HOUR OF THE RAT-The Flawed Protagonist

Hi, Kat Sheridan hosting today so Sia can have a well-deserved long holiday weekend off for the Fourth of July!

I have a confession to make. I drink bourbon (and coffee), occasionally to excess. I can out-swear a Marine drill sergeant. I get pig-headed about the dumbest things. Sometimes I make bad decisions, do stupid stuff, or trust the wrong person. I try to do my best, and just hope my successes balance my failures. In other words, I’m human.

Which means I’m also a lot like Ellie Cooper, the protagonist in Hour of the Rat, the latest novel by Lisa Brackmann. I first encountered Ellie in Ms. Brackmann’s debut novel, Rock Paper Tiger. In Hour of the Rat, Ellie once again drags me along on an adventure through sprawling, bewildering, beautiful and treacherous China as she tries to help an old war buddy locate his missing brother, while being chased, used, and abused by shadowy government agencies, and stumbles into a truly terrifying real-world plot line having to do with GMOs (genetically modified organisms—if you want to get the willies every time you eat, look them up).

I’m going to say right up front that I loved this book. The synopsis is at the end, so I won’t repeat it here. What I want to talk about today is Ellie Cooper, and the way too many people may view a protagonist like her.

Let me tell you about Ellie. She was a medic in Iraq, a soldier who got caught in a terrible Abu Ghraib-like situation, and got torn between duty and horror. Her husband left her for a younger model. She got blown up and lost a chunk of muscle in her leg. It causes her deep physical pain and always will. She’s tough as old leather, but feminine enough to be embarrassed about the scars on her leg. She has PTSD. Between the pain and the nightmares, she doesn't always sleep well. She can’t function in the morning without coffee, her beverage choice the rest of the day is often beer, and though she tries to endure the constant physical and emotional pain, she sometimes resorts to popping Percocet for relief. She has a wry, dry, self deprecating sense of humor that comes out sometimes at the worst possible moment. She loves her uber-Christian mother, who drives her crazy, and is trying to heal past rifts with her. She’s an expat living in China, she’s trying to be a good friend to folks who may not deserve it, she’s trying to get her act together, and she’s trying to find some meaning in a world that exploded and spun out of control on her.

I haven’t read the reviews on Hour of the Rat yet, but I read them for Rock Paper Tiger (because I like to see what other people think of a book I adored). I was seriously appalled by folks who took issue with Ellie’s drinking and swearing and flawed decisions. As if they expected her, as a soldier, to say “gosh darn” and return home after the war to bake cookies and join the PTA. This weekend Americans celebrate our freedom, and the men who fought and died for it. Now that women are actively being allowed in combat positions (as if they already weren't de facto in those positions), are we ready for our books to have protagonists like Ellie Cooper?

My question is this: If Ellie Cooper had been Elliot Cooper, a male protagonist, would readers feel the same? Would you, as a reader, be more tolerant of a male character who’d been a soldier, been hit by an IED, who suffered the hell of PTSD, who swore, who coped with too much beer and painkillers, ran into dangerous situations, and was ambivalent about his mother?

Is there a subconscious prejudice toward the realistic portrayal of flawed female protagonists?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Hour of the Rat by Lisa Brackmann

Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of controversial dissident Chinese artist Zhang Jianli. Even though Zhang's mysterious disappearance of over a year ago has attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities. Even though her Born-Again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving.

But things really get complicated when Ellie's search for an Army buddy's missing brother entangles her in a conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, and art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats—a conspiracy that will take her on a wild chase through some of China's most beautiful and most surreal places.

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND

Guest host Kat Sheridan is an aspiring romance author, fond of bourbon and shiny things. Creator of BlurbCopy.com, writing blurbs/back cover copy for indie authors. Bon vivant and diva. Her debut Victorian gothic romance novel, Echoes in Stone, will be published in the fall of 2013.

REACHING FOR THE BRASS RING—IWSG WEDNESDAY

There are about 300 members of Insecure Writers' Support Group, the idea of Alex Cavanaugh.  If you want to read any of their entries do check it out here. Co-hosts this month are Nancy Thompson, Mark Koopmans, and Heather Gardiner.

