A Little Sneak Peek.....

The book is written. I've fallen in love with my characters once again and cannot wait to share them with all of you! But before I do that.....I have to share the cover. That's all scheduled in two weeks, January 20th to be exact. So as I sit hear staring at my cover (which I am so in love with by the way) I got to thinking. I went a totally different route with this book and had a custom photo shoot done. I wanted to capture the raw emotion that is contained inside this book on the outside as well. There were so many beautiful pictures taken that I had a hard time narrowing it down to just one. So, I've decided to give all of you a sneak peek at Hope my main character from A Cry For Hope. This is not the photo that is on the cover just one of the many that I had a very hard time choosing from:

Can't wait to the share the cover with all of you AND I really can't wait to share the inside!
Add to your TBR list here

MY FAVORITE BOOK MOMENTS OF 2013

I can't believe another year has come and gone. Is it me, or does if feel like the older we get the faster time goes by? I hope that everyone has a very safe and happy new year and that 2014 is your best year yet! I cannot wait to introduce everyone to all of the new characters that will be born this year and I'm hoping that you will fall in love with them the same way that you have with all of my others. So in honor of all the characters that you were introduced to in 2013 here are some my favorite moments from all of my books:

THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE

AN UNPLANNED LESSON

DROWNING IN LOVE

AN UNPLANNED LIFE

                                      AND HERE'S A SNEAK PEEK AT 2014

A CRY FOR HOPE

Merry Christmas from Dailan, Nicole & Ryan

And last but not least.....spend some time this Christmas with Dailan, Nicole & Ryan.....

I arrived at Dailan’s by noon. I was surprised when I wasn’t excitedly greeted by Ryan at the door like the last time I had visited. Still, I wasn’t disappointed to see Dailan behind the door, looking just as handsome as ever. He opened the door and took my hand. “Shh,” he said as he led me through the house, back into the great room. Ryan was sitting in front of the TV, playing a video game.

“Hey, Ryan,” Dailan said, causing Ryan to look up from his game.

My heart melted at the sight of Ryan’s smile, which stretched across his face. He dropped the controller to the ground and came running over to greet me. “Miss Morgan, you came!” he exclaimed, giving me a hug.

“He told me you weren’t coming,” Ryan said as he playfully pushed Dailan. I smiled and handed Ryan his Christmas present. “Thanks!” he said as he sat down on the floor to open it.

I took a seat on the couch to watch him as Dailan sat down next to me. “Wow!” Ryan exclaimed as he tore away at the paper, revealing a buildable racetrack that seemed to be all the rage with the boys in my class this year. “Thanks, Miss Morgan, this is cool.”

The enthusiasm on his face was all the thanks that I needed. “You’re very welcome,” I said.

Ryan walked over to the Christmas tree and returned with a small box for me. “Ryan, you already gave me a present,” I said, remembering the yummy vanilla candle he had given me the day of our class party.

“That was really from my Aunt Lisa,” he said. “This is from me. Well, I mean my Uncle D paid for it, but I picked it out.”

I laughed as Dailan shook his head at Ryan. “Ryan, you never tell a girl that someone else paid for a present that you gave them,” Dailan said, playfully smacking Ryan on the head.

“Just like you never tell a girl that someone else cooked dinner for her.” I couldn’t resist as I started to giggle. I watched as a grin stretched across Dailan’s face. I slowly removed the wrapping paper and the lid from the box as Ryan looked on anxiously. I immediately smiled upon seeing the beautiful sterling silver necklace with a whimsical heart charm dangling from it.

“Oh, Ryan, I love this.”

Ryan’s smile was a mile wide. “I told you she liked hearts,” he said to Dailan.

“Yup, hearts are my favorite thing,” I said.

“They had all different kinds of hearts that you can add to it. But I liked this one best,” Ryan said proudly.

“This is an awesome heart, Ryan,” I said as I gave him a hug.

