{"id":14279,"date":"2014-11-05T11:05:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=14279"},"modified":"2014-11-05T11:05:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-05T16:05:00","slug":"giveaway-qa-and-excerpt-forgive-me-by-eliza-freed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/05\/giveaway-qa-and-excerpt-forgive-me-by-eliza-freed\/","title":{"rendered":"Giveaway, Q&A and Excerpt \u273d Forgive Me by Eliza Freed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Freed_Forgive<\/a>
\nThe thing he loves most in the world will kill him. It’s only a matter of time . . . “<\/em><\/p>\n

College student Charlotte O’Brien is lost and she can’t find her way home. Devastated by her parents’ tragic deaths, she aches for any kind of connection\u2026and finds it in a man who is all wrong for her. Jason Leer is a rough-hewn steer wrestler from Oklahoma-and the hottest thing Charlotte has ever laid eyes on. Yet he has his own dark secrets\u2026<\/p>\n

Burying herself in Jason, Charlotte soon discovers that life doesn’t have to be so painful. When they’re together their passion eclipses everything-and Charlotte can finally begin to see a way out of the darkness of her past. Fighting for a future with Jason won’t be easy, but for the first time since her parents’ deaths, this lost soul might have finally found a place that feels like home.<\/p>\n

Upcoming books in the Lost Souls<\/span> series:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"redeemme\" \"saveme\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"goodread-logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Q&A<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A la<\/em> Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A stubborn, sarcastic, and fearless girl searches for a home in a life destroyed by tragedy. She discovers love can save you, if you let it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What topics did you want to explore when you started writing the Lost Souls<\/em> series?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Betrayal, Forgiveness, and Faith<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s one thing you must have when writing?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Music, preferably through a headset. And if I\u2019m reading my own work I need silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s one book you read in the last 6 months that has left a lasting impression and why? (Doesn\u2019t have to be romance!)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

F. Scott Fitzgerald\u2019s The Great Gatsby. This is my absolute, hands down, favorite book of all time. I think it is a gloriously screwed-up love affair, and I have reread it every summer since I was first assigned it in high school.<\/span><\/p>\n

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do it justice. Whatever amazing story comes out of your incomparable imagination\u2014Do. It. Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t skimp on the editing, or the cover. Obsess over the copy. Don\u2019t stop until every word, every scene, and every detail feels right in your gut. Don\u2019t rush through the publication process. Take as long as you need to do that story justice because it only gets one chance to be told in this world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"excerpt-sheilabold\"<\/p>\n

I sit up and a pain jabs from my neck down between my shoulders. I roll my head as I pinch the muscle on both sides. The kink will take days to come out. It\u2019s from attempting to sleep on the concrete wall that is Jason Leer\u2019s chest. He is painful. But the thought of sleeping without him sends a chill down my spine. Watching him sleep, his black hair circling his face, makes him seem so gentle and calm. He looks sweet in his sleep, but Jason\u2019s not sweet. He\u2019s some force between good and evil that whisks me away from everything I\u2019m afraid of.<\/p>\n

We should be talking more, though. We exist in silence. No one has sex this often without speaking. I\u2019m not sure what has to be said, but I think everyone else is talking about something. The world is communicating. Jason rolls onto his side. He reaches out and grabs my hip. Without opening his eyes he slides his hand up my side until he comes to my breast and there he rests his hand as he smiles. My stomach flips and I cannot help but smile, too. This cowboy is doing something to me. Jason\u2019s eyes open and rise to me, his hand never leaving my breast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite color?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n

Jason seems frustrated, or amused. For Jason, the two emotions might be the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve known my favorite color since we first learned the names of the colors,\u201d he says, sitting up.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed? Is it red?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you thinking, Annie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThinking about what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThinking in general. Trying to figure this out? Trying to make sense of everything. It\u2019s probably the reason we\u2019ve never been together before last week. The entire world doesn\u2019t have to make perfect sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuck. You.<\/em><\/p>\n

I take a deep breath. Why does he piss me off so much?<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell by your anger I\u2019m right,\u201d he says, and pulls me onto his lap. He throws one leg over the side of his body and I\u2019m pretty sure he could hog-tie me if he wanted to. \u201cMy favorite color is red.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think you\u2019re falling in love with me?\u201d I ask, afraid of the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing with me then?\u201d I need to know, but panic seizes me. I need him so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurviving.\u201d I look down at his chest. My hands find his nipples and with both between my fingers I consider pulling until he yelps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d I say, barely above a whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cFalling in love with you does not begin to describe what\u2019s going on.\u201d Jason tilts my chin up so I\u2019m forced to see his gray eyes. \u201cI felt like I was walking around dead from the day my mom died until I drove you to Stoners Lane.\u201d He pauses and I remember how he stole me. \u201cYou are the only thing I need. The only thing I want. And you consume me every minute of every day. With you, I am alive. Without you, I am not,\u201d he says, and the weight of his words crushes me. \u201c\u2018I love you\u2019 just doesn\u2019t properly convey that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop thinking. Give your mind a break and just be with me.\u201d I slide closer to him and kiss him. By the time he bends me backward onto the bed I forget what we were even talking about.<\/p>\n

\"bandn-logo\"<\/a> \"iBooks_Icon\"<\/a> \"kobo-logo\"<\/a> \"icon-google-play\"<\/a> \"amazon-logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

a Rafflecopter giveaway<\/a>
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