PART 1 –LINE EXPOSITORY

Okay… so in the grand scheme of things, what these vague phrases really mean, is: Create solid storytelling.

Before we jump into it, couple points to remember:

1.     Write your novel with care. In some areas show-don’t-tell CAN be implemented, fixed. But for the most part, it is part of your story and how you choose to tell that story… how you choose to execute it.  A skilled author, or good story teller, will implement exposition throughout their story, so there are no info dumps that need blending later on. This is the easiest way to work on action-over-expository, to consider it to begin with, to know exactly where you want the reader to know what.

2. Skillful story-telling isn’t just starting at Chapter 1 and finishing with the end. It’s setting up your story, and revising it when you get stuck with too much information coming out too quickly, or too much.  It’s making sure that the pacing and information leaking is in balance.  AND…

3.     All of this, times 100, when writing for teens. Teens can smell a disruption in a story a mile away, and they are not sympathetic or understanding about it. Certain things we get away with in adult fiction just don’t fly in kids (and of course vice-versa). Crafting your story expertly is expected. Action must keep moving, and if there is introspection, it needs to be about present feelings, with only light references to the past... Not full blown explanation.

4.     Given, sometimes we have to expose. There's no option: the story calls for it, or there just is no other way to get the info to the reader. But... This last resort should only come after you have crafted your story with most of your background weaved throughout. And when you find you must do this exposé, you still need to be subtle.

Let’s look at some examples of real passages compared to the same passage rewritten expositorily.

Example 1

This is in the first chapter of the Hunger Games, rewritten expositorily, rather than with action and images, and subtlety.

I wake up in our scratchy, uncomfortable bed. It’s scratchy and uncomfortable because it’s made out of hard, cheap, canvas… because we don’t have a lot of money. In fact, we have none really. I share a bed with my sister, while my mother sleeps in the other bed in the room. But my sister isn’t in bed with me this morning. Instead, I look over and see her in my mother’s bed. She must’ve gotten up during the night, and climbed in with her instead. She probably had a nightmare, she has them a lot. Mainly about something that happens yearly here, something bad called the Reaping.

Here is the original passage:

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”

Which do we like better? The original passage. Why?

·        It creates feeling, invokes senses, musters images… there’s a tactility to it.

·        It gives info quickly, but subtly… through action and observation.

Let’s have a closer look

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”

As yourself, what do you know immediately? She  doesn’t sleep alone.  How does Collins tell us this? She doesn’t say: Prim normally sleeps with me. Instead she describes the bed, in the present, without Prim there… which makes us conclude that Prim normally sleeps with her. Showing, not telling.

Next:

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”

What do you know here? She sleeps with someone she cares about. How? Katniss reaches for prim… she wants to touch her, and describes her as warm.  They cuddle, yes to keep warm… but it’s said simply, with care. She wouldn’t “seek” that which she doesn’t want, but must use for warmth.

Next:

“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”

What do we learn? The mattress sounds uncomfortable. Perhaps they were poor, unable to afford a nicer bed. How? Rough, canvas cover – sounds itchy, cheap, economical at best.

And lastly…

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”

Again, what do we know? The reaping is bad. How? Katniss casually alludes to Prim’s nightmares about it … as if they happen so often, they’ve become routine. Which leads us to think that this “reaping thing” happens regularly as well.  Also… one other thing in that last line: Here, she introduces the reaping with a very casual reference, even though it’s the first one – and the event that pretty much sparks the book. She sets us up, prepping us that it’s bad – whatever it is – so she doesn’t have to go on about the reaping from point zero later on. It’ll already be in our heads because of this quick, initial reference – and we already know it’s bad.

All that, from 4 sentences. Action can offer a lot of explanation.

Example 2

Continuing with the Hunger Games—let’s getting deeper into exposition issues that you can’t avoid, but can make a little more subtle.

“I prop myself up on one elbow. There’s enough light in the bedroom to see them. My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother’s body, their cheeks pressed together. In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down. Prim’s face is as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named. My mother was very beautiful once, too. Or so they tell me.”

