Hey Everyone, going to be posting a few chapters of SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS here! It was just announced that the book is a finalist in the National Excellence Romance Fiction Award and I wanted to share some of it with you! The book is available on Amazon, B&N and at your local bookstore!
Julia Ducharme is ready for a fresh start. Her little brother has finally recovered from a serious illness, and now she just wants to enjoy peak season at the campground her family owns. Maybe this will be the year her annual summer fling with Dan Schaeffer becomes something more?
But her summer dreams are quickly shattered. First, Dan arrives for vacation with a new girlfriend in tow, and then Julia discovers this may be her last summer in the only home she's ever known.
Crushing medical bills have brought her single mom to the brink of bankruptcy, and a wealthy developer is sniffing around the campground. He sees what Julia sees: lush woods, a pristine lake, miles of trails for adventure. Unlike Julia, he thinks this is the perfect spot for a casino resort.
Heartbroken and afraid, Julia looks to the stars for some perspective. Taking her telescope down to the dock one night, she has a chance encounter with a guitar-playing boy who offers some helpful advice. Too bad this handsome stranger is the developer's son, Nick Constantine.
As plans for a resort move forward, Julia is desperate to find a solution that doesn't mean leaving the lake. Nick, in turn, is desperate to separate himself from his father's aggressive business tactics. He promises that, together, they can thwart the sale.
But can Julia trust him to conspire against his own father? And could she ever she trust him with her heart?
SUMMER CONSTELLATIONS is a story of lost summers, hidden treasure and love written in the stars. It is also a thoughtful reflection on what it means to love --- and leave --- one's childhood home.
I stood with my back to her, shielding her, and my murderous eyes stared down at the poor excuse of a man, promising unimaginable pain if he dared to move or even flinch. The enormity of control it took me to suppress the impulse to eradicate the piece of scum, who dared to even think about laying a hand on a woman, was inconceivable. My whole body was trembling with rage.
The guy was intimidated by the fury in my eyes and stumbled back to his intoxicated friends who were too dazed to understand the situation. I was disappointed and relieved at the same time that the chaos didn't end in a fist fight.
When I turned around to console her, she was gone. And as I looked around, I saw her back just leaving the bar through the entrance. I hurried out to follow her. She walked ahead of me aimlessly and disoriented like a wounded animal that had just escaped the claws of death. My heart ached for her.
I found a kindred soul in her. She evidently had been wounded in the past. Just like me. But in an even worse way than I had been hurt, and it angered me, that someone had dared to harm her.
***
Eden Marie Simmons is still recovering after escaping an abusive relationship when she meets Keane, the broody and enigmatic neighbor who is shrouded in mystery.
Both are still being haunted by their past and are not ready for a new commitment, but when fate repeatedly puts them in each other's paths, they can't deny their attraction for each other.
Life challenges them both with secrets, lies, and broken trusts, and confronts them with their pasts.
They both must learn to be brave enough to love again.
***
Story is previously called "Paradise Lies"