Saturday Snippets–First Pages: Saving Maggie

@GlenysOConnell

 

Saving Maggie is the first book I had published through Crimson Romance, part of Adams Media/ F+W Media, and also my first experiment with adding a touch of paranormal to my romantic suspense. I loved it!

This book came from another confluence of What If’s?

What if a woman found her mind linked to that of a psychopath – and what if the lost souls of his victims called to her to find them and bring them home?

What if that psychopath thought this was a sign she was to be his forever?

What if a woman running from her past finds that the only way to save the man she loves is to stand up and face a madman – and risk losing her own life?

BLURB:

Newspaper reporter Maggie Kendall has a psychic gift - or a curse: The missing violently dead call for her to find them. Her ability incites a serial killer to play games with her, sending her an invitation in a pink envelope every time he kills and daring her to find his victims.

But when the killer moves the bodies without leaving a trace, Maggie is denounced as the worse kind of charlatan - a psychic fake who feeds off the pain of other peoples’ tragedies.

Just the sort of person that Detective Joshua Tyler hates the most. He’s been hounded by reporters and fake psychics since his emotionally disturbed wife disappeared two years earlier. He reacts angrily when Maggie offers a message from his wife. But he can’t help being attracted to her even as she infuriates him.

The killer believes that Maggie is that one special person he’s been searching for - someone who can read his mind. Only her death can bind them together forever.

Maggie knows he’s going to kill her, and she knows why. But how can she make Tyler believe her? She needs him to join her in a race against an experienced and determined killer to save her life . . .

Sensuality Level: Sensual

FIRST PAGE:

The woman in the sexy little red convertible looked perky from behind. Her glossy long hair was pulled up in a careless ponytail and swayed from side like a cobra charmed by an Indian flute as she bopped to the music from the car radio.

Even at a car’s length away, the driver behind her thought this was the sort of hair a man could run his fingers through and grasp playfully. He wished now he were piloting his own expensive roadster rather than the sedate brown sedan he’d rented especially for this trip. His own car was the sort that would impress the kind of girl who drove a bright red convertible with the top down on a windy spring day.

He imagined himself overtaking her, seeing her look over at him, her eyes widening in admiration as she took in his expensive ride and wealthy, groomed good looks.

Then she’d remember him and smile…

He gunned the accelerator and with a disdainful purr the rental spurted forward, pulling alongside her. He glanced over, hoping to catch her eye. But she stared straight ahead, singing along to some mindless pop music and oblivious to his look of longing.

He didn’t matter to her. She didn’t remember. She didn’t smile.

Irritated now, he jabbed the accelerator and zoomed past her. He knew soon they’d meet again.

Then he’d refresh her memory.

* * *

Maggie Kendall was just leaving Fried Heaven with two cups of the diner’s delicious coffee balanced in her hands, when a tall, dark-haired stranger pushed open the door so suddenly that it caught her, and hot coffee sloshed wetly down the front of her white silk shirt.

“I am so sorry!” His handsome face flushed with embarrassment as he grabbed a wad of paper napkins from a dispenser on the nearest table and began to mop at the spill. His touch on her upper breasts was electric—it sizzled all the way down to her toes, leaving her breathless. Brushing his hands away, she snapped: “You’re making it worse. My office is just across the road and I can clean up there.”

The man snatched back his hand as he realized the inappropriate intimacy of his touch. Blushing, he tossed the damp napkins onto a table and jammed the offending hands into his suit pants pockets. “I…at least let me pay for your dry cleaning,” he stammered, but Maggie was already halfway out the door.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” she muttered, avoiding his gaze. A second later she was gone.

 

***Saving Maggie is available as a stand alone read here or on your Amazon site or at Crimson Romance’s site here. You can also find it in a super bundle of ten books from Crimson Romance called Running to Love. You can see both books on Amazon, too!

Saturday’s Snippets: First Pages: Resort to Murder

@GlenysOConnell

  I’m always intrigued by the way story ideas come to writers. It seems to be different for everyone. Novels are born from dreams, from snatches of overheard conversations, from newspaper articles, magazine articles, real life events – indeed, all sorts of different things.

