Blog Archives
Past, Present, & Future with Coleen Kwan…
In celebration of the upcoming release of my debut novel, Fast Forward (see announcement here), I’m doing a series of interviews with authors about their past, present & future. Today, please welcome… Coleen Kwan!
PAST:
1. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a kid I was always daydreaming but I never really thought about what I wanted to be. At one stage I thought having a book store would be cool because I could spend all day reading!
2. What did you do before you became a writer?
I worked for many years in information technology. I designed computer systems for mortgages, superannuation, and stock broking. It paid the bills, was well-paid, and it was challenging but not as creatively satisfying as writing.
3. What is one of your most treasured memories from the past?
When I was very young, maybe only three, my father built his own campervan from bits and bobs. Then we — dad, mum, and three children — set out for a long cross country trip. I don’t recall how many weeks we spent on the road, but I remember having lots of fun with my family. Looking back now, I marvel at my parents’ gung ho attitude. The campervan was unreliable, the distances were long, and my siblings and I were very young at the time. But I’m very glad I have that memory.
PRESENT:
4. What’s your latest/upcoming release about and/or what are you currently working on?
My new release is Real Men Don’t Break Hearts, published by Entangled Publishing. It’s a sweet, small town romance between Nate, a reformed bad boy, and Ally, a good girl wanting to reinvent herself. Six years ago Ally was jilted at the altar, and she always blamed Nate, her ex’s cousin. Now Nate is back in town and he’s her new landlord. To make things worse, she finds herself reluctantly attracted to him. Cue lots of tension and conflict.
I’m currently working on the next book of the Real Men series. This story deals with Tyler, Ally’s best friend. Nate and Ally put in an appearance in this book, and it’s fun to see them deal with the next stage of their relationship.
5. What’s a typical day like for you? (If there is such a thing!)
I wake my two teenagers up (sometimes that involves a lot of yelling) and somehow manage to get them out the door in time for school (usually). Then my partner and I do our morning walk for about 40-50 mins. I try to write from about 10 until 2, with a break for lunch. If the story is flowing or I haven’t reached my daily word count, then I work some more. By 3 or 4 my creative juices have usually dried up, so I find that’s a good time to do email or research or just browsing on the internet.
I rarely write at night. I’m not a night person and my brain just isn’t creative when the sun goes down.
6. Name three things you are grateful for in your life right now:
Spending time with my parents, my family. Having the opportunity to concentrate on my writing without worrying about full-time work. Working with great editors and meeting other writers and sharing the ups and downs of the writing life.
FUTURE:
7. If you could fast forward in time to any age or year for just one day, what would you choose & why?
I’d like to fast forward to 22 Dec 2012 just to check that the end of the world hasn’t happened!
8. If you could have any new technology or invention in the future that would make your life a whole lot easier (or more fun), what would it be?
I would love a robot to cook fresh, healthy, yummy dinners for me and clean up afterwards. I’m a reluctant cook at the best of times, so an invention like that would really make my life easier and more fun.
9. What are your hopes & dreams for the future?
I hope I and my family stay healthy. I hope my daughter has chosen the right subjects for Year 11. I hope I keep on writing and being published.
Thanks for being on the blog today, Coleen!
Check out Coleen’s book, REAL MEN DON’T BREAK HEARTS.
You can also visit Coleen at her website/blog, facebook, and twitter.
Past, Present, & Future with Jennifer St. George (& giveaway)
In celebration of the upcoming release of my debut novel, Fast Forward (see announcement here), I’m doing a series of interviews with authors about their past, present & future. Today, please welcome… Jennifer St. George! (leave a comment to win a kindle copy of her new release…)
Thanks so much for having me Juliet!!
You’re welcome!
