Title: Drowning
Author: Rachel Firasek
Publication Date: October 26th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Synopsis:Publication Date: October 26th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
“I dare you.”
Those words would change adrenaline junkie, Alice Harrison’s life forever. She’s a party girl that doesn’t believe in love until she meets a man that only writes about it.
Seth James escaped his overbearing father and moved into one of the James family’s vacant condos, hoping to create the music he loves in peace. But the fragile calm he’s envisioned shatters when a tiny woman with a world full of energy bounces out of the elevator and nearly takes him out.
With the patience of a saint, Seth seeks the dark that keeps Alice from enjoying life. He challenges her to exorcise the demons in her past in order to discover the true meaning of love. But when the walls fall down, the hidden deceptions will bare the ugly truth about a woman drowning in sorrow and a man who may not know how to be her hero.
Excerpt
In the hall, arms laden with musical equipment, four
large and totally hot guys fill the space—Seth James leading the pack. He
stops, drops the cymbal dangling from an index finger, and stares. His too
bright gaze travels down my scantily, and very sweaty, clad body and back up.
When our eyes meet, he grins. “Come to help?”
“No.” I have no idea what makes me do it, but I snatch
his cymbal off the floor and carry it into his apartment. I’m asking for
trouble, but can’t seem to stop myself. They follow me inside, jaws still
slack. Okay, so I’m cute, but not worthy of jaws dropping. I plop it down on
his couch and rush back to the door. Taking on Seth doesn’t scare me, but a
crew of hotties is a little much.
His strong fingers wrap around my shoulder before I make
it through the walkway. It’s not controlling or holding me back. His hand is
simply resting on me. “Hey, thanks. I’m sorry if we…uh…interrupted your day.”
His words sound sincere and slightly slurred, and I can’t
find it in my heart to be bitchy to the first guy in a long time that has only
shown me kindness. I sigh and pivot to face him. “It’s not me I’m worried
about. My sister is asleep.”
He glances at his watch and frowns.
“She’s recovering from an accident. So, if you don’t
mind, keep it down in the halls.”
He leans forward. “Will do and I’m sorry.”
When he enters my personal space, my heart speeds up. His
eyes stare into mine. I feel this incredible connection, like he knows my pain.
Like he can see my guilt.
The distance between us seems to be shrinking, and I’m
not sure if it’s me shuffling closer or him.
He snags the zipper on my jacket and runs it up and down.
“Is she going to be okay?”
I pluck at a button on his shirt and glance up. “Eventually.”
His friends form a half-moon circle around him and gape
at me. I flick a glance at each of them. They all have a very different style
of dress, which only raises more questions about the man in front of me. “Am I
the first girl they’ve ever seen?”
Blondie, with the coal lined eyes, on the left snickers. “In
Seth’s apartment? Hell, yes.”
Seth elbows him, but grins.
The tall guy in a kind of hot-nerd ensemble leans over
and shakes my hand. “Deacon. Would you like a beer?”
I eye the leering men again. “It looks like you started
without me, and I’m not into gang-bangs.” I disengage the overlong hand play
with the nerd and back away from the group. “G., I’ll catch you later.”
“Hey, wait. I’ll walk you back over.”
The hotties chuckle, high-five, and rib Seth as we walk
toward the hall. He shuts the door to their gazes and catches my hand before I
can cross back to my apartment. “Hey, are you going to tell me your name?”
“Nah, this is more fun.”
“Why?”
“I think you’re used to having your way.”
He smiles. “Maybe.” He leans against his door and crosses
his arms. His smile slips into a smug grin I’d seen on so many rich boys in
this city. He thinks he has me. “I’d like to have my way with you.”
He’s quite the talker when he’s sauced. Good to know.
It’s nice to see his thoughts. “That’s the beer talking.” I step close, arch up
on tip-toe, and tap a finger to his slightly parted lips. “A few hours ago, you
didn’t have much to say. I’m okay with keeping this awkward tension between us.
It’s all we’ll ever have.”
He scowls at that and twists the knob back to his
apartment. “Whatever.”
Mission accomplished. I’d succeeded in pissing him off.
If he stayed mad at me, then we could squash this weird attraction that we
obviously both feel.
I grin. “Bye, G.”
His brows dip low, and I shove the door behind me,
sagging against it. My breath swooshes out from between my clenched teeth.
Damn, he is going to be trouble. I feel it all the way to my pinky toe.
A soft knock against my back drives home the point. I
twirl and open the door before he disturbs Molly—or maybe because I’m not ready
to share him with her yet. “What?”
He tucks a hand into the waistband of my shorts and hauls
me into the hall, pulling my door shut behind me. “Where did you get that?” His
gaze lingers on the small bump decorating my forehead.
I reach up and touch the sore knot. “Oh, I fell.”
“How?” He raises his free hand and traces the swelling.
I don’t even feel the careful prodding. No, my
concentration is solely focused on the fingers tucked inside my shorts and only
inches away from becoming way too familiar with me. “Um…I was doing yoga when
you guys came down the hall.”
“And?” He tugs me closer. His thumb rakes a small path
below my belly button.
Oh my. “Uh…I fell out of…of…my pose and banged my head on
the floor.”
His eyes darken and those beautiful lips part. I want to
snake my tongue across the bottom one to find out if it is as soft as it looks.
He winces and lowers his eyes to mine. “So this is my
fault?”
I grab onto his wandering hand and pull it free of my
shorts. If I didn’t, I’d be asking him for a wall orgasm in less than two
minutes and random teasing and fleeing was a no go for me now. “No. It was an
accident. Lighten up, G.”
“I don’t want to cause you pain.”
Wow, that feels like a loaded proclamation. “Okay. Well,
keep the noise down, and we should be good.”
