Romance with a Psychological Twist
Welcome to the Howl-o-Ween Hop hosted by The Kids Did It and The Mommy Island.
Do you have your costume ready? One year my older sister randomly asked my mom to make her a carrot costume, and I wore it as an adult!
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A body clearly shaken, but not stirring…
Summer, 1929. Murder isn’t on the menu when Chicago tycoon Ransom Warne hosts a dinner party at his country estate. But someone’s a victim—and everyone’s a suspect—when drinks and desires lead to disaster.
Hollywood starlet Lottie Landry has returned home to celebrate her engagement. She’s famous for her on- and off-screen romance with co-star Noble, but, privately, she’s having second thoughts. As her former guardian, Ransom doesn’t approve of the match. Yet his own affections raise questions when his wife, Edith, suspects him of having an affair—just as Noble suspects Lottie. Stirred into the mix are Lottie’s friends Helen and Rex, a young journalist and football hero who can feel tension building in the Warne mansion like a shaken champagne bottle.
And once the cork pops, a body drops.
Coattails and Cocktails is where Agatha Christie meets The Great Gatsby, a whodunit spiked with new love and old baggage, public faces and private vices. Filled to the brim with romance and mystery, it’s sure to intoxicate.
“Must she always be so patronizing?” With her free hand, Lottie fanned the lapel of her loose vest away from the sleeveless tennis dress beneath.
“Must you always be so attentive?” Noble cocked his head toward the lawn, his ice-blue irises particularly piercing. “Look, you’ve overheated yourself.”
Lottie turned on her heel to stare him down from head to toe. “That color doesn’t suit you. No, it doesn’t at all.”
Rolling the cuffs of his striped yellow shirt, he assessed his white vest and trousers. “I think it suits me fine.”
“I mean green. But then, jealous lover never was your strongest role.”
He stepped closer and fondled the bow hanging from her sailor collar. “Remember your place here,” he whispered firmly, then poked the skin above her neckline but once.
“I am. Everything at Belleau is mine to enjoy, too.”
“You flatter yourself, my little four-flusher.”
“As if you’re not counting on that being the case.”
Noble matched her steely stare until a throat cleared behind them.
“Lovers’ quarrel?” Ransom bellowed from the top step.
Lottie and Noble spun apart, her bow untying while still in his grip. He dropped the ribbon to give Ransom a robust pat on the shoulder. “Your little ward is only unhappy with her drink.” He seized the glass back from Lottie, leaving her to fist a now-empty hand onto her hip.
“That so?” Ransom frowned. Standing tall and broad in a cream linen suit, he stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. “It’s not like Edith to mix a bad batch.”
“Everything’s jake, don’t worry,” Lottie said. “Just a little bitter on the tongue, that’s all.” She squinted at her costar with a wan smile as he downed her drink. “Luckily, Noble is dreadfully parched.”
“I only want to drink you in, my love.” He gave a little snort before swigging another deep sip.
Lottie clenched her fist for two beats, but willed herself to snake it around Noble’s back and slide against him. “Aw. You always deliver the right lines, baby.”
He tossed his cap away to wrap his arm around her waist, too, swinging her around to stand face to face.
“You never miss your cues either, doll.” Pressing her close, he brought his lips to where her earlobe peeked out from her bandeau. “Now stick to the script,” he murmured into the silk.
Rumer Haven is probably the most social recluse you could ever meet. When she’s not babbling her fool head off among friends and family, she’s pacified with a good story that she’s reading, writing, or revising—or binge-watching something on Netflix. Hailing from Chicago, she presently lives in London with her husband and probably a ghost or two. Rumer has always had a penchant for the past and paranormal, which inspires her writing to explore dimensions of time, love, and the soul. Her novel What the Clocks Know won 1st Place in General Fiction for the 2017 Red City Review Book Awards.
Learn more about Rumer at www.rumerhaven.com.
In the midst of organized crime and dim hopes of redemption, can love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a naval officer who sacrificed himself to protect his uncle, finding that love seems unlikely.
As they start their lives over in Chicago, both fight family influences and run as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside their parole officer’s door, attraction sparks. Too bad a hidden connection may not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both.
Sophie let out a long breath, feeling the stress of her first parole meeting dissolve. That relief was short-lived, however, once she opened the door and found herself eye to eye with a man whose black, buzzed hair and olive skin highlighted eyes that held crystal-blue, bottomless depths. The next parolee on the docket? His nose was slightly crooked and his lips were full. She stood frozen, staring for several moments before regaining her bearings and muttering, “Excuse me.”
She ducked out of the door and strode down the hallway, daring to glance behind her to see the man watching her leave. A faint smile crossed his lips, and her cheeks burned.
As she scurried off, the stranger’s intriguing eyes on her mind, she decided parole wasn’t all that bad.
