Guest Blogging for 5 on Friday - Set 92 is over @ Amy Ruttan's blog

I'm also guest blogging @ Wired Flare - scroll down for the link











CLICK HERE to listen to this week's music set over at Amy Ruttan's blog.








CLICK HERE to read my guest post @ Wired Flare

I'm being interviewed @ Beyond the Veil today

CLICK HERE to read my interview by Amy Ruttan over at Beyond the Veil, a group blog by authors of paranormal, science fiction, fantasy and speculative romance.

Through the Opera Glasses - 66 - How a Killer Query Letter Can Sell Your NaNoWriMo Story

If you're like me, you've given up several Novembers to the writing marathon known as NaNoWriMo.

So far, I'm currently finishing the second draft of the first NaNo story I developed a few years ago. I've also got about a third of another story from an aborted NaNo.

I'm already looking forward to this year's marathon - something I couldn't see putting myself through again, after my first ordeal. But something happened during these past few years. The thrill of the finish is a remarkable feeling on many levels. I've experienced it twice so far.

Even the unfinished attempt gave me the beginning of another novel - in fact, my Weekend Writer's Retreat is currently exploring the backstory of that one.

My friend Amy Ruttan knows an even greater thrill when it comes to the NaNo story she wrote last year.

She just sold it to Samhain Publishing under the name A.C. Ruttan!

Amy has very kindly agreed to share her killer query letter which sold her NaNo novel. If you've got a story kicking around, and are willing to put your blood, sweat and sanity into doing NaNoWriMo this November, just imagine what can emerge on the other side of that finish line.

~~~

Amy's Killer Query Letter


Dear Secret Agent and or editor [Of course here you would address the person your query is directed to]:

I am pleased to submit for your consideration my complete 80,000 word Urban Fantasy INCARNATE.

When those who protect us from the Apocalypse are being murdered there is only one Incarnate left with the balls to keep mankind from being sucked into hell—too bad she doesn’t really have balls. Cia doesn’t mind banishment in the Canadian Arctic, what does bother her is someone is bumping off fellow Incarnates, and she’s the next target. She’s already died once before and she’s not about to let that happen again. Especially, since the killer is apparently her estranged husband, Arthur who hasn’t spoken to her in a decade since she killed his brother.

To prove Arthur’s innocence and earn back his love she needs to find the real murderer before the Wrath consumes him. Although that’s going to be tricky given the entire world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket and her past life continues to haunt her on every turn of the ice road.

She has thirty days to find the killer before Hell breaks loose—literally

I am a member of the ____ [NAME ORGANIZATIONS HERE]. Under the name Amy Ruttan I am published with ___ [NAME PUBLISHERS HERE].

I would be happy to forward the complete manuscript at your request.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your legal name here]

Julianne MacLean says Great query! Congrats on the sale to Samhain, Amy!

Amy Ruttan says Thanks Julianne! Query letters were always so difficult for me. A great help was Query Ninja and her book. Best ebook on writing selling queries ever!

Travis Cody says Well now I want to read that book!

Thursday Thoughts - 7 - Book Review - Enemy Enchantress by Amy Ruttan

This is my third book review for an Amy Ruttan latest release. As I just celebrated my second blogiversary on Feb. 5th, this means Amy is smokin' hot when it comes to delivering new goodies to savour.

I know. She is amazing.


1 - You can check out all her reviews in My Book Reviews archive.

2 - Enemy Enchantress is the first book in Amy's three-book Enchantress series. In Enemy Enchantress, the heroine is a Anglo-Saxon Age Sidhe, born with one foot in the earthly realm and one in the realm of the fairy folk of yore. Not the tiny fairies we think of today, but a lordly race of otherworldly beings. She knows her kind is losing ground to the new cult of Christianity, and must take care to remain one step ahead of those who would see her burn for witchcraft. Especially when she's turned over to her enemies, the Saxons as a bride for one of their own.

3 - Part of Eternal Press's Fantasy Romance category, Enemy Enchantress gives us a Saxon hero with Norse blood who fights for his king and marries to secure peace with the same unshakable sense of duty. The heroine foresees a Saxon husband in her future, but the hero's tall Viking stature clouds her faith that she's foreseen the truth after all. Could her powers be waning under the force of the Saxon God?

4 - Enemy Enchantress is a 200-page novel. As a fan of the 300- to 400-page-length novel personally, a quick read like this just makes me want twice as much. Amy, why do you tease me so...? We won't even get into the 50-page Masque of Desire. That's cruel and unusual punishment...

5 - We meet Lord Edwin, loyal fighter for King Alfred in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The Treaty of Wedmore forces Edwin to bow to his king's command. He must take a Mercian bride to foster peace between their people. As he braces himself to couple with whomever he finds chosen for him, Edwin discovers a brilliant, ethereal warrior woman in the woods. He is instantly enchanted by her in every way.

