I thought it might be fun to do a reading from one of my books and post it on my YouTube Channel (and at Goodreads!) BUT! From which book should I read, and what scene? Please vote for a book then put your scene in the comments if you have a choice in mind. THANK YOU!
Did you know that Kyle Anderson from The Bird Day Battalion and The V-Day Aversion is briefly mentioned at the end of First, I Love You and shows up again at the end of Second of All?
Yep! Poor, long-suffering Officer Anderson–oh alright, cheeky, laid-back Officer Anderson–has been helping his old friend and former partner Detective Tommy Gates while he was away from the Omaha Police Department.
And as you know, Kyle’s mom Bridgette mentions that Kate once went on a date with Tommy in Bird Day, which is set just a few months before Tommy heads to Chicago for the human trafficking joint task force.
What you may not know is Claire Underwood from First, I Love You–Agent Jack Underwood’s wife and Mary Gates’ best friend–is an Anderson by birth. Her brother, Tom Anderson, is Kyle and Katelyn Anderson’s father. So, if you’ve read the Tommy Flashback, when Kyle Anderson refers to his Aunt Claire she is literally his Aunt, versus the fictive use of the moniker by Tommy. Despite their instant rapport, Tommy and Kyle only rarely saw each other growing up but quickly re-connected when they discovered they would be in the same training class at the Police Academy.
Whew!
All that aside, the reason I drug you all in here is to give you a sneak peek at the next Dom & Kate short story! This is partly the same teaser I put up on Facebook a week or so ago…only with a little more meat and potatoes added, as we say here in Nebraska.
🙂
(Remember the final version will be subject to editing and proofreading and editing, etc etc, of course!)
—–
“Kate?”
“Mmmn.”
“Kaaaatelyn.”
“Mmmn.”
“Yo, Skate!”
Katelyn set her pencil down on the spreadsheet she was double checking—old school style—and took a deep breath.
“Yo?” she replied and finally raised her head. What part of ‘I’m working’ was he not grasping? “Are you Rocky now, Dom? Is this another role play thing?”
Dominic grabbed the back of her chair and rolled it away from the desk.
“Hey! I can’t—I’m almost done—at least let me save my work.”
“It’ll keep.”
“No, it won’t! What if the power goes out or something? I’ll lose all the stratigraphy data I just input.”
Dom reached up and scratched his head, scrunching his eyebrows.
“Are the dead things still going to be dead? Yes. Still buried in dirt? Yes. Are we going to be dead and buried in dirt if we don’t leave now for the engagement party my mother is throwing? Yes.”
Dom grabbed her hands and yanked her out of the chair. Katelyn glared at him.
“I don’t excavate ‘dead things’. Pottery is made of clay, sometimes—”
“Let’s goooo,” Dom drawled. When she started to pull him back towards the computer he looped an arm around her middle and hitched her over his shoulder.
“Oh. Em. Gee. You did not seriously just do that!” She pummeled his butt while he laughed and carried her down the hall.
“Oh, em, gee, I can’t believe a twenty-eight year old woman just said ‘Oh. Em. Gee.’ And please, babe, I’ve known you since infancy. You’ve backed that file up in at least three places and obsessively after each entry.”
She blew the hair out of her face and glared at him after he set her down by the front door. He grinned unrepentantly and handed her purse to her.
“Besides,” he continued, only slightly breathless. “Speaking of role playing… Didn’t you just say the other night you like the ‘caveman thing’?”
Katelyn flushed magenta. “Not when the caveman’s dragging me next door to his mother’s. I usually like to ignore the fact she lives next to me.”
“Well, I usually like to ignore the fact my fiancée lives a town away instead of moving in with me like she promised,” he replied as they walked across the freshly cut lawn.
“A suburb away, technically speaking,” Kate muttered.
“What’s that? Something about a Swingline stapler, Milton?” Dom asked, turning around and walking backwards. He smirked and waggled his eyebrows.
He’s damn lucky he’s so sexy, Kate thought.
“If you trip over a hose and land on your ass, don’t expect sympathy from me,” she said playfully. “Don’t worry, we all know your mommy will kiss it and make it all better.”
“Oh, burn!” Kandace shouted, leaning off the rail on Ramona’s porch. Her husband Steve chuckled and pulled her towards the door.
The smug smirk disappeared from Dom’s face and he froze mid-gait, wrinkling his nose. Katelyn grinned and smacked him on his firm rear as she walked past him. Her sense of victory was short lived, though, because not only was every member of both their families crammed into Ramona’s tiny living room—and looking quite sour about it—but judging from the mischievous gleam in Dom’s eyes as he sat down, he’d be paying her back… intimately… and soon.
