Good Sam by Dete Meserve – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Good Sam – Book Review

No matter what type of news story is breaking – there’s always a journalist on stand-by, ready to cover that particular beat of news.

Take veteran Los Angeles TV journalist Kate Bradley. Those who know Kate consider her hardcore. Unlike reporters with a knack for covering the gentler side of the news – human interest stories about lottery winners and weight loss successes – murder, mayhem, and other tales of destruction are more Kate’s specialty.

So, imagine Kate’s surprise the day she walks into the newsroom and discovers that instead of receiving today’s choice assignment – the headliner – the coveted local commuter train crash – instead, she is being relegated to some, sappy filler story about a Good Samaritan, designed to kick off the day’s sports.

What had she done to deserve such punishment?

Sometimes the most important moments in your life can only be seen in the rearview mirror.

Good Sam is the debut novel by Dete Meserve that is taking the nation by storm. It’s a fast-paced, feel-good mystery and romance that asks the question:

What would you do if you found a bag containing $10,000 on your doorstep one morning?

The answers might just surprise you.

Although Kate is initially reluctant to accept the Good Samaritan story assignment, before long, she realizes that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

As she digs deeper and deeper into the mystery and motives behind the anonymous Good Sam, Kate’s personal and professional life is turned upside down, and she soon finds herself pursuing the biggest surprise story of her career!

Good Sam has received high praise and accolades from reviewers and readers alike, and was awarded a Gold Medal in Reader’s Favorite (2013) for Best Manuscript in Women’s Fiction.

Good Sam is also being developed into a TV series by Wind Dancer Films.

To learn more about this book, be sure to read the Excerpt that follows – and be sure to take advantage of Dete’s Exclusive Offer For Create With Joy Readers (follows the Book Trailer)!

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Good Sam – Book Trailer

An Exclusive Offer For Create With Joy Readers

Thanks to everyone who participated in the recent Good Sam giveaway at Create With Joy.  Author Dete Meserve was thrilled by your response, which she found “overwhelming”.

As a result, Dete would like to show her thanks by offering an EXCLUSIVE discount to Create With Joy readers on Good Sam through the end of July.

As a Create With Joy reader, you can purchase a copy of Good Sam on Smashwords for only 99 cents using the following Coupon Code:

XC96U

This offer is not available anywhere else!

Good Sam is available in e-pub, mobi (Kindle) PDF and a variety of other e-formats.

Don’t miss out on this chance to read this fabulous book at a this amazing price! To claim your copy, go to Smashwords and enter the Coupon Code at checkout.

About Dete Meserve

Good Sam is Dete Meserve’s debut novel. When she’s not writing, Dete serves as President of Wind Dancer Films, a film development, finance and production company based in Los Angeles and New York.

Wind Dancer Films has created such television hits as Roseanne and Home Improvement along with George Lopez’ latest series, Saint George on FX. In addition, the company has developed and produced successful features such as What Women Want, the award-winning comedy Bernie starring Jack Black and Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey, among many other films.

Dete is also actively developing two animated television series, Jet Propulsion with Craig Bartlett (creator of Hey Arnold) and Antoinette Portis’ award-winning book, Not A Box.

Dete lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three children and a cat that rules them all.

For More Information

• Visit Dete’s Website.
• Connect with Dete on Facebook and Twitter.
• Good Sam is available on Amazon.

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• Visit Create With Joy – Book Reviews.
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Good Sam – Book Giveaway

If you are looking for a fabulous book to read this summer, Good Sam is the perfect pick for your vacation or staycation! That’s why I’m so excited to offer one lucky Create With Joy reader the opportunity to win a copy of their very own!

Here’s how the Good Sam giveaway works:

• If you live in the US/Canada, you have your choice of either a print or digital copy of the book.
• If you live elsewhere, you are eligible to win a digital copy of the book.

To enter this giveaway, please follow Create With Joy, leave a comment, and submit your entries through the Rafflecopter form. This giveaway is open to ALL Create With Joy readers, 18 years and older, now through Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at Midnight PST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Additonal Information

The winner will be contacted via e-mail and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. The sponsor is solely responsible for prize fulfillment. The winner releases Create With Joy from all liability associated with this product/contest. All decisions by Create With Joy are final. The complete Terms and Conditions are listed on the Rafflecopter form. By submitting an entry, you are indicating that you have read and agree to these Official Rules.

Good Sam by Dete Meserve –Book Excerpt

This excerpt from Chapter 7 of Good Sam by Dete Meserve
Has been published with the author’s/publicist’s written permission.

Eric moved in water like most of us wished we moved on land. Smooth, graceful, seemingly effortless. His strong arms sliced through the water with rhythmic precision, in perfect synchrony with his legs and torso, so it appeared as if he only had to stroke the water a few times to get across the pool. It looked completely natural for him, as though swimming had been bred in his genes.

I stood at the shallow end of the Olympic-size pool, my stomach shaking as if someone had dropped a jackhammer inside. I might have looked good in the stylish sapphire swimsuit I’d bought on a whim but never worn, but none of that would matter when Eric saw me flailing around in the water.

