Posted by: Author | August 29, 2018
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: Wordless Wednesday
Posted by: Author | August 27, 2018
Tuesday Tales- August 28, 2018 – Funny
Every week, a group of authors post snippets of their current work using the same word for all of us. This week’s word for Tuesday Tales is funny. I’m working on the story I shared part of last week. The main characters are now inside the house the hero is thinking of buying. The heroine, a realtor, is showing it and they’ve heard a noise from one of the bedrooms, but, when they investigated, they found no one inside.
Be sure to take the time to read the other entries here.
Peering behind the open door at Stella, he indicated he was going to look under the bed.
She barely nodded, clearly spooked.
He stealthily sidled over to the tester bed, close to the blood stains on the wall and flipped the edge of the white counterpane up on top of the bed, covering some of the rusty stains.
Crouching down, he scanned the area. No one there.
Puzzled, he stood upright and shrugged his shoulders. “Weirdly, it’s clear.”
“You say that like you wish someone had been there.” She shuddered. “I’m glad it’s clear.”
“I’d like to know what it was. Not that I wanted to shoot anyone.”
“Maybe it was just a raccoon or something like that.”
“How would it get in?” Max glanced up at the ceiling and back at her. “Let’s see if Rocky and his family have a nest in the attic.”
“Rocky?”
“If I’m going to have a pet raccoon, doesn’t he need a name?”
“Maybe we should check the other rooms on this floor first.”
“The noise came from this one.”
“Maybe it echoed. I still don’t feel safe.” She pointed at the door. “Lead the way with the gun.”
He let out a deep sigh, feeling in his bones the other rooms were empty. The sound definitely was from this area. He could tell she was nervous, her former bragging about the voodoo grandmother long forgotten.
Wanting her to feel safe, he nodded. “All right. We’ll check the other rooms. Come on.”
Holding the gun in position again, he walked slowly down the hall, as he had earlier, knowing it was all pretense now. He needed to get to the attic to see if squirrels or other rodents had invaded somehow, but first, he had to appease her.
Before they arrived at the next doorway, a loud bang came from the room they’d just left.
Not thinking about Stella being behind him, Max whirled around and almost crashed into her. He quickly put the gun to his side and steadied her with his empty hand. “Wait here.”
She shook her head. “No way.”
Returning to the place they’d vacated, Max held Stella back with an extended arm as he peered in from the door.
Still quiet and not a soul to be seen. This was getting ridiculous. He could feel Stella’s hand shaking where she held his shirt.
“Let’s go. I can’t stand this,” she said.
“Not yet. I’m going to figure this out.” He strode into the room and to the bed. He looked under it again. Still nothing there. Walking to the closet, he opened it again. Nothing.
Out loud, he said, “Whatever game you’re playing, it’s not funny. Come out and we won’t have you arrested.”
No response.
Posted in Tuesday's Tales, Wordless Wednesday | Tags: Tuesday tales, Tuesday's Tales
Posted by: Author | August 22, 2018
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: Wordless Wednesday
Posted by: Author | August 20, 2018
Tuesday Tales- August 21, 2018-Picture Prompt
This week’s prompt is a picture prompt. The authors of these tales are limited to 300 words when there’s picture prompt. I’m still working on my new story with the Beatles references. I don’t think there are any in this snippet though. 🙂
Check out the other tales here.
Max smiled at how isolated the house was. Just what he needed after moving away from Chicago. Peace and quiet was what his soul needed.
“Quiet enough to be murdered without anyone hearing?” Stella smiled at him as they reached the point of the driveway where he could get his first look at the front of the house.
“If I didn’t know realtors were pretty rabid about making sales, I’d say you were trying to discourage me from even taking a look inside this one, much less making an offer and moving in.”
“Not at all. It’s your business where you want to live. My great grandmother was a Voodoo priestess and many feared her, even though she was harmless. Nothing can scare you if you let everyone live and let live was her philosophy.”
“And you let the ghosts live and let die?” Max couldn’t resist asking.
“You’re a funny man. Let’s see how you like the inside.” She put the car in park and opened the door. “The power is supposed to still be on.”
Max followed her to the impressive columned porch. “The hedges along here seem like they’d be nice. With a good trimming, that is.”
Stella pointed to one on the far left end. “That one there is so oversized, I bet you could trim it on the shape of an animal.”
“Not me. I couldn’t.”
“You’re good with scalpels but not with hedge clippers?”
