Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Third Book in THE MACALL PROPHECY TRILOGY

With the release of SECOND SIGHT last week, I've been thrilled with the initial success and also feel that much more pressure to wrap up TRIPLE THREAT and to make it amazing.  This particular novel is definitely creating more hurdles for me.  It's kicking my ass!  I love having the character base established from the first two novels, but this third and final book in the series takes place twenty years later, in a society fraught with violence and corruption.  The challenge is that I am pretty passionate about both of these issues and need to really focus on establishing the relationships, romantic and otherwise, instead of my own political opinions.

I have also really taken the care to develop a vision of the setting and the backstory.  In some respects, there is a Dystopian element to the book, which is a genre that I have never written before.  So it is definitely taking some time.

Two days ago, I set an official goal for a release date on October 31, 2013.  I am now publishing this date in my blog to make sure that I'm holding myself accountable.  If the book is not officially available on Amazon by November 1, please feel free to send hate mail.  I welcome all forms of extrinsic motivation.

And following the release of this last book in the series, I will begin work on another historical romance.  I can promise you that this particular novel will take me considerably more time to write.  If I can complete it for publication by the Spring of 2014, I will be happy.  The historicals require more research, which I actually enjoy; and after knocking out an entire trilogy in six months, I need to slow things down a bit and let my creative juices regenerate.  I also have been brainstorming this particular historical romance since last January, and I am looking forward to reveling in it for a bit.

But first, I wrap The MaCall Prophecy Trilogy.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

FREE Paranormal Romantic Suspense!

FIRSTBORN is Free today and tomorrow on Amazon!


Jac MaCall left her father's security consulting firm to run her own shop, selling crystals for healing and meditation.  When she's asked to fill in for her sister on a consultation, she meets the irresistibly uptight Dr. Will Archer and receives a vision that warns of a threat upon his life.  And while her premonitions help her keep him alive, even she cannot foresee that their passion for each other will endanger them both.


Friday, August 16, 2013

Book Two of The MaCall Prophecy Trilogy is Available Now!

SECOND SIGHT is now available on Amazon!


Taryn MaCall is a very practical woman burdened with very impractical visions.  But with a new threat against both herself and her sister's young child, she has no choice but to embrace this family curse.  And when Fate seems insistent on throwing her together with the gorgeous and rude Special Forces hero, she becomes certain that she must have done something very wrong in her past life.


Thursday, August 15, 2013

BONDS OF MATRIMONY is FREE today on Amazon!

I'm offering a free promo for BONDS OF MATRIMONY today and tomorrow on Amazon!  (For some reason, it has not yet gone free, but it is set up and should go free any minute now...any minute...still waiting...






Friday, August 9, 2013

FREE Copy of INNER MOONLIGHT in Exchange for Honest Review

When I began writing INNER MOONLIGHT, I couldn't get the storyline out of my head.  I was in the middle of another project, and I soon had to shove that project aside so that I could tell this story first.  Now I want to try to draw more readers to this particular story, in hopes that they will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  For this reason, I want to offer a free copy of the ebook in exchange for honest reviews from the first 20 people who contact me.  



This particular story line evolved from--believe it or not--an Abba song.  My daughter went through a phase where she would beg to listen to Abba's Greatest Hits every time we were in the car together, and next thing I knew, I would find myself driving and singing along with Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).    (I'll consider a future blog on my parenting choices when it comes to selecting appropriate musical choices for my then five-year-old child.)

So I was singing along with "Lay All Your Love on Me" when the idea came to life.  

"Don't go wasting your emotion.
Lay all your love on me.
Don't go sharing your devotion.
Lay all your love on me.

I've had a few little love affairs.
They didn't last very long and they've been pretty scarce.
I used to think that was sensible.
It makes the truth even more incomprehensible."

So I developed this story of a man who's wanted this woman almost all of his life.  She, however, belonged to his perfectly handsome, brilliant, kind, and generous cousin.  And when his cousin is killed in a tragic car accident, he is reunited with her and is hopeful for a second chance.  She, on the other hand, blames herself for her husband's death and knows that he would never want her to end up with his cousin.  Determined to punish herself and win her dead husband's approval, she fights her attraction to the man and does her best to try to keep him at arm's length.

It was a story that I loved writing, as I enjoyed and respected both of the characters.  Eager to reach as many readers as possible, I published it on both Amazon and Smashwords.  Without the Kindle Select free promos, however, I'm not reaching as many readers as I'd hoped with this novel.  For this reason, I've decided to offer some free copies in exchange for honest reviews in an effort to spread the word.

