Chatty Cathy--Noveltalk, Too

October 10th...Come chat with me on Noveltalk.com at 9:00 PM Eastern time.

How does everyone feel about all the chatting and guest blogging these days??? I do more of it than the average author. It's a way for me to keep in touch. To understand what's important to you and share the world I see. It's a lovely break from the introspection that feeds the work writers do--a bridge between our minds and the minds of those who read us.

But does it help you decide whether to buy a book or not? Have you found new writers and stories that way, or do you have to love a writer's work before you seek out their chat or blog or go to a signing just to hear from them? Inquiring writing minds want to know ;o)

I'm at yet another coference--the New Jersey Put Your Heart in A Book conference. Lots of buzz about Because of A Boy and my new Atlanta Heroes. Cool!

Next scene--Let's catch up with Lissa from The Perfect Daughter. Remember this is a bridge book from the "Daughter" series and the new Atlanta Heroes. Kate from BOAB hooks up with Lissa first. We get a glimpse of Martin again not too far down the road, so don't give up on him.

Hope you keep enjoying--and that you buy the book ;o) It's available on Amazon and eHarlequin.com:

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"Martin stopped smiling a year and a half ago," said the tired voice on the other end of Kate's cell phone. "Nothing I tried here in Oakwood made a difference. Now that he's in Atlanta, I just thought maybe you.."

Sitting in the pediatric floor break room, Kate pulled the phone away from her ear.

What Lissa Carter thought was no mystery. Nor were the regrets and pointless guilt that flooded Kate every time the other woman called. The same queasy emotions that kept her on the phone, refusing to let her bail on her last connection to her baby brother--even if it was through an ex-girlfriend he didn't want to deal with any more than he did Kate.

Lissa's first call from Kate's south-Georgia home town had come on the heels of the one informing Kate that Martin had been wounded in the line of duty. Her estranged brother naturally hadn't wanted Kate to hurry to his side, but Lissa had begged her to come home.

The emotional chasm between Kate and her brother had been years beyond fixing. Dealing with things together wasn't their strong suit, and her visit hadn't changed that. Now, Martin was in a physical and emotional free-fall. Had been for over a year--ever since his surgery to remove a bullet lodged near his spine, which had left him with only partial feeling below the waist on his right side.

She pulled the now-silent phone back to her ear.

"He won't see me, Lissa. We hadn't talked for years before the shooting. Now, me being a nurse just adds to the drama. He came to Atlanta for his own reasons. Reasons I that can assure you have nothing to do with me."

"He's giving up on everything and anyone that used to matter to him. He was pushing too hard in rehab while he was still here. Lord knows what he's doing up there alone. How can you sit by and watch him hurt himself?"

Kate resisted the urge to toss the phone across the room.

Lissa hadn't left Martin's bedside for more than a few hours the entire time Kate had been in Oakwood. She hadn't given up on his recovery, even after he'd refused to see her or any other visitors--first at the hospital, then at the rehab center he'd gone to next. She'd just kept pushing, her determination refusing to falter.

A year and half later, Martin had moved two hundred miles away, and Lissa was still hanging strong. How was Kate supposed to cast away loyalty that rare, that unconditional?

"I've tried calling him a dozen times since he transferred to the Police Academy up here," she explained.

Her brother had ended each call sooner. The last couple of times, he hadn't picked up at all.

"Then stop calling and get your butt over there!" Lissa demanded. "He--"

"He's a grown man, and he has every right to make his own decisions, even if they're the wrong ones."

How many times had Kate fought with Robert during their marriage, insisting on the same consideration?

If I want help, I'll ask for it.

I'm not your problem to fix.

"As long as Martin can take care of himself in that dive of an apartment he's rented--" An apartment Kate had made it a point to locate as soon as she'd learned his new address. "--as long as he can live independently, I have no right to try and influence his decisions."

"But if you could just get him to let you in." Lissa's voice quivered. "If you could just get him to talk about--"

"He doesn't want to talk about it!" When it came to facing reality, Martin always took a pass.

"He hasn't wanted to hear anything I have to say since our parents died."

When she'd insisted on dealing with the truth about their parents' marriage, and Martin had cut her from his life. He'd accused her of twisting things, as if she'd set out to warp every childhood memory they shared.

"Kate--"

"Lissa, I know you love my brother." The other woman's pain was as difficult to listen to as it had been to watch in Oakwood. "And I know you have Martin's best interest at heart. But sometimes we can take love so far, it starts to hurt the people we care about."

Silence hung between them.

Kate checked the cell's display to make sure the call was still connected.

"What are you saying?" Tears turned Lissa's question watery.

"If Martin's certain you're not what he needs to get better--" Kate layered compassion over each difficult word, the same as she would if she were discussing a risky treatment option with a child's family. "--then maybe it's time for you to let go."

"The same way he let you go ten years ago?" Lissa demanded. "You left Oakwood behind and never looked back. No one knew why, including Martin. Now your brother's running, too, and you think I should just let go!"

"I did what I needed to, and Martin knows exactly why I left." Kate blinked back useless tears, nodding to herself, as if she needed convincing more than the near-stranger on the other end of the phone.

She'd made the right choice. She'd made the only choice she could, and she refused to interfere with Martin's right to do the same thing now.

"My brother and I were going to end up hating each other, if one of us didn't leave. And I was the one who couldn't live there and ignore the truth any longer. If Martin's feeling the same way now, and you love him as much as you say you do, then you're going to have to let him go, before the two of you end up hating each other."