Updates!

It's been a busy week for updates. Writing is a bit slow - first 1/4 of STEAL YOU AWAY is done with the main draft and some editing. Developing Cass and Ramsey's relationship is what takes time and thinking and planning.

Cover art for STEAL YOU AWAY

Unlike many of the other J. Carter & Associates books, SYA features a cold-hearted killer as the hero. Ramsey knows he does bad things, but he doesn't care. At the start, he's a remorseless killing machine more worried about his next paycheck than the effects of his killing.

Cass changes that for him. She goes from a target to an equal after she uncovers a murder plot. The resulting brawl leaves them both injured and Ramsey's pride wounded.

They have to learn to trust each other if they want to survive, especially as he is added to the kill list for helping her. But Ramsey isn't above betraying her in return for his thriving career.

Between them both, Ramsey has the best one-liners. Some of my favorites are over on the website on the Extras page.

Unlike Kat, Cass isn't much of a fighter--she's a scrapper. In a fight between them, Cass would probably lose. Do I love Cass any less? No, she's strong, like Kat, only in a different way. She hasn't experienced loss in the same way as Kat. She's led a very normal life. That's part of the fun.

All the links for AGAINST THE CLOCK have been updated on the site as well. It's now on Sony, Barnes & Noble, and more. Don't forget that the free PDF script is also on the site. At the moment, I have no plans to also do a paperback copy unless I can also get the script to fit.

The first book trailer is also up on YouTube and the Facebook page. It's a short one for SOLE SURVIVOR. Enjoy!

SOLE SURVIVOR Paperback Release & Other Works

Paperback cover

Just a reminder that SOLE SURVIVOR can also be ordered in paperback, not just e-book. However, the e-book edition is just $1.99 as is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, and through Smashwords in a variety of formats.


The sequel, FATAL TARGET, is in progress and should be available either in August or early fall at the latest.

For more adventures from the crew at J. Carter & Associates, check out the novella AGAINST THE CLOCK and the script version which is on my website for free. The novella is $0.99 and is available through all major e-book outlets including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. 


Hopefully, this will keep readers busy while I work on STEAL YOU AWAY (cover art coming soon!) and TRUST NO ONE.


And here's an exclusive excerpt from FATAL TARGET:

May 5^th, 2007

                “..Happy birthday to you!” sang the gathered group. There were a dozen people crowded into the small apartment’s living room. At the center of the commotion, her face flushed red from embarrassment, sat Katherine. Beside her, his crooked smile wide, sat her boyfriend and confidante.

                Candles glowed in the darkened room. She took a deep breath and blew. The flames flickered out, smoke trailing, as their friends clapped.

                “I’m gonna kill you for this,” she hissed through clenched teeth at Aidan.

                “You know you love it.”

                An ear-piercing whistle cut through the noise. “Stop making faces, Kat, and let’s cut that damn cake. I’m starving.”

                The overhead lights flipped on with a buzz. She rolled her ice blue eyes at the voice. Marc Pearson leaned against a wall, quite at home, with a beer in his hand. As usual, he wore all black, the shirt tight-fitted over well-defined muscles.

                “Just for that, you don’t get a piece.”

                He pouted. “That’s harsh.”

                “Suck it up, Pearson.”

                Katherine stood up, her legs draped in dark denim. Aidan followed her lead, a hand resting against her waist, as he guided her through the small crowd.

                In the kitchen, her cake waited, devoid of candles, with a knife. A stack of small paper plates and forks lay beside it on the countertop. Aidan took up the knife, cutting deftly through the sheet cake.

                “Which piece do you want, babe?” he asked.

                “Give me a flower.”

                He nodded, cutting out a large blue flower on a corner for her. With the birthday girl’s piece secured, he sliced a neat grid through the cake, methodically cutting pieces. Kat helped transfer the cake to plates, passing them and forks around their friends.

                Once the majority of the cake was gone, Kat took her piece. She devoured the frosted flower first, blue icing tinting her lips. She didn’t care as she munched on the moist yellow cake. Aidan leaned against the counter beside her, a narrow slice in his hands.

                “Good cake?”

                “Delicious,” she mumbled, her mouth full.

                Aidan grinned. “Happy Birthday, Katy. I love you.”

                “Love you too.”

Meet STEAL YOU AWAY's Cass and Ramsey

Sometimes, I get an idea and I just have to run with it.


Yes, FATAL TARGET should be my top priority, and it is one of them, but I've been sucked into a new work. Whether or not it'll tie into the J. Carter & Associates series remains to be seen. I'm approaching it as a standalone, but it's possible the some of the unnamed companies are linked to JCA's enemies...


What hit me first was the magnetic attraction between former enemies Cassandra Sidell and Garrett Ramsey. He's a killer in a three-piece suit and she's the attractive hotel employee who foiled a hit. Both of their lives are on the line as Ramsey is fired by his employers and hits are put on both their heads. In order to stay alive, she'll have to trust him, even though he's using her to get his old job back.


