Good morning, everyone! I’m Claire, and I’m the entertainment for the day. I’m also super excited to be here. For those of you I haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet, I’m published in contemporary romance and contracted with Tor for a paranormal release in 2011. I’m a history buff, a horse enthusiast, and above all, a romantic at heart. Writing is, in the truest sense of the meaning, my passion.
I’m assuming most everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving, right? I’d love to hear what you all have on the menu above and beyond the turkey, and if there are any special things you do to celebrate this holiday. My family is small, and our day is pretty routine ““ a bird, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and taters. (Yes. I said “taters’ ““ don’t shoot me, I can’t help it that there’s hillbilly blood in my veins.)
Not much changes, and I don’t think I’d want it to change too much. Tradition is comfortable. Something to look forward to.
Unless, you happen to be one of the three King brothers.
For Alex King, tradition means getting married on Christmas Eve while his ex-wife caters the wedding. For Heath, being best man means returning home to confront his best friend’s widow ““ the only woman he’s ever loved. And for Clint, acquiescing to his mother’s demands to return for the wedding means risking his future and every dream he’s ever known.
No, the poor King brothers want nothing to do with tradition this year.
I, however, am more than pleased to add Clint’s fiasco into my traditions ““ his story releases today through the Wild Rose Press. So tomorrow will be a day of additional celebration in my household.
Clint’s tale holds a special place in my heart. First, it’s the only book I’ve written that I’ve set in my home town. This allowed me to dig into some of the things Kansas City is known for such as ice skating at Crown Center and the Mayor’s Christmas Tree brilliance. Second, the collaboration between myself and the other two authors in the series was an amazingly rewarding challenge.
Above all, however, Clint faces some issues that I think a large majority of people have had to deal with in one way or the other: The sacrifice between what the heart wants when it’s pulled two different ways; Feeling the need to uphold responsibility and struggling to fulfill self-perceived roles; Joining two families when a child is beyond resistant to the merger.
He’s one of the few characters I’ve created who literally has told the story to me. I tend to be a heavy plotter, and my characters step through my plot exactly as it should be. Clint, on the other hand, had some extreme moments where he rebelled against my outline. All this made him one of the characters I’ll never forget, and the quiet strength that he exudes, but doesn’t know he possesses is a quality that makes my heart flutter, despite his being my creation.
With all that said, I’d like to introduce Clint’s story, A Christmas To Believe In, the third book in the Three Kings Series.
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When a man’s dreams are in ruin, all he needs is someone to believe…
Struggling Thoroughbred breeder, Clint King, hasn’t been home for Christmas in five years. Like his brothers, Alex and Heath, life has kept him away. Clint’s farm is barely hanging on. His prize mare’s due to foal any day, and in the wake of his father’s death, Clint can’t stand the idea of returning. The memories are too much, let alone his father’s imposing shadow. Except, Alex is getting married on Christmas Eve, and their mother’s put her foot down. She’ll have her boys at home. With his mare in tow behind him, Clint prepares to meet a sister he’s never known and Alex’s unexpected triplets. The one salvation he looks forward to is childhood companion, tomboy Jesse Saurs. Yet when he reunites with Jesse, he uncomfortably discovers she’s become all woman.
Jesse Saurs has everything she needs ““ financial security, a home, and a foster child who’s about to become her son. She’s spent two years breaking down Ethan’s emotional barriers, and with the final hearing scheduled just before Christmas, this year promises to make his dreams come true. When she learns Clint and his brothers are returning, she anticipates a holiday reunion that’s sure to entertain Ethan. But on the night of Clint’s return, the “brother’ she expected leaves her trembling after just a single hug. Even worse, Ethan makes it clear Clint’s not welcome.
Will this Christmas destroy what’s left of hopes and dreams, or will it give the three the gift they’ve all been longing for?
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EXCERPT: (slightly edited for a PG audience)
“You’d like him, Ethan. He was a lot of fun when we were younger.
“”Uh huh.” Noncommittal, he answered in a flat tone.
Jesse lapsed into silence, sensing she walked a thin line. Still, she couldn’t let the subject rest. There had to be a way to convince Ethan that Clint wasn’t a threat to his stability. Until she achieved that, she couldn’t just let go and let him harbor hate. Clint didn’t deserve it. Cautiously, she ventured, “Horses could be a lot of fun.”
Ethan snorted.
“You might give it a try. Something new and different. It can’t hurt, at any rate. If you don’t like Angel, well, then you’ve at least given it a shot.”
He tossed his controller in front of him, his interest in the game lost. She braced herself for the inevitable, knowing full well, whatever came out of his mouth next would hurt.
“Give it up, would you? I don’t want to know him. I don’t have to like your friends.”
“But Ethan-“
He scooted away like she’d cracked a whip in his face. “Enough! Don’t you get it? I don’t give a **** about him.”
“Ethan Scott!”
“What? Too crude for you, Jesse?”
She flinched, drew in a deep breath and held it. Jesse. He hadn’t called her by her first name for over a year. Exhaling slowly, she set her controller down and slid off his bed. Though she knew in her heart, too many years of pain drove his emotions, the barb stung. On the same hand, she’d pushed. Ethan couldn’t tolerate pushing. He had to come to things on his own time.
Foregoing the lecture, she crossed to the door. “Goodnight, Ethan.”
He said nothing. Merely picked up his controller and set the options back to one-player. On a heavy sigh, Jesse left his room.
Inside hers, she clicked on the lamp by her bedside and reclined against her pillows. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She closed them to keep the salty flow at bay and curled her fingers into the sheets. In a thousand years, she never would have imagined that the only man she’d ever truly wanted would be Clint. In his arms, she felt safe. Protected. Undefeatable. He lit her up in ways she had only begun to comprehend, and it seemed as if fate determined to work against her.
If she weren’t careful, she’d lose Ethan. Every agonizing step she’d made would crumble under the weight of his fears. He’d close up, inevitably turn back to the life he’d known before he entered hers, and she couldn’t stomach the thought of where that would lead him. Jail, if he were lucky. Dead, if he wasn’t.
Yet, shouldn’t she be allowed some personal happiness as well? There were so many unwritten rules to parenthood ““ sacrifice for the children, put all personal goals aside, give up everything to see to their happiness. She’d exchange her life for Ethan’s in a heartbeat, but Clint offered something no child could. Even if it was only temporary, and this giddy feeling that brimmed in her soul would end when he left, he promised fulfillment of a need that ran so deep she couldn’t name it.
A tear slipped between her eyelashes and trickled down her cheek. She sniffled to hold the rest in check. She never should have let him kiss her a second time tonight. The first had been catastrophic enough. The second”¦
She wouldn’t be satisfied with anything but all of him after that second kiss. Instinct demanded she leap at what lay in front of her. Hang on to it until it burned itself out with his inevitable departure. Logic, on the other hand, warned her that if she did, she’d lose the one thing that mattered most ““ her son.
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I’ll be here throughout the day today, so please feel free to comment at liberty. Also stop in at my website, take a look around (check out the paranormal page!!), learn about the contests I’m participating in this month, and sign up for my newsletter to keep on top of the most current information on my books.
Looking forward to talking to you more!
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