Today I have Lynnette Bernard as a guest and she's telling us a little bit more about herself and her writing!
How long have you
been writing?
I wrote my first novel when I was fourteen years old. It was a love story that
was set in the late 1800s in Wyoming
– strictly PG since I didn’t know a whole lot about sex at the time! Since I’m
*mumble* years old, that was a looooong time ago.
What genres do you write?
I write love stories in many genres – paranormal, science
fiction, contemporary, whatever genre the story seems to take hold of.
What inspired your main characters?
Well, Laurie’s Loves
is basically my story. I was that person who came out the other side of
domestic abuse with a bruised ego and little to no confidence. It took me about
ten years to reclaim the person I was before I met my ex, but I am happy to say
I’m now the person I once was.
Babies for Nikki
is me now. Nikki is a lot of fun who helps everyone and has a wicked sense of
humor. She also is strong, even though inside she’s a marshmallow. Just like
me!
John’s Vision is
my fantasy with cowboys. I have to admit, they make my heart flutter. I’ve
never met an unkind cowboy. They’re such descent, hardworking people. And sexy
as hell!!
Where do you write?
I either write in my living room, or in my bedroom, sitting on my bed. My ideal
place to write is at the beach. The ocean sounds soothe me and bring me to a
place where nothing exists except whatever world I’m creating.
What is the most you have written in one
day?
There are days where I can’t pull myself away from the
stresses of life to be able to write a single word no matter how long I stare
at the computer screen. But, sometimes the words just fly and I can’t seem to
type fast enough. The ideas rush from me and I have to make notes so I don’t
forget what I want to add to my stories. I think the most I’ve written is about
10,000 words or so, but that’s not the norm. On the weekends or during the
summer, I tend to get a lot written each day, but during a work week, I try to
write between 2,000 and 5,000 words, depending on the content. Love scenes take
longer.
So what’s next for you?
I just submitted the second book in the Cowboy Series,
Psychic Connections. Its title is Touching
Deuce. It’s Deuce and Gracie’s story. It made me cry and laugh when I was
writing it. I love the strength of these characters. I also love the miracles
and psychic abilities in this series. The BDSM in the series is pretty hot,
too!! J
Are you writing
anything now?
I’ve been working on the third book in the Beckett’s Wolf
Pack, Triad Mates series. This one is Drew, Suzie and Carter’s story. I’m only a
couple of chapters in so far, but I’m working diligently on it. I have the
characters screaming in my head to tell their story.
Favorites:
Movie: Seven Brides for
Seven Brothers
Food: Pizza
Color: Red
Day of the Week:
Saturday
Time of Day: Evening
– definitely!
Guilty Pleasure: Taking a mental health day from work,
ordering a sausage pizza and turning off my phone to write. It’s great to tell
the world to go to hell once in a while.
John’s Vision, Cowboy Mates,
Psychic Connections 1
John knew the moment he saw Jamie
that she was his mate. His vision had given him a glimpse of the woman who
would fill his life with the love and acceptance that he craved. She had
appeared to him completely naked, beautiful, and pregnant, but the sadness in
her eyes had always haunted him.
Jamie’s life had been one of
isolation. She had always taken care of everyone else and had learned the hard
way that love would not be a part of her life. That horrible night so many
years ago had shattered her hopes for the future. A future with her would hold
only emptiness.
John knew better. Jamie was
perfect for him. She would bring fun and caring into his life. She would accept
him, his mixed heritage, and his need to dominate without reservation. She
would be the mother of his children and the keeper of his heart.
Excerpt
As she walked toward John she saw that he had stepped down off the
porch of his beautifully built log home and was striding toward her
purposefully. Goodness, but he was tall! His long legs ate up the distance
between them in no time. She reached out to him without hesitation, seeing the
concern in his steel gray eyes.
She was grateful when his hands reached out for her and she latched
onto his forearms to steady herself. Holy
hell! His forearms bulged with muscles! Reining herself in immediately, she
forced herself to push aside her wayward thoughts. This was not the time to
allow her fantasies to take over. She had to put a lid on the intense desire
that was rushing through her body.
Instead, she concentrated on the feel of his skin beneath her hands.
His warmth and power soothed her immediately, and she knew that his strength
would support her. He wouldn’t let her fall. How right it felt to touch him.
How she wished she could surrender to his strength and, for once in her life,
not be the one who had to take care of everything.
John’s surprise turned to complete joy as her hands gripped his
forearms. Forcing himself to clamp down on his immediate feelings of want and
need, he looked down at her with concern. She didn’t look well at all.
“Are you all right, Jamie?”
She shook her head, regretting the movement immediately. “John, would
you mind if I used your bathroom?” she asked him softly, afraid to raise her
voice and possibly push herself over the edge of the control that she was
barely holding on to.
John took her left hand in his right one and placed his left arm around
her back to cradle her body against his. He gripped her waist with a steady
hand and led her slowly toward his home, realizing that she was leaning onto
him for support. Although he wanted nothing more than to support her in every
way, this was not good at all. His protective instincts kicked in immediately.
