Jillsnews
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Jillsnews: Chapter One from my latest contemporary romance Mu...
Jillsnews: Chapter One from my latest contemporary romance Mu...: Chapter One from my latest contemporary romance Music to her Heart , available from www.blacklyonpublishing.com and www.amazon.com ...
Jillsnews: Re Release of my very first published book
Jillsnews: Re Release of my very first published book: M y very first book , the book that began my writing career, was Rain Lady , published by Silhouette Books, Simon & Schuster, NY. A...
Monday, February 9, 2015
Re Release of my very first published book
My very first
book, the book that began my writing career, was Rain Lady, published by
Silhouette Books, Simon & Schuster, NY.
An exhilarating
time: I didn't have any rewrites; all I had to do was await the 1980 release as #29 in the new Silhouette Romance Line.
a visit to New York, Simon & Schuster offices, chats with editors, and all those exciting events that come with being published. Back home local writers' groups contacted me for speaking engagements.
And now that
book is being published again as an e book with Samhain Publishing.
This is how the
book came about:
I got the idea
for the book, the summer of '77 but all I had was the title The Rain Lady. However I did start typing...
After selling
the book in December 1979, with a publication date of September 1980,
Silhouette then edited the book.
:
And this is the first version
On May 19, 2015 an e book version from www.samhainpublishing.com under their Retro Romance imprint will be published
And it's still thrilling. Enjoy.
Jillian Dagg
Monday, January 12, 2015
Chapter One from my latest contemporary romance Music to her Heart, available from www.blacklyonpublishing.com and www.amazon.com
Chapter One
Paul
Kerr said in his gruff voice, “I’ve got some good
news.
I’m going to be married.”
“Married?”
Katy didn’t even know her father had
dated
since her mother died.
“Her
name is Trish Stevenson and naturally she
wants
to meet you and I want you to meet Trish, so
we’ve
planned for all of us to spend the weekend together
at
her son’s house.”
Katy’s
work as a singer-songwriter had dried up
during
the years of caregiving her mother so she was
free
and she supposed it was her daughterly duty to go.
“Where
does her son live?”
“His
house is northwest of Toronto somewhere. I’ll
call
you back with the exact address. I believe it’s quite
rural.”
“How
am I going to get there, Dad? I haven’t got a
car.”
“You
can rent one. Use that credit card I gave you to
buy
yourself Christmas gifts.” The card she’d never used
because
she’d felt so unloved.
When
her mother was alive, her mother chose and
wrapped
all the special gifts. Now her father didn’t
have
time for her. That’s what that credit card stood for.
“Dad—”
He
interrupted her protest. “Katy, this is important
to
me. Please be there. I understand it’s a lovely house.
And
Trish’s son sounds like a nice fellow. You might find
him
useful. He’s a pretty big wheel in the music business.”
“What’s
his name?” For some reason her breath
had
caught in her throat. There weren’t that many big
wheels
in the music business, but it couldn’t possibly,
be,
could it?
Her
father coughed. “His name’s Adam Stevenson.”
Even
though she was half expecting it, she still exclaimed,
“No
way!”
“Does
that mean no way you’re coming?”
“No,
no, it means that I’m astounded at what you
just
said. Are you engaged to marry Adam Stevenson’s
mother?”
“Yes.
That’s what I’ve been saying for the past five
minutes.
Don’t you listen?”
“I
am now. You’re always so vague. Are you telling
me
that your fiancĂ©e’s son is Adam Stevenson from Stevenson
Music
Management?”
“Yes.
That’s him. Have you ever met him?”
“No.
But I’d like the chance to meet him.”
“This
is more than a chance. He’s going to be your
step-brother.”
Katy
disconnected her phone and sat on the sofa
in
the small apartment she shared with friends. She
remembered
back a few months to when she’d visited
Stevenson
Music Management.
Impressed
and just a trifle scared she’d stood on the
dense
black marble floor of the large foyer. SMM was
scrawled
in silver across the middle of the floor and the
entire
area was illuminated by the natural light from the
many
slanted roof windows.
