About Me
- Pamela Clare
- I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.
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Friday, May 15, 2009
Naked Edge Excerpt
My new mattress
Busy, busy week in newspaper land. Looks like I'm revving up for a big investigation. Can't say more about it than I think I'm going to enjoy this one. I love making life difficult for people who've worked hard to be jerks.
The big news at home this week is that I bought a new bed. I've been sleeping on the same box springs and mattress since I was five months pregnant with Benjy — that's 20 years ago — and even though it was top-of-the-line in its day, it hasn't been comfortable for several years. The price made me sweat bullets, but then I thought of what it would be like to sleep and I handed that credit card right over.
How's that for edge-of-your-seat excitement. A new bed! Woohoo!
Other news:
Lilac attack
My lilacs are so lovely I can't stand them. Benjy and I planted the bushes a few years ago. At the time, they were not taller than my knee. But now they're up to my chin and dripping with beautiful, scenterrific blossoms. My garden is starting to take off — Benjy is outside right now in the last phase of weeding the front beds — so the "What's Blooming Now?" feature on the left panel here isn't going to be enough to keep you up to date.
Lily of the valley
Lilacs, hardy geranium and lilly of the valley are all in bloom right now. The geranium will bloom all summer. The other two are fleeting but sweet.
Hardy geranium
My Russian sage bush seems to have bit the dust. It's a huge bush and well-suited to dry climates. But we had such a bitter cold snap early in the winter, followed by no moisture till late March. I think that was too much. Fortunately, though other plants suffered, it appears to be the only casualty.
My climbing rose died back to the ground after three years of growth making it more than 10 feet tall. And all of the rose bushes except for the Blanc Double du Coubert died back to the ground. All of the canes are D-E-A-D dead. Fortunately, they're all sending up new canes, or I'd be rolling on my lawn and wailing. I love roses so much!
The tulips are either gone or past their prime, and asiatic lilies are pushing their way up.
Okay, now that I've bored you into oblivion with the minutiae of my garden, I thought I'd share a humorous but (hopefully) still sexy excerpt from Naked Edge.
This is from Chapter 19, which I haven't quite finished yet. So it's hot off my finger tips:
-----------
Feeling replete and contented, Gabe cradled Kat’s head against his shoulder, watching through half-closed eyes as she trailed a fingertip through the pool of ejaculate on his belly. She dabbed at it, made little circles in it, rubbed it into his skin like lotion, her actions somehow both innocent and amusing.
“So this makes a baby.” There was a note of awe in her voice.
“Not like this.” He reached for the box of tissues on his nightstand. “Mostly, it just makes a mess.”
# # #
Five minutes later, Gabe sat at the table in his boxer briefs, watching as Kat, wearing that same old T-shirt of his she’d worn this morning, made them a dinner of buffalo steaks, roasted potatoes and salad. Where she came by this sudden burst of energy when he could barely think and would rather be dozing in his bed with her still in his arms was beyond him. He supposed it was one of the great mysteries of life — how having a good orgasm knocked a man out, but re-energized a woman and left her ravenous.
Maybe it was an evolutionary thing that had enabled women to fatten up for pregnancy and produce healthier offspring back in the day when life was hard and food scarce. He could kind of see that. A cave woman has sex with a cave man, and while he’s lying on the mammoth skin in a post-coital stupor, she raids his cave for leftovers. Still, Gabe supposed human males had it easy. If he were a male black widow or praying mantis, Kat would be munching on him right now, not carrot sticks.
Not that he and Kat had mated. Not that they’d actually had sex. They’d done nothing more than get each other off like a couple of high school kids. And yet it had satisfied him in a way that three years of hard-core fucking hadn’t. Later, when his brain was working again, this would probably scare the shit out of him. Which was why he didn’t want to think about it now.
He watched Kat sprinkle salt and pepper on the rib eyes. Then she bent down to slide them in the oven to broil, and his gaze shifted to the curve of her ass and her cute lavender panties. And some of his daze lifted.
She shut the oven, then stood and turned to him, half-eaten carrot stick in hand. “Do you like onions in your salad?”
Despite what had happened today, she seemed relaxed, almost happy, the ordeal she’d been through temporarily forgotten. Some macho part of him found this more than a little gratifying. Distracted by the sweetness of her face, he barely heard himself answer. “Uh-huh.”
It was a good thing she hadn’t just asked him if he liked rat turds in his salad.
You’re in over your head, buddy!
Yeah, he was. But at the moment that didn’t seem so bad.
