Madelle Morgan's New Release - Hollywood Hero

Unrequited love is hell on earth. Wendy Davila is desperately in love with a man out of her league in Hollywood Hero, my new contemporary romance—Book 3 in the Hollywood in Muskoka series.

Description

Personal assistant Wendy Davila is in love with her boss, Halden Armstrong, megastar of the Apollo superhero film franchise. But she can’t compete with the succession of stick-thin blond beauties he’s caught and released. Or can she? When Halden asks Wendy to accompany him on a fishing trip to Muskoka, it’s her chance to remake her dark-haired, curvy Latina self into his ideal woman and cast her hook for Halden.

 

Halden has been burned by love. The last thing he wants is a woman like his ex who faked it until she landed him. Wendy is special, and the private trip is an opportunity to explore his feelings for her. However, the Greek god has an Achilles’ heel. Can he trust Wendy with a secret that could ruin his career? And will she still care for him when she learns the truth?

When Apollo falls off his pedestal, Wendy must decide if the man she adores is a keeper.

A Bit of Background

We first meet Wendy Davila in Caught on Camera, Book 1 in the Hollywood in Muskoka series. In that novel, Wendy is the personal assistant (PA) to Candy Kane, the bridezilla. Hollywood Hero is set a year after Candy and Halden’s disastrous wedding, and may be read as a standalone romance.

Star-crossed lovers Halden and Wendy have a rocky journey from boss-employee to romantic partners in Hollywood Hero. Not only is Halden a completely different guy away from Hollywood, city girl Wendy is a fish out of water in the Muskoka wilderness.

Hollywood Hero Excerpt: First Kiss Scene 

“I’m valued for my physical appearance, not my ability. Some role model.” Hurt clogged Halden’s throat.

“Now you understand how women feel. Get over yourself.” Wendy slapped him on the chest and shoved to extricate herself from his lap.

“Not so fast.” He slid an arm around her waist and drew her close. Wendy’s practical, no-sympathy approach, so different from fawning Hollywood hangers-on, prodded him to think about his deep, dark secret from a different angle. He’d needed that kick in the ass, he realized. “I value your abilities.”

“Wonderful. Let me go.”

“I value everything about you.” Including the fact she’d known and kept his secret all along. He gently angled her chin with a forefinger. His mouth hovered over hers, savoring the moment.

She stilled in his arms. Firelight flashed in narrowed, wary chocolate eyes. “Is this a self-pity, ‘make yourself feel better with whoever’s handy’ kiss?”

His heart pounded as rapidly as it had a few minutes earlier, but for a different reason. “This is a ‘friends-fall-over-the-edge-to-lovers’ kiss.”

She exhaled. “Okay, then.”

Their lips touched, and he tasted joy. 

Preorder Hollywood Hero on Amazon for $0.99. The ebook will be published March 8, 2021 on Amazon, Kobo, and Apple Books. Visit MadelleMorgan.com for all buy links, as well as the link to the YouTube playlist that mirrors the progress of Wendy and Halden’s romance. 

About Madelle Morgan 

I’m a Canadian author who writes humorous, slightly steamy romance set in wild and beautiful Canada. My romantic thriller Diamond Hunter is a free read in Kindle Unlimited. 

Catch Up on the Series

I rebranded the Hollywood in Muskoka series with new covers for Caught on Camera (Book 1) and Seduced by the Screenwriter (Book 2). What do you think of the update?

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. For info on new releases, including the upcoming box set and Caught on Camera audiobook, subscribe to my occasional newsletter at MadelleMorgan.com.

Au Revoir

by Madelle Morgan

After seven years as a Genre-ista with the second Tuesday of every month slot on the Romancing the Genres blog, this will be my last regular post.

Over those seven years I shared my journey as I developed the craft of writing romance, ventured into indie publishing, and learned about marketing.

Before I explain why I am hanging up my hat, here’s a brief summary of my writing and publishing efforts.

Diamond Lust, my first novel, was published by Ellora’s Cave in 2010. Although EC mostly published erotica, I will always be grateful that they took a chance on a new author and published my romantic suspense. That’s when I learned the value of a good editor! When I got the rights back, I indie-published it as Diamond Hunter in 2015 in digital and print formats.

I was on a (slow) roll. I indie-published two contemporary romances in the Hollywood in Muskoka series: Caught on Camera in 2016 and Seduced by the Screenwriter in 2017.

