Here's a teaser...a short excerpt from my newly released romantic suspense from Red Rose Publishing. DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN will thrill you to no end. Here's the buy link: http://bit.ly/a4NOHE
Book Blurb, first:
In a quirky college town surrounded by the mountains of New Hampshire new art history professor, Jacob Oliver, hikes a trail on a crisp September morning. He contemplates his life. Divorced and forced out of his job with the Boston Police due to a horrific accident, he spots a naked woman beneath a majestic waterfall. Escaping, he falls and reinjures his knee.
Destiny Blake hears a noise. Someone is on her mountain. She finds a handsome man sitting in the mud. Love blooms and lust consumes them after she helps him to the safety of her cabin. Soon, assumptions pull them apart, leaving her vulnerable to the unwanted attentions of other men.
When Jacob decides he cannot live without her, he must save her from a madman who chases her up her mountain through the cold, snowy darkness of a November night. Ghostly voices push Jacob onward, and urge Destiny to fight back. Pain, hypothermia, and death threaten before the sun rises. Can Destiny and Jacob make it off Destiny's mountain...alive?
EXCERPT
With no possibility of heading back down the main trail, since that maniac probably followed close behind, she focused on an image of a trail map in her head. He was somewhere between her and safety, but other trails curled around the mountain. Darkness urged her to stay on the one trail she knew best. Had she veered off onto a smaller trail? Once daylight arrived, she could escape another way. The man chasing her was athletic, but he wasn’t as fast or he would have caught her by now. Besides, the moose hadn’t smelled him, which proved he lagged behind.
Where was Jacob? She could really use his company right about now. What was he doing at his moment when she needed him? Was he home asleep in his bed? If so, she hoped he slept alone.
He never called her or just stopped by. He ignored her at the dining hall and rarely said a word when they met in town. Still, that time he came upon her in the drugstore brought a warm rush of desire to heat her from the inside out. He’d been about to suggest something before Josie turned up and ruined everything.
Shivering, and on the verge of tears, she knew she had to take control of her own destiny. I have to save myself. The blackness of these woods proved both a curse and a comfort. If I can’t see my stalker coming, then the jerk can’t see me.
Holding her breath, she cocked her head and listened to the dark. Again, she heard the crackling sound of snapping twigs amid something shuffling through dead leaves.
A light blanket of crunchy snow coated the trail, which added to the bitter cold of a moonless sky. At least a partial moon would have given her a chance to see the man who was coming her way. She knew this time he was the one making the sounds. Her only advantage over her hunter was that she knew this mountain better. Every twist and turn, every rock and gorge was imprinted in her brain. This was her home, not his.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
My article RESEARCH: A WALK IN THE PARK is up at Savvy Authors
Want to learn a little more about what helps an author write the story of their heart? Click on over to the a SAVVY AUTHORS BLOG at http://bit.ly/cmxXO1 and see what I have to say on the subject!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
A Preview of DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN
My romantic suspense, DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN, will be released September 30th, 2010 from Red Rose Publishing. I have revamped my blog by showcasing the beautiful autumn leaves that New Hampshire is famous for. Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite:
A footpath led off to his left. Picking his way through the smaller overgrown trail, which looked more like a deer path, he followed the sounds. Both the sweet melody and the roar of falling water grew louder.
Abruptly, the beautiful singing turned to playful splashing.
Peering through a blueberry bush, conscious of the possibility of berry-eating bears, he focused on the magnificent waterfall. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see the top of the falls, but at its base, a round pool of silvery foam churned under the weight of the falling water. He didn’t see the singer.
Did I dream all this? In the middle of the day? He leaned closer. Prickly branches weighed down by fat, juicy blueberries clawed his shirt. A sudden splash of foamy water pulled his attention toward a woman as she burst up out of the pool, her glorious back to him. A long gold braid fell between her tan shoulder blades, reaching the top of her well-rounded bottom. Froth dripped down her slickened body.
“Beautiful!” he shouted. Uh-oh. He clapped his hand over his mouth Too late.
