Saturday, December 28, 2019

Flash Fiction Story by Connie Vines #RoundRobin


This month's Round Robin Blog Authors are posting Flash Fiction or story excerpts for your enjoyment

Marrying off Murphyⓒ
Flash Fiction
Contemporary Romance
Connie Vines

Snagging a copy of the OP News, Professor Murphy Flynn found himself staring at his unflattering photo. The headline: “Bachelor Auction.” The submissions editor was Sylvie Dupree. A dark-haired Creole beauty who was his stepsister’s best friend.
#

“Tallulah Belle!”

Sylvie bolted from her chair.

“You’ve made me the laughing stock of the faculty.”

Sylvie peaked around the corner to see her boss wave the program under his nose.
“Murph, it’s for charity.”

Murphy’s gaze locked with hers. “If I’m going to do this, I need to look the part. Sylvie, can you help me?”

Her mouth went dry and her pulse fluttered.  “Laissez les bon temps rouler, Murphy.”
#

Leaving Murphy at the barbershop, Sylvie examined the tailored shirts in at the department store.
“Is that the shirt you’d like me to try on?”

The tall, vaguely familiar man reached for the garment and she released the hanger with nervous fingers. No way. This gorgeous male was… “Murphy?”

He arched one eyebrow. “Yes?”

Sylvie knew her jaw had gone slack and she was staring, but she couldn’t help it. Murphy had gotten his haircut and styled, and he’d shaved his beard. His cheekbones had a Slavic slant to them, his jaw was firm and sexy; and his hair had a tousled look. She had a feeling she’d unleashed a tiger.

#
“Let’s go over the program again,” Sylvie coached Murphy behind the temporary rigged curtain inside the crowded restaurant.

“I smile, walk down the runway, take off my jacket, turn around, and then walk back to the podium.”
The frenzied sounds of bidding for the first bachelor filled the room. “It’s the emcee’s job to pump up the bids. Just strut your stuff.”

“Strut my stuff!” he yelped.

Sylvie seized him by the hand. “It’s an auction, a bachelor bidding war, remember?”
“Sylvie,” Murphy growled, his eyes dark with desire, as well as a hint of fear.

She liked the crisp scent of his cologne and the flare of fire in his green eyes.

Murphy stroked Sylvie’s jaw, is mouth hovered a mere inch from her own.  “Do you really want me to smile at other women?”

Before she could admit her feelings, Tallulah parted the curtain and shoved Murphy onto the stage.
#

“What did you say to him?”

Sylvie watched Murphy toss his jacket into the crowd and yank off his bowtie.  “I told him to strut his stuff.”

“Three-hundred!”

“Three-fifty!”

Tallulah glanced at the crowd. “Don’t just sit there, Sylvie. Bid!”

“Oh, I can’t just—” Sylvie watched, rendered speechless, as Murphy unbuckled his belt and tugged his shirt free of his trousers. “Five hundred!” she screamed.

“Six!”

“Seven!” she countered.

“One thousand!”

The emcee’s gavel hits the podium. “Going once, twice—”

“Two-thousand!” Sylvie shouted, knowing darn well her check would bounce.

“Sold!” yelled Murphy. He jumped off the stage, hauled Sylvie out of her chair, and led her to a secluded corner.

As his lips captured hers, Sylvie tangled her fingers into his hair. The sweet and gentle kiss soon turned hot and fierce.

“Laissez les bon temps rouler,” she murmured against his lips. Let the good times roll!


I hope you enjoyed my Flash Fiction Story, "Marrying Off Murphy".

Remember all of my ebooks are on sale!  75% off on Smashwords until Jan.1, 2020.


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Visit the blogs our participating authors to see what tales each has woven for your enjoyment!








Friday, December 13, 2019

I'm Blogging at Romance Gems

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The Scents and Memories of the Holidays

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Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Oddest Character I Ever Dream Up by Connie Vines #Round Robin

Thank you, Robin, for this month’s Round Robin Topic:

What is the oddest character you have every dream up, and how did he/she fit into a story?

Odd adjective, odd·er, odd·est.
differing in nature from what is ordinary, usual, or expected: an odd choice. singular or peculiar in a strange or eccentric way: an odd person; odd manners.

