Damien Morgan and Serenity Hanscom were asked a few questions before I wrote Secret Tryst so these are their answers when I was getting to know these characters and why they were going to be perfect for each other.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Serenity: To be left alone. Growing up it was my favorite time when my parents or sister were so self involved that no one cared what I did. As a spa owner, I teach people how to be alone in their thoughts and to let perfect happiness in. We don’t need anything in life and expectations are often what hurts. I wish more people understood this.

Damien: Being with my family, winning the game against my brother or anyone who thinks they can challenge me. Life is about winning in all things. I hated my father but he knew how to win, and perfect happiness comes from proving yourself the best.

2. What is your greatest extravagance?
Serenity: It’s probably my pretty pocketbooks. A friend of mine designs shoes for fun but when she makes me a pair, I just need to find the perfect compliment. Most of my clothes are single color but the pop of life my pocketbook and shoes brings always helps me feel fashionable. My mother wanted me to be a debutante so this is my ode to her I guess.

Damien: Let’s see. I own a plane, multiple properties around the world, but at least four times I year I still crave to be in Paris so I fly back.

3. What is your current state of mind?
Serenity: I don’t want to own it but I am stressed. My father was arrested for crimes he absolutely committed. My sister chose to follow in his path and she’s in jail, awaiting trial. She tried to kill a woman named Alice Collins because she had some vendetta against the Morgans. My mother is in the hospital and I’ve been invited to a Morgan wedding. I probably shouldn’t go, but my spa could use the publicity.

Damien: Current? I’m good. I moved to Miami to stay close to my family. I bought a mansion near my old man’s old place to show him that even the boys from the wrong side of the bed deserve the best. I have everything I want. Nothing could go wrong.

4. What is the quality you most like in a man or woman of the opposite sex?
Serenity: Reliability and honesty. My partner in life if I ever find him doesn’t have to be handsome or rich. He needs to have a job and respect that I own my business without being jealous, but honestly I’d like to just come home to some guy and be in his arms and know he’s there for me, no matter what happens.

Damien: The perfect woman would of course be beautiful on the outside but she’ll accept my family and get along with my mother. I don’t believe love exists or that there is one man for every woman. I’m not a fool. But I guess if there is one quality I’d like besides beauty it’s compatibility. She’ll need to accept my life style.

5. When and where were you happiest?
Serenity: Opening my first spa on my own. I worked and saved every dime I ever made. Fortunately I was able to do that because when the Feds came after my father, I kept my spa free and clear of any of his criminal activities. No one thought a spa would ever be a good investment but I’ve proven that very wrong.

Damien: I guess as a boy in Paris, before my sister was kidnapped. I remember a few Christmas’ where I believed in family and that life was beautiful.

6. Where would you most like to live?
Serenity: I don’t know. I’ve lived in 10 cities in 3 years opening spas. I would like to settle down and not travel so much, but I don’t want to just move home to Georgia either. So I’d just like to be somewhere where I can have my feet up and not stress.

Damien: Near my brothers and mother. Right now that’s Miami and I bought my new home. They are the only people I’ve ever been able to ever have my back, and I can go to Paris anytime I wish.

7. What do you most value in your friends?
Serenity: Their integrity and honesty. Kiwi, my best friend, is super talented and smart as a whip. But it’s her belief that we need to be honest even with ourselves and everyone we meet that I really admire.

Damien: My best friend is probably my brother Galen. He’s cynical I suppose, but he’s also the most trustworthy person I ever met.

8. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Serenity: I guess off the top of my head it would be Florence Nightingale. She helped people physically and I hope my spas help people relax mentally. I don’t know if I’d be a very good nurse during a war, but she was smart enough to see how to help people and to keep things sanitary. So I admire her.

Damien: John D. Rockefeller. He was a self made man, believed 100% in himself and proved he was capable of anything. He was smart enough to own every piece of the oil processing field, though my father would say we were somehow related to JP Morgan. Perosnally though, Rockerfeller’s strong belief in himself really tugs at my heart.

9. What is your greatest regret?
Serenity: I guess letting my parents control my life when I was younger. I wanted to please them when I should have focused more on pleasing myself.

Damien: That I didn’t have a chance to murder my father myself. We now know he was the one that kidnapped my baby sister and took her away from us. If he wasn’t already dead, he’d absolutely be now.

10. What is your motto?
Serenity: My motto? If you are peaceful within, you are peaceful in life.

Damien: Strange question. Winners prove themselves successful without talking about it. So just do it.

And this character interview really helped me understand my two characters. They had commonalities but they had a lot of differences. ~VP

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Hi Everybody,

I’m Melanie Jayne, Romance writer, lover of fun, and wonderer. Now I’m not going to try to tell you that when a question enters my brain that I rush to ask Alexa or Google for help, nor do I pour over research books. I tend to be lazy. I usually make a cup of coffee, eat some chocolate, and make up different scenarios in my mind.

In my latest book, A Change of Plan, the heroine, Ramsay Kent, is complex, difficult, and a diva. When I was planning this series I didn’t intend for her to have a book. However, the badass Osi was a hit and he is the type of man who can easily have a woman anytime, but he wants Ramsay.

