The falling leaves of autumn are like the deceit in my family lineage. Closing the door on the infinite cold—winter blossoms into the spring of new beginnings. In the next season of my life, I’m mending the pieces back together. Opening myself up, I even begin to date, which is a big step for me.
After graduating from high school, a shocking development causes me to be on alert. When nothing comes of it, I move forward, wanting desperately to put the past behind me.
About to start college, I bump into someone from my complicated past, and my heart is torn. The dilemma I struggle with: Do I let other people’s opinion define who I am? I must decide if I’ll push through the ridicule and pave my own path. Could the face that’s scorned me be the key to my resolve? I’ll never know if I take the easy way out.
I’ve unlocked my darkest secret only to have it return to torment me. As the thorns of his obsession encompass me, I discover I’m part of a twisted ploy. If I don’t figure a way out of this predicament, then the life I’ve known may cease to exist.
Don’t miss the riveting sequel to Madison’s story that will have you dangling on the edge of your seat.
“My own kinfolk are an actual reality show,” Kenya gushes.
Kenya shuts her mouth when Uncle Clemens scowls at her. Kenya’s mama hasn’t uttered a word. I think Aunt Pam is in shock. Regan stands abruptly. He glances at Tanya, his anger softening a bit, before he storms off.
“Regan, wait!” Charlotte pleads.
Aunt Cass giggles. “Wonder what your precious Regan thinks of you now.”
Charlotte explodes. “I’ve had it with you! You’re a two-faced, vindictive bitch!” She lunges across the table with lightning speed and punches her sister in the jaw.
“Oh, man!” Ryan shoots up, moving out of their path. But not before grabbing his plate of food.
Enraged, Aunt Cass grabs onto Charlotte’s head. She uses her weight, shoving her into the large mirror hanging on the wall. Charlotte’s head crashes into it, shattering the glass. Huge cracks form across the mirror in blood. Charlotte lets out a high-pitched shrill, and then goes bananas, wrapping her hands around her sister’s neck. Aunt Cass manages to loosen Charlotte’s hold by kneeing her in the stomach. Grabbing Charlotte’s hair with both hands, she body slams her onto the table. The force of impact causes the turkey to fly off. Rolls tumble over, scattering in several directions on the floor. Aunt Cass takes Charlotte’s head, ramming it into the bowl of sweet potatoes.
I’d been frozen at first, then reality hits. Dari, Kenya, and I scramble out of the way.
“Ma, stop!” Dari shouts.
Aunt Cass is beyond reason. Charlotte blindly grabs a fork, stabbing it into her hand, and Aunt Cass screams. Uncle Clemens jumps up, running over to try and break them apart. Uncle Drew seems shell-shocked—slow moving to make his way over to them. Uncle Clemens pries them apart momentarily, holding Charlotte back. Uncle Drew has his wife’s arm. Struggling, Charlotte breaks from her brother’s grasp, charging like a bull ram. Aunt Cass happily obliges, knocking her husband out the way. They appear to be fighting to the death.This is nuts! The Thibodeaux family is full of secrets, bigger than I ever imagined—starting with Gigi’s daughters. The secrets have turned into a deceit that is spreading like a plague. Venomous lies, jealousy, and backstabbing. The total opposite of how it should be. It seems as if our family is hexed by a thorn of secrets.
B. Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old. She is grateful to have accomplished this dream. B. Truly has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She’s addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of suspense and sci-fi. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, sci-fi, dystopian, and paranormal genres.
B. Truly likes to explore conflicted plots of romance with thrilling twists. She also loves creating impossible situations for her characters to grow from and try to overcome.
B. Truly has three wonderful children, and a husband who defines the person that she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Houston, Texas.
Title: The Other Brother Author: Jax Calder Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
What happens when you fall for the one person you can’t have?
