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Dark Embrace

by Angie Sandro

Giveaway ends July 13, 2015.
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MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP- WYOMING AND COWS, LOTS OF COWS

 

If you missed the first two posts about My Crazy Road Trip, click on the link HERE to get caught up.

We left Sturgis, SD around noon on Wednesday. I followed my mom because:

1) She's a better navigator than I am (if there is a way to get lost, I'll find it).

2) I couldn't see the jeep very well behind the Uhaul.

3) We were so exhausted, I had to watch to make sure she didn't fall asleep at the wheel. Every time she started swerving, I knew she'd drifted off and I honked to wake her up.

One terrifying moment had her swerving into a lane already occupied by another car. If you were curious about why it took us four days to drive 20 hours, it's a pretty easy answer. 

I wanted to get there alive.

I think we were still in South Dakota for this picture, but I could be wrong. I loved the beautiful yellow flowers.

The first day, we took two lane highways to get to Rawlins, Wyoming before getting a hotel. We were too exhausted to go on.

 

 

 

Somewhere in Wyoming.

Next stop on Friday, Utah. The place where I thought  Mom and I would be cannibalized by the Salt Flat People after getting lost. Sometimes having an active imagination is not a good thing.


Scroll down to enjoy a teaser DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4). It releases Tuesday, July 14th, and is available for pre-order. :)

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MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP- EMBRACE THE CHAOS OR LET IT DESTROY YOU

If you haven't read about the first day of My Crazy Road Trip click HERE.

If you're all caught up, let's get to it. You'll remember where I left off. I was still in a  la la land of my own creation. A place where unicorns fart rainbows, and everything was wonderful and magical.

I still thought we'd get on the road by Tuesday. I didn't realize I'd spend the next three days packing my mom's house. She'd downsized a lot in her last move, but she still had a lifetime of stuff-- her belongings, heirlooms she wanted to leave to her children (my sis, bro, and me), grandchildren, and great-grands. She also had things that belonged to her mother and father. 

So, I boxed and wrapped all Sunday. Every time I thought I was close to being finished, I'd open a drawer or a closet and find more stuff. I found Time Magazines from the 1960's to present. Antiques were mixed in with Dollar Store junk. Pictures and important documents were mixed with magazine subscription requests.

Boxes and more boxes from the last move that had never been unpacked.

I thought I would lose my mind. At one point, I didn't think we'd be finished before the movers came. I think that was the first mini-break down.

Mom and I stayed up most of the night. I think the whole trip we averaged between two to five hours of sleep each night.

That blow up mattress never felt so good. I crashed hard.

This woke me up.

 

 



 

 

Now, I'm from California, and we're in a drought. We haven't gotten a storm like this in years. It was pretty amazing to watch with the thunder and lightning. But then, I got to worrying about how the storm would affect the move. Would the movers be able to load the truck in weather like this? Would it be safe?

 

I went to bed stressing about these things, but I woke up in the morning to this.

 

Unicorns do fart rainbows in South Dakota.

 

I took this from my mom's upstairs window

 

On this hopeful note, Mom and I grabbed the Uhaul and brought it home. Then we continued to pack. The movers are scheduled to arrive at 2 pm.

At noon, we got a knock on the door. The movers came two hours early. We weren't done packing. Not even close, but...I didn't care. YAY!

"Come on in." Get to work. Stop chatting. I don't need to make every decision about how to load the truck. I totally trust your judgment. Just put the boxes in ALL READY! UGH.

The guys moving us were really nice, but the main guy didn't move fast. He was like an artist who had to find the perfect spot for each box. Then he had to get permission from me to put it in the truck. The other guy almost came unglued because he and I were doing most of the loading, while the other one pondered the symmetry of the load and the mysteries of the universe.

I really felt bad for the guys after we  hit the two hour mark. It was hot and muggy. There were only two of them doing a job that should be done by four or five guys. Not cool given the amount of stuff that needed to be loaded. Or the fact that we discovered halfway through the move that the Uhaul was too small. There would be nine large boxes left over at the end of the day.

What really sucked was the fact that our movers, the ones who arrived at noon, weren't even supposed to be there. They'd been contracted by the company that canceled on us Saturday. Because they'd canceled, Mom had to scramble to find a moving company to replace them.

We discovered this error when Mom received a phone call from the company she'd hired  to replace them. They were scheduled to arrive at 2 p.m., and wanted to let us know they were on the way. This left everyone scrambling for answers. Especially the guys who'd been loading our Uhaul for two hours. They wanted to get paid.

