A Few Lines From: The Bookstore Lady by Diane Bator

  

When the hunched over, balding pharmacist next door called out, “Good morning, Katie,” her hand flinched and her heart raced. It took her nearly a full minute to remember she’d been Katie Mullins for two months and she’d better answer before he got offended.

“Hi.” She nodded.

The drugstore opened at eight every morning and it was now quarter to ten. Must have been a slow morning if he had time to stand in the doorway with a large cup of coffee rather than hanging out behind the back counter. “You’d best convince Ray to get some air-conditioning for that store before your new books curl up and warp. It’s beyond me how he’s never lost half his books every summer.”

“Dust absorbs the humidity.” She smiled wryly. “I don’t think we can afford air-conditioning this year.”

“I know a guy who’ll give you a quote. He’s not bad looking once you get past the bug eyes and scars. I can call him, if you’d like.”

“Maybe some other time.” Like when hell froze over.

He waved and went back into the drugstore.

Katie drew in a deep breath. The air was fresh from last night’s rain and the hint of a breeze mussed her hair. In two months, the only thing to find her was the sunshine and a case of withdrawals that made renovations hell. Nate, bless his heart, had had more compassion while she fought “the flu” than any man she’d ever met.

She blew a strand of stray copper hair out of her mouth and jiggled the door lock. Another thing that needed to be fixed before winter. She should have done it during renovations, but it hadn’t seemed as important as books and workmen. Luckily, Nate worked cheap and she hadn’t had to dig into the money from Dunnsforth. The money was tucked up in a box in the backroom, fastened with half a roll of duct tape. She’d ask him to fix the lock when he delivered her order later.

The door opened with a groan. “It’s about time.”

Available at: Amazon

Come back next week for a few lines from Tricia McGill 

A FEW LINES from  COLD GOLD by Victoria Chatham

 

 

 

“Well, look ‘ee here!” The first rider grinned at her, revealing a mouthful of stained and crooked teeth that reminded her of broken tombstones. “New blood in town.”

“Hello, fancy lady,” the second rider said. “You goin’ to share a drink wi’ me before we share somethin’ else?”

The other riders dismounted and gathered around her, jostling Serena until her back flattened against the wall of the saloon. Her mouth quickly dried up. Her heart pounded. She smelled their sour breath and sweat-stained clothes, felt their anticipation and wished she had paid more attention to Sheriff Johnson’s warning.

“Oy, you lot!” Every head turned at the strident tone of a woman’s distinctly English voice. “Jasper, you idiot, you don’t know a real lady when you see one. Cal, you wouldn’t know what to do with one anyway. Tom, Walt, Clarence, stand back and give the lady some room. Clear off, the lot a’ ya.”

Grumbling, the men turned away and walked into the saloon. Serena closed her eyes and sighed with relief.

“Are you stupid, or what?”

Serena pushed off the wall and faced her rescuer. The force of the expression in the woman’s blue eyes almost caused her to take a step back again.

“I...I wasn’t thinking,” she stuttered.

“That was perfectly obvious,” the other woman retorted. “Come on, we need to get you off the street. This way.”

The woman took Serena’s arm in a strong grip and hurried her along the boardwalk in the opposite direction to the Eldorado.

“In here.” The woman opened a door and pushed her into a store redolent with the warm and wonderful aromas of coffee and fresh baking. “Go on, straight through that door facing you. I’m right behind you.”

Her rescuer’s hand, firm on her back, gave Serena no choice but to go where directed. The moment she passed through the second door, she spun on her heel.

“Just who are you?” she demanded. “And what gives you the right to push me around?”

“Well, pardon me for breathing.” Anger spiked the woman’s voice and blazed in her blue eyes. “You’d rather be pushed around by a bunch of randy miners, would you?”

“No, of course not. And I do thank you for coming to my aid, but who are you?”

“Someone you shouldn’t be seen with, that’s for sure.”

“Why shouldn’t I be seen with you?” Serena looked her rescuer up and down and might have been looking in a mirror, so similar were they. The woman was her height, dressed in clothes as fashionable as her own. Tendrils of hair, blonde rather than dark brown, framed the woman’s face and, just like Serena’s own skin, the woman had a fresh, clear complexion.

“Because I’m Lorelei Sutton and I own a brothel just outside of town.”

 

 

Buy at http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Gold-Buxton-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00F04HD1K

Visit Victoria Chatham at

www.bookswelove.com/chatham.php

www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaChatham

 

Join us next week for A Few Lines from Diane Bator

All in the Family

Hi, I'm Callie Johnson, heroine of All in the Family. I'm a cop. Well, I was a cop until the Mayor of Smytheville called and told me Jim Landry, the current Police Chief, was retiring and did I want the job. Did I? Talk about a dream come true. I'd wanted to come back to Smytheville for some time. Big city life wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Besides, I missed my family, crazy as they were. So of course I accepted. 

