Author Spotlight - Excerpt for "Forbidden"

Thank you for supporting Barri's week in the spotlight. Leave a comment today, Saturday and Sunday along with your email (so we can get ahold of you) and we'll pick a winner on Monday, 14 JAN to receive a copy of Barri's novel, "Forbidden." Enjoy the excerpt!

Smiles
Moderator Steph

*****

Maggie grinned. "I would like to get off this horse for a while."

They rode to the creek, dismounted, tethered the horses, and sat under the big oak.
Maggie rested her back against the massive trunk. "Did you enjoy the dance last night?"

Zoë pulled a dry blade of grass and twisted it between her fingers. "You didn't ride all the way out here on the back of a swaying horse to talk about a dance."

"No, I didn't. Shall I come directly to the point?"

"Please do."

"Why did you marry Holt?"

Zoë dropped her head. "He's rich and in ill health. Maybe I saw a way to become a rich widow in a short time."

"Then why did you sign a prenuptial agreement cutting you off from inheriting anything Holt has after he was gone?"

"How did you know that?" Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to invite Maggie to speak her mind.

"There aren't many secrets at Triple H, Zoë, but in this case, Clint told me. He also said he paid you a great deal of money to get you to sign that agreement."

Shame brought the heat of a blush to Zoë's cheeks. "I did take money from Clint, but not for the reason you think."

"I don't want you to explain, and don't ask me how Holt keeps me virtually a prisoner at Triple H, because I can't tell you. I know how Holt Hamilton operates. I should -- I'm one of his victims." After a pause for breath, Maggie demanded, "Did Holt force you to marry him?"

Zoë's fingers dug around in the dry grass. "Yes."

"Great goodness, he's a vicious, conniving old reprobate."

"He's blackmailing you, too, isn't he?" Zoë's own pain was quickened by sympathy for Maggie. "Clint doesn't suspect?"

"I'm careful to see to that. Officially, I'm Holt's private secretary. The truth is Holt keeps Clint at Triple H by forcing me to stay. I have every reason to believe Holt keeps the damning evidence he has against me in a safe deposit box in a bank in Mason City. I can live with that." Maggie stared toward the far horizon. "But what happens when Holt dies and his safe deposit box key becomes the property of his sole heir?"

Zoë recalled Holt once telling her he had the proof of her identity safely tucked away in a bank vault in Mason City. "When Holt dies, Clint will have access to that box?"

Maggie's tone was grim. "Not immediately, but eventually, and what he will find there could destroy the lives of two people and hurt Clint immeasurably."

Zoë reached to touch Maggie's arm. "I wish I could do something to help."

Maggie's reply sent shock waves shivering through her. "You can."


"Holt would never let me into that box."

Maggie leaned forward. "He wouldn't have to know. I have a plan. It's risky, daring and complicated. If it works, you stand a chance of getting into that box before Holt dies."

The naïve Zoë Martin who had come to Triple H two months ago would have been terrified at the thought of planning and executing a scheme that was both complicated and dangerous. She would never have considered conspiring against a man as powerful and devious as Holt Hamilton. A much wiser, disillusioned Zoë Hamilton who sat now, grave and melancholy, was willing to dare the impossible to keep safe dark secrets that could send her to prison. "Tell me your plan."

"We will have to involve two other people and neither of them rates high in the trust department. You will be the one taking the risks." Maggie paused and caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

So the plan required she break the law. Zoë would worry about that later, when she wasn't staring into the grim face of disaster. "Tell me what I have to do.

Amazon:
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Barnes and Noble:
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Buy links:
Dessert Breeze Publishing:
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Author Spotlight - Barri Bryan talks about expressive writing.

Learning to communicate expressively is not achieved the way one assimilates facts about geography or learns by rote the meanings of symbols. It is a process of practice, discovery, and creation. Writing is an art. Like any art form, it has an attending craft. There are skills and abilities that can be recognized and practiced to help hone that craft.

Expressive writing is not accomplished speedily or through half-hearted efforts. To write expressively, a writer must be focused. Focus induces a state of concentration that is intense and absolute.

An expressive writer is perceptive. Perception allows the creation of something where nothing existed before, thus filling a void.

Empathy for the feelings and emotions of others is important in expressive writing.
An expressive writer's work has unity. When writing about imagined occurrences, the objective is not just to relate what happened. It is also necessary to recount the vision in a way that recreates the mood, and develops the dramatic significance of the event.

An expressive writer is aware. Awareness is an integral part of expressive writing. It begins by combining sensory messages with past knowledge and personal expectations, in order to examine more closely the blur of daily experiences.
Imaginative thinking moves past literal applications to discover implied analogies and relationships. The intensity of searching and discovering requires time and effort. Those relationships are not always obvious.

An expressive writer is a passionate lover of words who persuades and convinces readers. Wooing with words involves perceiving, feeling, and thinking with subtlety and precision. It also demands a good vocabulary. The more acquainted a writer is with a variety of words and their meanings, the more able that writer is to express thoughts and sentiments.

An expressive writer relates to readers with honesty and candor. This is always a challenge and often a trial. It is never easy to disclose personal truths, discover and express intimate realities. Honesty, as a writer perceives it, is a deceptive concept that continuously slips away on the wings of sentiment and sensation. To be honest with readers requires that a writer be honest with herself or himself. Honesty with one's self can be disturbing and painful. I believe it is the first prerequisite to writing expressively.


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http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/foBook trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pessC9ClzWY
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Author Spotlight - Barri Bryan talks about writing Description

Description has been called the essence of fiction. When properly related, descriptions can provide concrete illustrations of general principals. To my despair, I often find there was nothing in my vocabulary that will adequately portray the sights I see in my imagination or express the emotions I feel in my heart. I have all these wonderful thoughts in my mind and images in my head, but I lack the ability to give them vision or volume.

