by Sarah | Jan 22, 2013 | Books, Changing Tracks, Publishing Credits, Writing
I’m so excited for this weeks Hump Day Hook – because it’s also my official Cover Art Reveal! I’ve been using a version of this for a few months now – but the finalized look is stunning! The design is mine, but the lovely Dawne Dominique worked with me and helped kick it up a notch to this stunning cover.
I don’t have my official release date yet, but I know that it will be out next month with Secret Cravings Publishing – that’s right, February!
Blurb is below the excerpt. It’s from one of my favorite scenes. It’s a little longer than a paragraph, so sorry…I usually try to keep it smaller, but this week is special.
Cole has been in trouble with Jane for 3 weeks. She has ignored him & all his attempts to get her to cave to his charms. All she wants is an apology for his behavior:
“Sorry.”
She grew still. It was an apology. Not a good apology, but she hadn’t really specified. Her hands rested on her hips, her resolve wavering.
“I said it. You happy?”
Frustration filtered into his tone. It had to be enough. Still, she waited. If he tried to walk away, she’d cave, she knew it.
He grumbled a curse under his breath and covered the distance between them in a heartbeat. Perspiration lit up across her skin. It was a hot day, but his presence made it scorching. His breath brushed her ear, “Sorry I laughed at the thought of you being a teacher. Even when ya told me to stop.”
Now that was good. Good enough. What now? She’d ignored him so long, how could she break it properly? Let him know exactly what she wanted?
“You ever gonna speak to me again?”
“Search me.” Perfect. The way his eyes lit up and he leaned closer, he got the double meaning.
*~*~*
There is nothing simple about forgetting your past.
Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He makes time with his women, makes a killing gambling, and exerts his power how he pleases. One thing he never does is let anyone in.
Until the day she falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. He saves her from the pine box, and finds he can’t walk away. The problem is, if he lets her get close he could relive his past – and he worked too hard to forget it.
She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief that someone wanted her dead. With no name she keeps ‘Jane Doe’ and tries to carve out a life. She finds herself drawn to Cole, and they start a fiery relationship that sets the whole town talking. Their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – keep them from admitting the depth of their feelings, but they find they only trust each other.
Through the chaos of renegade Indian raids, an abandoned husband and her recurring nightmares they fight to find the truth of what happened to her. She soon learns that sometimes the truth is the last thing you want to learn, and she starts to think it may be best to leave the past where it is.
That past isn’t that willing to let go. A stranger proves that he’s willing to kill to keep his secrets safe. If Jane doesn’t remember soon, everyone she loves will be in danger.
Changing Tracks is a 110k Historical Western Romance set in the Colorado Territory in 1871.
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Jan 15, 2013 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook! Edits on Changing Tracks are done. I have since written another short story and sold it, and am about to dive into an hours push of writing on Into a Mirror Darkly again.
Since I don’t quite have my cover art with the publisher logo back yet, I’ll refrain from another snippet from Changing Tracks until next week. If I don’t have it by then, I’ll use a random picture from my files. 🙂
So, just for kicks I’m going to post one of my favorite snips from Book 2 in the Dominion Falls series, Derailed. My main character, Jane…preparing for…well, you’ll see:
Simple. No petticoats, no corset. One well cut layer of fabric.
Plain. Rough black wool. No adornments, not even a visible button.
A dress of death. Her death.
Pale skin shone back at her in the mirror. Shaking hands pulling her tresses back into a simple bun. No hat, no coat. The bitter cold temperatures would mean little to her welfare. Illness wouldn’t claim you if you were already dead.
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Dec 25, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. While I’m waiting for my editor at Secret Cravings Publishing to get back to me with my edits, I’m getting a little antsy now that the distraction of Christmas is over. Soon enough I’ll be wishing I could go back to the days of not pouring over edit notes and corrections.
Until then, I thought I’d give a glimpse into the future of The Dominion Falls Series. Book 3, called Dark Territory has a scene set soon after Christmas with my FMC, Jane, discussing Christmas presents with her bestie, Kat. I decided to use that to keep in the spirit of the season 😉
In the scene, Kat is admitting that she thought the man she (scandalously) lives with might ask her to marry him again after she turned him down the first time. She reveals she had expected an engagement ring as her Christmas present…and what she got was…
Keep in mind, this is ROUGH 1st draft, & I haven’t touched it in over a year…it’s waiting for rewrites…so be kind:
“He kept hinting that he had gotten me something special for Christmas. I wondered if he wasn’t going to risk asking again.” Kat fiddled with her napkin, biting her lip as her cheeks flamed as red as her hair.
