It’s hard to know when the appropriate amount of time has passed, when one person has been delivered devastating news and another has received promising news.

As the Taliban took over Afghanistan and the airport in Kabul became a scene out of a Hollywood movie, I was accepted into the Romance Writers of America organization.

While it changes nothing in that foreign land, it has great promise for me, especially in a female dominated industry. I chose not to go under a pseudonym name, which was suggested often, because women don’t want to read male romance authors. Well, like most things in my life, I took that as a challenge instead of advice. I was also advised not to write in the format I use, because that is not the industry standard. I listened, but did not obey. I would rather touch some deeply, than only brush the minds of all. They said the same thing about my book covers and how they are not what romance covers look like. Guess what? They are different and the artist that I have been blessed to work with are amazing and I am forever grateful.

I must have been sipping from my glass with three ice cubes, two fingers of Jack Daniel’s and a splash of water while listening to Frank Sinatra, because I did it my way. He said it best:

“Hell hath no fury like a hustler with a literary agent.”

This is taken from PRISM – the Past, the Present & the Future – book V of The Silent Seduction Series. This story is one that will not get me sent to Facebook Jail and is permissible for all to read. That last statement does not hold true for the rest of the stories in the series. Buyer beware!

*A Family Day at the Beach*

“What a wonderful day at the beach! The sun is strong, the tide is high, the water is cold, but we do not care. We play in the water all day with the boys, only to come out to have drinks, eat lunch and to give your mom a rest from Basti and to go for a quick swim herself. I walk her down to the water’s edge and we decide to run into the cold water together, because it’s easier to get it over with quickly, than to suffer going in slowly, step-by-step.

As you are feeding the boys, your mom and I float in the water and enjoy each other’s company. I am making her laugh and forget about the coldness of the water. Soon we are discussing about how happy you are, how it makes her happy to see you happy, how happy the boys are that their momma is happy, and she confesses to me that at first, she was shocked, but how it did not take her long to realize how in love we are and now she really understands. We hug a nice long embrace, as if we were making up from a fight, but a fight that never happened. I tell her that I am going up to help you and will send her grandsons down to enjoy the water with her.

I go running back up to our spot on the beach and send the boys down to the water with Oma. Now I want to take the opportunity to play with Basti in the sand. We bring him closer to the water’s edge and we dig him a tidal pool, where the waves come in. We will fill the hole with seawater and the sun heats it up really quickly, because it’s very shallow. We take off his diaper. You are sitting with him balanced between your knees and we stick his naked little butt directly in the sand. I am laying down in front of him, so the water would first rush over my body and not directly on him… The first wave comes up… whoosh and fills the hole partially… He smiles and starts slapping his hands on the edges of the hole and begins laughing… The next wave comes up… whoosh and fills the remainder of the hole… He is now kicking, smiling, slapping and laughing hysterically… The slapping is getting the wet sand all over the insides of your legs and the kicking is getting the wet sand all over my face, which makes him laugh even harder. You are bouncing him up & down. I am pulling on his little chubby legs, and he is in heaven.

You look out to the water and your momma is playing in the waves with Niklas & Stefan… You begin to think, everyone you thought that would be so disappointed is really happy. You think, maybe your happiness is important to them, and that it is actually contagious? You begin to smile wider and wider as you stare at me. I did not know what you were thinking and just assumed you were smiling at my sand covered face, just like my lil’ buddy sitting in the hole. You ask me to come to you quickly for a moment. I get up on all fours and crawl towards you. You reach up with one hand, place it behind my head and bring my sand covered face into yours. You kiss me three times and tell me you love me. Basti is giggling below, as he is now squishing wet sand up on to my belly above him and it is falling back down on his little head. We are both staring at one another. Both thinking how lucky we are to have this Connection and how brave we were to pursue it. I crawl back in front of Basti and on the way to lay down, I give him a kiss, too. He grabs my face with his sandy hands and then bites my cheek with the few teeth he has coming in!

You look up out to the water, again, and your mother is watching us and smiling…. Life is good, no, life is great! Grandma did not want to stay in the water too long and she is now heading back up towards us. When they reach us, they all collapse, sitting down and begin playing in the sand with Basti. Niklas & Stefan want to dig and build sandcastles or mud castles, which I am totally excited to do with them. Each one starts digging their own moat to keep the waves off of their castles and I show them how to build a mud castle with no forms by squeezing the sand and letting it drip just so…. They are excited and having a blast. We build their castles up as high as their waists. But they are unaware that the tide is coming in faster and faster and will soon wash it away.

As the first wave comes, it causes the castle to list over to one side. They get a little upset, as all boys do when that happens, but I reassure them that tomorrow, we will build bigger and better ones…  Tonight, we get to destroy these ones! We all take photos in front of the castles standing, kneeling and being goofy. Then the boys take a running head start and karate kick right through their castles, as the waves come up and settle the sand back to the beach.  We sit and watch until they are leveled. We walk back to our beach towels, and I have one arm around each boy, as we walk back to pack up our stuff and to go back home for dinner.

