I’m one of those people who watch the news. Mostly
because I work in an office by myself 90% of the time so if I didn’t at least
watch the news I would be in a bubble. I attempt to stay up to date on current
events and goings on in the world. I listen to economics podcasts next to
hockey reports, at least when the NHL isn’t in a lockout. Sometimes what’s
going on outside my four walls is depressing and at other times inspiring.
I’ll never forget how misty eyed I got over a news
story about a young man who lost a leg and a few months later won a medal at
the Paralympics. There’s good and evil in the world. It might not be a balanced
yin-yang sort of thing, but if you look hard enough you can uncover the good
though a lot of the time we get spoon fed the bad.
I
fully admit that I take some inspiration for my books from the world around me.
I like to talk about how fictional characters handle issues in their lives. How
they mess up, overcome or defeat the seemingly impossible, rescue the damsel
(or hero, because let’s face it, its better when you can rescue each other) in
distress.
When I wrote A
Kiss for a Cure, there was a current events piece I read that talked about
a man in a really tight spot. He wasn’t in the military, but he worked in an
auxiliary capacity and found himself behind enemy lines. He wasn’t taken
captive exactly, but he was pressed into agreeing to spy on his country. Of
course this agreement had strings and it wasn’t as simple as running home,
telling the military types what happened and being safe. No, this man’s family
was put into danger, his way of life threatened and for a short time he
considered following through on his pledge to spy.
The story gets complicated after that, and sadly I
never bookmarked the piece so I can’t even reference it. But it stayed with me.
Made me think about tough places, the choices we make and where they take us. I
wanted to write the story of a man faced with choosing whose safety means more
to him. His own, or that of the woman entrusted to his care, who doesn’t even
like him very much. What choices would he make? How would he handle the stress
and strain? Would he crack.
Those are the questions I wanted to answer. What
would Cai, the hero, do? Okay, so he’s the hero of the story. You probably have
a pretty good idea of what the outcome is, but everyone can mess up. And I love
an imperfect hero. Someone with flaws and uncertainties. I love stories that
put a character between a rock and a hard place, and I hope I succeeded in
writing it.
What’s
the hardest decision you’ve had to make?
---
It can never be said that Sidney
Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life. She is a recovering roller derby
queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the
US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the
rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and
Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she
splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.
Kiss
for a Cure
Lyrical
Press | Barnes and Noble | Amazon | iTunes
What’s a girl to do when her parents gift her with a
man for Christmas?
Caught between two kingdoms, Jordan has given up the
privileged world of intergalactic court life to become an interstellar
biologist researching space sharks. Unexpectedly saddled with a husband from a
race who are rumored to be sex fiends, her life is yanked in a direction she
doesn’t want.
But Cai isn’t human and he must have the emotional
feedback of a mate in order to survive. Charged with protecting Jordan, can he
win her heart and keep her safe from harm?
Will they survive the challenges that arise…sexual,
emotional and political? Time is ticking away and it’s not on their side.
---
Excerpt
Christmas presents were not supposed to move.
Jordan froze, staring at the seven-foot-long box
wrapped in silvery paper. The one sent by her parents. Her heart pounded so
hard she could hear it. No, that pounding came from the box. From inside the
box.
Blood drained from her extremities. Her chest
constricted until she panted for breath.
What had her parents done this time? She clenched
her hands and gritted her teeth. In the history of bad, over-the-top and gaudy
presents, she feared this might be the worst.
She turned her back on it and put a hand to her
stomach. She needed to sit down, preferably on something soft and forgiving,
but her furniture had yet to be delivered. The only furniture in her new
quarters was her bed. Everything else was packed up in the utilitarian beige
plastos she’d purchased secondhand from a shipper to get her things to
university. They showed their age with scrapes and dented sides, but they were
so sturdy nothing had ever been broken in moving them from place to place.
Plastos were stacked against the walls, in groupings in the middle of the
floor, and in her bedroom. Everywhere. Her new quarters looked like a cargo
hold.
Again, the pounding came from the box, but louder.
She jumped and spun to face the box. Whatever was in there wanted out. She
leaned against the wall and stared at the silvery paper. Light from the
floor-to-ceiling windows made glimmering patterns against the surface of the
package. She could escape the room, since her upgraded quarters had a real
bedroom and a kitchenette, but whatever was in the box would still be there.
Sucking in a deep breath, she crept toward it until
she could touch the top with her fingertips. It was cool against her skin, even
through the paper. Bending, she put her ear against it and gently rapped. The
box rang hollow.
Maybe she’d heard something in the Center clanging.
There was always the chance there was construction going on over the holidays
since most people were away for several weeks. Or maybe one of her plastos had
fallen.
Something knocked from inside the box.
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