Today is the release of Unforseen Reunion by Clarissa Yip

To day sees the release of Clarissa Yips novel ' Unseen Reunion.' I'm delighted to welcome Clarissa to my blog today, to answer a few 'up close and personal' questions, and tell us a little more about her book.

HL:  Thanks so mcuh  for guesting on my Blog today, Clarissa, and congratulations on your new release.  OK, to start with, this is something I love to know about other authors: What comes first: the plot or the characters?
CY: I’m going to have to say characters. My stories are all character-driven. I never really know what’s going to happen until I can get a feel for my characters.

HL: I have to agree there,  Clarissa. I know for some authors the story comes first, but I'm like you and need to know my characters first. What have you learned about writing since you were published that surprised you the most?
 CY: This is a good question. I’m going to say that the hard work actually begins after you write ‘the end’. 

HL: Again I have to agree with that one! What’s you’re writing process? Has it changed since writing your first book?
CY: My writing process? Just sit down and write. I actually first started out filling over 50 character/plot sheets, but I realized that I’m more of a pantser than plotter. I’d rather write a rough draft so I can actually finish than sit around and ponder what is going to happen next.

HL: Absolutely!  Do you listen to music when you write and if so, what kind of music – or do you find it  distracts you?
CY: I need noise. I’m a big fan of Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman when I need some inspiration, but my music taste runs in all different directions. Sometimes, you’ll find me listening to Carrie Underwood or even Coldplay.

HL: And finally, would you like to tell us - what is your personal definition of success?
CY: Success is different for everyone. I’m one of those people who are never happy with anything until I reach the top, and my writing career had only began.

Thank you so much, Clarissa, it's been a real pleasure having you as my guest, and I wish you much success with 'Unforseen Reunion.'


Now lets read the Blurb and an enticing excerpt from the book: 
 
Blurb:

Home for a high school reunion, Fashion Editor-in-Chief, Cara Stanford has ulterior motives: make childhood crush and womanizing playboy, Brant Thomas, pay for the hell she endure ten years ago.

Except he doesn't remember her. Though publically embarrassed by Cara at the reunion, Brant is intrigued by the beauty, who rejects his every pick-up line and charm. Never allowing a woman through his carefully erected barriers, she stirs up his past with her return, along with an undeniable passion. He sets out to seduce her until a series of accidental mishaps forces him to question Cara’s intentions.

Taken aback by her enemy’s suave attention, will Cara continue with her planned revenge or risk reopening her heart to Brant?

Unforseen Reunion
Clarissa Yip
PURCHASE LINK

Excerpt:

“I remember you.” He gave her a thoughtful look as if contemplating her words.

She grunted. After all she’d been through, he’d better remember. 

“Did we date back then?” he asked.

Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. He'd barely noticed her when she wasn't doing his homework or chasing after him at the football games—dating her hadn’t even been on his radar. The nerve! “You're unbelievable.”

“Thank you. Was it sophomore year?”

Her fingers clenched around the stem of the wine glass, quelling the temptation to douse him with her drink. He really didn't remember her. The horrible memories of how he’d used her for his schoolwork, laughing at her with Sheila, and acting like she didn’t exist erupted in her mind, reminding her of what a lovesick fool she’d been. Anxiety and rage boiled in her chest. She couldn't do this. She had to get away. Hopping off the chair, she stood straight. “Nice talking to you.”

Brant's hand shot out and latched onto her elbow. “Wait. What's your name?”

Cara saw red. Picking up the white wine, she did the unimaginable. Brant sat, open-mouthed, blinking his eyes as the chardonnay ran down his face and seeped into his black, tuxedo jacket and white shirt.

“Maybe that'll jog your memory.” 

   

Bio

An avid reader and writer, Clarissa spends most of time with her head stuck up in the clouds and lurking behind her romance novels when she's not writing up a storm.  Currently residing in Hawaii, Clarissa enjoys traveling all over the United States, so you'll never know where you'll find her.  She also loves video games, scrapbooking, trying new foods, and of course, shopping.  What woman wouldn't? Well, not exactly clothes shopping, but she does love tech toys.  If there's a new gadget, then she'd most likely have it (even though she is not tech-savvy and is known for breaking things.) 

