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1 Week To Go! HAUNTED EVER AFTER sneak peek
Here is the last excerpt pic in the countdown to the release of HAUNTED EVER AFTER, my next full-length romantic comedy with a touch of magic. If you enjoyed FAST FORWARD, be sure to check out this cheeky, chaotic, fun, and heartwarming read on September 1st.
Excerpt:
‘Keep thinking of something funny,’ the photographer said. ‘It’ll make the smile more natural and won’t ache as much.’
Funny, funny…what on earth could I possibly find funny about this situation?
I glanced at Red. She pulled her top lip inside out and made her eyes bulge.
Nice try, ghostie.
Okay, funny stuff…um, that Friends episode when Ross gets a fake tan on one side of his body. That was quite funny. I smiled, but not enough to make me laugh.
‘Getting there, now relax and flash us a great big laughing smile.’ The photographer snapped photos while I kept adjusting my facial expressions and pose, and Red kept pulling faces, none of which triggered a burst of laughter. Until she gave up directing them at me and pulled them at the photographer instead. She stood right next to him, shoved her face next to his and grunted, looking like a deformed monkey. A bubble of laughter tickled my throat. She then sat in front of me on the floor and squished her face together with her hands till she resembled a chubby baby crossed with an alien, and that did it. My stomach heaved and laughter burst forth, and click, click, click went the camera.
‘Bravo! That’s what I’m talking about,’ said the photographer. ‘Now I’ll just check some of these before we change location.’ He fiddled with his camera and frowned. ‘That’s odd.’
The assistant approached him and peered at the screen. ‘Hmm.’
‘Hmm what?’ Lorena asked.
‘It’s okay, but we might have to shoot a couple more to replace a few of these. There’s a strange light imbalance in a few pictures.’
‘Can I have a look?’ I asked, launching from the couch and up to the camera.
‘Ah, sure,’ he said, holding the camera in front of me.
Oh my God. Right where Red had been sitting in front of me was a warped stretch of light, like a smear of something on glass. He flipped through the images and each photo where Red was in the shot had a ‘light imbalance’ or whatever they called it. I gulped.
‘I don’t know where that came from. Look, the one before is perfect, and then an instant later the shot is disrupted.’ He fiddled with the settings on his camera and I looked towards my friends and shrugged. But inside my heart flip-flopped. This was evidence. Proof that Red wasn’t just in my imagination or a manifestation of some disease, she was really here. A ghost. In this house, with me.
‘C’mon, you sexy housewife you,’ said Lorena. ‘Let’s touch up your lipstick while they adjust the equipment.’ She led me towards the bathroom, and Red followed alongside us making The Twilight Zone sound effects and wriggling her fingers.
Oh dear. I may not be sick or mad, and I wasn’t too sure about the sexy part, but I was definitely one very haunted housewife.
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
2 Weeks To Go! HAUNTED EVER AFTER sneak peek
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 2 weeks to go, here is the next 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…what are you doing?’ I stiffened.
He ignored my question and put my bare foot against his bare chest, rubbing and massaging it with his firm hands. ‘I could get you back for the trolley incident, but I’m not one to hold a grudge.’ He winked.
I wasn’t going to let a petty incident ruin my evening but I couldn’t quite get rid of the embarrassing sensation crawling up my spine. A complete stranger is rubbing my foot! Barring a professional masseuse, this shouldn’t happen to an engaged woman, should it? What would Greg be doing right now? Probably enjoying a super-expensive bottle of wine at the golf retreat and chatting business.
No, he shouldn’t be getting this personal with me, I should put a stop to it. I’ll just politely remove my foot from his hold and… Oh God…oh wow…how on earth is he doing that? My foot was practically having an orgasm. A footgasm. Was that even possible?
Ty smiled as he rubbed and pressed, probably knowing too well the magic his hands were casting. He must be using some kind of acupressure technique. Fancy a stripper knowing that. Strangely, my body softened a little and I let him do his thing, even though I felt like a terrible wife-to-be.
