Happy Holidays!

I've been quiet because NaNo was in November and then I've been deep in finishing it up. If you go to my Google Group, you can see what I've been working on (which is a continuation of Reconstructing Jada Channing). Also, I'm also a diva! Thank you! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a safe holiday season and I hope you have a new year! See you then!

Savannah

2009 Lub-Dub Awards

Winner's List

best bbw: "Trolling Nights" by Savannah J. Frierson

author of the year: Savannah J. Frierson

Thank you for voting! Really appreciate it!

Reminder: Lub-Dub Awards

I'd put a link up previously, but this one is more in depth. If you all would be so kind as to vote for me...that would be awesome! You can submit your votes via e-mail to dreamwild1985@gmail.com, and I bolded my name for easy finding. The deadline is today--I'd held off on purpose because it'll be fresh in your mind to do the voting today (that's how I operate anyway...)). Thanks in advance!



Best Hero :
Tim Capshaw in “Trolling Nights” by Savannah J. Frierson
Dorian Christensen in “Hostage to Pleasure” by Nalini Singh
Tyson Kincade in “Kincade’s Rose” by Aliyah Burke
Adrian Redwolfe in “In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee

Best Heroine :
Ashaya Aleine in “Hostage to Pleasure” by Nalini Singh
Faith Wheeler in “Tempting Faith” by Crystal Hubbard
Tamara Holifield in “The Blacker the Berry” by Lena Matthews
Miki Kendrick in “Go Fetch” by Shelly Laurenston

Best Alpha Male :
Fenris in “A Guardian’s Desire” by Mya
Dorian Christensen in “Hostage to Pleasure” by Nalini Singh
Adrian Redwolfe in “In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee
Russell Crichton in “The Blacker the Berry” by Lena Matthews

Best Vampire/Warewolf/Shape-Shifter :
Jace Archane in “A Kiss of Ashen Twilight” by Rae Lori
Freya Daniels in “A Guardian’s Desire” by Mya
Adrian Redwolfe in “In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee
Dorian Christensen in “Hostage to Pleasure” by Nalini Singh
Dante Grimaldi in “Dante’s Wrath” by Eve Vaughn

Best Author of the Year :
Savannah J. Frierson
Eve Vaughn
LaVerne Thompson
Lena Matthews

Best Publisher :
Liquid Silver Books
Red Rose Publishing
Parker Publishing

Life Time Achievement Award :
Marilyn Lee
Sandra Kitt
Eve Vaughn

Best Website/Fan-Group/Blog :
The Official Marilyn Lee Fan Club
Fans of Interracial Romance on Goodreads
Fans of Interracial Romance on Yahoo!
Interracial/Multiracial Romance Readers Group

Best Fan :
Caylah Walters
Shawnette from Goodreads
Danielle Hill
Johnandvan

Best BBW :
“Eye of the Beholder” by Marilyn Lee
“Trolling Nights” by Savannah J. Frierson
“In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee

Best Contemporary :
“Trolling Nights” by Savannah J. Frierson
“Tempting Faith” by Crystal Hubbard

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Paranormal :
“A Kiss of Ashen Twilight” by Rae Lori
“Starstruck: Hunter” by Michelle Lauren
“Hostage to Pleasure” by Nalini Singh
“The Alpha Promise” by Hayat Ali
“In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee

Best Erotica :
“In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee
“Beg for It” by Minx Malone

Best Historical :
“Badazz Daddy Squad: Ragnar” by Jeanie Johnson & Jayha Leigh
“After the Lies” by Mandessa Selby

Best Fight Scene :
“A Guardian’s Desire” by Mya
“A Kiss of Ashen Twilight” by Rae Lori
“Go Fetch” by Shelly Laurenston
“Hold On” by LaVerne Thompson

Best Love Scene :
“Hostage to Pleasure” by Nalini Singh
“The Blacker the Berry” by Lena Matthews
“Tempting Faith” by Crystal Hubbard

Best Choice to Become A Movie :
“Tempting Faith” by Crystal Hubbard
“The Megalodon Team Series” by Aliyah Burke
“Starstruck: Hunter” by Michelle Lauren
“Trolling Nights” by Savannah J. Frierson

