Writing: The Never-Ending Process

This past weekend I attended a class reunion of sorts and as usual I came away with great ideas in addition to great memories of people I had known long ago and still enjoy seeing again and again. Naturally I was asked if I was still writing, while others asked where I got ideas and others asked what I was working on right now. The answers, of course, were that I am always still writing because I can’t imagine not doing it, I am still coming up with ideas, and to me, being at the reunion was part of what I am working on “right now.” Ideas can come from anywhere so to me every minute of the day feeds into my writing. Even as I was sitting at a table listening to others

talk about their lives and hearing what many had gone through or their triumphs, I was thinking about how different everything had been for every one of us.

And of course, that made me think later about my own different story scenarios. Later I begin thinking about a story idea I am working on at the moment – how simple choices can make a difference and change our lives. For instance, what if I had not chosen to leave that little town – some of them still live there – and if I had chosen instead to stay. My life would have been so different. For instance, I am not certain I would have made the decision to become a fiction writer or to find my publisher -- The Wild Rose Press, which now publishes my romantic suspense  and mystery novels. I am not certain I would have found Vancouver, BC, where I set my first Romantic Suspense,  Deadly Messages, and formulated that story based on a simple walk around the seawall and Stanley Park. I still visit there whenever I return to Vancouver.

But from that simple thought came a new story idea – of how lives change over those simple little choices. And thus, they form even more story ideas. What about those choices we don’t make – when we just keep doing the same old things. Either way, there can be a story there, from wanting something else and getting out to sticking around and seeing what happens. Lives will be different from that one small choice or not making it and that means two different stories that could evolve from one simple thought. The character who makes one choice would not be the same person who makes the other. Again, that can change the story and a plot could go in different directions. The choice is up to the author, just like the choice of the characters is up to the author. This week my sister was reading Harry Potter and she wondered how J.K. Rowling could keep coming up with story ideas and how she could form her most wonderful worlds. I don’t think I really could give her the reason except to say that as writers we are always formulating ideas in our heads and keeping our characters straight can be as simple as getting to really know them and their world.

When I am writing I am actually living in the world of my characters as though I can see their homes and their lives and feel their pain as much as any friend I have. They come as alive to me as the real places I visit. When teaching classes I often try to instill to my students how important it is to know their characters and consider what choices they might make, or how they see things. Different characters will make different choices. Years ago I published Dead Man’s Rules about a TV reporter who makes the choice to go in search of a story about an old murder. I am back writing about it again as her crazy cousin goes in search of her father. In both cases, these characters are searching for something. Cere found her story, but she also found love. Now I am working on Freeda’s story of searching for treasure but since my books are romantic suspense, I know she will find love along with her search for gold. Simple choices and simple thoughts can make complex stories, which is why and how the writing process never ends, even at a class reunion.

Deadly Messages at Amazon.com

Need writing help?  Visit writethatnovel.net

When Hollywood Comes Calling

Last week I introduced you to Karilyn Bentley and her book The Shadowheart Curse and mentioned she had a just been given a wonderful opportunity -- a movie might be made of one of her books.  Of course I wanted to know more, so she is back with us this week to tell us about her experience.

Tell us how the movie project involving The Shadowheart Curse came about.

Unbeknownst to me, the movie director contacted my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, and said that he liked my Demon Huntress series, needed a writer who could write demons, and wanted me to write a book based on his idea that would be turned into a movie. My publisher set up a call and the director gave me his idea for the movie. While he gave me the main plot and several scenes, he left a lot to my imagination, like some aspects of the characters and the ending. I had to write a synopsis that he approved, then write the book according to the synopsis. There are ten books in the DeadlyTen series, most of them are horror (the director is a horror movie director), but mine is a romance that features a ghost and a medium. The director will turn the book into a movie. If you're interested in livestreaming the making of the movie, go to https://deadlyten.com and sign up to watch.

Had you ever thought about writing a movie script?
No, I never have so being asked to write a book that would be turned into a movie was pretty cool!

What were some of the challenges of writing a movie script as opposed to writing the novel?

Well, I'm not writing the movie script. I wrote the book based on the director's idea and he'll then turn that book into a movie. It's pretty exciting!!

Were there any changes that you can discuss that readers might look for in the movie?

I do not know the answer to this yet. They haven't started filming (should start in September or October) so I'm not sure what will be different. I don't have a say-so in the movie. But am assuming the director will change some things.

Were you on the set as the movie was being filmed?

