Holiday Cheer, a Kicking Prize, and a Brand New Excerpt!!!

DISCLAIMER...BLOG PARTY FRIENDS, PLEASE READ--It's Friday, even though the date above says it's still Thursday, so, leave your comments for the first day of the blog party here...sorry, the date refused to behave itself this morning... moving on, to...

Welcome to our pre-Holiday blog party, everyone!!!

We'll be hanging and chatting things up from now through Monday, special prizes and give aways coming every day when you least expect them.

Oh, and excerpts, because I'm working on a new book--Legally Yours, part of what I hope will become my new Superromance series, Atlanta's Heroes. Yes, The Perfect Daughter is out in February (and you can already pre-order it and All-American Fahter--out in April), but you'll be sick to death of hearing about those books soon enough. Promise. Today, scroll down and tell me what you think of Kate Rhodes and Stephen Creighton, 'cause they're my latest obsession ;o)

Kate is the sister of a character you met briefly in The Runaway Daughter (Martin Rhodes), and Stephen is Neal Cain's litigator from The Prodigal's Return. Martin and the love of his life get some pretty hot page time in The Perfect Daughter, and their love story will also be a secondary plot in Legally Yours. I'm pulling lots of lose ends together and weaving a great start to an exciting new string of books...be sure to let me know what you think of the sparks already flying between Kate and Stephen.

Today's second topic--reality TV. I used to thumb my nose at it, then I fell in love with Bravo and Project Runway. Then Blow Out. Then Mario Lopez hooked up with Dancing with the Stars. Crow started tasting pretty good right about then.

Mario's like a perfect red wine. Anything tastes good with something that goes down that smooth!! He even got a girl like me who rarely watches network TV to stop and drool two nights a week. Should have won, in my honest opinion. The boy has a rockin' bod, and he can dance. Sigh.

What's your reality tv drug of choice? What can't you stop fixating on, long after you've had your last hit ;o) Tell all.

And oh, yeah, if you leave a comment today, you'll be in the running for a prize. Can't promise two prizes every day, but today, I'm offering a "printed" ARC of The Perfect Daughter (an unedited galley proof) and the stylish Liz Claiborne sachel I showed off Wednesday. I'd give you a picture of the purse, but Blogspot says nothing doin' at the moment. Check out the previous post for a look--you won't be sorry.

So, here's the excerpt. Chat about it amongst yourself, dish about Mario or Project Runway or whatever, and basically have a fun first day of December. I'll pick two lucky winners from today's comments and announce the names in the morning, along with a new day's fun.

TTFN!!

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Legally Yours--Chapter One



"What do you think you're doing?" Pediatric nurse Kate Rhodes asked the well-dressed man standing beside six-year-old Dillon Digarro's hospital bed.

His hand stalled in the process of handing the little boy a miniature sports car. Deep blue eyes rose from smiling down at the child, their corners squinting subtly as they locked onto Kate's challenging glare. A disarming grin quickly followed, one she had no trouble resisting.

Not falling for her little brother's southern charm had been her mission as a child. It was either that, or constantly be in trouble for all the mischief he could so easily talk her into, and himself out of once there was hell to pay with their parents.

Now, sophisticated, stuffed shirts brandishing easy smiles didn't rate a raised eyebrow.

"Visitation for minors is limited to immediate family only," she said as the tall, dark-haired stranger finished handing over the car.

"But he knows Papa." Dillon flashed a megawatt smile that lit up the room--even through the bruises mottling his right cheek and eye--the same way it had the first time she'd met him at the homeless shelter where she volunteered. "Look what I got!"

The arm holding up the plastic Corvette was protected from the elbow down by an electric green cast. Plaster covered the tiny leg elevated in a splint swing, too. Injuries supposedly resulting from his latest accidental fall, down the shelter's basement stairs. Accidents Papa Digarro had no better explanation for than that his only child was more clumsy than other kids his age.

"That car rocks, tough guy." Kate walked to the bed, her smile for Dillon alone.

"It's the one Papa said was too expensive when we saw it in the store last weekend."

The same weekend the little heartbreaker had been emitted to Emergency--for the third time that month, Kate had discovered after reading his chart.

"Mr. Digarro asked me to bring it by." The stranger's soulful frown didn't jive with his too-observant gaze. "Seems the nurses at the admissions desk are refusing to let him see his son."

If the hint of judgement in his voice weren't enough, the confusion suddenly clouding Dillon's smile was all the motivation Kate needed.

"I need to see you outside, Mr... Mr.?"

The man merely smiled, clearly waiting for her to swoon.

Screw Manners.

She grabbed his arm. Insisted that he follow her by half-dragging him into the hallway.

"Play with your car for a minute, Dillon," she said over her shoulder.

She kicked at the magnetic device that secured the bottom of the door against the wall. The door wooshed shut. She released the man's arm, stopping short of wiping her hand on her cartoon-covered scrubs.

Just barley.

"You're so out of here." She headed for the nurses' station to page security, picking up her pace
when she heard his footsteps behind her. "I don't know who you are, but--"

He grabbed her arm and edged around her, putting his body between her and the nearest phone.

"I'm Stephen Creighton," he announced. "And I represent the innocent man you're so determined to keep away from that child in there."
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