Best Cover Art :
“Rendezvous with Fate” by Jeanne Sumerix
“A Kiss of Ashen Twilight” by Rae Lori
“Beg for It” by Minx Malone
“Pursuing Zarah” by Jennifer Cole

Best Short Story :
“Tempting a Wolf” by Tressie Lockwood
“Promises” by LaVerne Thompson
“Tempting Neal” by Marilyn Lee
“Your Local Handyman” by Stephanie Williams

Best Novella :
“Starstruck: Hunter” by Michelle Lauren
“The Blacker the Berry” by Lena Matthews
“Boss Man” by Marie Rochelle
“Beg for It” by Minx Malone

Best Novel :
“Trolling Nights” by Savannah J. Frierson
“Tempting Faith” by Crystal Hubbard
“Dante’s Wrath” by Eve Vaughn
“In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee
“Eye of the Beholder” by Marilyn Lee

Best Series :
“The Undead Series” by Emma Petersen
“The Tycoon Club Series” by Marie Rochelle
“The Drace Brothers Series” by Marie Rochelle
“The Megalodon Team Series” by Aliyah Burke
“The Three Sisters Series” by LaVerne Thomspon & Stephanie Williams

Best Story of the Year :
“Trolling Nights” by Savannah J. Frierson
“Tempting Faith” by Crystal Hubbard
“In Blood and Worth Loving” by Marilyn Lee

Some News and Notes

If you're going to be in Charleston on September 29, 2009 @ 7PM, why don't you stop on by the Moja Festival and...I dunno...meet me? And if not you, someone you know? Thanks. :)

Also, if you can mosey on to The Lub-Dubs and maybe vote for the categories that feature me and then vote for...me...that would be much appreciated. And, thank you to those who even did! Didn't expect that, and that's quite awesome.

This review of TROLLING NIGHTS is really kind of great. She almost makes me want to read my own book, and I RARELY do that after I finish one. I'm like an actor who can't watch a movie/show she's in...one day I'll get over that...maybe...But it wasn't only that review. I got two other separate messages from readers about that book and my work in general, and that was just so great because the vacuum is strong some days, and I reckon God needed to remind me I'm doing what I need to do.

Tomorrow I'll be at the SORMAG Online Conference as a panelist for self-published authors and freelance editing. Feel free to stop by and ask me some questions. I would actually go on today because it focuses on readers. But they have discussions and topics that think are relevant for readers and writers at all stages.

And apparently I released a new book yesterday lol. I'm part of an anthology, so check it out as well! Shara & Friends Naughty Bites, Volume 4.

A Letter from My Mama

I got this letter back in 2005 when I graduated from college. It's dated August 24, 1989, and it's written by my mother commemorating my first day of first grade. And I can be honest and say I hadn't looked at that letter from that graduation day until March, when I moved back to SC and started this "new phase" of my life to be a writer, or at the very least a professional wordsmith. When I opened this letter, the first thing I noticed was my mother had beautiful handwriting. And then...the letter was twenty years old, and I wondered where the hell twenty years went. Then the fact I wanted to know what she was thinking when she wrote it...what she imagined for me and my sister even as she sent me skipping on to first grade. And I wondered if she would be happy and proud of me, proud of my sister, and wishing she were here to say so. I also noted she was probably triply emotional because only two days prior had been her birthday, and who knew three years later she'd be dead.

"Marching off to another era" is what she'd said of my six-year-old self. Twenty years later I'm doing the same; instead of her crying this time, it's I. But I can't run from her arms like I no doubt did going to my first-grade class; or run into them like I did after that first day of school. And then my sister never got the opportunity, and how just...unfair that is. But here we are, her two baby girls marching, one of us wondering if she'll ever get to that destination she's had her eye on since junior year in high school, and the other still looking at the map to figure out where she wants to go. But hopefully Mama's marching with us. Hopefully we'll march as fiercely as she did, the majorette she was, as regally as she did, as beautifully as she did.

The letter is hanging on my wall, the only thing hanging on my wall in my bedroom. And I read the words she said to me 20 years ago. And I love her and I miss her.

I'd wished my sister a happy birthday on Mommy's birthday, because without hers we certainly wouldn't have ours.

