He swept into my life, like an unexpected storm. One minute I’m planning forever and the next, I’m left picking up the pieces. Three years have passed and now he’s back wanting to reclaim what once was. Can lightning strike twice or will they be left broken? Readers who love second chance romances will enjoy this diverse, contemporary romance.
JULIA I never saw Noah Weston coming. He swept into my life like an unexpected storm, but soon, he was everything to me. Until tragedy struck. One day I was planning the rest of my life with my soulmate, and the next I was picking up the pieces of a love so strong, it broke me apart. It took three years to put myself back together. Three years until I was ready to move on. I’ll never forget it. The day he came back. Can lightening strike twice? Maybe, but when I look into his eyes, all I remember are the last words he ever spoke to me. The words that left me broken.
NOAH I loved her before I knew her name. She was more than just my heartbeat. Julia Blake was a dream too good to be true. When real life invaded the bubble we had created, I was left a broken man. I survived, but I was dead inside. Half the man I used to be. The half I needed had a new life without me. Three years later, I’m back to reclaim what I’ve lost. I’m back for her, only she wants nothing to do with me.
“Oh, really?” I take one shoe off and throw it at him as hard as possible. He manages to move before it makes contact. He’s not so lucky with the second shoe, and it hits him right on the shoulder. “Here! Take them! And for the last time, this is not our anniversary! You broke up with me, remember? This is a Friday night, and I planned on going out with a man I’m interested in getting to know and possibly fuck. Do you know why? Because I’m single!” “Girl, watch your mouth. Don’t make me call your momma,” Mr. Hampton yells. All the neighbors stare, waiting to see what we do next. Anger fuels my next steps as I stomp my way back to my house, but Noah and Greg are right behind me. A few of the neighbors have now stepped off their porch to stand on the sidewalk. “You guys want a show?” I shout. “Bring it, girl,” someone answers back. “This is what I’m going to do with your anniversary flowers, you lying, selfish jerk.” I open the door and grab the arrangement. I walk to the middle of the street, lift it above my head, and slam it to the ground with all the strength I can muster. The vase shatters in the middle of the street, the two dozen roses bounce on the pavement, and the water from the vase rolls down the concrete. “Happy fucking anniversary, you liar! Go to hell or go back to your racist parents. I don’t care which, just stay the fuck away from me, or I swear to God, that limp will be the least of your problems!” “Leave my parents out of this! This is between us, and for the record, I haven’t talked to them in months.” “Sure. You managed to buy a house on your teacher’s salary, right? That’s realistic considering you’ve had the job for two months. Maybe you used your nonexistent teaching bonus as a down payment? God, you’re a liar, and I hate myself for never seeing you for the dishonest person that you are!” “Why do you keep calling me a liar? What the fuck do you think I lied about?” he yells. “You lied about everything!” I scream so loud I can feel the vein in my neck pulsing. I take a step closer and point my finger in his face. “I love you, Li. You’re my world, Li. I want you to have my baby, Li. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Li.” I do a poor imitation of his voice as I scream in his face. “And you let me believe you were a struggling student just like me, not the son of millionaires. Everything about you is a lie. Our entire relationship was an illusion.” “I meant all of that! I still want all of that with you, and I never told you I was struggling. We never even talked about money. Everything I said was true. Every feeling. I love you so much, it physically hurts to breathe sometimes.”
Q & A With Eveyln Sola
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
No, I didn’t. I’ve always been an avid reader, but I never aspired to be a writer. I never thought I had it in me to tell a story from beginning to end and keep it interesting. Then around 2016/2017, I started reading Fifty Shades of Grey fanfiction. After about a year of being a reader, I was persuaded by a couple of people to write my own stories, so I did, and I haven’t looked back since. Once I did that, it didn’t take much to convince myself that I can create my own characters and my own world.
Describe your typical writing day for us.
I try to do most of my writing in the morning. I’m fresher and more alert when I first wake up. I guess I’m what is known as that annoying morning person, but I have a fulltime job, which gets in the way of my passion. I try to do about an hour’s worth of writing before work and a few sprints during the day. My goal is to get two thousand word down each day. I don’t always make it, but that’s always my goal.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Other writers in the Indie community inspire me. From people who have been at it for years, to those who are just starting out like me.
How do you come up with your book titles?
All of my titles so far are one word. I try to find a verb that best captures the essence of the book.
Can you share with us something about the book that isn't included with the blurb?