I think of a description as a re-creation in words. My task is to create the verbal representation. To do this, I must choose the right words, and choose which words to exclude. Good description is never overstated. It reveals as it recalls and persuades as it presents.

To write a good description I must not only see clearly, I must perceive clearly. Seeing refers to outward vision. It involves describing the concrete through sensory details. Perceiving refers to inward vision and involves describing the abstract thought figures of speech. A good description uses both sensory details and figures of speech. A great description maintains a delicate balance between seeing and perceiving, to produce a symmetrical and harmonious re-creation.

Descriptive writing requires powers of observation. What we see is based to a great extent on what we know. What we see is also based on past experiences. The eye and the mind collect, sort out, and impose patterns on visual, verbal, and auditory stimuli. The mind relates those patterns to other patterns, enlarging, reinterpreting, and gives meaning to our experiences and observations by engaging our imagination.

The sunrise was beautiful does little to stir the imagination. The rim of a yellow sun climbed over the eastern horizon causing the misty veil of morning to lift and float away, gives the description of sunrise depth and clarity. The rainstorm was frightening pales in comparison to: A driving rain struck with sudden force unleashing a howling wind that rattled windows and shook through the branches of trees.

Is it any wonder that description has been called the essence of fiction?
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Author Spotlight - Barri Bryan talks about Researching History and Writing Fiction

Originality does not always mean making something from nothing. It can mean making interesting changes in what has gone before. I have developed as a writer of historical romances by playing with material already in existence. Writing is always rewriting, it comes from the writer’s reading and synthesizing. I can enter into a world that previously existed and by innovation and imagination, make it my interesting and exciting little universe. I like to look at the decade that surrounds my story to get an overall view of events and happenings. I want to feel, as well as know, the attitude and outlook of that particular generation. I do this by zeroing in on important events, transportation, fashion, music, inventions, social movements and developments, politics, psychological trends, entertainment, and sexually related trends and movements of that time.

When I can, I use the raw materials of history; primary sources like daily newspapers. Many newspapers are achieved on line. For a small fee, you can gain access. I look for first-hand accounts written by men and women who lived during the time I'm writing about. These kinds of accounts are not easy to find. When located, they are not always cheap. If they are authentic, they are worth the time and expense it takes to find and read them.

I have learned to evaluate and interpret. When incorporating fiction with history, realism and background should blend with characterization and plot. I am careful to strike a balance between too many or too few facts. Figures of speech should fit the time and place.

My research for Forbidden was extensive, sometimes exhausting. I researched the oil boom in Texas during the 1980's, events that were happening at that time, such as the eruption of Mount St. Helen's and the hostages being held in Iran. I looked at what music was popular, what books were best sellers… There were times when, in the midst of writing a scene, I realized I needed to research some subject that, so far, hadn't seemed important, or even relevant.

Even if research is painstaking, sometimes painful, I love doing it.

Amazon:
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Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/foBook trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pessC9ClzWY


Buy links:
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Author Spotlight - Q&A with Barri Bryan

STEPH: I don't know much about "Forbidden." What's it about?

BARRI: Forbidden is set in 1980. It is the story of a young woman who takes a summer job with an over-the-hill billionaire playboy to help him write the biography of his recently deceased wife. She goes to live in his gothic castle on his ranch in far West Texas. She is caught in a web of mystery and intrigue, sharing secrets that could destroy all she holds near and dear, and falling in love with the one man she has no right to claim.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

BARRI: It took me a little over a year to write "Forbidden." That includes the time I spent researching.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

BARRI: I did a tremendous amount of research. I do for every book I write. The first thing I do, as I start my research, is print a calendar for the year in which the book is set. The next thing is to check the weather for the specific months in which my book is set. For Forbidden, I found the summer months of 1980 were some of the hottest ever recorded in Texas. Next I look at trends in fashion, transportation, music, books, and politics. If it's applicable, I look at movies and television. I immerse myself in that decade. I try to feel the mindset and hear the heartbeat of that generation.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

BARRI: I love this cover. It's beautiful. It also captures the mood of the story. The silhouetted couple in the foreground speaks of the intrigue of the story. The castle in the background set against the rough West Texas landscape, adds a perfect touch of ambiguity.

STEPH: Zoë is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

BARRI: Zoë's strengths are her loyalty, her naiveté and her belief in the innate goodness of people. As she finds herself caught in a snare from which there seems to be no escape, those strengths become her weaknesses.

STEPH: What does Clint find appealing about her?

BARRI: Clint is attracted first by her beauty, and then by the mystery that surrounds her. Is she naïve and inexperienced, or is she a scheming opportunist?

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

BARRI Money can't buy happiness. Often the opposite is true. It brings misery and unhappiness.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

BARRI For me, inspiration is like happiness. If I go chasing after inspiration, it eludes me. If I fill my days with study, work, promoting, writing, and open my senses to the world around me, inspiration comes looking for me. It appears in the most unlikely places -- the last leaf hanging on a barren tree, the strange way the ears are set on the sides of the head of the man sitting across from me in my doctor's waiting room; a tattooed snake that winds up the leg of a slim young girl, as she pushes a basket down a grocery aisle. The way my granddaughter looks at her children with love shining in her eyes…

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

BARRI: I have a Kindle and I love it.

STEPH: Fun question: Do you have any New Year's Traditions you'd like to share? How did you celebrate New Years?

STEPH: Definitely, I have to eat black-eyed peas and cornbread. It's supposed to assure prosperity. I have my doubts about this being true. All the same, I always eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, just in case.