Mommy would've been 59...I think she wouldn't have looked a day over 39. And apparently she passed that gene onto my sis and me, because I'm really not at that age where I can appreciate being thought of as still in high school when I've so been there and done that!

Available Now: Rerelease of AJ'S SRENDIPITY

In conjunction with Aliyah Burke's latest release from her Megalodon Series Dimitri's Moon also Available Now!

Available Now!

Greek Alejandro Melonakos hadn't been shopping for the love of his life during a routine market run for his restaurant, yet that was exactly who he found. The petite and curvy American Samara Grossman had captured his heart upon his first sight of her and he hadn't wanted it back—just hers in return. Will AJ be able to convince Samara they were meant to be together during her five-day vacation in Athens, or will his serendipitous find be all for naught?

The release features a new cover and an extra chapter for readers to enjoy!

Also get this and other titles in Kindle Format! For more, visit SJF BOOKS!

Ask the Character: Benjamin Drummond (8/09/09 @ 4PM EST)

Hi, all,

I'm starting up an institution on my Web site--Ask the Character. I'm not sure if it'll be once a month or bi-monthly, but I'm going to start with Benjamin Drummond from Being Plumville. To my knowledge, he's willing to answer any questions posed; he just won't guarantee you'll get a satisfactory answer! Anyway, I'm going to start the chat @ 4PM EST at my Web site on Sunday, August 9. I hope you can make it and armed with questions!

Re-Release of AJ'S SERENDIPITY! (08/17/09)

In conjunction with Aliyah Burke's latest release from her Megalodon Series Dimitri's Moon dropping August 15, 2009.

Greek Alejandro Melonakos hadn't been shopping for the love of his life during a routine market run for his restaurant, yet that was exactly who he found. The petite and curvy American Samara Grossman had captured his heart upon his first sight of her and he hadn't wanted it back—just hers in return. Will AJ be able to convince Samara they were meant to be together during her five-day vacation in Athens, or will his serendipitous find be all for naught?

The release features a new cover and an extra chapter for readers to enjoy!

Some FYIs

1.) I have a blog post brewing about white authors writing about black characters...and why white authors who write about black characters get a larger market share than black authors writing black characters; and why black authors who write about white characters would probably have to self-publish it before a "mainstream" publisher puts out the story. Yeah, it'll be long and involved and probably won't be up for a couple more days.

2.) I have books in Kindle Format now, including the just-released "I'll Be Your Somebody". Check them out and for those who have a Kindle, please tell me how they look!

3.) I have Twitter. I think this platform will get me into even more trouble than I really need to be in, but I've been told it's a good marketing tool. We'll see.

4.) Been editing like crazy. If you're interested in my services, hit me up at sjfediting@gmail.com.

5.) I have a release coming out in August. Hint: You've read it before. :)

Available Now!: "I'll Be Your Somebody"

During her tenure as the unofficial official gatekeeper of the Femme Crew, Bevin Moore found love in Trolling Nights. Can her best friend Rosita do the same?

As the self-coronated queen of Trolling Nights, Rosita Velez has one edict: men are only good for one night, maybe two if she were feeling particularly benevolent. Yet somehow, her latest lover manages to stick around for one night...then two...then three...then four...and suddenly Rosita finds herself in the midst of a romantic coup, facing a decision that will change her life forever. Will Rosita abdicate her crown, or will she continue her reign of the one night stand?

This book is available at my storefront and in Kindle Format. I hope you enjoy!

Coming Soon: "I'll Be Your Somebody"

During her tenure as the unofficial official gatekeeper of the Femme Crew, Bevin Moore found love in Trolling Nights. Can her best friend Rosita do the same?

