Magan Vernon's Blog, page 8
July 18, 2017
New Release Endorsements for 7/18
My fellow readers,
My approval rating as of late has not been the best. You’ve all been wondering, where is our author for the readers? Where is she with our new releases?
I could go on and on and tell you about deadlines and sick kids, but I will not make excuses. I will move forward. I am committed to being an author for the readers and to bring you these new releases.
#FEELTHEVERN
#MAKEREADINGGREATAGAIN
*Souls Unchained by CC Wood (Paranormal and I’m told super sexy with outdoor boogity!) http://amzn.to/2tbpj5v
*Kiss my Boots by Harper Sloan (A recent review said this Georgia bird can write Texas hotties pretty gosh darn well) http://amzn.to/2uE5wQC
*SIN by Emma Hart (99 cent new release and the Britt always delivers the smexy) http://amzn.to/2vxzjXE
*Stay Close by Alexa Riley (Russian mafia from the queens of quick and dirty novels) http://amzn.to/2uyl8V9
*Atheists who kneel and pray by Tarryn Fisher (one of the most highly anticipated books of 2017) http://amzn.to/2vdUm21
*Chasing ViVi by AM Hargrove (A favorite author and one of my OG Indies) http://amzn.to/2tb8Uhw
*The Prodigal by Shauna Allen (Who doesn’t love a series with brothers?) http://amzn.to/2tbaWhN
*Beautiful Mistake by Vi Keelend (I’m told one of her sexiest books yet) http://amzn.to/2vecSar
*Claiming Alexis by Susan Stoker (Fav military author!) http://amzn.to/2tlAL2V
*The Darkest Sunrise by Aly Martinez (This duet has been smoking up the charts) http://amzn.to/2uvvZPQ
*Savage by SL Scott (A modern fairytale? Sign me up!) http://amzn.to/2uEkZAb
*Because of Lila by Abbi Glines (One of the OG’s of New Adult) http://amzn.to/2uEBTP7
*Firefly by Molly McAdams (I only read Molly when I want to ugly cry or punch someone, which is usually before coffee) http://amzn.to/2tm61hW
*Glamour by AL Jackson et al (An anthology of fairytale retellings from some top authors!) http://amzn.to/2u4qGV2
*Stubborn as a mule by Juliette Poe aka Sawyer Bennett (Southern romances sweeter than sweet tea and hotter than Georgia mornings) http://amzn.to/2uyDXar
*Getting A Grip by ME Carter (Romantic comedy) http://amzn.to/2u4F3c5
*Unexpected Love by Evan Grace (Fourth in series) http://amzn.to/2tbzirH
*The Southern Nights series by M Never (Yes I’ve read this one, yes you need to read this alone without children looking over your shoulder) http://amzn.to/2u56bsM
*Har Love by Joanne Schwehm (major cover love on this one) http://amzn.to/2tm6LDU
*Swole: Flex Friday by Golden Czermak (I’m told you will never look at the gym the same way) http://amzn.to/2uvifEQ
The post New Release Endorsements for 7/18 appeared first on Magan Vernon.
July 6, 2017
Top Ten Thursday!
We’re trying a new feature on the site, my top ten Thursday!
Each Thursday I’ll (try) to post a top ten list. It could be my top ten favorite young adult books, top ten favorite easy recipes, or something like today’s post which is…
My Top Ten Things I cannot write without!
10.) My Alphasmart
If you haven’t seen me post this handy dandy little thing on Instagram or any other social media, well then you haven’t been following me. This battery operated, basically, fancy calculator is portable, light weight, runs on battery power, and is completely distraction fee. They’re also way cheaper than a computer so it’s okay for me to travel everywhere with it.
You can buy one for under $30 on Amazon including batteries and USB
9.) The Emotion Thesaurus
This is a must-have for any author. Sometimes I get stuck when my character is supposed to feel nervous and I can’t just keep using “I shivered” every single time.
8.) Notebooks
I go through these like crazy because somehow they always end up with pen marks all over them from tiny humans thinking they need them for “Diaries”. I try and do loose outlines when I can or even just take notes when something funny is said.
I like these small ones that can fit in your purse or backpack. Pack of five for $12.
7.) Sticky notes
I have this thing where I just write myself random notes, not always in my notebook, and stick them on my desk. I especially use these for my “to-do” lists. I try to keep those small so they don’t overwhelm me so usually two big things for my monthly to-do and then about two-three small things a day like “Write 1K. Send emails. Post FB contest”
Yes, I buy in bulk, 12 pads for $5 on Amazon
6.) Coffee
I have two young kids, a puppy, and a husband who is up every day at 5:30, along with all of the other tiny humans and animals. I couldn’t survive without a cup in the morning and again when writing around like 1:00pm. There’s something about a cup that inspires words.
I make a big pot in the morning, but in the afternoon, I like my K cups and pretend I’m somewhere drinking fancy cappuccino when I’m really too cheap and don’t want to wear real pants to leave my house, so I just order this 42 pack of Sweet and Salty Caramel K cups.
5.) Fun Coffee mug
Eight years ago, I got these two awesome square, red mugs as a shower gift with my red coffee pot. Then Twothy broke both of my favorite mugs and eventually the coffee pot. Since then I’ve been collecting an odd assortment of mugs, whether given my readers, or purchased on Amazon.
One of us also just #oneclicked this one for herself because it was on sale
4.) Flavored Water
I try not to drink too much soda and even though I may end up in the bathroom a lot, I pretty much can’t live without water flavoring. I don’t think Twothy could either since he always steals mine.
Right now, True Lemon is my favorite. I can pretend I’m drinking a cocktail and tell my kids not to touch Mommy’s special water.
3.) Water bottle
What would flavored water be without a water bottle? I always need a big one, even with my little packet of True Lemon, it can still flavor my big ol’ bottle. I’m an old lady and I also like mine with a straw to sit next to me with my cold coffee while I try and bang out a few words.
2.) Baby wipes
Since I do always have coffee, flavored water, and messy children and puppies. I need wipes. Like all the time. For my hands or to blow my nose. My kids may be out of diapers, but we still buy these suckers in bulk on Amazon.
