Author Spotlight - Excerpt from Catch of the Day

Thank you so much for supporting Petie during her week in the spotlight. Leave a comment about the excerpt today, Saturday and Sunday along with your email so we can get in touch with you and we'll pick one lucky winner on Monday to receive a PDF or Epub of Petie's novel, "Catch of the Day."

Enjoy the excerpt!
Smiles
Moderator Steph

**********
Holy cow!

Gage looked over Lila's head and saw Cody stomping toward the dock, a big Igloo cooler in her arms, fire in her eyes, and steam escaping from her ears. He swallowed hard and tried to pry free, but Lila would have none of that.

"Now you just hold still, cutie patootie," she drawled, "and let little ole Lila give you your good luck hug." She crushed her barely-covered breasts against his abdomen, the neckline on her tank top drooping almost to her navel.

Cody reached the dock and stomped so hard he could feel the vibration in the boards. Her glare could singe the fins off an alligator gar, and he had Lila stuck to him like a tick. He was a sitting duck.

Cody looked even madder now than when she left to get the rest of her gear, which could only mean...

She was jealous.
Of Lila.

Cody's glare deepened upon final approach.

He grinned for real.

Zeke Tumson, my ass. She likes me.

He stopped trying to struggle free of Lila and waited for Cody to get to the boat and the fireworks to begin. Lila felt his struggle cease and snuggled in closer, rubbing every inch of her front against him and laying her cheek on his chest. A week ago, Lila's antics would have elicited a very pronounced and noticeable reaction. Today -- he glanced down to check -- nothing. His gaze shot to Cody steaming down the dock. Had she done this to him?

"Mmmm," Lila cooed and squiggled her body again, "good luuuuck."

Cody marched mere steps away. When Lila purred, Cody hesitated for the span of a second, made a sharp left, stepped down into the johnboat, and proceeded to hook up her livewell. He waited a five-count. Cody kept her head down and fooled with the tubing attached to the cooler. He had to move. If he didn't, Lila would be in his shorts any second.

Maybe he should let...

Nope, bad idea. Cody would push him overboard later and drive off and leave him. Heck, she may already be planning to do just that.

He cleared his throat to be sure Cody heard. "Thanks for seeing us off, Lila," he said politely.

No reaction from Cody.

"I didn't come to see her off," Lila said in a snit. "Just yooou," she cooed and rubbed her breasts against him again.

Cody missed it. She never looked up.

"All right, you get on back to your registration table, and let me get to my fishing." He took her shoulders and physically set her back.

Cody finished with the livewell and picked up a fishing rod.

Lila batted her eyelashes. "I'll be waiting when you get back, sugar. What say we have dinner tonight?"

No way was he answering that question. He smiled and stuck a foot out to step down in the johnboat. Lila chose that instant to hook her finger into his belt loop to tug him back.

Too late, Gage saw the butt end of Cody's rod push off on the dock cleat, and the johnboat shot back the full three feet of loose bow and stern line.

His sneaker stepped out into thin air, and he dropped like a rock.

He hit the water at an angle, and Lila followed him in, her index finger still hooked in his belt loop. The water wasn't nearly cold enough to chill his white-hot temper, and he broke the surface with an indignant roar. Lila climbed him like a dock piling, and he struggled for a moment to keep his head above water until he gained control and pulled her toward the dock.

Cody leaned over the side of the boat, eyes wide with innocence. "I'm so sorry," she said.

He didn't buy it for a second. She climbed out onto the dock and extended a hand to help them out. Two anglers appeared on either side of her and nudged her out of the way to pull Lila from the water. Both men were rightfully compensated, judging by their gapes. Lila's white sundress stuck to her like a second skin and looked far more transparent wet than it had dry. Lila hadn't stopped squawking since she came up for air the first time, but the appreciative stares of the two anglers slowed her down considerably. One of the anglers pulled Gage out, while the other stared at Lila.

When Gage climbed up on the dock, he rounded on Cody. "What the hell was that for?" he thundered.

