Drawn 2 – BIG REVEAL!!! see the covers and discover your choice.

Drawn, new cover

For those of you who have read Drawn, you’ll remember that I left you with your mouth hanging open at the end and a promise that you would get some sort of choice when book two came around.

Well, here it is – you get to choose which of our two heros Etta has her HEA with – good guy Aaron, or bad, bad Damien.

I have written two books that start from the time Etta leaves Damien until she reaches her happy ending with each of them. While both books have some similarities. They aren’t just the same book with an alternate ending, they are two different books that explore what happens when we make different choices, or keep different company.

If you remember watching the film Sliding Doors, then you’ll remember that those choices can send you off in quite a different direction.

Why did I do this? Well, I was having lunch with my husband and I was talking about how torn I was between the two main characters. I spoke about how kind hearted Aaron was and how I couldn’t stand to see him left out. Then I spoke about Damien and how he just needed help to control his emotions, initially, I didn’t want him to be redeemable, but that man grew on me and I couldn’t stand to let him go either.

My husband simply shrugged and said, “So write both.” So, I did. And here they are –
(Pre order links for iBooks customers included. Sorry Kindle customers. Amazon said no to preorders again. But it will be available in release day.) 

DRAWN 2 – Obsession (Aaron) 

DESCRIPTION

Choose your hero wisely.

Have you ever wanted the power to decide who the heroine of a story will ultimately end up with? 

Now is your chance with Drawn 2, where you have the choice of TWO sequels in which the characters follow TWO different paths to lead them to your chosen ‘happily ever after’.

This is not two stories told from different points of view. This is not an alternate ending – it’s an entirely separate path that readers who choose to read both sequels will appreciate the ‘sliding door’ moments that set our characters off in different directions.

Different choices. Different fates.

You hold the power You get to choose – Aaron… or Damien.

In Drawn, we met Etta and watched as her obsessive relationship with Damien sent both of them into world of darkness and self-destruction. We also met Aaron, the constant in Etta’s life – the man who was willing to do anything it took to keep her safe.

Two Men. One woman. A decision that will change everything…

That decision is yours…

Three years have passed since Aaron rescued Etta from Damien. In that time, things have changed, and they have made a life together. 

When Damien returns, demanding what he feels is rightfully his, Aaron will have to stand his ground or risk losing everything he holds dear.

Their love, trust and commitment will all be put to the test in this tale of fighting for those you hold dear – even if the consequences could be catastrophic.

In Drawn – Obsession, we follow Etta, Aaron and Damien. They will walk the path you set them on when you make the choice to support AARON. To support Damien, you will need to read Drawn – Redemption.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/drawn-2-obsession-aaron/id869833795?mt=11

 

 

DRAWN 2 – REDEMPTION (Damien)

DESCRIPTION

Choose your hero wisely.

Have you ever wanted the power to decide who the heroine of a story will ultimately end up with?

Now is your chance with Drawn 2 where you have a choice of TWO sequels in which the characters follow TWO different paths to lead them to your chosen ‘happily ever after’. This is not two stories told from different points of view. This is not an alternate ending – it’s an entirely separate path that readers who choose to read both sequels will appreciate the ‘sliding door’ moments that set our characters off in a different direction.

Different choices. Different fates.

You hold the power You get to choose – Damien… or Aaron.

In Drawn, we met Etta and watched as her obsessive relationship with Damien sent both of them into world of darkness and self-destruction. We also met Aaron, the constant in Etta’s life – the man who was willing to do anything it took to keep her safe.

Two Men. One woman. A decision that will change everything…

That decision is yours…

Three years have passed since Damien lost Etta. His obsessive and irrational behaviour drove her away and destroyed his life. 

For three years he has languished in prison. Every day he had but one thought – Etta. She is the holder of his soul and he can’t see a life without her in it. 

When he is finally released and tracks her down, he is faced with something he didn’t expect. His daughter, and Aaron 

Damien needs to redeem himself in the eyes of the woman he loves. He needs to prove to her that he is the kind of man she can build a life with – even if that means telling her all of his secrets and possibly ruining everything for good.

In Drawn – Redemption, we follow Etta, Damien and Aaron. They will walk the path you set them on when you make the choice to support DAMIEN. To support Aaron, you will need to read Drawn – Obsession.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/drawn-2-redemption-damien/id869836954?mt=11

 

So, there we have it. Two different books to choose from, or, if you’re like me and can’t decide, you can have your cake and eat it to!