Brass Ring:  n slang An opportunity to achieve wealth or success; a prize or reward

Several friends and I were having a discussion. It's something that has been on my mind a lot lately. The gist of it was how we want to be published. Most want a traditional publisher, for various reasons.  We devote years of effort learning about the craft of writing. We suffer rejection after rejection and still we strive for publication. We keep abreast of the current market and want to write books that not only sell, but those we can see on the shelf of our local Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. Hell, Wal-Mart would be great. A form of validation? Maybe. But, all that effort expended reaching for the brass ring.

I have quite a few friends who have gotten contracts. Champagne corks popped, confetti thrown, resounding cheers echoed. Then reality sets in. The day-to-day work of a writer and living up to contract. Fighting to meet deadlines, edits, having to rewrite sections, and sometimes the tough job of consistently meeting the standards of a publisher and perhaps a picky acquiring editor. Then there is writing through the dam that holds back the words, on occasion, and juggling real life and writing fiction. It’s not a job for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.

Whether we create music, piece of art, or write a book, it all comes from our soul. It’s not like doing a report, or putting together a seminar, or creating a syllabus for the year, building a house from specs or rebuilding an engine. That takes talent, skill, and knowledge, yes. Creative works require the same but they also entail taking a flash of an idea, inspiration, inner vision, and giving it life. I think most creative endeavors are fraught with all sorts of insecurities. Are we good enough, can we continue to put out quality? If we do well with the first book will we do as well with the second? I have friends that have hit the bestseller’s list; more power to them, yet with each book there is still the worry, is it good enough? They haunt Amazon and Goodreads watching the reviews come in.

In this business, you can be golden with one book and the next out in the cold. Really, that’s true whether you have a traditional publisher (small or large), or are self-published. Readers love what they love and that may not be every book you write. Reviews are tough when they’re not at least 4 stars, or a reviewer shreds or snarks your work and then tweets about it. It hurts. It can be depressing. 

Sometimes, listening to friends talk about the good bad and ugly of the business is enough to make me wonder if that brass ring is worth reaching for.

The truth is, anything we want to make money from is a business. As writers I think we forget that. 

If you’re published with a traditional publisher that is their bottom line—the profit. It determines whether they want to take a chance on you or your story. Story might be good but can it sell enough to offset production and publicity costs? It is a determining factor on whether you’re offered another contract or released from the existing one. If you’re self-published it’s still a business of profit. Cost of an editor, cover work, uploading, ISBN numbers, the time involved in promotion, and sending out copies for reviews. While you might get 70% of the cover price in profit, does it offset the cost of producing it?

Reaching for that brass ring. Is it worth it? Only you, as a writer, can answer that.

FELLOW WRITERS—A GREAT SUPPORT NETWORK

Emily Greenwood is a new voice in historical romance. She writes playful, sexy Regency romance. Emily has written a three book MISCHIEF series and I'm highlight the first, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF. 

Emily's road to publication wasn't fast or easy but along the way she learn the value of associating with fellow writers. I'll let Emily tell you more about that.

Thanks so much for having me here today. Love the site music!

I’m pulling up my cup of herbal tea (wish I could drink coffee, but it does me in) and letting out a big sigh at the end of this month of promotion for my debut, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF.

Seems like the release of this novel has been a long time coming. I started writing it several years ago, put it away for a while, reworked it, and sent it out. I got requests from agents for partial and full manuscripts, and some really helpful suggestions from a few agents that helped me improve the story, but no offers. There was a little angst J

So I put that book aside and started another one. But when the Golden Heart submission deadline was looming, it wasn't ready to go. A writing pal suggested I enter the first book, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF, and I figured I had nothing to lose, so I made another pass at editing and entered it in the 2008 Golden Heart under a different title. It finaled! I was surprised and delighted.

Finaling brought me some great attention and also allowed me to connect with the other writers who finaled that year. We called ourselves the Pixies, and were immediately a great support network. Having this connection with other romance writers really made a difference in my publishing journey and helped me keep motivated as everybody shared inside knowledge and successes and failures on the road to publication. Finaling in the Golden Heart also helped when querying A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF and the book I’d written after it. Two years later I signed with a terrific agent.

