It's My Publishing Anniversary!

 

 

 

 

Today marks my 12 year anniversary as a published author. On this day, twelve years ago, Hidden Threat (now published as Strictly Professional) was published by a small publisher based out of Australia called The Writer's Coffee Shop. 

 

At the time, I had no idea where this journey would take me, the people I would meet, and the friends I would make. This has been an incredible experience so far and I can't wait to see where it takes me next.

Happy Book Birthday to Strictly Professional!

 

A phone call from her father sends Cali Stanton back home to Chicago to look after the family business. Being CEO of Stanton Enterprises is never something she wanted to do, but when her father tells her she’s the only one he can trust to run the company in his absence she can’t say no.

Within hours of stepping into her father’s office she comes face-to-face with her father’s head of security, Matthew Andersen. The attraction is instantaneous and undeniable. Unfortunately, Cali can’t act on it. She’s his boss for the next three months and it wouldn’t be appropriate to cross that line.

Little does she know, fate is determined to throw them together at every turn. Someone is after her father’s company and now they've set their sights on her. Can Matthew and Cali figure out who’s behind the threats before it’s too late and still keep things strictly professional?

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The Evolution Of Zelda

I introduced Ali's mother, Zelda, in the third book of my Serpent's Kiss series, His Forbidden Kiss. She was a minor background character, showing up briefly when Kim visits her best friend. We don't get to know much about her other than the fact that she can't seem to hold onto a man. She comes off a flighty and needy.

 

Because we're in Kim's point of view, we don't get a lot of insight into Zelda or her relationship with her daughter, either. It isn't until Ali and Daniel's story, Claiming His Kiss, that we begin to see more.

 

Ali lets it slip fairly early on she doesn't have a great relationship with her mom. The flightiness we glimpsed in His Forbidden Kiss is confirmed when Ali shares she was raised by her grandmother because her mom wasn't around much.

 

At this point in the story, I didn't know what I was going to do with Zelda. I knew she was going to make an appearance in Claiming His Kiss, but I had no idea what her role would be.

 

Being an author that writes by the seat of her pants, I let the story unfold naturally. This includes characters.

 

When I began the story, the only things I knew about Zelda was she had been absent much of Ali's life because she was constantly chasing after men. But there is always more to it than that.

 

In order to figure out Zelda's motivations, I dug deep, asking myself why was she constantly chasing after these men? I needed to determine the why in order to know how she would react to finding out her daughter was in a relationship with a man 23 years her senior.

 

The internet is a glorious thing. You can find out information on just about anything if you can locate the right sources.

 

I watched videos and researched women who hop from relationship to relationship as Zelda does. It was fascinating and a bit disturbing at the same time. People are complicated, but we can't deny our primal instincts.

 

In the end, Zelda turned out to be both a complex and a very simplistic character all wrapped up in one. Her motivations were simple, but her logic was flawed.

 

To read Ali and Daniel's story, check out Claiming His Kiss through one of the retail links below.

 

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What I'm Currently Reading - Speak From The Heart

 

Next on my TBR list is Speak From The Heart by L.B. Dunbar.

 

When a small town, single father becomes enemies with the new girl in town, it’s either keep fighting her or give in to what his heart wants most.

Emily Post isn’t staying. Back at her grandmother’s summer home, she’s only in Elk Lake City for a visit which can’t end soon enough. Especially when she can’t seem to get away from one grumpy repairman who shows up everywhere. Fortunately for him, his daughter is sweet even if she refuses to speak.

Jess Carter is a hometown favorite and a hot single father. Sworn off love for several reasons, foremost is the silence of his daughter. His little one has a secret and he doesn’t know the why behind it. Unfortunately for him, his six-year-old has taken a liking to the beautiful new woman in town visiting her nana. And everywhere he goes, there she is, invading his space and his heart.

While silence might be golden, the voice in lonely hearts refuses to remain quiet.

 

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What I'm Currently Reading - Never Too Much

 

 

I'm switching gears this week and diving into a paperback I picked up at a local thrift store...Never Too Much by Lori Foster. I've never read anything by this author I haven't enjoyed, so I have high hopes for a great read!

 

One Chance At Forever

Ben Badwin likes his women sexy, wild, and as uninhibited as his desires. Nothing like the brash, dirt-covered, wholesomely cute woman who just strutted into his diner. But something about Sierra Murphy's independent attitude makes Ben's fantasies run wild. . .

Sierra doesn't need a man in her life, not even one as tempting as Ben. But the more she keeps her distance, the more he wants her, and the harder it is for Sierra to steer clear of his teasing touches and his enticing eyes. To get him out of her system, Sierra makes a proposition: she'll sleep with him, but for one night only. Now, it's up to Ben to turn one night of pure ecstasy into a passion that never ends. . .

