Showing posts with label Pamela Stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pamela Stone. Show all posts

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Saturday Excerpt: Pamela Stone's Undercover Heart




Today we get an excerpt from Pamela Stone's Undercover Heart


Blurb:

Hard-edged DEA agent Shayne Kelley grew up fast, shuffled from one foster family to the next. But it made him tough. And damned good at working undercover. But when an idealistic schoolteacher reunites him with the father who abandoned him as a child, his well-ordered world is shaken. He can’t seem to resist the naïve teacher and her reckless optimism. Can her sweet love crumble the wall of bitterness around his heart?

Raised by loving parents, middle school teacher Dani Cochran wants to make a difference in the world. She works with troubled teens during summer break, believing that everyone deserves a second chance. Especially Shayne Kelley. She sees through Shayne’s defenses and enlists his aid with her juvenile delinquents. Will he teach them his cynical view of life? Or will Dani convince her students--and Shayne--that love is the strongest force on earth? But can she risk loving a man who seems destined to break her heart?

Excerpt:

“I knew you could be a hard ass, but didn’t take you for a sexist!” she snapped. “Never mind.
It’s not your problem.” She spun toward the house.

He grabbed her arm. “Let me guess. You think you can love their problems away?” He shook his head, released her arm, and glanced at his car door. “You know what, you’re right. It’s not my problem if you want to risk your life with a bunch of juvenile delinquents.”

She leaned against the car door, preventing his escape. “You always have to have the last word, you couldn’t let me storm off.”

“I make a point not to waste my time arguing with people bent on making stupid mistakes.”

“I am going to help these kids.” Her pretty little jaw jutted out. “You could make a difference in their lives and you know it. Take Calvin for instance. He’s in a foster home and feels like nobody cares.”

“Nobody does!”

“Wrong!” Dani’s dark eyes snapped. “I care.”

“Maybe you should focus on your own safety before you get hurt. You can’t save the world, Dani.”

She stepped closer. “We have to try.”

Shayne closed his eyes and his nostrils filled with the scent of peaches. He opened them and almost drowned in her warm brown orbs. The tip of her tongue moistened her lips and he tried not to think about how incredibly sexy that one innocent gesture was. “Cut to the chase. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to be honest about your feelings. Why do you keep glancing at your car like it’s a lifeline? You aren’t running from your father, or Kyle, or the family. You handle them like you’d handle your job. Why do I make you so nervous?”

He gulped then slid a hand down her cheek. “I’m not a relationship guy, Dani. And you aren’t a one-night stand sort of girl.”

She covered his hand and held it against her face. “I think the attraction between us is too strong to just walk away. I think we owe it to ourselves to see where it leads.”

God, those eyes were incredible. “And I think you are way too innocent for your own good.”

She leaned forward and covered his lips, her mouth warm and inviting. Her breasts pressed against his chest. “I’m not nearly as innocent as you think.”

He gripped her shoulders and set her away. “Find someone else, Dani.”

Available at:
Amazon
iBookstore
Barnes & Noble


Bio:

One might ask how an accounting graduate who spent twenty plus years in the technology field became a romance writer. Well, it’s quite simple. I’m an only child whose classy mom put her energy into my wardrobe, dance, and piano lessons. Add an amazing father who added go kart racing, slot cars, water skiing, and a pony to the mix. Toss in a wild imagination and summers in the country: lazy walks on my grandparent’s farm and another grandmother with a shed full of Harlequin romance novels to while away hot afternoons and voila.

Writing is pure escapism. Childhood imaginary friends developed into teenage fantasies. Later as a mother of two young, rambunctious sons, I began writing to keep in touch with the adult world; at least it was worth a shot. I continued writing as a method to wind down in the evenings from long, exhausting days spent in Corporate America. Anybody notice a pattern here? Not enough adult socialization – write. People overload – write. Either way, writing keeps me sane. Cheaper than a therapist and tons more fun.

I still reside in Texas with my childhood sweetheart and husband of; well we won’t mention how many years. In my spare time I enjoy traveling. From Hawaii, to California, to Florida, to the Caribbean, if there’s a beach, I’m there. I also love spending time with friends and family, especially four adorable grandkids. I love writing romance and sold my first novel, Last Resort: Marriage, to Harlequin American on Friday the 13th, June 2008. How’s that for luck!


Find Pamela:
www.pamelastone.net
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Meet Author Pamela Stone: An Interview

Today I'm pleased to introduce Pamela Stone. Don't forget her excerpt from Undercover Heart will run Saturday.

LA: Hi Pamela, tell us about your current series.