Then began the process of reworking my stories with my agent’s suggestions, which took a number of months. If there’s one thing I can say about writing, it’s that it takes a lot of time to get a finished product! Also, I hadn't really picked up on the whole “books in a series” thing, even though as a reader I’d enjoyed, like, Mary Balogh’s Slightly series. Somehow I hadn't figured out that I needed to write books that were linked together. A little slow on the uptake, wasn't I?

Finally the books were ready to go out on submission, and Sourcebooks picked up A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF as part of the three-book Mischief series. Yay! The publication date was two years off, which is not uncommon, and it was a good thing, because it gave me extra time to write those other two books in the series.

Balancing writing and life is a struggle, but I suppose if I truly had loads of uninterrupted time to write, what I wrote would get stale. Or at least I tell myself that when I can’t write because I need to cook dinner, take kids to appointments, exercise, and do all the other things that can nibble up a day. They’re all also things I’m grateful to have in my day J

But it can be very hard to get back into the story when I've been away from it for a day or more. And it’s especially frustrating when I need to read all the way through to get a sense of how the story is working and I have to keep putting it down for interruptions. I try very hard to do something with whatever I’m working on every day.

So, there have been tears and smiles, and I’m sure there will be more, but one thing that is definitely a fun part of publication is interacting with readers through blogs like this one!

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

A LITTLE NIGHT OF MISCHIEF

Emily Greenwood

Every Prize Comes with Complications...

A game of chance saves James Collington from the prospect of debtors' prison, and grants him ownership to Tethering estate. Little does he know that his winnings come with serious complications--not least of which is a beautiful but impoverished young lady who insists his new manor belongs to her.

If He Can't Stop Her, He Might as Well Join Her...

Felicity Wilcox is determined to run Mr. Collington off her land, Though James's charm and devilish good looks are a serious distraction. What she doesn't know is that she may be haunting him right back.

EXCERPT (scroll down to excerpt heading on Publisher site)

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM, INDIEBOUND

                                                                                                                             

Emily Greenwood has a degree in French and worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures. Bur she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance is the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, Emily lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

You can find Emily on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and her website.

WHEN THEY SAY YOU NEED TOUGH SKIN...

My guest, romance author, Karen Kelley, says she was an ignorant farm girl when she started her writing journey. I have to say, I've rarely found farm/ranch girls stupid. A bit naive, as are many new writers, in the corporate world of publishing but that only means conquering a learning curve. 

Karen says, “Publishing can be a rocky road with lots of highs and lows but, oh, what a fun trip!” 

To enjoy the trip one does have to develop self confidence and a thick skin but, I’ll Karen tell you more about that.

When I first started writing I was told you need a tough skin. At the time, all I could think about was getting published, always reaching toward that one goal. I figured I already had a pretty tough skin just from growing up—I was wrong.

If you keep getting rejection after rejection you'll either end up with an alligator hide or you'll give up. After six very long years I finally reached my goal. It happened really fast. I mailed off the manuscript and I got an offer by the end of the week. I'd hoped and prayed I would get "the call", but I don't think I really expected it to happen. You know how it is when you want something so bad you can almost taste it? Whether it's a new job or a dream vacation. I learned that to reach a goal you not only need a plan of action, but you also have to stop dreaming at some point and start doing. If I want to lose 10 pounds I have to eat right and exercise. There are no shortcuts. Have surgery? I've seen people gain the weight right back. But isn't the journey part of the package? For all the nicks I've gotten I've also grown and matured. I've learned to look at life from a different prospective.

Getting published did happen, though. Editor Hilary Sares at Kensington called in the middle of the afternoon and I quickly became a babbling fool without a brain. I'm surprised she didn't retract the offer. After we hung up I think I just sat on the sofa and cried. My dream had come true. I had it made.

Well, not exactly.

The line I sold to went under. I floundered until finally signing with an agent. The agent had me tearing apart manuscripts and I blindly followed where she led. She was an agent. I was still just an ignorant farm girl. Big mistake. HUGE mistake. I eventually learned most of my ignorance came from not believing in myself. How many doubts have you had in the course of your lifetime? Did they cripple you?

