Author Information – Page 11 – Nomad Authors Blog

Whoa! Rock You Like a Hurricane by Sierra Brave

Title: Rock You Like a Hurricane
Series: Triple Passion Play
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense, Ménage

Limited Time Re-release Sale: $.99*
(*US Price, prices in other countries vary based on market)
Buy Links:
Amazon
US UK CA AU

Other Retailers: https://books2read.com/u/mKD6Y9

Short Interview

NA: What made you decide to re-publish the first book in the Triple Passion Play series?
Sierra: After the unfortunate passing of the owner of the publishing company, my rights to Rock You Like a Hurricane reverted to me. To keep the book available, I had to re-publish.

NA: You made extensive revisions. Why?
Sierra: The characters in the Triple Passion Play series are some of my favorites which is probably why I wrote four books featuring them. The first book was published in 2016. When I was ready to re-publish, I took a fresh look at the story. Rock You Like a Hurricane was still a fun, sexy read, but in the past four years, I’ve learned a lot, and my writing style has changed. The voice no longer sounded like my own so I edited until the characters and story felt like they belonged to me again.

NA: Were there any major changes in the plot?
Sierra: No. The bones and the heart of the story are the same. The time frame covers less than forty-eight hours—Rock You Like a Hurricane is all about the catalyst for the deeper relationship developing between Ken, Tommy, and Trisha in the next three books.

NA: Is Rock You Like a Hurricane a historical romance?
Sierra: Not really. I call it a retro erotic romance. I wrote book four, Triple Naughty Christmas, first before any of what became the first three books. My intent had been to write a stand-alone holiday romance about a seasoned poly relationship. Once my middle-aged poly trio began to come to life on the pages, I felt like a lot more of the story of Trisha, Tommy, and Ken deserved to be told. The beginning seemed like a great place to start. Book one is set in 1996 when the three MCs are still in college.

NA: Why does Rock You Like a Hurricane feature so much world-building?
Sierra: I wanted to convey a sense of nostalgia for the mid-to-late 90s, but I spent a lot of energy setting the scene for a much larger reason. In order for older readers to be able to relate to the main characters, I needed them to feel as if they were stepping into the college coed or new adult mind frame. Tommy, Trisha, and Ken behave differently in book one than they do in book four because they’re not nearly as mature or confident yet. Navigating the early days of adulthood is a challenging time often filled with impulsive decisions and mixed-emotions of anxiety and excitement. I wanted my mature readers to remember those heart-pounding, fly-by-the-seat of your pants, but in some ways, much simpler days.

Sales Blurb:
All bets are off in the eye of the storm.

Trisha Harper has a dilemma. She’s crazy about two smoking hot guys, best friends who share a fascinating synergy. She’s honestly not sure which man she wants more, the Asian stunner or the gregarious blond jock. Maybe both?

Tommy and Ken know each other so well they’re able to complement each other’s strengths while minimizing each other’s weaknesses. Neither man can imagine a life without the other, but they never expected to fall for the same woman. Meeting Trisha changed everything.

A hands-off, gentleman’s agreement kept the peace but as the trio hunkers down together to ride out a potentially deadly hurricane, the quarters are close and the sexual tension is stifling. A game of strip poker has both men teetering between desire and the fear of rejection and loss.

Lightning crashes. Jealousy flares. Tempers explode, and then the power goes out. What will happen in the dark and how will they face the dawn?

Rock You Like a Hurricane is a stand-alone, Male-Female-Male (MFM) romance but also a prequel to the unfolding bisexual ménage saga of the Triple Passion Play series. The story contains sizzling, put-you-in-the-moment love scenes with graphic, descriptive language. If you are offended by explicit content and heavily implied bi-curiosity, you might want to read a different book. Previously published by Liquid Silver Books.

Excerpt

“Hey now! You’re going to mess up my luxurious locks.” Tommy ran a hand through his hair while smirking before he bent forward and snatch the pillow with one hand while gathering her up with his free arm. Trisha squirmed, resisting until Tommy pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Settle down now.” He nuzzled the side of her head.

Her chest tightened and her pussy sent shockwaves through her core. Tommy had hugged her before, but he had never held her close in such an intimate way. His hard chest supported her shoulder while his soft, yummy-smelling hair brushed against her neck and cheek. For some reason, he smelled like Ken tonight. She closed her eyes, breathing in his fragrance. Oh! Her eyes flickered open as his cock stirred beneath. He’s getting hard! Trisha’s breath caught in her throat, and she pursed her lips to repress a smile. As her eyelashes fluttered, she caught the expression on Ken’s face. Shit. He looks as if he’s been punched in the gut. Is he jealous? I can’t have these two fighting.

Scooting back into her seat, Trisha used both hands to shove Tommy away.

“Unhand me, you troll!”

“Troll!” Tommy scrunched up his nose and twisted his lips.

“Well, when you make that face.” She pointed and laughed. “I saw a deck of cards over by the snacks. Let’s play poker.”

Tommy grinned and nodded. “Sure, but Ken will wipe the floor with us.”
Trisha shot a look Ken’s way, offering him a smile and a wink before awkwardly looking away while playing with her hair.

Ken stretched in his seat. “As much as I’d love to rake you two over the coals, we don’t have any chips.”

Well, here’s my opening. Hope my voice doesn’t crack. Trisha lifted her face, batting her lashes at him. “Who needs chips when we have clothes?

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly awesome!!!!
What a fantastic read…I loved every page..the characters flowed..the storyline was fresh and so damn sexy lol
This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I can honestly say I can’t wait to see what other adventures she has in store for us…

Thank you and blessed be
Victoria – Amazon reader

5.0 out of 5 stars All I can say is… HOT HOT HOT!!!
I didn’t know what to expect since I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review but I really enjoyed this book!!!!!!!!!!! At first I was skeptical but after reading the first few chapters and getting to know both male characters I was very intrigued and could not stop reading. Both Tommy and Ken have endearing qualities and the yin and yang balance between the two were very nice. I really LOVED the character of Trisha and how realistic her curiosity with both male characters progressed. The internal dialogue throughout the book was funny and witty where I found myself laughing out loud at times. I have not read a lot of M/F/M novels however I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It had a good amount of dialogue and passionate yet raunchy scenes. I was not sure what hentai was but after looking it up I can see that it fit in with your story and character very well. I also really loved the flow of the story and the descriptions for everything, where creative analogies and metaphors were utilized making the story more relatable. I look forward to more by this author. 🙂 THANKS SIERRA!! XOXOXO
Kimi – Amazon Reviewer

More Books in the Triple Passion Play Series
The Power of Three
Amazon US UK CA AU
Other Retailers: https://books2read.com/u/4DoyPr

Baby Makes Four
Amazon US UK CA AU
Other Retailers: https://books2read.com/u/mKKYAL

Triple Naughty Christmas
Amazon US UK CA AU
Other Retailers: https://books2read.com/u/bzvGw9

Follow Sierra
The best way to keep in touch with Sierra is to sign-up for her newsletter. As a thank you, she’ll send you a download of Fevered Dream for FREE: https://mailchi.mp/7332d9f55a11/blushing-press-sign-up-page
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Charity Sunday: Homes for Our Troops

Charity Sunday: Dee S. Knight How Charity Sunday works: for every comment made on this blog post, I will donate money to the charity named. Thanks for your help and your participation!

Welcome to this month’s Charity Sunday! This month I’m highlighting Homes for Our Troops https://www.hfotusa.org/ . The mission of Homes for Our Troops is this: “To build and donate specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives.”

Even if you’ve had only a broken leg (or hip or arm or had knee surgery) you can appreciate the barriers posed in our homes. If your home has steps, for instance, think of the handicap injured or wounded folks have in getting around. Homes for Our Troops takes into consideration not only steps, but height of a stove or sink, whether a shower is handicap accessible, etc. These can be priceless accommodations for the man or women who wants to be independent. I hope you will take a look at their website and see what all they do.

I’d like to share an excerpt from Burning Bridges, where the hero is a sailor on his way to the war in Vietnam.
Blurb:
Letters delivered decades late send shock waves through Sara Richards’s world. Nothing is the same, especially her memories of Paul, a man to whom she’d given her heart years before. Now, sharing her secrets and mending her mistakes of the past means putting her life back together while crossing burning bridges. It will be the hardest thing Sara’s ever done.

Buy link: Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt:
Sara stared at the letters arranged before her in numerical order. The moment in time she and Paul shared was long ago, yet her dream had conjured his presence as though she’d just seen him. In her mind, his blue eyes darkened with passion before his lips captured hers, and he moaned his appreciation when their tongues met. She tasted his sweetness and knew the steel of his arms as he held her. How many nights had she put herself through hell reliving those memories? Too damn many.

After the concert, they’d met clandestinely on weekends, mostly at Sandbridge, where they could walk and talk undisturbed. With each meeting, stirrings built deep in Sara that pushed her to want more, but Paul insisted they restrain themselves because of her age.

Then the weekend before he shipped out, she’d planned a surprise and her life changed forever.

The kettle screeched, bringing her back to the present. Sara prepared a cup of tea and then picked up the envelope marked twenty-eight. At one time, she would have given her right arm to hold this letter. Now, curiosity and the desire for a brief escape drove her more than the passion of youth. Blind love had faded when she’d had no word to bolster her during the long weeks after the ship left.

First had come the waiting. No letters arrived, even though she wrote him daily. There were no phone calls, no notes, no anything, for days that dragged into weeks then crept into months.

Anticipation morphed into anxiety. She worried he was sick or hurt and unable to write.

One day she admitted that Paul must be afraid to write for some reason, and she feared what he would say if she did receive a letter. That their time together had been a mistake, that she was too young to be in love. That he really loved someone else and Sara had been only a stand-in while he was in Virginia. Perversely, she began to sigh with relief when she arrived home and found no word.

Now, knowing why she hadn’t received mail, what would she feel if she opened this letter and her old fears proved to be true?

“Nothing,” she murmured. “Paul’s dead. He can’t hurt me anymore.” At the very least, his letters might allow her to put his ghost to rest. For that reason alone, she had to read them.

She slid her thumb under the flap and ripped the envelope open. A single sheet held his hurried scrawl.

Heroines—how they shape up #MFRWauthor

I don’t think I’ve consciously given a thought as to why I normally create my heroines as slim or slender. I don’t think I purposely avoid the full-figured heroine, but maybe in some way I do. It’s definitely something I will consider in the future. The fact is, full-figured women are as beautiful as slim women.

Just a few short years ago, full-figures were considered sexy. Hourglass figures are also considered full-figured—think Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Russell, Britney Young, or one of my favorite celebrities, Nigella Lawson. Curvy is great. Curvy is good. Know why? Because beauty comes from within, not at the makeup table or on the scale. It comes from loving yourself and being happy with who you are.

The one sort of disadvantage I can think of for full-figured women is that clothes aren’t easy to buy. Find something that fits the bust and it might not fit the waist. Clothes for women are too often designed for the mythical woman—perfectly proportioned, little hips, and where anything above size 10 is considered plus size. Full-figured woman have hips. They have boobs. They have a little heft to them. When I write my full-figured heroine—and I have her in mind already—I’m going write about clothes shopping, too.

What about you? Does it bother you to write (or read) about a woman who isn’t a size 6?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist
One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

Does the figure make the woman?—Jan Selbourne #MFRWauthor

Are my characters full figured or always slim? That is a good question because I try to avoid stereotypical characters such as a woman with an eye watering figure – because I don’t have an eye watering figure – or a Superman with rippling muscles. I want my characters to be like you and me, real and believable, warts and all. I realise now that my characters’ figures reflect their lives and trials and tribulations.

In my first book, Perilous Love, Gabrielle thought of herself as thin, shapeless and uninteresting. That shapeless figure would be her saviour when she and husband Adrian, whom she despised, were badly betrayed as world war one exploded over Europe. Adrian, the quintessential upper-class Englishman is very conscious of his masculine physique until injury renders him helpless. The only way they narrowly escaped capture was to disguise themselves as male peasants on the terrifying journey to safety.

In Lies of Gold, Julian has the hard, toned body of a soldier, trained in unarmed combat. Without those years of hard living, he could not have stopped the ruthless traitor peddling young people for gold. Katherine, the woman Julian loved and lost, is more worried about her children’s safety than her figure, until Julian comes back into her life.

War changes a man. For Harry Connelly in The Proposition, it’s down to a bullet on the Western Front or arrest and prison at home. Severely injured, he falls beside the body of a dead soldier with the same build, same colouring—his one chance of a new life. What the hell—he swaps identity discs. Now Andrew Conroy, repatriated home with a limp and a small pension, he’s more worried about being caught than his physique. When he meets Lacey Haines, he sees a beautiful woman. Lacey has been a nurse on the European front and she needed strength and stamina more than she needed a reed-thin figure. Does it matter to Andrew? Not likely.

In The Woman Behind the Mirror, Sarah Forsythe’s lovely face and hourglass figure are her assets, and she’s very aware of that when eloping to the American colonies. When everything she trusts deserts her, Sarah must sell those assets to survive – and in that mirror, every day, she sees a loathsome harlot in a gambling club. It’s not until Neil McAllister, who by the way has a damn good body, investigates her for possible bank fraud, that she has the courage to see herself as she once was.

It never ceases to amaze me that every book has a different story to tell with characters that draw us in and, in a lot of cases, characters we can relate to. That’s the beauty of it.

What do you think?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Jan

The Woman Behind the Mirror
The Proposition
Lies of Gold—Silver Historical for 2019: Coffee Pot Book Club

Creating a character #MFRWauthor

I used to think that creating a character for a book would be easy. After all, we all know a bunch of people. Just make a character like one of them. But the people we know are already true, full people (though I have to admit, I know a lot of people who could use a little more work). To take a concept, a thought of a person you want to play a part in your story involves developing every single facet of personality, appearance, habits, quirks. It can be daunting! Consider the difference between buying a house that needs to have the walls painted to starting from ground zero and building the whole house from scratch.

I use a couple of techniques to create characters. First, I generally think about the character for a while. It can be any length of time, from a week to a year. By the time I start, I have a good idea of who the character is going to be. Then I use a character sheet I found in a plotting book a long time ago. It helps me see the character as more than two dimensional. The character sheet forces me to think about physical characteristics like hair and eye color, tattoos, piercings, and such. I also fill in things like hometown, siblings, general background material, internal and external goals, what they want, and what they never want to do.

I love the character sheet! But I have found that even the sheet can be a little short of what it takes to make a character real. Kayelle Allen provides character interviews for authors who post on the Romance Lives Forever blog and I love them. Interviewing the character and really thinking about the answers make the hero or heroine come to life as a person. Such a great help!

What do you do to make your characters real? And as a reader, what do you notice most about characters?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist: old letters put the lie to Sara’s life. Now, mending her past mistakes while crossing burning bridges will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.

One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

Shriners Hospitals will always be my favorite charity #MFRWauthor

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I was struck with polio when I was a baby. I understand that the epidemic was one of the last large polio epidemics and a record for the residents of Sioux City, Iowa in 1952. Not a record I wanted to take part in, believe me!

Mom said I’d started walking at 9 months and had already been getting into things, when one morning she woke to my screams and I couldn’t stand up in my crib. So many people were affected, they read the names of those admitted to the hospitals on the radio, which is how my grandparents heard that I’d been admitted to St. Vincent’s. No one could figure out how I’d caught the virus. I was too young to go to the pools in town, and I never went anywhere without my mom or grandparents, none of whom got sick.

I was lucky—I lived. And luckier still when Mom knew a man who was a Shriner. He sponsored me and got me into the program when I was old enough. We started taking the 275-mile trip to Minneapolis, which had the closest hospital every few months. When we moved to Alameda, CA, I went to the hospital in San Francisco, and later, when we moved to Virginia Beach, VA, we had the long trek to the hospital in Greenville, SC. But those trips were worth it! Through years of braces, surgery, and endless (it seemed!) physical therapy and nightly exercises, I was able to end my time with the Shrine group a teenager who could walk, dance, ride a bike, and do most of the things any teen could do. They worked a miracle, and they didn’t charge a dime.

That’s why—with all the very worthy charities there are out there—Shriners Hospitals for Children will always be my favorite. And, they spend the money donated well. They’re highly rated for using their donations where they’re supposed to.

Who do you routinely donate to?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist: old letters put the lie to Sara’s life. Now, mending her past mistakes while crossing burning bridges will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.

One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

New! Second chances–for people and pets! Gayle Irwin

She crouches then pounces upon the enticing mouse like her cousin the bobcat. His tail swishes as he stares and then stalks the feather on the floor like his larger brother the tiger. Domestic cats, like their wild relatives, enjoy the hunt and chase. They entertain their human companions, bringing smiles and laughter. Their purrs soothe stress, and their company delights days.

June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month, and in my recently-released book, Finding Love at Compassion Ranch, my main character, Erin, adopts two cats. This clean, contemporary romance is a second-chance story, for the human couple and for the animals featured in the book. Here’s an taste:

That afternoon, as Erin played with the cats, she focused again on the two yellow tabby brothers, Ricky and Rocket. The more she engaged with them, the more certain she was that her daughter would enjoy these kitties. She watched Rocket refocus his attention on a sunbeam dancing across the nearby wall. She laughed as the tabby leaped, as if trying to catch the light. Another sunray on the floor captured his interest, and the cat began zooming around the room. With her cell phone, Erin snapped several pictures of Ricky playing with a catnip mouse and others of Rocket pouncing on rays of sunlight. A few moments later she texted the photos to Brittany along with this message: “I think I’ve found the purr-fect cats for you! Two brothers, about two years old. Playful, fun, and friendly. We already know they get along, they are healthy, and they like people. What do you think? Want me to adopt them for you?”

As she waved a feather toy in front of the tabbies’ faces, Brittany responded with a text: “YES! I already love them. Do they get along with Winston?”

Erin responded, “I’ll plan a sleep-over to find out. Potential adopters can do that here, just like at Best Friends Animal Society.”

“Super!” came Brittany’s response. “Let me know how everyone does.”

Two cats share my house. I adopted them when they were 10 weeks old; they will be 15 years old in August. Murphy and Bailey are sisters, although to look at them you couldn’t think so. Murphy is a long-haired black and white (often called ‘tuxedo’), and Bailey is a short-haired tortoiseshell (black, orange, and white). Their mother was a medium-haired, cream-colored Persian-looking cat. Only two of the six in the litter looked alike, and they were black and gray tabby cats. I’ve been a cat person since I was a child. My first was a calico who followed me home after school when I was nine years old. I named her Precious and she was my companion for more than 10 years.

Buy links:
Amazon ebook
Amazon print
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

Bailey and Murphy cats I weave pet rescue and adoption into my romance stories because that topic is something I’m passionate about. The second book in the series, Finding Love at Compassion Ranch, sees my main character, Erin, volunteering at Compassion Ranch, a sanctuary for former research animals. The fictional sanctuary is based on a real facility called Kindness Ranch. In the book, Erin reconnects with a man she knew in high school when she shows up to volunteer. Both she and Mike, my primary male character, have lost their spouses. Sparks ignite, especially after Erin helps Mike save the life of an ewe and her lamb. However, Erin wonders if she gives her heart to Mike, will she be betraying her late husband and her two grown children?

Pick up your copy of Finding Love at Compassion Ranch, available as an e-book through Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon, and available in print format through Amazon. You can also obtain my first book in this Pet Rescue Romance series, Rescue Road, in which the character of Erin is introduced, through the same outlets.

I encourage you to support your local animal shelter, humane society, or pet rescue organization. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), each year nearly 3.2 million cats and kittens enter animal shelters and humane societies across the United States. Sadly, Rescue cats more than 850,000 are euthanized due to illness, owners not claiming their lost/stray animals, and overcrowding due to lack of adoptions and reclaims. Whether through adoption, fostering, donations of supplies or money, or volunteering, these groups need our help to help the animals they serve.

When people purchase my books, I donate a percentage of sales to pet rescue organizations. I also volunteer for a few groups. In fact, the two cats in my story, Ricky and Rocket, are based on two cats I met at a rescue. Their picture is above.

Happy reading!

Blurb:

A ranch like no other …

Erin Christiansen is still adjusting to life as a widow. She seeks additional healing by volunteering at Compassion Ranch, a sanctuary for former research animals. Upon arrival at the majestic and unique northwestern Wyoming ranch, she meets Mike, a man she knew in high school, whose compassion for animals and people might be the balm Erin needs.

Retired veterinarian Mike Jacobs is no stranger to loss. Five years after the accidental death of his wife, he now serves as ranch manager of Compassion Ranch. He not only fixes fence and provides tours, but he applies his veterinary skills and his heart for animals to his work. Upon recognizing Erin from high school, he can barely believe his first love will spend a few weeks at the sanctuary.

Can Erin and Mike span the years since they have seen each other or do they, like many of the rescued animals, have wounds that run too deep to trust and love again?

Much of the story takes place here, at Yellowstone Lake

Excerpt:

That evening before sunset, Mike secured wire to a wooden post a few feet from the barn. More fencing to his left helped create a new corral, the project he’d been working on all day. He didn’t hear Erin walk up until she called out, “Hi, there, busy guy!”

He stopped his work and looked at her. Her large smile brought one to his face.

“Hi, yourself.”

Mike noticed Winston beside her. He squatted down and said, “Hey there, fella. How are you and those cats doing?”

Winston, his tail wagging, sauntered up to Mike, and the ranch manager patted the little dog’s head.

“They’ve done very well,” Erin responded as she walked closer. “A few hisses and growls by the cats at first, but with Winston’s gentle, sweet personality, the Ricky and Rocket adjusted pretty quickly. Winston learned about cats while at Rhiann’s sanctuary, so he knows not to push the limit.

They all took about a thirty-minute nap on the couch before supper. I think Brittany’s going to be quite happy with the boys.”

As Mike drew to his full six-foot-one height, he noticed Erin held a cloth bag in her hand.

“You don’t have the cats in there, do you?” he asked in a teasing voice as he pointed to the sack.

She laughed slightly and held up the bag. “I think you’d hear a lot of fussing. No, silly. I brought your supper. I’ve been hearing the pounding of nails all afternoon and saw you putting those posts in the ground earlier. I figured you could use a break.”

She opened the container, which held two sandwiches, a small bag of potato chips, and a covered glass pitcher of lemonade. Her kindness startled him. Not that Erin wasn’t thoughtful, but in the midst of her own busy day, settling in two cats, the thought that she would notice he hadn’t taken a break in several hours touched his heart.

“Thank you, Erin. I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” he said in a sincere voice.

She smiled and handed Mike the bag. He reached for the lemonade first and poured a cup from the small thermos. After consuming the tart liquid, he said, “Ah! That hits the spot.” He smiled. “I knew you were a good woman, Erin, I just didn’t realize how much of an angel until now.”

Author Bio:

Gayle M. Irwin is an award-winning author and freelance writer, being recognized by Wyoming Writers, Inc., and the Wyoming Press Association for several of her works. She is a contributor to seven Chicken Soup for the Soul books and the author of many inspirational pet books and stories for both children and adults. Her first novel, a clean, contemporary pet rescue romance titled Rescue Road, released November 8, 2019; the second book in that series she calls Pet Rescue Romance is titled Finding Love at Compassion Ranch – the book released in May 2020. Gayle subtly weaves important life lessons within the lines and pages of her stories, including the importance of pet rescue and adoption. An animal advocate, she volunteers for various dog rescue and humane society organizations and donates a percentage of all book sales to such groups. Gayle resides in Wyoming with her husband and their adopted animals. Learn more about the author, her writing endeavors, including a weekly blog, and her pets, and receive free stories and resources by visiting her website: www.gaylemirwinauthor.com.

Nostalgia, in a time when we need it! Jan Selbourne

Reading Dee’s blog post, Making Changes, made me smile. It took me back a LONG time, to when I was a young kid.

Jan Selbourne's dad — My dad, digging stump holes. Our Collie dog Sandy would drop his ball into the hole, wait for dad to throw it, and off he’d go to fetch and bring it back – again and again.

My parents had scraped up just enough money to buy a block of land in a country town east of Melbourne, Victoria. There was one main road through the town and our road was unsealed. Dust in the summer, mud in the winter. Our block sloped steeply back from the road with plenty of ti-trees and eucalyptus trees at the bottom. The plan was to live in a small fibro bungalow while my parents and older brother Don built the house. A small loan from a building society and that’s what they did, starting with a thick carpentry how to do it book, basic tools and now I look back, a lot of courage.

Electricity wasn’t connected until the house was built, so we lit ‘Tilly” lamps at night, we had a wood burning stove for cooking and heating water for a bath, which incidentally was a galvanised iron tub in the kitchen. We had an ice chest to keep food cold, the ice truck delivered blocks of ice weekly in winter, twice weekly in summer. The ice-man wore thick leather gloves and a thick leather shoulder pad. He hooked his pick into a block of ice, up onto his shoulder and with a curt g’day to mum, carried it into the house to deposit it into the chest. No time to talk, especially in summer.

At the back of the bungalow was the outhouse – the “dunny”. The ‘nightmen’ in their truck collected the full pan twice a week, replacing it with a clean pan reeking of the eye-watering strong disinfectant Phenyl. To this day, the smell of Phenyl reminds me of the dunny and country railway toilets.

It was a very bushy area, plenty of blue tongue lizards, a lot of native birds, especially bell birds, and thankfully we didn’t see any snakes. I clearly remember a swagman camped at the bottom of our block because there was a small creek and plenty of open land beyond. Mum made sure he was okay and didn’t need anything. He’d light his fire, cook his food and boil his billy, and a few days later he moved on.

The floor plan for our new house was laid out on the ground with wood stakes and string. Armed with shovels, my dad and my brother Don dug every stump hole by hand. In went the redgum wooden stumps. Then the flooring joists. My job was to help paint the weatherboards with pink primer, which I did until my hands ached. Up went the house, bit by bit, because dad and Don worked weekdays. Then the inspection by the municipal building inspector. Was the house built to satisfactory standards? Yes, it received a big tick. Time for the tradies – the plumber, the roof tiler and the electrician. And – at last – we were able to move in. My brother had his own bedroom. I had my own bedroom. Mum had an electric stove. And we had a real bathroom with an inside toilet! But we kept the ice chest, what money was left didn’t stretch to a refrigerator. We now see ice chests in museums but believe me, they are as almost as efficient as a fridge – minus the freezer.

Looking back, it was a perfect life for kids. Sure we walked the mile or more to school and back every day, in the rain or the summer heat, so did all the other kids. There were no luxuries but we had a lot of fun and the best games playing in the bush at the back of the block. I admit I had it easy compared to my brother who was nine years older than me, but that four inch paint brush and endless weatherboards was hard work!

I can still see that carpentry book, and the spirit level, dad used it while digging the stump holes and the floor joists. Heck, a book and a spirit level, dogged determination and hard work built a house…

Jan Selbourne was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia and her love of literature and history began as soon as she learned to read and hold a pen. After graduating from a Melbourne Business College her career began in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting, working in Victoria, Queensland and the United Kingdom. On the point of retiring, she changed course to work as secretary of a large NSW historical society. Now retired Jan is enjoying her love of travelling and literature. She has two children, a stray live in cat and lives near Maitland, New South Wales.

Contact Jan:
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Making changes #MFRWauthor

My mother-in-law once told me that she never considered divorcing my father-in-law until they renovated their home. She also commented that she would never (ever, ever) go through another renovation, even if she had to live in a hovel without one. I thought she was exaggerating until we recently renovated our master bathroom.

We had already taken out the garden tub, leaving part of the floor missing with many small holes and exposed pipes and wall. We wanted to replace the tub with a walk-in shower. Sounds simple enough, right?

We arranged for a contractor who would come in and start work when the shower arrived at the plumbing shop. We ordered the shower in June with expected delivery to be by mid-August. Mid-August arrived and gave way to the end of the month. We called the plumbing store. “It should be a couple more weeks.” September arrived and the shower was “on the next truck from the supplier.” By the end of September, I was getting pretty hot—our bathroom had been torn up for over three months. Finally, hubby dropped in the shop in October. The salesman went into the storeroom and there it was! Not where he expected it to be, he explained. Who knows how long it had been sitting back there?

We called the contractor to say the shower would be delivered the next week. No return call. We called again, leaving messages. We texted. Finally, because we had been given the contractor’s name by the plumbing company, we called them and asked that if they had contact with him to please ask him to call us. The plumbing company called back and said that the guy had another job and couldn’t do ours. Fortunately, they gave us another name and he worked with us. There were some other quirks and blips in the installation process, but at long last, by the end of October we had our shower. And it’s beautiful and wonderful. Having it is akin to giving birth in that all the pain of getting it here and installed is forgotten now that it’s over. Maybe all renovations are like that…?

What is your experience with renovations?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist: old letters put the lie to Sara’s life. Now, mending her past mistakes while crossing burning bridges will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.

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More feisty lawyers! Martimus by Seelie Kay

Martimus

Feisty Lawyers Series (Book 5)

by Seelie Kay

About Martimus:

Martimus. An underwater habitat dedicated to pharmaceutical research. Martimus. A facility that staffs its vessel with inmate labor. Martimus. The place where inmates visit and never return.

Agent Cate Creighton is in love. Unfortunately, as the Agency honeypot, she is knee-deep in an assignment that tests the bounds of her new relationship. It seems eight socialites have gone missing, all wealthy twenty-somethings with influential parents. No one seems to care until a former vice president’s daughter disappears.

When the vice-president shares a tale of false arrest, a broken promise of deportation, an illegal diversion into a private prison, and an alleged trip to an unwater habitat called Martimus, Cate and her colleagues must find a way to follow the same path. In other words, they must enter the right prison, meet the right fixer, wind up on Martimus, and hopefully return in one piece. And it looks like Cate is the perfect bait.

That doesn’t sit well with Cate’s lover, former U.S. Navy Seal Warren Hazelton. He intends to protect her until death ‘til do they part.

Fortunately, another possibility appears, in the form of an MISix agent who has interfered in one too many Agency operations. Tillie Henderson owes them and they are all too willing to serve her up on a plate. It’s race against time as the Agency attempts to lure their adversary out of hiding and into their somewhat ambiguous trap. Maybe then Cate can finally focus on love.

Release Date: May 29, 2019
Publisher: Extasy Books
Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, four flames

Buy links:

Publisher: https://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2862-4-martimus/
Amazon: coming June 1
Barnes and Noble: Coming June 1
Kobo: Coming June 1

Excerpt from Martimus:

Tom cocked an eyebrow. “Warren, you’re a former Navy Seal. Isn’t there some sort of limit on the amount of time you can spend under the sea before it starts to seriously impair your health?”

Warren frowned. “Usually two weeks. After that, the lack of exposure to the sun and the constant high pressure oxygenated environment would begin to take a toll. There’s also a psychological impact. Think sensory deprivation. Your senses are out of whack because you’ve been dumped into a soundproof sponge. There is no normal sensory stimulation. No sunlight, no sound… Even taste and smell become compromised. Coming back to the real world would be an adjustment.