PAST:
1. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I was an ambitious kid. At the age of nine I would review the weekend newspaper looking at job ads and circling the ones I was qualified for. Sad, but true. Obviously I wasn’t qualified for much. I wasn’t sure what industry I wanted to work in but I definitely wanted to do work involving travel. I remember writing job applications to cruise liners when I was in high school (yes, I know, again quite sad, but two companies replied with encouraging letters)
2. What did you do before you became a writer?
I spent the first 20 years of my career in corporate marketing and management consulting roles. Some career highlights include launching Guinness beer in Russia; reaching 40 million people through a publicity campaign that ‘gave away’ a pub in Ireland and launching the Ford Ka brand in Australia. I also launched an online business and had my own marketing company for about four years. I also love studying and have a graduate business degree and an MBA from Melbourne Business School and Duke University (USA).
3. What is one of your most treasured memories from the past?
Wow – that’s a tough one. I think it would have to be from the time when I lived in South America as a child. One weekend, my family visited a farm far out in the centre of Uruguay. None of us had ridden horses before, but my brother and I were thrust up onto these huge Uruguayan stallions (the rest of the family were on ponies!!) Accompanied by gauchos, we headed out to the pampas for a tour of the property. It was like something from a Spanish western movie. When the horses were turned for home, mine took off. It galloped about two kilometres back to the farm with me clinging to its back. I had to keep my head down to avoid being scalped by low tree branches. It was the most terrifying but exhilarating experience. One I’ll never forget.
PRESENT:
4. What’s your latest release about and/or what are you currently working on?
My debut novel, The Convenient Bride, was recently launched by Penguin’s new digital-first romance imprint, Destiny Romance. To say I’m a little excited about it is an understatement. It’s a sexy romance set mostly in luxurious surroundings in Venice and Lake Como. My second novel is coming out in January 2013.
5. What’s a typical day like for you? (If there is such a thing!)
I (try!) to get up early and write 500-1000 words before the children are up. After dropping them to school, I walk to the Byron Bay Lighthouse, go to the gym or go for a run. Then I write for as long as my brain will let me until it’s time to pick up the kids. In between I do the occasional freelance marketing job.
6. Name three things you are grateful for in your life right now:
Happy family, flexible career and a positive out-look on life.
FUTURE:
7. If you could fast forward in time to any age or year for just one day, what would you choose & why?
I’d speed ahead to a time when the medical community had found a cure for all the terrible diseases (eg cancer) inflicted on the world. I’d come back and mass produce vaccines (as while I was in the future I’d have learned all about which stocks to invest in, so I’d be a billionaire too!).
8. If you could have any new technology or invention in the future that would make your life a whole lot easier (or more fun), what would it be?
I’d love a machine you could program to a particular destination, for example, southern France, where you’d arrive instantly. A port key from Harry Potter would do.
9. What are your hopes & dreams for the future?
Wow – where do I start (world peace, no poverty, an end to the GFC….)? If we are just talking writing, I simply hope that readers enjoy my stories and they come back for more!
Jennifer around the web:
Website Facebook Twitter Author Page
Jennifer’s debut book just released!
The Convenient Bride
Back Blurb
Sienna De Luca will do anything to save her family’s hotel, and ruthless Italian businessman Antonio Moretti knows it. With problems of his own, he proposes a marriage of convenience and plans to use Sienna to secure his next business deal. But things don’t go quite according to plan.
In keeping with her part of the bargain, Sienna travels to Venice to be with Antonio, who introduces her to a life of great luxury and opulence. As befits the fiancée of the famous Antonio Moretti, Sienna is given a new wardrobe of designer gowns and outfits and instructed exactly how to behave when out in public. But after thinking he can manipulate her at his will, Antonio begins to realise he has seriously underestimated Sienna, her intelligence, her skills, her courage – and her beauty. Unexpectedly, Sienna gets too close and when she discovers his dark secret, Antonio’s perfectly planned life begins to unravel.
The Convenient Bride is a fabulous romance set in a world of great beauty and luxury, portrayed in picture-perfect detail. Two opposing souls strike up a partnership in a deal that has overlooked one important detail – that it involves a woman who knows her mind and her heart.