What the hell is wrong with her?
Entering his home, he took the bag from her shoulder and tossed it onto
the couch in the spacious, open living room. He gently led her through his
home, walking her into the master bathroom that was connected to his bedroom.
They barely made it through the doorway when Jamie rushed forward, dropped to
her knees in front of the toilet, and was sick to her stomach. John knelt down
behind her, drew her hair away from her face, and held the softness of her dark
tresses in a tight grip as he supported her head with his other hand at her
forehead. She heaved two more times before leaning back weakly. She found his
arms gently surrounding her waist as he slowly pulled her body to rest against
him, and settled her back against his chest. Her body was covered in sweat and
her face was wet with tears.
Still cradling her against his chest, John reached over, flushed the
toilet, and grabbed the hand towel from the double sink to wipe her face
gently. She had her eyes closed and allowed his ministrations, obviously weak
from the exertion.
She sat between his thighs, leaning into his body. Despite her nausea,
she couldn’t help but appreciate the strength of his body. She looked down at
her hands as they were splayed across his spectacularly muscled thighs as he
sat back on the heels of his boots. She closed her eyes and swallowed with
difficulty.
“Do you think you can get me up to Deuce’s house?” she finally
whispered, looking up slowly as she leaned back against his chest.
John’s arms tightened around her briefly before loosening his hold and
stroking the side of her face gently with the back of his fingers. “If you want
me to, I will,” he answered honestly.
Jamie nodded and leaned forward as if to get up, but gave up almost at
once. She leaned back into his chest, grabbing at her temples immediately, a
moan of pain escaping her.
“Never mind,” she whispered, groaning. “Just leave me here to die.”
John chuckled and reached under the soft curtain of her hair to massage
the back of her neck gently. He closed his eyes and gave in to a full-fledged
smile when she groaned against his chest and held onto his free arm.
“Are you pregnant?” he asked her quietly, holding his breath as he
waited for her answer. Maybe that was what his vision had meant. Maybe she was
pregnant by another man and needed his help. Maybe she wasn’t his mate after
all.
Jamie’s snort and subsequent groan at the pain it caused her made him
look down at her face to see her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth set in a grim
line. She took a few deep breaths to ease the nausea that was building once
again.
“Yeah, right,” she barely whispered, reaching up to cover her eyes with
shaking hands.
John’s eyebrows went up in surprise. Did she not know how desirable she
was? He fought his own desires as she lay against him, her womanly curves
fitting within his embrace so perfectly. Leaning back, he allowed her head to
roll back against him so that her face was tipped up toward his, and saw that
her eyes were still closed. He carefully reached up, turned on the cold water
in the sink beside them, and wet the towel he had used on her face. He slowly
passed it across her forehead, down across her eyes, and then across her lips.
Each touch of the cool towel soothed her more and more, but the tight lines of
pain still remained across her brow.
“Then what’s wrong?” he asked her finally.
“Migraine,” she whispered, unable to say more.
John was silent for a moment, digesting the information. He had to be
honest with himself. He was happy that it was a migraine and not a
pregnancy—selfish shit that he was.
“I’ll get you up to Deuce’s,” he told her, steadying himself with his
left hand on the bathtub. He pushed himself up, bringing her body up with him
and turned her gently so that she could rest her face against his chest.
She groaned as her body swayed against his. Unable to do anything but
hold on, she clutched the material of his red T-shirt at his chest with one
hand and steadied herself with her other hand pressed against his lower back.
John closed his eyes to center himself. Her touch was pulling emotions
from him he had long since hidden away. He wanted to carry her to his bed, not
take her back to Deuce’s house. He wanted to take care of her, cherish her, and
make love to her.
“Let’s go,” he said finally, his voice gruff.
He took her arm and gently turned her to lead her out of the bathroom
to walk through his bedroom with the intention of guiding her out into the
living room. They only made it to his bedroom when Jamie clutched at his waist
and held on as her knees buckled beneath her. Without thought, John slipped his
right arm under her knees and lifted her up, turning slowly to gently lower her
onto his custom-made bed. He knelt down on the floor beside her, content to
stay where he was while she held onto his shirt and tucked her head against his
chest.
He smiled down at her as he eased her back onto his pillow. As he
reluctantly released her from his arms, he stood and looked down at her
tenderly. Reaching forward, he pulled her sneakers and socks from her body,
lifting her legs slowly and placing them to lie straight on the bed before
carefully covering her with the old, worn comforter that lay at the foot of his
bed. He walked back into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water,
squeezing it out and returning with it to Jamie. As he looked down at her he
felt an overwhelming sense of rightness at the sight of her lying in his bed.
She belonged there with him. Before the night was over, he would share it with
her. Just to hold her. For now.
Check out her other books:
Buy Link for
Laurie’s Loves
Buy Link for
Babies for Nikki
