthorPage

Twitter- leave a tweet at: https://twitter.com/EvelynCullet

Follow my Pinterest boards and I’ll follow yours: http://www.pinterest.com/ecullet/

Thanks for the opportunity to leave an excerpt on your blog, Marcia.

Evelyn Cullet

#RomancingSeptember Day 13

September 13, 2015September 13, 2015 / Marcia Meara / Leave a comment

Today is lucky Day 13 of #RomancingSeptember, and the featured author is Margaret Cullingford. Check out her interview with Rosie Amber, and then the one with Stephanie Hurt, and enjoy! It’s lovely to learn about all these writers, and I hope you’ve been enjoying this event. Pass it on!

Rosie Amber: #RomancingSeptember Day 13 with Margaret Cullingford
Stephanie Hurt: #RomancingSeptember Day 13 with Margaret Cullingford

Aaaahhhhh…that’s better!

September 12, 2015 / Marcia Meara / 8 Comments

Thankfully, last week’s problems seem to be sorting themselves out satisfactorily, which is nice, because it frees me up to deal with THIS week’s problems, as they arise. And they are sure to arise. 😉

Swamp Ghosts, it all its forms, seems to be looking correct once again. Finding Hunter has been corrected on Kindle, so that the formatting is prettier, and I have just ordered a new proof of the print version from CreateSpace. So Hunter Painter’s distressing tale seems resolved, at the present time.

I can breathe again. And possibly even sneak in some reading this weekend. (I’m close to the halfway point in Lee Child’s latest Reacher book, Make Me. OH, how I love watching Jack Reacher tug on threads one at a time, as he slowly unravels the latest mystery he’s uncovered.) And I can even catch up on my Bookin’ It reviews, perhaps.

However, I can’t dawdle for long. Rabbit has a story to tell, and when that boy gets to talking, there’s no stopping him. So, I plan to start Harbinger in the next day or two. I’m already putting together my inspiration board, filled with gorgeous images of the North Carolina mountains. *sigh* Makes me want to load up my car and go!

But…here’s the biggest news of all. Starting on Monday, here at The Write Stuff…we’re going to have an EVENT! Nothing earth-shattering or difficult, but it should be fun. Stay tuned for details shortly.

And that’s it for me today. What wonderful things are you guys up to this weekend?