If you are interested in reading and reviewing this contemporary romance, please send an email to foxcarrigan at gmail dot com and let me know which format you prefer.  

And if you have already read it, I would be so very grateful if you would please write a review on Amazon or Goodreads.  

Thank you so much!

Carrigan 



Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Excerpt from INNER MOONLIGHT

     “I don’t suppose any of you can tell a girl where she can find a nice set of concrete flippers.”    She wiggled her toes in the water while the minnows jetted away from her. Who was she kidding? Even the carp would choose to suck on the pond scum before nibbling on her rotting carcass; as well they should. She wasn’t typically given to bouts of self-pity. In general, she felt that her life was charmed. But all of that had changed in the blink of an eye...or more accurately, it all happened in the turn of a head. The eyes didn’t blink. They stared in mortified disbelief. 
     Raising her hand to shade her eyes from the rising sun, she scanned the cottages on the opposite side of the lake until she found the ones she’d been looking for. There were three of them, separated by small side yards and sharing a wide beachfront. Even from this distance, she could see that the grass was sparse in the yards. Sand made the grass a rare commodity for these lake properties, a commodity that most owners chose to forego in favor of grilling, boating, and sitting at the end of their docks during their weekends away from the real world. That is what this lake had been for her growing up. And it was the same for her in-laws, the owners of the three houses across the lake.
     Her parents purchased the green cottage on the lot next to the Mazurs when she was only fourteen years old. That was the summer she met Alec, the summer her world had turned upside down. Granted, it hadn’t happened over night. It took nearly sixteen years. To be fair, it probably took fewer than ten years to turn her world upside down…but it took another six after that for her to realize it.
     She first saw him at the Ice Cream Shoppe across the lake. Her father had docked the boat outside so that she and her sister could sneak a nice cool treat before returning home for dinner. Alec had ridden his bike around the lake to treat himself and his four cousins to waffle cones. His short hair was naturally blond, but it was sun bleached the day she met him. His eyes were pale blue and fringed by long lashes. He was beautiful. And then he smiled.
     It wasn’t the perfectly white teeth. Or the way that his eyes crinkled a bit when he smiled. It was the sincerity. Elena was preparing to start high school, and she was not oblivious to the changes in the boys she’d known for her entire life. Aside from the obvious physical changes, they were suddenly trying too hard and dripping with insincerity. But when Alec Mazur flashed that smile at her, he radiated authenticity and kindness.
     He turned his attention to his cousins as they approached the counter and ordered their ice cream. While they waited, he stepped out of the way and pulled his cousins aside so that Teresa and Elena could place their orders. He plucked some napkins out of the aluminum holder and handed them to her.
     “Perfect day for ice cream,” he greeted.
     She only smiled in response, insecure and unsure of herself.
     “I’m Alec Mazur,” he said, holding out his hand.
     “Elena VanStraaten,” she replied, shaking his hand firmly. “This is my sister, Teresa.”
     Her sister grinned and bit into her ice cream cone. 
     “Girls, let’s get home before your mother realizes where we’ve gone and accuses me of spoiling your dinner.”
     “I’ve gotta go,” Elena said, nodding in embarrassment at her dad.
     “Nice to meet you, Elena VanStraaten. Enjoy your dinner.” Again, he smiled.
     Her sister nudged her and pulled her out of the Ice Cream Shoppe by the hand, laughing the entire way.
     She heard the high heels clicking down the dock toward her even before she heard the voice gently call out, “What are you doing out here, Laney?”
     Looking over her shoulder, she admired her sister’s athletic form in her fitted black dress. Her tan legs were bare and toned. “Remembering,” she answered softly.
     “There’s a lot to remember.” She could hear the smile in her sister’s voice. Teresa slipped out of her heels and awkwardly maneuvered herself and her short dress into a seated position beside her sister on the end of the dock. “A lot of good.”
     “A lot of good,” Elena repeated with a nod, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. 
     “A realtor was showing the place next door when I pulled in. Maybe you’ll get some neighbors.”
     Elena only responded with a noncommittal hum.
     She sat with her sister in silence for a few minutes, studying the minnows nipping at her toes without really seeing them. Finally, she took a deep breath and raised her eyes to look across the lake. A couple of houses down from what they fondly had referred to as the Mazur compound, a man stood on his dock, appearing to glance in their direction. He wore dark pants and a light buttoned down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
     Teresa sighed and softly suggested, “We better get going.”
     “Yeah.” Elena pushed herself to her feet and reached down to help her little sister up. “I just want to get this done and put it behind me.”
     When Elena looked into her sister’s eyes, they were filled with sorrow and sympathy.
     “Stop it, Teresa,” she muttered, moving past her and walking toward the cottage.

