Thanks so much for supporting Petie during her spotlight week. Leave a comment on any of her posts during this week and you'll be entered in a random drawing to receive a PDF copy of her novel, "Everglades." Make sure you leave your email address so we can get ahold of you if you win. The winner will be announced on Monday, 25 JUN on the DB Blog and on the Yahoo Connections Loop.

Smiles
Moderator Steph

*********
That did it! The little witch!

Skye gripped the stick so hard his knuckles turned white, and the creases went blood-red. He punched down on the accelerator and threw her back in the seat.

Hah. Mess with me, will you?

His chest heaved like a bellows. Bad enough she dressed him down in front of the district boys, but in front of Jameson? He ground his teeth and swerved the airboat off to the right to pull even with the other boats and skipped the craft sideways, knowing the move would put Kayli's heart in her throat.

A black heart.

He fairly shook at the image of her wriggling her fingers forward to get him to follow like a -- he growled hard and deep -- lap dog. She had just crossed the line. A lesson she needed, and a lesson she would get. You stick together in the Glades; Wren taught him that. Sticking together did not mean control. Now he would teach her.
The boats approached a deep water channel that led to Graydon's collection sites. Skye had studied Jimmy's airboat maps for a week before this trip. Graydon had to veer left, and he would. Skye pushed the stick forward hard, and the boat veered to the right into a dangerous skate across beds of maidencane. Kayli grabbed her seat with both hands, and he felt a grin smooth his scowl. Heck, it was her fault he scowled in the first place. She would learn to stick together out here all right and not try to control things.

Or me.

The airboat flew all out across the open marsh. Enormous beds of torpedograss lay ahead, and Skye felt a shot of adrenaline spike his gut. This ought to be good.

*****

Kayli shrieked when the airboat veered violently to the right and skated sideways across the vegetation. Totally unprepared for the maneuver, she grabbed her seat with both hands to fight the centrifugal force she feared would fling her overboard.
Snatch him bald when we stop! That's what I'll do.

The boat screamed across the open marsh, and the vegetation bowing beneath the prow turned into one long mottled blur. Landers had never driven this fast before, and Graydon had turned off, so now she was out here alone and trying desperately to swallow the clot of terror wedged in her throat.

He won't kill himself, she thought. Stay calm. He's just trying to scare you -- she grit her teeth -- and doing a darn fine job.

Huge beds of torpedograss lay ahead, and Landers must have experienced a wave of guilt for the boat backed off its breakneck speed and settled down to a hair more speed than usual.

I can handle this.

The thought no more than skiffed across her brain when the boat reached the first torpedograss bed. A thin gray cloud emerged and levitated about two feet above the water. In the span of a few seconds, Kayli's bare legs simultaneously felt dozens of pin pricks, dozens of black spots erupted on her shirt, and pin pricks stung her cheeks and arms. She glanced down in horror and watched minute insect bodies pelting her entire person. She flung a forearm in front of her face and immediately felt a dozen microscopic squishes on her skin. She yanked her camera bag up and held it like shield in front of her head and shoulders, all the while feeling like she suffered through a blinding sandstorm.

Except it's bugs, she thought with a shiver. I'm covered in bug guts.

The airboat raced on, and she feared the bug storm would never end. After several interminable minutes, the airboat shifted right, and she could see open water to the sides of the boat. The tingling sensations on her exposed skin ceased, and she knew the bug storm had ended. She lowered the camera bag to assess damages.

"Eeewwww!" she wailed beneath the din of the propeller.

The entire front of her camera bag wore a bug-gut blanket of minute wings and bodies, some still squirming. Her gaze shot down to her legs, and she wanted to scream. She could see no skin on her shins and knees, only more bug bodies twisted in instant rigor mortis with bug guts spewed out in all directions. The bottoms and sides of her elbows were covered, too, and she fought back the gag reflex in her throat. She balled her fists and refused to cry, knowing at least a million dead insects were now squished on her person.

Landers had done this on purpose. She almost twisted around to scream invectives at her torturer, but instead she gripped her seat to stifle the urge.

"Aaaahhh!" she wailed as thousands of broken insect bodies peeled off in her hands. She wiped them off on the few open spots of fabric on her shorts and took at least a dozen deep breaths to keep from flinging herself at his seat and choking the veritable life out of him.

