I’m currently working on 3 manuscripts now, and I’d like to share a little sneak peek at the upcoming “Black Queen; Killing Machine”, another book in the “Valentine Apart” series, featuring Jo Fuentes, who I introduced in the third Valentine book. Enjoy!
Roger Plankman could feel the blood rushing to his head, as he dangled six flights up, over the side of the motel. Jo had a vice grip on his ankles, but every few seconds, she would lower him, then raise him again. He heard her groan, then he felt her tighten her grip even more. “He’s getting heavy, Kelly,” she whined.
“I know, I know,” Kelly said. She put one foot up on the edge of the building, and leaned forward, with her hands resting upon her thigh. “What’s it going to be, Roger? Are you going to tell me what I want to know, or am I going to have to let Jo drop you?”
“I don’t know anything!!” Roger insisted. “I swear!”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “This is becoming very tiresome.”
“Tell me about it,” Jo muttered.
“So, you’re not going to cooperate?” Kelly asked.
“I don’t know anything!” Roger declared.
Kelly sighed heavily, stood up straight, and waved her hand. “Oh, just drop him,” she said.
Jo shrugged, and release both of Roger’s ankles. He yelled as he plummeted towards the pavement below. He landed in a heap beside a dumpster. Jo leaned over the edge and looked down at him, and gasped. “Hey, look!” she said. “The fall didn’t kill him.”
Kelly stood beside her and looked down at where Roger had fallen. She saw him move his head, and one of his hands tried to reach up, towards them. “Oh,” she said. She reached into her waist band, and pulled out her hand gun. Pointing it down at Roger, she fired a single shot, and struck the center of his chest. “Yes it did,” she said, flatly. “Let’s go.”
Two more books in the Valentine Apart series are on their way! Until they are ready, here’s a sample of the first chapter of Black Queen: Killing Machine. This book in the series reveals Jo Fuentes’ s past, before she met Valentine and just before she began working for Kelly McCormick. Enjoy!
Chapter One
She sat at the table, with her head down; right ear pressed against the surface. Her eyes were open, staring straight ahead at the metal door. The room was a typical interrogation room: painted in that drab matte gray. No windows. No pictures. No contact with the outside world. Only silence. Beyond the door, she imagined people going about their business, doing their jobs. Filing paperwork. Making phone calls. People in their fatigues or “dress blues”. Maybe a handful of people in “civies”. People who were moving around and doing important things, while she sat in a quiet little room, just waiting…
The door suddenly opened, and a man in uniform stepped inside. He was carrying a manila folder. She lifted her head and stood up from her seat, and saluted him. He nodded as he walked over to the table and took the seat across from her. He gestured for her to sit back down. Her eyes remained on his uniform as she seated herself. Marine. A Colonel. Bars. Awards. This guy seemed important.
“I’m Colonel Brantley,” he said. He set the folder on the table, and opened it. “It’s good to have you state-side, Lance Corporal Fuentes.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said. “But everyone calls me Jo.”
Brantley looked up at her through middle-aged gray eyes. “Jo, is it?” he said. “Jo. Okay, Jo. We need to talk about what happened. I’m going to ask you some questions, for my report. Is that okay with you?”
“Begging your pardon, sir,” Jo said, “But I thought a report had already been filed.”
“This is for my report,” Brantley clarified. “You see, what happened to you is a pretty extraordinary thing. I would like to know more about it.”
Jo shrugged her shoulders. “There’s nothing more for me to tell, sir,” she said. “We came under attack. Corporal Sullivan and I survived, and we’re both here in the states.”
Brantley looked down at the contents of the folder. He thumbed through a few documents, then looked at the eight-by-ten photos behind them. “I believe there’s more to it than that,” he said. He looked up at Jo. “Do you remember that day, Jo? Do you remember what happened?”