Buy links for THE CONVENIENT BRIDE
WIN! Jennifer will be giving a Kindle copy of The Convenient Bride to one lucky commenter here today!
Novellas: The Writer’s Quick-Fix
Writers often slave over their manuscripts for months, sometimes missing out on sleep, and the writing is only half of it. Then comes editing, revising, editing, and so on. But because we love our craft we keep going – book after book after book. There is nothing like the reward of a finished book and a story well told.
Another option for those who need a writing ‘fix’ is to try your hand at writing a novella. Longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, novellas allow us to tell a story in a shorter amount of time but with that same thrill of creating characters and scenes that will take us (and the reader) on an emotional journey.
Shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier though – you have been warned! You still need to work on characterisation, goal, motivation, and conflict, and be able to show enough character growth through the shorter word count. But they are usually much quicker to write and edit, and because of the advance of e-publishing and self-publishing, novellas seem to be more widely available nowadays.
Novellas can be produced more quickly, you can explore certain ideas that may not be sustainable through an entire novel, they are good for seasonal stories (eg: Christmas), and they can also be used as prequels or sequels to longer works of fiction. For the reader, they are a bite sized read that can be devoured in one go during a lunch break or before bed, but often still providing that same sense of emotional satisfaction that comes from reading a novel. They are a good way to discover new authors too, without committing to a full length book.
I recently wrote my first novella, STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE; the first in a series of novellas linked by a quirky character named Lulu. It took me about three weeks to write the first draft. And when I say three weeks, I don’t mean three full-on weeks, I mean snippets of writing time here and there around motherhood and other duties! So if I didn’t have much else to do, I could probably have written it in about a week (says the optimistic part of me 😉 )
How did I come up with the idea for my novella? Sleepless in Seattle was on television and because I am a sucker for stories of ‘fate’ and romance that is ‘just like magic’, an idea about an online matchmaker and Love Coach came to me. But in this case, the matchmaker has a little secret. Here’s the blurb for the story…
Actress Anna Hilford has a major crush, but not on just any guy – Karl Drake, the leading actor in the television drama on which she works as an extra. Sick of being loveless and second best in the shadow of her famous sister, Anna seeks the help of Lulu from LuluTheLoveAngel.com to give her the courage and determination to follow what she believes is her destiny and transform from ‘extra’ to ‘leading lady’ in both life and love. What she doesn’t realize however, is that Lulu really is an angel and destiny has other ideas.
I found writing this novella fun and rewarding, though still a bit of hard work here and there! And in case you’re wondering, Lulu’s website does exist, though she told me she’s having a little vacation on Cloud Nine and will hopefully be back soon 😉
~ Have you written a novella? Feel free to give yours a plug in the comments.
~ Do you read novellas? What are some that you’ve enjoyed reading recently?
Rachael Johns Answers Juliet’s Ten Awkward Author Questions!
In this segment, authors will be subjected to a list of awkward questions that may reveal more about themselves than they really wish to share, and they will receive a score on the ‘Braveometer’. If they choose to answer only five questions, they are a ‘Brave Author’, if they answer 6 to 9 questions they are a ‘Mega-Brave Author’, and if they answer all 10 questions they are an ‘Ultra-Brave Author’!
Today I’d like to welcome Rachael Johns, who has a new book out called JILTED! She is also giving away a copy of this book to one lucky commentor (Australia/NZ only).
1. If only one of your books could have been / could be published, which one would you choose? (C’mon, I don’t want to hear ‘Oh, I love them all, there’s no way I could choose.’ Time to be ruthless, these are the Ten Awkward Questions after all!)
JILTED without a doubt. I love ONE PERFECT NIGHT but JILTED is a bigger book and was my fairy dust book in many ways. I can honestly say it almost wrote itself. Wish another one would do that.
2. Okay, now which one of your children/family members would you… nah, just kidding! Which of the following words most accurately describes your best personality trait (you must pick only one!):
Punctual. Good listener. Neat. Graceful. Generous. Cheerful.