Ryan has had seventeen years of being compared to Cody, part of his toxic fractured family, so you’ll forgive him for some epic eye-rolling when it comes to Mr Perfect. Although not related to him by blood, Cody has always been annoying background noise in Ryan’s life. It doesn’t help that Cody’s a high achieving musician, while Ryan’s life ambition doesn’t extend past catching the next wave.
One summer changes everything. It’s the summer when circumstances collide, and Cody and Ryan end up spending time together at Cody’s family’s beach house. It’s the summer Ryan teaches Cody to surf and Cody teaches Ryan to play guitar. It’s the summer when they become friends.
And then more than friends.
But when summer ends, Cody and Ryan are forced back to reality, where they must hide their relationship from their warring family members. And as tragedy strikes and family secrets buried deep in the past worm their way to the surface, their relationship is threatened. Can their feelings, which began in the summer sun, survive the winter ahead?
Note: This coming-of-age story contains sexual content.
The waves are dumpier today and Cody struggles. He curses as he falls off again.
“I just can’t find the right rhythm,” he complains. His hair is plastered to his skull, water slicking off his wetsuit. He walks a few steps to where I’m waiting for him so we can paddle back out together.
“Sometimes you’ve got to stop analyzing and just feel it,” I say.
“Feel the ocean?” He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
Which maybe I have. It’s starting to feel that way, at least when it comes to Cody. But I still stumble on. “Don’t you ever get that in music? Like, when you get to the point where you stop thinking about technique and worrying about being perfect and just go with your feelings?”
“Yeah, all the time,” Cody says as we brace for another wave. “I mean, you can be completely technically correct, but if you don’t get what the music is about, the feeling you’re trying to portray, then it comes out all robotic.”
“It’s the same out here. Stop worrying so much about getting it right and just feel it.”
Cody raises his eyebrow as we jump on our boards, but I can see his normal look of Cody concentration come over his face as he paddles out next to me. We turn around to face the beach, a few feet from each other. I keep one eye out over my shoulder, evaluating the approaching waves.
“Here comes a good one,” I call to him.
He nods and paddles frantically to build his momentum.
“Go, go!” I yell as the wave swell lifts me up, then leaves me behind as it barrels on toward the shore.
I give a whoop when I see the wave break, and Cody’s still there riding it. He pulls out just before the shallow water and gives me a thumbs-up.
Now it’s my turn to catch one, and somehow it’s an even sweeter ride than before.
After another half hour, Cody and I signal each other, and I catch a last wave in to meet him.
Cody waits in ankle-deep water for me. He runs a hand through his hair, shaking out the water.
“Strangely, what you said out there made sense,” he says as we start our trek home through the sand dunes, sand caking our feet like another layer of skin. “It’s like the difference of treating surfing as an art versus a science.”
I roll my eyes as I hitch my surfboard up under my arm. “Only you could turn this into a philosophy thing. You just had to stop worrying about being perfect.”
“You’re telling me I’m not perfect?” He throws me a grin, his tone teasing.
“I’m telling you that when you stop trying to be perfect and just feel, you’re better than perfect.”
I walk for another few feet before I realize Cody has stopped and I’ve left him behind. I slow down and turn back to face him.
He’s still standing on the path, staring at me, eyes wide.
I replay my words, and my shoulders stiffen, my cheeks heating.
We stare at each other for a few heartbeats.
“And you claim I’m the philosopher,” he says finally, starting to walk again, taking long strides to catch up with me.
We reach the house.
“Wetsuit off, right?” This has to be one of my favorite bits about surfing now. Cody in a wetsuit is one thing, but Cody in only board shorts is a whole other dimension of awesomeness.
“Right.”
I strip down: the wetsuit releasing my skin in a loud slurp.
Cody strips down too, showing off his tanned skin and taut muscles. He grabs the hose, a smile licking at his lips as he turns toward me.
I recognize the look of calculation on his face… because it’s normally on mine. I narrow my eyes. “Do it and die.”
He tilts his head. “Nah, see, I’m now approaching all situations with the question, What would Ryan do? And I’m sure if you had the hose, you would do this.” He lifts the nozzle up and sprays the water at me.
