Sweet Romance Christmas Giveaway--3 Days to Go!

Tonight's excerpt is from "Unicorns and Dreams Come True."

 

 

Tyler Morgan had only a moment to glance at the slim feminine figure perched on the ladder. She looked like a kid, and as he loped toward her, he wondered why in the world her parents had allowed her up there. He reached out to catch the ladder and before he knew it he wasn’t clutching rickety wood—he grabbed a softly curved waist. She hit his rangy body with a gasp. And then they were both sprawling backwards on the ground.

Tyler’s first sensation was that of soft dark hair tickling his nose and then the smell of lilacs. It took him about three seconds to realize the body flattened against his was definitely not that of a child.

“My goodness,” she sputtered and pushed herself away. “I’m so sorry.”

“No problem.” Tyler grinned up at the flushed face poised above him. She was embarrassed. Two red spots stained her cheeks. It made her all the more attractive, that and the fact that her eyes were violet like the lilacs he’d smelled. His breath stuck in his throat, but maybe it was just from the fall.

Maggie knelt in the grass beside him and tried to regain some composure. All chance of that was shattered when the beast who’d caused the whole incident insisted on licking Maggie’s face.

“Get lost.” Tyler sat up and shoved the Great Dane away. Ignoring him, MacArthur promptly dropped next to Maggie and leaned his massive head on her shoulder.

“He thinks he’s a lap dog.” Tyler apologized. “He’s really quite harmless, unless you’re up on a ladder, I guess. I’m really sorry for all this. I don’t usually let him run loose, but no one has lived over here in so long, I forgot to call him back.” He noticed her hands were trembling. “Are you okay?”

She wasn’t sure. Nothing seemed to be broken, but she could still feel herself falling through space, and she shuddered. “I’ll be fine.”

“Can’t you hire somebody to do this?” He looked up at the big old house. What was his new neighbor going to do with so much space?

“To be honest, I can’t afford it.”

“Why would you even want such a big place? If it’s just you—“

“It’s not,” Maggie said brusquely and got to her feet. Before she could say another word, a soft voice called, “Mommy?” She turned just in time to see Heather coming down the porch steps, carrying Smoky, her kitten, and MacArthur bounding toward her. When the girl saw the huge dog heading straight for her, she froze.

“Oh, no,” Maggie moaned and set off on a dead run.

“He won’t hurt them,” Tyler insisted. Nevertheless he was running right behind Maggie. “MacArthur, down!”

Responding to his master’s command, MacArthur plopped down not three feet away from Heather. As if he sensed the child’s fear, he made no attempt to touch her. Heather’s terrified gaze was glued to the giant dog’s big jowly face. Maggie moved slowly to her daughter’s side.

“It’s okay, honey. His name’s MacArthur, and he’s not mean. You don’t have to be afraid.” Maggie put her hands on Heather’s shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Say hello.”

Heather shook her head vigorously and shrank back, clinging to the squirming kitten for dear life.

Tyler slipped his hand through MacArthur’s collar and dragged the gentle giant away. Once the dog was secure inside his fence, Tyler came back and crouched down next to the little girl.

“I’m sorry he scared you.” He noticed the child was the picture of her mother, except her long dark hair was a sharp contrast to her fair cheeks. Tentatively, he touched the gray kitten’s furry head. “MacArthur would never hurt you on purpose. He wouldn’t even hurt your little friend here, but I know he’s a big dog, and I’ll try to remember to keep him on the leash or in the fence.”

Heather looked up at her mother. “Will he?”

Maggie brushed her hand protectively over her daughter’s hair. Her eyes met Tyler’s. He looked like a man of his word, a man who could be trusted, but Maggie had vowed never to trust a man again. Still, for Heather’s sake, she would make an effort. “I think so.” Maggie’s voice held a quiet warning to Tyler not to go back on his word. “And just so you know, I plan on opening a day-care center here in a few weeks.”

After her neighbor left, Maggie decided to call it quits for the day. She just didn’t have the heart to go back up on that ladder again. The painting could wait till tomorrow.

Sweet Romance Christmas Giveaway; Only Four More Days!

This excerpt is from "Goodbye to Summer."