“I would just like to start the festivities by getting the most important thing out of the way,” Kandace said as soon as everyone had sat down. Ramona looked affronted. It was rather sassy to upstage the hostess, Katelyn thought.
“And that is to say…” Kandace continued, pivoting in her seat to look Katelyn in the eyes. “I told you so. And you’re welcome. No really, there’s no need to name your first child after me. Just knowing I am his or her distinctly cooler Aunt will be enough payment.” She leaned back against Steve’s chest, crossed her legs on the coffee table, and smirked. Steve grimaced and checked his watch. Three-fourths of the room sent their eyes to the ceiling.
Dom nodded at her with a faux-smile and a falsetto ‘aww’. He flicked a baby carrot at her.
“Stay classy, Kandy.”
Kandace raised her middle finger.
“Quit it, you two!” Ramona and Bridgette said in unison. There was a beat of silence then both Kandace and Dom laughed.
Katelyn leaned forward in her chair and pushed Kandace’s feet off the table.
“Mrs. Valentini—Ramona—I appreciate you having us, but obviously, we’ve all known each other for many years so there’s no need for the ritualized meeting of the families prior to nuptials—”
“What she means to say, Mom, is we’re glad to be here, thanks.”
Ramona’s confused and glazed expression cleared up and she beamed adoringly at her only son.
“Wonderful!” Ramona clapped her hands together once. “I thought we could discuss how each of us can have a part in the wedding. Everyone here is delighted you two kids have finally decided to tie the knot.”
Katelyn looked around the room and ‘delighted’ wasn’t the adjective she’d use to describe the occupants. ‘Bored’ and ‘indifferent’ were more accurate descriptors with a heaping scoop of ‘smug’ from Kandace.
“Mom, actually we—” Dom began to say but Kellie interrupted.
“I’m quite certain I’ve faxed over the information on the venue to you. I’ve managed to reserve Dundee Bar and Grill for the rehearsal supper—”
“Oh, nonsense, it’s so small and such a run-down area,” Ramona said.
“Actually, no, it’s not. And it’s quite a trendy area for weddings these days,” Kellie argued.
“You know, we don’t need—” Dom began again.
“And easier for the out of town guests to see the sights of Omaha,” she continued over him.
“That may be, but it’s nowhere near where any of us live!” Ramona waved a piece of celery at Kellie.
“The point being, it’s close to the park where Kate and Dom will have the ceremony,” Kellie gritted out while glaring at the drooping celery stalk. Kellie’s voice was beginning to get that brittle and pert tone that everyone in the Anderson family knew signaled her digging in her heels.
“Kellie, while I appreciate you—” Katelyn started to placate but Ramona plowed over her.
“I see no reason why they can’t get married at Mahoney Park. It’s much closer. No need to hassle with downtown traffic. Am I right, Bridgette? Right?” Ramona asked Kate’s mother in an equally brittle, slightly hysterical tone.
Bridgette merely puckered her lips while slathering peanut butter in an agitated manner on the poor, battered celery.
“Pick your evil, I guess. Deal with tourists or deal with the Dundee DINKs,” Kandace drawled, placing her feet back on the coffee table.
“Watch your language, Kandace Marie!” Bridgette said and pushed Kandace’s feet back off.
Kyle snorted. “It means dual-income, no kids, Mom,” he said without looking up from his phone. “And can we wrap this up please?” He was still in his Police uniform and unsubtly standing right next to the front door.
Dominic’s sister Demetria laughed softly and somehow it captured everyone’s attention. Katelyn could never figure out how she did it. It was a sort of breathy, tinkling ‘ha-ha-ha’ that resonated on a different existential plane. Like the dog-whistle of laughs. She was perched in a zen-like position on an ottoman at the edge of the dining room, forcing most of the occupants of the living room to crane their necks to look at her.
“Forgive my interruption,” Demi breathed—because she never spoke like a normal person—she imparted wisdom…breathlessly. “Has anyone enquired what Dominic and Katelyn would like to do?”
—
Copyright 2013, Genevieve Dewey, All Rights Reserved
~~~~~~~
Isn’t it puuuurty?!
Yeah, I know, I said that about First, I Love You.
Remember, just like with First, I Love You, if you purchased it from Smashwords, Apple, or B&N you can get the new cover by simply downloading the book again to whatever device for free (delete the old one)!!!
(Supposedly, Amazon will do this for you as well if you ask them nicely. It’s kind of a pain, I know.)
Just like before, I got some postcards, magnets, and bookmarks to give away to my loyal fans:
In FACT, you could win a signed paperback with the above “swag” by entering the Rafflecopter drawing here or on Facebook!
