Book Fun Friday Welcomes Andrea Downing
Today we have a special treat, a little women's fiction with a touch of romance. Our book feature is titled Dances of the Heart.
Author Bio:
Log Line: When
you've let loss rule your life, can you learn to love again?
Tag Line: One sultry night in Texas, relationships
blossom when two couples meet, but when a former friend threatens one of them
into joining his business, a long-held secret must be revealed. There’s just
never a right moment for the truth to come out—until an old enemy decides to
take his revenge.
Book Blurb: Successful,
workaholic author Carrie Bennett lives through her writing, but can’t succeed
at writing a man into her life. Furthermore, her equally successful but cynical
daughter, Paige, proves inconsolable after the death of her fiancé.
Hard-drinking rancher Ray Ryder
can find humor in just about anything—except the loss of his oldest son. His
younger son, Jake, recently returned from Iraq, now keeps a secret that could
shatter his deceased brother’s good name.
On
one sultry night in Texas, relationships blossom when the four meet, starting a
series of events that move from the dancehalls of Hill Country to the beach
parties of East Hampton, and from the penthouses of New York to the backstreets
of a Mexican border town. But the hurts of the past are hard to leave behind,
especially when old adversaries threaten the fragile ties that bind family to
family…and lover to lover.
“No,” she said, laughter just below the
surface.
“Well, sweetheart, you have come to the right
place. Or at least got yourself the right man. By the time I finish with you,
you’ll be the best dang stepper on the floor.”
Carrie looked around. “There isn’t anyone else
on the floor at the moment, Ray.”
“Well, heck, I know that. That’s perfect for
learning.”
As soon as his hand closed around hers, the
leather of his palm a strange glove over her own fingers, a sudden frisson of
connection ran through her she hadn’t known in a very long while. He moved her
to face him squarely on, a small smile tipping the edges of his mouth, the
dark, impenetrable eyes shining with his captured prize.
“Just follow me,” he said as his right hand
went to her back. A cover of a Vince Gill ballad started, the mournful tune
setting a moderate tempo. “Perfect.” He held her right hand high and applied
slight pressure to move her backwards. “Fast fast slow slow, fast fast slow
slow.”
Carrie felt
a light bulb go on. She got it. It was good. It was fun. And she relaxed in his
embrace. He was an excellent teacher, a fabulous leader on the dance floor.
Would wonders never cease?
“You’re doing well. You’re doing fine,” he
assured her. “We’re gonna try a little promenade now, and then a twirl, so get
ready.”
Carrie
couldn’t stop herself from smiling, anticipation bubbling for just a second.
And then out of the corner of her eye she caught Ty watching them, beer
half-raised in salute and a smirk plastered on his face. A moment’s hesitation
and she missed the step.
“What happened there?” asked Ray, oblivious to
the effect the on-looker had on her.
Other
couples were finally joining them on the dance floor, but despite the company,
Carrie’s discomfort increased. “That boy, that Ty,” she told him. “He was
watching us. It made me feel…uneasy.”
Ray scanned
the sidelines, but Ty had gone, nowhere to be seen. “Oh, don’t pay him any
mind. He’s harmless enough.”
Andrea's Links to Social
Media: WEBSITE AND BLOG: http://andreadowning.com
Twitter: @andidowning
https://twitter.com/AndiDowning
Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=124888740&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic
AMAZON
AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Andrea-Downing/e/B008MQ0NXS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
ABOUT
ME: http://about.me/Andi1948
Buy Links: Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Dances-Heart-Andrea-Downing-ebook/dp/B00S46BGY6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421510959&sr=8-2&keywords=Dances+of+the+Heart
The
Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=242_175_141&products_id=6060
Barnes
and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dances-of-the-heart-andrea-downing/1121151125?ean=2940149895397
Reviews: "DANCES OF THE HEART by Andrea Downing is a fabulous
Texan romance with plenty of action to keep you entertained." Linda Green, Fresh Fiction
Tags: Andrea Downing, Texas, New York City, East Hampton, Hill
Country, writers, ranchers, military, loss
QUESTION FOR YOU: Do you have anything in your past you just
can't let go of? Someone who hurt you,
you just can't forgive? An embarrassing
situation you just can't forget and which still makes you blush to this
day? Or perhaps something you should
have done and still regret not doing?
What a great question. Of course I do, but what I've discovered is time distance fades the impact and we learn to forgive even if we can't forget. We learn to have loved the good, even remember more the good memories and let go of the bad. I think this occurs after we've learned the lesson we were to learn.
ReplyDeleteHi Celia, thanks so much for having me here today. You're right: time does heal many ill feelings but I still think most of us would like to just go back and undo SOMETHING in our past. As for forgiving, I find that that is easier as time goes on.
DeleteLove the premise and excerpt Andrea. Your question about letting go, well I think I've done that, otherwise they'd still be finding bodies. (Just joking, ). Truth is letting go has let me move on. Doris McCraw/Angela Raines
ReplyDeleteIsn't that what letting go does--let us move on? If we remain tied to the past we can never really enjoy our future (IMHO)
DeleteOf course I've said or done stupid things that I regret, or had stupid things said or done to me. Fortunately, most of those incidents were just embarrassing, not life changing. I agree that if we can't let go, we can't move on.
ReplyDeleteI still remember various idiotic things I've said over the years which today will make me blush at just the thought, but I've let them go; the folks present at the time of these stupidities are very much in my past so it's easy. What is less easy to let go of are the hurts, but I think I've managed that, too, now.
DeleteSadly, yes. Thankfully, time does ease the hurt, even if it doesn't completely heal the wound.
ReplyDeleteWell, Lilly, I think it depends on what the hurt was. Those broken hearts of ours from our teen years or early twenties are soon healed by finding a better love, I think, though, it's true, some wounds fester a bit longer. My old bones look back on some hurts now and just question why they happened rather than dwell on the pain.
Delete"Letting go" is something I'm working on this year, because like your tag line suggests, if you're not careful, regrets or other hurting things can rule your life. I love the premise and the excerpt, Andi!
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz. I know letting go is difficult but I try to work on the premise that everything happens for the best; I know that's not always easy to believe, and can be deemed rather 'Pollyanna-ish', but it is one way of, at least, getting a finger's worth of ease and resolution.
DeleteIts said embarassing moments and bad memories have lessons to be learned.i sometimes fail to understand where the lesson is at times but i suppose eventually ill get it. Ive only been around a few decades...:)
ReplyDeleteCelia, maybe it's a character lesson! LOL I think most of our embarrassing moments are lessons in humility! Pride cometh and all that...
Delete