The final character to make an appearance is Gwyn.
Role in Ocean Heart: The Magician. Being Mariah’s main caregiver and having magical abilities means she’s able to support Mariah’s growth as a mermaid or meddle in her life to protect her.
Gwyn Turner
Like many women she lies about her age, but for a very good reason. If she told the truth it’d blow her cover. The lies Gwyn tells are to keep Mariah safe.
Gwyn is doing her job as mother to Mariah. With psychic abilities she’s had a vision of a dangerous probable future. Gwyn interferes using magic in a bid to keep Mariah safe, often causing more problems than those solved.
Gwyn is close to Jace’s mum Denny, and started their Sparkle Bakery Business together. It’s rumoured that every couple that has ordered a wedding cake from them got their happily ever after.
What my editor said…
I loved reading what Avery had to say about Gwyn and felt she summed her up exactly!
Feyre lives in a run down cottage with her dad and two sisters, struggling for food. The novel is set in a world, where human lands border the fae lands.
Feyre promised her mum, before she died, that she’d take care of them. Feeling personally responsible for their welfare, Feyre has taught herself to hunt. But Feyre must take care to avoid the fae, dangerous powerful creatures that will kill.
Whilst hunting Feyre’s path crosses a fey. She shoots her arrow. She kills! This is a catalyst for the rest if the book…
Middle
A High Fae named Tamlin arrives at the cottage to kill the one that murdered the fae. Feyre manages to strike a bargain, where she can live. But, she must live with Tamlin and will never see her family again.
Feyre hates fae. All she’s heard growing up is how nasty they are. Feyre also feels guilty for not being there to support her family, who are pretty hopeless without her.
Feyre starts to discover that the fae may not be all she believed. Her “captors” are keeping secrets from her. Feyre sets about to uncover the truth.
In doing so, she attracts the attention of Tamlin during a mating ritual. She uncovers that the courts magic has been weakened by a curse that will force them under Amaranta’s rule. And, word gets back to Amarantha – Evil Fae Queen – who hates all humans that Fayre is on fae lands.
End
Thinking the curse won’t be broken, Tamlin arranges for Feyre to return to her family and safety. Once home, Feyre no longer belongs. Her home is now with Tamlin, who she loves.
She returns to the Spring Court, only to discover Amarantha has taken Tamlin and all his people. Feyre travels to the Night Court where he is held to rescue him.
He barely acknowledges her when she arrives. Amarantha agrees to free Tamlin if she can solve a riddle or survive her challenges. During her stay, Feyre is beaten, fed awful food, and kept in a dungeon.
To survive her ordeal, Feyre needs to rely on fae willing to help her. She’s desperate when she agrees to a deal with Rysland but without his help she’s most likely doomed.
Rysland helps Feyre with her challenges, and takes care of her. There is a big fight at the end and didn’t see the ending coming. I loved the ending.
Final Thoughts
I didn’t see the ending coming but loved it. I’m interested in reading more of the series. All the characters were well developed and had a good backstory. I even loved evil Amarantha.
Feyre is a strong character. She’s thoughtful and protective of those she loves, but it’s her caring nature that gets her into trouble every time. She’s a true hero, always wanting to save others.
There were many scenes that were so vivid and clear I could see them like a movie in my head; Feyre pulling back her bow, Feyre running through the tunnels from a giant killer worm, Feyre pressed against the wall by a sexy fae.
I was a bit up and down with the romance, sometimes loving it and other times not feeling it. But, I want to read more and I’m curious to see how the deal with Rysland will work, alongside a relationship with Tamlin.
People often talk about why writing reviews are so important to authors but what about for you the reader. Here we go:
Your Reading History
If you read a lot, you can forget what you’ve read. You don’t want to waste time reading a book you didn’t enjoy, twice.
But on the flip side, wouldn’t it be awesome to rediscover the books you did love. You don’t want to forget those gems.
