“Nope, not a damn thing.” – Luke and Stevie’s first meeting.

After how much fun it was to write Rob and Lilah’s first meeting from Lilah’s POV, I decided to do the same with Stevie and Luke and write their first meeting from Luke’s POV. Enjoy!

 

I spotted a woman I did not recognize studying the Martyr Wall. As I made my way up the stairs, I tried to place her, but she was definitely new. She was wearing black slacks and a matching blazer that were maybe a bit too big for her. She had brown hair that she had pulled back into a plastic clip. New secretary who was lost?
Approaching from behind, I asked, “May I help you?”
“Yes, I was just looking for…” She froze as she turned, her words stopping like a train on their tracks. Her eyes took me in, quite obviously gawking. She was cute. Older than I had thought from behind, and by the badge, ID, and heat strapped to her, she was not a new secretary. This was my new shadow; Stevie Winters, the one Snow had told me about. She was not who I had expected.
I smirked a little, watching in amusement as she checked me out, until her eyes met mine. Her face turned a shade of red before she sent me an awkward. “I’m looking for Agent Johnson.”
I motioned toward the Martyr Wall. “Hopefully you won’t find him there.” I extended a hand. “I’m Luke Johnson.”
Stevie put out a hesitant hand, shaking mine.
“So you must be Agent Winters,” I said, crossing my arms. Wonder how naive she was? “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Is that so.”
Nope, not a damn thing. Thought you were a guy. “Mm-hmm,” I said.
“Such as…?”
“Just office talk.”
“Uh-huh,” she said. She rolled her eyes and began to tick the list off on her fingers. “I’ve never driven a girl to quit but I did make a guy cry once; I didn’t burn down a regional office; I am a bitch; I did set a Bureau car on fire; I’ve never slept with my superior, although I was tempted; and I have never killed anyone…on purpose.”
I smiled. Easy target, but also pretty adorable. “You forgot one: did you really sleep with Steven Tyler?”
“You’re a smart ass.”
“See?” I said. “I didn’t even need to list everything that I’ve done and you were able to sum me up in four words. How in God’s name did you set a car on fire?”
“It wasn’t easy, but I managed.”
This was going to be interesting. She returned my smile and said in realization, “I’m not gonna be able to surprise you, am I?”
“It’s doubtful. And I’ve already known you for five minutes and you haven’t made me cry yet.”
“Well, the day is still young.”
I grinned. Yep. I was definitely going to like her.

FREE PREVIEW!! Echo of Terror, Chapter 01

Here is the free preview of chapter 01 of Echo of Terror!

Echo of Terror, Chapter 01 Preview!

“Ten minutes.” — Echo of Silence from Lilah’s POV, installment #2

Here is another installment of Echo of Silence scenes from Lilah’s POV.

“Put a team together and get on it,” I told Pritchard. “Just keep me updated, and let me know if you need my help.”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Karlton demanded.
I cut my eyes to him, locking onto his gaze. His face was full of challenge and arrogance. This little fucker seriously needed taken down a peg or ten.
“Agent Pritchard, can you leave us alone for a moment so we can talk?” I asked, my eyes not leaving Rob’s.
Jason hesitated, glancing at Rob. When we said nothing, he left the office and shut the door.
“Wow, but we just met,” Karlton quipped.
Oh my god…Ten minutes. That’s all it would take — ten minutes alone with the cocky little shit head… If only.
“You just think you’re Mister Hot Shot, don’t you?” I asked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, remaining silent.
Sitting down, I leaned back in my chair, studying him for a long moment, assessing him. He was good looking; I’d give him that much. He was rocking that suit pretty well and something told me he probably looked pretty damn good out of it. But that smug smile that never seemed to leave his fucking face… ugh. No. His shit wasn’t going to fly with me, and he needed to figure that out asap.
“Robert Karlton,” I said. “University of Pennsylvania graduate with a degree in criminal justice, law school drop-out, Pittsburgh uniform for a little over a year before joining the FBI. You’ve been with the Bureau for less than four years and already you’ve managed to fuck it up.”
“Congratulations,” he said dryly. “Would you like a cookie?”
I smiled slowly. “I know who you are and I know your reputation.”
“Darn, and here I had hoped you’d go out with me.”
“Oh, that wasn’t the reputation I was referring, although I’ve heard about that one too. I was thinking more along the lines of Carlos Rodriguez.”
His face flushed white and then red in two seconds flat as his jaw tightened.
“You have no right to talk about that,” he spat out.
“Fine,” I said. “We won’t talk about it. Let’s talk about this – I’ve heard about the crap you’re allowed to get away with around here. Don’t expect it to continue.”
“Are you always this pleasant or is it just me?”
“I’m always this pleasant.”
“Good to know.”
“Go meet up with Jason,” I said, sitting upright.
Rob audibly exhaled. May have been a little mean, but at least he wasn’t wearing that insolent little smile anymore. “So does that mean I’m allowed on this case?”
“That’s Jason’s decision. But if he chooses to put you on his team, you’ll be his responsibility.”
“I’d rather be your responsibility,” he retorted.
Oh, kid…you have no idea who you’re talking to. “Be careful what you wish for.”

