Saturday Sample: Rest Thy Head

Welcome to Saturday Sample. Today we're looking at excerpts from Rest Thy Head, which is one of my all time favorites. Rest Thy Head is only .99 at http://amzn.to/1PDbyPX 

Last Week:Chapter 1
A pained expression came to rest on her mother’s face. “I’m so tired of having to explain things to a daughter who should understand but refuses to do so. The Roberts would not appreciate someone like Ashley serving as your maid of honor. Be grateful you have Roberta to fall back on.”

“Roberta is Drew’s sister, not mine,” Peyton cried. “I don’t even like her.”

“She’ll grow on you. Now, we’d better hurry.”

Peyton ran to put the tablecloth on the dining room table with her other wedding gifts. Pausing for a moment, she stroked the table’s smooth, gleaming surface.

This week:

Her mother had found it in a second hand shop and spent a long time refinishing it. No shabby chic for Eleanor! It now looked like a prized family piece, which was exactly what her mother had wanted.

Everything in this house looked old, elegant, and well-­‐‑ tended. She didn’t think anyone would guess most of the furniture came from thrift stores and junk shops.

“Peyton? Where are you?”

“Coming, Mother.”
As they drove across town to meet Ashley, who was having her bridesmaid dress altered, her mother chatted non-stop about the wedding. Like that wasn’t all she’d talked about for months!

Saturday Sample: Rest Thy Head

Welcome to Saturday Sample. Today we're starting some excerpts from Rest Thy Head, which is one of my all time favorites. Rest Thy Head is only .99 at http://amzn.to/1PDbyPX 

Last Week:Chapter 1

“Considering the fact they’re best friends with Drew’s parents, I sort of expected a gift from them.” Peyton tossed the card back into the box. “I’m not as happy with the tablecloth as you are. I’d rather give a barbecue and eat outside.”

Peyton frowned when she noted the patronizing smile on her mother’s face.

“Darling, that’s fine for right now, but later on after Drew goes to work with his father, you’ll be expected to entertain his clients and business associates. I imagine they’ll expect more than a barbecue in the back yard.”

Peyton rolled her eyes at her mother. “Yuck.”

This week:

Saturday Sample

Welcome to Saturday Sample. Last week we saw that Rocky called Aimee and told her he'd bought them a house to live in. Aimee headed to West Virginia, but her car quit five miles from Fortuna, the estate that Rocky bought. 

Blurb:
Aimee Sherwood never dreamed that following her fiancé into the witness protection pro-gram would land her in a haunted house in a town that’s downright creepy. She’d have laughed if she had been told the guy who lives down the road might be her soul mate, not the man whose ring she’s wearing. Life in West Virginia is nothing like life in Los Angeles, but between bean ball battles with Marilyn Monroe, remodeling a crumbling farmhouse, and starting a new online business, life in the country is anything but boring.

Excerpt:
She tried to call Rocky for about the tenth time, but nobody answered, and the call went to voice mail. Okay, Rocky was no help to her so she’d help herself. Five miles. Big deal. I can walk five miles.

She stepped out of the car just in time to see a man on horseback coming down the road. The animal had a huge, flowing, white mane and tail that streamed on the wind. Its bright eyes and erect ears made it seem as if the horse were enjoying the early spring day and wanted to go exploring. Dapple gray. Yeah, it’s a dapple gray. As the horseman approached, he reined his mount in and stopped beside her car.

“Why, Aimee Sherwood. What are you doing here?” 

Buy link: http://amzn.to/23yoW2d

Beyond the Book: #Garden Party

Blurb:

Aimee Sherwood never dreamed that following her fiancé into the witness protection pro-gram would land her in a haunted house in a town that’s downright creepy. She’d have laughed if she had been told the guy who lives down the road might be her soul mate, not the man whose ring she’s wearing. Life in West Virginia is nothing like life in Los Angeles, but between bean ball battles with Marilyn Monroe, remodeling a crumbling farmhouse, and starting a new online business, life in the country is anything but boring.


Now about that guy who lives down the road... His name is Cade McCoy, and he owns a 19th century property called Bad Creek. He raises horses. Here's a picture of Bad Creek. Pretty, isn't it?

Since Cade's house was constructed in the 19th century, he decided to give a 19th century garden party. People in the that era loved garden parties. They were thrown and attended by the well-to-do people of the day. The parties were held outside and were quite formal. In this selection from Fortuna, Aimee and Cade are talking about the food he served.

“Is the food all nineteenth century stuff?”

Cade’s laughter rang across the yard and made Rocky look their way. June scowled at him and laid her hand on his arm to distract him. “Sort of. The petit fours, ham, and fruit are authentic, but I didn’t bother with the cucumber sandwiches, jellied tongue, or pate. Lemonade, coffee, and tea are all authentic, and so is the punch and claret cup.”