1.) Netflix
I see those judgey eyes. Sometimes I need background noise or inspiration by watching hours of Criminal Minds. Annnnd, Netflix also has a ton of documentaries and other shows that help when I need to research different places.
So what do you think of this list? Anything you would add?
The post Top Ten Thursday! appeared first on Magan Vernon.
May 24, 2017
The Fate Series by my lady Emersyn Vallis release!
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Title: The Fate Series Box Set
Author: Emersyn Vallis
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Cozy Mystery
Release Date: May 24, 2017
Blurb
We all have choices in life… paths to take… roads to
follow….
It’s on those journeys that Fate finds us and takes us where
we need to be.
Without a second glance, we can be taken away from
everything we knew, the “people we love” and given a new life.
One that can change us… save us…
What would you do if Fate dropped you at a crossroads? Would
you go back? Or would you run like hell the other way?
One night is all it took to change Sidney Chandler and Simon
McAllister’s future and set them both on separate paths.
But when Fate decides to reunite them almost a decade later
will Simon be able to win back the woman he loves? And will Sidney be able to
get past what happened between them and move forward?
ADD TO GOODREADS
Purchase Links
$4.99 for a VERY limited time
Free in Kindle Unlimited
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Author Bio
Emersyn Vallis currently lives on the East Coast but,
unfortunately nowhere near a beach where she dreams she was with a cocktail.
She’s the mother to three crazy and wild children who are her world, a cat who
thinks he’s the boss of the house, and a hamster who knows he’s the
favorite. When she’s not running her kids all over creation she can be
found on her computer or with a book in her hand. As a teenager, she spent most
of her weekends lying on the floor of her local Borders reading with her trusty
hazelnut coffee close. After years of reading for fun, she thought she would
try her hand at writing. Joining together her favorite elements from different
genres that spoke to her she took to her computer with an idea. The Fate Series
are the first of hopefully many books to come. And she looks forward to
introducing you to them.
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Author Links
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The post The Fate Series by my lady Emersyn Vallis release! appeared first on Magan Vernon.
April 21, 2017
First Chapter of The Only Chance!
ღ ღ ღ #ALoveForRomanceRelease ღ ღ ღ
A Love for Romance Anthology is LIVE! #OneClickToday for $0.99
15 SBR Media authors coming together to bring an anthology for all readers!
ღ ღ ღ Purchase Today ღ ღ ღ
iBooks: https://itun.es/us/AIQGib.l
Amazon Universal: http://bit.ly/2nv9SpB
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2mX7Qgw
And now for a sneak peek at Trigg and Roni’s story!
Chapter 1
Roni
Nobody meets their spouse when they’re four-years-old unless they’re living a fairytale.
And that’s why I thought my life was.
I met Trigg Chapman on the playground on our first day of preschool.
His dad was the newly elected state representative and I had no idea that the little boy with sandy brown curls was anything more than the kid who ate his boogers.
Then middle school happened. I got boobs. He was the first boy in sixth grade to wear deodorant. It was a match made in gym class heaven.
But things changed. After twenty years of knowing each other the mystery was gone. Once our daughter was born, and he started working on his dad’s presidential campaign, so was the romance.
That’s why I needed a night out with my high school friends. I needed some time to clear my head.
“So where is Trigg now?” Kara asked, taking a swig of her beer.
After high school, I followed Trigg to college on the east coast and stayed there. Kara never left the Midwest and married an engineer with a job in the middle of nowhere in northern Illinois. When we met up, it was with the girls in the Chicago area, or we found a dive bar and grill near Kara’s place.
I twirled the straw in my drink. I told the girls it was rum and coke, but it was all coke. I wasn’t much of a drinker and I thought it was stupid to drink when I had a long, dark ride back to my parents. “Still at Tripp’s, sleeping on his couch.”
“Why doesn’t he stay at his parents?” Laura asked, flipping her dyed blonde hair over her shoulder.
“Would you want to stay with Kirk and Melanie?” I raised my eyebrows.
Kara laughed, downing the rest of her drink and signaled to the waitress to bring another. “I think the governor and first lady would be the last people I’d want to camp out with.”
“Did you know when we’d go home on breaks, if I stayed the night, I had to stay in the guest room until we were married? Hell, we were living together when Trigg was at Dartmouth, yet I had to stay at my parents or the guest room.” I huffed.
Laura laughed. “Yeah, that didn’t stop you from getting pregnant before the wedding.”
I put my finger to my lips. “Shh! People don’t need to know that!”
Laura rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You two are married now and Bella’s almost one. If people did the math, they’d realize you were three months pregnant then. At least it made your boobs look amazing in your wedding pictures.”
I shoved Laura’s arm. “You’re ridiculous, do you know that?”
The waitress—a short girl with a pixie cut and a cut off shorts—came over to the table. “Another round, ladies?”
I shook my head and waved my arms. “Oh, no, not for me. I’ll just take my check.”
Kara raised an eyebrow. “Are you leaving us already?”
I sighed. “Yeah. It’s a long drive back to my parents’.”
Laura put her hand on my back. “You know we’re here for you if you need us, I’m sure Kara would be willing to pull out the old air mattress.”
I smiled. “Thanks, girls, for letting me bitch.”
“That’s what friends are for.” Kara smiled.
The road was dark and a lot curvier than I remembered it on the way to the bar. My hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel with the radio on the lowest volume.
But that didn’t stop me from hearing the song.
The song that I remembered from my first middle school party. The one that turned Trigg and I from friends to more.
“All right, let’s liven up this party with some spin the bottle!” Kara yelled, turning up the radio.
Trigg and his friends Tyler and Justin were the first boys over to the circle. It was the first time I’d really noticed him. His tips were newly frosted and he was wearing a Lakers jersey that showed off his summer tan. He was definitely the most attractive boy in the sixth grade.
I sipped the last of my Surge and twisted my braided hair around my finger. I had the braids done on our family vacation in Mexico and I thought they made me look edgy, instead of just the wide-eyed middle schooler from the Chicago suburbs.
“Trigg, you want to do the honor of going first?” Kara asked, handing him the empty root beer bottle.
“With pleasure,” he said, sitting down in the circle.
All eyes were on that bottle as it spun around Kara’s basement floor. Every girl’s hands were together, praying that the Trigg Chapman would get to kiss them.
