I mentioned last month about my sale to Samhain, for a novella titled Back on Track. It's part of an anthology called Strangers on a Train, with awesome stories from Ruthie Knox, Samantha Hunter, Cara McKenna, and Serena Bell. Since I recently got the contract to sign, as well as a release date (April 2013), I thought I'd celebrate by sharing a snippet of the story for Six Sentence Sunday.
First, here's the blurb:
Allie Whittaker hasn’t had time for dating—she’s too busy getting her fledgling marketing company off the ground. All she needs to hit a home run for her business is for baseball superstar Matt Kearns to agree to be on the cover of a charity calendar. Unfortunately, Matt has refused even to talk to her. When she sees him on an afternoon train tour, Allie decides to tell him three things about herself—including one lie—as a way of getting close.
Matt Kearns is in a slump, worried that his career might be over. A Napa Valley wine tour isn’t enough to take his mind off his troubles, but sexy Allie is. When she tells him she used to date baseball player Matt Kearns, he decides to play along. But pretty soon the truth comes out, and they find they are playing for keeps.
In this scene, they are still getting to know each other. Matt has been having fun asking Allie what it was like when she dated the famous baseball player Matt Kearns (himself), and Allie's having just as much fun making up lies about the man she's never met until today:
"He’s probably got all kinds of weird superstitions, too,” Matt said with a great deal of glee in his voice. "Does he wear mismatched socks that haven’t been washed in months--just to keep a winning streak alive?"
"No," Allie said, biting back a smile, "he actually wore smiley-face footie socks, with a little pompon in the back."
He choked but covered it up with a cough into his fist. "Why would he do that?"
"He said it made him happy."
Great excuse to wear pom pom socks! LOL Your six made me smile.
Posted by: Heather Boyd | July 01, 2012 at 07:20 AM
Heather, I'm glad to hear I made you smile. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 01, 2012 at 08:14 AM
Those do sound like happy socks!
Posted by: Lisa Fox | July 01, 2012 at 08:31 AM
This sounds hilariously cute!
Posted by: Rachel Kall | July 01, 2012 at 09:05 AM
Lisa, very happy socks, although not very manly. LOL
Rachel, it was a fun story to write. I hope it makes people laugh, in a good way!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 01, 2012 at 09:11 AM
Sounds like another fun story! Love the part she made up about his socks.
Posted by: Patricia Preston | July 01, 2012 at 09:54 AM
Thanks, Patricia -- she makes up a lot of kooky stuff. LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 01, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Smiley face socks with pompoms--that has to put a dent in Matt's male ego. Funny six!
Posted by: Linda Morris | July 01, 2012 at 10:28 AM
You've provided my smile for the day. A very Big Smile :-) Lovely!
Posted by: Virginia Kelly | July 01, 2012 at 10:28 AM
OMG, the premise behind this ROCKS. I love the whole idea and the snippet was delightful fun. You have another winnter, Donna!
Posted by: Mae Clair | July 01, 2012 at 10:31 AM
I love this premise. Sounds like a blast!
Posted by: Mac Crowne | July 01, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Oh, this sounds like so much fun! I love this set up, especially when hijinks and hilarity ensues.
Posted by: Kate Meader | July 01, 2012 at 11:55 AM
Congrats again, Donna!!
Love the blurb, your story sounds like a lot of fun
This 6 made me giggle. Looking forward to reading more 6s of this one
Posted by: S. J. Maylee | July 01, 2012 at 01:24 PM
Congrats on the sale and release date. I'll definitely have to snag this one next spring! You had me snorfling coffee so hard I scared the Coffee Fae. ;) Wonderful six!
Posted by: Silver James | July 01, 2012 at 02:30 PM
These two sound incredibly fun! April you say? I shall mark my calendar. :)
Posted by: Kate Warren | July 01, 2012 at 03:13 PM
They would make me happy too! Really enjoyed this six--as usual, Donna!
Posted by: Jenny Hickman | July 01, 2012 at 07:37 PM
Linda, yes, exactly -- she had a lot of fun tweaking that male ego of his.
Virginia, I'm so happy I gave you a big smile. :)
Mae, thanks so much -- you made my day!
Mac, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Kate, there's definitely hijinks and hilarity. LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 01, 2012 at 08:50 PM
S.J., I love to provide giggles. :)
Silver, it's a good day when I can get you to snorfle coffee! Send the Coffee Fae over here and I'll calm them down. LOL
Kate, don't worry about marking your calendar. I'll be yakking about it constantly when it's time!
Jenny, glad you enjoyed it!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 01, 2012 at 08:52 PM
Oh God I have to wait until April to read this whole thing? Excellent 6 as usual, made me LOL!
So she knows who he is, but he doesn't know she knows who he is, is that right?
Posted by: Angela Quarles | July 01, 2012 at 08:56 PM
Angela, yes! You just gave a perfect synopsis. LOL It's hard to describe this story, but that was awesome. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 01, 2012 at 09:04 PM
Does she not know what he looks like? If she saw him on train and tells him she's dating him and all. This sounds adorable and cute. I like that he's going to play along with her, really revs up the humor!
Posted by: Wildcats Wife | July 01, 2012 at 11:24 PM
Wildcat, it's kind of complicated. LOL She doesn't realize who he is when she goes up to him to break the ice with the plan to tell him three things about herself, with one of them being a lie. And then when it's his turn, one of his "lies" is that he's the famous baseball player. And that's when she realizes who he is, and he's trying to hide in plain sight. :)
So they're both playing along. LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 02, 2012 at 10:51 AM
What a fantastic premise, Donna! Sounds like there'll be lots of humor to go with the sexy in this story. I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing. :)
Posted by: Karla Doyle | July 02, 2012 at 02:29 PM
Thanks, Karla -- it's so great to hear you say that! I'm looking forward to sharing it. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 02, 2012 at 03:04 PM
This is terrific. And I so want a pair of those socks.
Posted by: Elin Gregory | July 02, 2012 at 05:11 PM
Thanks, Elin -- I wouldn't mind some of those socks too. LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 02, 2012 at 05:48 PM
LOL - great premise! Love the humor in your six! :)
Posted by: Lorraine Paton | July 03, 2012 at 11:24 PM
Lorraine, I'm glad it made you laugh. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | July 03, 2012 at 11:51 PM