One day I entered a contest author Lori Foster sponsored. I didn't win but she enjoyed my writing so much she sent it to her editor, Kate Duffy. Kate Duffy offered me a contract—a really nice one J In six months I quit my job nursing and wrote full-time  For the next 4 years, I was lived my dream going to conferences, speaking to writers groups.... Kate always said as long as she was an editor, I'd have a contract.

I put all my eggs in her basket. Neither one of us could predict she would get cancer. I became a better writer and a better person because of her. She was funny, she was a friend, and a lot of the time she scared the hell out of me. Kate could be a little gruff. I went back into nursing when Kensington dropped me right after Kate passed.

Wikimedia Commons

Did I mention the tough hide, alligator skin???

Yeah, I thought so.

Sometimes it's a hell of a lot easier to walk away from writing. But I couldn't. After a year or so my agent (a different one) got me a contract with Sourcebooks. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough money to let me go back to writing full-time  but my books would be out there. I felt like a writer again. Stupid, I know. I don't need validation from anyone to tell me I'm a writer. I only need to write. 

Kate once told me, "Don't worry about the technical stuff so much, Karen, just have fun writing the story." She was right. I've won more awards from books where 'I just had fun' writing them. I really miss hearing her voice. She was a very special editor. 

My 23rd book, Smoking Hot, came out this month. It's a sexy, steamy paranormal. And after that? Well, I don't have an agent anymore, and I don't want one at this point in my career. I've decided to go independent the end of August. I think I'll just have fun writing. 

Source Books will be giving away a copy of Smoking Hot.  For a chance to win just leave a comment.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM, INDIEBOUND
POWELLS

SMOKING HOT

Karen Kelley

Everything She Wants...

Working the night shift at the sheriff's office has given deputy Raine McCandless more than enough time to fantasize about the kind of man she'd like to take prisoner, so when she arrives home to find a sexy intruder waiting for her, she's pretty sure she must be dreaming.

...Can and Will Be Held Against Her

But Dillon Taylor, with his stunning blue eyes and killer tan, is 100% real, just not 100% human. Half-man, half-angel, he'd love to answer every naughty prayer Raine has ever had. But Raine is in serious danger. And Dillon can only fulfill her every fantasy if he can keep her alive.

EXCERPT 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Currently Karen writes for Sourcebooks and the Brava Imprint with Kensington Publishing. Karen writes full-time, and collects junk which she fondly calls antiques. Her husband can still be talked into mailing her manuscripts and also helping with her publicity. She has two grown children, one son-in-law and four grandchildren and a very spoiled Pekinese. She loves sitting on the patio on a warm spring day and procrastinating about her approaching deadline. You can find Karen: Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Website.

MONDAY MUSINGS—GIVE ME THE WILD RIDE!

Reading can teach you a lot about writing. It teaches you not only what is good writing but it shows why it works in the over all story. Reading can also teach a lot about wrong techniques, no matter how pretty the words and phrases, and what it does to a story.

Why do I mention this?

As writers we hear a great deal about pacing, character POV, info dumps, exposition, and building and sustaining tension. Our critique partners have probably harped on some of those very things in our writing, or content editors have given us pages of edits that address those issues.

Recently I downloaded a story that had a good premise and an interesting take on the shifter world. I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to its promise. If I were officially reviewing the book I would have given it maybe 3 stars.

This particular story really did have a lot of potential of being a solid series. The world had an original twist, the characters were, for the most part, well thought out with a distinct voice, and I could see their goals, motivation, and conflict. The plot bones were good.

The problem? 

The plot got lost in words. The author could have seriously lost 40% of her word count and had a better and tighter story. The pacing and tension tripped over action stopping scenes that didn't move the story forward but stalled it. Instead of telling the story from the POV of the main characters and bits from the villain, she pulled in five or six more characters and three more villains like characters. It made me dizzy. The tension waxed and waned. I mean pages and pages that had nothing to do with moving the story forward or upping the tension. Or telling me anything I needed to know.