6 - Aislinn draws a sacred circle in the forest and prepares to cast a spell, a prayer to guide her. She has been promised in marriage by her father to a Saxon lord. Her private meditations are disturbed by a mesmerizing, dark warrior with icy blue eyes and an unsettling way of looking at her. Why must he fire her blood so? Now that she's laid eyes on him, why must she submit to a man who was an enemy only a heartbeat ago?

7 - Amy gets a Three heat index from Eternal Press: "Frequent, explicit love scenes described using graphic and direct language." The love scenes are always perfectly intertwined with the storyline. She's a master at keeping character development front and center during every scorchy scene.

8 - Amy pulls us into Mercia and Wessex with absolute authority. I haven't felt this at home in one of my favorite time periods since I first opened the pages of Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave. Thank you, Amy. *mhua* *mhua* Thank you.

9 - Yes, this book has lots of steamy scenes. But it also has sword fights - yes! - witchcraft - *chewing nails nervously* - ancient healing arts - *sitting on the edge of my seat* - political maneuvering between noble houses - *wiping sweat from my brow* - brave individuals entering marriage as a peace offering - *heart breaking for their courage and loyalty* - and main characters in real jeopardy *thud*. All I can say is...thank God there are four more books in this series.

10 - Amy really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Edwin’s voice was cold, his eyes dark and full of fire as he glared dangerously at Lord Cedric. 'Lord Cedric, I appreciate your hospitality, and I know you are a well respected thane and my friend, but kindly remove your hands from my wife.'

Lord Cedric stared at Edwin, his eyes narrowed as if weighing the options. It seemed like an eternity to Aislinn before he released his grip on her arms.

Lord Cedric began to chuckle uneasily. 'Come now, Edwin. Surely it does not matter which Mercian bride you get? I do not mind that you have bedded her and just think, you can have another virgin.'

'I am not some chattel to be traded, Lord Cedric,' Aislinn said hotly, finding her voice and her courage again. 'I am married to Lord Edwin and your religion states that a man and wife shall remain married forever, until death do they part.'

'Come now, my lady,' Cedric laughed coldly. 'You are a heathen. What do you know of religion? Besides can you honestly say you love Lord Edwin?'

No, she could not say that. She didn’t know yet if she loved Edwin. She wanted him, she desired him. He was a respectful man, a great warrior, but did she love him? She didn’t know, and could not answer that. Fortunately Lord Cedric saved her from answering. He took her hand and held it to his chest. She could feel his heart beating.

'I will keep you safe and in luxury all your days. I will honor you always.'

'Lord Cedric, I am married to Lord Edwin.' Walking away from them, she headed towards the stairwell, hoping that she would be able to find a serf who could direct her to where Edwin and she were staying for the night. She did not look at Edwin as she left. She didn’t want to see his face because she couldn’t express how she felt and she did not want to hear Edwin say that he did not love her either. Even though it was too soon, she knew it would hurt too much if she heard Edwin say it."

11 - Amy's upcoming Enchantress releases:

Sorceress From the Sea, Book 2

Edwin's brother Alfwyn rescues a woman from the sea, only to embark on a passionate adventure with Scottish witch Morag, fighting to escape a demonic warlord and to protect her new love.

Healer of the Heart, Book 3

Bridgit of Mercia, a healer, rises above her father's calculated arranged marriage for her to haunted widower Lord Cedric. But can she protect herself from her father's wicked plan to sell her into a second marriage? Or convince Lord Cedric that her betrayal is not of her own doing?

12 - Amy also writes for Cerridwen Press and Ellora's Cave.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt from Enchantress: The Fey. Enjoy!

"Aislinn's hand curled under the pillow and her hair spread around her head like a halo. He walked to the side of the bed and brushed back her silken strand, tucking it back behind her ear.

By Loki, her ear is pointed. He took a step back when he saw that pointed tip through the red curls.

Aislinn stirred and then opened her eyes. She sat up and covered her ears with her hair. She looked panicked, frightened.

'What did you see?'

'Why are your ears pointed?'

Her face fell. '’Tis nothing, my lord.' She waved the question off.

He sat down on the bed beside her, taking a delicate hand in his. 'It is not nothing, Aislinn. Are you fey?'

She nodded. 'I am Sidhe, an enchantress of the Sidhe. One of the last in this world.'

'So that is why the abbot at the monastery said you were a blasphemy.'

Her gray eyes flew open in shock. 'You heard that?'

'Aye, and I am to say that this,' he again pushed back her hair to reveal her fey ear, 'is the reason he called you an abomination. Being Sidhe is nothing to me. I was worried he found a devil mark or something.'