He drops the hand that had been rubbing away my bruise.
Funny, I’d totally forgotten it. “I don’t want to cause you pain. It’s a
personal thing.” A deep shudder races over him, and for some reason, I don’t
think he is with me anymore.
“You didn’t. I’m fine.” I lift a hand and cup the side of
his face, bringing his gaze to mine. It is the gentlest moment I’ve ever had
with a man, and we’ve just met. “I’m not sure what this is, but I think I
should go inside.”
He glances down the corridor, takes a deep breath, and
nods. “Yes, you should.”
“Go play with your friends. Be men or whatever that
means, and I’ll go back to my yoga.” I was going to need it after this.
He groans and drops his head back, his hint of an Adam’s
Apple bobbing down the column of his neck, begging for my tongue to taste him
there. “Did you have to bring that back to mind?”
I grin. “What? Me all hot and sweaty in contorted
positions? Do you like that?”
He groans, and one side of his mouth slants up. “I have
things to do and don’t need no-named neighbors distracting me.”
Purchase Drowning, Now!
Author Interview
Can you tell readers a little
bit about yourself and what inspired to write in this particular genre?
Rachel: I’m a
thirty-ish Texas native who corals two teens and husband that puts all of
my heroes to shame. I have a sprawling spread of Mesquite trees and sheep in a
hidden country community of Central Texas. I’m a switch. Sometimes I like
paranormal, horror, or just a sweet romance, but it’s always romance. When I
stumbled upon NA Contemporary romances, I just knew I’d found a home.
When and why did you begin
writing?
Rachel: I started writing when
I was a teen, but lost time and interest in my early twenties. When I hit thirty
I decided to dig back in and to try to make a go of this gig.
When did you first consider
yourself a writer?
Rachel: A writer or an author?
I’ve always been a writer, but I considered myself an author when I signed the
contract on my first sale, Piper’ s Fury.
Tell us your latest news?
Rachel: Well, you know that I
have Drowning out. But…prior to Drowning, I worked with two great authors to
write and produce a Halloween Anthology that ended up hitting best seller
lists! I think that’s pretty awesome news. Oh, and I’m still going to try to
make it to RT14! Who else is going?
What inspired you to write
your first book?
Rachel: Well, my first book ever
was a 98 page short story due for an assignment in my 9th grade
English class. It was a historical fantasy with a heroine named Amethyst (that
of course had purple eyes, because that’s what color eyes I wanted) and a white
steed. Now the horse didn’t belong to the knight, oh no, that was Amethyst’s
ride that she used to save the knight who was locked in a tower. J Yes, there was even a
touch of the feminist in me back then.
Is there a message in your
novel that you want readers to grasp?
Rachel: Almost all of my stories
have a “get over yourself” theme. I’ll explain: When things happen in our lives
that are difficult to overcome, we have two options: Get over it and move on,
or wallow in whatever pity party that’s happening at the moment. I want to find
the way to dig out of the party even when everything seems to want to keep you
there. So, mostly that’s my themes.
What books have most
influenced your life most?
Rachel: I read for entertainment,
not for self-growth so I don’t know that any book has had a huge impact. I
write for my therapy, but I do know that even though everyone moans and groans
about the Twilight series, I’ve read it 8 times. Take away the creepy age gap,
the dead and alive elements, and the weird lack of parenting, and it’s a truly
innocent story meant to make us fall in love with romance again.
What are three things that always
make you smile?
Rachel: My hubby, my kids, and my
happy readers…notice—I said happy. :)
Just for fun, who would you
single out as your number one celebrity crush, and what would you like most to
do with/to them?
Rachel: Johnny Depp. I adore his
versatility. I'd have him dress up as Sweeny Todd and sing and dance with me in
a ratty bakery. *cackles maniacally*
If you could live a day in the
world of someone else's story, whose would you choose, and why?
Rachel: Oh, I'd live a day in Alice's world. Doesn't Wonderland
look like a fab place to play.
look like a fab place to play.
What do you hope readers take
away from Drowning?
Rachel: I want them to be moved.
I want them to be jerked out of their comfy beds with soft pillows in the
middle of the night and remember that sometimes, somewhere, there’s a child
doing the same thing…only it’s not a nightmare they’re living through—it’s their
life. I want everyone to realize that we’re all a pile of mistakes waiting to
happen. It’s okay to take a wrong turn as long as you find the right way home.
But most importantly, I want everyone to know that love does conquer all when
the will is strong.
What do you love most about your
hero?
Rachel: I love that he’s a little
messed up. He makes bad calls and doesn’t always fit the typical hero
profile…but then again, most of my heroes don’t. J
Oh… and he plays drums…and is damn hot…and he writes music…should I keep going?
What about your heroine:
Rachel: Alice? Let me tell you…
There’s not one thing that I don’t love about Alice. She’s so twisted. She’s a
tease. She’s a strong person. She’s weak. She’s humble. She’s hot. She’s. Just.
Like. You. &. Me.
Why did you create Drowning?
Rachel: It’s not often that I’ve
stepped out of the box. But, my very first editor told me once to take the dark
inside me and turn it into something. Well…that’s what I did. No, I’m not
Alice…but I’m close. I know that pain…that terror…and I know what it’s like to
overcome it…as much as anyone that’s lived through abuse can. (No, E. Harrison
is not my father. I promise. But there was someone like him in my life once.)
What’s next?
Rachel: Well, I’m working on book
2. Burning and hope to have it out Spring of 2014. I’m also working on a new Contemp
NA titled Something After. It’s not quite as dark as Drowning, but almost as
twisted—if not more so.
About the Author
She has a philosophy about love. It must devastate or it isn’t truly worth loving. She hopes that you all find your devastating love and cling to it with all your heart!
Connect with Rachel
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