WHAT A TERRIFIC WEEK!

I am having such a terrific week and want to share it with you!

On Saturday, Jean Headen, a friend from Rockwall, Texas with whom I had lost touch until about two months ago, came for a visit and brought her cousin Anita. Not only that, Jean brought me an afghan she had crocheted in burgundy and white. She knew that I used a lot of burgundy in my Southwestern-style family room, and thought I could snuggle under the afghan this winter. It’s so pretty, I'n not going to simply put it away until next winter, but will leave it on the sofa’s back to show it off. Some people are so talented. Isn’t it nice of her to share her talent? Okay, I know that, technically, that Saturday was part of last week, but I'm counting it with my great week.

On Sunday, my friend and critique partner, Ashley Kath-Bilsky, invited our other critique partner, Geri Foster, and me to accompany her to the Jane Austen Society Tea at the French Room of the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. Ashley writes Regency novels primarily (although she has written a wonderful western time travel). I love Dallas and have always wanted to venture into the French Room. It was as smaller than I’d imagined, but even prettier.

French Room ceiling, Adolphus Hotel, Dallas, Texas

The tea was wonderful, but not as pretty as the one Ashley set up for the Yellow Rose RWA members in March. Not everyone has Ashley's talent, and I shouldn't judge. The Adolphus servers did an excellent job. We dined on finger sandwiches, a scone, and a plate of tiny elegant deserts. Ashley, Geri and I chose Wild Blackberry tea. If you are up on teas, you know that berry tea is a tisane, but this had black tea mixed with it, so I can call it a tea.

Some of the Jane Austen Society members came in period dress. We were fortunate enough to sit at the first table and easily heard the presentation on the history of tea and how each type benefits us. I learned a lot, and one thing is I’m going to buy some Oolong Tea.

This was one of the most relaxing, lovely afternoons I’ve ever spent. What a treat, and I do mean treat, because Ashley bought the tickets and drove her car. All Geri and I had to do was relax and enjoy ourselves, and we did!

Baronda Bradley giving her presentation on teas
to the Jane Austen Society of North Texas

I was still savoring that experience on when Monday, Nelda Liles, a friend from Plano, Texas I haven’t heard from in ages, emailed me that she had read my blog (Yay!) on bluebonnets and told me how to plant them. In addition, she gave me some terrific bluebonnet photos and said I can use one for the cover of the third Men of Stone Mountain trilogy, BLUEBONNET BRIDE. Here’re a couple of her photos below, many of which she took along Ennis' (Texas) annual Bluebonnet Trail. Isn’t she a talented photographer? In addition, Nelda has a home staging business, and a home she staged was chosen to be shown on HGTV’s “My First Place.” Isn’t that a terrific coup? She has a unbelievable flair with home decor.

 Bluebonnet photos by Nelda Liles

Tuesday I had lunch with friends after our church women’s meeting. I was even good and had a salad, although that chicken-fried steak really called my name. I'm finally losing some weight, and don't want to blow my diet in one meal. Meeting with friends is very good for us and raises our endorphins to elevate our mood as well as antidepressants. That's important for writers who work alone most of the time.

I hope each of you is having as great a week as I am!

Yes, you're right. I MUST concentrate on finishing my current work-in-progress, HIGH STAKES BRIDE, which is Zach's story. Going there now...

Thanks for stopping by!

HEAT UP VALENTINE'S DAY WITH SNOWFIRES

Happy Valentine’s Day! What’s better on a wintry day than curling up with the one you love? I’m so happy you asked. Whether the weather outside is frightful or delightful, snuggle with your sweetie, your favorite beverage, and a sizzling book. And I have a book to suggest, just as you knew I would!



But first, here's the story of how I came to write SNOWFIRES. My husband and I were traveling from visiting our family in West Texas back to our North Central Texas home. Three days before, a deep snow had postponed our return. When there's a blizzard or freezing weather, Texans often joke that there's nothing but a barbed wire fence between us and the North Pole. Brrr, that trip I certainly believed that saying.

As Hero and I drove home, I once again commented on the isolation of the homes in countryside dedicated to ranching. That kernel grew into the story, SNOWFIRES.

We passed many isolated areas, and I wondered what would happen if someone had car trouble or became marooned in a storm. Even in good weather, cell phone service is often spotty in the ranching areas of West Texas. In bad weather, it’s non-existent. Rural electric and telephone lines fail under heavy snow and ice. Better and better, right? By that, I mean worse and worse for the characters. The more I thought about it, the more appeal the idea held.



 The barbed wire fence between
us and the North Pole
By Steve Shames

 For you city readers, if you're driving in a rural area and see a bluish light shining from the barn or garage or a pole in the yard, that's a mercury vapor light similar to city street lights. Hero and I have one of these lights by our garage. We had often joked about the mercury vapor light salesman having made his way through the area because most ranch homes had at least one of the lights.