Her smile was so charming, Max almost reached out to touch her cheek. “I can handle the clippers. It’s the art part that would be an issue.”
She inserted the key into the door and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Ready for your first impression of your new home?”
Posted in Tuesday's Tales | Tags: Tuesday tales, Tuesday's Tales
Posted by: Author | August 17, 2018
Fun Friday
My alter-ego is a guest today on Betty Bolte’s blog – check it out here.
Posted in Books, guests | Tags: Friday, fun, guest post
Posted by: Author | August 15, 2018
Wordless Wednesday
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Posted by: Author | August 13, 2018
Tuesday Tales – August 14, 2018- Sour
Sorry I missed last week with Tuesday Tales, but sometimes life gets in the way. I’ve started a new story and have decided to sprinkle in references to the Beatles in it for fun. I’ve long wanted to write a story with all the characters named after people in Beatles songs, so I’m altering that goal a bit to have lots of Beatles references and not just to their songs.
This week’s word is sour. Hope you like how I slid it in. Be sure to check out the other tales here.
Doctor Maximilian Edison suppressed the groan that threatened to escape. Yet again, upon meeting someone over a certain age, he’d been treated to a serenade of the first part of that Beatles’ song. Was no one original these days? Surely his mother knew when she named him Max that she was cursing her son to being the victim of some pretty horrible singers, never mind it was her maiden name and she wanted to honor her father. Max once considered taking the medical boards and moving to a non-English speaking country, but he was almost positive there was nowhere on Earth—or Mars for that matter—that the Beatles music hadn’t reached. He’d have to live with being Max with the silver hammer.
“Are you sure you want to consider the old Rigby mansion as a place to call home?” The realtor leaned closer and whispered, with sour breath that turned Max’s stomach, “Poor Mrs. Rigby was murdered there, you know. They say it’s haunted.”
“I’m a medical doctor. I don’t believe in that nonsense. I’ve also been around dead people. It’s not frightening. The house is large and private and the price is right. I want to see it.”
The realtor leaned back on his chair in the office arranged like a steno pool from the 1940s. Placing his hands behind his head, he said, “I have to confess, the place creeps me out, so I’m going to send my newest team member out with you. Is that acceptable?”
It was more than a little ridiculous but Max didn’t want to insult the man by making a big deal over it. “That’ll be fine.”
The man lifted his arm and snapped his fingers in the air three times. “Stella. Come and meet Doctor Edison. He wants to see the old Rigby estate.”
Appalled at the way the man addressed his associate, Max stood and turned to greet the woman.
When he saw her, he was even more angered at the older realtor’s treatment of her. She couldn’t be over twenty-five and the snapping of the fingers wasn’t only rude, it was sexist—and maybe even racist. Max bet the man wouldn’t behave that way to a white, male colleague.
Posted in Tuesday's Tales | Tags: Beatles, Tuesday tales, Tuesday's Tales
Posted by: Author | August 7, 2018
New/Old Release
A few years ago, I had a story in an anthology with a number of other Regency romance writers. It was called Once Upon a True Love’s Kiss. My story was called Milady and Her Spy. I wrote two new stories to continue the adventures of the main character, Lady Augusta. I’ve been a lazy bones about getting them into one book and formatting it, but finally got it done this past weekend. It’s now available for purchase in both ebook form and paperback.
The heroine is such a great character to write, I hope readers love her as much as I do. BUY LINK
Blurb:
Lady Augusta Covington isn’t an average young woman of the ton. She’s unique and prefers outdoor pursuits over needlepoint and gossip. She’s a crack shot and has the best seat in the county.
In Milady and Her Spy, a house party at her family’s country estate leads to extreme danger for the daughter of the house. There’s a traitor in their midst with evil plans afoot and they include the lady herself.
In Milady Takes a Groom, Lady Augusta has found the man she wants to spend her life with. There’s just the pesky matter of a plan by a French agent to pull off a shocking mission to try to end the war with Napoleon to deal with first.
In Milady Goes to France, Lady Augusta must travel directly into enemy territory to find and assist an agent of the Crown who is in danger. It’ll take all the skills Milady has in order to make it back to English soil alive.