Hard to believe, but her blue eyes grew even wider. "What do you mean?" she said, so calm and innocent he fought the urge to turn her over his knee.

"You did that on purpose."
"What?"

He almost bought the innocent routine. Almost.

"You did, you little bitch!" Lila hissed and took a step toward her.

Cody didn't back down. She turned to face Lila, and the innocence left her eyes as her cheeks pinked with anger. "Don't blame me if you're clumsy."

"Clumsy!" Lila shrieked. "Why you misbegotten--" Her hand reared back, and Gage deftly snagged her backswing.

"Enough," he ordered. "You need to go change clothes, Lila, and so do I." Damned if he would spend the morning in wet clothes. He kept hold of Lila's hand and marched her down the dock and across the grass past more gaping anglers.

Cody called after them, "Gage, you better be back by our flight time or--"

He spun around. "Or what?" he thundered.

Back came the wide-eyed look and innocent smile. She shrugged. "Or I'll just have to wait for you."

*********
My buy link is: http://www.amazon.com/Catch-of-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00AAQCDF4/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354240396&sr=1-16&keywords=desert+breeze+publishing

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

Review:

"4 Stars...CATCH OF THE DAY is Ms. McCarty’s second release and like the first one, EVERGLADES, presents the reader with likeable characters, a mini suspense, and an engaging storyline with an environmental edge. Great story and I am looking forward to more by this author." -- The Romance Readers Connection

Author Spotlight - Character Interview with Lila Tumson from Catch of the Day

Bentonville Daily Chronicle Sports Editor Jeffrey Waller interviews Lila Tumson, supporting cast from Catch of the Day

Waller: "Excuse me, are you Lila Tumson?"

Lila: "Why yes, I sure am. And who might you be?"

Waller: "I'm Jeffrey Waller of the Bentonville Daily Chronicle, and I'm doing a series this week on the Loon Lake Tournament."

Lila: "Oh wonderful!"

Waller: "I'm pleased to meet you, ma'am. I understand you handle the registration for the tournament."

Lila: "That's right. The registration and all sorts of things for my daddy, Mayor Billy Tumson. Daddy runs this tournament."

Waller: "I see. Anything exciting happen at the registration this year, Miss Tumson?"

Lila: "Oh please, call me Lila."

Waller: Did she just bat her eyelashes at me? "All right, Lila. Anything exciting you care to share?"

Lila: "Why all the anglers are excitin'. I get to meet every cutie patootie in the tournament right over there at my registration desk."

Waller: "Every…cutie patootie?"

Lila: "Well, not every single one. I just met you this every instant."

Waller: "Um…Miss Tumson…your finger's caught on my shirt pocket."

Lila: "Oh, so it is."

Waller: "I guess what I really wanted to ask about was your very first female angler, Cody Ryan."

Lila: "What do you want to know about her for?"

Waller: "Well, because she's special -- being the first female angler and all."

Lila: "There's nothing special about her."

Waller: "All the Loon women I've interviewed think Cody Ryan is special."

Lila: "Yeah, but the Loon men sure don't. They want a gal to be feminine and helpless like li'l ole me."

Waller: "Somehow I don't see you as helpless, Lila."

Lila: "You don't?"

Waller: "Um…that's my belt loop you've got your finger hooked in…"

My buy link is: http://www.amazon.com/Catch-of-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00AAQCDF4/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354240396&sr=1-16&keywords=desert+breeze+publishing

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

Review:

"4 Stars...CATCH OF THE DAY is Ms. McCarty’s second release and like the first one, EVERGLADES, presents the reader with likeable characters, a mini suspense, and an engaging storyline with an environmental edge. Great story and I am looking forward to more by this author." -- The Romance Readers Connection

Author Spotlight - Petie McCarty talks about personal words

All authors are a tad eccentric. If someone accused us of that, we assuredly would cry "foul!" But honestly, think about it. How many people do you know who hole up for hours at a time and are often heard talking to themselves. Actually we are probably testing dialogue, but does the person on the other side of the door realize that? Of course not, only another author would. So it stands to reason, most folks would find us a tad eccentric.

