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When We Were Us Teaser Tuesday #1

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When We Were Us (Keeping Score Book 1) releases on April 7th! I can’t wait. I think you’re going to love Leo and Nate and Quinn as much as I do.

But it’s Tuesday, so let’s have a little teaser, shall we?

Remember, if you want to read a full chapter of the book, you can download it for free here!

~~~***~~~

“Quinn, what was that all about?” He repeated himself, frowning, and let go of my hand. I felt immediately bereft.

“Um, it was nothing.” I took a step back away from Leo. “Stupid cheerleaders.”

His forehead creased, and I realized I was talking crap about girls who were probably his friends now. Maybe more than friends. God only knew what he’d done with some of them; I’d heard stories about football parties. I only hoped he hadn’t hooked up with Trish. I could handle anything but that.

“What were they talking about?  What did you write to set them off?”

Now annoyance flared, almost overshadowing the want surging through my veins. It was typical Leo these days; he’d never assume I was blameless. It had to be me who’d written something wrong.

Plus, this confirmed something I’d suspected—that Leo didn’t read my articles. He gave my work at the school paper great lip-service, but now I knew the truth.  “Maybe if you read the newspaper now and then, you’d know.”

“I don’t read anything but school stuff during football season.” He shook his head.  “No time.  So what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.” I hissed out the words. Of course, it was my fault that those bitches were threatened me. Leo would see it that way. Once upon a time he would’ve stuck up for me no matter what, but those days were in the past.  “I wrote an opinion piece about the special treatment the cheerleaders get. It’s nothing that everyone else in the school isn’t thinking.  Guess some of them obviously didn’t like it.  No biggie.”

Leo ran a hand through his hair, his go-to gesture when he was exasperated.  “Mia, are you crazy?  That’s not exactly the way to make friends.”

Pain sliced through me. Leo rarely used his special nickname for me anymore, and hearing him say it—his voice husky—reminded me of how far apart we’d drifted. And now he was giving me advice on finding friends? What kind of loser did he think I was?

“Thanks.  I didn’t know I needed help making friends.  I used to have some really good ones.” The words were laced with sarcasm.

Leo winced. “I’m still your friend, Quinn, you know that.  But couldn’t you try a little harder?  I mean, with other people?”

The truth was right there in his voice. I was an embarrassment to him. Poor Quinn, the too-tall girl who just couldn’t seem to find her own circle. The girl who reminded Leo of a part of him he’d turned his back on when football and popularity became more important. The impact of what he was saying hurt, and I lashed out in response.

“The people I’d want for my friends wouldn’t expect me to be a phony.  They would accept me for who I am.” I leaned forward a little, just to make sure he heard me.

“You don’t think I do?”  Leo looked stricken, as though what I’d said was some huge revelation.

Anger bubbled up inside me. I was sick of the whole thing. Sick of mooning after this boy, sick of the pain of losing my best friend. Sick of him pretending nothing had changed, when everyone else in the world knew that it had. I took another step back and spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t know, Leo.  Do you even know who I am anymore?”

~~~***~~~

The Keeping Score Trilogy is a New Adult contemporary romance. The first two books may not give youWhen We Were Us Sml complete closure, but hang in there for Book 3; I promise the pay-off is worth it.

You can preorder When We Were Us now at all major retailers.

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Kobo/Google Play

Read an exclusive excerpt right here!

Paw Love: My Very First Pet

 

What could make seven contemporary romance shorts by award-winning and best-selling authors even better? Add seven sweet, scene-stealing pets . . . and then make the whole project a benefit for animal rescue charities!

That’s just what we’ve done. LOVE PAWS features short stories with a little bit of steam, a little of sweet and happy endings all around. Each story also includes a pet, just to give the romance a little boost.

This anthology releases April 19th, in celebration of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. You can preorder your copy today exclusively through iBooks.

I am an animal lover. I’m one of those people who talks to cats–always–and can’t stand to see those horrid abused dog ads on TV. (You can usually hear me shrieking, “TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!!” across the house.) And because of this love, I have lots of sweet animal love stories–the type between me and the many pets I’ve been privileged to love.

Nammy

My First Dog

FullSizeRender 8In 1966, my father left for his first tour in Vietnam. My mother stayed behind in New Jersey, where she lived with her in-laws . . . and me, in utero. Yes, she was pregnant.

While he was in country, my dad worked with a platoon of Vietnamese (south) soldiers, who had a dog with puppies with them. I don’t know all the details–or perhaps I’ve forgotten them–but he fell in love with one of the puppies and adopted him. According to my father, adopting this pup likely saved him from being someone’s dinner. (YUCK!!!) He named the dog Nam, which means five in Vietnamese, since that was my dad’s call number there.

In Vietnam, Nammy became the platoon’s mascot. He rode on the top of the armored personnel carrier, unless the fighting was too dangerous. Every night, he slept under my father’s cot, in their tent. Years later, when I met the men who’d served with my dad on that tour, they all remembered Nam! 

Meanwhile, back in New Jersey . . . in April, I was born. Two months later, it was finally time for my father to come home. And of course, there was no way he was leaving his dog behind. He managed to pull some strings and send Nam home . . . two weeks ahead of his own arrival.

My mother was not a dog person. She and my grandfather left me with my grandmother while they FullSizeRender 6drove across the bridge to pick up this new and foreign friend. Poor Nammy . . . he had never seen a house, and being inside freaked him out. My grandfather spent the day building him a kennel in the backyard, but when the time came for him to go into it, turned out Nam didn’t love it. He howled and carried on, and when my unhappy grandfather went out in the middle of the night to calm him, he found the poor dog had tried to dig his way, gotten stuck and was nearly strangling. Sa (that’s my grandfather) took Nam inside with him. The dog curled up next to Sa’s bed and slept there. For the rest of his life, whenever we stayed with my grandparents, Nam slept there, next to Sa.

