Garland and Gould

Welcome to Garland & Gould.

Here, we hope you will come learn more about us and what we love, including writing. You can expect to find us discussing a variety of topics, including current events, our road to being published, and sometimes even some senseless drivel. You'll find out what strikes our emotional cords, what makes us happy, sad, angry, and on occasion, downright giddy. We'll also be inviting some amazing authors to blog on our site. They're talented, witty, and we're both proud to call them our friends.

We both bring different tastes and experiences to our writing and find that we compliment each other very well. L.J. has a taste for sci-fi, paranormal, time travel, and suspense, while Debbie's tastes run suspense, thriller, military and cowboys. But no matter the genre--or combination of genres--we love to create tense stories where the hero and heroine have to fight to win their Happily Ever After...and though they always do, we don't make it easy for 'em!

So sit back, relax and get to know us. For now, here's a little snippet from Sins of the Mind, our first completed novel.

----Rage consumed Ethan. This time, nothing she did or said would stop him from reaching her. In two long strides, he was at her side, his arms wrapped around her. It wasn’t until she pulled back, peered up at him, and brushed the tears from his cheeks that he realized he’d been crying.
----“I’m so sorry for all you went through,” he said, his voice coarse with emotion. He kissed the wetness from her cheeks. “I wish I’d been there to stop him.”
----“I didn’t tell you this for you to feel sorry for me. I just wanted you to understand the peppermint reaction.” She inhaled and released a soulful sigh. “And, well…me.”
----He guided her back to the couch, and they sat together, his arm a shawl of protection around her shoulders. “I don’t feel sorry for you, honey. I’m just sorry something like that happened to you.”
----She swiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands and said, “Elliot knew about the peppermint thing. I kind of freaked out on him when we went on a blind date last week. The waitress brought the mints with the bill, and I wigged out.” A derisive laugh spilled from her mouth. “You’d think that would’ve scared him away, but he’s got this idea that I still want to go out with him or something. He probably put them on my car after the incident in the café.” She became quiet, thoughtful for a moment. “You don’t think he’s the murderer do you?” Her brow knitted, and she shook her head, her shoulders sagging. “No. Jud was killed before I met Elliot. He was just being mean.”
----Ethan placed a finger over her mouth. “Shh. It’s not up to you to figure out who the killer is. Although I do want you to stay away from Elliot. I’ll check him out.”
----“Oh, that won’t be a problem. The guy is seriously freaky.” She reached out and covered his hand with hers. Heat raced up his arm and straight down to his groin. “I’m sorry if I ruined whatever moment we were having.”
----“Moment?” He raised his eyebrows, tried for a surprised expression. “We were having a moment? Where was I?”
----A husky laugh escaped Abby’s lips, and the sound triggered a base desire low in his gut. She gave him a playful shove, but he caught her hand, his fingers encircling her delicate wrist. With great care, he bowed his head and pressed his lips to the center of her palm. Her sharp intake of air told him she liked it.
----“Is this the moment you were referring to?” He kissed her wrist. “Or this?” His mouth grazed along her skin, up the side of her neck to the tender point below her ear.
----“Mmm.” She tilted her head, offering him access.
----He inhaled, reveled in her unique scent. A mixture of spicy vanilla and exotic flowers invaded his senses and sent the room slowly spinning. Primal lust roared through him, demanded he possess her in a rush of carnal passion.
----But Ethan resisted.
----Intent on enticing Abby into a wild, heated frenzy, he trailed the tip of his tongue along her throat. Her pulse hammered beneath his ardent attention, and he reveled in her response. His fingers slid over her supple skin. One hand sought the silky tresses adorning her head while the other coaxed her legs across his lap then slipped around her waist.
----He pulled back, stared into her lovely face. Eyelids fluttering, she sighed in his arms. When she looked at him, desire burned bright in her eyes. His heart stuttered at the sight, and hot need rushed to his groin.
----“Abby.” Her name rolled from his tongue in a mix of desperation and lust. A voracious hunger to taste every inch of her body washed over him. The urge to kiss the small of her back, to run his tongue along her skin, delving and dipping into her secret, sensitive places, all but overwhelmed him. “Tell me to stop. If you’re not ready, honey, tell me to stop right now and by all that’s holy, I will. But you need to know how much I want you right now.”