The Drawn 2 sequels are releasing on May 30 (which is one day before my birthday!) and I am DYING to share them with you. Like Drawn, they’re fairly dark and unconventional, and they’re packed with emotion so in the end you’ll be deliciously exhausted 😉

Hurry up May 30! (Feel free to message me with any questions)

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Beautiful Series – Favourite Moments – A BEAUTIFUL ROCK

I feel a little sad because we’re at the last book! It’s been a fun seven days, going back and having a look for that part in each book that really made me smile or pulled at my heart. I can’t tell you how much joy writing and sharing my work brings me. I may not be the most fantastic author in the world, but I love what I do and I love connecting with other authors and readers on a daily basis. It truly is a wonderful job to have and I thank each and every one of you for walking alongside me on this journey.

A Beautiful Rock is still so fresh in my mind so it was really easy to choose a part in this story that I wanted to share with you. I really love Marcus and Lisa together. Like many of you, I wasn’t a fan of Marcus after A Beautiful Melody either, so I really had to work at redeeming him to myself as well as to you. I really feel like his journey from spoiled brat to strong, loving man was a great one.

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

Here it is –

Beautiful Series 4 – Apple – http://bit.ly/1jBMi2Q Amazon – http://amzn.to/1eYfQ6F

 

Theo steps forward and hits the button on the lift. He’s about to say something else to me but he pauses. “Is that a dog barking?” he asks as he tilts his head to listen. “It sounds like it’s coming from the elevator shaft.”

All three of us listen at the doors. “See? There it is again,” Theo comments. “It’s not a little dog either. Who the hell brings a big dog into an apartment building?”

As if in answer to his question, the lift doors ping and open, revealing a very pissed off looking Lisa with Perry by her side. “Lisa,” I breathe, so happy to see her that I don’t even notice her hand swing back and then slap across my face.

“You arsehole!” she screams, just as Perry breaks free from her grasp and jumps at me with such force that it sends me toppling on to the floor, landing with a thud on my backside.

Perry stands over me, his tongue lapping at my face in excited doggy kisses as his tail flicks from side to side ecstatically. Despite being slapped in the face, I think I feel as happy as this dog is. I can’t help it. I start laughing.

Lisa stands beside me with a look of fury upon her face and her hands on her hips. “Explain yourself Marcus,” she demands.

Still laughing, I reach out and grab her arm, pulling her down on to my lap.

“Fuck I’ve missed you,” I say before clamping my mouth down on hers. At first, she tries to fight me but after a couple of beats, she gives in, sliding her arms around my neck and threading her fingers into my hair.

Not willing to be ignored, Perry decides he should be in on the action too and starts to attack our faces with his tongue and his dog breath. We pull apart, laughing before locking eyes and just letting our souls reconnect.

Theo clears his throat. “Well…I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about. We’ll just get going.”

 

What was your favourite part? Feel free to comment below ❤

Beautiful Series – Favourite Moments – A BEAUTIFUL MELODY

Today’s favourite moment is with A Beautiful Melody. This is the beginning of The Beautiful Series Part Two, and was my first attempt at writing something a little less dark than my usual work. There was still plenty of emotion, but I really wanted to steer clear of the dark pasts for a change. As  result, I found myself really loving the interactions between the characters.

My favourite part has to be when Marcus has his tantrum on stage. Just the emotion that was going through all three main characters at that point made it very memorable for me.

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

Here it is –

Beautiful Series 3 – Apple – http://bit.ly/1jBMi2Q Amazon – http://amzn.to/1eYfQ6F

 

It was at that moment Marcus decides to burst through the door. On each arm, laughing like some sort of gangster-pimp-wannabe, he drags in a couple of women who, from the way they’re dressed, would be more at home draped over the bonnet of a car than they would be backstage at a concert. I have never seen such large fake breasts on an actual person before, and it’s not until Theo lifts my chin to close my mouth that I realise that I had it hanging open.

“Dude,” Jack says, looking Marcus over and shaking his head. “This is a whole new level of crazy. Get your fucking act together. We’re on in like ten minutes.”

“No worries. I’m good to go. In fact, thanks to these ladies, I’m amazing,” he claims, kissing them both on the tops of their bleached heads as they giggle and cuddle up to him.

“What are their names?” I ask, unable to keep the disdain from my voice.

He simply looks at me and laughs.

“Listen, we don’t have time for this shit. Let’s just get our arses into gear and get out there,” Theo grumbles.

I lean down and pick up my violin, my body buzzing with anger as I think about what Marcus is doing and how he could have very well ruined the show for us tonight. After all the work Theo has put in this band, and all the work we’ve done together, he very well almost hung us out to dry.

Marcus leaves his bitches at the side of the stage, right near where I used to stand to watch Radio Silence. They wave and squeal while blowing kisses at him while he trots out on stage like the prized stallion. His cocky attitude just makes my blood boil more.