The writerly mind – a twisted thing at best! – plays games with these topics. The What If? game, and soon a plot starts to appear, characters sneak in and hide among the neurons of the brain and begin to whisper…and voila! A Book is born!

That’s been my experience, anyway. Resort to Murder, published by The Wild Rose Press, came in pieces, dribs and drabs turning into a full flood as I played the What If? game. I was working in England at the time and read in the local evening newspaper, The Lancashire Evening Post, that a woman police officer had just been appointed to a Chief Constable’s position. That’s like being Top Dog in a county police force.

This officer was the first female to get that job, and in the article were several comments about the ‘glass ceiling’ and the difficulties a woman law enforcement officer can face in seeking promotion.
And out of that came Ellie Fitzpatrick, a wrongly disgraced officer who had been on the fast track to high rank after solving the case of The Sunshine Slasher, a vicious serial killer who attacked women in vacation resorts around the English coast.

Ellie had been hot on the trail of a criminal gang when she was accused of taking bribes and placed on suspension pending investigation. The criminals had done their work well, planting money in Ellie’s bank account and doing everything they could to discredit her.

Ellie was in love with another officer, a man who was her junior. But when she needed Liam Reilly the most, he was nowhere to be found. Unknown to her, Liam was on a secret assignment in Ireland and knew nothing of what was happening to Ellie until his return.
One day, walking on the beach near Whitby in Yorkshire, Ellie literally stumbles across a dead body…

BLURB:

Falsely disgraced police detective Ellie Fitzpatrick is prepared to face a vicious killer to redeem herself but is she also brave enough to make peace with the man she loves? When her meteoric career crashed and burned after she was accused of accepting bribes from thugs running a protection racket, Ellie is suspended from the job she loves and believes herself abandoned not only by police colleagues but by her lover, Detective Liam O'Reilly. She is called back to work when a biography of a serial killer she arrested suggests the man may be innocent. Reilly vows to protect Ellie from the gang who tried to frame her and the vicious killer who's stalking her. Can she trust him with her life?

FIRST PAGE:

A cry was stifled in her throat as the dead woman began to move. Her empty eyes opened. Her dead mouth widened in a terrible silent scream as the white fingers began to claw at the hem of Ellie's coat, pulling her down, down, into a cold embrace. She ran from the nightmare figure until she was caught by strong familiar arms…...
Ellie woke from the dream, her heart pounding in fear and yet with desire flooding hotly through her veins. Her dream rescuer had been Liam Reilly. Cursing demons she couldn't vanquish, she climbed out of bed and pulled on a soft silk robe. Her face was pale in the bathroom mirror, dark shadows under her eyes testament to the early hour. But she wouldn't sleep now, not when the faces of all the dead women would drift through her dreams. She wondered if other police officers ever got used to the sight of the murdered dead. She knew she wouldn’t.
She made a cup of rosehip and orange tea laced with honey, and slipped through the double patio doors onto her terrace. Below the cottage, the restless muttering of the sea, gathering its strength for another tidal assault on the shore, echoed her mood. Ellie leaned against the narrow wooden rail that separated her terrace from the cliff edge, and sucked in a deep breath of salt-tanged air, closing her eyes as she basked in the magnificent silence of the pre-dawn world.
And there he was again, as surely as if he'd materialized from her dream. Liam Reilly. His presence haunted her waking days as surely as the nightmares haunted her nights, because they were inextricably linked. They were opposite sides of the coin of her life.

REVIEW:
From TRS: "I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic romantic suspense. The plot was swift and the complex story line was enhanced by the wonderful characters. Beyond the hero and heroine the supporting cast was fabulous with almost no one being quite what they appeared at first. The pace enhances the two main mysteries of the story. The time frame is not dragged out as Ellie tries to separate the bribery charges from the serial killer case and it makes for an intricate puzzle. Liam and Ellie have a complicated relationship that is due mainly to lack of honesty and communication. Both characters were constantly at odds with one another and down right antagonistic. They were forever revealing their true feelings in their private thoughts and denying them out loud. If it were not so skillfully balanced with the suspense this could have ruined the whole story for me. I found the mystery itself to be top-notch all the way from the first paragraph to the ominous ending. I can't wait to see what else this author has in store." - Theresa Joseph

Resort to Murder is available at The Wild Rose Press, or through your Amazon site

Saturday Snippets: First Pages: Another Man’s Son

@GlenysOConnell


So, last Saturday I put up the first page of my very first romantic suspense novel, Judgement By Fire. Never one to work to a system, this week I’m giving you the first page of my most recently published romantic suspense, Another Man’s Son.

