Today My Guest is Chicki Brown

Author of "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing"

Chapter One

Michael recognized Krista Maxwell right away when she strutted into Lyrics with her entourage. Her unmistakable flowing ebony tresses, full lips and forty-four-inch legs had catapulted her to worldwide supermodel status. The twenty-six-year-old dark, exotic beauty often likened to Angelina Jolie, also had a reputation for being extremely wild.

Her personal assistant had arranged with Troy, his manager, to hold a party at the club. Michael hadn’t met her in person yet. Now Troy was on vacation, and he and Rita, the hostess, had to handle greeting and seating guests in the filled to capacity club. They didn’t have a free moment to breathe.

Michael went through his usual charming host routine as they greeted the supermodel’s arriving party, and for the next two hours, he and Rita catered to the group’s every need. A successful celebrity event could put a nightclub on the map and add thousands of dollars to its monthly income statement. The chef received kudos for his excellent presentation of the menu selections. In the short span of time, the famous fashionista’s party had devoured three bottles of Cristal, two fifths of Absolut, a couple of bottles of Courvoisier, miscellaneous mixed drinks and wine. The bar tab ran well over two thousand dollars in addition to the cost of their meals.

Michael’s busyness came to a screeching halt when Krista sashayed onto the dance floor alone. Krista had consumed a little too much Cristal and, when she realized Michael was watching her, she performed what he could only compare to a pole dance minus the stainless steel. In a backless mini-dress that didn’t amount to much more than a handkerchief, she licked her lips and ran her hands through her tousled hair as her breasts rose and fell in rhythm to the thumping bass. He actually stopped breathing; hypnotized by the way she writhed and twisted with her gaze locked to his. Michael remained transfixed, frozen in place until the music ended. He rubbed the back of his neck and self-consciously wiped away the sweat that drenched his neck. The instant he got his feet to move, he rushed back to his office hoping none of his staff or guests noticed how aroused he’d become.

In the cool, quiet privacy, he shut the door, fell back against it and tried to close out the images swirling in his mind. The deep breath he took did little to slow his thundering heartbeat. Krista’s little performance was the most erotic thing he’d seen since the exotic dancer Troy had hired to perform at his bachelor party. Even though his best friend knew better than anyone that Michael’s new beliefs conflicted with the traditional bachelor party festivities, as the best man, Troy had arranged the kind of party he himself wanted.

An involuntary smile eased onto his face before his thoughts could develop into a full-blown lewd fantasy, a sick feeling of guilt forced them down.

“What’s wrong with you? That girl just had too much to drink. She wasn’t coming on to you. Even if she were, it wouldn’t make any difference. You’re a married man.

Eventually, Michael raised himself off the door, walked over to his desk and shuffled through a stack of bills. His eyes focused on the papers, yet his mind’s eye could still see Krista’s perfectly proportioned body undulating to the music. Her beautiful face with those famous glossy lips beckoned him. Like someone trying to dislodge sleep after a long nap, he scrubbed his face this time speaking to himself aloud. “Get a grip. You’ve got work to do.”

***

The Maxwell entourage partied hard until right before closing when Rita buzzed him on the interoffice phone and said that Krista’s personal assistant wanted to speak with him.

“Okay, send her back.” He glanced down, checked himself then reopened the office door.

A few seconds later, a tiny, plain woman appeared in the doorway.

“Mr. Reese?” She peered through stylish eyeglasses that seemed to contradict her drab appearance. “Ms. Maxwell would like to personally thank you for the superb service we received tonight.”

His first thought was the woman seemed out of place among her glitzy companions then he thought, Krista probably told her which glasses to buy. Michael chuckled within himself at the thought before he swallowed hard and steeled himself to face the woman the media often referred to as the world’s most beautiful woman. “After you.” He extended his hand toward the door.

When they reached the VIP section of the club, Krista was perched on the edge of one of the tables with her arms and legs crossed as if she were about to hold court. Her flawless face brightened as he approached, and she stood to meet him eye-to-eye in her stilettos.

