Given that I posted the partial for Now or Never yesterday, it would seem like I'm a giant ego-whore if I posted something else today.

I mean, I am, but at least I'm aware of it and considering that I'm going to post my Chica Lit offering on Thursday, it could easily be considered overkill, y'know?

Something did occur to me about the Chica Lit post, though. I wonder why it didn't even occur to me to post something from SO SHE DANCES (AKA, the Carmen story)? Is it because I'm planning on redoing it anyway? Or is it something more? Is it still a little too raw for me to look at, given the circumstances surrounding the book?

It was funny—my sister read the entirety of that manuscript while she was visiting just before Christmas. She also read what I have of Between Here and Gone. She loved both. I know what you're thinking—she's my sister, of course she's going to love what I write.

Yeah, think again, Kemo.

My sister, and my husband too, for that matter, are two of the most critical, discriminating readers I've ever met in my life. For the longest time, I was petrified to allow either of them to look at any of my work for fear of what they'd say. Not that they'd be deliberately cruel, but knowing that this was something I wanted to do, not just because I loved it, but as a profession—and also knowing my high standards, that I'd hate for anything subpar to be floating around with my name on it, they wouldn't hold back, either, if they thought I needed to hear it.

I had to get criticism from perfect strangers—feel more well-versed and secure in my voice and style— before I could gird my loins enough to let those two near my work.

So yeah, when my sister says she loves it—when my husband says that he sees my work become deeper and closer to the L-word—I preen like a damned peacock showing off for the cute peahen in the yard.

Anyhow, given that my sister loved SO SHE DANCES as much as she did, it's kind of funny that it didn't even occur to me.

Going back to Chica Lit, today's contributor is New York Times Bestselling author, Alisa Valdes Rodriguez (The Dirty Girls Social Club) with the first chapter of a Young Adult novel, The Bug Girl.

Go, check it out.

I'll be here.

Now or Never

Chapters 4-6 in the partial.


Four


Why do I always get the crazies?

Didn't matter if they were clients or potential dates or former champion skaters turned announcers, not that she encountered a lot of options two and three, but regardless, she got the crazies. Was it her perfume or was her karma simply that bad?

"You're crazy." She turned her back on the tall, blond specter from her former life and started towards her office. Maybe if she was really lucky, she had a bottle of wine or something hidden in there, some leftover client gift from the holidays, porque Dios sabía, she seriously needed a drink. Maybe she'd just take the rest of the day off and go cuddle with a bottle. It was Friday, after all, and despite her intercom declarations, she had no appointments the rest of the day and damn, but she hated admitting how thrown she was by Christian's sudden appearance. It'd been so much easier to shove the memories of that time of her life back into a dark, hidden corner of her mind when all she was dealing with was the pushy, anonymous voice of a booking agent at the other end of a long distance phone line.

"Listen, Nara, I'm sorry—that didn't come out right."

His voice sounded close, indicating that he was following. Waving her hand and hoping he caught half a clue, she said, "No, no… really, I get it. But you must seriously be out of your head if you think that if you con me out for an icy little spin down memory lane it'll get me to soften up and give you this stupid interview. Why are you so hot for this anyway? It's not as if anyone in skating gives a two-toned raving shit about me anymore." All of a sudden she found herself grabbed by the arm and spun around, staring up into a pair of furious blue eyes.

"I told you—this isn't about the interview." Dark blond eyebrows drew together creating a deep line between them Stupidly, she stared at the furrow, following it down to the narrow bridge of his nose where a small scar bisected a pale smattering of freckles.

"God, but when you get an idea in your head you're beyond stubborn," he muttered shaking her slightly by the arm he still held. Which snapped her right out of the stupid reverie—at least enough to consider her options. She could play it cool and collected. Or she could deck him. A more than appropriate response to the uninvited invasion of her personal space and as a side benefit, could satisfy years of frustration. With her luck, however, someone was bound to walk in mid-roundhouse. Given that she didn't think the familia would approve of her decking anyone in the workplace, even if they were annoying, she opted for cool and collected, staring down at the hand wrapped around her bare arm, then slowly lifting her head to meet his gaze. To her surprise, he grinned, and although his hand didn't immediately drop away, his grip loosened to something far lighter. Odd how now she felt it more than when he'd been holding on tight.

"I'm liable to pull back a bloody stump if I'm not careful, aren't I?"

"Well at least no one can accuse you of being stupid, Christian." Almost against her will, she felt an answering grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "And I'll cop to the stubborn, or at the very least that my family would definitely agree with you on that point, but at the same time, explain to me how the idea I have in my head is the wrong one?"

Now, his hand dropped completely away from her arm as he shoved it in the pocket of his khakis. "It just is."

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Thank you to those of you who answered the poll. I think in the interests of keeping things manageable for Chica Lit, I am going to post the chapter from Between Here and Gone. But since the numbers were near equal, I'm going to go ahead and also post Now or Never. (See, hilleviw? You didn't have to choose after all. You get both!)

Basically, this was my try at a romance set within the world of competitive figure skating. Why figure skating? Well, because once upon a time, it was as large a part of my life as music. I skated competitively and had these extremely grandiose dreams of becoming the first champion bred in Florida.

Okay, so I dream big. And obviously, that didn't happen. But skating still holds a huge place in my heart. To the point where for years, I'd hear pieces of music and automatically begin choreographing routines in my head. Funny, too, how for someone who really hates drama and instability, I seem impossibly drawn to professions where there are ridiculous politics and drama and incredible instability.

Anyhow, for years I resisted writing a skating story—I didn't have the right one. I needed to come up with something that, for God's sake, didn't involve a hockey player because, you know, done to death, or a coach, because, kind of ethically, ergh. Finally, I came up with a story, wrote this up, and sent it out on a very limited run to see if there was a market/desire for it. Basically, there isn't. Seems like no matter how hard I try, I can't write a romance that the PTB would see as acceptable. So I've resigned myself to the fact that I don't write romance. And this partial, much as I love the story and the characters, is going to join the others under the bed waiting for "someday."

Anyhow, hope y'all enjoy. I certainly had a blast writing it.

Now or Never

One

"Hello, everyone. This is Rich Gavin coming to you, live, from Miami, Florida, alongside my broadcast partner, former Olympic champion, Christian Scherer. We're back to a very special night, the closing night of the annual ProAm Tour of Champions and for the pair we're about to see, their last performance, as they recently announced their retirement from skating after only three years on the pro tour—an announcement that shocked the skating community.

"Chris, I know you've never been a huge fan of this pair, but you have to think, this comes as something of a surprise, right?"

"Definitely, Rich. A pair this young—with de la Cruz only twenty-three and Sergievsky, twenty-nine—and so full of promise as well as driven. Even as professionals, they've continually pushed technical and artistic boundaries and have produced programs that are on par with anything the amateur skaters are performing. It's why I actually had a strong sense that at some point they'd feel the pull to reinstate. Maybe go for one more Olympic championship."

"They may still, Chris, seeing as they've actually referred to this break from the sport as more of a sabbatical as opposed to a formal retirement, but for now, we'll just have to content ourselves with this final performance. On the ice now—U.S., World, and Olympic champions, Nara de la Cruz, performing in her hometown, alongside partner and husband, Misha Sergievsky."

**

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(To Be Continued, next post...)