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Excerpt Monday

Posted in Uncategorized on April 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Here is the second excerpt of Another Time, Another Place. I’m going to have the entire first chapter and maybe even a little more before this is over 🙂

She glanced across the table at Libby’s knowing smirk, then watched as her friend looked over her head and, evidently, into Scott’s eyes. Libby’s brow slowly arched into a ‘what-the-hell-do-you-want’ look.

“Well, aren’t you incredibly charming today, Libby?” Scott taunted. He knew the exact buttons to push to prompt her into a quick exit.

“Hmmm, on that note, I think I’ll take my leave before I stick my foot in my mouth…or somewhere else,” she gushed in a melodramatic tone as she looked Scott up and down for added effect.

Tessa rose to hug her friend goodbye, then whispered in her ear, “You really don’t need to go. This conversation would give you tons of stuff to analyze.”

Libby giggled and whispered back, “No, I’m perfectly content with looking around the room and knowing all these people now understand why you think men suck.” She dropped a light kiss on Tessa’s cheek and added louder for Scott’s benefit, “If the bastard jerks you around too bad again, you know my number.” Libby turned toward Scott, exchanged glares of annoyance with him, and sashayed away.

“Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out,” Scott called out as she reached the exit.

Libby turned toward him and slowly pushed her sunglasses up on her nose with her middle finger, then blew him a kiss. There was definitely no love lost between Libby and Scott, and Tessa knew why. Libby was the one Tessa ran to, the one who always let her cry on her shoulder each and every time Scott broke her heart. She didn’t judge Tessa or tell her what to do; she was simply her best friend and confidant.

“Ahem.” Scott cleared his throat in an obvious attempt to bring Tessa’s attention back to him.

“Well, have a seat,” Tessa swept her arm in a grand gesture toward Libby’s empty chair. She reluctantly sat across from him and asked with nonchalance, “Is there something I can do for you?”

“What makes you think that I want something?” Scott inquired with overstated enthusiasm.

“Don’t you always?” Tessa responded with an icy tone. She glared into his eyes while he contemplated his response. Before he could answer, she added, “Where’s Anna?”

“Who?”

“Don’t patronize me,” she seethed, her eyes forming cynical slits. “Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t you get her name before you slept with her? Anna. That’s her name. Would you like her address, too?”

“Please, don’t be like this,” Scott whispered. He leaned across the table and reached for her hand.

Tessa quickly slid her hands off of the table and into her lap. She couldn’t let him touch her. That was his secret weapon. She straightened her spine and sat tall in the chair, hoping to portray more confidence than she felt.

“You know that you’re the only girl I care about.”

“Oh, puh-leeeese! The only thing you care about is that you haven’t figured out the combination to separate me from my panties. Nothing else. If you cared about me, I wouldn’t hear about all these other girls.” As the adrenaline rush subsided, she glanced around the room. A smile curled the corners of her lips as Libby’s parting words of wisdom hit home. People tried to act like they weren’t listening, but the expressions on their faces told a different story. Tessa didn’t blame them; it wasn’t like she was being discrete.

She looked back at Scott and her grin turned into a full-fledged smile. “You know what? You aren’t worth it.”
She rose and turned to leave, but Scott jumped up and laid his hand on her shoulder. It stopped her in her tracks.

Damn, she thought, so close. Why did he have to go and touch her?

His lips brushed her ear. “Please, come back to my place so we can talk this over in private.”

Tessa turned toward him and lost herself in his pale blue gaze. She stood there for what seemed like hours; which, in actuality was only a few seconds. She desperately tried to work up enough backbone to say the word “no” to him. She inhaled a deep breath and, puckering her lips into a defiant pose, worked hard to produce that one little syllable that would make it a clean break. Another came out instead. “Fine,” she muttered; then, completely disgusted with herself, followed him out the door.

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Excerpt Monday!

Posted in Uncategorized on April 13, 2009| 8 Comments »

I’ve decided to split the first couple of chapters of my book Another Time, Another Place into a few excerpts to entice you into buying my book 🙂 Enjoy and leave me some feedback in the comments, please and thank you.

First off, the copyright and all the legal stuff:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Another Time, Another Place

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

Cover Art by Tamra Westberry

The Wild Rose Press
PO Box 708
Adams Basin, NY 14410-0706
Visit us at http://www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History
First Faery Rose Edition, 2008
Print ISBN 1-60154-433-2

Published in the United States of America

And now it begins 😉

Chapter One

Men suck!”

The entire coffeehouse went quiet at Tessa’s outburst. It would have been possible to hear a pin drop, so when she accidentally knocked her spoon onto the floor, it echoed off the walls.

Tessa looked around the room at the various expressions on people’s faces. “Well, they do in my book.” Satisfied she had made her point she turned with a nonchalant flip of her long red curls and switched her attention back to her friend. Across the table, Libby’s face blushed a dark crimson and her mouth flopped open in complete shock at the words that carelessly tumbled from Tessa’s mouth.

“You never cease to amaze me,” Libby finally managed to mutter as the people around them began to strike up their own conversations again.

“What?” Tessa asked, mocking her friend. “You asked me how I felt about the crap Scott has been pulling on me lately. I thought it was a very definitive answer, if I do say so myself.”

“Yes, and it would have been a fine answer if you had shared it with only me,” Libby hissed through clenched teeth as she folded and refolded her napkin in an attempt to busy her hands.

Tessa reached across the table and patted her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you. You started in with your psychoanalysis mumbo-jumbo and I guess I snapped. I mean, it’s great that you’re going to be a psychiatrist, but I don’t always have to be your test patient. Do you understand where I’m coming from?” Tessa asked. It seemed like the millionth time since Libby started her internship.

“Yes, I understand, and I’m sorry, too. It’s just so easy with you.”

“Thanks. I know my life bites, but you don’t have to call me a psycho case.”

Libby’s face reddened again, obviously realizing Tessa had misunderstood. She quickly jumped to her own defense. “No! I meant that we have such a good rapport as friends.”

“It’s okay,” Tessa said with a deep, dramatic sigh. “I know I have problems. From what I’ve seen on those shrink-shows, that tends to happen when you spend your childhood lost in the Foster Care system. It kind of messes with a person to never know your real parents.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Libby asked in a voice that was sickeningly understanding.

“A-ha! Exactly my point.” Tessa announced matter-of-factly. She poked a finger to within centimeters of Libby’s nose and both girls burst into giggles. Libby had been caught red handed. Once again, they became the center of attention, but this time neither of them cared. It felt good to laugh.

“Hmmm, must have been a good joke.”

The sound of Scott’s voice abruptly cut the laughter as cold fingers danced down Tessa’s spine. At the same time, however, her heart leapt with anticipation. How could a man simultaneously produce two totally contrary reactions from a woman? …

Here are some links to other excerpts too!

http://jeannielin.com/blog/2009/04/13/excerpt-monday-his-or-hers/

http://viviennewestlake.blogspot.com/2009/04/excerpt-for-monday-halloween-novella.html

http://maureenmccarrie.blogspot.com/

http://clwhite.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/excerpt-monday/

http://briaspage.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/em-2/

http://kinseyholley.com/2009/04/13/excerpt-monday/

http://beccafurrow.wordpress.com/

http://www.kirstensaell.com/newsite/?page_id=53

http://melsmag.wordpress.com/

http://elladrake.blogspot.com/2009/04/excerpt-monday.html

http://www.eviebyrne.blogspot.com/