Jake watched her from the distant vantage point of the boardwalk. He had headed for the beach after the end of his shift at the pizza parlour. It had been a rough day and he had decided to walk off his black mood before heading to meet the guys. The last thing they needed was him turning up in a foul mood, stinking of tomato sauce and cheese. He had walked to the south end of the promenade and had just turned back when he saw the girl walking down on the sand. It was the sun catching the golden highlights in her hair that had attracted his attention. He never noticed her crutches at first. Watching from a distance, he had kept pace with her, then stopped to watch as she turned towards the boardwalk. When he saw her stumble, he regretted not following his instincts and going down to walk on the sand with her.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Shit.”
There were no breaks in the fence nearby, so he jumped over the wooden palings into the dune grass and ran towards her, sand immediately filling his shoes. By the time he was close enough to call out to her, she was sitting up and looked to be unhurt. He almost turned away but decided against it and continued to walk down the beach.
“Hi,” he called out. “Are you ok?”
If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today
Want to spend Labor Day at a Silver Lake BBQ for free…
Less than an hour later, the burgers were sizzling on the grill, Maddy and Lori were bringing salads and relishes out from the kitchen, Becky was contentedly watching TV and the four band members were all catching up with each other, as they sprawled across the sun deck. Rich had taken charge of the BBQ, ordering Jake to stay clear of the smoke. Happy to relinquish the cooking duties, Jake had gone back to the sun lounger without a word of complaint. Once all the food was out, Lori came and sat beside him. He draped a protective arm around her shoulders, kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Love you, li’l lady.”
“Love you too, rock star,” she purred, resting her head against his bare chest.
Within a few minutes, Rich was dishing up burgers and they were all scrabbling round the table for rolls, salad and relish. No one was standing on ceremony and the relaxed atmosphere gave it the feel of a family meal.
Stronger Within, book one in the Silver Lake series is free to download today. Check it out using the links below:
Somehow, we’ve reached the end of August – no idea how we got here! My head’s still back in June somewhere! – and the last rays of summer are sinking on the horizon earlier and earlier each evening.
I’ve come to wonder of late if I’m really solar powered at heart. Every opportunity I’ve had all summer, I’ve been outdoors either meandering or simply sitting in the sun lost in a book.
Now though, as the evenings are growing cooler and darker, it’s time to move back indoors and turn my creative attention back to Book Baby7.
Don’t panic- it’s not been entirely neglected over the summer months. I have made progress both with writing the first draft and typing it up, but the pace has been leisurely. Maybe it’s been a summer case of writer’s block rather than sun block, but I’m not convinced. Personally, I think I just needed a break to recharge these (solar powered) batteries.
Like many people, the day job still involves working from home. My home working space during the day is in the living room and when I finish up each day, the work stuff gets cleared away and my creative space is restored for the evening… unless the sun’s shining and its warm and I’ve been lured outside once more to sit on my nice new bench with my kindle until the sun sinks below the rooftops. I do think that part of the issue is that I am thoroughly sick of the sight of my living room!
Now though, its time to refocus and show Book Baby 7 some love and give it the attention that its craving.
So, for those among you who are impatiently waiting for it, where am I with it?
Good question!
I’ve roughly 30% of the first draft handwritten.
I’ve about 25% of the first draft typed. (I’ve paused typing to focus on adding to the handwritten word count).
I have the storyline pretty much worked out in my head.
It has a title but no, I’m not sharing that with you just yet.
I have a release date in mind too but that one needs to remain under wraps for now.
It’s still entirely naked as I’ve not yet given much thought to the cover.
So, all I would ask for now, is that you bear with me and trust that it’s coming in 2022 at some point (hopefully!).
And, if you’re patient, I promise to share a little excerpt soon.
The weekend …the perfect time to sit back and relax with a good book. Pour that coffee, wine, beer, pink gin , curl up and meet Jake Power…. I think you’ll like him.
I read a Facebook post the other day on one of the writing pages I follow where the indie author was sharing her feelings about holding her first ever novel in her hands. It struck a chord.
I’m still recharging these creative batteries, so I reached for my Continue the Story journal (love it!) and picked a prompt- She knew she’d remember this moment for the rest of her life.
She knew she’d remember this moment for the rest of her life. The Amazon man had dropped the parcel off and left it with a neighbour while she’d been at work. When she arrived home, the neighbour brought it over as she got out of the car, joking, “Is this a copy of your new best seller?” Politely she smiled and thanked him, saying, “You never know.”
She set the brown package down on the bed and stared at it for a few minutes, unsure about opening it. Her heart was pounding in her chest; her hands were trembling. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Carefully, she eased back the tear off strip to open the box.
Oh! There it was inside!
Oh! It was thicker than she’d expected.
Nervously, she eased it out, scared to look at it.
It was real!
That was really her name on the front cover and spine. Those were her words filling page after page. It was a dream come true moment.
