Good morning everyone,
I want you to meet my dear friend, Stacey Joy Netzel, and she is a joy. Stacey writes stories in small towns and those that are in larger cities have a small town feel to them. Please give her a warm welcome.
Stacey's Bio:
Stacey Joy Netzel fell in love with books at a young age, so
for her the graduation to writing them was natural. An avid reader and fan of
movies with a happily ever after, she lives in her native Wisconsin with her
husband and three children, a couple horses and some barn cats. She works
part-time as a travel agent, and in her limited free time enjoys gardening,
canning, and visiting her parents in Northeastern Wisconsin
(Up North) at their cabin on the lake.
Her newest release is the contemporary romance, More
Than a Kiss, but for romantic suspense you can check out Lost In
Italy, and her Colorado Trust Series, Trust in the Lawe, Shattered
Trust, and Shadowed Trust. Other titles include
Ditched Again, Welcome to Redemption Series (books 2,4,6), Chasin’ Mason,
Dragonfly Dreams, If Tombstones Could Talk, and her
Christmas anthology, Mistletoe Rules, which took 1st
place in WisRWA's 2010 Write Touch Readers' Award.
Stacey
Rugged
Heroes ~ Resilient Heroines ~ Heartwarming Romance
MORE THAN A KISS
"From the classroom to the boardroom, directors to ducklings, Stacey Joy
Netzel takes you on a fun, romantic joyride with two lovable people who are
just trying to do the right thing in the cutthroat world of journalism and
big business." ~ Delia DeLeest, author of NOT LOOKING FOR TROUBLE
A Note from Stacey: This book started as a short story about two people who meet during the filming of a commercial and it was supposed to end once the commercial wrapped. However, my characters wouldn't cooperate with me and the story continued until I had a full-length book. Today you get to see the very first time Sadie and Zach meet. Oh, and just so you know, they don't share their first kiss as Battlefield Nurse and Zombie. Read on!
Blurb:
When a kiss...
All reporter Sadie Barton wants is to be taken seriously and judged on her
own merits, not her stepfather's money. She and her actress sister left
Wisconsin to get out from under his controlling thumb and leave behind the
malicious whispers that they're no better than their gold-digging mother.
But California isn't all sun and fun, and paying the rent while trying to
prove herself is harder than she ever imagined.
...is more than a kiss...
Something about Sadie drew self-made millionaire Zach Robinson-and it wasn't just the amazing kiss they shared as impromptu actors in his company's commercial. He's used to women being interested in his wealth, and Sadie's fierce independence is an enticing breath of fresh air. He's falling fast-until his brother suggests acting runs in her family and Sadie might not be exactly what she seems...
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
Sadie Barton's fingers tangled together at her waist as she hovered just
inside the doorway of a classroom at West Hollywood High. The set looked and sounded like a war zone-figuratively speaking, of course. And yet still
fitting, considering her sister's role in the commercial.
The intimidation factor rose exponentially. MovieMail was the biggest
mail-order and online DVD rental company in the country and this commercial would be aired nationally. Her stomach flip-flopped at the mere thought and she shook her hands a couple times as if to fling away her tension. It didn't work.
Why did I let Gemma talk me into this harebrained scheme?
If her sister weren't puking up her guts this morning, she'd turn around and
go home. If they didn't need the money to pay next month's rent, she'd
definitely turn around and go home.
Unfortunately, her wage as a human interest reporter at Life's a Beach and
Then Sun Times didn't stretch far enough to cover all the bills. Especially
when they'd just cut her back to three days a week. Until Sadie found
another job, they needed any acting work Gemma could get-which is how Sadie ended up here. Damaging a fledgling professional reputation by having Gemma call in sick to the biggest job she'd gotten since they'd arrived in California six months ago was not a risk they could take.
Thank God, it wasn't a speaking part. Then they'd really be in trouble for
the ruse. But sitting at a desk in costume was something Gemma assured her
would be a piece of cake. Sadie had her doubts, but since she refused to
call their mom and stepfather for help, here she stood-shaking in her tennis
shoes.