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Get psyched for romance with psychologist/author (psycho author) Jennifer Lane! By day she’s a therapist, and by night she’s a writer. She can’t decide which is more fun.
Jen loves to create sporty heroines and hot heroes in her college sport romances. Volleyball wonder Lucia Ramirez finds her love match in Blocked despite the glaring political spotlight aimed on her family. In Aced, the second book in the Blocked series, it’s her brother Alejandro’s turn to get lucky in love. Spiked (Blocked #3) features Lucia’s younger brother, Mateo, and completes the series.
A swimmer and volleyball player in college, Jen writes swimming-based romances as well: Streamline, a military mystery, and the New Adult novella Swim Recruit.
Stories of redemption interest Jen the most, especially the healing power of love. She is also the author of The Conduct Series, a romantic-suspense trilogy that includes With Good Behavior, Bad Behavior, and On Best Behavior. Her current project is a psychological thriller, Twin Sacrifice.
Ultimately, whether writing or reading, Jen loves stories that make her laugh and cry. In her spare time she enjoys exercising, attending book club, and visiting her sisters in Chicago and Hilton Head.
Crap, where did June and July go? It’s time for the August edition of Insecure Writers Support Group where we share our fears and successes.
IWSG Question: What are your pet peeves when reading / writing / editing?
As I make solid progress on my eighth novel, romantic suspense Twin Sacrifice, I’m excited to re-release the book that started my author journey.
We launch WITH GOOD BEHAVIOR (Conduct #1) on August 14, 2017.
We’ve tightened and re-edited my debut novel, a parolee love story:
In the midst of organized crime and dim hopes of redemption, can love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a naval officer who sacrificed himself to protect his uncle, finding that love seems unlikely.
As they start their lives over in Chicago, both fight family influences and run as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside their parole officer’s door, attraction sparks. Too bad a hidden connection may not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both.
Happy July to All Writers! Hop on the Insecure Writers Support Group train HERE.
How is your writing? Mine has grown less and less frequent over the years. But I AM still writing! I’m excited about my romantic suspense WIP–it’s just that my day job has grown in scope and I don’t write if I travel on the weekends.
As I write this post, I’m in Nashville, visiting a good friend who moved here recently. We cooked quite a few dishes for his brother’s July 4th party, including spicy grits, pimento dip, banana pudding, spiked lemonade, and red velvet brownie stars.
IWSG Question: What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned since you started writing?
Happy June to all writers! Join us for our monthly support group at Alex J Cavanaugh’s BLOG.
I’m about halfway through my romantic suspense WIP, Twin Sacrifice. It’s a crime drama involving twin brothers. My sister says she doesn’t like the title. What’s your honest reaction to “Twin Sacrifice”?
This past weekend was so fun. Attending a U2 concert has been on my bucket list since The Joshua Tree released when I was a teenager, and I finally got to go!!! I saw U2 at Soldier Field with my editor Jessica, and wrote with my critique partner Bev the next day, all in the great city of Chicago. Check out my Facebook video of the spellbinding introduction to Where the Streets Have No Name HERE.
Question of the month: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?
Check out this month’s kickbutt co-Hosts:
Welcome to the Life is a Beach Giveaway Hop, sponsored by The Kids Did It and The Mommy Island.
I’m so stoked for summer, my favorite season. I’m visiting my sister near Hilton Head, South Carolina soon, and we will definitely hit the beach.
Want a beach read recommendation? Check out my college volleyball romance series starting with Blocked, or my swimming military murder mystery Streamline, set in Pensacola, Florida.
I’m giving away both ebooks along with a $10 gift card. Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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Stroll over to these beachy blogs to win more stuff!
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Happy April to all writers!
Head on over to Alex Cavanaugh’s blog to join us for the Insecure Writers Support Group.
After the publication of my 7th novel in October of 2016, I took a writing break to focus on my day job and other fun activities. But in March I jumped back into writing a romantic suspense I started in 2009: Twin Sacrifice.
Has a dream ever inspired your writing? As I mourned the end of my favorite TV show, Prison Break, in 2009, I had a dream about an alternate ending to the show. That dream inspired the plot of Twin Sacrifice.
Now I’m no longer in mourning, since Prison Break returns for a 5th season on April 4, yahooooo!
April IWSG Day Question: Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results?
Happy March Insecure Writers Support Group!
Hop over to Alex Cavanaugh’s blog to join us.
I’m late to post this month because work has been so busy and my friends are going through some big changes. One friend’s husband just died, and another good friend (my swimming buddy) is moving to Nashville. *sad face* But it’s good to hang with my writer pals in the support group!
Well, I’m actually doing that right now so the outcome is yet to be seen. I started a romantic suspense novel titled Twin Sacrifice back in 2009, and I’m dusting it off to rework it. I haven’t had much time to write lately but I hope to get cranking soon.
Write on, friends!
Jennifer Lane Books 