S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 156

Reviewer Appreciation Giveaway

Here’s something new! I got this idea from Jodi Meadows and decided to put it to use on my own books. I want to reward people who take the time and energy to review my books online. I know it can be a hassle, and maybe you don’t have the time to write the review and put it everywhere. But reviews, both positive and negative, are important to an author. Not only do they help other readers make decisions about what books to read, but they help the author too in ways you may not be familiar with. I personally try not to read or respond to reviews, but did you know that I’m unable to advertise my books on some prominent websites until I have a certain number of reviews on Amazon? Yes, it’s true! Getting reviews is more than just showing my books are being read, they have a value to me as a businesswoman.

So now they have a value to you as well. If you’ve written a review of one of my books, you can enter to win the contest below. This contest will run till the end of the year. At the end of each month, I will randomly choose a winner from the entries to give a $10 Amazon Gift Card. At the end of the year, I will choose from ALL entries for a big Grand Prize. I’m honestly not sure what that prize will be, but I’m going to set aside a little cash each month to get something nice for y’all.

Here are the rules:

Your review must be at least FIVE (5) sentences long.
Your review can be either positive or negative. I am not going to check the content of the review except to make sure they are actually about my books and are not gibberish
Each place you post your review counts as ONE (1) entry. You can put the same review up on your blog, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. and get qualifying entries for each post.

That’s it. The Rafflecopter below will take your entries. You must fill in the first entry in order to fill in more. There are twelve slots for entries. If you need more entry slots (and bless you), please contact me and I will add more to the form.

This blog post will always be on the sidebar and I’ll fit it onto the homepage as well somehow so you can come back here and find it. Please spread the word! I want those that have already left reviews to get their appreciation as well!

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Teaser Tuesday: Cities

When I decided to write FACE TIME and make the main male character an international lawyer who travels the world, I knew I’d have to concentrate on a few cities as place settings for the novel. Lee Park’s clients are automobile manufacturers (a nod to my Detroit past) in India and Asia. I’m sure you can guess which car companies I’m referring to though I never mention them by name in the book. I gave Lee a route to work: Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai/Pune, New York, and Detroit. It’s a lot of traveling, right? But when a person like Lee spends whole years away from his home base, he gets lonely. Traveling to cities but working and never really seeing them becomes monotonous and confusing. Where am I? What am I doing here? What timezone am I in again? That kind of life makes dating and finding someone to settle down with extremely difficult. How does he date if he’s always in a new city? What if he’s not the type of guy to have flings in each city he travels to? The city itself becomes a companion until the right woman sits down next to him at a bar one Thursday evening.

This is the first of six teasers for FACE TIME! I’ll be sharing one each week till launch. Want to read the first chapters of FACE TIME before it’s available? Each Sunday evening, I’m publishing a chapter on Wattpad until the book publishes (6 or 7 chapters total) http://www.wattpad.com/story/11816594-face-time

PIECES OF IT ALL Cover Reveal

This post is a little out of the ordinary because this is a cover that I designed for a good author friend of mine, Tracy Krimmer. Tracy has been working on this story for a long time now! I remember reading early drafts and devouring it, wondering what would happen between Harvey and Beth. I’ll admit that I’m a little biased because Tracy is my crit partner but I know this book is really damned good. Tracy has worked hard, really honed her work and this story. I can’t wait for you all to read it!

The story behind the cover is that two months ago, Tracy emails me that she found the perfect image for her cover and that she was going to learn Photoshop so that she could make it herself. I said, “Sure! Good luck with that.” LOL Because I know Photoshop. It is a beast. I’ve worked with it since 1997 and there are times it still mystifies me. In fact, I don’t even use it anymore and switched to Pixelmator (but that’s another story). Anyway, after two days, Tracy came back to me and was already fed up with Photoshop, so I volunteered to design the cover for her. We talked colors, fonts, and placement, and it only took a few rounds to get a look that she was happy with. The paperback cover is lovely too, and I’ll make sure she shows you all that closer to publication!

PIECES OF IT ALL by Tracy Krimmer

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: May 2014

An alcoholic. A scarred man. A thief.

