Dear Readers: Today, I am thrilled to introduce M.J.Schiller, author of TRAPPED UNDER ICE. I had the pleasure of reading her book and it was a real page turner. It kept me up late at night and if any of you know me personally, you know I love my sleep!
I asked Mary to send me a bio and photo of herself so that you might get to know this talented writer better. She kindly obliged.
I was born in the heart of Tornado Alley, and I’ve been a bit mixed up ever since. Not really, but I’ve always wanted to use that line. The medical community has established no solid connection between the place of my birth and my off-beat personality.
I grew up in St. Louis and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in English education. I left the workforce, however, when my kids were born. Unbelievably I now have an eighteen year old and sixteen-year-old triplets! Yes, I write to escape teenagerdom. Although I love them dearly. I also escape via rock concerts and karaoke. My first book, TAKEN BY STORM, was published by Crimson Romance last fall, and my next book, the second in the ROCKING ROMANCE COLLECTION, titled ABANDON ALL HOPE will be coming soon!
Wow, four teenagers in the household. I’m impressed that you have time to write. I look forward to reading your third book, ABANDON ALL HOPE!
But right now, I want to concentrate on TRAPPED UNDER ICE. Before I read the blurb on the back cover, I thought the novel might be an outdoor adventure. I was surprised to discover that it’s about a rock star in a band called Trapped Under Ice. His name is Chad Evans and … Okay, I’ll just post the blurb about the book because Mary can say it so much better than I can.
Rock star Chad Evans’s tortured past hides just beneath the surface. Even fans screaming out his name in ecstasy can’t drown out the screams of his childhood. He can usually keep it under control, but not always. Tonight the alcohol doesn’t seem to soothe.
Part of the crowd, Beth Donovan smiles, really enjoying herself for a change. But her smile isn’t usually this bright. It is the kind of smile that masks sorrow. Three years just isn’t long enough to get over losing Paul.
When a vicious attack behind stage brings this unlikely pair together, something changes inside of them both. But can a jet-setting superstar and a Midwestern lunch lady ever manage a real relationship? And even if they can, will the person sending Chad death threats take it all away? Or is it their fate to remain forever trapped under ice?
Boy, such a great blurb … one of the reasons I picked this book to read.
They say that some people judge a book by its cover (please excuse the double hit–a cliché and a pun both at the same time), and others go by the blurb on the back, but I’m certain most of us like to flip through and read excerpts here and there to get a feel for the story and also for the author’s writing voice.
Let’s see what Mary sent as a teaser for her book. She tells me this scene is right after the first kiss. What I want to know is why didn’t she send me the kiss scene so I could post it for you? I guess that’s why it’s called a teaser!
“Beth, I…” He could find no words to speak to her. This was all so different for him. He had never felt a kiss like the one he had shared with her—one that pulled from the inside out, originating in his core, not igniting on the surface and finding its way down. He pulled her close again and she laid her head on his chest. He leaned down to rest his cheek on the top of her head, and clasped it to his chest with one large hand. He wanted this woman in a way he wanted no other woman. But, for the first time in a long time, he was at a loss as to how to achieve what he needed.
As he tried to sort through the jumble of emotions interwoven in his head, he slowly became aware that the shoulders of the woman he was holding had begun to shake and tears were dampening his t-shirt.
“Beth. Beth. What did I do?” he queried, trying to lift her face. That voice in his head bounced out of the shadows, you’ll wind up hurting her in the end, and then danced off to some other deep recess of his mind.
“You didn’t do anything,” her muffled voice came from his chest, where she was trying to bury her face in her hands. “Dammit,” she blurted out, pounding him suddenly in the chest. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
“Wrong with you? There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“Oh, so you often have women who break down sobbing when you kiss them?” she cried bitterly.
“No.” He had to laugh. “This is a first.”
She raised her head from his chest, the tears still shining on her cheeks, and began to laugh, too.
“Oh, there you two are.” Roger crossed the threshold onto the deck. Beth turned away from him, and although Chad’s arms were around her, the bassist could tell he’d interrupted some sort of conversation. “I just thought you’d want to know, the band’s playing one of our songs.”
Chad and Beth started laughing. The idea of an orchestra playing Trapped Under Ice was absurd, and pretty soon the three of them were in hysterics.
Roger was glad to see her laugh. If she was crying, like he thought she was when he’d come out on deck, she needed the pick-me-up. She was a nice girl, and he really wished she weren’t getting involved with Chad. Chad was his best friend, but he was also an emotional basket case, and that wasn’t good for anyone.
Sounds great, right? So, reader, now that you know a bit about M.J. Schiller and her book TRAPPED UNDER ICE, allow me to recommend this book to you.
TRAPPED UNDER ICE available at Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords, Kobo, the I-bookstore, Diesel, and other ebook retailers.
You can find MJ Schiller at www.mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com, MJ on FB, twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
I want to thank Mary for taking time out of her hectic schedule to send me this information!
Write on, Carol 