Sometimes it pays to be unlucky...
Marissa
Carmichael wasn’t usually a klutz, but she was having a bad day, in a hurry,
and lost her balance. It was too late to catch herself. Arms flailing, her forehead
connected with the side of the display. She crumbled down beside it like a limp
noodle one minute, and was in the arms of a handsome stranger the next.
Trey
Cleary didn’t think his day could get any worse, but after picking up his side
view mirror from the ground, he was wrong. On a mission to do something about
it, he located the flower shop that matched the name on the back of the van
that mangled his BMW and went inside to inform the owner of the issue, only he
was sidetracked by a beautiful woman who burst into the room like an out of
control whirling dervish. For such a petite looking person she made a huge
entrance, and then took one mother of a wipeout. After going to the woman’s
aid, Trey realized there was something alluring about her that made him want to
be her own personal hero.
For Marissa and Trey,
this just might be the one time it pays to be unlucky.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Please tell us a little about yourself
I’m London Saint James, and I have a
lot of characters rattling around in my
head so I write about them. Sometimes I write sweet romance and
sometimes I write naughty romance novels. I’m in love with my hot
man, my fluffy fat cat, anything chocolate, and Coca-Cola.
How did you come up with the idea for
your book?
I saw a submission call with Roane
Publishing for a sweet romance anthology
called, For the Love of Murphy, were the theme for the stories
were to be based around bad luck (Murphy’s Law) and I knew I had to
write something becuase I loved that concept. The idea for my story,
The Shamrock Incident just followed along well with what Roane
was looking for. So the idea sparked from that submission call.
When did the characters first pop into
your head?
I’m pretty sure Marissa Carmichael
had been lingering around in my thoughts for a while, and when I
decided to go for the Murphy’s Law theme, she was kicking and ready
to go
Without giving away any spoilers, was
the story always straight forward for you to write, or did it pop up
any surprises along the way?
The first part of the story was pretty
straight forward. Marissa is having a horrible day, has a huge klutz
moment, and takes a tumble. There was a surprise along the way. My
original ending changed during the edits process, and I’m happy
with the way things turned out.
Where do you like to write?
I write using my trusty old laptop
while flopped in a comfortable chair, stretch out on my couch, or
even lounging across my bed.
Do you read a lot?
I really try to. I love to read, but I
don’t read as much as I use to. I find my own writing takes a lot
of time away from lesiure reading, although I sneak a few books in
here and there. *Smiles*
Who are some of your favourite authors?
This is a hard one because it is a very
long list. This is just a few. Megan Hart, Sherrilyn Kenyon,
Charlaine Harris, Gena Showalter, Sarah McCarty, Julia London. A
whole bunch of fellow authors from my publishers. I could go on and
on, and on.
And last but not least, have you any
words of wisdom for aspiring writers out there?
Write what you love. What you find
inspiring. Read as much as you can. Find someone wonderful to
bounce ideas off of. Grow a thick skin, and don’t let negativity
get you down. Keep yourself in your work, and keep on writing.
EXCERPT
Marissa slammed the
handset back onto the receiver and swiped her palms along the front
of her jeans, leaving a trail of green sparkle smeared down her
thighs, before she hurried to the propped open door to the shop.
“Hello?” A deep
male voice echoed. “Is anyone here?”
“I’ll be right
with you!” She slipped on one of the paper shamrock decorations. As
she righted herself, her left foot came down dead center on the tape.
“Son of a biscuit eater.” She kicked the shamrock free of her
path and, half bent over, started hopping, right knee crooked, foot
up, trying to grab the sticky, smooshed wad from the bottom of her
shoe.
Her long hair
swirled around her face and mouth. She reached for the tape with one
hand, swiped the rogue strands back with her other, freeing her
vision—doing what she imagined looked like some odd version of a
modern interpretive dance—then lost her balance just as she hopped,
stumbled, tumbled through the open door and into the store.
Arms flailing, her
forehead connected with the side of the display case that was
chock-full of silk flowers. She crumpled down beside it like a limp
noodle.
She thought someone
said something, except she couldn’t be sure. She tried to
concentrate.
The phone was
ringing.
Just my luck.
The sound stopped.
Started. Stopped…
Maybe, since she was
seeing stars and her head was pounding to beat the band, the
intermittent trill came from deep inside her skull.
AUTHOR STALKING
This Star Will Not Go Out by Esther Earl 
