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Monday, May 21, 2012

Happy Release Week To Me!

The wait is finally over! My new women's fiction story THE START OF SOMETHING GOOD under my alter ego, Gracie Lee Rose, has been released! It's hard to believe this day is finally here. Who's dancing with me?

Better yet, who's ready to get their hands on a fun, lighthearted story about two unlikely neighbors falling for each other?

"A sweet, sexy story. I love it a latte!"
says Margaret Ethridge, author of Commitment


The Start of Something Good
(Jamett & Joseph Series, Book 1)
By Gracie Lee Rose
May 2012
ISBN (Print): 9780985583101
ISBN (Ebook): 9780985583118

Buy Now for only $.99!
B&N soon to follow...

Blurb:
Jamie Sutherland, coffee shop owner and serial ruined-relationship survivor, moves into a beautiful loft apartment for a change of scenery. What she doesn’t plan on getting is an eye-full of her handsome next-door neighbor—in nothing but a towel—arguing with his significant other in the hallway.

Joseph Scarbrough's world crashes down on him one cruel morning when his childhood sweetheart rips his heart out of his chest and walks away. His humiliation isn't complete until he turns around to pick up the pieces and sees a beautiful brunette who just witnessed his Dear John moment.

Caught in an awkward situation, the two backpedal into their separate worlds. But fate seems determined to make their worlds collide on a regular basis. Is it destiny just being clumsy when it comes to the two unlikely neighbors or is it the start of something good?

Excerpt:
“You’re such a jerk!”

The malicious tone and volume of a woman’s complaint caused my head to turn in the direction of the chaos a few doors down the hall of my apartment complex. After whipping her scarf around her neck in finality, the angered woman trudged down the corridor. A man, who I assume was the jerk in question, pursued her. At this moment, I realized their argument was not meant for my eyes or ears. The guy showed up for the fight in nothing but a towel. His weapons of choice were bare hands, bare feet, and dripping-wet, wavy brown hair. His muscled chest and arms boasted the remnants of a golden summer tan, even in late November.

I rolled my eyes. How was it possible that men still looked divine in winter, while we women have to make an occasional visit to the tanning salon so we don’t appear pasty white? Sure, some of us tried rockin’ the pale skin look of the Twilight vampire craze, but it never seemed to catch on with the male population. They still preferred their women toned and tanned, or at least that was my conclusion given no man had yet to fall head over heels for me.

“How can I be a jerk for trying to help you forget about your horrible day?” he asked, grabbing the woman’s arm and tugging her back. Thankfully, he was oblivious to me standing three doors down.

“No, you’re a jerk because you tried to forget about my horrible day by coming on to me,” the girl corrected.

The woman then looked past the man’s bare shoulder and suddenly took notice of my presence. The minute our eyes met, heat flushed my entire body. I quickly averted my attention and pretended not to notice their public tiff, fiddling with my keys to find the right one for locking up. I didn’t know what angered her more: the fact that I had taken an interest in their argument or that I had seen her boyfriend in a state of near nakedness.

I half expected her to call me out. Instead, she went back to berating the guy. From where I stood, I had established him as a normal, sexually active, heterosexual male. It also bears mentioning that he looked very fine in his bathroom apparel.

“I came to you because I needed you, Joseph.”

Ah, the jerk in a towel had a name. Not sure why I made a mental note of it, but I did.

“And I’m still here,” he concluded, spreading his arms wide. “You’re the one who’s leaving.”

Clearly the man was not in tune with the proverbial emotional needs of modern day women. If I were keeping score, he’d have lost a point for that little sarcastic remark. However, his choice of morning attire kept the tally in his favor.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” she barked back, slamming her hands upon her hips. “You think everything can be solved with a song or sex.”

A song? Now this just got a little more interesting.

“You didn’t like what I wrote?” he asked.

With my eyes still buried in the ring of keys nestled in my gloved hands, I couldn’t help but notice the slight hint of sadness in Joseph’s voice. My heart longed to sneak a peek at him, another potential point in his favor should I see a pitiful expression of pain in his face. But the girl’s harsh reaction forbade me to even try a nonchalant glance his way.

“Oh, don’t you dare! Don’t you dare turn this around and make me the bad guy.”

Okay, I was weak. I couldn’t help it. I had to catch a glimpse of what was to come. I inserted the correct key into the lock of my apartment door and peered out of the corner of my eye. She poked him in the chest. Repeatedly.

“Again, this is why you are a jerk. You think the world revolves around you and that you play no part in its destruction when it’s crumbling around you. You’re above it all, yet so far up its ass you can’t see the light of day.”

