There’s a saying in the south: “Trouble comes in threes.” In my case, I think it comes in nines.

It all started the weekend before July 4th. My husband fell and injured his wrist. X-rays showed an occult fracture of the navicular–a small carpal bone at the base of the thumb. The doctor put him in a splint that encases his thumb and he has to wear it for 4-6 weeks. Since he was injured, I thought I’d help him in the yard instead of spending my weekend writing,

Earlier, he’d mowed around the pool and there was grass on the concrete. I got a push broom and started sweeping.  And somehow, I managed to forget there was a pool behind me and I fell backwards into the shallow end.

My elbow hit concrete.

My hip hit the first step and I rolled into the water–fully dressed. I wound up with a scraped elbow and a bruised hip that left me limping for days.

Then the week of the fourth, my aunt, cousin, and cousin’s daughter went to stay in our camper at the beach. They arrived on Tuesday and tripped a circuit breaker running the A/C and microwave at the same time.

My aunt called me at work and I told her where the breaker box was. When she and my cousin stepped out to flip the breaker, my cousin’s four-year-old daughter, Gracie, shut the door and locked them out. I guess my luck was starting to rub off on them.

My aunt called me at work again and I walked her through the camper breaking and entering processes.

My cousin is the same age as my oldest daughter. She’s young, pretty, athletic, curvy, and limber. But like me, Carla has a hefty booty.  She and her butt look like J-lo. My butt looks more like a giant sack of wiggly Jell-O.

Despite Carla’s bodacious  booty, she managed to wiggle through the storage bin under the dining table and into the camper to unlock the door.

Another crisis averted.

Then I showed up.

My camper is no longer located ocean front but in a park 6 miles away, near the sound. We don’t normally have a problem finding public beach access, but it was a holiday weekend.  By the time I arrived and we packed our stuff for a day at the beach, there wasn’t a parking spot to be found. So, we went to Fort Macon State Park instead.

Gracie seemed to have a good time.

Spending July 4th at a historic site seemed appropriate. 

Later that afternoon, we found a parking spot at Radio Island–a beach access on the intercoastal waterway between Morehead city and Beaufort.

Then we headed back to the camper to shower and change for supper. We ate at a seafood joint outside of Swansboro and watched the fireworks from the parking lot afterward.

TThen we tried to get back to the camper. On the other side of town.

And got stuck in festival traffic. As we sat idling on the bridge between Cape Carteret and Swansboro, my engine sputtered.  I looked down and the needle on the temperature gauge was pointing to OMG It’s About to Blow!

I pumped the gas pedal, said a prayer,  and turned in front of on-coming, 2 mile an hour crawling traffic to get to a side street. I cut the motor and we all piled out the car.

As luck would have it, I had a 2 gallon bottle of water in the back of my Equinox. I’d bought the distilled water for the golf-cart batteries and had never taken the jug from the car.

So, my aunt, Carla, Gracie and myself sat on the sidewalk waiting for the motor to cool so we could add the water to the radiator. We were parked in front of a gorgeous, “Looks Like a Plantation Home Instead of a Bank” bank. The bank sported a long front porch with four white rockers out front.

We started making jokes about climbing onto the porch and waiting in those rocking chairs instead of sitting on the hard sidewalk waiting for the engine to cool.

The fireworks and festivities had ended and it was getting late. The only thing on the street besides us and the occasional car driving by were the port-a-johns.

We had water and we had a place to pee. Things could have been worse.

Then we noticed a couple of  skanky surfer dudes slink by a couple of times.

Being the big fans of Criminal Minds that we are, we discussed survival strategies in case the thugs attacked.  I suggested throwing a rock through the bank window to set off the alarms and bring the cops running. My aunt asked why I wouldn’t just chunk the rock against the thug’s head.

Then Gracie cried, “Help! my fingers are stuck!”

We looked down to see that poor little Gracie had somehow wedged her  fingers into a crack between the sidewalk and  curb.

While Carla was trying to pull Gracie’s fingers out, a firetruck drove by. My aunt and I cracked up as we discussed flagging it down so the firemen could cut Gracie from the concrete.

But Carla managed to get her daughter’s fingers unstuck and we eventually made it back to the camper.  The next day, my aunt and cousins went home and my husband, Johnny, arrived.

