The Fulfillment Series

The Fulfillment Series

Friday, November 24, 2017

Looking For A Gift?

Would you sacrifice everything for love?



A life must be lost. Who will make the ultimate sacrifice? 

Lawson lives a simple life: a job at a brewery, and his basketball and hockey leagues. Even his eccentric lifelong friend and roommate—who is intent on discovering time travel—doesn’t complicate things. Then Jory appears. Lawson feels an immediate attraction to her, yet their attempts at dating end with him thinking it just isn’t meant to be. But Jory refuses to give up. 

When one date ends tragically, Lawson turns to his best friend and the experimental time travel program he’s invented. But, no matter what he does, each time the reset ends with a loss. 

It’s clear…a life must be lost, and Lawson is prepared to give his for Jory. But he isn’t the only one playing with time. 

Will he spare Jory by forfeiting his own life? Or will someone else make the ultimate sacrifice?

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Excerpt:

Chapter 1
“So you’re going for the stalker approach, I see.”
Lawson sighed and shifted his gaze to the table. Der- rick was a jerk, but he was also right.
“She just moved here from Washington.”
Despite himself, Lawson raised an eyebrow and prompted for more information from his boss. Their boss. “State or DC?”
“State. Some small town east of the Cascades. I don’t remember the name.” Derrick took a big bite of his ham- burger and only half chewed it before continuing. “She at- tended Central Washington University, but didn’t graduate. She was going for a B.S. in Craft Brewing. That’s the main reason she got the job. She’s qualified. The fact that she’s smoking hot is just a bonus.”
Lawson cringed. “Pretty sure admitting that you find her attractive is verging on illegal, dude.”
Derrick shrugged. “Probably. Hell, not finding you at- tractive could probably get me in trouble these days.”
Lawson snorted. His gaze wandered to Jory one more time. He’d barely said three words to her in the few days she’d worked at the brewery. Her beauty intimidated him, making him stammer like a pubescent teen. He seemed to be the only one having that problem. She sat at a table with three guys from bottling and a girl from the office. The guys looked like total vultures, with beady eyes and hunching postures as if ready to pounce. But Jory appeared oblivious. She laughed at their stories and seemed to share her own.
Why the hell was he sitting with Derrick instead of at that table? He should have sat down with them when he came into the break room. It would’ve been natural. Instead, he slumped his big, bulky body into the corner like the stalker Derrick accused him of being. The light that glinted off her auburn waves when she tossed her head back to laugh made his fingers itch. The long line of her neck taunt- ed him: I know you want to taste me.
Curling his hands into fists, he tipped his head forward so that his chin length hair made a curtain between them and focused on his plate of food, deciding to finish his lunch fast and get the hell back to work.
Derrick took a healthy swig of his beer and slammed the pint down on the table with determination. “I’m gonna ask her out.”
Lawson’s throat went dry, and he almost choked. He forced his bite of food down before replying. “You can’t, dude. You’re her boss. You can’t date her.”
“We just won’t tell anyone.” “You just told me.” “Are you gonna run to the big wigs and tell them?” “Well, no. But...” He wanted to come up with a compelling argument against Derrick asking Jory out. Derrick was good looking and made more money, and he had some weird charm that girls seemed to fall for all the time. If the risk of losing his job wasn’t threat enough, Lawson was screwed. “Dude, I’d hate to see you go.”
Derrick laughed. “I guess it would be pretty stupid of me to put my job in jeopardy. It’s a sweet gig.”
Lawson nodded, hopeful.
“Maybe I’ll fire her.”
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About the author:



***Straight to the heart***

LA Dragoni isn’t too particular about who falls in love or where they fall in love. She simply considers it her job to capture the story about their love. Whether it’s paranormal, mythical, or time travel, LA will be there to divine their story for you. She lives in Central Oregon with her husband and children, but haunts ghost towns and cemeteries up and down the west, in search of the next adventure to sift through her storytelling brain. Learn more about LA and her work at ladragoni.com

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Thanksgiving and Loss

This year has been a pretty tough one. First, my dad had quadruple bypass in January and struggled to get off the breathing machine. In July, my beloved PaPa passed away unexpectedly. He'd been sick the summer before but had been feeling really great lately, so his death caught us all off guard. And again in November, someone else in my family passed away very tragically.

So grateful to have my dad still kicking and healthier than he was before the surgery.

This girl will always have a PaPa sized hole in her heart.

This year has taught me a deeper understanding of thankfulness. I've always considered myself a thankful person. I'm not constantly striving for something new or wishing I had something I don't. I'm content in my life and so incredibly blessed by the people in it.

This is just a *small* sample of the people in my family 
(and these are only the ones on my generational level)

But I've kinda drifted along thinking the people in my life were invincible. My daddy and my PaPa have always been there. But this year, for a while, I really thought my dad might leave this world, and for reals, PaPa did. And it's weird to think I'm old enough to have the people in my life go, but I guess I am.