Writers spin stories with “what if.” What if there were a blizzard and one those mercury vapor lights acted as a lighthouse does to ships? What if the hero and heroine were at odds and became snowbound at one of these ranches? Better, what if the ranch owners weren’t home and the hero and heroine were isolated alone? Would they work through their differences or call a temporary truce?


The heroine who spoke to me was Holly Tucker, a lovely and determined woman of twenty-nine. A nurturer, Holly cared for her family and for the employees of her firm. Thirty-six-year-old Trent Mcleod began life with nothing and built his fortune through hard work and good investments. Now he is part of Holly’s formerly family-only company. That would be bad enough, but he wants to change the rules established by her late father, Walter Tucker.


Once they returned to Dallas, I forced them to endure still working together. Writers love to make their characters suffer. After all, we want them to earn their happiness, don’t we?


The SNOWFIRES cover reminds me of the late January night my husband and I were married. That night there were a couple of feet of snow on the ground and a bright, full moon. Of course it was gorgeous and memorable, and we still mention it today when we see an especially bright full moon. But then, we are both romantics at heart.

Here’s the blurb for SNOWFIRES:



A blizzard can’t quench the fiery heat of passionate attraction. Holly only intended to get a little of her own back from Trent, not get them lost in the worst blizzard in decades. A snowstorm can’t keep them apart once their passions ignite. Holly Tucker believes Trent Macleod will ruin her family’s business now that he’s acquired her late father’s shares. Not only that, she fears he’s responsible for her father’s fatal heart attack. She’ll stop this corporate pirate any way she can. If only she could tame her hormones when he was around. He believes she’s a spoiled and pampered woman. Little does he know how wrong he is. Pampered by her grandparents, yes, but she carries all the responsibility for her stepmother and two stepsisters. Only Holly’s constant juggling of family finances covers her stepmother’s excessive spending. That and the fact Holly actually works in the family business.



Trent started with nothing and saved most of his life for this one big chance. Holly’s trick to delay their return to Dallas for an important meeting almost cost him his dream. After battling all his life against bad foster parents, crooks, and the press, he is determined no one will defeat him, not even Holly. How can she still believe her father was such a great guy? Trent doesn’t know why she is so opposed to every thing he suggests for the company. Thank heavens she is not so stand offish when they’re alone. She even invited him around her country club friends. Does a guy from nowhere stand a chance with a society princess like Holly? He prays he does, because he can’t get her out of his dreams, day or night. What will it take for him to achieve happily ever after with Holly?


Here’s the excerpt from the first night they’re marooned in the freezing, tiny ranch house. You might like to know that Grayson is her maternal grandfather: 

Trent smiled as he recalled her shocked expression when he mentioned shared body heat. At least he got a little of his own back then. She turned toward him in her sleep, snuggling up to him with her palms against his chest, one leg thrown over his.


He fought the instinct to pull her even closer and make passionate love to her. They fit so well together. He wondered how she would be as a lover, then mentally kicked himself for that line of thought.


Now he knew why the young Martin family had children so close in age. On this sagging mattress, which forced their bodies into intimate contact, a man and woman who loved one another would be drawn naturally into frequent lovemaking. Even with this ice princess with whom he had nothing in common, his mind and body cried out for their coupling.


He had no idea why she so resented him. It was more than their differences in business theory, because she had hated him at their first meeting two months ago. He racked his brain for a possible reason, but nothing came to him.


Maybe she just resented his buying the shares lost through her father's gambling. Why hold him responsible for her father’s stupidity? From all accounts, Walter Tucker was charming and glib but an absolute loser in all the ways that counted.


Grayson skirted the issue, but made it clear he hadn’t approved of his late son-in-law's management of Marvel, his ostentatious lifestyle, or his choice of Holly’s stepmother. So, why had Grayson stayed in the background? Buying into what had previously been solely a family-owned business left Trent an outsider with insufficient information.


If only Walter Tucker had stopped ranting long enough that day to listen to him...but why even go there? He would figure it all out eventually, but so far hadn't discovered how all the pieces fit. Trying to unravel the puzzle, Trent drifted softly to sleep.


***


The pirate returned to Holly's dreams. They were in the cabin of his ship, snug together in his bunk. This time his caresses inflamed her beyond her wildest imagination. Her fingers traced the line of the scar on his chest, her lips trailed kisses along the jagged ridge.


His mouth scorched a path down her neck and across her shoulders. Strong hands pushed her bra aside. Warm lips found her breast and his tongue laved her rigid nipple. The calluses of his fingers scintillated her skin as they moved to the elastic of her panties. His hand slid gently inside to touch her—


Her eyes flew open. "Hey! Stop it right now." Holly pounded Trent on his shoulders. "Get off of me."

I hope you’ll want to read SNOWFIRES. This is NOT erotica, but is probably the hottest book I have written or will write because I seem to be moving toward sweet and/or slightly sensual.


The Amazon Kindle buy link is


http://www.amazon.com/SNOWFIRES-ebook/dp/B004LROUH2/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329016651&sr=1-7

Smashwords is http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36055?ref=CarolineClemmons

Thanks for stopping by!

