One word. Stay.

It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him.

That was seventeen years ago.

I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.

Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in.

This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken . . .

** This is a STANDALONE **

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Chasing Swells
A.L. Goulden
Publication date: June 21st 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance

Dean “DeBaz” Bazner is a Professional Surfer, private about his past and quiet about his future. Like any famous professional athlete he’s got the talent and sponsors, but he hasn’t clinched a World Title since his rookie year. Now in his thirties, with a career clock ticking, he’s pushing his limits to get to number one again. When a travel writer named Azure Thomas is assigned to observe his journey between events, what seems like a dangerous diversion, both in and out of the water, forces him to accept that there’s more missing from his life than another trophy.

She doesn’t know anything about surfing. She doesn’t drool over his celebrity. And she sure as hell doesn’t ask others to haul her crap around. Azure Thomas has been taking care of herself for most of her thirty years, and this is just another assignment in the changing world of freelance journalism. What she doesn’t expect is an athlete who relates to her profound loss and has sacrificed everything except his soul to get to the top of his sport. Dean is more than the hot surfer splashed across magazines and surfing is more than a hobby. Is it possible that what she can’t live without is chasing the next big swell?

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EXCERPT:

Azure
***

It’s clear right away which of the four men on the porch in front of her is Dean. His confidence and physique are superb. Although the Latino man could easily pass as a competitor, Dean’s bleached hair in its slightly wavy shag fits the stereotype. She wasn’t expecting him to smolder though. His jaw is too chiseled, and his chest muscles are too thick. Sure, surfers are in great shape, but she thought they were lean, vegan types. This was a meat eater. A strong, tall, carved, carnivorous man. She can feel her pulse pounding when he stands to greet her. If she lacked all self-control, his cobalt eyes would’ve sold her the moon.

Dean
***

Dean’s playing spades on his porch with the guys when he sees Lennox and Moses walking with a beautiful, tall brunette. Her long yellow sundress flows in the breeze like a flag waving for his attention. Even through all that fabric Dean can see her hips swaying naturally as the cotton clings to her body. Before he can survey her bare breasts underneath, she raises her eyes towards him. Even at a distance, they glow like the ocean, adding a spark to her perfect smile. It’s worse than he dreaded. He can handle pretty or attractive, but this woman is beautiful.
Moses stops to show her something, stealing those eyes away and Dean flinches. Not holding her attention stings a bit. He drops the cards in his hand, giving up. There’s no way he can deal with real distractions right now, in life or a card game.

The other guys turn and stare. The way she genuinely listens and reacts to everything is intoxicating to watch. She doesn’t carry herself like a beach bunny, but her skin is just as golden. Her long brown hair isn’t being twirled or tossed by a nervous hand, it just flows naturally, never shaking her poise. Most of the women in Dean’s past walked with a false confidence. Especially Abigail. She was always ready for a photo through a veil that sheltered her from the world’s honest eyes. This woman in yellow is different. She doesn’t need to be patronized or complimented, and her laugh is so unguarded and full.

Fuck. She’s gotta knows she’s beautiful. She wouldn’t have traveled in that if she didn’t. He stands as casually as he can manage wondering if she’s going to be a bitch. Part of him hopes she is so it’ll be easy to blow her off, but her laid back shoulders and relaxed smile hint that she’s pretty cool. He blurts out, “Welcome to Fiji,” wincing at the sound of his own voice. I sound like a fuckin’ idiot. He cracks his knuckles gently at his side until her cheeks flush a little.

Author Bio:

A. L. Goulden has a BFA in Film Production from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Her love of a good story came way before college, but when numerous instructors and peers praised her dialogue she realized her creative writing hobby was a skill worth honing. Her 18 year career in interior design, production design and art direction for film and television have spun a unique perspective on visually emotional tales of relationships and the thread that ties all things together.

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This is What Goodbye Looks Like
Olivia Rivers
Publication date: June 17th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Lea Holder watched a boy die in the same DUI accident that ruined Lea’s legs and threw her little sister into a coma. As the only eye-witness to the accident, if she tells the truth in court, the drunk driver will go to prison and the dead boy’s family will have justice.

But Lea lies.

If she had told the truth, Lea would have put her own mom in prison for causing the accident. With the trial over and her mom set free, Lea attempts to rebuild her shattered life as she waits for her little sister to wake from her coma.

