Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mother's Day Excerpt ~ A Taste of Honey

In honor of Mother's Day, I'm posting one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite books in the Oberon series. A Taste of Honey is one of those books that haunted me until I got it written--and got it right. I won't even tell you how long it took me to finish this particular scene. Enjoy!

           Lucy was still in the kitchen, carefully drizzling a thin stream of warm thyme honey over the platter she’d arranged, when Dan came up behind her. 
            “Hey,” he murmured softly, and between the sound of his voice and the feel of his hands, clasped around her waist, she found it hard to breathe. 
            She put the jar of honey down on the counter and leaned back against him, closing her eyes as she said, “Hey, yourself.  You just get back?”
            “Mm.”  He leaned down to kiss her neck.  “Sorry it took so long.  Did I miss much?”
            “Yeah.  Me.” 
            He slid his arms all the way around her then, hugging her close.  She placed her own hands on top of his, where they lay across her stomach.  His skin was warm from the sun.  She wanted to stay wrapped up like that forever.  “So, how did it go?”
            “Well, let’s see,” he sighed, rubbing his cheek against her hair.  “I think I spent pretty much the entire afternoon watching your son eat.  He scarfed down two chili cheese-dogs, some garlic fries, an order of nachos, a bag of peanuts,  popcorn, a pretzel, a frozen malted, a hamburger and two of the largest cups of root beer you’ve ever seen in your life.  I swear I do not know where he puts it, Luce.  Oh, and the team we were rooting for lost ten to six.  So--”
            “So, you had a good time, huh?”
            “Yeah,” he chuckled, slipping one arm free and brushing her hair back behind her ear.  “I really did.  We got a chance to talk, and…we cleared the air.  About a lot of things.  It was good.  I’m afraid it wasn’t much of a Mother’s Day treat for you though.”
            “S’okay.  The day’s not over yet.  I held dessert up for you.”  She sighed happily as she felt him nibbling on the edge of her ear.
            “Yeah?”  His voice was a warm, contented rumble in her ear.  “So, what’s for dessert?”
            “Stuffed figs,” she told him.
            “Figs, huh?”
            “Mm-hm.  With honey.”
            “You know,” he said, his grip around her tightening.  “I’ve been thinking.  There are a lot of things we could maybe do with all that honey of yours.”
            “Are there?”  She twisted around and looked up into bright blue eyes.  “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
            “Oh, you don’t, huh?”  He smiled, wickedly.  “Well, that’s too bad, babe.  ‘Cause, what I’m thinking of could be a lot of fun.”
            “Mm.  I guess you’ll just have to show me.”
            He leaned down to just brush his lips against hers.  “Why, Ms. Greco, it would be my pleasure.”

            “I know, Cavanaugh,” she sighed, as she pulled him back in for a real kiss.  “Mine, too.”

A Taste of Honey can be purchased individually (in both digital and print format). It is also included in the second Oberon boxed set, Return to Oberon


Welcome back to bewitching Oberon, California! This small, coastal town is an enchanting place. Anything can happen here - and all too often it does! Clinging to corrugated cliffs above a windswept beach, and isolated amid a tangled network of canyons and creeks, Oberon can be a hard place to get to. But, as all too many visitors have learned over the years, it can be an even harder place to leave behind.


In Return to Oberon the series continues with books four through six. Once again, these are full-length novels. Although many of the same characters appear in each one, all the books in this collection can be read as stand-alone stories. 

Available at: AmazonBarnes & Noble All Romance eBooksSmashwordsKobo, and SynergEbooks.

This set contains the following three full-length novels:

Book Four: A Taste of Honey

As far as Lucy Greco Cavanaugh is concerned, her life is a dream come true. She has it all, the perfect family, the perfect husband, the perfect marriage. What more could she wish for—other than the chance to do it all again, to experience once more the agony and ecstasy of falling in love with the man of her dreams, to recapture the joy and uncertainty that comes with starting over.

For her husband, Shakespeare-quoting Dan Cavanaugh, however, that dream has just become a nightmare. His storybook marriage is on the line thanks in part to Deirdre Shelton-Cooper, the runaway daughter of a former girlfriend. Deirdre’s intent on proving Dan is her father. When she accidentally hooks up with Dan and Lucy’s son, Seth, the Cavanaughs are left to wonder: how did their fairy-tale romance turn into a classic Greek tragedy?

It’s going to take an entire band of angels to bring the Cavanaughs’ story to a sweet conclusion. Lucky for them, that’s exactly what’s coming to town. 


Book Five: Touch of a Vanished Hand

Sinead Quinn has always been something of a drifter. But now, with her ex-husband trying to blackmail her, and her ex-boyfriend's widow trying to put her in jail, she has no choice but to go to ground. What better place to hide than with your family? After all, what are sisters for—especially when you're a twin? But the first rule of hiding out, is to keep a low profile. That does not mean kissing your sister's boyfriend (even if he can't tell the two of you apart); rescuing a troubled teen; or taking a highly visible job as hostess of Oberon's most celebrated new inn.

Adam Sasso has always dreamed big. But big dreams beget big complications. First, his goal to turn the vineyard he inherited from his grandfather into a world-class winery is threatened by a mysterious saboteur. Next, his plan to run the finest bed & breakfast Oberon has ever seen, is broadsided by a hostess who seems to want to run him instead! Finally, his fondest wish, that of finding love-everlasting with the soul mate of his dreams, is about to go up in smoke when he can't convince the lady in question that they're destined to be together.

Things are really heating up in Oberon this summer—and it’s not just the arson! It's going to take all the wizardry the town can summon up in order to craft a happy ending for the drifter and the dreamer.

Book Six: The Spirit of the Place

It’s a week before Christmas and Marsha Quinn has a lot on her mind, like the fact that her entire family is about to arrive—including her daughter, Jasmine, who’s far from happy about Marsha’s upcoming wedding. In fact, there’s only one thing about her future stepfather that Jasmine can't help but admire, and that’s the graduate student he’s recently hired as an intern.

Brandon Ablemarle was already having a hard time finding the holiday spirit, and that was before the fiery redhead he can’t manage to keep his hands off hit town. If his new boss’s radical book is published, it could sink both their careers. Can he and Jasmine ignore the attraction between them long enough to stop the wedding and the book, or will the psychic energy they unwittingly raise put a stop to them, instead?

With so much chaos going on, is it any wonder Marsha finds herself wishing on a star? But it’s not just any star she chooses; it’s Venus, the Star of Love. Now Marsha’s about to be visited by three very special ghosts.  




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