Today, I’m interviewing  fictional romance hero, Steven Mitchell from Law of Attraction, the latest novel by author Darlene Fredette. 

Hi Steven, and welcome to my blog. Let’s start this interview off with something simple. Where were you born?

I was born and raised in Halifax, a big city on the East Coast.

We have a Halifax in North Carolina and one in southern Virginia too, but neither of those are big by any stretch of the imagination. Do you still live in Halifax? What do you do for a living?

Yes, I’m still in Halifax, working as a lawyer, but I’m building a house an hour outside of Ottawa. I’ll be closer to my family, and it’s a great place to start a family of my own.

Canadian, then. That’s cool. So, what’s going on in your life right now?

A divorce case was just assigned to me. Well, that’s not exactly the truth. I requested the case in order to reconnect with the opposing lawyer.

A-ha. Sounds like there’s a story in there somewhere.  Is she that special someone in your life right now?

Yes. Her name is Christina Crawford, and I’m head over heels for her. She’s the love of my life

How did the two of you meet?

We met at a party five years ago. We dated until a misunderstanding tore us apart.

That sucks, but what’s keeping you two apart now?

My stupidity. I should have believed in us and our love, but jealousy blinded me. Christina doesn’t trust me…and she despises me.

Maybe not. But you can’t leave things the way they are. You need resolution. Or closure. Or something. Or, maybe that’s just my opinion. So, how would you like to see the situation resolved?

I have a plan, which is already in action. I’m hoping to regain Christina’s trust, and more importantly, her love.

How? And what obstacles are stand in your way?

A stubborn woman. Christina claims to despise me, but I know better. I see the truth in her beautiful brown eyes.

That’s a start. But is there a happily ever after in your future?

Damn right! I will win back the woman of my dreams, even if I have to play a little dirty.

As long as it’s not the kind of dirty that will piss her off, you just might stand a chance. Especially if you turn on the charm. So, any last comments before I turn this interview over to Darlene Fredette.

Wish me luck, because I’m going to need it.

Author bio:

An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loved to put a pencil to paper and plot out stories of her own. She writes heartwarming contemporary romances with a focus on plot-driven page-turners. When Darlene isn’t writing, editing, or reading, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and Yellow Lab.

Law of Attraction

Release Date: October 01, 2014

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

The Wild Rose Press Purchase Link: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=1186

Book blurb:

Lawyer Christina Crawford has a successful career and stable financial future, but is it enough?  Her world is disrupted when a routine divorce case means working with a man she never expected—or wanted—to see again.  During their first meeting, she can’t deny a connection still exists.  Her head warns her to run, but her heart yearns to stay.

Steven Mitchell is ruthless in the court room, but outside those doors, his easy charm, good looks and unlimited stream of female companions gives him an unscrupulous reputation.  Six years ago Christina saw beyond his façade, but the emotions she evoked scared him and he pushed her away.  Now he wants a second chance and he is determined to get her back…even if he has to play dirty.

Excerpt:

Heart pounding in her chest, she closed the door behind him.  Wearing her best business face, she returned to this disastrous meeting and sat. Christina drew in a deep breath, and a measure of control was restored. She picked up her pen and flipped open the case file. “So, according to these documents, your client is contesting the divorce?”

Steven reached across the table and snatched the pen from her hand. “What’s the rush, Christina? We haven’t seen each other in years. There’s a lot of catching up to do.”

She clenched her teeth together, barely parting her lips as she spoke. “We have nothing but this case to discuss.”

“Come on, don’t be like that.” He leaned back in his chair, frowning. “You’re not still holding a grudge, are you? What happened was so long ago. I hoped we could start fresh, as friends.”

“Are you freaking serious?”  She glared an icy stare. Forget a slow death by high heel. She’d get more pleasure strangling him with her bare hands. “You accused me of misconduct, had me fired, and now you want to be friends?” Her heart thumped a rapid beat in her ears. “You’re out of your mind.”

A heavy silence filled the room.  Steven stared down at the table, flicking the tip of her pen with his thumb. “You look fantastic,” he finally whispered.

“Go to hell.” Christina couldn’t believe his nerve. Did he think she would fall for his act? Those dark captivating blue eyes wouldn’t sway her, not this time. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Author links, webpages, fan pages, and book trailers.

Be sure to drop by my web site to enter an awesome giveaway to celebrate the release of Law of Attraction!

Web: http://findingthewritewords.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarleneLF

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarleneLF

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/DarleneLF

Monday is Labor Day, which is the unofficial end of summer. I can’t believe it’s over already. I know life is a highway with ups and downs, but this summer has been one crazy ride.

