Dear Friends,
Happy February 27th! Today is National Polar Bear Day, National Retro Day, and National Protein Day.
Unrelated to those fun facts, I want to say a big Thank You to all of you who participated in my reader poll, which is still available here – and it’s never too late to vote.
Most of you said they would like to know about my writing process and random stuff about me. Well, my writing process is both interesting and frustrating at times. For some reason, I can’t seem to be able to write much during the day. It could be due to the neighbor upstairs, an elderly lady who has this weird hobby of dragging furniture around or vacuuming all day long for five days a week.
It could be due to the kids downstairs who love to race around the house and test how much running they can do in a one bedroom apartment (you’d be amazed!).
The apartment next door is an AirBNB where new people all over the world find their unfortunate way every few days, which forced me to learn how to swear in several languages.
And there’s also my hubby, who works from home and has meetings all day long, where he talks, and talks, and talks.
Now that I wrote all that down I realize why I can only write at night, when I get some freaking silence. Around midnight, even the neighbor upstairs gets tired, and that’s when I can actually hear my own thoughts and get creative. I usually reread a bit of what I wrote the previous day, which gets me back into the story.
When I write every day I stay there, in my fictional world, with my characters and I know beforehand what scene I’m going to write. After I finish writing for the day, my mind keeps crafting the next chapter/scene.
When too much time passes between writing sessions, it takes a lot more effort to re-immerse myself in the story. It’s a very difficult, demanding process, and sometimes I even think of renting out a cave somewhere to turn it into my office, but noise is part of city life and I’m a city girl at heart – for now.
Since it’s National Protein Day, I’d like to share an excerpt with you that I wrote just a few days ago. It’s from Jesse’s story, and please keep in mind that it’s unedited. In this scene, Steve cooks dinner for her.
“There are glasses up in that cabinet. Can you reach them?”
I went to the elegant wooden cabinet and reached up to open the paneled door.
“Which ones?” I turned my head to catch Steve staring at my ass. Olive oil dripped from the teaspoon onto the table, and it took him a while to notice. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t flattered and that my skin hadn’t turned tingly under his gaze, but I did my best.
He cleared his throat. “Um, the ones on the top shelf. Can you reach that or should I get them?”
Perhaps I was just a little mischievous for doing this, but as I reached up I arched my back just a little more and made sure the shorts slid up higher over my thighs. Steve swallowed audibly.
“I’ve got them.” I forced myself not to sound smug.
I returned to the table with the two glasses. Steve walked over to the fridge and retrieved the chicken breast slices. As I poured wine, he trickled the mix of oil and condiments over the meat, then started to massage it.
“Is that how you do it?” I asked, watching him rub the meat, slide his fingers over it, turn it over and over as he coated it in aromatic oil.
“If you want to do it right you need to use your hands.” His tone was gruff and low.
It was my turn to swallow. I had no idea when I started to find raw meat erotic, but this was undoubtedly seductive. Watching those well-toned arms and those skillful fingers was hypnotic. There was something sexy as hell about a man who knew his way around a kitchen. Different kinds of hunger tempted me to fall at his feet and worship him in any way he wanted.
This wasn’t just dinner—this was foreplay.
© Melinda De Ross 2023. Do not use, replicate, or distribute this text in any way without written permission.
In other news, my city is the European Capital of Culture this year – I wrote a blog post about it that you can read here. Also, I posted a video on my Facebook page featuring a team of amazing street singers that filled our weekend with fabulous sounds and vibes.
I would love to know what you thought about the excerpt from my WIP (work in progress)! Let me know in the comments, or go to the Contact section on my blog and shoot me an email. Also, I am looking for recommendations for new contemporary romance and romantic comedy bestsellers released in 2022 and 2023, so I would love to hear which ones are your favorites and why.
If you’re new here, check out my other books while you wait for the new series! They are available in more than one language, so feel free to share with your book-loving friends all over the world!
And last but not least, I’m implementing a Happy News Corner. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to read, since regular news seem designed to depress and discourage us right now.
Happy News Corner
| Third Case of HIV Being Cured Confirmed 10 Years After Treatment of the ‘Düsseldorf Patient’ The Düsseldorf Patient received a stem cell transplant used to treat leukemia in 2013 and has shown persistent suppression of HIV-1 ever since, including during the last 4 years after the patient stopped taking anti-retroviral medication. Amazing Footage Shows Birth of ‘Precious’ Rare Twin Tiger Cubs at UK Zoo The births have been heralded as a “major boost for the conservation of these incredible animals”, as the Sumatran tiger sub-species is currently Critically-Endangered. For 3 Hours Doctors Continued CPR on Toddler with No Pulse–Until Life Returned When 3-year-old Waylon Saunders arrived at the hospital, he was already legally dead and had been for a while. Nevertheless, a team at Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia, Ontario performed CPR for 3 hours without stopping, while simultaneously using other methods to warm his frozen body. |
Be safe and happy!
