Book Releases

Holding On (Colorado High Country #6) —
The Colorado High Country series returns with Conrad and Kenzie's story.

A hero barely holding on…

Harrison Conrad returned to Scarlet Springs from Nepal, the sole survivor of a freak accident on Mt. Everest. Shattered and grieving for his friends, he vows never to climb again and retreats into a bottle of whiskey—until Kenzie Morgan shows up at his door with a tiny puppy asking for his help. He’s the last person in the world she should ask to foster this little furball. He’s barely capable of managing his own life right now, let alone caring for a helpless, adorable, fluffy puppy. But Conrad has always had a thing for Kenzie with her bright smile and sweet curves. One look into her pleading blue eyes, and he can’t say no.

The woman who won’t let him fall…

Kenzie Morgan’s life went to the dogs years ago. A successful search dog trainer and kennel owner, she gets her fill of adventure volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. The only thing missing from her busy life is love. It’s not easy finding Mr. Right in a small mountain town, especially when she’s unwilling to date climbers. She long ago swore never again to fall for a guy who might one day leave her for a rock. When Conrad returns from a climbing trip haunted by the catastrophe that killed his best friend, Kenzie can see he’s hurting and wants to help. She just might have the perfect way to bring him back to the world of the living. But friendship quickly turns into something more—and now she’s risking her heart to heal his.

In ebook and soon in print!


About Me

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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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Seductive Musings

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

News! News! News!




Things that happened today done in the style of SNL’s video short "Like a Boss" (If you haven't seen it, it’s utterly offensive and wonderful):

Went to an organic farm / Froze my fingers off / Held a chicken / Took some photos / Called a guy a douche-bag / Read some press releases / Tossed them in the recycle / Got free spatula (WTF?) / Wrote an article / Copyedited flats... And now I'm home.

In the middle of that, I got a phone call from my editor at Penguin.

Yes, today was a day for good news. But let me back up for a moment...

After Extreme Exposure was released, I was invited to be part of an anthology called Catch of the Day. My agent called and told me what the deadline was and suggested I consider the anthology as a way of getting my name out there. I would be the least-known author in the anthology, and tagging along with bigger names would bring new readers to my writing. Or that was the theory, anyway.

I didn’t think I could pull it off. Firstly, the anthology was supposed to be humorous. Me, humorous? Not really. My books veer toward the dark side and include things like torture. There's nothing humorous about that.

Plus I was overwhelmed with deadlines. Writing books in two genres means keeping two publishing houses happy. Doing that while raising a son by yourself and working full time as the editor-in-chief of a newspaper? You’d have to be out of your mind to try it. (Which tells you something about me.)

I had my cell phone in my hand and was dialing my agent’s number to tell her that I just couldn’t do it, when the idea for an I-Team novella fell more or less fully formed into my head. Clunk. Just like that. I took that as a sign that I could do it, and should do it, so when she answered, I told her I would sign on.

Writing ”Heaven Can’t Wait” took about five weekends, and it was both stressful and a lot of fun. I laughed out loud while writing it — yes, there is humor in it — and then I fell so in love with Lissy and Will that I wished they’d gotten a full novel.

Sadly, the anthology didn’t do well, and most readers probably don’t know there’s an I-Team novella out there. I always felt bad about that because I liked the story, personally, and some of my readers who did manage to find it said they thought it was both fun and ultra-sexy (not surprising, I suppose, given that it’s a story about two people who love each other trying not to have sex before their wedding).


But several months ago I got an idea. I called my editor at Penguin and asked her why in the age of electronic publishing they couldn’t release "Heaven Can’t Wait” as a stand-alone novella-length e-book and make it available in a bunch of different e-book formats — Sony, Kindle, etc.

Today when I spoke to her she said they were doing just that. Right now the story is being converted to e-book formats and they expect it to be available in a few months.

So those of you who are I-Team fans are going to get an extra bit of reading this year. ”Heaven Can’t Wait” is set chronologically between Extreme Exposure and Hard Evidence, and the I-Team characters that existed at that time, including Tessa, Sophie and Horny Holly, are part of the story.

Will, the hero, is a former college football star who is working as a sports reporter, while Lissy is the newspaper’s fashion editor. If the names sound familiar, it’s probably because you read a little about them in Hard Evidence.