The
receptionist with the silky blonde hair and huge
blue
eyes had glanced up at the line in front of her.
“Next,”
she’d called out shrilly.
The
black leather man, with the guitar case, in front
of
Katy, stepped up to the curved counter and mumbled
something.
The receptionist smiled brightly and pointed
out
a door that probably led into the offices.
“Next.”
“My
name is Katy Kerr. I’m a singer-songwriter. I
want
to see Adam Stevenson, please.”
“In
what respect?”
“I
need someone to represent me.”
The
woman’s brilliant white top teeth nibbled her
bottom
lip. “And you just walked in here without an appointment?”
“Can
I make an appointment?”
“Not
just like that, you can’t.” The woman clicked
her
fingers in the air. “Anyway, Adam Stevenson is out
of
town and I have no idea when he’ll be back.” She
dragged
a phone pad forward. “I can take your name
and
number and have his assistant call you.”
Katy
gave her name and number and it was written
down
half-heartedly. “Can’t I make an appointment today?”
“His
assistant is also out of the office today and she’s
the
person to make appointments with.” The woman let
out
a shoulder-heaving sigh. “I would advise that you
phone
first to see if you can get an appointment.”
Katy
had tried that with no result so she’d showed
up
in person. “What about email?”
“No
emails. I am really truly sorry. Next please.”
A
woman with long blonde hair in skinny jeans and
a
denim jacket slipped in front of Katy.
As
she was walking to the swing doors Katy noticed
the
skinny blonde was directed over to the door the
leather
man had gone through. She was going through
that
door one day, she decided as she left the building.
She
slipped into the car she’d borrowed from a
friend,
started the engine, and prepared to back out.
Great
timing. A white limousine drove up and stopped
right
behind her. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Katy observed
the
man leaving the limousine through her rearview
mirror.
From the back he was broad-shouldered,
with
thick, vital, nut-brown hair brushing the collar of
his
black wool overcoat. When he turned to speak to
the
driver opening the door, she saw his profile: Dark
eyebrows
over deep set eyes, a well-shaped nose and a
vulnerable
full mouth. His chin was strong. She wished
he’d
turn all the way around but as soon as the limousine
door
closed he walked briskly into the building and
disappeared
through the tinted glass doors. Sexy, she
thought
as the limo moved off. Wow.
She
left the parking lot and swung the car onto the
road.
Edging slowly toward downtown Toronto from
the
suburban industrial estate, Katy now wondered if
this
morning’s trip had been worth the effort. Granted,
she’d
actually visited the Stevenson Music Management
building.
Still, she hadn’t come here to gawk at a music
shrine.
She’d thought that approaching SMM might be
the
first step in getting her life into order. She’d only had
one
gig in the past month and while she was part-owner
of
a vegetarian restaurant with a friend due to an inheritance
from
her grandparents her music career paid her
bills.
And she’d been doing quite well before her mother
was
diagnosed with cancer. Spending all her spare time
caring
for her mother had cut her off from the music
world.
Saying no so much had been a dreadful experience.
At
the same time as the agony of watching her
mother
die it was also like watching her own dreams go
up
in a puff of dust.
At
her mother’s funeral, her father, brother Robert
and
his wife comforted her with their presence. However,
as
soon as the funeral was over they all took off
and
left her to flounder with no support. She’d even had
a
boyfriend at the time. Yet he hadn’t been able to spare
a
moment off work to pay his respects. To add to her
heartache,
Katy had broken up with Ken a week after
the
funeral. All he cared about was his next real estate
deal.
One day she would hear about him being taken to
a
hospital to have a cell phone removed from his ear.
Katy
drove through the city to where she lived.