Jo stared ahead at him. Her face was still, but her mind was active. Images a Hummer, driving down a road in the Iraqi desert, her unit talking and laughing. Sullivan—Sully, as she called
him—made a joke, and everyone laughed. Suddenly, no one was laughing. There was an explosion, followed by darkness…
“Jo? Fuentes?”
She blinked at him, and furrowed her brow. “Yes, sir?”
“I asked you if you recalled anything strange happening before the explosion?”
Jo could feel her heart beating rapidly inside her chest. The explosion. The explosion…
It has begun: The Valentine Series Giveaway! Readers can enter for a chance to win a copy of all three books in the Valentine Series*. Entries will be accepted now … Continue reading Valentine Series Giveaway
If you’ve been keeping up with the series (and I hope you have!), then you know a lot has changed since I first introduced Val Entienne and company in 2010. What began as a story about a girl going on a road trip to rescue her father has evolved into something completely different. There are shoot-outs, and hit men, and a Syndicate full of crime bosses. We’re a long way from the road trip, folks.
What’s the theme of the Valentine series? Girls with guns? Violence? If that’s how you choose to look at it, I certainly can’t stop you. But those are not the themes I intended. Valentine, is about family. Our pink-haired heroine only wants to protect the people she loves. She beginning to learn about and understand the world she was basically born into. Valentine, is about the choices we make, and the choices that are made for us. It’s about how our past can shape our present, but ultimately, we can alter the course of our future.
Queen of Hearts picks up where The Patron Saint left off (warning: there may be spoilers here!). Val returns home, and the Entienne house is whole again. But, she’s unaware of the new dangers and new people who are about to enter her life. There’s Michael Aldus: a liaison for the Syndicate. And of course, there’s the Syndicate: the network of crime bosses, hit men, and criminals who work all across the country (and the world). This is the world Val became a part of, when her father started working for John Rafferty. As Val is about to discover, it may have started even earlier than that.
Queen of Hearts answers some questions from the previous books, and presents a few new ones as well. And the ending, will be the big shocker (of course, I won’t tell you here). I’ll be hosting a major giveaway on Goodreads.com at the end of the month, so I’ll keep you posted.
Greetings, ladies and gents. So, it’s February, and most people are probably getting ready for Valentine’s Day. When you think of Valentine’s day, you probably think of hearts and chocolates, … Continue reading The Valentine Series Giveaway
Hello, everyone! Happy New Year. This is the first Monday Blog for 2016. I decided to start the New Year off on a positive note, so I’m going to offer some advice to my fellow writers. Plus, I’d like to invite all of you to Goodreads.com if you haven’t already signed up, and I’d like to talk a little about Valentine 3.
Your Best Writing Year
Whenever New Year’s Day rolls around, people make resolutions. We set goals for ourselves: lose weight, quit smoking, etc. I’m usually not big on resolutions. I just take each day, and do the best I can with it. This year, however, I am going to set a few goals for myself. My mother is about to publish her very first book, and she has asked me for tips and advice. So, I decided to share some of my ideas with my fellow writers. I’m not an expert, but I want to share the things that I have found to be useful over the years. Hopefully, you’ll find at least one of my tips useful, and you will be able to make 2016 your best writing year.
Don’t just be a writer, be a reader. Reading is what inspired me to become a writer in the first place. I have a set of authors I like, for different reasons. For example, I always liked James Howe’s use of dialogue, and his descriptiveness. If there is a particular genre you want to write about, it helps to read other books in that genre. This can help you learn what works and why, and it may also help you find your own writing voice.
Only write when you feel like writing. I don’t tell myself “I will write at least 5 pages a day.” I may be in the mood to write on Monday, but on Tuesday I may not be feeling it. So, if I force myself to write when I’m not in the mood, my writing will most likely SUCK. I won’t be at my best. If you’re sincerely not in the mood to write, don’t. Step away from your computer or notepad, or whatever you’re using.
If you can see it, you can write it. I’m a very visual person. One of my methods, is to see the story in my mind, and then write it. Every chapter of Valentine or Fortune’s Wing is like the episode of a TV series. I watch it in my head, and simply write what I’m seeing. Try to visualize a scene before you write it. You may even want to grab a sheet of paper and draw the scene. For instance, you could draw the layout of one of your character’s bedrooms, to use as a guide when describing it in your writing.
Don’t be afraid of synonyms. There are certain words we overuse, and we really don’t have to. One way to avoid this problem, is by using a Thesaurus. It can be a writer’s best friend. There’s more than one way to say a character is “happy”. They can be “glad”, or “cheerful”, or “overjoyed”.
Try writing from a different point of view. If all of your writing is done in first person, give third person a try. If all of your writing is in third person, try writing in first person.
Write about what you know. I love football, but I don’t know enough about it to write a football story. I also love mysteries, but I’m not good at writing them. What I do know, is punk rock, so I wrote Our Lady of Righteous Rage. I know about family drama, so I was able to write new arcs of the Valentine series. Write about a subject you are familiar with. If you don’t know very much about politics, then writing a political drama may not be a good idea. If you’re into horror, and you’ve read a lot of horror and seen a lot of horror movies, writing horror might be your thing.
I hope you found these tips useful.
Goodreads.com
If you haven’t already joined Goodreads.com, I urge you to join! It’s free, and you can sign in with your Facebook account. It’s a great website for sharing books you’ve read, discovering new books, and writing reviews. If you’re a writer, you can create an author page and reach a wider audience. Plus, there’s my favorite feature: giveaways. Giveaways are a wonderful way to put your book in the hands of readers, and receive reviews.
Valentine 3
Valentine 3: Queen of Hearts, the third installment in the series, is currently available on Amazon.com, and through woolastonenterainment.com. One thing that’s very special about this book, is it is the first published WE book to introduce an LGBT character. Plus, it provides some background information about the Entienne family, and Lola Vencent, which may explain why they are the way they are.
In “Valentine 2: The Patron Saint”, Val and her family try to move on and live normal lives. However, their normalcy is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger, with a dark secret concerning a member of the Entienne family. So, here is Chapter 1 from “Valentine 2”.
Chapter 1:
A Rose Grows in Trenton
It was after midnight. The street was quiet. A streetlamp flickered for a few moments, before shutting off completely. There were several cars parked outside of four apartment buildings at the intersection of Froman Street and Gent Avenue, in Trenton, New Jersey. Every car was empty, except for one: a dark blue Ford Taurus. A man sat in the driver’s seat, staring up at a window on the fourth floor of one of the buildings. The window was dark, but he knew someone was up there, inside the apartment, watching him. It was a teenaged girl. She was crouching down, just below the window sill, peeking out at the man in the car. After a few minutes of watching one another in silence, the man finally started his car and drove away. The girl gave a sigh of relief, and stood up. She carefully made her way through the darkness, to the light switch on her wall, and flicked it on. The light mounted on the ceiling came on; the eco bulb made a soft humming sound. She walked over to her wooden dresser, and opened the top drawer. Inside, she found a tattered photograph of three people: a man, and two young women. They were standing in front of a brick wall, with the man in the center and the two women on either side of him. He had his arms around them, and all three of them were smiling. The girl smiled at the women in the picture. She had been told, they were her uncle, cousin, and sister. Obviously, the man in the picture was her uncle. But, as far as who was her cousin and who was her sister—that had never been made clear. One girl had long, fuchsia-tinted hair. The other, had short pink hair. The pink-haired girl, was the one she was the most curious about. She had heard fantastic stories about her; how people feared and respected her. The most recent stories, made the girl want to reach out to her. She protected women who had been abused by their husbands or boyfriends. She had driven across the country to save her father. She had even rescued and befriended a fourteen-year-old girl. People were calling her, “The Patron Saint of the Weak”. But her true nickname, was “Valentine”.
