Lucky Blog Hop~end

My brother loved St Patrick's Day. He was so full of life, so full of cheer. And the least judgmental person of his generation, and any generation really, that I've ever met. He died in 2009 at 25 years old. No one should die at that age. But I was lucky to have known him.

I was adopted. It's not the greatest love story, or luck story, but I was able to get out of a really bad situation. My brother was the first baby born after the adoption. He was my tie, my link. I adored the little baby born in a blizzard in February. His laughter made a lot of people smile. He made me welcome. I would likely never have even met him if I hadn't been adopted.


I feel privileged to have loved him, met him, to call him brother. To you, my brother. This one is for you. Cheers!

Thank you for believing in me and leaving behind such an incredible legacy of love, laughter, and life.

HK Sterling ~ A Taste for Killing

***Quick note: Three days of Lucky In Love Blog Hop. The first day falls on my Succulent Saturday Stories, so my guest is lucky again :D Glad you stopped by!***

As many of you know, I freelance edit and edit for Breathless Press, Just Ink, and now Three World productions. During the course of my freelance work, I had the good fortune to edit for HK Sterling, under another writing name. I am pleased as punch to be showcasing her now with this tantalizing suspense novella. It's fun and quirky and I think you'll love the characters. And guess what? I've already had the great fortune to read the sequel :D *yes, that is a brag*

Here she is and count yourself luck to have read her!

Twelve Things You Probably Don't Know About H.K. Sterling

1. She's female!

2. She bungee jumped to celebrate one of her birthdays. The second time she dove off backwards.

3. She holds a Bachelor and Master's Degree.

4. She once interviewed a former Major General in the KGB.

5. She's been to South America.

6. She's also been to Mexico, Canada, and Kauai.

7.The day after getting her Master's Degree, she loaded up her furniture and drove across the country to move to California. She did this with no job waiting and $2000 to her name.

8. She once lived in a commune.

9. She now lives on the East Coast with her husband.

10. She's been keeping a dream diary since 1982.

11. Holy Crap, she's OLD.........ISH

12. Her current favorite songs are below:

 

Counting Stars- One Republic http://youtu.be/hT_nvWreIhg

Say Something- A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera http://youtu.be/-2U0Ivkn2Ds

Love Don't Die- The Fray http://youtu.be/WptxUWvrINQ

Sail- AWOL Nation http://youtu.be/gH2efAcmBQM

Same Love- Mary Lambert http://youtu.be/NhqH-r7Xj0E

Impossible- Shontelle http://youtu.be/NWdrO4BoCu8

Holy Grail- Jay Z Feat. Justin Timberlake http://youtu.be/6AIdXisPqHc

Desolation of Smaug- Ed Sheeran http://youtu.be/mllXxyHTzfg

 

 

 



A Taste For Killing

By H.K. Sterling

Excerpt

He had six-pack abs, and I wanted to feel the carbonation. This one dressed like the stereotype of a construction worker, down to the handkerchief he used to wipe sweat off his forehead. I don't know if he or the hot day brought it out, but sweat poured off of me too. He had no interest in me as a person, though. I was invading his territory. Still, I enjoyed the view. For my part, I knew my clothes looked crappy. I didn’t have to wear uniforms anymore, but my street clothes, well they were very—street. So there I stood, a turd in the sun in front of this Adonis. Oh well.

He pointed to a small trailer up a muddy hill. The supervisor I asked to see apparently stayed in there. Stayed, as in never left. Great. Mud. Now I'd be a dried turd in the sun. Adonis went back to digging and I started the trek up the hill. At least I came with boots. Steel toed.

Once I made it to the trailer, I heard an argument going on inside.

"Look, I don't care who you are. The plans are publically filed. Go get them yourself!" yelled someone.

Then I heard a voice I knew. Calm, cool, subversive. "Is there any reason you're being so difficult? A man did die on your watch."

An encounter I hadn’t planned on. Well, at least not until later tonight. I knocked loudly on the door and with my sweetest voice said, "Hello, boys. Am I interrupting something?"

"Great," groused the supervisor. "A party." He appeared to me like another stereotype, puffing on a cigar over a fat jowl line and rotund stomach that threatened to overturn the small desk he was behind. I guess there's a reason for stereotypes. He looked about four hamburgers away from a heart attack.