MOVING FORWARD WITH THE CYBERAGE.!

Now Available!

Now that snow is in our area, though not at our house, it reminded me I have a new book out that features an overabundance of snow. My friend Bobbye Terry just emailed me that she bought the book. (Authors always know who their friends are: Friends buy the book; others ask for a free copy.)

Now I have joined the ranks of those who are putting their books on Smashwords. My contemporary romance, SNOWFIRES, is now available at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36055?ref=CarolineClemmons in a seven formats--one sure to accomodate any e-reader. I want to remind readers that if you don't have an e-reader. You can download the Kindle version for your home computer for FREE. Great price, right?

Here's a blurb for SNOWFIRES:
Trent Macleod fought his way up from nothing to buy into Marvel Incorporated. He knows Holly resents him, but doesn't understand why she hates him enough to get them lost in the worst snowstorm to hit West Texas in decades. He knows he should keep her strictly off limits, but how can he when they're marooned in a tiny house with one bed and almost no heat? Passion heats the freezing home as they give in to their attraction--but will the fire last?


Holly Tucker despises yet is attracted to the dynamic man who bought shares in the family business that her gambler father foolishly lost. Was Holly’s stepmother telling the truth and Trent caused the heart attack that killed Holly’s father? As their fascination pulls them together, Holly realizes her stepmother must have lied. But Holly cares way too much for Trent. When she learns he’s a gambler, she swears she will give her body to him, but not her soul. A lifetime of repairing her father’s gambling follies has cured her of loving a gambler. Or has it?

Snowy Day

The idea for the story occurred to me on a trip back from visiting relatives in West Texas. Our return was almost delayed by snow. My husband and I had often joked about the mercury vapor lights each ranch house had. Hero said the light salesman had struck it rich through that area because every group of buildigns had at least one. That was when we lived in the city. Now that we're in a rural area, we also have one of the lights. Live and learn, right? The light played a part in SNOWFIRES because it acted as a beacon through the blizzard.

Anyway, after our trip, I wondered what would happen if a couple were snowed in out in the lowly populated ranchlands. Wouldn't it be even more interesting if they were at odds over something? Sure it would. And what if--in spite of their business differences--they were highly attracted to one another. And what if it was a tiny house with poor heat, and what if there were animals to care for? Authors love to torture their characters.

Here's a short excerpt of the first night the hero and heroine are snowbound in a home owned by a couple named Martin:

He smiled as he recalled her shocked expression when he mentioned shared body heat. At least he got a little of his own back then. She turned toward him in her sleep, snuggling up to him with her palms against his chest, one leg thrown over his.



He fought the instinct to pull her even closer and make passionate love to her. They fit so well together. He wondered how she would be as a lover, then mentally kicked himself for that line of thought.


Now he knew why the young Martin family had children so close in age. On this sagging mattress, which forced their bodies into intimate contact, a man and woman who loved one another would be drawn naturally into frequent lovemaking. Even with this ice princess with whom he had nothing in common, his mind and body cried out for their coupling.

He had no idea why she so resented him. It was more than their differences in business theory, because she had hated him at their first meeting two months ago. He racked his brain for a possible reason, but nothing came to him.


Maybe she just resented his buying the shares lost through her father's gambling. Why hold him responsible for her father’s stupidity? From all accounts, Walter Tucker was charming and glib but an absolute loser in all the ways that counted.


Grayson skirted the issue, but made it clear he hadn’t approved of his late son-in-law's management of Marvel, his ostentatious lifestyle, or his choice of Holly’s stepmother. So, why had Grayson stayed in the background? Buying into what had previously been solely a family-owned business left Trent an outsider with insufficient information.

If only Walter Tucker had stopped ranting long enough that day to listen to him...but why even go there? He would figure it all out eventually, but so far hadn't discovered how all the pieces fit. Trying to unravel the puzzle, Trent drifted softly to sleep.


***

The pirate returned to Holly's dreams. They were in the cabin of his ship, snug together in his bunk. This time his caresses inflamed her beyond her wildest imagination. Her fingers traced the line of the scar on his chest, her lips trailed kisses along the jagged ridge.


His mouth scorched a path down her neck and across her shoulders. Strong hands pushed her bra aside. Warm lips found her breast and his tongue laved her rigid nipple. The calluses of his fingers scintillated her skin as they moved to the elastic of her panties. His hand slid gently inside to touch her—


Her eyes flew open. "Hey! Stop it right now." Holly pounded Trent on his shoulders. "Get off me."

It's a fun story, but not one that involves murder or mayhem as my books usually do. This is a straight romance. It is, however, the spiciest book I've written or am likely to write, so be forewarned.
I hope you're enjoying the cold winter weather (or warm, depending on where you are) by reading a good book.

Reminder: It's time for the January issue of my MOSTLY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER. Subscribe on the sidebar. Each issue contains a free short story, yummy recipe, news and a chance to win a free book. Not bad, right?