Book: Thirty Happens
Author: Elizabeth Butts
Genre: Chick Lit
Cover Designed By: Nwato Christian
Hosted By: Francessca’s PR & Designs
Synopsis
Turning thirty is a big deal.
Getting married is also a big deal.
Karyn’s about to do both, and she’s freaking out about it. From the outside looking in, anyone would think she’s got it all going on. Amazing fiancé who adores her, job as the top reporter in town, amazing group of friends… seriously, the list goes on and on.
But, Karyn had dreams as a kid. She had these amazing, huge goals. She was so close to achieving them, too.
However, like life has a tendency to do, it took a detour.
And now she’s turning thirty, and getting married, and it turns out that she is nowhere near where she thought she would be at this point in her life.
So now, she is turning thirty, and getting married, and asking herself the question: ‘If I could go back and change direction… would I?’ Would she willingly change everything if only to have a chance at making her original dreams come true?
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Excerpt
“Nothing. I have nothing.”
Ashley pointedly looked around my room where I had a pile of clothes on the bed, clothes in the closet and in the dresser as well.
“Yeah, I can see you’re totally suffering. I should contact the local churches that you are in dire need and that a clothing drive needs to be coordinated as soon as possible.”
“Shut up.”
I reached for the first thing my fingers touched and threw it at her.
“Ewwwwww, ohmigawd. You just threw your thong undies at me? Seriously? What kind of sick and twisted bitch are you?”
She flung them off of her and then pretended to retch. At least I thought she was pretending.
I went and picked up my Victoria’s Secret knock offs and dangled them over her head.
“C’mon Ash, I thought you were my best friend. Don’t you want my panties on you?”
She shrieked like a little girl. The sound shocked me at first, and then hysteria set in.
“Seriously. You have issues.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
We sat on the floor with our backs to the foot of our bed, surrounded by clothing.
“Tell me about this guy again.”
“Okay, well, he’s a teensy bit older than me. Not like crypt keeper old, but like, distinguished, sophisticated older. He has some silver in his hair and eye crinkles, but I don’t see liver spots and a walker in his near future.”
“Dude, you want to marry grandpa?”
“Ugh, no. Seriously, Ash. There’s just something about him.”
“What’s his name, again?”
“Chris. Chris Smyth.”
Her eyes bugged out at this.
“You’re dating Chris Smyth?” Her voice had gotten really low, almost a reverent whisper.
“Uh, well, I’m going on a date with him. We’ll see where it goes from there.”
I knew where I wanted it to go from there. I wouldn’t let that happen on the first date, though. I mean, only nasty chicks let that happen on the first date, right? I started chewing on my lower lip.
I could be nasty.
“So how do you know Chris?”
I was interested in knowing if she was going to be some form of competition.
She rolled her eyes at me.
“Karyn, everyone in town knows Chris. We all pretty much voted for him.”
“You what?”
“Do you know anything about him? Anything at all?”
“Well, I know he owns businesses, plural, and owns commercial properties that he leases to smaller businesses.”
“And he’s a town selectman.”
I just stared at her, unblinking.
“Like as in a politician. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure he’s one of the best we have, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the head of it all at some point. Everyone loves him.”
“Great. Just great. I find a guy who actually really interests me, like, one that I felt a freaking jolt over and he’s a freaking town celebrity. I mean, he’s not married, he’s sexy as hell. Why did he have to be a damn politician? I even text broke up with Ryan over this.”
About The Author
I am a 38 year old who just decided in January 2015 to finally write a book. I am excited that I have two books on Goodreads now!
I'm an avid reader, I have a tendency to zone out the world when I'm reading. I always wanted to be able to write but I would get started, and then a page later, I was done.
My husband, Mike, and I live in Wareham, MA with our (gulp) twelve rescued pets.
I made a good friend in A. E. Murphy (an awesome author, please check her out!) who kept nudging me (ok, seriously pushing me) into writing.
I hope you enjoy!
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Other books by Elizabeth Betts
Singlish
Amazon UK
Amazon USA
Second Hand Purses
Amazon USA
Amazon USA
Book: Singleish
Author: Elizabeth Butts
Genre: Chick Lit
Cover Design: Danielle Camorlinga
Hosted by: Francessca’s Romance Reviews
Synopsis
Ashley MacKillop has it all figured out. She has her boyfriend, a house, a good (if not exciting job). Everything is going according to plan, and everything is fitting into the nice, tidy, neat-freak boxes she’s created for herself.
Until he walks away. Until he says he needs a break. Until he says he’s done. But he forgot to break up with her. Was she part of a couple anymore? Was she single?