Echo of Silence, Lilah’s introduction, from her POV

I have been contemplating for a while writing some key scenes from Echo of Silence in Lilah’s POV, or even some extra scenes to kind of get a feel for what was going on for her during the time when she first moved to Cleveland. This does not warrant a whole book and honestly I would feel lame re-writing an entire book from a different character’s POV. BUT, writing short scenes that I can share with my wonderful readers on my blog, that is something else entirely. 🙂

The first scene to write was an obvious choice. What exactly was going through Lilah’s head during her introduction to us all? I’m sure we remember the scene well. It includes what may possibly be one of the best lines in the series, that sums up Rob and Lilah’s future relationship pretty well. So here it is, Lilah’s introduction to the world from Echo of Silence, told from her POV.

 

This morning sucked. The paperwork that had been accumulated by the previous Supervisory Special Agent, who apparently didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground, was astounding. My head felt like it was going to implode and all I wanted to do was grab my lunch bag and get some food in me before my stomach ate itself.
The break room seemed as though it were rarely used. There were three guys hanging out in there as I walked in. I had met two of them during the meeting this morning but didn’t recognize the third. The unknown guy’s eyes followed me as I headed toward the fridge. Seriously? It was my first day and I was already dealing with this shit? I was so not in the mood. When I leaned over to grab my bag, I could feel eyes on me. I knew, I just knew, it was him.
“You can stop staring at my ass anytime now,” I said sharply. When there was no response, I stood and turned around. Sure enough, it was him. He did not look at all shocked to have been caught. In fact, he looked kind of smug. He was young, probably about twenty-seven or so. He was attractive enough. He was tall and well built, with hazel eyes and short sandy brown hair. The attraction was somewhat taken away by the cocky smile on his face that made me want to slap him.
“You’ve got a nice ass,” he retorted, unashamed.
“I’m aware of that,” I said. “But you don’t have to stare at it like it’s your lunch.”
“You’re the one who bent over in front of three guys.”
“I didn’t know I couldn’t retrieve my lunch bag out of the bottom of the fridge without being ogled,” I said without missing a beat. “If you’re going to stare, you could at least be subtle about it, like those two.”
He glanced back at the other two gentlemen, who had quite obviously also been staring at my ass, but were doing so while flipping through a car magazine that had been left on the table.
“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, turning back to face me.
I nodded. My eyes dropped down to his name tag. Special Agent Rob Karlton. That name had been on the violent crimes unit roster I had glanced at earlier. Super fan-fucking-tastic; he worked in my unit. Ugh. When I met his eyes, they were not in line with mine. I couldn’t give two shits if someone checked me out but don’t be blatantly disrespectful about it. “Stop staring at my ass and stop looking at my tits,” I snarled. “My eyes are up here.”
“Or what, you’ll report me?” he challenged, a little too cocky for his own good.
The two behind him visibly cringed.
He didn’t know who I was…. Slowly, I felt a smirk play across my lips. “I wouldn’t bother,” I said. “I’d write you up myself.”
“Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you don’t have that kind of power.”
This kid was going to be the death of me. I could feel it already. “Oh, you’d be surprised the kind of power I have.”
“Just who in the hell do you think you are?” he demanded.
“Supervisory Special Agent Lilah Matthews,” I replied smoothly. “You can call me boss.” And with that, I walked out, but thankfully not before I got to take in his stunned, slack-jawed look.
Huh. Maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter 1 of Echo of Innocence!

Echo of Innocence is coming out March 23rd! Woot woot! And as a teaser, I am putting the first chapter out for all you wonderful people to see. I hope you enjoy it!

