Want to read an excerpt from my work-in-progress?
Nov 17, 2024 5:12 pm
Exclusive Excerpt from The Cheerleader!
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Hello !
This week I've made some real progress in my w-i-p! Enough so I want to share another excerpt with you!đź’ś
But the great news is you have once again provided me with an excellent character name for one of the cheerleaders in The Cheerleaders--the one who will be the heroine in the next story.
I'm announcing the winner of the Name That Character Contest for The Cheerleader below. This young lady is a student at UConn, a fellow cheerleader with Suzie, the heroine, and though she doesn't play a major role in this story, she will be a main character in the next one!
Check out the WINNER of the Name That Character! contest for the new character in The Cheerleader below! 💜 ⬇️⬇️⬇️
I have a NEW AUDIOBOOK RELEASE! Check out the details below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Also check out my featured romance author & book deals below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️
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At SQ's House
H and I spent lots of time outdoors this week because the weather was, and is, beautiful--sort of.
If you don't mind the drought!
Even the air is ridiculously dry--humidity is low 30s and desert-like--which is crazy for around here in the northeast!
It's been a record breaking dry spell and we've even had a rash of fires in the area. They're not as wild as the fires on the west coast, mostly because our forests are smaller and we have lots of lakes and rivers and houses and people to break it up.
The fires are more easily spotted and more easily accessed here. But we had smoke in the air and some people were prepared to evacuate their area. So I really get the danger and feel for anyone who's near a wild fire.
I think it might be time to do a rain dance! đź’ś
Hope you're all doing well in your part of the world! đź’ś
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If you enjoy my books, I invite you to
âžśâžśJoin the SQ Team on Facebook Here!
I'd love the chance to get to know you in the group!
đź’ś
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WORK-IN-PROGRESS: THE CHEERLEADER
Total Word Count Goal: 90,000
COMPLETED To-Date: 58,520
PERCENT COMPLETED: 65%
When the characters have me captured by all their angst, secrets and pent up passion, you know it's going to be good!
For anyone interested, you can now pre-order The Cheerleader at the following places:
PRE-ORDER NOW!
AMAZON | APPLE | KOBO | B&N | GOOGLE
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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: THE CHEERLEADER
Suzie
Liz heads down the hallway towards Bryan’s bedroom even as Eldy warns her not to.
“He’s in a fucker of a mood. His ribs are hurting worse than he’s admitting.”
Liz shrugs one shoulder. “It’ll be alright. He and I have been through worse things.” She wins the showdown because that keeps Eldy quiet.
He doesn’t argue anymore, saying, “I bet. Go ahead. Your funeral.” He accepts her statement as if he knows something about her mysterious past with Bryan. Probably more than I know—which is next to nothing.
“I’m going with her.” I’m not smiling, expecting an argument from him.
Instead, he nods. He knows something. I wonder how close he is with Bryan, whether Bryan would have told him about---no. Bryan Granger is the most closed mouth person I’ve ever met.
Liz is knocking on the door gently when I catch up to her. It’s the last one on the left and they’ve put a big piece of cardboard in front of it as if to block people. Liz pushed it aside, knowing exactly where his room is.
“He’s not answering,” she says. “I wonder if he’s sleeping. I wonder how hurt he is. Maybe he needs help. More ice or a shot of whiskey for the pain.” She’s whispering, almost talking to herself, so I don’t answer.
She turns to me. “Knowing him, he wouldn’t take pain pills.” She looks truly worried.
“Maybe you should check on him then and see if he’s okay. If he’s sleeping and you’re quiet you won’t wake him.”
Her face brightens like she needed my permission before she opened his door. Unlike dorm rooms, the bedroom doors in the apartments don’t have locks.
“Okay. Wait here.” She turns the doorknob by fractions and presses the door forward with enormous patience, a big accomplishment for her since she normally does everything at a breakneck pace. But then, this is Liz we’re talking about, and she’s good at everything. Or so it seems.
As she slips inside his room, my heart takes a leap and I feel apprehension mingling with excitement to create a little volcanic reaction in my chest. A flash of the old days when she had us sneaking into places we didn’t belong—like the teacher’s room when we were in seventh grade—rushes to the surface almost like a warped kind of deja-vu that’s too real.
I hear her whispering his name. She didn’t close the door behind her, so I glance inside to see her leaning over him where he lies on a mattress. A barrage of emotions hit me as I look around his moonlit room, at the starkness, the lack of comfort. There are no curtains, not even a shade or blinds on the window. A rickety looking wood chair and small table stacked with books is all he has. And his mattress on the floor.
Liz leans over him, but I don’t hear him respond to her. I let out a sigh of relief because I don’t want to witness this confrontation.
“Bryan, wake up.” She puts a hand on his shoulder and I stop breathing.
I should, but I don’t stop watching, don’t turn the other way or pull the door closed. Maybe I want to make sure she doesn’t do anything rash.
Who am I kidding? Would I actually go in there and stop her, interfere so boldly in their personal business? No.
