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, December 03, 2010
BREAKING POINT is done! Here's an EXCERPT
It is done.Today, Dec. 2, at about 4 AM, I finished my 10th novel. Without getting any sleep, I went to work. Then at about 11 AM, I sent it to my editor in New York, and have been trying not to get too worried or depressed since then.
I always have a bit of post-partum depression when I let a book go. I've spent so much time with the characters, been in their heads 24/7 for days and weeks and months — and then they're gone. It leaves an empty feeling. I’m terribly fond of Zach and Natalie and the whole I-Team gang.
It sounds crazy, I know. But it’s true.
I feel like the story turned out pretty well. It is absolutely the most action-packed I-Team book to date, and perhaps the scariest.
I hope with all my heart that you enjoy it and find it worth the wait.
To celebrate finishing the book — and to celebrate the fact that it's my 10th novel — I'm sharing an excerpt with you.
Here you go:
From Breaking Point, an I-Team Novel
Natalie took a sip of coffee, studying Zach over the top of her porcelain cup as he devoured what was left of his breakfast. Most of the time when she interviewed someone, she had a good sense of whether that person was telling her the truth. Today, however, her intuition seemed to be taking a vacation.
Maybe the stakes were too high this time. Maybe she was too caught up in her own emotions and too close to the situation to focus clearly. Or maybe Zach was just harder to read than most people.
If only he would put on a shirt!
It wasn’t right for any man to be so dangerous and so sexy at the same time. Her adrenal glands and her ovaries were locked in a shouting match now, the former insisting she needed to run away fast, the latter wishing he’d kiss her again.
And that’s why you need to think with your brain.
She set her cup down. “How did you get shot? I’ve seen the scar.”
“A man aimed an AK-47 at my back and fired.” He shoveled the last bite of hash browns into his mouth and chewed.
Okay, so he wasn’t going to answer that one.
“What’s your last name?”
He set down his fork and napkin. “Smith. No, Jones. No, wait — it’s Black. I like that better. Zach Black. It rhymes.”
He wasn’t going to answer that one either.
“If you didn’t steal the cocaine, Zach Black, why didn’t you just tell me that right away? Why let me believe you’re some kind of criminal if you’re not?”
“I was afraid you’d start asking a lot of questions, like you always do, and we both had more important things to deal with.” His plate clean, he reached for his coffee, then leaned back in his chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his pants riding low enough on his hips to expose a trail of dark hair that disappeared behind his zipper. “Besides, it’s not like you were going to say, ‘Please leave me with the Zetas.’”
He took a sip.
“Why did the Zetas think you’d stolen the drugs if you didn’t?”
He seemed to think about this, as if deciding whether or not to answer. “The person I believe stole the shipment drugged me, then handed me over to them and told them I’d stolen it, making me the scapegoat for her actions.”
A woman? “She drugged you?”
He nodded. “She called, asked me to meet her at a bar in Juárez, and the next thing I knew, I was a guest in Hotel Zeta.”
Hotel Zeta?
More like Hell on Earth.
Natalie couldn’t fathom how he could make light about his captivity after what he’d been through. “Didn’t she care what they would do to you?”
“I guess she cared more about money.” He took another sip.
“That’s terrible.”
Proof of how much he’d suffered was still visible on his body—from the dark purple bruise on his ribcage to the faint pink electrical burns on his chest and belly to the gauze bandages on his raw, blistered wrists. If what he’d said was true, this person had turned him over to the Zetas, knowing full well he would be tortured and killed.
How could any woman be so heartless?
The next question that popped out of Natalie’s mouth was not the one she’d been about to ask. “Was she your lover?”
How incredibly rude! That’s none of your business, girl!
Zach didn’t answer right away, his lips curving in a smile. “Now why, oh, why would you ask me that, Ms. Benoit?”
“No reason.” She felt herself blush. “Just curious.”
“Ah, I see.” He set his coffee cup down on the tray, the amused expression on his face telling her that he did see—right through her. “No, she wasn’t my lover—though not for lack of trying on her part.”
So Zach didn’t sleep with every woman who threw herself at him. That was good to hear. “Are you married?”
He shook his head. “No.”
Natalie couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Divorced?”
“No!”
“Gay?”
He came face to face with her in one smooth motion, so close that she could see flecks of gold in the gray of his irises, the spicy-clean scent of his skin filling her lungs. “Oh, angel, I think you know the answer to that one, but if you need proof… ”
A big hand slid into her hair, cradling the back of her skull, angling her face upward. Pulse tripping, she found herself looking into his eyes, wondering if he would was really going to do it, if he was really going to kiss her.