When he’d had his way with my foot he placed it gently back in the shoe, then stood and ripped off his pants for the second time that night. His body moved with the music as though his muscles were controlling the tempo. There was no doubt about it, this guy could dance. Whoever said dancing was a girly pursuit for guys hadn’t seen Ty. He oozed masculinity, confidence, and — gulp — sexiness, and his performance was in no way cheesy. It was classy. And professional. And…I think I’ve had too much to drink. I shook away the hint of desire creeping throughout my body like a pack of stealthy field agents. Greg. Think of Greg. He’s my man, he’s my fiancé, and Ty is just some light entertainment to satisfy Lorena’s urge to create the ideal hen’s party.
‘Wipe that drool from your face, girlfriend!’ My body stiffened as Red sat next to me.
‘Go away,’ I hissed through pursed lips.
‘What, and miss this show? I’ve been practically comatose back there in the corner from the shock of all this beauty.’ She eyed Ty with intense eyes of desire. ‘Mmm… Now I really miss being alive.’ She floated towards him and moulded her body to his as he swayed.
Red, please don’t. I tried to send her an instant message via ESP.
‘I can almost feel his heat,’ she said, leaning in close to his face. ‘I wish I could smell him.’ She breathed in violently through her nose like she was trying to unclog her sinuses with nasal spray.
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
3 Weeks To Go! HAUNTED EVER AFTER sneak peek
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 3 weeks to go, here is the next 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’s your favourite colour?’ I asked Ty.
‘Cobalt. Why?’
‘Just making conversation to pass the time. Cobalt? Not blue, or green, or red, but cobalt?’
‘Colours vary, it’s good to be specific.’
‘I guess. Then why aren’t you wearing cobalt? And why is your car black?’
‘I didn’t say it was my favourite colour to wear or anything, it’s just my favourite colour to look at, generally.’
‘Fair enough. That makes sense.’
‘What’s yours? Wait…light purple?’
‘Mauve. How did you know?’
‘You were wearing it that night you got stuck in the toilet. Just a guess.’
And I thought the only thing he’d noticed was the fact that I’d gotten stuck in the toilet.
‘Favourite TV show?’ he asked.
I was having déjà vu. It reminded me of the twenty questions Red had fired at me during dinner at the guest house when Ty was with us. As long as he didn’t ask me my favourite sexual position like she had, I’d be fine.
‘Doctor Who, or Midsomer Murders.’
He smiled. Was he silently making fun of my entertainment choices?
‘Oh, and Friends,’ I added, to seem reasonably normal and hip, and to honour last Saturday night’s laughter prescription. ‘You?’
‘Friends, too, of course, and Seinfeld. And Game of Thrones.’
‘Oh, I don’t think I could watch that. Looks too explicit and gory.’
‘Exactly! I love it. Try it, I guarantee you’ll be hooked.’
‘Hmm.’ I wasn’t convinced.
‘Okay, next question: If you could go back in time, when would you go?’
‘The fifties. They seemed cute and fun. You?’
‘Hmm, maybe the Palaeolithic period? You know, grow a beard and long hair, wear nothing but a loincloth, and hunt for food. Perfect.’
‘Caveman, huh? Well, you’ve got the loincloth bit all sorted, in a modern sort of way.’
‘True. Maybe I’ll have to mix up my performances a little. Instead of Doctor Ty, I could be Caveman Ty.’
An image of him swinging shirtless from tree to tree flashed through my mind. ‘Or Tarzan’s naughty cousin.’
‘Good idea. Tyzan, perhaps?’
I chuckled.
‘How about we play I Spy next instead of Twenty Questions? It’s a perfect game for road trips, Cody loves playing it.’
Being around Ty was never boring. And I appreciated the way he was taking my mind off the inevitable challenge of going back to Chris’ house.
‘I’ll start,’ he said. ‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…I.’
‘Umm… Incredibly infuriating guy indifferent to public displays of partial nudity?’ I joked.
‘Nope! And yes, sort of.’
‘Impossibly irritating imbecilic Neanderthal?’
A laugh shot from his mouth. ‘I didn’t know you had such a witty way with words, Sexy Sally.’
‘I’m full of surprises this long weekend.’
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
4 Weeks To Go! HAUNTED EVER AFTER sneak peek
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
5 Weeks To Go! HAUNTED EVER AFTER sneak peek
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):
JULIET MADISON 