The Most Funny, Sexy Excerpt From Resort to Murder!

By Glenys O'Connell @GlenysOConnell

We're all about The Most here at the Roses of Prose this month. I like my romance and suspense seasoned with a bit  of humor, and banter between two lovers - or would-be lovers - can be very sexy indeed!

 

In Resort to Murder, Det. Ellie Fitzpatrick is becoming re-acquainted with her former lover, Detective Superintendent Liam Reilly, who's now her boss. Even though the relationshop broke up, Reilly's instincts to protect Ellie reignite when her home is broken into and searched. He spends the night outside her seaside cottage, keeping watch....and an early morning shower in Ellie's bathroom gives him the opportunity to bait the current man in Ellie's life, Brad, as well as teasing Ellie.....

 

Excerpt:

"So, again, what are you doing on my doorstep at...?" Ellie paused to peer at the kitchen clock, "Good God, Reilly, it's barely six o'clock!"

"Yeah, well, I have an early meeting in Leeds, and I need to use your shower," Reilly replied, as if dropping in on her for bathroom facilities was routine. He opened the cupboard doors, studying the contents, before shutting them in disgust. He repeated the process at the refrigerator. "Ellie, don't you have anything to eat in this place?"

She couldn't help but smile as memories returned of Reilly, heavy eyed from a night of passion, climbing back into their love-scented bed with tea and toast as morning light filled the room. "You never were much good without your tea and toast."

"There was a time you thought I was pretty good." His temper flared and she blushed. Giving her an evil look, he dropped two bags into the teapot; made a martyred sounding request that she make tea when the kettle boiled, and asked where she kept the towels.

Ellie, about to snap a vitriolic reply, suddenly realized that if Reilly was here so early, it probably meant he'd spent the night in his car. She almost burst out laughing, except that a tiny core deep inside her bloomed with sudden tenderness. He stood watch outside, in the cold, damp, sea-seasoned night, to make sure my intruder didn't return.

 A sensuous awareness snaked lazily from the pit of her stomach and Ellie swallowed on a suddenly dry mouth. Had she known he was there, so close, she would have felt so much safer, so much more secure. Would she have invited him in so that they could keep watch together? Ah, now, that would have been exposing herself to danger for sure. That hungry little quiver beat low in her stomach as her every nerve ending responded to feelings she'd thought had died of neglect. Regretfully, she pushed them away now. She'd need all her wits about her today – her first day back at work. Ellie had bigger fish to fry than Liam Reilly. 

Deep in thought, she poured hot water on the tea bags in the pot. A shadow fell across the thin net curtains and, startled, she sloshed boiling water onto the counter. It took her a moment to realize the shadow was Brad passing her kitchen window en route to the patio. She flicked the lock up and slid the door open to let him in.

"Must be my day for early visitors," she commented, sniffing the air appreciatively as she saw the small white bakery box in his hands.

"Thought I'd bring breakfast for us again– croissants fresh from the oven," Brad said, his arms going around her and drawing her to him as his mouth sought hers.

"Don't let me interrupt anything." Reilly sauntered out of Ellie's bathroom, obviously naked except for the bath towel wrapped precariously around his waist. He rubbed at his damp hair with the end of another towel draped around his neck, the movement causing the towel around his waist to slip ever more slowly downward. Mesmerized, she stared at the tiny drops of moisture clinging to the fine mat of hair on his chest, her eyes following them downward. Once upon a time she'd have licked away those tiny droplets and he'd have…Ellie shook herself back to the present.

Brad was staring, too, his face contorted with rage. Only Reilly seemed comfortable with the scenario as he took the bakery box from Brad's hand.

 "Uhmm, are those croissants? They smell wonderful," he said, casually helping himself to the pastries, then pouring a hot mug of tea, apparently oblivious to the way his presence had exploded into the room.

Ellie had time only to register the scene herself, noting with a little shock the puckered scar, a flash of glossy pink snaking in a livid line from his upper arm across to Liam's shoulder before Brad, white-faced with anger, asked, "What the hell's he doing here?"

"Brad, there's an explanation..." Ellie stammered.

