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A Different Kind Of Forever
GENRE: Rockstar, Second Chance/Divorced/Widows
ENDING: HEA (They’re a couple and live Happily Ever After)
WORD COUNT: 60,000 to 74,999 (average book)
HERO’S AGE: 25-29
HEROINE’S AGE: 40-49
HEAT LEVEL: Very Sexy (Let Me Show Exactly What I Want)
GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: Some (The occasional “F” bomb, lots of smack talk, some explicit sex)
*****
Michael Carlucci, the hot, young musical genius behind the successful rock band, NinetySeven, knows that he’s found the woman for him. Diane Matthews is not just beautiful and smart, she’s got an infectious passion for everything in her life, from her three daughters to her new play. For him, the search is over. He knows they belong together.
For Diane, it’s not as simple. She’s almost twenty years older than Michael. She’s not interested in remarrying – she’s very happy with her life just the way it is, thank you very much. But she can’t deny the growing attraction between them – and it’s not just his touch that she craves. But it’s not until Michael is gone and an old love returns that she realizes just what he meant to her. He said he would love her forever. Can she trust that? Or should she find a safer route to happiness?
A Different Kind of Forever is the story about two complicated people finding – and trying to hold on – to love.
READ AN EXCERPT
Now why had he done that? Mike metaphorically scratched his head as he walked up the track. He wasn’t in the habit of kissing women, especially ones who clearly didn’t want to be kissed. But, darn it, Jenny got under his skin, and he couldn’t resist taking a chance to ruffle her feathers. Her skin had felt nice, soft to the touch of his lips. She’d smelt nice too; a fresh flowery aroma. But no, there was no excuse. She was going through a difficult time, and he shouldn’t have taken advantage of her like that. It was only a peck, he thought, not a full-blown kiss. He shuddered at the thought. What had got into him? What had happened to the hardened misogynist he’d forced himself to become during the years of Mary’s illness?
“Hi there, Ben,” he called, as he stepped into a now cooling house. “I should stick to dogs,” he told the panting animal. “Less complicated all round. And you’re always pleased to see me, eh?” Ben lay down at Mike’s feet and rolled over on his back as if to agree, asking to have his stomach tickled. His master made haste to oblige, then gave the dog a rough pat. “Need to get the fire going, buddy. It’s going to be a cold night.”
Dinner over, Mike found it hard to settle down to his writing. Jenny’s face and her large violet eyes kept coming between him and his computer screen. Finally, he gave up and turned it off, returning to the fireside where Ben took up his favorite spot at his master’s feet. Mike leaned back in his chair and considered the tale Jenny had related to him. It was difficult to believe, but then, a lot of strange things had happened back then, and the class system would have been very strong amongst the wealthy after the war. They were intent on rebuilding their fortunes, and anything that smacked of fortune hunting, or threatened their status, was to be immediately suspect, he figured.
But, he wondered, how come nothing of this had surfaced until now? What about the boy’s folks? Surely they’d kicked up a fuss, or had they been paid off? Jenny hadn’t mentioned her father’s name or expressed any interest in him or his family. But he’d bet his boots she would, as soon as she took time to give it some consideration. That really would upset her. He pulled himself up short again. What was with him tonight? Why was he so bothered about Jenny’s story and how she was feeling? He stepped over to the drinks cabinet to pour himself a large measure of his favorite Jack Daniels. He was getting soft in his old age. Not enough to do. He needed to follow up on the visits Ron and Ellen were arranging for him. That would give him something more tangible to focus on.
***
Jenny was having trouble falling asleep. It had been an eventful day and she had a lot to digest. None of it seemed quite real to her. Thea was more like a young girl in a story who had met her prince, only to have him snatched from her before joining him in death. She couldn’t think of Thea as her mother. She couldn’t believe her grandparents had cut all memory of Thea, or that her own mother had denied her existence by silence.
Then there was Mike. She’d found his presence on the beach comforting, even her hand in his had helped her come to grips with retelling Thea’s story, as she now thought of it. But that kiss, well, peck, really. Jenny wasn’t sure what to think.
Eventually, she must have drifted off, because the next thing she knew it was morning, time to rise and check on Maddy.
“How are you this morning?” she greeted her godmother as she went in and opened the bedroom curtains. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a log,” responded Maddy, “How about you? You were very quiet last night. You didn’t say much about your walk with Mike. How was it?”
Darn the woman. Not much escaped her eagle eyes, regardless of her age. “So so,” she muttered, adding under her breath, “you really don’t want to know.” In a more audible tone she asked, “Breakfast in bed this morning?”
Meet Dee Ernst

Dee Ernst was born and raised in New Jersey, which explains a great deal about her attitude towards life. She loved reading at a very early age, and by the time she was ten she had decided to become a writer. It took a bit longer than she expected.
She went off to college, moved around a bit, had a job or two, a husband or two, and a daughter or two. It was the birth of her second daughter at the age of forty that got her thinking about what to do with the rest of her life. That was when she decided to give writing a real shot.
Dee loved chick-lit and romantic comedy, but hated the twenty-something heroines who couldn’t figure out how to go and get what they wanted. She began to write about women like herself — older, confident, and with a wealth of life experience to draw upon. She got an agent but no sales, and took the plunge into self-publishing in 2010.
In 2012, Better Off Without Him became an Amazon bestseller. She signed with Montlake Publishing, which went on to re-release Better Off Without Him and launch A Slight Change of Plan in 2013.
She has since written a few more novels, a series of cozy mysteries, and is now giving a romance series a serious shot.
She is still in New Jersey, where she writes full-time. She lives with husband #2, daughter #2, a few dogs and a lone cat. She loves sunsets, long walks on the beach, and a really cold martini.