And then he did kiss her.
Slowly.
He brushed his lips over hers, the mere whisper of a touch sending shudders through her, making her breath catch. Then he slipped his other arm around her and drew her against his bare chest, the hard feel of his body making her go weak. But still he didn’t kiss her full on, teasing her mouth with his, nipping her lips, tracing their outline with his tongue, until her lips tingled and ached and she was trembling.
She shouldn’t let him do this. Zach was a dangerous man, a killer. She knew next to nothing about him, not even his last name. All she had was his promise that he wasn’t a criminal. But it had been so long since a man had touched her, so long since she’d wanted a man to touch her.
She slid her arms around his neck, arched into him, desperate for more.
He groaned, and the hand in her hair became a fist. And in a heartbeat the kiss transformed, his lips pressing hard and hot against hers, his tongue thrusting deep.
Oh, my stars!
Heat lanced through her, striking deep in her belly. With a whimper, she kissed him back, welcoming his tongue with her own, breathing in the male scent of him, her insides going liquid as his hand moved slowly down her spine.
Mark your calendars. The book will be released on May 3! That’s two months earlier than we all expected because someone — that’s me — has missed more night’s sleep than you can imagine trying to meet that deadline. The story is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com.
Time to rest for a while.
And then, we'll be takin' a journey through time back to Fort Elizabeth, where Connor MacKinnon is in a world of trouble...
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24 comments:
YAY! It'll be an early birthday present!!!
Congratulations on finishing! I love you for it and I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON THIS ONE. Woo boy I was practically fanning myself reading that excerpt. You are SOOOO good with the chemistry with the lead couple. There is not one book of yours where I didn't feel the hero and heroine wasn't attracted to each other. Oh how I wish I could experience it for real!
I do hope some miracle happens and it comes out sooner than it was dated to be! LOVE YOU LOVE YOU! THANKS AGAIN. Please write forever!!!
Oh. my. gosh. I'm already in love with Zach. *Sigh* This is going to be soooooooo good. I can already tell. May 3rd is now penciled in on my calendar as "Zach Day"! I cannot wait! Congratulations and thanks in advance for my new boyfriend!!! :) :)
SUPER WOWZER! I'm betting BREAKING POINT will pack a punch! Thanks for whetting my appetite with a spicy excerpt that leaves me starving for more! I can't wait for that third day in May!!!!
Yeehah! Cannot wait to read it! Congrats on finishing :)
Congrats on getting the deadline met.
I just finished "Naked Edge" and LOVED it, so can't wait for "Breaking Point". I'm going to pre-order as soon as it's available.
I'm not going to read the excerpt. Saving myself for the whole book.
:-)
Oh man, that was good! :) I was right into it and then was jolted out of it by the next paragraph, which began "Mark your calendars". Great exerpt...thanks so much, Pamela!
Congrats, Pamela. I can't wait. Loved the excerpt.
My stars indeed! Oh, lucky Natalie! Congrats on finishing, Pamela. Now take a break and relax. You've more than earned it!
Connor in trouble? Satan's hairy arse, he's a pistol!
Oh good heavens, this makes the wait that much more difficult! I could just cry!
Thanks so much for giving us a little nibble - I can't wait for the feast of the entire book!!
YESSSS! Congratulations!! I've been checking here religiously the past few days, hoping and hoping that you finished and I'm so glad that you did! Ohhhh dear. Zach's so hot I'm surprised his pants don't just explode off his body from the heat. I can't wait for May!!
Congrats on meeting your dealine - your loyal readers thank you. My stars that is a great except. I already have my copy pre-ordered!
Hi Pamela, congrats! Enjoy your well-deserved break/rest, and thank YOU for all your hard work.
Congratulations, Pamela!!! I'm so happy for you and proud of you for all the time, hard work, and love you put into this book!!!
And you're a bad, bad lady, you! Teasing us about Connor that way!!!
*sigh*
Congrats again!
I Love it! And my BF's mom Gayle said to tell you.(she is older) that she came all the way out here to my house to read this AND IT WAS WELL WORTH IT!
Hi, Christine — That's cool! Hopefully a good birthday present.
Hi, Cool Beans — I can't wait till you get your hands on it either. Thanks so much for stopping by. You're so sweet! I'm so glad you've felt that way about the couples in my books. As for experiencing it for real — my ex-fiance had the body of a hero (truly, all-out ripped), but he was more excited by his own muscles than anything else in the world. So, hot lover? Been there, done that. True love? I'm waiting, too.