In her hands, she held the first paperback proof copy of her debut novel.
Never in a million years had she thought that she would actually see her name on the cover of a book yet there it was.
Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she savoured the feeling of holding her book baby, her first born book baby, in her hands.
That moment was six years ago now and I’m six books into this dream come true journey. Every time that first proof copy arrives, I relive that moment. Holding each book baby for the first time is a moment that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Now to re-focus and finish writing Book Baby 7 so that I get to “meet” it next year.
If you want to read more then check out my book babies you can find them on Amazon
His inbox was crammed full of unread mails – most of which were advertising junk. Before this infuriated him further, he tweaked his junk mail filters, then returned to his inbox. There was one email from Maddy that caught his attention. The subject heading was “Silver Lake album and merchandising artwork.” He opened the message, scanning the details about a band meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss the attachments. Jake opened the first of four attachments to reveal the three draft designs for the album cover, each significantly different. Instantly his eyes were drawn to the distinctive signature on the drawings. He opened the other three attachments and found a variety of other designs tagged as t-shirt proposals and miscellaneous. One proposed album design caught his eye – a dragon, with its wings spread out nestled inside an intricate Celtic knot. The twist of its tail reminded him of the Celtic trinity that was in the band’s logo. When had Lori found time to complete this portfolio? Why hadn’t she told him? Suddenly, he desperately wanted to talk to her, but it was four o’clock in the morning. Smiling for the first time since Monday, Jake reached for his phone and turned it on. A barrage of text alerts pinged through – he ignored them for now. Quickly he typed, “Love the designs. Love the Celtic dragon knot. Love you. J x”. He hit send.
(extract from Stronger Within, book 1 in the Silver Lake series)
If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today
The cottage garden was sheltered from the breeze and, with the chimnea blazing, the patio felt cosy and intimate. Lit tealights in old jam jars were scattered around the boundary of the paved area, their flames flickering in the darkness. Plucking a gentle melody, Taylor watched as Nana and Jen brought out bowls of crisps and dips and some beers and cider. He smiled over at Ellen, who was sitting on a pile of cushions beside the fireplace.
“You ok?” asked Taylor, noting that she was staring intently at the flames.
“Never better,” she replied with a relaxed smile. “I was just daydreaming.”
“Ghosts in those flames?”
With a wistful smile, she nodded before confessing, “A year ago I couldn’t have sat here. Couldn’t stand to see flames. My dad helped me over those ghosts. Calmed my fears.”
“Shit! I never thought!”
“It’s fine, Tailz,” assured Ellen warmly. “In fact, it’s more than fine. This is perfect.”
Want to know more? Check out Ellen on Amazon today.
escape to the beach this weekend with Jake Power….
An early morning mist had rolled in off the ocean creating an eerie atmosphere along the beach. It had been early when Lori had crept out of the house to go for a walk. She did some of her best thinking alone down on the sand. Over the months her confidence and her physical strength had grown allowing her to walk along the shoreline without a constant nagging fear of falling. With the broad base plate attached, she still used her cane for support, psychological as much as physical. She had left Jake snoring loudly in bed, his long limbs spread out over more than his fair share of the mattress. When she had come down the hall, she had found Rich asleep on the lounge floor, his leather jacket serving as a blanket. As she wandered through the sun room, Lori wasn’t surprised to find both Paul and Grey asleep on the couches. The last two revellers hadn’t even made it indoors. Gary and Scott were dead to the world on the sun loungers outside. Someone had had the good sense to cover them with the fleecy blankets from the sun room. Images of the sleeping rock stars made her smile as she strolled along the sand. This early the beach was deserted, and the pockets of morning mist created her own small private thought bubbles.
If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today
His inbox was crammed full of unread mails – most of which were advertising junk. Before this infuriated him further, he tweaked his junk mail filters, then returned to his inbox. There was one email from Maddy that caught his attention. The subject heading was “Silver Lake album and merchandising artwork.” He opened the message, scanning the details about a band meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss the attachments. Jake opened the first of four attachments to reveal the three draft designs for the album cover, each significantly different. Instantly his eyes were drawn to the distinctive signature on the drawings. He opened the other three attachments and found a variety of other designs tagged as t-shirt proposals and miscellaneous. One proposed album design caught his eye – a dragon, with its wings spread out nestled inside an intricate Celtic knot. The twist of its tail reminded him of the Celtic trinity that was in the band’s logo. When had Lori found time to complete this portfolio? Why hadn’t she told him? Suddenly, he desperately wanted to talk to her, but it was four o’clock in the morning. Smiling for the first time since Monday, Jake reached for his phone and turned it on. A barrage of text alerts pinged through – he ignored them for now. Quickly he typed, “Love the designs. Love the Celtic dragon knot. Love you. J x”. He hit send.
(extract from Stronger Within, book 1 in the Silver Lake series)
If you want to read more then check out the Silver Lake series today
Coral McCallum 