 

The following Saturday we bumped into him coming out of the grocery store.  I would have walked right on by but of course Amy  had to stop and say hello.

 “Hi there,” she waved and called out merrily.

 “Hi yourself.” He playfully tugged one of her twin ponytails.

 “Where's your dog?”

 “Afraid I had to leave him home today. I didn't think folks would appreciate him lumbering down the sidewalk or running through the store.”

 Amy hung back when I tried to usher her out the door. “Are you going on a picnic?”

 He let us go ahead of him. I noticed the bucket of takeout chicken under one arm and a six pack of pop under the other.

 “Sort of. Well, I was really just going down to watch the boats on Lake Charleston and have my lunch.”

 “Mmmm. I like chicken.” Amy's nose twitched at the enticing smell wafting from the cardboard bucket.

 “Amy.” I gave her a prod.

 “You and your mom are welcome to join me. I have plenty.”

 Amy looked up at me eagerly. “Can we? Please?”

 The man stopped walking and for some crazy reason so did I. We stood there in front of the Good Value market, the afternoon sun shining down on us.

 He was a good head taller than I and perhaps three or four years older. His arms were nicely tanned below rolled-up shirtsleeves and he wore faded jeans. Under the blue gaze of his eyes, I flushed warmly and hugged my bag of groceries more tightly.

 “If it's that we haven't been properly introduced, I'm Mike O'Brien.” He shifted the pop so he could stick out his hand.

 I just looked at it a moment, then accepted the gesture. His hand was big and rough and warm.

 “Katherine,” I said as his fingers closed briefly over mine. “Katherine Mitchell.”

 “May I call you Kate? You look more like a Kate to me.”

 Did I? With my plain brown hair pulled back I wasn't sure I looked like anyone. But I nodded.

 “I take it you live in Charlevoix year-round?” He started walking again. Amy skipped alongside.

 “How can you tell?” I gave him a sidelong glance.

“Oh, you just look as if you belong here, rather fresh and outdoorsy, like someone bred in the north country. There's something special about the north country, gives a person that healthy glow.”

 I had to laugh. “That's funny. I just moved here six years ago. Where are you from?” In a small town, I was certain I would have seen him before.

 “Actually, I just started working in this area a few weeks ago. I'm from Mackinaw City. Lived there most of my life, except for the years at Michigan State.

 Most of my growing up years had been spent on a farm in southern Illinois. I suppose that was one reason why winter here stretched on interminably for me.

 We reached the parking lot and stopped by my car. “So would you like to join me?” He nodded to the bucket of chicken.

 Amy tugged on my arm. “Please, Mama? You said we might take a walk to the park today. I want to see the boats.”

 “Come on, Kate Mitchell,” Mike O'Brien said. “It's a nice day. The boats are lovely on the lake. In the middle of winter you'll wish you had.”

 “Okay,” I finally gave in. Amy whooped with glee.

An hour later, the chicken consumed, we sat by the lake while Amy played on the nearby swings. Before us lay Lake Charlevoix, shimmering crystal blue in the September sunlight. A few sailing diehards skimmed across the rippled surface in their bright catamarans.

 “That was good.” I wiped my fingers on a paper napkin and stuffed the leftovers in the empty bucket. “Thank you for sharing with us.”

 “You really did me a favor.” Mike leaned casually against a nearby oak tree. “I've gotten a little tired of eating meals alone lately.”

It was difficult to imagine him being alone. He was much too good-looking and friendly.

 “You said you've only been working here a few weeks?” I curled my legs beneath me in the grass.

 He continued to stare out at the water. He had a strong profile with a determined chin that jutted forward. I thought the he was a man who would never be dissuaded once he wanted something.

 “That's right, since the day after Labor Day.”

 It seemed an unusual time of year to be starting a job around here. “What sort of work do you do?” I asked.

 “I'm with the state forestry service. I'll be heading up to the Upper Peninsula next month to winter at the Porcupine Mountains.”

 “You're a ranger then?

I wasn't surprised to see him nod. With his tanned and rugged face, he certainly looked like a man who spent a great deal of time outdoors.

 “I'll  bet you love your work. Getting to be out in the woods all the time. I love the woods almost as much as the beach.”

 In spite of my not liking the winters up here, I had truly enjoyed the camping Pete and I had done the first years of our marriage.

