Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by! I'm happy to be hosting J.A. Howell's MISTAKEN today! The Author has written a Guest Post, so you will see that below! Also you'll see an Excerpt and...a Giveaway!! Yes, those that enter must reside either here in the US OR...in Canada or in the UK! :)
Title: Mistaken
Author: J.A. Howell
Genre: General/Mainstream Fiction/Suspense
ISBN: 1477456368
ASIN: B0092HDIXS
Number of Pages: 198
Word Count: 61,448
Cover Artist: J.A. Howell
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46XSH5oXYzA&feature=youtu.be
Purchase On Amazon
Book Description
One year ago, two
bullets from a .45 caliber pistol ripped away any hopes Dillan had of a future
with her fiancé, Jamie. On the anniversary of Jamie’s death, the appearance of
his estranged twin brother, Trey, leaves Dillan wondering what other secrets
her prefect fiancé was hiding. When Trey learns of his brother’s death, Dillan
takes pity on him and gives him a place to stay.
Trey’s erratic behavior
and a series of suspicious phone calls lead Dillan to believe that Trey knows
more about the circumstances surrounding Jamie’s death than he’s letting on.
With all leads exhausted and Jamie’s murderer still on the loose, Trey is
Dillan’s last hope for finding the truth.
Sometimes the truth
hurts… but in Dillan’s case it could kill her.
Guest Post By: J.A. Howell
(Thank you for this awesome post!)
Emerging from the Muck: Characters
and Concepts in Mistaken
The ideas and concepts behind the
characters in Mistaken came from a pretty rough time in my life. I was a young
adult, unsure of where or who I really wanted to be in the world when tragedy
struck. My father was killed in a car accident during my first semester of
college. In saying that I don’t wish for sympathy, and generally I don’t like
to bring it up if only for the fact that people tend to feel bad. It’s a part of life though, and it
happens. If it hadn’t happened, I
might not have written Mistaken.
In fact there is a whole string of events that may have never occurred
if my life had it never veered “off-course”.
When it happened though, I kept
thinking about the all the events in my life that he would never get to
see. Who would walk me down the
aisle at my wedding? Dillan’s character very much is the same way at the
beginning of Mistaken. She was supposed to be married and starting a family
with Jamie. Not alone and depressed.
Her grief controls her and
she can’t see past it.
Trey, however, was borne out of
another part of me. My father and
I didn’t have a great relationship. Things were strained and I didn’t get to
talk to or see him much after my parent’s divorce. I always told myself that when I finally moved out of my
mom’s house, we would get the chance to reconcile and have a good
father/daughter relationship. A
few days before I found out he died, I had even been contemplating calling him. Then time ran out. Trey very much
reflects the regret and the guilt
that I dealt with after my father’s death. Trey is the what-if.
What if I had called him sooner? For Trey, he lives in regret and guilt
for what happened to his family. He can’t help but mull over all the things he
could have done differently.
It took me a long time to finally
finish writing Mistaken, because I had to work through these feelings myself
and come out on the other side before I could pull my characters out of their
own muck. Pulling yourself out of the muck. In reality, that is probably the
most underlying theme within Mistaken. Sometimes life kicks our ass and we feel
like we can’t go on, but then one day we find our footing. One day we pull ourselves back up and
realize there is still a lot of fight left in us and we get back in the ring.
Excerpt
The duct work running the
length of the living room ceiling came into view as Trey opened his eyes. He
was greeted by the early morning sunlight that shined through the windows. The
harsh brightness caused a sharp pain like a needle being stabbed into his forehead.
He then became aware of the soft weight laying on his chest, the mass of auburn
hair that gently tickled his neck. A warm, spicy scent of ginger and vanilla
emanated from Dillan as she slept, cuddling against him.
The room was relatively
quiet except for her soft, slow breathing as she lay against him. Trey remained
perfectly still, leaning his back against one of the soft plush cushions on the
sofa. One of his arms was curled around Dillan, his hand resting right below
her shoulder blades; the other was stiffly lying at his side. As pleasant as it
was to wake up with someone as lovely as Dillan in his arms, he knew just how
awkward this situation could be if she were to wake up.
He looked around the room,
still cluttered with remnants from the previous night, their empty bowls still
sitting on the coffee table along with several empty beer bottles.
Did we really drank that much?
Yeah,
the sharp pain above his eyes confirmed it. He looked back down at Dillan, her features were smoothed
and relaxed, and every few seconds her eyelids twitched slightly as she
dreamed. She turned her head,
nuzzling against his chest, a few tendrils of hair falling over her face. This was growing more uncomfortable by
the minute.
Moving slowly and fluidly,
afraid of waking Dillan, Trey slid out from under her slumbering figure, then
gently lifted her head as he quietly placed both of his own feet on the
floor. Pulling her body against
his chest, he slid one arm around Dillan’s back, as he carefully slid the other
beneath her knees before lifting her off the couch. He studied her, making sure she had not been awakened from
the movement. She was still asleep, angelic features still peaceful. Phew. He crossed the living room, carrying
her through the dim hallway toward the last door on the left. The door was already slightly
open, and he could see the edge of her bed through the gap.
With his shoulder, he pushed
the door open further, hesitating slightly as he walked inside. A picture of her and Jamie stared up at
him from the nightstand, watching him as he shuffled across the room. As he reached the side of her bed,
Dillan's mouth brushed against his neck. Her breath tickled his skin, causing a
visible shiver to run down his body. He lowered her to the bed and gently laid
her limp form against the pristine white bedspread, taking care as he placed
her head on the pillow. Standing
back up, Trey watched her for a moment as she rolled onto her side.
“Goodnight Dillan.” He
softly whispered before turning back toward the door.
“I love you too, Jamie.” The
mumbled reply came from her as she slept. Her words hit his gut like a
battering ram. He looked back, seeing her lying there next to the empty spot on
her bed. The extra pillow that sat there, untouched. He quickly left the room, pulling the
door shut behind him. He felt like
a trespasser; he had stepped into someone else's life for a brief second,
overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts that weren't allowed to be his. He shook
his head, as if it would help shake away the unnerving feelings that rushed
over him. The only thing it accomplished was making his headache worse.
Walking past the clock above
her entertainment center, Trey saw it was barely 6 AM, but he couldn't go back
to sleep. He was afraid of what he would see if he did. Numerous horrors already haunted him
while he was awake; they would surely multiply as he dreamed.
Author Bio
J.A Howell is an
office drone by day, and a writer by night. Her love of writing took off when
she was eleven years old and decided to fill a composition notebook with
stories to read to her friends. Many years (and notebooks) later, not much has
changed. She still loves writing and sharing her works with others. When she
isn’t writing, she can often be found trying her hand at whatever artistic pursuit
strikes her fancy. J.A. Howell resides in Apopka, FL with her husband and their
menagerie of animal children.
*Giveaway*
(For Those That Live In The US, Canada, Or The UK!)
Thanks so much for having me on your blog today!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! Thank you again for the Guest Post and I look forward to reading your book soon! :)
Delete