“Hello Melbourne!” he booms into the microphone. “For those of you who don’t know us, we are Matiari. Thanks so much for coming out early to see us!”

He slips so easily into his on stage persona, and the crowd loves it. Especially tonight, he’s radiating energy, and I wonder if he’s actually taken something to make him like this. He seems like he’s a live wire.

After he introduces the first song, I start to calm down, he plays and sings as seamlessly as always, running through what now seems like a script. The same songs, the same words, night after night.

Every night, it seems that we make more fans, and despite repeating the same performance, the adulation is enough that it leaves you wanting more. Just knowing that people love the music you’re making is enough to make you want to live up here, listening to screaming fans forever.

I sneak a few glances at Theo, who winks at me, grinning and obviously feeling the magic up here just like I am.

I get my violin ready for the last song, expecting Marcus to go through his usual spiel, but he doesn’t. He goes off on a tangent.

“I’ll bet you guys are loving Naomi, right?” he calls out, heading over to my side of the stage. The crowd cheers, and I smile and wave at them before turning my head toward Theo as I frown, concerned about where this is going. Theo’s expression darkens as his jaw clenches and he glares at his brother. I can practically feel the rage radiating off him from here. “Yeah. I love her too,” he tells them, his expression calm and serious as he looks me in the eye.

I feel a slight stabbing in my chest as dread fills my stomach. What the hell is he going to do?

He takes a couple of steps away from me before addressing the audience again. “Now, Naomi is a fan of Aiden Price.” The crowd screams at the mention of his name. “No, he won’t be here tonight, but I get that a lot of you are probably fans as well. Actually, I am too. A while back, as a bit of a treat we did his song I Recall, but tonight, I’d like to do something a little different. I have a special song, just for Naomi. This one is called Weighted.”

Immediately, his fingers start moving over his guitar, playing the intro to the song. My mouth drops open and I look at Theo, who seems furious, but to save face he picks up the beat when he’s supposed to, shaking his head from side to side the entire time.

 

All I want, is for you, to let me in

To be true, to me, and not to him

You can’t choose me, it’s far too late

And it presses on me, like a heavy weight

 

All I want, is for you, to share your mind

If we shared, our thoughts, who knows what we’d find

We weren’t looking, there was too much on our plate

And it presses on me, like a heavy…

 

My stomach sours when Theo hits out the beat that means the chorus is coming, because I’m living my own personal, but very public nightmare. This song can mean only one thing – Marcus knows I’ve chosen Theo.

 

Fuck you, Fuck you

You were never true

Go, just go

I can’t even look at you

You can blame me, blame me

Blame me all you want

Just let me go, let me go

‘Cause you’re a bitch to be around

 

As he lowers his voice and repeats the last two lines, he looks over at me and commands “Sing Naomi!”

I jump slightly, swallowing a large lump in my throat as with a shaky voice, I attempt to sing the backing vocals.

I can’t believe this is happening, he’s trying to humiliate me publicly. But I don’t let him win, I sing along with him. I sing the next chorus along with him, and tell him to go and fuck himself because he’s a dick to be around.

The song becomes more intense and he starts screaming ‘Let me go’ until the song reaches its climax and we start whispering to each other to ‘let me go, ‘cause you’re a bitch/dick to be around’.

The crowd erupts. They go fucking hysterical over it, and Marcus swings his guitar onto his back, unplugs it and walks over to me.

“I guess everyone loves you,” he says, his eyes hard and unfeeling as he grabs the back of my head and slams his mouth against mine, forcing his tongue past my lips. It’s hard and it hurts. I hear the crash of the top hat toppling as Theo is obviously jumping up from his drum kit.

I push against Marcus’s chest with all my strength, just as Theo reaches us and grabs him by the front of his shirt, ready to punch him on stage.

“Fuck you Marcus,” I growl, placing my hand on Theo’s arm, effectively calming him enough so he just pushes Marcus back.

Marcus looks between us and laughs through his nose. “Yeah. Fuck Marcus. I’m done with this shit,” he spits out, taking his guitar off his back, flinging it off the stage and into the audience as he storms off.

The audience roars and there’s this huge scramble of bodies as they all try to get their hands on it. But it’s all just noise to me. Tears steam down my face as I stand there in open mouthed horror – what the hell just happened?

 

What was your favourite part? Feel free to comment below ❤

Beautiful Series – Favourite Moments – COMMITMENT

We’re up to Commitment! Yay! This was THE most fun to write. I spent the entire time grinning and absolutely loved planning this wedding with David and Katrina.

