Playing for Keeps

by Stephanie Patterson

Hallie Bishop rushes home to see her ailing father only to find that she's too late. After saying her final goodbye, she confronts her estranged family, who become hostile when they discover Hallie's father has left her a third of his estate.

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

I began my writing career at age three by designing my own alphabet using symbols to represent words. Thankfully school got me back on track with mainstream communication and I've has been creating stories ever since. Words are magic to me and writing is my first love. I owe my beginnings in the romance field to the kindness of Katherine Falk and the vision of a new, up and coming publishing house she profiled in “Romantic Times Magazine.” My first romance, "Playing For Keeps," was published by Genesis Press under the pen name, Stephanie Salinas for their Tango 2 line. "The Woman in Question," a contemporary romantic thriller, was published under my own name a couple of years later. My current projects include a new historical romance series entitled, "Season of the Furies." The first book in the series, "A Terrible Beauty," was released March 4, 2016. Book 2 is scheduled for release in late Fall of 2016.

I live in northern Oregon in a town long the banks of the Columbia River. St. Helens is an interesting mix of both pioneer and nautical history. It’s a place steeped in tales of mystery and dark deeds like shanghaiing and murder. Our town has appeared on several ghost investigation shows and it was the filming location for Disney’s original “Halloween Town” and the first movie in the “Twilight” franchise. Every year we hold a month long festival commemorating the Disney film.
I’ve been a legal assistant for a criminal defense attorney for more than fifteen years, working all sorts of criminal cases from petty theft to capital murder and murder for hire. When I'm not writing I practice and teach the ancient divination art of cartomancy - a fancy way of saying I read tarot cards. Every Halloween I read cards at a local restaurant noted for its haunted history. As if that isn't weird enough, I'm also a belly dance hobbyist and perform at various festivals around the Pacific Northwest.
As I write this I’m deep into research for my next book in the “Season of the Furies” series.

EMAIL: stephaniepattersonwriter@yahoo.com

You can follow my FaceBook page dedicated to "Season of the Furies" at https://www.facebook.com/seasonofthef...

and my Pinterest Board for "A Terrible Beauty" at

https://www.pinterest.com/galhal2000/...

Reviews

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs grovel

I really enjoyed the starting of this book. Hallie was misunderstood, but strong...at least until she started her thing with Tyler, who btw is a total Ahat.

The problem with the lack of grovel is that while the h forgives the H for his terrible behavior, even rewards him for it in this case, as a reader I feel cheated and resentful of the H which ruins an otherwise great if somewhat predictable read. And it was terribly predictable.

Honestly, the dislike I still feel towards the H and the MC's relationship drops this down from what could have been a 5 star read to a 1 star read for me. The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars is because besides the doormat the h became and the predictability of the villian I enjoyed most of the story.

Disappointed with this.

[Jmelfi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interracial romance Hispanic Female/American Indian Male, Drama, Suspense, Mystery

[Margerm, Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Stephanie Patterson's "Season of the Furies" trilogy is one of my top five favourites. They were published between 2016 - 2018. In this book, written in 1996, the author is exploring and developing the skills that came to fruition in the trilogy.
The vengeful H who is hurtful in his treatme
nt of the h with what he believes to be good reason. An h who has a superficial persona that masks the depth of her character and hides the scars from her childhood.
The development of layers in the story to be unpeeled to reveal new information and perspectives on events.
The realization that the H has that his mistreatment of the h was unwarranted.
These elements that became skilled applied in the trilogy were being explored in this book. The H was rescued from a neglectful mother by the h's father. The h is the daughter of an unfaithful first wife who becomes estranged from her father and becomes a rock star. Money has been embezzled from the company and all signs point to the h. The H and the h's uncle by marriage set out to seduce the h in revenge. Is the h being set up?

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of great reasons to read a book. None of those occurred here. I read this book in high school. I must have found it at a bookstore and bought it because the cover looked like a jazz standards book. (Not this cover the cover back then). I didn’t really even know romance was a thing back then, but I read this and it stuck with me. I think about it every couple years and try to remember it and see if I can find it. Unfortunately it has a title that makes it tough to find, but the internet these days is great. I googled “playing for keeps blue inheritance” and found it even though it turns out the original cover was more purple than blue.

And you know it holds up. It also turns out I didn’t really remember it very well.

1. It’s much more fraught then I remember
2. The characters are a lot more violent than I remembered.
3. The twist was more like a straight line than a twist.

[Louise D Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spell Binding!!!!! Could not put it down, and if I had to I hurried back to it. Well written and entertaining. I liked the characters and

would like to read more of your books. Thank you for a great read! I will be keeping a look out for more.