This must have been a day for news, because there were also some developments with regard to my MacKinnon’s Rangers series and Connor’s book, but I can’t share that news yet. But trust me — it’s good news.

And now, just for fun, an excerpt from ”Heaven Can’t Wait”:



Lissy lay with her head against Will’s sweat-slick chest, running her fingers absentmindedly through his chest hair, her body limp and glowing from their most recent round of crazed sex. She loved these nights when she had him to herself.

An unpleasant flutter in her stomach drew her mind back to what she’d spent all evening trying to forget — her mother’s call. Her mother was still trying to get her to postpone the wedding until Will signed a prenup, dangling cash in her face as if she could be bought. Hadn’t she proved long ago that she didn’t give a damn about her parents’ money?

But it wasn’t the usual discussion about divorce and assets that had bothered her; it was her mother’s comment about sex and love. Her mother had quoted some study showing that couples who’d lived together before getting married had a higher divorce rate than those who waited to have sex until after marriage.

Lissy had argued that the study, like most, was skewed from the beginning, as people who waited until after marriage to have sex tended to be people who also opposed divorce. Statistics never told the whole story. Any good journalist knew that.

You wouldn’t be the first woman to confuse a man’s sexual attention with love, Melisande. Just wait till he gets his fill of you and the hormones wear off. Men like him marry for two things: sex and money.

Not her Will. No way.

“Do you realize that a hundred or even fifty years ago, we’d both be virgins?” She didn’t know she’d spoken until she heard her own voice.

His fingers stroked the hollow above her hip. “Good thing it’s not a hundred or even fifty years ago. My balls would have burst by now.”

“But don’t you think things were more romantic then? Sex would have been a great mystery for us.”

“I doubt it would have been that much of a mystery. We’d probably both have grown up in the country and seen our share of farm-animal lovin’.”

“The point I’m trying to make is that neither of us would have any personal experience with sex until our wedding night.”

“That’s assuming that I hadn’t already charmed my way into your bloomers or found some ‘loose woman’ willing to let me defile her.” His voice dropped to a dark, velvet purr. “I can be very persuasive.”

Lissy sat up, trying not to laugh, and glared at him. “You’re ruining my fantasy.”

He grinned, stretched, and folded his muscular arms behind his head. “Oh. Sorry. Go on. I’m listening.”

“After the reception, we’d go the bridal chamber, where everything would be roses and candles. There’d be a fire in the hearth—”

“—if it were winter.”

She ignored him. “You’d undress me first and then yourself. I’d probably never have seen a naked man before, so I’d be shy and afraid—”

“Oh, Will, it’s soooo big! Please, don’t hurt me!”

“—but you would soothe me and assure me that everything was going to be fine. Then you’d undress yourself, carry me to the bed and make passionate love to me.”

He reached out, ran his fingers down her hair. “Are you sure that’s how it would go? I think you’ve read too many novels. If it were a hundred years ago and we were both virgins, I think it would go more like this.”

“Do tell.”

“We’d have been raised to see nudity as shameful, so the room would be dark, and you would have changed from your wedding gown to a proper white nightgown and gotten into bed before I entered the room. I’d come in, wearing my nightshirt, and crawl into bed with you. You’d be worried that it was going to hurt, and I’d be worried that my dick might not work. I’d lift your gown up to your hips, spread your legs, and it would be over in a minute. You’d hate it, and you’d get pregnant — with the first of my twelve children.”

She fought back a giggle. “Thank you for that enchanting vision of romance.”

“You’re welcome.” His knuckles grazed a nipple, sent heat skittering into her belly.

She batted his hand away. “You’re just afraid you can’t do it.”

He frowned. “Do what?”

“Wait.”

He raised a dark eyebrow, raked her with his gaze. “It’s a bit too late for that, isn’t it?”

And then it came to her. “Not if we start over.”

“Start over?”

“You know — wait until our wedding night to have sex again.”

The look on his handsome face almost made her laugh out loud, but there was something about this that felt important to her.

Then he sat up and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, the humor gone from his eyes. “This is about something your mother said, isn’t it?”

She hated that he was able to see through her so clearly. “I just think it would add to the romance if we held back a little bit, made ourselves wait. It’s only two weeks. Unless you don’t think you can hack it.”

Will was tempted to end this conversation by pulling her beneath him and showing her just what she’d be giving up, but something told him saying the wrong thing just now would be a bad idea. Besides, he wasn’t one to turn down a challenge.