Obviously I am a slow writer. A book a year. In this digital era, an indie author needs to invest a lot of time and money to build a backlist and a fan base in order to ultimately sell thousands of low-priced ebooks.

Prose and Cons

To create a novel that meets traditional publishing standards, indie-published authors invest in expensive professional editing, covers, and formatting for print and digital formats. At least I did. 

Audiobooks and translation are expensive options to enable authors to reach more buyers. Those costs were out of my reach.

Some authors spend thousands per year on marketing and promotion: Amazon, Twitter and Facebook ads, promo in e-newsletters such as Bookbub, and virtual assistants to organize and schedule it all. At the same time there is huge pressure to discount the books or offer the first in a series free.

To be blunt, an author who writes as slowly as I do can burn through a lot of money without significant return on that investment of time and money.

Best-selling authors aside, some traditionally and indie-published midlist authors do make a decent return on their time and monetary investment. They have multiple new releases a year plus a backlist, a fan base that buys every new release, and a winning advertising strategy, all vital to gain Amazon algorithm traction, ranking, visibility, and sales.

But what about authors who don't have deep pockets and multiple annual releases? I've heard of several midlist authors who could formerly earn their living from book sales but were dropped by their publishers and are now working at regular jobs to pay the bills.

Bottom line, my book sales do not come anywhere near paying for desired extras such as travel at this stage of my life as a "60 is the new 50" senior.

I was in the midst of planning Hollywood Hero, Book 3 of the Hollywood in Muskoka series, and then…

My Therapy Practice Took Off in 2018

Bowen Therapy is a gentle holistic bodywork, but people keep their clothes on. I discovered it in 2012 after 20 years of trying various ineffective therapies for long term back pain caused by a fall that misaligned my pelvis. I'm a retired civil engineer, and my structural engineering knowledge (tension/ compression/ torsion, etc.) and own skeletal alignment issues led me to become a certified practitioner and then take advanced training in order to specialize in musculo-skeletal alignment. Now that I am pain-free, it is very satisfying to eliminate eliminate back, neck and joint pain in clients who, like me, "tried everything" before finding Bowen Therapy.

Last year I reached a tipping point. Referrals from clients took off exponentially and I’ve been booked solid four days a week since. It’s rather exhausting to be so busy. I’m no spring chicken! But it’s worth it because my travel fund is growing.

Unfortunately my practice leaves me with too many commitments and not enough time. Something has to give…

Therefore I’m reluctantly hanging up my Genre-ista hat. From the bottom of my heart I thank Judith and Sarah who have worked so hard for many years to give me and other authors a platform.

Much love to Judith, Sarah, the Genre-istas and readers of this blog.

Madelle

BOOKS

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Buy Links

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Buy Links

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com.au

Kobo  | Apple Books | Walmart

Follow Madelle on  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad.

For giveaways and new releases, subscribe to Madelle’s blog at www.MadelleMorgan.com .

Diamonds 'Til Death Do Us Part

by Madelle Morgan

When diamond smuggling leads to murder in the Land of the Midnight Sun, diamonds aren’t geologist Petra Paris’ best friend. Is her life worth a fortune in diamonds?

My romantic thriller Diamond Hunter is set in the subarctic Canadian tundra in July. People’s image of the Arctic is of an icy winter wasteland. However, the short summer is spectacular. The “Barren lands” of central Northwest Territories aren’t that barren. They team with wildlife. There are no trees, but brush and tiny flowers covering the rocky terrain create a tapestry of color.

The diamond mine workers in my novel go fishing in their free time. Since the summer sun never sets, that could be at midnight.

Finding the Diamonds

The subarctic is vast, covering more territory than many European countries. Finding rock containing diamonds can be a geologist’s life work. Many try but very few strike it rich.

When a geologist discovers garnets, she gets excited. That’s because diamonds may be close by. Garnets and diamonds are both formed by heat and pressure deep in the earth, and then pushed in molten rock (kimberlite) through a fissure to the surface.

Mining the Diamonds

Canada's diamond mines. Image source.

Canadian diamond mines are either surface mines, underground, or a combination. Diamond Hunter is set at an open-pit mine.

Massive trucks haul tons of broken rock to a processing plant. In the novel I describe how rough diamonds are separated from crushed rock and stored on site before being shipped out. Then a highly skilled diamond cutter cautiously cuts 57 facets and polishes a diamond to round, light-reflecting brilliance—a process that can take two weeks.