The
residential street was crowded as usual, but she
managed
to find a spot not far from the apartment
she
shared with her friends, Heather and Joe. As she
stepped
from Heather’s car she slipped the keys into the
pocket
of her black wool jacket. She noticed the blue sky
from
this morning had turned gray and now icy little
snowflakes
pinged at her forehead and scattered over
her
long brunette hair. The wind lashing her best black
slacks
against her thighs was bitter cold. Shivering,
Katy
rushed past the row of narrow brick houses that
were
either rental apartments or had been renovated
by
trendy couples. The frosty weather was an indication
Christmas
was only a few weeks away. She’d promised
to
spend the season at home with her family, when, according
to
her father, they would also sort through her
mother’s
belongings and decide what possessions they
wanted
to keep. Her father planned to sell the suburban
house
in January and go north to live up in Muskoka
in
his newly winterized lakeside cottage. When the cottage
was
also sold, he would settle into his retirement in
a
condominium near a golf course. To Katy that meant
she
would probably never see Paul Kerr again. He was a
golf
fanatic.
With
stiff, cold fingers Katy poked her key into the
lock
of the front apartment in one of the houses. Katy
had
only intended to share until she married Ken. Now
she
wasn’t marrying Ken, finding a place of her own was
imperative.
Darn Ken. She really had held expectations
for
her future with him. Nevertheless, she had learned
some
lessons from the experience: Think before she
rushed
into anything and certainly never have expectations.
Expectations
were the cause of all of her disappointments.
At
least the apartment seemed warm and friendly
inside.
As Katy closed the door, she heard low voices
from
the kitchen and smelled freshly baked cookies.
Just
like home, she thought, remembering her mother
again,
even though it had been years since her mother
had
baked a cookie.
She
tossed her purse down on the coffee table, took
off
her jacket and hung it in the closet. Heather and
Joe
were sitting at the kitchen table. Heather was tall
and
thin with very short blonde hair, always a perfect
new
style due to her job in a beauty salon. Joe was big
and
good-looking, with black hair gelled back for his
daytime
job in the bank. When he was at home and he
turned
into his weekend job of a rock guitarist, his hair
tended
to hang in curtains through which he peered.
They
both wore jeans and black sweaters.
Heather
jumped up from her chair. “How did it go,
Katy?”
Katy
handed the car keys to Heather. “It was actually
a
waste of time. I couldn’t get past reception. I need
an
appointment. Neither Adam Stevenson nor his assistant
was
there, so that means I have to try phoning
again.
Which as you know, doesn’t work.”
Katy
smiled for a second then let the smile fade.
Heather
looked upset and Katy thought her tension
had
a lot more to do with something else than her own
plight
at SMM. She glanced at Joe who was plucking the
form
of a stick person out of a napkin. “What’s the matter,
you
guys?”
Heather
sighed. “Sit down. Have a cookie. Do you
want
some tea?”
“Sure.”
Katy pulled out a wooden kitchen chair and
sat
down opposite Joe. She thought his usually twinkling
dark
eyes seemed as dismal as the weather.
Heather
served Katy with a mug of hot, steaming
tea
and returned to her chair. “You know my mother
went
into hospital today for that knee operation. Well, I
have
to go home and look after her when she comes out,
because
she won’t be very mobile. Therefore, Joe and I
can’t
get married until later.”
Katy
tried to take in the implications of this news.
Maybe
she was giving out bad vibes to everyone and
nothing
would go right for her friends either. “When
are
you getting married then?” she asked.
“We’ll
postpone everything until next September. By
then
Mom should be fine.”
Katy
looked at Joe. “What do you think?”
Joe
crumpled the torn napkin. “She has to do what
she
has to do. I’m not losing her. But I can’t afford the
rent
here alone.”
Heather
said, “Would you like to share with Joe?
That’s
what we’re thinking.”
“You
mean me move in here permanently with your
fiancĂ©?”
“I
trust you. I’ve known you since university. And so
has
Joe.”
Joe
grinned. “And it’s not that I don’t think you’re the
sexiest
thing on two legs, Katy, but I trust myself.”
Katy
smiled. “Joe. I trust you. I suppose it’s a good
deal.
I was looking for a place for myself, but half a rent
is
better really.”