“What’s claret cup?” Aimee asked.

“It’s a gentleman’s punch made of red wine, sugar, lemons, and carbonated water. Sometimes they added fruit juice, spices, or liqueurs.” 


Personally, I think Cade should have served the cucumber sandwiches. They were small and crustless and filled with thinly sliced cucumbers and butter or mayo. I had one at a tea once, but I didn't think it was all that great. Still, it was a traditional favorite. As far as the main dishes are concerned, they were mostly served cold. Ham was a good choice, but the pate and jellied tongue were very popular as were cold birds, lobster salad, jellied tongue, and salmon. Sorry, but I can't do jellied tongue.

Peaches, grapes, melons and strawberries were popular fruits, and no garden party was complete without a nice selection of petit, dainty cakes, filled sweet biscuits, tarts, scones, and iced cookies.

I guess Cade did all right with his menu, and with everyone in costume, it would have been an evening to remember. It was for Aimee, but not because of the food or her costume. Bet you can guess why.

Buy link:

http://amzn.to/23yoW2d

Beyond the Book

I've taken Fortuna on a virtual book tour filled with prizes, excerpts, and interviews. I would love for you to follow my tour. You can find my schedule at

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/search?q=fortuna

Fortuna is a romantic comedy in which a significant number of scenes  are based on real life experiences that happened to either me or my family. Some of them are recreated exactly as they happened while others are embelished somewhat. It's goofy, offbeat, and I think lots of fun. Sometimes the humor is fairly dry, but in other places I expect you'll laugh out loud. 

The book features a ghost, drug dealers, a stint in the witness protection program, WWE style wrestling, two mismatched couples, secret rooms, a forgotten cemetery, a crumbling 18th century farmhouse, and one 19th century house plus leech attacks, tornadoes, farting horses, and a very weird town. 

Join the tour with me, and I'll be available to answer any questions you might have. Meanwhile, here's an Amazon review for Fortuna.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. In the beginning I thought it would be sort of dull. Boy did I get that wrong. The characters are quirky and fun, sexy and sweet. The story has a plot that moves well and the period information was a nice touch. A ghost, drugs, FBI informants and a couple of mismatched couples! Lots of fun and a sweet love story all rolled into one. If you want a quick, fun read, check out Fortuna. Recommended.

Buy link: http://amzn.to/23yoW2d

Beyond the Book #characterinterview

Character Interview: Aimee Sherwood

Rhonda: Welcome to Updated History, a Viewer’s Choice TV program. My name is Rhonda Dalton, and my guest today is Aimee Sherwood. Aimee, welcome to the show. Could you introduce yourself to the viewers?

Aimee: Thank you, Rhonda. As you said, I’m Aimee Sherwood. I was born in Baltimore, but I spent the last couple of years in LA where I met LAWA wrestler Rocky Stone. Rocky bought some property in West Virginia, and that’s how I got here.

Rhonda: That’s lovely, Aimee. Why don’t you tell the viewers about your new business?

Aimee: I’d love to. My business is Internet based. I make authentic reproductions of 17^th and 18^th century clothing for both men and women. So many people in Centerville love history that I thought I’d help them get quality reproduction clothing for balls, reenactments, garden parties, and so on.

Rhonda: That sounds fascinating. I’m in need of a new costume myself. Was opening your own business your major life goal?

Aimee: No, I only recently thought of it. My main goal is to decide between two… Well, it’s kind of personal so I guess I’ll pass on this one.

Rhonda: That’s very mysterious. Can you tell us your greatest fear?

Aimee: (Laughs) I’m afraid I’ll do something stupid like that bean ball battle I had with Marilyn Monroe.

Rhonda: (laughs too) Yes, I’ve heard about that.  I take it bean balls aren’t your favorite food.

Aimee: I’d rather have chocolate doughnuts or pork skins.

Rhonda: Yummy. One final question, if you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Aimee: That’s easy. I’d expand my business and help Rocky renovate Fortuna.

Rhonda: That’s wonderful, Aimee. Thanks for being here.

Aimee: Thanks for having me.

Beyond the Book

Welcome to Beyond the Book, your chance to find out what my characters are up to after the book ended. Today Aimee, my heroine in Fortuna, has to pick out a new set of china. Which one do you like better? Anyone who comments gets a free book from my backlist.

Number 1

Number 2

Beyond the Book: The Horse Did What?

Do you like horses? My heroine Aimee had never ridden a horse until her car broke down and she accepted a ride from Cade McCoy who was riding his horse. Here's what happened the first time she tried to ride a horse.

The horse snorted, distracting Aimee from her thoughts. “So, do you want that lift?” Cade asked.

“You mean on the horse?”

His lips twitched as his eyes danced. “Why not?”