I hoped he wasn’t going to do the whole macho-guy thing and try to convince me how “easy” it was going to be to learn to swim. On the other hand, I didn’t want to be coddled like I was a fragile china doll that might break at the sight of the deep end.

As I watched him glide through the water toward me—oblivious for the moment that I was even there yet—I considered leaving. I ticked off a list of excuses I could make. “I’m coming down with the flu” might work. “I’ve got an important assignment at work” was certainly true. But before I had a chance to put one of them to use, Eric had reached my end of the pool.

“You made it,” he said, catching his breath.

In one smooth move, he hoisted himself out of the pool and stood next to me.

Wow. I’m glad I didn’t say it out loud, but I know it registered on my face. Know how some guys look terrific when wearing certain clothes? Eric looked fantastic wearing only a pair of black swim trunks. Given his line of work, I knew he was in great shape, but I had not expected the muscled arms and the washboard abs. I struggled to keep my breathing steady.

He wiped the water from his eyes. “Hey,” he said, seemingly unaware of the effect he was having on me. “Ready to get in?” Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I was going to focus on learning how to swim when he looked like that.

“Sure,” I said, affecting a breezy tone.

“Meet you at the five-foot marker.”

He jumped back in the water, leaving me standing there. At first I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t waiting for me to get into the water, and then I realized he probably figured I’d be less nervous if I could control how and when I got in.
I stepped down the ladder into the water, momentarily shocked by its coolness.

On the third rung, I stopped. This was my first time in any large body of water since the accident. The water was only at the level of my belly button, but panic rose in my throat. My legs felt wobbly and weak and my fingertips tingled. I closed my eyes to regain my focus, but all I could see was the endless ocean swelling above me.

Water is water. It may be part of the ocean and filled with salt, or it may be filtered and shocked with chlorine in a swimming pool. Even so, all water is the same, and I knew it was still waiting for a chance to grab me again, to finish what it started. Was I crazy for giving it a second chance?

I couldn’t stand there indefinitely, even though I wanted to, so in one jerky motion, I lowered myself into the water. Even in the shallow end, I was covered up to my shoulders. I curled my toes, gripping the bottom of the pool, and slowly moved about, adjusting to the water’s resistance.

Eric swam over to me. “I know you don’t like being in the water,” he said. “But you do look good in it.”

“Not as good as you.” There, I said it. Casual, of course. Like I was just being friendly. But the thoughts that were going through my head and the feelings that were stirring inside me as I stood just a few feet away, alone in the pool with him, were anything but casual.

“Let’s stay here a minute and bounce.”

“Bounce. Really?”

He nodded. “I want you to see that the water wants to hold you up—that’s its nature. No matter what, the water has no problem lifting you.”

“Or drowning me,” I grumbled.

“Not going to happen on my watch. If I can pull a boy out of thirty-mile-an-hour white water in the pouring rain, I think I can pull you out of an empty swimming pool.”

He had a point.

At first I felt ridiculous bobbing in and out of the water like a kid on a pogo stick. But then Eric started bouncing too and splashing a little water at me with a silly grin on his face. And when I splashed back, I forgot how stupid I must have looked.

“When you’re ready,” he said, “get in a little deeper.”

I crept a little closer to the deep end and felt the pool slope beneath my feet. The water was higher against my body, so when I bounced it rose to the V of my neck. I felt wobbly, certain my feet would lose their grip on the slope and I’d slide helplessly into the water’s clutches.

Eric reached out and took my hands, and I was no longer aware of the depth but how close our bodies were in the water, how little we both were wearing, how warm his hands felt.

“When you’re in the water, move as it moves. Allow yourself to be shaped by it.”

I couldn’t imagine allowing myself to be shaped by the water—not without it choking the life out of me. But the way he was looking at me, I knew I had to try.

“Let’s try and float on your back.” His hand was on the small of my back as I slowly leaned back into the water. I braced for the inevitable moment when the water would pull me under. I was brazenly provoking it, tempting it to try to claim me again.

But as I floated on the water, instead of fear I felt oddly calm. Eric released his hand from my back and allowed me to float a little on my own. I relaxed into the water, inviting it to cradle me. And it did.

I stayed there for probably only thirty seconds, but it seemed longer. Eric was grinning, deeply now, and looking at me as though I were swimming the English Channel. “In a week you’ll be doing laps,” he predicted.

“Doubt that.”

He swam back deeper into the water and pulled me with him. For an instant I glided through the water, pulled deeper into it by his strong arms. Then his big hands were on my waist, pulling me to him, until our bodies touched, then met. He wrapped one arm around my waist, holding me tightly to him, while he treaded water with the other.

Every cell of my body was tuned to him—the warmth of his skin through my swimsuit, the feel of his body gently swaying with mine in the water, and the possibilities if either of us moved our bodies a fraction of an inch. He pressed his lips to mine in a kiss that sent a ray of warmth through my chilled body.

In that moment the surface of the water looked different. Weaker perhaps. Less able to stake its claim on me again.

Less.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author/publicist for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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