Melinda Curtis

Finding Logan McCall

Excerpt

   The red caught his eye first as Logan rounded the bend toward his driveway.

   Red giving way to a slender pair of legs.

   Then the other colors hit him.  Yellow, blue, orange.  The spectrum of the rainbow glinted against the light dusting of snow on the ground and the yellow Volkswagen in his driveway. 

   By the time Logan got out of his truck, it had registered that a woman did indeed belong to the car.  A woman with killer legs and a dog.

   Said dog was little and white with brown spots and short fur.  At the moment he was lifting his leg over the shrubs edging Logan's porch.

   "Good morning.  Are you Logan McCall?"  The woman's voice was melodious, as colorful as the red denim skirt she wore topped with a bright orange T-shirt.  Totally inappropriate attire for spring in the mountains.

   Not that he didn't appreciate the view.  He just didn't appreciate the invasion of his privacy.

   Logan pushed his sunglasses higher up on his nose and emitted a gruff reply.  "Yeah, I'm McCall."  Thoughts of coming home to silence, a hot shower and twelve hours of sleep faded.    Why was this woman here?

   "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?  Not a cloud in the sky."  She laughed a little self-consciously and shifted her feet. 

   Logan stared at the woman's bright red sneakers.  She'd laced her shoes with little silver bells so that her feet tinkled every time she moved.  He made the mistake of looking her in the face for the first time.  She had warm brown eyes that crinkled when she smiled.  Somehow he'd known she'd have the kind of expression that made you want to smile back.  No one could drive a Volkswagen like that and not be cheerful.

   Something was wrong.  He could feel it.  Women like this didn't show up on his doorstep.

Finding Logan McCall: the ideas & inspiration behind the story

   This is a re-edited version of one of my Hot Shot series books that was released in 2004 (The Family Man).  It was re-edited to fit into the Harlequin Heartwarming line - Wholesome editions of refreshed romances that celebrate traditional values and true love (their tagline, not mine).

   How does this work?

   An editor goes through the original manuscript and deletes anything that is too racy or sexy.  Then they send a printed copy of the manuscript to the author and ask them to read through it with only minimal time for changes due to tight production schedules.  What I found in the case of my book was that if you wiped out all the sexual tension, it didn't leave much to support the romance.  So in my story I had to add a lot of the romance back in - sweetly, of course.  It's interesting for me to compare the two books now, because it's almost like the romantic dynamic depicts two versions of the same two characters falling in love.

   It's an interesting concept for Harlequin to put forth.  I enjoyed the process and hope they'll select another one of my stories in the future.

   Cover buzz: I wasn't asked for input on this cover.  It looks like a fabulous update of the original artwork (without the cute dog).

Emma Willoughby's mind wandered, her car drifted, and her best friend, Amy, nearly died in the resulting automobile accident.  Now Amy's brother, Will Jackson is determined that Amy will never see Emma again.  What Will doesn't count on is Emma's determination, her slightly dotty Granny Rose, and the power of dandelion wishes.

Note: As with all Harlequin Heartwarming books, this story has no overt sensuality.

Amber Rules, The Hollywood Rules (Book 1)

Excerpt:

“We got off on the wrong foot yesterday.”  Amber’s cheeks bloomed with color.  “This is a working relationship.  I won’t be sleeping with you.”

“So certain,” he murmured.

“I’m not going to be your beck-and-call girl.”

“Pity.”  Evan scanned the restaurant.

“Look, I have a job to do.”

Evan imagined running the back of his hand over the slope of Amber’s breast.  “Just what is your job?”

“Chief Efficiency Officer.”  She allowed herself a private smile.  “I’m here to make you play better.”

“Well, if it’s cause and effect you’re looking for, you kissed me and I put one in the hole.  So…”

“Smooth.  Lines like that usually work for you, do they?”

He drew back in mock innocence.  “Lines?  I don’t need lines.  I’m Evan Oliver, the biggest badass in the NBA.”

“More like the biggest head case in the NBA.”

“If that was true, I wouldn’t need you.”

“I’m not saying you’re crazy.”  Was that a tinge of desperation in her voice?  “You just lack…I don’t know.  Focus?”

His knuckles popped as his fist clenched.  If one more person told Evan he lacked focus he’d have to punch them.  “I can be very focused.”  He relaxed his fingers over his thigh as he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear.  “Amazingly focused.”

