***Do you make a composite of your characters before you start writing your story? Here are mine for the characters you'll find in Book 1- Partners & Book 2 - Roll the Dice for the hot new Vegas series.





My Characters:

"Partners"Book one in the new Romantic Suspense Vegas Series.

Two weeks ago, life had been normal. Aurora had gone to get a cup of the sludge they called coffee and left her partner Debbie working on their backlog of case files. Lieutenant Cory Ashton had caught up with her on the way back to her office and they’d stepped into the room together, both coming to a dead stop. Debbie, who’d lately taken to the layered look with sloppy clothes, had bent over to pick something up from the floor and everything had draped open— her pregnant belly had been revealed for all to see.

"What the hell?" Cory erupted and his explosion cut off Aurora's absurd exclamation.

"You're pregnant." Soon as the words left her mouth, Aurora wished them back. No need to worry since Cory's voice rose to a bellow and drowned out her obtuse remarking on the obvious.

"Girl, why didn't you tell me I'm going to be a father? A guy appreciates knowing these things." The excited man swept the curvaceous blonde into his arms and hugged her until a smile wiped the horrified expression from her face. Flying high, happier than Aurora had ever seen him, Cory continued. "We need to celebrate. A man doesn't find out he's going to be a daddy every day."

Shock zipped around inside Aurora and the memory of the horror eight months ago emerged and wouldn't be squashed. Was this Cory's baby? She watched her partner closely. No one knew the girl in the same way that she did. For the first time, Aurora couldn't read her. Innocent pleasure had wiped away all traces of wariness and Aurora had to accept that adoration shone in eyes that were empty of treachery.

"Roll the Dice" Book two in the romantic suspense Vegas Series.

“You shot me!” Aurora is incensed. Her new partner shrugs and answers. “I saved your life.” From the very first page of this riveting story, these two battle for supremacy in trying to catch the serial rapist who ripped both their lives apart. With all her might, she fights the attraction to his baby blues that tease and start her internal warning devices humming. After all, her job is her life and determination has always been her lifeline.

Kai has a mission of honor to undertake. The man who’d raped his sister can’t be allowed to live. After all, she hadn’t! Revenge fills his soul while visions of his new partner fills his heart. The sassy woman rattles his calm, and he can’t keep his hands to himself. Doesn’t mean she has the power to stop him from doing what has to be done.

Short Excerpt – Chapter One

“You shot me!” Sweet Jesus it hurt!

“You told me to.”

“Dumb shit!”Aurora pushed her new partner from hovering over her so she could sit up. “I didn't mean it. I just wanted you to scare Rhondo.” She felt blood poring from the wound on her arm and purposely kept her head turned away.

“Shooting you did scare him. He let you go, didn't he?”

Aurora frowned at him. Why did his voice have to sound so damn reasonable?

“What-ever!” She hoped her scorn would get to him.

“Hey! I saw his eyes, you didn’t. He had every intention of using that knife. You know, the sharp one he had pressed against your throat. If I’d shot him instead of you…”He shrugged.

Aurora shuddered, fighting off nausea. She didn’t want to listen to reason. Being angry made the situation a whole lot easier to deal with. Sarcasm, the best weapon she had in a macho man's environment, replaced whining.

She glared at him and saw his shapely eyebrows rise. The light of the bulb hanging from the ceiling of the cruddy apartment haloed his head making the bare skin shine. “Just my frigging luck to end up with a partner who thinks and looks like Bruce Willis."

Kai chuckled. Her glower put a quick end to his merriment. He tried changing the subject with sweet talk. "I've been told I have a nicely shaped head for being bald."

"Sure and it goes swell with your baby-blue eyes." She sneered on purpose. No way would she admit he did look good.

"Vegas" Contest Rules

(Sept 15 – Sept 30th)

1. Read the book called "Roll the Dice".

2. Write an HONEST review for Amazon.

3. Send a copy of Amazon's notice to

mimibarbour@hotmail.com

Then…

you'll have a chance at being the lucky winner of a

$50 Amazon Gift Certificate

 

***I've purposely set the price of the book down to $.99 for this contest. At the beginning of October it will return to it's regular price of $3.99

 

>>>><<<<

"Partners"Book one in the new Romantic Suspense Vegas Series.

Two weeks ago, life had been normal. Aurora had gone to get a cup of the sludge they called coffee and left her partner Debbie working on their backlog of case files. Lieutenant Cory Ashton had caught up with her on the way back to her office and they’d stepped into the room together, both coming to a dead stop. Debbie, who’d lately taken to the layered look with sloppy clothes, had bent over to pick something up from the floor and everything had draped open— her pregnant belly had been revealed for all to see.

"What the hell?" Cory erupted and his explosion cut off Aurora's absurd exclamation.

"You're pregnant." Soon as the words left her mouth, Aurora wished them back. No need to worry since Cory's voice rose to a bellow and drowned out her obtuse remarking on the obvious.

"Girl, why didn't you tell me I'm going to be a father? A guy appreciates knowing these things." The excited man swept the curvaceous blonde into his arms and hugged her until a smile wiped the horrified expression from her face. Flying high, happier than Aurora had ever seen him, Cory continued. "We need to celebrate. A man doesn't find out he's going to be a daddy every day."

Shock zipped around inside Aurora and the memory of the horror eight months ago emerged and wouldn't be squashed. Was this Cory's baby? She watched her partner closely. No one knew the girl in the same way that she did. For the first time, Aurora couldn't read her. Innocent pleasure had wiped away all traces of wariness and Aurora had to accept that adoration shone in eyes that were empty of treachery.

