*DADDY'S
GIRL*
By
*J.M. Kelley*
BLURB:
Sometimes, returning home
isn’t about confronting your past; it’s about discovering your future.
Janie McGee, the black sheep of
her family, is free-spirited, uninhibited, and never one to stay in the same
place for too long. When Janie learns her father, Joe, is gravely ill, she
reluctantly returns home to rural Pennsylvania to care for him. Joe’s neighbor,
David Harris, sports a pocket protector, collects coins, and is addicted to Antiques
Roadshow. Everything about him rubs Janie the wrong way, from his nerdy
wardrobe to his enviable friendship with Joe. And to make matters worse, her
father thinks they’re perfect for each other, proof positive of how
little Joe knows his own daughter…or so Janie thinks.
Excerpt:
Before he even opened
the door, David knew something was off. Late night visitors, in his experience,
rarely brought good news. When the visitor turned out to be Janie, his heart
leapt into his throat. “Janie,” he said when he threw open the door. “What’s
wrong? Is Joe okay?”
“Yeah. He’s fine.”
Relief hit him so hard he took a step back and leaned against the doorjamb.
“You scared me.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Janie rubbed her hands up and down her arms and looked over her shoulder. “It’s
cold out here. Mind if I come in?”
“Oh. Right.” David
gestured for Janie to enter. “Come inside.” He followed when she slid past him
and walked into the living room.
“It’s late.” As if
she needed to tell him. The atomic clock on the wall, a Christmas gift from his
mother, showed the time at almost two in the morning. Janie stood in the middle
of the room and focused her gaze on the bookcase in the corner. “I didn’t wake
you, did I?”
“I was reading. A
little too wired to sleep, I guess.” David moved up behind her and raised a
tentative hand to her shoulder. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
The sound of his
voice jolted her out of her thoughts and she jerked her head toward him. Her
movements were stunted. Wooden. “Ever have one of those moments when you’re
convinced you may float away, and no matter what you do, you can’t keep
yourself grounded? And you need to hang on tight to something until the
sensation passes?”
Whatever was going
on, he thought, she was not in a good place. David gently spun Janie toward him
and gazed at her. “Tell me what you need from me.”
GUEST POST
10 Thought Processes That Prove Single Romance Writers
Shouldn’t Date
Being a single romance writer is a painful predicament. It’s
not like you have much inspiration surrounding you, unless you count that
annoyingly cute couple in the apartment down the hall. The ones that make you
want to punch them, they’re so cute and content. And when you do date, or you do find yourself
attracted to someone in particular, your dramatic-plot-addled brain
goes to the weirdest places. It may be just for a moment, but when these
notions start popping up in your romance-writer-brain, it’s time to step away
from the source of your emotional angst.
If he stands you up, you’re convinced a horrible tragedy has
befallen him to keep the two of you apart. He was driving to pick you up, drove
off a cliff, and is comatose in a nearby hospital, listed as a John Doe because
his wallet was hurled into the sea.
We read too much into facial expressions. His smile fades,
and he looks away, and it must be because he’s reflecting on a sad memory from
his past. His former wife, who was cut down in the prime of her life because of
a rare illness. It can never have to do with the fact that he just finds the
chair he’s sitting in really uncomfortable.
He’s a commitment-phobe? Well, it’s because he was hurt in
the past. Repeatedly. By cruel women who took advantage of his fragile heart.
It has nothing to do with his utter lack of interest in settling down with one
woman.
He talks to me on a daily basis. It means he’s secretly in
love with me, but can’t ever reveal his feelings because of a dark family
secret.
Blind dates are always a no-no because we’re convinced we
will make unwise but passionate, heartfelt love to him, only to find out he’s
shipping out the next day to an unspecified and highly dangerous war zone. And
naturally, we will end up pregnant and alone because he’s been taken hostage by
the enemy and is presumed dead.
Most women take a man’s declaration of being damaged as a
sign to back off. We see endless ways to heal his fractured heart and its
wounded beat.
We keep trying to convince ourselves that the moment we
declare to all our girlfriends that we are through with men, Mr. Right will
move in next door and fall madly in love with us.
He’s cute. Maybe he needs a marriage of convenience. I’m
available.
I will woo him with my whimsy and quirkiness. After I learn
something quirky. Hey, juggling chainsaws is quirky!
So
what if his nose looks like a zucchini that’s been stepped on? I’ll bet there’s
some great backstory for the squashing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Three
years ago, native Pennsylvanian J.M. Kelley packed her bags and moved south.
Now, the wannabe Carolina Girl can’t speak a single sentence without adding the
word y’all at the end of it, and
regards a blast of snow flurries as a doomsday-level event. When the day job allows, and when she can
pull herself away from George Takei’s Facebook fanpage, she likes to go on
writing jaunts to her favorite lake, or a local coffee shop with delicious
shakes and questionable Wi-Fi connections.
J.M.
Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary award, and is
a member of The South Carolina Writers Workshop and Romance Writers of America
(PAN). Readers interested in more information may visit her website at
www.jmkelleywrites.com.
LINKS:
Email:
readers@jmkelleywrites.com
Website:http://www.jmkelleywrites.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AuthorJMKelley
Daddy’s
Girl purchase links:
Turquoise
Morning Press: http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/products/daddys-girl-by-j-m-kelley
Barnes
& Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daddys-girl-jm-kelley/1114255053?ean=2940015960969&isbn=2940015960969
Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/279529
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:
J.M. will be awarding a gift basket of some
of the author's favorite things, including a $25 gift card from Amazon and a
signed copy of the Foreign Affairs anthology from Turquoise Morning Press to a
randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
FOLLOW the tour and
comment; the more YOU comment, the better YOUR chances of winning. The tour
dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting today!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you. Love the zucchini comment. lol
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Zucchini noses can be kinda of endearing, sometimes. ;)
DeleteThis sounds like a very sensitive and loving story.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, MomJane!
DeleteOh Shecky youy kill me. I have been entertained during this entire blog tour.
ReplyDeleteI live to entertain, Laurie! Thanks for following.
DeleteGreat excerpt! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Amber
goodblinknpark(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Interesting post
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
HOPE YOUR BOOK TOUR HAS GONE WELL! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY! SHELLEY S. calicolady60@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteThis just goes to prove that Mr Perfect only exists in books.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Sorry for the late post. I’m playing catch-up here so I’m just popping in to say HI and sorry I missed visiting with you on party day! Hope you all had a good time!
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com
Thanks for sharing the blurb, excerpt and guest post! I feel like I'm gunna have a new best friend by the end of this tour lol!
ReplyDeleteandralynn7 At gmail DOT com