 “There's a lot more to my work than just being in the forest.” Mike rubbed his hand over his chin. “Some of it can be pretty trying at times, like teaching folks to respect our natural resources, not to run rampant over them. They don't all value forests the way we do, but you're right, Kate.” He rested his blue gaze on me. “I do enjoy my work.”

 “Pete did, too. He was a biology teacher.”

 “How long has he been gone?”

It wasn't an intrusive question, because somehow I think he'd known all along there was no man in my life, in spite of the wedding band I still wore.

 I felt no hesitation in answering. “A little over a year.” 

 “You still miss him.”

 I shrugged. “I suppose it gets easier as time goes on, and I do have Amy.”

 We sat quietly for some moments and I found myself wondering how he had known. “What made you ask us to share your lunch? I mean, how did you happen to...”

 “Just a hunch, but my hunches are usually right.” He smiled in a slow, persuasive way. “I have a hunch now that if I ask you to have dinner with me tomorrow night you'll accept.

 Coming from another person, the remark might have been conceited, even arrogant. Coming from Mike O'Brien, it wasn't, and I had to admit it---I liked him.

            I liked the way his hair, a light burnished brown, curled carelessly back from his wide forehead, touching his collar in back. I liked the way he smiled so effortlessly, as if he smiled a great deal.    I liked the deep blue color of his eyes.

I had a hunch I was going to prove his hunch right. “I don't know if I can find a baby sitter,” I hedged.

 “Bring Amy along. If we go early enough, we can take a ride. I'll show you some places where the trees are already starting to change.”

 After a moment of thought, I agreed to go, and Mike smiled again.

 When Amy and I walked back to our car, I felt a curious warmth inside that had nothing at all to do with the bright sunshine streaming down that afternoon.

Sweet Romance Christmas Giveaway--Final Five Days!

Here is an excerpt from An Uncommon Prince and Other Short Stories, from the story, A Test of Fire.



Back in the farmhouse, Tessa busied herself feeding Shadow and Pandora. She'd adopted the black and white shepherd from the shelter when Phillip left on his first tour of duty, the calico cat at his second. They were her family now. The cat rubbed at her ankles before crouching at her dish. Too nervous to eat, Shadow watched from her den beneath the table, offering an occasional whine of concern about their precarious situation.

“Aren't we a sight?” Tessa's hand shook a little as she picked up the coffee pot. “A houseful of nervous females. What would Phillip have said?” He'd often teased Tessa about her penchant for adopting only female animals, grumbling good-naturedly that except for the rooster, he was outnumbered. If only things had been different, his dream of building a small herd of cattle and farming full-time might have come true, but war in some godforsaken land had taken him away....and left Tessa with the unfulfilled dream.

She dumped the untouched coffee in the sink and went upstairs to make her bed. From her window she could see the side of the mountain was shrouded in dense smoke. The fire must be moving across the plain to the west. Soon it would reach White Cloud, and after that where would it go? She had just smoothed the ivory crocheted coverlet over the bed when she heard Shadow's sharp staccato bark, followed by a pounding on the kitchen door. For a minute, fear like an icy finger trickled down Tessa's spine. She was alone except for her menagerie. Anyone could come in here and...

Before he'd left the first time, Phillip had taught her to shoot his shotgun. Unloaded, it sat in her closet, because she hated guns. She glanced toward that closet door now but didn't go there before heading downstairs.

At the door she gripped her rolling pin in one hand. Holding firmly to the doorknob she called out, “Who are you?” A tall figure moved on the porch. “Forest service, ma'am. We're advising everyone to evacuate. The fire's gotten out of control and is heading this way.” The man's voice sounded raspy and tired. Tessa's fear drained away. Pushing Shadow aside with her knee, she opened the door.

The man on her porch posed no threat, although he looked terrible. Streaks of soot ran down his face from beneath a battered yellow hard hat. Beard stubbled his square jaw and his eyes were rimmed in red. No doubt he'd been fighting the fire all night. His heavy jeans and denim shirt were stained with sweat and caked with black grime. She hoped he wouldn't just keel over.

  Tessa stared up at him, not wanting to believe what he said was true. “Who sent you?” she demanded. He closed his bloodshot eyes and sighed deeply. When he opened them again, Tessa could see their normal color was a light teal blue.