A red-wine fueled therapy session with her three closest friends has Ashley trying all sorts of things that force her to break out of her comfort zone and figure out who she is when there’s no man involved.
In the end, what defines a woman? Is it the man she’s with? Is it the friends she keeps? Is it the copious amounts of red wine that she consumes? Or is it who she is when no one is watching?
Will she decide she needs a man in her life? Will she even want him back if he were to come back?
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Prologue
He slowly pulled at the strings on her chemise, lowering it off her shoulders, gently kissing her skin as it was exposed to him. A shudder ran through her, though whether from the cold or his attention, she would never know. He caressed her skin, his fingers soft as a breeze against her hardening nipple. She heard a moan and was embarrassed when she realized it came from her own throat. “Miranda,” Ian purred, “you needn’t be shy with me. I love you.” “Oh, Ian, I can’t believe that my boss expects me to work every Saturday without a promotion or raise in sight”.
Wait… What? I blinked my eyes a few times. When did Miranda start speaking in my head in a male voice? A male voice that sounded suspiciously like…oh, shit. I looked up from my Kindle where Ian and Miranda were about to get all kilt freaky and into the eyes of my boyfriend of three years, Craig, who was looking at me expectantly. I wondered how long he’d been talking to me. I wondered if my subconscious had heard any of it. I closed my eyes a minute, mentally going over the last few minutes. Nope, nothing there. Just Scottish lairds and soft caresses. I wondered if he realized that I hadn’t heard a word that he’d said. I risked a glance at him and saw a slightly reddening face and narrowed eyes. Um, yup. He knew. Crap.
I wished I could just go back to my Kindle, re-enter the world that demanded nothing of me. I mean, it was my day off…I should be able to sit on a couch and just lose myself in that world that existed within its electronic pages. However, reality called. I groaned inwardly, pushed the button to put my Kindle to sleep and turned and face the music.
“I’m sorry, honey, you know how I can get when I read. Could you repeat what you said?”
“Seriously? Again? I have been talking to you for the last ten minutes. You’re trying to tell me that you haven’t heard a damn word I’ve said for ten minutes?” Craig looked like he was about to spontaneously combust. Eek.
Inwardly I shuddered to think that I’d managed to zone out that completely, but didn’t let him see.
“Hey, I’ve told you not to try to talk to me when I’m reading. You’ve been warned. If you see me on the couch with a Kindle, I’m really not there. It’s just a shell, an illusion.”
Uh-oh. I think that might have been the wrong thing to say. Was it possible that his hair was starting to singe? I squinted a little, yup… I’m pretty sure he was so mad that his hair was burning.
“Ash, that’s it. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t compete with your warriors, squires, princes and lairds anymore. I don’t wear a kilt. I don’t have any ‘shining armor’.” I started to glaze over a bit when I pictured him in a kilt or in ‘shining armor’. Wrong move. Focus!
“I am your real boyfriend, I’m here, but you can’t be bothered with me because you’d rather be in a book. I need a break from this. I’m done”
I blinked my eyes a few times, my jaw on the ground as I watched him turn, stalk towards the door and slowly, quietly walk out the door and out of us. I glared at my Kindle, but I couldn’t be too angry at it, because it was a really good story. But, what the hell did he mean by a ‘break’? This was a little too Ross and Rachel from the 1990’s.
I got up from the couch and ran out the door, stumbled down the steps and managed to make it to his car before he pulled out of the driveway. My chest was heaving from the exertion of running after him. I asked, “What…do you mean…that you’re done? It…was just…a book.”
He looked at me, his brown eyes soft and sad. “Ashley, this is the tip of the iceberg. I just feel like you don’t have much more going on than going to work and vegging on the weekends. We don’t do anything anymore. We don’t go anywhere. Do you even want to be with me anymore? Do you even notice that I’m at your house almost every night? You just seem to want to work during the week and read on the weekend. I love you, I love you so damn much, but I don’t know if it is enough for me to play second fiddle to electronics. I don’t know if ‘done’ is the right thing to say, but I definitely need a breather.”
With that lovely monologue, he put the car in reverse.
Purchase Links
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About The Author
I am a 37 year old who just decided to finally write a book. I'm an avid reader, I have a tendency to zone out the world when I'm reading. I always wanted to be able to write but I would get started, and then a page later, I was done.
My husband, Mike, and I live in Wareham, MA with our (gulp) twelve rescued pets.
I made a good friend in A. E. Murphy (an awesome author, please check her out!) who kept nudging me (ok, seriously pushing me) into writing.
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