Information for Spotlight Posts
Book title: About Face
Series: Love in
the Suburbs, #1
Published: August
29,2019
Word count: 56,000
approximately 234 pages
Blurb:
To be painfully specific, my
seventy-five-year-old grandmother thinks a little hanky-panky would cheer me
up. Direct quote. Since I’m currently living with her, I can’t escape the endless
line of grandchildren of friends who keep ‘dropping by’ for dinner. Literally,
I can’t escape. I can barely manage the trek to the dining room at this point.
While Grandma’s determined to find me a
husband, I’m determined to learn how to walk again so I can walk away from her
matchmaking skills. Spoiler alert: She has no matchmaking skills.
But then I get a brilliant idea. I can fake
date my physical therapist. Only he wants a real date. Gulp. A real date with
me? Is he for real? I’m no longer the stylish girl with the glamorous
job. Now, I’m a woman with a shattered leg and a scarred face.
If I’m going to learn to live with my new reality
and give love a chance, my attitude needs to do an about-face. Easier said than
done.
Buy links:
Apple: https://apple.co/2Ge7MCy
Universal
link: https://books2read.com/u/mgG0Vx
I grew up reading
everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to
Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I
was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or
drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in
the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although
on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between
rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the
army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and
joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even
begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just
plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly
hid in the attic before returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t
my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns
out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript
languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I
decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay
away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where, in
between tennis matches and failing to save the world, I’m currently working on
my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.
Author links:
Blog:
https://dehaggerty.wordpress.com/category/mymusings/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dehaggerty
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dehaggerty
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/dehaggerty/
Newsletter signup: https://mailchi.mp/027b2768aa1c/newsletter-sign-up-for-a-writers-life-by-de-haggerty
Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/d-e-haggerty
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-e-haggerty-4b49a29/
Excerpt:
“Now, young man.” I chuckle. Bert is not young by anyone’s
measure except Grandma’s. Based on his receding hairline and the white tinting
his beard, I’m guessing he’s somewhere in his late thirties if not older.
“What’s this about you having a girlfriend?”
Bert, who just stuffed a huge portion of pork chop into his
mouth, chokes but holds his hand up when Grandma stands and pulls her arm back
as if to whack him on the back. He takes a drink of water and manages to
swallow his food. “My grandmother Alma doesn’t approve of my relationship.”
“Why not?” Grandma asks as she sits down. “Are you a
homosexual? Do you need me to talk to Alma? She should know better in this day
and age than to discriminate against you gays.”
Bert starts choking all over again. This time on mere air.
When he gets control of himself, he shakes his head. “Um, no. I’m not gay. I
have a girlfriend,” he explains
making sure to emphasize ‘girl’.
“Why doesn’t she approve of your relationship?” I ask before
Grandma can start on some other inane theory.
“My girlfriend is in prison.”
My eyes widen at his answer. I can honestly admit of the
dozen scenarios running through my head – drug dealer, too young, single mother
– ‘girlfriend in prison’ never entered the realm of possibilities. “What’s she
in for?” His lips turn down at my question. “What? Is it not proper etiquette
to ask?” Like I care. I will find out what crimes his girlfriend committed.
He shrugs. “I guess I can tell you as you’ll probably never
meet Shayla. She was arrested for intent to distribute drugs.”
My mouth gapes open. “Your girlfriend is a drug dealer?”
Bert’s eyes narrow on me. “No, she is not. She has a problem
with addiction for which she’s being treated.”
Sure, she’s not. “Does she get treatment in prison?”
“She’s going to NA.”
I nod. NA is better than nothing I guess, although I
wouldn’t be surprised if she was ordered to attend NA as part of her sentence.
Wow. These blind dates are making me cynical. I take a bite of pork chop as I
consider my next question. “How did you two meet?”
“Online.”
“Like online dating before she went to prison or…” I trail
off when I see him shaking his head.
“No, I met her on this website for dating prisoners.”
There’s a website for dating prisoners? People, who are not in prison
purposefully choose to find a prisoner to date? Fascinating. I have to find
this website. Maybe his girlfriend is still listed on there.
“But you have met her in person, right?”
“Of course.” Bert smiles. “I drive down to the prison about
once a month to visit her.”
I lean forward and whisper. “Can you like touch each other
and kiss and stuff when you visit?” Is it rude to ask someone if they can have
sex with their prisoner girlfriend at the dinner table? I sneak a peek at
Grandma whose mouth is hanging open as she stares at Bert. Okay, probably not
best to ask about sex then.
Bert’s face goes nuclear red. Even the tips of his ears are
red. It’s kind of adorable. “Not really. But she’s out soon…” The implication
is clear. He can’t wait to do the horizontal mumbo jumbo with his prisoner
girlfriend.
Grandma clears her throat and stops any further questions of
which I have about a gazillion. I’ve never met anyone who dated a prisoner
before. I don’t think I even know anyone who’s been to jail, let alone prison. I’m
intrigued.
“What about in the meantime?” Grandma asks.
“In the meantime? What do you mean?” Bert asks, but I have a
sneaking suspicion where Grandma is going with this line of inquiry and I don’t
like it one bit.
“Don’t you need some female companionship since your girl is
… um …. unavailable?”
Oh my god! Is my
grandma trying to pimp me out?
Thanks for sharing! You are awesome
ReplyDeleteIt's my pleasure! I'm happy to promote! Feel free to reach out to me if you would like anything else shared! My email is willowwritesandreads@gmail.com
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