***
     Elena VanStraaten Mazur had come home. 
     He tried to be subtle as he watched her sitting on the end of the dock with her toes in the water. He hadn’t seen her in ten years, but he could still close his eyes and envision every detail of her gorgeous legs and her cute little toes. He had been more than half in love with her for more than half of his life, but he’d never even considered telling her. She had been Alec’s long before he had even met her. And she was still Alec’s.
     But now she had bought the cottage across the lake from his own. The rumor mill said she might be spending more than just the summer there. And for the first time in ten years, he was going to see her and speak to her.
     But first he had to let her bury her husband.



GET INNER MOONLIGHT NOW ON AMAZON

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Preview of SECOND SIGHT: Book 2 of The MaCall Prophecy Trilogy

The following is an excerpt from SECOND SIGHT.  I hope to release this on Amazon by the end of the month.  Enjoy!
____________________


     She had no sooner disconnected the call than the view of a winter wonderland outside her windshield was obliterated by a sudden gust of smoke rushing from the front of her car. 
     “No no no,” she urged, frantically checking her gauges.  No lights were flashing…yet.  She continued driving for another six miles before the check engine light came on.  “Crimeny!” she muttered angrily, pulling over to the side of the road. 
     Suddenly, the snowfall outside of her car was not nearly as beautiful.  Her pea coat was expensive but not nearly heavy enough to keep her dry and warm outside.  She also wore a pencil skirt with a silk blouse and high heels.  She couldn’t exactly walk home, even though she wasn’t more than three miles away.  She knew enough to know better than to try to nurse the car home.  She suspected a blown radiator hose, which translated to possibly overheating the engine.  And that meant very costly repairs. 
     Instead, she picked up her phone and called Information for a tow truck.  A woman answered the phone and said she would send someone immediately.  Taryn hadn’t caught the name of the company.
     As she waited, she remembered the last time she’d been stranded on the side of the road.  It had been raining that night rather than snowing.   And she’d missed a consult because of that flat tire.  All had turned out well as Jac filled in for her and met Dr. Will Archer, the man she married a few months later.  And because of that night, Taryn was now going to be a godmother to a beautiful little girl. 
     She tried to forget about the rest of that night.
     She tried to forget Gray Campbell.
     She’d been trying to forget him for two years.
     In the privacy of her office, she had cyber stalked him, learning that he had graduated high school and immediately gone into the Army.  He served for fifteen years and was promoted as high as Master Sergeant.  He had ended his career with Special Forces in Afghanistan, where he and his team encountered an IUD and he had been hit. 
     He had limped slightly that night as he had hopped out of his truck and approached her car.  His jeans had hugged his thighs, and his legs looked muscular and well formed.  He was rugged and more than a little bit gorgeous, with a crooked nose, a bit of scruff on his jaw, and a full mouth. 
     And he’d been rude to her.
     The President of the United States awarded him with a Purple Heart and he’d been labeled a hero.  But that didn’t change the fact that he was a complete douche bag.
     She silently prayed he wouldn’t be the tow truck that arrived to help.
     Then she pulled down her visor and checked her make-up in her mirror…just to have something to do while she waited.
     The tow truck appeared in her mirror and she could see the figure in the driver’s seat.  As it drew closer, she could see he wore a baseball hat.  And as it drove past her, she was disgusted to see the name on the door.  Campbell’s.
     “Crap,” she muttered, even as her heart began to race…in anger, not excitement.
     He climbed down from the tow truck and admired the silver Lexus.  He could see the blond hair behind the wheel and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. 
     The first time he’d met her, she had been rude and stuck up.  The second time he met her, she’d been spouting off military lingo into some high tech device to a hidden security team.  And when he’d misunderstood and thought she was on a bad date and had tried to step in to help, she had pulled her gun on him.
     He’d done his research after that, looking MaCall Securities Consulting up on the Internet.  He had sent the first bill to the company and had ribbed her about Joe MaCall footing her bill.  When her face came up on his computer, he was captivated by her cold beauty and astonished to learn she was none other than Taryn MaCall, Vice President of MSC and daughter—not mistress—of Joe MaCall. 
     At least he was prepared this time.
     Even through the heavy snowfall, he knew she was watching him and he anticipated her bitter reaction.  He headed her off with a charmingly crooked smile that often worked favorably where women were concerned.
     She rolled down her window.  “Why are you grinning like an idiot at me?” she greeted.