He replaced the cables on the golf cart and added the distilled water to the battery cells. Then he tried charging the batteries only to learn the battery charger had gone bad. And golf cart chargers are almost as expensive as the batteries.

We said screw it and went to the beach. 

 When we got back to the camper, my husband asked if a roof leak he’d repaired the last time we were there was still keeping the rain out.

“Sure,” I said. “It doesn’t leak at all anymore.”

Then I stepped in the corner to show him how dry the ceiling was and my foot nearly fell through the floor.  So, I pulled back the rug and discovered mold, mildew, rotten wood, and a giant, freaking hole.     

So, we said screw it again and we went to the Dock House in Beaufort. We sat on the balcony, ordered a couple of drinks, had supper, and listened to the band.

Johnny pointed out the irony of the prominent use of electric guitars in a group called Acoustic Highway.  Despite the Oxymoronic name, the bad was good.

On Sunday, we tore the carpet out of the camper, covered the hole in the floor and went home. And exactly one week later, the sump pump in our basement at home died.  With all the rain we’ve had lately, the ground was saturated and without a sump pump, the basement flooded.  It rose about three feet and short circuited the hot water heater.

.It took two days to pump all that water out.  By then, the insulation sagged and everything was moldy and mildewed.  My dad replaced the sump pump and temporarily fixed the hot water heater. He brought his supplies to my house in the back of a trailer. He left the trailer parked in my yard on Sunday night. And on Monday morning, I backed into it.

I now have a long scratch down the side of my car. But hey, I managed to pop the bumper back into place all by myself.

I know bad things come in three’s, but I think we’re on something like nine. Granted, it’s nothing catastrophic.  Just damned annoying and expensive.  But things seem to be turning around for us now. Although the damage to the camper wasn’t covered by insurance, damage to the house was.

As for the camper, the kitchen vinyl ran the length of the camper beneath that moldy carpet. Once we pulled up the carpet and repaired the hole in the floor, we were able to save a small strip of carpet to cover the area where the vinyl stopped. We now have a large square of vinyl surrounded by carpet trim. It actually looks better than it did before. And a vinyl floor at the beach is a hell of a lot easier to vacuum than carpet.

Then on Tuesday, an author from the Author Roast and Toast blog invited me to join them.

The Author Roast and Toast is a fun blog that hosts virtual parties for new book releases. The gals at Roast and Toast are multi-published, talented women I am going to love spending time with. We will be roasting and toasting most every Friday. So, if you’re an author and you want to celebrate a new release or the one year anniversary of an older title, check us out. If you’re a fan of romance, stop by and see what fun we have with our “guests.”

We’d love to see you at http://authorroastandtoast.blogspot.com/

Today, we celebrate the birth of a nation. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was America. 1013 years ago in 1000 AD, Leif Erikson landed on the shores of North America. A Viking warrior, he was looking for land south of Greenland that his father had written about years earlier. He headed south and found rich forests and sandy beaches. Traveling south west, he found richer lands with grape vines that  produced the sweetest wines. He and his crew set up camp and named the settlement Vinland (The Wine Land) and stayed all winter. Come spring, they headed back to his Scandinavian homeland.

It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that archaeologists discovered the remains of Norse housing in what is now  Newfoundland. It is believed that Erikson and his crew explored further inland into the northern reaches of America. Other Norse explorers followed and were supposedly chased away in a hail of arrows by Natives the Vikings called skraelings, or “wretched people.”

Then in 1492, Christopher Columbus left Italy and showed up with his three big ships and better weapons than Norse broad swords and knives.

In 1584 Queen Elizabeth I, authorized Sir Walter Raleigh to colongize America. The first English Colony of Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. Virginia Dare, the first Euorpean American, was born in 1587. Her father returned to Europe for suppllies and when he returned, his new daughter and the entire colongy had disappeared. His only clue was the single word carved into a tree that read: Croatan.

The colony was abandoned in 1590, but 22 years later, Jamestown was settled and the story of a nation truly begins.

The United States declared its independence July 4, 1776 and we went to war with Britain, a Revolution that gave birth to a new nation. The constitution was drafted  in September, 1787 and ratified in June 1788.  The nation began as 13 colonies but Manifest Destiny stretched the US borders from the Atlantic to the Pacific, leading to violent confrontations with the Native people.

The United States now consists of fifty states and several territories including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. People of every color and nationality call the US home, making it one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet. But we still 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.

What the hell is a Greybie, you might ask. Well, I was wondering the same thing before Entertainment Tonight ran a segment on Greybies. Apparently, Greybies are babies who were conceived after the mothers read EL James’ Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Supposedly, these mothers were burnt out in the bedroom or tired of making conception a chore, and reading James’ novel/s was like CPR to their love lives.

To be honest, I haven’t read Fifty Shades–I seldom read popular fiction because I often find the hype is better than the book. Although I have several friends who’ve read and raved about the book (although none have miraculously conceived) I just don’t find the premise appealing to my personal tastes and the hero sounds like a controlling asshole. At least, that’s my take-away when I read the blurb:

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

The fact that I don’t generally read erotic romance isn’t even a factor in why I haven’t rushed out to buy my copy of  James’ book. It’s the blurb. The first half of it sounds a bit like the description of a Lifetime Movie about domestic violence and abuse. The heroine is described as unworldly and innocent but it’s not a historical romance and when I read the word innocent, I think virgin. Is Anastasia Steele a virgin–in this day and age? Really? Unless she’s a young adult, I find that somewhat unlikely. And if she is a virgin, I don’t think a real “hero” would go out of his way to deflower her or introduce her to a world of “erotic pleasures.” Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds kind of skanky on his part.

Friends who’ve read the book claim it’s a wonderful romance about a woman finding herself and fulfilling her own romantic fantasies and a man who experiences character growth and learns to love. It sounds like a good thing on the surface, but if I think about it, I wonder what kind of message this sends to young women. Are they really supposed to believe they can change a controlling, emotionally abusive man if they only love him enough.

Yikes! I’m seeing Lifetime Movies in my head again and it sets my teeth on edge. Women who think they can change a man if they only love him more are destined for heartache and possibly some broken bones.

Fifty Shades may not be a story about abuse, but it takes three whole books for the controlling hero who wants her “on his own terms” to realize love isn’t about erotic role playing or control. That alone, should be a red flag to women who think they can change a man through love alone. No matter how much we love someone, we cannot change them or make them love us in return. That sounds desperate and pathetic. That’s another thing that  bothers me. The author describes the heroine as “desperate to get close to Grey.” And once she embarks on this purely physical relationship, she begins to explore her own dark desires.

Really? Are those desires her own? Or is she just trying to grasp any straw that will bring her closer to Grey? Is this yet another attempt to “love him enough” so he’ll love her in return? Does she think this will change him and make him love her? A man’s failure to change isn’t the result of “his” woman not loving him enough. It’s because he’s usually an asshole or a really screwed up individual who could use some counselling.

I’m not saying people are incapable of change. I just happen to believe that change has to come from within. As for these Greybies, I have to wonder how the husbands/boyfriends feel knowing their wives and girlfriends needed to read a book to get into the mood. Do they see this as a blow to their egos? Or is this a case of not caring where the appetite comes from as long as the women “eat’ at home?

I’m all for spicing up the love life and if reading “mommy porn” worked for these women, then more power to them. But they should remember the old goose and gander analogy and not to get offended if their spouses are surfing the net for porn or looking at girly magazines for inspiration. After all, men are more visual than women.

Frankly, I find spending time together as a couple and concentrating on one another to be the most powerful aphrodisiac of all. Batteries need not be included and no toys required if the couple sets aside time for romance. Spontaneity is a fine concept, but in today’s busy world, most couples don’t have time to be spontaneous and sex sometimes takes backstage to jobs, kids, the house, the yard, church, or other responsibilities. Planning a date night is the best way to breathe life back into a neglected sex life, and whatever the night entails should be fun and enjoyable for both partners.

As for recommending Fifty Shades to couples having difficulty conceiving, I wouldn’t recommend it. Those trying to conceive probably have enough well-meaning friends giving them pointers without one of them suggesting that reading an erotic romance might help. If that’s all it took to conceive those “Greybies,” then I suspect the problem wasn’t physical. Without the use of birth control and with more frequent “exposure,” I’m sure those women would have become pregnant with or without  reading Fifty Shades.

Am I missing out by not reading James’ book?