For me, Nam was my first friend. When we lived in Kentucky, he and I would vie for a spot at the door to watch for Daddy. Apparently I pulled out his whiskers, poor doggy . . . and every night, when my father came in to read to me (as he did my entire childhood, from babyhood to the night before I left for college), Nam would come, too. 

FullSizeRender 7He traveled with us across the country, not once but twice. He had a habit of leaning his head on my dad’s shoulder as he drove and falling asleep there, his head becoming dead weight. He also was a runner. We had to keep Nam inside or he would take OFF. People learned this lesson the hard way. He was a fierce defender of his family. 

I was in eighth grade when it became apparent that Nam was suffering; he’d run out into traffic at some point in my childhood and been hit, and though he recovered fully, in his old age, that injury was affecting him. When he could no longer walk and was clearly in pain, my father made the difficult decision to let his buddy go. 

It was the first time I’d seen my father cry. I remember with such clarity how horrible that day was. (Yes, I’m crying now as I write this.) Daddy brought Nammy home and buried him in our backyard, and later he made him a grave marker. (If you live at 15 Mansfield Avenue in Pitman, New Jersey, that marker is probably still there in your backyard.)

My parents used to say that we weren’t dog people. We liked to travel too much, and both my sister FullSizeRender 3and I were timid around strange dogs. But Nam was more than a dog. He was family. He was my sibling before I had one, he was my homework buddy, my reading pal and my companion on my earliest journeys. 

I know there is controversy about whether or not dogs go to heaven, or if they go to the same heaven people do . . . but I know with steadfast surety that Nam is with my dad in the Great Beyond.  I know they are sharing old memories and enjoying each other once again. 

When I think of Nammy, I think of the Biblical phrase: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

 

 

***~~~***

Becca BoydFire Up

Rene FolsomBy Chance: A Playing Games Spin-off Novella

Alison FosterSaving Grace: A Beautiful Ruin Story

Olivia Hardin:  All in the Takeoff: A Rawley Family Romance

Tawdra Kandle: My One and Always (An Always Love Short)

Lyssa LayneDig Deep

Juli ValentiTaunt : A Twisted Wolf Tale

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Always My Own

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If you read Underneath My Christmas Tree, don’t miss the rest of Elizabeth and Trent’s story!

When Elizabeth Hudson and Trent Wagoner met on a Christmas tree lot in Florida, sparks flew, igniting a fire they both thought would burn for a long time.

The problem with fires is that sometimes people get hurt. In this case, both Elizabeth and Trent end up burnt when an impulsive decision results in long-term repercussions.

Trent, still dealing with the aftermath of a painful situation in his hometown of Burton, struggles with the feelings he has for Elizabeth. He’s not sure that committing to her is a good idea when everything he touches seems to end badly.

Elizabeth took a risk when she moved to Burton for Trent. Now she’s stuck in a job she’s not sure she likes, living with people she doesn’t know, in love with a man who may not be capable of the forever she craves.

When it seems as if hope has died . . . there’s always love.

Available now!

iBooks/Amazon/Nook/Google/Kobo 

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Love Paws: Lending Love A Helping Paw

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What could make seven contemporary romance shorts by award-winning and best-selling authors even better? Add seven sweet, scene-stealing pets . . . and then make the whole project a benefit for animal rescue charities!

That’s just what we’ve done. LOVE PAWS features short stories with a little bit of steam, a little of sweet and happy endings all around. Each story also includes a pet, just to give the romance a little boost.

This anthology releases April 18th, in celebration of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. You can preorder your copy today exclusively through iBooks.

***~~~***

Becca BoydFire Up

Rene FolsomBy Chance: A Playing Games Spin-off Novella

Alison FosterSaving Grace: A Beautiful Ruin Story

Olivia Hardin:  All in the Takeoff: A Rawley Family Romance

Tawdra Kandle: My One and Always (An Always Love Short)

Lyssa LayneDig Deep

Juli ValentiTaunt : A Twisted Wolf Tale

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Why I’ll Be in Daytona in Early February

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Way back in 2013, when I was still pretty much a baby author, someone told me about a book convention happening in St. Augustine. I don’t remember how I got signed up, but there I was, with a table assigned to me and a place on several panels.

Oy. I had no idea what I didn’t know!

The event was called Olde City, New Blood, focusing on paranormal literature, and since I had three YA paranormal books, off I went. I was excited; not only was I going to this event, but I was meeting up with a bunch of author friends I’d only known on-line, and my daughters were coming with me, as a mommy-daughter getaway.

That first year was . . . memorable. I still recall a few authors I met there (Carol and Adam Kunz, Damon Suade, Lea Nolan). There weren’t a ton of us indies, and in those days, there was still a lot of distrust and misunderstanding between indies and trads.

Plus, unfortunately the hotel was kind of a dud. There were huge, loud birds in the lobby, the rooms were sub-standard and there may have been bugs. But when I look back on that first year, I don’t think of the not-so-great parts; instead, I remember how cool it was to be with my fellow authors for the first time ever. To learn. To meet people who are still part of my author life today.

That’s why every year, I go back to what is now Coastal Magic. It’s a unique animal in the world of book events; it draws readers and a wonderful eclectic mix of authors. I always come away with new friends and new authors to read–and having learned more, too.  I drive home fresh, invigorated and ready to be an author for another year!

Coastal Magic feels like home to me. It’s the first con I do every year, easing me back into the ‘fun’ of author travel. I love the hotel. I love the people who come back every year. I love the readers, the bloggers, the staff and the organizer.

If you’re not signed up to attend Coastal Magic, you really should be. When people ask me about Florida events, it’s the first one I mention.

Come join me on the beach February 4-7!!