Riesling “Reese” Clark’s parents have given her everything. A happy childhood surrounded by a pack of quirky relatives in Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley. A passion for the vineyards her family has owned for centuries. A great career in the wine industry. And an unrealistic concept of marriage.
It’s the marriage thing that gets Reese into trouble when she weds her high school sweetheart thinking life will be filled with the sort of easy friendship and cringe-worthy passion her parents have modeled for 25 years. Instead, Reese’s marriage barely outlasts an uncorked chardonnay, leading her to devote the next decade to the single-minded pursuit of Oregon’s booming wine tourism market. It’s a quiet life, but it’s exactly the sort of calm Reese thinks she wants.
The last thing Reese needs is another failed romance, and the last person she needs it with is her ex-husband’s lifelong best friend. Clay Henderson has matured some since he passed out on Reese’s wedding cake ten years earlier, but rehab didn’t do much to curb the goofball nature that makes him almost as exasperating as Reese’s wacky relatives. So why does every hormone in Reese’s body snap to attention the second Clay shows up to lead the construction crew building her tasting room and event pavilion?
Even if Reese weren’t convinced that marriage is overrated, the idea of a vineyard owner dating a former drunk is nearly as harebrained as her family’s scheme to make millions growing medical marijuana. Besides, Clay isn’t exactly falling at her feet.
Clay has been best friends with Reese’s ex since the two boys met in pre-school, and the male code-of-ethics is pretty clear on that one. Dating a buddy’s ex is a bigger faux pas than drinking Pinot Noir from a Styrofoam cup. There’s no way Clay’s going anywhere near Reese. Not even if she’s beautiful. And smart. And funny. And has a great – albeit, insane – family.
But Reese is forced to enlist Clay’s help when her family’s perfectly legal medical marijuana operation evolves into a not-so-legal pot plantation on the southeast corner of the property, putting the whole vineyard operation in jeopardy. And when evidence mounts that someone’s trying to sabotage the winery, Reese and Clay are forced to work together to get to the bottom of things.
It’s the marriage thing that gets Reese into trouble when she weds her high school sweetheart thinking life will be filled with the sort of easy friendship and cringe-worthy passion her parents have modeled for 25 years. Instead, Reese’s marriage barely outlasts an uncorked chardonnay, leading her to devote the next decade to the single-minded pursuit of Oregon’s booming wine tourism market. It’s a quiet life, but it’s exactly the sort of calm Reese thinks she wants.
The last thing Reese needs is another failed romance, and the last person she needs it with is her ex-husband’s lifelong best friend. Clay Henderson has matured some since he passed out on Reese’s wedding cake ten years earlier, but rehab didn’t do much to curb the goofball nature that makes him almost as exasperating as Reese’s wacky relatives. So why does every hormone in Reese’s body snap to attention the second Clay shows up to lead the construction crew building her tasting room and event pavilion?
Even if Reese weren’t convinced that marriage is overrated, the idea of a vineyard owner dating a former drunk is nearly as harebrained as her family’s scheme to make millions growing medical marijuana. Besides, Clay isn’t exactly falling at her feet.
Clay has been best friends with Reese’s ex since the two boys met in pre-school, and the male code-of-ethics is pretty clear on that one. Dating a buddy’s ex is a bigger faux pas than drinking Pinot Noir from a Styrofoam cup. There’s no way Clay’s going anywhere near Reese. Not even if she’s beautiful. And smart. And funny. And has a great – albeit, insane – family.
But Reese is forced to enlist Clay’s help when her family’s perfectly legal medical marijuana operation evolves into a not-so-legal pot plantation on the southeast corner of the property, putting the whole vineyard operation in jeopardy. And when evidence mounts that someone’s trying to sabotage the winery, Reese and Clay are forced to work together to get to the bottom of things.
Violet McGinn doesn’t believe in psychic powers. That’s one thing she has in common with Drew Watson, the disturbingly attractive owner of the All Nude Male Review strip club adjacent to Miss Moonbeam’s Psychic Pservices. There’s just one problem – Miss Moonbeam is Violet’s mother. And for the next few weeks, Violet has agreed to fill mom’s shoes at the psychic studio.
It doesn’t help that Drew and Moonbeam are longtime business rivals, which puts Violet in the awkward position of defending a business she really doesn’t like from a man she really wishes she didn’t like. Violet wants a “normal” life, and a quirky strip club owner isn’t part of the plan. Her mom’s gorgeous doctor might be, if only Violet could force herself to fall for him.
But the more Violet continues her dogged pursuit of normalcy, the more she’s forced to face a series of mind-numbing dates, a battle of conscience, a disgruntled landlord, and a terrifying suspicion that Drew is her perfect match. Even worse, there might just be something to this psychic crap after all.
There are normal ways to cope with job loss, and most don’t involve plotting a revenge-fueled diamond heist in the Caribbean with a crew more suited to the boardroom than the poop deck.
But Alex Bradshaw isn’t feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb after 20 faithful years as an executive with the world’s largest shipping company. Alex wants payback, and maybe a chance to reclaim his dignity and his pension while he’s at it. Assembling a team of fellow corporate castoffs, he sails to the Caribbean to intercept the boss's illegal diamond shipment. None of them counted on a quirky blonde stowaway with a perplexing array of talents, a few big secrets, and an intoxicating romantic chemistry with Alex.
And while Juli Flynn certainly didn’t plan to be a part of the most dysfunctional high seas caper in history, it’s a rare chance for her to feel like she belongs. She’s spent a lifetime being “different” from everyone else, though the reasons for that are something she’d prefer not to share with her newfound shipmates. Juli just wants to be normal for a change, but as she finds her place with the misfit crew – and in Alex’s heart – she discovers normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And sometimes, being weird can be wonderful.
| These three romantic comedies are scheduled for release with Sourcebooks, Inc. starting August 2011. Want to check out my mystery titles? Go here. |
| Let it Breathe Perfect wine pairings are her specialty. Perfect love pairings? Not so much. |
| Believe it or Not Normal is nice, but weird is wonderful |
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| Making Waves A high-seas heist wasn't part of their unemployment plan |