Author Spotlight week - Excerpt from Changless as the Heavens

It's excerpt Friday and Barri has left us with a great excerpt from Changless as the Heavens.
Leave a comment here on the blog and I'll pick one winner on Monday to win a PDF copy of Barri's book. I'll announce the winner and on the Connections Loop.

Enjoy
Moderator Steph
*******



Cara did understand and that was the problem. "Oh, but I do. I understand perfectly."

Rand's lips twisted scornfully. "Then you're one up on me because, once I was gone, you made a choice that I don't understand."

He left her with no options. She was forced to carry on without him as best she could. "What choice?"

"The choice to cut me out of your life completely and permanently. You never once, during the first year I was gone, tried to find me or get in touch with me."

Cara's heart gave an uncomfortable lurch. "How do you know that?"

Rand asked, sharply, "Did you?"

She hadn't, mainly because she'd been too busy trying to survive. "No."

Rand nodded. "And later, even though you had no proof I was dead, you chose to think of me that way, why Cara?"

He was raising questions that even now, were too painful and too revealing for Cara to face, let alone answer. "I... don't know."

"My boots, my clothes, my guns, books, tools, fishing gear." Rand spread his hands. "All the personal belongings I left when I went away, where are they now?"

"We moved. The farmhouse was crowded." Cara was making excuses and not very good ones. "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm trying to assess where I stand."

So he was looking for an excuse to make another quick exit. She would make it easy for him this time. "Nothing in this house belongs to you. You have no ties here at all."

Rand's jaw tightened. "Except for my sons, I'm beginning to think you're right. What did you do with my worldly possessions?"

Cara sorted through old memories. "I sold most of your clothes. What I couldn't sell, I gave away. Elaine was getting rid of Baron's things. She said there was no point in holding on to the past when you needed money for the present. I decided she was right."

"The tools, the fishing gear, the books, my guns, did you sell them, too?"

He was forcing her to recall painful events she'd rather forget. "I sold the tools and the guns a few months after you left. I needed the money. The next summer I traded the fishing gear to Fred Thompson for some work he did on my car. When we moved to the farm, space was limited. I gave the books to the library." Her chin came up. "Things were rough in the beginning. I did what I had to do."

Rand ran his fingers along the sides of his hair. "The money I left should have more than taken care of you and the boys for that first year."

Cara gasped, "You didn't leave me a red cent. I never got any money from you." That wasn't quite true. "Except the allotment I received after you joined the army."

Rand's voice dropped to a whisper. "I left the money with Dad." Realization caused his features to harden. "He never gave it to you?"


"Your dad never gave me one thin dime."

"All this time you've believed I walked away and left you with no income, a pile of debts, and two children to support? I'm beginning to see why you preferred to think of me as dead." He was a man in obvious pain. "Did you sell your wedding ring, too?"

Cara looked down at her bare finger. "No."

"Then where is it? Why aren't you wearing it?"

"I put it away." Sometimes forgetting was as painful as remembering. "It's in my bedroom, in my jewelry box." It was time she stopped dodging the issue. "If you want a divorce I won't fight you. We can reach an amicable settlement."

His eyes were two blue magnets. "I don't want a divorce."

Cara gasped again, this time in amazement. "What do you want?"

"I want another chance."

Cara asked, oh so cautiously, "To do what?"

His words seemed to levitate and hang in the tense air, "To make our marriage work."

Confusion and a host of polarizing emotions left Cara speechless.

Perspiration beaded Rand's top lip. "I know you have reason to doubt me. All I ask is a chance to prove to you how wrong you are and to make up for any past mistakes, be they real or imagined."

He spoke with such sincerity. "I don't know what to say."

"Say yes." Standing, Rand walked toward her. "I'd like to set things right." Pulling a chair with him as he advanced, he stopped directly in front of her. "Will you listen to what I have to say?" He sat in the chair and waited for her response.

What did she have to lose other than her heart all over again? "Okay."

Rand took her hand in his. "When I was first approached to do undercover work, it was to be a one-time, short-term mission. I thought I'd complete the assignment and be home with you by the following spring. My country needed me. A few months out of my life didn't seem too much to ask or to give." He closed his eyes then opened them again, slowly. "I have to admit also, the idea of having a little adventure in my life appealed to me."

So he had craved excitement, even then. And he hadn't found it with his oh-so-ordinary wife; all the more reason to be wary about taking him back. "Were you that bored with your life?"

"I thought it might help if you and I spent some time apart." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. "I know now I was wrong. What you and I needed was more time together."

How time could alter perception. Once she would have agreed with him, not any more. Without some outside interests, Rand would have bolted long before he did. He thrived on diversity, excitement and adventure. Cara on the other hand, needed the peace and security of stability and routine. What a wise fool she was. Knowing what a chance she'd be taking, letting him back in her life again, she was still tempted to say yes. "There are so many problems, so many things to consider..." Her voice trailed away on the end of a little sigh.

Author Spotlight Week - Barri Bryan shares one of her favorite books

When I got my Kindle, I decided to read some of the older romance novels. I knew next-to-nothing about the authors of the late nineteenth the early twentieth century. I have had a great time reading some of the romances of that era. The last book I read was titled The Judge. It was written my Rebecca West. I didn’t know it at the time, but Ms. West was a very popular author in her day. She was also a very controversial figure. I had read her first novel titled The Return of the Soldier and I loved it. It made me rethink the whole concept of romantic love.