Another Man’s Son is one of the delicious Lobster Cove series being published by The Wild Rose Press #TWRP. It’s the first time I have worked with other writers to create a series, and it’s been, well, an experience! There are very talented writers working on this, with a wide variety of book genres from sweet to paranormal to quite risque indeed! 

Something for everyone, really – and all set in this neat little Maine town of Lobster Cove. The place, if it existed, would be everyone’s dream of a small town seaside paradise. If you could get over the murders and strange happenings, that is! But love is certainly always in the air in Lobster Cove.

Here’s the blurb for Another Man’s Son:

Another Man's Son

Kathryn Morgan broke Ben Asher's heart when he returned from military service in Afghanistan to find she'd married her boss, wealthy banker Ket Morgan Jr. 

Ben vowed he’d never return to Lobster Cove but now, seven years later, he is back as an undercover FBI agent sworn to expose the Morgan family’s criminal activities. Will his vow to bring down the notorious Morgans extend to the woman he still loves? 

When Kathryn’s son is kidnapped, she is forced to swallow her pride and reveal the secret of another man's son. Can Ben protect Kathryn and her son from Ket and his sinister friends, or will And the First Pageold hurts and secrets destroy them all?

And the First Page:

The growl of the powerful engine turned heads among the early tourist crowd as Ben Asher rode the Harley hog along the waterfront. It was early evening and the sun was just slipping down below the ocean, tickling the quiet wavelets with pink and purple, painting the sky rich shades of rose and crimson.

He let the big bike drift to a stop near one of the piers, pausing to let the familiar essence of the tourist trap town wash over him—the smells of hot dogs and pretzel stands, the salty tang of the sea, the screams of laughter from people and the squawks of gulls.

The beauty of the coastal town made little impression on him as he started up the motorcycle again and, making a sharp turn from Main onto Pine and out into the countryside, finally slowed to pass through an ornate gateway into the parking lot of The Club. He cut the engine and, in the sudden silence that followed, gulls squawked at the intrusion from the rooftops of the elegant country club. Music and laughter spilled out from the upscale establishment as well dressed people came and went from the celebration inside.
Celebrating was not something Ben planned to do tonight. This was a command performance, his presence having been required by the town’s councillors to introduce him as the newly-appointed sheriff, even if it was a temporary situation while Sheriff Lawton was on her honeymoon.

He straddled the bike for a few minutes longer, putting off his appearance with the town’s movers and shakers. He unzipped his leather jacket, enjoying the nip of the cool evening air Seven years had passed since he’d shaken the dust of Lobster Cove from his feet, and he wasn’t happy to be back.
****
Kathryn Morgan gripped the smooth wood of the low balcony rail to steady herself as she surveyed the glittering crowd swaying rhythmically to music on the small, crowded dance floor below. She’d drunk champagne on an empty stomach to bolster herself for this evening and already the bubbly brew was taking affect, making her light-headed and manically happy.

She had balked at coming here tonight; knowing it would be too painful to bear. He was going to be here. Pain and anger had ambushed her when they’d told her the town was holding a special celebration dinner for homecoming hero and new acting sheriff, Ben Asher. How she once had longed to see his face again, and then later prayed she never would.

Under the crystal chandeliers in The Club’s ballroom were the same familiar faces. People she’d known all her life. No, not known, she corrected herself. Kathryn Fitzgerald had been too lowly to actually be friends with these folk who even now tolerated her only because she was Ketler Morgan Junior’s wife. These were the upper echelons of this small town society, people who nodded acknowledgement of her because of her place at the top of the heap. But friends? No, her friends weren’t here tonight. Kathryn sighed. She’d done what she had to do for all the right reasons. What a pity the outcome was so wrong.

