Rebecca Zanetti's Blog

Howdy All!  I have a brand new series launching today, and it’s a little different than anything I’ve written before.  Yes, it has some romance, suspense, and intrigue in it…and a lot of humor.  I felt like writing something lighter for a change, and I think Disorderly Conduct is it.

Here’s the blurb, and below is an excerpt if you’re interested.  Thanks and have a wonderful rest of August – stay as safe and healthy as you can!

Bullets and Kisses Can Burn

The last person Anna Albertini expects to see in an orange jumpsuit in District Court—a place she SO doesn’t belong as a new prosecuting attorney—is Aiden Devlin, the man who’d saved her life when they were kids. For years, she has dreamed about him. Now here he is—his eyes blue, his chest wide, and his hands in cuffs.

Sure, Aiden says he doesn’t want her help, and his ties to a deadly motorcycle club should give her warning. Yes, her new boss is a sexy Italian bad boy who might be using the case to climb to the top. Plus, the detective assigned to the case, with his green eyes and broad shoulders, wants her to stay out of his way.

With so much testosterone surrounding her all of a sudden, most women would find it hard to concentrate. This might be why the case leads Anna to yelp during a spa appointment, fall out of a tree, and chase a naked old man around the courtroom. It’s a good thing Anna learned a long time ago to be her own hero, no matter how fast the bullets fly or the kisses consume…

EXCERPT:

“I see,” the judge said, turning to the small stack of case files in front of her, clearly disappointed at the lack of gossip. “Let’s get to business, then. Georgiana Lambertini,” she called out in a clear voice.

I turned as Georgiana and Thelma shuffled up to my table. Georgiana had donned a pirate’s black eye patch.

I shifted my attention to the judge. “This is Georgiana and also Thelma Mullen. They were charged together.”

The judge raised her eyebrows. “For breaking and entering?”

Georgiana’s hands clasped against her chest. “It was a mistake, judge,” she said solemnly, her visible brown eye earnest and cloudy. “We were just trying to be good neighbors. We’re getting close to heaven’s gates, you know.”

“But,” Thelma started, then, “Ouch!” She grimaced down at her foot.

Georgiana smiled angelically next to her. “Yeah, we were just watering our dear neighbor’s plants,” she continued, her face beseeching and sad.

Thelma hummed and fluttered mascara-caked eyelashes. “Well, all right then,” she said.

The judge nodded at Georgiana’s eye patch. “Were you injured?”

“Oh no.” Georgiana flipped the eye patch up, revealing a cataract riddled brown eye. “I thought it was a good look for the big house. You know, so the bad bitches don’t mess with us.”

The judge buried her head in the file, and I couldn’t move. The lady had just sworn in court. It was funny, but…I couldn’t move.

Also, click here to link to the trailer that Jill made, and it’s AWESOME!

Howdy all!  June is on its way out, and July will soon be here – hopefully with some sun for us.  We’ve had a lot of rain.  So, I have a new series about to debut, and it’s called The Anna Albertini Files.  Here’s the blurb:

Bullets and Kisses Can Burn

The last person Anna Albertini expects to see in an orange jumpsuit in District Court—a place she SO doesn’t belong as a new prosecuting attorney—is Aiden Devlin, the man who’d saved her life when they were kids. For years, she has dreamed about him. Now here he is—his eyes blue, his chest wide, and his hands in cuffs.

Sure, Aiden says he doesn’t want her help, and his ties to a deadly motorcycle club should give her warning. Yes, her new boss is a sexy Italian bad boy who might be using the case to climb to the top. Plus, the detective assigned to the case, with his green eyes and broad shoulders, wants her to stay out of his way.

With so much testosterone surrounding her all of a sudden, most women would find it hard to concentrate. This might be why the case leads Anna to yelp during a spa appointment, fall out of a tree, and chase a naked old man around the courtroom. It’s a good thing Anna learned a long time ago to be her own hero, no matter how fast the bullets fly or the kisses consume.

As you can tell, it’s a little different from my other books.  Sure, there’s some romance in the series (of course), and suspense, and a lot of humor…but it’s different in that the story is written in first person from Anna’s point of view.  I had a ball writing this first book, and I hope you like it!

Here are some buy links, if you’re interested:

For fun news, Broken (Deep Ops #3) is one of Amazon’s best books of the year so far, and it hit at #63 on the USA Today Bestseller list, so that crazy Deep Ops team is going strong, especially Roscoe.  That dog never fails to get into trouble, right?

