Make Waves is coming!

Yes, we have a release date! On May 1, you will FINALLY get a new full-length novel after two and a half years. I know, I’m a horrible person for making you wait so long.

Make Waves will be available exclusively on Kindle and paperback, so if you’d like to preorder the ebook, go right ahead!

Here are the details about my first release of this year:

On a humid, spring morning in New York City, the love affair between a young man and his hometown began to fade with the notification of favorable surf conditions on the other side of the country and a breakfast of leftover guac on stale bread.

Max Scott has been waiting for a sign to leave ever since.

He’s not worried about his family and friends. They won’t be roadblocks to his relocation; they barely missed him while he put in four years at Long Beach State. And his job? Crash test dummies are treated better. They probably get paid more, too.

But things are happening that make it difficult to leave anytime soon.

There’s his mother. After finally getting clean, cancer took up residence in her body, and she doesn’t have much time left. Max won’t leave her behind.

There’s Callen, his boyfriend of seven years. Next summer, he’s set to take over his dad’s company, which is based in Manhattan. That could create a 3,000-mile complication.

There’s the state of the country. After four repressive years, a standout candidate for president is a senator based in NYC. He’s younger, single and gay. Max is inspired to help elect the nation’s first queen.

Hiding the restlessness bubbling just beneath the surface, Max finds himself caught between a placid routine of the life he’s accustomed to and the wild, raging curiosity of what’s waiting on the other side.

He just needs that push off the deep end.

Make Waves is the first in a two-book duet.

Author’s Note: Before reading this book, it is recommended that you at least read the following books: Love Like We Do (side a), Love Like We Do (side b), (It Happened) One Friday and In the Wake of Wanting.

If you’re excited, let me know in the comments!

Excerpt: In the Wake of Wanting – “Hashtag”

I’ve got another (brief) surprise for you! It’s excerpt time! Make sure you preorder In the Wake of Wanting on Kindle US, Kindle UK, or iBooks today!

It takes four hours for everyone to clear out of my apartment, including five investigators who swept the place and removed the camera after they checked for prints. My parents offered to take Coley’s out to lunch while Danny went to spend the afternoon combing through a week’s worth of security footage to find evidence of Evan Midland, the paparazzo who threatened me last week, somehow getting into my apartment. The building management, staff and doormen were of no help. The fact is, people slip by all the time, riding up the elevator with other residents. It’s not the most secure building. It’s not like Liv’s building, where you have to have a special key to get to her floor–granted, Dad owns the floor, and he took that safety measure himself.

It was my choice to rent while I’m in college, and while my father was able to make some modifications to the building by adding security cameras in the hallway, there wasn’t much more he could do. My own alarm system should have done the trick. The failure in that is what needs to be investigated.

Not ready to go out in public, Coley and I stay in. Teri and Pryana bring a few of Coley’s things from her dorm, as well as lunch that I’d ordered from Dig Inn. I’m addicted, and I’m making an addict out of my girlfriend, too. It’s all locally-sourced and relatively healthy, so I don’t figure it’s a problem.

“Has anyone at Carman Hall seen the video?” Coley asks her roommate. Teri’s expression says it all. That everyone has seen it. “I can’t go back there.”

“Everyone thinks… y’all released it,” she admits.

“What?” I ask, halting my task of setting the table. “Shit, are you kidding?” Teri shakes her head. “I don’t want anyone thinking that.”

“Trey, you have over 800,000 Twitter followers. Why don’t you say something about it?”

“Because I use that for my blog. I use it to share useful information and to raise awareness about issues in our community.”

“But you have a captive audience,” Pryana says. “Have you checked Twitter today?”

“Hell, no,” I say with a laugh.

“Well. You’re the top trending topic. You even have a hashtag.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“Hashtag TreyGoesDown,” she announces anyway. Coley covers her face.

“Well if that isn’t a dickish hashtag… makes you wonder who came up with that? Evan Midland himself?”