Cheerful! Definitely. I’ve even been told I smile TOO much 🙂
3. Which of the following words most accurately describes your worst most challenging personality trait (even if you’re perfect, you must pick one):
Always late. Blabbermouth. Slob. Complete klutz. Scrooge. Grumpy pants.
Oh dear… I think I’m gonna have to go with SLOB! Not because I want to be this way but between kids, writing and the shop, my house and housework severely suffer.
4. Have you ever had a romantic crush on one of your characters? Who and why?
I LOVE a tortured hero and I think all my heroes have a little bit of torture in them. So, I have to be really naff and say I love them all. I’m jealous of the heroines and hopefully that comes across on the page!
5. When writing an important scene, do you act it out to allow you to better describe what’s happening?
Nope – which is bizarre, cos I’m an English teacher with a minor in DRAMA. I am very guilty of talking to myself though and have been known to talk through scenes or at least the dialogue.
6. Do you talk to yourself when writing or coming up with plot ideas?
Whoops – I think I just answered that above. YES!!!
7. Who would be ideal to play YOU in a movie of your life?
Renee Zellweger but possibly only her character from Bridget Jones 🙂
8. If you could be any book character for one day, who would you be and why?
I’d be Hermione from Harry Potter because a) I’d really impress my sons and b) I could do magic spells!
9. You’re about to be left on a deserted island for a year, and while your basic food and water needs will be met, you can only bring one extra thing from the following. Which would you choose?
a) A pen and notepad that never runs out
b) An unlimited supply of books
c) An unlimited supply of chocolate, coffee, or alcohol (your choice)
d) A gorgeous man/woman depending on your preference
An unlimited supply of Diet Coke (runs for cover from Juliet)!
10. If you had the attention of the whole world for two minutes what would you say?
Live life like there’s no tomorrow and also like you’ve still got forever. Take the time to listen and always smile 🙂
Thanks for participating, Rachael. You have been awarded ‘Ultra Brave Author’ status on the Braveometer!
You can visit Rachael online at her website, blog, facebook, and twitter.
>>To WIN a copy of JILTED, leave a comment below (Australia/NZ only)!
*Winner will be drawn Tues 12th June and has one week to respond to the email notification or another winner will be chosen. Good luck!
Mouthwatering Moment by… Juanita Kees
Today’s Mouthwatering Moment excerpt is from Juanita Kees’ soon to be released book, FLY AWAY PETA.
FLY AWAY PETA:
The time has come to face her worst fear and the clock is ticking…
Peta Johnson will go to extreme lengths to protect her daughter Bella. When Bella is kidnapped, the search for her takes Peta back to the small country town of Williams, a place she’d vowed never to return to. The town where her dreams were shattered and her nightmare began. Back to the place she’d been destined to meet two very powerful, yet very different men. One would break her heart, the other would destroy her soul. Both would change her life forever.
Back story: Bella is missing, and Peta and Jaime have spent an uncomfortable night together, under guard, in a hotel room as they wait for demands from the kidnapper….
In the outer room of the suite, Jaime stretched his cramped muscles. A knock at the front door made him start and almost spill his coffee.
“It’s me!” He heard Mark call out and crossed over to open it.
“Special delivery! Your shaving gear,” Mark said, patting the stubble on Jaime’s jaw, “And boy do you need it! Some clean clothes and breakfast.” Triumphantly, Mark held up first the gym bag and then the brown paper bag.
Jaime shook his head. “Why the hell are you so chirpy so early in the morning?” he asked, rubbing his head. It had developed a dull thud. Probably from too much excitement the night before. He wasn’t used to being shot at, or being confronted by a past he’d been working hard to bury. Either way he was going to bleed, he thought grimly.
Mark laughed as he popped muffins into the microwave. “Go and shower. You’ll feel better.”
