K. Ryan's Blog, page 2

Preorder for All of the Lights is Live!

Announcement time!

The preorder for All of the Lights is now live–>Link

It’s on sale for just 99 cents until release date, August 22. AND the cover reveal is happening on Monday, August 1, so make sure you look out for that because I’m going to be giving away some fun things!

To help celebrate my new release, all my other books are currently on sale for $1.99 for a limited time. If you haven’t gotten to them yet, now’s your chance!

You can get them all here: K. Ryan’s Amazon page

Happy one-clicking!

 

All of the Lights: Prologue

Here is an exclusive look at my new book, All of the Lights, coming this summer!

Prologue

March 19th

27 Years Ago

   She waits at the bench just like he told her to. Her eyes flick down to the postcard in her hand, his messy handwriting detailing this long-awaited meeting, and her stomach flutters in anticipation.

   The crisp, spring air rushes around her and she pulls her sweater closer around her shoulders, tucking some stray auburn hair behind her ear. Her eyes fall on the peaceful water in front of her and for the first time in too long, her lips lift into a smile. She’s happy again. She’s hopeful again.

   Things will be different, she tells herself. Nothing will get in their way because they have so much more to fight for this time. So much more at stake.

   She has to believe he’ll come. She has to believe he’ll tell her what she’s wanted to hear for years. She has to believe that all of their suffering, all of their pain, and all of their heartbreak wasn’t for nothing.

   The familiarity of this scene at Carson Beach spikes painful shards of hope in her chest that she just can’t shake. He’s always shown up. Always kept his promises.

   So she waits. And she waits. And she waits. Even when the sun’s rays color the water crimson and rust, she still waits.

   Finally, the postcard drifts to the ground and the wind catches it, twirling it away from the broken, defeated woman sobbing on the bench.

 

#TeaserTuesday: All of the Lights

Hey Everyone!

I’m still in a little bit of a fog from the success of Carry You Home‘s release, but here it goes–I’m officially at work on book number four, All of the Lights.

Full Blurb: 

Two households. One secret that will change everything.

I was raised to believe his family was nothing but trash.

I was raised to believe her family was the root of all evil.

I sent his brother to prison.

I should hate her for what she did.

I’ve never fought a day in my life.

I’ve fought every day of my life.

I need him to help me find answers.

I need her to set the record straight.

I should stay away from him.

I should walk away from her.

But I can’t.

But I can’t.

It’s so different from anything I’ve ever written before, but that’s the exciting part about this new adventure I’m on. The scale of this story is huge (at least compared to my other three books) and there’s a lot more going on than just the story between the two main leads. In a way, it already has everything I love in a good story: intrigue, mystery, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance, an awesome best friend/sidekick, tragedy, family drama on all sides, and political issues. You probably noticed that the blurb sounds a little bit like a certain famous play revolving around a certain famous, albeit doomed couple and that angle is definitely there, just maybe not the way you think ;)

Taking on this kind of project is a little terrifying, but it’s challenging and it’s different and it feels just as real to me as Caleb, Isabelle, Finn, and Emma were. I’m still digesting letting go of Caleb and Isabelle and focusing on a new couple in a new setting with new drama and I’m planning on writing a post soon about that process (if you’re interested).

As I work through All of the Lights, I’ll be posting teasers, including more info about the characters soon. I’m planning a summer release and as soon as I have a cover and a definite release, I’ll share those with you guys ASAP.

As always, thank you so much for all the support you’ve given along the way. I love hearing from you, so don’t be shy!

#TeaserTuesday: Christmas Comes A Little Early

Hey Everyone!

I hope this holiday season finds you well! I’m finally getting into the spirit after a long month of work and that being said, I finally have an announcement for you about the status of Carry You Home, the sequel to Carry Your Heart.

Here we go…

The cover reveal will be Tuesday, January 6.

Pre-order sale start Monday, January 25 on Amazon at a special price (grab it before the price goes up on release day).