Harvey, a twenty-two-year-old high school drop-out arrives home, a brief stint in rehab behind him and ready to start his life again. Then he meets Beth and her innocence and her desire to have it all capture him completely.

A girl on the cusp of womanhood. Determined. A bright future.

Beth, a recent high school graduate among the top in her class, can’t wait to get to college and fulfill her dreams. Then she meets Harvey and with his mysterious past, he stirs feelings in her she can’t ignore.

The chemistry between them is unmistakable but Harvey doesn’t trust easily and refuses to divulge his past to Beth though she wants to be a part of his future.

The pieces of their lives lie broken all around them, but can Harvey put his life back together and win Beth over before she begins her new life without him? And can Beth find the strength to become the woman she wants to be without sacrificing her integrity?

Queue it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20882169-pieces-of-it-all

About the Author

Books have always been a part of Tracy Krimmer’s life. When she was a child, her Book It! pin was filled with stars and she won many personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut. Her writing passion began young, around fourth grade, when her class made a notebook of short stories. She still has that notebook to this day. She published her first book, The Jealousy Game, in 2012. Her second book, Pieces of it All will be published in May 2014. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, napping, or eating popcorn.

Website: http://www.tracykrimmer.com (more content coming soon!)

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tkrimms

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KrimmerAuthor

Author profile on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7153703.Tracy_Krimmer

A NEED SO INSATIABLE Release Day!

Another New Adult Contemporary Romance Release this week! If you’re looking for romance, it appears this is the week to be buying them. A NEED SO INSATIABLE by Cecilia Robert sounds hot hot hot and also is only 99¢ for a limited time. It would be a good idea to load it on your Kindle for a rainy day I’m including some of the author’s favorite quotes from the book below. It’s interesting to see what she picked and why!

• • • • •

I’m no Cinderella. No fairy godmother will come to my rescue, so it’s time to turn these rags into gowns and get ready before my pumpkin ride arrives in two hours. ~ Sophie Fisher

Cecilia: Sophie is not the kind of girl who sits around and waits to be rescued. I chose this quote to emphasis Sophie’s attitude towards her current situation and her stubbornness to let anything drag her down.

~~~

“Begging is for fools.” His voice is arrogant, strong. The bed sinks as he crawls toward me, a hunter stalking his prey. “Fools who don’t know better than to want. Need. Who are foolish enough to desire someone as special as you. Who feel as though they’ll die if they don’t possess you. If you don’t possess them.” He shifts forward and I part my legs, hooking them on his waist, pulling him closer until he’s snuggled tightly between my thighs. He drops his lower body, pressing against mine, hip to hip. He supports his upper body with his elbows, cupping my face with his fingers. “I’ve been a fool for you from the moment I laid eyes on you. For fourteen years, Sophie, I’ve been waiting to make a fool of myself. I love you. I love you so much”. ~ Rafael Van Rees

Cecilia: I like the contrast in this one. One on hand Rafael says begging is for fools, then goes ahead begs. He shoves his pride aside and displays this vulnerable side of him.

~~

“Touch Sophie, or any friend of mine ever again, and I’ll be in your face so fast. You think you know me, but you fucking don’t. I’m the monster that lives under your bed, the fucking storm waiting to slam you to the ground. Got it?” ~ Rafael Van Rees

Cecilia: Rafael is. . .intense. The words show the extend he will go to protect the people he loves. If you’re in his corner, you’re safe.

~~

“Fuck my reputation. Fuck my career. No one’s stupid enough to take me away from you, Butterfly. If you can’t give me anything else, at least give me that–your faith that I’ll keep myself alive for you. You won’t lose me. I want this. Want you and me. Right now, I don’t care about the future. It’ll play out on its own as long as we hold it together. All I want is now.” ~ Rafael Van Rees

Cecilia: This quote is a promise. Raw and intense. His life hasn’t been easy, and he’s not ready to lose the only girl he’s ever loved.

