WILD WAVES EXCERPT - CHAPTER 10 (FINAL EXCERPT)

         This will be the final excerpt from Wild Waves!!! The novel will be released on November 2, 2013 and I hope you will pick up a copy!  You can also head on over to facebook and join our release party event!  The support would be much appreciated. https://www.facebook.com/events/237890906334955/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

          “Can we sit for a bit?” he asked when they were near the Russian Orthodox Church that Vanessa had been dying to see.
          “Sure, is it your hip?” she asked, concerned. She’d noticed his limp was really bad.
          “Yeah,” he sighed. “I feel so broken right now. There is no way in hell I deserve someone as wonderful as you. How the hell are we going to make it Vanessa?”
           “We’ll make it Tommy because we love each other.” She had to make him believe that to get over this bad spot he was going through.
            “Maybe,” he whispered.
            “For sure!” she empathized. “Chris and I agree, you are just having a hard time reconciling how you had thought life would be, with how great it’s going to be. You’ll be fine Tommy. We’ll be fine.”
             “You talked to Chris?” he seethed.
             Vanessa sighed. “Yeah, I was worried about you.”
             “Damn it Vanessa. I can take care of myself. I don’t need you running to my brother to figure out how to take care of your new burden.”
             “Tommy don’t,” she begged. Things were going downhill and she didn’t like it one bit.
             “Shut up. Just shut up and listen to me Vanessa. You need to face the fact that deep down inside you don’t know how to handle the scarred up, crippled freak. And you don’t even realize that you don’t want to be stuck with me. You need to wake up and face the truth.”
              “What are you talking about? I never said that!” There he went putting words in her mouth, again.
              “Yeah, but by going to Chris behind my back, you’ve implied it. You should have just come to me.”
              “I’m sorry, Tommy,” she whispered. “I just didn’t think…”
              “No, you didn’t. You’re still the same impulsive, selfish little girl you always were.”
              “What? What the hell do you mean by that? You’re way off base!”
              “You know what, just forget it all. You don’t want a broken, half crazed, half a man anyway.” He walked away without another word. Vanessa chased after him but he wouldn’t stop. She stood at the dock and watched as he climbed aboard a return tender without as much as a look back in her direction.

WILD WAVES - EXCERPT CHAPTER 9

          He walked over to the bed, sat down gently and kissed her awake. “I think I’m keeping you up too late,” Thomas said taking her hand in his. “I think I’ll put you to bed nice and early tonight so you can catch up on your sleep.”
          “You’ll take me to bed tonight,” she informed him. “But there won’t be much sleeping going on.”
          Thomas chuckled and kissed her hand. “You always get what you want don’t you?"
          “Yep.”
          “Well tonight I’m in charge. But once again you’ll get everything you want. Do you trust me?”
          Vanessa sat up in the bed and looked into his eyes. “With my life,” she whispered.
          He smiled, then kissed her. “Tonight, at least once, we’re going to take it slow - excruciatingly slow. I’m going to love you so thoroughly you’ll never forget me,” he whispered in her ear.
          A shiver of anticipation tore through her. “Promise,” she whispered, unable to speak any louder.
          “Definitely,” he smiled. “My name will be the only one you will ever call out again.”
**********
           Her reverie was interrupted by the ring tone on her phone. Without disturbing Thomas, she reached over and bought the device in front of her. She opened her eyes and hit view on the picture message from her dad.
           “I hate to admit it, but your mom was dead on with you and Tommy. Do you see that look on his face? It’s like he cherishes you more than life itself. Hope you are happy now. Love you baby girl.”

           She scrolled down to look at the picture her dad had sent. It was of her and Tommy, just minutes before in the hot tub. He was holding her, resting his chin on top of her head. The look on his face was indescribable. She saw crazed fear, sincere hope, unending comfort, burning passion and the deepest, most unending love. She had never seen anything like it before and it took her breath away. But she knew it meant that he loved her. That at the moment the picture was snapped, she was his whole universe.
          Tears stung her eyes. No one had ever loved her like that. She just knew it felt good to be cherished.

SHADES OF PINK - CHARITY ANTHOLOGY

I am so incredibly proud to be a part of this wonderful romance anthology to benefit fundraising and research for Breast Cancer 

Shades of Pink Charity Anthology

As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For this occasion, 33 authors have allied for 1 cause: fundraising for research. Their gift to everyone who makes a donation? A romance anthology (ebook) titled Shades of Pink, totaling over 200.000 words / about 500 pages as a PDF.

