For my Saturday Spankings entry click HERE!
I'm such a fan of Maren Smith, that I'm super pleased to be able to showcase her new novel
Last Dance for Cadence
It's being released on Wednesday, and I can't wait to read it.
And not that I want you to leave, I love visitors, but don't forget to click the graphic on the right to visit all the other wonderful blogs participating in the Corbin's Bend Blitz.
I'm such a fan of Maren Smith, that I'm super pleased to be able to showcase her new novel
Last Dance for Cadence
It's being released on Wednesday, and I can't wait to read it.
And not that I want you to leave, I love visitors, but don't forget to click the graphic on the right to visit all the other wonderful blogs participating in the Corbin's Bend Blitz.
The ad read: “Full-time housekeeper/nanny position. Live-in
preferred. References and experience required. Salary negotiable. Apply in person.”
Cadence Westmore knew she wasn’t qualified for the job, but for
a paycheck and an apartment, she was determined to apply. As an ex-dancer with
two bad legs and no experience with children, she expected to be turned down.
What she didn’t expect was the instant attraction she felt when Corbin Bend’s resident
doctor took her in his capable hands.
A widower with three boys to raise, Dr. Marcus Devon knew he
needed help. But he also knew Cadence was the last person he should hire. Still
he gave her the job, opening his home and his life to a woman as stubborn as
she was lovely and as determined not to need him as he was to make her his.
She was her own worst enemy, pushing herself to exceed her
wounded body’s physical limitations until the doctor finally stepped in to
apply some good old-fashioned bare-bottom medicine. The more she rebelled, the
more he took her across his knee until at last Cadence realized if she wasn’t
careful, she just might lose everything all over again.
She got down off the exam table, evading his steadying hand
when she wobbled, both knees screaming at the suddenness of having to take her
full weight. They were going to scream even more during the long walk back home
to Venia’s. Thirteen houses—it may as well be a thousand. How was she going to
survive that distance?
The same way she survived everything else—one step at a
time, teeth gritted, eyes staring straight ahead.
“Let me drive you—”
Oh, she must really look feeble. She almost laughed, except
that might have come out sounding bitter and that just smacked too close to
weakness. “No, thanks,” she said tightly, forcing the cheerfulness as she
limped toward the door. “I can walk.”
He made another soft, puffing sound. The sort of sound a man
made when he didn’t know whether to be amused or annoyed. “It’s not a bother,”
he called, trailing behind her.
“Neither’s walking.” Stepping out onto the porch, she tried
to close his front door behind her, but he caught it—damn it—and followed her
outside. She kept her head up and struggled to control the limp, which hurt
like hell, down each descending stair of those three stone steps.
“Are you always this stubborn?” Marcus asked. She shot him a
withering look over one shoulder. Arms folded across his chest, he had propped
one broad shoulder against a front porch post while he watched her go. His eyes
were sparkling. Apparently, he’d settled on amused over annoyed. Already one
corner of his mouth was losing its fight with the smile he was trying
halfheartedly to hide.
That smile was her undoing. Her own annoyance erupted,
surpassing all her best intentions to just leave and leave gracefully. “No,
sir. As it so happens, this is my good girl behavior.”
Available for purchase on July 23rd!
When I was first asked if I wanted to do a story for the
Corbin’s Bend series, I thought, ‘I can’t possibly fit another deadline in this
year…Interesting concept, though. They’re going to make a whole community for
people who like to spank. Ooo! They’ve got a community doctor. OOOO! I wonder
if he’s taken already!’
Next thing I knew, I had another deadline and I don’t regret
it. I had a lot of fun writing this story. I’d never been a part of a series
created by one person but built up out of the collective imaginations of nine
others. And frankly, I envied my character, Cadence.
Cadence was as much an outsider to that community as, well,
I am. She was in the process of losing everything she had; I was in the process
of moving. She packed all her worldly possessions into a single duffel bag and
kissed the rest goodbye; I tried to do that, but my husband said no. Like I
said, I envied her.
To me, Cadence is one of the more realistic characters I’ve
yet done. Her independence and determination to do things for herself,
regardless of whether it’s good for her or whether it hurts is based off
someone I both know and love. My sister is my primary beta reader. She is also
disabled from an accident that occurred almost twenty years ago. Every day I
watch her do things she shouldn’t because, let’s face it, no one wants to admit
they can’t take care of themselves. No one wants to admit they can’t do
something as simple as stand up long enough to wash dishes or cook a meal
(Cadence) or lift anything heavier than a can of pop (my sister).
When my sister read Last Dance for Cadence, she told me
Cadence was being ridiculous for constantly doing things that could result in
greater injury to herself. It wasn’t until she caught me staring at her, that
my sister realized she was Cadence. My sister is also a writer, so I fully
expect to see myself as a character in her next story. I also fully expect that
my character will meet a horrible end somewhere around page three, but I do
believe I’ve made my point with Cadence.
Most people fight the need to ask for help because we think
we’re being a burden to those around us or we think it somehow weakens us as
independent human beings. When Marcus looked at Cadence, the last thing he saw
was weakness.
We should all have someone like that in our lives.