Whether Fifty Shades is the best romance ever, mommy porn, or just another book hardly matters. Fifty  Shades of Grey is practically a household word and I’m sure Ms. James is very pleased with her success. Kudos to her!

Heroes don’t wear capes. They are not born; they are created. They are men and women forged in the fires of chaos and tragedy. They are ordinary people who risk their own lives when others duck or run. In times of great need, heroes are the men and women who step up and do what needs doing to save lives and get the job done. Heroes are our soldiers coming home from war. And the ones who never made it home. They are doctors, therapist, nurses, and technologists who tend the sick.  They are policeman, firemen, paramedics, EMT’s, and social workers. They are our neighbors and friends.

Heroes wear helmets and carry guns. They leave no one behind and they carry the wounded. They are Vietnam Veterans.

And they are World War II Veterans like my mother’s uncle.

Heroes served in the Korean War like my father-in-law.

They served on land…

On Sea…

And by air.

They are newly graduated cadets destined to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And they are soldiers like my son-in-law who served abroad.

Heroes are the men and women who reach out to help a stranger when others don’t wish to get involved. They are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They are the brave men and women of our armed forces.

This Memorial Day, remember those Americans who served and those who gave their lives.

“There are no extraordinary men, just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men have to deal with.” ~Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.

Tornadoes are violent storms with rotating winds that can level buildings and turn trees and cars into projectiles. The storm’s center is a swirling vortex that can vacuum up everything in its path, tossing the debris back down to earth miles away. They form at the base of thunderstorms and are categorized on the Fujita Scale with ratings between F0 (weakest) to F5 (strongest.) Although more prevalent in the Midwest, tornadoes have occurred in all fifty of the Unites States.

Through modern technology, meteorologists have been able to more accurately predict when tornadoes will form, allowing communities and news broadcasts to send out alerts and warnings that can save lives. Thunderstorm and severe weather warnings are issued first and if conditions are favorable for tornado formation, meteorologist will issue a Tornado Watch. A watch means a tornado is possible in and around the watch area. When a tornado watch has been issued, make sure you have the following items on hand and at the ready:

• Flashlight
• Portable Radio
• First Aid Kit
• Water bottles
• Appropriate shoes and/or outdoor clothing
• Fully charged cell phone
• Blankets, a mattress, or some type of headgear like a helmet to protect your fragile skull.

Once a watch has been issued, keep a close eye on the weather and turn on local TV or radio and stay alert for warnings.

If a Tornado Warning is issued, then it’s time to seek shelter immediately.  A warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar and the area is in imminent danger. If you have a basement or underground shelter, grab your supplies and go there immediately. If you don’t have a basement or storm cellar, seek shelter in an interior room, closet, hallway or bathroom, hunker down, and protect your head and any children who are with you. If you are caught outdoors during a tornado, seek shelter in any sturdy building or lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the your head with your arms. Get as far away from trees, cars, and power lines as you can and pray.

I’m fortunate enough to live near a Public Safety building that still utilizes sirens. When the sirens sound, we turn the TV on to our local weather station and keep an eye on the weather. I also have a basement and although I’ve never found it necessary to go down there when the sirens blare, I’m always prepared to do so if necessary.

Before a tornado forms, there are usually warning sign. Violent thunderstorms with strong, persistent rotation in the cloud base can form a tornado, but not all tornadoes have funnels, so watch the skies and turn on the weather. Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or sudden intense wind shifts can be a prelude to a tornado as well. At night, if you hear a continuous roar or rumble that sounds like distant thunder but doesn’t fade away, it might be time to turn on the local weather or take a look outside. Some have said a tornado sounds like a freight train, so if you don’t live near the tracks and hear a train, seek shelter.

In the event that a tornado does touch down in your area, stay alert, stay focused, and try to stay calm. Take all necessary precautions to protect lives and seek shelter immediately. Don’t ignore Tornado Warnings or sirens!

The best place to be in a tornado is in an underground shelter or the lowest level of a sturdy building without windows. Many of the survivors of the massive F5 storm that hit Oklahoma this past Monday hunkered down in bathtubs and pulled mattresses over their heads. The tornadoes that ripped through the area caused millions of dollars in damage, killed more than fifty people at last count, and decimated Moore, Oklahoma.

