I’ve been a non-fiction writer for the past fifteen years until last year. My first two sensual contemporary romances are the first two books in the Now and Forever Trilogy. The first book, Now and Forever 1, a Love Story will be released on July 29. Here is a bit about the story:
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story
Callie Richards was no stranger to heartache. Her parents were killed when she was sixteen. Left with her older sister, she fell into a romance with good-looking, Kyle Maine. They became engaged and Callie’s future was set until he was killed in Iraq. Two years later, she pulls herself together to get her Master’s degree and restart her life on her own.
Working and studying at Kensington State University, Callie meets Mac Caldwell, the handsome dean. Together they fight a deadly campus drug ring with heart-breaking but victorious results. This is an emotional story that will make you laugh and cry as Callie struggles to make a new life and find love with a new man.
The second book in the Trilogy is “Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny” which is being released on November 2. Here is a little bit about that story:
Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny
Danny Maine, Kyle’s younger brother, leaves the Army after becoming an expert sharp shooter, killer and womanizer. He gets a job teaching English at Kensington State University where he seeks out his brother’s fiancée, Callie Richards, the sister he never had.
He meets Eliza Baines, a beautiful widow and is smitten immediately. Danny struggles to overcome post-traumatic stress syndrome and make a new life when his parents are released from prison and seek him out. He hates his abusive, drunken father…the temptation to kill him is overwhelming. Danny strives to leave his violent past behind and forge a new path that includes love, success and having his own family but dark forces and emotional obstacles block his way.
The Book of Danny is an emotional story of love, loss and ultimate triumph that will touch your heart.
Both books will be available at my publisher’s website: www.secretcravingspublishing.com and on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com Bookstrand and Are about a week after release date.
Here is an excerpt of Now and Forever 1, a Love Story
Chapter One
Callie put the check for $15,000, half of all the money she had in the world, on the counter of the bursar’s office. Her palms were sweating, her eyebrows were knitted in a frown. Kyle, her fiancé killed in Iraq, left her the money. She hoped to do well enough to remain in the Masters of Education program at Kensington State University through the first year and earn a scholarship to pay for the second year. She needed to win this big gamble to get her life back on track.
She walked out of the building in the sleepy little town of Willow Falls in upstate New York, turned the corner and plopped down on the grass, leaning against a tree and thought about her last day with Kyle. It was Thanksgiving at his friend, John Weston’s house. While the turkey was cooking, some of the men played touch football. Callie went to take a nap in the guest room. Kyle wanted to be alone with her as they only had one more day before he deployed for the last time.
Callie undressed quietly and got under the covers. When he joined her, Kyle pulled the covers down slowly, aware of how bashful she was by the blush in her cheeks, even after being his lover for several years.
“Kitten, don’t be shy. I want to remember every inch of you,” he said, first placing his hand gently on her cheek then leaning over and kissing her softly.
When he got into bed, his kiss became passionate. Kyle was so alive, the air around him crackled with his energy. He moved his hands slowly over her body, memorizing every inch of her with his fingertips. She moaned as he kissed her beautiful breasts. He touched her inner thigh and moved his hand up, to caress her gently, as her growing passion took over her senses.
“Kyle…” she moaned while his lips and hands brought her to a fever pitch. Finally, he satisfied her need for him with the ultimate ecstasy. Afterward, they rested in each other’s arms. Callie rested her head on his shoulder, drinking in his masculine scent and the feel of his skin, so familiar to her senses. She slipped her arm across his chest, tightening it, as if a firm grip on him could keep him there with her forever.
Callie loved him deeply. She looked with great hope and expectation at the modest engagement ring resting on her finger. She remembered the night he proposed and a smile came to her lips, thinking about how awkward and shy he was with words. Always a man of action, when he couldn’t find the right words to express his feelings, he grabbed her hand and jammed the ring on her finger.
His fingers tangled in her long hair as his other arm pulled her closer to him.
“Remember, you promised to come back,” she said.
“I’ll love you forever, Callie. I’ll be back to make you my wife and then we can do this every night,” he said, kissing her.
After this last dangerous tour of duty, they would get married, settle safely on a base somewhere and begin their life as husband and wife. Though he promised her he would come back, it was a promise he couldn’t keep.
The Weston’s guest room, the last place Callie and Kyle made love and spent the night together, was a cozy room. She will never forget the small lily flower pattern of the wallpaper, the scent of pot pourri from a dish on the old-fashioned oak dresser and the feel of Kyle’s smooth skin, his cheek needing a shave, his soft lips tempting her, coaxing her to give herself to him passionately yet again.
During their last night, after making love with Kyle one more time, Callie awoke at four a.m. Kyle was scheduled to leave at eight. She put her shyness aside and turned to him, waking him with a passionate kiss, making it clear what she wanted one last chance to make love. Kyle rubbed sleep out of his eyes, turned to her and raised his eyebrows.
“Now?” He asked her.
She nodded, running her hand down from his strong chest, her eyes gazing at his body.
The look of surprise when she touched him followed by his wicked grin indicated his delight at her uncharacteristic boldness. He traced the lines of her delicate jaw with his finger, staring at her with a look of true love on his face, before he turned toward her and took over, igniting a fire inside her. He tried to please her, satisfy her hunger for him. They started slowly, both aware this could be their last time making love forever. Callie tried to concentrate on every caress, every kiss, so she would never forget, but he fanned her to flame more quickly than she anticipated.
She urged him to take her, but Kyle waited as long as he could to prolong the memory forever. However, their mutual passion took over and he took her to completion with him. As they stayed in each other’s arms, Callie buried her face in his neck and cried softly, afraid she would never feel his arms around her again, feel his touch, or his lips again, feel him make love to her again. Kyle stroked her hair, and teared up, too, knowing without words she was reacting to the possibility he wouldn’t come home.
“Kitten, no matter what happens, I’ll love you to eternity.”
“Don’t say that! Don’t say that. Say you’ll be home. Be with me. I need you so much, Kyle,” she said, crying.
It was a promise he couldn’t keep.