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17 comments:
Pamela, you can dazzle me with your beautiful flowers anytime! I love lilacs and any sweet scented flower. I've been deciding where I am going to move my irises to, planted some blue spruce ground cover around the foundation, hung three baskets of petunias and am stepping back to think some more. By the time I finish the back yard, I want it to be a fairyland for the grandkids to explore.
Gabe is G-O-N-E, he may not realize it but he is hook, line and sinker. LOL Thanks for the excerpt and the beautiful pics. Tell Benjy I said "HI"
Like Debbie, I'm happy to look at pictures of your gorgeous garden any time! Mine is a few weeks behind yours - no lilacs yet. We'll soon have to plant our Dahlias and annuals. Fortunately my roses had a good winter.
This excerpt is so sweet and yes, it is sexy too. Gabe is turning to mush and doesn't know it yet, silly goat. I will be so ready to snap up this book when it comes out.
BTW, I looked up your painting of the Lady of Shallot - beautiful. And I listened to Loreena McKennitt's rendition of the poem. I haven't heard it for years and I'd forgotten how haunting and lovely it is. Thanks for jogging my memory.
Hi, Debbie — Thanks! I just love flowers and every year I get so excited as we move from one phase of blooms to the next. They're so beautiful! If I could, I'd have a professional landscaper drench my yard with them. How fun to create a fairyland for your grandbabies! What a good grandma you are!
As for Gabe, you said it. He's gone and doesn't even know it. I'll pass your greetings on to Benjy. And thanks!
Hi, Linda — Thanks! I'm glad I didn't bore you. I'm glad your roses are doing well. We have so many canes to cut down still.
Yes, poor, silly Gabe! He can pretend all he wants that he's not in love -- and Kat might believe him, but the rest of us won't. LOL!
I LOVE Loreena McKennitt's music. Her voice is incredible. And that painting is so romantic. I have a big print of it in a gold frame.
Maybe I'll post photos of my office...
wow wow wow! I love it. This story is going to be awesome Pamela! I love how I can know only little bits and pieces of these characters, and yet still be yanked into this story and desperate for more. Phenomenal!
(and great garden! I need to get to weeding - that's my goal for this weekend. I've got some beautiful bleeding hearts that are just bursting with blooms! Though I'm jealous of your lily of the valley - so pretty! and the lilacs! I can't imagine how good those must smell. I need to find out if they'll grow in my zone)
I love it. I especially love the contrast between the aftermath of this experience with Kat and the scene with Gabe and Samantha Price that you gave us an excerpt of. I may be wrong, but as far as I can recall this is the first time where you have actually shown the hero having sex with someone other than the heroine. There are obviously mentions of them with other women and you even see them with the other woman, but I believe this is the first book where the actual sex act is described.
Anyway, I like how these two scenes express how meaningless sex can be compared to physical intimacy and the after effects of each.
Love it.
And the flowers are lovely! :)
Hi, Haleigh — Happy weeding! Benjy has spent the better part of three days so far (and is continuing today) to weed our beds. He should finish today.
I can't imagine that there's anyplace lilacs won't grow. If they grow in this state where it's dry and prone to extremes from -15 in the winter to 114 in the summer, they probably grow everywhere, maybe even on the moon. (Someone should check.)
Thanks for your sweet words about the excerpt. I hope the story will turn out well. I got a kick out of Gabe in these scenes.
Hi, Elizabeth — I'm so glad! Thank you! Yes, this is the first time I've shown a hero having sex with someone else after meeting the heroine. I didn't think about it that way at first because he barely met Kat -- he rescued her after she fell but then never expected to see her again. She makes an impression but not one he's willing to pursue. Then when they reconnect, that's it. No more "other women."
Nicholas in Ride the Fire has sex "on camera" with a prostitute at the beginning of the book, but that's before meeting Bethie.
Benjy just called me outside a few moments ago to show me that my shooting star is blooming. So I'll post that soon. I love shooting star! It's so tiny and precious,
Wow...that was...mmmmm....Keep up the good work, Pamela!!! :oD What a nice reminder of why I love your writing. 'sigh'
I, too, am glorying in my blooming lilacs! Part of me is always tempted to cut some and take them in the house but they last for such a short time I always feel a little guilty if I do that, instead, I make an effort to go outside regularly and bury my nose in a scrumptious bloom! LOL
Thanks, Rita. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :-)
I hear you on "picking vs. savoring." Lilacs are so fragile and just don't last long once they're cut. I feel sorry for the bushes if I rob them of any of their beauty. So the solution is, as you say, to go a-sniffing early and often. They truly are one of those reminders to enjoy the moment because they only bloom for a couple of weeks each year.