My favourite moment most definitely has to be when it all comes together on the boat (I’m quite partial to the wedding dress change room scene as well! 😉 )

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

Here it is –

Beautiful Series 2.5 – Apple – http://bit.ly/1jBMi2Q Amazon – http://amzn.to/1eYfQ6F

By the time we get into the city and park the car, it’s almost 7pm, which is when we’re supposed to board the boat. We all walk as quickly as three women in heels can, and reach the small cruise boat that looks beautifully decorated, even from where we stand on the wharf.

We walk up the ramp leading from the wharf onto the boat and enter what appears to be a reception hall or dining room. I’m surprised when I look around and see… no one.

“I thought we were running late? Where are all the people?” I ask. It was that moment that the well-known notes of Bruno Mars’ song Marry You starts to play. “What the hell?” I mutter, looking around the grandly decorated dining room. My eyes land on the tall man standing at the doors leading out to the deck at the bow of the boat. “David?! You’re not in Melbourne? What…? Does this mean? Oh my god! Is it today? We’re getting married today?!” I’m squealing and bouncing up as I watch him grin and nod. I rush over to him and throw my arms around his neck, raining a shower of kisses over his face out of my excitement.

“I can’t believe it, how did you do all of this? This is amazing!” I gasp. It’s then that I notice that his eyes are closed. “What are you doing? Open your eyes,” I laugh.

“I can’t see you before the wedding,” he smiles, keeping his eyes firmly closed. “It’s bad luck.”

“David. Don’t go all traditional on me now. You chose the dress. I don’t think that stuff matters anymore.”

“No, I didn’t choose the dress. Well, not technically anyway. I chose the style and our mothers decided on the final one.”

Noticing movement over his shoulder, I see his mother and her partner standing and smiling, watching us excitedly. Her hands are clasped in front of her like she’s praying and she has tears in her eyes.

“Surprise!” she says to me when our eyes meet.

I move over to hug her and then rush around the room, hugging everyone. I’m jumping like an excited school girl. I can’t believe this is finally happening!

When I finish attacking everyone with my excitement I return to David. “So what do we do now?”

“Now we get ready. You have one hour.”

 

What was your favourite part? Feel free to comment below ❤

Beautiful Series – Favourite Moments – A BEAUTIFUL FOREVER

I know you’ve been waiting for it, and here it is. Today is my favourite moment in A Beautiful Forever. This one seems to be everyone’s most favourite Beautiful Series novel, so far, and when I wrote it, I truly thought this would be the end of the series. But, I got an inbox full of requests to keep the series going, so I made the decision to keep writing until you all start yelling ‘Stop already! We’ve had enough!’ 😉

There are a couple of scenes I really love in this book. Paige and Elliot go through such a huge journey together and come out as very different people at the end. But, since I could only choose one, I have chosen when Elliot finds Paige working in the hair salon. I just really like their reactions to each other in this section of the book…

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

Here it is –

Beautiful Series 2 – Apple – http://bit.ly/1jBMi2Q Amazon – http://amzn.to/1eYfQ6F

Elliot

Nerves build up inside my chest as we walk towards the hair salon. Without warning Naomi, I stop walking and look in, hoping the girl I saw is still there. When my eyes find her, I watch her movement as she talks to a customer while taking their money at the counter. I’m now positive it’s Paige. She’s smiling and animated and well, beautiful. An odd feeling overcomes me as I watch her, it’s like I’m being enveloped in some sort of mist, and she’s the only person I can see around me.

“Do you know her?” Naomi asks from beside me. Turning towards her voice, I need to blink a couple of times before she comes into my focus.

“What?” I ask in return.

“That girl in there, do you know her?”

“I think I do,” I say as I start moving toward the entrance of the salon.

Paige

“Just make sure you keep up your weekly treatments. You’ve over bleached your…” I stop talking as the bell above the door jingles and a person I never expected to see again walks through. Betraying my mind, my stomach flits about happily as I look back to the customer and try to finish. “Sorry, you’ve over bleached your hair. We will have to cut it really short if you don’t take good care of it.”

“Well I don’t want that!” she says as I hand her the bag full of products she’s just purchased.

“That will all help it stay in good condition until your next appointment,” I say before bidding her farewell.

As I watch her walk out the door, I have to force myself to look over at Elliot, I don’t know why, but it’s really freaking me out that he’s standing in front of me, smiling like we’re long lost friends.

“Long time no see,” he says to me.

“If you call yesterday morning a long time ago,” I deadpan. “Are you here for a haircut or are you just passing through?”

He looks around and sees the other customers sitting on the chairs waiting, “Um, yeah; I want a haircut. Can you fit me in?”

“Ah,” I cut my eyes to the clock upon the wall while I think, “it could take a good hour – I have two clients ahead of you.”