🙂 Yay for giveaways!!! 🙂
Second of All is the second book in the Downey series, and you really need to read First, I Love You first (no pun intended).
Back Blurb:
“…for there is nothing so perfect as a thing with no ending and no beginning such as a family of souls intertwined…”
This introspective sequel to First, I Love You takes you deeper into a tale of interwoven roles, divided loyalties, and personal conflicts.
Detective Tommy Gates and Agent Ginny Sommers struggle to balance their growing personal relationship with their task of finding his father. Back home, Kiki Downey and James Hoffman are facing their own internal and external pressures. After Mary Gates is led on a different trail by Mickey’s Irish kin, they are all given pieces of a puzzle that it will take the whole family to solve. Interlocked within the narrative are glimpses into how Mickey Downey became the man he is today.
Throughout their journeys, past and present, they all must struggle with what loyalties and loves come first, and what comes… second of all.
And an EXCLUSIVE excerpt:
Ginny stood a bit on her now bare tiptoes and rested her chin on his shoulder. Tommy turned his head to kiss her temple, his lips lingering and then moving whisper-soft towards her ear. She struggled to hold back the shudder of pleasure, selfishly enjoying the intimacy and romantic thrill of the moment.
“Thank you,” Tommy said softly.
“For what?” Ginny asked.
“For being my Ginny.”
She didn’t think about her resolution to not make any moves, she wasn’t thinking about anything but their complicated friendship and her own frustrated feelings as she pulled her hands free, moved to the side and then in front of him. She placed her hands on his upper arms and his hands moved to her hips. She looked him straight in the eyes and ignored the returning twinge of sympathy she felt at the obvious fatigue on his features and the thrill she felt from the look of sexual longing in his eyes.
“Tommy, you have to stop this. It’s killing me. You’re giving me mixed messages,” Ginny began, trying desperately to use her professional ‘put him in his place’ tone but it came out a bit plaintive for her tastes. He winced and closed his eyes.
“I know. I’m sorry,” Tommy said then opened his eyes again. “It’s just… you mean something to me, Gin, and I’m afraid if we take it to the next level – have sex – it will mess it up, our friendship. If it was anybody else, I’d take that chance, but you, you’re different than the rest. In just six months you’ve become… Hell, I can’t explain it.”
He let out a harsh breath and she expected him to remove his hands from her hips to run them through his hair but instead he only gripped them tighter. She floundered in confusion. Ginny wasn’t one to mince words, in fact she was often accused of using too many, but she had never been able to express herself properly around Tommy. She struggled with a thousand different tactics and persuasive arguments until her mind just seemed to jam from all the different permutations.
Kryptonite, indeed.
Author Bio:
Genevieve Dewey is the author of The Downey Trilogy (First, I Love You & Second of All) and the short stories Bird Day Battalion & V-Day Aversion. She is a wife, mother, sister, friend and Anthropologist. She was raised mostly in Nebraska, partly in Arizona. She has a Master’s in Anthropology and worked as an Applied Anthropologist for years (even ran her own research company for a while) before deciding to be a stay at home mom. She loves passionate (rational) debates, reading, and libraries… oh, and Chicago and high-heels and chocolate and target practice and gangster flicks and anything with the FBI in it and run-on sentences. She lives in Nebraska with her three brilliantly diabolical children and one incredibly funny husband.
You can find me online at:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GenevieveDewey
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GenevieveDewey
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6441991.Genevieve_Dewey
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Genevieve-Dewey/e/B00936QL2S/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/genevievedewey/
You can enter the Goodreads giveaway of First, I Love You until MAY 30th for a chance to win one of two copies along with a magnet, post card, and bookmark!
You can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway here or on Facebook until JUNE 3rd to win a paperback of Second of All (4 runners up get an eBook of Second of All).
SUPER excited for this Blog Tour coming up hosted by Literati Literature Lovers! I might be even more excited about that than I am the NEW cover for Second of All coming May 30th!
I was thinking about tropes and themes this morning. I just finished re-reading The Great Gatsby, which I am sure quite a number of you might have done as well… No? Just saw the movie? Oh well, doesn’t matter…
It was a pretty good book, not as great as I had remembered it, but it had my mind pleasantly engaged thinking about themes and language and stylistic maneuvers that might not be tolerated in today’s publishing world (he doesn’t even reveal Nick’s name until about 15 pages in! Modern editors just urped a little reading that…) But all of that was good because it allowed me to like it a lot more than I might have. I’ve recently come to terms with the fact I rarely like books written from the 1st person perspective. It make me feel like I’m getting gossip instead of a good yarn. The one notable case in which this sensation works to advantage is in the Stephanie Plum series. Love those… or at least the first dozen or so, I mean after a while I was all, “Piss or get off the pot”– Tommy Gates.