Here are a couple of reviews:

“In the fiery, action-packed third romantic suspense novel of the Deep Ops series, Zanetti gleefully revisits the rough and ready (and sometimes ridiculous) Homeland Defense Department’s band of merry misfits… Their chemistry inevitably ignites into all the blistering sex scenes fans expect, and Zanetti introduces some exciting new faces along the way. Series readers will be chomping at the bit for what comes next.“

—Publishers Weekly

“If a team of misfit agents, a dog with a drinking problem, and a swoon-worthy romance with an intense case sound like your kinda thing…. run don’t walk to grab Broken by Rebecca Zanetti. Part of the Deep Ops series, I love this group of agents and their romances…The perfect escape read.”

—Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Other than that, the Zanetti crew is still social distancing and attending graduations and even weddings via the internet and Youtube.  I hope that you and yours are as safe and healthy as possible right now.

XO

Rebecca

Hi all!  It turns out that BROKEN is my 50th release, which is just crazy.  FATED released in March of 2011 and was my first book.  The 50 number includes novellas, as well.  Anyway, it has been a good release week, I’m pretty sure.  Being traditionally published (I have NY publishers), I don’t get numbers until the week after release, so I’ll know more then.  If you have the book, I hope you’re enjoying it!  If you are planning to purchase, today is a great day, considering the numbers for hitting a list close at the end of the day.  See the fascinating info you pick up here?  LOL!

Also, if you’re in Kindle Unlimited, it looks like FALLEN is in KU right now.  It’s VERY rare that my publishers put a book in KU, so if you’re interested, grab it now.  I have no idea how long it’ll be included in KU and am happily surprised to see it there.

Before I forget, we did randomly draw a name for the gift card, and I haven’t heard back from the winner yet.  As soon as I do, we’ll post the name, if it’s okay.  We’ve learned to DM or email winners directly before doing so, because that way, we can’t be scammed by a ‘false winner.’  Yes, it has sadly happened.  Jill was furious.  You guys know Jill – she manages all of my social media?  Well, she’s one of the nicest people on the planet, and seeing her so angry shouldn’t be funny, but it kind of is.  Don’t tell her that, though.

Spring has continued to hit my little neck of the woods.  Today it’s supposed to be around 88 degrees, and tomorrow it drops to 60 and rainy.  Yep, spring.  I’ll keep taking pics of the area, but today it’s smokey out there.  I’m not sure if there’s an early forest fire, or if maybe fields are being burned in the distance.  Anyway, any pics today wouldn’t be much fun. But here’s one I took a few days ago of a nook besides our deck.  It’s a pretty area, I think.

I’ve been continuing with my planner and playing with tons of stickers.  It’s a fun hobby and actually helps anxiety a little bit.  Plus, I zoom with Asa Maria Bradley and Boone Brux (awesome authors) every Sunday night, and we do our planners while gossiping.  Oh, not gossiping.  I mean chatting about the industry and planning our careers.  Yeah.  That.  

Howdy all!  I’m celebrating that BROKEN releases in just over a week.  So, I’ve decided to start blogging again – once a week on Tuesdays.  Yes, I know it’s Monday, but I promised my FB Street Team (Rebecca’s Rebels) that I’d post a contest today, so that’s why I’m here a day early.  We’ve had a rainy and beautiful spring here, and I thought I’d share a couple of my pictures along with my planning page for the week.  Also, Broken releases in a week, so I’ve added an exclusive excerpt below, just so you can get a taste of Wolfe and Dana’s romance.

I’ve decided to use one planner for my schedule, which will be busier next year when travel starts up again, and one planner for fitness/wellness, because after this whole Covid-19 situation, I’m getting healthy.  Here are my two plans for the week – both mainly using Happy Planners and their awesome stickers.  In the Big, I still have the fitness/health stuff this week, but next week I don’t.  Also, in the fitness layout, I have a place for a quote or idea from either my time on the nordictrack or the 10 minute mediation with Daily Calm.  Here are the layouts:

Anyway, it’s fun picking up a new hobby, and it has been while since I planned with all of theses fun stickers.  Next up, I have some great shots from around our house during spring.  I hope you like these!

Next up, I have an exclusive excerpt from BROKEN, and instructions for how to enter the contest are below it

Questions zinged around in Dana’s head, but she had to make sure both men were okay before getting down to business. “Did you see who shot at you this time?”