“If you want to wait until after the wedding to have sex again, that’s fine.”

The surprise on her face mirrored the astonishment he felt.

What the hell did you just say, Fraser? Are you an idiot?

Her eyes narrowed. “You really think you can do it?”

Her long hair hung about her heart-shaped face, tangled from a night of repeated lovemaking. Her nipples peeked out from between the strands, just begging to be licked and sucked. Her lips were swollen from kissing, and her cheeks were still rosy from her last orgasm, when she’d ridden him to within an inch of his life. Her green eyes shone with a mix of intelligence and feminine allure. And he was agreeing not to fuck her?

“Of course I can do it. I’m not some eighteen-year-old college student.”

She sat up on her heels. “Then how about we make a bet?”

He leaned back on his elbows, suddenly feeling competitive. “You name it.”

“Okay. We agree not to have sex again until our wedding night, and whoever gives in and asks for it first loses.”

That sounded easy enough—two weeks, no sex. “Fine. It’s a deal.”

“But there has to be some penalty.” She hopped out of bed, walked the length of the room, forcing him to stare first at the bare curves of her scrumptious ass, and then at the auburn curls of her muff. “If you lose, you and your groomsmen have to wear the mauve cummerbunds I wanted.”

He gave a snort, lifted his gaze to her face. “In that case, there is no way I’m going to lose. I’m not wearing pink.”

“Mauve.”

“Whatever.”

She crawled back into bed, smiling. “We’ll see.”

“And what about you, Miss Lissy? What price will you pay if you come begging for it?” And then he had it. “I know. You’ll have to promise to love, honor and obey me.”

Her mouth fell open in outrage. “No way! Absolutely not!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Okay, then. How about this? If you lose, you have to wear the slutty gown.”

“The Oleg Cassini?”

He had no idea what the designer’s name was, but he’d loved the way she’d looked in that dress — ultra-feminine and sexy as hell — and had been disappointed when she’d decided to go with something else. “The one that’s skin-tight and has the crystals on the straps.”

She gaped at him. “The Badgley Mischka! I’m fashion editor of the paper, Will. I can’t walk down the aisle half naked!”

“Then I guess the bet is off.” A part of him — the part located about six inches below his navel — heaved a sigh of relief. He reached over and turned off the bedside lamp.

Then out of the darkness, she spoke. “You’re on.”

18 comments:

Hey, Pamela, fantastic news! Congratulations! And wow, even MORE good news in the pipeline. I can hardly wait. The novella sounds absolutely delicious.

Hi, Anna! Thanks so much! I'm very excited and happy that an idea I had earned the support of the folks at Penguin. They said they may do this with other authors' novellas now. Can I get a cut since it was my idea? ;-)

I've been meaning to get in touch with you. We need to get caught up — soon!

Ronlyn said...

WOO HOO!!! Great news!
I've always loved Will & Lissy

Mitzi H. said...

I'm so glad to hear that your publisher is going forward with more MacKinnon historicals and your Iteam Novella.

Seems to me that your publisher is paying attention to us serious book buyers/readers wants and needs?.

It doesn't take a genius to log-on to forums like goodreads or amazon romance/historical to see what we love and recommend to others.

Your novels have been a favorite of mine for a long time an I'm thrilled to have recommended them to many of my forum buddies with great results.

We love your contemps (can't wait to read you novella) but are ecstatic to know we are going to get more MacKinnons!!!

Congrats...and I'm one Happy Happy Camper!!!

Lori said...

Fabulous! I can't wait. That excerpt is great. See? You can write humorous.

And I'm way psyched it'll be offered in e-format.

Can't wait for the rest of your good news.

JennJ said...

Hi Pamela hon this is AWESOME I do have the anthology with Heaven Can't Wait but for those that don't have it and it is hard to find this is wonderful wonderful news! WOOHOOO I'm so tickled for you dear!!! It's a great story and I loved Will and Lissy and know everyone else will as well! YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

Jess said...

Yay, great news!! I was so excited when I found the book a couple months ago, such a sweet story! Will add it to the Kindle once it's available as well :)

~Jess

Anonymous said...

ANOTHER reason it seems, I need to decide which e-reader to buy!!!!
Wow... good...and funny....and sexy!

ronna15 said...