The suggested donation is $5. Funds are raised via Stayclassy.org and all proceeds go directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Readers can also donate to the charity organization of their choice (with a focus on breast cancer) and email their receipt to receive their copy of the anthology in either PDF, ePub or mobi (kindle).

Who: Kate Baum, Brei Betzold, Jean Booth, Catherine Bowman, Perci T. Brooks, Rose Caraway, Bethan Cooper, Sarah Daltry, Vivien Dean, JJ Ellis, Rachel Firasek, Sabrina Garie, Amber Green, T. Hammond, Lisa M. Harley, Susan Harris, K. R. Haynes, Ellie Heller, Laura Hunsaker, Jennifer James, Torie James, Kallysten, K.A. Linde, C. Deanne Rowe, DJ Shaw, Madeline Sheehan, Eden Summers, Gill Taber, J Annas Walker, Matthew Welch, Kristin L. Wilson, Zoe York, Angela Yseult

When: October through November 15th.

What: 33 short stories, including…

·      30 M/F, 1.5 M/M, 1.5 M/F/M

·      4 paranormal, 2 sci-fi, 19 contemporary, 3 historical, 1 BDSM, 9 fantasy, 3 YA (some stories have more than one genre)

·      4 spicy (ménage or kink), 15 sexy (explicit sex scenes), 14 sweet (no sex)

·      A handful of vampires, about four dozen humans including fighters, cursed humans, reincarnated souls, footballers, time travelers, bosses, secretaries, writers, rock stars, teens, witches, soldiers, wives, husbands and fiancés, 1 succubus, 1 genie, 1 extra-terrestrial princess, a few gods and goddesses, a pack of werewolves.

·      Pink, pink and more pink, including cherry blossoms, jewelry,  flamingoes, silk, a leather collar, assorted flowers, hair, a car, lip gloss, champagne, a hair ribbon, a hippo, various clothing items, lemonade and a toy.

Where: Kallysten’s blog

Here you’ll find teasers for all the stories, interviews of the authors posted during all of October, and of course the link where you can donate and help this worthy cause.

WILD WAVES - EXCERPT CHAPTER 8

        I finished initial edits on Wild Waves - The last three excerpts including this one don't include those edits.  Just a reminder that these are very rough and are meant to give you an idea as to plotline.  I really hope you enjoy these.  I hope to have two more up in the next couple of days and that will be it for this book!  Please feel free to comment, I love hearing from all of you! 

          “Most men would have lost faith in Vanessa with the way she treated you.”
          “Not possible man. I love her too much.” Sometimes he'd thought he was losing faith, but he somehow never totally did.
          “You mean you were obsessed?” Jackson teased.
          “For a while, I probably was,” Thomas admitted. “But then…” He had recently realized how important it was to pursue what you wanted. Life was too short, he'd learned that the hard way.
           “But then you screwed her and became soul mates,” Jackson deadpanned.
           “Do you have to be so crude, Jack?”
           “Oh sorry my friend. But then you made love, quickly, on the spur of the moment, in a pool house and became soul mates.”
           “Jack, I’m going to kick your ass,” Thomas threatened as he took off after his best friend.
          “No you won’t,” he called back, running full boar for the safety of town. “Vanessa wouldn’t like it if you hurt her one and only big brother.” At least he hoped that would be the case.
          “Hell dude, she’d probably help me!” Thomas yelled after his friend.
           When Sam caught up with them they were dancing around each other seeing who would get the advantage. Jack suddenly broke right but Thomas was too quick for him, still a jackrabbit. They wrestled each other to the ground until Paulson had him pinned. “Want me to call Vanessa?”
          “No, just get off of me man, you weigh a ton.” He never remembered his best friend being that heavy.
          “Now you’re calling me fat,” Thomas cried, faking tears.
          Jackson tried to chuckle, then pushed his friend hard. "Seriously man, I can’t breathe.”
          Thomas laughed as he let him go.“You’re getting soft in your old age."
          “No, you just got huge!”
          “Now you’re calling me fat again,” Thomas smirked. “I’m gonna tell your mommy that you keep being rude.”
          “Are you two always like this?” Sam asked with a chuckle.
          “Yeah, pretty much,” they answered in unison, smiles coloring their faces. Always had been, always would be.
          “You seem more like brothers than some real brother’s I’ve met.”
          “Thomas is the sixth Mannon child. Always has been always will be.”
          “I was an only child. Seeing this large family dynamic is fascinating,” Sam told them.
          “Don’t worry, soon enough, if Abby has her way, you’ll be a part of this large family dynamic and it won’t be quite so fascinating anymore,” Jack laughed.
          “Yeah, once the Mannon's entice you in, you can’t escape.” Thomas warned. He’d stopped trying a long time ago. He didn’t want it to be any other way.
          “Hopefully I won’t want to escape,” Sam replied with a grin.