As the self-coronated queen of Trolling Nights, Rosita Velez has one edict: men are only good for one night, maybe two if she were feeling particularly benevolent. Yet somehow, her latest lover manages to stick around for one night...then two...then three...then four...and suddenly Rosita finds herself in the midst of a romantic coup, facing a decision that will change her life forever. Will Rosita abdicate her crown, or will she continue her reign of the one night stand?

~~~~

(c) 2009 by Savannah J. Frierson

The readout was missing a few letters. They spelled “Not”, as in “Not Pregnant”.

There was not a sound to be heard, a breath to be breathed, a pulse to be pulsed. Rosita and Bevin stared at each other, she on the commode and Bevin on the side of the tub. Her best friend’s golden eyes dropped to Rosita’s midsection.

“Lawdhavmercy,” Bevin rasped.

Rosita dropped the stick as if it had shot up a thousand degrees in one second and scrambled off the toilet. She stared wide-eyed at it, her mind telling her she’d suddenly become illiterate, that she did not read what she just read.

“No puedo leer en inglés,” Rosita muttered.

The shocked expression on Bevin’s midnight-hued face melted into one of amusement. “Yes, you can read English. Very well, in fact. Welcome to the club, Rosita.”

Rosita glared at Bevin, two seconds away from sticking out her tongue and cussing her out in fluent Spanish, when a knock on the door made them both jump.

“Damn! What?” Rosita snapped.

“Uh, are y’all okay in there?”

Rosita’s nostrils flared in frustration while Bevin’s flared for an entirely different reason. Rosita sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “Hussy.”

Bevin glanced down at the stick, then raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Pot, kettle, innit?”

“Bevin?”

“We’re fine, baby,” Bevin called to her husband, taking a few squares of toilet paper to pick up the stick and throw it in the trash. “You need to use the bathroom?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s my child?”

“With his godfather.”

“Is my child still alive?”

“Bevin,” came the sigh, and Bevin grinned, washing her hands.

“All right, my love, we’re on our way out,” she promised, cutting off the water and drying her hands on one of the towels. Bevin opened the door and giggled as Tim gathered her close and gave her a gentle kiss on the mouth.

Rosita pretended she didn’t notice any of this as she washed her hands as well, her heart squeezing at the possibility that could be her one day. Her and…

Identity Crisis?

I need to preface this by saying I understand that not every reader will enjoy every book I write; however, I went onto Amazon and responded to a reader who appeared to take issue that my writing is all over the place, and that two different writers wrote BEING PLUMVILLE and TROLLING NIGHTS--the latter of which received 2/5 stars by a reviewer who also gave BEING PLUMVILLE a stellar review. I responded to the accusation by accepting the charges, so to speak. I DO write differently depending on how the characters come to me--I don't really have a "method" so to speak, other than listening to my characters and following where they want to go--because believe me, trying to do differently does not end well! On the other hand, I know there is a certain amount of risk implementing that writing style, one that will earn me the two not-so-great reviews I receieved. I am disappointed I could not provide these readers a product they could enjoy, and I probably broke some cardinal rule trying to "defend" my characters to them. And yet even as I did so, I was not very surprised by some of the objections, and more upset with myself I couldn't/didn't convey what I was trying to convey through these characters...or wondering if I DID convey what I was trying to convey, and the readers didn't like it. I don't know. This is yet another chapter of my ongoing dilemma--what the devil am I writing?! It's apparently not romance; I don't think it's commercial fiction. The only thing I know I am writing are love stories--at least I'm trying to do so. And I do not want to dismiss those who do enjoy what I write. Know my market. One day I'll figure out what that market is, because I can assure you my characters certainly do not care about it! They just want their stories told, and they chose me to do it.

To whom am I accountable? The market, or them?

A Partial Career Update

I had a really good time at the book signing I attended two weeks ago. I didn't sell much, but the people I met were wonderful, and it was good to see so many self-published out there--and not just self-published, but bonafide publishers of their own. It was inspirational, truly. It was one of the best experiences at a book fair I have had. And now there's an article about African-American Romance and how people are finally waking up to the fact that black people/women read and voraciously, and that our stories...aren't as typical as the "mainstream", and that "our romanace" ain't like "theirs", and yet it is.

Pushing at boundaries, baby.

Which is probably why I am struggling through the end of a novel I am writing because it's taking very many twists and turns to get to the ending I see. I am a fly-by-your-seat writer because I let the characters do what they will. The times I've tried to force them in the direction I want them to go...they've never ended well. So I'm just a reporter on the insanity that is my mind and L'Hotel Characters Who Don't Know What the Devil They Want Other Than a HEA. So, I've been writing...other things that aren't so twisting and turning and angst-filled and heavy. I've gotten great response for it, but I still chug away at the novel.

Meh.

So, as I've been "unemployed" since February, I'm shifting more of my focus on manuscript editing. I just finished a project for Aliyah Burke and I have at least three more to work on for her; as well as Shara Azod offering me work on some projects for her, and Jeanie Johnson and Jayha Leigh wanting me on tap for them once their publishing house gets off the ground. I'm truly, truly grateful for this, and I am also a little anxious. Editing someone else's work is nerve-wracking, especially because it's someone else's. I try my hardest to go a good job, but those times you don't...everyone notices. I want to lower the rate of those instances significantly, because the one time I didn't it turned into a fiasco that almost led me to severing relationships with people I truly admire and respect. I know life is like that, but that part of life ain't the business at all!