If you'd like to draw her out of her cave, please drop her a note on her website at: http://clarissayip.com or email her at clarissayip@gmail.com.  She loves visits by her readers and friends.  And check out what she's up to on Facebook and Twitter @clarissayip.

Mondays Word - Neolithic

"The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic followed the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic period, beginning with the rise of farming, which produced the "Neolithic Revolution" and ending when metal tools became widespread in the Copper Age (chalcolithic) or Bronze Age or developing directly into the Iron Age, depending on geographical region. The Neolithic is not a specific chronological period, but rather a suite of behavioral and cultural characteristics, including the use of wild and domestic crops and the use of domesticated animals."
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

OK, before you start wondering why I'm giving you an ancient history lesson, I just thought you might find the picture interesting.  I took it...yesterday.  (No, I'm not quite THAT old!)  On a rainy Sunday afternoon we popped along to a local crft fair at a nearby country estate. There were the usual stalls and displays - and this one, with a man busy chipping away at a piece of flint to make an arrow head. It was almost like going back into the past to prehistoric times!

What has this to do with writing?  I hear you ask. Well, nothing really.except that one of my favourite books is 'The Valley Of Horses;' by Jean Auel. The book starts off from the events at end of 'The Clan of The Cave Bear' detailing the life of a young Cro-Magnon woman named  Ayla who has just been exiled  from the Clan, the band of Neanderthals who had raised her from early childhood. Ayla now searches for her own people, whom the Clan refer to as "the others".  It's a great series, although if you like your romance to be completely 'sweet' there may be a little too much 'sex' in it, but for me it was written in such a natural and ununassuming way, I didn't find it offensive.

NEW RELEASE BY SHARON DONOVAN

 My dear friend Sharon has a new release today!


CONGRATULATIONS SHARON,
I hope you'll soon be feeling stronger and able to celebrate properly.

HER BIGGEST FAN - release date 24th September 2010

This is a great, edge of the seat romantic suspense.  I  loved reading it, and it kept me on the edge of my seat!
 
BLURB:

From the shadows of the woods, he keeps vigil. The stage is set to drive the pretty little princess insane. He’s coming for her. And when he catches her, he’ll pounce on her like the big bad wolf.

After receiving a disturbing fan letter, New York Times best-selling author Tess Kincaid flees to the New England home she’s inherited following her father’s death. The manor has been tainted, every room staged to resemble the way it was in its glory days. However when Tess calls the police, the chilling props vanish into thin air.

Ruggedly handsome Sheriff Mike Andretti is called to investigate the reported burning candles, dancing gargoyles and otherworldly events. When he discovers no trace of the eerie setting, he finds himself caught between duty and desire. Is the woman with the bewitching green eyes delusional or is this a trap of twisted wit set by a demented fan?

(Pages 278) Sensual
ISBN: 1-60154-813-3 

Excerpt

Cool air drifted out of the ballroom, carrying the scent of burning candles and cigarettes.

 

Music floated through the corridor, the seductive undertone hauntingly familiar. The music was hypnotic, mesmerizing. Tess could barely think over the loud beat of her heart. Every sense screamed to beware. She was about to come face-to-face with her stalker, her biggest fan. But over the hammering of her heart and accelerated senses, her will to put an end to this deadly game prevailed. She had to face him, find out who was behind this bizarre masquerade. Anticipation mounting, she made the turn at the end of the corridor and came to a riveting halt.

A female wax gargoyle stood in the doorway, long blonde hair billowing in the breeze. Her glass eyes shimmered with madness, an eerie smile on her face. In one hand, she held a mission bell, the other reaching out for a candle.

Music played from the old phonograph, the plucking of guitar strings laced with seduction. A breeze blew in through open terrace doors, stirring the sweet scent of jasmine from the candelabras.
Two wax nymphs stood at the bar, glass eyes shining bright in the candlelight, pliable fingers wrapped around flutes of pink champagne. Lit cigarettes burned in ashtrays. From behind the bar, a winged monster served drinks.

In the center of the ballroom, two gargoyles held a pose as if they were dancing, their waxy bodies closely pressed together, their reflections glowing in the mirrored ceiling. From the old phonograph in the corner, the hypnotic music played.

Tess gasped, her hand clasping her mouth. “Oh, my God!”

Mike raised his gun, circled the room. “Come out with your hands up. Hancock County Sheriff. Put your hands where I can see them.” 

Purchase link:
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/her-biggest-fan-p-4234.html?zenid=f3c41bab65e544378926cef26195f5e8

You can follow Sharon's progress on her Blog, which I'm updating as and when I get news.

http://sharondonovan.blogspot.com/

Come and visit me at my office...

 All this month CLASSIC ROMANCE REVIVAL authors have been showing us the area where they work.  Today is my turn.  Come visit at:

http://classicromancerevival.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-spaced-out-area-where-i-write.html

Monday's Word - Hiraeth

Do you like this picture?  It's a place called Capel Curig, in Wales, where I used to live.

What's that got to do with 'Hiraeth' I hear you ask, and what does the word mean, anyway?

Well, I'll get to that in a moment.  A friend and I were talking about one day returning to the land where our roots are - hers in Virginia,  mine in rural Wales.
It made me think of the old song I remember from my childhood:

'We'll keep a welcome in the hillside, we'll keep a welcome in the vales, we'll kiss away each hour of 'hiraeth' when you come home again to Wales.'

We were both feeling a bit 'homesick'.  That's what Hiraeth is - it's Welsh for being homesick for Wales - but more than that - it's a deep longing, really homesickness doesn't come close to the intensity of feeling that 'hiraeth' invokes.  I now  live in a beautiful part of England, close to the Chiltern hills.  But I long for the wild mountains of my native Wales, the mountains which inspired many of my stories, and the lakes and mountain streams. I used to live near the sea.  Somehow I miss the mountains more than the sea, although I enjoyed walking or riding  along the beach, and I do love water.  I am, and always have been a country lover and would be suffocated by city living.  However I know that people who were born and brough up in the city would be just as lost if they suddenly found themselves living in the country.  I think the place where one grows up permeates one's body and soul, so there is always a part of you that remains there. 'You can take the woman out of Wales,' I tell my friends 'but you can't take Wales out of the woman.'

I hope one day I will return to the 'land of my fathers', as I also hope everone who finds themselve in a land which is not their home, will be able to return one day to theirs.

Celia's Roast with the Dallas Cowboys

We're tailgating with Celia Yeary today to celebrate the release of her book 'Texas Promise' at the Cowboy Stadium. Join us for a virtual tailgator party and learn all about Celia's latest release, with a chance to win your very own download of it.

Just go to http://authorroastandtoast.blogspot.com/     to join in the fun.

Monday's Word - Bedizened

I've delved into Michael Quinion's 'World Wide Words'*  site again this week.
I don't suppose your romantic heroine will 'bedizen'! (I hope not, anyway:) )

'To bedizen is to dress up in a gaudy way...

...if we were true to the history of European
culture, we might argue that it is only women who can be bedizened.
It would be fruitless to do so, of course, because its users apply
the word as often to men as to women, as well as to houses, cars,
Christmas trees, theatrical sets and anything else that can be accused of being decked out with finery to vulgar excess.

The female connections exist because the word is closely linked to"distaff", which people now use most often for matters relating tofemales. That's because spinning thread with the yard-long woodenrod called a distaff was traditionally women's work. The "staff"part of the word presents no difficulties, but few of us now know
that the "dis" beginning derives from an ancient Low German sourcethat meant a bunch of flax. (The implication that the distaff wasfirst used for spinning linen thread, not wool, is confirmed by the
archaeological evidence.)

Nearly 500 years ago, the verb "dizen" appeared, presumably from the same source as "dis" (though nobody knows how), which meant todress a distaff for spinning. A century or so later it started torefer to decking a person or a thing with finery. Within decades,"be-" had been added to it to make the verb stronger. Ever since,"bedizened" has implied that the bedecking has gone to excess.'

I have to admit I would never  have thought that a word used to describe an overdressed person was derived from such an ancient skill as spinning. Isn't the English language wonderful!

Thanks to Michael Quinion -

*World Wide Words is copyright (c) Michael Quinion 2010. All rights reserved. The Words Web site is at http://www.worldwidewds.
Reproduced with permission

By the way - I've added a Guestbook (in the right hand column at the bottom of the page)  Please sign before you leave, I love to know who my visitors are!)

Monday's Word - Friendship

 

As you will know if you've read my previous Blog Posts, and even, probably, if you haven't,  my dear fiend and fellow Author Roast and Toast hostess, Sharon Donovan, suffered a heart attack in the middle of August, She is now, thankfully at home again, and has begun the long road to recovery.

