Hi, thank
you for inviting me to your blog to talk about my latest book from Evernight.
An Unusual Vacation
I originally
expected this story to be a short, but as the plot developed and the characters
took over, the story grew and grew, and still there’s more to tell, because one
of the supporting characters, Connor, is going to have his own story.
Dominic
Carr, my hero and Michelle Vega, my heroine, couldn’t be more different, but
they are instantly drawn to each other and the resulting passion between them
is intense. Dominic’s hopes are high, making him vulnerable. Michelle is
involved in a dangerous lifestyle far removed from Dominic’s, but she’s lonely.
This opens her up to taking chances when she meets Dominic.
I love water,
rivers, and the ocean. They have their own very special atmosphere, and I
wanted to flavor the story setting with the sounds, and smells of sun drenched
harbor towns, wide rivers and boats, to provide contrast with the suspense
element of the story.
When you
read the story and Dominic sails away on vacation. Think Monterey or the
marinas in the Caribbean or the Florida keys. The sky is Grecian blue, the air
and water sparkles. There’s the smell of salt and sea, and wheel of seagulls as
the couple walk on the quay together.
At
thirty-two Dominic Carr thinks it’s time he met a girl he could love. He’s
tired and jaded from his high power job, and hoping that this summer’s vacation
will be refreshing. When he sees Michelle Vega in the art gallery of a harbor
town he visits, her long legs in pink couture shorts grab his attention.
Michelle
Vega has everything to hide except her beauty and her instant attraction to
Dominic. She’s not on vacation as she visits the gallery—more like on business.
As the two
of them fall into a hot romance, Dominic is sure Michelle could be ‘the one,’
but Michelle is filled with doubt when she considers how he might react to
discovering her secrets.
When
Michelle’s business takes a dangerous twist Dominic finds he’s pulled into a
perilous situation.
Will this be
a test of his love or the finish of it?
Read an excerpt: Dominic sees
Michelle for the first time
A sunbeam slanted through the
skylight as if aiming for Dominic’s face. He opened his eyes and rolled away
from the bright shaft of light. His head safely on the other side of the
pillow, Dominic checked the time on his cell phone that lay on the bedside
unit. The day looked beautiful through the cabin window as he sat up and swung
his legs onto the floor. He pulled on a T-shirt over his boxers and padded into
the galley to make coffee. Dominic went up on deck and took his cup of coffee
with him. The clear, blue sky and the sun-dappled water brought a smile to his
face. The marina around his berth was already full of life, and he sat to watch
a fabulous motor yacht edge out of a berth and move majestically into deeper
water. Hunger drove him to shower and dress. He had food in the fridge to cook,
but Dominic knew there was a great café in this town next to an art gallery and
he meant to visit both that morning.
Mellowed by the blueberry pancakes
he’d eaten, the sun on his shoulders as he sat at one of the café’s outdoor
tables lifted his spirits. Summer scented the air and Dominic took a deep
breath. I needed this change. It feels as
if I’ve suddenly entered the real world…
His thoughts made him grin as he
paid the bill, and left the café. The art gallery, a door down, was showing
several local artists’ work and the traveling exhibition on loan from a private
collector housed a number of Monet paintings Dominic wanted to see. He’d never
thought about joining the art world himself, but Dominic liked to look. It gave
him a sense of peace.
A poster on the revolving door
proclaimed there was a small fee that week because of the Monets. The gallery
had two floors. The rooms were long, stretching back in the deceptively
spacious building, with padded benches placed at intervals for people to sit
and absorb the art. Dominic donated at the plastic box attached to the screen
midway down the first floor of the gallery designating the entrance to the
special exhibition. He wanted to see that first.
Over an hour later, Dominic left
the Monet exhibition, and wandered along to the top room of the art gallery. He
saw the young woman the moment he reached the top of the stairs. She sat part
way down the left hand side, on one of the blue benches. Dominic couldn’t tear
his gaze away as he edged closer to where she sat. She wore a pale-pink suit
jacket and her glossy hair fell down her back, almost to her waist. Her lightly
tanned legs were bare and she wore bright pink, high-heeled pumps. Dominic
couldn’t see a skirt. Intrigued, he stopped at the painting adjacent to the one
she sat in front of, and cast a secret glance at her. Shorts, mmm, she’s beautiful. He passed behind the bench trying to
ascertain if she wore a wedding ring. Luck gave him a perfect opportunity as
she moved her hair from her face, giving him a delightful view of a naked
wedding band finger and her lovely profile. Dominic’s heart raced. Surprise at
his reaction to the young woman gripped him, and he walked rapidly across the
width of the gallery to stand before an ocean scene and try to collect his
swirling thoughts.
Copyright
Elodie Parkes 2015 Evernight Publishing
Buy the
book: Evernight All
Romance Amazon
US Amazon
UK Siren Bookstrand
About Elodie
I’m a writer
who is in love with happy endings. Currently based in the UK but thinking about
joining the next flock of birds I see heading south for the winter.
I love:
music, art, flowers, trees, the ocean ...
I work with
antiques by day and words by night.
Like a vampire,
darkness is my friend, that’s when the silence is only broken by an occasional
hoot of owls in the woodlands opposite my current home, and I write.
Find Elodie
online: Blog
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final book cover pic
Hi Elyzabeth,
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting An Unusual Vacation :-)