7/18/24 – It’s hot out there! Stay inside and read!!

Hey there happy reader!

If you look at the map of the country, there’s not a spot where the weather is tolerable. Here in the northeast, we’re in the middle of our THIRD heat wave and I’ve conceded. I’m not going back outside until after Labor Day!

So… what will I be doing instead?

Putting the finishing touches on my romantic suspense novel, “Question Everything” with the goal of shipping it off to my editor by July 29th.

This is the hardest part of the process for me. I start to second guess just about every aspect of the story and the characters. UGH! I have author friends who tell me it’s the same for them, too. We’re a shaky bunch, at best!

All in all, I’m lucky that I have the privilege to do what I do… make up stories in my head and then commit them to the page.

If one of my books makes you smile or gives you a few hours of relaxation, then I’ve done my job well! If you’ve enjoyed one of my books, pass it along to a friend. She’ll thank you for it!

In the meantime, here’s one last sneak peek at “Question Everything.”

Mia (our heroine who lost her memory after a car accident) has gone downstairs to put the uncooked dinner rolls she made for Thanksgiving in the refrigerator – they’d been doing their final rise on the counter. Kyle, (the hero police detective who rescued her) Daisy, (her baby daughter), and the rest of his family are asleep…

Mia woke with a start and immediately glanced over to make sure that Kyle was in bed with her. He was there, softly breathing, looking as peaceful as Daisy looked at night. She felt tremendous relief. The clock read 1:59am and she realized that she had exactly one minute before his phone timer went off. She quickly got out of bed and walked around the mattress to his side to turn it off. No need for them both to be awake. She reached for the pair of thick, wooly socks that she’d left on the dresser, put them on and very carefully opened the bedroom door so that he stayed asleep. Knowing that she was the only one awake, she didn’t put on her robe; she’d be quick and back in bed soon enough. Once in the hallway, she made her way to the stairs and stealthily climbed down to the kitchen. There was no need to put on a light; the moon was not quite full but still shone brightly in the sky casting the room with a golden glow. A peek out the window proved that the stars were too numerous to count. With a sigh, Mia pulled the towels off the rolls and was pleased to see that they had risen to be fluffy, buttery pillows. Each would bake nicely before dinner and the basket would be overflowing with yeasty goodness.

Mia didn’t take the time to wonder why she remembered how to make these or any of the other treats she’d tucked away downstairs in the basement freezer. She concentrated instead on not dropping anything on her way to store the prepared rolls and very carefully navigated her way into the bowels of the house. The boiler kicked on as she reached the landing and she jumped at the sound and almost dropped the trays, but luckily, she remained calm enough to accomplish her task. She pried the refrigerator door open with her foot and slipped the trays inside. The light from the appliance glowed and she thought for a moment that she saw a light move across a corner window of the basement. She was disoriented to where she stood in relation to what was outside that window and suddenly her heart thudded rapidly in her chest, and she almost forgot to remove the bags of cinnamon breakfast buns she’d made the week before from the freezer before she turned to go back upstairs. With the refrigerator door closed, the basement was plunged into darkness and while her eyes adjusted rapidly, she still had the odd sense that something wasn’t right. She didn’t want to think about it; she ran up the wooden steps and shut the door behind her. She dropped the cinnamon rolls on the counter knowing that they’d defrost in time for breakfast and could only think about being back in the safety of Kyle’s bed when she saw them.

Headlights. There was a car on the driveway.

She very quietly crept along the walls of the kitchen, staying out of sight of prying eyes and pressed herself against the cool plaster, hoping to remain invisible. She could see out through the panels of glass that sat on either side of the front door. There was a man sitting in the car, but he didn’t step outside. It appeared as if he was on his phone, angrily discussing something with whomever was on the other side of that call. His hand gestures were animated, and he kept shaking his head in disagreement with what he was hearing. She couldn’t make out the details of his features; they were hidden in the shadows of the hooded sweatshirt he wore. Something about his broad shoulders seemed familiar, but she shook away that thought, knowing that there was no chance she knew this person. She watched as he ended the call by throwing his phone onto the empty seat next to him before putting the car in reverse and backing out into the street. Then the car slowly drove away.

Once she was sure that he was gone, Mia felt her knees give way and crumble beneath the weight of her body. She didn’t know what to do next. Part of her wanted to grab Daisy out of her crib, dress her in her warmest clothing and take the keys to Kyle’s truck and drive away. She was putting these good people in danger and that was unfair. They didn’t deserve to potentially get hurt because of her and her problems. A bigger part of her wanted to wake Kyle up and tell him what she saw, but she knew he’d wake his brothers and go looking for this mysterious car and she didn’t want that to happen, either. In the end, once her body stopped shaking, she crawled over to the staircase and slowly pulled herself up the steps, only standing when she was a safe distance down the upstairs hallway at a point when she knew she wouldn’t fall again. Then she walked on shaky feet to Kyle’s room and got back into the bed. She was cold, so cold. It was tempting to press her body against his warm one, but she didn’t want to startle him. Instead, she wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, lay back against the pillows and waited for the sun to rise. She knew that she wasn’t alone, that Kyle’s warmth and strength was lying right there beside her, but she almost wished she were. That way, the collateral damage would be much more limited to a party of one. Just her.

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Whew!

Before you know it, this book will be available on Amazon, and you’ll be able to find out what happens next. It’s got quite the twist at the end…