And it will officially be released on Tuesday, February 9!

Add Carry You Home to Goodreads here:   

To celebrate, I’m giving away two e-copies of Carry Your Heart or a $10 Amazon gift card (winners’ choice). I’ll have more info on that tomorrow when I post my first teaser pic (I’ve had it finished for a few weeks and I’ve been itching to post it).

Also, if you read and loved Carry Your Heart and are interested in receiving an ARC, just drop me a line at authorkryan@gmail.com or send me a message on Twitter to @authorkryan. The only requirement is that you post a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads by the release date. I won’t have ARCS ready for another couple of weeks, but if you’re interested, let me know and I’ll get in touch with you to set it up.

Thank you all for you patience and your support (and your little nudges along the way to keep me going). Finishing Carry You Home has been a labor of love, that’s for sure, but I can’t wait to share it with you.

Happy holidays and look for your early Christmas present tomorrow (AKA the giveaway info)!

 

 

Goodreads #Giveaway!

Today is the last day you can enter my giveaway on Goodreads for a signed paperback copy of Finding Emma. As of this posting, there’s still about 12 hours left, so you’ve got lots of time! You can enter using the widget below or through the Goodreads link here.

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Finding Emma
by K. Ryan

Giveaway ends November 16, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

#TeaserTuesday: Hey! Look what’s on Goodreads now!

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to drop a few updates your way…the sequel to Carry Your Heart (and the last book in the series) is officially on Goodreads. You can add Carry You Home here:  

And, if you haven’t picked up Finding Emma yet, you can do that here: Amazon

So, after taking a little time to put a solid outline together, I’m back to work on Carry You Home. You might remember I said in September that I’m basically taking the plots I had outlined for books 2 and 3 and combined them into just one book, and that’s still happening. Right now, I’m almost finished with part one (which is where book 2 would’ve ended) and getting ready to start part two (which is obviously where book 3 would’ve picked up). Given where part 1 ends, I feel really confident in the decision to combine the stories into one book. I can’t even imagine the flood of panicked emails I’d get about when the next book would be out, so the good news is this: part 1 will probably rip your heart out, but part 2 will put everything back together again.

I don’t have an official cover reveal or release date yet, but I’m hoping to release Carry You Home at the end of December or very early January. I will definitely keep you all posted so you can take advantage of pre-ordering!

That being said…since it’s #TeaserTuesday and all, here’s an exclusive sneak peek at the prologue to Carry You Home:

Hey Iz,

I honestly have no idea if you’ve been getting my letters. I think I just want to believe you’re reading them, so I just keeping writing. It’s weird being in here, where time pretty much stands still, and knowing that life just keeps moving forward without you. Honestly, writing these letters to you is the only thing that keeps me sane. The only thing that makes me feel normal. The only thing that makes me feel close to you.

If you’re not reading this, I guess I can’t blame you. If I were you, I don’t know if I’d be reading this either. I’m such an idiot, Iz. I know I’ll never be able to say that enough. I don’t deserve you and I deserve to be exactly where I am. Hell, I’m not even worth this piece of paper I’m writing on right now. I’m kinda surprised they even gave me a pencil.

I miss you, Iz. I miss your smile. I miss your laugh. I miss the way you always bite down on your bottom lip when you get nervous. I miss how soft your hair is when I touch it. I miss your lips. I miss your eyes. I miss the way you used to look at me. I miss everything, Iz.

I wish you would visit, but I get why you won’t. I wouldn’t want to visit me either. I think if we could see each other face to face, maybe we’d be able to talk this through, and I’d be able to explain better than I’ve been able to in my letters. You know I’m shit with words, but this is all I’ve got right now. I wish there was another way I could reach out to you, to talk to you, but since you won’t take my calls and you won’t visit, you’re just going to have to get used to me sending you these letters.

I know what I did. I know how much I hurt you. I know there’s nothing I can say or do that will ever make it better, but I’m going to keep trying. Please don’t give up on me.

