Each week until release day I’ll share a fun excerpt pic like the one below, and a longer excerpt here on the blog. So with 4 weeks to go, here is an excerpt of HAUNTED EVER AFTER, my next full-length romantic comedy with a touch of magic. If you enjoyed the fun and mayhem of FAST FORWARD, be sure to check this one out on 1st September. 😉

Excerpt:

‘I want you to call Ty and ask him to come over for a game of Twister.’

‘Twister? But that’s a game for flexible young kids who don’t mind clambering over each other.’

‘Ty is flexible.’

‘I’m not! And I’m engaged, it wouldn’t be right to get that close to another guy. You’ll have to give me another dare.’

‘Okay, I dare you to walk down the main street and sing Tomorrow from Annie at the top of your lungs, and hug random people as you go by.’

I had visions of being captured on video and going viral on YouTube. ‘No, no way.’ I shook my head vigorously.

‘Then call Ty.’ Mel handed me back my phone. ‘Twister or Tomorrow. What’ll it be?’

I ran a hand over my head. No way could I sing in public, especially after my dance incident. Singing was a completely different thing, and my voice could barely crank out a simple Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in tune.

‘So I just have to call him and ask, it doesn’t matter if he says no, right?’

‘If he says yes, you have to play Twister with him, but if he says no, well, I guess there’s nothing you can do about that. But you have to at least ask him.’ She shoved the phone into my hand and it shook in my grasp. It was only a simple phone call, but something about being around him made me nervous. Maybe it was his superhuman physique, or the fact that he seemed like some super-caring, kind, too-good-to-be-true angel from heaven sent down to earth to make women swoon and look after those who needed a little extra support. He came from a completely different world to mine, and it felt like I was about to call my teenage celebrity crush.

‘Here’s his number,’ Lorena said, showing me her phone.

I added him as a contact and my finger hovered over his number.

‘Press it, Sally! I want to see this!’ Red was back to her usual self at the prospect of another embarrassing moment for me.

I pressed it.

‘Hello? Ty speaking,’ he answered.

‘Hi, Ty, I…’ Oh God, I’m rhyming! ‘It’s me, Sally.’

‘Sexy Sally?’

Heat rushed up my face. ‘Well, the one from the guest house.’

‘Yeah, as I said: Sexy Sally. What can I do for you? Would you like to book another performance?’

‘Oh goodness, no, not at all.’

‘Gee, thanks. Glad you’re so keen.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean…I just meant, anyway, I’m calling to ask something,’

He was silent for a moment, then: ‘You’ll have to speak up, sunshine.’

I cleared my throat but my voice remained croaky. ‘I was wondering if you’d care for a game of…’ I cleared my throat again at the same time as uttering the word, ‘Twister’.

‘Sorry? A game of what?’

‘Twister,’ I said more loudly, the painful embarrassment like a red-hot burn on my cheeks.

Mel tipped her head back with a sudden laugh.

Ty’s voice held a hint of a smile. ‘You want me to come over to play Twister?’

‘I guess so.’

He chuckled. ‘You girls are an entertaining bunch.’

‘It’s okay, you don’t have to, I know you’ve had a busy day and you probably have other things to do with your brother, or a job to go to, or — ’

‘Be there in ten.’

‘Huh?’

‘The guest house. Ten minutes. I’ll warm up on the way there.’ And then he hung up.

I kept the phone next to my ear and furrowed my brow, my mouth agape.

‘Sal?’ asked Mel.

‘He hung up.’

‘He hung up on you?’ Georgie asked.

‘No, he hung up after saying he’d be here in ten minutes.’

‘Woohoo!’ Mel exclaimed. ‘I only wanted you to ask him, I didn’t think he’d actually agree to it! Ooh, this is going to be fun to watch!’

‘Watch? But you have to play too, I can’t play it on my own, with him.’

‘Nope, the dare was for you to ask him over to play.’

‘And I’m definitely out of this game,’ Lorena said, holding her belly and convenient excuse. I was sure, though, had she not been pregnant, she wouldn’t have minded playing Twister with a stripper.

‘And as much as I’d love to get up close and personal with His Royal Hotness, I’d much rather see you in action on those coloured spots.’ Mel grinned, and I looked towards Georgie for moral support.

She held her palms up. ‘Sorry, I’m needed in the kitchen.’

‘But we’re eating out tonight.’

‘Yes, but someone has to marinate the lamb for tomorrow night’s dinner.’

‘But — ’

‘Too late for an appeal, Sal, you better get ready. Warm up and stretch or something. I’ll set up the mat. Tick-tock!’ She tapped her watch.

Oh my goodness gracious me. I felt like I was about to betray Greg. What had I got myself into?

As Mel prepared the game, I swung my arms around in circles. Probably best if I did warm up a little, it would make it easier to manoeuvre around the mat and avoid bodily contact. Why did he agree to play Twister anyway? He knows I’m taken, so it’s not like he’s seeing it as an opportunity to hit on me or anything. Probably just wants to show off his…bendiness.

Stay tuned for the release of HAUNTED EVER AFTER on Sept 1st from Escape Publishing.

>> You can add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE.

