Hey Friends!
Do you ever just want to…escape?
Yeah, I get that.
There was this.
So, I had to do this…
In full disclosure, it wasn’t just because I needed to get away from the cold. See, ten years ago I started a writing retreat for aspiring (and published) authors, to help us go deeper with our stories. I called it the Deep Thinker’s retreat, and we hold it in Florida during the last week of February.
This was our last retreat, but for the past ten years we’ve helped hundreds of writers find their characters, their stories, their voice. Because I believe that stories matter. They change lives. And yes, they give us escape, but they also get into our soul a little and the right story can move us.Inspire us. Bless us.
That’s my hope as a writer—not to just entertain, but bless. I want someone’s life to be just a little richer after reading one of my books.And not because I’m preaching, but rather because they’ve spent time with awesome characters who feel like friends, who’ve gone on a journey and learned something.
A journey I hope my readers experience, too. (If I’ve written it right). Which is why I’m really picky about where I set my books. Glacier National Park. Northern Minnesota. Alaska. (And the one I’m working on now…the Florida Keys!) Because I want my readers to be able to run away…
Even if they’re sitting on a sofa in the middle of snowy Minnesota.
And, I’m also picky about the characters I create. They need to be real. Honest. Intelligent. Brave.
People we want to spend time with, right?
So…wanna run away to Montana…with Knox?
Not sure? I thought I’d give you a Get-It-Here-Only insider peek at Knox.
(Note: This is not the first chapter. You can get that on my website. or HERE. THIS preview scene..well, you can only read it in this email!)
“You’re hard to miss, Knox Marshall. All shining knight with a little Marshal Dillon thrown in,” Kelsey said as she sat on the sofa in his family’s den.
“You know Gunsmoke?”
“Used to watch the reruns with my dad in our basement. He had this scratchy old sofa in his den, and I’d lay across the top while he lay on the sofa, and we’d watch Festus and Miss Kitty and Marshal Dillon round up the bad guys.” She cocked her head. “You do sort of remind me of him. Tall, stern…”
“I was hoping for handsome. Maybe a little tough guy.”
She smiled, turning to look up at him. “That too.”
Really? And he didn’t know why, but something simply lit inside him, something fierce and bold and—
He kissed her.
Maybe he should have asked, but he lost himself a moment there as he touched his hand to her face, drew it to himself, and…
Shoot, it wasn’t a gentle, tentative, boring kiss either, but something long banked, a feeling he’d been harboring for a few weeks now.
He wanted her to belong to him. It felt primal and cowboyish and he knew that, but the way she’d sunk against him on the dance floor, and even the quiet surrender of her spirit as she sang—
He wanted to hold on to Kelsey and never let her go. To protect her and pull her into his world and curl every bit of himself around her and never let the world touch her.
And heaven help him, but he poured all of that into his kiss, holding her to himself, and yeah, losing himself a little into her touch.
She hesitated only a moment, and that’s when the thought hit him—definitely he should have asked.
He drew back. “Kelsey, I’m sorry. I—”
She met his eyes, her breath caught. “It’s okay,” she whispered.
Yes. Then she leaned into him, her arm curling around his neck, and when he kissed her again, her lips softened. Surrendering.
As if she wanted to belong here, in his arms, to him, too.
Sigh.
8 more days until KNOX, comes out. And, by the way, the e-version is ½ off during preorder—only $4.99. (Until March 12th).
I’ve had a few pre-readers check in wit their reviews however. I loved this one:
I heard that Punxsutawney Phil said spring would come early.
Hmm…
Until then…there’s this:
Stay warm. And thank you for reading!
Susie May