Shark Out Of Water is Finally Here!!!!

Celebrating the Release of

Shark Out of Water
Date Shark Series (Book 2)

by DelSheree Gladden

Guy Saint Laurent is too busy cursing his sister for roping him into taking over Eli's Date Shark business to prepare himself for the slew of bizarre women he's about to get involved with. This is the last venture he intended to take on, but somehow he's just become Chicago's newest, most reluctant Date Shark. 

On top of dealing with bug-toting, mothering, obsessive women, Guy faces personal tragedy that changes his outlook on life, whether he wants it to or not. He's not sure what it is about Charlotte Brooks that draws him in, but getting her off his mind after a brief encounter proves impossible. 

As Charlotte tries to help Guy deal with his loss, he begins to get the impression she's hiding something from him. He knows he could simply walk away, continue as he always has, but he suspects whatever she's hiding, she won't be able to face it alone. 

Charlotte is the one woman who can capture his attention, but she may also be the one woman capable of breaking him.

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Charlotte was breathless when he pulled back, and the plaintive expression on her face killed him, but he had accomplished his goal. He gestured to the IV hooked to her arm and Charlotte stared at it in surprise. “I didn’t even feel it!”

“I told you I could distract you.”

“Damn near distracted me, too,” the nurse muttered. 

Excerpt

Vance was smart enough to see signs that Guy was now on the defensive. He redirected, asking, “Tell me about Charlotte. Why are you having deep conversations with her instead of flirting and seducing her back to your flat?”

Sulking like a child, Guy muttered, “Je ne sais pas.”

“You don’t know?” That seemed to truly surprise Vance. “Well, I suggest you find out.”

“What?” Guy snapped. “That is your advice to me? Find out?”

Vance nodded. “Oui, mon ami. Find out why Charlotte has done what it has taken me years and years to do. Why let down your barrier between public and private for someone you barely know when I had to practically force you to do the same thing today.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Vance repeated. “Because you need to know. You won’t stop obsessing about her until you do.”

“Obsédé? Who says I am obsessing over her?”

Vance folded his arms across his chest. “She is in your thoughts so much that you mentioned her name when you clearly had no intention of revealing her to me.” Leaning forward, he looked at his friend seriously. “Guy, I have known you for a long time. You have surprised me today, but I know how you can be like a dog with a bone. You’ll drive yourself crazy wondering what it is about Charlotte that got past your defenses until it either drives you crazy or you figure it out. Given the line of work we’re in, I’d suggest figuring it out.”

“I thought I was here to talk about Patricia,” Guy grumbled.

Leaning back with a smirk, Vance said, “We are. Just had to find something you wanted to talk about even less to spur you on, apparently.” He shook his head when Guy rolled his eyes. “Something else is bothering you when it comes to Patricia. The funeral is tomorrow. You’re avoiding talking about it. Why?”

Guy did not respond right away. His breathing escalated to the point that Vance reached forward and put a hand on his shoulder. “Her parents… they came to see me at the hospital.”

“How did they react?”

Shaking his head, he still struggled to understand their reaction. Instead of answering Vance’s new question, he answered the original one. “They requested I stand as a pallbearer.” His head fell into his hands. “I don’t know if I can. It is too difficult.”

“It will undoubtedly be difficult,” Vance said with compassion, “but it is difficult for Patricia’s parents as well. They see you as the one person who truly tried to help her. I think it comforts them to think of you being there to help her on this one last transition.”

“I don’t know if I can do this for them.”

Vance squeezed Guy’s shoulder. “You don’t have to if it is too much.”

“Not doing it feels like a betrayal of Patricia.”

“Guy, don’t make this about Patricia or her parents. What do you feel comfortable with and how do you want to say goodbye to Patricia?”

That was not an easy question. Guy sank back into the chair. Vance waited with the patience of a saint as Guy forced himself to confront the answers. He had been through so much with Patricia, watched her move forward only to fall so far again and again. She never stopped trying, and he never stopped trying to help her. “I want to help her this one last time,” Guy said finally.

“Then call Patricia’s parents when you get home and tell them you’ll be there.”

Feeling more at peace, Guy nodded.

“Stephanie and I will be there as well.” Vance held his friend’s gaze for a moment longer, making sure he knew he did not have to face the funeral alone. When Guy’s shoulders relaxed, Vance sat back. “Now why don’t you tell me about the day you met Patricia?”