Bryan stirs, moans, the sound ripping my heart out. He looks up at Liz and lets out a string of expletives that would make me run the other way if I were her, but not Liz. Shit. I stand frozen, hating myself for wanting to stop her, to save him from her obsession—because that’s what I think it is.
Hating myself for being disloyal to my best friend.
She whispers to him, putting a hand on his face as she sits on the floor next to his mattress.
“Get out of here. Leave me alone, Liz.” His pained words are loud and clear and I close my eyes.
She says something to him, but I don’t hear it, don’t want to hear it as I pull the door closed, muffling their voices.
They’re not muffled enough for me to not hear the rising tone of anger. They’re arguing. I step back and lean against the opposite wall, waiting, because I know this will end badly for Liz. And I can’t make myself not care about that, even as I tell myself she’s the one behaving badly, forcing herself on him.
I don’t know what kind of relationship they have, but I know it’s more than Bryan admits to. And less than Liz thinks it is. Somewhere in that vague, compelling purgatory that’s impossible to navigate safely.
They’re connected somehow and it’s not a comfortable bond for either of them.
The door slams open, startling me, and Liz comes out of the room almost crying. I automatically go to her and she hugs me. As I hug her back I glance into the room. He’s standing, silhouetted by the window, wearing only his underwear and he sees me. Shit. Why do I feel like I’ve been caught doing something bad, like betraying him?
He looks straight at me with that fierce look, a look filled with all kinds of pain.
I pull the door closed and walk with Liz. She swipes at her face, then breaks away from me as she runs back down the hall, clearly upset. Is she crying. A frisson of panic hits me because I’ve never seen her cry, not really, not with all the trouble in all the time I knew her.
But I don’t know her anymore. I didn’t see her or keep touch with her for six years.
“Liz, wait.” I catch up with her as she turns the corner into the kitchen.
“Where’s the keg?” she shouts into the crowd of people. A couple of guys point out the open back door.
I follow her outside where the crowd is bigger than inside and the air is fresh and cool, a welcome change from the sweltering weather two weeks ago. Eldy is there and grabs a plastic cup from a table, already filled with beer, and hands it to her.
“How is he?”
She downs her beer. “He’s an ass.”
Eldy laughs. “Don’t worry. That’s the pain getting to his normally good nature.”
Liz laughs and I smile, but I’m too unsure of how I feel about him and Liz to laugh. Not that it’s any of my business. Or it shouldn’t be, and wouldn’t be if Liz didn’t keep dragging me into it like I’m her crutch, like she needs moral support to have a relationship with a boy she’s known forever, a boy who considers her an important friend, someone he takes care of, almost like a relative.
And therein lies the rub. I keep this all to myself and when Eldy hands me a foam-topped cup of beer, I take it to be polite.
PRE-ORDER NOW!
AMAZON | APPLE | KOBO | B&N | GOOGLE
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SQ's Name That Character Contest!
WINNER!
Kate Sparks
Winning Name: Sherry Johnson
Congratulations!!
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest and gave me many wonderful choices and a tough decision to make.
I appreciate all your contributions and support very much. đź’ś
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NEW AUDIOBOOK RELEASE!
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PLUS...
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a single dad saved by the nanny hockey rom-com
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SQ’s Featured Review
a Portsmouth Whalers series hockey rom-com box set
Whalers Hockey Romance 3 Book Set
"Stephanie writes fantastic sports romances, this series does not disappoint. If you are hockey romance reader, you will love the characters, along with a fair amount of laughter, mixed in with some sass.”
JK--Amazon Reviewer
Let me give a truly heartfelt thank you to all of you who post reviews for any of the books you read.
It means a great deal to every author I know.❤
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Stephanie Queen's Featured Authors
A Little Puck Luck - Kat Obie
He hoped that he would one day reconnect with the one that got away. But he never anticipated what that reconnection would entail.
Annette needed a new start in life for her and her kid after one horrific night with her ex.
As she figured out her next move in life, she would never expect to find out that her knight in shining armor would turn out to be hockey player that she told worst lie to.
As old sparks reignite, both must navigate the complexities of their pasts, and the shadows that loom large.
Can Scuba become the knight Annette needs, or will the weight of their histories prove too heavy?
Trigger Warning: This book contains themes of domestic violence.
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Seven Points of Contact - Renee Gendron
Miranda Taylor swings for the fences for a chance at love...
In this funny romance, Miranda Taylor has a history of making errors—she sits on the wrong bar stools, picks the wrong teams, dates the wrong guys… But then she meets Jonas Becker who’s returned from Toronto to take care of his ailing father. If she plays the game right, she can land her dream job and a hot guy. She charges for home plate, but will her heart be safe?
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SQ’s Featured Book Deals
GIVE THANKS TO SPORTS ROMANCE!
KOBO PLUS FREE READS!
THANKFUL FOR WOMENS FICTION
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Treat your soul, and your very well-being to a dose of romance to uplift you.
Take some time to escape from the crazy hoopla of life these days and read or listen to your favorite romance author. Even better, let that author know how much you enjoy their books and make both your days! đź’ś
Warmest Regards,
