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