*****

Skye watched her attempts to discreetly wipe her hands on her shorts, and he chuckled out loud. He couldn't see the front of her, but he already knew what she looked like. Tearing through a torpedograss bed to drive up the midges was an old airboat trick and guaranteed to put a hitch in the woman's get-along. Lord knew she needed it. The muscle in his cheek twitched.

So why didn't he enjoy this more?

*****

The airboat slowed in an open water bay surrounded by bulrushes, and the massive propeller wound down and floated to a stop. Nothing slowed Kayli's rage, as it bubbled to a blister that stretched and exploded and sent her leaping up to face Landers as close to eye level as she could get.

"You did that on purpose!" she shouted.

Landers yanked his shades up on his cap. Instead of facing her glare head on, his gaze slowly perused the indeterminate number of bug corpses which stiffened on her legs and arms in the bright afternoon sun.

Enraged beyond reason at his blatant disregard of her tantrum, she resolved to climb his pinnacle and finally snatch him bald. Her foot stretched forward and so did his. Down on the accelerator. Hard. The boat lurched. She did not. Her foot sliced through thin air, tilting her sideways and sending her careening over the edge of the boat.
Kawoosh!

She hit the water sideways, and the dark wave closed over her head. She suffered a brief spate of panic until her sneakers found purchase in the mucky bottom, and her head pushed back above the water's surface. She gasped for a lungful of air, not having the presence of mind or time to grab one on the way in. Her eyes blurred with water, and she could barely make out Landers leaning on the side of the boat. Close enough to grab her, but he didn't. She felt her hair plastered to her skull, and water trickled down her forehead and dripped off the tip of her nose. She blinked rapidly until her eyes cleared, fully expecting to see Landers' scowl or worse yet, his smirk.

She wiped the hair back from her face and froze. No scowl. No smirk.

"Prop wash," he said, the engine now silent.

She nodded. Concern flashed in his incredible green eyes. The battle ended. A draw.
Her rage had chilled when she hit the water. Maybe his had, too.

"A truce," she said and watched his eyes widen slightly.

He nodded.

She tilted her chin up. "We'll call it a draw."

*******
Review for "Everglades:"

Romantic Times Review of EVERGLADES
Genre: Contemporary Romance, General Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: HOT
RT Rating: 4 Stars
Loaded with gators, snow-white water lotus and cypress trees, as well as an incredibly fast-moving plot with a romance that readers will not soon forget, this book definitely has a variety of pieces that all come together to form a truly entertaining story.
Reviewed By: Amy Lignor

Find me on the web link: http://www.petiemccarty.com

Buy Link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Everglades-ebook/dp/B0084UTPHM/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339272710&sr=1-5

Buy Link for Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everglades-petie-mccarty/1108327978?ean=2940014458146

Buy Link for Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-296/Everglades-Petie-McCarty/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Petie McCarty and "Tweeners"

What is a "Tweener" exactly?

My definition for this particular colloquialism would be: a romance novel that crosses or straddles the bold line between romance genres observed by most agents and publishers.

Agents and publishers have strong feelings regarding the bold lines drawn between genres, easily rejecting those manuscripts that cannot be pigeon-holed in the accepted scope of the predetermined genre. Said agents and editors truly believe manuscripts must fit the pre-ordained curriculum of genre in order to offer a contract.

When my first book "popped" into my head and I began to write, I also began studying the publishing industry, learning both as I went. At the time, I had no idea there were close to a dozen romance genres, all I knew was the movie running in my head. Unfortunately , I started out writing "tweeners" and didn't even know it. Four manuscripts later, I couldn't find a home for any of them.

See, I thought I had a shtick for my stories -- my version of branding. I hid an angel in each story, sort of like "Touched by an Angel" except you didn't find out who the angel was until the end. I left red herrings to throw the reader off, and if I did my job right, I shocked the reader when they found out who the angel was at the finale. Made sense to me.

Made no sense to the agents who reviewed my queries.