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Dandelion Wishes, Harlequin Heartwarming, October 2013

Excerpt:

In the time he and his partners had been trying to get their property rezoned for the winery, Will had encountered both support and opposition in Harmony Valley. But the real wild card was Rose Cascia. Most days, she was a hellion on wheels, running roughshod over Will’s efforts to garner support for their winery. But on Sundays…

Her Sunday afternoon hobby involved dressing up and performing musicals in her antique-filled living room. And on Sundays, Rose was cloud-nine-cheerful and seemingly happy to see him, so Will always made it a point to stop by.

But this Sunday, as Will powered off his music and removed his iPhone ear buds, it wasn’t Rose who answered the door. It was a disheveled beauty in a red dress.

She would have been a breath-stealing knock-out, if you could get past the fact that her long dark hair looked as if it had recently been used in a tug of war – not likely in those strappy sandals and that curve clinging, flowered dress. A knock-out, yes. If you could get past the bruise forming on top of her foot, her hand clutching her ribs as if she was afraid her guts might spill out, and the way she leaned on an Elvis umbrella as if it was a cane.

A warning bell sounded in his head, a slow gong that urged him to avoid distraction, pay attention, access his memory banks.

“I’m so glad you stopped by.” Miss Disheveled gave him a tentative smile. “I was going to come over to your house tomorrow. So I can apologize to Amy and your family in person.”

The memory came forward, adjusting her face to one he hadn’t seen in four years. Her cheekbones were more prominent, her makeup more subtle, but her dark eyes were the same.

Emma Willoughby. 

The warning bell increased its pitch, faster and faster, louder and louder, until Will’s ears rang, his vision blurred and his heart clambered for something his father disapproved of.

Retribution.

Amber Rules: the ideas & inspiration behind the story

   I've often worked with others who love gossip web sites, who read People every week as if it's required reading, who watched Paris Hilton get released from jail, are riveted by Lindsey Lohan in court and read everything they could get their hands on about Tiger Woods' mistresses.  I admit to a little idle curiosity myself, but you won't catch me having gossip updates sent to my phone!

   For decades (dating myself here), I've been married to an athlete.  He played basketball in college, competed in the Final Four, "retired" from college sports after four years and started playing competitive beach volleyball (2-man teams).  Trust me, you don't want to go bowling with this man unless you're serious about competing.  But once I got used to his ways, he's provided me with a lot of eye-rolling fodder (but I will not even play him a game of ping pong).

   Around 2005, I was listening to a lot of self-help gurus, The Secret, books on cd and attending success coach worksessions.  And as usually happens when my mind wanders (yes! my mind wandered during a self-help, motivational lecture!  Can you believe it?), I started to put some of these amusing - to me - things together and added in a little Richard Simmons, who my mother adores.

   What if...a self-help guru, kind of like Richard Simmons (well meaning, successful, but not exactly someone a teenager wants as a dad - apologies to Richard, he really does help people like my mom, he's just not my cup)...where was I?  Oh, yeah, a self-help guru who wasn't James Bond cool to his kids dies and leaves his now grown children his practice - only he's never told anyone how he actually coaches people into success.  Of course, he'd leave clues, but not where just anyone could pick up on his secrets.

   And then there's a cast of characters only Hollywood can provide: a sex kitten reality star, a heartless heart-throb actor, an NBA star with something to prove, a wounded gossip columnist, a driven self-made sports franchise owner, a sister who needs to grow up and a brother who thinks he can ride the heroine's coat tails.

   It wasn't a story Harlequin was interested in, so it percolated in my brain until 2008-2009, when I decided I just had to write it, if only to get these characters out of my head. But I didn't actually publish it until 2011.  And then recently, I had the first few chapters re-edited so it reads faster. 

   Cover buzz:  I wanted something that would capture the light-hearted tone of the book and the chic lit feel of Hollywood (enter cover #1 with the shoes, available in the print version).  But despite Amber's fascination with shoes, it's a romantic sports comedy, which deserves a different type of cover (enter photo cover).

In the year before I wrote this book, I spent a lot of hours driving between California and Oregon, California and Nevada, California to Nevada to Utah.  And do you know what I saw on those roads?  Abandoned houses and barns, small ghost towns that looked as if people had lived there yesterday, and lots and lots of untouched land.  It got me to thinking: why hadn't someone tried to save those towns?  Or if they had, why hadn't they succeeded?

In the last 10 years, my parents, my husband's parents, my friend's parents, and so on, have been getting older and either charming everyone's socks off with their outlandish comments, scaring us with their complicated health issues, or frustrating us with their determination to retain their independence.