As Guy began recounting the first time Patricia came into the crisis center wanting to talk about everything from the side effects of the medications she was taking to how her puppy would not stop peeing on her kitchen floor, his thoughts returned to Vance’s earlier challenge. Patricia had struck a chord with him, and so had Charlotte, in surprisingly similar ways. He understood why he has connected with Patricia, a struggling and confused young woman, but Charlotte was more of a mystery. What would it take to find out why Charlotte had affected him so much? 

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Date Shark (Book 1)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DelSheree Gladden

DelSheree Gladden lives in New Mexico with her husband and two children. The Southwest is a big influence in her writing because of its culture, beauty, and mythology. Local folk lore is strongly rooted in her writing, particularly ideas of prophecy, destiny, and talents born from natural abilities. When she is not writing, DelSheree is usually reading, painting, sewing, or working as a Dental Hygienist.

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The Story Behind the Story...

Catching up on a few things...

It's been a while since I've blogged... sorry about that! 

The craziness of the last month is finally beginning to die down and I wanted to share the brand new, fabulous cover art for my upcoming contemporary romance, SHARK OUT OF WATER, the second book in the Date Shark series. 

Shark Out of Water is available for pre-order now, and it will release 10/21/14. You can find it on Amazon here. 

Shameless self-promo over, back to the title. 

I wanted to share with you all part of the inspiration behind this story. In book two, readers will follow Guy and Charlotte, rather than Leila and Eli from the first book, though you still get to see what's going on in their lives. 

Readers and bloggers will often ask authors if they based their characters on any real people. Charlotte is not based on a real person, but part of her story came from one really incredible woman. Friends and readers who've been following me for a while know that I've always had a turbulent relationship with my mom. Because of that, when I needed a female role model as a child, it was my grandma that I looked to. 

My grandma, Esther May Shrum, is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the privilege to know. She is currently ninety years old, has been through so much in her life time, from wars and police corruption to illness and loss of loved ones. She has been battling leukemia for the nearly a decade, been through chemo four times and radiation twice, and nearly died recently after side effects of a new cancer drug were almost too much for her to bear. 

Through everything she has been through, she's always faced it with courage and strength. Until a recent fall, she was still out weeding her flower beds and walking to church every Sunday on her own. We thought we were going to lose her recently, but against all odds she pulled through and is doing much better. She faces her trials with grace and refuses to give up. 

My grandma has taught me so much over the years. She was a guide to me as a child when I really didn't have one and she has always been an example to me of what I should want to be when I grow up. I have so much respect for her and I'm so glad my kids have had the chance to spend time with her over the last few years. 

As I wrote this book, I thought of my grandma often, not just because of the trials she's been through, but because I wanted to share a little piece of her strength and courage with my readers through Charlotte and Guy's story. This book is very close to my heart because of that and I truly hope my readers not only enjoy the story, but feel a connection with the characters and maybe draw a little strength from them if they're facing something difficult. 

Who has been the biggest role model in your life? 

Whohoo! Ten Reviews!

Trying to market Date Shark has been a challenge since I'm used to targeting teens, but Date Shark has made it up to 10 review (yeah!!!) and I felt like that deserved a preview from book 2 (for which I still haven't come up with a title for yet). 

This scene was inspired by all the awesome readers who shared their worst date stories :) 

Oh and please excuse the French... literally... I haven't had it checked for syntax errors yet. I will be calling on Liilia soon. 

~*~

Again, the thought crossed his mind that this was all Sabine’s fault. Eli had been set up with Lewis to take over the remaining Date Shark clients already on the schedule until he met Sabine. Guy knew his sister was très magnifique. She was a European fashion model, after all. Could she not tone it down on occasion? Like when it might end up dragging her brother into being Chicago’s newest, not-so-willing Date Shark? 

“The client’s issue is what?” Guy asked. 

Hedging, Eli said, “Why don’t you just wait and see?” 

Fantastique, Guy thought. That bad? He settled back in his chair and sighed. Drinks had been ordered, and appetizers were being contemplated by the time a commotion at the front desk brought the maître ‘d with the terrible French accent tripping in her six inch heels to cut off a woman carrying the largest purse Guy had ever seen. 

“Mr. Walsh, Mr., uh, Guy,” she said, apparently not wanting to make a second attempt at his last name. 

“Your third guest arrived. I tried to tell her …” 

Standing slowly, Eli tried not to let his embarrassment show, but Guy knew him too well to be deceived. He faced the frazzled maître ‘d and said, “It’s okay, Lauren. I’ll handle it from here.” 