She turned his way, as if searching the thick vegetation for a voyeur…, which was him. Water dripped over her milky skin, and...
Well, you get the picture. My books start out during the crisp early autumn of September, and ends in the midst of an early November snowfall on Destiny's Mountain.
The winner of my last blog's question is Kristen Paul! She came closest to the answer I was searching for. Congratulations, Kristen! A gift is on the way!
A footpath led off to his left. Picking his way through the smaller overgrown trail, which looked more like a deer path, he followed the sounds. Both the sweet melody and the roar of falling water grew louder.
Abruptly, the beautiful singing turned to playful splashing.
Peering through a blueberry bush, conscious of the possibility of berry-eating bears, he focused on the magnificent waterfall. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see the top of the falls, but at its base, a round pool of silvery foam churned under the weight of the falling water. He didn’t see the singer.
Did I dream all this? In the middle of the day? He leaned closer. Prickly branches weighed down by fat, juicy blueberries clawed his shirt. A sudden splash of foamy water pulled his attention toward a woman as she burst up out of the pool, her glorious back to him. A long gold braid fell between her tan shoulder blades, reaching the top of her well-rounded bottom. Froth dripped down her slickened body.
“Beautiful!” he shouted. Uh-oh. He clapped his hand over his mouth Too late.
She turned his way, as if searching the thick vegetation for a voyeur…, which was him. Water dripped over her milky skin, and...
Well, you get the picture. My books start out during the crisp early autumn of September, and ends in the midst of an early November snowfall on Destiny's Mountain.
The winner of my last blog's question is Kristen Paul! She came closest to the answer I was searching for. Congratulations, Kristen! A gift is on the way!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
I'M FISHIN' FOR YOUR VOTE...
SECRET LOVE MATCH is up for best cover in the YOU GOTTA READ COVER CONTEST. Red Rose Publishing cover artist, Nika Dixon, did a magnificent job using elements of my story to come up with a beautiful cover for my sensual story about a tennis ace with her sights set on an Olympic berth. Please VOTE for COVER #8 AT
http://yougottareadcovers.blogspot.com/2010/08/month-2-voting.html
then come back and read the blurb and free excerpt, below! Thanks!
BOOK BLURB
Rebecca Delacourt has played and taught tennis for the last three years. At twenty-one, she knows what she wants. Without help from her wealthy parents, she buys a condo in Glen Cove, NY and plans to be on the Olympic Tennis team.
She has no time for men, marriage, or children. Her mother gave up her acting career when she became pregnant with older sister, Laney, whose illegitimate son is mute due to recent emotional trauma. She does charity work for breast cancer in Baltimore every year.
Taylor, a former TV actor, notices Becka. She knows him—she’s dreamed of his TV persona for years. They meet at her parent’s country club. He thinks he’s found gold in the athletic blond. After beating him at tennis he meets her parents. Too bad he knows them—a former co-star, and the man helping get him auditions.
Her sister moves in—thwarting any privacy. She’s hiding out and is attacked. Taylor finds himself falling for Becka. Will he change his arrogant ways, save her nephew from kidnappers, and realize she’s the one? Becka wonders if dreams can still be reached with someone beside her. Will they reach their dreams together?
EXCERPT
“Hi,” he said. He stopped opposite the low bench, not intruding on her space. His hands lay motionless at his sides. One fist gripped the borrowed tennis racket against shorts that suddenly grew tight. He slid his other hand into his front pocket to camouflage a growing bulge before taking a slow, steady breath. She might not approve of a rampant erection making its presence known so early in their relationship.
“Hi, yourself.”
“Could I challenge you to a set?” Taylor kept his voice calm while his chest pounded from a sudden desire to run the other way. What the heck was going on? Where had his macho Hollywood persona, built to perfection during cattle calls and late night parties, gone?
With another deep breath, he watched her thinking. He could almost detect her mind as it quickly evaluated the man standing in front of her.