I took these two ideas - a dying town that elderly residents want to save and my real-life, elderly sidekicks/supporting characters - and used that as the premise for the Harmony Valley series.  In each book, you'll find some elderly characters that will warm your heart and make you chuckle.

As for Emma and Will...my dear friend, Anna Adams, was helping me brainstorm ideas and landed on their conflict after a 2-text-message conversation starter.  She's amazing!

A Marriage Between Friends, Sequel to Count on Love (4 stars RT)

Excerpt:

   Edda Mae appeared at the corner of the garage.  “I buzzed that casino man in the front gate.”

   That’s what Jill got for trying to cut corners.  The main gate intercom rang to Edda Mae’s caretaker’s cottage.  It had been significantly cheaper to wire the gate controls to the cottage since it was one hundred feet closer than the apartment above the dining hall/kitchen where Jill and Teddy lived.

   “Need I remind you to mind your manners?” Edda Mae asked as she melted back into the shadows.  Edda Mae probably expected Jill to race down the road into Vince’s arms.

   “I wouldn’t have to mind my manners if the gate stayed locked,” Jill mumbled.

   Gravel crunched beneath tires on the driveway and headlights swung around onto them and then away as Vince parked out of sight in front of the garage.  A fiercely smooth engine roared once before settling into silence.

   He’d want a divorce.  Jill spun her wedding ring with her left thumb.  It wasn’t as if she was getting alimony or child support from Vince.  A divorce shouldn’t be a big deal, but odd as it seemed being married to Vince was a part of who she was.  But preserving the small town integrity of Railroad Stop was more important than a ring on her finger.

   “Jill?”  Vince’s voice was deep and oddly familiar when so much about her husband was a mystery to her.

   A breath of cool mountain air made Jill shiver.  “Over here.”

   They’d gone to private school together since kindergarten.  Vince was the class loner in high school, a situation he and his perpetual scowl seemed comfortable with especially when it didn’t seem to deter a certain type of willing girl.  Jill was the brainy girl who didn’t quite fit in.  Although they’d been friends of sorts since they were five, the older they got the less frequently their paths crossed.

   Oddly, Vince had asked Jill to come watch the sunset on his boat on Senior Ditch Day.  But by then Craig was coming over to her house and Craig was so perfect – captain of every sports team, class president – no girl would be stupid enough to turn Craig down.  Whereas Vince…Vince was the kind of boy her parents warned her about.

   Jill struggled to fill her lungs with air.  Turns out Craig wasn’t so perfect after all and Vince –

   Teddy balanced his paint brush on the edge of the can and leaned against Jill, bringing her back to the present.  “Is it Batman?” he whispered.

   They both giggled.  Jill draped an arm over Teddy’s shoulders as Vince came around the corner, looking every inch the heir to a grand casino in Las Vegas in his custom made suit and tie, draining the laughter from in her throat.  The rebellious boy who wore a leather jacket and pierced his ear was nowhere to be seen in this man.  Jill, on the other hand, had gone from put-together, studious debutante to harried, working single mom.  Her stomach flip-flopped.

   “It’s good to see you, Jill.  You look great.”  As Vince approached his gaze drifted over her, no doubt registering the extra pounds she’d put on over the years.

   “You, too.”  She didn’t have to tell Vince he looked better than great.  He probably knew it.  She could imagine the plastic babes roaming Vegas fell regularly at his feet.  If only Jill could just as easily imagine Vince turning them down.  He must think she was a pathetic pushover for hanging onto him for so long.

   Vince held Jill immobile with his dark gaze as he continued to narrow the gap between them.  Hugging had become de rigueur in the business world in the last ten years.  Surely he didn’t…

   Part of her rejoiced.  That unexpected emotion was immediately quelled by a stronger, more predictable desire for self preservation which usually gave Jill the strength to step back, raise hand and smoothly utter an excuse for the man to keep his distance.

   Only this time self preservation faltered.  Jill could barely remember her own name, much less his.  She wanted to put up her guard, but she couldn’t lift a finger.  And her feet…her feet weren’t moving either.

   He wasn’t stopping.  Jill’s heart thudded against her chest.

   By shear force of will Jill managed to take a jerky step back.  Surely he’d see.  He’d always been good at picking up on her body language, but it had been so long he probably didn’t realize.  Long arms reached for her.  Large hands settled on her shoulders and drew her to him.

   Don’t, don’t, don’t don’t… “Don’t!” she cried, her feet suddenly obeying her command.  Her butt hit the remaining sawhorse and she would have flipped over, but Vince held her tight.