Gregg Luke was born in Bakersfield, California, but spent the majority of his childhood and young adult life in Santa Barbara, California. He served an LDS mission to Wisconsin, then pursued his education in biological sciences at SBCC, UCSB, BYU, and subsequently graduated from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy. His biggest loves are his family, reading, writing, music, science, and nature.

Learn more about Gregg on his website: www.greggluke.com.

LDSWBR: What activities do you and/or your family participate in every summer? Do you have plans to try something or go somewhere new this year?

GREGG: My family enjoys Mendon’s Pioneer Day festivities. It is a great community event reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting. Lots of activities, food, and fun. The pinnacle event is the fireworks. They are launched a hundred yards from where we sit on the lawn, so you can feel the impact of the launch as well as enjoy the burst directly over your head.

LDSWBR: Do you have a favorite summer food or drink? If so, are you willing to share the recipe?

GREGG: My family? We like all food! For barbecue, steaks and brats are a staple.

LDSWBR: What books are on your summer reading list?

GREGG: Too many to list.

LDSWBR: Blink of an Eye will be released July 1, and to catch your interest (a.k.a. torture you until the book is released) Gregg has provided the first chapter. And it is an intense first chapter!

Blink of an Eye by Gregg Luke

Chapter 1

It happened in the blink of an eye. When the light turned green, Joseph Ramirez edged forward to make a left-hand turn onto the county highway. The five o’clock traffic was exceptionally hectic, even for a small tourist town like Solvang, California. Five cars went before him—three of the drivers making the turn while talking on their cell phones.

As he followed the cars into the intersection, a blur of motion flashed in his peripheral vision. He heard a thick screeching of tires and turned his head just in time to see the grill of a large truck in his driver’s side window. Before he could flinch, the sound of exploding safety glass and rending metal filled the air. Shards of glass flew into Joseph’s soft flesh as the truck’s grill entered his small Nissan Stanza. His vision narrowed as he felt a sudden weight press down on him. A moment later he was lying sideways across the passenger seat. The console between the front seats pressed painfully into his ribs. He thought he felt one crack—maybe two. He couldn’t see anything other than the area below the dashboard and found it curious how he’d never noticed the airbag icon embossed in that section of the vinyl dashboard. He smelled diesel exhaust, burnt rubber, and the coppery scent of fresh blood. The ever-increasing weight compressed his left leg, snapped it.

The noises of destruction became a frenzied din. The extreme pressure against his skull felt like his head was in a vise. The crushing force limited his breathing and restricted all movement. Yet he was still moving—sliding sideways through a chaos of blurred images and brittle sounds.

Joseph knew exactly what was happening. He knew it would hurt at some point, too, but the adrenaline in his system was circum­venting any immediate pain. The screeching, bending, sliding, shat­tering, and collapsing seemed to last forever.

Then he heard a deep, hollow pop and felt a shifting of bone just under his scalp. An instant later the tormented sounds vanished. The flashing lights darkened. He tried to stir but couldn’t. Yet he still felt a languid motion, as if he were floating in some thick substance that prevented rapid movement or vision beyond a few inches. In fact, everything seemed to hover in a murky haze where each sense was distorted, slowed, confused. But the oppressive weight was still crushing, the odors still sharp and noxious, his breathing short and labored. His head felt particularly strange. It felt . . . liquid.

He knew pain was imminent.

Obviously, he had just been in a severe traffic accident. A large truck had broadsided him at full speed. His car had been totaled in a matter of seconds. The intense pressure in his skull told him he was seriously injured. Worse, he couldn’t feel anything from the neck down. But he could still think. That had to be a good sign. Didn’t it?

Slowly, the sounds began to fade into a muffled gloom. No light penetrated his closed eyelids. Even the taste of blood turned bland, flavorless.

Amidst a jumble of incongruous, amorphous thoughts, Joseph wondered, Am I still alive? And if so, for how long?

The daughter of an English teacher, Nancy Anderson was raised to appreciate the importance and beauty of words. Books were her best friends and the library one of her favorite places to be. As a mother of five and a stay at home mom, Nancy participated in her children’s education as a volunteer by teaching motion through music at a kindergarten level, Great Books to upper elementary grades, and designing and building historical costumes for the music program at her local high school for 10 years.

Carroll wrote her debut novel, The Broken Covenant, during the first teacher exchange. After writing several more novels and a non-fiction book (all published by Deseret Book), Carroll turned to copywriting to help put her children through college. Now back at doing what she loves most, Carroll has written a series, The Company of Good Women, with her sister, Nancy Anderson and her “almost sister,” Lael Littke. “It’s about about three women who want to grow into being Crusty Old Broads (COBS) written by three women who are Crusty Old Broads”

She collaborated with her sister on her most recent novel, Leaning into the Curves, a humorous and poignant look at how retirement can affect a marriage.

Learn more about Nancy and Carroll on the website: www.virtualsisters.net and the blogs: Crusty Old Broads and Counting COBs.

LDSWBR: What activities do you and/or your family participate in every summer? Do you have plans to try something or go somewhere new this year?

NANCY: Our summers are scheduled around family, flowers, and vegetables! Grandkids and gardening. We started the season this year with a visit to our daughter and her family in Georgia, followed by a visit to our son and his family in Vegas. Now that the chili sauce garden (tomatoes and peppers) is planted and green beans are climbing the fence I can look forward to my adventure with Carroll in Boise with the Temple Rider’s Association. That will be followed by a few days with Jim in Logan for the Utah Festival Opera in July. The rest of the summer will revolve around family get-togethers–lots–in the back yard and a retreat for Jim and me.

