I’d
like to introduce you to Leigh Fleming. I’m honored to host Leigh’s first blog
post. Her story is timed right for our political cycle, Washington politics,
secrets and romance. I hope to have her back on Books, Chocolate and Wine
often!
I am so excited
to contribute to Books, Chocolate, and
Wine! It’s my first ever guest blog post. Blogging does not come naturally
to me, but story telling does. I recently read an article that claimed creative
people tend to have messy offices and cluttered desks. As I sit at my cluttered
desk in my messy windowless office, I wonder how it can be true. But, somehow
nearly every day I walk down to my basement office (which doubles as a
scrapbook room), fire up my desktop (I don’t write on a lap top), and escape to
another world.
Story
ideas come to me in different ways. My first attempt at writing was spawned by
my genealogy research in which I uncovered a bit of scandal in my family. I
haven’t completed that book, but it is definitely something I plan to get back
to soon. My first published book, Precious
Words, (2013) came to me in a dream. I can’t say for sure from where the
idea for my next book came, but likely from all the political news I hear each
morning as I sip my tea. Ideas for
scenes, characters, and settings can come from anywhere. So be warned: if you ever
meet me, be careful what you tell me.
My
short career has had its ups and downs. After self-publishing my first book, I
felt the need for some professional validation, so I spent four months in the
fall of 2014 querying agents for my second book, Whatever You Call Me. In January, 2015, I signed with a literary
agency convinced it would be just a matter of months before a traditional
publisher offered me a sweet deal. I received lots of glowing responses and
pretty words, but no deal. In the meantime, I continued writing and finished my
third book, completed the first draft of a fourth, and began a fifth. A year
and four months later, I still didn’t have a publishing deal and I’d lost faith
in my agent. Determined to get my stories to print, I once again embarked on my
own and am happy to announce Whatever You
Call Me will be released September 20, 2016. It’s currently available for
pre-sale on Amazon.
I
hope you enjoy the following back cover synopsis and excerpt:
Annie Cooper is fed up with Washington.
More importantly, she’s done with being Senator George Cooper’s daughter and
all the expectations that come with it.
She changes her name and tries to start fresh after quitting her job,
but the only position she can find is in the political world she despises.
Kip Porter is a two-term congressman
from a blue collar district along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay whose
ambition leads him astray from the core values he—and his constituents—hold
dear. He needs Senator Cooper’s backing to get his bill through the Senate and
plans to use Annie to do it.
What starts out as a simple game of
hidden identity soon becomes complicated. Annie wants to prove her worth on her
own terms, but the closer she grows to Kip, the more she needs to come clean.
With unexpected romance blossoming between them, will Kip keep his own secrets,
or reveal the truth in the name of love?
Buy Link: Available Sept 20, 2016 Amazon Pre-Order
Excerpt:
Annie
continued laughing, closing her eyes and turning her head side to side to avoid
a direct hit from the water. She reached out and wrapped her hands around the
hose in an effort to aim it at Kip’s face. A tug of war began, each trying to
gain control. At one point, Annie won the battle, jerking the hose from Kip’s
hands and turning to face him with her arm outstretched as if the hose had
become a saber.
“Stay
back, Porter, or you’ll get it.” She waved the hose like a fencer ready to do
battle.
“Put
it down.” With his hands up in surrender, Kip inched toward Annie. “Don’t do
anything you’ll regret.”
“I
rarely have regrets,” she replied, retreating with baby steps. Kip lunged
toward her and she pressed her thumb over the flow, letting a heavy spray soak
the full length of his sleeve.
“Now you’ve done it,” Kip said, joining Annie in raucous laughter while
snatching the hose from her hand. He pulled her against him and sprayed a
stream of water down the back of her dress, the shocking cold causing her to
press tight against him.
“Say uncle,” he laughed while holding the hose near her head.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said, grabbing toward the hose only to catch a handful
of air.
“Try me.” Kip brought the hose closer to her head, the water streaming down his
already-soaked arm.
Annie shrieked in between attempts to reach the hose, “Okay…I give…uncle…Just
don’t spray my hair.”
Kip dropped the hose to his side, letting the water flow
away from them while keeping Annie firmly planted against his chest. Their
laughter faded and their eyes locked, and Kip dropped the hose on the ground,
sliding his now free hand into the thick curls at the base of Annie’s
neck.
About
the Author
After several
years of saying she would write a book someday, Leigh Fleming finally fulfilled
her ultimate bucket list item by writing and self-publishing a novel. In 2013,
she completed her first work, Precious
Words, a suspenseful romance set in the glittering world of men’s
professional tennis, taking the reader on a whirlwind trip full of love and
danger.
Leigh
continues to hone her craft and learn what it takes to create a page-turning
novel. Whatever You Call Me is the
second novel in a five-book series, set to release September 20, 2016. Whatever You Say will be released
spring, 2017. She is also working on a womens fiction and historical novel.
Leigh is a
member of Romance Writers of America and Washington Romance Writers. She lives
with her husband, Patrick, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and is mom to adult
children, Tom and Liza, and her deaf French Bulldog Napoleon.
Leigh's Contact Information
Email: leigh@leighfleming.com
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/lhfauthor
Good for you, Leigh! I'm following your path and submitting my work now. It's a tough business and I'm glad you chose to put your work out there no matter what.
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