PS: Undercover Heart is a single title romance about a 26 year old guy who grew up in foster care and comes face to face with his biological father. This book is darker than my other books, but I hope everyone loves Shayne as much as I loved writing his story.

LA: What’s next for you?

PS: I have a trilogy plotted out and ready to write. I call it the non-brother trilogy. A man is suddenly killed in a car accident and his three grown sons meet for the first time and discover that their father had three separate families. They have to get past their shock and anger and work together to solve the mystery of their father.


LA: How has your experience with self-publishing been?

PS: I’m a control freak so I love it. I love being able to write the story I want without the restraints of a publisher or line. I love the control over the cover. It’s great, but then again, I’m a little OCD.

 

LA: Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?

PS: Holding that book in my hands. It’s surreal.


LA: Which aspect of writing do you love the best, and which do you hate the most?

PS: I love all aspects of the writing process from rough draft to polished manuscript. The promo and marketing is a bit of a challenge for an introvert.


LA: Describe for us, if you will, your writing style, as in plotter vs. seat of the pants, and do you put more time into developing characters or plot or are they equal?
 
PS: Character - 100%. I start with a basic premise on plot, but my characters drive the story. I don’t sit down to the keyboard until I know at least my two main characters intimately. Luckily one of my critique partners is plot driven. We wouldn’t make it alone. We tell people that her characters do a lot, but she has no idea why until she’s almost done with the book. Mine on the other hand know exactly why they do everything they do, they just don’t always do much. Ha.


LA: What themes do you like to write about?

PS: I finally realized that the one thing that runs through most of my stories involves characters and their relationship with their parents. My characters are typically late 20s to early 30s and not all, but most are still struggling with one of their parents. The hero in my new release was given up for adoption by teenage parents when he was two and comes face to face with his biological father.


LA: Key advice for other writers?
 
PS: Write what you love to read. Never give up. Every time you get a rejection, celebrate. You eliminated one way that didn’t work, but you’re one step closer to the one that will.  There is a quote similar to that about life and I’d love to give credit, but I have no idea who said it.


LA: If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you talk about?
 
PS: My dad. He passed in 1987 and I miss him every day. I’d use him for a sounding board to help get a handle on some of the family stuff going on in my life. He was a master at helping me figure out which battles to fight and which ones to let go.

LA: Do you have a favorite quote, quip, or saying? What is it?
 
PS: Writing, cheaper than a therapist and tons more fun.

 
BLURB:

Hard-edged DEA agent Shayne Kelley grew up fast, shuffled from one foster family to the next. But it made him tough. And damned good at working undercover. But when an idealistic schoolteacher reunites him with the father who abandoned him as a child, his well-ordered world is shaken. He can’t seem to resist the naïve teacher and her reckless optimism. Can her sweet love crumble the wall of bitterness around his heart?

Raised by loving parents, middle school teacher Dani Cochran wants to make a difference in the world. She works with troubled teens during summer break, believing that everyone deserves a second chance. Especially Shayne Kelley. She sees through Shayne’s defenses and enlists his aid with her juvenile delinquents.

Will he teach them his cynical view of life? Or will Dani convince her students--and Shayne--that love is the strongest force on earth? But can she risk loving a man who seems destined to break her heart?

Available at:
Amazon
iBookstore
Barnes & Noble

BIO:

One might ask how an accounting graduate who spent twenty plus years in the technology field became a romance writer. Well, it’s quite simple. I’m an only child whose classy mom put her energy into my wardrobe, dance, and piano lessons. Add an amazing father who added go kart racing, slot cars, water skiing, and a pony to the mix. Toss in a wild imagination and summers in the country: lazy walks on my grandparent’s farm and another grandmother with a shed full of Harlequin romance novels to while away hot afternoons and voila.

Writing is pure escapism. Childhood imaginary friends developed into teenage fantasies. Later as a mother of two young, rambunctious sons, I began writing to keep in touch with the adult world; at least it was worth a shot. I continued writing as a method to wind down in the evenings from long, exhausting days spent in Corporate America. Anybody notice a pattern here? Not enough adult socialization – write. People overload – write. Either way, writing keeps me sane. Cheaper than a therapist and tons more fun.

I still reside in Texas with my childhood sweetheart and husband of; well we won’t mention how many years. In my spare time I enjoy traveling. From Hawaii, to California, to Florida, to the Caribbean, if there’s a beach, I’m there. I also love spending time with friends and family, especially four adorable grandkids. I love writing romance and sold my first novel, Last Resort: Marriage, to Harlequin American on Friday the 13th, June 2008. How’s that for luck!

Find Pamela:

www.pamelastone.net
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
DON'T FORGET PAM'S EXCERPT ON SATURDAY