Reading Goals
If you enjoy a challenge, set yourself a reading goal. Celebrate your wins doing something you love.
If you discover your not getting time to read, it could help you identify that your life is too hectic and you don’t get to relax. Or maybe your energy is focussed elsewhere, which is fine. You can reduce your goal.
Favourite author
It helps you not forget the name of that author whose voice you loved. Now, you can discover more of their books.
You can follow authors you like on sites like Goodreads, Book Bub and Amazon. This will help keep you notified of new releases.
Better Recommendations
Over time your tastes may change but seeing what you enjoyed helps identify what you love. In turn, this will help you discover more fabulous books.
If you post your review to sites like Good Reads or Amazon, then algorithms will learn what you want and recommend what to buy/read next. This can save you time in finding your next great read.
Others will read your reviews, see what you like and be able to make intelligent recommendations.
Reading Buddies
You may connect with people with similar tastes, get reading buddies, and/or develop a book club. Reading can become a social activity, and thanks to the internet, you can buddy a reader anywhere in the world.
By talking about the books you read, you become someone people trust for recommendations. Imagine being an influencer for the books you love, someone others take notice of? If you’re good at reviews, this could be you.
Self Development – Reading
There’s more to reading than getting from page 1 to the end. When you write a review you reflect on what you read.
What was it about? How did it make you feel? Did you learn from the story?
Reflecting on what you read is a skill you are taught at school to deepen your reading but is often lost when you no longer have a teacher invested in your reading.
Self Development – Writing
When you write a review, you’ll think about what was done well and how you can use those techniques in your own work. Being a reader helps you deliver more of what readers want.
You will also be exposed to new words or phrases, expanding your vocabulary. You will visit places, meet new people, and explore plots that will inspire new ideas.
Free Books For Honest Reviews
Authors look for people that read their genre. If they are giving their book away for free, they want it to be to someone that will appreciate and love their book. If you apply to be a reviewer, your history as a reviewer could be checked.
The reason is, if you love their genre, their book is off to a good start already in your hands. If you have a following that enjoy your reviews on this genre, then you’ll be helping the right eager readers discover it.
When authors can see what you like, it helps them know if their book is right for you. Someone that enjoys gritty serious crime novels is unlikely to enjoy a sweet high school romance.
We’re all beautifully unique. It’s okay if YA Contemporary Fantasy isn’t for you, but I’m hoping those that do will love and review OCEAN HEART.
Have you preordered Ocean Heart?
If you buy a copy of Ocean Heart between 1 Oct and 1 Dec, you can enter my preorder giveaway. Visit my Giveaway Page for more details.
Where can you find my reviews?
Let me know the positives you’ve experienced from writing book reviews, and check out my reviews.
This is the first time I’ve taken part in an Xpresso Book Tour but I just loved the look and sound of Oufoxed. The chance to find out more was so tempting, I applied to host a Behind the Book interview.
What inspired your novel Outfoxed?
This is a weird answer, only because… it’s just going to sound weird. Which is weird. So, I often do ‘what if’ speculative questioning about Life, the Universe, and Everything. This time, I wanted to pursue several things: what would happen if I fractured the United States in a ‘hardline’ fashion? In this case, quadrants due to fluctuating magical zones, with distorting boundaries separating the quadrants. This makes traveling between the quadrants difficult.
How would society change if the United States became separated in such a fashion?
The next question I wanted to pursue was “under what circumstances would people willfully sell themselves into slavery?” I also expanded that to “What would happen if parents could sell their children into slavery?”
Side-note: most parents absolutely do NOT sell their children into slavery, but some do because they can in this society. Some pare paid to enroll their child into the system, but most parents who do are upgrading life for their kids. Before you get out the pitchforks, let me explain a little.
Here is the scenario: You have a child. You are from a destitute part of society. You are in a situation where you can’t really provide for your child as you want.