There was no inspirational discovery of faith in my stories, so some agents rejected as not fitting the inspirational genre. Yet the stories had an angel hidden in them, so others recommended I submit to an agent who accepted paranormal. Yet paranormal agents thought the mere presence of an angel should place them in the inspirational category. You see where this was going…around in circles. The agents had to pigeon-hole. Four novels that never really had a chance to fly on their own merit -- all "tweeners."

So, I decided manuscript number five would be different. Everglades was offered to a publisher as a "sweet" contemporary romance, yet drug dealers appeared in climactic scenes and the sweet romance editors pushed the manuscript toward the romantic suspense line of the house, where the manuscript couldn't begin to squirm into the required scene-to-scene action guidelines for romantic suspense. Therefore, rejection. A nice letter: "the story is intriguing, but this is not romantic suspense." The editors were absolutely right and ignored the fact I had submitted the manuscript as contemporary romance knowing I didn't have the moment-to-moment knuckle-biting angst required for romantic suspense. Everglades ended up another "tweener" -- a contemporary romance with suspenseful elements.

Enter Desert Breeze Publishing.

Thank the good Lord. A publisher who does not draw bold lines in the sand for genres and accepts manuscripts based on the salability of the story alone -- a publisher who eagerly crosses or straddles lines because the story is accepted or rejected based on its own merit with no preconceived rules for following genre lines.

I for one am very thankful, as I do not think Everglades would have been published otherwise. I think of it as "one of those God things." I found a publisher willing to take a chance on a sweet contemporary romance with suspenseful elements.

Come on, DBP Authors, raise your hands -- how many of you have "tweeners?" And how many of you know if it hadn't been for Desert Breeze, we'd still be on the outside looking in at the published authors. I'm here on my tiptoes with my arm in the air. Everglades was a "tweener," and I've got 4 or 5 more like her back in the hopper. Thank the good Lord for forward-looking publishers like ours who read between the lines.

Thank you, DBP Authors, for spending time with me this week on my very first -- ever -- blog. As a newbie author, I've found the transition so much easier with the help and support of the DBP Author Group. You're the best.
Petie

Review for "Everglades:"

Romantic Times Review of EVERGLADES
Genre: Contemporary Romance, General Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: HOT
RT Rating: 4 Stars
Loaded with gators, snow-white water lotus and cypress trees, as well as an incredibly fast-moving plot with a romance that readers will not soon forget, this book definitely has a variety of pieces that all come together to form a truly entertaining story.
Reviewed By: Amy Lignor

Find me on the web link: http://www.petiemccarty.com

Buy Link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Everglades-ebook/dp/B0084UTPHM/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339272710&sr=1-5

Buy Link for Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everglades-petie-mccarty/1108327978?ean=2940014458146

Buy Link for Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-296/Everglades-Petie-McCarty/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Petie McCarty talks about her favorite movies

All of us have one all-time favorite movie, one that we have watched over and over, and no matter how many times we've seen it… if the remote finds it, we screech to a halt.

Mine is Pretty Woman. I've probably seen it 50 times, but if it's on tonight, I'll stop and watch it again. I love anything resembling a Cinderella tale [maybe because of where I work ☺] and I even have a line of novels planned to write -- not a series mind you, just a similar set of tales each with its own personal Cinderella and the first one is finished, Bloom & Grow. But that's for another blogspot.

But I digress…

Now Pretty Woman may be my favorite movie, but my favorite movie actor of all time is still John Wayne. Go figure… Not a stretch though since he's the consummate alpha male, like Skye Landers in Everglades.

My favorite course in college turned out to be an elective course. We had to pick one course from the Art and Theater curriculum, so I chose John Ford and his Movies. I thought, "How boring could it be?"

Class was on Monday night from 7 to 10, and at the very first session, the professor informed us we would be watching one John Ford movie each week and then we would critique it for plot or theme or whatever. Things were definitely looking up. I learned with great joy that John Ford's favorite actor to direct was John Wayne. Heaven was watching a John Wayne movie every Monday night and getting college credit for it!

Oops, I digressed yet again…

Now, I have a lot of favorite movies that I have watched over and over, and I've just given you two big hints as to who might be on that list of 12 or 15. So, I have a deal for you. If you will post a comment to this blogspot with your favorite movie, I will give away a free copy of Everglades to the first person who lists a favorite movie that is on my all time favorite list. No fair to put Pretty Woman, but any other movie will count, and though John Wayne is my favorite actor, not all his movies are on my list. I'll let you know who won at the end of my blog week. Thanks for joining me here.