I really thought coming back to Smytheville as the new Chief of Police would be a piece of cake. I mean, really, nothing much happens in a small town. At least that’s what I thought. Boy was I in for a surprise. One of the first things I ran into was my grandmother had been arrested. For murder, no less.

Not that the present chief believed it. Not for a minute. Besides being a judge, the chief was sweet on Gram. He’d been trying to talk her into retiring for a long time, but Gram wouldn’t budge.

Of course, it didn’t faze her a bit bugging me to get married. Her and everyone and their brother. Especially my aunts. One in particular. Aunt Beatrice Lulu fixed me up with every single man she came across. How she managed to talk them into meeting me, I’ll never know. Thing is, even though she vouched for them, she never bothered to check them out. Heck, one was even married.

No matter how I begged, she wouldn’t quit. Encouraged by her sisters, Aunt Emma and Aunt Lottie, she continued to insist I meet these men. Even after I told them I met someone, she still wouldn’t quit. My aunts are something else. Actually the whole family is. From my grandmother, mother, to my sister. But the aunts, well, let’s just say they’re special. A more fun loving group you’ll never find. The things those ladies think to do. But I can’t say more because I don’t want to spoil the book.

Back to me thinking being Police Chief was going to be easy – I couldn’t have been more wrong. From vandalism to kidnapping, from drunk and disorderly to murder, even an attack on me, I had my work cut out for me.

All in the Family is available from Amazon –

To learn more about me and my books check out my website – www.roseannedowell.com or my blog – http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com  

Friday's A few lines from Joan Hall Hovey

The teenage girl hurried along the darkening street, head down in a vain attempt to divert attention from herself as she headed for her bus stop, still over a block away. The car behind her was a soft growl in the still, warm air.  The day was fast fading, the sky a light mauve, only a sprinkling of stars yet. Soon it would be dark... Ignore them, she told herself. But it was impossible to do with the car following so close that the heat from the motor brushed her bare legs, like a monster's breath.

www.joanhallhovey.com

Welcome, Shirley Marin

1: Thank you so much for being here, Shirley.

First up is the obligatory question. When did you first begin writing? 

And thank you for asking me, Roseanne. I first began writing a little over twenty years ago.

 

 

2: It's a pleasure. So, what or who inspired you to write? 

I'd wanted to write for the longest time, so after my boys were older and had left home, I had more time to write.

 

 

3: I can understand that. Okay, here's a question I get asked a lot, what do you like the most and least about writing? 

I like getting ideas and putting them to paper. I'd have to say that I like writers' block the least.

 

 

4: Readers are curious, what do you for fun and relaxation when not writing? 

I try to go for a walk every day. Of course, I also enjoy reading, mainly fantasies and paranormals. I like growing orchids and other plants.

 

 

5: Oh, orchids, such a beautiful flower. Tell us, which authors do you like to read? 

Terry Brooks and Dean Koontz are my two favorite authors. I like Terry Goodkind, also.

 

6: Okay, something different. What's the one thing you’d most like people to know about you? 

Good question. I suppose it would be something personal--that I was married for 44 years and had three boys.

 

 

7: Let's talk about your novel, where I can find it and your website/blog. 

You can find "Wolf Magic" both at Amazon and at http://bookswelove.net/martin.php

 

8: Do you have any tips for Aspiring Authors? 

If you want to write, do it. No excuses. Pick the same time every day. Read everything you can get your hands on.

 

9: Great advice. Here's another question readers ask a lot. Do you base your characters on real-life people? 

No. They are entirely of my imagination. With my historicals, I've based the situations on real life events.

 

 

10: A personal favorite, where do you get your ideas and what inspired you to write this book? 

With my historicals, I got my ideas from actual events I came across in doing research, such as the French and Indian War. For my shapeshifter romance, "Wolf Magic" the characters came from my imagination.

 

11: Let's talk about what you're currently working on? 

I'm writing another contemporary vampire romance. My first such novel is "One More Tomorrow." 

 

12. Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you? I enjoy writing and always have ideas

Wolf Magic
Avador Book 5

Rabid wolves are overrunning Avador. The queen has issued a decree to the sentries: Kill the wolves! Hunting the beasts in the forest, sentry Briant Girard spies a wolf in the distance and fells the animal with an arrow. Minutes later, he finds that he has badly injured a young woman. While tending to the woman, he worries, where is the wolf?