I wish! But no, I'm not invited. I've never been to Italy and would love to see it (both the book and the movie are set in Italy). But everyone is able to stream the making of the movie by going to https://deadlyten.com and clicking on the signup button in the right corner. So it'll be like we're all on set! The movie is supposed to start filming in September or October. Two of the ten DeadlyTen movies have already filmed and the rest will be filmed this fall.

When will it be available to viewers?

All ten movies will be available on Amazon streaming on 2/14/20.

Would you do it again?

Yes! I was surprised to discover I really enjoyed writing someone else's idea. It's been a fun experience for me!

Is there anything else you would like to add about your experience?

I learned a lot about myself. I'm a pantser, but I used a synopsis for this book and writing that way worked (for once). I'm also the slowest writer on the planet, but managed to write the book in six weeks (then sent it off to my beta readers, then edited the heck out of it before sending it to my editor, so I guess that was really around eight weeks). It was a lot of fun and I'd do it again!

BLURB:

Escaping New York after a client’s untimely death, medium Adrianna Sinclair flees to her family property in Italy. All she wants is to avoid ghosts, but an attractive one tempts her in ways she never knew possible.  Luca Fausto has been trapped on the Romani property for over a century for a crime he didn’t commit.  Adrianna may be the answer to breaking the curse that keeps him bound.  Standing in their way is a demonic spirit's plan for revenge.  Will they prevail or will Luca be cursed to the shadows forever? 

EXCERPT:

Lights drew her attention to the opposite wing of the mill, where a man stood staring at her window. At her. Breath caught in her lungs as she froze.

But only for a brief moment until she realized it wasn’t a man, at least not a living one. Her breath escaped on a whoosh of relief. Intuition whispered the man was the spirit who’d watched her last night.

The one from her dream.

Shadows clung to his body, ghostly fingers releasing as he stepped into the dim slash of moonlight. Lights flickered from behind him, like the dying gasps of sputtering candles. Dressed in a white shirt with an old-fashioned high collar, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, and dark trousers, he reminded her of a working man in a World War I photograph. As if he had removed his coat and tie and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.

Except the men in those photos didn’t sport the wide-eyed, happy look of this man. Ghost. Whatever. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one surprised. She’d sworn never to see a ghost again, yet there stood a ghost, captured by her gaze. The man was hot, in an old-fashioned way. At least he didn’t sport a handle-bar moustache.

He gestured to her, his hand beckoning in a “come here” motion.

She squeezed the bridge of her nose. Was she actually thinking of heading his way? Judging by the way her feet pointed toward the door, she’d already decided. Dammit. She might not want to see a ghost or speak to a spirit, but past experience told her if she ignored them, they ramped up the annoying factor.

       How bad could it be to talk to an attractive spirit?

  

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/B07TBBZXZC

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadowheart-curse-karilyn-bentley/1132821747

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-shadowheart-curse/id1473825800

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-shadowheart-curse

Where to find Karilyn:

Website:           www.karilynbentley.com

Newsletter:      https://eepurl.com/ba_0Rf

Facebook:         https://www.facebook.com/KarilynBentleyAuthor

Twitter:             https://www.twitter.com/karilynbentley1

Goodreads:       https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4051943.Karilyn_Bentley

Pinterest:          https://www.pinterest.com/karilynbentley

BookBub:         https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karilyn-bentley

Again, congratulations on your new experience! We look forward to reading the book and watching the movie!   Any questions for Karilyn?

Drawn to A Ghostly Escape

Don't we all love ghost stories? Especially when there is a romance involved? I know I've always been intrigued or fascinated by them and when I find a new one on the market I'm ready to sit down and start reading. So naturally I was interested when I heard about the story written by today's guest in My Writing Corner, Karilyn Bentley.

Karilyn is a Colorado author who says she lives with her own hunky hero, two crazy dogs, known as The Kraken and Sir Barks-A-Lot as well as a handful of colorful saltwater fish. She says she was driven to be an author by her love of reading stories and a preference for sitting in front of a computer at home, rather than sitting in a cube somewhere. I hear you, Karilyn.

 Her paranormal romance novella, Werewolves in London placed in the Got Wolf Contest and that started her on her writing career of sexy heroes and lush fantasy worlds.

Her latest work is The Shadow Heart Curse and it sounds like just the perfect book to sweep our imagination into another time and place.