Love you always,

Caleb

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Finding Emma Blog Tour

Hey Everyone!

Today is the last day you can get Finding Emma for $2.99 to celebrate my blog tour! The price will change tomorrow, so make sure you grab your copy by the end of today.

Purchase links: Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and paperback

The blog tour has been going great…lots of awesome reviews coming in and I’m so excited this book is resonating with you just as much as it has with me. Thanks to Mia at IndieSage for all her hard work at making this tour a success.

You can check out a few highlights from the tour here, here, and here.

Oh, and…some things are finally moving along with Carry You Home, the sequel to my first book, Carry Your Heart. I’ll have some more info for you about that on Monday as well as a special teaser on Tuesday for #TeaserTuesday.

And just for fun, if you’ve read Finding Emma you might already know who this is, but if you haven’t, let me introduce you to Oliver ;) This picture was taken about two years ago when he decided to make my patio his new home.

Have a great weekend!
Katie

 

Finding Emma is Live!

Hey Everyone!

My new book, Finding Emma, is live!

Click here to read the first chapter.

Buy it now: Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and paperback

Today’s the day! I can’t believe it’s finally here! It’s a strange feeling knowing that so much of yourself is now out there for people to read and judge, but I’m way more at peace this time around than I thought I’d be. Maybe that’s just because the personal aspects out of this book are so honest for me and I don’t regret putting that much of myself in this book.

If you know me, you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly where Emma and I intersect (as well as where one ends and the other begins), but for those of you who don’t know, please make sure to read my author’s note at the very end of the book for an explanation. I’ve explained which parts are inspired by my life and which parts are fiction (although the best fiction always has a little bit of truth to it, doesn’t it?) as well as explained where the inspiration for this story came from. The glaringly obvious detail (can’t tell you–it’s a spoiler!!) isn’t anything that happened to me, but the rest of the smaller details, the more honest details, are true pieces of my former life that I’ve woven into the narrative. It was as cathartic as it was terrifying, but I don’t regret it. In fact, writing this book helped me close that chapter of my life and now, I’m looking forward to writing the next chapter.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! After you read Finding Emma and want to know which parts were specific to me and which were primarily specific to Emma, I’d love to hear from you! You can contact me through Twitter or Facebook (the links are at the bottom of my website here) or you can do it through good ol’ fashioned email: authorkryan@gmail.com.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to celebrate the release! Click here for the link.

 

#TeaserTuesday: Chapter One of Finding Emma

Hey everyone! Finding Emma will be available one week from today on Tuesday, October 20. The time really flew by, didn’t it? Anyway, I’ve included the purchase links below for ebook and paperback copies. I’ll be posting little teasers this whole week as a pre-release celebration, so make sure to keep an eye on my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Enjoy!

Purchase Links: Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Chapter One:

“Thank you for being a friend…traveled down the road and back again…”

I blew my bangs out of my eyes as I fumbled for my keys and shot a wary glance at the door down the hall from mine. Must be nice to sit around and watch Estelle Getty verbally abuse Betty White all day, I mused and shook my head at Mrs. Johannsen’s door. Her apartment was technically directly in front of mine with the way our building was structured. Our connecting walls were so paper thin I was beginning to seriously worry about how much more cackling I could reasonably stand.

If marathon after marathon of old lady escapades blaring through my walls was the worst of my problems with Mrs. Johannsen, then I guess I really shouldn’t complain. Considering that she never asked any invasive questions and generally left me alone, she was the best neighbor somebody like me could ask for. My eyes landed on the door directly across from mine and a little fluttering of nervousness shot through me. Mrs. Johannsen had not-so-discreetly informed me yesterday that we were finally due for some new neighbors on our floor.

The apartment directly across from mine had sat vacant for two glorious months of silence and disruption-free nights. My last neighbors were nice enough, but given that our patios shared a wall and they always had their patio door open, it was difficult to shut out the screeching, ear-splitting crying no matter how loud I turned up my turntable or my TV. The baby was cute. She was really was. Chubby cheeks and pretty brown eyes with little wisps of strawberry-blonde hair.