But the bottle slowed and came to a stop right in front of me.
Oohs and ahhs came from the crowd, but I wasn’t paying attention to them. My eyes were locked on Trigg’s emerald green eyes as he leaned across the circle and gave me my first kiss.
That was years ago. A time past. Now I couldn’t remember the last time we kissed. Probably at some point when he was leaving for work and it was a peck on the cheek. Where had my perfect fairytale gone?
I was so lost in my own thoughts that I barely saw the lights ahead. I swerved and screamed, praying that I’d corrected myself. But those bright lights were the last thing I saw before everything went dark.
The post First Chapter of The Only Chance! appeared first on Magan Vernon.
First Chapter The One That Got Away
Chapter 1
I hadn’t had sex in I don’t remember how long, which was even more awkward because I had a boyfriend.
Okay, maybe boyfriend wasn’t the right term. Joey Bianchi was the only other person in my group of friends who didn’t leave Friendship for college, so for the past three years, we would hang out. Sometimes, we’d go to the movies or get pizza, and sometimes, we’d both get really drunk and have sex. But it had been a while since that last part had happened. Like a really long while.
Maybe it was because I put on some extra weight working at the Forever Sweet Bakery, but even that was hard to tell; since I was so tall, everything sat on my hips anyway. I worked part-time at the bakery and for a studio that did school portraits.
But Joey had texted me while I was in the middle of a newborn session to say he wanted to meet up tonight.
“Is there something on your phone? Are you looking at those Pinterest pictures I sent you?” Julie Quinn asked, looking over my shoulder.
I couldn’t stand the know-it-all in high school any more than I could stand her now. I only agreed to this session because of her sister, Christy, was one of my best friends, and I needed the money so I wouldn’t be the last twenty-one-year-old living at her mom’s place.
“Yes, Julie. I remember them. I was just checking the time,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to act pleasant.
Putting a one-week-old baby in a basket in a pond behind Julie’s parents’ ranch wasn’t exactly what I would have wanted for my newborn baby, but she was paying me, which was more than I could say for some of the families who wanted me to do senior portraits in trade for farm fresh eggs.
“Think maybe you could climb the willow? Maybe an aerial shot will make Ella’s neck jowls less prominent,” Julie said over my shoulder as I looked in the Nikon instead of focusing on Julie’s flared nostrils.
“I can put her on the dock and take the photos with the pond in the background. If you want, I can even photoshop the dock out later, so she looks like she’s floating in the water.”
Julie squeezed my shoulders. “You’re so smart. Let’s get Ella.”
***
After a million pictures of Ella, I finally packed up to leave Q Ranch and take FM6 to downtown Friendship. And by downtown, I meant basically two and a half blocks of older one-story buildings remodeled into little boutiques, a handful of restaurants, and the Forever Sweet bakery where I worked. Next door was Conti’s, the local Italian restaurant where I was meeting Joey for dinner, and then I hope going back to his place. And by his place, I meant the guesthouse on his parents’ property where they let him sleep. You know, since neither one of us had our own place.
Maybe that was why he wanted to have dinner tonight? Maybe he’d finally put away enough money to get a house, and he wanted me to move in with him? Not that I was sure I wanted to move in with him, but at least I wouldn’t be living with my mom. My mom and her new boyfriend—who wore way too thin sweatpants that left nothing to the imagination.
I fluffed my half-curly, half-really-could-use-some-tamer hair one last time before I opened the front door of Conti’s and took in the smell of fresh garlic and tomato sauce.
“Abbey! My favorite little baker, did you bring me some tiramisu?” Mr. Conti said, coming out from behind the bar. I was tall for a girl at six-foot, and when Mr. Conti hugged me, his bald head came almost right to my chest with his graying mustache tickling my collarbone.
“Not today, Mr. Conti. I’m just meeting Joey for dinner,” I said as he released me.
“Bello, you aren’t asking the bella to sneak you sweets again, are you?” Mrs. Conti, who was even shorter than the mister, yet she could scare the hell out of anyone with her thick-accented voice, short black hair, and big floral dresses.
“No, no, Mama. I was just saying hi to our favorite baker,” Mr. Conti said, turning to smile at his wife whose face never changed from its permanent scowl.
Mrs. Conti looked in my direction and nodded. “Joey’s back there in a corner booth. The boy already went through half a pitcher of beer and a basket of breadsticks. I haven’t seen a man that nervous since Jay was going to propose to our Lia.”
I felt my heart thud in my chest. Proposal? I didn’t think there was any way in hell that’s where Joey’s mind was. All I was hoping for was maybe some mildly satisfying missionary and Netflix, not a ring tonight.
“Thanks, Mrs. Conti. I’ll go find him,” I said, forcing a smile before I walked toward the back of the restaurant.
Just like Mrs. Conti said, Joey was sitting in one of the red plastic booths. He didn’t look like a guy ready to propose with his Team Realtree hat and plaid button-down over his broad frame. I convinced myself that after a few glasses of Riesling and if I squinted really hard, he looked like a chubby Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
“Hey, I said, forcing an extra big smile.
Joey looked up from his phone, that he was permanently attached to, and raised his eyebrows. “Hey, are you okay? You look like you’re really constipated.”
I stopped smiling and sat down. “Yeah. Totally fine. No constipation here.”
“Oh. Good. That would be really awkward,” he said, looking back at his phone.
Like this moment wasn’t already.
The little pixie of a waitress practically floated to our table. Dana Conti was married to Nicky Conti, Mr. and Mrs. Conti’s oldest son. While Nicky was large and in charge with a deep voice like he smoked a pack a day, Dana was the opposite at barely five-foot and one-hundred pounds—even after having a baby—and had a tiny voice that reminded me of one of the munchkins from Wizard of Oz.
“Hey y’all. Oh, my God! Abbey, thank God you’re here. I wanted to make sure we’re still all set for next Saturday and Sofie’s shower. Did you get the pictures I emailed you? I want it to look just like that one on that pretentious mommy blogger’s page. I’ll show her who can throw an ‘Under the Sea’ baby shower!” Dana put her fist in the air.
“Um, yeah. I think Carla has that at the bakery,” I said, trying to smile. I didn’t want to look constipated, so I tried just smiling with my eyes like the chorus teacher used to tell us to do.