Canada’s diamond mines produce some of the highest quality, environmentally-friendly diamonds in the world. Many engaged couples choose a Canadian diamond over “blood diamonds” aka “conflict diamonds” produced in Africa.

Look for a Canadian diamond that is laser-engraved and comes with a certificate of origin.

Diamond Hunter, the Novel

Colorado geologist Petra Paris must clear her father of fraud charges by collecting fresh rock samples at an open-pit diamond mine in Canada’s far north.

Then someone tries to frame her with stolen uncut diamonds. Petra needs protection.

Local pilot Seth Cooper, an undercover cop with the RCMP Diamond Protection Unit, needs access to the mine complex. They strike a deal to have Seth pose as her boyfriend so he can overnight on site.

In their bedroom under the midnight sun, Petra fights magnetic desire to sample her bodyguard’s rock-hard body. The prospect of intimacy hot enough to heat up the Arctic is a deadly distraction. She needs to focus on her mission. Besides, Seth is commitment-phobic; his job put his ex-wife in danger.

With cops closing in, escape blocked and millions in stolen diamonds at stake, desperate smugglers ramp up to murder. The isolated mine site becomes a death trap. Seth must expose the villains before Petra becomes the next victim.

Available exclusively on Amazon. Free read in Kindle Unlimited.

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com.au

Follow Madelle: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. Subscribe to Madelle’s blog at www.MadelleMorgan.com.

The Difference Between Beta Reads and ARCs

by Madelle Morgan

I was spurred to write this post because another author expressed deep unhappiness that one of her beta readers posted a poor rating and review on Amazon based on the pre-edited beta version of her novel.

It's well known that authors expect (hope?) that readers and bloggers will write reviews in exchange for free advance reader copies (ARCs). However, authors certainly do not want beta readers to post reviews of an unpolished version of the novel! 

So what is a beta reader? I suspect the label was adapted from beta tester. The process of beta testing is part of software development.

Beta Test - Merriam-Webster definition: A field test of the beta version of a product (such as software) especially by testers outside the company developing it that is conducted prior to commercial release.

Beta tests of software have the goal of finding bugs; i.e., things that don't work well. In the beta stage, the hope is not to have to start from scratch, but rather to find and fix problems.

Indie authors have adopted the concept of a quality check of their products (novels) before publication. They have been immersed in the book through successive drafts and many changes. It's difficult to step back and identify problems. These authors seek fresh eyes, aka beta readers.

Beta Reader - Wikipedia definition: An alpha reader or beta reader is a non-professional reader who reads a written work, generally fiction, with the intent of (improving) elements such as grammar and spelling, as well as suggestions to improve the story, its characters, or its setting. Beta reading is typically done before the story is released for public consumption. Beta readers are not explicitly proofreaders or editors, but can serve in that context.

Elements highlighted by beta readers encompass things such as plot holes, problems with continuity, characterization or believeability. The beta reader might also assist the author with fact-checking.

Novel Development Process

Crafting a novel is an iterative and lonely process. Authors ask themselves, does the book meet my fans' expectations? Is the story captivating? Are the characters believable? Doubts can creep in as we hunch in our writing caves for weeks or months rewriting successive drafts. For confirmation that the book is on track, during the development stage authors may work with critique partners or pay for a professional developmental edit.

After the novel is substantially complete, authors usually proceed to hire a copy editor, line editor and/or proofreader. Increasingly, however, some indie authors first ask trusted readers for feedback—the beta read—prior to polishing and copy editing.

Beta reads of a novel generally fall after substantial completion, but before polishing and copy editing. That is, the plot and characters are set, but aspects such as character development, goals, motivations and conflicts, and other details may still need polishing. Scenes may need to be added or rewritten to clarify confusion or build tension. Story questions may need to be answered.

The stages of writing a novel could look something like this:

1. Development draft(s) 
2. Developmental editing by a professional or critique partners
3. Beta draft - substantially complete
4. Beta readers
5. Polished draft
6. Copy editing by a professional 
7. Final version
8. Formatting of final version
9. ARCs sent out to bloggers and fans for reviews
10. Publication & distribution on retail platforms

Expectations of Beta Readers

I carefully selected and asked two authors, two detailed-oriented friends, and two subject matter experts to be beta readers of my December 2017 release. I was happy to receive high quality feedback from three. The others bailed, but that's okay. Hopefully they'll buy the finished book!

