A SOLDIER'S LOVE by L.K. Campbell

RELEASING JANUARY 1, 2007!

A SOLDIER'S LOVE begins in the fall of 1941 just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entry into the second world war.

Ron Miller, an army officer on reserve duty while attending graduate school at the University of Maryland, is nursing a broken heart and cautious about falling in love again. Katie McNeill, a shy but beautiful clerk at the school, harbors a crush on Ron but is bewildered by his apparent lack of interest in her.

Tired of "sitting at home alone on Saturday nights," she becomes involved with a young student named Jimmy Garrett. Jimmy is a spoiled young man from a wealthy, dysfunctional family, who just happens to be sharing an apartment with Ron.

Sunday, December 7 will change all three of their lives forever when innocence is lost and the future becomes uncertain.

Available in trade paperback & ebook. For more information, visit A Soldier's Love Homepage

Virtual Lovers of the NON-online kind...

I'm beginning to wonder about my ever-expanding imagination whenever I sit down to start a new manuscript. This latest one, which I am so excited about, actually started out like any other, except it's a not-too-distant futuristic (2020). Below is a perspective I wrote that precedes the story itself.

The future is sure to arrive with technology far beyond the imaginations of those in our time. Just as it did for our families before us and those before them.

In only a few years, we have ventured into the outer edges of cloning, and games that are just beginning to develop virtual environments.

It is only a matter of a decade or two when virtual environments will be available to those who want more from life than what life has given them.

Beware of tampering with the natural order of things.

It is the undeveloped logic and misunderstood consequences of advanced technologies which could result in repercussions due to the creation of another existence within our own. One that we will be able to access on a whim, and alter the present state of our lives.

A technology so advanced, it is capable of erasing the thin line, which separates fantasy from reality...and the two become one.

Now, my new WIP is entitled Virtual Lovers. It has NOTHING to do with online relationships. This is a parallel world within our own exsistence and was brought about by the continued expansion of our technology of today and where it may well be in a short 13 or 14 years. It is about two BBW young women who are overlooked by men because of their size. One cautious. The other more of an adventurer who wants to know what it's like to be the center of a man's attentions. Dollars don't exist in this new world. They have been replaced by Units. A universal denomination. Governments around the world are ruled by one governing body, the World Federal Association.

This story is taking my imagination and stretching it to the unusual...almost bizarre. And, frankly, it's a little scary, because this is very, very possible. The characters are dictating the direction of the story. This was only suppose to be a short story...5k to 12k. I'm already at 2.5k and not even into the first virtual love scene good!

Author Chat on TRS tonight...

Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected too much, since it is so close to Christmas and everyone is doing last minute purchases, but I at least expected certain individuals to show, that didn't. I had a great time, so don't get me wrong. Gave away a copy of The Goblin novella to a great lady by the name of Sheila. I guess I'm just in a funk and probably shouldn't even post this. But, heck...it's my blog...so, here it is!

Hopefully, The Learning Curve will be released soon. Maybe that will help lift my spirits. I don't know. In the words of my DH....bah-humbug!

Excerpt 2: The Goblin, The Witch, and the Single Girl

EXCERPT: Paranormal/Contemporary

A sudden chill filled the room, and Caitlin shivered. A spiral of blurred colors twirled behind Niles, and she stood immobile, staring in fascination. Purples, black, blues, and greens blended and swirled until moments later the woman dressed as a witch appeared.

"What the hell…"

A wicked cackle of laughter resonated through the foyer, and Caitlin gawked and took a step back. She never allowed her vision to waver from the pair that stood in her foyer. Niles turned to face the witch, his chin raised to meet the woman’s brilliant green eyes. Vinzella? Is that what he had called her?

"So, you are the girl who has come between my love and I," Vinzella sneered, her gaze molded on Caitlin. "Do you think I will allow you to take him away from me?"

"I…I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who are you?"

A tremor traveled down her spine. The fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled and sent little shockwaves of apprehension along her back, flooding out to her limbs. Her palms grew moist, and tension tugged at her temples. This woman is as crazy as her son, but she did call him her ‘love’.

