Bring It Back(List) Dream Under the Hill by PG Forte

Dream Under the Hill is the next to last book in the nine book Oberon series (there are novellas, too, but the main series is nine big books). It's big and it's bleak, the action takes place over the course of seven months, and when I  re-release the series later this year, I'll probably have to include a couple of trigger warnings for this one in particular. 

But it does have a happy ending –– in fact, that's the excerpt I've posted below. And this happy ending leads directly into book nine which ends with EVERYONE happy. 

BLURB: The Spring Equinox falls in the month that nearly all Native Traditions recognize as being one of Big Winds--big changes. And big changes have certainly come to Oberon this spring, along with an ancient evil that must finally be laid to rest. ​

 Cara Matthews is a girl with a troubled past and a very troubling present. The teenage girlfriend of Oberon's newest guru has always looked for love in all the worst places. And it doesn't get much worse than the Church of Truth, Light and Harmony. 

 Former cop Liam McKnight could have told her that, but he's infiltrated the cult in hopes of discovering some clue to the whereabouts of his missing family members, and he can't jeopardize his mission--not even for love. In a month marked by birth, death and marriage, the inhabitants of Oberon must all come to terms with what's really important to each of them--important enough to die for. Only one thing is certain; when the winds of change finally stop blowing nothing, and no one, will be the same.

EXCERPT:

The high school auditorium was filled to capacity. There were no seats available, and even standing room was limited. But that was fine with Liam. He wasn’t looking to sit and he was happy right where he was––just inside the door, hidden in the shadows––where he could observe, without being observed. 

 Up on the stage, the school’s vice principal stood at the podium reading from a list of names while a steady stream of bright faced, blue robed girls climbed the stairs and crossed the stage to receive their diplomas and shake the principal’s hand. 

 Liam’s palms were already sweating and as the list went on, his tension mounted. “C’mon, c’mon,” he muttered beneath his breath. The D’s and the G’s seemed to take forever and the L’s were another eternity. But finally, the moment he’d been waiting for arrived. 

 “Cara Matthews,” the vice principal announced. 

 There was a pause in the stream. The newest graduate took a somewhat longer time to climb the stairs than those who had gone before her. Liam’s eyes filled with tears as she crossed the stage with an obvious limp. But though her stride was halting there was a determined tilt to her chin and Liam’s heart swelled with pride at the sight of her. 

 “Way to go, Caramel,” he murmured as she at last reached her goal. Spontaneous applause broke out from the audience and Liam had to gulp back a sob. He slipped out through the door before she turned to make her way back to her seat. He didn’t want to risk her seeing him. He didn’t want anything to disrupt her big day. 

 Sunlight stung his eyes as he exited the building. He’d sent flowers and balloons––but no notes. Maybe he was fooling himself thinking they could have a future, or even part of a future together. It could be that the sight of him would forever trigger nothing but painful memories of a time she’d rather forget. He didn’t know how she felt about him, but he was quite sure that––today especially––she could do very well without anything that might remind her of the hell Gregg had put her through. 

 Anyone would need time to recover from an ordeal like that and Liam had promised himself that he’d give her that time––time to recover, to graduate, to put the past behind her and decide on a direction for her future. If she chose to leave town, so be it. But, if she stayed... She had a birthday coming up soon, her eighteenth. In four weeks she’d be an adult and he would give himself one chance to win her over. When he reached his car he turned, and took one last look at the school. “Way to go Caramel,” he repeated again, softly. “See ya when you’re legal.” 

* * * 

 Several hours to the north, in the City of Berkeley, high school graduation had already taken place. Most of the new graduates were still partying. But not Deirdre Shelton-Cooper. 

 Deirdre was not in the mood to party. She was in the mood to hit the road––just as quickly as possible. 

 Her original plan had been to travel for the summer, take some time off, visit some friends. But, over the last couple of months all those plans fell apart. She knew a growing sense of urgency, and with each day that passed she felt more and more strongly that Oberon was where she needed to be. Now. Right now. 

 She couldn’t wait for August. She was leaving now. Tonight. She packed the last of her things in her trunk, secured her cat in the front seat and hugged her parents goodbye. 

 The afternoon sun was shining on the waters of San Francisco Bay as she steered her car onto the 880, heading South. 

 Deirdre sighed happily. She was finally on her way. Her future looked bright and full of promise. “Oberon, here I come.”

* * * 

Check out my website to learn more about the Oberon series. Or join my Facebook Group, The Crone's Nest, for news about when the series will be returning AND receive the FREE prequel novella, Such Fleeting Pleasures.

Lucy and Dan Cavanaugh have one of Oberon's hottest marriages. But it wasn't all strawberries and cream for the pair...or was it? 

In this Oberon series prequel, we travel back in time to see how their love story began. ​ While the rest of the series is due for a reboot, and (hopefully) will return later this year,  Such Fleeting Pleasures will ONLY be available as a free download to members of my readers group. 

