Posted in backstory, my books, writing inspiration, Writing tips

Excerpt from Red Steel

We’ve been talking about writing fight scenes the past couple of weeks. Last night I gave my presentation for the Pamlico Writers’ Group via Zoom.

Writers don’t have the luxury of film and music scores to set up their battle. It is up to us to take the reader on an emotional journey with us as we embark on our “battle.” Whether it’s a full blown battle scene like Star Wars or a scene where you are trying to get a toddler to bed, there are several degrees to each battle scene.

The Battle from a distance or preparing for battle. Imagine being on a convoy ship going into your first battle. The commander is watching the battle from a monitor aboard ship. The soldier beside you is a seasoned warrior, battle scarred and old before his time, he is praying. You were excited about your first fight until you see the warriors hands shake.

In my story Red Steel I have several small battles. In the first one, Melanie is going to confront her ex-boyfriend, the leader of a biker gang.

Choreographing a scene I try to visualize how it happens as if it were in a movie.

Chapter 1: Melanie, Into the Fire

New Year’s Eve

Melanie gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. Panic turned to dread as the realization of what had happened to Jonas finally hit her. She pressed the gas. The little clunker sputtered as she sped towards her ex-boyfriend’s farm. “Boyfriend,” she snorted. Tears blurring her vision. She’d met the biker outside Jacksonville, Florida at the hole she’d been working. He’d been handsome and kind. He’d seemed like the perfect knight to rescue her from her life of waiting tables and giving guys blow jobs in the backseat of their cars for extra money just so she could have enough money to pay bills and feed her kid. Out of the frying pan into the fire as her grandma would say. She should have stayed with Jonas’ daddy. He wasn’t that bad. He was controlling and he’d hit her but…

Her head connected with the roof of the car as she hit another pothole. She cursed the long winding dirt lane that passed for a road. This one was big enough to bury a dog, a very big dog. She prayed she didn’t mess up the car before she reached Midas. Cursing, she swerved around another pothole and swiped at the blinding tears. “That sorry son-of-a-bitch has a lot to answer for.” The pistol in her purse shifted as she jerked the wheel to avoid another pothole. She grabbed the purse to keep it from sliding out. This road was not designed to be taken at top speed, but Melanie had no time to lose. She’d wasted too many precious hours already. Her stomach lurched as fear threatened to consume her. The phone call with her ex-husband kept playing in her mind. “How could you lose our son?” She couldn’t allow her fears to freeze her into inactivity. Guilt, fear, dread mingled with the exhaust of the ragged little car. She would not be ill. She would have answers tonight or someone was going to die. A shiver ran up her spine. She knew by confronting Midas at his farm, she would probably be the one to die but she hoped she wasn’t alone. 

Details matter, having a gun in her purse so she can pull it out later. Make sure you set things up so the reader isn’t left going “but where’d that come from?”

Finally, she pulled into the yard. A line of motorcycles stood in front of one of the old barns. The bikers had converted several of the outbuildings into barracks. One served as a brothel. Melanie shuddered knowing she’d barely escaped that fate. Winston, before he’d become Midas, hadn’t been that bad. It was only after he’d joined the bikers and started working his way up that he’d truly became an asshole.

Only a half dozen or so bikes were out at the barn. That was good news, maybe she could survive this night. She wondered where the rest of the bikers were. It was unusual that they all weren’t celebrating the holiday together. She didn’t have time to worry about biker politics as she sped into the clearing that served as parking for the mildewed, old doublewide. Stopping the car inches from the front porch, she threw the shifter in park and pocketed the keys. Snatching her purse from the seat, she started towards the porch only to have her way blocked by Midas’ second in command, Nick Golden. She would find it funny that a man who called himself Midas would have an enforcer called Golden, but she suspected that there was a link between the two, and at the moment, the only thing Melanie had time to think about was her son. Pulling the pistol from her purse she pointed it at Nick’s chest. “I got business with Midas. If you try to stop me, I will shoot you.”

Okay, not exactly the image I was going for when Melanie pulls the gun on Nick but you get the drift.

Nick put his hands in the air and called out, “Midas, company. Mel’s here.” He grinned at her showing surprisingly white teeth. “And she’s pissed.” He stepped out of her way and nodded for her to proceed him into the trailer.