So I needed to figure out how this driven, successful fashionista was unable to put down roots and commit to a man who cared about her. When writing, sometimes things fall into place easily and because Ramsay never chooses the smooth path, nothing felt right. So I did what I always do when I hit a rough patch in my storytelling, I watch daytime TV, the treasure chest of dysfunction and ideas. My favorites are Divorce Court and Dr. Phil, sometimes it can be the major topic or a simple sentence that helps. On that particular day, Judge Lynn Toler counseled the wife not to let a label she acquired as a teen define her life.

Jackpot!

How many times have I used the term, “Only Child,” to explain my selfishness? Or I have pegged someone as a cheerleader, prom queen, or jock? I remember my mother reminding me to be neat and orderly with my belongings every time I packed for camp, and before I left for my freshman year at college, she worried that I would be a sloppy roommate (I wasn’t). However, to this day, I worry about it whenever I travel and share a room. I don’t want to be the slob.

So as I wrote Ramsay’s story, it became clear that she believed herself to be responsible for a terrible chain of events. She’d never discussed those feelings with a professional and they were allowed to dig in and fester. She wants to atone but worries about people finding out. She’s caught in a vicious cycle of blaming herself, wanting to make up for her sins, worrying that she can never do enough, falling short, and then blaming herself even more.

For 2018, I decided that I would try to work on my bad habits. Make better food choices, focus less on the negativity, set long-term career goals, and then list paths to achieve. I was amazed by the number of times that the words “I can’t” or “this won’t work” popped into my head based upon crap I was told in high school. Have I allowed those opinions to hold me back for thir…, er too many years?

Did my algebra teacher’s summation that I lacked focus and commitment stick with me all of these years? I do have a history of career hopping? Mr. Jewell spent one hour a day with me and somehow he knew me? I rarely spoke in class because I knew that I wasn’t getting the math. Did this virtual stranger shape my life’s decisions?

Today, I wonder how much those labels have shaped my choices? I’m not going to give Mr. Jewell that much power. He was a lousy teacher and I doubt that he was that good at summing up a teen that he barely knew. I attribute my career hopping to my interest in different fields, great opportunities, and life changes. Sure I know a little about a lot of things, but that makes me a fun dinner companion.

For 2018, because of this book and Ramsay’s influence, I added to my list of changes that when a negative thought occurs, I would ask myself three questions:
1. Where did this come from?
2. Why would I think that?
3. Am I doing this to please myself or somebody else?

I like myself, the good and the bad but I ultimately know that I’m good because I’m always working to be better.

A Change of Plan

Chapter One
Osi

“Five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!” The party guests counted down in unison.

I already had one arm draped around Ramsay’s slender waist. She allowed me to roll her into my body so that we were touching from chest to pelvis as I kissed her long and hard. “Better than last year’s.” I grinned.

She pulled away from me and gave me a haughty look, raising one eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I didn’t loosen my hold. God, she’d lost weight working so hard on, first, Tye and Billie’s wedding, then Cress and Brian’s, and finally this annual extravaganza. I could feel the knobby bones along her spine. “Last year, I had to track you down for my kiss. This year, you’re by my side.” Where you belong, I added silently. Ramsay Kent was an elusive woman. Although we’d been involved to some degree for over a year, we’d yet to make our relationship official. But I’m a patient man. One of the reasons I’m good at what I do. With Ramsay, I could settle in and wait a while longer.

“Well, I suppose kissing you is better than making out with some random guy.” She turned her head to look around at the other party guests, her green eyes narrowing as though to assess their kissability.

I gave her a hot glare. “Not going to work, Ramses.”

“What?” She drew her eyebrows together in confusion, as if she didn’t know what she was doing.

“You aren’t going to push me away or make me mad. Not tonight,” I said, resolution ringing in my words.

A hint of something like panic entered her gaze. “I’m working… I don’t know what time I’ll get out of here tonight, er, this morning.”

I shrugged, pretending I didn’t see her fear. “It’s not a problem. You know I like to watch you work.”

One side of her mouth hitched upward in consternation. I could almost see her plotting a way to make me go. Before she could blurt out something I didn’t want to hear, I bent toward her. “If I get bored, I’ll head back to my place and send a car to bring you home.” Of course, I wouldn’t get bored. I got off on watching her run the show. Ramsay in command was a thing of beauty. She could multi-task as well as any military strategist—make that better. Handling the rest of this party would be a breeze for her, just like breaking down and reassembling my rifle was second nature to me.

A faint line appeared between her eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

I placed a light kiss on her vibrant red lips, not caring if I now wore the same color. “Go make someone miserable.”

“Asshole.” She snorted as she fought a smile.

“Shouldn’t they be putting out the food?” I asked innocently.

“Shit,” she hissed and spun around on her three-inch heels. “I’m seriously considering cutting the gratuity Tye left for them.” She took off in the direction of the kitchen. Perhaps it was the way her long legs ate up the ground or the red tint to her hair, the guests moved out of her way.