CARROLL: Gary and I live in the retirement community of Green Valley, Arizona, so our summers are very much like the rest of the year, only we drink a lot more water and stay out of the midday sun. We take advantage of the organized activities, swim almost every day, and entertain other year-rounders. We rarely get visitors during the summer—not even our kids want to come when the temps can hit 107 degrees.

As far as trips go, my sister, Nancy, and I will be driving to Boise the end of June to participate in the Temple Riders’ rally! (That group figured prominently in our novel, Leaning into the Curves.) We’re looking forward to the camaraderie, motorcycle rides, great entertainment, and the temple/community service day.

In July, Gary and I will be back in that part of Idaho for a wedding, family reunions, and the 50th reunion of the Jerome High School class of 1960. Right after we get home, I’ll be participating in the ANWA writer’s retreat Clay Springs, AZ. After that, we’ll be enjoying the monsoon season–hopefully it brings a lot of rain this year.

LDSWBR: Do you have a favorite summer food or drink? If so, are you willing to share the recipe?

NANCY: My favorite summer drink is ice water. I always have a glass in hand. My favorite hot weather food is cold slices of watermelon–no recipe necessary. Other than that I favor anything I don’t have to plan, shop for, or cook. Three cheers for Harmon’s Deli.

CARROLL: My favorite summer drink is cold Crystal Lite lemonade that’s been enhanced with a sprig of spearmint from the garden and a slice or two of lemon.

My favorite quick summer supper is cold tuna and macaroni salad:

Package of macaroni, cooked
Large can albacore tuna, drained
2/3 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cups frozen peas
1 red or yellow pepper diced
Enough mayonnaise to moisten
Salt and pepper to taste

Chill thoroughly before serving.

LDSWBR: What books are on your summer reading list?

NANCY: My summer reading list includes books by favorite new author James Lee Burke and YA novels recommended by my 17 year old grand daughter such as The Name of this Book is a Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch.

CARROLL: The Silence of God by Gale Sears & Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas.

LDSWBR: Nancy and Carroll, thank you so much!

Leaning into the Curves by Nancy Anderson and Carroll Hofeling Morris (Deseret Book; April 2010) is available for purchase at Deseret Book.

Have you ever been to the Utah Festival Opera, or any other musical or theatrical festival? If theater isn’t your thing, tell us about the best macaroni or potato salad you ever tasted.

Tweet this today for an entry into the drawing:

Leaning into the Curves by Nancy Anderson & Carroll Morris- Countdown to Summer 2010 Contest- ENTER TODAY! http://bit.ly/9LC8xs #ldswbr2010

***Countdown to Summer 2010 Contest***

LDSWBR will hold a drawing on June 26, 2010 for a $25 Amazon Gift Card, as well as a variety of books being offered by some of the LDS authors that will be featured on the blog.

Book prizes generously donated by the authors:

• Abish: Daughter of God by K.C. Grant

• TRAPPED by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen

• The Road Show by Braden Bell

• Awakening Avery by Laurie Lewis

• Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden

• Summer in Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

• Hometown Girl by Michele Ashman Bell

• Alma the Younger by Heather (H.B.) Moore

• Queen in Exile OR The Guise of a Gentleman by Donna Hatch (winner’s choice)

• The Silence of God by Gale Sears (book or audio- winner’s choice)

• Dangerous Connections by Julie Coulter Bellon

• Critique of three chapters (up to 30 pages) from Nichole Giles

How to enter:

• Post a thoughtful comment on the Countdown to Summer 2010 author posts. Comments can be added on any of the author posts anytime during the contest period (June 1, 2010 through June 21, 2010). Only one comment per person per “Countdown to Summer” author post will be entered into the drawing. Feel free to comment more than once per post if you’d like, but only one comment will be accepted as an entry.

• Follow us on Twitter: @LDSWBR – then send us a direct message to let us know you want to be entered in the Countdown to Summer 2010 Contest. If you are already a follower you need to send us a direct message telling us you want to be included in the contest.

• Tweet about that day’s author post using the tweet message included in each author post. Send an email to ldswbr at gmail dot com with the link to your tweet. Only one tweet per day counts so no need to harass your friends :). LDSWBR must be able to see the tweet in order for you to get an entry into the contest.

• Tweet this message each day (one entry per day). Just copy and paste into your twitter message window to send it: LDSWBR Countdown to Summer 2010 at http://ldswbr.blogspot.com! Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card & some great books! @ldswbr #ldswbr2010

• Follow LDSWBR on Facebook, then send an email to ldswbr at gmail dot com that you’d like to be entered into the Countdown to Summer 2010 Contest. If you already follow LDSWBR on Facebook, send us an email to let us know you’d like to be included in the contest.

• Blog about this contest on your blog in a post that includes the link to the LDSWBR blog, then send us the link to your specific blog post.

Here are the rules:

• LDSWBR reserves the right to decide what determines a “thoughtful” comment.

• Contest ends at 12:00 Midnight MDT on June 25, 2010. Drawing winners will have until 12:00 Midnight MDT on July 3, 2010 to claim their prize. After that time, another name will be drawn to receive the prize.

• Book prizes can only be shipped within the contiguous United States.

Please join us in counting down to summer with some great reads!

Donna Hatch’s passion for writing began at age 8 she wrote her first short story. During her sophomore year in high school, she wrote her first full-length novel. Her writing has won or been nominated as a finalist in many writing contests including Golden Quill and SARA’s Merrit. In between caring for six children, (7 counting her husband), her day job, and her many volunteer positions, she manages to carve out time to indulge in her writing obsession. A native of Arizona, she writes Regency Romance and Fantasy. And yes, all of her heroes are patterned after her husband of over 21 years, who continues to prove that there really is a happily ever after.