Category: HOLD ME Countdown

27 Days To Release Day!

Well, excitement abounds at the Palatial Horvath Estate today, because I found out that HOLD ME is available for preorder at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Wheeee!!  It’s like it’s all real or something. 😀

But for today’s countdown post, I had something a little different in mind.  Today I wanted to talk to you about the bad guy.

In romantic suspense, things can’t be all sunshine and lollipops.  The hero and heroine can’t run away screaming, “KITTENS!  AHH, THE PURRING!”.

No.  In a romantic suspense novel, there needs to be a bad guy.

The bad guy in HOLD ME is named Frankie Silvano.  Frankie is a hit man for the mob.  On top of that, he has a reputation for never having been arrested. And, oh yeah, he’s a little…nuts.

Here’s Katie’s impression of him the first time she sees him:

Today I’d like to share an excerpt from the first time we really meet Frankie Silvano.  I hope you enjoy it! 😉    (potty mouth language warning)

[spoiler effect=”simple” show=”Click To Read Excerpt “]

The Dream Net Casino was huge, one of the biggest in Atlantic City, and Joey Silvano ran the place. So Frankie figured it was a measure of his father’s affection that he’d been given an office the size of a postage stamp right next to the loading dock. Half the time he couldn’t even hear himself think because of trucks idling outside. Poppa used the whole fucking penthouse and mostly he wasn’t even there, but Frankie was shoved into a broom closet. Fucking old bastard.

Frankie sat behind his desk and toyed with a pencil, tapping it repeatedly. When somebody knocked on the door, he called out permission to enter. Arlo Kravitz walked into the room.

“You wanted to see me, boss?” Arlo asked. His face was placid, eager. He was a big man, far bigger than Frankie himself, with a muscular build turning to fat. A beer belly hung over the waistband of his brown trousers and there was no way the jacket would close. He’d been wearing the same suit on Friday.

Friday.

Frankie heard a pop and saw that he’d snapped the pencil in half. He threw it away with a quick gesture.

“Arlo,” he said. “Thanks for coming. Sit.”

“Sure, sure.” Arlo sounded almost pathetically grateful. With some effort, he squeezed himself into one of the visitors’ chairs. “Thanks for understanding, boss.” Arlo leaned forward once he was settled. “You know, about the car.”

Frankie swiveled back and forth in his chair. “You mean, the car you were driving?”

“Yeah, yeah. I wasn’t sure—”

“The car you were driving when you got pushed into a quarry pit?”

Arlo looked concerned now. “Uh—”

“The car you were driving when you got me arrested?”

Arlo sat straighter, definitely on edge. “Boss—”

Frankie studied him. “I’ve never been arrested before, did you know that?”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, I knew that.” Arlo definitely sounded nervous. Sweat beaded on his broad face.

“And the woman, the woman who was driving the other car? She’s a secretary. Did you know that too?” Frankie kept his voice even, but his fingers tapped restlessly on the desk.

“Uh, no. I mean, Yeah.” Arlo was practically babbling now. “I think one of the guys told me after.”

“Turns out she’s not a Fed. Not a cop. Hasn’t had any kind of training, as far as I know. In fact, she’s probably never been involved in a car chase in her life. But she pushed your car into a quarry pit.”

Arlo was mute, eyes huge. He looked like he was finally grasping the seriousness of his situation.

“And I got arrested. And humiliated. She took me out with her purse. The cops, they laughed, did you know that? Laughed at me.” He tamped down the anger bubbling just beneath the surface.

“I’m sorry, boss.” The big man swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“I had to tell my father. Did you know that as well?” he continued as if Arlo hadn’t spoken. That had been the worst part, really. Telling Poppa. Seeing the triumph in his eyes. The glee. Knowing that inside, the old bastard was laughing at him too.