Find me on the web link: http://www.petiemccarty.com

Buy Link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Everglades-ebook/dp/B0084UTPHM/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339272710&sr=1-5

Buy Link for Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everglades-petie-mccarty/1108327978?ean=2940014458146

Buy Link for Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-296/Everglades-Petie-McCarty/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Research "Everglades"

Once the story line for Everglades "popped" into my head and my scene bullets were lined up, I knew I needed to do a ton of research to avoid offending anyone in the decades-long and ongoing controversy between agriculture and environmentalists over the maintenance and fate of our beautiful Everglades.

I "created" the Everglades Water District for monitoring and restoring the Everglades, through in real life that task falls to the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District who cooperate over the CERP, or Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. If you'd like to learn more, visit http://www.evergladesplan.org.

Rather than point fingers over pollution, I created the "perfect" sugar plantation owner with a zero discharge of nutrients to the River of Grass and even a co-generation plant that burned bagasse (the fibrous material left after sugar cane is crushed for the juice) as a biofuel to provide power for his plantation workers. There is an existing sugar plantation in south Florida that actually operates a co-gen.

All the invasive species mentioned -- both plant and animal -- are dead-on fact. The Everglades is one of the chief thoroughfares for invasive exotic species to enter this country from the Caribbean or South America. The government really does have a python removal program in operation and has removed over 1600 individuals.

I didn't put one in the book, but did you know an exotic toad species has invaded south Florida -- Bufo marinus -- and reaches a body weight of 5 to 6 pounds??

The research on the Seminole Tribe of Florida was the fun part. The Tribe is really made up of clans just as Skye Landers explained to Kayli, and his "panther" clan really exists. I researched the chickees at length to keep them authentic for Wren's camp in the story.

I went to high school with two full-blooded Seminoles, brothers and twins. The brothers were two of the toughest guys in school, yet the most kind-hearted and always operated with their personal code of honor. So when you meet the Robles twins about halfway through the story you'll see how my high school classmates turned out -- all grown up.

The operation of the airboat and the science part of the research was the easiest for me. A co-worker of mine, who owns his own airboat, helped me with engine specs, damage to be expected when sinking an airboat, and procedures for raising a sunken airboat. The aquatic plants and "bugs" I knew from my too-long career in aquatic biology. I spent two years of my career surveying Florida waterways by airboat and most of my career in some form of aquatic plant management. I can tell you that all of Kayli's interactions with the environment on her airboat safari (with the exception of the hunky airboat guide and the drug dealers) happened to me at some time in my career, so the narrative comes from first-hand experience.

If you decide to try the story, feel free to email me with questions about my research or experiences in the field. I love to talk "bugs."

Find me on the web link: http://www.petiemccarty.com

Buy Link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Everglades-ebook/dp/B0084UTPHM/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339272710&sr=1-5

Buy Link for Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everglades-petie-mccarty/1108327978?ean=2940014458146

Buy Link for Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-296/Everglades-Petie-McCarty/Detail.bok

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Petie McCarty

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

PETIE: Environmental photographer Kayli Heddon has strong ties to the sitting governor of Florida who asks her to do a controversial and top-secret photo-essay on the Everglades Restoration which the governor intends to use to garner the environmental vote in his re-election bid. An airboat safari is set up with a Seminole airboat guide to take Kayli and her entourage deep into the River of Grass for her pictures.

Unfortunately Kayli's scheduled guide gets side-tracked and begs his cousin -- half-Seminole, half-Cuban sugar plantation owner, Skye Landers -- to take the tour in his place. To further complicate matters, Kayli's ex-boyfriend Clay Jameson finds out about the airboat tour and decides to tag along. Jameson and Landers are at immediate loggerheads, and Kayli is caught in the middle, agitated with Jameson and beguiled by Landers.