The problems actually started back in February when I had what I believed to be  a kidney stone or an exacerbation of my IBS. Turns out, I had a perforated diverticulitis that required surgery and I spent Easter Sunday drinking laxatives in preparation for abdominal surgery. I lost eight inches of sigmoid colon, part of my bladder, spent a week in the hospital and missed 7 weeks of work. I also now have a not so attractive scar bisecting my lower abdomen.

But it wasn’t all bad. Once I got home from the hospital that first week in May, my oldest daughter who lives in Germany flew home to be with me during my recovery process. Even better, she had come home to await the birth of the daughter she and her husband were adopting in the states.

During the next few weeks, my wound healed and I regained my strength. By Memorial weekend I felt well enough to go to the beach and my daughter was able to join us. Things seemed to be looking up and I eventually returned to work.

I know Jennifer was missing her husband, Michael, but we were having such a good time. My husband’s nephew got married on June 14 but on that same day, my cousin’s wife lost her battle with leukemia. So, it was with a heavy heart that we attended the wedding. The next day was Father’s Day and my daughters planned a fun-filled family day. We went to the batting cages and rode go-carts, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. But as we were sitting down for a late lunch, I received a devastating phone call. My husband’s grand nephew had been killed in a motorcycle accident. We had just seen Christian the day before at his uncle’s wedding. So the next week, we attended two funerals. We managed to make the best of a bad situation and my girls and I were able to spend good, quality time with my mom in sort of a girls night out after one of the funeral home visitations.

The next weekend, my oldest daughter’s husband joined her in the states and my youngest daughter and her boyfriend went with us to the beach.

Then on June 29th, my beautiful granddaughter, Caroline was born out of state. Two weeks later, my husband and I spent half a week at the beach for vacation but we came home early to meet our granddaughter.

We had a baby shower for Caroline and she was able to meet relatives who would not have gotten to see her had she been born in Germany. My daughter remains in the states waiting on Caroline’s birth certificate and now, her passport. But sadly, my son-in-law had to return to Germany where he works as a civilian air traffic controller for the army. But oh, what a blessing it has been,  having a baby in the house again. I do have to “share” her and Jennifer with Jennifer’s in-laws, but nothing brightens my day more than Caroline’s smile.

I returned to work on June 9th, but I kept wishing I had more time to spend with Caroline and Jennifer.  I got it in the form of a torn medial meniscus that required surgery. This operation was minor and did not require an overnight (or week -long hospital stay) but I have been out of work AGAIN for more than a week.. Which means I may not have enough paid leave to go to Germany for Christmas as planned. But I do get two more weeks with my daughter and granddaughter, another plus.

On the minus side, I don’t get to go to the beach this weekend.

My husband and I have gone to the beach for Labor Day  every year since 2004. But my knee isn’t fully recovered and the doctor advised against riding in a car for 3 hours. So, we’re staying home. Since Caroline and my daughter will be spending the weekend with us, I’m not that bummed about it. What does have me stressed though, is my youngest daughter’s crazy-ass cat Cha Cha.  While she and her boyfriend are camping at the lake, I get to cat-sit the neuritic feline. Yes, that same beast of a cat that was recently put on Prozac for an anxiety disorder. Now, he’s on antibiotics and some medicine that is supposed to stop urethral spasms, just in case there is a physical component to his anxiety. So, I tried to give the bastard his meds this morning and he almost took off my arm!

After a half hour battle that I finally won, although not without a clawed thumb and a sore knee, I got the drugs inside the cat. But when I tried to pet him later and apologize, he growled at me like the panther he resembles. And when I took out my cell phone to get the evidence to prove to Lauren that her cat is a beast, he almost ripped the phone out of my hands.

I guess having that beast in the house this weekend is another negative on the scale of “How was your summer?” But having my daughter and Caroline just a little bit longer tips the scales into the fantastic range. And, I now have a new fan for my paranormal romances. So, it’s all good.

Today I have a super author celebrating the release of her super romance. Please welcome UK author, Rachel Brimble!

Summer is upon us and after a fabulous two weeks in Rhodes, it is back to juggling the kids around getting the work in progress finished. Well, the first draft, at least. This will be book five in my Harlequin Superromance Templeton Cove series.

It has always been a writing goal of mine to write a series – having loved Nora Roberts’, Robyn Carr’s and Jill Shalvis’ series. I loved the idea of revisiting the same town and creating a cast of characters with whom I can pick and choose how much page space I give them. Having said that, in reality, it’s the characters who choose how much space they’ll have rather than me!

