Over to you Carlene.
Hello! Thank you so much for having me here to talk
about my new road trip romance release, Sidewalk Flower. The excerpt I’ve included shows what happens
when a girl gives a guy a delicious road trip dessert, he follows it up with a
heartfelt declaration, and then they skid to a stop. I hope you enjoy!
MR: I love the Cover Carlene!
Book Blurb:
In Sidewalk Flower, a jaded young
woman sets out on an intense road trip home to deal with her past when she is
asked to allow a relative stranger to tag along.
But,
she’s seen too many good guys succumb to the harsh realities of her supposed
privileged life in the music business and intends on keeping her distance.
When
she picks up Lucky, the southern gentleman cousin of her selfish best friend,
she has absolutely no idea of how to accept a perfectly good person with good
intentions. Home has never looked so
good, or felt so far away.
MR: this sounds like a really emotional story, one where the character's learn so much about themselves! Can we have a little taste please?
Sidewalk Flower Excerpt:
Through the slots of window not covered with
cigarette and phone card advertisements, Lucky saw Trista exit the restroom and
make her way around several aisles, grabbing things as she went. All he had was a back view of her wild,
knotted hair and slender neck that bled into the royal blue and purple collar
of her dress. It was all he needed to
see. She was exquisite, the most beautiful
woman he’d ever met, even through the cluttered windows of the convenience
store.
He’d decided he couldn’t hold her work situation
against her. It wasn’t fair to knock her
for being honest that she would be busy with the band while he was in
California. Most likely his feelings for
her were stronger than her regards for him—but she was worth the biding of his
time.
And worth trying to figure out.
She was serious for good reasons, but equally
playful for equally justifiable ones.
She read people well but let herself be used by those closest to
her. She was open to just about anything
that rang of fun it seemed. She’d rather
leave the past where it belonged but he had no idea how she felt about the
future. She’d make an amazing lover.
The saddest thing he’d learned about her? That if he’d persisted, she would have slept
with him, no matter what her body was going through at the moment.
She was good and she didn’t know it. Or she knew but didn’t care. He wondered
how much longer they had on the road.
Was it enough time to tell her he was in love with her?
“Hey there, I got you a Coke, Tic-Tacs and this.”
Trista handed him the two familiar staples and then
one in a cellophane wrapper with the picture of a duck. He accepted them graciously, curious about
the surprise.
“What is this?”
“Okay, that is a Gansito and it’s delicious. You know you’re in California when these guys
start showing up on the shelves. Taste
it, it’s soooo good.”
They were already in California.
“Come on, open it.
Like this.” She took hers and
peeled apart the wrapper at the seams.
“Don’t tear the little goose, it’s bad luck.”
Trista plucked out the Twinkie-shaped snack cake and
put it up to her mouth to bite down. Her
smile was so wide he could see her teeth sinking down through the layers of
chocolate, strawberry and yellow cake.
“Oh my God, this is…soooo good,” she cooed.
Lord what he’d give to be that snack cake.
“What’s wrong?
Are you allergic to chocolate?
You hate strawberry don’t you?” she asked, licking her tongue over a
piece of filling stuck to her front tooth.
“No, I like all those things.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
His unopened Gansito lay on the seat near his
legs. Trista reached for it but he
caught her arm just as she was leaning into him and held her there. “I’m in love with you, Trista.”
“Oh.” She sat for a minute in the driver’s
seat. Then proceeded to exit her side of
the Jeep and make her way over to his.
She opened his door. “Can you
please drive?”
This was not the reaction he had expected. Although, he hadn’t thought it out in the two
seconds it took for him to decide to tell her up front how he felt. Not after learning they were already so close
to their destination.
After switching seats, Trista remained quiet and
still, reminding him more of a robot than a flesh and blood woman. She hadn’t registered his declaration, that
much was obvious. He couldn’t even be
sure she was thinking because she just sat there, stuck in time. He turned over the ignition, scooted the seat
back, and crept the Jeep forward toward the freeway.
“We’re in Barstow.
You had asked earlier…where we were,” she said blankly.
“No, actually I hadn’t. But thank you for telling me because I was
wondering.” He’d look over at her but
feared what he might see.
“You didn’t ask me that?” she asked, still looking
vacantly around the Jeep’s interior.
“No, Trista.
I hadn’t asked.” He let out a
breath and drove on.
This is not good. He loved her and she was so scared of the
notion that they were now having a conversation about a conversation they’d
never had. The next exit sign indicated
a rest stop in five miles. He planned to
pull into it.
Just as he put on the blinker, her knees tensed and
pulled together. If he’d managed to
throw her into shock, there was little time to waste. He drove right up to the curb, parked, turned
off the engine and undid his seat belt.
Then he unsnapped hers and turned in the seat to face her.
“I love you.”
He reached a hand up to her cheek to feel the strong bone beneath
it. “I realize you weren’t expecting to
hear that from me. But it’s the truth,
more true than anything I’ve felt in a very long time. You’re not the only one who is afraid of
that.”
“You barely know me.”
“But I do.
I’ve spent the last twenty-four hours thinking about all the things I
know about you and the things I want to discover. I know the way your breathing sounds when you
fall asleep and how you smell when you get out of the shower.”
“That’s not love, Lucky. You’re just very observant.”
“Trista, I’m not joking around. Call it what you want.”
The dull, waxy aura melted away before his eyes as
she became life-like again. “Lucky, you
don’t have to say that. I told you, I’m
not one of those girls who teases a guy because I can. I will make the time to be with you.”
He cut her off with silence and throbbing eyes. She has
absolutely no idea of what I feel.
Lost at her inability to relate to the feeling, he somberly turned back
to face front, refastened his seat belt, and headed back for the highway. He may as well have just declared the end.
More about Carlene:
Carlene Love Flores is a big fan of the stars (especially Orion), honest
music (especially Depeche Mode), and her travelling family (no favorites
there-she loves them all). These things have always inspired her to think up
edgy, intimate love stories and continue to do so. If she could touch someone’s
heart with her writing the way others have done for her, she’d say truly there
never lived a luckier girl.
MR: Carlene is one of those authors you will want to keep track of, so here are the places you will find her.
Twitter: @cloveflores
Facebook:
Carlene Love Flores
MR: Thank you for coming along today Carlene and we look forward to more from you!
Good Morning, Michaela :) Thank you so much for hosting me today. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a pleasure to have you here!
DeleteHi Jorja, loving that you're loving this! :) Have a sweet rest of your day.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound rather fabulous. And I LOVE Depeche Mode!
ReplyDeleteDoris, you do??? Yay!! Finding fellow DM devotees is almost as exciting to me as having my first book come out! ;) hehehe Thank you so much for stopping by :)
DeleteCongratulations, Carlene, on your new book. Wishing you loads of success.
ReplyDeleteHi Kiru, thank you so much! Honestly, the biggest reward has been the incredible support for both myself and the book. Have a great day!
Delete