Rebel Ink Press: New Release Blog Hop

Just wanted to say hi and thanks for stopping by!  Take a peek at my recent release. And stay tuned for part two...coming soon!


Blurb:

Layla Swanson grew up in the lazy, small town of Hollow Oaks and can’t wait to get out.  She has big dreams and big plans in the big city.  Layla has worked hard and her senior year is nearly at its end.  She can’t wait to go away to college.  And she’s one step closer to getting what she wants. Layla isn’t letting anyone get in her way. 

Taylor Scott may not be your typical country boy, but he doesn’t mind Hollow Oaks.  His dreams may not be marked on paper and set in stone, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them. 

A chance meeting between the two childhood friends may have Layla second guessing her longtime plan. Their rekindled friendship is leading them down a path neither one could have foreseen.  But with Layla leaving for college, many challenges face them, especially when she so stubbornly sticks to her solo plan.

Is Taylor’s love enough to convince Layla to let him in?  Or when everything falls apart, will Layla run away?    

Here's a sneak peek...

Excerpt:

…Taylor glared at his brother until movement on the porch caught his attention. He looked just in time to see Layla bounding down the wooden steps. Taylor swallowed thickly and from the corner of his eye he saw Jackson’s head jerk to the left. Both boys watched as her green cotton sundress moved around her legs, her pale blond hair streaming behind her, her pink lips split into a grin. 
"Oh… shit," Taylor said under his breath. Layla Swanson is hot was Taylor’s first thought. His second thought was when had that happened? They'd been best friends for most of their lives. Taylor wasn’t sure how he had missed the transformation from bossy tomboy to whatever it was Layla had become. He'd seen her yesterday and yet he could swear she looked different. Beside him his brother was nodding in agreement. Taylor shot him another glare which only earned him another snort from Jackson. 
"Layla Swanson’s all grown up," Jackson whispered, drawing out the words just as she pulled the passenger side door open, ducking the swat at the back of his head. 
"Morning boys," she called cheerfully, ignoring their fighting. When Taylor didn’t respond because he was too busy staring, she pushed on his shoulder playfully. "What, do I look bad?" 
She glanced down at her dress and ran a hand over her hair before biting down on her full, glossy bottom lip and looking back up at him. He continued to stare helplessly as her lip slowly popped out from between her white teeth. Shaking himself, Taylor cleared his throat trying to think of a response, something to smooth over the awkward moment. Maybe she hadn’t noticed he was staring. He hoped so anyway. 
"No," he trailed off. Really smooth, Taylor cursed himself silently. 
He climbed out of the truck and let her slide into the middle seat before he got back in. Over her shoulder, Jackson caught Taylor’s eye and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Taylor shrugged lightly and closed the door. 
They rode in silence for a while. A very uncomfortable silence if anyone were to ask Taylor. Normally, they would have teased each other and talked while Jackson ignored them, but today they just sat. Layla stared straight ahead and Taylor looked out the side window watching the fields blur by. It was awkward and easy to feel the tension in the truck. It felt to Taylor that it was almost a living, breathing thing. 
"Are you sure I look okay?" Layla’s voice broke through the silence. Taylor could hear the nervousness there and he wanted to say something to make her feel better. Still at a loss for words, he turned his head and met her hazel eyes. Taylor opened his mouth to speak but before anything came out, Jackson spoke up. 
"You look great, Layla." The compliment was smooth and simple delivered in a lazy way, and it made Taylor mad. 
She turned away from Taylor and to his horror, he watched his brother reach up and tug on 
her hair playfully before he let his arm rest on the back of the seat behind her... 


You can buy Tears in the Rubble at: Amazon, ARe, Barnes & Noble, and BookStrand.



Thanks again for stopping by!  To keep updated stop back by or find me on Facebook.

Don't forget to head back to Rebel Reasoning to check out more from Rebel's great authors.

Release Day Celebration: The Low Notes by Kate Roth

Today is the day!  My best friend's first novel is out.  That means everyone can buy it!

My friend Kate Roth is and awesome writer and I've seen the The Low Notes through many stages.  I'm most excited for it's final stage.

When a chance meeting between high school teacher Kevin Reed and singer Nina Jordan ignites an instant spark, they must decide if it's more important to follow your heart or follow the rules.


After caring for his dying father, Kevin Reed, returns to his hometown of Wexley Falls, bereaved, unemployed and exhausted at the thought of starting a new life. After a failed blind date, Kevin meets young singer Nina Jordan who takes his breath away with the sound of her voice. The connection is instantaneous and mutual on their first date, but both are crestfallen when they discover days later, to their horror, Nina is Kevin's student at the local high school.


Deciphering between notions of love and lust, fate and coincidence, Kevin and Nina find themselves unable to turn their backs on what they can't deny is a once in a lifetime feeling. Told from both perspectives, The Low Notes explores a love that feels right even though it seems wrong.

Kate Roth's first novel is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ARe, and BookStrand.

Congrats Kate!

My Stay in a Century Old Hotel...

My boyfriend and I recently went to Chicago for a few days.  We were celebrating lots of things and wanted to do something fun.  We were celebrating my book release, his 30^th birthday, my 30^th birthday, and our 2 year anniversary.  All of which are within 3 weeks of each other.  We decided to go the Shedd Aquarium.  So I made the plans and booked the hotel.

I’m kind of picky when it comes to where I stay.  I base what a hotel is going to be like on the comforters.  I’m sure that’s not really a true assessment but I can’t seem to help it.  I found a pretty good deal on a place and started reading reviews.  They were horrible.  And once I saw two, yes two, that mentioned scabies and bed bugs I decided that wasn’t happening.  My search continued leading me to the place we ended up staying.  It had a decent price and the comforters were not sea foam green with pink splashes.  Still, I had to check out the reviews.  I found out that it’s the oldest hotel in the city.  It was built in the 1890’s. 

So, off we go to stay in the Congress Plaza Hotel.  I was pretty excited for this trip.  I don’t take time off of work very often so when I do I try to make it count.  My boyfriend was a bit grumbly at first.  I thing turning 30 got him down a bit…shhh. 

I love history and old structures.  There are so many stories hidden in places like that.  The hotel was beautiful.  It did make me kind of sad because there were parts that weren’t being cared for the way they should be.  If it was restored and taken care of it would be absolutely amazing.

In our search for information about the hotel we found some sights claiming that it was haunted.  No surprise there it’s over 100 years old.  Most older places have stories of ghost and strange happenings.  Well, one room in particular was said to be the most haunted.  Stories say that security gets call there most often and that people staying in the room report seeing the shadowy figure of a woman.  As we’re checking in my boyfriend decides to ask for this room.  Room 441. The woman behind the desk stutters and freezes for a moment.  Then she does some tapping on her keyboard and asks us if we are sure.  At this point I’m laughing and my boyfriend is nodding.  So we end up staying in room 441, the most haunted room at the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago.

We gave ourselves a midnight tour of the hotel.  We wandered around both towers and almost all of the floors.  Attempted to get into The Gold Room, which is the massive ballroom that’s been there since the place was built.  It was locked.  No surprise there.  There were moments walking down the narrow halls that I felt like I was in the shining.  It was definitely an adventure.  Unfortunately, the rooms aren’t very air conditioned and the bed was extremely uncomfortable.  I can’t report any sightings of shadowy figures or strange sounds but it was fun to take in all history.

We also go to see “the bean”, Millennium Park, and we sat at a corner coffee shop for a while and people watched.  It was a great trip!

Happy Birthday to Me...

I'm heading off to Chicago for a few days to celebrate my boyfriends birthday, which was Tues, and mine, which is in 12 days.  I don't usually take many days off but I think I deserve it.  I'm turning 30 and I had a book published. (Insert silly dance here) I'm pretty excited.  We are going to eat the best pizza around and go to the aquarium.  Maybe something or someone will spark some new ideas.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Love is in the air....

Spring has sprung!  And in the spirit of things I have one of my favorite people here to talk about her first date with her wonderful hubby.  I'd like to welcome Kate Roth.  She is a fellow Rebel and her first novel, The Low Notes, is due out this summer from Rebel Ink Press.

I met my husband a little more than 7 years ago and quite honestly when I met him I couldn't stand him. We were working together and had our orientation and training at the same time with a group of a few others. Looking back I realize how cool I was trying to be, like the badass girl who didn't care about some dumb class. And my husband, well he is the quintessential nerd. I was so annoyed by him because he kept asking questions keeping us there longer.

Cut to a few months later when I spotted him in the halls at work. I was instantly taken aback but the fact that he had grown a beard in the time since we had last seen each other. I thought "Oh that dorky guy is pretty cute."

We developed a little work friendship, eating lunch together and sharing inside jokes and small talk and then one day he took his break and came to find me. He asked me if I would go to Starbucks with him after work and I agreed. Actually I think I said, "like a date?" and he assured me it was a date.

Sitting in Starbucks drinking our coffees, we talked for hours. I was still living at home and had dinner plans with my family but I stopped caring what time it was and what my mom might have been making for dinner. I kept thinking how nice his eyes were. He was kind and funny. Hilarious actually. And we didn't once run out of things to talk about or things we had in common. Finally it was time for him to drive me back to work to get my car. He was sweet and asked for my phone number kind of shy-like. I happily gave it to him and headed home.

My sister was over and I jokingly said to her, "He was so sweet! I think I'll marry him."

Eight months after that date he proposed. Two years after that date we said "I do." And seven years later I still love the story of how it all began.   

If you'd like to know more about Kate and her writing check out her blog (which is where I will be today talking about my very own first date) or you can find her out on Facebook