 “The sheriff, if it makes any difference. A new crew of firefighters came on this morning. I'm on break for a while but I told the sheriff I'd check out this area and make sure everyone had left.”

“And have they?” Tessa peered past him toward the now empty highway, praying that at any moment someone would waken her from this bad dream. But the weary man on her porch was all too real.

 He nodded his head. “Yours is the only place where I found anyone at home. And I'm not fooling about leaving, ma'am. I've been on the fire line since yesterday. I know what I'm talking about. The fire is coming this way and you'd best get out now.”

Tessa stepped back from the door and looked around her kitchen, at the perky green and white gingham curtains she'd made, the solid oak table Phillip had refinished. How could she just leave it all? It seemed an act of cowardice to her. Her hand went to her throat and pressed the wildly beating pulse there. “I...can't. I can't leave it. My husband...”

“Your husband?” An angry frown cracked the grime on the man's face. “Where is he? Away?” She nodded. “Well, it's for damn sure he wouldn't expect you to risk your life by staying. It's not worth it.”

That's what everyone had said when she and Phillip bought the dilapidated homestead five years ago. No one understood their dreams. Maybe the place didn't look like much to this man, but it was all she had. And she wasn't about to leave it to the fire's hungry whim.

Please stop by tomorrow for another story excerpt, and don't forget to enter the Sweet Romance Christmas Giveaway by clicking the "Giveaway" button at the top of my facebook page at
www.facebook.com/LucyNaylorKubash

WORDS

 

How much do words impact our lives? How are we changed by new words that suddenly have a meaning where none existed before? Recently, we commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy, and it led me to think about the words that are forever connected to that tragic event. For those of us alive on November 22, 1963, words like motorcade, book depository, and assassination suddenly became part of our vocabulary and took on new meaning. In fact, if you were young, you may have never even heard those words before, and yet for many of us, we will never hear them again without thinking about a day in Dallas that forever changed our lives. Just as the simple words in the turn of phrase, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” are forever etched in our minds, so, too, are eternal flame.

As writers, words are so important. We work with words, live by words, and are always trying to find just the right word. Even in this digital age, many of us still have our well-worn dictionary and thesaurus near our desk in case we need to go in search of the perfect word to use in our writing. There are words that have special significance to writers: manuscript, submission, rejection, advance, royalty, review.

For students, words like assignments and pop quiz can strike terror to the heart. Bullying has become a commonly heard word in schools and in the media, as well as twerking (who knew what that even meant a few short months ago?) and guns. When I was a student (too many years ago to mention), the word gun was never even mentioned in the same breath as school, and yet today they are all too often associated.

Ask anyone who is dealing with a health issue and they will probably tell you how words like tests, appointments, doctors, and hospital have taken on new meaning for them. There are some words that stop you in your tracks, words that we dread hearing and hesitate to even mention, cancer certainly being one of them. Think then about what the word cure means.

Thankfully, there are words that make us smile: babies, puppies, kittens, birthdays, sunshine, and summer. The word vacation can make someone sit up and pay attention, especially someone for whom the words hours, overtime, and stress have become too familiar.

There are some words we’d all like to hear more: happy, content, dessert, and chocolate. And some less: crime, tornado, unemployment, and earthquake.

Then there are words that are new and some that have taken on new meaning: laptop, tablet, smartphone, and e-reader. 

This time of year, turkey, trimmings, holiday, cookies, shopping and gifts are heard more frequently, and after the New Year, it will be diet, exercise, and resolutions, quickly followed by the ominous taxes.

Words can make us happy or sad; show our weaknesses and our strengths; our stupidity or our knowledge. They can show how much we’ve learned…and how much we still have to learn.  They can tell someone how much we love them or how much we hate, and they can change the world. The numbers 9-11 have become a word in themselves, ones that gave whole new meaning to a simple date.

Where would we be without words? Words are power, words are who we are, and they make the world go round. What new words will be born in the year 2014? What words will take on new meanings? What words, because of some incident or new knowledge, will forever become part of our language, our repertoire and part of our civilization?  What words 50 years from now will still echo with the impact of those said on that fateful November day in Dallas?