Leaning forward, she smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. 'I do have a devil mark you know.'

Cocking an eyebrow, he chuckled huskily. 'You do, do you? Well then perhaps I should try to find it.'

'Oh please, my lord. That could prove to be quite exhilarating.'

Brushing her cheek with his knuckles, he gave her a kiss. 'Good. I look forward to finding this devil’s mark on your person. Now, where can it be? Is it here?' He began to tug at the laces of her nightgown, pushing it down her shoulders.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. This would be the first time he would get to really see her naked. Swallowing, he took a steadying breath. He was going to enjoy this. They had not been together since their wedding night, when she had mounted him. How different this would be. He was going to take his time with her and leisurely make love to Aislinn in a comfortable bed.

She tried to pull the gown back up her shoulders, but he took it in hand, pulling it off over her head.

'Lean back, I need to find this mark.' She smiled at him and laid back against the pillows, naked save for the sheet that covered her from the waist down. Well, he would change that momentarily. He peeled off his tunic. She reached out and ran her fingers down his chest, her touch firing his blood. Her fingers traced over the pale puckered battle scar on the right side of his body.

Sucking in a deep breath, she sat up and pushed him down, straddling him against the mattress. The light from the fire licked her body like a lover. Like he wanted to. He ran his hands down the curve of her back to her hips.

She leaned over him, her hair brushing his skin. She kissed him and bit his lip playfully. 'Do you see the mark yet?'

'Well, I cannot tell with you holding me down.' He quickly sat up, grabbing her wrists and pinned her to the mattress. 'That’s much better. Where should I start to look for the mark, my lady?'

She grinned and shrugged. 'Usually the mark is hidden someplace where people do not usually see it.'

He began to kiss his way down her body, brushing his lips against her hot skin. He could hear her sighs of pleasure, feel her body tensing under him. 'No, no mark there.' He let go of her wrists and slid further down. 'None here either.'

'Sweet Freya,' she cried out. She looked at him, her gray eyes glowing and glazed in passion.

He couldn’t remember anyone else he had been with. All he could remember, all he could think of was her. Past dalliances were a blur of meaningless couplings to satisfy an urge. This was something more, something deeper that was beginning to grow and unfurl.

She reached out to him. 'Any mark there?'

He smiled. 'I did not look.'

Leaning over, she kissed him. 'Well, you’re just going to have to check again.'

- Amy Ruttan, 2009

Join me next week when I review Susan Helene Gottfried's Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes - Year 1.

Thursday Thirteen - 70 - 13 Reasons to Read Love Thy Neighbor by Amy Ruttan

I'm thrilled to review this latest Amy Ruttan release. She's now working on an historical/paranormal series for Linden Bay Romance that the phrase 'I'm dying to get my hands on' barely describes.

1 - Amy is also the author of Fox's Bride, an historical set in 1720's Jamaica and Masque of Desire, a contemporary paranormal which takes place on a southern plantation.

2 - She's one of six talented erotic romance writers who blog at 6 Degrees of Sexy. All six women write for Ellora's Cave as well as for Cerridwen Press, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id and Samhain Publishing.

3 - Love Thy Neighbor is part of the Ellora's Cave Oh Yum! series, featuring older women, younger men and lots of yum. The older woman here is a fabulous 40, while the younger man is a smart, ambitious 25-year-old.

4 - Beverly Robins moved into a beautiful home in Deerpark, Illinois two years ago with her husband, a former jock turned corporate suit. The day she saw the house with the real estate agent, she'd caught her first glimpse of the hunky son of the couple next door. The hunky brainiac son who'd just graduated Harvard Law - the type of guy she'd always admired from afar in college while dating jocks like the other girls from her social set.

5 - David Craig moved to Boston and a junior position at a law firm after graduation, but no amount of willing women could ever take his mind off of Ms. Robins. His parents' gorgeous neighbor was the real reason he'd never been home for a visit. But his sister's upcoming wedding was something he couldn't miss. And Ms. Robins was on the invitation list.

6 - Amy fills this quick read with strong secondary characters, including Janie, David's sister and the bride-to-be. She's a good friend to both him and Beverly, and I quite liked her. Her unfortunate choice of bridesmaids gives us Brenda, a rival for Beverly for David's precious time during the week-long wedding preparations. David's mother and Beverly's ex-husband also give lasting impressions.

7 - There is room for occasional hilarity in this otherwise scorchy novella. Like this moment from the pre-wedding luau at David's parents':

"He cocked his eyebrow. 'What do you have against…' he trailed off as he caught sight of his eighty-three-year-old grandfather hobbling by in a garish Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts hiked up and belted under his armpits and black socks to his knees with mesh shoes.

'Hey sonny,' he called out as he walked by.