So… with the simple lines:

“In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down … My mother was very beautiful once, too. Or so they tell me.”

we immediately understand that there is an issue going on that has exhausted and aged her mother to a place where she’s no longer pretty. This idea suggests not disfigurement, or simply wrinkles, but a new way her mother holds herself. Such a change means a change in environment for a long time. Like the great depression. With a handful of sentences we now know more about this world and family, in an organic and intimate way… than simply explaining could ever offer. But sadly… this use of action and observation to offer exposition can’t always be so seamless and smooth. Sometimes a little more explanation is needed

Light expose:

As she explains her movement to get ready, slight expose happens:

“Our part of District 12, nicknamed the Seam, is usually crawling with coal miners heading out to the morning shift at this hour.”

But, see, this expose is light, and still mixes with the element of showing not telling. If coal miners are scurrying off to work, what’s the major work in the town? Why are they scurrying? What does that mean the people must look like in the town, and where does Katniss then live…?

What images does this simple sentence bring up?

-         mining community

-         worried workers

-         scurrying sounds like rats – lower economy status

-         shifts of work, again lower economic status

-         and… Their area doesn’t have a town name, it’s called District 12. And the people who live in it have had to nickname it the Seam…   What does that suggest? Perhaps Community? A shout-back to older days the workers want to remember?

Speculative, sure – but I’m thinking it… we won’t all visualize the same exact thing, but it’ll be in the ballpark of what the author needs us to imagine.

Next…

Full expose:

Then finally, when full exposition is needed, and there’s no way to show, or to blend the show… What do ya do?

“Inside the woods they roam freely, and there are added concerns like venomous snakes, rabid animals, and no real paths to follow. But there’s also food if you know how to find it. My father knew and he taught me some before he was blown to bits in a mine explosion. There was nothing even to bury. I was eleven then. Five years later, I still wake up screaming for him to run.”

Katniss is speaking about her dad and their time together. Obviously, we can’t show that. She has to talk about it.  (Unless you want to venture into flashback, and that’s a whole different can of worms).  So, why does this paragraph work here? It’s expose! FOR ME, it’s because Katniss talks about it while doing something else that reminds her of the memory… thus creating a natural motivation to talk about it. Walking in the woods, reminds her of when she and her father used to walk the woods together.  I’s clever and well placed, giving us a natural path into needed background story, but not feeling like the author is filling us in on something the story needs us to know. The expose is planned there in order to almost hide itself, to not feel like exposition… It’s feels like we’re simply seeing a memory of Katniss’, rather than her explaining to us something that would be hard to show.

Are there any other ways you might think of for Katniss to get this expose out? My big answer: A lot of people would explain this from a nightmare or a dream… But I like how Collins does it.

Hit The Ground Running: Storytelling Through Action, Not Exposition Part 1

By the great Heather (Hedda) Flaherty

(This is a long one since I used her notes.)

INTRODUCTION

Okay, so, Expository.  We all kinda get what it is… it means explanation. But it has a stigma to it, that it’s bad. And it is, IF it comes too much too quickly. It’s not over-all bad—we want to get into the characters’ heads, hear what they’re thinking, gain information through what they’re seeing and experiencing—but, in moderation of course.

There are couple types of exposition in writing:

1.     Line expository—smaller expository elements where a feeling or action is explained instead of shown. Like, “Jenny was annoyed at what I said” … Instead of “Jenny rolled ­­­­her eyes and walked away.” (Thus was created the phrase “Show me, don’t tell me.” Or “Action over Expository.”)

2.     Big info dumps—when the reader is given a characters back story in one giant full sweep of a paragraph, that stops the story in its tracks and winds up boring the reader to death.

More often than not, I find writers leaning on explanation of a situation rather than simply showing us the situation through action. It’s a tough balance to get, but one that will be well worth it in the long run.  So let’s get to it.

J. Scott Savage “Four-Part Pacing”

J. Scott Savage “Four-Part Pacing”

Plotting is about WHAT happens, whereas Pacing is about WHEN something has to happen. Books are often rejected because pacing is bad. Several Pacing Strategies: The Hero’s Journey The Snowflake Method http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ar... Dan Wells’ Seven-Point Story Structure http://www.writingexcuses.com/2012/10/07...

The Big Picture What do I know? Divide story into meaningful chunks Ballpark *word count *words per chapter *number of chapters. Don’t stress how “exactly” stuff happens **Something amazing happens here

Savage figures 75000 words for a MG novel. At 1700 words per chapter, he calculates 44 chapters. He divides these into fourths. Chapters 1-11, 12-22, 23-33, 34-44

The Power of Fourths addresses what should happen in each section.

