Ever Been Star Struck?

Posted on February 24, 2011

When I was a teenager, I was like any other fan-girl reading Teen Beat and swooning over the hunk of the day. Justin Bieber had nothing on Rick Springfield!

Celebrity is a funny thing – not funny ha ha, but funny as in strange. When we turn into “fans” of a musician or an actor/actress or an author, we seem to lose our heads. All rational thinking goes out the window. We seem to want to put celebrities up onto pedestals, the perfect place to worship them from.

Of course, that makes it a long hard fall, and most celebrities, since they are in fact human and not gods, do inevitably fall. Look at poor Tiger Woods – a role model for so many, and how far he’s plummeted. I’m not sure which is sadder – our unrealistic expectations of “stars,” or our lack of understanding and empathy for their plights as human beings.

So what about you? Have you ever been star struck?

New Release: Graveyard Games

Posted on February 7, 2011

Dusty has always been the hothead in the pair — her twin, Nick, he was the calm, cool and collected one. But now Nick is dead, found murdered in their local cemetery, and Dusty, on forced leave from her job as a Chicago police officer, goes back to her childhood home to attend the funeral.

It becomes quickly apparent to Dusty that the local authorities aren’t being straight with her, or anyone else, about what’s been going on in the little Midwestern town she grew up in. The detective in her kicks in and she decides to find out what–or who–has killed her brother, so she moves in temporarily with her father and stepmother, takes a job in a local bar, and starts asking questions.

Her focus soon fixes on Shane, her brother’s best friend–the town bad boy and bad seed. The tension between the two of them has always been palpable, and nothing has changed. Sparks fly as they collide, and while Dusty finds herself sinking in deeper with Shane, the mystery of what happened to her brother–and an ever growing list of victims–grows even stranger.

Dusty finds her past haunting her everywhere she goes as she continues to dig deeper into the circumstances of her brother’s death, and her future looms large as her fate as a police officer is about to be determined back in Chicago. With everything coming to a head, she focuses on one thing: What happened the night her brother was killed in the cemetery? She’s sure Shane knows… something… and she’s determined to find out what it is, one way or another.

Word Count: 70,100

Mystery, Romance, Horror, Suspense/Thriller

EXCERPT:

Chris leaned against the wall while Shane lined up a shot. Dusty watched for a moment, unnoticed. The muscles in Shane’s arms showed, hard and sinewy, beneath the sleeves of his black t-shirt. He was concentrating, the cue stick steady as he leaned over the table, carefully calculating, although it was obviously an easy shot.

Dusty grinned mischievously. “Hey guys!”

She clapped Shane—hard—on the back. The motion sent him forward, making the cue stick hit the ball. It rolled about four inches—and stopped.

“Aww.” Dusty blinked innocently. “You would have made that, too.”

Shane turned to face her, smiling, but his eyes were cold and dark. She took a step back. Chris did as well, wide-eyed.

“I’m gonna kill you,” he told her in a low voice.

In that moment, as he advanced, she thought he was serious. He grabbed her arm roughly, jerking her toward him.

“Shane,” she gasped. “I was only—”

He pulled her tightly up against him and she tensed, waiting for him to do something, anything—and then he kissed her, his mouth slanting harshly across hers. She opened her eyes wide and gasped in surprise—it was all the opening he needed and his tongue touched hers.

His hold tightened, his hands moving down her uniform and then up the backs of her thighs. She relaxed against him for a moment, stunned, and his mouth grew soft and more gentle but still insistent, his hands wandering upwards. She gave into him, responding with a soft moan, letting herself melt against his hardness. She pushed him away only to stop herself, but she still couldn’t break free from the tight circle of his arms.

“Let me go,” she said, unable to keep her voice steady, her eyes narrowing. Surprisingly, he did.

“You’re a goddamned tease,” he gasped, and his eyes looked pained.

“No, I’m not.” She felt herself trembling and hoped he couldn’t see it.

He laughed softly, never taking his eyes from her. Chris watched them, open-mouthed, but he wasn’t their only audience. Lee watched them, too, standing near the juke, and

Sam’s eyes were glued to the scene as he leaned on his broom.

“Prove it, then.” The dark look in his eyes caught her breath and held it. He stepped in front of her, tilting her slightly quivering chin up with one finger. “Meet me at the path tomorrow at nine.”

She hesitated, looking at him, hating him, hating herself. She regained her voice by swallowing past something lodged in her throat and narrowed her eyes at him, jerking away. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I meet you anywhere.”