I still hated her.

All I wanted was peace, quiet, and sleep-filled nights. And all that baby did was cry and cry and cry, making it pretty much impossible for me to sleep or get any work done. I got that babies were difficult, that being a new parent was hard, but that didn’t mean I had to suffer right along with them too. It wasn’t like I could exactly knock on the door and tell them to turn down the noise. I’m sure they would’ve loved a baby-controlling remote that you could just click to mute the noise and I would’ve happily bought one for them if a beautiful invention like that actually existed.

Needless to say, I’d done a little happy dance when they finally bought a house and moved the hell out.

That was the scary thing about knowing new neighbors were on their way–you just never knew what you were going to get, but not in that optimistic life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates way. They could be the nicest, quietest neighbors ever that just kept to themselves and minded their business, kind of like Mrs. Johannsen, minus her tolerable TV addiction, and my upstairs neighbors, who were rarely home anyways. Or they could be loud. Obnoxious. Intrusive. Uninvited. Messy. Annoying.

I blew out a deep breath just at the thought. I was better off just focusing on what I could control, which over the last year, wasn’t a whole lot.

After finally pushing through the door, I tossed my keys onto the tiny end table I’d set up right next to the door just for that purpose, kicked off my shoes, and opened my patio door to air out my stuffy living space. I inhaled deeply, my eyes taking in the peace residing in my makeshift backyard. Any kind of treeline in this part of Milwaukee was rare and when I first saw the view in this apartment–thick, green brush and tall trees that blocked everything else out–I knew I had to have it.

This apartment and this city really gave me the best of both worlds: I could get lost in the bustle, but come home to peace and quiet.

Today was really just an average day. My shift at The Corner Cafe was easy, sort of slow, and uneventful. I had $70 in tips sitting in my purse, which wasn’t great for a Friday, but it wouldn’t necessarily put me in the red either. Overall, it was a pretty good, quiet day in the city.

As if on cue, my iPhone buzzed in my back pocket. My eyes flew to the digital clock above my stove and then flitted up to the ceiling with a shake of my head. Jesus, it was like damned clockwork with him. Unfortunately, I also knew that if I didn’t respond sometime soon, my overprotective-to-a-serious-fault older brother would just keep bothering me until he got what he wanted.

Never should’ve given that nosy bastard my schedule.

One swipe across the screen told me what I needed to know: How was ur day?

Well, I guess I couldn’t really fault the guy for trying, so I pounded out a quick reply, telling him what he already knew. Less than a second later, he replied: Good to hear. Love u, Em.

There, that wasn’t so bad. Pushing aside the nagging guilt tugging at my conscience, I figured my best bet was to just stick with my plan for the rest of my night: eating, watching Netflix, blogging, more Netflix, and last but certainly not least, sleeping. Why was that so bad? Noah knew everything, all the dirty, humiliating details, and he still didn’t understand why this was the way it had to be. Why I needed to live this way. Why I needed to separate myself from what he referred to as actual living.

His worry wasn’t necessarily misplaced, but it wasn’t productive either.

Life was just less complicated and less tragic when it was a one-woman show.

With that last thought, I booted up Netflix on my TV and toggled over to the next episode of Orange is the New Black. I needed to write another blog post tonight, this time on the best BB creams to use this fall–compelling stuff, right?–but that still left plenty of time to lose myself in the goings-on at Litchfield Penitentiary and make dinner. Careful to turn the volume up enough to drown out the cackling Golden Girl, I threw a chicken breast on a skillet and let Piper and company give me a little escape.

By the time I was seated on my couch, nibbling away at the chicken and side salad, and engrossed in the middle of an episode, I’d scrolled through emails, made some mental notes about the blog post I had to write, and had a cold glass of Moscato sitting in front of me.

My phone buzzed one more time and my eyes lifted to the ceiling.

