Trail Mix - Teaser Tuesday and First Chapter / First Paragraph

If you enjoyed experiencing the Pacific Crest Trail in Cheryl Strayed's nonfiction book WILD, then you'll definitely have fun reading TRAIL MIX. In this fictional story two middle-aged suburban women tackle the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. Right now I'm about 60% of the way into the story, experiencing the Smoky Mountains through the characters' eyes and having a great time... all without aching muscles or blisters on my toes. 

First Chapter / First Paragraph / Tuesday Intro:
      Raindrops trickled down Jess' nose. Her sodden boots plodded along, squooshing the mud with each step.
      "Why did I do this?" She threw her head back, her face raised in lament to the sky. The hood of her rain poncho slipped off. The empty forest around her offered no answer, just a steady rain. Then, far above the treetops, she glimpsed a bolt of lightning streaking toward a nearby mountain and heard an answering boom of thunder. She cringed and scuttled faster down the trail.

Teaser (from 21% on my Kindle):
      So much of her life she ran from point A to point B without noticing the journey in between. On this trip, as she traveled from Georgia to Maine, she vowed to live every moment. I will find awe, she promised herself.

Genre: Women's Fiction / Adventure (Fiction)
Book Length: 265 pages
Amazon Link: Trail Mix
Author's Website: Paulita Kincer

Synopsis:
In the tradition of Wild by Cheryl Strayed, comes a novel of two suburban women who decide to hike the Appalachian Trail, escaping their lives as moms and wives in search of nature, adventure, and the ultimate diet plan. How does a woman know what she wants after spending 20 years thinking about her husband and children? Sometimes it takes a distraction from everyday life, time to examine the forest before the trees become clear. With no previous camping experience, Andi and Jess begin the 2100-mile odyssey from Georgia to Maine. The friends figure life on the trail can't possibly be worse than dealing with disgruntled husbands, sullen teens home from college, and a general malaise that has crept up in their daily lives. At the very least, the women are bound to return home thin.


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