The latest book in the series (and available to buy now!) is What Belongs To Her. This is Sasha and John’s story and set against the Cove’s fairground. A contemporary romance with a hint of suspense, I loved writing this book because I not only have many happy, childhood memories of our local fairground, but it also gave me a great starting place to mix the bad with the good. In fairgrounds you have lots of corners, mayhem and noise…along with a lot of laughter, cotton candy and fun. The blend of these things inspired my imagination.

All the books in the Templeton Cove series can be read as stand alone, but I really hope my editor wants me to continue the series once I hand in this book. There are still at least three secondary characters who have appeared in What Belongs To Her as well as the first two books (Finding Justice & A Man Like Him), who I think deserve their own happy ever after.

Do your readers have a favorite series? A childhood memory that they would love to one day use as the backdrop for a story?

Blurb & Excerpt from What Belongs To Her – Harlequin Superromance

She’s ready to take back what’s hers

Since the moment a local crime boss claimed ownership of her family’s fairground, Sasha Todd has dreamed of righting the wrong. Now it’s time to act, and backing down from the man’s estranged son is definitely not an option. After all, giving up her legacy to hot-blooded John Jordon means losing the chance to finally heal the wounds in her past.

Stopping John in his tracks—and resisting the sizzle between them—is Sasha’s best defense. But there’s more to him than she thought, which changes everything. With what matters most at stake, she’ll have to risk a brand-new future with John, or walk away from the man whose heart belongs to her.

Buy Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

 Excerpt

The machine rumbled to life and John froze.

What the hell??

Gripping the lap bar, he hauled it up and stood. Sasha Todd gracefully skipped up onto the steel platform beneath the carriages. She was dressed in white shorts that revealed her long slender legs and a simple red T-shirt. His breath caught. Did she have any idea how stunning she was?

She smiled, mischief glinting in her black eyes. “Sit down, John. Let’s take a ride.”

He blinked. “Are you crazy?”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like rides?”

He tried and failed to muster some semblance of authority as the machine started to move. “No. Turn this thing off.”

She quirked an eyebrow and curved her fingers over the back of the carriage. “Yet you want to run this place? You can’t do that without knowing the fairground inside out. That includes the rides. Move over, I’m jumping onboard.”

Their eyes locked and once again, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Why the hell did the woman managing the fairground have to be so physically arresting? God, he wanted to write about her. Describe her in words in a vain attempt to let the damn world know how unnervingly beautiful she was.

He lowered into the seat, steadfastly avoiding her gaze. He concentrated on keeping his pride in place and not giving in to the temptation to grip the bar again. The ride picked up speed and the carriage shifted as she hauled herself up and sat down next to him, pulling the lap bar down with her.

The distinct smell of something musky and sexy drifted as she tossed her long hair over her shoulders. The tendrils whispered across his cheek and John closed his mouth, trapping the inconceivable urge to groan.

She wriggled her behind deeper into the seat and settled back with a sigh. “So…what’s the plan today? Enjoy the fair? Cook the books? Fire me?”

Attraction gave way to irritation, fueled by the nonchalance in her voice. “You do realize this thing is moving, right?”

She shrugged and glanced around before focusing entirely on him. “Sure. Now is as good a time as any to get acquainted, don’t you think?”

John swallowed. Jesus, her eyes are ebony black, like two huge pieces of jet. He snapped his face forward. “Do you know something?” He slid his arm across the back of the carriage above her shoulders. “If you want to play some stupid game in a bid to annoy me, that’s fine. I’m the one in control here, whether you like it or not.”

Bio:

Rachel lives with her husband and two young daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK.  After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. In 2012, she sold two books to Harlequin Superromance and a further three in 2013. She also writes Victorian romance for Kensington–her debut was released in April 2013 and she has since signed for three more.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family and beloved black Lab, Max. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Links:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, or if you have ever read my blog, you’ll know exactly who Cha Cha is. He is my youngest daughter’s crazy cat, and I have been telling stories about him for years.

Lauren got Cha Cha as a kitten back in 2007, when she was still in high school and living at home. He was such a sweet little kitten, but then….he grew up into a beast of a cat. Cha Cha is like an attack dog and feet are his prey. As he grew, he started to resemble a panther.

He even hunted like one of  the big cats, but with a scary edge.

Cha Cha would watch training videos on youtube so he could learn to stalk birds.

He terrorized my household, bringing in dead and alive animals, demanding food whenever the pantry door was opened. I swear that cat stalked me, waiting to  pounce at any and every opportunity.