“He didn’t…”
“It was a new bed warmer.”
Jane’s eyes grew wide and her lips quivered with barely contained laughter. “A….A…new bed…warmer?”
“Shhhh,” Marjorie pursed her lips. “It’s not that funny…”
“Of course not.”
“Jane…”
“A bed warmer?” Laughter burst from its seams and Jane covered her mouth to try to stem the volume.
“He wanted to make sure my feet were warm,”
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Dec 12, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
Time for another Hump Day hook. Once again I’m talking about my upcoming release with Secret Cravings Publishing. (Their logo will be on the cover soon, I’m still waiting for the final copy – this is the cover I’m pleased to say I designed myself 😀 )
Changing Tracks is the story I worked on for a while. Jane & Cole became such a part of me, I thought I’d never be able to write anyone else. I’ve since learned I have a tremendous amount of characters in my head, but Jane & Cole will always hold such a dear & special place in my heart. I’m so glad that I already have more books to (re)write for them – it is a series after all. Maybe soon I’ll show something from book 2 – but for now I’ll stick with CT and show you another giggle worthy interaction between Cole & Jane. Jane is a sassy smart-mouth minx, with enough opinions to fill an ocean:
“Well you are a woman.” He eyed her appreciatively, “And women should keep their mouths shut. They don’t get opinions.”
“Just because you own the women you bother to keep company with and they must do as you say doesn’t mean they lack opinions. Just means you lack the fortitude to listen to them.”
“If you’re trying to curry favor, you ain’t on the right path.”
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Nov 28, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Hump Day Hook, Writing
If you’re here from the link on Kerrianne’s site, Welcome! Click here to see the latest HDH posts!!
Time for another Hump Day hook. I’m excited for this week, because I’m showing you a paragraph from my contracted book, Changing Tracks (due for pub in February w/ Secret Cravings Publishing). Jane & Cole are two of my favorite characters so far. It makes it very difficult to ever pick just one paragraph (or very short exchange) for the pair of them. So I found this little section from Cole’s POV. Just this one little moment of him looking around his room encapsulates the two of them pretty well in a few simple words.
Then he saw it.
The book.
It had to be hers because he couldn’t read.Obviously he left her alone too much. She’d taken the chance to add herself to the room.
All it took was a book.
Damn her.
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HHH banner below:
by Sarah | Oct 2, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, General, Hex Ranch, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”6367108607″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]You work diligently on a piece. At times you’re almost frantic.
You edit. Refine. Perfect.
You send it off into the world.
Breathe a sigh of relief.
And freeze.
What next?
You have to wait.
Sometimes it’s days, others it’s months or even years (I waited almost 2 years for a reply on a full before throwing in the towel – not without hesitation and sadness).
What next?
Sure they tell you to dive into the next thing.
It should be that easy.
Unless you know – the wait is only a couple of weeks. Maybe a month.
When you’re waiting for each email alert.
It’s easy to get distracted.
Facebook. Twitter. Blog posts. Real life.
Sleep. Oh, sleep is beautiful.
No beating yourself over the head to write, or edit, to make each sentence shine.
You miss it – but oh the break is nice. It’s only a few weeks anyway. Who cares if you take a break?
Except you miss it.
The break is stupid.
But how can you write when you’re distracted by email alerts? Facebook games (just ONE more quest…then I’ll write. Oh, wait – that quest is easy, one more. I swear it.).
It’s time to regain focus. Time goes too slow when you’re waiting on word.
It’s best to get lost in a new world.
Meet new friends (i.e. Characters).
How do you do it? What tricks do you use to regain focus?
Me? Well, I’m dropping my Facebook games. I don’t need them clogging up my feed anyway. I’ll just keep one game that doesn’t clog my feed and takes forever to regain lives. That means I need to focus and get back on my schedule. I have plenty more stories in my head that need to come out.
But just one more quest before I quit…
Just one….
I’m so excited for this weeks Hump Day Hook – because it’s also my official Cover Art Reveal! I’ve been using a version of this for a few months now – but the finalized look is stunning! The design is mine, but the lovely Dawne Dominique worked with me and helped kick it up a notch to this stunning cover.