I’m going to be doing a contest for the release of this book…kind of a big one, especially for an ebook. Even if you’ve already bought it, you might wanna think about buying it again-buying it gets you multiple entries, and this is a nice prize… The contest will be open across the globe and it won’t matter to me if you buy it through Samhain’s store, Amazon, the Nook store, Sony…as long as it’s a legit etailer and you follow the contest rules. And did I mention…it’s a nice prize.

No Longer Mine has been revised-a lot. Re-edited. A lot. I think it’s a better, cleaner read this time around. And pretty, pretty new cover… *G*

And to help count down the days, I’ll be posting some excerpts between now and release day, 4/27/10

He didn’t have to wonder if he had the right place, because he recognized the gleaming black Ford Explorer parked in the semi-circle drive.

The front of the house seemed to consist of little more than windows. And damn, what a view. It was practically perched on the face of the hillside, overlooking a deep valley that was bisected by a wide, lazy creek. Rolling waves of impossibly green grass surrounded him, marked here and there with the chaotic colors of wildflowers.

The glass shimmered under the sun, sparkling bright. The porch spanned the entire width of the house, a comfy porch swing at one end. The treated wood gleamed a soft, mellow golden brown. Birds sang and called from tall, graceful oaks. Toward the back, he caught a glimpse of sun reflecting off water. A pond.

This was very different from the cramped, dirty three-bedroom apartment she had grown up in. It was actually about as far away from it as she could get…and he figured that right there would explain why in the world she’d chosen to move here of all places.

She’d wanted to get away from that place, that trapped, confined little hellhole where rarely a night passed without hearing sirens wailing in the night, where the walls were stained with water, mold and smoke, and where the only scenic view she’d ever been able to find had come from within the pages of the books she read, or the stories she’d created for herself.

“Looks like you managed to do just that, Nik,” he said softly, pride moving through him. Pride…and regret. He wished he could have been there with her as she made this walk.

Gravel crunched under his shoes as he headed for the front door. He mounted the steps slowly, studying the fine construction. This place must have cost a fortune. Intricately carved oak and beveled panes of glass made up the front door. That alone probably cost more than he made in a month

Who would want to live alone in a house like this? Surely it was too big for just one person. If ever there had been a place built for raising a family, this was it. Married. She had to be married.

Five years had passed, certainly long enough for her to have found somebody and fallen in love.

No, Wade thought, his gut wrenching. Damn it, he didn’t know if he could stomach the idea of her belonging to somebody else, even though rightfully he had no hold over her. He’d lost that right years ago, shattered it straight to hell.

But what if some guy answered the door? Or worse, a child?

Gritting his teeth, he raised a clenched fist to pound on the door. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he half-turned away to wait. And pray that it would be Nicole answering the door.