Title:
Drama Queens: Call Off Your Dogs
Author:
L.U. Ann
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Release
Date: November 17, 2014
Synopsis
Gertie
knows she doesn’t have a picture perfect life, but feels blessed with what she
does have. So what if love left her heart shattered and broken? She has a great
job at Simple Luxury, an apartment in Houston with her sister, Mabel, and an
outspoken, no-filter, church-going Gram back in Eufaula, Oklahoma where she was
raised after her parents died. Things are going well for Gertie until the man
who broke her heart shows up in Houston. Tyler knew he had made the biggest
mistake of his life the night he lost Gertie, but now he is back to reclaim the
woman who owns his heart. It won’t be easy though, but he is going to have to
make Gertie accept the life he has now and want to be part of it. As the owner
of a successful construction company, he is devoted to making Eufaula the place
Gertie will want to return and to forgive him for his mistakes. With Gram being
so outspoken in her column Drama Mama in the Eufaula’s Daily Indian Journal,
she doesn’t hold back with her opinions about books and the nonsense drama
among authors in the book world. Gram isn’t afraid to give her opinion to Mabel
and Gertie when it comes to life, either. Will events out of their control
change their future plans for everyone involved? By the way, the dog on the
cover is named Cujo. What is a small town full of secrets and gossip without a
dog named Cujo?
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Excerpt
Prologue
“Thank God, I was let out of this dirty cage today. I seriously needed a break
from listening to those humans cackling about this and that. I sure will miss
my tail wagging friends. This human is questionable. His bright yellow pants
and pink shirt are giving me a headache. Dear God, please don’t let him dress
me up. Wait… Oh, no, I think I’m going to be carsick!” ~ Cujo 2008 “Gram, that
seems a little risqué to me,” Mabel says handing me the rough draft of Grams
weekly column. “I wonder what the people at your church think.” Mabel raises an
eyebrow at Gram. “Darling, you have to live a little. Don’t limit yourself to
society’s rules. Lord knows those rules are violated every day. I’m only doing
it underhandedly. And, for the love of God, don’t bring him into this. He and I
have worked out an arrangement.” Gram bats her lashes. How can an old woman be
conniving yet look innocent at the same time? Damn she’s good. I begin to read
the rough draft of this week’s column post: Sunday, July 19, 2008 Drama Queens:
Call Off Your Dogs Citizens of Eufaula, Drama Mama here, and I’m going to tell
you two chewable, delicious, bone-worthy reads releasing this week. Trenda
Jacobson’s Wronged is projected to jump to the top of the charts quickly.
Trenda brings in Alan Bird—a quiet man who had very few friends growing up. Not
because others didn’t like him. No, he was a loner. This behavior kept him away
from the real world. With little interaction with the outside world as an adult
and an experimental scientist, he found his joy in pain. Not his pain, but
others. The FBI has been hunting Alan for years—almost a decade—before they
discover his underground lab. When the violent acts are uncovered, will the FBI
agents be able to find Alan, and most importantly, will they be able to escape
being next in line? This next one is going to be a must-read. Deliberate Intentions
by Renee Gilbert is best described as a modern day Romeo and Juliet—only worse.
The two main characters, Mike and Lauren, are high school sweethearts. Mike is
two years older, goes to a local community college so that he can stay close to
his girlfriend. He makes sacrifice after sacrifice to stay with her. Problem
is, she doesn’t. Lauren is brilliantly manipulating Mike as her puppet. This
story looks at the problems with young-dumb love and how two teens practically
escape a bright future because they are in too much of a rush to get married.
Lauren does something very sneaky to seal the deal—something that has great
consequences for both of them. Will they get the love and support from their
families when everything becomes clear? This one is sure to touch readers of
many generations. Quickly, I would like to take a moment to thank my readers
for their support and enjoyment of this unconventional column. This marks my
fifty-second column as Drama Mama. For one year, I’ve created quite a stir in
the reader, author, and in the publishing world—and I’ve enjoyed every bit of
it. I appreciate all the comments and can’t wait to see what we discover over
the next fifty-two posts. Okay, now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way.
Let’s get onto the good stuff. People who you interact with on a regular basis
can be compared to dogs. You know you have thought about it before. It can be a
co-worker, friend, or possibly, a family member. Either way, canine behavior
isn’t exclusive to its kind. Take for instance Chihuahuas. They are small and
look so innocent, but the moment you piss them off, they are attacking the leg
of your pants or hiking their leg on your furniture to show you who the real
boss is. These are the true bullies of the world. Why? Because the moment you
stop cuddling with your pocket pet, they turn on you. Let’s have a look at the
monstrous Pit bull. Their big, muscular frame has many scared to death of them.
They were born with strong jaws that match their strong bodies. But guess what?
They aren’t going to turn on you like those little Mexican things. No, they
will lick you to death and play for hours. So, when I’m looking for someone to
be in my corner, I’d rather have the one that looks vicious on the outside, but
has a heart of gold as opposed to the one that looks cute and cuddly, but can
turn into a biting piranha at any moment. So there you have it. Drama Mama’s
paw print. Until next week, keep your eyes open for those ankle biters and
thanks for reading Drama Queens: Call Off Your Dogs. “Gram, I’m going to
college so that I can, hopefully, become a great writer and editor, but I can
tell you now, I won’t be writing stuff like this. You must’ve been born with a
set of balls,” I manage to say in all seriousness before looking at Mabel and
we fall into a fit of giggles. “Gertie, you will find people in this industry
who are precisely like the dogs I described. It’s best you toughen up. You will
encounter some who are nice to your face, become a best friend, but will talk
about you behind your back and make you sound crazy. All the while, they are
the crazy ones to start with. I’m trying to teach you how to cope with these
Chihuahuas of the world. Your best bet is to find a Pit bull.” My eyebrows
furrow in confusion. Are people really like that? “Sweetheart, you’re young and
dumb.” My eyes grow at her harshness. “Oh, please, you know it as well. You
need to go out and experience the world. Just watch out for needless drama and
the back-stabbing bitches of the industry. I mean, come on, really? No one does
drama like me.” Gram smiles before walking out of the room. “We’re related to
that?” Mabel whispers, watching Grams retreating form. Slowly raising my
shoulders in a shrug, we glance at one another suspiciously before returning
our eyes to the doorway Gram had just walked through. “That woman is crazy,” I
claim. “No doubt,” Mabel agrees.
About The Author
She
lives in Colorado with her husband and two children. Moving from the lush
landscapes of Maryland's Eastern Shore to the high desert plains of Colorado
was a drastic change. She and her family moved to their own “Little House on
the Prairie" at an elevation of over 6,000 feet above sea level, and a
semi-arid climate that makes it hard to grow anything. While barely anything
can grow where she resides now, the wildlife makes up for it. Mountain Lions,
and coyotes, and rattlesnakes, oh my! She tries to
spend a little time each day writing, but domestic chores around the house
usually take precedence. She would much rather hide them from her husband. She
tends to her loving four-legged children who at times become much too demanding
when she locks herself in the office. This often results in MORE domestic work,
and she finds herself cleaning up after their deviant behavior. She has always been an artist painting as a hobby to back
drops in theatrical set designs. Graphic design is her guilty pleasure. A Destructive Novel is a series of three books based on her
life. They deal with heavy life issues and will have the reader begging for a
happily ever after.
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