Dinner at our house this weekend??

I had to give Noah credit for trying. For still trying and refusing to give up on me, even though I turned him and Cristina down almost every time. The last time I’d agreed to a dinner at their house, my mom had shown up unannounced and uninvited.

That pretty much put an end to my desire to travel back to Hickory for any reason. Swallowing back more than a little guilt, I pounded a quick reply telling him I had to work all weekend and couldn’t make it. I would be an aunt in about a month and I didn’t want to be anywhere near the town where my soon-to-be niece would live. It was a kick in the gut, salt in an open wound, but it was something I could live with.

Unfortunately.

Pushing aside that lingering gnawing at my stomach, my attention shifted back to my TV and I let fantasy drown out reality for a few blissful, carefree minutes. Just as Crazy Eyes got done throwing pie, I saw it.

Streaks of grey and black. Little flashes of white. All hovering around my patio chairs. What the…

I shot up from my couch and darted over to my patio door. There it was. A stupid, skinny, grey and black striped cat.

“What the fuck?”

The cat was weaving in and around the leg of the patio chair closest to my screen door and his head lifted up at the sound of my voice, giving me a good look at the white patch on his chest and four little white paws. My heart did something I hadn’t felt in a long time–it tugged. I swallowed hard in response.

It was the eyes. Soft grey. Glinting almost ethereally in the twilight. It was like someone had taken an Emma-controlling remote and clicked pause. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. I just stared back.

As if it could sense it needed to make the first move, the cat ducked underneath the chair, bending and slinking until its nose pressed against my screen door. It sat back on its haunches, opened its mouth, and this little mewing sound croaked out, deep and forceful, like it expected me to understand, to be able to communicate somehow this way.

It stared back at me expectantly as if to say, Well?

I just stared back. I didn’t know what to do. All my faculties had just sort of left the building. Motor ability. Verbal ability…all vanished as I gaped back at this cat.

Finally, the cat seemed to realize I wasn’t going to communicate the way he wanted me to and stood up on all four legs, with its white socks, and slinked down the entire length of my patio door, heading right for my long, rectangular planter filled with rows of little blue and yellow flowers.

Oh shit.

Was it going to…and then its long, striped tail flicked up to reveal the biggest pair of kitty balls I’d ever seen. Okay, I’d never seen a pair of kitty balls before but…Jesus.

So, it was definitely a he. No doubt about that.

My attention was too immersed in the logistics of how a skinny little cat like him carried around such massive testicles–bottom-heavy was probably the best to describe it–that my brain completely delayed when he sat his two front paws on the edge of my planter and then started digging with his right paw.

Oh shit. Oh no…no! No!

My brain was screaming, but somewhere along the way, all the neurons connecting my brain to my voice had completely disconnected. So I watched in complete disbelief and horror as the cat proceeded to use my potted plants as his own personal litter box.

Part of me was a little impressed. At least he didn’t piss all over my concrete patio…but my plants. Oh shit. My plants!

Finally, my voice snapped back to life.

“Hey!”

That was all I had.

His head snapped towards me at the sound of my voice and he continued right on pissing, blinking at me as if to say, Whatcha gonna do about it? Bring it, lady.

“Stop! That’s…don’t do that!”

Seriously, this was the best I could do? Couldn’t even muster up enough emotion to reprimand a cat anymore…I guess I’d really lost my touch. He glanced at me again from over his shoulder and when he’d finished soiling my bright blue and yellow flowers, promptly resumed digging to cover up his business.

“Yeah, like that’ll help. Thanks a lot.”

His grey eyes bugged out a little and his mouth curled into a slight O, like he’d suddenly just realized that maybe I didn’t want him using my planter as his bathroom. That long, striped tail flicked at the tip a few times and then he hopped down from the planter, heading right for me in slow, leisurely strides. He stopped in front of the screen door again and sat down, his tail flipping up and down on the concrete underneath him.

