Letty's Ever After
where passion and race collide...
Blurb:
Her past peppered with losses, showgirl Letty St. Claire only wants to finish her sentence so she can reunite with her
newfound family. When Jean-Luc O'Neill, the fun-loving chef from her hometown, faithfully visits her every week,
friendship grows into love.
With WW II raging, Jean-Luc's first priority is bravery. Upon his enlistment, he and Letty plan their happily ever
after, but the war has other plans. While the British Channel confronts him with the terrors of death, Letty wrestles
with her own demons on Oyster Harbor's tumultuous home front.
Then, when the Pacific destroys his mind and soul, Letty and his family struggle to pick up the pieces. Jean-Luc has
become a stranger. Their happily ever after, shattered. Can they build something new from the losses, or will their
love be another casualty of war?
Playlist:
Let's Stay Together by Tina Turner ~
Make Believe by Toto ~
In the Mood by Panama Francis & the Savoy Sultans
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Excerpt:
Afterward, Ruby drew her into the audience seated at the tables. Letty jumped several times as men pinched their buttocks. Ruby let one guy pull her onto his lap. Another gave Letty the eye, but she ducked away from him. Visions of Estelle, wrestling her into submission, shot through her head.
She'd spent a lot of years performing. Audiences had thrown her flowers and made love to her with words, but never had they assaulted her. Only her abusers had done that.
"You're acting as cold and stiff as a corpse. Give the guys some love."
She folded her arms across her body. "I love only one man, and he isn't here."
The smaller woman gripped her shoulders. "Well, pretend he is, for each and every one of them. It's innocent flirting."
"I can't, Ruby. I'm so done with people groping me, giving me pain."
"Oyster Harbor needs you. Uncle Sam needs you." She sketched a wide gesture with her arms. "Think of the soldiers out there getting their faces blown off."
"Ruby!"
"Oh, sorry, but what's a sore, pinched ass compared to tragedy?"
Letty reminded herself entertainment was the best way she could help end the war sooner. She inhaled a long breath and stood ramrod straight. Marching like a soldier, she approached the men. As she passed each one, she made a point of touching them. A squeeze on the shoulder. A caress on the cheek.
When she saw how young some of them were and their grateful smiles from her affection, her muscles loosened. The pinching stopped because they no longer needed it to get her attention. She was showering them with love—all the love she'd been saving up for Jean-Luc.
She even did what Ruby suggested, imagining each lonely guy as her guy. When she stroked their hair, she felt his silky gold locks instead. When she kissed their cheeks, she felt his rounded cheekbones under her lips and smelled his scent.
And when the next one tugged her onto his lap, the shape of the muscles in his legs flung her back to the conjugal visit room. Although he wore undress whites like most of the others—white Dixie Cup cap, slacks, and jumper with a blue neck tie—something about him was different.
Maybe she needed to pinch herself. She was getting too lost in this game of make believe. If she kept it up any longer, she might end up lying naked on the stage.
When she moved to get off the man's lap, he gripped her waist hard enough to keep her planted there. The heat from his skin penetrated his uniform and her cotton dress. As she gazed into his face, she forced herself to see it as it really was. But, Jean-Luc's kept staring back at her, no matter how many times she blinked.
A little thinner, maybe, but unmistakably his.
Her heart throbbed as she tore her gaze from it and glanced at the others. Why didn't they resemble him too? She looked back at his face, stunned by the hurt and betrayal etched all over it.
"J-Jean-Luc?" she uttered, struggling for breath.
With one fluid motion, he dislodged her from his lap, swung his leg over the chair, and stalked away.…
This year we went to Curacao because I can't stay away from the Caribbean for long. Lots of cactus there!
We took an e-bike tour in beautiful historic Willemstad. It was my first time on one of those.
Glad I managed not to fall over, lol.
Last year, I took my dream trip -- two weeks in England! London, Bath, Devon, and Lyme Regis.
I visited four castles (Hampton, Kensington, Dunster, and Arundel) and some Regency/Jane Austen museums.
It's hard to pick a favorite because they were all great.
Everywhere I looked was a portrait of King Charles I, but I never get tired of gazing at handsome Cavalier men!
Favorite food: pasties
Below is one of the Arundel Castle gardens.
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Dear readers:
A lot has changed in the past 20-some years since I began writing and getting published.
With the explosion of self-publishing and less time to read in today's busy world,
the writing market has become a battlefield. At the same time, production costs have risen (along with everything else).
I was also younger back then and found it much easier to put in the hours
for writing, editing, and promoting around the day job. Well, you get the picture.
Like any business owner, I find myself asking more frequently, is the struggle still worth it?
Despite all that, the real payback is reader enthusiasm.
For instance, so many readers begged me to write Book 5 in the Oyster Harbor series, I did.
So, what's Coming Soon from me is really up to you...
