Stealing Fire Excerpt~Spotlight

Title- Stealing Fire

By-Susan Sloate

Expected Publication Date- late August 2013

Blurb-

“How do you recognize your soulmate?

In glittery 1980’s Los Angeles, Beau Kellogg is a brilliant Broadway lyricist now writing advertising jingles and yearning for one more hit to compensate for his miserable marriage and disappointing life.

Amanda Harary, a young singer out of synch with her contemporaries, works at a small New York hotel, while she dreams of singing on Broadway.

When they meet late at night over the hotel switchboard, what begins will bring them each unexpected success, untold joy, and piercing heartache ... until they learn that some connections, however improbable, are meant to last forever.

STEALING FIRE is, at its heart, a story for romantics everywhere, who believe in the transformative power of love.”

STEALING FIRE was a 2012 quarter-finalist in the amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Fire-ebook/dp/B00DQUKI0I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378424922&sr=8-1&keywords=Stealing+Fire+by+Susan+Sloate

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stealing-fire-susan-sloate/1116263708?ean=9781935970125

Excerpt 

Oh, God, it was him, the bastard who had upset the switchboard operators and bellowed through the lobby loudly enough to alert all five boroughs. At three o'clock in the morning, asking for room service. Unbelievable.

Amanda leaned back in her chair. Her stomach was tightening inexplicably. "I'm sorry," she said finally, when she could control her voice. "Room Service closes at midnight."

There was a pause. "Oh. What time is it now?"

She looked at her watch. "Ten after three."

 "Then whom am I speaking to?"

 "I'm the night operator.  This is the main switchboard."

 "Well, main switchboard, you must all sound alike down there. I could swear I talked to you earlier tonight."

Well, how about that. "You've got a good ear, 704. I was on duty earlier."

 "Good Lord. How long are the shifts around here?"

 "Eight hours for everybody else. I’m working a double today."

 “Why?"

 "Maybe I just love it here."

 "I guess you do. But I hope you're well compensated."

Trust a man to think of money first. "That’s not my major concern."

 "Glad to hear it."

Okay, enough's enough.  It's been a long day, made even longer by him. No reason to shoot the breeze with this guy. "Excuse me, I have other callers. Sorry I couldn’t help you."

"Well, better luck with them."

 "Look, if you'd called earlier—"
   
"Absolutely. My fault entirely, for falling asleep after a cross-country flight, a time change and a screw-up in hotel administration. Forget I even mentioned it." The phone clicked in her ear.
   
She sat for some moments before she noticed she was trembling. This was the second time he'd undermined her—and it bothered her.

About the Author-

Susan Sloate is the author or co-author of more than 20 books, including Realizing You(with Ronald Doades), a recent self-help novel, and the 2003 #6 Amazon bestseller, Forward to Camelot (with Kevin Finn), which took honors in 3 literary competitions and was optioned by a Hollywood company for film production.

She has written young-adult fiction and non-fiction, including the children’s biography Ray Charles: Find Another Way!, which was honored in the 2007 Children’s Moonbeam Book Awards. Mysteries Unwrapped: The Secrets of Alcatraz led to her 2009 appearance on the TV series MysteryQuest on The History Channel. Amelia Earhart: Challenging the Skies is a perennial young-adult Amazon bestseller. She has also been a sportswriter and screenwriter, managed two recent political campaigns, and founded an author’s festival in her hometown outside Charleston, SC.

Stealing Fire was a Quarter-Finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest and combines autobiographical experience with her lifelong love of the musical theater. She is proud to be distantly related to Broadway legend Fred Ebb, the lyricist for Cabaret,Chicago, All That Jazz and New York, New York.

Visit Susan online at http://susansloate.com.