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Christmas Kindle Giveaway
CONGRATULATIONS to Dawn H. of Newton, Kansas, the winner of my Kindle Giveaway. Happy New Year to all!
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I’m celebrating Christmas with a Kindle Fire giveaway. For a chance to win, just email me at jacki@jackidelecki.com with your favorite thing about the holidays.
I’ll randomly select one winner to receive a Kindle Fire!
Winner announced January 1st.
Happy Holidays!
Yes, she's a lady ~ Excerpt from 'A Code of Wonder'
“Stop.” The man stood at the top of the stairs. He at least had the decency to put his breeches on though sans a shirt. “This is ridiculous. Come back. We’ll talk.” He tried to sound reasonable, but Eliza saw the way his hands were fisted at his side, his strained neck, and clenched jaw.
“Are you insane? So you can ravish me?” Eliza ran down the stairs.
“I wasn’t going to ravish you. My God, this melodrama. I give you my word as a gentleman, I’ve never harmed a woman. And never taken a woman against her will. Bloody hell, I saved you.”
“A gentleman would never talk to a lady in such a manner.”
“You’re a lady?”
Eliza gasped. He had the nerve to call her out—a “gentleman” who was willing to ravish an innocent woman. After all her mother’s attempt to shape her daughters to be ladies and redeem the family name after the scandal that caused them to be shunned from society, she was now the one to bring complete ruin to her family.
That was the worst thing he could have said.
A Code of Wonder is part of the Regency holiday anthology, Snowed in with a Rogue.
You can read A Code of Wonder and six other romantic stories for just $0.99.
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA
Snow Fun ~ Excerpt from 'Mission: Impossible to Wed'
Gabe closed Lauren’s mittened hand in his as they climbed the slippery hill. The valley was blanketed in snow. The air was crisp, the sky bright blue, and everything around them was cocooned in white silence except for the sound of the snow crunching under their feet.
Tucked into a green stocking cap was Lauren’s glorious blond hair—hair that he dreamed about draping across his body. Her sea-glass green eyes sparkled like the glistening snow.
He pulled their sled behind them. He had a choice of a one- or two-person sled. Not rocket science after last night’s incendiary kisses. He had no intention of keeping his distance. He could have been sainted for his restraint after Lauren initiated the kiss with the bed nearby and her soft, hot body calling to him.
Mission: Impossible to Wed is part of the 10-author holiday anthology Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge.
Researching Characters - Mission Impossible to Forget
Music is an important element in Mission: Impossible to Forget. Emily Hewitt is a professional cellist and her life revolves around music. Nick Jenkins is a former Special-Ops Marine who’s struggling with hearing loss, which has devastated his life.
I wanted to better understand Emily’s passion so I’ve been researching and listening to professional cellists, primarily Jacqueline du Pré. She was an amazing talent. You can enjoy one of her performances on YouTube by CLICKING HERE.
Part of what I’ve learned about professional musicians is how singularly focused they are on their art. As an author, this provides strong conflict between my characters. How does Emily deal with the distraction of her feelings for Nick? How does a strong, alpha male like Nick deal with an independent woman who may–or may not–want his intrusion into her life?
I’m still not sure how they will find their way to happy-ever-after, but that’s part of the fun in writing romance!
Coming February 2020
Available for preorder on Apple Books | Kobo | Nook | Google Play
Professional cellist Emily Hewitt loves nothing more than creating music. Sharing her musical gift with the world is all she lives for. Until her life is threatened. Caught up in a treacherous conspiracy, Emily becomes the pawn in an international play for power and must be assigned a bodyguard.
Former Special-Ops Marine Nick Jenkins, is out of a job and out of patience. Discharged from the Corp because of hearing loss, the last thing he wants to do is babysit someone who’s surrounded by the haunting sounds of music he can no longer appreciate.
When danger turns deadly, will Nick be able to save Emily?
Hearing Loss and Military Heroes
The road to happy ever after is never easy, especially in romance novels. The harder the struggle, the more significant the conflict, the wider the gap between the hero and heroine, the sweeter the moment they come together.
When I was plotting the story for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET, I knew the heroine would be a professional musician but what–aside from her life being in danger–would create barriers between her and the hero?
How about a man who can’t appreciate music because he can no longer hear it? To torment my hero even more, I created a story in which the hearing loss has cost Special-Ops Marine Nick Jenkins his military career.
Hearing loss may not be as dramatic as losing a limb, but experts estimate that more than 50 percent of combat soldiers suffer moderately severe (or worse) hearing loss. It’s an injury that impacts more military personnel than any other type of injury. Sometimes the hearing loss is just an inconvenience; sometimes it robs soldiers of their hearing completely.
Our military personnel sacrifice time, health, and so much more. Writing about these real-life heroes is my way of honoring them.
Here’s a short excerpt from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET, coming February 2020.
“Let me take you out for a drink. We both need it after this funeral.” Ben leaned closer, his thigh pressing against hers and squeezed her hand. Ben Massine, the successful and charismatic tenor with the voice that had the world at his feet, was seated next to Emily.
Her eyes darted to his. The compassion in his dark eyes and expressive voice would be her undoing. All she could do was nod since the grief was lodged somewhere between her chest and her throat.
Emily pulled her hand into her lap, now unsure if Ben was making his usual moves or was as upset as she was. Emily never trusted Ben’s motives in pursuing her. Was she just another notch on his bedpost? He could have any woman. He did have any and every woman if People magazine was correct.
His Sicilian roots with olive skin, black hair, and Grecian profile made him irresistible. Unlike his hordes of fans, it wasn’t his dramatic looks and powerful presence that made Emily susceptible. It was the bright warm timbre of his voice, his soulful passion for the music, his ability to transcend the music. He was a gifted artist, and Ben should be the perfect match for her.
But the heart was a contrary organ that didn’t listen to reason. It was time to wipe the memory of the dark-haired, over-loaded-testosterone male, the hardened Spec Forces Marine Nick Jenkins, who didn’t have the voice like a choir of angels but a rough bass steel drum.
Coming February 2020
Available for preorder on Apple Books | Kobo | Nook | Google Play
Professional cellist Emily Hewitt loves nothing more than creating music. Sharing her gift with the world is all she lives for. Until her life is threatened. Caught up in a treacherous conspiracy, Emily becomes the pawn in an international play for power and must be assigned a bodyguard.
Former Special-Ops Marine Nick Jenkins is out of a job and out of patience. Discharged from the Corp because of hearing loss, the last thing he wants to do is babysit someone who’s surrounded by the haunting sounds of music he can no longer appreciate. When danger turns deadly, will Nick be able to save Emily?
