This piece was written during a brief stint in a weekly meme where you had a word cap limit. It was multiples of threes, 33 or 300 if I remember correctly were the options. I don’t even remember the name of the challenge.
I called this one “A Love Story in 33 Words”.
I want him.
I love him.
How dare he!
I miss him.
I love him.
Yes I will!
I do forever.
No time alone –
Kids, home, life.
I miss him.
I’m joining him.
And that’s it for this week. Short and sweet. 🙂
Today was supposed to be the gleeful announcement of my newest release in the Holidays in Lake Point series.
I was going to show you the gorgeous cover (see? Isn’t it pretty?), and tell you to go buy this sexy delight RIGHT NOW!
But alas, my publisher closed its doors yesterday. The book is no longer listed for sale, and the rest of my books will slowly be pulled off all retailers most likely by the weekend.
So…what now?
Well, believe it or not, in the chaos I’ve already begun to make plans.
Soon as rights are reverted (again, soon), I will be re-publishing every single book but one (Masked Hearts) on Amazon. That way nothing will be gone for long, hopefully. It will take a little longer to get back to the other retailers, and even longer for print, but those are in the works.
Beyond that, my last two Lake Point books of the year, Haunted Hearts and Mistletoe Mixup, will not be published this year as planned. I have many other things on the fire to keep busy with, so never fear.
I am, fortunately, going to be keeping my editor in place (I chained her to my manuscripts…there’s so many she can’t get far).
The Dominion Falls revisions are moving forward much faster than originally planned, and the first book is already in my editors hands. And I can now officially resume working on the fourth book in The Tribe series (which had been on hold to work on Lake Point).
So, I’m not going anywhere. Some of my books are for a few days, but I’ve already begun the process to do as much as I can on my end so I can hit publish as soon as the rights are officially mine again.
At that time, you’ll be able to find all of my currently published books back at Amazon, some with lower prices. And then I will be able to tell you all about Love for Hire.
My Holidays in Lake Point series is set in the quaint small town of Lake Point, NY – located right outside of Rochester. The town is small, but not overly so. Everyone seems to know everyone, and the holidays are always filled with romance.
The series started as a standalone, one book written for a holiday submission call.
By the time I’d finished writing Alan and Ivy’s story I was hooked. At the end of this year the town will have 13 lovely little stories set in it. Tales of love lost, found, avoided and gained.
In Lake Point you’ll find such delights as a thoroughbred horse farm, a restaurant simply called “The Diner” run by the ever-wise and motherly Myrtle. An auto shop run by the genius cowboy, Clay Rylee; as well as a motorcycle shop run by the pink-haired Autumn Trask. A fun restaurant called “The Midway” that serves only fair-themed foods and candies – where you can play skee ball and balloon darts for prizes – run by Michaela O’Keefe and her sexy assistant manager and boyfriend, Tag. There’s a Witch House, a dance studio, and a beach on the lake.
There are so many other wonderful places to discover, but i want you to meet some of the people there and their stories. We’ll start at the beginning – and it may be a few posts before you meet them all.
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Alan Richards returns to Lake Point for the holidays, counting the minutes until he can accomplish the dreaded goal of dealing with his aging parents and get back to the city. Finding his former soul mate living in the town they left together and swore they’d never return to tosses his ordered plans right on their head.
Ivy Nowell has never looked back since she left the city and her ballet career to raise her daughter in Lake Point. Alan’s homecoming dredges up old hurts and the love she never quite let go, but he hasn’t changed, with his relentless commitment to goals that differ completely from hers.
The attraction and instant understanding between them lingers, but neither are who they used to be. Alan wants to give it a chance, but Ivy is worried he’ll change his mind and won’t risk hurting her daughter.
It’ll take Santa and all his magic to keep them from walking away from each other again, maybe for forever this time.
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Michaela O’Keefe is in over her head with her restaurant, The Midway. Her ad for an assistant manager brings Owen “Tag” Montague to her doorstep. With an impeccable resume and dozens of letters of recommendation, she has little choice but to give him a chance. Ten years her junior, Tag sets her long-dead libido humming, but she gave up on love and her instincts on men years ago.