The Judge is too long, too wordy, has too many flashbacks, and is told from too many points of view. It lacks that happy ending that, for me, is a must in a romantic story. Despite all the obstacles that I perceived as flaws, I enjoyed the book. The story has an intriguing plot. The hero, from one point of view, is dashing, handsome, and accomplished. From another point of view, I’m not sure the poor boy doesn’t suffer from an Oedipus complex. The heroine is pure, sweet and alternately naïve and wise beyond her years. The mother in the story is a complete enigma. I, in turn, liked her, hated her, felt pity for her, and wanted to give her a good kick in the rear. Too often I didn’t understand her motives or her actions. Some of the dialogue borders on the ridiculous. Would I recommend the book? I would, it’s interesting and it’s different, and if you don’t like it you haven’t wasted anything but your time. It’s a free Kindle download.

Author Spotlight Week - Barri Bryan shares her favorite TV shows

I don’t have a favorite TV show. I do have some favorite TV channels. I love the Turner Classic Movies channel. I especially like old ‘30s and 40s movies. I know that they’re always dated, sometimes sappy, and often politically incorrect, but I love them just the same. I am a big fan of Bette Davis movies. I also like Ann Harding and Merle Oberon. I have had a crush on Clark Gable since I was eight years old and saw him in a movie titled It Happened One Night. I absolutely love old 30s and 40s musicals, especially those that star Alice Faye, Judy Garland, or Ginger Rogers.

If I don’t care for the movie that is showing, I turn to the Cooking Channel. I like to watch Paula Deen cook all those delicious recipes that are loaded with butter or mayonnaise, or both. I like to watch Rachel Raye cook too. If there is nothing I care to watch, on either of these channels, I turn to a news channel. If the news is too depressing, I turn the off button and read a book.

I have recently begun watching old reruns of Star Trek with my grandson, who is a big Trekkie fan. And I must say that even though I didn’t think at first that I would like them, I find I’ve become a fan too.

Author Spotlight Week - Barri Bryan shares her passion for 20th Century Historicals

I like writing 20th century historicals because it’s always a challenge to mix history and fiction into a romantic tale.

I have lived long enough to know a great deal about the culture, mindset and events of a good part of that period. I choose a decade and look at some important trends such as transportation, inventions, social movements and developments, politics, and sexually related trends and movements. The better I understand how these things fit together, the better I can understand the mood and attitude of that era.
.
Then I find an episode or a chain of events and build my plot around that. In my story titled Bridget’s Secret, I took the rise of the KKK in 1922 and built my story loosely around that event. In A Long Shadow, set in 1955, I chose the integration of public schools as a basis for my plot. Changeless as the Heavens has as its background the end of a global conflict, returning soldiers, and economic conflict.

I draw many of my characters from the people who populated my world in earlier days. Scores of them were colorful, most of them were interesting, and a few were downright dastardly

When writing historicals, originality does not always mean making something from nothing. It can also mean making interesting changes in what has gone before. I look at the material already in existence. I can then enter into a world that previously existed, and by innovation and imagination, try to make it interesting and exciting. In so many ways, writing historicals is rewriting, it comes from the writer’s reading and then synthesizing new ideas with old experiences.

To paraphrase T. S. Eliot, The immature writer borrows from the past. The mature writer steals from the past.

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Barri Bryan

STEPH: I don't know much about "Changeless as the Heavens." Can you tell us a little about the story.

BARRI: Changeless As The heavens is set in 1946. It is the story of a woman who, has for four years, believed that her husband, Rand, is ‘missing in action, and presumed dead’. As World War Two draws to a close she learns that not only is Rand very much alive, he’s coming home. So many things have changed since he went away. Most of all, she has changed. She’s not the same person she was when he left without saying so much as a good-bye. Then she was a shy little housewife. She is now the head of a prosperous corporation. She also has formed both a business and a personal relationship with Rand’s cousin, Evan. Now she is faced with trying to cope with a situation that threatens to overwhelm her and to destroy the safe world she has spent the last four years building for herself and her children.


STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the story?

BARRI: I was a teen-ager during World War Two. I have so many memories of that time. I wanted to tell of what it was really like when the war ended and servicemen came home to a world so different from the one they left behind, and when the women who stayed at home to manage on their own were suddenly faced with being thrust back into the role of the ‘little woman’.


STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

BARRI: I don’t really know how long I worked on this story. I worked on other projects too, so it was a work-awhile, stop-awhile process. In all, I probably spent something like a year. Although I have many memories of that time, I also found it necessary to do a lot of research.

STEPH: How did you 'craft your characters?" Did you do character bios? Research? What made these characters personal to you?

BARRI: Before I start a project, I always make character bios for my characters. I used my mother as a model for my heroine in Changeless As the heavens. My mother was a strong, capable woman who met each challenge that faced her during those war years with courage and determination. I admired her tremendously. I modeled my hero after my father. He was very much the military man. Of course I took many literary liberties. Neither of my parents was as daring or as colorful as my hero and my heroine, but they served as models for me to construct people whom I hope come across as both bigger than life and believable.


STEPH: What did you say when you first saw the cover art from Gwen Phifer?


BARRI: I was very please with the cover Gwen did for Changeless as The Heavens.
I thought she captured the spirit of the story very well. The airplanes in the sky on one side and the buildings on the horizon on the other, to me, depicted the fast moving and changing world the heroine found herself caught up in. To have her standing alone, in an open field, facing them, was a picture of her isolation and of her determination to meet and conquer what lay ahead.

STEPH: What's your writing space like?

BARRI: My writing space is a small bedroom I’ve converted into an office. It is off limits to everyone but me. You definitely need an invitation to enter. Maybe you’d need a shovel too. It has a lot of ‘stuff’ crammed inside, my favorite books, my computer and printer, a granny rocking chair, two file cabinets, my radio and CD player, a chest, a couple of small tables. . . It’s probably what most people would consider messy, but I think of it as organized chaos.

STEPH: Do you have an ereader? If so, which one?

BARRI: Yes, I have a Kindle and I love it. My daughter gave it to me for my birthday. I had a old Franklin Rocket eBook but it’s nothing to compare to my Kindle, plus I can shop around in a bookstore everyday, and I do.

STEPH: Tell us a little about the state you live in.

BARRI: I live in the great state of Texas. I suppose everyone knows Texas is big, Texans tend to be braggarts, and that the state has two languages, East Texas drawl and West Texas Twang. They know of Texas’s rich history. They have read of The Alamo, Texas under six flags, and colorful characters like Jim Bowie and Sam Houston. What they may not know is its state flower is the bluebonnet, never mind that in the truest sense of the word, a bluebonnet is a weed. Its state tree is the pecan, its state bird the mocking bird and its state song is Texas Our Texas. But most of the old Texans I know think our state song is The Armadillo Song. It’s not, and that’s not even the true title. The real name of this anthem to Texas is The London Homesick Blues. It was written by Gary P. Nunn. By the way, Cotton-eyed Joe is not the official dance of Texas either.

STEPH: How important was setting to the story?

BARRI: To me, setting was very important. It touches on and colors every other aspect of the story. I like to think of a fictional setting as a framework. All details related to time, place and action fit within this framework. Properly understood and applied a setting becomes the under girding for your story.


STEPH: What state would you visit that you haven't been to?

BARRI: That’s a tough question, and one I’d never thought about until now. After some consideration, I think I’d like to go to Virginia. I’d like to see Williamsburg because of its colorful history. I would love to visit the area around Chesapeake Bay. I’d like to spend some time in Virginia Beach and go to Arlington National cemetery.

Featured March 2011 Release - Changeless as the Heavens by Barri Bryan

BLURB:

For three years Cara Williams's husband has been missing in action and presumed dead. She¿s moved on with her life to form new relationships and make new commitments. As World War Two draws to a close, she is shocked to learn that her husband is not only very much alive, he's coming home.

How does she justify to him that she has turned his old homestead into a business site? How can she explain that she now has a darling little toddler who calls her Mommie? What does she tell him about her relationship with his cousin Evan? Most of all how does she deal with the resurrection of emotions and passion she had thought dead and long since buried?


EXCERPT:
Can it be that Rand is alive?

Cara Williams sat in the back seat of a military staff car and stared at the passing autumn landscape. Leaves were falling from the post oaks. Birds collected along fence rows, gathering for their flight south. Ahead and to the left junk yards came into view.

Three years ago -- had it been only three years? It seemed like a lifetime -- on a day not unlike this one, she'd received that terrible telegram that read: We regret to inform you. Her husband was missing in action and presumed dead. Now, the army was telling her that he was waiting for her at Fort Sam Houston? This has to be a mistake.

Colonel Daniels, the military liaison who had brought those tidings to her earlier in the day, addressed the driver who sat next to him. "Turn left at the next intersection."

The young soldier nodded, "Yes, sir."

Colonel Daniels shifted in his seat to face Cara. "We're nearing Fort Sam."

The longer Cara was in this man's presence, the more she disliked him. "So?"

"So you will soon be reunited with your husband. Do you have any questions?"

Cara had many questions, but none Colonel Daniels could answer. "I can't think of a thing."

"You're not curious about where he's been or what he's been doing for the past four years?" Of course, she was curious. She was also doubtful. "Are you sure the man at Fort Sam is Randall Williams?"

"We're sure." The colonel dropped his brisk military manner. "That doesn't mean he's the same man who left you four years ago. I trust you will bear that in mind when you see him."

"Rand was my husband. I can cope."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Barri Bryan is the pen name for Billie Houston. I acquired a pseudonym at the behest of my adult children when they discovered a steamy excerpt from one of my romances at the web site of a publisher.

I am a former teacher and educator. I like poetry, George Strait's music, old movies and Earl Grey tea. My hobbies are reading, quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, taking long walks, and growing house plants and herbs.

I'm four-time EPPIE winner and a published author with over twenty novels, four books of poetry, numerous essays, several short stories, and one non-fiction how-to-write-book to my credit. I have been writing since 1990. My first romance was published in 1998. I write the kind of books I enjoy reading --- romantic tales about relationships; stories that explore feelings and probe emotions. The plots revolve around ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances and faced with difficult decisions.

Author Spotlight week - Excerpt from Bridget's Secret

Her accusation made Lucky’s hackles rise and his blood boil. "Are you calling me a coward?"

Bridget's chin jutted forward. "Aren't you?"

"Shoot no. I'd stand up to the Devil's top hand any day in the week." That sounded like such a childish, shallow boast. Lucky pointed an index finger in Bridget's direction. "You take that back."

"Why should I when it's as plain as the nose on your face that you and both your brothers are scared silly of your little old aunt."
Lucky's simmering anger exploded into fiery rage. Nobody called Lucky Livingston a coward and got away with it. He moved with lightening speed to stand directly in front of his accuser. Pulling Bridget to her feet, he locked his hands around her shoulders. His intent was to make her take back her degrading remark and to demand that she apologize. That was before he touched her.

Bridget's shoulders straightened. Defiance was written in every of her small taunt body. The fear that trembled in her voice gave lie to her brave declaration. "I'm not afraid of you."

Such defiance, such challenge, and such sweet innocence; Lucky's mind disengaged and his body took command of his senses. He lowered his head and captured her little bee-sting lips in a softly seductive kiss. Under the impact of his sweet assault, her mouth trembled, and then opened, allowing his tongue to enter, probe and plunder. He pulled her into his arms as she melted into his embrace.

