New Update!

Hello everyone. All of my Reviews, that I have yet to write, will be posted sporadically during the summer. After the end of this summer, I will not be posting on here anymore, as you will see the info on the right side of the blog.
Thanks for your understanding.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Mistaken By: J.A. Howell *Guest Post - Excerpt & Giveaway*

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 fiancĂ©, Jamie. On the anniversary of Jamie’s death, the appearance of his estranged twin brother, Trey, leaves Dillan wondering what other secrets her prefect fiancĂ© 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!) 


2 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me on your blog today!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure! Thank you again for the Guest Post and I look forward to reading your book soon! :)

      Delete

I love to read what you have to write and I like to write back, so feel free to comment :)

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