I also have to think of my own writing career--the above novel aside. I have another novel that, like I said in a previous post, that everyone in the romance industry who judged it tore into smithereens. Now I have to wonder if I should just scrap the entire idea or self-publish it on my own. Like the above novel, this one goes into some very "don't be going there!" territories in the romance genre. And maybe I just need to reread it again or...a fresh pair of eyes should read it. It got great response when I had it up on my Google Group, but, I don't know...yet, I do have a few others I could release. Then again, there are other avenues of publication and I should never forget those. I have to keep trying and not get so comfortable in DIY. And...I need to get more comfortable at DIY too! However, I'm getting dangerously low on my "already written" cache.

Hence the need for me to finish up that novel. And Felix's Story. And too many other stories I've started and haven't looked at in months...maybe years. You'd think with all this "free time" I have I'd know how to be more productive. But if my muse ain't there, he ain't there.

*please come back muse, please!*

I think the solution is to leave my house, not even take my computer, and handwrite. We'll see if I do that. But if I pretend I'm "going to work" (although, I am), I'll be more productive than staring at the same more-than-four walls of my apartment (have I mentioned I love my apartment? Yes!).

Yay, early Saturday-morning purges!

Where I'll Be This Weekend--Atlanta, GA

Yes, I'm one of the authors. :)

May 30th, 2009 promises to be a full-day literary experience, starting with Book Marketing Mastermind Session Breakfast Buffet from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Wyndham Garden Hotel, 175 Piedmont Ave. NE, Atlanta 30306.

http://www.panomedia.net/clients/wyndham/tours/ATLWY/vr1.html
Admission: $25 Breakfast Only/$40 for Full Day Pass

Breakfast includes a marketing and promotion brainstorming session.

*Readers: Please note FREE book inc. with Full Day Pass AND Uptown Admission tickets ONLY.

Next, we'll take the hotel shuttle ($5.00 R/T) to the Peachtree Branch Library, 1315 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta 30309 from 12:30-2 p.m. for readings by authors (including, but not limited to):

• Gail McFarland (Summer Wind, The Best for Last, When Love Calls, Lady Killer, All for Love, Dream Runner and If Ever)

• Diane Dorcé (Loving Penny, Devil in the Mist, Bloggers' Delight and 54 Broad Street)

• Ja Adams (Chameleon, Purple Haze and Unfinished Business)

• Brooklyn Darkchild (This Ain't No Hearts and Flowers Love Story, Part 1 and 2)

• Jean Holloway (Ace of Hearts and Black Jack)

• John R. Williams (The Reunion, C.E.L.L., Daddy and Me, What Could Have Been; the Saint, the Sinner, and the Attempt)
  

• Danyelle Scroggins (Not Until You're Ready)

• TL James (Mpire: In Search of the Lost and Mpire: Death Cometh)

• Sharon Oliver (Keep Your Enemies Closer, Deliver Me From My Enemies)
  

• DeiIra Collard-Smith (Love, Lust & a Whole Lotta Distrust and Secrets, Sins and Shameful Lies)

Final stop: The 'Quadruple A' (African American Authors in Atlanta) Literary Event from 3-7 p.m. at The Uptown Restaurant & Lounge, 201 Courtland St., Atlanta 30303.

http://www.uptownrestaurantandlounge.com

Authors & readers will get to meet and mingle (and buy or sell, of course.) I will have more details on the author lineup as they come in. There will be light hors'dourves and a cash bar.

All three venues are within a 5 mile radius! Please come enjoy the day with us.
The Uptown Restaurant & Lounge - General Admission: $25

Readers: Admission includes one (1) personally autographed book from the attending author of your choice. Authors are donating book giveaway, but if one runs out, please have a second choice.

Thinking of coming from out of town? Please let me know ASAP. I've worked a deal ($89/night, King or double Queen) with the Wyndham Garden Hotel which is walking distance to The Uptown Restaurant & Lounge. You will also be able to use the hotel shuttle ($5.00 R/T) to and from the club.

Tell everyone you think would be interested. The venues are sharp! I'm excited!
Questions? Please contact me via email with 'Quad A' as the subject.
Peace,
Jean Holloway
jeanholloway@deckofcardz.com
www.deckofcardz.com

RWA Writing Contests

Well,

I've entered two different RWA-affiliated contests, and both of them basically said I suck as a writer. More importantly, nobody liked Vietnam Story at all, which I understand because it's not a very...traditional romance. Then again, none of my stories follow those "romance novel" rules.

Oh, well. I may have to set that aside even more to see what I ultimately want to do with it. Figure out how to distill the critiques with out destroying the story. Sometimes it's hard to determine which is legitimate critique and just someone not liking your style as a writer. I'm still learning how to make that distinction.

Chat Tonight @ IMRR!

I'll be chatting tonight with IMRR Book Club about Trolling Nights at 9 PM EST. I hope you can make it!

New Release: Trolling Nights

What if a Navy SEAL has six months to convince a wary coffeehouse barista they were made for each other?

For as long as there have been Trolling Nights, Bevin Moore has been the unofficial official Gatekeeper for her group of friends, the Femme Crew. She is always the designated driver and always makes sure the ladies do not leave the premises with someone she considers a loser. Bevin takes her job very seriously, even if she doesn’t like Trolling Nights in the first place. Yet on one particular Trolling Night, she's completely unaware someone has, finally, chosen her.

Navy SEAL Timothy Capshaw has no problem going after what he wants; and from the moment he sees Bevin sitting alone and sentry-like in a booth, he is intrigued by her. After one dance, Tim knows he wants her. How will he convince Bevin he is the man she hasn't known she's been looking for and that the need for her Trolling Nights is over?

Why Y'all Should Go to My Google Group

Because I have two ficlets there pertaining to the upcoming TROLLING NIGHTS release, that's why!

More Than a Summer Love (Formerly NaNo '08)

I decided to turn my NaNo from last year into my free read for this year. You can go to my Google Group and check out subsequent chapters. I try to update every Sunday. This story is more than just about a summer love, and that fact snuck up on me with a quickness. It's very organic and it's hitting on things I never thought I'd tackle. I won't give it all away, but hopefully you'll want to check it out and enjoy.

For a refresher, here's an excerpt from Chapter 1.