First Fourth 1) Setup with a good idea of the world. 2) “Buffy beginning” from TV show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Start story with a conflict that is NOT the main conflict. Use this conflict to pull the reader into the story. Introducing the main conflict too early can ruin the story. By the end of the first fourth, the secondary conflict will be taken over by the main conflict. 3) Planting seeds (hidden foreshadowing) Plant clues for the reader that you will use later 4) Introduce ALL main characters. (Discuss?) DON’T wait until halfway through the book to introduce a main character. Savage says THIS is the most important part. First fourth ends when the journey begins.

Second Fourth 1) Set characters on a quest—often puts them on a false path. Reader may believe the story is going to go in a certain direction, but that direction will be changed by a twist. This is often caused by a main character NOT knowing something. 2) Make sure characters are active and not reactive. Even if your character is engaged in a losing battle, the reader needs something to root for. Savage says THIS is the most important part.

Third Fourth 1) Set characters on a true quest. Character realizes her mistake and sets off on the TRUE QUEST. Core beliefs are rocked. 2) Character realizes the magnitude of the task before her. What is the worst thing that could happen to your character? 3) Internal and external dilemmas collide. (MC’s beliefs collide with what is happening to her.) 4) Build up tension for the climax. Clock is ticking BUT give payoffs. Ends when car chase starts. Savage says THIS is the most important part.

 Fourth Fourth 1) Begins with major revelation. Something happens that makes everything clear. Stakes are high. No one can put the book down! 2) False success—Make the reader think she’s figured it out 3) “All is lost” Scenario is POWERFUL  4) Exciting climax with big payoff as multiple storylines collide 5) May also tell lessons learned/what is the takeaway Savage says THIS is the most important part.

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ar...

Looks like that's as good as it gets. However if you click the links you do go to the pages

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ar...http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ar...

http://www.writingexcuses.com/2012/10/07...http://www.writingexcuses.com/2012/10/07...

Push Her Off the Roof: Escalating the Stakes

Melanie started out with having us draw a picture of our character. Then give the character what he or she wants.

We actually drew pictures.

Then we hurt our character and drew why we did it. Then discussed the feelings that came after.

All of this was to make sure we gave our character a big enough goal or conflict that changed them. And basically rip the rug out from under them, but with a good reason. So she talked about how to engage the reader in the character's plight. The reader will employ empathy while they're reading.

Painting a sad picture first and then giving them something happy releases the dopamine. Happiness after the pain registers strongly with the reader as though they're experiencing it.

Small hurts are bumps, bruises, etc. or inconveniences. Bigger hurts will move the story along but they don't change the arc of the novel. Transformational hurts make profound changes to the character permanently and change the story. i.e. A football player is so injured that he can't ever play ever again. He's paralyzed.

A guy's hand is cut off by the queen and he can't do his occupation anymore. She begins to regret her actions and changes. He changes as well and grows into the person he now is. (by the end of the story.) There are multiple types of hurt to employ in your story. Physical, emotional and sense of justice.

In every culture there is a sense of fair and what is not; and a deep sense of justice arises. Small can be name calling and that equals emotional hurt. Bigger level might be a break up. Also emotional hurt, but bigger. Transformational emotional hurt might be a divorce.

Physical transformation is loss of limb, cancer, brain injury. Complications have to MATTER

Does the reader want to get riled up with a sense of injustice? Is this a good way to engage the reader? Give characters something to love, relatable goals, and a powerful want

I think if you take the reader on the journey, then yes, have them care about the injustice and want it remedied. I think injustice is a great one. Like Scrooge brushing off Tiny Tim

I would write it so differently if I'm trying to build up a sense of injustice in the reader, than if I'm trying to engender sympathy from the reader. 

Fast Drafting: Boost Your Productivity Overnight

Writing 10,000 words a day. You can get to a point where you can out pace what you are doing.

Technique - How I went from 2,000 words a day to 10,000 words a day. Pick what works for you.  Know what you are going to write before you write it is number one.  If a scene goes sketchy or sideways you can cross it out. Dedicated five minutes of what I'm going to write today.  Three to five words snippets and go back and add to it. One five minute pre-write goes to whole scene. A whole scene equals on chapter.

Use note cards or write it down on a page.

When you have finished the full day just write a free sentence that you can do going forward. Start in drafting mode and don't change over to editing mode.

Have no internet access for writing time.

QQQ research for metaphors.  Use a searchable - replaceable.

Writing sprints

Loser has to post a funny joke or a picture of someone for the internet.