Read on for a look at STEAL YOU AWAY.

Introducing Garrett Ramsey...

            Fingers drummed the steering wheel’s leather cover.

            Damn city traffic…

            He turned up the air-conditioner again, reluctant to take off his suit jacket. He was used to the lightweight wool-blend, the matching trousers, and the vest. His silk tie, a light blue, matched the tiny pin-stripes and his eyes.

            There was no way in hell he was bowing to the pressure of the stuffy car and stripping. He was a businessman, not an animal. Besides, he was only a few miles away from his meeting. If he hoped to keep his job, he had to look the part.

            Garrett Ramsey glanced down at the car clock, scowling. He was late.

Introducing Cass Sidell...

            Each new day was an accomplishment. Every morning she woke up breathing was a win for her. Survival was the name of the game and Cassandra played to win.

            For three months she dreaded the dawning of a new day. Every new face was a potential threat to her. Every charming smile hid a lying snake in wait. Dark hair was an immediate turn-off and a warning sign. Cass knew he would be back. It was simply a matter of time until he returned.

            People like Garrett Ramsey were too evil to die.

            She glanced into the bathroom vanity, dabbing concealer on the dark circles underneath her green eyes. Her pale skin shone a ghostly white under the harsh fluorescent bulbs. She smiled at her reflection, the action automatic, but not reaching her eyes.

            Sitting on the edge of her unmade bed, Cassandra Sidell slipped her petite feet into a pair of lethal stiletto heels. Her best weapons were a pair of heels. Even a two-inch pump could slow down an attacker. She stood up, pulling down the hem of her high-waisted grey skirt.

            With her nametag pinned to her blouse, she picked up her small purse and a keycard. Her brunette curls fell down her shoulders, standing out against the cream-colored fabric as she exited the hotel room.

            The carpeted hallway dulled the sound of her heels as she strode to the elevator. Her body portrayed a confidence she did not feel. Inside, her body trembled, wanting nothing more than to pull the covers of the luxurious bed over her head.

            Cassandra had already hid in her apartment for a week. By the end of that first week, she jumped at the persistent ring of the telephone or the chime of a clock. There were too many memories crammed into the one-bedroom apartment.

            She ended her lease the following day.

            While she finalized the paperwork on her townhouse, she decided to take advantage of her work’s discounts and book a room. Plus, one couldn’t beat the commute.

            The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, as the doors slide open.

            Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the metal box, rocketing downstairs to start a new day. Another step forward. Another morning alive.

            And, hopefully, another day without Ramsey.

Fired

            The stony-faced committee of gentlemen before him wasn’t pleased with either his lateness or his current job performance. Even with his unparalleled success record, failure was not to be tolerated. Not at this level. Never before had a civilian destroyed a high-profile job.

            Not just any civilian – a twenty-something hotel employee. A female employee.

            All he’d needed from her was a keycard and cell phone. He got both, but during the return swap, she’d snagged his phone – not her own. It was a disposable phone – Garrett wasn’t stupid – but a single incriminating text was all it took for her to leap into action.

            Cassandra Sidell unwove his careful plan. Instead of his target waiting in the hotel room, it’d been her. And she beat the shit out of him.

            “Effective immediately, you’re fired, Ramsey. And thanks to your spectacular fuck-up, a long-time client left the firm. We hired you to handle delicate situations, not cause them. We have no choice but to withdraw our protection.”

            Garrett frowned. “Withdraw? What are you saying?”

            “The client is well aware of your identity. Should they decide to seek revenge, that’s their prerogative. As it is, they have put out an alert on that girl.”

            “A hit, you mean,” he corrected, his tone clipped.

            The chairman didn’t appear to notice. “You cost us upward of four million dollars in commissions alone. Not to mention having to clean up your mess. Making you disappear was not cheap.”

            “Sir, if you give me another chance—“

            “This is not up for discussion, Ramsey. The board voted. You are a liability to us, not an asset. You’re fired.”

And the games begin...

            Groggy, her mind full of cotton, she stepped into the bathroom. She ducked her head under the faucet. Ice cold water ran down the back of her neck, setting her nerve endings on fire.

            Cassandra blew her bangs out of her eyes, standing up. She faced herself in the mirror, dark-circled eyes and all, only to find her image obscured.

            Blood red lipstick covered the glass. I MAY HAVE TO STEAL YOU it screamed in bold writing. It was a man’s handwriting – all angles and straight strokes. No curves or silly dots. Plain and to the point.

            Just like the man responsible for the garish graffiti.

            Garrett Ramsey. He’d been in her room for sure this time.

            Except, there was a line through STEAL. Above it, he’d scrawled KILL. I MAY HAVE TO KILL YOU.

            She shivered, chills moving through her body.

            Her worst nightmares were about to come true and there was nothing she could do to stop him. Ramsey had the run of the hotel. He’d backed her into a corner and knew it. He was toying her, like a cat with a mouse.

Getting in the Zone

I've got two of my favorite tools right now - a hardback copy of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Character Naming Sourcebook and music. One's by my right elbow, the other piped into headphones from my laptop. The songs themselves don't matter nearly as much as the shear presence of music.

Music is my motivator. It helps me get into the zone and get writing. It increased my productivity.

Sometimes it inspires a character or a story. Most of the time, it gets me unstuck and writing.

As for the name book, it's a must when starting a new project or creating new characters. I love this particular book because it tells you the meaning of the name, variations, and where it originated. There's also some surnames listed and lists in the back of the ten most popular names for various years.

Between the two, I'm making good steady progress on another standalone romantic suspense project. Working title STEAL YOU AWAY, it's about Cassandra Sidell, a hotel employee who nearly died three months ago at the hands of refined killer Garrett Ramsey. A client of Ramsey's wants revenge for a failed job and wants both the killer and the complication, Cassandra, dead. They'll have to learn to trust each other if they want to survive the coming storm.

Sequel Challenges

Writing a sequel is intimidating. I know the characters well, sure. I've got a plot. But the actual writing is hard.

How much back story is too much? I don't want to annoy those who read the previous book or alienate new readers. This is one of a dozen problems that keeps me thinking instead of typing.

I love my recurring characters. I do. Readers love them as well.

So why is Fatal Target so hard to write?

The subject matter is tricky, of course. A beloved character is sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit - but could have easily done. This throws a wrench in his relationship.At the same time, Kat is stalked by a man pretending to be a friend, while working for an old foe of Jackson's.

There's prison breaks. Campus shootings. Trials.

And violence. Lots of violence.

The new baddie, Weiss, is evil. Sociopathic and charismatic, he is used to having his way. Betrayed by an employee and his wife, he's spent over a decade behind bars plotting his vengeance. His target is Katherine - and he has no limits when it comes to torture.

As an author, I have to draw a line. I have to figure out what to tell and what to leave off the page.

In addition to the challenge of Weiss, romance plays a greater role than before. Kat and Aidan are closer than ever after a year spent together. But there's not much time for them to be together before they're torn apart by the law.

Balance is the key. And, boy, is it hard.

But the best part about a series? I don't  have to play all my cards at once. That's right - the mystery of Kat's twin, Larissa, is not going to be taken care of right away. Maybe in book 3 or 4.

A Hop, A Skip, and A Jump...

I love working with series characters. I do. It's great to know a lot of background, history, and information about your chracters. I enjoy it. I know their childhoods, their fears, their future plans, and even the names of their children.

Because of this, I like to bounce around on the timeline and write out of order. I've probably got about a dozen different stories I've started ranging from the immediate follow-up to SOLE SURVIVOR to ten or more years in the future.

My latest proejct, in addition to polishing and revising FATAL TARGET, is a novella. The interesting part about this novella is that it takes place about 20-some years past the events of SOLE SURVIVOR in the future, where characters are older, have children, and are more secondary to the main story.

The main premise is that a young woman wakes up to find herself buried alive. Her captor is playing a game of wits with her sort-of boyfriend/childhood best friend. She has to help herself survive while he tries to unravel the riddles left by her kidnapper. The main problem is that the bad guy doesn't play fair and has rigged his game in such a way that they are sure to lose.

The hero and heroine are the children of some series favorites. In particular, one is the daughter of Katherine and Aidan, and the other is Marc's son.

It's fun to dabble in the future and to have a basic trajectory for your characters. I love all of my characters and I enjoy knowing so much about their lives. It's a bit like coming home after a long trip when I get to work with most of the crew at J. Carter & Associates. Working with their families and so on is an added perk.

I look forward to sharing more adventures in the future. For now, I'm going back to writing.

Why an e-book?

That's a question I get a lot after I announced that I was eschewing traditional print publishing for digital publishing.

I love holding a printed book in my hand. I do. I'm a regular at the library and the bookstore and new release Tuesdays are the highlight of my week. But I'm selling my work exclusively as digital editions.

Why? Simply put, I can reach a greater audience at a lower cost. I can publish books more often, make them easily available through major outlets for download, and I must sadly admit the field of publishing seems to be heading down a digital road.

The costs of producing a paper book are high. Sales are down. Publishers aren't going to make risks on new authors -- at least, not as often as ten years ago -- unless they are a sure-fire hit.

I'm not in it for the money. As much as I want to see my own novels on shelves, right now, I'm just happy that they can be read. I write for the fans and have for years.

So take a chance. Embrace the digital platform. And check out Sole Survivor, my labor of love that I started work on back in high school.