I lifted my hair as Ryan clasped it on my neck. I looked down at the heart hanging from my neck. It truly was one of the best presents I ever received because I knew how much it meant to Ryan to give it to me.

An Unplanned Lesson

Merry Christmas From Kat, Julian & Matty

Only two days until Christmas and here's a little Christmas scene from the Exception To The Rule

Matty was in his pajamas, anxiously awaiting Santa and Julian. We were watching TV and sipping hot chocolate when Julian arrived, with a bagful of presents.

“Wow!” Matty responded as he greeted him at the door seeing all of the presents.

“Santa came to Chicago already and told me to make sure that these got to you,” Julian said, smiling.

“Mommy, look!” Matty exclaimed.

“You must have been a really good boy this year.” I smiled at Matty’s enthusiasm.

“Is it raining out?” I asked Julian, noticing his hair and coat were wet.

“It’s snowing,” he replied.

 I walked over to the window and looked up at the full moon. There was a blanket of snow already on the ground as the snow continued to fall. I imagined what a picture perfect Christmas Eve this would have been, if only Matty weren’t sick.

“Snow!” Matty exclaimed as he looked out the window.

“Tomorrow can we build a snowman, please?” he asked Julian.

 Julian looked at him sadly. “You know what, that isn’t very good snow for a snowman, why don’t you open up your presents?”

He slowly began to open the presents. He normally would rip through each one in no time. This year he just seemed to be missing the whole spark that he had at Christmas, making me very sad. He had finally gotten through the last one, trying to figure out which toy to play with first.

“Hey Matty, I think that Santa dropped off a present for your mom too,” Julian said as he pointed to a smaller wrapped box under the tree.

Matty quickly got up to retrieve the box, handing it to me. I was totally shocked, not at all expecting a gift from Julian. I opened it up revealing a beautiful gold bracelet. I immediately put in on my wrist, and it was a perfect fit.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Mommy, why are you thanking him? Santa brought it, silly.”

“Oh, that’s right, thank you to Santa.” I looked at Julian as he smiled.

Matty was so excited, he whispered in my ear asking if he could give Julian his present. I told him where it was as he went off to get it.

I waited until he was out of earshot. “Thank you. It’s really beautiful, you didn’t have to...” I was cut off by Matty, who quickly returned with Julian’s gift.

“This is from me,” he said proudly. “I picked it out all by myself, but Mommy had to pay for it because I don’t have money.”

Julian and I both laughed.

He opened it up slowly. “Wow, this is cool.”

Matty smiled from ear to ear. “Mommy says its waterprood.”

“Waterproof,” I corrected him.

He continued on, not missing a beat, “so next time we go fishing you can wear it and get it wet.”

“This is the best present ever, Matty.” Julian picked him up and put him on his lap. He gave him a hug and kiss. I grabbed my camera and took a picture of the two of them. I stared at the picture on my camera screen. It didn’t even look like my Matty. The only thing that I recognized were his beautiful blue eyes. That was the one thing that these treatments couldn’t take away from him. He looked truly happy in the picture and I took comfort in that.

The Exception To The Rule

Merry Christmas from Travis & Mia

So, I was thinking in each of my books I have a little special Christmas scene with my characters.  So I thought that it would be fun to revisit each one since it is Christmastime after all!  Starting with Drowning in Love and Travis and Mia's very first Christmas together :)

Christmas Day was here and I was so happy to be spending it with Travis and my family. We had spent Christmas Eve with Travis’ family. I had a wonderful time and really loved being in their company; but I was so looking forward to being at my sister’s for Christmas Day. I snapped a million pictures of Paige opening up her presents. This was my favorite part of Christmas, watching her open up her gifts. My sister walked over to clean up the wrapping paper that Paige was getting swallowed in.

“Maybe in a few years, I’ll have a niece or nephew that I can spoil,” my sister said with a smile. I raised my eyebrows at her and shot her a look of displeasure for saying such a thing in front of Travis. Travis and I talked about a lot of things, but kids were never part of the conversation. It was just too soon to be thinking about that.