So much for the Barton Sisters from Wisconsin taking L.A. by storm.
Chaos reigned in the form of cameras and cameramen, grips, boom operators, lighting technicians, and assistants with headsets. Then there were the myriad of actors and actresses in full costume. Her gaze skimmed over a cowboy and an Indian lounging in the back, a construction worker sitting at one of the desks with his arms crossed on top his hardhat, a bandaged soldier covered in dirt and blood leaning against the ledge by the window, and a woman dressed in a crisp business suit conversing with a gladiator a few feet away.
She'd been on a few sets with her sister over the past couple months, but
for the life of her, she didn't see where she was supposed to go for her own
uniform today.
A woman carrying a clipboard rushed toward the door where Sadie stood.
"Excuse me, where can I-"
The brunette held up a hand as she shoved past. "Busy."
Sadie blinked. O-kay. Raised voices carried to her from across the room.
Another person approached, but she gave Sadie pretty much the same response, albeit less polite words. She clenched her jaw in trepidation, and a twinge of annoyance. Good thing she was getting paid for this. Or Gemma was. One of them at least.
"Lost, Goldilocks?"
The deep, masculine voice came from directly behind her. Its sexy timbre
sent a reactive shiver along her spine. Thankful at least one person was
nice enough to actually help, she ignored the tiny spurt of resentment for
the condescending nickname.
"I'm looking for costumes," she admitted, turning to face her ally with a
grateful smile.
Confronted by a rotted-flesh, gray-haired, rag-dressed zombie, Sadie drew
back with an appalled gasp. God, she hated horror films.
The realistic looking zombie laughed. Through grotesque face makeup, white teeth flashed, all the brighter next to the sickly pallor of his skin. Nice
smile-if she could get past cracked lips, a gaping gash along his cheekbone
and dried blood smeared past his jaw line. She really hated horror films.
Humor might have twinkled in his eyes, but special-effect contacts made it
impossible to read the creepy matte-black orbs sunk deep into their sockets
by a ring of coal-black eyeliner.
"I'm Zach."
"Sadie." Shoot. Should've said Gemma. Too late now.
"Nice to meet you." He stuck out a hand that looked like it'd been caught in
a trash compactor and left to bake and blister in the blazing sun for a
week. "What are you playing?"
"Battlefield Nurse." She gingerly accepted his hand; rubbery flesh squished
between her fingers. She jerked free, unable to suppress a shudder of
revulsion.
Zach just grinned again. "Nurse?" He reached up and tugged on one of her
corkscrew curls. "What the heck happened to casting? Candy striper would be more age appropriate."
When he released the strand of hair, it bounced and bobbed in front of her
nose. Sadie blew it back in place with an annoyed huff. Freckles, natural
blond curls, and looking nowhere near her age really sucked when she was
twenty-four and trying to be taken seriously in a professional industry.
Most of the time she and Gemma could pass for twins, but Gemma had suggested she skip cosmetics to save time in hair and make-up on set. Without it, she appeared even younger than her twenty-one year old sister. Sadie knew she'd come to view the curse as a benefit someday, but not today. And especially not if someone found out about their little switch. The less attention she drew the better. She'd learned that lesson in high school.
Sadie sent her eyebrows toward the ceiling in what hopefully passed as
polite inquiry. "Costumes?"
His blinding grin flashed as he pointed down the hall. "Third door on the
left, Goldie."
The name grated, but she muttered a grudging "Thanks" and didn't spare him a second glance as she brushed by.
Crisp, tangy citrus combined with the heady scent of pure 'mmm'-inducing
maleness inundated her senses and paused her step. Sweet heaven, how could a zombie smell so good?
~~~~~
Thanks for reading and if you decide to pick up a copy of MORE THAN A KISS, I hope you enjoy the book!
Stacey Joy Netzel
COLORADO TRUST SERIES
Love without trust cannot survive ~ but there's more than their hearts in
danger...
One of the very first books I read of Stacey's was the series she wrote with a friend, Welcome to Redemption, and I fell in love with the tone of their stories.
See you next Sunday, folks. Have a nice week.
Sandra K. Marshall