Jaime picked up his kit and headed in the direction of the shower. Whistling, he soaped himself and washed his hair. He allowed the warm water to rinse his body, enjoying the invigorating spray as it battered away the numbness of sleep. Turning the water off, he reached around the curtain for a towel and realized there wasn’t one.
“Damn!” he said and then yelled, “Oi Mark, bring me a towel, mate!”
He heard the door open a few seconds later and swept the curtain aside. Peta stood there, the towel slipping from her hands as she stared at Jaime, her mouth rounded in an ‘Oh!’
Quickly she looked away. “Why are you still here?” she asked abruptly. Picking up the towel with nerveless fingers she muttered, “Mark and Jones went out to get some more milk. Here’s your towel.” She thrust the towel at him. God, she remembered that body well. From the glimpse she’d gotten, he was more muscular than before, bigger even than she remembered.
Quickly, he wrapped it round his waist. “Thanks.”
~*~
Juanita’s favourite meal: A nice, juicy Prime Rib, medium rare, topped with prawns and garlic and served with creamy mashed potato and herbs
Juanita’s favourite Drink: Nespresso Coffee – preferably served by George Clooney
Juanita’s favourite Treat: Bailey’s (hold the ice), sprinkled with chocolate mint flakes
Thanks for sharing your excerpt, Juanita!
To find out more about Juanita and her book, check out her website here. You can also find her on twitter and facebook.
Remember, comment below to be in the draw for prizes at the end of the month, just make sure you also subscribe to the blog posts 😉
Novels with a Food-Theme: Part 2
Nothing beats a good book, or a great meal, or an irresistable treat… so it’s even better when these are combined! Here is a selection of some novels with a food-theme. This is part two, so if you missed part one, you can see it here.
Sugar and Spice – Jules Stanbridge
A rich, indulgent treat of a novel – love, life… and chocolate cake
When Maddy loses her high-paying city job, her instant reaction is blind panic.
But after the ‘drowning her sorrows’ hangover has cleared, she realises that this is an opportunity to change her life and do what she loves best: baking cakes. And so she sets up her own cake company, embracing the highs and lows of getting a new business off the ground, while looking for love along the way.
Chocolat – Joanne Harris
In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows. Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne’s uncanny perception of its buyer’s private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness, and a dramatic face-off between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival. Chocolat’s every page offers a description of chocolate to melt in the mouths of chocoholics, francophiles, armchair gourmets, cookbook readers, and lovers of passion everywhere. It’s a must for anyone who craves an escapist read, and is a bewitching gift for any holiday.
Chocolat was also made into a movie with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche.
The Saturday Supper Club – Amy Bratley
Wanted: four amateur cooks to compete in a supper club contest Rules: four strangers, four weeks, four houses, four dinner parties
You might win: a cash prize You might lose: your heart.
Eve had her world torn apart three years ago, when the love of her life Ethan disappeared, and she never found out why. But now, her life is rosy. With a lovely new boyfriend, Joe, and a café opening on the cards, things finally seem to be falling into place. … until she agrees to take part in a supper club competition for a local newspaper. Eve is cooking the first dinner and who should turn up on her doorstep expecting a three-course meal, but her long lost love Ethan?
Eat. Pray. Love. – Elizabeth Gilbert
This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers.
Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali.
By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.
This was also made into a movie with Julia Roberts.
Have you read any of the books I’ve featured today? What do you like about books with a food-theme?
Mouthwatering Moment by… Alli Sinclair
Today’s Mouthwatering Moment is by my fab critique partner, Alli Sinclair, and is taken from her manuscript, Luna Tango.
In Luna Tango, journalist Gabby McNally is trying to woo tango dancer Carlos Escudero, for a story. The problem is, the wooing tables appear to have turned.
“Stand up straight!” he said, and she realised she had, in fact, angled her body slightly forward and her nose was dangerously close to the part of his neck where the cologne was.
Pulling back, she tried to hide the shock from being wrenched out of her momentary lapse of reason.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
His body shook with laughter. “It is okay.”