I love my friends, and when something like this happens to one of them I find it hard to think of anything else, which is one reason why I've been rather poor at keeping up my Blog posts lately.

One of the most fantastic things about being a published writer is the wonderful friends I've made.  When I had my first contract, from The Wild Rose Press, I had no idea what the process would be like, and it was especially hard since I'm a British writer, published in the USA.  I didn't know anyone, but that soon changed.  I joined the Wild Rose Press loop and soon learned how wonderfully supportive and kind most romance authors are to fellow writers, and even 'newbies' like I was.  I'm now a member of about eighty loops (although I'm not very good at participating and am more of a 'lurker' than a commenter on most of them) I contribute to several blogs, including my own, and have made some wonderful on-line friends all over the world.  There are several who I feel are especially close. Sharon is one of them, but I won't name the others to avoid embarassment, they know who they are! These are friends I feel I know so well it's almost as if we meet every day at the coffee shop for a chat!  I've made many other friends as well, and although we may not be quite so close, or correspond as often, it's wonderful to know them and to be able to pop into their blogs or websites to chat, or just  to drop them the occasional email to say 'hi, how are you?'

My dear Aunt Grace, who raised my sister and myself had a saying 'True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare' and another one - 'Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver, the other gold.' Yes, my friends are all  precious jewels to be treasured.  I thank God for  them, and for bringing people like Sharon, who is such an inspiration, into my life. And thank you to  all  my friends, whoever and whereever you are. Your friendship and support means more to me than I can ever tell you.

Jennette Green explains some of the mysteries of Search Engine Optimization

Happy 1st September folks!  Today I am thrilled to be able to welcome Jennette Greene to my blog.to talk about Search Engine Optimization - a subject I know I certainly need to know more about.

First here's a little information about Jennette.  She says about herelf:

"Writing has always been a passion of mine. I wrote my first story over thirty years ago. Since then, I've written numerous stories and have had several articles published.My first love, however, is writing romance novels. I write both inspirational and edgy).

In October 2008, my first historical romance, The Commander’s Desire, was published by The Wild Rose Press. It has received numerous accolades, including a "Top Pick" rating from "Romance Reader at Heart" and numerous five star reviews. In addition, the hero of the novel was designated "Reader's Favorite Hero" for 2009 at a popular blog. Also, a Thai publisher has indicated interest in translating the book and publishing it in Thailand!

I am blessed with a wonderful, supportive husband, and three terrific children who put up with my crazy writing hours. When I am not writing, I love reading, photography, making videos, and creating and managing my websites."

Wow that's an impressive bio, Jennette. As well as being a talented author, Jennette is also something of a whiz when it comes to internet matters and today she's going to give us some useful and interesting information  on Search Engine Optimization.

HL: Over to you, Jennette:

J G: Search Engine Optimization is the holy grail for authors who own websites and blogs. We want to get traffic to our pages so we can communicate to the world or sell our books, but how do we get noticed? Specifically, how do we convince Google and other search engines to rank our pages higher than those of another website? The answer is search engine optimization (SEO).

Search engine optimization, at it's basic level, is fairly simple. It can also be far more complex than I'll get into here, but these tips are a great way to start, and with a little time and effort, any author can do them to improve her (or his) website or blog's page ranking. I will focus upon two topics in this article: Keywords and Quality Links.

Keywords are "Key"

Choosing the best keywords for your web pages or blog is vital to improving your site’s search engine optimization. It may help to first answer the following questions:

1. Who will visit your page and why?

2. What information are they looking for?

3. How does your web page meet their need?

You'll notice I'm saying web page, not website. This is because it is likely each page of your site will have a different purpose. For example, you may have a contact page, or a faq page. These pages will require different keywords, because their purpose is different than your main page or your product page.

Let's go back to the romance novel example. If you are selling paranormal romance novels, determine which page you would like your visitor to land upon. The first page? The paranormal product page? Remember, attention spans are short on the internet. If someone doesn’t find what she’s looking for on the first page she sees, she may click away to another site, or back to Google.

After you have decided which page you’d like your visitors to land on, then it is time to determine the best keywords for that particular page. Once you have found those keywords, sprinkle them liberally on the page (in context, please, and not enough to be annoying, of course), and include them in your page title, description and meta tags. More on this later.