It's very important that an author outline to beta volunteers what feedback she wants. In my case, the objective was not for them to find typos, spelling mistakes and grammar issues. That's my copy editor's job. I asked individual beta readers for specific feedback that required, respectively, knowledge of the craft of writing or screenwriting or police procedures. I asked them to point out weaknesses in the characters' emotional journeys and GMCs. I asked them to indicate where in the story they laughed and where they teared up... and was sometimes surprised! 

Example of Beta Feedback

You may have read an excerpt of Seduced by the Screenwriter in my August 2017 post. The heroine is a former police diver with PTSD. Here's an example of feedback on that scene from a beta reader.

Not sure about Catrina playing Prudence Maxwell, a young woman who's been sold by her father to pay off his gambling debts. The subject matter hits pretty close to the world of the (PTSD trauma).

When I wrote that scene I never made the connection to Catrina's traumatic dive. Funny how the subconscious works! I rewrote the scene to empower Catrina. Instead of being a submissive victim of a forced marriage per Chett's script, she turns the tables and transforms it into her bad girl fantasy.

Authors, what are your expectations of beta readers?

About Madelle

Madelle Morgan is a Canadian author who writes romance set in Canada. 

Caught on Camera is a Hollywood wedding romance set in Muskoka, Canada—summer playground of the rich and famous. It's Book 1 of the Hollywood in Muskoka series.

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Subscribe to Madelle’s blog to be alerted to the release of Seduced by the Screenwriter, Hollywood in Muskoka series, Book 2, in December, 2017 at 99 cents for a limited time.

Follow Madelle:

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Madelle's romantic thriller Diamond Hunter is available on Amazon.

DIAMOND HUNTER: When diamond smuggling leads to murder, diamonds aren’t this girl’s best friend.

Colorado geologist Petra Paris must clear her father of fraud charges by collecting fresh rock samples at an open pit diamond mine in Canada’s far north. When someone tries to frame her with stolen uncut diamonds, Petra needs protection. Local pilot Seth Cooper, an undercover cop with the Diamond Protection Unit, needs access to the mine complex. They strike a deal to have Seth pose as her boyfriend so he can overnight on site to investigate the smuggling operation.
 
In their bedroom under the midnight sun, Petra fights magnetic desire to sample Seth’s rock-hard body. The prospect of intimacy hot enough to heat up the Arctic is a deadly distraction. She needs to focus on her mission. Besides, Seth is commitment-phobic: his job put his ex-wife in danger.

With cops closing in, escape blocked and millions in stolen diamonds at stake, desperate smugglers ramp up to murder. The isolated mine site becomes a death trap. Seth must expose the villains before Petra becomes the next victim.

This Summer Read Won't Cool You Down

by Madelle Morgan

Summer Heat Warning: certain scenes are hot enough to heat up the Arctic!

Diamond Hunter, my geologist-in-peril romantic suspense, is set at a fly-in-only diamond mine in Canada's far north in July.

I decided to post an excerpt to bring it to the attention of Kindle Unlimited subscribers who are keen to try a new author.

Petra Paris has agreed to share her mine camp bedroom in exchange for bodyguard services from Seth Cooper, an undercover cop with the Diamond Protection unit.

In this scene, they share a bed for the first time.

“I won’t touch a hair on your pretty head. I’ll lie on top of the blankets.” When she began to protest further, Seth admitted, “My back will give out if I sleep in an awkward position.”

Sympathy dimmed the agitated lights sparking her irises. “Back pain is the worst. I’m not keen to sleep sitting up myself.” Petra made a decision. “Very well. We’ll share the bed for tonight only, due to the extenuating circumstances. Tomorrow night we’ll alternate.”

There wouldn’t be another night, but he didn’t want to rile her. Regret tugged briefly that he’d never see her again after placing her on a commercial flight the next day. His line of work meant personal relationships warranted no place in his life.

Too bad, though, in this instance. Petra, spirited and unaffectedly beautiful, lit an explosive chemical mix in his mind and belly that excited and occasionally frightened him. An undercover detective had no business allowing sexual attraction to interfere with his assignment. Petra’s safety, not her curvy body, rated his attention. End of story.

Petra extracted one of the pillows and plumped it into place on his side of the double bed. After shucking his boots and jacket, he purposely ignored her deliberate effort to create distance and instead dropped heavily into a comfortable position on his back, shoulder to shoulder. As he anticipated, Petra squirmed away from the light contact.

He deliberately readjusted his upper body, forcing her to withdraw to the very edge of the mattress where she remained rigidly quiet. To his pleased surprise she didn’t insist he move over. It reassured him to feel her safe and close. Perhaps she experienced a similar comfort.

