I luvs Les Byerley! He's the cover artist responsible for most of my Ellora's Cave covers. And he's done it again with Double Happiness. I'll say again, "Holy nekkid mens, Batgirl!" Excuse me while I go find a towel to mop up the drool...
The last few weeks have been hectic. Between the Evil Day Job, insomnia and quitting smoking, my brain has been mush and my Muse has left for less stressful climes.
Yes, quitting smoking. I've smoked for...well, a really long time. Let's just say more years than I've not. And it's time. And this time, it's going to work. I didn't say to myself I'm going to "try" to quit smoking. I said, "I'm 
quitting." Not cold turkey without help, mind you. The co-workers at the EDJ would have had to take cover if I'd done this without some help. I'm using nicotine patches.
After reading the back of the Walmart brand, Equate, and the name brand version, I decided the only difference was the $10 in price. I started on July 3rd--nine days and counting--and so far, it's been a breeze.
The only time I had a serious craving was Wednesday. My dog Frankie had a growth on her neck that needed to be removed. This wasn't the first tumor she'd had. Two years before, a growth was removed with no problem and although it was cancer, it wasn't the kind that spread. I figured this would be the same thing.
Unfortunately, it wasn't. This tumor was all over the place. The vet wouldn't be able to remove all of it and what she could get wouldn't be enough and would probably have left Frankie lame. The vet recommended letting her go. As hard as it was, I did. And I appreciate the vet's honesty.
A number of years ago, with a different vet, I put one of my dogs through hell trying to treat the untreatable because I couldn't let go and the vet wouldn't voice an opinion one way or the other. He didn't like advising people to euthanize.
So rest in peace, Francesca Ann. I'm having her cremated and she'll occupy a spot on the shelf with Tasha and Buddy.
Tuesday I had to work from home so I could deal with the plumber. The sewer line was giving me headaches. Sometimes I wonder why I bought a house. Yardwork and home repairs... What a pain.
Romeo decided I needed assistance. Or at least a good view of him napping. This is Romeo's idea of helping--sleeping on my bookbag with my work in it.
He spent most of the day there waking long enough to glare at me when I needed the papers he was sleeping on.
Romeo is so named because he's a lover. Drives me crazy wanting to be petted. I'm a side sleeper and I wake up to find him sleeping on my side with his paws and head hanging over my shoulder. Of course, he hasn't figured out that knocking him off isn't personal. It's usually hot flash related. LOL
I also had a telephone interview on Thursday regarding a new job. It sounds very interesting, would be a little more money and save me forty miles a day on the commute. With the price of gas, that's about $110 a month savings. And it's in West Little Rock, which is convenient to everything! Where I'm at now, there's nothing around. I have to travel even more on the weekend to get things done like nails, hair, car maintenance, etc. Of course, I usually meet up with Momma and Lil Sis on the weekends for sushi lunch so it's not a total waste of a weekend day! I'm not getting my hopes up for the job but it would be nice.
The insomnia is getting better. Most of it was caused by Restless Leg Syndrome. A little hard to sleep when you can't stay still! Doc gave me samples of Mirapex and it's worked really well--except I ran out Wednesday night. Last night was hell! I called the doc this morning to get a prescription called in and the stupid pharmacy claims they never received the fax. *headdesk* Doc's office is open tomorrow so I'll be calling.
Turns out caffiene and nicotine aggravate RLS. I had already cut back on the caffiene by switching to half-caf. Once I finish with the patches, I'm hoping I can dump the RLS meds.
With everything going on, writing had suffered. I did start a new story--m/m. Not much done on it yet but I'm trying!
So there's my update on life, the universe and everything!
Excerpt:
Thirty-four years ago—Chicago—January
Instead of bright lights and pearly gates, Serena opened her eyes to a dimly lit bedroom. A fire crackled in a large fireplace across from the wide, comfortable bed. Warm blankets held her in place. The only other illumination came from a small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. A dark figure sat in one of two armchairs placed at angles to the fireplace.
“You are awake.” The man’s accent was unusual. His words weren’t a question but a statement.
“Yes. Where am I?” Serena should be afraid, but she was too tired and groggy to be concerned. Although her coat and winter knee boots were gone, her sweater and skirt appeared to be intact.
“My home, not far from where I found you.” He rose from the chair then walked toward her. His height towered over the bed. His hair was close-cropped, its natural kinkiness giving it texture. His skin was black as coal. The pale blue turtleneck sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows emphasized his darkness. Muscular forearms appeared as sculpted ebony wood.