Speaking of which, one of the reasons I really enjoyed writing Second of All was because you don’t often see a woman pursuing a man romantically. On the rare occasions I see it on TV or literature it is in an entirely different manner: she’s a stalker, criminal, whore (always written in a pathetic/broken fashion), out for revenge (usually encompasses the three previous elements) and she rarely ‘gets her man’. Almost punished in a way for making the first move, or the second. and the third.
I like how Ginny never gave up on Tommy, but other than maybe the *ehem* handcuff thing, for me, her persistence and patience was as romantic as a man pursuing a woman. Maybe it’s that romance, even as a multi-faceted genre, caters heavily towards women. And I supposed a lot of women like the trope of being swept off their feet. Maybe sweeping a man off his feet seems like…work. But I see it more from a Pretty Woman sort of aspect:
“And she rescues him right back…”
What do you think?
The last Giveaway celebrating the new cover for First, I Love You was such a big success and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart! Your enthusiasm and support is fantastic and I’m certain you are the best fans in the entire universe! If you didn’t win a paperback of First, I Love You there is still a chance! You can enter the Goodreads giveaway until May 30th for a chance to win one of two copies along with a magnet, post card, and bookmark!
Now, on with the reason for this particular blog post: In honor of the new cover for Second of All (due out at the end of the month), AND the super awesome Blog Tour that Literati Literature Lovers is hosting for the Downey Series starting June 3rd, I’m having another Rafflecopter Drawing!!!!
It’s the same format as the last one, so if you are already a Facebook fan or Twitter follower, etc, it is SUPER simple to enter. Just click on that option and boom you are entered!
What are the prizes?
Sounds good? Then spread the word, birds! *wink*
Here’s how it will work:
Click on the Rafflecopter giveaway here or on Facebook (5/14-6/3) and choose an entry option:
a) Follow this blog by email
b) Like my Facebook Page (Already have? Just choose that option and you will automatically be entered)
c) Follow me on Twitter (Already have? Just choose that option and you will automatically be entered)
d) Tweet About this Giveaway
e) Post “Genevieve Dewey sends her love” on Literati Literature Lovers Facebook Page
(https://www.facebook.com/LiteratiLiteratureLovers)
The winners will be chosen Monday (6/3) at 11pm CST by their random generator (hint: if you do more than one it weights the ranking).
I’M SO EXCITED!!!!! (Are you?)
The following character descriptions are what you see under the tab “More About The Downey Series“.
PLEASE let me know! I love hearing from my fans!
🙂
If you haven’t read my short stories, it may surprise you to know that both Tommy and Mickey are mentioned in Bird Day Battalion. One of the characters in The Bird Day Battalion and The V-Day Aversion (Kyle Anderson) is briefly mentioned at the end of First, I Love You and shows up again at the end of Second of All.
Tommy played hockey for the Omaha AAA Lancers U18 team. After high school, he took courses in Criminal Justice from Metro Community College before entering the Omaha Police Academy. He achieved the rank of Detective shortly before joining the joint task force human trafficking case and is currently one of the youngest Detectives to serve on the OPD. He spent almost six years of his early childhood in the Witness Protection Program, and often jokes (to the select handful of people he actually trusts) he felt more free to be his real self in his fake life than he does living his real life. He used to spend hours imagining scenarios in which he would meet his real family…until one day, he did.
James has two sisters, both older than him and both work for the FBI. Stephanie, the oldest, is married, has two children, and is a Field Agent in the Chicago Division. Christie is a single workaholic and works at Quantico as a profiler. James’s father (Christopher) is a retired FBI agent who worked in Counter-Terrorism and James’s mother (Leila), a Moroccan by birth, is a proud stay at home mom. James prides himself on being the only member of the Hoffman family to choose the DEA over the FBI. He’s very liberal in his views and lifestyle compared to his very conservative parents. He has three obsessions; baseball, fast cars, and Kiki Downey.
Kiki only had one steady boyfriend (Tony Luchese) before James, and that was at the age of 16, shortly before moving to Chicago from Brooklyn. Tony was 19 at the time and got arrested for fencing stolen property on the night he was supposed to take her to the school dance. After that, Kiki promised herself she’d never date another ‘neighborhood’ guy again and has only had brief ‘hookups’ with guys ever since. Kiki’s mother, Theresa Anastasio, named her after her own mother Katarina Bonanno. Kiki’s father, Mickey Downey, deliberately refused to call her anything but Kiki for the sheer pleasure it gave him to annoy his wife’s family.
