The Gunny & The Jazz Singer, A Birchwood Falls Novel by Jane Leopold Quinn

The Gunny & The Jazz Singer

A Birchwood Falls Novel

by Jane Leopold Quinn

I’ve always loved the idea of small towns. I grew up in one but have lived in the big city for more years than I did in the small town. I’m not sure I could re-acclimate to a small town after all these years, so I’ll write about them and about the people who live there.

I created a small town called Birchwood Falls and even drew a site plan for the town.

My first character was a Marine home on leave after almost a decade of deployments in the Middle East. What kind of woman would be a good foil for his military persona? Hmm…a young artistic and musical jazz singer. Marc and Phoebe have divergent goals, but their attraction is real and immediate. They’ve both lost a great deal in their pasts but find love with each other.

Here’s a description of The Gunny & The Jazz Singer –

U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Marc Rahn, Jr. enlisted after high school graduation to escape the pain of his parents’ fatal car wreck. Now on leave after eight years and multiple Middle East deployments, he returns to his hometown to put to rest his suspicions that the “accident” might actually have been anything but.

What he doesn’t expect on move-in day from the neighbor across the street is an intriguing flash of pierced nipple. The breast’s owner, Phoebe Barnes, is a beautiful young jazz singer who has plans to make it big in the music business. Her early years in foster care made her hungry for attention and fame, and she’s out to achieve both at almost any cost.

Despite their differing goals, Marc and Phoebe quickly give in to the sizzling attraction between them. But will their passion turn deadly when the person who killed Marc’s family decides two murders might not have been enough?

Author’s Note: This book was originally published as Lost and Found.

It now has a new title and new cover.

The Gunny & The Jazz Singer

In the inky blackness of the small club, a lone spotlight beamed down on her. At this moment in time, Phoebe Barnes was the center of the universe, all eyes on her. She heard only her accompaniment, Hank One at the piano, Hank Two on sax. The minor notes of both instruments filled the room, overshadowing the clinking of bottles and glasses and the low-toned conversations. Blocking other sights and sounds, she sang of the sadness of trying to save love only to lose it in the end.

Her petite body sheathed in a floor-length black tank dress with ruffles running diagonally across the bodice, Phoebe warbled into the microphone. The campy thick streak of her bright fuchsia bangs belied the melancholy, bluesy tones of It Doesn’t Matter Any More by Eva Cassidy.

Deep in the moment, she closed her eyes, tipping her head to the side, her pursed lips stretching out the words “over you”. Selling the sorrowful lyrics wasn’t hard for her. In her soul she’d never gotten over being left literally on the firehouse doorstep as an infant. Her adoptive family loved her, and she loved them back, but there was still an emptiness inside her. She’d been abandoned as some woman’s mistake.

She held the last note, softening it, gentling it into a dreamy musical sigh. Head bowed, hands clasping the microphone to her chest, she waited for reactions. Then at the sound of applause and with a gracious smile, she raised her head to make eye contact with the audience. A lot of them were friends here to support her in the new series of songs she was trying out. She knew they would have cheered her on even if she’d sung flat. But she hadn’t. That was the best part. She was succeeding in her chosen profession, and she’d never been happier.

The Gunny & The Jazz Singer is available here for 99 cents pre-order until November 20

http://amzn.com/B017X3K5L0

Other books to look for!

Mike Banning, Marc’s childhood friend, watch Marc and Phoebe struggle against a foe and then are rewarded by finding love with each other. Look for Mike’s love story in The Bride Takes a Powder

Two county deputies, Hank and Pete, from Parkersburg, a neighboring town, appear briefly in this story as Phoebe’s home town friends. These deputies have their own love stories also available now. Hank’s story is Home to Stay http://amzn.com/B00P3AQ8WQ. Pete’s is The Keeper http://amzn.com/B0087RW3KI.

About Jane

Sensual fantasies were locked in my mind for years until a friend said, “Why don’t you write them down?” Why not, indeed? One spiral notebook, a pen, and the unleashing of my imagination later, and here I am with nineteen books published. The craft of writing sensual romance has become my passion and my niche in life. I love every part of the creative process—developing characters, designing the plot, even drawing the layout of physical spaces from my stories. My careers have been varied—third grade school teacher, bookkeeper, secretary—none of which gave me a bit of inspiration. But now I’m lucky enough to write romance full time—the best job in the universe! And I’m fortunate enough to have found my own happily ever after husband.

Jane Leopold Quinn

My Romance: Love With a Scorching Sensuality

http://janeleopoldquinn.BlogSpot.com

https://twitter.com/jelquinnauthor

Amazon Author Page http://amzn.to/1DfiXkP

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My Books

Historical Indie

Winning Violetta

Jake and Ivy

Wooing the Librarian

The Long Road to You