WeWriWa: Back in Time Pt. 2 . . . MASKED BY MOONLIGHT

After leaving the suspense hanging between my hero and heroine last week, I figured I’d better let you exhale with the continuation of that scene in this week’s Weekend Writing Warriors excerpt:

He tasted her slowly, firmly, riding the jerk of her chest, gentling his hold on her hands, then finally releasing them. Her palms came up to rest against his shoulders, motionless at first, then beginning to push. He lifted off her by a scant inch, his stare delving into hers. His breathing hurried.

“Max, stop.”

That hoarse whisper still didn’t convince him. The tip of his tongue lightly rimmed the fullness of her lower lip, the gesture so provokingly intimate she trembled with a helpless chill of response.

His challenge brushed silkily over the damp part of her mouth. “I will if you mean it.”

And for a moment, for one startling moment, she didn’t.

Oh boy, she’s in trouble now. And that trouble goes from better to worse to awesome over the course of the next 14 books in the series. That’s a pretty long-dang time to exhale but I think I finally have that HEA wrapped up in RISE BY MOONLIGHT thanks to encouragement like this from PW to keep me going the distance.

Before I move on to the other books/characters in the series, here’s another taste of MASKED BY MOONLIGHT.


Here’s to having a final draft ready for Beta readers by next weekend! (Okay, I’ve said it out loud-now to make to so!)

Happy Weekend, fellow Warriors and Write On!!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

WeWRiWa: Back in Time . . . MASKED BY MOONLIGHT

As I’m trekking forward in my (hopefully) final edit before BETA reads, I’ve found myself having to go back to the beginning before completing the end of my journey with Book 15 of my “By Moonlight” series. Back to where things were starting to heat up between Detective Charlotte Caissie and the criminally ambiguous, Max Savoie after he rescues her from a vicious attack.

“You killed those men.” 

He didn’t admit it, not exactly with his rumbling, “I’m sorry, did you want to get to know them better?”

“You rushed in to take on armed men with your bare hands? Are you insane?”

“Should I have just kept walking?” His gaze locked into hers, eyes heating, darkening with something she’d never seen in them before.

“Step back, Savoie.”

Her gruff command must have lacked conviction because his head lowered until his breath feathered against her lips, soft, warm.

“Don’t.” Not quite so tough.

I adore these characters . . . and thankfully so did my Pocket editor, Micki Nuding when she purchased the first three anchoring books of the series over a decade ago (after I’d already turned down an offer from another house for just the first book). A writer’s dream to have input into titles, back copy and cover continuity (and yes, for those who watch sleeze TV, that is Jax from Vanderpump Rules!), a fabulous training ground for when I’d self-pub. Pocket went on to publish three more paperback and two e-only books, and I continued with five more, with my current W.I.P., RISE BY MOONLIGHT, #15 to conclude the series. Sigh . . . and to think it all started with a three-chapter paranormal shapeshifter proposal for an entirely different project that got turned down (Moral of story: Don’t toss out those old ideas!!)

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My next endeavor, working toward getting my rights back to those first six books so I can make them available and affordable.

Looking forward to seeing how you’ve been spending your keyboard time!

Happy Writing! And Happy belated Valentine’s Day!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

WeWriWa: Back to Business . . . RISE BY MOONLIGHT

I’ve been pretty much absent for the past month, either sick or off with writer pals, but now it’s time for both me and my W.I.P. to get back to business. And in this scene from RISE BY MOONLIGHT, my hero Max Savoie is all about long overdue business with his past and with his pack.

Max Savoie was hardly a stranger on the docks. As Jimmy Legere’s enigmatic enforcer, he’d often stood at his boss’s back, a silent grim reaper shadow warning of dark deeds to come. Since he’d discovered his kinship to those who toiled at the dank Mississippi’s edge, his presence sparked different reactions, welcome in some, suspicion in others depending upon whether they viewed him as savior or destroyer of their kind, but none were neutral.

Though he could move like a ghost, unfelt and practically unseen, Max chose to let those of his kind sense his presence immediately. Instead of his usual Armani, he wore casual chinos and a plain tee shirt beneath the long sweep of his black raincoat to signal this was no business visit. Work stopped as his red hightops traveled the water-pooled concrete, no greeting hailing him from the suddenly still and silent group, making him feel about as welcomed as a cargo of spoiled shrimp.

Philo Tibideaux exited the foreman’s trailer Jacques LaRoche once made his home. The tall redhead purposefully didn’t welcome him with a nod, nor was there any sign of one in his inscrutable expression as he waited on the top step for Max to come to him. He let Max wait a long, rather uncomfortable minute at the foot of the stairs before finally offering a cool greeting.

“What brings you out in the light of day, Savoie?”

I’m almost finished with a second edit of RbM and from there, it’s off to BETA readers while I get all my PR efforts in order along with cover, back copy and plans to promote. I’ve seen a rough copy of my cover and WOW, it’s to die for. Can’t wait to show you the final product. Until then, it’s back to the keyboard to take care of the business of writing.


February is one of my favorite months because it’s the shortest one of winter leading into spring. Hope those of you in chilly states like mine here in Michigan are staying warm. Until next week, Happy Writing, fellow Warriors!!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

IWSG: Every Picture Tells a Story

Our Insecure Writers Support Group question for February is: Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?

Yes! In my case, I blame it on the debut of MTV. As a stay-at-home mom with a new baby, the music and videos carried me back to my rather wild rock-n-roll college roots, encouraging me to join a record club (vinyl, remember them?) to pad my long-neglected collection. On the back of one of the LPs, I don’t remember which, there was a picture of the group’s drummer. I couldn’t look away. What a perfect pirate he would make! (In fact, one of their later music vids had a rather swashbuckling feel to it!). While trying to nap between feedings for the new kid on the block, I daydreamed about that swarthy fellow. Piece by piece, a story came together, first in my mind then on notebook paper, becoming my second completed manuscript (the first is still in a box somewhere). And in August of 1987, THE PIRATE’S CAPTIVE debuted under my pen name Dana Ransom alongside SWEET TEMPEST, a historical Regency also written for Zebra Books as Lauren Giddings, my first two published books. And I owe it all to Rock’n’Roll.

I’m very visual when I write. For each book, I put together a folder (either physical, digital or both. Now, I even use Pintrest!) filled with images that support or inspire my current WIP. Faces of characters, clothing they’d wear, places they’d live or travel to. I hang my daydreams on those images as the story emerges and finally expands into text (I’ve come a long way since notebook paper and a manual typewriter). So, in my case, every picture helps me tell my story.


But when I think of a picture that inspires me to finish those stories, it’s this one on my desk of my critique group of over 25 years strong! Their steady stares all say the same thing: “You should be writing!”.

Have a happy shortest month year and Happy Writing! Looking forward to reading about your inspirations!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.The awesome co-hosts for the February 5th posting of the IWSG will be Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Twitter hashtag is #IWSG