That bed looks like I'd love to fall into it right now... I love your flower pics. And wow-- what a great excerpt!
Congrats on the new bed. I love the excerpt.
Hi, Kaye — It's amaaaaazingly comfortable. I slept way too long this morning. Opened my eyes, glanced at the clock and saw it was 11! I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpt.
Hi, Jane — Thanks so much! It feels like a major upgrade in the house to have a new bed. I'm happy you liked the excerpt.
:-)
Aw your garden is sooo pretty!! Thanks for sharing!! Sorry I haven't stopped by in a while!
Oh and the excerpt...... yeay!!! Thank you!
Must show your mattress picture to my husband as we desperatley need a new one as my back's killing me.
Love your flowers :). I myself have a black thumb :(.
I don't read exerpts as they make me want a book, like, NOW. But I am sure its great!!
Hi, Amanda — Nice to see you. Glad you enjoyed the flowers. Some of my irises are blooming now. Every day is going to be a discovery out there and it will all reach its peak in June.
Glad you liked the excerpt, too.
Hi, Luci — I hope you get your new bed! it makes a difference! I understand why you don't read excerpts. Sorry to temp you. ;-)
okay, hey again ms. clare. (if you remeber me from my recent comment on your twilight post)first of all, brace youself because this is going to be long.......im really soryy...i just read all your five posts about naked edge and i just wanna begin from the start. i just became a fan of yours this january when i first read your book and might i say it is fantastic!!i love how you put so much emotion and personalities in your characters and relationships(ive read the iteam series so far)im 17, so its kinda hard readin it a home when i have to hide it. yeah i hide it, my sister doesnt know and im pretty sure my moms gonna freak out when she finds out.im not ashamed reading your books!i swear, im mean i love, its just that i know how they're gonna react(quick question where you like me when you said you read romance novels as a teen?)anyway, im sorry if this is really long cause i just learned today that you have a blog. i thought just a website.so, what now?oh!!!about naked edge!jus have to say that wow!you are amazing!see..this is what i love about your books the most, you always make the guy be so naive about his feeling even its starinf at him rights in the face. i love how you mention all the little details that makes your characters fall in love with each other. in your poll about what readers dont like, i gotta say, i actually really like their not-so-nice language. with the sh*t and f*ck and all, it goes back with what i was saying with their strong emotions and personalities. I love how you write down their little thoughts and them talking to theirsleves in 3rd person.its funny in a really cool way. whats next?um...so naked edge...of course your fans are gonna understand the delay, i just wanna say that i will be waiting, it WILL be hard, yes, but base on what ive already read about Gabe, it is definetly worth the freakin' wait!^-^ okay...you bed!congrats!looks really comfy. i wish my mom would buy me some really comfy matress to you know, im only 17 and my back already hurts.LOL.i love your lilacs!they are just sooooooo pretty.im really jelous right now, cause i live in AZ, and our backyard is just freakin' dry especially this summer, and i just love flowers...so yeah...keep your garden alive, its really gorgeous...hmmm..is that all?yeah i guess..so, sorry for the really long comment, just wanna introduce myslef officialy as your fan cause im gonna be leaving a lot of comments since ive now found your blog.will b counting the outrageouslly long days for naked edge wcich im realy sure will be awesome..take care!!you're awesome! -ronna!
"i wish my mom would buy me some really comfy matress too you know, im only 17 and my back already hurts.LOL." just a correction.it kinda gives the wrong messge.LOL ^-^
Hi, Ronna — And welcome! Thanks so much for your long post. I really appreciate the feedback, both here and on the Obsessive Cullen Disorder post.
I'm thrilled you enjoy the I-Team books. That makes my day. I'm glad you're enjoying the excerpts of NAKED EDGE as well. I'm almost done with Chapter 20 now, so that's 2/3 done (almost).
I started reading romance when I was 14 or 15. I didn't hide it from my mom, but then I don't know that she had any idea what I was reading. I read a LOT and was always going to the library. My friends and I read and shared romances, and then I started writing love scenes and sharing those with my friends. They were pretty ridiculous, actually.
I hope your mom gets you a new bed, too. It's no fun to wake up achy.
We've been getting a LOT of rain. It has rained everyday for about three days, which in Colorado is rare. We're not as arid here as you are in Arizona, but we can go months between rain storms sometimes. A friend of mine recently said, "April showers bring May showers," joking about all the rain we've had. I said, "What do May showers bring?" He thought about it for a moment and said, "Rain." LOL! I'm loving it, though, and it's very good for all of my flowers. I'll be posting photos from my garden all summer long.
And don't worry about the long comment. :-)
See you again!