After a little while, I noticed the boat turn towards a secluded cove. I perked up then. I pretended to wake up and yawned. I did my best to look sexy. I made sure he was looking and dragged my long hair across my shoulders. Our eyes met. His were bleak as he looked at me. I didn’t understand the expression.  I smiled a wicked smile though. I could smell victory.

He anchored the boat and walked towards me. He hesitated for a minute, seemingly torn, and looked skyward. I held out my hands to him and he took the first steps that would change my life forever.

Resigned, he reached out to me and I tugged him to the deck. He didn’t resist me this time. Oddly hesitant, he hovered above me.  His eyes never left mine. They were that stormy shade of ocean that I wanted to drown in. He was trying to tell me something, but all I could see was infinity in those eyes. I wanted to follow him anywhere. He held my gaze,
challenging me to look away. I couldn’t drop my eyes. I was suddenly very aware of a power in him I only vaguely sensed before. I was startled and a little afraid then. But it was far too late for second thoughts. 
 
Sean was resting on his elbows above me, just barely touching me. I could feel the muscles in his chest brushing against my breasts. His thighs were pressing against my legs. He was very warm. I shivered against him. Every muscle in his body tensed. I was dissolving underneath him yet he still didn’t kiss me.  I wanted to touch him but I couldn’t move a muscle. He still searched my eyes as if he was trying to read my soul. My thoughts exploded like
fireworks.  Every memory, every thought I’d had about him raced through my head until I made a startling
discovery. Somewhere along the way, I’ve fallen in love with him. 

His mouth came down on mine in a kiss that stopped my heart. A current passed through my lips to my toes. I vibrated with it and tried to arch against him, but I was paralyzed. He relaxed against me and I melted into the deck. Every inch of me pulsed against him. My skin felt too tight and too hot,
raw and exposed.

Day One: 
- Handsome Batman in cheap costume totally eclipsed by fully-armored Batman
  -- Polyester Batman wilted and slunk off
- Grown men + stuffed animals = creepy
- Too much Spandex...just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
- Robin was a chick? Who  knew?
- Fat Superman makes me  sad
- Nearly-naked woman looks cold
- Cryo-frozen Han Solo is very cute
- My table’s in a good spot

Day Two:
- High-heeled boots look amazing, feel horrible. Removed at 1:00
- Mouth muscles aching by 4:00
- Out of touch with pop culture...no idea what some of these costumes are
- What the heck is NWO?
- Some men look good as Thor. Many do not
- Spandex is not a right
   -- Is that mean?
- Passing out postcards works great
- I want a black vinyl catsuit now

Day Three:
- Morph suits: hate them
- Why would you choose to be a person-sized banana?
- Sunday is family day. Little kids are cute
- Teenaged girls really do run in packs!
- Batman comes in lavender
- On the right man...mmm, no, on second thought, Spandex is still not flattering
- Need to pay more attention to the Spurs...didn’t recognize Tim Duncan
- Still want that catsuit!

Today I am so thankful for the wonderful people in my life. They just keep popping out of the woodwork! Diane Burton, a fellow author, is taking a chance on me. She's invited me to be a guest on her own Meet the Author blog. How cool
is that? I'm completely panicking since I can barely spell "blog!" This is my first interview and I hope to have a good time and connect with other authors and readers. Okay, time to take a deep breath--this is the beginning of my new life as a writer! Whewww...
 http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/2013/10/meet-laurie-olerich.html

THANK YOU, Diane!

As I sit here stuffing my face with Cheez-its because I don’t have time to cook dinner anymore, it occurs to me that this is it! This is what I’ve worked so hard for! I’m a published author! Yay me!  I’m riding a high that my mother warned me about and I thought needed to include a man...
But here’s the thing.  Even though my baby, Primani, is sitting on the proverbial bookshelves looking all pretty and shiny, the hard work’s just starting. My to-do list exploded into a bajillion pieces and my brain's about to implode. BUT, from my lurking and surfing escapades on blogs and forums, I’ve discovered something really, really important--I’m normal! This craziness and sleep deprivation is NORMAL for new authors. I gotta say I feel so much better
knowing it’s not just me! And now, back to work! There are scenes to edit, ads to place, and Facebook posts to "Like."

Escapism is a fine art in my mind. Not everyone wants to escape from their world, but those who do have a hunger for it that drives them to search out dusty little bookstores, obscure websites, and the wine aisle at the liquor store. I’ll admit it; I’m an escapism junkie. There’s no point in denying it. I’ve been known to troll through bookstores for hours just hoping to unearth a juicy little world hiding in the shelves. For me, finding a book that captivates me is a rare and precious treat. When I find one, I read it straight through and let the characters linger in my mind long after the book’s back on my shelf.

I tossed around the idea of writing my own stories in the early 1990s. Angela, my wonderful friend, bought me a very nice pen set to get me started. My ex-husband, Scott, offered me time on our ancient computer. This particular story involved a woman killing her husband. The irony wasn’t lost on Scott. He was, and still is, a pretty intelligent man.  I wrote 100 pages. The computer ate it. Life got in the way and I didn’t get back to writing for 10 years. After my son was in school, I got a wild hair and felt an overwhelming urge to escape into my own head again. This story dealt with time travel and romance. It was going to be awesome. I finished 50 pages. The computer ate it. Life got in the way.

Are you seeing the trend here? So I went back to college to do something practical. After all, a girl’s gotta eat, right? You can’t buy wine if you don’t work. In 2008, I ended one career in the military and started on another. A milestone, sure, but none of this made me happy. None of this satisfied my need to escape. The years yawned ahead of me. My life was boring. I wanted more.

In the fall of 2011, I had foot surgery and was stuck on the couch for weeks. Bored out of my mind, I re-read my favorite books until it hit me. I could do this! I could write books. How hard could it be? And so it began...my journey to remake my life, to create a new destiny for myself, to escape the boredom.

As of today, I’ve written three books that I still get lost in. When I’m not writing every night, I miss my characters. I dream about them. I wake up with dialogue and plot ideas and rush to jot them down before the dreams fade. Am I nuts? Nah, I think not. Obsessed? Um, possibly...But I ask you this. Don’t you want the writer to be that passionate about the world they’re creating? I mean, really. I think it’s the key to everything.

Passion. It’s what drives humans to do what we do. Without it, the story of life is boring.