Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

A trip to paradise...

10 Days in Paradise releases today!! Woo hoo!

This is a book that’s very close to my heart. The story came to me in the midst of a trip back to my hometown of Hilo, Hawaii. I was sitting out on the lanai, fighting off mosquitoes, listening to rain pound on the tin roof, and watching the surfers face some killer waves in the tossing sea. And I thought…wow, this way of life is SO different from the way of life of most of my professional peers back in California…

Thus Kanoe Anakalea, the quintessential local boy, and Celeste McMillan, the quintessential upper-class career woman, were born.

Here’s an itty bitty excerpt:

Kanoe came up beside her. Tears pooled in her eyes as she turned to him. “Oh my God, Kanoe. My mother is a cold-blooded, unhappy woman. She’s been that way all my life. I never recognized it before.”

A niggling, annoying little voice in her head spoke up. And you’re turning into her, Celeste.

She ground her teeth. Nonsense. She was not. She had lovers—as proof, she only had to look at the exotic naked one sitting beside her. Sighing deeply, she blinked the tears away, then pressed her cheek to Kanoe’s. His mouth sought hers, stormy and smooth like the rain in Hilo, making her forget everything besides being in Hawaii with the best kisser she’d ever known and having the time of her life.

This was perfect. Six more days like the past twenty-four hours would leave her primed, sated and ready to pursue her goal. She’d never realized how wonderfully relaxing sex and friendly companionship could be.

Her stomach growled loudly.

He chuckled, a low, masculine rumble against her mouth. “Let’s go get some breakfast. Wear your bathing suit. I’ll take you jet-skiing after.”

“Sounds like fun,” she murmured, but instead of getting up, she gazed at him. “Kanoe, those words you were using when we…made love. What did they mean?”

He hesitated. His chest rose as he took a deep breath before he spoke. “Ipo,” he said softly. “Term of endearment.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “Define it however you like: ‘sweetheart’, ‘babe’, ‘honey’, ‘lover’, whatever.”

She licked her lips.

“’Ono. Delicious. Nani. Beautiful.”

Heat flooded her cheeks. It was the second time he’d called her beautiful.

What must have been a full minute of silence passed. Celeste climbed out of bed, gloriously uncovered and un-bashful this time, and began to search her suitcase for some clothes.

Finally, still lying on the bed behind her, he gave one last definition. “Ku’u. Belonging to me. Mine.”

10 Days in Paradise

Thanks for reading! In honor of the release of 10 Days in Paradise, I’m holding a contest at my website. I’ll see you there!