Ah Summer! When the weather and the romance is warm.
Perfect weather for sitting on the beach with a towel, a cooler, a sweetie, and a book! But what perfect book do you want?
Well, of course I have a suggestion. In fact, I have several suggestions. There’s my novella, Big Love. My publisher (Scrivenings Press) has even, thinking of you and your summer reading needs, put it on sale July 1-4, 2024. That’s, um, starting today!
OK, I admit, it’s not just MY book that’s on sale. Since it’s Scrivenings’ birthday (they are four years old!), they’re celebrating by puting almost all of their e-books on sale. Pick up Big Love and a dozen or so others!
But even that’s not all! There’s also a plethora of books being released by ACFW authors in July. Follow this link to see them.
Now, how about a fun excerpt from Big Love? In this scene, Berly, my protagonist who builds tiny houses for the inadequately housed population in Indianapolis, has just learned that her friend, Betsy, has secured an interview for her with Nathan Rafferty, the trends writer for the oh-so-posh architecture journal magazine in Chicago. They are so posh they don’t even need capital letters.
I pick up my cup of tea, a tangy White Ayurvedic Chai from Teavana, and take a sip, then immediately grab Betsy's cup too and head for the micro. Neither cup has been touched. Gabbing mouths can't drink.
"I was so enthralled with the tale of Rafferty's machismo that I let our chai get cold."
Bets giggled, her ebony eyes still full of the hilarity of her tale. "Let me warn you. Cold is one thing you won't get around Nathan," she said, mock-fanning her face.
"Bets, are you blushing?" I put the cups in the micro and hit the preset.
"Not exactly," she said. "But let me just say how glad I am that I love Reuben and he loves me. Because as much as I don't need the Rafferty ego, that man does make my lashes bat. And, yes, I am ashamed to admit that."
I laughed, but cringed inside. How many years had it been since anyone had made my lashes bat? Do I have lashes? Do they bat? Hard to say.
"He's not your type, anyway. He's too ... aloof. Haughty. Whatever. You won't like him." She unfolded her legs and stood. "By the way—"
I hate the phrase "by the way." It's what people say when they want to change the topic to the thing they really want to talk about.
"—do you even have a type these days? Is there someone in your life who's breathing and has facial hair?"
Actually, Mother's sister, Maureen, has a mustache Tom Selleck would die for. And there's Baxter, whose love is unconditional—as long as I keep him in kibble. But that's not what she means.
Michael Ehret loves to play with words and as the author of “Big Love,” he is enjoying his current playground. Previous playgrounds include being the Managing Editor of the magazine ACFW Journal and the ezine Afictionado for seven years. He also plays with words as a freelance editor and has edited several nonfiction books, proofedited for Abingdon Press, worked in corporate communications, and reported for The Indianapolis Star.
Writing On The Fine Line 
What do you think?