After several minutes, a slight smile playing on his lips, he closed his eyes and relaxed in anticipation of a restful night.

“Who is Kate?”

The verbal jab convulsed his abdominal muscles. He’d never mentioned his ex-wife to anyone up north. His friends and co-workers back in British Columbia considered the divorce forbidden territory. No one dared raise the subject in his presence for fear of lighting a very short fuse. “What are you talking about?” he managed.

“Last night you called me Kate. Your exact words were, ‘Kate, come to bed.’”

“I must have been dreaming.” His firm statement broadcast a desire to end the discussion.

“Are you married?”

Dammit. He rolled onto his side away from her. “No.”

“Girlfriend?”

“No. Go to sleep.”

A small hand seared the flesh on his forearm. “Seth, in spite of my, ah, participation in this little romantic show we’re staging, your girlfriend has nothing to worry about. A few kisses for appearances doesn’t make you unfaithful.”

Seth gripped the side of the mattress and ground out, “I’m not unfaithful. There is no girlfriend. Leave it alone, will you?”

“That’s a relief. Men gossip, you know. Eventually word spreads to the—”

Seth reversed his body to pin Petra’s chest with his. “I’m a single man. Got it? Kate is my ex-wife. We divorced two years ago. Three paroled drug smugglers I’d put away attempted to kidnap her. I couldn’t guarantee her future safety, so she left. Satisfied?”

The tightly controlled admission belied the ugly truth. He’d failed at the most important job a man had—to protect his woman. He’d given her the divorce she’d asked for and thrown in the house and the car, but guilt ate a hole in his heart he refused to ever let another woman fill.

“But they didn’t kidnap her, did they?” Petra persisted softly.

“No thanks to me.” Bitterness shook his voice. “She escaped when their car stalled.” He began to pull away. “She’s alive today because the perps forgot to fill the gas tank.”

“Wimp.”

The insult stung like a slap. “Excuse me?”

“A woman who’d dump the man she loved due to an attempted kidnapping is a wimp. Marriage is a partnership.”

“Our marriage put her life in danger. She did the smart thing by leaving.”

“Cluck. Cluck. Cluck.”

Dammit all to hell. He raised his upper body on one arm, rigid with a fierce anger that erupted from a dark place in his soul that didn’t bear visiting. The woman insisted on pushing his buttons.

Careful to rein in his temper, he replied evenly, “Any sane person in Kate’s place would have done the same thing. I didn’t protect her. Yes, she was scared. She had every right to be.”

“I would have stayed.”

The stalwart declaration speared his solar plexus like a needle into a balloon, allowing the anger to escape. A sheen of moisture glistened on serious burnt gold eyes staring up into his. She meant it.

He didn’t know what to say.

***

Have a wonderful July!

Madelle

About Madelle Morgan

Madelle Morgan is a Canadian author who writes romance with heat, heart and humor. Her new release, Caught on Camera, is a Hollywood wedding romance set in Muskoka, Canada—summer playground of the rich and famous.

Subscribe to her blog at MadelleMorgan.com and follow her on  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. 

RTG Facebook Party December 15

by Madelle Morgan

Romancing the Genres is hosting a Facebook Party on December 15. Here's the link to the event.

In North America the party starts at 7 p.m. Eastern (EST). That's 4 p.m. Pacific (PST).

I'm excited! This will be my first ever Facebook event. My time slot is 8:30 p.m. EST (5:30 PST).

I understand giveaways are the norm. Oooooh, gifts. Well, it is the season!

I've been waiting for a special occasion to give away a pretty set of faux "diamond" jewelry in honor of my debut romantic suspense Diamond Hunter.

As well, I'll be mailing a paperback copy of Diamond Hunter to another winner. So please join us RTG authors on December 15th on Facebook.

Set at a diamond mine in Canada's isolated sub-Arctic, here's the scene in which headstrong geologist Petra Paris reveals to the undercover cop masquerading as her boyfriend that she's being set up by diamond smugglers.

“Good morning, honey.”

Petra lurched as Seth’s arm swung casually across her shoulders. She’d been too preoccupied with the search to hear his approach along the corridor. Defenses at low ebb, her eyes unaccountably welled with tears.

“You feeling okay?” He attempted to search the face she angled away from him.

“It’s been a long night.”

“What are these yahoos doing?” He frowned at the chaos generated by the diamond mine’s security guards over the previous twenty minutes.

