TITILLATING TUESDAY

Madison needs a short hiatus, to rest and to write. So, the first chapter of my next book will be posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. Here's a little teaser to tide you over. 

A CLOUD OF HAWTHORNE

At Edith Hornbrook’s urging, Henley Hornbrook III presents the wealthy local beauty, Proberta Gerber, with a brilliant five caret yellow diamond ring.

Unremarkably handsome, and seemingly dull, inexperienced Henley sets out to learn the ways of women before his impending marriage. He discovers Rosetta, the exotic gypsy who lives in the forest near the Hornbrook estate, whose lessons in lust soon blossom into a torrid romance. So, when Henley’s cousin, the dashing Wesley Arbuckle, arrives for a visit, he is greeted by Proberta with more than an open heart. 

However, Henley’s growing suspicion of his mother’s meddling in his romantic affairs soon becomes clear, and with the help of Rosetta, and some clever manipulation, the cards held in the hand of destiny are revealed. 

Meanwhile, please do check back for daily blog blurbs, contests, and mini musings to brighten your days. Also, please sign up with your email address so I can add you to my mailing list.

Until then, The Happiest of the Holiday Season to you and yours. 

Warmly, ML XO

TILLATING TUESDAY - SALON ANTICS

CHAPTER 19 - SECOND CHANCES

Frances Del Monte, Vivian Furlish, and Amy Richardson sat in three side by side chairs  at Snippets Salon while Liam and Genevieve applied the appropriate mix of color to each of their heads of hair. Magazines lay open on their laps, but they were too busy talking among themselves to be bothered with catching up on the latest Hollywood gossip. With all the goings on, there was enough scandal of their own to keep them gabbing for a few weeks at the very least. 

Wearing a simple white blouse, thigh-high black leather boots with her signature mini-mini skirt, kohl black eyes and flaming red lips, Genevieve had the appearance of goth vamp meets school girl, which is likely the look she was after. Her newly cut and bleached hair was teased into a beehive up-do. Without a doubt she turned heads, and not because her look was outlandish, but because she was drop dead gorgeous.

SALON ANTICS - CHAPTER 18

WRAP UP, LOCK UP

It was mid afternoon on a Tuesday and although on crutches, Liam Irish had been released from the hospital the day before and was now with the others waiting for Officer Billy and his partner, Fred, to arrive at the club. The police cruiser pulled into the back alley out of direct view of traffic, as directed by Della the day before. With the trashing, and then the shooting, they didn’t want to frighten off customers any more than they had already. Della met the two officers at the side door. 

“Hi. You must be Savannah’s brother, Billy,” Della said, looking directly at the handsome young man who was the spitting image of his sister. Then Della looked over at the other, older gentleman.

“This here’s my partner in crime, Fred,” offered Billy. “Fred, this is...”

“Della. It’s Della,” she said, almost choking out the words as she melted under Fred’s gaze. He wouldn’t take his eyes off of her until, finally, she turned away.

“Uh, c’mon over, fellas. I’ll introduce you to the others.”

TITILLATING TUESDAY

SALON ANTICS


CHAPTER 17 - WHERE SILENCE ENDS

Genevieve, Della, Miguel, and Savannah Porsche sat huddled close together in the waiting room of Cedars Medical Center, waiting for blood work and x-ray results to come back from the lab.  The emergency physician had reassured them that everything would be alright, but there were concerns as to whether the bullet had torn into ligaments in his femur, which would require orthopedic surgery then plastic surgery. They were also concerned the bullet had nipped an artery when passing through his leg. There had been a lot of blood. 

It had already been a long night. They had been awake, on and off, for almost seventy two hours. Miguel snored softly, his head leaning against the seat back of a hospital waiting room chair. Savannah stood and began pacing across the shiny, freshly mopped floor. 

“Boy, could I use a coffee,” she said, glancing around for a beverage machine.

“Me too,” seconded Della drowsily.

“Let’s go find the cafeteria, Savannah. I wouldn’t mind a hit of caffeine either,” Genevieve suggested, ready for a breather.

“I’ll stay and sit with sleeping beauty in case the doc shows up with some news,” Della said, nodding toward Miguel. “Would you grab one for me too?”

Genevieve stood up and the two of them walked toward the elevators. When they got to the cafeteria on the sub-basement level, they each filled a Styrofoam cup with fresh steaming coffee and sat down.

TITILLATING TUESDAY

CHAPTER 16 - WHO CAME KNOCKING

Shock and disbelief swept over the lot of them as the extent of the damage began to sink in. It was two days after the horrible incident at The Lady. An old ghetto blaster had been set up to drown out the din of clean-up while Harry, the bartender, and a crew of bouncers set tables and chairs back in place and swept away shards of broken glass. The atmosphere was gloomy. No one had heard from or seen Dominic Diaz, which spoke volumes, but no one really wanted to see him. They all knew from their simmering anger and frustration that if he were to walk into the club right now he might not make it out alive.

As usual, Liam and Genevieve were sitting with Della at the back corner table when Miguel entered through the backstage door. What lights were still functioning cast a dim glow in the room. Although clean-up had begun, based on the dismal state of things, it was going to be a long, slow process despite the need to get things up and running swiftly. 

“Hey,” Miguel said as he approached the table. “Glad to see someone’s still hanging around. Anything I can do to help out?”

“Have a seat, Miguel,” Liam offered. He scooted over on the cushioned bench of the booth to make room. Miguel obliged. 

“Where’s the rest of them? Where’s Mitch and Fran?” 

“They went home,” Liam replied. “It has all been too much for them, especially Franny.” He looked at Della, then to G, who was slumped in the corner, head bent forward. “They just need a break. I told them we’d take care of things.”

“Oh for sure, man,” Miguel said, jumping in enthusiastically. “I’ll do what ever it takes. No problem.”

Normally Liam would have smiled at that, but he was too distracted trying to make sense of this blatant show of revenge by who was now their enemy. The game had changed. With unspoken thoughts, it was clear to them all that this meant war. Each one bore their own outrage, their own grief, each had a bone to pick with Dominic Diaz. And, if Dom was capable of this, what else might he do? The scope of their plan felt overwhelming now, and they all wondered if they were in over their heads. But they all knew they were in it together, and Dom must be stopped - somehow.