“Are you okay, Abbey? You’re looking at me like you want to cry. Is this a jealousy thing? Is this because this shower is for Sofie and she’s like your stepsister, sort of, and she’s with that that really tall swimmer? Seriously, I think that dude can just reach across the pool and hit the other end,” Dana babbled.
I blinked once then twice, shaking my head. “No. I’m not going to cry. Just … just, yeah. Thanks, Dana. And I’ll order a glass of Riesling and a caprese salad.”
Dana raised an eyebrow as she took down my order on her little notepad. “No fettuccini alfredo tonight?”
“No. No. You know I had a big run earlier. Been really trying to work out and eat right. You know, getting slim and trim here,” I said, forcing a laugh that just made me sound like I really was constipated.
“Okay then …” Dana said, her words dragging as she finished scribbling on her notepad and turned, heading toward the kitchen.
“So now that that awkwardness is over. It’s been a while. How have you been? Business going well? I mean I know it’s slow season for landscaping and all …” Whenever I got nervous, I found myself babbling. Why was I nervous? I saw Joey not that long ago, and it wasn’t like the guy gave me butterflies or anything. He was just the guy beside me. The guy who said I looked constipated. The guy who Mr. and Mrs. Conti said looked like he was about to propose.
Joey sighed. “This isn’t working for me, Abs.”
I raised an eyebrow, thinking maybe he would put down his phone and explain. “Come again?”
Joey didn’t say anything for what felt like forever as he continued to tap on his phone. Finally, he glanced up then did a double take. “Oh. You’re still here. Um. Yeah. This is awkward.”
“Awkward? This is beyond messed up. This isn’t working for you? What isn’t working?” I asked, trying not to raise my voice, but I was openly gawking at the guy.
He sighed and finally set his phone down, folding his hands together on the table. “Look, Abbey. We’ve been having some fun, but it’s not working for me anymore. Us, whatever we’re doing.”
“But we’ve just been hanging out. Hanging out and … bow chicka wow wow.” I sang the last part.
He frowned. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Before I could respond with something snappy, Dana came to the table with my wine and salad. “Here you go. And if this isn’t enough, you know we can whip that fettuccini up in no time!”
“Thanks,” I muttered, not even trying to smile with my eyes or mouth.
Dana took the hint and went back to the kitchen, leaving Joey and me to finish our awkward conversation.
I gulped down half my glass of wine before setting it down and let out a deep breath. “Can I ask why?”
Joey smirked, picking up his phone. “You don’t want to know.”
“What, did you find someone else? Another girl on the side who isn’t almost a foot taller than you are?” Wow, the alcohol was hitting hard and early. If I was already going there, I figured I could take another few big gulps.
“I mean this chick who I was sort of also hanging out with told me her period was late, so if I’m gonna be a dad, you know, I figure I can’t half-ass it and be hanging out with other chicks.”
He said it so casually as if he was asking me to pass the parmesan. I swore I must not have heard him right.
“Come again?”
Joey smirked, letting out a half laugh. “You sound like a grandma saying that.”
“Better than a guy who just told me he knocked up another girl,” I muttered, finishing the rest of my glass before I went for Joey’s pitcher of beer, drinking straight from it.
“Wow. Abs. That’s really classy.”
I set the almost empty pitcher down, letting out a huge burp. “Classy as a chick who just found out her fuck buddy may have gotten another chick pregnant.”
Joey shook his head and put his phone in his back pocket, standing up. “You know what, Abs. I don’t need this abuse. It’s over. Imma move on, and you can sit here and have your drinks.”
I held up the pitcher. “Salud, Joey.”
He shook his head again and headed toward the door while Dana pushed her way past him. “Is everything okay? Did I just witness a breakup? Do you need more wine? Or more beer?”
“More all of it,” I muttered, pushing my glass and the pitcher toward her. “And some alfredo while you’re at it.”
Dana offered a small smile and nodded. “Coming right up.”
Like what you read? You can now purchase The One That Got Away today!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2ocf6Y1
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2oX4hGF
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2oamxio
Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2pXLwlw
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2pXKshA
iBooks: http://apple.co/2pkCXVM
The post First Chapter The One That Got Away appeared first on Magan Vernon.
February 13, 2017
Why me and Supergirl are alike
In complete random Maganness, let’s talk about Supergirl.
So my husband, Twothy, and I are on a kick where we’ve been watching Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and now Supergirl in an order that they all crossover each other. We started watching Supergirl this past week and the latest episode we watched was about Supergirl’s aggression and how to control it. She ended up going off on her boss and was so scared of retaliation. Instead of getting fired, her and her boss went out for drinks. Her boss sat down with her and said “You didn’t yell at me because you’re mad at me. You’re mad at something else and it’s affecting everything. You need to find that one catalyst and then learn to control that.”
So I’ve been thinking about this after that episode and I’ve been in a funk for a while. In writing. In publishing. In Momming. In weight loss. Okay basically in life. Then today, I randomly figure it out as I was picking my youngest up from preschool: Competition.
Maybe we aren’t in direct competition in life, but does it ever feel like you are? You’re sitting and talking with a group of people about something and one person goes “Oh I lost five pounds” or “Oh I just published my fifth novel and made enough the first day to cover all my expenses and a paid trip to Disney world!”. None of those have actually happened, but they’re typical conversations. They’re also things that can make you really depressed when you feel like you’re failing at everything.
This might not be uplifting at all to people. You may be reading this and thinking “STFU Magan”, but the point of this was to get out what I was feeling. To start blogging again because you know what? Blogging makes me happy. It isn’t about my competition. It’s about sharing that “Hey, we all have weaknesses”. Mine is that I think I kind of suck at everything right now. But I have Valentines Day parties and a book release in 8 days. So what am I going to do? I’m going to figure out, just like Supergirl because you know we’re the same, my catalyst for these things and how to avoid it.
Up, Up, & Away!
The post Why me and Supergirl are alike appeared first on Magan Vernon.
December 5, 2016
Five Years of Publishing
It’s official, I’m an old hat at this.
Five years of ups and downs and all craziness.
So, let’s start from the beginning.
