Tuesday Teaser

So you remember that "medieval ghost story" I started writing clear back in 2015? Yeah. I got two whole chapters written before it kind of fell off my radar while I dove into medieval Venice and Nick and Giacinta's story instead. This whole process has been very odd for me. I usually pick a story and write straight through until I finish a draft, but somehow it's not working out that way this time. Nick and Gia told me they need a bit of a break. Not from each other, thankfully, but some space to let their story "gel in my head" a little bit. So while it's gelling and I'm waiting to start typing out their story again, I've decided to return to my medieval "ghost story" . . . which I guess I should confess upfront isn't really a ghost story, but don't tell my hero, Alric, that. It will completely spoil the lesson Mariel is trying to teach him!

I shared some previous Summary Sunday snippets from their story with you here and here. Since it's Tuesday, I thought I'd update you with a Tuesday Teaser from a new chapter I began last week.

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Envisioning the test she had set before him had been easy. Plotting and planning the details had helped divert her from the pain of his betrayal through the long days and nights when it had lain so fresh on her heart. A heart she had spent six weeks turning to stone so that no man could ever break it again. But when she had seen Alric fall to his knees in the road, when she had heard him weeping . . . Suddenly a resolve to prove and punish had quivered into a small thread of hope that perhaps—just perhaps—she could do for him in death what she had not been able to do in life.    

Celebrating fathers in real life and fiction

Sunday is Father's Day and I couldn't let the day pass without expressing my love for fathers.

Here's a picture of my dad as a little boy at his Catholic confirmation.

His parents were immigrants from Italy, but my dad refused to learn Italian because he wanted to be "all American." Here's a picture of him as an even smaller boy with his parents and older sister.

Here's my dad (left) grown up with his father.

And here's my dad being a dad, with my brother and sister. (I wasn't born yet.)

Here's a picture of my dad feeding the ducks, just because I remember how he liked to take us to feed the ducks when we were kids, so this picture makes me happy. :-)

My dad wasn't perfect. He had his share of faults, as we all do. But I love him for choosing to be my father and for sticking it out through both good and hard times. He passed away in 2002 and, like my mom, I miss him.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Celebrating Fathers in Fiction

I wanted to do something special for Father's Day this year, so I gathered some author friends together and we've put together a Fathers in Fiction giveaway! This is a multi-genre giveaway, so every title may not be in your favorite genre, but there should be something for everyone. Each one of these FREE titles includes a father or father-figure as a major or minor character.  In addition, the authors are giving away 8 $10 gift cards ($80 value) to winners' choice to Amazon, B&N, or iTunes.

We're holding our giveaway on My Book Cave where every book is rated. This way you'll know exactly what content is included in the books and there won't be any unexpected surprises. (This is why I love My Book Cave!)

The Fathers in Fiction giveaway runs through June 25. Click here to check it out and please invite your friends!