Guest Post with Author Sharla Lovelace and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Sharla Lovelace to RFTC. Sharla is celebrating the recent release of her book Before and Ever Since, and has stopped by to chat and share an excerpt. Please give Sharla a warm welcome.

Sharla Lovelace is the author of THE REASON IS YOU, JUST ONE DAY, and BEFORE AND EVER SINCE. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her family, an old lady dog, and an aviary full of cockatiels.

Places to find Sharla:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

Hi! Glad to be here! On this, the last stop of my tour, I thought I’d wrap things up with the major components of the book. See, I get lots of questions asking me what it's about. I say it’s about how life can surprise you, can show you things you only thought you knew. It’s about old flames, crazy families, and buried secrets. But if you want a little more, basically, the main character, Emily Lockwood has alot on her plate. She is successful in her own right, with a solid real estate career, but has a headstrong daughter, a mother who marches to her own drummer, and an ex-husband who needs sex therapy. Enter into this picture a house with an agenda, and the return of her first love, rocking a tool belt and a paintbrush and dark eyes full of secrets, and Emily just flat out has things to get through and get over. I call them the “Emily Lockwood Life Lessons”.

We can all learn things from Emily. :)

EMILY LOCKWOOD'S LIFE LESSONS...

1. Never assume it’s safe to drop by Mom’s house looking like Swamp Girl.
2. The most likely time to be found is when you’re trying to hide.
3. Never say you’re never going to do something, like going out for girls night in a powder blue Winnebago. It guarantees you will.
4. Assuming your ex has gotten smarter in your absence is a fail.
5. Don’t bring up the past unless you’re ready to be backed into a corner.
6. Paint can be hot.
7. There’s no such thing as an innocent kiss when it’s with a not-so-innocent man.
8. Mothers know everything, no matter how old you get.

Now, in the spirit of Emily’s lessons, I’m going to share an excerpt from #7 with you.

Life Lesson #7 from Emily in BEFORE AND EVER SINCE...

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS AN INNOCENT KISS WHEN IT'S WITH A NOT-SO-INNOCENT MAN.

Ben took a deep breath and rubbed his face and then his hair, making it stick up in little spikes. “Me and you? I have no desire to go backwards and reopen old wounds. I’d rather focus on now.”

I was about to ask what old wounds he had to draw on regarding me, when he lifted my chin and kissed my lips. Even through my shock, I felt the energy ripple between us, and his breathing quicken.

“Starting with there.”

He turned and walked out, leaving me to stand there like a goon, just as Bernie and my mother walked in. My mom turned to glance behind her after she looked at me—probably because I looked like I’d been shot and dragged through the mud with all my crying.

“You okay?” she asked.

“He really just did that,” I mumbled.

“Just did what?” Aunt Bernie asked as she came in and looked around. “Girl, you still have a lot to do in here.”

“Yeah,” I said, annoyed that they had horned in on my moment. I shook my head free of the fog that accompanied Ben’s lips, and then got annoyed again that there was even fog. Or a moment. “Um—yeah,” I repeated, looking around. “Still a lot to do.”

I grabbed a box from the closet and left the room, leaving them behind me. I’d just start loading up my car with crap and then I wouldn’t have to come back every day. Although that was a joke since I knew I would.

I got increasingly irate at his audacity as I lugged an unfortunately heavy box down the stairs. I put it down to open the door, and then cursed my remote for not opening my trunk.

“Need some help?” Ben called from the garage.

I pinned the box against the car with my body and ignored him as I opened it with the key.

“Hey,” he said, walking up, a folded sheet of plastic under his arm.

“I’ve got it,” I said.

“Oh, I see that,” he said, laughter in his voice.

I got the box in the trunk and whirled around. “Where do you get off just kissing me like that?”

His eyes widened in humorous surprise. “Was it hideous?”

He knew it wasn’t. He knew it had curled my toes. “You don’t want to face anything heavy, answer any tough questions, just skip off into the future—”

“I’m pretty sure I never mentioned skipping.”

“Like I’m supposed to trust you now,” I continued, ignoring him. “And then you lay that kiss on me.”

He laughed, which just lit me up more. “I didn’t tackle you, Em.”

“How would you feel if I just walked up and—did this.” Before I knew it, I had his face in my hands and my mouth was on his. What was intended to be aggressive immediately turned soft. Searching.

Shaking, I let go and stepped back, not knowing what the hell I was doing. His eyes were heavy and his breathing was fast.

“How would you—what would you do?” I asked weakly, though I managed to keep my head up as I turned to walk away.

I felt his hand on my arm as he spun me back around and backed me against the car. His hands came up to my face and his mouth and body landed against mine at the same time. All the air left me as I expected something fiery and got soft and deliciously slow instead. When he dove deeper, I defied all my own defenses and pulled him in, winding my arms around him. Just when I began to lose myself in his kiss, he stopped and backed away slowly.

His fingers trailed down my cheeks as he met my eyes with an expression so full of heat it could have self-ignited.

“Probably something like that,” he breathed, sounding a little ragged.

###

Like that? =) You can read all eight lessons and excerpts at http://sharlalovelace.com/my-blog/ (just scroll back a week or two and you’ll see them).

Thanks so much for having me, and I hope you’ll all get the book and enjoy it! I love hearing from my readers, so drop me a line at my contact form or on Facebook when you do!

Have a great holiday!

Sharla

Emily Lockwood, your past is showing. Emily Lockwood has been sitting on a secret for so long, and buried so deep that she really doesn’t even think of it anymore. Why should she? She has a successful career, an ex-husband who rarely tests her pa- tience, a mother who usually does, and a stubbornly independent grown daughter. Everything is fine, just another crazy kind of normal.

Until Ben Landry comes back to town. The one person that could change it all. From best friends growing up, to young adults who realize their love in a night of crazy passion, Ben and Emily had an unbreakable bond. Or so she thought. When he then disappeared without explanation for over twenty years, she’d had to pick herself up and accept otherwise. Seeing Ben back again now triggers more than mere memories and a tug at her heart. It rips the cover off an old secret that could hurt the people she loves the most.

While Emily works to keep her secret safe and her heart safer, her sanity gets a reality check. She’s been seeing things—her past played out like home movies unreeling before her eyes, visions that are making Emily see herself, her family, everyone she knew, and every choice she made, in a revealing new light and a startling new angle. For Emily, seeing her life in rewind makes her realize she has hard choices to make for her future. Choices that may redefine everyone else’s future as well.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Want to win some goodies from Sharla? Check out whats up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 lucky winners from the ENTIRE tour will receive an e-basket: E-book of THE REASON IS YOU, E-book of JUST ONE DAY, $25 e-gift card from Amazon or B&N, $10 Starbucks e-gift card.
• 1 lucky winner will receive one of Sharla’s customized tote bags, some bookmarks and swag, and a random bestselling author’s book from her collection she accumulated at the RWA Writer’s Conference in Anaheim! (Authors include Larissa Ione, Terry Spear, Tessa Dare, Elizabeth Hoyt, Stephanie Laurens, Barbara Freethy, and Robyn Carr.)

To Enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment or question for Sharla
• Please leave your broken up email address along with your comment
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter
• International Shipping Available

Good Luck =)

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