As you know, Broken is a second chance romance. One of my favorite romance tropes, by the way. The hero is the one who ends the relationship, and he shows back up three years later. He not only manages to get a job at the same place as the heroine, but he moves in across the street from her as well. He infiltrates her life in every way.
Do you listen to music when writing? If so, can you share with us some of the songs that inspired you or that you listened to while writing?
I don’t listen to music when I write. I always have the TV on, however, and it’s usually on Investigation Discovery.
Using only 3 words how would you describe Julia? Noah?
Julia is strong. I believe she’s a survivor. She’s also guarded. Noah is resilient, brave, and definitely a fighter.
What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
This is a story about two young people who find love until they are forced apart. It’s a story about family and the power of forgiveness.
About Evelyn Sola
A Boston native, wife, mother, and wine enthusiast. If she’s not writing, thinking about writing, you will find Evelyn with a book in her hands. While a new publisher, she’s been writing for years, and she will continue to write for many years to come.
Evelyn is obsessed with assertive and confident men who will stop at nothing to get their woman. Her stories are filled with love, passion and humor.
She currently lives in Chicago, IL with her husband and two daughters.
At sixteen, Armine fell in love for the first time and lost that love for the first time. She was the youngest daughter of three in Armenia and the only one underage when her parents decided to immigrate to the United States. She had to go with and leave her beloved Alex behind. Her parents saw a land of opportunity while Armine saw heartbreak. It wasn’t the end of her story with Alex and certainly not the end of her life,as it had felt at the time, but there was more pain to follow. Sixteen-year-olds are resilient, but even when losses and hurt came calling repeatedly throughout Armine’s life, she had the strength to love and to rise again and again. Even as life moves on for Armine and Alex, their lives intersect again and again over the course of thirty years. Through deaths and divorces, their lives never quite line up from their opposite sides of the globe. Love Has No Limits is Armine’s story of keeping faith in oneself and in love despite heartbreak, betrayal, and loss. It reveals the joy available to those who rise and rise again.
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Excerpt:
While drinking a glass of red wine, I watched the blazing fire roll down the hill. I got the second emergency alert call to evacuate immediately. I couldn’t believe this was happening again. Last time this happened my son still lived at home, my parents lived with us, and Peaches, our sweet dog was still alive. Back then, I had to get everyone organized, packed, and ready to evacuate. Back then, I’d been more nervous, concerned about my aging parents, my teenage son and our dog, who could sense the tension and had anxiously paced back and forth with her tongue hanging out. This time, it was just me. I thought about what I should take with me. After all, I had already lost so much in life, yet at the same time, I felt I was blessed with all that I still had. After all, my parents had moved me halfway around the world when I was a teenager, leaving my love behind. I had grieved losing two husbands by the time I was 50, another husband in between who betrayed me at my most vulnerable moment, and I’d struggled with my father’s cancer, which ended in suicide. Just as I was catching my breath, I had to put my dog to sleep followed by my mother’s long-term illness and her painful 1 death. At the same time, I was so grateful for all I had. I was so happy that I was not angry and resentful. I was not bitter; I was content. I had love again, and I was stronger than ever before. I was still standing. As I packed a change of clothes, my laptop, few photo albums that my son requested and my small metal safe deposit box with important documents, I reflected on how little all our possessions really matter to us. As I was packing the albums, the memories started to come back, old wounds flared up and I started to feel the pain and the deep sadness. I ached for my son who had lost his father at age ten. I felt lonely; I missed the people I had in my life that I’d loved and lost. I missed all they brought to my life. At times, I could not believe I had survived all that had happened in my life in such a short time. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I realized the effects those pictures had on me and why I did not even want to take those albums with me. I had the memories in my heart and that’s all I could ever have, the rest of my life. I realized that’s why I no longer made photo albums. I realized how simplistic life had become for me. I did not need much. I cherished the moments I was with the people I loved and that is all I ever needed.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Arminé was born in Soviet Armenia and immigrated to United States with her parents when she was 17. She worked in the health care industry for 33 years and held key leadership roles in various health plans. Most recently, she retired from a senior executive position to pursue service and paying forward.
She is currently involved in various volunteer roles. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, art museums, concerts, dancing, and spending time with family and friends.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dr. Laura Sims will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
In building her family, Dr. Laura Sims has experienced joy and loss. This is a mother who has been through the worst and best of pregnancy, birth and family life and she won’t shy away from telling the truth of it.