Even poor little TT was scared of him. I tried to tell people Cha Cha was crazy, but no one believed me. They thought Cha Cha behaved the way he did because he thought I didn’t like me and so, that is why he was terrorizing me.

Then that glorious day arrived when Lauren announced she was moving out and getting her own place. In the span of two days, she packed up her room, piling boxes up and picking out the things she would take with her to her apartment. Naturally, Cha Cha was going to go with her, and somehow, he figured this out….and he was not happy with the idea.

The night before Lauren moved out, TT brought us the lower half of a squirrel she had found in Lauren’s room. Everyone knows Cha Cha never eats the heads, so I sent my husband back to Lauren’s room to investigate. He found a squirrel head in one of Lauren’s boxes.

We figured it was Cha Cha’s way of letting her know he was not happy with the move.

Eventually though, Cha Cha settled into his new home and didn’t give Lauren too much trouble. She would occasionally bring him to visit and he even made friends with my new kitten, Grable….sort of.  But each time when Lauren would take him back to her apartment, he would act out. He even started peeing on her couch, something he did at my house to show his displeasure when I would capture and release some of the live animals he would bring in from the outdoors….such as birds, squirrels, moles, voles, rats, rabbits, and once, a flying squirrel that bit me when I was trying to save it.

But again, he would always settle down into a somewhat happy existence in Lauren’s small apartment. Although, he continued to put on weight.

He was already a big cat, but now, he was an obese monster!

He got so big, Lauren took him to the vet…and he was not happy when the vet put him on a diet.

But he got over that too….eventually.

Then around the first week of July, Lauren went to the lake for a week. As she has done in the past, she brought Cha Cha over for us to cat-sit. He settled right in as if he had never left. Only, he took over. He ruled the roost once more and had TT staying out of his way and Grable following him around with worship in her eyes. When he napped, they all napped.

He was happy, and honestly, he didn’t bring the first animal into my house, alive or dead. He was on his best behavior and I think, he believed he was home to stay. Of course, he was happy to see his mama, Lauren, when she came home, but he believed she was staying too. And, he was not happy when she packed up his toys and took him home.

According to Lauren, he began “acting out” again. He would claw at the carpet edges, race up and down the apartment stairs, and pee on the back of

her sofa and not just once in a while when he got mad. He started doing it all the time. He would walk up to the sofa and “let her rip.”

Then one day last week, Lauren noticed blood in his urine. So, she made an appointment with the vet.

The vet did all the right tests, checking for kidney disease and/or a bladder infection. I’m sure the vet bill wasn’t cheap. All tests came back negative. So, the vet began asking Lauren questions and examining Cha Cha’s behavior.

The final diagnosis? The blood in Cha Cha’s urine is the result of deliberate straining. Cha Cha is acting out in a most inappropriate manner. He is forcing himself to urinate so he can “punish” Lauren for “moving” back to the apartment and he is straining so hard to pee on “command” that he is rupturing the tiny blood vessels in his urethra, which results in the trace amounts of blood Lauren has been seeing on her sofa and carpet.

The vet then diagnosed him with a severe anxiety disorder and prescribed Prozac. The catch? They do not make kitty Prozac, so Lauren had to pick the prescription up at the pharmacy… a regular people pharmacy! She laughed and said she wondered if the pharmacist would think the prescription was for her, but simply shrugged and went to pick up the cat’s prescription. When she got there, the pharmacist laughed because the vet had phoned it in for Cha Cha, not Lauren. Needless to say, the pharmacist was greatly relieved that there was no human living in Granville County named Cha Cha Glass. Perhaps if there were, that would explain his anxiety issues. Being a grown man named Cha Cha could definitely cause a bit of anxiety.  We’re just hoping the drugs work on an overweight, slightly evil, but somewhat lovable neurotic cat.

In school, we learned that the Declaration of Independence was signed by John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, Thomas Payne, and a bunch of other famous people on July 4th, 1776. There’s even this famous painting of the event that used to hang in my elementary school in Virginia. But that’s not the entire story.

The thirteen English Colonies in North America were already at war with the British when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Constitution at the suggestion of the other members of the Continental Congress. Jefferson penned the first draft in June 1776 and fellow committee members including Ben Franklin, Robert Livingston, John Adams, and Roger Sherman edited it and added additional charges against King George III of England. There were no delete buttons back then.  No back tabs or cut and paste. There wasn’t even white out.  Can you imagine the editing process? Everything had to be hand written again and again.