>> And you can preorder from Amazon & iTunes at the moment (though will be available 1st Sept from all ebook retailers):

• Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00M19AWO2
• UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M19AWO2
• AUS: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00M19AWO2
• iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/haunted-ever-after/id902138042?mt=11

Each week until release day I’ll share a fun excerpt pic like the one below, and a longer excerpt here on the blog. So with 5 weeks to go, here is the first excerpt of HAUNTED EVER AFTER, my next full-length romantic comedy with a touch of magic. If you enjoyed the fun and mayhem of FAST FORWARD, be sure to check this one out on 1st September. 😉

Excerpt:

What does one talk to a stripper about over dinner anyway? ‘How was work? Did you have a good day at the office?’

Georgie served our meals of Chicken Valdostano, and after taking a mouthful and complimenting the chef, Ty directed questions my way, saving me from having to think what to ask him. ‘When’s the big day?’

‘One week’s time. Are you married?’ I asked. It was so much easier to ask that question when men knew you were taken, otherwise it sounded like you were sussing them out for potential husband material. But anyway, what sort of wife would want her husband to strip semi-naked and have women grope him in order to pay the bills and put food on the table?

He shook his head, took another mouthful, then asked, ‘What do you do for a living, Sally?’

‘Sally’s a nurse,’ Mel said.

‘I’m sure she can speak for herself, Mel,’ said Georgie, her slender fingers wrapped around the stem of her wine glass.

‘Sorry, force of habit. Five kids.’ Mel shrugged.

‘Ah, you must be a very caring person,’ Ty said. ‘How long have you been nursing?’

‘Geez, he asks a lot of questions.’ Red sat at the empty chair to my right and placed her ghostly elbows on the table. Such a classy ghost. Crashing my party and bad table manners to boot.

‘Almost ten years now.’ I smiled.

‘I could have been a nurse,’ Red said. ‘All those smart, hot doctors to drool over. Mmm…’ she rolled her eyes back in an apparent daydream.

I wouldn’t spoil her assumption and tell her that most of the doctors I knew were either grey-haired and pudgy men or skinny and awkward young men with remnants of teenage acne. Sure, there were a few lookers, but it’s no Grey’s Anatomy.

‘How long have you been, um, stripping?’ I asked, as dignified as possible.

‘Three years.’ He took a sip of wine. ‘And did you always want to be a nurse?’

Did you always want to be a stripper? I couldn’t imagine him as a young boy at school getting up in front of the class and sharing his career aspirations for career day.

‘Well, sort of, I — ’

‘I want to ask questions too, sheesh! Can’t get a word in with this guy!’ Red sat on the edge of the table and I tried not to look at her. ‘What’s your favourite colour, Sally? Wait, let me guess, mauve, right?’

Quit distracting me! I tried the ESP thing again. But what I really wanted to do was push her off the table. So much for being a caring person.

‘Okay, what’s your favourite band then?’ she persisted. ‘Favourite food?’ She leaned over the table and shoved her face in front of mine. ‘Ooh, what about favourite celebrity when you were a teenager? Huh, huh? Answer me, girl!’

I shifted in my seat and pretended I was trying to retrieve the answer to Ty’s question, which had been diluted by Red’s constant verbal assault.

‘Favourite book? Favourite animal?’ she continued shooting questions at me like a tennis ball machine, and my head started to hurt.

‘Um…’ I cleared my throat and rubbed my ear, tension building inside like a boiling pot of water. ‘Sorry, what was the question again?’

‘I said, did you always want to be a nurse?’ Ty repeated.

‘Favourite song? Favourite shop?’ Red continued. ‘Ooh, ooh! Favourite sexual position?’

In frustration, my hand banged down on the table, sending my fork flying across to the floor. ‘Missionary, okay? Missionary!’ I blurted.

All eyes stared at me. ‘What?’ Lorena asked, curiosity and concern on her face at my apparent distress.

Oh dear God.

Red had collapsed in laughter on the floor next to me. ‘Missionary! Haha, missionary position! I knew it!’ she repeated, rolling about.

Just when I thought I’d have to excuse myself from the table, a convenient explanation hit me. I cleared my throat. ‘A missionary. I, er, wanted to be a missionary.’ I gave a confident nod.

‘Um, no you didn’t,’ Lorena said firmly.

Mel had cracked up as well as Red. ‘Since when did you want to become a missionary?’

I pushed my unnatural curls from my face and raised my chin. ‘Well, if you must know, since I was a kid. My parents sent me to Sunday school (true) and I really enjoyed it (false). I thought it would be great to one day travel the world and spread the good word of the Lord (also false). There. Now you know.’

‘Good for you,’ Ty said with a nod. ‘What stopped you?’

How could I get off the missionary topic? All this quick thinking was doing my head in.

Stay tuned for the release of HAUNTED EVER AFTER on Sept 1st from Escape Publishing.

>> You can add it to your Goodreads shelf HERE.

>> And you can preorder from Amazon & iTunes at the moment (though will be available 1st Sept from all ebook retailers):

• Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00M19AWO2
• UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M19AWO2
• AUS: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00M19AWO2
• iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/haunted-ever-after/id902138042?mt=11