Echo of Innocence: Chapter 1

The story behind the names…

Hi, everybody! I have been hard at work with my summer class (ironically enough, on stress management) while also busy finishing the outline for Echo of Innocence (novel #5!!!) and generating storylines for future novels. So far I have storylines up to #13! What?? I know, I know. Getting ahead of myself here. But it’s been great to get some vision and be able to know what’s coming up in the future, to better prepare each plot point for the characters.

Speaking of characters, that’s what this blog post is about. I decided to write a blog about where I came up with the names for the characters. Some have good stories, some have boring stories, and others have no stories at all. But I thought I would share with the characters in the book up to this point, and I will share another blog later after Echo of Innocence comes out and you get introduced to a couple new peeps. 🙂

Hope you enjoy the blog.

Robert “Rob” Jacob Karlton
I don’t honestly know where I came up with the name Robert Jacob. I started with Rob, which I decided to make short for Robert. I think it just popped into my head and I liked the way the name flowed together. As for Karlton being spelled unconventionally, it was two-fold. When I created Rob, it was back when the U.S. version of Queer as Folk as airing. I was a huge fan, and I wanted to make a character who was just like one of the main characters, Brian Kinney, only straight. I didn’t want to use the same last name, so I came up with Karlton, and kept the K rather than the typical C. The unconventional spelling also fits because Rob is a bit of an unconventional character. He’s a complete dickbag sometimes, but you still can’t help but love him.

Delilah “Lilah” Mae Matthews
On the TV show Angel, there was a character named Lilah Morgan. She was fierce and a bitch and hot as hell. I wanted to create a character who embodied her — the ability to walk into a room and effortlessly own it. I added my own unique touches to my Lilah, but that is where the name originated, and why her last name starts with an M — I supplemented Morgan for Matthews.

Stephanie “Stevie” Morgan Winters
Ah, Stevie…back in my childhood, there was a chapter book series called The Saddle Club. That WAS my childhood. I had nearly every book. One of the three main characters names was Stevie, short for Stephanie. She was the troublemaker; the one who thought outside the box. She was my favorite character. And I just loved the tomboy nature of taking such a girly name and making it sound like a boy’s.
Stevie is one of the original characters who has followed me from the horrid stories I used to write as a 12-year-old, to the slightly better stories as a teenager and young adult, to the novels that I write today. She gets her middle name from my friend Ashley Morgan, who used to give Stevie her original voice back when we wrote stories together in crap-ass java chatrooms and AIM. I’m not sure where Winters came from. But I did like the irony of a girl from California having the last name Winters.

Samantha Rae Winters
Samantha Rae is my sister’s name. Rae is also my mother’s middle name.

Sofia Amiliana Delgado
When I decided to create Sofia, the name just popped into my head. Sofia Amiliana just rolled right off my tongue and I was like, “yep, that’s it.”

Lucas “Luke” Albert Johnson
Quite honestly, I have no earthly clue where I got any part of this name. I made Luke short for Lucas because I could not think of any middle name that sounded good with Luke. But as for the rest of it, it remains a mystery to me where it came from.

Jason Alexander Pritchard
Again, no real clue. No, I was not a Seinfeld fan. But I do like the name Jason Alexander. It flows together quite nicely. The last name Pritchard probably stemmed from a TV show I watched many years ago who had a minor character on it named Pritchard.

Russell Andrew Karlton, Jeffrey Andrew Winters, Emily Marie Winters
I do not know where these names came from. I believe my friend Ashley may have came up with the name Jeff way back in the day. But as for Russ and Em, and the full names (and why Russ and Jeff have the same middle name…), I remain as clueless as you. Most of these names I came up with when I was much younger and at this point they are so stuck with me that I cannot bear to change them.

The evilness of continuity discrepancy…

Continuity discrepancies suck. They make me twitch, especially when they are glaringly obvious. The truth is, I’m pretty anal about my characters. I have large amounts of data about them written down that I may never use, but I have is stored away should I ever need to us it. I have a template that I follow, which includes:

Full name, including any nicknames (e.g. Robert “Rob” Jacob Karlton, Jr.)
Basics: age at time of most recent story – birthdate – astrological sign – hair – eye color – height – weight – physical description
Heritage (heritage on father and mother’s side of the family. For instance, Rob (and Russ) has Irish on both parents’ side, and German on his mother’s side)
Hometown
Other homes
Family (relevant family members. Typically good idea to mention parents names and what they do/did, if they are still alive and if not how they died. Same with any siblings or children)
Education
Relationships (any relevant relationships from the past. Making up some interesting tidbits here can lead to storylines later!)
Work history
Personality
Misc

Under misc, I may include things like sports they like and tams they support; whether or not they have a hobby or play an instrument (for instance, Rob knows how to play guitar but has not played in years); any religious beliefs; fears; what kind of car they drive; so on and so forth.