After long blissful moments, Lucky broke the embrace, sat on the couch, and pulled Bridget down beside him. He had to stop this before passion slammed reason's door and he was lost forever to the demands of desire. "Maybe I should be afraid of you."
Bridget laid her fingers across her trembling lips. "Why did you do that?"

Old smooth-talking Lucky looked into that sweet, startled face and was as tongue-tied as a schoolboy. Without a second thought, he blurted out the truth. "I don't know, but I wish I hadn't."

Tears sprang to Bridget's eyes. "What a rotten thing to say."

He had messed up again. "I didn't mean it that way."

"What way did you mean it?"

"I didn't mean it at all. Is that good enough?"

Obviously, it wasn't. Tears flooded Bridget's eyes. "Does that mean you didn't mean what you said, or does it mean you didn't mean what you did?"

"It means both. I shouldn't have done what I did and I shouldn't have said what I said about what I did." Lucky shook his head. He was as confused as a goat on a shag rug.

"Then why did you?"

Reason returned slowly and with it came a sobering thought. Why should Bridget complain about him kissing her when she had kissed him back with a vengeance? Lucky smiled. "Did you mean what you did?"

Bridget blinked in surprise. "What did I do?"

Lucky pulled her back into his arms. "This." He brought his lips down on her upturned mouth and kissed her with an expertise that left them both breathless. Leaning back, he smiled, "You meant it."


*********

Don't forget to visit Barri at the Desert Breeze Connections Yahoo Group Today from 10:00 am CST to 2 pm CST! Giveaways include: A short story by Barri, The Desert Breeze Cookbook, and a set of autographed postcards of Desert Breeze Covers.

Bridget's Secret is available at the Desert Breeze website, Amazon, Barnes &Nobles, Apple iBookstore, Borders through Kobo.

Author Spotlight week - Barri Byran shares her favorite author

Anne Hathaway as "Jane Austen"

If you had asked me when I was in my teens, "Who is your all time favorite author", I would have said without a moment's hesitation, Jane Austen. But that was before I discovered the Bronte sisters. As I read in swift succession Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and Wuthering Heights they replaced Jane Austin and then each other.

That changed when I reached my twenties and time and perspective modified my tastes. Then I would have said without a pause, "My favorite author is Alice Duer Miller." When I read Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, My favorite author changed again.
As time moved along, I discovered Grace Metalious. I was both repelled and captivated by her stories. After I read The Tight White Collar, I decided she was my favorite author for all time.

More time passed. My reading became more varied. I branched out into reading, not only romances, but also mysteries and detective stories. I read a lot of Harlequin Romances as well as books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rex Stout, Dashiell Hammett, and Mickey Spillane. If asked, during this period of my reading evolution, who was my favorite author, I'd have said Victoria Holt or Joanna Lindsey. Then I read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, and discovered, once again, another all-time favorite.
I must be fickle-must be? I am. Recently I read a book by Nicholas Sparks. He may be my current all-time favorite. Note I said may be. I like Mary Higgins Clark too. And of course, there's Danielle Steele...

I don't think I can say I have a favorite all time author. As I change and times change, my tastes in reading change too. I do have one all-time favorite reading genre. I love now, and always have loved, romantic novels.

Author Spotlight Week - Barri Byran shares her favorite movie

You would think because of my love for all things western, that my favorite movie is a western. Think again. Then you might suppose that I have fallen under the spell of the magic of one of those new films with all its enchantment of animation and graphics. Wrong again. Have I been captured by one of those scary vampire movies with shape shifters and creatures of the night? The answer again is no. My favorite movie is one I first saw back in 1943 when I was sixteen years old. Its title is Now, Voyager and it stars Bette Davis and Paul Henreid. Why am I so enamored of this film? I don't know. Maybe it's the plot. The story revolves around Charlotte Vale, a middle-aged repressed spinster who is completely dominated by her over-bearing, demanding mother. As the story unfolds she struggles to become independent of her mother. It's not an easy transition but she finally blossoms into a strong, confident woman. Then she falls in love with a married man. On second thought, the plot is trite and at times, contrived. As plots go it's about as ordinary as plots can get.

Maybe it's the characters. A middle-aged ugly duckling that changes into a self-confident swan and a married man who falls in love with the swan and is too weak to breaks the bonds of an unhappy marriage so he can be with her? Neither of these characters possesses the sterling qualities I would say portray a hero or a heroine. It couldn't be the characters.
It must be the ending. I'm a sucker for happy endings. But the ending isn't exactly happy. I'd say it's more like satisfying. I'm back to square one. My favorite movie of all time is Now, Voyager. I'm danged if I know why.

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Barri Bryan

Welcome to Author Spotlight Week - This week we're here with Barry Bryan, the Author of "Bridget's Secret." Barri shares her thoughts on writing, her latest release, and her favorites with you. Enjoy! Kicking off the week is a Q&A with Barri.
Smiles
Steph


STEPH: - What was the inspiration behind your story, "Bridget's Secret?"

BARRI: I got my inspiration for Bridget's Secret for a story my dad loved to tell my brother and me when we were growing up. When he was a teenager, in the early 1920's, Dad lived with his family, in a half-dug-out on a bald prairie near the Texas - New Mexico border. One of his many colorful acquaintances was a young man named Henry. It seemed that Henry did well as a farmer, but he had on success whatsoever with 'the wimmen'. When Henry heard that girls who lived in the nearby orphan's asylum had to leave the home when they were eighteen, he hit on the idea of 'courting' one of them. He went to the home and found three girls who had just turned eighteen.