I was admiring the sway of her ass encased in some kind of silky material that was as sleek as her naked body, when I heard my name being called.

About the Author

Melanie Jayne has the best life. She spends her days chatting with feisty females, waking up to sexy men, eating chocolate and wearing pajamas. In March of 2015, she published her first book and never looked back. She currently has four series and will be adding to that number in 2019. Her books predominantly feature characters over the age of thirty-five, facing life head on. They are woman positive and advocate empowerment. She writes about the world that she lives in and collects many of her ideas from her friend’s lives and daytime TV.

She lives a quiet life on a grain farm in central Indiana with her very patient husband and their two mastiffs, Ginger and Duncan Keith. She has been employed in retail management, managed a federal courtroom, worked behind the scenes in a casino and closed home loans. By her own admission she was an inquisitive mind and gets bored easily.

She is an active member of the IRWA Chapter, an avid Reader/Author Conference Attendee, and avid Romance Reader. She is so grateful to the many authors and bloggers who have so generously supported her career and she in turn is giving back to new and aspiring writers.

Learn more about Melanie Jayne: www.ReadMelanieJayne.com, @1MelanieJayne, https://www.facebook.com/ReadMelanieJayne/.

Your story sounds like a movie or a book. You should write one. The gazzillionth time I heard those words when first meeting someone was when I decided to take that advice. So began a nine year passage to learning and self-discovery; almost a decade dedicated to writing a story inspired by a chance encounter with a Venetian gondolier that brought me to leave my life in the U.S.A. and make Venice, Italy, home.

Yet in my developing writer’s mind, it wasn’t a memoire nor a simple love story that I wanted to write. So, I used the knowledge I had gained through my inability to speak Italian—a deficit that for years forced me to listen, and observe my surroundings like a child. I used privilege, too. My life choices had made me an insider to the gondolier trade, a world where few locals, let alone foreigners, are permitted. My enchantment with this trade, its traditions and limits—rare and contradictory—handed me inspiration to develop charming characters, including a principle player, the city of Venice.

By writing this story, I faced and, I think, overcame the loneliness that comes from leaving everything you know, especially one’s career and dear friends. Starting over in a place where you have no history, where who you were before doesn’t much interest others or seem to matter, can be difficult, and daunting.

Longing to be accepted in a town and country that is as foreign to her as she is to it, Victoria, my main character, finds she’s more easily, and respectfully, accepted by the local men than by the women. The ladies want no part of this outsider who, after all, has taken one of their own. Enter Ivana, Venice’s only female gondolier. A fictional character I enjoyed creating. Based on the centuries-old mold of ‘being a gondolier is a man’s job’, which women in Venice have faced until recent years, Victoria sees that Ivana, like her, is battling as an outsider in her own city. Might she not understand Victoria’s sense of being a fish out of water?

Still, writing my debut novel was the easier part. Through highs and lows, a myriad of revisions, twists and turns in a story that was my own, and then wasn’t. Near acceptance from a Hollywood producer who was so mercurial that over a 3-year period he was going to make a movie out of my unfinished manuscript, and then he wasn’t. Twice. Professional edits. More revisions. Querying, waiting, hoping. Agents who ignored my emails while others wrote back, “You write well, but I just don’t know where to send it.” Then the final rejection, and my acceptance that the time had come for this book-child to become an adult. It was time for me, the writer, to move onto something else.

They say write what you know, what you experience. So I did, and in doing so I wrapped my arms tighter and opened my imagination wider around a city I have come to love, deeply. I’ve told a story that goes beyond falling in love. Beneath the Lion’s Wings speaks about making choices, taking chances, and stepping into the unknown.

It is with gratitude that I share my women’s contemporary fiction, Beneath the Lion’s Wings, with you on Delilah Devlin’s Blog.

Beneath the Lion’s Wings

“…Good escape reading in this tale of love and tough decisions in Venice… In her well-researched debut novel, Nardin does a fine job evoking Venice’s atmosphere, culture, and history. The particular practices and customs of gondoliering, along with women’s efforts to enter the profession, make for absorbing reading.” – Kirkus Reviews

After years of focusing on her career and neglecting her love life, Victoria meets a handsome gondolier while vacationing in Venice and decides to take another chance on romance.

Victoria Greco has given up on finding love. A thirtysomething single woman who works as an executive assistant for a prominent Hollywood talent agent, she’s fully focused on building her career. But then, while she’s vacationing in Venice, a handsome fourth-generation gondolier rows alongside her water taxi.

When Alvise invites her to dinner, Victoria is hesitant. But their chemistry is too strong to ignore, and it would be a shame to pass up a date while in one of the most romantic cities in the world. Hoping she’s not making a big mistake, Victoria goes out with Alvise and then happily spends the night in his arms.

When Victoria returns home to Southern California, she’s surprised to discover she can’t get the charming Italian boatman out of her mind. She’s thrilled when he e-mails her, confessing he can’t stop thinking about her either. Daringly, Victoria invites him to visit.