You have some things going for you. The right kind of magic. Good looks. Some desirable trait. More importantly, your child has those qualities as well, thus your child is a desirable for someone in a higher bracket of society.
In the system I’ve created, the person being sold is the one who is paid for the sale, most of them do so voluntarily, and there are strict requirements on how they are treated.
Your child, who had no opportunities, now may become the wife or husband (it’s equal opportunity) of someone in a position of power. They are given money to set up in their new life.
This is the pitch voters were successfully sold in the society, and they, as a nation, voted to have this system put into place.
For another fun side note, this system is founded on historical systems from several different countries, where people absolutely did buy the daughters or sons of one family to join theirs. I just implanted pre-existing systems into the United States and modified it to better fit the evolution of the society thanks to magic.
Note: I do not, in any shape or form, support the creation of this sort of society. I just got curious and wanted to see what would happen if I wrote a society like this, put characters in it, and wrote out how the system worked and how the characters fight to change it.
Novels would be boring if I didn’t give them something to work with or a conflict, after all.
And of course, what can go wrong in the book will go wrong, as Jade discovers for herself.
What did you enjoy most about writing your urban fantasy novel?
Just about everything. This story is so complex, and it’s set in such a rich version of Earth… it wasn’t easy to write, but it was a delight, a challenge, and a passion. It’s a lot of things I love about urban fantasy in one package… with a twist(er) tossed in for good measure.
This is book 1 in The Fox Witch series – Did you know you were writing a series from the start?
Yes. Before I even started writing Outfoxed, I had all three covers of the trilogy purchased, titled, and in my hands. I also started the ground work on its sister quartets and trilogies. At current count, there are something like twenty books across a bunch of trilogies and quartets, each one following a different set of characters. The next set in the world to come out will have connections to Jade and her friends in one way or another. (I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to tell you how they’re connected yet.)
How many books do you anticipate in the series and what can we look forward to in the series?
The Fox Witch books are a trilogy, but there will, as I mentioned above, be a collection of a bunch of trilogies and quartets. There will be a ‘main’ series consisting of ten books, but until I have the cover art for the first book of that set, it isn’t being fully announced. However, I can announce the name of the model for the cover: Mr. Grace Draven, the husband of the wonderfulauthor of the Wraith King series. (I love these books, and I’m extremely biased; I format and proofread for Grace.)
I begged for Mr. Grace Draven to model for me. I begged. He finally agreed, and I screamed happily when it happened.
How long did Outfoxed take to write from the first idea to publishing?
Good question. I think about two years. When I initially started it, it was a pure passion project, and it wasn’t until I started wrapping up a different series I began working on it in earnest.
If you could have any super power what would you choose and why?
Regeneration and brain refreshing. After about six hours of working, I’m so exhausted, but I want to keep writing, but my brain checks out. I’d like to be able to refresh my brain on command. Also, sleep without tossing and turning for hours. I love sleeping… but it doesn’t happen easily or as often as I would like!
Which character in your novel do you relate to most and why?
Hrm. This is a good question. I really don’t know. I try to write myself out of my characters as much as possible, because readers are trying to read adventures about those characters, not about me! I insert food I like into the books. (If you see a character obsessed with a food, it’s probably a food I like. Not always, but often. It’s a controlled self-insertion, and it’s now an ongoing joke. I also do this with cars, although… look for the vehicles I destroy in creative fashions. Chances are I really like that car, SUV, or truck. The more creative I am about the destruction of it, the more I like it.)
In life is stranger than fiction, I bought the truck from one of the books. For my husband. It’s his truck. His dream truck. (It’s also my dream truck, but I would have my dream truck in a different color.) But the lead character in Cheetahs Never Win, following the very creative destruction of his truck… got his dream truck.
Which I now own.
I named my husband’s truck Dipshit. (After the horse in Water Viper.)
My sense of humor is strange.
For the record, my husband calls the truck Warspite. After the battleship.
Can you tease us with a short snippet from Outfoxed?