Was he laughing at her? He was! He was laughing at her. “I don’t mind riding your horse,” she said, her chin going up as it always did when a challenge presented itself.

“Excellent.”

He swung up on the horse and extended his hand to her. “Put your foot in the stirrup, and I’ll pull you up.”

Aimee confidently stuck her foot in the stirrup and took his hand. She’d never been on a horse before, but how hard could it be? Just a little step up, right?

Wrong. The horse was taller than she thought. As she floundered and scrambled against the animal’s side, Cade gave her arm a jerk and set her in place behind him. The minute the horse felt her weight it farted, a long, drawn-out expulsion of air that seemed to go on forever.

Cade laughed as if it was the most hysterical thing he’d ever heard.  

Beyond the Book: Fortuna

My Fortuna heroine Aimee Sherwood has a dilemma. She's engaged to Rocky Stone, but she can't stay away from her neighbor Cade McCoy. Is it possible to have feelings for two men at the same time? Leave a comment and tell me what you think, and I'll choose someone to receive a free copy of Fortuna and my other new release The Captain and the Cheerleader.

Check back on Friday at this post and I'll have the winner listed. Please, please let me a way to reach you if you win.

Beyond the Book: Fortuna

A merry tale of life, love and confusion in a small town.

Fortuna is the name of the house my heroine's fiance bough for them to live in. You can see a little bit of Fortuna on the cover, but not too much. The house was a total wreck and actually leaned to one side when Rocky bought it. He wanted to restore it, but Aimee wanted to gut it and start over. Here are Aimee's first thoughts about Fortuna.By the way, Fortuna is the goddess of luck and good fortune.

Rocky grabbed her hand before she could scold. “Let me show you the house, hon. It’s just incredible. I can’t believe how lucky I was to find it.” He beamed at June. “Thanks to you I didn’t buy that tacky McMansion for sale on the other side of town.”

Aimee’s teeth ground together.

With Cade and June following, Rocky indicated the room to the right of the fallen door. “This is the living room.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “See that pretty molding up near the ceiling?”

Aimee shook her head. “No, but I do see some crumbling plaster. Is that what you’re talking about?”

Rocky closed his eyes as if her assessment of the molding pained him. “Hon, this house was built in 1750. Of course it needs a little work.”

“With historical properties one focuses on the potential, not the current condition,” June inserted.

Aimee’s lips tightened when June’s snarky tone registered.

They left the living room and went straight into the room on the left of the fallen door. “This is the dining room,” Rocky said. “Don’t go into the far corner. We have a hole in the floor.”

Aimee bounced on the supposedly safe part of the wooden floor. “I’m not sure we should be in here at all. It feels spongy to me.”

Cade stepped into the hall.

From the hallway, Rocky led them to the back part of the house. “Here’s the kitchen, hon.”

“Much nicer,” Aimee approved as her eyes swept the room. “The kitchen must have been redone in 1920. Is that a woodstove over there?”

June scowled and Cade laughed.

“Hon,” Rocky reproved.

The bedrooms were no better, but the bathroom . . . “There are no words,” Aimee whispered. She kicked the claw-foot tub and dislodged a rain of rust particles. They made a pretty pattern where they drifted across the dirty floor. What did the floor look like? Was it black and white? No, maybe gray and white, or maybe brown? “Rocky . . .”

“Don’t worry, hon.” He patted her shoulder. “We have outside facilities. I told the contractor he’d need to work on the bathrooms first thing.”

“No, he’ll need to shore up the entire thing first, or it’s going to fall down and kill us.”

Cade’s eyes were full of laughter. “Hey, Rocky, where are the outside facilities?”

“Look out the window.”

Aimee rushed to the window and looked out. She saw an outdoor shower with absolutely no way to conceal oneself. Not far away she saw a small, crooked hut. No! It couldn’t be. Her grandmother had told her of such things, but . . . “Is that hut an outhouse?”

Rocky nodded. “Uh-huh. It has two holes and some catalogues from 1955. You won’t even have to take a book with you.” He pursed his lips. “I don’t really know why they needed two holes. Maybe people in the country make communal bathroom visits.”

Aimee tried the deep breathing technique that usually calmed her. It had no effect whatsoever. She gripped the window frame, which of course had no glass in it. “We can’t live here. Besides the fact that the place is falling down and actually tilts to one side, we don’t have a stick of furniture, a working bathroom or kitchen, or a bedroom fit to sleep in.”

June cleared her throat. “You aren’t using your historical imagination, Aimee. Take your cue from Rocky. He appreciates the opportunity to be the caretaker of such a fabulous property. With his vision and foresight, this will be one of the most beautiful homes in West Virginia.”

As you might expect, Aimee's reply to June, the realtor who sold the house to Rocky, isn't too polite, but that's an excerpt for another day.

Buy link: http://amzn.to/23yoW2d