Once reunited, they fall completely in love. But when Alvise starts talking about settling down and starting a family, Victoria is torn. She’s always put her career first. Should she continue down the current path? Or should she follow her heart to Venice?

Get your copy here: Amazon | IndieBound

Read an excerpt

They came to a smooth halt before the bridge. The boat engine rumbled to a purr, gliding under the lyrical sound of an accordion serenading a group of gondolas exiting a small canal. The taxi driver performed a series of sweet maneuvers to keep the boat steady and waited until the last stripe-shirted gondolier motioned that all was clear. Then he turned the boat down the narrow canal, proceeding with caution. He came within centimeters of docked boats, algae-lined walls, and footbridges, never once endangering the health of his boat. Regardless of his issues with maintaining fidelity, Victoria had to admit to herself that he had meticulous navigating abilities.

The taxi took them through a labyrinth of waterways until once again the driver limited his speed so as not to disrupt the delicate balance of a gondola heading in their same direction. The water taxi crept up beside the gondola. The sleeves of the young gondolier’s red-and-white-striped shirt, rolled up to his shoulders, exposed a pair of taut, tan arms and matched a red bandana tied through waves of golden hair. He turned, and locked eyes with Victoria—his were as green as the water beneath them. They gave each other a smile only fate could have arranged.

Victoria’s heart danced, and her face flushed and glistened. The gorgeous gondolier’s smile made her eyes sparkle, and brought about that nervousness she tried to hide whenever a handsome movie star arrived unannounced in the office. Unexpected, his good looks attracted her like no man had in a long time. She blushed and fumbled with the camera, and then hid her embarrassment by snapping a photo of the attractive young man. She turned and watched as their water taxi slipped by and left him, and his shiny black gondola behind. The corners of her mouth still turned up, she leaned back against Jackie, and said, “I think I’m going to like Venice.”

*~*~*~*

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About the Author

Marie Ohanesian Nardin, born in Los Angeles, California, has always loved to travel. That passion brought her to Italy where she fell for a man and his city; a serendipitous occurrence that changed her life, and inspired her to write her debut novel Beneath the Lion’s Wings.

Since her move to Italy, the former banker has restored a two hundred year old rustic barn that became the home where she raised her two children, and where she learned to appreciate a good glass of red wine and cook delicious risotto, homemade soups and pasta, and the Nardin family’s secret tiramisu recipe, which she says “…never comes out quite as good as my mother-in-law’s”.

Marie writes for various news outlets and travel media magazines, teaches English, and is currently working on a short story collection, and her next book. When Marie is not writing or traveling around Italy and Europe, she returns to her beloved California to visit family and friends, watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, and stop by her favorite Mexican “mom and pop” eateries.

Marie lives in the Venetian countryside with her husband, their daughters, and their dog, Bacco.

Contact her at www.MarieOhanesianNardinAuthor.com
On Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17638105.Marie_Ohanesian_Nardin
And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormarieohanesiannardin/

In case you haven’t already pre-ordered this brand-new volume, here’s a reminder! The eBook comes out this Tuesday. The print version will be a little longer and is over 300 pages of naughty goodness! Love pirates of old? How about space pirates or captains of flying dirigibles? There’s something for everyone inside this book! And best part? You’ll read stories by authors you already love, and you’ll discover new authors with fresh “voices” you’ve never read! And it’s just $0.99!

Twisted Page Inc • February 27, 2018
ISBN-13: TBD

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Sail on the high seas or into uncharted galaxies! When it comes to love…pirates risk all!

Delilah’s next delectable anthology is filled with roguish pirates! Readers who crave adventures set on the high seas—or in deep space—will find plenty of sexy bad boys, naughty alpha males unafraid to risk life and limb for treasure—or a lucky lover’s heart!

Just a few of the titillating stories inside…

In “The Treasure of Devil’s Crag” by Lisa Fox, two rival pirate captains seeking the same treasure, discover the competition isn’t the only thing that heats up between them. A modern-day pirate boards a yacht seeking revenge and captures a runaway bride who tempts him in ways he’s never experienced in January George’s “Captive Desire.” In T.D. Rudolph’s “Lust in Space”, a space criminal teams up with a fearless vamp to steal a cache of titanium—from the dark side of the moon. In “Full Fathom Five” by Rhidian Brenig Jones, a pirate captain, forced to give a disgraced young surgeon a berth, discovers a rich treasure in the other man’s arms. And this is just a hint at the sexy stories inside this satisfying volume.

These pirates will pillage and plunder their way into your hearts!