~~~~
More Than a Summer Love (c) 2009, 2008 by Savannah J. Frierson

Charleston, SC—Summer 2000

The bass from the music and the laughter of the partying crowd was muted as the sounds trickled outside to the silent quad where two teenagers, a boy and a girl, sat on the high, oversized bench in their dance attire. They didn’t look at each other, but at the silver light of the lamp in the distance mixing with the strobe lights dotting the path and grass from the revelry inside. The girl sat with her knees to her chest, the skirt of her burgundy dress long enough to allow the position while he sat hunched over his knees, his tie undone and hanging limply around his broad neck. A slight breeze fell upon them, and it made her shudder. Sensing her brief discomfort, the boy sat up and finally glanced in her direction. She kept her eyes forward, though both knew she was aware of his gaze; and when he draped his high-school letterman jacket around her shoulders, both knew she blushed even though the light was dim and she’d ducked her head.

He hadn’t removed his arm from around her after giving her his jacket. Instead, he’d sidled up to her, making sure she’d be good and warm by sharing his body heat with her. She still didn’t look at him, but both gave internal, relieved sighs when she snuggled into his body. This was the first time all summer they didn’t care what other people thought of them being together like this, showing more affection than mere friends ever should. Maybe because tomorrow everyone would go home.

She hid her face into his shoulder and let out a shaky breath. His other hand came up to smooth down her soft, thick hair.