On a wooden chair in front of the supervisor sat Jack. A fellow independent detective, an ally at times, a competitor...and my on and off lover.

"Well, well, well," he said smiling, but I could tell he wasn’t happy to see me. Not here. It meant we were both working the same case. "Hello, Carolyn. Who hired you?"

"Parents."

"Girlfriend," he answered back.

We stared at each other. Complications.

The supervisor didn’t give a damn and said to me, "Well, missy, I'll tell you the same thing I told this guy." He jerked his thumb around to Jack. "The plans are publically filed and that’s all I have to say about it."

I tried a different tactic. "That’s fine with me. I have no problem going downtown for a copy." I wore my practiced, saccharine smile. "But I wonder, could you tell me the name of the architect? Please?" I smiled again. God, this job sucks at times.

The supervisor sighed. "Jones, Evan Jones."

"Thank you so much," I said, smiling my best smile again. "I'll get out of the way and leave you two boys to...whatever you were doing."

I opened the door to go and started to shut it only to find Jack following me out.

"Sure, flash your tits and get what you want." Boy was he in a bad mood.

"There was no tit flashing in there. Face it, testosterone was not a good choice in that situation."

Jack's response: a grunt.

"Besides," I tried to placate him, "I didn’t get the plans either."

"No, you did one better."

"That's assuming the architect will have anything to do with me and cooperate." A thought occurred to me. "So are you going there too?"

"No, I might as well wait and see what you turn up. Besides, I have my own leads."

"Are you planning to share?" Just call me hopeful. As in full of shit, because that’s where hope always seemed to lead.

"No," he said, still grumpy.

"I see. So it's gonna be like that."

"I guess so."

 I felt like such a female. Damn. But I had to ask.

"Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yeah."

I wasn’t convinced but didn’t push it. God, sometimes I hated myself. But we were good together—when it was good—when his competitive edge didn’t get the better of him. Though I was one to talk. I did the same thing at times. Hence our on and off status. But currently we were supposed to be on. So, I kept it light in the spirit of things to come.

"Okay, master detective, I'll leave you to your leads. See ya."

"See ya," he replied, already preoccupied, pondering a piece of paper he'd taken from his pocket.

I made my way down the hill in my muddy boots.

H.K. Sterling

BIOGRAPHY

 

H.K. Sterling is an author with Breathless Press known for stories with imagination, intelligence, a kick, and twist endings. H.K. likes to focus her writing on suspense, science-fiction, shorts, and anything that is spicy and unexpected. Sometimes her writing may even go dark. H.K. lives in Virginia with her husband who graciously puts up with her passion for writing. H.K. currently has a Mystery/Thriller out: A Taste For Killing; and two short stories in the Breathless Press Anthology: My Bloody Valentine. Her new book, A Taste For Danger has just been accepted for publication and H.K will also soon publish a short-short titled Eyes Only. H.K.'s books are suitable for 18+. You can contact H.K. on the following social media:

Catch up with H.K. Sterling on the following media:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/hksterling

Twitter: @HKSterling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HK-Sterling/426989014069244?ref=hl

Email: HK.Sterling@aol.com

HK Sterling "Undercover Blog": http://hksterling1.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/HKSterling

 

Faberge Nostromo, As Dreams Are Made On

Hi everyone :)

Today we have Faberge visiting us in his first ever f/f romance. And it's a doozy. He tells you a little about how the story came about, so I'll leave that to him. :)

*sniffs and grabs the hanky* Also a proud author moment for me. And he doesn't know it, but I'm currently writing another sci-fi, trying so hard to finish it by end of this weekend... *wails in happy author moment* Thank you Faberge!!

 Now for the star of this Succulent Saturday Stories. :D

It's so lovely to be here with Leona today. She's been enormously supportive of my writing and I am hugging her to bits over t'interweb.

So, I want to talk about As Dreams Are Made On, my sci-fi F/F update of Shakespeare's The Tempest (I like to think it's where the Bard might have taken it had he seen Star Trek) and the authors who've helped it on its way.

It was kicked off by a Facebook group floating the idea of a Shakespeare inspired anthology of short stories. The Tempest has long been a favourite of mine from when I saw the 50s SF movie 'Forbidden Planet' and someone explained that it was Shakespeare in space. I've seen the Royal Shakespeare Company do it with Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise) as Prospero.

