Friday, April 29, 2011

Color, Color Everywhere ...

Welcome my guest blogger for today - Nina Pierce:

Winter in northern Maine is very long. Up here our four seasons are: almost winter, winter, still winter and preparing for winter. The cold and snow comes around Halloween most years and lately has been staying through most of April. Yeah, winter just goes on and on and on and … you get the idea.

When the first flakes of snow fall in late October, they float gently to the ground coating the green grass in a lacy layer of white. It’s beautiful. But after shoveling, snowblowing and clearing cars for 5 months, that *@^%*# white stuff isn’t even sort of pretty. It’s a real pain in the … oh, sorry. I lost myself for a minute. Anyway, suffice it to say snow and white gets tiresome.

When the first soft winds of spring warm the gray branches of the trees and the gentle rains wash the dirty, muddy remains of snowbanks down the culvert, the ground begins to warm. Tiny sprigs of green shoot out of the damp earth and blossoms of crocuses, tulips and daffodils bloom. Oh, the color! After months of monochromatic white, the flowers are welcome. As trees fill out in the green shades of spring, window boxes and hanging baskets of flowers adorn homes. And my heart smiles with the return of all the hues of the rainbow.

There is something about flowers that lift spirits and gladden hearts. Flowers help us celebrate the important moments of our lives; births, deaths, marriages, and graduations. They show up on every holiday, sent by people we love. Florists in a small town, like where I live, have their finger on the pulse of the townspeople. All the big news sorts right through their workbench as they create bouquets for the residents of their community.

So it was an easy choice for me when I set my erotic suspense series in Maine, to have the Tilling sisters own a floral shop and landscaping business. What better way to get a feeling for the small town of Delmont where they live? The first book, Blind Love is my newest release. It introduces the Tilling family and finds oldest sister Julie investigating her best friend’s death.

BLURB:
He’s a shock jock looking to reform. She’s an accountant hoping to cut loose. Can love open their eyes to forever?

Uptight CPA and oldest sister, JULIE TILLING, is the glue that binds her family. Everyone depends on her to do the right thing. When her friend from high school dies and Julie is the only one who believes he didn’t commit suicide, she takes it upon herself to investigate his death.

DAMON COREY didn’t come to Maine to become a shock jock. But when his dream career of becoming a concert pianist seems unobtainable, the radio station’s offer is too good to pass up. When mysterious brunette Jewel, hooks up with him at the night club run by a college frat brother, their one night fling wraps around his heart and makes him believe in love at first sight.

But can Damon expose his inner soul without pushing Julie away or will his enigmatic shock jock persona become Julie’s sexual undoing and reveal him as the missing piece that solves the puzzling questions surrounding her friend’s death?

EXCERPT:
Julie hauled up the leather corset that had dropped a quarter of an inch on her rapid walk in from the parking lot. She hadn’t expected the outfit to expose so much of her bosom. But that’s what she got for indulging in fantasies and shopping on the internet. She yanked on the hem of the leather skirt trying to keep it from exposing her lacy thong. But pulling on it only dropped the corset again. She needed to stop fiddling. Sex kittens on the prowl didn’t worry about exposing too much skin. And that’s who she wanted to be tonight—a voluptuous vixen cruising for a wild night of uninhibited sex with a stranger. Hopefully that would get her into see the owner, Elvis Castonguay.

Standing just inside the door of Starry Knights, Julie caught a couple of guys ogling her. Heat rushed up her neck, and instinct had her hand splaying over her cleavage. They both turned away. Stupid. The bulging eye reaction was exactly what she’d been hoping for when she decided to venture out of her comfort zone and buy the outfit. Maybe she just wasn’t cut out to be Julie Tilling, shameless sex goddess.

And maybe she had simply expected too much from herself on her first visit to a bar. Julie hadn’t done the usual college experimenting that so many people enjoyed in their carefree youth. Valedictorians didn’t have much time for frat parties and bar hopping. But maybe it was time to change all that, even if it was nearly a decade too late.

“Just go with it,” she mumbled, trying to boost her waning confidence. No one knew her here. She could be or do anything she wanted without repercussions. Buoyed by that thought, Julie threw back her shoulders and let her chest lead the way. Undulating to the thunderous cacophony of music and voices, the throng of people on the dance floor moved as a single mass of heated bodies. Someone grabbed her butt. Too stunned to acknowledge the intimate touch, she continued to maneuver her way to the bar. How did people do this night after night?

“I’ll have an iced tea,” she shouted into the bartender’s ear.

“Long Island?”

“No, Delmont.” That was a strange question. Why would he care where she was from? Maybe he was just hitting on her.

BUY Link for KINDLE Lovers: http://tinyurl.com/6gp5f5a
BUY Link for NOOK Lovers: http://tinyurl.com/3u49gby

5 comments:

Nina Pierce said...

Thanks so much for having me Wynter! I love your blog colors!

Wynter said...

Love the excerpt! And thanks for coming to the blog today.

Maureen A. Miller said...

I love visiting Maine, Nina. It's a wonderful setting for a suspense series, and that was a great excerpt. Thanks for sharing it!

Nina Pierce said...

Wynter - Glad you enjoyed it.

Maureen - Maine is beautiful and it made a great setting for this series. I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpt.

Gavin Adkins said...

Veryy thoughtful blog

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