Last Day of the Hoppy Easter Hop!

Hello and welcome back to Behind Closed Doors! Today is the final day of the Hoppy Easter Blog Hop and the last chance you get to visit the sites of over 200 authors and enter in their contests. If this is your first visit to this site, please leave a comment for your entry to win two of the crochet bunnies I make. A picture of the bunny is available on the post for day one. You can even go back to day one and two and leave comments there so you will get a total of three entries. I will choose a winner from all the entries on Monday April 9th.

I thought I would post a story excerpt from my current work in progress The Island (Now and Forever 2). I thought it was appropriate since I’ve been posting pictures from Maui and part of the book is set on a tropical island. Originally, I had this idea as a short story called “A Christmas Miracle for Jake,” but decided I needed to expand on it more and make it a true prequel to For the Love of Quinn.

For those of you who have read my first book with Siren, (thank you!) this second book will give you the background for both Quinn and Jake and what force was really behind how they felt about each other the first time they met in Las Vegas. I’ve also introduced a fantastic “villain” Julia Santos. She’s a diva through and through, but is she really all that evil? You’ll have to wait until it comes out. I’ll keep you posted on that one! Until then, here’s the excerpt I promised. To set this one up, this is the scene where Jake first arrives on the Island and finds out exactly how and why he’s there.

The waves crashed on the beach, bringing him out of his dream with a start.  Jacob bolted straight up out of bed in panic.  “Where the hell am I?”  He stared at his reflection in the mirrored walk-in closet. “Where the fuck are my clothes?”  He glanced around the bungalow, his eyes adjusting to the darkened room.  The curtains of the sliding glass doors were gently billowing into the room from the balmy sea breeze.  He found a pair of jean shorts on the chair near the door and slipped them on before heading outside to check out his surroundings.

Just outside his quarters, he found a large patio, barbecue pit and bubbling hot tub. “Sweet!”  By the looks of the vegetation, Jacob knew he was somewhere in the Pacific Islands, maybe even Hawaii or Tonga. Then again, maybe he was on someone’s private island.  It really didn’t matter.  He just wanted to find out what the hell was happening to him.

Two figures walking along the beach appeared in his sight. He waved to them as they moved up the beach toward his bungalow.  The younger man looked about his brother Eric’s age, covered in tattoos, and something about his eyes made goose bumps pop out all over Jacob’s skin.  They were blue green like the ocean and Jacob couldn’t make himself stop staring at them until the older man spoke.  “Welcome to the island, Jakey.”

His mind didn’t believe what he was seeing and his vision blurred a moment before he locked eyes with Michael. Jacob’s knees weakened and the younger guy reached out to steady him.  “Pop?  How…am I dead?”

Michael took Jacob’s free arm and helped Daniel escort him back to the patio to sit down.  “Not exactly.  This is what the Big Guy Upstairs calls Limbo.  We like to refer to it as The Island.  It has a better ring to it don’t you think?”

“This is definitely not like what I thought Limbo was supposed to look like, but I still don’t understand how I got here.  One minute I’m packing my bag to visit Maredyth for Christmas, and the next I wake up here.”

“That would be my doing. You were in a bad accident with your bike, brotha.”

“Did I hurt anyone else?” Jacob started to panic. What happened to Julia? Was she with me on the bike?”

Michael sighed. “Let him see a bit, Danny. If you don’t, he won’t believe anything we have to tell him.”

Daniel frowned. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He closed his eyes and a white glow surrounded the three of them. All could see what happened a few hours ago as if they were there witnessing it again.

Jacob’s head nearly exploded with the lightning flash of images zipping through his mind. The conversation with Kathy at the bar played out in front of his eyes, followed swiftly by the fight with Julia and Dr. Carlos in his condo. Lightning flashed and he felt the wind in his face as if he was riding his Harley again. The last he remembered was the highway wet with the Christmas rain and then the semi was suddenly in his path.  He put his head in his hands and groaned. “I don’t want to remember anymore.”

“Here, let me help you.” Daniel placed one hand over Jacob’s eyes and the other cradled the back of his head.  A gentle warmth washed over them both and the pain quickly faded.

“How’d you do that?”

Daniel smiled.  “It’s a trick of the trade.  Something we hope you won’t learn for many more years to come.”

Michael reached for Jacob’s hands.  You were brought here for a reason.  It’s not your time yet, but you have to want to go back and live, Jakey.”

“What happens if I decide not to go back, Pop?”

His father’s face fell and tears rolled down his bearded chin.  “There’s nothing written that says you have to go back.  It’s your choice, but you have to understand this. If you stay, you will miss your chance to be with your always and forever.  You won’t get the joy of holding your children for the very first time, and you will never know the love of a beautiful woman who needs you as much as you need her, heart and soul.”

Jacob shook his head sadly.  “That’s not gonna ever happen for me, Pop.  I thought I had that with Julia and she played me for the fool that I am. It happened for Mare and I’m sure it will happen for Eric someday, but not for me. I’m tired of searching for what will never be.  I will never find someone to love and who loves me like you loved Ma.  What you had together was once in a lifetime. ”

Daniel stared at him with his eyes wide. “So you mean to tell me you just want to give up? We are offering you a chance to experience that kind of love your parents had, and still have.”

“Why waste your time? It’s just going to fall apart anyway. Everything I touch tends to do that. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get ahead. I always end up back home with my parents. Some catch I will be for anyone.”

Daniel’s bawdy laugh caught Jacob off guard. “Yep.  You were right, Sarge.  He’s stubborn as a mule.  Quinn will definitely give him a run for his money!”

Jacob’s confusion grew. Not only was he on some tropical island with two angels, he was supposed to meet someone else.  “Who’s Quinn?”

“My sister. She’ll be here soon and you’ll see for yourself.”

This book is a contemporary erotic romance with paranormal elements (angels, the Goddess Fate), M/F and F/F pairings, BDSM and sex toys. It’s going to be a much shorter novel than Quinn’s original story so I hope it grabs your attention enough to want to read more!

Here are a few more pictures from Maui. Happy Easter!

Here are a couple of shots with us in our Hawaiian wedding attire. Liam’s mother had a blast taking pictures of us all around the resort. People thought we actually got hitched there, but nope. Not yet!

Make sure you leave your contact information in your comment. If you win, I want to be able to let you know! Click on the graphic below to take you to the blog hop event page and the list of the other fantastic authors participating. Have fun!