Author Spotlight week - Excerpt from Beyond Summer

"Who's the girl?" Bailey Adams nodded in Carly's direction.

The urge to just say 'mine' flashed through his brain. That was wrong. "She's keeping Daniel for me this summer." Nanny sounded so formal.

"Nice." Bailey grinned at him. "So, are you two..."

"No."

"Good. That leaves the field open for the rest of us."

He wanted to shout 'she's married'. But that wasn't his story to tell, so he crossed his arms over his chest. It didn't sit well, letting Bailey think the field was open.

But what would Zane do if the field was, in fact, open? He wasn't really thinking about dating Carly, was he? She wouldn't be married forever. When the field was open would he competing for her? Hadn't he promised himself he wouldn't get involved with another senseless beauty.

Problem was, Carly wasn't senseless. She'd been nothing but considerate and caring for the last two weeks. But still, there would always be competition for her heart, and if things got rough, it would be easy for a girl like Carly to find something better.

Daniel canon-balled into the group of playing kids. It broke Zane out of his downward spiraling thoughts. Before he could get to the edge of the pool, through the milling crowd, Carly had Daniel in her arms in three foot of water.

His son's legs were wound around her waist, and their foreheads pressed together. He took a step closer so he could hear what they were saying.

"You have to be careful when there's this many people, okay? You could accidentally kick someone or hit them." Carly's voice was soft, and she smiled as she spoke to him.

"I didn't hit nobody, Miss Carly."

"I know. Remember when we talked about jumping into the deep end instead of the shallow part so you would be safe, too?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That would be better. And try to find a spot where nobody else is at, okay?"

Daniel's smile was a mile wide. "Yes, ma'am." Daniel laid his head on Carly's shoulder and squeezed. "I love you."

Carly held him just as fiercely. "I love you too, Daniel. You are a good boy."

Standing at the edge of the pool, Zane gripped the railing until his hand ached. Two short sentences had changed everything.
Daniel swam off to the other end of pool, happy to comply with her soft request. Zane was stuck, couldn't move as she walked to the edge and started up the stairs. She caught his stare. Her eyes blinked up at him in surprise. She shouldn't be just as pretty without all the paint on her face as she was with it.

But she was.

His hand reached out to help her from the pool. "Thanks for handling Daniel. I was just on my way to talk to him and I saw you."
She smiled and her cheeks got a little pink. "No problem. I guess I should've let you talk to him since you're here."

"No, you did good." He released her hand. "Why don't we get you a drink? You have to be thirsty from all of the lifeguard work you're doing."

Her glance went back to the kids. "It is hard, sitting there soaking up the sun." She said it with a straight face.

He liked her sense of humor. "They'll be fine for a minute. There's plenty of adults to make sure Brie's head's still up."

His hand went to the small of her back and for the first time he just enjoyed the little zap he got from touching her.

Author Spotlight Week - Carie Lawson shares her passion for Inspirationals

My writing career was inspired by the question, "What can God do with your greatest weakness?" The first time I heard the questions, I shrugged it off. I have so many flaws, how do I pick just one for God to use. A couple of months later, the same questions came around and I got honest. My biggest weakness is my love to read romances. I love them all and would read to the exclusion of spending time doing the things I need to do. Not just the exceptional book that was too good to put down. I really spent a lot of time curled up with a book.

So when the question came up that second time, I spent some time thinking about it. What could God do with my love of reading? God planted a seed in my head--I could try to write. As it turned out I loved to write just as much as I loved to read. When I sat back and was honest, God had been fertilizing the soil for a long time, I just hadn't been aware. I'd started a book in a spiral bound notebook while I was in high school, then threw it away when I headed off to college.

Because of the way God introduced writing to me, there was no way I could write anything but inspirational. If I was going to use this weakness to glorify Him, then I'd better make sure He was solidly in the stories.

When I was creating my website, carielawsonbooks.com, I was trying to find a simple statement that would reflect what I write. I came up with "Messy Middles, Blessed Ever Endings" because I think most people's lives are messy, but when we learn to rely on the Creator he can turn a jumbled mess into something wonderful. That's what I hope my stories reflect to the readers.

Author Spotlight Week - Q&A with Carie Lawson

STEPH: I'd like to welcome author Carie Lawson to the Spotlight this week. Carie's latest release is "Beyond Summer," Book 2 in the Twisted Roots Series. Carie, I don't know much about Beyond Summer. Can you tell us a little about the book?

CARIE: Beyond Summer is Zane McCord's story. He's a single father who has good reason to mistrust a pretty face. So when his family goes to Africa and he needs help with his son for the summer, the last person he'd want in his home is former beauty queen, Carly Peterson. Add to her beauty a hefty stash of secrets and Zane is sure falling for her is a bad idea.

STEPH: What was the inspiration behind the book?

CARIE: One of the early criticisms I received from the first book, Beyond Africa, was that Lilly was too perfect. Well, I wanted to write about two people in the second book who were anything BUT perfect.

STEPH: How does it fit into the "Twisted Roots" series? What's the tie to Book 1?

CARIE: The Twisted Roots series centers around the McCord siblings. There's four of them Case, Zane, Haven and Jude. The first book was Beyond Africa and it told Case's story. The second, Beyond Summer, is Zane's story. One of the things I love the most about this series is getting to go back and "see" old friends from the previous books.

STEPH: How many books do you have planned in the series?

