Today I am thrilled to be hosting my friend and pub house sister, Jamie, during her blog tour!
She recently released her debut novel, 18 THINGS, through Curiosity Quills Press!
Not only do I get to share the awesome book trailer with you, but I get to show you a deleted scene, AND I'm giving away two copies of 18 THINGS!
Woohoo!
Not only do I get to share the awesome book trailer with you, but I get to show you a deleted scene, AND I'm giving away two copies of 18 THINGS!
Woohoo!
18 THINGS
by
Jamie Ayres
Can eighteen things save a life?
Olga Gay Worontzoff thinks her biggest problems are an awful name (after her grandmothers of course) and not attending prom with Conner, her best friend and secret crush since kindergarten.
Then Conner is killed in a freak boating accident and Olga feels responsible. When she downs an entire bottle of pills to deal with the emotional pain, her parents force her into counseling. There, her therapist writes a prescription in the form of a life list titled 18 Things. Eighteen quests to complete the year of her eighteenth birthday.
All she has to do is fire-walk, try out for the cheerleading squad, break a world record, and err . . . go on her first date. Good thing Nate, a new hottie in town, enters her life with perfect timing. He brings the fun factor to her list and helps her discover the beauty and strength inside herself, then complicates things by falling in love with her.
But there's more to Olga’s quests than meets the eye and when her therapist reveals a terrifying secret, her world is shaken.
There’s only one thing she knows for certain: her choices won’t just affect her future, but all eternity.
THE TRAILER:
BONUS MATERIAL: A DELETED SCENE!
This is straight from the cutting-room floor, you guys! An exclusive sneak peek of a flashback scene that was cut from 18 THINGS!
I’d
been sitting at home on a Saturday night, studying hard after receiving my
first ‘C’ on a test. Conner walked in sporting his Ray-Ban shades. “Why are you
wearing sunglasses at night?” I asked him.
He
sat next to me on the edge of my bed. “Why you are in bed at six o’clock on a
Saturday is the better question. Your Mom said you’ve been in here all day,
studying. We’re here to kidnap you for some breakfast dinner at Dee-Lite Bar
and Grill.”
“I’m
tired, and I’m definitely not hungry.”
“Tired
or not, you aren’t staying here and sulking over a grade that wasn’t even bad.”
He lifted the covers. “You’re even in your pajamas?”
Conner
reached over to my dresser, pulled open the middle drawer, then threw me a pair
of jeans and my favorite pink long-sleeved cotton shirt that said, ‘Live, Love,
Dream’ on it.
I
untangled myself from my zebra blanket and exited my bed to the left, behind
Conner. “Did you say ‘we’re here’ as in other people are waiting?”
Conner
fingered the rosary I kept on my dresser. “Sean and Nicole are waiting in the
car. They thought your favorite ham and cheese omelet with a side of stuffed
hash browns would cheer you up.”
“Fine.
Get out so I can change, and I’ll meet you in the living room.”
When
I came out a few minutes later, Conner was debating theories on the afterlife
with Dad, apparently because of some religious special report playing on the
news before a commercial break. I wasn’t in the mood for a religious
conversation, so I quickly asked Dad for ten dollars and then Conner and I
left.
We
took our usual corner booth along the window at Dee-Lite’s, a classic diner set
up to resemble the 50’s. The smell of maple syrup and fried potatoes made my
stomach roll over with happiness. I guess I was hungry after all.
Caroline,
our waitress, walked over with a notepad and pencil in hand but tucked them
into her apron when she saw us. “Let me guess. A Cheesy BLT for you.” She
pointed at Conner and then at me. “A ham and cheese hamlet with a side of
stuffed hash.” Then she nodded toward Nic and Sean. “And Belgian Waffles with
fries for the pair of you.”
“You
guessed it, Sweet Caroline,” Conner teased. “Good times—”
She
waggled her finger at him. “You start singing again, and it’ll be ten minutes
before you get your Cokes.”
I
covered his mouth with my hand, and he licked it. “You are so gross.”
Disgusting
as he was, dinner hit the spot. Still, Conner didn’t like the way I wasn’t
laughing at his usual jokes, so he got Sean to stand with him when open mic
started and sang Don’t Stop Believin by Journey.
The
endorphins of artery-clogging greasy food and Conner’s karaoke kicked in as we
made our exit and Conner stopped in the lobby to play the crane game, the
machine where you pay fifty cents to claw a stuffed animal.
“Which
one do you want?” he asked me.
“Pooh
Bear and Roo.”
He
raised his bushy eyebrows. “You want me to spend a dollar and win you two?”
I
shoved him a little. “Come on. Be a man and splurge.”
Conner
got both of them on the first try and handed them over. “Congratulations on
being average for once like the rest of us. And if you ever sulk over getting a
‘C’ again I’m holding those animals ransom.”
I
stuck my tongue out at him and skipped like a six-year-old down the half block
to Grand Haven’s waterfront, one stuffed animal under each arm.
Nic
skipped with me toward the boardwalk, and the boys mock-skipped behind us
singing the Winnie-the-Pooh theme song. Part of me wondered why Sean and Conner
would still remember the theme song to a children’s cartoon, but the other part
told me I didn’t want to know.
“I
hate to break this to you, but Pooh and his friends aren’t Christians.” Conner
pointed to the cross around my neck.
“How
do you figure?”
“Well,
think about it. Roo must be a bastard since we never see his dad. Pooh is a
perv since he’s never wearing any pants. And I’m pretty sure Piglet is as gay
as they come as far as fictional childhood characters go,” he argued, teasing
but keeping a straight face.
My
hand flew to my chest, grasping my cross. “You know, I’ll have to figure out a
way to punish you for mocking my Pooh.”
I
held my furry friends in my arms to show my unwavering allegiance but felt the
familiar ache of wanting to be held or touched by Conner instead.
TWO GIVEAWAYS!
ABOUT JAMIE:
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Jamie Ayres writes young adult paranormal love stories by night and teaches very young adults as a public school teacher by day. When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this. She lives in southwest Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She spent her youthful summers in Grand Haven, Michigan and this setting provided the inspiration for her debut novel, 18 Things. She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she’s thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you.
LINKS:
JAMIE:
18 THINGS:
Woohoo! A rafflecopter and everything . . . YOU ROCK:-) Thank you sooo so much for having me over today~<3
ReplyDeleteAw that was an adorable outtake! Thanks for the exclusive peek. :)
ReplyDelete