A New Dream

A New Dream will be available on March 8 at http://www.astraeapress.com In this excerpt my hero's brother interrogates him after his first date with my heroine.

Thanks for reading!
Elaine Cantrell
Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
http://www.elainecantrell.com
http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com

Matt didn’t quite get his bedroom door closed before Chris showed up. He poked his head around the corner and demanded, “Did you kiss her?”

“Chris, that’s none of your business,” Matt protested, feeling warmth spread up this face.

“You did kiss her,” Chris declared, satisfaction oozing from his voice. He moved into the room and threw himself down on the bottom of Matt’s bed. “If you hadn’t kissed her you’d oh so virtuously tell me so.”

“Chris…”

“Is she the first since Stacey?”

“Chris…”

“She must be the first. Way to go, bro. It’s about time you woke up and realized your life isn’t over.”

“Chris…”

“That includes women too, Matt. Violet looked at you like you walk on water. Do you think you could be serious about her?”

“Chris…”

“I hope you won’t think I’m out of line, Matt, but I don’t think Violet’s the same kind of woman as Stacey.”

“Chris…”

“I mean, Stacey didn’t have a problem sleeping with you, but I think Violet would. Pam’s family knows Violet’s family, and she said Violet’s father is real strict. He raised the girls to have high moral standards.”

“Chris…”

“You should think about getting married. You’re old enough, and you have a good job. If you got married you could move out of here. Just think about that.”

“Chris…”

“But the best part of it would be that you’d have a woman to cuddle with at night. Don’t you miss female companionship?”

“Yes, but…”

“But nothing. You think about it, Matt. Violet’s beautiful, and you need a wife. You could do worse.”

“Chris…”

“I’ve got to go to bed, Matt. I enjoyed our talk.”

Chris slammed the door behind him, leaving Matt with a smile on his face. “I enjoyed it too, Chris.”

A New Dream

Have you heard of Astraea Press? They're new, and I've signed a contract with them for a book to be released March 8 at http://www/astraeapress.com. The book is called A New Dream, and in this excerpt my hero and heroine share a first kiss. This is unedited, but you can see how the kiss went.

Thanks for reading!
Elaine Cantrell
Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
http://www.elainecantrell.com
http://www.elainepcantrell.com

Here's a blub and excerpt from A New Dream.

Blurb:

After an auto accident destroys his pro-football career, Matt McCallum struggles to find a new dream for his life, but nothing engages him the way football did. After a stint in rehab, he takes a job managing a grocery store where he meets Violet Emerson.

Violet works in the bakery department, but her dreams carry her far beyond the doors of Chef’s Pantry. As soon as she can save the money, she plans to open a catering business. And she thinks the new manager’s broad shoulders and blue eyes are simply divine.

Thrown together at work, Matt and Violet find a common dream for their lives, but a loose end from Matt’s past returns to jeopardize their future. Will love be enough to save their new dream before it turns into a nightmare?

Excerpt:


They drove in a companionable silence for a few minutes before Violet exclaimed, “Oh, Matt, it’s a lovely evening for a drive! The moon’s so big and glorious, and the air feels like silk against your skin.”

It surprised Matt to find that he enjoyed the drive too. He’d rather have died than admit it, but since the accident, moonlight drives scared him to death. However, with Violet chatting happily beside him, the night didn’t seem so big and frightening, and the enjoyable present submerged the hurtful memories of the past.

He parked his car in the Emerson’s drive and escorted Violet to the door. “I had a good time tonight. Thank you very much for going with me.”

“Thank you for asking,” Violet returned with a smile. “I like your mother and your brother, and I had a good time too. I hate I didn’t meet your father, though.”

“I’m sure he’ll hate it too.”

They both fell silent, caught in the spell of the evening. Violet glanced at him and moved a fraction closer, her face obligingly tilted upward.

She doesn’t want to kiss me, Matt thought. I have to stop thinking about it. He’d do well to forget such nonsense, but naturally that was easier said than done. Violet was beautiful, and she looked at him as if he were whole and worthy of her kisses.

All I’d have to do is bend my head. He closed his eyes as his lips grazed hers.
Soft and warm, they yielded beneath his own. Violet trembled in his arms, and Matt nervously moved away from her. “I scared you. I’m sorry.”

“Scared me?” Violet giggled. “You didn’t scare me.”

“Then why…”

“Matt McCallum, I’m nervous! This is our first kiss, and I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”
Matt breathed a sigh of relief. “I was afraid you didn’t really want to kiss me.”

Violet reached for his hand. “You’re joking. Who wouldn’t want to kiss you? You’re handsome, kind, and loads of fun.”

How absurd! Matt opened his mouth to say so, but at that moment the porch light came on. From behind the door they heard Fred Emerson clearing his throat.

“Thanks again,” Violet whispered. She opened the door, and Matt caught a glimpse of her father radiating disapproval from his chair in the living room.

He doesn’t like me, Matt thought. It must be my legs. I don’t know that I blame him. I don’t like myself too much either.


Do check out Astraea. They've signed some good authors.