~~~

“And another thing. I said I’d marry you. I intend to keep that promise, Sophie. The road ahead might be bumpy and imperfect. But our lives have never been perfect. When I walk through that door, that’s what I’ll be fighting for–a fucking imperfect, perfect life with you. ~ Rafael Van Rees

Cecilia: I love the honesty. There’s no promise of a perfect life. It’s the imperfect things that make life worth living.

~~~

A NEED SO INSATIABLE by Cecilia Robert

Genre: New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance

“You’ve owned me from the moment I walked into that music room.You’ve wrapped yourself in my heart and mind. I can’t get you out. I don’t want to.” ~ Rafael Van Rees

Sophie Fisher’s life is on fire. If she’s not ducking around corners or slipping out of windows to escape the debt collectors her father’s death has left knocking on her door, she’s dealing with her rebellious, fifteen-year-old sister, Lilli. And, as if that’s not enough, Rafael Van Rees crashes into her life—literally—bringing with him a past the public has no idea of. Can she unravel his mysteries before he unravels her, or will his presence finally force her to face the demons she’s trying to outrun?

Rafael Van Rees, maestro extraordinaire, prides himself on being in control of his destiny, music and women. As far as he is concerned, his past is a black cloud in the distance–until he meets Sophie, that is, and his world spins out of control in more ways than one. He knows the darkest sins and secrets eventually reveal themselves, but when it comes to Sophie, he’ll stop at nothing to protect her from his past. Even if it kills him.

About the Author

Cecilia Robert writes YA, NA and Adult. My motto: Passion rules. I enjoy writing stories about people finding love in the most unexpected of places,and also about people finding their true purpose in life coupled with adventurous journeys, whether it’s urban, fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary or paranormal romance. There’s always a happy ever after, no matter how long it takes for the characters to get there.

Blog: http://cecereadandwrite.blogspot.co.at/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CeciliaRobertBooksNAAdult

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cece_Writes

Giveaway

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PLAYING PRETEND Release Day!

I’m, once again, pleased to welcome Juliana Haygert to my blog today to give us a taste of her new novel, PLAYING PRETEND, out now! I revealed the cover for this not too long ago, and if you’re looking for a fun and flirty New Adult novel, you should pick this up now. Only 99¢ for a few more days!

• • • • •

Welcome to the PLAYING PRETEND release event, organized by Grapevine Book Tours! Read an excerpt from this NA Contemporary Romance, and enter to win a gift card or eBook copy. Don’t forget to visit the event page for a list of participating blogs with more excerpts and an author interview!

PLAYING PRETEND by Juliana Haygert

Publication: March 3rd, 2014

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Queue it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18332287-playing-pretend

As the Governor’s daughter, Charlotte McClain is an expert in playing pretend. High society, the men her mother shoves in her direction and a Pre-Law major are all a part of her perfect pretense. But when she pretends to be a nobody during Spring Break, she meets someone who rocks her world.

Mason Rowell knows heartbreak and Spring Break don’t mesh well, so he allows the mysterious Charlotte to seduce him. What should have been a fling, results in something deeper. After Spring Break has long since passed, he moves to Washington to pursue his graduate degree, but what he never expected to find living among the rich and pompous, was the girl who gave him the strength to change and the desire to start anew.

When the guy Charlotte can’t forget goes from a sensual memory to temptation in the flesh, her facade is put to the test. If she surrenders to his charms, she risks ruining her mother’s perfect career and master plan. Playing pretend is what Charlotte does best, but how long can she pretend she doesn’t love the man who made her proud of her true self?

**A light, sexy NA Contemporary Romance (17+)**

Available on:

Grab your copy today! From now until March 9th, PLAYING PRETEND is only 99 cents!

Excerpt

   A knock on my window made me jump.

   Mason stood outside my car, looking at me with a big smile.

   My heart fluttered. That smile was for me. This handsome, hot man had come outside of Washington to meet me.

   With a smile of my own, I opened my car door. As soon as I stepped out, Mason’s arms wound around me and pulled me to him. He kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me for an entire year, and I kissed him back the same way. His lips smoldered mine and I clung to his shoulders, teasing him with my tongue. He groaned, but didn’t break the kiss. Instead, he pushed me back until I was pressed between my car and him, and deepened the kiss. Heat surged low in my belly as he adjusted his stance, gluing every inch of him to me.

   “Get a room!”

   Mason and I turned to where the voice came. An older couple exited Starbucks and watched us with reproaching eyes.

