A true story

I don't know that I actually chose to be a writer. For as long as I can remember, I've just been one. In the last few months, though, my writer status has changed a bit. No longer am I just someone who writes, but I am an author. With my debut New Adult novel out in May, my life is going to change in the most incredible way.
But that's not all. I have had the amazing privilege of meeting fellow NA authors along the way. It's been an amazing experience. Fellow authors are friendly and helpful and they support each other. It's like I have finally found my calling in life. If I only ever sell a single copy of my novel, I won't complain because this journey has helped me grow. I am a better person for it.

Now that I've finished all the gooey stuff, let me update you on Broken Promises. It's hard to believe I only started writing it last week. In those ten days, I've written more on this one piece than I ever have before. I'm known for my short stories (mostly from my short attention span), but this story just begs to be written. It will likely be right around 60k words, which means I am almost half-way done with it! In ten days! I should be finished with it in another week or so, if I keep up this rate! But I am not releasing it early. The reason is, I want to keep my word and have some time to build up some buzz around it. 

So on May 7, you'll all be able to buy your copy! I will also to a paperback copy giveaway on the day of release! Lots of things to look forward to. But I know people hate to wait, so I thought I would post a teaser from the book, to give you something to look forward to. Don't judge too harshly - I haven't sent this to an editor yet!!
So here it is:  

Luke followed me and when we were several doors down in the hallway, I stopped. 

“Why are you going along with him?”

“Why? He’ll kick my ass if I don’t. Joe isn’t exactly someone I want to piss off, Mal,” he replied, his teeth flashing at me from beneath his wide mouth. My breath caught in my throat but I regained my composure quickly. 
 
“You’re afraid of a dying man? You give new definitions to the word masculine,” I laughed at him and kept walking down the hallway. 

I felt his hand on my arm and he pulled me into an empty room. 
 
“You think this is easy? You broke my damn heart three years ago and I’ve been the one here, taking care of your dad. I’m the one who watched his health fail and brought him to the hospital more times than I can count. I’m the one who made sure he was taken care of. And what the hell have you been doing for the last three years? You’ve been living your life without a care in the world, including your dying father,” he spat. He backed me up against the wall and moved closer until his face was inches away from mine. 
 
“And don’t refer to your dad like he’s incompetent! He’s a stronger man than anyone I’ve ever met, and falling short in his eyes is the last thing I would ever want to do, aside from spending any amount of time with his spoiled rotten brat of a daughter, of course,” he sneered. 
 
I couldn’t speak. What could I say? There were no words for the emotions he evoked in me. Guilt flooded my entire body, along with another emotion, one I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Desire. 
 
No matter how ill-suited we were for each other, I was still painfully attracted to Luke in a way I couldn’t explain. And it was more than just the way he stood up for my dad or even the way he looked. He’d grown up over the years. And he was right. I was still a spoiled rotten child hell-bent on getting my way. Tears gathered in my eyes but I didn’t bother to brush them away. I was afraid if I moved, Luke would stop staring at me with that hungry gaze. 

I bit my lip and his eyes flicked to the movement. When he looked back to my eyes, his were even hotter and I thought he might kiss me. He leaned in closer and I closed my eyes. His fist slammed into the concrete wall next to my head and my eyes flew open, surprised to find him further away. 
 
“This is stupid, Mal. We need to stay away from each other,” he whispered. He looked at his hand against the wall and not at me. “Come on, I’ll take you home.” He turned away and went back into the hallway. 
 
The tears fell, unhindered and unbidden.