Hi all,
Now available on Amazon Kindle -
Or in Paperback
My latest novel,
Sara's Promise, is due to be published on
December 10th and I'm getting very excited about it. I hope my readers will enjoy it as much as they have my other two women's fiction novels. You've all seen the cover, but so far, other than the short description, you haven't had a chance to read any of the novel itself. I am happy to say that today I am sharing with you an excerpt from the second half of
Chapter One. While this is only a small glimpse into the story, it reveals a bit about the characters and their feelings for each other.
Sara's Promise is a romance, but not a short, steamy type of romance. It is a story that will touch your heart and maybe even make you wonder about fate, destiny and soul mates. Unlike
Memories and
Widow, Virgin, Whore, you won't need an entire box of tissues to get through this book. Okay, you may need a few, but you won't be crying a lot! Hopefully, though, it will still evoke strong feelings from you as you follow the characters through the joys and heartaches in their lives.
Be sure to add
Sara's Promise to your "To Read" list on
Goodreads
Here is the full-length book description of
Sara's Promise and an excerpt from the second half of Chapter One.
Sara's Promise
Book Description:
Do you believe in soul mates?
William Grafton had the perfect
life. He had a lovely wife, Sara, and two wonderful children. But one day his
perfect forever was shattered when Sara died suddenly, leaving him alone to
raise his children and figure out how he would ever get through life without
his soul mate. Five years later, he finds himself looking into a familiar pair
of blue-green eyes that remind him of Sara. The woman is the exact opposite of
Sara, yet he finds he is drawn to her. But after a few strange occurrences, he begins
to wonder – has his Sara come back to him as she once promised in the form of
this new woman? Or are these just coincidences?
Does love last forever – even in death?
Annie Paxton doesn't believe in
soul mates or fate. She had watched her father die of a broken heart after her
mother passed away and has since cast away any fairy tale ideas of love. Then
she meets the man who has been haunting her dreams and she begins to see love
in a whole new light. But her dream man is still tied to his deceased wife, and
Annie doesn't know if he will ever be able to break away from his past. As
strange occurrences unfold, Annie wonders if William could ever truly love her
for herself and not for the traits that remind him of Sara.
Were William and Annie brought together by fate, coincidence or by Sara
keeping her promise?
Now available on Amazon Kindle - or Paperback
Excerpt from second half of Chapter One
Later that evening when all was
quiet and both children were tucked away for the night in the safety of their
rooms, Sara walked into her own bedroom and slowly began to undress for bed.
The master bedroom suite was enormous with an expanse of windows facing the
ocean and a fireplace on the opposite wall. They had the luxury of their own
private bathroom and two walk-in closets. The room held a king-size bed covered
with a blue striped down quilt, a heavy oak dresser and mirror, two fat blue
chairs and ottomans by the brick fireplace and other miscellaneous pieces of
furniture. But what the room boasted was the brilliant sunlight during the day
that the expanse of windows allowed.
In the far corner sat an easel, an
unfinished painting upon it, and a table beside it holding brushes and paints
that hadn't been touched in months. Sara walked over to the painting and
examined it, running her hand lightly over the watercolors, the soft blues and
tans that were the beginnings of a beach and ocean scene. When had she started
this painting? She couldn't remember. When will she finish it? She had no idea.
"Daydreaming?" William
asked as he quietly entered the room. Sara turned, startled at first, then gave
him one of those smiles, the kind that made her whole face light up and made
her blue-green eyes sparkle. In truth, William had been watching her from the
doorway for a while, standing there only in her sweater, admiring how her long
legs still curved in all the right places, how her slender arms and hands still
moved with the grace of a dancer. At thirty-six, her blond hair still shined
bright from the touch of the sun and not a trace of age had etched itself upon
her face. She was as beautiful as the day he'd met her in college when she was
only eighteen and full of joy and hope and promise. And although her classic
features and tall, slender body had always made men take a second glance, it
was her brilliant blue-green eyes that held William's attraction. They had
attracted him to her all those years ago, and they still captivated him.
Sara continued to smile at him as
she headed to her closet and stepped inside, slipping the heavy sweater off and
replacing it with a satin nightgown. She walked again past the painting to the
dresser mirror to brush her hair, this time ignoring the half-finished
watercolor painting as if it was of no importance.
William came up behind her and
placed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck. Looking at her reflection in the
mirror, he asked gently, "When will you finish it?"
Sara shrugged; acting like it wasn't
important. "When I have time," she said casually, although inside she
felt a tug at her heart. She had no idea where that time would come from.
"When you make the time, you
mean," William said softly, as if reading her thoughts. He kissed her
again and then headed off into the bathroom to get ready for bed as Sara pulled
back the comforter and sheets. But again, she found her eyes, then herself,
drifting back to the painting in the corner. Most days she found it easy to
ignore the fact that she wasn't painting, wasn't creating illusions of colors
floating on canvas. She could busy herself with everything else that came with
the job of wife and mother, but tonight it seemed to haunt her, this need to
create, to use her God-given talents, the ones that did not include minivans,
washing machines, or computers.
