Tag Archives: Summer in New Hampshire

#teaserTuesday 4.28.2020

I’m excited about my new May 20, 2020 release of VANILLA WITH A TWIST, so today’s #TT is from that! hee hee. What, exactly, are Deacon’s motives in helping Tandy? Inquiring minds – Tandy’s,  in particular – want to know.

“Darla said these were caught this morning and are the true definition of fresh from the sea. I couldn’t resist. She gave me a sample of their”—he made air quotes with the tips of his fingers—“famous cocktail sauce to go along with it. Is it as renowned as she led me to believe?”

“More than their garlic knots, and that’s saying plenty.” She popped one of the warm and yeasty bread circles into her mouth.

They ate in silence for a few moments. It took everything in her not to devour the food like a pig at the trough, she was so hungry.

“Okay.” Deacon swiped his lips with a paper napkin. “We’ve both had a chance to eat a few bites, so why don’t you go ahead and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“What do you mean?”

He dipped his chin to his chest and regarded her over the top of his sunglasses. It was no wonder he was successful. If she’d had to sit across from him at a negotiation table, she’d have been the first to give in during a contest of wills.

She tried not to roll her eyes but found they had a mind of their own. “It’s just, well…”

He didn’t push, which earned him points for patience, something she was sorely lacking in, even on a good day.

“I’m not used to anyone helping me or”—she pointed at the table with her plastic fork—“feeding me. It’s a little, well, unnerving. I’ve been on my own a long time, taking care of myself, my business, and my son. And then one day, bam, you show up, and suddenly I’m eating lobster twice in a week when I haven’t had it for years, and my falling-apart machinery is being fixed without having to shell out hundreds of bucks I can’t spare. I’ve got a toolbox filled with stuff I could never afford, and my sink doesn’t leak anymore.”

“And those are bad things?”

“They’re unsettling things,” she shot back, her voice rising a notch. Determined not to let annoyance get the better of her, she dragged in a breath and mentally counted to five like she had so many times when she’d lived on her father’s farm. “It’s been my experience that men, er, people don’t go around doing stuff like that for other people they barely know, Deacon. Not without getting something in return. And what I can’t understand, what I can’t fathom, is why you would do what you’ve done for me this past week without the expectation of some kind of compensation. You know I don’t have the funds to pay you, so it makes me wonder what you’re really after.”

Intrigued? You can preorder your copy for just 99cents here: VWAT 

 

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#SundaySnippet 4.26.2020

In a little less than a month, my new romance novella VANILLA WITH A TWIST releases from The Wild Rose Press. It’s a sweet romance set in a seacoast town in New Hampshire and takes place in summer, after July 4th.

Here’s the set up:

Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenaged son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life.

Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment.

Can the budding friendship that follows help fix their broken spirits and lead to love?

And here’s a little something from Deacon’s viewpoint after he meets Tandy for the first time:

Deacon slept through the night for the first time in months. After glancing at the analogue clock next to his bed and realizing he’d been down for over ten hours, he stretched and couldn’t help the smile drifting across his face.

Yesterday had been…fun. His stroll along the boardwalk, the hour he’d sat in the sand watching kids playing in the water and teens tossing a Frisbee around, even the unexpected repair job he’d done at Vanilla with a Twist had all blended into one of the most enjoyable afternoons he’d had in years.

Thinking of the ice cream parlor had him conjuring the face of its enchanting owner.

Tandy Blakemore was an interesting mix of died-in-the-wool Yankee, old-world New Englander, and modern-day siren. Although she probably wouldn’t consider herself the latter. That thick tangle of coppery red hair bundled on top of her head had his fingers itching to yank it all down and see it drift about her face from the ocean breeze. His mother’s antique emerald necklace didn’t sparkle and shine as much as the green in Tandy’s eyes did. The little knock of awareness that hit him square in the stomach when she focused on him was surprising. It had been a long time since he’d felt anything akin to desire. Another consequence of working too hard and not enjoying the life he’d built.

From sharing a meal with her and listening to her views, she seemed the sort of woman who didn’t suffer fools, called a spade a spade, and understood the concept of a good day’s work. Her striking looks and coloring added to his desire to know her better.

A quick check of his barren cupboards and near- empty refrigerator told him breakfast would have to wait until he went into town and bought some provisions. While the lobster roll he’d had for dinner had been mouthwatering, the leftovers wouldn’t be as appealing for a morning meal. The memory of the shocked look on Tandy’s face when she’d spotted the amount of food he’d brought made him smile. He’d taken the remaining garlic knots into the shop before heading home and left them with one of Tandy’s servers to give to her. From the way she’d sighed and closed her eyes when she’d popped one, hot from the container, into her mouth, Deacon knew they were a favorite and he’d wanted her to have them.

Available for preorder now at the sale price of just #99cents here:VANILLA WITH A TWIST

Looking for me? Here I am:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// Book Me

Until next time ~ Peg

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#trailer for VANILLA WITH A TWIST #preorder now at just #99cents

My good friend Nancy Fraser is not only a great writer, but a graphics gal, too! Here’s the book trailer she just made me for my upcoming 5.20.2020 release of Vanilla with a Twist, available for preorder right now at the sale price of just #99cents  here: VWAT

 

What to know a little about the book? Check out this great trailer!

 

Until next time ~ Peg

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