 

 

 

Sky of Magic!

I'm happy to announce that my second collection of short stories, Sky of Magic, is now available in the Amazon Kindle Store. The four stories in this e-book are:

Kiss Yesterday Goodbye, A Love That Blossoms, For Love of Joshua, and Sky of Magic.

The first two stories are about married couples discovering that the love they once knew is still alive and well. For Love of Joshua is about a teacher whose dedication to a small boy with learning disabilities leads to romance with his single dad. Sky of Magic, one of my favorite stories, tells of a man returning to the big sky country of Montana and the woman he once loved.

These stories were all previously published in Woman's World magazine but have been rewritten and updated for today's reader. It's been a real pleasure to revisit these stories and the characters that I created so many years ago, almost like getting reacquainted with old friends. I love the cover that reflects the cover story and the theme of the magic of love renewed.

Once again, I have to thank my daughter Emily and son-in-law Dan for their help with all the technical aspects of getting these stories published again. What a blessing it is to have family who can do this stuff!

To learn more about this book and others I've written, please visit the Amazon Kindle Store.

http://tinyurl.com/ke7cbjh

 

 

 

 

Winners!

The winners of the two Amazon gift certificates for my 30th anniversary are Patricia Kiyono and Diane Burton. Thanks so much for commenting here. I will send your certificates shortly. Enjoy!

A Lucky Day

Today, September 13, 2013, marks a special anniversary for me. Thirty years ago today, I became a published author when my first short story appeared in Woman’s World magazine. While that may not sound like such a big deal to most people, for anyone who writes and dreams of being published, well, you know it is a huge deal. I still remember what it felt like to go into the store and pick up that September 13, 1983 issue of the magazine and know my story was in it and it would be read by countless people all across the country. Talk about a rush!

I had been writing with the goal of getting published for several years then and had spent hours upon hours at a manual typewriter, spinning tales I feared only I would ever read. I’d submitted a few chapters of full length novels to a few publishers and been quickly rejected. Then I happened to read a list of the best 100 markets for fiction in Writer’s Digest magazine. Woman’s World was number 5 on the list. Since I wasn’t having much luck with the novels I’d written, it made me think that perhaps I should give short stories a try. I’d always loved reading them in magazines, and at that time there was still a pretty decent market for short fiction. I studied the guidelines for what Woman’s World wanted and started writing.

I honestly don’t remember how long it took, nor how many drafts I wrote before I was satisfied with the final one. I do know that when I finished it, I decided to write a second story, a shortened version of one of the novels I’d written. When I finished typing up the completed manuscripts on the old Smith-Corona, I sent them both off to the fiction editor at Woman’s World. I truly did not expect to hear from them for a long time, let alone get back anything but a rejection.

Imagine my surprise (really more like shock) when a short time later, a letter came in the mail accepting the first story for publication. Imagine my even greater shock when I received a phone call from an editor, telling me they also wanted to publish the second story! I am pretty sure I spent at least a week pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. The stories were published in successive issues, and so for two weeks that September of 1983, I was on cloud nine.

The title for my first story, which I had called For Love of Joshua, was Love Takes a Lesson. The second, Good-bye to Summer Love, was closer to my own title of simply, Goodbye to Summer.

            Besides the price of the magazine--only .59 back then!-- much has changed in the world of publishing in the 30 years since my story of a little boy with a reading disability, his single dad, and the teacher who helps them hit the stands. I could write a whole other blog on just that and how it's affected writers. Some of the changes have been good ones. One of the benefits is that stories that have long been out of print can now find a second life as e-books.

My first e-book, An Uncommon Prince and Other Short Stories, a collection of five of my Woman’s World stories, was released from Amazon in July. One of the stories in that book is Goodbye to Summer. My second e-book of short stories will be released soon and will include that very first story, For Love of Joshua. Please watch for it soon in the Amazon Kindle store.

To celebrate this 30^th anniversary date, I am giving away two $5.00 gift certificates to Amazon. Anyone who comments here will have a chance to win, and I’ll leave it open until midnight. I'll announce the winners here on my blog and also on my author page on Facebook www.facebook.com/LucyNaylorKubash
 
Happy Friday the 13^th and good luck in the drawing!