Ms. Robins was giggling into her hand.

'Point taken, Ms. Robins,' David said."

8 - I really, really love Amy's dialogue. She spins speech like a screenwriter. Every character has his or her own voice, and their dialogue is natural and moves characterization and plot forward. Can anyone ask for more? (A clue - no.) Here are seven lines of dialogue that pack a lot of info as well as convey character:

"She came out of her bedroom and was startled to see him standing in the branches, out of breath.

'The back door was open,' she chuckled.

'I like climbing trees, so much easier than climbing corporate ladders. Less work and less pain,' he said, trying to keep himself from panting and wincing from the pain in his abdomen from pulling himself from branch to branch.

'I see. Are you going to be all right? You’re breathing pretty heavy there,' she asked, cocking a thinly arched brow. He could tell she was trying to control her laughter. He beat his chest and gave a soft Tarzan yell.

'Just the sight of you, it takes my breath away.' "

9 - I admire Beverly's desire to reach for her own brass ring. She's a woman who married when she didn't truly know herself or what she wanted out of life. David's attraction to her gives her a new appreciation for the woman she has become.

There are many women who may have found themselves in Beverly's situation at some point in their lives, and I once again cheer ePublishers' willingness to offer stories that veer away from idealized female characters that continue to populate print romantic fiction.

10 - Amy really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"He wanted to make this last forever. He wanted to bring her such pleasure that she would forget about every other lover she had. 'What’s that smell, that fragrance?'

'Your sister asked me the same thing. Are you two into selling perfume or something?' she teased, cocking a finely arched brow.

'No, but I like to know what my woman wears.'

'Your woman?' she asked, surprised. 'Am I your woman now?'

His answer was to reach down and pick her up in his arms, slinging her over his shoulder and slapping her on the ass. 'After tonight, you will be.' "

11 - The Oh Yum! series is a wonderful concept which I heartily applaud. Modern women hold the reins of their own sexual lives, and they also enjoy relationships with younger men - if that's what life presents them. There's no need to resist an attraction to a younger man because women aren't so hung up on calendar years. If she feels a kinship to a younger man, her healthy and youthful state these days can more than keep up with him.

Just ask:

Lorraine Bracco and former basketball player Jason Cipolla (21-year age difference)
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (15 yrs)
Mira Sorvino and actor Christopher Backus (14 yrs)
Kathy Najimy and musician/stage actor Dan Finnerty (13 yrs)
Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins (12 yrs)
Julianne Moore and filmmaker Bart Freundlich (10 yrs)
Sigourney Weaver and film & theatre director Jim Simpson (7 yrs)
J.K. Rowling and anaesthetist Neil Murray (5 yrs)
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell (5 yrs)
Eve Mavrakis(production designer) and Ewan McGregor (5 yrs)
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (5 yrs)
Bo Derek and John Corbett (5 yrs)
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas (3 yrs)

12 - As with all the Ellora's Cave ebooks, the heat level is turned way up. Way up. The language is explicit in all the right ways. Our Amy spins a very sultry tale.

Some of your fantasies might be woven within these pages. I know some of mine were.

...just warnin' ya...

13 - I leave you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

"She cooked him a delicious seafood linguine. One of her specialties. Her grandmother was Sicilian and had taught Beverly all her coveted recipes when she got married. She had tried a few times and wasted her energy on cooking these very all-consuming meals when her ex just either gulped them down in a heartbeat or never showed up for dinner. After a while she had given up trying.

She hadn’t made this recipe in almost eighteen years. She had been quite pleased that David seemed to enjoy it. Of course, they both had ended up naked, sitting at her antique dining room table. She wore only her heels and a string of pearls.

He wore nothing but a smile as they enjoyed the dinner, the wine and good conversation. She couldn’t remember the last time that she actually had a good, intellectual conversation. They talked about everything and nothing.

He talked about his job as a lawyer in Boston. He talked about his time at Harvard. She talked about her brief stint in college before she got married to her ex and became a wife.

She was relieved to know that he loved to read and he liked just about everything except romance, which she was addicted to.

He liked jazz music, so she padded over to her stereo and put on a great jazz album, a mix she had burned with some of her favorite singers like Diana Krall and Lena Horne.

After dinner they headed upstairs where, according to her fantasy, she had a nice luxurious bubble bath with him.

'What is with women and bubble baths?'

'They’re nice, relaxing.'

'And these bath salts like to effervesce up my ass.' He moved slightly as she began to laugh.

'That too.' She was quiet as she rubbed his arms under the suds.

'How come you’re so quiet?' he asked.

'Just wondering, I mean why me? I am so much older than you. I mean I’m not expecting a future with you or anything—'

'Sssh, let’s not talk about that. And as for why you, you’re an extremely attractive woman. Age doesn’t matter to me — there has always just been something about you.' He stood up, the suds sliding off his naked skin. He climbed out of the tub and rubbed himself with a towel.

'What are you doing?' she asked, leaning her head on the tub, admiring his taut, yummy ass.

'I’m going to show you exactly what I think of you,' he said, reaching down and lifting her out of her soaker tub. He set her down on the floor and toweled her off. He picked her up again and carried her to the bedroom.

He laid her down on her silk sheets. He didn’t say anything and she didn’t need him too. She stared up into his dark and serious blue eyes. He leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. She could hear him breathing in her ear.

'Nothing else matters this week but us. This is how much I want you.'

She pulled him tight against her, loved the feeling of him. She broke off the kiss to listen to the rapid beating of his heart beneath his chest. She felt his hands rub her back gently, his fingers trailing down her spine.

They didn’t say any more to each other. There was nothing to really say. But this was turning rapidly from a mere lust, infatuation situation for her. Dammit, I’m falling in love with my neighbor’s son."

- Amy Ruttan, 2008

Thursday Thirteen - 60 - 13 Reasons to Read Fox's Bride by Amy Ruttan

In the blogosphere, kindred spirits have a way of finding each other. I met Amy Ruttan as a fellow commenter at Christine d'Abo's blog. We quickly discovered that we share so many quirky tastes in things. Like Gerard Butler. *shiver* (Is that quirky, or just fabulous taste?) We both love Red Dwarf - ever heard of that show? Persuasion with Ciaran Hinds. The Vicar of Dibley. Gwen Stefani. And of course, The Pirates of Penzance.

I'd have to do an entire Thursday Thirteen about the things we've discovered about one another that makes us secret twins.

I got the chance to have lunch with Amy, Wylie Kinson and Leah Braemel before the Toronto Romance Writers meeting last October. After getting to know one another through blogging, it's like meeting a supahstah. So exciting, so wonderful. I was beside myself with waiting until Fox's Bride was released.

1 - Amy is one of the Sexies at Six Degrees of Sexy, along with my fellow Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada writer Renee Field, and fellow blog buddies Christine d'Abo, Wylie Kinson, Red Garnier, and Robin Rotham.

2 - And how exceedingly diverting is Fox's Bride? Read on, me hearties.

Amy's ebook is part of Cerridwen Press's Historical Romance Novel category. The heroine is the much-sought-after mistress of a sugar cane plantation in late 1720's Jamaica. Fortunately, as a girl she was married off to the equally young hero. This gives her protection from avaricious cads who scheme for her and her plantation. Unfortunately, the convenient yet absent husband grew into an utter wastrel.

3 - We meet Madeline Middleton, Lady Foxton, managing her own Jamaican plantation while sending a sizeable stipend to England, to keep her husband's rakish pursuits in full swing. Madeline needs income to purchase slaves away from her neighbors. She makes up for her husband's outrageous allowance by piracy - as the Dread Captain Meg.

4 - William Foxton married the red-headed girl just as his grandmother commanded. He knew their aristocratic family needed income from the Caribbean colonies in order to survive. He understood the worth of his marriage more and more as the years went on, as he discovered his father's betrayal of their family, as he sought to outrun his misery by living life as a scoundrel. What he'd never read for himself was the marriage contract. It sends him on the first ship to Jamaica, to legally claim his bride before it's too late.

5 - Amy's world is so full of characters and action - a wonderful change from the all-romantic-couple-all-the-time structure of most print releases. Cerridwen Press's ebook format gives authors room to explore settings and time frames other publishers wouldn't consider, no matter how hungry readers may be for originality. I threw myself into 1720's Jamaica with abandon.

6 - I especially appreciated the darker undertones to Amy's book. She never shies away from the reality of life for women of all social standings, and plainly spells out the miseries of life as a slave. In a print romance, she would have been asked to tone down or remove all of the social commentary that drives the book through its quick pacing.

7 - I really, really love the bantering that takes place between Madeline and Fox. Her years as a pirate, commanding a crew of men, serves her well when she encounters Lord Foxton, accustomed to deference and the witty company of White's in London.

When they meet up after so many years as mere names on documents, their conversation quickly turns to:

'My lord, I am not your dear anything!'

'Au contraire, you are my dear wife, are you not?' he asked smartly, looking thoroughly pleased parleying words with her.

'A dear wife who you haven’t seen in twenty years, my lord. The last time I saw you, you were a martyr to spotty skin,' she said hotly.

8 - The sexual desire between Madeline and Fox is a knock-down surprise to both of them. It begins from the moment she raids the ship her husband sails to Jamaica, their gazes locking even as she conceals her identity with a mask. When he discovers his wife is a pirate, it only fuels Fox's desire for a woman unlike any he could imagine - and he knew plenty of wild characters as he debauched his way through London. Madeline is likewise confused by her raw attraction to the man whose spending habits forced her to piracy in the first place. But she never recovered from his refusal to back down when she pointed her weapon at him aboard ship.