His mouth opened and let out one long wail, almost like a call, like a plea for me to do…something. That tugging at my heart was right there again, pulling and twisting and digging, and then he leapt up to scratch both front paws on my screen door, mewing and wailing again.

Let me in. Let me in. Let me in.

That’s what he wanted.

That wasn’t going to happen.

No way in hell.

Even if I wanted to let him in, my apartment complex had a strict no-pets-allowed clause in my lease. So no dogs. No birds. No guinea pigs. And definitely no cats. And most importantly, cats made my eyes itchy and watery. Cats made my throat close and my nose runny. I didn’t typically ever want anything to do with them and kept my distance. I didn’t know what to do with them.

Not happening, buddy, I thought ruefully.

He just kept scratching his paws up the length of my screen door, stretching up as far as he could, mewing and trilling long, throaty sounds. Those eyes…shit, those eyes. Pleading with me. Begging me.

I took a shaky breath and before I knew what I was doing, I backpedalled into my kitchen, keeping my eyes on the cat on my patio the entire time. My mind flipped through the meager supply of food I kept in the refrigerator. What the hell did cats eat anyways? Was I supposed to give them milk? Wait, I didn’t have any milk. I hitched my hands on my hips, mentally surveying what little I had to offer.

This was a bad idea.

A really bad idea.

I’d always heard that you should never, ever feed a stray cat. They’d just keep coming back. This was probably the stupidest idea I’d ever had, but I just couldn’t help myself. He was so skinny…even through the dark fur and even darker night air around him, little bony ribs protruded out of his body. He wasn’t skeletal by any means–he just looked like he hadn’t eaten much in awhile.

My stomach flip-flopped as I grabbed a few pieces of bread and filled up a plastic bowl with water. When I stood in front of the screen door again, he was just sitting there observing me with those shimmering grey eyes and I swallowed tightly.

The problem was that I had to actually open the door now.

How was I supposed to know what he would do? He could jump at me, bite me, scratch me, try to sneak inside my apartment…I didn’t know this cat. Even though he seemed harmless, that didn’t mean he’d be friendly once the barriers between us came down. As far as I was concerned, he was just a mangy, wild animal who couldn’t be trusted.

He opened his mouth again, this time letting out a long meow that sounded more like a maawhr than an actual meow. Then again, what the hell did I know about cats? This was the closest I’d ever been to one in years. And now he was still sitting there, waiting expectantly.

With a deep breath, I slid open the screen door just enough to toss the pieces of bread out to the furthest edge of my patio. He took the bait, leaping up to go after the bread and I hastily stuck my arm out to set the water bowl down a few feet away from me, sloshing water all over the place in the process. Then I snapped my arm back and slammed the screen door shut just as quickly.

There. I did it.

As I watched him wolf down the two pieces of bread, that fluttering sped up again in my stomach. I’d probably just created a huge problem for myself by feeding him, but now that I’d done it, I didn’t feel guilty. I didn’t regret it. I was just sort of glad I’d been able to help him, even if it was just for a night.

Happiness and relief that he’d have some food in that skinny little body knocked out any other feelings of unease and hesitation.

Happiness and relief were not feelings I was used to having. I wasn’t used to feeling like I’d done the right thing. I think I’d forgotten what that even felt like in the first place. But I felt it now. It surged through me, sweeping down from my toes all the way up to the tip of my nose. I took a deep breath and watched him move from the edge of my patio until he sat down right in front of me to lap up some water.

I still couldn’t move.

I still stood there, frozen at my screen door, staring at this stray cat.

My eyes wandered over him to take in the details I’d missed before. Patches of wiry, pale whiskers on tiny cheeks. Dark streaks slashed across his face. A brown-tipped nose with pink smudging. Sharp, pointed dark ears. A long black stripe starting in between his shoulder blades running all the way down to the base of his tail, layered with rings of alternating black and grey.

As he lapped up the water like he hadn’t seen it in days, which might’ve been true, the tip of his tail, which looked like it’d been dipped in ink, flicked from side to side. His head popped up once, his eyes boring into me to say, Geez, lady. Would you quit staring and let me drink this shit in peace?