Fleeting fear tugged at her mind, but the temptation to touch him, make sure he was flesh and not a carved statue, was almost overwhelming. She’d never been in such an intimate situation with a black man. Common sense said she should be concerned. Instead, a shiver of something she couldn’t quite define shook her body then warmth enveloped her.
His full lips curved into an indulgent smile. “You fell in the parking lot. You should be more careful.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Is there someone I can call?”
“No. No one locally.” She glanced away from the sparkling obsidian eyes. “My car wouldn’t start. I was trying to get to a phone, call a tow truck.”
“You shouldn’t have been down at the lake in this kind of weather.”
“How do you know where I was?” A little shred of fear slipped through the fog in her brain.
“I see you there a lot.”
Serena turned back toward him. “I like the peace and quiet. Lets me think. If you see me there, then you must like it as well.”
“This apartment is the warehouse you were attempting to reach.” His arm swept out, indicating the room.
“Really?” She glanced around the room. Opulent beyond anything she’d seen outside of magazines, the room was large. Heavy dark red drapes covered the windows. The fireplace opening was almost the height of her host. The furnishings were heavy, thick with cushions and trimmed with dark, rich-looking wood. Nothing to indicate it was in an old warehouse. “I always thought this place was abandoned.”
“I prefer people think so. I don’t care for the curious trespassing on my privacy.” His teeth flashed in a brilliant grin against his ebony face.
“I’m sorry. I’ll leave…” Her head swirled as she pushed up on her elbows. Dizziness and her host’s dark hand pressed her back into the pillows.
“I don’t think so. The weather has turned into a blizzard. I’m afraid you’re here for the duration.” He smoothed the cover over her. “Even if we could reach your car and get it started, you are in no condition to drive. You have a mild concussion.”
“That would explain the headache and dizziness.” She reached up to feel a large knot, tender to the touch, centered on the back of her head. “I slipped…on the ice.” The vague memory clarified slightly. Flexing her ankle caused a sharp pain. “Sprained my ankle.”
“Yes, and a rather spectacular fall it was.”
“You saw?” A frown creased her forehead.
He canted his head toward the window. “I was watching. You almost made it.”
“I guess I owe you my life. I would have frozen out there.” Sleep pulled at her eyelids. “Thank you… I don’t know your name.”
“Zaki Bashandi at your service, madam.” His body bent slightly at the waist in a quick, formal bow. On most men the action would look silly. Him…it suited.
“I’m Serena Whitmore. Zaki Bashandi…nice to meet…you… Unusual name…” Her words slurred.
“It’s African.” His lilted accent suddenly made sense.
OMG! Les Byerley did it again! This is the hottest cover yet! I think it's fate that Les has done all my Ellora's Cave covers except one. I recently discovered that the picture in my website header and MySpace background was taken by Les. I picked the picture off of iStock.com over two years ago before I made my first sale. Small world, eh?An accident turns State Trooper Dan Fletcher’s life, and his car, upside down. With his right hand out of commission, he has to rely on his best friend for his basic—sometimes intimate—needs. After spending most of his life looking for the right woman, he begins to wonder if he’s been looking at the wrong gender—an impossible concept in their small-minded world.
EXCERPT:
Richard Taylor’s headlights found the state trooper’s cruiser sitting in the dark, off the road and waiting for speeders. Since Rich wasn’t speeding and was actually a deputy sheriff on his own patrol, he wasn’t worried about getting a ticket.
His lips crooked upward at the thought of Trooper Daniel Fletcher—his best friend, a womanizing lady’s man with a heart of gold and the subject of most of Rich’s jerk-off fantasies. His smile slipped. He wondered whether Dan would still be his friend if he knew that last part.
Rich flashed his lights at the cruiser before pulling in beside it. Dan’s hand appeared in the bright beams then pulled the side mirror in so Rich could pull his unit close in the tight spot. Rich grabbed his mirror and did the same as he eased the car to a stop, driver’s window to driver’s window.
“Hey there.” Dan’s face was pale in the light of an almost full moon.
“How’s it going?”
“Slow night.” Dan shrugged. “Only one ticket. Thought about dropping it until I saw her wedding band.” His teeth flashed white in his shadowed face.
Rich laughed at Dan’s implication. Dan was always looking for his next date, but Rich knew he was joking. Dan’s scruples were one of the things Rich liked most about the man. He would no more drop a ticket for a quickie than Rich would.
“Want some?” Dan held up his ever-present thermos.
Addicted to coffee, Dan always shared when Rich showed up. He even kept several small foam cups in his cruiser for Rich’s use.
