A debut novel by MJ Fredrick

MJ Fredrick—my fabulous friend and fellow Noodler—is making her publishing debut! WHERE THERE’S SMOKE is a March release from Wild Rose Press. As I write this, her book is Number One on their current bestseller list. Congratulations, MJ! Such a gorgeous cover, and such a wonderful story!

Is there such a thing as being too close, knowing each other too well?

Lauren Stokes put a lid on her attraction toward her best friend Seth Escamilla years ago. She would never be his type of woman, so why torture herself? When sexual awareness strikes during a friendly football game, she is stunned. He is guilty for injuring her and looks after her, but Lauren resorts to wisecracking to distance herself from him.

Seth is confused by the new emotions swamping him. This is Lauren, his best friend, someone he has fun with, not someone he has fun with! He has no plan to settle down, and he won¹t risk their friendship when they have no future.

They resist the new attraction, and the efforts of their families to push them together. When a wedding loosens their inhibitions, keeping the new aspect of their relationship a secret is harder than they would have thought.

MJ’s next book, HOT SHOT, will be available in April from Samhain Publishing. To see the cover, visit her website.

Anyone else thinking that MJ seems to have a thing for firefighters?!

Lee

PS: I’m blogging today with the Harlequin American Romance Authors. I hope you’ll drop by and say hello!

Happy Easter!

Today is family day at my house and everyone is nibbling on chocolate. My kids are coming home for roast chicken dinner, complete with all the trimmings. But before that they’ll be helping their dad sweep off the patio and set up the patio furniture. Yes, spring is finally here!

Whatever your day brings, I hope your holiday is filled with peace and relaxation.

Warmest,
Lee

More on Men in Trees

Men in Trees is set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska, which I’ve always assumed is intended to represent the real town of Juneau. The TV series is actually filmed in Squamish, British Columbia, which is a lot easier to get to. The best part is that Squamish, which is about half the size of Juneau, has a similar geographic setting and a slightly milder winter climate.

The Chieftan Hotel in Squamish is a real place. They use an exterior shot on the show, but I'm certain that the interior shots are filmed in a studio. The Chieftan is named for The Chief—that looming granite cliff that often appears in the show. In fact, the geology around Squamish is primarily volcanic, and the same is true for Juneau.

For a TV film crew, Squamish is much more accessible than Juneau, and both towns have a similar climate, geography and vegetation, so filming Men in Trees in Squamish really does make a lot of sense.

What does intrigue me, though, is why one of the show’s film editors keeps sneaking in a shot of Peyto Lake. I’ve seen this in two episodes for sure, maybe three. The last time it was used was in “Charity Case.” It was slipped in between the movie night scene and Marin’s visit to Cash’s campsite the following day.

Why am I intrigued? Peyto Lake is in the Canadian Rockies, hundreds of miles from Squamish, just off the Banff-Jasper Parkway. The surrounding mountains all consist of sedimentary rocks, which is why you can see all those lovely layers in them. To the well-trained eye of yours truly—who happens to be a science geek as well as a romance author—the contrasting geology sticks out like a sore thumb.

Still, the Canadian Rockies are one of the most beautiful places in the world, so it doesn’t surprise me that someone affiliated with show would slip in a shot of those majestic mountains and a pristine glacial lake. But I do wonder if anyone else is paying attention!

More later,
Lee

Men in Trees—How Do I Love Thee?

Last night’s episode of Men in Trees was really titled “Read Between the Minds,” and one of the underlying themes looked at the different ways people express their love for another person. Not just romantic love, but a parent’s love for a child and the love between friends.

I’ll be honest, though. At first I thought the writers got a little carried away with this one. Seriously. Patrick taking to skies with a lawn chair and a bunch of balloons. Jane’s parents turning out to be little people. Those are the kinds of over-the-top situations that make me think, come on, that would never happen.