Wolfe shook his head. “No. They just scattered bullets and then got out of there. We had to run to the truck, which was a few blocks away.”

They’d run bleeding like this? Dana ignored the way the room seemed to be swirling around her. “Are you two injured anywhere else?”

“No,” Malcolm said.

“You were knocked out, Mal.” Wolfe’s eyes had gone a deep hue, and his movements were stiff. Though he stood near them, somehow he seemed far away. “It’s my fault.”

“No, it isn’t.” Mal wiped his forehead off, leaving a smear of blood across his eyebrow. “How bad is it?”

Dana turned and bile rose up her throat. The deep cut ran from his temple to above his eye,  and it was still bleeding. Honestly, it was pretty ugly. She couldn’t see bone, but there was no way a bandage would keep that skin together. “You need stitches.”

Wolfe sighed. “Let’s get you to the doctor.”

“No. You stitch it up.” Mal pressed the bloody towel to his head again. “After you take off your shirt so we can see how bad you’ve been shot. We can go to the doctor for you, if you want.”

“I’m fine,” Wolfe all but snarled.

That was it. Just plain and simple it. The room smelled like blood and dirt, and Dana couldn’t take any more. Adrenaline raced through her veins, and her heart rate would not slow down. One or both of them could’ve been killed, and they were acting like it wasn’t the big deal that it really was. “Take off your damn shirt, Wolfe,” she ordered, pressing her hands to her hips. “You have two seconds. Do it, or I’ll do it for you.”

He turned then, stepping into her space, his body vibrating and his eyes ablaze. “Try it.”

Deep Ops Book 3

May 26, 2020

International

 

CONTEST:  Comment below for a chance to win, and answer this question:  If you were stuck on a deserted island for the rest of your life, with only ONE food, what would it be?  (Food, not drink.  You can have all the drinks you want).  We’ll randomly draw a name in one week and notify the winner.  Good luck!

Howdy all!  I haven’t blogged in ages, and I know most of you have subscribed to the newsletter for updates, but I thought maybe I’d pop in here and start blogging a bit more.  It has been raining constantly at the Zanetti house, and here’s a fun picture of a pretty area close to our deck.  I just like it and I love the rain.

By the way, if you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter, you might want to do so because I’ve partnered with twelve other authors to give away a free book to everyone each month.  This month I gave away a Lexi Blake book, and the month before that was a Larissa Ione book.  We’ve had a lot of fun with cross-promoting, to be honest.  The sign up is over to the right.

A huge thank you to all of you who are essential workers taking care of the world – from first responders, to all the medical folks, to the truckers, grocery store workers, sanitation workers, teachers working from home, and everyone else – THANK YOU!

Next, I hope you’re all doing okay.  It has certainly been a difficult time, and an odd time, for everyone.  While I’m an introvert, I’ve struggled with not being able to see family members or friends.  I do have the zoom thing down, though.  Once you learn how to make Scooby Doo or Sam and Dean Winchester your background, I figure all is good.

It feels like I’ve been on zoom calls constantly, and it’s kind of fun to wear a nice top and yoga pants with slippers.  I’ve been taking a bunch of online classes just to keep my mind engaged, and I’ve also taken up planning a lot more.  I’ve included pics of my planning pages down below.  There are quite a few author planning groups online, and it’s nice to find people as cray cray as I am about it.

On the writing front, Pivot released and hit the USA Today Bestselling list, and I’m telling you, in today’s climate, that was a good feeling.  Next up, in just under two weeks, BROKEN will release.  This is a Deep Ops book and it features Wolfe and Dana’s romance.  It was a lot of fun writing from Wolfe’s head for the first time, and yes, he’s just as nutty as he’s always been.  So is Roscoe, by the way.  I love that dog.  With bookstores mainly being closed, it’ll be interesting to see how Broken does.  I’ll keep you updated.

Also, I’m working on Driven right now, which is the next book in the series.  This one is about Angus Force and Nari Zhang, as well as that Lassiter who Force has been chasing for the entire series.  The edits are due tomorrow, and the book is up for preorder with an awesome cover.  My publisher has done a fantastic job with these covers – Driven is red and has a lot of movement in it.

Other than that, Vixen (1001 Dark Nights novella), releases in August.  It’s the second novella in the Dark Protectors/Rebels series.  Speaking of those Dark Protectors, it looks like Guardian’s Grace (Adare and Grace’s story) is up for preorder now.  It releases in October.

