Decadent Publishing: An Intriguing Concept

by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985)

It feels like an age ago that the lovely JoAnne Kenrick approached me with an idea. She wanted to put together a twelve-author series which centered around a calendar. Each author that agreed to take part would be assigned a month, and they’d write their story based on this. The idea was that there would be a hunky guy in each tale who would get involved in a shirtless-men calendar, whereby all proceeds would go to a military charity.

The rest of the brief was left very open, so our imaginations could go wild. Personally, I was already hooked at the hunky men part, so I happily agreed to write a story. I was assigned Mr. June, and I quickly got my thinking cap on. I was intrigued by the concept and my brain quickly provided an idea. I wanted to include a military link in my story, other than the charity that would benefit from the calendar, and that’s when I came up with having a photographer that lost her fiancé in Iraq. This, of course, made her very passionate about helping the charity, and as a photographer, she was keen on the idea of contributing a photo for consideration. But with a distinct lack of hunky men in her life, she was forced to abandon the idea. Until her late fiancé’s brother turns up unexpectedly.

Patrick solves her lack-of-hunky-men problem, but supplies a whole load more trouble along the way... and that’s all I’m saying ;)

I had great fun writing my story, doing a ton of research about New York, Central Park, and so on, and it’s a unique project. I’m delighted to be releasing book number six tomorrow – don’t forget to check it out! And if you haven’t already, grab your copies of the previous five books, and keep your eyes peeled for the remaining six titles.

Happy Reading!

Lucy

Excerpt:

Melodie Carr reluctantly clicked delete on the e-mail with a disappointed sigh. She couldn’t contribute to the charity calendar for the Hero Family Fund, a cause very close to her heart, because she didn’t know anyone suitable to photograph. Although her photography work varied—from children to pets, landscapes to portraits, she’d done a bit of everything—she got the impression the call for calendar models sought hunky guys to create a collection to make women swoon. Unfortunately, she didn’t work with professional models and therefore had to give up on the idea. A cute dog, something she had plenty of images of, simply wouldn’t cut it.

She might not be able to contribute, but resolved to find out when the calendar would be available and do her bit to help by buying a few copies. Some eye candy on her wall would definitely not go amiss, and her friends Poppy, Lola and Charis, and her grandmother, Joyce, would no doubt appreciate it. She grinned. Joyce, always good fun, said, there’s no such thing as too much eye candy. The saucy old broad.

Her smile faded. She missed her, having not been back to Boston to see her friends and family for a while. She should ask Joyce to come and visit her in New York—she hadn’t traveled much, and would love the hustle and bustle, the endless opportunities to people watch. Maybe Melodie and the rest of the family could buy her a ticket for her birthday. She’d have to give it some thought. It sure would be nice see a familiar face, other than via Skype.

Someone pressed the buzzer to her apartment and she sighed again. It was probably a delivery driver trying to get into the building. It wouldn’t even be a package for her.

Taking her time getting to the intercom, she hoped whoever it was would go away. No such luck—the buzzer squawked again. She inhaled deeply, trying to rein in her annoyance and avoid being rude or abrupt.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” a male voice said. “Are you Melodie? Melodie Carr?”

“I am.” A caller looking for her? Had she ordered something and forgotten about it? “Who’s calling?”

“It’s Patrick,” the voice replied. “Patrick Brogan.”

“Patrick….” Speechless, she laid a hand on the wall to steady herself as the bottom dropped out of her world. Evidently, running to New York—albeit under the pretense of a good career move—hadn’t been enough. Her past still followed her, still tried to flood her with reminders of what she’d lost.

“Melodie?”

Damn, the man’s persistent. She never should have admitted her identity before asking his. She could have told him he’d gotten the wrong place and sent him away.

Blurb:

Photographer Melodie Carr moved to New York City to escape and make a fresh start. Her soldier fiancé was killed in a friendly-fire incident in Iraq, and she has been struggling to come to terms with it ever since. She still feels strongly about needless death and those left behind, so when she sees a call for photographs for a calendar of topless men, with profits going to the Hero Family Fund, she’s eager to help out.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t know any men that fit the profile, so she gives up on the idea. That is, until Patrick Brogan—her late fiance’s brother—turns up in New York. Seeing him brings up all kinds of memories, but she’s determined to push them aside and be friends with Patrick. She also realizes he’d be perfect for the calendar. But can she persuade him to take part?

Friday, May 30, 2014

An Intriguing Concept

No comments: