Addiction
by Sandy Marshall
About The Author
Sandra grew up in the mid-west in a small farming community where she belonged to 4-H. When she was thirteen, her family moved to, Lawrence, Kansas, the town where the University of Kansas thrived. After high school, she traveled to California to live with a friend and to find a job. She became very homesick and returned home.
She worked for a major airline for thirty-six years and did extensive travel during that period. It was a lovely time in her life working for a wonderful company. In 1999 she retired to write full time and worked seriously toward publication.
In 2008, she had her first book published, and then her second one in 2009. Shortly after her publisher closed their doors, and she immediately moved to a new publisher. She is still with the publisher and has had three books and a novella published with them. She has just contracted a short story with them titled Hitting Bottom, and is working on another short one.
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About The Book
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Eirelander Publishing
Release Date: March 6, 2009
Buy: Amazon
Book Description: Two men are after the same woman but for very different reasons. Dark-haired beauty, Jolene Dubois has a serious problem, and it's not just battling alcoholism. Late at night, she receives whispered calls. "Jolene, I want you. I'm coming for you." Shivers climb up her spine and ice flows in her veins. What does he want? Who is it? She must figure it out before she trusts the wrong person.
Jake Farrell, the handsome rogue is an operator with women, but is he hiding something dark and sinister under his cheery facade. The detective, Andy Martin, who investigated her father's murder, continues to ask her out. Les Voodré, an alcoholic she met at AA follows her everywhere, and Ron Keisler, her AA sponsor is always there when she needs him. Could her caller be one of these men?
To further complicate her life, she fights a host of addictions, alcoholism, smoking, gambling and sex. Jolene is determined to beat the alcohol and to stay out of the clutches of the fiend who phones her.
Authors That Have Inspired You
There are so many authors who have inspired for one reason or another. I will start with Carla Cassidy, she writes intrigues for Harlequin. She has a long career as an author and just signed a 12 book contract with Harlequin. What inspires me about Carla is that she doesn't let life stop her from writing. Most people who have faced the family and health problems she has would have let those events stop them in their tracks.
Another author, Marianne Stephens, has faced enormous health issues and family problems, but nothing has stopped her from pushing on. These authors inspire me. Any authors who deal with life issues like these inspire me to keep going.
Julie Garwood is a local author in my area, and she inspires me with her kindness told beginning authors. A New York Times Best Author, she first landed on the best seller list with her historicals, and then with her mysteries. After meeting Ms. Garwood, I decided to read one of her books, a historical, and I was amazed at the humor in it. She made me laugh out loud. I love it when an author can make me do that.
Recently, I interviewed Mary Jo Putney for a blog on one of my Yahoo groups. She had just gotten back from a trip to Europe and gotten sick on the way home. She still answered all my questions and sent the questionnaire to me in time for the post date. She was incredibly sweet in spite of being sick. Authors who still do their work without excuse inspire me.
If I meet an author and still think she/he is great then I'm inspired. If I meet a famous author and they act like they're better than anyone else, I'm not impressed. I'm most inspired by a humble author who is willing to give you her/his time.
There are many more authors who have inspired me than the ones I've mentioned, but it would make this essay too long. Smile! To further complicate her life, she fights a host of addictions, alcoholism, smoking, gambling and sex. Jolene is determined to beat the alcohol and to stay out of the clutches of the fiend who phones her.
Excerpt:
Ring.
Ring.
Her
heart pounded frantically. Jolene pushed her covers off and jumped
out of bed, her gaze on the clock. Four
o’clock in the morning.
She had a caller. Horror pulsed through her veins, and then she
grabbed her purse.
It
can’t possibly be him.
Come
on, Jolene, answer it.
Her
hands shaking, she dug in her purse pulling out the cell phone and
flipping it open. “Hello.” He’d blocked the caller ID.
“What
took you so long, Jolene?” a muffled voice asked.
She
tightened her grip on the cell. No. How did he get this number?
“Come
on, speak to me. I know you’re there,” the whisperer said in a
low raspy voice. “Don’t make me come in there.”
“What
do you want?” He knew where she was. How could he? “How did you
get this number?” she demanded, rubbing her palm on the pale floral
bed cover. Was he outside? She wanted to hang up, but that never
worked. He’d call all night then.
“Jolene,
I’m disappointed in you. You were around too many people tonight
for me to get to you.”
She
rose and walked to the window, feeling cold in spite of her olive
green cotton pajamas. If only he’d talk in a normal tone, she might
recognize the voice. “Why are you harassing me?” she asked,
sliding the light green curtain aside so she could peek out. There
weren’t any new cars parked on the street, but he could’ve parked
anywhere and be outside the house.
“I
thought we were friends. Don’t you like it when I tell you all the
things I’m going to do to you?” He cackled loud and long.
His
maniacal laughter sent shivers up her body, and she wrapped her free
arm around her waist. Did she know this person? Surely, she didn’t
know anyone like this except for Les. That guy was just downright
crazy. Quiet.
She
held her breath and listened. Was he still there? No sound. He
must’ve hung up. Softly, she started to close her cell.
“Don’t
hang up on me, Jolene.”
Startled,
the phone slipped out of her grasp, but she scrambled to catch it.
The darn thing hit the thick beige carpeted floor. Down on her knees,
she grabbed the cell, putting it to her ear.
“Hello.”
The buzzing told her she’d lost him. What would he do now? Call her
back. She stared at the phone, her shoulders hunched, and the tendons
in her neck tightening.
After
a few moments, she rose, went to her bed and climbed in pulling the
covers around her. She knew she wouldn’t sleep, but she didn’t
want to wake her sister or call her brother to talk to him. This was
her problem to take care of. She would call the police later this
morning and make a report.
Ring.
Ring.
Jolene
grabbed the phone; she knew it was him again. She’d made him mad by
hanging up on him even though it had happened accidentally. Without
saying anything, she listened, hoping it wasn’t him.
“Don’t
ever do that again.”
The
loud click told her he was finally gone. Her hand shook so badly she
could hardly reach the oak end table to lay her cell on it. She’d
never sleep the rest of the night. She had to figure out who this
person could be.
The
only person she knew this crazy was Les, but she didn’t know how he
could’ve gotten her numbers. She’d never met him before tonight.
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