I seem to have eccentric people in most of my stories.

My favorite, however, is Caldwell, the cankerous cook in Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2.

Caldwell keeps everyone on their toes.  His humor is biting, but Caldwell also has a soft-spot for those he cares about.  And to everyone’s amazement, he’s a bit of a Romero!

The ‘winner’ of my oddest character, should probably be awarded to Meredith, my zombie heroine in Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow.  Though I must admit, even in her Zombie persona, Meredith is surprisingly normal.  Perhaps this is what is ‘odd’.

How do you feel about odd characters in a novel?

What is the favorite ‘odd, oddish’ character from a novel?

Please visit the other authors in this month’s round robin blog!

Happy Reading,

Connie










Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1LT
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

Sunday, November 3, 2019

November Romance Gems Contest and Raffelcopter Drawing

November Romance Gems Video

The Contests being November 4th and run until the November.

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LIFE LESSONS

November is the month for Gratitude, Appreciation, and counting your Blessings if you are religious and/or philosophical. Grateful, Thankful, Blessed—that's what many of us are, but we probably don't think about that often enough.

Most of us have lived long enough that we've made a lot of mistakes. From those mistakes, we've learned. After all, wisdom comes from learning from mistakes.

With that thought in mind, we decided to make our November Promotion about the Life Lessons we've learned and want to share with you.

On every daily post, feel free to leave a comment about a Life Lesson you learned along the way. You may help someone who is confronting a similar issue.

Our November Rafflecopter has 5 Amazon Gift Cards as prizes. Be sure to enter often to improve your chances of winning, and, please, tell your friends about Romance Gems—our Authors, our books, our blog posts, and our Giveaway every month.







Saturday, October 19, 2019

Unique Situations by Connie Vines

The best stories connect with readers on a visceral level. They transport us to another time and place and put us in a different “skin,” where we face challenges we may never know in life. And yet, the commonality of the story problem draws us onward and, in solving it vicariously through the
protagonist, changes us.

This Month's Topic:
Unique Situations.  Your story/characters changing direction.

What happens when a story or your character(s) take a different direction?

What happens when characters that take over your story? t One of the highest compliments I’ve never received for my novel “Lynx”, Rodeo Romance came when one reader told me she thought about my story constantly. She said that Lynx and Rachel’s story seemed so real, so heart wrenching, and their love so very enduring.  She said that she was going through a difficult time in her life and my story gave her hope.  Hope.  Hope for someone during a desperate time—I felt blessed that she shared her story.  I was also humbled.  It is moment such as this that I know just how powerful worlds and stories are to our readers.

While I never sit down at the keyboard and say, “I think I will write a powerful, life-changing story today.”  What I do, by nature, is select a social issue for the core of my stories.  Since my stories are character driven and often told in the first person, the emotion has a natural flow.

How do you create this type of engagement with your story?

Go beyond the five senses.  Your reader must feel your character’s emotions.  Your reader must forget there is a world outside of your story.

Embrace idiosyncrasies.  As teenagers everyone wanted to fit in, be one of the crowd.  Your character isn’t like anyone else.  Give him an unexpected, but believable trait.  In “Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow”,  my heroine, a Zombie has a pet. Not a zombie pet. Not a dog, or a cat.  She has a teddy bear hamster named Gertie.

Make them laugh. It doesn’t need to be slap-stick.  Just a little comic relief when the reader least expects it to happen.

Make them cry.  Remember the scene in the movie classic, Romancing the Stone, where Joan Wilder is crying when she writes the final scene in her novel?  I find this is the key.  If you are crying, your reader will be crying too.

If you are writing a romance, make them fall in love.  Make the magic last.  The first meeting, first kiss, the moment of falling in love.  These are the memories our readers savor, wait for in our stories.

 Don’t disappoint them.

As Emily Dickinson, said so well:
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

And when you character decide to take over your story-line, or create a persona of his or her making, step out of the way!

Enjoy Halloween, my lovelies!

https://books2read.com/



Here-Today-Zombie-Tomorrow
Connie








Round Robin Blog Hop Members: 


Dr. Bob Rich  https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1JS
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com









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