Winter Warmers Giveaway Hop: Dec 12-16

As everyone knows, I love books. From the time I was nine years old, books have been one of the biggest parts of my life, not just the reading of them, but the writing of them. And when I was fourteen years old, I discovered my first romance novel, The Prize by Julie Garwood.

With time, I grew up and discovered other romance authors — Jude Deveraux, Amanda Quick, Susan Elizabeth Phillips — and I’ve found my tastes focusing on happily ever afters where everyone gets their prince or princess. Maybe my vision of the way things should be is shaded by rose-colored glass, but that’s what I want to read, that’s mostly what I want to write (there’s been a few angstfests that have crept up on me), and that’s what I wish the real world was like.

Books have always been an escape for me, a freedom from a harsher reality. It’s the reason why I mostly avoid so-called “realistic” stories featuring heroes that are reformed sex offenders, drug dealers, or just all around skeevy people. Because I’ve seen those stories play out in real life and they never end well. I want my bad people to fully embrace the fact that they’re bad people, not sugarcoat their acts of evil as being for the greater good or whatever. As such, my villains are gleefully villainous, my heroes are firmly antiheroic, and more often than not everything ends with a kiss, a happy ever after, and at least one person finds the someone or something they want to spend the rest of their life with.

There’s nothing like curling up with a sugary sweet romance novel and reading about someone finding their happily ever after.

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Here’s my backlist. Leave a comment with the book you’d like to receive, and I will choose a winner using Random.org. (Not all are romance, or contain romantic elements.) The ebook will be presented through a Smashwords coupon, but if you don’t want to make an account, let me know what format you read (Mobi, PDF, Epub) and I’ll send you the ebook direct.
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And this is my attempt at writing first person. Feel free to judge. I’ve probably said it all myself. The narrator is a woman, the eventual relationship is f/f/m.

Once when I was young I fell in love and it was like tumbling into the sea. The waves caught me and pulled me down and before I knew it I was completely wrapped up in the girl I loved.

She was beautiful and smart and seeing her always made my heart beat fast. She could dry up my throat quicker than anything and for the longest time my every glimpse of her left me completely tongue-tied.

I loved her so much. I thought it was always going to be forever. The way I felt about her, it had to be real.

My feelings were honest and true, hers not so much. She chewed me up and spit me out, cheating on me several times. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to realize that I was nothing but a game to her, and then I only understood after she’d tired of playing.

She hurt me more than anything before or since. I’ve sworn off love; love is for saps and losers. It’s better to wander free and play the field than to settle down with someone that’s just going to hurt me.

I’m not a fool.

“Clarity, what are you doing?”

I gave Adam a smile. “Daydreaming.”

I pushed out his chair with my foot, waving a hand at the spot across from me. I’d been holding his seat and had already earned myself the stink eye from several other people in the breakroom. Whatever. They could deal.

“Daydreaming about what?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I was just reaffirming my vow to never love again.”

He made a moue. “There will be so many guys sobbing from the heartbreak.”

“They’d be crying anyway.” I lowered my voice for him alone, “I don’t drive stick.”

Adam’s eyes went wide and he made a “Really?” hand gesture. I nodded.

“Whoa,” he said, raking a hand through his spiky hair. “I just need a moment to process that into my memory banks.”

“You’re a nerd,” I teased.

He puffed out his chest and stroked an invisible goatee. “You better believe it. And I’m dragging you with me when I go to Sakura-con. So you better be ready to sync vacations with me.”

I gave him an OK sign. “I will let you dress me up in full anime style. It is not a problem.” I’d been jealous when he’d gone to Sakura-con last year, but we’d just met then. Getting an invite this time … That was pretty damn awesome.

That’s the thing about Adam. Somehow he’s become my best friend and I’m still not quite sure how it happened. One minute he was just some guy I’d seen around work, the next we were eating lunch together in the breakroom and going to see movies on our days off.

I’d never had a friendship happen so easily before.

It’s my nature. I’m naturally very standoffish and I have a severe lack of social skills. It’s my curse that while people are attracted to my appearance, one conversation and they’re running for the hills.

Adam could listen to me babble for hours about movies or video games or just whatever random thought passed through my head, and he always seemed incredibly interested. He was comfortable to be around, though for some reason some of our co-workers really didn’t like him. A few had even tried to warn me that he was bad news, which I took to be sour grapes because he was young and good looking and his father was big in the company, like the number five or something.

That was another thing about Adam. I would have thought the kid of one of the bosses would be bringing it up all the time and just be a total nuisance. Not Adam. He was making his own way, and though he talked to his dad everyday, it was usually about things outside of work, like the garden Adam’s dad, Gary, was trying to put together. From what I understand, it’s not going too well.

“I’ll start thinking about costumes.” Adam pulled his phone out of the breast pocket of his blue uniform shirt and happily wrote himself a note. “We are going to blow everyone away. We are going to be internet famous when our pictures get around.”

“Nothing *too* sexy,” I warned. The last thing I wanted was my dad to see me in a bikini or something, covered in bodypaint. He would lose his ever loving mind.

Adam waved his right hand at me while he continued to text with his left. “Eat your food. I’m almost done here.”

I sighed and focused on the tray in front of me: stuffed cabbage, cherry tomatoes, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, and a plastic tumbler full of unsweetened iced tea. It was all leftovers from the buffet, recycled to feed the full-time employees their one mandatory meal per shift.

Even though it wasn’t food I would have bought with money, I ate. There was no sense wasting it and I was going to be hungry as my shift progressed. Besides, once I shook on the Choloula sauce it wasn’t so bad, though I would have much preferred Sriracha instead.

As I ate I watched Adam enjoy himself playing with his phone. He would turn the odd comment my way and I would nod or grunt or give him a thumb’s up depending.

Having a friend in my life–even if it was pathetically enough just the one–was making the whole “I’m never going to fall in love again” vow a lot more bearable.

Peace, love, joy,
~Harper Kingsley
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