PROLOGUE: In the Wake of Wanting

Today, I’m releasing the prologue from In the Wake of Wanting. I made two graphics for it, but I’m doing a text-only version (like it’ll appear in the book) below them, if you prefer to read it that way. 🙂

A good man treads away

But his thoughts stay

Behind with the woman he loves

But can’t hold. Not today.

In the wake of wanting

He abandons parts of himself:

His heart. His desire. His future.

His future.

His future, he casts aside in his past

And for that, what has he to live for? To work toward?

In the wake of wanting

He leaves everything and retains nothing,

And that has to be good enough for him.

For her.

For now.

Another man runs.

Can he even be called a man?

It never looks back; never gives thought

To the women it’s taken

But not once loved.

In the wake of wanting

It leaves no discernible trace.

It’s cold. Methodic. Ruthless.

It lives in the present. It. Lives.

While the victims in its past slowly shy away

Lie awake

Cry, ashamed; pray to die.

In the wake of wanting

Through taking everything, it has even less, yet presses on.

Taking, taking. Taking more.

OLIVIA is on sale EARLY! Read the beginning!

CHAPTER 1

Staring beyond the crowd of family members, the horizon line of trees and stone markers becomes a blur. People talk to one another around me, but my uncle and I stand in silence. He moves his hand up and down my arm. The warmth feels nice in the cool morning breeze, but I still wish I’d brought a jacket. Matty had already offered his, but I declined.

“You should sit up front,” my uncle whispers to me. I shake my head, finally allowing myself to blink. The trees come back into focus, along with the side entrance to the cemetery where I see Jon walking in alone.

I breathe a sigh of relief, the sight of him bringing both a sense of calm and excitement. I need to be comforted by him. I need to be held by him. I want to be loved by him again.

“How much longer until James’s limo gets here?” I ask Matty.

“Jacks says it shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Where are you–” he begins, but stops as I shrug away from him, moving quickly to the south side of the grounds. I don’t look back, hoping that I’m not drawing attention to myself. Jon meets my eyes, and shifts his direction accordingly. We finally meet among a grouping of oak trees, the shade providing privacy that I’d been hoping for.

“You should be with your family, Olivia,” he whispers in my ear as we hold one another tightly. I inhale lofty breaths, taking in his clean scent, finally ridding my nose of the smell of incense from the church service, if only for a few seconds. The odor lingers on my clothes, and the clothes of everyone in my family. “Are you okay?”

He releases his grasp and moves his hands to my bare forearms, feeling the goosebumps that have arisen in the past minute or so. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m cold, or because I’m so happy to see him again. “I’m fine.” I close my eyes and stand on my tiptoes to touch my lips to his. It should have been a sweet, tender kiss, but it’s obvious he’s missed me as much as I’ve missed him. When I pull away, I glance around him to see if my family is watching. I see the limo finally pulling up, giving them all something else to focus on momentarily.

“We should–” Taking advantage of the secluded cover of trees, I interrupt him, kissing him again, this time allowing my hands to tuck beneath his suit jacket. I scrape my nails down his back. “Mmmmm,” he says, unable to speak but letting me know how it feels. The vibration tickles my lips. He moves his hand from my waist and reaches around, stopping me from continuing the motion. “Not here,” he breathes quickly, finally breaking away. I latch my hands together behind him, though, still holding him as close to me as possible. “God, I’ve missed you,” he says after finally catching his breath.

I never thought I’d survive the past five days without him. The conversations we’d had in infrequent moments of privacy were ones I would rather have had face-to-face. “I’ve missed you, too.” I feel his hands move lower down my back, beyond the hem of my short-sleeved sweater and half-way down my satiny skirt. His thumbs move slowly, gently. I love when he touches me in places no one else has. Pulling his head to mine again, we exchange full, slow kisses, ones that are reminiscent of that night. I’m sure he’s remembering it, too.

“Olivia,” he breathes, pushing me away. “We need to meet up with your family, and you’re going to make this very embarrassing for me.”