“Victoria?”
The girl looked up from the picture when she heard her mother call her from down the hallway. “Yeah, Mom?”
“Don’t you have school in the morning?”
Victoria groaned. “Yeah, Mom.”
“Then go to sleep, honey.”
Victoria sighed, and smiled at the picture again. She thought about the man in the Taurus, who had been staring up at her window, night after night. “Valentine,” she whispered. “I have to find you.”
Time for round 2 of the sample chapters! Today’s post come from “Valentine”, the forst book in the Valentine series. Book one concerns Val’s road trip to California to save her father, followed by her first encounter with Lola Vencent, Rafferty’s Valkyrie. Here’s chapter one:
Chapter 1:
“I’d Rather Ride Solo” or “Road Trip”
It was early; around six in the morning. It was a good time to hit the road. Most people were still asleep, so the roads would be clear. The apartment was dark except for the light hanging above the dining room table. Veronica Entienne stood next to the table in her bath robe, with a mug of coffee in her hand. She watched her cousin Val stuff a few last-minute items into her black duffle bag. She was kneeling on the floor, forcing the zipper to close. When she accomplished her mission, she stood up, and slung the bag across her shoulder. “Okay,” Val said. “I’m ready.”
“Sure you don’t want any coffee?” Veronica asked. “It might help, Val.”
Val shook her head. “You know I don’t drink that stuff,” she said. “Besides, my adrenaline will keep me awake.” She sighed, and looked around the apartment.
Veronica set her mug down on the table. “You’re looking at this place as if you’re never going to see it again,” she said.
“I may not,” Val said.
Veronica shook her head. “Don’t talk like that,” she said. “You’ll come back. I know you will.”
Val smiled at her cousin. “Okay,” she said. “If you say so. You remember what to do, right? You’re okay with this?”
“Yes, yes, Val,” Veronica said. “All I have to do is take care of the rent and the bills, keep the place clean, blah blah blah. I can handle it.”
Val nodded her head. “Okay,” she said.
“Just make sure you do your part and call me every step of the way,” Veronica said.
“I will,” Val said. She placed her hand on the door knob, and slowly turned it. She opened the door, then paused and looked back at her cousin. “Gotta go, now,” she said. “Wish me luck.”
Val smiled, and let herself out of the apartment. She walked down the hall, down two flights of stairs, and out of the building. It was time for her to begin her solitary road trip. Her method of transportation: her 1967 Black Ford Mustang. Her route: the infamous route 66. Her purpose: to locate Vincent Entienne, her father. Val walked across the parking lot of the apartment complex, and walked around her car, to the trunk. She opened it, and dropped her duffle bag inside. She looked around the parking lot for any sign that she wasn’t alone. When she was certain no one else was around, she unzipped a side pocket of the bag, where she had tucked a pair of .38 mm black handguns, and extra ammunition. She sighed heavily, then zipped the bag closed and slammed the trunk shut.
Val climbed into her car and started it, and backed out of her assigned parking space at Lindsey Towers Apartments. It was going to be a long drive from Chicago to Los Angeles, but she was determined to go.
Vincent Entienne worked for a man everyone knew as Rafferty. Vincent never explained exactly what he did for Rafferty, but Val knew it wasn’t anything legal or legitimate. Vincent always came home with money, but never a paycheck. Whenever Val asked what he did for Rafferty, he simply said, “I work, I get paid, and I take care of you and Veronica.” But lately, he seemed to be tired of his “work”, and he even talked about getting of the business. In order to quit, he would need a good reason, and he would need to speak to Rafferty in person.
Vincent came home one night in a panic, telling his daughter and his niece he needed to go away for a few days. Something came up, and he had finally decided to quit working for Rafferty. He had to go to California to talk to him. He couldn’t give the girls any details—-he just had to go see Rafferty.
“You have to tell us something, Dad,” Val said as she watched her father pack a dark green back pack.