So, drop me a comment and let me know how you’re doing.  I’m hanging in there.  While I’m sad the Nashville, Orlando, Texas, and Scotland signings were all canceled, I know we’ll all meet up again.  Please stay safe and as healthy as you can.

XO Rebecca

Here are some of my pages for the spring – I’m having fun and learning a lot:

Howdy, all!  We’ve been having an issue with the blog here going out to subscribers, so I’m doing a contest really quickly to see if you get this.  To enter, you have to write a comment on the blog below.  NOT on GoodReads or Amazon, or FB.  If you see the blog on one of those sites, click on the link, come to the blog here on my website, and write a comment below.  To enter:

Tell me where you saw the blog post.  If you saw it on Goodreads, etc, let me know.  If you saw it in your inbox because you’re a blog subscriber, definitely let me know.  If a friend on FB told you to go enter, let me know.  It doesn’t matter where/how you saw the contest, just that you tell me where/how.

Tell me your favorite movie ever.  I’m just curious.  

Hi All!  I have some news and some answers for questions I’ve been getting lately.  First, my US publisher is offering FORGOTTEN SINS, the first book in the Sin Brothers series, FREE for a short time in the US.  I know many of you don’t live in the US, and I’m hoping you get a chance for free at some point, but this is a publisher decision and I have no say in it.  Okay, not completely true.  I did agree that they could put the book free (they asked super nicely), but they’re only in the US.  So I understand your frustration if you’re in another country, but there’s nothing I can do right now.  If you’re in the USA, definitely grab your free copy while it’s there.  And I hope you enjoy!  The next three books are also on sale at different prices.

Here are links:

The Sin Brother books are continued in the Blood Brother books, for those of you who are looking for more about that world.  The order of the books are:  Forgotten Sins, Sweet Revenge, Blind Faith, Total Surrender, Deadly Silence, Lethal Lies, and Twisted Truths.  Whew!

In other news, thanks for such an awesome release day for Hidden, which is book 1 in the Deep Ops series!  I’ve been asked about the release date of Fallen (Deep Ops #2) and what in the world is Taken?  Fallen’s release date is September 23rd, and since a year is a long time between releases in the same series for me, I wrote a novella called Taken that is in that Deep Ops world.  It’s only offered in ebook right now (yes, I know, but again…I don’t control this one.  But I think it should be in print, too.  I’ll keep pestering…).  We don’t have a cover yet, but it should be coming really soon, along with the cover for Fallen.  Here’s the link for Taken, if you’d like to preorder: TAKEN LINK.

The next Dark Protectors book is called Demon’s Mercy, and it features Logan Kyllwood and a truly crazy female.  That shouldn’t surprised you too much, considering Logan’s mum is a bit nutty.  (She’s the one who robs banks for fun – remember?). I’m really excited for Logan’s book to finally be out in the world.  He’s been working hard to save the world, you know?  

Fun news!  Hidden hit the USA Today bestseller list, and this is the first time a Book 1 in one of my series has hit a list.  (Except for the Realm Enforcers, which was a spinoff).  So THANK YOU to everyone who preordered or purchased the book in the first week.  This is an adult romantic suspense book featuring wounded heroes and a crazy dog who is fascinated with high heels and would rather eat lipstick than steak.  If you haven’t had a chance to grab a copy, there’s still time.   If you’re on the fence, I’ve included the first chapter here for everyone to read.  

HIDDEN

Chapter 1

The day he moved in next door, dark clouds covered the sky with the promise of a powerful storm. Pippa watched from her window, the one over the kitchen sink, partially hidden by the cheerful polka-dotted curtains. Yellow dots over crisp white background—what she figured happy people would use.

He moved box after box after box through the two-stall garage, all by himself, cut muscles bunching in his arms.

Angles and shadows made up his face, more shadows than angles. He didn’t smile, and although he didn’t frown, his expression had settled into harsh lines.

A guy like him, dangerously handsome, should probably have friends helping.

Yet he didn’t. His black truck, dusty yet seemingly well kept, sat alone in the driveway as he removed the crates.

She swallowed several times, instinctively knowing he wasn’t a man to cross, even if she had been a person who crossed others. She was not.

For a while, she tried to amuse herself with counting the boxes, and then guessing the weight, and then just studying the man. He appeared to be in his early thirties, maybe just a few years older than her.