CARIE: There are four, one for each sibling. It was also fun to plant "clues" into each book as to the character of the next hero.

STEPH: Do you have a certain process to develop your characters? Do you cast your characters? If so who are the leads?

CARIE: I don't cast characters because the imagining is half the fun. I guess I kind of start with one character trait and build around that. Beyond Summer's, Zane, is stubborn. Carly is sassy under a thick layer of gloss.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write Beyond Summer?

CARIE: It got almost complete rewritten in about four months. The shell of the story was there, but I'd learned a lot after I'd originally wrote it, so I wanted to make it better. I was very happy with how the story turned out.

STEPH: How did the book come to find a home with Desert Breeze?

CARIE: I actually submitted the third book in the series, Beyond Ever After, to Desert Breeze and got an e-mail back that they were interested in the series. When I got the email, I walked calmly down the stairs, into my room and asked my husband to follow me (woo, this could be the start of a really interesting story;). Back up the stairs we went and I pointed at the computer and asked, "Do you think this is for real." Once I got over the shock that someone was interested in publishing my books, I was hopping up and down happy!
STEPH: Do you have any hobbies you'd like to share with us?

CARIE: This is it. Reading and writing. Once upon a time I scrapbooked, I had good intentions of learning to make jewelry, occasionally I reupholster something. They're all fun things, but right now time is very limited. My motto is "someday I'll..."

STEPH: Fun question: If you were a NASCAR driver, what sponsor would you want on your car?

CARIE: Steph, I have to tell you the question is hilarious because any time I'm in the car with my husband, I'm constantly saying to him, "Slow down...you're following that car too close...stop changing lanes." I think the NASCAR guys are safe from me! BUT, the question remains so I'd say Baskin and Robbins so I could have an unlimited supply of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream.

The Reviews are in!! Recent Desert Breeze Reviews

BEYOND SUMMER
By: Carie Lawson
A thank you goes to the author for providing me with this complimentary review copy! Great Job Carie!!! Can't wait for Beyond Ever After!"

Love 2 Read Novels Blog
Rating = 4.5 Tickets

I highly recommend this and also the first in the series, “Beyond Africa”. You won’t be disappointed."

Janet's Treasures

****

IN THE MANOR OF THE GHOST
By: Tina Pinson
Ms. Pinson explores it deftly in this book... The answers lurk in the manor of the ghost -- waiting to be drawn out."

Naomi Musch Blog Book Reviews

This is a novel you will want to read again and again, so be sure to get a copy for yourself and let your friends know about it as well!"

Latawnia Kintz Reviews

*****

CHOSEN TARGET
By: Melanie Atkins
hosen Target is a pulse-pounding page turner."

Stephanie - Classic Romance Revival Reviews
Rating = 5 Wings

****

BEYOND A VIKING HORIZON
By: Tami Dee
"Beyond a Viking Horizon" is rich in love, hope, and family."

Stephanie Burkhart - Author of The Hungarian (Posted at Amazon)
Rating = 5 Stars

*****
WHAT THE HEART SEES
By: Janice Zick

For all their quirkiness, the characters in this story are well-rounded, enjoyable to spend time with and have you yearning to ensure they all get what they deserve. This book is a keeper."

Fennel - Long and Short Reviews
Rating = 5 Books - Nominated for BOOK OF THE WEEK!

*****

END GAME
By: Gail R. Delaney

This is a gripping saga that any sci-fi fan is guaranteed to enjoy. My only complaint is that I didn’t know about this series sooner.

Kirra Pierce - Just Erotic Romance Reviews
Rating = 5 Stars

With rich characterization and great world building, END GAME is a highly recommended science fiction romance.

Marlene Breakfield -- ParaNormal Romance

Featured September Release - Beyond Summer by Carie Lawson

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Zane has a theory in life: Beautiful women are more trouble than they're worth. So when he's coerced into spending the summer with the very beautiful Carly as his nanny, he expects the worst. But she changes his opinion, one good deed at a time. Until he gets a little too close and finds out his beauty queen is nothing more than a liar and a thief. Theory proven.

But the pretty liar has two little girls who've stolen Zane's heart. He's going to have to wade in and untangle the mess Carly's made of her life for her daughters. Can Zane ignore the theory Carly's proven, forgive her, and accept that beauty is sometimes more than skin deep?

EXCERPT:

She should let go of him. But to let someone else carry the weight of her world, even if just for a moment, seduced her. A sigh escaped and she tightened her hold.

"Look, your Daddy is hugging Mommy." Brie chirped, breaking the trance.

"Maybe they're going to kiss." Daniel belly laughed at his own joke.

It was enough to make Carly back up. She pushed away and wiped her cheeks where a few disobedient tears had trailed down.

Zane's hands moved to her shoulders. "Better?"

She nodded, still unsure of her voice.

"How long was she missing?"

"Not long. Maybe five minutes."

He started rubbing her arms. "You're still shaking."

At some point this story would be amusing, so Carly tilted her lips upward. "But then she screamed for the next hour because she wasn't going to get any candy."

Pressing his lips to her forehead, he murmured, "You're a saint."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Carie Lawson home schools her four kids, drives the soccer van --- complete with dirty socks and McDonalds bags scattered throughout --- and tries to sneak away to her computer whenever possible to write. She is an active member of a local writer's group, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, and received third place in the North Texas Romance Writer's Great Expectations contest in the Inspirational Romance category.

Desert Breeze Congratules Carie on her latest release!