“Searching for diamonds,” she choked, wishing for once that their relationship was real and she had the right to turn into Seth’s arms for a bolstering hug.

As if reading her mind, he pulled her to the other side of the corridor, still in plain sight of the guards, and drew her close to growl under his breath. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Seth, I’m being set up.” She unwrapped her arms, slid them around his waist and nestled her head into the curve of his shoulder, the better to whisper into his ear, she told herself. Part of the act. “I found three rough diamonds in the coffee tin last night.”

“Where are they?” His arms tightened, pinning her close enough to feel the accelerated heartbeat beneath his navy blue T-shirt.

“Carter got rid of them.” She winced, appalled a fellow geologist had been so cavalier about valuable stones belonging to his employer.

“Lucky break you discovered them before someone alerted security.” His tone roughened. “Any unauthorized visitors yesterday?”

“Seth, this office is Grand Central Station. Anyone could walk in here.”

The shorter, swarthy guard approached. “What are you two doing out there?”

“Spending some time with my girl, sir,” Seth replied. He cupped the back of her head and brushed his mouth over hers. 

She leaned into the kiss, starved for the comfort he offered unaware, glad down to her toes for the opportunity to experience one of Seth’s marvelous kisses. But as his lips captured hers she remembered Kate and pulled away. Seth dragged his mouth across her cheek, rubbed one hand the length of her spine, tangled the other in her hair, caressing, keeping up the pretense.

The guard backed off. “Take five minutes, then I want you in this office.”

“We’re on camera,” she breathed.

“Let’s give them a show.” He nibbled his way toward her earlobe.

As private time to talk, this would have to do. Under the circumstances, she played along, tipping her head to give him better access to her neck. Exquisite tingles rippled down stress-taut nerves. She breathed deep, tried to focus. “As a suspect, Scott won’t allow me to view yesterday’s digital video recording. Can you get access to them?”

“Not without blowing my cover.” Seth quickly sifted through his options. The last thing an undercover cop wanted was to attract attention to himself. By hooking onto Petra, he’d unwittingly stumbled into an entirely different drama. Or perhaps the smugglers had a reason to prevent her from completing her job. Either way, Petra’s situation put him in the spotlight instead of in the background, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Well, he amended, he enjoyed the interaction with this beautiful woman. She trembled in his arms, uncharacteristically compliant. He attuned his senses to her shallow breathing, the fingers digging into his waist, and tension radiating from neck muscles under the soft, soap-fragrant skin beneath his lips.

In short hours word of the early morning search would have spread to the entire camp. He had no business staying on undercover. Procedures dictated he call in for a replacement.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to abandon Petra to these vultures. Experience taught him that as the perps became more desperate, the danger to those in their way escalated.

“You need to leave this place. Get out fast. Fly to Yellowknife with me this morning.”

“No.” She tilted her heart-shaped face up to him, a stubborn frown marring her clear brow. “I need the cores.”

“Listen, woman.” He wanted to shake sense into her. Instead he crooked his arm to swing her away and down such that his back blocked them from the camera’s view. Mouth grazing her ear, he spoke quickly. “You’re in danger. These guys won’t stop at trying to frame you. They want you gone, one way or another.”

She squirmed, supremely irritated at being rendered off balance. “I can take care of myself.”

He ground his teeth and clutched her firmly against his chest. “I can’t protect you,” he explained with a patience he didn’t feel. “My cover, as you know, is a pilot for Northern Lights Air—a real job. My boss has me booked on three flights today, bringing me back to camp by dinner, if I’m lucky. I have to leave.”

“I never asked you to protect me. You’re using me to get access to the employees here, remember?” she hissed.

“Are the cores worth your life?”

“You’re overreacting. Let me go.” She twisted forcefully from one side to the other until he relented and released her, cursing softly.

“Why are the cores so damn important?”

She cast him defiance spiced with determination. “That’s my business. You attend to yours, and leave me to mine.”

Before Seth could invent a suitable rejoinder to such a hell-bent-for trouble attitude, more trouble erupted behind them.  

****

I hope to connect with you on December 15 on Facebook!

Happy Holidays!

Madelle

Bio:

Madelle writes romantic suspense and contemporary romance novels set in wild, beautiful Canada.

Diamond Hunter is available in ebook format on Amazon and Kobo for $0.99 USD and £0.99 GBP.

Madelle tweets and posts about dogs, Hollywood, film-making, the settings for her stories, and, of course, writing. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to her blog at MadelleMorgan.com .