 

Resort to Murder is published by The Wild Rose Press and available here or on Amazon here . Glenys O'Connell is working on a new contemporary romance, The No Sex Clause, and finishing edits on her soon to be released romantic suspense, Saving Maggie, coming December 31st from Crimson Romance

 

 

The Most Scariest Prologue from Resort to Murder

By Glenys O'Connell @GlenysOConnell

I write romantic suspense and mysteries and sometimes I read what I've written, and wonder just what's going on in my head.

I mean, writing about murders, no matter how light the touch...well, as Linda The Librarian said after reading one of my books: "You know, I'm worried about how you do your research. It's so real. Perhaps we need to do regular head counts on all your family members, just to be sure you're not testing this stuff hands on..."

Oh, yes, that's so funny. Really.

The lawyers told me to deny, deny, deny...

Ooops, did I say that out loud?  No, No - I don't try out my scary scenes on anyone. Honest.
 
But I do wonder about the state of my mind, that I find these scenes generally easy to imagine. And then I scare myself by reading them. Go figure.


Resort to Murder is set in the City of Leeds and on the beautiful Yorkshire coastline in the UK, a traditional spot for holidaymakers since  Victorian times and earlier. I've always thought that resorts and fairgrounds, where people come to have fun, are the perfect spot for a little murder. You only have to look at the effect a holiday in Rome had on these friends (or is that ex-friends?) 
 
 And then there's the ones that throw off all their inhibitions while on vacation...
 

So, I hope you'll read  the excerpt from Resort to Murder. It's a bit of a shocker,with a twist in its tail.....

Then tell me what you think. I mean, am I a bit, er, to use a term we professionals use, nutzoid, too? Surely not!
 
Read on - I have to warn you that this scene made me stay away from fun fairs for a long, long time......

The warm summer evening was thickening into night, and at the newly opened FunLand Pleasure Center crowds of visitors were making their way to the main gates and home. The carnival atmosphere of the new resort had left them tired but exhilarated.

 During the day the resort had been brimming with families and excited young children, but at night there was a different crowd, teenagers with a sprinkling of older folk. Many were coming from the country'n'western concert at the main hall and wore bright costumes, the English interpretation of American cowboy attire.

A striking blonde woman stood out from the rest. Her short red dress and strappy high-heeled sandals emphasized her leggy good looks, and few men in the crowd passed her by without a second glance. Her looks elicited some malicious comments from the women, which made their men folk laugh even as they indulged in brief fantasies of what they imagined this woman could offer.

None more so than the handsome man who lounged against a gatepost, his eyes taking in every line of the woman as she approached him.

 "Waiting for someone, honey?" She drawled her practiced pick-up line. She was a working girl and even though the evening had been a good time in her time off, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to make a few pounds – especially not with a hunk like this. And he had that needy look she knew only too well………

"I think I've been waiting for you, love – probably most of my life," he replied, his tone matching her lazy drawl.

"Well, then, I guess we're two lucky people." She smiled up at him as she slipped her arm through his and they strolled together through the gates. As they reached the beach down the flower-bordered path of a small park, she slipped out of her spike-heeled shoes so that she could walk more easily on the sand. It was a calculatedly sexy move, affording the man a good look at her shapely thighs as she balanced herself against him to slip off first one shoe, then the other. He laughed good-naturedly as he steadied her, and took her elbow to guide her towards the sheltering privacy of some rocks. The only sounds were the muttering rhythm of the North Sea and the intermittent sounds of laughter and car horns from the resort on the cliffs above. 

In the shadows, sure they were alone, he dropped tiny kisses on her hair and the tip of her nose, and she responded happily pressing herself against him. The strap of her red dress slipped from her shoulder and he kissed the space it left, his lips moving down her skin until he captured her breast in his mouth.

She groaned softly in her throat, her busy fingers opening the buttons of his soft white shirt so that her lips could graze his chest. So far she hadn't mentioned business, but this one was attractive enough to interest her anyway.  She figured he was probably experienced enough to know what she was about so she gave herself up to the pleasure of his kisses.

When his hands began to wander over her lush body, she matched him move for move, finally pulling him down onto the cooling sand beside her and whispering in his ear: "Shall I take you high, baby?"