 Get it NOW when you sign up:

  ​https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCronesNest

Fathers as Heroes

So Father's Day is coming up and I thought I'd share one of my favorite father-as-hero scenes. And, let me tell you, it was hard to choose just one. Turns out I really like writing heroes who are fathers. Which I guess makes sense since, for many of us, our father is our first hero. The fathers in my books range from good to not-so-good to truly awful...okay, the truly awful ones have all been villains. The one thing they never are is perfect; because perfect is boring.

I write hero-fathers for a lot of reasons. I like being able to explore different facets of my characters' personalities. I like watching how they juggle their various relationships and responsibilities. And, let's face it, there's something sexy and endearing about watching a tough, badass hero showing his softer side.

After much deliberation  I decided to go with this scene from Dream Under the Hill. I chose it in part because it reminds me of cooking with my own father. He also loved to cook and that was one of the last things I got to do with him.

Today was Palm Sunday, and if he’d still been a good Catholic, Nick knew he’d probably be getting ready to attend Mass.  But the Church was something he’d long since fallen away from, and, Good Catholic was a category from which he’d been definitively barred, not just for his divorce and subsequent re-marriage, but for a whole host of supposed sins that, according to canon, had irreparably stained his soul.  And while he would have liked to once again experience the feelings of Absolution and Grace, that he used to receive from the sacraments, all things considered, he didn’t miss it very much.

            What he would miss, however, were mornings like these, cooking breakfast for his family, and sharing some quality time with his son, Cole.

            “You having fun there, buddy?” Nick asked the little boy, smiling at the two year old’s attempts to stir the batter for this morning’s waffles.  “You’ve been at that a while.  Think it’s almost ready?”

            Cole shook his head.  “Noooo,” he replied, still gamely slapping the big wooden spoon around in the bowl; clearly intending to beat the batter into complete submission.

            “All right, we’ll give it a little longer then,” Nick told him, chuckling to himself as he went back to tending to the orange hollandaise sauce he was making for the eggs Benedict.

            Sunday breakfast was Nick’s new sacrament.  It was also his favorite meal to cook these days, which was odd, considering the one item he’d always considered his signature dish—meatballs––wasn’t usually thought of as a breakfast staple.  However, since his family was, once again, eating Sunday dinner at Lucy’s house, more often than not, breakfast had become his one chance to really cut loose.

            Not that his breakfasts were always as elaborate as this morning’s meal, but today was special.  It was his forty-fifth birthday, and he felt like celebrating.

            He also felt like staying home, drawing the day out, enjoying the time with his family and friends.  Which was partly why, when Sinead had invited them all to the inn for breakfast, he’d declined.  Much as he loved his friend and appreciated her cooking, he didn’t want to go anywhere today.

            The impulse surprised him.  He’d realized only recently that he’d finally begun to think of this house as home.

After almost three years, it was long overdue.  It was high time he learned to relax into his new life, to accept that fate had handed him a second chance, to stop worrying that it might all be taken away again.

            He took the hollandaise off the heat, checked on the home fries warming in the oven, and then took a minute to stir the tomato sauce simmering on the back of the stove.

            The aroma, when he lifted the cover off the pot, wafted him back to his own childhood, and made him happier than ever to be spending this time in the kitchen with his own son.  “Does that smell good, Cole?” he asked.

            The little boy nodded and mumbled, “Yeshh,” but absently, as he continued to concentrate on his work.

            At this rate those waffles might end up being part of Monday’s breakfast. “You know you can stop that now, if you want,” Nick suggested, but as he half expected, Cole shook his head stubbornly.  “All right, well, let me know if you get tired.”

            The rest of breakfast was either warming in the oven or chilling in the fridge––less the eggs, of course, which he’d poach while the waffles cooked––leaving Nick with nothing to do but contemplate dinner.

            After breakfast, he’d put the lemon-garlic chicken in the oven, make the meatballs, and stuff the manicotti.  Once all of that was accomplished, there was only kale to sauté, eggplant to fry and a huge antipasto salad platter to assemble, with olives, artichokes and marinated mushrooms, roasted peppers and zucchini, a variety of cheeses, smoked meats, capers, anchovies, tuna––and anything else he could think of.

            Lucy had offered to make the antipasto as part of her contribution to the meal, but again he’d declined.  It was the first dish he’d been allowed to ‘cook’ as a boy helping his parents in the kitchen, and he’d retained a special fondness for it.

            Maybe Cole would like to help him with that, too, he thought, smiling as he turned to his son again.  “Okay, why don’t you give me that, now, Cole,” he said, attempting to gently pry the bowl of batter away from him.

            Cole’s eyes narrowed.  From the angry set of his chin and the way he was scowling, Nick was pretty sure he was getting ready to pitch a tantrum.

            Quickly, he took the pan of home fries from the oven and spooned a few of them onto a plate.  “Here, try these potatoes.  Tell me if they’re good.”

            For an instant, Cole’s eyes narrowed even more, but then he smiled, reaching eagerly for the plate in Nick’s hand.  Nick smiled, too.  Despite his own mother’s insistence that Cole was the image of Nick as a baby, Nick didn’t think it was an easy call to make.  It was hard to determine which of his parents Cole most resembled. Until he smiled, and then it was no contest.  He was Scout all over, when he smiled. 

You can read more about the Oberon series HERE