On Twitter #1k1hr

Word war.

I write network

Writing strategies.

Turn off the internet.

Hard to achieve a state of mind in flow with drafting to flow with editing. Just write and wait to go back to fix it later. Writing a short verse. Two hours that have to be filed with words. I just find thirty minutes or just find fifteen.  Most of the time you will find that you can do more.

Online critique groups can help you have more to show all the time.

It takes time to find the right one.

Don't be specific about how you write. It is all untrue that you have to have a specific time and space. Don't be precious about you process.

Research: What's the point?

Write what you know.  A soccer game, taking a splinter out. Usually boring.

Make a story rich as you take them on a journey. Any time I read something I need to provide the details. Details give an authenticity to a book. Accurate details instill trust in your books.  When you get it wrong you can suspend your beliefs.  Here is a compilation of resources. If used correctly, details can add depth to your story.

Chicago down by Lake Michigan has  super fierce grandmas, with glasses, red lips, and wear black.

If you go to Georgia they serve the kids first.  Here let's take care of the kids. Even at ward parties. An interesting tidbit of information.

What do people take for grant it? Is there a war that she takes for grant it.

Journal of 1812, add it had no comments to the war. It had been going on for so long she took it for grant it.

Natives are the first generation born to Australia.

What do people talk about and how do enunciate? Make sure it is appropriate to the time period. Did a word exist? Some characters use bad language? Even naughty words that are used.  Swear words are different.  It is regional.

1811 dictionary is authentic.

Calves are born in the winter of February, not spring.

Know jobs and hobbies.

Knowing a job as in a glass blower. Make it authentic.

Falconer talks to falconers.

Bee keepers need to talk to bee keepers.

Yard sales are not what they have in Minnesota. They have tag sales on Wednesdays. Culture is important.

 Idaho has a rodeo is important. She queened with me. What do they celebrate and how.

Oakley has a giant boom on the morning of July 4th which is dynamite.

Texas has a huge homecoming month.

Rumors play a nice place in a novel, Kay's Creek Crossing -- a haunted tree.

No uniforms in the early period of jails.

Clothing is important. Historical or science fiction. Regency novel pair of dirty britches or missing jacket is probably poor.  Right clothes for right time period.

Medieval Underwear and other  such things.

Greek Orthodox Church doesn't sit down. The priest sings  and chants the whole time. What does your character worship? Are they the only person that believes this way? How does it effect his life?

Boston streets are narrow. No one has a garage.

Fireflies are cool.

The air is filled with spices for South Africa.

There is that book that has too much setting.  It can take you out of the story.

Almanacs are super cool to find setting.

Writer friends that travel.

Maps are a great place for diagrams.

Don't be afraid to ask medical experts.

Teachers know a lot and what they don't know they know where to look.

Ask waiters with foreign accents.

People love to answer questions about themselves.

Document and save the stuff I've researched. So that you can defend your work.

Just to relax.

Happy Halloween

Boiled Bananas for bed?

Boil Bananas Before Bed And Drink The Liquid To Get Some Of The Best Sleep Of Your Life

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Experts say that the average adult needs between 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep each night. And you know what? I try my darndest to get all of that sleep in because sleep is incredibly important for both physical and mental health. Sleep is when our brain processes and organizes information, forming new memories. Sleep is when our body repairs muscles and releases hormones to regulate growth. Sleep is when I’m relaxing in my super comfy bed with fancy high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Sleep is awesome. But despite all of this, I don’t always get my 7.5 to 8 hours of peaceful rest. And in many instances, it wasn’t because I didn’t give myself enough time.

You see, I’m not one of those people that can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Instead, I’m one of those people that toss and turn, and flip their pillow over and over, sometimes even agonizing when I’ll finally fall asleep. And on top of that, I’ll sometimes wake up all groggy in the middle of the night. Why? I have no idea.

I’ve tried a number of different tips and tricks to get myself to fall asleep quickly, and to get better quality sleep, but they’ve been hit and miss. One of the more obvious “solutions” was sleeping pills but they are hardly a permanent solution. Sleeping pills can have negative side effects you can become dependent on them, developing serious withdrawal symptoms once you stop taking them. Not good at all. So what to do? Well, let’s see what Mother Nature has for us…

Introducing banana tea! Banana tea is all-natural, inexpensive, easy to make and totally delicious. Bananas are high in magnesium and potassium, and this duo can do wonders for helping your body relax so that you can get the sleep that you need.