Absolutely!
The rumble escalated, and the lamp swayed on its chain, a warning one of the twisters passed directly overhead. Sandro frowned, his gaze locking on the light. “I wonder how much damage that swarm’s doing.”
People from all over the United States came to the Alley, and I’d joined everyone else in no longer caring where someone came from. He had an accent compared to the locals, but I couldn’t tell if he was deliberately hiding where he came from or if he always sounded like he could have lived anywhere in the world and magically fit in.
His question, however, told me a simple truth: Sandro hadn’t been in the Alley long. Those who’d survived through their first tornado season no longer cared about the damage ratings of a twister or a swarm.
It didn’t matter.
No matter how bad it got, like a weed in the cracks of a sidewalk, Tulsa endured.
When and where can we buy Outfoxed?
Outfoxed is available at all major retailers, and releases on November 3, 2020!
Beyond that, I am rather reclusive, usually because I’m hiding in my cave writing more books.
Thank you so much for hosting!
Outfoxed R.J. Blain (The Fox Witch, #1) Publication date: November 3rd 2020 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Death is a way of life outside of the safety of Inner Tulsa, and Jade means to keep flipping Mother Nature off until old age claims her. With one eye always on the sky, the last thing she needs is a pack of bounty hunters out for her living head. With no idea of why anyone would want her, her wits might keep her free, assuming she can resist the charming lures of Sandro, one of the men out to claim her as his own.
Left with the choice of being the evening snack of a tornado or taking shelter with the bounty hunter, she does what she does best: she lives on the edge.
Striking a bargain with the handsome bounty hunter buys her another day of life, but it also dumps her into the heart of a sinister plot, one meant to enslave the residents of the storm-tossed city—and the others brave and foolish enough to call the Alley home.
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until satisfied.
To qualify for the giveaway you must meet one of the following requirements:
Preorder Ocean Heart paperback between 1 Oct & 30 Nov (or)
Bought Ocean Heart eBook between 1 Oct & 30 Nov
The Prize
There are two prizes. One for UK entries, and the other for international entries.
Entry
To enter, please fill in the form. I need your name so I can announce the winner, your address to send your prize, and email to request proof of purchase if you win (can be a simple screen shot).
Elexis Bell is about to release another amazing book, and you can preorder it now. Discover how she created A HEART OF SALT & SILVER, and more on what it’s about.
I have to add how much I love the cover. It has all these gorgeous autumn colours that would look stunning in an outdoors bookstagram pic.
What genre is A Heart of Salt & Silver and can you name any similar books?
It’s a gritty paranormal high fantasy romance. I haven’t seen a lot of paranormal books set in other worlds or fantasy books with demons and werewolves, so comparable books have eluded me.
I’ve recently learned about the Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout which blends fantasy and paranormal with some romance, but since I haven’t read it yet, I don’t know if it gets quite as dark as mine.
What inspired your novel A Heart of Salt & Silver?
Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I imagine a character or two and see what happens. It helps me to center my mind so I can go to sleep. If I like the characters, I come back to them the next night, and the next, and the next. That’s how I got Ness.
I pictured the opening scene and just had to come back to it. So I wrote it. Then, I just kept going, letting the novel unfold as it needed to.
This book has werewolves & vampires, which would you rather be?
There was a time when I might have said vampire. But I’ve been drawn more and more to the woods lately, so I’d have to say werewolf.
Especially if they’re like the ones in A Heart of Salt & Silver. The vampires in my book are especially ruthless and cruel, whereas the werewolves are very loyal and honor driven.
This is your fifth published book, what’s your method?
As far as writing is concerned, I just write. I’m definitely a pantser. If I know too much about where a book is going, I lose interest. So I don’t plan. I just write. If I need to stop and change anything, I stop writing to make adjustments, as that will likely affect the way the rest of novel goes. For instance, I stopped writing A Heart of Salt & Silver at 40,000 words in and did a complete rewrite. Some chapters were removed entirely and replaced with new ones. Every chapter that remained, had to be completely redone because of a very serious perception shift for one character that affected how that particular individual viewed (and acted toward) every other character.