He didn’t budge or even grab her by the wrist to stop her finger-poke punishment. He stared at her, stunned. “I can’t believe you didn’t like the song. I was up all night. I wrote that for you, Caroline.”

My eyes grew wide of their own volition. A songwriter? My sexy, half-dressed, James Tudor underwear model-like neighbor was a songwriter? My heart melted as I stood there. I imagined this man—yes…he was still sporting the towel—hunkered down over a well-worn set of piano keys, pounding out words of love and emotion with each lyrical stanza, every consecutive note inspired by the last. In my mind, I stood tall and proud, holding a white square sign with a bold, black number ten on it above my head. Fireworks went off behind me in the distance, and a fluttering cloud of confetti fell down around me.

This guy is a keeper!

I wanted to run up and give him a congratulatory hug on his big win, but the girlfriend—or soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, if all of my assumptions were on the money—rolled her eyes and turned her back to him.

“You were never cut out to be a songwriter, Joseph. Just like you, your music lacks heart.”

She left him standing in the narrow hallway, injured and bleeding. The knife in his chest remained at such a vicious angle that I began to wonder if he’d ever live through it. If it were me, I would have been crushed to the core. Then again, I wouldn’t have settled for someone like her. I would have been smart enough to keep my standards raised and my heart better guarded.

Inwardly, I sighed. I supposed it was easier for me to say those things when I was outside looking in. I shouldn’t have been listening in the first place. That’s when my brain kicked into panic overdrive.

When he turns around, he’ll see that I’ve partaken in being a rude onlooker with a front row seat to his pathetic break-up. And he’d no longer be the cute, talented neighbor who—hypothetically speaking—might run into me one day because he wasn’t watching where he was going as he walked down the hall. He wouldn’t suddenly feel compelled to ask me out on a date because he was a hopeless romantic and believed wholeheartedly in love at first site. And fate. Surely fate had a part in all this.

My mind raced as I continued to stand there like a deer in headlights, freaking out over the moment when he’d give up staring down the hall and turn toward his door. Before I could stop myself, I glanced down at the tiny rump hidden behind the stark white terrycloth draped around his waist. I had all kinds of excuses for being the one who always gives into temptation, but considering the perilous situation I was in, I decided to save redemption for another day. My terrycloth-kilted neighbor ran frustrated fingers through his dark, nigh-in-need-of-a-cut hair and, just as I had feared, turned around.



Renee Vincent is an award-winning author of historical and contemporary romance.






16 comments:

Paris said...

Happy Release Week! I absolutely love the excerpt and can't wait to get my hands on this book!

Adele Dubois said...

Big congrats on the new release! I liked your summary and excerpt. I'm off to buy my copy!

Best--Adele

Renee Vincent said...

Thanks Paris!!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!! This book was so fun to write and I can't wait to finish the next book in the series.

Thank you so much Adele!!!! I hope you enjoy!

Katalina said...

Happy Release Week Renee/ Gracie.
I loved the excerpt!
XXOO Kat

Anonymous said...

Yea for you, Renee! It's so exciting when your story is finally out there for the world to read. Sounds like a series I need to add to my Must Read pile!

Tina Donahue said...

Congrats on your release, Renee!

Renee Vincent said...

Thanks Katalina! It gets even better after Joseph turns around, but of course, I cliff hung you there. haha
Hope you get a chance to pick it up one day and find out what happens.

Polly, Having you add it to your Must read pile is an honor. Thank you so much!

Thank you Tina! I am so delighted to finally be able to share this book with the world. It was VERY hard to keep it under wraps. hahah

Unknown said...

Happy Release Day, Renee! The book sounds terrific.

jean hart stewart said...

Congratulations on the new release. Another winner....

Renee Vincent said...

Thank you so much Ute and Jean! You gals are the best!!!!

Molly Daniels said...

Congratulations Renee/Gracie:) Book sounds AWESOME!

Marianne Stephens said...

Congrats on your new venture as Gracie Lee Rose! How can we not be intrigued by a handsome guy in a towel?

Janice Seagraves said...

Sounds like a wonderful book.

Good luck and I wish you many sales.

Janice~

Renee Vincent said...

Thanks Molly!!! It feels so good have this day finally come. Been waiting for what seemed like FOREVER!

Marianne, I know! I love a man in a towel...and it cracks me up that I dreamed this scene. I guess even my subconscious mind can't resist a man in terry cloth. haha

Thank you so much Janice! I appreciate you coming to my release week celebration!

Cara Marsi said...

This sounds so good. I'll have to buy it. Congratulations!!

Renee Vincent said...

Thank you so much Cara! I do hope you enjoy the rest of this story. I had so much fun writing it and hope that I leave you ready to read the next in the sequels soon to come.

Happy reading, my dear!

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