WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Okay, we all make mistakes. And writers make the most. The reason you never hear of them is because we edit them out.
Take this morning for instance.
I had sent a proposal to my agent, and she responded with a question about when the hero and heroine met. 
The story is set in 1068, and features a midwife. Now, to be honest, I don't usually discuss stories that haven't been sold, so this may never grace the shelves of a bookstore near you, but the story I'm about to tell you is funny.
I had this midwife in the dungeon below for a crime she was quite willing to admit she committed. But I also had a young mother upstairs in the castle dying during childbirth.
And in between, two men, one the hero, the other his friend, discussing the whole situation and yes, also discussing food. 
What was I thinking?
Here is a woman dying, and a woman who can save her, and a pair of men chatting about supper.
What was I thinking?
Sure guys may do that in real life, but hey, this isn't life. It's fiction. It's got to make sense.
My hero needs to be heroic. My heroine needs to be freed. Another woman is dying. And I am discussing food?
Of course, I corrected the problem immediately and resent the proposal to my agent. She agreed that the change was necessary. And off to the editor it went. 

Have you ever made foolish mistakes? Ones that you can truly laugh at later on?
Have you ever done something then asked, What was I thinking?

#SuspenseSunday

#SuspenseSunday is proud, and a little nervous, to feature retired LA cop, Kathy Bennett. (Any interest she may have in this site is purely writing related. I hope.)

A Deadly Blessing

                                                   

The critically ill daughter of the governor of California has been kidnapped. LAPD Detective Maddie Divine is assigned to find her before it’s too late. But this high-profile case comes with secrets on every side: cops, politicians, even the innocent. 
Maddie Divine: Her marriage hangs by a thread, her SWAT-officer husband has lost it, and almost as bad, she can’t trust her detective partner.
Travis Divine: After the death of a SWAT teammate, he’s a shell of the man he used to be. He’s lost touch with his work, his wife and occasionally even reality. Can he regain the warrior mentality needed to support Maddie and do his job?
Preston Truesdale: The California governor’s daughter has gone missing, and so has her only bone marrow donor. Is it coincidence or something more sinister?
Pilar Luna: The mayor of Los Angeles is a media favorite, and she plays Preston like a Vegas pro would play a Midwestern farmboy…all in hopes of reaching the White House. Will she hit the jackpot?
Tiffany Truesdale: The brainiac teenager evaded her security team to spend a night on the town with her girlfriends, but can she outwit the man who kidnapped her before time runs out?
A Deadly Blessing is a lightning-paced story of suspense that will keep readers on edge from beginning to end.

Author's Note: This book contains commonly used street language.

#SuspenseSunday

 #Suspense Sunday's choice today is Christine Fairchild, the only author who shares her office with a T.Rex!

An Eye For Danger (The Goliath Conspiracy Series)

 
                                                       

 When former war photographer Jules Larson braves a PTSD attack to jog beyond her five-block safety zone in Central Park, she runs right into a murder scene.

Taken hostage, Jules provides escape for Sam Fields, an undercover cop desperate to avoid capture by his nemesis and former mentor, Detective Stone McCarthy. Sam can't afford to blow his two-year investigation of Goliath, a band of crooked cops who clean up New York City streets vigilante style. Especially if Stone is one of them.

 Fighting for underdogs is old habit for Jules, and Sam's rough-around-the-edges charm has a way of roping her into helping with his investigation. Though Jules fears Sam's violent world will land her in a psych ward--again--three years of self-imposed isolation since her fiancé's death is a long time to be lonely.

And then there's Stone. His park murder investigation keeps leading to Jules' door, and he's on the verge of discovering her involvement. Not only might he be crooked, Jules is just the kind of uptown girl Stone covets. Especially if she belongs to Sam.

As Goliath closes in on the only surviving witness, Sam and Stone must work together to protect Jules. But Jules can't grow too close to Sam, even when his touch melts her armor, or accept Stone's increasing advances, even though he's twice the gentleman Sam is, for fear either man might discover the truth about her fiancé's accident.

                                                      





(By the way, T.Rex is a Chocolate Lab. )

Christmas Fun Will Now Commence!

My husband smacked my knee at the end of news we were watching, and said, "Okay, let's get those Christmas decorations out!"

I'd just settled in to watch TV. Oh, well. We went to work. And I was surprised by my husband's efficiency here. He put up the tree, and left me to decorate it, while he added a touch of whimsy to our front entrance.

He's not usually that sort, but, hey, he was putting up the decorations! I got the tree done. I am of the opinion that the tree should have special-to-us ornaments, and not look like it fell out of a Christmas catalogue.

You can't see them, but there are ornaments from my youth, from the children's births, from craft shows, even three special Beanie Babies. That tree is about our family, not some decorator.
We even put up lights on the back window. Interesting. Never did that before.

So, finally, we could settle down and watch one of my favourite shows, Castle. The Christmas special, of course. Love Castle's quips!

Enjoy the decorating, everyone!

#SuspenseSunday

Any #SuspenseSunday story that features a trip of a lifetime has this fan hooked! Thank you, Stacey Joy Netzel!

Lost in Italy

2012 WINNER Write Touch Readers' Award ~ Romantic Suspense

~

The best laid plans...

Halli Sanders spent two years planning the trip of a lifetime to Italy. Her itinerary did not include being stranded by her siblings, kidnapped by a sexy American movie star, dodging bullets, or fleeing criminals in a car chase around Lake Como. And that's just in the first three hours.

...often go awry.

Trent Tomlin put his movie career on hold to investigate his brother's murder-ruled-suicide at his Italian villa. He's closing in on the suspects when an American tourist unwittingly films the murder of the retired cop helping him. The killers will stop at nothing to get the evidence--including holding Halli's family as collateral.

Life's a little different unscripted.

Thrust into the role of real-life hero, Trent finds himself falling for the Plain Jane whose beauty blossoms with every challenge they face. But how can he keep the evidence from the murderers to get justice for his brother and friend without betraying Halli and her family?