"Oh, I think you'll take me high, all right, I think the ultimate high…" His voice was thick, his mouth against her neck as she threw back her head and laughed in delight.

But the laughter was short-lived. For the same bright moonbeams that lit her eyes to gold also flashed silver on the terrible blade that arced down towards her throat.

"The ultimate high," he moaned against her threshing body.

Resort to Murder is published by The Wild Rose Press. You can see it here on Amazon or click here for another excerpt and more details on my web page.

 

Chatting with Det. Ellie Fitzpatrick, Heroine of Resort to Murder!

By Glenys O'Connell  @GlenysOConnell

 

*Psst! Leave a Comment & You Could Win a Print Copy of Resort to Murder!*

 

 

I'm happy to have police Detective Ellie Fitzpatrick here to talk to us today. Ellie is the heroine of Resort to Murder, my romantic suspense set in Yorkshire, England.  I'd love to have a photo of Ellie to share with you, because she's gorgeous, but at times like this I'm forced to accept she's not actually real. I don't send my characters birthday cards, either. That way I can pretend to be hanging onto at least a shred of sanity...

Shhhh! She's here.

Me: Good morning, Detective - may I call you Ellie?

E.F: Of course. It's nice to be here. I haven't been out much since you wrote The End. <glares at writer>.

Me: Er, yes, well - all good things come to an end. Now, I understand you were the victim of a stalker...

E.F: Stop right there! I've never been a victim, and I don't like it when people like you say things that make it look like a woman is somehow to blame or helpless..

Me: Oh, Ellie, I didn't mean...

E.F: No, I'm sorry. I'm still pretty strung out after everything I went through. Everything you put me through.

Me (making shushing noises): Ellie, we'll talk about this later, in counselling. For now, I just want to tell the nice readers a little about your story.

E.F: You know, why don't you let me tell it. Then we might be out of here sooner - I've a great guy waiting for me with a bottle of wine and a massage.
See, folks, I was fast-tracked for promotion, partly because I have a university degree and mostly because I'm a bloody good cop. Sadly, that caused some resentment among my fellow officers. Being a woman in the police force means you have to work twice as hard as the guys, and still come have to cope with misogyny.
Anyway, I made a major breakthrough in arresting the Sunshine Slasher - a nastier piece of work you couldn't wish to meet. The jury convicted him in less than an hour, the evidence was so good.
Then this writer guy <disgusted snort> writes a book called Justice Denied, in which he claims that Sunshine is innocent.
Next thing, I'm asked to investigate claims that some of my fellow cops are taking bribes from a nasty bunch of slime sucking bottom dwellers. I so did not want to have to do that - investigating one's colleagues doesn't make you popular at all!
Suddenly, everything came crashing down in me - I was under suspicion myself for taking bribes after a huge sum of cash showed up in my bank account - money I couldn't account for. Believe me, now I know the pain of that, I'll be kinder to the next perp who claims he's being framed.

Me: I thought you said you could tell this faster than I could...?

EF: Yeah, well, I wasn't the one who had to cut 10,000 words out of this story when she was revising, am I?

Me: That was artistic...

E.F: Yeah, whatever.
Anyway, after a lot of smart detective work, being very kind to the sweetest stray dog on earth, and having to totally revise just about all my belief system, I finally got everything figured out.
Sunshine stayed in jail where he belonged, the sweetest stray dog on earth got to bite the psycho who was stalking me, and the man I really loved stormed in in the nick of time - I guess you had to leave it til the very last moment, didn't you? - to rescue me.

Me: Okay, okay - now, wouldn't it be fair to say that you were also being wooed by two delicious hunky guys - one dark and brooding and handsome, the other smart and rich with looks to die for?

EF: Yeah, and you took it into you head to make one of them a psycho creep. Worse, I hadn't got a clue. By the end of this story, I had to completely rework everything I believed about these two guys, about my ambitions - about so much that I'd taken for granted. I tell you, I doubted my own ability to make good judgements, both professionally and personally

Me: I am so sorry that you had to go through all that - but it was a happy ending, wasn't it?