Drumming his hands on the counter he nods. “That’s fine. I’ll wait.”

A small blonde girl walks up behind him and touches his shoulder, “Um, what are you doing?” she asks, looking slightly irritated.

He inclines his head to me slightly, “I’m getting a haircut,” he tells her as a matter of fact.

I stop listening and call my next client, a chubby redhead named ‘Christine’, leaving Elliot to deal with his friend.  As I shake out the black cloak to drape over her, I glance at Andrea, who raises her eyebrows at me and mouths, He’s gorgeous! Do you know him? Nodding I make the ‘sort of’ sign with my hand. She glances at him again and nods appreciatively, practically licking him with her eyes. Laughing at her, I shake my head and turn to focus on my client.

Elliot

“You don’t have to wait for me,” I tell Naomi, who is standing next to me with her arms crossed over her chest. “I can find my way back on my own.”

“It’s fine. I can wait,” she says.

“Naomi, I’m fine. Go home.”

“Oh, um… ok,” she says hesitating a little before starting to leave, regret rises within me as I start to feel bad for dismissing her so rudely.

“Listen, thanks for joining me today Naomi. It ended up being nice having someone to sight see with,” I tell her. She smiles brightly, happy with my acknowledgement and tells me she’ll see me at home.

Nodding, I look over at Paige, who is pinning up a woman’s hair so she can cut underneath. She cuts with great concentration and skill, only speaking when she needs to. I’m impressed she’s functioning so well, right now I feel like I could pass out.

 ***

Paige

“You know that guy you don’t really know?” Andrea says behind me as I blow dry my current client’s hair. I nod in response, still focusing on curling the brush to create enough volume.

“Well… he’s asleep.”

“What?!” I laugh incredulously, turning my head slightly to spot him in a chair with his head slumped forward on his chest.

When I finish up with my client, I walk her to the counter, quickly offering her some product, but not caring if she takes any. I can’t seem to stop my eyes from flitting constantly to the sleeping figure in the waiting area.

The moment she leaves, I walk over to Elliot and stand in front of him as I contemplate how best to wake him.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Andrea calls out in one of those whispers that might as well be a yell, as she dashes towards me. “I want to witness this!” She stands beside me and adjusts her shirt as she prepares herself.

“What are you doing?” I ask her. She looks like she’s getting ready to catch a ball or something.

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, laughing a little. “Just wake him.”

Elliot

I jerk my head up as a loud clapping sound startles me awake. Slowly, my eyes focus and I’m met by the sight of Paige and her co-worker standing in front of me smiling their arses off.

“Jetlag can be a bit of a bitch huh?” Paige comments. “You still want that haircut?”

I scratch my head and stand up, stretching to try to bring myself fully awake. “Yeah, I still want that haircut,” I reply through a yawn.

Paige inclines her head towards the wash basins, and I follow her over taking the seat she points to. She places a towel around my neck and gets me to lean back against the hard porcelain.

As she turns the water on and tests the temperature on the back of her hand she says, “Try not to fall asleep on me, I don’t want to have to pull your hair to wake you up.”

I laugh, “I’ll do my best, but no promises.”

 

What was your favourite part? Feel free to comment below ❤

Beautiful Series – Favourite Moments – PHOENIX

Today, we continue our walk down the Beautiful Series memory lane with Phoenix. This one is Paige’s story before Elliot meets her in A Beautiful Forever. This was probable the hardest story I have ever written. It broke my heart time and time again, because I had to re-visit so many of my own painful memories to get the write emotion in this book.

Growing up, I was raised in a not so great area and met a lot of people whose life was filled with heartache. Paige is probably an amalgamation of all the girls I have known, who didn’t get the kind of life they should have. Her story still makes me cry, so if you’re yet to read this, be warned – there are very adult themes in this book, dealing with drug use, violence and abuse to name a few.

While very difficult, Paige’s story is one of hope. Like a phoenix from the ashes, she rose above her troubles and made a life for herself.

My favourite part in this book is when she sees Matthew again, and she finally allows herself to voice her anger at the world for all that was done to her…

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

Here it is –

Beautiful Series 1.5 – Apple – http://bit.ly/1jBMi2Q Amazon – http://amzn.to/1eYfQ6F

I hang back and offer to clean things that don’t need cleaning. I can see Matthew waiting for me outside, and I don’t particularly want to go out there. Really, I wanted to tell him no earlier. But something made me agree. There’s something about him that clouds my judgement, the same as it did all those years ago. I’ve made enough stupid decisions to last me a lifetime. I’m hoping that if I stay inside long enough, he’ll get bored and leave.