9 - The cast of characters includes many gray characters - people who display some understandable traits at some points of the novel, then display reprehensible traits at others. Gray characters are my favorite. They tug at my heart and shoot the tension level higher and higher.

10 - Amy really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

" 'Well, well, a lord of the realm here on this ship.' She bowed with a flourish and several of her crew, including John, laughed. 'Maybe I should ransom you to your relatives.'

Fox scoffed. 'You could but they’ll never pay. I’m an outcast, my dear.'

She cocked her eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by his response.

'Tsk, tsk. What about your poor wife? I’m sure she would be lost without you.'

'You can try her, she is quite wealthy. Although, you may find her hesitant, she’s never met me.'

'Ha, I find that hard to believe.' Captain Meg unsheathed her rapier and pointed it at his heart. 'Her name, my lord, or I will run you through.'

Fox smirked, thoroughly enjoying his repartee with this enchanting vixen.

'Happy to oblige, my dear. My wife is Lady Madeline Foxton of The Coral Reef plantation in Montego Bay.'

Captain Meg’s eyes flew open in horror and she quickly turned away. Fox was confused by her response.

'Sorry, did I say something to offend?'

She turned around abruptly, the blunt end of her pistol raised. Why is she angry? was his last thought before everything went black."

11 - Amy's scenes are vividly cinematic. I can feel the rhythm of a film editor as she drops us in and out of scenes for as long as she needs us there - and no longer.

Madeline woke with a start to the sound of scratching at her window. She rubbed her eyes, dazed and confused. The moonlight streamed through the white gauze of her curtains so she didn’t need to light a candle.

She got up and padded over to the window, a pistol, which she kept at her bedside, in her hand, cocked and ready to fire.

Madeline pulled back the drape and balked at the sight of Fox, bedraggled and leaning with his both arms outstretched on either side of her balcony window.

His eyes were sparkling as he stared into her bedroom, his shirt open and flapping in a strong breeze. His hair was loose and blowing about his shoulders. He looked wild, like a stormed-tossed sea. It gave her a delicious thrill that traveled down her spine, warming her blood. No, I won’t let him in tonight.

'What do you want?' she asked through the glass doors.

'Let me in,' Fox said, his voice slurring slightly.

She opened the balcony door a crack. She smelled a very strong odor of rum. 'Are you drunk?' she asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

'Possibly,' Fox garbled his words. 'No, I’m not drunk, I’m foxed.' He laughed.

She saw that he had climbed up the side of the house to get to the balcony. 'Either way, you’re not coming in here tonight,' Madeline countered. She tried to shut the door, but Fox prevented her.

'I’m coming in to be with my wife, whether you like it or not.'

She held the pistol up. 'I said no,' she warned dangerously.

His eyes glinted in the moonlight. 'You wouldn’t shoot me. You need me.'

'For what?' Madeline asked haughtily. Though she knew, yes she did need him to conceive a child. Tell him the other reason, the reason even you won’t admit yourself, a little voice niggled in the back of her mind.

He swayed to the left and she tried to catch him but it was all a ruse as the pistol was easily tussled from her grip. Fox took the pistol and disarmed it.

'Now, shall we try that again?' he asked huskily.

'Oh go away, Fox, I am in no mood to play your personal whore tonight.' She turned away but he grabbed her roughly and brought her around to face him.

'I do not think of you as a whore.'

'So, women just fall at your feet?' she snapped.

'Yes,' he said as he leaned his mouth down to the pulse point of her neck. 'Especially when I do things like this.'

12 - I'm positive a sequel or two could expand Amy's Coral Reef world. There are so many characters I'd like to follow, like Madeline's butler and pirate hand, John. Or Cristal, the rescued slave from New Orleans.

13 - I leave you with a final excerpt. Enjoy!

"Madeline was angry at her cousin for not showing any interest in The Coral Reef, but when it was an inheritance to be paid to him, he had no problem showing up.

She remembered her cousin Jeremy. He was six years her junior, and she remembered when he became a teenager, a very forceful teenager, and he was randy—that was all there was to it. He tried to accost her in her bedroom. Luckily, Madeline was much stronger than the young fop. She easily threw him off and gave him a thrashing he wasn’t soon to forget. That was the last time she had seen her blood relatives.

As she came down the winding staircase the first thing she noticed was all the luggage. He thinks he’s here to stay.

John motioned to her that Jeremy was in the sitting room. She balled up her fists and proceeded into the room to greet her long-detested cousin.