“They’re not watching,” I tell him, peeking beyond him once more to make sure I’m telling the truth. After James takes his seat, I see my father standing at the front right side of the casket, holding it somberly with five other men I don’t know well. I recognize a few from various charity events we’ve hosted over the years, but I couldn’t put a name with any of them if I tried.

I look away from the scene, not wanting to let my thoughts linger. My eyes settle on a line of photographers just beyond the cemetery gates. The lenses aren’t pointed at the ceremony, though. They’re pointed at Jon and me. “Yeah, we should probably go,” I suggest, not realizing my heart could pound any faster than it had been when we were sharing our intimate moment. Since seeing the unwelcome onlookers, though, I realize how inappropriately we were both behaving. I glance behind me, wondering if anyone saw where his hands had been. I’m only a little relieved to see no one standing near the side entrance.

——- BUY THE BOOK TO READ MORE! ——-

Paperback / Kindle / iBooks / Nook / Other Digital Format

Read Contessa for 99¢ before Olivia comes out on the 17th!

From June 13th to the 16th, CONTESSA – the first book in my Choisie series – will be marked down to 99¢! That’s 75% off! If you haven’t read it yet, now’s the time to get it, or if you want your friends to get caught up, let them know of this great offer!

The Choisie series is more than Young Adult, so don’t skip over this just because that’s not your genre of choice. This is a real (yet fictional) story about first love. It will take you back to those days of carefree adolescence, when love from your boyfriend was the only thing you’d ever need in life. Many of us have grown up and loved many other times… but there will never be another like your first love. However it ended–bad or good–you will relate to a lot of the feelings experienced by our heroine and her love.

And if you haven’t been in love yet, well, you’re about to be…

It’s not just that a series about teenage sweethearts, though. This is about families, too. It’s about how parents struggle to make sure their children are making good choices–the right choices–without being so overbearing that the child rebels. It’s also about children coming to terms with the mistakes their parents have made. This is about patience and acceptance, but above all, it’s about love.

Choisie is a series of LOVE. This is your chance to experience first love a second time.

CONTESSA: Artistically-gifted Livvy was adopted by wealthy parents when she was four. Twelve years later, she’s fallen in love with an underprivileged boy who has an extraordinary mind. Though their pasts couldn’t be more diverse, the futures of Jon and Livvy follow the same path. Livvy’s unhealthy obsession with another man threatens everything she’s worked for – her art, the stability in her family, and her relationship with Jon.

Don’t forget, OLIVIA – the next book in the series – will be released on Tuesday, June 17th! You’ll want to be ready to jump right in to Livvy’s next chapter!

Purchase links for CONTESSA are below:

Kindle / iBooks / Nook / Other Digital Format

One Week Until OLIVIA – here’s a snippet!

Livvy’s got a problem. She and Jon fell asleep in her room, and while it was relatively innocent, it’s not something her father will ever accept.

Jon’s upstairs, alone, with my family, after spending the night in my bed. I have no idea how many lies he’s had to tell at this point–nor do I know what they are. I hate this.

After brushing my hair, I quickly pull it back in a messy French braid. I put some powder on my face and run some gloss over my lips, then shut off the lights and run upstairs.

“There she is,” Jon says, immediately standing up off the couch as soon as he sees me. My whole family is in the living room with him. “Good morning, Olivia,” he says with a forced smile, crossing the foyer to get to me.

“Hi,” I say, holding my arms out for a hug.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” he whispers in my ear, “and Angelotti’s for dinner. You had antipasto and eggplant parmesan.”

“I hate eggplant,” I whisper back, tucking my head into his shoulder to hide my lips.

“So I learned,” he says, letting go. “But you liked it last night,” he whispers, raising his eyebrows and nodding to me.

“Gotcha.”

“Where’d you get that shirt?” Mom asks. Of course she notices. Jon hadn’t put two and two together until she poses the question. He lets me answer.

“Goodwill,” I say, looking down at it. “I thought I could paint in it.”