Table of Contents

The Treasure of Devil’s Crag by Lisa Fox – Two rival pirate captains…one treasure…the competition isn’t the only thing that heats up between them

Rough Seas by Alicia Aringdale – A British commander finds himself at the mercy of a roguish pirate who asks him for the one thing he shouldn’t give—his heart

Captive Desire by January George – A modern-day pirate boards a yacht seeking revenge and captures a runaway bride who tempts him in ways he’s never experienced

Stealing the Crimson Witch by Downey Greene – Crash landing on an 18th-century pirate ship, a 21st-century thief experiences déjà vu as he steals the greatest treasure of all—the pirate queen

The Corsair’s Tempest by C. Marie Bowen – A French corsair, cursed with immortality, stands in open mutiny after rescuing his greatest treasure—the woman he’s bound to love for eternity, a Spanish siren unaware of their infinite bond

Cargo by Genevive Chamblee – An environmentalist-pirate, contracted to heist high-priced art from a merchant vessel, is deceived into stealing a human trafficking ship with a captive who exposes his dark desires

Prophesies by Augustina Van Hoven – Following a tempting lead, a space pirate hunts down an alien ship only to find the cargo is a beautiful seer whose gifts promise to satisfy more than his lust for gold

A Lady’s Bargain by Alyssa Drake – A pirate captain gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to a beautiful hostage’s proposition to make her a ruined woman

Plunder by Jayce Ellis – A hardened mercenary, contracted to kill the heir-apparent of an international corporation, hesitates due to his attraction, then joins with the heir to investigate who wants him dead

Commanding Neptune’s Mistress by M. Marie – A pirate surrenders control to her handsome quartermaster for just one night of pleasure

My Pirate Love by Joyce Palmer – Barely dressed as a chamber maid, a sexually-deprived military wife attends a costume party where she finds herself shamefully aroused by the hungry gaze of a Jack Sparrow look-alike

Captain’s Cabin by Moxie Marcus – When the captain of a merchant ship is captured by a pirate queen, he quickly discovers she’s fully in charge of the sexy negotiations

Perinacht by Lana Sloan – When a spice merchant’s son is captured by the pirate who killed his beloved, his need for vengeance is overtaken by an unexpected desire for his captor

An Adventure for Burgess by Lizzie Ashworth – As a sleek sloop noses into Seraphine Bay, a tourist resolves to discover if the man at the helm is the pirate of her dreams

Lust in Space by T.D. Rudolph – A roguish space criminal teams up with a fearless vamp to steal a cache of titanium—from the dark side of the moon

To Kiss a Pirate by Tricia Schneider – Searching for treasure on a lush Caribbean island, a woman disguising herself as a cabin boy is confronted by her sexy and suspicious pirate captain

Bountiful Skies by Winter Blair – The captain of an airship and her lover prepare to be boarded by a pirate who isn’t human, hoping he’ll give them mercy…and pleasure

Full Fathom Five by Rhidian Brenig Jones – A pirate captain, forced to give a disgraced young surgeon a berth, discovers a rich treasure in the other man’s arm

Last fall, with only a few months left on my deadline for Cold and Hottie, my second-chance romance set in Jamaica, my characters stopped cooperating. They were still doing interesting things but I had no freaking idea why, because they wouldn’t talk to me.

That was a big problem. As a writing friend says, romance readers are all about the feels. If you fail to give them an emotional journey you can count on receiving hostile reviews.

Fortunately, I had been down this route before and had a solution: I would write upcoming scenes in first-person, replacing “she said” with “I said,” for instance, so as to get deeper in my characters’ heads. Then I’d take what I learned and convert it back to third-person, making it match the 30,000 already written words.

At first it looked like the plan would work. The story was progressing in delightful ways and I suddenly had characters emoting all over the place. Then I discovered two giant flies in the suntan lotion.

First, I couldn’t figure out a way to keep all the lovely emotionality during the conversion.

Second, my hero and heroine had started speaking in present tense. (i.e. “When the knock comes at the door” rather than “when the knock came at the door.”) Now, while I will read virtually anything in any point of view or tense, provided it’s a good story, I’m aware some readers have much stronger preferences. In fact, some downright hate books written in first-person present-tense, so why would I cooperate in earning their wrath?

I doubled-down on my shoe-horning efforts.

And I got precisely nowhere.

This was when I reached out to a cadre of savvy writing friends. To a person, their advice was to go where the story was leading, no matter how odd I might seem to the marketplace.

But was a first-person romance really that weird? I was starting to wonder if my fears matched reality.

To gain objectivity I went to Amazon, which is undisputedly the biggest site for romance sales in North America. I pulled up their bestseller lists and…I learned that I had underestimated romance readers’ flexibility. Books written in first-person were far from being the exception, as I believed, but were close to forming the majority of books in the Top Twenty lists. Even better, readers were embracing present-tense.

Thus freed up, I put my efforts into finishing the back end of the book, rewrote the front end, and managed to make my deadline. And while I’m not sure I’ll deliberately choose to go this route again on purpose, I won’t be nearly as afraid to do it, if required.

Did it work? Preliminary feedback would say it has, but I’ve included an excerpt from the first chapter below, so you can decide for yourself. And in the comment section, I hope you’ll let me know your feelings about first-person present-tense stories. Are they alien to you, a deal-breaker, or intriguing new ground?

Cold and Hottie

She’s being sent to Jamaica for a team-building exercise. It will be led by a crazed psychologist, and the man she done wrong…who is now her boss. Oops.

A decade ago, in a messy breakup with the only man she has ever loved, Olivia Prosser behaved badly. Since, she has lived with the consequences.

