I love to write. I don't know if I am any good but it is just fun and relaxing to do! Gwen and I are still working on our romance novel...or will be once Lillian gets bigger.  Not sure how we will try to publish it yet, but someday we will!!! My ultimate goal is the crazy crime thriller that has been in my head since 2001.  I will get it done too. :)  Stay tuned.


EXCERPT #1:

"Okay sweetie, we‘re here,” They both stepped out onto the pavement at the same time. Cole paused and took a deep cleansing breath. One thing he had always missed about Wyoming was the great fresh air. Weeklong camping and hunting trips in the nearby mountains with his brothers and his father always brought him home refreshed and rejuvenated. For a brief moment, he actually missed those days - the handful of days every year when he hadn’t felt suffocated. “Why don’t you dig through our stuff in the back and get your present for Grandma so we can take it in to her.”


“No, no, no, no, no, no” she screeched at the top of her lungs. “I can’t. I won’t. I can’t”

“Ella please, you’re making a scene, just calm down!” Cole ran a shaking hand along his jaw. He never knew what to do in these situations. Should he stand his ground, should he give in, or what?


“No, no, no, no, no, daddy there’s too much stuff back there,“ she screeched again as she stomped her feet on the pavement.

“Ella stop it right now.” His strong jaw was clenched so tight he thought his teeth might shatter. “Just get Grandma’s present so we can go see her.”


“No, no, no, no, no,” she screeched again. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection, her chin was tucked into her chest, and she twisted her upper body to and fro.


Cole was bone tired from the long drive and he could feel the people in the parking lot staring at them. He wanted to scream and yell and cry himself, but knew it wouldn’t do anyone any good so he took a deep breath to refocus himself. And then he counted to ten very slowly. He decided that this really wasn’t how he wanted his homecoming going down so he didn’t argue anymore, he just went to get the present himself. Why this all frustrated Ella so much, he wished he knew.


EXCERPT # 2 

 

“Grandma, Grandma, we’re here.” Ella Harper burst through the door of the back offices of Movie and a Pizza Place, after her father had pointed her in the right direction. She wasn’t’ exactly the quietest child in the world. In fact she could be outright obnoxiously loud, but Cole didn’t try to reprimand her this time. It was the most happiness and excitement she’d shown in two days and he wanted to enjoy every minute of it. Because as he well knew, it could be fleeting.


“Yay my girl is here!” Evelyn Harper squealed as she moved from behind her big oak desk to take the little girl into her arms. Okay, so Cole knew where Ella gotsome of her loudness from. “And it’s good to see my boy too,” she said looking over Ella’s shoulder at her son. Her look was asking how Ella was coping with the move, and he just shook his head.


“It’s good to see you too Ma, you sure do look great.” He was so relieved. His father’s death had been hard on her and he hadn’t been able to come back for the funeral to see her, a circumstance he still regretted. “Are you sure you want to retire? You look like you could go on for another twenty years. ” Cole wasn’t exaggerating either. His mother’s brown hair had barely any grey in it and she looked much younger than her sixty years. She looked like she was still raring to go. And he knew she hated not being busy.


“You, my son, are a flatterer,” she replied. “And yes I want to retire, it’s time I had some fun andhelped you take care of my granddaughter. And don’t give me that look, I know what you‘re thinking. Don‘t worry, I’ll keep plenty busy.”


Ella was shaking her head furiously and Cole and Evelyn looked at her with curiosity and amusement. “Daddy’s not a flatterer Grandma, He told a lady in the parking lot that she was a wild redhead that followed Mr. Chuck around like a lovesick puppy.”

Evelyn stifled a laugh. “You ran into little Lily Zane in the parking lot I take it.”


“Uh yeah, yeah we did. She’s not so little anymore though ma.”

“You noticed hmm.” She raised her eyebrows to convey a secret meaning only to her son. “She sure has grown up to be a beauty. She’s still little though. Not over five two I’d guess. And she seems a bit sad underneath her happy demeanor. I think something bad may have happened to her in Seattle.” Cole smiled but didn’t say anything. His mom was right on in her assessment of Lily Zane, from her beauty to her deep rooted sadness.      


“Well Ella my dear, I sure hope your daddy apologized to Miss Zane for being so rude.” Evelyn looked pointedly at Cole.

“Oh, he did Grandma. And then she reminded him that he was skinny and had bad skin when he was a kid.” Evelyn laughed so hard she had to plop herself down on the edge of her big oak desk. And when she had composed herself, she looked up at Cole. He didn’t like what he saw one bit. His mom had romantic ideas running through her head and he wanted no part of it. He had his hands full with a flaky ex-wife and a challenging child. He would have to make sure to have a talk with his mother about any matchmaking ideas she might have. Just because he was going to live in her house didn’t mean he had to put up with it. He didn’t want to fall in love and he especially didn’t want to be put into a relationship with the enchanting Lily Zane.