 

Amazon 

 

What I'm Currently Reading - Offside With #55

 

 

This is the sixth book in the Hockey Hotties series by Piper Rayne. I started this one 2 days ago and I'm already more than halfway through!

 

The last thing any professional hockey player wants is to be the old man in the game. The guy who doesn’t know when it’s time to retire. Still, I can’t bear the thought of leaving the game.

This past year I’ve reflected on all my regrets, and I told myself that once I retire it’ll be the time to find the right woman. But this is where it gets tricky.

I think I’ve found her—although she’ll deny our connection to anyone who asks. We’ve been sleeping together casually and since I’m still playing hockey, I’ve let her get what she wants—me—whenever she wants.

After being told my career as a player is over, the owner of Florida Fury grants me a shot to stay in the game. A coaching position I didn’t know I wanted until it was offered. The catch? He’s also passing the family business down to his daughter.

Who’s his daughter?

The woman who’s been in and out of my bed for the past year. Which means the woman I intend to make mine is now my new boss.

 

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Playing With My Characters

Family dynamics fascinate me.

 

In truth, people in general fascinate me, which is why being a writer is the perfect occupation. When watching a movie or television show, I get caught up in the characters. I watch their facial expressions, their body language, and dig deep into their motivations. 

 

People are complicated creatures and that's what makes them fun to play with as an author. Two people can react very differently to a situation depending on their personality, their history, and what else is going on in their life at the time. When someone comes face to face with a crisis, they could either tackle it head on or run and hide. That's why understanding your characters and their motivations is so important.

 

The inciting incident in my new release, Claiming His Kiss, stems from Ali, our heroine, having some problems with her neighbors. They're being a little loud with their bedroom activities, which is causing Ali to have trouble getting a good night's sleep.

 

Now, Daniel, our hero, would have confronted the problem head on. That's his personality. But Ali, she's not as confrontational. She'd rather suffer through some less than perfect nights of sleep than go to her neighbors and ask them to tone it down.

 

There's also Daniel's solution, even if it's meant to be temporary, to Ali's problem. His protective instincts, another aspect of his personality, kick in and he invites her to move in with him.

 

Okay...invite maybe isn't the right word. Tells her she's going to move in with him is closer to the truth.

 

He wrapped his fingers around her elbow and guided her the rest of the way to her car. “I’ll follow you home.” 

She stared up at him. “Why?” 

“Because you’re going to pack a bag and come home with me.” 

And while he may have relented should she have put up any real resistance, this also tells us a lot about who he is as a person. He protects those he cares about even if it means putting himself in an uncomfortable, or somewhat compromising situation.

 

Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths to calm himself. Ali was a beautiful woman. Any fool could see that. But she was thirty-two years old. She was young enough to be his daughter. Hell, his oldest was only five years younger than Ali.

 

 But given Daniel's personality, he puts her needs ahead of his. He sees a problem and it's in his ability to solve it, so he takes the bull by the horns and dives head first into unknown and very tempting waters.

 

Ali sighed, drawing his attention, and he looked over to see a smile pull at her lips. Warmth spread through his chest, the urge to brush his fingers along the side of her cheek almost impossible to resist. 

He flexed his fingers on the steering wheel and reprimanded himself before returning his attention to the road. “Control yourself, old man.”

 

Creating tension in a story is always entertaining. Not only for the reader, but for me as well. Drama and conflict push the story forward. Sometimes it's from outside sources and sometimes it's internal. Either way, it makes for an interesting ride. 

Finding out how Daniel and Ali's story turns out in Claiming His Kiss  (Serpent's Kiss #4), available now at all major online retailers.

 

 

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It's Release Day!!!

 Daniel and Ali's story is LIVE!

 

What do you do when the woman you love is having problems with her neighbors? You ask her to move in with you.

Daniel Ross has been lusting after Ali for two years, but she’s young enough to be his daughter. When her new neighbors begin to cause issues for her, his protective instincts kick in. His house is big enough for both of them. She can have her space and he’ll know she’s safe. What could possibly go wrong?

Ever since that first night at the private club where they’re both members, Allison Foster has wanted to explore the pull she feels toward Daniel, but he’s made sure to keep them in the friend zone. She wants more, but every time she’s hinted at the possibility, he turns the tables on her and throws her into the arms of another man. That is until he insists she move into one of the spare rooms.

Living in the same house and sharing meals together means there’s no running away for either of them. But will their age difference be too big of a gap to overcome...especially when his kids find out about the woman who’s moved into their dad’s house?

Claiming His Kiss is the smoking hot fourth novel from Sherri Hayes’s Serpent’s Kiss BDSM Club series. If you like billionaire romances, steamy love scenes, and happily ever afters, then you’ll love Sherri Hayes’s sexy age gap romance.

Buy Claiming His Kiss to get your kink on today!

 

 

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