Ripe for Scandal
Page 25
At that point, the missing unicorn captured my imagination.
The worldwide unicorn sightings proved that if people take a moment to look hard, with an innocent heart, they can see unicorns and angels and a million miracles all around them. As we grow up, we forget how to look. We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily living, and unicorns become myths. But for a small time, in New York City, a bunch of “Missing Unicorn” posters made people stop, smile, and see miracles.
The missing unicorn and his message wormed its way right into my story and substantially changed the way I wrote the character of Hettie Marshall, LAST CHANCE’s Queen Bee. Sarah Murray, my heroine, tells Hettie to look at Golfing for God through the eyes of a child. When Hettie heeds this advice, she realizes that she’s lost something important in her life. Her sudden desire to recapture a simple faith becomes a powerful agent of change for her and, ultimately, for LAST CHANCE itself. And of course, little Haley Rhodes helps to seal the deal. Haley is a master at seeing what the adult world misses altogether.
I hope you keep your ability to wonder at the world around you—to see it like a child does. You might find a missing unicorn—or maybe a Sorrowful Angel.
From the desk of Dee Davis
Dear Reader,
Settings are a critical part of every book. They help establish the tone, give insight into characters, and act as the backdrop for the narrative that drives the story forward. Who can forget the first line of Rebecca—“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” The brooding house in the middle of the English moors sets us up from the very beginning for the psychological drama that is the center of the book.
When I first conceptualize a novel, I often start with the settings. Where exactly will my characters feel most at home? What places evoke the rhythm and pacing of the book? Because my books tend to involve a lot of adventure, the settings often change with the flow of the story. And when it came time to find the settings for DEEP DISCLOSURE, I knew without a doubt that Alexis would be living in New Orleans.
One of my favorite cities, I love the quirky eccentricities of the Big Easy, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with readers, including the Garden District and the French Quarter. Of course, Alexis and Tucker don’t stay in New Orleans long, and it isn’t surprising that they wind up in Colorado.
We moved a lot when I was a kid, and one of the few stable things in my life was spending summers in Creede. But because I’ve used Creede already in so many books, I decided this time to use the neighboring town of South Fork as the place where George has his summer retreat. And Walsenburg—one of the places we often stopped for groceries on the way to Creede—as the scene of Alexis’s family’s disaster.
I confess that Redlands, Tucker and Drake’s home, is a place I’ve never actually visited. But a dear friend lived there for several years and tells such wonderful stories about it that it seemed the perfect place for my boys to have grown up and developed their love of baseball.
And of course Sunderland College, while fictional, is indeed based on a real place: Hendrix College, my alma mater. I spent a wonderful four years there, and I hope you enjoy your time at Sunderland with A-Tac as much!
For insight into both Alexis and Tucker, here are some songs I listened to while writing DEEP DISCLOSURE:
The Kill, by Thirty Seconds to Mars
Breathe (2 am), by Anna Nalick
Need You Now, by Lady Antebellum
And as always, check out deedavis.com for more inside info about my writing and my books.
Happy Reading
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
A Preview of Ripe for Seduction
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
The Dish
Praise for Ripe for Pleasure
Copyright
Praise for
Ripe for Pleasure
“Carr is a born storyteller. She enriches her sensual tale with colorful details, suspense, a treasure hunt, and charming, delightful characters… The fast pace and added humor will have readers eagerly awaiting the next novel in the League of Second Sons series.”
—RT Book Reviews
“With sensual and witty characters, sexy love scenes, a hint of mystery, and evil-doers, Ripe for Pleasure is simply intoxicating… An exciting start to a wonderful series. I will be eagerly looking forward to the next one.”
—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“Charming… filled with adventure, action, a treasure hunt, and romance, Ripe for Pleasure is the perfect summer romance book… One of my favorites! A quick read that will have you turning the pages. I cannot wait to read what comes next in the series.”
—Renees-Reads.blogspot.com
“Fun and steamy… if you’re in the mood to leave the reality of life for a while, you just might want to pick up this book and lose yourself within its pages. I found it a delightful read.”
—SeducedbyaBook.com
“Delightful… Tense throughout yet fully ‘ripe’ with humor. Sub-genre fans will enjoy this charming late-eighteenth-century tale.”
—GenreGoRoundReviews.blogspot.com
“This book is worth every cent if you are looking for… lots of steamy sex. Seriously, this is one amazing debut and the League of Second Sons… promises to provide enough intrigue to keep this series going for a long time… I can’t wait to get my hands on [the next book].”
—Book Hounds (Maryinhb.blogspot.com)
“Enticingly intoxicating… Jealousy, scandal, gossip, and passion is what this book delivers. A must-read for all fans of Isobel Carr. I’m so looking forward to the next book.”
—HistoricalRomanceBooksCa.blogspot.com
“A solid historical read with just enough variety in the characters to keep it fresh. I can’t wait to read the second book.”
—TheBookBinge.com
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Isobel Carr
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publishe
r.
Forever
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First eBook Edition: September 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4555-0535-7