That day was yesterday. Okay, there were real tears.
I have a new book coming out July 15, Book 6 in my Angel Point series, The Fake Marriage Proposal. I finished my editor revisions, made sure the manuscript was as clean as I could get it, sent it to my wonderful editor, closed no-longer-needed applications on my screen, cleaned up my desk, closed the document, and then sat down to enjoy the evening with Mr. L, a movie, and a delicious celebratory pizza (pepperoni and pineapple if you were wondering).
Two hours later I got an email from my editor saying she couldn't open the document. I rushed to my desk, and yes, there was a format error that couldn't be resolved. Mr. L and I tried everything we could think of, reached out to IT gurus, but still no go. Finally, I had to accept all the revisions, and the hours of work on the story were lost. Did I mention there were real, frustrated tears?
So. I'm taking a break for two days—that's all; there's a ticking clock on this manuscript—and on Wednesday, I'll start again on page 1. At least this time, I know exactly where I want to make changes in the story to make it better. And I'll be a helicopter parent hovering over my baby, chunking out the chapters to make sure there are no errors this time.
In the meantime, here are my latest book updates:
FREE! for a limited time, The Sheriff's Baby Bargain. Come back to where it all began. Welcome to Angel Point! Sheriff Taylor James is good at her job. What she can't do is get a date to stay past the appetizers. Solution? Convince her good friend and hot neighbor, Dr. Gabriel Adams to give her dating lessons. His dance card is always full.
"I LOVE friends-to-lovers stories, and this one has all the best elements--a delectable, hard-to-pin-down hero; a strong, vulnerable, always lovable heroine; and a rich supporting cast. I laughed, I worried about the protagonists, I teared up, and I re-read paragraphs that were so well-written I wanted to savor them. Susan Lute's characters feel real, as does the town itself. I can't wait for the next book in this new series!" ~ Wendy at Goodreads
Excerpt:
Gabe parked his Jeep behind her truck.
Taylor had to admit the man had the goods. With chestnut hair, cut short, and dark brown eyes, sporting a sexy sense of humor in triplicate, the rumors had to be true. Irresistible charm, coupled with the touch-me cleft in his chin, and a light growth of beard he never quite shaved smooth, his dating card most certainly had a waitlist.
Taylor resisted fanning her face. She wasn’t one of his dating bunnies, and getting in line wasn’t on her must-do list. Gabe Adams was every woman’s fantasy. Just not hers.
He frowned at the bag in her hands. The line between his dark brows smoothed into a clarity that had her teeth grinding. “Want to talk about the latest dating disaster?”
A startling idea braked to a halt in her head. Shoving the crazy thought into a mental locker, she shrugged. “He had to rush off to an estate sale.”
“Likely story.”
“That’s what I thought,” she muttered, giving in to his charming smile.
“When did you tell him you’re the sheriff?”
She rolled her eyes. Here it comes.
She knew it. Her timing had been off. “Did you hear Our Town is opening at the new theater next month? Are you planning to go?”
He narrowed his gaze on her. Taylor squirmed. And not in a good way. “You told him right off the bat, didn’t you? I keep telling you to wait until the date is over before revealing you’re a lawman…woman…whatever. Guys aren’t keen on the idea that the gal they’re dating can ticket them for racing through residential districts or bust them for being non-compliant with local business laws.”
“You think he’s a felon?” She ground her teeth. That would be a great addition to her already smeared résumé.
She could see the headline in the Angel Point Gazette now. “Taylor James, Former U.S. Marshal Turned Small Town Sheriff, Seen At The Chowder House With Notorious Criminal.” Now she was going to have to check the man for wants and warrants.
AND ...a promise sixteen years in the making.
"Dripping with charm, drowning in heart, The Valentine Project is a classic in the making. Carson and Gwen put the soul back in romance. From deeply moving to vastly entertaining, Lute gives the heart something to think about." - (Isha C., Blogger, Reader, Reviewer - Hopeless Romantic)
Excerpt:
Gwen went looking for her grandmother. She found the older woman talking to the same man, a tall guy, who knocked it out of the park in his dark suit. His black hair was neatly combed; hands stuffed in his pants pockets as he chatted with Grandma Adele. A young, teenage boy loitered close, mimicking the man's stance.
Gwen's breath caught as she almost tripped over the sudden excitement sprinting alongside her pulse. The man (that was his son, she was guessing) was like a dream she didn't know she had, come true. She stared at his back. He was . . . taller than average . . . strong . . . comfortable in his skin as he laughed at something the boy said. A man, it seemed by his interaction with the teen, who could be relied on to stay the course.
Grandma Adele waved her over. Mesmerizing dude turned at the same time. And Gwen's heart crashed.
Carson Loman.
Shaking her head, she had to force herself not to run in the opposite direction. Stopping short of making a spectacle of herself, she straightened her shoulders and pasted on a smile. Hopefully, it wasn't too fake.
As if she greeted an MIA ex-best friend every day, she walked over to her grandmother and kissed the older lady on the cheek before facing Carson. She held out her hand. “Hello, Carson.”
“Carson and Flynn are my plus one and two,” Grandma Adele said, just a little too smug.
For a long moment, he stared at her, memories filling bright blue eyes she had tried so hard to forget but couldn't. He took her hand, his grip firm and warm. “Hi, Gwen. You look lovely.”
This was not the boy she used to know. Life had etched lines on his face, broadened his shoulders, and—
“Gwen—” he pulled the teenager forward. “This is my son, Flynn.”
He had a son.
“Dibs!” Flynn said in a stage whisper as he leaned into his dad's shoulder,
“Ignore this crazy kid.” Carson dragged Flynn close with an arm around the boy's neck, scrubbing knuckles across his head. Flynn squirmed, but his father watched her . . . expecting to find . . . what? The girl he'd left behind? That wasn't likely to happen.
There you have it. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, BookBub, Goodreads, Amazon, and at susanlute.com. As always you can contact me at https://bit.ly/3EVY7xP
Happy reading.
XO Susan