Their breath, visible in the cold January night air, mingled as they talked. Rich breathed in through his mouth as if he could taste the other man on the frozen air. A hopeless fantasy. He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. Something best saved for the morning when he would be alone in his bed. “Sure. You know I never turn down coffee.” Or a chance to talk with his best friend.
Dan started pouring before Rich finished his answer.
“So what happened with Lizzie?” Rich reached across the short distance for the coffee cup. He shivered from more than cold when Dan’s fingers brushed his.
“How’d you hear about that?”
“I went to the grocery store.”
Dan snorted as he poured his own cup. “Lizzie’s sister.”
“Yeah. Gossip central. I swear they could tell you which of your dog’s fleas jumped ship today.” Rich sipped the strong, hot liquid. “So, what’s your side of the story?”
“She’s just not the one.”
Rich smiled behind his coffee cup. Dan’s search for the elusive “one”—the perfect woman—was the talk of the county. After dating nearly half the available women in the small community, Dan still hadn’t found someone.
“It’s not as if I don’t want to settle down, I just can’t find a woman I think I could live with forever.” Dan’s comment wasn’t a new one.
“But Lizzie seemed like a good fit. Not too clingy, not calling all the time. Not like Sharon.” Even the mention of Sharon’s name sent a shudder down Rich’s back. That one had the makings of a stalker. In the pale moonlight he could see Dan had the same reaction.
“Don’t mention her! She’s scary.”
“Hey, you were the one who said she was harmless!” Rich chuckled at the idea of his tall muscular friend afraid of the petite brunette.
“Well, after awhile I thought I’d find her boiling bunnies in my kitchen! She can hold a grudge like nobody’s business.”
Rich laughed. “She’d never boil bunnies. She loves animals. You, on the other hand, are a different story. I thought we’d have to assign a protective detail on your house!”
As they both laughed, a speeding car topped the hill setting Dan’s radar beeping.
“Gotta go.” Dan switched on his blue lights and pulled out before Rich had time to say goodbye.
Rich watched in the darkness as the flashing lights of Dan’s car gained on the speeder. His friend was a damned attractive man and never had trouble getting dates. His chiseled features and deep blue eyes had most of the women he met willing and ready with little effort. Not to mention the great body.
Even his reputation didn’t seem to hurt his chances. The fact he was kind and sensitive to the point that most of his ex-girlfriends had no hard feelings didn’t hurt. Just the kind of man women wanted to take home to meet the parents.
Rich wasn’t overly modest about his own looks. He kept his body in shape, partly out of pride in his physique and partly out of the demands of the job. He never had trouble getting his own dates.
However, his tastes ran more to lean, masculine bodies and hard cocks. A small rural county in Tennessee wasn’t exactly the best place to come out of the closet, and since he wasn’t his best friend’s type, why bother. He hadn’t met anyone he wanted a lasting relationship with, anyone worth the trouble such a revelation would cause.
Occasional trips to see his friend Jeremy in Memphis, one hundred and fifty miles away, helped take the edge off when things got too bad. He could relax with Jeremy and not worry about people finding out his secret.
Lost in his thoughts, it took a few seconds for Rich’s mind to realize the speeder wasn’t stopping.
The radio crackled with Dan’s unit number. “J-12 in pursuit, possible 10-49, northbound 641, mile 6.”
Rich flipped his lights on as he backed out of the spot. He could still see the blue strobe lights of Dan’s cruiser in the distance. A drunk driver was a pain in the ass, but a fleeing one was an accident wanting to happen. He reached for his radio as he pulled out of the shadows and joined the pursuit. “Dispatch, C-6 to assist J-12.”
Tossing his radio mike on the passenger seat as the dispatcher acknowledged, he floored the accelerator. Rich closed the distance enough to see the white tail of a deer flash blue as it ran across the highway.
Dan’s cruiser swerved in an erratic jerk—first left then right—then flew off the left side of the road. The flashing blue strobe danced in the darkness. As if in slow motion, the car flipped.
Rich’s heart was in his throat as he watched it roll out of sight down an embankment. “Dispatch, 10-36 with 10-34. Mile 10 northbound 641.”
His car screeched to a stop near where Dan had gone over. He had the door open before the dispatcher acknowledged his call of an accident with an officer in trouble.
Shayla's Eternity Contest!
The Eternity Series continues at Ellora's Cave!
Longing for Eternity, book 3, arrives on July 2nd!
The prizes are:
A download of Longing For Eternity
A deck of Ellora's Cave Playing Cards
Manloveromance chap stick
The winner will be announced on June 30th at 10:00 p.m. Central US time!
To play, click the Contest link on the Events page.
LONGING FOR ETERNITY
By Shayla Kersten
Available at Ellora's Cave, July 2nd!