I was also inspired by Leona's "The Captain's Christmas" but I've not told her that... yet. I wondered how romance in space might play so I read it to get a steer. My Captain Jane Ferdinand's not like Leona's Captain Faraway Hastings though, but I think they might get on.

As Dreams Are Made On also features a very adaptable android, R.E.L., and writing his interaction with both Captain Ferdinand and Miranda, my marooned alien girl, took me a few light years out of my comfort zone. Who better to check that with than Doris O'Connor, author of many, many books but especially "Man-Droid The Orgasmatron"? She didn't actually laugh out loud or suggest I bin it so I carried on.

I dived into Shakespeare on my kindle and hit Wikipedia and Google for dates, events and themes in Shakespeare and for images to inspire me. I also revisited Forbidden Planet and a lot of Star Trek. That wasn’t hard though as I am a total Trekkie and frankly, once I typed the word "bo'sun" it practically wrote itself.

Last, but soooo not least, port of call—or space port of call, I suppose—was Raven McAllan who, despite usually going nowhere near space, androids or starships in her work has written enough romance novels to stretch from here to the Andromeda nebula (and that's a long way). She really is the go-to girl on style, structure and steaminess. She snipped at a few –ing words here and there and also didn't laugh out loud.

Thank you all, ladies. As Dreams Are Made On wouldn’t have happened without you. I hope you like it.

 

BLURB -

A stricken starship, a captain lost in space; a beautiful alien girl, marooned and adrift in time; the perfect robotic servant. Can he help them come together and find the space and time for love?

Faberge Nostromo takes Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' far into the future and onto a world where two women find that love, with the aid of a very capable android, can be such a thing as dreams are made on.

EXCERPT -

 

"I am a woman, Miranda. Flesh and blood. The same as you."

Miranda breathed in slowly, her gaze flitting from Ferdinand's eyes to her lips.

"Yes. Yes. You are. Captain, kiss me again."

Ferdinand sought Miranda's mouth now, more eagerly, and darted her tongue inside. The kiss was full and deep, both girls probing and tussling with their tongues as Ferdinand ran her fingers through Miranda's long purple tresses. Miranda put a hand on the small of Ferdinand's back, pushing harder, and with her other hand stroked Ferdinand's neck. She used her hands to explore every inch of Ferdinand's back and shoulders, gently sliding over the silver of her uniform, tracing her spine and muscles through the tight material, kneading and caressing in turn.

Their mouths parted, tongues teasing until Ferdinand leaned to one side and danced a series of butterfly kisses on the smooth blue skin of Miranda's neck and throat. Miranda gasped and slid her hand around from Ferdinand's back and inched toward the curve of her breast.

"Captain..." Miranda whispered.

"Jane. It's Jane," Ferdinand replied in between the pattern of kisses she was placing on Miranda's neck. Miranda inched her fingers toward Ferdinand's breast until they gently brushed the smooth lower curve. She stopped.

"Jane, should I..."

"Yes, Miranda," Ferdinand replied. She placed a hand on Miranda's and gently moved it up until Miranda's slim blue fingers covered her breast. "Let your emotions and desires tell you what to do."

Ferdinand's nipple hardened as Miranda gently explored the curve and outline of her breast through the tight silver of her uniform. Ferdinand released her hand and placed her own on Miranda's pert, firm breast, feeling her nipple already hard through the silk. She circled the tight button with her thumb and felt Miranda mirror her movements.

They kissed again, deeply, as each felt the other's soft curves and hard nipples, Miranda's fingers exploring, Ferdinand's confident and insistent. Ferdinand was wet now and wanted those smooth blue fingers to explore inside her. She knew she had to gently lead Miranda there, to teach her, guide her.