She hoped he hadn’t cottoned on to what she’d been doing, but his reaction told her he had. How embarrassing.
“This emotion…”
She looked up to find his dark eyes watching her. Her body temperature soared, quickly reaching sauna level.
“Yes?” she asked, not sure whether he was referring to the dance or the girly crush she’d developed. Man, now she was just like every other woman in Argentina.
“This emotion is the most important part of the dance. Without it, there is no point–much like everything in life that is worth the while. Ready?”
Before she had a chance to say a word, Carlos dipped her backwards and curls spilled across her face. Blowing them away with a large puff, she looked up at him, their faces inches apart. He held her there for what felt like an eternity, his strong arms wrapped firmly around her torso, their gaze not breaking, electricity zapping between them. Eventually, he guided her to the standing position and let go. Gabby smoothed down her dress, looking everywhere but directly at Carlos.
“Now, you dance with Gualberto,” he said and sat down.
~*~
~ Alli Sinclair writes romantic suspense set in South America that fuses the contemporary with historical. You can find Alli blogging about her passion for storytelling, culture, and travel at noveladventurers.blogspot.com.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world sampling food from various cultures. It’s difficult to pin my favourite food down to one, so instead I’ll let you sample my Fantasy Dinner…”
Entree: Fresh Turkish bread with a plate of olives, cheese, and dips direct from my favourite Turkish restaurant
Main: Arroz con mariscos (seafood and rice) from Mancora, on the north coast of Peru
Dessert: Dulce de leche ice cream from my friend’s ice cream shop in Mendoza, Argentina
Accompanied by: Antonio Banderas serving Argentine and Chilean wine–any kind will do!
Mouthwatering Moment… by Darlene Fredette
Today’s Mouthwatering Moment excerpt is from KEEPING SECRETS by Darlene Fredette.
Matt dipped another berry, leaned forward and smiled. “Come on, you know you want to.”
He wiggled the strawberry in the air. Samantha couldn’t resist. She grinned and leaned forward. Matt scooted closer and brought the berry to her lips. She stared into his eyes, opening her mouth. Matt smirked and dabbed the cream cheese on her nose.
Samantha sat back, startled. “Two can play that game.” She dipped a finger in the cream cheese and wiped it across his nose.
Matt let out a hearty laugh.
She selected another strawberry, dipped, and then held it to Matt’s lips. He leaned in, his lips parted, but she pulled the berry away. Samantha slowly licked the cream before biting off the tip of the strawberry.
Matt cleared his throat.
Samantha seductively nibbled another berry, keeping her eyes riveted on Matt, who was watching her every move.
“I so want to kiss you right now.”
The strawberry fell, forgotten from her fingers, and landed on her lap. She swallowed hard and licked her lips.
~*~
Darlene’s favourite meal: roast beef dinner with all the fixings: gravy, mash potatoes, carrots, corn, and of course finish the meal off with warm apple pie and ice cream!
Darlene’s favourite drink: Kahlua, Coconut rum, and milk. It’s like a white Russian but I substitute the rum for the vodka, it’s much smoother.
Darlene’s favourite indulgence: Strawberries. I just love them!
Thanks for sharing your excerpt, Darlene! Keeping Secrets was a great read 🙂
Find out more about Darlene here. And find out more about Keeping Secrets here.
Remember, you can win prizes by leaving a comment below. Make sure to subscribe to the blog to be eligible 🙂
Mouthwatering Moment… by Marilyn Brant
Today’s Mouthwatering Moment excerpt is from ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAE by Marilyn Brant…
Elizabeth caught Rob staring at her again across his mother’s dinner table. He was surprisingly silent amidst the family chaos. She, meanwhile, was left to answer questions galore from Camilla, Sammie and even an occasional triplet. Dishes clattered as roasted potatoes, manicotti, grilled carrots and tossed salad with crouton cubes were passed back and forth. Hunks of bread slathered in garlic butter were distributed to the crew. Wine or soft drinks were offered. Nobody dared refuse anything.