“But, but she …” 

“I already spoke to Conrad about it.” 

Lauren’s shoulders dropped and her hands flapped against her body once, defeated. She simply turned and walked away after that. Guy was tempted to do the same. What did the purse hold? Should he be concerné?

“Deliah,” Eli said politely, “thank you for coming, though I believe we already had a discussion about the insects.” 

Insectes? Guy thought, his stomach turning involuntarily. He could not be serious, nes pas? Surely she did not … Oh, but she did. Guy watched with a strange mix of horror and fascination as Deliah carefully began pulling variously sized boxes out of her bag and setting them on the table. The tarantula wasn’t so bad, but the hundreds of meal worms wriggling against each other and the giant black and red centipede thing had both Guy and Eli squirming and scooting away from the table. 

“I know what you said, Mr. Walsh, but how could I leave them at home? Mortimer escaped and tried to eat everything the last time I left them alone,” Deliah said as if that excuse made it acceptable to bring a possible infestation to a restaurant. 

“Mortimer? Qui est-ce?” Guy asked, barely managing to get out the words without gagging. 

“Mortimer,” Deliah said, “is my python.” 

She looked at him expectantly. Guy wasn’t sure if she was waiting on him for a response of some kind, or confirmation that she wasn’t a complete maniaque, but there was no chance of either from Guy. This woman was clearly crazy. How did Eli expect to fix her? 

“Deliah, why don’t you take a look at the menu?” Eli said, more calm than he was a few minutes prior. “The waitress will be returning to take our orders shortly.” 

“Oh! Of course,” she said, “I just had one more …” 

Guy and Eli weren’t the only ones to jump back in surprise when Deliah pulled out a caged bee the size of her palm. 

“Bordel de merde!” Guy exclaimed at the sight of it. Even in a cage, the thing had Guy scrambling out of his chair. “What is that?” 

“A Japanese giant hornet,” Deliah explained happily. 

She seemed completely oblivious to Guy’s discomfort and Eli’s head in his hands. She held the cage closer to Guy and it took everything he had not to bat it out of her hand. Only the fear of the lid springing off when it hit the ground and coming after him kept him from lashing out. That and the fact that he was très allergique to bees and preferred not to end the night in the Emergency Room. 

Holding his tongue was not so easy, though. “Put that …”

“Deliah,” Eli interrupted before another round of French curse words spilled out of Guy’s mouth. “We have already discussed how your insect collection might make other people uncomfortable. Guy has a severe allergy to bees, and whether or not that translates to Japanese giant hornets, he is not comfortable having it thrust in his face.” 

For a moment, Deliah just stood there, holding the trapped monstrosity out in front of Guy. Her brows scrunched together, possibly trying to figure out why her repulsive bug collection would upset anyone. Eventually, she shrugged and sat the plastic cage down on the side of the table furthest from Guy. She managed to find her seat shortly after. Both she and Eli moved on from the incident as if nothing had even happened. Guy supposed that in Deliah’s twisted mind, nothing had. Eli was simply a better actor than he. 

“Sauve-moi,” Guy muttered under his breath. He knew no one was going to save him, though. Not this time. Sabine was going to pay for this. 

~*~

I hope you had fun with this! Feel free to comment with any other interesting date stories you might have :) I hoping to have this one ready for publication in early fall, so keep checking back for updates!

New book, giveaway, and romance!

Want a chance to win a copy of my new book, Date Shark? 

Limitless Publishing thought you might ;) 

So, here's your chance! First check out a sneak peek at Eli and Leila's story, not to mention the beautiful cover art, then scroll down and enter the giveaway on the Rafflecopt widget. 

Last step...share the giveaway with your friends!

Blurb

Life as the marketing director for a popular fashion boutique is overwhelming for Leila Sparrow, to say the least.

She's not sure what ever possessed her to add revamping her dating life to her already hectic schedule. Calling in renowned Date Shark, Eli Walsh seemed like a good idea until she actually met with him...

Date Shark was only meant to be a side-enterprise to his thriving couple's therapy practice, but Eli Walsh knows it's become more of an obsession.

At least, it was until he agreed to take on Leila. Somehow she has stolen his entire focus. He wants to admit his fascination with her and growing romantic interest, but he knows coming on too strong will scare her away.