Kayli is in charge of the expedition and insists on calling the shots; Landers is used to giving orders not taking them. When Kayli finds herself stranded alone with Landers, she learns that trust means everything in the dangerous River of Grass, and a skilled partner can make all the difference in your survival.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

PETIE: Everglades took about a year to write, much longer than any of my other manuscripts. I wrote a large part of the story while taking care of my mother when she was under Hospice care. The story provided a much needed outlet for emotions during the minutes I could spend writing while my Mom slept. This manuscript is closer to my heart than any of the others, and I am very thankful Desert Breeze agreed to publish it.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

PETIE: Tons. Once the story popped in my head, I knew I didn't want to misstep either with the existing restoration effort [known as the CERP, or Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and co-managed by the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers -- http://www.evergladesplan.org] or with the venerable Seminole Tribe of Florida or with the sugar plantation industry. The research for Everglades is the main reason the story took so long to write, and I probably spent the better part of two months studying books, articles and web sites on the various factors before I ever started filling in my scene bullets.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

PETIE: The cover is shows a tree hammock in the Everglades like many of those described in the book. Indigenous and unique hydrology, endangered species, and climatic conditions create a sensual backdrop for the story. The Everglades ecosystem functions like Cupid's arrow for two perfectly suited people who would otherwise never have found each other.

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

PETIE: Orphaned at a young age, Kayli is determined to carry on her parents' legacy of fighting to protect the famous River of Grass and jumps at the chance to complete the governor's assignment. She, like her parents before her, blames the sugar plantation owners and farmers for polluting her beloved Everglades.

Raised by an absentee aunt, Kayli has learned to take care of herself and to depend on no one else. She has no fear of new challenges, yet trust comes hard to her, and she has a habit of choosing boyfriends who need her to take care of them rather than vice versa. That is, until she meets Skye Landers.

STEPH: What does Skye find appealing about her?

PETIE: Kayli is the first woman Skye has ever met who cares as much about the River of Grass as he does. Her devotion to the Everglades forms an immediate atraction for him and also keeps him at arm's length for he knows if she finds out who he really is, she will hate him. Circumstances force Kayli to trust him, and with that trust, he earns her loyalty and an airboatload of guilt for not coming clean about who he is and what he does.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

PETIE: Never pre-judge a book by its cover. Likewise, people are not always who they seem. Never ever lay out rules or templates in your head for selecting the love of your life, for your heart will surprise you every single time. True love finds its own path to happiness, and it doesn't consider income or career choice.

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

PETIE: Some writers have muses. I have always thought of my stories as "one of those God things [a saying my family has] ." I had never felt the magic urge to write when I was younger…or even when I was older. There came a day when I wanted a new job, and I decided to let God pick my new job rather than searching for the wrong one on my own. So I said, "God, please find a new job for me, the one you want me to have." Two months later, I started writing the story that wouldn't get out of my head. Until that day, I had never considered writing a book or even a short story -- I didn't think I could. For a while after that, writing was just something I had to do. And along the way, I fell in love with writing. My stories are not there one minute and the next minute they are there from start to finish, and I spend a day speed-writing scene bullets. I'm only allowed to wind my way in between, and I'm lucky enough to see the movies running in my head.


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

PETIE: I was given a Nook for my birthday this year, and I didn't really want one, loving the feel and yes, even the smell of books. But my darling husband reminded me that if I didn't have a Nook I'd never get to read my own book. So on my release date, I got to put my book in my Nook. ☺ So I could look at my book in my Nook whenever I took ….oh never mind, there's no more "ook"s.

STEPH: Fun question: Any summer vacation plans? Atlantic Ocean or Pacific Ocean? Why?

PETIE: Where am I going this summer? I'm going to Disney World…oh wait, I go there every day. I work there -- at the happiest place on earth. ☺

Seriously, we have a second home in Crossville, Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau, so I'm headed there in July for a book signing at the Art Circle Public Library. The director was happy to have a book signing for an E-pub. Yea! Crossville is also the golf capital of Tennessee so I will get a few rounds in as well.

Find me on the web link: http://www.petiemccarty.com

Buy Link for Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Everglades-ebook/dp/B0084UTPHM/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339272710&sr=1-5

Buy Link for Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/everglades-petie-mccarty/1108327978?ean=2940014458146

Buy Link for Desert Breeze Publishing: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-296/Everglades-Petie-McCarty/Detail.bok