Good morning! Please welcome guest author Liz Kelly. Though I will be away for most of the day, please feel free to leave comments for Liz and I will approve them as soon as I return. Thank you!
~ Kate
My Husband Won’t, But My Ex-boyfriends Will.
It’s true.
My husband, a great guy by all accounts, will not read my novels. Which is probably a good thing. I don’t think I’d be able to write my love scenes quite the way I do if I was worried about him reading them over my shoulder. Or my sons for that matter. The three of them are all walking around sporting dark sunglasses now that I’m a published romance author.
Whatever.
But I got a call this summer that cracked me up one side and down the other, gave me chills, and sent me into a bit of a tailspin. (Oh my gosh, just thinking about it now sets nerves bouncing around in my stomach.)
One of my very best friends, Nancy, married one of my ex-boyfriends. I had introduced them after Nancy’s first husband was tragically killed in a car accident. Nancy and my ex (who I’m still crazy about or I wouldn’t have introduced them) have now been married a long time and have two darling children. A very happy ending indeed. (Yes, I am a godparent.)
So Nance calls me and tells me that her husband, my ex-boyfriend, has been reading my novels and keeps calling her over to read the funny parts, like he can’t believe I wrote them. Like he can’t believe that I could write something so entertaining. (Yeah, trying not to take that personally, but you know, you’re never the expert in your own home town.)
Anyway, I was DYING at this news. Just the thought of my ex reading those love scenes…I don’t know. It cracked me up. And the fact that he was enjoying it and finding the funny parts funny, well, I was thrilled. And freaked out. And thrilled. And…freaked out! Because let’s face it. He’d never read a romance novel before, and my sex scenes don’t pull any punches. I mean, it was a little weird, right?
And then my ex got his best buddy, Mike, (also a good friend of mine) to read them. Mike, who has been a bachelor all his life, has since confided in Nancy that he must have told me about all his sexual exploits and that’s where I’ve gotten my material.
Yeah—the two of us found that hilarious!
And then just this week, my friend, Mary Lou who married one of my other exes (trust me—I didn’t get around that much—it was a small summer community we all grew up in) emailed me that her husband, Carville was going back to Duke for a reunion with a bunch of his lacrosse buddies, and as they passed Henderson, N.C. (the fictional, yet not-completely-fictional town in my series) he was telling them all about my Heroes of Henderson books. Mary Lou said they were all downloading them as she was speaking to him on the phone. (Go Carville!)
So…my husband won’t read them, but my exes certainly will. And have. And are spreading the word.
Have I mentioned I love my exes?
The biggest surprise I’ve found since being published, is that men of all ages enjoy reading romance. I know my father has always enjoyed Nora Roberts’s books, but I thought he was just unusually romantic. Men like romance. Maybe not all men, but I have friends whose husbands read my books far quicker than their wives do. Two of the nicest reviews I have on Amazon are from men who I’ve never met.
So, ladies, with the holidays coming, perhaps a romance novel in the stocking of your hubby, or boyfriend, might not be such a bad thing. Better yet, an e-reader! My brother got embarrassed reading my books on planes having to hold the covers.
The third novel in my Heroes of Henderson series was just released. Here’s an excerpt from Top Dog.
Crain Carraway slipped inside the luxurious bathroom of his Las Vegas suite and shut the door quietly. Even though he couldn’t sleep, it seemed that his beautiful bride was out cold after a very lengthy, highly energetic, totally off the charts, roll-me-over-and-do-that-again consummation of their marriage. God, she was something. Something fine looking and brilliant and just as sweet as the cherry on top of his old-fashioned. He couldn’t believe she was his. All his. And he couldn’t sleep because he wanted the world to know it.
Starting with his parents.
He dialed their number, checking the time on his watch. Dallas was two hours ahead of Vegas and, on a weekday morning, his parents should be up and at ’em. No doubt this would get their day started with a bang.
“Honey Bear!” his momma said in greeting, as if he wasn’t thirty-five years old.
“Momma Bear,” he said back, playing her game. “Put me on speaker and round up Papa Bear. I have big news.”
“Big news?”
“Texas-sized news.”
His mother laughed. “Bigger than when you started CC Dallas, Inc.? Lucius,” his mother shouted. “Your son has Texas-sized news he wants us to hear together.”
“May as well grab a bottle of champagne while you’re at it, Ma. You’re gonna need it,” Crain said.
“I’ll bet that luxury suite at Cowboys Stadium came through,” his father’s voice echoed over the phone.
