Monique's Monday Morsel ~ Wk 2 #amwriting #romancereaders #RomCom

It's Monday again and time for this week's Monday Morsel of Lily & Justin Are Getting Married.

Thank you everyone who so kindly interacted with me last week and for all the birthday well wishes--here, privately and on Face Book. I treasure your support.

Here is this week's morsel. Hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to say "hi" below.

*~*~*

Lily & Justin Are Getting Married 

~ Monday Morsel ~

Week 2

(Life is perfect ... until the wedding plans begin!)

© Monique DeVere 2013

Crystal Swan Publications
All Rights Reserved

He removed the engagement ring from its nest, held it out to Lily who offered him her left hand. He took her trembling hand in his steady grasp and positioned the ring at the tip of her third finger. 

Lily held her breath, heard Mel’s low murmur of awe. 
Sandy’s, “This is so romantic.” 
And just as the ring approached her second knuckle a snowboarder whisked past them, spewing a tidal wave of snow over Lily and Justin.

“Watch it!” Cam shouted after the snowboarder who was too far away to notice, or care, that he’d just ruined Justin’s proposal.

All the while Justin stared at Lily open-mouthed.

When Lily got over the initial shock, she gasped. The sudden arc of snow pelting over them had jolted her and she’d knocked the ring out of Justin’s hand. It was now somewhere in the snow between them.

“Don’t anyone move!” She hardly dared to breathe in case it somehow buried the ring further into the snow.

*~*~*

Monique's Monday Morsel ~ Wk 1 #amwriting #romancereaders

So I promised my readers a weekly morsel of Lily & Justin Are Getting Married, starting on my birthday--TODAY! Yay!!

Each Monday, I shall give a morsel of the story as I go along. I hope you enjoy glimpses of Lily & Justin's follow-up story. We first met the couple in More Than Friends. Now we're revisiting them to see what happens next.

I'd really love to interact with you, so please let me know what you think of each Monday's Morsel in the comments section below. Please don't leave without at least saying hello :).

Lily & Justin Are Getting Married 

~ Monday Morsel ~

Week 1

(Life is perfect ... until the wedding plans begin!)

Premise: 

Life with Justin Knight is fantastic. Lily Harper couldn’t have chosen a more wonderful man. He’s attentive, charming, and successful, and he loves her as much as she loves him. He even proposes on a ski slope in the French Alps.

So what’s the problem?

Nothing about their wedding plans is as Lily imagined. For starters, she hasn’t factored in the possibility of Justin’s mother hijacking the wedding, or Justin’s former girlfriend turning up to make a play for him. Soon, everything Lily holds dear starts to unravel and her old insecurities and doubts return to plague her. 


Justin can’t believe his luck in finding a woman like Lily, or that he got her to agree to marry him. Things couldn’t be more ideal...until the wedding plans begin, and he discovers a secret that could change everything. 

~*~

Chapter 1

© Monique DeVere 2013

Crystal Swan Publications
All Rights Reserved

There was nothing ladylike about the tumble Lily Harper took. 

Perhaps if she’d listened to Justin’s instructions, rather than gawp at him like a love-struck snow bunny, she would now have the skills she needed to control her skis on the slope without pitching headfirst down the snow-covered hill. 

It wasn’t her life that flashed before her eyes, as she plummeted down the Alpine ski slope, it was her romance with Justin. Theirs had started with complications. When they first met, Justin had been dating her best friend, and she’d been in a relationship, too, yet it hadn’t stopped the spark of attraction between them. An attraction they’d both ignored until the night they were single and she’d gotten drunk, catch a cab to his swanky apartment, and offered to bop him on the nose for dumping her friend.

*~*~*

Do come back for the next Monday Morsel instalment. 

Sexiest Eye Candy To Lust After Is Done! #amwriting #romance #millsandboon #harlequinbooks

I know, I'm THE worst blogger. I've been deep in my writing cave the last little while and I'm happy to report that I've finished writing Sexiest Eye Candy To Lust After!!! Yah--happy dance ...

The partial is with Harlequin Mills & Boon. I haven't heard from them yet. Not that I expect to receive a reply this side of 2014 :). But it feels good to have something out there after months of a rough patch in my personal life. However, I shall keep you posted on any news I receive from Mills & Boon.  

Now that I've finished Ethan and Karis's story, I need to get back to the countless projects I have on the go. One of them being the continuation of Lily and Justin's story. Remember them? The couple from More Than Friends. I feel bad for making all of you wait this long, but I promise to crack on with it very soon. Get ready because I plan to blog story snippets of Lily & Justin's follow-up story as I write it--beginning on my Birthday (December 2nd). That should keep me accountable! :D

Just a little thank you for your patience, guys.


Until next time, much love & hugs xox


Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Back In The Saddle! And Chasing The Harlequin @MillsandBoon Dream Again With A New Romance

Okay, I have a dirty little secret. I love Harlequin Mills & Boon novels, have done since age thirteen when my mum left one she was reading unattended and it intrigued me enough to start me reading them. Back then, the books followed only the heroine's POV and all the good stuff stayed firmly behind the bedroom door.

Things have come a long way since then, but the books still offer that special type of feel-good escapism, which I love!

On and off over the years, I've tried to crack the HMB market, managed to come close, but gave up too soon I think. Although I resisted the yearning, telling myself I'll never manage to become a Harlequin Mills & Boon author, the hunger never really left me. 

So I'm at it again. 

I've started a new manuscript, which I aim to finish ASAP and submit to Harlequin Mills & Boon's KISS/Modern Tempted line. This fun, flirty series feels right for me, so please wish me luck!

The story I'm working on is entitled Sexiest Eye Candy To Lust After. It features two sexy, funny characters involved in some spicy, yet emotional, scenes.

This is my new hero: Ethan Stone, he's a TV weight-loss coach.

And this is my heroine Dr Karis Van de Burke, she's a cosmetic surgeon

Take one super-hunky TV weight-loss celebrity, one love-rejected cosmetic surgeon, a little guilty pleasure, and the consequences of one-night could prove shattering.

I just love starting new projects. Especially when they feature hot, hunky heroes like my new hero, Ethan Stone. I can't wait for you to get to know him, he's charming, candid, compassionate, persuasive and generous. 

My heroine, Karis Van de Burke gives him a run for his cheeky money. She's smart, empathetic and wholesome with a bad-girl steak. Unfortunately she has one fatal flaw--she runs! Yep, my girl can run a marathon, but she runs fastest when she's running away from the first hint of rejection!

Karis wants a one-night stand but what she really needs is a man who'll always be there. Ethan, on the other hand, only ever does casual, disposable relationships. What he needs, though, is a woman he can trust. 

Is it possible they might eventually find what they need in each other? I can't wait to find out, can you?

Just to whet your appetite, here's a taster in the form of blurb:

Super-hunky, weight-loss celebrity Ethan Stone brings out Dr. Karis Van de Burke’s inner bad-girl. To prove it, when Ethan accepts the challenge to persuade the sassy, love-rejected cosmetic surgeon to appear as a guest on his show, she ends up inviting him into her bed for one night of guilty pleasure instead.

Used to women throwing themselves at him boobs first, Ethan knows his way around every female erogenous zone, but the sizzling chemistry he has with Karis blindsides him. Soon he’s convincing her to extend their one-night to another...and another...and...

Karis can’t resist! Yet, if Ethan discovers her secret, he’ll ditch her as fast as her ex-fiancé had – but really, what could go wrong in a one-week, tangle-free, affair?

 
  


(photos purchased from Shutterstock)