I wonder how many scrolls they went through before creating an error-free document?  Gives me hand cramps just thinking about it. But the document was written and sent to the King of England. It listed the thirteen colonies complaints against the crown and categorized the people’s rights while providing legitimate reasons for the colonists to declare independence.

The document was completed in late June and began like this:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

On July 2, 1777, the Continental Congress voted to declare independence. That night, the Pennsylvania Evening Post published the following statement: “This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States.”

In a letter written to his wife, John Adams commented that the second of July would be an epoch day in American history. If he had had his way, we would have celebrated the birth of America on July 2 because he believed that day should be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of God Almighty.

But that was not to be. On July 4, 1776, The Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, but there was no internet back then. No evening news and no telephones. There weren’t even telegraph wires and the US Post office was in its infancy. So, the news had to spread by word of mouth and it wasn’t until July 8th that the New Americans celebrated their first Independence Day.

Philadelphians threw a big party. There was a parade and guns were fired into the air while people whooped, hollered and shouted with joy. George Washington’s army was camped near New York City and didn’t hear the news until July 9 and they had their own celebration then. But down in Georgia, they didn’t get the news until Aug. 10 and the British didn’t find out we didn’t want to be British any more until Aug. 30.

Once America declared its independence, a constitution had to be written. That feat was accomplished in 1787. It began with what is famously known as The Preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It Constitution was ratified  it in March of 1789. It serves as the fundamental law of the United States. It established the foundation for a republican form of government. The three branches of that government are the judicial, executive and legislative branches. Legislation writes the laws, executive branch interprets the law, and the judicial branch enforces it.

Before the constitution was ratified, The Articles of Confederation served as the country’s first written constitution. The document lacked continuity and individual states had too many rights which weakened the federal government. The purpose of the Constitution was to strengthen the Federal or central government and still maintain individual rights and liberties. Even after it was written, the government realized it was still a work in progress and over the years, amendments were added.

The Constitutions first ten amendments are the Bill of Rights, which became a legal part of the Constitution on December 15, 1791. It guarantees all Americans the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, religion, freedom of the press, and the right to among others. But there was some confusion in the early years about who deserved these rights. Women’s rights were granted gradually between 1848 and 1920. Slaves were considered property and even after the Civil War and the 13th amendment abolishing slavery, black people and African Americans were not granted the same rights as white people. Despite the 15th Amendment allowing black people the right to vote, it would take years of struggle and the civil rights movement before they were granted full and free voting rights in 1965. America is still struggling with civil rights, but we are learning.

Both John Adams, our second president and signer of the Declaration and Thomas Jefferson, our third president died on July 4th 1826, exactly 50 years after the adoption of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. The country took it as a sign of American divinity, which led to manifest destiny and our abuse of Native Americans. But as a country, we have grown and we have hopefully, learned from our mistakes. As a nation, I guess we are still, a work in progress. And by the grace of God, let us hope and pray that we do not repeat the worst mistakes of our past.

Title: Risking It All
Author: JM Stewart
Publisher: Penguin Intermix
Date published: Sept 16, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Word count: 80, 000
AISN: B00FFFSZB6
ISBN: 9780698147980

Originally published in a shorter form as Staking His Claim

Blurb:

She’s everything he wants…

For years, Kyle Morgan has hidden his true feelings from the gorgeous girl next door that he grew up loving and protecting. But when she shows up at his apartment in the middle of the night, desperately needing comfort and support, his iron will begins to waver…

…and the only thing he can’t bear to lose.

Kyle was always the big brother Cecelia Anton never had, but suddenly her goofy best friend has become a sexy man she can’t keep her thoughts—or hands—off of. As their deep connection melts into uncontrollable desire, Ceci is willing to put it all on the line for a shot at true love. Only Kyle is keeping a terrible secret about Ceci’s past that could destroy not only their lifelong friendship but their happily-ever-after…

Purchase links:

 Amazon

Barns and Noble

iTunes

Books-a-million

Happy Friday the 13th! A LUCKY day for

Blame it on Texas

a new contemporary romance by Amie Louellen

Every first love deserves a second chance.

© 2014 Amie Louellen

Shelby Patterson has come back to Texas for one reason and one reason only—to get her husband to sign divorce papers. She’s worked hard to build her California bakery, where clients clamor for her one-of-a-kind creations.

Seven years after her disastrous marriage, she’ll finally have everything in perfect order—just as soon as Ritter McCoy signs the dotted line.

Ritt is still pissed that Shelby walked out all those years ago without giving their marriage a chance. Sure, they were young and had just lost the baby that had rushed them to the altar, but they’d loved each other beyond reason.