“I see you’re considering my request before answering.” He hoped he wasn’t out of his league, here. Yes, he might be twice her age, but he kept his body trim and healthy with daily workouts. He jogged wherever he happened to be, no matter where he traveled. He’d cut out smoking long before it was in vogue to do so and had slowly cut out the drinking. His friends might not agree with that statement.
Yeah, I still have a way to go with that problem.
He hadn’t joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He didn’t follow their teachings. He’d take a drink now and then, but he no longer drank to excess.
He towered over her. Her eyes flashed with desire as she checked him out. Is she staring at my hair?
During his show’s run, the studio added white-blonde highlights. He’d detested the look, but the fans loved it. Gray hairs had so far refused to make an appearance.
Her gaze settled uneasily on his face. Supermarket tabloids touted his eyes as his best feature. They described them as “The deep blue of the night sky just before sunset.”
Get real!
He fought the urge to laugh aloud. Contacts kept his vision going strong. The blue-tinted lenses made the color even more intense, but he didn’t wear tinted ones due to vanity. In all honesty, they were easier to find when he dropped one.
He took pride in how his skin pulled tight across his jaw and he still had all his hair. His slightly crooked grin was legendary due to the show. His smile, perfected on his television show, had turned women’s heads for years. He hoped it worked on this cute blonde.
“I was going to have lunch with my parents, but…”
Why did she hesitate? Listening intently, he waited to see how she’d finish her sentence. Surely playing with him would make better use of her time than a family get-together. Maybe the little beauty is hungry.
Hopefully she is hungry for more than just food.
He didn’t want her to starve, but he could certainly persuade her to get to know him better. After that, who knows where they may end up?
“Could you delay fifteen minutes or so? Won’t they wait? It’s such a lovely afternoon. My host is attending to business. I came here to play tennis, but if my partner-in-crime doesn’t show up soon, I’ll have to leave without my exercise. Please?”
Crap! Now he sounded desperate. She gazed over his shoulder at someone before returning her attention to him. Then she smiled. His heart thumped inside his chest.
“Okay. I can give you one set. Then I have to eat before I leave for an afternoon appointment.”
Her bright smile flashed a heated spark straight to his groin. She set her water bottle back down on the bench and grabbed two tennis balls. She tossed them his way and Taylor caught both then stuffed the balls in the back pockets of his tennis shorts. She grabbed two more.
“As a guest of the country club, why don’t you serve?”
“How do you know I’m not a member?” he asked. “Am I wearing some kind of sign across my chest?”
“You mentioned your host is off somewhere.”
Dropping her gaze to his waist, she walked to her side of the net. Was she admiring how he filled out his shorts? Their cut left little to the imagination. Only fair since he had quite the imagination concerning her. As he made his way to the service line, he smiled at her quick deduction that he didn’t belong here. Nodding to her, he bounced the ball twice, set his feet by the right-hand serve box, and swung the racket. Relief flooded his body when the ball made it over the net and landed on his opponent’s court. It wouldn’t do to embarrass himself in front of her so early in their relationship. They hadn’t even exchanged names, yet.
In a flash, she flew across the court and the return volley sailed past his racket. He watched as the bouncing bit of yellow hit the court inches inside the fault line.
She got me.
*any idea why I updated my blog with autumn leaves? First correct answer earns a prize. Make sure you leave your e-mail address so I can contact the winner.
http://yougottareadcovers.blogspot.com/2010/08/month-2-voting.html
then come back and read the blurb and free excerpt, below! Thanks!
BOOK BLURB
Rebecca Delacourt has played and taught tennis for the last three years. At twenty-one, she knows what she wants. Without help from her wealthy parents, she buys a condo in Glen Cove, NY and plans to be on the Olympic Tennis team.
She has no time for men, marriage, or children. Her mother gave up her acting career when she became pregnant with older sister, Laney, whose illegitimate son is mute due to recent emotional trauma. She does charity work for breast cancer in Baltimore every year.
Taylor, a former TV actor, notices Becka. She knows him—she’s dreamed of his TV persona for years. They meet at her parent’s country club. He thinks he’s found gold in the athletic blond. After beating him at tennis he meets her parents. Too bad he knows them—a former co-star, and the man helping get him auditions.