Henry's knowledge of courting procedure must have been non existent. He saw the girls, chose one, and asked to speak to her alone. His request was granted -- kind of. The moment he had her away from the other girls and in the presence of a chaperone, he asked her to marry him. And to quote my dad, "Believe it or not she said yes."

The girl's name was Amy. Dad always insisted that Amy and Henry, married, had 'a passel of kids' and lived happily ever after.

One morning long after I was an adult, I began to think about what it must have been like for a young man to be obliged to get his bride from an orphanage... From there my imagination took over and I soon had the skeleton of a plot for Bridget's Secret.


STEPH - I don't know much about the book. Can you tell us a little about it?

BARRI: I'd be happy to. Lucky Livingston is a devil-may-care cowboy who is out to settle an old score with Eddie Bruce, the man who, several years before, stopped his mother on a lonely stretch of road, molested her, and killed her. Eddie was not convicted of this crime; however, he went to jail for other crimes. Now Eddie has broken out of prison and is on the loose again.
Lucky intends to find Eddie and avenge his mother's death. When his brother Zeke tells him that he has a plan that will bring Eddie Bruce to him, Lucky is willing to listen and then to take part in a scheme that seems doubtful and a little crazy.

For the last eight years Bridget McGuire and her two younger brothers have lived at Miss Myra's Orphan Asylum. They were sent there when their father, Black Jack McGuire, was murdered. Before his untimely death Black Jack was involved in a scheme to steal a large sum of money from Eddie Bruce, who had stolen that money from a local bank. Eddie Bruce was captured and sent to prison. Black Jack was killed, and the money disappeared. Most of the locals believe Bridget knows where that money is hidden. Bridget knows that Eddie Bruce will come looking for her now that he's out of jail. She will do anything to keep herself and her brothers from harm’s way. That includes marrying a man who is a complete stranger if he offers her protection.

Add to this already volatile mixture a dangerous outlaw and a marauding band of Ku Klux Clansmen, stir in three inept matchmakers and one dishonest deputy sheriff and you have the ingredients for an exciting tale and a romantic love story.

STEPH: - Is a historical or contemporary Western?

BARRI Bridget's Secret is a modern historical romance. It is set in 1922.

STEPH: - How long have you been writing?

BARRI: I've been writing short stories and poetry since I was a child. I began to think of seriously pursuing a writing career in 1990 when I took an early retirement from teaching to care for my elderly parents.



STEPH - What attracts you to writing westerns?

BARRI: I love the drama and the excitement of the myth of the American West. I like the bawdy atmosphere and limitless possibilities of an open frontier. I am captivated by the colorful characters that lived during that time. I like the innovativeness and the bravery its heroes. I even like the scoundrels and desperadoes who peopled that legendary world.

STEPH: - Have you written any other genres?

BARRI: Yes, I have. I have some contemporary romances and some 'modernized' fairy tales. I also have four books of poetry. I have written one how-to book about creative writing. I have written stories that are published in anthologies and a book of three short stories.

STEPH - Do you have any hobbies you'd like to share?

BARRI: I love to do handwork. I like to knit. Each year I spend much of my spare time during the year making a watch cap for each of my grandchildren for Christmas. At first that wasn't a big task. Now it's quite an undertaking since I also have great grandchildren and grandchildren I acquired when my children married spouses who had children.

I also like to crochet, embroidery, and piece and make quilts. I am an avid reader and enjoy reading romances and mysteries. I love listening to music. I'm a big country music fan.

STEPH: - What's the last movie you saw?

BARRI: I find that today's movies are either too gory or too explicit for my tastes. I do like old movies. The last movie I saw was on TV. The title was San Francisco. It starred Clarke Gable, Jeanette McDonald, and Spencer Tracy.

STEPH - What was the last book you read?

BARRI: The last book I read was Big Girl by Danielle Steele.

Thanks Barri for being here today. We'll see you tomorrow about genre writing!
Smiles
Steph

Featured July Release - Bridget's Secret by Barri Bryan

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Recipe for trouble: Take one frightened young woman with a dangerous secret and a desperate need to hide. Add one devil-may-care cowboy bent on revenge. Stir in a dangerous outlaw, a marauding band of Ku Klux Klansmen, and three inept matchmakers. Add to this mixture a bank’s missing loot and one dishonest deputy sheriff. Stir well, settle back and wait for the kettle to boil.

EXCERPT:
Bridget closed her menu and looked around the room. "Folks are staring at us already. Maybe we shouldn't push our luck by asking questions."

Lucky scoffed. "I always push my luck." He was beginning to wonder if luck hadn't decided to push back. His feelings for this woman could get out-of-hand with a few more shoves.

Bridget looked down at her khaki uniform. "I'm not properly dressed. Maybe we should go."

Lucky grinned, "Not on your life." He sobered. "You look beautiful." The words were automatic. The emotions they evoked were new and disturbing. "We came here to have dinner and that's what we're gonna do." He winked broadly. "As soon as I figure out what we're having."

Bridget giggled. "You're right. Let's order something."

"Okay. What will it be?

Bridget shrugged. "I don't know. You decide."

The waiter reappeared and stationed himself beside the booth. With pad open and pencil poised, he asked, "Would you care to order now, sir?"

Lucky peered down at his menu. "We're making up our minds. What is this here Tripes a la Mode de Caen?"

The waiter answered, very much on his dignity, "It's a most delicious entree."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Barri Bryan is the pen name for Billie Houston. I acquired a pseudonym at the behest of my adult children when they discovered a steamy excerpt from one of my romances at the web site of a publisher.

I am a former teacher and educator. I like poetry, George Strait's music, old movies and Earl Grey tea. My hobbies are reading, quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, taking long walks, and growing house plants and herbs.

I'm four-time EPPIE winner and a published author with over twenty novels, four books of poetry, numerous essays, several short stories, and one non-fiction how-to-write-book to my credit. I have been writing since 1990. My first romance was published in 1998. I write the kind of books I enjoy reading --- romantic tales about relationships; stories that explore feelings and probe emotions. The plots revolve around ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances and faced with difficult decisions.

Congratulations to Barri on her latest release!

Featured March Release - Search for Paradise by Barri Bryan

THE BLURB:


When a divorce from her husband of twenty-five years leaves Kate McClure financially destitute and alienated from her two adult children, she and her aging mother Belle return to Paradise Ranch, the homestead they left when Kate was a child. In this quiet spot she can begin to put her shattered life back together, or so she thinks.

She has scarcely set foot in the dilapidated old ranch house when her next-door neighbor, handsome bachelor Hank Sinclair, arrives to announce that he has a prior claim on Paradise.

Against her better judgment Kate enters into a business deal with Hank and finds she is falling in love with him despite his frank admission that he wants no lasting relationship.

***
EXCERPT:

So this is Paradise." Kate McClure shaded her eyes as she gazed across the rolling, sparsely wooded countryside. "Who named this place?"

Belle Sullivan smiled, the dimples in her cheeks deepening. "Your Daddy did. He had just come home from Vietnam. It looked like paradise to him."

"What did you think about this place, Mamma, the first time you saw it?"

A pained expression crossed Belle's face. "It looked more like that other place to me. But Daddy loved it here, and I loved Daddy. Then Daddy left me, and I couldn't run a ranch by myself, so I took you, and moved to town."

Kate sat on the grassy slope. "Daddy didn't leave you, he died. There's a difference."

****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Barri Bryan is the pen name for Billie Houston. I acquired a pseudonym at the behest of my adult children when they discovered a steamy excerpt from one of my romances at the web site of a publisher.



I am a former teacher and educator. I like poetry, George Strait's music, old movies and Earl Grey tea. My hobbies are reading, quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, taking long walks, and growing house plants and herbs.



I'm four-time EPPIE winner and a published author with over twenty novels, four books of poetry, numerous essays, several short stories, and one non-fiction how-to-write-book to my credit. I have been writing since 1990. My first romance was published in 1998. I write the kind of books I enjoy reading --- romantic tales about relationships; stories that explore feelings and probe emotions. The plots revolve around ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances and faced with difficult decisions.

********

BOOK TRAILER LINK: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-67/Search-for-Paradise/Detail.bok

Author Interview with Barri Bryan

I'd like to welcome Barri Bryan to the blog today. Barri has a March release, "Search for Paradise," and we're all very excited about it here at Desert Breeze. Now onto the questions:


#1 - Tell me what inspired the plot of your upcoming novel, "Search for Paradise?"

My grandmother Leila May is the inspiration for Search for Paradise. In 1923, shortly after the death of her husband, she moved with her four children -- ages fifteen, thirteen, eleven, and eight -- from her comfortable home and her friends and family in Central Texas, to a wind-blown thrown-away stretch of land in North Texas near the New Mexico border where she didn't know a living soul.
My heroine in Search for Paradise is very much like Grandmother Leila. Kate McClure is adventurous, daring and resourceful. She leaves the comforts of the city to brave starting a new life on a small ranch called Paradise where the living conditions are primitive to say the least.

STEPH: How inspirational, Barri, especially to take something from your family's past and give it life.

#2 - How long have you been writing?

I began writing poetry when I was a child. I began to seriously pursue writing novels in 1989. My first novel was a historical. I never found a publisher for it. Looking back now, I can say thank goodness. It was terrible. My first novel was published in 1998.


#3 - I see you like to write Westerns. What makes westerns special to you?

My dad was a Texas history buff. I grew up hearing stories about Texas Rangers, cattle drives, Indian raids, gun fighters -- in general the courageous daring-do of Texas heroes and the dastardly deeds of her villains. One of my undergraduate majors is in history. My field of concentration was --what else? Texas history.

#4 - Do you write other genres? If so, what?

I have written some contemporary romances. I've tried my hand at a few paranormals. Most of the historicals I've written are modern historicals that are set in the first half of the twentieth century. I also write poetry. I have written one non-fiction book. It's a curriculum for creative writing.

STEPH: I'd like to explore "modern" historicals, too. I have one that's in draft form that takes place in Canada in the 1930's.

#5 - I see you're a four time EPPIE winner! Congrats. What novels did you win the award for?

Thank you. I'm very proud of those EPPIES. I received three of them for poetry collections. The last one was for my how-to book about writing fiction.

STEPH: Congrats on the wins. That's great.

#6 - Who are your favorite authors?

That's a tough question to answer. I love Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I like Robyn Donald who is a New Zealand writer. I like Jane Toombs. I enjoy Mary Higgins Clark's mysteries. I have recently read books by Marion Kelley Bullock and Raine Falconer that I enjoyed very much. I love poetry. My favorite poets are Emily Dickenson, Wallace Stevens and Christina Rossetti.

STEPH: I love Jane Austen movies. To my shame, I have never read "Pride and Prejudice" but I do have it on my Kindle. I've always enjoyed Dickenson's poetry. I hope you got a chance to check out my post about Charles, the Duke of Orleans. He's my new favorite poet. **grin**

#7 - What's the last movie you saw.

I don't care much for today's movies. They are either too gory or too violent or too explicit for my tastes. I am a big fan of old movies like Harvey, Now, Voyager and Casablanca. The last movie I saw was Yankee Doodle Dandy.