“You want a partner? My twenty thousand, my equipment, my horses, and my indoor riding arena.”
She heard Alex suck in his breath. It was such an illogical proposition that she didn’t think he’d go for it in a million years. After all, what did they have together? An unhappy past, and a rocky, although passionate reunion? How did that constitute a solid foundation for what she suggested? She didn’t dare look at him. Most likely he looked shocked. Or disgusted. Or just really amused.
“We’re just talking a business partnership here, right?” he asked.
Something in his voice, a seductive, suggestive tone caused her to finally turn her eyes to him. He looked down at her, the slightest smile on his lips. So he wasn’t mad or offended. Instead of laughter, he gave her a look that sucked her in, caressed her heart.
“Of course just business. We barely know each other.” She tried to sound outraged, but fell short of her mark.
Alex chuckled. “Well, I think it’s a little late to be worrying about things like that, princess. We seem to have passed the spot where we can keep it on an impersonal level.”
Torie stood abruptly. She needed to get away from him. Needed to think with a clear head, and having him sit so close she could smell his subtle cologne unnerved her.
“Come on, Alex,” she pleaded. “Just tell me if this is something you’d be interested in. If you’re not, just say it and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I think your idea has a lot of merit. From a financial standpoint, it makes good sense. I’d save a great deal of money if we could move your arena. Wouldn’t have to buy more stock. I have four good horses out in South Dakota I plan to bring east, and with yours, we could have a good sta-ble and still have room for boarders. My partnership with the ranch has worked out just fine, but, of course, there’s one burning question. Who’d get the house?”
Torie looked up at the dark bulk of the Cape Cod glowing in the moonlight. Such a warm house. One that could provide a good, happy life.
“I’ll take the apartment over the barn,” she conceded. It would be worth it. Anything would be worth it to get out of the fix her mother had thrown her into.
“I’ll agree to this only if you explain to me why? My thinking is that with your father’s death, he’ll leave you enough to buy another place outright. I know you love Avalon, but why bother with a partnership?”
Torie came back and sat on the edge of the deck.
“Long story short, he’s not leaving me anything. I don’t want to go into details, Alex. But what I’m offering here is everything I have in the world.”
Well, didn't much done last night. The power kept going off and my husband was sent home from work because of it. It was an action packed night though, fire department being sent everywhere, accidents all over the place. And it wasn't even snowing! It was a nice clear night. Don't know what was going on.
So I only got some editing done. Oh well, there's always next week
I'm sad that there's only 2 days left of this contest. I'm having fun! Thanks so much to everyone who's concerned about my arm. I really appreciate it! I'm sure it'll be better soon. Today's excerpt is from Sweet Forever
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Excitement ran through Ben as he waited for Hayden to collect her things. It was a double-edged sword, though. The reason for Hayden coming to stay with him was less than pleasant. He wanted Lu to be her old, spunky self. He was afraid that these episodes with her heart were becoming too frequent. He wouldn’t enjoy the other downfall, having Sally under his roof, either. The woman was as obvious and persistent as a horsefly. And as annoying.
What a difference between her and Hayden.
He looked forward to seeing Hayden every day. Just the thought of having her at the breakfast table every morning, looking at him with those russet brown eyes and the shy smile that made him want more.
How the hell was he going to be able to concentrate on the guests who’d start arriving on Friday with Hayden distracting him?
"I’m ready."
Hayden stood by the door, bag in hand and two blank canvases tucked under each arm. Her dark brown hair caught glints of sunlight that flooded in past the sheer curtains. The rays enveloped her body in some kind of ethereal glow. And for the first time in his life, Ben was star-struck by a woman. He realized that he was already half in love with her, and if she gave him the chance he’d fall the rest of the way.
Without much more than the need to be near her in his head, Ben closed the distance between them, took the canvases and bag from her, set them gently to the ground and took her face between his hands.
Before he lowered his mouth to hers, he let his fingertips slide over the smooth skin of her cheeks, pushing aside a lock of hair that curled over his thumb. He touched her lips tentatively, to find out if she’d pull away. But she didn’t. She didn’t lean into his kiss either, but she let his mouth touch hers in a feather light caress. Her sigh couldn’t be disguised though and he let the tiny gesture embolden him. He let one hand drift into her soft hair, sinking his fingers into the tangle of curls. His mouth pushed more insistently on hers, inviting her to be a participant in this kiss. The heat of the contact spread from his lips downward until his whole body felt like it was on fire. He was certain she could hear his heart pounding.
His hands dropped away from her head and glided down over her shoulders and her back, one finding a resting place on her hips and the other remaining on the small of her back. He pulled her closer so her body snuggled in against his. She was a perfect fit.
Against his shirt, he could feel the pressure of her arms snaking around his waist, and he smiled against her mouth. Her embrace was a good sign, a very good sign. He wanted to taste her, to know every inch of her. His desire for her reached an alarming peak. Made more alarming by the urgency that she seemed to be returning the kiss. No longer shy or testing, Hayden pressed herself closer to him, her hands climbing up his back to his shoulders and into his hair, pushing his Stetson askew until it finally tipped off his head and fell to the floor.
Everything inside him, from the hard beat of his heart against his chest and the rush of blood through his veins, centered around her. Her kiss sent the pit of his stomach into a wild swirl, akin to a roller coaster, and the unexpected sensation drove him on. The velvety softness of her tongue stroked against his and he greeted it hungrily, tasting the sweetness of her mouth.
Without any warning, Hayden ducked away from him, the palms of her hands going up against his chest and pushing him back.
"No, what are we doing?" she asked faintly, putting a finger against her lips. She looked past him out the window. "We can’t do this. It’s not right."
Ben wanted to take her back into his arms, if for nothing else than just to comfort her, make her see that it was all right. But that move wouldn’t be productive. Not yet.
"Why isn’t it right? What in the world has got you scared about what’s going on between us? You can’t blame the moonlight this time, Hayden."
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QUESTION: What is Ben not looking forward to about this upcoming stay at his ranch? Actually, I'll accept one of two answers to this one.
************************************************ I've been busy busy busy with edits for Dreamer's Sea but when I can I've been writing a sequel to Sweet Forever and I'm loving it. It'll be my next major project after DS is finished. I'm trying to write it as a stand-alone book so one doesn't have to read Sweet Forever first (but it'll help). It feels good to get back to having horses in my stories. There was a time when all my stories had horses. I diverted from that path with Where One Road Leads and my current manuscript, Dreamer's Sea. Okay, it's getting late and I have to think about getting ready for work. Everyone enjoy the day! I'm looking forward to all the responses!
Well, I have my desk top back but my arm still hurts. Thanks for all the notes of concern. I appreciate it. I know I have to rest, but its so hard to do that when I have a 104k manuscript to edit.
Anyway, onto the important stuff. Got lots of responses over the past two days for the questions. It's fabulous! Thanks all! I hope you're enjoying the excerpts!
Today's excerpt is from my third book Where One Road Leads which is currently available in e-book format from Samhain Publishing. It'll be available in print in late May (and we'll have another contest then :D).
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He pulled his cruiser into the short dirt drive at the Fayes’ white farmhouse and got out. For a moment he took it in, the overgrown lawn and hedges that hadn’t been trimmed in ages, probably since before Mrs. Faye had begun to lose her battle with cancer. The place looked nearly lifeless.
A Jeep Wrangler was parked next to the garage. The vehicle was scarred and dented. A haze of dust and a spattering of dry mud diminished its silver-blue paint. Its abused exterior made him wonder where life had taken Krista after that fateful night. She’d done a stint in the Women’s State Prison, but after that, he had no clue. He’d never cared. But now he wanted to know. The wanting pressed at his head like a nagging ache. Once satisfied, he planned on going back to not caring.
More important than finding out where she’d been for the past fifteen years, though, he wanted to know when she was leaving.
A big dog trotted out from behind the house, his thick black and tan tail whipping back and forth and his tongue lopping out of the corner of his mouth. Matt could’ve sworn the dog was grinning. The animal gave a throaty, deep woof that wasn’t one bit threatening.
"Gus, get back here. I’m sorry, I know he should be on a tie-out but—"
The woman stopped short, her mouth open as the rest of her sentence remained unsaid.
It was as if the whole world had fallen silent. Matt glared at Krista as she struggled to regain her composure, shutting her mouth tightly so it formed a thin line.
He looked her up and down, assessing her physical condition. She looked healthy anyway. Most of her figure was lost in the baggy green T-shirt that fell down to her hips. The lower portion of her body was clothed in faded blue jeans. She wore her baseball hat backwards, giving him a clear view of her face. No make-up, just a fair complexion with a smattering of light freckles across her nose. Her eyes were bluer than he’d remembered, but then he hadn’t been the one gazing into them fifteen years ago.
The only thing that marred her pretty face was the scar that ran up from the left corner of her lip to her cheekbone before arcing down toward her ear and the other one that began directly between her dark golden blonde brows and disappeared into her hairline. These weren’t thin lines. No, the accident had taken its toll on her as well.
But it had left her alive. He wished he could say the same about Eddie or Liz or the out-of-towner from Rhode Island who was an unfortunate passenger in the second car.
"Matt," she acknowledged through a tense jaw.