“She’s kidding, Travis. Don’t pass out,” I said.

“Why would I pass out? I want kids someday.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, especially if it’s with you.” My stomach did a triple flip.

“Aw,” my sister said upon hearing his statement. “Let me take a picture of you guys.” I moved closer to Travis as my sister snapped the picture with her phone and immediately sent it to mine.

I was really feeling down by the end of the night. I had a great time and didn’t want to leave. My mom tried her best to try and coax me and Travis to stay over her house, but I had to be at work in the morning, so I knew that wasn’t an option.

Travis and I arrived back at his place a little after nine. I was exhausted from all of the excitement of the day. I changed into my pajamas and snuggled up with him on the couch, watching TV. He reached behind his back and handed me an envelope and a box. I was a little taken off guard. We had already exchanged presents earlier that morning. I had gotten Travis a new watch and another bottle of his favorite cologne. He had gotten me a beautiful pair of diamond earrings, which I’m sure he spent more on than I cared to know.

“Travis, what is this? We exchanged presents already.”

“Just a couple of things I forgot earlier.” I shook my head and smiled. I opened the envelope and my eyes widened to find an itinerary for a week-long trip to Saint Lucia, leaving on Valentine’s Day. “Oh my God, Travis, This is awesome! I just hope that I can get-”

He stopped me mid-sentence. “It’s already taken care of. I talked to Juan, and you have the week off. It’s going to be just you and me in paradise, celebrating Valentine’s Day for a whole week.”

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. “That sounds perfect!”

“And I will get you to swim in the ocean.”

 “We’ll just have to see about that one.”

He smiled and rubbed his forehead against mine. “Open the box,” he said.

“Travis, why did you -”

“Just open it.”

I removed the lid to find a necklace with a beautiful gold heart.

“Read the back,” he instructed.

I flipped it over. To Mia, the girl with the heart of gold and my girl forever. The tears rolled down my face as I ran my thumb over the inscription.

“Okay, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it, but don’t cry about it,” he joked.

“I love it, Travis. I just never thought I could be this happy again. Thank you so much for this beautiful necklace and for allowing me to open my heart again. I love you so much.” I wrapped my arms around him and nuzzled up against him. I had never felt happier than I did right now. I watched the dancing flames in the fireplace while Travis held me tightly in his arms. After living out a yearlong sentence of hell on earth, I had finally made it back to heaven.

Drowning In Love

Chapter 25 - The Exception To The Rule - Julian's POV

Chapter 25 - Julian's POV

I was headed into the hospital for just a few hours. I had a great time with my sister and niece but it put me so far behind with work. I tried to sneak into my office being unseen but was stopped by Dr. Moore as soon as I stepped into the elevator. “Hey Dr. Kiron you got a minute?” she said stepping into the elevator with me.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Would you mind looking at a report for me? I’d really like to know if you concur with my opinion on this case.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Right after I get done with the million other things that I need to do.

“I really appreciate you taking the time to do this,” she said as the elevator finally reached the fourth floor and we stepped out.

“Not a prob –” I stopped myself mid-sentence when I heard a voice that I would remember for the rest of my life calling my name. My eye’s widened when I lifted my head and was staring into the eyes of the girl that I hadn’t been able to get out of my head for the past five years, Kat Vallia. For the very first time in my life I was speechless.

“Dr. Kiron, are you okay?” Dr. Moore asked.

"I'm fine, I'll have the report for you later."

 I finally got over my shock and approached her. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. "How are you, Kat?" I gently placed my hand on her arm, and I could feel her trembling.

"I'm well, thank you." Her voice quivered as she focused intently on my eyes.

What are you doing here—are you here on business?"

"No, not really.” She had me totally confused, if she wasn’t here on business then why did she show up out of the blue after all of these years? "Julian I need to talk to you, somewhere private." 