Shouts, laughter and fireworks came from the field beside the house. The bikers were drunk, but she had no illusions, if she threatened their boss, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. Melanie’s heart sank, she didn’t regret dying to avenge her son, she only wished she could have seen him one last time. If I’m not getting out of here alive, I’ll take as many of them with me as I can. Even if someone heard a gunshot, they’d just think it was part of the New Year’s celebration.

A young blond had her head in Winston’s crotch, giving him a blow job. Mel rolled her eyes and dropped her gun into her purse. She walked over and kicked the girl in the foot. “Leave.”

The girl looked up, her dark eyes startled. She couldn’t be more than fourteen. Melanie’s stomach heaved. The child hesitated. Midas pushed her away. “Go on, we’ll finish this later.” He didn’t bother to put his dick in his pants. He watched the young girl go and asked. “You planning to take her place. You always were better at giving head.” He leaned back in the well-worn recliner.

“Fuck you Midas, where’s my son?” Melanie tried not to let her fear show.

He shrugged. “How should I know?”

“I just got off the phone with my ex, he’s been deployed for the past ten months. He’s not seen or heard from Jonas. So where is my son?”

Midas, real name, Winston Jarvis, righted his clothes and stood. “I told you Mel, I don’t know. I sold the kid…”

The crack reverberated surprising them both. Melanie didn’t remember moving, only the sting in her hand and the imprint on Midas’ face gave proof that she’d slapped him. With a shuddering breath she demanded, “When? When did you sell him?”

Rubbing the side of his face, Midas shrugged. “Right after you went to the hospital.”

Tears filled her eyes. “You bastard.”

“Yeah, what else was I going to do with a kid? I’m not into boys.”

Melanie pulled the pistol from her purse. “Who did you sell him to?”

“Put your toy gun away Mel, you know I have bigger guns and more of them.” He nodded behind her, but she refused to look.

Keeping the pistol trained on Midas she demanded, “Who has my son?”

He laughed. “Well see, that’s the thing, we don’t know. My buyer got misdirected and the person who bought him, well, they still owe me money…”

She felt the air shift behind her and pulled the trigger.

“I can’t believe you let her bring a fucking gun in here,” she heard Midas scream as the butt of a gun connected with the side of her head. The pain in her head exploded in a blinding light, then everything went dark.

While this scene wasn’t a big battle, it was life changing for Melanie. In truth she should have died and perhaps she wanted to commit suicide believing she’d never see her son again but she planned to take Midas down with her.

Your Point of View character is the most important element in telling/showing this scene because it is through her eyes that we see and FEEL the battle.

Whether it is an epic battle or a smaller fight, the character should be changed. If it was an all out war, more than just the character should have suffered change, the place it happened should be scarred, the economy affected, people sick and dying, shortages on food and medicine. If this was a personal battle, who else suffered? Did anyone gain anything?

I hope you are enjoying my writing tips on fight scenes. I’d love to hear some of yours. I’m always looking to learn more.

Happy Writing y’all!

If you enjoyed this excerpt from RED STEEL, it is on sale for 99 cents through Amazon and other ebook retailers.

Posted in Thoughts, writing inspiration, Writing tips

Following Other Authors (part 2)

Again, I paraphrase Neil Gaiman when I say, I’ve learned to write this novel. When I was writing Roxy’s Betrayal, I had to rely heavily on what I’d written in the previous book, Janie’s Secrets because they shared a parallel timeline. I had no idea how difficult this idea would be. First, I’m not a plotter/outliner. I write by the seat of my pants, also known as being a pantser. That is not to say that I don’t plan or research or have an idea of where I’m going with the story beforehand, I do. It is one of the things that insulted me about the craft book I purchased which said pantsers have no idea where they are going with their story.

Although I don’t outline my stories, I know a few things about my story and main characters before I start writing my first draft. I know some of my character’s backstory, I know or have an idea of how I want the plot to end or the climax of the story. Much of this I figure out in my fast draft. Which in truth is very much like an outline but in a story form. I call it my skeleton. I write the story as quickly as I can without much detail then I go back and add flesh, feeling, all that stuff that makes it come alive.