Escaping New York after a client's untimely death, Medium Adrianna Sinclair flees to her family property in Italy. All she wants is to avoid ghosts, but an attractive one tempts her in ways she never knew possible.  Luca Fausto has been trapped on the Romani property for over a century for a crime he didn’t commit.  Adrianna may be the answer to breaking the curse that keeps him bound.  Standing in their way is a demonic spirit's plan for revenge. 

Will they prevail or will Luca be cursed to the shadows forever?

Want more? I do! Let's get an excerpt for even more temptation:

EXCERPT:

Lights drew her attention to the opposite wing of the mill, where a man stood staring at her window. At her. Breath caught in her lungs as she froze.

But only for a brief moment until she realized it wasn’t a man, at least not a living one. Her breath escaped on a whoosh of relief. Intuition whispered the man was the spirit who’d watched her last night.

The one from her dream.

Shadows clung to his body, ghostly fingers releasing as he stepped into the dim slash of moonlight. Lights flickered from behind him, like the dying gasps of sputtering candles. Dressed in a white shirt with an old-fashioned high collar, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, and dark trousers, he reminded her of a working man in a World War I photograph. As if he had removed his coat and tie and rolled up his sleeves to get to work.

Except the men in those photos didn’t sport the wide-eyed, happy look of this man. Ghost. Whatever. Yeah, he wasn’t the only one surprised. She’d sworn never to see a ghost again, yet there stood a ghost, captured by her gaze. The man was hot, in an old-fashioned way. At least he didn’t sport a handle-bar moustache.

He gestured to her, his hand beckoning in a “come here” motion.

She squeezed the bridge of her nose. Was she actually thinking of heading his way? Judging by the way her feet pointed toward the door, she’d already decided. Dammit. She might not want to see a ghost or speak to a spirit, but past experience told her if she ignored them, they ramped up the annoying factor.

       How bad could it be to talk to an attractive spirit?

Okay, I know you probably want more, just as I do, but you're on your own from here, so here are the buy links:

Amazon: https://www.amzn.com/B07TBBZXZC

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadowheart-curse-karilyn-bentley/1132821747

iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-shadowheart-curse/id1473825800

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-shadowheart-curse

And here is how get in touch with Karilyn:

Website:       www.karilynbentley.com

Newsletter:   https://eepurl.com/ba_0Rf

Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/KarilynBentleyAuthor

Twitter:         https://www.twitter.com/karilynbentley1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4051943.Karilyn_Bentley

Pinterest:      https://www.pinterest.com/karilynbentley

BookBub:      https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karilyn-bentley

But there is even more in store for  Karilyn and her book. Her work is being turned into a movie project! I don't do this often, but when I heard about this, I knew I had to know the whole story so I've invited Karilyn back for next week so we can discuss this whole new possibility.  

Any questions or comments for Karilyn?

A Delightful Summer Romance

Sometimes a book's blurb can really grab your attention and you immediately want to know more. That was the case for me with the book, The Chief's Proposal. When I saw the title, I had wanted to know more and then I saw the blurb. That did it! See what you think. As an avid reader in summer I am always looking for a new, great read and this books seems to hold a promising story.

It is the latest book from author, Sandra Dailey. Sandra tells us that from childhood, she has moved from place to place, from Indiana to Florida, stopping in several places in between. She's also worked at a number of jobs, including as a waitress, soldier, retail manager and dental assistant.

She says the only thing she never had to leave behind was her imagination and storytelling was always her favorite way to pass time. She kept being told she should write a book, and finally she did, and she found it was a "lot of fun," so she has continued to write and we are glad she did.

She currently lives in North Florida with her husband, and she says she tortures him with crazy story lines and half written manuscripts. We are looking forward to more of them!

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Ginny Dearing has finally realized her goal of teaching, but finding a position is proving impossible. After exhausting all possibilities, an internet adgoal of teaching, but finding a position is proving impossible. After exhausting all possibilities, an Internet ad is her only hope. In a small town hundreds of miles away there is a job with one huge string attached...a husband. 

Burned by love once, Brett Silverfeather finds his bachelor life more than satisfying. He's facing re-election for sheriff, but this time the voters are looking for a family man. Brett finds himself pursuing a marriage he doesn't want.

Ginny and Brett are opposite in every way, but opposites do attract. Can Brett protect his heart as well as he does his town? Can Ginny hide a secret past that could possibly destroy her future?