Then bad news comes in rapid succession: the company she works for has been purchased; her ex, Finn, is her new employer; and she’ll be reconnecting with him during a mandatory retreat in Jamaica. Five days filled with forced emotional intimacy and corporate-speak, not to mention memories better left in the past.

A white knight’s armor will rust in salt water.

For years, Finn Wakefield has known who to blame for his breakup with Liv. Then new information comes to light. Liv might be innocent, and the party who framed her might be lodged within Finn’s company, continuing their acts of sabotage.

But Liv shows no interest in righting the wrongs of the past. Is that for ominous reasons or because she is over Finn? Either way, for the sake of his company, Finn must push for the truth – even if the cost is a twice-broken heart.

Cold and Hottie was previously published as part of the Tropical Tryst box set, which became a #1 international bestselling ebook anthology (Aug. 1/17). See why readers call it “…a delicious page-turner set in an exotic setting.

Excerpt:

At 4:37 p.m. on Friday, after weeks of dread and just when I’ve convinced myself I’ve been spared, a dossier bearing the title Jamaica lands on my desk. Tucker had probably been aiming for my in-basket, but since he’s standing in my doorway and the basket is overflowing, the folder tips over the edge and continues its horizontal motion. It comes to rest on the refinery drawings I’ve been marking up, the right lower edge touching a pump that needs modernization.

When I find my voice I say, “You’re kidding me.”

Tucker’s smile is his signature blend of cynicism and amusement. “If you pull yourself together and need to talk, I’ll be in my office for another five minutes.” He pivots on a well-shod foot and vanishes from sight.

I turn the pencil in my hand and use the eraser to tease out the top sheaf of paper, willing this to be one of his practical jokes. Easy enough to put a label on a folder and pack it with documents destined for the shredder. Then to stand in the hall just out of sight, ready to pop in with a, Haha, Liv, got you good this time.

Alas, this evening brings no such luck. For there in black and white, issued in the name of one Olivia Prosser, is an e-ticket for this coming Monday morning. I’m flying from Columbus to Kingston, via Atlanta.

I use the pencil to extract the next sheaf. Apparently the resort and I have corresponded, most recently when I confirmed an ocean-facing, non-smoking room with a king-sized bed.

At least I was smart enough to avoid having a roommate.

I close my eyes and bend forward to clunk my head repeatedly on my desk. Having seen fellow staffers open their envelopes, I don’t need to examine the rest of the paperwork to know what it contains. There will be a shiny brochure on the all-inclusive resort’s amenities. (Seven pools! Six restaurants featuring international cuisine! Unlimited soft drinks and booze in your room’s mini-fridge!) There will be a listing of optional paid activities, both inside the resort and on the island. Finally, there will be the handout delineating the source of my dry mouth and blossoming headache.

I don’t need to look at the handout but…I stop banging my head and do it anyway, because some masochistic impulses can’t be resisted.

Three months ago, the company I work for, HMZ Consulting, was purchased by Wakefield Enterprises. When I say “purchased,” I really mean “swallowed whole.” We were the krill to Wakefield’s blue whale. Now the time has come for us to “harmonize our corporate cultures.” Accordingly, for the past several months, select employees within my office have been receiving invitations to the upcoming retreat in Jamaica. Once trained in the ways of the mothership, they—and I guess that includes me now—will return as ambassadors to the home office, where we will spread the ways of enlightenment.

Most of the five-day retreat will be run by Wakefield’s second-in-command, Yolanda Perez. The brochure photo shows a woman in her early forties with tight black braids and a confident smile. She’s a psychologist, reportedly half-crazy in her own right, and the rumors about her outdoor group exercises are downright intimidating.

Then there’s the CEO, Finnegan Wakefield. I don’t know if his photo has been retouched, but thirty-four looks good on him. Even better than twenty-four did, if that’s possible.

Finn is giving the Tuesday noon keynote—one hour is his full commitment for the entire program. Depending upon how he receives me, that one hour could be all it takes to upend my life.

Sales links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  Kobo | iBooks

Author bio and contact links:

A former family physician and academic, Jan O’Hara left the world of medicine behind to follow her dream of becoming a writer. These days she confines her healing tendencies to paper—after making her characters undergo a period of delicious torture, naturally.

Jan lives in Alberta, Canada and is a columnist for the popular blog Writer Unboxed.

Join Jan’s mailing list for updates on her forthcoming books, exclusive content, and access to reader giveaways: https://janohara.net/newsletter
Website:  www.janohara.net
Facebook: https://facebook.com/janoharabooks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JanOHara

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Jan-OHara/e/B01M1C7HUT/
Email: jan@janohara.net

Hello, everyone! Thank you for stopping by. And Delilah, thank you for having me as a guest.

They say, “Write what you know.” I didn’t for my first four novels and a Kindle World novella, which are medieval. But I really enjoyed extensive research on topics as diverse as the last battle of the Hundred Years War (my first book), stained-glass painting (second book) and tournaments (third book) so I could include appropriate descriptions of actual events and daily life.