With most stories I start with a character or a scene, an idea that has come to me like a seedling. From there I ask questions, shed a little light on it. Some stories come to me whole, I just have to write them down, others I have to work at to find what makes all its pieces and parts fit together. Roxy took a little more work. Not only was I writing Roxanne’s story with a parallel timeline to Janie’s story. I had to figure out how she was going to meet and fall in love with Jorge, an accused murderer. Why they were trying to rescue Janie’s daughter and why they didn’t just ask for help.

I wrote several scenes as they came to me but had a difficult time bringing everything together. The bigger the series gets the more difficult it becomes to mesh each story into the next. I want to layer the family dynamics, their past hurts and future relationships, define their roles inside the family as well as give them a fun sexy romance with some suspense and drama.

I had Roxanne as part of Janie’s Secrets and there is even mention of her in Red Steel, but she was just an elusive idea not completely developed. Until I finished Janie’s Secrets, I really didn’t know who Roxanne was. As I started my fast draft for Roxy, I began to realize I’d misunderstood her. This is where backstory helps to flesh out the character. It is one of the great points in Lisa Cron’s Story Genius. That without backstory there is no story.  

Each novel requires a little different process. Now, if you are like the amazing Sarra Cannon, you may have discovered what works best for you to find your muse and productivity. Her methods change very little during the process of writing her novels. She has a master plan and is able to stick to it.

For me, I’ve been developing my plan as I go. Chrome Pink was written with everything thrown in and then whittled down. Titanium Blue was planned with sticky notes and written during my first NaNoWriMo, at least the first version. My middle son and his wife were great resources during this writing. White Gold was also done with sticky notes to help plan it. Evergreen Crystals was another difficult novel because I wanted to write a true romance with their happy ever after, but I couldn’t do it without killing people, so, I let my dark side out and had fun with it. I’m beginning to think I’m a little scary, I blame it on my children. Red Steel was a lot of research, but I actually carried around a small notebook and wrote down ideas, often texting my firefighter son about what this would look like if it exploded. I really want to go to some of their training exercises. Janie’s Secrets was a recycled story with a few additions. Now I’m working on the brothers’ stories. My problem is, I know Remy’s story but it’s not time to tell it yet. I know Seth’s story, but he needs seasoning. I know Trent’s story, but should he come next or should I work on Cole’s story. As I started working on Trent’s story, ideas for Cole came to me, I’m attempting to write both books in tandem but deciding which one will come first will be interesting. I don’t know if I want another parallel timeline, but I may cross timelines.

There are so many ways to tell a story so how can there be only one way to write them?

Posted in my books, promo

Roxy is here!

Books2Read https://books2read.com/b/boD5Na

To order on Amazon Ebooks

US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TCGT6XQ

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08TCGT6XQ

AUS https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08TCGT6XQ

CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08TCGT6XQ

Ebook ASIN: B08TCGT6XQ

Print copy ASIN: B08VL7MWTJ

Roxanne Harrell is the youngest of the Harrell family sisters. She is spoiled, self-centered and a bit of a screw-up, at least that’s the way her family sees her. When Roxy meets the niece she didn’t even know she had while working on a cruise ship, she is determined to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if it means betraying her family. Jorge Claudio is thankful to be exonerated of murder charges. He agrees to chase his lawyer, Remington Harrell’s sister to Savannah to keep her from causing more trouble when they learn Remy’s ex is trying to take over the leaderless Bryant Family crime syndicate. There is only one problem, whenever Jorge is around Roxanne, he forgets about everything except his need to be inside her.

A steamy romantic suspense.

Third book in The Harrell Family Chronicles

#1 Red Steel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084LX1D1P

#2 Janie’s Secrets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CS5RWS1

Social Media Links

Website: https://sherrilhollister.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sherri-lupton-hollister

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17367712.Sherri_Lupton_Hollister

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sjlhollisterwriter/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suspenseshewrites

Amazon Author Central Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B079FGXGBH   https://www.amazon.com/S-Hollister

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jeanelia1964

All Author https://allauthor.com/author/slhollister/

Posted in quarterly goals, Thoughts

My Pep Talk to Myself

The emotional ups and downs of being an author don’t always follow the pattern of our books’ success and failure. Too often, it is the low that comes after a super high, only to plummet back to reality.