Thanks and you're welcome! I will do my best to write and write and write. Good luck in finding an HEA with your own hero. :-)
Hi, Diane — I love it! Zach Day! I'm hoping that Zach gives the other I-Team heroes a real challenge in readers' hearts and minds.
Hi, Annie — I hope it does! It's definitely action from cover to cover -- different kinds of action, but action all the same. ;-)
Hi, Lori — Thanks so much!
Hi, Daz — Great to see you again. I admire your self-restraint! Not reading the excerpt? And thank you! Of course, I'm very happy that you enjoyed NAKED EDGE.
Hi, Sara — Yeah, sorry for that abrupt ending. LOL! Had to end the excerpt somewhere. :-)
SO glad you enjoyed it. And you are welcome!
Hi Jane — Thank you! I can't wait till it's out either. I'm delighted that you enjoyed the excerpt.
Hi, Sabrina — Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I had a hard time trying to decide what to post.
Hi, Jennie — Thanks! I do need some rest. Woke up this morning with a migraine. Ug. Downing coffee, aspirin and Tylenol to fight it back. As for Connor, that lad did a few things of which he's not so proud when he thought his brother was dead. So he's having some problems, all complicated by the fact that he's about to screw up a very delicate mission — all because of a woman. Och, Satan's hairy arse, indeed!
Oh, Laurie, so sorry! Didn't mean to make it harder. Well, I kind of did. But not to the point where you want to cry. Thanks for the RT on Twitter, BTW. I appreciate it very much.
Hopefully, lots of exciting things will happen in your life so that May gets here quickly.
Hi, Rachel — Aw, thanks so much for holding a blog vigil for me. I have to say it was TOUGH, in part due to to lack of sleep and in part due to my own expectations of myself.
I never want to disappoint you all.
LOL about Zach's pants exploding. Yes, things are pretty combustible in this story. :-)
Hi, Book Pimp Blogs — I'm so glad you liked the excerpt. It's a fun scene, I think. I want to please my loyal readers as much as I can, so I'm happy that it's in!
Hi, Allison — You're welcome! And thank you! I'm definitely going to be taking it easy. Just working at the paper this week and cleaning my house. It's going to seem like a vacation. LOL!
Hi, Blithely Bookish — Thanks so much! You're very sweet. As for teasing you about Connor... The fun has only just begun. More teasing about Zach, though, first. :-)
I want to come up with some fun games and contests.
Hi, Jackie P — Please tell your friend Gayle's mom how much I appreciate her traveling just to read the excerpt. Goodness! I'm so glad it was worth it! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too!
Great news, Pamela! Congratulations on completing what looks to be yet another awesome book! Hope you put your feet up and rest a little over the holidays. Merry, merry Christmas! :o)
Totally cannot wait to actually meet Zach! Loved the teaser! And huge congrats on both the finish for this hugely anticipated book, but that it's your 10th! Hope you treat yourself to something to mark the occasion.
Here's the verdict from my agent, who just finished reading the manuscript for Breaking Point:
"This just has a broader focus and more depth than any other RS I have read. It contains truth. About human nature, heroism, and life itself. This is a tour de force and amazingly it is the best book so far IMHO. I think that about each one, I have to admit, and then you actually top that and get even better."
::DEEP SIGH OF RELIEF::
Now I just need to wait to hear what my editor things.
Back to gnawing nails...
Thank you, Rita. Merry Christmas to you, too! I started this Christmas season by shopping — for myself. LOL! I'm not much of a shopper, but I needed new slippers for my feet. So I got those -- and a couple of sweaters, too. That's my treat, I guess.
Hi, Rebecca — I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I can't wait for you all to meet Zach, either. I just adore him. I'll be putting up some playlists soon, and those give a taste of who he is. Thanks again!
Wow, Pamela, that's great! Congrats! :)
Congratulations Pamela!
You did it - AGAIN!!
I could not prevent myself from reading the excerpt eventhough I could manage to skip the ones you already posted and I can't wait May 3rd!!!
Hope Amazon will be able to send my copy overseas at this date!!
Thank you again.
Take care!
Congrats Pamela on finishing! Loved the excerpt. You are a real teaser, Ms Clare, you are, you are! It may be May 3rd for you guys, but I'll probably have to wait another 2 months in Australia. The things I do for your novels, Pamela!