   My face burned.

   “They’re just jealous,” Mason said, stifling a laugh.

   “There are children here.” The man gestured toward a group of teenagers seated alongside a window, also watching us and giggling.

   I smacked my hands on my cheeks as the couple disappeared inside their car.

   Mason pulled my hands from my face and rested his forehead on mine. “Hi.”

   “Hi.” I entwined my fingers with his. “How are you?”

   “Better now.” He brushed his lips on mine ever so gently; it took my breath away. I pulled away and he looked at me as if I had offended him. “What?”

   “I … we can’t keep this up.” The heat in my body spread to my cheeks. “I’m gonna lose control if we do.”

   The corners of his lips tugged up. He leaned into me and breathed in my ear. “I love it when you lose control.”

About the Author

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

Website: http://www.julianahaygert.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6609948.Juliana_Haygert

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Juliana_Haygert

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juhaygert

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/julianahaygert/

Giveaway

• One (1) $10 Amazon or B&N gift card {INT}

• Two (2) eBook copies of Playing Pretend by Juliana Haygert {INT}

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January and February Instagram Round-up

I started the #instagram365 project on January 1st and, so far, everything has gone well. I only forgot to take a photo one day in the last two months! A miracle for me when January and February were such downers. I was pretty sick, as I usually am in winter, with three sinus infections, but we still managed to do a lot during these two months. I ate well, finished a knit, organized my yarn and books, got a new computer and updated my website, went on vacation, and watched HAFU which I had been wanting to see for a year.

These next two months, March and April, will be really busy. Prep for FACE TIME‘s publication is in full swing. I have plans for both teaser images and tiny book trailers, and I’ve booked Lola’s Blog Tours for a Book Blitz when FACE TIME is out. March also brings my oldest daughter to SEVEN YEARS OLD. I can hardly believe it. She was just a baby yesterday, I swear. And we have one trip to DC planned for mid-April. Lots to look forward to!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Mosaic image on Flickr with links to each individual image

THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN Cover Reveal

Happy Friday! Oh, I’m so happy it’s Friday! My heart leaps at the prospect of a weekend in front of me. Today, we have Sarina Bowen’s cover reveal for THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN. This is also New Adult but for those who love romance AND hot hockey players, this ones for you.

THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN by Sarina Bowen

Available March 17, 2014

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.

Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league.

Also, he’s taken.

Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto” of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else can quite understand.

They’re just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she’s falling. Hard.

But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won’t, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness — one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who’s afraid to love her back.

Warm, funny, and often heartbreaking, THE YEAR WE FELL DOWN is New Adult contemporary romance. Contains: hot hockey players, too many pairs of crutches, gallows humor, Princess Bride references, and a slightly outrageous vibrator scene. (Sexual situations make the book suitable for ages 18+.)

Queue it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20896313-the-year-we-fell-down

About the Author

Sarina Bowen writes contemporary romance and new adult fiction from the Green Mountains of Vermont. She lives with her husband, two children, eight chickens and an unwieldy pile of ski and hockey equipment.

Website: http://www.sarinabowen.com/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SarinaBowen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsarinabowen

ONE BROKE GIRL Cover Reveal

This cover reveal is for the leading lady of my New Adult FB group I belong to. Rhonda is awesome and an awesome writer. I remember her talking about this story on the FB group, and the responses to her questions made me laugh so hard I cried. I’m dying to read this one. P.S. Rhonda also writes under the pen name Olivia Mayfield, and I loved TEN DAYS as well.

ONE BROKE GIRL (Edgewood Falls #1) by Rhonda Helms

Publication date: April 2014

Genres: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Anna Parker’s life disintegrates with one phone call. Her dad’s selling their ritzy New York City condo because her Wall Street banker mom emptied their bank account and ran off with another man. Which means Anna has to drop out of her elite college and move with Dad back to their small Ohio hometown. Anna’s determined to reclaim her life ASAP, so she’ll use the next few months to save money, help Dad get back on his feet, and find and confront her mom.