This is not a bad thing, and the label gives us leeway to be creative -- or odd, as others might claim -- in new and innovative arenas. Take for example, new words -- personal words -- our own created words used only by us to juice up our writing. Or more importantly, to create voice.

Authors will take two common words, stick them together, and hyphenate them as a new adjective. We'll take two verbs and run them together to create an altogether new verb. Or we'll just pull a brand-new spectacular word out of our…thin air, like a magician, and call it our own. All of which drives our content editors to distraction for they want to pigeon-hole our grammar and word choice into acceptable guidelines, which is really a good thing in the grand scheme of safe and purchasable publishing. Yet some words just scream for their own time and their own stage. And we all have them.

Take for example, perseverate -- my old boss's favorite word, and he was a PhD in Environmental Engineering. A good definition might be "to persevere to concentrate" or in other words, you won't let the issue go and you stick with it like a dog with a piece of meat. You perseverate on the issue. Authors are adept at perseverating, especially if someone is editing their manuscript. Twenty years ago when the Doc came up with this, I couldn't find the word anywhere in Merriam-Webster, and it only appeared in recent years. Did my old boss coin the term as a personal word? Who knows? Anything's possible.

How about frinklesnatcher? What in the world is that? Well, it's a Petie-ism. [Actually now, my entire family and everyone in my office uses it.] The term started out as a descriptive word for the accoutrements found clinging to the grill at the bottom of the refrigerator. Little pieces of "I don't know what" that blew in and out with the air movements under the appliance. A good definition would be "that which no one recognizes and no one wants to touch or especially not to pick up." But frinklesnatchers do exist, and they did need a name, a name as unique as the whatever you don't want to touch. Thus frinklesntacher. Works in a myriad of situations. "Yuck! Look at that frinklesnatcher." Or "Ewww, pick that frinklesnatcher off my shirt." The word can also work for anything that requires a name and doesn't yet have one. I suspect as I get older and more forgetful, I will find more frinklesnatchers in this world.

And my segue back to this week's blog about Catch of the Day -- I do have a couple personalized words in my story, and my content editor was kind enough to leave them. I don't care what anyone says…pokety-outy is an absolutely perfect adjective when used properly.

My buy link is: http://www.amazon.com/Catch-of-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00AAQCDF4/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354240396&sr=1-16&keywords=desert+breeze+publishing

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

Review:

"4 Stars...CATCH OF THE DAY is Ms. McCarty’s second release and like the first one, EVERGLADES, presents the reader with likeable characters, a mini suspense, and an engaging storyline with an environmental edge. Great story and I am looking forward to more by this author." -- The Romance Readers Connection

Author Spotlight - Researching Catch of the Day

Catch of the Day was a fun book to plot and write with the zany assemblage of townsfolk from Loon, Alabama that came along for the ride. But before I started writing out my story scenes for Catch of the Day, I spent quite a bit of time online doing research to get a flavor for the types of lakes one would find in Alabama as well as the type of fish habitat one would encounter in those lakes. I needed a just-right type of atmosphere, a little wild and a little crazy, for the Loon tournament.

First, I had to get the lake and the environmental conditions right. It wouldn't do to go to all that trouble with rods and reels and lures, only to have an Alabama reader email and say, "Hey, Loon Lake doesn't resemble any lake I ever saw in Alabama." I had to get close on water quality -- clear versus slightly turbid or even tannic -- and habitat, as in actual aquatic vegetation and the proper indigenous species. Or is the habitat supposed to be just boulders, tree trunks, and branches because the lake is an old reservoir?

Then I had to be sure I had the right fish species for both the habitat and for the tournament use [even though I may only mention fish species three times in the entire story, I had better get them right]. Plus, I had to tackle the tackle, so to speak. Find the appropriate lures, get the terminology, and make sure I applied those lures to the correct species of fish. No, our scaly friends are not all alike and each has food and habitat preferences, so the lures must correctly match up with the chosen fish and hiding spot.