WILD WAVES - EXCERPT CHAPTER 7

            The first thing Vanessa saw as they approached the train was Thomas. He stood next to Jackson with a way too serious look on his face. A feeling of unease slipped over her. Maybe their argument had been more serious than she thought.
            Putting a smile on her face she practically skipped over to them and kissed him square on the mouth. “How are you today?”
            Thomas looked at her, shrugged, and walked away. When Vanessa turned to her brother he just smirked and held his hands in the air as if to say ‘Don’t ask me’.
            It looked like she was going to have to bring on the major flirting to bring her stubborn man around. How could he still be so upset? She’d told him they would find him work in more of a general sense, not meaning that she would be taking over his job hunt. But maybe he didn’t want her that involved in his life yet? Or maybe he'd changed his mind about being with her. Hell, he probably only wanted to have a good time and she'd fallen for his love talk - hook, line and sinker. Vanessa sighed heavily. They needed to talk as soon as possible.
            As the train rumbled through town, she slipped out of her seat next to her mother and Eleanor Blake, and into the one next to Thomas. “Hey, still mad at me huh?” she asked quietly.
            “I don’t know,” he mumbled, looking out the window.
            “Tommy talk to me. What’s wrong?”
He let out a long, loud sigh and turned to look at her. “Why can’t you, or anyone else for that matter, ever trust me to make the right decisions or even to make any of my own decisions. I’m always being second guessed or left out altogether. Nobody even trusts me to handle the truth in situations.”
             "I trust you. I grew up with you, I know how smart and how capable you are.”
             “Is that why you didn’t trust me enough to tell me what you did to our child?” he seethed, looking out the window.

WILD WAVES COVER REVEAL!!!

So, I let my friends help me with my cover reveal and they did a great job of it!  So now that the 'day' is over I am going to share it with you on here. I really hope you like it and I can't wait to release the whole package!!! :)

Please visit my friends who helped me with my release day! These ladies have awesome book blogs that you really should check out.  They do all sorts of features for other authors.  Links to follow.

http://goo.gl/xFbKGD

http://goo.gl/Ya2JSc

http://goo.gl/Ll9OC7

http://goo.gl/NavsGf

WILD WAVES CHAPTER 1&2 ON WATTPAD - READ FOR FREE

Hey everybody! Hop on over to Wattpad and read the first two chapters of Wild Waves!  I will be coming back on here tonight to let you see the cover!!! I hope you enjoy the sneak peek! 

http://www.wattpad.com/27604566-wild-waves-a-sunset-destiny-romance-book-4

WILD WAVES - EXCERPT CHAPTER 6

               "You ready to talk?" Thomas asked.
               "I can't tell you. I don't want to hurt you."
               "Hey, the only thing that could ever hurt me is losing you."
               She smiled briefly. "No chance of that. But one of my social media friends said some awful things about you.
               "Let me see," he demanded, holding his hand out for the phone. She must not realize that words really didn't hurt him anymore after everything he'd been through.
               "No, Tommy!"
               "Now, Nessa!"
               She slapped the phone into his hand. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
               Thomas opened her web browser and clicked into her social media. There was a conversation started by Vanessa and overtaken by her former rival Whitney Mercer Brand.  This ought to be good!

VANESSA MANNON:  Hanging with @Thomas Paulson in Ketchikan, Alaska. Be jealous bitches. <3 him!

WHITNEY MERCER BRAND: That geek? Oh yeah, you always did have a thing for dorks huh? LMAO

PETER TRAVERS: Yay! Tell him hi and we are glad he's coming home soon!

VANESSA MANNON: Thanks @Peter Travers! You're one to talk Whitney. Look who you married! :p

WHITNEY MERCER BRAND: I married the quarterback and you're still a single whore sleeping with any geek you meet.

VANESSA MANNON: Your quarterback doesn't look much like a quarterback anymore, but I guess that is what happens when you are forced to marry your pregnant slut girlfriend well before graduation.  At least I waited past the age of twelve to screw someone.

MARISSA YORK: Good for you girl! @Thomas Paulson is an awesome guy. Whitney is just jealous cause she's 22 and knocked up for the fourth time. LMAO

WHITNEY MERCER BRAND: You're gonna pay for that bitch @Vanessa Mannon. Maybe people need a reminder of what your teenie weanie man looks like. Check your page slut queen!