“It’ll
give you a chance to work on your music,”
Heather
said.
Joe
gave her a sympathetic sigh. “You can move
in
your things from the storage when Heather moves
some
of her gear out. When you have your piano here,
you’ll
feel better.”
Katy
nodded. “Okay. I need a place to live anyway.”
But
even though her life seemed a bit more permanent
by
nightfall, Katy still felt frightened. In the next
door
bedroom, Heather and Joe were lovers. She could
hear
the thump of the mattress, their heightened breathing
through
the thin walls, Heather’s ecstasy mixed with
Joe’s
groans of pleasure. They might have postponed
their
marriage, but they still had one another. And here
she
was desperately alone in the world. Because she
was
supposed to be a modern, stand-alone woman, she
felt
guilty for thinking this way. But she couldn’t help
it.
She was lonely. And the loneliness manifested itself
into
memories of the man in the black overcoat who’d
stepped
from the limo outside SMM today. So tall and
strong
looking, he was the type of man she needed right
now.
She imagined his dark inscrutable eyes, how he
might
look at her, feel in her arms, her fingers entangled
in his
thick hair as he kissed her.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Katy fastened her eyes on to
his back, where his shirt stretched over his firm flesh and she experienced a
flash of recognition. Had it been Adam who had stepped from the limousine that
day? Had she actually been dreaming about Adam Stevenson these last few months?
From Blacklyonpublishing.com July 15th in e book and paperback
Saturday, April 5, 2014
The Writing Process
The Writing Process
Thank you to talented romantic/erotica/mystery writer
Christiane France for inviting me on a Blog Tour. http://christianefrance.blogspot.ca
I've been writing all my life. I actually learned to
type when I was 15 in high school so that I could be a writer. Of course there
were some detours along the way – secretarial, administrative jobs, but they
have become life research.
What am I working on?
I write romantic fiction and I'm usually juggling a
few novels at one time. At the moment I'm endeavoring to re arrange a book I've
called (working title) Firefly Bay. I
say re arrange because I've written the novel a couple of times in other forms.
Now I've distilled two main characters and I'm travelling through their
romantic journey from the 70's to the present time. I've also got a new release
coming out in July from Black Lyon Publishing www.blacklyonpublishing.com and I've
signed six contracts with Samhain Publishing for some of my back list under
their Retro Romance imprint. Montlake Romance from www.amazon.com have just
released three of my Avalon hardcover library books, Tropical Dreams, Family Affairs and Love's Design in paperback
which I hope will find a brand new market. In April another Montlake Romance
will be releasing, Racing Hearts. All
these books are available on Amazon Kindle.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I attempt to spin reality into fantasy. Whether I've
ever achieved that I'm not sure, but I like to feel that each romance is a real
friendship and a true commitment that will last so that the fantasy isn't a
lie.
Why do I write what I do?
Because I've always loved reading romances and any
stories, thrillers, mysteries, that have a relationship hidden in their depths.
How does your writing process work?
Sometimes I begin with a title, a name, or a vision of
what a character will look like or maybe a situation. Then I begin to write the
book from that one starting point. I usually begin writing a chapter then begin
again. Write a second chapter then begin again at the first chapter. Maybe even
discard the first chapter. By this time maybe the first two chapters have
extended into three or four. And I keep going that way, working my way through
the story, listening to the characters. Usually about half way through I have
to spend a night wrestling with my brain to re arrange the way the story is
going. Possibly I will change the dramatic conflict that will propel the story
forward. About three quarters of the way through I will know the ending, but
will never write the ending, until I've got the entire book right – at least in
my mind. Usually the characters in the end have their own way.
Monday, March 24, 2014
It's been such a long winter for some
of us in North America that even if we were lucky enough to escape to a
tropical vacation, on our return home the winter still struggles on. Join Rayne
Sinclair and warm up on Silver Island as she fulfills her Tropical Dreams with
Nick Lewis. Available on Kindle as a Montlake Romance from www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca
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