"Krista." He was going to say she looked well, but he didn’t want to start making polite small talk with her. Best to get right to the heart of the matter. "How long are you here for?"
Krista laughed shortly and shook her head. "Well, if I was expecting a warm welcome in this town, I guess I would’ve been disappointed. Glad I’m more of a realist." There was a smile on her face but it was as frigid as her tone of voice.
"Small towns remember things for a long time. Some things we never forget," he replied as coldly.
The trace of a cynical smile on her lips disappeared. "Neither do I," she replied evenly. "Sorry to disappoint you, Matt, but I’ll be here for a while. I’ll try to stay out of your way while I’m around."
With a grip on her dog’s collar, Krista turned and walked toward the back of the house without so much as a goodbye.
For a long moment, Matt stayed put, staring in the direction they’d gone, not sure if he was more angry at the confrontation or puzzled. He settled for both.
The last time he and Krista had words, she’d been in tears, begging for him to believe her, that it wasn’t just her fault. She’d been a scared, hurt girl, the damage to her body fresh, and he hadn’t cared a bit for her because she had been the one behind the wheel. She had taken away three lives, one of which was his own flesh and blood.
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QUESTION: How long has Krista been gone?
Email your answers to cerihebert@comcast.net for your chance to win a free signed copy of Sweet Forever which is NOW AVAILABLE from Samhain Publishing!
Thanks! Tomorrow will be another excerpt from Sweet Forever and another chance to win!
THE GOOD: Yesterday was a great day for the contest. Lots of entries! Thanks to everyone who played! I hope you'll visit back all week. Leave a comment if you'd like. I love doing stuff like this!
THE BAD: A) I visited the doctor yesterday and I have tendonitis in my right arm. Greeeaaattt. What every author (who happens to work full time as a data entry clerk) wants to hear. So I'm on meds to see if that'll stop it. AND then I got home and my desk top decided not to let me onto the internet. My DH checked it out briefly, ran a virus scan and has no idea what happened. I hope there's a way to fix it, even if it means scrubbing it out and starting from scratch with it. So I'm on my laptop now.
Todays excerpt is going to be from Finally Home which is currently available from Whiskey Creek Press in both print and e-book format.
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When she was younger, Torie had never felt comfortable in the master suite. Whether it was because her father shared it, or she feared knocking one of the priceless statues down, she didn’t know. Even today she tucked her arms in tight to her sides and held her breath.
Her mother, dressed in an ivory silk robe, sat at her large mahogany Edwardian desk, gold pen in hand. The graceful and elegant Lillian Barron had returned. Even the dark circles under her eyes, like shadows against her pale skin, looked regal. Someone had done her hair. A diamond-and-ruby hair comb winked in the soft light. Her mother wore tragedy well.
The woman looked up as Torie approached, a frown marring an otherwise perfect face.
"I’ve been wondering where you’ve been." Her eyes still had a flash to them, the same emotion Torie had seen the night before. Cold and accusing. Not one ounce of forgiveness for the previous night’s supposed transgression.
"I’m sorry. I needed to go out and clear my head," Torie whispered, knowing a powerful storm brewed behind her mother’s calm façade.
"Oh, and were you out ‘clearing your head’ with that man you were with last night? What’s his name? Alex Carmichael?"
Blood rushed to Torie’s face. She beat away the anger that built in her chest. How in the world did she know about that? She remained silent, afraid she might say something she’d regret.
"So, apparently I’m right, or you’d deny it." Lillian’s voice rose several degrees. "Oh, Victoria, how could you?"
"How could I what, Mother? Talk to a man?" Torie shrugged her shoulders, trying to appear indifferent, when inside she shook with indignation. She knew, just by the way her mother scrutinized her, she knew a whole lot more than she was letting on.
"Don’t try that with me, young lady," her mother snapped. "I got a phone call this morning from Helen Worthington. She and her husband were at the club last night. Driving home, they saw two people at the side of the road going at it like animals. Was this how I raised you to behave? I cannot tell you how humiliating your behavior is. And after what he did to Gabriella Marino. He should be in jail."
"Mother, you don’t know what you’re saying," said Torie. Even she knew quite well, when her mother got on this kind of rant, nothing would soothe her. And there was no way in hell she’d believe the truth about Alex.
"Don’t I?" Her voice raised another octave. "He’s no better than a rapist, Victoria. A good-for-nothing who took advantage of a young girl so he could get ahead and get her family’s money. He should thank his lucky stars Frank Marino didn’t press charges. I just want to weep to think he’s trying to wheedle his way into this family."
Lillian’s tirade threatened to take on the proportions of a major storm. Torie tried to put it down to the fact she was understandably overwrought over her loss, and that Torie was the most convenient outlet. Arguing the point that her mother was just plain wrong would be futile. So Torie stayed silent, and like a twelve-year-old, took the scolding.
"Things are going to change around here, Victoria. You’ll not have anymore to do with that man." She pounded her fist on the desk. "Absolutely nothing."
"Mother, you’re wrong about Alex. Gabriella and her father are full of hot air. The only thing he’s guilty of is trusting the wrong people. I’m a grown woman and quite capable of choosing my own friends."
"Things will change here," Lillian repeated, her voice dead calm. "I will not have someone like that sniffing around my daughter or my money. You will not have any contact with him from this moment on. You will go change your clothes and go downstairs, and you will treat Kendall with the respect he deserves to make up for your disgraceful behavior last night."
Torie mustered up every ounce of courage she could find. "No. You won’t order me around like I’m a child. I can’t help what other people say about Alex, but I know him better than that. So far, he’s shown more character than Kendall."
Lillian stood and blazed across the carpet to her, her blue eyes flaring with anger. "How long have you been seeing him, Victoria? A week? Less? Certainly a pitifully short amount of time to be throwing yourself at him like a common whore."
Torie’s hand flew out, landing straight and hard against her mother’s cheek. Both gasped in unison. Lillian touched her cheek, which fast turned pink, her eyes wide with disbelief.
BIG WEEK!! SWEET FORVER IS AVAILABLE IN PRINT AT SAMHAIN PUBLISHING AND ALL SORTS OF PLACES LIKE AMAZON.COM, BORDERS AND BARNES AND NOBLE TOMORROW, FEBRUARY 26TH!!! So, in honor of it's big premiere, I'm holding a contest for a FREE SIGNED COPY of Sweet Forever. Each day this week I'll post an excerpt from one of my books and then I'll ask a question. Email the answer to cerihebert@comcast.net and all correct answers will be entered into the drawing Friday evening. So, in honor of Sweet Forever, my first excerpt will come from this book.
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EXCERPT: Hayden lowered her head and pushed on, steeling her nerves against the threat of the storm. She kept her eyes on the toes of her shoes, finding it better not to look at the sky. The heat that saturated the air around her competed with the anger and frustration that burned like dry kindling inside her head.
“Nothing like this would happen in Clarksport,” she muttered under her breath, thinking of her tranquil hometown on the Maine coast. Reluctantly she picked up the pace and headed toward the Winslow’s place. Maybe the lazy horse had stopped for a snack along the way and would let her catch up.
Low clouds perched along the edge of the horizon. The air shifted, like the whole world had gathered itself up, took one deep breath, and waited to exhale. The sky bore down on the earth with pressure that Hayden could feel all over her skin. Though she’d been in South Dakota for about a month, she knew what those clouds would bring. As if confirming her fears, a light danced across the bottom of the thunderheads.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the sky fluctuated from varying shades of gray to a greenish color that reminded her of the skin tone of someone who didn’t take to a boat ride out on the bay. And here she was, walking as fast as she could toward the oncoming storm. But that was the direction the old horse had taken, and that was the direction of Forever Ranch, her nearest shelter.
The beat of what could either be a horse or a fast cow pulled her attention away from the angry sky. Hayden jerked her head up, expecting to see Bugs heading back toward her, maybe scared by the oncoming storm.
Instead, it was a man on a brown and white horse, taking the bend in the path ahead like hell was fast on their heels.
Hayden pitched herself off the narrow trail to avoid a certain collision. Her feet betrayed her, and she stumbled into a thick clump of grass. Her balance disappeared and the only thing to save her from landing on her rear was a prickly bush. Before she hit it, Ben Winslow pulled the big horse up within two feet of her. Deadly looking hooves kicked up dozens of tiny stones, several slapping her denim-clad legs.
Since arriving in South Dakota, Hayden had seen Ben on more than a few occasions, either in town or when he paid visits to her grandmother at Sweet Prairie. No woman in the world could ignore his powder blue eyes that danced as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His smile came in a close second, honest and wide, setting off dimples that were a strange mix of boy-next-door and drop dead sexy. The combination of the two features could send a thrill straight to the coldest heart. Her heart wasn’t cold, so he was far too dangerous to her well-being. Hayden had never seen anyone look so much like a man right out of an old western. Ben Winslow could fulfill any girl’s fantasy of a gorgeous cowboy. The Marlboro Man had nothing on him.
Now, however, his face looked as dark and dangerous as the storm that gathered force behind him. A clap of thunder rolled for several seconds and Hayden wondered if he’d come to her rescue or to scare the living daylights out of her. He said nothing for several seconds and looked as though he might just pull her over his knee to punish like a petulant child. He glared down at her, from beneath the brim of the same ivory hat he always wore and she noticed that his usual smile was gone without a trace. Hayden untangled herself from the bush, which was only an excuse not to look into the angry pair of eyes.
