It’s time for Snippet Sunday. And I finally have a book releasing. It’s been a long time, almost a year, and while I have written and finished some books, none were ready to come out until now. FLIP THE TROPE: ROMANCE GONE WILD is a new anthology with 12 tales the flip a romance trope on its ear. My story is A TIMELESS HEART and it’s the second story in the ELEMENTAL HEARTS series.
A TIMELESS HEART is Captain Śandor Halmi’s story and he’s the captain of the Cloudburst Hot Shots, the local wildland firefighters in Cloudburst, Colorado. In this snippet, we’re in Bianca Pearce’s POV and she’s packing up to move back to Cloudburst after 3 decades away. She’s talking to her oldest kid, who’s not convinced with her plan. Trey is the first one to speak.
~~~~~~
“Weren’t you happy here in California with Izzy and me? I thought this was your life.” Trey adjusted their glasses and grimaced. “I know Dad can be a dick sometimes.”
Bianca snorted. “Sometimes? He can’t even get your pronouns right.” She shook her head. “I love you and your sister very much, but L.A. is too much for me these days. I know who I am, and this isn’t it. You of all folks should understand that.”
“But Cloudburst, Colorado? Where even is that?” Trey rolled their green eyes, the ones that matched her own.
“It’s in the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Grand Junction. It’s where I grew up and I’m ready to go home.”
“I thought you said you hated that place after Grampa died.” Trey handed her another box despite their obvious reluctance about her life choices. “You said you’d never go back after the way Gramma treated you.”
Bianca tightened her lips as she filled the new box with the last few items from the kitchen. “I did say that, but she’s dead now and can’t hurt me anymore. Besides, I’ve kept up with friends who are still there.”
Trey blinked. “You still have friends there? How come you never told us about them?”
“Contrary to popular belief, mothers actually do have friends their kids don’t know.”
Trey narrowed their eyes. “Would these friends be more like boyfriends?”
Bianca laughed as she sealed the last box. “You give me way too much credit. No boyfriends, girlfriends, or special friends of any kind. Just some old friends who helped me find a house with a workshop where I can do my restoration work in peace. It’s going to be fine, Trey.”
~~~~~~~
Yes, Moms have friends outside of their families. 😉 There are several great authors on the Weekend Writer Warriors list, the Snippet Sunday Facebook group, and the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group. A few of my favorites are, P.T. Wyant, Karen Michelle Nutt, Veronica Scott, Karysa Faire, and Iris Blobel.
Blurb for A TIMELESS HEART:
When Bianca Pearce left Cloudburst, Colorado at eighteen, she swore she’d never come back. She moved to L.A., got married, and created a successful antique and modern clock repair business. But time mellowed the hurts of the past, and with a divorce and two kids in college under her belt, Bianca is ready to move back to the small town to have a quiet life in a familiar place. At her age, she knows who she is and what she wants, and figures love is better left to the young.
Captain Śandor Halmi is the commander of the local Hot Shots squad—and a Zomok, a Hungarian Forest spirit that most often takes the shape of a dragon. His main goal is to take the whole weekend off to relax, ignore his phone as much as possible, and generally disappear now that the Colorado fire season has ended. Love is not on the agenda…until he sees Bianca at the local farmer’s market. He’s struck dumb by her beauty, bearing, and experience, and now he can’t get her out of his mind.
Despite growing up in Cloudburst, Bianca doesn’t believe the stories about the town having non-human residents, and she definitely doesn’t believe in love at first sight. But something about the silver fox firefighter sets her desire ablaze, and she can’t seem to stop thinking about him. Not even when he shows her his true form.
Typical for kids – they never expect their parents to have a life.
Had to laugh at the kids being so surprised the mother has her own friends – great touch! Can’t wait to read all of this, looking forward to the anthology.