His soft laughter followed her as she turned and walked away.

New Release: Star Struck

Posted on January 23, 2010

Sara is obsessed with pop star Tyler Vincent, and as she nears the end of her senior year, she’s determined to find a way to be with him–although her best friend, Aimee, keeps telling her to find a different escape from her desperately violent home life.

Complications arise when Dale, the mysterious new transfer student, sets his sights on Sara, and she falls for this rock-star-in-the-making in spite of her better judgment. When Sara wins a contest, she is faced with a choice–travel to Tyler Vincent’s home town to meet him, or stay and support Dale in a Battle-of-the-Bands hosted by MTV. Their triangulated relationship is pushed to its breaking point, but there is another, deeper secret that Dale’s been keeping that just may break things wide open…

Word Count: 50,100

Teen, Young Adult, Romance

EXCERPT:

“So, I didn’t see you carry anything in for me,” Dale said. “Does that mean its small enough to fit in your pocket, or that you didn’t get me anything because I’ve been such a bad boy?” He nuzzled my neck and sent goose bumps down my arms.
“Actually, neither. It’s already here,” I said. He raised his eyebrows at me. “And it’s not totally from me.”
“Oh?”
“Well, John and I split the cost, actually. I used the babysitting money I’ve been saving for a couple of years, but I still didn’t have enough, so your dad helped out.”
His eyes widened. “Holy cow, what did you get me, a Porsche?”
“Not exactly.” I grinned. “Something better. Close your eyes and I’ll show you.”
Dale dutifully closed his eyes and I helped him to his feet, leading him back to John’s room. I sat him down on the bed and closed the door.
“Are you sure my Christmas gift is in here, or is this just a ploy to get me alone?”
I laughed, opening the closet door. “Are you ready?”
“I guess so.”
“Okay.” I pulled off the towels and clothes we had covered it with. “You can open your eyes.”
He did, and his eyes widened, his jaw dropping. He sat there like that for a full ten seconds, stunned.
“I… you… wow!”
I laughed, clapping my hands. “You really like it?”
“Like it?” Dale stood and swung me into his arms. “You are the sweetest, most generous, most wonderful girl in the world. Thank you.” He hugged me close. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome,” I said against his neck. “Now you don’t have an excuse not to enter the Battle of the Bands.”
“I can’t believe you did this. Amplifiers cost a small fortune. You must have spent your life savings,” he said into my hair, hugging me so close it was hard to breathe.
“Almost,” I said. “But you’re worth every penny.”
He kissed me then, taking my breath as always. I felt his heart beating against mine.
“Are you ready for yours?” he whispered near my ear.
“My what?” I asked, a little dazed from his kiss. He grinned.
“Come on.” He led me back into the living room. I sat on the floor while he dug around under the tree. He pulled out a long black velvet box and my heart sank at the sight of it. He came to sit next to me.
“I know we talked about it and said we didn’t want to make a commitment. Because we’re still in high school, and you’re going away to college, and Tyler Vincent, and me trying to make it in the music business,” he started, holding my hand and the box in the other.
He paused and I looked at him. Don’t do this, I pleaded silently and he smiled a little sheepishly.
“But—?” I said for him.
“I want you to know this isn’t like that. This is…this is to show you that I understand… about your feelings for Tyler Vincent. And about me.”
I took the box from him and hesitated before opening it, a little afraid. It creaked open and I gasped aloud, lifting the heart-shaped locket out, holding it up on tented fingers. The gold shone in the light and a diamond sparkled in its top left corner.
“Oh, Dale,” I whispered, holding it in my palm.
“Open it,” he encouraged.
“There’s more?” I lifted the tiny latch and opened the heart. On the left side was a picture of Dale, looking a little younger but much the same. On the right side was a picture of Tyler Vincent. I felt tears well and couldn’t keep them from falling.
“Hey, don’t cry. Don’t you like it?” he asked, concerned, touching my cheek.
I hugged him hard and fast, surprising him a little I think. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered against his shirt. “I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve you.”
“You deserve a great deal more than this, beautiful, and I intend to give it to you.” He clutched me tightly.
“Will you put it on me?” I pulled away to hand the locket to him and lifted my hair. He put it around my neck and took a moment to do the clasp. I felt his breath touch the tiny hairs on the nape of my neck. I let my hair fall and turned to look at him.
“Dale.” I said his name quietly, running my hand along his jaw. “Thank you. For this. For understanding. For everything.”
“Do I have to say you’re welcome? You’re always welcome.” He opened his arms and I went to him.

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