“You damned idiot. I don’t know as I’ve ever met a bigger fool than you, Hayden Merrick.” Without even a “by your leave”, he grabbed her by her upper arm and hauled her upwards as if she weighed no more than a toddler, setting her down with a thump on the saddle in front of him. The motion only served to agitate the already sore joints she’d injured earlier, courtesy of Bugs.
“Hey! What—put me down!” Hayden shoved her elbow into Ben’s ribcage, but found that it was too well muscled and her jab, no matter how well aimed on her part, didn’t budge him. As much as she tried to remain calm, the contact with Ben wreaked havoc on her senses that rivaled anything the adrenaline from the storm created.
“You just sit still. We’ve got to get back to the barn before that storm hits us,” he said against her ear. “Unless you’d rather walk?”
“No,” she muttered and took hold of the saddle horn and tried to ignore the ill-timed attraction. It didn’t do her heart or nerves any good when he tightened his grip around her waist. He pulled her up against his broad chest, swung his horse around, and clicked his tongue against his teeth, setting the horse back into motion.
Hayden couldn’t find the courage to do anything but clutch at the horn and pray to any god who had the time to listen, that she didn’t fall off. She threw in an added plea that the storm wouldn’t meet them before they reached the safety of Forever Ranch. *****************************************
QUESTION: What's the name of Hayden's hometown?
Remember, email answers to cerihebert@comcast.net. All correct answers will be entered into the drawing. Thanks~
Yesterday my boss, the CEO of the company came up to me and congratulated me on my upcoming book. He also asked if he could mention it during our company wide quarterly meeting that afternoon. I said sure, why not. After all, a lot of people already knew. After the looooooong Powerpoint meeting I was expecting just a quick mention but he actually had made it a part of the Powerpoint, complete with picture of the cover of Sweet Forever and the places it's available. Okay, I wanted to die, but this is good. And our editor in chief mentioned where else they could find the book. I guess I have a good group of supportive people there. Which leads me to my next thang.... watch the names you use in your stories. Okay, I never deliberately used a name to represent someone I know in real life, in fact I really don't base my characters on people I know. That being said, I sometimes use last names of people I know because they seem to fit or are different or might fit into the region in which I'm writing. I've done that in Sweet Forever, using the last name of a coworker, and I did that in Where One Road Leads..... I used my CEO's last name. Unfortunately I used it on a character who, while isn't a villan in the story, isnt' exactly a nice person. Ooops. Not a good choice. And I was going to write a story using something that happened here last year in my town, the attempted murder of two people by an estranged husband. What was I thinking? Anyone of my friends reading it would know exactly who I was "basing" this on. I'm wiser now. I just hope that no one picks up on the CEO's last name. Today is our adventure driving down to Logan Airport. Pray for us.
Okay this isn't so much a Daily Inspiration as it is a Daily Rant.....
This is my life in the office. Well, except for the hairstyles and clothes. I'm so looking forward to the day I can give up the daily grind and quit my job. You know, the day that I can make a living off my writing. Hey, it could happen! And it's incentive to keep up the editing. I received my first crit and it was, on the whole, positive, except she said that my heroine was a little pathetic in the way she had put her dreams aside to help her husband out as he climbed the ladder at the college where he was a professor. Lots of women do that. At least mine smartened up and left it behind.
It's actually good to do this editing. but I have a looooong way to go!
I have submitted my first chapter to my crit group. What I noticed is that it doesn't jump right into any action, but personally I don't want it too. I think at the length it is I have more time for things to unfold. Dreamer's Sea is more of a single title kind of story. A lot of the stories I read in that genre don't open with bang. I just hope it isn't frowned upon.
In order for me to be able to submit my chapter I have to do two crits. Fair is fair. Now I have to do two more chapters before I can send my next chapter in. Tis okay.
Here's a little Daily Inspiration. I'm getting into Maine.
I think I'm ready for a trip back up there. We didn't go at all last year. This year will be different.
I think it's time to put aside the new stuff and tackle the monster that is Dreamer's Sea. I'm just talking about the size of the story, not the content. This is going to be a looong project and I thought seriously about letting a friend read through it first, but I really want to get going on it since this is the one I'm going to be using to tempt an agent. I want to get going!
And, so my Daily Inspiration is the the Maine Coast. And the song is gorgeous too. Loreena McKennitt is one of my most favorites.
So, today after work, barring any unforseen problems and a possible trip to the doctors to have them look at my arm, editing will commence. Because I want to have another book published.