She sighed as she looked at the
brochures piled on the paint table, brochures telling of upcoming painting
workshops, contests, and fellowships. They were there to include in the monthly
newsletter, but they were also there to remind her of what she was missing.
She had been good once, more than
good, accomplished, and she could revive her talents as easily as she could
whip up a batch of cookies. At the young age of eighteen, her first year of
college, she'd already won several awards for her paintings and had even had
one circulated in a national art show, showing at art galleries across the
country. Her teachers saw her talent and nurtured her in the two years she
attended school. But by then she'd met William, an architecture major, who was
two years ahead of her in school. When he graduated they married, and she left
school behind, but not her painting. As he began his career designing homes,
she continued painting, winning more contests and awards. But then Sandra was
born, and two years later, Samuel, and she found her time filled with diapers,
feedings, playgroups and all else motherhood entailed. Then William and his partner
started their own firm and his hours became long, so Sara threw herself
completely into the kids. They built their dream house, which Sara helped
design and completely decorated from top to bottom. And the years went on, with
each passing year Sara telling herself she would find more time for painting as
the children grew older, but each year finding her time became more precious as
she ran the kids around and attended their various activities. The only
painting she'd completed in all those years was the one of their house, the one
that hung proudly over the mantel in the living room. Others were started, but
usually sat, like the one in the corner now, until they were put away in a
closet when she could no longer bear to look at the unfinished canvases. Maybe
this one would join them, she thought sadly, as she continued to study it.
Maybe that was where they all belonged.
William came back into the room
wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, catching Sara's eye as she turned
from the painting once more. Both smiled, and she padded across the soft carpet
to crawl into bed beside him. Taking a tube of cucumber-melon hand lotion out
of the nightstand drawer, she squeezed a bead of lotion into her palm before
dropping it back into the drawer. Slowly, she started rubbing the lotion into
her hands and arms.
William smiled at her as he watched
her nightly routine of rubbing lotion into her hands and arms. "You really
should make time for yourself to paint again. The kids don't need you half as
much as you think."
Sara looked up at him, the man
she'd spent almost half her life with, the man she knew she'd spend forever
with. His wavy black hair was damp from the shower, curling gently at his
temples and neck. He wore it longer than fashion dictated these days, and she
liked it on him that way. She always had. She placed her hand on his chest and
snuggled up next to him. He felt warm and smelled of soap and shampoo. He felt
good.
"They still need me more than
they think, even at their ages," she said into his chest.
William wrapped his arm around her
shoulders and caressed her. "From what I heard today, they don't
appreciate you as much as they should," he said gently, adding softly,
"None of us do."
Sara smiled appreciatively into his
chest. It was rare for William to acknowledge all that she did. She knew he
appreciated it all and depended upon her completely. He worked long hours at
his business, as well as putting in several more hours each night at home, and
her being available to the kids twenty-four hours a day made it easier for him.
He never had to worry about being home at a certain time, who'd feed the kids,
who'd pick up the dry cleaning or who'd fill the refrigerator with groceries.
It was all done, magically, quietly, completely, by Sara. Holidays, birthdays,
vacations, everything was planned by her and her alone. And she loved doing it,
there was no doubt. But it did make it feel all the more worthwhile when he
acknowledged the work she put into family and home.
"You know, you've spoiled us
all," William continued, pulling her even closer. "We would be
completely lost without you."
Sara pulled away enough to look up
into his eyes, her own serious. "Then it's a good thing none of you will
ever know what that's like," she said with certainty.
He smiled. "How can you be so
sure?"
"I just know," Sara said.
"Even if something happened to me, I'd still find a way to be here for you
and the kids. That's how strong our bond is."
William looked at her, half-amused,
half-skeptical, making Sara laugh softly.
"Oh, Billy," she said,
calling him by the nickname of long ago that only she still used. "I've
told you a thousand times, we're soul mates. We were together before we met,
we'll be together long after we're gone. And even if we cannot be together for
a time, I'll find a way to make sure you and the kids are happy and cared for,
one way or another."
It was William's turn to laugh, not
unkindly. He loved her artistic ways in everything she did. Especially in the
way she viewed love and life.
"You are forever the
romantic," he told her, kissing her gently on the forehead. "And I
hope you're right."
Sara raised her lips to his and
they kissed, soft and sweet at first, then turning warm and passionate. Soon
they were naked in each other's arms with a passion that only years of loving
one person can bring, and Sara once again showed him just how sweet forever
could be.
***
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Sara's Promise. The week of the release, December 10th through 17th, several book and author blogs will be sharing small excerpts from Sara's Promise, so be on the lookout for the Book Release Blog Tour Schedule. Also, for those of you who haven't read MEMORIES yet, if you buy the Kindle copy you can read the first three chapters of Sara's Promise in the back.
Cheers,
Deanna
