Grace has taken care of her widowed
father her entire adult life and the ornery old goat has finally died. She has
no job, no skills and very little money, and has heard her father's prediction
that no decent man would ever want her so often she accepts it as fact.
But she does have a big old house on Lawyers Row in Peacock, Tennessee. She opens a rooming house and quickly gathers a motley crew of tenants - Promise, Grace's best friend since kindergarten, who's fighting cancer; Maxie, an aging soap opera actress who hasn't lost her flair for the dramatic; Jonah, a sweet gullible old man with a crush on Maxie.
And Dillon, Grace's brother's best friend, who stood her up on the night of her senior prom and has regretted it ever since. Dillon rents Grace's guest house for the summer and hopes to make up for lost time and past hurts - but first, he'll have to convince Grace that she's worth loving...
But she does have a big old house on Lawyers Row in Peacock, Tennessee. She opens a rooming house and quickly gathers a motley crew of tenants - Promise, Grace's best friend since kindergarten, who's fighting cancer; Maxie, an aging soap opera actress who hasn't lost her flair for the dramatic; Jonah, a sweet gullible old man with a crush on Maxie.
And Dillon, Grace's brother's best friend, who stood her up on the night of her senior prom and has regretted it ever since. Dillon rents Grace's guest house for the summer and hopes to make up for lost time and past hurts - but first, he'll have to convince Grace that she's worth loving...
Stay tuned for a sneak peak from One
More Summer! For now, we go now to our Cozy correspondent, Tink, who is still
sharing Captain Jack’s quarters on the Black Pearl somewhere in the Carribbean....
Take it away, Tink….
*a chorus of “Yo Ho Ho,
and a Bottle of Rum”*
Tink: Arrr, maties, and hello from the Bermuda
Triangle! As you can see by the patch, I have been officially inducted into
Captain Jack’s crew. They call me Red-Handed Tink, aka Mrs. Jack Sparrow :)
Liz, it’s good to have you aboard! We’ll
put one of the hands to work on getting us a round of drinks. If you were a
mixed drink what would you be and why?
Dillon is a good friend, too, and he’s
funny, and he’s a loving man who doesn’t pretend not to be.
Tink: Now for a more in-depth look at the author… I will now ask you a round of nosy and nonsensical questions developed by Bernard Peevo and used by James Lipton on Inside the Actor’s Studio…. Brace yourself J
What’s your favorite word? Least
favorite?
Liz: Son of a bitch.
Grace got to her feet.
“Remember how fragile these glass slippers are.”
He nudged one of her bare feet
with the toe of his sandal. “Damn near invisible too. Isn’t technology
something?”
Dillon and Steven had placed
citronella torches in the yard, and the scent of the oil blended with that of
the flowers. The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” filled the air and
Dillon put his arms around Grace’s waist. Gently, not pulling her close. She
rested her hands lightly on his shoulders, suddenly shy. Other than aerobics
classes in the church basement that Promise had dragged her to, she hadn’t
danced since high school.
As they moved across the lawn,
however, his arms tightened and her hands crept up around his neck, the left
one with its glaring white bandage held palm out. His muscled legs moved
against hers, but the motions they made were liquid, graceful, and she wished
whimsically for a waltz and a flowing dress.
The song changed, and he sang
close to her ear. The grass dance floor was cool and damp beneath her feet, the
star-filled sky a splendid ceiling, the flickering torches the most romantic of
lights, the subtle scent of roses a seductive aroma. Almost against her will,
Grace’s eyes drifted closed as his lips lowered to hers. The ambiance was lost
on Grace as Dillon’s kiss took over her senses. All she felt were his hands
splayed on her back, his body flush with hers. All she smelled was the pleasant
mingling of charcoal smoke and Irish Spring soap that lingered on his shirt and
his skin. She tasted only his mouth, flavored with wine and coffee, and she
couldn’t get enough of it.
After the third kiss, when her
insides were a roiling mass of sensation and emotion, she murmured, “Geezy
Pete.”
He said, “You got that right,”
and stroked a hand up her back. “What’s this? You didn’t wear a bra to the
prom?”
