New Year, New Look for Author Web Site

It took me nearly three hours, but www.TraceyCramerKelly.com is finally reorganized and ALMOST up-to-date (I still need to write a good teaser for True Surrender). Not "done" of course - a web site is never "done"!

But I AM ahead of schedule (for once) - I had targeted January 1 as the 'launch' date for the new site.

Whilst working on this, I came across a treasure trove of short essays and commentaries I wrote as part of the virtual blog tour last year. It made me realize just how far I've come (sometimes I lose sight of that).

One of the main questions during the tour was how long I've been writing. I wrote during high school but never with any intention of publishing. In college, my creative outlet was music. Later I got into the beaded jewelry craze, but that phased out after my son was born (beads and toddlers don't mix well). In the meantime, I would write when the muse struck, and eventually I had a half-dozen novels (or, more specifically, parts and pieces of). What you see on the site now are those seeds finally growing into something!

They're About to Kiss, but Then...

You know that scene where the main characters are JUST ABOUT to kiss...but then they don't? That's the one I've been working on. I've been trying to get the sexual tension just right. It's hard!

In fact, I'm starting to think that the parts I've yet to finish are ALL going to be difficult. I suppose that's why they're the last ones to be written!

Have you ever been betrayed by your best friend?

It happens to Army Major Aaron Bricewick in True Surrender...and it nearly gets him killed...

Jared took a long time to answer. "You understand how it is," he finally said. "I did what I did for the good of the mission."

"Bullshit," Aaron said. "You did what was good for you. You made a mistake and instead of owning up to it, you covered your ass. And you nearly got me killed."

"I didn't--" Jared stopped.

"Didn't what?" Aaron said. It took a supreme effort not to speak aloud the thoughts going through his mind.

"It was not supposed to happen that way," Jared said. "Things went wrong. But I did save you."

"You put my life in jeopardy, and then claim to save it?" Aaron was incredulous.

"Hey, you're okay now."

"Are you shitting me?" Aaron said. "Jared, they beat me. Threw me in a cellar. Broke my legs. Threatened to slit my neck. Does any of that sound 'okay' to you?"

Jared looked like wanted to get up and leave. Instead he cleared his throat. "So where do we go from here?"

Aaron was silent for a time. "I don't know," he finally said. "I really don't know."

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? To find out what Aaron does, join my email list so you'll know the minute the book is out!

Last Chance Rescue Now Available in Kindle

If you use amazon.com at all, you know their Kindle Reader is wildly popular.

Don't ask why it took me so long, but Last Chance Rescue is (finally!) available in the Kindle format.

I love holding a book in my hands, curling up on the couch by the fireplace...but even I am considering getting a Kindle.

Check it out!

Holiday Gift Idea for Book Lovers - and a FREE Bonus!

It's hard to believe the holidays are upon us again. Another year...where did it go??

If you have a book lover on your gift list this year (or someone who "has it all"...or you have no idea what to get a particular person...) please consider giving a copy of Last Chance Rescue.

(It's also a great gift idea for babysitters, teachers, co-workers or people you're trying to impress!)

Last Chance Rescue is about two search-and-rescue team members who must fight their own defenses to let down the walls that will allow them to rescue each other. It is a story of breath-taking action and adventurous lives, and the heart that is behind it all.

If you order now, I will also give you/your recipient a BONUS: the first four chapters of my forthcoming novel, True Surrender.

True Surrender is the story of Aaron Bricewick, an Army Major who is held hostage by terrorists. When he's rescued, he thinks the worst is over...but his personal journey has only just begun.

For more details or to order, visit LastChanceRescueBook.com

Trip to West Virginia: Mental and Physical Rejuvenation

I took a vacation. I mean a real one. The kind where you leave your kids behind and you don't miss them until Day 4. And for the first time in 4 or 5 years, I even left my work behind for FOUR WHOLE DAYS. (That is no small feat when you own your own business.)

We went ziplining - zooming from little 4-foot platforms from one treetop to another hundreds of feet above the ground. (I'll admit to a little trepidation at first, heights are not my thing!) We visited two ghost towns (old coal mining towns), one of which required a strenuous hike down 1/2 mile of steep terrain and 821 steps (good thing we did that one the last day, because I was sore for three days after).

And - my favorite and the main purpose of the trip - we whitewater rafted the New River and the Gauley River. This is something we try to do every couple of years, but we've always gone West - Colorado or Idaho (someday northern California...)

I have to say, I was surprised and impressed with the whole area (so much so that we plan to take a family vacation there when the kids are a little older). We happened to be there during Bridge Day, an annual event during which 80,000 people show up in this tiny county in West Virginia to watch BASE jumpers launch themselves off the bridge into the gorge below. (And we had the best seat in the house - ON the river below!)

It's amazing how closely linked the mental and physical are. With so much fresh air and physical activity - not to mention the complete lack of commitments! - my creativity really started to flow. All the way home I was mentally working on a story line involving a river rafting guide. Perhaps I will post a teaser...

New Writing Sample: Charlie's First Realization

The early morning sun was backlit against one of the most magnificent things Charlie had seen in her young life: a nearly-naked Trig.

He stood ramrod straight, clad in nothing but his briefs, his shirt in one hand. His attention was focused out the small window, which allowed Charlie to take in every inch of him: the shadow of a beard and his hair curled at the nape of his neck. The broad shoulders that folded into work-honed biceps. A spray of dark chest hairs across strong pectorals and down a taut stomach until it disappeared under the band of his briefs.

The night came back to her like flashbacks in a movie: the feel of Trig's body pressed against hers...lightning flashing...his arms around her, his breath in her ear...

An unfamiliar heat formed between her legs as her eyes wandered over Trig's well-proportioned rear and similarly well-proportioned front side.

And then he turned toward her...

(Copyright 2010 Tracey Cramer-Kelly)