“Even better than that,” Crain grinned at himself in the bathroom mirror. “Dad, do you remember that statuesque blonde I pointed out when you stopped in the office a month ago? The one trying to hide all that beauty under those smart-girl glasses?”
“Do I? That pretty, little gal had you drooling like a bluetick coonhound.”
Crain chuckled. “Guilty as charged. Well, it took some doing, but I finally got that pretty, little gal to agree to a dinner date. I took her to Nick & Sam’s.”
“Best steakhouse in Dallas,” his dad said.
“And she loved it. In fact, the date went so well she agreed to meet me for drinks at the Ice House the next night. One thing led to another very good night, and although I will admit she was a little bit tipsy when I asked her to accompany me to Las Vegas, I assure you she was completely sober when I asked her to marry me.”
“You’re engaged?” his mother exclaimed.
“Better than that. We’re married.”
“Married?” Papa Bear sounded astonished.
“We eloped. Last night. It was just…right. Everything about it was perfect. And I’m sorry you weren’t here, but I know you’re gonna forgive me when you meet my bride.”
“Wha…ah…well of course we’ll forgive you,” his mother stuttered. “But darlin’ boy, this is all so quick. So sudden.”
Crain smiled, softening his voice in an effort to soothe his momma. “I know it seems that way, I truly do. But you know I’ve dated a lot of wonderful women over the years. And every time I figured out what I didn’t want, I knew better what I did want. And this one, this one is the complete package. Underneath her bright and engaging business persona, there’s a bewitching temptress just as sweet as praline pie. She’s the one I’ve been looking for all my life, Momma. She’s the one I want.”
“You sound so certain.”
“Because I am. I was certain the first time we met, and after date number two, all I could think was ‘how fast can I get this girl to the altar?’”
“Any faster and you’d catch up to yesterday,” his father said.
“And now I’m burning daylight, so let me get back to my bride,” Crain countered.
“Wait,” his mother cried. “What’s her name? Who are her people?”
“Well, I don’t exactly know who her people are, Momma, because I’ve been solely focused on sweeping her off her feet. But I’ll tell you what. Anybody who can raise a woman like her can’t be all bad. Now I’ve got to go and talk my bride into a nice long honeymoon in Hawaii, so if you two don’t hear from me for a couple weeks, don’t fret. And in the meantime, Momma, you can start planning whatever extravaganza you’ve got in mind to introduce my bride to our people.”
“I can tell you one thing,” his momma scolded. “It’s gonna look a whole lot like a church wedding and a big fat reception. You tell my new daughter-in-law the first thing I plan to do is to take her shopping for a wedding dress. I love you, but I am not particularly happy about this.”
“Oh, come on,” he goaded. “You know you’re a little happy about this.”
“I’m very happy you’re happy, darlin’ boy. But I sure don’t like missing my own son’s wedding. Now bring that girl home, so I can hug her neck.”
“Will do, Momma. Will do. Papa Bear, I am signing off.”
“I’ll take care of your momma. You go take care of your bride.”
“Over and out.”
Crain hung up. And then he did what turned out to be about the dumbest thing a man with a Texas A&M degree could do. He took the time to text everybody he knew, telling them he had married the cutest Ole Miss Hotty Toddy ever found in Dallas. Yep, he was one happy groom. Right up until he made his bride a cup of coffee just the way she liked it—with a whole lot of cream and sugar—and carried it into the bedroom.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, until he realized the bed was empty. “Sugar?” he yelled, looking around the room, his eyes coming to rest on the note written with her preferred red Sharpie. “Honey?” he said, moving forward to pick up the note.
Four little words. Four little words Crain Carraway had no idea what to do with. Four little words that left him certain of absolutely nothing.
I’m sorry – cold feet.
Top Dog Blurb
Crain Carraway, Dallas business tycoon and sports fanatic, is not from Henderson. But his wife is. No one knows that though, because she managed to get cold feet after their impromptu Vegas wedding. Hiding out in her hometown, she’s sicced her lawyer on him, doing her best to buy his silence and a quickie divorce.
Like hell.
It’s taken him way too long to find the perfect Mrs. Carraway, and now that he’s had the fortuitous luck to stumble into Henderson and his bride, he’s not about to let her go.
Top Dog is available wherever e-books are sold. Here is the link to Amazon.
If you’d like to start with a great deal on Good Cop ~ Book 1, you can find it along with 9 other full length romance novels in Passionate Kisses Boxed Set for only $0.99. This deal ends very soon and is also available at all ebook retailers.
Please feel free to check out all my books and excerpts on my website www.LizKellyBooks.com
Happy Romantic Holidays to you and all your exes!
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