Continuing my celebration of National Women's History Month and the theme of Women Weaving Stories of Women's Lives, I want to introduce the women of LADIES IN WAITING. First up are Liv and Andi.
Hi, this is Liv. When I found the women's retreat in Cape May, New Jersey, I confess I didn't much care about the topic. I saw it as a refuge. I needed an escape, space to just breath, to find out who Liv Zacharias was now. She wasn't the woman hiding under the disguise of hair color and a semi-fictional story. She wasn't the woman the papers made her out to be, either. Of course I fit the profile for the retreat: Embracing the New You: Reinventing Yourself After Fifty. I needed a new you and a reinvention more than anyone I knew. So here I was, sitting in the driveway at Siochain (which I'd learned was a Gaelic word that translated to Peace) and staring at the other women seated on the expansive wrap-around porch of the old Victorian house. I wanted to turn tail and run back to Long Island. What if they recognized me? What if they believed the newspapers? What if my antianxiety meds stopped working? Well, there was only one way to find out.
Andi Ryan here. You know, if you're having a group of menopausal women meet for a retreat on the shore in summer, you should warn them that there's no central air conditioning? When Liv, the newest retreatant to arrive, informed me of that little tidbit, I wanted to get into the car, turn the AC on high, and head straight back to Tom's River. But, damn, I needed this time away. I needed to sort out my feelings about being a young widow (shut up--young is a relative term), being at odds with my almost adult daughter, and finding myself in a very hot relationship with a much younger man. Now this was heat I could tolerate. The Andi I always knew was still in there under all that mess--somewhere. I was sure of that. I just needed to find her again. Sometimes you have to step away from the familiar to see what's right under your nose in the first place. It can be like taking a step back from the mirror and the vision becomes clearer. This was my step back. If the damned hot flashes didn't kill me first. I liked the other women here, at least until I met Julia. You'll see what I mean when you meet her. Now Liv looks so familiar to me, but I just can't place her. Menopause brain, I suppose.
Meet the ladies of LADIES IN WAITING (published by Turquoise Morning Press), available in ebook and trade paperback at Amazon.com.
Meet Lainie Graham, the heroine from QUIET TIME, and hear her remarkable story of survival.
Be careful what you wish for--you just might get it. How many times have I heard that? I never thought that getting what we wish for could be a bad thing, though. Right? Wrong. I'm a busy mom and homemaker. James and I decided I would stay at home at least until our daughter, Chelsea, was in pre-school. I love being a mom. I love keeping a home for James. But I do admit there are times when I'd like to run away alone for just a few minutes and have a little private quiet time. That was my wish. In a most unusual and frightening way, I got my wish.
I never knew what hit me. Truthfully. Not until much later when James told me what happened. I just found myself suddenly trapped inside, aware of the world outside, but unable to participate in it. Your mind can really play with you when you're in this state of suspension. I discovered things about myself that I'd ignored or taken for granted--my ability to be jealous, my ability to doubt those I love, my ability to want to give up. I also discovered my capacity for love and forgiveness. I guess you could say I had a grand awakening in many ways.
Travel inside the mind and heart of a coma patient. Let Lainie show you what that life inside is like. QUIET TIME (a short novella) is available in both ebook and trade paperback at Amazon.com.
Today, I'm very pleased to share the story of Alex Ramsey, heroine in RESCUED.
Some people say that what I do for animal rescue is admirable. Some say I'm crazy to spend so much time, energy and my own money to save a few strays. Others (from my family) suggest I might be trying to work out my own issues. I know that what I do serves a good purpose. I may be a little crazy--something I consider when I'm crawling beneath an abandoned mobile home in the middle of night, looking for puppies. And Lord knows I have issues.
I do what I do because everyone deserves a second chance. I thought my second chance was having the resources to operate Harley's Haven and rescue animals. I didn't realize my second chance came with a nearly six-foot frame and wearing an apron. I figured he needed rescuing, too. What I hadn't counted on was that he would rescue me. And then there was Walter....
You can read RESCUED in ebook and trade paperback, available at Amazon.com.
* Proceeds from the sale of RESCUED benefit the Tunica Humane Society, a no-kill animal shelter in Tunica, Mississippi.