I decided to take that advice for my fifth novel MY LIFE AS AN EXTRA (humorous women’s fiction). Why? I’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge about the film industry while working as an extra on more than 80 films and TV shows.

My first was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (parade scene, you can’t see me), and one of my last was the ABC TV show Betrayal (as a juror, you can see me). I’m pursuing principal roles now, and you usually can’t audition for speaking roles on a film/show if you’ve been an extra on it.

I set the book in Chicago, where I live and the vast majority of projects I’ve worked on have filmed. And, since I’m over 40, I decided the heroine should be, too. I did my best to incorporate accurate details, but even in a city I know well, things change, such as beer prices at Cubs games.

A challenge was figuring out how much to incorporate that’s actually true, how much to base on truth and how much to create from scratch. Only my hairdresser knows for sure what the final blend is. Another challenge was finding the balance between making a day on set seem believable and real vs. overloading the reader with information. Finally, though I’ve been in scenes with and worked with many famous directors and stars, since it’s a novel and not a memoir, I wanted to be careful about how many I mention and for what purpose. Bonuses included not having to look up many words to see if they were in use at the time and not needing to double check historical details.

The sequel, coming later in 2018, is MY LIFE AS A STAR (romantic comedy). I had to do some research, because that hasn’t happened…yet?

MLaaE and MLaaS are about pursing your dreams because someday is now. What have you been wanting to do that you’ve put off, and how can you make room in your life for it?

About MY LIFE AS AN EXTRA

After an unexpected divorce, Marla Goldberg yearns to believe “someday is now” and pursue her dream of being an actress in Chicago. But how can she quit her frustrating radio station account executive job when she’s only booking work as an extra?

When she dips her toes into the daunting dating pool, her first “date” wants to meet in a pet store parking lot. Other forays yield equally unfortunate results that make her friends laugh out loud. As she seeks a talent agent and speaking roles, it’s one step forward, one step back. When told to eat a muffin at a commercial audition, her mouth is so dry she can’t spit it out in time to say her line.

Dealing with overachiever siblings, judgmental parents and longing to make her dreams come true, she struggles to learn the hardest lesson of all: how to feel special when you’re not the star.

Brief excerpt from the middle of Chapter 1 when Marla is on a film set as an extra…

After another rehearsal, my hand and feet warmers have already failed and are bean bags weighing down my mittens and crowding my boots. How much more freezing can I take?

Adam Markham gets off his high canvas chair with the movie logo embroidered on the back in bright yellow and his name on the front and comes over to us.

My surprise is real, because usually the director talks to the assistant directors, or ADs, not extras. The second AD, or sometimes the first, passes on what we’re supposed to do. Almost everyone wears earphones and microphones, so you don’t always know who’s telling what to whom.

His furry hood covers most of his narrow face, but I glimpse light blue eyes as he looks at me.

My heart starts to race. A famous, award-winning director has noticed me. Will he pluck me from obscurity? Will I be upgraded to a slightly better role and higher pay, or will he even give me a line, a boon bestowed on rare occasion?

“I don’t like the way her scarf is blowing.” The director walks down the row of extras and borrows a dark green, fringed wool one from some guy. For a second the guy’s face perks up. I know he thinks he’s going to be moved to a better place in the shot, my place, but Adam, if I may be so bold, just wants his scarf. I put it on and a wardrobe person safety pins it to my coat.

“Rolling….” a voice calls.

“Rolling!” several people echo.

“Picture’s up.”

“Background action!”

Leaning over the wind machines as the train rolls by, I and the others brave icy blasts. My hair and the borrowed scarf blow straight up. The cold has pierced my coat and layers, so I’m shivering harder. I know my nose is bright red. The woman beside me jumps up and down.

We endure a few more takes.

Adam comes toward me again. My heart starts pounding again. Why an intelligent person such as myself gets nervous because a famous movie director approaches is beyond me, but I can’t seem to help it. I hope I’ll get to do something good and fear I did something wrong at the same time.

“Will you step out of the shot, please?” he asks.

Buy Links:
Amazon- Available in print, e-book and in Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Extra-Ruth-Kaufman-ebook/dp/B06Y1XPVFL

Audio book (Ruth voiced the female characters and hired a colleague to voice the males)- https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-as-an-Extra/dp/B076FGKFQC

About Ruth

Ruth Kaufman is the author five novels including MY LIFE AS AN EXTRA (humorous women’s fiction) and the Wars of the Roses Brides trilogy (medievals), AT HIS COMMAND, FOLLOW YOUR HEART and THE BRIDE TOURNAMENT. Accolades include winner of 2016 Booksellers’ Best Historical and Best First Book and Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® awards.

An actor and speaker with an M.S. and J.D, Ruth has had roles in independent feature films, web series, pilots, national TV commercials and hundreds of voiceover projects. She enjoys chocolate peanut butter milkshakes and singing in a symphony chorus.