His plan to convince her that she is worth any man's interest by first being her friend is challenged when his tips start to pay off and Leila begins dating Luke.

Will his friendship with Leila mean the end to any romantic pursuit?

Excerpt

Despite the fact that Eli held his arm out for Leila to take again like they were some kind of fairytale couple, she started forward without him. Pierce was there to open the door for her. Leila gave him a polite goodbye, careful to watch the inclined entrance as she left. The city air outside the restaurant was undoubtedly filled with pollution and ick, but she breathed it in anyway. She had such high hopes for tonight. All she wanted to do now was climb into bed and pretend she didn’t have to meet with Eli the next day. 

“Where did you park?” Eli asked. 

He was smart to guess Leila hadn’t used the valet. She had never been to a restaurant that had a valet, so she hadn’t been sure how it worked. Every once in a while Leila thought ahead and prevented herself from doing something stupid. “I’m three blocks down. I couldn’t find a space near the restaurant.” 

“North or south?” 

“Um, south,” she said, glancing that direction then back at Eli. It must have rained while they were inside. Leila wasn’t too worried about her shoes, but she worried Eli’s monkstrap dress shoes and tailored slacks might not survive the trek. The crisp April air made the dampness even more profound. “Look, Eli, you’re sweet to offer to walk me to my car, but I know you have better things to do. You don’t need to feel obligated since …” 

“Since this isn’t a real date?” he finished. 

Leila nodded.

“Real date or not,” Eli said, placing her hand on his arm, “I have no intention of letting a young woman walk three city blocks at night all alone. Lead the way, Leila.” 

He was really only offering because his sense of chivalry was several notches higher than the majority of the male gender, but Leila still found herself smiling at his kindness. She clutched onto his arm a little more tightly and started forward. The three blocks passed quickly, but without incident. Leila was sure it was the nicest part of the whole night. 

When they reached her car, Eli said, “Are you still all right meeting for lunch tomorrow?” 

“Yes,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. 

“Good. I will see you tomorrow at The Fifth Street Café. Twelve o’clock.” 

“I’ll be there,” Leila said, even though she would rather be just about anywhere else. 

Smiling as though he knew exactly what she was thinking, Eli opened the car door for her. Before she could get in Eli stopped her. His hand resting lightly on her shoulder made Leila’s tense muscles bunch up even more. “Hey,” he said, “relax. Go home and do something just for you. You should feel good, proud of yourself.” 

“Why?” Had they been on different fake dates tonight? 

“Because if nothing else, you just survived a night with the most notorious date shark in the city.” 

“Notorious, huh? Nothing about you strikes me as notorious.” Debonair, maybe. Handsome and generally fabulous. 

Eli laughed. “Goodnight, Leila Sparro.” Then he did something completely unexpected. He kissed Leila’s cheek and walked away. 

Leila slid into her car and touched her cheek. He must do that for everyone, she thought, but her skin seemed to pulse where he had kissed her. The only thing that broke up her amazement was Eli’s comment about tonight. She hadn’t survived the most notorious date shark in the city yet. Tomorrow she would get to hear about all the ways she screwed up. There was no way she was surviving that. 

Psst, if you're one of those people who never win anything (like me), you can grab DATE SHARK for 0.99 right now on Kindle!! Hurry, I have no idea how long the sale will last :)

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Cover Reveal: Date Shark!!!

When It Comes to Choosing Between Obsession and Passion, 

Some Lines are Meant to Be Crossed

Life as the marketing director for a popular fashion boutique is overwhelming for Leila Sparrow, to say the least. She’s not sure what ever possessed her to add revamping her dating life to her already hectic schedule. Calling in renowned Date Shark, Eli Walsh seemed like a good idea until she actually met with him. She isn’t supposed to be fantasizing about her dating coach. Leila knows he only sees her as a client, but when their business relationship becomes more of a friendship, it’s hard not to imagine what might be.

His Date Shark business was only meant to be a side-enterprise to his thriving couple’s therapy practice, but Eli Walsh knows it’s become more of an obsession. At least, it was until he agreed to take on Leila. Somehow she has stolen his entire focus. He wants to admit his fascination with her and growing romantic interest, but he knows coming on too strong will scare her away. His plan to convince her that she is worth any man’s interest by first being her friend is challenged when his tips start to pay off and Leila begins dating Luke. Will his friendship with Leila mean the end to any romantic pursuit? 

Date Shark was just released from Limitless Publishing !

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