Think about the product you want to sell. Say you have several inspirational romance novels to sell to sell. Brainstorm keyword ideas and write them down. Imagine you are a reader, looking for a fantastic new Christian romance novel to read. What keywords would you type into Google to find that wonderful book? Inspirational romance novel? Christian fiction? You get the idea. (And let's not forget about Google images. Later, I'll tell you how to use keywords with images, too.)

Now let's brainstorm to get a few more keyword ideas. Two wonderful sites for this are:

Google Insights for Search: http://www.google.com/insights/search/

Type in your keyword(s), and hit "Search." The keywords' popularity will be listed on the right side of the page (a blue bar under the word TOTALS). Related keywords are listed at the bottom of the page. These are additional ideas to add to your keyword brainstorming sheet.

Google Adwords: Keyword Tool: http://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

At the top of the page, under "Find Keywords," type in the keywords you would like to research, and hit "Search." A table will load up, full of information about your keywords, plus additional, related keywords. (You can delete any irrelevant words, if you wish.)

You can customize these columns by clicking on the tab "Columns." I like to look at the "Estimated Average CPC," "Competition" and "Global Monthly Searches." The local search columns can be helpful, too, depending upon your purposes. These columns convey a wealth of information. The "Competition" column tells you how popular that search term is. If the bar is completely green, the competition is high. By correlation, the "Global Monthly Search" level is also high (lots of people are searching for this term), and the "Estimated Ave. CPC" (CPC stands for cost per click in an Adwords campaign) is high, also.

While these highly competitive keywords might relate perfectly to your site, the competition is clearly fierce for those words. It will be easy to get lost in the crowd. While you can certainly use those keywords in your web page, you might want to focus more closely on different keywords—keywords with high relevance to your page, and less competition. The book "Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day," by Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin, (an excellent book, (an excellent book, by the way--I highly recommend it), advises website designers to choose keywords with the following attributes:

1. Lower Popularity and Higher Relevance (meaning the keywords are very relevant to your page)

2. Higher Competition along with Higher Relevance

If you'd like an Excel spreadsheet of the data you've found on the Adwords site, click the button at the top of the page that says "Previous Interface." It will allow you to export your findings to an Excel file, and download it to your computer.

By now you have a good number of possible keywords to use. I recommend using one last tool to narrow down your best keywords to a manageable handful of five to ten. To further determine your competition for keywords, go to http://www.google.com/. In the search box type: allintitle: YOUR KEYWORDS (obviously replacing “Your Keywords” with the first set of keywords you’d like to research) and click "search."

Google will tell you (in the line directly below the search box), exactly how many results (web pages) have your search terms in their title. Once again, a large number means you're competing against a whole lot of people. Keep in mind when choosing your keywords that while there are millions of fish in the sea, it's easy to drown in deep waters. On the other hand, a tidal pool may have only a few fish, but they are easier to catch.

After you've decided on your keywords, it's time to implement them into your site. Finally!

Plug your Keywords into Your Site

1. Use your keywords as often as possible in your page content (without being obnoxious about it). Especially include your keywords in headers. Search engines pay attention to bold or other emphasized text, and draw the conclusion that the content on your page is about the headlined text.

2. If you don’t maintain your website yourself, ask your website designer to put your best keywords into the html of your site. Put the best phrase in your title (place it between the two Title tags). Add your keywords to your Meta tags, and include them in your Meta description. NOTE: If you put the keywords in your title, meta tags and meta description, be sure those exact keywords are located in the actual text of your page. Title tags and Meta tags matter little if the search engines don't find the keywords in the actual content of your page.

3. Remember I said I'd explain how to optimize your images for SEO? It's easy. Include keywords within the alt tags of the photo's html. I like to put relevant keywords in both the short and long descriptions. This way when people search Google images and type in your keywords, your pictures can come up. Easy!


Get quality links coming into your site.

Quality links are an excellent way to improve your Google page rank. The best links are from websites which are similar to yours in subject. For example, if you are selling romance novels, links from other romance related sites will help you in two ways:

1) You may get customers clicking on the link and traveling from their site to yours, since their customers are looking for romance novels, and you offer romance books, and

2) When a search engine assesses the keywords in the linking site, it takes several factors into consideration to determine the quality of the link. In the romance book example we're talking about, Google will look at the site's keywords, determine that it is a romance novel site, and when it follows the link and discovers yours is a romance site also, it concludes that yours is a relevant site. It will reward the link accordingly. It helps if keywords relating to your site are imbedded in the host link. Such as Inspirational Romance Novels in this example.

