A Love's Luck Teaser

Affinity eBooks has published an all-holiday anthology, It's In Her Kiss, and all proceeds go to the Montrose Center, home to dozens of LGBT-affirming social and civic organizations all working to help families enjoy healthier and more fulfilling lives.  It's In Her Kiss is available  from Amazon or directly from Affinity.

My story, Love's Luck is a blatant homage to Gabriel García Márquez. It takes place in Houston (home of the Montrose Center) and spans several underrated holidays from St. Patrick's Day to Bastille Day.  Here's a teaser:

March 17, 2015 (Saint Patrick’s Day) 6:30 p.m.

We were married in front of two hundred of our closest friends and family on this very spot three years ago on Saint Patrick’s Day. We’re both Irish—well, Irish-American. In fact, my name is Cara Patrick, and my wife’s is... was Rebecca Irish. So Saint Patrick’s Day was an easy way for us to remember our anniversary. Not that we needed it.

By our second anniversary Becca was gone. One minute we were walking the Celtic Gardens beside the handsome old Santorini’s warehouse where we got married, quietly celebrating our second anniversary before heading off to the other festivities, and then I was walking along alone. The police gave up about six months in after failing to find any evidence Becca might have been abducted.

I can still hear Detective Garza shuffling his feet on our front stoop, staring gently back at me as he announced, “Cara, you know, sometimes people just leave by their own choice without telling anyone. Maybe in a fugue state, or maybe just because they don’t have the guts to explain themselves.”

But I know Becca. That isn’t her style. She plans and announces everything well ahead of time and then repeats herself. She’s a little obsessive-compulsive. She has a joke about how all psychologists are a little wonky in some way—that it’s part of why they go into psychology in the first place. She wouldn’t go anywhere without explaining herself and leaving a detailed itinerary with emergency contacts and phone numbers. Then again, how could anyone have taken her so easily from right beside me without making a noise?

So here I am, back at the scene of the crime, on our third anniversary. . .  


The anthology features several love stories ranging from New Year’s Day through to Christmas with contributions from Alane Hotchkin, Erin O’Reilly, Erica Lawson, Ali Spooner, Jen Silver, Annette Mori, Charlene Neil and TJ Vertigo. We hope you enjoy what’s ‘in her kiss’ and take this opportunity to give to a worthwhile charity at the same time.