by Christine | Writer Wednesday, Writing
Enjoy Sally as she takes over the blog today. She’s a friend of mine and I LOVE this story! Take it away, Sally!
When romance calls for augers, wax gaskets and shop vacs. (Oh, the places we’ll go!)
When it comes to book boyfriends, could you go for one who is good with his hands? I sure could. (And yes, I know where your mind went, Christine. I like the way you think!) But when I challenged myself to write a plumber hero, I had a problem. Well, two problems.
The most obvious—I knew nothing about plumbing.
The other—I wanted my heroine to flush her ex’s ring in a rage, then need to get it back. And let’s face it, romance fiction is not the place we expect to hear a lot about toilets. Some delicacy would be required.
Between the Internet and the ever-handy juvenile nonfiction section of the library, I learned enough to write my way around Kim’s job, solving the first problem. But to strike the right balance of what to say and what to forgo, I relied on critique partners.
Never shy, they leapt into the fray.
“She hired him to fix a clogged toilet,” said one Critique Goddess, in reference to how Isabelle meets the hero at the start of the book. “Wouldn’t she be self-conscious, worried he’ll assume she’s the one that clogged it?”
A reasonable question. I made the change.
The Critique Goddess didn’t bat a lash at any of my choices in either of the two key scenes in which Kim demonstrates his competence as a plumber,. However, one of them did remark, “He’s so sexy! She should be thinking it wouldn’t be so bad if he flashed plumber’s crack.”
Did I succumb to peer pressure and do it? You’ll have to read Flushed to find out.
But seriously, I take full responsibility for any errors, and also any detail that could be considered indelicate. I can only assure that I strive to deliver an entertaining read.
Preferably, one that will make you run hot. Perhaps even feel…flushed.
Happy reading!
Sally’s Book!!!
The blurb:
When it hits the fan, he’s your man.
Kissing her plumber in the middle of her dinner party wasn’t in Isabelle’s carefully-laid plans. But neither had she expected an ambush by her uninvited ex. So when Kim Martin, plumber to the rescue, charms her guests and poses as her new guy to spare her humiliation, she gets carried away.
At first, being Isabelle’s faux beau suits Kim Martin just fine. She’s hot, intriguing and won’t get in the way of his plans to blow town and build a business he’s passionate about. But Isabelle just isn’t cut out to be a good time girl. She gets under Kim’s skin and into his head—and he’s not entirely sure what to do about that.
Isabelle’s been fooled too often to trust a gorgeous flirt like Kim. Yet the more she tries to fit him into a box, the harder he fights his way out of it. Hot, bothered and more than a little flushed, she’s having trouble keeping her hands—or her heart—to to herself.
An excerpt from Flushed:
She sniffed. “Can you get it or not?”
Kim rolled his shoulders and neck. “Let’s find out.” He squatted on the floor by the toilet and looked up at her. “I’ll start simple. Empty the water from the tank. Unbolt the toilet from the floor and have a look underneath. We might get lucky. It could be stuck in the trap right at the floor.” The down view made Kim appear to be all shoulder and leg. And eyes. Those incredible eyes.
She could break furniture with this man. Definitely. She could swing from the ceiling fan with him. And why shouldn’t she? Sure, he was too good-looking to be trusted, but he’d been matter-of-fact enough about his escapades with Jules, or whatever the gym babe’s name was. That meant he wouldn’t lie to her about his other women the way Steven or Daniel had. That was something.
“If that doesn’t get it, I’ll run a camera down the line and see what we can see.”
He was still talking. She didn’t know why. She’d just decided she would revel in the merely physical—go ahead and take the sex that surely wouldn’t disappoint. “Camera?”
He stood up and she could swear she felt his heat, his energy, brushing hers. She realized her heart was pounding.
“Don’t get your hopes up. It takes crappy pictures.”
The bathroom became quiet as Isabelle stared at Kim’s lips. He was smiling. Her body throbbed in response. “Kim.”
“Isabelle?” His voice had lost its professional edge, becoming fuzzy and less sure of itself. She’d always thought she wanted a dominant man. Why was hearing this uncertainty in his voice as big a turn on as the way he charged to her rescue? This was no time for such thoughts. She didn’t need a man touching her heart, not now, not him. On the other hand, if he wanted to touch anything else—anything at all, she thought, pulse pounding—she was good to go, especially if she went right now.
His breathing changed. The charge between them was building.
Then she realized what he’d said. Crappy pictures. She burst out laughing. “That’s awful,” she said. She laughed some more, the stress of the last couple of days making it hard to stop. Kim began laughing too, which only made it worse. Soon she was gasping for breath, falling back against the sink, stomach muscles beginning to ache, helpless. He took her elbow to steady her. She found herself in his arms. Laughing became kissing, which was just as breath-stealing and far more deliciously physical. She couldn’t seem to stop. He didn’t seem to mind.
Bio:
Sally Felt writes funny, sexy stories about people who have a thing or two to learn about love. Her mission: write decent-guy heroes who are also dead sexy. She is amazing at starting conversations in elevators and laughing for no reason. If she could be any animal, she’d be an otter, because they play all the time. Or maybe a llama, for their lush eyelashes and ability to spit.
Sally is smart enough to live in Texas, where hot is as much about the men as the weather. Still, she thinks bow ties are cool.
Website: http://sallyfelt.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sallytex
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sally.felt
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sallytex/
Find Flushed here…
Ellora’s Cave: http://www.ellorascave.com/flushed.html
Amazon: http://amzn.to/KEXBHW
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1aVvxq5
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1mHv9R
)O(
So glad to have Sally here today. I love this book in part because of her hero’s name – I dated a man named Kim, once long, long ago and before I snagged my man. Do you like the name Kim for a man? Have you ever met any male Kims? Let’s chat!
by Christine | Observations, Writing
So, I added a page here at my blog for my brother, Scott Cunningham. If you have photos of yourself with him, or have something you’d like to say about him, please feel free to leave a comment or email me a jpeg of the photo.
Here’s the link to the page… HERE.
Short and sweet post today! It’s been a good day, though. I got to meet Courtney Miller-Callihan today while I was attending the meeting at East Valley Authors, where she spoke. She’s an agent with the Sanford J. Greenburger Literary Agency.
We talked and I asked her some questions that I’d been wanting to discuss with an agent, and I pitched and it went well so I’ve got to get back to work and finish this book.
Hope you are all well and having a great weekend!
)O(
by Christine | Writer Wednesday, Writing
Laura Drake is a fabulous author who is leaving So Cal for Texas. (WHY? One of those totally unanswerable questions, lol.) Those of us here will miss her terribly, but wish her bon voyage.
The Bio
Laura Drake, Author
Laura Drake is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She writes both Women’s Fiction and Romance. Her, ‘Sweet on a Cowboy’ Series, set in the world of professional bull riding, is published by Grand Central: The Sweet Spot (May 13), Nothing Sweeter (Jan 14), and Sweet on You (Sept 14). Her Road Home, the first book in her Widow’s Grove series, is published by Harlequin’s Superromance.
Laura resides in Southern California, though she aspires to retirement in Texas. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She’s a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.
The Book
Nothing Sweeter, book 2 in the Sweet on a Cowboy series.
Aubrey Madison is starting over. Leaving Los Angeles and everything behind except the scars of her ruined past, Bree sets out for cowboy country. Now she has a new home, a new job-and a new worry: the ruggedly sexy rancher who makes her long for things she shouldn’t . . .
Rough and tumble cattleman Max Jameson has broken wild stallions and faced angry bulls. Yet the redheaded city cupcake who turned up at the High Heather Ranch might be his undoing. Bree has a plan to rescue the ranch from foreclosure that’s just crazy enough to work. But will Max gamble his future on a beautiful stranger?
The Review
As those of you who read this feature regularly know, I rarely review the books I showcase here. Not because I don’t love what I read, but because I run out of time! This time around, though, I read devoured the book in one sitting after picking up an ARC from the author herself. Plus featuring Laura was a last-minute decision (that she’s totally unaware of, by the way).
After reading just the first page of Nothing Sweeter, it became a book I was more than happy to sink into. Not a cliche to be found. This is my favorite type of romance; complicated, slow-moving, without a real nasty protagonist (just a guy desperate for some respect). It has a woman running from a past she’d love to forget, a man struggling to keep his ranch and feed his hands, a “bull” market and the color pink, found in the most unlikely place.
The characters are real people; the situation is all-too-believable in this day and age. The way these two rise to the challenges set before them kept me spellbound. I’m so glad this is a series, as now I get to go back and read the first one (The Sweet Spot).