“In addition, those underwater stations are small. People are right on top of each other. Things we take for granted, like privacy, hot showers, home cooked meals, are in short supply. That can create anxiety, depression, and stress. No way he served that sentence consecutively. He had to take a break in between.”

Warren gazed at Tom. “That environment is more hostile than a prison. You may not be in danger from other inmates, but you are putting your life at risk. Three months sounds like way too much time to be stuck underwater though, especially if you’re not leaving the station for deep sea diving on a regular basis. They must be breaking up the time somehow, otherwise they’d have a pretty tough situation on their hands. A lot of contract workers would be headed to a rubber room. It would be extremely difficult to survive a month, much less three, down there.”

“Could they be treating the inmates like guinea pigs?” Hope asked. “Testing their limits? Tracking actual survival rates?”

Warren sighed. “Possibly. It’s not like they have to answer to anyone. They are located in international waters. No country in particular has legal oversight. I imagine they could be doing anything they want without recourse. Unfortunately, when the prospect of a reduced sentence is dangled in front of some people, they grab it, damn the consequences. If one or two inmates suffer some sort of harm or die along the way, they chalk it up to collateral damage.”

“And who’s going to know?” Cate shook her head. “Someone dies, they probably flush them down a chute into the deep sea and they become shark chum. No evidence left behind.”

Hope cringed. “God, that’s kind of evil. But that still doesn’t answer our original question. Where the hell is Fuzzy? Has he already served out his sentence? Has he been released, and if he has, where the hell is he? He’s the one we need to find. He could have a lot of the answers.”

“That lack of governmental oversight is troubling,” Tom said. “If Cassie McIntyre is down there, I can’t believe the CIA isn’t all over it. At least, our government should be doing a welfare check through the Red Cross or something.”

Warren grimaced. “Unless no one knows she is down there. Think about it. They are on the bottom of the ocean, more than two miles under the sea. It’s not like you can just go down there and knock on the door. Any regular monitoring would be impossible.”

Cate nodded. “And we haven’t been able to confirm that she embarked on the same path as Fuzzy. All we’ve got are suspicions. Right now, she’s missing. We need to sit down with her family and get more information. And we need to find other prisoners who contracted with Martimus.

“Otherwise, we’ve got nothing.”

About Seelie Kay:

Seelie Kay is a nom de plume for a writer, editor, and author with more than 30 years of experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public relations. When she writes about love and lust in the legal world, something kinky is bound to happen! In possession of a wicked pen and an overly inquisitive mind, Ms. Kay is the author of multiple works of fiction, including the Kinky Briefs series, the Feisty Lawyers series, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, The President’s Wife, The White House Wedding, and The President’s Daughter.

When not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. She resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.

Ms. Kay is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Seelie’s Author links:

www.seeliekay.com
www.seeliekay.blogspot.com
Twitter: @SeelieKay https://twitter.com/SeelieKay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Seelie-Kay/e/B074RDRWNZ/

Prior Books:

An Interview with Seelie Kay:

Q. Why do you write romance?

Because I am fascinated by the games people play to find and secure a lasting relationship, which is not always love. There’s the chase, the courtship, the falling, the surrender. That’s what I try to capture in my stories.

Q. Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?

I adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge. They can be a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, I they have to be paired with strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love.

Q. Why did you write “Martimus?”

This is the final book in the series, so I needed a way to tie up a lot of loose ends. That meant the Feisty Lawyers needed a compelling story to accomplish that. Something in space was beyond the realm of believability, but something at the bottom of the ocean? The possibilities were endless. I went in all sorts of directions at first, but ultimately made Martimus a key step in a much broader journey. The bottom of the ocean is an unforgiving environment. Survival is never guaranteed. Divert a few socialites there to serve out a prison sentence, make then disappear, and you’ve got what I hope is an exciting story!

As a former lawyer, I also developed an interest in private prisons. These are institutions that are governed by a different set of rules and not all institutions follow the same rules. In some cases, the private prison an inmate winds up in can mean the difference between survival and death. In addition, there have been several cases of prosecutors and judges who received a financial incentive to divert inmates to private prison. Some were so incentivized that people innocent of the crimes with which they where charged have been convicted just so the prosecutor or judge could get their kickback. It is an industry that requires serious regulation and monitoring.

Q. How does your former profession as a lawyer impact your writing?

My friends say I am obsessed with justice and I guess that’s true. After 30 years, the law and the legal world are so firmly embedded in my brain that I can’t flush them out. That has become the lens through which I view the world and that naturally guides my characters and plots. Injustice infuriates me, but it also leads me to great stories!

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