 

Buy Link -

http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=2&products_id=542&zenid=ad967b50531768ef0bc7d4da85c72363

 

Faberge Nostromo grew up in the East End of London before escaping to East Anglia. He has been a civil servant, a tea boy, sound engineer, a librarian and an IT consultant but always knew that he was a writer. He now lives deep in the heart of Suffolk with his wife, son and too many guitars.

http://fabergenostromo.blogspot.co.uk

https://twitter.com/FabergeNostromo

https://www.facebook.com/FabergeNostromo

http://www.pinterest.com/fabergenostromo/

Other great book by Faberge Nostromo and Breathless Press:

 

Title: The Spiral Revealed Series: The Spiral Defenders #2 Author: Erin Danzer Formats Available In: Digital Publication Date: 7th March 2014 Blurb: What secrets will the Spiral reveal? After Ronnie follows Gavin into the Spiral, she finds out getting the answers she is looking for isn’t as easy as she thought. Some secrets are kept. A secret love affair comes to light. New abilities are revealed. Ronnie finds she has enemies before she makes new friends. She falls harder for Gavin, but is betrothed to another, a betrothal that will not be broken even after she and Gavin form a sacred bond. As turmoil rises within the Spiral, Ronnie learns the truth about her enemy. She must fight to become a Spiral Defender and queen of her new home—or risk that home spiraling into nothing. Excerpt: Ronnie screamed. The monster had to be at least seven feet tall and was made up entirely of swirling shadows. Its form was vaguely human and where its eyes should have been, bright white lights shone out into the darkness. A long, scaly tail swished behind it as it came right for them. Gavin pushed Ronnie behind him as he readied his sword and Ronnie knew they were going to have to fight this thing together. She pushed down the panic that tried to overcome her and raised her sword as well. She wasn’t about to let Gavin face this thing alone. “Stay back,” Gavin yelled when he saw her sword raised. Ronnie glared at him. “You can’t fight that thing on your own,” she argued. “No, you can’t fight that thing, period. Let me take care of it.” “No.” She raised the sword over her head and ran towards the monster, calling out the sword’s name like a battle cry as she ran. She vaguely realized Gavin was next to her again as her sword, the blade now glowing with a bright whiteness, carved through the shadow demon’s chest. Smoke sizzled where the cut had formed and the demon screamed as it reached out for her, only to have its arm taken off by Gavin’s sword. Ronnie blinked in the brightness of her sword’s blade and felt a little guilty at the reprimanding glare Gavin spared her before he faced the demon again. He swung his sword around at its neck and shouted “Vitae Luminae!” as he dispatched its head from its shoulders. The thing reached out blindly, still trying to fight even as it dissolved in front of them. Gavin held out his arm to keep Ronnie back until it was completely gone. He rounded on her the minute it disappeared, his dark eyes blazing as he reached out and grabbed Ronnie’s sword out of her hand. “Hey,” she protested indignantly. “It’s not like I didn’t do any damage with that. I took care of a shadow hound all on my own.” He continued to glare at her, apparently too upset for words. Finally, he ground out, “No more swords until you learn to listen.” Purchase Links: Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords Contest Details: a Rafflecopter giveaway Direct link About Erin Danzer: Erin Danzer wrote her first book at 10-years-old for a Young Authors competition, where she was awarded an Honorable Mention and discovered a passion for the written word. She’s written several novels and short stories since that spark ignited. Into the Spiral is the first of a four book series. In addition to her novels, Erin writes a monthly short story serial, The Cassandra Serafin Chronicles, posting alternately on her blog and in Literary Lunes bi-monthly online magazine. Erin resides in Racine, Wisconsin, with her husband, two children, and their cat. Contact links: Facebook Fan Page | Goodreads | Twitter | Website

President's Day Sale! :D Mayhem in Mexico: Zombie Infestation

Hey *waves*

I'm a lover of zombies. I got into The Walking Dead before I ever saw the show. My friends were all fans, and I loved what I heard. Plus, Norman Reedus, Michael Rooker? Nuf said. I wrote a long ass zombie action story. I had to redo it. Ever try to change something from first person present tense, to first person past tense? Yeah. No fun. Took me hours and hours and the help of quite a few friends. I'm not stupid by any means, but I couldn't see the forest for the trees, if you know what I mean.

Then, when I finally got finished with that, I had become published under the paranormal romance genre (Yay! The Ulfric's Mate, the start of a destiny I never imagined!). I submitted it to my friend's brand new publishing house, Just Ink. She said to rewrite it. Well, life happened. I had contracts already for three stories (Rick Sexed Up the Doc, The Captain's Christmas, and a short in an anthology, as well working on The Ulfric's Mate, and my short in Ravaged Vol 1, which had just released.) or I don't know what would have happened. I already have spoken of the highlights (or lowlights :P) here, but of course, those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Finally, finally, I finished my long zombie urban sci-fi action book rewrite. I sent it off and yay! Acceptance. *dances* 


I finally got to watch The Walking Dead (loved it like I knew I would! :D), still love all my zombie friends, and now have two books out with zombies!!!! The 88k one, which is titled, Mayhem in Mexico: Zombie Infestation, is going on sale for President's Day!! You want action and zombies for 99 cents? Get on board!

