YAY!!!! Today is the release of my newest novelette. Make sure you check out the end of the post for a chance to win.
Life in Suitcases
(Contemporary Romance)
(Contemporary Romance)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdZcA9CexFigN5_MSfMenUbeFhXWA4ZADU7Q-Xx5nR7fYEiEblIvT03jP6gG9b1gENH3Q9M_6AQjiWmxN0KtN863kjLE7bguQN98KI-CPftVz3Dj_q7-KSy6jCejS6v5E4PVGXcOR9cPM/s320/LifeinSuitcases_Cover.jpg)
Feeling restless with her life, Elise sets about trying to find what’s missing in her life. After breaking up with her boyfriend, she takes a trip home hoping to find a sense of peace. When one hug reveals what Elise thought she was missing wasn’t a place or a thing, she realizes the truth. It’s a person.
Excerpt:
At thirteen, I was
too old for most people to consider adopting. No matter how hard Mary looked,
she couldn’t find me a foster home. I went from having everything to having
nothing. My parents weren’t well off. They were just your average middle-income
family with a mortgage. Once the house was sold and all the debts were paid, I
wasn’t left with much. There was just enough money to buy a second-hand car
when I was old enough and two suitcases full of personal possessions, including
a few photo albums. That was all my thirteen years of life added up to: two
suitcases.
My first few weeks
at Abbott’s were probably the worst of my life. I spent my days just going
through the motions at school. At night, I would cry in bed until sleep finally
claimed me. After about three weeks of feeling as if I was drowning in a
never-ending pit of despair, I met Anthony. I felt the bed dip behind me one
night as I was lying on my side and sobbing particularly hard. I was so upset I
didn’t immediately register that it meant someone was lying with me. Then I
felt an arm wrap around me and heard a soothing voice in my ear telling me
everything was going to be okay.
When I woke up the
following morning, I rolled over to see just who had climbed into bed with me.
A skinny boy with short brown hair grinned at me.
“Anthony Scott.” He
held his hand out.
“Elise Morgan,” I
replied. “Thanks for last night.”
“Ain’t nothing.”
We talked for a
little while longer, getting to know one another. Anthony was the same age as
me, but had been at Abbott’s since he was six. His parents were drug addicts,
which caused his removal from their care. After telling him how sorry I was
that had happened, I explained my story. It was still so hard to talk about,
but I got through it and only cried a little bit.
After that day,
Anthony and I were inseparable. We were the best of friends. We did everything
together. When I tried ballet, he did too, no matter how much teasing he got
from the other boys. When he took up guitar, so did I, even though I sucked at
it. Barely a day went by that we didn’t see or speak to each other at least a
hundred times. I doubt I would have survived my teenage years if it weren’t for
my best friend.
Though the days were
fairly easy to survive, the nights were always tough. Curled up in bed alone,
the reality would hit the hardest. Memories of families lost and dreams of what
could have been plagued each of our thoughts. We spent many a night in each
other’s beds providing comfort. Those were always the nights I slept best.
For five years, it
was Anthony and me against the world.
All that changed
senior year. Anthony and I had both been working toward Cornell. We were in all
the same AP classes and had the same GPA. We both applied for scholarships,
knowing that was the only way we’d ever get to go to college. When I got a
scholarship and he didn’t, reality came crashing down around us. I told him I
wasn’t going without him, that it had been our
dream. Anthony, always the strong one, told me I needed to go follow my
dreams, that I deserved to go to Cornell, and he wasn’t going to let me waste
my one chance to get the hell out of San Francisco.
After graduation, we
agreed to have one last hoorah over
the summer before heading off on our separate paths. We had the best time. We
found a little apartment in the city. It was really only big enough for one
person, but since it would just be Anthony’s apartment come fall, I didn’t mind
it being a bit cramped.
We did everything we
ever wanted to do together that summer. We visited museums and art galleries,
rode the cable cars, and spent hours upon hours running around Fisherman’s
Wharf. We even went to the beach and the zoo.
All the while, our
separation loomed. It was constantly present in our thoughts, as if we knew it
was going to be our last summer together. We were heading in two different
directions come September and might never see one another again.
On a sunny day in
the middle of August, I packed my two suitcases and a duffle bag into the back
of the beat-up truck I purchased with the money left from Mom and Dad’s estate.
There, in front of
Anthony’s apartment building, I said good-bye to my best friend and the closest
thing I had to family. Hugging him tightly, I resisted as best I could the
tears threatening to fall.
We said I love you
and promised to stay in touch and visit when we could. With a kiss on the cheek
and yet another hug, he told me to go spread my wings and become the beautiful
butterfly he had always known me to be.
Also make sure you check out all the stops on the blog tour for more changes to win.
2/19 - Melissa Keir
2/20 - Krista Ames
2/21 - Ella Jade
Aww this sounds like a sweet story (after the tragedy of course). I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Sweetie!
EM (@_emmalee_rose)
Happy Release Day - hope sales are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteHappy Release Day, Melissa! Wishing you many sales. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your release!! I tweeted.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release and I love this excerpt. Really makes you feel what and where she has come from. Great job and happy sales!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release! Best wishes on the sales!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway and congratulations!
ReplyDeletemestith@gmail.com
Congrats on your release. The book sounds lovingly lovely.
ReplyDeleteSo must I kidnap you, or will you willingly show up on my blog. Nice Liza or Bad Liza...???? Which will it be?
Congratulations on your release!!
ReplyDeleteI loved the excerpt thank you.
Great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the release, Mel. It looks like a great story.
ReplyDeleteSuz
Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteFroggy
froggarita@gmail.com