Wiki commons

Tension in a story is like a rafting down a rogue river. The journey starts in relatively tranquil waters but you can feel the pull of the current. Unseen inland rainstorms can suddenly increase the water’s texture and speed. The river narrows, rocks and boulders start to appear, there are tricky eddies with dips and sudden drops in the water surface. Your senses are engaged because you see, feel, and hear the changes in the river. It’s moving faster, the ride is rougher, you have seconds to push off from rocks or capsize. You

wiki commons

see more twists and turns in the river, more white water, and the river’s roar is deafening. The current is incredibly strong and you have to fight to stay in the safe zone. You whip around a treacherous curve in the river and holy crap a waterfall! You have minutes to fight against the current to get to shore. One of the rafts capsize and a mad scramble to rescue the strays. Your heart pounding because one wrong move and someone dies or is swept over the falls.

Afterward, you’re laying on the shore trying to catch your breath and noticing all the scrapes and abrasions and laughing over the close calls. Wind down chat—did you see? Man that last turn…and I lost my oar…I hit that rock and almost went head first in the water… And despite it all the feeling is wow! Oh my god that was so much fun and worth every scrape. That’s what we want our readers to feel. The tension pulling them forward, turning the pages to reach the climax and then satisfaction at the end. If we’re lucky, they will be thinking about events of the story long after ‘the end’.

What we don’t want is the reader feeling ticked off and thinking, ever heard of a content editor?What a waste of my time! 

GIVING OUR READERS OPTIONS

It's a pleasure to welcome back romance author CH Admirand to Over Coffee. She has such a passion for life and I admire that. Since she loves to bake I've decided to put her yummy Black Raspberry/Rhubarb Pandowdy on the coffee bar for us to enjoy with our coffee.
Speaking of yummy, she has a new book ready to whisk you back to Apple Grove and drool over  meet, Jack Gannon, and a cute pup named Jameson. Both will steal your heart.

Good Morning, Sia. Thank you for inviting me to guest blog today with your readers, I’m delighted to be here. So many things are happening right now in my writing life—and in so many different directions! After turning in the copyedits for my 15^th book, which will be the third book in my contemporary small town series: Welcome Back to Apple Grove (in stores December 2013), I had a chat with my editor at Sourcebooks and am so glad that I did. She asked what I’d be interested in writing next. The industry has many ups and downs and is always changing direction—as with all of the other aspects of my life, it seems—and keeping up with those changes while still being able to continue to write and publish your stories is definitely a challenge.

For instance, right now Sourcebooks and my editor is interested in seeing one of my favorite genres to write: Historical Western Romance!

I finally got the rights back to my Historical Irish Western Series, and after editing them to freshen them up a bit, and having new covers and a logo created for the series, I have released the first two books, with plans to release books 3 and 4 by summer’s end. They are doing really well as e-books, something that wasn't even available at the time my first book was published. Crazy thought, right? LOL!

But, what does my releasing my backlist have to do with the new idea I have for Sourcebooks? Everything.

Doesn't this mean that I’m in direct competition with my publisher? Not at all.

Let me explain. Readers who haven’t yet discovered my Irish Western Series will hopefully pick them up and realize that my stories are all connected. My Contemporary Cowboys for Sourcebooks are descendants of Marshal Justiss who first appeared in the 2^nd book in my Historical Irish Western Series.

During the Sourcebooks Spotlight at RT in Kansas City, Editorial Manager Deb Werksman explained that authors self-publishing their backlist is good for their current releases because it can drive awareness and sales to their current titles. It is a win/win situation for authors and publishers.

If a reader enjoys an author’s voice, what could be better than giving our readers more options? Not a thing—IMHO. Although I’m a huge fan of Julie Garwood’s Medievals, I love her contemporary series. Whatever Nora Roberts writes, I’ll read! I am a first and always a rabid Romance fan. :-)

I am planning to have a link between my new Historical Western Romance idea for Sourcebooks that will connect both my contemporary cowboy series and my Irish Western Series that I’m re-releasing myself. Although, I’m not sure what that will be yet. But I’m working on it.

Did I mention that characters from that wisp of an idea were arguing in my head while I was rinsing the gorgeous blueberries and cherries I’d picked up at the grocery store?

CH ADMIRAND

Anyway…berries make me think of baking and making jam…which makes me think of the recipes my editor encouraged me to include in each book in my contemporary small town trilogy.