Here is an example of the “basics” for Stevie:
Thirty – birthdate August 1, 1980 – Leo – dark brown hair/naturally wavy/long/normally wears it straight – big dark brown eyes – 5’5″ – 125 lbs – medium complexion – tans easily – pretty but not extraordinary – average, semi-athletic body – has freckles

Here is an example of “hometown” and “other homes” for Jason:
Hometown: born in Tecumseh, Kansas
Other Homes: Wichita, Kansas – Topeka, Kansas – Quantico, Virginia (temporary) – Cleveland, Ohio

Here is an example of “education” for Luke:
Education: attended an all-male Catholic boarding school in Manchester his entire education (St. Christopher’s School for Boys (fictional)) – Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Princeton University – Master of Arts in Social and Personality Psychology from Cornell University – PhD in Social Psychology from Princeton University

Here is an example of “work history” for Lilah:
Work History: did odd jobs as a teenager to earn money – started working as a dominatrix in college and wound up doing it professionally as a side job while in law school and while in NYC – interned for the FBI between university and law school – joined the FBI during law school – first assignment/New Wilmington Resident Agency/part time – second assignment/Newark Field Office/Civil Rights – assisted in search and recovery during 9/11 – third assignment/New York City Field Office/Counterterrorism – latest assignment/Cleveland Field Office/Supervisory Special Agent over Violent Crimes

Here is an example of “personality” for Rob:
Personality: cocky – brash – reckless – blunt – brutally honest – no tact – charming – workaholic – commitment issues – smart ass – trust issues, especially with women – doesn’t admit when he’s wrong – doesn’t express his feelings – bottles up his emotions tightly – intelligent – just trying to survive life – drinks too much – sleeps around – often feels like the world is on his shoulders – guilt-plagued – problems with depression – has no filter between his brain and his mouth

Here are just some examples of randomness of different characters’ misc.

ROB
– football (Steelers) fan and basketball (76ers) fan
– drives a newer black Jeep Grand Cherokee
– afraid of flying and snakes
– his dad taught him how to use a gun when he was fourteen

LILAH
– lactose intolerant
– has a kitten named Marius
– drives a newer blue Volkswagen Passat
– lived in Germany, Italy, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, among other US states while growing up

LUKE
– drives a black BMW Z4 he says he got as a Christmas gift from his father’s family
– likes soccer (Manchester United)
– played polo in school
– fluent in Italian

STEVIE
– speaks Spanish semi-fluently
– 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do
– took two years of ballet but hated it
– was a cheerleader in high school until she got pregnant with Sam

All of this information is obviously not necessary to write, but I think if one is going to write a series and particularly if you are like me and have a horrible memory, it’s a good idea to have a place to store all information so you can reference it easily and not have to worry about continuity issues. A lot of this information is also fluid — I’m constantly adding stuff to the misc. category if I write something about a character I think I may need to reference again in the future. This is particularly true if it is regarding a character’s proficiency or skill in something. I would hate to say in one story that Stevie can speak Spanish and then in another have her say she speaks French.

This is just my process, and it is a good idea to adapt yours to whatever works for you. But feel free to use my template if you would like. If it helps you, I’m all for it. 🙂

Down the rabbit hole

There is no denying the undertones that run throughout NCM where Lilah and Rob’s relationship is concerned. It is introduced in the first novel and is continued throughout each of their storylines. I have heard some complaints, such as, “Lilah doesn’t need to be a dominatrix to be able to control her team” or something along those lines. I think these individuals are missing the point. Lilah is a strong, independent woman. The fact that she happens to be a dominatrix is neither here nor there. The reason that she is able to be a successful and competent domme is the same reason she is able to be a successful and competent leader — she has a commanding but empathetic presence; she is good at reading people; she is intelligent; and she takes no shit from anyone. That isn’t to say that she wouldn’t be just as successful a leader if she had not chosen to become a dominatrix. These two things are mutually exclusive — to a point. The tactics she has learned in both lines of work have surely involved overlap. But just because Lilah Matthews is a dominatrix does not mean that is why she is Supervisory Special Agent over the violent crimes unit. That has never been my intention.