"Niles has refused me even more adamantly since you moved into this house and toyed with his affection. I’m telling you to get out. Out of this house. Out of my Niles’s life. Or, I will cast a thousand demons upon you."

Caitlin took another step backward. "I think both of you need to leave. Go home. I’ve had enough of your insane games."

"Leave? I think not! You will be the one to leave. Niles has lived here for almost three decades. And I think he quite enjoys the view. However, the view has become disruptive with your presence." Vinzella’s voice conveyed a hidden threat. A depraved, almost demented, tone.

"I have never been your love, Vinzella," Niles interrupted. Anger and loathing coated each word that he spoke. "It is because of that very reason I have had to live in this body for the last three decades. I have told you to stay away from me. I will never love you."

"Don’t ever attempt to humiliate me in front of her, Niles." With those words spoken, Vinzella pointed her finger down at the goblin, and he rose into the air, twirling and somersaulting head over feet. "I will deal with you in time, my love."

She dropped her hand, but Niles floated helplessly in mid-air. Her attention returned to Caitlin, and she closed the gap that separated them. Caitlin retreated until her back pressed against the door she had struggled to open.

"Either leave this house, or you shall suffer the consequences. I will not hesitate to rid this house of you in my own way."

"I bought this house. It is my home."

"Count your blessings that all you will lose is this home. You have forty-eight hours to get your belongings and yourself out of here. I’ll be back then. If you are still here, I will destroy you."

A thick cloud of fog enveloped the witch. Caitlin stood paralyzed with fear, her mind locked in battle with each strange event she witnessed. Her eyes grew wide when the fog dissipated and Vinzella no longer stood before her. A loud thump diverted her attention, and she found Niles crumpled into a heap on the floor. He sat up cautiously, rubbing his forehead. His gaze met hers.

"Ohmigod!" Caitlin rushed to Niles’s side and squatted next to him, as she checked him for injuries. Her fingertips examined his forehead and arms for any broken bones. "Are you okay? How did she do that?"

Read more or purchase at Freya's Bower

Excerpt 1: The Goblin, The Witch, and the Single Girl

EXCERPT: Paranormal/Contemporary

Niles stood on top of a wooden crate and peered from the attic window down to the front yard below. A moving van sat in the driveway, and people were carrying even more stuff into his home. By the front entrance, no less! His ears wiggled in disapproval. No one had dared come through his front door in well over twenty years after he'd finally managed to frighten off that last couple.

A small sporty black car pulled to a halt next to the van, and he watched long, slender well-shaped legs precede the driver. Brunette hair whipped gently around her shoulders, the svelte woman stepped around the door and shut it.

"Ahhhh, so beautiful," Niles sighed. Placing a knobby finger on the glass, he smudged away the grime to get a better view. He sighed again and leaned his head against the cold pane. "I think I'm in love."

An aura of light glowed around her. She was different from all the others. He could feel it to the depths of his soul. No one else had emitted the halo that appeared to hug her body. She seemed almost familiar to him. Something about her tugged at his memory, and he challenged his subconscious to release the hidden images from long ago.

Faelyn. His beautiful little sister. What made him think of her? His gaze searched the soft feminine features of the young woman below. Faelyn! It can't be! There's no way fate could be that gratuitous. He stared hard, his face pressed against the pane. Faelyn's childhood mortal friend? The one friend that Faelyn had cherished above all others? What was her name?

The box tittered beneath his flat, grotesque feet, and he struggled to balance himself. His feet went flying up into the air, and the box slipped out from under him. Niles landed in a pile of old sheets and blankets bundled in haphazard disarray on the floor. Moths and dust scattered all around him. He coughed, sputtered, and grumbled while scrambling to his feet. He grabbed the box, placed it under the window again, and crawled back on top, quickly pressing his nose to the window.

Read more or purchase at Freya's Bower

Chat with me on Wednesday!