Ever since Patrick developed amnesia, the poor boy hasn’t been himself. What is a poor, distraught mother to do? Well, if you’re the police chief, you can put him in jail. And that’s exactly where Patrick’s reckless flight landed him. I’m sure every parent has wished for the same thing—the ability to keep a child safe and secure and out of harm’s way. In Patrick’s case, locking him up also helped Annie to continue to rekindle their relationship. Now it’ll be interesting to see how long Celia keeps her under lock and key!

Thanks in part to Jane’s parents, we got to see a new side of Sam last night. He’s a crier. He even got emotional over his new bride’s very badly written vows. So badly written that at first I thought he was laughing. At their reception, he did the chicken dance with her father, then he took the mic and we got to hear his vows. And then I was crying, Jane was crying, and even Jane’s dad was crying. Oh, Sam. You are a keeper.

Sam’s vows were so moving that Jerome sought out a piano in the hotel bar. He had even sheet music with him, and I imagine he’d intended to play that piece for Mary Alice. If only she hadn’t broken his heart after he’d mustered the courage to overcome his fear of flying so he could go to New York City to see her. I hope we haven’t seen the last of Jerome and Mary Alice. He deserves to have someone who loves him.

And then there’s Jack. He’s not much of a talker, never mind a crier. He’s a man of action. Fod days he sleeplessly agonized over watching another man die in the Bering Sea, and he tried everything he could think of to make himself forget. Sex. Scotch. Plumbing repairs. It wasn’t until he found the words to tell Marin what happened that he managed to sleep. It’s not about sex, Jack, it’s all about the love. You just have to learn to trust it. And yourself.

By the end of the episode I was trying to count the ways I love this show, and I had completely forgiven the writers for transgressing into over-the-topness. They made it work, and that takes a lot of skill.

Noticeably absent from this week’s episode of Men in Trees were Eric and Cash. However, Sarah caught the eye of a handsome doctor-slash-volunteer-paramedic, and it’ll be interesting to see where the writers go with that.

Next week’s episode is called “A Tale of Two Kidneys,” so it’s safe to say Cash will be back. Anyone care place bets on who’s going to be a donor match?

Back later,
Lee

Dancing with the Stars

This show never made it onto my regular viewing schedule, but I tuned in for this week’s Season 6 premiere of Dancing with the Stars because one of the stars is academy-award-winning actress Marlee Matlin. Marlee is extremely talented, absolutely gorgeous, and profoundly deaf.

I’m a hearing person who has spent several years studying American Sign Language. When I heard that Marlee would be one of the stars dancing on this show, I looked forward to seeing how they would handle communications between Marlee, her dancing partner, and the show’s hosts and judges. As it turns out, flawlessly. Marlee’s interpreter did a superb job, although listening to a male voice speak while she signs is a bit confusing at times.

I was also interested to see how a Deaf person would learn complicated dance steps and carry out them in time to music she cannot hear. Again, flawlessly! As she explained to her dancing partner, Fabian, “As a Deaf person, I use my body to communicate every day, so I think that’s a plus.”

But Marlee not only has to do the dance, she has to perform it. I thought she was amazing! The judges thought so, too. In his critique, Bruno told her, “You may not hear, but the music is running through your blood.” He then went on to tell her that he’d counted throughout the song, and she hardly missed a beat.

In Marlee's own words . . . er, signs . . . she said, “I’m here on Dancing with the Stars to show people that just because you’re Deaf doesn’t mean you can’t dance.” And she sure did show them!

Yes, Dancing with the Stars has a new viewer and I’ll be watching as long as voters keep Marlee on the show.

Lee

Happy St. Patrick's Day

No green beer for me, I'm afraid, but a pot of Irish stew and a pan of soda bread are on the menu tonight. However you plan to celebrate, may the luck of the Irish be with you!

Lee

Tuesday News—Tomorrow is Harlequin American Romance Day at Cataromance!

I hope you'll have a chance to drop by Cataromance tomorrow, March 12th, “for a fun filled day spotlighting Harlequin American Romance. At the heart of each of these books is an incredible love story set somewhere in the beautiful US-of-A and some of the most talented authors in the industry write for this line, so you’re in for a treat.”

See you there!

Lee