Ready for a little taste? Here's an excerpt:

I turned back to encounter the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen in person. I smiled wide, startling the other woman. Infected. Definitely Infected. The eyes of those with the Ultimate form of the Zombie Virus became luminescent. Not innocent and collaborating in the torture of an FBI agent. If I had to shoot her, it wouldn’t be collateral damage. Now the only person I had to worry about accidentally killing was Agent Connelly. I liked things easy. In. Kill. Out.

I looked down and scuffed a foot against the stained concrete. Nonchalantly the toe of my boot landed on the door jam. It brought me closer to the woman. “His name is Joseph.” Head lowered shyly so it appeared I stared at my feet, I watched the woman through my eyelashes. I was tempted to shoot this gorgeous zombie in the gut. However, I needed to get more information before killing off the players, no matter how tempting I found it.

“You have the right place.” The woman smiled. “Come in, my dear.”

I smiled back. “What’s your name and why are you here?”

“I’m Andrea. You could say I work with Joseph.”

I could say a lot of things. That didn’t make it true. “Oh really?” I replied with a touch of feigned interest mixed with anger. “What kind of work requires a hotel room,” I added, a little—okay, a lot—facetiously. I stepped inside, working it so my back stayed by the doorjamb, hiding my Magnum.

Once my eyes adjusted from the glaring sunlight to the dim hotel light, I didn’t have to pretend shock. Joseph sat tied to a chair, his eyes swollen nearly shut, his hands tied behind his back.

“Joseph! You’re hurt, darling.” I kept up the sweet act with a tinge of anger. “Why don’t you take a shower? It’ll help immensely.”

A quick smile flashed across his dimpled face—which had to hurt—white teeth shining against his tanned skin. “As soon as our guests leave, darling. I don’t want to be rude.”

I turned to assess the other three in the room more closely, my back facing the wall as I made sure my ass kept the gun out of eyesight, . Two men and the woman. The men looked military. Crew cuts, at-ease stance, weapons at their sides holstered. Interesting. Unless I was mistaken, and it rarely happens, they were clean. No exposure, no immunity. Straight humans.

I almost felt sorry for them. Until I looked back at Joseph’s face. “I’m sorry.”

I adjusted my stance so Andrea stayed in direct eye contact with me. “My boyfriend needs a shower and medical attention. I don’t mean to be rude.” My voice dripped with sarcasm. “But can you do this work you never elaborated about later?” Whatever this thing was they were up to, I doubted they’d take me up on my offer. I mentally shrugged.

Andrea gave me an unpleasant smile. Her eyes were flat. “We don’t mind if he cleans up. However, we must get what we came for first. Such a long trip to make for nothing.”

“We’d hate to have you go away with nothing to show for it.” I jerked my .357 up and shot Andrea in the knee. The barrel of my gun shifted to the men. I stepped to the side, closer to them.

I had to hand it to them. Their weapons were out, but they waited. For what, I couldn’t be sure. Andrea shrieked once, yet motioned her men back.

“Our pussy cat has claws,” she said to Connelly before turning back to me. “You hit me in the knee on purpose?”

“Yes,” I said without an iota of inflection in my voice.

“Then I applaud both your self-control and choice of hits. If you were a man, I might suspect you shot me to distract the others. But I suspect you shot me because you deduced I’m the strongest. Who are you, really?”

“Really? I’m a writer. I believe you asked for me?” I added, making a guess.

The shock on Andrea’s face almost made the extra stress worth it. Almost.