"Roll the Dice" Book two in the romantic suspense Vegas Series.

“You shot me!” Aurora is incensed. Her new partner shrugs and answers. “I saved your life.” From the very first page of this riveting story, these two battle for supremacy in trying to catch the serial rapist who ripped both their lives apart. With all her might, she fights the attraction to his baby blues that tease and start her internal warning devices humming. After all, her job is her life and determination has always been her lifeline.

Kai has a mission of honor to undertake. The man who’d raped his sister can’t be allowed to live. After all, she hadn’t! Revenge fills his soul while visions of his new partner fills his heart. The sassy woman rattles his calm, and he can’t keep his hands to himself. Doesn’t mean she has the power to stop him from doing what has to be done.

Short Excerpt – Chapter One

“You shot me!”

“You told me to.”

“Dumb shit!”Aurora pushed her new partner from hovering over her so she could sit up. “I didn't mean it. I just wanted you to scare Rhondo.” She felt blood poring from the wound on her arm and purposely kept her head turned away.

“Shooting you did scare him. He let you go, didn't he?”

Aurora frowned at him. Why did his voice have to sound so damn reasonable?

“What-ever!” She hoped her scorn would get to him.

“Hey! I saw his eyes, you didn’t. He had every intention of using that knife. You know, the sharp one he had pressed against your throat. If I’d shot him instead of you…”He shrugged.

Aurora shuddered, fighting off nausea. She didn’t want to listen to reason. Being angry made the situation a whole lot easier to deal with. Sarcasm, the best weapon she had in a macho man's environment, replaced whining.

She glared at him and saw his shapely eyebrows rise. The light of the bulb hanging from the ceiling of the cruddy apartment haloed his head making the bare skin shine. “Just my frigging luck to end up with a partner who thinks and looks like Bruce Willis."

Kai chuckled. Her glower put a quick end to his merriment. He tried changing the subject with sweet talk. "I've been told I have a nicely shaped head for being bald."

"Sure and it goes swell with your baby-blue eyes." She sneered on purpose. No way would she admit he did look good.

"Vegas" Contest Rules

(Sept 15 – Sept 30th)

1. Read the book called "Roll the Dice".

2. Write an HONEST review for Amazon.

3. Send a copy of Amazon's notice to

mimibarbour@hotmail.com

Then…

you'll have a chance at being the lucky winner of a

$50 Amazon Gift Certificate

I've purposely set the price of the book down to $.99 for this contest and on Sept 19 & 20 it will be promoted in the

www.Freepartay.com

 

 

and will be …

…you guessed it!

FREE!!!

Good Luck Everyone!!!

***

 












  "Partners" Book one in the new Romantic Suspense Vegas Series. 












"Roll the Dice" Book two in the romantic suspense Vegas Series.


















"Sure and it goes swell with your baby-blue eyes." She sneered on purpose. No way would she admit he did look good.

Toxic.

That was the word ascribed to self-publishing a children's book in a recent discussion on a children's publishing thread that I follow on LinkedIn.

Toxic.

I recently addressed this conception of self-publishing on another Slow Stir post here. Although I can say that self-publishing is many things. Brow-beating. Lonely. Frustrating. Satisfying. And certainly THE-HARDEST-THING-I'VE-EVER-DONE. One thing I cannot say, based on my experience, is that it has been toxic. And I don't think I could say self-publishing would be toxic for anyone, provided they have done their homework and have become a seasoned writer.

Self-publishing does give you more than a book to hold in your hands. In fact, I have come of up five things you might not get if you simply sit back and wait and hope for that NY contract to come along.

 


2. It puts you in front of readers. Or perhaps I should say, it puts you in front of at least one. But with time, persistance, and hard work, maybe a bit more.

3. It shows you where you can help fill in the gaps in roles that a traditional publisher might not be fulfilling for you if/when you enter a contract with one. And in the event that you need or will want to help drive marketing, you'll have the confidence to do so.

4. It helps establish you in the marketplace. As in any business, who you know and how you treat people and how people have come to know and respect you can make all the difference in the world. Why not start networking with others who are involved in a side of life you love? Why not starting helping and learning from one another? If you want to read about what cross-promotion and networking can do in business, read this post here.

 
5. Self-publishing amounts to an addendum, an accomplishment, a supplement to your writing platform. It can be a resume builder (if you choose to look at it that way), which can only work to help you in future projects down the road.

 

As with anything that comes along in life, it all adds up to what you make of it. Choosing to self-publish my books, which include The Ghost in Me; Reality Bites, Tales of a Half-Vampire; and Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Forest Again, has opened doors to a readership I never would have found if I had sat around waiting for a traditional publisher to decide that my books made a match in Heaven with them. I’ve earned reviews from readers saying they want to read more of my work, which I only could have dreamed of seeing in print had I waited. I have earned awards that have boosted my confidence to continue on this path. And rather than put time and money into submissions that may never receive a response (simply because that is the way much of NY does business), I’ve put my money (and less of it) into putting my books into publication. It has all been worthwhile.

 

Would I welcome that contract from NY? Yes, simply because I know any business is easier when you’re not in on it alone. But I have no control over NY. I only can control what I choose to do. My choices have not been toxic, and I’m glad I didn’t read such opinions prior to getting started. Without knowing what I know now, I might have been deterred.

 

The bottom line is, when it comes to publishing—wherever your pursuits lead, make the best of it, and leave the worrying behind.



*** I want to thank Shaunda for visiting my blog, and may I say, I totally agree with her post. It reminds me of an old saying I heard a lot while growing up. "Don't wait for your dreams to find you...go make them happen!!!"