“Ebony,” he whispered, his lips against her temple.

She closed her eyes and clutched his white dress shirt, feeling his chest muscles bunch underneath her hand. He’d never said her name with such reverence . . . such wistfulness. The lump in her throat made it impossible to say his name in return.

Liam.

“Ebony,” he said again, this time pulling back so his index finger could tuck underneath her chin and raise her head so their eyes would meet for the first time since escaping the dance. Ebony wished there were more light so she could fully see his brandy eyes and the freckles that lightly dotted the bridge of his pale nose.

“Come with me.”

She knew it was a question even though he’d said it as a statement. The lump grew larger in her throat, so she could only nod her assent.

The majority of the people were downstairs at the dance, and the counselor who was manning the residential halls was snoring up a storm at his reception desk. They stopped on her floor, the fourth floor; the boys’ floor was a level below. Ebony pulled the key out the clutch of the purse dangling on her wrist, and soon they were in her room. The way the dorm was set up was there was a common area with a single on either side. Ebony was staying with a girl from Florence—she’d been really nice—and she’d also had many male visitors after hours. This was the first time Ebony would have one, but she doubted it’d be the same type of host her roommate had been.

Liam pulled off the jacket, leaving her arms and shoulders exposed once more. She saw him drape it on the back of her chair from the corner of her eye, and Ebony slipped out of her shoes as she made her way to sit on the bed. Liam didn’t come any closer to her, just stood by her chair, his large, brawny body taking up so much space and making the tiny room feel even smaller. His hands were in the pockets of his khakis. She knew he was clenching them because the muscles of his forearms tensed and relaxed.

“Why are you nervous?” she asked, though the question sounded much sillier out in the universe than it ever had in her head. The question was painfully rhetorical—this was the first time they’d been alone alone. There weren’t any friends or books or teachers or dinners or adoring fangirls to distract them from the thing that had been building since he’d helped her carry her trunk of desk lamps, books, iron, pillows, and linens up to her room their first day here at SSGSC—Summer School for the Gifted of South Carolina.

It was Ebony’s turn to fidget, breaking eye contact with him and looking at her butter-pecan hands. They trembled, and she mimicked Liam’s nervous tick and clutched them tightly in her lap.

“Why are you?”

She wouldn’t tell him because she felt as buzzed as a lit-up neon sign by his presence, always had, but now was forced to confront it. Her dress was suddenly itchy, restricting, and she wanted to change, but she didn’t want him to leave.

She heard him approach and the bed dipped under his substantial mass. Ebony tensed at his nearness, especially when his breath brushed her bare shoulder seconds before his lips did. She sighed and closed her eyes, her head automatically tilting away from him to expose her neck to his traveling mouth. A hand slid to her stomach, and her fingers uncurled so she could touch his knuckles.

“You smell good,” Liam murmured against her flushed skin. She jumped when moisture touched her. “Taste good too.”

Ebony couldn’t believe what was happening. Of all the scenarios that had run through her mind, none of them included actually acting out on . . . whatever had been brewing between them. Even now she was thinking of ways to minimize the meaning of his mouth on her body, but when his lips drifted up her jaw to her cheek, her brain shorted.

Liam’s forehead rested against her temple, their fingers now intertwined against her stomach. Ebony couldn’t remember when that had happened, but his thumb caressing hers gave her just enough sanity so she could breathe.

“I wish you lived in Charleston.”

Ebony sighed and leaned her temple into Liam’s forehead even more. He moved and pressed his lips against her skin. “I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

She would, though. Her mother had said she’d be down bright and early tomorrow morning so they could get the van back to the church on time. In fact, her room now looked just as bare as it had when Liam had first helped her with her belongings, save for her linens still on her bed. Her mother had thought him a nice white boy at the time, though Ebony hadn’t understood then why her mother had even mentioned his color.

Now she thought she did.

“Who’s gonna keep me in line when you’re gone?”

Ebony laughed at that, that uncomfortable tension broken by their failsafe use of humor. She turned her forehead to his and they smiled at each other, his hand drifting atop her head to the bun at her nape. They stared into each other’s eyes, but then tears sprang into hers, so she closed them.