  

Blurb:

Getting kidnapped by the FBI is pretty low on my list of things I want to do. It’s right up there with meeting terrorist groups and writing their side of the story. Why a successful novelist like me? Turns out I’m a scapegoat for someone with some serious health issues—they’ve contracted the zombie virus.
I’m a zombie killer, killing them as quickly as I can. But I’m only one woman. You’d think being an Immune was great, but no. Ever since the government purposely tried to infect me with the zombie virus, they watch me closely to see if I turn. Not happening.
The FBI wants me to accomplish something big two thousand miles from home. When I arrive in El Paso, Texas after my strenuous drive from Washington, my contact agent, Joseph Connelly, isn’t available. Being tortured by a zombie for two days is an excuse I can accept after saving his ass. These aren’t your Hollywood zombies; not right away. They never get sick, their IQ triples, and their sex appeal? Off the charts. Until they die and resurrect as true horror flick zombies, with brains. Trouble is, some of them have developed a taste for meat—human meat—before they die.
Problem with governments screwing around with our DNA is things never go as planned. When terrorists kidnap my kids, all bets are off, and Agent Connelly agrees. If we don’t save my kids and steal the antivirus without getting killed, the whole world is going to have a really bad day.




Also, something I should probably add to my official bio, I write under LJ for my action/non romance books. Though there is a bit of "romance" here, there is no sex (sorry to my romance fans! lol).

Muir Bhreatan ~ K. E. Shade

I have K. E. Shade today! She wrote a stunning ancient pirate story that will touch your heart and make you root hard for the hero. Pirates, ancient Irish Celts, hot blooded women, the high seas, what more could you possibly want! Ms. shade provides you with a ride you won't soon forget!

I asked her to do a guest blog and she has graciously said she will give away a copy of Muir Bhreatan to a lucky commenter. All commenters between now and February 20th, will get a chance! As a reminder, I assign numbers to all comments, put those numbers on post it notes, or other small paper, and have my kids draw them. That's as random as we get here folks. :)

Without further rambling about her awesomeness, here is our author for this week's Succulent Saturdays Stories.

Pirates.

I can't get enough of them. Even before Pirates of the Caribbean hit the big screen, I read books about them. Beyond Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard, I got knowledge of the lesser known buccos sailing the seas. The lore of Chesapeake Bay was equally fascinating. I've been on a boat through there and just looking at all the nooks and crannies, I could see how the pirates in the Golden Age hid from the privateers and the British. But what about before then? When piracy almost went into obscurity?  The British Empire, much like the Romans, was spread across the globe. Not every citizen under their rule cared for it. So where to start?

I chose Ireland as the birthplace for my two pirate brothers. While they worked well together, they were polar opposites in personality. One had found the woman he wanted to be with the rest of his life. The other? Total man whore … or is he? That remains to be seen within the pages.

I struggled to finish this one, really. It wasn't until a trip overseas that I became inspired. Sailing through the Irish sea and St Georges Channel lit a fire in me. I pounded the keys and when I saw a group of islands in the middle of it all, my tale came to life. This certainly isn't the end of my pirate jaunts. It's not even my first. So look for more on the historical side. I'm not done weaving my yarns.

Blurb:

Liberators of gold from the British on the high seas, Aedan ó Loinsigh and his brother have never shied away from a challenge on the open waters. Aedan’s only tie to solid ground is the lovely Kaitlin who possesses him like no other. When the brothers are captured and awaiting execution, a mysterious man offers to free them if they pay off their debt aboard his ship. The brothers waste no time in agreeing to the proposal only to find their new lives are not much better than those of slaves. Desperate to reach Kaitlin again, Aedan must figure out a way to save not only the other indentured servants aboard the ship but get back to his true love. Salvation could come at a price. One that Aedan will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Add to your Goodreads list.

Purchase links:

Breathless Press

Where to find me:

Blog | Facebook | Goodreads

on Amazon

Cold Sweat ~ J.S. Marlo

As go through the winter Olympics, I find it fitting to do an extra feature and guest blog by an author whose book is built around the Olympics. Here is an interview with a character and the author...

ATHLETE - DANGER ZONE

With the Olympic games in full swing, have you ever wonder what it takes to be an athlete? Look at them. All of them. They are fast, they are accurate, they are synchronized, they are strong, they are skilled. They make their sport look so easy, almost painless, that we forget they have trained for decades—not days, not weeks, not months, but many, many years—to reach that level of performance. Yes, they are talented, but no athlete can climb to the top on talent alone. It takes determination, discipline, commitment, and sacrifices. I invited Hope, star of Cold Sweat, to share her life as a biathlete with us.

JSM: Welcome Hope. I'm glad you could take a break from your busy schedule to talk to me today.

Hope: I just finished a long ski practice in the trails and I'm not due to report for target shooting for another hour. Your timing works for me.

