In Memory of Robin Williams

It was  a sad beginning to this week, the announcements of Robin Williams' death. Among the many tributes, statements, and video clips I've read and watched, I think the one of most poignant comes from this quote by David Foster Wallace about suicide:

“The so-called ‘psychotically depressed’ person who tries to kill herself doesn’t do so out of quote ‘hopelessness’ or any abstract conviction that life’s assets and debits do not square. And surely not because death seems suddenly appealing. The person in whom its invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view; i.e. the fear of falling remains a constant. The variable here is the other terror, the fire’s flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. It’s not desiring the fall; it’s terror of the flames. And yet nobody down on the sidewalk, looking up and yelling ‘Don’t!’ and ‘Hang on!’, can understand the jump. Not really. You’d have to have personally been trapped and felt flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling.”

Certainly, the depths that depression and mental illness reaches cannot be underestimated. I do hope that amid the sadness and shock of Williams' death comes a greater awareness of, and compassion for, mental illness and the havoc it can wreak on an individual. 

To the mighty and talented Robin Williams, I hope you're resting in peace. Finally.

Writers' Wednesday: A Peek Inside Book Three

Yes, yes, I know that Sex on the Beach, the second book in the Cocktail Cruise series, just released. But I'm busy at work on the third and final book in the series, Between the Sheets, where single mother Andrea and dance instructor Sebastian get their romance (finally!). Want to see a peek inside one of the early scenes?

Her cabin was twice the size of his, with a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. Precioso. So beautiful. He stood for a minute looking out into the black. She closed the door and slipped off her shoes, silver sandals with buckles that glittered. She sank onto the small loveseat and stretched out her toes. “I don’t have anything fancy to offer you to drink,” she said with a little laugh. “I think there’s bottled water or cold sodas in the fridge, though.”

“It is fine. I do not want anything.” Sebastian picked up the television remote. “May I? There is music on some of the channels. Good for relaxing.”

She nodded. “Go ahead. I don’t even know what’s on.”

He found a station playing soft Latin music, the one he sometimes listened to before bed.

Her head dropped back on the loveseat. He remained standing where he was. “Do you like working here?” she asked.

“I’m not –” What was she really asking? Women, American women especially, always seemed to have a second or third meaning in their words. Did he like the guests? The captain? His actual job of teaching three or four classes a day to people who didn’t know the difference between the cha cha and the mambo?

“I know you said it was a good change for you.” She opened her eyes again. “But what do you really think? You’ve been on board – how long? Almost a year?”

He nodded.

“What do you think we could change? What would make people happier?”

Ah, happiness. “I am not sure I am the best person to answer that question.”

“What do you mean?”

“Only that I am still trying to figure it out myself. True happiness, what it means, where it comes from. How to find it again after it disappears.”

She looked at him for a long minute, saying nothing. Her eyes shifted to the television, where a blue line zig-zagged across the screen as the music played. “That is nice,” she said. “I don’t know what it is, but you’re right. It’s soothing.”

He hesitated a moment, then held out one hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"Here?" She looked around. “Is there enough room?”

"Does not take much.” He smiled. “I do know this: happiness for me comes when I am dancing. When there is music in my soul, when my feet can move, then nothing else matters.”

She stood, her bare toes peeking out from beneath her dress. “Well, how can I turn down an offer like that?” She took his hand. “I have to tell you, though, except for this morning, when you were showing me the tango, I haven’t danced in years.” She blushed, and her fingers tightened around his. “I mean, I haven’t danced with anyone.”

“It’s nothing. It’s like – what do you Americans say? Like riding a bicycle. You do not forget. It is like breathing." His free hand went to the small of her back. "Let me lead."

A worry line appeared between her brows, and her spine stiffened. He shook her fingers to loosen them. It had been forever since he'd taught a private lesson, since he'd had a woman who looked more concerned about where to put her feet than trying to peel off his clothes. It felt good. Refreshing.

The music changed, and the tempo picked up. He smiled and nodded to himself. They could move easily to this one. But three beats into the song, Andrea turned fire-engine red. She froze, her hand gripping his as though she were balancing on a two-inch ledge. “I’m sorry. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

He pressed his palm into the small of her back. “Just follow. Try to relax.”

Her lips parted in a breathless laugh. "I'm not sure the last time I actually did that. I might not remember how."

The song changed again, and he improvised a few dance steps, just to put some space between them. At that, she smiled, and turned on her tiptoes in the small cabin, mimicking his motion. Ay dios mio, he had a hard time looking away from her. “See? You are very much a good dancer.” She twirled again, only this time she stumbled a little at the end – straight into him. 

Coming in September 2014!!

Monday Mentionables: The Cocktail Cruise Series Continues!

Happy Monday everyone! The big mention today? Sex on the Beach, the second book in the Cocktail Cruise series, is now available on Kindle! (or, if you have a Nook, order your copy over at Smashwords, since it's not up at Barnes and Noble yet).

Blurb:

Two people who’ve always played at love discover the stakes are higher when they let down their guard and open their hearts…

Cassidy Arnez is an elementary school teacher with an enormous secret: a sexually adventurous online life that she leads under a foolproof alias. Her motto has always been to enjoy sex and the single life as much as possible. With a deadbeat dad and a brother who died in combat, she knows she can’t rely on any man to stick around.

Bryce Anderson enjoys his bachelor life as the CFO of a major cruise line, a position that gets him all the sun, sand, and women he could want. But he meets his match in Cass, who’s even less interested in commitment than he is, and her casual, confident sexuality turns him on more than anyone he’s ever met.

When a financial crisis at Cass’s school places her, and her coveted secret identity, at the center of a small town firestorm, she must decide whether she’ll let Bryce become the first man she’ll trust with both her secrets and her heart. 

Excerpt

Bryce ran the back of one hand down her bare arm as he leaned over to flag the bartender. Electricity shot all the way up to Cass's shoulder, and something deliciously warm and familiar tingled between her legs. She brushed his shoulder as she reached for her drink, telegraphing a message that registered in the light of his eyes.

He took a long swallow of his beer, then rested one elbow on the bar and turned toward her. Two inches, maybe one, separated them. She could smell him. If she leaned forward, she could probably taste him. And damn, but that mouth looked like it would know what to do on a woman’s body.

“That pick-up line, by the way?” she said. “The good-luck charm? Weak.”

He clutched his chest as if she’d shot him. “Was it that bad?” The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I thought it had flair.” He touched the neck of his beer bottle to her glass. “Women like flair.”

Cass crossed one leg over the other and let her dress ride up. “Flair is over-rated.” She ran her fingers through her hair, loose and falling past her shoulders. “It takes more than that to win a girl over.” A nice ass will do, though, she thought. Good smile and wit helped too, and so far Bryce was three for three, though she wouldn’t tell him that.

“Decided to take the free cruise?”

“I did.”

“How’s your friend Louise?”

“She’s fine. Spends a lot of time with Toby, but I’m guessing you already know that.” She sipped her martini. “What about your buddy? The one from the bachelor party? He get married yet?”

“Yep. Valentine’s Day.” He cocked his head when she didn’t answer. “I take it you're not a fan?”

“Of marriage? Or Valentine’s Day?” Not either one, she wanted to say.  She set her glass down after another sip. “Thanks for the drink. But I think I’ll be going.” First conversations never needed to last longer than a few minutes. She’d leave him wanting more...