News of a new book from Susan Mallery is always cause for celebration here at TRD but news of a new series that's kicking off with a pre-publication 16-stop exclusive excerpt tour complete with a fabulous California Dreamin' prize package at each stop? Well, that sends the excitement level right off the charts! Here's the blurb for the first book in the new Mischief Bay series, The Girls of Mischief Bay, followed by our exclusive Excerpt #5.
Nicole Lord wants to be a good wife, but there's a difference between being supportive and supporting her husband, who quit his job to write a screenplay she's never seen. He won't even help take care of their son, leaving Nicole to run the house and work full-time.
Sacrificing a personal life for her career is how Shannon Rigg became VP at her firm, but she wonders now whether she made the right choice. An exciting new relationship with a great guy convinces her that it might not be too late—until he drops a bombshell that has her questioning whether she really can have it all.
Although Pam Eiland adores her husband, she feels restless now that the kids are grown. Finding sexy new ways to surprise him brings the heat and humor back to their marriage, but when unexpected change turns her life upside down, she'll have to redefine herself. Again.
Through romance and heartbreak, laughter and tears, the girls of Mischief Bay will discover that life is richer with friends at your side.
The Girls of Mischief Bay
Excerpt 5
She headed into the
kitchen and flipped on the wall-mounted TV. John got home between five fifteen
and five thirty every day. They ate at six—a meal she’d made from scratch.
Every Saturday night they either went out to dinner or had an evening with friends.
Sunday afternoon the kids came over and they barbecued. On Memorial Day they
held a big party, also a barbecue. It was L.A. When in doubt, throw meat on a
grill.
She automatically
collected the ingredients for biscuits. Self-rising flour, shortening, sugar,
buttermilk. She’d stopped using a recipe years ago for nearly everything.
Because she knew what she was doing. John liked what she served and didn’t want
her to change. They had a routine. Everything was comfortable.
She measured the flour
and told herself that comfortable wasn’t the same as old. It was nice.
Friendly. Routines meant things went smoothly.
She finished cutting in
the shortening, then covered the bowl. That was the trick to her biscuits. To
let them rest about twenty minutes.
Lulu sat patiently next
to her bowl. As Pam approached, the dog wagged her fluffy tail and widened her
eyes in a hopeful expression.
“Yes,” Pam told her. “It
is
your dinnertime.”
Lulu gave a bark, then
followed her to the refrigerator, where the can waited.
Lulu’s diet was an
on-going challenge. She was small so didn’t need all that much. She had
allergies and skin conditions, not to mention a sensitive stomach. Which meant
she ate prescription dog food, consisting of a “novel protein” diet. In her
case, duck and sweet potato.
Pam stuck a quarter cup
of water into the microwave and hit the start button. After measuring out the
right amount of canned food, she swapped the plate for the measuring cup, then
started the microwave again. Hot water was stirred into kibble. Lulu had
delicate teeth and couldn’t eat regular kibble. So hers was softened with hot
water.
They went through this
ritual every night, Pam thought as she held out the bowl. Lulu immediately sat,
as she was supposed to, then lunged for the bowl and devoured her meal in less
than eight seconds.
“You do remember you had
breakfast this morning and a snack after lunch, right? You act like we feed you
weekly.”
Lulu was too busy
licking her bowl to answer.
Pam rolled out the
biscuits and put them on the cookie sheet. She covered them with a clean towel
and started the oven. She’d barely finished setting the table when she heard
the faint rumble of the garage door opener. Lulu took off running down the
hall, barking and yipping in excitement.
A few minutes later John
walked into the kitchen, their ridiculous dog in his arms. Pam smiled at him
and turned her head for their evening kiss. As their lips touched, Lulu
scrambled from his arms to hers, then swiped both their chins with her tongue.
“How was your day?” John
asked.
“Good. Yours?”
“Not bad.”
As he spoke he crossed
to the bottle of wine she’d put on the counter in the butler’s pantry off the
kitchen. It was a Cab from a winery they’d visited a few years ago on a trip to
Napa.
“Steven’s working on a
bid for that new hotel everyone’s been talking about. It’s right on the water.