JEFF ANDREWS: He's one lucky man Nessa. See you guys when you get back. We'll all go out!

                 Thomas scrolled up to find a post from Whitney. 

WHITNEY MERCER BRAND posted on your main page: Haha look what @Vanessa Mannon is screwing. Rumor has it he has a teenie weanie. LMAO :D

                  A picture of Thomas as a nerdy pimply faced teen was posted along with Whitney's biting words. "Jesus, Red. Why are you friends with her on here?

WILD WAVES EXCERPT - CHAPTER 5

           Vanessa laughed. “First, this was the most considerate a man has been with me, ever. You made sure I came before you did…twice! And second, I thought you’d have heard about my reputation?”
             Thomas chuckled. “A new man every night, likes it fast, nasty, wild and rough, thinks only of herself, and screws anything with a pe…”
             “Yeah, yeah, you got it all,” she cried, hushing him. “Most of it is actually true. I’ve never stayed with a man for long, I do like it fast, nasty, wild and rough but then again that is really the only way I’ve ever had it. But I do care about others – that’s one thing they had wrong. And for a few years there, I did pretty much screw anything with a pe…”
              Thomas quieted her with a kiss. “That’s why I was hoping to take it slow, something new for both of us,” he whispered.
               Vanessa snuggled into him. “Let’s just go with the flow for now. There will be plenty of time for taking it slow when we aren’t having to share space with my siblings. And right now, I just want you so bad all the damn time I don’t know if it is worth the struggle to try to go slow.”
              “Okay,” Thomas relaxed under her but she still felt some tension in his embrace.
              “Does my past bother you, Tommy?” she asked.
              “Nah, I know you well, you were probably overly careful about being safe, therefore we’re safe together.” He pulled her closer. “And I know you were just trying to find a replacement for me,” he deadpanned.
               Vanessa giggled. “Actually, you aren’t too far from the truth. I have been searching for someone like you, someone who made me feel like you did, emotionally, physically…”
              “It’s okay, Red, the past is over. We need to concentrate on our future now.”
              “Not so fast,” Vanessa warned. “How many girls were there after me?”
               Thomas sighed. “Just three. I was the exact opposite of you. I was looking to replace you, but when no one measured up, I quit looking. There hasn’t been anyone in two years.”
              “I think we must love each other or something,” she teased.
              “Yeah, something like that.” He kissed her and sat up. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

THE BIZARRE WORLD OF LIFE MEETING BOOK OR VICE VERSA

People have finally started to put two and two together (or five and five) and realize that I have five kids and there are five kids in my Sunset Destiny Romance series. Four girls and one boy in each family.  Hmmmm, did my real life family influence my writing in this case.

NOPE!!! I first came up with the concept of the family with a matchmaking mother and a cruise to Alaska in 2004/2005. At that time I had only two kids a nine/ten year old and a six/seven year old. Kids three, four, and five didn't come along until 2006, 2007 and 2011.

So that means I wrote about a family with five kids with girl, girl, girl, boy, girl order. Guess what order my kids were born in - Yep, girl, girl, girl, boy, girl.  Umm, can you say bizarre?  I can! I think it is the weirdest thing ever and believe it or not I didn't put two and two (five and five) together until I was about a month away from publishing book one, Virgin Voyage. Yeah, sometimes I'm slow!

So my kids like to say that Gwen is Abigail ( I hope one of my kids doesn't have to go through what she did!) Bella is Mari (She doesn't ever want to get married and doesn't have a male BFF she has fallen in love with), Olivia is Olivia (Yeah very well could be, they are both strong and stubborn and like to have things their own way - and no we didn't plan the name thing!) Trenton is Jackson (Could be, he is a funny kid, or thinks he is, haha. I just hope he doesn't lose his true love at 16) and Lily is Vanessa (Umm, I kinda hope not because Vanessa is a bit of a wild child)  In any case, I love all ten of them. I didn't plan it that way but my book merged with my real life which is kinda cool...and freaky too!

Now the question I (and my husband) have is this. Did my love of this book make me so fertile (All of my kids, accidents or not, were one shot wonders). Yeah, doesn't sound plausible. But truthfully you never know. Maybe a happy JJ is a fertile JJ? I was very happy when I created this story concept and I thought of it often before continuing to write it in 2012/13 ;)  Do a lot of books imitate your life or does your life imitate a lot books???  I will probably ask that question until my dying day!

I also took part in an interview about the self publishing world and would love it if you could check it out. Show my mommy blogger/writer friend some love! http://www.lifehappensthenwrite.com/2013/10/where-moms-go-to-publish-interview-with.html