Her sister moves in—thwarting any privacy. She’s hiding out and is attacked. Taylor finds himself falling for Becka. Will he change his arrogant ways, save her nephew from kidnappers, and realize she’s the one? Becka wonders if dreams can still be reached with someone beside her. Will they reach their dreams together?
EXCERPT
“Hi,” he said. He stopped opposite the low bench, not intruding on her space. His hands lay motionless at his sides. One fist gripped the borrowed tennis racket against shorts that suddenly grew tight. He slid his other hand into his front pocket to camouflage a growing bulge before taking a slow, steady breath. She might not approve of a rampant erection making its presence known so early in their relationship.
“Hi, yourself.”
“Could I challenge you to a set?” Taylor kept his voice calm while his chest pounded from a sudden desire to run the other way. What the heck was going on? Where had his macho Hollywood persona, built to perfection during cattle calls and late night parties, gone?
With another deep breath, he watched her thinking. He could almost detect her mind as it quickly evaluated the man standing in front of her.
“I see you’re considering my request before answering.” He hoped he wasn’t out of his league, here. Yes, he might be twice her age, but he kept his body trim and healthy with daily workouts. He jogged wherever he happened to be, no matter where he traveled. He’d cut out smoking long before it was in vogue to do so and had slowly cut out the drinking. His friends might not agree with that statement.
Yeah, I still have a way to go with that problem.
He hadn’t joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He didn’t follow their teachings. He’d take a drink now and then, but he no longer drank to excess.
He towered over her. Her eyes flashed with desire as she checked him out. Is she staring at my hair?
During his show’s run, the studio added white-blonde highlights. He’d detested the look, but the fans loved it. Gray hairs had so far refused to make an appearance.
Her gaze settled uneasily on his face. Supermarket tabloids touted his eyes as his best feature. They described them as “The deep blue of the night sky just before sunset.”
Get real!
He fought the urge to laugh aloud. Contacts kept his vision going strong. The blue-tinted lenses made the color even more intense, but he didn’t wear tinted ones due to vanity. In all honesty, they were easier to find when he dropped one.
He took pride in how his skin pulled tight across his jaw and he still had all his hair. His slightly crooked grin was legendary due to the show. His smile, perfected on his television show, had turned women’s heads for years. He hoped it worked on this cute blonde.
“I was going to have lunch with my parents, but…”
Why did she hesitate? Listening intently, he waited to see how she’d finish her sentence. Surely playing with him would make better use of her time than a family get-together. Maybe the little beauty is hungry.
Hopefully she is hungry for more than just food.
He didn’t want her to starve, but he could certainly persuade her to get to know him better. After that, who knows where they may end up?
“Could you delay fifteen minutes or so? Won’t they wait? It’s such a lovely afternoon. My host is attending to business. I came here to play tennis, but if my partner-in-crime doesn’t show up soon, I’ll have to leave without my exercise. Please?”
Crap! Now he sounded desperate. She gazed over his shoulder at someone before returning her attention to him. Then she smiled. His heart thumped inside his chest.
“Okay. I can give you one set. Then I have to eat before I leave for an afternoon appointment.”
Her bright smile flashed a heated spark straight to his groin. She set her water bottle back down on the bench and grabbed two tennis balls. She tossed them his way and Taylor caught both then stuffed the balls in the back pockets of his tennis shorts. She grabbed two more.
“As a guest of the country club, why don’t you serve?”
“How do you know I’m not a member?” he asked. “Am I wearing some kind of sign across my chest?”
“You mentioned your host is off somewhere.”
Dropping her gaze to his waist, she walked to her side of the net. Was she admiring how he filled out his shorts? Their cut left little to the imagination. Only fair since he had quite the imagination concerning her. As he made his way to the service line, he smiled at her quick deduction that he didn’t belong here. Nodding to her, he bounced the ball twice, set his feet by the right-hand serve box, and swung the racket. Relief flooded his body when the ball made it over the net and landed on his opponent’s court. It wouldn’t do to embarrass himself in front of her so early in their relationship. They hadn’t even exchanged names, yet.