If you read The Orphan and the Duke, Lady Augusta makes an appearance in it as well. When I was writing it, her husband suddenly turned up with the hero of that story. I remember saying out loud, “What are you doing here? This isn’t about you.” But then, Lady Augusta was needed by the sisters in The Orphan and the Duke and it became clear why he was there. 🙂 
Posted by: Author | July 30, 2018
Tuesday Tales- July 31, 2018- Puzzle
I finished my Christmas story this weekend and this will be the last peek at it for Tuesday Tales. Don’t fret, though as I there will be three stories coming in an anthology this fall and this is one of them.
The word of the week for Tuesday Tales is puzzle. If I was writing a mystery, I’d have my heroine puzzling out a clue, but this isn’t that. 🙂
Be sure to check out the other tales here.
Panicked by the expression on his face and not knowing how to respond, she stared down at her pajamas. “Here I am. Two visitors already today and I’m still in my PJs. Do you mind if I go change?”
“First, I’m kind of digging the snowman theme going on.” He waved his hand to indicate her clothing. “And second, don’t ever change. I like you just as you are.”
“You think you’re so clever. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Embarrassed but hopeful because of the things he was saying and mostly due to the way he was looking at her, Candace darted into her bedroom.
As she shut the door, he called out, “May I use your computer for a second?”
“Sure. Just don’t log on to my banking and see how little I have on deposit.”
Mortified by what she’d said since he’d lost his fortune, she prayed he’d forget that part of the conversation by the time she came back. What a dumb thing to say.
Candace took a quick shower once she saw how wild her hair was. It was a wonder Hank hadn’t cracked up when he talked to her. She looked like one of the scarecrows she’d used to decorate the door to the shop in the fall.
Dressed in a red sweater, black leggings and thick socks, she returned to the living room. Hank was still sitting holding her lap top. He closed it when he saw her. “Thanks. I needed to check on an email I was expecting.”
“No problem.” She sat in the chair facing him. “You don’t have email access on your phone?”
“Nope. I turned it off as I was obsessed with checking it too often. I’ve found when I don’t have access all the time, I tend to live more than I did when I had the phone to my face all the time.”
“Good idea. I like that.”
He leaned forward, making the leather couch squeal a little in protest. “I couldn’t help but notice you had the Oxford site open. You thinking about going?”
“I am. I’ve decided to take your advice and leave town. Getting away from my mother’s reach is the best thing for me.”
“Can’t say I’m not glad about that, but I thought you couldn’t afford to go back when we graduated from high school, so how do you plan to pay for it now with having the shop?”
“I’m selling the shop. Even if I have to take a loss.”
Hank had a puzzled frown on his face. “It’s as bad as all that?”
“Yeah.” Candace nodded. “I learned something disturbing about my mother and Angela yesterday.”
Posted in Tuesday's Tales | Tags: Tuesday tales, Tuesday's Tales
Posted by: Author | July 23, 2018
Tuesday Tales- July 24, 2018-Picture Prompt
This week on Tuesday Tales, we’re all writing to picture prompts- I’m still working on my Christmas tale and chose a holiday themed photo.
Please be sure to check out the other tales and see what picture each author chose and how they used in in their story. Link to Tuesday Tales site.
He smacked his hand on his thigh. “Darn. I was hoping she was complimenting you on the lovely flowers and decorations at the church.”
Candace laughed. “You are naive if you thought that for a second. That woman never complimented anyone in her life unless there was something in it for her.”
“And neither has your mother.”
“I don’t disagree with that.” Candace shivered.
“I know it’s cold.” Hank glanced backward. “And much as I’d like to continue this conversation, I have obligations and need to get back to the reception.” He touched her lightly on the hand. “I know tomorrow is Christmas Eve, but can I come by your place in the morning to talk for a bit?”
She nodded. So much for not risking her heart. The treacherous thing was already hoping he wanted to see her to discuss a future together. “That’ll be fine. Say around nine? That’ll be late enough for you to recover from any hangover.”
“I’m not drinking.” He smiled. “Nine works. I’ll see you then and bring bagels.” Tilting his head toward the building they just left, he added, “unless I can talk you into coming back inside.”
“It’s best if I head home. Trust me on this.”
“I do. You know best when your mother is on a rampage. I’ll be interested to hear what she’s mad at you about this time.”
“Then I’ll see you in the morning.” Candace turned and hurried to her car. She didn’t need one more person interfering with her movements tonight.
All she wanted to do was be home in her own living room, in front of her Christmas tree with the lights shining out onto the snow and cozy inside. And to have a good cry over a ruined evening.
Posted in Tuesday's Tales | Tags: Tuesday tales, Tuesday's Tales
Jillian Chantal 