It's been a rather hectic fortnight. I've been taking care of my mother who has had a really bad flu, which I am trying to not catch by taking tons of paracetamol, garlic pearls, and throat sweets. So far so good.
Five days after the release of my dark erotic paranormal f/f short,
"On the Rocks," my sweet contemporary romance novel,
"Stepping Stones," was released. I'm sure you remember me mentioning it a few weeks ago. This is the first sweet novel I have ever written. It's family orientated, and all about regrets and second chances etc. Plus the story takes place at Christmas, so it is sure to get you in the festive mood. :-)
As you can imagine I have spent every spare second whipping up promo, and my mind is now idiotically empty. So, I thought I would leave you with a nice long excerpt from
"Stepping Stones." Something to make your Monday seem a little brighter.
Stepping
Stones
BLURB:
There's nothing like a wedding to bring the
family together . . . .
And if it wasn't her baby
sister’s wedding, Margaret West, wouldn't be returning home at all.
Why else would she go back after
six years knowing full well that she has people to face, and explanations to
give?
If her parent’s interrogation
wasn't bad enough, the fact that she has to be civil to her foster brother,
Adrian, is. Best friends since childhood, they haven't spoken since he went to
America . . . The day before Margaret was supposed to be getting
married.
And to make matters worse, her
ex-fiancĂ©e, William, is the Vicar who will be conducting her sister’s wedding
ceremony!
All want an answer from her, and
they aren't taking no as one of them. Why did she run in the first place? Why
has she been so angry with, Adrian? Why didn't she marry, William?
Margaret isn't even sure she
knows the real reasons any more.
~ * ~
EXCERPT:
December 9, 2013
Several months ago, Jessica—my younger
sister—called to announce that she and Edward finally set a date, and she
wanted me to design and make her wedding dress. I had promised her that I would
when her big day came; so I had to keep my promise.
That seemed like the simple part.
Then she informed me that she wanted me to be
her maid of honour; I hadn't been expecting that piece of information.
I tried to coax her into changing her mind
and giving the honour to her best friend Stacie, but being a sweet and determined young
woman, Jess managed to make me agree. Any other sister would be thrilled by
such a requested; for some reason, the honour didn't thrill me.
My sister's impending marriage to Edward made
me happy, but the thought of trying to excuse myself from the wedding, well,
the idea slammed against the walls of my brain more than a few times over the
last four months, and, I'm ashamed to add, repeatedly. But I couldn't do that.
Not to Jess, not my baby sister, and not on her special day. I wouldn't miss it
for the world. I couldn't. I would never forgive myself.
So why do I have an overpowering urge to
fling open the train door and jump?
I watched the passing scenery blend together,
turning into nothing more than flying colours as the
train to Penzance took me farther away from the hustle and bustle of my busy
London life. With each second, I felt my heart sinking lower and lower into my
stomach as the carriage gently rocked from side to side.
Survive two
days, and then go home. Back to my
routine, my life; far away from the end of the world.
I closed my eyes and rested my head back
against the seat, holding back the tears.
What kind of a sister am I? It’s bad enough
that I’ve delayed coming until two days before the wedding. Now I want to cry
like a silly child, just because I have to go somewhere I don’t want to go.
I took a deep breath and looked out of the
window. "Stop being stupid." I mumbled to myself, grateful for the
empty seats nearby.
The sun crept downward, trying to hide its
face behind the passing hills. Hiding the way I wanted to; the way I had been.
Not yet 4:00 p.m. yet, and the sun had almost
vanished. Typical of Jess to want to get married in winter.
"The magic of Christmas." She laughed down the phone when she told me
the wedding would be in December; my sister, the young romantic.
Early today, my mother phoned and demanded I
stay in my family home instead of going to a hotel. Reluctantly, I agreed. In
all honesty, I actually missed her, and my father, even though I knew he
wouldn't keep his mouth shut for the duration of my visit. He would probably
guilt trip me into going back for Christmas.
I looked forward to a long and uncomfortable
few days.
And no one to blame but myself.
* * * * *