But Anna doesn’t anticipate things going so wrong. The only job she can get is working as a lunch lady in an elementary school. Their money-pit duplex is falling apart around their feet. And her dad is depressed without her mom, who’s proving hard to find.

One bright spot in the chaos is Gavin Metcalf, a kindergarten teacher she dated when they were young teens. With his easy wit and sexy smiles, he makes her forget her stresses—and the fact that her boyfriend Steven back in New York doesn’t know the truth yet about her dire circumstances. When past and present collide, Anna has to decide where her future lies…

Queue it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20743611-one-broke-girl

This is the first in a 3-novella trilogy set in Edgewood Falls. Book 1, ONE BROKE GIRL, releases in April. Book 2, TWO LITTLE LIES, releases in June. Book 3, THREE PERFECT NIGHTS, releases in August.

About the Author

Rhonda Helms started writing several years ago. She has a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. She also edits for Carina Press (an imprint of Harlequin Publishing) and freelance edits.

When she isn’t writing, she likes to do amateur photography, dig her toes into the sand, read for hours at a time, and eat scads of cheese. WAY too much cheese.

Rhonda lives in Northeast Ohio with her family.

Website: http://www.rhondahelmsbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhondahelmsbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rhelmsbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5555317.Rhonda_Helms

Recharging My Batteries

It’s fair to say that this winter broke me. I have tried everything short of zoloft to stay on the up-and-up this season: light boxes, full spectrum lights, diet changes, vitamins and supplements, extra exercising. But none of that takes the sting out of the extremely cold days and two feet of snow on my lawn. And then I got three sinus infections in a row for which I needed a ten-day course of antibiotics. Yep, this is why you haven’t seen much in the way of personal posts from me here on the blog. Lots of cover reveals and release day events, but every time I sat down to write about me and what I’m doing, I couldn’t bring myself to write about the winter depression.

But the good news is that we’re a week away (less) from March, and I just spent a well-deserved vacation in Charleston, SC with my family. It almost didn’t happen. The day we were due to leave, a blizzard ripped through here dumping two feet of snow on the foot we already had. Our flight was cancelled two times before we changed our plans to go Sunday to Saturday instead of Thursday to Tuesday. The trip ended up being Sunday to Sunday because our flights home were cancelled too and we eventually had to fly a different carrier altogether (United Airlines, you are dead to me. Jet Blue is awesome.)

For our week in Charleston, we walked or got out in the sun every day. The kids went to the beach almost every day with my mom or us all. I read. I worked a little each night. I ate a ton of fresh seafood. We took the kids to the park, the playground, a horse-drawn carriage ride through Charleston, the animal forest at Charles Town Landing, and the South Carolina Aquarium. Then on an unexpected extra day, we attended the Follygras festival in Folly Beach.

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The sun! People, I saw the sun. I wore short sleeves outside. It was blissful. I even got a little sunburn (not too much because I did wear sunscreen even in February). I think as I get older, the winter is becoming less and less appealing. I had dreams of a second house in Charleston. One we could go to three or four times per winter to recharge. A dream but one I won’t lose for some time

I feel recharged and ready to face a few more weeks of winter, though I’ll probably cry if we get dumped on with snow again. I’ll be sure to keep my tears off the blog (I cannot guarantee that I won’t cry on Twitter, though. I apologize in advance.)

Here are some extra photos from the trip.

View more photos on Instagram!

Butterman (Time) Travel Tour and Review

It is my pleasure today to give a a review of BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC. by PK Hrezo for the Butterman (Time) Travel Inc blog tour.

You can read the 5 Star short review that I left on Goodreads here, but since I finished the book a few weeks ago, it has really stayed with me. I think many of us contemplate the impermanence of time quite often. When things are boring, time slows down. We often don’t have enough time or complain about there not being enough hours in the day to get the things done we need done. Time moves slower when we’re younger, and faster when we’re older. My parents are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary next year and I’ll be celebrating my 10th this year, and that just doesn’t seem possible! Where did the time go?

