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Chance Takes a Bow

by M.L. Buchman

I'm always surprised, and occasionally a little alarmed, when Chance takes a hand. Chance is Lady Luck's younger brother and I often think that he's slipping out of some halfway house to do a little moonlighting when he strikes. Because unlike Lady Luck, when Chance strikes, he delivers a strangely mixed bag.

What really brings the contrast of behavior to light is when they both do their dance to me in the same week.

Lady Luck
(who I picture as sort of Anne Hathaway in that makeover scene in The Devil Wears Prada):

Lady Luck came to me in the form of an editor who was sick to death of my insisting that I only wrote novels. She said, "Fine. I'm building an anthology and you're now one of the lead authors in it. Go write me a story."



Ghost of Willow's Past was described as "One of the standouts!" by Publisher's Weekly. A year later the same editor kicked me in the butt and "Where's the next story? I want to see it on your website within the month." And my Free Fiction on the 14th was born and soon dubbed the "Ides of Matt." This series has becoming incredibly popular (much to the shock of this novelist). So, I've gathered the first year's stories into a single volume, written new introductions for every one, and it is now available for pre-order (release date: October 14th....of course). I have to note here that I do understand that the Ides of October is actually the 15th, but you'll have to read the introduction to the volume to understand why I use the 14th.


Chance
Chance is totally Nicholas Cage getting ready in Gone in 60 Seconds.

My newest Firehawks book Hot Point just released yesterday. I wrote it, not thinking about the season in which it would launch. It is a love story among wildfires, #3 in the series. A tale of Denise, an ace mechanic introvert with a banner of blond hair she hides behind, and Vern, a tall, laid-back, ex-Coast Guard ace helicopter pilot, and their finding true love amidst the heat.


Chance has placed this release in the middle of one of the worst fire seasons in years, which is saying something. So, if you want a glimpse behind the news to see what these folks do (and a lot of things that romance heroes and heroines do in addition to that), it is definitely the season to read Hot Point.

So, grab a copy and let's see if we can't turn Chance's whims into Lady Luck!

And how would you cast Lady Luck and Young Chance?

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M. L. Buchman has over 35 novels and an ever-expanding flock of short stories in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year,” Booklist “Top 10 of the Year,” and RT “Top 10 Romantic Suspense of the Year.” In addition to romantic suspense, he also writes contemporaries, thrillers, and fantasy and science fiction.

In among his career as a corporate project manager he has: rebuilt and single-handed a fifty-foot sailboat, both flown and jumped out of airplanes, designed and built two houses, and bicycled solo around the world.


He is now a full-time writer, living on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife. He is constantly amazed at what you can do with a degree in Geophysics. You may keep up with his writing at www.mlbuchman.com.

Comments

  1. What a great post! I think you cast Lady Luck and Chance very well. I have an agent who ignores the fact that I want to write shorts and says, "Hey, thus and so wants a series of novels." And then, "Do you know how 'lucky' you are that you're still getting contracts for paranormal?" Seriously. I want to scream. But it's those things that put my butt on the map in reader-land. Sometimes being asked to stretch is a good thing. Other times I just want to plant my feet and hide the raised middle finger with some casual looking posture.

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  2. Oh, I'm all about chance. It would drive me crazy to try and attribute statistics or research to everything. Love that Devil Wears Prada outtake too!

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  3. Great story, although far too pertinent to my state right now! Congrats on the release!

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