An Act of Love

She’s not getting married. She’s only engaged!

Marley Roman should have already known that romantic plots hatched with her best friend Dede were doomed. But a fake engagement seemed like the only way for her, as the last old maid in the bunch, to endure her youngest sister’s wedding. Armed with a phony ring and a plausible story about a fiancé loosely based on her overly friendly cowboy-turned-actor neighbor, Brant Westfield, she was ready to face—and fool—her family. But between her ex-boyfriend Richard’s unexpected role in the wedding party and Brant’s sudden arrival to join the fun, the holes in her plan were growing…and multiplying!

“That our audience?”

Brant pointed to the porch, indicating the people collecting there.

Marley nodded.

“Break a leg,” he said and pulled her into his arms. “Relax,” he whispered against her ear. “You want to convince your family we’re engaged, you’ll have to loosen up. I may be good, but you’ll need to cooperate a little. I can’t carry the whole show by myself.”

“You arrogant…” She stopped when his lips brushed hers. The kiss, if that’s what it was, turned out to be very short. A disappointment, actually. “You call that a kiss?” she asked breathlessly.

He turned, dragging her toward the porch. As he smiled and waved, he said under his breath, “That’s what I give mannequins. You want something better, you’d better put some life into those bones.”

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing An Act of Love. I started this story a long time ago with Marley going back to her hometown in Pennsylvania for a wedding and reconnecting with Richard, her love in college. Well, by about chapter seven, I was in love with Brant and couldn’t figure out how I could continue with my first premise. I put the story aside. But the idea kept coming back to me, and I decided to try again. Eventually, Marley came around and fell for Brant as well, but you can see through the story it was a difficult challenge to get her on board. With Brant’s help, we showed her he was the one for her even though Richard wasn’t such a bad guy.

In the first go-around, I didn’t include Brant’s viewpoint. Can you imagine not letting an “actor” with an ego keep his opinions to himself? The reasoning behind not having a male viewpoint was simple: if I included one then the reader would know immediately who the hero was. I wanted everyone, including Marley, to think Richard had possibilities. Brant got a little pushy so I gave in and let him have his say.

Do I sound as though my characters rule what goes on in my books? The best possible scenario is yes. I love it when their voices take over in my mind. I can see them, hear them and empathize with any problems they may be experiencing. However, they never let me strong-arm them into something they know is wrong and often won’t allow me to sleep.

Marley plays my favorite music on her guitar, and I share her delight that Brant is able to sing and play music with her, as well.

I hope you’ve had a few laughs as well as poignant moments and maybe shared some similar experiences. Reach me through marionekholm.com or heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Marion

An Act of Love

Marion Ekholm

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MARION EKHOLM

was writing stories and reading them to her friends back in fifth grade, in Plainville, Connecticut. She always wanted to be either a writer or an artist. Neither one seemed like a possibility in her day, when most women became either teachers or secretaries. But she had determination on her side and a mother willing to help with her dreams. She earned her BFA at Rhode Island School of Design and became a lace designer in New York City, met her husband and moved to New Jersey. Years later, she took stock of her life. She had a career, two children, a beautiful home and opportunities to travel extensively—but she’d never written anything other than letters. She began writing for real and eventually became an editor of a newspaper and sold numerous short stories and magazine articles. Thanks to Mills & Boon Heartwarming, she’s now a novelist. Her second novel, An Act of Love, follows her first, Just Like Em. She’s found signing her books and talking to people who’ve read them an absolute delight.

This book is dedicated to Jane Toombs who died this March, 2014. Jane introduced me to Romance Writers of America when RWA was in its infancy by sponsoring a romance writers conference with Ruby Frankel in New York state. Thanks to their efforts, Hudson Valley Romance Writers came into being. Jane asked me to be the newsletter editor for the group. There I learned about deadlines, writing articles, interviewing and a host of other skills necessary to becoming a writer. Over the years, she not only critiqued my writing but also offered friendship that led to many delightful trips as roommates to RWA national conferences. Thank you, Jane, for your dedication in helping people learn their craft.