Yay! for Happenstance

December is only days away, which means my wonderful critique partner, Valerie Haight’s novella will be out soon! It’s a great story and I’m very lucky to have been able to read it in its early stages. Valerie put a lot of work into it and it really shows by the sheer awesomeness of it!!! I thought you guys would like to hear a little more about it so I invited Valerie to drop by.

Welcome Val! *big hugs*

 

Laura! Thank you so much for letting me hang with you here! And when you’ve got such exciting news yourself!!! I’m so excited to be bouncing alongside you! I’m thrilled to be a guest for your awesome blog. My belly’s full from Thanksgiving and my heart is full from all this GREAT NEWS! December’s right around the corner and my first release is almost here. I can’t wait to shout it from the rooftops!

Happenstance is my debut novella available through Turquoise Morning Press and will be released December 23, 2012! When I’m not walking around in an imaginary world, I play gopher to a corporate executive so I get to see a lot of corporate setting relationship conflict every day. I file this good stuff away in my scheming brain for future novels but today, let’s talk Happenstance!

Taryn Ballard is happily married and a newly appointed analyst for a prestigious shipping company.  Her career upsurges in record time but she’s about to discover the real price of corporate life.

While on yet another business trip, Taryn suffers a brutal attack by a carjacker. Her husband, Wade isn’t there, but her co-worker, Devin is.  The accidental bond Taryn and Devin share pitches them into dangerous and confusing territory. Taryn struggles to discern both her feelings for her sexy protector and Wade's reaction to it all. Unfamiliar emotions blur the rules of the game and Wade's ready to quit.

Taryn must rise above disaster to save her marriage. But is she ready to let go of the man who saved her life? In a single moment, Happenstance changes everything.

Putting MCs through the wringer is my specialty and I didn’t cut poor Taryn any slack. She was so much fun to write because I took everything I knew about the corporate world and tossed it straight at her. She plays havoc on both Devin’s and Wade’s feelings and lives. Yes, I’m awful. J I mixed my two favs-suspense and romance-and came up with something that hopefully every reader can identify with and enjoy. Here’s a snippet to give you the feel of the book.

“Devin, it’s Taryn. You were right. The execs want me to meet them for dinner and I feel really foolish because I have a GPS and a connect-the-dot map from the concierge and I’m still lost.”

Devin laughed. “Not a problem. Where are you?”

Taryn took a second to locate the green street sign. “At the corner of First and Third at a tiny, ancient-looking convenience store.”

“Oh, I know the one. You’re right next to us. I could probably see you from the tower window. Okay, which restaurant are you looking for?”

Taryn gabbed the hand-drawn map. “Caminas.”

“I know where it is. Actually, it might be faster by freeway.”

“Of course it would. I just came from—”

An unexpected rush of damp, hot air hit her and Taryn turned, confused to see her door open wide. She sucked in a quick breath and saw too late the arm reaching for her. Terror gripped her as she zeroed in on the gun in her face.

I had so much fun writing this story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! You can purchase Happenstance here on December 23^rd!

Tweet with me @Valeriebrbr, follow me on Facebook or find out the latest on my Author Page about my upcoming short story Magnolia Brides in a wedding anthology out in June!


Thanks for dropping by, Val! I'm so happy for you and can't wait to get my very own copy of Happenstance!