December 5th, 2011, How to Date an Alien (now called Defy The Stars) was published. I literally had no idea what I was doing. I published alongside GP Ching, Karly Kirkpatrick, Megg Jensen, and Angela Carlie in the Darkside Publishing Co-Op. This book was unedited (the first round, it’s gone through many more edits since then), had a cartoonish cover made by a blogger, I did my own blog tour, and literally sat in GP Ching’s office with a bottle of wine while she walked me through how to publish.
That first month I’m pretty sure I sold something like 22 copies total. I remember it being my daughter’s first Christmas and making her take pictures with my book under the tree and having absolutely no idea what I was doing to market this book besides Twitter and Facebook. This was before Facebook ads. Before Bookbub. I was kind of drowning in between trying to write, publish, work a full-time job, and be a new mom.
Fast forward to 2016. 29 books later (a few unpublished and some anthologies). I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Sometimes I get lost in this world of marketing and craziness. But I can tell you something that hasn’t changed. I haven’t stopped loving writing or this community. There was a while there that I was lost and had to dig my way out. But after figuring out how much I love writing romantic comedies (and how much y’all love reading them), things really started to pick up.
Today, in my reader group, Magan’s Minions, we will be celebrating five years of crazy Magan Vernon ness. Come join us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/MagansMinions/
The post Five Years of Publishing appeared first on Magan Vernon.
November 29, 2016
Super Tuesday – Make Reading Great Again
My fellow readers,
As November comes to a close, the stores are busy with cranky holiday shoppers.As members of the reader community, I urge you to use your best judgement. To avoid those crazy shoppers and to spend your time online shopping. Even grocery stores now offer delivery,so, my fellow readers, I urge you to sit in your favorite chair, pull up your laptop and get your #oneclick button ready. While you’re buying paper towels for the house and that wind chime for grandma, better hop on over to the Kindle department and check out these new releases!
Hooked by A.m. Hargrove and Terri E. Laine http://amzn.to/2gg3cHv
The Bunny Tales by Sarah O’Rourke http://amzn.to/2fIoBVK
Straight by Seth Nicholas King http://amzn.to/2gCy3P6
Fire In You by Jen Lynn Armentrout http://amzn.to/2gFp781
Later Gator by Jana DeLeon http://amzn.to/2fIkdpN
Stealing Christmas by Alexa Riley http://amzn.to/2gfWsJN
Not so Temporarily Married by Fiona Davenport Author http://amzn.to/2gFneZ4
Shadows by MJ Fields http://amzn.to/2gFo207
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May 28, 2016
Memorial Day Weekend Sale & Fundraiser!
Thanks to amazing, generous authors and publishers we have over 70 BOOKS on sale this weekend to help fundraise for Samuel Thorne.
Please take the time to read about Samuel and why he needs our help and support. Grab yourself a bargain with these amazing sales, and don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of the post and enter the HUGE GIVEAWAY for $300 worth of Amazon gift cards, signed paperbacks + much more.
Samuel was running around with all his friends at his school disco one night and within 48 hours, he was in an induced coma, fully paralysed and on a life support ventilator breathing for him. His entire spinal cord and parts of his brain stem were being attacked by his own immune system brought on by a rare condition known as Transverse Myelitis. The extent of the effect on Samuel has been extreme.
This fit, healthy and loving young boy has seemingly overnight been robbed of so much capacity.
To get Samuel home, over $350 000 has been estimated as the amount of funding needed. This will go to covering costs for home modifications, specialized medical and therapy equipment, wheel chairs and a modified motor vehicle. Samuel will also require staff to monitor him during the day and night for the long term.
Until all basic equipment, home modifications and staffing are in place, Samuel’s family cannot bring him home.
You can read more about Samuel’s condition on the Facebook page or Website.
Please consider donating to Samuel’s campaign and help him get home to his family. Every dollar makes a huge difference and is so appreciated.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR SAMUEL
Collision by K.A. Sterritt
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Make Me Forget by Anna Brooks
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Play of Light by Debra Doxer
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April 21, 2016
Edge of Glory Cover Reveal!
The cover is finally here!
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Sneak Peek at Edge of Glory
Chapter 1
Some girls have all the luck and some girls spend New Year’s Eve working at their parents’ restaurant.
“Order up, Lia.”
I turned toward the kitchen just as a wave of steam from a plate of linguini rose up and hit me in the face like a giant, pungent cloud.
“Ack.” I vigorously wiped my eyes and hoped I didn’t have dough underneath my fingernails that would blind me.
“Sonny, can you warn me next time you are about to put down a plate of food?”
“Ey, I said order up,” My brother , Sonny, yelled over the clanging of pots and pans. The only thing I could see was the top of his head and the shine on his slicked back hair.
“Hey, no fighting the two of you. Che Cazzo!” Ma’s voice boomed.
“We weren’t fighting, Ma, Lia just can’t take a joke,” Sonny said, giving her his trademark shit-eating grin.
I glared at my older brother. The pain in the ass. Of course, Ma smiled at him. Every Italian mother loved her son, and my ma had two of them. My older brother, Nicky, was married and living with his wife in town, but I had a feeling Sonny would never move out of my parents’ house.
Sonny graduated from Texas A&M and then moved right back in. I thought maybe with him back home my parents would ease up their strictness on me. No such luck.
Just like always: Sonny could do no wrong and Rosalia was the delicate flower.
“It’s not bad enough that I have to spend my New Year’s Eve stuck here,” I mumbled, grabbing the tray of food and quickly darting toward the nearby tables, so I wouldn’t have to get an earful from my mother.
The air was stiff in the restaurant, every single booth was full, and every time the front door opened, everyone leaned in to catch some of the cold, Texas air, which was an oxy-moron in itself. It never got cold in Texas and now that it was in the teens, everyone thought it was the end of the world. Stores were out of milk and bread, and everyone coming into the restaurant was layered in whatever warm clothes they could find.
I dropped off the tray of pasta to its respective table and headed over to a corner booth that had just piled in. I tried to put on my best smile and then a squeaky voice caught me from a table behind one of the lemon trees.
“What is with this restaurant? We’ve been waiting like forty-five minutes. It’s times like this that I really miss Austin. At least they had more than one decent restaurant.”
