Books: Contemporary

In 2011, I did a little time traveling. No, I didn't go back to medieval Scotland. I visited the present and wrote a couple of short contemporary stories.


Something More and Something Special are both part of the Class of '85, a series published by The Wild Rose Press. 


Something more is a fun, light-hearted romance with unexpected emotion. One reviewer called "a vivid contemporary romance with realistic problems and a mature love..."




If she could, Nora Emerson would demand a "do over" of the last 25 years. An emotionally abusive marriage, failed fertility treatments and a nasty, public divorce have left her bruised, skittish and determined to remain independent at all cost.

With an all-consuming business and a furious teenage sister on his hands, Nora is a complication Nick McPherson doesn't need. It's one he wants. Her vulnerability and kick-ass competency intrigue him, and the sexual sparks between them could set Summerville on fire.

The more she insists the sex is just for fun, the more determined he becomes to turn their fling into something more.



Here's an excerpt:

The heat and taste of peat from the Scotch lingered on her lips as Nick placed a series of soft kisses along her jaw. He nipped her lower lip and pressed her against the rail, a gentle movement that knocked the air from her chest with the promise of what was to come.
Anxiety slithered over her skin. She couldn’t do this. Hadn’t done this since her divorce—actually for years before that. She was going to embarrass herself if she kept going.
“Nick—”
He tilted her chin upward with one finger, shifted the angle of his body until the solid heat of his erection burned through her jeans. Bones melted. Doubts faded. His lips worked over hers in a heady blend of skill and desire.
The hand beneath her sweater slid upward, over the bumps of her ribs until his fingertips traced the lace of her thin bra, catching her nipple between finger and thumb. His tongue tangled with hers. He took his time, drinking her like fine Scotch and running his hands over her body with exquisite slowness. Her head spun from a primitive demand for sexual satisfaction. She’d forgotten what it was like, this incandescent, all-consuming need for another person.
She pressed her palm against his chest, felt the heat of his skin, curled her fingers against hard muscle. His heart thumped hard and fast against her hand. He broke the kiss and leaned against her. He smelled spicier than before, warmer, too. 
“Are you certain?"
Pulling back, she studied him, trying to decipher the flicker of doubt on his face. “Yes.”
“Tell me, sweets, how much did you have to drink?” 
“Who would’ve thought the wild boy of Summerville High would grow up to be so staid?”





Something Special is a bit darker in tone, but just as emotional. 

The story follows Jane Grey, a risk analyst at NASA, returns to Summerville to close her uncle's estate. The lone survivor of a domestic murder, she hopes the trip will allow her to finally be at peace with her childhood. But past is prologue in small towns, and someone in Summerville is ready to kill again to get his hands on her inheritance.

Police detective Andy Morgan (whom we met in Something More) is a man with a mission: Find the evidence that will put Summerville’s corrupt, drug-addicted chief of police behind bars. 

When Jane turns to him for help, their shared past collides with the present, risking his investigation and their lives.

As sparks and bullets fly, Jane is unable to see beyond her scarred past to a future with Andy, but he knows they will have something special—if he lives long enough to convince her to risk her heart.

Here's an excerpt:

The Chief of Police didn’t appear to trust Andy either, but Jane didn’t want to be the one to point that out, saying instead, “He doesn’t like you.”
“Hasn’t since I beat the shit out of him after graduation."
His voice, as grim as his expression, sparked a low-level panic in her stomach. Richard Heade was a man who held a grudge, but she was beginning to realize Andy might be dangerous in his own right. “Dickhead peaked in high school and reached his life’s pinnacle at eighteen. He’s not worth it.”
“No, but you are.”
Emotions piled high in her chest. Glee. Fear. Bitterness. Jane stopped trying to tug him toward the busy lake front area. She stared up at him as his arms came around her waist. In another life, with another past, she’d snap him up so fast he wouldn’t know what happened until he recovered from the honeymoon.
But she was Crazy Janie. She had issues that would stump Dr. Phil. Years of therapy hadn’t taught her to believe love would triumph. Good never defeated evil, only delayed its victory.
“Don’t.” She pushed out of his arms. “Just don’t.”


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