In a flash, she flew across the court and the return volley sailed past his racket. He watched as the bouncing bit of yellow hit the court inches inside the fault line.
She got me.
*any idea why I updated my blog with autumn leaves? First correct answer earns a prize. Make sure you leave your e-mail address so I can contact the winner.
Monday, August 2, 2010
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA CONFERENCE
Another year is over and the mystery of “How are they gonna pull off moving a huge conference from one part of the country to another in about two months?” has been answered. Michelle Monkou and her fabulous staff at the Romance Writers of America headquarters came through. We will all feel disappointment over not visiting the lovely, yet too wet Nashville area, but Orlando and the Dolphin/Swan Resort complex welcomed us in style.
There were too many events to report at this time, so I’ll give some highlights. The Chapter Leadership all day meeting was an eye-opener to this new vice president (me). I want to publicly thank my wonderful roommate, Florina Craven, President of the Charleston Chapter for surviving my bout with food-poisoning. The Literary signing was a well-attended madhouse! I was unable to visit all the authors on my list, but was happy a few new authors (my chapter mates) were there; Katherine Ashe, Qwillia Rain, and Kelly Gay to name a few.
The workshops I attended were great; I survived my agent appointments; my new friend and virgin conference attendee Carla Smith…oops, I meant to say FIRST TIMER Carla Smith, had a fantastic first-ever agent appointment…the agent requested she send her full manuscript!
The Golden Hearts were awarded to deserving not-yet-published writers and many new faces won the Ritas. The after-award party in Sabrina Jeffries suite was well attended and we love having her as part of the Heart of Carolina RWA here in the Raleigh area. She comes to most meetings and freely gives of herself whenever a struggling new writer (or one who has been around the stacks) has a problem. She looked fabulous and her party started off with fun and laughter when Nancy Berland and Lori Keizer were caught wearing the same outfit…from necklace to sparkly shoes! ( see photo)
There were too many events to report at this time, so I’ll give some highlights. The Chapter Leadership all day meeting was an eye-opener to this new vice president (me). I want to publicly thank my wonderful roommate, Florina Craven, President of the Charleston Chapter for surviving my bout with food-poisoning. The Literary signing was a well-attended madhouse! I was unable to visit all the authors on my list, but was happy a few new authors (my chapter mates) were there; Katherine Ashe, Qwillia Rain, and Kelly Gay to name a few.
The workshops I attended were great; I survived my agent appointments; my new friend and virgin conference attendee Carla Smith…oops, I meant to say FIRST TIMER Carla Smith, had a fantastic first-ever agent appointment…the agent requested she send her full manuscript!
The Golden Hearts were awarded to deserving not-yet-published writers and many new faces won the Ritas. The after-award party in Sabrina Jeffries suite was well attended and we love having her as part of the Heart of Carolina RWA here in the Raleigh area. She comes to most meetings and freely gives of herself whenever a struggling new writer (or one who has been around the stacks) has a problem. She looked fabulous and her party started off with fun and laughter when Nancy Berland and Lori Keizer were caught wearing the same outfit…from necklace to sparkly shoes! ( see photo)
 |
| Nancy Berland and my friend, Lori Keizer, laugh about their RITA dresses! |
The write up posted today at PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY’S BLOG is wonderful. Please visit
for a full-length shot of these two lovely ladies. My shot was taken over a few heads, but I think I caught the happy hijinks.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
VOLUNTEERISM & ROMANCE WRITING?
Secret Love Match is my debut novel, but I want to share a little bit of what has happened up until this point in my life. I spent over 32 years in the retail and customer service segments. From discount store clerk to hardware store assistant manager, I worked with a smile…and a backache. Once the kids were older, I became a volunteer EMT on the local FAST Squad then joined the volunteer fire department. My husband put on bunker gear as well. We enjoyed the camaraderie of training, working fires, visiting sickly neighbors, and raising funds for our budget-strapped town in rural northern New Hampshire.