Laura is just bursting in on the romance scene. Do yourself a favor and pick up her books, for this is one writer who will undoubtedly get better and better.
)O(
by Christine | Life, Observations
San Diego
I visited my dad on Saturday. Our visits tend to be short – not because we run out of things to say to each other (two writers talking? Never short of words!) but rather that he gets tired and I’m way sensitive to it, even when he’d rather I wasn’t. At 84, though, he’s allowed to get tired.
We did the usual things. Took a garden tour and liberated several Meyer lemons from his famous tree, and also got quite a few white grapefruit. I had printed a couple family photos, so I helped him put those into frames. And then came picture time.
late 1800’s photo album
My Great Grandma Mary Eva (Meva) Burritt Jones Cunningham and Walter Jones, her first son by her first husband. Up in the corner is Sanford Jones, her first husband.
He’s been having me go through boxes of photos, to see what I’d like to keep. I found several, and then I found the big box. Full of one book and several journals. My Grandmother Hazel’s journals. That just added to all the memories I’d collected that day.
My Aunt Amy Zedicher Whitmore, me, and Grandma Hazel Zedicher Cunningham. Amy and Hazel were sisters. 1988, Los Angeles, CA
With total permission, I lugged the box to my car and panted, doing so. (I’d added my photos from the batch I’d gone through earlier.) So many photos. So many memories.
Then I came across some photos of Scott. Here are two of my favorites.
Scott Cunningham, at the piano – 1975 or 1976 – not sure (photo undated). Sorry it’s blurry – it’s a photo of a photo. =(
And this one…
Scott and me, when I’m about 5 or 6 months pregnant = May or June, 1990
Carrying the box to my car, I strained under the load. It was a long, old fashioned cardboard file box, and it was full. My dad hovered as I carried it.
“You okay? You don’t need help? Looks heavy,” he said.
I smiled at him. “Memories carry weight,” I answered.
He nodded. “There must be at least fifty years of memories in there.” He was referring to his mother’s daily journals, I know. In those, she poured out everything but in such sparing details, which is a blog post for another day.
But as I loaded the box in the car, I noticed he stood a little taller. “You’re officially the family historian,” he said to me.
And it looked like a bit of weight had come off his shoulders.
Happy to help, Daddy. Any time.
Dad’s first computer, a Trash 80 (TRS 80) 1983. He was definitely an early adopter.
Happy Monday, my friends. What memories do you carry, that have more weight than maybe you want?
)O(
by Christine | Back to the Barre, Life
It’s a slow journey. This month started out well – the first two weeks, I only took Monday off. The next two weeks were intermittent – sickness in the house. Nothing major for me except weariness and a determination to sleep as long as I could. Difficult when I need to get up and out the door by 6 in order to get my workout in (AND breakfast, AND shower/dress) before I had to leave for work.
Difficult, also, when I’m changing my eating habits. Trying to eat before seven at night (difficult when there are times I don’t get home until seven). Cutting out sugar (this was surprisingly easy – yes, even the alcohol, though I make allowances now and then). Cutting out dairy (not so easy) and wheat for a couple of weeks (this was interesting – I don’t miss it, but I realize now how much I reach for the pasta when I don’t know what else to make for dinner). Oh yeah, and getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.
I’m hoping I’ll look like this again soon.
Christine, at the “new” house in 1985. Photo by Tom Ashworth
But I’m pretty sure I’ll never look like this again. (See second photo, below. I can’t get the formatting right, sigh…)
Christine Ashworth, publicity still, 1978 – Photo by Chet Cunningham
I loved this tutu, though for the life of me I can’t remember which ballet this was from…this photo is from a shoot that my dad did for me, with California Ballet Company costumes and backdrop. I was bound and determined to audition for companies across the country, and in New Haven, Connecticut, I got my chance. I like to think this is one of the photos that helped me get my audition.
So, this journey I’m on is a see-saw. Back and forth, back and forth. But I’m happy to say I’m sleeping better, feeling better when I wake in the morning, and I’m slowly losing the pounds. I’m determined to go out of this life (years and years from now, mind you) still standing on my own two feet, dressing myself, caring for myself and my family. Not dependent on anyone but those I love, and them only for love and laughter, friendship and squishy hugs.
How’s your journey going?
)O(
Enjoy Sally as she takes over the blog today. She’s a friend of mine and I LOVE this story! Take it away, Sally!