As if my night wasn’t bad already, it had to be Christy Quinn’s whiney voice behind the tree. I would rather be cleaning up Nonna’s goat’s poop than deal with her. I put on the best smile that I could and walked over to her booth where, of course, she had to be sitting with the rest of her drones. Seriously, carbon copies of her that just said what she wanted them to say.
Why. Why. Why couldn’t she stay at University of Texas over winter break? It had been so nice these last few months without her.
“Welcome to Conti’s. I’m Lia, and I’ll be your server tonight, is there anything that I can start you out with?” I could have said that line in my sleep and no matter how much I hated staring at Christy’s stupid powder-covered face, I could still take an order.
“Do you have anything that is, like, not carb filled or fried?” Teagan Munson’s hair was so blown out and hair sprayed I wondered if she was actually hiding an entire colony of bees in there.
“Teagan, you know this is an Italian restaurant, right?” Marcus Benjamin laughed. He looked even more like a horse face when he laughed, with his stupid overly bleached teeth taking over his whole face.
“Yeah, but they have to have something else.” Teagan turned toward Joey Bianchi. “You’re like Italian, or whatever, don’t they have something else?”
“Yeah, Joey, you even dated our friend Rosalia back in the day, so I’m sure she could point you out to all of the best sausages,” Marcus quipped.
Neighhhhhhhhhh, Neigggggggggggggh. It was the only thing I could think every time the guy opened his mouth.
“Oh please, Marcus, you know that Lia doesn’t like sausage.” Christy tossed back her glossy, black hair.
Obviously, I was still standing right there.
“Do you guys still need a few minutes to look over the menu?” Don’t cry Lia, don’t cry. A few more months and you’ll be away at school and away from the lame lesbian jokes.
With very strict parents, I didn’t have much of a social life in high school. I had an early curfew and didn’t do many extra circulars. Since I didn’t dare try to date anyone and have to bring them home to my overbearing parents, I was labeled as a lesbian early on. I guess it was the best comeback that kids could come up with and it stuck.
“Yeah, that’d be great.” Joey didn’t even try to look at me.
Grow a foot, learn to play football, and all of a sudden you forget whom your friends are.
I made my way back to the kitchen when my overly pregnant sister-in-law, Dana, stopped me.
The girl was petite, blonde, and a complete sweetheart. The opposite of my brooding oldest brother. They always gave me a little bit of hope that maybe I could find a guy for me, but then of course my parents would have to remember that I’m almost twenty and not a little girl that couldn’t leave the house.
“Hey, Lia, do you mind covering this next booth for me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Really, Dana? I’m already covering half your tables.”
“Please,” she pleaded with those pre-natal vitamin dilated pupils.
“Ugh, fine.” I rolled my shoulders and craned my neck from side to side.
“Thanks, Lia, you’re my favorite sister-in-law!” She beamed and then waddled toward the bathroom.
“I’m your only sister-in-law,” I yelled back as I reached into my apron to pull out my note pad.
I turned toward the booth, not looking up as I flipped through my book for a fresh page. “Welcome to Conti’s. I’m Lia and I’ll nguhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I froze. Directly facing me was Olympic swimmer, Jay Morningstar…and I just made an idiot of myself.
The rest of the table looked up to see my standing there with my mouth practically gaping. His coach, who I recognized from TV interviews, and even two other swimmers from the Olympic team. They didn’t say anything; they didn’t even blink.
“Uh…I mean…”
I couldn’t even put together my words and Jay Morningstar was just staring at me with that Wheaties box smile and those icy blue eyes.
What was I supposed to say? Sorry I just made a weird noise; it’s just that I have a poster of you on my wall where you are wearing nothing more than your gold medals, a smile, and a pair of man panties?
What the hell was he doing in Friendship anyway? Not that I was stalking the guy, but there were a lot of rumors floating around the internet about him and unflattering pictures of him partying along with a mugshot. I never believed all of the celebrity rumors, or followed them like my best friend Sofie, but I knew he’d disappeared for a while. I guess Friendship was the place to go and not be noticed.
“Don’t worry I get it all the time.” His coach tossed his hand out and the rest of the table let out a stifled laugh.
“Well is there anything that I can start you out with tonight? Our house wine is a—”
Shit. Jay was my age and pretty sure the mugshot was from a DUI. But the other guys were older, maybe I needed to offer it to them. Gah. I couldn’t think.
“Lia, that’s an interesting name, is it short for anything?”
Oh em Gee, Jay Morningstar was actually talking to me and addressing me directly. I could literally feel the blood rise to my face.
I tried staring at his chiseled jaw and that damn dimple on his chin, but my eyes kept lingering over the shirt that stretched across his broad chest. He supposedly had a wingspan that was longer than his six-foot-two frame and what a girl wouldn’t give to be wrapped in those long arms.
“Uh, it’s actually short for Rosalia, the Patron Saint of Palermo, where my parents are from.” Geeze, Lia, I’m sure he didn’t want to hear your whole life story. Way to go.
“I like it. It suits you.”
He was still staring at me. I was trying my hardest not to stammer or faint or just trip over something and look incredibly stupid.
“Are you going to keep flirting with the waitress or can I order some food? I’m freaking hungry,” Scotty Forrester, the red-haired, freckled face Olympian who supposedly broke some records in the pool and some other ones outside of it for most hook ups post games.
At least that’s what Total Celebrity Network said.
“There’s really no point in flirting with Lia, she’s not into dudes.”
Ugh, Christy poked her shiny head through the lemon tree and was looking right at Jay.
“Well I’m sure that Scotty could change that.” The other swimmer, Johnny Laughlin, laughed, pointing in Scotty’s direction.
“Well if you’d like a girl that doesn’t smell like olive oil, my friends and I will be up at the Q Ranch in the hot tub all night after this.” She fluttered her too-long-to-be real eyelashes and I saw that all the attention was definitely off of me.
“Um…I’ll go get you guys some waters and be back to take your order,” I squeaked, practically running back toward the kitchen.
“Is that..?” Sonny leaned on the counter as I approached it. I rested my hands on the cool, granite top, hoping that would do something to keep my temperature from boiling over.
“Yeah, that’s the Olympic swimming tri-fecta and I just made an ass of myself in front of them.” I couldn’t look up. Christy Quinn, once again, made an idiot of me.