Upscale to the max. He said they were talking about the possibility of
twenty-four-karat gold on the faucets in the penthouse. Can you believe it?”
“No. Who would do that?
It’s a hotel. Everything has to be scrubbed down daily. How do you clean gold?”
“I know.” John opened
the drawer to pull out the foil cutter. “It’s a bathroom. They’re idiots. But
if the check clears, what do I care?”
As they spoke, she
studied the man she’d been married to for thirty-one years. He was tall, just
over six feet, with thick hair that had started going gray. The dark blond
color meant the gray wasn’t noticeable, but it was there. Being a man, it only
made him look more appealing. A few months ago he’d asked why she wasn’t going
gray, too. When she’d reminded him of her visits every six weeks to her hair
person, he’d been shocked. John was such a typical guy, it had never occurred
to him she colored her hair. Because he thought she was naturally beautiful.
Silly man, she thought
affectionately, as she watched him.
He had a few wrinkles
around his eyes, but otherwise looked as he had when they’d first met. Those
broad shoulders had always appealed to her. These days he claimed he needed to
lose ten or fifteen pounds, but she thought he looked just fine.
He was handsome, in a
rugged kind of way. He was a good man. Kind and generous. He loved his wife and
his kids and his routine. While he had his faults, they were minor and ones she
could easily live with. In truth, she had no complaints about John. It was the
her-getting-older thing she found faintly annoying.
He pulled out the cork
and tested it with his thumbnail, then poured them each a glass of Cab. She
slid the biscuits into the oven and set the timer.
“What are we having?” he
asked as he handed her a glass.
“Beef burgundy and
biscuits.”
His mouth turned up in
an easy smile. “I’m a lucky man.”
“Even luckier. You’ll be
taking leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”
“You know I love me some
leftovers.”
He wasn’t kidding, she
thought as she followed him through the kitchen. His idea of heaven was any
kind of red meat with leftovers for lunch the following day. He was easy to
please.
They went into the
sunroom off the back of the house. In the cooler months, the glass room stayed
warm. In the summer, they removed the glass and used the space for outdoor
living.
Lulu followed them, then
jumped up on the love seat where Pam always sat and settled next to her. Pam
rubbed her dog’s ears as John leaned back in his chair—a recliner with a
matching mate in the family room—and sighed heavily.
Text Copyright © 2015 by Susan Macias Redmond
Permission to reproduce
text granted by Harlequin Books S.A.
Want to know what happens after Excerpt 5? Me too!
Click the graphic below to follow the Susan Mallery TLC Book Tours
Girls of Mischief Bay excerpt tour with a new exclusive excerpt and
chance to win a prize package at each stop.
Have you read Susan Mallery's books?
Do you have a favorite Mallery book or series?
Tell me about your girlfriends. Are they life-long? Newly acquired? What makes them special?
Have you ever taken a girlfriend trip to the beach? If you had the opportunity, to what beach would you head?
One randomly chosen person who leaves a comment (including your email address) on today's post will receive the following California Dreamin' Prize Package put together by Harlequin.
A Pacific blue beach towel
Luxury moisturizing bath bar from the San Francisco soap company
An autographed copy of EVENING STARS by Susan Mallery (the first
book with a character from Mischief Bay)
Flip-flop tea candle holder
THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF BAY Post-It book
THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF BAY bookmark
Susan Mallery 3D luggage tag
Susan Mallery pen
Deadline for comments to be included in prize drawing is
11:30pm EST February 2, 2015
(U.S. / Canadian addresses only)
Void where prohibited.
About Susan Mallery
New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery has won the hearts of millions of readers around the world with books described as “immensely entertaining, intensely emotional” (RT Book Reviews), “hilarious” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), and “heartwarming” (Publishers Weekly). One major retailer recently described her as “the queen of romantic fiction.” While she deeply appreciates the accolades of critics and booksellers, Mallery is even more honored by the enthusiasm of her readers and the word-of-mouth that catapults her toward the top of the bestsellers lists time and again.
Mallery lives in not-so-sunny Seattle with her husband and a toy poodle who makes her laugh every day and who’s not even a little bit impressed by her growing fame.
Purchase Links for The Girls of Mischief Bay