We wanted to get moved.

It all worked out in the end. They guys stayed, but it took eight hours to load the Uhaul. And like I mentioned earlier, nine boxes were left over. We ended up trashing them. There was nothing else we could do. We tried donation, but Salvation Army wouldn't pick up. So Mom spoke to a lady at the trash company. She said to line the boxes up on the curb, and they'd pick them up.

Tuesday was spent cleaning. Going through the remaining boxes to try and salvage anything of importance. Then I hauled them down to the curb.

By late Wednesday morning, we were done. Mentally and actually freaking finished. The house was empty. We wanted out! It didn't matter that we'd only be able to drive for eight hours. We got on the road.  I drove the Uhaul and Mom drove her jeep. 

The new plan: Be in San Diego by Friday.

Stop by Friday for more craziness, 'cause we're finally on the road.

Here is how Dena Acker from my new novel, DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4), feels about being on the road. 

DARK EMBRACE releases Tuesday, July 14th, and is available for pre-order. :)
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MY CRAZY ROAD TRIP- SATURDAY DAY 1

Last week I flew out to South Dakota to help my mother move across country to San Diego. I had it all planned out. Mom would have everything packed and ready to go by the time I arrived Saturday night. Sunday we'd head out. If everything went well, we would arrive at my sister's house by Wednesday.

Wow, I really was naïve.

Nothing ever goes according to plan. And, sometimes, things veer so far off course as to make the plan non-existent--a you've-gotta-be-kidding-me, fairy-fart of a pipe-dream. Once you've reached that level of chaos, you can either curl into a ball and cry or embrace the crazy.

I did both.

It started with a flight. Well, a few too many flights. Good grief, I don't understand why airlines schedule connecting flights with such a tight schedule. My flight to Phoenix, AZ left Sacramento at 8:40 and I arrived at 11ish. At that point, everything was going well. I got checked in with minimal fuss. I didn't even have to take off my shoes because I was pre-checked. Once I got into the secure part of the terminal, I bought a giant bottle of water. It was going to be a long day, and I wanted to stay hydrated.

When I arrived in AZ, I learned I had to leave the terminal to fly on another airline. It was fun. I road a train, then hiked through the AZ heat to the new terminal. Once I arrived, I learned I had to get checked in again. This meant I couldn't bring in my giant bottle of water, which cost five bucks because I bought it in the airport. I was not happy. I told them I wasn't happy. The TSA agent told me, I could stand out there and drink it or throw it away. I threw it away.

Then I went though the body scan machine.

A different TSA agent stopped me and said, "It looks like you've got a bomb on your boob."

I looked at her. "Did you just say I've got a bomb on my boob?"  'Cause surely I'm hearing things wrong. Right? She seriously did not say...

She gave a little laugh, which neither confirmed nor denied the boob statement. Then she waved at the scanner. It a figure (way to skinny to represent me, but it also showed my breast area highlighted in neon yellow.

"I'll need to do a pat check. Do you want to go to a private area?"

Hello, no. "I'm fine. Let's just do this." I held out my arms while she searched me. No bomb. Duh.

Then she wipes my hands with tissue or something. I assume to test for bomb-making residue of some sort. She was very thorough, and I felt safer. Nobody would get through carrying a bomb in their breasts on her watch.

I spent the next four hours until my flight to Denver stressing out.

First, I got a call from my mom. She said the movers who were supposed to pack the Uhaul told her they didn't have anyone on her service area. They totally canceled the day they were supposed to arrive. My mom spent the day arranging for movers to come on Monday. So not part of my grand plan to be on the road to San Diego on Sunday.

Next, I discover my flight to Denver was showing a forty minute delay due to bad weather. Given I only had a forty-five minute window between landing and boarding the last flight to South Dakota, I worried. I spoke to the staff (really nice) who arranged for me to be on a flight at 7 a.m. the next morning if I missed my connecting flight.

Talk about praying hard for a miracle. I did not want to spend the night in the Denver airport.

Luckily, the weather corrected itself. My flight was back on schedule by the time it came to board. Then things went to hell again. We stood in line waiting for the gate to open. Ten minutes pass before we even get seated. And yes, I was paying a lot of attention to the time.

Once we're on board I think everything is okay. When we reach Denver the captain makes an announcement. The reason it took so long for us to board was because they added additional fuel in case of bad weather. Because we didn't use up all of the fuel, we had to circle Denver until we used it up. It was too dangerous to land otherwise.