In the moonlight, his eyes looked a little more green now than grey. Like seafoam. Sweet. Maybe even a little innocent too.

Where did he come from? Why was he out here by himself? He was obviously somebody’s cat, given the way he’d violated my potted plants, so why wasn’t he home now? What had brought him here, tonight, to my patio door?

Well, clearly the aroma of chicken brought him to my patio door, but that was besides the point. Did he have a home and just get lost? Was someone looking for him? Hoping he was okay? Or did someone not want him and just let him go?

That last thought seized my heart and squeezed tight. I hoped that wasn’t the case. I hoped he had a home. Maybe he was just one of those outdoor cats that roamed around during the day and then went back home at night. I mean, he’d used my plants as a litter box, so I was pretty sure he was at least a little housetrained.

Once he’d had his fill from the plastic bowl, his bright pink tongue shot out to tug up the length of his right paw and then he dragged his paw over the side of his head. His dark-rimmed eyes flicked back to me once and a moment later, he was leaping up onto the patio chair closest to where I stood. He reared back on the seat, leaning his body down into his front paws in a long, easy stretch that stuck his butt high in the air then he circled the seat once, found a good spot, and plopped down on the chair, making sure he was still facing me.

He blinked. Then he blinked again. And then he rested his head against a white paw, those grey, seafoam eyes sparkling a little in the darkness.

Huh.

Okay.

I sawed on my bottom lip and frowned back at him.

“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable,” I called out to him softly and narrowed my eyes a little when his head popped up at the sound of my voice. “Well, just…don’t get too comfortable, okay? You can stay, I guess. But just for tonight. Don’t get any ideas.”

What was I doing…talking to a cat? Like he could understand me anyways. Still, I felt like I’d made my point and I went back to my plans for the night, finishing my dinner and that episode of Orange is the New Black, my eyes shifting out to the patio every few minutes.

When it was time to start writing my blog post, though, the cat was a distraction. It was hard to focus on whether or not to choose a moisture-based BB cream or a higher SPF formula when there was a wild animal sitting on my patio like he owned the place.

After about 20 minutes of staring at my screen, I figured a little music would do the trick and switched the needle on my turntable to the record I’d lazily left there from the night before. Music had long been a source of comfort to me and tonight was really no exception. Whenever I needed to clear my head, or just needed a distraction in general, music had always been there to pick up the pieces, lulling through any pain, any heartache, and anything that ailed me. Whether it was a sad country song or a catchy pop song, the beats never failed to either cure my emotions or enhance them. It was the only form of therapy I could ever agree to and the only thing keeping me sane, in light of recent life-shattering events.

And in light of those recent events, I’d needed music more than ever.

I glanced over at the patio to find the cat watching my every move like he was just sort of…observing. Taking inventory. It was a little creepy. And weird. Definitely weird. Like he wasn’t just watching me, but seeing me too.

I wasn’t sure I liked it. And I also wasn’t completely convinced that my imagination wasn’t playing tricks on me right now either.

But when I carried my computer over to the patio and dropped down until my back rested against the wall right next to the screen door, I don’t know who was more surprised: me or the cat.

As if on cue, he hopped down from the chair and sat down right across from me until the only things separating us were a few feet and some flimsy wiring.

“Hey,” I whispered to him. His ears pricked up and one of them tilted to the side. “You like this song?”

His mouth quirked a little, curling into that tiny O shape again, and he moved a hair closer.

“Hey, hey,” I sang softly. “What’s the matter with your head?”

Those shimmering eyes focused on me and I kept on singing: “Come and get your love…”

“Sorry,” I told him. “I probably won’t be trying out for American Idol anytime soon, you know?”

His chest jumped, like he’d hiccupped or something, and he made a noise that sounded like…meh. Like a grumble or a murmur. Like he was answering me.

