New Release Wednesday + Give*Away!

Help me welcome the talented KELLY RAE! :) Be sure to comment for a chance to win WHAT IF.....!

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Thank you Jennifer for letting me stop by and share a little about myself and What If… with your readers. I am over the moon that I get to talk about writing, because it means I finally am one. Please bear with me folks, if I gush just a bit. J

On May 1^st, my debut contemporary romance novel, What If…, was released. It was more than a labor of love, but a matter of pride and dream fulfillment. I decided I was going to take my dream of being a writer and make it happen. I love writing and I hope that others will enjoy my stories, as well. Thank you for stopping by to learn a bit about me and maybe even find a new author and book to love.

What if... is a story that I like to define as a forgiveness tale. When Katie finds herself facing memories of a past, she had chosen to forget, she realizes that the only way to truly get over any of it is to face it head on, forgive those involved; including her. I adore Katie because I think she is like a lot of women I know who have been hurt, in one way or the other, and turn all of their focus onto things they can control...like their careers! Women who give up on love and romance to take care of their kids and make them their sole focus, somehow forgetting their need for adult companionship, I know these women. I have been this woman. Balancing a full life can be hard and when you have experienced loss and pain, it can be daunting to open up and love again. I like Katie because she is brave, even if it takes some encouragement!

Chris is the one person who Katie fears the most, because she can’t help but FEEL when he is around. Granted half the time what she feels is irritation and frustration, but the other half of the time WHAM, this man gets to her. Chris makes her want things that she swears she doesn’t. He makes her feel things that she refuses to admit. And, when he kisses her, well you will just have to read to see how well this man does that! He’s good! Good looking and reminds me a lot of the Tim McGraw song Real Good Man. He might have been a bad boy, but my oh my is he a real good man!

When I write a book the characters become my friends. I want to encourage them and see them do well. It’s what makes that Happily Ever After moment at the end, just as satisfying to me, as I hope it is to my readers. I hope you find yourself rooting for my friends Katie and Chris and even Katie’s sidekick Sarah…whom I think might get her own book eventually.

Thanks for stopping by to learn about me and I hope you will check out What If… and be transported for a time into another life where hope, forgiveness, and happy endings rule! A lucky commenter will be gifted with a free e-book of What If...so comment away and win!

Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WWZ0R2

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-if-dwayne-rae/1100385142?ean=2940014537476

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/153677

Print https://www.createspace.com/3769592

Excerpt:

“Hello,” a groggy Sarah said when she picked up the phone.

“I’m so sorry to call this late Sarah, but you’ll never guess what happened to me tonight.”

“Well, I’m awake now, please do go ahead, and tell me.” Having friends was a handy thing, Katie was discovering.

“Okay, so I went to Paul’s for dinner tonight, well for a dinner party, and guess who was standing eight feet from me as I walked into the dining room, with a dish of potatoes in my hands?” Katie knew it was probably not hard to figure, since very few things flustered her and Sarah knew it.

“Well, let me guess, since you are calling me at what has become the middle of the night for me, and you sound as though you are excited and on the verge of tears, all at the same time, it must have been Chris.”

“Right you are my dear, and that is the reason I keep you around. Chris was there, he came with Coach Underman after they had a game, or practice, or some such thing tonight. I was shocked and I’m really hoping that he did not notice, do you think he noticed?”

“Were you talking five miles a minute like you are now?” she asked.

“Ha, ha.”

Nevertheless, Katie took the hint and slowed down a bit to tell her what happened. How she left without letting him talk to her and how sad she thought he looked when she did. Katie admitted to Sarah that it was mean. She just could not stand there so close to him and chat like old times.

“Sarah, you know that I can do most anything I put my mind to and have always been able to, but with him it’s different. I see him and there are so many emotions that pop up that I can’t sort through them fast enough to select a response. At dinner, it was clear that he is very dedicated to those kids and apparently, he coaches several other sports on campus. He is also the Director of Physical Education at the high school and holds a seat on the education board. It was all news to me, since I didn’t even know he still lived here until a few weeks ago.”

“Katie, you seem to have forgotten that I did, or do rather, know he lives here and I know all this stuff. What you need to do is let me go back to bed now and we can talk about this tomorrow, after you have given some thought as to why a man you haven’t seen since he was a teenage boy makes you a babbling, stuttering, nervous, and somewhat crazy woman after all these years. Especially since you haven’t let the man say more than ten words to you, or said ten to him. So, you go do that and I will go back to bed now, deal?”

“Well, doesn’t your sunshine wear off a bit when the moon comes out?” Katie said with a snorted giggle, “Sorry again about waking you up, since obviously you are no fun in the ‘middle of the night’. Now you just go back to bed and don’t worry, there is no need to talk about this again. I’m not crazy and this was such a non-event that I shouldn’t have called you anyway. I think I am just amped on dessert. Please tell Tom I’m sorry, too.”          

“Lie to yourself if you want Kates, I do it all the time. Good night and sweet Chris Staller dreams.” Without letting Katie respond, Sarah hung up the phone and left Katie to be buzzed on sugar and adrenaline all by her lonesome.

“Mphf, he doesn’t make me crazy or nervous; I’m fine... perfectly fine!”