His lips were barely discernable as he kissed each slip of moisture from her cheek. Ebony was glad she sobbed with dignity, even if what she really wanted to do was howl into his chest and never let him go.

Trolling Nights: April 1, 2009

What if a Navy SEAL has six months to convince a wary coffeehouse barista they were made for each other?

For as long as there have been Trolling Nights, Bevin Moore has been the unofficial official Gatekeeper for her group of friends, the Femme Crew. She is always the designated driver and always makes sure the ladies do not leave the premises with someone she considers a loser. Bevin takes her job very seriously, even if she doesn’t like Trolling Nights in the first place. Yet on one particular Trolling Night, she's completely unaware someone has, finally, chosen her.

Navy SEAL Timothy Capshaw has no problem going after what he wants; and from the moment he sees Bevin sitting alone and sentry-like in a booth, he is intrigued by her. After one dance, Tim knows he wants her. How will he convince Bevin he is the man she hasn't known she's been looking for and that the need for her Trolling Nights is over?

~~~~

Tim Capshaw dangled the bottleneck between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, staring intently at the booth where the singular young woman with a curly bob stared sentry-like onto the dance floor. Tim wasn’t exactly sure why his eyes had stopped on her during his slow casing of the joint, but they had. Maybe it was because she looked so out of place—and it wasn’t because she was one of the few black bodies in the building. It was her rigid posture; the fact her black top covered more than exposed; and the fact there was an empty three-foot radius around her that was rarely broken by anything other than women or servers who would chat her up for a few seconds then leave her alone again. She didn’t seem sad or depressed, either, which further intrigued him. She looked comfortable in her skin, and to Tim, that was sexy as hell.

There was a continuous hum of sound in his left ear, and Tim realized it was from a slim redhead who had one of the most stunning pairs of blue eyes he’d ever seen, but a body with more angles than a stop sign. Tim gritted his teeth and took another swig of his beer. Her interest wasn’t reciprocated, unfortunately, but he would give her a B+ for effort.

“Ah, you found her,” the redhead said, pointing toward the black woman he’d been watching earlier. “If you go over there with a drink or something, chat her up, then I’m sure she’ll give you permission to take me home tonight.” The redhead ran her tongue over her bottom lip in what he assumed was supposed to be a provocative gesture. Tim took another sip from his beer so he wouldn’t laugh in her face.

“Is she your mother or something?” he asked dryly, his Alabama drawl almost sprawling as the alcohol started taking effect. He looked at the redhead with a raised eyebrow. “Your sponsor?”

Her eyes fluttered and her cheeks turned red. He grinned. The woman was much cuter when she blushed.

“Nothing like that,” she assured him, resting her hand on his muscular forearm. He watched her painted-red nails catch some of the dim amber light in the bar as she flexed her fingers. He switched his bottle from his right to left hand, the muscles underneath her fingers cording when he gripped the bottle. This time he didn’t hide his smile when she unsuccessfully stifled her whimper.

“Who is she, then?” Tim asked, staring at the redhead when he really wanted to look back at the booth.

“Our gatekeeper.”

“Gatekeeper?”

“She keeps the losers away from us.”

He raised his eyebrows. “And what makes you think I’m not a loser?”

“Other than the fact I know you wear a trident?” she asked, her blue-eyed gaze roving slowly over his form while her fingers caressed his forearm. “You don’t have the look of a loser.”

A corner of Tim’s full-lipped mouth curved. “Looks can deceive.”

“I’m nothing if not adventurous.”

The redhead smirked and leaned against the bar. Tim drank the final few drops of his beer and set the bottle on the bar in front of him. “What’s her poison?”

“Who, Bevin?”

“Is that her name?” Tim asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, and um, nonalcoholic, I know—she’s our DD.”

He nodded and tapped on the bar. When the bartender approached, Tim ordered. “Can I get a Diet Coke and another one of these?” he asked, pointing to the empty beer bottle. A few moments later, both orders appeared before him, and Tim slapped down a ten. “Keep the change,” he drawled, and the bartender nodded thanks.

“Come back and let me know what she says, yeah?” the redhead commanded when Tim slid off the barstool.

Tim didn’t answer her, already stalking toward his quarry.