So for those of you who are new to some of the terms that are used regarding this lifestyle, how about I give a quick crash course? I’d hate to think your whole knowledge of BDSM might come from Fifty Shades of Grey. That just makes me sad and weep for the future (…I do not like Fifty Shades, if you had not gotten the gist).

The definitions given are in very simple terms. The truth is much more complex, but this is just in the interest of basic explanations. If anyone is ever interested in a more in-depth post, I will gladly do so.

Bondage – the act of physical restraint or immobilizing someone — tying them up, handcuffing them, etc.
Discipline – in essence, punishment. This could be physical punishment (spanking, whipping, etc.) or psychological punishment (e.g., humiliation).
Dominance – to dominant someone; this individual is often called a dominant or dom/domme. A dominatrix is a female dominant who is typically for hire
Submission – to submit to someone else; this individual is often called a submissive or sub
Sadism – to derive pleasure from inflicting pain on others
Masochism – to derive pleasure from having pain inflicted upon you

Some good resource websites:
NOTE: due to some of the graphics and images, some of these sites are NSFW, and are intended for individuals 18+.
http://clarissethorn.com/bdsm-resources/
http://www.xeromag.com/fvbdsm.html
https://bdsmfordummies.wordpress.com

Lilah is a sadist and a domme. She has been a dominatrix in the past, but since she’s been in Cleveland she has not had any client. Rob does not exactly count. Their relationship started off with more of a discipline aspect, with her even being his disciplinarian for a brief period of time. As their relationship has progressed, it has turned into much more of a D/s, or dominant/submissive, relationship. Rob has started discovering that he’s a masochist and being a sub has actually made him a better person. This has led to growth between the two characters and made their relationship blossom.

I am an erotica writer. I have been writing erotica for two or three years now. I enjoy writing about Lilah and Rob because it’s so normal; it ISN’T erotica. This is their lifestyle; this is who they are. If Rob is stressed, this is how he gets release. If he screws up, this is how he is held accountable. There’s pleasure and pain in it that seems like it shouldn’t belong in mainstream fiction; it seems as though this should be an erotica story because this breaks our idea of social norms. But why? These things happen. There are every day “normal” people walking around holding hands in the supermarket who are going to go home and engage in BDSM activity. Just because you think it only exists in porn and erotic stories does not mean that it isn’t happening in your neighborhood. It is a normal lifestyle, and that’s how I want to portray it.

The D/s relationship between Rob and Lilah is not going away any time soon. It will continue to evolve and expand and it will forever be a part of who

Cast thoughts for North Coast Mysteries

So a couple weeks ago, I posted on Facebook asking what everybody thought might be good casting should NCM ever be turned into a TV show or movie. I did not get much of a response, but one person said they thought Emily Procter would make a good Lilah. My mother said that whenever she reads the books, the actors/characters from NCIS come into her mind. Particularly Michael Weatherly for Rob and Cote de Pablo for Lilah. While neither of the actors fit my idea of Rob and Lilah, I do have to admit that I can see the resemblance in the NCIS characters they play.

Now onto what my ideas are for the characters.

Rob Karlton

Not gonna lie, the very first actor I based Rob on was Gale Harold. Back in his hey-day, that man was gorgeous. But he has not aged gracefully, and he is a bit too old now for Rob.
But I have a few others who have caught my eye over the years. Jensen Ackles is my top pick for him. He is an amazing actor, and he perfectly fits every physical characteristic for Rob.

Jensen Ackles

 

Lilah Matthews

For Lilah, I try to look for a woman with cat-like eyes who is tall and capable of a commanding presence while still maintaining her femininity.
My first choice has been Stana Katic for a long time.

Stana Katic

I can totally see her wielding a whip.

But I also like Alaina Huffman (with darker hair. Although I could see Lilah with flaming red hair, that just isn’t her description). I wish I could combine her and Stana Katic together, because those eyes…just damn. Those eyes are perfect for Lilah.

Alaina Huffman

Both these are on even ground for me for my choice, but Stana Katic will always be my favorite.

Stevie Winters

My original go-to for Stevie has been for the longest time Mary Louise-Parker.

Mary Louise Parker

 

I think she has the quirky quality, plus the beautiful girl-next-door-who-you-probably-get-off-to look. Buuuttt…she’s also 50 (although she does not look it!). So that makes me sad.
I have yet to find a proper replacement…I have considered Zooey Deschanel, Bridget Regan, Colbie Smulders…my issues with them are trivial, mostly in that they all have blue eyes. Guess that’s what contacts are for, but still!

