Chick Lit Author Blog Hop : May 20-27

I'll be sharing 'what's on page 25' in Love By Design as part of the Chick Lit Author Blog Hop. It starts May 20th and runs through May 27th.

 So stop back on May 20th to read what's on page 25 and discover the link that will take you on an awesome adventure of blog hopping!

It's a Doll's Life by Liz Matis - FREE SHORT SHORT STORY

I thought I re-share this short story I wrote in 2009. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s a Doll’s Life

by

Liz Matis

Dusting the shelves of Laurel’s Playhouse was the worst part of owning a business. As if cleaning her house wasn’t enough.

The chimes rang cheerfully announcing her first customer of the day. Grateful for the interruption, she put on her best smile and made for door.

The man who entered towered over the dolls and miniature houses like Gulliver over the inhabitants of Lilliput. Blonde hair wisped out from underneath a cap. Wearing jeans, a blue work shirt and construction boots, he was dusty as he was big. He turned away from the row of shelves she stood behind and her gaze immediately lowered. Still, she wouldn’t mind wiping that bit of dirt off his rear and not with a feather duster. Such tasks required a hands-on approach.

He looked out of place among the frilly lace and ribbons. The expression ‘bull in a china shop’ came to mind. Except this bull was in her doll shop.

Laurel stole out of her hiding place. “Can I help you?”

He turned and smiled. “I’m looking for a gift for my sister’s birthday.”

His twinkling blue eyes were a pleasant relief to the lifeless stares of her collection. Standing next to him she felt like one of those dolls: petite and very feminine. “How old?” she managed to ask.

“Sixteen.”

“Ahh, sweet sixteen.”

“Darling, you haven’t met my sister.”

She laughed at his joke, but foolishly blushed at the endearment. “What are her interests?”

Laurel twisted her hands in an effort not to brush away the dirt on his shirt. Where had her aversion to cleaning gone?

“Boys,” he said, his tone exasperated.

Again she laughed. “And she still collects dolls?”

He nodded. “Not that she’ll admit to.”

Laurel ran the inventory in her head. “Come with me.” She led him over to a display by the front window praying he wouldn’t knock anything over. It was cute how careful he was not to. “I think she might appreciate one of these.”

He was looking directly at Laurel when he said, “Perfect.”

She smiled as she carefully picked up one of her favorites, a sophisticated Gibson Girl doll that was about a foot tall. The figurine reminded Laurel of a bygone era when men were gentlemen or at least pretended to be. “Do you want it wrapped?”

“Yes.” He held up his hands. “These can save a plant from the compost pile, but when it comes to wrapping I’m all thumbs.”

Good looking and a great sense of humor. It had been a long time since a man made her laugh. As she worked the ribbon around the box she wondered if he was married. He didn’t have a ring on his finger, but that didn’t mean anything. Who’d wear a ring if they were making mud pies, which is exactly what he’d looked like he’d been doing before he entered her shop. She took his credit card and shamelessly noted the name. Ethan Edwards.

Laurel slid the bill across the counter and held out a pen. “Please sign at the bottom.”

Ethan’s fingers brushed hers. Her breath hitched and the pen fell to the counter. It could’ve been static electricity except the feeling was pleasant. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Ethan picked up the pen and his hand hovered for a moment over the paper like he’d forgotten how to write his name. “Thanks for the help Laurel. It is Laurel, right?”

She hoped the surprise she felt did not show on her face. It seemed he took note of the name of her store. “Yes it is. Come again.”

She could have smacked herself. Sure, he had every reason to stop by and browse in her doll shop – unless he had more sisters. Or nieces. Please, please don’t let him have daughters. That meant at best an ex-wife, at worst, a wife.

“By the way, I’m Ethan. I’m opening a gardening center down the street.”

“That explains the dirt.” The comment was out of her mouth before she could stop the words. Her flirting skills obviously needed polishing. A year had passed since her ex-finance had broken her heart. Maybe, she needed a refresher course.

But he wasn’t offended and laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

The chimes dimly sang out as he departed.

When Laurel drove by his store during the following week she noted how it sprung to life with the arrival of plants and flowers. As she inventoried the backroom she mentally planned out the changes she wanted to make to her own garden. Perhaps she could ask Ethan for advice. Lame, but it was a perfectly acceptable excuse to see him again.

. The chimes rang and by the force of the sound she knew it was Ethan.

She barely recognized the man holding the bouquet of sunflowers. He wore khakis and a pressed white shirt, his hair neatly combed back. Not a spot of dirt on him.

“Hi Ethan. Did your sister like the doll?”

“Bea loved it.” Ethan shuffled his feet. “These are for you.”

She took the flowers he offered and raised the bouquet to her nose to breathe in the scent. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to.”