 "Okay, I should be done here in an hour. There's a coffee shop right at the end of the street, do you want to meet me there at noon?" I asked as I looked down at my watch.

"Okay," she said very meekly.

“I’ll see you then.” I said as I gave her one last smile before I walked away.

I went into my office, closing the door behind me. I sat down at my desk, trying my best to concentrate on the reports that needed to be read over and the charts that needed to be updated, without much success. I finally put the report down after reading it about a dozen times and not comprehending a thing. Kat Vallia, the girl that crushed my heart, the reason that I had countless one nighter’s with women, trying to escape the memory of her. The girl that I was willing to rethink everything for had just showed up out of nowhere. I just didn’t get it. I took a deep breath, trying my best to get something accomplished. I finally focused on the work that I needed to complete and was so deep in thought that I didn’t realize that it was almost noon. I looked over the report one last time, signed off on it and grabbed my car keys.

I got out of my car and spotted Kat immediately. She threw her phone in her purse and stood up.  "I really appreciate you taking the time to meet me."

 "No problem, Kat; actually it was a really nice surprise seeing you. You want to go in?"  I opened the door and entered behind her.

 “Sorry for making you wait,” I said as we sat down. “I just had some catching up to do. I had just taken a few days off to spend with my sister and niece who were here visiting.” Her dark brown eyes widened and she looked like she was deep in thought. “So what have you been up to?” I asked.

 “Nothing special,” she responded very timidly.

I finally asked the question that I was dying to know after all of these years. “Did you ever get married? She shook my head no, giving me a slight smile.

“What about you?” she asked,.

 Was she kidding me? Did she not remember our whole reason for parting ways? “I barely have time to sleep, let alone maintain a relationship.” I leaned back in my chair and couldn’t stop myself from staring at her. She was still that same adorable girl that liked to eat chocolate cake for dinner.” “You look great, Kat.”

“Thanks,” she whispered.

 I could see that she was nervous as she fidgeted around with the napkin and bounced her leg up and down.

“So how’s work?”

“Fine.”

I nodded and couldn’t help but think how cute she looked twirling her hair around her finger. “How’s James doing?” I asked in an effort to break up the tension.

“He’s doing well. He and Tricia are engaged now.”

“Yes, I knew that. I haven’t talked to him in a while. I owe him a phone call.”

“So you’re Chief of Oncology now?”

I nodded.

“Well congratulations, I always knew you were destined for great things.”

 “So what did you need to talk to me about?”

"Bone marrow transplants.” Her response was quick and sharp.

 “What?” I laughed at her abruptness.

“What do you know about bone marrow transplants?” None of this was making sense. Kat was a doctor she knew enough about bone marrow transplants that didn’t warrant a trip to Chicago to ask me.  I played along and explained to her the basics of bone marrow transplants. She listened, acting like she was clueless. “This is pretty common knowledge that you learn in medical school.”

 "Yes, I know, I just wanted to get your advice, since you are one of the top doctors in your field."

 "So you came almost one thousand miles just to ask me that? I’m sure you have doctors just as versed as me and a lot closer. That must be some special patient."

All of the color drained from her face. "It is," she said, biting her bottom lip. She took a deep breath and paused for a moment. "It's my son.” My heart immediately went out to her. "It’s our son.”

I was totally taken off guard; obviously I didn’t hear her correctly. "What?" I stared at her, waiting for her to explain what I thought I had just heard. She looked at me with tear filled eyes and it was finally sinking in. The shock that I was feeling just moments ago was quickly being replaced with anger. "Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you made it clear to me what you wanted out of life and that didn’t include a child.”

The waitress came over to take our order. "Not now!" I shouted.

I was dumbfounded. I had a son. A five year old son that I never knew existed. How the hell could she have done this to me?  

