And today I'm getting myself into the mood for the season of romance by welcoming romance writer Victoria Pinder to my blog. Victoria also writes science fiction
and fantasy as Greta Buckle. She
grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun.
She worked in engineering, then became a lawyer. After realizing she hated clients, she became a high school teacher. Teaching was fun, but writing was her passion. She wrote one hundred and one fan fiction stories online before
deciding to transition into writing her own stories. Never ask her to republish
her fan stories from age eleven- horribly written stories of princesses! Victoria
dreams of writing professionally, where her barista can make her coffee and a
walk on the beach can motivate her tales. Theseus story came to her when she was
a freshman in high school as her English teacher,a nun, told her how life
was hard and tragedy teaches lessons. Victoria’s love of writing has kept her
centered and focused. How is she crazy? The voices in her head are characters
in novels and she’s not insane.Returning for Valentine's Day is a short contemporary romance which is now available from Amazon.
Blurb:
Everyone
deserves to find love on Valentine’s Day.
Beth Corsini loved Nathan all her life.
Last year, at her friend’s wedding, everything changed. Nathan disappeared. She
lost all hope in love, but she’s over the heartache. Ready to move on, Beth
signed up for a speed dating event. She never expected Nathan to be there.
Nathan never thought Beth was serious about
him, and she never acted like she cared one way or the other. But when he heard
she broke up with her boyfriend, Roberto, he decided to to go for it. Beth’s
been the love of his life, all his life. Can he convince her on Valentine’s Day
to marry him? Can she ignore his mother’s disapproval and accept love matters
more?
Intrigued? I know I am, so here's an excerpt from Returning for Valentine's Day:
Valentine’s Day should not be spent alone. Everyone
deserves love.
Beth Corsini applied one more layer of her ruby red lipstick and glanced
in the mirror. She looked good. She finished brushing her sandy brown locks.
Valentine’s Day beckoned.
Her phone rang. Beth picked up the phone as she stared at her dress one
last time. “Hello,” she said.
“I am so sorry I can’t go.” Her friend Nellie’s voice came through the
line. “Work sucks.”
“I’m going alone then. Valentine’s Day signals my start to the new
year.”
“Okay, I hope you find your true love.”
Nathan. Every Valentine’s Day, and every other day, she pictured him in
her head. But he always said no. She shook her head. “Whoever I meet tonight,
it doesn't matter. Every single woman over the age of twenty-five
should go to one of these eight-minute date things in her life. No one is in my
house besides the Dark Lord, Squiggles. I need to go out.”
“Call me and let me know.”
Beth hung up the phone. Sitting at home tonight would haunt her forever.
New life, new adventures. Her New Year’s motto rang in her ears. She needed to
go out after work.
She pet the Dark Lord, found her spiked silver heels, ran through her
mental checklist one more time, and drove to the event on Main Street at the
local bar she rarely visited.
She
was early on purpose to give her time to scope out the venue. If she stayed
home, she’d have talked herself out of going, poured wine, and thought about
how Nathan never cared about her. Better to go and see how speed dating worked,
and form a battle plan. She sat at the corner of the small country bar, a band
setting up on the stage to the right. An open floor where a large group could laugh
and line dance.
Beth squirmed uncomfortably. The lights were more flashy than she had
expected, and the line dancing unique. Growing up in the big city made her sound
more uptown than she was. Country did not mean she had to be scared.
She walked to the bar and asked in a squeaky voice, “I’ll have a vodka tonic.”
The
bartender hadn’t even noticed her nervousness.
Scanning the room while she waited for service, she saw happy couples
ignoring the world. Lucky them. Cowboy hats filled the place.
Who knew so many people lived on the Broward and Miami border town? South
Florida never equaled country, not to Beth.
Her drink arrived, and she pulled out her credit card. The man nodded at
her and returned to the register. She noticed the sign on the back room
upstairs with the words, ‘Singles Club.’ Putting her drink in her mouth, she
took a breath.
Her turn.
New life.
She signed the receipt, put her card away in her coach bag, and picked
up the glass. Someone watched her, and her body perked with excitement. Nathan? No--impossible.
Her eyes raced through the group, looking around for anyone who might
know her. No one met her eyes. Gathering her courage, she walked up the stairs
to the private rooms.
Once
in the singles room, Beth grabbed a seat near the door, watching the women
enter. The men must be in a different room. She glanced around. The women all
appeared to be much older than her. Guess Prince Charming wouldn’t arrive after
all, but Beth intended to enjoy the evening. She'd paid to have a few dates,
speak to men, and then she would go home.
Ten
minutes later, some young woman, might be a teenager, pinned the number seven
to her chest, and gave the women a pep talk on speed dating and how it fits
into today's singular lifestyle. One woman pulled her to the side when they
were all told what table to go to, and told Beth, “I’m so excited for tonight.”
“Why?”
Beth had no hopes for tonight other than to not think about Nathan. “It’s just
a few eight minute dates.”
“I
met my husband, Jeffrey, at one of these events twenty years ago.” The woman
wiped a tear from her eye.
“Then
why are you here if you are married?” Beth let the question fly out of her
mouth.
“Jeffrey
died last year.” Once again, Beth put her foot in her mouth.
“I’m
so sorry.”
“It’s
okay, dear. Jeffrey told me to go to more of these events, to both find love
and be there for when other women find theirs.”
The
teenager moved her hands to get them to sit. Beth smiled at the woman. At least
love came for some people. “It’s a sweet thought from a sweet person.”
The
woman smiled and walked away to her seat.
Guess
hope survived for some. Beth had lost any hope after her friend’s wedding where
she'd let her guard fall, and she let her crush for Nathan destroy her. Having
sex with a man she secretly craved with every part of her soul, then having him
walk away was a pain, Beth never wished on anyone.
Beth had been wrong. Having sex with him could never be casual. After
years of not telling him how she'd always loved him, drinking too much at a
party made her lose control. In the morning, she had tried to pretend to be
normal, but he became quiet and left. She never saw him again. She waited till
she arrived home to cry, but she'd lost everything, including her best friend
that night.
Shaking Nathan needed to happen. New Year. New life. Her short term
ex-boyfriend had been all wrong for her. Why was she still so hung up on
Nathan? She had come to the bar tonight to start moving in the right direction.
The ‘single mingle’ room allowed for complete privacy from the rest of the
club, so unless someone paid the admission price, no one would find out she was
here.
The band played softly downstairs, giving the room a nice ambiance.
Fixing her hair one more time, she waited for the men to arrive. She felt too
nervous to even drink her vodka.
A bell rang indicating the speed dating had begun. Pasting a smile on
her face, she’d see what fate had in store.
Well that has certainly got me gagging for more! It sounds intriguing, Victoria and I wish you the very best of luck with this story.
Visit Victoria online
at:
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Authors Website:
http://www.victoriapinder.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Pinder-also-writing-as-Greta-Buckle/294685373900979
Twitter: http://twitter.com/victoriapinder
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/victoriapinder/
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