See what I mean?  Don't you want to know more? Let's get an excerpt:

“Why do we need a fire?” Ginny asked.
“We need all the elements.” Brett motioned toward the lake, the sky, the ground, and back to the fire as he said, “Water, air, earth and fire.”
“Is this a Native American thing?”
Brett lowered his head and shook it. It was becoming a gesture she recognized as him gathering patience. He did it a lot around her. “Yeah, in your language this would be called a truth telling.”“What would your people call it?”
“A truth telling. Now will you pay attention?” Brett stretched out on the blanket with his head resting on his saddle. “Come down here and make yourself comfortable.”Ginny copied his pose, and then asked, “What’s next?”
“I’m going to ask you a question and you have to answer it, honestly and completely. After that, I’ll answer a question you have. What is said will stay here when we leave.”“What’s your question?” Brett turned his head to look at her. She’d never seen him look so serious.
“Why is it such a bad thing to be married to me? I know I’m no prize, but you look as if you’ve just received a death sentence.”
Ginny thought for a long moment. “I don’t know if it will be bad. I don’t really know you. I just hadn’t imagined myself being married to anyone, ever.”

And that has me wanting to know where I can get the book. Here are the buy links if you feel the same way:

Buy links:
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Chiefs-Proposal-Sandra-Dailey-ebook/dp/B008RYT3RM
Barnes & Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-chiefs-proposal-sandra-dailey/1112379889
Kobo: www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-chief-s-proposal-1
Amazon.ca: www.amazon.ca/Chiefs-Proposal-Sandra-Dailey-ebook/dp/B008RYT3RM
Amazon.co.uk: www.amazon.co.uk/Chiefs-Proposal-Sandra-Dailey-ebook/dp/B008RYT3RM
Amazon.com.au: www.amazon.com.au/Chiefs-Proposal-Sandra-Dailey-ebook/dp/B008RYT3RM

Here is how to get more information on Sandy and how to get in touch with her:

Website/Blog: http://www.sandradailey.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sandradailey.author
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sdaileyauthor
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/sandradailey
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6551048.Sandra_Dailey

Thank you, Sandy, for bringing us your latest book and what sounds like a fun summer read!
Any comments or questions for Sandy?

Let's Talk Villains!

Villains! Love them or hate them, we can't live without them. Even in our daily lives we run into them when we would prefer to avoid those nasty types who make our lives miserable. But they are inevitable companions to writers. It is difficult to think of writing a fiction novel without some sort of villain to make your hero or heroine unhappy or to test them and make them grow over the course of the story.

When my writing co-author, Sue Viders,  and I set out to write a book on villains, we found ourselves poring back through all our favorite old books and through our many books that we'd written to study the bad guys and gals that make each story click. Whether you are dealing with giant monsters on Mars or the bully down the street, it is easier than ever to find villains we need to defeat.

Sue and I have taught numerous classes on writing great characters and heroes and villains, but when we went looking for books on villains we didn't really find anything on the shelves that worked for writers looking to create their own fictional villains.

And that was why we wanted to, no needed to,  write a book on villains. Who are these special or crazed creatures or people who want only bad things to happen?? Why do they become so nasty and so evil?  Well, we aren't psychologists so luckily we don't need to figure that out. All we really needed to know was how these nasty people affect those around them.  Yes, we need to study their motives, but sometimes you just end up with a horribly evil villain and he or she doesn't  really have a plan other than to make life miserable for everyone around him/her. (Yes, I really enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera)

The book looks at all those villains we have come to hate, know or love and then we took the writing process a step further and started helping writers develop their own villains. Why do we love villains? What role do they play in the story? What do you do with them once you have come up with them. We tried to discuss all of those issues for writers and provide some tips an help on developing your own "perfect" villains for your own stories. Every story is different and every hero or heroine requires their own villain to torment and test them and that was what we set out to do -- show writers how to come up with the perfect bad guy or woman.

We are happy to announce that after months of work, our book is finally available on Amazon.com and we're hoping it becomes a useful resource for writers in all genres. You can get a look at it on Amazon.Com

Amazon.com or search for Sue Viders or Becky Martinez

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at  writethatnovel@gmail.com

The Perfect Time for A Summer Romance

Romance writers are meeting this week in New York and since it's also the heart of the summer, this is the perfect time to talk about romance and romance writing. Today's guest in My Writing Corner is author Charlotte O'Shay who brings us her latest release -- just the thing for those leisurely days when all you want to do is read. 

Author Charlotte O’Shay was born in New York City into big family and then married into another big family. Negotiating skills honed at the dinner table led her to a career in the law. After four beautiful children joined the crowded family tree, Charlotte traded her legal career to write about happily ever afters in the City of Dreams.

