Garden Party by Lila Munro

Melanie’s chest heaved with exertion as she pulled the old barn door open, scooped her skirts up in her trembling hands, and darted inside. Choppy bits of white bounced off the cracked windshield of her grandfather’s old ‘57 Chevy housed inside then swirled away in a cloud of dust motes. The hollow sound of boots hitting the ground outside sent her dashing sideways around the car, glancing behind her to see if Jonathan had followed. Smug in her assumption she’d made a clean getaway from his chase of her after they’d sneaked away from her mother’s garden party, she whirled after seeing no shadows following her and landed cleanly into a rock solid build, two arms running out to catch her before she landed on her backside.

“Gotcha,” Jonathan whispered into Melanie’s hair which had fallen into disarray during her run, flying out around her temples.

“Not quite,” she whispered back, sliding out of his arms and darting away again only to discover he had her cornered with nowhere left to go but up.

Latching onto the loft ladder, she almost had herself pulled up when Jonathan grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down. They fell together into the hay, Melanie beneath him.

Every ounce of wind she had left slipped from her lungs as Jonathan reached up and cradled her face then brought his lips to hers. A whisper of touch. An eternity of feeling.



In The Room Where You Do What You Don’t Confess; By LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy

                  In tailored slacks and a navy blazer, with her hair swept up into a classic ‘do, Rachel fit the stereotype of the quintessential wife, mother, and PTO president well.  Her manners were impeccable, at home, in the office, at school, and in the pew on Sunday.  In the confessional, she bowed her head each week and asked for forgiveness for her sins – all but the greatest one of all. No one doubted her virtue except the man who knew her best, Rod.

                  Each Friday morning, her day off, she headed for an old house on the far edge of the city.  Rachel left her hair to hang free.  Rod preferred it so.  The dark-skinned biker excited her in ways no other man ever had or would.  With him, she existed and experienced life.

                  She parked her car behind the hedge, crossed the creaking porch, and used the key.  Then she mounted the stairs and walked down the dusty hallway to the end where Rod waited behind the half-open red door.   Crossing the threshold transformed her from good Rachel to deliciously wicked Rach.

                  Rod always lolled on the bed, naked and erect.  Rach shed her clothing before she joined him, eager to kiss and use her tongue everywhere.  Their loving was always hot and fast.  They didn’t talk or hurry, just came together in the room where Rachel always did what you don’t confess.

                  After, Rachel went home, hugging the memories of Rod’s skin and body, savoring them until next time.

Find out more about LeeAnn 

            I’m happy to announce that the sequel for The Guardian’s Heart is set to release March 2014 from Secret Cravings Publishing.  Over the next year to year and a half you’ll get to know all the girls of Growing Strong Montessori.  Mary Beth’s book, The Cheated Heart, is my March book. Followed by Sarah, then Mandy.

            Here’s where the promises come in.  When I wrote The Guardian’s Heart it was supposed to be a short story for an anthology.  I over shot the maximum word count by over thirty-five thousand words.  When began writing The Guardian’s Heart I didn’t plot out for a series, if I would have Sarah would not have been a lesbian. I might have just left her out all together. Although she’s integral to the story line and now I couldn’t imagine not having her as part of group stepping out of a comfort zone is scary. And writing an f/f book is out of my comfort zone, but at one time writing in third person was out of my comfort zone, but as a writer taking chances and stretching my writing muscles only makes me stronger.

            Part of the reason book two took so long to write was because once I wrote Mary Beth’s book I committed myself to writing Sarah and Mandy’s. I wasn’t going to start something I couldn’t finish with the same zeal I did The Guardian’s Heart. People helped me brain storm with some encouraging me while others made suggestions to either not have a Sarah story at all, she does have a loving girlfriend in book one.  Or have Sarah end up with a man because she was “going through a phase.”

            Here comes promise number two and three really, I wasn’t going to insult my audience that way. Sarah is one of the four owners and part of the best friend group that has been lovingly nicknamed the Growing Strong Mafia. To not have her story would be a slap in the face to my readers. And the second suggestion again is an insult to my readers.  I recently read a book in a series where the character was a gay man until it was time for his love story then suddenly “he’d been faking”.  Sure the author spun a pretty good tale about why and his love of a woman, but if it wasn’t for the fact I had a long drive and no more Audible credits I may not have finished the book because it was like a spit in my face as a reader.

            What scared me you may ask? The love story I wasn’t worried about it was just the lifestyle in general.  I hate stereotypes and every subculture has their own way of being. This is where my trepidation came in. Can I accurately portray a lifestyle I don’t live? Other writers can kill people, create horrific beasts or even write about things they don’t live. There are very few writers that are also on death row because they know how to murder someone in cold blood so I guess the answer is yes. 

            When you start writing it’s all about ‘writing what you know’ then you can expand.  I’m a great researcher, heck my Bachelors is in History, but the last thing I would ever want to do in my books is to portray a character unrealistically. Then I bit the bullet because when it came down to it I write love stories.  Those stories are about two people that usually have to over come an obstacle to make their love work.  That I could do, the other stuff, it like Sarah and Karen’s love, will work itself out and I promise you I will not waiver on the quality or zeal for which I write.