Charmed by His Love

Speaking of energy; I must be getting old, because

I look at young people and wonder where they get the

energy to deal with all the drama involved in pairing

up while trying to get their own lives in order. I feel

even older still seeing them having babies, when my

husband and I need naps after our grandkids come

visit for just a few hours.

I digress. Sorry. Back to Mother Nature’s

immodesty and how that inspires my writing. I get a

lot of raised eyebrows when I say I’m a romance

author—usually from the men. The women usually

just ask for titles. (When my husband gets one of

those raised eyebrows, he just says he does all my

research. Honestly, he says that with a perfectly

straight face! But it effectively forestalls any more

questions, and is quite often met with envy from the

men.)

From the prudes I immediately get, “Oh, you write

those kinds of books.”

Yes, I do, and I’m damned proud of it. Can

somebody please tell me how to tell a story involving

two people falling in love and not have sex be part of

their journey? Sure, I could have the hero sweep the

heroine into his arms and carry her into the bedroom,

then have him kick the door closed with his foot to

keep the reader out. But honestly, I want to go in there

with them, because I’ve discovered you find out an

awful lot about people when they’re naked. Stuff you

would never find out when they’re all dressed up in

their designer-label armor. A sassy-mouthed vixen

suddenly becomes self-conscious; a powerful warrior

hesitates; a wallflower awakens.

It’s not about the sex; it’s about the love. It’s

discovering who is really hiding behind the masks

people hold up to the big scary world, and about the

truly most powerful force in the universe—that of love

rippling with passion and desire.

Birds do it, bees do it; and if those noisy ducks can

do it with wild abandon right there on my beachfront,

then by God my hero and heroine had better let me—

and my readers—sneak into the bedroom while they

do it.

We promise we won’t giggle … too loudly.

Until later from a raucous LakeWatch, you keep

reading and I’ll keep writing.

Janet

Keep reading for an excerpt

from the next Spel bound Fal s romance

by Janet Chapman

Courting Carolina

Available September 2012 from Jove Books

Alec heard the distinct rumble of thunder over the gush of

the cascading fal s and tossed his shovel onto the stream

bank with a muttered curse before vaulting up behind it. He

picked up his shirt and used it to wipe the sweat off his

face, then turned to glare at the dark clouds rol ing across

the fiord toward him. “Go around!” he shouted, pointing

north with his free hand as he wiped down his chest. But the

storm gods didn’t have any sense of humor, apparently,

and the hairs on his arms stirred just as lightning flashed on

a sharp crack of thunder. “Wel , fine, then!” he shouted with

a laugh as he bolted toward camp. “Take your best shot,

you noisy bastards!”

Alec slipped into his shirt when the wind pushing ahead

of the storm took on an ominous chil , and lengthened his

stride when he realized he was losing the footrace to the

sheet of rain sweeping up the mountain. How in hel had he

been caught by surprise? There hadn’t been a cold front

forecast to come through or even any clouds in the crisp

September sky ten minutes ago. Another crack sounded to

his right just as the wind-driven rain hit with enough force to

make him stagger, and Alec scrambled to catch himself

with another laugh.

But he came to an abrupt halt at the sound of an

unmistakably feminine scream, fol owed almost

immediately by an enraged shout that was also human—

and male. He held his breath through several heartbeats,

trying to discern its direction in the downpour, then took off

at a run again, leaving the trail at a diagonal down the

mountain. He weaved through the old-growth forest even as

he wondered who was out here, as this section of the

resort’s wilderness trail was closed to guests until he had

al the footbridges and lean-tos in place.

Alec came to a halt again next to a large tree and lifted

his hand against the rain as he quickly calculated his odds

of saving the woman without getting himself kil ed in the

process. The two brutes attacking her weren’t much of a

worry, whereas the large dog racing up the mountain

toward them might be a problem.

The woman gave another bloodcurdling scream as she

bucked against the man straddling her, and twisted to

clamp her teeth over the wrist of the guy kneeling at her

head pi

was drowned out by a vicious growl as the dog lunged at

the man on top of her, the animal’s momentum sending

them both tumbling to the ground.

Okay then, the dog was on her side. Hoping it realized he

was also on the woman’s side, Alec drove his boot into the

ribs of the man she’d bitten, sending him sprawling into a

tree just as lightning struck so close the percussion

knocked Alec to his knees. And since he landed next to the

woman, he caught her fist swinging toward him, grasped

her waist with his other hand, and lifted her to her feet.

“Run! Up!” he shouted as he gave her a push. “God

dammit, go! The dog and I wil catch up!”

She hesitated only a heartbeat, but it was long enough

for him to see the stark terror in her eyes as she glanced at

the dog before she turned and ran uphil . The guy he’d