“Goodwill?” Dad asks.

“What?” I ask, shrugging my shoulders and leading Jon into the empty kitchen. “They have cool vintage things sometimes.” I’d never been in a Goodwill before, and had no idea where there even was one.

“Ahhh,” Dad says, following us closely. “And here I thought you were trying to save me money.”

“Well, it’s a win-win.” Dad chuckles under his breath as the three of us take seats at the formal dining room table. Mom and Kelly bring Trey and Nikki in, getting them situated before going back into the kitchen to get food.

“Emi, please, take a seat,” my aunt encourages her. “Livvy said she’d help.” I look up at her surprised, but quickly recover as I jump from my seat and return to the kitchen.

“There’s lipstick on the collar of that shirt,” she says. “You couldn’t find anything else?”

“Kelly, Dad was coming downstairs. It was the first thing I grabbed. Just go with it, okay?” She shuts her eyes and shakes her head, taking a few deep breaths. “What do you need help with?”

“Put some bread in the toaster,” she says, “and then go take your mom and dad some coffee.”

“Kelly!” My uncle’s voice makes both of us jump.

“Matty,” she says with a sigh. “I didn’t know when you’d be home.”

“You makin’ us breakfast?” he asks giving her a hug.

“Yes, how do you like your eggs?”

“Over-easy,” he says, coming over to me after I start the toaster. He hugs me and picks me up off the floor. I can hear him sniff. “You smell like sweat and men’s cologne and–” he says quietly in my ear.

“Is it that bad?”

“Smells quite good to me,” he says, setting me down. “So yeah. It’s that bad. Is this Jon’s shirt?” He grabs a piece of cantaloupe from a bowl on the island.

“No,” I say loudly, because I’m sure my parents heard the question. “Go say hi to Mom and Dad,” I tell him with a glare, letting him know that they’re home. “And Jon,” I add as he covers his mouth in surprise.

“I can’t wait to hear this story,” he says, leaning in to me quickly on his way into the dining room.

Make sure you pick up Contessa first:

Paperback / Kindle / iBooks / Nook / Other Digital Format

Olivia is Coming June 17th! The synopsis is here NOW!

OLIVIA has a release date! The ebook will be out June 17th, with the paperback following very closely behind! OLIVIA is the second book in the Choisie series. While book one, CONTESSA, is classified as YA (Young Adult) fiction, the maturing characters and situations in this novel nudge it into the NA (New Adult) category.

In the face of grief, a teenage girl loses her passion for the thing she loves best, and attempts to replace the void by clinging to the boy she adores.

When devastating news brings an abrupt end to a romantic rendezvous, Livvy Holland struggles to accept the death of one of her closest mentors. Livvy’s artwork has always been an expression of her emotions, and avoiding the pain she feels from her recent loss makes painting seem impossible. Her inspiration gone, she devotes her attention to the future she’s planning with Jon Scott.

Blissfully happy in her own denial, all of Livvy’s free time has been given to the boy she’s always loved. Facing grown up decisions, she finds it hard to live up to her parents’ expectations of her as a daughter and an artist. Under her father’s constant scrutiny and persistent surveillance from curious paparazzi, Livvy finds it difficult to maintain the adult relationship she’s begun with Jon.

The changes in Livvy are evident to those closest to her, and a few that were once her allies begin to interfere with her personal life. This newfound attention – along with distractions that take Jon’s attention elsewhere – cause Livvy to question all the choices she’s made: what college she’ll attend, what man she should be with, and what she thought was her life’s purpose.

Livvy faces her greatest challenge when Jon’s unanticipated plans derail her own. Overwhelmed, confused, and longing to satisfy her own wants and needs, Livvy must endure more heartache before finding herself.

Make sure you add OLIVIA to your Goodreads TBR list!

Want more on OLIVIA? Check out these posts:

Haven’t read CONTESSA yet? Get it for your Kindle here! Other ways to buy are located on the Where to Buy page!

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