Thick black hair fell to his collar in unruly waves, giving him an unkempt appearance that hinted nobody took care of him. His shoulders were tense yet his body language fluid. She couldn’t see his eyes.

The question, the damn wondering, would keep her up at night.

But no way, there was absolutely no way, she would venture outside to appease the beast of curiosity.

The new neighbor stood well over six feet tall, his shoulders broad, his long legs encased in worn and frayed jeans. If a man could be hard all over, head to toe, even in movement, then he was.

A scar curved in a half-moon shape over his left eye, and some sort of tattoo, a crest or something, decorated his muscled left bicep. She tilted her head, reaching for the curtains to push them aside a little more.

He paused and turned, much like an animal going on alert, an overlarge box held easily in his arms. Green. Those eyes, narrow and suspicious, alert and dangerous, focused directly on her.

She gasped. Her heart thundered. She fell to the floor below the counter. Not to the side, not even in a crouch, she fell flat on her butt on the well-scrubbed tiles. Her heart ticking, she wrapped her arms around her shins and rested her chin on her knees.

She bit her lip and held her breath, shutting her eyes.

Nothing.

No sound, no hint of an approaching person, no rap on the door. Her throat closed, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

After about ten minutes of holding perfectly still, she lifted her head. Another five and she released her legs. Then she rolled up onto her knees and reached for the counter, her fingers curling over.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself to stand, angling to the side of the counter.

He stood at the window, facing her, his chest taking up most of the panes.

Her heart exploded. She screamed, turned, and ran. She cleared the kitchen in three steps and plowed through the living room, smashing into an antique table that had sat in the same place since the day she’d moved in.

Pain ratcheted up her leg, and she dropped, making panicked grunting noises as she crawled past the sofa toward her bedroom. Her hands slapped the polished wooden floor, and she sobbed out, reaching the room and slamming the door.

She yanked her legs up to her chest again, her back to the door, and reached up to engage the lock. She rocked back and forth, careful not to make a sound.

The doorbell rang.

Her chest tightened, and her vision fuzzed. Tremors started from her shoulders down to her waist and back up. Not now. Not now. God, not now.She took several deep breaths and acknowledged the oncoming panic attack much as Dr. Valentine had taught her. Sometimes letting the panic in actually abated it.

Not this time.

The attack took her full force, pricking sweat along her body. Her arms shook and her legs went numb. Her breathing panted out, her vision fuzzed, and her heart blasted into motion.

Maybe it really was a heart attack this time.

No. It was only a panic attack.

But it could be a heart attack. Maybe the doctors had missed something in her tests. Or maybe it was a stroke.

She couldn’t make it to the phone to dial for help.

Her heart hurt. Her chest really ached. Glancing up at the lock, a flimsy golden thing, she inched away from the door to the bed table on her hands and knees. Jerking open the drawer, she fumbled for a Xanax.

She popped the pill beneath her tongue, letting it quickly absorb. The bitter chalkiness made her gag, but she didn’t move until it had dissolved.

A hard, rapping sound echoed from the living room.

No, no, no. He was knocking on the door. Was it locked? Of course it was locked. She always kept it locked. But would a lock, even a really good one, keep a guy like that out?

Definitely no.

She’d been watching him, and he knew it. Maybe he wasn’t a guy who wanted to be watched, which was why he was moving his stuff all alone. Worse yet, had he been sent to find her? He had looked so furious. Was he angry?

If so, what could she do?

The online martial arts lessons she’d taken lately ran through her head, but once again, she wondered if one could really learn self-defense by watching videos. Something told her that all the self-defense lessons in the world wouldn’t help against that guy.

Oh, why had Mrs. Maloni moved to Florida? Sure, the elderly lady wanted to be closer to her grandchildren, but Cottage Grove was a much better place to live.

Her house had sold in less than a week.

Pippa had hoped to watch young children play and frolic in the large treed backyard, but this guy didn’t seem to have a family.

Perhaps he’d bring one in, yet there was something chillingly solitary about him.

Of course, she hadn’t set foot outside her house for nearly five years, so maybe family men had changed.

Probably not, though.

He knocked again, the sound somehow stronger and more insistent this time.

She opened the bedroom door and peered around the corner. The front door was visible above the sofa.

He knocked again. “Lady?” Deep and rich, his voice easily carried into her home.

She might have squawked.