Hello everyone! I'll be holding a live chat at The Romance Studio tomorrow, December 20th. It starts at 9pm (EST) and the link to the website is http://www.theromancestudio.com. I'll have excerpts, snippets, contests and a lot of Christmas cheer! Bring a friend or several. I always hold a "sneaky-behind-the-scenes" contest. The winner of this one could be the first person to attend; someone who stayed during the entire chat; the one to bring the most friends with them; or, just about anything! I'll be talking about Beyond the Maze and The Goblin, The Witch, and the Single Girl, as well as my soon-to-be released The Learning Curve, which is the first book in my Yesterday's Innocence series of five full-length novels.

Hope to see you there!

Chat with Zinnia Today!

All Day Loop Chat with me has started! Come join the fun. You can always unsubscribe from the group when it's over. Let's make Conspiracy of Angels a huge success!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zinniahope/

This author knows how to write! Always pulling in "high 5's" on reviews. And, the release of her latest book, Conspiracy of Angels, comes out today from Freya's Bower! Go meet this fabulous author now!

Nutter's Gang

Have to thank M.E. here for her wonderful, unsolicited praise of The Learning Curve on her blog at Nutter's Gang. I was pleasantly surprised when I googled my pen name and found she had honored me with such a treat! This woman can write psycho stuff that just makes you shiver, and double check your doors at night to make sure they are locked! So, her praise of TLC really rocks in my book! Thanks, lil'darlin'!

I've put Boughs of Holly - my bdsm novella - on hold. It was suppose to be Christmas themed, but that's got to change now. At any rate, I was talking to my DH and DS yesterday out on the front porch, while enjoying these wonderfully mild temps, and came up with such a fantastic storyline! DH and DS are computer game diehards, and the DS started talking about the new features of the Wii system. It seems that this system actually senses your arm movements while playing a game, so you are kinda in a virtual environment. I spoke up and said I'd probably be interested in it if they ever came out with a system that actually created a virtual world, where you were actually within it. LIGHT BULB!!! So, last night I began working on Virtual Lovers, a futuristic world not too far away in the year 2020 (figured that would be good...hindsight...foresight...seeing well, etc.) The story is about two BBWs who live and work together. No b/fs to speak of since high school and these ladies are mid-twenties. So, this new, recently approved technology company opens in town in their neighborhood that offers Virtual Worlds for a fee. One doesn't trust the new technology...the other is dying for some tender loving care. When her friend refuses to try it, the other darts in and goes for it. This is going to be a stretch for me, but I found I enjoy creating new worlds/fantasy when I wrote my last ebook, The Goblin, The Witch and the Single Girl. I expect this one to be between 5k-12k, which will fit the Phaze Heat Sheets criteria! We'll see!

Was suppose to take DH back to Duke this week in Durham, NC, but we cancelled the appointment and will reschedule for sometime after the first of the year.

One of the 3 remaining aunts (my dad's side) isn't doing well and it is just a matter of time now. It's part of life, I know. But, once they are gone, all of his family (siblings) will be gone...the end of a generation. Kind of sad when put in that perspective.

I haven't done any Christmas shopping. Just not with it this year. Unusual for me, cos' I'm known to jump in with both feet for the Christmas holidays, but not this year. *sigh* Maybe next year. Oh, I have put up a small tree, a few decorations, and sent out Christmas cards. Even strung lights on a few bushes in front of my porch. But, it's not my usual flair. I wouldn't have bothered with that if it wasn't for my DH's health and not knowing if he would be with us next Christmas.

WCP rates Beyond the Maze 4 Cats!

WOOT! Another great review for Beyond the Maze!
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I really enjoyed the characters in this pair of short stories. Aubrianna is a fiery woman from the present day who isn't afraid to take on a rough and tumble man. Keane is strong and demanding and oh so yummy.

The plot was well thought out and quick paced, keeping me highly entertained until the last word. Ms. Brown-Porter has done a fantastic job here. Her description leaves you wanting for nothing and the stories themselves are a joy to read.

I rate Beyond The Maze four Freya's cats.
Reviewed by Bella Tyler © 2006
Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006
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To read the entire review, visit http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/content/view/332/101/
To find out more about how to purchase Beyond The Maze visit Freya's Bower.