Huge thanks
to my girl Tobi for all her support of me and the Sugar Series over the past
year! I am very excited to be releasing the cover for Sugar’s Night on her blog
today!
A few months
back I said to her “Tobi it’s my birthday on June 14 and I think that means I
should get to do whatever I want, right?” She agreed, so I said, “Good then I
want to do the cover release for Sugar’s Night on your blog and do a birthday
week giveaway!” I tell ya folks, mention cover release, Sugar and giveaway in
one sentence and Ms. Tobi is all over it!
I thought I
would share a little background on how Sugar’s Night came about. When I
finished Sugar’s Dance and published it I had a sense of great accomplishment.
I thought “Okay Sugar’s story is told.” But as I began to talk to readers I was
told just the opposite, Sugar’s story was just getting started and they wanted
more. That left me with a bit of a conundrum. I never wrote Sugar’s Dance with
the intention of writing a series, but suddenly I could see that in fact the reader
was right and her dance wasn’t over.
I was having
a discussion at the dinner table with my kids one night about it and they asked
me what the title of the second book would be and I said “Sugar’s Song. She’s
had her dance and now we need to hear her song.”
They all
thought that was a brilliant idea and then my youngest said to me, “That’s a
good title mom; I know what the third one should be!”
I said “Third
one?” Suddenly it was a trilogy? Being the kind of mom I am I said, “Okay Eli
tell me what the third one should be called.”
He looked at
me very seriously and said, “Sugar’s Night, because Van is her knight in
shining armor just like dad is yours.”
Isn’t he the
sweetest thing ever? It was truly a great title though that’s for sure and since
he’s my little thinker I said, “I love it Eli, but tell me what is Sugar’s
Night about?”
He just shook
his head at me and said, “That’s your job mom, I’m just the title guy.” So with
that Sugar’s Night was conceptualized.
I wrote
Sugar’s Song and it became exactly what I pictured it to be when I started. It
told more of Sugar and Van’s story, but it also introduced us to Lillie and Max
and their new love. When I closed Sugar’s Song and began to think about Sugar’s
Night I knew that I needed to tell the reader just exactly who Julie is and
what her past is about, but beyond that I struggled with where I wanted it to
go. I began to write and suddenly the whole story went somewhere I never
expected it to go when I wrote the last paragraph of Sugar’s Song. Sugar’s
Night is about Sugar’s realization that there are angels among us. As she
learns to dance again to the beat of her heart she is enveloped in the darkness
of doubt, but when she lets go of the fear she knows she has found the light.
God bless angels….
Look for
Sugar’s Night on Amazon and Barnes and Noble November 2013!
Back Blurb:
John 1:5: The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it....
No one knows
darkness like Tula
“Sugar” Dubois, but as fall cloaks the Twin Ports her lodge is bright with a
new love and new life. Sugar should be happier than ever, but when good
intentions go bad Van unknowingly begins the dance that will lead Sugar back
through the darkness of her past. Filled with doubt Sugar struggles to follow Van’s
lead and let him teach her to trust her heart and him. In the darkness Sugar
questions her priorities, doubts her convictions and discovers the angels among
us. Determined to start anew Sugar and Van, Jesse and Julie and Max and Lillie
finally waltz through the darkness and into the light of Sugar’s Night.
Excerpt from
Sugar’s Night:
“Damn girl
this is the sexiest samba ever, come dance with me.” Van said walking into the
ballroom, “I say we do it for the judges at the competition and really give
them something to talk about.” he said waggling his brows at me where they
stopped mid waggle when the music faded and he saw the tears in my eyes. I
willed my temper to stay in check when I spoke.
“There will
be no dancing for the judges Van.” I said standing.
“Tula, what’s the matter?”
he asked, suddenly aware I wasn’t playing and my anger was real.
“What’s the
matter? What’s the matter? I don’t know Van maybe you should check your
e-mail.” I said stalking out of the room and right out the front door to the
old worn path leading down to the lake. I needed air, lots and lots of fresh
air and time to think. I barely made it a few feet down the path when I heard
the front door of the lodge slam shut and his feet slapping on the wooden steps
as he ran toward me.
“Tula! Dammit, stop!” he
ordered and I did just that, spinning on my heel ready to read him the riot
act. He pulled up short of me out of breath and holding my phone, uninjured, in
his hand.
“I’m sorry
baby...” He started to say and I held up my hand cutting him off.
“Don’t Van,
just don’t.” I said my teeth clenched, and his shoulders sank.
“Tula it’s not a big deal,
it’s okay.” He said and I yanked my phone out of his hand.
“It is a big
deal Van! It’s a huge deal. I’m hurt and I’m angry, but I don’t expect you to
understand that! Just leave me alone.” I hissed turning my back to him and
taking the path as fast and far away from him as I could, never looking back.
I broke into
the opening of the fire pit and stopped to catch my breath. I was more hurt
than angry that he didn’t respect me enough to come to talk to me first or for
that matter bother listening to me about my past, before doing something like
this. I threw some logs in the fire ring and started a small fire as daylight
faded. I plopped down on my crann and waited, hoping the fires glow would give
me some peace. My heart twisted as I tried to sort out in my mind exactly why
he would contact the dance council about registering as a competitive couple
without consulting me first. I hugged my knees resting my chin on them and
closed my eyes thinking back. A year ago I sat in this very same place and
cried, not out of anger, but loneliness and fear. Then along came Donovan
Walsh, sent here by my brother to protect me and he fell in love with the wreck
that was me and put my heart back together again. On Valentine’s Day in this
very same spot he promised in front of my family and friends to love me for
every rumba after and the last few months have been a time for us to explore
our love. My mind flashed from him holding me in his arms in my own ballroom to
a ballroom years ago where I was in the arms of another boy. It had been the
best night of my life and then very quickly it became a night I didn’t talk
about. I hid that part of my life away just so it didn’t hurt quite so bad, but
the last few months with Van has allowed me to look at that last night of
living my dreams as a memory to cherish instead of a memory to haunt me….
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