As I look back at the month of August and what I’ve accomplished and haven’t accomplished, I find myself fighting melancholy. Why? A two-star review on Goodreads for Janie’s Secrets, not making the finals in Kindle Book Review Awards for Red Steel, feeling like I don’t have the time to do everything I need to do or want to do. I worked very hard to write a novella for the Heart of Carolina’s upcoming anthology only to realize I didn’t have time to finish it. Failure is crushing even when it is self-inflicted failure.

But I should be doing somersaults after all I have accomplished this month. Chrome Pink made it into the Amazon Top 100 Kindle Free Books. It finished #34 on Sunday, August 30th after a Free Booksy Ad. It also reached #3 in Romantic Suspense and #4 in Suspense. Over 2000 books were down loaded on Sunday and that doesn’t even count the books I sold or the ones down loaded on other sites. I should be sailing in the clouds but I allowed a bad review, not even a really bad review but a 2-star rating, crush me. Why? Because I’m human. I can tell you I’m tired, I put my heart into my stories, they’re like my children, I want people to like me/them. The truth is not everyone is going to like my stories. Not everyone is going to like me.

I’m not alone in my emotional roller coaster, many authors, especially indie authors feel the same way I do. Author Sarra Cannon, whom I follow on YouTube with her Heart Breathing Channel and whose courses, Publish and Thrive and her HB90 changed my life, speaks of mental health and well-being in her videos. We often put too much on our plates and expect to be able to perform well, but like the juggler with his chainsaws that last addition can be catastrophic.

In Sarra’s HB90 course she talks of planning quarterly, 90-day increments and even breaking those down into monthly expectations. Sitting down with a planner, thinking of what I have to do, want to do and need to do. How much time things will take and how much time I will actually have to devote to the tasks amid life, work and family. Allowing time to sleep, eat and maybe even cuddle with my husband.

I really have no reason to feel down. I know much of what I’m feeling stems from fear, exhaustion and coming off the high of other successes. For those of you who fear this might be a whining session and wish to tune out, it’s not, this is my pep talk to myself and to anyone else who is happy when they see one sale a day or are thrilled when their free book gets 100 downloads. I keep telling myself I’ve only been published three years. I have six books, seven if you count my trilogy of the first three books I just released, plus I have novellas in several anthologies. I’ve come a long way in a short time. Even though I’ve been writing for over forty years, I’ve only started writing to publish in the past fifteen years with a couple of years off after losing our house and my father. We had a couple of really rough years.

So, what do I have to whine about? Nothing. I should be celebrating. I have had over 300 new subscribers to my newsletter, that is both exciting and terrifying. I thought, how can I keep these people interested? What hoops will I have to jump through to keep them? But then I thought of the ones who have been with me all along the way. My steadfast friends who read everything I write good and bad, who offer opinions and assistance, and I realized, I just need to be real. I just need to be me. Yes, I’ll lose some people but that’s okay. Some will come for the free book, some will stay a while and go, others will be here for the duration. I just need to be the best me I can be for that is all I can be. That’s all any of us can be.

I know putting my books out into the world for other people to read means some won’t like it, but some will. Channeling Sarra Cannon again, I’m going to write from my place of joy. I’m going to write the books that I feel compelled to write and hope they will appeal to readers. It is time to get back to work on Roxy’s Secret.

For those of you who received my newsletter, I sent the first few pages of the novella I was writing for the Heart of Carolina anthology. I didn’t get to finish it and I’m starting to think it might be a full-length novel. I think I might try a stand-alone novel once Roxy is wrapped up. Maybe I can tie it into my other stories. I’ll have to think about it.

My goals for August: Promote Janie’s Secrets, I’m still working on it. Start Roxy’s Betrayal, I’ve started but I’ve not made the progress I’d hoped. Increase Newsletter subscriptions, okay this has tripled thanks to Bookfunnel. Janie is free in a Bookfunnel promo this month, https://books.bookfunnel.com/weloveromancegiveaway/ao2jdazxop.

Janie’s Secret is also in a Cover of the Month contest on All Author, https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/9385/  I’d appreciate your vote.

Janie’s Secrets is also in a Book Tour on Instagram and Facebook, through September 6th. I’d appreciate your support.

I still need to learn more about Publisher’s Rocket but I’m tackling it in small bites.

One other thing I accomplished this month I’ve been wanting to do for a while was to combine the first three books of the Leeward Files into one book. It’s only on sale for a little while longer.