My husband bought a new toy for us. A GPS doodad for the car because we're expecting a trip or two down to the big bad world of Logan Airport in Boston and I'm scared to death of going down there. But he's discovered a fun ways to use the GPS. It's called Geocaching and it's like treasure hunting with the GPS. Some people have started caches in various locations, leaving a logbook and a treasure, could be a book, a cd, jewelry, money, whatever, as long as its not food or something like alcohol, tobacco, firearms etc. So the cache is marked so a person can find it on the gps. They can go find it (some aren't so easy and could take a lot of hiking), sign the logbook and if they take the treasure they leave something in it's place.
It sounds like so much fun and it gets us out to get some exercise. There are a few caches right here in town. So once the weather gets nice I think we're going to go out and give it a try. My DH says I should make sure I leave information about my books in the logbook. I guess that would be an interesting way to market.
For some reason there's a 2 hour delay for school today but not for me. Time to get going.
Yesterday was one of those days where I really wanted to sit down at my computer and write but I had a bazillion things to do. And the other things I wanted to do didn't get done because of the things I had to do. I wasn't home until about 8pm. The good news is that I did get some writing in a notebook done while waiting for laundry to be done. So it wasn't a total loss.
I should've written this morning but I just wasn't feeling it. At all. My mind is torn between continuing with my current work in progress and starting the editing on Dreamer's Sea. So, do I stop the momentum I've gathered on the new piece or turn my attention to something that's finished and is closer to being published (not that it's close...it's far far away)?
Since the story I'm currently writing is about ranchers I found this cute song by Trisha Yearwood as todays Daily Inspiration......
Now its time to get ready for another busy day of driving all over southwestern NH. If I can get to the doctor in all my travels I'll be happy. I need to have my arm looked at. I did something to it and it's been hurting for months.
Okay, this morning I posted a YouTube of one of the cutest TV couples (Jim & Pam from The Office)and now I'm going to post my other favorite TV couple, Marin and Jack from Men In Trees....
This is such an awesome show and it's been so abused by ABC. Still there's a loyal group of fans who are hellbent on seeing it survive and go on to a third season.
The post below is regarding the efforts of the fans on the part of the show. I think that it's so moving that I wanted to share it.
I found a TV news website mention of the MIT Plant it Forward tree plan. It is about the plan that the fans are using to push the suits into renewing the show for another season. Here's the link:
If Yahoo truncates the link above, just copy and paste all the lines into your brownse.
For those who cannot read the news story, I have copied it below. Eileen
Men In Trees: Plant It Forward Campaign!
Post by: Sal
Source: Zap2It & ABC
Plant it Forward Campaign to save Men In Trees:
A large group of fans from the popular ABC.com Men In Trees message board has organized a campaign, currently underway, to plant food trees in less-fortunate countries. This is being done in honor of an ABC primetime show that the fans will go lengths to save - Men In Trees. 3,000 trees have been contributed so far. Their goal is 5,000.
The food tree campaign is to encourage ABC to renew Men In Trees for a third season and encourage them to promote the show. "ABC moves around the time slot with the frequency of a CB radio," reports Sally Johnson. "The network hasn't given the show a fair shake yet. They seldom promote it, but with meaningful encouragement from fans, that can change."
TV writers and critics agree: "...considering ABC's track record with Men in Trees ˜ 234 time slots in two years! ˜ I'm not holding my breath," writes TV Guide commentator, Michael Ausiello. The "little show with a lot of heart" as it bills itself, has received praise from many critics.
5,000 food trees can produce up to 50 million pounds of food for hungry people over the lifespan of the trees. Each food tree costs $1 and is tax deductible. They are being planted through the non-profit organization treesforlife.org. A certificate of contribution is given to each donor. These certificates will be presented en masse to ABC's Primetime Program Director, Stephen McPherson, at the conclusion of the campaign.
"We believe that, in the end, our Plant it Forward campaign will show ABC how devoted Men in Tree fans can be and how many fans there could be if they just promote the show and settle on a consistent time slot," explains lead organizer, Liz Herdade, who goes by the screen name CatinTrees. "No show can possibly withstand that over time, regardless of high acclaim. We're pleased to be changing this by contributing food, trees and clean air."
Johnston adds,"When we reach 5,000 trees, we will distribute a press release with the goal of bringing exposure to Men in Trees." She points out, "Somebody has got to promote the show. We prefer ABC do that, and eventually we'll convince them, but in the meantime, we will kick up some glamour dust for our show."
Take Care,
Sal
So, if there are any Men In Trees fans out there who want to help, or just want to help out because the cause in itself is such a good one, please join in! There are special instructions on how to do this and have the recognition go to Men In Trees and this Plant It Forward campaign. If you want to participate let me know in the comment section and I'll forward the information that is necessary. thanks!