She brought her injured hand
into his line of vision and waggled it. “I couldn’t fasten it.”
His hand came around between
them to cup one small, denim-covered breast. “What a shame.” He found her
nipple and worked the bead of its tip between his fingers.
A low moan slipped uncaught
from her throat. Clutching her composure like a lifeline before it
disintegrated completely, she said, “The music’s stopped.”
“Do you really think so?” he
whispered, and teased her lips with the tip of his tongue until they opened.
They had danced their way to
where they stood among the trees. When she opened her eyes again, she caught
sight of a torch to their left, anchored into the ground beside the single step
that led inside the gazebo.
The gazebo.
“No
decent man in his right mind’s going to want you, girl.”
“No, Papa,” she whispered,
caught in the horror, and moved restively in Dillon’s embrace.
“Gracie?” His voice was soft,
gentling.
“I need to go in.” The words
sounded much more urgent than the situation demanded, but she couldn’t unsay
them.
“Okay.” He answered
immediately, and turned her toward the house, but didn’t release her. “I’ll
take you back.”
Steven and Promise weren’t on
the back porch. The candles had been snuffed, but the dishes remained on the
table. “Leave them,” Dillon said, leading her firmly past the mess and into the
house. “Steven and I will take care of it. You go on up.”
She nodded and moved toward the
stairs, but turned when she stood on the second one. “Dillon?”
“Yeah?” He smiled at her, the
expression not erasing the frown of concern between his eyes.
“Thank you. The ‘prom’ was
wonderful.” Without waiting for a reply, she ran the rest of the way up the
stairs.
She’s learned to write when she feels
like it, sew when she feels like it, and maybe even to eat a little less. She’s
gone back to school, where, yes, she is far and away the oldest kid in class.
She’s learned to share the house and sometimes even the kitchen with Duane, her
husband of, oh, lots of years. And she’s having a Very, Very Good Time. Her
fifth book—she’s not really an overnight success; she just never gives up—is One More Summer a brand new release by
Carina Press. She is thrilled to the point everyone she knows rolls their eyes as
soon as she opens her mouth.
Visit Liz at her website and The WordWranglers where she hangs out with some of her best writer friends!
Cozies, you can find One More Summer this month at CarinaPress as well as Barnes & Noble and Amazon!
Liz has generously offered a giveaway
for today’s Cozy Guest Friday. By commenting to today’s post and answering the
following questions before midnight EST tomorrow, you will be entered to win a jar
candle along with a book from her backlist:
What is your favorite scent and why? (If chosen as the
winner, Liz will send your scent of choice!)
The winner will be chosen by the True
Random Number Generator at Random.org and announced here at The Cozy Page on
Sunday so please check back to see if you have won. (Chances of winning depend
on the number of entries; you must be 18 years or older to enter.)
10 comments:
Great interview! Good luck with your book (and retirement) Liz!!
Loved this interview! I soooo want to read this, and also want to know if a fully-loaded e-reader is cheating on the 'one book only' question, lol!
My favorite scent is a three-way tie between Vanilla, Cucumber-melon, and Home Sweet Home. Vanilla, b/c it's a nice clean scent; C-M, b/c when I light it, it smells as if I'm standing in a melon patch; and HSH b/c it reminds me of my grandma's kitchen:)
That was a great interview, Liz!
Felix, the Gourd. Hahahaha!
My favorite scent is Lavender Vanilla, it is a combination of the 2 scents that is supposedly a turn on for men; but I just love it!!
This is one of the most interesting interviews I've ever read! Good questions!
My favorite scent is Rose. It reminds me of my Mother's garden.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I love lavender, because it's so relaxing. It's the scent of ,y favorite lotion! Thanks for the excerpt!
I can totally relate to the challenge of making the characters sound different, Liz.
Great interview.
It's hard to choose a flavor but I like apple pie or cinnamon roll. Well, I guess I meant "scent."
What do you think one of my resolutions was? lol
Fun interview, Tink and Liz. Really enjoyed it.
Thanks to everyone for coming by. I sooo appreciate it.
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