We circled over Denver for twenty minutes. The mood on the plane rapidly deteriorated. Turns out I wasn't the only person with a tight connecting flight. The woman in the seat beside me saw her boarding time come and go before we even landed. 

The plane landed, and I had five minutes to find and board my gate. I didn't even realize until I was climbing down the stairs that I had to run across the tarmac to the terminal. There was a plane parked next to mine. In the distance was the terminal. I started running with the herd. My gate, the one I needed for my next flight was the first door. The attendants waved the herd off to a main entrance, so I kept on going. Once I got inside, I turned around, and ran back to my gate. 

I yelled, "I just got off my plane. I need to board."

The attendants radioed the plane to keep them from taking off without me (thank you). And I ran back the way I'd come, 'cause, yeah, the plane parked next to the one I got off was the one I needed to board.

Exhausted, I crashed during the last flight. It turned out to be a twelve hour day.

 

When I arrived in South Dakota and saw my mom, I knew it had been worth it. Getting to hug her was the best feeling ever. I hadn't seen her in three years. I never expected her to have aged. I still picture her as a giant. My mom who can conquer anything, but she's seventy-five. A tiny, fragile little thing who was brave enough to move to South Dakota last year because she wanted to live in the Black Hills. It was shocking.

When I arrived at  her house in Sturgis, SD, I received another shock. Nothing had been packed!

I'm not talking about the truck. I knew about the truck...the flakey moving company.

No, I would have to pack up her entire house in one day because the movers would be arriving on Monday.

Surely my plan is still salvageable. Nothing else can go wrong. Right?

See. I'm still so naïve.

Stop by Wednesday for more of the crazy. 

And scroll down to enjoy a teaser DARK EMBRACE (Dark Paradise, #4). It releases Tuesday, July 14th and is available for pre-order. :)

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LAST FIRST KISS by Lia Riley

 

 

Last First Kiss
Brightwater Series Book #1

By: Lia Riley

Releasing June 23rd, 2015

Avon Romance

 

 

Blurb

New to Avon author Lia Riley makes a splash with her first sexy, hilarious book in the sizzling Brightwater series!

A kiss is just the beginning…

Pinterest Perfect. Or so Annie Carson’s life appears on her popular blog. Reality is... messier. Especially when it lands her back in one-cow town, Brightwater, California, and back in the path of the gorgeous six-foot-four reason she left. Sawyer Kane may fill out those wranglers, but she won’t be distracted from her task. Annie just needs the summer to spruce up and sell her family’s farm so she and her young son can start a new life in the big city. Simple, easy, perfect.

Sawyer has always regretted letting the first girl he loved slip away. He won’t make the same mistake twice, but can he convince beautiful, wary Annie to trust her heart again when she’s been given every reason not to? And as a single kiss turns to so much more, can Annie give up her idea of perfect for a forever that’s blissfully real.

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Excerpt #4

“So back to Sawyer,” Claire said as she entered the kitchen, her raised eyebrows vanishing beneath her thick bangs.

            Annie sighed. “It’s complicated.”

            “Maybe stop fighting yourself on this. Bury the hatchet.”

            “It sounds like you mean that as a gross metaphor.”

            Claire spied the mini blueberry muffins cooling on the counter and crammed one into her mouth. “Oh man, that’s delicious, and yes, I do, but in a good way.”

            “Gross and good are two vastly separate things.”

            “It’s not like that.” At least we’re not mouth kissing. “He’s been helping out around here is all. Odd jobs. Fix-it-up stuff like repairing broken boards in the barn floor and the like.”

            “Aw.” Claire crinkled her nose. “That’s adorable.”

            “It’s kind.”

            “Have you thanked him properly? For all that hard manual labor?” More suggestive eyebrow waggling.

            Annie propped a hand on her hip, hoping to appear the picture of moral outrage. “Hey, I’m not going to thank him by—”

            “Whoa, whoa, don’t get your panties in a knot. All I’m suggesting is to fix him a plate of those delicious muffins and pay a friendly neighborly visit.”

           “Muffins?”

            “Trust me, food is the way to a man’s heart.”

            “I’m not sure I want into his heart.”

            “His pants then.”        

            “Claire!”

                                        

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Author Info

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult and Contemporary Adult romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling XXXX with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about future books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. Right now, Icelandic hot springs and Scottish castles sound mighty fine.

 

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