777 Challenge~ I've Been Tagged! #writing #excerpt #WIP

 (my interpretation of Ben and Sunni)

Just discovered that I was tagged by Devon Matthews for a 777 Challenge. The challenge is to go to page 7 of your current work in progress and post at least 7 lines from the page, then tag 7 other authors and challenge them to do the same on their blogs. So, here we go.

My work-in-progress (WIP) is still a contemporary romance set in California. Ben runs "Ben There, Ate That" a bar and grill- one he's trying to "go green" with by hiring Sunni, who lives at the "Ripple on the Pond Commune" where they grow everything organic, to help him design and set up a rooftop garden for the restaurant. My 777 comes from the moment at the commune after Ben and Sunni first meet. Wolf, a fellow commune member who's close to her age and has a thing for her,weighs in on his instant dislike of Ben. This scene is only a few pages after the Six Sentence Sunday I shared today.


From Perfect Recipe for Love, Page 7

Wolf was three years her senior, the same age as her sister Autumn, but for some reason he had attached himself to Sunni from childhood. Now their parents’ teasing had grown to be the bane of her existence. If she wanted to do work outside the commune, it was easy to see why.

Wolf wouldn’t give her a moment’s peace.

If Autumn hadn’t already attached herself to another young man from a different family within the commune, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Her parents would have tried to pair Autumn with Wolf instead.

Sunni wasn’t sure it would have mattered. She was like a magnet for him and always had been. The idea of him touching her in any way that implied intimacy set the gag reflex into motion. He was like an older brother, dorky and not too bright.

“I don’t want to leave you alone. You are my Sunflower.” The words made her cringe.

Why had her parents insisted on naming her Sunflower with a last name like Fields?

“I am not your sunflower, thank you very much.” She dumped the manure into the compost heap.

“Oh, come on… you know I pick you…” The sticky sweetness of his words implied so much, but the warmth of his firm fingers grasping her hips and pulling her backside against him was where she drew the line.

Flailing, she ripped his hands off her hips. Sunni turned and pounded her fists into his chest.

“Would you take a fricking hint, Wolf? I want you to leave me alone.”

Holding up his hands as a sign of defeat, he backed away.

“Geez. Touchy much?”

He marched away, disappearing into the barn and apparently out to the fields to see what the other folks were doing.

Sunni fumed as she shook the wheelbarrow out and then stomped off toward the creek.

Wolf had destroyed her perfectly good morning with his appearance. Not to mention he ruined the little sexual fantasy she had been building up in her mind about Ben Pryce.

The idea of belonging to any man sounded like a nightmare. Wolf didn’t get that she wasn’t his possession to play with. Communal living had many benefits, but becoming Wolf’s wife was one thing she didn’t see as a benefit at all.

“I’d rather be left for the coyotes…” She grumbled, squatting down to unlace her filthy boots.

Stripping all her clothing off, she left it lying at the creek’s edge. A dip in the cool water was just the thing she needed to release the tension and give her a quiet moment or two to fantasize what it would be like to let Ben have his way with her, arrogant attitude and all.
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 Here's my list of authors I tag to do the 777 Challenge:


J.M. Madden
Cherie Marks
Donna McDonald
Katherine Lowry Logan
Krista Ames
Madison J. Edwards
Ruth J Hartman


Hoping they'll participate in the challenge and give us a really great 777 scene to whet our appetites. :D

#SixSunday- Six Sentence Sunday- Sunni Gives it Some Thought...

 Click the link above the check out more 6 Sentence Sunday Authors!

Check it out on Twitter with #sixSunday

Hello Sunday Sixers! I'm back again!

Last week in my excitement to share for the first time, I forgot to explain what 6 Sentence Sunday is, for those who might not know- here are the rules~

Pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!

You can add yours link to their official list by signing up before midnight the Saturday beforehand, but I'm simply sharing. Here's another 6 from my current WIP, Perfect Recipe for Love- Here are few of Sunni's thoughts after meeting Mr. Ben Pryce, who we met last week on the SSS and couldn't keep his mind off her "ample distractions."

She had to admit, Ben Pryce wasn’t completely repulsive, not by any means. Getting out into the world and mingling had never been very high on her list of priorities, but it seemed someone or something had thrown Mr. Pryce in her path.

He was sexy, albeit arrogant.

And he thought he could get her in the sack.

He didn’t have to say it, vanity rolled off him like a loud perfume. He thought he could win her over with his smirk of a smile and those deep brown eyes.

 

#SCENTsational Saturdays- The Way to a Man's ♥- Meatballs

The Way to a Man's ♥Heart♥

Homemade Meatballs

In my current work-in-progress, Perfect Recipe for Love, Ben runs a restaurant called "Ben There, Ate That" and in one scene, he and the heroine, Sunni, are at the restaurant where she's learning the ropes about cooking. I attribute this very same recipe of mine, to Ben, as he explains to Sunni about growing up with four brothers and a single mom. His creativity in the kitchen had always been a blessing, as his meatball recipe stretched the meat just a little bit farther for their family when money was tight, so they could make two meals out of one. Now he uses it as a signature item on his menu for either spaghetti dishes or sub sandwiches.

I love this scene, as Ben, who's very close-off emotionally, gives Sunni a glimpse into himself and his past. Ben puts love into his food and that, to me, is a quality also about the way to a man's heart. He understands that the best and most delectable foods comes from being passionate about cooking, the love and care that goes into making it and is also proof that he's not as closed-off emotionally as he thinks.

Now, I'm not a fan of store-bought meatballs, because it always puts me in the mind of the Chef Boyardee I ate as a kid. My husband loves meatballs and he's not a fan of store-bought ones either. His mom has a recipe he wants, but she teases that he won't get it until she's gone, so we decided we'd just have to come up with something of our own. (That's something else I've learned about men, or at least my husband- if we create a dish together, it goes straight to his heart, too because it's "ours" and nobody else can claim it.)

I started with the basic ingredients from my meatloaf recipe- the pound of ground beef, onion, egg, then switched out the quick oats I normally use and replaced them with crushed saltines. Then I added Parmesan, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and garlic pepper for flavor and instead of using plain old ketchup I mixed in a little spaghetti sauce to moisten.

Surprisingly, this recipe turned out great the very first time I made it and it went over well with my husband and the kids. In fact, it turns out good every time. It works great for spaghetti and subs.

 

 1 package saltines, finely crushed

1/2-3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Garlic Powder

Italian Seasoning

Garlic Pepper 

1 lb lean ground beef

1 egg

½ of a finely diced sweet onion

1/2-1 cup, approximately, spaghetti sauce

Directions- Preheat oven to 350º

1.)                Crush saltines in Ziploc bag until fine. Add parmesan cheese, a few dashes of garlic powder, Italian Seasoning and Garlic Pepper. (I measure this by eye- as to what I think looks about right.) Seal bag again and shake until mixed thoroughly.

2.)                In large bowl, mix hamburger, egg, diced onion and spaghetti sauce by hand until well combined. Mix in cracker mixture, until it holds together firmly as if you were making a meatloaf.

3.)                Spray foil lined large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Shape into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 15 minutes at 350º. Remove from oven and turn over then bake for another 15 minutes till golden brown.

4.)                Place in large covered pan with spaghetti sauce(I used 2 jars to cover all meatballs) to simmer on low until all is hot and can be served over spaghetti.

Hope you have a SCENTsational Saturday!