By the way, the worst links are those coming from link farms. Google places no value on these links, and in fact, it is now believed by SEO experts that if the linking page/site is being penalized in some way by Google, that can negatively affect your own page ranking. Get quality links!!!


As I said in the beginning, search engine optimization is not hard, although it can be time consuming. In addition, many more steps can be taken to further optimize your website for the search engines, but the steps I've outlined are a great way to start. With a little time and effort, you can begin to make your website into the popular site you would like it to be.

Thank you so much Jennnette - I can see I have a lot to learn,  but this will be immensely helpful, and I'm sure there are many writers out there who will be glad to have some of the mystery explained. 

Let's finish off with a Blurb and Excerpt  from Jennette's latest release:

RELUCTANT BODYGUARD
by Jennette Green

 Blurb

Alexa's dream job becomes a threat to her life...

When English pop star Colin Radcliff asks Alexa to write his biography and tour with him in Europe, she's thrilled. It all seems like a fairy tale come true—until she begins to receive death threats.


To her dismay, Colin puts her under the 24/7 protection of his Italian chief bodyguard, Jamison Constanzo—a man with whom she’s clashed from day one. If only she could spend more time with her perfect man, Colin, rather than spending all of her days with this black-hearted thorn in her side!

Alexa struggles to control her flip attitude toward Jamison. Why does opening up her heart to him feel almost as dangerous as dealing with the stalker’s threats?

But when the killer strikes, Jamison is the only one she can turn to…


Excerpt

Alexa crossed to poke her head into Jamison’s room. He’d just unzipped a giant suitcase—black, of course—and draped a clump of black, button down shirts on the bed. Some looked to be made of cotton, others of a silkier material.

“Are you color blind?” she wanted to know.

He glanced up. “You’re here to help me unpack?”

“Of course not!” Alexa felt embarrassed, but didn’t retreat. “We need to hash out

rules so we can live in peace.”

He pulled out a pile of black pants. Some jeans, some slacks.


“Would you stop that?” she demanded. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation.”

“I can’t unpack at the same time?”

Alexa gritted her teeth. “I have no desire to see any of your black…unmentionables.”


An actual smile curled his lips, and he stopped pulling items from his suitcase.

“Then wait in the sitting area. I’ll be five minutes.”

Alexa narrowed her eyes. She didn’t want to stay here, but she didn’t want to retreat, either. And she wanted to assert her rules first—before the bodyguard had a chance to make a power grab. “I’ll make it snappy,” she said, averting her eyes as he pulled smaller black items from the suitcase and tucked them in the dresser. “I have one rule. You leave me alone, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Fine.” Jamison pulled a thick book from the bottomless suitcase and placed it on the bedside table. What was that? War and Peace? Certainly appropriate for their living situation.

“Well then,” Alexa said, pleased. “I’ll leave you to sort your outfits by color. I’m never sure—does black silk go with black cotton?” With this saucy comment, which likely sailed right over his unfashionable head, she turned to leave.

“I have a rule.”

Alexa turned back. She should have known her triumph had been too easy.

“You don’t leave this apartment without me.”

Alexa fell silent for one long beat, absorbing the full, horrifying implications of his statement. “Excuse me? I’m supposed to be chained to you night and day?”

“That’s what twenty-four/seven means.” He flipped the suitcase shut. The rasp of the zipper sounded like machine gun fire in the suddenly silent room. “If you want to run the stairs, I go with you. If you want to shop, I go with you. If you want to sight-see, I go with you. Think of me as your shadow.”

“Hence the black,” she said sarcastically. But further words evaded her. A sick feeling dropped into the pit of her stomach. She and Jamison, joined at the hip for almost five weeks? They couldn’t breathe the same air without fighting! Her fairy tale had officially transformed into a nightmare. She muttered, “We’re going to kill each other.”

“I promise I won’t kill you, princess. It’s not in my job description.” How could he look so amused?

Romance that touches the soul
http://www.jennettegreen.com/