Mary was born and raised in Massachusetts in a small blue-collar town near Boston. She is the youngest of seven children and has always had a contentious relationship with her parents due to her lofty dreams of becoming a famous singer. Her mother Elizabeth Gates was a stay at home mom who ran a daycare from her home. Her father, Thomas Gates, was a factory worker and a devout Catholic insisting that at least one of his seven children join the church. When it looked like this might fall on Mary’s shoulders she left home to stay with an older cousin (for which her mother and her father disowned her) and moved to Brooklyn on her 19th birthday to ‘make it big’. She met Mickey Downey only four months later and had her only son Tommy shortly after turning 20. She only recently repaired her relationship with her birth family and visits them once a year, though she was never able to make peace with her parents who died while she was in the Witness Protection Program.
Mickey is the son of Pauli and Maeve (O’Malley) Downey. His mother is from Ireland and his father was a Brooklyn born half Irish, half Italian, bookmaker and hired gun for Two Fingers Luciano (part of Giovanni “Big Joe” Anastasio’s crew). Mickey’s Sicilian born Nonna Rosa never did quite forgive her son for marrying another Irish girl instead of a nice Italian girl from one of the ‘families’. When Mickey chose to work for Big Joe after his father died and eventually court his daughter Theresa, his Nonna Rosa declared it her final victory over Mickey’s mother Maeve. The story goes, in the old neighborhood, that Maeve was said to utter a curse on Rosa before moving back to Ireland in protest because the next day Rosa died in the confessional before getting to see her grandson marry into one of the wealthiest and most powerful Italian families in New York. Mickey’s superior illicit skills at making money for his boss, as well as his ability to neutralize his enemies without even lifting a finger, earned him the spot of Big Joe Anastasio’s right hand man by the time he was 30. [Click here for Mickey’s Family Tree!]
Ginny is the only child of David Sommers and Cynthia Peabody-Sommers. David builds custom handcrafted boats for a select clientele and Cynthia recently retired as Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University in Women’s Studies. Ginny’s parents were both in their 40’s before they decided to have a child. When growing up Ginny spent a majority of her time around adults at her mother’s office, where, out of sheer boredom, she began her favorite hobby of keeping scads of journals detailing her observations while people watching. Even though Ginny loves studying and observing people, having dual majored in Anthropology and Criminal Justice, she has always been socially awkward and shy in group situations. When she is alone with close friends she is actually quite daring and gregarious … except around Tommy Gates.
Joe is currently in the ROTC program at a prestigious military academy in Virginia. He has wanted to have a career in the Air Force ever since his father Mickey Downey took him to the National Air and Space Museum at the age of 7. He’s quite proud of both sides of his family but has no intention of following in any of their footsteps. Because his father divorced Joe’s mother, Theresa Anastasio, before he had even turned one, Joe has always had a more distant relationship with his mother than Kiki but is quite close with his Bonanno and Anastasio cousins. Unlike Kiki, Joe has a very outgoing and commanding personality. However, like Kiki, he idolizes his father. It took Joe longer to accept Tommy into their lives than it did Kiki but now they are very close.
Theresa is the only child of Giovanni ‘Big Joe’ Anastasio and Katarina Bonanno. Her mother, deprived of a son because of an emergency hysterectomy, doted upon her nephew Frank and treated him as if he were her own. Theresa and Frank Bonanno grew up more like siblings than cousins and are still extremely close. Theresa knew of Mickey Downey her entire life, as they grew up with many of the same cohorts, but they did not become friends until after high school. When Theresa realized her father was grooming Mickey for his successor rather than her cousin Frank she began making overtures towards Mickey, hoping to curry further favor with her father and reduce tension between Frank and her friend Mickey. They had an on again off again relationship until her father put his foot down and insisted Mickey marry Theresa. Although Theresa had planned to accept an internship at a prestigious fashion company in Paris, she found it the expedient thing to do to comply with her father’s wishes. After Mickey divorced Theresa less than a year after her father’s death and took the children from her, Theresa attempted to make things work in New York, but found the sympathetic looks she would receive too suffocating to take and moved to Paris a few years later.
Jack Underwood grew up in New York and attended NYU where he met his wife Claire Anderson who was there on scholarship. When Jack asked Claire to marry him after he made Special Agent they settled in Brooklyn where Claire met and befriended a young Mary Gates. At the time Jack was an up and coming and very ambitious agent in Organized Crime. He had just been given the case of Mickey Downey and his boss Giovanni “Big Joe” Anastasio when his wife mentioned her new friend was dating Downey. Jack pressed hard for Mary to help the Bureau even though he felt bad about using his wife’s young friend, because he felt she would be able to do what no one had done before and flip Downey. After the trial ended in a mistrial Jack felt it was his responsibility to look after Mary and her young son Tommy because he felt guilty for putting them at risk in the first place. Jack and Claire have always though of Mary like a little sister, and never having been blessed with children due to the chemotherapy Claire had to undergo, they doted on Tommy as their honorary nephew. When Downey retired to Chicago, Jack put in for a transfer to the Chicago branch so he could keep an eye on ‘the one that got away’.
