With the new year ahead, my thoughts have turned to the books I will be writing. The first has to be an historical to fulfill a commitment I made to readers and myself. After that, I may do something contemporary as I enjoy writing those-- especially based in Portland or maybe try one in Tucson.
This is an excerpt from Moon Dust. It's kind of a tough story in some ways but one of the books I feel most proud of as it deals with the adult ramifications of childhood abuse on men. I did a lot of research for it because I felt it was little understood. Of course, it's also a romance:
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"What
are you doing for Thanksgiving?" George asked with an abrupt, and for
Dane, unwelcome shift in the conversation.
"Why?"
Dane asked with a faint smile. "You issuing an invitation or want
one?"
"Neither.
I'm joyfully going to my ex-wife, her
kid, her new boyfriend, and our kid, the new American family along with turkey
with all the trimmings--heartburn, the battle royal or is that the battle ax.
No, I was just concerned about what you were doing."
Dane
laughed. "And you accuse me of being soft. Well, so you won't worry, I've
got plans."
"You
and Susan make up your differences?"
"Hardly.
Didn't you see her with Russ Wright, her new boyfriend? Susan isn't interested
in making up with me," Dane said bitterly, remembering again how beautiful
she had looked. There was a time where that intelligent beauty had been his,
where he'd felt a sense of pride in the knowledge that he would be the man
taking her clothes off that night. Now the beauty was like a weapon piercing
his heart.
George
shook his head. "Where was I supposed to have seen her?"
"George,
don't you ever look around, observe anything. When you brought the human
barracuda to interview me, Susan was at the other end of the restaurant."
"I
thought you ended up liking Margo.”
“She
was doing her job.”
“Well,
I never saw Susan that night."
Dane
shook his head. "You were so high on getting that interview nailed down
you wouldn't have noticed Cleopatra and her whole barge."
"I
would too," George denied with a grin, then returned uncomfortably to his
point. "I don't like you spending a holiday alone, Dane. I know how rough
divorce is... how hard those first months are. How about coming to dinner with
me? I was just kidding about the arguing, honest."
Dane
grinned. "I can't believe any of what I'm hearing, that you of all people
would become a broody hen. It's out of character, George."
"It’s
just--" George frowned.
"Hey,
quit worrying about me. I've spent a lot of Thanksgivings by myself. It wasn't
until Susan that I wanted to be with anybody. I heard they got fresh snow up at
Timberline. When you're stuffing your face with turkey, just think of me
schussing down the slopes."
"What
if it rains up there?"
Dane
laughed, shaking his head. "Then I'll take a TV dinner out of the freezer.
Quit worrying."
"Your
mother lives down the valley. Couldn't you have dinner with her?" George
tried again, obviously determined to find a family with which Dane could roost.
"No,"
Dane said.