Ritt gave up his college baseball scholarship, only to have Shelby and her mom take his parents’ bribe money and run. If Shelby wants those papers signed, she’ll just have to wait until he’s good and ready.

Or maybe, before she flies the coop again, he can convince her the love they had between them is still there—and still hot enough to melt their hearts back into one.

Warning: This book contains a sexy Texas boy determined to recapture his first love. May also produce feelings of nostalgia and longing for slow kisses and sweet tea.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Blame it on Texas:

She should have known she’d find him like this.

Shelby looked down at the oil-stained driveway to the denim-clad legs protruding from underneath the ancient Ford. The hem of the jeans was frayed, the worn cowboy boots dusty and with a few stains of their own.

She propped her hands on her hips, doing her best not to tap her foot in irritation. It would do no good. If there was one thing she’d learned in her time as Ritt McCoy’s wife, he had his own timetable and to hell with anyone else’s.

“I said, I need to talk to you.”

“And I said, just a minute,” his muffled voice returned.

Shelby bit back a growl and used the thick packet of papers to fan herself. That was one thing she didn’t miss about Texas—the heat. But with any luck and the good Lord’s grace, she’d only be here another few minutes, an hour at the most, and then she’d be on her way back to California.

A trickle of sweat ran down between her shoulder blades and into the small of her back. Shelby fanned harder and checked her watch. She’d been waiting twenty minutes for Ritt to finish whatever it was he was doing to the truck and sign on the dotted line. That was nineteen more than she cared to wait.

“Ritt.”

“Shelby.”

“I need you to sign these.”

“In a minute.”

“Now. I have a plane to catch.”

She jumped back, nearly snapping the heel off one peep-toe pump. They had been a special purchase for this trip along with the form-fitting black dress that hugged her like a second skin. Scrambling to get out of the way, she managed to maintain her balance as Ritt pushed the creeper from under the truck.

And there he was, the boy who stole her heart, took her virginity and married her all in one summer. Well, he’d had her heart for years before that. And he wasn’t a boy any longer; though the years, she grudgingly admitted, had been very kind to him.

“What?” he asked. Even lying down, he looked taller, broader, more. She was glad to have the advantage, standing over him like she was.

“I’m in a hurry.”

“Not my problem.” He disappeared in a quick swoosh back under the truck. But he left his image behind. Dark blond hair curling from under a ratty Longhorns baseball hat. Dirt smeared T-shirt covering a chest she didn’t remember as having quite so many muscles. Long legs, firm lips, square jaw.

“I’ve flown over a thousand miles to get you to sign these. The least you could do is get out from under there and do it.” Her voice rose in pitch, the whine she’d been tamping down rising to the surface. Couldn’t he see how they needed this? That it was time to move forward?

There was a loud clunk, which sounded like head versus oil pan, then a muffled curse.

He rolled out again, and before she knew what had happened he was towering over her. She took a couple of steps back for good measure, unable to meet his blue-gold gaze as he studied her face.

“What is it, Shelby? What is so important that you flew all the way out here to grace me with your presence?”

She was wrong. The years had been more than kind to him, they had outright adopted him. Had he always been this tall? This broad? This…masculine?

He had, she decided. But after seven years away, she had forgotten what a man her Texas boy had been.

She licked her lips, the sight of him bringing back more memories than she cared to delve through. Prom night, at the lake after the baseball games, Saturday afternoon in the canyon…

Check out Blame it on Texas on AMAZON and B&N.com

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and it was first celebrated after the Civil War as a way of honoring those who died during that bloody, four year conflict.  Dozens of cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, but in May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo N.Y. as the official birth place of Memorial Day. But the practice of remembering those who died in battle goes back hundreds if not thousands of years.

Even before America was a country, ancient Greeks and Romans held public festivals to honor the dead. The citizens would adorn their loved ones’ graves with flowers and toss food into tombs as offerings to please the spirits of their loved ones. They would feast and dance, wanting the dead to know they were not forgotten. The celebrations were a show of respect but they were also rooted in fear.

The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed a spirit could become a malevolent presence if not properly honored. And those who failed to honor their ancestors with feasting and song risked unleashing  hostile spirits into the world who could wreak havoc until appeased.  Families were responsible for honoring their loved ones, but those who died in combat became community dead and it became a public responsibility to honor them. After the Peloponnesian war, Pericles, a prominent Greek statesman, gave a public funeral oration for those who died in battle. These memorial festivals became a social obligation and public ritual in Greece and Rome.