“Paige. Out,” my boss orders, his hand on the door. “You’ve worked enough for the day. I’ve got paperwork to do. Go and have some fun or something.”

“I can help you with your paper work if you like,” I offer.

“There’s no need. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Alright,” I concede, as I reluctantly pick up my bag and head outside.

Matthew walks over to me immediately, his hands in the pockets of his beaten up brown leather jacket. “I thought you were trying to stand me up,” he grins.

“No such luck,” I deadpan back at him.

“So where to? You hungry?”

“Coffee will be fine. We can talk just fine over coffee,” I tell him.

Nodding his head, he walks beside me until we reach a café and go inside. “What’ll it be?” he asks as we head to the counter.

“Just get yours. I’ll order my own.”

“No, I insist. I’ll pay.”

I open my mouth to protest, but when I meet his eyes, my mind goes blank. Looking into his eyes is like watching someone see into my soul. It’s both captivating and painful at the same time. Words escape me, and I simply stand there, staring at him with my mouth still open.

He reaches his hand up and brushes his knuckles against my cheek. “I’m glad there’s no bruising this time,” he whispers.

My eyes try to flutter closed as I lean into his hand involuntarily, but I fight to keep control. I can’t go down this path again.

“Can I help you?” the server asks from behind the counter.

Matthew keeps his eyes locked with mine. “Two strong flat whites please,” he orders.

Getting some sort of power over my own body, I place my hand on his chest and push myself away from him. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t want this,” I babble, as I start to make my way out of the coffee shop. I shake my head quickly, it’s as if I’ve just broken the effects of some sort of a spell.

Walking hurriedly, I head for the train station so I can make my way home.

“Paige!” Matthew calls, running after me.

“Just go away Matthew. I’m not doing this again,” I tell him, as I continue to walk.

“Doing what? We’re just having coffee.”

He falls in step beside me and works his way in front, so I’m forced to stop walking.

“Please move,” I say, trying to walk around him. Every time I step to the side, he’s right there with me. “What do you want from me?!” I cry out eventually.

“Isn’t it obvious Paige? I want you.”

“Really? Just like you wanted me all those years ago?”

“Yes. More than that. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”

“You haven’t stopped thinking about me?! Seriously?”

“Of course. Don’t you understand how much I cared about you?”

“If you cared about me, why did you let me leave? You knew I had nowhere to go.”

“I… Paige. I’ve regretted that moment every day since it happened.”

“So have I Matthew. I regret sleeping with you. I regret giving into whatever it was we had. Because that moment ruined my life!”

“What do you mean?”

“You have no idea what I went through. If you had cared about me, you never would have pursued me. You never would have slept with your best friend’s girl. I had a chance with Ed, and you pursued me! I had nothing! You knew that – the moment I left that house, my life went to shit. I have been to hell and back again because you wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone!”

Anger seethes inside of me as I suddenly see him as the root of all the wrong that’s been done to me. I see that moment with him as the turning point in my life.

“Hey, I lost Ed too that day.”

“Did you? You lost your best friend? Oh poor Matthew! Poor, poor Matthew! Did you lose your home? Did you lose the only person who cared enough to look after you?”

He shakes his head. “I cared. I still care. I made a mistake. Ok. I should have told you to stay. I should have taken care of you. It was my house. Ed’s the one that left. He went back home to his parent’s house, and I haven’t seen him since.”

I can’t help myself, I raise both of my hands up and push hard against his chest. This power comes from inside me that I didn’t know was there, and it sends him stumbling backwards.

“You ruined my life!” I scream. I don’t care that we’re on the street. I don’t care that people can hear me. I don’t even care that I’m being irrational. But hearing him say how he regrets letting me walk out, breaks me.

It’s like he’s holding up a picture of a life I could have had. But he just forgot to give it to me.

He rushes me, wrapping his arms around me as I fight him with everything I have and pushes me up against the closest wall. “I’m sorry,” he breathes, taking my face in his hands. “I’m sorry.” He presses his lips against mine briefly, before wiping away my tears and planting gentle kisses on my eyes, on my forehead, in my hair. He continues trying to calm me, but I break down. Crying in the street like a woman possessed. I just can’t hold it in anymore.

My knees buckle, and I lean against him, crying into his shoulder as he holds me. He speaks to me softly. But I don’t hear a word. I’m just so lost in my own pain right now.

Eventually, I do calm down. We’re now sitting on the footpath, with people walking past us on their way either to, or from, the station.

“What happened to you Paige?” he asks, his voice filled with concern.

I push up from the ground and dust myself off. “No one saved me. That’s what happened.”