My featured heroine for today--in keeping with the theme of Women Weaving Stories of Women's Lives--is Shannon Chase from my romantic suspense novel, PROTECTION.
Sometimes when we're blinded by love (or something we think is love), we find ourselves in a situation not all that easily resolved. And sometimes the wisest thing to do is to disappear. No one was taking my baby away from me. Not her father and certainly his powerful wife. Yeah, I know. This is the blinded part of the story. I believed him when he said he was single. I guess I wanted to believe it. As soon as I learned the truth, I broke it off. But by then I was already pregnant.
I never thought I'd be on the run, leaving my family and friends, my job, my life behind. Driving a back mountain road in the fog and hitting a tree proved to be the best thing that could happen. We met Jake.
We needed his help, his protection, more than I could admit at the time. And he took us in, even though he put himself at risk. I learned that some men can be trust. More importantly, I learned to trust myself.
You can read PROTECTION in ebook or trade paperback. Available at Amazon.com.
How have you been celebrating National Women's History Month? Hopefully by honoring the strong women you've known. You may even be one of them. Today I celebrate by introducing you to Jessica Windsor, the heroine of my paranormal romance, IN THE SPIRIT.
I never thought of myself as a strong woman. I've made my share of mistakes. And now, here I am having shuffled my son off to my parents so I can hide in a mountain cabin to meet a publishing deadline. Who am I kidding? I can't finish this book. I was just dumped by my fiance and the book is a romance, for crying out loud. Want to know how I feel about romance right now?
I came her to this cabin to work and now I have a cat that's hissing at the wall and weird flashes of light I can't explain. Frankly, it scares me a little. Strong? Ha! I thought I was losing it--my focus, my ability to write--my mind! Then Andrew appeared. Literally 'appeared.' Now, there's a romance for you--Andrew and Laura. Their love story is what gave me courage and strength to delve into the truth, even putting myself at risk. Isn't it funny how we sometimes find strength we don't know we possess for the sake of love, even if it's someone else's love. And, sometimes that opens us up to our own possibilities again.
Learn more of Jessica's story in IN THE SPIRIT available in ebook at Amazon.com.
Next in the line-up of my book heroines is Vanna Marbury from my novella Dark Horse (Dark Heroes)
I'm a private investigator and I'm also a single mom. So I'm selective about the cases I take on, careful not to put myself in the crosshairs of danger if I don't have to. People think you have to be tough to be a PI. I think it's tougher being a mom. I took on a case trying to recover a stolen colt. How hard could it be to find a stolen thoroughbred colt, solid black with a white star and white boots? Easy, I thought. Unless your search takes you to Lexington, Kentucky where horse farms abound.
I thought I'd found the perfect small stable to board my daughter's horse and keep a low profile for my investigation. I hadn't planned on the likes of Braxton Hicks. Yes, you read that right. The man is named for labor pains and the name fits.
I've had a good track record as an investigator, proud of the fact that (in a manner of speaking), I've always gotten my man. In this case, I just wanted to get my horse. But I ended up with more than I bargained for.
Read the whole story and find out why Brax's name fits with DARK HORSE, available only in ebook at Amazon.com.
Women face difficult choices every day, often when it comes to matters of the heart. Meet Meg Flores from UNCONDITIONAL
I thought I knew all about love. I grew up surrounded by love--my grandparents, my parents, even my older sister, Audrey--though love was sometimes irrational to her. And then I met Thomas Flores. Oh, he was so beautiful. Really, in that way a man can be beautiful. Classic Latin features with dark eyes that flashed to black when he felt passionate about something. The last time I saw that look, he was telling me our marriage was over.
To say Thomas broke my heart would be to minimize what his pronouncement did to me. If he'd left me for another woman, well, that would have been oddly understandable given that he left me for his secretary. His male secretary. I didn't know how to fight that choice. Thomas took everything from me--love, trust, and my future.
And despite all that, deep down where it mattered most, I still loved him. When the tables turned in a most hideous way, that love was tested. How do you know when love is unconditional? When it demands more of you than you think you have to give.
Read Meg's entire story in UNCONDITIONAL, available in ebook and trade paperback at Amazon.com.
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