In the United States, the social obligation of honoring the dead dates back to the Civil War where casualties on both sides were American. During that bloody conflict, nearly as many men died in captivity as during the entire Vietnam War. And hundreds of thousands died of disease or from lingering infections as the result of minor wounds. In all, around 620,000 men lost their lives in the line of duty,  and many of the dead were buried in mass graves.
One such mass grave existed in Charleston, SC where union soldiers were buried in a massive grave outside of a Confederate POW camp.

On May, 1, 1865 former slaves dug up the bodies of 257 dead Union Soldiers buried there. They labored for two weeks to give those brave men who had fought against slavery a proper burial. Afterwards, they placed flowers on the graves and held a parade led by 2,800 Black children who marched and sang to honor those who died.

That same year in Waterloo, NY, a local druggist named Henry C. Welles suggested a social gathering to praise the living veterans of the Civil War while remembering the patriotic dead by placing flowers on their graves. It wasn’t until he mentioned this idea to General John B. Murray, a civil war hero that his idea became a reality.

The notion of praising the dead was accepted wholeheartedly and marshalled veterans’ support. One year later, several communities held celebrations to honor the dead. In the Village of Waterloo, NY flags flew at half-mast and graves were draped with evergreens and mourning black.

Down in the south around March of 1866, a group of Southern ladies from Columbus, Georgia passed a resolution to set aside one day each year to remember the Confederate dead. And April 26, 1866, became the first Memorial Day in the South. However, in the more northern reaches of the South, flowers were not yet in bloom. So, other southern states selected dates later in the spring to celebrate. And near Petersburg, VA, they chose June 9, because of a significant battle fought there. Other Southern States opted for Jefferson Davis’ birthday on June third as they were still annoyed with the North.

Back in the North, the celebrations were held in May and in 1868, Waterloo, NY held a huge public celebration, proclaiming May 30th to be Decoration Day.

Also on May 30, 1868, General James Garfield (who later became our 20th president) spoke before a crowd of 5,000 people gathered at Arlington National Cemetery. The crowd later decorated the graves of over 20,000 dead Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

Then in 1873, New York became the first state to officially recognize Memorial Day and by 1890, all Northern States officially recognized it as being in May.

It wasn’t until after World War I when the nation finally began to overcome the vast political and economic rifts cause by the Civil War that things change. Memorial Day then became a day to honor all Americans who died fighting in any war. Then in 1971, Congress passed the National Holiday Act officially recognizing the last Monday in May as Memorial Day.
Regardless of who celebrated the first memorial day or where it was celebrated, it became a holiday to celebrate the sacrifice made by over 600,000 men and women on both sides of the bloodiest conflict in American history. Today, we honor men and women who died in service of nation whether they served in the military or as a civilian. Today, we honor soldiers, sailors, the air corps, a marines, civil servants, police, fire, and rescue and anyone who died in defense of this great nation.
So to those who sacrificed all, Thank you.

I love reading books set in historic times or in other countries, but I also love a good book set in NC. Even if the author isn’t from North Carolina, if he/she has done his or her homework and gets all the details just right, I feel more connected to the story. Even if the town or city is fictional, as long as I can make a connection to the surrounding cities and characters, then I feel as if I’m reading about people I could actually know.

Skye Taylor may not be from North Carolina, but she has definitely done her homework. Born and brought up in New England, Skye assumed she’d always be a snow-loving Yankee until a life-changing adventure in the South Pacific showed her an equally appealing alternative. She now lives in St Augustine, Florida where she divides her time between writing novels, walking the beach, volunteering at the living history museum and trying to keep her to-be-read pile from taking over the house.

I love the premise of her book and the cover is so gorgeous that I have already downloaded it onto my e-reader. But in case you’ve never heard of Skye Taylor or her books, I decided to interview Zoe, from her latest release, Falling for Zoe~ 

Lilly: So, Miss Zoe Callahan, some lucky people have already read your story and I heard they found hope and inspiration in your experiences. You mentioned that you thought another title for this book might have been New Beginnings. Can you share a little bit about that?

 Zoe: Well, to start with, I’m twenty-seven years old and until just a few months ago, I was still living with Daddy. For the longest time, I never questioned that. You see, my mom died when I was thirteen, and since I was the oldest, I just kind of fell into taking care of my brothers and sisters, trying to be all the things our Mom would have been if she’d still been with us. My next oldest brother is already married and I have an adorable two-year-old nephew. But the youngest just went off to college, so I just kind of got into the habit of taking care of everyone and didn’t think much about me and what I wanted out of life. But then something shook my life up a little and I had to make some big decisions. One of them was to buy this lovely old house in Tide’s Way. Once upon a time, it belonged to the Jolee family. It wasn’t part of the plantation, though. It was built by a younger son back in the eighteen hundreds. I was looking at condos mostly, but when I saw this place, I just fell in love with it. I can see the ocean from almost every window in the house for one thing. What I didn’t count on was how many things could fall apart in an old house, but I’m learning. So that’s one new beginning. A big one.