Maeve O’Malley is the daughter of Seamus O’Malley and Aislyn McLaughlin. She was raised on an Island off the west coast of Ireland called Achill Island. When she was a teen she was sent to live with her aunt’s family in Galway to care for an elderly relative. Maeve was only eighteen when she met Pauli Downey in Boston. The summer before she was due to go to University in Galway her aunt arranged for her to have a tour of America (one of Maeve’s fondest dreams). The first stop on Maeve’s tour was to deliver a package to her McLaughlin relatives in Charlestown then spend a week with her O’Malley cousins. It was in Boston where she met Pauli Downey (there on business for Giovanni Anastasio). The two fell madly in love and instead of attending University as planned, Maeve moved to Brooklyn with Pauli. Pauli’s mother Rosa Bruno Downey hated Maeve from the get-go because she had hoped her son would marry an Italian girl. The Downey side celebrated the match because it only strengthened their ties to “a certain kind of business”. After Pauli’s death, Maeve couldn’t wait to return to her family in Ireland and only waited until her daughters were off to college (thanks to Mickey) to do so. Self-described as “not the maternal type”, she none-the-less is very protective of her children. At a sprightly 76, she is considered the Matriarch of the “business end” of Downey, O’Malley and McLaughlin clans. She lives on Achill Island and cares for her elderly father.
Cover designed by Jeff Larson
~~~~~~~
Isn’t it puuuurty?!
I might be biased.
It’s already up in Paperback and Kindle format at Amazon and digital format at Apple. You can also get the paperback from Barnes & Noble and the Nook contents DO have the new cover, they just haven’t updated the picture on the “buy” page. I’ve contacted them and I’m sure they’ll fix it soon!
If you purchased it from Smashwords or Apple you can get the new cover by simply downloading the book again to whatever device for free (delete the old one)!!!
(Supposedly, Amazon will do this for you as well if you ask them nicely. I sent them an email asking for clarification on your behalf!)
And guess what else?!?! I got some postcards, magnets, and bookmarks to give away to my loyal fans:
For those of you who haven’t read First, I Love You, below this is a description of the book followed by two excerpts (the first, romantic in nature, and the second, family drama in nature).
You can read the first THREE chapters for free right here on the blog on the page “First, I Love You Excerpt“. (Those of you who have read it might be interested to know you can also read a young Tommy Gates extra scene and a James&Kiki missing moment under the tab “Short Stories and More“).
About the Book:
If Mario Puzo and Jane Austen crossed the time-space continuum and mated, FIRST, I LOVE YOU would be their literary baby.
Imagine being a detective with a mobster for a father, or a mobster with a straight arrow, good cop for a son. This is a relationship that is tricky on its best day. Add in some well-meaning meddling from a mob princess sister, an arrogant DEA agent, and gangsters running a human trafficking ring and you have a recipe for a book that refuses to follow the rules. Told from the perspective and point of view of each the six main characters this is the first novel in a trilogy about love, loyalty, revenge and redemption.
Omaha Detective Tommy Gates has kept his gangster father at arm’s length his whole life. Mickey Downey has spent the better part of the last two decades trying to find ways to get back the son he lost through Witness Protection. Now Tommy has taken an opportunity to work on a Federal Human Trafficking Joint Task Force in Chicago where his father lives. Tommy’s sister Kiki and his mother Mary see this as an opportunity to build a relationship between the two. Tommy’s new DEA partner James Hoffman sees it as an opportunity to gain leverage over Mickey Downey. Tommy’s other partner, FBI Agent Ginny Sommers wants to keep Tommy’s family as far from the case as possible. When Kiki and James join forces, sparks fly and it sets fire to a maelstrom of unexpected consequences for everyone involved.
One part Godfather, two parts Emma and a dash of Casablanca mixed together, FIRST, I LOVE YOU isn’t a detective novel, a gangster novel, a mystery, a romance or a family saga. It’s a little of all of the above.
FIRST, I LOVE YOU is available in print and digital format at all major eBook retailers.
Excerpt One:
“You don’t have much respect for me do you?” Kiki asked.
“On the contrary, if I ever need to know which shoes to wear to match my tie, you’d be the first person I call. If I had your number,” James said, trying to temper the sarcasm with a charming smile.