In truth, I was fortunate to have known my great-grandparents and grandparents. It wasn't until my 20s that my great-grandmother passed away. In fact, in my family, we had five living generations at once. A lot of people don't get that opportunity. I *know* I'm fortunate to have gotten the years I got.

Me, Mom, Mema, and MaMa (great-grandma)

If I missed an Easter or Thanksgiving, Mema used to always say, "What if this is PaPa's last Easter/Thanksgiving?" And while the thought shook me, I never really thought that any holiday would be PaPa's last. Because he was PaPa. Big, loud, larger than life. 

But it was. This past Easter was PaPa's last Easter. Last Thanksgiving *was* PaPa's last Thanksgiving. 

PaPa's last Thanksgiving--2016.
Oh what I'd give to hug his neck again this year.

PaPa's last Easter
Thumbs up, Papa!

So, I'll walk into Thanksgiving with my big ole Southern family and cherish every moment, every memory just a little bit more because this year has taught me just how fragile life really is. This time, I'll experiencing thankfulness punctuated by loss, and it's something just a little bit deeper than regular gratitude.

Remember to hold those you love just a little closer. Remember to really be present in the moment with your family. Make memories you can hold onto for a lifetime. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I can't even begin to explain how thankful I am for this wonderful man!

Friday, November 10, 2017

Anniversary Joy

Hey, y'all! This month is an exciting one because it's mine and Deek's anniversary month! Well, one of them at least. LOL! Yep, we got married twice (once on each coast since we're from opposite coasts).

Wedding #1 -- PNW

Wedding #2 -- Southern

I was thinking today about "new" love versus "older" love, and I think older love gets a bad rap. Everyone talks about the euphoria of new love and how the butterflies are everything. Fairytales end at the wedding or final get together moment, but no one shows the after. Probably because they think watching the Prince go to work while Cinderella takes care of the kids (or visa versa or watching them both go to work), watching them pay bills or attend a concert, or watching them participate in "regular life" isn't very exciting. But by not seeing the married Prince and Cinderella, you're missing out on the best part. On the love that comes with a long-term relationship.

Erin and Deek -- the early days

You see, there's something amazing that develops the longer you're with the right person. A deep, more profound love that blows new, euphoric love out of the water.

Erin and Deek now

While it's not nearly as flashy as that falling in love feeling, there's something special about hearing someone say a certain phrase, turning to your partner, and sharing that smile because it reminds you of a joke known only between the two of you. There's something about coming home with news--good or bad--and knowing you have someone to share it with. There's something about saying, "Remember when we..." and having someone to reminisce with. There's something about having another person know exactly what you want or need and being there to provide it and being able to do that for them.

Life is in those little moments. Everyone thinks life and love happen in the big moments, but they don't. They're found in the every day. Cooking dinner together. Dancing in the kitchen. Laughing about something silly while you're getting ready for work. Sitting in bed sipping coffee and talking about the day ahead. Holding hands during a walk. Lying in one another's arms after a long day. Knowing that you have a person--your person, the person--who'll ride the ups and the downs of life by your side, hand in hand.

Our greatest desire as humans is to be known--truly known--and loved. True love comes from understanding someone at their core, at their innermost being. It's knowing all the ugly things about them, in addition to all the beautiful things, and saying, "Given everything that I know, I still love you. I still want to be with you. You, above anyone else."


The longer you're together, the more you know about each other. You can't hide your bad side, your quirks, or your faults when you live with someone and do life with them. Everything comes out. But to have all your bad parts exposed and to have your partner still gaze upon you like you're the most wonderful thing they've ever seen...that's older love. That's precious, rare, genuine, and priceless.


Given what I know about Deek, I love him more now than I did then. Every single day, I love him just a little bit more. I'm not exactly sure how that happens, but it does. He is truly the very best person I know. He's genuine, loving, witty, brilliant, hardworking, tenacious, giving, and thoughtful. I could keep going, but then this blog would be lightyears long. ;) 

But I say all that to say I understand him at his core, at the innermost part of his being, and I'm deeply in love with him. I know him. I know his good and his bad (and he knows mine). And given that, I'd still choose him--every day, every moment, always and forever. 


Happy Anniversary, my beloved! Thank you for loving me when I'm at my best and when I'm at my worst. Thank you for taking the time to see deep into my soul and for loving what you see. Thank you for treating me like I'm the most precious thing you've ever encountered and making sure I always know how much you love me. Thank you for always making time for "us," no matter what else is happening in our lives. Thank you for this wonderful life--this precious, rare, priceless love that comes after the fairytale. Because this part is the real fairytale. 

I love you, Deek! Now and always. Here's to many more in this lifetime and in the beyond! 

Being with Deek still makes me feel like dancing

He's so romantic!

This is how we look at each other, and I love that!

#Always