Dr. Sims shows that, as the mother, you have the first say in how your pregnancy and the birth goes. You get to decide how you want to bring your baby into the world. Home births are rising and there is more and more understanding of how putting the mother’s comfort first results in better birthing experiences. Within days of knowing she was pregnant for the first time, Dr. Sims knew she wanted a home water birth. She took the reins right from the start, but was disappointed in the lack of literature available to her about the kind of pregnancy and birth she wanted. Courageous Birth is her offering to women like her, women who want to know the truth of the experience and who want someone to show them what is possible for them in pregnancy, birth, and post-natal life. Dr. Laura Sims opens up her family’s joys, losses and hopes for mothers looking to understand. With an intimate and honest window into her life, Dr. Sims empowers expecting mothers and post-birth mothers to find what’s best for them and their babies.
Read an Excerpt
Being a professional and having a new baby is possible. I dedicated an entire chapter to this because I feel it’s an important part of my life and I know that many times, a person’s career can get in the way of having children or vice versa. I’m a driven person by nature, however, I know many men and women who have a baby and become even more motivated to succeed and provide. With conceiving Grace and starting our business simultaneously, we were taking the leap in all regards. We dove all in. Ready to do whatever it took to make it work in as smooth and effortless a way as possible. Given that I felt so amazing immediately after birth, I got right back into being a chiropractor, working side by side with my husband while Grace was in the baby sling. She was constantly attached to me or her daddy. There were little if any times she was not in contact with us—unless our patients were holding her. She was in the office whenever we were. There were many benefits to having her there, as well as some challenges.
I encourage you to discover what works best for your situation. This is my experience and what worked for our family. It may look completely different for you. The main thing here, is that it is possible and you can do it!
About the Author:
Dr. Laura Sims has been helping people reach optimal health since 2006. Along with her husband, they founded 2 of the largest chiropractic practices on the western slope of Colorado.
She believes the body is capable of healing itself when free from nerve interference. In 2019, she completed a 2-year Master's class in Soul-Centered Living from the University of Santa Monica.
It is her heartfelt mission for everyone to step more fully into their courageousness and trust their inner knowing!
Two childhood friends are playing house—and maybe playing for keeps—in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s funny, sexy, and unpredictable marriage-of-convenience romance.
To save her Tennessee bed-and-breakfast, Sophie Bates needs a fast-cash miracle. Holden McKenzie, her childhood best friend, needs to prove to a prospective employer that he’s a committed man. Their fortunes on the line, Holden proposes…a solution.
He’ll take care of Sophie’s bills if she agrees to a temporary marriage of convenience. And why not? They’re comfortable together, they have fun, and they trust each other. It’s as simple as saying “I do.” But the off-the-cuff wedding has all of Honey Creek talking—and Sophie and Holden realizing that their perfect arrangement is working too well. If they’re not careful, this marriage could turn into a love story
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Download your copy or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited
“This Chad guy sounds like a real champ,” he says.
“I’m the moron that married him.”
I pick at the edge of the table to keep from meeting his eyes.
Chad was not my best work. Not my best choice, or the greatest guy I’ve ever dated, nor am I proud that I went through with the whole thing. But I did it and I can’t change it. I need to figure out how to accept all that.
“I’m sure you had great intentions,” Holden says.
“I did. Want to know how deep his intentions ran?” I strum my fingers against the tabletop as I look up at him. “He left me by sticking a note to the kitchen table with a dollop of strawberry jelly.”
I blow out a breath and regret word-vomiting all that. It was too deep. Too raw and real. Opening up to Holden is too easy, and I probably just ruined the mood.
He watches me for a few seconds before grinning. “He didn’t even use grape? Rude.”
I smile, relieved that he didn’t dig deeper. “Right? He didn’t even use grape on his sandwiches.”
“Big red flag right there,” he says, pointing a finger my way.
“You know, Gramma always said not to marry a man that cuts the crusts off his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
“And why is that?”
“Because that’s an indication that someone doesn’t like boundaries. Guess I should’ve listened to her. He even cut the crusts off his grilled cheese.”
He gasps, his jaw falling to the table in mock horror. “That’s serial-killer shit right there.”
“Hey, I don’t know what he’s been doing the last couple of years of his life.” I take a napkin from the dispenser. “You might be right.”
“So why did you marry him? You didn’t get serial-killer vibes from the start?”
It’s a question I’ve asked myself a million times, because down deep, I knew it wasn’t right for me. I just ignored my gut and did it anyway.
About Adriana
USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, four sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket.
