Monday, December 16, 2013

On the third day of Christmas, your Geevie brings to you...

A favorite holiday song:

Another one from the "Love to Laugh" files, I defy anyone to remain stone-faced to the following tune. It is completely absurd with its juxtaposition of silly delivery of sad lyrics, and the listener in the background just sells it with contagious laughter you can't help but mimic. Plus it's Looney Tunes. What's not to love? (If you heard that in Daffy's voice, you're doubly awesome.)



A favorite holiday movie/show:

John Hughes was/is a personal hero of mine. I loved the way he blended humor and laughter with heart and soul. His movies were the forerunners to shows like "Modern Family" and "The Goldbergs." If comedy didn't intimidate me so much to write, this is the level of perfection I would aspire to as a storyteller. And it fits Christmas like a glove, which you'll find him not once but three times on my list. We'll start with the Griswolds.



A holiday recipe:

More cookies! Bake and share!

SUGAR COOKIES

A Christmas memory:

In 2005, becoming a published writer was still a dream waiting to be realized for me. My favorite elf, my husband Steven (whose birthday is today by the way,) wasn't very covert in his plan to professionally bind one of my manuscripts as a Christmas present. He insisted he needed a first draft to do it, which, as any writer will take you, isn't exactly the draft we want to immortalize. It's ridden with flaws that, when you revisit the material, will make you cringe... especially after years pass and you grow as a writer. But he was insistent and I finally relented. I knew what the heavy present was under the tree, and I hoped that I could muster the enthusiasm he wanted the minute I opened the gift.

What I couldn't have predicted was the powerful impact seeing my name in print for the first time would have on me. I wept shamelessly as I stared down at the book in my lap, physical proof of my lifelong dream. I have often said I wouldn't have have realized this dream without Steven... my Graham, my hero, my partner and my friend. His passion to make me happy is unparallelled, and this gift was proof positive of that. It's fitting that the content inside was imperfect, because that was how he found me. It was good enough, because *I* was good enough. And he made it beautiful in the same way he made me beautiful, warts and all. There could be no better gift than that.



The book of the day:

What else?





EXCERPT FROM MY IMMORTAL


The minute he walked in from the other room, clad in an elegant suit, his hair long and wild about his shoulders, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. What had been and what would be seemed insignificant to what was. All that mattered was they were there in that moment together. Adele had quickly learned from nearly losing Dani that the present was all anyone ever has. He approached, drinking her in his burning gaze. Her breath caught in her throat as he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. She shivered though his skin was warm. “You look wonderful,” he murmured.

She shook her head. She was wearing jeans and an old ratty sweater. She didn’t even wear a speck of makeup. She was white as a ghost, making the circles under her eyes stand out even more. “You lie so effortlessly, Mr. Sterling,” she kidded.

He held a free hand to his chest. “On my honor. I wouldn’t lie about that.”

Her eyebrow cocked. “And what would you lie about?”

He just laughed. “Always the reporter.” He led her toward a beautifully set table. “Come. Let’s eat.”

He pulled out her chair and let her sit. He reached around her, so close she could feel the heat from his body, and took the silver dome from her plate. “I hope you like quail.”

“I love it,” she answered. “How did you know?”

He shrugged as he sat. “Call it a lucky hunch.” He uncovered his own meal. “I used to do quite a bit of hunting when I was younger.”

The memory seemed to pain him. “For her?” she asked quietly.

His eyes shot to hers. “How did you know?”

She shrugged. “Lucky hunch.” Thaddeus approached with a bottle of champagne. “What’s the occasion?”

Thaddeus popped the cork and filled her glass while consuming her with his eyes. It was almost tiresome how on the spot he made her feel.

Nicholas didn’t bother to answer as Thaddeus filled his glass. Their eyes met – a silent duel as Nicholas sent him from the room with nothing more than a look of disapproval.

Nicholas waited until Thaddeus had gone before holding his glass up to her. “That you finally answered my messages and joined me again.”

She held up her glass, unable to tear her eyes from him as she sipped the champagne. “How could I not reward your tenacity? It’s a quality I can appreciate.”

She proved her point as she relentlessly grilled him on his background over the course of their dinner. He answered every question calmly and directly. Every time he tried to turn the table to have her talk about herself, she would give him a vague answer and then meet it with more questions.

By the end of their meal, she knew when he had started Sterling International, how he’d built it from the ground up, acquiring other companies along the way, turning himself into a self-made millionaire through his world travels.

What she still didn’t know anything about was Nicholas the man.

“What are your parents like?” she asked, swirling the last of the champagne in her glass.

“Dead,” he answered simply. There was no pain, no mourning, just a simple statement of fact. “They died long before I enjoyed true success. A shame, but life is like that, isn’t it?”

He saddened her when he talked like that. This was clearly a man deadened by the weight of his losses. “And what about your love?” she queried softly.

There was a slight pause. “The same,” he finally answered. His eyes misted over as he looked at her. She could feel his sadness sweep across the table. He scooted his chair back and walked toward her, offering her a hand. “How about some fresh air?”

She nodded and allowed him to lead her onto the balcony that overlooked the city. “Have you ever heard of the red string of fate?” he asked as they leaned together along the stone railing. She shook her head. “There is an Eastern legend that says we are tied to significant people in our lives by a red string around our ankles. Destiny links people who are supposed to find each other, help each other, and even love each other, by this unbreakable cord. It knows no distance, no time, no circumstance. No matter what happens, this string will never break.” He glanced toward the sky. “Maybe I believe it because I have to, but I believe that red string will restore what was once stolen.” He glanced down at her upturned face. “Do you believe in destiny, Adele?”

“I never did,” she said softly as she lost herself in his eyes. “But life has a way of testing our beliefs, doesn’t it?”

He gave her a slow smile. “Indeed.” He reached out with his hand to brush her hair from her face as the wind danced around them. “Maybe it’s silly to believe in anything more than the here and now. All we really have for sure is this moment,” he added.

There was a question there, but Adele couldn’t even remember why she was supposed to turn away from it. In her heart she agreed, her life had been a series of wasted moments. She knew that the moment she had found Dani dying in the forest. Now that a much nicer moment was before her again, promising more than just the absolute loneliness she’d always known, she wondered if it was a moment worth seizing. This showed in her eyes. Like a current between them, Nicholas pulled her into his strong arms.

No words were needed as her body melted against him. All remaining doubts melted to nothingness as she wound her arms around his neck and met his kiss with equal passion. His mouth was warm as it covered her full, parted lips, capturing her soft sigh. Fire raced through her veins until she went up like a bottle rocket when he took full possession of her mouth. Her fingers clutched handfuls of hair as he lifted her to him, the force between them raw and electrifying. When he pulled away she could barely stand.

“I’ve wanted to do that since I first laid eyes on you,” he muttered into her hair.

Her head tilted back. “So what took you so long?”

He groaned as he bent for another scorching kiss.



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