Usually, it takes me about 4 to 6 months to write the first draft. Even with the 40k rewrite, I still came in at 4 months for this novel.
Then, I edit while writing something else.
Are there any genres you can’t see yourself writing?
Contemporary romance. I don’t like writing in the real world. Not unless there are really high stakes for the individual, like in a thriller.
What are you working on next?
Well, I’m editing two dark high fantasy romances and a thriller novella. I’m also writing a sci-fi series that just keeps expanding.
Please share a short snippet or teaser from A Heart of Salt & Silver?
Behind me, the wounded man waits.
Turning to face him, I take in his appearance. A bit of scruff decorates his jaw. Dark eyebrows and tan skin frame shining green eyes. Simple clothes stretch tight over a well-honed physique.
Not that his muscles did much good to ward off a dagger.
No words cross his lips. He stares up at me, part fear and part awe. It’s a strange mixture, but not one I’ve never seen before.
Again, I twirl my finger in the air, releasing his Nether binding, and he slumps against the tree.
Several deep breaths quell the desire to finish him off. Still more chase away the vastly different images of him beneath me, positioned between my legs to drive Nolan from my mind, just for a while.
I blink once more and conceal my true form so that nearby animals may feel at ease. For all the world, I appear to be a normal human woman.
Jaw dropping, he presses a hand to his side and leans his head back against the tree.
“Can you walk?” I ask.
“I’ll manage,” he answers, deep voice coarse with pain.
“And your name?”
“Elias.” His voice comes out strained.
A small part of me wants to heal him. Whether it’s my half-human heart, the morals instilled in me by the Knight who raised me, or the years I’ve spent working at self-control, I can’t be sure. Perhaps it’s my stupid, overly emotional, half-demon heart sympathizing with him. Regardless of the cause, I want to take away his pain.
And yet, another, darker part of me wonders what the ground beneath him would look like dyed red with his blood.
“I’m Ness,” I say, concealing my dilemma carefully. “How about some tea?”
If you guessed me, then you’re right. I was tagged in a tweet and when I checked out the article, I was blown away to see OCEAN HEART was listed as a book to take notice of!
There is something special about being the first to discover something incredible. You know, when you share a song with a friend that they never heard of and it becomes their favourite too.
Indie books don’t have the same platform as books with major publishers backing them. I have no idea how Vee_Bookish discovered OCEAN HEART but I’m so happy she did, and that it made a big enough impression for her to share it.
I was impressed that her post had images and blurbs for all the books, and easy links for her readers to add it on Goodreads or buy it.
I can’t express my thanks enough and how happy it makes me. If you love books, I urge you to check out her post, try a less well known book and enjoy the rest of her content.
My plan was to sign up via Expresso Tour for a Net Galley ARC release during November. I wrote the email and then chaos with kids happened, and I didn’t click send.
When I realised my mistake, I emailed Giselle. Unfortunately, November was booked up and her easiest space was after Dec. This was no good to me as I wanted to spread the word of my upcoming release.
Giselle then told me about a Book Blitz. It sounded perfect. Anyone, interested in Ocean Heart can sign up and spread the word during the first week of Nov.
Keep your eyes peeled for blogs showcasing Ocean Heart. I’ll be sharing them to my Instagram stories and Twitter so you don’t miss out.
The best way to explain Swoon Reads is as a public querying platform where readers influence agents on what to publish. The agents behind of this site are from MacMillan Publishing.
Swoon Reads publishes under Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan.
Writers: The platform was initially for YA Manuscripts only but now also accepts NA. The MS must be the writers original work and posted as an exclusive query to Swoon Reads for at least 6 months. One uploaded, it cannot be edited – that would be a new submission.