“I’m sure you already have it, along with all the other boring background check facts you recited earlier,” she rejoined, still making no move to retreat.
James admired her nerve. Maybe this princess had a bit of her father’s steel in her after all.
“That would defeat the purpose of you giving it to me,” he said.
“What purpose would that be? And you still haven’t answered my question,” she retorted.
“How about you answer one of mine first?” James asked then chuckled as she raised an eyebrow in a pretty good impression of her father. “Why would you invite your father’s old mistress to your party when she is not related to you, was no doubt the source of great pain and embarrassment for your own mother, and her presence, you had to know, would be unwelcome with at least a few of your guests?”
“I already explained my reasons to my brother. And his opinion is the only one I care about; certainly not a rude, presumptuous, party crashing boar like yourself. You don’t know a damn thing about me,” she answered, dark eyes glittering with anger.
“What I know is there’s a lot of big important grown up things going on and the last thing Tommy needs is his spoiled little sister playing games with his family, and distracting him from this case,” he said with perhaps a bit more heat than he meant but the smell of her hair and the glittering of her lip-gloss with the hall lights was distracting him and he was trying to keep his mind on the task at hand.
“How dare you? You’re the outsider here! It’s you who should butt the hell out of my family’s private issues! And you’ve the nerve to say we can be of use to each other? Why the fuck should I help you with anything?” Kiki ground out.
“Tisk, tisk, such language, little girl,” James said with a smirk. By God, she was beautiful, he couldn’t help but think. “How about we go back to your place and discuss this like rational adults,” he finished in a playful yet suggestive tone.
She let out a huff, clearly nonplussed by his forwardness. Then something flashed in her eyes, a sort of calculating, cynical and predatory look that had him feeling momentarily nonplussed himself.
“Alright. Let me say good bye to my guests. You obviously already know where I live. I’ll meet you there in a half hour,” Kiki said, cool and collected once more.
It was more like an hour when she arrived at her door, but who was counting? They said nothing to each other as she let him inside. James looked around her one bedroom apartment and thought it was nothing like he’d expected. He’d expected lots of pink or maybe something trendy with splashy colors. It was all cool metals, finished wood, and retro 50’s style furniture. Frank Lloyd Wright stills peppered the room and books lined the entirety of one wall. Her windows were left uncovered and the city lights cast interesting reflections in the room. She threw her shawl and little clutch purse on the butterfly chair by the bookshelves. Then she walked up to him and grabbed his holster. He stopped her hand.
“What are you doing?” James asked, his discomfort at having underestimated her twice in one evening making him irrationally angry.
“You should make yourself more comfortable,” Kiki said seductively.
“I thought we came here to talk?” he prevaricated, as he took his jacket, gun and badge off.
He could tell she was playing some sort of game and it spiked his irritation up a notch. His mood was all over the place, actually. There was frustration at the blocked opportunities by his partners and Downey to further the case tonight, mixed with his desire for her, the self-disgust that that brought, the irritation with her childish interference, the discomfort of knowing she was right that it wasn’t his business what went on between her and her family.
But now she had decided to take his sexual sparring and call his bluff. Except he wasn’t bluffing. Did she think he would be scared off from her family this way? Maybe that would work with her usual limp wristed boy toys or the gumbahs who were probably too afraid of her Daddy to actually make a move, but not with him.
James hooked an arm behind her back and yanked her towards him. She gasped and put her free hand on his chest, but she didn’t push him away. She kept looking at him, eyes still full of challenge and no fear. It was like something snapped in his brain and all he wanted was to wipe that look from her eyes, to make her realize lives weren’t to be played with, manipulated. To give her a taste of her own medicine.
He gripped the back of her neck with his other hand and crushed his mouth to hers. She met his kisses with equal fervor, pressing up against him. He let go of her waist and neck and began a rough exploration of her body, not bothering to be gentle. She sunk her hands into his hair and gripped painfully. Whether to give as good as she got or from passion he didn’t know. All he knew was his body was on fire for her and all he could think about was sinking into her.
Excerpt Two:
“Went to supper with Mom and Kiki last night,” Tommy said.
Mickey nodded. He knew that, of course. He had someone who kept an eye on Mary at all times. He knew where she went and what she did and who she met. And he knew she knew that he knew these things. It was almost like she was taunting him these last few weeks with her activities. He wasn’t sure what she was playing at but he could practically hear the words ‘Game On’ in his head.
“They both figure that we… that is, you and I…” Tommy started to say, frustration and irritation clearly evident in his voice.
“Ah, I see. Plan A didn’t work so we’re on to Plan B? Kiki rooked Joe into some convoluted plot and now she’s guilting your mother into doing her dirty work as well?” Mickey interjected.