“I’ve been busy with the opening but when I saw them I remembered your smile.”

“Oh. How sweet.” Laurel blushed.

“Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

Laurel said yes. After all, Ethan cleaned up real nice.

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

In keeping with the above quote here are my HVRWA partners in crime at todays Author Talk/Readings at the Newburgh Library.

Liz Matis and Allie Boniface 

Elizabeth Shore, Charmaine Gordon, & Elf Ehearn

Elf Ahearn and Janet Lane Walters

Wendy Marcus, Janet Lane Walter, and Tanya Goodwin

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Every year Brenda Novak hold an Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research. There are lots of great items to bid on and it's all for a great cause. It runs May 1 - 31st.

I'm involved with 4 auction items and below are the links to all 4. If none of then interest you please browse the other items. Click on the links below!


Twice as Nice - Partial critique and marketing advice from Allie Boniface and Liz Matis

Audio Book Download of Playing For Keeps and Love By Design

Hudson Valley RWA Basket of Goodies

Nook HD loaded with Contemporary Romance titles


Go forth and bid!
I know I am! Well not for my stuff but you know what I mean. 

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth

Writing Status Update: I'm almost 3,000 words into Kiss Shot ("Fantasy" Football - Season 3) and while I'm very please with the start I have to say its slow going. I'm the slowest writer on the planet. It's not so much that I don't have the time to write but on my best day - and I mean all day long - I wrote 1,000 words. This is discouraging.

As I write this I'm reminded that in the past I would skip to a scene later in the book if I was having trouble with a current chapter. This is what I must do now.

I'm hoping to complete Kiss Shot by the end of June and have an August release date. If you haven't seen it yet here is the cover! I have it posted above my desk to keep me motivated.

The inspiration behind my hero Grady O'Flynn.

When I begin a story I usually have a celebrity in mind for my hero.
Playing For Keeps = a mashup of Hugh Jackman and Kevin Nash
Going For It = Vin Diesel
Love By Design = Josh Holloway (of Lost fame)

About the time I was thinking of writing a sexy short titled Real Men Don't Drink Appletinis, there was a TV show on the air called Stars Earn Stripes. Celebrities were paired up with a military/police personnel and competed in training missions.

I immediately fell in love with Grady Powell, a former Green Beret who was paired up with WWE wrestler Eva Torres.

And thus Grady O'Flynn was born. I couldn't help but keep his first name and I made him a Navy SEAL.

Here is a little snippet from Real Men Don't Drink Appletinis

Navy SEAL Grady O’Flynn wasn’t often knocked back on his heels but the bombshell in front of him knocked him back and rocked his world. She reminded him of a movie starlet from the Forties. All curves and all sass. And those baby blues? Man, they nearly had him babbling like an infant.     

“So what do you do for a living?”

Amused by her obvious deflection, he’d decided to let his question go unanswered since he couldn’t be an open book either. He didn’t want to lie but he couldn’t reveal who he was or why he was in New York City. “I’m on extended leave.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m between assignments.” He took a sip of scotch.

“Am I going to have to waterboard you for information?”

Grady nearly spit out his drink but recovered quickly with, “There are far more pleasurable ways to get information.”

“Ooo.”

God, he loved the way her ruby lips formed an O. He wouldn’t take the thought a step further and fantasize about what that mouth could do to him. 

Release Day for Real Men Don't Drink Appletinis!

Today is release day! Real Men Don't Drink Appletinis is a sexy short (novelette). I'll be donating 50% of my proceeds to the Wounded Warriors Project. There is a page on my blog that I will update every quarter with the donation.

Here is blurb for the story:

Hollywood’s handsomest men surround celebrity agent Ava Gardner but none are as intriguing as larger-than-life Grady O’Flynn. The Navy SEAL is on an unsanctioned mission when they end up starring in their own romantic comedy. 
Will they continue to sizzle when Grady has to report back to duty? 

Buy link for Kindle  only .99cents!

Buy link for NOOK  only .99cents!

Here is an excerpt:

Ava slipped from the stool and slid next to her target. “You know this is a martini bar?” She held up her empty glass. Despite the number of people waiting for drinks, he only had to nod at the bartender to order her a refill.

His gaze then captured hers. “I’m a rebel.”

Ethereal green. That was the only way to describe his eyes. Almost lost in the depth of his stare she forced herself to speak. “So you’re looking for a girl who can belt back a scotch?”

A smile appeared on his face. “That would be asking too much. I’d settle for a girl who liked a cold beer.”

“Wine?”

 Still smiling he shook his head. “High maintenance.”

“You came to the wrong place then.”

He handed her the drink and said, “From where I’m standing I’m in exactly the right place.”