Luke Johnson

Alexis Denisof is my complete #1 choice.

Alexis Denisof

But again, unfortunately, he is almost 50.
So my next choice is Alex O’Loughlin.

Alex O’Loughlin

 

Notice they all have an accent or are capable of realistically mimicking one? Most of the time it’s easy to forget that Luke has a tinge of an English accent from growing up there.
As for the kids…I’m less sure on that. I know very little about young actors anymore. For Russ, I used to think Dylan Sprouse, but he’s like 21 now. Maybe Mason Vale Cotton.

The problem is I know very few blond actors who are decent lol.

I like the idea of Kiernan Shipka as Sam.

I always liked her acting on Mad Men when she was little. I haven’t watched the show in a long time so I’m not sure what she’s like now that she’s gotten older.

As for Emily and Jeff, I honest don’t know.

I have grand plans for all the kids when they get older, but for right now they are kind of just background characters, unfortunately. Well, aside from Russ. He’s actually been around quite a bit.

The road to publication is paved in molten lava.

A friend of mine started writing a blog highlighting her progress with her novel. I decided it would be a really great idea for me to start writing a blog about my novel considering it’s being published. It will give me a great way to keep in touch with fans — provided I end up having any, that is. haha.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I recall picking up a pen and writing in notebooks when I was just seven years old. You can imagine how terrible those stories must have been, but it was the beginning of a lifelong passion. The older I got, the more intense that passion grew. When I was eleven, we got our first computer and the internet shortly after that. Life was never the same after that. I started writing stories with a friend in chatrooms. We created characters. Many of these characters lost steam and we have long forgotten about them; a few prevailed. As we got older, these characters grew with us. These handful of characters evolved and I started writing novels about them. They became my babies. I feel a strong, deep connection to these “people.” I’ve been writing some of these characters since 1997. Even the newest ones, since 2002 or so.

The first novel I wrote was 160,000 words of complete and total crap. I’m ashamed to admit that I attempted to send out query letters and get it published. Needless to say, nobody was biting. Once I took a good hard look at the novel and realized that everything they said was right, I knew it was time to revamp. So I broke the story in two. The first story, Echo of Silence, has gone through many title changes and numerous tweaks but the heart and soul of it has never changed. It’s told from the first person point of view of Rob Karlton, a brilliant but reckless FBI agent with the Cleveland division of the violent crimes unit who has a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth 90% of the time. Did I mention he’s kind of a smart ass? And chauvinistic? And a manwhore? And oh yeah, pretty much a total asshole? He’s definitely an anti-hero with more flaws than you can ever imagine. But for whatever reason you just can’t help but love him.

While Rob is the main character, the novel would be nothing without the deuteragonist — Lilah Matthews. She’s the violent crimes unit’s new supervisor and she takes shit from no one. She’s tough, strict, and not the least bit impressed by Rob’s charm. She sees right through his BS and cuts straight to the point every time. He’s not thrilled with the idea of having a female boss — he’s doubly not thrilled that she’s calling him out on things left and right.
These two characters, along with the supporting characters Luke and Jason who are Rob’s co-workers and friends, have been around for a very, very long time. I’ve written well over 600 short stories, most of them involving these characters.

So many female authors say they refuse to write from a guy’s point of view. They say they can’t get inside of a man’s head or they just don’t want to. Personally, I found it to be an absolute blast. I feel I was able to portray a guy pretty well. Rob is one of the most screwed up individuals I’ve ever written, but yet he’s my favorite to write. He’s brutally honest, impatient, temperamental, and spends half of his time either drinking or getting laid.
He has his redeeming qualities too. He takes care of his thirteen year old brother and whenever they’re together, you get to see a whole other side to Rob. While he’s never what one can call sappy or sentimental, he loves his brotherly dearly — whether he says it out loud or not.
Lilah is one of my favorite female characters to write. There’s not a lot I can say about Lilah without spoiling some of the story, but I will say this: you will not find a more strong, independent, take no prisoners kind of woman than Lilah Matthews. She proudly wears the title of bitch and she doesn’t really care if you don’t like her. She’s not easily charmed and she isn’t a bit impressed by Rob — which is very bad news for him.

I’ll write more tidbits about the story later. Give ya something to think about until it’s available on Kindle, which should be sometime next week. But for now, I have to work tomorrow morning and I’ve been up since 4:30 this morning, so it’s bedtime for me.

Until next time.