Tag has had a crush on his new boss since his youth, but he’s determined to prove he can do the job. Still, he can’t resist the urge to make her blush down to her toes as often as possible. He knows her rough past in life and love makes it hard to trust, and he’s wary of crossing the line he so desperately wants to.
Just when they manage to figure out how to work and play together, Michaela’s ex does all he can to destroy their budding love. When push comes to shove Michaela’s inability to give Tag the benefit of the doubt might destroy everything.
Learning to trust herself again is the hardest lesson Michaela will ever have to learn – and by the time she does, it may be too late for love.
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Regan Croft is running as far away as she can get from her past when her car dies outside of Lake Point. While she’d said she’d stop wherever her car died and start a new life, she isn’t so prepared when it finally happens. Starting over isn’t so easy, especially with a sexy cowboy trying to learn all he can about her.
Clay Ryley doesn’t know what to think of the beautiful young woman he rescues from the side of the road, all he knows is she makes him interested in dating again after a painful break up years ago. Unfortunately, every bit of his effort to get close to her is thwarted by her fear of her own past. He wants to help her, and love her, but she makes it difficult for him.
When Regan’s past comes back to haunt her, she could lose everything. When the cards are on the table, Clay has to figure out if he’s willing to listen, or walk away. If he makes the wrong choice, Regan will lose not only her newfound independence, she’ll lose her last hope for love.
To be honest, I don’t remember what I wrote this for. I know it involved a word prompt, but that’s all I know for sure.
Of course, that’s half the fun of going through old files and finding these things. You never know what you’re going to find. I like the path this one takes, from one end of the spectrum to the other.
*~*
WORTHLESS
Ripped open
I bled for you
Rivers of tears
There was something so wrong
It was me
It was you
Ashamed within
I tried so hard
Afraid of you
It was nothing close to love
It wasn’t me
It was you
New chance
New, different path
It’s nothing new
Somehow it is always my fault
It wasn’t me
It was you
Torn down
Trod on
Broken hearted ache
Physical pain, emotional destruction
It could be me
It could be them
What is this
A new life
Growing withing
No longer worthless, alone; there’s hope
It wasn’t me
It was him
*~*
More found stories coming soon.
July was an exceptionally busy month for me in my writing world. I started using this blog again, but then got so wrapped up in word count on one of my stories that I just lost all sense of time and space. Drove my husband nuts to see me so lost in my computer again.
I managed almost 100,000 words in the month of July. 75% of that in the last two weeks. After a slow, steady, not overly productive year I really took off and found my niche. Apparently my decision to take a year off from Lake Point really got my muse a-rockin’. I still have another Lake Point book to complete for this year, but then it’s free-wheeling fun (some of which may involve Lake Point).
So as for what I’m working on now…
1) I’ve started the revision of my original Dominion Falls Series novels. In a read-through I did a few months back I found some errors and some scenes I thought could use a much deeper point of view.
2) By returning to Dominion Falls with my revision I have managed to gather some major plot points and scenes for upcoming novels in the series. There will be one novella and two or three full length novels.
3) I finished Haunted Hearts (Holidays in Lake Point 12) and turned it in for edits. Any day now I’ll be getting edits for Love For Hire (Holidays in Lake Point 11), and plan on writing Mistletoe Mixup (Holidays in Lake Point 13) during the month of August.
4) And I need to get back to work on book 4 of my Tribe series, The Raven. It’s half done and I’m eager to finish.
Speaking of which, it’s time to get back to it now!
This piece is actually one I wrote a few years back for a 100 word challenge.
The prompt for this challenge was “Consumed”.
It only seemed natural that I would write about…well, writing.
*~*
When the story creeps deep into your psyche.
When the words flow forth like beer from the tap.
when the characters whisper in your ear, or scream in your head. Demanding to be heard. For you to share the story they have to tell.
When they occupy your every thought. Seep into your dreams. Fill your spare moments with ideas and counterpoints.
That is your drug.
The high of the perfect scene. The funniest line that sent you laughing after it spilled from your keyboard. The tears shed at shared loss or pain.
You are addicted.
You are consumed.
*~*
I’ve been digging through old files and finding things I wrote ages ago. I’m having fun digging these old pieces out, so you’ll probably see a few more pieces in coming months.