Learn more or join Ruth online at:
Website: www.ruthkaufman.com
Acting website: www.ruthtalks.com
Twitter: @RuthKaufman https://twitter.com/RuthKaufman
Facebook: Ruth Kaufman Author & Actor https://www.facebook.com/ruthtalks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7454412.Ruth_Kaufman
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Ruth-Kaufman/e/B00JH7Z40S
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ruth.kaufman

The logo for the Rain City Tales includes a couple embracing under an umbrella for a reason. Except for three months out of the year when the sky is blue, the days and nights are warm, and the tourists are lulled into thinking Seattle is always beautiful, most of the year is a torrent of drizzle, wind, rain, and bone-chilling cold no amount of fleece can keep out. Not one-hundred percent of the days between late September and July 6^th (seriously, like clockwork most years) is dismal. In fact, most of these days are schizophrenic. As I write this post, the sky is blue with fast moving puffy clouds. Only an hour earlier the dark and stormy day had been dumping rain. The storm clouds on the horizon are quickly approaching, pushed along by a chilly and constant wind.

I’m Yours starts out on just one of those blustery days. Toby Hayden battles the wind and the rain of downtown Seattle on his way to a job interview only to have a gust destroy his umbrella and soak his slacks. Meeting Merrick Hamilton, and his lucky handshake, definitely brightens Toby’s day. The weather doesn’t deter Toby and Merrick from a Valentine’s Day date. Merrick even declines a ride home, opting for the bus after getting rained out from their walk in the park. The storm raging at Toby’s work gives the weather a run for its money, and, unlike true Seattle weather, doesn’t appear to be abating. Though a Seattleite, Toby may not be able to weather this storm. It all depends on his former partner’s reappearance and whether the swirling chaos intensifies, or the controversy blows over and the sun comes out again.

The third installment of the Rain City Tales, I’m Yours, is now available for download on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo today!

Stay tuned for Rain City Tales Book 4: The Wedding Weekend, out in May 2018.

You can order the first Rain City Tales story, The Officer’s Siren, here, and the second story, Past Secrets Present Danger, here. Checkout Brent’s website for more details on upcoming books.

Excerpt:

Surveying his suit, Toby Hayden frowned at the soaked slacks below the line of his pea coat. Hardly how he wanted to show up to an interview, but he didn’t have much choice. Though the job market had picked up, he hadn’t worked in two years. Each passing day made him less employable, and he was already starting at a disadvantage.

“Damn you, Mark,” he muttered. A cloud as dark and threatening as the ones in the sky descended on his mood and self-confidence.

The sidewalk lightened, and he marveled at the sudden change in the weather. Sunshine reflected off the glass, metal, and polished stone of the downtown skyscrapers. Fifteen minutes ago, a bone-chilling wind had blasted up the hill of University Street, sweeping a pelting rain sideways. Moments before the clouds parted, a strong gust ripped between the buildings and cracked the thin, metal arms of his umbrella. With a snap, the metal broke and punched a hole in the fabric covering. Now as the wind continued to whistle around the skyscrapers, blue sky promised at least a few minutes of respite from the February storm.

The new steel and glass building rose before him, and he did his best to shake off the excess water from his clothes. After depositing his wrecked umbrella into the trash can on the street corner and straightening his tie, he entered the lobby. A young man perched on a stool at the concierge desk — probably mid to late twenties and the most piercing ice-blue eyes — stared through a wavy lock of black hair. The badge on his grey suit jacket identified him as Merrick.

Their gazes locked, and Toby felt compelled by an immediate attraction to approach. Though he knew what floor his interview was on, he gave into the urge to speak to this young man. “Hi, I’m looking for Herrington, Fisher, and Scallione. Do you know what floor I need?”

Merrick’s face brightened into a professional smile. “Certainly, sir.” He stood, towering over Toby’s six-foot frame and sweeping his long arm toward the elevators. “Take the second bank to floor twenty, and it should be the third doorway along the hall on the left.”

“Great, uh, thanks.” Reluctant to leave, he lingered for a moment. “Are you having a good morning?”

The smile turned more genuine. “I am, thanks for asking. What brings you into the building today?”

“An interview. I’m pretty nervous.” He again glanced over his suit with a frown, though his mood had vastly improved being in the young man’s company. “And the wet pants won’t exactly give a good first impression.”

“My friends constantly tell me I’m the luckiest person they know.” Merrick stuck out his hand, a gleam in his blue eyes. “Maybe some will rub off.”

Deciding he didn’t have much to lose, Toby clasped the offered hand. Soft skin squeezed in a firm, but not competitive, grip. For an intense moment, all other sounds and movements disappeared in the bustling lobby. Toby’s focus narrowed to the contact between them and the deep blue gaze that held steady with his. Before releasing Merrick’s hand, he gave a quick squeeze. Their fingers drifted apart, and the sounds of the city returned. Both men slowly let their arms return to their sides.

Clearing his throat, Merrick, momentarily startled, resumed his seat. He quickly recovered his smile and gave a wink. “Up the elevator to twenty. You’ll do great. I’ll look forward to hearing how it went.”

Brent Archer began writing in 2011 at the nudging of his cousins. His first story sold, and he was hooked! Keep up with Brent Archer and his current releases at his website, and follow him on Twitter: @brentarcherwrit.