Saturday’s Snippet: Another Man’s Son, from the #TWRP Lobster Cove Series

By @GlenysOConnell

A few months ago – it seems like yesterday – I was given the opportunity to submit a story to the proposed new Wild Rose Press series.
 I do like a challenge.  I’ve never written for a series before, although I’ve toyed with several series ideas that I hope you’ll get to see at a later date. In fact, I liked Lobster Cove so much that I’ve submitted another book to the series. Fingers crossed!

The Lobster Cove series is quite special in a number of ways. One is that it is multi-genre – romance, romantic suspense, mystery, erotica, paranormal, fairies, sprites, ghosts and mythological beings were all welcome story lines.

The books were also set in different time spans – different historic periods, current day, mythical and I believe some futuristic as well.
Another difference for me, at least, was that all the books were co-ordinated. This means that each book must fit in various ways to the characters and events in other books that were set in the same time period.

Well, no-one has ever accused me of being a team player, so this last was a whole new ballgame for me. In Another Man’s Son, my hero is an FBI agent who is working undercover. I started out with the existing sheriff being asked to take a leave of absence for (fictional) health reasons.
But another book had been contracted where there was a newly elected, female sheriff.. Fortunately for my hero, the new sheriff had just got married and was planning to take time off for her honeymoon, so things worked out well. Now my character had to step into her place and interact briefly with her before she left. Which meant rewriting or adapting all the scenes that involved the sheriff. Whew!

I grew to admire my fellow series writers who took such care to meticulously match their work so that it wove nicely into the other books in progress. Not only that, but they were wonderfully generous in giving information to help make sure everyone was, to coin a phrase, on the same page.

In the weeks to come, I hope to bring you some snippets from other books in the Lobster Cove series. For now, here’s an excerpt from Another Man’s Son, which is now available in print and ebook from The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, and other book stores.

ANOTHER MAN’S SON

There he was. Without conscious thought her feet found a path through the crowd towards him and then he stood before her. She saw immediately that while he looked the same, there were subtle differences beyond the seven years that had passed since they’d last met. Back then, he’d still had the gawkiness of youth with the foreshadowing strength of the man he might become.

And now – now he’d fulfilled that promise of manhood - the veiled glances of every woman in the room were testament to that. But there was the stamp of hard experience on his face, lines around his beautiful brown eyes. Ben Asher. The man she'd once loved so deeply that she thought she’d die when he boarded the bus bound for the military training camp.

Mesmerized, Kathryn moved into his arms as naturally as if she'd never been out of them, and he hugged her to him in a reflex action that spoke volumes about his feelings. They swayed to the slow and sentimental tune the band now played, neither of them speaking, neither of them surprised that their dancing steps carried them through the big French doors and out onto the shadowed terrace. No surprise, either, as their lips met and melded in remembered passion.

She clung to him, her mouth drinking him in as all her other senses sang with the feel and scent of the man she'd loved so long ago – and came alive again with loving now. He groaned softly as her fingers smoothed the thick dark hair at the nape of his neck and then touched warm flesh beneath his shirt collar.

Her own flesh burned with desire at his touch as long ago dreams began to stir and awaken. Dreams that were even more impossible now than they'd been when she was young and deliriously in love.

The dream was broken when an icy voice spoke from the doorway: “Well, Asher, I see you've met my wife."

Saturday’s Snippet: Irish Romantic Comedy, Winters & Somers

She’s a feisty wannabe Private Detective in Dublin, Ireland.

He’s a NY Homicide Cop who writes hot sexy romance novels.

Together they’re Winters & Somers.

Sound intriguing? Read on!
Winters & Somers is published by Tirgearr Publishing, Ireland.
PI Cíara Somers makes a good living testing the ‘temptability quotient’ of men for their insecure lovers…but when NY homicide cop and author of red hot romances, Jonathon Winters, makes her take him on as a partner in her Dublin agency, he gets the wrong message from her raunchy style..…especially when he wants her for himself. 

Somers isn’t the type to let a man push her around – the incorrigible Grannie Somers raised heto be her own woman. But when she discovers that even Grannie drools over Winters, she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to indulge in one of the fantasies that have millions of women reading his romantic books. 