What I loved most about BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC. was all the commentary on time. PK Hrezo’s characters were lovely, as were her descriptions of future Manhattan and Woodstock gone-by, but what stuck with me most was time, how precious it is, how wasted it can be, how fleeting it is when it slips right through your fingers. Bianca, the heroine of the book, knows time all too well. Her family has been running the time travel agency for a few generations, and she’s well-aware of how easily time can be corrupted or missed, and even with that knowledge, she’s still willing to break some rules to make the most of time. Bianca symbolizes all that’s great about a true heroine. She’s smart, she’s a risk-taker, and she has a good heart, but she also knows when she’s beaten enough to ask for help. I can’t tell you how many heroines annoy the crap out of me because they try to handle everything themselves and never ask for help. Bianca won my heart in Woodstock (and that’s all I can say about that because spoilers).

Near the end of the book, Bianca is given the opportunity again to change time and make another shift in the timeline and that was the point that I was sold. I knew what she was doing was right for the story, but then I wondered what I would go back and change if I were given the same opportunity. There are a few things about college I would love to go back and fix, but then I’m pretty sure I would never have met my husband if I did. I often think about going back and changing my decision to keep working at my old job instead of quitting. But then, I may never have written books or had my second child. Every decision has consequences along our journey through time and you’ve got to be insanely brave to go back and mess with any of that. Bianca made strong decisions, ones I could really admire, and that made me love her even more.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the story or Bianca and her ride-along, Tristan. He was a good foil for Bianca. He made all the rash decisions when she was by-the-book. He was soft when she was all hard-angles. And when he finally got to her, he showed her how some decisions and actions are important enough to make more than once. An excellent hero that I hope to see more of too when more books come out.

If you decide to read BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC., I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on time and how the book handled it. My mind is still swirling with some of the possibilities that PK Hrezo offered up in this novel (from the past, present, and future storylines of the Butterman family). I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Read an Excerpt

This is a really lovely part of the book. So glad PK chose this for today.

   Once Tristan sets the guitar down, stops singing, it takes a few minutes for my brain to register it’s over. The sound waves still echo his voice, caressing my ears. But once I’m aware, I’m very aware, and I reach out for his thigh, clutch it. “Where did you learn to sing like that?”

   His blue-gray eyes dance with firelight. “You liked it?”

   “Um, yeah. Like isn’t even the right word. That is so far from U-Turn style, I don’t even know if you’re the same person.”

   He chuckles, airy and agreeable, his cheeks coloring. “Guess that’s good then.” He shrugs. “Or you’re just wasted. But I have been working on finding the right pitch and style over the last few months. Trying some things out.”

   “That song … what is it? Is that the one—?”

   “My song. Yeah.” He averts his eyes with what must be a dash of modesty, then changes the subject. “Thought you were passed out? Looked like it.”

   “Maybe I was. I don’t even know. But I heard you singing … and … Tristan, sing it again. The whole thing. Please.” I don’t even care if I’m begging. I need to hear that again.

   Tristan shakes his head. “Naw, I need a break. Throat’s dry.”

   Anxious for another dose of his voice, I attempt a splash of flattery. “I had no idea you could sing like that. If you performed that as a single, in the same slo-mo mellow campfire style you just did, I guarantee you will have a whole new fan base.” I realize I’m still gripping his thigh and release it, sit back. My passion is coming to a head inside me. I might explode.

   “Really, Butterman? We were just messin’ around. And I’m pretty loaded right now.” He chuckles, but maintains eye contact, as if my praise means a hell of a lot more to him than he’s letting on.

   I’m silent for a few seconds that seem like forever and I can’t unlock the stare. Don’t want to.

About the Author

PK Hrezo is a native Floridian whose life could easily be a Jimmy Buffet song. She shares her home with her firefighter husband and their two children. When not creating characters and their worlds, PK can be found at her other job of rearranging passenger’s itineraries for a major international airline. The only hobbies she loves more than traveling, are reading, writing, and music, and when the four are combined she exists in total bliss.

PK HREZO: Fearless Fiction: http://pk-hrezo.blogspot.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PKHrezo @pkhrezo

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorpkhrezo

Website: http://down-the-rabbithole.com/

Giveaway

There’s a great giveaway with this tour! Enter below for the chance to win:

T-shirt of choice from outofprintclothing.com (US)

Bettie Bookpage pixie ornament (US)

$10 Amazon GC (INT)

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