Charlotte says she loves to challenge her heroines and heroes with a crisis and watch them figure out who they are while they fall in love.

Her latest book is Their No Strings Affair.

Honey packs everything she owns and heads to NYC to jumpstart her art career. Her cheating boyfriend is history, and she finally acknowledges the truth of her mother's mantra: Careers are forever and happily ever after isn't in their DNA.

All she needs is a job and a place to live. What she doesn't need is a taciturn, sexy, ballbuster but she's woman enough to know the difference between need and want. Isn't she?

Jake's childhood was marred by tragedy and his future hijacked to a promise born of guilt. His failure drove him to a career as a SEAL and a security expert. But it's not enough. Now he'll give up his freedom in reparation for the life he lost. Honey may be the last sweet stop on the road to a joyless future. If it's what they both want, where's the harm in a no-strings affair?

 Have you always wanted to write fiction?

I’ve always had tremendous respect for journalists and there was a brief moment in college when I took a journalism class. But the made-up stories in my head were always more fascinating to me.  As a lawyer I wrote non-fiction in the form of legal briefs and memoranda of law. That writing was my favorite aspect of being a lawyer. Still, the desire, the need to write fiction never left me.

What are the challenges of being a writer?

If by that you mean difficulty, I don’t look at it that way. I see opportunity! For me, originally, the challenge of being a writer was finding time to write (with the demands of a legal career and a family). Honestly, it was difficult to give myself permission to write without feeling guilt about everything else I should be doing. Now that I can write almost full-time, my goal is to improve my craft and get my work before more readers (marketing). Those two goals will always be there and I’m okay with it. I adore life as an author.

  Tell us about your road to publication.

My road to publication was both long and short. Once I actually submitted a full manuscript to several publishers, I got a contract pretty quickly. Getting to that point took a while mainly because it took me years before I actually submitted my work. I’m happy I didn’t consider it necessary to look for an agent. I’m thrilled to write romance for my small press publisher and perhaps my next step will be self-publishing.

  How do you come up with your characters?

It’s a visual process. Usually, I see a scene in my mind. It could be a scene from the beginning of the story but sometimes it’s from later on but it’s a pivotal exciting moment. The scene is a mental movie. While I watch my characters do whatever they’re doing and it’s usually something fairly dramatic, I write it all down, copying down the scene I’m watching. That gets me started.

Other times it’s a bit of dialog I can’t get out of my head. The words are usually some random piece of conversation I heard or overheard in my daily life or a story someone tells me…where she’s saying you’ll never believe this happened. It’s a jumping off point and my imagination takes over.

 Tell us about your City of Dreams series. What made you write it?

The City of Dreams series sprang from the energy of New York City and its people. People who live here in NYC are typically quite driven. I wanted to examine what drives them, their goals and their secrets. Book 3, Their No-Strings Affair is an opposites attract, enemies to lovers story and psstt, it’s on SALE right now. Honey and Jake are the classic couple who are going in completely different directions in life but when fate brings them together—more than once, they decide to give into their attraction.

We all crave love no matter what we do, where we live or whatever our pasts may be. It was fun to give my driven, slightly tormented characters their happily ever after. 

  What are you working on now?

I’m working on three stories and they’re all set in the city as well. Tentative titles: Revved Up, a workplace romance, Fired up, a second chance love story, & My Only One, a friends to lovers with suspenseful elements.

Thank you, Charlotte, for introducing us to your works. They sound like great summer reading!

Here's more on how to get in touch with Charlotte and the buy links for No Strings Affair:

Social Media Links:

 WEBSITE

 INSTAGRAM

 TWITTER

 PINTEREST

 FACEBOOK PAGE

 BOOKBUB

Buy Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

Amazon AU

Nook

IBooks

Google play

Kobo

Thank you, Charlotte, for introducing us to your books. Any comments or questions for Charlotte?

A Whole New Look at A Popular Tale

Have you ever wondered what fairy tales would be like if they were written with current sensibilities and understandings?  Wouldn't it be fun to read a story like that? What about trying to try one? That is just what today's guess in My Writing Corner has done. My guest is author Peg Jaegger. She is a romance writer who writes about strong women, the families who support them and the men who can't live without them. She says if she can't make you cry one minute and then laugh the next, then she has not done her job as author. Her latest book DIRTY DAMSELS. Take it away, Peg!