 

What was your favourite part? Feel free to comment below ❤

Beautiful Series – Favourite Moments – A BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE

A Beautiful Struggle holds a very special place in my heart. It’s the first fictional novel I ever wrote and while I probably made a lot of mistakes in it, I still love it for being the roots from which the Beautiful Series grew from. I have learned so much since this book and it’s hard for me to choose just one scene to share as I love these characters because they were my ‘firsts’.

One scene I always think of when I look back on this book is the elevator scene in chapter two when we’re still getting to know all of the characters. It’s just a bit of fun and lets us see Elliot and Katrina alone for the first time, and introduces us to David.

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

Here it is –

Beautiful Series 1 – Apple – http://bit.ly/1jBMi2Q Amazon – http://amzn.to/1eYfQ6F

I rushed towards the lifts and could see the doors starting to close of a cab that was on its way down, so I ran for it – jumping through the shrinking gap before it got too small for me to fit through.

“Whoa Indiana Jones! I think you left your hat out there!” said the only other person inside the elevator. I sucked in my breath when I noticed it was Elliot. He was leaning against the side of the car smiling his sexy and very amused grin at me. He seemed really friendly – a stark contrast of the stoic man I’d met earlier that day. I actually looked over my shoulder to check he was talking to me. Seeing no-one else, I responded with raised eyebrows.

His brilliant blue eyes were dancing as he clarified, “You know – Indiana Jones? He just makes it under a door and then reaches back for his hat?” I shook my head, and he laughed putting his hands on either side of his head like his head might explode. I gulped as I noted the curve of his bicep through his shirt, “Oh my god! I can’t believe you haven’t seen that!”

I shrugged my shoulders and offered, “Sorry?”

He was still laughing as shook his head. “No worries; it’s just a classic film – you should watch it some time.”

“I’ll be sure to put that on my to-do list,” I told him.

“You should.” He put his hands in his pockets and focused on the numbers as they counted towards the ground floor.

Standing close to Elliot, I noticed his height – I guessed he was around 6’3” as he was just a notch above me in my low heels. Gorgeous and tall, I was practically a puddle at his feet. I could feel my body humming with attraction. It felt like there was some sort of force that was trying to pull me towards him. I wondered if he was feeling it too as images of him hot, sweaty and naked flashed through my mind. Don’t think like that! I chastised myself, not wanting to fall prey to my hormones and make a fool of myself.

Despite the ‘no dating’ rule stating that I shouldn’t act on my attraction, I didn’t have time for men in my life. I had recently gotten out of a relationship and had no inclination to start another one – I needed to focus on my sport, my studies and my work; which I thought was more than enough for one girl.

“How’s your first day going?” his rumbling baritone invaded my thoughts and snapped me to attention.

“Huh? Oh, Not too bad!” I answered quickly. “Just trying to figure my way around.”

“It’s not so hard. The office is really just a big circle. If you keep going eventually you’ll work out where you are,” he said as the elevator doors chimed open. “I’ll see you around Katrina. That was a pretty cool elevator entrance. It made my day,” he beamed at me, and I blushed uncontrollably.

He lifted his hand in a wave as he left. I lingered back in the elevator bay and shamelessly watched him walk away until David placed his head next to mine.

“Who are we looking at?” he whispered.

I blinked away my erotic thoughts of Elliot and turned to David. “Nobody,” I answered coyly.

“Nobody huh? I wish you looked at me like I was nobody then. I wouldn’t mind doing whatever was in your mind making your cheeks all pink like that,” he teased.

I swatted him on the arm. “Get your mind out of the gutter and come and get lunch with me. We’ve lost 15 minutes already.”

“As you wish my dear Trina,” he said wiggling his eyebrows up and down comically. He took my arm and linked it with his as we set off across the street to the nearest food court, to have a quick chat and an even quicker meal.

 

What was your favourite part? Feel free to comment below ❤

Beautiful Series – Favourite moments – TOO CLOSE

I thought with the recent release of A Beautiful Rock, that it would be nice to take a look back at some of my own favourite moments in the Beautiful Series so far.

There are now seven books in total, including the Beauty in Between, so I’m going to do my favourite scene from each book, in order, for the next seven days.

If you haven’t read any of the Beautiful Series yet, you can find them on iBooks, Amazon, Nook and Kobo.

I love each story for a different reason, but there is always one scene that I think about most when I remember them. In TOO CLOSE, it’s the scene when David and Katrina decide they won’t be attending the formal with their ‘so-called’ friends….

Katrina let out a loaded breath. “Fuck, I’m so nervous now. I don’t know if I can do this!” she hissed.

“Don’t think about it. Just do it,” I told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her forward. “Load your weapon.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and took an egg in each hand. We walked quickly towards the black limousine as it pulled up and waited while the door was opened by the driver.