“I can’t talk about it, Vally Girl,” Vincent said. “Let’s just say, Rafferty asked me for something I can’t give him. I’ll be back in a few days…..I promise.”
But a few days turned into a few weeks. Vincent didn’t call, and he didn’t answer his cell phone. When he didn’t return, Val decided to go to California herself. She would either find her father alive and bring him home, or avenge his death.
Val followed the signs for Springfield and entered route 66. “Hold on Daddy,” she whispered to herself. “I’m coming.”
Every few minutes, Val looked up at her rear view mirror, and saw a dark blue pick-up truck, one car length behind her. She first noticed it when she entered Springfield. Sometimes it would get lost behind another car on the highway, but it would always make its way back to her. It looked like the truck that belonged to her father’s partner , Jacob. Val had called Jacob after her father disappeared, hoping to get some information. Jacob didn’t answer any of her calls. Now, she was certain he was following her.
There was a sign indicating a train station was at the next exit. Val quickly changed lanes and took the exit. This caught the truck by surprise, and the driver missed the exit. Val laughed to herself as she rode around the curve. She drove to a traffic light and made a right turn, and went around another curve which took her directly into the parking lot of the train station. There, she found an empty space at the far end of the lot, parked her car, and turned it off. She gave a sigh of relief, and checked her appearance in her rear view mirror. She brushed away a few loose strands of her carnation pink-dyed hair that had fallen across her face, and got out of her car. She shook her head and stretched. Her journey had barely begun, and she was already being followed. Looking ahead at the station, she figured there had to be restrooms and vending machines inside. She could use the restroom, grab some chips and a soda and hit the road again. She didn’t want to stop again for another four hours, and she couldn’t afford to let anything slow her down.
Val entered the station and immediately found the ladies room. After using it, she walked around the lobby of the station, to a vending machine, where a dollar bought her a can of Pepsi. She popped it open and drank half of it down, and smiled. “Caffeine,” she whispered.
“I said leave me alone!”
“So what?”
Val searched the station’s lobby for the source of the argument, and found a young girl sitting in a chair about fifty feet away. Two teen-aged boys were standing around her. The girl was looking back and forth between them.
“Come on!” one of the boys said. “We’ll give you a ride.”
“I have a train ticket,” the girl said. “I don’t need a ride, so just go away!”
“You’ll have more fun if you ride with us,” the first boy said.
Val quickly finished her Pepsi and threw the can away in the closest garbage can she could find. She began to walk towards the two boys. “Hey!” she said. A few of the other people in the station looked up. The two boys looked at Val in surprise. The girl looked at her with gratitude.
“Didn’t she ask you to leave her alone?” Val asked. She stopped a few feet away from the boys.
“So?” the second boy said. “What’s it to you?”
“This isn’t any of your business,” the first boy said.
“Yeah, well, I’m making it my business,” Val said, calmly. “So, I suggest you guys leave that girl alone…..now.”
The first boy laughed. “Oh yeah?” he said. “Or else what? What are you gonna do?” He narrowed his beady brown eyes at Val. He took two steps toward Val, who grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back, and brought him down to his knees. The other boy backed away.
Val leaned in and whispered into the boy’s ear. “If you don’t leave her alone, I’m going to twist your arm off,” she said. She released his arm, and watched him stand up. He looked over at his friend, then the two of them turned and quickly walked away.
Val looked at the girl sitting on the bench. A smile spread across the girl’s face. She stood up from the bench and extended her hand to Val. “I’m Melinda!” she declared. “Melinda St. James. That was so cool!”
“Val,” Val said. “Val Entienne.”
“I can’t believe you saved me,” Melinda said.
“No problem kid,” Val said. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Well, yes,” Melinda replied. “I’m on my way to my grandparents’ house in Tulsa.”
Val shook Melinda’s hand. “Oh, okay,” she said. “Good luck, Melinda St. James. See you around.” She turned, and started to walk away.