We’ve all seen the images of this tragedy and they are heart wrenching. The nearly two-mile wide tornado cut a destructive path across the Midwest, destroying lives and property. The sixteen-minute warning, issued by National Weather Service, gave people enough time to seek shelter, but not enough time to get to their children, many of whom were still at school.

Those who survived may feel guilt for living when others died and many lost everything. Besides living through the aftermath of the storm, they now have to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and move forward from scratch.

Over the next few years, the towns will be rebuilt and life will go on, but those who lived through the disaster will never forget.

In the face of tragedy, Americans have always come together to help those in need. And those in Oklahoma desperately need our help. The loss of life and devastation were unimaginable. The town of Moore looks like a war zone and the streets are gone, making navigation and recovery efforts difficult. But there are ways to help.

The Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities and people can donate to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund. The organization also suggests giving blood at your local hospital or blood bank.

If you want to send a $10 donation to the Disaster Relief fund via text message, you can do so by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. Mobile donations will show up on your wireless bill or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone.

The United Way of Central Oklahoma has also established the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund to help with long-term medical, emotional and educational needs of victims of the tornado. Donations can be made online at UnitedWayOKC.org.

The Salvation Army is organizing disaster response units. To donate online go to SalvationArmyUSA.org or text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation via cellphone.

Welcome to Friday’s Character Corner, a Friday feature where I interview characters from books I loved or books I want to read. Unfortunately, most of these characters are make-believe people who exist only in the pages of a novel and in the mind of the author who created them. So, I’ll have to interview the author who created them instead. I only ask that the author dig deep to find that character and answer from his/her perspective. And Once you’re finished reading my character interview, you can find me posting on Sharon’s blog at: http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/?p=2309

My character today is Alejandro Espinosa Santoyo Torres, from the novel OBSESSION by author SHARON BUCHBINDER.
Love that cover, Sharon! Now on to my interview of the very sexy, Alejandro.

1. Where were you born?

Mexico City, Mexico. My parents moved to Dallas, Texas to give their children a better life. My father worked as a janitor, and my mother cleaned houses of rich people. They became American citizens, as did my brother and I. My parents scrimped and saved to send me and my brother to good schools so we could have a better life.

2. Where do you live now and what do you do for a living?

When I’m not working undercover as an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE) agent, I live in Odessa, Texas and watch a lot of football.

3. Sounds like a dangerous career. What’s going on in your life right now?

Right now I’m in the middle of a major operation. I’ve infiltrated one of the largest drug cartels in Chihuahua, Mexico and I’ve worked my way up to be a lieutenant for the Mendez Cartel boss.

4.Wow! That does sound dangerous. I don’t know how you manage to maintain any sort of relationship with anyone. Is there a special person in your life?

That obsessed, long-legged, big breasted, sassy red-head, Angie Edmonds is driving me crazy at the moment.

5. Sounds like she’s a big distraction in your life right now. How did you meet?

She dropped into my life. Her son was kidnapped by a cult leader who thinks the kid is the Chosen One. The US State Department said it was a private kidnapping, so they wouldn’t get involved. Mexican authorities were less than helpful. Angie did the only thing she could. She called in some favors and turned to the one person in Mexico with arms longer than those of the law: the head of the Mendez Crime Cartel.

6. Besides the US State Department and some Mexican Drug dealers, what’s keeping you two apart?

I have a rule: no sex with the women on the job. I can’t get involved with her. I can’t blow my cover.

7. Sounds like an impossible situation. How would you like to see it resolved?

If I weren’t an ATFE agent working undercover, I’d love to get this hot mama in bed.

8. But you are an ATFE agent. What other obstacles stand in your way?

If I fall for Angie, I could blow my cover. And get both of us killed. It’s a steep price to pay for a one night stand. As soon as we get her kid back, she’s out of here and out of my life, once and for all.

9. Is there a happily ever after in your future?

Only if I can stay alive long enough to shut down this drug cartel and get out with my head still on my shoulders!

10. Any last comments before I turn this interview over to Sharon Buchbinder?

I never held stock in angels, but after meeting Angie Edmonds, I’m a believer!