She placed a picture down in front of me. “His name is Matty, he’s five-years-old, he’s a great kid, and he has leukemia.” Her voice cracked with emotion.  I lifted the picture and examined it closely. It was all so surreal to me. But reality was slowly seeping in as I stared at that picture. It was if I was looking at myself thirty some years ago. “Almost like looking in the mirror, isn’t it?” she asked as if she was reading my mind. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t take my eyes off the picture. A million questions raced through my mind. What had she told him about me? Did he know that I never knew about him or did he think that I just didn’t care? But I was too pissed off to ask her any of them.

"I know that I was wrong to have kept this from you, but what would you have done if I told you back then?"

“I would have taken responsibility for my son.”

“I’m sorry, but I did the wrong thing for the right reasons.”  .

“What were those reasons?

I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. Nothing justified keeping this from me and at the particular moment I hated her so much for it. “Can you please tell me what your reasons were for keeping my son from me for the past five years?”

“You left and we never spoke again because you didn’t want kids, do you remember that?

Now, she was seriously pissing me off.  There was no way in hell that she was going to place this on me. “Really? So you felt that gave you the right to do this?” he asked. “What, were you trying to punish me for not wanting what you wanted?”

“No, that’s not at all what I was trying to do!”

I shook my head in disbelief. I couldn’t even look at her and I wasn’t sure if it was out disgust or because it hurt so badly to know that she would have kept something so crucial from me without even giving me a choice. “I can’t believe that you just assumed I wouldn’t want to be in his life.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to feel trapped into something you didn’t want.”

“I missed out on five years of my son’s life because you actually thought that’s what I wanted. Why didn’t it ever occur to you to ask me what I wanted?  Would I have ever known if he hadn’t gotten sick?”

She looked away and was silent. My stomach clenched, knowing the answer to that question already.

“Right before I found out I was pregnant I was planning on calling you to tell you that I would go to Germany. I was willing to uproot my whole life, forgo everything that I wanted just to be with you. Once I found out that I was pregnant that changed everything. There were days that I had wished that you would have called to tell me that you would be willing to rethink your plan for me, but you didn’t.”

“You told me not to.”

“Exactly. I thought I knew what you wanted and you thought you knew what I wanted,” she said very gently.

I had to get out of here. I had to just walk away from her and register all of this. I wasn’t sure what I was more upset about, the fact that I had a son that I didn’t know about or the fact that Kat, the girl that I held on a pedestal for all these years totally destroyed my image of her by doing this. “You had no right to just assume what I wanted.”

“I know that I was wrong and you can hate me if you want to.” The tears rolled down her face. “But Matty needs you now. Please, Julian, I’m begging you.”

I looked at her and all I could feel was resentment and anger. “I came here to ask you if you would be willing to be tested to see if you’re a match and to oversee his medical treatment.” She paused for a minute, grabbed a napkin and wiped her eyes. “I want you to be part of his life; to be his father. I want you to fall in love with him the same way I have.”  I couldn’t respond. I knew I wanted to be there for my son but I was so repulsed by her actions that I couldn’t even look at her.

She reached into her wallet and held out a business card. I snatched it from her hand and stared at the girl sitting across from me. She wasn’t the same girl that I knew all those years ago. There were so many things I wanted to say to her and none of which were fitting to say to a woman.  I needed to get as far away from her as possible. I quickly stood up and walked out the door, still grasping tightly to the photograph.

I sat in my car and stared at the picture of this little boy who was a part of me and a complete stranger. I ran my hand though my hair and shook my head I was so pissed at Kat and even more pissed at myself.  So many times I had contemplated calling her. I was even thinking of paying her a surprise visit when I got home from Germany. Why didn’t I try harder with her? Why did I listen to her when she told me not to call? For once in my life why didn’t I break the damn rules and listen to my heart? I was entering uncharted territory and I was terrified. Strangely it wasn’t over the fact that he had cancer. It was because I was actually someone’s father, a thought that scared me half to death.

Giveaway

Since December is the month for giving, a few other authors and myself put together a little giveaway of our favorite things...check it out! a Rafflecopter giveaway