Next week I'm doing a soft relaunch of my novella Truth or Dare--mostly because I'm still not sure how best to go about re-releasing books that have been previously published. But I spent most of this week reformatting all three of the books and, frankly, falling back in love with the characters. So, let me introduce you to a few of them--or reintroduce you, if you missed them the first time around.
The Wild Geese Inn, which is where all the stories are set, is a resort hotel that has seen better days. Located in the fictional town of Atlas Beach (and, seriously, WTF is wrong with my fellow New Jerseyans that no one ever thought to give that name to an actual town?) that once was a Beach Destination of Choice for Jersey Shore-goers but which has now, like the hotel itself, fallen out of favor. And that was before Hurricane Sandy beat the crap out of it. The the town is rebuilding. The hotel? Ah, that's where things get interesting.
"Wild Geese" is a term that was first coined in the 16th century. It initially referred to a particular brigade of soldiers who left Ireland to fight in France. Over the next few centuries the meaning changed--as frequently happens! At first it was applied to any Irish soldier who left to fight abroad, and gradually it began to be used to reference any Irish emigrant.
The Inn was founded by an unnamed ancestor of our protagonists. All we know it that he, or she, came from Ireland, settled in Atlas Beach and opened a hotel. It's possible the pub came first, and the hotel came later, but now it's just one big, sprawling, Victorian-era, conglomeration of accomodations. There's the hotel itself--a grand old building that's big on charm and romance, but totally lacking in modern amenities. Also, it's haunted. There's the attached bar, the only part of the package that works year 'round and which, seemingly, has a boggart attached to it. Boggarts are Scottish, and how it came to live in an Irish pub is anyone's guess. There are also beach cottages that are located on the adjacent blocks, and which--by and large--are only habitable during the summer months.
The property has been in the same family since it first opened, but since it has always been handed down along the matrilineal line, the names keep changing. When the story opens, matriarch Moira Walsh Gallagher has just passed away, leaving the hotel to her three adult grandchildren, Brenda Donovan, Luke Kelly, and Gwyn Carmichael.
Great-grandfather Walsh is the closest thing the family has to a patriarch, and given that his wife kicked him to the curb, he wasn't a very good one. He's the man responsible for the family curse, but since no one believes in the curse anyway, they don't hold it against him.
Gwyn Carmichael is the youngest of the cousins, although given that there's only a six month age difference between Brenda (the oldest) and and Gwyn (the youngest) with Luke more or less in the middle, that doesn't mean very much. Out of the three cousins, she's probably the one who's spent the most time at the hotel--she and her mom even lived there for awhile when she was a kid. So it's not surprising that she's also the most emotionally invested. Currently, Gwyn's in charge of the hotel itself. She's the only one of the cousins on speaking terms with the hotel ghosts.
Berke Weidman was Gwyn's college boyfriend--the good guy who still managed to break her heart when he left her for his bad boy best friend Cam Steiner. Gwyn hasn't seen either of the men since the super hot, totally disastrous Valentine's Day weekend the three of them spent in one of the hotel's cottages.
But now, it's Valentine's Day once more and they DID NOT just show up at her door again! Gwyn's ready to peace out on whatever plan the two guys have in mind, but it seems the ghosts have other ideas.
Luke Kelly is the middle child of the three cousins. Well, technically, of course, they're all only children, but... Luke's birthday falls midway between the two girls', and "between the two girls" is where he spent most of his childhood (no! NOT like that!) breaking up their squabbles and attempting to keep the peace, etc.
Luke's domain is the pub, and his two bĂȘte noires are the boggart who messes with the bar, and Kristy DiLuca, who messes with his head, and his heart, and always has. Luke's a sadist, and even if Kristy hadn't friend-zoned him back when they were kids, he'd still be reluctant to introduce her to all his kinks.
Kristy has loved, lusted, and longed for her good friend for as far back as she can remember. But Luke grew up with two gorgeous cousins, and Kristy could never believe he could ever really be interested in plain old her. Little does he know, but she'd love for him to do all the kinky stuff he's dreamed of doing. Luckily for the two of them, the boggart's got their back...or does he? Pinning all your hopes on a mischief-making spirit is probably not the best idea!
Brenda Donovan is the most responsible of the cousins, or at least she thinks she is. But, then again, she also thinks she knows best because she's the oldest. Needless to say, the other two don't take that all too seriously. Still, they happily put her in charge of the business side of things, because that's what she trained in, having gone to school to study hotel management while the others got more hands-on experience.
Like her cousins, Brenda has always dreamed of someday returning to Atlas Beach and running the Wild Geese Inn. But, now that someday is here, she's not sure the three of them are ready for it. The hotel's losing money and unless Brenda can come up with a solid plan, the three of them are going to lose their entire inheritance.
At sixteen Brenda fell in love with a boy named Noah. She he risked everything to be with him, and lost it all when he disappeared. Since then, she's walled off her feelings and refused to take risks. She's pretty sure she's not about to reverse that position and start taking risks now, but she'll need a little help convincing her cousins. That's where Max comes in...or so she thinks.
Max Murphy is a bit of a dark horse. He's working undercover at the Inn. Brenda thinks he's helping her negotiate a profitable sale of the property. Brenda's cousins think he's warming Brenda's bed. There's more going on than any of the cousins realize--but is it destiny taking a hand, or the family curse kicking in? Only time will tell...
Click HERE to read the prologue!
For Berke and Cam, the weekend isn't just about fun, or adding some spice to their marriage; it's about winning back the woman who got away, and convincing her to give a committed three-way relationship a shot. They each have skills that could help make the hotel a success -- and they're not above bartering to get what they want. but first they have to get past the walls Gwyn's built to keep them out. But while Cam's biggest concern is making sure Gwyn doesn't break Berke's heart a second time, Berke is worried about what Cam will think if he learns about Berke's part in screwing things up the last time around.