Readers: Site members read Manuscripts that appeal to them. They can comment to give the writer feedback with ideas for improvement or how much they loved it! Readers rate stories.
My History
Back in January 2014, I uploaded a copy of Drift to Swoon Reads. Drift was first drafted in Dec 2009, so I’d spent about 3 years working on it and thought it was ready to be queried.
The idea of readers choosing my book really appealed. At first, I got lots of positive ratings and excitedly awaited an agent to notice… and, I waited… and, I waited… and, after 6 months I returned to the traditional query trenches.
As you know, Drift has changed a lot in the last 10 years.
Was 24 chapters, then 36 chapters, now 30 chapters
Prologue cut
Merged with book 2
Changed character names
Given Ana (formerly Annie) a bigger role
Added a full mermaid shift
Added an epic battle
Changed the ending
Professional edit (twice) plus the countless self edits
Renamed as Ocean Heart
I uploaded Drift to Swoon Reads in January 2013. I got quite a few votes which moved my book into the top three most voted at the time. I thought this was pretty impressive as I didn’t have a huge social circle and my social media was limited to who I knew in real life, and I was too shy to tell them to go read my novel.
Despite the attention I got from readers, the agents never showed any interest. I don’t even know if they read it. But, the books they chose were always well deserving brilliant stories.
Moving on
After 6 months, you are free to leave your book on their site in hopes an agent will stumble across it and fall in love. I saw no harm in doing this.
I then queried and pitched other literary agents and publishers. I entered competitions. I did everything I could think to get my MS in their hands. Until, I realised, I could self publish.
This year, I’ve been working hard towards self publishing and in August, I got a strange message on Tumblr. They claimed to be a publisher that had seen ‘Drift’ on Swoon Reads and were interested.
Hmm…
One reason to Self Publish is there are lots of con artists about. Most reputable agents or publishers are so busy with manuscripts sent directly to them that they are not crawling the web looking for authors. They certainly wouldn’t use another publishers platform to poach authors.
I ignore them but it did remind me that my book is on Swoon Reads. I began to panic about their rules and if it’d affect my self publishing- eek.
They are a publisher that have built a good reputation for themselves so I hoped when I explained the situation they’d take my book down quickly. I explained:
Drift was uploaded in 2013
I’m self publishing but…
It has been edited a lot (characters names and plot changes)
Has a new title – Ocean Heart
Has a new cover
It was anxious for their reply. When I heard nothing I logged on and found it was gone. I’m no longer an author on Swoon Reads.
Comments
Readers can make comments on stories to encourage you or help the writer develop. Swoon Reads does warn writers to save these before taking an MS down otherwise they’ll be lost. I took screenshots. Here they are:
There will be, but book 2 is from Kiely’s perspective and much darker.
Tarot has done a great job of summarising Mariah (aka Lily) first love. Yes, I’m going to indulge you in a whole series based in the world of shifters.
Thanks Mike – met on WeBook a writing platform that no longer exists but where Drift was first posted online!
Mike, it’s evolved more! It’s got even better! No longer a twinge of magic, there’s even an epic battle.
I love comments like this. ?
Yay! Thank you x
You’ll be pleased to know that prologue is long gone. Lol ?
Thank you so much Debbie, I’m glad you loved my twist on magic.
Wow! This makes me want to happy dance.
Hopefully you won’t have to wait much longer as I’m working on Sky Heart (book 2) for 2021.
Thanks Anni. I’m working hard to make sure book 2 is just as awesome.
Do I recommend Swoon Reads?
Yeah. It’s been a positive experience for me. I didn’t get published but I did get useful feedback and encouragement from readers.
Ocean Heart
Drift has evolved and transformed into Ocean Heart. The comments above are by readers of the 2013 version.
These comments make me so happy. Whenever I get nervous about putting Ocean Heart out into the big bad world, these readers sweet words make me feel braver.
Soul Heart Readers
I’ve created a Facebook group for my Street Team, basically my first fans.