Cogratulations Pamela!! ;D

I've always loved Will and Lissy. I remember reading it back in June. It was awesome!! I was so touched in their reunion when they though ----------(I'll save that to those who haven't read it yet). But yeah! It was so cute anf funny. I was extremly touched also by the last part. You know, in the wedding. It was so cute! I was gald to see the other I-team heroines there too. I also was glad when Will and Lissy showed up in Hard Evidence and Unlawful Contact(?)

So ecited for Naked Edge. Congratulations again. ;D

-ronna

Jane said...

Congrats, Pamela. That's awesome news. I had no idea you were part of an anthology.

Unknown said...

Pamela/so glad everthings working out/like a boss!

Debbie H said...

Sorry to be so late. Just now catching up. LOL It's a great day to do it, we have ice on everything, so I can play at home.

I'm so glad you have great news! We all need that wonderful bit in our day, huh?

I loved HEAVEN CAN'T WAIT! You autographed my copy. I always wanted their story to be out where everyone could read it and now it will!!!

Brett H. said...

So excited about the novella being available for download soon!

And oh...what a tease!!! Can't wait to hear the news about Connor!

Better late than never to say congratulations. Great news! The excert is very fun, and I can't wait to hear more about what's happening with Connor's story.

Wendy said...

LOL! I went to www.badgleymischkabride.com

Um... That's not a wedding gown, that's LINGERIE! Wow, very high stakes - I wonder what happens!

Cute excerpt. Have added it to the pile of Must-Reads. Thanks Pamela.

Hi, Ronlyn — Thanks! I know you've always liked them.

Hi, Mitzi — Thanks so much for your generous words! I'm very relieved with the direction things are going on the MacKinnon's Rangers series. For a while, I thought it was going to be over. But... Well, I can't talk about it yet. ;-)

Hi, Lori — Yes, I guess I can write humor from time to time. Thanks! :-)

Thanks, Jenn. You're such a dear. I figure most people who've been following this blog since the beginning (like you) have already read it. But I'm really excited that it will be out there for the people who haven't.

Hi, Jess — So you just recently read the story. Cool! I'm glad you liked it. It was so fun to write.

Hi, Alias... You know, I have that same problem! I have no idea which e-reader to get. I wonder if there's a side-by-side comparison of them somewhere. I'm so glad you liked the excerpt. ;-)

Hi, Ronna — I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. Yeah, don't give away the surprise. Lissy and Will have a cameo in HARD EVIDENCE, but I couldn't really bring them back in UNLAWFUL CONTACT or NAKED EDGE. If I had everyone who's ever been in an I-Team novel in each book, the scenes would become ponderously HUGE. Too many characters. But we may hear from them from time to time.

Hi, Jane — Thanks! Yes, this was my only anthology -- so far. I keep wanting to be in a historical Christmas anthology, but I haven't been offered that opportunity yet. I've also got a crazy idea for an I-Team Christmas story. But I won't even go there... Just imagine the whole I-Team plus spouses at a ski resort for a winter getaway, and then it becomes clear that someone is trying to kill them. I like the idea, but that's just because I want to hang with these characters all the time.

Hi, Laura — LOL!!! Thanks!

Hi, Debbie — You probably have one of only two or three autographed copies of that story. The others would belong to my gangstas. LOL! Stay warm! And don't slip or slide on anything.

Hi, Brett — Thanks! I hope you enjoye it. And, yes, this is me being a tease again. I do so enjoy torturing people. But I've been so worried about Connor for so long, and now I'm feeling hopeful again. :-)

Hi, Linda — I'm so glad you enjoyed the excerpt. It's probably my sexiest story. Strange how two people trying NOT to have sex becomes really sexy.

Hi, Wendy — Yes, very skimpy wedding gown, isn't it? You wouldn't catch me wearing that, but I imagine it looks fantastic on Lissy. :-)

Mary G said...

Not surprised you can do funny & sexy!I've got to get that book now since I don't have an ereader yet.

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"I am an artist. I am here to live out loud."
—Emile Zola

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day."
—James Joyce

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."
—Jane Austen

"Writers are those for whom writing is more difficult that it is for others."
—Ernest Hemingway

"When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth."
—Kurt Vonnegut

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—Toni Morrison

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—Robert Frost.

"I'm a writer. I give the truth scope."
—the character of Chaucer in
A Knight's Tale