Winners--what everyone loves to hear ;o)

Okay, before I do the winners of much blog booty and a little excerpting...

Here's a little something that renews hope that even when I'm losing my mind on deadline, I couldn't possibly be this out of it ;o) It's a video, so turn your sound on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

Just so you'll know--yes, that's what I sound like these days, as I work on the second book in my new series, lol!

Next, the prizes:

To receive a selection of the books from my July 19th post:

Catslady, who posted at 6:30 on 7/19

Cheri J, who posted at 2:03 on the 7/19

To receive one of the RT Conference bags from the 19th post:

Kim W., who posted at 8:21

Everyone, send me your snail mail addresses so I can get the prizes out to you.

I'll pick more winners in the next post ;o). So keep commenting. All comments from the 19th and later are eligible. We'll run out some day, but there's lots to give away for a while...

And let's see, an excerpt... Since Atlanta Heroes is coming in October, beginning with Because of a Boy--tell me what you think of the cover, it's up on the blog and my website...

*************

Because of a Boy

Chapter 1

"What do you think you're doing?" Nurse Kate Rhodes asked the stranger standing beside ten-year-old Dillon's hospital bed.

The well-dressed man's hand stalled in the process of handing over a miniature sports car. Deep blue eyes rose from smiling down at the child, their corners squinting as they locked onto Kate's glare. A disarming grin quickly followed.

One she had no trouble resisting.

Her mission as a child had been not falling for her brother's southern charm. It was either that, or be in constant trouble for the mischief Martin could so easily talk her into. Now that she'd achieved the wise age of thirty-two, 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 man finished handing over the car.

"But, he knows Papa." What had been a withdrawn little boy flashed a megawatt smile.

The bruises mottling Dillon's right cheek and eye refused to allow Kate to celebrate.

His smile lit up the room when his papa was around. The two of them had been inseparable at the homeless shelter where Kate volunteered most of her free time away from the hospital. Dillon's unquestioning love for his only parent was what made this situation even harder to accept.

"Look what I got!" he exclaimed, his flawless English colored by a heavy South American inflection.

At least he was finally talking.

An electric green cast protected the thin arm holding up the plastic Corvette. A severe ankle sprain had been wrapped to stabilize the joint, and elevated to reduce swelling. Injuries resulting, supposedly, from Dillon's latest accidental fall--this time, down the Midtown Shelter's basement stairs.

An accident Manny Digarro had no better explanation for than that his only child was more clumsy than other kids his age. Accident prone. What's a father to do?

"That car rocks, tough guy." She smiled as she walked to the bed.

"It's the one Papa said we couldn't buy when we saw it in the store Monday night."

The same night the little heartbreaker had been rushed to Atlanta Memorial's Emergency--for the third time in two months, Kate had discovered after reading his chart, though this was the first time he'd been admitted to pediatrics.

"The boy's father asked me to bring the toy by." The man's small-talk didn't distract her from his too-observant gaze. "Seems the nurses at the admissions desk are refusing to discuss Dillon's condition when Mr. Digarro calls. He wasn't sure of his welcome if he came himself."

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

"I'll speak with you outside, Mr... Mr.?" Her query was polite, but he was leaving.

The man merely smiled.

Was she supposed to swoon or something? Like she hadn't seen dimples and perfectly-straight teeth before!

Screw polite.

She half-dragged him toward 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 behind them. She released the man's arm, stopping short of wiping her hand on her cartoon-covered scrubs.

Just barely.

"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 edged around her, putting his body between her and the nearest phone, bringing her to a skidding halt.

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