Good Morning and Welcome to the Egg-cerpt Exchange blog hop!
Today's guest is MJ Schiller with her book, Hometown Heartache.
Nash is trying to make a name for himself in the art world…
But when he meets a realtor to buy a gallery, he is stunned
to find Chloe sitting at the table with the man. He has never stopped thinking
about her since she disappeared from his life without a trace. Is it too late
to win back her love?
Chloe has finally found a way to leave her past behind her…
But her heart leaps out of her chest when she sees Nash. How
can he be here? Now…after all this time? On the surface, she pulls herself back
together. But underneath she feels she is about to shatter. After remaking
herself, how can she deal with being faced with Nash and the life she knew
before?
If this chance meeting doesn’t rip Chloe and Nash apart, he will.
Little do they know, someone has been lurking in the shadows,
manipulating them all along. If he has his way, the two will never be reunited.
Even if he has to take one of them out to ensure it.
Excerpt:
I was flirting with Jack. He was an okay guy, good-looking, in his own way, and loaded. Man,
was he loaded. I didn’t really like him at all. I simply liked to make men want me. Not that I was a tease, mind you; they never left unsatisfied. I was good at it. It was the one area where I excelled. But it was always a very “no strings attached” kind of relationship, and they usually liked it that way. They didn’t even have to please me. I would please them, so I kept the upper hand.
Then Nash walks right in and plops down in the booth across from me. My stomach fell away like that time at the State Fair on the Tom Twister, when the floor dropped out from under me leaving me stuck to the wall by centrifugal force. But even in that memory, Nash was there. I couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t, except for when he wasn’t for good, when he went away to school.
When I looked up to see him standing by the table, I was swamped by that feeling again, the feeling of abandonment which overwhelmed me when he’d left a swirling void of nothingness in my life. He hadn’t changed much in all the time since we’d last met, those cute freckles were gone, but he still had an open face and his general boyish-good looks. His brown hair was, perhaps, a little thinner, but still rich and glossy; his jawline seemed maybe a tad sharper and stronger. Those expressive brown eyes, which were as homey as mud-pies, could still draw me in and make me feel warm all over.
But when all I’d had left was the memory of those eyes, I was filled with a deep chill instead. And now, seeing him once more, I froze for a moment. Then I dug deep and pulled myself together. I was surprised. I never would have thought I would be capable of knitting up that hole with him sitting right there, breathing in the same air as me.
Wow...sounds like a great book, MJ! Now let's find out a little more about Chloe Carmichael....
Nickname- The only
one I’ve ever had I hated. My step-father used to call me Chloe-girl. It made
my skin crawl. But I guess you’d just have to meet him to understand.
Worst fear
or nightmare- It’s actually come true recently. For Nash to see what I’ve
become since he left.
Secret
desire or fantasy- Well, at one time it was for Nash to come back. Now
that he’s back, it is for the last two years to have never happened.
What would
you do if you won the lottery? Ha! If I won the lottery! …Hmm…I don’t know. Buy a lot more heels, I
guess.
To be honest, money doesn’t mean much to me. I just need
enough to get by. Wealth would be lost on me, because I don’t know much about
living a life of luxury. Don’t know which labels are designer’s, enjoy a burger
over caviar, wouldn’t know the difference between cubic zirconium and the real
thing.
What’s your
family like and how does your upbringing affect you now? My dad was
great. And my mom was, too…at one time. Don’t get me started on the rest.
Actually, the Nabry’s, Nash’s family, were more of a family to me than anyone
else. I’ll forever be thankful for them.
Interesting answers Chloe!
Hometown Heartache can be purchased at Amazon.
Now a little more on MJ....
MJ is a lunch lady in the heart of Central Illinois. My gosh! Can you get more folksy than that? She met her husband at the University of Missouri-Columbia and now she has a nineteen-year-old (how did that happen?) and seventeen year old triplets! She loves to read, karaoke (where she can pretend she is a rock star) and spends WAY too much time on Facebook. She grew up in St. Louis and still has family there.
Well friends, hope you enjoyed today's Thursday Thoughts/Egg-cerpt Exchange!
There's more to come throughout Feb and March so check back often.
Until next time...take care and God Bless.
PamT