Fellow writer, New Hampshirite and friend, Marianne Arkins is celebrating the release of her book One Love For Liv at Samhain Publishing.
Marianne is an extremely talented writer with stories that are guaranteed to give anyone that sigh-inducing Happily Ever After. I can't wait to own a copy!
Wow, it hasn't snowed for...what 2 days? And there seems to be a pattern. Every Tuesday/Wednesday for the past 3 weeks we've been getting hit. Someone doesn't want me to have my quiet Wednesday afternoons when the kids are off at Grandma's house for a few hours. What did I do to deserve this???
I had a pretty productive day of writing, despite the errands I had to run and the phone call that wouldn't die. I wrote about 1500 words and I still have oodles on paper that need to be transfered over to the computer. I'm loving it, though I'm sure that means I'll hit a roadblock soon. It helps that I have a friend who enjoys brainstorming with me.
One of my coworkers came up to me yesterday and told me that the owner of the local bookstore said that anytime I want to come in and talk to him I'm welcome to. So what I need to do is get a few copies of Finally Home and bring them in. I'm not sure they work with Whiskey Creek. On their website they have Samhain books listed, but not WCP. But this is cool. Could be a very good start! Get some starry-eyed romantic souls in there and sell some books!
Okay, onto the daily inspiration. The following singer is Nova Scotian country singer, George Canyon. I ADORE this guy. He came in 2nd in the 2nd season of Nashville Star and is extremely popular up in Canada but for some reason hasn't made a name for himself down here. I don't know why.
Wow, it's getting late. Need to get some writing done.
Yeah, it's morning. Monday Morning. In 3 hours I'll need to be at work and thus begins another 6 days of work. Blah. I'd rather work 1 day and have 6 off. The trouble is I'm more productive with my writing during the week when the afternoon and evenings are my own (and my kids). So maybe I shouldn't complain. I sure didn't get anything done this weekend. Between work on Saturday and other things on Sunday (including a Heroes marathon-trying to catch up on the series which we never saw before a few months ago).
I did sort through some notes on Where I'll Stay, the sequel to Sweet Forever so I am working. Just not at the pace I would like.
All right, now I have the knowledge I'm going to try to post my Inspiration Of The Day, a Youtube video, could be from a TV show, could be a video. Todays is from one of my FAVORITE and shows, Men In Trees, which is completely underrated and treated so badly by ABC (I won't get started). James Tupper is such a hunk (I'm 42, I can say that) and he and Anne H have awesome chemistry (both on and off screen apparently)
Yes, the first draft of Dreamer's Sea is complete! Right down to the THE END at the end. It came it at 104,582 words. Now I wonder how many of these words are going to end up on the cutting room floor after editing. Now it's time for a bit of a break from it before I go back and tackle the hard part. No, the first draft isn't the hard part. Really. The editing is the kicker.
104,062. Thats where I am right now. I just finished writing most of this book, just the epilogue. It'll be a shortish section but I'm sure that I'll hit the 105K mark. All I can say is wow. I never thought I could write a book this long. I never thought this story would ever end. I don't know which one is more amazing to me. I plan on taking a little break before starting the overwhelming job of editing. I'm eager to get back into my sequel for Sweet Forever. As much as I love my story set on the Maine coast, I need my cowboy and horses fix. Yesterday's storm was a big disappointment. Well, let me rephrase, it wasn't as bad here as I was hearing it would be. Which is a good thing. Time to clear up and wait for the next storm. I got a bit of good news yesterday. The bad neighbors from below are moving!! They are going on their own before being removed by the landlord. *sigh of relief*. Two people have looked at the place, a single mom with a little girl and a single man. I'm opting for the single mom. It would be nice to have kids around. Okay, have to tackle this epilogue. If you hear a yell of happiness, that's me.
Actually, I don't remember this storm as much as I do a storm in another February (don't remember the year) when my family was trying to leave Atlantic City NJ. My father and siblings were in a van (we were leaving a car flea market where we'd been for a few days-that was my dad's business) and my mom and I were in a VW Rabbit. Yeah, a Rabbit. We got stranded on the highway and seperated from the van and were just going to wait it out until a man in a bread truck rescued us, wouldn't let us stay put (and for very good reason-we would've froze). He drove us to the toll booths where my dad was waiting. We headed back to the city, had to abandon the van eventually and walk until we could find a hotel. Oh, yeah, the van got broken into. Now that was a storm.
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At least I was home for the 78 blizzard, and having a blast by the looks of things. Now honestly, can anyone remember being able to roll a snowball THAT big over the last, say 10 years? We haven't had enough snow.