“Listen, lady. I, ah, saw you fall and just wanna make sure you’re all right. You don’t have to answer the door.” His tone didn’t rise and remained perfectly calm.

She sucked in a deep breath and tried to answer him, but only air came out. Man, she was pathetic. She tapped her head against the doorframe in a sad attempt to self-soothe.

“Um, are you okay?” he asked, hidden by the big front door. “I can call for help.”

No. Oh, no. She swallowed several times. “I’m all right.” Finally, her voice worked. “Honest. It’s okay. Don’t call for anybody.” If she didn’t let them in, the authorities would probably break down the door, right? She couldn’t have that.

Silence came from the front porch, but no steps echoed. He remained in place.

Her heart continued to thunder against her ribs. She wiped her sweaty palms down her yoga pants. Why wasn’t he leaving? “Okay?” she whispered.

“You sure you don’t need help?” he called, his voice rich and deep. Definitely sexy, with a whole male edge that went with that spectacular body. “I promise I can be all sorts of helpful to damsels in distress.”

Was that a line? Was he trying to flirt with her or put her at ease? What could she say back? Something equally flirty so he’d be at ease and not curious about her? Nothing came to her fuzzing mind. “I’m sure.” Go away.Please, he had to go away.

“Okay.” Heavy bootsteps clomped across her front porch, and then silence.

He was gone.

********

Hours later, Malcolm West kept moving boxes into his house, wondering about the pretty lady next door. She hadn’t reappeared in the window for hours.

He knew the sound of terror, and he knew it well. The woman, whoever she was, had been beyond frightened at seeing him in the window. What the hell had he been thinking to approach her house like that?

A fence enclosed their backyards together, and he’d wondered why. Had a family once shared the two homes?

He grabbed the last box of stuff from the truck and hefted it toward the house. Maybe this had been a mistake. He’d purchased the little one-story home sight unseen because of the white clapboard siding, the blue shutters, and the name of the town—Cottage Grove. It sounded peaceful.

He’d never truly see peace again, and he knew it.

All the homes the real estate agent had emailed him about had been sad and run-down…until this one. It had been on the market only a few days, and the agent had insisted it wouldn’t be for long. After a month of searching desperately for a place to call home, he’d jumped on the sale.

It had been so convenient, it seemed like a stroke of fate.

If he believed in fate, which he did not.

He walked through the simple one-story home and dropped another box in the kitchen, looking out at the pine trees beyond the wooden fence. The area had been subdivided into twenty-acre lots, with tons and tons of trees, so he’d figured he wouldn’t see any other houses, which had suited him just fine.

Yet his house was next to another, and one fence enclosed their backyards together.

No other homes were even visible.

He sighed and started to turn for the living room when a sound caught his attention. His body automatically went on full alert, and he reached for the SIG hidden at the back of his waist. Had they found him? Somebody had just come in the front door.

“Detective West? Don’t shoot. I’m a friendly,” came a deep male voice.

Malcolm pulled the gun free, the weight of it in his hand more familiar than his own voice. “Friendlies don’t show up uninvited,” he said calmly, eyeing the two main exits from the room in case he needed to run.

A guy strode into the kitchen, hands loose at his sides. Probably in his thirties, he had bloodshot eyes, short, mussed-up brown hair, and graceful movements. His gaze showed he’d seen some shit, and there was a slight tremble in his right arm. Trying to kick a habit, was he?

Malcolm pointed the weapon at the guy’s head. “Two seconds.”

The man looked at the few boxes set around the room, not seeming to notice the gun. Even with the tremor, he moved like he could fight. “There’s nowhere to sit.”

“You’re not staying.” Malcolm could get to the vehicle hidden a mile away within minutes and then take off again. The pretty cottage was a useless dream, and he’d known it the second he’d signed the papers. “I’d hate to ruin the minty-green wallpaper.” It had flowers on it, and he’d planned to change it anyway.

“Then don’t.” The guy leaned against the wall and shook out his arm.

“What are you kicking?” Malcolm asked, his voice going low.

The guy winced. “I’m losing some friends.”

“Jack, Jose, and Bud?” Mal guessed easily.

“Mainly Jack Daniel’s.” Now he eyed the weapon. “Mind putting that down?”

Mal didn’t flinch. “Who are you?”

Broad shoulders heaved in an exaggerated sigh. “My name is Angus Force, and I’m here to offer you an opportunity.”

“Is that a fact? I don’t need a new toaster.” Mal slid the gun back into place. “Go away.”