It seems that one of my characters is always baking something—or working out in the garden (aka playing in the dirt. LOL)! Anyway, I was delighted to include some of our favorite recipes for readers. I have pictures of them and I've been posting them on my blog, Facebook and Twitter.

CH ADMIRAND

So be sure to follow me and find out what I’m baking next…I recently posted pics of the Black Raspberry/Rhubarb Pandowdy I’d baked along with pics of the new recipe I’m trying to create for baked Doughnuts. Both are yummy. Just ask my guys. LOL!

Baking reminds me of the hub of gossip in my series the Apple Grove Diner which brings me back around to ONE DAY IN APPLE GROVE. I loved writing this story and having the chance to include something I’m passionate about—respecting and helping our Veterans; and rescuing dogs from high-kill shelters into the plot of the story. I don’t batter the reader over the head with dos and don’ts, and I don’t get up on my soapbox and preach. The ideas just sorta worked their way into Cait and Jack’s story and I am glad they did.

• Do you have something that you are passionate about—besides reading Romance?

So brew a cup of tea or put on a pot of coffee, and let me tell you about my latest…

                                                                                                                                                                                                              
         

BUY: Amazon,  B & N, IndieBound Chapters/Indigo

ONE DAY IN APPLE GROVE BY 
C.H. ADMIRAND – IN STORES JUNE 2013

Welcome to Apple Grove, Ohio (pop. 597), a small town with a big heart.

Caitlin Mulcahy loves her family. She really does. But sometimes they can drive her to her last shred of sanity—from her dad ("I'm not meddling, I just want what's best for you") to her eight-months-pregnant older sister to her younger sister, who will do just about anything to avoid real work. Cait just needs to get away, even if for only an hour.

When she sees someone in need of help on the side of the road, of course she's going to pull over. She might even be able to fix his engine—after all, the Mulcahy family is a handy bunch. She's not expecting that former Navy medic Jack Gannon and a little black puppy named Jameson will be the ones who end up rescuing in her.

“The talented Admirand is able to write about these serious issues realistically but in a way that makes this book still feel light and fun.” ​—RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

C.H. Admirand was born in Aiken, South Carolina, but grew up in New Jersey. She has been delighting readers with her Secret Life of Cowboys Series, featuring three cowboy brothers with Irish charm, and is now working on the next book in her small town contemporary romance series, featuring the town and quirky characters of Apple Grove, OH. She lives with her husband, who is the inspiration for all of her heroes’ best traits, in New Jersey. For more information, please visit www.CHAdmirand.com.

TAMMY FALKNER–SOMETIMES FICTION MIMICS REAL LIFE

My guest is historical paranormal author, Tammy Falkner. Her topic is incorporating situations from real life into our fiction. I do remember this incident and laughing my head off. 

I do keep a file of the weird and the strange which happens around the McKye homestead and yes, a few have found their way into a story. A case of truth being stranger than fiction. 

Some authors deny that their books mirror their real lives in any way, but I’m going to make a confession to you guys today. 

There’s a scene in THE MAGIC OF “I DO” that’s based on something that happened in real life.  On August 12^th, 2012, I made a post on Facebook about an awful encounter I had with an insect.  It follows:

The responses from my Facebook friends were nearly unanimous: “You need to use that in a book, because that’s hilarious.”  So, I did.  If you've read THE MAGIC OF “I DO” then you know what scene it is.  It leads to a proposal.  If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out, because the scene is somewhat similar, although there’s a hero involved in the scene in the book, along with the grabbing of the heroine’s breast, and I didn't have a hero at my disposal or anyone’s hand down my shirt at the moment when it happened to me. I had a deaf, blind border collie who was wondering why I was dancing all around with a bug as it migrated from my hair to down my shirt.

Sometimes fiction does mimic real life!  I’m living proof!

Here’s the scene from the book:

“Are you all right?” Finn asked. “You’re not delirious, are you?” 

If she was, it was because of him, not because of the Earl of Mayden. “I’m perfectly fine, aside from a little bit of pain in my hand. Stop fretting.” 

Just then, a bug buzzed by her ear. She swatted at it. It bounced off her hand and then landed on the bodice of her dress. “Finn,” she warned. 

“What?” 

She pointed toward the bug, which was as big as Finn’s watch fob. “There’s a bug on me.”