When Lea transfers schools, she finds herself in the same senior class as Seth Ashbury, the brother of the boy her mom killed. As Lea gets to know the person buried underneath Seth’s grief, she quickly falls for his quick wit and passionate soul. But Seth remains completely oblivious that Lea is the same girl who robbed his family of justice.

As their relationship deepens, Lea finally gets a taste of the love that’s been missing from her life since the accident. But soon she’s faced with a choice: she can continue her lies and accept the comfort it gives them both. Or she can tell Seth the truth about everything, and risk destroying both her family and her newfound love.

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EXCERPT:

Every reasonable thought in my head disappears at the sound of his voice. It’s slightly different now—deep and strong, instead of choked with grief and dread. But the smooth tone is mostly the same as I remember it, and my gut twists painfully as a new set of footsteps approaches.

A sharp noise breaks through the sudden quiet, and I flinch, thinking for a split second that it’s the sound of tearing metal. But then I realize it’s the bark of a dog, and I squeeze my eyes shut.

I can’t do this. I have to do this, but I can’t do this.

“Seth!” Brie calls out. “Dude, you’re totally late. Again.”

He makes a low, disbelieving noise, something between a scoff and a chuckle. Now he sounds even closer. I take a deep breath and clench my hand tighter around my cane. If I don’t turn around and greet him, it’ll be obvious that I have an issue with him, but I can’t get my body to move.
“I’m fashionably late,” Seth tells Brie. “There’s a difference.”

“Yeah, there is,” Hannah says. “One is on time, and one isn’t. And only one is annoying, too.”

“Agreed,” he says. “You punctual people get so irritating.”

Hannah tosses a curse at him, but laughs to soften the impact. Then the footsteps stop, and something cold and wet nudges my wrist, right where my mitten ends. At first, I think someone’s pressing snow there, but then I feel a warm tongue lick the same spot.

I jerk back just as I hear Seth say, “Koda! You know I can hear that, you bad girl. No licking.” Then he says to the others, “Who’s she licking? She never does that to you guys.”

“That’s Lea,” Brie says. “She’s the new senior we got. Lea, this is Seth Ashbury. Seth, this is Lea Holder.”

My heart pounds a million beats per minute, and the adrenaline makes me strong enough to peel my eyes open. Looking down, I find myself staring right at Seth’s seeing eye dog. She looks just like she did at the trial, a regal German Shepherd mix with a glossy coat and wagging tail.

The dog nudges at me again with her nose, clearly expecting me to pet her. But instead I focus on the light-weight vest strapped to her back, letting my eyes follow the slim handle attached to it until I find myself staring at the guy gripping it.

Seth Ashbury stands right there, right in front of me. He also looks the same as he did during the trial—tall with lithe muscle, shaggy blond hair, and tan skin. He’s the spitting image of his older brother, right down to the sharp jawline and the way one side of his mouth lifts slightly higher than the other as he smiles.

A slim pair of sunglasses hides his blind eyes, but I’m betting they’re the same color as his brother’s. Parker’s eyes were shockingly blue, like a tropical sea, and their bright color contrasted sickeningly against the blood that dripped down his forehead after the accident.

I’m frozen. Maddie and Hannah giggle, probably thinking I’ve been stunned by Seth’s good looks. I’m sure any normal girl would consider him gorgeous, but I haven’t been normal in months, and nothing about Seth is beautiful to me. He’s just a reminder of crunching metal and squealing tires and my sister’s scream, her scream that seemed to echo and never, never, never end…

“Hey,” Seth says, holding out a hand in my general direction. “Nice to meet you.”

This is the part where I need to slap on a smile, recover from my brief awkwardness, and let myself go into robot mode. Shut down my emotions, boot up automatic functions. I reach my hand forward a little, and for a single moment, I think I’m going to pull this off.

But then I notice the slim chain around his neck, the one that has a small, silver medallion dangling from the end. The same medallion his brother was wearing when he died just feet away from me.

My gut twists, and my hand falls away, and I vomit all over his shoes.

Author Bio:

Olivia Rivers is a hybrid author of Young Adult fiction. Her works include the independently published novels “This is What Goodbye Looks Like” and “In the Hope of Memories,” along with the traditionally published novel “Tone Deaf” (Skyhorse 2016.) As a certified geek, she enjoys experimenting with new publishing technologies, and her online serials have received over 1,000,000 hits on Wattpad.com. When Olivia isn’t working as a writer, she’s a typical teen attending college in Northern California. Olivia is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, and nothing thrills her more than hearing from readers.

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