“Ready?” I said to Trina as I saw the first leg emerge from the limo.

“Not really, but I’ve come this far.”

Out stepped Cassie, wearing this long peach coloured dress that was shimmering with little bits of silver stuff all over it. She was followed by Ben, who was wearing a suit with a tie that matched her dress. After them came, Terry with Maddie and Aaron with Mara.

“Go!” I called over my shoulder, sprinting with Trina close by my side. We let go of as many eggs as we could on our way past. Hitting them square in their chests and exploding egg everywhere. I’ll never forget the shocked looks on their faces. Suddenly, I felt so much better about the last few years of crap they put me and Trina through.

All I could hear as we ran away were the shrill screams from the girls and the gruff swearing of the guys.

“Shit! Ben and Aaron are chasing us!” Katrina called out to me.

“Fuck! Run faster!” I yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind me as we sprinted for my car.

We hit against it with a bang and thankfully, I didn’t drop the keys, and the car started first turn. I planted my foot and sped off.

“Did they see the car?” I asked Katrina as I turned the corner.

“I don’t think so, I couldn’t see them. I think we had too much of a head start.”

All of a sudden, we both burst out laughing.

“I can’t believe we just did that!” Katrina gushed. “Did you see Cassie’s face! I will remember that for the rest of my days.” She sighed and settled back into her seat.

I glanced over at her, a firm grin planted on my face, just like there was on hers. “That was probably the best – holy shit!”

“What?” Katrina said suddenly looking around us frantically. “Are they behind us?”

“Ah no. Just stay still ok,” I told her, slowing the car and pulling over.

“Why? What is it? Oh god, it’s a spider isn’t it? It’s a great big giant hairy mother fucking spider!”

Suddenly, the Huntsman crawled forward on her shoulder. “Just stay still and calm. I’m going to get it,” I instructed getting out of the car to move around to her side.

I opened her door and took her hand, pulling her out while she made a high pitched squealing noise. “I felt it move!”

“Trina, you’ll scare it and it will jump off you and into the car. Just come with me.”

She continued to squeal with a much quieter tone as I pulled her away from the car, keeping my eye on the spider the whole time. I raised my hand and swatted it forward so it landed on the ground in front of us.

“There it’s gone.”

Trina then let out a huge scream and jumped on the poor thing, stomping on it over and over again until there was nothing left to see but a couple of legs and pulpy mess.

“Holy crap, Trina. It’s not like it was poisonous. You could have let it go.”

She visibly shuddered. “I hate spiders,” she stated, stomping the spot one last time before getting back in the car.

“I can see that,” I mumbled, following suit and getting back in as well.

 

So, that’s my favourite part. What’s yours? Comment below…

Beautiful Series Price Drop – 24hours only!

For 24hrs you can catch up on the Beautiful Series for 99cents or less. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Beautiful+series+lilliana+Anderson

The response to A Beautiful Rock has been amazing so far! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to drop me a message to let me know how much you enjoyed it! Big hugs and kisses to all of you!

For those of you who haven’t been lucky enough to spend the last year with the Beautiful Series couples and their friends, I have dropped the price of the previous titles to 99cents or less (you’ll also find Drawn at 99cents too, for those of you who don’t have that yet 😉 )

Anyway, get reading! It’s cold today in Melbourne, Australia, so I’m going to put a movie on for the kids and spend the afternoon curled up with my iPad, reading.

The sale is for 24hours only. When I wake up tomorrow morning, I’ll be resetting the prices, so grab your copies while you can xoxox

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Beautiful+series+lilliana+Anderson

A Beautiful Rock is LIVE!

A Beautiful Rock is available now!!

Tell the world, share like crazy.

You DON’T need to read the entire series to enjoy each Beautiful Series book – jump on in at any time!

Grab your copy at these great retailers –

iBooks – http://bit.ly/1fGr6og
Amazon – http://amzn.to/QDZ6ct
Nook – http://bit.ly/1hxQxJE
Kobo – (coming soon)

AND!!!! There’s a giveaway to go with it!

#Giveaway!!!

Celebrate the release of A Beautiful Rock by entering to win this great prize pack!

Included is a plush ‘Perry’ dog, a ‘Marcus + Lisa’ necklace and a signed print copy of the book! Entry details below.

Purchase the book via these great retailers –

Amazon – http://amzn.to/1fNLBfD
iBooks – http://bit.ly/1fGr6og
Nook – http://bit.ly/1hxQxJE
Kobo – (coming soon)

Enter now via the rafflecopter link
http://tinyurl.com/ntvjr6d