Volunteerism has always been an important part of our lives. When first married, my husband volunteered as a Little League coach and we were both Cub Scout Den Leaders (during different years for different sons). We had to slow down a bit and let the younger boys and girls take over then we moved to the south. I keep busy with occasional projects for the North Carolina Museum of Science as well as volunteering as an officer for my local writers group. It’s no wonder that I make my heroine and hero volunteers for breast cancer awareness. Becka spends a couple days in beautiful Baltimore filming TV ad spots using well known political figures, Hollywood Stars, and athletes. Taylor helps when she gets in a predicament. He takes over late, near the end of the book, when Becka is hospitalized…well, you will have to read the book to find out what happens next.
I urge everyone to offer an hour here or there to any group, organization, or needy neighbor that could use the help. Then kick back, pat yourself on the back, and read my debut contemporary romance, Secret Love Match.
Here is a short blurb about my book. I hope you like it.
Rebecca Delacourt has played and taught tennis for the last three years. At twenty-one, she knows what she wants. Without help from her wealthy parents, she buys a condo in Glen Cove, NY and plans to be on the Olympic Tennis team. She has no time for men, marriage, or children. Her mother gave up her acting career when she became pregnant with older sister, Laney, whose illegitimate son is mute due to recent emotional trauma. Rebecca still manages to squeak out some time for her charity work for breast cancer research in Baltimore every year.
Taylor, a former TV actor, notices Becka. She knows him—she’s dreamed of his TV persona for years. They meet at her parent’s country club. He thinks he’s found gold in the athletic blond. After beating him at tennis he meets her parents. Too bad he knows them—a former co-star, and the man helping get him auditions.
Her sister moves in—thwarting any privacy. She’s hiding out and is attacked. Taylor finds himself falling for Becka. Will he change his arrogant ways, save her nephew from kidnappers, and realize she’s the one? Becka wonders if dreams can still be reached with someone beside her. Will they reach their dreams together?
Please visit my website
www.nancylennea.com for an excerpt.
Buy Link: http://bit.ly/diHVbn
Monday, July 5, 2010
MY PARENTS ARE MY INSPIRATION
I want to enlighten my readers with how my parents, Robert and Audrey Beegle, inspired my debut novel, SECRET LOVE MATCH. My contemporary romance, released this month from Red Rose Publishing, tells how a 40-year-old former TV actor seeks out an old friend. Taylor Adams wants him to help get him into film. When he meets the man’s 21-year-old daughter, the tennis ace, he is compelled to get close to her…as long as her father doesn’t find out.
I could fill several pages answering a reader’s question like “how do you get ideas?” Simply, write what you know. My hero came to life when I wanted to portray a drifter looking back on a wasted life. I wanted him a bit older, a little wiser, and he needed a goal; a dream. My character is loosely based on both William Shatner of Star Trek fame and Tim Allen, star of the comedy film, Galaxy Quest.
My parents inspired me to write and keep writing, and helped by editing my drafts. They also helped in the creation of my heroine, Rebecca Delacourt. I was again fortunate to have parents who scrimped and saved so we could enjoy the nearby beach club. I learned to swim and dive then was presented with a tennis racket. It felt good in my hand. I felt powerful each time I hit the ball over the net. I competed against friends. A few of the cute boys came by to play…tennis, that is. I continued to play up and through college and watched Wimbledon and the Olympics. I never would have created a tennis ace with a dream set on an Olympic medal if it wasn’t for my parents. They inspired me to get up from the sand chair, or out of the water, and learn a sport, which in turn made me create Becka.
My characters are two headstrong individuals with specific plans for their futures. Never mind Taylor is nearly twice Becka’s age. Forget that they have absolutely no plans to marry, much less date when such a distraction could impede on their goals. When they meet, everything changes!
Check out the SECRET LOVE MATCH book trailer:
SECRET LOVE MATCH is available now from http://redrosepublishing.com/books or just click on the buy link: http://bit.ly/diHVbn
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