EF: Sure it was, after one of those thugs beat me up and a psycho tried to kill me because he was obsessed with me. Sure it was a happy ending. At least I got this great guy and cute dog...

Me <deep sigh of relief> Well, thanks for coming in today and sharing your thoughts with us, Ellie, Maybe we'll see you again?

EF: Not bloody likely. I'm busy writing a novel about a mean, unfeeling writer who is made to pay the price for ill treating her characters. <slams out of interview room>

Well, friends, as you can see, sometimes a writer's characters can develop minds of their own and become a little too real.....

Glenys O'Connell is the author of four romantic suspense and comedy books. Resort to Murder was published by The Wild Rose Press, and you can see it on Amazon or read an excerpt here on my website.
Leave a comment about characters, romantic suspense, or this blog and your name will be entered in a draw to win a copy of Resort to Murder so that you can see what a nice person Ellie really is - when she's not under stress!

Introducing another Roses of Prose author: romantic suspense writer Glenys O'Connell

I'm delighted to join the talented writers at Roses of Prose, but I hate it when people ask me to introduce myself. I mean, I'm a writer – that's about the closest you can get to multiple personality disorder without being in a psych ward. Really.

Let's see, here's the mundane stuff. I'm a wife, mother of four, and slave to two spoiled felines. I'm a country girl at heart and I live out in what my kids call The Middle of Nowhere in Ontario, Canada. It's actually a beautiful area of lakes and forests, you know, the kind of place where even the poorest locals feel sorry for the 'summer' people who own the very expensive lakeside cottages – after all, we get to live here all year round, while they, poor things, just get to visit!

That said, I've lived in some big cities, too, and they're all reflected in my writing: Toronto, Canada; Dublin, Ireland; Leeds, Yorkshire, England; Cambridge & Bedford, England. I adore Italy and France; could wander around Rome for hours, although the traffic in Paris scares the…whatever out of me! But I'm at my happiest back in the Middle of Nowhere, tending my garden, feeding the birds, sitting out on the patio and writing (see the pic). And in my spare time, I'm a counselor and enjoy poking about in other people's minds.

That's the boring part. There's another part of me, too – the Woman in Jeopardy part. I've been a Canadian wildlife artist, loved by two powerful men and stalked by a killer (Judgement by Fire). I've been a struggling female Irish private investigator, making a living by testing the seducability quotient of husbands and boyfriends for the insecure woman in their lives while coping with a jewel thief, a crazy grannie and a homicide cop who writes sexy romances (Winters & Somers). I've been a British special crimes task force detective, framed by a gang of thugs and stalked by a psycho killer (Resort to Murder). Still in Britain, I've been an aristocratic lady, broke and determined not to be the last of the 500 year old line, so I've gone off with my BFF to snare an Irish millionaire (Marrying Money). I like a bit of mystery and the odd – with the emphasis on odd – murder with my romance.

I've also been a lonely little boy whose best friend is a magic talking pebble (the Pebble People Save the Day, The Pebble People Make a Garden) but we won't talk about that now.

In my next incarnation, I'm a counselor living in a small Ontario village. However, because characters are drawn from real life, no matter how we try to disguise them, I guess I'll have to move far away before that one hits the book stores.

And, in order to lure other unsuspecting would-be novelists into my strange world, I teach a quirky online creative writing course titled Naked Writing: The No Frills Way to Write Your Novel. Soon to be made into a book by the same title.

So that's my introduction, my life in a nutshell. I hope you're still awake and you'll come and visit the Roses of Prose often – especially on the 8^th and 29^th of each month. Those are my blogging days, and I don’t want to be all alone out here….

Glenys O'Connell is currently working on a romantic suspense series about a counselor who attracts more than her share of nutzoids, and a book on creative writing coming in September. Her work has been published by The Wild Rose Press and Red Rose Press (what is this with roses?) She also writes non-fiction, with her latest book, PTSD: The Essential Guide,  also due out in September. If you still want more, you can find her at her web site: Romance Can Be murder, www.glenysoconnell.com; on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GlenysOConnell; Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/glenys.oconnell. She also hangs around other blogs while trying to escape the voices in her head.