“None of that stinking low-carb stuff for us Gabinarris,” Rob’s brother Tony whispered to her with one eyebrow cocked. They all watched as Rob and Tony’s mom, Alessandra, heaped several spoonfuls of potatoes onto little Sammie’s plate.
Alessandra stopped abruptly, ladle in the air. “What happened to my music?” She looked accusingly around the table. “Roberto, was it you?” she said.
Rob shook his head, wide-eyed but with upturned lips, and his mother’s gaze fixed on Tony.
“Antonio?”
“Oh, all right. Yes, it was me.” Tony rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air.
His mother continued to glare at him.
“I’ll go put it back on,” Tony said.
“You do that, Antonio.” She set down her bowl and crossed her arms. “Fooling with my CD player,” she muttered until the strains of Madonna’s classic “Get Into the Groove” floated into the dining room. “Hmm. That’s better,” she said when Tony returned. And the clattering, clanking, chattiness and general chaos resumed again at the table.
Fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth had managed to mostly relax. The children’s queries kept her occupied and Tony’s wife tossed encouraging smiles her way. She released a deep, pent-up breath. She’d almost done it. She’d nearly made it through the meal without saying or doing anything too embarrassing, thank goodness. In another half hour she’d be able to go home.
She glanced around the lively table. The triplets were making a game of poking holes in their bread. Sammie was still hiccupping. Camilla and her mother were giggling about something they’d seen in a Disney video. Rob and Tony were in the midst of a rousing debate over the previous NFC and AFC champs and the players who’d make the best draft picks for the fall season. Everyone grinned, talked, munched. She took a big bite of manicotti.
“So, Elizabeth,” the family matriarch said loudly, “don’t you think my son should get married soon?”
~*~
Marilyn’s favourite meal: Homemade lasagna (my Italian mother-in-law’s recipe) with soft garlic breadsticks and a fresh garden salad
Marilyn’s favourite drink: Sparkling white grape juice (non-alcoholic) or Lemon-Drop Martini (alcoholic)
Marilyn’s favourite indulgence: Sea-Salted Milk Chocolate-Covered Caramels (SO GOOD!)
Thanks for sharing your excerpt, Marilyn!
To find out more about Marilyn and her books visit her website.
Don’t forget to comment below and be in the running for some great prizes as part of my Mouthwatering May special event!
Mouthwatering Moment… by Rachael Johns
The first Mouthwatering Moment excerpt for May is from JILTED, by Rachael Johns. This book will be published in June, so here’s a little taste…
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he scoffed. ‘You’ll be a wonderful mother. You were always good with Lucy, still are.’
‘Thanks,’ she smiled meekly. ‘But it’s a moot point. First I’d have to find a man to have kids with.’
As if that would be difficult, he thought. Did she really have such a low opinion of herself? Without thinking, he reached out and brushed his fingertips along her cheek, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She caught his hand against her cheek, holding it there as they gazed into each other’s eyes. His pulse thrummed hard and fast. He felt himself leaning forward, losing his balance and much, much more as he stared at her lips and imagined them playing erotically across his. One hand still pressed to her cheek, he reached the other up to steady himself against the tree and dipped his head.
Right before Lady Gaga’s latest hit started blaring from Ellie’s pocket.
~*~
Rachael’s favourite meal: I’ve got a fantasy meal… it doesn’t really matter what the food is (as long as there’s no mushrooms or olives or seafood involved) but my kids will eat it ALL and they won’t fight and bicker or put their feet up on the table while we’re eating it!
Rachael’s favourite treat: Cake – pretty much any kind except fruit cake.
Rachael’s favourite drink: Diet Coke.
Thanks Rachael for sharing your excerpt, I can’t wait to read JILTED!
You can visit Rachael’s website here, and remember to leave a comment below to be in the running for the Mouthwatering May prize draw at the end of the month!
JULIET MADISON 