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THE SUBLIME MISS PAIGE

KAREN MERCURY

Copyright © 2013

 Chapter One

 

Last Chance, California

This should have been one of the best weeks of Willow Paige’s life.

A whole new start in a whole new town. Last Chance was a forgotten burg in the Coachella Valley of California—a place where one could hide, yet close enough to the kitsch and glitz of Palm Springs that she could go there to party, if she ever chose to.

Gentrification was spreading to Last Chance. That’s what the realtor—her friend—Jaclyn had assured her. Over in Palm Springs and its environs, flippers were taking advantage of the newfound craze for mid-century modernism, the Jetsons architecture. The clean lines, the abundance of glass, the indoor-outdoor living style perfectly suited Willow’s mindset. Or, at least, the mindset she wished to have. She wanted a modern vibe, dammit! Willow longed to be supersonic and out of sight. After the humidity of Florida, she wanted the dry, wide-open vistas. The breathtaking views of the craggy San Jacinto Mountains were supposed to give her an expansive feeling, the perfect antidote to the muggy claustrophobia of the Everglades that had been her home for thirty-two years.

The Everglades that had turned into a haunted town of horrors for the past two years.

New Book Cover for Three of a Perfect Pair

OK, here's the big reveal for Book #2 in my Hell's Delight series, Three of a Perfect Pair. 

They’re at it again in the hamlet of Hell’s Delight.  Katrina Abramson, recovering from a nasty breakup, is hosed by firefighter Alex Coldiron during the annual Fourth of July water fight between rival fire companies.  She is sprayed right into cattleman Shane Jonas, on the run from his past.  He has returned to confront his future.

Town reporter Alex knows Shane wants to mend fences with brother Devin and plans to write a heartwarming article.  Instead he’s thrust into a passionate triangle with the amorous couple, and Alex must face the truth about his sexuality.  Katrina is swept into a thrilling power exchange with the two men where no one is ever sure who has the upper hand.

An exotic, shady character from Shane’s former life is lurking in the shadows, spying on their play sessions, and Shane's dangerous past is about to come full circle.

The title popped into my head one day, then I realized it was a King Crimson album.  When I looked up the lyrics, thinking perhaps they had some subconscious meaning, they weren't too romantic, or I would've included them in the dedication.

She is susceptible
He is impossible
They have their cross to share
Three of a perfect pair...

 

 

Yeah, thanks Adrian Belew, but I'll leave that part out for now. :)  Anyway, I based the heroine on the actress Kristen Johnston, currently starring in The Exes, formerly of Third Rock from the Sun.  She was Lacey's BFF in Book #1, and I had just read her autobiography.

 

 

The primary alpha hero was Grant Bowler, currently on that really good post-apocalyptic show Defiance.  In my book he plays Shane Jonas, one of the Jonas brothers (yeah, I didn't realize that blunder until I'd already named them) who returns from years in China dealing with the mafia there.  He wants to start anew, but old coworkers come back to haunt him.  You can take the boy out of the pine nut forest, but...

 

And once again, Ryan Gosling gets his own starring role as the secondary hero Alex Coldiron, the volunteer fireman/town journalist of Hell's Delight.

 

 

It releases July 22 so stand by for more.