They’ll be first to hear how Ocean Heart is coming along, be offered ARCs and to be part of my virtual book tour, plus more…
If this is something you’d like to be part of, come join us in the Soul Heart Readers Facebook Group.
Thank you for agreeing to a Behind the Book interview about your novel Out Of My League. I was so lucky to be one of you ARC readers and became a fan.
Blurb: Out Of My League
Out Of My League is the second book you published. Was it easier launching book two?
Yes and no. I wasn’t as nervous for this book (though I was still pretty anxious about it!) mostly because the process wasn’t so unknown anymore. However, there were a few glitches with this book in the publication process that were difficult to figure out. It was a give and take, for sure!
This romance is a ‘pretend boyfriend’ romance. Have you ever fake dated?
I haven’t, which is probably a good thing! I most likely would’ve ruined the fake relationship on day one.
Out Of My League is centred around a highschool baseball team. Were you into sports at highschool?
Ooh, not at all. I’m the stereotypical character who always manages to get hit in the face by a basketball or something. Sports and I did not click, but that did open so much more time to work on my writing!
I love your YouTube channel. For my readers can you share a little what it’s about?
Thank you! I started a YouTube channel back in April, and I’m sharing all of the things I learned about the self-publishing process and my experiences with it, as well as talking about writing. With Camp NaNoWriMo coming up, my writing vlogs are coming back, and I’m so excited!
Have you got any tips for budding Author Tubers or Book Tubers?
Make the content that you love. Numbers may not grow fast at first, but if you’re loving the content you’re making, that’s all that matters.
I’m guessing you are a romance fan. What’s you favourite romance novel?
Ooh, this is a hard one! I really, really loved Kasie West’s The Fill-In Boyfriend, which, funnily enough, is another fake relationship romance! P.S. I Like You, also by Kasie, was also very sweet!
Please share a snippet of your story, Out Of My League?
Walsh stood on the other side of the door with his blond eyebrows high up on his forehead. “Nice to see you, too?” “What are you doing here?” I was ten kinds of disoriented, staring at his figure standing against the fading sky. Did I conjure him from my thoughts? “Why aren’t you at the bay? Aren’t the fireworks starting soon?” “I didn’t go,” he told me, slipping his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “What? What do you mean you didn’t go? Where have you been for the past few hours, then?” Walsh reached a hand out to me, palm up. “I can show you.” As enticing as his words were, I hesitated, glancing at the picture on the wall as if somehow my parents could see me through it. “I can’t leave the house.” “Your house,” he said, eyes vivid with energy, “or your yard?” Uh. “What?” Walsh grabbed my hand and led me out onto my front porch, then down the two steps. “Close your eyes,” he commanded, his other hand coming around to my other shoulder to guide me. “I promise I won’t let you trip over anything.” “Walsh—” “Shh. Just say ‘yes, Walsh’ and close your eyes.” I gritted my teeth but relented, swaying as my vision filled with black. “I hate surprises.” Walsh pressed firmer against my side, his chest touching my shoulder, a smile in his voice. “I think you’ll like this one.” Grass crunched beneath my bare toes as he moved me along, but I remained a good sport and kept my eyes sealed. Though it was silly, my heart started to beat faster, the anticipation making me nervous. His hands that curved over my shoulders were gentle, the pressure steady, his body close enough behind me that I could practically feel his proximity. “Relax,” Walsh said, guiding me to a halt. “Your shoulders are so tense. I’m not about to kill you and stuff you in my trunk.” “Your trunk’s huge. You seriously think you’d have to stuff me into it?” Walsh was close enough that I could feel him chuckle. “Can I open my eyes now?” Walsh hesitated for a moment before he let go entirely. “Yes.”
Where can we go to discover more and buy Out Of My League?
Out of My League is available on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo books! I’ll leave a universal link for easy access to any platform! https://books2read.com/u/b55yOw