He sighed. This girl of his. He didn’t know if he wanted to shake her for her interference or hug her close for always, always, having his back. Tommy was half glaring at him, lips pursed. Then he, too, let out a sigh and shrugged, running his hand through his hair.
“Truth is, my mom had already mentioned something to me a couple times before last night about spending more time with you while I’m here. I think I’ve been soundly outvoted here,” Tommy said, still sounding agitated.
“And you hate that, don’t you?” Mickey asked with a smile.
This boy was so much like him sometimes it was uncanny. But he knew instinctively that would be the last thing he should say to him right now. He walked over to the wet bar in the study and fixed an Old Fashioned. It was 5:00 somewhere. He got a cooled bottle of water out for Tommy from the mini-fridge and handed it to him. Tommy was watching his movements with a wariness and body language that spoke of fatigue.
“I’ve made no secret of my desire to have you be a part of my life. Everything’s been said, what feels like a thousand times over by now. But the last thing I want is you standing in my home against your will. Out of some sense of obligation to the people you do actually care about. It pleases me to see you, but it pleases me to see you happy most of all. What would make you happy?” Mickey asked softly.
Tommy looked down at his bottle in his hand and back up at Mickey through the fringes of his hair then looked away again. He didn’t answer, but he took a drink from his water and walked to the Chippendale desk in the corner of the room. Tommy fiddled with Mickey’s Al Capone bobble head someone had given him as a joke when he first moved to Chicago. It was difficult, but Mickey bit his tongue and waited, giving Tommy the space he needed to answer.
“If I didn’t care it would be easier, wouldn’t it?” Tommy finally answered, not looking at Mickey.
Mickey remained silent, such was his shock at hearing his son say he cared about him. Or is that what he said? Maybe by ‘cared’ he simply meant ‘cared to never have anything to do with you ever’. His confusion kept him mute. Tommy finally turned and looked at him.
“It’s not like we’re strangers. Like we just met or something. We have… loved ones in common. A shared history; a few fond memories, though long ago. We’ve spent a couple holidays and family events together. But it’s not as if we’re close either. We don’t really know each other except for facts on a sheet and a superficial understanding of likes and dislikes. And, yes, that has been intentional on my part. I’ve told you why. I haven’t been able let go of my anger at you for what you put my mother through, and I can’t help but think,” Tommy stopped and ran a hand through his hair again. “What’s the point of getting to know you better? I’m still a cop and you’re still a man who has zero respect for what I do for a living. But I’ve never claimed to be indifferent. Of course I care. I care that my own father loves me, but I also care that he obviously doesn’t respect me—”
“Now hold up just one second, son! I do respect you. I am very proud of you and of the man you’ve become—”
“I care that you make me feel important and valued but treat others—”
“It’s true I don’t have any faith in law enforcement—”
“—with such breathtaking callousness and cruelty.”
“—or the justice system but I admire your dedication to it. I admire—”
“I care that you lavish us with obviously heartfelt gifts with money stolen—”
“—that you are a good person and a good example to your—”
“—from ‘dedicated’ and ‘good’ people who fear you—”
“Enough!” Mickey shouted.
The bourbon in his glass spilled all over his trembling hand and dripped to the worn wooden floor below. His stomach churned with tension and residual panic, and far from calming his nerves, the alcohol seemed to be ramping up the suffocating sensation of powerlessness that had threatened at the edges since Frank’s call. For years he had called all the shots. For years he had commanded respect from everyone around him. But with the one man whose respect he was so desperate to earn he was completely ineffectual. Everything was hanging in the balance on every front, and he couldn’t guarantee that a few loyal men and few billion dollars would be enough to protect his children and the woman he loved and he had given all that power up for this man – this man! – who refused to even see him as anything but the sum of his worst actions.
Author Bio:
Genevieve Dewey is the author of The Downey Trilogy (First, I Love You & Second of All) and the short stories Bird Day Battalion & V-Day Aversion. She is a wife, mother, sister, friend and Anthropologist. She was raised mostly in Nebraska, partly in Arizona. She has a Master’s in Anthropology and worked as an Applied Anthropologist for years (even ran her own research company for a while) before deciding to be a stay at home mom. She loves passionate (rational) debates, reading, and libraries… oh, and Chicago and high-heels and chocolate and target practice and gangster flicks and anything with the FBI in it and run-on sentences. She lives in Nebraska with her three brilliantly diabolical children and one incredibly funny husband.
You can find me online at:
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If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the site, you may not be aware of the short stories, flash fictions, and character bios I’ve put up on this site. So here’s a quick reference for where you can find these things.
On the Tab “More About the Downey Series” you will find:
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Genevieve Dewey 