“I was actually going to ask if that was Julie Quinn’s hot little sister, but that answer works too.” He shrugged, turning back toward the kitchen.
“I’m really not in the mood to hear about all the girls you want to bone in the restaurant tonight.” I picked at a piece of dough that had managed to get stuck on the hairs on my arm.
“Well, I don’t want to hear about you boning that spiky-haired dude whose poster takes up your entire room.” He turned back to me, flashing that cocky grin of his. I swear I didn’t know how he got so many girls. Our nonna always said he reminded her of a young Marlon Brando, I just thought he was a minchia
“Would that be the cereal box poster or the underwear ad?”
I turned to find myself face to face with spiky-haired one himself. He was grinning, making that damn dimple and pearly white smile shine. I couldn’t stop staring at him.
“Uhhhhhh…” If my face wasn’t already red enough, it was now probably darker than the pizza sauce.
“Oh, it’s definitely the underwear ad.” Sonny poked his head out from behind me in the kitchen.
“SONNY.” I whipped my head around, hoping that I didn’t hit Jay in the face with my ponytail.
“Well, he asked.” Sonny leaned back, holding his arms up in the air.
“It’s cool. I like that one better too.” Jay leaned in so his face was just inches from mine, I could almost smell his toothpaste and it was very minty. I wonder if he tasted like that. Mint and Chlorine I imagined.
“Uhhhmmmmm…” I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound stupid and of course trying to suck in my stomach at the same time. Try meeting the man of your dreams and your covered in pizza dough and been eating breadsticks the past hour.
“I’m sorry about my teammates back there, they were just messing around, so don’t worry about them.” No wonder he was on the cover of a cereal box, in person, his smile was even better. No neighing horse teeth.
“Oh, it’s fine, I’m used to it. I have two older brothers and, well, you already saw what I have to put up with.” I let out one of those silent giggles where it’s just blowing air out of your nose. But my nose isn’t all that small so I was a little afraid that I might have blown the hair off of his head or scared him with my large, Sicilian nostrils.
“And sorry about that rude chick. I don’t know what her issue is with you, but I just wanted to come and say something because…well…” He laughed slightly. “I don’t know, I guess I didn’t want to come off as a dick.”
“I’m not a lesbian, you know,” I blurted without even thinking what I was saying.
He blinked slightly then smiled. “That’s good to know that trying to flirt with you could actually work then.”
My eyes widened and every part of my body awakened. Was Jay Morningstar really flirting with me? Did he flirt with every waitress at every restaurant?
“Rosalia! Does this young gentleman need a drink order?” Dad’s gruff hand was on my shoulder.
Dad was a few inches shorter than me and balding with a thick, graying mustache, but still commanded power like he was the biggest Don in Texas. Though, I was pretty sure the man never had any mafia ties.
“No, sir, just apologizing to the waitress for my table’s rudeness.” Jay put on the extra charm with each word, but Dad’s stern expression didn’t change.
My eyes trailed down to the Olympics ring tattoo on Jay’s arm. I’d only seen it in pictures, but I found myself staring at it and wondering about the other tattoo that I’d only seen in pictures. The one that his Speedo barely covered.
But I had to shake those thoughts out of my head.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you when you come back with the waters…” He curled his lips into a sort of awkward smile in my direction before he turned and headed back to his table.
Okay, so I couldn’t help but watch him walk away. The guy had an amazing body. I’d seen it on TV in a Speedo, but in person, he had a body that had to have been sculpted by the Greeks. And whatever jeans those were, he should have been a butt model for them.
“I’ve never seen that boy before in my restaurant,” Dad said.
“That’s Jay Morningstar. The Olympic swimmer,” I blurted.
“An Olympian in Friendship, Texas?” Dad asked.
“I guess so.”
Dad shook his head. “That boy looks like trouble, Lia. If he starts asking for more than breadsticks, you come have me deal with him, capeesh?”
I nodded slowly. “Uh. Yeah. I understand.”
“Good.” Dad walked toward another table and greeted some locals.
“So are you going to bring his table their water or are you just going to gawk at the customers all night?” Sonny poked my back with a basket of breadsticks.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the basket and a tray of water, sauntering toward the swimmers’ table. “Shut up, Sonny.”
“Ugh, finally I’ve been starving.”
The last person I wanted to see smashed in-between Scotty and Jay was Christy, pawing at Scotty’s hair and smiling like a Cheshire cat at Teagan, who was sitting at the other side of the table. I didn’t see where Marcus and Joey went, but let’s just say I was concentrating more on not jumping across the table and strangling Christy.
I set the waters in front of each person, trying not to let my temper get the best of me.
“Can you hurry it up a bit? These boys have been training all day and I know they just can’t wait to get into my hot tub.” Christy giggled.
Jay’s coach looked between the three boys. “I assume you’re all going to be back by curfew?”
“Yeah, yeah, Coach. We can handle ourselves,” Scotty or Johnny said.
I wasn’t paying attention to who it was. I didn’t want to look at any of them. I just turned and walked back toward the kitchen and then out the back door to the Texas night air.
I kicked the brick wall which only amounted to my feet hurting. Stupid shoes did nothing for arch support, my dad was right, but I wasn’t going to admit that to him.
This always happened to me. Christy Quinn got everything when we were in high school: first chair flute, student council president, and the best locker. Now, even out of high school, she was still getting everything, including my dream man: Jay Morningstar.
I tried my hardest not to cry, but my eyelashes were getting heavy with frozen tears. I had to start peeling the little ice cubes off of my lashes as I hopped on one foot, staring at the other one.
“It’s a little cold to be hanging outside by the dumpsters, don’t you think?”
I looked up to see Jay staring down at me with an eyebrow cocked and his head titled to the side.
“Uh…that’s why I’m hopping.” I stopped jumping and put my foot down, wincing a bit.
“Really?” He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “In sixteen degrees weather without a coat?”
I could feel my face flush, which made me realize just how cold I actually was. I started rubbing the goose bumps off my arms. “Yeah, you know, just a quick break. What are you doing out here anyway?”
Was he following me? Should I have been worried? Okay, I wasn’t worried in the least bit. There was something about him that wasn’t threatening at all. Something almost endearing.