“Mr. Reese, I wanted to personally thank you for the excellent service you and your staff gave us tonight,” the statuesque beauty gushed, moving into his personal space. The fragrance she wore had a commanding sensuality: sexy, grand yet feminine with a hint of mystery. The scent of a self-assured woman. “Is it all right if I call you Michael?”

He smiled, and his eyes roamed over Krista’s figure. “If you’re satisfied with everything, you can call me whatever you like, Ms. Maxwell.”

She uttered a seductive giggle then squeezed his forearm with a hungry look in her dark eyes that said she wanted to devour him. “And you have to call me Krista. This is a beautiful club, Michael. You can be sure we’ll be back.”

Krista slipped a folded piece of paper into his palm, closed his fingers around it and held his hand for a second.

Probably a spectacular tip for the staff, Michael thought before Krista turned, waved to her associates to follow her and sauntered away with an enticing sway of her hips that commanded his attention until she’d gone out the front door.

A check with a couple of zeros was what he expected to see when he returned to the office and unfolded the paper in his hand. Instead, he found a note with her phone number and a quickly scribbled message. I’ll be here on the Island for a month. I want to see you. Krista. His hand closed around the paper again only this time he squeezed it until it formed a tight, crumpled ball in his palm. Right before he tossed it into the wastebasket, a strange twitch of longing swept through his body. It wasn’t so much a sexual longing as it was a masculine desire for possession. Possession of the woman every red-blooded American male desired. As if on its own accord, his hand drew back, and he stared at the note again before he tucked it in the back of his desk calendar.

Author website

Order your copy

Amazon link: http://amzn.to/rZUfHX

Nook link: http://bit.ly/sOhiiz 

Kobo link: http://bit.ly/Ma9Yex

Connect with Chicki Brown

Blog: http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@Chicki663
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chicki.brown

Featuring Author Poppy Smith

WHY CAN’T HE BE MORE LIKE ME?

Question l:  You’ve written the book Why Can’t He Be More Like Me? Tell us a little bit about the book and why you decided to write it.

Marriage is difficult for many people and our culture’s message is if you’re unhappy for some reason, move on. Unfortunately, many Christian couples divorce because they don’t get along but God wants to use our differences to draw us into a deeper relationship with Him.  This is what happened to me.  I wanted to run away because I felt I’d made a terrible mistake marrying someone who was so different from me. But God had another message for me—Let me change your heart and your attitudes and thinking. Let me make you someone you’d never be without letting me work in your life.

Question 2: Because husbands and wives grow up in different homes, problems often arise when they come together to create their own home. Do you have any suggestions to help?

 When you’re baffled or irritated by how your spouse responds or behaves, it is very helpful to ask: “How did your family do this? How did they handle conflict? How did they show, or not show, emotions? Communicate? What did your family enjoy doing together? How did they handle money? Divide the work load?” The more you learn about each other’s backgrounds and parental role models, the more you will understand him, and yourself. Gaining these insights helps you to understand instead of find fault!

Question 3: Your book offers practical advice for finding common ground in nine areas. What is the overall secret you wish women understood?

We women need to understand we didn’t marry our clones. Nor did we marry our girlfriend. We married a man—they are not women in disguise.  Yes, they need to change and grow, but so do we. So be willing to forgive, look for his good points, and pray for a new and powerful love for your spouse. 

Poppy Smith has a passion to help women grow spiritually and personally and to know the love and power of Christ in life’s ups and downs.  A former teaching leader with Bible Study Fellowship, Poppy has a Masters in Spiritual Formation and ministers extensively as a retreat and conference speaker both in the US and around the world. 