Finn’s eyes met hers, and they were full of amusement. “It’s just a little, tiny bug,” he chided. “It won’t eat much.” 

“Finn,” she warned. Claire had a healthy respect for bugs, but bugs did not like faeries. They resided with mutual respect most days, but this one was crossing the line by actually landing on her person. 

“Hold on, I’ll get it.” Finn took aim with his fingers the way one might with a billiard cue, preparing to thump it away. But right when Finn flicked it, it jumped. Claire heaved a sigh of relief. At least it was gone. 

Then buzzing began in her hair. “Claire,” Finn warned, reaching for her hair. “Be still,” he warned. But Claire was already flipping over, trying to shake the beast out of her curls. “Claire, stop,” he cajoled. “If you’ll be still, I’ll get it.” 

But Claire couldn't be still. A creature with at least six legs was burrowing in her hair, and it wasn't happy at all with its location, if the amount of noise it was making was any indication. 

Pins from Claire’s hair flew in every direction as she tried to dislodge the beast. Finally, Finn riffled through her hair long enough to get his fingers on it. “I have it,” he said. “Now be still so I can untangle it.” He chuckled. “Who would have thought you could knock the Earl of Mayden to his knees but an insect could get you this worked up.” He began to untangle the bug, strand by strand of hair. 

Finally, he said, “I got it. It’s free.” 

But then something hard and heavy as a coin hit her breast. “See, it’s out of your hair,” he said. But now it was in her décolletage. It slipped and slithered and writhed its way between her breasts, looking for shelter. Claire screamed. She couldn't help it. She screamed. 

“Would you be quiet, Claire?” Finn hissed. “Someone will call the watch.” 

Claire jumped up and down, hoping she could shake the bug from the top of her dress, but she could actually see its body moving beneath her clothing. “Get it, Finn,” she cried. 

Finn reached a hand into her bodice. “Pardon me, I’m not trying to cup your breast,” he grunted as his fingers did just that. He lifted her left breast with one hand while the other grabbed for the bug. He growled and tugged at her gown, pulling it lower so he could get his hand farther inside. 

“Finn, please,” she urged. The bug was going lower and lower, and it would be in her drawers if it traveled much farther. 

“I got it,” he finally said. He held it up in one hand and gloated, while his other hand was still stuffed inside her bodice, cupping her breast. “See, Claire, I got it. Nothing to worry about.” 

A gasp rang out behind them on the garden path. Finn closed his eyes tightly and turned her so that her body was shielded by his. “Tell me that’s not your father,” he moaned. 

Claire looked over his shoulder. “It’s my father,” she whispered. “And the duke. And Marcus.” She thumped the bug from his outstretched fingers. The creature could go burn in hell for all she cared, their unspoken treaty be damned. 

“What’s going on out here?” Claire’s father asked. “Claire, are you all right?” 

“Lord Phineas was just helping me retrieve a bug that was bound to do me harm.”

© Tammy Falkner, 2013

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Amazon, B&N, IndieBound,
Chapters/Indigo

THE MAGIC OF “I DO” 

TAMMY FALKNER – IN STORES JUNE 2013

Desperately Seeking Excitement...

With the temporary prohibition on magic on the land of the Fae, Claire Thorne might as well go back to the Regency world. The haut ton has just as many annoying rules as her world, but at least they have parties and dances. Plus, the roguish Lord Phineas "Finn" Trimble is there...

When the feisty faerie tumbles into his room through a magical portal, Finn can't believe how completely unpredictable she is. Even before the two stumble into a dangerous intrigue that threatens both their worlds, Finn discovers that his hitherto carefree life is about to go up in smoke...

“Charming and filled with the magic of love and faith...Falkner's tale whisks readers into a realm of enchantment.” —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

                                                                                                                                                  

As half of the Lydia Dare writing team, Tammy Falkner has co-written ten books, including A Certain Wolfish Charm and In the Heat of the Bite. A huge fan of Regency England, her regency paranormal series combines the magical elements of both mystical faeries and the glittering regency ton. Tammy lives on a farm in rural North Carolina with her husband and a house full of boys, a few dogs, and a cat or two. Visit her website, www.tammyfalkner.com, for more information.