WeWriWa and a Holiday Blog Serial starting November 28th

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Click to go to Weekend Writing Warriors website

Hey there, me again! I’m a Weekend Writing Warrior in the middle of NaNoWriMo here to give you a little taste…not of my NaNo novel but something else, something I stole borrowed! Voleur!! (Thief!)

From Second Chance Layover by Sandra Bunino and Lila Shaw (that’s me), here are eight (8) sentences written from the hero’s POV:

A few keystrokes and BroadwayBoundJD in O’Hare was born. Let the ladies figure that handle out. The smarter ones might guess my occupation as an entertainment lawyer heading for New York City. The larger truth was I had deserted Hollywood for New York’s publishing community, film rights specifically. The much more personal truth was I was fleeing ghosts. I’d never believed in hauntings before. I believed in them now, the ones whose faint sobbing gasps in the still moments between sleeping and waking filled me with crushing guilt. The ones with sad, weary faces who pointed accusing fingers.

Aww poor Cal.

Most of you probably know I also write under the pen name of Lila Shaw. “She” has co-written a holiday-themed blog serial with BFF, Sandra Bunino, that will run on both blogs between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. I’m telling my readers about it too because it’s more of the type of romance I’d write. (Ha-ha, as if there’s an iron curtain separating my Claire brain from my Lila brain. She steals shamelessly from me and this is yet another example.)

Here’s the story blurb, and if you’re interested, I hope you’ll consider subscribing to Lila’s blog so you don’t miss a single installment:

Dec Bunino_Shaw SecondChanceLayoverWhen the mother of all snowstorms strands journalist Charli Tierney in the Chicago airport, her boss gives her a fluff assignment to kill time–investigate the Meet-And-Go dot com social network for airport travelers. Imagine her surprise when her connection is also one of her brother’s old friends…and the boy she crushed on for years as a teen.

Cal Wheaton is no less shocked. Of all the fish in the sea, or lonely travelers in Terminal B, his O’Hare Meet-And-Go connection is Charli. The snarky little sister he fondly remembers has grown into a very desirable woman. And this time there’s no protective big brother around to keep him in line.

Reconnected, the embers of Charli and Cal’s decade-old attraction are quickly fanned into a night of hot passion. But when a ghost from Cal’s past drives a wedge between them, will the layover lovers realize in time that blame and guilt are baggage best left behind?

Cal_Charli_posterGo to either of these sites to subscribe:

Lila Shaw’s blog

Sandra Bunino’s blog

Or, if you are a Smashwords reader, we’ll be publishing each installment on a slight lag, so get it at the blogs first, at Smashwords later.

#8Sunday #SnippetSunday Red Skies at Night, Sailors Take Fright?

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Click to go to Linky List for other participating authors.

SnippetSundayScissorsMy eight sentences for Weekend Writing Warriors this week come from my WIP, His Acadian Lady that I’m currently polishing up for submission.

Here’s a little bit of early relationship banter between the heroine, Lydia, and hero, Paul:

“Red sky at night,” Paul began.

“Sailors take fright.”

Paul shot her a wry glance. “You’ve got it backwards.”

Lydia smiled to herself. “I don’t think so. It’s red skies at night, sailors take fright, red skies at dawn, troubles be gone.”

A chuckle and shake of his head greeted her attempt to tug on his leg.

Heh! Paul’s right. It’s “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.”

More from this story in the weeks ahead! Got a nibble on a toe-in-the-water submission already. Not holding my breath on it, but you never know, and it does tell me that perhaps the query is not too bad.  😉 This is the one I used. It’s obviously still a work in process:

An all expenses paid trans-Atlantic cruise from New Orleans to Rome has romance written all over it…unless you’re the poor employee who has to audit the last time someone cleaned the toilets or how fast-moving the cafeteria lines are.

When Lydia Johnson, quality control manager at J. P. Theriot Enterprises is tapped to do the job typically done by lower level staff, she’s not buying that it’s because the head of the company only wants “the best”. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be saddled with an untrained assistant.

Paul Thomas may be new to secret shopping aboard The Acadian Lady, but he certainly knows his way around the ship and especially its casino. He’s also not the least bit shy about expressing his frank appreciation for his ambitious manager. The Cajun charmer is tempting to Lydia’s self-control, but he could also be a spy sent to test her seaworthiness as a manager.

One thing is for certain:  Paul has never given up on anything he wants and right now what he wants is the woman who knows more about him than any other … except who he really is–J. P. Theriot.

Now… my other me, Lila Shaw, has a book that is tame enough for my readers, but still spicy enough to be interesting. Wild West Succubus is available NOW. and I’m currently giving away FIVE (5) free copies at the end of my tour. If you’re interested, use the Rafflecopter to enter:
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Lots of fun stops so far.

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