“I gotta get some work done, but I think I’ll sit right here while I do it if that’s okay with you.”

Meh.

My lips twitched at the sound and I shifted my focus back to finishing up this blog post. I had about another two hours or so before I needed to post it, but I still needed to get my ass in gear.

“Can you believe I actually make some money off this?” I told him as I typed. “I guess I’ve been doing it for so long and enough people started reading it…advertising and all that, you know? You wanna know what my blog is called?”

Meh.

I grinned at him. “Northern Chic. Kinda catchy, huh? You know, because we live in Wisconsin?”

Meh.

“Yeah, I started this beauty blog when I was a senior in high school and I just sort of never stopped, even through college and after I graduated. I don’t use my real name or anything. No one knows who I am, which, trust me, is a good thing. But it’s fun. I like it. I like when companies send me things to try, too.”

And I especially liked the extra padding it gave my bank account every month. Between ads and online retailers giving me a kick-back for linking to products on their sites, I had a healthy little side business. It wasn’t quite enough to cover my bills every month, but between my blog and waitressing, I was living pretty comfortably, or at least, as comfortably as I could.

“The Smashbox brand tends to run a little oily, so if you have combination skin, that might not be the best option for you. When I tested it earlier this week, my cheeks were shiny and greasy enough that I felt like I needed to wash it off immediately. This one just didn’t work for my skin, but if your skin tends to start to dry out come fall, this one might work better for you than it did for me….there, what do you think of that?”

I shifted my eyes back to the cat, whose grey eyes were still observing me intently. That murmuring rumbled from his chest again and I smiled back.

“Now, all I have to do is add some pictures, some buy links, and I’m all set to post. It probably shouldn’t be this easy, but people read it, you know?”

Meh.

My head bobbed a little more to the music as I finished up my post. “Hey, hey, get it together, baby…”

Once I had everything all loaded up on my blog, my eyes fell to the clock on my laptop. In my past life, I’d been used to getting my ass to bed by 10 at the latest on school nights, but now that issue was pretty much obsolete. So, when I got the random breakfast shift, my body tended to reject morning-person mode and I usually felt like a zombie for the first hour or so of my shift. It definitely didn’t help that this was actually a double shift tomorrow and I probably wouldn’t get home until after four.

“Well,” I told him and his chin tilted up at the sound of my voice. “I should probably head to bed. I have to get up for work early tomorrow and…um, like I said, you can stay, I guess, if you want to.”

His chest bopped and then his mouth opened for one last maawhr as I stood up to head into my bedroom and shut the patio door, feeling a prickling of guilt as his eyes stared up at me and his tail flicked up and down on the concrete. It was mid-September, but the air was still a crisp-warm contradiction that was normal for Wisconsin this time of year. Not exactly hot, but not freezing temperatures at night either. My fingers immediately flew to the weather app on my phone and relaxed a little. Low of 57 degrees tonight. That wasn’t so bad.

He’ll be fine out there tonight, I told myself as I crept down my hallway, and this obviously isn’t the first night he’s spent outside by himself.

Just as I reached my bedroom door, I glanced over my shoulder to find his dark, shadowy shape perched back up on that patio chair again.

Maybe he’d…nope. Not going there.

He’d gotten what he wanted from me and he’d be gone in the morning anyways.

 

Updates –> October 2

Hey Everyone!

October 20th is coming up so fast! I’m so excited to share Finding Emma with all of you. It definitely took on a life of its own and I ended up putting way more of myself into this book than I’d planned on, but that’s why I love it.

Here are the updated pre-order links for you: Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Did you grab your pre-order yet??

Also, on Tuesday, October 13 (the week before Finding Emma‘s release), I will be posting the first chapter as my last official pre-release teaser, so keep an eye out for that, too, if you’re interested. I’ll be posting the first chapter here on my website, to Twitter and Facebook, and on Goodreads.

In case you’ve missed any of the previous teasers I’ve posted, I’ve added them below. Also, check out my Pinterest board for Finding Emma here.