And the biggest hurdle was to provide all that without making the story seem like it was bogged down with a lot of details. And even though I did all that research before I started writing, the more my survey partner talked about his professional tournaments, the more I knew I needed his help. So I started asking dozens of questions, and he, in turn, provided the technical background I required, teaching me basic tournament rules and procedures and eventually editing my final draft for fishing faux pas. I wanted plenty of fun and humor for my story and didn't want to bog down the plot and pacing with details. With my partner's helpful editing, we were able to keep our tournament details accurate -- but yet at a minimum -- which allowed the story to totally concentrate on the people and the plot and the romance.

The wildest part of the research came after the story was completely finished! I had a nice chase scene for a climax, but it didn't make me hold my breath as I wrote it, so I was a tad disappointed. Shortly after finishing the story and before my personal first round of edits, my survey partner returned from a tournament raving over the winning angler and how the man managed to jump a beaver dam in one of the coves with his bass boat to get to the prime fishing habitat on the other side. When my partner finished his wild tale, he stared at me for a minute and said, "What are your eyes all lit up for?" And I told him with a mile-wide grin, "You just helped me rewrite my chase scene," and I already knew I'd be holding my breath when I wrote it.

Hopefully when my readers reach the story's end, they will realize they learned tidbits of tournament fishing knowledge along the way -- and more importantly, laughed all along the way.



My buy link is: http://www.amazon.com/Catch-of-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00AAQCDF4/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354240396&sr=1-16&keywords=desert+breeze+publishing

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

Review:

"4 Stars...CATCH OF THE DAY is Ms. McCarty’s second release and like the first one, EVERGLADES, presents the reader with likeable characters, a mini suspense, and an engaging storyline with an environmental edge. Great story and I am looking forward to more by this author." -- The Romance Readers Connection

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Petie McCarty

STEPH: I don't know much about "Catch of the Day." What's it about?

PETIE: In Catch of the Day, I hope to make readers laugh out loud one minute and grip the edge of their seat in the next. They will tag along with a red-headed spitfire named Cody Ryan and her tournament partner, Special Ops Coast Guard Captain Gage Connor, as the partners compete in a wild and crazy fishing tournament in the Doc-Hollywood-esque town of Loon, Alabama, accompanied by an assemblage of townsfolk as zany as the name.

The mayor of Loon makes up his own rules for the private town tournament, his lunkhead son plans to cheat to win the event, and his daughter just plans to cheat to win Gage Connor.

There's plenty of excitement for everyone when inept drug smugglers come looking for their uncut diamonds inadvertently stashed in the Coast Guard captain's borrowed bass boat as the exchange point for their smuggled drugs. The Colombians are playing for keeps and will stop at nothing to retrieve their stash, even if it means kidnapping Gage's girlfriend.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

PETIE: Catch of the Day took about nine months to finish. It would have been much shorter if I didn't have that "day job" to report to every day. But without the day job, there would have been no Catch of the Day. *grin*

I wrote a large part of the story before I had the technical assistance from a professional angler, so I eventually received a detailed editing from him that followed my own full-scale edits. Then after the manuscript was completely finished and I had let out my huge end-of-the-story sigh of relief, I ended up rewriting my story's big climactic scene. See "Researching Catch of the Day" on tomorrow's blog. *Sly grin*

STEPH: Where did you get your inspiration for Catch of the Day?

PETIE: This is an easy question, and it goes back to my day job. I routinely survey lakes for aquatic vegetation, and my survey partner is a professional angler with the National Bassmaster Southern Opens series. [The national fishing organization, B.A.S.S., has a membership more than half a million strong and is the focal point of a multibillion-dollar fishing industry.] He would always come back from his three-day tournaments around the southeastern United States with plenty of fishing stories, and then one day, the movie popped into my head. What would happen if a girl entered an all-guy tournament? And what if I staged it in the Doc-Hollywood-esque town of Loon, Alabama with plenty of quirky residents?


STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

PETIE: I did quite a bit of research online [Alabama state parks, Alabama Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bassmaster.com, Bass Pro Shop to "shop" for tackle] before I eventually turned to my survey partner for help. Research can get away from you if you let it, but in this case there was more research needed than just angler skills and fishing tackle.

In fact, I rewrote my entire finale after my partner brought back a whopper of a tale -- albeit true -- from one of his fishing tournaments. You'll have to read about Researching Catch of the Day on tomorrow's blog to see how I worked that in. ☺

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

PETIE: The cover displays one of the physical focal points of the story -- Cody Ryan's crummy little johnboat on Loon Lake as the sun comes up. Cody, the heroine, is paired up with the hero Coast Guard captain for the tournament, but if both partners bring a boat, the pair has to use each boat for one day in the tournament. Thus, the feminine little johnboat causes quite a bit of ruckus amongst the sleek, thoroughbred -- and very male -- bass boats. If that isn't disturbance enough, her homemade livewell, made out of an igloo cooler, has the competition in an uproar.

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

PETIE: Cody enters the Loon Lake tournament because her father had fished in it every year, and when he passed away, she thought she'd feel closer to him and maybe not miss him so much if she fishes the tournament, too. Meanwhile, the women of Loon decide to adopt her as their personal mascot, and before Cody knows it, she's competing for women's fishing rights in Loon. So her obvious strengths are her willingness to face challenges head on and her attention to detail. She's also an accountant with a soft heart and ends up checking the books for half of Loon.
Her real strengths come out in the tournament, however, and are obvious to everyone but Cody -- her patience, her endurance, and her courage.

Cody really only has one major weakness -- a definite lack of trust in others. Her mother died and left Cody while she was very young, and her father turned to his job and buried himself in his work, so he was never there for Cody. Consequently, she not only fears others will let her down -- she expects it.

STEPH: What does Gage Connor find appealing about her?

PETIE: Cody's tournament partner, Special Ops Coast Guard captain Gage Connor comes to Loon to resolve an old family dispute and to search for the girl who was his very first love. Meeting Cody throws a wrench into his well-laid plans.

Gage is enthralled by Cody's courage in entering and competing in the Loon Lake tournament -- the sole female angler in the male-dominated touranment. She suffers jeers and taunts with her chin up and her shoulders back. And standing behind her are all the women of Loon, watching the fun.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

PETIE: Your heart will always recognize your one true love, even if your eyes, at first, are blind.

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 books. So on my release date at Thanksgiving, I joyfully put my second book in my Nook, so I could look at my book wherever I took ….oh well, Seuss I am not…

STEPH: Fun question: Do you have a favorite Christmas recipe you like to bake up during this time?

PETIE: I am without a doubt the world's lousiest cook! I knew how to make 10 things when I got married, and now I know how to make 12 things. When my husband told his mother in the Christmas season of our second year of marriage that I made Tollhouse cookies for Christmas cookies [which was a fib since I had never made ANY Christmas cookies], she sent me twelve cookie recipes. After reading them over, I thought I could only accomplish one -- a sugar cookie recipe that I decided to be brave and try. Grandma McCarty had the ingredients and the procedure on an index card, but it didn't say how many cookies each batch made, so I made SEVERAL batches. *sigh* And I kept rolling out dough and rolling out dough and rolling out dough…

Everyone we knew got cookies that year and so did the mailman, the garbage man, the toll plaza change-maker man… well, you get the idea. I made 22 dozen sprinkle-coated sugar cookies in the shape of St. Nick, bells, reindeer and stockings and never made Christmas cookies again.

My buy link is: http://www.amazon.com/Catch-of-the-Day-ebook/dp/B00AAQCDF4/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354240396&sr=1-16&keywords=desert+breeze+publishing

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

REVIEW:

"4 Stars...CATCH OF THE DAY is Ms. McCarty’s second release and like the first one, EVERGLADES, presents the reader with likeable characters, a mini suspense, and an engaging storyline with an environmental edge. Great story and I am looking forward to more by this author." -- The Romance Readers Connection

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