I haven’t even planned what I’m going to try to accomplish in September but we’re going to do some great things: #1 write Roxy’s Betrayal. I’ll figure out the rest but that’s the most important.

I hope my whine, rant, pep talk has helped someone else. The truth is some days this is my dream job and other days it’s a nightmare. Sometimes it’s all on the same day.

Posted in contest, event

Kindle Book Awards

I submitted Red Steel to the Kindle Book Review 9th Annual Reader’s Choice Awards

Red Steel is a suspense thriller set in a small town on the North Carolina coast. Things heat up when a vigilante turns to arson to purify the town of Leeward. Firefighter Billy Grimes and reporter Tracy Harrell cast a few sparks of their own when they are thrown together as this story becomes explosive. Who will survive when the dark secrets of the town’s past are cast into the fiery light?

Now through October 15th, 2020 you can vote. Go to Kindle Book Review to vote, leave a comment at the bottom of the page and don’t forget to sign up for the raffle. You might win a Kindle Fire!

https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2020-readers-choice-awards/

HOW CAN YOU VOTE & WIN?

  1. Go to https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2020-readers-choice-awards/ 
  2.  Click on YOUR preferred genre box below. (Red Steel is a Thriller!)
  3. Scroll through the book covers in your preferred genre. If you see your favorite book in that list, VOTE for it. IN THE COMMENTS (you must put the information in the comments.) If you see a book that draws you in, read it, and if it’s your new favorite, VOTE for it.

 Vote MUST include book Title & Author name.

  • Finally, enter the easy entry Rafflecopter form below for a one (1) entry to WIN an 8″ Kindle Fire.

So without further ado, we present this year’s categories. Please click on your preferred genre, and then VOTE for one of the books in your preferred genre after scrolling through all the book covers on that page. Please VOTE for ONE BOOK ONLY.

Posted in promo, writing inspiration

Billy and Tracy, the inspiration behind the characters

When I wrote Chrome Pink Billy was just Rae Lynne’s bossy older brother.

He’s had a few bit parts in other books, but I never really stopped to think about who he was as a character.

Working on Red Steel, I had to learn more about who Billy Grimes really was. What made him tick. Why did he act and react they way that he did? Somethings were obvious as they tied in with Rae Lynne’s story, especially their mother leaving when they were so young. What else would affect him, carve him into the person he is?

My youngest son, Blake is a volunteer firefighter. A few months ago, knowing I was going to be working on Red Steel, I asked him about giving a workshop for my writer’s group on being a firefighter and first responder. As he spoke, I got a clearer picture of my character Billy Grimes and he became my muse for Billy.

I often use my friends and family to help me better understand my characters. One of the fun things about writing is taking a little bit from people you know and throwing all those bits and pieces into a blender on high and add in a stray thought or idea and wham, you have a character. I tease Blake about being the muse for Billy, I think he’s okay with the idea but then, he’s not read the book (insert evil laugh).

There is a lot about Billy Grimes that fits my son, but he is still a fictional character. There are other times that one of my other sons or one of their friends gives me an idea for the character. While Blake is definitely the body type for Billy Grimes…okay y’all, no drooling over my baby son, he’s married and she’s crazy, just ask her, she’ll tell you…there are things about my son I don’t want to know and things I can’t know because he probably doesn’t know them about himself. That is one of the powers of fiction, being able to know your character’s thoughts, desires and deepest fears. So, while Blake may have inspired Billy Grimes, please do not confuse the character with the real-life person. As his wife will tell you, Blake is no gourmet cook and while he may be great at taking care of his family, the one who is always trying to feed everyone is his wife Katelynn.

Katelynn asked me if she was in any of my books. It’s funny, I didn’t make a conscious choice to fashion Tracy Harrell after Blake’s wife but after she asked me, I thought about the character and realized without even trying, Billy’s love interest was a lot like my daughter-in-law. She’s tough, beautiful with that Katherine Hepburn girl next door quality, and she’ll go toe-to-toe with Billy, law enforcement, her boss and her family. She is a no non-sense woman, a reporter, which is really close to what Katelynn does since she is an awesome photographer (check out her website at http:katelynnhollisterphotography.com/ ). Tracy is a modern woman who has had to work hard and fight to get where she is. She doesn’t back down. So, yes Katelynn, you really are in my book.