 Lilly: That is a big one. But, what happened to shake up your life?

 Zoe: Well, like I said, my life was kind of going along to get along. My father always wanted to add & Sons to the firm’s name, but none of my brothers were interested in becoming lawyers. Then this really bright new lawyer got hired and Daddy took an instant shine to him. He introduced us and we dated for a while. Porter Dubois was handsome and smart and he seemed really interested in me. It was kind of exciting at first, and I so wanted to fall in love and live happily ever after. I let Porter have his way when he wanted us to sleep together and that was exciting at first too. I never really had a boyfriend before. I was too busy being a big sister. But I didn’t fall in love with Porter, and when I got pregnant and Porter didn’t want anything to do with either me or the baby, I realized I didn’t really even like him very much. I’d made some pretty big mistakes, but I didn’t want to keep making more. Keeping my baby was the easiest decision. I already loved her, even before I knew it was a her. But Daddy thought I should give her up for adoption and that’s when I decided it was time to make a new life for me and my baby. Big decisions, big new beginnings.  

 Lilly:  A tough decision. Weren’t you a little intimidated about becoming a single parent, a new homeowner and everything, all at once?

 Zoe: I didn’t really think owning a home was going to turn out to be such a huge challenge. I might not have made that choice if I’d known, but now I’m glad I didn’t know. Otherwise, I’d never have met Jake Cameron. As for being a single parent—being a new parent is scary anyway, I think. I worried about it some, but I knew it was the right thing. Then I met Jake. He’s got three girls, and he’s a single parent. He seemed to be doing a pretty decent job of it, too. They are the nicest kids you’d ever want to meet. His example gave me confidence. Thank God, he’s pretty handy with tools, too. He helped out a lot with all the things I discovered I didn’t know about owning an old house.

 Lilly: So, I guess Jake Cameron is one of the new beginnings you spoke of?

 Zoe: Jake is a wonderful man. He’s a great father, a terrific neighbor, and a really good friend. He’s also pretty good to look at.  He’s not classically handsome and polished the way Porter Dubois is, but he’s totally buff and outdoorsy with that sun-bleached hair of his. I bet he never even thinks about the clothes he wears, but I’m telling you, I think about them a lot. Or rather, I think about the way he looks in them. Jake is one of the biggest blessings in this whole new beginning thing.

 Lilly: It sounds as if this gallant neighbor is pretty special.

Zoe: I’m smiling because Jake is special. But you’ll have to read the book to find out just how special. 

“With a deft hand and engaging style, Skye Taylor creates a

realistic story with a heart that captivates . . . if you keep your

heart open, love heals the deepest wounds. Don’t miss this

book.” ~Vicki Hinze, USA Today Bestselling Author  

Blurb~

Jake Cameron won’t risk hurting his best friend by admitting he loves her. Little does he know . .  that’s what hurts her the most.

Zoe Callahan, pregnant with the child her ex-boyfriend doesn’t want, adores her ramshackle new home in the seaside town of Tide’s Way, North Carolina. When she meets handsome Jake Cameron, her next-door neighbor who offers some fixer-upper help, her heart goes out to him instantly. He’s a doting dad to three daughters and the kind caretaker to a mom-in-law with Alzheimer’s.

Jake is equally taken with Zoe. But Jake, a contractor and volunteer firefighter from a close-knit family of brothers and a sister, won’t risk a romance that could disrupt his family after his ex-wife nearly destroyed it.

Despite Jake’s efforts to hide his feelings, he and Zoe quickly form an unbreakable bond. Zoe discovers love hasn’t given up on her, even if the father of her unborn child did. Now she just needs to figure out why Jake is so determined not to let the heady attraction that sizzles between them turn into something more than friendship.

When disaster strikes Jake is Zoe’s rescuer. He already has her heart, but now, in spite of the rift that has come between them and the haunting nightmare from Jake’s past, Zoe must trust him with her life and the life of her baby. And Jake must trust himself.

Look For Falling for Zoe and other stories by Skye Taylor on Amazon. You can also find Skye at Belle Books and on Facebook.