Ingredients

• 1 organic banana (you’ll be using the peel so make sure it’s free of chemicals and pesticides)
• pot of water
• dash of cinnamon

Instructions

1. bring pot of water to a boil
2. cut the ends off of the banana and peel it
3. place the banana and the peel in boiling water and leave it for about 10 minutes
4. strain the liquid through a colander and pour it into a mug
5. add the cinnamon
6. drink your banana tea before going to sleep!

Banana tea is a fantastic all-natural way to help you deal with your sleeping issues. Let us know if you give it a try and don’t forget to share this with your family and friends!

Read more at http://www.metaspoon.com/bananas-boil-sleeping-effect/?cat=exerheal#yiUykPIkV1OFotXS.99

Okay, I tried this. Night one I did sleep until 4:30 when I got up to make a potty trip. Then I was awake for an hour!
Night Two. I went to sleep much earlier than usual, before 10:00 pm but I was awakened at 11:45 pm with the need to go potty and stayed awake until after 2 am. Going to sleep was tough. I did do things a little different on this night. I pureed all of the drink after removing the skins. Tough to get it all down.

Un)realistic dialogue by Aprilynne Pike

As my second attempt to write down what I learned or relearned as the case may be.

If you can't recognize good dialogue when you hear it, it is hard to teach it. If you can tell when the dialogue is bad, you can learn to make it better.

Dialogue should be a text scene. Should have a balance of body language and little or few tags. Cut out about 2/3s of your realistic dialogue.

Your characters should be wittier, smarter, braver,etc. than your are on your best days. Cherry pick the best parts. Get it down to the very basics. I hate phone conversations and she avoids them whenever possible. Cut out all the unnecessary. Delete the hellos and the goodbyes. Try to cut out the interruption that we all do. Avoid that. Trust the reader to recognize the name. Delete all the bodily noises and nodding, etc.

Secondly your dialogue should be like a text TV show. TV show is gonna build the readers reportage with the character. Screenwriters don't have wasted dialogue or a wasted purpose.

She loves Gilmore Girls because it is so snappy. Everyone is smart and well-spoken. Avoid dialect, stuttering and excessive ahs or verbal ticks. Because they can be offensive. If you do it limit it to three lines.

You should have enough hints in your pros to show a reader how a character should sound. When you write dialogue you should have a lot of white space. Especially if it is supposed to be witty.

Speech tags are not needed. Use said, it is invisible. Try to use it whenever necessary. She likes the word hiss. If you can get away without speech tags, then do it. The most difficult conversation to write is a three way within the same gender.

A line of body language should replace a line of dialogue. Or a line about the character.
Read the dialogue out loud. Then maybe add something in. Best dialogue is better when it is written as it takes up lots of white space.

Latest News

My latest news is that my new novel,Halfback Hero will be released on November 1st. Reserve your copy now!

Feedback

You can enter your feedback for the question here. As in which cover do you prefer and why?

Oh heck, I can't get these two lined up so you can see them side-by-side. I guess I'll settle for one on top of the other! But you don't have to! Oh, and if you like the second one would you like it better if she had a sleeve on her shirt?

Elevator Pitch by Heidi Taylor

In an effort to put the classes I attended at the 2016 ANWA conference down on the proverbial written page.

What is an elevator pitch? Basically it is - What is your book about? It is a promise that your book will deliver on. Short and concise. Born on Sixth Avenue back in the day before social media when writers watched and waited for an editor to go to lunch and then rode the elevator to their floor with them. It is not a synopsis, as a synopsis tells everything - back cover copy.

An Elevator pitch is very formulaic.

 1) Who is your hero?

2) What is his or her goal? What is he/she trying to accomplish?

3) What is keeping him/her from accomplishing that goal?

4) What is at stake?

Difference between an elevator pitch and a synopisis. Synopsis tells more. It is back cover copy. Tells the reader a little bit more. So for an example we will do Star Wars- back to the first one, I think it is referred to as Number 4.

1) Who is the hero? Luke Skywalker

2) What is his goal?What is he trying to accomplish? Get the droids back to the princess.

3) What is keeping him from accomplishing his goal? Darth Vader wants the driods.

4) What is at stake? The rebel army will fall.

That is it in a nutshell. Present it in two or three sentences and go.

Tell me more. Is what the editor says.