Dinner is great and we settle the boys in for the night. Your mom agrees to watch the boys while you & I decide to go for a walk to watch the sunset and the moon rise. She tells us not to rush that they will be just fine at the house…”

Everyone has their own personal preferences in life and in their options to read. Thank you for your ongoing feedback on the series. I am pleased to now have the Reflowable versions of WHAT IF? the Rekindle book I, MAXI – his Wife, MY Mistress book II, EXPOSED – a Crack in Her Hidden Fortress book III and the latest release IMPRISONED – the Secrets She Keeps book IV.

The story was created through a long distance relationship via love letters, text messages and later phone conversations. Hence the name, Silent Seduction. To portray accuracy of our times, I have included full color emojis into the script. This is how my mind saw the story unfold. However, with all the technology in the world, eReaders are still unable to read emojis. That’s the price you pay when you do not conform to societal standards and are an outlier.

Yes, the series is quite steamy. Some of you have taken offense to scenes or language in the books. But I did place a very clear warning inside books I & II. For those of you that started the series at book III, well, I am not sure how to help you. So, can you skip over the open bedroom scenes? Absolutely. The story will still be complete in nature. I just refuse to censor my writing style. I did place hyperlinks in the earlier versions, so that you would have to physically click the link to open the door, but have received feedback that you don’t always have access to wifi. I have decided that we are all adults and are responsible for our feelings, emotions and more importantly our choices. I have kicked open that door, removing the hyperlinks and it is all laid out in front of you now. So update your version or you may choice a new format, if you like by clicking the link to The Silent Seduction. Thank you for your feedback! If any of you are having issues, please let me know and I will resolve it as quickly as possible at author@tommyclancy.com

Thanks to all that have voiced their opinion or preference to have my stories in a reflowable format, so you can have all of the benefits that your eReader has available to you.

The first three books have now been converted and are in the hands of my Advanced Readers to see if the conversion still conveys the raw emotions and feelings that were implied through the use of emojis. That is the downside to reflowable text. Emojis are a style of text and the reader is unable to translate them for your screen. So, they have been replaced with <beating heart>, <smiling face with heart-shaped eyes> etc.

So far, the reviews are mixed. People are favoring the emojis, but still feel as though they get the effect with the new format. However, I would like to offer you the books in reflowable format to see what you think. Just email me at author@tommyclancy.com with subject heading “Reflowable” and ask to be sent the eBooks. I am not asking for a public review, although I am not standing in your way, I am asking for you to tell me what you think. I have yet to release these versions on Amazon or Google. Apple is the only one that has the reflowable text with emojis, well, because they are Apple and they were the inspiration behind my texting with emojis. I am going to release them on Kobo and Nook this weekend, as they do not offer the ability for a Fixed Format, which is what I currently have published.

With summer knocking on our doorsteps, there will be no better series to take on road trips, to the beach or simply to your favorite chair. EXPOSED – a Crack in Her Hidden Fortress (book III) released today. But don’t worry if you are just joining the fun. Maxi & Tommy are just getting started on their crazy ride. Each book is available on AMAZON, APPLE BOOKS and GooglePlay. The hyperlinks can be found on The Silent Seduction page.

Understanding the need of the reader to continue the series in a timely fashion, I have made the commitment to publish a new novel in the series every two months. Along the way, I will offer exclusive deals and free giveaways to those on my Mailing List. If you would like to join, simply click the hyperlink and follow the short prompts.

When I was a younger man, I had met this beautiful foreign girl from Germany, while visiting Cape Cod. We ended up dating while she stayed in the States and even continued our relationship for many years over the phone (back when they were hardwired and installed on the wall) and through very romantic handwritten letters. This was back in time, before Instagram and all of the social media platforms were instant gratification and posting thousands of photos of oneself. We used to have to develop and wait for hard copies of the photos.

Anyway, I digress, the point of the photo and story is the comparison. You see, that older gentleman is me in the future. Why you ask? Because that was me in the past. You see, that lovely girl that I referred to up above, had sent me a photo of her walking towards the ocean while only wearing her bikini bottom. Immediately my mind was racing and with high anticipation, I flipped the 2 dimensional photo over, fully expecting to see her front side without her top on. To this day, I still laugh about that moment. One thing is for sure, I will never change.

The visual is easy to see. As my reader, you will find that I am calling you to join me in the water. In the beginning, you will open WHAT IF? – the Rekindle as you sit quietly nestled on your beach blanket. The first few chapters are merely background and setting the scene, but it won’t take long before you are standing, walking towards the ocean. Once you begin to read Letter #1, you will have reached the water’s edge. Here, you will feel the slight chill on your toes. Continuing along to Letter #2, you realize that these letters are getting quite intimate, as you look around to see if anyone is watching. At this point, you are now up to your knees and have become warm. Moving along, without realizing it, you have reached Letter #3. Here you are standing with the waves breaking into your waist. You have two choices at this point. You can either turn around, walk back to the beach where it is safe and place this book down forever… or your can take the risk, pickup the key, unlock the door, diving straight into the oncoming breakers and never look back. I am obligated to warn you, that once submerge yourself, that I cannot save you. You are on your own, although I will be with you all the way. There are no lifeguards on duty.

What do you say? Would you like to go for a swim? Click here

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton