Friday, December 26, 2014

Remember Me Book Update

Remember Me by Chantilly White
Christmas and the holidays are so crazy busy, but I’m diligently working on Remember Me in hopes of having it out before the end of the year. (Even if that means 11:59 PM on New Year’s Eve!) If things go awry, however, rest assured it will be out shortly after the first of the year.
As often happens with my writing, what was supposed to be a short story (15,000 words max) has turned into a long-ish novella that will probably come in around 35,000 words once it’s totally polished, so a bit more than double my original projections.
Yes, for those of you who remember, I have promised to stop trying to predict word counts and publication dates, because I am notoriously bad at both, but I’d already put a word count number on this story way back when I first started working on it, so this isn’t really a new count. Just an update! That’s my story, anyway, and I’m stickin’ to it.
Remember Me will be my first published paranormal romance, although I have several other novels in this genre under the bed awaiting their turn at revision and polishing. I don’t want to give too much away, so suffice to say it’s a bit of a ghost-y/reincarnation-y type tale with romantic elements rather than a true romance. You’ll see! And hopefully you love it.
I’ve had a lot of fun with these characters and am very glad they will finally see the light of day after being shoved aside by writing Snow Angel and a few other things. They deserve their Happily-Ever-After, after all.
Here’s a little teaser from Chapter Three:
It wasn’t such a big deal, really, to be trapped for a few days on an idyllic country farm. The lack of amenities notwithstanding, it was guaranteed to be quiet and restful. If he couldn’t reach anyone else, well, no one could reach him, either. He was cut off from urgent emails, problematic phone calls, unreasonable requests. For the next forty-eight hours, if Sam never showed, he’d be free.
And the innkeeper—farm girl?—had definite possibilities.
He’d have to make her pay first, of course, for her part in Sam’s scheme. Penalties before pleasure. Since his mind ran to tickle torture rather than genuine punishment, he didn’t think she’d complain too loudly.
An image of her lushly curved body convulsed in helpless laughter while his big hands ran all over her silken skin, seeking out her most sensitive spots, brought a smile to his face.
Yes, definite possibilities.
She’d have to go back to her own bed before he settled in for the night—no way could he risk sharing a bed with anyone on Halloween, not with his history—but that still left plenty of hours for adult recreation before he’d have to scoot her along.
In the meantime…
Flipping onto his back, Nathan floated for a while, his eyes scanning the trees and the few low-scudding, brilliantly white clouds.
When his gaze tracked back to the house, he thought he saw the lacy curtains in his room fall closed, as though they’d been held open by a slender hand a moment before. Then the kicky breeze shifted them again. Maybe he’d been mistaken.
Time to wash up and get on with it.
Having finally drunk his fill of the fresh, clear water, Nathan’s brain felt a little more grounded than it had the past several hours, less like he was lifting out of himself or on the verge of some sort of psychotic break.
Thank God.
He knifed through the pond to its edge to grab the soap and washcloth from the rock and lathered himself thoroughly, including his hair. The bar smelled like the woman—honeysuckle, spice, and warmth. Not a masculine scent, but he could live with it for the duration of his stay.
Rinsing, he hauled himself up onto the rock to dry off. Patting the towel across his back, he inspected it for blood, but the shallow abrasions from his earlier tumble seemed to have closed over.
Nathan hooked the towel around his hips and stepped into his ruined shoes to prevent tracking muddy prints into the house, his mother’s admonishing voice echoing in his ears.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you,” he mumbled as he shuffled toward the porch.
Not wanting to clomp up the stairs in them, he left the shoes outside the front door, calling out a cautious greeting as he crossed the threshold. No one answered, so he shrugged and stepped forward, intending to head straight to his room.
But instead of walking into the short hallway backed by its narrow staircase, his feet landed him in the midst of a nightmare.
Hope you enjoyed your sneaky peek! Remember Me will be available soon, but in the meantime, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
Love,
Chantilly

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