Billy is a bit of a lady’s man, all the women old and young seem to have a crush on him except Tracy and his friend Brenda, the paramedic whom they teasingly call Blade. While Tracy is attracted to Billy, she isn’t going to give him a chance. If he wants her, he’ll have to work for it. Blade is in love with her husband while she thinks Billy is a charmer, she doesn’t pay his flirting any mind. Billy likes them more because they are immuned to his charms.

So there you have it, my inspiration behind my characters for Red Steel.

A special Thank you to Hello Honey Photography for allowing me to use the photos of Blake and Katelynn for this blog. https://www.facebook.com/hellohoneyphotography/

Posted in my books, promo

I Need Your Help

I’ve completed over 50,000 words on my revisions and rewrites and printing off pages to go to edits. I still have a few chapters left to finish but I’m getting close to the end. I’m looking at ideas for my new cover and I’m hoping you all might give me some input.

Which cover do you like best?

A. Firefighter walking away from red fire truck with sparks flying all around. Bottom is steel plate with dark red writing.

B. A fire truck in silhouette, fire blazing, firefighters working, a tree in upper corner.

Bottom, steel plate with bright red writing.

C. Firefighter with hose fighting a forest fire. Bottom red with gray writing.

Vote for your favorite and I’ll put you in a drawing to win a free copy of Red Steel.

To vote, just reply on any of my social media sites and tell me A, B or C. I will Direct Message you if your name is drawn. Thanks for your help.

Sherri

Posted in Uncategorized

Happy Birthday Brenda Mayo Jones

From Red Steel

Billy sipping his warm beer, watched his sister and her new husband as they twirled around dance floor amid the other glittering couples. He didn’t begrudge Rae her happiness. It was a long time in coming. But he couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy. He sighed as he watched them, the three friends, couples now, best friends since middle school. They’d always had Rae’s back, even when he’d failed her. He turned away from the scene, refusing to allow the depressing thoughts to seep inside him. He’d been feeling this way since his mother’s death. First the anger, then the guilt, now this whatever it was. He sighed.

“Happy New Year’s AC,” one of the paramedics greeted him.

Billy grinned. AC for assistant chief had become his acronym. He had to admit, he liked it. It was an honor to be elected to the position. The fire department and rescue squad felt more like his family than some of his blood kin. “Hey Blade,” he greeted the tall blonde.

Brenda, aka Blade rolled her eyes. “Y’all ain’t gonna let me live that one down, are you?” She’d proved herself handy with a knife. Saving one of his guys at a fire her first week on the job. It had earned her the nickname Blade.

He raised his bottle to her. “You could have a worse nick name.”

She cringed aware of some of the other monikers that had been bestowed upon the rookies of both teams. “You here alone?”

“Yeah, looks like.” He grimaced. Lifting his shoulders in a careless shrug, he blushed. “I got stood up.” He was known in town and especially among the first responders as a bit of a ladies’ man. It kinda dented his image to be to a big function like this dateless.

She frowned, crossing her long muscular arm under her impressive chest. “What’d you do?”

Momentarily distracted by her display, Billy mentally shook himself. He didn’t date other members of the team. Besides, Blade was married, and he’d learned his lesson about messing with married folks. But she was a good-looking woman with a great rack, focus Grimes, the lady asked you a question. “Now what makes you think I did anything?” Billy complained.

“You’re a guy.” Realizing her arms were crossed under her breasts, and his eyes had once more strayed there, she dropped them, blushing. “Really AC?”

He shrugged, grinning. “What? You said it, I’m a guy. They’re nice. I’m gonna look.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re an ass.”

“Yes ma’am, but I’m honest and you really do look nice tonight. Where’s Chris?” She did look pretty in her royal blue gown with all the sparkly things on it.

“My husband had to work tonight,” she said and sighed. “Do you wanna dance? I hate just standing around.”

“You don’t think he’d get jealous?” Billy asked setting his beer down on a nearby table.

She grinned. “Of you, nah?”

Her sharp wit was one of the reasons he liked Blade, Brenda, she was tough but still sweet. “I think I should be offended by that,” he drawled.

“Probably,” she replied nodding, her blue eyes twinkling.