5 reasons why I wanted to write DIRTY DAMSELS:

1.      I love a fairy tale. DIRTY DAMSELS is a modern day telling of Cinderella, updated for the 21^st century

2.      The thought of writing about a female CEO was wicked appealing to me. Women make up more than half the work force and yet are still struggling to achieve leadership positions in the corporate world. I wanted to show what a female CEO could be like and what she could do.

3.      Family dynamics are a universal theme. Cynderella Jones, just like her fairy tale counterpart, has a very dysfunctional family and writing their fractured dynamics was a bit cathartic for me.

4.      Princes come in all shapes and occupations. My Prince Charming isn’t royalty; he’s just called the Prince of Wall Street because he’s a financial genius.

5.      Everyone deserves a Happily Ever after, not only in fairy tales. Ella isn’t looking for love, but the idea that it finds her when she’s least expecting it was very appealing to me to write.

Let's get more!

 When I first saw Cynderella all covered in soot in that sexy maid uniform, I knew I wanted to be her Prince.

She’s a small and savvy businesswoman who’s built her cleaning company from the ground up. But now that Dirty Damsels is booming, I’ve been hired to arrange a hostile takeover.

But the temptation of having her was too much to ignore… We ended up spending one night together—a night neither of will forget. Now, I want more. I need more. I want to spend every night, skin-on-skin, with my beautiful Ella.

Problem is, when she finds out who I really am, she’ll never forgive me.

Want to know more? Let's get an excerpt:

The bathroom door opened.

In his tailored suit he’d been impressive and striking. With a white bulky towel wrapped around his waist, and the humidity in the bathroom sluicing off his damp torso, he was downright magnificent. Those wide and solid shoulders tapered down into biceps I could tell regularly attended a gym with him, and then into forearms corded with strong sinew and veins.

 “I-I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I’m almost done. I’m sorry.” I blushed again and I cursed my fair skin. But really, how could I not blush and stutter when faced with this unbelievable specimen of hotness standing five feet away from me, all wet and hard muscled and gorgeous?

He moved like a panther across the rug, soundlessly stalking, as if playing with his prey, until he came to the opposite side of the bed.

He took one corner of the sheet in his hand and yanked it. “Do you have enough on your side?”

Speech was impossible because I knew I’d start blabbering again, so I nodded and tucked the sheet under the mattress.

“Hospital corners.” He nodded and then mimicked my motions. “I love a tight sheet.”

I couldn’t help but stare at the way his biceps swelled when he lifted the mattress as if it weighed nothing, and shot the sheet under it. Nor could I forgo glancing at the thick mat of black hair crisscrossing from one side of his pecs to the other and then down, disappearing below the towel. And I’d have to have been struck blind and stupid – which I’m neither – not to notice and admire the trim, tight waist and abdomen the towel was securely wrapped around.

At least I prayed it was securely wrapped.

I grabbed the comforter, shook it out and he helped me place it over the bed.

“Toss me one of those,” he commanded when I grabbed a pillow and began tugging the case on.

He caught both in midair.

The bed made, I turned to tell him about the platter of food, but stopped before the words could leave my throat. He’d moved without a sound again, coming to stand so close to me I could smell the citrus scent of the soap he’d used wafting off his body.

He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. I swear my body temperature went up ten degrees. I figured by now I resembled one of those cartoons where the character’s head turns beet red and then explodes upward.

“Thanks, Cinderella.” A devilish grin tripped across his tired face. “But I need to crash now, so…”

I truly could have stood there for the rest of the afternoon basking in his hotness, but I got the hint.

I nodded and made one last visual sweep of the room.

“Do you want me to close the blinds?” I asked, turning back just in time to see him drop the towel and slide – gloriously naked – into the freshly made bed.

Holy Mother of God. The man had a butt made for grabbing. Two perfect, round, and tight cheeks dipped from that narrow waist, leading downward to two thick and powerful thighs. Since his back was to me he didn’t notice my jaw hanging open  to my knees while he burrowed under the comforter.

“Mmm…sure. Thanks, Cinderella.”

Even half asleep his voice made my heart skip a few beats and my girlie parts go zing.

 Want more? Here are the buy links:

Amazon: Exclusive to KU readers for free

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TBBPHM8

 Print Version: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1640348409

Peg is also an avid crafter and blogger and you can visit her at:

  http://peggyjaeger.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072?ref=bookmarks

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mmj122687/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-jaeger

You-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDR8RRIlssIyS0FYZWeGqsg/videos?view_as=subscriber

Thank you, Peg, for being my guest today!