The blast of cold is a shock to my skin, causing instant goose bumps.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” I splutter.
“Payback’s a bitch.” Cody’s still grinning at me.
His grin fades slightly as I stalk toward him.
He lifts the hose and sprays me again, but I brace myself for the cold and don’t let it deter me from my mission. Which is to grab him and try to wrestle the hose off him.
Cody doesn’t relent, and so we scuffle. I use my superior weight to pin him against the side of the house. He stretches out his arm, holding the hose as far away as he can, but I clamp down on his hand. I try to twist the hose out of his grasp, but his fingers cling on.
“Let go of the hose.”
“Never,” he replies. His breath is coming hard and fast. Mine is too.
Our chests are pressed together, and his face is so close to mine I can see a scattering of faint freckles across his nose. My heart rate picks up to match my breathing. I’m sure he feels the frantic thumping where our skin touches, an up-tempo beat.
I drop my gaze down to his mouth for a second, which is a mistake because now all I can think about is kissing him. About how it would feel to have his red, slightly chapped lips pressed against mine. My mouth goes dry.
When I flick my gaze back up to his, Cody’s eyes are wide, his smile dimming as we stare at each other. I can’t escape the intensity of his blue eyes. I don’t want to escape it. I stay pressed against him, feeling his chest heaving against mine, trapped in his gaze.
Jax’s stories are all about light-hearted conversations and deeply-felt connections. She loves exploring exactly why two characters are the only ones who’ll make the other truly happy, and the journey they take to reach their happily-ever-after.
Jax lives in New Zealand and is a rabid sports fan, a hiking enthusiast and has a slightly unhealthy addiction to nature documentaries. As an extrovert who spends way too much time in her own head, she loves to connect with readers. Join her Facebook group Jax’s Crew (www.facebook.com/groups/jaxcaldercrew) for bonus stories plus exclusive excerpts from her upcoming books.
Title: The Holiday Plan Author: Emma Lynden Genre: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Native New Yorker and author Verona Scott is battling heartbreak, both personally and professionally. Coming off a disastrous split with her ex, she’s struggling for inspiration to write her next book. And she’s lost without her favorite Aunt Theoni’s wisdom and guidance.
Hoping for a fresh start and to avoid the holiday completely, she’s planned a Valentine’s detox: a luxurious trip alone to the historic Courtington Castle hotel, near the adorably quaint town of Camelot Creek, tucked into a picturesque valley in the Adirondacks.
But escaping the heart-shaped balloons and red roses isn’t as easy as she thought.
This won’t be the restful retreat she’d imagined. Instead, she’s just walked into one of the biggest matchmaking events of the year. Not to mention, the incredibly attractive single dad and dating coach Troy Turner is heading the whole thing up, and he’s on a mission to include Verona in the festivities.
Troy is in the midst of a professional crisis of his own. After a bit of unfounded bad press, the very last thing he needs is a guest to cast doubt in the minds of his attendees.
Will Troy change Verona’s mind about the most romantic day of the year? Just when sparks begin to fly, an unexpected visitor checks into the castle, stirring up the past. No matter what, for Verona, Valentine’s Day is the day where everything changes.
A heartwarming, sweet romance that will whisk you away to a magical winter wonderland, and have you reaching for the hot cocoa and box of chocolates long after the holidays.
There was something wildly surreal about having a romance novel rejected on Valentine’s Day, and the extraordinary irony of the situation stung that much sharper. Like filing for bankruptcy in the fireworks business on the Fourth of July. Or having the funding for a gingerbread company fall through right at Christmastime.
She didn’t know how long she’d sat in place, stupefied by the succession of surprises she’d received, but watching the peaches-and-cream sky slowly fade into a soft lavender twilight outside the windows, it had been long enough for the sun to set. She didn’t snap back to herself until a beam of bright white shot up suddenly into the darkening room from the direction of her cell phone, its screen illuminated with a new message notification.