When Madeline saw Jeremy she had to choke back the laughter that began to bubble in her throat. She had thought she had seen a fop before, but it was nothing compared to the man of twenty years sitting on her settee, fanning himself.

Jeremy was garishly dressed in a huge powdered wig that had a small purple hat pinned to the top. His face was powdered and his eyebrows shaven, the mouse skin eyebrows that he wore were slowly slipping down his face as was the velvet mole from the humid tropic temperatures. Jeremy had obviously put on rouge and painted his lips red. His jacket, waistcoat and breeches were contrasting jewel tones, his shirt was very ruffled. His stockings were striped and his blue buckled shoes had very high heels.

The chokes of laughter were welling up inside her. Madeline looked back at John. His face was very serious but his eyes told a different story. He was trying to suppress his laughter.

'Jeremy…what brings you to The Coral Reef?' Madeline asked.

'Why, my dear cousin, is it so wrong of me to want to visit my only paternal relative?' He got up and with outstretched arms, embraced her.

Madeline remained stiff as her cousin hugged her. She held her breath to suppress Jeremy’s heavily perfumed body. He obviously was trying to mask his sweat with some sort of sweet scent, but he had put so much on his body that it was stifling and overpowering.

Jeremy’s hand began to wander down her back to her rear. Madeline pushed him away violently as she saw John approaching out of the corner of the room.

Jeremy wrinkled his nose in a sneer.

'Still a little randy are we not, Jeremy?' she barked.

'Still a prude eh, cousin?' Jeremy snapped as he sat down on the settee.

'What do you want, Jeremy?' she asked firmly.

'Well, if you must know, cousin, then there is no need to hide my reason for coming to Jamaica. Your marriage has not yet been consummated, and it doesn’t look as if it will be, as the last ship for the season left six months ago.'

'Your point?'

'My point is that part of the stipulation of the marriage contract was that you produce an heir with your husband by the time you were twenty-eight or The Coral Reef would fall forfeit…to me,' he said that last bit with such zeal it made her sick.

'I see,' Madeline said tightly.

'I’m not totally heartless, cousin,' Jeremy said. 'I say that we annul your marriage to Lord Foxton.'

'Why would I do that?' she asked uneasily.

Jeremy got off the settee and wandered over to her to whisper in her ear. 'So that we can get married. I find you a desirable woman, Madeline. I think we could rub along nicely together.'

A shiver went down Madeline’s back as she tried not lose her dinner.

'You see the crux of it is, Jeremy, I can’t annul my marriage.'

'Why ever not?' Jeremy demanded.

'Because, quite simply, her husband has consummated the marriage,' a lazy voice drawled from the doorway.

Madeline looked back to see Fox leaning against the doorjamb. His hair tied back but his shirt was unbuttoned, as if to show Jeremy that he and Madeline were just intimate.

She looked at her cousin, who looked outraged at seeing Fox. His face was actually turning red despite the fact he wore face powder. He was so tense that one of the mouse skin eyebrows slid off his face to the floor. She heard John laugh as he walked out of the room, suppressing his laughter into his liveried sleeve.

Fox walked over to Jeremy. Very nonchalant he bent over and picked the mouse skin eyebrow off the floor and held it out to Jeremy. 'I believe you lost this.'

Jeremy snatched it back and turned around to replace the fake eyebrow on his face. Madeline stifled a laugh in her hands.

Jeremy rounded on Fox. 'What are you doing in Jamaica?'

'That would seem obvious,' Fox said sardonically. 'I am consummating my marriage.'

'I thought you were still in London?' Jeremy said disdainfully.

'No, I caught the last ship to the West Indies,' Fox replied.

'Well, what am I going to do now? There’s no ship back to England for a year.'

'You’re more than welcome to stay here with us,' Fox offered.

Madeline gasped in dismay. She didn’t want her cousin to remain at The Coral Reef. He would just harass her. She did not want any of her female workers brutalized by Jeremy Middleton.

'That’s very kind of you, Lord Foxton,' Jeremy acquiesced. His face turned beet red again.

'You can go elsewhere. But I don’t know where, and with the Maroon attacks, I wouldn’t advise trying to travel tonight.'

'I agree, you are most gracious, Lord Foxton,' Jeremy said, defeated.

'John,' Madeline called. John had returned. He had obviously regained his composure. 'Would you show Jeremy to one of the guest quarters?'

'Aye, my lady,' John said, picking up some of the luggage. Jeremy flicked his fan, and with one last disdainful look at Fox and Madeline, followed John out of the sitting room and up the stairs."

- Amy Ruttan, 2008


This brings my second series of Thursday Thirteen book reviews to a close. Next week let's enjoy a little eye candy, shall we...?