“Detective—”

“I’m not a detective any longer. Get out of my house.” Mal could use a good fight, and he was about to give himself what he needed.

“Whoa.” Force held up a hand. “Just hear me out. I’m with a new unit attached to the Homeland Defense Department, and we need a guy with your skills.”

Heat rushed up Mal’s chest. His main skill these days was keeping himself from going ballistic on assholes, and he was about to fail in that. “I’m not interested, Force. Now get the hell out of my house.”

Force shook his head. “I understand you’re struggling with the aftereffects of a difficult assignment, but you won. You got the bad guys.”

Yeah, but how many people had died? In front of him? Mal’s vision started to narrow with darkness from the corners of his eyes. “You don’t want to be here any longer, Force.”

“You think you’re the only one with PTSD, dickhead?” Force spat, losing his casual façade.

“No, but I ain’t lookin’ to bond over it.” Sweat rolled down Mal’s back. “How’d you find me anyway?”

Force visibly settled himself. “It’s not exactly a coincidence that you bought this house. The only one that came close to what you were looking for.” He looked around the old-lady cheerful kitchen. “Though it is sweet.”

Mal’s fingers closed into a fist. “You set me up.”

“Yeah, we did. We need you here.” Force gestured around.

Mal’s lungs compressed. “Why?”

“Because you’re the best undercover cop we’ve ever seen, and we need that right now. Bad.” Force ran a shaking hand through his hair.

“Why?” Mal asked, already fearing the answer.

“The shut-in next door. She’s the key to one of the biggest homegrown threats to our entire country. And here you are.” Force’s eyes gleamed with the hit.

Well, fuck.

I’ve had more than the usual amount of fan email lately from new authors asking what the secret to success is in publishing.  A lot of people think there’s no secret.  They’re wrong.  There is a secret, and it’s one nobody likes.

Work harder than the next guy.

It’s that easy.

This industry is tough.  An author has no control over who is going to love, like, or hate her book.  From an editor to a publisher to a reader to a reviewer…there’s no control.  I learned very early on from two reviews that were published within a minute of each other that the very element in my book that one reviewer loved, the other hated. It was the EXACT same thing.  That’s very freeing.

We have no control of what retailer is going to push our book.  Sure, a plan from a great publisher or an opportunity for a self-publisher really helps here. But as the author, I have no control if my book will be up for a promotion or if my application will be accepted.

You know what I can control?

The writing.  How hard I work.  That’s it. Somebody may be a better writer than I am.  Somebody may be more talented.  Somebody may have better marketing or opportunities.

Nobody can outwork me.

It pisses me off beyond belief when I hear anybody discount somebody else’s success.  I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard,  “Well, she’s smart.”  Or “Well, his publisher markets him.  I don’t have that.”  Or.  “Things come easy to her.”

Or the absolute worst:  “I wish I had time to write a book.”

Bullshit.

I’ve met some exceptionally successful authors in this business, and one thing every single one of them has in common is that they’ve worked their butts off.  When other people have gone bar hopping at conferences, they’ve taken a workshop on craft or gone up to their hotel room to write in order to hit a deadline.

When other people have taken months off to prepare to write, they’ve pushed through and worked through adversity. When others have organized their offices to keep from writing, they’ve sat their butts in the chair and typed.

I have a friend who has typed with one hand while in the hospital.  You know what?  She has hit numbers on bestseller lists that we all want.

Books are going to flop.  Money is going to slow.  Doubt sets in.  The people who make it in this business go back to the computer and keep working. They don’t give up.  They fall down ten times and get up eleven.

My first book released in March of 2011, and my 40th release just happened this past June.  (31 full length books and 10 novellas).  I’ve missed out on fun.  I really have.  I’ve missed out on days at the lake, parties with friends, and vacation opportunities. So I could write.  I’ve done my best with family, and both of my kids know how to do their own laundry and cook.  Sometimes I feel bad about that.  Other times, I hope that they see how hard work, well, works.

I’ve always believed, and I still do, that money follows passion.  If you find what you love to do, the money will follow.

But the hard work has to come first.

It really is that simple.

Vampire’s Faith is out in the world right now!!! Amazon has named the book as one of the best romances of the month, which is awesome to hear.  This is a return to the Dark Protector series, but it kicks off a whole new series arc, so it’s a great place for new fans to jump into the world of the Realm.  Existing fans will see some folks they recognize, too.