Winning the Queen's Heart: Contemporary Christian Romance (The Brides of Belles Montagnes Book 2)
Page 30
“I’m Jeremiah Jacobs. I’ve been writing for years, but decided to switch genres to political thrillers.”
“What did you write before?” Kathleen asked.
He shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “A bit of everything trying to find the elusive voice. I think I’ve found it writing political thrillers.”
“Good.” Kathleen turned to Dorrie. “Do you want to handle the Q and A?”
Dorrie gave a half-shrug. “Up to you.”
They spent the next hour asking Kathleen questions about how she came up with new ideas year after year, about what life was like on deadline, how to avoid the deadline crunch, and on and on. Two hours after the meeting began, they wrapped up, chatting a bit in little groups until an employee stuck her head in and said another group was coming in a few minutes.
Grabbing her laptop bag, Dorrie thanked Julie for coming and asked her to come again. She needed to do the same with Jeremiah. If only she’d out-grown the high school “stammer-when-I-talk-to-cute-boys” phase.
“Jeremiah?” Here went nothing.
He looked up from where he was gathering his trash. Don’t look him in the eyes. You’ll drown in pools of chocolate that would make Willy Wonka jealous. The glimpse or two she’d gotten had been more than enough to realize drowning would be a marvelous way to go.
His voice jolted her back to Panera. And there were those eyes. Could he be smiling at her? “Thank you for letting me join you today.”
“Of course. Are you new to CANDID?” She’d been told someone would send her an email telling her when a new member from the area joined, but she hadn’t gotten one yet.
He shook his head. “No. I’m here for a few months trying to decide if this is where I want to move.” At her puzzled look, he went on. “I work from home so it doesn’t matter where I am and I’m tired of Chicago. I thought I’d try out a few other places before making a decision.”
“That’s smart. How do you like the Ozarks so far?”
“I’ve only been here ten days, but one of the things I looked at when deciding where to go was a CANDID group. It’s not a requirement for wherever I settle, but it would be nice.”
“Well, we’re glad to have you for as long as you’re here.” Dorrie told him when the next meeting would be and got his email address so she could put him on the mailing list.
Dorrie went to take a sip of her soda, but the condensation on the plastic made it more slippery than she realized.
Like one of those slow motion scenes from the Matrix movies, every drop became individually visible from every other as the dark liquid first flew upward then plummeted down to Jeremiah’s laptop bag. Dorrie could see his eyes widen as they both followed the trajectory of the cup downward. He grabbed for his bag, but it was too late. The sloshing brought everything back to real speed. At least it seemed to be in the non-laptop portion of the bag.
“I’m so sorry.” Dorrie reached for the napkins sitting on the table next to her, frantically blotting at the papers inside.
Jeremiah pulled them out, spreading them on the table as he muttered something that sounded a lot like, “No, no, no, no, no.”
Dorrie continued to blot at the papers. When she moved one of the file folders, papers and photos fell out – a sticky, wet mess.
Dropping to the floor to pick them up, tears filled her eyes. Just what she needed to make a good first impression on this guy. Not that she really thought he’d be interested in her of all people, but this ensured he would not. Especially if she ruined his photos.
She flipped one over and gaped.
He reached for it, but Dorrie sat back on her heels and stared. “Why do you have this?” The words escaped before she could stop them.
“Give it to me.”
“This is the cover for the new Mya Elizabeth Linscott Cambridge Family Saga book. Not the one coming out in a couple months but the one that comes out in January. The title hasn’t even been announced yet.” Of course, after seeing the picture Dorrie knew, but the official announcement wouldn’t come until the day before MEL’s August book released. MEL would send out a newsletter with information on upcoming promotions, like when her eBooks would be discounted, and at the end, she’d announce the title and preview the cover of her next book.
Dorrie looked up at him. His face was an unreadable mask.
She had to know. “How’d you get this?”
* * *
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Jeremiah Jacobs moved to the Ozarks for a fresh start. He knows no one and has no plans to get romantically involved with anyone. Ever. He’s already had his heart ripped out once and once is enough. Besides he has contractual obligations that prevent him from talking about work - and what woman would want to be involved with a man who has to keep his job a secret? When he attends his first local writers’ group meeting, he finds the leader so intriguing, his instant attraction to her threatens to complicate his currently uncomplicated life.
Dorrie Miller has never been good enough. Not for her father or any of the guys she’s dated in the past. She’s pushed beyond her father’s disapproval to have a good career while pursuing her dream of becoming a published novelist. The Christian Authors Network – Dedicated to Inspirational Distinction, or CANDID, is hosting their annual conference in Indianapolis and who’s rumored to be in attendance? The super reclusive, super-star author, Mya Elizabeth Linscott.
The hunky new member of her local CANDID group, Jeremiah, wants to carpool to Indy. Dorrie can handle not making a fool of herself for eight hours each way. Right? But she never imagined doing a favor for someone during the conference would leave her accidentally married to the gorgeous guy she barely knows. How will she get out of this mess, married to a near stranger? Does she want to? Will her insecurities and Jeremiah’s secrets tear them apart? Or can she trust that, all along, God’s been helping her with Finding Mr. Write?
* * *
Finding Mr. Write is a mega-romantic story with amazing chemistry between the two characters, and Jeremiah is one of the most memorable and loveable heroes I’ve read in a long time. Carol Moncado’s writing reeled me in and hooked me, and I was eager to see how Dorrie and Jeremiah would overcome their secrets and unusual circumstances to find true love. I loved this story! ~ Melanie Dickerson, award winning author of The Healer's Apprentice
Previews may not be in their final form and are subject to change.
Author Bio
When she's not writing about her imaginary friends, Carol Moncado is hanging out with her husband, four kids, and a dog who weighs less than most hard cover books. She prefers watching NCIS to just about anything, except maybe watching Castle - or Girl Meets World with her kids. She believes peanut butter M&Ms are the perfect food, and Dr. Pepper should come in an IV. When not watching her kids - and the dog - race around her big backyard in Southwest Missouri, she's teaching American Government at a local community college. She's a founding member and President of MozArks ACFW, blogger at InspyRomance, and represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency.
Books
The CANDID Romance Series
Finding Mr. Write
Finally Mr. Write
Falling for Mr. Write
The Montevaro Monarchy Series
Good Enough for a Princess
Along Came a Prince
More than a Princess
COMING FALL/WINTER 2015!
The Brides of Belles Montagnes Series
The royal families of Mevendia and Ravenzario are no different than the rest of us.
They just want to find someone to love, and now that their Montevaran cousins are settling down, the pressure is on.
Hand-Me-Down Princess - Available now!
Prince Malachi of Mevendia has no intention of getting married.
His father has different ideas.
Winning the Queen’s Heart - Available now!
Ravenzario’s Queen Christiana’s life has been turned upside down.
Protecting the Prince - Coming November 2015!
Tony has spent his life protecting Ravenzario’s royal family.
The king, queen, young crown prince, and their nanny were in a horrific accident his second day on the job.
Two of the bodies were never found.
Now it’s time to find out what really happened.
Prince from her Past - Coming Winter 2015-2016
Princess Yvette of Mevendia has been betrothed since before her first birthday.
Her intended groom disappeared not long after.
The wedding is supposed to be next week.
Now what?