Christmas Meme

I was tagged for this meme back on September 18th by Amy but saved it for now.

What is your favorite Christmas gift?


Some people may consider chocolate an unoriginal gift, but it's NEVER the wrong idea for chocolate aficionados. Of which I am one.






What is your best memory of Christmas?


I'm such a Christmas freak that this is an impossible question. But I'll pick one special memory that stands out for my mom and me.

This is the very tree my mom, my sister and myself bought and put up while my dad was away on a business trip in the late 70's. We were very excited about it because it would be a big surprise for him when he flew back to Halifax, probably from the Caribbean where he was selling Dacor scuba diving equipment to retailers. It must have been the weekend or at least a Friday night, because we stayed up late once the decorating got under way. After the tree was in the stand and the lights on, before the fun part of the decorating started, we all felt really hungry. So my mom whipped up a nighttime 'breakfast' of fried eggs and toast, which we devoured with the same glee that suffused the entire evening. What was so special about that night was the sensation of going out on a limb, doing things by ourselves that Dad usually looked after and turning everything on its ear.

My mom and I often refer back to that night. 'Remember when we ate the fried eggs, that time?' we'll say, smiling with twinkly eyes.

Depending upon where you live, do you have a hot or cold Christmas?

Well, I live on the east coast of Canada, and Christmases usually feel like this:


This is my childhood home - one corner of it, anyway. It's the one I often dream of, even though I've lived in eight subsequent homes since then. The home where we had the late-night fried-egg Christmas tree decorating extravaganza.







Would you prefer to try the opposite weather at least just once?


I've never really been inclined to try hot weather at holiday time. I'm extremely attached to everything connected to a white Christmas. The few times we've had mild weather and had rain or at least no snow, I felt rather disappointed. If life were to put me in that position somehow, I'd take advantage of that and really experience it as the wonder it would be for me. But I'd never purposely seek it out.





What do you prefer in a tree? Fake or real?


When I was young, I was a complete real-tree snob. The idea of a fake tree absolutely horrified me. But then my allergies to trees kicked in. So it was fake trees or nothing, and I'm too much of a Christmas freak for that. Now I've grown to appreciate that the metal branches can be tugged this way and that to perfectly accommodate any ornament.

This is my tree, from three years ago.


What is your favorite carol?


I think if I really had to choose one, it would be have to be The Holly and The Ivy.







What is your favorite Christmas dinner?

Christmas Eve dinner over at my aunt's house may actually be my favorite of the two dinners. We dress up, there's the excitement of it finally being Christmas Eve, and then there's the lobster newburg over rice, served with salad. It's so delicious, so rich, so special.


This picture was taken during my first Christmas Eve home from Toronto in 1986, my first home-for-the-holidays experience. I'd missed everyone so much and had fantasized about exactly that moment, when I'd be walking towards the dinner table to eat Auntie's lobster newburg at long, long last. L to R: me, my mom, Uncle Charlie and my cousin Charlie.


This is Christmas Day around 1984 or so. Gathering around a turkey dinner, with rice, mashed potatoes and vegetables is definitely another version of heaven. Christmas Day is the more relaxed of the two dinners. Usually we wear new Christmas clothes but it's more informal than Christmas Eve. L to R: my cousins Charlie and Julianne, Mom, Dad, myself, Aunt Noel and Uncle Charlie.

Do you wear a Santa hat at Christmas?


I have at work, many times! This is me when I worked at A Buck or Two in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia eight years ago. The Santa was married to the store manager, and in a small-world thing, he turned out to be a cousin of mine. His grandmother and my grandmother were sisters!




Have you ever seen Santa delivering gifts?


Almost. When my sister lived with my husband and me in Toronto, we'd had a Christmas Eve celebration at our apartment, inviting the family for whom I'd been a nanny over for dinner. This is my husband Brad digging into the spread. Once everyone had headed home, my sister went upstairs to bed, and my husband chilled in the living room (me - I was doing last-minute secret Santa stuff for stockings, of course.) In a little while, Michelle knocked on my door (me, hiding everything frantically.)

"Jule, can you come up for a second?" she asked, her voice sounding a little shakey. I followed, and when we got there she said she didn't know if she was feeling alright because she was POSITIVE she'd heard Santa outside. We looked out the gabled window and sure enough - Santa was in fact walking down the sidewalk in the falling snow with a gold toy sack over his back. We both felt exactly the same electric thrill through our bodies. We looked at each other, knowing it had to be one of the neighbors. But for that moment we felt like we'd finally seen him.

Santa.

I hope every one of you gets to experience that feeling once in your lives.

I won't tag anyone, since it's so close to The Big Day, but anyone who wants to play can consider themselves tagged. Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!