“No. Boss, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Arlo struggled to get out of the chair, his breathing fast, the sweat running. “I’ll fix it. I’ll make it right. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it. Just give me a chance to—”

“Too late,” Frankie said, softly.[/spoiler]

32 Days to Release Day!

Although I don’t live in New Jersey, I’ve driven through it a time or twelve.  I’ve wasted days of my youth at Great Adventure and spent time “down the shore”, although, to my sorrow, I’ve never met Snooki.  And, since a good portion of HOLD ME takes place in various New Jersey locations, I thought I’d give you some fun facts about this great state. Feel free to print this post out and astound your friends and neighbors.

And here we go!  All about New Jersey!

* Major Industries – farming (potatoes, tomatoes, peaches), chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum-based products, insurance, tourism

(Wait – Farming AND chemicals?)

* Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida and The Great Falls in Paterson is the second-tallest waterfall east of the Mississipi.

* New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.

* New Jersey has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the U.S.

* New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth. Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.

* New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.

* The urban density of northeast New Jersey contrasts sharply with the rugged hills of the northwest, the enormous stretches of pine forest in the southeast (the Pine Barrens), and the rolling and lush horse country in the south-central part of the state.

* The marshy area west of The Palisades (the Hackensack Meadows, popularly called the Meadowlands) and the Great Swamp of Morris county are relics of glacial lakes of the last Ice Age.

* Farms cover about one-sixth of the state’s land area. Less than 1 percent of the state’s population is engaged in farming, but farm income per acre is among the highest in the country.

* New Jersey is the 47th biggest state, but the 9th most densely populated. New Jersey has the highest percent urban population in the U.S. with about 90% of the people living in an urban area.

* New Jersey is a world leader in blueberry and cranberry production.

* New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.

(Confused yet? Is it me, or do these facts seem to, um, contradict each other?)

* State Dinosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii – A duck-billed dinosaur (a plant-eater).  Modern paleontology, the science of studying dinosaur fossils, began in 1858 with the discovery of the first nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur in Haddonfield, New Jersey.  (Who knew paleontology started in New Jersey?)

* New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the diner capital of the world.

* North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world with seven major shopping malls in a 25 sq. mile radius.

* Atlantic City is where the street names came from for the game monopoly and the longest boardwalk in the world.

* New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

* The official state folk dance is the Square Dance.

Ah, New Jersey.  How I love thee.  Land of contradictions and wonders.  And the perfect place to set a book!

Hello, everyone!  Welcome to the HOLD ME Countdown. For the next couple of weeks I’ll be publishing some special posts to lead up to release day – 9/5/11. Let’s get the show started with a rundown of the cast of characters.

And away we go!

LUCAS VASCO – our hero

FBI Special Agent Lucas Vasco has been through quite a bit in his life, and he’s learned to expect the unexpected.  But he certainly didn’t think the past would bite him in the butt when he jumped into a car at an intersection and asked for help.

KATIE MC CABE – our heroine

Katie McCabe is still trying to come to terms with a bad breakup when Luc jumps into her car and sends her running for her life. After everything he’s done to her, she really shouldn’t find him so damned appealing.

FRANKIE SILVANO

Frankie Silvano is a hit man with a reputation for insanity and for never having been arrested. Now Katie has broken that perfect record and humiliated him in front of the police.  So, he has to make her pay.  No question.

DAVID ALLEN

True, David Allen is Luc’s FBI squad supervisor, but the two men have known each other for years. Nothing can ruin their friendship…right?

JUSTIN NEMES

A former FBI special agent, Justin Nemes left the Bureau in disgrace.  He’s spent a great deal of time during the intervening years blaming Luc for that fact.

MAUREEN MC CABE

Maureen McCabe is Katie’s mother.  And she just might find herself grateful for her training in karate.

LIZA ANDERSON

Beautiful, blonde, and built, Liza Anderson knows Luc well.  Really well.

MELANIE GRANT

Melanie is Katie’s foster sister with more secrets than Katie ever dreamed possible.

SPOT

Spot is either a large dog or a small bear. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to tell.

And there you are. The cast of characters. Oh, what wonders will await us over the next couple of weeks? Only time will tell…   😀

35 days to release day!