A wolf possessing her body, Annwn is torn and confused. She delights in her wolf essence, when she can roam the woodland, wild and free. But her human side yearns for all the joys of a normal woman, someone to love, a home and children.

Deeply attracted to the lovely Annwn, Briant wonders why she spurns his advances. Even after he discovers her secret, he vows he will always love her. But Annwn knows their love is hopeless.

A beast trapped inside her, a young woman fears she will never find happiness with the man she loves.

This scene in "Wolf Magic" takes place after the heroine, Annwn, has bee jailed for stealing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Briant reached her cell and–

Annwn?

Shock rendered him speechless, his throat dry. His heart pounded wildly.

Sitting on the floor, she held her shift in clawed hands, her arms and legs covered with fur. Her face red with shame, she turned away from him. He heard her sobs, saw her trembling.

This is Annwn?

He clenched his hands, fighting for control. Helpless to do anything, he could only stare. He discarded his shock; his heart turned over with love and pity for her. He found his voice as he unlocked the cell door. “Annwn, my dear Annwn! Now I know–“

”Now you know why there can never be anything between us.” Dressed now, looking human once more, she stood and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Now you see me for what I am–a monster!”

He stepped closer to her, his heart overflowing with love. “I see you as the woman I love.” He reached for her, but she drew back, a look of despondency on her face, of utter despair. Her face red from crying, teardrops clung to her eyelashes, yet she was as lovely as ever. “My darling, let me hold you. Please don’t refuse me.” He drew her into his arms, and this time she didn’t push away, but neither did she let him embrace her. “Surely you realize how much I care for you,” he said. “My love for you–“

”No! Try to understand. Any love between us is hopeless. We have no future together. Why can’t you accept that?”

All in the Family

Hi, I'm Callie Johnson, heroine of All in the Family. I'm a cop. Well, I was a cop until the Mayor of Smytheville called and said Jim Landry, the current Police Chief, was retiring and did I want the job. Did I? Talk about a dream come true.

 I'd wanted to come back to Smytheville for some time. Big city life wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Besides, I missed my family, crazy as they were. So of course I accepted. 

I really thought coming back to Smytheville as the new Chief of Police would be a piece of cake. I mean, really, nothing much happens in a small town. At least that’s what I thought when I lived there.

 Boy was I in for a surprise. One of the first things I ran into was my grandmother had been accused of murder, no less.

Not that the present chief believed it. Not for a minute. Besides being a judge, the chief was sweet on Gram. He’d been trying to talk her into retiring for a long time, but Gram wouldn't budge.

Of course, it didn't faze Gram a bit bugging me to get married. Her and everyone and their brother. Especially my aunts. One in particular. Aunt Beatrice Lulu. That woman tried to  fix me up with every single man she came across. How she managed to talk them into meeting me, I’ll never know. 

Thing is, even though she vouched for them, she never bothered to check them out. Heck, one was even married.

No matter how I begged, she wouldn't quit. Encouraged by her sisters, Aunt Emma and Aunt Lottie, she continued to bring to bring these men around. Even after I told them I met someone, she wouldn't quit. Why they felt the need for me to get married is beyond me. And it wasn't just her. My mom and my sister encouraged them. 

 My aunts are something else. Actually the whole family is. From my grandmother, mother, to my sister. But the aunts, well, let’s just say they’re special. A more fun loving group you’ll never find. The things those ladies think to do. But I can’t say more because I don’t want to spoil the book.

Back to thinking being Police Chief was going to be easy – I couldn't have been more wrong. From vandalism to kidnapping, from drunk and disorderly to murder, even an attack on me, I had my work cut out for me.

All in the Family is available from Amazon –

To learn more about me and my books check out my website – www.roseannedowell.com or my blog – http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com  

A Few Lines from Connie Vines Brede - A Rodeo Romance Book

Brede swallowed, trying to ignore the thick, tight feeling wedged in his throat. He didn't welcome the onslaught of emotion that filled his chest and caused him to stroke her jaw with an unsteady finger tip. He reminded himself  that he didn't need to be involved in her problems; he had enough of his own. As soon as the roads were passable, he'd get her to a doctor and the police could take care of the rest. 
Still, no matter how hard he tried to remove himself from the situation, he kept remembering how fragile she'd seemed in his arms. He felt as if he'd carried a sparrow, all feathers and tiny bones, out of the gully. 

Connie Vines
Expect the Unexpected 
novelsbyconnievines.com
twitter.com/connie_vines 
Stop by next week for a few lines from Joan Hall Hovey

     Still, no matter how hard he tried to remove himself from the situation, he kept remembering how fragile she'd seemed in his arms.  he felt as if he'd carried a sparrow, all fes and tiny bones, out of the gully.