Melinda gasped and turned to the bench. She grabbed the blue duffle bag she had shoved underneath her seat, and ran after Val. “Wait a minute!” she said. “You’re my hero! I have to repay you.”
“No you don’t,” Val said. “Its okay—-really.”
“Where are you going?” Melinda asked.
“California,” Val replied, dryly.
“Can I go with you?” Melinda asked.
Val stopped in her tracks and turned to face Melinda. “Aren’t you going to Tulsa?” she asked.
Melinda looked down at her feet for a moment. “Well, yeah,” she said, quietly. “But I don’t have to.”
Val sighed. “Look kid,” she began, “I’m traveling alone, and I have a schedule to keep.” She looked over at a corner of the station, and saw the two teen boys. Now there were three other boys with them. “Crap,” Val muttered. “They’re still here, and they’re multiplying.”
Melinda gave her a curious look, then turned and saw the boys. “Oh,” she whispered. “They’re back….”
Val stared at the boys and their friends. I can’t leave her alone here, she thought. Those boys are gonna mess with her again. And, Tulsa is on my way….
“Val?”
“Okay, kid,” Val said. “You can come with me. I’ll give you a ride to Tulsa. But that’s it.”
Melinda beamed with delight. “Great!” she exclaimed. “I won’t be any trouble—I promise.”
Val led Melinda out of the station and across the parking lot, to her car. “Give me your bag,” she said. “I’ll put it in the trunk.”
“This is your car?” Melinda asked. “Wow! It’s sooooo cool!”
“How old are you, kid?” Val asked.
“Fifteen,” Melinda replied, proudly. “Well, actually I’m fourteen, but I feel like I’m fifteen.”
“Oh Lord,” Val muttered. “This is going to be a long ride.” She unlocked the passenger side door, and Melinda climbed inside. As she walked around to her door, Val noticed the boys coming out of the station. They walked half-way across the parking lot and stopped. Val got into her car and started the engine. She rolled a few feet forward, then stopped, and revved her engine. The roar of the Mustang’s engine must have been intimidating, because two of the boys backed away. Val rolled forward again, then laughed as all five of the boys turned and ran back into the station. Val pulled out of the parking lot and smiled. “Idiots.”
Available on amazon.com and woolastonerntertainment.com
Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome back to the weekly blog on Woolaston Entertainment.com. This week, I’d like to share a little info about a new series I’m working on. It’s the “Valentine Apart” series. Simply put, this series will focus on characters in the Valentine series aside from Val herself. There are currently two working titles: Allan & Mac, and Her Name is Lola Vencent.
Allan & Mac
These are two characters you won’t be familiar with, but they will play very important roles in Valentine 3, when it becomes available. They’re a pair of siblings and hit men as well. Their methods of carrying out their hits are a bit unorthodox (example: Mac’s idea of drowning an alcoholic in a tub of beer, to serve as an ironic death). Despite Allan and Mac’s chosen profession, the story itself is a dark comedy. The pair finds time in between jobs to have sarcastic arguments with one another over who makes a better hit man. There are some dramatic elements as well, such as the strained relationship between the pair and their father, and the question of whether or not they’re “doing the right thing”. Even if you’ve never read Valentine, I believe you’ll enjoy it.
Her Name is Lola Vencent
You already know Lola Vencent. She’s Rafferty’s former valkyrie. She a close friend of Val Entienne, aka Valentine. She’s also pretty good with a gun. This arc of the story takes you back in time, to Lola’s college days, her friendship with Barbara O’Riley, and the events that led her to work for Rafferty in the first place. Although both stories take place before Valentine is introduced, Her Name is Lola Vencent serves as more of a prelude to the Valentine series than Allan & Mac.
I’m hoping to make both books available before Valentine 3. I think both will provide more insight into the characters who are already in the series, and those who are about to be introduced.
woolastonentertainment.com 