For more information about Poppy’s books and ministry, please visit her website at: www.poppysmith.com

 

To enter a drawing for a free copy of Poppy’s book, let her know why you’d like to read it by commenting on her Facebook page: Poppy Smith Author/Speaker 

Featuring Author Julie Cosgrove

Welcome Julie to the Spotlight

 About the Author

At thirteen, Julie dedicated her life to Christ.  As a religion major at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, she received the American Bible Society’s Religion Major of the Year Award. She then studied for three semesters in seminary. She is a member of Advanced Writers & Speakers Association, American Christian Fiction Writers, North Texas Christian Writers, American Christian Fiction Writers, DiAnn Mill’s Ripplers Group, The Christians Writers Group, and Christian Writers Fellowship International. A freelance writer and speaker, Julie has published hundreds of web content and articles with secular and Christian themes, led retreats, workshops, and Bible studies, and writes regularly for several Christian websites and publications. In the past three years alone, she has been published in Devozine and Alive Now Magazines published by the Upper Room, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness to be released October 2011, Good News Daily, The Secret Place, Light from the Word, and has been commissioned to write a month long commentary on Philippians and Colossians for The Journey.

How did you become a Christian writer? When my husband was alive, we moved a lot for his job - so much that I soon became unemployable. We relocated to seven cities during the last ten years of his life. In one week, three people in three states suggested I try writing for a living. I figured that was a God thing because He always has to tell me more than once. I took a quick online freelance course, joined a writers' group, and began to submit articles. Within a few weeks I had contracts. So, I promised God I would tithe my writing day each morning to Him first. He has honored that. I write regularly for two Christian women's websites and have been published in the past three years in two Upper Room magazines, Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Secret Place, Good News Daily and The Journey, amongst others. I am also eking out a living as a freelance writer, author and public speaker even though I am now widowed.

What is your passion? Speaking to Christian women - leading workshops and retreats. All four of my non-fiction books came out of retreats I led. They are -

P.R.A.Y.I.N.G:Bringing Power and Purpose to Your Prayers in which I show how each letter is a form of prayer.

What Can She Tell Us?- A Bible study on the unnamed women in the New Testament.

Song Notes- a collection of devotionals on the Psalms.

Between the Window and the Door, a study which looks at why God places us in the in-between times through both life experiences and Biblical examples.

What is your fiction novel called? Focused. It was released earlier this year.

What is it about? Jen is in middle age maliase. Her parents have passed, her son has flown nest, and her husband, Jeff, is often absent, even when he is in his beloved recliner. Will her new trifocals help her focus on her faith and her fidelity once her newly divorced high school beau resurfaces in her life?

What do you hope this book accomplishes? I read a statistic that claimed if a marriage survives the first seven years, 80% of divorces will occur within a year after the death of a parent or the children leaving home. I wanted to address this, but in a fiction format so people could follow both Jeff and Christina's story. I hope readers will begin to see why a marriage gone stale is worth fighting for. Even if you have a good marriage or are not currently married, it will make you smile, and perhaps cry a bit. It is a heart warming, and at times an honest and humorous, look at real people in real life. So far, the women, and a few men, who have read it says it is a very good, realistic read without being preachy. 

Any tips for upcoming authors? No pun intended, but stay focused on what God is calling you to write. Also, be patient in His timing and definition of what will be your success. 

Continue to grow in your craft by graciously accepting positive critiques from authors who have been published as well as attending conferences, workshops, and becoming an active member in mentoring groups either online or over someone's dining room table. 

If you feel this is your passion and God's calling, do not give up. In the course of writing over the past four years, I lost my husband and lost the use of my right hand. Praise God, through surgery, I can now type with three fingers on that hand again, though often my letters get jumbled up because I cannot feel the keys. 

How can readers contact you? Go to my website www.juliebcosgrove.com. There is a contact tab to click on which takes you to a form you can fill in. Also, they can make comments on my blog - Where Did You Find God Today? and follow me on either Twiter@JulieBCosgrove or through Goodreads.

Book Giveaway

I will offer a giveaway, today. The winner will receive in the mail a softcover copy of Focused free of charge AND a coupon for 15% off plus free shipping and handling on their choice of one of my nonfiction books if ordered through me. To be eligible, you must leave a comment with your email address on this blog, or on mine over the next three days. The winner will be chosen at random.