Author bio:

After working in health care delivery for years, Sharon Buchbinder became an association executive, a health care researcher, and an academic in higher education. She had it all–a terrific, supportive husband, an amazing son and a wonderful job. But that itch to write (some call it an obsession) kept beckoning her to “come on back” to writing fiction. Thanks to the kindness of family, friends, critique partners, Romance Writers of America, and Maryland Romance Writers, she is now an award-winning author published in contemporary, erotic, paranormal and romantic suspense. When not attempting to make students, colleagues, and babies laugh, she can be found herding cats, waiting on a large gray dog, fishing, dining with good friends, or writing. You can find her at http://www.sharonbuchbinder.com

Obsession is NOW available on Amazon!

And you can see the book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1kujUWoGbk

Book blurb:

A year after a barbaric childbirth, complete with a near-death experience and an encounter with her guardian angel, Angie Edmonds is just happy she and her son, Jake, are alive. She’s finally in a good place: clean, sober, and employed as a defense attorney. But at the end of a long work day, she finds herself in a parent’s worst nightmare: Jake has been kidnapped and taken across the Mexican border by a cult leader who believes the child is the “Chosen One.”

Stymied by the US and Mexican legal systems, Angie is forced to ask the head of a Mexican crime syndicate for help. Much to her chagrin, she must work with Alejandro Torres, a dangerously attractive criminal and the drug lord’s right-hand man. Little does she know Alejandro is an undercover federal agent, equally terrified of blowing his cover—and falling in love with her.

Short 1 page excerpt.

“Who are you? Who is that giant? What did you say to him?”

The pony-tailed man flashed a grin, the smile reaching his sky-blue colored eyes, giving him an appealing boyish look. “The big guy’s name is Tio. I told Tio to truss Raul up like the pig he is and to bring him to Isabel Ramirez. She’ll know exactly what to do with him.”

“Who are you?”

The movie-star-handsome man stopped, bent down until he was eye-to-eye with Angie.

“I found your passport tossed onto Raul’s desk, Angela Edmonds from the U.S. of A. I like that name. You look like an angel.”

She shook her head and the street twirled. “I’m no angel.” She steadied herself on his well muscled, naked arm. Rather than creeping her out, the skin on skin contact with her rescuer reassured her that he was a real human and not an angel conjured up in fevered religious delusion and desperation. “You sound like an American. You haven’t answered my question. What’s your name?”

“Torres.” Still holding her ID, he strode to the driver’s side of the car, hopped in and flashed a dazzling grin. “You could call me your hero because I’m taking you to see the woman who can help you find your son. My name is Alejandro Espinosa Santoyo Torres. But most people just call me Alejandro.”

Keep up with Sharon and watch for the release of Obsession on one of the links listed below.

Website/Blog http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001IODIE2
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4417344.Sharon_Buchbinder
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sharon.buchbinder.romanceauthor
Twitter @sbuchbinder https://twitter.com/sbuchbinder
The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

My paranormal vampire Romance, Embrace the Darkness is FREE on Amazon from now until Friday April 26. So, get it while it’s HOT.

http://www.amazon.com/Embrace-Darkness-Series-ebook/dp/B00BK9V76G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366768264&sr=8-1&keywords=Embrace+the+Darkness+lilly+gayle

Embrace the Darkness, my paranormal romantic suspense and sequel to my 2010 release, Out of the Darkness will release on June 21, 2013. But today, I got an awesome surprise in my email box. Embrace the Darkness is part of Amazon’s KDP promotional program. So from now until June, Embrace the Darkness will be available excursively through Amazon!

As part of my planned, promotional posts, I’m going to be posting excerpts. But not just any excerpts. These excerpts are things people I know in real life say. And what fun I had “quoting” them.

I’ve never based a character off of real people, but my characters in ETD sometimes quote people I know. So, here’s the first excerpt:

Setup: My heroine, Amber, and her partner, Reid, are searching for a suspected vampire, a mad scientist (Dr. Steve Weldon from the first book) and a kidnapped victim.

Reid looked at Amber as if daring her to disagree.“She has a point. We can’t just show up in another town, flash our badges, and enter a privately owned facility without a warrant. Even if your vampire buddies can manufacture the paper work we need to cover our asses later, we can’t just storm the facility with guns drawn and stakes poised. We’d look insane.”

Amber didn’t have an argument, but she wasn’t backing down.
It is what it is.

Today’s line comes from my oldest daughter and a co-worker who use the highlighted phrase quite frequently.

Hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt. More to come later!