Time Is Of the Essence

Across the Beer Bar with....Kerry Adr... RELEASE DAY ALL AROUND!!

Time Is Of the Essence

It is with great pride and no small amount of fear and trepidation that I present the official cover art, blurb and one last excerpt for Essence of Time, The Realtors: Book 4. Not because I doubt the cover art, which is kick ASS thanks to Sunny Talbot, or the hook-factor of the blurb, or the amazing serendipity of the excerpt. Of those things I am very proud. I am just having some "Misery-effect" tremors over the way I ended this one. But it will all be fine, if at the cost of some "real life" moments for characters and readers alike.

As you know, this dips into some big time back story for a couple of characters that so many readers were enthralled by in the first 3 books. Specifically, Rob and Blake, Jack's old friend and Sara's brother, ironically enough.
BLURB:

For years, Rob Frietag has resisted anything resembling a true emotional connection, preferring instead to explore life and his own desires without committing to anyone for very long. The reason behind this remains known only to a few, among them Jack Gordon, his college cohort in female conquests, and lifelong friend. While close to achieving his career goal of being head chef at a 5-star restaurant at 37 years old, Rob is still very much alone. Blake Thornton's heart has been utterly shattered by an intensely emotional relationship with Suzanne Baxter in Ann Arbor. Completely broken by what he believes was his one true love, he arrives at a Chicago food and beer festival, prepared to drink his sorrow away. When the two men meet, their lives are changed forever. But time is of the essence for Rob and when he acknowledges his true feelings, he will stop at nothing to keep them together, including finding a surrogate mother for the child Blake so desperately wants.Lila Warren is recovering from a nasty divorce, needs cash and believes carrying their baby will fulfill in her in ways her marriage never did. None of them suspect that the connection they share will provide the final emotional key to their life-long puzzle. When Rob’s secret is revealed, time becomes the one luxury they don't have, setting in motion a chain of events that shatters the fragile illusion of happiness for them, and everyone around them.

Essence of Time will release June 23, 2012, to coincide with print copies available at RomFest in Gatlinburg, Tennessee where I will be signing copies at Books a Million with a bunch of other kick butt authors. There will be review copies available BUT due to the fairly spoiler-friendly nature of the narrative's ending, they will release the same day as copies to the general public. We are calling for a week of silence regarding the ending, just because.

One of my most favorite excerpts from this book is not the many heated moments in Rob or Blake's tortured, yet steamy past but these simple few lines, when Rob's past catches up with his very much important present, putting him in the tough position of balancing the happiness of his true love and his old friend:

Jack flirted with the hot lady bartender a few more minutes. Rob ignored them, sunk his own mire of self-flagellation. “I’ve met somebody.” Jack’s words made him choke. His friend pounded his back a second until he got control of himself. “I mean, well, ‘met’ is a tame word. Let’s say I have hooked up with the most amazing chick on two planets in the last few weeks. Twice. Okay three times. And I’m, um, well…” he passed a hand through his hair.Rob stared at him, then laughed so hard he nearly choked again on his own spit. “Fucking-A. Finally!” He watched Jack’s face settle into anger, then resignation. “Damn, son. Tell me more.”“Ah, yeah, well, she’s … um… an agent, with Stewarts. Younger than me by a few. I knew of her, but never really knew her until we had to work out a deal together…a tough one.” Jack sipped, amazingly nervous Rob noted. Until something clicked in his brain. Something Blake had said a few nights ago. He sipped, let Jack continue. “Well, I you know, did my usual thing. We christened her office. I figured, okay, one and done on that. But, I ah…oh shit I don’t know. She’s amazing. I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s a god damned sarcastic high maintenance bitch I’m sensing but…”Rob gulped his second beer and motioned for another. “So I paid her a visit at her open house a week ago. And now? Shit man I am hooked.” Jack stared straight ahead. Rob’s head pounded in time with his heart. “She have a name, this goddess?”please don’t be Sara…please don’t be Sara…please…“Sara.”Oh. Fuck.Rob stared at his friend, as the sheer impossibility of what was happening coursed through him. Blake is going to have kittens. And then he would go out of his way to kill this man, his friend of so many years. He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “We have to talk.”

I loved this story. I hope you love reading it.

CONTEST TIME! I am awarding $50 YES I SAID FIFTY.....dollars worth of goodness to ONE COMMENTER selected randomly by my publisher, Tri-Destiny. The winning comment receives a VISA GIFT CARD for that amount....yeah. I said "fifty." Because The Realtors is more like....A hundred! Make your comment below, enter to win...