Have you ever told a mistruth to a guy? I’m not talking about an all-out lie here. I’m talking about an innocent fib. You know, as sort of a…lark. I have, but hey, growing up in a small town, the entertainments available to teenage girls were as limited as the pool of available teenage boys. That never stopped my girlfriends and me. A good lark could fill an evening with fun and although our little escapades occasionally backfired, when they led to meeting new boys, well, those were sweet.
One of our most successful ploys to meet new guys was a road trip. We’d pile into a car and hit the road for neighboring towns. Scoping out the local cuties, when we found a group that included enough boys to go around, we’d stop and strike up a conversation…claiming we were lost. Of course we never were, but the gambit worked like a charm. The truth is, teenage boys are suckers for poor, helpless females. Our mothers would have been horrified if they’d ever discovered what we were up to, but keep in mind, the world was a different place back then. I mean, I never once owned a key to the door of our house because it was never locked and the local townsfolk tended to keep an eye on what the young people did. Our “we’re lost” trips were harmless fun and netted all of us a date or two over the years, and one husband.
Jane Whitmore, the heroine of my Christmas novella, A Case for Calamity, could have been in the car along with my friends and me. She and her best friend, Shae, have been known to enjoy a good lark, but when they agree to switch identities to foil Shae’s father in his latest matchmaking attempt, things go horribly wrong…and since I write romance, wonderfully and sensually right.
So, what about you? Have you and your friends ever perpetrated a harmless lark? If you have, was it a rounding success or an unmitigated disaster?
A Case for Calamity releases 11.10.14. Part of the Yellow Rose line, “Calamity” is book eight of the 12 Brides of Christmas novella series from The Wild Rose Press.
Buy links: Various formats @ The Wild Rose Press or Amazon
For Jane Whitmore, agreeing to switch identities with her best friend seems like innocent fun, but spending a romantic night in Paris with a man who doesn’t know her real name turns out to be a lark gone bad. When their one night of passion proves to have lasting results, tracking down Gabe Sutton and telling him he’s about to be the father of her child is just another calamity Jane would rather avoid. After years of avoiding long-term romantic entanglements, Gabe has found a woman he might just be able to build a life with, only to have her disappear. When he finally finds her, his belief in happily-ever-after staggers under the weight of deception, and looming fatherhood leaves him with two choices: fight her for custody of his future child or cling to the promise of true love.
Excerpt:
“He doesn’t even know my name. What am I supposed to do? Walk up to him and say, ‘Hi Gabe. I’m the chick who tricked you into believing I was Michael Austin’s daughter two months ago in Paris. Oh, and by the way, I’m having your baby?’”
“I was thinking more along the lines of, ‘Hi, Gabe. I’m the chick who snuck out of your hotel room in Paris before you could say Good morning, beautiful. By the way, I had a really good time—and six orgasms. Oh, and I’m having your baby. Want to get a pizza?’”
Jane laughed at Shae’s cheeky grin, then shoved her fingers through her hair. “Right. That’ll work.”
“I googled him. You’re right. He’s hawt! He left his number that morning in Paris.” She smiled slyly. “It’s in my phone. You should call him.”
Jane snorted. “I don’t think giving Gabe Sutton a booty call would be a good idea. Besides, I’m on a sabbatical from men.”
Shae waggled her brows. “What’s that old saying? When you fall off a horse, you need to climb right back on?”
Mac’s links:
TheWildRosePressAuthorPage
Amazon Author Page
mackenziecrowne.com
FaceBook Author Page
Twitter @maccrowne
Goodreads
Author bio:
Wife, mother and really young grandmother, Mackenzie Crowne lives with her high school sweet heart husband, a neurotic Pomeranian, and a blind cat. She calls Phoenix home because the southwest feeds her soul. Though her friends claim she’s a princess, she disagrees. After all, one can’t raise two rambunctious boys to wonderful men without getting a little dirt under their nails. A lover of the romance genre, her resolve to share her stories with others was sharpened by a bout with breast cancer. Today she is an award-winning, multi-published author and seven-year survivor, living the dream.
Her friends call her Mac. She hopes you will too.