And when Somers finally gets her first real case – to capture the notorious jewel thief dubbed The Diamond Darling – she has to survive the help of her weird relatives, the landlady from hell, two stoned friends, a stray dog – and Winters himself….

EXCERPT:

How could she admit to the World's Most Exasperating man that she wouldn't start an affair with him because she knew he would someday soon walk out of her life and leave her broken hearted? 

Other lovers, that hadn't been a problem – she'd known from the start that the passion was a temporary thing, and they'd part company once it burned itself out. Usually she'd been glad when they'd reached that point – some men could become so cloying!
But all her instincts said it was different with this one. Even now she was squirming in her seat as her treacherous hormones let the memory of his touch ripple silkily over her skin.

But at least he'd seemed to understand. He was right when he'd said their relationship wouldn't pay its way – in fact, would probably interfere with their working partnership. So, maybe she'd leave it at that.

She slipped her hand into her fanny pouch – yes, the precious jewels were still there. First, she'd go see Sly Stevie, the pawnbroker. He had a reputation for being sharp and once or twice there'd been rumors that he was also well in with the police, but she was sure he'd treat her fairly. After all, hadn't she been to school with his daughter Breege? And Breege wouldn't be above giving her old man a thorough tongue-lashing if he cheated one of her friends….

REVIEWS:

This book was so funny and hilarious that I scared my furry grandbaby, Simba, when I was ROFL and hyperventilating and coughing up my spleen! Ciara is such an awesome heroine as a Dublin PI with a kooky and witty voice inside her head. She has these great one liner sayings like, "muffler screamed like an animal in pain" or "Granny would say eat your roughage." Ms. O'Connell wrote such amazing and one of a kind characters, like color horror, Grace, loving, caring and a totally PITA Granny Somers and Ciara's misunderstood paternal grandparents, Margaret and Liam Henley. Jonathan is a NYC cop on writer's holiday and writes these sexy and awarding winning Romance (under another name) books and every female from 14 and up want to jump out of the brushes, kiss him, get an autograph or just chat! He is a fish out of water in Dublin and I could relate because I am a South Dakotan and Dublin is such different, wonderful and awe inspiring place, that Ms. O'Connell makes me wait to visit and maybe live there! The only thing I missed from this original storyline, quack characters, great one liners and HYPERVENTILATING with laughter tale, was more steamy and sexy scenes! This my first Ms. O'Connell book, but not my last! I highly recommend this book to romance readers who love to smile, giggle and YES, hyperventilate with laughter and maybe scare small animals with your coughing/laughing sounds. Winter & Somers gets a score of 4 fingers up and 8 toes!

And here's another review, this time from 'Lara":

This was a very quick and fun romp through Ireland with a hard working girl whose business is not going as planned. Next thing you know she's caught up with an American cop who is a best-selling romance writer with the wrong idea about her. They have plenty of chemistry, great dialogue, she has some funny family and friends, and overall the story reads like a fabulous comedy with a little family drama thrown in for good measure.

Rating: 5 cups

Ciara Sommers is trying her best to start her new Inquiry business, but all her clients are women who think their significant others are cheating on them. She wants better cases to work, but will take what she can get. When asked to help another agency, she agrees but only on her own terms. Will it make things worse for her in the long run?
Jonathan Winters is the most sought after author in Ireland. Leaving his roots in America, he goes to Ireland in the hope he can finally get another romance novel written. After meeting Ciara, he hopes to convince her to work with him. But, will his emotions or his mind run him?
Things seem to be going nowhere for Ciara until Jonathan offers to help her out. She is hesitant at first, but will not give up the side of her business that is going so well no matter what he thinks. Looking into the Diamond Darling case might be just the help Ciara needs, but working with Jonathan might distract her from everything else. When things hit too close to home, will Ciara be able to stick it out or will she run?
The opportunity to review another story by Ms. Grace (aka Glenys O’Connell)  is a true pleasure and having it set in Ireland a delight! I love this romance not only for how clean it is but also how humorous the characters are. I laughed a lot and cried a bit as well. The mystery in this book concerns Ciara’s family history and is an endearing romance. Get this story in your hands and enjoy it, one and all! It will not disappoint you and will leave you with a smile on your face!
Krista
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books
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