(Hope doesn't know yet that this interview will be the only thing that will work for her in the days to come…)

JSM: I'll try not to take too much of your time.  Would you start by telling us about yourself?

Hope: I'm seventeen, and in the weeks to come, I'll compete at the Olympic trials. It's been a long road to get there, a road paved with endless practices at the most ungodly times of the day…or night. When I started, I didn't know I would have to give up my weekends and my summer, or that having a social life meant chatting with my teammates in the weight room or that having a sleepover meant sleeping on a bus on my way to the mountains. My teammates are not only my friends, but they are also my fiercest competitors. If I want to make the American Olympic team, I need to finish in the top three. It'll be tough but I'm ready for the challenge.

(Unlike me, she's just a petite thing, but I suspect there's more muscle and determination hidden underneath her tight yellow suit than meets the eyes.)

JMS: You've been training at Snowy Tip in Montana for the last three months. How has it been so far?

Hope: Hard. (She flashes a cheeky smile in my direction.) Almost as hard as convincing my mother to let me come. She's a wonderful mom and she's always been my rock. Can you believe I was five years old when she showed me how to ski and shoot? Without her support, I would never have made it this far, but she wasn't too keen that I postponed my entrance to Princeton University and she doesn't like that my coach—he's an awesome coach—gave me permission to train alone at dawn without my hearing aid.

(I knew Hope was deaf from birth, but it never occurred to me that she practices alone in silence. While it explains how the kidnappers will be able to sneak up on her in the forest, I still don't understand how come such an awesome coach didn't notice her disappearance right away. Hope's mother is right to be worried.)

JSM: May I ask what your father thinks of your decision to train here?

(When a shadow crosses Hope's face, I suddenly remember what I'd read in the biography her coach posted on the Internet. Her father, a fighter pilot, had crashed before she was born.)

Hope: I don't know much about my dad. My mother doesn't like to talk about him. He's kind of an enigma.

(Someone's stomach growls, prompting me to end this interview before I ask another tactless question.)

JMS: Well, I'm sure every member of your family is very proud of you. I thank you very much for your time and I wish you luck in the weeks to come.

(Hope nods, and as she leaves, I can't help but remind her to be careful alone in the forest. Despite my warning, Hope Craig is kidnapped in Cold Sweat...)

Cold Sweat – Heart & Endurance Series by J.S. Marlo is available at www.BreathlessPress.com

Visit me on my website at www.sites.google.com/site/JSMarloAuthor

Happy reading!
J.S.

 

 

Cold Sweat blurb ~ 

Can they conquer the mountains and the past in time to save Hope?

*** 

Seventeen-year-old Hope Craig is deaf and training hard to make the biathlon Olympic Team. But when she is kidnapped from the groomed trails and taken into a remote cabin in the mountains, she must battle more than the elements to survive.

On the hunt for her daughter's abductor, Colonel Amelia Matheson enlists the help of Richmond Morgan, a local Sheriff who once hurt her. To find Hope, Sheriff Morgan and Colonel Matheson must untangle a web of secrets, including their own.

Using her wits and skills, Hope sets out to escape the mountains and save the man her mother had sent to rescue her—a man who is not who he appears to be.

 

 

 

 

A little about the author :)

J.S. Marlo spent her childhood in a small French Canadian town, reading and daydreaming stories. One day, she met her hero, a dashing young officer, and followed him back and forth across the country.

The "memorable" adventures she experienced with her young family fueled her imagination and kindled the dream of one day becoming a published author. It wasn't until after her three spirited children left the nest in pursuit of their own adventures, that J.S. finally gave writing a chance.

Her first two dozen stories were for her friends' eyes only. To her surprise and delight, they enjoyed them and rewarded her with their encouragement and support. J.S. kept writing, and learning, and writing…

She finally captured her dream with her first novel "Salvaged", and then carried on with her first series "Duty Bound": Unscripted–Book One, Unearthed–Book Two, and Untamed–Book Three. She's currently working on two new series: "Heart & Endurance" and "Digging through time". Cold Sweat of the Heart & Endurance Series is coming up in November 2013.

J.S. lives in northern Alberta with her wonderful hubby, and when she's not visiting her children and little granddoggie, she's writing in front of the fireplace.

You can visit her at www.sites.google.com/site/jsmarloauthor