Don't get stuck in the minutia.

Synopsis is something you can use in your query letter.

ANWA Conference

May I just say that this last weekend was amazing! I attended the ANWA Conference in Tempe Arizona and loved, loved, loved it! For those of you who know me, I'm not an overly retentive type but can I just say that if you are LDS, and have an inkling of writing, you need to join this group. Let me just say that it was announced this weekend that men can now join ANWA. How great is that?
For years I have had to say to the gentlemen in my life, "Umm... I'm sorry but no, you can't join." but now I can say yes, yes, yes. Let's see who do you contact? Debi Eaton, or Nan Marie Swapp on Facebook and pay $8.00 for the remainder of this year and $24.00 for next. They will help you find a chapter and off you go with a critique group.
I can't tell you how phenomenal these groups are. I know I joined and soon became a producing author. No my books aren't killing the market place , but I think that is going to change with the little big changes I make from the Guerrilla Marketing class I attended this weekend. Yes, I think things are going to change for me.
One note: I need to change my writing direction temporarily to write a short a bout PTSD. That will be a chore for me as I have walked away from that world temporarily. If you have a PTSD story, that isn't necessarily a war story, send it to me here.

Newsletter

Sent out my first newsletter last night. If you didn't get one please let me know and sign up for one by downloading my Free book. I included a tidbit from my new novel Halfback Hero.
On the home front, all is well, my youngest registered for school this morning. Whew! Is he really a Junior? Yep, he is. And the range is due to come later this morning. Boy I thought I would never be so happy to have a thing (which will include many hours of heat/work) back in my life. They took the old one last week and we have been 'salading' it for days. Hum, I wonder what I will cook first?
'Til nest time--enjoy your electronics even the big ones in the kitchen!

Update Halfback Hero

Ah, that is done with another critique on the horizon...let's see as to a snippet...

The only answer to this dilemma and any future ones would be shooting her dad. Evie couldn’t do it any more than she could run from the life around her. Dad had his own ideas of how to run her life and he’d been semi-successful doing it for twenty-three years. In all honesty his manipulating help had proved welcome since high school but not this evening, aside from his invitation to dinner. When the doorbell rang, Dad continued his phone conversation and Mom had her hands full with preparing food, leaving her to play the part of hostess, or at the very least, door-woman.

Evie sighed in resignation and answered the door. Evie’s heart jumped to her throat before plummeting at death-defying speed to the pit of her stomach. Justin Lyman, a solid mass of molded muscle, more alluring than he had been in high school, stood on the other side of the screen door. Frozen legs preempted her thought for flight, possibly compounded by the knowledge of him being the fastest runner in town, especially when dodging a linebacker intent on bringing him to the ground. Yes, shooting Dad with the shotgun seemed the easier choice.

Justin Lyman. Her older brother’s long time friend, football persona who’d played for the Raiders at one time—and her major heart throb stood on her doorstep instead of letting himself in as he had numberless times. On more than one occasion he’d found her dashing from one room of the house to another in nothing more than a bath towel. He no longer wore his ‘Indiana Jones’ hat, the one she could identify through the rear window of a pickup, which she’d often imagined fleeing the scene anytime she arrived on site. Of course if he remained nearby in those days, she had the arduous task of pasting a smile on her lips through the torture of his teasing—not the flirting kind but the ‘painful to a young adolescent in love’, kind. Instead of the worn hat, he wore his recently trimmed brown locks to go with his scruff of a beard. His shoulders had broadened somewhat and his chest and back had thickened, still boasting perfection for any female to cry on. She sucked at the air and caught a whiff of his cologne, strong in a sexy and musky way. Her knees threatened to quiver. Damn, why couldn’t they remain frozen?

Hope you enjoyed it! stay tuned for an update on when it will be released!

Update

Oh, I am so proud to say this: I am currently finishing up a critique of my next novel, Halfback Hero. Sadly, I have shopped this one around with no takers so it is up to me to self-publish yet another of my works. I feel it is better by far than my Live, Love, Repeat novels. and I'll give you a snippet of it here (not with this post, sadly). but it is time for me to go shopping for a photo or photos that I want on the cover. Hummm, I'm wondering if I can find a football player... Help?

Update

My third installment, His Choice, of Live, Love, Repeat is released today. I'm so glad to have all three finally available.

Big News

On the list of more big news is that my second book in the series Love, Live, Repeat is out, In Her Hands.