Congrats to author Mila Ferrera on her new release Only Between Us! It sounds like a great book and I can't wait to get a chance to read it!
Last semester, Romy
escaped from an abusive relationship with the guy she’d thought was the
man of her dreams. This semester she’s putting herself back together,
determined to reclaim her passion for art and for life. When she signs
up for a painting class at the local art co-op, the possibility of
passion becomes very real -- in the form of her teacher, Caleb. Both
mysterious and seriously hot, Caleb bares his soul on his canvases, and
Romy’s fascinated by what she sees.
Caleb is just trying to keep his head above water. Caring for his traumatized, unstable sister is getting harder every day, and his paintings are so dark and bleak that no one is buying. Teaching classes at the co-op is no longer enough, and now he’s going to have to sell more than just his art to the wealthy, sex-starved women in his classes. But when Romy comes along, she makes everything more complicated. She sees the truth in his paintings -- a truth no one else has realized, until now.
Romy and Caleb might have a real shot together -- one that could heal them both. But when ghosts from their pasts re-emerge, determined to keep them apart, will they be strong enough to hold on to each other?
Caleb is just trying to keep his head above water. Caring for his traumatized, unstable sister is getting harder every day, and his paintings are so dark and bleak that no one is buying. Teaching classes at the co-op is no longer enough, and now he’s going to have to sell more than just his art to the wealthy, sex-starved women in his classes. But when Romy comes along, she makes everything more complicated. She sees the truth in his paintings -- a truth no one else has realized, until now.
Romy and Caleb might have a real shot together -- one that could heal them both. But when ghosts from their pasts re-emerge, determined to keep them apart, will they be strong enough to hold on to each other?
Purchase from Amazon - the ebook is currently only .99 cents!
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Excerpt:
The
stairs creak and we look up to see a guy coming down the steps. He
looks to be in his mid-twenties, maybe a few years older than I am,
and he moves with the careless grace of an athlete.
“Holy
hotness,” breathes Jude, mimicking my thoughts perfectly. It’s
not that I’m on the prowl, but in this life, there are a few
objective truths, and this guy’s attractiveness is one of them. His
jeans hang from his lean hips and are stained with paint. A similarly
decorated t-shirt clings to his frame, and there’s a smear of blue
on his tanned, muscular forearm. He has chin-length, chocolate brown
hair, but he’s pulled some of it away from his face in a partial
ponytail high on the back of his head. And that gives us a perfect
view of his wolf-gray eyes, which skate over us with mild interest as
he descends the stairs and walks toward us.
“You
guys here for my class?” he asks, nodding toward the classroom. Oh
my God. He’s the teacher.
“Absolutely,”
Jude says quickly, newly enthusiastic, and I can’t hold in my
laugh.
“Head
on in and grab an easel. We’ll start in a few minutes. I’m
Caleb,” he says, holding his hand out to Jude, who shakes it and
introduces himself.
Caleb
turns his gaze to me and offers his hand. “Romy,” I say as I take
it, my heart beating a little faster as my skin touches his.
He
lets go first. “Have you painted before?” he asks softly, giving
my toolbox a questioning glance.
“A
little.” That’s a lie. I minored in art in college, and painting
was my passion. Until last year. I was passionate about a lot of
things until last year, actually.
He
smiles, and it’s as warm as his skin and steals my breath. “You
look nervous, Romy. You don’t have to be. This is supposed to be
fun.”
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Guest
post:
On writing contemporary romance:
Although
Only Between Us is only the second contemporary romance novel I’ve
published, I’ve written several manuscripts in the fantasy and
sci-fi genres. At first, I thought writing contemporary would be
tricky … or maybe impossible for me. When you write fantasy, there
is always a magical solution--and the potential for a unicorn to show
up. With sci-fi, when your characters face problems, you can invent a
gadget or, you know, clone some people. But with contemporary
romance, it’s just you and your characters, who live in the
ordinary world. And it’s the writer’s job to make them evoke
extraordinary feelings in the reader … without including an alien
invasion in the plotline. That’s a pretty daunting task in today’s
fast-paced world, where we all have access to nearly limitless
entertainment.
Those
thoughts were in my head when I started to write Spiral, and I
struggled with anxiety about the story (especially because it covers
some pretty tough topics). But I think I may have gotten out those
first-romance jitters, because I ended up writing Only Between Us in
14 days (also, I have a day job). I wrote Everything Between Us,
which comes out in November, in the 14 days after that. I fell so in
love with the real, flawed, ordinary lives and problems of the
characters that I couldn’t stop writing, and I didn’t want to
leave them when I was finished.
The
cool thing about that experience—and in reading all the new adult
novels I’ve read since embarking on this wild journey—is that it
reminded me how compelling non-magical, day-to-day, ordinary life can
be. I mean, as a psychologist, I do know that, but I’d been writing
speculative fiction in part because I thought I needed a break from
all that reality. I guess it turned out that inventing my own was
just as fun.
Why
do you write or read contemporary romance? Which are your favorites?
(Mine so far include Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park, Easy by Tammara
Webber, and Faking It by Cora Carmack, and I’m currently reading
Slammed by Colleen Hoover)
About the author:
Mila Ferrera lives in New England, where she has a family and a job
and does various normal, everyday things, all while plotting novels in
her head. She has a passion for writing new adult/adult romance
featuring psychological twists and tortured heroes. Her own psychology
internship involved plenty of consultation, but alas, no sexy Swedish
doctors, and her decision to make one up is what sparked her
self-publishing adventures. She's the author
of SPIRAL (available now), ONLY BETWEEN US (9/3/13), and
EVERYTHING BETWEEN US (11/5/13).
Twitter
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A very interesting excerpt. Love the premise here.
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