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Not looking forward to the mess we're dealing with today. Just waiting for school to be cancelled or something.
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Got a bit of writing done but I found myself itching to get started on my next story (tentatively called Where I'll Stay, which is the sequel to Sweet Forever and centers around Ben's little sister, Jaycie) so I was getting in the mood and picking out my models for my main characters. I already had Jaycie picked out and it turns out that in real life she's a Playboy playmate, wife to one of the members of Rascall Flats and she was in the Toby Keith video, Who's Your Daddy. And I'm going with Blake Shelton as my "hero" model. Hey, having a visual on them helps a lot.
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When I'm done with my first draft of Dreamer's Sea I should revamp my webpage. It needs serious help, but I'd so much rather write. I wish I had the big bucks to hire someone to give me an awesome webpage.
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Well, I must go see what the cancellations say. Two hour delay.
But first, THANKS TO DIANE. I won her January contest and received an awesome book yesterday. Please go check out her blog for her February contest. Well, we have another storm pulling into town today. Another one. Didn't we just have one yesterday??? Um, I think we did. Yeah, I remember walking through an inch or so of slush in the parking lot at work. And now we're getting an all day event. I'm hoping it'll be mostly rain, but there's no guarantee. One thing is for sure, I wanted to throttle that bleeping groundhog. No, kidding, I wouldn't hurt an innocent little critter. Even though I had planned on being pinned to my chair at my desk to write yesterday I unfortunately had to go out and do laundry. But I brought my handy dandy notebook with me and wrote lots of lovely pages. Currently in my notebook I'm working on The End, the epilogue and the happily ever after. I still have a bit to go before I can add it into the story on the computer but I'm thrilled that I'm there!! Well, almost there. Close enough. Once again my delightful neighbors have blocked me in with their illegal parking. I shouldn't be surprised really, its a weekly event. And it doesn't work to complain, they don't care, and apparently my landlord doesn't care either because we've certainly brought it to his attention enough times. I just hope and pray I wasn't this rude and disrespectful when I was their age. No, I wasn't. My parents taught me manners and how to be responsible and considerate. Okay, that was my vent for the day. Now I can get to more important things, like writing and working on contest ideas.
I did it! Dreamer's Sea is over 100k! I've never ever written anything this long before. And, no, it's not done. Almost done, but not quite. I'm pretty shocked that it went on this long. Don't get me wrong, I'm hugely pleased, just a bit bewildered. And I wonder how much will get left out when I go back to edit. Well, I'd rather have too much to work with than too little. It's just amazing to me that this story is twice as long as it was when I "finished" it after NaNoWriMo in 2006.
I do hyperventilate a little when I think of the editing that has to be done on this baby. I will put it down for a little while.... a week maybe?
So, how long do other writers put first drafts down before picking them up again and starting the editng process? Some writers I know let it alone for a month or so, but I'm just eager to get this story completed and (I hope and pray) published. A month seems like an AWFULLY long time.
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Well well well.... it's sleeting outside. Fancy that. I haven't seen sleet for, oh, 4 whole days. School hasn't been cancelled yet, or delayed, but it's early yet.
I'm going to take advantage of the last few minutes of quiet and get more writing going. I'm actually feeling giddy! Or it could be the coffee.
Call me paranoid, but I think the Patriots lost last night because I watched the game. Which is why I should never watch important football games. Ever. It was extremely frustrating. And I'm not really a football fan.
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So, sorry guys. There's always next year.
I spent yesterday driving up north again to visit my FIL who's still in the hospital. No news on when he'll be home. Maybe by next weekend. When we got home I started making banners for Finally Home and Sweet Forever. I didn't get too far. I'm not good at that stuff. But it's not a complete loss. But the only writing I got done was some on Saturday. Getting closer to the end! I'll be dancing with joy when it's finally finished. And I'm talking about the first draft.
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Then will come the tedious part of editing and sending it to the crit group and editing before I can finally look for an agent.
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All right, I'm going to try to focus on some writing although it's only 4:41am.
Location: Southwestern, New Hampshire, United States
I'm 44 year old mom of 3. I work as a customer service rep for a publishing company, and I write. I have five published novels and working on adding to that.
THAT KIND OF MAGIC--AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 17,2010
What's a witch to do when she refuses to use magic to find love? Beautiful Wiccan Charlotte Noone has a shop for magical supplies and a goddess who's pushing her to find the man of her dreams. When Patrick Riordan, a straight-laced non-believer enters her life, Charlotte falls madly in lust with him. Despite their very different lives, neither can stop the erotic journey they’ve embarked on, but will it be enough to break through their barriers so they can accept that love itself is magical?.
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