Every interview I’d seen of him, he was like a giant goof. Usually the internet would come up with tons of memes of his dumb answers to every question. But I wondered if I would actually have better answers than someone who was ambushed right after swimming all day, like TNC seemed to bombard him right outside where he practiced in LA.
Not that I watched every single one of his interviews.
Slowly he slid his giant, blue down parka off of his shoulders and stepped behind me.
“Can’t a guy just take a nice little stroll behind a restaurant in Texas when it’s sixteen degrees out?”
He stepped closer. “Here, I’m sure this place wouldn’t be able to operate if you were out of work from getting sick.” He draped the jacket over my shoulders then I turned around to face him.
“No, it’s fine, really I’m fine.” I lifted my hand to take the jacket off of my shoulders when he put his hand on top of mine and let it sit there.
“No, really.” The temperature in my hand pricked up to a million degrees. Every part of me was aware of his hand on mine. He smiled a tight-lipped smile that filled his whole face.
I just stood there staring at our hands, not noticing that he was completely staring me down with those ice blue eyes.
“Uh…” I stammered, “Thanks. I mean. This is nice. What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you live in California or something?”
Way to go, Lia. Just go and ask questions and start poking around.
He smiled, nodding slightly. “Yeah. It’s where I usually live, but Coach found a place for us to train out here, so we thought we’d get away from everything and spend some time in Texas. I am a little disappointed that I haven’t seen many cowboys, though.”
I snorted. “Go to the rodeo and you’ll find the real ranchers and the K-Mart cowboys that wouldn’t know a donkey from a mule.”
“I don’t think I know the difference.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not sure I actually know either.”
His smile turned into an all-out grin. “Oh, good I don’t look like the asshole then.”
“I don’t think you could be an asshole.”
Shit. I grinned like an idiot, staring at his panty-dropping smile.
“That’s not what everyone else seems to think,” he muttered.
“I’m sorry?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry. Sometimes I get into my own head and say things out loud I shouldn’t. I guess that’s why I always end up looking like an ass when I’m on TV and not in a pool.”
“I’m sure TV crews can make anyone think what they want.”
He sighed. “I guess it’s my own fault too, you know? Win a few gold medals, break a few world records, and you go crazy. Instead of focusing on the sport that got me here, I took the newfound celebrity status and ran with it. Now I’m here, trying to get back to the sport.”
I never thought I’d meet Jay Morningstar, let alone have an actual conversation with him. Now here he was, telling me his whole life story, or at least the recent life story, and all I could do was stare at him.
He smirked, pulling his hand back and pulling a vape out of his pocket before taking a long drag of it. “Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have spilled all of that. It sort of just happened. I think I just get nervous when I see a beautiful girl.”
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore his comment, but could barely get my words out. “Should you be doing that? Isn’t that bad for your swimming lungs?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You don’t tell my teammates and I won’t tell that angry, Sicilian guy inside that I saw you out here.”
My eyes widened. “Shit, what angry Sicilian guy? I’d better go inside.”
He put the vape back in his pocket. “Too bad, I thought we could hang out and you could try and Google what the difference was between a donkey and a mule. Or maybe even talk about your taste in music and shirts. Is that a Sam Smith reference?”
I looked down at my black stained t-shirt with Stay With Me scrawled across it.
“My taste in music isn’t that bad, this is for The Dictators. I mean, unless you’re into Sam Smith then I’m sorry you have bad taste in music, and I should really stop rambling.” I gave a lame little laugh, but stopped myself before I snorted, which I came awfully close to and had to catch my breath. Then he actually laughed in return. And not a “ha-ha you’re dumb” laugh, but like he actually found me funny!
“Well, I’m glad that it’s for The Dictators. I was going to feel really stupid if it was for Sam Smith. I don’t think I’ve ever met another person who listened to them.”
“Yeah. I kind of like old school punk. You definitely didn’t sound stupid. I don’t think you ever could sound stupid.” I winced, okay now I was just sounding like a gushing teenage girl, which I actually was.
“Then you obviously haven’t been around me long enough…” His words fell flat. I wanted to know more and of course I couldn’t help it, I had to ask more as my finger lingered on the door.
“Well are you going to be around here awhile? I mean it’s not like we get many famous people walking into the restaurant.” I crossed my arms over my chest, his coat had practically molded itself around me, and I felt guilty for still wearing it when he was just standing there in a thermal and jeans. But he did look really good with the shirt hugging each line of his chiseled upper body.
“Well…” He shoved his hands back in his pockets, the cold didn’t really seem to be bothering him. “Coach is from this area originally. They built some new training center for elite swimmers a few miles from here and his family owns an old ranch up the road. I guess he figured it would be a good spot for us to train for a few months. Get away from the So-Cal madness.”
The madness. I wanted to ask how many of the TNC and tabloid rumors were true. If the girlfriend from a reality TV show was still around or if he really was on probation.
But I didn’t.
Truth was, I didn’t care about his past. I didn’t care what the media said about him. There was something about the guy that I liked. More than I even thought I would from my fantasies that involved him in just his medals and Speedos. He was a genuinely nice guy, the first I’d been in around in a long time.
“So…uh…I guess I should get back to work and you should get back to um…your friends.” I was trying to hide the nervousness in my voice, but I couldn’t help but trip over my words. I slid the coat off of my shoulders and handed it back to him. He took the coat and shrugged it back over his arms. I tried not to stare as his thermal lifted ever so slightly to reveal his defined abdominal muscles that definitely came from spending a few hours in the gym every day and not sitting in the kitchen, eating mozzarella.
“Uh…yeah…I’ll see you around…” I turned and started to creak open the back door.
“Wait!” I looked over my shoulder to see that he had his phone out.
“Do you mind if I get your number or something?” he stuttered, not looking up from his phone as he started tapping away at the keys. “It’d be kind of nice to talk to someone that wasn’t one of my teammates or coaches and since we’ll both be around, I just figured we could exchange numbers or whatever.”
My mouth actually gaped open. Was he serious? But what about Christy? Would he forget about me as soon as he spent a night in the hot tub with her? Well, I figured that if he was going to stand out in the cold with me, I guess he must be semi-interested. Or he would realize that I was just a lame ass community college student with strict parents.
“Yeah. I can do that.”
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